A few things to check out

Canada interview at SXSW on Splashcast

GLMS SXSW tour blog on AllMusic

Mason Proper as Spin.com's Band of the Day 3/39/07

Download: Matt Jones, Live at Keweenawesomefest in Houghton, MI

Fields of Industry live on WCBN 3/28/07

Mason Proper at the Subterranean in Chicago 3/24/07

One of the most interesting things about getting out to see Michigan bands in Chicago is the differences and similarities between the audience reactions. I saw Mason Proper at the Subterranean last Saturday.



The venue is small, and as Mason Proper was setting up, I started eavesdropping. An embarrassing habit, I know. “I heard this lead singer is, like, crazy,” one guy warned his friend. As the set started, the crowd seemed to get into it; there was plenty of dancing and general enjoyment while the band played for the unruly crowd (even though lead singer Jonathan Visgr lost his glasses sometime during the second song…).



Mason Proper played their re-working of “Life’s Cornucopia,” during which Brian Konicek trades his guitar for some bizarre new instrument, to stunning effect (it looked almost like a dulcimer! Is Mason Proper now employing a dulcimer?!? Amazing…). Post-show, I tried to get some of the crowd’s thoughts on the band. One couple who had just moved from San Francisco was “thrilled on our first night in Chicago.” Another guy applauded “the lead singer’s Frankenstein dancing.”







Overall, Chicago loved Mason Proper.
-Katie Canavan

Hugs all around

Dearest JHaJ readers:
The time has finally arrived! We have decided to expand our JHaJ family and include blogger correspondents in locations that Erik and I can’t always reach. Our good friends, and fellow MI music lovers, Kevin Eder (Houghton, MI), Brandon Zwagerman (Queens, NY), and Katie Canavan (Chicago, IL) will be periodically contributing concert coverage about MI music that travels to their respective locations. We are incredibly excited to be joined by these very knowledgeable cohorts, and to increase the amount of coverage we’re able to provide.
Just one more way to say YES to MI.
xoxo,
annie moss

MI in OH

Mason Proper live on WOXY.com today 3/26/07 at 3pm.
xo!

Sorry there's no information on the flier, but it's 8 p.m. tonight at the Tyler Van Dusen Center on the campus of Alma College. FREE for Alma kids, $5 for everybody else.

These boys bring their milkshakes to the yard.

I don't even know what that means. But, for the cutest picture in the world AND a nice little article:

Childbite in Real Detroit Weekly

Onett, The Darts, Mason Proper at Mac's Bar 3/18/07

I don’t want to write too much about Mason Proper, only because I think I captured my reaction best on the podcast which we'll post at the end of the month. As you will hopefully be able to tell from the audio clips within the podcast, it was a superb set, the finest I’ve yet witnessed from the Propers. Meanwhile at the show, we made new friends in Onett, who answered a few brief questions from Annie and I while sipping on some well-deserved soft drinks. They won't be together for very much longer, so catch these kids while you can and then pay attention to their future projects — there's plenty of potential within Onett.
-Erik

Onett


The Darts


Mason Proper










Onett
Web site
MySpace

Upcoming Michigan Shows:
April 15 — The DAAC in Grand Rapids w/ Casiotone for the Painfully Alone and Jes Kramer

Mason Proper
Web site
MySpace

Upcoming Michigan Shows:
March 23 — Beggar's Banquet in East Lansing
March 27 — The Lager House in Detroit w/ Birdmonster
April 27 — Michigan State University International Center w/ Chris Bathgate, The Epitomes, La Remodea and more

Kevin McGorey (Roman Numerals), David Martin, Zach Curd, Kevin Mahler at Magdelena's Tea House in Lansing 3/16/07

The singer-songwriter is probably the easiest target for criticism within any local music scene. There’s just something about the acoustic guitars and rampant introspection that rubs people the wrong way, and that wrong-way-rubbing ends up being aired in all sorts of public forums.

But you know what? You can’t have a great bands without great singer-songwriters, and that’s what was on display at Magdalena’s Tea House last Friday — along with one of the most singular figures I’ve ever seen step to a coffee-house mic.

Kevin McGorey of The Word Play (performing under the stage name Roman Numerals ), David Martin of That’s Him! That’s the Guy!, Zach Curd of The Pop Project and Kevin Mahler of Coach Mahler and the Athletes put their solo work on display along with some choice cuts from their respective collective entities, providing a peek at the songs’ foundations.



As Roman Numerals, Kevin McGorey was fueled by a quiet intensity that he brings in part to The Word Play (intensity yes, quiet no). And who’d’ve thought that his cover of Justin Timberlake’s “What Goes Around” wouldn’t be the only JT tribute of the weekend?





