Events Calendar
In This Section
Most Read Stories
Man robbed at Tallmadge Avenue eatery
Another winter punch heading toward Ohio
Four teens restrain man, take items from his Akron home
Complaints against officer keep coming
Police: Ohio girl dies after fall into snow bank
Region makes way for latest batch of snow; cancellations rise
Cuyahoga Falls residents come home to find burning couch on balcony
Blogs:
First Bell - On Education:
No City of Akron basketball tonight
Pets:
Pet telethon re-airs
The Heldenfiles:
Chipmunks "Squeakquel" on DVD/BD March 30
Akron Zips:
Late surge gives Zips ugly road win
Tribe Matters:
Blogmail response on Hafner
Cleveland Browns:
Stallworth's contract terminated
Balanced Ledger:
QB in Browns future: another mock draft
Kent State Sports:
KSU Notes – February 9
Cleveland Cavaliers:
NBA Power Rankings from Around the Internet
Buckeye Blogging:
Buckeyes grab 18 players on signing day
Varsity Letters:
Garfield at Buchtel basketball
All Da King's Men:
Palin At The Tea Party Convention
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Republican Pre-Conditions
Akron Law Café:
Citizens United v. F.E.C. (Part 4): Kennedy's and O'Connor's Basic Approaches to Constitutional Decisionmaking – Top Down and Bottom Up
Car Chase:
Collector Car Hobby Loses One of the Best—Jim Roll
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Decisions Decisions: Credit Cards or Your Mortgage?
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Loucile is looking for a Lake Erie getaway in June for three kids, ages 1, 3, and 5.
Sound Check:
Talk of the Town – Top entertainment picks for the weekend
HRLite House:
Track HR Research
Akron Gamer:
Makers of 'Castle Crashers' unveil 'BattleBlock Theater'
See Jane Style:
Do IT this week: Layering
Most performers, clubs can only hope to have cult like that of Stanley, master of '70s followers
By Malcolm X Abram
Beacon Journal
Published on Thursday, Dec 13, 2007
Following a few weekends of change-of-weather sloth, I decided Saturday night to get off my narrow behind, put on a coat and head downtown Akron to check out some live music. My only mission was to go to at least one venue to which I'd either never been or hadn't visited in quite a while.
I fulfilled that mission easily by starting at the Lounge, which until a few months ago was the reconstituted Daily Double (v.2.0) which I won't miss at all. The few times I'd been in the large space at 370 Orleans Ave. to see a band, the site's lengthy, cavernous dimensions, subpar sound system and lack of customers were kind of depressing. Plus, it had a bartender who had never heard of a black and tan. (''Ummm, I think we're out of black and tan,'' the lovely blond barmaid said to me sweetly while surveying the top-shelf liquor.)
That building always seemed like a tough sell to me because it's big, and unless it's full of people, it looks empty and thus not necessarily the place a young coed would want to hang out.
By contrast, the Lounge has cut off the back area, lending the front a much friendlier feel. It's nothing fancy, but it's already a better start than the last few folks who tried to make it work (including its brief moment as a strip club).
There was still almost no one there to see guitarist/singer Eric Oldsmar play covers accompanied by his acoustic guitar and some self-made loops and some effects, including a neato vocal harmonizer. It was pleasant enough listening to him run through some loose covers, mostly of Stones tunes, with simple, mechanized melodic accoutrements.
The friendly barmaid (who I'm sure is familiar with a black and tan) told me that the owners are hoping to expand early next year by reopening the back area and adding some food.
Good luck to them. There's been quite a bit of turnover in that space; let's hope someone can make it work.
I considered going to the Main Street Saloon for a burger and the U2 Incident, but while I'm always down for a good burger, I wasn't in the mood for either real or simulated U2, so instead I checked out the Northside on North Main Street, where Michael Stanley and the Midlife Chryslers were playing to a typically packed house.
As the name suggests, the Midlife Chryslers are a loose bunch of musical friends playing songs they enjoy for people who enjoy wiggling to them. They were in the middle of a groovy version of the old Temptations funk classic Shakey Ground before moving smoothly into a chilled-out, Stanley-sung take on You Can't Always Get What You Want and a less than 10-minute version of Red House featuring Stanley unleashing his blues skills on the guitar.
