Thursday, March 3, 2011

Akron/Family!

This past Tuesday, I made by first real outing since moving to Cincinnati. My new favorite band , Akron/Family, performed at MOTR (pronounced 'motor') Pub in Over-the-Rhine.

Akron Family
flickr.com - bmoremusic

It’s always daunting (for me, at least) to go out in a city where you know almost no one, but I was (and remain) determined not to hole myself up in my apartment all the time whining about how bored I am. This was a great show to introduce myself to the Cincinnati hipster night life.

When I walked in, the band was warming up, so I got to watch them putz through a couple of songs, which was kinda cool. The show itself started around 9:30 with a band named Delicate Steve opening.

Delicate Steve
flickr.com - mybrokenmouth

As far as openers go, these guys were pretty awesome. I feel they had a similar aesthetic to Akron/Family while also bringing to mind Pink Floyd and Talking Heads (so they were a little all over the place, but in a good way). Their music was almost completely instrumental, with only a few shouts and whelps mixed into the guitar riffs and tribal drumming.

Then the main act started and the crowd went wild (completely serious, one guy started moshing and I got a nice elbow to the chin…he was told to calm down by the lead singer). You never know what to expect when you see a band live for a first time. What all goes into their music, what kind of rapport they hold with the crowd, these and other factors can make a show feel like you’re just listening to their album in a different setting or actually experiencing something.

This band, however, was an absolute treat to watch live. While they didn’t talk much to the crowd, it was fascinating to see all the random little instruments they used in the songs and who sang what since all three members had songs on which they led (and I also assumed that the one with the beard was the lead singer, since that's how it usually goes with bands from Portland). About halfway through the show, during “Another Sky,” they descended into the audience with drums and a cowbell, turning the whole thing into a tribal ceremony.



Both bands were those I would gladly go see again and I would definitely go back to the MOTR pub (just stay far away from the moshers next time). A great introduction to Cincinnati and an amazing show!

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