Jared Mahone

Last evening I had a wide open schedule, as my parents offered to keep Aiden for the night, which is something that doesn’t happen very often (we’re usually hanging out, relaxing most Friday nights). I’m so out of touch with what’s “happening” around town on a weekend night, I hadn’t a clue what to do in the area……so, I decided to drive to Cincinnati and discover something new!

The drive down was 100% worth it as I got to see another great performance from Jared Mahone and I got to get an up close look at another rising Central Ohio talent in Kevin Dean. Both guys delivered as advertised and below I’ve got a clip from each one’s performance. What really impressed me and made the trip worth the drive, in and of itself, was the venue: The Underground. For two Columbus boys, who don’t have a real large fan base in the area, the place was surprisingly busy….which really tells me something, there’s a demand for this forum, for this style of performing arts.

There was no alcohol served, no drugs being done, no hipsters tweeting (besides me) and no cynical cool kids waiting to be impressed. Quite simply, it was a collection of Cincinnati’s youth who desire to contribute to and cultivate a new way of listening and interacting with live performing arts. How refreshing, to enter a venue where the focus is quite simply on creativity.

If you have the chance, I highly recommend taking the trip, there’s plenty to do, from pool tables, to a snack bar, to rock band video games….the venue has you covered with things to do besides stand, drink and be objective.

Kevin Dean