Chemical Reactions

It is altogether exciting, inspiring... and just unnerving...

Well, mostly those first two.

You have to ignore certain impulses when it comes to the Metro Times Blowout in Hamtramck - those being the, yes, unnerving voices in your head incessantly tapping your shoulder or tugging your coat tail to say: There's something awesome going on at the bar down the street and you're missing it...

Those impulses never fail to ignore the fact that you're actually witnessing something awesome at the very bar you're at at that very moment. Everybody take a breath, and don't bemoan that one cannot be at all places where the truly astounding display of human creativity and visceral (primal) expression is exploding into being...
just celebrate that this is happening... And, as I always do with my naive, probably romantic, and maybe still overly wide-eyed way...I like to appreciate that this simultaneous sprouting of inspirado-shouts! (like the one pictured above) swell and burst out from the shared heat of each band's respective activity... a cacophonous chemical reaction -through music.

Night 2:
Ferndale Library (First Stop Friday) - Sheefy McFly & the Delorean - funk, rap and punk rock sutured into an impressive blend; raw and undeniable

Paychecks - Phantasmagoria - not merely one of my top 6 favorite words ever, but also an engaging, inventive and captivating duo that pound the earthiness of bongos, bass drums and maracas down upon bewitching synthesizer grooves and winsome vocals; intricately layered synth effects from buzzing bass, plodding chymes, glitchy tap bursts and atmospheric fuzz roars - its melodies and hooks are potent enough, but they keep it subtle, showing already a keen sense for sonic structure.

Jean's - Bad Indian - just fell in love with that fiery fender's snaky tirades! Pure psyche pop done up right - tumbling drums keep it rolling and coarse guitars manage to coax with their subdued strumming hooks.

U-Haul (outside Smalls) - White Shag - funk-ified, slightly metal-grimed, and psyche-flumed rawk n roll.

G of C Hall - Matt Jones & the Reconstruction - I've somehow wound up at a Matt Jones set every Blowout... but last nite might've been the best set yet... The Reconstruction are formidably galvanizing the Ypsi/Arbor folk troubadors latest writings

Smalls - Bars of Gold - I never miss Bars of Gold. Need I say more?

Kelly's - Carjack - packed...which meant a lot of people got up close and personal with the electro-punk and his robots. A few new cuts -+ cameo freestyling duet with Steve Polio and some live drums from EFB's Miss N.

G of C Hall - Kickstand Band - This band's got it together. Surfy indie-pop that revives the toe-tapping, boisterous shimmy of early rock n roll.

...and then the camera's battery died.