Weekend of local rock volume 65

I know it’s been awhile since I’ve done one of these, and what once was a monthly (or sometimes weekly) feature is down to two or three a year. As a guy I know would say, that’s a shame.

I also know it’s unusual to have WLR on a weekday, but this weekend I’m going to take a break from politics and do an all-music weekend – WLR today and Sunday sandwiching a music review tomorrow. Next week you may get the treat of two because I have a backlog of music to review. Besides a somewhat humdrum municipal election, it’s a quiet political time right now.

I’m starting with an event that’s become somewhat of a musical dynamo thanks to its two-stage setup, the Good Beer Festival. It featured twelve acts, with the bar stage primarily hosting acoustic acts while the main stage had full bands.

Bear in mind I also work the event so I don’t get to hear every song. Some of these are more detailed than others, but I always like to lead with the schedule to help keep track.

So I begin with the acoustic stylings of Phil Portier, who opened up on the bar stage. I will say I knew the Joe Jackson song he opened with so I could insert the “where?” at the proper place.

On the other end as Phil wrapped up was Paper To Planes, an acoustic duo hailing all the way from Kansas City.

I believe Don Adler was playing the GBF for the second or third time. But I didn’t get to see him play the unusual instrument at his feet.

Sam Birchfield was the first group where I noticed the merch table.

The Coteries at the bar stage also had merch. The New Jersey-based trio was disappointed they didn’t get to enjoy more of the event because of New Jersey traffic. They have several shows set up, which you’ll see if you look closely.

Wrapping up things on Saturday were local favorites Uprizing.

Having a local group to close in the prime slot was a little unusual. Previously they had reserved it for an up-and-coming band touring the region. I’m not sure if this will be a trend, but I liked the old approach better.

Whiskeybelly got Sunday started with an acoustic/electric combo – and a couple broken strings, which they laughed about.

On the other side, the GBF went country with the local group Haleytown – population 5. (The sign is a neat touch.)

Chris Diller set CDs and stickers at each table, and hoped people would fill the guitar case.

It always intrigues me how a guy can play so many instruments at once – needless to say, I can’t carry a tune in a bucket.

On the main stage was the group I thought stole the show, Sub-Radio Standard. It was the group I would have expected to close out Saturday.

Ken Wenzel was the headliner, if you will, of the bar stage. He played songs off the CD.

The Will Overman Band did their country best to wrap things up. I wish I had slipped around backstage to get a photo of “Big Red” – a 1970 Chevy Suburban they tour in.

So I was a little loose with the definition of “rock” in this one. Next year may be the year to just put the rock bands on Saturday and the country stuff on Sunday, since it seems to be getting about equal billing now.

On Sunday I look at the music from the Autumn Wine Festival.

Weekend of local rock volume 64

Last weekend was a good weekend for local music buffs, particularly in the Long Neck, Delaware area. I’ve often wondered if those people who live by American Legion Post 28 there sit outside on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend and listen in. Of course they could just come on down, too.

Anyway, the Concert for a Random Soldier began at noon but since we were still in church at that time we were casually late enough to get there just in time for the longtime event staple 33 1/3 to wrap up; meanwhile, one of the acoustic acts played while we grabbed some lunch.

So band number one on my agenda was Pros from Dover.

Despite the name, none of them are from Dover. The name is actually a reference from the book version of M*A*S*H.

They played somewhat of a country-tinged set in song selection, which was fine for an event which generally works its way from oldies to classic rock to heavier and more modern as the day turns to evening.

Speaking of country, you can’t beat the unusual start to the set of Slinging Daisies.

It’s probably been 25 years since I heard the old C. W. McCall chestnut “Convoy” and it wasn’t a cover band that did it. They did a set that featured a handful of originals, but also played the song that’s tradition at the Concert for a Random Soldier: “Paint It Black” from the Rolling Stones.

The reason this song gets Terri Clifton onto the dance floor is that it was her son Chad’s favorite song.

Another band that’s been doing the CRS annually in recent years is Judy Sings the Blues. They come as advertised, playing a number of standards and one original about Judy’s fear of spiders.

One band that didn’t come as advertised was Semiblind. Due to an unfortunate series of mishaps, the band was truncated down to its founding members Jim and Michele Hogsett. These longtime staunch supporters of the CRS played instead as their acoustic duo Dog & Butterfly.

