Amid the holiday flurry of West Michigan concerts were some milestones and finales worth noting — and all captured in colorful images at Local Spins.
Punking Up the Holidays: Mustard Plug reveling on stage at The Intersection. (Photo/Eric Stoike)
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Building on their impressive tenure, Grand Rapids ska kings Mustard Plug commemorated their 22nd annual “holiday spectacular” at The Intersection on Friday — with help from Electric Six, Dance Contraption and Boob Sweat — part of a Yuletide run of dance-igniting parties in Detroit, Chicago and GR.
The band, by the way, also is celebrating release of its latest studio album, “Hey!,” and preparing to hit the road in mid-January for a hectic West Coast tour.
Meanwhile, Boston-based rock/jazz/funk/electronica jam band Dopapod played its final Michigan shows Friday and Saturday at Bell’s Brewery Eccentric Cafe, with Grand Rapids’ Earth Radio on Friday’s bill and Desmond Jones opening Saturday’s tour stop. Both shows were sold out.
Lighting Up Its Finale: Dopapod (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
Dopapod band members had earlier announced they would end their 16-year run with late December shows in Kalamazoo and Columbus, nights they termed “very special and bittersweet” as they commence an indefinite hiatus after saying they could no longer ignore “the price we have paid mentally, financially, physically” as a touring quartet.
Both nights were “incredible,” according to Local Spins photographer Derek Ketchum, who noted Dopapod played two sets each evening, with the crowd arriving early and staying late.
It also marked a milestone for Earth Radio co-founder Justin Avdek, who played his final show with the progressive neosoul band at Bell’s on Friday. The band noted it was fans’ “last chance to celebrate Justin’s tenure with this band, forged in the playful days spent in his parent’s basement recording our debut record.”
Scroll down for photos from these Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo shows.
PHOTO GALLERY: Mustard Plug’s Holiday Spectacular
Photos by Eric Stoike
PHOTO GALLERY: Dopapod, Earth Radio, Desmond Jones at Bell’s Brewery
Photos by Derek Ketchum
