Record Store Day 2011

Saturday 16 April 2011 was the fourth annual Record Store Day, my favorite holiday of the year. For those of you out of the loop it is a celebration of independent record stores with a lot of exclusive limited edition releases that sell out in a matter of minutes. In order to get these releases one must line up outside his or her favorite record store well before they open. My day started at 8:00 am when I got up, got ready, and headed out to pick up the most awesome person in all of Cleveland. I picked her up and we headed east to the Waterloo area of Colinwood. But first, we stopped off at the Root Café for some much needed coffee. Once we arrived on Waterloo we promptly got in line for the best record store in Cleveland, Music Saves. We arrived at approximately 10:30 and there were already around 20 people in line. The store doesn't open until Noon. It was raining and we had one crappy $1.99 umbrella to share between us. We made some small talk with the other folks in line and made another coffee run, this time at the Arts Colinwood Café. At 12:00 sharp the store opened and a mad rush of people ran inside. Despite the insanity and huge mass of people in the small store I was able to get almost everything I wanted. The only things I didn't get were the Nirvana EP and the Beach Boy's 78s. I did get some pretty awesome stuff though.

Sonic Youth Whore's Moaning EP

Grinderman Evil 12"

Grinderman Palaces of Montezuma 12"

Television Live at the Old Waldorf double LP

James Blake's debut self titled double LP

Shoreway's debut 7" Daylight Dream b/w Empty Lot

The Villagers & Charlotte Gainsbourg split 7"

After we got what we wanted, we headed down the street to Blue Arrow Records, Cleveland's best used record store. Here I picked up a few used records to fill in some holes in my collection.

Hall & Oates Abandoned Luncheonette

Fleetwood Mac Rumours

Henry Mancini The Pink Panther OST

Next, we headed to Star Pop Vintage. They primarily sell vintage toys and collectibles but do have a small use vinyl section. I picked up Men Without Hats Rhythm of Youth for nostalgia reasons. I used to own the cassette in my younger days and thought the vinyl would be a nice addition to my collection.

At this point we were getting hungry and needed a cocktail. We headed to the Beachland Tavern for brunch where we had some yummy bloody Marys and some delicious food. We then wandered downstairs to This Way Out where I bought a few more records.

Sly & The Family Stone Greatest Hits

Esquivel Strings Aflame

Bonjour Tristesse OST. Purchased just for the Saul Bass cover art.

We then stopped by Native Cleveland and browsed their selection of cool t-shirts and other Cleveland centric goods. I picked up a P.O.C T-shirt which is pretty fucking cool if you ask me. The rest of the afternoon was spen alternating between Music Saves, The Beachland Tavern, and Blue Arrow records to catch several local bands. At around 8:00 or so we headed up to the Heights and grabbed some dinner at Tommy's. Food was delicious and the milkshakes are the best in Cleveland. Next up was the Grog Shop to see Zola Jesus. Nika Roza Danilova has one of the best and most powerful voices in music today. The show was amazing. I bought some ore records at the show.

LA Vampires Meets Zola Jesus EP

Zola Jesus Souer Sewer 7" single

We bumped into several friends during the show and all decided to go to La Cave du Vin for a nightcap. I had a Stone Old Guardian Belgo which was absolutely amazing. A barleywine brewed with a Belgian yeast strain. Great conversations with friends made last call arrive too quickly. Drove back to the west side and ended the long day with side one of Miles Davis' Miles in the Sky. A perfect way to end a perfect day. Now to start counting down to Record Store Day 2012.