The Speedbumps return home to launch the release of their new album, “Moon is Down,” at the Kent Stage before starting their nation-wide tour this year. The drinks are cheap, the crowd is receptive, and the Speedbumps are ready to party.

The Speedbumps with Buzzbin Magazine

The Speedbumps with Buzzbin Magazine

“This isn’t really a show for us, it’s more of a celebration,” lead singer Erik Urycki says to the crowd with 1800 tequila on his breath.

They’re more than happy to be playing at the Stage again. The Speedbumps have been a favorite local band of the Kent area for years, and even as they gain notoriety in parts of the Midwest and East Coast, they never forget where they came from.

Sporting his worn Cleveland Indians hat, Urycki has a tendency to rep the homeland where ever he goes. The Speedbumps’ cover of “Burn On” by Randy Newman could pull at the heartstrings of any long-time Tribe fan, adding the ukelele to give it a kind of ironic, tropical feel.

Urycki is a one-of-a-kind songwriter, following in the footsteps of Nick Drake. His voice carries with it a kind of sadness, amplified by the beautiful cry of the cello, played by Sam Kristoff. The mood is counterbalanced, somehow cheered up, by Craig Adams on keyboard and Patrick Hawkins on drums, as well as 19-year-old phenom Andrew Bonnis on upright bass and ukelele, the newest addition to the band.

These added elements help to bring Uryicki’s songs to life, creating a more upbeat, crowd-pleasing sound pulled from a wider variety of influences. The new album reflects the shift in their musical arsenal.

“We’ve been joking around lately that we have two projects and an album,” Urycki says. The Speedbumps as a cohesive group didn’t exist when the previous two albums were recorded. They were missing a few key elements such as Bonnis, and they also hadn’t quite figured out how to be a band recording in the studio, which Urycki says they figured out after struggling while recording their second album, “Apple Tree.”

“That’s kind of how I feel right now, this is our first album,” he says. “To group those albums with this one would be almost unfair.”

They play a strong set with a few new ones, a few old ones, and take some tequila shots in between. Their local radio hit “Pop Song” was also a hit with the crowd, as well as the last song in their set, the title track off the new album. Throughout the show, Urycki delivered crisp lyrics about love, travel, heartbreak, deperation and hope, all themes of The Speedbumps’ music. The venue didn’t just provide an excited crowd, but a confident performance where the Speedbumps could really be themselves and have fun onstage, and they are certainly a band that knows how to have a good time.

The eclecticism of the band and the talents of the individul members that form it is also quite noticeable. Bonnis awed the crowd with an upright bass solo, playing off the drummer as if they’d been doing it for years. The show ended with Kristoff on a melancholy note, playing the cello while looping it on pedals, creating a mesmerizing atmosphere of enchanting, divine-sounding music.

Two other notable and very talented local acts open up for the Speedbumps as well. First up is Abby Kondas, the blonde folksy bombshell armed with her guitar and an enticing voice. She sang a few of her old songs, as well as a new one, “My Sidekick.” It was a nice, soft opening which the crowd seemed to really enjoy.

Up next was the Uncanny Xela. The definition of uncanny, as explained by Merriam-Webster, is:

1 a : seeming to have a supernatural character or origin; b : being beyond what is normal or expected

Xela fits into this definition well. His voice is often grainy but exciting, evoking old blues legends like B.B. King or Louis Armstrong, yet retaining some punk quality to it. He’s backed up by bass, keyboard, drums, bongos and maracas, and many of the songs have a strong classic rock influence to them. The bongos add a tablespoon of Caribbean flare to each song, on top of crushing guitar solos. Their last song, “Sacred Clown,” a jazz-influenced number with a hard psychedelic rock edge and even had some scat thrown in there.

On top of all that, Xela is a solid performer who has a great time on stage. Check out the whole band at the Nut House in Akron on Friday June 18th at 10 p.m. for free.

Photos by Marissa Hoover


Other Articles You Might Like: