Call it the wonders of the internet. Years ago, if a band left a label to independently release their music, it was nothing short of career suicide, but not so much anymore. Take a group like the Las [...]]]>

Along with The Summer Set, The Cab hits the Crofoot Ballroom next Friday night.

Call it the wonders of the internet. Years ago, if a band left a label to independently release their music, it was nothing short of career suicide, but not so much anymore. Take a group like the Las Vegas band The Cab; who split with Fueled By Ramen/Decaydance last summer, quickly self released their second album, “Symphony Solider” in August. But with the band’s loyal fan base and wonders of the internet and getting your music out there, the guys in the Cab debuted at #62 upon the album’s release.

The Cab was founded in 2005 in the Vegas suburb of Henderson, when lead singer Alex DeLeon moved away from hardcore bands to find a bit more melodic side, founding the Can and watching the eye of Panic At The Disco, who helped the band get signed to Fueled by Ramen. After their debut, “Whisper War” almost cracked the Top 100 in 2008, the band enlisted such pop powerhouses as Adam Levine of Maroon 5 and Bruno Mars to help with the songwriting for “Solider”. With the material on the new album, it’s easy to see that the band captured a bit more power pop and shine to their music. Make sure to check out songs like “Bad” and “Grow Up And Be Kids” for some good examples of the band’s latest sound.

Being a veteran of the Warped Tour and AP Tour, the Cab aren’t wasting anytime getting back in the road in 2012. Along with fellow pop-punk band The Summer Set, the Cab started their “Everything’s Fine Symphony Solider” tour on January 14^th and runs through mid-February. But the two groups make sure to hit Detroit when they reach what should be a cold Pontiac when the bands hit the Crofoot Ballroom on Friday, February 3^rd for a night of catchy hooks and some easy going fun.

The Cab play at the Crofoot Ballroom on Friday, February 3^rd. Tickets are $14 and are available at www.ticketweb.com. Additional tour dates and band info can be found at www.thecabrock.com.

Longtime German industrial band KMFDM has been one of the forefathers of this particular type of music for a long, long time. With the exception of a three year hiatus from 1999 to 2002, the band has been kicking out [...]]]>

KMFDM brings their high energy industrial crunch to the Crofoot next Monday.

Longtime German industrial band KMFDM has been one of the forefathers of this particular type of music for a long, long time. With the exception of a three year hiatus from 1999 to 2002, the band has been kicking out their brand of high energy and big beats since the late 80’s. While many bands on the genre have faded away, or been relegated to playing small dumpy clubs, KMFDM remains to be one of the biggest luminaries of the industrial world.

After releasing a greatest hits and studio album back in 2008 and 2009, the band wasted no time starting on a new album. “WTF”, the group’s 17^th album, was released in late April and continued the band’s feverish pace up. The track “Rebels in Kontrol”, a track to show support for the much-maligned Wikileaks creator Julian Assange, seems to be gaining the most attention from the album so far. And in a non-so-conventional fashion, KMFDM took one of their former songs, 1990’s “Liebeslied” and redid it with Italian lyrics- hence creating the revamped semi-new track “Panzerfaust”. “WTF” shows the band once again forging edge with their signature sound and throwing the fans a few curveballs along the way.

The band is back out on the road in the States now, and plays shows here in the States through August 27^th before heading off to do dozens of dates in Europe. The midway point of the tour brings them to the Detroit area as KMFDM plays in Pontiac at the Crofoot Ballroom. Italian industrial duo Army of the University and 16 Volt open up the Pontiac show.

So, come see KMFDM in the only town where you’re guaranteed to not see any police (yep, Pontiac’s budget cuts took care of that) and have a good time listening to the new and classic KMFDM tracks.

KMFDM play at the Crofoot Ballroom on Monday, August 15^th. Tickets are $20 and are available at www.ticketweb.com. Additional tour dates and band info can be found at www.kmfdm.net.

Ok, I couldn’t fit the entire title of “There Is A Hell, Believe Me I’ve Seen It. There Is A Heaven, Let’s Keep It A Secret” into the header, so I shortened it up to make it [...]]]>

No matter how you feel about metalcore, BMTH has tried something different for the genre.

Ok, I couldn’t fit the entire title of “There Is A Hell, Believe Me I’ve Seen It. There Is A Heaven, Let’s Keep It A Secret” into the header, so I shortened it up to make it cleaner. But believe me when I think there is nothing clean and typical about the delivery of the sophomore album from the English metalcore upstarts. As it gets tougher to differentiate the bands in the metalcore genre and it descends into a screaming and riff contest, there are a few bands that are striking out towards something different.

Bring Me The Horizon had a few memorable cuts off their debut, “Suicide Season”, but you can tell the band is really going for broke with their second album. Starting with the metalcore epic “Crucify Me” (yes, there can actually be an epic metalcore song), the band has upped production values and have added a bit more orchestral material to the album, which might even give it it’s bite. The first single “It Never Ends” sounds far different than the sometimes monotonous tracks off their debut. Lead screamer Oli Sykes proves that there is some range in his vocals on this track, but metalcore faithful can be happy that he didn’t totally switch gears with the new songs- especially when hearing the track “F—“.

But even though Sykes proves in some cases that he is maturing as a singer, his sometime hoarse voice almost ruins a couple of songs- namely “Don’t Go” and “Blessed With A Curse”, with the latter where the serene moments are drowned out by the vocals. But you can tell that the band as a whole is coming together and the songs sound much tighter than before.

In a time when many metalcore bands are struggling to wiggle their way out of the pack of nameless bands, Bring Me The Horizon swings for the fences and succeeds for the most part, but I think it will be a while before the band has their Avenged Sevenfold-esque pilgrimage into the mainstream.

