Recap of The Hard Lessons Post Christmas Bash!!!!

Friday night we had the honor of being part of The Hard Lessons' 8th Annual Post-Christmas Bash at St. Andrew's in Detroit. We got to play dress up and pretend that we were elves while introducing the bands and playing hostesses for the night. Two things stand out about the night. First of all, everyone that performed was excellent. Secondly, The Hard Lessons have some pretty die hard fans that are willing to come early and stay late to check out all of the bands, which is really, really cool.

Blaire Alise & The Bombshells opened the night and looked and sounded great. As I watched Blaire perform, all I could think was I wish that I was this amazing when I was 17. In fact, I wish I was that amazing now. I do not know how she gets up and sings and plays her little heart out so well, but this band is sounding better and better every time I see them play.

Next up on the small stage was goLab. They were a two piece act that was loud as can be. Christie from Hip In Detroit loved this act and raved about them for the rest of the night. We found out that they are from Toledo, Ohio and were visiting Michigan for the night to play the show. They are definitely worth a listen.

Up next on the big stage was Sugar Baron. Self described as electronic dance rock, they had a great full sound and got me dancing and having a good time. I especially loved the vocals. I will be checking these guys out again soon, they were a refreshing dose of new for me.

Fourth on the lineup was Silent Lions on the smaller stage. By this point the room was full and everyone was watching them play. Christie and I are already fans, but we wanted to compliment the boys on there best set yet, you guys sounded great and we enjoyed it.

Then, Sean Forbes hit the stage and I admit that I was very excited to finally see Sean and his band perform live. I interviewed Sean about his project D-Pan a few months ago and learned a lot about the deaf music community, but I have never seen a deaf performer, especially a deaf hip hop artist. To put it mildly, I was blown away by the performance. To see him sign while he performed was simply awesome. The fact that he made jokes and talked to the crowd was icing on the cake. You must check him out, he is not only talented but also inspiring.

Finally, it was The Hard Lessons' turn to end the night and celebrate. This year marks the 10th Anniversary of the band and they just released their latest album called Start What You Finished. They played a great set and then unplugged got down on the floor and played even more right there with their fans. They never disappoint and make sure that the crowd has a good time. Right after the show they released their newest music video called “Sit and Argue” which you can check out here. It features The Heidelberg Project before the recent rash of fires that has claimed a lot of the houses.

We got you videos and pictures so you can check out what you missed and make sure to not miss out on any of these acts the next time they come around. Thanks again for letting Hip be part of the fun!

~S