I wanted to take a moment to mention my favorite band around right now, Lo-Watt Radio. I drove up to Akron Ohio to catch them again recently.
I was glad to see that they are really developing a local following. In fact, the newer venue, The Acoustix Cafe, seemed a little unprepared to deal with the crowd that Lo-Watt Radio brought in.
If you can catch these guys live, you will see why they are drawing impressive crowds.
Lo-Watt Radio took the stage at around 9pm on this late January night. They took about a 15 minute break at one point, and then they played until nearly half an hour after midnight. These guys are bringing their A game, and they seem to have no problem playing for over three hours.
The crowd at the Acoustic Cafe obviously appreciated good music, as most stuck around for this marathon show. And, in case you are curious, the crowd did demand an encore.
The band has a ton of impressive material. They can cover Michael Jackson, Warren Zevon, CCR, or Tom Petty without flinching. Seeing them do "Mary Jane's Last Dance" seems very appropriate for this folk rock five. Seeing the band's multi-instrumentalist Doc Blankenhorn pull out a fiddle or mandolin for "Billy Jean" or "I Will Survive" might seem a bit out of place though. However, Lo-Watt Radio performs these songs as if they were written to be performed in a more folky way.Don't go to see them because of the fact that they do some very interesting covers. Go to hear their original songs. They have a lot of good original material featured on their EP and on their recently released full length CD.
The new CD, "Thousand Days of Rain" is the kind of CD you can listen to straight through. Each song is a winner. I don't want to say that I have a favorite, because I like them all, but "Saints and Sinners", "Thousand Days of Rain", and "Here We Are Again" all belong on a movie soundtrack- or on college radio at least.
Lo-Watt Radio actually shows an excessive amount of talent in their original song repertoire. Doc sang lead on an amazing song called Tennessee. After the show I asked the band where the song came from. I thought it might be a cover of one of those great country songs from the 60s that I might have missed. The band told me that it was an original written by Doc. The song is incredible, and they haven't even recorded it yet!!!
The band is going through some personnel shifting. They have added Evan Moran on guitar and keyboards since I saw them last.
Unfortunately, drummer Joel Geiser will be leaving the group soon. He is moving out of state. Joel is a great drummer and I hope he keeps playing! I have listened to a lot of bands that have slow or unenthusiastic drummers. Thats not Joel. It will be very hard for Lo-Watt Radio to replace him.
The Acoustix Cafe is actually a very nice newer bar in the Akron area. It looks like they are booking a lot of talented local acts which is the way to go. As I mentioned, I don't think the venue expected the MANY Lo-Watt Heads that came out to support the band, but they still did a good job of trying to accommodate everyone. I did order a BB King burger there that was PERFECT! These guys are bringing in local acts, and doing their best to have a quality menu.
My friends in Akron have a great band to catch live, and a great new music venue!
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