HAMTRAMCK BLOWOUT 2005
Motor City Rocks looks back at the Blowout Launch Party

Last night kicked off the 8th annual Metro Times Blowout (aka “The Detroit Hipster Convention”). Panel discussions this year included: ‘Friendster or My Space?’, ‘Is PBR still cool to drink?’ and ‘Has the appropriate number of bands for each person to play in been raised from two to three?’ This year’s pre-party, once again held at the Majestic Complex, was a bit more eclectic than year’s past. Rap and hip-hop were showcased over in the Majestic Theatre, The Dorkwave DJs took over the Garden Bowl and the rock and roll was upstairs in the Magic Stick. With all the vintage instruments, styles and t-shirts, this event could have taken place at Greenfield Village.

The night kicked off with a screening of the 2004 Blowout DVD. The movie started off with a montage of clips of various bands’ performances while The Hentchmen song “LaSabre Radar” played over the footage. The rest of the movie consisted of interviews with the likes of Brian Smith, John Speck, Rachel May, Willy Wilson, Chris Handyside and a host of others involved in the scene. The interviews were played in between clips of many of the Blowout performers of 2004. Some of the band clips tended to run a bit long and the movie seemed to lose its focus a bit, but overall it was a fun look back at last year’s festivities.

The Garden Bowl was turned into a sweaty dance party as the Dorkwave crew manned the one’s and two’s. It took a little while to get the crowd moving but once they did, a hipster dance party was in full effect until the bar closed down. Mixing songs from such artists as Sheila E, Adult, Depeche Mode and Madonna created a lively and fun vibe in the Garden Bowl bar. It seemed that the Dorkwave crew gained a bunch of new fans after last night.



Over in the Majestic, MCR caught hip-hop group Black Bottom Collective. Named after a historic section of northeast Detroit, the group is lead by Khary Kimani Turner. Backed by a live band consisting of drums, keys, guitar, bass and 2 female backup singers, Turner dropped socially conscious rhymes with a poetic feel.  MCR was quite impressed with this group and plan on looking out for them in the future.

Local news stations Fox 2 and Channel 4 were on the prowl trying to be hip and edgy. At one point the Problem Solvers busted in and began getting in kids’ faces, saying something to the effect of, “Is this the kind of life you want?” and, “Fantastic Sam’s is down the street - get a haircut and get a job!” … (OK, the Problem Solvers weren’t there, but they really should’ve been).

Upstairs at the Magic Stick the highlight of the night was Lee Marvin Computer Arm. When they hit the stage at about 11:30 the crowd came alive feeding off the band’s energy. LMCA mixes the past and future with their sound, which could be described as At the Drive In mixed in with the MC5. Singer Casey Weedon flew all over the stage screaming out his lyrics while trumpeter Jason Eggert was equally as frantic in his role as back-up singer/tambourinist/trumpet player (yes, that’s right - they have a rock and roll trumpet player). Tambourines, hand claps, cowbell and whatever else they could find were also in the mix and the crowd ate it all right up. The band played maybe 20 minutes but left everyone, including themselves, exhausted - yet wanting more.

Thunderbirds are Now! closed things out at the Stick with a frantic, yet contained set that focused mainly on material from the band’s forthcoming album, Justamustache.  The band’s performance was actually far tighter than at past shows, courtesy of the far more deliberate tone of the band’s newer material.  Scott Allen once again staked his claim at being the most hyperactive person alive, throwing his microphone and tambourine all over the stage while flailing around wildly.  Things got a bit rowdy towards the end of the set with “Pink Motorcycle Helmet,” which fell apart pretty marvelously to end the live music portion of the evening. 

From there, everyone filed back to the Garden Bowl, where even at 1:30 a.m., the place was still packed wall-to-wall with folks getting down to the Dorkwave sounds.  It seemed that most people in attendance had a great time and were excited that it’s Blowout time once again … All of us here at MCR sure are excited, and that’s a fact. 

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