Grant Hart was paired up with local songwriter Danny Pound for a remarkable show at the Taproom. Both men were armed with nothing more than their guitars, but they managed to silence an entire room and hold the audience in a trance. The scenesters were so stunned by the greatness behind the mic, all they could do was back all the way up against the wall and watch in awe.

Enjoy the videos (and a few photos) from the show.

by Fally Afani

Monzie Leo and the Big Sky

Joel Brummett, the red-bearded wild man behind Monzie Leo and the Big Sky, loves his friends. He adores them, enjoys the heck out of their company, and treasures the moment he shares with them. Two of his best friends play in Monzie Leo and the Big Sky with him. So when one of them announced that they were leaving the state to go to school, he decided to send him off with a bang.

On Saturday the band will be performing at the Gaslight to wish their friend a fond farewell. “It’s basically us just saying goodbye to Robert,” says Brummett. “We’re all too broke to throw a party, so we booked a show on Saturday at the last minute.”

The band wants folks to show up in costume, or at the very least get a little goofy. “Be comfortable in your goof,” says Brummett. “Be less of what you look like, and more of something that isn’t yourself… and hopefully colorful.”

The sendoff continues with a mini-tour for Brummett, which includes the Folklife festival in Seattle. The band can’t always accompany him on tour, which is why getting the whole enchilada at their Lawrence shows is a real treat. “It’s either intimate with me and the crowd, or it’s intimate with me and my best friends that I’m onstage with,” says Brummett. “But at the end of the day, you’re going to see a large amount of happiness and connection.”

Be a part of that connection with Monzie Leo and the Big Sky this Saturday at the Gaslight Tavern.

The scene at the Percolator

Luxem kicked off a very intimate show at the Precolator this week. He, along with local garage rockers Oils and Chicago-based duo Bears of Blue River, were part of a DIY event at the Percolator called “Pass-the-Hat.” The goal is to create a relaxed atmosphere and give the musicians an opportunity to connect with their audiences. Those who came out to the show enjoyed throwing back a few PBRs, hanging out on the porch, and enjoying flickering projections and low-key performances.

C.S. Luxem

He played some originals but peppered in some interesting covers (including Drake’s “Take Care”). It’s little gems like those that make a C.S. Luxem show worth the effort of weeding through the DIY venues and events. The modest donation most of these shows ask for is a small price to pay to watch some of Lawrence’s greatest hidden, dazzling, and unpretentious musical geniuses.

This tiny snippet from the performance hardly does him justice. You’ll just have to make it out to one of his shows:

The primarily acoustic sets of Rocky Votolato and Kevin Long made for a relaxing evening at the Record Bar. Rocky Votolato attracted a crowd of loving, knowledgeable fans that he rewarded with a generous set list and plenty of requests. Kevin Long is well on his way to reaching his Kickstarter goal to fund his second album, “Forgiveness in the City.”

See more of Morgan Bleigh’s work here.

Photo Courtesy Interior Sea

Marable’s efforts to connect the art and music communities in Topeka and Lawrence have not gone unnoticed. He has always been one to see past the disconnect between the two cities. “We kind of learn from each other, as a whole you can kind of work towards a common good,” says Marable, who has been known to bring bands and performers from both cities together at events involved with ReThink Topeka. “I hope that we could have that exchange going on between the communities because we’re Kansans, and I think a lot of the influences that are happening are coming from the same environment.”

While Marable may share a love for both communities (and their environments), he still faces daily trials and tribulations. His lyrics show a great internal struggle with the modern world, and Marable says playing with Interior Sea helps him face those challenges. “The music itself and the songwriting helps me just kind of deal with certain dilemmas in my life,” says Marable. “It helps me express my views on the contemporary world and my immediate environment. It helps me connect the relevance of living in this time. That’s what the music does for me.”

See what the music can do for you when Interior Sea plays with Heartscape Landbreak and Comanche the Horse for an early patio show this Friday at the Replay.

Nobody really expected the Replay to bust out such a large stage for the outdoor portion of Spring Into Summer Fest. It was pretty intense, but really rewarding to see some local favorites on such a big stage.

This was our first time seeing The Recessionists. The band was half 60′s girl group (with a whole lot of shoulder-shimmying attitude), half forlorn doo-wop. Scroll to the bottom of the photo gallery for a video of their performance.

30 seconds into Approach’s set and we were already pumped. The man was missing some front teeth, but gave us a pretty flawless performance anyway. He started off the set with a bit of a warning to the audience: “If I jump off the stage and hurt myself, don’t worry. I’m used to it.” He then pointed to his missing teeth, and was still grinning wide by the end of his set.

The perfect Kansas sunset and Fourth of July carried us into the evening. The thing about Fourth of July songs is they really grow on you. You couldn’t hate them if you tried (it doesn’t help that the Hangauer brothers tend to snuggle onstage when they play). Those new songs are killer, and you could really tell the band is getting pumped about their upcoming record.

By the time Hearts of Darkness took the stage, the outdoor portion of the night had become an all-out party. The band is legit, and their groovy tunes immediately got folks cutting a rug. There were so many members in that band, I was surprised they all fit onstage. Hearts of Darkness are a must-see band if you enjoy dancing to live music.

The second half of the festival took place inside and eventually grew to contain an overflowing crowd of incredibly tipsy concert-goers. It was so packed that by the time we left, there was a line to the corner of the block full of people waiting to get in (yet another surprise at the festival).

The night mainly belonged to loud garage rockers. Dry Bonnet is never a disappointment, and (as predicted) Nature Boys delivered a solid set complete with rowdy fans waiting to burst at the seams. The night rounded out with Up The Academy, and by then our hearing was just shot. We drove home with a musical appetite overly satisfied and our ears happily ringing.

The band’s debut album, “Random Accessed Memories,” was released nearly five months ago, and the band is already itching to get back to work in the studio. According to the band’s kickstarter page, they only managed to record two tracks in a pro studio. They’re hoping to increase the quality on this next album.

The band is looking at raising a very humble $1,800, and is handing out rewards for donations such as limited edition posters and digital downloads. I Heart Local Music was so pleased with the band’s debut project, we’d like to see them succeed with this next endeavor. To jog your memory, the band is like an even more incredible mix of Weezer meets Hum. Check out one of their music videos below (the song is totally boss), and throw some help their way.