Groundhog Day… or Groundhog Month?

97X, Concert Listings, Music, podcast

February is just around the corner… and if you look around that corner you might see a few band vans headed your way. Maybe even a tour bus or three.

I loved Your Logo Here’s first EP, but they’ve sucked since they signed with a major label.

You might even spot a tour Winnebago.

Charles Napier ruled!

We covered this weekend’s shows in last week’s post, but just in case you were stricken with a serious case of Bengal Fever and missed it, here’s a recap:

Tonight:

Ana Popovic plays Ludlow Garage
Hyryder plays Annie’s
Knotts are at MOTR
Ben Levin is at BrewRiver
Alice Cooper plays the Icon.

Saturday:

The Wombats play Ovation
.38 Special plays the Hard Rock
Buckcherry and The Lacs are at Annie’s
String Theory plays Wiedemann’s
Ben Levin is at Japp’s
[The Big Mountain show at Ludlow Garage has been postponed. Which just goes to show that you can move a Big Mountain if you put your mind to it.]

Sunday:

Railroad Earth plays the Madison Theater.
The Cincinnati Bengals play the Kansas City Chiefs. Playoff football, NBD.

But there might be a QB who can beat him in 13 seconds or less.

The week ahead is kinda desolate. Julia Jacklin was slated to play Madison Live on Monday, but that gig has been cancelled. It’s like a pre-Groundhog Day Groundhog Day.

Speaking of our ol’ pal Punxsutawney Phil and his special day, Ben Levin plays the Hard Rock Cafe on Wednesday. And in true Groundhog Day fashion, he’s got a few other gigs this week… just like he does every week. You can see the entire list on Ben’s website. (No word on whether he’ll play a cover of “I Got You Babe.”)

The mighty fine band called Country Westerns will be at MOTR on Thursday. (Hey, do they drive a Winnebago too?) The Hiders duo opens the show. I hope to make that gig, but it’ll be a game day decision, given the late set time and my advanced age. (I might be too tired from playing pickleball and/or shooing kids off my lawn and/or yelling at a cloud.)

Next Friday you can watch Garage Doors…

Wait, check that, it’s actually a Doors tribute at the Ludlow Garage.

Next Saturday, Brother Moses (a rock band from… Arkansas!) plays the Southgate House’s Revival Room, and The Fighting Side and Wonky Tonk play a free show in the Southgate Lounge. Over on the Ohio side of the river, Tom the Torpedoes, a Tom Petty tribute band, is at the Redmoor.

Big show next Sunday: The War on Drugs at Ovation in Newport. List member Mighty Joe Sampson and I will be there. You should be too.

Watch This

Superchunk’s video for their new song “This Night” is a homage to the Replacements’ videos of yore.

Read This

Longtime Cincinnati arts journalist Steven Rosen has a new book called Lost Cincinnati Concert Venues of the ’50s and ’60s : From the Surf Club to Ludlow Garage. Read more here and order the book on Steven’s website. (Thanks to list member Jay Stowe for the story.)

The Words of the (Chuck) Prophet

And even if there’s a lot of political noise out there, and people who have strong opinions about things like science and religion, the stage remains my church and my job is to bring a group of strangers together and make them into a community for 90 minutes or so. If they don’t agree with every word that comes out of my mouth, that’s cool. Hell, if they don’t like every chord, that’s okay too. All I know is that they all left the house and had to find a place to park and they have to decide how much alcohol it’s okay to drink to be a responsible citizen or just not to get a DUI and have to sit in traffic school and endure the jokes of failed comedians. It’s because of those folks that I’m not one of those guys teaching at traffic school myself.
(Sign up for Chuck’s always entertaining and often enlightening newsletter on his website.)

The Words of the Podcast

The latest episode of the “97X Rumblings from the Big Bush” podcast features an interview with former 97X weekend DJ Jeff Rohrs, who talks about polka music, mispronouncing an artist’s name, bands he loved, and that time it rained on stage at Bogart’s during a Violent Femmes show.

You can listen to every episode of the podcast on pretty much every major podcasting platform (Spotify, Apple podcasts, Podbean, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, etc.) I don’t like to brag, but in 2021, “97X Rumblings from the Big Bush” was the 27th-fastest growing podcast about defunct radio stations. Take that, Joe Rogan! Oh, and take this too! (not a link to ivermectin)

Album Cover of the Week

Look at that track list! (Hat tip to list member Howard Cohen for sharing the Dick.)

Janu-Wary

Concert Listings, Music

Late-breaking news from the This Week in Live Music newsroom: Everyone’s favorite Meat Loaf has expired.

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, Meat Loaf, 1975

The pandemic just goes on and (omicr)on, so it’s OK to be a bit wary about venturing out this month. But hope springs eternal that when spring arrives, we’ll be in a better spot.

If you ARE comfy taking in a show or three, take a gander at the gigs o’ the week and pick your faves.

Tonight, we have Ben Levin at Wiedemann’s, Sabbath (a tribute) at Ludlow Garage and Justin Wells at Southgate.

Saturday night, Dopapod plays the Madison Theater and Better than Ezra and Tonic are at the Hard Rock Casino. And Southgate is hosting a Western Kentucky Tornado Relief benefit:

Ben Levin is back on the brunch shift at Hard Rock (10:30 a.m. until 2 p.m.) on Sunday. (Just to clarify, Ben will be playing piano and singing the blues, he won’t be taking your order for Quiche Lorraine… although maybe he can play a bluesy version of that song.)