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Things then got a little funky, as Conjunction Funktion took the stage with some brass.

Again unusual for a cover band: how many would lead off with “Josie” by Steely Dan? These guys did.

Sadly, we had to leave as Conjunction Funksion played so I missed the band I would have liked to check out, Modern Day Addiction. Besides those guys and 33 1/3, other bands on the bill were Oh Boy, JB Duo, Beach Trip, Captain Mike, and The Runner-Ups. Several of these also have played the event in recent years, and they should be thanked for supporting the Guitars for Vets cause.

So next year, on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, the 11th annual CRS will likely feature a number of these same acts for a day of music, food, and fun.

Weekend of local rock volume 63

Unlike its younger brother the Good Beer Festival, this year the Autumn Wine Festival had more local bands – and arguably more rock – than the GBF. It is also much easier to compile this summary, as the AWF only had one stage and just three bands daily, as the photo below will show.

One other advantage to this system was that we could hear all the bands. So we could attest that the Soulful Tones Band indeed lived up to its name, with a heavy emphasis on that musical style.

As I noted in volume 62, Such Fools played both the GBF and AWF with a unique blend of instruments.

But Anything Goes did its usual outstanding job of closing Saturday’s festivities with a cornucopia of classics. It was strange being done while it was still light out, though.

On Sunday morning, well before the advertised 11 a.m. opening, the traditional Backfin Banjo Band got things underway. And when I say traditional, I don’t just mean they always seem to be the Sunday morning staple at the AWF.

So when Picnic took the stage, it reminded me that fully half the groups also played the AWF last year. In fact, Picnic played in the same slot, too.

But what was needed on a chilly, windy afternoon was someone to get the crowd moving and On The Edge was just the ticket.

Yet there’s even a political side to this post. Near the end of their set the band introduced “our Senator” Jim Mathias, a politician the OTE lead singer enthusiastically endorsed from the stage. (If Jim was there, he didn’t stop by our space.) Obviously Mathias is a familiar figure in Ocean City, where OTE frequently plays.

As I suggested in my initial report on the AWF, I think a two-stage system is in order for this event. Not only would it move the crowd around a little for the vendors, but it would enable more bands to play for the generally larger crowd – try as it might, the Good Beer Festival hasn’t caught up to the Autumn Wine Festival yet. Since the participants in the AWF are generally the same because it’s a Maryland wine festival, there may need to be an additional entertainment option to promote further growth in the event.

That’s my two cents, anyway.

Weekend of local rock volume 62

This year’s Good Beer Festival entertainment lineup featured an eclectic collection of bands, so let’s take a look.

One thing I should caution you about: my reviews of the bands are somewhat limited because I was actually working during the time, and I really couldn’t hear much from the main stage. On the other hand, I have more of an idea what was going on at the bar stage. Here’s the lineup.

It meant GBF veteran John Emil Montagino and his unique bluesy guitar got the proceedings underway.

There was a lot of jamming during the set, the mournful guitar matching the dreary day. On the other side of the festival they were getting ready to use this bass.

It belongs to Cool Hand and the Swagger, who opened up the main stage.

Back at the bar stage, it was the acoustic stylings of Lauren Ventura, who had a more conventional guitar and country influence.

Children of a Vivid Eden performed next on the main stage. I think they were here last year as well.

Things got funky on our bar stage end when Uprizing took the stage. Anyone like to twerk for a shirt? They were asking, but I wasn’t taking those photos.

As you can tell, it was lightly raining at the time but they had energy to spare.

The final band of Saturday was The Stickers. From what I gathered they were a country-rock band, but overall I couldn’t really tell from my distant vantage point.

Generally the band which plays last on Saturday is the biggest name draw, as they try and select an up-and-coming artist. In this case, the Pennsylvania-based band has made some impact on the country scene. But there weren’t a huge number of people left around to see them on a chilly, drizzly day.

Sunday began with Landing Mary, which did a great job of constantly re-introducing themselves (which made sense, as people were arriving as they were playing) and noting they were proud enough of their home state to use it in their name. The music wasn’t half-bad either, sort of a 90s alternative groove.

