Music

Tunes in bloom

97X, Concert Listings, Concert review, Music, podcast

Those April showers are a distant memory. They’ve been replaced by May pollen.

But plenty of live tunes are in bloom too, including a rare Cereal Killers show. Let’s get into it!

Tonight, you can catch Cockburn at Memorial Hall.

Oops, my bad, the video above is Frank Cockburn. It’s Bruce Cockburn who is playing Memorial Hall this evening.

Other shows tonight include:

  • The Arcadian Wild w/ River & Rail at the Woodward
  • Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass at the Taft
  • Ovation is hosting a Clown show. I hear there will be lots of jugglers there. Oops, my bad. Juggalos.

Tomorrow night, the Smoking Popes will be at Madison Live. They’re from Chicago, just like the white smoke Pope!

Also, Lettuce and GZA from the Wu-Tang Clan will be co-headlining a show at the Taft.

And Dave Mason brings his “Let it Flow 2025 Tour” to Memorial Hall. It sounds a little something like this:

On Thursday, you can choose Furious Bongos (Ludlow Garage) or Napalm Death (Bogarts, with The Melvins).

Or you can chill out with the Farm Jam at Lost Bridge Beverage Company (North Bend, OH), featuring Sean Geil of the Tillers. And Liberty Theater has the Tray Wellington Band with Adam Gilliam.

Tray Wellington Band is a high energy progressive bluegrass band, led by IBMA award winner Tray Wellington. This band continues to push themselves musically to draw on the influences that continue to shape their musical mold.

Oh, and Jim Gaffigan kicks off six shows over the course of four days at the Taft.

This Friday and Saturday, Springfield will be the center of the musical universe.

Springfield, Ohio is hosting a FREE music festival called IndieCraft. Here’s the lineup:

Wild Pink and Aaron Lee Tasjan for free? You’re damn right I’ll be there Saturday!

(I like what I’ve heard from Snarls too. And I’ll be there in time for The Back Alley – the ticket price is right.)

Shows a bit closer to home (unless you live in Springfield) Friday evening:

  • Tommy Prine plays Southgate with Conrad Moore and Jordan Lee King
  • Rachel Baiman is at Liberty Theater with Maggie Noëlle of Magnolia Boulevard
  • Ben Levin plays Arnold’s
  • Alex Salcido (of The Harmed Brothers) plays Lost Bridge Beverage Co. in North Bend
  • Ludlow Garage has FJ: a tribute to Foreigner AND Journey featuring Constantine Maroulis (“sixth-place finalist on American Idol season 4!”)

For some strange reason, you see a lot of FJ band fans on the golf course.

And the Madison Theater has Kid Kentucky and the American Badass Band… yes, that’s a Kid Rock Tribute. Or you can go to the waste treatment plant on Kellogg Avenue near Lunken Airport for free. Potato/Po-tah-toe.

Speaking of punchable faces, Truist Arena (NKU) has Gutfield Live on Saturday.

And here’s the list of shows that actually will be entertaining on Saturday:

  • The aforementioned freebie Wild Pink, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Snarls show in Springfield
  • JJ Grey & Mofro w/ The Marshall Tucker Band on the lawn outside the Hard Rock Casino
  • Jeffrey Osborne at Ludlow Garage
  • Plazmatic album release show with Electric Indigo and Cousins at the Woodward
  • Hyryder (Grateful Dead tribute) at the Madison Theater

On Sunday, The String Cheese Incident and The Wood Brothers play the Rose Music Center, and Travis Talbert will be at the Lost Bridge Beverage Co.

On Monday and/or Tuesday, you can be part of a massive 69 at Memorial Hall.

The Magnetic Fields will be performing their 1999 triple album masterpiece 69 Love Songs in its entirety over those two nights.

Also on Monday:

  • A Place to Bury Strangers, The Serfs, and The Mall play Northside Tavern
  • The Toasters play Southgate

Next Wednesday, May 21, the always progressive, cutting edge lineup of shows at Riverbend kicks off with… (checks list)… Billy Idol and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. Who needs the Bill & Ted phone booth when you can just buy a ticket to a Riverbend show?

Next Friday, Dark Star Jubilee weekend kicks off in Legend Valley (nee Buckeye Lake):

Other shows on Friday, May 23:

  • Blues singer Carolyn Wonderland plays Southgate’s main room with Scotty Bratcher opening
  • Angela Perley and Hello June are upstairs in the Southgate Revival Room
  • Ricky Nye Inc. plays the Southgate Lounge for free
  • Hunter Root plays the Liberty Theater in Lawrenceburg, Indiana
  • The Ben Levin Quartet plays The 1931 (at the Hilton Netherland downtown)

On Saturday, May 24, it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for: The Cereal Killers play Big Ash Brewing!

Regular readers* of this…uh, whatever the heck this is… know that I’m cuckoo for CK and their amazing repertoire of classic punk, new wave, power pop, and just plain damn fine songs. It’s like a 97X Modern Rock 500 come to life!

*all 3 of them

Cereal Killers gigs have been as rare as hen’s teeth over the past several months. They are the local band equivalent of a century plant:

Some flowers are so rare and extraordinary that they bloom just once in a lifetime—or even once in a century! These plants may require decades of patience, but when they finally burst into bloom, the display is nothing short of spectacular.**

Rare and extraordinary? Check. Decades of patience? Well, maybe just months, but it feels like decades. “The display is nothing short of spectacular” is 100% accurate!

As usual, I’ll be offering my “first beer’s on me” guarantee that this show will be time well spent. Just present this voucher (which I totally did NOT steal from some unsuspecting artist on the interwebs) on your phone and I will buy your first beer.  

**it should be noted that although I compared the Cereal Killers to a plant that blooms only rarely, I am NOT comparing them to the corpse plant, whose unique aroma when it blooms every 7-10 years has been described as “smelling like cheese, garlic, smelly feet, diapers, or rotten fish.”

Other Saturday shows that you won’t be attending because you’ll be at Big Ash drinking free beer and rocking out to great tunes:

  • North by Northside kicks off a two-night run at the Northside Tavern
  • Carriers have an album release show at the Woodward with Gardener and Dyan
  • Maria, etc. has an album release show at the Liberty Theater with Anna Applegate
  • Brit Floyd “Wish You Were Here” 50th anniversary show at the Rose – it’s sold out, but fear not, you can catch the same band on the same tour at the same venue in August…

On Sunday, 5/25, Kinda Grassy plays Lost Bridge (Carriage House Farm).

Monday, May 26 is Memorial Day, a day when we pay tribute to fallen soldiers… typically by grilling hot dogs at the pool.

The Garcia Project (Jerry Garcia Band tribute) plays the Woodward on Tuesday, May 27.

On Wednesday, May 28, I’ll be motoring up to Cleveland to catch The Wedding Present and The Tubs at the Grog Shop.

Peelander-Z and Penfold’s Revenge play Southgate that evening too.

Young Widows play the Woodward on Thursday, May 29 with Kowloon Walled City and Fotocrime on the undercard. And Stanley Clarke kicks off a two-night stand at Ludlow Garage.

Midwest Fest kicks off on Friday, May 30.

Other shows on Friday, May 30:

  • Casey Campbell plays Lost Bridge Beverage Co.
  • Nikka Costa is at the Woodward
  • Dallas Moore w/ Pure Grain at the Liberty Theater
  • Taft Theatre has An Evening with Jon Stewart… it’s sold out

Wrapping up the month, Italian guitar phenom Matteo Mancusco plays Ludlow Garage on Saturday, May 31.  

American Aquarium plays the Southgate House on Sunday, June 1, with Justin Wells opening. I plan to hit that show. Eric Johnson is at Ludlow Garage that same night.

We love it live!

Ken “Lobby Boy” Laube, his friend Suzanne and I went up to Columbus to see Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds on 5/2. What a show! Our seats were pretty far back on the main floor, but we bum-rushed the stage during the 2nd song and stayed there for the duration of the gig. Nick’s a live wire!

List member couples Rico & Ashley and Jay & Alyssa also were in attendance. Nick loves us all.

“When I tell the audience that I love them, the sentiment is entirely true. I feel an emotional transaction with the crowd that is powerful and profoundly intimate. I stand before you all – strangers – witnessing you both individually and collectively, and sense an unbounded love. This love is true. It is not symbolic, metaphorical, or platitudinous. I see before me a group of human beings, precarious and vulnerable, granted a brief time on this earth, each filled with a shocking potential for beauty and terror, good and evil, and with the extraordinary capacity to give and receive love. At that moment, love is the appropriate response.”

From Nick’s Red Hand Files: https://www.theredhandfiles.com/how-can-you-love-a-total-stranger/

True to his word, “Disco Dan” Lewis was at the Son Volt show, along with his friends John W. (also a list member) and Steve (the voice of “The Oasis” – the station that is now on 97.7 FM… I remember that frequency!).

