Jack Fords "The Way Things Should Be"

I've been on that whole Jack Fords kick for the last few moths first seeing them at the former Town Fryer earlier in the year playing for a handful of folks at a benefit show.  I saw them a couple times now but last night was unreal.  There is much to be said about a band that can play a 2 and a half hour set nonstop.  Honestly, there's not because no one really does it anymore.  Well, the Jack Fords do, but outside of that you are lucky to get an hour or so out of most of the shows I have been to.  National acts hardly do an hour and a half with an encore yet the Fords can go all night.  Cleveland is on the cusp of greatness with having some of the most hard working bands in the Nation.  There is more talent playing out any given night around town than any buzz city around.  Seattle in the 90's?  Fuck 'em.  Boise Idaho today?  Fuck you too.  Why Cleveland is so under the radar bugs the piss out of me.  

You can't say we don't support our local bands here.  We do, but we get overlooked for whatever reason on a national level.  Hearing and seeing bands like The Jack Fords, Hot Rails, Sweet Apple, Whiskey Daredevils, Scoliosis Jones, Heelsplitter, Misery Jackals, Lou Reeds, Cobra Verde, or anyone on the Exit Stencil label for that matter proves Cleveland is rock and roll to the core.  Venues out there thrive on this music scene and make a home for many of these folks to play and sell their stuff.  Well, I should say the Independent venues in Cleveland really embrace this entire thing we got going on right now.  I say that because of the fact alone based on last night this show with pretty minimal advertising was packed.  Packed as in getting to the bathroom was as much of a journey as getting off a Japanese subway car at rush hour.  Packed as in, hey House of Blues why are you still plugging cover and tribute bands when you could have had this show downtown in the heart of downtown Cleveland last night?  I guess I'll never get them.  I have noticed a lot of their cover band bullshit is gone, but I still get bitter if only because of the simple fact I have to pay a $1.00 toll to wash my hands after taking a leak. It is piss extortion.  

Anyhow the venue choice for the release of the Jack Fords "The Way Things Should Be" was a place I am no stranger to, The Happy Dog.  I think it was a great choice.  The blue collar old school Cleveland feel made me remember exactly why it is one of my favorite places to visit.  It defines Cleveland.  It has the old world charm of Cleveland when taverns were the place the working men and women of would unwind after a hard week at the factory.  It takes me back to my late 80's early 90's Cleveland where people craved something new and different.  This is where I saw little bands like Nine Inch Nails at the Phantasy or national acts like like Nirvana would come to the old Empire downtown.  It's clean enough to make me comfortable but gritty enough to keep me sucked in.  The food, well we talked about this before the hot dogs are incredible.  The beer selection is ridiculous, and the staff is 100% top notch friendly.  Even with some 50 year old woman sticking her tongue in my ear and grabbing my ass I was able to order cocktails with minimal effort and much ease.  I am left a little scarred from it, but it just makes me a stronger person.  God love the women of this world that have the unique gene that causes them to have a Kevin James fetish.  

The crowd...oh the crowd.  Cleveland I love you but we are a rough and tumble bunch of weird mother fuckers are we not?  You had your hipsters, scenesters, old timers, and normal folk.  It was diverse to say the least.  A little 52 Weeks of Cleveland etiquette though for ya'll.  People sitting at tables got that privilege by coming in early so standing in the way of said sitting folks is pretty much an asshole move.  If you worked out in the yard all day go take a shower or at least give yourself the once over with the Speedstick.  My table is actually not the place your empty beer bottle goes.  What you do is this.  You return it to the bar where they will throw it away for you and they will allow you to purchase another one.  It's a great system.  Now the biggest faux pas of all was the ass in the face thing.  Outside of maybe the gay community (no offense LGBT) an ass in the face is actually not cool to a lot of people.  I do not want your ass or your crotch in my face neither does my wife.  Start being more mindful of your ass or crotch to face proximity.  I would say a good foot is a perfect starting point for that.  I know it is crowded but that is just kind of rude.  Just be mindful of the ass to face rule and the world will be a better place.  Ok, on to the show.         

The warm up was great Chris Allen acoustic with Tom Prebish on bass.  Chris and Tom both play across the city in many different bands and I have seen them a few times in many of these bands.  They also appear on the "The Way Things Should Be" cd so it was fitting for them to start it off.  It's a different kind of thing seeing that live acoustic with the electric bass.  They ran through about a 45 minute tight set.  It was a great little combo to start off the night.  Allen is an incredibly talented songwriter and musician.  Prebish owns the bass plan and simple just like his playing style.  He doesn't jump around or rock it out like Gene Simmons he just hangs out and adds his craft to the already great song styling of Allen.  The crowd was into it and it honestly was like this perfect mellow pairing to compliment the rock and roll that was about to come.

