From the National Affairs Desk-
Hey all, Metro here. Back when I started writing here, way back when, when the Metro Times had a decent weekly preview section that I would steal, and then write my own weekly preview, it was the best of days. It was one of our most popular posts because I just basically ripped on everything, but the acts that "got it" knew that any exposure is good exposure. Flash, jump cut to 2023 and the Metro Times is on life support, just a husk, with a failed editor and interns that only have the mental capabilities to write about dispensaries, or stuff they've seen other, better, writers say on social media. Well baby, the weekly preview is back, Jack!
Before we get to that, I want to take a minute to give a quick review of the Corktown Summer Music Fest. Despite my fears, last week's fest was a great success. I take all the credit of course, but not really. I was shocked at the turnout, and hope that the charity got some cash. I will go on record saying all of the acts put their "All" into it, all three days. I knew we were in for "something" as loyal assistant Sebastian Owl and I were driving downtown and I get a call from -jr.
"This thing is packed. I parked on the street. Hurry up!"
He was not wrong. Parking was tricky. Both the Lager House and Brooklyn 2000 were filled. I find -jr holding court at the bar and proceed to drink responsibly with him. It was local legend Woodman's birthday and he bought me a beer. On his birthday. I felt gross, but it didn't stop me from accepting it, and it was a great feeling to see some old faces, and a few new ones. For a second or two, it felt like old times, a good thing.
Soon after, our backup, possibly perm, tambourine player Darlene S. arrived, and then another round was ordered. I was impressed with her ability to arrive not covered in theater blood, but I was more impressed that she arrived. She did confess to me that she considered having blood flow from her eyes. I said that blood from the ears would be better, and she gave me the "What Up" face, crazy eyes and tilted head, and then we went to set up.
Except I didn't. I snuck out to Brooklyn 2000, a venue I had never been to before, where I caught The Hourlies' set. It was good, and the venue was nice and clean. Enough of that. So I went back and JCM 2023 performed our set and it went okay. I only forgot a few words, -jr was back in the saddle, and Darlene S. was great, despite never playing with us before. She even had maracas in addition to a tambourine. Be still, my fucking heart. Since we were the headliners, after our set, we left, and everything went cool, with no headaches, and I woke up to a message, "I went to sleep with a smile on my face, and I just woke up with one." Here was our setlist for the Completists:
Economy
Sonic Egyptian
Virginia Tech
Scatter Lee
Pin-Up Love/Death Race
Carnavoyeur (Queens of the Stone Age cover)
Destination Street
TV Eye (Stooges cover)
End of the World
All of those can be found on Spotify, nerds.
Both Saturday and Sunday at the Fest were great and well attended. Not to be too positive (because the shadow is about to fall), but it was kind of cool to see newer, lesser known acts playing to actual people. And then, the shadow falls. On to the Weekly Preview.
I remember back in 2010 it took me 30 minutes to write these previews. Now, the local scene is on life support, so this will be shorter.
The first show really gives me the creeps. This would be the Rodriguez birthday show at the Cadieux Café, Thurs. July 13th. This has been advertised for over a month, but it just weirds me out. It just seems exploitive, and a little gross. Here is the flyer
The flyer gives the (very wrong) impression that Rodriguez will be playing. This is not the case. He has had health problems recently and there is no way he is playing. But hey, a lot of other people are! Forget the fact that most have zero connection to Rodriguez's history, but some of them are good to great. The Orbitsuns opened for JCM at the New Dodge last year, and Paul Smith of the Strains is one of the most decent humans you can encounter, and can rock. The main issue I have is that the venue/organizers will not in any way confirm that Rodriguez will actually be there. I am talking about the event page, the very least one can do to promote something. The gross, poorly designed flyer (with just as many "sponsors" as acts playing, do the math) implies that he will, but who knows? But hey! It's Detroit! Who fucking knows? Anyway, I guess it is sold out, so their ad-wizard did their job. But take a look at that flyer up there again. Who the fuck is Marz Radio and how do they get second billing? I've never heard of them, never seen them, never had to preview them. What is their connection to Rodriguez? A friend? Relative? Former bandmate? Ohhhhhhh no... they're booking the event. Oh Detroit scene, you never fail to impress me. Moving on. Wait...I couldn't resist...
Sorry, I couldn't resist. I hate giving anonymous commenters their "shine", but this one absolutely hit the mark!
There is also this. These are two separate flyers posted on one of the booker's page. The first one has $10 and the next one $15. Why the change? The lineup never shifted. Do the people who paid $15 get a $5 refund? Once again so very vague, and just a little bit gross. Tell me when I'm lying.
The next show to preview is very bittersweet because the JCM was booked for it, but we had to back out, the first time in a decade we have had to do so. Sure, we've been kicked off of plenty, but have never had to withdraw. This is me at my most sincere, I feel awful about it. The show is Saturday July 15th at the Corktown Tavern, and features Raging Psychos, Woolly, and SCREW. Due to scheduling issues, the JCM won't be able to play with them, which actually probably benefits the show. I never do single show previews, but I have to here because most bookers are kinda scared of us, but they took a chance. We just couldn't make it work, and I am not going to call in E.First or Darlene S. to play tambourine while I try to play guitar like a jerk. Thankfully, the other bands are better than that in that they will actually be there. So! SCREW, Woolly, and Raging Psychos punk rock party, July 15th at Corktown Tavern. And I promise they won't be promoting elder abuse like that Rodriguez show.
