Winter arrived in Michigan with a snowy bang over Thanksgiving weekend, but bands from Kalamazoo to Traverse City heated up stages in spite of the weather. View the photos at Local Spins.
Kicking Off the Holiday Weekend: Desmond Jones and special guests at The Intersection’s Elevation. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
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Anniversary celebrations and musical traditions held sway over the weather — at least in a few cases over Thanksgiving weekend.
Despite a much-ballyhooed storm that dumped hefty amounts of snow across the state, Michigan bands powered through, heating up stages and entertaining fans in a host of different ways:
• Grand Rapids jam band Desmond Jones’ annual day-before-Thanksgiving romp at The Intersection’s Elevation in Grand Rapids not only featured special guests such as Mark Lavengood (who opened the show), N8ure, Hannah Laine, Dutcher Snedeker and Loren Kranz, but a second set tribute to the Grateful Dead to get the holiday weekend off to a rousing start;
• Kalamazoo’s Kait Rose has made her multi-day tribute to Fleetwood Mac a yearly tradition, this time delivering classic tracks from the beloved band and Stevie Nicks at Bell’s Eccentric Cafe with unique set lists on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights;
• Acclaimed organ jazz trio Organissimo celebrated its 25th anniversary with a star-splashed show at The Alluvion in Traverse City on Saturday night, with plans for following that appearance with a Sunday night stop at The Blue Llama in Ann Arbor;
• Inspired by an old tradition, a new Kalamazoo venue — AZO, located inside a former private dining club on Portage Road — hosted “Eccentric Emporium” on Saturday with performances by Daniel Staggs & The Critters (which has a new bluegrass/country album dropping in January) and Alex Radloff. In the spirit of Bell’s former “Eccentric Day,” patrons were encouraged to dress in eccentric outfits while shopping for creations by local artisans, in this event co-hosted by Sounds of the Zoo and KazooFinds;
Scroll down for images from all of these shows.
PHOTO GALLERY: Desmond Jones, Mark Lavengood, N8ture at Elevation (The Intersection)
Photos by Chelsea Whitaker
PHOTO GALLERY: Desmond Jones’ Grateful Dead Set w/ Mark Lavengood, Hannah Laine, Loren Kranz
Photos by Derek Ketchum
For Organissimo, 25 years is time to reflect and celebrate before the next phase. At The Alluvion in Traverse City on Saturday, the band journeyed back to tunes from across its recorded history, taking note of those who influenced it, delivering a set the full house reveled in, as did the band.
Ostensibly an organ trio, co-founders Jim Alfredson on keys and Randy Marsh on drums welcomed back both founding guitarist Joe Gloss and his replacement, Ralph Tope (current guitarist Larry Barris was unavailable). They were joined by Rob Mulligan on percussion and one of those early inspirations, Ron Blake on saxophone — available because “Saturday Night Live,” where he’s a member of the band, is on hiatus during the holiday season.
The band grooved throughout the night. The music often built in intensity, from loud hits – Marsh and Tope seemingly challenging each other to catch the beats just right, with an assist from Alfredson – to ethereal passages, often finding Gloss in tandem with Blake or Alfredson. An early highlight was “Blake’s Shake” from their first album, written when Gloss and Alfredson were students at Michigan State University and Blake was a visiting professor who asked if they had any originals. So they wrote one for him.
Alfredson did double-duty on keys and bass pedals, while Marsh swung as always. Blake showcased his gorgeous tone, while his nimble fingers kept up with the twists and turns in the sometimes knotty tunes.
The next phase? Alfredson says they have a number of tunes already written for a new album. He hopes to record next year, perhaps including all three guitarists. Stay tuned for the next quarter-century. – By Ross Boissoneau
PHOTO GALLERY: Organissimo at The Alluvion in Traverse City
Photos by Tyler Franz
