No more basketball! Music, video games and True Detective

I have barely heard even a whisper about the NBA Finals since the Cavs blew it big time. Everyone is so dejected, Jacob included, that it seems to be a taboo subject in the land of Cleve. Which I’m fine with because honestly I was getting a bit tired of the hubbub, and the return to normalcy is cool with me. Plus, Clevelanders have been sated just a teeny bit. They got a taste of what it feels like to be good at something sports related, and now everyone is amped for next season! Hurrah hurrah.

Pretty much…

One thing I will say about the coverage of the NBA Finals was how unfair it was toward the Cleveland Cavaliers. If the Cavs’ entire roster had been in top form (Kevin Love with his shoulder healed, Kyrie Irving with an unbroken knee cap), they seriously would have given the Golden State Warriors a run for their money. The media was pretty biased against Cleveland. Everyone loves to hate the city because, historically, its sports teams suck (plus our river caught on fire, which is just embarrassing). And it’s pretty easy to rag on LeBron James, so nobody really acknowledged what a shame it was that the entire team wasn’t healthy; everyone was too busy talking about James and forgot that he’s just one member of a team. Regardless, the season is officially over and I can stop writing about it! Praise be!

So, what media have I been discovering this past week? Let me break it down into a nice bulleted list!

• Jamie xx, In Colour
• True Detective season two
• Batman: Arkham Knight
• A show at Mahall’s

I’ll start in reverse order, since the show at Mahall’s was a focus in last week’s post. I’ll be honest–the nicest thing about Mahall’s is its bar. The ceiling has some water damage which made me a little nervous, like “Oh man is this about to collapse and kill us all,” but the lighting is great–antique light fixtures, high ceilings and these giant glass windows that provide a ton of natural light. The drinks at the bar were also super cheap, so hurray Mahall’s!

Photo via Lakewood Daily Snap

The stage area… could use some improvement. For one thing, all of the soundproofing textiles were on the ceiling…? Which just didn’t make a lot of sense to me considering the walls were made out of plywood and did a terrible job of improving acoustics. The sound was round and full right up close to the stage, but once you backed off (like I had to when I started to get overheated and flustered in the jammed crowd during Mitski’s set), the noise sounded pretty lackluster. From the photos I’ve seen, the plywood is a permanent fixture and there for “the aesthetic,” which I think is just silly. But these photos from the show do look pretty neat. Thanks to Tumblr user ayygarl for uploading!

Elvis Depressedly

Eskimeaux was easily my favorite part of the night. The opening band really did not do anything for me (grave misuse of loop pedals and harmonizing), and Mitski gave a talented, emotional performance but I was more in the mood for Eskimeaux’s bouncy, fun band vibes. Elvis Depressedly closed out the night, and the drummer was none other than Greg Rutkin from LVL UP (and a million other bands). Greg is great; I interviewed LVL UP this past winter and they were a ton of fun, so it was awesome to see him again and talk for a few minutes.

Eskimeaux

Aside from the time at Mahall’s, media consumption has been real. Batman: Arkham Knight was released just yesterday (hence why I waited to publish this), and I’ve seen maybe 3% of that game but it is nuts. The first 10 minutes look like a feature length film, which I’ve never seen a video game do before. Arkham Knight is the last in a four-part installment of Batman games and was announced over two years ago, so it’s going to be pretty badass. But like I said, the game came out yesterday so we have some serious exploration to do before I can write further.

Season two of True Detective premiered this past Sunday evening and I will admit, I had absolutely no idea what was going on. I’ve seen the episode twice and the first time I was totally lost and very skeptical. The opening credits are in the same exact fashion as season one, which disappointed me—was it going to be the same thing over again?

Thankfully, it’s not. This season we have four main characters and the first episode focused pretty much entirely on establishing these people, their story lines and the setting. Season one began with shock factor whereas this episode was much slower. During the first viewing the writing seemed corny, Colin Farrell’s character was already making me roll my eyes and Taylor Kitsch going 100 mph on a bike was a big snooze.

