Weekend Lineup: Nov. 6-8

Lydia Woolever — Thu, 05 Nov 2015 11:00:00 +0000

Five things to eat, drink, see, hear, and do with your Charm City weekend.

EAT

Nov. 7: Heavy Seas Chili & Cheese Festival

Heavy Seas Beer, 4615 Hollins Ferry Rd. 12-4 p.m. $39. 410-247-7822. hsbeer.com.

It might be oddly warm this week, but as the cool fall breeze begins to blow in this November, there’s nothing like the solace of a hot crock of chili. Head to Halethorpe on Saturday for Heavy Seas Beer’s annual chili-and-cheese festival. (No need to twist our arm). At the local brewery, indulge in a pint’s perfect complement with all-you-can-enjoy spicy stew—be it your classic tomato standard, a pit-smoked lamb variety, hot pepper-riddled, or a version served over tots—as well as more than eight kinds of international cheese. When you’re finished, abate the heat with a bevy of house beers from over 12 different taps and enjoy music from pop-rock band Sub-Radio Standard.

DRINK

Nov. 7: WTMD Homebrew Competition

WTMD, 1 Olympic Pl., Towson. 1-5 p.m. $30. 888-996-4774. wtmd.org.

You might have noticed: Craft beer is all the rage in Baltimore right now. With the inaugural Baltimore Craft Beer Fest last month and new breweries opening every few weeks (or so it feels), there are a lot of badass brews bubbling up in and around the city. This weekend, take the obsession to the next level at WTMD’s inaugural homebrew competition. At the Towson studio, spend your Saturday afternoon sampling unlimited beers from more than 30 area home brewers with Americana music by Baltimore’s own The Manly Deeds. Rain or shine, judge the suds to see who will end up getting their blend brewed by The Brewer’s Art..

SEE

Nov. 3-15: The Book of Mormon

Hippodrome Theatre at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center. 12 N. Eutaw St. Times vary. $58.50-162.50. 800-982-2787. france-merrickpac.com.

Simply put, The Book of Mormon is not for the faint of heart, but we heartily recommend you see it. Hailed “the best musical of this century” by The New York Times, the nine-time Tony winner and Broadway smash hit follows two young missionaries on their quest to convert African citizens to the Mormon faith. Throwing politically correctness to the wind (naturally, as it’s co-written by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone), it tackles religion, race, and sexuality through satire, song-and-dance, and a dash of explicit language. Opening this weekend at the Hippodrome, it’s a bold, witty show unlike anything on the stage before it. Just leave all austerity and prudishness at the door.

HEAR

Nov. 7: Stoop Storytelling at the BMA

The Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Dr. 7-9:30 p.m. $25-30. 443-573-1700. stoopstorytelling.com.

Everybody has a story to tell, and we all know that in Baltimore they’re a dime a dozen. That’s the beauty of Stoop—they take the local tradition of front-porch hangouts and give them a fresh spin under an actual spotlight. Now in its 10th season, the storytelling series takes the stage this weekend at the Baltimore Museum of Art for a “haven”-themed show. In conjunction with the museum’s new Imagining Home exhibit, hear mother and grandmother Bonnie Moore, West African native and new Baltimorean Adoté Ghandi Akwei, Goucher theatre professor Alvin Eng, affordable housing advocate Betty Bland-Thomas, WBJC DJ Judith Krummeck, lifelong Cherry Hill resident and Blacksauce Kitchen biscuit-slinger Michael Singleton, and Mars One astronaut candidate Laura M. Smith-Velazquez all ruminate on the idea of home.

DO

Nov. 7: Kahlon Two Year Anniversary Party

The Crown, 1910 N. Charles St. 9 p.m. $8. 410-625-4848. bmorekahlon.tumblr.com.

