This was released on Friday, but we’re still giddy about the Block Party at 200 East on Saturday, so we thought we’d launch into this short week by posting it here. Check out the cypher that a good chunk of the artists who performed on Saturday did to help promote the event. In case you missed it … well, shame on you. A fabulous time was had by all (hopefully), and thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to all who rapped and rocked with us through the night!
Hello, Thursday. Hello, Labor Day Weekend. Hello, Block Party. Hello, you. And you. And you. And you. That’s right. The time is finally here. Saturday afternoon. The 72 Film Fest will screen local shorts. The Milestones will perform. We will screen “Ex-Machina.” And then hip-hop is going to take over for the night at the 200 East Art Haus. You can find out all you need to know about the schedule, cost, etc., here. You most certainly won’t want to miss it. Plus … it’s a First Saturday! And it deals with dogs. So, there’s that. Also of note: Justin Kalk and his orchestra are essentially touring the entire city for the next couple days, landing at Alive@Five, Cafe Nola and The Blue Side. Our good friends in Big Hoax will also be taking the Nola stage, and even though we don’t list Sunday happenings here, we should point out that Lost Keys will be at Cafe De La Nola Sunday night, and we spoke with them earlier this week. Elsewhere, Music On The Terrace kicks off at the library with Bumper Jacksons, and we spoke with them a little bit ago. There’s some bluegrass tonight. A bunch of open mics. Some jazz jams. A pinch of Donnie Wood (who they love listening to every Friday at 1 p.m. on The Local Playlist on WSHC!), who will be giving the Hard Times some hard times. A little Broken Rocker. A tad Red Light Rodeo. And so, so much more. We’ll be blocking and partying throughout all of Saturday. Please stop by and say hello. Please? Pretty please? Maybe? The door’s always open. Don’t forget it. Viva September!
THURSDAY
Who: Mike Schmiff and Dan Mack
Where: Ayse Meze Lounge
When: 6 p.m.
Who: Bluegrass open jam with Bobby Bales and Claude Jones
Where: Beans In The Belfry
When: 6:30 p.m.
Who: Valley Jazz Jam
Where: The Main Cup
When: 7:30 p.m.
Who: Ted Jenkins, Wes Crawford, Don Oehser and Sam Jannotta
Where: Isabella’s Tavern
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Open Mic hosted by Sam Biskin
Where: The Furnace
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Alive @ Five Featuring Justin Kalk Orchestra
Where: Carroll Creek
When: 5 p.m.
Who: Open Mic
Where: Bushwallers
When: Sign-up begins at 9 p.m.; play begins at 10 p.m.
Who: Justin Kalk Orchestra
Where: Cafe Nola
When: 9:30 p.m.
FRIDAY
Who: Bumper Jacksons
Where: Big Cork Vineyards
When: 6 p.m.
Who: Scott Barrett and The Darnrights
Where: Elk Run Winery
When: 6 p.m.
Who: Big Hoax, Rivers
Where: Cafe Nola
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Diamond Alley
Where: Bushwallers
When: 10 p.m.
Who: The Windtalker
Where: Frederick Coffee Company
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Jason Brown
Where: Ayse Meze Lounge
When: 6 p.m.
Who: Windon & Ricker
Where: Linganore Winecellars
When: 5 p.m.
Who: Justin Kalk Orchestra
Where: The Blue Side
When: 9 p.m.
Who: Bumper Jacksons
Where: C. Burr Artz Library
When: 11:30 a.m.
SATURDAY
Who: Don Annonio
Where: Beans In The Belfry
When: 2 p.m.
Who: Todd C. Walker
Where: Elk Run Winery
When: 3 p.m.
Who: Frank ‘n’ Bob acoustic duo
Where: Beans In The Belfry
When: 7 p.m.
Who: Donnie Wood
Where: Hard Times Cafe
When: 8 p.m.
Who: River’s Bend Band
Where: The Furnace
When: 8:30 p.m.
Who: Cazhmiere
Where: Champion Billiards
When: 9 p.m.
