Free Energy in Cleveland

Before embarking on their current tour, Free Energy’s frontman, Paul Sprangers, had a lot of spunky, sarcastic ideas for the show. He wanted the celebratory vibe of the music to coincide with equally colorful stunts – throwing confetti at midnight, exploding t-shirt canisters, and levitating drummer Nick Shuminsky in the air mid-performance. Yet if none of his antics work out, Sprangers and the other guys of Free Energy will still bring the party to town. Echoing cowbell and chunky 70’s guitar riffs radiate from their eponymous song, “Free Energy,” one of the new tunes they’ll play along with others off their upcoming album, Stuck on Nothing. With inspiration coming from ZZ Top, Bob Seger, and Fleetwood Mac, expect to hear crunchy melodies and a vintage rock sound. In an effort to modernize that classic sound, Free Energy had LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy produce the new album. He added a dance-worthy sheen to the mix. But their live show will showcase good old rock ‘n roll force with wailing guitars and bouncy bass. Touring partners Foreign Born open the show along with Clovers and DJ Matt Rolin at 8:30 p.m. at the Beachland Tavern (15711 Waterloo Rd., 216.383.1124). Tickets: $10

Langhorne Slim, You Control Me

Sean Scolnick always had dreams of moving to New York City to become a famous singer, and he figured a good nickname was the first step. The Langhorne, PA native adopted the name of his hometown to set himself apart from all the other John Smiths at open mic nights in the big city. And the label stuck, even though he now plays and tours with a band. With Malachi DeLorenzo on drums, Jeff Ratner on bass, and the band’s newest addition, David Moore, on keyboard, Langhorne Slim is a full-fledged folk rock band. The four of them are ready to introduce the fierce folk rock of Slim’s latest album to live crowds. Be Set Free is littered with Scolnick’s deeply personal lyrics and usual lush soundscape of intricate finger picking and ass-shaking country jigs. But what he’s really excited about is the big picture. “These guys are really badass players onto themselves, and they bring in their own style. Their parts make the songs our own through each one of us making it individually our own. It becomes a collective thing.”

Ten out of Tenn - The Best Nashvillians!

The last time the Ten Out of Tenn tour stopped in Cleveland, it wasn't pretty.

"We came through in the wintertime," says singer-songwriter K.S. Rhoads. "We weren't playing, but we just stopped for the day. One of the water mains broke downtown. We got to the hotel, and they didn't even tell us that there was no water anywhere downtown. The restaurants couldn't serve food because there wasn't any water. It was pretty crazy. So we just sat in the hotel room, got giant bottles of Maker's Mark and big ol' bottles of wine and played Mafia."

If it sounds like a PG-13 version of a family vacation, that's because Ten out of Tenn is just that — a summer camp for musicians, a traveling band, a family of Nashville artists sharing a tour bus and months of their lives.

Read the rest here at the Cleveland Scene.

(p.s. I saw their Cleveland show last night. BLEW MY MIND. More about that later...)

Loney Dear/Asobi Seksu, 10/11

In his personal blog, Emil Svanängen compares his relationship with music to others’ relationships with god. The multi-instrumentalist and mastermind of Loney Dear is a self-depricating Swede who says music makes him feel small whenever he thinks about its infinite possibilities. For a guy who made his first few albums in his parents’ basement or other home recording set-ups, his “smallness” has taken him far. Sub Pop released Loney, Noir in 2007, Polyvinyl released Dear John in January, and Svanängen has been touring stateside and abroad for several years with his four band members. His layered pop is packaged into sweet melodies, with chiming bells, sprightly synths, and tender vocals. Loney Dear shares the bill with Asobi Seksu and Anna Ternheim, a beautiful smoky-voiced chanteuse who recently won the Swedish equivalent of a Grammy for Best Newcomer. Asobi Seksu (colloquial Japanese for "casual sex”) will take the show to a wilder level with it’s self-described “psychedelic trance pop.” Vocalist Yuki Chikudate sings in a mix of Japanese and English with crashing cymbals and shoegaze guitars backing her wild yelps. The show starts at 10 p.m. at the Grog Shop.

Sufjan Stevens to Wow Cleveland

Tickets for Sufjan Stevens’ Beachland Ballroom show went on sale about a month ago. Three days and hundreds of fans later, a banner appeared on the venue’s website. SOLD OUT! Who are we to be surprised? Possibly the most interesting and musically talented man in the acoustic indie genre today, Stevens is known for putting on an amazing show. Strapped into butterfly wings and letterman sweaters, the handsome, light-eyed multi-instrumentalist reinterprets orchestrated masterpieces from a string of albums that range from his electronica debut, Enjoy Your Rabbit, to the banjo twang of songs on Illinois. Some of his more legendary gigs have paired the Michigan native with legends (the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra) and large ensembles (his recent multimedia BQE project included a small band, a wind and brass ensemble, strings, horns, and hula hoopers – 36 performers in all). This year, the dude’s cooling off a little on a tour through smaller clubs through the East Coast and Midwest. Fans will relish the twisted beauty of “John Wayne Gacy, Jr,” a soft piano/guitar ballad about the serial killer, and sing along with the joyous horn-laden “Chicago.”

Ra Ra Riot Keeps on Striking

Fresh off a tour with Death Cab for Cutie, life is looking good for the six members of Ra Ra Riot. Last time they played the Grog Shop, they were opening for Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. Now they return to the venue as headliners, a position they have earned rightfully. Touring behind The Rhumb Line, the Syracuse-based band’s 2008 debut, the indie poppers continue wowing audiences with a unique take on rock – one injected with the blooming flourishes of cello and violin. The last time fancy string instruments sounded this good was in pop-punk band Yellowcard, and these New Yorkers figuratively have years and years of maturity on those SoCal punks. After this summer’s collaboration with Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij in a side project they dubbed Discovery, RRR’s Wes Miles has probably stolen a few of VW’s fans. They two bands are of the same breed, bringing fans sheer happiness through a rush of choppy drums, bubblegum pop, and simple vocal incantations. RRR’s pals Princeton open with Chicago’s Maps & Atlases at 8 p.m. at the Grog Shop.

Trashcan Sinatras

The Trashcan Sinatras have been together for more than 20 years, and not all of them have been easy. In 1996, the band declared bankruptcy after Universal Records dropped them from its label. Yet, the band re-emerged a few years later seemingly unscathed, still cranking out gentle pop creations with sweet harmonies and gentle grooves. The Scottish six-piece is now touring behind its fifth full-length record, which will be released in the UK and Europe in September and sometime this fall in the US. According to the band, the album, In the Music, is full of songs about all kinds of love. Francis Reader leads the group with a crystal clear voice, while Paul Livingston lets magic trickle through his guitar and the rest of the band rounds out a full chamber pop sound. Lush, beautiful, and relaxing, the show is a prime destination for sweethearts. Since Trashcan Sinatras are known for going years without touring, this might be your last chance to see them play a live show for a while. Brookville (Andy Chase of Ivy) and The Ben Barrs open at 8pm at the Grog Shop (2785 Euclid Heights Blvd., 216.321.5588). Tickets: $10 advance, $12 day of show.