Other list members in attendance: Dan Bockrath, Gene Dow, Mark Morse, Tim Morse, Tom W. and Jamie. Dan Bockrath summed up the show quite nicely:

Fantastic show from Son Volt at The Ludlow Garage. Bumped into many longtime music friends at the gig. Up close and personal for a career spanning set. Amazing!

Meanwhile, list member Kevin Sullivan snuck down to Nashville to catch Lucy Dacus at the Ryman:

An updated version of the 97X Modern Rock 500… with a new spin!

Inhailer Radio (catch Ken “Lobby Boy” Laube Fridays 11a-3p!) is doing an updated version of the old 97X Modern Rock 500, counting down the top 500 indie songs over Memorial Day Weekend.

And this year, they’re expanding the list of songs and extending the listening window with “qualifying laps”:

If you tune in to the 500, you might just catch your ol’ pals Dave and Damian doing a few breaks.

Shameless Self-Promotion (while also promoting the Indie 500)

Dave and I also interviewed Inhailer’s Music Director, Nils Illokken, about the station and this year’s countdown for a “very special episode” of our “97X Rumblings from the Big Bush” podcast. You can catch that episode on 97Xbam.com here, or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Podbean, or any other podcast platform that hasn’t banned us yet.

Hot Ticket Alert

X and Los Lobos play the Rose Music Center on Sunday, September 21. They’re calling it the “99 Years of Rock ‘n Roll” tour.

I already have my ticket, courtesy of Steve “El Blanco” White.

The Sad Section

A heartfelt FB post from list member “The Lovely & Talented Elizabeth Cannon”:

Follow-up single “Spirit of ’76” — which Peters co-wrote, as he did for most of the band’s songs — recounted his early days of discovering punk rock and name-checks the likes of Johnny Rotter and Siouxsie Sioux.

“The song is about the most important time in my life,” Peters wrote in the program for the Strength tour. “I had my whole life mapped out before me and life seemed pretty unexciting. Then I saw bands like The Jam and The Buzzcocks and U2, and things and they really had an impact on my life. It gave me the courage to leave something behind and go out and try to build a new life for myself.”

From this article.

Here’s a shot of Mike Peters with Mr. K and Jetson from 97X, along with some fans (not pictured: The Lovely & Talented Elizabeth Cannon):

And R.I.P to singer/songwriter Jill Sobule, who died in a house fire.

Sobule was known for taking control of her career by fundraising so she could make her next album. In 2008, after two major record companies dumped her and two indie labels went bankrupt beneath her, she raised tens of thousands of dollars from fans so she could make a new album.

“The old kind of paradigm, where you’ve always waited for other people to do things, you’d have your manager and your agent,” she said at the time. “You’d wait for the big record company to give you money to do things and they tell you what to do. This is so great. I want to do everything like this.”

From this article.

Shortly before her death, Sobule had written and recorded a provocative song titled “J.D. Vance Is a C***” in collaboration with friends Michelle Lewis and Kay Hanley under the name Sugar Tits. The song, filled with biting satire and rhymes, quickly went viral on social media, thrusting Sobule back into the spotlight in her final days. It’s not radio-friendly. It’s not my best song, but it does get to the point.”

From this article. Her JD song is here.

Public Service Reminder for hipster parents of teens

Album Cover(s) of the Week(s)

There’s so much to love in this one. The outfits, of course. The amazing hairdo on the woman… or is that a beaver pelt? And best of all, the band name that’s illegible on that busy background. But we don’t need to read that! Everybody who is anybody knows that’s Johnny & Nadine Rexroat (and the Gospel Travelers).

“Great day for a hike! Let’s put on our best dresses and our white high heels and start ‘going through the land.’”

One response to “Tunes in bloom”

  1. Fred Avatar
    Fred

    “And the Madison Theater has Kid Kentucky and the American Badass Band… yes, that’s a Kid Rock Tribute. Or you can go to the waste treatment plant on Kellogg Avenue near Lunken Airport for free. Potato/Po-tah-toe. ”
    I was eating and almost spit out my food LOL

    Reply

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Rumblings Special Edition: Inhailer’s Indie 500 heats up!

97X, Music, podcast, woxy.com

Your affable (and somewhat addled) co-hosts Dave and Damian have been trapped inside the Big Bush for many moons (and a few Moonpies) but we broke free to chat with Nils Illokken, Music Director and DJ for Inhailer Radio, about the upcoming Inhailer Indie 500. If you remember the 97X Modern Rock 500, Inhailer’s Indie 500 is an updated version of that annual Memorial Day Weekend countdown.

Back in 2023, Inhailer hosted the 40th anniversary Modern Rock 500, with 97X DJs from throughout the station’s rich history hosting the countdown of the top songs played during the 97X and woxy.com era (1983-2010).

You can listen to the archive of that broadcast here.

Last year, Inhailer launched the Indie 500, which added in songs from 2010 to the present… picking up the torch from 97X and WNKU’s annual “Top 89.”

And this year, the cool kids at Inhailer have added a new twist to put even more great tunes into the mix… and to extend the fun to more than a full week!

We chatted with Nils about the Indie 500, his background in broadcasting, how Inhailer got started, how he finds the artists that Inhailer plays, and much more.

You can read more about Nils on the Inhailer website and in this music director profile from a trade publication.

You can find all 100+ episodes of the “97X Rumblings from the Big Bush” podcast on Podbean, as well as on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Podcast Addict, and most major podcasting platforms. Hear interviews with former 97X DJs and station staffers, listeners, bands that were played on the station, record label execs, advertisers, and more.

You MAY be entertained

Concert Listings, Concert review, Music

Geez, I was so busy going through my Signal chats that time got away from me and I missed a couple of days of Ye Olde Koncert Keeper. Well, they weren’t MY Signal chats, per se, but somehow I got included on them.

Maybe it’s a signal that I should stick to concert listings. Let’s take a look.

Saturday night:

  • Los Honchos play a free show in the Southgate House lounge
  • The Laurelys play at the Lost Bridge Beverage Co. (Carriage House Farm)
  • The Aristocrats are at Ludlow Garage
  • Madison Theater hosts Greggie & the Jets: A Tribute to Elton John

On Sunday, Joseph Huber and Sean Geil (The Tillers) play Southgate

Tuesday gigs:

  • Blues rocker Beth Hart plays the Bobby Brady
  • Memorial Hall hosts “Our House: The Music of CSNY”
  • Woodward Theater has Season to Risk, Sofa King, and Old City*

*Old City was the original name of Del Boca Vista

Thursday is May Day!

That evening:

  • The Mystery Lights (garage/psych band from Brooklyn) play the Woodward, with M. Ross Perkins and General Baxter also on the bill.
  • Tinfoil Hat Cowboys play a free gig in Southgate’s Lounge
  • Liberty Theater has a free Songwriters in the Round show with Dave Lacy and Jaden Decker
  • Lissie is at Ludlow Garage.

Lissie fun facts: Lissie has recently appeared in TV shows Twin Peaks and Loudermilk, as well as co-owns the music genre-themed popcorn company Otts Pops Indie Pop and is involved with land conservation.

Next Friday (May 2), you get Five for Fighting.

Uh, it’s the band Five for Fighting, not the hockey penalty. They’re at Ludlow Garage. Other shows that evening:

  • Mosant at Liberty Theater
  • Brie Salmena at Southgate
  • Runaway Gin (a band “inspired by Phish”) at the old Annie’s
  • Madison Theater has Jump: “America’s Van Halen Experience”

(I thought Van Halen was “America’s Van Halen Experience”… )

Shows next Saturday (May 3):

  • Camp Springs Tavern hosts “Jam on the Creek” with Ralph Martin, Dave Webster, South of Sin, and Northern Kentucky Derby
  • Michelle Robinson has an album release show at Liberty Theater
  • Noah Wotherspoon plays Fretboard in Blue Ash
  • Dead Centric and Plazmatic are in Southgate’s main Sanctuary
  • Carrie Nation & the Speakeasy, Dead Man String Band, and Run Rabbit Run play upstairs in the Southgate Revival Room
  • Spyro Gyra at Ludlow

Next Sunday is May the Fourth!

That evening, Jackie Venson will set her guitar phasers to “stun” as she plays Southgate’s Revival Room.

The band Knotts will open for Jackie. Some people claim that the band members are half-siblings fathered by Mr. Furley with Cindy Snow and Terri Alden.

Monday, May 5 is Cinco de Mayo!

That evening, The Dirty Grass Players and Mama Said String Band will play the Liberty Theater

On Tuesday, May 6, Nashville indie-pop artist Genevieve Hayward plays a free show in the Southgate House Lounge.

Shows on Wednesday, May 7:

  • Anvil plays Southgate (main room) – don’t tell Wile E. Coyote
  • Matthew & the Atlas and Foreign Fields are in the Revival Room
  • Matisyahu plays Ludlow Garage
  • The Columbia in the East End hosts their first Wednesday “WEENsday” playing Ween’s Golden Country Greats album. (I went this month – it’s a fun hang!)

