This week in Live Music: August 19-25

Concert Listings, Music

Hey kids, ready for a hot August night of music?

  • Looks like Jimmy Page…
  • …Wayne Newton…
  • …Ed Helms’ dad

Sorry, Neil Diamond won’t be in town this week. Neither will any Neil Diamond tribute bands. But every time you yell out “So good! So good! So good!” when they play “Sweet Caroline” at a sporting event, YOU are part of a Neil Diamond tribute band. Never forget that!

Monday, Melissa Etheridge will be at the Taft Theatre. Tuesday, it’s crickets (and not the Buddy Holly kind). On Wednesday, the only music on my radar isn’t a live gig, it’s a movie called Cinema Strangiato, featuring “the Holy Trinity of Rock”: Geddy, Alex and Neil.

https://youtu.be/Jow3-DVntj8

I love Canada’s premier power rock trio (sorry Triumph, thanks for playing, here’s a year’s supply of Rice-a-Roni and a copy of our home game) but I don’t know if I’ll make it to a “theater near you” for live highlights from the R40 tour and some interviews.

Tuesday Memes – Rush – 2loud2oldmusic
Neil Peart (center) with Nancy and Ann Wilson of Heart

On Thursday, the pace finally picks up. The Whispering Beard Folk Festival kicks off in its new location: Smale Park in downtown Cincy. Here’s the lineup for that evening:

Reverend on a Thursday – that’s hot!

Also playing Thursday: Vincent at Top Cats, Habibi with Fruit & Flowers in Southgate’s Revival Room, and the artist with the fantastic stage name of Popa Chubby will be playing Southgate’s main stage (a.k.a. Sanctuary).

Popa Button is more like it

Friday is a very busy night for live music. The Whispering Beard Festival continues with Peter Rowan, M. Ward and the Felice Brothers on the main stage, and you can also buy tickets for exclusive riverboat shows.

Urban Artifact also kicks off their BeWILDERfest, with three stages (including a tented courtyard stage) over two evenings. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is the Friday headliner. Here’s that night’s schedule:

Two festivals in one weekend, wow, that’s almost “two” much to handle…

Better make that a try-fecta, because if you’re really ambitious, you can also try to attend Farmula Fest this Friday and Saturday, at A.J. Jolly Park in Alexandria, KY.

It’s the only festival to feature kayaking… so that’s a plus. It’s also the only festival to feature Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad as a headliner. They are no relation to Urban Dance Squad. Or the Mod Squad.

Weirdest show intro ever! Thanks Aaron Spelling.

Other Friday gigs: Carriers have a vinyl release show at the Woodward, with Turtledoves, Joesph and Molly Parden. Big Freedia is bouncing into Bogart’s. Knotts are playing Northside Tavern with Superlow and Freedom Nicole Moore. Lauren Eylise & The Part Time Lovers are at MOTR, and The Brummies and Coastal Club play the free Fountain Square gig. At Southgate, Kellie Loder plays the Revival room and the Lounge hosts The Cousin Kissers, a Country/Americana supergroup of local luminaries Jeff Leist, Jimmy Davidson, Neil Sharrow and Bill Craig.

Last and certainly least, the Motor City Madman, Ted Nugent, will be at Riverfront Live.

70s rocker, now off his rocker.

On Saturday, T. Lipscomb is live at the Camp Springs Tavern. I hope to make that gig. Ben Levin & The Heaters play a free show at Keener Park in West Chester, and the Beard and BeWILDERfest both wrap up – lineups below.

Whispering Beard
BeWILDERfest

On Sunday, Umphrey’s McGee plays Fraze Pavilion, Stanley’s hosts their weekly open jam, and the Ben Levin Trio will make some noise in the Campbell County Library from 6-7 p.m.

Photos from last week

Rob Fetters at the Ludlow Garage 50th anniversary at Eden Park
Spookfloaters sounded fantastic at Fretboard’s outdoor stage

Hot ticket alert

The Raconteurs are playing Taft on Saturday, September 14th, and Ben Folds (and a piano) are at Taft on Thursday, October 24th. Also, the Wilco show on Saturday, November 9th is nearly sold out. Remember, go to the Taft box office to purchase Taft, Riverbend and PNC Pavilion tickets and avoid the ridiculous TicketBastard fees.

