The last full week of April boasted some fascinating shows visually and instrumentally, including guitar wiz Jake Allen and the future of music via Kalamazoo Academy of Rock. The images at Local Spins.
Crowd-Pleasing, Outside-the-Box EDM: Barely Alive at Elevation on Saturday. (Photo/Eric Stoike)
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The spectacle at Elevation in Grand Rapids on Saturday night was as much about the dubstep, trap, brostep and filthstep unleashed by Massachusetts’ electronic music duo Barely Alive as it was about the fun and wild pageantry created via their box-helmeted visual stunts.
Upstairs in The Intersection’s main showroom on the same night, psychedelic lighting further enhanced the return of Maryland funk/jam favorites Pigeons Playing Ping Pong.
Rachel Williams of The Claudettes (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
Led by the striking vocals and appearance of singer Rachel Williams and the fiery piano-pounding of Johnny Iguana, Chicago’s The Claudettes, meanwhile, brought their unique, garage cabaret revelry to Liquid Note in Otsego on Friday. (They return to West Michigan for a June 19 show at Grand Rapids’ Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill.)
That followed the eye-popping wizardry of Gaylord-based guitarist, looper and singer Jake Allen who made his SpeakEZ Lounge debut in Grand Rapids on Wednesday, along with bassist TJ Rankin.
And that same night, the Kalamazoo Academy of Rock returned to Bell’s Brewery Eccentric Cafe in Kalamazoo for the third night of a three-night run — showcasing the future of the region’s live music scene.
Finally, Chicago alt-country artist Robbie Fulks closed out the weekend on Sunday with a tour stop at Bell’s that featured plenty of stories and humorous anecdotes.
View the photo galleries and a video below.
PHOTO GALLERY: Barely Alive at Elevation
Photos by Eric Stoike
PHOTO GALLERY: Pigeons Playing Ping Pong at The Intersection
Photos by Eric Stoike
PHOTO GALLERY: The Claudettes at Liquid Note
Photos by Derek Ketchum