During one of the night’s many “VH1 Storytellers” moments, David Martin talked about how the song he was about to play was written about the loud heater in the old, creaky house he lives in. That’s a perfect story for him to tell, because I think an old, creaky house is an appropriate analogy for the set he played that night.

You may know Zach Curd as a piano man, but he’s apparently putting in a lot of time on the guitar recently — a baritone guitar, nonetheless. There was no bari to be had on Friday, but a red SG in alternate tuning provided the deeper chug beneath his songs.



Said songs were great as usual and as strange as it was to see Zach not behind his keys, there were glimpses of the axe-man swagger he surely had to employ in his stint as second guitarist for Thunderbirds Are Now!





Kevin “Coach” Mahler was without his band of athletes, though he did have a handful of in-laws in attendance. His was a bizarre mix of folk, country and comedy told through rambling verse and the occasional blast on his holstered harp. I’m at a loss to fully encapsulate his contribution to the show, just as I’d be at a loss to describe Kevin off-stage. Nonetheless, a highly individual performance from a highly individual performer.
-Erik

Beyonce (with an accent over the 'e' or the 'o'), Against Me! cover band, A band closely resembling The Word Play at The Panopticon in Lansing 3/17/07

St. Patty's Day at the Panopticon in Lansing was entertaining, to say the very least. The evening started out with two dudes with microphones singing over some pre-recorded hip-hop beats. The "lead singer" announced himself as, "Beyonce (with an accent over the 'e' or the 'o')" (the whole thing- that's actually what he called himself), appropriately, as he covered various Destiny's Child and Justin Timberlake tracks (do we just call him JT these days? Erik is the one up to date on the latest pop culture fads...) as well as an amalgamation of his own creations. Some of the most vivacious performers I've seen since Charlie Slick, these guys kicked of the night in a hilarious way.




Jon Cendrowski, Brandon Sczomak and Nate Frusti banded together and covered a dozen or so Against Me! songs. Although I'm not a big Against Me! connoisseur, their enthusiasm and audience scream-alongs made the band's set a lot of fun.

Against Me! cover band



After some rushing around to obtain adequate equipment, Kevin, Brent, Ian and Brandon of The Word Play decided to play a few songs. Many drinks were consumed by this point, and because of that, EVERYONE LOVED THIS SET. The guys made the absolute best of a drunken situation with unfamiliar instruments. I loved it. But, just for the record- The Word Play didn't perform that night... just a group of boys closely resembling said band...








Thanks very much to John Krohn for helping me experiment with my two new cameras! A few of these photographs were taken by him.

xoxo,
annie m. <3

The Novel Citizen at Mac's Bar 3/9/07

There's a trombone. And some seriously groovin' bass-lines. Their sound sort of walks the line of both Wolf Parade and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (remember them?), but still maintains a unique concept. I'd like to see The Novel Citizen play with Mason Proper, The Wordplay or Javelins; any of these bands would make great musical compliments. I picked up a copy of their EP, Reciprocations, and was quite impressed with the sound. Check out this new JHaJ band- they put on a good show.







The Novel Citizen
MySpace
Web site

Upcoming Michigan Shows
March 20 — The Blind Pig with Melophobia
March 30 — Elbow Room with Buffalo, Wildcatting, In Civilian Clothing
March 31 — Kraftbrau Brewery w/ These United States, Paleo

xo,
annie moss <3

The Pop Project, Page France, Canada at The Blind Pig 3/7/07

This was the most fun I’ve had at the Blind Pig in a long time.

I always love seeing The Pop Project. Their songs transfer very well to a live performance, and it was great to hear material from their upcoming album (Stars of Stage and Screen, released in June of this year- finally!). You need to see this band in concert, not only because of their super fun and inventive songs, but because they have the best stage personalities of any musicians around. Between Will Yates’ constant “I have perfect pitch!” stories, and Zach Curd’s spontaneous decisions about audience participation, The Pop Project is sure to hold your attention during their entire set. You have to give these guys credit for being a constant presence in the Michigan Music scene since 1999.


The Pop Project


Audience participation in House of Books (“everybody switch places with the person on the opposite side of the room from you.” Next time, be prepared to “be detached.”)

Page France (Suicide Squeeze Records) were definitely the audience favorite. Some of the most committed musicians I’ve seen onstage, they were completely involved with all the sounds they were creating as a group. Canada and Page France recently recorded 6 new songs, and QuiSci is releasing a 10" vinyl EP entitled, French Canadians (get it?). Canada joined Page France onstage for their final song, and provided a lovely preview of the French Canadian music.


