WANT TO GO?
What: Pure Acoustic with unplugged performances by the 1984 Draft, the New Old-Fashioned, Shrug and Cricketbows
Where: The “Old” Yellow Cab Bldg., 700 E. Fourth St., Dayton
When: 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6. Doors open at 8 p.m.
Cost: $5
More info: 937-203-8175 or www.yellowcabtavern.com
Live acoustic music occurs most nights of the week in Dayton. However, event organizer Jeff Opt envisioned a different type of non-electric show. That led to him curating the Pure Acoustic show, an evening of unplugged band performances by the 1984 Draft, the New Old-Fashioned, Shrug and Cricketbows at the "Old" Yellow Cab Bldg. in Dayton on Saturday, Feb. 6.
“I didn’t want to do another singer-songwriter thing,” Opt said. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that but there are a lot of those in Dayton so I wanted to focus on bands. I don’t know what they’ll do so there’s an element of surprise and that’s exciting. It should be unique and interesting and given the groups involved, I know it’ll be good.”
Joe Anderl toured as a solo acoustic act for a decade before forming his guitar-heavy rock group the 1984 Draft. He’s looking forward to re-imagining the band’s material for the show.
“I’ve always enjoyed shows that have a little different flavor or show a different expression of songs by bands I love,” Anderl said. “Some of my favorite shows over the years have been the impromptu living room shows where you see people in bands a little out of their element do things different. This show is essentially the same idea: something real intimate and a little different.
“I’m always on board for something like that,” Anderl continued. “When Jeff and I began discussing the idea, I got pretty pumped because we get to dial it down a little bit from our normal Draft shows.”
Pure Acoustic is an experiment but Opt hopes it becomes a regular part of Yellow Cab’s programming.
“We don’t know how it’s going to work out but we’re going to have all four bands set up in a circle surrounding the audience,” he said. “They’ll still do whole sets of music but it will be stretched out because each band will do a couple of songs and then switch off. Hopefully they’ll feed off of each other’s energy and inspire each other.
“Ultimately, I’d like to make this a regular series of shows,” Opt added. “It’s an interesting way to showcase bands in the area and also get them out of their comfort zones a little bit in ways you don’t normally see. It’ll be a whole new way to hear the music and challenge bands to present their music in a new way. That should make for a special night.”
Doors open at 8 p.m. Music begins at 9 p.m.
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