May the tunes be with you

It’s almost time for that very special holiday:

Uh, not May the 4th… a.k.a. Spock’s birthday. Or maybe his “Life Day.”

The big day is May 10th – members of Wussy are playing a gig at my house. It’s the 3rd appearance for Chuck & Lisa, and to celebrate #3 they’re bringing a third member: Mark Messerly.

Mark and I are twin sons of different mothers – or we just have similar tastes in cool band t-shirts:

BTW, Mark’s solo project INERT has a new album out soon. Here’s the lead track:

But there are plenty of other cool (albeit less exclusive) gigs coming our way in the merry month of May. Let’s eyeball ’em.

Tonight (5/1):

The 502s and Daniel Nunnelee play Bogart’s
Kelsey Waldon is at Southgate
Todd Lipscomb and Easy Mark play MOTR

On Thursday:

The Tillers play the “Tunes & Blooms” gig at the Cincinnati Zoo
Red Wanting Blue plays Southgate
Camp Springs Tavern hosts the bi-weekly Bluegrass Jam
The Breakers (a tribute to Tom Petty… or to ’91 Keanu and Swayze) play Ludlow Garage

Friday night, the Wussy Trio (Chuck, Lisa, Mark) plays The Lodge in Dayton, KY.

That same evening, local Mumford-adjacent band Jim Trace & The Makers plays Arnold’s. That group features two of my co-workers… and a name clearly dreamt up on the bourbon aisle of a liquor store. (Perhaps “Cabooze” – the train caboose retrofitted to be a liquor store that was a famous landmark in Newport, KY.)

Saturday, in the new-Newport, Ovation hosts The Ultimate Doors: a tribute to The Doors. (Now I really miss the old Sin City… and the doors of Cabooze.)

Shows on Tuesday, May 7th:

Rufus Wainwright plays Ludlow Garage
Stiff Little Fingers are at Bogart’s (and also on my pickleball paddle hand)
The Messthetics (drummer Brendan Canty and bassist Joe Lally from Fugazi) play the Woodward. Opener is James Brandon Lewis w/Siren Suit

Kamasi Washington plays Ludlow on Wednesday, 5/8, and EXTC (with XTC drummer Terry Chambers) plays Radio Artifact.

On Thursday, 5/9, it’s time to bust out the pipe.

The Verve Pipe plays the Woodward Theater. That same evening, Tenille Townes (no relation to “Captain &” or “Van Zandt”) plays Ludlow, and Thievery Corporation plays Bogart’s. Thievery Corporation has a pretty cool logo:

Hah, that’s just a little good-natured ribbing there, my IRS friends… no need to audit me for that jibe. My “Cabooze” deductions are research expenses, and therefore completely legit!

On Friday, May 10th, Chuck Cleaver, Lisa Walker, and Mark Messerly of Wussy will be playing in my living room! (A rare occasion when I’m not the only wussy in the house…)

That same evening, Stanley Clarke plays the first of two nights at Ludlow. And Southern Culture on the Skids plays Southgate. Their poster is pretty cool:

Stanley Clarke is back at it on Saturday, 5/11 at Ludlow Garage.

Other 5/11 shows:

Robbie Fulks and Scott Miller play Southgate’s Revival Room (I’ll be at that gig)
Snõõper. Fruit Loops and The Serfs play the Woodward (list member Dave Tellmann’s son Jack produced some Snõõper tracks and has an engineering credit on their new album)
Bendigo Fletcher is in Southgate’s main room

Social Distortion and Bad Religion play the Cindy Brady on Sunday, May 12th, and Tommy Prine plays Southgate.

(My neighbors occasionally listen to live Wussy too!)

They Might Be Giants play a two-night “An Evening with…” stand at the Madison Theater on 5/14 and 5/15. The bill promises “2 very different shows. 8 piece band. 3 horns. 2 sets. 0 openers. Starts early. Gets loud.”

Another cool gig on Wednesday, May 15th is Parker Millsap and Robert Ellis doing the solo acoustic thing at Southgate.

There’s another bluegrass hootenanny at Camp Springs Tavern on Thursday, 5/16. Bring your own instrument.

Also on 5/16, Kraftwerk is playing the Ovation in Newport.

Friday, May 17th is a big night for shows:

The Violent Femmes will play their first two albums in a row during a show at the old Annie’s (I’ll be there. I already bought tickets… I got “two, two, two for my family” but now my son can’t go, so LMK if you want my extra, free of charge.)
The Secret Sisters play Southgate, with special guest Tyler Ramsey, formerly of Band of Horses
The jam band Houseplant plays Madison Theater
Ludlow Garage hosts “Live at the Fillmore – the definitive Allman Brothers tribute”
Saxon and Uriah Heep will rock Bogart’s… well, it’s more like Sagsome and Heap of Urologists now, but still, more power to ’em.

On Saturday, May 18th, the PNC Pavilion opens the shed season with… Brit Floyd… celebrating the 30th anniversary of a post-Roger/”meh” PF album (The Division Bell). (Sigh.) But at least on your way in, you can check out the progress on the destruction of the beloved Coney Island Pool. Maybe this guy can save it:

Webb Wilder closes out the weekend with a 70th Birthday Bash at Southgate House on Sunday, May 19th.

Love it live

Suzanne Vega put on a great show at Memorial Hall, and it was great to see quite a few list members there, including Janet W., who hooked me up with the presale code for Jayhawks tickets. Score!

Alvvays played a great set at Bogart’s. I went with list members “Deuce” and Matt V. List member Mighty Joe Sampson also was there with his 21-year-old daughter Maggie.

