Hamtramck Blowout ~ Kickoff party at Majestic tonight then 3 days of local dietroit music in Hamtramck Thu/Fri/Sat Mar 4,5,6,7th 2009

It always amazes me how many people have never heard of the hamtramck blowout around here... I do run in a lot of different circles but still - how can you be oblivious to "the largest music festival in the nation" as MT puts it ..

..when it is happening right in your own backyard?

These are the folks that must be living under a rock because starting tonight begins the motorcity's real muscle....and I am not talking the majestic divas but rather the local music scene.

Now MCB has been covering the scene for a while now and not just the silly overrated red haired step childs of the detroit music scene who get all the attention from various media groups around town....the squeeky wheel gets the grease you know...there are many musicians out there that do what they do without having to be "seen" on the scene ~ you know what I mean?

Someone from MT suggested that MCB should sponser the blowout this year...this was way back around the holidays but of course without putting up some scratch you dont get to party at the bash. They did issue us some bracelets to cover the blowout but declined our offer to run a giveaway for some freebies to the readers of this site. (sorry we tried)

We dont have a list of bands to see- see them all - use a freaking time machine or hire an energizer bunny to haul your ass around but just dont sit at one venue all night....there are only a few bands on the list this year that we WILL NOT COVER AT ALL and our intent is with 8 shooters (6 authorized and 2 are rouge) to cover a very large chunck of ALL the bands playing blowout this year.

MCB has been slammed with email requests to post certain bands shows and in all fairness we will apologize to all and simply say Go to the Blowout and see the bands that you have not seen before...we are not recommending any particular bands...we have covered so many of the bands listed already that we plan following our own advice versus who we like or who is popular or who has the best boobs etc etc etc...personally - I intend on starting with Blase' Splee and walking to each consecutive venue after another until the night ends probably ending up in someones house who left the lights on at 2:30am ...getting home and doing it all over again the next few days...my final show of the weekend will more than likely be Druid Perfume but that probably will change to Scotch Bonnet once I get a few in me......ahh dietroit rules :)

Check out the Hamtramck Blowout Lineup Here

Wed // Thurs // Fri // Sat

Need green transpo of the Highest Quality Click Here!

oh and just to copy and past from an email we got

EAT IN HAMTRAMCK THIS WEEKEND!!!

Some Favorite Restaurants in Hamtramck:

Polish Village

2990 Yemans, Hamtramck; (313)-874-5726

(subterranean speakeasy-type of restaurant that serves authentic Polish food -- try the pickle soup -- made by old Polish ladies. You have no idea.)

Alladin

11945 Conant St; (313) 891-8050

(delicious, delicious Bengladeshi food)

Ghandi

11917 Conant; (313) 366-7795

(wonderful Indian food)

Royal Kabob

3236 Caniff; (313) 872-9454

(lebanese...very good!)

The Clock

11444 Joseph Campau; (313) 305-2713

(this place has undergone major changes: they have SUSHI now.

Open 24 hours/day)

Maine Street

11650 Joseph Campau; (313) 368-0500

(well done diner food, serves alcohol, awesome wait staff)

Cafe 1923

2287 Holbrook; 313-319-8766
(they serve a sandwich called the "Blanche Dubois" and it is divine.)

Interview with Eugene Strobe & FREE WRISTBANDS to Hamtramck Music Festival 2014 by Detroit Area Dork

March 6-8th 2014 
The Hamtramck Music Fest Committee, AM1610 The Station & Ben's Encore present... 
The Hamtramck Music Festival 2014 "All Tomorrow's Paczki".

The primary sponsor, Ben's Encore, is a charitable organization, established in the name of Benjamin Borowiak, that helps provide opportunities for aspiring musicians and expand music education in the metro-Detroit area.

Pre-party on Thursday, March 6, at Smalls Hamtramck.

hamtramckmusicfestival.com

$10 wristbands purchase at the website or at:

Cafe 1923 (Hamtramck)

Dearborn Music (Dearborn)

Detroit Threads (Hamtramck)

Encore Records (Ann Arbor)

Flipside Records (Clawson)

Found Sounds (Ferndale)

Hello Records (Corktown)

Lo & Behold (Hamtramck)

Melodies And Memories (Eastpointe)

Peoples Record (Midtown)

Record Graveyard (Hamtramck)

Rock City Eatery (Hamtramck)

Stormy Records (Dearborn)

Street Corner Music (Oak Park)

UHF Records (Royal Oak)

SPECIAL WRISTBAND SALES EVENTS:

Paczki Run = March 1st

Smalls = on March 4th & March 6th

New Dodge = March 5th dance party

Detroit Threads = Will Call & Wristband sales on March 7th & 8th as well.

We've got a few wristbands to give away, so send an email to motorcityblog@earthlink.net for your chance to win

MOTORCITYBLOG had the chance to sit down with Eugene Strobe, one of the festival organizers, and get some more details. You might know Eugene from his involvement with Cosmic Light Shapes, The Witches, and Laura Finlay:

Detroit Area Dork: What was the impetus for creating this festival?

Eugene Strobe: I think a lot of people in the city really felt like they wanted a music festival at the beginning of March, and to keep it around the perimeter of Hamtramck, and the bars of Hamtramck. I think the cool thing about previous festivals is the proximity; being able to walk from bar to bar. Have be very centralized, and localized. It's been talked about for the past year, doing something pertaining to that. Packzi Day is a big celebration here in Hamtramck, and it's been talked about amongst the bars that they wanted to extend Packzi Day somehow. Turning it into Packi week. We thought putting this festival at the end of Packzi week really helps that continue, and helps that grow in terms of something to do in Hamtramck that first week of March.

D: Would this festival still be happening if the Blowout was still the way it used to be?

