Motor City Rocks » andrewdisplay

PJ's LAGER HOUSE 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

andrewdisplay — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:17:09 +0000

Friday night is PJ’s Lager House 2 year anniversary halloweeny celebration! With cover sets (complete with costumes) by:

DEVO

THE FALLING SPIKES (The Velvet Underground)

THE GARBAGEMEN (The Cramps)

MODERN LOVERS

rAMoneZ

SHE-REX (all femme T-Rex)

SUICIDE

THE STOOGES

These bands feature Detroit all-stars from their real bands like…

Body Holographic
Boogaloosa Prayer
Charlie Slick
Danjee Flesh Nation
The Decks
The Hentchmen
The Displays
The Johnny Ill Band
Kommie Kilpatrick
Lee Marvin Computer Arm
Silverghost
The Sugarcoats
Timmy’s Organism
Woodman

& More!

andrewdisplay

Rock Lottery Teams

andrewdisplay — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 04:07:21 +0000

Here’s the Rock Lottery bands, enjoy.

Loretta Lucas Dave Graw
Bill Kozy Erik Mushy
Chad Gilchrist Stevie
Dave Vaughn Matt Becker

Al Sherman Nick (Millions Of Brazillions)
Dave Feeney Amado
Craig Mahonie Marcie Bolan
Adam Davis Mike Trombley

Delano Ko Melina
Alia Jeff Thomas
Leslie Hardy Zack Weedon
Julian Spradlin Ben Luckett

Jarrod Champion Danny Kroha
Tony Vegas Corey Weedon
Tony Romeo Brandon White
Billy West Jeff Klien

Liz Isakson Amy Gore
Eddie Baranek Jamie Dido
Andrew Hecker Jake Culkowski
Ryan Allen Ben Moore

Virginia Steve Snitch
Frank Woodman Steve Shaw
Matt Hatch Matt Van
Todd McNulty Eugene Strobe

Randy Deastro Steve Nawara
Dale Beavers Chris Koltay
Dale Wilson Scotty Hagen
Scott Michalski Vince Mazzola

Kevin American
Troy Gregory
Andy
Hickner

andrewdisplay

Michigan Central Station To Be Demolished

andrewdisplay — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 22:27:22 +0000

The Michigan Central Station, or “the abandoned train station”, or “the coolest abandoned building ever”, is set to be demolished.

The building was built in 1913, designed by the same bunch who did the New York Grand Central Station. It was added to the National Register Of Historic Places in 1975, later abandoned in 88′. Since then it has been a great sight to see in the Corktown area, and cool enough to be in a handful of films, most recently Transformers.

But, apparently Detroit City Council (which has just been doing a bang up job recently!) has decided the building, as Councilwoman Barbara-Rose Collins put it, has “been an eyesore for too long.”

I think me & City Council have a different idea of what’s an eyesore, if this, one of the coolest buildings in the city, is an eyesore, what’s Monica Conyers? Zing.

Perhaps it’s all part of a plot of the Detroit City Council to destroy all of the cool abandoned buildings in Corktown, They already have most of old Tigers Stadium, I highly doubt anything will be successfully put up in its place, and now the train station, and well, that’s pretty much most of it for cool abandoned buildings in Corktown. Bastards.

It will reportedly cost $3.6 million that is not being spent to fix all of the pot holes, but rather destroy this “eyesore”. Though Cockrel has claimed they will try to pursue reimbursement from owner Matty Moroun, who Detour has best described as “a tiny, hairy penis.”

Jasper already pointed out how Detroit Police foiled National Pillow Fight Day, add that to the destruction of this building, among other things, and everything pretty much points in the direction of them being responsible for the weather these past two days? We’re through the looking glass here people.

They want to move quickly in the destruction of the train station, so break in and steal something or take a picture on top of it while you can.

Yes, I am aware that Jay has wrote “I am waiting for the suburban kids to go ‘OUTRAGE’ on this one.” So don’t bother pointing that one out.

andrewdisplay

BLOWOUT STUFF & NEW DETOUR

andrewdisplay — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 18:32:41 +0000

A little behind schedule but here are my Blowout picks for the rest of the week…

Thursday:

Somehow it worked out that on Thursday the bands that I most want to see are all playing at the same time, great..

The Decks – 11:20 @ Paychecks — Great Pop-Garage melodies that will get stuck in your head over and over, but now you can buy their new CD (finally) so you can keep listening to them hits.

The Dial Tones – 11:40 @ Kelly’s Bar — Fast, spastic, hip shaking, foot tapping, high energy, garage/punk jams. Sounds good to me.

Beard Of Bees – 11:40 @ Bakers Streetcar — Brandon White. Psych-Rock. What more do I need to say? Oh, and this will be their 2nd to last show for a while, so catch em’ now.

