March 8th, 2019 (Cleveland, OH)

There was a buzz in the air and it wasn’t a bad ground on a guitar amp. Certainly, some of this was due to a solid lineup The Odeon Concert Club had put together for tonight’s show. Hosting Puddle of Mudd, with the touring opener Mick Blankenship would have been enough for most. That was not enough for this area, which makes these shows a way to showcase local and area talent as well.

Pale Hollow (Cleveland, OH), Olympus Monz (Akron, OH), echostep (Cleveland, OH), and The Wolf HunterZ (Cleveland, OH) made up the opening local band support. Providing various styles of rock music that featured varying years of experience, it made for an enjoyable rock-n-roll experience.

As the crowd filed into the venue they packed the house for the last minute near Sell-Out. Prior to the scheduled door times, the venue had booming drums pounding against the outside of the venue’s walls as you approached. Even the venue could not stand the excitement and started a full 30 minutes ahead of scheduled door time.

Pale Hollow

Out in support of their current release Pilots, with the single by the same name. Their Americana/Alternative sound is something you do not find gracing large stages very often. With veteran musicians combining to make up this current project, they put on a great show and are keeping busy around the area while sharing their music.

Pale Hollow:
     

Olympus Monz

Self-proclaimed “Martian Rock Group Here to Rock Terra” – Olympus Monz has landed. The grungy metal sound they projected was great. With female lead vocals from Rhonnie Rus and backing vocals from Marx Crazy, they had a nice contrast to their vocals. Being newer to the scene it will be interesting to follow the progression of this female-led Metal band from Mars!

Olympus Monz:
 

echostep

It was the night for echostep to debut their new two-song release, On The Edge! This was their official single release show tonight.

As they started their set on a signature dark and foggy stage, James and company played from the Pictures in the Sky EP (2017). They waited until the last two songs of their set to debut their single, and it’s b-side. Varying from the more mesmerizing tones of Pictures in the Sky, the new single On the Edge (2019) kicked their set into a high energy finale. The crowd gave back huge applause as their approval of a job well done.

They kept things fired up with their take on Erasure’s A Little Respect. As our previous review stated, this song is a monster version of the original. With the booming drum tracks and a kicked up chorus, this song was flying high tonight as the crowd sang along with the familiar lyrics.

Check out our review of those two songs HERE.

echostep:
      

The Wolf HunterZ

A rock band without a guitar? It is true with The Wolf HunterZ. They do not sacrifice the sound of the guitar, as they have a Keytar that lays down the licks. Travis, Jon, Suzi, Danny, Brandon, and Marissa have a charisma on stage that makes it a pleasure to watch them.

A Nu-Metal band that will take a side step into dubstep and trap for moments, they work great together. While Travis creates vocals and rhymes, his wife Suzi keeps things soaring with her tall female rock vocals. It’s this versatility that makes them interesting to watch live, as they play off of one another the entire set.

They are out in support of their 2018 release Last Man Standing. Coincidentally, the title track is a great example of the huge female vocals over top of the unclean male vocals, creating a unique sound.

Finishing their set with Get Low, which is the most rock-rap song presented tonight, had both heads banging and hips shaking. If you’re in the area, check out their events page to see where they’re at next.

The Wolf HunterZ:
     

Mick Blankenship

On tour with the headliner for a large string of dates is Mick Blankenship – an unsigned artist from Ohio. Supporting his 2018 release Crown of Apathy, he had the crowd in his grasp from his first note. With a bevy of hard rock originals, he worked every inch of the stage, even grabbing some cell phones from the front row and taking some footage from the stage before handing them back to the elated fans.

Starting out with Flashback Crash and Crown of Apathy, his energy and vocals were those of a seasoned veteran. towards the end of his set, it was time for him to play a couple of his favorites for the crowd. He talked about his encounters with Stone Temple Pilots briefly before crushing Wicked Garden. One more cover song to come in the way of Queensrÿche’s Empire showing his chops in direct comparison with his vocal peers. Both songs were absolutely fantastic, and the audience loved every bit.

He finished the evening up with Worthless Me. This was a song he wrote about someone dealing with depression and feeling worthless. With all that seems to be happening in the rock-n-roll with this taboo subject, it’s nice to see bands like this shed some light on the subject.

Mick Blankenship:
      

Puddle Of Mudd

What do nine-hundred Puddle of Mudd fans have in common? Well, tonight it was the fact these nine-hundred had amassed at The Odeon Concert Club in Cleveland (OH) to witness Wes Scantlin and company blow the doors off of the venue.

With Wes‘ previous antics being widely reported, it was nice to see he was closing in on 18 months sober tonight. Digging up the past is not something that should not be taken lightly, as well as delving into someone’s private life, but sometimes it needs to be noticed – as in this case. It has been around a year since Puddle of Mudd had played The Odeon and the transformation was absolutely incredible.

Opening up the show with Control, the energy and spirit were soaring high. With smiles and guitar riffs, Wes put his music right in your face, giving the performance a personal touch. It was this connection with the audience that was a full-on celebration of everything Puddle of Mudd. The setlist sure mirrored this sentiment as well with these four including all of the hits during this magical show.

Down, Dirty, and Passionate. That is how they delivered the entire show. They left it all out there on the stage as they finished the set up with She Hates Me and Blurry. With many dates ahead of them, they look to continue their dominance of the post-grunge movement that was resurrected tonight.

As they say, it’s always brightest after the storm – and it was blinding tonight.

Puddle of Mudd:
     

The Odeon: