This week in live music: July 15-21

Concert Listings

Hot enough for ya?

Speaking of hot, let’s get to the hot, hot, live music action.

Ain’t nothin’ going on Monday… but Tuesday more than makes up for that. Sebadoh is playing Woodward Theater, with Eleanor Friedberger opening up the show. That’s a great double bill, and I just may rally my old man bones enough to make that show on a weekday. Father Time will tell.

That same evening, Combo Chimbita is playing Northside Tavern. This band comes highly recommended by TWILM member Michelle Boyles.

There are two other bands on the bill with Combo Chimbita, so if you’re an old fogey like me, the start time might be past your bedtime.

John Paul White (formerly of the Civil Wars… that name turned out to be prophetic) is playing Southgate, with Caleb Elliott.

What about Dayton, you ask? Any live tunes in “The Gem City” on Tuesday? Maybe at a gas station?

So glad you asked! The Steve Miller Band is playing Kettering’s Fraze Pavilion, with Marty Stuart as the opener. Meanwhile, in another Dayton suburb (Huber Heights, “America’s largest community of brick homes”), Amos Lee is playing Rose Music Center, with Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers opening up the gig. Remember when Bruce Hornsby’s backing band was called “The Range”? Or was it the Amana Radarange?

On Wednesday, PNC Pavilion has a triple bill: Third Eye Blind, Jimmy Eat World and Ra Ra Riot. I’m not much of a Third Eye Blind fan, but I do like Jimmy Eat World and Ra Ra Riot. Speaking of three i’s, Triiibe is the local band playing the free “Wednesdays in the Woods” gig at the Burnet Woods Bandstand. And in a cruel twist of fate The Commodores are playing Fraze, NOT the Rose Music Center… I have a feeling “Brick House” would go over better in Huber Heights.

Thursday, some old guy in a Hawaiian shirt is playing Riverbend. I’m not going to Buffett-bash… I just wish all the folks who go cuckoo over his concerts would get out of their suburban enclaves more than once a year, and actually support other bands as well. Bring that crazy energy… but leave the plastic flamingos in the garage next to the Lawn-Boy.

It was right next to the broken flip-flop.

Ben Levin & the Heaters are playing the Behringer Crawford Museum in Devou Park. Meanwhile, in the Gem City, Buffalo Wabs & the Price Hill Hustle are playing a free show at Levitt Pavilion. That’s the Levitt Pavilion in Dayton, not to be confused with Levitt Pavilion in Westport, Connecticut, or the one in Denver, or the one in Arlington, TX.

On Friday evening, the Wheels of Soul tour rolls into PNC Pavilion, with Shovels & Rope, Blackberry Smoke and Tedeschi-Trucks Band. My wife is a close personal friend with Blackberry Smoke.

We flew to Germany on the same plane last year, so we’re practically touring members of the band!

Just to clarify, my wife is a close friend, but she’s not a “special new friend.”

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/c36119b3-71e5-40e1-a820-f09bd9300be6
Artie Fufkin, Polymer Records…

Soul Pocket is playing the free show on Fountain Square, Jeremy Pinnell is playing Folk School Coffee Parlor in Ludlow, KY, Krystal Peterson is at Fretboard Brewing in Blue Ash, and Wreking Crue, the Motley Crue Experience, is at Bogart’s (tribute bands can’t afford the umlauts).

Saturday, it’s 1995 all over again: Hootie & The Blowfish are playing a sold-out show at Riverbend, with Barenaked Ladies as the opening act.

Just wait until he finds out about Barenaked Ladies…

Stanley’s is hosting the Ladyfolk Festival (Honey & Houston, Maria Carelli Band, Chelsea Ford & The Trouble, twig&leaf), the Downtowne Listening Room has Dierdre Flint with Eric Gnezda, The Redemptioners are playing Camp Springs Tavern, Ben Levin’s at Streetside…. and the Wheels of Soul tour (TTB, Blackberry Smoke and Shovels & Rope) rolls up to The Gem City (Rose Music Center).

On Sunday, Nicholas Johnson & The Same Old Strangers are at MOTR, Comet Bluegrass All-Stars are at the Comet (duh!) and Stanley’s hosts an open jam. Bring your tambourine.

