Dan baird Putting the hammer down.

Keith Christopher, Eric "Roscoe" Ambel, Dan Baird and Terry Anderson all have their own careers, their own projects and their own hometowns. As the Yayhoos, they're a supergroup of exceptional, somewhat eccentric and always entertaining rockers who are ostensibly on tour in support of Put the Hammer Down. It's their new album which is available, as Baird noted at the show, "exclusively at gigs, online or tonight from Will Rigby in the back of the room at the merch table."

However, the foursome's raucous gigs seem to be more about having a good time and playing stuff they like to play with people they like to be around than doing any kind of self-promotion. During the course of the 21-tune tavern show, the boys exhibited a little Southern diplomacy, sharing the spotlight, trading off lead and backing vocals, taking turns dishing out the self-deprecating humor and once even rotating drum duty.

A Yayhoos' show is like a party they throw for themselves, and if we as partygoers get a buzz on and scream for songs like "Get Right with Jesus" or conga to their cover of the O'Jay's "Love Train," well, that's a bonus. For a bunch of guys who joke about their ages ("I've got a new advertisement for Advil," Anderson announced, "I take Advil 'cause I'm old"), the Yayhoos show no signs of slowing. From their second song ("Where's Your Boyfriend At?") on, the great guitars and revelry kicked in and didn't stop through an encore of Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World."

I was excited when the 'Hoos pulled out a somewhat sloppy novelty tune I had never seen them perform live before. I spent a good portion of the evening trying to coax a Beachland regular alternating between oversized Dutch lagers and generous wine pours to request "Frozen Head State Park." Surprisingly, the group (minus Christopher who was grabbing a shot from the bar) stepped up to the front of the stage and belted out the classic, which includes priceless lines like, "It makes me wonder whose head it was and just how cold it had to be." Well, at least they played as much of it as they remembered. From the high-energy local openers the Jack Fords to high-energy headlining Yayhoos, it was one loud party I was happy to attend. n

Reggae Sunsplash

Tower City Amphitheater

Wednesday, August 23

A generous breeze wafted through a half-full Tower City Amphitheater Wednesday night and imbued the blend of commercial and traditional reggae with a sense of calm. Long-dreaded Rastafari transplants mingled with the peace crowd, luring in curious onlookers who just came to stand downwind. And, thanks to a line-up leaning toward the mainstream, the crowd was able to share in more than a few sing-alongs. If anyone from the Republican National Convention's touring party would have come, they might have left the city with the feeling that giving peace a chance isn't just a timeworn cliché.

Along with confident newcomer Rik Rock, Sunsplash veterans Third World, a touring act since the '70s, opened up the festivities with their usual blend of soul-inspired harmonics. They started romancing on tracks like "Now That We've Found Love" and "Forbidden Love," and the vibrations reverberated into all the night's subsequent acts — even pop mainstay Maxi Priest had some gravity on songs like his Cat Stevens cover, "Wild World," and the haunting "I Believe in Love." When he crooned his No. 1 hit "I Just Want to Be Close to You," more than a few couples started doing at least some of the things they wanted to. Toots and the Maytals brought everything back for those incensed at the corporate feel of the festivities. With two gospel-worthy female backers, Frederick "Toots" Hibbert, the god-awful Michael-Jackson-in-Thriller-leather-get-up notwithstanding, wailed like James Brown on songs that sent you back with an early ska/R&B blend that helped to revolutionize island music. On "54-46 Was my Number" and "Sweet and Dandy," Hibbert's pipes were still solid, eliciting impressed-looking grins from his singers and the crowd alike.

And then, the culmination, England's answer to pop-reggae: UB40. Until recently you weren't likely to see acts like this headlining a reggae festival. But the memories flowed back with each successive song, rounded out nicely on many by the dancehall rasp of the group's MC, Astro: "You got a smile so bright, you know you coulda been a diamondÅ " "Let's just kiss and say goodbyeÅ " "In Kiiiiiingston TownÅ ." They sounded tightly woven and inspired many a kiss. "Red, Red Wine" was just one of several songs that everybody knew the words to. But as all the artists joined together near the end for just one Bob Marley cover, the rambling "I Shot the Sheriff," a stateside hit thanks to Eric Clapton's gentrification, an emptiness prevailed. Bob, to whom did you pass your torch? — Dan Harkins

Saosin

Grog Shop

Saturday, August 26

The members of Saosin could say that they've had an interesting history in the three years they've been together. After the release of their first EP, Translating the Name, and a fury of Internet hype, front man Anthony Green left the band to pursue other musical interests. Much speculation has been given over the amount of creative input Green had in the band and when the remaining members of the band enlisted Cove Reber to take over vocal duties, fans were ready to see how Saosin would recover.

Fast forward two years and Saosin has come to the Grog Shop exactly one month before the release of its self-titled debut with intent to quiet any doubts. The band opened with "Sleepers," a reworking of a track that appeared on a compilation. As the band closed the song, Cove attempted some banter with the audience to no avail. It seemed that a large section of the people in attendance were in a state of disinterest, and the band was forced to encourage the audience to show some emotion multiple times during the set. The band went on to play "Translating the Name," "Bury Your Head" and a new song, "Come Close."

Saosin's live show was an intense and brutal circus, with the band tearing and shredding through each number as Reber endeavored to hold the ride together with each atmospheric note he hit. Guitarists Beau Burchell and Justin Shekoski played to perfection the technical post-hardcore riffs the band are known for, while drummer Alex Rodriguez and bassist Chris Sorenson were solid as well. After "Third Measurement in C," "Voices" and "Lost Symphonies," the crowd seemed to finally start to awake until the band nearly ignited a riot, when it played "Seven Years." During the chaos, Reber was forced to climb into the crowd as Burchell and Shekoski mounted their half-stacks to finish the song. Whatever sparked the flame for the bedlam that occurred, one can only assume this band will continue to be a force to be reckoned with. — Dave Edwards

Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra-La-La Band

Grog Shop

Sunday, August 27

It's safe to say that there were a fair number of skeptics in attendance for Thee Silver Mt. Zion's Cleveland debut. Many of them probably came to see if this band could measure up to the band that the original three Thee Silver Mt. Zion members played with — Godspeed You! Black Emperor. But from the beginning notes of the opening song, "God Bless Our Dead Marines," from Horses In The Sky, it became apparent that to compare the two bands is akin to the age-old adage of comparing apples to oranges. Efrim Menuck's shrill cry of "they put angels in the electric chair," complete with backing vocals from the rest of the band, was something that never occurred in his other band. Whether it was Menuck leading a chorus of his bandmates, or taking lead vocal duties all on his own, Thee Silver Mt. Zion was clearly a vocally driven machine. Although its hour-long performance only included five songs, it never really felt like the band was killing time on stage. And even though standing in a smoke-filled rock club on a Sunday night probably isn't the ideal atmosphere for these songs, the band did plenty to keep the audience's attention.

Menuck bantered freely between songs, and prefaced "Take These Hands And Throw Them In The River" by saying, "My absent mother is from Ohio. If not for her, I wouldn't be the man I am today." The new track "One Million Died to Make This Sound" proved as compelling as its title. Beginning with an unaccompanied vocal chant of the song's title, it segued into a disco-flavored bass line. The band's now-familiar bombast filled the middle of the song, before dying down to near silence, only to re-intensify for the song's close. The performance concluded fittingly with "Ring Them Bells (Freedom Has Come and Gone)." Thee Silver Mt. Zion is finally free from its Godspeed You! Black Emperor baggage. In fact, if you weren't familiar with the genealogy and earlier recorded output, you'd probably think of Thee Silver Mt. Zion as a lyrically driven rock band with orchestral ambitions. — Jeremy Willets