Who: Stale Fish
Where: Olde Towne Tavern
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Tropidelic
Where: Cafe Nola
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Apex Rex
Where: Bushwallers
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Brett Barry
Where: Frederick Coffee Company
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Mauro Giachetti, Josh Gray, Doug Alan Wilcox, Harry Pritchett, Alicia and Mike Nunez, Brian Derek, Scott Barrett, Craig Donovan and David Lopez
Where: First Saturday at Everedy Square and Shab Row
When: 10:30 a.m.
Who: Frederick Playlist’s Block Party
Where: 200 East Art Haus
When: 2 p.m.
Who: Chaise Lounge
Where: The Opera House, Shepherdstown
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Broken Rocker
Where: JoJo’s Tap House
When: 9 p.m.
Who: Red Light Rodeo
Where: The Blue Side
When: 9 p.m.
Who: The Dan McGuire Group
Where: The Cellar Door
When: 10 p.m.
Yes, we know there have been conflicting things circulating throughout the World Wide Internet about Saturday’s Block Party. Yes, we know we’ve changed the flyer approximately 39,152 times. Yes, we understand this is confusing. Yes, we apologize.
So, let’s lay it all to rest right now and go over everything that’s happening this Saturday, Sept.5, at the 200 East Art Haus (sponsored by Volkswagon; that’s a joke). What we are about to outline will be the super-final lineup for the day, for better or for worse. Let’s go.
The doors will open at 2 p.m. A little before 2:30, the fine, lovely people at the 72 Film Fest will screen some of their best stuff from all you brilliant local film creators. You’ll want to see this. Because it is awesome.
At about 4 p.m. the Baltimore band The Milestones will take the stage to perform for your entertainment. You can learn more about The Milestones, who come recommended from the fellas in Time Columns and Old Indian, here. You won’t want to miss them.
At about 5 p.m., the film “Ex-Machina” will screen for all to see. We will have chairs set up (in rows, even!), and, better yet, popcorn will be for sale. The windows will be blacked out. The movie will take centerstage. We will laugh, cry, scream and cheer together.
And then, at about 7 p.m., hip-hop will take over 200 East for the first time. Knowledge will kick things off, and then the schedule goes like this:
- 7 p.m. THC
- 7:15 p.m. Stitch Early
- 7:45 p.m. Retro/Ricole Barnes
- 8:10 p.m. Scott Free
- 8:25 p.m. Che Rock
- 8:40 p.m. Rone
- 9 p.m. J Berd and DJ Blaze Daily
- 10 p.m. Substantial
- 10:30 p.m. YU
All of this greatness will officially be hosted by Raider Wreck. We will have a cypher (in video form) featuring some of these artists posted by the end of the week. There isn’t a single name on that list that you will want to miss. Trust us.
In addition to the music and movies, we will have the requisite cornhole board set up for all to use as well as a table ready for anyone to play beer (water) pong. Then, of course, what’s a Block Party without grilling out? On the side of the building will be a smoker, with the Seed Of Life Cafe running things. On the grilled menu will be …
- Hamburgers
- Hot dogs
- Bratwarst
- BBQ chicken
- Roasted sweet corn
- Kale slaw
- Pasta salad
- Kale chips
- Bagged chips
There will also be vendors there, selling things, which include Frederick Flight, ICON-Nation and Dad Collections, among others. As always, we’ll have a wide array of Flying Dog beers on sale through the entire day and night. And, of course, don’t forget the candy machine.
This, unlike previous events, will be open to all those who are 18 years of age or older. We want to try and get as many people from as many different ages involved, but, all told, the city has been tying our hands with a lot of things. So, if this experiment goes well enough, we’re going to do all we can to make sure the bulk of the events moving forward are all-ages.
The ticket, as we’ve done before, will be $10. That gets you the entire day. Want to come see The Milestones at 4 and then leave only to come back and see the hip-hop at night? That’s OK. Want to check out 72 Fest film stuff, leave for The Milestones and come back for “Ex-Machina?” That’s OK, too. If you want to hang out at the space for all nine hours and experience Labor Day like never before, we welcome that with open arms as well.
Oh, and if you want to come over to us after the Downtown Frederick Partnership’s First Saturday dog event … well, we are pleased to announce that the 200 East Art Haus is a pet-friendly environment. We even have bouncy balls for the dogs.
