It’s Friggin’ Rocktober!

Concert Listings, Music

Where does the time go? Seems like only yesterday it was September. Oh wait, it was. But the time for Earth, Wind & Fire is over. (And Green Day‘s mom just woke them up.) Now it’s Rocktober, which is way cooler than the Catalina Wine Mixer.

And Rocktober is starting strong with…. (wait, are you sure… can you re-check the date… really?)… Earth, Wind & Fire. Wow, sorry that I prematurely put you out to pasture, EWF. I guess Mark Twain was right when he said “When Rocktober starts, I want to be in Cincinnati, because they always get concerts one month later.” Or maybe it was Hal Holbrook who said that… same difference.

Twain also said, “Earth, Wind & Fire is my jam!” They’re playing the Icon downtown tonight – the show is sold out. But fear not, you can catch Pure Prairie League at the Ludlow Garage. Wait, that show is sold out too. Welp, maybe you can just stay home and watch the documentary about Superchunk’s 2001 tour of Japan.

Or check out the new album from Jesse Malin. It’s a bop, as the kids say.

Tomorrow Walk the Moon is playing Bogart’s… they originally booked shows for both Saturday and Sunday, but the Sunday gig is cancelled. It’s like Twain said, “when you are a one-hit wonder, there are no second acts.” Wait, maybe that was Hal Linden.

Something’s Fish-y about this case…

Also tomorrow, local Tom Petty tribute band Tom the Torpedoes will be playing Big Ash Brewing. My friend Chris Comer is in that band, playing keyboards. Benmont Tench’s shoes are mighty big ones to fill, but Chris is up to the task. I’d be there for sure if I weren’t out of town.

Btw, if you’ve yet to listen to the Broken Record podcast episode with Benmont Tench, please do so post-haste.

Local fave Ben Levin will be tickling the ivories at Wiedemann’s tomorrow night as well, with another blues wunderkind, Noah Wotherspoon, also on the bill. (You can see the full list of Ben’s gigs on his website.)

Tuesday, Roctober 5th: Modest Mouse plays the Icon with Future Islands also on the bill, and Chris Thile is at Memorial Hall.

Wednesday, Roctober 6th: The Struts amble into the PromoWest Pavilion in Newport. List member Gil Kaufman, who has seen a gazillion shows (all for free… the perks of being a big-time writer) is a big fan and says they put on a fun show.

Larkin Poe plays Bogart’s on Thursday (I’m sure you’re as tired of the Rocktober shtick as I am). Local fave Jeremy Pinnell has an album release show at Southgate next Friday.

Don Felder (a.k.a. the guy whom Glenn Frey and Don Henley railroaded… hot take) is playing the Lawrenceburg Event Center on Saturday, 10/9, and “Lynyrd Skynyrd” is playing Riverbend. I put quotes around “Lynyrd Skynyrd” because IMHO, that band came to an untimely end on October 20th, 1977.

I know I’ve been slacking on these updates. I’ll do better in the future, I promise.

Speaking of promises, I have a favor to ask of you. My friend and co-worker Michael “Rico” Carrico lost his brother to cancer a couple of years ago. His brother Kevin passed away while he was in med school working to become a pediatric oncologist… after he had beaten Hodgkin’s Lymphoma as a teenager… a cruel twist of fate which is heartbreakingly tragic on so many levels.

Before he passed, I promised him that I would do anything that I could to help fight the terrible disease that took him from us too early. One of the initiatives that our family has taken up is to help fundraise for the National Collegiate Cancer Foundation to provide services and support to young adults who have been diagnosed with cancer.
List member Michael Carrico

My ask of you, faithful reader (even though I’ve been a less-than-faithful writer), is to contribute to the Kevin Carrico Scholarship fund, which will provide need-based financial support to young adult survivors between the ages of 18 and 35 who are pursuing higher education throughout their treatment and beyond. You can donate here. Think of all the concert tickets you didn’t purchase over the past 18 months (for example, I know for a fact that Dan “The Reds are the Walk the Moon of MLB” Lewis was planning to go to both shows at Bogart’s), and maybe divert some of that cash to an extremely worthwhile cause. Thanks so much. You rock harder than Rocktober!

Substance over Style

97X, Concert Listings, Music

Your live music connection has become unplugged. Sorry, I’ve been busy going to Red Rocks for Tedeschi-Trucks and Jason Isbell/Lucinda Williams shows. But I don’t want to let down Dan “The Reds are going to win it all… this year!” Lewis.

I totally missed out on letting you know about both Hall and Oates. (They’re at Riverbend tonight… from my palatial estate in Mt. Washington I can sometimes hear tunes emanating from that venue, so I stuck my head outside the window earlier in hopes of catching the sweet strains of “Maneater”… no dice.)

Apologies for the slacking. Let’s get to the list, and skip the ol’ jazz hands.

The Wallflowers open up for Matchbox Twenty tomorrow at Riverbend. Guess I’ll have to stick my head out the window earlier tomorrow night. (The Wallflowers new album is a solid effort, btw… but “One Headlight” is still my favorite dance tune.)