E: Uhm...that's a good question. I think it depends if the Packzi people want to have a festival separate from the Blowout. I think that because there was a little bit of a vacuum when the fest moved dates, and altered locations, I think there was a vacuum that was created. There was nothing there to take the place of it. It really spurred people on to do something this time of year, and around Packzi Day, and Packzi week. But yeah, if the Blowout were still here in Hamtramck, the first of second week of March, then the energies put into this festival might have been put into something else, some other time. There was definitely a vacuum that was created, and this is the result of that.

D: Do you think that the Blowout belongs to Hamtramck, or the Metro Times?

E: Well, I think legally these days, it belongs to Metro Times. You'd have to check with other folks, but I think they own the name "Blowout" now, I believe. So they can pretty do whatever they want with it. I don't know if it started out that way. From what I gather, the festival became what it was because of Hamtramck, because there are so many artists, musicians, bars, and clubs in Hamtramck. That was the one centralized location where something like that could happen. I think the Metro Times was one of the main sponsors early on, then they became the main sponsor, then became the owner. As far as I know, that was the progression that happened. Again you might want to check some of those facts to be certain, but I think the reason the Blowout became Blowout was because of Hamtramck; the bars, and clubs, and close proximity, and the artists, musicians living and doing their thing here.

D: Did you have any involvement in prior Blowout festivals?

E: I've played in prior Blowout festivals. I've worked at bars during prior Blowout festivals, but not in terms of organizing or arranging. I've organized concerts before, productions before. I've done that kind of work. Nothing with Blowout in terms of the organization or production of it.

D: Tell me about the Hamtramck Music Festival Committee.

E: The Hamtramck Music Festival Committee, the genesis of it was our first organizational meeting, which was January 28th. We invited people who were interested in coming down and giving ideas, and being part of this festival. It was open invite. There wasn't closed doors or anything like that. Whoever showed up was officially on the planning committee. If you were in attendance, you were one of the initial planners. Of course from that initial group of people just coming down and giving ideas, a number of people took on responsibilities. The folks that took on the responsibilities to actually make the fest happen are probably now the committee members in terms of organizing, planning next year, who's playing next year, and recruiting other people to help out. In essence there are about two dozen people in the overall committee, but there's probably a dozen, or half dozen doing the brunt of the work in organizing the festival.

D: How many venues do you have?

E: We currently have 17 venues. Waiting on confirmation for one more. 17 or 18 venues if terms of actual music for the festival weekend. On top of that we have vendors helping us out in terms of selling presale wristbands. A number of record shops in town, as well as other locations here in Hamtramck like Cafe 1923 coffee shop, Detroit Threads, Rock City Eatery, Lo and Behold, and Record Graveyard. Places like that are helping us sell wristbands presale. There's vendors, and there's actual venues where we're having live entertainment.

D: Looking at your list of venues online, it looks like you have several venues that haven't participated in the Blowout in several years. Did you make it easier for venues to participate, or add some new kind of enticement?

E: Really the only enticement is wanting to be part of a really fun and great festival. Our original organizational plan was to take venues that already have shows, and ask them if they want to be a part of it. If they were, their existing bookers would book two nights, and be under the umbrella of the festival. We're leaving it up to the venue to book the entertainment and then get back to us. So we're not telling the venue what to do anything different from what they already do. Every venue knows what's best for them, what works for them. On top of that, venues that normally aren't housing music or entertainment, we assign someone to go talk to their ownership and management, ask if they want to be a part of it. If they said yes, then the person who went over there would in essence be the booker for that venue for the festival. They would pool in the equipment, pool in the bands to make that venue a viable place to go for the festival. I don't know what previous music festivals have done, but we thought that be easiest. Keep it very grassroots. Just ask them if they want to be a part of it, and if yes, then we'll help you produce your nights, help make it part of the festival, and make it great.

D: So there's no one central person booking all of these venues?

E: Correct. Each venue has a separate booker. Whether it's Cafe 1923, or Rock City Eatery, or Small's, or Painted Lady, they all have their own booker. Either it's someone that's preexisting, or someone we've assigned, or sometimes volunteers to become the booker for that venue for that weekend. So every venue is pretty much their own thing.

D: There doesn't seem to be any large venues, like the Columbus Hall, or anything like that.

E: We looked into doing the Columus Hall. We looked into doing the PNA, and things of that nature. I think the charm of Blowout also is to be in a small club, and to see bands in that setting. I think when you go to the larger halls, specifically if they're not meant to have shows there, the acoustics get kind of crappy and cruddy. We have acoustical type troubles that happen at larger type venues like that. Also I think keeping the venues smaller in terms of capacity, makes it feel more intimate, makes it a lot more personal. We just felt that the existing bars and venues in Hamtramck would be a better setting for that. On top of that, some of the rental halls have actual rental fees. We're keeping our fees really low, and we're keeping our wallets kind of tight, just because any proceeds that come out of the festival are going to a nonprofit called Ben's Encore, which provides opportunities for youth involved in art and music. We want as much extra money as possible to go to that charity.

D: I read that the price of the wristbands will be $10. Do you think that's too low?

E: I think that's a great price, because we have people that complain about beer that's more than $2 a can, and then you have people who are willing to pay $8 for a pint. I think a $10 price for a wristband for 3 nights of music, 140 bands, is a great price. We could make wristbands $15. We could make it $20, but we think that's kind of defeating the purpose. We want to involve all the community. We want to involve people. It shouldn't be a financial thing. It should be a participation thing, an involvement thing. That's why we kept things at $10. I thought that's really fair. If we sell a lot of wristbands, and hopefully we do, we're going to be happy with those sales.

D: At $10 a wristband, will you be able to pay the bands anything?

