10/3/2014 - For as long as Gina and I have been dating we have been trying to see one of her favorite local bands, The Speedbumps. The problem is that whenever she buys tickets or says we're going to a show something happens that derails the whole night. Sickness, car trouble, nuclear fallout... it's like the fates have conspired against us seeing this band... until last Friday. My guess is that her unwavering desire to see these guys and my deep want to see the venue they were playing in conquered any bad mojo that was against us going... either that or 7 tries is our lucky number.
Gina and I have yet to be seen in the Northwest bank of the Flats since we moved to Tremont. Nothing against it, we just haven't made our way that far north yet. Now, though, we had about 5 reasons to and couldn't resist it any longer:
Reason #1 - The elusive Speedbumps: Like I said above... a string of awful luck kept us from seeing them until last Friday. Boy were we happy everything worked out this time!
Reason #2 - The Music Box Supper Club: The Music Box is the newest venue on the West Bank and a welcome addition to the meager Cleveland live music scene. I say meager because we have the freakin Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and should be right up there with Nashville and Austin... and we're not.
Reason #3 - Pat Hawkins: He's the drummer (or percussionist in hipster talk) of The Speedbumps, a St. Thomas Aquinas graduate, and a friend of Gina's! Another local boy done good story which should get most of my readers interested and on YouTube to check this band out... Go already!
Reason #4 - Dennis Devies Jr: This Marlington grad is the executive chef extraordinaire at the Music Box and another friend of Gina's. After years of travelling back and forth to the Caribbean he's settled here in good old Cleveland to make his mark as the next great local chef. Want to say you knew him before he got his own show on the Food network and authored countless cook books? Get up there Mangia!!!
Reason #5 - The stars align: Friends, local artists, tickets, live music, the Flats... it's blog porn! If only it were free it would have been the story of the year.
The Music Box is in the same building as Shooters and the Improv right by the river. In my opinion, it's the best spot in the whole city. The Flats has historically been an entertainment district and is well know with Clevelanders young and old as a place to come and have fun. You get perfect views of the lake, river, bridges, downtown, and the East Bank from their huge wall of windows. You can pull up your boat if you're on the lake. The new water taxi will be able to bring you in from downtown and from the Flats East Bank Rapid Station. There's tons of parking (which is good and bad). What I'm trying to say is it's accessible people! There're no excuses.
When we walked in and went upstairs to the concert hall, the area reminded me a lot of the Copacabana night club scene from Goodfellas. Tables ran from the stage vertically out to the back of the room and each one had a white table cloth and a candle. The lighting was dim and the ceilings were very high. My first feeling was one of excitement because this is the type of music venue I had always wished this city would have. We were ushered to a front table right by the stage. First thing I noticed when I sat down was that I had enough room at my seat to move around even though they fit over 300 people and tables for them all in there. It was comfortable... relaxing... organized. I'm so used to being crammed into places to see shows that having my own seat and personal space felt wonderful! This could easily be the best venue in which to watch music in all of Cleveland. It's the whole package and more!
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The menu choices for the concert hall were all great looking and not too complicated. Executive chef Dennis Devies said that they do it that way since there's a possibility of over 300 orders at once. The supper club downstairs offers their full menu though, if you just pop in for dinner. I ordered the Pan-Seared Chicken Breast which is bone-in with herb béchamel and comes out on a bed of angel hair pasta, roasted tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil. Now prepare yourself for a BEST EVER ALERT!!! This is the best chicken that I have ever had... best. Now, disclaimer, I said that exact thing to Gina before I even met Dennis. He could have been a complete dick (nothing could be further from the truth of course) and I still would have said that it was the best. When we go back my taste buds and brain will fight over weather I want to try the duck or go back to the chicken. My eyes may flutter and my nose may bleed as the internal struggle to make a decision goes on. Please put a belt in my mouth to save my tongue.
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The performers were very entertaining and were a perfect compliment to the wonderful atmosphere and delicious food. The Gage Brother are an acoustic folk duo from Akron and were right in my music wheel house. It's a simple as 2 guys up there making wonderful music and every song in their set was great! Click on this link to their reverbnation.com page and play Sweetness. It'll for sure make you smile no matter what type of music you listen to. Like all folk music, it's better to see it live so get your tickets now!
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The Speedbumps were great too! They have a folk/bluesy sound to them with vocals reminiscent of John Mayer. It's romantic, sweet, and emotional music. The harmonies and the alternative instruments make the songs interesting and attention grabbing. My favorites in their set were the songs that seemed to deviate a little from their overall tone. Their uptempo tunes, daring cover songs, and even the song with a rap break made me take notice of the risks they were willing to take and their range as artists. They were charming entertainers and worked well as a group even when there were 8 or 9 people on the stage. I'm certainly glad we got a chance to finally see them and will definitely catch them again!
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Speaking of catching them again, tickets are on sale now for their Canton Palace Theatere show February 7th when they will play with the Canton Symphony Orchestra. I have been told by multiple people that this is an awesome show so make sure to buy your tickets now! I think we have broken our Speedbumps curse and will be able to go to this one as well.
More about our Chicago trip coming soon. This post was way too good to sit on for a few weeks.
Look for us Friday at the Best of Cleveland Party at Public Hall! We're going to celebrate with our friends from Brewnuts, Sassyfrass, Tremont West Development Corp, and a whole bunch more. Plus to tie it in to what you just read, Music Box Supper Club won for best Supper Club and will be there too! I'm extremely excited to see the best of Cleveland all in one place. Congratulations to everyone involved! Enjoy the turning leaves Cleveland. I like you more than a friend. I like... like you like you.
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