The GBV/Wussy show at Madison Theater was top-notch. Great to hear the full Wussy band. List members David and Amy Groff were there, but their daughter Maggie wasn’t… she’d better up her concert game!

John P. Strohm (Blake Babies, Lemonheads, Antenna, Velo-Deluxe) wrote a really nice Substack post about Guided By Voices. Check it out here.

The Far Side said it best

Then again, it beats the alternative. But old age does create some challenges:

Visual/caption above from this New Yorker piece called “How to dress for a concert in your thirties.”

Fast forward a generation and this happens:

Album Cover of the Week(s)

Ever the gracious hosts/hostess. Hold the lobster. But bring your dentures!

November Reign

Concert Listings, Concert review, Music

Rocktober, we hardly knew ye…

(Jesus gives out full-size candy bars!)

But now it’s Rollvember! Let’s take a gander at who’s rollin’ into town.

But first, this is a Public Service Announcement… with guitar.

You’ve been warned.

OK, on with the shows… on Thursday evening:

Jaguar Sun and Television Blonde play MOTR (9 p.m., tix are $15 day of show)
Loreena McKennitt is at the Taft
The Mat Kearney Acoustic Trio plays Memorial Hall
The Cadillac Three are at Bogart’s
Rainbow Full of Sound (yes, that’s a Grateful Dead tribute band… how’d you guess?) will be at the old Annie’s, recreating the GDs legendary 1972 tour of Europe.

Rubblebucket plays Bogart’s on Friday.

Here’s your Saturday slate o’ shows:

Blues guitarist Walter Trout is at Ludlow Garage
Willy & the Cigs play MOTR
Southgate House hosts the Queen City Blues Fest (lineup is here)
Ovation has Wish You Were Here – The Sight & Sound of Pink Floyd presents “The Dark Side of The Moon 50th and Beyond Tour” (“North America’s biggest, most authentic Pink Floyd stage production in a spectacular tribute of music, performers, lighting, lasers, videos and inflatables.”)
Travis Tritt plays the Hard Rock (although he doesn’t play hard rock)

Speaking of casinos, Tuesday is 11/7 (or 7/11 if you’re a Eurotrash Girl or Guy)… and if you’re a fan of Victor Wooten and the Wooten Brothers, it’s your lucky day. They play Memorial Hall.

On Wednesday, 11/8, Popa Chubby (yes, that’s his real name*) plays Southgate, with Luther Ray and the Flood.

*No, it isn’t. But here’s a true story: when I worked on the Gary Burbank Show at WLW, cast member Dukie Sinatra and I would sometimes fill in for Gary on holidays. We had a Popa Chubby tune as one of our “bumper” instrumental beds. As we were coming back from a commercial break. I made the mistake of saying the artist’s name… Duke never let me live it down.

Next Thursday, November 9th, is jam-packed with jams (but not jam bands… sorry Tommy Chong!)

The Head & The Heart play the Mike & Carol Brady (see what we did there?)
Memorial Hall hosts a musical conversation with Valerie June, Rachael Davis, Thao (of Thao and the Get Down Stay Down fame) and Yasmin Williams
Tommy Prine plays Southgate with Jordan Smart
Eric Hutchinson is at Ludlow Garage (which isn’t in Ludlow, KY)
The Blue Wisp Big Band plays Bircus Brewing (which IS in Ludlow, KY)
AJ Croce will be at the Taft
Jeff Tweedy’s Fall Book Tour makes a stop at Walnut Hills High School’s auditorium, with Nathan Salsburg as the moderator
Last, but certainly not least, you can enjoy some Post Sex Nachos (that’s a band… good thing they didn’t have any instrumental tracks when I worked on Gary Burbank’s show) and Divine Sweater at Madison Live.

(The original Lovin’ Spoonful)

Concerts on Friday, November 10th:

Grace Potter plays the Jan Brady
GZA and Fishbone are at Bogart’s
Freddie Gibbs plays the Madison Theater
The Ladybug Transistor plays an early show at MOTR, with Northern Kentucky Derby handling the late shift
Memorial Hall hosts The Eagles Project (acoustic) – we hope they play the Eagles new hit “Tush Push”

Eric Roberson plays Ludlow Garage on Saturday, 11/11.

On Monday, Nov. 13th, the Woodward Theater will be screening the fantastic Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense.

Nellie McKay plays Southgate’s Revival Room on Tuesday, 11/14, and Amy LaVere and Will Sexton will be in that same spot on Wednesday, 11/15.

On Thursday, November 16th, password presale tickets for The Raisins reunion shows (Mar. 1 and 2 of 2024 at the Woodward) will go on sale.

Not-so-hot Ticket

As list member Michael “Rico” Carrico said, “these top two musical headlines tell you pretty much all you need to know about Cincinnati live music scene.”

And as list member Ken Laube said “‘Nickleback but better’ is a pretty low bar.” (BTW, Ken’s weekly show on Inhailer Radio is moving to Fridays 11a-3p.)

Funny Business

This McSweeney’s piece called “So, You’ve Decided to Start Listening to Radiohead in Your Mid-Thirties” is a knee-slapper. Favorite line:

The true Radiohead experience is 80 percent confusion, 20 percent feigned understanding. That’s the sweet spot. That’s the center of a Yorke peppermint patty.

I Love It Loud (and Live)

List member Mighty Joe Sampson and I saw two relics at once a couple of weeks ago: KISS at the Riverfront Coliseum.

It was as over-the-top as you’d expect, and cheesier than Post Sex Nachos (the food, not the band). Which is exactly what we were hoping for!

The God of Thunder in a cherry-picker? Yes please!

We tried to steal the giant inflatables for our Halloween displays…

Just your average 71-year-old and 74-year-old, wearing sensible shoes.