Also Tuesday:

Shakey Graves plays Bogart’s
Enjoy a free local show with Ricky Nye Inc. at the Blue Ash Nature Park. (Pro tip: don’t make the same mistake I did… it’s a nature park, not a naturist park… wear clothes!)

Todd Snider is playing the 20th Century Theater in Oakley on Wednesday, with the amazing Aaron Lee Tasjan as the opener.

On Thursday, Buddy Guy plays the PNC Pavilion with Robert Randolph & the Family Band. Wait, this just in, that show is CANCELLED.

Friday, it’s a Yacht Rock special at Ludlow Garage: Pablo F-ing Cruise!

Wait, this just in… the Pablo Cruise show has been cancelled. Next thing you know, they’ll cancel the Catalina Wine Mixer.

https://youtu.be/RGB8QgwxZqw

Still slated for Friday: Live at the Fillmore (“the definitive tribute to the Allman Brothers Band”) and Joshua Ray Walker play outdoors at my new favorite venue, RiversEdge in Hamilton! Ohio. And Joan Jett & the Blackhearts and Cheap Trick play PNC Pavilion. I won’t have to stick my head out the window to hear Rick Nielsen’s guitar.

Saturday is a huge day for gigs:

Maroon 5 plays Riverbend… I’ll stick my head out the window and hear every middle-aged woman in the Tri-State — including my wife and her Jazzercise friends — squealing about the lead singer. (Oh, and probably Dan Lewis too.)

Also on Saturday, Soul Asylum is playing the old Annie’s with Local H. Juliana Hatfield was also supposed to be on the bill, but she dropped out of the tour due to “unforeseen circumstances.”

Plenty o’ local bands in action on Saturday as well:

This Pine Box is playing Southgate with Buck the Taxidermist and Circle It.
Lung has an album release party on Fountain Square, with Paige Beller and Small Reactions.
Last but certainly not least, list member Dave “Lenny” Lenehan’s band Outta Here (“a good time blues-rock band) is playing Wiedemann’s taproom.

Looking ahead to next week (because I’ve been slacking and probably won’t get another post out before then), St. Paul & the Broken Bones are at the old Annie’s on Tuesday, 8/31. And Kings of Leon and Cold War Kids are playing Riverbend. (Although they cancelled a show in Cleveland last week due to a positive COVID test for a band staffer.)

Thursday, September 2nd, Drive-by Truckers are playing the old Annie’s… and I’ll be down in Louisville for the Waxahatchee show at Headliner’s. Jefferson Starship plays Memorial Hall that night too. And Ben Levin will be at Big Ash Brewing. (Ben’s also opening for Booker T. Jones on Thursday, September 9th… amazing!)

JJ Grey & Mofro plays RiversEdge on Friday, September 3rd, with opener Jackie Vernon. This is the only show of the season where general admission isn’t free. But JJ Grey is totally worth it.

That same evening, Neko Case plays Memorial Hall with A.C. Newman… a double dose of New Pornographers! Let’s hope Neko is in a better mood than she was at her gig at the Taft a few year’s back. And The Roots are at the Icon.

On Saturday, September 4th, Meshell Ndegeocello is at Memorial Hall, and the Legendary Wailers (featuring Julian “Junior” Marvin) are at Ludlow Garage.

Tuesday September 7th:

St. Vincent plays the Icon
Chris Hillman is at Memorial Hall with Herb Pedersen and John Jorgenson.

Lots of venues and artists are requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test… I’m on board with that. As is my bud Jason Isbell:

I feel like some of us saw the exit, and the building was on fire, and now we are trying to talk everyone into following us to the exit so we don’t get burned. It’s pretty much as simple as that. And also, I just don’t think that our business is going to be able to continue this way unless we put some restrictions in place. I know my crew and my band might not be able to withstand another shutdown, and I think a lot of people are in that same situation. So I’m just happy that it’s happening and that people are getting on board.
Jason Isbell in this Variety interview

Reading list:

Tip o’ the hat to list member Dave Tellmann for the link to this great article about how Happy Chichester of the Royal Crescent Mob (97X faves from back in the day) nearly joined the Foo Fighters.

Listening list:

Speaking of Dave Tellmann and 97X, the newest episode of our podcast features another interview with former station owners Doug & Linda Balogh. Tune in via the 97Xbam website or on Podbean, Spotify , Google Podcasts, TuneIn or Apple podcasts. You can even tell your Amazon or Google ~~spying machine~~ device “Play the latest episode of the 97X Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast” and hear it.

Must-see TV

I leave you with this gorgeous Tanya Donelly cover by Gabi Lima (who also sat in on bass and vocals on “Darl” when I saw Buffalo Tom in L.A. a few years ago and crushed it). Gabi’s dog isn’t blown away by it, but I am.

Live Music, a reason to Live

Concert Listings, Music

Live music is a thing again! Last Friday, I saw a concert featuring national acts for the first time since… forever ago. And what a way to get back into the swing of things – the Aaron Lee Tasjan/S.G. Goodman gig in Hamilton was out-freakin-standing!