On Wednesday, you can check out Albert Lee at Southgate, with The Cryers as the opener, or see Lucky Chops (brass/funk) at the Taft Ballroom. (Lucky Chops are not affiliated with the Slap Chop.)

Thursday, Umphrey’s McGee is at the Ovation in Newport, and Ludlow Garage welcomes Tim Reynolds with TR3.

Next Friday, January 28th:

Ana Popovic plays Ludlow Garage
Hyryder plays Annie’s
Knotts are at MOTR
Ben Levin is at BrewRiver
That guy who is on the insurance commercial with Baker Mayfield plays the Icon.

This Pine Box was originally slated to play the Woodward that same evening, but that gig has been postponed. And the Erasure concert on 1/29 has also been postponed.

Next Saturday (1/29):

The Wombats play Ovation
.38 Special plays the Hard Rock
Buckcherry and The Lacs are at Annie’s
Big Mountain is at Ludlow Garage
String Theory plays Wiedemann’s
Ben Levin is at Japp’s
Bogart’s hosts a “Taylor Swift Inspired Dance Party”… just watch out for Taylor’s variant!

Next Sunday (1/30), Railroad Earth will be at the Madison Theater.

January Heat

Give it up for Parquet Courts for their incendiary performance on… Ellen?

And check out this super hot (or super cool) lineup from an old Jazz Fest.

Hat tip to list member Lisa Collins for sharing the visual.

2nd Best Match Game ever!

This McSweeney’s piece by John Moe, “What Your Favorite Sad Dad Band Says About You,” is quite funny… and sometimes hits a little too close to home.

Best Match Game ever!

CNR… the Dickster… Miss Jane… the dude from the Doritos commercials… and Gene Rayburn!

57 X 3 = Fun Gig

List member John Sandman (57), Ellis Paul (57) and your humble scribe (57) after Ellis Paul’s birthday show at the Redmoor

Album Cover of the Week

Have a great week!

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…

Concert Listings, Music

“Coronavirus cases in the U.S. are at an all-time high and concerts are being postponed or cancelled left and right.”
January 2021

“Coronavirus cases in the U.S. are at an all-time high and concerts are being postponed or cancelled left and right.”
January 2022

Gonna keep this one short and sweet because there ain’t much going on and it’s a bit depressing to think about it for too long.

This week’s postponements:

Erasure’s 1/29 show at the Icon is off – no new date yet.
Oliver Wood’s show at the Taft Ballroom, originally scheduled for tomorrow night, has been shifted to May 14th.

This week’s cancellation: Fairmount Girls at MOTR is a no-go this evening.

We already covered the shows for tonight (Ellis Paul at Redmoor… oh, and the happy hour at Big Ash starts at 5 – first beer’s on me!) and tomorrow night (uh… Vince Neil?) in last week’s post.

It’s slim pickings the rest of this week. But sadly, no Slim Pickens.

It’s pretty much Ben Levin or bust.

Ben’s the young, handsome one… on the left.

Ben’s at Ghost Baby on Wednesday, Shires’ Garden on Thursday and Wiedemann’s on Friday.

True story: I went to the Ovation box office this week to buy tickets for The War on Drugs show (recently announced – Sunday, Feb. 6th) because I love The War on Drugs and I hate ridiculous TicketBastard fees. Guess who was manning the ticket window? Ben Levin’s big bro Joshua! Pro tip from Josh: You can use the “Drop Off & Pick Up Only” lane on 3rd Street during the daytime (box office is open noon-6 p.m., M-F) to run up and buy tix for upcoming shows. I wound up saving about $20 in fees on two tickets.

There are a few other gigs of note this week:

Thursday:

The Ghost of Paul Revere plays Taft Ballroom, with opener Early James (“get there early for Early…”)
Flying Underground (Brian Lovely) and Maurice Mattei & The Tempers are at MOTR – that’s a nice local legends twin bill

Next Friday (1/21):

Justin Wells is at Southgate – list member John Sandman really likes this artist
Sabbath is at Ludlow Garage (it’s billed as “the complete Black Sabbath Experience…. covering the Ozzy Years and the Ronnie James Dio years” – what, no love for Tony Martin, Rob Halford, Ray Gillen, Glenn Hughes, Jeff Fenholt, David Donato, Ron Keel, Ian Gillan or Dave Walker?)

Next Saturday (1/22):

Dopapod plays Madison Theater
It’s ‘Nati Dread Day at Fretboard Brewing, featuring the release of their ‘Nati Dread Bourbon Barrel Stout, with music from the Queen City Silver Stars and opener Positive Libations.
Better than Ezra and Tonic play the Hard Rock Casino… which brings to mind my favorite Norm MacDonald “Weekend Update” joke of all time:

R.I.P. Norm…

Speaking o’ comedians, Hasan Minhaj will be at the Aronoff next Sunday.

