6/28/13: The Hungry Ears / Chest Rockwell / Jo’shua Odine

Reggae, experimental, progressive, modern, new wave… just a few words to describe the sounds and Tidball’s last Friday night.  Bowling Green’s The Hungry Ears and Chest Rockwell performed along with Nashville’s Jo’shua Odine.

Unfamiliar with the music of Jo’shua Odine, I did some research (I asked THE’s Cindy Darst) and found out that The Hungry Ears had witnessed one of his performances and invited him to play; needless to say I went into this with virgin ears.  A few minutes before Odine’s set, two gentlemen with crocheted hats and dreadlocks began to set up, which didn’t take long as Odine only needed a mic and his beat-up acoustic guitar.

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He was joined on stage by Adam Quellhorst on electric bass and back up vocals.  I would describe their music as very laid-back, acoustic reggae, but what stood out most during their set was the way in which Odine played his six string.  He not only used his guitar as a string instrument but a percussion as well.  Using the palm of his hand, he would strike the body of the guitar with his thumb and palm as he strummed; a technique that, over time, has cracked and dented his guitar.  Damaged instruments or not,  Quellhorst and Odine were very impressive (I’m a sucker for a good bass line and love reggae – of course I loved it!).  I hope to see these guys up here again.

Next up was Chest Rockwell, a group of familiar faces to us Bowling Green “lifers.”  This July will mark their 9 year anniversary, and it showed during their tightly knit performance.  This experimental/prog rock band kept the chill atmosphere going with their ethereal instrumental numbers which would later escalate to heavier tunes and lyrics.

their rhythm section was tight… I liked the color the keyboard added… the lead guitarist added a lot…

-Dale Adams, audience member

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The crowd was definitely into it with random shouts of “hell yeah,” friendly banter with the band, and a few first-timers in the audience standing in awe of the band’s talents.  The guys debuted  their latest song, “Preparing to do Battle with the Devil,” a haunting yet dreamy song that made me wish it was Fall again.  They also performed old favorites and songs from their latest EP Weep and You Weep Alone.  You’ll be able to catch them again on August 31st in Evansville, Indiana.

Closing out the night were The Hungry Ears, the 6 member group from Bowling Green self-described as Sexy Sci-Fi New Wave Grunge.  Before they began to play the band gathered together and threw their hands into the circle as a pre-show pep cheer (I love the new phrases I come up with! Call Merriam-Webster!).

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The Hungry Ears have been around the scene with their latest lineup for a year now.  A lineup that is not your typical band line up which includes a clarinet (Melissa Mikolajczyk), two keyboards (Cindy Darst and Eric Curtis), and an Apple laptop/syth all of which contribute to the band’s multifaceted sound.  They began their set with “Sway” followed by crowd favorites “Failure to Speak” and “Spy Rock.” (bee-tee-dubs, J.D. Minor shreds the guitar solo during “Spy Rock”)

Their 7″ single of “Failure to Speak” will be out the first weekend of August!

As always, sorry for the crummy cell phone photos and if you would like to contribute to the Stucky Music Blog please hit us up!

~Melissa