Why wait until Friday morning to call in sick? Before the festival begins in earnest on Thursday night in Hamtramck, Metro Times takes over the Majestic Theatre Center on the night of Wednesday, March 7, for the official Blowout X launch party. Blowout wristbands purchased online can be picked up beginning at 8 p.m. at the box office in the Majestic Theatre lobby. At the same time, next door in the Garden Bowl, the Dorkwave crew will be gearing up, taking their protein pills and putting their helmets on, or however it is that they prepare for a night of sweaty-thumbed beat matching. After wristbands are in place, most people will buy their first beer of the next four days and mutter a silent prayer to ward off a.m. beer sweats. Figure in a slice of pizza and a few "I haven't see you since last Blowout ..." conversations, and it'll be time for the live music to start.
Washtenaw County indie pop heroes Great Lakes Myth Society kick things off in the Majestic Theatre at 10 p.m. They're literate, with big mitten-specific themes and dark, sardonic humor in lines that sing like mellowing, aged parchment between two fingers. But their hooks will bounce between your ears for days afterward too. As the boys in GLMS make their way offstage, it'll be everyone's favorite coed max R&B trio, the Hard Lessons. We picked 'em as Blowout cover stars two years ago because we knew they'd be huge; apparently, you guys know it now too. Expect scissor kicks, batted eyelashes and stomping feet. And that's just from Augie.
By midnight in the Majestic, it'll be time for Adult. The veteran electro and dance-punk duo are part of our Blowout X cover package, and rightly so, with a new album dropping at the end of this month and a black Mylar bag full of mechanized tricks to push your pleasantly soused self into pants-off dance-off mode.
And that's just one room.
While the Majestic is shuddering from so much genre diversity on one stage and the Garden Bowl has turned into a Disco 666 inferno, the Magic Stick will host its own rock 'n' roll throwdown. (Remember, all of this, plus the drunken kingdom of Hamtramck, is yours with the purchase of a Blowout wristband. $20? You spend that in a week on downloadable porn.) The Magic Stick's launch party lineup includes Ann Arbor's Satin Peaches at 10:15 p.m. Recently signed to a fancy major label, but still rolling out that wobbly pop pushcart of 1960s pop and garage rock influences, the Peaches are sure to make you happy you combed your hair.
And the hits just keep on coming.
The Silent Years are another bunch of local fellows who've recently joined the ranks of the major schmables, with a self-titled 2006 release that blends Radiohead's pathos with the breezy oddness of contemporary indie rock (think Ted Leo).
And, hey, if that's heavy enough for you, cool it. Because just after midnight strikes in the Magic Stick, it'll be time for the ugliest band in the world, the Muggs. You've seen 'em before? So what? What's wrong with another ride on a roller coaster with Joe Walsh out front and Leslie West riding shotgun?
Wednesday, March 7, at Majestic Theatre Center, 4140 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-833-9700. Send comments to [email protected]
