It's not about the money

Ok, so it probably is.

A lack in funds is the bane of any college student's existence, and as spring break rolls around I've become painfully aware of my dwindling bank account. That said, the limits I've begun to observe don't at all restrict me from having fun in Baltimore. While perusing Pitchfork's daily news updates, there's been no shortage of Bmore natives. Last week's City Paper gave a healthy full page to the release of Beach House's newest project Devotion, already a winner of minds and hearts across the underground.

The truth is that Beach House's opening show on their North American tour was held at the humble yet heavily booked Ottobar, one that I was sad to miss. Even so, tickets for any shows here rarely exceed the neighborhood of 15 dollars and unless you frequent Sonar (closely affiliated with the revered 930 Club in DC) or the more pop-prone RamsHead Live, expect a night on the town to cost 5-7 dollars at the most. For those of you of legal age, a rounded 10 will guarantee you a Natty Bo or two.

While venues in Baltimore often lack in size, there is no shortage of individuality and general self-respect (no matter how dingy the room may look in daylight). A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to experience the Lo-Fi Social Club, a Charles St. establishment playing host to a mix of a touring groups and Baltimore locals. The room felt almost full with a healthy group of 50 or less. But in this day and age, what I've learned is that technology puts once mystical powers of creativity into any musician or artist willing to spend the extra buck for a quick computer and a few keyboards. Thus the quality of music has been opened (not just in Baltimore, but everywhere) and dumped into home-styled musicians, transferring the once prolific iamge of band practice in the garage into EP release in your best friend's living room. Lo-Fi isn't a living room (there is a comfortable couch against one wall), but its a perfect size for any band on a "DIY" tour.

So if the goal is to have a good time and save money on expensive tickets, then a night out with Baltimore's Karmella's Game couldn't be a better choice. Pop-punk gets another shot with the 2 front ladies coordinated hair flips, distortion-driven guitar, and drumming that merits a breath of fresh air when it comes to tight fills and a strong percussion section. Led by a fury of 4-part harmonies and just as many keyboards (woof! talk about setup time), we couldn't have asked for more fun. There's a lot to be said about the Baltimore music scene, but if you're not out to catch Beach House or Dan Deacon, add Karmella's Game to the list.

A quick plug: Radio With Club Sauce will host Baltimore loclas The DeathSet in the near future on the one and only Goucher Radio, so let's keep our eyes and ears tuned to The Real Thing for future updates instead of such a lacking once a month update.

Apologies to any fabled readers out there, though I can't be sure I have any. Make yourselves known!