E: The bands, that's an incentive that we talked about a lot, in regards to what bands get. I've been playing in bands since I was 13 years old, 14 years old. I've been doing it for a long time. I think just being part of the festival is a great perk, because it's a great thing. We don't have a lot of money, and we don't have a lot of sponsors this year, paying bands will be difficult in a monetary way, but we want to pay bands with wristbands, extra wristbands. They can get their friend, and the girlfriend, or their boyfriend in. If they bring equipment, because we're sharing backlines so there's more room in each venue to have people watch you, as opposed to having stacks of amplifiers, and stacks of drums blocking the bathrooms, blocking the bar, and blocking the door to get in. If you bring equipment in, you get a wristband. There's little perks like that. Each booker is responsible for providing perks for their bands. I know a few bookers are trying to get a keg of beer for their bands. There's little things like that, and it's not across the board. Again, this is very grass roots. We're not dealing with mega sponsors here. If it becomes a super successful festival, and if the charity is satisfied with the money that they're getting from the festival, and there's a little bit left over, of course we'd love to give some to bands. That's probably not a conversation for this year, because it's grassroots, and our budget is really low. That could be a possibility for future years.

D: What are the big expenses for the festival?

E: We want people to be safe, and we want people to get around easily, so we're having Detroit Bus Company provide two large school bus shuttles for the festival. That's an expense. They've given us a bit of a deal off of their main rental fee. We have to pay for the shuttles, that's an expense. We have to pay for advertising for the festival. Print ads cost money. We want people to know it. There's no sense having a festival if no one knows about it. You have to promote a little bit. Aside from that, there's a few loose ends. We have a little emergency fund in case equipment breaks, or a P.A. breaks, or if something happens, we can rent a P.A. real quick or what have you. So there's little things like that. Our budget is super small. Once the festival is said and done, we're going to have all the numbers presented publicly if anyone wants to see what we've spent, or what we did, or where the money goes to, where the money went. Our budget, currently, is about $5000. I think the Stooges recorded their first record for $5000, so...whatever.

Hamtramck Music Festival starts tonight at Small's Bar - repost of Eugene Strobe interview

Tonight kicks off the Hamtramck Music Festival 2014 

Wristbands can be picked up at the Pre-Party at Small's Bar

MCB will have a few shooters and writers out all 3 nights

Personally, I am looking forward to visiting every venue but will be spending time at CAPO Lounge, Paychecks and Kelly's.  Hoping to catch sets from Beekeepers, TITTIES, VSTRS, Odd Hours, DUENDE!, High Arrow, Blue Snaggletooth, Oak Bones, Blakdog, Caveman Woodman, Phantom Cats, CARJACK, Protomartyr, Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor, Pretty Ghouls and Snakewing.

March 6-8th 2014 
The Hamtramck Music Fest Committee, AM1610 The Station & Ben's Encore present... 
The Hamtramck Music Festival 2014 "All Tomorrow's Paczki".

The primary sponsor, Ben's Encore, is a charitable organization, established in the name of Benjamin Borowiak, that helps provide opportunities for aspiring musicians and expand music education in the metro-Detroit area.

Pre-party on Thursday, March 6, at Smalls Hamtramck.

hamtramckmusicfestival.com

$10 wristbands purchase at the website or at:

Cafe 1923 (Hamtramck)

Dearborn Music (Dearborn)

Detroit Threads (Hamtramck)

Encore Records (Ann Arbor)

Flipside Records (Clawson)

Found Sounds (Ferndale)

Hello Records (Corktown)

Lo & Behold (Hamtramck)

Melodies And Memories (Eastpointe)

Peoples Record (Midtown)

Record Graveyard (Hamtramck)

Rock City Eatery (Hamtramck)

Stormy Records (Dearborn)

Street Corner Music (Oak Park)

UHF Records (Royal Oak)

SPECIAL WRISTBAND SALES EVENTS:

Paczki Run = March 1st

Smalls = on March 4th & March 6th

New Dodge = March 5th dance party

Detroit Threads = Will Call & Wristband sales on March 7th & 8th as well.

We've had a few wristbands to give away, but they have all been awarded!

MOTORCITYBLOG had the chance to sit down with Eugene Strobe, one of the festival organizers, and get some more details. You might know Eugene from his involvement with Cosmic Light Shapes, The Witches, and Laura Finlay:

Detroit Area Dork: What was the impetus for creating this festival?

Eugene Strobe: I think a lot of people in the city really felt like they wanted a music festival at the beginning of March, and to keep it around the perimeter of Hamtramck, and the bars of Hamtramck. I think the cool thing about previous festivals is the proximity; being able to walk from bar to bar. Have be very centralized, and localized. It's been talked about for the past year, doing something pertaining to that. Packzi Day is a big celebration here in Hamtramck, and it's been talked about amongst the bars that they wanted to extend Packzi Day somehow. Turning it into Packi week. We thought putting this festival at the end of Packzi week really helps that continue, and helps that grow in terms of something to do in Hamtramck that first week of March.

D: Would this festival still be happening if the Blowout was still the way it used to be?

E: Uhm...that's a good question. I think it depends if the Packzi people want to have a festival separate from the Blowout. I think that because there was a little bit of a vacuum when the fest moved dates, and altered locations, I think there was a vacuum that was created. There was nothing there to take the place of it. It really spurred people on to do something this time of year, and around Packzi Day, and Packzi week. But yeah, if the Blowout were still here in Hamtramck, the first of second week of March, then the energies put into this festival might have been put into something else, some other time. There was definitely a vacuum that was created, and this is the result of that.

D: Do you think that the Blowout belongs to Hamtramck, or the Metro Times?

E: Well, I think legally these days, it belongs to Metro Times. You'd have to check with other folks, but I think they own the name "Blowout" now, I believe. So they can pretty do whatever they want with it. I don't know if it started out that way. From what I gather, the festival became what it was because of Hamtramck, because there are so many artists, musicians, bars, and clubs in Hamtramck. That was the one centralized location where something like that could happen. I think the Metro Times was one of the main sponsors early on, then they became the main sponsor, then became the owner. As far as I know, that was the progression that happened. Again you might want to check some of those facts to be certain, but I think the reason the Blowout became Blowout was because of Hamtramck; the bars, and clubs, and close proximity, and the artists, musicians living and doing their thing here.

D: Did you have any involvement in prior Blowout festivals?