However, I have since watched it again and the revisit has improved my hopes immensely. Vince Vaughn looks great, not gross like he usually does, and his acting is very satisfactory. We’ll see what happens. In the meantime, read this article written by Matt Johnson for Business Insider that examines why the new episode rules.

And lastly, if you haven’t heard the latest album from Jamie xx you need to get on that! In Colour is an awesome blend of electronica, soul and streaks of funk. The composition of the album as a whole is great; the entire thing is very emotional, in its tones and the way the songs flow into each other. Definitely one of the better things I’ve heard in 2015–though I haven’t been as good at keeping up with new releases as I was last year. Considering Jake and I will be seeing Jamie xx in Toronto this August, it might be hard to leave the album alone.

Check out “Obvs,” one of my favorite tracks.

Yikes, this is a long post! If you made it to the end, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’ve been a busy kid, working 30 hours a week at the new job and keeping the Editorial Department on track. But I always have time for conversation about the things I write about here, so feel free to comment or email me at editorial4acrn@gmail.com. And if you Tweet at @ACRNButter, I’ll Tweet right back at ya!

Local music and a shameless plug

Well gang, I am happy to report that I have acquired an employment position! Not only do I have a source of income, I get to work with dogs! I’m very excited about it, mostly because I’ve been spending money pretty conservatively this whole summer. Unfortunately, doing things in a bustling city and getting to know its nooks and crannies typically requires money, so my options of things to do have been a tad limited.

As such, I have not seen as much local music as I’d like. I’ve definitely learned about it, though! Part of my work with the Greater Cleveland Aquarium involves writing short bios for bands that are playing at Red White & Brew, a fourth of July celebration/music festival hosted by the GCA. There’s a slew of local bands slotted to play the festival, including Welshly Arms, Cities & Coasts, The Moxies and Austin Walkin’ Cane. There’s too many artists to list, so check out this flyer instead!

The age range in the performers is pretty large, which makes me happy. Not only are the youngins out there making names for themselves, older individuals are still pursuing creative endeavors! I always like to see older folks making music because it makes me feel less guilty about having yet to embark on musical endeavors of my own.

Nonetheless, the local bands in Cleveland are really doing work. So are the venues! Not only are there great local scenes like Lakewood’s Front Porch Concert Series and Sofar Sounds Concerts, there are places like Mahall’s and Grog Shop that host a plethora of bands not native to the great city of Cle.

Photo via Grog Shop

For example, this Thursday night I’ll be watching Eskimeaux (New York), Mitski (also New York), Elvis Depressedly (North Carolina) and Small Wood House (Ohio, woo!) perform at Mahall’s. This will be my first time at Mahall’s, which makes me both excited and a little apprehensive. I’m a tad apprehensive because hipsters are very populous in Cleveland, and they flock to shows like this one. I also think I’m going alone, which is fine, but oh man talking to strangers can be weird. Especially when they’re your own age. My own age group freaks me out. Is that normal?

Regardless, I’m expecting to enjoy my trip on Thursday night quite a bit, even if I do get sandwiched in a sea of young, hip kids. Eskimeaux’s album O.K. came out a handful of weeks ago and is great, very emotionally honest and pure. The production quality is excellent, considering it’s released on Double Double Whammy; the indie label likes to produce things at the lowest cost possible, which usually correlates directly to quality. Luckily those boys know what they’re doing, and DDW has a talent for delivering awesome jams.

Bless.

On a different note, it’s orientation time at Ohio University! All the fresh new students are wandering around campus, thinking “How in the $*@! am I going to walk all these hills every day?” and “Man, what organizations should I join once I’m here?” Impressions are already being made upon incoming students, which is why a lot of organizations like to distribute fliers at orientation. I whipped up ACRN Media’s flyer, take a look at the final result!

Pretty convincing, eh?! I’d join! I mean, just look at how dang cute that DJ at the top is (shoutout to our beloved General Manager, Megan Fair). If you’re a student, future or current, of Ohio University and interested in getting involved with ACRN, you can reach out to us on Twitter or Facebook! You can also email me at editorial4acrn@gmail.com, or Megan at gm4acrn@gmail.com. Thanks for reading, catch ya next week!