In other news, Houndmouth is playing a two-night stand at Southgate Nov. 22 and 23. Get yer tix now. And Tiny Changes – A Celebration of The Midnight Organ Fight is out. Various artists (Ben Gibbard, Julien Baker, Craig Finn, Manchester Orchestra, Josh Ritter, Lauren Mayberry from Chvrches, Aaron Dessner from The National, The Twilight Sad) cover songs from Frightened Rabbit’s brilliant sophomore album, which came out a decade ago. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Tiny Changes, the children’s mental health charity founded in honor of Frightened Rabbit lead singer Scott Hutchison. Here’s my close personal friend Craig Finn doing Head Rolls Off:

Craig played an Undertow house concert at my place back in 2017. Now it’s Eric Bachmann’s turn. He’ll be here on Thursday, August 1st. Get tickets here before they vanish.

In other house concert news, my friends Jacqui and Dave have lined up another show: Brett Newski will be playing their lovely home (a.k.a. Parlor & Patio) in Ft. Thomas on Friday, September 27th. That should be a real dandy. Get your tickets for that gig here with the password parlor.

“Newski’s live shows are part rock n’ roll, part stand up, and part therapy. In the end, the room is won over.”

Jim McGuinn, The Current, Minneapolis

Have a rockin’ week!

P.S. As a writer and a former advertising guy, I hope whoever came up with this slogan was fired:

This week in live music: July 15-21

Concert Listings

Hot enough for ya?

Speaking of hot, let’s get to the hot, hot, live music action.

Ain’t nothin’ going on Monday… but Tuesday more than makes up for that. Sebadoh is playing Woodward Theater, with Eleanor Friedberger opening up the show. That’s a great double bill, and I just may rally my old man bones enough to make that show on a weekday. Father Time will tell.

That same evening, Combo Chimbita is playing Northside Tavern. This band comes highly recommended by TWILM member Michelle Boyles.

There are two other bands on the bill with Combo Chimbita, so if you’re an old fogey like me, the start time might be past your bedtime.

John Paul White (formerly of the Civil Wars… that name turned out to be prophetic) is playing Southgate, with Caleb Elliott.

What about Dayton, you ask? Any live tunes in “The Gem City” on Tuesday? Maybe at a gas station?

So glad you asked! The Steve Miller Band is playing Kettering’s Fraze Pavilion, with Marty Stuart as the opener. Meanwhile, in another Dayton suburb (Huber Heights, “America’s largest community of brick homes”), Amos Lee is playing Rose Music Center, with Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers opening up the gig. Remember when Bruce Hornsby’s backing band was called “The Range”? Or was it the Amana Radarange?

On Wednesday, PNC Pavilion has a triple bill: Third Eye Blind, Jimmy Eat World and Ra Ra Riot. I’m not much of a Third Eye Blind fan, but I do like Jimmy Eat World and Ra Ra Riot. Speaking of three i’s, Triiibe is the local band playing the free “Wednesdays in the Woods” gig at the Burnet Woods Bandstand. And in a cruel twist of fate The Commodores are playing Fraze, NOT the Rose Music Center… I have a feeling “Brick House” would go over better in Huber Heights.

Thursday, some old guy in a Hawaiian shirt is playing Riverbend. I’m not going to Buffett-bash… I just wish all the folks who go cuckoo over his concerts would get out of their suburban enclaves more than once a year, and actually support other bands as well. Bring that crazy energy… but leave the plastic flamingos in the garage next to the Lawn-Boy.

It was right next to the broken flip-flop.

Ben Levin & the Heaters are playing the Behringer Crawford Museum in Devou Park. Meanwhile, in the Gem City, Buffalo Wabs & the Price Hill Hustle are playing a free show at Levitt Pavilion. That’s the Levitt Pavilion in Dayton, not to be confused with Levitt Pavilion in Westport, Connecticut, or the one in Denver, or the one in Arlington, TX.

On Friday evening, the Wheels of Soul tour rolls into PNC Pavilion, with Shovels & Rope, Blackberry Smoke and Tedeschi-Trucks Band. My wife is a close personal friend with Blackberry Smoke.