Timmy’s Organism – 12:00 @ The Belmont — Anything with Timmy Vulgar is bound to be a good time. I saw these guys at the Jim Shaw Fundraiser and they blew me away, I’m sure they will be nothing less then this at Blowout.

Friday:

Woodman – 9:40 @ Paychecks — Family Folk Rock, in a good way. Detour had it right when they called Frank the best dressed dad in Detroit.

Battling Siki – 10:20 @ Atlas Bar — I’ve always liked seeing this band, go see em’ at Blowout. And call Eddie Baranek an old man for not going to pre-party because he had to “rest”.

Terrible Twos – 11:00 @ KofC Hall — Always a fun & wild set from the town’s favorite punks. Has a Terrible Two’s show ever disappointed? No.

Scarlet Oaks – 11:20 @ Painted Lady — Alt-gothic-Country/Folk Rock, if you don’t already know how great this band is. Always a safe bet for a good show.

Four Hour Friends – 11:20 @ Atlas Bar — If you’re like me, or Neil Miller, you’ve been dying for another Four Hour Friends Show for a while now. Last time I tried to see them at Blowout, the bar was some odd number over capacity, get there before it fills up again.

Lee Marvin Computer Arm – 12:00 @ KofC Hall — These guys are always a blast, Im sure their set will be nothing short of un-be-fucking-lievably-amazing.

The Dirtbombs – 1:00 @ KofC Hall —C’mon, it’s The Dirtbombs.

Saturday:

The Displays – 9:20 @ KofC Lounge — I know I’ll be there.

Gardens – 10:00 @ KofC Hall — Fast, high energy, highly danceable lo-fi garage/avant- garde amazingness. Be sure to pick up their new 45 too.

Sisters Lucas – 10:20 @ KofC Lounge — Beautiful psychedelic folk tunes.

Magic Shop – 11:00 @ KofC Hall — Foot stomping Garage with a countryesque feel. There set’s are always magical.

Gorevette – 11:20 @ KofC Lounge — Nikki Corevette + Gore, the towns newest supergroup of sorts.

Readies – 12:00 @ KofC Hall — This band is so tight right now, if you haven’t seen them recently, go see them! If you have seen them recently I know you’re going to see them again.

Carjack – 12:20 @ Kof C Lounge — Caarrjaaak, I haven’t seem him in like a year, Electric Firebabies were good last night, I’m sure Carjack will be good Saturday.

The Detroit Cobras – 1:00 @ KofC Hall — C’mon, it’s The Detroit Cobras.

Also, in un-blowout news, Detour-Mag is back on the web after some blog-hiatus for a while. They re-launched earlier this week, new writers, new site, you should check it out. No word on when the Detour Re-launch Party will be, but you can just pester Anthony about it every time you see him (like I do).

They also have Blowout picks, and Johnny Loftus is back in town and will be doing daily Blowout updates on the site, which will put my half-assed blowout reviews to shame im sure.

andrewdisplay

Concert Review: The Readies @ Lager House

andrewdisplay — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 03:25:31 +0000

The Lager House had a real solid lineup last night. A fantastic time all around, 3 amazing bands, a really great night for Detroit music.

I always seem to forget how good of a band Scarlet Oaks is until I see them play again. Then it’s like, whow, that’s right, these guys are outstanding. Ever since the addition of their new guitar player they have been better and better every time I see them. The rock-almost gothic-country wonders that are Scarlet Oaks never disappoint. If you haven’t bought their amazing EP; Innocence Isn’t Easy, yet then what are you waiting for? Buy it next time you see them so you can awe at Steve’s cool homemade merch table, or buy it from the Bellyache Candy Shoppe.

This was my first time seeing Sugarcoats, and I was blown away. I expected them to be great, all cool dudes, all good musicians, but I was totally not prepared for how great they were. Dirty blues/country/garage rock, a powerful foot stomping machine. Think like a super-charged ‘Hotel Yorba’-ish kinda deal. “Abbey Road on steroids” a sweaty Frank Woodman insisted on having me write.

The Readies were the best I’ve ever seen them, it’s so good to see this band back. Zach has all the rock star moves down from touring with The Dirtbombs, Danny IS a rock star, and Ben’s one of the best drummers in town. A real solid rock & roll band, just straight up in your face rock & roll. Soulful, hip-shaking, catchy tunes, what more could you ask for?In case they go on a hiatus again, be sure to catch them next chance you get; at Blowout or at 25 Years Of Rock & Bowl Party, on the lanes @ the Garden Bowl w/ Magic Shop and The Displays… or go to both because, wow, this band is great.

andrewdisplay

Concert Review: Jim Shaw Benefit

andrewdisplay — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 21:12:40 +0000

The town came out last night to help out one of their own, and when I say town, I do mean the whole town. The Stick sold out numerous times, I was told something around 800 people were in and out. I’ve seen some shitty benefits, where you kind of feel bad about how weak it is. This was the opposite, this is how you put on a benefit show! Well I guess it only figures, since Eve Doster put it together. It kind of did feel like the blowout pre-party, though, as everyone one was there.

