Sunday, September 29, 2013

Cowgirl's Train Set debut album Bastards and Broken Things rocks like a gypsy pirate punk!

Cowgirl's Train Set is a fresh take on traditional American music. The Lawrence-based band has developed and honed a sound that combines sharp skill and fierce love into something beautiful.  Their debut album, Bastards and Broken Things, is a brilliant collection of songs that exemplifies the heart and soul of Cowgirl's Train Set, a mix of fun and fire that rocks all the way through.

You have to hear a band to really know what they sound like, but to put it into words, Cowgirl's Train Set sounds like a gypsy-pirate speakeasy. The band incorporates folksy bluegrass, swinging blues and punk rock, all seamlessly mixed into a delicious cocktail for the ears.

In Bastards and Broken Things you get a taste of everything from bitter, growling blues ballads to sweet, twangy folk dances. The album has 13 songs, each one of them solid gold. The musicianship is superb and the production quality is great. Even the CD case and album art are awesome! You can preview the album and buy it online here.

Cowgirl's Train Set plays live shows with a passion and energy that the audience can feel. They are always fun, even when playing songs about heartache and frustration and there is an underlying professionalism to the band, no matter how raucous the music gets. Their lighthearted, yet passionate spirit is captured clearly in every song on the new album from start to finish.

The band comes together beautifully in this album with every musician adding a unique part that builds up to full, powerful pieces. Front man Mike plays guitar and sings with his soulful, growling voice. Chris' fiddle dances through the air while Chad's racing banjo sweeps the listener away while he adds vocals too. Depending on the song, Jeff plays either a smooth, gentle cello or boisterous, tough harmonica. Hank knocks out the punk-rock beats on his upright bass and sings as well. Albert's Sax adds a delightful touch of brazen sauce to the mix. And Molly's lovely vocals and mandolin make it all the sweeter.

Bastards and Broken Things is a great collection of music to listen to anywhere, anytime. It radiates relentless energy and a steadfast charm that makes it impossible to ignore. Some of my favorite songs from the album include "One Less Thing to Lose," "A Little Company," "Fire and Gasoline," and the glorious party anthem "Devil's First Mate."

Cowgirl's Train Set is a young band full of spunk and talent. Without a doubt we are just seeing the beginning of a band with a great deal of potential. Fans, friends and music lovers can look forward to more fantastic art from these musicians, but for now, Bastards and Broken Things is a very satisfying recording to sate all our musical cravings.

You can see Cowgirl's Train Set live, Thursday, October 10th, at The Bottleneck with 40 Watt Dreams and Tyler Gregory! They are releasing the debut album and on top of that it's going to be a Masquerade Ball! Masks will be available at the doors! Doors open at 8 p.m.






Saturday, September 28, 2013

The Buzz Beach Ball: A horror story with good music + Previews

The Buzz Beachball day-long concert extravaganza is quite the event. Located at Berkley Riverfront Park, it is a blackbelt test of patience just getting in and finding parking. Especially if you were not aware you needed ten dollars cash until you have endured the gauntlet of traffic leading up to the park.

The real problem may be that this almost-all-day event was scheduled for a Friday. It started at like, 3 p.m. On a Friday. Not a Saturday. It boggles the mind. Most people do not get off work until 5 and then get to endure the hell-on-earth that is rush-hour traffic leading to that unholy intersection of I-35 and I-70 where this concert is situated.

This terrible choice of weekday also means that most people get to miss all the opening bands, including some very good bands like Cage the Elephant and Daughter. Alas, I am one of those weirdos with a job Monday through Friday, 8-5.

But it's not ALL bad. Once you've survived all the nonsense and overcome the disappointment of the bad timing, there are some awesome bands still playing. The two-stage setup was a stroke of genius since there is virtually always music playing, while one band plays on one stage, they set up the other stage for the next band.

Kitten rocked out on the smaller stage. Their hit single G# was played beautifully, although the lead singer was gyrating on stage in a raunchy display that matched the beautiful and bittersweet sound of the song like a clown at a funeral. But whatever, she was cute as hell.

AWOLNATION took the main stage and rolled out all their big hits along with a few lesser-known - but still awesome songs. It was a different experience hearing them live. Musically it may not have been as great, because the keys were turned down way too low and some songs just don't have the same production quality when a band plays live, but that is to be expected. On the other hand the crowd was great and sang along, waved hands and jumped along with the lead singer, who knew how to keep it lively.



Ms. Mr. was up next at the second stage. The rising star has one brilliant hit, Hurricane, which everyone loved, but their other songs were less than thrilling. There are bands that become well-known thanks to a single and from there, people discover the rest of their work is also great and they grow from there. Then there are so-called one-hit-wonders, who are only known for that one good song they did, because it really is the only good one. As of now, it appears Ms. Mr. may be in the latter category.



Then Alt-J brought the most enthusiastic crowd thus far in the night. The curious, unique sound of the band has captivated audiences and quickly made these guys a big hit. They have already played some large, sold-out shows in KC before and this outdoor event was no different. Folks danced to the dance-able parts or stared, entranced throughout the set - which included their great singles and lots more. These guys could easily have been the headliners.



Coheed and Cambria appeared to be a far-less popular follow-up. Their attempt at face-melting metal was not really the crowd's cup of tea.

Phoenix was set as the headliner for this event, however, it could have just as easily been Alt-J or even AWOLNATION. Phoenix has some great songs, but not everyone was all that excited to stick it out after 10 p.m. to see them live. Why? Because it's Friday damn it. A lot of concert-goers - myself included - were already exhausted and wanted to beat the crowd escaping the maw of death that was that cluster-fuck traffic situation getting both in and out of the park.

Again, this is a logistical shortcoming like nothing seen since the Japanese lost the Battle of Midway. It's friggin FRIDAY. People have been up since early in the morning, worked all day, endured rush-hour and in many cases, went without dinner just to see the later half of the show. We're TIRED. And the headliner was a good band, but nothing amazing.

So it was not a great surprise that hundreds of people decided to leave early, following Alt-J's satisfying set. It was also not a great surprise that leaving the park was even MORE difficult than getting in. I spent over an hour getting out. It would have probably been over 3 hours - seriously, I am not exaggerating - if not for the hairbrained scheme of a random stranger who spoke to the driver in the car in front of me, then passed the word along back to me.

Following the car ahead of me, we ditched the stand-still nightmare where we had only crawled about 30 feet in 45 minutes, rolled side-long around a steep, grassy incline, then gently dropped off the lawn and onto the street where cars seemed to have tons of space and were driving at a steady clip onto the bridge to salvation. Hundreds of people were trapped in their cars, turning off the engines to sit out 15-20 minutes, only to start up again and roll a couple of feet and then stop and shut off the engine all over again. It was disgusting.

To summarize, I can appreciate how awesome and convenient it might sound to see some of the greatest new alternative rock bands all at one place, at one time. But IT'S NOT. The Buzz selected a Time and Place that make a virtual nightmare out of a great idea. Unless the day of the week is moved to a Saturday or the location is changed to somewhere other than Daedelus' labyrinth, I am not going again, and I urge you not to either. You can see these great bands at better venues, better times, save money and spare yourself all the time and stress.

Now for Previews:

Tonight there are few tempting shows in Lawrence!

Truckstop Honeymoon will be playing at The Granada! Any fans of folksy Americana need $10, be there at 8 p.m.

Ras Neville and the Kingstonians are playing reggae at the Jazzhaus for just $5 at 10 p.m.!

Muscle Worship will be rocking out like a punk at The Replay Lounge also at 10 p.m.!

Thursday, the 3rd, Gold Panda will be at The Granada. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. This is some weird, interesting electronica, but I like weird, so it might be awesome.

See you out there!

Saturday, September 21, 2013

The Hearts of Darkness get unplugged at the Bottleneck with SUNU + Previews!

Friday night the Bottleneck got funky as could be with SUNU and The Hearts of Darkness filling up the stage with musicians and jamming the venue with music. While tons of other shows vied for an audience in Lawrence and Kansas City, the seductive draw of groovy funk tunes won a large crowd. SUNU made for a perfect warm-up act and The Hearts of Darkness killed with a massive band of fourteen.

Lawrence's own SUNU brought an early crowd to the Bottleneck and started the night off right with their jazzy R&B. Packing a punch of brass and percussion, SUNU rocked out for a growing audience, warming up the venue to a fever. From the dance floor to the back of the venue listeners were enjoying the funky afrobeat music.

The Hearts of Darkness took the stage for a crowd that was already hot and ready for action. The band of brass, percussion, keys, guitars and vocals brought more sound than most any band can summon. A horde of dancers flooded the dance floor while music soaked the air.