We flew to Germany on the same plane last year, so we’re practically touring members of the band!

Just to clarify, my wife is a close friend, but she’s not a “special new friend.”

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/c36119b3-71e5-40e1-a820-f09bd9300be6
Artie Fufkin, Polymer Records…

Soul Pocket is playing the free show on Fountain Square, Jeremy Pinnell is playing Folk School Coffee Parlor in Ludlow, KY, the Kingston Trio is playing Memorial Hall, and Wreking Crue, the Motley Crue Experience, is at Bogart’s (tribute bands can’t afford the umlauts).

Saturday, it’s 1995 all over again: Hootie & The Blowfish are playing a sold-out show at Riverbend, with Barenaked Ladies as the opening act.

Just wait until he finds out about Barenaked Ladies…

Stanley’s is hosting the Ladyfolk Festival (Honey & Houston, Maria Carelli Band, Chelsea Ford & The Trouble, twig&leaf), the Downtowne Listening Room has Dierdre Flint with Eric Gnezda, The Redemptioners are playing Camp Springs Tavern, Ben Levin’s at Streetside…. and the Wheels of Soul tour (TTB, Blackberry Smoke and Shovels & Rope) rolls up to The Gem City (Rose Music Center).

On Sunday, Nicholas Johnson & The Same Old Strangers are at MOTR, Comet Bluegrass All-Stars are at the Comet (duh!) and Stanley’s hosts an open jam. Bring your tambourine.

In other news, Houndmouth is playing a two-night stand at Southgate Nov. 22 and 23. Get yer tix now. And Tiny Changes – A Celebration of The Midnight Organ Fight is out. Various artists (Ben Gibbard, Julien Baker, Craig Finn, Manchester Orchestra, Josh Ritter, Lauren Mayberry from Chvrches, Aaron Dessner from The National, The Twilight Sad) cover songs from Frightened Rabbit’s brilliant sophomore album, which came out a decade ago. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Tiny Changes, the children’s mental health charity founded in honor of Frightened Rabbit lead singer Scott Hutchison. Here’s my close personal friend Craig Finn doing Head Rolls Off:

Craig played an Undertow house concert at my place back in 2017. Now it’s Eric Bachmann’s turn. He’ll be here on Thursday, August 1st. Get tickets here before they vanish.

In other house concert news, my friends Jacqui and Dave have lined up another show: Brett Newski will be playing their lovely home (a.k.a. Parlor & Patio) in Ft. Thomas on Friday, September 27th. That should be a real dandy. Get your tickets for that gig here with the password parlor.

“Newski’s live shows are part rock n’ roll, part stand up, and part therapy. In the end, the room is won over.”

Jim McGuinn, The Current, Minneapolis

Have a rockin’ week!

P.S. As a writer and a former advertising guy, I hope whoever came up with this slogan was fired:

Putting out an A.P.B. on those S.O.B.s

Music

It’s a musical mystery that cannot be solved. No, I’m not talking about “Why is Panic at the Disco! suddenly popular again?” or “Why does Cardi B yell at us in every song?” or even “What kind of shoes is Jay Ferguson wearing on the cover of the Thunder Island album? Are those macramé crocs?”

No, this mystery is even more puzzling. If it were a Quinn Martin Production or an Encyclopedia Brown story, it would be “The Sudden Disappearance of Sons of Bill.”

Sons of Bill are (or were… still trying to figure that out) a band out of Charlottesville, Virginia, featuring three brothers, all sons of a UVA professor named Bill Wilson. (So it’s no mystery how they came up with their band name.)

My buddy Joe put them on my radar several years ago, and I really liked their sound. We even saw them in concert at the Southgate House in 2012, and ran into the lead singer James Wilson prior to the show – nice guy. We spoke with the other two brothers, Sam and Abe, after the show. They’re super-friendly too. And I really liked their 2012 release Sirens, and their 2013 album Love & Logic.

They were never even close to the big time, but it seems like they had a decent following. Last summer, they released a new album called Oh God Ma’am, put out a promo video… and then promptly vanished from the face of the earth.

