KC’s Cabin in Spring Grove Illinois
September 15, 2016
by Aaron Michael
Where were you on September 15th, 2016? Well, you should have been at KC’s Cabin in Spring Grove Illinois. JP and the Wiil Rock crew always manages to throw some kick ass parties with the right band on the bill to keep us comin back and this was one of those nights. For $10 it doesn’t get much better than that, seriously!
Dayrollers started off the night at about 7:30, an original band from Southeastern Wisconsin. They opened with an original track and then pleased the crowd with a medley of AC/DC, Metallica and a slew of other songs. Not bad although they seemed a bit nervous. Who wouldn’t be opening for a lineup like that and performing to date their largest crowd? I spoke to Ross after the set and he was grateful for the opportunity and genuinely just a nice dude.
While Stereoside set up I noticed there were only two stools, one center and one stage right and I knew right then this was going to be an acoustic performance. Now, I’ve known of Stereoside since their release “So long” in 2007 and there’s no denying Shields has southern hard rock influences running through his veins and excellent vocals. Strip away the elements of a full blown amped set and it reveals something very special. It allows you to hear things in a different perspective. The music takes a different shape and opens the door to true creativity. Like when an artist creates a beautiful landscape then flips it upside-down and it becomes a completely different image. These guys earned every minute of my attention. Even though I felt I was going to piss my pants half way through the set I stayed until the end in fear of missing something. Every song sounded phenomenal and both Jeff and Ben were on point every step of the way. They wrapped it up with “Apple pie” and that’s when David stepped in wielding his bass to add even more depth. Just when I though it couldn’t get any better this song has some amazing lyrics truly spoken from the bottom of Jeff’s heart. Every single person in that crowd seemed to stand taller and gave us all a reason to be proud of where we live. The USA!! You could feel the emotions rise as if everyone was connected at that moment in time. Following the new album “Hellbent” released on August 26th it was a perfect storm for these guys. Welcome back dudes and thank you for an awesome show!
Royal Bliss headlined and in their own fashion managed to get even more energy out of us which is a lot for a Thursday night. They played mostly new songs from the new record and some from their previous too. Since they transitioned to a more country based sound I was weary of what kind of energy they would bring. I was definitely surprised and it set in stone a valuable lesson. Be open and willing to change, try not to corner yourself with one genre of music. Neil is one hell of a front man and can sing for sure. Take a listen to the new record, you won’t be disappointed. “Truth” available on Spotify, Amazon and select stores. Pay attention to the lyrics on this one, really good stuff.