C-Pop was amazing. I placed my measly, all I had on me, $10 bid down on something. But bidding shot up on everything. Last I heard, Meg’s drum set was somewhere around six thousand bucks. It was really nice seeing Detroiters out so early, bidding so generously. Great 8 Meteorologist Neal Chamblice & Live 5 Weatherman Dean Lyman took a break from hosting sounds an spirits to MC C-Pop, they even had Meg White serving drinks.

There was a huddled ”line” of people standing around the stairs at 8, waiting to head up, and it filled up quick. The MC5/Stooges footage was amazing, so high energy, it was great seeing the already hundreds of people in the Magic Stick with their heads jerked up at the screen, in awe of the 2 detroit legends in action.

The Fondas kicked off the night, they were good. No, they were great. That’s really all their is to say. They had the 2 stages set up in there, which is always cool. The Go were sitting down and did 2 mellower songs. I assume those were the ones off of their new 7″. It was cool, I think they did a song in french.

Gardens satisfied my high energy craving I’d had since watching the MC5 footage. Im bummed my band has the competing time slot with Gardens at KofC for Blowout, they’re in the hall, we’re in the lounge. Im bummed because 1) Im gonna miss their show, and 2) They’re amazing! We’re up against them?!

Timmy’s Organism played in place of Human Eye, but were just as good. Even in a short 20 minute set Timmy Vulgar can find time to light off some fireworks on stage. It was my first time seeing this band, they were great, same with Tyvek. I have a demo of theirs, it’s really good, but live they’re so much better. An almost awkward vocal with heavy beats and hypnotizing riffs behind it.

Here’s where my first of only 2 complaints is, the sound. Now, don’t get me wrong, the sound was good, for the big stage. Small stage was pretty good too, mostly. There was one PA speaker that had been cutting out on occasion. And it decided to fully stop working for The Smashed Windows, I feel like the sound guys could have handled this one better. Anyways, besides technical problems, Smashed Windows were really good. They’ve gotten a lot better since the last time I saw them. Rough, fast, punk-garage tunes.

I was happy to see the sound guys frantically working on the small stage while Greg Cartwright was playing, as it seemed they didn’t really give a damn while the Smashed Windows were playing. But despite there (efforts?) the sound for The Dial Tones was awful. However The Dial Tones still managed to be really really good. I couldn’t hear any vocals, but I still really enjoyed it (I’ve been wanting to see these guys for a while). Fast, groovy, garage-punk, did I mention there’s a Farfisa involved?

Second complaint: The 12 people there who like to mosh got pretty annoying. Learn how to dance, or to a lesser extent, learn how to mosh. Maybe more pogoing and less pushing this poor old man down on the ground and spilling beer all over me.

If you’ve ever seen Dan Kroha live solo, you know how cool it is. The one string instruments and such. I didn’t catch much of his set, though. Got a little tired, maybe because I was there since 1pm.

All in all it was a GREAT show, for a great cause. What a great community of people, you can count on them to rally together, to help one of their own. Great! I expect more benefits, the fight has just begun! And Jim & Sandy are ready to fight this thing. Last night they kicked it in its balls and showed it what they’re made of. All the best to ya Jim, get well soon.

andrewdisplay

Weekend Lowdown: January 22, 2009

andrewdisplay — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:07:26 +0000

Thursday:

(01/22): Satin Peaches, Silent Years @ Blind Pig

(01/22): Electric Fire Babies, Marco Polio, The Hotwalls (Free Show) @ Garden Bowl

Friday:

(01/23): Mick Bassett & The Marthas, Croff Family Band, Farewell Republic @ Belmont

(01/23): Starling Electrc, Great Lakes Myth Society, Lighting Love @ Blind Pig

(01/23): I, Crime, Scarlet Oaks, The Displays @ Lager House

(01/23): Vamps, Battling Siki @ Corktown Tavern

(01/23): The Hard Lessons, Carjack, Joey & The Traitors @ The Factory

Saturday:

(01/24): The Pounders, The Wall Cloks, Ziffelz @ Corktown Tavern

(01/24): Friendly Foes, Allan James & The Cold Wave, Daniel Johnson @ Berkley Front

(01/24): Divine Comedians (ex-dollfaces), The Darts, Kommie Kilpatrick @ Belmont

andrewdisplay

Concert Review: Cut In The Hill Gang @ Lager House

andrewdisplay — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 07:44:00 +0000

Last night at the Lager House I spent all night thinking about whether I should do a review of the show. At first I thought, nah. I’m lazy like that, but as the night progressed I eased into it a little more. It got better and better every minute, until the moment I knew I had to tell everyone about this night.