So. We good? We’re super-duper (and not just super) excited for all that’s about to go down. It’s the second-to-last event at the venue for the year, so we need to make sure it’s radically radical. One ten-dollar-bill gets you movies, cornhole, water pong, hip-hop and rock. Come make this a Labor Day for the history books. Please? Pretty please?
We took this video quite a while ago at Church Street Pub, when the Last Saturdays hip-hop extravaganza was in full effect. And because we are holding a Block Party featuring this guy on Saturday night at the 200 East Art Haus … well, what better time than now to share it again? There’s going to be a lot of stuff. We’ll outline it later today. So … see you there, right?
NOTE: The following Q&A was conducted by Roy Ghim. He’s been instrumental in getting together the movie portion of Saturday night’s Block Party at the 200 East Art Haus. It should also be noted that he filmed the above video. If we could link to something of his right now, we would, but unfortunately, we have no idea what he would want us to link to. Either way, thanks Roy!
Retro/Ricole Barnes will perform this Saturday as part of our Block Party at the 200 East Art Haus. We recently caught up with him via text messages (yes, that’s true) to talk about his latest LP, “Mr. Sunrise,” some of the rapper’s influences, and the current state of Frederick hip-hop. To lean more about Saturday’s event, click here.
First off, big things are going on right now with you. You recently dropped a new LP, “Mr Sunrise.” Honestly, it’s a jaw-dropping album. It’s been on constant repeat at my house (and that’s a difficult feat to accomplish). You’ve been called up to perform at the Block Party at the 200 East Art Haus on Saturday. What strikes me about the album – not only does it flow, words/music, all that … it comes down to the music. It is SO dense, in a real good way. What’s your process with conceptualizing and laying that all down on record?
I really appreciate you taking the time to listen and in turn, listen again. It’s really fulfilling when I exceed expectations. I treated the production alone of “Mr. Sunrise” (all beats used from Chicago MC/Producer Chuck Inglish’s Instrumental mixtapes “WRKG” and “WRKOUT”) as if they were assignments. I listened to each for the entire summer of 2013 before even writing a lyric. I wrote lyrics to them for the first time that winter, and then finally recorded in the spring of 2014. Not until I was satisfied with the mixing (thanks Sacrifice!) did I want to release it – which was an entire year later. So as you see, my process was rather lengthy (laughs). I envisioned the LP having a certain sonic, visual and social effect. When all those things finally came together, it was time to release it to the public.
You and I talked a month ago about the timing of releasing the record. You said at the time, this felt like a “summer record’ and it was important contextually to drop music on people with the right climate. By the way, you just might be the first “climate aware” hip hop artist in history.
Wow, you might be right on the “climate awareness” tag (laughs)! I felt “Mr. Sunrise” couldn’t be experienced properly in pea coats and corduroys. Hell, the cover art is yellow. Certain colors and sonics just sound better in certain climates. I believed the sound and presentation wouldn’t heighten the listener’s senses in the dead of February. I released it on my birthday, May 8 – the music sounded like an 80 degree afternoon into the evening. It was only right for me that warm weather be correlated with the songs.
“Mr. Barnes, you got the whole world ahead of you,” is a lyric on the record – words spoken in transition to the second track, “Maryland ’02.” Is that an older, wiser you going back in a time machine speaking to a younger version of Ricole?
I’m speaking to the younger me and the listener at the same time. “Had I knew then what I know now.” I’m just speaking on how it’s never too late to start living and winning at life, no matter what mistakes were make in the past.
Words of wisdom. So the third track, “Out Here Causing Trouble,” with Passport on board with you, there’s trouble allegedly being roused. What grabs me is this descending melody in the middle of it. It makes it so outstanding. When you say it took you a long time beginning in 2013 to process and do this album, I can believe it. It leads me to segue back to our conversation a month ago where you were namedropping Thundercat and Flying Lotus – that’s some heavy duty musical forces right there. I have to believe listening to some of that wild creativity subconsciously made its way onto the creation of this album?