Page France


Page France


Page France + Canada

Canada played their last Michigan show before heading out on their SXSW tour. They’re beginning to stray away from playing This Cursed House material, and their new songs are really amazing. So, even if you are a bit tired of the much circulated This Cursed House, go see Canada perform in the next few months- you’ll be blown over with new music. My favorite new Canada song is Homes and Jewels, in which Amy is on drums, Ryan picks up a guitar, Kaylan grabs a violin and everyone sings a bunch. It’s awesome.


Canada- Homes and Jewels


Canada and Page France- Hexenhaus

The Pop Project
MySpace
Web site

Upcoming Michigan Shows
April 7 — The Lager House with Great Lakes Myth Society, The Mighty Narwhale

Canada
MySpace
Web site

Upcoming Michigan Shows
March 23 — The Halfass with Castanets, Shapes and Sizes
April 19 — The Blind Pig with Chris Bathgate (CD Release), Alex Belhaj

xoxo,
annie moss <3

Since JHaJ won't be doing any official Blowout coverage...

lots and lots of Blowout info in Metrotimes

Follow SLGTM and Bathgate around the world

Our fellow bloggers, Celestial Biscuit are hosting a Saturday Looks Good To Me tour blog written by keyboardist Scott Sellwood. So check in with CB throughout the next few months to keep tabs on Chris Bathgate and SLGTM news.

Canada on WOXY

On Thursday March 8 at 3:00pm, Canada will be live on WOXY.com (independent radio station out of Ohio). Tune in to their website for the interview and live studio performance. Check out other JHaJ favorites on WOXY: Mason Proper, The High Strung. WOXY is one of my favorite indie music resources, they consistently produce good stuff. So check ‘em out.

xo,
annie

awwww...

well, i guess it's a good thing

Blowout in Pitchfork
(thanks BZ)

Keweenawesomefest at Michigan Tech in Houghton, MI 2/23-24/07

There certainly has been a huge buzz throughout Michigan for the past week. People keep writing, talking, asking about Keweenawesomefest. Who would have thought that so many musicians and people throughout the Midwest would take a chance on such a diverse music festival in the very tip of the Upper Peninsula? But the events of this infamous weekend in February are going down in the Just Haircuts and Jackets history book. Not only because of the great performances that took place in Houghton, but because of the overwhelming amount of love, respect and appreciation for the entire Michigan music community that manifested during KFest.

KFest was put on by the college radio station, WMTU at The Black Box theatre on MichTech's campus. This was hands down the best concert space that I've ever been in. The stage was huge, lots of audience space and AMAZING LIGHTS AND SOUND. I have never seen such flattering and exciting light designs at a music concert, and the sound was fantastic.

One of the reasons why I love local music is the mutual need between the musicians and the audience. The musicians are thankful for any audience they can get; and as a fan there is something irreplaceable about the intimacy of a local show. Keweenawesomefest embodied this completely. It was like a big lovefest between the performers and the audience.

My cohort in KFest-ing, Katie, and I recorded some of our experiences on the road trip up to Houghton as well as our thoughts on the various musical acts. We also managed to talk to a few musicians (as well as of the of the KFest organizers, Kevin Eder) about their thoughts on Michigan music, and took a few sound clips from the performances. This all has turned into our first official JHaJ podcast! Fair warning: this podcast is an hour long (oh my god)! However, considering the 12 hours of music and a 2-day event, we decided to keep all the material. So, to hear our thoughts and newly gained inspirations from KFest, download our Podcast:

Click the "advanced" tab in the upper left hand corner of your ITunes, click "subscribe to podcast" and enter the URL:

http://justhaircutsandjackets.base-2.net/podcast

Then subscribe to the Just Haircuts and Jackets podcast. There should be a little arrow to the left of the JHaJ podcast, and it should drop down to Keweenawesomefest. It should begin downloading right away, but if it doesn't, click on "podcasts" under "library" and click "refresh" at the bottom. If you have any trouble downloading the podcast, try it a few times- but then be sure to contact us (justhaircutsandjackets@yahoo.com).
(HUGE thanks to Katie and Matt for helping us get this podcast up and running).


Arrah and the Ferns


Sycamore Smith


Matt Jones and Carol Catherine Gray


Mason Proper


The Mighty Narwhale


Charlie Slick


MC Trashpedal

To everyone involved in making this event happen, thank you. We feel so lucky to have taken part in such a fantastic musical event. IT WAS AWESOME.

Can't wait till KFest 2.

xoxo,
annie moss