Flash forward a week and list member Ken Laube and I were at the polar opposite show: Chuck & Lisa from Wussy playing a garage in the back of a gallery in Northside.

No pyro, no confetti cannons, just stellar singing and songwriting. The headliner was a band called Dusk from Appleton, WI. Not too shabby:

Album Cover of the Fortnight

Good ol’ Doug is up for whatever. A great Rollvember roll dawg.

Hot fun in the summertime

97X, Concert Listings, Concert review

First, an apology. List member Mighty Joe Sampson pointed out that our previous post’s headline was a bait-and-switch. You can’t call a post “Cruel, Cruel Summer” without paying it off with some Bananarama. So here you go, Joe:

Oops, my bad. Let’s try that again:

Ah, that’s better. OK, now, on with the show(s).

Thursday:

The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band plays a free show (paid VIP tickets also available) at RiversEDGE in Hamilton, with Cristina Vane as the opener.
The TyeDye Band (fronted by list member John Sandman) plays a free gig at Washington Park as part of their Roots Revival series.
Devon Allman and Donovan Frankenreiter play the Madison Theater.
James Taylor & His All-Star Band are at Riverbend

All four shows are guaranteed to be hot, hot, hot.

(Sorry Joe, not gonna add a Buster Poindexter video… )

On Friday:

Sam Bush plays the old Annie’s – it’s an indoor show
Michigander headlines the free concert at Fountain Square
Danielle Nicole plays the blues at a freebie show at Levitt Pavilion in downtown Dayton
ZZ Top (featuring two original members) and Lynyrd Skynyrd (featuring two fewer original members than ZZ Top) play Riverbend, with Uncle Kracker (featuring one original Kracker… or uncle… or both)

On Saturday, the Cereal Killers bring their inimitable brand of vintage punk and new wave music to Big Ash Brewing.

By now, you should know the drill: first beer’s on me.

Other Saturday gigs include Black Flag at Ludlow Garage, Barry Manilow at the Coliseum (not a lot of overlap in the Venn diagram of Black Flag and Barry Manilow fans), and Live with Fuel at the Hard Rock Casino. “Live with Fuel” sounds like a commercial for a drag racing event (non-RuPaul version):

Or “Live with Fuel” could be be a Zoolander scene:

Speaking of fire, Ring of Fire: the Music of Johnny Cash opens at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.

Train comes chugging into the Rose Music Center on Tuesday and Pentatonix is at Riverbend. (Pentatonix is NOT a doom metal band… if you go expecting one, you’ll be quite disappointed.)

Wednesday:

The Offspring, Simple Plan and Sum 41 are at Riverbend
The TyeDye Band plays Wunderbar in Covington
tu:NER [“a musical trio comprised of Trey Gunn, Markus Reuter, and Pat Mastelotto, that celebrates the music of the Double Duo era (1998 to 2003) of King Crimson”] is at Ludlow Garage
RiversEDGE has Satisfaction: a tribute to the Rolling Stones and the Billy Rock Band

Darlingside plays Memorial Hall next Thursday (8/31) and Ludlow Garage has an evening with Ottmar Liebert.

Next Friday and Saturday (9/1 and 9/2), Guided By Voices celebrate 40 years with an amazing lineup:

Other Friday 9/1 shows include Los Straitjackets with the Jake La Botz Trio at the Woodward Theater, Modern English at Ludlow Garage, and Union Son doing an acoustic show at Stanbery Park in scenic Mt. Washington.

9/2 shows include Men without Hats at Ludlow Garage, and the Kings of Late Night (Craig Ferguson, Jay Leno, Arsenio Hall) at the Hard Rock Casino.

Staind will leave their mark on the Hard Rock Casino on Sunday, 9/3.

Monday, September 4th is Labor Day. Here’s your holiday P.S.A. from Billy Bragg:

Smashing Pumpkins play PNC Pavilion on Tuesday, September 5th. (The W.A.S.P./Armored Saint gig slated for the Cindy Brady has been cancelled.)

Skid Row (featuring a lead singer not named Sebastian Bach) and Buckcherry play the Rose on Wednesday, 9/6.

Bobbing for Tickets

Tickets go on sale Friday for Bob Dylan’s Oct. 20th show at the Carol Brady. Buy ’em at the box office and save on the TicketBastard fees.

Concert review X 2

List member Dave Green raved about Charley Crockett’s gig at the Peter Brady. Meanwhile, faithful readers (all two of them) will recall that the last post from a poorly written, sporadically published, lazily distributed, rarely read blog made this audacious claim:

That prediction was 110% accurate. Or 25% accurate, because it might’ve been the show of the year! The Beths were amazing. Elizabeth Stokes writes some fantastic songs, and the three dudes in the band aren’t just great on guitar, bass and drums but they also contribute strong backing vocals. Great sound, stellar set list, enthusiastic crowd… and an inflatable fish on stage. Perfect! (Opener DISQ was very cool too.)

Mic Drop

It’s yet another sign-off for 97X – list member Dave Tellmann and I wrapped up our “Rumblings from the Big Bush” podcast with Episode 97.7. We only had about 13 regular listeners, but they appreciated it:

Dave was hoping that our final episode might earn us some “M.A.S.H. finale ratings” but I told him ours would be more like South of Sunset.

(Look on the bright side, Dave – our show is bigger than Glenn Frey’s!)

Album Cover of the Fortnight

This might be the most unintentionally creepy album cover ever. I’m not quite sure what’s going on here, but I think Rex Allen Jr. might be stalking Billy Barty.

