Saturday, September 27, 2008

Rock Out With Your Bock Out

Okay, so we're five and a half months away from Bockfest, but that doesn't mean you can't grab your favorite Cincinnati-brewed beer and bang your head to some great music tonight.

This evening marks the final night of the MidPoint Music Festival, the seventh annual event to celebrate live music (and live spinning) in bars around Downtown Cincinnati, Over-the-Rhine and Newport.

My commitments barred me from getting down and dirty Friday, so I am more than anxious to put on my fun clothes (or as Sweet said, "It's time to bring the boobs out,") and enjoy a couple shows tonight.

I could wax poetic about all the acts I want to see (in some cases, I wish I had a doppelganger), so instead I'll throw up some of the highlights I'm anxious to catch.

10:30 p.m. at Know Theater Downstairs Jackson Street Underground: William Sides Atari Party out of Chicago. The write-up on the MPMF website sez this guy uses Atari sound effects to compose his tunes. I can't wait to hear what he does with the warble that accompanied Pac-Man's voracious appetite.

Cincinnati's own The Faux Frenchmen take the stage at New Stage Collective at 11 pm. I've heard of this jazzy quartet before, but I've never heard them. Their sound is called "Gypsy Jazz" or swing pop a-la Squirrel Nut Zippers. What ever it is, it sounds good.

While enjoying TFF, I would send my evil twin to Inner Peace Holistic Center Center Stage to check out Paper Airplane out of Columbus. The MPMF reviewer calls them Power Pop, refers to Beatles influences and compares the group to ELO, and that alone makes me want to shake my Rockaria!

When the clock strikes midnight, I hope my dancin' shoes take me to Cadillac Ranch. Critic's Pick, Flow, has journeyed all the way from Israel to give the Queen City a taste of alt rock. I'm not really familiar with their work, but they're compared to U2, Incubus and Coldplay - tasty.

That's just a handful of what you can discover at MidPoint - a festival that is very well endowed, and growing every year.

No comments: