I’ve always been curious about the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards and with nothing better to do last night, I decided to check the event out for the first time. First off, let me be clear that I think it’s great that we have a publication like City Beat that is so zealous in its coverage of the local music scene. We have a great scene here in Cincinnati and the team of dedicated music journalists at City Beat appears to do a great job covering and promoting local artists. That being said, last night’s event at Covington's Madison Theater was kind of disappointing.
The entire show was a bit unorganized, with presenters and award recipients nowhere to be found when called to the stage. Presenters didn’t appear to have anything prepared and ended up rambling uncomfortably, like they had no previous notice that they would be presenting. On top of that, the live performances were plagued with sound issues, ranging from microphones not being turned on to uneven mixes to amateur-esque feedback squalls. When the award recipients finally made their way to the stage, a handful of ladies in costumes tried to distract the audience with dancing and props. It’s not about you, ladies. You didn’t win anything.
The only performing band that really stood out to me was The Tillers, a band nominated in the Folk/Americana category. I would call it bluegrass, but this isn’t a bluegrass blog so we’re not going to debate that here. Anyway, they were really enjoyable and I would recommend checking them out if you get a chance. There was also some solid breakdancing during the evening’s hip hop performance.
The only live performance that I was interested in for the purposes of this blog was the 10 minute set from Moonbow. I hadn’t had a chance to check out a live Moonbow show prior to last night, and I don’t think I’ll be going back for more. Underwhelming is the only word I can think of here. Despite the presence of Valley of the Sun bass monster Ryan McAlister, I’ve always been a little wary that Moonbow was trading on frontman Matt Bischoff’s “celebrity” status from his appearance on Survivor, which is apparently still on the air. Pretty much every Moonbow promo features a mention of Survivor, and the CEAs didn’t disappoint, introducing Moonbow as being fronted by a former Survivor cast member. That’s great that the guy was on a show that no one with a paycheck watches, but can we please start promoting bands based on merit? Maybe it was the bad sound, but I just wasn’t impressed with Moonbow and their lack of energy on stage. I think with a better frontman they might be decent, but right now they’re kind of treading a thin line between run-of-the-mill stoner rock and gimmick band.
As far as the awards themselves, I was fully aware going in that the awards were based on internet voting. Despite some drowned-out rambling from the host last night, I still have no idea how bands are nominated, but that’s beside the point. I can’t judge the merit of the winning bands in most of the categories, as I was really only interested in the Rock and Metal awards. Electric Citizen took home the honors for best Rock band. That seems fair. Those kids are one of the hardest working bands in town and their mix of 70's psych, metal, and doom is extremely catchy. They’re a solid live band and I believe they’re going to have a big 2014.
In the Metal/Hard Rock category, our old friends Moonbow took home the honors, besting my personal choice, and superstars in the making, Valley of the Sun, doom titans Grey Host, a couple of bands I’m not familiar with and Siren, a strong up-and-coming unit who were oddly nominated despite the lack of any releases to their credit. This is where the internet voting becomes an issue. I’m not sure I’m comfortable with a fat guy on his couch in Nebraska voting for Moonbow in the CEAs because, “Hey, I remember that there guy from the Survivor!” Don’t we have enough qualified musicians and journalists right here in Cincinnati to vote on these awards in a sane, rational manner?
I’m glad we have a ceremony like the CEAs to celebrate local musicians, but I hope this year’s show was an aberration and that they usually have their shit together. I’m sure it’s a huge pain in the ass to put this together and to get a bunch of drunk musicians to cooperate, but the show last night came off as a bad high school drama club production. Let’s tighten the reins next year and make this more of a professional production. I am happy to volunteer. -JO
The entire show was a bit unorganized, with presenters and award recipients nowhere to be found when called to the stage. Presenters didn’t appear to have anything prepared and ended up rambling uncomfortably, like they had no previous notice that they would be presenting. On top of that, the live performances were plagued with sound issues, ranging from microphones not being turned on to uneven mixes to amateur-esque feedback squalls. When the award recipients finally made their way to the stage, a handful of ladies in costumes tried to distract the audience with dancing and props. It’s not about you, ladies. You didn’t win anything.
The only performing band that really stood out to me was The Tillers, a band nominated in the Folk/Americana category. I would call it bluegrass, but this isn’t a bluegrass blog so we’re not going to debate that here. Anyway, they were really enjoyable and I would recommend checking them out if you get a chance. There was also some solid breakdancing during the evening’s hip hop performance.
The only live performance that I was interested in for the purposes of this blog was the 10 minute set from Moonbow. I hadn’t had a chance to check out a live Moonbow show prior to last night, and I don’t think I’ll be going back for more. Underwhelming is the only word I can think of here. Despite the presence of Valley of the Sun bass monster Ryan McAlister, I’ve always been a little wary that Moonbow was trading on frontman Matt Bischoff’s “celebrity” status from his appearance on Survivor, which is apparently still on the air. Pretty much every Moonbow promo features a mention of Survivor, and the CEAs didn’t disappoint, introducing Moonbow as being fronted by a former Survivor cast member. That’s great that the guy was on a show that no one with a paycheck watches, but can we please start promoting bands based on merit? Maybe it was the bad sound, but I just wasn’t impressed with Moonbow and their lack of energy on stage. I think with a better frontman they might be decent, but right now they’re kind of treading a thin line between run-of-the-mill stoner rock and gimmick band.
As far as the awards themselves, I was fully aware going in that the awards were based on internet voting. Despite some drowned-out rambling from the host last night, I still have no idea how bands are nominated, but that’s beside the point. I can’t judge the merit of the winning bands in most of the categories, as I was really only interested in the Rock and Metal awards. Electric Citizen took home the honors for best Rock band. That seems fair. Those kids are one of the hardest working bands in town and their mix of 70's psych, metal, and doom is extremely catchy. They’re a solid live band and I believe they’re going to have a big 2014.
In the Metal/Hard Rock category, our old friends Moonbow took home the honors, besting my personal choice, and superstars in the making, Valley of the Sun, doom titans Grey Host, a couple of bands I’m not familiar with and Siren, a strong up-and-coming unit who were oddly nominated despite the lack of any releases to their credit. This is where the internet voting becomes an issue. I’m not sure I’m comfortable with a fat guy on his couch in Nebraska voting for Moonbow in the CEAs because, “Hey, I remember that there guy from the Survivor!” Don’t we have enough qualified musicians and journalists right here in Cincinnati to vote on these awards in a sane, rational manner?
I’m glad we have a ceremony like the CEAs to celebrate local musicians, but I hope this year’s show was an aberration and that they usually have their shit together. I’m sure it’s a huge pain in the ass to put this together and to get a bunch of drunk musicians to cooperate, but the show last night came off as a bad high school drama club production. Let’s tighten the reins next year and make this more of a professional production. I am happy to volunteer. -JO
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