Relive Memorial Day weekend’s musical marvels in photos and videos, from Bell’s Brewery & State Theatre in Kalamazoo to 20 Monroe Live & Founders Brewing in Grand Rapids to the Local Spins Summer Kickoff.
Sizzling Summer Set: The Accidentals fired up a lively performance at the Local Spins Summer Kickoff on Sunday. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
Hard to imagine better bands than Los Lobos and The Accidentals to get the summer party started.
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Vance Joy (Photo/Jamie Geysbeek)
Both bands ignite spirited fan responses and a dance-happy milieu, and both helped kick-start West Michigan’s summer of music over the long Memorial Day weekend, aka the unofficial beginning of summer (which this year, appropriately, was accompanied by a heat wave).
One of them did the honors at Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo on Friday, the other outside HopCat-Grand Rapids on Sunday for the Local Spins Summer Kickoff event, which also featured Conrad Shock + The Noise.
Check out recaps of both shows here, plus photo galleries from three inspiring Thursday shows: Southern rock-fueled Marcus King Band with Erin Coburn at Kalamazoo’s State Theatre, Nicholas James Thomasma’s Bob Dylan Tribute at Founders Brewing in Grand Rapids and Vance Joy firing up a sold-out 20 Monroe Live in Grand Rapids.
LOS LOBOS AT BELL’S BREWERY IN KALAMAZOO (Friday)
Delivering Latin, blues and rock ‘n’ roll at its finest, Los Lobos brought its Hall-of-Fame nominated sound to Bell’s Brewery Eccentric Café Friday night.
David Hidalgo (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
Despite the high-dollar ticket price (ranging from $50-85) no one seemed to leave disappointed as fans were overheard talking about how nice it was to see the band — which has opened up for the likes of The Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan and U2 over the years — take the stage in such a small, intimate space as Bell’s.
Hitting on tunes from all decades of the band’s 45-year history, David Hidalgo, Cesar Rosas, Steve Berlin and company offered up cuts such as “I Got to Let You Know,” “The Valley,” “I’m Sorry,” “Mariachi Suite” and “How Will the Wolf Survive?” to engage the crowd throughout the evening as a rousing late-first-set cover of the Allman Brothers’ “One Way Out” sent attendees into a fist-pumping, sing-a-long, dancing frenzy.
Hidalgo’s jaw-dropping guitar licks, familiar voice and accordion were accompanied throughout the show by Berlin’s flair on the saxophone and keys, Rosas’ guitar licks and vocals, the rhythm of drummer Enrique Gonzales and bassist Conrad Lozano, and the added guitar of Louie Perez.
After announcing at one point that “this is the part we take requests,” shouts of “La Bamba” rang out. “No, not that one,” the band joked and then eventually weaved that No. 1 hit into an encore packed with Grateful Dead classics and classic covers that segued from Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away” into the Dead’s “Bertha” into a “La Bamba” to “Good Lovin’” to “La Bamba” jam to close out the show. – Ryan Boldrey
PHOTO GALLERY: Los Lobos at Bell’s
Photos by Derek Ketchum
THE ACCIDENTALS, CONRAD SHOCK: LOCAL SPINS SUMMER KICKOFF OUTSIDE HOPCAT GRAND RAPIDS (Sunday)
Hot temperatures and equally hot music from Conrad Shock + the Noise and The Accidentals made this year’s Local Spins Summer Kickoff outside HopCat Grand Rapids on Sunday a sizzling success — and the ideal way to heating things up for a hectic summer of outdoor music.
Conrad Shock + The Noise (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
The Accidentals — the headlining trio of performers based in Traverse City who call themselves “Orch dorks, band geeks and theater nerds” with pride on stage — delivered a highly energetic performance despite the heat. The band artfully mixes instruments found in a typical rock band with orchestra staples — Sav Buist on violin and Katie Larson on cello — to create a unique genre all their own.
With palpable excitement, the band debuted new music off its Sony Music Masterworks debut album “Odyssey,”as well as a crowd-pleaser for residents of their home state, “Michigan and Again.” The band also displayed its versatility by performing the Jack White jam “Lazaretto.”
“My favorite moment from The Accidentals performance was when they started playing ‘Lazaretto,'” John Conrad Schaak of Conrad Shock + The Noise said. “Everyone from my band was scattered around, but when the song started, we all made eye contact when we realized what song the guitar riff was from.”
Sun, heat, music. (Photo/Veronica Leigh Anderson)
The singer and guitarist also was thrilled to share a stage with a fast-rising national act such as The Accidentals, with both bands regaling a crowd of several hundred that included participants from the HopCat Beer Me! 5K Race sponsored by Oddside Ales, an event that immediately preceded the performances.
Schaak conceded that his favorite song performed during his band’s 50-minute set has a misleading title, “Pills n’ Fruit.” Straight off their upcoming new album, the track touches on the subject of social media and phones becoming an addiction.
This year’s free Local Spins Summer Kickoff, celebrating the sixth anniversary of the Local Spins website (and coincidentally, the sixth anniversary of The Accidentals), was staged with support from HopCat, The Pinnacle Center, Local First and WYCE-FM (88.1). – Katlin Merby
PHOTO GALLERY: Local Spins Summer Kickoff 2018
Photos by Anthony Norkus, Veronica Leigh Anderson and Derek Ketchum
THURSDAY CONCERTS
PHOTO GALLERY: Vance Joy, Alice Merton at 20 Monroe Live in Grand Rapids
Photos by Jamie Geysbeek
