Cowgirl's Train Set and Sugar Britches make the perfect Halloween treat at The Bottleneck

 Cowgirl's Train Set is one of my favorite local bands, always playing brilliantly with a contagious energy and great songs. Halloween is one of the biggest nights of the year for concerts, parties and events at every bar and venue in Lawrence. On top of that, this year we had Game 4 of the World Series that same night, so Royals fans were packed around televisions until fairly late in the night. Competing with all this, The Bottleneck enjoyed a solid crowd of music lovers for their show.

 The concert started with openers Arthur and the Neanderthals and Sugar Britches, followed by a costume contest with an awesome line-up of creative and home-made designs, ending with Cowgirl's Train Set rocking out through the extra hour of daylight savings! 

 I arrived too late to see all of the opening sets, but caught the end of Sugar Britches, a talented four-piece, all-female band playing bluegrass and blues with lovely harmonies.

 Cowgirl's Train Set's eclectic style, instrumental solos and fan-favorite dancing tunes evoked the positive, endearing spirit that always makes me think of Lawrence itself. It struck me that Cowgirl's Train Set reflects the uplifting soul of Lawrence's vibrant music scene.

 Both bands' charismatic performances made for the perfect Halloween treat and I hope to see each of them again soon.

The Black Angels go gonzo on The Granada + Previews!

The Granada was weird and wild Friday night, with the magical bards of The Black Angels rocking out with intense, heavy, noise-laced psychedelic blues. My one regret: not arriving at the show MUCH earlier. Apparently there were a couple of very worthy openers, and the show ended obscenely early.

Let me just say that although I was too slow to catch Roky Erickson, I have listened to one of his albums online and it is phenomenal. I strongly urge anyone who likes psychedelic rock, blues, or rockabilly to give it a listen. I am quickly learning that this man is a legend and I have been living under a rock.

I was elated to see one of my all-time favorite bands performing live at The Granada with a spectacular lights show and an audience of people who appreciate greatness. You might imagine how very devastated I was when the band called it quits after just one hour of outstanding music. It was 12 p.m. Midnight. Part of me still cannot believe it. At first I thought, Surely this is a set break? Then I wondered, Is the clock on my phone running slow? To my horror, neither of these were correct. Then again, upon review of their previous shows, I am reluctant to admit that this is the norm. Perhaps my expectations for bands has been set high by a few more enduring performers.

The Black Angels play the most face-melting, mind-burning, acidic, brilliant, exquisite blues rock psychedelia you can see without the aid of a time machine. They hail of Austin, Texas and come to Lawrence every once and a while. I was sad to miss them last year, but had unwittingly made other plans I could not cancel. Before that, I thoroughly enjoyed their two shows at The Bottleneck in April and October of 2011. I predicted they would move up to a bigger venue after their shows sold out. Sure enough, they filled The Granada - maybe not sold out, but close - and could do so again, I am sure.

Old favorites like "Black Grease" are still a part of the live show, as well they should be. "Young Men Dead" was awesome, "Telephone" of course, is fun and it was great to hear "Bad Vibrations" live. Naturally the band played several songs off their newest album, Indigo Meadow including the title track, which I enjoy, though I have to say I think "Evil Things" is my favorite song off the new record.

All throughout the show, weird, trippy lights and effects were played out on a series of white screens set up behind the band. A camera recording the band playing cast a warped, colorful sort of infinity-shot of the band stacked up behind them on the screens.

The crowd, I have to say, was quite reserved. I was unabashedly enthusiastic throughout the set, but I was absolutely in the minority. Granted, The Black Angels isn't exactly a dance-party. But still, most folks were just standing and staring, not so much as a head-bob or hip shake. Still, they cheered well enough between songs, and thankfully, won a hard-earned two-song encore from the band in the end.

I love The Black Angels, in case that wasn't clear. Their music is amazing and their live show is incomparable. Even if their show was a little on the short side, it was still well worth the money and I cannot wait to see them again. I am seriously considering what it would take to get down to Austin for Psych Fest. If you ever have the opportunity to see this band, do not miss out!

Now for Previews:

This Tuesday, Dopapod will be at The Bottleneck with 3 Son Green! Any fans of improvisational electronic jam bands needs to be there!

Friday and Saturday night, The Floozies will be doing a double-dose of electronic dance-party epic-ness at The Bottleneck. Everyone is going to be there at least one of the two nights, so buy your tickets before this sells out!

Looking further ahead into this month, there are a lot of amazing shows I'd love to see.

Neutral Milk Hotel will be at The Uptown on Thursday, February 13th! "In the Aeroplane over the Sea" will always have a special place in my heart, so, I kinda wanna see them just for that.

Friday the 14th, Ashes to Immortality will be at The Jazzhaus! Folksy bluegrass never sounded so good!

