Waka Flocka Flame, Paula Cole, The Soil & The Sun, Van Morrison tribute: Weekend Photo Gallery

From hip hop to atmospheric rock, West Michigan rolled out shows big and small, including Beast in the Field, The Soul Syndicate, Downie, Fly Paper, Mid-Life Crisis and more. (Photos, videos)

 

SCROLL DOWN FOR PHOTO GALLERY AND VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

“How’s everybody feeling tonight?”

That phrase likely was repeated dozens of times this weekend on stages from Spring Lake to Grand Rapids and beyond as bands and solo acts did their thing at venues big and small, captured in images at Local Spins.

It all got started early with Brad Fritcher’s Moods (aka, Fritcher, Dutcher Snedeker and Michael Houseman) delivering scintillating, improvisational jazz as part of Local Spins Wednesdays at SpeakEZ Lounge, and continued with:

• Atlanta’s Waka Flocka Flame at The Intersection on Thursday, a show that was — in the words of photographer Anthony Norkus — “nuts. Some fan got up on stage and did the worm dance, and Waka went into the crowd early on and kind of pushed his way around the entire floor while singing.” La Famiglia and HDOE also were part of the audience-revving evening.

• Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Paula Cole playing Spring Lake’s Seven Steps Up, a sold-out concert that sparked this missive from Local Spins contributor Robert “Bleu” Van Dyke:

Paula Cole is, in her own words, “a stomper and a pusher” when she is at the piano. She proved that when, in a tense moment, she stomped and pushed so hard that the front wheel on her baby grand slipped off of the front of the stage, startling the front row. While exciting, that moment paled in comparison to her sold-out performance.

Perhaps most recognized for her hit song “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?”, as well as the theme song from Dawson’s Creek, “I Don’t Want to Wait,” Cole proved to be much multi-faceted in approach. Her eclectic subject matter, lyrical content and powerful ethereal delivery are what truly set her apart. As Peter Gabriel once put it, “Paula is an original voice both in what she is saying and how she is saying it.”

Seven Steps Up Sellout: Paula Cole on stage. (Photo/Robert Van Dyke)

She effortlessly connects with her audience, instantly drawing the Seven Steps Up crowd in and making fans feel like they knew her personally. And her poignant, occasionally tearful, between-song story-telling drew them even closer.

“We make beauty out of pain,” said the Rockport Massachusetts artist. Nowhere in the evening was this more evident than when she sang about a Gloucester fisherman who doesn’t return home, told from the perspective of his wife. From drummer Ben Whittman’s use of a cymbal and floor tom to emulate thunder and crashing waves, to Paula’s haunting salty lilt, the song transported listeners to the shores of New England.

The three-piece closed out the evening with “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” took a bow and departed to a standing ovation and no one left this amazing listening room unsatisfied — a truly unique and intimate acoustic experience.

• Watching for Foxes previewing its new EP and upcoming concerts — Wednesday at SpeakEZ Lounge and Jan. 31 at The Pyramid Scheme — by performing during Friday’s Local Spins on WYCE broadcast at WYCE-FM (88.1) Check out the full podcast with a video here, along with an update on band member Olivia Mainville, who was injured in a serious car crash on Friday but is now resting at home.

• Beast in the Field, Blue Snaggletooth and Trollhammer cranking up their blistering rock big-time at The Pyramid Scheme.

• Grand Haven singer Downie paying tribute to iconic female singer-songwriters and debuting songs from her new CD, “I Would Lose Myself in You,” for a small but attentive audience at Wealthy Theatre in Grand Rapids, accompanied by Craig Avery, Kevin DePree and Ryan Wallace.

• Grand Rapids’ The Soul Syndicate instigating a party attitude and a robust dance scene during a standing-room-only show at Billy’s Lounge in Eastown, delivering oh-so-authentic renditions of vintage R&B classics, led by singer Diego Morales.

• Kalamazoo’s Fly Paper impressing a happy bunch at Rockford Brewing Co. by weaving its own soulful rock songs amid delectable renditions of everything from The Allman Brothers to Stevie Wonder.

• The Soil & The Sun unfolding a wondrous, sold-out homecoming show for mesmerized fans at The Pyramid Scheme, celebrating their award-winning 2014 album, “Meridian,” after playing shows earlier in the week in Milwaukee, Madison and Fort Wayne. Wedding Dress and new Grand Rapids group Saltbreaker also were on the bill. (Check out photos by Anthony Norkus and video highlights courtesy of Andy Miller below.)

• Mid-Life Crisis playing its sixth annual Cabin Fever Party at the Rockford American Legion Hall, regaling a packed house of 300-plus who were in a summertime mood.

• Grand Rapids singer Mark VandenBerge leading an impressive tribute to Van Morrison at Calvin College’s Covenant Fine Arts Center on Saturday night, with his Soul Mambo band, a Calvin student orchestra, a gospel choir, multi-media display and more, telling the history of the blues through Morrison’s soulfully engaging music.

About 800 enthusiastic fans were on hand for VandenBerge’s most elaborate production yet (after previous shows at St. Cecilia Music Center and Forest Hills Fine Arts Center over the past few years), cheering Morrison favorites such as “Domino,” “Wild Night,” “Moondance,” “Baby Please Don’t Go,” “Into the Mystic” and others, while getting a history lesson about the blues through quotes from influential musicians and cultural icons. His “When the Blues Left America: A Van Morrison Symphonic Tribute” is a unique and thought-provoking journey through Van Morrison’s timeless music.

LOCAL SPINS WEEKEND PHOTO GALLERY: Jan. 21-24
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Brad Fritcher’s Moods photos by John Sinkevics
Waka Flocka Flame photos by Anthony Norkus
Paula Cole photos by Bleu Van Dyke
Watching for Foxes, Olivia Mainville photos by John Sinkevics
Beast in the Field, Blue Snaggletooth, Trollhammer photos by Anthony Norkus
Downie, The Soul Syndicate photos by Tori Thomas
The Soil and The Sun photos by Anthony Norkus
Mid-Life Crisis photos courtesy of Steve Bloom
Mark VandenBerge/Van Morrison Tribute photos by Tori Thomas

A VAN MORRISON SYMPHONIC TRIBUTE: SOME VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

THE SOIL & THE SUN @ THE PYRAMID SCHEME (BY ANDY MILLER)

Copyright 2014, Spins on Music LLC