Honors Program(s)

Let’s try to end on a high note or three. Patti Smith got the key to New York City… a symbolic one, not one of the 57 keys on the apartment super’s keychain.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1475667304495079424

And the Austin City Limits 7th Annual Hall of Fame Honors program feted Alejandro Escovedo, Lucinda Williams and Wilco. Not too shabby. You can check out the 90-minute show with a slew of special guest right here: https://www.pbs.org/video/austin-city-limits-7th-annual-hall-of-fame-honors-90-min-ije3u7/

Parting words of wisdom from the (Mountain) Goat

If you missed John Darnielle’s New Year’s Eve Twitter thread (which I like to call “The Triumph* of the Three Tubers”), it’s worth checking out below.

*as in victory or success, not as in Canada’s second-best power rock trio.

Hell yes! Hell yes! Hell yes!

New Year, Same Old Song & Dance

Concert Listings, Music

Let me be the 127th* person to wish you a Happy New Year!

*EPA city estimate, your actual mileage may vary.

Now that we’ve turned the page on 2021, the pandemic is over – we can toss our masks into the dustbin of history and enjoy wall-to-wall live music with thousands of other fans…

Nope, no such luck. I’m beginning to think Rip Van Winkle had the right idea. Or wait, was that Robbie Van Winkle?

Yep, it’s a new year, but the same “abundance of caution” – the Secret Sisters gig at Memorial Hall in February has been cancelled. Nick Mason’s show at the Aronoff has been postponed. However, Betty White’s 100th Birthday Party is still a go.

Unfortunately, Betty is unable to attend. More cake for Betty’s Hot in Cleveland co-star Valerie Bertinelli, I suppose. Wait, is she still on Jenny Craig?

OK, enough bitching about what we’ve lost (other than Valerie and her 30 pounds)… let’s focus on the positive. There ARE still gigs on the ol’ This Week in Live Music® Koncert Keeper™. Granted, not many, but a few. Caveat: please check the band and/or venue website or FB page for up-to-date info. Out of “an abundance of caution,” natch.

Tonight, the irrepressible Ben Levin plays Arnold’s with his band.

On Saturday, Inhailer Radio presents Physco with Coastal Club at the Woodward Thea…

Whoops, there goes another gig… Alrighty then. Well, the Tom the Torpedoes show at the Crow’s Nest is still a go… even COVID is afraid of the West Side.

Sunday, the indefatigable Ben Levin plays Schwartz’s Point – show starts at 6:30.

On Thursday, the Louisiana Swamp Stomp Tour featuring The Iguanas and Kevin Gordon rolls (or stomps) into the Redmoor in Mt. Lookout.

Next Friday, there are a whole slew of gigs and goings-on (fingers crossed):

List member Whit Gardner is hosting the BDFM (Beer Drinking Flash Mob) at Big Ash Brewing. Starts at 5 p.m. and This Week in Live Music® list members will get their first beer gratis, courtesy of your humble editor.
The Fairmount Girls are at MOTR
Evanescence and Halestorm play the Coliseum
The intrepid Ben Levin plays at a library… the Hebron Branch of the Boone County Public Library to be exact
Comedian Nate Bargatze is at the Taft
Last but certainly not least, Ellis Paul will celebrate his 57th birthday with a gig at the Redmoor. List member John Sandman (who turns 57 tomorrow) and yours truly (I turned 57 on New Year’s Eve) will have to bring him some leftover birthday cake. I still have plenty of mine:

Next Saturday, Vince Neil will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the last time he was relevant with a gig at the Lawrenceburg Event Center.

That same evening (Jan. 15), Oliver Wood of the Wood Brothers is at the Taft, and the Aronoff is hosting an Elvis Tribute Artist Spectacular.

Andy Kaufman won’t be there… or will he? (Andy always played the long game.)

2021 Favorites – straight outta Albuquerque!

List member Dave Purcell, who now lives in New Mexico (and has joined a local band in Albuquerque!) put together a list of his favorite albums and live music events. Check out the lists and get a link to Dave’s Spotify playlist here.

Here’s the story… of a man named Brady

The Icon music venue in downtown Cincinnati, which has only been open since last July, has changed its name. It will now be known as:

Nah, just kidding, they dropped the “Icon” and now it’s just the Andrew J. Brady Music Center. As list member Jay Stowe said, “‘Icon’ sounds like a place you’d see a concert, but ‘Andrew J. Brady Music Center’ sounds like a place where your kid takes trumpet lessons.” In keeping with my hard and fast TWILM “no venue name changes allowed ” rule, I will still call it the Icon (see also: Coliseum and Annie’s).

You know that you’re over the hill…

… when Forecastle announces their 2022 lineup and you’ve only heard of about 18% of the artists, and actually heard the music of about 5% of them.

On a more positive age-related note, my AARP membership not only gets me discounts at Red Roof Inns from coast to coast (take that, Super 8 Motel!), but it also got me exclusive access to Barn, the companion film to Neil Young’s new album of the same name. It’s pretty cool to see not-so-young Neil and the Horse still rockin’ more than a chair.

“When you get to be the age that I am, every day is a gift, and every day should be filled with creativity. That’s what keeps us alive, and if you are not working on something and feeling good about what you did, that’s pretty much death in a handshake right there… Getting love and happiness out of your creation is going to keep everybody on the planet longer.”
Neil Young

Amen, Brother Neil! Let’s all live to play another day!