“Out Here Causing Trouble” is exactly what it felt like: Two children misbehaving on a rap record. Passport’s flow on this one is flawless to me. At the current moment, L.A.-based producers/musicians like Thundercat, Fly Lo, Terrace Martin, Tyler the Creator, Dr. Dre, etc. have been creating the most invigorating hip-hop music of the last couple of years. They all inspired me somehow during the making. I harmonize a lot on the album. I was listening heavy to the Beatles at the time, believe it or not. I always loved their harmonies on songs like “Girl” and “Because,” and for years wanted to incorporate more harmony into my brand of hip hop because of that music.
Oh yeah, I detected some hints of Marvin Gaye on your first track, “Up,” with the whispers of “get up, get up” in the backdrop.
Indeed! Any musical reference to the ’60s, ’70s music era was an ode to my late grandfather who passed away last year. He loved that music.
I have to then go back into that time machine to 2010 when you recorded “Passion Park.” That first track, “Another Eagle (Knowledge remix)” reminds me of some interesting things Mos Def and Talib Kweli were doing with their restart of Blackstar – juxtaposition of the musically rich past with the future present, but the listener comes away with something that resonates on different levels. Describe your thoughts on that version of Ricole. And is there some kind of creative tension when you pit Retro with Ricole? Or maybe I’m wrong, maybe they play well with each other?
Yes, I’m glad you asked that question. The “Passion Park”-era version of me was all about bringing a golden era style delivery to modern day ears. I’ll take a Mos and Kweli comparison any day, by the way! I have two names for a reason. There definitely is tension between the two worlds. With “Mr. Sunrise,” I finally merged them together, which took years to do.
Talk about your last track “Down,” you got collaborators with you – Cubs the Poet with a spoken word piece that brilliantly snaps the puzzle together, followed by Sacrifice and Jade Hurdato kicking things to another gear to conclude things.
Yeah, “Down” was the perfect album closer to me. I wanted to shine some light on two of my brightest friends and collaborators in Cubs and Sacrifice. I wanted to start the track offering enlightenment but couldn’t think of two better artists. The crazy thing is that Jade Hurdato’s vocals were already included in the instrumental, which was pretty dope! The song assures friends that we won’t look down on you if you try.
Talk about the state of hip-hop in Frederick, circa 2015. Honestly, as someone relatively new here, quality hip-hop is not the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Frederick. But this album (and coming across J Berd’s material) has forced me to take notice and wonder what I’ve been missing in terms of the music scene here, particularly hip-hop in this city.
The state of hip-hop in the city is pretty interesting. I can honestly say it’s a reflection of the bigger state of just hip-hop in general. I’ve been fortunate enough to build relationships with local hip-hop artists throughout the city over the years. I’d like to think I played a part in opening doors for the “powers that be” to be more accepting of a genre and culture they may know little about. PassPort and I originated from a group named Center of Attention [later changing our name to Razor Eaterz]. We were lucky to come of age in the MySpace era. By way of social media, I’d like to say we helped to create an awareness locally. Even before that, J-Berd and his team were making moves. I agree when you think of Frederick – hip-hop never even crosses the mind upon first impression. However, my mission from day one was to change that perception. I’ve been fortunate to headline major festivals in the city and share stages with other local artists in different genres.
You must be looking forward to September 5 with the Block Party at 200 East Art Haus and before that, a film screening of “Ex Machina.” There’s some incredibly fun chaos afoot all day. You’ve seen the place, right? I never thought we’d see a venue like this popping up like – it’s like a bona fide club. For your set, what can we expect? Some interesting onstage collaborations?
In regards to September 5, I’m happy to just be a part of history in a sense. I’m a product of the arts in Frederick, a kid that grew up in the city, had friends from all walks of life, dabbled in all forms of art, bundled it up into what you see and hear today. I know I can speak for my peers when I say that 200 East is a dream fulfilled! I would go to 9:30 club in D.C. and Sonar in Baltimore and just envy. “Why couldn’t such a celebrated arts city like ours not have a place for musicians and visual artists to call our own?” I thought this for years. I visited 200 East for the first time last month and was moved, like really. I have a mean show planned for the Block Party. Live shows mean a great deal to me – you’ll see! I don’t want to reveal too much now (laughs).
At the inaugural Frederick Fall Festival, everything that you see and hear – from music to art, beer to food – will be from Frederick.
