Me with Danny & the Darleans
Wednesday, April 18th: My dad and I drove out to Lo & Behold! Records & Books in Hamtramck to see Danny & the Darleans. This great little shop is actually owned by one of the Darleans, Richie Wohlfeil (the guy on the right). Danny Kroha's one of the nicest guys I know, so if he has a show, you can pretty much guarantee that I'll be there. He's playing solo at PJ's Lager House May 4th with Outrageous Cherry and The Crooks; we're good friends with all of those bands, so we'll definitely be there. And Danny & the Darleans have a show with The Sights and The Muggs at Woodruff's in Ypsilanti on May 12th, which may be the best lineup I've ever seen and almost makes me want to cancel my Chicago trip to see Electric Six. Almost.
Me with The Muggs
Friday night, we first went to see The Muggs at the Magic Bag in Ferndale. Since it was 4/20, they were opening for a Jerry Garcia cover band and were dressed as hippies. We were right up front, as always, and were ready for a great night. Unfortunately, The Magic Bag's security started hassling us because we were filming. In between songs, we got Danny to announce over the microphone that it was okay for us to record their performance. One of the guards must've not heard the message, though, and threatened to kick us out if we continued filming. He then went over to his superior, who told him that the band had just given us permission. He came over and apologized afterwards for interrupting us twice, but it was too little too late. I had filmed the rest of the show, since we'd finally earned the right to, but we won't be posting anything from that night since we don't have the complete show. It was too bad that this was my first experience at The Magic Bag. There would have to be a really great show there to convince me to ever go back.
The Crooks
We were lucky enough to be able to make it just in time to see The Crooks at Small's later that night. There weren't many people there (the Rock and Roll Lottery was the same night), but the guys didn't let that effect their performance. The Crooks are definitely a band you should keep your eye on. They may be young, but they are incredibly talented musicians and performers. In a couple of years, if they keep it up, they're going to own this town.
Me with The Hard Lessons
Saturday night, we went to The Majestic Theater in Detroit to see Phantasmagoria, The Hard Lessons, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. It was my second time seeing Phantasmagoria and my first time seeing the other two. We only really went out to see The Hard Lessons, especially since it was Augie's birthday, but the entire show was enjoyable. I had never even heard Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. before, but now I can't get "We Almost Lost Detroit" and "When I Open My Eyes" out of my head. (Note: We may or may not be uploading videos from DEJJ's set; we're just waiting on permission from their manager. Fingers crossed.) The highlight of my night was probably right after The Hard Lessons' set. Augie was handing out set lists to the audience, walked over to me, gave me his guitar, and walked away. The other people in the audience couldn't believe it, and got really excited when he came over with his other guitar. Augie started to hand it over, then said "I'm just kidding" and instead took back the one he had given me. My dad was cracking up.
Now we're up to date. The play I'm assistant directing is this weekend, so I might have to miss some concerts. Hopefully not, though. I'm a pro at being over scheduled and running on no sleep.
