It was this concert reviewer’s perfect evening. One event, two venues, seven bands, and five of those bands I had never seen before. It was time for some serious discovery. Not only did I discover. I was repeatedly pleasantly surprised.

The Concerts 4 Fibromyalgia Benefit event was held concurrently at Tidball’s and the State St. Pub. I figured, since you can’t be at two places at the same time that I would only see half of what I was looking for (those previously unseen bands). Well, I just may have successfully conquered time and space. The schedule was arranged just right to allow me to see four of those five bands. Things were staggered a bit so that the festivities started at 9 PM at Tidball’s (that’s the crack of dawn for that place) and 10 PM at State St. Pub. Perfect!

The Hungry Ears kicked off the night. This was a great wake up call for the early birds at Tidball’s. Their music is hard, vital, danceable, and is performed with lots of energy. Lead guitarist/singer JD Minor really gets into the all-original material, singing with gusto (like he’s really invested in it, and I’m sure he is). He plays both on his feet and on his knees and bent every which way on stage. Bassist Chris Minor is also prominent and helps with the vocals too. Melissa Mikolajzcyk is on clarinet, brass, and sings just a little as well. My one disappointment was that I had a hard time hearing what she was playing. Hopefully that was a one-time sound glitch, because I’m looking forward to seeing them again and hearing that woodwind. Drummer Michael McMillan was strong and sharp with the beats. It was easy to understand why they are regulars at Tidball’s and why the crowd was so into them.

It was then out the door and over to State St. Pub for the highlight of my evening. Fat Box started around 10 PM and blew me away. Their varied and oh so interesting set included Widespread Panic, Frank Zappa, Beatles, and Rush covers, as well as several originals in a jam-band, progressive style that’s right up my alley. All this is delivered by five guys who manage to play not only the usual guitars, bass, and drums, but two of them switch off to horns from time to time. Bassist Kevin Woolen absolutely nailed the vocals on “Tom Sawyer” (despite an errant mic that shot out some pretty bad feedback until they shut it off), and so did the band as a whole. Actually, they were nailing everything, so that explains my delight. The other talented members of Fat Box are Murf Adams on guitar and trumpet, Jonas Butler on drums, Clay Powell on guitar and vocals, and Ryan Stiles on sax. You can check them out on MySpace under /thefatbox.

I then high tailed it back over to Tidball’s in time to catch the last four songs or so from The Lost River Cavemen. What a difference an hour makes. The place was now packed, and the stage had been taken over by a bunch of space cowboys! Their high-energy, rocking style of acoustic guitar, upright bass, fiddle, and drums is quite unique. The crowd was obviously psyched, the floor was constantly in flux with dancers and hand pumpers, and beverages were being raised often in toast to the performers on stage. I also noticed quite a few older folk in the crowd for these guys, but that didn’t scare away the younger crowd, so the Cavemen have broad appeal. I will definitely need to catch a full set soon. Band members are Michael McMillan on guitar and vocals, Kelly Wilson on stand up bass, Kerry Pruitt on fiddle, and Joshua Riddle on percussion. You can get more info on them at myspace.com/lostrivercavemen.

It was then back to State St. Pub for the final leg of my evening; Bookum Snark. Are you still with me? These guys do mostly, if not all, covers, and they do them pretty well, albeit some a little better than others. Lead guitarist/singer Justin Abell is a strong front man, the rhythm section of Cole Porter on bass (except when he and Abell switch) and Chase Flener is solid (Flener was featured in a little drum solo). There was additional percussion (which makes things a little more interesting) intermittently provided by Troy Mimms. I’m not sure if he was a guest bongo player (since he was off the stage and to the side). So they are a power trio with what I’d call, at least for this night, a twist. Their MySpace page is /bookumsnark.

