Florida Music Festival Day 1

The great part about Florida Music Festival is its 3 days, 250 bands, and 15 stages. The bad part is trying to see all (or most) of those 250 bands in 3 days on 15 different stages! A lot of the bands that I knew were good were all playing at the same time at different venues so picking and choosing was hard. The best part was stumbling across some really good bands that I didn't know about. Here is just a small sampling of the bands I saw:

Day 1

Blue Man Group rehearsal
Since I knew the Wall Street Plaza would be packed for their regular show I was thrilled to catch a front row view of their rehearsal - the only part missing was they weren't blue. All that percussion mixed with humor and spectacle was a treat. They are definitely a show worth catching!



Fairweather Friend
This was a band I hadn’t heard of before, but definitely one I want to see again. They are a local five piece indie pop/rock band with some really good songs.



http://www.myspace.com/fairweatherfriendonline

Afterglow Radio
Another band I hadn’t seen before, but will look for again. It’ll be good to see them on a bigger stage where they can really kick loose. Their high-energy rock set seemed a bit restrained on the confines of the small stage at Central Station Bar.



http://www.myspace.com/afterglowradio

Poverty Branch
I have seen these guys before and am never disappointed in their shows, even with some recent personnel changes they still sounded great and kicked butt on stage. The stage was actually moving along with the band as they brought down the house with their popular song “House Fire.”

http://www.myspace.com/povertybranch

Check em out! Next Day 2.

John Frank CD review show

John Frank / Matt Mackelcan / Clayton Senne

The Social
Orlando, FL
May 10, 2008


I headed off to The Social to see John Frank's CD release party. As usual there were a couple of opening bands, all very talented local singer/songwriters.



Clayton Senne started off his set with "Back To Me" an upbeat song with a big jazz vibe that also revealed his passionate vocals. His original songs "Mercy," "Walk Out The Door," "Cry," and "Wonderland" showed a blues, soul, and pop influence. He also included a cover of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition."







Next was Matt Mackelcan and his band, with their Southern flavored indie rock, complete with heavy duty rock and roll guitar jams. They played several songs from his CD "No Turning Back" including "Waiting" and Drive." They also played a new song "So Far" with a kicking lead guitar solo from Chris Floyd.




Finally it was time for John Frank. This show was to promote his latest CD "The Spaces Between." He played several songs from the new CD "Undone," "All The Way To New Orleans" and "Colder." Which all sounded very good! They also played songs from his first CD "Anywhere But Here" including "This Town," "Jenna," "Victim Of The Heart" and "Never Surrender" all of which had everyone singing right along.



A talented bunch of singer/songwriters and a night full of good music!

Check out their My Space pages to hear their music:
http://www.myspace.com/musicbyclayton
http://www.myspace.com/mattmackelcan
http://www.myspace.com/johnfrankmusic

Check out more pictures here:
Clayton
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kat32807/sets/72157604999953605/
Matt Mackelcan
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kat32807/sets/72157604996726210/
John Frank
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kat32807/sets/72157605000152699/