Ten Candles on the Cake: The Beachland celebrates a decade with much anticipated guests

Hundreds attended the  Beachland's Tenth Anniversary party last weekendwith Pere Ubu and Roky Erickson. Here are the highlights:

Pere Ubu: The God Daddies of Avant Garage
David Thomas  took the stage dressed as neutral as his attitude and wore a coat as long as his moustached face. The term avant-garage was actually coined by the frontman himself (not to be confused with the deceased Wendy's Restaurants entrepreneur) so that journalists could pigeon-hole their sound. Pere Ubu is also often described as post punk, experimental, and proto new wave. In 1974 Mr. Thomas was the vocalist of a group called "Rocket From the Tombs."  In  1975, Thomas left Rocket From the Tombs with guitarist Peter Laughner to form Pere Ubu which left Johnny Blitz and Cheetah Chrome to join Stiv Bators, forming the infamous punk outfit the Dead Boys. Hailing from right here in our rust belt city, Pere Ubu birthed their first creative child, "The Modern Dance" in 1978 and performed every molecule of it on the Ballroom stage over 30 years later for a special Anniversary show on March 5th. This night in Cleveland, you looked around and forgot THIS many people lived in the city limits. There was no generation gap, which really gives you a strong idea of how influential this band really was and still is.

"We would only do this for the Beachland and a lot of money," Thomas laughed out before he began the first song on the album "Non-alignment Pact." His voice was an unorthodox high pitch and his face and stature reminded me of  actor Wilford Brimley. He was backed by a cast that could've easily matched wits with the line-up that performed at the earlier Ubu shows at the Pirates Cove in the old days, which Thomas also made a reference to in the realm of decibel levels. He later reminded his crowd of the volume by saying, "One similarity between myself and 40 years ago is I still can't hear myself now." 

There was an authentic squealing like that of the vintage record (as I own the first pressing, I know!) and Robert Wheeler was there for every blurp, shatter, buzz, and bang on his synthesizer and theremin (has been since '94) while Keith Moline and his Discordian guitar conjured the ghosts of Peter Laughner and Jim Jones (RIP), both legendary guitarists that once held axe in the group. Steve Mehlman held the beat on drums while Michele Temple was able to easily replicate signature bass rifts. If you were never told,  you may not recognize the line-up change since '78. I say this respectfully.

"Heaven,"  a 1977 single that eventually ended up on their Terminal Tower compilation was given as a final offering.  Thomas encouraged his fans to check out the This Moment In Black History/Sun God split release party in the tavern after the show, which was a preamble to their North American tour.

Roky Erickson: Grandaddy of Psychedelic Rock:

The legendary group The Thirteenth Floor Elevators from Austin, Texas turned San Francisco upside down before the "Summer of Love" and inspired many to "fuzz it up" and get heavier than the folk norm at the time. The band's vocalist  Roky Erickson inspired Janis Joplin's throaty, bluesy yelps and even moved Patti Smith to write poetry. However, I just know this this from watching "You're Gonna Miss Me," the documentary all about the troubled musician, which was displayed on the big screen at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum as part of the Beachland's anniversary celebration the Wednesday before Roky's March 6th performance.

The 62-year-old and his backing band opened with "Cold Night For Alligators," a dark mantra about the southern scaly monster. His long nails almost got in the way way of strumming his large white electric guitar. "Don't Shake Me Lucipher" had an excellent crowd response, as the song seemed to have a chorus from the crowd, which was packed in like sardines.  "Beauty and the Beast" was proof that blues come with age, and displayed a genuine personal struggle. 

Since this isn't the 60's and since this wasn't the 13th Floor Elevators, the most infamous tune, "You're Gonna Miss" sounded sadly unpolished and off key. This sadness was soon redeemed with an energetic version of "Two Headed Dog," a fan favorite from his dark days as a musician when the devil constantly appeared in his lyrics. Unfortunately, an encore wasn't given, despite the eager crowd even though "Don't Slander Me" appeared on the set list list I grabbed from the stage after the show.

Erickson was novel to see perform not just because he is a legend and an inspiration, but also because he was able to jump through hoops and over hurdles through the tough bouts he has had with schizophrenia and isolation. I highly recommend "You're Gonna Miss Me."  It's like being a guest in his home and in his brain for 91 minutes.

The weekend had a cherry on its Sunday with a new brunch menu from the fabulous mind of chef Jeremy Cobb.  WRUW's DJ Katherine from Maximum Consumption provided tunes.