The Bass Geek

Is tomorrow the first Saturday of the month?  Then Bigger Than Elvis must be at Radio Radio!

Mudkid, Birdman of Alcatraz, and DJ Rusty Redenbacher (that’s all one guy) host the Sam’s Saloon Halloween Party this evening - it’s a perfect setting for the holiday.  Tomorrow, the venue features Undefeated Music (I’m not sure what weight class they’re in, though).

As for the rest of Fountain Square, it’s Halloween, so watch out for trick-or-treating kids, cider and candy at Scare On The Square.  This is one of the best times to see my fair district, so stop on by between 4 and 6 this afternoon.

My costume?  I’m going as a Playboy Psychonaut - 7:30 this evening at the new IndyFringe HQ!

The new episode of the IMN podcast is up and running - download it here or listen via Indianapolismusic.net or WFYI.

I spent a little time today tidying up the feeds in a few podcast services for the show.  We unfortunately had to change our RSS feed location mid-stream about 50+ episodes ago, and I just wanted to be sure that the redirection had taken.  Little late?  Maybe, but it was just a passing thought that took root and demanded satisfaction.  Looks like we’re good, and that makes me happy.

Also, anybody with an HD radio is more than welcome to drop comments on how the show is going on WFYI.  It sounds fine to me on the stream (especially now that we’re servicing WAV files to the station), and I’m just curious.  Thanks!

Bands, take note: want some gigs during the Halloween season?  Wear silly hats.  The Playboy Psychonauts are doing three gigs in a two-day span:

• Halloween Night, we’re at the IndyFringe HQ.
• Saturday afternoon, we’re playing a Fountain Square block party.
• Saturday evening, we’re booking it to Lafayette for the Knickerbocker’s Hoot Night.

Silly hats = gigs.  Works every time.

There’s a new Gene Simmons model bass controller for Guitar Hero. While I’m all for more basses in the public hands (even if they are just for video games), I’m not sure I’d want to use one than makes a show of playing while letting someone else actually record the albums.

Or something like that.

The last day and night were kind of a blur, mostly because we were three days into a big festival and were probably achey and a bit dehydrated. So this is more of a list of memorable moments more than a full recap:

• The Blind Boys of Alabama were one of the most moving performances I’d ever seen. Even on well-worn songs, they managed to wring out so much soul and emotion.
• Ozomatli and Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, while stylistically different, were forces of nature with remarkably similar impacts. Not a single audience member standing still.
• Did Trombone Shorty make a Juvenile guest appearance both entertaining and enjoyable? Indeed, he did. Nice work.
• Some of the most memorable occasions were getting ambushed by random musical events, whether it was a robot, a bull-shaped music cart, or a marching band (even though I think one of the cheerleaders molested my wife)
• The bass was on full display, moreso than any other festival I think I’ve seen (setting up stage plots on the fly is terrible and thankless work). Whether it was Wil-Dog Abers from Ozomatli, Norwood from Fishbone, or Erykah Badu’s set, every bass note was clear, distinct and well-mixed. Kudos to the players and the sound techs.

We ended our stay with a quick stop at a pizza joint near our hotel. No sooner had we sat down than a Latin-tinged dance band was playing and the dance floor was filled with salsa aficionados. Great way to end the weekend.