Cruel, Cruel Summer

Concert Listings, Concert review, Music

Late last month, we lost Sinéad O’Connor.

“She was vilified, humiliated at times, metaphorically crucified when alone and in her twenties. Everything she stood up for and against then, including racism in the music industry, has been proven to have been needed and right. She wasn’t just trying to look out for herself. She was the original truth sayer who wouldn’t go easy into the night. The original “difficult” woman who didn’t make it easy. Because easy wasn’t the right thing to do and it wasn’t the truth. Gone too soon. Nothing compares to you.
Irish comedian and actress Aisling Bea on Instagram

Kudos to Pink and Brandi Carlile for paying tribute to Sinéad that evening at their concert in Cincinnati. Without a doubt they each owe her a debt of gratitude for blazing the trail.

Today we lost Robbie Robertson, the bandleader of The Band, one of the all-time great groups.

Sorry to bring you down. Let’s try to brighten the mood by looking to the future…

Oops, that’s not gonna help. The first gig on Ye Olde Koncert Keeper is Ted Nugent. He’s playing the Rose Music Center tomorrow night.

Fear not, though, as there are several decent gigs tomorrow:

Ruby Vileos plays a free gig at Washington Park
Erin Coburn does the freebie at Smale
Yonder Mountain String Band, Railroad Earth, and Leftover Salmon play the Taft Theatre
Drivin’ n Cryin’ plays Ludlow
Fraze has a “Happy Together” gig (that’s more like it!) featuring The Turtles, Little Anthony, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, The Vogues, The Classics IV and The Cowsills.

On Friday:

Yonder Mountain String Band, Railroad Earth, and Leftover Salmon try to fumigate the Rose.
The Samples play Ludlow Garage
Here Come the Mummies are coming to the old Annie’s
The Beach Boys play the Hard Rock Casino
Kenny Roby (of 6 String Drag) plays the Southgate Lounge

Saturday, JD McPherson plays Southgate and Brett Dennan is at Ludlow Garage.

On Sunday, the ageless Willie Nelson headlines the Outlaw Music Festival at Riverbend, with John Fogerty, Gov’t Mule, Kathleen Edwards, Particle Kid, and Myron Elkins also on the bill.

Tuesday, Disturbed, Breaking Benjamin and Jinjer play Riverbend.

When I hear the name “Ghost” my mind immediately goes here:

But the band Ghost (a “GRAMMY-winning Swedish theatrical rock band” per the bio… I thought that was ABBA) has a sold-out show at Riverbend on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Rose hosts a tribute to ~~Ghost~~ ABBA, and Al Stewart plays Memorial Hall.

Next Thursday (8/17):

Asleep at the Wheel plays Memorial Hall
RiversEDGE in Hamiltucky has the Cordovas, Scotty Bratcher, Duane Betts and Palmetto Hotel
Edwin McCain is at Ludlow Garage
Steven Page (formerly of Barenaked Ladies) plays a freebie at Village Green Park in Fairfield

The Goo Goo Dolls play Riverbend next Friday (8/18)… will they try to strangle the sound man like they did at the 97X-sponsored “Day in Eden” back in ’93? O.A.R. opens for the Goos.

Other 8/18 gigs include:

In the Pines at Fountain Square
Dead Centric (yes, a GD cover band) for free at Evendale Pavilion
Jump: America’s Van Halen Experience at Ludlow Garage (free chaps to the first 50 attendees)

Next Saturday, 8/19:

Noah Wotherspoon and Eric Jerardi play a free gig at the Levitt Pavilion in downtown Dayton
Black Owls, Heavy Hinges, and The Tigerlilies play Southgate

Next Sunday, the Old 97s play Southgate, and the even older Jethro Tull wheezes into Rose.

The show of the summer is on Monday, August 21st: The Beths play the Woodward Theater.

They aren’t just New Zealand’s finest, they are one of the finest bands going. So you’d best be going to this show. Opening act is DISQ, so it’s a great twin bill.

On Tuesday, 8/22, Marcus King, Charley Crockett, and Molly Tuttle play the Mike Brady, and Jethro Tull ~~fiddles~~ flutes around at PNC.

(Our favorite Jethro… yet not in Jethro Tull or The BoDeans.)

Crackerjack Cracker

The Cracker gig at the old Annie’s a couple of weeks ago was really enjoyable. A very strong set list of Cracker, Camper and more. David Lowery + Johnny Hickman = music magic. List members Howard Cohen (Cereal Killers at Big Ash on 8/26!) and Todd Butler were in the house too, which added to the festive atmosphere.

Album Cover of the Week(s)

It’s PERM-anently summer for Mac.

Song of the Season

New Year’s Rockin’ Eve

Concert Listings, Concert review, Music

Wow, can you believe it’s almost New Year’s Rockin’ Eve? Neither can I!

Now that Dick Clark has gone to that great big Bandstand in the sky, I can rightfully claim his former title of “World’s Oldest Teenager.” Just call me Lil’ Dick… wait, strike that.

UNITED STATES – SEPTEMBER 13: AMERICAN BANDSTAND – 2/26/1976, Host Dick Clark (left) chats with Cheech Marin (center) and Tommy Chong of “Cheech & Chong” during the “Rate-A-Record” segment of American Bandstand. , (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

Er, let’s just get to the gigs, shall we?

Tomorrow evening, Old Crow Medicine Show plays the Taft, with Molly Tuttle as the opener.

On Friday, Goose kicks off a two-night stand at the Alice the Housekeeper Brady Center.

That same evening:

Jeremy Pinnell and Justin Wells play Southgate, with special guest Adam Lee
Afroman’s “Merry Spliffmas” is at the old Annie’s (this is a rescheduled date from the Snowpocalypse)

Saturday is New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. Or New Year’s Rocking Eve if you only have one apostrophe.

