A three-band CD release party for Expecting Rain, Mike St. Jude and the Valentines, and St. Francis Arms takes place at 9 p.m. Saturday, May 30, at the Beachland Ballroom (15711 Waterloo Rd.).
Expecting Rain has two albums of lush, orchestrated pop, Irish Twin and In Love. The rough-edged Mike St. Jude and the Valentines' new record, Here's to Your Black and Blue Heart, evokes early Stones and electric Dylan. Good Touch Bad Touch's Ryan Wilkins plays everything but drums on Saint Francis Arms' Sunspots EP. His live band also features members of Dreadful Yawns and Afternoon Naps. All the bands are loosely connected to Lakewood's Davenport Collective.
Wilkins says the show will be a "celebration of all things indie-pop here in our fair city. All our friends should be coming out, dressing up, getting tipsy and singing along to the songs they've heard us playing in their basements and living rooms for the last year." Admission is free.
Mr. Stress will join Alan Greene's band to headline the House of Swing's (4490 Mayfield Rd.) 32nd anniversary party. A handful of musicians from other blues bands will sit in through the evening. Owner Linda Kallie will preside over a toast and tribute to her late husband, House of Swing founder Lou Kallie, a jazz drummer and obsessive record collector. "Good music, good food and some giveaways," promises Kallie. Doors open at 6 p.m.; party starts at 9. $3 cover. Formerly of Elm Street Blues and Unfortunate Sons, Tom "Odie" Odegard fronts Greene's band when Mr. Stress isn't. The group recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of its Sunday-night blues jams at Cebar's (595 E. 185th St.).
Craig Ramsey has drummed with some of Cleveland's heaviest (Ascension), lightest (Bears) and funnest (Kiddo) bands. His solo group Craig Ramsey & the Nice People makes its debut at the Beachland Ballroom (15711 Waterloo Rd.) Wednesday, June 3. Expect something closer to Bears. Show 9 p.m., $5.
Peabody's (2045 E. 21st St.), the downtown club known for starting shows early and ending them late, has been making a push to wrap up weeknight shows earlier. So Wednesday, May 27, if you show up at midnight to see Earth Crisis, you may be boned.
