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Things to Do

An evening of music at Ohio Coffee Company

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Ohio Coffee Company has been quietly hosting local music shows a couple of times a month, and this Saturday, they’ve got a great lineup.   Minneapolis’ Bella Ruse will be playing at the shop as part of their summer tour.   They’ll share the bill with Way Yes from Columbus, Dayton’s Wes Tirey, and Honey and the Milk – a new collaboration between Ben Rivet (BJSR) and Kelly Fine.  The show starts around 8pm and is $5.

UPDATE: Bella Ruse performed live on Excursions on WYSO Friday morning.  You can stream their performance and interview with Niki Dakota here.

Celebrate Indie-pendence Day at Canal Street Tavern

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The holiday weekend provides a lot of opportunities to experience some great live music.  On Saturday night Canal Street Tavern will feature a performance from local greats, Shrug.  The evening also marks two debuts.  Columbus’ Super Desserts will make their formal Dayton debut in support of their new album, Twee as Folk.  The evening will also mark the inaugural show for Floods – a new project featuring Tod Weidner (Shrug), Tim Pritchard (Flyaway Minion), Daniel Pritchard (Black Horse Wind), Phil Caviness (Professors), and Brian Greaney (Flyaway Minion).

The show is $5 and gets started around 9:30pm with a break between sets for the Dayton fireworks.

Thursday night Kruze-In with the Rubbles

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If you’ve ever been driving South down Kettering Blvd heading into Moraine, you may have noticed a groovy little shop chocked full of vintage and retro goodies. That shop is Daddy Katz Kustom Kulture and in addition to being the go-to place in the Dayton region for all things hot rod and tiki, the shop hosts weekly Kruze-In’s during the summer time featuring live music.

This week’s Kruze-In is from 6-11:30pm and will feature live music from the Rubbles.  Daddy Katz is located at 3250 Kettering Blvd.

John Nemeth Brings the Blues to Gilly’s

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If you’re a fan of Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, then do yourself a favor and check out John Nemeth.  This 34 year old Boise native is getting lots of buzz for his vocal and harmonica stylings that mix classic blues with 60’s-style R&B.  You can catch Nemeth and his band at Gilly’s on Thursday, June 24th at 8pm.  Tickets are $10 at the door for this must-see show.

Astro Fang, Spiderscorpion and more – Friday at Blind Bob’s

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Astro Fang is hot off recording some new tracks with the Motel Beds‘ Darryl Robbins, and this Friday night you can catch them at Blind Bob’s along with Spiderscorpion.  These two great local bands with be joined by Columbus’ Karate Coyote and Soft Speaker from Chicago.  The show gets started around 9pm and is $5.

In the meantime, check out Super Rat, one of the newly recorded tunes from Astro Fang.
SUPER RAT by ASTROFANG

Pizza Parlour Boogie comes to the OE

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Wednesday nights at the Oregon Express just got a lot more musical.  C. Wright’s Parlour Tricks have signed on for a weekly gig playing what they’ve coined as ‘pizza parlor boogie.’  The show is free every week and for the first month, they’ll be joined by opener Rob Heiliger.  To get a taste of the tunes before you go out, check out Kaleidoscope on Wednesday at 8pm on WYSO.  Chris Wright will be in the studio talking about the band and spinning some of their recordings.  Wright will be joined on the air by former Luxury Pushers bandmate, Eric Purtle who’ll be talking about his band,  Dark Backward’s upcoming CD release (more info on that later this week on Dayton Most Metro).

Do-Tell Records Show Tonight at South Park Tavern

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Wednesdays at South Park Tavern are usually reserved for the Rock-n-Roll Play Date, the open mic night we told you about in an earlier post here on Dayton Most Metro.  Tonight, however, is an exception.  Do-Tell Records is bringing Minneapolis band Off With Their Heads to town along with Dear Landlord (also from Minneapolis).  They’ll be joined onstage by local punk band,  Raging Nathans.  This all-ages show is $7 and gets started around 9pm.

Free Bluegrass Show at Island Metropark

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File this one under “Super Cool Free Event.”  Saturday evening Dayton is lucky to have a Bluegrass legend performing at Island Metropark for Five Rivers Metroparks’ Annual Bluegrass Concert.  Dr. Ralph Stanley and His Clinch Mountain Boys will be performing in the bandshell along with Dale Ann Bradley beginning at 6pm.  Stanley has been playing Bluegrass for over 55 years and casual fans will recognize his music from the soundtrack to O Brother Where Art Thou.  This is a great opportunity to see a legendary performer in a great outdoor setting – and did I mention that it’s free?!