On the cusp of a new year:

Goose plays Night #2 at the Carol Brady
Arlo McKinley is at Bogart’s
Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band is at Southgate, with Joe’s Truck Stop and The Hammer & The Hatchet (not Molly Hatchet… that would be flirtin’ with disaster)
Mad Anthony and A.M. Nice play a free show in the Southgate Lounge
Rumpke Mountain Boys play the old Annie’s
Rob Fetters hosts another “Fetters is Cheap” online show starting at 9 p.m.
Noah Smith’s Big Ol’ Family New Year show is at Big Ash
The Almond Butter Band (local Allman Bros. tribute outfit) plays Fretboard
The Newbees and Chalk Eye play the Village Theater in Ft. Thomas
The Hard Rock Casino has a NYE party hosted by… Joe Mixon? Shouldn’t he be studying the Bills defense?
Your favorite publisher of sporadic concert updates turns… Joseph Ossai’s jersey #.

Then there’s a bit of a live music drought. (I blame climate change… and the ghost of Dick Clark.)

You’ll have to wait until Friday, January 6th before the shows crank up again:

Pure Prairie League (“featuring one original member!”) is at Ludlow Garage
The Menzingers play Bogart’s
Diamond Rio is at the Taft

Then there’s another mini-drought until Friday the 13th… but we’ll chat again before then.

R.I.P. D.R.B. Fare thee well, Dan.

Local music legend David Rhodes Brown (Warsaw Falcons, 500 Miles to Memphis) passed away in early December. Cincinnati.com story is here.

Dan Hamilton’s family hosted a celebration of life for Dan at Little Miami Brewing’s event center last night. It was a fine send-off for a great dude, capped off by Dan’s longtime Spookfloaters bandmate Mike Holmes playing the Grateful Dead’s “Eyes of the World” and Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic” for Dan.

Dan, a soulful and whole-hearted musician, was a beloved and dedicated father, life partner, son, brother and friend to many. He had a giant, magnificent heart as wide as the ocean. He was a kind soul to friends and strangers alike. Whether you were in the audience watching him play, working with him or were lucky enough to call him family or friend – Dan had a way of making you feel seen and heard. He was the personification of love, light, art, kindness and humor.
from Dan’s obit

Royal Crescent Mob rules once again!

Fantastic show by the RC Mob at the Madison Theater on 12/17.

It was great to see them on stage again, and great to see so many familiar faces in the crowd. (CincyMusic photo gallery of shots from Jon Calderas is here.)

A special shout-out to 97X superfan David Groff (the one who looks like he’s a foot taller than I am in the photo above), who rented a party bus to take him and his Miami U. friends and their spouses to the show:

I’ve got a mailbag in my trousers… or a Trouser in my mailbag

The PR folks at Trouser Press must have a Google Alert set up… that’s the only possible explanation for how they came across the 97Xbam.com website post that mentioned them.

Why yes, I’d be happy to mention your books, available here.

The Ira A. Robbins Music in a Word three-volume set looks pretty cool, and you can get all three books for $48. Not too shabby!

Best of the Best of 2022

This website compiles a boatload of “best of” lists (Pitchfork, NPR, Stereogum, NYTimes, et al) in one handy-dandy location. It’s like American Bandstand‘s Rate-A-Record on steroids.

Hat tip to list member Cullen Lewis, of Bourn Yesterday fame, for the “best of” link. Cullen’s latest post is “22 Great Songs from ’22.”

Album Cover of the Week

Perfect for your New Year’s resolution!

I hope 2023 is really rockin’!

Mob Rules!

97X, Concert review, Music

If I had to pick one word to sum up this past Saturday’s Royal Crescent Mob concert, that word would be “joyous.”

Carlton’s smile can light up an entire venue. (Photo credit: Jon Calderas. Full gallery here.)

If I got to use two word to describe it, I’d pick “joyous” and “sweaty.”

Joyous and sweaty were the hallmarks of any Royal Crescent Mob live show, back when they were a touring band, in the late 80s through the mid-90s. One of the best live bands in the entire world. Yes, a club band, with a mostly Midwestern fan base. But ask anyone who ever attended one of the RCMob shows and they will easily attest to the Mob’s punk ethos, their funk bona fides and their stellar showmanship. You had a 100% chance of leaving their shows feeling joyous and sweaty.

But it had been 28 years since the Royal Crescent Mob played together live. A lifetime ago. And now “lifetime” has a brand new meaning for the audience members, and especially the band members.

Time takes its toll on all of us. If we’re lucky, we manage to avoid cancer. In that department, the RC Mob has been decidedly unlucky. Lead singer David Ellison is being treated for prostate cancer. Lead guitarist Brian “B” Emch lost his wife to pancreatic cancer earlier this year. Drummer Carlton Smith has a rare form of brain cancer.

Rather than wallow in pity, the band decided to take their heaping helping of lemons and make lemonade… and sell it to raise funds for cancer research.

They played a fundraiser show in Columbus (their home base back in the day) on Friday, and Cincinnati (their second home, and strongest market, thanks in no small part to 97X radio station) on Saturday. Two shows in two nights. A limited engagement. Then again, life is a limited engagement.

It was a different kind of joyous this time around. For a couple of nights, for a couple of hours, they could focus on the music instead of mortality. So could their fans.

we’re four guys up there…and, you know, our audiences, our fan base is our age probably now. And it’s important for them to know there’s like, there’s this shitty thing about getting older, it’s like, things pop up. And, you know, I mean, hopefully we can raise some awareness about that as well. That’d be just extra special to be able to do that and it’s going to mean a lot for everybody to up on stage just to be playing together, that whole camaraderie.
Lead singer David Ellison in this CincyMusic interview with Jon Calderas

The Royal Crescent Mob brought a ton of joy to thousands of people 30 years ago. It was so good to experience that joy once again. It makes life worth living.