Seriously, they just ghosted on us. Even in the age of the Interwebs, where you can find out anything and everything about anyone with just a few clicks, Sons of Bill have pulled a disappearing act that would make Houdini proud. Their website touts the album from last summer. Their last Facebook post is from July 10th of 2018. Their pinned tweet is from April of last year. After a relative flurry of press for the album release last spring, it’s been radio silence.

I’m sounding the clarion call… detectives, assemble! Let’s get the entire NBC Sunday Mystery Movie lineup on the case too.

Find Sons of Bill! ASAP!!!

This Week in Live Music: July 8-14

Concert Listings

Howdy folks, I’m back from vacation – tan, rested, and ready to rock.

While I was on vacation, I saw a great show every evening:

Rockin’!

But let’s focus on the Tri-State Area.

More specifically, let’s focus on live music in the Tri-State Area.

On Tuesday, “Hell is for Children“… and the Fraze Pavilion is for the Pat Benatar/Neil Giraldo show. I said Neil Giraldo, not Gerardo.

Fun fact: The Fraze Pavilion is named after Ermal Fraze, late resident of Kettering, Ohio, and inventor of the pop-top beverage can.

That same night, the underage Ben Levin is at Arnold’s.

Wednesday, Sheryl Crow is playing Fraze, which is named after… someone whose first name is an anagram for Lamer.

On Thursday, Leggy is playing Urban Artifact, along with And The Kids, Strobobean and The Harmaleighs.

Friday, the legendary local band Cereal Killers are playing MadTree Brewing in Oakley. Tell a buddy, bring a friend, but don’t you dare miss this big show!

That same evening, there are several other gigs on tap:

  • Junior Brown is playing Southgate
  • Michigan Rattlers and Oliver Hazard are playing the free gig at Fountain Square
  • Peter “I used to live in Cincinnati” Frampton makes a stop at Riverbend on his farewell tour, with Jason Bonham’s “Led Zeppelin Evening” as the opener. Lawn 4-packs for that show are $90.
  • Carly Rae Jepsen is at Bogart’s. If you have an extra ticket, maybe you should go up to someone you just met and give them your phone number. It’s crazy, I know, but it just might work.

Forecastle Festival also kicks off in Louisville on Friday, and runs through Sunday evening.

Saturday is quite the musical grab bag:

  • Like indie rock? Check out Gringo Star at Northside Tavern.
  • For metal/slasher movie fans, Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson are playing Riverbend.
  • Disco till you die? Shake (shake shake) your booty at the KC & the Sunshine Band show at Riverfront Live.
  • Hair band/glam enthusiasts can check out Faster Pussycat and Bang Tango at MVP Bar & Grille in Silverton (this is a sign that Faster Pussycat and Bang Tango need to hang it up).
  • Grunge-ish rockers can hit Bogart’s for the Candlebox show.
  • For Americana/acoustic/local music fans, Highly Likely is playing Camp Springs Tavern and The Harmed Brothers/Buffalo Wabs & the Price Hill Hustle/The Old Souls String Band are at Southgate.

Sunday, the Comet Bluegrass All-Stars will play their usual gig at the bar that gave them their name, and Ricky Nye & Chris Douglas are at MOTR.

In case you missed it, Taft Theater recently announced dates for Wilco and Elvis Costello & The Imposters… Wilco plays 11/9 and Declan Patrick Aloysius MacManus (a.k.a. Elvis Costello… wonder why he changed his stage name) is on 11/19. Tickets are on sale now… go to the Taft box office to save the TicketBastard charges. (If you don’t work downtown, I’ll be your ticket gitter.)

That’ll do it for this week. The latest live show photo comes courtesy of Todd Butler, who thoroughly enjoyed the Courtney Barnett gig at Madison Theater last week.

Playing it lefty… but it’s right-handed in Australia.