E: I've played in prior Blowout festivals. I've worked at bars during prior Blowout festivals, but not in terms of organizing or arranging. I've organized concerts before, productions before. I've done that kind of work. Nothing with Blowout in terms of the organization or production of it.

D: Tell me about the Hamtramck Music Festival Committee.

E: The Hamtramck Music Festival Committee, the genesis of it was our first organizational meeting, which was January 28th. We invited people who were interested in coming down and giving ideas, and being part of this festival. It was open invite. There wasn't closed doors or anything like that. Whoever showed up was officially on the planning committee. If you were in attendance, you were one of the initial planners. Of course from that initial group of people just coming down and giving ideas, a number of people took on responsibilities. The folks that took on the responsibilities to actually make the fest happen are probably now the committee members in terms of organizing, planning next year, who's playing next year, and recruiting other people to help out. In essence there are about two dozen people in the overall committee, but there's probably a dozen, or half dozen doing the brunt of the work in organizing the festival.

D: How many venues do you have?

E: We currently have 17 venues. Waiting on confirmation for one more. 17 or 18 venues if terms of actual music for the festival weekend. On top of that we have vendors helping us out in terms of selling presale wristbands. A number of record shops in town, as well as other locations here in Hamtramck like Cafe 1923 coffee shop, Detroit Threads, Rock City Eatery, Lo and Behold, and Record Graveyard. Places like that are helping us sell wristbands presale. There's vendors, and there's actual venues where we're having live entertainment.

D: Looking at your list of venues online, it looks like you have several venues that haven't participated in the Blowout in several years. Did you make it easier for venues to participate, or add some new kind of enticement?

E: Really the only enticement is wanting to be part of a really fun and great festival. Our original organizational plan was to take venues that already have shows, and ask them if they want to be a part of it. If they were, their existing bookers would book two nights, and be under the umbrella of the festival. We're leaving it up to the venue to book the entertainment and then get back to us. So we're not telling the venue what to do anything different from what they already do. Every venue knows what's best for them, what works for them. On top of that, venues that normally aren't housing music or entertainment, we assign someone to go talk to their ownership and management, ask if they want to be a part of it. If they said yes, then the person who went over there would in essence be the booker for that venue for the festival. They would pool in the equipment, pool in the bands to make that venue a viable place to go for the festival. I don't know what previous music festivals have done, but we thought that be easiest. Keep it very grassroots. Just ask them if they want to be a part of it, and if yes, then we'll help you produce your nights, help make it part of the festival, and make it great.

D: So there's no one central person booking all of these venues?

E: Correct. Each venue has a separate booker. Whether it's Cafe 1923, or Rock City Eatery, or Small's, or Painted Lady, they all have their own booker. Either it's someone that's preexisting, or someone we've assigned, or sometimes volunteers to become the booker for that venue for that weekend. So every venue is pretty much their own thing.

D: There doesn't seem to be any large venues, like the Columbus Hall, or anything like that.

E: We looked into doing the Columus Hall. We looked into doing the PNA, and things of that nature. I think the charm of Blowout also is to be in a small club, and to see bands in that setting. I think when you go to the larger halls, specifically if they're not meant to have shows there, the acoustics get kind of crappy and cruddy. We have acoustical type troubles that happen at larger type venues like that. Also I think keeping the venues smaller in terms of capacity, makes it feel more intimate, makes it a lot more personal. We just felt that the existing bars and venues in Hamtramck would be a better setting for that. On top of that, some of the rental halls have actual rental fees. We're keeping our fees really low, and we're keeping our wallets kind of tight, just because any proceeds that come out of the festival are going to a nonprofit called Ben's Encore, which provides opportunities for youth involved in art and music. We want as much extra money as possible to go to that charity.

D: I read that the price of the wristbands will be $10. Do you think that's too low?

E: I think that's a great price, because we have people that complain about beer that's more than $2 a can, and then you have people who are willing to pay $8 for a pint. I think a $10 price for a wristband for 3 nights of music, 140 bands, is a great price. We could make wristbands $15. We could make it $20, but we think that's kind of defeating the purpose. We want to involve all the community. We want to involve people. It shouldn't be a financial thing. It should be a participation thing, an involvement thing. That's why we kept things at $10. I thought that's really fair. If we sell a lot of wristbands, and hopefully we do, we're going to be happy with those sales.

D: At $10 a wristband, will you be able to pay the bands anything?

E: The bands, that's an incentive that we talked about a lot, in regards to what bands get. I've been playing in bands since I was 13 years old, 14 years old. I've been doing it for a long time. I think just being part of the festival is a great perk, because it's a great thing. We don't have a lot of money, and we don't have a lot of sponsors this year, paying bands will be difficult in a monetary way, but we want to pay bands with wristbands, extra wristbands. They can get their friend, and the girlfriend, or their boyfriend in. If they bring equipment, because we're sharing backlines so there's more room in each venue to have people watch you, as opposed to having stacks of amplifiers, and stacks of drums blocking the bathrooms, blocking the bar, and blocking the door to get in. If you bring equipment in, you get a wristband. There's little perks like that. Each booker is responsible for providing perks for their bands. I know a few bookers are trying to get a keg of beer for their bands. There's little things like that, and it's not across the board. Again, this is very grass roots. We're not dealing with mega sponsors here. If it becomes a super successful festival, and if the charity is satisfied with the money that they're getting from the festival, and there's a little bit left over, of course we'd love to give some to bands. That's probably not a conversation for this year, because it's grassroots, and our budget is really low. That could be a possibility for future years.

D: What are the big expenses for the festival?