The JCM will be back, in some form, at least in book form, very soon. As for live performances, you never know. The world is full of surprises. If the Corktown Summer Fest was our last show, then I am happy with that. But there is a needy, carnavoyeur, part of me that wants to see what a full band JCM can do in 2023/24 with Darlene having a go with the fake blood. I can already picture looking at -jr and him rolling his eyes. But, until then, enjoy the week because the world is full of surprises.
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20 comments:
Caught the first few songs. Tambourine player is an upgrade.
Great take on the Rodriguez scam. "Hey let's have a celebration for this one dude that has no idea who we are!" Aside from maybe one or two, and god knows if he even remembers. You called it. Elder abuse.
I'm catching up on the comments on their FB page and you nailed them. Why do they have the "sponsors" for the event on the wall around the stolen picture of Rodriguez? Why does a show like this need "sponsors"? Why does the booking company feel the need to post their logo next to the stolen image? You should actually have gone harder at them. Why the need for "sponsors" for a show that will be sold out? Traditionally sponsors sponsor ie: give money to a show. So where did that money go? They said on their FB page it was to "musician/production costs". What the fuck does that mean? You would think that the people playing would be fine with doing it pro bono for a good cause. With charging $15 cover for a sold out show they could spare the sound guy, oh I'm sorry "production" guy $100 which would be the most he made that month. This is so very Detroit, and so very lame. I would even put money that Rodriguez has zero idea it is even happening.
Woodman tried to finger my butthole
Anon 8:54- Are you Craig Brown?
Anon 8:08- This might be my favorite comment of the month. I'm actually putting it in the actual post, it is that good. You win a Gold Pass.
Hi your attack on Rodriguez’s Birthday Party is a real shame. This is a party that has been on going for years. This a party attended by and requested by his family. Rodriquez and family will attend. They are looking forward to this event. You obviously have all the questions and do not know the questions Mr Sturr. You should come see Marz Radio and then you would know. We have added to the list and the Rodriquez family has contacted you and asked you to stop your lies. Sorry I feel you have to do this. Bands will be playing Rodriquez selections. We are celebrating a Detroit great. Again u are invited Let’s see if you come out and retract your story. More BS from the press
Anon 5:41- First off it's Mr. Metro. And from there, away we go. Nothing I said was out of line or a lie. The flyer and promotion of the event has been completely misleading and vague. Fact, Jack. I contacted the venue multiple times last month to find out more details and received zero response. If this is something Rodriguez wants then cool, but people keep making a point saying its what his family wants. Well my grandpa made it to his 80's and I was with a self centered girl at the time who wanted to throw this elaborate celebration for him. It was nixed because he just wanted to stay inside and look out the window. I will check out Marz Radio when they come up with a youtube channel, Facebook content, anything. Nobody cares about "Marz Radio". Until then, stop using Rodriguez's name to promote some shitty band nobody will care about. There is nothing about my story that needs to be retracted. It's just one big circle jerk. You want to talk BS? Then will somebody associated with the event answer the only question that matters, Where is the money going to? And also, to the constant readers, the Rodriguez family has not contacted me. The commenter above is just a scrub from the venue or bookers.
I just noticed that early flyers for this had the cover as $10 and then it jumped to $15, which makes your "Where's the money going?" question even better. I'm surprised you didn't catch that. Oh well, still the most real local journalist in town.
Nice catch. Updating post now. Just want to know where the money is going. No acts were added between the multiple flyers, so why the need to....ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh cash grab alert!!!
Anon 5:41- Also, I have to decline your offer of being on the guest list. I would actually prefer to pay for the show, but only if you clarify whether I will be paying $10 or $15, along with where my $15 is going to. Please reply or have somebody fake contact me. You have 5 minutes because I'm already bored.
Did you take them up on their guest list offer?
Cracking up that Doug Podell hosted this and they were wheeling around Rodriguez and John Sinclair in wheelchairs. You called it. Elder abuse.
Anon- 4:24: No because they didn't include a gas card, and I could write a review of the show without even seeing it. I mean if you've seen one Orbitsuns show you've seen them all. The only journalistic nugget I could get is a review of Marz Radio, but since nobody cares or knows who they are, I saved the gas.
Anon- 6:44: I doubt the Doc of Rock has ever played a Rodriguez song on air in his life. Somebody sent me the pictures of a blind Rodriguez and John Sinclair being wheeled around in wheelchairs, and it just bummed me out. We all get old, but not everybody has the chance to be exploited. If they were happy (and cognizant) of it all, I am very happy they had a good time and were celebrated. But at the end of the day, the question remains.....where did all the money go to?
The main question is.... when is Marz Radio going to have their next show, and more importantly, will it be a show that the guy from Marz Radio doesn't book! More importantly will they release any content? Love this post/thread. You really got to the geezers.
Craig Brown? I'm offended. I'm not a scene hack turned real estate agent. (Although he's a cooooooooooool real estate agent, because he has his BMW keys clipped to the outside of his pants)
Can you plz do a goof/take down of Satori Circus. This guy has been polluting my timelines for years. The worst part is that he never goes or, endorses, or does anything for a show he is not involved in.
Anon 7:21- That's a Nope. First off nobody cares, and second, you basically wrote it in your comment. Thanks for reading though.
Marz radio has several gigs this summer and not at local bars. Do u even know who’s in the band u misinformed person. Ur do stupid. Now you’re worried about the money. What’s next. Can’t wait to see u
Craig Brown is fake and gay
Anon 1:46- It is not my job to know who is a fucking band. It is the band's task to make me know/be aware of them, and to this point Pass Radio has not done that. I don't care who is in the band. I probably wouldn't know them anyway. Based on their hit youtube channel and FB likes (0), this is the most press they have gotten yet.
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