Tuesday Night In Nashville with The Sheepdogs, Madi Diaz, The Electric Hearts, and more…

Last night was a plethora of music in the Music City.  It started for me with Night Beds and Madi Diaz at Revolver before I rolled over to the Basement to catch sets by Megan Jean and KFB, Paranormals, Electric Hearts, and The Sheepdogs.  That’s six bands in a matter of four hours… life really works out sometimes.  I’m going to try not to make this too wordy, but will throw up some tracks for you to hear a little bit of everyone.  I would recommend reading to the bottom to find out why The Sheepdogs were in town though.

Night Beds were good despite not believing that they are a band.  Lead singer Winston Yellen seemed so surprised that he was on the stage, and kept telling the crowd that he didn’t know why he was up here and didn’t know how he could be headlining a show at The End next week.  It’s refreshing to see a musician who’s still really humble about his playing and his experience.  I’ll look forward to a night out at The End next week to see more of Night Beds.

[youtube_sc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s14eeA9FmSc&w=420&h=315]

Madi Diaz took to the stage and played to a very enthusiastic crowd of fans.  The new songs sounded great, and I think her pop tones are going to be noticed by a more mainstream audience with this new record.  I’m glad I was able to see some of this set, but, I’ll be honest, Revolver needs to do something about that swirling laser beam light thing.  I finally had to leave because I was tired of getting shot in the eyes by green and red lasers.  It’s a cool set up otherwise, and the penny floor sure was a big talking point of the night.  I did some quick math (yeah, I know how to do that stuff), and I think that floor is worth about $5,000 in pennies.  Does anyone know how many pennies are actually on the floor at Revolver?  Just curious…

[youtube_sc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmcq5iBVIqA&w=560&h=315]

Over to The Basement for a wild set by Megan Jean and KFB.  This is a two piece stage act of sorts with Megan Jean playing a mixture of guitar and washboard (with bell) while stomping a drum, and her accompaniment (I’ll call him, KFB) backing it up on bass and banjo.  Megan Jean has a voice that punches you straight in the face.  It is so amazingly powerful, especially given her impressive touring… 225 shows last year, and they are hoping for 250 this year.

[youtube_sc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9YrySRiZgI&w=560&h=315]

The Paranormals are pretty fun (and funny) indie rock trio, and they have great stage presence.  I’ve been seeing them on more and more lineups recently, and I was glad to finally check them out.

[youtube_sc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx_Q2Ah2sBc&w=560&h=315]

The Electric Hearts (formerly Jessica Breanne & The Electric Hearts) have revamped their name, their look, and somehow this has affected their sound.  The last time I saw them it seemed like Jessica hired a backup band.  Now they are all Electric Hearts, and it seems much more cohesive as a group, and the music is a very entertaining rock sound.  You know you are playing a good set when Mike Harris of Apache Relay is bobbing his head in front of you in the crowd.  Get to know the Electric Hearts.  It’s a fun show.

[youtube_sc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgnZvcEo_mw&w=560&h=315]

So, now on to The Sheepdogs.  Rock n’ roll’s sweethearts seems like a completely inappropriate term for these big, bearded Canadians, but it’s somewhat appropriate, because they are one of the fastest growing rock bands out there right now.  The exposure is largely due to winning Rolling Stone’s “Choose The Cover” contest.  This has led them into the national spotlight, and it led to a packed New Faces Nite at The Basement last night.  Why are they playing a free show in Nashville on a Tuesday night, you might ask?  Let’s think together about other rockers in Nashville that have a similar sound to The Sheepdogs…  Yep, you guessed it.  They just wrapped up recording for their next record with Patrick Carney of The Black Keys, and, according to RS, we can expect to see that effort later this spring.  Stoked!  Despite the fact that I saw lots of folks taking video of last night’s show, I can’t find any on the YouTubes… I’ll keep looking, but, in the meantime, check out this live set of The Sheepdogs from The Verge.

[youtube_sc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX70Jmf9vkc&w=560&h=315]