So if I had to use three words to describe their show, those words would be: Joyous. Sweaty. Grateful.

Thank you B, David, Carlton and Happy. Take a bow. Because we’re all happy now.

The fruits of my Labor (Day)

Concert Listings, Concert review, Music

Summer’s gone a summer song
You’ve wasted every day, every day
Summer’s gone, can’t wipe it off my hands
Write it in the sand, in the sand
Buffalo Tom “Summer“

Wow, hard to believe that Labor Day is fast approaching. Better wear my white jorts every day this week before I switch over to my fall jorts:

Let’s cover two weeks’ worth o’ gigs in this post, shall we?

Breaking Naming Rights News

Sorry to interrupt our slate o’ shows, but we’ve just been informed that the PromoWest Pavilion at Ovation in Newport, Kentucky has sold the naming rights, and is now… drumroll please…

Uh, no… just no. In keeping with the cherished This Week in Live Music tradition, we refuse to refer to venues by their corporate-sponsored names. Especially when that name sounds like something from Office Space or Stepbrothers.

Tonight, Sophie B. Hawkins (remember her? She wished she were your lover) headlines the Fountain Square freebie, with Tracy Walker and Kaitlyn Peace also on the bill. Other shows include Tiffany Williams and Ray Vietti at Southgate, and The Fab Four (“the Ultimate Beatles Tribute”) at Rose Music Center in scenic Huber Heights.

Sunday, Imagine Dragons, Macklemore and Kings Elliot play a sold-out show at Riverbend, The Damned are at Bogart’s, and the Disco Biscuits play Annie’s.

Monday is the rescheduled date for the Barenaked Ladies/Gin Blossoms/Toad the Wet Sprocket show at PNC.

On Wednesday, Linda Gail Lewis is at Southgate.

Thursday, Spoon, Interpol, and Water From Your Eyes are at the Brady Kids Center. (Remember when Alice worked at The Golden Spoon?)

https://youtu.be/Bg1pl2muWIA

Also on Thursday, RiversEDGE in Hamilton has a Prince Tribute show, with local band Moonbeau as the opener.

Next Friday, Sept. 2nd, the Fountain Square freebie features Motherfolk, with The Wonderlands, and Coastal Club.

The Black Keys and Band of Horses are at Riverbend next Saturday.

On Labor Day, Jack Harlow and City Girls play the Cindy Brady.

Tuesday, Sept. 6th, Thundercat is at the Ovation. Yes, I said the Ovation. Mega-sue me!

On Wednesday, Sept. 7th:

S.G. Goodman (a TWILM fave) and Garcia Peoples are at Southgate.
“due to overwhelming demand” the Odesza, Sylvan Esso, Elderbrook and Nasaya show originally slated for outdoors at the Jan Brady will now be at Riverbend.
Ben Levin plays Ghost Baby.

Next Thursday (9/8):

Paul Thorn and Angela Perley are at Memorial Hall
Oteil Burbridge and Friends (feat. Melvin Seals, Steve Kimock, Eric Krasno and Johnny Kimock) play the Rose
Magic City Hippies play the Madison Rooftop in Covington.

On Friday, September 9th:

The Mountain Goats play Bogart’s.
Donna the Buffalo is at Ludlow Garage
Sam Hunt and Travis Denning are at the Mike Brady.

The Cereal Killers play Big Ash on Saturday, September 10th. I’ll be out of town for that show, but YOU should be there.

Built to Spill, built to rock!

Great show from BTS this past Monday at the Woodward – and opener Prism Bitch was cool too. Speaking o’ cool, list member Todd Butler busted out a vintage, mint condition 97X t-shirt for the gig.

Prism Bitch. (Why yes, that is the same drummer – she did double duty.)

You may already be a winner

List member Elizabeth Cannon (who worked at Riverbend for eons) was rewarded for her Bengals season ticket status.

Wussy duo wants to play your house (or mine)

Chuck Cleaver and Lisa Walker from Wussy are doing a run of house concerts this fall, and are looking for a Cincy host on Friday, October 28th.

You can volunteer here.

Album Cover of the Week

Have a great Labor Day!

The whole tunes and nothing but the tunes.

Concert Listings, Concert review, Music

I’m tardy to the live gig party this week, because it’s back to school time. Today I drove to Ohio U. solo, unloaded an SUV’s worth of apartment stuff, assembled the “some assembly required” furniture (only had 3 bolts left over!), then drove back home. Tomorrow, I’ll make the same trip with my son in tow. So this week’s post will be brief.

But first this commercial message:

Dan “Reds in 2023” Lewis has two tickets to the Spoon/Interpol show on Thursday, Sept. 1st at the Brady that he’s looking to sell:

Section 105, Row H, Seats 4-5

Dan paid $226, will take $200. His email is DLewis@Reds.com. (He’ll probably throw in some Reds tix if you ask nicely.)

Saturday night shows:

The Beths play Madison Theater, with Rosie Tucker as the opener
J.J. Grey & Mofro headline a free show in Lawrenceburg, IN as part of their Whiskey City Summer Fest (I’ll be there with list members Whit & Barb Gardner)
The Claudettes and Electric Indigo are at Southgate
Five for Fighting and The Verve Pipe are at Timberwolf
H.R. from Bad Brains is at Annie’s
Southgate hosts a fundraiser with a strong lineup:

The Woods Band and Jonathan Cody White play a Downtowne Listening Room show that isn’t downtown (or even downtowne). It’s in Florence, KY. You can request an invite here.
Dire Straits Legacy (more info about who is in the band is here) plays Ludlow Garage
Bogart’s hosts a Yacht Rock Revue

And finally, the Whimmydiddle Festival continues in Hamil-tucky, with Charley Crockett headlining.