One thing I noticed about the Cult of Stanley is that his music and performances are almost like comfort food to them. There is always a group of ladies swaying quietly and grooving and talking (''How often do you get to see Michael Stanley for $5?'' the lady standing next to me asked her friend without taking her eyes off the stage) and eyeballing him as if it were still 1973 and he's commanding the stage at the sold-out Blossom. There are always a couple who seem to be transported by Stanley's music (even when he's playing cover tunes) back to their halcyon days and they stare dreamily into each other's eyes during the slow numbers.
Then there are the fist-pumping, song-requesting dudes who wish they still had that cool muscle car they had in high school (or the hair they had in high school) who just want to rock with their buddy Michael Stanley.
Truly, Michael Stanley is the Master of His Domain (I know that's a two-week-old reference, but you read every week right? Please?).
The Master has a new album out called The Soft Addictions, and I would have asked him about it during the set break, but as soon as he left the stage, he became the eye of a vortex of friends and fans, so perhaps you can ask him yourself. From 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Fairlawn Borders, Stanley will sign copies of the new album released on his own Line Level label.
Wrapping up the sojourn, I returned to my neighborhood live music hole, Annabell's, where Youngstown trio Rebreather was bludgeoning happy headbangers with its drop-tuned, sludge metal in front of a screen displaying weird visuals, images and films. The band is coming off a two-year hiatus, but it still has plenty of local fans and was the perfect complement to the next band, Akron's own Hell's Information (you know the number, 666411), which also favors a bottom- and groove-heavy, power-chord-driven sound with prog-rock-flavored rhythms and riffs and some spoken/sung vocals buried in the mix.
Hell's Information has a new album out on vinyl called Rad Battle, which I'd love to tell you about, but the center hole is too small for my turntable, and thus all I can do is stare at the cool artwork. I guess I'll have to wait for the CD.
Stuff to see and hear
Akron's Square Records has teamed up with Cleveland record store Music Saves for the fourth-annual Square Records/Music Saves Gift Exchange on Saturday night at Musica in Akron. It will be an indie-pop kid's dream evening.
There is no actual gift exchange, but it is a sort of band exchange, with Cleveland's Replacements-flavored rock group Coffinberry and the pastoral pop sounds of the popular and cute-as-a-button Afternoon Naps. Akron's entries are Trouble Books and Radar Secret Service.
There will also be plenty of holiday concerts for folks who just can't get enough of such events. Saturday at The Palace Theatre in Cleveland's Playhouse Square, guitar shredder Neil Zaza will celebrate the season and the fifth anniversary of his Neil Zaza's One Silent Night (''Christmas Never Rocked So Hard!'' declares the tagline) for those who appreciate a little distorted guitar squall in their holiday tunes.
Zaza's show may not reach the grandiose heights of the Trans Siberian Orchestra, but he does boast two keyboardists from Italy, the Mutual Gifts Gospel Choir from The Lion King and a live orchestra.
If you're looking for something a bit more traditional, there will be a gospel show featuring award-winning group Divine Hope at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Akron Civic Theatre. Traditional Christmas and gospel favorites will be performed, along with the musical The Miracle of Love and there probably will be fewer pairs of leather-clad performers and fewer power chords.
Last but in no way least, and also in a more traditional vein, tonight at the Holiday Inn in Bath Township will be Joanne Cash. Yes, she is the sister of the music legend as well as a minister of her own Nashville Cowboy Church and a singer who had a weekly gig at the Grand Ole Opry in the 1970s.
Cash, who has friends in the area, will perform with her band at 7 p.m. in the big room downstairs at the Holiday Inn in the Montrose area.
Cash has a new collection called simply Gospel that includes originals, gospel standards and two duets — Lower Lights and Softly and Tenderly — with her famous brother that are among his final recordings.
Cash has plenty of good Cash family stories to share and will also perform some of her favorite tunes by her brother.
Malcolm X Abram can be reached at mabram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3758.
Following a few weekends of change-of-weather sloth, I decided Saturday night to get off my narrow behind, put on a coat and head downtown Akron to check out some live music. My only mission was to go to at least one venue to which I'd either never been or hadn't visited in quite a while.
Get the full article here.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
