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.
This article appears in May 27 – Jun 2, 2009.