…if you’re anything like us and virtually everyone we’ve spoken to recently, you couldn’t be in a bigger rush to kick 2007 out the door and welcome in 2008. It’s been a crazy year, kids, and we’re ready to see what the New Year has to offer. As always, we’ll lay it out for you and let you decide….

…the big show tonight will be over at Gilly’s (corner of Fifth and Jefferson), and will feature two of Dayton’s finest. Hosting/headlining the show will be Captain of Industry, fresh off a number of tour dates and a stint in NYC recording the follow-up to 2005’s The Great Divide. COI has brought in Chicago’s Baby Teeth and Male Models (pictured) from St. Louis, the latter featuring ex-members of Dayton heavyweights Shesus, The Motel Beds, and Ohio Casket. Rouding out this exceptional bill are one of our favorite new bands, Toads & Mice. We’re pretty excited for this one…

…if you’d prefer to have your NYE festivities in a warehouse setting, head over to the Front Street warehouses and let Switchblade Serenade turn you on with their patented psych-garage assault. In addition, the rarely-seen A Choir of 2-Ohm Cicada will also perform. The whole thing is being hosted by Dethfitsclothing and is free. Just be sure to bring your own goodies…

…If you’d rather spend a more intimate NYE in someone’s home, you have that option as well. Over at Rocker’s House (it’s somewhere on Fillmore St. You’ll need to contact the bands for more info), it’s gonna be a really good time as well for those who make it. Not only do you have Wild & Free (pictured), who we’ve spoken about at length and has had a really good run of shows over the last few months, but you’ve also got Andrew & the Pretty Punchers, The Goody Two Shoes, and Junkpile. We’d venture to say that this is going to be a really fun time for the initiated….

…if you really just want to dance and not deal with bands at all, head over to Nite Owl as the Fab Gear DJs will be doing their thing and will include a free champagne toast at midnight….

…we’d been curious to see The Black Cigarettes for a while now, having been impressed with what we heard off their debut album, Full Flavor. Heading down to The Oregon Express last night to see them, the band definitely delivered on their promise. With big AC/DC sized riffing and attitude to spare, we would definitely like to see more of these guys with other Dayton bands soon (we’re looking at you, Luxury Pushers and Sexicon). Landing somewhere in between Thin Lizzy and Stone Temple Pilots, TBC also brought heavy doses of boogie woogie, proving to us the importance of the roll in rock n’ roll …

…if you need a fix of big rock n’ roll, you need to head over to The Oregon Express tonight. Opening the night will be the unabashed bravado of The Black Cigarettes. Fresh off the release of their debut disc, Full Flavor, these guys bring the big riffs and big attitude that the whole thing is built on…if they aren’t enough for yr appetite, stick around and dig the flannel-set flavors of Blaxeed and the southern-fried metal of Shotgun Kelly (from Columbus)….

…in our unending quest to bring you everything you wanted to know about the Dayton music scene and more but were afraid to ask, we have transcended cyberspace and have ventured out into the real world. That’s right kids, we’re out where you are, in public, at the clubs, not just talking about our favorite local music, but PLAYING that music for YOU ….

…the good folks at Fab Gear gave us one hour at the beginning of their fine event to play our favorite local music (and more) for you and give everyone a chance to hear what we’ve been talking about, in person, and on a nice, loud PA. Here’s what we played last night…

Captain of Industry “What the Yuck” and “Plastique Bones” from the Gold Teeth EP
Grizzzzy Bear “Time Machine” and “Passing” from Grizzzzy Bear
The Gluons “The Modern Late at Nights” from the upcoming The Gluons (due out in 2008)
Jet Kid Committee “LOL” from the Squids Eye Records comp Dayton,OH Vol. 1
The Lions Rampant (from Cincinnati) “70/30″ and “Come On (Let Us In)” from the Play Rock n’ Roll EP (TLR will be at Oregon Express on January 19)
Luxury Pushers “3-Minute Manifesto” from Welcome to the Party, Traitor!
Pretty & Nice (from Boston) “Grab Your Nets” from the Blue & Blue EP (P&N came through Dayton 3 times in 2007 and we’ll see them again in 2008…)
The Story Changes “Hero Status” from The Way of the Dinosaur
Switchblade Serenade “Taste Like Wine” and “Stealth Like a Retard” from the No One Cares EP
Toads & Mice “Skull”, “Ghengis Kahn”, and “Desert” from Toads & Mice
Towhee“Indecisionism” and “Streetlights” from Streetlights
Wild & Free “Where’s Your Head?” and “Such a Good Thing” from Andiamo

…it looks as if this may become a monthly outing for us here at The Buddha Den. Stay tuned for more details….

…with 2007 winding down, but still ramping up into 2008, what better way to spend the evening than heading down to Pearl for Fab Gear with Jay from the infamoous L’Eighties night?!? You know he’ll be spinning some of the best vintage jams and that everyone will be there….

…in addition, Jay has invited us at The Buddha Den to come out and spin some of our favorite locals from 2007 between 10 and 11. That’s right, The Buddha Den will be in control of the music for one hour, locals only….

