Drunk Music Reviews is Caitlin Behle and John Sebastian. Caitlin reviews a show while progressively getting drunker, while illustrator John Sebastian turns the drunken reviews, which could be ridiculous, sloppy or just plain insulting, into a comic.

Notes: The captions that end with @drunkmusicrevws were pulled from their Twitter account during the show. Tweets ending with J are reviews from John, while tweets ending with C are from Caitlin. The chart at the bottom of every illustration shows the drink tallies for the night.

Well guys, we did it. After conquering Covington and Clifton (twice), Drunk Music Reviews has successfully tackled Northside for our latest review. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t easy. As soon as we walked into Northside Tavern for the Northside Music Festival on June 16th, we were slapped on the wrists…with wristbands for unlimited free drinks. Somehow our ridiculous, booze-soaked reviews have earned us the title of “Press.” And frankly, we won’t argue if it means we don’t have to front the tab. As Uncle Ben once said, “With great power, comes great responsibility.” That’s great and all, but Mr. Parker clearly never had an open tab before, because it was very easy to be irresponsible. All in all, John kept it low key with a total of nine drinks, while I am on record as drinking at least six, though that total is up for debate.

The Old Ceremony

After we got settled, I was asked to announce winners for the festival’s raffle, so John did his thing on the patio for North Carolina’s The Old Ceremony while I was busy drawing tickets out of a top hat on stage.

Valley of the Sun

After my stint as an announcer, I split for a breather (and a drink) while John headed to the back room for Valley of the Sun.

Valley of the Sun just kicked off the back stage @#NorthsideMusicFest & I’ve finished my announcing duties…time to get bizness drunk -c @drunkmusicrevws

Ohio Knife

John and I joined up on the patio for one of our favorite local bands, Ohio Knife. Though they were missing their keyboardist, Ohio Knife’s sound was made more epic by the thick, sweltering heat and the band’s silhouettes looming over the crowd.

Submerged in the crushing f%*#ing monolith that is @OhioKnife ‘s fuzzed-out swampy tone. -j @drunkmusicrevws

Fists of Love / Magnolia Mountain

John and I split up again as I headed to the front room for Fists of Love while John stuck around on the patio for Magnolia Mountain.

It’s way too dark for me to draw Magnolia Mountain, but their docent sounds are keeping me glued to the ground. – j @drunkmusicrevws

[Author’s note: John apparently meant “dulcet.” Nice one, autocorrect.]

John was drawing Magnolia Mountain so there’s unfortunately no illustration of Fists of Love. My first experience with Fists of Love, though, was pretty fantastic.

Moved to the front of @Northsidetav for Fists of Love. Holy shit. Noisy, fuzzy goodness. -c @drunkmusicrevws

The Cincinnati supergroup includes Donna Jay Rubin (Snake Punching Contest), Chris Schadler (Fairmount Girls), John Curley (Afghan Whigs) and Cedric Rose (the Underwoods).

The Tongue and Lips / State Song

John caught State Song in the back while I stuck around in the front room for The Tongue and Lips.

One can only conclude The Tongue and Lips got its name from the iconic Rolling Stones logo since the band’s sound emulates that gritty garage sound, though they add a heavy psych spin.

The Tongue and Lips = The Stooges fronted by David Lee Roth if he was channeling The Doors -c – @drunkmusicrevws

The David Lee Roth reference was, of course, because the lead singer was wearing a bright teal tank top and a captain’s hat. As soon as I tweeted this observation, John came running.

[Author’s note: When I pointed out to John that the lead singer was wearing a teal tank top, not a red shirt, John replied, “F&*# it, I was drunk.” Spoken like a true Drunk Music Reviewer.]

The Hiders

At this point we must have traveled through a time warp because while John was drawing The Hiders in the back room, there is no recorded evidence of my whereabouts. Therefore, we can only conclude that I was immersed in drunk limbo. Again, apologies for the failure to review the band. This is why DMR can’t have nice things.

You, You’re Awesome

Somehow we miraculously survived through the end of You, You’re Awesome’s set, even with a limitless supply of whiskeys and Cokes. I’m sorry to say, though, that You, You’re Awesome bore the burden of the closing slot during a Drunk Music Review. John was at least responsible enough to draw the band before getting too drunk. I, meanwhile, never returned from my trip in drunk limbo so there is (again) no review. Of course, there isn’t much to say about YYA that hasn’t been said already. Their glitchy danceworthy analog-meets-digital pop is the perfect way to end the night, and though I don’t remember that night per se, I know I’ve always had fun whenever I’ve seen them in the past.

Our first Drunk Music Review in Northside is definitely a success. The festival ran smoothly, the venue and festival staff treated us unbelievably well, and John got some great drawings out of the show. I learned the hard way that free drinks will save money but it doesn’t necessarily do any favors in the reviews department. Perhaps for our next Drunk Music Review we’ll look into this concept known as “self-control” (though that’s not nearly as entertaining)…or maybe we’ll just recruit an intern to ghost-tweet for us during a blackout.

-Caitlin Behle – @cutelin

About Caitlin Behle

Caitlin has been with Each Note Secure since her days at WOXY as an evening DJ beginning in 2008. As a senior contributor with ENS, most of her live reviews are centered on Cincinnati's local music scene. She also provides the words for Drunk Music Reviews, a series of reviews written in collaboration with illustrator John Sebastian in which they both get hammered and write/draw their live concert experiences.