Sunday:

21 Pilots play the Coliseum
Lauv is at the Carol Brady
Tommy Prine (a son of John) is at Southgate
And for you early birds, Carriage House Farm hosts a “Biscuits and Bluegrass” jam session with food from Chloe’s Eatery. Details here.

Built to Spill plays the Woodward on Monday – list member Mighty Joe Sampson and I will be there.

I’ll be Damned, the Blondie/The Damned show originally slated for Tuesday has been cancelled. But The Damned booked a different gig at Bogart’s next Sunday (8/28).

Shows that are happening on Tuesday:

The Wallflowers play Ludlow Garage
Amos Lee is at the Taft
Melissa Carperplays Southgate
Pitbull and Iggy Azalea are at Riverbend

On Wednesday, Sammy Hagar and the Circle and George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers play Riverbend, and My Chemical Romance is at the Coliseum, and August Burns Red is at Bogart’s.

Thursday:

Joe’s Truck Stop plays the free show at Washington Park
Gov’t Mule and Trombone Shorty are at the Rose
Greensky Bluegrass are at the Ovation
Michael Franti & Spearhead play Annie’s
Punch Brothers are at the Marsha Brady (oh my nose!)
Milk Carton Kids show up at Ludlow Garage
Kelsey Waldon (her new album is twangy good) plays Southgate, with Jeremy Pinnell as the opener.

Next Friday, the Brothers Osborne play the Rose, and the Kentucky Headhunters play Lori’s Roadhouse in West Chester.

Roger, Wilco

It was great to see so many This Week in Live Music luminaries at the Wilco/Courtney Marie Andrews show this past Tuesday: Dan Lewis, Bruce Frasure, Dave Roberto, Kevin Sullivan, Jay Stowe and Alyssa Brandt, Marty and Bizzy Driscoll, Billboard’s own Gil Kaufman… it was like our very own Night of a Thousand Stars. List member Rico couldn’t attend due to COVID… which meant yours truly got his ticket. I guess there is a silver lining to the pandemic after all!

Album Cover of the Week

August and nothing after

Concert Listings, Concert review, Music

Well hello there, Stranger! How have you been? Vacay was great, thanks for asking. I know you didn’t miss me – even I didn’t miss me. But it’s not about missing me, it’s about not missing live gigs in the Cincinnati area. Let’s get at ‘er!

Tonight:

Ben Levin and Joe Tellmann will join other Pinetop Perkins Foundation Masterclass participants in backing Bob Margolin at the Lebanon Blues Festival. (Ben and Joe will also play with Bob on Saturday. The entire schedule is here.)
The Fabulous Thunderbirds roll into Ludlow Garage
Tab Benoit plays the Taft Theatre
Holy F*ck will be at Madison Live. I think they’re a gospel band.
The Actual F*ck plays Northside Tavern. I think they’re a hardcore band.
Ray Vietti & The Family Stoned will play a free gig at Carriage House Farm.

On Saturday you can see an Elvis Impersonator.

Wait, check that, I still have vacation brain… actually it’s Elvis Costello & the Imposters at Rose Music Center. Not to be outdone, Fraze Pavilion, the other Dayton area venue, has… Vanilla Ice.

Mr. Van Winkle, the erstwhile Ice, Vanilla, will be joined by a veritable Who’s Who of “Who’s That?” – All 4 One, Rob Base, Coolio, Tone Loc and Young MC. (Name two songs by any/all of those artist and win valuable prizes.)

Also on Saturday evening:

Ekoostik Hookah plays the old Annie’s
Ludlow Garage has Strangelove, the Depeche Mode Experience
Local artists Flying Underground (Brian Lovely) and Nick Kizirnis play MOTR
The Greg Brady hosts Dashboard Confessional and Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness.

Daryl Hall and the Daryl’s House Band plays Timberwolf on Sunday, with special guest Todd Rundgren.

On Wednesday, RuPaul’s Drag Race is at the Mike Brady Center, and the Happy Together Tour comes to Fraze – The Turtles, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, The Association, The Buckinghams, The Vogues, and The Cowsills. Every orthopedic surgeon in the Dayton area should be handing out business cards at that show.

Thursday shows:

The Dead South and Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band play Annie’s.
Tower of Power and Lettuce (that’s two bands, it’s not the Smoothie/Salad combo at Jamba Juice) are at the Taft.
Whitehall plays Southgate
Mike Zito is at Ludlow Garage
The Casey Campbell Band does the free show at Washington Park from 7-9 p.m.
Last, and least, the Motor City Madman Ted Nugent plays the Rose Music Center.

Next Friday:

Steep Canyon Rangers are at Annie’s
Soul Pocket headlines the free show on Fountain Square
The Rose Music Center serves up the ~~Smoothie/Salad combo~~ twin bill of Tower of Power and Lettuce.

Add a shot of wheatgrass for just 50 cents.

Concert Shots

Lucy Dacus and Camp Cope put on a stellar outdoor show at the Burl in Lexington. List member Joe Sampson and I helped bring up the average age.

List members Dan Bockrath, Dave Tellmann and I thoroughly enjoyed the Adrian Belew gig at Ludlow Garage. We also had fun counting the # of old men wearing ponytails.

