It’s not often that Cleveland is blessed with a concert appearance by any one of the many great rock and roll bands on the Detroit-based Small Stone Records label.  (We’re not counting Cleveland’s own Red Giant – besides, even those rock dudes need to play more Clevo shows!)

Saturday night, prepare yourself for a brutal rock and roll doubleshot featuring Cleveland’s own (and ATV favorites) The Suede Brothers, who will take a break from recording their upcoming third album to play a show opening for The Brought Low, who are SXSW-bound and playing a short set of dates on their way to the Small Stone showcase in Austin, TX. (Dates include stops in Cleveland, Columbus, Chicago, St. Louis, Austin (duh!) and Richmond!)

I caught my first show from The Brought Low completely by accident a few years ago at the Hi-Fi Club.  They were in town opening a Small Stone related bill that featured Five Horse Johnson and/or The PB Army, and while I came out to see those bands, it was The Brought Low that savagely ripped every inch of my face off (it sounds painful, but it really wasn’t) and forced me towards the merch stand where I immediately bought both of their albums.  As a Small Stone connoisseur, how had I missed The Brought Low?

A couple of weeks after that show, I was going through the CD stacks in my music room, looking for an album, and came across a dusty, still-sealed copy of one of the two albums that I’d bought that night.  It turns out that The Brought Low had been sitting in my music collection for a couple of years without me even knowing it.  Oops.

Good rock and roll sometimes comes at a price, and on Saturday night, you’ll have to drive to Painesville for the privilege of seeing one of the best rock shows you’ll see this year.  Fresh from opening for Them Crooked Vultures in NYC, The Brought Low will be playing tunes from their new album, creatively titled, Third Record, an album that my comrade D.X. Ferris compares to a “collection of Tom Petty B-sides,” and believe me, that’s no slam.  Third Record finally captures the energy of The Brought Low’s live show, something which I found to be missing from their previous albums – they’ve done damn good things with this new album, and I can’t wait to see some of these tunes live.

The Suede Brothers have been playing material from their upcoming album during recent shows as well, so if you’ve missed out, Saturday night would be an excellent chance for you to catch up.  Friends don’t let friends miss The Suede Brothers.

How to get there – a handy step-by-step guide:

1.  On Saturday night, point your GPS toward Nemeth’s Lounge in Painesville, located at 40 North State Street.

2.  Keep your ears open for the healing sounds of lowdown and dirty sludgy guitars, and you’ll know that you’ve reached your destination.

3.  Enjoy, dammit!