On the main stage to begin were Such Fools.

Since they also played the Autumn Wine Festival yesterday I can tell you they interpret classic songs in a unique fashion given their instrumentation.

Don Adler was the requisite second acoustic act on the bar stage.

What’s sort of sad is that he played nearby yet I really don’t recall a lot of it because I was moving around at the time. Apparently he’s a guitarist of some repute.

But I will tell you who sounded from our end like they were jamming, and that was Eastern Electric.

They were a bright spot to a dreary day, at least to the lady in the foreground who was dancing.

Wrapping up the bar stage for the GBF was the multi-instrumental duo of Smoking Flowers. Yes, she broke out the accordion.

And she can play guitar. And there was actual sunshine, too.

Another country-tinged act, they seemed to play best when she got behind the drums.

Finishing up the Good Beer Festival was perhaps the most eclectic band of the lot, Community Center.

Alas, what they played didn’t seem to hold the interest of a quickly dwindling crowd. But there’s always someone who enjoys the music.

This year the Good Beer Festival leaned heavily on a country sound, drawing some acts from Nashville itself while reserving the top billing for a regionally-known act. In many respects, my title is a misnomer because it wasn’t all that local and not much of it was rock.

It just didn’t seem to me that the musical selections were that great. I know most of the couple thousand who come to the GBF are really not there for the bands, but I think they have picked a lot better in years past. It wasn’t just the weather that was a disappointment.

Weekend of local rock volume 59

Normally I do things in a different order when I cover multifaceted events, but this week I found myself in a little bit of a quandry with no new release to review from my musical patron and some thoughts on what I heard last night. So instead of saving the “weekend of local rock” feature to fall a few days after the main coverage of Pork in the Park, this time I will lead with it.

Last night I heard two of the many bands slated for this weekend at Winterplace Park – since the forecast for today was iffy, my list of things to do this weekend was rather long, and we had a somewhat rare evening sans a 14-year-old, we decided to instead make a Friday night of it. Ironically, our teenager’s musical tastes would have made the night’s headliner very palatable to her, but let’s talk about the Bonedaddies first.

The Bonedaddies play at Pork in the Park, May 9, 2014.

These guys are like a comfortable pair of old shoes – you know what to expect when you put them on. In the case of the Bonedaddies, it’s a steady diet of classic rock stretching from ZZ Top (they were playing “I Thank You” as we walked in) to their closing number from Tom Petty, “Runnin’ Down A Dream.” And there must be a law which now states any cover band must play Wilson Pickett’s “Mustang Sally.”

So we caught perhaps the last 45 minutes of their show, which had some interest but a lot of empty space in front of the stage. One thing which is different about Pork in the Park this year is the lack of any seating close to the stage – in years prior the stage was set up perhaps 25 to 30 yards from a pavilion, but not this year. Most people who wanted to sit either had to bring their own chairs or sit about 50-60 yards away.

A good portion of the open space filled for the headliner, as you’ll see.

First of all, if you wonder why the photos are so dark, this is what happened when I set my night setting.

So deal with the dark. Anyway, Charlie Worsham is an up-and-coming country artist who is doing one last weekend of shows before a tour opening for Brad Paisley.

I will gladly admit country music is not my cup of tea, so suffice to say I didn’t really recognize Worsham’s originals – but they were well-received by the several hundred people around the stage.

Unfortunately, having just one album to his credit and about 90 minutes of stage time to fill meant that he had to play a few covers. So can I ask a question – why is it that country artists feel the need to cover rock songs?

I will grant that my friends from Semiblind, who have graced many a WLR volume, can take a country song they like and supercharge it to make it listenable and sometimes even really enjoyable for a metalhead like me. But it doesn’t work as well the other way – no country singer can be as urban as “Billie Jean” needs to sound nor can “Crazy Train” have justice done to it with a banjo. Cover Lynard Skynard or the Allman Brothers – no problem for a country band. Surely they can even pull off “Mustang Sally.” So while I hate to be so critical, I must say that version of “Crazy Train” was brutal.

On the other hand, working as an opening act will give them a chance to write and perform what they’re best at, leaving “Crazy Train” for someone else. Their mini-tour began in Houston yesterday in a performance for a local radio station before coming to Salisbury and moving on to Chesterfield, Virginia tomorrow before joining up with Paisley later next week. Those sorts of logistics are fascinating to me.

