Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Potbilly (not Potbelly) shakes The News Room on December 22, 2009

I know this blog is called "Nightlife in Lawrence", but having several friends who have moved to Kansas City since I first met them in Lawrence, I often go to the city to see shows. Those shows are usually big bands playing at big venues. But tonight I had the rare treat of seeing a friend play with his band, at a small, intimate venue where the small crowd could really feel the music.
My friend Josh Inman plays the bass for the band Potbilly (previously called Potbelly). I've known Josh over a year now, and on top of being a good friend, Josh is a skilled Bassist. He and the singer, who also plays lead guitar, and the rhythm guitarist come together in a strong, steady harmony that is easy to sink into.
I was told the band was "a funky kind of blue-grass" but personally I thought their songs carried a blue-grass sound, with the beats, lyrics and attitude of the blues. Sitting right beside the band, in the small, narrow News Room, I could hear the intricate detail of every chorus and verse, solo and jam the three boys put into their songs.
The venue, a small bar in Kansas City, The News Room, was surprisingly small, to try and have a three-piece electric guitar band playing, but it made the music that much more concentrated and powerful.
I look forward to seeing Potbilly again, hopefully in a larger venue, with a bigger crowd. Josh told me they were scheduled to play twice in January. I believe the dates are the 17th and the 22nd. I believe one of those shows will be at the Granada in Lawrence, with Deadman Flats also playing! Deadman Flats is my favorite local blue-grass band, and they are all good friends with Josh. I'm positive that show will be ridiculous, and cannot wait to go!
More info as I find it and remember to put it on here.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Sonic Sutra rocks the Jazzhaus

My night began late, when I went over to a friends' to hang out. We considered going to the Jazzhaus for a show. A friend of ours was there and said it was good. I thought I might have heard of Sonic Sutra before, but I was not sure. We debated staying in and relaxing for the night, but my indecisive partner in crime left the final decision to me.
Despite a long day (I partied hard the night before, and only got 6 hours of sleep, and a long, steady hangover at work all day), the busiest Friday I've ever had, I still felt adventurous, so I said "Why not?" and we went.
Entering the comfortably filled in bar, I heard jam band music that I could easily get down to. Because the folks at the Jazzhaus were sensible enough to have a solid staff behind the bar, I had no trouble getting a drink. After a couple of songs the band was taking their set break. It seems we had really gotten there late.
The band was relatively large, with a bassist, guitarist, drummer, keyboard, and one of the bartenders from the Jazzhaus playing tambourine and other small rhythm instruments when she wasn't singing with her amazing voice (she basically rules Karaoke night on Mondays). The bassist played some funky lines that I could not stop following, because the guitarist's insane speed and range of notes was so hard to follow I thought I was drunker than I could have been.
All the band members were clearly talented, but the most impressive part of their performance was how they came together and made a long, beautiful, organic jam out of every song they played. Whether it was an original tune, or a cover of a famous song, the band made them their own.
But even as the band left the stage and the crowd dispersed to get drinks, seats, or cigarettes, I saw that the crowd was an interesting blend of old people (we're talking 60s) and kids my own age - many who I know, and was pleased to see at what turned out to be a fantastic show.
The band came back on and the music got even better! Some of the band's longer jam songs really remind me of the kind of lengthy, epic, upbeat, dancy songs I might hear at a music festival. Sonic Sutra did a cover of a Michael Jackson song that was fantastic too.
Over all I have to say that from the first few songs of the second set, I knew this was a band I need to keep my eye on. I want to make sure and hear them again, and I hope to show more of my friends next time too.
I was one the extremely luck few who received one of the 6 free CDs the band was giving away, and I can't wait to hear the rest of the CD.
I want anyone reading this to try and find Sonic Sutra's myspace, and find out when they're playing next. Be there. It is one of the best shows I've seen from a band I've never heard before in a long time.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Emmitt Nershi Band with Deadman Flats at the Granada, Saturday, December 5th: Great times in a good venue

My weekend seemed to be fantastic considering the great shows I got to see, first getting my electronic fix on Friday night, and then jamming with some awesome bluegrass Saturday.
Emmitt Nershi, of The String Cheese Incident, played a hell of a long, kickass set, after Deadman Flats got the crowd shaking.

The Granada was a great place for the show that night. Although a bigger crowd always seems more exciting/desirable, the crowd that night was large, but in the Granada, we had room to ourselves. Room to pass each other, dance, stand, talk, drink...basically, room to mingle. And knowing random people scattered around, it was more pleasant to be able to go around and say hello, have a drink, and dance, without having to squeeze my way past a couple-dozen angry douches. Knowing one of the bartenders, who is really cool, and a couple of the door-guys, because they're in a friends' band also makes the venue more pleasant.

Deadman Flats are one of my favorite bands, and they're local! I've seen them quite a few times, and every show is great. They have a wide variety of songs of their own, but on top of that, I remember seeing them play some hilarious covers of songs you'd never guess a bluegrass band would play. Having hung out with the band, I know they're also fun, cool people. They played some of their best songs, and even though much of the crowd didn't come in until they had already gotten going, it was a great set.

Emmitt Nershi and his band came on quickly after Deadman, and the show just got better. People were cheering and drinking along to the tunes, a few people danced, but mostly the crowd just watched happily.

It was strange, feeling so content just to watch and listen and shake around a little, but it was a fun night, and I highly recommend that you see Deadman Flats as soon as they're back on stage. I heard they might not be playing for the rest of the month.

