SCENE REPORT: CLEVELAND

RECAP OF THE CLEVELAND STOP ON THE EIY SPRING (INTO ACTION) TOUR

It sounds to me like the Cleveland scene is actually doing quite well, despite the issues we covered in the meet-up. The bands all have places to play, even if it is difficult for them to get into the bigger venues in town. Kids are coming out to shows, bands are touring through town.


There’s a separation between the all ages scene and the 21+ scene in Cleveland that needs to be remedied, even if it’s with one house party or VFW show every six months, with both old school and up-and-comers from the Cleveland scene on the bill. It’s important for the OG bands and kids in the scene to pass their wisdom and enthusiasm on to the younger generation, before they get too old and jaded to go to house shows and are more concerned with getting drunk than contributing to the music scene that raised them. A resurgence of mixed-genre bills would also do the bands in Cleveland a lot of good — and I would encourage all the bands on this bill to play as many house shows and parties as possible, to build a buzz in the under-underground before worrying about breaking into the bigger all ages venues.

The bands on this show were extremely polite, friendly, and seemed to all get along and enjoy watching each other’s sets. Everyone’s music was upbeat, energetic, and fun. It was actually one of the most enjoyable nights of music on the tour so far, although you know I’m about to pick it all apart. With love, friends — with love.

Here’s my recap:

Band: The Missing from Cleveland
These guys were a balls to the wall rock n’ roll band who obviously know who they are and what they’re doing. The singer has a great voice, the drummer is solid, the songs are strong, they are fun to watch, they know how to keep the energy up through the entire set, know their equipment, understand stage volume — basically, this is a seasoned band. They are involved in the scene in other ways, too, which has helped them land some great opportunities.
Check them out HERE.

Band: Burning Down Broadway from Cleveland
These guys have been friends and bandmates for ten years, which is amazing considering that they are all in their early twenties. They’ve been around the scene in Cleveland for a while and have seen the ups and downs. They play pop rock and put on a fun, high energy show that reminded me of the stuff that bands were doing in 2002-2004. There will always be a market for upbeat pop rock songs with catchy hooks, but when you’ve got a group of close friends who know each other really well musically, it’s a great chance to try to push the boundaries and experiment with an entirely new sound. As a group, these guys have their hearts and heads in the right place and are the kind of band you want to be friends with.
Check them out HERE.

Band: Exit Cleveland from Kent, OH
This young pop rock band has a lot of ideas and draw heavily from their influences. Poppy generic hooks with basic love song lyrics, and a lot of backing guitar tracks, percussion, and loops playing on a laptop. Nice as can be, and playing music that has a strong following (of mostly young girls), these guys will be able to do this for another year or two if they want. But then they’re either going to get burned out by lack of progress, or they’ll be left behind when the electro-pop-with-tracks fad dies out. My advice would be to start figuring out how the band is going to mature and what they can do musically to get ahead of the curve. For starters: Get rid of the laptop!
Check them out HERE.

Band: Call It Fiction from Akron, OH
Taking most of their cues from bands like Motion City Soundtrack and Fall Out Boy, this synthy pop punk band closed the show with the fourth of four entertaining live shows. They were leaving for tour the next day, so this was their tour kick-off of sorts. Very hardworking, booking themselves and putting a lot of effort into the band, these guys definitely have the right mindset. The songs were good, catchy, and fun — but again, I’m always hoping to see bands get out of their comfort zones and attempt new things that haven’t been done before. These guys have the work ethic down!
Check them out HERE.

In my Chicago recap, I originally wrote “What’s with all the cover songs?” — but I actually meant that for this show. I think every band on the bill played a cover song in Cleveland, which is fine except that in almost every case, the cover song was the highlight of the set. It seems like bands will put so much effort into learning cover songs because they want to make them sound good, but often they won’t even put a spin on them, they’ll just play them exactly like the original version. And then when they play the cover song live, they are more confident in the delivery than they are with their own songs (which makes sense; it’s easier to play someone else’s super catchy song that’s going to automatically get good feedback from the crowd). But you should at least play your instruments as well on your own songs as you do on the cover. Basically, my advice to all bands who do cover songs is this: If you are going to play someone else’s song during your set, make sure it’s not the best song you play all night!

There was one obvious standout at this show, and we hope that The Missing will do a good job representing EIY, not only at Warped Tour this summer, but in the Cleveland scene in general — by keeping the lines of communication open with younger bands who are just learning how to navigate the waters there.

This was another great, inspiring, fun night on the EIY Spring (Into Action) Tour! Everyone in nearby cities should hit up all four of these bands to start trading shows. And don’t forget about all the active, involved kids in the Cleveland scene who want to help!

Love,
Sarah & EIY

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