The opening show for Outer Sounds at Oldfield's on High on April 4, 2009, featured Columbus bands The Lost Revival, Karate Coyote, Blastronauts, and concluded with a dance party courtesy of DJ Self Help. I got there in time for KC and stayed through Blastronauts...here is my account.
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It started out as a vague rumor on friends' wall posts, but now it's really happening: M.I.A., Soulja Boy, and Holy Fuck are scheduled to play The Newport in Columbus on May 10. That's right: I have exactly seven days left to round up at least two tickets, not to mention the numerous other folks who have mentioned they would also like to go. Tickets to the show were free, only given to Ohio State students, but have long been...well, M.I.A.
I have a feeling it's going to be a show of epic proportions, due to comments made about M.I.A.'s Coachella performance by Paper Magazine blogger J. Everette Perry (Word of Mouth): "M.I.A. sported a hot white wig as she exploded in my favorite song "Boyz" off her album Kala. All of a sudden the lights went on. Supposedly, her dancers had fake guns, and the speaker system made very realistic gunshot noises during "Paper Planes," so security wanted to be able to check things out." This sounds awesome, to say the least.
This said, the news is that a person's only hopes for getting tickets lies in either a. a sweet friend at OSU who just gives out their ticket, b. craigslist, c. the facebook marketplace, or d. possible radio giveaways? Who knows.
Tonight Southeast Engine takes a low-key approach to their usual rock-n-roll set, what they've coined "Southeast Engine acoustic set" at Donkey Coffee.
Adam Remnant starts out with two heart-warming folk tunes that are indeed toned down but full of emotions and intensity, with lyrics that also nostalgically reflect on Appalachia. Adam invites fellow band members Leo Deluca, Jesse Remnant, and Michael Lachman to join him on the stage and the band goes off on an old favorite, which they comment reminds them of "Groove Shark," a blog in Florida that recently interviewed the band, and also Leo's current slang replacement for "groovy."
I was wondering what to expect when they said "acoustic," but I think the general idea is along the lines of more noticeable piano with the absence of regular member Adam Torres' additional guitar. I miss Torres' smile, but Michael's switch over to "strings" on his keys seems to be an homage to his friend. The song is beautiful as well, said by the band to be one they haven't played in ages (note to self: get albums before Coming to Terms with Gravity). Whatever it is, the Remnant brothers are doing an exceptional job on the harmonies tonight, with Leo joining in on the end. These particular "oos" seem to be an early album precursor to anthem-like songs the band released recently on A Wheel Within a Wheel, which got some welcomed positive acknowledgements from Pitchfork yesterday.
The set also includes ballad-style versions of songs from old and new albums with Adam's voice vibrating through the coffee shop, where people were comfortably seated with most of the lights turned off. This is sure to be a contrast to tomorrow night's show at Casa Nueva at 10p.m., also in Athens. This will prove to be an interesting feat for bassist Jesse, who will play a solo show at Donkey beforehand at 9p.m. The boys seem to be in good shape with tonight's warm up performance. Stay tuned tomorrow night for a full recounting of what it means to go to a "non-acoustic" Southeast Engine set.
Till then, check out this video of SE Engine preparing for the 2008 SXSW:
I am a journalist currently doing freelance work, usually in the entertainment department. I love music and magazines. As Filter says: Good music will prevail.