Album of the Week

The new Hold Steady album Thrashing Thru The Passion sounds great (nice to have Franz Nicolay back in the fold). But I’ll have to give the nod to this classic LP:

Blatant plea for Cystic Fibrosis donations

I’m biking 30+ miles in the Cincinnati Cystic Fibrosis Cycle for Life event on September 14th and would love it if you could make a donation to support me and help fund research to find a cure for this insidious disease. Here’s the link to my fundraising page: http://fightcf.cff.org/site/TR/Cycle/42_Greater_Cincinnati_Cincinnati?px=2458867&pg=personal&fr_id=7574

Thank you, and have a great week!

Little Steven and Little Joe

Music

My podcasting partner in crime, Dave Tellmann (we’re both guilty of caring way too much about a tiny little station that went off the air long ago) often claims that he is “The Reuben Kincaid of Modern Rock” because of how often he promotes his two musically talented sons.

But Dave’s been slacking, so I’ll have to carry the torch. Dave’s younger son Joe is a blues guitar superstar in the making. (He also plays with local band This Pine Box.) He’s attended the Pinetop Perkins Blues Camp in Clarksdale, Mississippi for many years, first as a student and more recently as a counselor. Through those connections (and his prodigious talents), he was invited to attend and perform at a blues festival in Notodden, Norway, and attend Little Steven’s Blues School.

Joe and his friend Jesse White worked with two Norwegians to write an original song, and then had a little help mixing and producing it from some dude in a bandana.

He looks a bit like that guy from The Sopranos.. Joe T is in the middle

The mixing board is from Stax Records in Memphis, and was used for sessions with Otis Redding, Booker T & the MGs and all those great Stax artists from the late 60s/early 70s.

This is so friggin’ cool on so many levels that it might actually reverse global warming. Nice work, Joe!

This week in live Music: August 12-18

Concert Listings, Music

Hello, Children of the Sun,

I hope the dog days of summer are treating you well. I’m experiencing a bit of festival fatigue after a couple days at Bellwether, but it was totally worth it. I really enjoyed Cake, Guided by Voices, Real Estate, Pinback Sego, STRFKR and Cold War Kids. Beach House sounded great, but they had the stage lit (or rather, unlit) so that you couldn’t really see them… I’m not into shadow puppets. A few list members attended the Railbird Festival in Lexington, and that had a killer lineup. And list member Dave Tellmann was down in Nashville checking out Violent Femmes and Ben Folds.

Breaking news: we have our first concert review! List member Dan Bockrath breaks down the energetic set from Guided By Voices at Bellwether. Check it out here. The post also includes some stellar photography from Gene Dow (a friend of Dan’s from college, and, as Cincinnati fate would have it, an old co-worker of mine at an ad agency).

Bob’s yer hard-drinkin’ uncle! (photo courtesy of Gene Dow Photography)

OK, on to this week’s gigs. On Monday, it’s An Evening with Foreigner at Rose Music Center. These days, an evening with Foreigner means an evening with Mick Jones (not The Clash/Big Audio Dynamite guy, but the founding member/guitarist for Foreigner) and a bunch of folks he hired in 2003 to keep his income coming in. ( They are putting together a tour book and you can submit your memorabilia:

We’re gearing up to put together the first Foreigner tour book in many years and we’re asking you, our most loyal fans, for help. We’d like to feature an assortment of memorabilia spanning the band’s career in the tour book and are seeking high res scans of Foreigner memorabilia circa 1977 to the present–U.S and foreign magazine covers, covers of vintage tour books, foreign picture sleeves, record company promotional photos, backstage passes, personal photos you took of the band in concert that are high quality, etc.

(source: https://www.foreigneronline.com/news) 

I saw Foreigner and Billy Squier at Barton Coliseum in Little Rock, Arkansas back in June of 1981, but the only souvenir I got was a hangover from the Mickey’s Big Mouths that I drank in the parking lot before the show.