No Stress Fest this weekend at c{space

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This weekend marks the first-ever No Stress Fest at c{space (20 North Jefferson Street) in Downtown Dayton.  This two-day festival features 26 local and national bands.  South Carolina punk band, The Independents will headline Friday night of the festival with Cincinnati’s The Dopamines headlining Saturday’s show.  Local bands on the bill include 8-bit Revival, Akillis Green, Rad Company, Marijuana Johnson and many more.  The show is 18 and up, and doors open at 6pm each night.  Tickets are $10 per day in advance or $15 at the door.  You can also get a two-day pass in advance for $15.  For a complete lineup and information on advance tickets, visit c{space’s website.

Eclipse brings the music of Pink Floyd to Canal Street Tavern

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On Wednesday night, you’ll have the chance to hear some classic Pink Floyd songs live right here in Dayton in the comfort of Canal Street Tavern.  Eclipse is a Pink Floyd tribute band from Nashville that includes local musician Tod Weidner (Shrug) and former Daytonian Patrick Himes (Flyaway Minion) in its lineup.  The band will present a three-hour show that highlights the best of Pink Floyd’s catalog.  Tickets are $10.

Monte Montgomery at Canal Street Tavern on Saturday

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Dayton’s in for a treat this Saturday night when Monte Montgomery brings his trademark electrified acoustic guitar music to Canal Street Tavern.  The Austin native will be playing at Bonnaroo later this month, but his music will be right at home in Canal Street’s intimate setting.   Tod Weidner from Shrug will open the show, which begins around 9:30pm (doors open at 8).  Tickets are $14 in advance or $15 on the day of the show.

Here’s a YouTube taste of Monte Montgomery’s music:

Me & Mountains release debut album

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This weekend you’ll be able to get your hands on a copy of yet another of the year’s great local releases.  Me & Mountains will be celebrating the release of their debut album on Saturday, June 5th at Blind Bobs.  The band will be joined onstage by Okay Lindon and the Harlequins (Cincinnati).

The self-titled album was recorded by Darryl Robbins from the Motels Beds and is being released under his Fictionband Mechanics label.  Me & Mountains is offering a bonus CD of demo tracks to anyone who buys the album at the release show on Saturday.

You can also catch Me & Mountains performing live on Kaleidoscope tonight.  The show is 8-11pm on 91.3FM WYSO and can be streamed online at wyso.org.

Local Bands Pay Tribute to Girl Groups, Riot Grrrls and Ladyfest

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Ladyfest Dayton is still a few months away, but this Saturday night you can get in the mood and throw some support toward the festival all while hearing some great music.  10 local bands will take the stage at Blind Bob’s starting around 10pm and pay tribute to their favorite girl groups and riot grrrls.  The $5 cover charge will go towards the expenses of this year’s Ladyfest Dayton, which will be August 9-8th at c{space.  Here’s who’s playing:

Real Lulu

The Black Who’s?

Dirty Socialites

Happy Planets

The Goody Two Shoes

Orange Willard

Electric Banana

Thee Pistol Whips

Los Esposos

Human Reunion releases Carbonics 7″

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This Friday night is your chance to celebrate yet another great release from one of our local bands.  Human Reunion will unveil their new 7″ inch, Carbonics at their show at Blind Bob’s.  There will be a limited number of white-vinyl copies available at the show as well as standard editions on gold vinyl from Detroit’s Five Three Dial Tone Records.  Also available that evening is Prelude to A Miss Volume 1.  This is the first installment of a cassette series from Five Three Dial Tone and will feature demos and instrumental versions of songs from Carbonics.

If the music collector in you isn’t already lining up for this show, then the rest of the lineup will have you sold.  Human Reunion will be joined onstage by the Motel Beds (who just sent their new album Feelings off to press) and Pittsburgh’s Summer Lungs.

