It’s the Weekend, Pal: Oct 23 – 25

Drummer - this Saturday @ Beachland

Coffinberry‘s been shown ample love on this blog, other blogs, and in print media throughout the country. So we, for the time being, spare the odes to their coolly hot handling of melodic rock full of world-weary yells, clamoring guitars, and tough drumming. Suffice it to say that if they’d been around Chapel Hill in the early 90s, Coffinberry would be one of the great  bands who’d be putting out ‘best-of’ comps and reunion tours right now. And you’d be telling people how ass-kickingly good they were, and how many bathrooms you passed out during your 7 years of undergrad.

They play this Friday, headlining over Mr. Brian Olive, formerly of the Soledad Brothers and The Greenhornes (a Cincy garage-rock combo, two of who are now in Jack White’s Raconteurs).  Also on the bill are the peppy JJ Magazine, who haven’t graced the Beachland stage with their friendly cacophony, the kind that seemingly was the province of certain UK bands from the early 90s (there we go again).

Let’s now turn to a very contemporary culture-meme, the Dude Who Gets Over Harnessing the Power of the Internet (actual movie title!).   Why bother with a van when you can spread one’s music online–specifically if the tunes are about geek culture? If you read this blog–or are actively involved in blogs out there–chances are pretty good you know something about this online subculture. If you don’t, perhaps Friday night’s Ballroom performer, Mr. Jonathan Coulton, can help you out.

Should your geekery align you more into who’s-who-ing it in music, Saturday night’s Drummer show features this ambitious Akron band who includes members of Party of Helicopters, Beaten Awake, Houseguest, and yes, Mr. Pat Carney of the Black Keys on bass.  It’s no Carney vanity project, but rather a group of old friends making the kind of indie rock they love to record and play, as you’ll see here:

While the Ballroom is the ‘Akron’ side of Northeast Ohio underground music goodness, the Tavern serves as the ‘Cleveland’ side (will anyone keep score?) with performances by Casual Encounters, Kent’s Trouble Books (we spoke too soon! Kent, OH just snuck in) and a CD release party for Unsparing Sea, a band whose dark, dramatic epics contain the clank and wheeze of guitars lost beneath a Lake Erie of the imagination.

By the time we get to Sunday, we’ve got performances by LAKE, and K Records’ Karl Blau.  We might have the Browns vs. Packers game on the TV in time for Beachland Brunch (with tunes spun by Joey Beltram of Good Morning Valentine).  But you want to keep your food down, right? Avert your eyes from the carnage, friends.  Or you can instead go to the grand opening of the Arts Collinwood Cafe down the street from us.  Ten bucks gets you into a long day of fun, as detailed at www.artscollinwood.org.

Questions? Go to www.beachlandballroom.com.

EAS

Tonight: Crocodiles / Beaten Awake / Dirty Sweet

Tonight’s Beachland show features two San Diego bands: Crocodiles and Dirty Sweet; and Beaten Awake, hailing from the humble town of Kent, Ohio.  Between the three of them, you’ve got a brief parallel history of rock from, say, the late 60s to late 70s.  Call it an overview of a ten-year stylistic tumble, from Crocodiles’ late 70s robot-punk dance-offs, to the lusty odes from the mouths 0f dudes in denim, which is Dirty Sweet’s nod to what many call “Southern Rock“.  Throw in Beaten Awake, whose hungover folk tunes resembles the “Basement Tapes” shambliness, and voila! you’ll never have to read a history book again.

Here’s a link to Beaten Awake audio online.  Tucked down below is some footage from a Cleveland gig backing up Daniel Johnston:

Daniel Johnston and Beaten Awake, “Casper the Friendly Ghost”

Dirty Sweet throws down a little ditty called “Baby Come Home” that shows they can go from the outhouse to the roadhouse, no problem at all.:

Dirty Sweet, “Baby Come Home”

and last but not least, the Crocodiles with a herky-jerky video that goes well with their stop-motion sound.  The tune is “Neon Jesus”:

EAS