E: We want people to be safe, and we want people to get around easily, so we're having Detroit Bus Company provide two large school bus shuttles for the festival. That's an expense. They've given us a bit of a deal off of their main rental fee. We have to pay for the shuttles, that's an expense. We have to pay for advertising for the festival. Print ads cost money. We want people to know it. There's no sense having a festival if no one knows about it. You have to promote a little bit. Aside from that, there's a few loose ends. We have a little emergency fund in case equipment breaks, or a P.A. breaks, or if something happens, we can rent a P.A. real quick or what have you. So there's little things like that. Our budget is super small. Once the festival is said and done, we're going to have all the numbers presented publicly if anyone wants to see what we've spent, or what we did, or where the money goes to, where the money went. Our budget, currently, is about $5000. I think the Stooges recorded their first record for $5000, so...whatever.

Wild Bill Ketelhut provides the "blog" to this anti-blog






Wild At Heart


It has been a tough year for Detroit and the arts Detroit's bankruptcy and rumors of selling it's art collection was one story that I hoped wouldn't happen and that might get tougher as the Diego Rivera murals at the DIA have been designated along with Adlai E Stephenson II farm (Mettawa, IL), George Nakashima Woodworker complex (Bucks County, PA) and 1956 Grand Canyon TWA-United Airlines crash site (Grand Canyon National Park, AZ) as National Landmarks. It is definitely an amazing work and always provided a nice back drop to the various concerts in that hall. That got me thinking to other National Landmarks in the Detroit area.

The list includes the Columbia steamer, Cranbrook, Edison Institute (Greenfield Village), Fair Lane (Henry Ford Estate), Fisher Building, Ford Piquette Avenue Plant, Ford River Rouge Complex, Fox Theatre, General Motors Building, Guardian Building (one of my favorite interiors), Highland Park Ford Plant, Meadow Brook Hall, Park-Davis Research Laboratory and Pewabic Pottery. I have been to almost all of these places but I was surprised it wasn't more. There is a lot of cool history in the area as the list shows. I was mainly surprised not to find the Motown Museum not on the list but give it time.


This weekend is the annual Metrotimes Blowout which seems bigger than ever. I picked out a few of my favorite local bands and the venues they are playing. It is nice to see all the venues but having three distinct areas with Detroit, Ferndale and Hamtramck allows more music but makes it harder to walk between shows if you want to. It is hard to catch a band playing at 8PM in Ferndale and then 10PM in Hamtramck but with the schedule on the website you can try to plan the best places to be per day. It's good to get out and support some great local talent. Face it, Detroit's local scene produces some great music which can rival many national acts. Check out the website here: http://www.mtblowout.com/

Wednesday (4/30) - MIA @ Masonic Temple, Blowout w/Dutch Pink and Oscillating Fanclub @ Magic Stick

Thursday (5/01) - Silverstein @ St Andrews Hall, Blowout w/Detroit Cobras @ Smalls, Blowout w/Amy Gore and Her Valentines and Doop and the Inside Outlaws, Blowout w/The Octopus @ New Dodge, Blowout w/St Thomas Boys Academy @ Jumbos Bar, Blowout w/The Ragbirds @ Rustbelt Market

Friday (5/02) - Peelander-Z @ Pike Room, Blowout w/The Hentchmen @ Paychecks Lounge, Blowout w/the Blueflowers and Duende! @ WAB Outdoors, Blowout w/Audra Kubat @ Traffic Jam And Snug

Saturday (5/03) - Joanne ShawTaylor @ Callahans, Blowout w/Broadzilla @ Smalls, Blowout w/Frustrations and Terrible Twos @ Paychecks Lounge, Blowout w/Citizen Smile @ Kellys Bar , Blowout w/Jet Rodriquez @ Capo Lounge, Blowout w/Howling Diablos @ New Dodge, Blowout w/Rogue Satellites @ Whiskey In The Jar, Blowout w/Emily Rose @ Seven Brothers, Blowout w/Hard lessons and Motion City Soundtrack @ the Loving Touch, Blowout w/Lightning Bugs @ WAB Outdoors, Blowout w/Lee Marvin Computer Arm, Blowout w/High Strung @ Old Miami, Blowout w/Javelins @ Traffic Jam and Snug

Preview of Blowout 16

I don't like change. The Blowout has long consisted of one night at the Magic Stick and three nights in Hamtramck. It will now be one night at the Magic Stick, two nights in Hamtramck, and then three nights in Ferndale the following weekend.

Hamtramck is losing a night, and also losing a venue compared to last year, now down to twelve. This is after 2012 had one less venue than 2011. Skipper's has closed indefinitely. Mar's Bar isn't involved this year. The upstairs of the Polish Village Cafe is still on board after being a last minute fill-in for Atlas Bar after it caught fire last year, and Seven Brothers has been added.

Hamtramck dive bars were always the backdrop for the Blowout (I'm not counting the opening night at the Magic Stick, because most people skipped that anyway). It's going to feel so alien having three nights in Ferndale. Would could be further from dive bars than the creeping entry level pseudo-sophistication that's taking over Ferndale?

The are some surprises amongst the Ferndale venues that have signed on for the Blowout. You would think that the Magic Bag could have been the focal point of the Ferndale leg of it wanted to, but they're not involved. Adding the Ferndale Library doesn't make sense to me. What happens when someone vomits Captain Morgan (proud sponsor of the Blowout) all over the children's' books section? Sakana Sushi Lounge doesn't make sense either, but I'm looking forward to just standing outside that place and watching the collision of drunk Blowout attendees and drunk bachelorette partiers wearing penis hats and necklaces stumbling out of Boogie Fever.

One thing that's been marring the expansion to Ferndale is that the scheduler of this year's Blowout, Chris Johnston, owns three bars in Ferndale. People suspected that he would divert the best talent to his bars in order to maximize his own profit. With the full schedule revealed, it doesn't seem like Johnston is being blatantly exploitative. Two of Johnston's bars, The Loving Touch and Woodward Avenue Brewers are part of the Blowout, but the third, the Emory, will not be. Secondly, what are arguably the biggest draws of the two weekends, The Meatmen and Sponge, will be hosted at the Polish National Alliance Hall in Hamtramck. The closest that Johnston comes to hoarding the talent in his own venues is having seven acts at the Loving Touch on the last night. That's something no other venue outside of the Magic Stick is receiving. Some might also view the scheduling of Passalacqua at the Loving Touch as favoritism. They've gotten a lot of hype in the last couple of years, but I couldn't really tell you what kind of crowd they draw. I wasn't in to their hip-hop for hipsters schtick, and haven't checked them out in a while.