Classy Ken, your Clifton Concert Concierge

Speaking of the Ludlow Garage, if you purchase your tickets at their box office (open Wed-Sat 4-10 p.m.), you can avoid most of the dreaded TicketBastard fees. List member Ken Laube lives in Clifton, and I’m sure he’d be happy to walk up to Ludlow (quite frankly, he could use the exercise) and purchase the ducats for you.

Album Cover of the Week

This week’s album cover is courtesy of list member Dave Green:

Sayeth Dave: You’d think this would’ve been a “blues” album, but that would be too cliché. My son picked this up for me for $6 since I am a casual jazz fan and previously 80’s Smurf collector (little known fact).

Absolutely Smurftastic, thanks for sharing, Dave!

Nothing to do with music… but funny

Have a great week!

Long weekend, short list

Concert Listings, Concert review, Music

This week’s list of gigs is “more rock, less ~~talk~~ goofy memes”… Sorry, but the latest round of news makes it harder to be all fun and games.

Tonight:

Kitchen Dwellers and Neighbor play RiversEDGE in Hamilton
Smashing Pumpkins do an outdoor gig at the Ovation in Newport
Comedian Tom Segura kicks off a two-night stand at the Aronoff
Ben Levin plays Big Ash Brewing
Local bluesperson Erin Coburn plays a free gig on Fountain Square
Last but certainly not least, America’s AC/DC tribute, Thunderstruck, plays the Event Center at Little Miami Brewing in Milford

I’m thinking of starting a band that plays country versions of New York Dolls and Heartbreakers songs and calling it “Thunder’s Truck”…

UNITED KINGDOM – JANUARY 01: MUSIC MACHINE, CAMDEN PALACE Photo of Johnny THUNDERS, & The Heartbreakers L-R Walter Lure, Billy Rath, Jerry Nolan, Johnny Thunders (Photo by Erica Echenberg/Redferns)

Saturday:

Ray Lamontagne and Sierra Ferrell at the Brady
Ben Levin plays at an outdoor gig at Miami Whitewater Park from 7-9 p.m.
Kentucky Struts at Southgate
Veronica Grim, Alex Salcido (of The Harmed Brothers) and Hayden Kaye play Fountain Square

The rescheduled Haim show happens at the Marsha, Jan, and Cindy Brady on Sunday.

That same evening, Jeremy Pinnell, Wonky Tonk and Dead Man String Band are doing a free show on Fountain Square.

On Tuesday, New Found Glory plays Bogart’s, and the Woodward Theater will be screening Freakscene: The Story of Dinosaur Jr.

Bright Eyes and Alex G play the Greg Brady on Wednesday, June 1st, and Ben Levin plays Ghost Baby.

On Thursday:

Darrell Scott plays Memorial Hall with Ben Sollee as the opener
Joslyn & the Sweet Compression play Washington Park as part of their freebie Roots Revival Series (full list of shows is here)
Erin Coburn is “Rocking the Roebling” on the Schmidlapp Event Lawn by the Christian Moerlein Lager House in Smale Park
Marcy Playground swings (get it?) into Ludlow Garage

Next Friday, June 3rd, Inhailer Radio celebrates their 5th anniversary with a big gig at Madison Live:

Other gigs that same evening:

Mad Anthony returns to the Southgate House stage, in the Lounge
Clownvis Presley and Jimmy Psycho play Southgate’s main room
Lagniappe plays a free show at scenic Stanbery Park in even more scenic Mt. Washington
Ben Levin plays Wiedemann’s Brewing
The Hard Rock Casino becomes the Hair Rock Casino with Skid Row, Warrant and Winger upping the Aqua Net ante. (No ripped acid-washed jeans, no entry….)

Next Saturday, June 4th, the Sawyer Point Summer Concert Series kicks off with a real hootenanny:

The Southgate House has a quadruple bill of local/regional bands: Bohemian Funk, Trippin’ Roots, The Electric Indigo, and Dead Humor.

Oh, and Mother Nature will revoke my tree-hugger card if I don’t mention Cincy VegFest at Burnet Woods (11 am-6pm)… yoga, plant-based food demos, and live music with headliner Wonky Tonk.

Concert reviews

List member/Cereal Killers guitarist/This Week in Live Music neighbor Matt weighs in on The Who’s gig:

List member/neighbor Barb loved Tears for Fears at Riverbend:

And my co-worker Bob, a.k.a. DJ Bob, who worked at Cooter’s decades ago, had this to say:

Freebie Outdoor Shows this summer

I’ll try to mention some notable gigs in my weekly list, but Cincinnati.com has a comprehensive list here.

Love it live

The Far Side said it best

Album Cover of the Week(s)

Not-so-hot Ticket

Funny Business

I Love It Loud (and Live)

Album Cover of the Fortnight

Bobbing for Tickets

Concert review X 2

Mic Drop

Album Cover of the Fortnight

Crackerjack Cracker

Album Cover of the Week(s)

Song of the Season

R.I.P. D.R.B. Fare thee well, Dan.

Royal Crescent Mob rules once again!

I’ve got a mailbag in my trousers… or a Trouser in my mailbag

Best of the Best of 2022

Album Cover of the Week

Breaking Naming Rights News

Built to Spill, built to rock!

You may already be a winner

Wussy duo wants to play your house (or mine)

Album Cover of the Week

But first this commercial message:

Roger, Wilco

Album Cover of the Week

Concert Shots

Classy Ken, your Clifton Concert Concierge

Recommended Reading

Album Cover of the Week

Nothing to do with music… but funny

Concert reviews

Freebie Outdoor Shows this summer

And now, the sad stuff…

When satire becomes sad reality: