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The Rockstar Energy Uproar Festival rolled in to Columbus on Tuesday night. The two staged hard rock festival was originally set to be hosted at the LC Pavilion but due to ticket demand was split between the LC and Nationwide Arena.
The second stage music kicked off at the LC shortly after 3pm and featured the bands XFactor, Jackie, New Medicine, Hail the Villain and Airbourne. [Read More]
Once upon a time, a wise person suggested that good things come to those who wait.
The old adage encouraging patience is sound advice in life, love, and tomato-based condiment selection. But that nugget of wisdom holds true in the music world as well. For Kopaz fans, your patience is soon to be handsomely rewarded as their new release Teeth Like Cities is a very good thing.
As I scampered into the LC Pavilion for Tuesday night’s astonishingly awesome Stone Temple Pilots tour stop in Columbus, I happened to notice something peculiar. The crowd, for the most part, was stuck. They were stuck in an early ’90s rock-limbo – somewhere in-between 1992 and 1995. They were in a constant Guns N’ Roses-meets-Pearl Jam free fall. Jorts, cut-off Tees, and backwards No Fear hats were in abundance as the crowd eagerly anticipated reliving the glory days – but only through songs that reminded them of the glory days. The good news for the audience was that Scott Weiland and the rest of STP are stuck there as well. And that is, in no way, a bad thing. [Read More]
It’s a bit disconcerting how rock and roll has changed over the last 20 years. Slowly becoming an amalgamation of frivolous power chords, meaningless lyrics, and auto-tuned vocals, rock today is generally uninspired and churned out for mass consumption. With the birth of musical nomenclatures like indie-rock, alternative, folk-rock, roots-rock, post-punk, and Britpop, the meaning and essence of rock and roll is but a mere shadow of itself – marginalized and fractured.
So what happened? When did rock and roll vanish?
CD101’s annual sweltering rock ruckus, Summerfest, was a marvelous group therapy session for the City of Columbus and its devoted music following. From local indie-bubblegum rockers, Karate Coyote to quirky alternative powerhouse, Spoon, the night’s bill was understandably overshadowed by CD101 DJs, the audience, and even the bands themselves giving the prolific late local DJ Andyman their final send-off.
Emotions ran high for everyone at the LC Pavilion this past Monday, as Lesley James tugged on heartstrings by speaking of Andyman and what Summerfest meant to him. But there is nothing like song and dance to serve as a catalyst to let the healing begin – and everyone in attendance seemed to feel that emotional surge. [Read More]
Dressed in all black, summoning his signature deep baritone vocals – which live, sound remarkably like Ian Curtis of Joy Division – The National’s Matt Berninger dedicated their indie-hit “Bloodbuzz Ohio” to the late John Andrew “Andyman” Davis, citing all the tremendous good he did for the band and Ohio music as a whole. The crowd fell silent in response to his somber and sincere tribute, as instant nostalgia of their favorite Andyman memory simmered in the summer heat. And when the opening notes of “Bloodbuzz” rang out and everyone sang along, it was as if something that Andyman had always wanted was taking place.
Shadowbox has won quite a bit of acclaim with their Woodstock-based “Back to the Garden” musical, so they’ve decided to take their show on the road. You won’t have to go far to see them though (it might actually be closer for many readers), as they’re making their way to Schiller Park in German Village to put on a free show tomorrow evening at 8pm.
“We’ve probably spent over 100 man hours already just on this one performance,” laughed Shadowbox Head Writer Jimmy Mak. “I don’t think Steve (Guyer, Director/Producer) realized exactly what he was getting into when he said yes to this.” [Read More]
Packed in like sardines, the atmosphere was an electric hot-mess, as they gave their melodic hearts to anyone who could hear them. They stood close together on stage playing tightly wound power pop-punk songs like they came to conquer Ohio with their 6-strings. The crowd crammed as much energy as they could into every 3-minute gem, giving everything they had to the band – living and dying by the microphone.
The only problem? The aforementioned show I’m referencing was Tokyo Police Club at The Basement and I was across the musical concrete at the LC Pavilion watching The Gaslight Anthem do their best impersonation of Bruce Springsteen – that is if he were an uninspired, less subtle punk-rocker. [Read More]
Columbus has a way of continually outdoing itself. Say what you will about “Cowtown,” there is a lot to be excited about in this place. Dirty Frank’s Hot Dog Palace? Awesome. An on-again-off-again-might-happen urban trolley system? Awesome. O.A.R., one of the country’s best live bands, being able to call Columbus “home?” Very awesome.
O.A.R.’s homecoming show this past Wednesday at the LC Pavilion was a spirited and heartfelt croon ─ 14 years in the making ─ to Columbus, the city that helped cultivate their unique sound.
Would you think I’d gone mad if I told you coolest place to be this weekend is at a five-year-old’s birthday party?
What if I told you we’d traded in the pony rides, creepy clowns, and frosting-crazed children for eight kickass local bands, a truck full of Pabst Blue Ribbon, and a parking lot full of the coolest people in this fine city? [Read More]
