In our second installment of X Box, we look at a few more artists performing at this year's event, and also the central dynamic of Blowout's 10th year — letting the lineups reflect the diversity and disparate styles in local music. Here are a few more quick hits leading up to our official Blowout preview issue. —Johnny Loftus
Maren Coleman
myspace.com/marencoleman
Do lullabies ever fail to enchant? On Pretty Mess, her full-length debut, Detroit singer-songwriter Maren Coleman wraps her lullaby in her sweetest indoor voice. And, accompanied as it is by her gentle finger-picking on an acoustic guitar, you could drift off. But Coleman's not singing to a baby. There's steely resolution behind her words; it's a lullaby, but it might also be a last hope.
At 9 p.m., March 9, Knights of Columbus 2.
Mazinga and Black Bottom Collective
myspace.com/xmazingax
blackbottomcollective.com
(Relatively) recently reconstituted and still totally balls-out, Mazinga puts the hurt on. We promise the Ann Arbor combo's Carbon Lounge slot will be exactly like an all-ages punk show in your friend Dave's basement, only it's 21-and-over, it's at a bar, and Mazinga shares the bill with Black Bottom Collective. Rowdy punk revivalism meets hip-hop and soul vitality? Variety is the dynamic for Blowout X, because that's how we all listen to music in 2007. Go ahead, check your iPod. Track by track, it's variety we're craving. As BBC says in "Stuck on Before," everyone's out here just trying to get over.
At 10:15 and 11:30 p.m., March 9, Carbon Lounge.
Desolation Angels
myspace.com/desolationangelsdetroit
Social Distortion shouts from the bottom of a glass whenever Desolation Angels play. Thing is, between "Stuck Here With You" and "Kansas" (both from 2005's High in Third Gear), this Detroit trio has forged Social D's angry youth with the Jack-soaked country tributes of Mike Ness's later solo career. That's a volatile combination in a live setting, especially as the closing act for a Friday night that bleeds into Saturday faster than you can say "my liver hurts." What would Kerouac do?
At 12:45, March 9, Jean's.
Johnny Loftus is the music editor of Metro Times. Send comments to [email protected]
