Indy Live Music

The only clue we had about The Ravenna Colt is that Johnny Quaid, formerly the guitarist for My Morning Jacket, is their frontman. We didn't even know what genre these two bands fell into...but in the continuing quest to expand our horizons and discover new and exciting music, we ordered our tickets and set out on Friday evening to arrive a little before the doors opened to get a table in the front row.

Turns out, we were the only ones with this idea...for a good 20 minutes after the doors opened at Radio Radio, it was just us, two other people, the employees, and The Ravenna Colt doing their soundcheck. It was a little awkward, but at least we secured seats with a great view of the stage. Eventually, I think probably around 50people showed up. The crowd was a mix of people in their early 20's to some maybe in their mid 40's.

It is obvious that Johnny Quaid of The Ravenna Colt is a talented guitar player. In fact, the guitar playing seemed to outshine the vocals. There was also the matter of the strange sound effects that were played between some songs. I'm not sure if the intent was to give them a little time to get ready for the next song, to cover the sound of tuning, provide escape from having to come up with witty banter to share with the audience, or if there was some sort of cohesive theme to the sound effects that somehow unified the songs that I just didn't pick up on. They also didn't ever mention their band name, or introduce the members - "we're from Kentucky" is about the extent of what we got.

Their sound is definitely more on the rock, maybe even alt-country side. A few of their songs have a Southern Rock feel to them. Here are some highlights from their set (keep in mind these song titles may not be accurate, they did introduce most of their songs with the titles, but some they did not, so we took our best guesses):

• The Reasons Are My Own - great guitar playing, sounds like music you'd play on a road trip.
• South of Ohio - from their new album, definite Southern Rock influence
• It's Down to You - ballad-esque
• Let the Bells Begin - (probably a different title) - possibly the best song of the set, suited to Johnny's vocal range
• Such a Wreck

They definitely have a very indie-rock sound.  In fact, the bit of yelling that Skip began every song with was a bit startling each time.  It is obvious that these guys have a loyal following - though the venue was far from packed, quite a few of the people were singing along to every song.  Roman Candle has a very high-energy stage presence - it was entertaining to watch Skip bounding around onstage, even bumping into his wife a time or two as she smiled and played on.  Check out their latest album here: Oh Tall Tree in the Ear Highlights from Roman Candle's set:

•  Don't Amount to Much - Bit of a Tom Petty feel to it
• Why Modern Radio is A-OK - Catchy Tune from an EP
• Big Light - Nice background vocals from the band
• A Heartbeat 
• You Don't Belong to this World - Sounded like the most mainstream radio-friendly song of the set

Graham Colton started off the show. It was just him and his guitar to get the crowd warmed up. Colton has a very clear, strong voice, and played his songs very well. His vocal range reminded me of Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day, but obviously a little softer. One thing I loved about Graham Colton's material is that it all sounded familiar, as in it is stuff that should be played on the radio.

Next up was Stephen Kellogg and the 6ers. It was easy to tell that for some people in the audience, they were the band they were there to see. The collective energy of the crowd went up throughout their set. The sound was great and they showed off their fantastic harmonizing abilities. In a way, this band had a bit of a country feel, maybe more of a southern rock thing, but regardless, they got the crowd riled up in a good way.

• Wagon Wheel - showed off the harmonies.
• You Changed - just an excellent song that is easy to relate to.
• This is My Life - they said it was their life story.
• I Never Wanna Get Old - showed off their "Jonas Bros. choreography" and dancing skills.
• The Bear - excellent tuba solo.
• On Fathers Day - even though the crowd was riled up, Kellogg got them to quiet down a little as he sang this song about being a dad on the road.
• Thirteen - Kit "Goose" Karlson, who plays bass, tuba, and keys physically showed his love for the audience and did an amazing version of a Chris Farley inspired dance. And in the middle of all the music, the band broke out into some Kriss Kross "I Missed the Bus," and "Jump Jump."

When Needtobreathe took the stage, the crowd was ready for them. Their stage set up was pretty cool: they had 4 big LCD screens covered by silkscreen portraits of people from the 1800's, with black strips over their eyes. It was a pretty cool effect and certainly the first time I had ever seen such a set up in a place like the Vogue. Even though it was cool, when the effects on the LCDs started up, they were hard to see, probably because they were meant for bigger venues. Regardless, it definitely gave them a true rock show feel. Perhaps this is a great time for Needtobreathe to get big, because they certainly have an audience, and their sound is very similar to Kings of Leon. They have great stage presence and it's easy to tell they've been playing together for a long time.

• The Outsiders
• Locking Me Up - used the distortion mic and sounded great.
• More Time - one of their more popular songs; could hear the crowd singing just as loud as the band.
• Girl Named Tennessee
• Stones Over Rushing Water - Bear Rinehart, the lead singer, talked about how grateful the band is to be here. He remembered playing to 50 people, then 100, then 200, and tonights show was packed (probably in the 500 plus).
• I Believe In a Better Way - added in a little version of "Get Back to Where You Once Belonged."
• Lay em Down
• Through Smoke
• Washed By the Water - had a cool southern rock feel and they played it completely unplugged. The crowd loved it and they managed to throw in a little bit of the Stones "You Can't Always Get What You Want."

Honestly, we hadn't really heard much about Steve Moakler, Ben Rector and Andrew Ripp before we decided to go check them out at Radio Radio on Saturday night. In reading the short blurb about Andrew on Radio Radio's website (www.futureshock.net), we learned that he is a singer-songwriter from the Chicago area. Figured we'd make a night of it, and for $6, how could you pass up a night of live music at a fantastic venue?

Andrew was kind enough to provide a bit more info on the three of them as they took the stage (the band also consisted of a bass player and drummer). This trio of friends currently live in Nashville, and are out on tour lending their vocal and instrumental styling to each others songs. Ben Rector's new album hit the top 10 on iTunes a couple of weeks ago. Andrew is working on his second full-legnth album. Steve's music has recently been heard on television shows such as The Real World. Long story short - things seem to be happening for these guys.

While Radio Radio was far from packed for this show, the crowd certainly did not lack the energy and enthusiasm of a full-house. The younger 20's - 30's crowd was well represented, but we did notice a few fans outside of this demographic (Note: this show was 21+). Some people drove from as far away as Kentucky and St. Louis! I know this is a pretty common phenomenon for shows at larger venues, but this indicates just how devoted some fans are to these three. There was also no shortage of audience members belting out the words to quite a few songs that the trio performed - again, great to hear at a small-ish show.

• Intimate feeling to show overall
• Respectful, engaged audience
• Collaboration between Ben, Steve, and Andrew

• The initial requests for audience participation for a large percentage of the first five songs kind of annoyed me (Mel), however Erica honestly had nothing she disliked. Overall...One of the best live shows we've been to!