Featuring trumpet and saxophones, trombones, keys, guitar and bass, congas and percussionists and great vocals too, The Hearts of Darkness build a thrilling, big-band sound like no one else. The Kansas City afrobeat band has a great reputation for throwing down great music and parties. That reputation was proven true once again as the Bottleneck went wild all night with The Hearts of Darkness.



And now for Previews:

Tomorrow night, Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn will be playing at Liberty Hall. Bela Fleck is the world-reknowned banjo virtuoso and will melt your face off with his insane skills. Bring a helmet in case your brain blows up and a mask to contain face melting. Doors open at 7 p.m. Music starts at 8 p.m.


Friday night, Mountain Sprout will be playing at the Bottleneck with Coyote Union. The acoustic bluegrass bands will undoubtedly throw down a wild party. Mountain Sprout always brings a good crowd and these guys know how to have a good time. Doors at 8 p.m. Music at 9 p.m.

Also Friday night, 96.5's Buzz Beach Ball concert will be rocking out all day. The epic list of artists is almost too much to believe: Phoenix, Alt-J, Awolnation, Cage The Elephant, Daughter, Atlas Genius, Radkey, Coheed and Cambria, Ms. Mr., Kitten, Wavves, Hanni El Khatib, Little Green Cars and Saints of Valory. This amazing concert will be a blast!

See you out there!

Josh Vowell band plays the blues to a quiet Jazzhaus while Disappears fill the Replay Lounge with shoegaze

Thursday night there was music everywhere downtown, but not enough listeners to appreciate it. Sure it was a week night and there had been heavy rain earlier in the evening, but music lovers missed out big time when the Josh Vowell band played at the Jazzhaus.

The crowd was small, but very lucky to enjoy the wild, face-melting guitar of Josh Vowell and the soulful harmonica of Justin Shelton. Backed up by a solid drummer and funky guitarist, the band came together for dynamic blues rock and took the time to show off some fantastic solos as well. The rockin' blues drew a few people to the dance floor for a song or two, but had there been a larger crowd the place would have been far more lively.

Though the Josh Vowell band is a local group and should be well known, the Lawrence music scene missed them Thursday night. On can only hope that blues lovers will get more chances to appreciate great musicians like these soon!

Meanwhile that same night, bands from as far as California and Illinois drew a good-sized crowd at the Reply Lounge just down the street from the Jazzhaus.

Weekend from California opened for Disappears from Illinois, a shoegaze rock band that can fill a room with hypnotic garage rock. Thursday night Disappears jammed for a full audience at the Replay Lounge. Disappears' music is slow, yet aggressive, addictive and captivating. It harkens back to old shoegaze classics like The Smiths and carries a flavor of dark psychedelia like The Doors.

Thankfully at least one good band received the audience it deserved, it is too bad there were not enough music lovers out Thursday night to appreciate everything going on downtown.



Monday, September 9, 2013

Ashes to Immortality plays for Lawrence before taking a hiatus + Previews!

Saturday night was a special time for Lawrence as one of the greatest bands to emerge from this musical town played a final show before taking a brief hiatus for the Fall. Ashes to Immortality rocked out at the Jazzhaus for a crowd of friends and fans before some of the band members go on vacations and adventures. Lawrence offered the young bards a good send-off with some dancing and drinking and good vibes all around.

Following the recent release of their new album, Ashes to Immortality has been busy with shows in various venues, but it felt appropriate to see the band play an intimate couple of sets for their last concert for a few months. The entire band played their hearts out, jamming to old tunes and some of the tracks from the aforementioned album.

The bar got quite full at the height of the show, as music lovers gathered for two sets of awesome bluegrassy Americana like you just cannot get anywhere else. A mixed crowd of all shapes and sizes packed the bar and danced along to the band, filling the dance floor by the second set.

It will be sad to go months without seeing Ashes to Immortality play live, but not only will they be back again, but in the meantime there is always their fantastic album to enjoy anytime, anywhere!

And now for Previews:

Wednesday night The Rackatees will be playing at The Replay Lounge with Parasties and Flamingo Nosebleeds! Get down to some weird and wild pop rock starting at 10 p.m.

Friday the hardcore Metal band Kamelot will be jousting at The Granada. Any fans of headbanging, epic progr-rock-esque, metal cannot afford to miss this show! Tickets range from $25-$65! This show is all ages and doors open at 7 p.m.

That very same night, 3 Son Green will be getting funky with the jams at the Jazzhaus. For $5 you can get down and boogey too! Doors open at 10 p.m.

See you out there!