April 26th, 2013, in Hamtramck.
First band of the night, anywhere, was
Hunters from New York at the PNA Lounge (not Rugrats from Tallahasee, as some were led to believe). I know that the Blowout is supposed to be all local acts, and I'm a traitor for saying this, but they were the best performance of the night. I wouldn't call the music shoegaze, but these guys were staring down at their shoes most of the time. Maybe it's a tribute thing. I showed up ten minutes early for this set, and the building wasn't even ready to for the public to arrive. The band started with 20 people in the room, and ended with a little over 40. A shame they couldn't have had a later time-slot.
All The Wild Children at Whiskey in the Jar. Warbling vocals and a crew that seems to come from many different sectors of the population. A high intensity backing vocal on the last song was reminiscent of Pink Floyd's Great Gig in the Sky. The cops showed to follow up on a noise complaint. You shouldn't even be allowed to make noise complaints on Blowout weekend.
Bleached at the PNA Lounge (they're from L.A., not New York as I first reported). Fun pop-rock from a California band, and they didn't have to go out of their way to imply that the rustbelt isn't cool enough. They fully endorsed 88 Avenue and their sixty-something DJ across the street, so I'm sure they can hang anywhere. I wasn't the only one digging this performance, as the room was nearly filled.
The Meatmen started with Tesco Vee dressed as the pope. A fitting entrance for someone who likes to shock. Did you know this guy is now 57, and an English teacher in the Lansing area? He of course later stripped down to his usual white overalls, emblazoned with the words "Dutch Hercules". I expected this to be the biggest act of the night. The hall at the PNA was only a quarter full, but the Meatmen still played like they had a full crowd.
The overall theme of the night must have been feedback. Every band complained of feedback, and none of them got the resolution they were hoping for.
Small's Bar finally knocked down part of a wall so that people can actually get to the stage. Now how will people signal to world that they're assholes by obstructing foot traffic? Don't worry, they can still create bottle-necks by the narrow passage way near the men's room that's closest to the bar. There's a good chance that this alteration was made years ago and I'm just now realizing it. That's how long it's been since I've been to Small's.
It's kind of well known that most of the bars in Hamtramck blatantly ignore the state's smoking ban. I can now confirm that Paycheck's and Jean's Lounge are amongst them.
Bands I saw that I'm putting in the "Whatever" category: Golden Torso, Twine Time, Electric Playground, Desolation Angels, Cloud Social, Greg McIntosh, Ronny Tibbs and the 305s, and Platinum Selection.
Stuff to see tonight
Loretta Lucas, 9:00-9:30, Polish National Alliance Hall. First act while no one else is playing. Hard to compete with that.
Blair Alise and the Bombshells, 9:30-10:10, New Dodge Lounge.
Craycrays, 10:20-10:50, Polish National Alliance Lounge. Killed it at the preview night.
Oscilating Fan Club, 11:00-11:40, Small's Bar. More than just the best band name ever.
Mexican Knives, 1:00-1:40, Polish National Alliance Lounge. (Disclaimer: This band has played an MCB show)
OR Sunlight Ascending, 1:00-1:40, Whiskey in the Jar.
Again, I'm sorry to leave some time gaps in my recommendations.
I wasn't going to recommend Amateur Anthropologist (Baker's, 10:00-10:40), but after seeing this savvy bathroom marketing campaign, I've changed my mind. This goes beyond viral. I'm talking multiple levels of microbiological marketing here.
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I'm a dork, I live in the Detroit area, and sometimes I take blurry photos on an outdated camera
