Roots Rock in the ‘Summertime’; real Mothers (of Invention) for ya

According to the ever-reliable Weather Underground site (home of some nifty, near-psychedelic graphics), it’s practically going to be summertime this weekend, people, with highs in the 30s. Get crazy! Doff that winter cap! Shuck those long johns! Hell, you might even turn off your infrared space heater and save some pennies in the process.

 

This Moment In Black History, Friday night. From Hillytown.com

This heat wave’s a timely one, too, as we have quite a bit you should come and enjoy. On our Facebook page, the Beachland and her friends have been chatting up this weekend’s  Walk All Over Waterloo: Valentine Day’s Edition. We weren’t quite keen on bringing up the “v-word”, but there it is, lonelyhearts, you can’t escape it, you might embrace it, and if not, there’s some cheap n’ easy fun to be had on our block.  This Friday night features The Davenport Ball (with CLE bands covering Black Sabbath, The Replacements, Wilco, and others) at the Beachland, The Waterloo Alley Cat Fundraiser, and a special apperance by This Moment In Black History at Arts Collinwood.  Think of it as a rugged counterpoint to Tremont’s ArtWalk, but with cheaper drinks, easier parking, and actual rock n’ roll.

 

Hoots and Hellmouth, this Saturday

If hoedowns and throwdowns are more your style – that is, if twang’s your thang – our entire Saturday’s filled with variations on roots rock. Our 7 pm Tavern show features Long Road, a bunch of serious local singers and strummers with their take on 60s-style folk. Long Road features cats like Ray DeForest, Kevin Richards, and David Budin, all of whom have played a role in Roots of American Music, a music and education non-profit.  At 10 pm, the Tavern gets grimier with honky-tonk, hillbilly, and hardrock compliments of The Not So Good Ol’  Boys with Detroiters Doop and the Inside Outlaws.   Meanwhile, Beachland favorites Cabinet rock the Ballroom with the energetic and magnetic Hoots and Hellmouth:

ZAPPATISTAS: Sunday night features the return of a certain Bunk Gardner to his native home of Cleveland, Ohio. He’s performing with his old Mothers of Invention bandmate Don Preston under the straight-ahead moniker of  “The Don And Bunk Show”.  If you know anything about Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, though, this music will be anything but straight-ahead:

And here they are, much grayer, but without a single musical misstep:

Curious? Read this AllAboutJazz.com article on these two ex-henchmen of the legendary Frank Zappa, and come by on Sunday night for The Don and Bunk Show, with opening act Cuda, Renko, and Cuda.

We hear it’s going to be warm on Sunday.
EAS

Harvey Pekar Benefit, Saturday August 7th

Unless you’ve been living at the semi-abandoned Coast Guard Station on Whiskey Island, you probably know that one of Cleveland’s great figures, Harvey Pekar, had recently passed into immortal curmudgeondom and enlightenment.  His death triggered not only mourning, but a sense of local pride and a renewed urgency in seizing the Cleveland summer in all its warm, joyful diversity.

In a sense, his demise–and subsequent recognition–couldn’t have been timed better.  Should such a dear soul exit this plane, at very least he should make a statment.  Recognition of Pekar–and all things good, gruff, and Cleveland–ended up overshadowing the Lebron James fiasco named “The Decision”, which had even non-sports fans holding their heads shamefully as James and his marketing team nationally hung us all out to dry.  “Screw him,” we said, “at least we had Harvey.”

Certainly Pekar couldn’t average a triple double per game.  But he and his work represented our culture’s gritty resiliency, more so than one of the NBA’s ballyhooed stars who folded in the post-season and cashed out.  Harvey wouldn’t have folded; though he definitely would have appreciated a healthy pay-out, like any good Cleveland workingman should.

To that end, the Beachland’s decided to help Pekar’s payout in the afterlife. To quote Beachland co-owner Cindy Barber,

“Okay, here’s the deal. Things are complicated in the aftermath of our friend Harvey’s life. According to his wife/writing partner Joyce Brabner  he didn’t really finalize a will, and there was no burial plot. So one Coventry do-gooder went to Lakeview Cemetery and found what he thought was a perfect spot, next to an old friend, but things happened and that ended up not working out….but now Harvey’s sort of moving on up and the urn carrying his cremated remains will be laid to rest close to Eliot Ness thanks to the Lakeview folks. Some friends have talked to Joyce about creating a statue of Harvey (hands in his pockets, shoulders shrugging no doubt), but she says it will have to be inscribed with “What Do You Want From Me?” There is indeed something very poetic and Cleveland about the idea of tourists in Lolly the Trolley coming by Eliot Ness’s grave, and finding out favorite homegrown curmudgeon. So Joyce is not broke of course, but cashflow is an issue and we want to help. We have this Saturday night open and are bound and determined to celebrate Harvey’s honest down-to-earth spirit and raise a little cashflow since he just spent time at the Beachland on July 3 when his pals Brave Combo played. This is not the official send off, but just an effort to lend a hand.”

