Roger Hoover & the Whiskeyhounds (3/19/05)



I have to say that Cleveland is quite fortunate to have a "local" act as good as Roger Hoover & the Whiskeyhounds. I discovered them when I saw them open for Hamell on Trial at the Beachland Tavern on 12/10/04, and I had been watching their calendar for the next time I could see them. Unfortunately, most of their concert dates conflicted with my schedule.

This night I had planned on being home for my nephew's 5th birthday party, but the whole family was ill, so I stayed here. DeVane had made it up for the birthday trip home as well, but luckily the weekend wasn't all lost. This was the last weekend of the Cleveland International Film Festival and if you have never been to the festival.. GO! This Saturday night we tried going to see some movies, but it was just too packed to find a parking spot so we gave up. Luckily, thanks to a MySpace.com alert, I was reminded that the Whiskeyhounds were performing at the Winchester Tavern in Lakewood. I had been wanting to check that place out, and what a great surprise for a night I thought had been lost.

Roosevelt was also performing that night, but we missed their opening set as we searched for a place to grab a bit to eat. This night Whiskeyhounds were sporting the whole band, as opposed to just Roger Hoover & Freddy Hill who performed with Hamell. It was good to see the full band, but DeVane hit the nail on the head when he said that the full band drowned out Roger's voice. Regardless, Roger has a presence about him on stage, one that shows he is doing exactly what he should be doing. This is one of the bands that I would love to do anything I could to make sure they succeed, and that's a rare occurrence for me with local acts.

Did I mention he has a great name? I chatted with him after the Hamell show and did so again after this show.

Their next show in Cleveland will be Wednesday, April 20th at the Grog Shop with Mofro and The Navigators (tickets only $8 adv.). They will be all over the area in the coming months so don't miss them.

Check out Roger Hoover & the Whiskeyhounds at MySpace.com!

Posted: Thu - March 31, 2005 at 12:05 PM           |

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