Photo Review: Drivin N Cryin & Will Hoge at Zbar

Photo Review by Jenny Martin

6/6: Hawks & Los Dolores at Zanzabar

Local heartland heroes, Hawks (lead by Danny Cash, previously of My Morning Jacket) are playing at Zanzabar with Los Dolores, and The Ship The Captain on Thursday, June 6th. $5.
Event Info here. Tickets available here.

Hawks

Photo Review: Emma Ruth Rundle & Jaye Jayle at Zbar

Photo Review By Jenny Martin

 

 

 

1/21 Bully @ Zanzabar

Everybody's favorite Nashville grunge outfit Bully will be heading up the I-65 on January 21st on tour in support of their new LP Losing and hitting the stage at Zanzabar. 

Show info and other tour dates here.

Album Review: Cory Branan "Adios" LP

One could say that Cory Branan was Sturgill Simpson before  Sturgill Simpson. At least before Simpson became a recording artist.

Born in Memphis and raised in Mississippi, Branan cut his teeth during the early Outlaw Revival of the late 1990s and early 2000s with contemporaries like Scott H. Biram and Lucero (although yet to reach the same success or notoriety), self-releasing his first album, The Hell You Say, in 2001 before moving to the now defunct MADJACK Records in 2002 (the same path as Lucero) after which  landing at Bloodshot Records (same as Biram).

Branan's work has always towed the fine line between singer/songwriter and outlaw poet; half Waylon Jennings and half Nick Lowe. His earlier songs also see-sawed between heartbreaking and slapstick, such as the song Crush from his 1st album, with the sweet to goofy lyrics "Remember that Halloween when I went as Jimmy Dean? You were a princess, or a gypsy, or... whatever, I was James Dean! and I had a crush on you."

  His newest, Adios, released in April, is more focused, with the sweet and heartbroken Outlaw moments safely separated from the more goofy tracks instead of whipped up together.
Much like Sturgill Simpson, Branan mixes his southern Appalachian sentiment with southern gospel undertones, as evident on the track Imogene, with its blend of acoustic guitars and electric organ.


On Adios, Branan seems to come to terms with his place just outside of the spotlight in the ever increasing popularity of the Outlaw Revival movement regardless of being on the forefront all those years ago.
Then again with this more thought out offering with honest heartbreakers like Equinox and Cold Blue Moonlight, Adios may just deliver him into the light before long.

Cory Branan will be at Zanzabar on 11/4. $10)

Review: Frankie Cosmos at Zanzabar

On September 25th, the relatively new band called Frankie Cosmos played at Zanzabar in Louisville Kentucky to a packed house. An amazing feat for any music group on a Monday night, much less a band that until recently only had a  presence on bandcamp that was limited to low-fi bedroom recordings.

The band Frankie Cosmos grew out of the solo work of 23 year old Greta Kline who began uploading songs she had written and recorded in her bedroom at the age of 15. In under 10 years Kline has released over 50 albums (all but 2 being digital only releases), first under the name Ingrid Superstar (her dogˈs name) and later as Frankie Cosmos; a nickname given to her by her boyfriend Aaron Maine.

Klineˈs earliest efforts resembled that of an audio diary accompanied by simple guitar riffs or chords from a childrenˈs keyboard. Her nearly unprecedented amount of  work in such a short amount of time gained her a loyal bandcamp fanbase that watched a young Klineˈs life unfold.  For those of us who kept track of her work over the years, we listened as Kline the musician  evolved from simple rhythms to her first attempts at guitar solos, into fully layered and structured songs. As a person we listened as she moved into adulthood through her deeply personal unfiltered songwriting. Her earliest songs revolved around issues that tweens deal with; nervousness about sexual identity and societal pressures, getting high, farts. Slowly she moved into the confusing world of adult problems... We listened as her world opened up, as she experimented with drugs and sex,  we listened to her fall deeply in love, and we also listened helplessly as her young heart was broken, and we stayed with her as she picked up the pieces.

I first came across her music by sheer accident about 4 years ago or so. I was working as a librarian in Appalachia, which, isn't as glamorous as it sounds; mostly just sitting at a desk in an office type setting which is just the worst kind of way to spend your days. So I mostly bounced around the online music platforms and came across a playlist that someone had made about New York which included the Frankie Cosmos song NYC is Cold from the superb 8 song 'im sorry im hi lets go' album and was instantly hooked.

In 2014 Kline moved from the singer/songwriter role into a full band aided by her boyfriend Aaron Maine for her first physical release Zentropy. It was at that time that she began using her real name Greta Kline and used the name Frankie Cosmos as the bandˈs name. This was a big step for someone who had chosen to stay anonymous and built a following on her talent and dedication instead of trading on the family name (she is the daughter of Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates).

Last year Frankie Cosmos released Next Thing to wide acclaim solidifying their status as a serious band with serious talent, and not just a novelty.

Ian Sweet (Jilian Medford)

On Monday night Frankie Cosmos the band took the stage at 9:45, After a exemplary set by Kline protege Ian Sweet (AKA Jilian Medford), with a selection of songs from Next Thing (which is a collection of full band renditions of earlier Cosmos work) such as On The Lips, Floated In, Sinister, and Fool.  Kline, in full-on 'confidently awkward' form introduced the entire band as well as herself as Greta (thus solidifying the recent choice to separate herself from character in her songs) and making the mistake of asking how to pronounce Louisville as the crowd offered a million answers all at once, while taking off her baggy sweater and looked down at herself and said "um, yes, I am wearing a child's shirt. I wish I had left my sweater on. That's ok, be your best self" before diving into  more tracks from Next Thing (What If and the dream pop ear candy Outside With the Cuties).

Frankie Cosmos merch table

Despite having 50+ albums to choose from, the band stuck mostly to tracks from the 2 physical releases, such as My I Love You and I Do Too from Zentropy, and some of the more popular tracks from Next Thing like Sappho and Is It Possible/Sleep Song as the cheering crowd excitedly sang the last line "I guess I just make myself the victim like you said,  that's why when you treat me shitty you get mad. It all makes sense now, thanks so much. Goodbye forever, what the fuck!"




There were a few exceptions at the end of the performance, including a new song introduced as 'this is a brand new song, so please don't record it." (so I did not record it), and an extremely fast paced version of Being Alive from 2014's Affirms Glinting (This song I did record).  Right before they played the song Greta announced to the band and to her friends in the opening act, Nice Try, that she always meant to ask them to sing the chorus but always forgot and asked if they could try it despite never practicing it, and to the crowd's and Greta's delight bandmates Lauren Martin and Luke Pyensonn obliged, as well as Madeline Robinson, from Nice Try, who ran up from the crowd for her turn at the chorus, making a perfect ending to a perfect monday night show.

Frankie Cosmos: Greta Kline (Left), David Maine (Center),
Luke Pyensonn (Right) and Lauren Martin (not pictured)

Listen to 37FLOOD's top 20 Frankie Cosmos songs here.

10/7: BOA & Church Friends at Zanzabar

Louisville band BOA will be playing an album release show at Zanzabar on October 7th. Church Friends  will be opening.

20 Frankie Cosmos songs you should know before she plays at Zbar on 9/25

23 year old Frankie Cosmos (a.k.a Greta, the daughter of  Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates) has released over 50 albums. Here are just 20 tracks you should know before she plays Zanzabar this monday (all ages. 8pm. Get tix here).

8/29 Louisville Zombie Attack @ Zanzabar

As many long time supporters of Louisville Zombie Attack know, They have been battling against an imposter walk over the last couple years that has a very similar name and hosts it's walk 3 days before Zombie Attack traditionally holds theirs (8:29pm on 8/29) at Eastern Parkway & Bardstown rd (where Zombie Attack has always held theirs). A lawsuit against the new zombie walk is ongoing and the original Zombie Attack has had to be creative to continue their long standing tradition in Louisville, while being forced out of their traditional walk path.

So Louisville Zombie Attack has decided to turn their event into a funeral, stating on their website ''If you want to destroy a cherished Louisville Holiday on 8/26, we'll throw you a funeral 3 days later''; so on Tuesday, August 29th (Zombie Attack Day), at Zanzabar will be the
LOUISVILLE ZOMBIE ATTACK PRESENTS: A FUNERAL FOR INDECENCY!

