The Scene

MusicDetour.com’s commentary on music, performances, and the DC metro area music scene

This weekend Baltimore played host to a new festival:  the Baltimore Independent Music and Arts Festival.  BIMAfest featured over 100 musicians, mostly local acts but some from as far away as L.A.  Sadly, my weekend was also full of lots of real life stuff, so I was only able to attend a couple of shows, during which I witnessed both fantastic performances and poor organization.  I hope that most folks involved with this event got what they needed out of it so that I might do it in style next year after everyone has learned from mistakes.  Reviews of shows Friday night at the Ottobar and Saturday night at the Hour Haus follow after the jump.  (more…)

Covers are fun for musicians to play and they are generally a safe bet for consumers.  Bands like to play covers of songs they enjoy, and audience members can be pretty sure that if a band doesn’t completely muck up their favorite songs they will have a good time.  Saturday night dozens of local rockers provided a fun evening of covers at the Black Cat’s 8th annual RUN FOR COVER.  Although I kind of expected a focus on Reagan-era nostalgia, what surprised me most was the display of female singers, as women fronted or shared the lead on five of the eight acts.  Read more about it after the jump. (more…)

Otherwise unheard of in this part of the country, “underground” concert venues are part of the charm of Charm City.  To the joy of many and the frustration of others, both Rolling Stone and The City Paper have recognized Floristree as the best rock venue in Baltimore in recent years.  Now the Granfalloon is stepping forward as a contender.  Sorry we can’t tell you the specific location of this venue.  Its hosts would not appreciate that, since these kind of events exist at best within the gray areas of a few regulatory regimes.

The exclusionary speakeasy vibe combined with the visual and aural art on display and the fab crowd to make for a very cool event Saturday night, when Arboretum and The Expotentials played the Granfalloon.  More details follow after the jump.

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Review By:  Johnny Kilroy at http://tenthmil.com/

That sound of disappointment, from a loved one wronged, burrows into your gut deeper than any tirade.

Reeling fury was what I expected, when I heard about two Kentucky boys named Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore who were making a whole album decrying mountaintop removal.  Riding home from work one day, I gave it a listen.  I felt like a little wounded calf, stroked and cooed to ease, and then fed a mercy bullet. For the rest of the review, click here.

On Tuesday, Girl In A Coma from San Antonio came through Baltimore with their touring partners Brooklyn’s Black Gold to play The Ottobar with three local bands.  The crowd was small but those who came out saw an amazing show.  Girl In A Coma are destined for big things.  I arrived too late for Caustic Casanova’s set and only caught parts of the sets by Mason Summers, Odd Girl Out, and Black Gold.  They all struck me as groups with legitimate rock chops who can put on a fun show but rely too much upon gimmicks to make that happen.  However, I was blown away by Girl In A Coma.  Find out why after the jump.  (more…)

Big In Japan have enjoyed a kind of residency at The Windup Space in Baltimore, playing every Sunday evening in August.  Instead of merely having another band open for them each week, they have invited their guests to collaborate with them on stage.  I cannot imagine how much extra practice this entails, and when one considers that these shows are free, the monetary rewards must be even more limited than they usually are for such bands.  These shows are rock for art’s sake, and I highly recommend that you check out the final show of this series on the 30th when they will be joined by Katrina of Celebration.  This past Sunday Big In Japan’s guests were The Expotentials.  Details of the best show I have seen in a very long time follow after the jump. (more…)

Although weather wreaked havoc on the shows the week before, rain helf off last Thursday.  Instead, the large crowd, some with incredibly well-behaved dogs, who came out for the final Fort Reno show of 2009 were treated to tropical breezes and an eclectic mix of music by Grendel Babies, Casper Bangs, and Title Tracks.  The sign painted on the front of the stage coyly said “maybe next year,” but the Fort Reno website promises news about next year’s concert series.  I’m certainly looking forward to it.  A review of last week’s season finale follows after the jump. (more…)

On Monday evening I attended the third Fort Reno show of the summer.  Fort Reno is one of those “real DC” experiences that anybody living in the area needs to at least check out.  Part of what makes it great is that the bands seem to be chosen specifically because they would not normally be scheduled to play togehter.  Does pretty much any club in the area offer a superior concert experience?  Yeah, probably.  However, they have an excellent sound system run by a professional engineer.  The main difference is that the crowd is not necessarily there to see the bands as much as they are just there because it is the summer, so they have to go to Fort Reno  A description of the experience and review of the entertaining shows by Batala, the Small Doses, and Cigarbox Planetarium follows after the jump. (more…)

By now I’m sure that everyone is aware of GoRemy’s “Arlington: The Rap“. The Washington Post had an article on Remy and an interview with him to get into his brain. While I would never take him anywhere near half-seriously as an MC, he does have potential  as a satirist. We all know the pitfalls of living in one of the wealthiest places in the US and people can appreciate Remy both for his local roots (you recognize the landmarks) and the irony of living in that society. I’m not sure if he’s doing live shows, but if he is they would definitely be interesting to see. Please let us know in the comment section if he’s got some shows coming up, especially if they are in Arlington.

After hearing Chrisette Michele for the first time on The Roots‘ Rising Down , I thought that Michele was a new type of singer that would change the sound of music. Her track on that album, “Rising Up,” has one of the most original beats (of course thanks mainly to ?uestlove of The Roots) and a bit of a political edge to it. When I found out that Chrisette Michele’s sophomore album, Epiphany, debuted at the number 1 spot on Billboard, I went out and bought the album to see what exactly this talented artist had in store.

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