Thursday, May 8:

  • Son Volt plays Trace and pays tribute to Doug Sahm at Ludlow Garage (I’ll be there!)
  • Rhiannon Giddens & The Old-Time Revue at Memorial Hall
  • Carriage House Farm in North Bend hosts the second Thursday live broadcast of BlackFork Radio

On Friday, May 9:

  • Rumpke Mountain Boys are at the old Annie’s
  • ekoostik hookah plays the Liberty Theater
  • Josh Radnor plays the Woodward
  • Bendigo Fletcher is on the Madison Theater rooftop, with Producing a Kind Generation
  • Ludlow has Live at the Filmore (Allman Bros. tribute) and Broken Arrow (Neil Young tribute)

Saturday, May 10 is action-packed:

  • Kaleta & the Super Yamba Band at Liberty Theater
  • Mason Jennings with Lydia Shae at Southgate
  • The old Annie’s has Fillmore On The River, with an Allman Brothers tribute band (Nathan Jenkins Band) and a Grateful Dead tribute band (I Dig Pig)
  • Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons play a “The Last Encores” show on the lawn at the Hard Rock Casino

Phillip-Michael Scales plays the Liberty Theater on Sunday, May 11. Can’t wait to see ol’ Tubbs!

Wait, my bad, that’s Philip Michael Thomas. But my mistake gives me a convenient excuse to subject your eyeballs to this:

Shows on Tuesday, May 13:

  • Bruce Cockburn plays Memorial Hall (when I worked at 97X, his albums had a sticker on them with “it’s pronounced ‘Coe-burn'”… I appreciated the help.)
  • The Arcadian Wild plays The Woodward Theater with River & Rail opening
  • Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass play the Taft – that show is BYOWC (Bring your own whipped cream)
  • Insane Clown Posse plays the Ovation – that show is BYOF (Bring your own Faygo)

We love it live!

There’s no way Alejandro Escovedo is 74… he tore it up at Southgate, even coming into the audience to do a couple of unplugged tunes. Great songs, great stories!

It was fun hanging with Steve “El Blanco” White too, but we missed our friend Dave Tellmann, who is on injured reserve for a bit. Get well soon, my friend!

Kevn Kinney, the opener for Alejandro, did a fine job too!

And list member John Kennedy was in the house too. But our former co-worker Dan “Reds in 2025” Lewis was nowhere to be found. Rumor has it that since he retired from the Reds, “Disco Dan” spends most evenings cutting a dashing figure on the dance floor and showcasing his killer moves at the hottest nightclubs.

Gone but not forgotten

R.I.P. Clem Burke

And R.I.P. David Thomas (Rocket From the Tombs, Pere Ubu). Choice quote from the Guardian tribute:

We’ll leave you with his own words, which sums up who he was better than we can: ‘My name is David Fucking Thomas… and I’m the lead singer of the best fucking rock and roll band in the world.’”

Best Commencement Speaker Ever!

Album Cover(s) of the Week(s)

The woman on this album cover – model Dolores Erickson – is the same woman who appeared on the cover of the Herb Alpert Whipped Cream & Other Delights album.

Erickson, who wore a bikini with the shoulder straps pushed down and hidden, was for the most part surrounded by cotton batting and many cans’ worth of shaving cream because actual whipped cream turned runny and smelly under hot lights. The real thing was used only on her head and on the index finger she touched to her lips.  Adding to the not-really-very-sexy-at-all atmosphere was the fact that Erickson was three months pregnant with her son, Brett.

Who needs mariachi when you’ve got marinara?

2 responses to “You MAY be entertained”

  1. Dan “Vincent Vega” Lewis Avatar
    Dan “Vincent Vega” Lewis

    Disco Dan will be at the Son Volt show cutting the rug.

    Reply
    1. Damian Avatar
      Damian

      Nice! See you there!

      Reply

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Going ape for April tunes

Concert Listings, Concert review, Music, podcast

Howdy, I hope you’re staying warm and dry. Aw, who am I kidding? This monsoon season weather has been for the birds – as long as they’re aquatic and like cold weather.

But even Canada geese are probably boycotting our country. Can’t say I blame them.

Maybe the live music schedule will heat things up a bit. I can feel it, coming in the air tonight… when The Phil Collins Experience plays Ludlow Garage.

On Tuesday, ZZ Top plays the Mike Brady. Their longtime guitar tech Elwood Francis has replaced the late great Dusty Hill on bass. He certainly fits the hirsute profile:

Whenever I hear the name “ZZ Top” I’m reminded of the time my high school friend Mauricio Sanchez and I drove from Morrilton, Arkansas (the original “Mo-town”) to Little Rock to see them in concert back in ’83, during their Eliminator tour. Somehow* I convinced myself that spending $25** of my hard-earned*** cash on the sleeveless tour t-shirt was a good idea, even though I had zero muscles. When I put that shirt on in the harsh light of day, it was a sobering experience.

Needless to say, the Top top was “eliminated” from my wardrobe immediately. $25 down the drain.

*it was the beer

**today’s value: $1,500

***Lifeguard at the Morrilton city pool… it was tough twirling a whistle in the sun

The Tallest Man on Earth will be at the Taft on Thursday. (To clarify, it’s the band called The Tallest Man on Earth, not 8′ 11″ Robert Wadlow, that guy from the Guinness Book of World Records.)

Also on Thursday, Jeffrey Martin plays Southgate’s Revival Room, with Lou Hazel opening. And the Cincinnati Zoo’s April “Tunes & Blooms” series features Gina & Johnny plus Linus Tate.

Shows on Friday:

  • Heavy Hinges, Easy Mark and Veronica Grimm at Northside Tavern
  • Midwinter’s Dream and Agents of the Apocalypse at Liberty Theater
  • Kashmir: the Led Zeppelin Show at Madison Theater (it’s “the” Zep show but not the “ultimate” – that’s on Saturday… )
  • Blue Note in Harrison has a hair band extravaganza with Trixter, Enuff Z Nuff, Pretty Boy Floyd

(The answer is Harrison, Ohio…)

The Southgate House presents a real Sophie’s Choice on Saturday. Alejandro Escovedo plays the main room, with Kevn Kinney (Drivin N Cryin) as the opener. I’ll be at that show, along with Dave “the Magnum P.I. of Modern Rock” Tellmann and Steve “El Blanco” White (“the White Shadow of Modern Rock”). But were it not for that gig, I’d be upstairs in the Revival Room for Brett Newski with The Dreaded Laramie and Tooth Lures a Fang.

Other Saturday shows:

  • Jay Ashton’s Gene Loves Jezebel (they have to be billed that way, for legal reasons) at Ludlow Garage
  • Smoke Healer at Liberty Theater
  • Lunar Ticks at Stanley’s
  • ZOSO: The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience at Ovation
  • Signs of Life: The American Pink Floyd at Madison Theater

Next Sunday (4/13):

  • Asleep at the Wheel at Memorial Hall
  • The Queers with The Usuals and The Raging Nathans at Madison Live
  • Jason Eady at Southgate

And, if you often find yourself saying “Boy, I really wish I could hear a ukulele orchestra”:

  1. Better change your meds.
  2. Taft Theatre has The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain.

Tuesday, April 15 is IRS tax deadline day… assuming we still have an IRS by then. We may not need it if those penguins from the Heard and McDonald Islands quit pillaging us.

Lanky local troubadour Todd Lipscomb plays Arnold’s that evening, and Ben Folds will be rockin’ the suburbs woodwinds live with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra at Music Hall.

Victor Wooten & the Wooten Brothers play Memorial Hall on Wednesday, April 16, and British blues-rocker Joanne Taylor Shaw will be there on Thursday, April 17.

Other 4/17 shows include The Yardbirds (drummer) [they don’t have to be billed that way legally, but my conscience won’t let me type it any other way] at Ludlow Garage, and Tunes & Blooms at the Zoo features Cecil Jackson & Dry Ridge on one stage and The Laurelys on the other.

Friday 4/18 is a busy evening for gigs:

  • Grayson Jenkins at Liberty Theater
  • Remi Wolf plays Ovation
  • Mol Sullivan with Namby Pamby and Sappha at Northside Tavern
  • Memorial Hall hosts Live Dead & Brothers (music of the Grateful Dead and the Allman Bros.)
  • Sqwerv (jam band from Denver) plays Stanley’s

Shows on Saturday, 4/19:

  • The Bright Light Social Hour at Liberty Theater
  • Blackjack: a Neil Young tribute band at Big Ash Brewing
  • Saturday’s Children (Grateful Dead tribute band) at Stanley’s
  • Bircus Brewing in Ludlow, KY has Pirate’s Creed.

Please note that Pirate’s Creed isn’t taking a page from the Dread Zeppelin playbook. They are NOT a Creed cover band with members dressed in pirate regalia. But it would be pretty cool to hear “Arrrrrrrrrrms Wide Open” and “High-arrrrrrr,” dontchathink?

Looking ahead a bit further, here are the live concerts on Wednesday, April 23:

  • Bright Eyes plays the Ovation, with Cursive as the opener
  • The Fixx and Jill Sobule are at Ludlow Garage
  • Bluegrass band Never Come Down is at the Woodward
  • The Ben Levin Trio plays the rooftop at the Phelps Hotel

We love it live

The Yo La Tengo show at the Woodward Theater was phenomenal. Great to see a whole slew of list members there (Frank, Matt, Pam, Jay, Alyssa, Dave R, Kevin S, Rico, Lobby Boy, et al.)

And I’m really glad I hydroplaned over to Lawrenceburg, Indiana last Sunday for the Sarah Shook & the Disarmers show. They were making it rain more than the thunderstorms were.

Sarah Shook & the Disarmers’ leader goes by River these days, and here’s what they had to say about the music vs. business equation:

It shows! Quote above is from this Brooklyn Vegan article.

Listen here!

Lisa Walker and Chuck Cleaver from Wussy were at the Yo La Tengo show, naturally. If you haven’t checked out their Forever Sounds radio show on WAIF-FM, you can catch the replays here. Come for the great tunes, stay for the playful banter.

Columbus legends Scrawl got a lot of love from Chicago music critics Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis on this seven-minute bonus episode of their Sound Opinions podcast.

The new release from Craig Finn — produced by Adam Granduciel of The War on Drugs and featuring a few WoD band members as well as Kathleen Edwards — is really good.

We should’ve heeded the warning Signal

Album Cover(s) of the Week(s)

“We’ve traced the source of the trumpet player… it’s coming from inside the house!”

Oh snap, the Reverend Cleophus… I heard about him from Cab Calloway!

Spring Music Flings

Concert Listings, Concert review, Music

Like an agitated monkey, I’m about to fling some poop at you.

But you should be used to it by now – I do it every few weeks! If you can navigate around the verbal shite, you’ll find some cool concerts to check out.

Shows on tap for tonight:

  • Henhouse Prowlers and Moonshine Drive at the Liberty Theater in Lawrenceburg
  • William Elliott Whitmore and Dave Hause at the Woodward, with Micah Schnabel opening
  • The Screaming Orphans at Ludlow Garage
  • Comedian Sebastian Maniscalco is at the Coliseum

Saturday shows:

  • Sylmar does two sets at MOTR
  • Buffalo Nichols plays the Liberty Theater
  • Southgate hosts the Newport Music Roots Festival (doors 3 p.m.) – details below
  • Woodward Theater has “Play for L.A.” – a benefit for fire-impacted musicians. The lineup includes Rae Fisher, The Montvales, Jess Lamb, Siri Imani and more.
  • Mike Detmer and Adam Gilliam play the Lost Bridge Beverage Co. in North Bend
  • Christine Harvilla Duo with Colleen Clark plus Sami Riggs at the Boone County Courthouse
  • Annie’s hosts Grateful River III (a benefit for Down Syndrome) – details below

On Sunday, Ben Levin Blues Band is doing the Rabbit Hash Music Behind the Stove Series at 2 p.m., and the band Lawrence plays Bogart’s in the evening.

Woodward has An Evening with Yo La Tengo on Tuesday. I’ll be at that gig, along with several other list members. Because Georgia, James and Ira are badasses!

Shannon McNally plays Southgate on Wednesday.

Thursday gigs:

  • Shadowgrass in Southgate’s main room, and Jake Blocker in the Revival Room
  • “Sons of Cream” (Kofi Baker, Malcolm Bruce and Rob Johnson) play Ludlow Garage. (Maybe they should call themselves “Half & Half”?)
  • Liberty Theater has a Comedy Night featuring Adam Minnick

Concerts next Friday, March 28:

  • The Blind Boys of Alabama with Shemekia Copeland at Taft Theatre
  • Chicago Farmer & the Fieldnotes at Southgate
  • The Outlaws at Ludlow Garage
  • Cody Ikerd & the Sidewinders Album release show w/Joe Clark at Liberty Theater
  • Little Miami Brewing’s event center has “Night Moves: The Ultimate Bob Seger Experience”
  • Blue Note in Harrison hosts The Prince Experience (pancakes not included)

The slate on Saturday, March 29:

  • Liberty Theater has a Rebel Whiskey tasting (4 FREE tasting!) from 5-7, followed by the Lowdown Brass Band
  • Blackhawk at Ludlow Garage
  • Lily Rose at Bogart’s
  • Bumpin’ Uglies at Madison Theater
  • Willi Carlisle at Southgate in the Revival Room
  • Annie’s has the all-female Led Zeppelin tribute band Zepparella
  • Blue Note features “Midnight Blue” (Foreigner Tribute) with One Way to Rock (Sammy Hagar tribute)

Shows on Sunday, March 30:

  • The Star Devils play Rabbit Hash in the afternoon
  • Sarah Shook & the Disarmers are at Liberty Theater (I plan to go to that show)
  • JD Simo and Luther Dickinson (of North Mississippi Allstars) at Southgate

Ricky Nye will be tickling the ivories as only Ricky can on Monday, March 31 at Memorial Hall, and Taft has The Faint with Plack Blague.

Shows on April Fools’ Day:

  • The Surfrajettes with Black Widow at Madison Theater
  • Al Stewart & Livingston Taylor at Memorial Hall
  • The Righteous Brothers “Loving Feeling Farewell Tour” makes a stop at Taft. (If you’ve lost that loving feeling, see your urologist!)

Wednesday, April 2 is another WEENsday at The Columbia in the East End (4311 Eastern Ave.) and this month’s featured WEEN album is Chocolate and Cheese… so they’ll have some chocolate-covered cheese to share.

I plan to attend that event. You should too – The Columbia is a very cool space (with a vintage jukebox in the basement), and WEENsdays are free and you can BYOB!

Tunes & Blooms kicks off at the Cincinnati Zoo on Thursday, April 3. Moonshine Drive and Pickin’ Pear will be on the T&B stages. The full April lineup is here. That same evening, right down the street, you can catch The Seven Wonders (yes, yet another Fleetwood Mac tribute band) at Ludlow Garage.

The Liberty Theater in Lawrenceburg has a Record Fair April 4-5.

Shows on Friday 4/4 include Judah & the Lion* at Bogart’s and Eaglemania “The World’s Greatest Eagles Tribute”** at Ludlow Garage.

* If Bogart’s says their bathrooms are clean, they’re lion… er, lyin’.

**Pretty sure the world’s greatest Eagles Tribute is playing the Sphere in Las Vegas.

On Saturday, April 5:

  • The Young Dubliners play Ludlow Garage
  • John Waite is at the Taft
  • Queensrÿche plays Belterra Casino in Florence, Indiana
  • Patterson Hood is at the Whirling Tiger in Louisville, with Lydia Loveless as the opener

Sunday, April 6, Ludlow Garage has The Phil Collins Experience (warning: contains no Phil Collins).

We love it live!

MJ Lenderman and Wild Pink at the Green Lantern Bar in Lexington KY was off-the-charts amazing (set list is here). A Top 5 all-time show for me, thanks to list member Frank B.

This GQ profile of MJ is nice too. Money quote:

“Once music and work and money all become the same thing, it gets hard to do it casually. But that was the reason I was able to do anything meaningful in the first place,” he admits. “You can see that through my whole life, just being able to go to a friend’s house and make something and not worry about what it is.”

Now hear this!

The new album from The Tubs is top-notch. Richard Thompson meets Hüsker Dü.

Speaking of Richard Thompson, Bandcamp has a great feature about his influence on younger artists. Sayeth Mary Timony:

“His tone is always amazing, but here’s the thing—most importantly—his songwriting is great. He’s kind of the total package, in that he does both songwriting and playing guitar very well.”

Neil Young to The Cure: Why can’t I be you?

Neil is following Robert Smith’s lead on ticket prices. Could Neil wearing guyliner be next?

Ohio All The Time

New songs from Mommy and Sun Kil Moon reference the Buckeye State.

Of course it’s not Sun Kil Moon’s first Ohio rodeo:

The Best Video Ever

Today is the greatest… actually, 30 years ago was better

Fake Album Cover of the Week

This one (which came our way courtesy of Cereal Killers frontman Howard Cohen) has been doctored, but it should have been real:

Here’s the original album cover:

Speaking o’ our friends Cereal Killers, their drummer Chris Glen recently had surgery for prostate cancer. Here’s an update and his PSA P.S.A.

Album Cover(s) of the Week(s)

Yet another PSA P.S.A.

The Clarion Trio was waaay ahead of the curve on “throuples.”