This Thursday at Blind Bob’s – The Young Republic, Wes Tirey and Sawgrass

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Pairing well with the warm weather in the Dayton region, Blind Bob’s is hosting an evening of some great Americana music.  Local folk singer Wes Tirey and Dayton/Springfield bluegrass duo Sawgrass will welcome the Young Republic, a folk-rock group from Tennessee.  This show should get started around 9pm.

As a preview for this great lineup, check out Wes Tirey playing live on WYSO:

Jonathan Larson’s RENT @ C{Space in Downtown Dayton

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Jonathan Larson's RENT at C{Space June 3-5 www.RENTdayton.org

Jonathan Larson's RENT at C{Space June 3-5 www.RENTdayton.org ~ Win Tickets Below!

On June 3rd Encore Theater Company will open it’s summer season of musicals with a show which has become a cornerstone for the musical theater world of the past decade and a half.  ETC will present Jonathan Larson’s Pulitzer Prize winning Broadway musical RENT in C{space on three evenings next week, and if you don’t plan ahead, you just might miss out this highly provocative production in a truly unique downtown venue (Saturday is nearly sold out & tickets are selling fast for the other performances).

The musical, which is based loosely on Puccini’s opera La Boheme, follows a year in the lives of seven friends living the disappearing Bohemian lifestyle in New York’s East Village.  AIDS and both it’s physical and emotional complications pervade these characters as they struggle to find their place in a quickly changing world.

Maureen & Joanne in RENT www.RENTdayton.org

We think of RENT as this iconic “rock opera” legend but what RENT was saying and how it was saying it was revolutionary in 1996 and the theater world has never been the same.  The number of doors RENT opened for new musical theatre writers was unprecedented.  Shows that have followed – like SPRING AWAKENING & 2010’s AMERICAN IDIOT (Yes, the GreenDay one) –  are indebted to Larson & his show for their success.  RENT’s influence is still profound in shows opening today, fourteen years after it quietly opened it’s Off-Broadway run the night after Larson died of an aortic aneurysm.

When talking with cast members of the show, it’s interesting, almost comical actually, to realize that for many of them, their first knowledge of this show was the 2005 film version.  As depressing as that is to this almost-40-year-old, who could’ve been in the original Broadway cast (if he could act & sing that is), it’s also refreshing.  This cast is approaching this material with such an infectious energy!  They are exploring the souls of these characters, but through a new point of view, in a very different world.

Drew Bown as "Roger" in RENT www.RENTdayton.org
“To be able to experience something so beyond myself in sharing with my fellow castmates and it’s viewers, the very real struggle that these characters live through has been life-changing.  This chance to live in love, to spread the message to carry on and be thankful every single day has been a gift.”

Drew Bowen, “Roger”

JJ Parkey as "Mark" in RENT www.RENTdayton.org
“Being a part of RENT is something deeply profound that I’ve strived for in my art and I finally have the chance to play my dream role.  I’ll carry with me the artistic lessons that I’ve learned from this production as I pursue my stage career.”

JJ Parkey, “Mark”

Since ETC carries as its mission the development and preservation of new musical theatre, it seemed only fitting that we honor Jonathon Larson – the pioneer who made our work and our mission possible.  Along with a unique group of collaborators including C}Space, Sinclair Community College Theatre Department, AIDS Resource Center of Ohio, and Project Runway Finalist Althea Harper, ETC invites you to rediscover why you fell in love with RENT all over again and see this generation-defining musical in a fresh innovative production against the backdrop of one of Downtown’s Dayton’s most unique spaces.

Maureen & Joanne in RENT www.RENTdayton.org

Jonathan Larson’s RENT will play June 3, 4 & 5 in downtown Dayton’s C{space at 7:30pm each evening. An additional 11:30pm performance will take place on Friday, June 4th. Tickets for the event are $15 in advance and $18 at the door.  You can order tickets by visiting www.RENTdayton.org

WIN TICKETS to RENT!

It’s easy!  Just COMMENT to this post before midnight Saturday, May 29th to be entered into a drawing to win a set of tickets to the Encore Theater Company production of RENT.  We will be giving away one set of tickets for each 7:30 performance (Thursday, Friday & Saturday, 1 winner per performance)…but you can help DOUBLE the number of tickets we will be giving away!  If 50 readers “SHARE” this post, by clicking the FACEBOOK SHARE BUTTON before midnight Saturday…we’ll give away two sets of tickets for each evening’s performance! Start Sharing!