Yo!! Detroit is KILLING the underground game!

Last Saturday I made plans with my buddy Edgar, but I’m not really familiar with Detroit, so I told him to find something happening and I’ll be there. When he sent me this poster, honestly, I got hype! It was like all my favorite things came together and made a baby: music, art, food, and off-kilter individuals.

Less than 30 seconds of walking into the venue I see a fully-stocked bar and a vendor selling vegan/vegetarian nachos & burritos (shoutout to Monster Foods for providing those bomb ass Seitan burritos - I’ll come back to those). So Edgar and I go down into the crowd, and I kid you not the first person that we run into - quite literally - happened to be the cousin of my friend & colleague, Natalie. If that ain’t kismet…yup; this was where I was meant to be. Unfortunately, we arrived while racehorses are resources JUST got done with their set we weren’t able to hear any of it which was a bummer because I heard that they were really good.

Jams with Dave killed it, for real. When the main vocalist came out with that furry coat on, I got a little skeptical because although we were in the D, it was pretty warm in the building. I was pleasantly surprised though.

Light Scene Factory was cool to watch, but I just couldn’t get behind the vocals for some reason. The musicians as instrumentalist are PHENOMENAL, but for some reason the vocals were just way too distracting to me to get down to it.

Of all the bands that performed though, the one that stood out the most for me was Tears of a Martian. Rarely do I get blown away, but this band FLOORED me! The bassist Justin Reed held it down. His stage presence was captivating and the amount of visible chemistry amongst his bandmates was intoxicating. The guitarist and lead vocalist Arianna Bardoni did a fantastic job engaging the crowd and displaying nuanced ability by incorporating unique meter and genre changes turning what started off as an alt. rock guitar solo to one with a latin/jazz feel to a bachata back to rock flawlessly. Now…let me take a second to catch my breath because Todd Watt’s skill and technique on the drums changed my life. So I went to school for music as a vocalist, and I’ve always had high respect for anybody that can even figure out how to work a drum set, but Todd Watt’s has done way more than just figure out how to work a drum set he has tamed and MASTER the instrument. In a conversation with him after his set, I come to find out that Todd was a member of Eastside Fury, a WGI (Winter Guard International - pretty much the major leagues for marching musicians) team.

So back to the food.

Monster Foods, man…*muah*. When I asked what was in the burrito, Jamie had me at Seitan. I don’t know what it is about a solid vegetarian meal that just makes you want to keep coming back, and that’s exactly what I did. I’m not even somebody that eats that much! I don’t know if it was the generous Jameson & gingers the bartender was serving me, or the smell of that cilantro but I couldn’t resist but look ravenous as I scarfed down that delicious burrito. I didn’t even think to take a picture of the meal, and y’all wouldn’t have wanted to see the monster I became when she handed me that burrito. Looking back, it makes me laugh because I had so much salsa in my beard but I didn’t even care.

A Bazaar Universe gave me that feeling of walking into your favorite vintage/thrift store and getting frustrated because there are way too many things that you want. So you end up spending way more than you should, and then in 2 weeks you’re back to see if you can find more goodies for the house.

Hey, Ohio! We NEED this!

Toledo peeps, where you at?

When I asked around, I learned that only about 4 people were needed to really put the whole event together. That’s insane to me! The community amongst artists and creatives is so beautiful to me; almost got me questioning why I’m not living there. Don’t get me wrong my city isn’t bad, but we don’t do it like Detroit does. This event was definitely what I needed to feel a creative spark coming into this new year. There’s really a spirit amongst that city amongst artists that is inspiring. Detroit, thank you so much for having me! Until next time.

B. Piri (out)