In the Bleak midwinter

Concert Listings, Music, podcast

The dreaded holiday hiatus from live music is inching closer. There are fewer gigs on the ol’ “This Week in Live Music” Koncert Keeper for the next couple of weeks, so let’s make this a double shot to get us thru 2021 (a.k.a. 2020 Part II). Yes, it’s the famous “year-end double issue” that publications like to roll out at this time of year… because “year-end double issue” sounds so much better than “we’re half-assing our way through the next couple of weeks.”

He can hardly bear to hear more Mariah Carey.

Before we get to this ~~week’s~~ fortnight’s gigs, let’s get a crowd ‘n venue review from Mr. Jason Isbell:

Very kind of Jason to say that about our fair burgh. Let’s hope his Icon plaudits attract the attention of other touring artists.

OK, on with the shows…

Tonight, Over the Rhine kicks off a three-night stand at Memorial Hall, Motherfolk and Sylmar play Bogart’s, Ekoostik Hookah plays the old Annie’s, Ben Levin is at Brewriver with special guest Johnny Burgin, and the Fleetwood Mac tribute (the band, not the mac & cheese dish at Keystone) is at Ludlow.

Saturday, Anderson East plays Bogart’s, Squirrel Nut Zippers are at Ludlow Garage, Phil Vassar & Sister Hazel are playing the Hard Rock Casino, Afroman celebrates “Merry Spliffmas” at the old Annie’s, and Ben Levin and Johnny Burgin will be on stage at Big Ash. The next morning, they’ll be playing the Hard Rock Casino.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (no relation to Voodoo Chile) plays the Taft on Tuesday.

Maddie Poppe has an Acoustic Christmas show at Ludlow on Thursday, and Ben Levin plays Shire’s Garden.

Santa Claus is coming to town very late next Friday. You’d better watch out.

Rick “Dr. Noah Drake from General Hospital” Springfield plays the Icon on Wednesday, December 29th.

The Rumpke Mountain Boys kick off a two-night stand at the old Annie’s next Thursday, December 30th. That same evening, Ben Levin will be playing Dead Low Brewing.

Arlo McKinley is at the Madison Theater on New Year’s Eve, while Freekbass will be doing a Funkadelic-KISS mashup called FunKISSdelic at Ludlow Garage. Clutch (the band, not the part I had replaced on my 1976 Datsun B-210 back in ’87) plays the Icon, with Stoner (the band, not the guy in the 2nd balcony with the vape pen) and Native Howl.

Also on New Year’s Eve, this lil’ scamp celebrates another spin around the sun:

He plans to celebrate by drinking expired eggnog and staying up until the wee hours (9:45 p.m.).

If he’s feeling extra wacky, he might even have some fruitcake…

Listen Up!

KEXP will be counting down the top albums of the year (as voted on by listeners) today. List member “Rico” recommends this list of the year’s top 100 albums, courtesy of a Finnish music blogger. Luann “Miss Kitty” Gibbs of Inhailer Radio (and the calendar listings queen at the Cincinnati Enquirer) put together a lengthy Spotify playlist of her favorite songs (here), as did Matt “I don’t have a cool nickname like ‘Rico’ or ‘Miss Kitty'” Lacefield (here). Matt also does a music blog/online radio show thang at The Unfamiliar. (Both Luann and Matt have been guests on the 97X Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast… check it out if you have some free time over the holiday break.)

Album Cover of the Week

The person who did the egregious airbrushing work on this cover must’ve already been in “year-end double issue” mode.

Have a great week, and then another great week, and best wishes for a happy 2022!

Jingle (Is)bells

Concert Listings, Music

Before we get into this week’s gigs, I’m providing a holiday shopping public service announcement for those with teenage daughters (and for list members who are “still 16” like Amanda Woodly – more on her later): Tickets for Olivia Rodrigo’s April 22nd show and the Haim show on May 19th go on sale today at 10 a.m. (Both shows are indoor gigs at Icon, which is punching well above its weight… time for Ovation to up its game.) If you’d like to “try before you buy” on Olivia Rodrigo, check out her Austin City Limits appearance (her band is all-female, which is pretty cool)… and of course stick around for the Phoebe Bridgers portion of the show.

OK, on with the shows…

It’s Friday, and Jason is in town!

Wait, my bad, I meant Jason Isbell.

Jason Isbell’s superb band, the 400 Unit, is named after a hospital psych ward. So maybe Jason Vorhees will be here in spirit? I know I’ll be at tonight’s show at the Icon (in the flesh… but wearing pants for a change), along with about half the folks on the “This Week in Live Music” mailing list. (The other half will be at Saturday’s show.) Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives open up both shows. A good time will be had by all.

The jaunty ascot… who wore it best?

Other shows this evening include Multimagic at the Woodward, and An Olde English Christmas With Herman’s Hermits Starring Peter Noone at Ludlow Garage. I hope they do the theme song from the 80’s Olde English TV commercial – that song rocks!

On Saturday, it’s a Jason sequel…

Meaning it’s Night II for Jason Isbell/Marty Stuart at Icon. (Don’t forget to get a Marty Stuart ascot at the merch booth!)

Meanwhile, Them Dirty Roses are at the old Annie’s, with The Josephines as the opener. Our ol’ pal Rob Fetters wraps up another round of his “Fetters is Cheap” free livestreams – accessible via his website. And Emaline will sing the Christmas classics at Ludlow Garage.

