Well, a little bit of snow is on the ground, Christmas music is playing just about everywhere you go - are you in the spirit yet? There is so much going on in Toledo this month in terms of live music it’s unbelievable! I have posted almost 200 shows for this month alone. There’s no shortage of bands to see tonight - that’s for sure.

Here’s the Toledo area Bands playing Toledo bars on Dec 12th, 2008:

The Lawn Gnomes will play The Downtowner, Findlay OH

Punching Buddha will bring some classic rock to The Blue Devil on Laskey

Dave Carpenter will play acoustic at Arnies

Andrew Ellis and the Setting Sons will be at the Bronze Boar

Whiskey Dunn will play the VFW in Erie, MI

Nadir will be at The Village Idiot in Maumee, OH

Empire Drift will be at Reverend Chicos in Bowling Green, OH

Chris Shutters will be at Ottawa Tavern as a duo tonight

IonU band plays classic rock at Doolittle’s in Lambertville, MI

Gin Bunny plays alternative and classic rock at The Blarney, downtown Toledo

Under the Covers will play 80’s and classic rock at Firehouse 47 in Ottawa Lake

Noisy Neighbors will be at Club Soda with pop and dance rock

Buster Strange will be at Joe’s Walnut in Petersburg, MI playing classic rock

Haywire will play country rock at the Breakroom Lounge in Maumee, OH

The Watermelon Men will be at Main Street Bar in Sylvania, OH once again

Bandera will at Dave’s Hideaway Lounge II on N. Detroit ave with country

Venyx plays at Skip’s over in Angola, IN

The Bridges will tear up the Distillery tonight with 80’s and classic rock

East River Drive will be at Fat Fish Blue in Levis Commons, Perrysburg

Trailer Park Ninja’s will be at Mulvaney’s Bunker

MASFiNA plays at Michigan Tavern in Temperance, MI

Kyle White performs acoustic at Claddaugh Irish Tavern in Westfield Mall

Get out and see local live entertainment in Toledo tonight!

Last Friday we decided to go out on Friday instead of Saturday to see some bands. This time we wanted to see some people we hadn’t seen before, so we made a plan to go and see people at 4 different places. The great thing about Toledo is that there are so many diverse bands you can see. You can find blues, alternative, indie, death metal, karaoke, acoustic acts, classic rock, techno, dance music, both classic and modern country - and more! You could see bands all night long and still see only a small portion of who was playing in town. This is what we did last Friday night…

Don & Rachel Coats

Don Coats has been playing in and around the Toledo area for the last 25 years. For the last 3 years Don and his daughter Rachel Coats have been performing live 4-5 nights per week as a Father Daughter Duo! We stopped by Tres Amigos Cantina on Secor in Lambertville, MI to see them play and eat some dinner. A graduate of BGSU in Music Education, Rachel teaches during the week both at Village Electronics and in the Sylvania schools. You can tell music runs in the family. We heard them run through songs by the Beatles, Carly Simon, Johnny Cash, Eric Clapton, and more. To catch their show you can usually find them on Tres Amigos on Fridays and Dorr St Cafe on Saturdays. You can also catch them at Avenue Bistro and The Village Inn in Sylvania. Check their MySpace profile for where they will be playing next!

Andrew Ellis & the Setting Sons

You can’t get much more blues in Toledo than Andrew Ellis and the Setting Sons. Going to see the band is almost like being in a time capsule. Close your eyes and be transported back to the days of the juke joints of the South with tin pan roofs and dirt floors. The days on Robert Johnson and Jelly Roll Morton come to mind. I’m not an blues expert by any means, but I am a guitar player - and I can definitely say Andrew Ellis is one of the best slide players I’ve ever seen live. His growling gritty voice howls along singing along with the band as if it were an instrument of it’s own. If you like blues, if you like searing licks from a masterful guitar player, if you just want to see a good band - Andrew Ellis and the Setting Sons are a pretty good bet. Visit their MySpace profile here.