Assuming the weather doesn’t intervene, the lineup for today is rather promising. If you hurry, you can catch the Barren Creek Band at 10, with Picnic following at 12.

Veterans of Pork in the Park and a welcome Pennsylvania import follow at 2:30.

Smokin’ Gunnz is always a crowd favorite, as evidenced by the number of views this four-year-old video still gets on a monthly basis.

Another local favorite is bluesman Tom Larsen, who will serve as the opening act for Jimmie Van Zandt once the awards are over around 5:30 or so.

Front Page News is the final band to take the stage early Sunday afternoon, as that day is mainly given over to the wing-eating contest.

So music fans aren’t left wanting by the lineup – the question becomes whether Mother Nature will cooperate today.

And now for something completely different…

Every so often something comes along which puts me at the intersection of doing something I enjoy because I find it interesting, being able to write about it, and making a little bit of money. Tomorrow will be the first of what I hope are many of these features.

If you’ve been reading here since about 2006 or so, you’ll have noticed I’ve done an occasional feature I call “Weekend of local rock.” I also had a Friday tradition called “Friday Night Videos” that I did for a couple years as well, and toward the end of the that series I abandoned the original premise of news videos and went to an all-music format. It seemed more appropriate for enjoyment over the weekend.

Thus. tomorrow I’m debuting a new regular feature. I haven’t thought of a catchier title than “monoblogue music”, so I’ll go with it. But in my occasional forays into attempting to find new writing clients, I came across an entrepreneur who was looking for people with a critical ear and existing media outlet to help promote his stable of musical artists by reviewing their work. So I contacted this gentleman and we have come to an agreement, the first installment of which will be up tomorrow afternoon. I like it because I get to listen to some different music than the formulaic crap which seems to plague the airwaves, from up-and-coming artists who may be enticed to come to this region. I’m sure he likes the fact I have a sub-200k world Alexa rank, but I think this can work to broaden my audience for the political end of my site as well. So it could be a win-win.

In speaking with this gentleman, it was made clear that my reviews didn’t have to be positive, which is fine. But I asked him to steer those artists my way who are either based on the East Coast or tour through the area. (The latter covers tomorrow’s first feature, as they are Australian-based but plan a U.S. tour later this year – on their previous tour they mainly played along the West Coast but I suspect this will be their breakout year and they will come this way.)

So while this may seem to be an unusual step – particularly for a political blog in an election year – bear in mind that I’ve always branched out into other realms because to write about politics on a daily basis would eventually burn me out. I look forward to what I hope will be a productive relationship on both ends, and one you the reader will enjoy.

Weekend of local rock volume 57

If you can’t tell the lineup without a scorecard, it’s probably good that I begin with this photo.

I always find it very helpful that the folks who run the Good Beer Festival put this board up, although I think I would prefer it arranged by day, with Main Stage as the left column and Bar Stage to the right. But it turned out there was a snafu regardless.

I’m not sure what happened with Lauren Ventura, but she ended up being placed between two acts on the Main Stage. So the first to play was actually Captain Blue’s Grass Band.

Captain Blue (aka C.J. Cutsail) is the host of the radio show “Local Produce.” But along with his co-host Josh Rose, they comprise 2/3 of this band that veers along the lines between bluegrass and acoustic rock. They reminded me of another group which didn’t make to our festivals this time around, Chester River Runoff.

Because Ventura was bumped over to the Main Stage, it meant Chad Abernathy opened the Bar Stage.

I didn’t catch too much of his show – the Bar Stage was on the other side from our location – but it seemed to be mostly originals performed acoustically. He had female accompaniment on some songs as well.

Meanwhile, Lauren Ventura got her show in. She’s a singer/songwriter from Nashville who seemed to embrace the conditions.

But since Abernathy and Ventura were playing at the same time on opposite ends of the park, neither had the benefit of full attention. Since she only had one instrument, though, Lauren could easily clear the way for Eastern Electric. That even became easier when it was just one performer.

I’m not sure just what happened with Eastern Electric, but this is what became of them.

That was a little disappointing, since I enjoyed their predecessor band (The Electric Co.) and thought I’d hear some familiar tunes.