This just in from the Shameless Self-Promotion Department: a new episode of the 97X podcast featuring an interview with longtime 97X air personality Shiv can be found here: https://www.97xbam.com/2019/07/07/episode-15-a-shiv-for-all-seasons/

Episode 15: A shiv for all seasons

97X, podcast

Matt Shiverdecker, a.k.a. Shiv, ran the gamut at 97X… from boyhood superfan/long-distance listener to station intern to part-time DJ to full-timer at 97X, then woxy.com, where he worked until the bitter(sweet) end in Austin, Texas. Dave and Damian talk to Matt about his journey, get his take on the online station’s untimely demise, and find out more about middle school broadcast camp and the top-secret WOXY historical archives. 

As Shiv mentions in our podcast interview, he reviews movies for the Austin American-Statesman. His most recent column is here: https://www.austin360.com/entertainmentlife/20190701/on-demand-the-beach-bum-is-laugh-out-loud-wild-ride

You can find more of his columns here: https://www.austin360.com/search?text=matt%20shiverdecker&start=1

Matt is also on Twitter.

This week (and next week) in Live Music

Concert Listings

Special Double Issue: June 24-July 7

That’s right kids, this go-round you get a “special double issue” because I care so much that I want to give you double the usual content, as a no-cost bonus to you. It’s like two, two, two mints in one!

(This double issue has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I’ll be on vacation next week. I would never, ever, ever prioritize relaxing/drinking on the beach over delivering piping-hot TWILM content.) OK, on with the show(s)!

Hmm, there’s not much live music action in this neck of the woods on Monday or Tuesday… guess this is more like a “special one-and-a-half issue.” But hey, Delta Rae will be at the 20th Century in Oakley on Wednesday.

Thursday, Jimmie Vaughan will be at Memorial Hall, with a full band.

Jimmie is perhaps best known for being a member of the Fabulous Thunderbirds and Stevie Ray Vaughan’s older brother/mentor/inspiration, but I always liked this quote about him from his little bro:

“I play probably 80 percent of what I can play.  Jimmie plays one percent of what he knows.  He can play anything.”

— Stevie Ray Vaughan

It should be a Fabulous show (see what I did there?). At last check, only a handful of single seats remained for this gig.

Also on Thursday, John R. Miller and the Engine Lights are at Southgate, Mykal Rose featuring Sly and Robbie will be at the old Annie’s, and Ben Levin Trio is playing Latitudes in Anderson Township, and pimping Ben’s new CD.

Hey, he looks like the kid who lives down the street from me. Wait, he IS the kid who lives down the street from me!

Guided By Voices are playing a sold-out show at the Woodward Theater on Friday evening. Bob Pollard and the boys always put on an entertaining show. Also, in the time it took you to read that last sentence, they released three new albums.

Some other shows of note on Friday:

  • NRBQ is at Southgate
  • Ricky Nye and Chris Douglas are at Wiedemann Brewery & Taproom
  • The Stolen Faces play Stanley’s
  • Ben Levin & Noah Wotherspoon are playing a Cincy Blues Fest fundraiser at Christian Moerlein Taproom
  • The Adjust Your Eyes (AYE) festival kicks off at various Northside venues, and runs through Saturday
  • Ghost Man on Second plays Northside Tavern

Saturday, the fabulous local band Cereal Killers will be playing Mt. Adams Pavilion. I’d totally be there if I weren’t on vacation. Please go in my stead. Also on Saturday:

  • Car Seat Headrest is at Bogart’s
  • Dark Star Orchestra plays Annie’s (OK, Riverfront Live)
  • Stanley’s has the 9th annual Reggae Fest, featuring the Cliftones, Elementree, the Ark Band and more
  • Ray Vietti of the Harmed Brothers plays Camp Springs Tavern. I saw Ray open up for Caroline Spence about a month ago, great stuff.
  • Ben Levin Duo is at Streetside Brewery
  • Styx is playing a sold-out gig at the Rose Music Center. Huber Heights loves their Mr. Roboto almost as much as they love brick homes.

All of those shows are really just appetizers, the main course is a Sunday show: Kidz Bop World Tour at PNC Pavilion!

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones are playing Taft that night, too. Good luck trying to compete with Kidz Bop, Banjo Boy!

Well, that does it for this week’s live gigs…

Congratulations, you’ve reached the bonus round! Your reward? Courtney Barnett at Madison Theater on Monday, July 1st.

