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HAMTRAMCK BLOWOUT 2005
Motor City Rocks Preview  That's right, it's that time of year again
... Time for three nights of debauchery, drinking, and more bands than
most of us could count after a few drinks - and it all happens in one
Detroit suburb! The 2005 MetroTimes Hamtramck Blowout is upon us,
indeed. Here at Motor City Rocks, the Blowout is pretty much
treated like Christmas in March, as all of our eyes light up at the
thought of the combination of more bands than we could ever possibly
watch playing in more bars than we could ever functionally drink at in
a weekend. Hell, MCR staffers like the Blowout so much that we'll
all most likely wind up chilling at the Majestic Complex for the
entirety of the damned Detroit launch party, as well. 'Tis become
a tradition of sorts for MCR to offer up a list of 'staff picks' for
the Blowout event; this year, however, we've decided to try something a
little different. In addition to checking out picks from Ryan,
Matt, Jacquie and Gary, we've wrangled together Blowout recommendations
from a few folks in bands actually playing the Blowout this year.
Check 'em out, and MCR will see y'all out at the bars this
weekend. Motor
City Rocks Staff Picks
 MCR
publisher Ryan Sult looks forward to waking up with a pounding
headache
next Sunday while repeatedly asking himself, "Oh man, what have I done
with my life?" It should also be noted that despite what this
outdated photo represents, Ryan no longer looks like a potential cast
member of Starsky and Hutch. Great Lakes Myth Society (Polish Sea League, Friday night - 12:45 a.m.) Ann Arbor's GLMS is about to release one of the most cohesive, beautiful albums of 2005. Bold prediction? Possibly. My introduction to this band came with an equally strong recommendation through, and they certainly did not dissapoint when I got a copy of the record. It's a concept album, really, and all about Michigan places and life. GLMS' layered indie pop/rock has an incredible descriptive power and is pretty effective in reminding you that Michigan ain't so ugly after all. Bang Bang & The Holy Fire (Knights of Columbus, Friday night - 11:30 p.m./12:45 a.m.) If you listen to Bang Bang's anthemic punk on your Hi Fi back home, you may just destroy your own house with the compulsive flailing of your limbs. Life, this band will light a fire under your ass, plain and simple. Raw, rare and intense. I like The Holy Fire so much that I decided to manage them - and I've never had an urge to do that before. Loretta Lucas (Baker's Streetcar, Thursday night - 12:45 a.m.) Loretta Lucas is an undiscovered gem of the Detroit music scene. A beautiful voice coupled with incredible folk/country-tinged songwriting make Loretta one of the most exciting new things in The D. Even better is when she's joined by her twin sister, who possesses an equally amazing voice with a slightly darker timbre. Be sure to push your way into the tiny Baker's Streetcar for this one. Audra Kubat (Paycheck's, Saturday - 11:30 p.m.) I first saw Audra Kubat at the Blowout last year, and I've been in love with her music ever since. Audra relocated to New York City a few months ago, so this is a rare chance to catch her live in Detroit once again. Audra's greatest strength is her subtlety. Her music is at the same time rebarkably beautiful, but ever so slightly haunting. Having caught a sneak listen of her forthcoming album (out in April), I can tell you it's her most personal music yet and the record conveys more emotion than anything she has done to date.  MCR staffer Jacquie
Trost's attentions may seem like they're being drawn towards a
shiny
off-camera object in this picture. In all honesty, though, she's
just trying to fight off the urge to shun civilization and run away to
live like a rock star. The angel on her left is telling her to
stay put - hence, her attention being focused on the devil on the
right. The Vamps (New Dodge, Saturday, 9 p.m.) Magic Stick/Garden Bowl pre party (Wednesday night) Mod Orange (Baker’s Streetcar, Saturday, 10:15 p.m.) Battling Siki (Carbon, Friday, 10:15 p.m.) Cinecyde (The Belmont, Friday, 12:45 a.m.) Candy Band (The Belmont, Thursday, 9:00 p.m.) Pop Project (Knights of Columbus, Saturday, 10:15 p.m.) Friends of Dennis Wilson (Smalls, Friday, 10:15 p.m.) Hey Sailor (Smalls, Friday, 9:00 p.m.) The Riots (Carbon, Saturday, 12:45 a.m.) Hard Lessons (Knights of Columbus, Saturday, 11:30 p.m.)  Big
Matt's not bitter - he's just a very
firm realist. When Matt's not busy posing for crazed photos like
the one shown here, he likes to take pictures of bands at rock shows -
which usually involves having to stand his tall self in front of less