Saturday the 15th, Truckstop Honeymoon will be at The Bottleneck with Cowgirl's Train Set!

Sunday the 23rd, Skinny Puppy will be at The Granada. I have never gotten to see the live show, but I hear it is insane. I cannot wait!

See you out there!

Boombox cranks up the decibels at The Bottleneck!

Thursday night was a blast, literally and figuratively. A big crowd of party people braved the cold on a week night to rage at The Bottleneck with the funky, dance-able rock that is Boombox!

The night started off a little slow. Opener Ramona was a one-woman act, playing catchy, somewhat chill electronics. Maybe if the crowd were a wee bit more inebriated or the lights were going wild, it might have made for a fine rave, but as it was, we had a calm foundation to build anticipation on.

Around 11 p.m. the main act took the stage in a seamless transition, that drew the audience to fill up the dance floor in no time. Slowly building up from a chill base, Boombox cultivated a funky dance party that kept the entire venue full of mounting energy throughout the night.

As promised, Zion and Russ put together a fantastic set of reworked fan favorites as well as new tunes, some from the newly released album, others, unrecorded tracks you can only catch at a live show. Revelers danced and cheered, got low and got drunk to the music.

The whole bar filled with smoke from fog machines and bright, colorful lights flashed and swirled through the clouds. The musicians were almost lost in the haze, but the music was certainly not smothered. The opener had started out relatively loud - perhaps to draw in passersby out on the street? - at the height of Boombox's set, the noise was blissfully deafening drowning out the fact that it was a Thursday night.

At long last, the guys left the stage around 1 p.m. The audience screamed and cheered for an encore, but it was a no go. Some gave up, fleeing for home, many stayed for another round of drinks, watching the stage crew pack up. It would have been nice to have an encore, but this is not the first time this has happened, and, as it was a week night, I suppose it's understandable. Regardless, Boombox threw down a great show and they will be greeted warmly next time they tour through Lawrence!

Boombox cranks up the rock'n'roll for their show tomorrow night at The Bottleneck!

Getting excited for tomorrow night's show at The Bottleneck! I just got the chance to talk with both members of Boombox as they were setting up and doing their soundcheck for their show in Omaha tonight! Zion and Russ are looking forward to returning to their favorite venue in Lawrence to lay down funky, dance-able rock for fans and music lovers.

"We've played there a couple of times before," Russ - on keys and drum machines - said, "We had a good time, it was a ways back, but we had a lot of fun!"

The last time I got the chance to see Boombox was at the Granada, a bigger venue, but not as intimate. Tomorrow Boombox will be bringing new songs, new versions of fan favorites and new visuals - which change on each tour. The guys say they also are carrying extra low-end equipment - look forward to heavy bass you can feel!

Boombox has a new record out as of earlier this month! "Filling in the Color" is a groovy mix of funky, electronic, rockin' dance tunes. Perfect for the dance floor, the car or a chill party, this album has a lot going on.

"This record is more rock'n'roll than our other two records," guitarist and singer Zion said, "We like wrapping songs with dance-able beats, but I think the songs take a stronger lead here. The actual album sounds the best of all, the clarity and definition, mixing and mastering."

The album is currently available to purchase online and is definitely worth a listen! Just sitting alone with the music playing, it's difficult to resist getting up and busting a move.

Recorded songs aside, Boombox has a lot of material not in any album as of yet.

"There are always new tracks in the works," Russ said. We can look forward to live songs you cannot get anywhere else!

Asked to describe tomorrow night's show, Zion had four words to say; "Get down, get funky!" Sounds like a plan.

Tomorrow The Bottleneck is going to be jam packed with dancing party people and music lovers. Be sure and get your tickets early if possible and do not miss the opener, Ramona! Tickets are $15, it's an all-ages show, doors open at 8 p.m.

See you out there!

Eric Mardis looks forward to Split Lip Rayfield's show on New Year's Eve at The Bottleneck!

The best night to rock out at a concert has got to be on New Years Eve. This year The Bottleneck sold out well before the big night, with a stellar lineup of bands, including headliner Split Lip  Rayfield!

"We love playing the Bottleneck for New Years...been something of a tradition for us over the band's lifetime," Eric Mardis of Split Lip Rayfield said, "It's probably the best gig of the year. The energy is always fantastic. The Bottleneck is one of my very favorite venues in the U.S. to play...of course, I'm a bit biased. That's our home bar...I've lived in Lawrence since 1990 and there's nowhere else I'd rather celebrate anything!
 
According to Eric, Split Lip has several new songs they have been working on in preparation for a new record. They plan on playing those along with fan favorites on NYE.

Fans of Split Lip were missing the band for a while in 2012, but thankfully the guys are back at it!

