Live Music Scene: Head Boppin’ or Bangin’?

Must be something in the air, but there sure is a lot of live music going on around the Lansing area lately. I hear reports that the smoking ban is hurting the bar and club scene, but none of my musician friends verify it. If anything, many I run into are, like me, folks who started coming out more often just because there was no more smoke to contend with inside.

“I love not having to leave my clothes on the porch when I come home now,” one woman told me at the Green Door last week.

Open mike nights are a fun attraction and also seem to be on the rise. One of the most established is Dagwood’s on Kalamazoo St, Tuesdays at 9pm. If you play, come early and get on the list. Jen Sygit usually runs the show in her joyful style of doing things.

Another new open jam is Monday’s at the Michigan Brewing Company on S. Washington. It’s based in blues, but everyone is welcome. This one starts a bit earlier so workin’ folks can come down and enjoy but get to bed on time as well. The Kerry Clark Music Company hosts, from 6:30pm to 10:30pm.

The long-standing jam at The Green Door on Sunday nights is one with a place for dancers as well, and boy do they go at it. “Bad Gravy” is the root band, with Andy Wilson keeping track of things and promoting it a bit here and there. Andy is a great harp and horn player and this blues-based night of music brings in some of the very best. You literally never know who might show up, including major acts touring the area who just want to relax and sit in on few tunes.

The level of talent in our Greater Lansing scene is astounding, as most live music fans are already quite aware of.

The blues scene is stronger than ever, but so is jazz, as we read here earlier on LON:

http://lansingonlinenews.com/news/all-that-jazz/

Mumbai Cuisine in East Lansing has been running a Thursday jazz show with dining for a few months now and the response has been slow but steady. Lots of folks still don’t know it’s happening or where it is. You can learn more at http://www.mumbaicuisine.com.

Mumbai is also starting to present Indian Fusion music, the first show on December 4 from 6-8pm with the astounding Elden Kelly on fretless guitar sounding like the wild seed of Ravi Shankar, and another local, Bobby Bringi on mridangam (pronounced (“mur-dung-ughm,”), a South Indian drum.

For country fans, The Pickin’ Parlor is in its third year and will start up again in January, the second Monday, at the VFW post on St. Joe Hwy, starting about 7:30pm. It’s acoustic only and the location may change. To stay updated, go to
http://lochabarsound.com. You’ll see everyone there from The Under Construction Bluegrass band to The Hanes Mountain Express, two local sisters who look and dress the part of Dolly Parton’s distant cousins and sound amazing. Tim and Roberta Little are also regulars.

There’s even a Battle of the Bands going on at Uli’s Haus of Rock on S. MLK. It’s open to the public with a cover charge. You can submit your band even now, as this will continue through the end of January 2011. Contact Q-106 under “Band of Bandz”. Their site says, “Whatever your unique sound; metal, goth, punk…get your band registered today.” It’s a fundraiser for a great cause, as well.

http://q106fm.com/band-of-bandz/

Hip-Hoppers and urban rap lovers can find some stuff at Level II Ultra Lounge, 6810 S. Cedar. Ever heard Lyric’lee? She is super bad, a studied jazz performer who does some of the coolest original stuff around. Find her fanpage on Facebook if you want.

There are, of course, many other venues around town where you can hear live music. Most schedules and performers are listed at sources like City Pulse and The Lansing State Journal’s NOISE weekly supplement.

Got something to share on this topic I failed to cover here? Leave a comment below and we’ll see if it fits.

So, designate a driver and take off for whatever genre floats your boat. Give it up where there’s a tip jar, too! Everyone else working in the joint is getting paid. Why not the best part?