Stephane Wrembel @ Merrimans’ Playhouse
(South Bend, Indiana) When a grammy-award winning musician is playing within 45 minutes of you, it’s imperative to get out and see some live music. I purposely kept myself off Spotify and had no idea what to expect from the guitar of Stephane Wrembel, just an idea that it may be spectacular. Merrimans’ playhouse is situated near the railroad tracks close to the southernmost bend of the St. Joseph River in South Bend, Indiana, home of Notre Dame University. It’s an eclectic college town about two hours from Chicago, and like many things in the Midwest, full of surprises. I almost drove by the venue it until I saw a small chalkboard marquee out front….
Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad | Brooklyn Bowl | 12.7.2012
Peter L Spadaro III BROOKLYN, NY – Friday Night at the Brooklyn Bowl is where most bands on the touring circuit wish they could be, and is always a platform for the best live music in New York City. This is especially true when a seasoned, but fresh band like Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad hits the stage with fistfuls of fury. Walking into The Bowl there was a certain buzz in the air, which immediately opened my eyes and got me excited for what was to come. The fellas from Rochester, NY hit the stage giving everything they could. Seeing these guys for the first time- my expectations were none, and boy did that…
Blog: Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers
Three days ago, Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers released their twenty-third “Van Session” taking me back to middle school with “Let’s Hear it For the Boy” from Footloose. I hadn’t heard of Nicki before the Van Sessions, and have probably watched at least half of them. Part viral marketing genius, part “what we do in the van in our spare time” these Van Sessions have an element of truthfulness and playfulness in them that has me yearning to see them play live. Luckily, their fall tour (started 10/5) has them in Ohio for a couple of days until they make their way into Michigan with a stop at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor, then…
Photo Essay: Umphrey’s McGee in Louisville
Sometimes, when your friends call and say “want to go to Umphrey’s in Louisville?” you just have to say yes. I usually get three or four UM shows a year, but this has been a busy one, and I hadn’t been to church since 11/25/2011 (With Beats Antique opener – YUM.) I’d missed Detroit (had a paid gig) and Summercamp this year, then was tied up with Electric Forest and missed the Michigan show. I couldn’t wait, and the six-hour drive south was filled with familiar sounds of past shows, interspersed with the tidings of JamOn. As we’re heading into the city, I get a text from an old friend, “Are you in Louisville?” to…
Day Three – Electric Forest
Photos by e.Tree Photography It seems as if everyone and their mother went a little too hard on Friday night because everything seemed to run a bit slower come Saturday afternoon. Of course that is to be expected when Steve Aoki and DIM MAK play into the early hours of the morning and its a little difficult to avoid the “WOOP WOOP” when you’re staying in general camping. Yet come 5:30 p.m. on Saturday when Santigold took the stage, the party (including myself) seemed to regain that second wind. Santigold was a must see on my schedule for the weekend though she seemed a bit reserved, flowing lightly across the stage and making hand gestures…
Day Two – Electric Forest
Most of yesterday afternoon was spent running around, catching day shows and trying to find a break from the heat. A lot of good music came out of the day shows, including Big Gigantics’ saxophonist Dominic Lalli making guest appearances in both Cherub and Break Sciences’ sets. I caught Nit GriT and Minnesota feeding a lot of bass to the crowd over at Tripolee and The Infamous Stringdusters had a large following at the Forest stage, just before sunset. A sure highlight to last night was walking into the end of SCI’s set of extreme electronic music. The confusion right there, thinking that someone had spontaneously jumped on stage with some dubstep in the middle…
The Kids are Alright
The crowds are a bit more “youthful” this year, to put it lightly. Not in the sense that their energy and style are “youthful” but these kids are actually young! Last year’s crowd seemed a bit more experienced, in the musical and festival sense, their respect for surroundings… well just everything about them seemed a bit more grown up. It struck me while looking out at the Tripolee crowd during Cherub’s set featuring a very special guest (and one of my all-time favorites) Big Gigantic. More then half the crowd over there was probably under the age of 20. Now I call them kids but I don’t have much room to talk, I’m still young…
A Stroll Through The Electric Forest Festival
ROTHBURY, MI – Steven, a Detroit-based photographer, looked over and asked me if I was about to cry. I wasn’t really sure what was going on, I was happy and curious, wanting to explore and touch every new thing I came across. For the first time in awhile I truly felt at peace with myself and my surroundings. I was back in the forest. Day one at the Electric Forest Festival has already begun to stir up a lot of emotions. The entire check in process – driving back and forth from north gate, recovering my press pass, waiting to get in the main gates and sprinting after my car – took double the time…
Countdown to Electric Forest 2012
Just days remain until the gates open for the 2012 Electric Forest Music Festival. EFF makes its second appearance at the Double JJ Ranch in Rothbury, Michigan starting Thursday, June 28th. Since my visit in 2011, the forest has evolved into a jam fanatic’s sanctuary and an electronic dance lover’s safe-haven. The String Cheese Incident will grace the stage with three nights of high-spirited and always groovy energy, along with two nights of lights with STS9, a bass explosion from Bassnectar, sitar jams from Thievery Corporation, and a re-dedication to EDM that hasn’t been seen on this side of the Mississippi. The festival channels EFF’s partnership with Insomniac, who just brought Las Vegas an incredible…
Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad at Mexicalli Live
(Teaneck NJ) - Rochester NY’s GPGDS Turned out a long single set show at Mexicali Live in Teaneck NJ on Thursday March 8th 2012, and I was there to take a few pictures. I will definitely be going out of my way to see these guys again. Speaking of seeing and hearing, catch them on tour- here are their closest gig dates from their facebook page: GPGDS websitearchive.org page for streaming audio TOUR DATES Wed, March 14 – ROANOKE, VA – Martin’s Downtown Thu, March 15 – BALTIMORE, MD – The 8×10 Fri, March 16 – PHILADELPHIA, PA – North Star Bar Sat, March 17 – WASHINGTON, DC – 9:30 Club w/ The Infamous Stringdusters Thu, March 22…