…as a special gift from all of us to all of you, we are giving away 10 FREE PASSES on a first come, first serve basis. All you need to do is email us at buddhaden27@yahoo.com, put FAB GEAR PASSES in the subject line, and we’ll put you on the list. It’s that simple. We’ve only got 10 spots, so you had better hurry…

UPDATE: Sorry, we gave away all the passes we had. We hope to see the rest of you out tonight to hear some of our favorite local tracks from 2007…

We hope everyone had a Happy Holiday and we’re glad to see you back at the Buddha Den. We’re still rebounding from the holiday mayhem and gearing up for some big upcoming events, including numerous NYE shows and some very exciting reunion shows in the coming weeks…

…Be sure to tune in tomorrow morning (yes, morning) to get your hands on some coveted goodies from one of our close friends….

…with the extremes of Ohio winter weather in full display and the throngs at home eager for something to do after the families went to bed, the stage was set for two amazing nights of Dayton rock n’ roll…

…starting off this unseasonally warm Saturday night at Nite Owl for Holidayton was Mascot on the solo stage, followed quickly by the unapologetic synth-thrash onslaught of Stone the Mayor Sheriffs. While the density of the material suggests repeated exposure for maximum effect, the rush of the live show still colored us impressed…

…as we turned to the solo stage, Brandon Hawk carried on the festivities with a subdued acoustic set. While the songs held promise, Hawk was the first solo act of the night to struggle up against the swelling crows, finding it difficult to compete with the mayhem…

…with nary a moment to rest, The Sound For Language roared out with reunited members and pop/punk anthems fully in tow…

…as we swung back to the solo stage, the return of Tim Pritchard (from the dormant Flyaway Minion) to the stage was a welcome sight. While Pritchard also suffered from the ever-growing chaos in the room, his set demonstrated why his songwriting is some of the best in Dayton…

…as expected, The Human Reunion hit the stage reviving one of Dayton’s finest musical legacies and still finding a warm reception. Although by the end of the set intonation became an issue, it somehow added something to the dissonance and chaos…

…by the time Joe Anderl took to the solo stage (joined on one song by Tod Weidner of Shrug), the crowd had grown to such a point that Anderl just abandoned the PA, singing out into the night air with passion and abandon, showing us what Joe Anderl is really all about…

…like the torch-bearers that they are, Luxury Pushers delivered a seminar on rock n’ roll. With C. Wright’s guitar histrionics in full display and Jamy Holliday’s effortless delivery, Luxury Pushers still serve as a benchmark for every band in Dayton…

…closing out the solo stage, the wonder that is Nightbeast took the whole party up a notch with an incomparable set of retro dance/pop…

…as the night finally started to wind down, the hosts of the evening, The Story Changes hit the ground running with their power/punk anthems and energetic stage show. As one of the hardest working bands in Dayton right now, it was a treat to see them at home with all their friends in tow….

…as Saturday night rolled into Sunday, we moved over to Canal Street Tavern for the Holiday Revue show, hosted by Umbrella Men. Arriving what we thought was on time (the show began at 8:30, despite all ads saying 9:30 start), we missed The Jones Boys entirely and were only able to hear the last few songs by Andrew & the Pretty Punchers, due to a capacity crowd. Yes, we were shocked too.

After finally making it in, we muscled our way toward the stage to catch Umbrella Men, who delivered a fine set of bluegrass/folk-inflected tunes. In much the same way that the Byrds mastered the art of reinterpreting Dylan and other standards, Umbrella Men have an uncanny knack for the same sport. Their version of Dylan’s “She Belongs to Me” was one of the highlights of their set. Although the duo has the material, we were left wondering if maybe augmenting the lineup with at least a bass player might take them to the next level…


…closing out an incredible run during the last part of 2007, Wild & Free ended the night with an exhilarating, life-affirming set, drawn largely from their debut release, Andiamo. As guitarist/vocalist Jake Geisege spun his tales of broken hearts and restless spirits, the crowd and band fed off each other, taking the evening to a climactic burst of pure rock n’ roll joy…

…for more photos of Holidayton, go here. For more photos of Holiday Revue, go here.

…just in case HoliDayton last night wasn’t enough for your musical holiday hunger, head over to Canal Street Tavern tonight to catch a few of our favorite bands. We’ve written extensively about how we feel that Wild & Free, Umbrella Men (who were recently featured on NPR’s All Things Considered for their cover of “Jingle Bells”), and Andrew & the Pretty Punchers are some the best young talent in Dayton at the moment and we expect great things from all three in 2008. We consider it a real Christmas miracle to get all three bands on one bill in one night. Opening the night will be newcomers The Jones Boys. You’ve got all the makings for what should be an excellent evening of music….

…for those of you wondering where our coverage of HoliDayton is, we will have a full report, along with the Holiday Revue shows, tomorrow for you…

…with 2007 winding down and an amazing year of local music behind us, The Story Changes, along with Joe Anderl, will be hosting the Fifth Annual HoliDayton show. This year’s lineup features 5 bands and 5 solo acts on two separate stages, allowing for a seamless transition of music throughout the night. This will be one of the last big events of the year, so take a look at the bill and tell us how you can afford to miss this one. Get yourself something nice for the Holidays: HoliDayton!

…we’re kicking off an amazing holiday weekend tonight over at Canal Street Tavern. Local heroes Shrug will be playing with the long-dormant The Poor Devils, making their first appearance in over 2 years. With a few good runs in the Dayton Band Play-Offs a few years a ago and a number of great songs in their stadium-sized alterna-pop cache (the song “89″ is still one of the best out of Dayton in recent memory), it’s good to welcome The Poor Devils back into action. Should be a great way to warm-up the weekend….