Suburbs Fest, Domestic Problems, Of Montreal: Photos

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Things were, well, a bit different with live music across West Michigan, and Local Spins was there capturing the action for our resplendent weekend photo galleries.

Big, Enthusiastic Crowd for a Good Cause: Domestic Problems headlined Friday’s benefit in Ada. (Photo/Eric Stoike)

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West Michigan's music scene

To borrow a title from Monty Python: “And now for something completely different.”

Depending on where your musical tastes settled, that was West Michigan’s live music weekend in a nutshell.

There was Suburbs Fest, taking place in Ada and Grand Rapids for the first time, hosted by the Virginia-based “Rockin’ The Suburbs” music podcast.

Saturday’s singular lineup for the national live show podcast at Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill included afternoon performances by regional artists Max Lockwood, Caitlin Cusack, Al Wesley, Adrian Wright and the Desmond Jones Duo — all of whom also were interviewed for the podcast by hosts Jim Lenahan and Patrick Foster. (Those sessions were followed by a ticketed evening show featuring Michigan’s Money Soup and The Stick Arounds, and Indiana’s Frank Muffin.)

Adrian Wright: The GR artist delivered a hip-hop set for Suburbs Fest at Tip Top Deluxe. (Photo/Anna Sink)

The unusual week also featured a tour stop by the ever artsy and wildly costumed psychedelic pop band of Montreal, returning to The Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids on Thursday for performances of songs with Python-esque titles such as “The Party’s Crashing Us,” “Keep Sending Me Black Fireworks,” “I Was a Landscape in Your Dream,” “Suffer for Fashion” and “Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse.”

The next night saw the troika of dark wave, electropop, dark ambient and experimental acts Deadbeatbad (Detroit), Crystal Trench (Grand Rapids) and DeathBong (Kalamazoo) unfurling their electronic-driven milieu at Bell’s Eccentric Cafe in Kalamazoo.

Another off-the-beaten track affair? The “Voices of Hope: A Concert for Change” fundraising concert staged at Ada’s Legacy Park that drew a robust crowd on Friday for performances by Domestic Problems, Brian Vander Ark and Half Ton Band. Vander Ark introduced the event spotlighting mental wellness.

Browse photos from all of these show, plus a video, below. And check out a full review and separate photo gallery from Friday’s concert at Meijer Gardens: The War and Treaty stage triumphant return to West Michigan with boost from GR Symphony

PHOTO GALLERY: Suburbs Fest Live Show Podcast
Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill (Saturday)
Photos by Anna Sink