One of my favorite tunes of the past decade.

Tuesday, July 2nd, the Dave Matthews Band will be at Riverbend. I hate to name drop, but my youngest son went to grade school with the sons of the drum tech for DMB.

On Wednesday, July 3rd, Built to Spill is playing their classic album Keep It Like A Secret in its entirety at Woodward Theater. Crap! I’m missing Cereal Killers, GBV, Courtney Barnett and BTS? Looks like I picked the wrong week to go on vacation.

That same evening, Reel Big Fish and Aquabats are at Bogart’s, and Weird Al is playing the Fraze Pavilion in Dayton.

On Thursday… it’s the Fourth of July!

(The Cereal Killers do a killer version of this fantastic tune too!)

Most bands are taking a well-deserved holiday, so you’ll just have to play your Lee Greenwood albums.

Actually, 500 Miles to Memphis is playing the lawn by the Moerlein Lager House at 5 p.m., and Kansas is playing Red, White and Blue Ash at 8:30… but the band logo in the promo poster makes it hard to figure that out:

Hey, Bob Sumerel is playing!

On Friday 7/5, Ohio Valley Salvage is playing Camp Springs Tavern, Ben Levin and Cheryl Renee are at Wiedemann, and Thunderstruck, the AC/DC tribute, is at Bogart’s.

Broson Arroyo is playing Bogart’s on Saturday, 7/6. No, it’s not a whiffleball game (although that might be pretty cool), he’s playing music. The Tillers are the headliners at the Fountain Square free show, and the indefatigable Ben Levin is playing Lucius Q with 46 Long opening. I hate to name drop, but my oldest son had 50% of 46 Long as his English teacher in middle school.

Speaking of Saturdays, I do want to note the recent passing of guitarist Jeff Walls, of Guadalcanal Diary (and the Woggles). Jeff and his bandmates in Guadalcanal Diary deserved way more recognition and acclaim than they got.

“I do miss that pioneering sense of discovery which animated rock music fans at the dawn of the ‘80s. I don’t think that music carries the same desperate sense of importance with young people today as it did with my generation, or to the generations before me.”

Jeff Walls, from this article: https://creativeloafing.com/content-411337-HIGH-FREQUENCIES-Another-page-from-Guadalcanal-Diary

On Sunday, 7/7, Southgate House is hosting Blues, Brews and BBQ, a family-friendly event from 4-8 p.m. I know what you’re thinking right now: “Is the indefatigable Ben Levin playing?” The answer is “But of course, with Noah Wotherspoon on guitar and King Records legend Philip Paul on drums!”

That’ll do it for this week and next. Have a wonderful holiday!

Episode 14: Jae Forman

97X, podcast

The Extended Remix

Jae Forman ruled the evening shift in the early to mid 90s, and also served as the music director during the grunge era, a pivotal point in the station’s history. She also was the Queen of 97Xtrabeats, bringing her club DJ skills to that popular Saturday evening show. Dave and Damian chat with Jae about how she got the job, the grunge explosion, picking songs as music director, her first in-studio interview with a band, life after radio and… yes, Dave’s favorite topic: butt coolers.

Jae and Dave with a record rep (center) enjoying the butt cooler at Lollapalooza
Jae interviews Kim… no big Deal.
Swag galore!

Episode 13: Robin Plan

97X, podcast

Return to Planet X

There were dozens if not hundreds of DJs at 97X/woxy.com over the years. Robin Plan was easily the most unique. A free-spirited person who took freeform radio to a whole new level, every evening after midnight, Robin transported 97X listeners far, far away from the ordinary, to an entirely different universe, and a magical place called Planet X. Dave and Damian talk to Robin about how she pushed the limits throughout her radio career, and what the station meant to her. 

Episode 11: Steve Daedalus part 1

97X, podcast

Idea man and original program director

Steve “Daedalus” Stenken was working as the nighttime DJ at WOXY back in 1983, and doing a weekly one-hour “modern rock” program… he suggested that the station should change the format to all modern rock. The rest is radio history. Steve joins Dave and Damian in the party dungeon to talk about those formative years… and bust some myths along the way.