Thanksgiving gave live music fans plenty for which to be thankful: some rising EDM stars at The Intersection, a much-anticipated CD-release show at Founders Brewing and rockabilly fervor at the Tip Top.
Vox Verve: Molly Bouwsma Schultz of Vox Vidorra owned the stage at Founders Brewing on Saturday. (Photo/Anna Sink)
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It all started on what’s alleged to be the busiest bar night of the year (part of which you can check out in an earlier Local Spins photo gallery) and just kept on humming through the long holiday weekend.
West Michigan’s live music offerings included:
Tip Top Return: Josh from Jesse Ray & The Carolina Catfish. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
Chicago’s Flosstradamus, plus GTA and Two-9, absolutely lighting up a sold-out, amped-up crowd at The Intersection in Grand Rapids on Friday night with their EDM/hip hop mania after lined up around the block to get into the show;
West Michigan’s The Truckstop Cobras emerging from a long slumber to open for Detroit’s Twistin’ Tarantulas at the Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill on Friday. Fans Mary and Ron Boot called it “a monumental event,” with the Truckstop Cobras “swinging and hitting hard” with their vintage sound, even cranking out some classic Clash tunes. The Twistin’ Tarantulas, meanwhile, got the crowd’s attention thanks to Pistol Pete’s “bass-playing” prowess and the band’s surprising selection of tunes.
Atmospheric rock’s Ghost Heart, soulful Grand Rapids band Vox Vidorra and folk super-group Backyard Songbook playing Founders Brewing on Saturday (as part of Ghost Heart’s CD-release show for its new album, “The Effigy”). The size of the audience nearly matched that of The Soil & The Sun’s packed-tight-as-sardines CD-release show a few months ago, with Vox Vidorra rocking out a triumphant set that not only spotlighted Molly Bouwsma-Schultz’s charismatic stage presence but the band’s wholly distinctive soul-infused rock approach. Ghost Heart, meanwhile, enhanced its instrumentally inventive, psychedelic milieu with fetching, cleverly lighted stage props (a la Genesis’ “Lamb Lies Down on Broadway”) as band members adroitly unleashed percussion-driven selections from “The Effigy.” Check out some video highlights below, along with some photos from Ghost Heart’s appearance as part of the Local Spins on WYCE radio show on Friday.
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Singer-songwriter Jess Klein returning to Spring Lake’s Seven Steps Up on Saturday, with Mike June opening the show;
Grand Rapids’ own Jesse Ray & The Carolina Catfish rocking the West Side’s Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill, opening for Milwaukee’s Highlonesome and Last False Hope.
Flosstradamus, Ghost Heart, Vox Vidorra, Backyard Songbook photos by Anna Sink
Truckstop Cobras, Twistin’ Tarantulas photos by Boot Pics
Jess Klein, Mike June photos by Matt Jarrells
Jesse Ray & The Carolina Catfish photos by Anthony Norkus
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