So, we’re not even going to discuss how late this blog post is and how they’re back from the tour that this kick-off was for. What can I say? I’ve been busy.

Nevertheless, The Ohio Weather Band is back on the blog. Many of you all know my fierce love of this band, so I’ll skip that part. You can just read my previous blog posts on them. For those of you who are unaware of this rootsy rock band from Alliance, then this is the perfect time to correct that error of your life.

The Ohio Weather Band kicked off their latest tour for their newest album about a month ago. They kicked off the show with the opening act, Marcus Alan Ward, an energetic Cleveland artist who has mannerisms reminiscent of a young Prince. I loved his energy and stage presence, although I think that it may have been a little too much/different for the crowd that night. There were a few people that were into it, but the vast majority of the crowd sat without much reaction.

When The Ohio Weather Band his the stage, the crowd swarmed. They played a mixture of their new and old album with a cover or two if I recall correctly. My favorite from their old album is still “Whole Damn Town,” an upbeat track about love lost. “I wanna razor blade the whole tap/ Edit out all mistakes/ Love you all in one take.”

Off of their new album,”Boardwalk Act” and “Barflies” caught my ear right off the bat. The former has some of my favorite lyrics of the the entire album. It tells the story of someone who lives from moment to moment and knows at some point it will catch up with him. “In the moment/ I mean it/ I swear/ But a new day/ Is a new moment/ Elsewhere.” The latter is a slower song about the struggles of a man who’s intoxicated, but has sense enough to not drive home. Corey has such an interesting/different/raspy voice that I still have a hard time describing even after all of these years.

The album Crooked Light as a whole is a little more polished than the first album, but it still had the core essence of The Ohio Weather Band. Corey plays with a lot of vivid imagery and wordplay through this album that makes it fun to dissect. They experiment a lot more with instruments that add another layer to their work. For example, towards the end of “Fate is A Man,” there’s a bit of violin that leads it out really well. Overall, it’s a solid, good album, but I may be a little partial to their first one. It could be because I know all the words to every song, but who knows.

If you haven’t gotten a chance to yet, go check this band out. They’re definitely one of Ohio’s not so hidden gems. You can pick up the album on iTunes or at one of their shows, but you can also stream it on their Facebook and Spotify.

Thanks for reading,