Tag Archives: Pearl Jam

A hundred years ago, or so it seems, Andy – the local Sony college rep at the time – called me and said, “I’m heading to Cleveland to see this new band from the UK called Oasis. They’re playing at the Grog Shop. Want to go?” In the pre-internet days, I couldn’t go online to see what this band was all about so I asked, “Who would you compare them to?” Andy said, “Kind of like Pearl Jam. Not the way they sound, but the way they just blew up over night. They won’t be playing places like the Grog Shop very much longer.” As a Pearl Jam fan, I was intrigued but then I heard a very non-grungy Oasis single and decided it wasn’t worth a trip to Cleveland to see this new band.

Here we are in 2011. I don’t know if this new UK band Viva Brother is going to blow up like Oasis and Blur in the U.S. Not too many bands really have that capability these days but I’ll be damned if “Darling Buds in May” isn’t my pick for “Best Song of the Summmer (2011 edition)”. I might even say it’s my favorite single of the YEAR if I really think about it.

I’m calling this a “Don’t Miss Show”. I’m saying this might be one of those “I saw them when they played in a really small venue” shows. I’ve been wrong before, but I don’t want to make the same mistake I made by missing Oasis in their infancy.

Viva Brother and 1,2,3 play Monday night at the Black Box on the Mershon Stage at the Wexner Center. Tickets are $12 and the show starts around 8pm.