To this end, the Beachland has booked friends Cats On Holiday, Yiddishe Cup, and a very special performance by Pere Ubu’s David Thomas on Saturday, August 7th at 8 pm. It’s a late breaking event, folks, so we don’t have all the particulars yet. Let’s just say if you’re feeling charitable, come on down, and either buy a ticket to this event ($10) or make a donation.  Updates will be posted on http://www.beachlandballroom.com, or call the club at 216-383-1124.

If you haven’t heard this yet, local NPR affiliate WCPN did an excellent feature on the life and times of Harvey Pekar.  Listen up!  Here’s an interview with Pekar about his passion, avant-garde jazz; and here’s a piece that sheds light on “The Pekar Project”, which deals with Pekar’s still-unpublished works.

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What You Missed:

Not always the most up-to-date section, but hey, feel free to repost pics of Beachland shows you’ve attended on our Facebook account.  Or at very least, tag us, won’t you?

Blitzen Trapper

Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens Poster

Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens, live at the Beachland

Pomegranates, opening for Blitzen Trapper, June 29 2010

Drive By Truckers wrap-up, gospel singers, and lusty ladies

gospel singer Naomi Shelton, Wednesday July 28th.

Last Monday’s surprise Drive-By Truckers gig, a very special treat after our Old 97s show and in lieu of the Tom Petty / DBT gig being nixed at Blossom, was the stuff of Beachland legend.  Here are a handful hastily-taken pics for your pleasure. The point is, you’re getting to see just how packed and how manic it was…but it’s also a testimonial to how much people not only love the band, but the Beachland as well.  If you’ve got pics of that very memorable night, find us on Facebook, and cross-post away!

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Our upcoming Wednesday offers another show that could also be legendary, not unlike our early Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings gigs.  Another artist on the Daptone label, Miss Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens, will arrive amidst great fanfare.  And they sure do deserve it, too. Look alive, and listen:

While you’re here, listen to this WNYC  interview with Miss Shelton.

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Much less holy, but no less fiery, is Friday night’s Burlesque-A-Pades show, featuring the Pontani Sisters (who’ve played here before with Los Straitjackets), featuring other national performers like Kitten Deville, and regional performers like Bella Sin.

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Naturally, we’ve got plenty more in the coming months, as we cast out our reel and pull up a nice, juicy August from Lake Erie: Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles, Russian superstars Mumiy Troll, and unstoppable Latin funk band Ozomatli. It’s all at http://www.beachlandballroom.com. We make it nice and easy for ya.

– Beachland

Friday: Zinmeister Parker at Arts Collinwood / Mountain Goats Film on Saturday

Heavenly Bodies, a new show of work by Zinmeister Parker at Arts Collinwood

It’s easy to imagine the John Darnielle / Mountain Goats of 1995’s Nine Black Poppies translating into the Mountain Goats as they are now–an indisputably established musical presence that’s far outgrown the basic indie-rock label.  Darnielle still writes mini-movies, or mini-novels, if you will, that reel with emotional and metaphorical tension.  He’s kept this up with the latest Mountain Goats release, The Life of the World To Come, a series of songs based on certain verses in both the Old and New Testament of the Bible.  Accompanying this album is a performance film featuring cuts from this new album. It’s directed by Rian Johnson and features Darnielle in performance; it will be screened at the Beachland this Saturday at 1:15 pm and 2:45 pm.

As Popmatters.com writes, 

Certainly there’s more open love and affection to be found here than on We Shall All Be Healed, but one of the reasons Darnielle is the best American songwriter currently working is that he refuses to settle for the easy emotional beats in whatever story he’s telling. He uncovers the same desperation, doubt, and grace in Biblical narratives that he did in a squalid, shut-in house of meth addicts, because people in Darnielle’s songs, whether loving or hateful or outright psychotic, are always first and foremost human. 

And here’s a blow-by-blow analysis of The Life of The World To Come by blog Heavy Soil. 

This film screening is brought to us by our good friends at Music Saves. 

 This Friday, Arts Collinwood has a special exhibit by artist Zinmeister Parker entitled Heavenly Bodies.  This opening runs from 6 – 9 pm. Parker writes,

As a woman, as a  painter and educator,  my perspective is colored by my experiences in the world of academia and in the art world at large.  Some of the figures have dismembered or missing various body parts, which symbolize a sense of alienation or an  awareness of gender bias, an intransigent status quo  which has  existed in the art world historically and even today —certainly in terms of the number of exhibitions for women artists versus male artists in the major museums in the United States. The good news is that women artists will always pursue their commitment to making art and eventually with the passage of time and a little luck, we’ll have achieved an even playing field.

EAS