On the heels of the Breeders show came Dayton Music Fest.  This is an annual music event mostly featuring bands from the Dayton orbit, but also including some touring artists.  Nathan Peters put together a great lineup of talent representing different genres.  I saw lots of great music, including a group I wrote about last week, and I don't want this post to be several thousand words, so I won't tell you about everything I saw.  How about three things?  That's a nice, easily digestible number, yes?

Let's start with The Mulchmen.

This is a surf-rock band, and their pieces don't have lyrics.  (I find that I can't bring myself to call them "songs" if there isn't any singing.)  Many years ago, I heard their music on the radio on a local music show, but never got a chance to see them play.  Their drummer, a very beloved and respected musician in Dayton, passed away... this is over twenty years ago.  When I learned that Nick Kizirnis would have The Mulchmen make their glorious return on the Dayton Music Fest bill, well, I was all in.  Lots of other folks were all in as well, this was the biggest crowd I observed at Yellow Cab on the evening.

That's Jim MacPherson filling in on drums in the picture there.  If you can't see it from the bass drum, you might recognize him from another Dayton band.

Ok, moving on.  How about some fake news?

Specifically Seth Gilliam and the Fake News.  This was only my second time catching one of their sets, and I didn't even catch the whole set.  (This is a hazard of Dayton Music Fest... there is so much good music spread across multiple venues, so there is no way to see all of it.)  Their songs are well-executed and played with enthusiasm.  If you want a sample, they have a music video, but it's a little frightening.

On to my personal favorite part of the weekend... the return of Captain of Industry.

This is one of my favorite music groups of all time.  It's just a bonus that they're from here.  If you are a regular reader of this blog, you might remember me writing about them in the first Ohio Spotlight post.

For this show, they brought some additional firepower.  Joseph Remnant came all the way from the West Coast to play some rhythm guitar and sing some harmonies.  (Those of us who have followed this band for awhile remember when he served as the bass player for a bit.)  You can't see him, but Tim Krug is way in the back there on your left (stage right) beside the drummer, making additional keyboard noises.  We got a six-piece Captain Of Industry.  You can only see one of Kevin Oldfield's arms, but I assure you that both of them worked just fine, and he brought his typical Johnny Greenwood-esque fireworks.  You also can't see John Lakes holding it down in the back, but we could all hear him nail those interesting drum parts and sweet sweet harmony vocals. 

They played songs across their entire discography, and although their set was cut short because they took the stage late, everything they played was spot-on.  It's like they never left.  
 

Dayton Music Fest.  Two days of music for only 20 dollars.  Hard to find a better deal than that.

It occurs to me that this blog post would certainly fit in my Ohio Spotlight category, as well as under the Concert Review category.

Levitt Pavilion is a open air concert space in the heart of downtown Dayton.  Think of it like a very small amphitheater... there is a stage, a small area in the front with concrete, and a large grassy lawn that extends outward and upward from those first two areas. This space has 50 free concerts each year, in an effort to build community through art. Their schedule of artists is diverse, with all sorts of genres represented.  I am fairly certain that the most recent show this past Saturday was the highest attended they have had, as thousands of people packed the lawn and even overflow areas in the back.

The Breeders are the reason for the crowd. They were introduced to the crowd as "platinum recording artist, The Breeders".  This is a rock band with albums that have received high critical acclaim.  One of the albums contained a single whose video was in heavy rotation on MTV, back when MTV still played music videos.  The Breeders went on the road with Nirvana for multiple tours, and have played all over the world.  They are from Dayton, Ohio.  One could consider this a homecoming show.

This was my first experience seeing The Breeders live.  Back when you could catch them in the friendly confines of Canal Street Tavern, I wasn't into local music yet and was too young to be going to shows.

You can check the show setlist here, but I'll mention a few songs that were personal highlights for me.

The Breeders opened the show with "Saints", which is my favorite song from their second full-length album, The Last Splash.  The second song was "Wait in the Car" from the 2018 album All Nerve.  After briefly basking in the raucous applause, Kim Deal acknowledged that the band is from Dayton, and then mentioned that there are some other bands from this town... and then they fired off their GBV cover, "Shocker in Gloomtown".

Daylight turned into twilight, and twilight gave way to dark.  During this time, The Breeders played all of "the hits", and many other songs from across their catalog.  They gleefully engaged in banter with the audience, which contained many of their friends and family members.  Kelley said "I was born right over there", before looking around to get her bearings, and then pointing in the direction of Miami Valley Hospital.  Both the Deal sisters and Jimmy Mac name checked several Dayton suburbs and neighborhoods before closing the main set with a song that was specifically for Tipp City.

Personally for me, a bass player, the evening ended the only way it could... with Kim Deal playing bass on a song she wrote while with Pixies.  The set closer was "Gigantic".  When I was first learning to play my instrument, I spent a lot of time with Pixies albums, trying to learn Kim's beautifully simple bass lines.

After the final song, the band said their goodbyes, and again expressed their thanks at such a large turnout.  Kelley made her way to the front of the stage, shaking hands and giving high fives to the folks in the front ranks, many of whom seemed to be friends.  Jim encouraged the crowd to further support local music by heading a few blocks East to attend the first night of Dayton Music Fest (where he would be playing the following night during the triumphant return of The Mulchmen).  The band surely received "a big big love" from the community.  I was thinking that this was exactly what someone had in mind when making Levitt Pavilion a reality.