Ah, youth… so refreshing!

Tuesday, Cincinnati’s youngest piano maestro (Ben Levin) is doing a solo show at Cincinnati’s oldest bar (Arnold’s). I wonder if they serve Mickey’s Big Mouths…

On Wednesday, the Stray Cats 40th Anniversary tour struts into Rose Music Center (see what we did there?). Front Country and the Cave Twins are at Southgate, and Jeremy Clyde (of Chad & Jeremy fame) is at York Street. Where’s Chad, you ask? From what I understand, Chad has been hanging in Florida since 2000.

Thursday, Robbie Fulks plays Woodward Theater, with Maria Carelli as the opener. Canadian duo Madison Violet is at Southgate, the Chris Comer Trio entertains tennis fans at the W&S tourney in Mason, and Iron Maiden rocks Riverbend. Good old Eddie still shreds.

Not GWAR. But run to the hills.

Perhaps by Thursday you’ll be over your festival fatigue, because the Birds of a Feather Music & Arts Festival kicks off at “the beautiful Thornhill Dragstrip” (gotta love PR folks) in Morning View, KY . Rumpke Mountain Boys, Goose, Restless Leg String Band and several other bands are on the bill. And there’s morning yoga for all those campers who managed to set up their tent on a rock or tree root. In other words, it’s for all campers.

Friday, John Paul White is at Southgate… for real this time, it’s the rescheduled show from a month ago when JPW was illing. Caleb Elliott is the opener. Ben Levin brings his backing band the Heaters to Arnold’s (they don’t serve Mickey’s – I checked). The Chris Comer Trio plays the Findlay Market Biergarten at happy hour (5-7 p.m.). Wicked Peace — stars of a living room show at Parlor & Patio a few months back — are at Jerzee’s Pub & Grill in Newport. Meanwhile, Chris Staples is playing a living room show through Undertow (same company that booked Eric Bachmann at my house). I don’t know much about Mr. Staples (pretty sure he’s no relation to Pops or Mavis), but this KEXP session is pretty sweet. Looks like the show will be in the Northside area.

Friday is also Grateful Dead Night at the Reds game. Local jam band Spookfloaters (featuring my wife’s cousin Mike on guitar and vocals) are playing the pre-game concert, and they’ll be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Dead’s Woodstock performance by playing that entire set (and more!).

Turn on, tune in, drop out of the wild card race

List member Dan “Aristides 4-4 ever!” Lewis would like to remind you that if you cough up some extra cash for the Grateful Dead ticket package, you can get a Dancing Bear Bobblehead.

Wearing the throwback LSD trip uniform

Spookfloaters are back at it Saturday, playing Fretboard Brewing from 7-9 p.m. Chelsea Ford & The Trouble are at Camp Springs Tavern, Castlecomer is at Madison Live, Chris Comer Trio plays Padrino in Milford, Mike Zito and Johnny Fink play Southgate’s main room, and Ricky Nye Inc. featuring Blake Taylor is playing the Southgate Lounge.

Saturday is also the Ludlow Garage 50th Anniversary Reunion, a free show in Eden Park’s Seasongood Pavilion. That gig is organized by Jim Tarbell, who used to book the original Ludlow Garage back in the day [Kinks, Allman Brothers, Stooges, Dr. John, Staples Singers (no relation to Chris Staples), Santana, et al.]. He also booked the first Grateful Dead gig in Cincinnati, and later became a vice-mayor and mural model. Here’s the show lineup:

Jim Tarbell used to own Arnold’s. I bet he served Mickey’s Big Mouths!

Ricky Nye keeps the party going Sunday, playing Wiedemann Brewery & Taproom. He’ll be playing solo, but not so-low that you can’t hear him.

Sell!

That same evening, Korn and Alice in Chains are at Riverbend.

She learned it from her dad.

JD Simo plays Southgate, and the Downtowne Listening Room is hosting Icecreamapalooza with Matt Waters and Sami Riggs. That show is sold out… but you can attend the backup Icecreamapalooza next to my fridge. BYOB (bring your own butterscotch).