Here’s a video we took of them performing live at The Blue Devil on Laskey that night:

Andrew Ellis and the Setting Sons Live at The Blue Devil performing “Best Wishes”

Haywire

After the blues, it seemed time to listen to some country! We went down Monroe and headed up Main Street in Sylvania to Main Street Bar and Grill (formerly Sodbusters) to see “Haywire”. The parking lot was pretty full when we pulled in, and once inside there really wasn’t a seat anywhere at all to sit - not even at the bar, the back, or by the pool tables. I would have liked to stay longer, but was only able to hear a few songs and snap a few pics before we moved on. What I did hear was a really tight, jumpin’ band - I heard a little classic rock and and a little country - we will definitely be checking them out again soon for a longer visit. View their MySpace profile here.

Here’s some pics I took of the band when I was there:

Liberty Beach and Hot Rodney Parker

For the last stop of the night it was over to Joe’s Walnut in Petersburg to see Liberty Beach with Hot Rod Parker. Liberty Beach is a six piece country band that includes guitar, bass, acoustic guitar, drums, keyboard, and pedal steel. They play both modern and classic country covers and originals for Parker’s debut CD “Hot Rod”. We watched the band roar through an incredible set of country songs that included Copperhead Road and Beer in Mexico. The band puts on quite the slow, largely in part from the musical history of the members of Liberty Beach.

John McAfee is on lead guitar - you may know him from local area bands over the last few decades like “The Affair”, “Big Game”, and the original “MASFiNA” lineup. He has also played (and continues to play for) the local favorite band “Bonkers”. On bass is Randy Monk - who happens to be the founding member of Bonkers, which he still plays in today with John. He has also toured in the country rock band “Locoweed”. Bruce Burkhart is on drums, who spent many years playing with 80’s/90’s The Rize Band. Wes Waters is on keyboard and he’s played with Lynyrd Skynyrd tribue band “Second helping”. Randy Meeker is on Pedal Steel guitar, and has been playing it since his early 20’s. He also runs “String Music Productions”, which is also the local management team for Hot Rod Parker.

Which brings us to the man out in front of Liberty Beach “Hot Rod Parker” himself. His debut CD “Hot Rod” was recorded in Nashville with members of the Dire Straights Band under the guidance of producer / arranger Gary Earl. You can pick up his CD at any Liberty Beach show! If you like country music (and maybe even if you don’t), you sure can’t go wrong seeing a live Liberty Beach show with Hot Rod Parker at the front of the stage. Visit their MySpace profile listed below, or one of the band members or side projects listed below. Hot Rod Parker also performs with both The Delta Kings and Locoweed in and around the Toledo area.

Hod Rod Parker and Liberty Beach MySpace Profile
Hot Rod Parker web site
Hot Rod Parker MySpace Profile
The Delta Kings MySpace profile
John McAfee’s MySpace profile
Bonkers MySpace profile
Randy Meeker’s MySpace profile
Randy Monk’s MySpace profile

Here’s some pics we took of the band in action live on stage when we saw them at Joe’s Walnut Bar & Grill in Petersburg, MI:

Saturday is the greatest day of the week to see a live band! If you were tired from working all week - now you’ve got some rest, and you don’t have to go to work tomorrow (hopefully)! There is always more going on around town for a Saturday night than any other - and today is no exception! Make your plans early with family and friends, there’s simply a ton of live, local entertainment to choose from in the glass city.

Here’s the bands and live acts playing Toledo bars for Saturday, December 6th, 2008:

Bethany & the Bottom Line will be playing acoustic at The Dog House on Laskey

Liberty Beach will melt down what’s left of Joe’s Walnut in Petersburg, MI with some LIVE country!

