Concert Review: The Cult @ Newport Music Hall, Columbus, OH (5/23/01)

This show was something of a personal disaster, and it probably a strong contender for why I don't enjoy going to big venues for shows. Isn't that a fantastic way to start a concert review?

I was never a huge fan of The Cult. I liked a few songs off of Sonic Temple, Love and Electric, but I was actually more of a fan of their odd 1994 self-titled album, as well as Ian Astbury's solo Sprit/Light/Speed from 2000. In the spring of 2001, the new album Beyond Good And Evil was still a few months away from being released, but it was a big deal the band was back together after several years apart, and the first single "Rise" caught my attention. Yes, it had the big Bob Rock production and down-tuned guitars, things that would usually turn me off, however in this instance, I was psyched. So when my friends and bandmates Keith and Jason were getting tickets, I said count me in.

As a concert goer, I tend to be pretty chill. I just want to stand, nod my head a bit, enjoy the music and performance. As soon as we walked in and found a spot on the floor, I knew this was not going to be that kind of evening. Maybe it was the hard rock vibe the band gave off, though I always thought of them as a bit more artsy and adventurous, but the crowd was full of amp'd up assholes. The kind of guys shoving through the crowd, looking to agitate someone into a confrontation. I have never understood that inclination, and I was immediately on edge as The Cult started, opening with the single "Rise."

RIP Shawn Smith

I remember the first time I heard Shawn Smith's voice. Spring 1996, Bowling Green State University during one of my regular shifts at WFAL 680AM. We had a promo cd single for the song "Without Love." It was either in regular rotation, or in our recent released "Currents" stack, from which we had discretion to play a few times an hour.

It didn't slap me upside the head immediately, it was more, hmmm this is different, I like this. It was urgent and soulful, and several years into the alternative explosion of the 90s, grunge, etc., I was diving into other sounds than just heavy guitar rock. First it was the alternative country of Wilco, Son Volt, Uncle Tupelo and The Jayhawks. Around that time, I discovered and devoured albums by Cibo Matto, Hum, Soul Coughing, The Tragically Hip, Poe, Guided By Voices, Tricky and others thanks to our fearless music director Matt Shiverdecker.

During the summer the album The Family was released, which I picked it up at either Finder's or Madhatters in BG. I wasn't aware A) this was the second album or B) that lead singer Shawn Smith was also in several bands at the same time. Turned out that my friends Keith and Jason we're already ahead of the curve on Shawn Smith, and fans of the first Satchel album EDC, as well the debut album Shame with his other band Brad, which featured Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam.

15 Years Ago: The Moving Parts at the Treebar

While recently searching through the Cringe.com website for some info, I stumbled upon these pictures from fifteen years ago when The Moving Parts played the Treebar here in Columbus. Damn, I was thin! (credit to Joel Treadway for the taking the pics)

Throw Another Log On The Fire

I haven't written much on the blog recently, but it's not because I'm not busy. In fact, it is (to the consternation of my wife) quite the opposite. Here's what's going on:

DOWN TO HIGH STREET
After building and growing the Columbus music discography database in preparation for the oral history book project currently titled "Down To High Street," I've actually started scheduling and conducting interviews. This is going to be a long process, based on the flexibility to chat with interview subjects, so I have no designs on completing it this year. My hope is by end of 2019, interviews will be done and I'll be on to organizing and editing.

EVEN MORE SMALL STORIES
Upon the release of Small Stories last year, in addition to raised eyebrows about some of the stories from certain family members, I also got a barrage of, "Hey, you know what story was hilarious that you left out? This one!" I compiled those stories, and managed to recall a few others that were not previously written up, and have started the process of fleshing out the full stories for a second volume of Small Stories, which incidentally, is now available over at Amazon via Kindle for just .99 cents.

Pics from LoveMuffinPalooza @ the Symposium

This past weekend, Keith and I drove up to Cleveland to play some Moving Parts tunes at our old friend and 10watt bandmate Adam Rich's LoveMuffinPalooza, celebrating his record label.

Though playing without drums and bass wasn't ideal, we were able to pull it off fairly well. Adam took some pics of us, here are a couple shots from the show.

Photos from Moving Parts Show @ the Newport (8/24/08)

Anytime I've gotten to play the Newport Music Hall here in Columbus, it's felt like a big deal, even if it really wasn't. Way back in 2000, I played with my band The Stepford Five as a part of a college battle of the bands. It was poorly attended and we lost, but still, it was the Newport. The second time we played there was just after our guitarist Jason Dziak sliced open his hand, which left us with no time to find and practice with a temporary fill-in. We went on as a three-piece, and halfway through the set, I broken a bass string (which never happened again), and had to borrow another one from a band, who used a headless Steinberg. It was not a good night.

This time, we got to play to an actual crowd, though it was with The Moving Parts, thanks to headliner Shooter Jennings. It was a good night, the crowd was into it, we got a nice compliment from a member of Shooter's band, and it was fun. Hopefully, more of that is to come.