The concert organizers wisely decided to move the show under cover – it rained buckets a few times – but the precipitation didn’t dampen the spirits of the crowd or the performers. S.G. Goodman is the real deal. Her debut album is soooo good. But don’t take it from me, take it from list member Michael “Rico” Carrico:

And Aaron Lee Tasjan was a delight too… amazingly talented and an engaging performer.

Here’s a brief snippet of Aaron Lee playing keyboards:

Before the show, we had a pregame beverage (OK maybe two…) at Municipal Brew Works, where The Todds were able to join forces.

List members Todd Butler and Todd Quincy… “High five!”

I know I made fun of Hamil-tucky last week, but I’ve done a 180… downtown Hamilton has got it going on (and by “it” I mean urban renewal).

In fact, I’ll be back in Hamilton again this Friday with list member John Sandman for the Arlo McKinley/Morgan Wade show… and the weather gods will allow this one to be at the RiversEdge outdoor amphitheater.

Check out more tunes from both artists here. General admission is free… and the first pre-show beer is on me at Municipal Brew Works. C’mon show Hamilton some love.

Other shows of note in the upcoming weeks:

Ben Levin plays Wiedemann’s taproom this Saturday (plus a few other gigs – check his list here.)
The Reverend Horton Heat & the Hackensaw Boys play Southgate this Sunday
Foo Fighters open the new Icon venue in downtown Cincinnati. (Didn’t get tickets in the 12 minutes before the show sold out? Me too – let’s meet at Smale Park and listen for free.)
Paul Thorn with opener Scott Miller at Memorial Hall on Thursday, July 29th… that same evening, Whiskey Myers & The Steel Woods have a sold-out show at Taft and Buffalo Wabs & the Price Hill Hustle play a free show at Washington Park.
The Smithereens play Ludlow Garage on Friday, July 30th, with special guest vocalist Marshall Crenshaw.
Local faves This Pine Box play Big Ash Brewing, also on Friday 7/30.
Steve Earle is at the old Annie’s on Saturday, July 31st.
The Black Crowes play Riverbend on Tuesday, August 3rd, as part of the ~~Make Your Money, Robinson Brothers~~ Shake Your Moneymaker Tour
On Wednesday, August 4th, Emmylou Harris and Los Lobos play a co-headlining date at PNC Pavilion. Talk about two American treasures — you’d be hard-pressed to find more talent on one stage than Emmylou and “just another band from East L.A.” And that show has some Arby’s “We have the Seats” cheap seats in the upper corners for a mere $24… As always, we remind you to purchase Riverbend, PNC and Taft show tickets at the Taft or Riverbend box office to save on the ridiculous TicketBastard fees.

I’m bummed that I’ll be out of town for a lot of the shows listed above – but don’t feel too bad for me, as I’ll be seeing Tedeschi-Trucks at Red Rocks on Friday, 7/30… AND Jason Isbell with Lucinda Williams at Red Rocks on Sunday, August 1st. I love Jason and Lu… and have always wanted to see a show at Red Rocks. Bucket list, checked!

Speaking of Mr. Isbell, this tweet about his wife mishearing Springsteen lyrics cracked me up:

So curb your Ted Lasso binge, get off the couch, brush off that Cheeto dust and go see some live music. Hurry, before the anti-vaxxers ruin it for all of us.

Take me to the River

Concert Listings, Music

I hate to start out with bad news, but since you’re such a fan of great music, you should know:

That’s right, kids (I mean kidz), your favorite show of the summer is no more. Here’z hoping you get over it. I mean, you can still see Hoobastank.

They are playing “the old Annie’s” (a.k.a. Riverfront Live) tomorrow night, along with Everclear, Living Colour and Wheatus. The old Annie’s also has Phil Vassar on Friday and Hyryder on Saturday (all are indoor shows).

Take me to a different part of the river… and a different river

But enough about Riverfront Live, and there’s no need to even discuss Riverbend. Instead let’s focus on another river perspective: RiversEdge. It’s an outdoor amphitheater in Hamilton! Ohio. And this Friday, they have a great double bill of S.G. Goodman and Aaron Lee Tasjan. Not familiar with them? Check out their latest releases below.

Do not sleep on this show… because it starts at the old-person-friendly time of 7 p.m. And even better, general admission on the lawn is FREE!

Yours truly will be there (weather permitting – fingers crossed), along with list members Todd Butler and Todd Quincy (who is part of the RiversEdge committee). It’s always a good time with a Todd or two.

Come join us, won’t you? If you can’t make Friday’s show, RiversEdge has a few more ace shows up their sleeve. Wait, check that, it’s Hamilton, so they are probably in a sleeveless Harley shirt…

Anyhoo, Arlo McKinley plays RiversEdge next Friday, July 23rd, The North Mississippi Allstars are there on August 7th, The Infamous Stringdusters & Sierra Hull play on August 21st, and JJ Grey and Mofro are booked for September 3rd. (Other than the JJ Grey gig, lawn admission is free.)