After a short set The Jack Fords came to the stage.  The band itself is animated by a couple of things, the first being Bobby Latina on guitar.  He has a rock and roll swagger to him that takes from some of the greatest showmen in the game.  It's not just the way he plays that guitar which is flawless rock and rock but it's the way he owns the fucking stage.  His facial expressions lead you to believe that he is working as hard at making that thing sound good as John Henry did digging his tunnel.  He is serious but you can still tells he is just up there having a good old time as he scans the crowd and gives you that little nod as if to say I see you out there, I am doing this for you.  He'll joke with other band members and no matter how I attempt to throw him off his game he will still crack up like Jimmy Fallon in a Will Ferrell skit but not miss a note.  He might miss a chance at the backing vocals but he won't miss a lick on that guitar.  

The other folks in the band are equally as tight. Ed Sotelo is the bassist and Jim Wall on drums.  First off something has got to be said about the complete annihilation of the drum kit.  I can't walk for 2 and a half hours yet Walls can play that kit with unparalleled intensity for a complete set.  He doesn't just play his drums he owns them.  He plays them with such vigor if there wasn't a mic hooked to them you would still hear them down the street.  He doesn't go easy and gives his all on every song.  Sotelo is a machine.  He is not a stand in place kind of guy.  He is always moving around the stage, albeit the stage is small, but he still needs to be constantly on the go up there.  He slaps that thing around like a former playboy model in a trailer park by an abusive husband.  To put it mildly his bass is his bitch.  There are moments where he loves and respects it but for the most part he is a rock and roll bass player that wants to make the floors shake from the sheer power of his tool.  

Brent Kirby is the center of attention with this part of him not knowing why all this attention is being given to him.  He is a humble rock and roll front man along the lines of a Jeff Tweedy.  He is there to entertain the masses yet at the same time doesn't realize what he is doing is as good as it is.  He is unassuming up there and honestly just having fun.  He is the real deal entertainer.  It could be for 10 people at some dump on a Tuesday night or the packed house at the Happy Dog last night.  It doesn't matter to him.  He is up there as a performer and never once have I ever heard him say shit about a show with a small turn out.  Small room or large he is up there doing what he loves.  He is proud of his work and still getting comfortable in his own skin writing real lyrics about the heartland of Cleveland.  He writes blue collar rock and roll songs for a blue collar town and introspective ballads about his life that we all can relate to.  

On his solo release he was a little more subdued.  With the release of "The Way Things Should Be" some help of a slew of incredibly gifted musicians, Bobby Latina and Eric "Mother Fucking Roscoe" Ambel (ok so embellished his nickname a bit but come on the guy is a legend) it is no holds barred Cleveland rock and roll.  If Wilco, The Stones, ZZ Top and The Who fucked this record could have been the outcome.  It is a lot of rock and roll mixed with a southern twang roots Americana thing.  The cd starts with the track "Cutting Blow" which is just this epic balls out rock song with serious props being paid to southern rockers like ZZ Top.  It is bluesy without being too over the top like a bad George Thorogood song.  You could put this one on repeat and crank it a few times before heading on to the next track but when you do get there it's a Matthew Sweet infused pop tune called "Old Habits Die Hard".   Just enough rock to keep it flowing until the third track "Cover's Blown" that really accents Kirby's vocal chops.  

The next cut "Who Do You Trust" takes me into the Stones reference.  Subdued in the back is Chris Hanna with some honky tonk key work.  It's reminds me of a slowed down Mooney Suzuki cut.  There is this polished garage sound to it to make it poppy enough to be radio friendly but dirty enough to keep the White Stripes crowd in check.  Next up is the album title track "The Way Things Should Be" which follows in the same vein as the last cut only a little more polish to it.  Next up is the balladesque "Brightest Star".  Slowing it down a bit not a true "ballad" really but more of a Neil Young kind of slow down.  "Bent Out of Shape" we kind of pick up the pace a bit and showcase the rock again only to set it up for the real stripped down "Together We Rise" which could have easily been on a Ryan Adams record.  Saying well that's enough of the slow stuff we get back into full tilt boogie with "Done You Right" leading into Who-esque rock and roll guitar in "Smoke 'N' Spirits".  It has this Cheap Trick meets The Who thing going on to it with guitar solos and everything.  Just when you think it is over it almost is.  They throw in a nice slow one called "All Over Now" and end it rocking out the way it started with "Last Call Whistle".

To say it is a great record is an understatement.  You can tell just how much effort went into this thing.  It's great to see someone like Roscoe producing the record too.  The guy just knows exactly how to mix in the right elements to showcase all the talent that is contained in the disc.  There are standout tracks, yet there are no throw away cuts or easily skipped tracks.  It all flows together into an incredible body of work.  It amazes me this is self published.  You have incredible talent in Kirby, Latina and the backing band, an amazing producer yet no label backing.  Sure it is not easy to get a record deal these days, but fucking-a man it is a excellent record!  All I have to say has been said before on the Jack Fords if you have yet to see them stop waiting get out there and check them out.  As far as just straight forward rock and roll goes between them and like the Whiskey Daredevils and Hot Rails Cleveland actually does have more than a handful of rock and roll saviors and they are one of the best ones around.