Some of you sitting cozily in Blogsville might have experience the rush and the push of holiday hubbub: rehearsing for a Christmas pageant, gearing up for Hannukah hijinks, finding new footie pajamas for the Baby Jesus, and the like. Cooking, shopping, cleaning, and making travel plans seem to be inextricably tied to the season of Peace on Earth and Goodwill To All. Yeah, peace and goodwill can wait–we’ve got work to do!
Likewise, the Beachland is rolling and tumbling through the prep work needed to insure that this year’s seasonal shows work flawlessly, like a certain mythological character’s sled. We do the work, so you don’t have to. Just lively up yourself and we’ll nice up the dance, as Bob Marley and reggae greats Mitchigan & Smiley both wisely said. Just bring your ID, your admission fee, and your cheer; we’ll do the rest.
Mr Gnome CD release show, Friday December 18
Though they’re based in Cleveland, this duo’s been slowly but surely acquiring a national buzz with spookily heavy albums such as Deliver This Creature. Mr. Gnome’s newest release is called Heave Your Skeleton, which you can read about at the Dallas Observer.
Mr. Gnome, “Night of the Crickets”
Music Saves & Square Records 6th Annual Holiday Get Down, Saturday December 19
When money is lacking, let love be your commerce, says indie record stores Music Saves and Square Records. Hailing respectively from Cleveland and Akron, these two establishments put together a bill of fine young bands from their towns. Akron’s Walkies bring to mind a lot of the weird beardo folk that’s currently on the zeitgeist’s holiday shopping list; on the other hand, their spiky guitar and banjo duets sound pretty cool:
The Walkies, “Going Down the Valley”
Yulesville Pre-Holiday Bash w/ Bears, Unsparing Sea, and a shload more bands, Wednesday, December 23What doesn’t this bill have? From Bears’ candy-flavored, buzz-worthy indie pop and the reptilian metal drones of the mysterious Terminal Lovers, this should have it all. Dig the Japanese monster riffery on the Lovers’ “Mr. Astronaut Glenn”, and put those toys on your wish-list!
If anyone asks, this show is sponsored in part by Beachland bud Cleveland Bachelor.
7th Annual Old Home Night featuring California Speedbag, Kidney Brothers, Home and Garden, and Nicholas Deveney
Memories of Cleveland punk and new wave, grimy but drunkenly hopeful in the 70s and 80s, will belly up at the bar during this 7th Annual Old Home Night. OHN was created by a group of veteran bohemians–among them, the writer Michael DeCapite–who wanted to throw a very special party for ex-pats and current residents of our fair town who hailed from a time when the underground was freshly dug. Tonight we’ll have an apperance by cowpunk pioneers California Speedbag, avant-lords Home and Garden, the Kidney Brothers (from The Numbers Band), and if you’re not careful, you might see a Pere Ubu or Dead Boys member floating around. Good times, great memories, such as this of CLE punks Numbskull tearing Sabbath’s “Supernaut” to ribbons at the old Variety Theatre (still there on Lo-rain Road!):
Cowslingers Reunion Wednesday December 30
If Old Home Night isn’t proof enough that “Cleveland punx not dead”, this two-night stand of total rock should convince doubters. Rock N’ Roll’s a sure bet, solid as the Hope Memorial Bridge, unyielding as the Cuyahoga. The Cowslingers were ambassadors for that aesthetic throughout Europe and the US, playing very fast and very loose with sounds pioneered by Link Wray, X, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, and other immortal troublemakers. Here’s the kind of trouble the Cowslingers caused, shot at the Beachland many years back (note the difference in decor):
After their breakup, the ‘slingers formed different bands, such as the Whiskey Daredevils and Jack Fords. Yet the demand for that special Cowslinger brand of fun never wavered; in fact, tickets are flying out the proverbial door for this near-New Year’s humdinger with Lords of the Highway. ACT NOW.
EAS
Beachland Ballroom and Tavern Blog 