Flying Dog Brewery and Frederick Playlist announced plans today to bring the largest showcase of Frederick-based musicians, artists and vendors to the city’s historic downtown on Saturday, October 10. Internationally-acclaimed J. Roddy Walston and the Business (guitarist Billy Gordon is from Frederick) will perform with opening sets by Heavy Lights, Old Indian and Seaknuckle.
“At Flying Dog, we live and breath local creativity – from the beers we craft to the artists who inspire us,” Flying Dog CMO Ben Savage said. “If there was ever a time to truly establish Frederick as a destination and epicenter of creativity, it is now.”
The grounds of 200 East Art Haus will accommodate thousands looking to revel in Frederick’s finest. In addition to the bands on the outdoor stage, Frederick-based DJs will spin alongside a showcase of local art and tours of the recording studio, with equipment donated by local studios, inside of the Art Haus. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Frederick Arts Council.
“There are a slew of incredibly talented local artists who call Frederick home,” Colin McGuire, founder of Frederick Playlist, said. “This festival is designed to put them front and center, and not require you to drive to surrounding cities to be exposed to them.”
The Frederick Fall Festival will also play host to the release of a compilation album featuring new, original songs by a dozen Frederick-based bands all recorded at the Art Haus studio over the past six months.
Tickets to the Frederick Fall Festival are $25 and available now via MissionTix.com/FrederickFallFest. The show is 18 and older. 200 Art Haus is located at 200 East Patrick Street in Frederick and gates will open at 4 pm.
Well, it’s about time we catch up, don’t you think? There’s a bunch going on in the next few weeks, and we haven’t discussed much of any of it, and it’s Tuesday. So … you do the math.
First up, this weekend. As you might already know, Flying Dog is hosting Of Montreal on the brewery’s front lawn Saturday night. Mothers and local awesome dudes Old Indian are going to open the show. We’ll have a Q&A with Of Montreal’s leader, Kevin Barnes, up later this week. As always, we’ll be there, giving away koozies and generally being obnoxious, as we are wont to do. To buy tickets to the show, check out Flying Dog’s website. Doors are at 5 p.m. The music starts at 6 p.m.
But also this weekend, there’s something you might not know too much about. For the last few weeks/months, we here at Frederick Playlist have been trying to organize and support a locally bred jazz night. We initially wanted to host it at the 200 East Art Haus, but the city sort of told us to go get bent. Thus, the result: We’re going to put on a jazz event four times in the next year or so at Big Cork Vineyards.
We’re calling it Jazz In The Vines (or, if you check out Big Cork’s website, you’ll see “Big Jazz In The Vines,” which we’re going to assume is a play off the fact that the name of the vineyard is “Big Cork,” but hey: What do we know?). The first event is set to go down this weekend. Saturday night, to be exact. It will feature a duo of trios: The Matthew Gillich Trio (Matthew Gillich/Trumpet, Jeron White/Bass, Sawyer Gaydon/Drums) and the Jeff Cosgrove Trio (Jeff Cosgrove/Drums, Brad Linde/Saxophone, Mark Lysher/Bass). Gillich will begin at 6 p.m. Cosgrove should be hitting the stage at about 7:30 p.m. The cost of the ticket is $20, but – and this is a big “but” – that price also gets you a free glass of any type of wine they have. Better yet, you can bring your own picnic to ensure that you won’t have to blow anymore money on the evening.
So, there’s that.
And now there’s this: Saturday, Sept. 5. It’s the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. We’re hosting a block party. Yep. A block party. We’re still working out the kinks, but the hope is to have it be an 18-and-over event (fingers crossed). It’s going to feature as much local hip-hop talent as we can fit into one abandoned press room. Among the participants:
- Che Rock
- DJ Blaze Daily
- J Berd
- Retro Ricole Barnes
- Rone
- Scott Free
- Stitch Early
- Substantial
- Telepathy
- THC
- YU
Also that day, we hope to be screening some films, including films made by local filmmakers. Fun, right? In addition to that, there’s a good chance the fine dudes in The Milestones will be coming up from Baltimore to play a turned-up set to split the day between film and hip-hop. We’ll have tons of local vendors there, selling things, promoting themselves, helping out, saving the world, etc. Plus, we know that you can’t have a block party if you don’t have a gigantic grill outside, grilling the finest meats and cheeses Frederick has to offer. So, expect that, too.
