ACRN sponsors free 'Welcome Back' show
By Susannah Elliott, Entertainment Editor
September 21, 2006 | 10:04 a.m.
In one of ACRN’s “No Dough” Saturday night rock shows at The Front Room, The Juniper Wait, Kaslo and Men of Gentle Birth took the stage in a diverse show that left audience ears exhausted, yet satisfied.
Opening the show at 9 p.m. on Sept. 16 were local indie rockers Kaslo. Luke Brevoort (drums), Clay Flaherty (guitar and vocals), Teddy Humpert (guitar, piano and vocals) and Max Wagner (bass) are all in the Class of 2008 at Ohio University. According to their MySpace, Flaherty and Humpert lived across the hall from each other their freshman year. However, they didn’t really decide to start playing music together until bumping into each other at a concert for Ryan Adams, an artist who seems to have influenced their music in more than one way. Brevoort joined the band in their sophomore year and Wagner completed the picture later in the same year.
Kaslo demonstrated experienced songwriting and tight musicianship in their indie pop set Saturday night. Dashed with some alt-country influence, the band’s mellow sound took advantage of the acoustics of The Front Room and fit in perfectly. When Flaherty isn’t taking over with his own soothing vocals, Humpert’s soft, caressing voice is as welcome to the indie music scene as Chuck Taylors and vinyl.
The Juniper Wait arrived next after Kaslo to break the audience out of the sweet lull into which it had fallen. Natives of the Port Clinton, Ohio, area, The Juniper Wait is a blend of experimental indie rock that guitarist Matthew Bahnsen says is often compared to bands like Explosions in the Sky, The Appleseed Cast and Mogwai. “A comparison that we don’t get a lot that’s starting to creep up more in our music is bands like Isis…just kind of heavier stuff,” Bahnsen said.
After Kaslo, The Juniper Wait was a surprise to the ears, but a pleasant one. Although the music was completely instrumental, that doesn’t mean it was boring. Once the audience fell into the pattern of one melody, there was a new explosion of music. The wood-paneled room was filled with a myriad of echoing chords, steady drumming and the occasional xylophone.
Front man Bahnsen announced mid-set that they recently worked out a deal with Gilead Media, an Oshkosh, Wis.-based label that has produced such bands as The Appleseed Cast and A Scanner Darkly. The guitarist said that fans should expect a release from The Juniper Wait and Gilead Media around the beginning of the year.
The band is made up of Bahnsen (guitar), Kyle Kilmer (drums), Cody Kirkendall (guitar) and Rob Zajac (bass). Zajac attended OU, which is how The Juniper Wait ended up playing in Athens, Bahnsen said.
For Bahnsen and fellow guitarist Kirkendall, Saturday was their first time playing in Athens, but the whole band seemed to really enjoy playing their music while onstage. “It was a lot of fun,” Bahnsen said. “[Athens] is a really cool town.”
Headliners Men of Gentle Birth would agree. Band members Drew Sherrick, Tyler Slater, Ian Wolfe and Tristan Wolfe all hail from Lancaster, Ohio. They have spent four to five months performing shows in Cincinnati, but still love the Athens music scene. “I think it’s a lot better here than anywhere else we’ve ever played,” Sherrick said.
Sherrick and Ian Wolfe added that many of the clubs they played in Cincinnati were in bad areas of the city, and they just didn’t enjoy it as much. “Maybe it’s just ‘cause Athens spoils us,” Wolfe said. “It’s a great place to play and to see a show.”
Men of Gentle Birth are known for their high-energy shows where Sherrick and the Wolfe brothers switch instruments and vocal parts from song to song, and Slater pours just as much energy into the drums. They admit that their music is very much without definition, as each of their diverse tastes show up in the songs.
The crowd was relatively small for such a local favorite, but the guys in Men of Gentle Birth still played an amazing show. The band was sweaty and out of breath by the end of their performance, and audience ears were ringing.
For future No Dough shows, check out ACRN.com. Miranda Sound, The Gunshy and Andrew Bryant will be visiting the Front Room stage on Sept. 23, and on Sept. 28 Captain of Industry, Nostra Nova and Kevin Devine & The Goddamn Band will take the stage.
Also this month, ACRN is bringing The Mountain Goats and Christine Fellows to the Union.
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Visit the bands’ MySpace profiles for news and upcoming shows!Kaslo
The Juniper Wait
Men of Gentle Birth