I wasn’t disappointed with The Hot Meals, though. To me, their music sounds sort of like an old favorite from my FNV days, The Permilla Project. (The two bands have one common player, drummer Sean Miller.) Maybe one can call it “smooth rock” because there seems to be a little jazz element there.

But the final band of the day took the cake. This photo was from the sound check, when I said, “damn, who are these guys?” That was also before the rain began.

Well, they are called Bush Hawg, and they are an up-and-coming band in what I suppose is considered the “modern country” genre.

Now the song that attracted my attention in the sound check isn’t one I found on their website, so I may be wrong on the title – but the chorus line is “God save our country.” But they also played their single, “Crushin'” which is more of a ballad but has charted in the top 30 on the “Music Row Country Breakout Chart”, so it was sort of a shame so few were left after a soggy day in Maryland.

And it’s not like they didn’t know how to rock – not with a medley which took pieces from Guns N’ Roses, Queen, and Red Hot Chili Peppers, plus the full tracks of “Seven Nation Army” and the old Cars tune “Just What I Needed.” They also have a remake of “Fortunate Son” on their EP which they played.

So Saturday evening ended with their hard country. On Sunday, we had a cloudy and breezy day to greet music lovers. But all the bands played as scheduled, beginning with the one-man band, Kevin Poole.

It was a little guitar, a little singing, a little percussion, a little harmonica, and a little marketing.

Over on the Main Stage, Sunday began with power pop from Rew Smith.

It turned out that they were the most enjoyable act of the day for me; just simple, straight-ahead rock and roll.

The second of three acoustical acts over on the Bar Stage, Mike Weyrauch held court.

Now I’ve heard him on “Local Produce” and on his CD playing originals, but the couple songs he played while I was over there were covers. Hopefully he introduced that side of the GBF to his own stuff.

Some original instrumentation was the key to Children of a Vivid Eden, back on the Main Stage.

The same held true across the way as John Emil wrapped up over at the Bar Stage with some acoustic slide guitar.

Well, that and the percussion box he could tap his foot on.

Pressing Strings wrapped things up for a rapidly dwindling crowd. It seemed like people left early on Sunday. In all honesty, I think the Main Stage lineup would have worked better in reverse, with Pressing Strings being the opener and Rew Smith wrapping up. It’s nice to have an active band to finish, as Bush Hawg did the evening before.

One thing I like about the GBF is their willingness to go outside the area for different acts – for example, Lauren Ventura and Bush Hawg are Nashville-based and Emil hails from Florida but has mainly toured in Virginia and North Carolina this year (with a 16-stop European tour thrown in.) To me, it provides more of an attraction.

So now that I have this edition of WLR in the books, I’m working on the next while at the Autumn Wine Festival. Since there are only seven bands and one stage at the AWF, the next installment will be shorter than this was.

Weekend of local rock volume 55

Subtitled: the 5th Annual (Save the…) BreastFest edition.

I’ve been to all five of these events and I have to tell you this was probably the most successful. They finally got the two ingredients they needed to maximize success: a location in Ocean City and a Friday night slot during Bike Week – the last few StBFs were relegated to Thursday night.

But more on that in a bit. Let’s talk about the bands involved – by the way, all of them volunteered their time for the cause.

We arrived a little late so we only caught the tail end of Elwood. Hearing their last few songs, I was mentally kicking myself for not being ready to go a little sooner because they were solid. They also play a number of originals, which to me is a plus.

Chainbreak came on next and pleased the bikers with a collection of songs that included some Southern rock covers. If it’s Bike Week in Ocean City, you will hear something from Skynard, Molly Hatchet, or the Allman Brothers.

Veteran musician Lauren Glick and her Moodswingers were up next, and she belted out a number of old favorites.

Before I get much farther, I need to note the creator of the event, Michele Hogsett.

She’s the beauty and the brains behind the (Save the…) Breast Fest as a cancer survivor herself. And she shrewdly recruited her husband Jim to serve as the emcee of the event.

The reason I bring this up here is that they got a lot more busy once Lauren Glick cleared the stage. It was time for Semiblind.