Speaking of gratuitous shows (of the non-Hoobastank variety), I need to profusely apologize to you for not alerting you to the recent freebie shows at Fountain Square. Cracker was there on July 3rd (several list members were in attendance, including at least 50% of The Cereal Killers), and Red Wanting Blue played there on July 9th (list members Whit and Barb Gardner were there). Needless to say, list member Dan “The Reds are in in to win it” Lewis was not pleased with my recent lack of concert communication, as witnessed by his email to me on June 29th:

Sorry to let you down, Dan. The full list of Fountain Square Friday and Saturday gigs is here…. I highly recommend the Brett Dennan gig on August 6th. And I know you’re a big fan of The Mavericks (Taft on 9/24) and Todd Rundgren (Icon on 10/30), so please make a note of those dates. By the way, have you considered a corporate partnership with Warren Beatty?

Other gigs in the near future

The Casey Campbell Band plays a freebie at Washington Park this Thursday night, and the Reverend Horton Heat & Hackensaw Boys are at Southgate on Sunday, July 25th.

Venting my spleen

How is it that the Cincinnati area has two brand new indoor/outdoor venues opening when every friggin’ band in America is jonesing to tour, yet we still cannot manage to book more than a handful of decent shows? Case in point – Phoebe Bridgers is playing the PromoWest venues in Pittsburgh and Columbus on consecutive nights, yet is NOT playing the PromoWest venue in Newport… she’s also playing Indy and Louisville, so our Bermuda Triangle status remains in full effect.

Notable Names in the News

List member Gil Kaufman made the New York Post… but not Page Six. He’s quoted in this article about how MTV stopped playing music and jumped the shark.

“I have two teenage kids, and they know that I worked for MTV, but they’ve never seen MTV,” said Kaufman, who, after working at the network for 15-plus years, is now a senior contributing writer at Billboard. “They wouldn’t even know where to look for it.”

And Dan McCabe (co-owner of MOTR Pub and The Woodward Theater) talks about the struggles of local music venues in this Cincinnati Business Courier article.

“Survival happened. We’re certainly not whole,” McCabe said.” But we owe people money. Survival costs a lot of money. Then there are repairs that need to happen. These are both old buildings. A year and a half without maintenance shows up.”

List member Dave Tellmann and I interviewed Dan about that same topic on our 97X “Rumblings from the Big Bush” podcast several months ago. Speaking o’ the podcast, all 65 glorious episodes are available on Podbean, Spotify , Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn , iHeart Radio, Pandora and Apple podcasts. It’s never been easier to tune in… or to completely ignore us.

Live Music is Back!

Concert Listings

Great news: after a loooong dormancy, concerts are becoming as plentiful as cicada shells! (Sorry, the cicada reference is mandatory… check back in 17 years for another one.)

The not-so-great news: Cincinnati remains the Bermuda Triangle of concert tours.

Artist after artist plays Louisville, Columbus and Indy and just blows right past our fair burg. It’s downright depressing… and after the year we’ve endured, we need No Depression.

Actually the “Bermuda Triangle of the Midwest” map above isn’t accurate… because pound for pound, even Hamil-tucky, Ohio (motto: “stop asking about the exclamation point already!”) is kicking Cincinnati’s buttocks in the live music game. Gigs this summer and fall at RiversEDGE Amphitheater include:

Aaron Lee Tasjan with SG Goodman (Friday, July 16th)
Arlo McKinley (Friday, July 28th)
North Mississippi Allstars (Saturday, August 7th)
The Infamous Stringdusters with Sierra Hull (Saturday, August 21st)
JJ Grey & Mofro (Friday, September 3rd)

Whereas Riverbend’s schedule remains a time capsule from 1985, answering the musical question “How many years in a row can an outdoor shed book both Chicago AND The Doobie Brothers?” with an emphatic “Every friggin’ year!”

Wait, this just in: Riverbend’s marketing department has informed me that they are actually “hep” and “with it” in 2021. As proof, they cite the appearance of an up-and-coming artist named Jimmy Buffett.

But our good friend, list member Dan “The Reds are gonna win it all ~~this~~ next year” Lewis has booked some of his favorite bands at Great American Ball Park:

Does that lineup sound töo göod to be trüe? Well, Dan “I love umlauts” Lewis has just informed us that the show above has been postponed until 2022… and he’s pissed because he already made an appointment to get his hair extensions done this year. But another of Dan’s faves will be playing GABP:

Are we sure this isn’t a photo of Stanley Tucci after eating all that fattening food in Italy?

Billy Joel had an open date on his schedule because the Allentown, PA minor league baseball team cancelled his gig at their stadium. (Fun fact: the team is called the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.)

Are we sure this isn’t a photo of Billy Joel after having a bottle of red and a bottle of white at an Italian restaurant?

If Billy Joel cancels his gig, Dan will really be pissed. Perhaps we can all pitch in to book the cover band Uptown Girl for a wine mixer at Dan’s house.

https://youtu.be/8QIICilg90Q

Meanwhile, just over the border in the Hoosier State, it’s shaping up to be “The Summer of Musicians Who Were Kicked Out of Bands by Their Greedy Bandmates” with shows from both Ace Frehley and Don Felder at the Lawrenceburg Event Center. (Note to Dan “Kickstart My Heart” Lewis: Vince Neil is playing there too!)