Ludlow can keep the (Christmas) lights on, because on Sunday you can enjoy Christmas with the Celts at that venue. If you prefer goth garb to kilts, you can check out Evanescence and Halestorm at the Coliseum. If you’d rather boogie-woogie in the morning, Ben Levin’s playing the Hard Rock brunch, with special guest Lil’ Jimmy Reed. Now that’s a winning combination!

Ben’s got a solo gig at Arnold’s on Thursday, but other than that, the rest of the week is kinda light on gigs. I blame the supply chain. Everyone else is doing it!

But then next Friday the scene really heats up… all the way up to 98 Degrees! They’re playing the Hard Rock Casino – sounds like a classic lose/lose proposition to me.

If you’d rather see a better band with local connections — and much less boy band baggage — Over the Rhine kicks off a three night stand of their annual holiday show next Friday at Memorial Hall.

If you’d rather see and hear a facsimile of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham instead of real-life Karin and Linford, head to Ludlow Garage for Rumours: A Fleetwood Mac Tribute.

Sorry Linford, but Lindsey’s hair is better. Actually, it WAS better.

Or you can shop local and hit the Motherfolk Christmas show at Bogart’s, with Sylmar as the opener.

Favorite albums of 2021

Today’s the last day to vote for your Top Ten of this year on KEXP’s website.

But there’s plenty of time to add your faves to the TWILM list here. Grammy-nominated artist Dale Doyle (the original D2) chose these slabs o’ wax:

Black Keys – Delta Kream
Julien Baker – Little Oblivions
Wolf Alice – Blue Weekend
Slowthai- Tyron
Weezer – OK Human
Leon Bridges – Gold-Diggers Sound
Japanese Breakfast – Jubilee
Fleet Foxes – Shore
Taylor Swift – Evermore
Low – Hey What
Lucy Dacus – Home Video
Kanye West – Donda (Just kidding)

While list member Amanda Woodly decided to chide me for my document choice (“this should be an Excel file”) before listing her top tunes o’ the year:

Snailmail- Valentine
Japanese Breakfast- Jubilee
Lucy Dacus- Home Video
Olivia Rodrigo- Sour (I’m still 16)
Doja Cat- Planet Her
Julien Baker – Little Oblivions
Tyler, The Creator- Call Me If You Get Lost
Kacey Musgraves- Star Crossed (Cincinnati’s newest #goodwife)
I wish I could put the new St Vincent album here, but…

Sorry to let you down, Amanda. I like to think outside the box, and Excel is nothing but boxes.

Friday Funnies

We mocked the GMC holiday commercial last week, so this week it’s time for some Lexus holiday commercial fun:

Tico the Parrot is a dead ringer singer for Axl Rose:

He does a pretty good Bon Scott too:

Tweet of the Week

Cover of the Week

Courtesy of list member Michael “Rico” Carrico who said “Covering Mr Waits. Phoebe at her best.” (We agree wholeheartedly!)

Album Cover of the Week

It’s the Holiday Houseguest from Hell. Crazy Otto is back in town. Looks like he flew Allegiant. And he brought sheet music.

Have a great week!

A December to Remember

Concert Listings, Music

IF you’re not too busy buying expensive new vehicles for your significant other and yourself… like this totally relatable and not-at-all-unrealistic GMC commercial:

https://youtu.be/DQTVh5EF_tc

… then perhaps you can rustle up enough cash to see a concert or two in December. Oh, and save some coinage for a show next spring too…

Waxahatchee will be playing the Woodward Theater on Wednesday, April 13th of 2022. Tickets go on sale TODAY at 10 a.m.

Her most recent album was one of the best of 2020 (sez me… and pretty much everyone else), so you don’t want to miss this gig. Unless your wife’s due date is a couple of days before the show (Hi Rico!).

OK, now let’s get to this week’s list of gigs, shall we?

Max Weinberg’s Jukebox (that’s a band, not an eBay listing for a Seeburg Select-O-Matic that was once owned by the E Street Band drummer) is playing at Ludlow Garage tonight. Max lets the audience pick the tunes the band will play from a list of 300+ songs. Perhaps it’ll turn out better than this:

Tomorrow night

Jess Lamb & the Factory play Findlay Market at 5 p.m.
Shakey Graves is at Bogart’s, with This Week in Live Music favorite S.G. Goodman as the opener.

But the really big Saturday show is at Fretboard Brewing: local jam band Spookfloaters (featuring my wife’s cousin Mike on guitar and vocals) will be playing from 8-11 p.m. I’ll be there (look for the old guy NOT doing the twisty-floppy dancing), along with list members Dan and Anne Robinson, Whit and Barb Gardner, and Pat “Print’s not Dead Yet” Latham. What about my lovely bride, you ask? Well, even though Mike is her first cousin, she won’t be attending because she has a “Girls Night Out” (if you’re keeping score at home, this will be the 8th one this week). Blood may be thicker than water, but apparently it’s thinner than margaritas.

Sunday is a church day. It’s also a Chvrches night – they’re playing the Ovation, with Donna Missal as the opener.

On Tuesday, Jesse Dayton plays Southgate, and David Benoit does a Christmas tribute to Charlie Brown at Ludlow Garage.