Tinfoil will bring some indie rock to Woodchuck’s - downtown across from Erie Street Market

Whiskey Dunn will bring some classic rock to RPM’s in Ida, MI

Ten Inch Willy will blow out Haven Lounge with classic rock in Swanton on Airport

The Rayz will bring their 80’s and 90’s rock to Michigan Tavern in Temperance

Studebaker John & the Hawks will rock blues styles at BLUEStage in Napoleon (7pm)

Frostbite will bring some blues to Fat Fish Blue in Levis Commons, Perrysburg

Freakender will play classic rock at Legends, downtown Toledo

Empire Drift will bring both covers and original rock to Andy’s Bar & Grill in Perrysburg

Chris Shutters will show you who’s master of the Stratocaster at Mulvaney’s Bunker on Dorr St

Stonehouse will bring indie rock to Kirwin Art Company in Elmore, OH

MASFiNA will melt the beach at The Big Digger (Clamdigger’s), Monroe, MI

Don and Rachel Coats will bring their brand of acoustic to Dorr St Cafe

Extra Stout will bring some traditional Irish cheer to DeSimones

Exit Reality will play a second night of classic rock at Longbranch Saloon in Carleton, MI

Boogie Stu will play classic rock at Jeff’s Bar and Grill in Tontogany, OH

Rock N Roll Outlaws will be at N. Baltimore Eagles with classic rock

Rizzo will bring some classic rock to Sit N Bull Saloon, Tontogany, OH

Noisy Neighbors will blow out Ottawa Tavern with high energy dance rock

Work Release Band will riot at The Bar in Montpelier, OH with classic rock

Loose Cannons will perform classic rock at Gridiron in Forest, OH

Haywire will play country rock at Main Street Bar (formerly Sodbusters) in Sylvania, OH

Bandera will be at Dave’s Hideaway Lounge II playing all the country you can handle

Hugh Rock will get down and dirty at Firehouse 47 all night long

The Bridges will rock Club Soda with 80’s and classic rock

Kyle White will play at South End Grill acoustic rock, 6pm show

Go out and support local music tonight!

Man, it’s been colder than a witches tit in the middle of the North Pole this past week hasn’t it? Now that it’s the end of the week, that could only mean one thing - it’s time to rock out!! Hell yea, get out there and see some live local entertainment, brave the cold and have a few brews with your friend and family and beat the early onset of cabin fever!

Here’s local Toledo bands playing Friday, Dec 5, 2008:

Liberty Beach will light up Peterburg, MI at Joe’s Walnut with their brand of country

Dave Carpenter and the Jaeglers will rock the Bronze Boar, downtown Toledo

Turophile will “melt faces off” at Mickey Finns tonight

The MacPods will bring some indie rock to The Village Idiot

Ten Inch Willy will play classic rock at The Haven in Swanton, OH on Airport Hwy

Suburban Legend will be at Fat Fish Blue in Levis Commons, Perrysburg

Chris Shutters Band will play Mulvaney’s Bunker and shake the rafters with his Stratocaster

MASFiNA rocks Legends for the first time with their brand of dance rock - will the stage survive?

Don and Rachel Coats will be at Tres Amigos Cantina in Lambertville with acoutic rock

Frostbite will be at Manhattan’s bluesing it up in downtown Toledo on Adams St.

Neon Black will bring hair metal back to The Distillery tonight

Exit Reality will be at The Longbranch Saloon in Carleton, MI with classic rock

Haywire will bring some country rock to Main Street Bar (formerly Sodbusters) in Sylvania

Bandera will rock all of N. Detroit Ave with country at Dave’s Hideaway Lounge II

Gregg Aranda will play acoustic at Ottawa Tavern

Hugh Rock will give you 80’s and classic rock both hard and fast at Firehouse 47, Ottawa Lake, MI

Venyx will bring dance rock to Nino’s in Findlay, OH

The Bridges will rock Club Soda all night long, Monroe and Secor

Catch 33 will bring some classic and modern rock to The Sky Box on Laskey

Kyle White will play acoustic at Highland Meadows Golf Course, 8pm

There’s something for everyone tonight no matter what kind of music you like - get out there are see a band!

Well, now with Rocktober out of the way - this is officially the very first Saturday in November to rock out! It’s been an unusually warm weekend too, which has been great! Even though Halloween happenned to fall on Friday, there are still a bunch of place that are having their Halloween party tonight. There’s a lot of bands to see, a lot of places that you can go in Toledo to see live music tonight!