But fear not, good citizens of the Tri-State… there are a few good gigs coming our way. Not many, but a few. I’ll try to keep you posted. Local piano wunderkind Ben Levin (hey, he’s our neighbor!) is playing Big Ash Brewing this Saturday evening. All the cool kids will be there – oh, and I’ll be there too.

Honestly, the one place in town that’s punching well above its weight in decent concerts is the old Annie’s on Eastern Avenue. (The new name of the venue is Riverfront Live but dollars to donuts that 95% of the people who talk about it call it “the old Annie’s.”) Their full line-up of concerts is here.

As fate would have it, the Drive-by Truckers show at “the old Annie’s” was announced a few weeks after list member Mighty Joe Sampson and I bought tickets to see Waxahatchee in Louisville on that same night (9/2). So even when we win, we lose.

Before I sign off, I want to give props to the Cincinnati Enquirer (that’s a newspaper, kids… a newspaper is a printed publication… printing is… aw, nevermind!) for publishing a list of all the free summer shows in the area.

And I also want to mock the Cincinnati Enquirer (it’s a fungible token… aw, nevermind!) for not publishing the full name of a band that just booked a show at the Woodward Theater:

What a bunch of… wussies! Oh, speaking of Wussy, members of that stellar band have played more than 52 free livestream shows since the COVID lockdown began, and they rarely ever mention their tip jar. Those gigs have been a real lifesaver, and the beauty of the songs is nearly matched by the hilarity of the between-songs banter. Chuck Cleaver is my spirit animal.

And speaking of The Woodward Theater, it’s good to see them back in action. I hope they can book more shows soon. Ditto for MOTR Pub.

Shameless Self-Promotion

I’m still doing a podcast with my old 97X buddy Dave Tellmann… we chat with the folks that made 97X so special back in the day. We even interviewed Dan McCabe of MOTR/Woodward Theater fame (and Sudsy’s too… R.I.P.) and Mark Messerly of Wussy. We drop a new episode every couple of weeks, and you can listen via all the major podcast aggregators: Apple Music. Spotify. Pandora. Podbean. iHeart Radio. Google Podcasts. TuneIn.

Just tell that device that’s always spying on you to “Play the 97X Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast” and treat your ears to 18 minutes or so of pure magic.

Hope to see you in person at a show soon, my friends!

More Fun in the Quarantined World

97X, Concert Listings, Music, podcast, woxy.com

Hola, amigos, how’s it going? I know it’s been a while since I rapped at ya… (that’s my tribute to one of my favorite columnists in The Onion.) I know I’ve been pretty dour lately, so I’ll try to keep a PMA (positive mental attitude) today, just like Jesse Malin encourages everyone to do during his brilliant weekly live stream concerts.

Alrighty, let’s get into it.

There is nothing like the energy and atmosphere of live music. It is the most life-affirming experience, to see your favorite performer onstage, in the flesh, rather than as a one-dimensional image glowing in your lap as you spiral down a midnight YouTube wormhole.

That’s Mr. Dave Grohl, from an article he wrote for The Atlantic.

Speaking of energy and atmosphere, yesterday’s live stream from Dropkick Murphys at Fenway Paahhrk is pretty lively:

https://youtu.be/VzkMA_1NbfY

And here’s some pure joy for you, marimba style:

As mentioned previously, the Broken Record podcast is a great listen. Their last two episodes have been superb: Jason Isbell and Nick Lowe

Under the covers

Speaking of Nick Lowe, here’s a cool cover of his most famous (and most covered) tune, from Sharon Van Etten and Josh Homme:

Several local luminaries got together to do Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me” for Cincinnati Children’s (HT to list member Keith Neltner for the link)

Tanya Donnelly (founding member of Throwing Muses, Belly and the Breeders… can anyone top that?) covers this great song from Yazoo

Here’s Whitney and Waxahatchee doing classic John Denver

And Caroline Spence (whose album Mint Condition was one of my faves from last year) puts her own spin on a Jimmy Eat World tune:

Great news for Americana fans

Kathleen Edwards (to whom Caroline Spence has been compared) is back! Her 1st album in eight years is due out in August. Read more in this Rolling Stone article and check out a new tune here:

The Jayhawks have a new album XOXO due out July 10. A couple of tunes from it are below, and hat tip to list member Bruce Frasure for tipping us off to the fun quarantine series from Jayhawks’ leader Gary Louris called “The Sh*t Show.”

Quaran-tunes

DBT created a new song for these times:

And Wilco created a song that made its debut on Colbert:

https://youtu.be/ZxnVYd3TpJs

Jeff Tweedy played Jesus, Etc. too!

https://youtu.be/MJF6BunIdF0

Calling all vinylheads: to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Yo La Tengo album Electr-O-Pura, Matador is releasing it on two LPs. Here’s the original video of a tune from that album, as well as a nice cover from Lucy Dacus.

Wha’ happened?

I know I wanted to stay positive, but I have to mention the passing of comedy genius Fred Willard, whose 75-second appearance in This is Spinal Tap is one of the most memorable scenes ever.

Harry Shearer worked with Fred on the woefully underappreciated Fernwood 2 Night TV show and in several movies (including Spinal Tap). Listen to the three-minute opening of Harry’s Le Show podcast from 5/17 for this heartfelt tribute.

Worth another look

Billy Bragg’s home show was lovely. Check it out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=176421906998317&external_log_id=954427e51f78d3b249aa6e79ec7f2104

Jesse Malin’s newest live streams are multi-camera gigs done in an NYC basement bar, with Rob Clores adding great licks on piano… and the first episode of “Season Two” also features a long interview with Lucinda Williams.

Here’s Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires playing his new album in its entirety.

Shameless self-promotion

The latest episode of the “97X Rumblings from the Big Bush” podcast features Joe Long, an early music blogger (Each Note Secure, The Futurist) who joined the station during the woxy.com era.

Have a great week!

2 Kool 2 B 4-gotten

97X, Concert Listings, Music, podcast

Sorry to start on a few sad notes, but John Erhardt of Wussy/Ass Ponys passed away last Monday. His longtime friend and bandmate Chuck Cleaver wrote a very loving tribute to him on Wussy’s Facebook page.

John gave us a beauty that we’ll never see again. A combination of love, friendship, stability and that amazing swirling sound. Truly a wonder. A backdrop to everything that we are, in the band and in life.
Chuck Cleaver

You can read more in this blog post. I did want to share a couple of comments from friends of mine who knew him personally:

A very lovely man. Present, mindful, caring. A supportive person to be around. Hearts will ache.
Phil Roberto

John Erhardt was a fabulous DP (Director of Photography) and cinematographer, as well as a phenomenal musician. He shot film and video, and has been a fixture in Cincinnati’s film community for decades. A joyful, humble, talent, with a wonderful personality. Losing him has been a shock to our community.
Beth Fowler

Friends of John have organized a memorial fund:

The untimely and sudden passing of our friend John Erhardt has us all asking, “What can we do to honor his memory? How can we continue John’s legacy to have a positive and lasting impact on others?”

As John’s wife, Denise, and his daughter, Elizabeth, experience their grief, they are determined to channel what they are feeling into a way to help those who struggle with mental health, as John did.

To support the cause, a fund is being established to assist organizations whose focus is advocating for and helping individuals and their families who contend with the disease of mental illness.

Below is a link to the GoFundMe – please donate if you can. Thanks.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/john-erhardt-memorial-fund?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=m_pd+share-sheet

Speaking of untimely deaths and mental health struggles, Sunday marked the 2nd anniversary of the passing of Frightened Rabbit lead singer Scott Hutchison. We still miss him dearly.

Scott’s family established the Tiny Changes charity focused on mental health among young people in his native Scotland. Please donate if you can. And if you’re not familiar with Frightened Rabbit, you need to listen to their magnum opus album The Midnight Organ Fight right now!

We also lost “The Innovator” and “The Originator”… Little Richard. Check out this NPR tribute for 10 songs that showcase his genius.

2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten | Lucinda Williams | Photos by Birney Imes from Katy Clune on Vimeo.

The hope that is left after all your hopes are gone — that is pure hope, rooted in the heart.
Brother David Steindl-Rast

On a brighter note…

Per Rolling Stone, Jason Isbell is doing an acoustic live stream of his new album Reunions on Friday at 8 p.m. EDT via fans.com. It’s a freebie but donations for Jason’s crew and MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund are encouraged.

Bands in Town has a very robust list of live stream concerts, and you can filter by date, genre and popularity. I’ll be tuned in for the Japanese Breakfast gig on Thursday night. (That’s a ticketed show.) Here’s another Thursday night show:

https://youtu.be/KRa8ZH_iOXo

Tunes I’ve been digging

Lost in the Country is the solo debut from Dave Benton, who goes by the name Trace Mountains. A very War on Drugs vibe to it. Good stuff.

Get your kicks with Robert Pollard

Uproxx just published this oral history of the 1995 Guided By Voices album Alien Lanes.

Must be the power chords…

Worth another listen

Horsebreaker Star, the 1995 release from Grant McLennan (Go-Betweens) is one of my go-to throwbacks.

Worth another look

Tom Petty. 1978. ’nuff said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJv2dOWa-3o&feature=youtu.be

Jesse Malin mentioned this clip on his most recent home gig… he was a kid in the audience for this SNL appearance by Fear.

Shameless self-promotion

Via Google Meet, Dave and I chatted with Howard Cohen (lead singer of Cereal Killers) about college parties, wrecked cars, Sudsy Malone’s, 97Xposure, his side hustle as a jingle/voiceover artist (you’ve heard his voice, guaranteed). You can check out the episode on this website for some bonus content including Howard’s book recommendations, or on Podbean, Spotify or Apple podcasts.

Weekly warriors

The past two weeks, Jesse Malin had his old buddy Rob Clores on keyboards. So good.

In Episode 7, Jesse opened up his set with a Flaming Lips cover…

Rob gives a nice shout-out to Jacqui and Dave’s Parlor & Patio series toward the end!

And check out Bill Janovitz doing a couple of New Order covers (“Age of Consent” and “Leave Me Alone”) with his daughter Lucy… at about the 1:13:00 mark of his 2-hour-plus show on Facebook!

Take care, my friends!

Not-so-Live music

97X, Concert Listings, Music, podcast

If the world weren’t upside down, I would’ve been at the Robyn Hitchcock show at Southgate this past Sunday, and Greg Dulli’s gig at the Woodward on Wednesday. Instead I was stuck in my basement, staring at the same four walls. #FML.

Oh well, let’s make the best of it. Here’s another grab bag o’ recorded tunes and musical ephemera.

I love Chuck Cleaver, and I’m not afraid to admit it. I’ve loved him for decades, since his Ass Ponys days. So shame on me for taking so long to let you know that Wussy band members have been doing a weekly stream on Fridays at 7. Hat tip to list member Dr. David Reid for the tipoff. Last week’s show with Chuck and Lisa was exactly what you’d expect from them: weird, wacky… and absolutely beautiful. Lisa’s questions for Chuck were especially enjoyable… and they do a few Ass Ponys songs too!

Chuck Cleaver photo from this CityBeat article, shot by Chuck’s daughter Anna Stockton

The Broken Record podcast is consistently great. I absolutely loved this episode, which features an interview with Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley of Drive-By Truckers and stripped down versions of a few songs from their new album:

Curt Smith from Tears for Fears did a version of “Mad World” with his daughter Diva. Check it out on the Facebooks.

Bert Averre, the guitarist for The Knack, posted a fun video for “Bye Corona” (3 guesses as to the tune…) Bassist Prescott Niles joins him at the end.

I’m going to keep touting Waxahatchee until you admit that her album Saint Cloud is one of the best of 2020. Here’s her Tiny Desk (at home) concert with her boyfriend Kevin Morby, which features two songs from Saint Cloud, a Morby tune and a Songs:Ohia cover.

Billie Joe Armstrong has been doing a cover song every week and posting it on Green Day’s YouTube Channel. He calls it “No Fun Mondays”… and his cover of “Manic Monday” features Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles. He also riffs on Tommy James & The Shondells, Johnny Thunders, The Avengers and Adam Schlesinger.

Shameless self-promotion

Rob Fetters is never boring. I caught up with him to chat about his free house concert live streams (latest edition is below), get some Zen advice on coping with COVID fears, and hear his story about Ted Nugent… you can check out the episode on this website (which features bonus content) or on Podbean, Spotify or Apple podcasts.

“Paul is dead.” But John Curley is alive and well.

True story: a few days ago, the Afghan Whigs promoted our podcast interview with John Curley on their official Facebook page… but the way the photo and podcast description appeared, a few fans feared that it was some sort of obituary:

Sorry to scare you, Prissy! But the inadvertent “clickbait” resulted in a record-setting number of downloads for our podcast. Thanks social media!

Worth another listen

Heard this song on Sirius XMU Wednesday, and it brought back some fond memories of my 97X days:

That song is the title track from Bettie Serveert’s 1993 album Palomine. It holds up quite well. Check it out:

Worth another look

Swedish sisters with angelic voices? Yes please!

You’ve probably seen this video before, of an all-star crew doing “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” at the 2004 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, but watching Prince’s absolutely ungodly guitar work and seeing him play with Tom Petty always makes me smile.

Weekly warriors

Have a great week!

Live! (on tape)

97X, Concert Listings, Music, podcast

Let’s focus on the positives of the music world. Our favorite artists now have more time than ever to create new music. (Unless they lost their day job… or they need to get a day job to make up for lost touring income… welp, that positivity didn’t last long, did it?)

But hey, Lucinda Williams has a new album out today called Good Souls Better Angels, and new Lu is always good news. This record is gritty, greasy, gutsy and guitar-driven. Check it out on Spotify. Read the profile in the NYT. Here’s a track from it called “Man Without a Soul”:

It isn’t difficult to figure out who Lu has in mind with lyrics like this:

You bring nothing good to this world
Beyond a web of cheating and stealing
You hide behind your wall of lies
But it’s coming down, yeah, it’s coming down

Want more new album good news? X has a new album! It’s their first disc in 27 years, and it features the original lineup of John Doe, Exene Cervenka, Billy Zoom and D.J. Bonebrake (best drummer name ever). Read more about it and stream the entire disc on Slicing Up Eyeballs, a great website for middle aged modern rockers.

The Pretenders also have a cool new song out. Here’s the video:

Liz Longley put on a great show last Friday. It was in Liz’s living room in Pennsylvania, when it was supposed to be in list members Dave & Jacqui’s home in Ft. Thomas, but Dave & Jacqui made the best of it:

An Apple a day

Folks are going cuckoo for the new Fiona Apple album too, and rightfully so. Title track is below, and here’s a lengthy New Yorker profile.