March Radness

97X, Concert Listings, Concert review, Music, podcast

The concerts coming to our area this month are radical, Dude! Almost as radical as this thrift store Tony Hawk display:

What could be more radical than a Handsome Dick? And tonight, Handsome Dick Manitoba sings Dictators songs and other punk classics in the Sanctuary at the Southgate House. Other totally tubular gigs include Chloe Kimes at Liberty Theater and Paul McDonald upstairs in the Southgate Revival Room.

On Friday night, I’m going to see MJ Lenderman — with Wild Pink as the opener! — at a small club show in Lexington, KY. For free!

My ticket is courtesy of list member Frank B., who snatched up a couple o’ tix before MJ blew up. Smart man (other than inviting his boorish neighbor to a show when he could sell his other ticket for $500)!

Shows closer to home on Friday night:

  • Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives are at Memorial Hall
  • Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country plays Taft
  • ekoostik hookah will be at the Liberty Theater
  • Twain and Esther Rose play Southgate

Bockfest also kicks off Friday. It’s the one time of year you can hang out with a goat and not get arrested.

On Saturday, Ace Frehley lands his spaceship at Belterra Casino in Florence, Indiana. Seems fitting.

That same evening, Armchair Boogie and The Montvales play the Liberty Theater, July For Kings plays MOTR, and Southgate House hosts the “Rockn’ Revival” fundraiser with a slew of local bands:

On Sunday:

  • Anthony Ray Wright has the afternoon gig at Rabbit Hash
  • Clem Snide plays Southgate’s Revival Room
  • The Steel Wheels roll into Ludlow Garage
  • The Turkeys play two sets at MOTR as part of Bockfest – 8 p.m. free show

On Tuesday, Marc Broussard plays Memorial Hall and the Taft Theatre has the “Experience Hendrix” Tour featuring Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Eric Johnson, Devon Allman and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram.

Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles will be at the Aronoff on Wednesday… or you can catch “The Fab Four (USA Meets The Beatles) next Friday (3/14) at the Taft.

Other, less derivative shows on Friday, March 14:

  • Town Mountain plays Memorial Hall
  • Frontier Folk Nebraska and Lee Bains play MOTR
  • Scotty Bratcher plays Liberty Theater with CFG & the Family
  • Kyle Eldridge and the Honky Tonk Wrangers are at Southgate
  • Agnostic Front rocks Madison Live
  • Simply Queen (a tribute to… you guessed it… Queen) at the Little Miami Brewing Events Center
  • Jeremy Short plays Southgate – kudos to Jeremy’s publicist, who penned these lines:

“With an orange mustache, golden voice and cherry red Gibson ES-335, Eastern Kentucky Space Funk artist Jeremy Short has quickly risen to the top shelf of must-hear players on the scene.”

When I grow up, I want to be a Space Funk artist.

Shows on Saturday, March 15:

  • Tower of Power plays the Hard Rock Casino
  • Them Coulee Boys are at the Liberty Theater
  • The Ark Band plays a Bob Marley tribute at Ludlow Garage

Sunday, March 16:

  • TopHouse plays Madison Theater with The Wildwoods
  • My Brother’s Keeper and The Foreign Landers are at Liberty Theater
  • Mike Farris plays Ludlow Garage… I loved him on M*A*S*H!
Oops, my bad, that was Mike Farrell

Monday, March 17 is some sort of holiday… Irish I could remember which one.

Todd Lipscomb plays Arnold’s on Tuesday, March 18.

Gigs on Wednesday, March 19:

  • The Dollyrots at Southgate
  • Dream Theater plays a sold-out show at the Marsha Brady
  • Bogart’s has one of the 27 Fleetwood Mac tribute bands

Thursday, March 20:

  • The Travelin’ McCourys play Ludlow Garage
  • Buckethead is at Bogart’s
  • Liberty Theater has a free Songwriters in the Round show with Adam Gillam and Ryan Brewer
  • The Brant Bjork Trio (no relation to Björk, unless someone stole their umlaut) and Moonbow (no relation to Moonbeau) play Southgate

We love it live!

Kim Deal’s show at the Woodward was fantastic. Horns! Strings! Backing vocalists!

Brent Stroud did a nice profile of Kim in CityBeat prior to the show.

The Cabin Fever Festival in Ludlow, KY is the best off-the-beaten-path festival going, and a great way to see local, regional and national artists in cool settings… like seeing the leader of Carriers in a funeral parlor!

Robyn Hitchcock at Southgate House this past Saturday was absolutely stellar! Two sets (one solo, one featuring vocals from his partner Emma Swift) with a fantastic set list.

My non-fandom of the Beatles is well-documented, but when Robyn strolled through the entire crowd during the encore, strumming his guitar and leading everyone in a singalong to “A Day in the Life” that was pretty damn cool! Great to see list members Dave Tellmann, El Blanco, and Ken “The Lobby Boy” Laube (Fridays 11a-3p on Inhailer) too.

Mailbag

We love the recent comment from Victor Garcia-Rivera about the 97X Rumblings from the Big Bush episodes where we interviewed Dan “Danny Crash” Reed. They were both in Chem-Dyne together. (The pod episodes: Part 1 and Part 2.)

Love the ‘mats story – very on-brand for them!

And here are the two Chem-Dyne songs Victor mentioned in his comment:

The Highwaymen later moved to Austin and became Loose Diamonds… I miss that band. Here’s a cool documentary about them.

Lead singer Troy Campbell gives a shoutout to 97X at the 2:40 mark.

Album Cover(s) of the Week(s)

I believe in America too. I miss it. I also believe that we’ll come back. We just need a plumber to get rid of the orange turd and the DOGE-faced boy that are messing up our system of checks and balances. If it doesn’t happen soon, I’ll be just like Dean Friedman: reading the news, drinking booze, and getting sadder by the minute.

[This would probably be a good time to mention that if you receive this post via an email, you can unsubscribe at any time.]

February made me shiver…

97X, Concert Listings, Music

… and I’m really tired of shivering.

But I do love pie. Except for the Shepherd’s kind.

You can’t spell February without “F-U.”

Let’s warm up our weary bones with some hot live tunes.

Tomorrow night (2/20):

  • Robert Ellis plays Southgate
  • Young Heirlooms, Mol Sullivan, and Annie D are at the Northside Tavern
  • Liberty Theater has a Songwriters in the Round free show with Anthony Ray Wright and Andrew Hibbard

Kim Deal (Pixies, Breeders, Huber Heights, OH) plays a sold-out show at the Woodward Theater on Friday night. I’ll be there, along with list members Mighty Joe, Deuce, Lobby Boy, Matty V, Jarrod, Shay-Shay, and a cavalcade of stars. It’ll be like the greatest episode ever of The Love Boat

Other Friday shows:

  • Justin Wells has an album release show at Southgate, with Casey Campbell and Adam Lee also on the bill
  • Susto and Rose Hotel are at Ludlow Garage
  • Cincy Brass plays a free show at MOTR (9:30)
  • Jim Trace & the Makers (featuring two of my co-workers) play an album release show at Northside Tavern, with The Electric Indigo and The Laurelys

On Saturday, the Cabin Fever Festival takes over historic Ludlow, KY. I went last year and loved it – it’s a great showcase for the amazing roots/Americana/bluegrass talent in this area, in some really cool venues (including a Funeral Parlor!).

Needless to say, I’m going again this year. (I just hope the funeral home folks don’t try to stick me in a coffin.)

Join me, won’t you? (At the festival, not in the coffin.) Tickets are dirt cheap too – get ’em here.

Other Saturday shows:

  • Nicholas Jamerson plays Southgate, with Jonathan Peyton as the opener (I really like Jonathan’s latest release)
  • Mike Detmer has an album release show at Liberty Theater, with Rob L. Ford, and Adam Gilliam
  • Annie’s hosts Fillmore on the River 2 with the Almond Butter Band and Scarlet Fire
  • The HercuLeons (feat. Bluegrass Hall of Famer John Cowan and fiddler/vocalist Andrea Zonn) play Ludlow Garage
  • Memorial Hall has The Drowsy Lads

On Sunday, Mike Oberst and Justine Cefalu play the Rabbit Hash “Music Behind the Stove” series and Tinfoil Hat Cowboys play MOTR.

The Nasty Nati Brass Band is at Memorial Hall on Monday.

On Tuesday, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes (fiddler from Molly Tuttle’s band) is at Southgate, and the Mercantile Library’s Memoir Lecture is from Michelle Zauner, author of Crying in H Mart and also lead singer of Japanese Breakfast. (That appearance is sold-out.)

Taft Theatre has An Evening with Drew and Ellie Holcomb next Wednesday (2/26).

The Joe Stamm Band plays Whiskey City’s Liberty Theater on Thursday, Feb. 27th, with Clint Park as the opener.

The Noah Smith Band is at Liberty Theater on Friday, 2/28, and Southgate has a couple of shows going on that evening:

  • Eddie Spaghetti and “Metal” Marty Chandler from Supersuckers play the main room (Skunkdog opens)
  • Logan Ledger plays the Revival Room, with Mason Via.

Plenty o’ shows on Saturday, March 1st:

  • Robyn Hitchcock plays Southgate (I’ll be there with list member Dave Tellmann) – Robyn has a great interview on the Sound Opinions podcast
  • Noah Wotherspoon Band at Liberty Theater
  • Lydia Shae, Amy Jo, and Stone & Snow play Southgate’s Revival Room
  • Helles Belles (all-female AC/DC cover band) play Ludlow
  • The Blue Note in Harrison hosts Crown Watts: An Evening of Rush

Shows on Sunday, March 2nd:

  • Burning Caravan plays Rabbit Hash (2pm)
  • Tommy Castro & the Painkillers are in Southgate’s main Sanctuary
  • Flamy Grant and Heather Mae play the Southgate Revival Room
  • Dropkick Murphys are at the Bobby Brady
  • Comedian John Caparulo plays a 6:30 show at the Woodward

Gigs on Wednesday, March 5th:

  • Jordan Tice plays the Liberty Theater
  • Crumbsnatchers play Southgate (bio description: “Hailing from Nashville, Crumbsnatchers’ catchy songs echo the wit of Pixies and Talking Heads, backed by the fervent force of Beastie Boys.”)
  • It’s WEEN Wednesday at the Columbia – the album featured will be Pure Guava

Life is a carnival. Summer is a festival (or seven).

Bourbon & Beyond has crammed about five festival’s worth of artists into their lineup:

Nelsonville hasn’t announced their full lineup yet, but they had me at Waxahatchee, MJ Lenderman, Dehd, and Low Cut Connie.

Hear, here!

The new album from Ex-Vöid is great!

One of the principals in Ex-Vöid is Owen Williams from The Tubs. I’m obsessed.

Waxahatchee has a new non-album track out (with M.J. Lenderman on guitar and backing vocals). It’s delightful.

And Katie Crutchfield harmonizes with Patterson Hood (Drive-by Truckers) on a track from his upcoming solo release. As list member Mighty Joe Sampson says, “This is the good stuff. Harmonies to melt your ears on a cold winter day.”

The Reading Room

This article from The Atlantic is heart-breaking for any record collector, or really any music lover.

And in the WaPo, Will Leitch expresses his admiration for the way that R.E.M. did their thing, then closed up shop.

In his interview with Allmusic, Bob Mould gives a shout-out to stations like 97X:

“There were a lot of radio stations that had been around. College stations, and then stations like WLIR in New York. So, that was all part of building the firmament, as well. It was a long process. It didn’t just happen out of thin air. And WBCN, and Matt was DJing down in South Jersey. So, that late ’80s through ’91/’92, all of that was critical infrastructure, as well. It’s just funny – you know this and I know this – but there’s sort of a ‘mainstream history,’ like, ‘There was all this hair metal, and then Nevermind came, and it changed.’ There was a lot of people who did a lot of work to get to that point.”

Amen, Brother Bob! Here’s the title track from his upcoming album:

Album Cover of the Week

I picked up this gem of an album, in this condition, note and all, at the Mt. Washington St. Vincent de Paul store. (On “Senior Sunday” when I get a 25% discount!) My best guess is that the two-time owner of the album found someone who DIDN’T like piña coladas and getting caught in the rain.

Febrockuary

Concert Listings, Music

Congrats, you’ve nearly made it through “Dryuary!” Now it’s time for a portmanteau that’s even more cumbersome (but not in the Seven Mary Three way), and not really a portmanteau TBH. But when Febrockuary rolls around, you can put on your concert-going shoes (Doc Martens?) and get out to a gig or three.

On Thursday, the Woodward Theater has Donny Benet with Yusef Quotah. Check out Donny’s promo photo:

It’s giving off some serious “love child of Dom DeLuise and ‘Meathead’ from All in the Family” vibes.

Ludlow Garage hosts “Family Tradition: A Hank Williams Jr. Tribute” on Friday. (I hope they play the Monday Night Football Theme that Junior sang… complete with the Jazzercise background dancers.)

That same evening, CG5 plays the Woodward, and MOTR kicks off the preliminary rounds of the Bockfest Sausage Queen competition. (Eat your heart out, Abe Froman.)

The full Sausage Queen schedule, rules, and judging criteria are here.

Febrockuary kicks off Saturday with a full slate o’shows – although most of them are of the tribute band variety:

  • JD Shelburne plays the Liberty Theater, with Jordan Dermody as the opener
  • Madison Theater hosts “Tell Me Lies – The Fleetwood Mac Experience” while next door at Madison Live it’s Riddim Fest
  • The old Annie’s has “Grunge: The Sounds of Seattle”
  • Bogart’s hosts “Cash Unchained: The Ultimate Johnny Cash Experience”
  • At Memorial Hall, it’s “Genesis ReTouched” (a tribute to late 80’s to late 2000’s Genesis concerts… quite specific!)

On Sunday, check out the Positively Mainstrasse event at the Village Theater in Covington. It’s a Cincinnati Children’s “Giving Hope to Kids” fundraiser and features dozens of local artists doing Dylan covers. Who knows, maybe Timothée Chalamet will show up…

[Artwork for the poster above by list member Keith Neltner.]

Sunday is Groundhog Day too!

The Chris Comer Trio plays the “Jazz at the Memo” series on Monday, Feb. 3rd, and they’re doing something interesting:

Following last year’s debut at Memorial Hall, The CC3’s (Chris Comer Trio) return engagement will feature a unique inspired arrangement of the landmark ambient piece MUSIC FOR AIRPORTS by Brian Eno. The evening will conclude with an original collaboration by all three CC3 members called MUSIC FOR SPACESHIPS, juxtaposing the styles of the meditative Eno composition and the jazzy groovy “outer space music” of the Comer trio. This concert is in-part a tribute to Cincinnati musician and radio legend Ron Esposito, who has performed MUSIC FOR AIRPORTS and collaborated with The CC3 many times. 

“Music for Spaceships”… far out, man! Almost as far out as this version:

Shows on Wednesday, Feb. 5:

  • Cheryl Renee plays the blues at Arnold’s
  • The Blue Wisp Big Band is at Caffe Vivace
  • The Columbia (see our previous post for more on this event space) has WEEN Wednesday, and the album will be The Pod

Highly Suspect plays the Mike Brady on Thursday, Feb. 6th.

IMHO, Mike Brady IS highly suspect. We never found out how his first wife died… mysterious circumstances, no doubt. And somehow we’re supposed to believe that a guy who mixes up architectural plans with a Yogi Bear poster can afford a luxury home and a live-in housekeeper? Is “Cousin Oliver” really Mike’s love child from an affair that his first wife found out about? And what’s the deal with the AstroTurf yard? Is Mike covering up (literally) a backyard grave? Tune in to my new true crime podcast “Here’s the Untold Story of a Man named Brady…” as we do a deep dive into the clues hidden in plain sight. (Tiger knows a lot more than he’s letting on.)

Plenty o’ shows on Saturday, Feb. 8th:

  • Hot Tuna plays the Ludlow Garage
  • H.R. (of Bad Brains) plays Southgate, with Knife the Symphony
  • Vanessa Collier headlines the Cincinnati Winter Blues Experience* at Manor House (*not to be confused with the Cincinnati Winter blues experience of having snow and ice on sidewalks for weeks on end…)
  • Electric Indigo, Eastwood, and Funky Ducks play a free show at MOTR
  • The Woodward Theater hosts “Dark Wave” (a covers show benefitting the Freestore Foodbank). Lots of local bands on the bill, including Wussy, Fairmount Girls, Tweens, Leggy, and Static Falls. The full lineup is here.

Last but certainly not least, when you think of “Hard Rock” your mind no doubt goes right to the titans of that genre: Black Sabbath, Metallica, and Air Supply.

One of those three bands will be at the Hard Rock Casino on 2/8.

On Wednesday, Feb. 12th, the Redmoor in Mt. Lookout hosts “Forever Simon & Garfunkel.” Have you ever seen the Photoshop version of S&G’s Bridge Over Troubled Water album cover with Paul Simon removed?

It makes Artie look like Donny Benet:

Mdou Moctar plays a special acoustic performance at the Woodward on Thursday, Feb. 13th.

Friday, February 14th is Valentine’s Day. I choo-choo-choose you to be my favorite blog post reader.

When love is in the air, our minds naturally turn to thoughts of noted romantic balladeer George Thorogood, with his equally lovestruck band the Delaware Destroyers. They’ll be at the Hard Rock Casino. (When typing this, I nearly transposed the “C” from Casino with the “R” in Rock, by accident. But it made me realize I could do that on purpose and score some promotional ad dollars from Enzyte.)

Where was I before I nearly got in trouble with Citizens for Community Values? Oh, yes, concerts… Other shows of note on Saint Valentine’s Day (I threw in the “Saint” to get ‘em off my case):

  • Josh Morningstar & his band play Southgate’s Revival Room
  • Liberty Theater has CFG & the Family with Heather Redman & the Reputation
  • Unlike the Hard Rock, Ludlow Garage knew the V.D. assignment – they have “Lovesongs: a tribute to The Cure”
  • Little Miami Brewing Co. hosts “Captured: The Ultimate Journey Tribute”

On Saturday, Feb. 15th, the Liberty Theater features the Mama Said String Band with Andrew Hibbard. The Downtowne Listening Room has EG Knight and Maria Carrelli. Also, Valentine’s Day is over.

Joe’s Truck Stop hits Rabbit Hash’s “Music Behind the Stove” series on Sunday, Feb. 16, and Todd Lipscomb plays Arnold’s on Tuesday, 2/18.

R.I.P. Garth Hudson, the mad professor

Now there’s no one left in The Band. Garth was the oldest member, and it seems fitting that he was the last to go, as he was the rock of that group in so many ways.

Quote above is from Rob Sheffield’s lovely tribute to a lovely man.

Amanda Petrusich also paid tribute in The New Yorker.

And now, my favorite Band song… with Garth just coolly crushing it on sax:

Sidebar: Now is probably not the time to get into the petty squabbles and financial dealings of The Band, but reading this in the AP obit made me super-sad, and even more of a Team Levon guy:

In recent years, Hudson struggled financially. He had sold his interest in the Band to Robertson and went bankrupt several times. He lost one home to foreclosure and saw many of his belongings put up for auction in 2013 when he fell behind on payments for storage. Hudson’s wife, the singer “Sister” Maud Hudson, died in 2022.

Joan soldiers on

I’ve always liked Joan Armatrading’s music, and think she deserves a bit more recognition.

I agree! Blurb above is from this interview in The Independent. Her most recent album is How Did This Happen and What Does It Now Mean.

Well, the title of my new album is How Did This Happen and What Does It Now Mean. I have no answers and I haven’t met anybody who has, but I hope we get rebooted to something a bit more balanced. I think we’ve become polarised because when you’re face to face with somebody, things such as body language and eye contact stop us doing certain things. That doesn’t happen on social media, then it spills into the real world. We’re not going to get rid of all wars and disagreements, but the album title is asking how on earth do we get out of this situation that we’re in and get back to a nicer place.

Hot Ticket Alert

More info and a ticket link on the Woodward website.

And this event — a lecture from author Michelle Zauner, who also fronts longtime 97Xbam faves Japanese Breakfast — sold out before I could tout it:

But I can at least mention that the newly refurbished/remodeled Mercantile Library is even more amazing than it was before, and the annual membership is totally worth it to get dibs on great literary events. (Poet Laureate Ada Limón will be there on 8/27.)

That’s Sooo Cincinnati ticket alert

Billy Joel and Rod Stewart are playing the Bengals stadium on Saturday, September 20th. I don’t know when tickets go on sale, but I DO know it’ll cost a gazillion dollars to see two dinosaurs.

Railbird lineup

It skews fairly “mainstream country”:

I’d rather spend $2.49 for this Jelly Roll action:

Music is Medicine

Singer-songwriter Laura Burhenn, who records as The Mynabirds (and does house tours via Undertow!), asked Janine Awan to design two complementary poster for her Bandcamp merch site.

A portion of the proceeds from both posters will go to support the World Central Kitchen’s important work in the US and abroad in areas torn by war and climate disaster.

Meet new singles in your area!

The winter new music freeze is finally thawing out. Check out new singles from The Tubs (loved their last album, they remind me so much of Richard Thompson), Lucy Dacus, Sharon Van Etten, and a posthumous release from The Chills/Martin Phillipps.

Album Covers of the Week(s)

Decca certainly didn’t “sell the sizzle” with the adjective they used to describe Earl. Was “versatile” the best that they could come up with? It feels like the album cover equivalent of a “he’s got a great personality” blind date.

There’s a LOT going on with this cover. Good luck coming up with a coherent narrative based on this imagery. The girls is writing in an album (who writes in an album?) while dreaming of a fur trader who doubles as a malt shoppe owner, and he in turn is dreaming of a photographer from 1872. Also a chef is going overboard with the pepper – so much so that the liquid splashing out of his saucepan is black. And there are two anthropomorphic ink blots who get feature credit…

New Year, New Tunes

Concert Listings, Music

Happy New Year, my friend! May your 2025 be rockin’!

I hope your resolutions are holding up well, too.

It’s not exactly a monster lineup of concerts, but let’s check the ol’ calendar to see what’s brewing the the live lab.

Tomorrow night, Memorial Hall has Queen Of The Queen City, The Musical Times of Mamie Smith. The band will be Ben Levin, Candice Ivory, Noah Wotherspoon, and Brandon Pettiford. And the Woodward Theater screens Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story.

On Wednesday, Hillary Hahn (the NKY singer-songwriter, not Hilary Hahn, the violinist) plays Arnold’s, and The Gilmour Project: Wish You Were Here is at Memorial Hall. The Gilmour Project is:

  • Pete Lavezzoli (drums with Black JGB, Oteil & Friends), and Hilary Hahn plays Arnold’s
  • Jeff Pevar (lead guitar with CSN, David Crosby/CPR, Joe Cocker, Ray Charles, Bette Midler, Phil Lesh & Friends, Ricki Lee Jones, Marc Cohn)
  • Berry Oakley (bass & vocals with Allman Betts Band, North Mississippi All-Stars, Blue Floyd & The Doors)
  • Mark Karan (guitar & vocals with Bob Weir, RatDog, The Other Ones, Dave Mason)
  • Scott Guberman (keyboard & vocals with Phil Lesh & Friends, Keystone Revisited)

The Gilmour Project isn’t: David Gilmour.

Thursday, The Daniel Wayne Band (more on them later) plays MOTR. And if you’re into pro wrasslin’, Lori’s Roadhouse in West Chester has something big… er, little, in store.

Shows this Friday:

  • Peter Mulvey plays Southgate
  • Ernie Johnson from Detroit is at the Liberty Theater in Lawrenceburg, IN
  • Ludlow Garage has The Ultimate Doors
  • Ludlow Theater rolls out the red(s) carpet for the Bronson Arroyo Band

On Saturday:

  • Pelican and Knife the Symphony play the Woodward
  • Southgate House hosts Blind Mouse (a Radiohead tribute band)
  • Annie’s has the KISS tribute band Strutter

I wonder if, when Strutter hits the stage, they say “you wanted a reasonable facsimile of the best, you got a reasonable facsimile of the best”…

A week from tomorrow — on MLK Jr. Day, no less — it’s inauguration day for, as Jeff Tiedrich calls him:

a quadrice-indicted twice-impeached once-convicted popular-vote-losing adderall-huffing insurrection-leading ear-diapering testimony-ducking judge-threatening lawyer-ignoring debate-avoiding witness-tampering day-one-dictatoring disabled-veteran-dishonoring inheritance-squandering rube-fleecing clown-makeup-smearing language-mangling sneaker-hawking serial-sexual-predating draft-dodging casino-bankrupting butler-bullying daughter-perving hush-money-paying real-estate-scamming bone-spur-faking ketchup-hurling justice-obstructing classified-war-plan-thieving golf-cheating stock-manipulating weather-map-defacing war-criminal-pardoning horse-paste-promoting paper-towel-flinging race-baiting tax-evading evidence-destroying charity-defrauding money-laundering diaper-filling 88-count 78-year-old fluorescent-tangerine narcoleptic fart factory. 

Next Tuesday (1/21), local singer/songwriter/all-around-great-guy Todd Lipscomb plays Arnold’s.

Liberty Theater has a free Songwriters in the Round show next Thursday (1/23) featuring Harley Day and James Reed.

Shows on Friday, Jan. 24:

  • Webb Wilder and Bucket play Southgate
  • Mosant is at MOTR
  • Papadosio kicks off a two-night stand at the Madison Theater
  • Meshell Ndegeocello plays Ludlow Garage
  • Little Miami Brewing Co. hosts The Eagles Project
  • The Blue Note in Harrison has Captain Fantastic (Elton John tribute) with 52nd Street (yes, a Billy Joel tribute band)

On Saturday, Jan. 25:

  • Memorial Hall has “On a Winter’s Night” with singer/songwriters Cliff Eberhardt, John Gorka, Lucy Kaplansky, and Patty Larkin
  • Magnolia Boulevard plays the Liberty Theater, with Pure Grain also on the bill
  • The Montvales play the Woodward, with The Harmed Brothers and Rae Fisher
  • Papadosio is papa-doing it again at Madison Theater
  • Adeem the Artist plays Southgate
  • JD Legends in Franklin, OH has Thunderstruck (America’s AC/DC)
  • The Aronoff hosts The Elvis Tribute Artist Spectacular

Noah Wotherspoon plays the Rabbit Hash “Music Behind the Stove” series on Sunday, Jan. 26 (2 p.m. show start) and Tinfoil Hat Cowboys play two sets that evening at MOTR.

The Faux Frenchmen play Memorial Hall on Monday, Jan. 27. Here’s my favorite faux Frenchman:

Memorial Hall has “All You Need is Love: An All-Star Tribute to the Beatles” on Tuesday, Jan. 28.

  • Kasim Sulton – Vocals, Bass, Guitar (Meatloaf, Todd Rundgren’s Utopia, Blue Oyster Cult, Hall & Oates, Cheap Trick, Cyndi Lauper, Patty Smyth, Joan Jett)
  • Steve Kimock – Guitar, Bass (Zero, Oteil & Friends, Jazz Is Dead, The Other Ones, RatDog, Rhythm Devils, Phil Lesh & Friends, Kingfish, Heart of Gold Band)
  • Prairie Prince – Drums (The Tubes, Journey, Todd Rundgren, Blue Floyd, Jefferson Starship, Phil Lesh & Friends, XTC, George Harrison, Chris Isaak)
  • Bobby Lee Rodgers – Vocals, Guitar, Banjo, Sitar Simulation (Jazz is Dead, The Codetalkers with Col. Bruce Hampton, Vassar Clements, Warren Haynes, Widespread Panic, George Porter Jr.)
  • Gil Assayas – Vocals, Keyboard (Kasim Sulton’s Utopia, Todd Rundgren’s Utopia)
  • Mark Rashotte – Guitar (Jake Clemons, Creed, Photograph)
  • Andy Forgie – Vocals, Theatrics (Creed, Photograph)
  • Narrated by Michael Des Barres (The Mistakes, Power Station, Detective, Silverhead)

Not part of the band: Pete Best.

Go to church on WEENsdays

Here’s a pretty cool monthly event going on down on Eastern Avenue (where it’s still called “Eastern Avenue” not the hoity toity “Riverside Drive” section). My friend Eric’s wife Laura runs The Columbia, an old church that’s been converted into a performance space.

I’ve visited the venue, it has great acoustics, a cool vibe, and a vintage jukebox in the basement.

And it’s available for audio and video recording (Ruby Vileos, The Hiders, and Daniel Wayne Band all have test driven it), rehearsal space, private shows, social gatherings, and more.

Follow The Columbia on Instagram, and email the.columbia.cincy@gmail.com for more info.  

A+ on SNL

I’m not the biggest Hozier fan in the world, but he and his band and backup singers did justice to one of the best Xmas songs ever.

Wurster has Slim musical knowledge

Jon Wurster (drummer for Mountain Goats and Bob Mould, formerly with Superchunk) is a great follow on Instagram. His #mynewworstfriend posts are consistently hilarious (see below for a prime example). But he also is a student of the the scene, and his tribute to the late great replacement Replacement Slim Dunlap was fantastic:

List member Joe Sampson and I will always fondly remember talking to Slim at the old Southgate House. The liquor store named Cabooze figured prominently in the conversation.

Jon Wurster also played on this tune (as did Wilco’s John Stirratt):

Winter weather is the Wurst

From the aforementioned Jon Wurster Instagram, where folks can submit weird and wacky photos/images to claim the daily title of his new worst friend.

America is catching on to Wussy

Their new album Cincinnati Ohio made several 2024 year-end best of lists. #50 on the Rolling Stone’s 50 Best Indie Rock Albums, #50 in the Stereogum Top 50, and #36 on Paste’s 40 Best Rock Albums.

Album Covers of the Weeks

My new year’s resolution. It’s a lot better than my current “work and stay poor” plan. I’m struggling with the “think” part, though.

Drinking and driving… what could possibly go wrong?

R.I.P. Slim

Out with the old, in with the new*

Concert Listings, Music, podcast

*does not apply to the annual summer calendar of shows at Riverbend Music Center (unofficial motto: “where every year feels like 1985”)

Wow, 2024 is almost over!

We still have a few more shows before we make like Bob Seger and turn the page to 2025 (a.k.a. The Year of the Snake Rat Pig… at least in D.C.)

Shows tomorrow:

  • Marcus King plays the Hard Rock Casino
  • Rumpke Mountain Boys play Annie’s
  • Halfway Hammered plays the Liberty Theater, with Wes Shipp opening
  • The Wonderlands and Coastal Club have a holiday show within the decidedly un-festive confines of Bogart’s
  • Abiyah plays Southgate with Radar
  • Northside Tavern has Abandoned Malls of America, Moonbeau, Bear the Moon, and Knavery
  • OYOXOYO / Static Falls / Oh Condor triple bill at MOTR

Tinfoil Hat Cowboys play two sets at MOTR on Sunday.

Kate Wakefield has an album release party at The Comet on Monday.

Tuesday is New Year’s Eve (a.k.a. “Amateur Night”). Watch out for all the drunken Dicks out there!

You can ring in the new year with… Rebecca Black?

Yep, she’s at the Hard Rock Casino. Or you can enjoy “Weird Year’s Eve” at the Woodward with Ernie Johnson from Detroit and several other bands.

Madison Theater, Ovation, Ludlow Garage, and MOTR also have NYE celebrations.

[Speaking of balls dropping, New Year’s Eve also is the 60th birthday of your favorite creator of weird concert listing posts. Maybe Chrissie Hynde will stop by.]

On Thursday, Jan. 2nd, list member Keith Neltner and I will be celebrating our BDs (Keith’s is that day!) with a super-casual happy hour gathering at Camp Spring Tavern. Stop by if you’d like. First beer’s on me.

BTW, Camp Springs Tavern has live music every Thursday, Friday and Saturday all month long:

Also on 1/2, Joe’s Truck Stop kicks off two months of “Honky Tonk Thursdays” in the Southgate House Lounge.

Blanche will probably be there…

But Fred and Lamont won’t.

Next Friday, Jan. 3rd, 2025, Lez Zeppelin (“All Girls, All Zeppelin”) plays Physical Graffiti in its entirety at Ludlow Garage.

The Woodward Theater unspools a couple of classic rock docs soon:

  • Stop Making Sense on Monday, 1/6
  • Don’t Look Back (the Bob Dylan doc by D.A. Pennebaker) on Tuesday, 1/7

The Loon Wine Bar in Northside hosts a Folk Jam Session with Mike Oberst of The Tillers on Weds., Jan. 8th.

On Friday, Jan. 10th:

  • Tommy Prine plays Southgate
  • Ludlow Garage has the Pink Floyd tribute band Floyd Nation – they’ll be doing a Wish You Were Here-inspired set list and light show.

The Maria Carrelli Band plays the Liberty Theater on Saturday, 1/11, and Warren G will regulate at Bogart’s.

[Oops, my bad, that’s Warren, E (D). She’s also a big fan of regulatin’.]

On Sunday, Jan. 12th:

  • The Rabbit Hash General Store’s “Sunday Music Behind the Stove” series kicks off with The Tillers at 2pm – full slate is below.
  • The Woods (folk rock trio) and Jonathan Cody White (Cincy singer/songwriter) play a Downtowne Listening Room show at the Historic Boone County Courthouse

On Monday, 1/13, Woodward Theater screens Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story.

(I’ve heard good things about this documentary – here’s the Sound Opinions podcast interview with Redd Kross founders, brothers Jeff & Steve McDonald.)

Shows of Note(s)

  • Kim Deal is playing the Woodward on 2/21… that show is already sold-out.
  • Robyn Hitchcock will be at Southgate on 3/1.

A screen grab of this Insta (courtesy of list member Whit Gardner) really sums up how I feel about live music:

Reading is Fundamental

Here’s Amanda Petrusich’s year-end list of favorite albums from The New Yorker.

And from that same magazine, this book review/article about Spotify is scary and depressing for true music fans.

Money quote:

The Internet was supposed to free artists from the monoculture, providing the conditions for music to circulate in a democratic, decentralized way. To some extent, this has happened: we have easy access to more novelty and obscure sounds than ever before. But we also have data-verified imperatives around song structure and how to keep listeners hooked, and that has created more pressure to craft aggressively catchy intros and to make songs with maximum “replay value.” Before, it was impossible to know how many times you listened to your favorite song; what mattered was that you’d chosen to buy it and bring it into your home. What we have now is a perverse, frictionless vision for art, where a song stays on repeat not because it’s our new favorite but because it’s just pleasant enough to ignore. 

Watch This!

Waxahatchee on NPR’s Tiny Desk… chef’s kiss!

Holiday fun(nies)

(If Baby Jesus had been born in Toronto instead of Bethlehem, he could’ve played “YYZ.”)

Album Cover(s) of the Week(s)

“A dramatic comparison to death.” Geez, that sounds like a really uplifting album. (Or me describing a two-hour “long range planning” meeting at my work.) Can’t we listen to something happier?

Ah, yes, that’s more like it. (Vestal doesn’t realize that the boys are laughing at her hairdo!)