You know what the thing is about plans, Laura? They usually never work out anyway. Spent the weekend floating from show to show at the suggestion of others. Late start with CARJACK.’s dance party at Paycheck’s to catch him play guitar briefly with a toy robot. Bummed I missed The White Stripes cover. At Skipper’s, MC SelfSays rapped about oysters and fish sticks (unless that’s slang for something?). He then came up to everyone in the audience and thanked them personally for watching. I have never had that happen to me before (a seafood rap or personal thank-you from a musician, that is). Thursday ended with Superdollar’s set of drunken-yet-still-slick power pop.
More problems with plans- there's no Night Move shuttle from Ferndale to Hamtramck this year? Pity, I was really looking forward to riding the bus drunk. I did get to fulfill my fantasy later in Hamtramck, though, where The Night Move service was commendable, with a nice drunk, scenic ride through the Blowout circuit.
Started the night of music and drinking proper much earlier than Thursday with a Jägerbomb and The Juliets at Gates of Columbus. The licorice-y beverage went well with the Juliet’s sweet strings. I’m glad they have a record available now, and was even more excited that it’s a free download during Blowout weekend. Downed some beers between Paycheck’s, Kelly’s, and the Belmont before heading over to the New Dodge.
The New Dodge was filled to the brim with a crowd spilling out into the street to watch The Sights. Acoustics sounded good enough from the sidewalk while watching the band through the window (plus how often do you get to stand behind a drummer to watch him play?) but we did eventually squeeze our way into the venue.
The night ended with The Hard Lessons at their A game– I think they have really hit a stride. The songs from Arms Forest sounded great live, even when stripped of the added instrumentation and studio experimentation of the record (Which remains one of my favorite local releases of last year. And you have no excuse not to have given it a listen at this point, with it also being available as a free download from their website now).
I still smell like cigarettes and booze (and somehow I got a fat lip? Does anyone know how that happened?), but there’s still one more night left. And what a night! Saturday looks to be the grand finale, jam-packed with some of the best bands on the line-up. I still don’t have a plan. Maybe I’ll just wear my running shoes tonight.