"We had a nice break in 2012 for sure, but we had no intention of being DONE. New Years seems like a perfect date to start our 2014." Eric said.

 

Eric says there is a new album in the works as well as more shows to look forward to. As for New Year's Resolutions: "Resolutions? Heh heh, I always quit smoking and drinking...maybe this time it will stick."

When asked to describe the NYE show, Erica said, "Hmmm, I think it will be like the Bill Hicks 'wax dart'." Haha!

At Split Lip's last show at the Granada, I heard the guys reference the show Metalocalypse, which is hilarious and also made me wonder if the band has any metal influence in their music. I had to ask Eric about it.

"Oh yeah. We joke about 'Grandpa's Guitars' and speak in fake Swedish accents at times. Old school metal influences like Iron Maiden, Dio, Deep Purple, Priest, Big 4 etc. Punk rock stuff too; Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat, Dag Nasty."

The Bottleneck is definitely the place to be this New Year's Eve. Split Lip Rayfield will be playing along with Granny Tweed and The Sunflower Colonels! It is so exciting to get to see Split Lip again!



"We enjoyed our time off, but we can't wait to get back to it," Eric said. "What a way to get the ball rolling... NYE at the Bottleneck!"

Mouth and 3 Son Green get super freaky at The Bottleneck + Previews!

The Bottleneck got wild and funky last night with 3 Son Green and Mouth playing all night. The dance floor was full and the bar was cheering on throughout the jam sessions. Mouth's set featured singer Bayley of Ashes to Immortality and the show reached its highest climax when both bands joined together on stage for an epic finale.

The night started off right with 3 Son Green jamming out to a good-sized crowd of fans and friends. The young musicians put together some clever funky renditions of popular holiday songs that had people laughing and dancing along. These guys always put on a great show and sure enough, last night their set was a full, satisfying exhibition of talent and good vibes.

Mouth came to the stage with some familiar hits of their own as well as a few fantastic covers. The tunes got down and dirty with heavy bass and drum action that drew an ever larger crowd onto the dance floor. Bayley joined the guys to sing some Rick James which had everyone moving to the groove. Mouth is a helluva band!

Last but not least after a short set break, both bands combined for a climactic third set of intricate, funky jams. The Bottleneck was fit to burst with energized dancing party people. Not to mention a fantastic lights show going on throughout the concert! This show was a great time for all - the kind of party that just does not want to end. I guess that's why we have after-parties!

Tonight Mouth will be playing at The Riot Room in KC with Brother Bagman, Ian Thumpur Leftwich, and Taste Bud G-Spot! The music starts at 8 p.m.!

Tuesday night is New Year's Eve! Split Lip Rayfield will be playing at The Bottleneck with Granny Tweed and The Sunflower Colonels! Doors open at 7 p.m. music at 8 p.m.!

If you couldn't get tickets to Split Lip, do not despair, there are other great shows on NYE!

Spud Patrol is playing a tribute show to DEVO at The Replay Lounge with Stay Sick! a tribute to The Cramps, and Dean Monkey & The Dropouts.

Bear Club is playing a special show at The Eighth Street Taproom; Midnight Kiss. Doors open at 9 p.m.

The Granada will be hosting #Assjamz New Year's Eve edition. Doors at 9 p.m.

At the Jazzhaus you can catch The Majestics ringing in the new year with covers. The show is $10.

Whatever you decide to do for NYE, have fun and be safe!

See you out there!

December heats up with awesome concerts!

Stave off the cold this month with some fantastic shows in Lawrence!

This Thursday The Brody Buster Band will be jamming with Electric Theory at Fatso's! Blues, rock and electronic dance party, all wrapped up...sounds too good to be true, but this is happening! Stop Day Eve, this will be the place to be!

Friday the 20th, there will be a FREE show at the Granada with Dumptruck Butterlips, featuring Free State Brewery's beer! Music starts at 10:30 p.m. and did I mention it's FREE?!

The Friday after that, the 27th, Mouth will be playing with 3 Son Green at The Bottleneck! This electronic jam session will be the most epic rager between now and New Year's Eve, don't miss out!

Finally, the night of the year, New Year's Eve! And there are two tempting shows in town.

Any fans of folk and blugrass? Split Lip Rayfield will be playing at The Bottleneck with Granny Tweed and The Sunflower Colonels! Doors open at 7 p.m. music at 8 p.m.!

More in a mood for punk this New Year's Eve? Spud Patrol is playing a tribute show to DEVO at The Replay Lounge with Stay Sick! a tribute to The Cramps, and Dean Monkey & The Dropouts. I love The Cramps and I enjoyed Dean Monkey & The Dropouts the one time I saw them a while back, so this is a tempting opportunity. Either way, it's going to be a good night!

See you out there!