The Acoustic Basement Tour made it’s way through Lakewood, Ohio on February 7th. The lineup included:
Cleveland local band Slow to Speak
Photography provided by Lena Diamond Photography
The venue Mahall’s is a very small and intimate venue, which made it the perfect place to have an acoustic show. There was a pretty good turn out from the very start. It was pleasing to see so many people show up for the opening bands. When Cleveland natives Slow to Speak took the stage, you could hear people in awe about the local band’s passionate performance. Their set was stripped down to the basics and this only heightened their talent. Go check out their single Hollow Eyes . They are currently working on an EP so give them a like on Facebook and check them out!
Front Porch Step is the artist Jake Mcelfresh. I became interested in his music only recently, and it was a real pleasure seeing him perform. His lyrics are gut wrenching and you can hear the emotion behind each word. You feel as though you are witnessing the stories he is telling. That alone is an exponential sign of his success as a musician. I am looking forward to what is in the future of Front Porch Step.
Brian Marquis is the man behind The Acoustic Basement Tour and the Acoustic Basement Tent at Vans Warped Tour. It was awesome to see how dedicated he is to putting these events together. His face was lit up just talking about it. It’s honestly a remarkable experience to see these musicians in such an intimate setting so thanks again to Brian Marquis to making this all possible. His music is awesome too! He even incorporated harmonica into his set and it was bliss.
Nick Thompson of Hit The Lights was the last one to take the stage before Transit. His set really got the crowd energized. The entire room erupted with fans singing along with him. People were actually pushing towards the front during this part of the night. This set had a more upbeat tone and the crowd was loving it. I’m sure this was an awesome experience for Hit The Lights fans because it is so different than their normal music.
Transit started their set with Skipping Stone which I feel as a perfect way to start. They then played a couple of other songs off of their album Listen and Forgive. Then they took us through a few songs from Something Left Behind which was especially fitting for an acoustic show. Joe Boynton’s vocals were spot on despite him being sick this night of the tour. He had a difficulty even speaking, but when he sang no one could even tell. He did the best he could for the fans and that was amazing to see him push through. The rest of the band had a very comedic demeanor and kept the crowd entertained even between songs while they interacted with the fans. At one point in the show, a group of guys made their way to the stage to sing along with Joe. Him and the band exchanged glances as if they were going to stop performing, but they pretended to end the song to get them off the stage. They then carried on as if nothing happened. I feel as though they handled the situation really well and it didn’t really put a damper on a thing. You can really see their passion shine through playing these acoustic shows. I saw them last year when they were on tour with Seahaven and All Get Out and I remember how brutally insane kids went for them. Don’t get me wrong, I love all the energy, but it was truly something special to see these bands perform in this tiny venue and do something that means so much. Transit will be coming back to Cleveland in May, so make sure you go check them out! PS, happy one year anniversary to Transit’s album Young New England!
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