Events start at 6 pm at Zanzabar with the Never Nervous Presents the George A. Romero Tribute Double Feature Matinee  and dinner specials (under 21 permitted) followed by Michael Hartman’s Walking Dead Split Flipper Pinball Tourney at 10pm. Live entertainment starts at 9pm in the Dead Forest room by Clownvis, Tony Robot, Season Of the Witch, and Sick Little Things (Alice Cooper Tribute Band).

Also there will be a prize raffle at 11pm with all proceeds going to the 'We Gon' Be Alright' mural project (there is also an online Mural Project Crowdsourcing Campaign).

There will also be a Costume Contest at 11pm. Categories include: 'Best Funeral Attire' 'Best Couple In Mourning' & 'Best Looking Corpse' (prizes provided by Ratterman Funeral Home).

Raffle Prizes donated by Michael Hartman & Louisville Pinball Association,  Never Nervous,  Guestroom Records, New Wave Burritos, Louisville Is For Lovers and more.

Photo Review: Cindy Wilson at Zanzabar 6/30/17

Winner of the Cindy Wilson ticket Give-a-way!

Congrats to Cathryn T for winning 2 tickets to see Cindy Wilson and Otis Junior this friday, June 30th, at Zanzabar!

Cindy Wilson of the B-52s. Still Shot from 'Give Me Back My Man' video 

Listen to our interview with Cindy here.
Cindy Wilson & Otis Junior: June 30th at Zanzabar 9pm. 21+. $15. Tickets available here.

Free Ticket Give-A-Way: Cindy Wilson of B-52s @ Zanzabar 6/30

Cindy Wilson, of The B-52s, will be at Zanzabar this Friday June 30th with local genius Otis Junior,  and we have 2 Tickets to give-a-way!
Just share with us your favorite New Wave song to enter and we'll post a winner on Thursday! Leave a comment here or send us an email.

 

Review: Jonathan Richman @ Zanzabar

Punk crooner turned "playground punk" singer Jonathan Richman graced the stage  at 9 pm on friday night in the Dead Forest Room at Zanzabar in Louisville to a crowd of about 150.

Richman got his start, famously, in the late 1960s by tracking down the Velvet Underground and asking Lou Reed for help. He formed The Modern Lovers in 1970 in Boston with drummer David Robinson (later of the Cars) and keyboardist Jerry Harrison (later of Talking Heads). The group gained a loyal following with their loved-drenched pop tunes that would influence a multitude of New York punk bands in the following years.

By 1976 Richman ditched the love punk sound for a playful upbeat -if not stripped down- sound described as both  playground punk and groundbreaking.
Richman kept this playground sound for the next 40 years of a fruitful, albeit just under the radar, solo career.

In The Wings: Richman in yellow, and Tommy Larkins
waiting for the 9pm call to stage

Despite his embargo on amplified instruments as a way to protect his hearing and only using a classical guitar, the 65 year old rocked at times, especially during No One Was Like Vermeer, at moments Tommy Larkins, who has accompanied Richman since the 1990s, took over with drum solos while Richman grabbed percussion instruments and joined in while the crowd clapped in beat.

Jonathan Richman and Tommy Larkins in The Dead Forest room at Zanzabar

 Without the use of amplifiers or monitors the new "Dead Forest" room at Zanzabar was humid with 150 ecstatic fans -as Richman requested the air conditioner be turned off, as to not to have to compete with the rumble of the vents- but, besides a few overheated bouncers, no one seemed to mind too much.

 The set mainly consisted of newer songs from Richman's solo career such as When We Refuse To Suffer,  My baby loves me, Springtime in New York, and These Bodies That Came to Cavort, preceded by a quote he saw written on a wall in permanent marker: "Be Kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a war that you know nothing about" with added sprinklings of earlier solo songs such as the crowd favorite, I Was Dancing In The Lesbian Bar, in which Richman would stop playing during the chorus and dance around the stage so that the crowd could sing the lines.

The set was void of Modern Lovers songs save for one,  Old World,  after which Richmen ended the night with a poem and then said "Okay, This is your last chance to say goodnight to Tommy, Thank you!"

Tommy Larkins drum set