Concert Week in Review: MewithoutYou, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Nobody’s Girl, Gov’t Mule, Joe Hertler, Jake Simmons, Black Jake

Blues, rock, folk, Americana, funk, pop, ‘crabgrass’ and more: Local Spins’ week-in-review photo galleries cover the gamut of live music from Grand Rapids to Kalamazoo to Spring Lake.

 

Emerging, 17-year-old Michigan blues-rock star Jake Kershaw told much of the story of West Michigan’s weekend of music.

On Friday night, he had a chance to meet Gov’t Mule frontman and guitarist Warren Haynes at Grand Rapids’ 20 Monroe Live, where the much-beloved, Southern rock jam band electrified fans with a performance that even featured a guest appearance by eastern Michigan guitarist Larry McCray.

On Saturday, Kershaw took the stage himself — opening for one of his heroes, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, at Kalamazoo’s State Theatre.

And there was much more he could have taken in had he had the time and a Star Trek-styled transporter:

California rock/post-hardcore band MewithouYou firing up The Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids, new Austin super-group Nobody’s Girl making its only Michigan tour stop at Spring Lake’s Seven Steps Up, folk icon Arlo Guthrie lighting up State Theatre, Southwest Michigan’s Jake Simmons & The Little Ghosts unfurling new music at an album-release show at Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo, Ypsilanti’s Black Jake & The Carnies unleashing its “crabgrass” assault at Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill, and Mississippi’s Steve Azar and band playing the Music to Benefit Music event at Hudsonville’s Pinnacle Center.

Check out all of the images here — exclusively at Local Spins. And see a separate recap and photo gallery from this weekend’s Lamp Light Music Festival in Grand Rapids: Lamp Light maintains intimacy, rolls out ‘awesome’ performances

PHOTO GALLERY: MewithoutYou, Smidley at The Pyramid Scheme (Wednesday)
Photos by Katy Batdorff and Kendra Kamp

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PHOTO GALLERY: Gov’t Mule at 20 Monroe Live (Friday)
Photos by Jamie Geysbeek

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PHOTO GALLERY: Nobody’s Girl at Seven Steps Up (Friday)
Photos by Hau Tran

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PHOTO GALLERY: Arlo Guthrie, Sarah Lee Guthrie at Kalamazoo State Theatre (Friday)
Photos by Derek Ketchum

As to be expected, Arlo Guthrie regaled the crowd with stories all night long as his “Back by Popular Demand: Alice’s Restaurant Tour” made a pit stop at the Kalamazoo State Theatre Friday night. The famed folk singer waxed on tales of family, his lengthy career and stories behind the songs, leaving the crowd in stitches at numerous points.

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the legendary “Alice’s Restaurant” film, inspired by his narrative classic, attendees were treated to a cinematic opening of a cartoon-laden video of “Motorcycle Song” as Guthrie entered the stage mid-song and took things over live. There were plenty of highlights, such as a gorgeous “Darkest Hour” and rousing “City of New Orleans,” but the marquee moment was no doubt Guthrie nailing every word and carefully timed note during “Alice’s” as the crowd sang along and watched the movie roll behind him, synced up perfectly.

Guthrie, playing with his longtime band, that includes son Abe on keys, was also joined by daughter Sarah Lee, who took over center stage for a good portion of the show, pre-intermission. Sarah Lee’s stories were near as entertaining as her father’s and her songs and voice resonated and moved many in the audience. Her online videos don’t do her justice. Like her father and grandfather before her, she needs to be experienced live. — Ryan Boldrey

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PHOTO GALLERY: Jake Simmons & The Little Ghosts, The Mushmen, Sexy Toxins at Bell’s Brewery
Photos by Derek Ketchum

VIDEO: Jake Simmons and The Little Ghosts at Bell’s
Video by Ryan Boldrey

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PHOTO GALLERY: Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers at Elevation (Saturday)
Photos by Anna Sink

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PHOTO GALLERY: Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jake Kershaw at Kalamazoo State Theatre (Saturday)
Photos by Derek Ketchum

The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band gave blues fans what they came to see Saturday night in Kalamazoo. Playing in front of a relatively full crowd, the band dug back deep for cuts such as “In 2 Deep,” “Never Mind,” and “De Ja Vu” early on in the set, while balancing things out with newer songs such as the softer, “Heat of the Sun” and crowd-pleasing “Diamonds & Gold.” And just when you thought things were getting predictable as the band came out to encore with its 1997 monster smash, “Blue on Black,” Shepherd hit every note imaginable on Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child” to close out the show.

Without question Shepherd’s guitar solos are what people came to see, and they undoubtedly left pleased, but the head-turning keyboard work of Joe Krown and vocals and antics of Noah Hunt were every bit as much a part of the show.

As per the opener, if one were to use his last appearance at the Kalamazoo State Theatre as a measuring stick, Jake Kershaw’s performance was both bigger and badder than it was when he opened for the legendary Tab Benoit at the venue last December. The confidence that the Marshall teen sensation took the stage with this time around was undeniable as he traded jaw-dropping solos with keyboard player Adam Prior during “Have You Ever Loved a Woman,” relished in the spotlight throughout the evening, and ripped through renditions of Sammy Hagar’s “Montrose Hot, Sweet and Sticky” and Jimmy Forrest’s “Night Train.” Kershaw did what an opener is supposed to do, energizing the crowd from the start, many of whom appeared to be there just as much for him as they were for the headlining act. — Ryan Boldrey

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PHOTO GALLERY: Black Jake & The Carnies at Tip Top Deluxe (Saturday)
Photos by Anna Sink

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VIDEO: Steve Azar & Band at The Pinnacle Center (Saturday)

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