(Let’s say 3.5 stars out of 5.)

Go see Bring Me The Horizon live on Wednesday, October 13th at the Crofoot Ballroom. Tickets are $13 and are available at www.ticketweb.com.

Intentional or not, the title of the latest release from Beach House, Teen Dream, speaks directly to their core audience – young, dream-pop loving hipsters. A few hundred of those dreamers showed up at the Crofoot Ballroom in Pontiac to celebrate [...]]]>

Beach House made sure that the fans got priority over the photographers.

Intentional or not, the title of the latest release from Beach House, Teen Dream, speaks directly to their core audience – young, dream-pop loving hipsters. A few hundred of those dreamers showed up at the Crofoot Ballroom in Pontiac to celebrate this new album; one that is both consistent with their style while still showing a bit of diversity. “Lover of Mine” is a prime example of a track that fuses their signature slow-tempo indie-pop with hints of exploration in retro chick rock. The rest of the tracks blend well; they are cohesive, consistent, and especially listenable.

Performance wise, Beach House was as expected – no fireworks, blinding light shows, or organ smashing. However  it echoed loudly across a wide sterile space, Victoria Legrand’s voice can be both penetrating and haunting. Crowds sway accordingly.

Beach House has their act together, their album is rather wonderful and their performance, although modest in presentation, is perfectly appropriate.

(Pictures and review courtesy of Christian Spencer & Nicole Cummings. If you want to see more pictures from this show and others, check out www.flickr.com/photos/christian_nicole.)

As the snow finally begins to melt in Minneapolis (yeah, it usually takes a bit longer then the rest of the North to get warm), one of the city’s newest bands will make their way out on the road for most of the [...]]]>

One of them didnt get the memo to jump.

As the snow finally begins to melt in Minneapolis (yeah, it usually takes a bit longer then the rest of the North to get warm), one of the city’s newest bands will make their way out on the road for most of the spring and summer. Sick of Sarah is an all girl band that will excite young fans and definitely give older listeners a feeling of  flashback to the glory days of the alternative nation. Part indie rock, part punk, the band kicks out a boisterous brand of music that gave me visions of the Breeders back in the day (remember, I’m one of those “older listeners” that I just described).

Lead by singer Abisha Uhl, the band’s current self-titled album is spearheaded by songs like “Bittersweet” and “Paint Like That,” of which the latter now has a video up on YouTube. But, when the band is done touring in the early summer, the group plans on going into the studio and recording a new album with a release date tentatively set for late 2010.

Sick of Sarah has shows lined up through June, but a good chance to go and check them out would be this upcoming Monday, as the girls play the Vernors Room at the Crofoot Ballrom with Killola. If you are looking for a modern take on a classic alternative sound, check out Sick of Sarah when they head to your town.

Sick of Sarah comes to the Vernors Room at the Crofoot Ballroom this Monday (April 5^th). Tickets are $10 and are available at www.ticketweb.com. Additional tour dates and band info can be found at www.myspace.com/sickofsarah.

If there is one band that is going to see a lot of the Midwest in the next couple of weeks, it’s the Atlanta based band Holiday Parade. Along with a upcoming show at the Vernors Room at the Crofoot Ballroom this Friday, the [...]]]>

Hey Guys, you're about to miss your bus.

If there is one band that is going to see a lot of the Midwest in the next couple of weeks, it’s the Atlanta based band Holiday Parade. Along with a upcoming show at the Vernors Room at the Crofoot Ballroom this Friday, the band also plays Toledo and Lansing within the next two weeks.

Holiday Parade is touring in support of their new EP, Tickets & Passports (acoustic sessions) which just came out this past Tuesday (March 30^th). The six song EP is a entertaining and energetic effort, with songs like “Getaway” and “Slam Crunk” that will please fans of emo, pop-punk or whatever you want to call it this week.

With making their way into the Midwest, the band is pounding the pavement and its obvious that the guys know what they have to do in order to get the word out to fans about the band’s music. The band is starting update their blog at www.holidayparaderock.com, so you can get updates from the band out on the road.
But check out one of the newest entries into the rock world as Holiday Parade is sure to invade your town soon, no matter where you live.

Holiday Parade play the Vernors Room at the Crofoot Ballroom this Friday, April 2^nd. Tickets are $10 and are available at www.ticketweb.com. The band also has dates in Toledo and Lansing, so check www.myspace.com/holidayparade for information on those dates and additional band info.

Annie Clark and her band St. Vincent were planned to play at the cozy, 250 person Pike Room in Pontiac.  After selling out that venue, they were moved to the larger Eagle Theater. Their final home was the 1000 person Crofoot [...]]]>

St. Vincent's Annie Clark at their show at the Crofoot Ballroom.

Annie Clark and her band St. Vincent were planned to play at the cozy, 250 person Pike Room in Pontiac.  After selling out that venue, they were moved to the larger Eagle Theater. Their final home was the 1000 person Crofoot Ballroom, the largest concert venue in Pontiac that could accommodate the crowd. They’re exceeding expectations, to say the least.  St. Vincent is on tour promoting their 2009 release, “Actor”.  The second release for St. Vincent, Actor has a sad orchestral lullaby sort of sound mixed with evil machine distortion. This distinct interplay between soothing and hypnotic is what makes songs like Marrow such a treat.

After touring in China, St. Vincent will return to playing stateside Festivals including the Chicago Pitchfork Music Festival in July.

(Review and picture courtesy of Christian Spencer. For more photos of this show and others, check out www.flickr.com/photos/christian_nicole)