Things to do in Dayton | Restaurants, Theatre, Music and More
The Reece Lincoln Band are a trio of local young men who have been getting some national attention for their gospel-infused electric blues. This Friday night, the band will celebrate the release of their debut album, Soul of a Man at Canal Street Tavern. Full show details are available at the Dayton MostMetro Events Calendar.
This week’s video features the Reece Lincoln Band performing a classic Willie Dixon tune at Gilly’s during one of the Dayton Blues Society showcases.
Gary Staiger
We’re very sad to hear of the sudden passing of Gary Staiger, the owner of Omega Music yesterday (November 25th) from an apparent heart attack. Staiger was a former Air Fore medic who served in Vietnam, an activist who spoke out for peace and equality and was much loved by area record shoppers. Omega Music opened in 1983 in the Santa Clara district just North of downtown. The store moved to the Oregon District last month and has been getting settled in the new, larger space and adding inventory ever since. Gary’s excitement for his store’s new location was contagious, and his presence in the community will be missed.
Omega Music is closed today, but will reopen on Saturday, November 27 at noon. Please feel free to share your memories of Gary in the comments below.
Added on Sunday, November 28th from the Omega Music Facebook page:
There will be a funeral service for Gary Staiger. Monday, November 29th at Shiloh Church, at 7:00 pm; followed by a reception – fittingly in Omega Hall at the church. In lieu of flowers or donations, the family suggests that people honor Gary’s legacy by making their holiday purchases at Omega Music.
Maybe you’re new to our community and just need to know where to go. Maybe you’ve lived here all your life and have decided that this is the year you’re going to do your holiday shopping locally. Maybe you’re participating in Small Business Saturday. Or maybe the thought of braving the lines at your local big box store makes you just a tad nauseous. Whatever your reasons, here’s a roundup of local stores where you can music (and at most them, movies, video games and other fun stuff):
220 Xenia Ave
Yellow Springs, OH, 45387
This small Yellow Springs store specializes in new and used vinyl and can special order new titles for you. They also carry a beautiful array of collectible gig posters (many are very rare) and from time to time has collectible records from Jack White’s Third Man Records.
2294 E. Dorothy Lane
Kettering, OH, 45420
This Kettering store is fairly new (they opened in April of 2009) and continually expanding their selection. They carry a variety of formats of used music (CDs, vinyl, cassette and even 8track), movies (DVD, VHS and laserdisc) and video games (everything from Atari to Xbox360) as well as a small selection of books, accessories and the occasional action figure.
318 E 5th St.
Dayton, OH, 45402
This record store is new to the Oregon District, but not new to the business. They’ve got tons of used vinyl and have been stocking up on tons of new titles on vinyl and CD since their relocation. There’s a lot to check out at this ever-expanding store.
1133 Brown Street
Dayton, Ohio 45409
Second Time Around is a staple of Brown St. that always gets big holiday crowds. They’ve got a wide selection of used CDs, DVDs, and video games and are really constantly re-stocking the shelves with fresh merchandise.
121 Springboro Pike
Dayton, OH 45439
This is a small store near the Dayton Mall with a great selection of used CDs, video games, and DVDs. They tend to consistently get a lot of rare films, foreign films and out of print copies of Criterion Collection DVDs and have a good selection of indie rock artists on CD.
Whether you’ve just gotten back into town and are ready to kick start a weekend of old friends, family and food with some music or you just need some good old fashioned rock and roll to prepare for Thursday’s feast, there are quite a few great local shows this Wednesday night. You can check out a full list of Wednesday night happenings on DaytonMostMetro’s Events Calendar, but here are 3 of my best bets for Thanksgiving eve:
Will you be going out to hear some live music on Wednesday night or staying home to stuff the turkey? Let us know your plans in the comments!
Later this week in the Dayton Music section, we’ll be bringing you a holiday shopping guide featuring local record stores (some of which sell movies and video games too). So I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about local record stores and keep coming back to one of my favorites that’s no longer with us, Renaissance Music. So this week’s music video isn’t exactly a music video, but longtime Daytonians will remember these great commercials for one of our great local record stores starring Mr. G.
Image Credit: Flickr user MiND iN R4VE
Sometimes you just don’t have that extra cash to get a copy of a band’s latest album at their show. Two area record stores just announced that they’ll be making sure that local musicians have a place to sell their CDs.
Omega Music is offering consignment for local releases at their new location on 5th Street in the Oregon District (in the old Gem City Records building). Over in Kettering, GameSwap (Woodlane Plaza on the corner of Dorthy Lane and Woodman) is also offering consignment to local musicians and local filmmakers. These two stores will join Toxic Beauty Records in Yellow Springs and Ohio Coffee Company in stocking local music.
Stop into any of these fine, local stores to learn more about their local music selection and stocking policies.
The Asylum Street Spankers have been making regular stops in Dayton for years. They’re currently on their Spanks for Everything farewell tour and will play at Canal Street Tavern this Saturday night. Full show details at the DaytonMostMetro events calendar.