Aside from the issue of atmosphere, the Ferndale weekend seems wanting because it only involves ten venues. Of those ten, two of them close up shop before midnight. On the last night one of those venues will be mostly taken up by a comedy showcase hosted by a guy that's proven that he isn't funny, so my choices for that night feel like they're limited to just seven.

The upside to the expansion to Ferndale is that the schedule is more walkable. Hamtramck can't compete on that front. It's nearly a mile from the New Dodge on the southern end to Jean's Lounge on the north. In Ferndale the New Way Bar seems like the only venue to be more than two blocks away from the Woodward and Nine Mile intersection. That still leaves me wondering, how many times will I be able to cross Woodward in just one light change?

What hasn't been talked about is how the opening night at the Magic Stick has been scheduled. Of the 25 acts on the bill, 24 of them have a second time slot over the proceeding five days. Two Hour Traffic is the only band at the Magic Stick not getting that privilege. Is this a sign that the Blowout's choices of talent were stretched thin?

The one change I have no complaints about is moving the festival from early March to late April and early May. Walking from bar to bar as spring is starting will be a welcome relief after schlepping in the cold for years.

Blowout 2013: Night 3

Saturday, April 27th, 2013

Loretta Lucas didn't impress me at Thursday's preview, but it was the first act of the night, and no one else was playing. The 9:00 performance didn't start until 9:30, even though everything was set up by about 9:15. I listened to just one song, and even though I was pleasant surprised at how much I liked it, I was too annoyed to stick around.

On to the New Dodge Lounge for Blair Alise and the Bombshells. Also late, but not ridiculously so. Blair is kind of a throwback crooner, and her band sounded tight. The problem was that the lyrics just didn't seem cultured enough, and this is coming from someone who still laughs when he sees Amy Poehler farting in a rerun. Once she's older (she's 16) and lived a bit more, I'm sure she'll get there, and I can tell everyone that I saw Blair Alise before everyone knew who she was.

Back to PNA Lounge for Craycrays. I must be late to catch on to how awesome they are, because the room was nearly full. The lead singer didn't like it when the crowd was too stationary. He would charge into the people in the front row to get them to move around. The guy that ended up spilling half of his beer as a result didn't seem that bothered by it.

The Oscillating Fan Club wasn't having trouble filling up the room at Small's either. Another good reason to go to Small's was that the Detroit BBQ Company was set up there. Their sauasge was greasier than I would have liked, but their coleslaw was awesome. It was the only time that I didn't think of coleslaw as just a cabbage and mayo slurry.

I ran into the Detroit Party Marching Band at Joseph Campau and Yemans. I don't see why some people get all bent out of shape about the marching band. Oh, you and the same boring people were having the same boring conversation about the same boring bullshit, at the same boring venue you always go to, and the unexpected arrival of the marching band is the reason your night didn't turn out so well? I think you need to have more surprise tuba blasts in your face.

PNA Lounge again for Mexican Knives. The band that was supposed to go on before them, Boy Wonders, didn't show up for some bullshit reason. Mexican Knives decided to start early. Maybe that's not a good thing to do when music fans are trying to maximize their itineraries. Since I thought they wouldn't go on until 1 AM, I only saw their last song. Speaking of maximizing, this night's schedule didn't utilize the concept of staggering set times. Most bands of the night were started on the 00's. How am I supposed to get "blown out" if there's always dead time that can't be filled by running over to another bar?

I was never super into Sponge when they were getting massive radio play, and I sure as hell don't want to try whatever their new material is. I went over to Whiskey in the Jar for Sunlight Ascending. It's spacey instrumental music without that whole masturbatory vibe that Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor give off.

Before Sunlight finished I could hear the marching band again. They were playing in the alley behind Amicci's Pizza. The crowd starting flowing out of the Whiskey to check them out. A couple of dog-walkers got caught up in it, to the point that they didn't notice that their dog had run off. It's just a living being that's become dependent on you. No big deal.

After several songs, including one by R. Kelly, the marching band, the revelers that had accumulated, and even the dog all crammed into Whiskey. This was around 1:55 AM. To me this a great example of the unexpected that can happen in Hamtramck during the Blowout.

Bands I saw that night that I'm putting in the "whatever" category: Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor, 500 Club, Beekeepers, and Sponge.

I just can't call myself a fake journalist if I don't address some of the ill will in Hamtramck about the partial move to Ferndale. On Friday night the place to be for Blowout abstainers was the Outer Limits Bar, a long ago venue for the Blowout. Before Saturday night got under way, someone printed up stickers, stuck them on to old empty album sleeves, and passed them out to some of the bars. If you can't make out the writing at the bottom, it says "METRO TIMES WHITE FLIGHT FEST 2013".

While some Hamtramck residents simply said that they wouldn't be going to the Ferndale leg next weekend out of resentment, others were more vocal in their opposition. "It was our thing, and yes some sponsorship was always involved, but it was called the Hamtramck Blowout, and then suddently it became the Metro Times Blowout. I take exception to that fact.", said Tony (Topcat) Liggett. "Nobody else would do this when it started. We were the perfect place. We had the venues, and we had the people willing to cooperate to make it happen."

It wasn't all anger though. There was also some sadness mixed with pragmatism. "Well, I do wish more Hamtramck venues were available for the Blowout. Everyone is concerned about losing the festival to Ferndale, but there used to be a lot more options available when I first started coming to the Blowout in 1995. Lots of those bars are gone.", said August Gitschlag, a bartender at Whiskey in the Jar. "Besides that, I do try my best to make sure that Whiskey is a fun and entertaining spot for the large number of first time visitors the festival brings in, so that hopefully they see Hamtramck is safe and fun, and come back again another night."