Hot ticket alert: Houndmouth is playing Southgate on Friday, November 22nd and Saturday, November 23rd.

From the TWILM mailbag, list member “Mighty Joe” Sampson commented on our mention of the time he prevented the Goo Goo Dolls from beating up the sound guy at Day in Eden back in 1993:

The far greater crime committed by the Goos has been on display for past 20 years: shift from great punk pop albums of late 80’s through early 90’s to present day adult contemporary elevator music. I still dig those early Goo records most notably Superstar Car Wash is killer.

That’s Joe in the red cap, third row right… before he strong-armed the Goos

And while I hate to end on a sad note, we do need to mention the passing of David Berman of Silver Jews (and the recent Purple Mountains album). Here’s my post about it, and you really should read the recent article from The Ringer about David. Big shout-out to list member Jay Stowe for this comment on the blog:

Thanks for this, Damian. I got to know David a bit in college and briefly afterwards in New York. The bond was basically music. He was an occasional deejay at WTJU in Charlottesville during school; I credit him (and Bob Nastanovich) with introducing me to a ton of great bands. He had a unique view of the world we live in, and despite his struggles, came at it with a dry wit from a refreshingly skewed angle. He also had a beautiful way with words. He told me one time about sitting across the table from Kim Gordon after a Sonic Youth show at Trax in C’ville; he said she had the look of a “sultry tigress.” I called him once when I was an editor at Outside and asked him if he’d write an “epic poem” about America for a travel package. It was a fairly dopey idea, but he indulged me kindly. He had a generous spirit, a wonderful sense of the absurd, and some darkness that followed him around. All of which made him, in my eyes, one of the most eloquent voices of my generation. It hurts to think he’s gone.

Hear, hear, Jay… R.I.P. David.

“Half hours on earth… what are they worth?”

Concert review: Guided By Voices at Bellwether

Concert review, Music

The Teacher Delivers An Indie Rock Master Class

Guided By Voices perform a blistering set at Bellwether Music Festival

Review: Dan Bockrath Photos: Gene Dow Photography

In the midst of their set, Guided By Voices leader Robert Pollard thanked the Bellwether Music Festival promoters for inviting them to perform a 75-minute show. With a wink and a nod, he then wryly boasted that the band frequently plays 3-hour plus shows on tour. (They played 54 songs in over two and half hours at their late June concert at the Woodward Theatre…and plan on performing a 100 song show at a sold out New Year’s Eve concert in New York City.)

Photo credit: Gene Dow Photography

Born, raised and currently living in nearby Dayton, Ohio, the former 4th grade school teacher and his band ripped through 29 songs in their allotted time.  At 61 years old, Pollard maintains the swagger to be one of the best rock and roll frontmen in the business. Confidently strutting the stage, he threw in several Daltryesque microphone swings and managed to sneak in one of his signature high kicks. He has slowed down a bit on the legendary beer chugging, but did take several dips into the cooler throughout the evening.

photo credit: Gene Dow Photography

The band opened with three hard charging songs from their fine 2019 double album Zeppelin Over China before tearing into crowd favorites Cut-Out Witch and Tractor Rape Chain.  Pollard then matter-of-factly announced that the band will be releasing their 3rd record in 2019 in the fall titled Sweating The Plague (the 24-track Warp And Woof was released in April).  They then performed the first single, the anthemic “Heavy Like The World”. You can listen to it here.

Sweating the Plague will be the ultra-prolific Guided By Voices 29th studio album. And Pollard seemed rather proud of his ability to make three records in one year as he wondered aloud why some other bands put out records once every seven years.

Back to the show.

Long-time fans were treated to many favorites from the GBV catalog, including Echos Myron, I Am a Tree, Chasing Heather Crazy, The Best of Jill Hives, My Kind of Soldier, Motor Away and Teenage FBI.  Doug Gillard was a beast as always on lead guitar and relative newcomer Bobby Bare, Jr. was windmilling his heart out on rhythm as the dual guitar attack, accompanied by bassist Mark Shue and drummer Kevin March, provided a face full of melodic rock and roll to charge up the relatively mellow sun-kissed crowd. (GBV were sandwiched between STRFKR and headliners Beach House, so many of the younger fans were a little thrown off by ol’ Bob and his band of misfits).