The band lots of amazing footage on their Spanker Vision video page, but one of my favorites is this fan-made video for U.F.O. Attack.
The ladies of Vanity Theft have been staying busy this year. They welcomed bass player, Lalaine earlier in 2010 and have spent the summer and fall touring almost non-stop. In late October, they released a new EP and embarked on a short Midwestern tour. That tour will wrap up this Friday night at Canal Street Tavern. It’s a combination homecoming show and release party for the Anatomy EP. It’s also the band’s last show of the year. Word has it, they’ll be prepping a full length album for 2011. Vanity Theft will be joined onstage by local bands Bonneville and Jasper the Colossal and Minneapolis’ Sick of Sarah. Full details at the DaytonMostMetro Events Calendar.
Here’s a track from the Anatomy EP:
Last weekend, Team Void rocked and rolled Bar Tiki in the Oregon District. If you weren’t there to experience this amazing live show, here are 9 luchatastic minutes of video to start your week with. Enjoy!
The new month brings lots of excitement, and of course some new albums. On November 13th, Auburndale will be celebrate the release of their highly anticipated new album, Alive in a Dying City. Release show details are here, and the album is now available on iTunes. Here’s Auburndale performing the an acoustic version of the title track from their new album at the WYSO studios this summer.
When I met Sean and Georgia of A Shade of Red a few months ago, they were preparing to perform in the semi-finals of the Dayton Band Playoffs and mentioned that they had an album in the works. That album was Blush, and A Shade of Red will be celebrating its release Friday night at Canal Street Tavern with Orange Willard who will be releasing an EP of their own that night.
Blush highlights the strength of Georgia Goad’s vocals and matches them perfectly with Sean Pennington’s mellow yet still driving drumbeats. The band recorded Blush in their basement studio and says, “With no sound engineers or producers it was a lot of guess work in the studio on the recording technique, so we played around with a lot of ideas on how to get the sounds we wanted. Then we give the tracks to Jarren Nicoletti, who would mix it down and balance it all out. He put a lot of hours in to this for beer and pizza.”
You get a copy of Blush at this evening’s show or visit A Shade of Red’s website to hear a preview and buy the disc online.
Just because you’re wearing a costume doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t enjoy some great music. Here are some of the best Halloween concerts happening around town this week:
Start your celebrations on Wednesday night with Don’t Be Afraid, It’s Only Us, an original Halloween concert party presented by DJ Mister Kidd at Canal Street Tavern. Ten bands will perform and there will be a DJ between sets. Details and lineup are here.What musical Halloween celebrations are you looking forward to?
Halloween is so close you can almost taste the fun-sized Kit Kat bars. There are many great Halloween happenings this weekend, but one of my favorite Halloween traditions has to be the Monster Hop at Canal Street Tavern. This yearly party is hosted by the Luxury Pushers who’ll be joined onstage by Legbone and Timeless Entertainment Burlesque. Full show details are at the DaytonMostMetro events calendar.
We’ll tell you about some more Halloween concerts later this week here in the Dayton Music section. In the meantime, here’s a video of the Luxury Pushers performing at Canal Street Tavern.
Now that I’ve recovered from Dayton Music Fest and the WYSO Fall Pledge drive, I’m happy to be getting back in the swing of blogging here at Dayton MostMetro. This week’s video comes to us courtesy of Chris Wright, frontman for C. Wright’s Parlour Tricks and all around great guy. The Igniters are one of those great bands from the Dayton music scene’s past. Enjoy this video and look forward to some news about the Dayton music scene’s future in the coming days.
Saturday’s a big day for local music, but don’t forget that the weekend begins with First Friday. Here are some of my picks for October’s festivities:
-From 1969 until 1984, the Hotmud Family was making waves in their native Dayton and beyond. They were known for performing traditional American music which they recorded and released on Cincinnati label Vetco in the 1970’s. A new album, The Complete Vetco Sessions is now available, and the Hotmud Family will be performing at Canal Street Tavern this weekend for three shows that benefit WYSO. You can get tickets for the Friday night show at WYSO’s website.
–Lucky Spauling will perform at the Trolley Stop beginning at 9:30pm.
-Friday night marks the start of Gearfest, a weekend long celebration of outdoor/active living. We’ve got details on the gear side of things in the Active Living section of Dayton MostMetro, but did you know that there’s also music? On Friday night, Ben Rivet better known as BJSR will emcee and perform along with Magic Jackson.
-Speaking of festivals, Poster-tastic kicks off Friday night at Derailed Salon in the Oregon District. Although not a concert, Poster-tastic celebrates the art of gig posters and is considered a sister event to Dayton Music Fest. In the show’s third year, you’ll have a chance to vote for best gig poster and you can purchase your wristband for Dayton Music Fest right then and there.
-If you’re going to be spending the evening in Yellow Springs, check out Sawgrass performing at Peach’s Grill.
