Get news, updates, bad jokes, and everything in poor taste on the Morning Shadows blog. New shows, new songs, videos, and what happened at the last show will all appear here.
Today, Hamtown's annual festival celebrating local music kicks off a three day weekend. One wristband gives its wearer access to all venues and bands for all three days, and each is only $15. Wristbands can be purchased at mutiple locations, all listed on the HMF website found here. Some shows are 18+, but there are also several daytime shows that welcome all ages. The website also features a map of participating venues, schedules for all three days, and other information.
According to their website, Ant Hall is hosting Kind of Animal, Sold Only as Curio, Cosmic Light Shapes, DUDE, and Sextez &the Vibe beginning at 8pm tonight. 18+
Ghost Light is hosting Panda House, After Dark Amusement Park, Ladyship Warship, and Valid, beginning at 8:30pm tonight. 18+
Here's a fun sampling of After Dark Amusement Park:
On Saturday, we finally took full advantage of an opportunity to see Opeth at the Royal Oak Music Theater. It should be mentioned that this venue has hosted some of our favorite concert experiences. Whether it's their size, the elegance of the atmosphere, or the people who tend to attend, we don't know, but we have had many a good time here.
We missed them on their last pass through the state, and have regretted it since. We hope they make plans to return soon.
Graveyard
The opening band was Graveyard, which was an excellent choice. They, too, have a rich variety of sounds, with a strong blues element fused into their heavy, occasionally Soundgarden-esque sound. While previewing them on the day of the show, our first thoughts were that they bore a resemblance to Deep Purple and Motӧrhead with a whisper of Greta Van Fleet and Bad Company.We had checked them out previously, but hadn't really given them a full listen, as happens when you're chasing a particular flavor of sound and aren't really ready for some of the things you encounter along the way. This made their set a pleasant surprise, and earned them some new fans. They warmed up the atmosphere and left us wanting more.
Opeth
Opeth began with the opening track from their new album, In Cauda Venenum, perfectly fitting for the tour in its support. They played a range of material that satisfied both older and newer fans, and also took a handful of requests. Midway through the show, Mikael Åkerfeldt announced that he was ill, and had come very close to canceling, so we felt extremely lucky that he'd chosen to perform. Of course, we hope that touring musicians make their choices in such a way that respects their own health. We'd much rather they cancel when necessary than risk permanent damage to their voice by trying to soldier on regardless. Still, we extend our thanks to him. In spite of his challenges, this remained one of the best shows we've seen in our 30+ years of concertgoing. Everyone put forth their best effort, and it was evident that they were enjoying playing the songs they'd selected for us. You could feel their emotional participation in the music's energy. Their stage show didn't overpower their music, but the background screen and foreground screens brought us through rain, snow, the eruption of flames, and toured the cosmos. It was such an adventure that it felt more like what another audience member described was practically a, "religious experience." While that's not terminology that we'd use, it did feel like the only thing missing was Carl Sagan.
Thanks to Mike Hartigan for sharing this on Youtube.
Lately, we've been checking out local bands to see what's out there, and with whom we might like to play shows. Huge music festivals really help. We were in Ferndale recently, and stopped at one of their record stores, where we picked up a flyer for the Hamtramck Music Festival. This is a goldmine of local talent. For us, it's a printed choose-your-adventure music list. Two bands that really stood out to us this year are Earth Engine, and The Savage Seven. Granted, we haven't been able to hear all the bands on the list, and not everyone has their music where it is easily found online (Bandcamp, Youtube, Spotify, Soundcloud, Reverb Nation). Still, this year's offerings sound really promising, and there seems to be a wider variety of genres represented.
Have you been to the festival in years past? Are you going this year? What do you think about it?
What's that? You don't know when it is? Well, it kicks off today. In fact:
is a music event in Detroit’s beloved enclave of Hamtramck, March 1–4, 2018. Celebrating Metro Detroit’s diverse music community, audiences hop venue to venue via foot, car, or shuttle to experience live performances by over 162 bands in 21 of Hamtramck’s favorite bars, venues and restaurants. One $10 wristband provides three days and nights of live music for the community, with many shows 18 and up, as well as daytime performances for family audiences."
