Sohio practically had me at hello. The first song sounds like The Black Keys of Leon and I’m all about it. They’re staying true to that 70s sound with lyrics like “How high can you fly?” Have I finally found something good to come out of Oxford, Ohio? Maybe I spoke too soon because the band quickly switched gears from earnest rock to bouncy pop, which came across kind of lame. I’ll catch these guys again down the road, though.
I tried to get a picture of Sohio, but my camera has gone completely berserk. Worse than I’ve ever seen it before. Sorry readers, no pictures from me tonight.
Over at Japp’s, Sleepybird is more than just a name. A person in an eagle costume is lying (sleeping) on the floor on top of real tree branches at the front of the stage. Bah! I want to bash my camera to bits right now!! I’m really not into their gimmick and not even their hefty, upright bass player with the Rolly Fingers mustache can keep my attention. Think R.E.M.’s “Night Swimming” combined with Flaming Lips B-sides. The eagle eventually wakes up and moves around, but this band is putting me to sleep, so I must go.
New York’s Freeloader is the worst pop band I’ve heard yet this weekend with the worst female singer. One song is enough for me. However, New York boasts a dandy in Crazy Mary. I walk in upstairs at Neon’s just as violinist Walter Steding joins the group. Apparently, back in the day, he was Andy Warhol’s art assistant. He helps out on their re-worked cover of The Animals’ “It’s My Life.” Their sound bounces all over the place from rock to folk and even some tidbits of punk, then circling back into a psychedelic mess. Their structuring brings to mind “Strawberry Fields” and I absolutely love it! The musicianship is also top notch. I’ve found yet another great bass player, and the wah-wah favoring guitarist never touches a pick once. Plus, any band that gives me a free CD and drink huggie is cool with me!
The Platforms are a male drummer and three chicks wearing gold and red dresses with high heels and fishnet stockings that remind me of the leg lamp from A Christmas Story. Predictable, basic, boring Go-Go’s rock. The lead singer has no business gyrating the way she is, and especially in the skimpy outfit that she shouldn’t be wearing.
Another gem I discover from the Big Apple is a harmonica-playing solo acoustic artist named Dave Golden over at The Courtyard Café. Wearing a cowboy hat and gruff beard, he asks: “How many of you like Country music?” Silence. “Uh oh” is his reply. But once he gets going, he’s playing fast enough to hang with Dave Matthews’ buddy Tim Reynolds. Golden is burning up his guitar while playing the harmonica simultaneously. And with this I have to award him the best musician I’ve seen all weekend. Lyrically, imagine Neil Diamond and Bruce Springsteen singing a country duet together. The crowd really likes his anecdotes between songs as it’s similar to an episode of VH1 Storytellers. A cover of Johnny Cash’s “Long Black Veil” and the fact that this guy has me liking country music tonight makes him absolutely aces!
A note to the band NYCSmoke and too many pop bands out there like them: The Goo Goo Dolls are a disgrace to the word music. And look up the word “ORIGINAL” in the Dictionary some time.
At Mr. Pitiful’s I plop down on a cozy couch next to a blatantly lesbian punk chick wearing knee-high socks that say “Bad Mother Fucker” on them. I believe it. Roger Hoover and the Whiskeyhounds have a great guitar player with crafty cuts and a penchant for the wah-wah, but they’re just your basic working man’s roots band. It fits well with this crowd of thirty-somethings, though, who give them loads of attention.
Goose plays to a packed house at Coopers on Main, and like I said last year, this band is one of Cincinnati’s best-kept secrets. This unique venue has very tall ceilings, mesmerizing art on the walls and a massive, old saloon-style bar mantle. Goose is a tough act to follow, and the acoustic stylings of Michael Jantz and friend just can’t get it done. First, many people leave after Goose performs. But even Jantz and friend’s expansive percussion (with pieces I’m not educated enough on to name), nor a cover of Stealers Wheel’s “Stuck in the Middle With You” can motivate this crowd.
Five bucks a can for Red Bull at Jekyll and Hyde’s?? Luckily, three short guys in orange prison jumpsuits from Indianapolis quickly put me in a good mood again. The Fuglees have the best band name I’ve heard all weekend and with opening lyrics of “We’re bad-ass like James Brown,” I know I’m in for a laughable treat. Drummer Tommy Fuglee appears to have snorted a pound of coke before this set and these guys are spitting out so many funny lyrics, my pen can’t keep up. When they’re not making fun of 80s metal, they sorta sound like Nerf Herder. The Fuglees are a band that will never be a house-hold name, but they are possibly the most amusing band I’ve ever seen and I’d love to see them again sometime.
All anyone has talked about all weekend is the all-girl Japanese punk band GitoGito Hustler who will be closing the show at Alchemize tonight. Though this doesn’t interest me much, I decide to go see what the hype is about. Sweet Jeeebus! The line to get in is out the door, down the street and around the corner. There is no way I’m waiting for this, so I decide to call it a festival. Besides, I’ll put my money on the fact that half the crowd is just guys preparing to use lines like: “Me John. Want to learn Shocker?” Hopefully, another Randomvillain is there to report. Otherwise, somewhere in Europe, a Sheep Herder shall weep.
The only negative thing that comes to mind about the festival was including The Viper Room among the venues (it’s half-way across town), which was not a good decision. Even though a shuttle would take people there (if you knew about it), it’s just too far and I avoided every show there for that reason. If I go all the way over there and don’t like a band immediately, I’m screwed because I’m a long way from the Main Street action.
Other than that I think the festival was once again a complete success. Cheers to the MidPoint Music Festival crew from head to toe for their efforts. MPMF puts Cincinnati on the indie music map and I’m proud to have all of this activity in my front yard. This helps out many musicians in more ways than most people can understand. And if you are a music lover like myself, there is no better music event in the Midwest, and perhaps one day there will be no better music event in the country.
A re-cap of my Top 5 favorite performances of the weekend:
And my “Best New Find (to me) of 2005” award goes to:
Honorable mentions: Kevin Shima, The Nite Lights, Captain of Industry, Medic, The Rockwells, and The Fuglees.
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