Favorite albums from 2012

There is always more great music than anyone can learn about and listen to. Here are 10 albums that stood out for us in 2012. If you liked what you heard at one of our concerts, we bet you will like most of these albums, too. Wherever possible, clicking the album title will take you to a site where you can hear samples.

Kevin Gordon - Gloryland
This album is chock full of songs that tell great stories and force you to think. It is like literature, but set to swampy roots rock. It's rare that you hear a 7+ minute song that keeps you interested the whole time, but "Colfax" goes further and keeps you rapt. We are nailing down the details of Kevin coming to  Mechanic Street in March. We can't wait!

The Black Lillies - 100 Miles of Wreckage
This band is killer live and this album captures thier sprit. They mine a territory between appalachian, jam band, country, and indie pop.  Great songs ("Two Hearts Down" and "Same Mistakes" are instant classics) carefully arranged and played by a super tight band.

Anais Mitchell - Young Man In America
These songs have the idisyncratic beauty of Joni Mitchell and the intensity of Neil Young. The album is a reflection on growing up and on parents, but mostly they are just great songs. Also, her voice is distinct and beautiful.

Rodney Crowell & many friends - Kin
This album is made up of songs by the musician Rodney Crowell and the author Mary Parr and performed by Rodney and artists like Lucinda Williams and Norah Jones, each handpicked to match a particular song. It really shines a light on how great a songwriter Rodney Crowell is to hear a collection of his songs performed by exactly the right singers with exactly the right music.

John Fullbright - From the Ground Up
This album is up for the Americana Grammy award and rightfully so. Its a diverse set of songs that range from lullabies to songs from an angry god to an upbeat anthem, all with his own stamp on it. This is a debut on par with Heartbreaker by Ryan Adams. Mechanic Street fav Fats Kaplan adds some tasty fiddle, too.

Mike Uva & the Bad Eyes - Lady, Tell Me Straight
We loved this Clevelander's set at Mechanic Street in January. When we first got this album, every time a song came up on shuffle we said, "This is great! Who is this?" Well, we've listened to it enough that now we just say "Mike Uva! Yay!" He writes universal songs about odd, individual topics.

Matt Flinner Trio - Winter Harvest
If you like David Grisman, the Goat Rodeo Sessions, or Bela Fleck, you will dig this album. All orignial instrumentals played by well honed trio of mandolin, acoustic guitar, and upright bass. It's somewhere between bluegrass and jazz and, unlike so much in these genres today, these top-notch players never detract from the songs with pyrotechnics.

Whitehorse - The Fate of the World Depends on This Kiss
Here's the story: Two members of Sarah McLachlan band fall in love and start making their own music. Now they are big in Canada and virtually unknown here, This amazing indie-pop album may be enough to change that.

Phil Madeira & many friends - Mercyland: Hymns for the Rest of Us
This is an ecumenical gospel record featuring a ton of the best Americana artists (Emmy Lou Harris, Buddy Miller, and The Carolina Chocolate Drops, to name a few). Some may call these gospel songs but they feel more spiritual than religious. Long on joy, love, and hope and short on preaching. Good stuff!

Trepanning Trio - Auspicious Threes
Shameless self-promotion alert: Joel plays in Trepanning Trio. This album was released in November and has oddly beautiful instrumental music that touches on contemporary classical, African, Chinese, jazz, and rock music. Simple, strong melodies that stick in your head. Just listen - you might like it!

Please let us know what gems you discovered this year!

Shivering Timbers! Tom Evanchuck!

Saturday, January 12th, 2013

Our annual local showcase is back!

We're hosting our 3rd annual NEO musician showcase on Jan. 12th. This time we have Shivering Timbers, who have had a rocking 2012 and are on track for an even better 2013, and Tom Evanchuck, an amazing young singer-songwriter. Good times and great tunes guaranteed!

Reserve early. These local shows get booked up fast!

Check out their websites!

Shivering Timbers

http://www.shiveringtimbersmusic.com/

Tom Evanchuck

http://us.myspace.com/tomevanchuck

Doors open at 7:30, music at 8:00.

$15 suggested donation, which all goes to the artist.

Reserve your spot by emailing us at mechanicstreetmusic@yahoo.com. We're in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood. Directions and more information will be sent to you once your RSVP is received.

Bottle Rockets Acoustic Living Room Show

The Bottle Rockets!

Thursday, November 15th, 2012

We don't usually do weeknight concerts, but for a band as brilliant as the Bottle Rockets we can make an exception! For as long as we can remember, we’ve listened to their records on road trips. Their rocking version of Americana makes the perfect backdrop for cruising down the road. 