Somasphere and Big Gigantic Friday December 4th at the Jackpot: awesome choice of music, terrible choice of venue

For the preceding week I was checking with every friend I spoke with in Lawrence to see if they were aware of the great up-coming concert. Big Gigantic, the band that opened for one of my all-time favorite bands, Sound Tribe Sector 9, were playing, with Somasphere - a name I recognize, with good reason - playing before them.
The event was scheduled for the Jackpot, at 10 p.m. I remember upon first hearing about the venue, 'Hmmm, that's a pretty small bar, with a flat, long, narrow dance area, and few seats.' But I didn't dwell on it. The night of the show I arrived around 11, significantly later than I meant to, but was pleased to see that the door-men were so distracted that nobody stopped me from walking straight in. Although it meant I couldn't join my friends when they went outside for a cigarette, it was worth escaping the $10 or $11 cover.
As soon as I was in I saw a gang of my friends in one of the few booths in the Jackpot, thankfully they were able to help me buy a drink (another small inconvenience of getting into a show the cheap way was I could not buy my own drink). The bar had a solid two layers of people compressed over it, making getting drinks hard, and making it awkward to move along the narrow space - virtually an aisle - between the bar and the booths on the opposite wall.
The entire open area between the far end of the bar and the stage was cleared of tables and chairs to give more dance space, but sure enough, it wasn't enough to stand comfortably in.
People were packed, shoulder to shoulder, in the open square space, with some who might be considered lucky or trapped, leaning back against the surrounding walls.
Drinks were spilled, and people were grumpily fighting their neighbors for space, but we were there for the show, and it was worth it.

Somasphere was already deep into their set, but I still caught several songs that impressed. The heavy beats, electric harmonies of sounds, and funky melodies made it impossible to stand still.
But unfortunately I didn't get to hear enough, before long they were done, and the intermission tidal wave/kicked beehive of people going to the bathroom, out to smoke, to get a drink, or find people, erupted in the tiny bar.

Tired from a busy day, I actually sat for the beginning of Big Gigantic, but it didn't take long for their thumping bass, and the brilliant sexiness of their more famous songs to pull me into the crowd. I liked their songs that I'm fairly sure I heard them play before STS9; High Life, Wide Awake and Light of Day. But I heard lots of other good stuff too!
I mean, come ON, it's an electric, dance band, with a SAXOPHONE! How cool is that? You might not be able to imagine the combination of that genre and that instrument. I know I had never thought of it before seeing them. But they have it down. It's really a hot, clever combination. You have to hear it to see. Their Myspace page does them only some justice, trust me, a live show is worth their price. I just got lucky.

In conclusion, the Jackpot was WAY too small for this show, the crowd was there, the music was great, it was just too small. Also, everyone I saw that night told me the next day their ears were still ringing. And so were mine.
But the music was amazing, and I had a lot of fun, I will definitely be watching for the next time either Somasphere or Big Gigantic are playing around here.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Jazzhaus Karaoke Night

Over the last couple of months, I've visited the Jazzhaus on Monday nights a few times, getting a feel for the Karaoke Night they throw there each week. I like to go with a few friends, have a few drinks, and enjoy the atmosphere. And if we have enough drinks, we might just sing a few songs of our own.
It might seem like Karaoke is a kind of S&M torture, where the singer humiliates themselves, even as they torment the audience with their never-perfect, often drunken rendition of whatever song they recognized in the song book. But if you have a few friends to enjoy the good, bad and ugly singing with, it's really pretty fun!
Karaoke in the U.S. is different from its birthplace in Japan. And by different I mean more embarrassing. I'm no singer, and I've always had stage-fright of the shivering, stammering, blushing, sweating variety. In Japan, you and your friends get your own private room, where you choose from huge - I mean HUGE - lists of songs, and sing them in front of or with your friends, while ordering drinks to be brought to your room by a waiter. Some places have food too. At the Jazzhaus, like every U.S. karaoke bar, has you step up on the stage that's used for the bands to perform, and you stand up before the crowd, spotlights glaring down on you, a computer screen showing you the words your supposed to sing, the crowd a black mass beyond the spotlights. The heat, the blinding light, the elevation, the pressure. But I digress. I STILL have fun at Karaoke Night, because it's okay not to sing, and after a few drinks, all that crap I just wrote above fades away and with a few friends by my side, singing becomes something doable.
The Jazzhaus is one of my favorite venues in Lawrence, because of the cool staff, neat decorations and set-up of the patio, bar and venue. That definitely helps make Karaoke Night more fun for me. The Jazzhaus is kept relatively dim-lit with music, and singing loud enough to hear, but also easy to talk over with the people around you. Lounging in the booths along the walls, at the tables in the middle, or on the soft seats at the bar, my friends and I chat over a few good drinks - typical bar prices for most drinks - including some great special shots or drinks that are usually a delicious bargain.
The choice of songs on Karaoke Night is limited, but sure to have at least a couple of favorites, or familiars for anyone. The crowd on Karaoke Night is below 20 before 11:00 most nights, but that makes it easier to get a drink, and sing a song if you're really self-conscious about who's listening. But after about 11, things get going, a stream of people runs up the stairs into the front door, with a few coming from the back door too. What may very well have started as a sausage-fest always gets more mixed up and exciting as groups of people occupy tables, and thirsty folks crowd around the bar.
Luckily I'm familiar with most of the bartenders and door-guys at the Jazzhaus, which helps when it comes to getting a drink, and getting around.
I used to go to the Jazzhaus for shows, or on Dollar-Fifty Night, but those are for other Posts, yet I think a few drinks with some friends on a Monday Night, and the tragic-comedy of Karaoke, is a good way to spend a night sometimes.