Well boys and ladies, The list for the 2012 Blowout list has arrived. Is there anyone missing from the list you would have liked to have seen? Leave your response in the comments!

Amoebas, Amy Gore & Her Valentines, Artificial Agent, Audiological, Bad Party, Bars of Gold, Beast in the Field, Beekeepers, Before Pictures, The Beggars, Belle Ghoul, Benthos, Betty Cooper, Black Jake & The Carnies, The Blackman, Body Holographic, Butter Made Records All-Stars, Butterwolf, Charlie Slick and Thunda Clap, Chaw!!, Child Bite, Citizen, Zero, City Love, Cold Men Young, Congress, Cosmic Light Shapes, Crochetcatpause, The Crooks, Danny & The Darleans, Desolation Angels, Detroit 442, The Detroit Pleasure Society, The Dirtbombs, DJ Eric Allen, Doop & The Inside Outlaws, Duane the Teenage Weirdo, Dutch Pink, Electric Fire Babies, Electric Lions, Esquire, Estuaries, The Eyer Department, Factory Girls, Fake Surfers, Fawn, Ferndale Acid Scene, Flashclash, The Freewheelin’ Jordan Zielke, The Fresh Tones, Frustrations, Fur, The Furious Styles, Future Slang, The Garden Party, G.D. McIntosh, Ghoulie, Golden Torso, The Good Things, Growwing Pains, Heartbreak Dallas and the Unfaithfuls, The Henchmen, Hordes, The Hounds Below, house Phone, Human Eye, Illy Mack, Instant Party, Italian Picture Factory, Jeecy & The Jungle, Jesse and the Gnome, Johnny Headband, Joint Chiefs of Detroit, The Juilets, Katie Grace, Keep on Trash DJs, Kenny Tudrick, The Kickstand Band, K.I.D.S., Lawless Carver, Le Ren, Leaves of Red, Legendary Creatures, Lettercamp, Lighting Love, Lizzerd, Looking Up at Down, Lord Scrummage, Maria Rose and the Swiss Kicks, Mass Solo Revolt, Matt Jones & The Reconstruction, Me & The Ghost, Michigan Kids, Mick Bassett & The Marthas, Misty Lyn & The Big Beautiful, Monsieur Guillaume & His Zydeco Hepcats, The Muggs, Mumble, The Mythics, Nobody’s Business, Oblisk, old Empire, Ozenza, Passalacqua, Patrick Davy & The Ghosts, The People’s Temple, Pewter Cub, Phantasmagoria, Phantom Cats, Pink Lightning, The Polish Muslims, Poor Player, Precious Few, The Prime Ministers, Project Fleshwound, Pupils, The Q, Qualia, Rai Knight, The Raw Dealers, The Real Spicolis, Ricky Rat, RLK & V, Robin Goodfellow, Ryan Dillaha, Ryan Racine & Gas for Less, Sex Police, The Sights, The Sin-Bads, Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor, Six and the Sevens, Skinny Wrists, The Skye Thomas Experience, Slaves to the Pavement, Smoke AKA The Black Cal Ripkin, Snoil, Societe Moon, Songs From The Moon, Sros Lords, Superbomb, String of Ponies, Sugarcoats, The Summer Pledge, Thumbs Up, Timothy Monger State Park, Troy Gregory, Twine Time, The Vatican, The Walking Beat, Warhorses, Water Cops, Waxgordon, Wells, Wilson, The Wrong Numbers, Zombie Jesus & The Chocolate SUnshine Band

Photos "taken" by Ethan Milner

Live music has a way of re-contextualizing its performer.  An example that comes to mind is the “art-metal” outfit Kylesa, who so cunningly convince of their talent by way of excellent recorded production value.  See them once live, however, and marvel at your newfound respect for engineering and production.  Live performance is another beast entirely.

Thus I was apprehensive about what I should expect from a Cass McCombs live show.  McCombs has a strong output of recorded work, including the very complete album Catacombs.  His other records, however, tend to have a few standout tracks but a lot of imbalance, his most recent effort Humor Risk being a prime example.  Would he play a great set incorporating “the hits,” or deliver a recalcitrant one of only new material?  Could McCombs pull off that sneaky falsetto on “County Line?”  Would he play “I Went to the Hospital?”  Would the fireman’s ball in the Crofoot Ballroom spill over and turn the show into a bacchanalian feast of untold ecstasies? So many questions!

Luckily, seeing a show at Pontiac’s Pike Room is rarely a wasted trip, even if the bands aren’t so good.  Nearly every show I’ve seen at the Crofoot complex has sounded stellar, and this one was no exception.  

You guys all love cassettes right? You must, because it seems like there’s a ton of them being put out right now. I do know that I love House Phone and I may have to go buy a $100 car so I can listen in style…. Oh, but if you buy the tape from bandcamp you get the mp3s too… so, everyone wins (except that one lone guy shouting how great cds are).

Don’t forget about the release party either!

The man who once said “I want to be famous for falling in love,” comes into Pontiac hot.  Two albums in 2011 found McCombs at a prolific pace, expressing and exploring the many spaces songwriting can go.  His record Wit’s End added soulful, dark touches to his oeuvre.  He followed this with late-year release Humor

Photo by Sandy Kim

Risk, which his press packet claims is ”an attempt at laughter instead of confusion, chaos instead of morality, or, as fellow Northern Californian Jack London said, “I would rather be ashes than dust!”  Sure it is!

What you, reader, must know, is that McCombs is an artist that has continued to grow, to mature musically over the years.  Wit’s End breaks out with a dashing falsetto for Pete’s sake!  Layer beneath that a sense of lyricism clearly influenced by Pop music’s geniuses, from the emotional accuracy of Cohen to the witty beauty of David Berman, and a comfort for experimentation, and you’ll begin to approximate McCombs.  If you think I’m hyperbolizing, check out the lyric video for his outstanding track “I Went To the Hospital.” 

McCombs comes to Pontiac’s Pike Room January 28th.  Doors at 8, show is $10.

10 BANDS. EACH DOING 2 SETS ROUND ROBIN ON 2 ALTERNATING STAGES IN THE SPIRIT OF THAT SENTIMENT.

BARS OF GOLD vs. DUENDE! vs. ELECTRIC LIONS vs. FERNDALE ACID SCENE vs. THE HIGH STRUNG vs. JOEY AND THE TRAITORS vs. LIZERRD vs. PASSALACQUA vs. PHANTOM CATS vs. RUINERS vs. YOU!

DOORS 8PM SHOWTIME 9PM COVER $7.00

Sounds like an awesome show (it must be awesome, it’s in all caps). My only beef is that Bars of Gold is first, and I’m always late to everything. Besides Joey and the Traitors (I have no clue who this band is), I can honestly say that every one of these bands is worth paying $7 solo for.