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 They’ve been replaced by May pollen.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.”
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, Andy B., 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.”
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.”
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.”
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”
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
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 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.
97X, BAM, THE FUTURE OF ROCK AND ROLL RETURNS WITH THE 2023 97X MODERN ROCK 500
(Oxford/Cincinnati, OH) – March 9, 2023 – It’s been 20 years since the legendary Oxford, OH-based alternative radio station WOXY FM, aka “97X, BAM! The Future of Rock and Roll” first left the airwaves. Celebrating what would have been its 40th anniversary, 97X makes its triumphant online return in May 2023 with the 2023 97X Modern Rock 500 countdown.
In partnership with Cincinnati-based streaming station Inhailer Radio, 97X and WOXY.com present the 2023 97X Modern Rock 500, airing May 22 – 29, 2023 on Inhailer Radio, also available on the Inhailer Radio app and WGUC 90.9- HD3 in Cincinnati.
The 2023 Modern Rock 500 will air on Inhailer Radio in five 100-lap segments from May 22-26, 2023, and repeat in the 500’s traditional Memorial Day weekend timeslot from May 27-29, 2023. Plans are in the works for an on-demand archive of the broadcast.
As a special treat, the broadcast is hosted by over 30 station DJs sharing memories from WOXY’s 40-year run. From its fledgling 80s days to the explosion of the format in the 90s and its time as an online entity in the early 2000s, the 2023 Modern Rock 500 is represented by the people who were there making it happen.
If there was one signature program that became synonymous with 97X, it was the annual Modern Rock 500. Borrowing thematically from the nearby Indianapolis 500 and broadcast over Memorial Day Weekend, the 97X Modern Rock 500 counted down the best alternative songs as “laps”. The Modern Rock 500 aired on 97X from 1988-2003 and continued on WOXY.COM from 2005-2009.
Now it returns for one final countdown.
The broadcast also serves as a wrap-up of the 97X-focused podcast Rumblings from the Big Bush (a reference to a distinctly large shrubbery located on the station’s Oxford, Ohio property), hosted by former DJs Dave Tellmann and Damian Dotterweich.
“Rumblings over the last few years has caught up with former air talent, station employees, fans of the station, and some of the artists that we played at 97X. It’s been a blast! The podcast has about run its course; but the idea of capping it with the Modern Rock 500 couldn’t be a better way to sign off,” said co-host Dave Tellmann. Rumblings… episodes can be found on all major podcast player sites and on 97Xbam.
“We here at Inhailer are honored to hand over the airwaves to the people of 97X who influenced our own musical journeys and the music we play here”, adds Taylor Fox, Founder and Program Director at Inhailer. “We’re downright giddy with excitement!”
“This new Modern Rock 500 will be limited to those songs that landed on the countdown in the past. It’s taking a look back from a present-day point of view”, states Mike Taylor, 97X Program Director from 2001 to 2010. “Any way you slice it, it’s gonna be 500 great tunes.”
The 2023 97X Modern Rock 500 is a love letter to its loyal legion of listeners and to station owners Doug and Linda Balogh, for giving the world something super special. We’ll see you at the starting line…
Full list of featured talent:
Aaron Borns
Ali Castellini
Barb Abney
Bill Douglas
Brian Ewing
Bryan Jay Miller
Damian Dotterweich
Dan “Danny Crash” Reed
Dave Tellmann
Dorsie Fyffe
Forrest Griffen
Julie “Jae Forman” Clay
Jeff Rohrs
Jim Mercer
Joe Long
John Jesser
Julie “Maxwell” Argonis
Keri Valmassei
Luann Gibbs
Matt Shiv
Matt “Sledge” Waller
Matthew Harris
Mike Taylor
Mike Winstead
Nick Pleimling
Phil Kollin
Ric “Tile” Cengeri
Rob Ervin
Robin Plan
Stase Wendland
Steve Baker
Tina Kristina Mueller
If all the old bands can reunite, so can we. Long Live 97X – The Future of Rock and Roll!
Everybody wants to rule the world. Except me. I’d settle for the dogs staying off my side of the bed.
But Tears for Fears said everybody wants to rule the world. And they’ll be at Riverbend tonight, along with Garbage… dogs like garbage too!
Other gigs tonight include Will Kimbrough at Southgate and Al Stewart at Ludlow Garage. Al’s more of a cat person.
The two-day Big River Get Down kicks off at RiversEDGE in Hamilton tonight as well. Here’s the full schedule:
On Saturday:
Martin Sexton plays Ludlow Garage
The Heavy Hours play Southgate
It’s Night #2 of the Big River Get Down
SNL funnyman David Spade plays the Taft. Let’s hope he makes his audience crack up half as much as Chris Farley made him crack up in this sketch:
Miranda Lambert plays Riverbend on Sunday, with Little Big Town. Country shows always seem to draw a crowd there. I’m really hoping Memphis-Kansas Breeze comes to town this year.
On Tuesday, John R. Miller and Vincent Neil Emerson play Southgate, and Tabitha Johansen Tori Amos is at the Taft Theatre.
on Wednesday, Elephant Stone plays MOTR and Valerie June plays Memorial Hall.
Southgate has a couple of options on Thursday:
Charlie Hunter & Scott Amendola Duo play the Southgate Sanctuary
Joe Buck Yourself plays the Revival Room
Speaking of Joe Buck, here’s a fun game to play this fall – it’s a variation on the old “Hi Bob” game. Watch a football game where Joe Buck is the announcer and take a drink every time he says “pass is caught”… you’ll be hammered before the 1st quarter is over.