Here’s what Toledo Bands are playing which Toledo area bars for Saturday, November 1st, 2008!

Under the Covers is playing 80’s and classic rock at Firehouse 47 in Ottawa Lake

56 Daze is playing 80’s and classic rock at Ottawa Tavern on Adams, downtown Toledo

Venyx is playing high energy pop rock at The Buckeye Club in Miller City, Ohio

Catch 33 is playing modern and classic rock at Centre Stage on Alexis

Moving to Boise is playing modern and alternative rock at The Distillery on Heatherdowns

Bandera is playing country rock at Dave’s Hideaway Lounge II on N. Detroit Ave

Countyline is playing country at the Waterville / Whitehouse Moose

MasFina is playing classic and 80’s rock at The Sky Box on Laskey

3 Fold Reversed is playing original rock at Whiskey Venue in Findlay

Hugh Rock will be playing 80’s and classic rock at Main Street Bar in Sylvania

Sofa Kings will be playing at Nino’s in Findlay

Tinfoil will be playing indie rock at Woodchuck’s, downtown Toledo

Chris Shutters Band will be playing blues at Mulvaney’s Bunker

Insignificant Self will be playing origina rock at Girty’s in Napoleon

Don and Rachel Coats will be at Dorr St Cafe

Marshall Law will be playing classic rock at N. Baltimore Eagles

Rizzo will be playing classic rock at Sit N Bull Saloon in Tontogany, OH

Noisy Neighbors will be playing classic and modern rock at Stingy Lu Lu’s in Maumee, OH

Loose Cannons will be playing classic rock at Amvets 20 in Kenton, OH

Lifeline will play original rock at RPM’s in Ida, MI

Haywire will play the Millbury Firemans Dance in Millbury, OH

Buster Strange will play the RPM’s Halloween party in Ida, MI

Freakender will play classic rock at the Jolly Roger Sailing Club

The Bridges will play 80’s and classic rock at Club Soda

Measure of Time will be playing classic rock at Legends, downtown Toledo

Title: Haywire
Location: Millbury Firemans Halloween Dance
Description: country rock cover band, Millbury Ohio show 7pm
Date: 2008-11-01

Title: Haywire
Location: Ottawa Hills Fall Festival
Description: Country rock cover band
Date: 2008-09-27

Now that Labor day weekend is in full swing, it’s time to get back out there and see some live bands and rock out in Toledo!

Under the Covers is at Club Charlie’s in Southgate, MI.

Hugh rock is playing classic rock at Main Street Bar in Sylvania.

Measure of Time is playing classic rock at The Barnacle in Curtice, OH.

Catch 33 is playing modern rock at Six Pack on the River.

Haywire is playing country rock at Funny Farm Campground.

Alter Ego is playing at Toledo Raceway Park.

421 Band is playing at Nino’s.

Frostbite is playing blues at Thirsty’s Pub in Dundee.

Bandera is playing country rock at Dave’s Hideaway Lounge II.

East River Drive is playing R&B, Motown, and dance tunes at Center Stage (formerly Nashville’s) on Alexis.

Running with Scissors is playing classic and 80’s rock at Michigan Tavern.

Murphy’s Trio is playing jazz at Murphy’s place.

Child Proof Toyz are playing classic rock at Firehouse 47 on Ottawa Lake, MI.

The Seven Deadly Five are playing at Mickey Finns.

Johnny Reed & the Houserockers are playing at Ottawa Tavern downtown.

Andres Ellis & the Setting Sons are playing blues at The Blue Devil.

Josh Boyd is gonna rock some blues at Clamdiggers.

AND…The Labor Day Rockfest (with TONS of bands) Day 1 begins at Club Bijou!

Title: Haywire
Location: Funny Farm Campground
Description: Country rock in Pioneer, Ohio
Date: 2008-08-30

Title: Haywire
Location: Northwood VFW
Description: Country Rock
Date: 2008-08-16