  • Gene Dow took this photo…
  • And this one…
  • Yep, Gene Dow again.

The band was just hitting their stride of greatest hits when they were told they only had three minutes left in their set. With that, Pollard broke into the opening of “Glad Girls” to send the fans off in style.

Setlist link: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/guided-by-voices/2019/ohio-renaissance-festival-grounds-waynesville-oh-639f9297.html

Silver. Purple. Fade to black.

Music

You probably wouldn’t guess it based on the haphazard “style” of my weekly music posts, but there actually IS a wee bit of planning involved in them. I use a Milanote board to capture my digital scribbles and random brain droppings.

Not quite as scary as the stalker photos on a serial killer’s basement wall… but close

Just yesterday morning (to paraphrase James Taylor), I wrote down this note about an album I wanted to mention, because I was thoroughly enjoying it:

Purple Mountains is the new project from David Berman, who headed the band Silver Jews from the late 80s through the oughts. The self-titled album Purple Mountains, which came out a few weeks ago, was David’s first new release after a decade-long, self-imposed break from the music industry. And it’s brilliant. Here’s a great blurb from Kayleigh Hughes’ review of the album on Consequence of Sound:

David Berman is one of our greatest living songwriters and he’s returned in beautiful, melancholic form as Purple Mountains to speak to the lifelong nihilistic depressive in all of us. Several moments on the album suggest his return to music-making came almost without a choice. Things haven’t been going so well for him these days, he says, and he’s just, well, he’s writing some stuff about it.

Then last night, my “I know the things you do” smartphone served up this headline:

On the cusp of his first tour in forever, David passed away. So sad.

David formed Silver Jews with Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich, who later started the band Pavement. Bob’s statement sums up a lot of people’s feelings:

“I was saddened to hear that David died. Stephen called me to tell me this afternoon.

For most of my life, I was amazed by David as a person, a humorist and a writer. It was enlightening to have such a talented friend at a young age and realize that the talent wasn’t always a blessing.

David battled mental illness for nearly all of his life. He had professional help and the unyielding support of hundreds of good friends. He had many loving and devoted fans.

Please try to cherish your memories of him and his words and music including his last album Purple Mountains.

I know I will and I’m grateful that the list of good memories and stories is long.”

I read this article from The Ringer when it came out a month ago. It provides a lot more insight into David’s struggles, and is well worth a read. He’s gone, but his music lives on.

This week in Live Music: August 5-11

Concert Listings, Music

Before we get into this week’s live tuneage, let’s dwell for a moment on last week’s live shows. Big shout out to the list members (and friends of list members) who came to the Eric Bachmann house show at my place: Jacqui, Ken, Jeff, Bob, Dan and Martha, Rico, and Rico’s buddies Cody and Louie. What a great gig! And getting a chance to chat with Eric afterward was just as cool… I’m going to begrudgingly forgive Neko Case for her antics last time she played Taft, as Eric (who was in her touring band) gave us the backstory.

Eric Bachmann at Damian’s house

The Cereal Killers performed a stellar (albeit too brief) set in Mt. Adams on Friday. We need to get them a recurring gig – any suggestions for a venue that might be amenable to hosting a killer band that plays great tunes from the late 70s/early 80s indie/college rock pantheon?

Cereal Killers in Mt. Adams… that’s not Eric Bachmann on guitar, it’s his doppelganger Matt Hueneman.

And finally, a shout out to list member Dan “Come to the Trevor Bauer Power Hour” Lewis for checking out the Ben Levin Trio at the Overlook Kitchen + Bar at the Summit Hotel in Madisonville. That hotel feels out of place next to a UDF, but their restaurant/bar patio is a very cool spot to hang out… especially when Ben Levin is playing.

OK, on with the show(s)… Tonight, Max Frost is playing the 20th Century Theater, with Swells as the opener.