Next Friday is a busy night for gigs:
Kitchen Dwellers and Neighbor play RiversEDGE in Hamilton
Smashing Pumpkins do an outdoor gig at the Ovation in Newport
Comedian Tom Segura kicks off a two-night stand at the Aronoff
Local bluesperson Erin Coburn plays a free gig on Fountain Square
Last but certainly not least, America’s AC/DC tribute, Thunderstruck, plays the Event Center at Little Miami Brewing in Milford.
The Angus and Malcolm of the late 1800s.. or more like the Liam and Noel Gallagher.
Next Saturday (5/28), Ray Lamontagne plays the Carol Brady, with Sierra Ferrell as the opener. Also, local band Kentucky Struts plays Southgate.
Due to a recent COVID outbreak within the touring group, the Haim show originally slated for 5/19 has been rescheduled for Sunday, May 29th. That same evening, Fountain Square has a nice freebie show featuring Jeremy Pinnell, Wonky Tonk and the Dead Man String Bang.
Cool cover of an amazing original
Jenn Wasner has a new album out under the Flock of Dimes moniker (she also is in Wye Oak) and she does a great cover of a gorgeous tune from the woefully underappreciated Joan Armatrading. Here’s a live version from her appearance on KEXP:
The original always gives me goose bumps too. Here’s Joan doing it live:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjQG8zYCQFw
This Teacher is a Wussy
Congrats to Mark Messerly, bassist for Wussy, on being a finalist for Educator of the Year.
Why I love Jon Wurster’s social media posts
Jon is the drummer for Superchunk… and Bob Mould… and the Mountain Goats… and he’s part of The Best Show… and he’s well worth a follow on the socials – you know, your Facegrams and Instatweets and such.
Shameless Self-promotion… and local music promotion
The latest episode of the 97X Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast (available wherever you get your pods… but not your Tide Pods) features our interview with Brian Niesz, who engineered 400+ live performances on woxy.com. If you go to our post on 97XBam.com, you’ll find a few of Brian’s favorites – including one from Magnolia Electric Co. Brian is keeping the old woxy.com “Lounge Acts” name alive with live performances from bands on WCPO.com. Check ’em out here.
Album Cover of the Week
Let the double entendres commence. (The album is actually pretty good… in other words, I think you might really enjoy some new Peaness.)
The dreaded holiday hiatus from live music is inching closer. There are fewer gigs on the ol’ “This Week in Live Music” Koncert Keeper for the next couple of weeks, so let’s make this a double shot to get us thru 2021 (a.k.a. 2020 Part II). Yes, it’s the famous “year-end double issue” that publications like to roll out at this time of year… because “year-end double issue” sounds so much better than “we’re half-assing our way through the next couple of weeks.”
He can hardly bear to hear more Mariah Carey.
Before we get to this week’s fortnight’s gigs, let’s get a crowd ‘n venue review from Mr. Jason Isbell:
Very kind of Jason to say that about our fair burgh. Let’s hope his Icon plaudits attract the attention of other touring artists.
OK, on with the shows…
Tonight, Over the Rhine kicks off a three-night stand at Memorial Hall, Motherfolk and Sylmar play Bogart’s, Ekoostik Hookah plays the old Annie’s, Ben Levin is at Brewriver with special guest Johnny Burgin, and the Fleetwood Mac tribute (the band, not the mac & cheese dish at Keystone) is at Ludlow.
Saturday, Anderson East plays Bogart’s, Squirrel Nut Zippers are at Ludlow Garage, Phil Vassar & Sister Hazel are playing the Hard Rock Casino, Afroman celebrates “Merry Spliffmas” at the old Annie’s, and Ben Levin and Johnny Burgin will be on stage at Big Ash. The next morning, they’ll be playing the Hard Rock Casino.
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (no relation to Voodoo Chile) plays the Taft on Tuesday.
Maddie Poppe has an Acoustic Christmas show at Ludlow on Thursday, and Ben Levin plays Shire’s Garden.
Santa Claus is coming to town very late next Friday. You’d better watch out.
Rick “Dr. Noah Drake from General Hospital” Springfield plays the Icon on Wednesday, December 29th.
Not a doctor. Played one on TV.
The Rumpke Mountain Boys kick off a two-night stand at the old Annie’s next Thursday, December 30th. That same evening, Ben Levin will be playing Dead Low Brewing.
Arlo McKinley is at the Madison Theater on New Year’s Eve, while Freekbass will be doing a Funkadelic-KISS mashup called FunKISSdelic at Ludlow Garage. Clutch (the band, not the part I had replaced on my 1976 Datsun B-210 back in ’87) plays the Icon, with Stoner (the band, not the guy in the 2nd balcony with the vape pen) and Native Howl.
Also on New Year’s Eve, this lil’ scamp celebrates another spin around the sun:
Wardrobe by Botany 500.
He plans to celebrate by drinking expired eggnog and staying up until the wee hours (9:45 p.m.).
If he’s feeling extra wacky, he might even have some fruitcake…
Listen Up!
KEXP will be counting down the top albums of the year (as voted on by listeners) today. List member “Rico” recommends this list of the year’s top 100 albums, courtesy of a Finnish music blogger. Luann “Miss Kitty” Gibbs of Inhailer Radio (and the calendar listings queen at the Cincinnati Enquirer) put together a lengthy Spotify playlist of her favorite songs (here), as did Matt “I don’t have a cool nickname like ‘Rico’ or ‘Miss Kitty'” Lacefield (here). Matt also does a music blog/online radio show thang at The Unfamiliar. (Both Luann and Matt have been guests on the 97X Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast… check it out if you have some free time over the holiday break.)
Album Cover of the Week
The person who did the egregious airbrushing work on this cover must’ve already been in “year-end double issue” mode.
Have a great week, and then another great week, and best wishes for a happy 2022!
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