-For First Friday with a beat, head over to c{space. DAS EFX will perform along with a great lineup of local hip hop artists including Ohio Hip Hop Award winner, Status Flo. Check out the lineup here.
More First Friday happenings are available on the Dayton MostMetro Events Calendar. Is there something you’re excited about on Friday night? Add it to the calendar, and tell us about it in the comments!
September 29th, 2010
I somehow became fascinated with the Blue Man Group quite some time ago. It is an easy thing to do, what with the level of musicianship, production values and sheer creativity of the troupe. What fascinated me most, however, is that the basic premise of the Blue Man being the perfect empty vessel, the perfect blank screen on which countless elemental dreams could be projected upon. The music seems to serve as an insistent accompaniment for the journey.
I had heard that the Blue Man Group were creating a new production, so I secured an interview with Mark Frankel, one of the members of the Blue Man Group who will be appearing inDayton. I
“Yeah, we just finished a load-in and tech in Fayetteville,Arkansas and we were sort of working out the bugs. We did some previews there that showed us that we really have a great show on our hands.” Frankel went on to say that, “Fayetteville was exciting and inDallas, the opening has been really, really strong and then the next city isDayton. Daytonians are going to be some of the very first people to have a chance to see this show.”
What are the differences between this new show and the other tours that the Blue Man have embarked on?
“There will be some elements that you may recognize from the Vegas shows, but then there is some brand new content that is focusing on technology and our relationships to things like Facebook and our devices like iPhones and Blackberries…these devices that kind of put up barrier between us, so we’re taking a good look at it. If you go around outside and you’re walking with your kids and you’ll see a parent that’s got his face down into his Droid or whatever and looking at stuff on Facebook…he’s actually experiencing the world through this little two dimensional device when there is a whole three dimensional world right in front of him.”
So, if I’m connecting the dots correctly, a group of blue mutes are going to teach us something about communication?
Mark Frankel
“That’s a fair point. Yeah, but it speaks to the honest nature that the Blue Man communicates. Because he is silent, he is not bound to any sort of text that would dictate an emotion, the audience member can take away an experience that’s personal to them.” Frankel said. “It’s a very effective way to communicate an emotion as opposed to a play, where there’s lines that dictate, ‘I’m angry’ or ‘I’m sad.’ It’s a charm of the character and it’s a unique way to convey an idea.”
With technology and communication as a theme, have there been a lot more technological elements added to the show?
“With regards specifically with the new show, I think that there are some very, very exciting technical elements that really have never been tried before. I know that that is kind of trite to say, but truly, we are doing stuff where these systems had to be designed to do exactly what we wanted them to do, so it’s not just lights. We’re using video and lighting as well and the video screens are interactive with…the whole stage is part of what we are calling 2.5 D (two and a half dimensional).” Explaining further, Frankel said, “It’s a 3D show interacting with two dimensional video and we are kind of jumping between those two worlds a lot. Again, we are dealing with these two different worlds all the time and I think the lines are starting to blur. I don’t know if that is a good thing or a bad thing.”
Sometimes, hiding in plain sight was the best way to show your true self, your actual nature. I wondered if Frankel had found this to be true from becoming his character.
“Yeah, that’s a very true part of this character…a truism, if you will. By putting on this mask, we’re actually able to be more honest. It’s not unlike, and I’m sure we’ve all had this experience, when you meet somebody and you know that this relationship is going to be finite and you know that you’ll probably never see this person again, you’re way more honest with them than someone with whom you would see again and who you’ll have consequences with. So, by the same stroke, with this mask, they don’t know who we are and they shouldn’t really care who we are: they’re just looking at this character and I can be totally myself with them. In fact, in a way, some people have said that with this character, that by putting on this mask, we’re not really putting on a mask, but that we’re taking away the normal mask that we wear and what you’re seeing with the Blue Man character is the layer beneath…maybe even several layers beneath.”
Frankel went deeper with his explanation of the Blue Man character by putting it in terms of everyday life.
“We all put on masks every day. You go to your job and we have to put on that smiling face for your boss and your co-workers and you go home and you have to pretend that the day hasn’t driven you nuts and you have to be a good dad or a good partner or whatever.” Frankel went on to say that, “These things, if you were really, really stripping them down and really being honest. The Blue Man is essentially taking the human condition and bringing it down to its basic elements: wonder, love, caring, humor, the hero, the shaman, anger happiness. All these things are arc of the show that the Blue Man is experiencing in a very open and a very clear way.”
The piercing lights and percussive sounds emanate from the stage, with frenetically moving figures silhouetted against a backdrop of flashing video screens as knurled and curled PVC instruments wend their way this way and that. This is the performance. This is the routine…but not the reality. The Blue Man Group, while being an entertaining and creative force, also serve as a microscope by which we can view our own relative existence from a very safe distance, allowing these blue mutants the luxury of exploring the outer fringes and base realities of the human condition.
[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR3ZcTb-PJU’]