Like Lauren Glick before them, Semiblind showed why they’re still a popular local group after nearly a decade of playing. I found this video from the event as the band jammed out on the Ted Nugent classic “Stranglehold.” That was their final song of the evening, but the rock wasn’t over by a long shot.

Like Semiblind, the next band has made all five StBF events, and they vowed to keep coming.

Now if you want to discuss a group which doesn’t compromise on being heavy, Witches Brew would be that group. They hammered out a lot of hard rock staples from the 70s through the 80s, and actually served as a good complement to the final band of the evening, Vivid Season.

If you add about a decade to Witches Brew’s playlist, you’d get Vivid Season.  They concentrate on songs put out during the last 15 years or so – not to say they don’t throw in older stuff, but it’s arguably the most current of the groups who played. (Semiblind will play some more recent stuff in their extended shows and as I noted, Elwood does quite a few originals.)

Yet while all the music was going on, my friend Melissa was selling raffle tickets. This WAS a fundraiser, you know.

Each of these little bags represented a raffle prize, with everything from free hotel accommodations to golf to apparel to tattoos and bike accessories in the mix. The list of sponsors grows a little each year.

Now I didn’t take any photos of the contestants in their tattoo competition, but I did snap a shot of these luscious cupcakes.

Speaking of luscious cupcakes, it should be noted the event sponsor did quite well this year.

The Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition raised $1,609 from the event, which Michele said doubled their take from last year. Going from Thursday night to Friday night was a lucrative move for the group, for whom StBF now seems to be settling in as an annual occurrence at Pickles Pub.

The last photo I’m throwing in for fun.

If they can hold their spot, you may want to pencil in September 12, 2014 on your calendar for the 6th annual event. With an attitude like that, it should be a good time.

Weekend of local rock volume 54

I’m actually a week overdue on this one, because I meant to post this the weekend after the Delmarva Chicken Festival. Hopefully Tom Larsen and his Lookin’ for Trouble band don’t mind the wait.

As I found out later, this was a special reunion show for Tom, bassist Elwood Bishop, and drummer Keith Brooks.

Of course, I expected them to play a lot of blues because I’ve seen TLB close the Good Beer Festival for both years since its inception, and probably here and there at similar events as well.

He even brought along his merchandise table.

But his show was a little different, as he had a lot longer time slot – or so he probably thought. This was when Larsen and his band started rolling.

About four or five songs in, his band had to take a break because there was a competing event across the way – the Worcester Children’s Theater show I alluded to in my main coverage. So they were sidelined for a good 45 minutes or so before resuming.

But resume they did, and shortly thereafter Tom found he had a young fan.

Those who were there also found out Tom can make almost anything work for a slide guitar.

I’m sure Cascading Carlos can work that into his act.

But above all, it looked like Tom and the band were having fun up there, playing a lot of original music to boot.

While he doesn’t play in the area all the time – Tom goes up and down the East Coast with some regularity – those who are fans of the blues locally should know who he is and where he plays. The folks at the Chicken Festival were treated to a doggone good show.

Weekend of local rock volume 52

This series has been gone (since last November) but not forgotten, and I got a chance to dust off the camera, clean the cobwebs out of my musical ears, and check out some of the local bands at the Pig and a Jig BBQ Festival last weekend, Out of the five scheduled, I saw at least part of the final three performances. Perhaps next year we will arrive early enough to see more of the bands; as it was we missed out on The Hot Meals and The Zen Monkeys. (I’ve featured The Zen Monkeys previously in this segment, though.)

So it turned out that our dinner music was an acoustic act called The Stims.

Was it anything groundbreaking? Not really. But it was good enough to eat ribs by and served as the soundtrack for the event, which was held at a former auto dealership turned body shop.

While they didn’t seem to take requests, I think they were making up the playlist as they went along.

This turned out to be especially true after the awards presentation, when they came out to play a couple extra songs while the next band finished their preparations.

I did notice another interesting musical trick though. Check out what the percussionist was sitting on.

Bongos without the setup. It seemed to fit in well with the acoustical theme.

But we were plugged in for the next group, one very familiar to WLR fans.

In most cases, being the penultimate band in a lineup of more or less equally unfamiliar bands would expose you to the largest audience. But it really didn’t work out that way for Semiblind, and that’s a shame. I think just the fact it was a very chilly Saturday for May worked against them.

