TOP PICKS LIVE SHOW
pictured (left to right): Black Owls, Animal Circles
MAD ANTHONY BENEFIT CONCERT
July 26, 2013 Southgate House Revival - Newport, KY
by Lucy Fernandes / photography by Rick Carroll
It can’t be said that Cincinnati musicians don’t support their own. This benefit concert was pulled together by the local rock community to help with Mad Anthony’s medical and other expenses following their van being totaled in a downpour. The accident happened just outside of Louisville, after a gig on June 29. Drummer Marc Sherlock suffered the worst injuries, fracturing a cervical vertebra, and Ringo Jones was pretty banged up, too. Adam Flaig, the driver and only one wearing a seat belt at the time, escaped with relatively minor scrapes and cuts. Sherlock had been lying down, and Jones simply forgot to rebuckle his belt after taking it off earlier. Things 36 OCTOBER 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE
could have turned out much worse. Along the left wall inside the main room of the Southgate House Revival, raffle items offering up a variety of Mad Anthony-related merchandise and donated memorabilia were displayed for people to bid on, plus band t-shirts to purchase outright. All three stages in the venue were involved, featuring overlapping sets from over a dozen bands throughout the night. Vintage surf guitar influenced Animal Circles twanged and rocked their way through their upstairs “revival stage” set. Featuring high energy, relentless, locomotive drumming and jangling guitar riffs, topped off with rockabilly
style vocals, this three-piece group tore through their material and kicked the night into gear. In the smaller “lounge” area Smoke Signals laid down some alt-progressive jams, punctuated by blurting, yelping lyrics from their front man. His urgent wailing added tension to the counterpoint drumming and guitar cacophony. They were followed a little later in the evening by Veronica Grim. Also known as the lead vocalist with Switchblade Syndicate – who were winners of the Cincinnati Entertainment Award in 2012 for best punk group - she changed gears nicely, and sang her heart out during this more countrified, electric acoustic presentation. Her