The new releases from Laura Marling, Half Waif, Watkins Family Hour, Peel Dream Machine, The Chats, The Strokes, Lilly Hiatt, Catholic Action, and Why Bonnie are also worth a spin.

Coming up: the usual suspects

I’ll let you fish for yourself on the virtual gigs. NPR, Billboard and several other outlets have a running list of all the shows on the interwebs – YouGram, InstaFace, BookTube, etc. And if you’ve read this blog, you know about most of the standing gigs:

Grateful Dead Fridays at 8 on their YouTube channel.
Jesse Malin Saturdays at 4 on YouTube
Bill Janovitz Saturdays at 4:30 on Facebook
Josh Ritter does a gig Tuesdays at 8 on YouTube.
Radiohead streams a concert Thursdays at 5 on YouTube.
Amanda Shires (with Jason Isbell) does “Iso-Lounging” pretty much every day at 6 on YouTube.
Rob Fetters plays every weekend on YouTube (link via his website)

Speaking of Mr. Fetters, when he cancelled his gig at Roebling Point Books, they refunded the money that same day. Classy move! We’ve already discussed TicketBastard’s B.S. “refund” policy. Other promoters seem to be following their lead. The National’s Homecoming announced that refunds would be coming “in the next few days” on 4/3, and then on 4/20 there was another email saying we’d get a refund “within 30 days”. C’mon, man, millions of folks are out of work, and you’re going to sit on their hard-earned cash (Homecoming tix were about $120 for the weekend) for months?

Wait, I was supposed to stay positive, wasn’t I? Better fire up The Hold Steady batsignal:

That helped. I’m feeling much better now…

Gigs, interviews, and clips…

Jesse Malin also talks about PMA – Positive Mental Attitude – in this 8-minute interview on WFUV.

Instagram is the worst of the virtual venues… the viewing area is tiny already, and then all the comments cover up half of that area. But this Waxahatchee set is stellar:

Here’s an R.E.M. gig from 1984: https://youtu.be/kRTH8eqZbPM

Shameless self-promotion

The new episode of the 97X Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast features an interview with Robin James, a 97X listener who is now a philosophy prof. at UNC-Charlotte and is working on a book about 97X.

Have a great weekend!

Music is My Happy Place

Concert Listings, Music, podcast

To paraphrase Bill Medley: Now I’ve had… the quaran-time of my life… and I never want to feel this way again!

Music is about the only thing keeping me from going completely bonkers. I hope you are holding up well. Here’s the rundown on tunes for lockdown.

Liz Longley “at” Parlor & Patio tonight at 7:30!

List members Dave and Jacqui are turning their Parlor & Patio house concert featuring Liz Longley into a virtual event tonight at 7:30. Here’s the Eventbrite link. Just like usual Parlor & Patio shows, all ticket proceeds go directly to the artist.

Grateful Dead movie at 8 p.m. tonight

The Grateful Dead’s Shakedown Stream happens every Friday at 8 p.m. EDT on their YouTube channel. Tonight it’s a screening of the 1977 concert flick The Grateful Dead Movie. Future installments will include never-before-seen concerts from the band’s archive, as well as previously released shows.

Even when there are no shows, TicketBastard is still screwing us out of our money.

Excerpt from a CityBeat article: Most recently, Ticketmaster, which sells more than $30 billion in tickets per year, has made changes to its refund policy. According to The New York Times, the policy included refunds for postponed, rescheduled, and canceled events as recently as a few weeks ago. However, they’ve appeared to quietly adjust the policy, which now reads: “Refunds are available if your event is canceled.”

Weekly Warriors

Hats off to Rob Fetters, Jesse Malin and Bill Janovitz for doing an in-home set every damn week. And they’re so damn good. Fetters talked about The Bears album cover that Mort Drucker (R.I.P.) created (show is below — read more about that Mort Drucker cover art on CityBeat.) Malin covered The Hold Steady, the Replacements, the Rolling Stones and more (show is below). Janovitz covered John Prine, Tom Waits, George Jones and Big Thief… and he makes a different cocktail at the start of each show. (Link to his show is here on FB.)

Fetters is Fridays at 9 p.m. via a link from his website. Jesse Malin is Saturdays at 4 p.m. on YouTube. Bill Janovitz is Saturdays at 4:30 p.m. on his band Buffalo Tom’s Facebook page.

Celebrities, they’re just like us… or maybe just me

Bojack Horseman is one of my favorite shows, and it turns out Bojack and I are both in the non-Radiohead camp. Check out this magnified screen grab from a recent episode:

But I know list members Kevin Sullivan and Doug Hill-Harriss are still cuckoo for them. Doug also sent along a link to some Radio.com live shows. The Black Keys are on tonight at 9.

Other gigs include Sylvan Esso tonight at 8 and Brett Newski at 9. Get the links from NPR’s list.

Dan’s with the Band… and the other band

Dan Lewis is mad at me because I didn’t mention that Jesse Malin’s old band D Generation opened up for KISS at that show where he was backstage. And the guy giving the tour said “Nice guys, but they’re not very good.” Jesse has come a long way.