This weekend in Rock
Both Friday and Saturday's Donewaiting.com Fifth Anniversary shows were pretty much great from start to finish. Here's my highlights, in no particular order:
- The collaboration between Blueprint and Brainbow was nothing short of epic. I'm no expert in rap-rock collaborations, but this was easily the best one I've ever heard. Brainbow's usually outstanding on their own, but they totally jived with Blueprint last night. There was a high level of electricity there through the whole set, and even though everything sounded spontaneous and fresh, you could tell that all involved put in a good deal of effort to make this work so well. It was billed as a one-time only thing, but if these two ever get together again, I'm there.
- El Jesus de Magico really shined on Saturday night as well. Every El Jesus record is great, and this set put everyone on notice that they're getting better. I dug seeing Jon hold court on the high stage at Skully's. I'm looking forward to seeing them as they start to play out with more frequency in the coming months, and I'm betting their new record will be a keeper as well.
- I though the Sinkane set took the biscuit for the Friday night slate at Carabar, which was excellent from start to finish. This was my first opportunity to listen to Sinkane, and I was blown away. I'm always a sucker for the 3+ guitar lineup, and this ensemble took that to great heights. There was noise, there was beauty, there were controlled freakouts. A record is supposed to be out this Spring -- add it to the growing list of must-hear's.
- This Moment in Black History got Carabar jumping in ways I'd never seen before. This was my first time seeing TMIBH live (actually, it was my first time seeing all the bands that played Friday night), and while I've always dug the records, the live set took it to the next proverbial level. I respect how these guys acknowledge their NE Ohio predecessors -- they've recorded covers of Devo, Easter Monkeys, and Spike In Vain (all personal faves) -- and how they're able to fit so much substance into such a rockin' package.
- Grave Blankets rocked. High energy jams from start to finish. This is another one I feel stupid for having never caught before (though I have heard one of their 7"s).
All in all, I can't believe we only had to pay $5 in cover charges to catch these two nights of top-shelf Ohio music. Cheers to Donewaiting and all involved in putting on these shows.