fortunate, much shorter people. Matt likes thai food a lot, too.Thursday night: Death By Accordion (Paycheck's, 10:15 p.m.) - Irish music. I assume the songs are about drinking and fighting or some combination of the 2. Loretta Lucas (Baker's Streetcar, 12:45 a.m.) - I hear she’s all the rage. See for yourself at Baker's. Man (Diesel, 11:30 p.m.) - You think you deserve a raise… you’re fired. Friday night: SLGTM (Small's, 12:45 a.m.) - Betty is pretty and Fred writes wonderful songs. Paradise (New Dodge, 9:00 p.m.) - They’re new, they rock and they’re loud Great way to start off Friday night. Porchsleeper (The Belmont, 9:00 p.m.) - Alcohol fueled alt-country, but lately sounding more rock and roll. Despair never sounded so fun. The Muggs (Paycheck's, 12:45 a.m.) - Danny Methric will most likely be putting on yet another guitar clinic on stage so show up and take notes on how play. Saturday Night: The Vamps (New Dodge, 9:00 p.m.) - Soulful Blues rock with an amazing singer. Did I mention the band consists of 5 attractive ladies? Lisboa (The Painted Lady, 10:15 p.m.) - Catchy alt rock for the kids. Detroit City Council (Smalls, 12:45 a.m.) - End the Blowout with a little dance party. Sunday: Sleep and feel terrible - (my house, all day).  Gary will
probably consume way too much
coffee and booze over the course of the Blowout events, which will
essentially lead to him functioning about as well as a zombie for about
a week after the fact. Despite popular belief, Gary does not, in
fact, lust for the consumption of fresh human brains during his
'undead' recovery periods; he actually prefers Chili Cheese Fritos and
a nice glass of Sprite.Wednesday night at the Magic Stick – Lee Marvin Computer Arm (11:30 p.m.) and Thunderbirds Are Now! (12:45 p.m.): I fully expect to either displace a hip shaking my ass to TAN! or blow out an o-ring yelling along to LMCA. Thursday night is weird for me, because three acts that I desperately want to see are all playing at 12:45 a.m. – Big Herk’s hulking rap fills up Smalls, Loretta Lucas’ silky smooth folk/country combination flows from Baker’s Streetcar, and Devin Scillian’s straight-laced country closes the night at Adam’s Corner Bar. Hey, giggle all you want about Scillian, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see his set turn out to be a lot of fun. If you’re still a fan of Walter Schreifels, Greg Dulli or the Archers of Loaf, be sure to check out Disgratziata’s 11:45 p.m. set at the Polish Sea League, too. Mmmmm, Friday night … I’m a fan of the alt-country thing, so I’ve gotta recommend the female-fronted American Cosmos (Adam’s Corner Bar, 11:30 p.m.) and the saloon style rock of Porchsleeper (The Belmont, 9:00 p.m.). New Grenada’s pop stylings are a little too smart for me at times, but the band members great folks – and the band's a tight live act to boot; check ‘em out at Diesel at 10:15 p.m. The Holy Fire is simply far too good to be playing gigs in places like the Knights of Columbus hall, which is why it should be a major priority to check the band out at 11:30 p.m. The headliners are a toss-up – flip a coin to choose between sugar-sweet pop (Saturday Looks Good to Me, Smalls, 12:45 a.m.) or guitar blazing rock goodness (The Muggs, Paycheck’s, 12:45 a.m.). Saturday night’s alright for fighting, of course … Fisticuffs aside, though, I have to stick with an old favorite and say that A Thousand Times Yes is primed to put on a killer set full of new material (The Attic, 11:30 p.m.). The Questions are the most unappreciated band in Detroit right now, and missing the band’s 10:15 p.m. Carbon set would be an absolute travesty of all that is right with the universe. The entire Knights of Columbus line-up should make for a night of straight-up catchy rock (Jason Croff, The Pop Project, The Hard Lessons and The Sights), as well.  MCR is such a big fan of The Gorilla's
monkey business that we asked him to offer up a few picks as a guest
staffer. When he's not off eating bananas or harassing Uncle Grambo,
this FoW crew member
moonlights as the bassist for Last Tourist. Shine on, you crazy
dimond. Thursday picks: At 9 PM, you get the rare chance to see the Candy Band and not feel like every mom in the crowd is sizing you up as sicko Michael Jackson stizz (The Belmont). 10:15 PM: Gotta catch the Prime Ministers (Baker's Streetcar) 12:45 AM: Watch Devin Scillian discover people go out on school nights, if his head doesn't explode perhaps the ghost Johnny Cash will murder his face (Adam's Corner Bar). Friday Picks: Hey Sailor gets your rock going right out of the gate at 9 PM (Smalls) There's a multitude of choices before you finish out the night with Saturday Looks Good to Me back at Smalls at 12:45 AM. Saturday Picks: If you live until 11:30 PM on Saturday you've got a difficult choice to make. Hard Lessons (Knights of Columbus)? Best. Wolfbait (Jean's)? Crazed. Elevations (New Dodge)? Always a show and a half. Nathaniel Mayer (Smalls)? Still alive. But the way I see it, the planets that have aligned to put Audra Kubat on the Paychecks stage (11:30 PM) can not be ignored. When Paycheck stops booting drunks out of the door for a moment and catches a snippet of a angelic Audra tune, a single tear will drip down his face and all of Hamtramck will break into a thunderous applause. I figure that'll happen at about 11:42 - don't miss it. Click here to see
what
acts Blowout artists think are worth checking out
Click here to hear some of this year's Blowout artists |
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