Southgate will be rockin’ on Wednesday, with a triple bill of The Queers, the Dollyrots and Tiger Sex. (Note: Tiger Sex is a band, not a cologne.)

Speaking of pungent aromas, Hot Tuna will be at Ludlow Garage on Thursday, with Steve Kimock & Friends opening the show. That gig is damn near sold out. But plenty of tickets are still available for guitar whiz Tommy Emmanuel and acoustic picker Andy McKee at Taft.

Next Friday, December 10th, Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit kick off a two-night stand at the Icon, with Marty Stuart & the Fabulous Superlatives as the opener. I’ll be there, along with list members Chris Lecky, Whit and Barb Gardner… and yes, my lovely bride too (shh, don’t tell Cousin Mike).

If you can’t make the Isbell show next Friday, you can enjoy an Olde English Christmas…

Wait, I meant an Olde English Christmas with Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone. That’s at Ludlow Garage. Not sure which one will bring your more enjoyment.

Also on tap next Friday: The Ben Levin Trio will be playing Lucious Q, with legendary bluesman Lil’ Jimmy Reed, and Multimagic will be at Woodward, with JV Golf and Bershy.

That’s about it for shows in the week ahead. Let’s dip into the ol’ mailbag…

(Artist’s rendition. The actual mailbag is dang near empty… I blame DeJoy.)

List member Janet Welling picked up the sweet Maker’s Mark vinyl designed by list member Keith Neltner:

Sharon McCafferty chimed in after we featured a Devo video recently:

Funny about Devo. My father-in-law is a big fan. He’s known to sport an energy dome at weddings and the band has to play “Whip it.” He wants Jarrod to join him in going to see them in New York – on a Wednesday. Alas practicality prevails.

He might have just earned the title of coolest father-in-law ever!

And Chris Lecky provided a couple of quick concert recaps:

I saw Dylan for the millionth time, not one of my favs. Setlist wasn’t great and no Charlie Sexton sucks. Dave Chappelle at the arena was an odd one. Hoping for stand up but got Bones Thugs and Harmony performing.

Sorry you got Bone-d, Chris. See you at Isbell!

The Reading List

This piece from Washington Post pop music critic Chris Richards was great… and the headline (The Beatles are overrated. That’s our fault, not theirs.) is sure to garner some extra clicks. Here’s the money quote (bold emphasis mine):

When McCartney foresees his bandmates “very old,” we need not mourn the 21st-century Beatles reunion album that nobody gets to hear. The music these four managed to record between 1962 and 1970 is enough to sustain a lifetime of enjoyment, easy. But there’s also an entire world of new music being made at this very moment, and it’s already passing us by. Yes, we have to make room for the past and the present to coexist in our listening lives — but if we’re more excited about spending eight hours fly-on-the-walling with the Beatles than opening our ears to what this world currently sounds like, imagine what we’ll be grieving another 50 years from now.

Hear, hear, Chris, I couldn’t agree more!

And this Substack piece from Damon Krukowski (drummer for Galaxie 500 back in the day, and now in a duo called Damon and Naomi) about how pop stars are squeezing out indie bands at vinyl plants is quite interesting.

I didn’t mention Ed Sheeran or Adele or god forbid Taylor Swift in my testimony – you never know who’s a rabid fan – but vinyl production problems for records that won’t be stocked at Target is a perfect example of what is happening across industries in this moment of corporate oligarchy. There’s nowhere to hide from those intent on market domination – they won’t leave our small scale businesses alone, even though what we represent in dollar amounts is too little for them to really care.
Nine thousand LPs are nothing to Ed Sheeran. But they are a means to survival for independent artists like me.

Reminder: share your favorite albums of 2021

List member Mighty Joe Sampson got the ball rolling with his faves:

Snailmail- Valentine
Japanese Breakfast- Jubilee
MMJ- self titled
The War on Drugs: I Don’t Live Here Anymore
Lana Del Rey- Blue Bannisters
The Hold Steady- Open Door Policy
Lucy Dacus- Home Video

That’s a Magnificent Seven from Mighty Joe. You can add yours via this link.

Tweet of the Week

Album Cover of the Week

Uh, you could give away a dozen kids and still have a gaggle, Eddie. (At least now we know who George Jetson’s real father is.)

Have a great week!

Designs that Rock

Concert Listings, Music

If I told you that I had an album autographed by a Grammy-nominated artist, you might think I was referring to the recording artist.

That’s Matt Berninger’s solo album, Serpentine Prison, but the autograph isn’t Matt’s. It’s from my good friend (and list member) Dale Doyle, who created the album artwork. And Dale is the one up for the hardware:

I’m thrilled for Dale, (a.k.a. “the original d2”). He and I worked together at the Cincinnati office of Landor Associates. Dale spent 23 years there, until he was “downsized” back in 2018. In hindsight, it was the best thing that could’ve happened to him professionally.

Speaking of getting fired from an ad agency and being nominated for a Grammy, Japanese Breakfast is up for “Best New Artist” this year. (Even though this year’s release Jubilee was their third album… where was the Grammy committee when JB put out Psychopomp in 2016, or Soft Sounds from Another Planet in 2017, or when they were just blowing us away live in the Taft Ballroom back in 2018?) Bandleader Michelle Zauner talks about how she used her two-months’ severance from an ad agency to pursue a music career in this Broken Record podcast:

The moral of the stories: if you want to win a Grammy, the first step is being let go by an ad agency.

