Last night was a big night for everyone. All the little and big folks got dressed up to go trick-or-treating, to concerts, bars, parties, or just a gathering of friends. In Bowling Green, at a house called The Kingdom, was one of the greatest parties I've ever been to. The party was dubbed Halloween Fest '08 and was a showcase of 5 different bands. The stage was the back porch of the house and the crowd gathered up in the gigantic backyard sipping $1 Ale-8s and perusing the merch tables of bands like the ground-breaking Anathallo, The Colour Revolt, and even regional darlings Rodeo Ruby Love, The Parade Schedule, and Steven and the Ghosts.
A couple of weeks ago, Matt Kinder of Louisville's The Parade Schedule asked me to sit in with his band at this pivotal show, and I jumped at the chance. The Parade Schedule is his sometimes solo, sometimes 10-piece, sometimes 3-piece (but always riveting) indie band that soars through his old-timey yet progressive folk songs. Tonight was the full band (plus me) that opened up this huge show. It was an incredibly fun set as most of us were dressed up (I was a Christmas tree) and I got to sit in the passenger seat for a change and bang on a drum and a glockenspiel while I sang along just as I would if I was in the crowd. Matt writes really great, powerful songs about honor, love, and the little things that draw us to each other. With songs like “Backyard,” “Dye Your Hair,” and “Brother’s Keeper” it was a set that I almost wish I got to watch rather than contribute to. This was also the first show where the Parade Schedule’s new live CD entitled Songs We Sang in Front of People: Live @ The 930 was available for purchase. It’s got killer artwork designed Mr. Kinder himself and showcases a great live show they did at the Louisville venue a few months back. The band consists of Kinder on vocals/guitar, Brooks Ritter on vocals/guitar, Lauren Ritter on vocals/percussion, Audra Todd on vocals/percussion, Katie Faye Vaughn on vocals/percussion, Mick Price on drums, Danny Loeschen on bass, Clay on trumpets, and Josh on accordion/keys/trombone/etc/etc.
The second band was Bowling Green’s very own Steven and the Ghosts who are a Harvest-y rock band with that little bit of country twinge that makes it gorgeous. Steven and his merry men are all phenomenal players and they tear through each song like they’ve been in Nashville studios for years but have never stopped having fun. They closed their set with a song entitled “The Prettiest Song” and it is. The band is Steven on guitar/vocals, Jordan on guitar/vocals, Russ on bass, and a few folks I didn’t know on drums, cello, and keys. They said it was the first show with the keys player, and he really added a lot to their sound.
Next up was one of my favorite bands to ever see live and you would believe me if you saw me in the front row making a fool of myself dancing and screaming along to every song. Rodeo Ruby Love is the project of ex-Away With Vega bass/singer Zach Melton. Zach wanted a band that you could sing along to and have fun with and has been developing and honing this concept for the past couple of years. After a slew of EPs and various releases, they released their first full-length last year on Crossroads of America Records entitled Rodeo Ruby Love vs. The Great American Cities and it has some killer songs on it like “Quit! (Joel’s in Philadelphia)” and “Patience.” They also played a few new songs like the infectiously affectionate “Save My Money” and got the crowd dancing and singing and there were more than a few new fans made that night. Backing Zach up are Kyle Kammeyer on guitar/vocals, Stephen Boyd on drums, Michelle McEver on keys/vocals, Annie Melton on keys/vocals, Dave Buckler on banjo/ukulele, Erik Fox on glockenspiel, and Dan Schepper on bass.
After Rodeo finished psyching up the crowd, Colour Revolt from Oxford, Mississippi got on stage and were the first of the two main attractions for the night. Colour Revolt is known for their inventive dual-guitar melodic interplay and their gorgeous arrangements and they didn’t disappoint as they played two brand new songs and even threw in a cover of “Pet Cemetery” by The Ramones for a little bit of Halloween flair. I didn’t really know a lot of their material and was pretty worn out after yelling my lungs out during Rodeo’s set, so I stayed in the back with my buddy Jordan who was chatting it up with Matt Joynt from Anathallo as they know have known each other for awhile. The Colour Revolt did put on a great show though and Matt Kinder (who is a fan) said that this set was the highlight of the night for him.
Lastly, around 11:40 Anathallo took the stage to a crowd of chilled, yet anxiously awaiting fans. We all huddled in close partly to stay warm and partly to take in every bit of the set that we could. This show was the first show on Anathallo’s tour touting their new record entitled Canopy Glow out on Anticon and this was the first chance to pick up a copy (by the way the cover art is a painting called “Temma on Earth” by Tim Lowly who was just featured at The 930 and it is quite haunting). If you are not familiar with Anathallo, then you should probably look at their tour schedule and go see them no matter what is going on that night. Anathallo is the little band that could from Mount Pleasant, Michigan which is about 20 minutes from the town I grew up in. They are, hands-down, one of the most exciting live acts ever. That’s right, ever. Don’t get me wrong, there are a few bands out there that might be able to match their energy, the arrangements, their songwriting, or possibly even their confounding musicianship. But the straight truth is that, all factors considered, they are simply peerless. While they were playing frontman Matt Joynt commented multiple times that this was one of the coolest shows they’d ever played. They debuted a couple of songs, and He said that it was shows like this that aligned with his dream of being a musician because it was cozy and with friends and lots of fun. They ended their wonderful set around 12:30 as the kids all ran for their heated cars to warm up their toes. Anathallo is playing at The Southgate House in Newport on Monday and you should all be there. I am working until 10 or 11 otherwise I would.
All in all, this was one of the most well-organized and curated shows that I’ve been too in a long time, if not ever. More shows are supposed to be coming in the near future, and you can be sure that I will be there, at the Kingdom.
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