On Tuesday, The Regrettes are at Madison Live, Joe Bonamassa is playing Fraze, Knotty G’s are at Stanley’s, the Local Music Showcase at Sawyer Point features Jordan Wilson Coalition and Brother Smith (6:30-10 p.m.) and Tesla (the band, not the car… actually maybe both) is at Rose Music Center.

Jake Speed & the Freddies are this week’s featured band in the Wednesdays in the Woods series at Burnet Woods. The Royal Hounds are playing Southgate’s Revival Room with NP Presley and The Ghost of Jesse Garon.

On Thursday, JJ Grey & Mofro are playing PNC Pavilion with Jonny Lang and Marc Brussard. List members Whit and Barb Gardner will be at that show. Joyce Manor is playing Woodward that evening, with Saves the Day and awakebutstillinbed, the band named after my teenage kids. Jamestown Revival plays Top Cats, and Madison Theater will host the Squirrel Nut Zippers.

This just in: list member/junior correspondent Madeleine Meeks informs our news desk that The Dip will be playing a free show at RiversEdge in Hamilton! Ohio on Thursday evening, and they’ll be playing an intimate gig at Plaid Room Records on Friday night. They are, per Madeleine, “seven young, gorgeous men from Seattle playing jazzy, old timey, classy, sexy tunes”… that blurb sounds a lot better coming from her than from me.

The summer is flying by, and it’s Bellwether Weekend… and Railbird weekend. Bellwether kicks off Friday in Waynesville at the Renaissance Festival grounds, home of giant turkey legs and jousting… and perhaps jousting with giant turkey legs.

The Bellwether schedule is below, headliners include Real Estate and Cake on Friday, and Guided By Voices, Pinback and Beach House on Saturday. I’ll be in attendance both days.

Railbird is Saturday and Sunday at Keeneland in Lexington, KY. Here’s the list of performers:

There are a slew of local shows on Friday as well:

  • JJ Grey/Jonny Lang/Marc Broussard play Rose Music Center
  • Willow Tree Carolers are at Camp Springs Tavern
  • Vesperteen headlines the free show at Fountain Square
  • ghost man on second is playing Lucius Q
  • Wyatt Edmondson is at Stanley’s with Electric Son
  • The Darling Suns, Heavy Hinges and Darity are playing Northside Tavern
  • Ben Levin Trio plays BrewRiver

And there are plenty of gigs on Saturday too:

  • Chuck Cleaver, Lisa Walker and Mark Messerly of Wussy are at MOTR, playing solo stuff as well as collaborating on some Wussy tunes.
  • Santana plays Riverbend with the Doobie Brothers. List members Whit and Barb will be at that gig too… they are cuckoo for concerts this week.
  • Black Flag is playing Riverfront Live. Speaking of Black Flag, this is a cool mini-doc about their artwork.
  • Common is at Madison Theater
  • The Newbees have a 15th anniversary show at Southgate
  • Megan Wren is at Southgate too, in the Revival Room
  • 500 Miles to Memphis headlines the Fountain Square freebie
  • John Butler Trio is at Rose Music Center
  • The Gotobeds (named after me talking to my teenage kids) are playing Northside Yacht Club, with Vacation and Cold Stereo
  • Flying Underground and Maurice Mattei & the Tempers are at Urban Artifact
  • The Generics will be at Fretboard Brewing in Blue Ash.
I’m just phoning it in now.

Sunday is a bit quieter, at least from a volume (of shows) standpoint. Death Valley Girls and Moonwalks are at MOTR, and JP Harris & the Tough Choices are playing Southgate, with Jeremy Pinnell opening the show.

A few other notes: Shake It Records is selling the first deck of Cincinnnati Music Legends trading cards, a very cool idea. Read more in CityBeat.

Wham!

I’m really digging the new album from Bleached called Don’t You Think You’ve Had Enough (which is what my kids say to me when I’m reaching for my third slice of cake).

And the latest episode of the 97X podcast features Barb Abney talking about her 25+ year career playing modern rock (97X, the woxy.com, then The Current in Minneapolis, and now KFAI.) All episodes of the “Rumblings from the Big Bush” podcast are now available on Spotify, too.

Have a wonderful week!