If you like the first couple Wilco records, you’ll love the Bottle Rockets. In fact, their frontman, Brian Henneman, was the lead guitarist on Wilco's first record. His songwriting is at least as great as his picking, with songs about everything from Nancy Sinatra to crummy used cars to love and trouble therewith. They are a blast live and the full band will be here for an acoustic show! Check out a tear jerker and a rocker.

While this is a concert at our house, it’s not really a Mechanic Street House Concert. How’s that? This show is part of the Bottle Rockets’ “Living Room Tour” and the band is handling ticket sales themselves. Instead of making a reservation with us, go to this website and get your seat ($25 per person). You can't pay at the door, so everything must be taken care of in advance. But hurry! As of Saturday night, there are only 34 seats left.
 

Please come enjoy this amazing band in a rare Cleveland appearance, made even more special by being in a living room! 

Mechanic Street House Concerts
Ohio City
Cleveland OH 44113

Doors open at 7:30, Music starts at 8:00.

For more info and to get your seat, check here!

We hope you can join us!

Not sure we've really had funny before

"It's one thing for singers to write beautifully and sing beautifully, but when they're also funny, as in stand-up-comic funny, it makes going to their shows not only pleasurable but also memorable, well beyond the exit ramp headed back home. How many times do you leave a concert and finding yourself quoting lines the singer says in between the songs? Such is the case with Tasmanian native Audrey Auld." ~ Dallas Morning News, August, 2011 

Here's just a bit of that humor......

Bottle Rockets--Thursday, November 15th

We love the Bottle Rockets!  For as long as we can remember, we’ve listened to their records on road trips. Their rocking version of Americana makes the perfect backdrop for cruising down the road.

If you like the first couple Wilco records, you’ll love the Bottle Rockets. Their frontman, Brian Henneman, writes great songs with a common man, mid-Western slant and is a top-notch picker. They are a blast live and the full band will be here for an acoustic show! Check out a tear jerker and a rocker.

While this is a concert at our house, it’s not really a Mechanic Street House Concert. How’s that? This show is part of the Bottle Rockets’ “Living Room Tour” and the band is handling ticket sales themselves. Instead of making a reservation with us, you go to this website and buy a $25 ticket. Tickets go on sale at 1PM (noon Central) on Monday Oct. 29^th. Their Living Room shows have been selling out quickly, so move fast if you are interested!
 

Please come enjoy this amazing band in a rare acoustic living room show. 

 

Audrey Auld
Saturday, November 10th, 8:00pm

"Singer-songwriter Audrey Auld's heart is in country, folk and Americana music with a presence as big as The Outback. Her songs are the wry and poignant observations of a Tassie girl living in California and Nashville since 2003. Audrey calls it Music with dirt left on it."

Check out her website.

$15 suggested donation, which all goes to the artist.

Reserve your spot by emailing us at mechanicstreetmusic@yahoo.com. We're in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood. Directions and more information will be sent to you once your RSVP is received.

Favorites from the Americana Music Festival

We had a great time at the recent Americana Music Festival in Nashville. 19 bands in 4 nights. Plus Lynn got a hug from Rodney Crowell!

Here were some of the musical highlights:

• Blue Mountain did a great set on Wednesday night. They have been around a long time, but we had never seen then before. They bring a fat Mississippi groove and are just fun. Nice people. We got to pet their road dog, Elvis, too!
• John Fullbright gave a good show to a packed room on Thursday night, but his album is even better. He comes from the same deep Oklahoma songwriter well as one of Lynn's favorites, Kevin Welch. He's been compared to Steve Earle, Townes Van Zandt, and Randy Newman. His debut album is really great and has everything from a peppy anthem to tin pan alley inspired piano tunes. Plus it features past Mechanic Street performer Fats Kaplin on a few tracks!
• The Black Lillies were the band we were most excited about seeing and they did not disappoint. Super tight band, great songs, two good singers, fun performers. Hard to describe, so just check out a video. The played one of the longest sets we saw at the Festival and afterwards the audience chanted "One more set!" Their latest CD is super strong, too. They are scheduled to be at the Beachland Tavern on Dec. 2nd. Put it on your calendar now!
• If you like post-modern indie rock, check out Buxton (Friday's highlight). They have a certain odd spark, sort of like Spoon doing country music. There weren't a lot of people in the audience, but 90% of them were musicians.
• Kevin Gordon was Saturday's highlight, which is saying something since earlier we saw Richard Thompson in a 250 seat auditorium and later we heard Americana demi-god Buddy Miller. Kevin combines the most literary lyrics we've heard in a long time with swampy rock. It's like Lynn's piggy figs: something nourishing and sophisticated wrapped in something simple and tasty. He is a hell of a guitarist, too. We highly recommend his latest album, Gloryland.

Hopefully we'll get a chance to share some of these people with you soon. We've been in touch with The Black Lillies' booker for a while now. Kevin Gordon and Blue Mountain sounded interested, too. We're keeping our fingers crossed!