As for the bands I didn’t see, I already know Lee Harvey and 00 the Rabbit are awesome. I’m sure they did not disappoint. And Natty Bumpoe, a group I still have not seen, may have been the most unique (for Bowling Green) band of the night with their hip-hop/rap style. I did get a CD from them and it was sounding awfully good in the car and is well-produced. The good news is they play often, so you (and I) should have plenty of chances to see them. They are filming a video of one of the cuts off their debut album (the cut is called “Turning Heads”). The CD release was scheduled for June 10th (as of this writing) so it should be available for purchase by the time you read this. I do know two of the members, Billy Swayze from The Karmadons and Jeremi Simon, whom I’ve seen solo. Find info on them at myspace.com/nattybumpoe.

Have you noticed there are quite a few benefit music events happening all the time in Bowling Green? The bands that play them will often surprise you, and your donations will do a world of good. I heard that this event raised approximately $2,600 alone. So be adventurous and good-willed at the same time; support your favorite charities and the local music scene whenever you can. You never know what you’ll discover.

Concerts 4 Fibromyalgia Benefit  was held at Tidball’s & State St. Pub in Bowling Green, KY on 6/5/2010

Pennman’s Picks

• Local (Bowling Green)
  • Every Sunday @ 6 – KY Blues Jam – Wha Bah’s
  • 6/16 – 6/30 – Concerts in the Park – Wednesdays at Noon – Fountain Sq Park, BG
  • 6/18 – Storm Bringer – D93 Block Party, Studio Parking Lot, College St., Tyrone Dunn Experiment – Bandstand, Franklin, KY, Rick Mitchell & Greg Williams – Greener Groundz, Nine Horse Johnson – Shelley’s Place, Felonious Funk – 440 Main
  • 6/19 – Canago/Thee Japanese Schoolgirls – Tidballs, Nine Horse Johnson – Shelley’s Place
  • 6/24 – Karmadons/Worsties – Tidball’s
  • 6/25 – Chest Rockwell/Technology vs. Horse – Crow’s Nest, Lost River Cavemen/Incredible Heat Machine – Tidball’s, T Martel – 440 Main, HardKnocks – Shelley’s Place, Chris Cavanaugh – Wha Bahs, Jonesy – Overtime
  • 6/26 – Skip Bond – Scottsville Arts on Main, 00 the Rabbit – Tidball’s, The Last Straw – Wha Bahs
  • 6/29 – Thee Japanese Schoolgirls – Lava Lounge
  • 7/2 – Poison Karma – 440 Main
  • 7/9 – 8/6 –  Concerts in the Park – Fridays at 6:30 – Fountain Sq Park, BG
  • 7/9 – 8/6 –  Concerts in the Park – Fridays at 7:30 – Circus Sq Park, BG
  • 7/29 – Mellow Down Easy – Tidballs
  • 7/31 – Grateful Gathering – Wha Bahs (Outside) 3 – 9 PM (search for it on Facebook), Ned Van Gogh – Scottsville Arts on Main
  • 8/14 – Farewell Drifters – Scottsville Arts on Main
  • 8/20-22 – Intl Newgrass Festival – Moto Ballance – Oakland, KY
  • 8/28 – Scotty Anderson – Scottsville Arts on main
• Road Trips (Nashville, except where noted otherwise)
  • Freeman Lake State Park, Elizabethtown – Grand Funk/Guess Who – 6/26
  • Bridgestone Arena (Sommet Center) – Poison/Ratt – 7/10, Paul McCartney – 7/26, Tom Petty/CS&N – 8/12.
  • Wildhorse Saloon – Ted Nugent – 7/14, Great White – 8/19 (Rescheduled)
  • Ryman Auditorium – Hole – 6/29, Crowded House – 8/2, Primus – 8/6, Heart – 8/17, Black Crowes
  • KFC Yum Center, Louisville – The Eagles – 10/16 (On sale 6/18)

About the author: Pennman bought his first 45 at age nine and has been hooked on rock ever since. He has spent much of his disposable income on music, especially live performances. He writes reviews of the shows he sees and keeps a keen lookout for upcoming shows in or near Bowling Green. He has a BA in Communications, specializing in journalism, and has dabbled in music himself, both as a player and instructor. Find more of Pennman’s work at www.associatedcontent.com/user/165511/pennman.html or visit him at www.myspace.com/pennman_bg or www.facebook.com/pennman