Monday, January 17, 2011
Rock / Hip-Hop / Jazz & Blues Dancing daze: Danielle's weekend recap
Posted by Danielle Look on Mon, Jan 17, 2011 at 11:25 AM
Check out the highlights from some of the local shows I caught last week. Were you there? Did you see or hear something I didn't? Leave your feedback in the comments!
WEDNESDAY
The Bread & Butter Crew have stepped up their game considerably since I last saw them in August (see: Bread & Butter Crew join local jam scene). The group took their live show to a new level Thursday night with creative costuming, the band's two percussionists dressed in white Buckethead-esque masks and matching Pacers jerseys. Blue and white Christmas lights decorated the tiny Melody Inn stage while the horn section (saxophone and trumpet) was pushed to the floor, those two drummers and the rest of the band having hogged the entire stage. The band's funky, ultra-groovy sound featured phenomenal guitar-playing by Matt Riegel. Music festival organizers, bookers, and promoters: you need to see this band now.
Thursday night I bounced between Oreo Jones' Save The Music album release show at Locals Only and Altered Thurzday at The Mousetrap. At Locals, I watched Jookabox ably adapt to the circumstances when bassist Benny Sanders announced he “broke the guitar” and left the stage to find a remedy. Later, I watched Oreo Jones - looking rather dapper, decked out in a suit-and-sneakers combo - perform classics from his “Delicious EP”, and call guests to the stage to perform songs from his Save The Music album. My favorite guest was Tyler Bowman, who contributed oddly-pleasing, strident vocals. Midway through his headlining set, Oreo handed control of the stage to Sinclair Wheeler, whose passionate performance of “Unthinkable” left the audience in awe.
When the show closed at Locals, things were just heating up next door at the Mousetrap. I slipped in to the laser bath just as DJ What The Bleep began his headlining performance. It was my first real experience with “jungle”, a subset of the drum and bass genre. Appropriately for Altered Thurzday, the set of music paired the energy of drum-and-bass with bountiful groove.
SATURDAY
Saturday, I made a point to catch the last Last Domino show in Indianapolis before the band’s frontman's move to Austin, Texas. Fret not if you missed it; Orr assures me he’s already booking fall homecoming shows for later this year. Dressed in a white suit and backed by Dave Evans on drums and Matt Foster on bass, Orr led his well-attended farewell show audience through a gamut of songs from his repertoire.
Saturday was the climax of my week in local music: the beloved Twin Cats played at their Indy homebase, the Mousetrap. Cover jumped another $2 from last year, with fans now asked to front five bones to get through the door to see a Twin Cats show. The music alone warrants the cost (in fact, you’re still probably under-paying), but the light show and dance party will surely sell any non-believers questioning the cover. Most exciting, though, was the debut of new Twin Cats songs, a real treat for their most devoted followers who know every song by heart.
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