This post by:

I'm a dork, I live in the Detroit area, and sometimes I take blurry photos on an outdated camera

Hamtramck Blowout schedule not a factor

I moved back here in 2003 and really thought the Blowout was one of the funnest few days I had for a few years
It was pretty diverse and the shows I happened to attend had large signs that read
FUCK OFF HIPSTERS
KEEP ON WALKING

after MCB's mini fiasco last year that cost me an additional $140 thanks to the MT staff who wouldn't transfer a photographers bracelets I am unsure if we are going to even cover the blowout at all

out of all of our peeps we have 7 photo of them ready to roll
tall kiwi girls want to do interviews for a newspaper in Chistchurch NZ and GGBB are always good for a smooch or two so its still up in the air

sure its a great event that celebrates detroit music and I could care less who plays or who is accepted because we cover everyone but after destroying 4 hours of video from last years shows due to the unprofessional and shit attitude at MT that we had to deal with its better just to pay for our entry and not have to hook in with people who act like they own you - fuck off

the best thing we heard so far is bands are going to sneak up on stage and play anyway without acceptance
Hamtramck rules.

if you would like someone from MCB to cover your set at the Hamtramck Blowout
email us and we will be there...

Hamtramck Blowout Schedule 2009

2009 Metro Times Hamtramck Blowout Schedule.

check this out now!

BLOWOUT PRE-PARTY (03/04/09)

Garden Bowl
DJ services from Mustache in Your Face
Magic Stick
1.Silverghost (headline)
2.The Octopus
3.Child Bite
4.Electric Fire Babies

Majestic Theatre
1.The Meatmen (headline)
2.Outrageous Cherry
3.The Wrong Numbers
4.Gepetto Files
5.Fluent

THURSDAY BLOWOUT (03/05/09)

Atlas

1.Cetan Clawson (headline)
2.The Dead Letters
3.Sh! the Octopus
4.Bill Grogan's Goat

Baker's

1.Beard of Bees (headline)
2.Gardens
3.Much Too Much
4.Philo-San


Belmont
1.Timmy's Organism (headline)
2.The Rue Moor Counts


Jean's
1.The Interrupted Lovers (headline)
2.Trick 9
3.The Codgers
4.The Straightbacks

Kelly's
1.The Dial Tones (headline)
2.Flatfoot
3.Jesus Chainsaw Massacre
4.The Pantones


KofC Hall
1.The Silent Years (headline)
2.Deastro
3.Invincible
4.Rogue Satellites


KofC Lounge
1.Zoos of Berlin (headline)
2.Daniel.
3.Devilfish

3141(Locker Room)
1.Divine Comedians (ex dollfaces) (headline)
2.Steven and the Reelers
3.Fidrych
4.To the Bat Cave


New Dodge
1.Love Meets Lust (headline)
2.Marco Polio & the New Vaccines
3.Millions of Brazilians
4.Fields of Industry


Painted Lady
1.The Pizazz (headline)
2.The Plain Dealers
3.Fontana
4.BOYWIFE

Paycheckï's
1.The Decks (headline)
2.The Prime Ministers
3.Last Tourist
4.The Darts


Small's
1.Mick Bassett & the Marthas (headline)
2.Solitary States
3.SikSik Nation
4.Firs and Spruces


Trowbridge House of Coffee
1.Sex Ghost! (headline)
2.Charlie Slick
3.Ms. Creme
4.Public Pubes

Whiskey in the Jar
1.Slow Giant (headline)
2.Lull Tucker
3.Wild Years
4.The Lessmores

FRIDAY BLOWOUT (03/06/09)
Atlas
1.Great Lakes Myth Society (headline)
2. Four-Hour Friends
3. Battling Siki
4. Matt Jones

Baker's
1.Universal Temple of Divine Power (headline)
2.Mazinga
3.St. Thomas Boys
4.A Working Model

Belmont
1.Circus Boy (headline)
2.I, Crime
3.Tone & Niche
4.Noman

Jean's
1.Bill Bondsmen (headline)
2.The Crumz
3.The Cavity Creeps
4.Country Bob and the Bloodfarmers

Kelly's
1.The Hadituptoheres (headline)
2.STARE INTO SUN
3.Man at Arms
4.Elle and the Fonts

KofC Hall
1.The Dirtbombs (headline)
2.LMCA
3.Terrible Twos
4.The Uproars

KofC Lounge
1.City Center (Fred Thomas of SLGTM) (headline)
2.Aran Ruth
3. Kelly Jean Caldwell
4.Allan James & the Cold Wave

3141(Locker Room)
1. Jason Croff Family Band (headline)
2.Switchblade Justice
3.The Mantons
4.Rachel and Junk

New Dodge
1.Broadzilla (headline)
2.Vivian George
3.The Tarkanians
4.The Detroit Pony Express

Painted Lady
1.Volebeats (headline)
2.Scarlet Oaks
3.Alan Scheurman
4.The Blueflowers

Paycheck's
1.Dutch Pink (headline)
2.Wildcatting
3.Jehovah's Witness Protection Program
4.Woodman

Small's
1.The Grande Nationals (headline)
2.The High Strung
3.Running with Panthers
4.Metawave

Trowbridge House of Coffee
1.Blackreign and Ohkang (headline)
2.Asylum 7
3.Madame XD
4.1592

Whiskey in the Jar
1.Il Segreto String Quartet (headline)
2.Audra Kubat
3.Give Up Solution
4.Jeff St. John

SATURDAY BLOWOUT (03/07/09)

Atlas
1.Scotch Bonnet (headline)
2.Dale Beavers and Bootsey X
3.Black Jake & the Carnies
4.Blue Black Hours


Baker's
1.The Swamp Sisters (headline)
2.Spitting Nickels
3.Doop & the Inside Outlaws
4.Old Empire