Since my ride was with the sound guy, I got there at 7:30, the first one there. I think there were seven people there by 9. Kind of weak crowd the whole night, even when it picked up. But this may have made the night a little more special, for what was to come.

Dooley Wilson went on first, I forgot how good this guy is. He played Cityfest back (2 years?) ago, I remember Stirling introducing him as “The best slide guitar player in town”. Don’t ask me how I remember that. But I totally agree with Stirling on this one, the guy’s phenomenal. Just one guy and a guitar, playin’ the blues, check him out when you can. It was at this point that I first thought about reviewing the show, a good start to the night, I could talk about how awesome this guy is.

The Skies Above surprised me, I saw them back on Halloween, as The Haunted Beat Band, and thought, yeah, they’re good. But the band I saw last night was a million times better. Any band gets better with some practice, even the Detroit rock vets. I now feel totally ok with calling them a supergroup. Go songs played not quite like The Go, Readies songs played not quite like The Readies, and some originals, of course. Key jam; the 7 minute version of “Down A Spiral”. So now my thought was, ok, this is going on the site… if I have time, and don’t forget/blow it off.

If you haven’t seen Cut In The Hill Gang yet, you’re missing out, big time. Johnny Walker’s new project blew me/everybody away last night. Ripping threw a set of originals and old Soledad covers, they bring a powerful stage presence and even more powerful tunes.

Now here’s where things got to the point where I knew I had to write this review.

Their was something in the air, things got from being amazing to being legendary. As Johnny’s amp began to squeal and technical problems were popping up, Jack White jumped on stage to assist with the amp troubles, then jamming on the guitar while Johnny went into a harmonica solo. Danny Dollrod jumped up and grabbed the microphone, and Alison from The Kills hopped up and began dancing, followed by a few others, including myself. Frank Woodman began playing washboard at some point as well. The feeling in the room was unbelievable, I left the bar thinking “Did that just happen?”

(Jack/Danny photo by Carl Hoff)

andrewdisplay

You Know Why They Call Him Red Eye?

andrewdisplay — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 14:50:00 +0000

So it turns out, Greg Gutfeld, the man who once said (when referring to Sarah Palin);

“She’s the anti-Obama, the anti-New York Times, the anti-everything that Tim Robbins Loves, which is why I love her – and you should too.

And if you disagree with me, then you sir are worse than Hitler.”

Is actually a big Electric Six fan, they’re better then “Nelson Mandela in the Jonas Brothers.” And Jasper has the full clip of Greg sitting down to talk to Dick Valentine about how truly awesome he is.

andrewdisplay

Concert Review: Lee Marvin Computer Arm

andrewdisplay — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 20:08:00 +0000

Holy shit! Last night the Lager House threw a hell of a Thanksgiving Eve Party. I’ve never seen the place as packed as it was last night. Now, granted, I haven’t been around that long, but from what I was told it’s been years since they’ve seen a crowd that size. Making walking from front row to the bar a 5 minute chore, and making the mens bathroom unisex. Shoulder to shoulder jam packed on both sides of the place. It seems like everyone was there, even Mr. Jack White, who stuck around the whole show. It’s a good feeling seeing so many people out in one place to hear some great music. Oh, and it was great music, it was some damn great music.

Magic Shop opened the 4 band bill with a powerful Garage, country, catchy as hell, tight set. Now they’ve always sounded fantastic, but after recent touring they have gotten so much better, which I didn’t think was possible. They got a brand new 45 out, which they sold out of last night, but they’ll have more soon, I advise you to grab one.

Gardens followed, also great. Every time I see this band I like them even more; fast, spastic,

garage/avant garde wonders, pure energy. They got a demo cd for sale, I bought one, but forgot to pick it up, which sucks. They’re hand made and I’m guessing in limited supply, so pick one up quick!

I didn’t catch much of the Terrible Twos set, I walked into the room too late and couldn’t make my way within 20 feet or so, but from what I caught on my tippy toes in the back was great. Their usual wild, fun set, they were on that night as well, brought their A-game for sure.

Lee Marvin Computer Arm definitely won the set-off between them and Terrible Twos, no question. They hit the stage and kicked all of our asses, they sounded great, AND, they got their shit together. A frenzy of dancing broke out from the Lee Marvin crowd, and the aggravating ass who got his kicks by slamming full force into everyone, almost killing the mood, was issued a bear hug by Ben Blackwell, nicely done. No one hesitated in fucking with the band by throwing beer cans at them, to which they threw them right back. So yeah, certainly the wilder set, and a perfect end to a great day for detroit music. Happy Thanksgiving, Detroit.