Two years ago, Abdu Ali started something that would change the Baltimore music scene. Kahlon, his sort-of-bi-monthly, underground dance party not only championed his hometown genre of Bmore club—that raw, energetic, breakbeat blend of hip-hop, house, and chopped-up samples—but also welcomed all walks of city life and celebrated homegrown talent of every genre. In the packed crowds, you find the young, old, black, white, gay, straight, and everything in between. On stage, you see rappers, singers, DJs, indie acts, and rock bands, from Dan Deacon, TT The Artist, and Gurl Crush to Natural Velvet and Al Rogers Jr., with Ali himself weaving his way through the crowd like a party-starting priest whose infectious gospel you can’t help but follow. There is nothing else like it and it has sparked a wave of other underground programs and collectives throughout the city. He has since taken the show across the country, but this weekend, with the help of True Laurels editor Lawrence Burney and DJ Genie, Ali heads back to where it all began—The Crown—to throw Kahlon’s second birthday bash. Don’t miss this celebration of Baltimore’s music and people, as Deacon returns and a medley of locals perform, like rapper Phizzals, goth-pop duo Blacksage, and DJ Angel Baby.

Source

Music Reviews: October 2015

Jess Mayhugh — Wed, 07 Oct 2015 10:14:00 +0000

Holy Ghost Party
Bayou Music (Ehse Records)

The beautiful thing about so many Baltimore bands is their defiance of categorization. Holy Ghost Party fits that anti-mold, melding genres into a mixed bag of punk, funk, jazz, blues, and atmospheric improv. Formed in 2009 by Zachary Utz and David Jacober, both of Baltimore’s noise-rock band Dope Body, the experimental duo has made its way through the local label circuit, releasing records with Gen Pop, Friends, and now Ehse Records. Recorded in Brooklyn and at the Copycat building in Station North, this third album adds some shoegaze headbang to their hazy, punky pop. At its heart, it’s an instrumental interplay of searing guitar and tenacious drums, with rich layers of distant vocals and plugging bass riffs underneath, every inch filled with warmth. Most songs, like “Squig,” “Earth Jam/Memory,” and “Fade,” reel and ramble a bit before gaining momentum. Others, like “Cake” and “Pinche” build, blossom, and swiftly end, leaving us wanting more. Put them on and drift around in their rich musical brew.

Gurl Crush
Serenity Calling… (Nina Pop)

Jenna Cecilia arrives on the local music scene as Gurl Crush, a future-pop electronic artist who joins the trap-infused, slow-jam, femme-fatale ranks of Purity Ring and Baltimore’s own Blacksage. There’s a dark sexiness to her debut EP. Grounded in traditional pop and R&B structures, these eight songs are lushly layered into moody, yearning ballads with down-tempo rhythms, electronic bass, and twinkling sound-bite samples. Her voice rarely peaks but instead remains soft and controlled, with the occasional fluctuation snaking its way around each hook, as in “Blind To Choose.” By the sixth track, the EP shifts into three final remixes, a new trend among artists who’ve come to realize that the same song can sound good different ways. These cuts turn the originals into urgent, clubbed-up party-starters, with a stellar tribal take on the aforementioned “Blind To Choose” by label head and local producer Schwarz. Once suitably amped, head to SoundCloud to hear her addictive 2014 single, “By My Side.”

Dave Heumann
Here In The Deep (Thrill Jockey)

All steadfast Arbouretum fans can finally rejoice. The beloved Baltimore indie-rock band went on a hiatus after its last album in 2013, but now frontman Dave Heumann is back with his solo debut. You can still hear Arbouretum in the album’s subtle folds—it has the same folk-rock underpinnings and rich storytelling as in the band’s best work—but with Heumann’s optimism and abandon, it is something entirely new. His bandmates show up on some of the tracks (as does Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner), but the slow, doomy heft of the past has washed away to reveal a soft, light simplicity. It feels personal, even if the protagonists aren’t always Heumann himself. “Cloud Mind” floats like a feather, with pretty riffs, steady drums, and vocal valleys and peaks. “Morning Remnants” is a welcome moment of introspection, asking you to get lost in its jammy, jangling chords. On the title track, you can almost feel the hum of crickets and whispers of a warm night’s breeze in its soothing verses, whirling organ, and heart-tugging guitar. Let the album wash over you and hear it for yourself on October 22 at The Crown. It is a beautiful deviation that goes to show just how freeing it can be to change things up.

See our interview with Dave Heumann.