The Devil Makes Three, Rosie Flores, Pinback: The Local Spins Weekend Photo Gallery (April 27)

The Soil & The Sun’s mid-week homecoming show launched several days of live gems that included singular sets by Jimmie Stagger, The Outer Vibe, Chance Jones, Junior Valentine and Alice Peacock.

 

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

While that may be true, there were plenty of stories to be told to go along with those photos this weekend at live shows across the Grand Rapids area:

• Local music legend Jimmie Stagger churned out only a few songs Friday on his vintage resonator guitar before heading to another gig, but they were quiet blues classics played as only Stagger can play them. Indeed, that was the point: The cozy reception at Richard App Gallery on Cherry Street SE in Grand Rapids gave folks just a taste of what’s to come — the kickoff to an Indiegogo-based campaign to raise funds to finance what organizer Hank Mowery and producer Tommy Schichtel have vowed will showcase Stagger’s prodigious talents as no other recording ever has. The excitement among those involved in the upcoming project is palpable, with tracks for the album slated to be laid down at Schichtel’s all-analog Goon Lagoon studios. Starting Monday, fans can contribute to the Indigogo campaign through the link at http://igg.me/at/jimmiestagger. (The link won’t be active until Monday.)

• Ebullient members of The Outer Vibe unveiled four impressive new songs during an intimate-yet-rollicking affair at The Stache inside The Intersection on Thursday, spotlighting their new drummer Noah Snyder in the process. (The young musician even came out from behind the kit to sing a hyper-animated rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll” to roars of approval from rambunctious fans.) Lead singer Sean Zee said Snyder officially joined the band in January after drummer Jeff Brems moved to Cleveland with his girlfriend to pursue a teaching job. Snyder had served as a roadie with the band so already was “a part of our family,” Zee said, noting Snyder offers “new promise and energy. That’s why we’ve been able to write so much new music.” Check out an exclusive Local Spins video of the band’s live performance of the new tune, “Take It Slow,” below.

• The Pyramid Scheme celebrated its third anniversary in ultra-fine fashion on Saturday, with a sold-out, kaleidoscopic rock show featuring California indie-rock outfit Pinback, accompanied by local faves Ghost Heart and Charles the Osprey. Local Spins contributing writer Tricia Woolfenden described it thus: Ghost Heart opened by performing a strong set of previously unreleased songs. The four-piece’s percussive, dreamlike style persists, but the new material also demonstrates a new layer of sonic complexity. Charles the Osprey’s two-man attack, meanwhile, proved that theirs “go to eleven.” And headliner Pinback, the San Diego band most closely associated with vocalists/multi-instrumentalists Rob Crow and Zach Smith, offered an alternately tight and riotous 90-minute-plus set. The duo, joined by drummer Chris Prescott, covered a satisfying mix of career-spanning material, with performance of the 1999 track “Loro” reigning as one of the musical highlights. Smith, who seemed to play the straight man to Crow’s assorted stage antics, simply owned the bass. Crow, clearly in a celebratory mood, wandered several times into the crowd and at one point passed his guitar to the front row. It created an atmosphere of controlled chaos, aka “What the hell is he going to do now?”

Elsewhere:

• Grand Rapids space-folk phenoms The Soil & The Sun — after East and West Coast swings and appearances at South By Southwest — returned for a mid-week homecoming concert at The Pyramid Scheme, with Boston folk-rock band The Ballroom Thieves;

• Junior Valentine, Jason Wheeler and Brandan Grinwis entertained an overflow crowd by uncorking rhythmic American roots music inside the studio at Schuler Books & Music in Grand Rapids, with Valentine and Grinwis also performing the following evening at the Kirby Grill in Grand Haven as part of the Chilly Blues Festival (which was headlined by Big James & The Chicago Playboys).

• Singer-songwriter Alice Peacock, the first to ever perform a Pin Drop Concert at Spring Lake’s Seven Steps Up, returned to play a near-capacity show, followed the next night by emerging artist Hannah Thomas who offered up a request-driven night for a small cadre of fans.

• Texas rockabilly queen Rosie Flores and her band delivered vintage honky-tonk strains for a receptive audience at the Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill, warmed up by West Michigan’s own rockabilly queen Delilah DeWylde & The Lost Boys.

• California’s The Devil Makes Three returned to Grand Rapids to play for a big crowd at The Intersection, unfurling their own version of Americana and rockabilly, with the rootsy Joe Fletcher & The Wrong Reasons opening the night.

• The Crane Wives, The Accidentals and Vic and Gab played what was described as a truly unique, memorable and “explosive” show on Saturday night at the Frauenthal Center for the Performing Arts in Muskegon, hosted by Luke Sass’ Gold Coast Entertainment (which posted video of the event at its website, too).

• Grand Rapids’ Chance Jones, Heavier Than Air Flying Machines and Convotronics presented a wide-ranging, genre-bending showcase of West Michigan talent in their appearance at The Pyramid Scheme.

CLICK FOR A BONUS LOCAL SPINS PHOTO PAGE

Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
Copyright 2014, Spins on Music