Bloomington, IN's The Main Squeeze and the criminally underappreciated talent of local and cover bands

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Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/11/18/bloomington-ins-the-main-squeeze-and-the-criminally-underappreciated-talent-of-local-and-cover-bands.html

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Thanks for this, @garethb2. It’s nice to be seen.

And oh hey, speaking of, my second solo album is dropping next Friday on your favorite streaming service.

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That was awesome; wish I could stand up front for face-melting goodness.

Hope this brings lots of exposure!

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Wow. Great stuff!

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Is this a thread where we post local talent that never made it? Here’s some 25 year old video of my band opening for Gong at Mama Kin in Boston. The audio’s not great, and gets out of sync with the video at the end, but we had a lot of fun.

If you’re not up for half an hour of it, the last song starts at around 22:20 and has probably the most clear mix of the lot.

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Oh crap, I think I was at that show. Damned if I remember much of it though (no offense but I may have missed the opening acts.)

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I used to work with a chap who would always go to watch cover bands over going to see the original. His thinking was that the ticket price was low, the band would always play the hits (rather than launching in to their latest, “difficult” work), and the cover bands were often grateful for the audience, rather than taking them for granted.

@Gnagn I read, “25 year old” and I think, “So the mid-to-late 1970s?” :frowning:

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I too was shocked to realize while typing that up that 1995 was 25 years ago…

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Have seen so many knock out bands & performers over the years wondering if Clive Davis decides

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God I miss live music. And sitting in bars. And sitting in bars listening to live music.

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If that view out the window is any indication, Bloomington has changed a lot since I was last there.

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It’s nice to see a performance video that’s actually live. Usually when it has decent production value the performance is mimed and I would have suspected this one was too before the final guitar solo.

Here’s another “local band” that’s gathering a non-local following mainly for Beatles covers. Their covers are meant to be note-perfect and come pretty darn close…minus a (vocal) accent here and there.

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extra points for using a beatle bass!

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This is a Wonderful Thing.

I had the pleasure, like a decade and a half ago, of playing moderately competent bass in a band with a couple of truly talented musicians, and this brought that feeling back.

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150 years ago all music was performed live and good musicians could make a living.

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Well the first part of that statement is undeniable, but I think you’re just assuming the 2nd part. Yes, some good musicians could make a living, but how many needed a day job of some kind just like today, or sang for free in church or with family, not even considering music a way to make a living?

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Amen.

The only thing I really miss in these pandemic times is live music. Yeah, you can collaborate over Zoom and even have an audience, but there’s nothing like the chemistry (or magic) when a band is feeling it and the audience is appreciating it. That feedback loop is missing.

There’s no videos of our bar band from 20 years ago, but here’s an mp3: Mustang Sally as performed by Mojo Whitey

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So many of my best memories are at live performances; especially music fests. Lots of performers collaborating in ways that will never be duplicated, reactions from the audience that fuel the bands to go to 11, and magical solos that meander through various songs just teasing the audience.

I danced to a wild bagpipe band at a RenFest that teased into a Rush song in the solo. I saw two jam bands team up and play Cortez the Killer and at the FIRST note, about 30 people in the audience just jumped to their feet to cheer. I saw DJ Logic jam with John-freaking-Popper on harmonica and the beauty made me cry. Listening to the first notes of Midnight Rider ring out soon after Gregg Allman recovered from throat cancer; the entire audience sang along; not a single person distracted. Just thinking of these makes the hairs stand up on my arms. Damn I miss live music!

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