I’ve only lied about music once, and love was on the line. Love is on the line here, but I’m not lying.
The best shows to see are when a band is in its infancy or after they’ve had a few hits, been forgotten about, and gotten even better.
I saw Queen in Columbus last week, and it was a great show. Still, it wasn’t nearly as great as seeing the Georgia Satellites lead singer Dan Baird perform with Jason and the Scorchers’ guitarist Werner Hodges two nights before at the Beachland Ballroom.
To see an act as good as Queen for $18 in a small club where I got to meet both of my idols with only about 80 people there and get right up close is just a superior experience.
I’ve don’t need lasers and pyrotechnics. I just love music.
Certain bands are worth seeing in an arena, but if you can see them in a small club and avoid the parking hassles and the usually late to the party, jaded crowd?
I feel for the artists, but it’s a fantastic deal.
All the best shows are secret.
Uptight Sugar is sort of a secret that shouldn’t be.
I listened to their debut EP, “Under Blue Light,” after an older Mason I met told me that they were the best band in Cleveland. I was skeptical, but I checked them out out of respect for him.
After about 30 seconds of the first song, “Diggin’ Holes,” I became hooked and instantly purchased it.
The music swells at you with a pop vibe that fills your soul.
Their latest EP, “I’m OK, You’re OK,” is part two of what is hopefully a fantastic trilogy. It’s a complete work that raises more questions than it answers. It deals with that famous line from “Shattered” by the Rolling Stones that provided the title of the BoDeans’ debut, “Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams.”
Singer and principal songwriter David Hamilton has one of the best voices I’ve ever heard. His generosity of spirit is evident when he performs and deals with his devoted fans after the band’s performances.
Their original music is clearly an act of love and passion. Producer Mike Murray makes every sound worth listening to on the most expensive headphones available, and I’m less than an audiophile, but this art makes it worth it.
They combine the pop sensibility of the Beatles with the psychedelic sounds and “echoes” of Pink Floyd to create something new.
I saw a man who had a local radio show marvel at them live and say, “Do you realize how hard it is to have a five-piece unit that is that tight?”
Actually? I do.
They seem to be both a team and a family. Other bands want to steal their sound engineer Edward Planisek, but he’s too loyal to the cause. They all are.
There’s nothing wrong with paying a band money that doesn’t care about money. Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono are doing great charitable things with the wealth they have accumulated from the Beatles catalog once they finally got their business affairs in order.
Hamilton and guitarist Matt Vance have a Jagger/Richards thing going on, but there is no venom, just yearning, and compassion.
The video for “Crawl,” their new single, only hints at their power live.
If you look on YouTube, you can see that everything is of high quality and infinitely engrossing while operating on a shoestring budget.
John Lennon must have used the word “listen” in his lyrics about 5000 times. Listen to him sing “C’mon baby, listen to me. Listen to me!” with Elton John on “Whatever Gets You Through the Night,” his last number-one single before he disappeared for five years to raise his son Sean.
I’ve noticed that everyone that listens to Uptight Sugar loves them. They are all about love and passion. It’s free to watch on YouTube or listen to on Spotify.
In this case, right now, it is free, and as Buddy Holly sang, “It’s so easy to fall in love.”
It really is that simple.
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