Belmont
1.Friendly Foes (headline)
2.SMOKE
3.Lightning Love
4.Leaf Erikson

Cafe1923 (DAYTIME)Family Hootenany

Jean's
1.Satori Circus (headline)
2.LTAG
3.Caroline Striho
4.Romeo Flynns

Kelly's
1.Los Viking Del Muerto (headline)
2.Cougar the Tiger
3.The Meltdowns
4.Novada


KofC Hall
1.The Detroit Cobras (headline)
2.The Readies
3.The Magic Shop
4.Gardens

KofC Lounge
1.Carjack. (headline)
2.Gorevette
3.Sisters Lucas
4.The Displays

3141(Locker Room)
1.The Mourning Voices (headline)
2.The Actor Repents
3.Fidrych
4.Motor City Sidestrokers

New Dodge
1.City Chicken Orchestra (headline)
2.Beverly Fresh
3.Jennie Knaggs and the Sure Shots
4. Rodriguez

Painted Lady
1.Druid Perfume (headline)
2.War. (Warn Defever)
3.Frustrations
4.Smashed Windows

Paycheck's
1.Pinkeye w. John Sinclair (headline)
2.Duende!
3.Oscillating Fan Club
4.Red China

Small's
1.Bluesong (headline)
2.Chapstik
3.Wolfbait
4.I Speak in Calculus

Trowbridge House of Coffee
1.60 Second Crush (headline)
2.Decibilt
3.They Never Sleep
4.The Ruiners

Whiskey in the Jar
1.Jo Serrapere & Willie Dunns (headline)
2.Bone Orchard Revival
3.Misty Lynn & the Big Beautiful
4.Moonsqualler

Blowout 2013: Night 6

Night 6 of the 2013 Blowout, , Saturday, May 4th, 2013

After driving to Ferndale as fast I could from the derby bout at the Masonic, I came across food trucks in the lot behind the Rustbelt Market. They were packing up and leaving around 10 o'clock though. I'm not in Ferndale often enough to know if this is a regular thing, but with so few late night food options there, they need more of this.

The night club scene in Ferndale didn't forget about "May the fourth be with you", and Princess Leia was working the door at Grasshopper. Metro Times, how could you not incorporate this?

First thing I saw that night that I liked was Odd Hours at the Ferndale Library. I only caught a portion of it, so I'm not sure when those backup singers actually participated. I left wondering, how much thought should one put into crafting lyrics, when the vocals will be so distorted that no one can make them out?

After circling around to find something else worth listening to, I came back to the library for Rogue Satellites. I think I've seen them before, but they didn't make much of an impression on me. This time I was digging their catchy lo-fi electro backed pop-rock. (Does that jumble of words make it sound like I know what I'm talking about?)

The Detroit Party Marching Band piled into the library after Rogue Satellites finished their set. They're not just about showing up unexpected any more. If you got to see them years ago, you can tell that they actually rehearse now.

One of the best acts of the weekend was Fur at the Loving Touch. The last time they played there the lead singer broke his wrist. This night was turning out much better than the last two.

Jeecy and the Jungle were doing a Detroit music history retrospective at Rustbelt Market. I heard a John Lee Hooker song, something from the Motown era, a few bars of an Eminem song, and a song from the Stooges.

You know what's better than Alexis doing their synth-pop thing at the Garden Bowl? Alexis doing their synth-pop thing alongside Lightshow Bob. Every performance is better with Lightshow Bob.

Another great performance that night was Electric Fire Babies at Como's. They had the room about 3/4 full. The best turnout that room had all weekend.

Amy Gore and Her Valentines had the Rustbelt Market about half full, after playing at the derby bout earlier that day. I'm getting more in to this band as I harbor less resentment for Amy for not reuniting the Gore Gore Girls.

The marching band piled into the Rustbelt after Amy Gore finished. This was the best night of the Ferndale leg. More hits than misses, and everything is better when the Detroit Party Marching Band shows up.

Bands I saw that night that I'm putting in the "whatever" category: Briscoe County Vultures, Dolfish, Luddites, Touch the Clouds, and The A-Gang.

Despite moments here and there of a band playing to a congested room, turnout for both the Hamtramck and Ferndale weekends felt low overall. For the five minutes that I watched Sponge at PNA Hall, it was 1/3 full, and that was the largest crowd I saw in that room this year. At last year's Blowout, The Dirtbombs had that room packed.

While I can't dismiss that some people were boycotting the whole Blowout because of the expansion, I think that part of the problem is that there weren't any big "can't miss" acts on the lineup. I think Sponge is scheduled to play another show before the month is even over. Meatmen reunions won't be that rare, since the band is going to release new material again. Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas are awesome, but they played at St. Andrew's Hall less than a month or two ago. Amy Gore and the Valentine had another performance the very same day.

Even though the expanded Blowout only ventured about a mile into the suburbs, it still played into the narrative of urban disinvestment. Metro Times Publisher Chris Sexson didn't make it any better when he said, "But I've found, even among some of the younger music and creative people, that some people don’t want to go down there, the same as some people might not want to go into downtown Detroit".

Brett Callwood of the Metro Times has been more tactful, saying, "The Blowout had to change to survive".  He would make a stronger case if he would give out wristband sales figures from the last several years, but I doubt that's going to happen.

The Metro Times could try to make the case that since bar patronage across all of Hamtramck is declining year after year, that a partial move to the suburbs was inevitable. If they had expanded to Corktown instead, the outrage would have been about gentrifying neighborhoods. Is there some way to restore three full worthwhile nights to Hamtramck, while still recreating what happened Saturday night in Ferndale? Does an event in Ferndale need to tie into the Blowout to get noticed?

Whatever conclusions are drawn about this year's Blowout, I just know that I'm going to catch a bunch of shit from my Hamtramck friends for openly admitting that I enjoyed the last night in Ferndale.

This post by:

I'm a dork, I live in the Detroit area, and sometimes I take blurry photos on an outdated camera