The plan is to start the festivities at 2 p.m. with a couple films and then essentially have the fun go through the night. The cost will be $10 and that gets you all of the movies, all of the rock and all of the rap. You can check out the Facebook event and then let us know if you’ll stop by, if you’d like. This is the final event at the building before The Big Thing. Which, of course, we’ll have more details on soon.
For now, though. Check out some jazz. Check out some hip-hop. Check out some rock. Check out some movies. It’s going to be a fun three weeks, friends. Summer isn’t over yet!
Note: The following was written by Trevor Davis. He attended Saturday night’s show and wanted to write a little about what he saw. If anyone else is out there and would like to write about an event we produce from an attendee’s perspective in the future, please reach out and let us know – we encourage it! For now, though, here’s Trevor’s take on Saturday night.
If you like art, music, or entertainment and haven’t had the chance to experience 200 East, do yourself a big favor and catch the next event. On August 8, I walked into the old Frederick News-Post building and immediately understood the allure. Large murals painted by various local artists covered the walls. Local painter, Tom Kemp, was set up in the back of the room painting on canvas. Flying Dog was serving their delicious craft beer at a bar in the corner while a small kiosk served kale chips, tomatoes, and vegetarian chili. You would never know this venue is normally a vacant building. Fans packed into lines at the merch tables, played cornhole, and danced to the enchanting rhythms emitting from the stage. Local band Kabob-O-Taj opened the evening, followed by performances by spaced-out local group Time Columns and headliner spirit band Giraffes? Giraffes!.
I had an opportunity to sit down around a bonfire and spend time with Giraffes? Giraffes! as well as Time Columns after the show over some sweet Flying Dog nectar to ask them a few questions.
You might not expect a national touring band that have been together for a decade, released multiple albums, and established an almost-cult fan-base like Giraffes? Giraffes! to be so modest. But when I asked how it felt to arrive in a new city they had never played before — where fans were wearing giraffe costumes — drummer Ken Topham smiled and answered, “I still can’t believe it sometimes.”
Guitarist Joe Andreoli quickly gave the credit to Time Columns. “Their promo vids all week is what created the hype,” he said.
What’s even more unbelievable is the energy Andreoli and Topham exude on stage and the effort that goes into making it all happen off stage. The two have an intimate and fun chemistry that could only come from hours and hours of practice and years of touring, but they also take care of their own bookings and promotion, as well as record themselves. These guys do it all.
This DIY attitude is something that Time Columns has adopted and made work for them over the years. The group’s guitarist, Kenny Eaton, owns and operates a recording studio, Mystery Ton Studios, where the band records most of their material. Time Columns’ wild drummer, Jordan Miller, also owns a recording studio and with his professional videographer skills has been able to create some impressive music videos for the band. Throw in their perfectionist bassist, Stefan, along with all three of the group’s members’ ability to pitch in to book shows, give interviews, and receive free Chipotle on the road, and you have yourself what they like to call a math rock band.
So, I asked the question, “Wait. What is math rock?” After some confused looks between Andreoli and Topham — and multiple responses about overlapping genres of post rock, prog rock, and experimental rock — I found that the answer wasn’t easy.
Miller chimed in: “It has to do with syncopated drum beats and all the jerky time signature changes like doing math. Like progressive rock with more punk attitude thrown in.”
“Math rock is a subgenre of progressive rock — bands like King Crimson and Mahavishnu Orchestra — that is mostly instrumental and rhythmically complex … most non-math rock songs stick to 4/4, 3/4 or 6/8 meters,” Eaton explained.
Giraffes? Giraffes! were on their ninth day of a 10-day tour when they played the 200 East Art Haus, and I wanted to know more about being on the road and the ritzy hotels they stayed at every night.
Topham informed me that they “never stay in hotels or motels. I think we’ve stayed in two since 2005.”
So, what do they do? They couch surf. Joe excitedly revealed a story from a few nights prior in Chicago where they had the chance to stay at a fan’s place. After being directed to an abandoned and empty building for the evening, Andreoli said, “I had to sleep with my knife in my hand all night.”
