One thing that has been discussed many times on donewaiting.com, be it on OH Columbus! or the message board is the fact that Cleveland is crushing Columbus as far as a national music scene. More bands stop at Cleveland than Columbus, hands down. I’ve got theories, rants, range, whatever, but I’m not going to get into it again.
It’s because of Cleveland’s dominance of the national music scene that I had to drive 2.5 hours up north to see Ted Leo and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs last week at the Beachland Ballroom. Here are my notes from the two day event:
- Thu.5.1.03
- The Beachland Tavern is a great small venue. We got there around 8pm and ran into Ed from Cobra Verde and chatted him up for awhile. Was able to snag their new CD, and it is goooooooooooood. More on that in the coming week.
- After talking to Ed we headed inside the venue and had a meal. I think it was the first time I ate at a venue since back in my Maxwell’s days in NJ. I had the Beachland Burger.
- Ted Leo put on an amazing show. Seeing him at a small venue was great. We were right up front, loving every second. The Reputation really impressed me, and The Gripweeds did a good job too (JERSEY REPRESENT!). But the night really belonged to Mr. Leo and the Pharmacists. You can read Kiesha’s much more extensive review of the show here.
Fri.5.2.03
- We had the whole Friday to tool around Cleveland. Saw “X2”, had dinner, went into some lame record stores, and then back to the Beachland for night #2 of rock featuring Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
- The thing you need to know is that the Beachland is split into two completely different venues. There’s the tavern, where smaller bands play, and then the Ballroom, where we saw YYY perform. Imagine your high school gym, but a little smaller, and a cool stage.
- This Moment in Black History opened the show with a firebomb. Hyper-political messaging, in your face rock, overwhelming stage presence. Which was good, but strange, because the next band, Greenhornes, had very little stage presence. Their music was good (I want to get their album), but their live show left much to be desired.
- And then came the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
- Surrounded by a cloud of hype and high expectations Karen O and her boys started their set with “Modern Romance,” the last track on their new album, Fever to Tell. Before the show I was thinking to myself, I hope this is the song they open with. Jesus listened.
- The rest of the show was everything I expected it to be. Lots of rock, lots of drama, lots of over the top antics. Karen O is the frontman for the next millenium.
- The one thing you don’t get from the recorded YYY that you do get from live YYY is that, throughout the set, Karen is laughing and smiling a lot. It’s sort of a “I know this hype is all too ridiculous, but we’re going with the flow. Enjoy it with us.”
- The crowd ranged from teens to late 20s, mostly. The kids are digging.
- At several points during the show, Karen basically swallows her microphone while singing. Photo galleries on other websites reveal that it’s the same mic, all the time, at every show. No germs!
- Has anyone else mentioned that Karen sometimes sounds like a cross between Axl Rose and AC/DC when she performs live? This is a good thing.
- Karen had this gigantic stuffed sheep costume that she would wear every once in awhile. By the end of the night the sheep was ripped to shreds and thrown into the audience.
- The band did one encore, and I kept thinking, I hope they end the show with “Our Time.” Jesus listened to me again, and that’s how they ended the show. A fitting ending for a great rock concert.