Sun 12/22 @ 8PM
Those seeking the holy grail of the Cleveland music scene, looking for traces of the legendary Cleveland ’70s underground scene that produced Pere Ubu, will find it at the annual Old Home Night at the Beachland Tavern, which always takes place sometime around Christmas.
The headliner is always Home & Garden, an evolving avant-garde ensemble formed in 1982 by Pere Ubu’s rhythm section, drummer Scott Krauss and bassist Tony Maimone.
The band’s been more or less active over the years, taken many shapes, experimented with different genres, and utilized many Pere Ubu players including bassist Michele Temple and synth/theremin player Robert Wheeler, as well as guitarist the late Jim Jones. But it’s never really gone away.
In addition to Krauss, the band currently (usually) includes vocalist Keith Kornajcik, guitarist Ryan Weitzel, and Wheeler with other musicians pinch-hitting here and there, including ’70s Uba guitarist Tom Herman
Maimone now lives on the east coast where, over the years, he’s played with artists like They Might Be Giants, Bob Mould, and Frank Black. So he doesn’t get back all that often. But he does for this show, which is why it’s Old Home Night.
What’s striking about hearing the group is how much of the revered and distinctive Pere Ubu sound exists within the instrumental ensemble. While vocalist David Thomas has often been looked at as the essence of that band, its creaky, off-kilter sound, full of dislocating change-ups, clearly came from the instrumentalists.
Kornajcik interacts with that sound in a wholly different way, but that only serves to emphasize how key it was to the classic Pere Ubu of the ’70s that made critics swoon and other arty, underground bands pay close attention.
This year, Home & Garden will be joined by the Kidney Brothers, Bob and Jack, from Kent’s Numbers Band — more musical buddies from back in the day. The duo released their own album, Coal Tattoo, earlier this year.
The Nicky Riley All-Stars and DJs Wally and Fred Gunn round out the bill.
Admission is $8 in advance, $10 at the door.