Episode 18: Barb Abney the Modern Rock maven

97X, podcast

Barb Abney spent more than a decade at 97X and woxy.com, starting in the summer of 1994 and doing middays from 1998 through 2006, when she moved to Minneapolis to work for The Current for 8+ years as woxy.com moved to Austin.

In this podcast episode, Dave and Damian talk to Barb about dressing for success, her collection of 97X paraphernalia, stalking the Afghan Whigs, and lessons learned in the station’s bathroom.

Barb continues to play great music and support local bands as the morning show host at KFAI-FM in the Twin Cities. You can stream KFAI, so check out Barb’s show weekdays from 6-8 a.m. CDT (7-9 EDT). You can also connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.

Barb on the air at 97X
Brian J., Mike Taylor, Shiv and Barb on the final day broadcasting from Oxford.
Here’s Barb in the outfit she wore to her 97X interview… which she described as “VIP at Lilith Fair”

Eric the Awesome

Music

Eric Bachmann played a house concert at my place last night. The crowd can best be described as “small but mighty”…. about 20 folks. But those few and proud folks were treated to a fantastic night of tunes… and some funny stories as well.

Because I enjoy Eric’s music so much, part of me wishes more folks showed up, so they could experience his brilliance firsthand. But I promoted it the best that I could (flyers at Shake It Records and Everybody’s Records, attempted giveaway on Inhailer Radio‘s social channels, my weekly email x 2) so I’m at peace. Realistically, Eric’s band Archers of Loaf wasn’t exactly a household name, and their heyday was 25 years ago. At the turn of the century (I feel old just typing that), he formed Crooked Fingers… again, not a band where most folks would recognize the name, let alone the music. And he’s been doing solo albums for several years (his newest is No Recover) but the potential audience is not exactly Taylor Swiftian. So, you get what you get and you don’t get upset. I knew a lot of the attendees, and they’re really cool folks. The strangers that I welcomed into our house turned out to be very nice people as well. They all experienced a very memorable, very enjoyable night of music.

The show was through Undertow music, which books house shows for fringe/niche/indie artists like Eric. They handle all the ticket sales, and keep a 15% fee while the other 85% goes to the performer. Surely a better deal for artists than most gigs. Eric sold some merch too, so he made a bit of coin for his efforts. Not many people buy records these days, and streaming is not lucrative at all for most artists. So gassing up the van and hitting the road, t-shirts and vinyl in tow, is the only way to make a buck. And house concerts offer a more intimate, relaxed setting, with less hassles (and an earlier set time) than a dingy club. It may not be the wave of the future, but it’s the wave of today for the unsung singers, and I’m happy to ride it.

He did several songs on piano, several on guitar, and a couple on banjo.

My friend Jacqui was in attendance. She and her husband Dave are my house concert heroes – they’re booking an entire series of house shows throughout the year (they call it Parlor and Patio). And they serve homemade pie at intermission! Hmm, maybe I’ll have to start baking…

Undertow books a lot of house shows, and they’re always looking for hosts. There’s also a company called HomeDitty where you can sign up to be a host for scrappy artists trying to make their way in the music world. If you can’t host, at least attend a few house shows. You won’t regret it. In fact, you’ll enjoy the heck out of it.

Eric Bachmann may not mean much to some of the world (yet!), but having him play at my house last night meant the world to me.

This week in live Music: July 29-August 4

Concert Listings, Music

I’m listing the concerts out of order this week.

Al Pacino, in a restrained performance.

Because the most important gig is on Thursday: Eric Bachmann is playing a house concert at my home.

26 tickets left? Geez, that’s sad. Clearly, I’ve done a piss-poor job of marketing this gig. Did I mention I saw Eric at a house concert in Northside a few years back and it was amazing? It doesn’t really matter if you’re that familiar with his work, you’ll still enjoy the heck out of it… and it’s an early show too, he’ll be on at 8 and done by 9:30. But wait, there’s more… I’m offering my Double D Guarantee: if you aren’t completely satisfied with the show, I’ll refund your $ out of my own pocket. (I make $0 off this show, it’s booked by Undertow and they manage the cash.) Here’s a Spotify playlist of EB tunes, from Archers of Loaf to Crooked Fingers to his solo work. Tell your friends, Romans and countrymen about this show. Because right now, I’m the new Artie Fufkin.

