While my first night of the Clifton Heights Music Festival consisted of three solid sets by No No Knots, The Happy Maladies and The Cincy Brass, Saturday I decided to hop around so I could see more bands.   Here’s a break down of the night:

Peter Adams & The Nocturnal Collective @ Rohs Street Cafe
I’ve probably seen Peter Adams a dozen times, but I still wanted to catch Peter and his Band at Rohs Street.  Despite the surprising placement as the opening act at Rohs, the band still put on a great show to a receptive audience.  I was only able to catch the last two songs, but I’m glad they were his staple cover of Neutral Milk Hotel’s “Holland 1945″ and “The Disappeared” off his debut, The Spiral Eyes.

Shadowraptr @ Mac's (Photo credit: Aaron Conway)

Shadowraptr @ Mac’s Pizza Pub
I was initially drawn to Shadowraptr for two reasons: 1) The band features Stephen Patota of the Happy Maladies, as well as Aaron Collins (drums, vocals), Neal Humphrey (bass) and Kat Hensey (keyboard, vocals). Though I hadn’t heard any of  Shadowraptr’s music prior to the show, the reputation of the Maladies alone was enough motivation to check them out;  2) I’m a huge fan of velociraptors.  Despite the band’s failure to make a single Jurassic Park reference, I was not disappointed.   The band could be pegged as a psychedelic jam band judging by the reverb-soaked guitar and dreamy harmonies by Collins and Hensey, but the band’s incorporation of funk and afropop make it difficult to pin down a genre.   It was particularly great to see versatility from Patota; though the former CCM jazz major kills on mandolin with the Maladies, it’s in Shadowraptr where he is really able to showcase his guitar-shredding skills.

Best Revenge @ Mac's (photo credit: Aaron Conway)

Best Revenge @ Mac’s
The self-described “Porch Rock” band is Josh Estro on guitar and harmonica, Zac Schmidt on drums and Joe Powell on bass.  The music is simple and straightforward – one part punk to two parts twangy rock – but really, it’s all you need when you need a summertime soundtrack to drink whiskey on your porch.  Oh.  Now I get the porch rock reference.

The Prohibitionists @ Christy’s
Loud, raucous and bluesy, the P-Hibs played one of their best shows Saturday night, due in part to the return of guitarist Mike Nauman, who had been studying in Belgium since January.  Though the no-frills garage rock quartet pays respect to influences like The Kinks and The Rolling Stones, The Prohibitionists’ gritty, blues-tinged rock ‘n’ roll has the soul and the skill to stand out in the Midwest music scene.

POSITRONIC @ Uncle Woody’s
Saturday marked my first time stepping foot into the frat-friendly college bar, but it was worth it to catch a set from Cincinnati DJ Positronic.   The Clifton-based DJ aka Eric Leckrone has been fairly under the radar until recently, occasionally surfacing to play house parties or to remix tracks for the likes of local artists Baby Alpaca and Molly Sullivan.  However, the promising DJ – who spins anything from funk, soul and hip hop to house, dub and indie – can soon be found playing every second Saturday at Grammer’s.