OK, let’s get into this week’s list of live shows:

Freekbass is hosting Funksgiving tonight at Ludlow Garage, Darlene has a record release show at MOTR, Ben Levin plays Arnold’s, and Patti LaBelle is at the Hard Rock Casino.

Saturday’s shows run the full gamut of genres and venues: The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band is at Southgate, The Lions Rampant are at MOTR, Ben Levin plays Ghost Baby in OTR, local Tom Petty tribute band Tom the Torpedoes plays the Redmoor in Mt. Lookout… and Michael Bolton is at the Lawrenceburg Event Center in the Hoosier State.

Ben Levin is at it again on Sunday morning (must be trying to work off that extra helping of turkey yesterday), playing the Blues Brunch at the Hard Rock Casino from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. If 10 p.m. is more your style, Gringo Star and The Harlequins play MOTR that evening.

Tuesday, author David Sedaris is at the Aronoff. (Yes, I know it’s not a music gig but he’s a rockstar writer and just so damn entertaining in a live setting.)

On Thursday, Devotchka plays the Woodward Theater, with Milquetoast & Co. as the opener. The irrepressible Ben Levin plays Shires Garden. And if you need more cowbell, Blue Oyster Cult will be at Ludlow Garage.

Max Weinberg’s Jukebox makes a stop at Ludlow next Friday (12/3). And yes, Ben Levin has a gig – he’s playing Muse Cafe.

Next Saturday (12/4), Shakey Graves plays Bogart’s, local Dead/jam band Spookfloaters play Fretboard (my wife’s cousin is in that band, so I’ll be there), Ben Levin (him again!) plays BrewRiver, and Jess Lamb & the Factory will be at Findlay Market for a 5 p.m. happy hour gig.

That brings us full circle to yet another great design on a record: Keith Neltner (who worked with Dale and me at Landor) did the artwork for the limited edition 7-inch vinyl record featuring two songs from Jess Lamb & the Factory.

The record — a collaborative effort among Neltner Small Batch, Otto Printing in Newport, Musicol (recording studio/pressing plant in Columbus), Arnold’s, and Maker’s Mark — was released at Arnold’s on Wednesday evening, and a handful of the splatter vinyl copies went on sale today at five local record stores (Shake It Records, Everybodys Records, Plaid Room Records, Torn Light Records and Herzog Music).

Jess Lamb & the Factory band member Warren Harrison also worked at Landor…

Shop local stores. Support local artists (recording and otherwise). They might wind up winning a Grammy someday!

No Turkeys in Our House

Concert Listings, Music

No thugs either. But for sure no turkeys.

Let’s get to this week’s listings on the old 97X Koncert Keeper.

Tonight Shovels & Rope at Ludlow Garage, Bendigo Fletcher plays the Woodward with Sylmar as the opener, and the local Allman Bros. tribute band The Almond Butter Band plays their “Butterball” at the Redmoor in Mt. Lookout.

(Sidebar: after the year we’ve had, I can understand if you want to take a time capsule back to 1982. If so, you’ll be glad to know that Journey and Toto will be playing the Coliseum next April 24th. Tickets go on sale today. Warning: “Steve Perry” might look a bit different, but he still sounds the same.)

Beach Bunny has a sold-out show at Southgate on Saturday night. Didn’t get a ticket? That’s OK, you can “shop local”: Jeremy Pinnell will play two free sets at MOTR to celebrate the release of his new album Goodbye L.A., from local label SofaBurn Records.

You can read list member Gil Kaufman’s interview with Jeremy for Cincinnati Magazine online. (We love Gil’s “resting outlaw face” turn of phrase.) Jason Gargano’s profile in CityBeat is here. And here’s the video (shot in Cincy/NKY) for “Wanna Do Something” from the new album:

Also on Saturday, Ludlow Garage features “Broken Arrow: The Music of Neil Young.” And if you’d prefer to laugh it up that evening, you have two fine choices:

Jim Gaffigan is at the Coliseum
Iliza Shlesinger is at the Taft (check out her Netflix specials, pretty damn funny)

On Sunday you can take a load off with The Weight Band, featuring members of The Band (revamped edition… no Robbie or Garth) and the Levon Helm Band (we still miss you, Levon). They’re playing Ludlow Garage. Wait! Looks like The Weight was too much to bear, and that show has been postponed.

Taft Theatre has a Scribble Showdown on Monday. But it’s an improv animation game, not a throwback to the old hip-hop Scribble Jam.

On Thanksgiving eve (Wednesday, 11/24), you can catch “All Together Now – A Beatles Thanksgiving Celebration” featuring the Newbees – it’s at Memorial Hall. Or you can head to Annie’s to enjoy the song stylings of the band that many* have called “The new Beatles”: Jackyl.

*these people are stoned out of their gourds

Ernie Johnson from Detroit will be at MOTR on Wednesday too.

On Thursday, Bird is the word.

Or in my case, Tofurkey.

Wanna dance off your turkey/tofurkey coma next Friday? Get your booty down to Ludlow Garage for Freekbass and his “Funksgiving 2021” celebration.

Next Saturday, 11/27, The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band plays Southgate, and Tom the Torpedoes will be at the Redmoor.

Watch this

Johnny Rotten on The Masked Singer is so 2021.

Speaking o’ punk, Devo is a band that doesn’t get nearly the credit they deserve. Check ’em out live in 1977 in NYC:

More Devo footage from that era is here.

Road trip next summer?

This festival lineup is redonk:

Whereas this pairing — Psychedelic Porn Crumpets with Acid Dad as the opener — is an early contender for twin billing of the year.

2021 favorites – care to share yours?

We’re heading down the homestretch of this year (2020 Part Deux: More Dumpster, Slightly Less Fire). If you care to share your list of favorite albums, EPs, songs, TikTok clips, whatever, you can add them here.

Album cover of the week

When you go over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house for Turkey Day, don’t forget to bring along some Sloppy fifths. Rated “Code E” for everyone.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Go-vember

Concert Listings, Music

It’s time to GO to a gig.

And you’ll have several opportunities this week. Tonight, Gary Clark Jr. plays the Icon, The Wild Feathers play Madison Theater, and Spyro Gyra plays Ludlow Garage.

Saturday, you can head to Memorial Hall for the North Mississippi All-stars with the Rebirth Brass Band and Cedric Burnside. The show sounds pretty cool:

For one special night, these three artists will be playing their own favorite selections as well as collaborating throughout the show on an array of great songs, exploring the musical connection between the Mississippi Delta and Bourbon Street… right down Highway 61.
From the Memorial Hall website

If you fancy a bit of a road trip, you can catch Hamilton Leithauser and Kevin Morby at Headliner’s in Louisville. If you’d rather stay home, Rob Fetters is streaming another house show on the YouTubes.

Sunday has a few gigs of note:

Ben Levin & Friends are doing the boogie-woogie brunch at Hard Rock Casino
Tab Benoit is at the Taft with Alastair Green
Carl Palmer plays Ludlow Garage
Sebastian Bach will be at Bogart’s for a tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of Skid Row’s Slave to the Grind. Maybe 20 years from now he’ll do an anniversary tour of the time he sang “Hollaback Girl” on Gilmore Girls.

On Monday I’ll probably be at MOTR Pub enjoying the sweet song stylings of Lydia Loveless, with Amber Nash as the opener. It’s a rare ticketed show for MOTR (most are free), but $15 is cheap for that gig. Doors at 7, show at 8.

Tuesday Southgate House has Alice Peacock with Tim Grimm and the Family Band: A Concert to Benefit The Music Resource Center.

Hayes Carll plays Southgate on Wednesday with the splendid Caroline Spence as the opener, and David Cross will be at Bogart’s. No word on whether any other members of Dr. Fünke’s 100% Natural Good-Time Family Band Solution will be there.

Ben Folds (hold the Five) is playing Taft on Thursday. That same evening, Olivia Jean and Leggy are at Southgate, and Edwin McCain plays Ludlow Garage.

Ludlow will be hosting Shovels & Rope next Friday, November 19th.

Dr. Shovels, with the Rope, in the Garage

Hot Ticket Alert!

Lucy Dacus (her latest album is one of my 2021 faves), will be playing Ovation (the PromoWest venue in Newport) on Friday, February 11th, 2022. Tickets go on sale today at noon (and yes, the “convenience fees” are redonk). Ovation also recently announced a Bon Iver show on June 21, 2022, with Bonny Light Horseman as the opener. The PromoWest lineup of shows had been rather underwhelming thus far, but these tasty gigs give us hope that, as list member Ken Laube put it, “maybe we’re finally getting out of concert jail.”

Gig Pics

Brett Newski and the No Tomorrow played a thoroughly entertaining set at MOTR on Wednesday. Then the band stayed at the home of list members Dave and Jacqui Killen – the same place where Brett played a Parlor & Patio gig pre-pandemic. Now that’s hospitality!

Brett had a “virtual tip jar” set up at his merch booth – take a page from the book of list member John Sandman: if you’ve been listening to a band’s music on Spotify, why not Venmo them some $ (or give them some cold hard cash… that’s still a thing) to make up for what you would’ve spent on an album? That little bit of extra moolah — and the occasional free “bed & breakfast” from friendly hosts — goes a long way for up and coming bands.

Words of wisdom

“Punk taught me that music didn’t have to express consensus. You could use music as a way to set yourself apart from the world, or at least some of the world. You could find something to love and something—perhaps lots of somethings—to reject. You could have an opinion, and an identity.”
Kelefa Sanneh in his new book Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres (Hat tip to list member Cullen Lewis for the reco)

Watch this

The Sparks Brothers, the new documentary about the band Sparks (streaming now on Netflix) is delightfully entertaining. Well worth a watch.

As they point out in the doc, Sparks really invented the “Molly Ringwald” Breakfast Club style of dance. It’s merely one of many examples of the ways that Sparks blazed the trail for others musically and stylistically.

Random Album Cover of the Week

The John Denver-meets-Miami-Vice vibe is entertaining enough (as advertised), but the inscription really seals the deal:

I think ol’ Jim might be confused about how the whole brother-sister thing works. It’s not like she had a choice.

Have a great week… GO to a gig!