OK, enough pitiful pimpin’. Back to the other shows this week. On Tuesday, Sarah McLachlan will be at Rose Music Center with a full orchestra.

Wednesday, Hibou is at MOTR with Dark Colour and Culture Queer, Jon Bellion is at PNC Pavilion and The Mowgli’s are playing Taft Ballroom. (Don’t ask me why they have an apostrophe in their name… maybe it’s a tribute to Frank Zappa.)

Thursday, you really, really, really should be at my shack for the Eric Bachmann house concert. But I’m contractually obligated to mention that the Legendary Shack Shakers are at Southgate, with JD Pinkus (Butthole Surfers).

Friday is a big evening for live music. Many list members will be at the Beck/Cage the Elephant/Spoon/Wild Belle show at Riverbend. And for good reason – that’s a killer lineup. (Of course, with Riverbend’s ironclad 11 p.m. curfew, you’ll get short sets… even though the show starts at 6.) However, there are several other gigs that evening:

  • Cloud Nothings are headlining the free show at Fountain Square
  • Steel Drivers and the Steep Canyon Rangers are playing Riverfront Live (old Annie’s)
  • Joan Osborne is singing the songs of Bob Dylan (Perhaps you’ve heard of him? Some folks call him the poor man’s Eric Bachmann) at Memorial Hall
  • The Sunburners and the Cliftones are playing a free gig at Sawyer Point (6-10 pm)
  • John Cusack was supposed to be at Taft for a screening of Say Anything and a Q&A… but it’s not listed on the Taft Theatre site anymore. Maybe his boombox batteries died.
  • The Harlequins are playing MOTR
  • Last but certainly not least, legendary local band Cereal Killers will be playing the Holy Cross/Immaculata church festival in Mt. Adams starting at 7 p.m. I’ll be at that gig. Admission is free, but you know you won’t be able to resist playing some Bars & Bells, so pack your wallet accordingly.

On Saturday, UB40 is at Riverfront Live and the Ben Levin Trio is at the Overlook Kitchen + Bar at the Summit Hotel. You also have your choice of two spoofy names, but just one spoof band: Mac Sabbath is playing Woodward Theater and Def Leggend (‘the world’s greatest tribute to Def Leppard’) is at Bogart’s. The Cincy Summer Beerfest at Smale Park will feature some live tunes, too.

Sunday, the Camp Springs Tavern hosts an open bluegrass jam (as they do every first Sunday of the month) at 3:30. Blacktop Mojo is at Madison Live, and Kool Keith is rockin’ the Northside Tavern.

That’ll do it for gigs this week. Hope to see you Thursday. And Friday.

Hot Ticket Alert:

Patty Griffin and Scott Miller at 20th Century Theater on Sept. 25.

Episode 17: Dan reed tells more tales

97X, podcast

In the second part of our chat with Dan Reed (a.k.a. “Danny Crash”), he tells more hilarious stories from the early 97X years, including tales about his band Chem-Dyne, his friends Mr. K and Greg Dulli, working at Bogart’s, and learning life lessons (sometimes the hard way) from 97X owners Doug and Linda.

Dan talks about his Hamilton friend/fellow bandmate/fellow DJ Ken “Mr K” Glidewell, who died in 2008 from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. Dave and I both got to know Mr. K from working with him, and he truly was one of a kind.

Here’s a video of Big In Iowa, a local band featuring Mr. K and Bob Burns, who later gained fame via his always-entertaining “Blogger Bog” Instagram account for the TSA. Sadly, Bob also passed away suddenly last October.

Dan Reed also co-hosted a podcast called the Dan & Dan Music Podcast, you can check out the episodes here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dan-and-dan-music-podcast/id976960749

That Dan, he’s a nutty, kooky kinda cat, and we love him.

Hamilton meets Akron
“Call me” – with Blondie’s Chris Stein