On their last day, before heading up to their final show in Pennsylvania, Giraffes? Giraffes! recorded two videos at Mystery Ton Studios, so look for that release in the near future. I also recommend keeping your eyes peeled for the talent in Frederick’s continuously expanding music and art scene.
You know what sucks? When you’re losing your hair, you’re only 31 years old, you’re whiter than a bed-sheet factory, and you stand out in the sun all day. Yes. Some of us are at the age where we must start putting sun block on our bald spots. But that’s neither here nor there. Instead, let’s recap Saturday with our never-annual list of five things we learned from the day’s festivities. Because sometimes there’s a battle of the bands, and sometimes you need to be reminded that Sticktime is only one word. Let’s go!
1. Wow, were we honored to host Giraffes? Giraffes!. As we alluded to earlier this morning, those guys can play. It was as though time stopped for an hour and everyone just lost themselves in whatever sounds were coming from the stage. You can’t not pay attention to those guys whenever they perform. It’s magnetic. Couple that with the always-intriguing and ever-so-great greatness of Time Columns and Kabob-O-Taj, and what you had was a night of music that anyone who was there ought to remember for a long time to come. Can’t say enough about the pure musicianship that was in that room Saturday night. We are so, so thankful those dudes were kind enough to choose a place like 200 East to play.
2. A battle to the death. OK, well not really. But you get it. A huge, huge thanks to Special Delivery, Freddie Long, Sticktime, Hard Swimmin’ Fish and The Few for stopping by to make their case as Frederick’s Best Of The Best (and an especially honest apology to The Few for having to cut their set a few minutes short – it’s a long story, fellas, but we hope you don’t hate us!). Remember: You can still vote for whomever you want this week, but voting will be closed before you know it. Oh, and did we mention that if you vote, you’re entered into a drawing to win $500?!? Look at that – everyone wins!
3. Don’t forget the art! Ever. Really. Honestly. Don’t forget the art. There’s an amazing gallery in that front room that you really ought to check out each and every time you walk into that building. Special on Saturday was a henna artist, some super neat glass art (that may or may not be designed for other recreational uses), and a nice man who came in and live-painted. We encourage everyone who has an artistic side to reach out. We’d love to help out as many local projects as we can, so, as Bill Withers would say, use us up. It’s been a joy to see so many different representations of so much local art in the past month. Let’s keep it up!
4. Getting by with a little help … . We said this the last time, but it’s worth repeating again: Gosh, it’s heart-warming to see how tightly knit this music community can be. In the crowd Saturday night, we saw members of Jack Funk, The Knolly Moles, Heavy Lights, Seaknuckle, Big Hoax, Silent Old Mtns. and more. Andrew from the Mtns. and Joe from Seaknuckle helped keep the bar organized. Luke from Big Hoax stuck around to help clean up. All the bands were so respectful of the venue. Nobody accidentally called 911 from the women’s bathroom this time. And, of course, there was silly string. Words don’t express how thankful we are for all of it. Which, of course, leads us to …
5. You guys are the best. It still blows our collective mind to see the amount of support that exists for the local music scene here in Frederick, Maryland. Both shows have been amazing from a musical standpoint, sure, but the one thing that is unwavering in its presence is the energy that hundreds of people in that room can bring. There’s such an acute feeling of … something. Something that’s indescribable. But it’s infectious. And it doesn’t ever happen without the help of people like you showing up to support the cause (assuming that a) anyone is even reading this in the first place, and b) you showed up to begin with, of course). So, as we said before, HOLY MOTHER OF ART THANK YOU. Next up is Saturday, Sept. 5. We’re going to throw a block party and showcase as much local hip-hop talent as humanly possible. We’ll have more details soon, but for now … how’s that sound? You down? Labor Day weekend? See you there? Let’s hope so.
Holy moly, Saturday was exhausting. But at the end of the day, it was all worth it. Because these dudes came on stage and transfixed a couple hundred people with their undying energy and unparalleled expertise. If you missed Giraffes? Giraffes!, you missed a hell of a night. Huge thanks to those guys, as well as Time Columns and Kabob-O-Taj, for making Saturday night an incredible musical memory at the 200 East Art Haus. And, of course, thank you for showing up! Assuming you did, of course. Because if you didn’t … well, that’s sad.