It worked well for getting good individual photos, though.

Being friends with Michele and Jim Hogsett (top two photos above) does mean I have a little idea of how they enhance their show. For example, I know that Michele is a stickler for knowing just how the band sounds to those out in the audience, so she will wade out into the crowd during the first or second song at an unfamiliar venue.

And yes, she was singing. I’ve not actually seen a venue where Michele is the DJ for the evening (she also works locally as DJ Siren) but I imagine she will check her sound in the same manner when she’s spending time in that capacity.

And I’m sure that Jim likes the outdoor venues because he doesn’t have to wait for a break to catch a quick cigarette.

In fact, you could almost say I have a backstage pass with this pair.

The same can’t be said for Bad Mojo, but I wanted to hang around long enough to at least get a sample of their work.

The gathering gloom didn’t do much for the photography, but I had no objection to how they played their standards. In many respects, they served as the extension of Semiblind, just with a male vocalist and added keyboards.

As it was said later, those who remained kept warm by dancing the evening away, so their mojo wasn’t so bad after all.

I’ve noticed all three of these bands get around, so if you are out and about on Delmarva chances are you’ll run into one of them soon. In fact, I encourage it – we need to support our local music! I know Michele is in the DJ business, but I’d rather see a band make its stamp on a song given that most of us have access to internet radio and other means of hearing the original work.

Hopefully I can get back to making this a more regular series. Unfortunately, I missed two of the prime multi-band shows over the winter and early spring because of previous commitments, so it was great to resurrect the WLR after a long hiatus.

Weekend of local rock volume 51

Now that the hurricane season and the election are both bad memories, I can finally get to this post I’ve been meaning to work on for over a month. I wasn’t sure whether I was going to do a WLR post on the Autumn Wine Festival because the musical selections truly aren’t “rock” but some of the bands were relatively close and I’m not going to play favorites. In fact, going back through my archives this is a first. So here goes with the handy entertainment schedule which will tell you in what order I present the pictures to you.

By looking at this, you’ll notice that the Backfin Banjo Band is first up.

It’s worth noting that these guys begin playing before the event actually opens, so those in line are able to hear them play their mix of standards in old-fashioned jazz and ragtime. They’ve played the AWF a number of times (as have at least one other band in the lineup) so obviously the management is familiar with the band and likes to keep them around. (Interestingly enough, they’re also playing our WCRC Christmas Party on Sunday evening.)

Next up were The Larks.

The musicians in this group are quite well known locally, both collectively as the Larks and in a host of other projects. I’m most familiar with Pete Bozick as a member of the Permilla Project. So they had a lot of influences and it showed in their set, which I enjoyed from my seat out among the vendors.

Another group which mixed in a number of different styles enjoyable were the Bullbuckers.

They even brought their own swag, which was great self-promotion on the AWF’s bigger day.

The Saturday afternoon affair wrapped up with Anything Goes, which lived up to its name by having a playlist featuring interesting takes on a number of songs.

Some had enough wine to put on their dancing shoes.

But the large crowd enjoyed the classic hits Anything Goes strung together.

There were only three bands Sunday, since the proceedings began 90 minutes later. First up was another jazz trio familiar to area listeners, Dark Gold Jazz.

People were already relaxing to their sound, as the chairs were filled from time to time.

Those of us who also attended the Good Beer Festival got a rerun of sorts because Interesting Monsters played at both. And yes, the bagpipes were put to use.

Finally, the event closed with a traditional finishing band, On The Edge.

It seems to me that this band has closed the AWF more often than not in the six or seven years I’ve participated in the proceedings as a vendor. They played their usual menu of Motown-influenced rock and soul, but it was interesting to see people dancing with Obama or Romney signs. I used this photo in my original post for another reason but there were dueling political signs on the dance floor as well.

Now if you want to go see local rock before next year, tomorrow is the annual 12 Bands of Christmas show at the Pour House in Ocean City, beginning at 2 p.m. and running for 12 hours. Unfortunately, it’s fairly doubtful I’ll make it since I have this previous commitment called the Fall Convention and Lord knows what time we’ll finish arguing in Howard County.

Thus, this edition of Weekend of Local Rock will have to suffice for awhile.