Yes, it’s time for the obligatory annual Neil Diamond album cover:

We certainly hope he’s playing air guitar and not miming… er… playing the upright organ.

Then again, our current president’s signature “dance move” makes him look like he’s… pulling a Rick Wakeman and playing with two organs at once.

But enough about that wankfest.

Speaking of hot August nights, it’s also time for the semi-annual promotion of a Cereal Killers live gig. Their shows are more precious than a diamond (Neil or otherwise), and they’re back at Big Ash Brewing this Saturday, August 23.

My usual Cereal Killers offer will be in effect: show up, rock out to their vintage punk, modern rock, and new wave tunes (it’s 97.7% straight from 97X playlists – Elvis Costello, The Clash, X, REM, Guided by Voices, The Jam, Billy Bragg, The Smiths, Squeeze, The Cramps, Southern Culture on the Skids… ), and get a free beverage from me! Worth it just to watch the moths fly out of my wallet!

But before you get thee to Big Ash on Saturday, here are a few other gigs to consider.

On Thursday:

• Noah Smith’s Crooner Circus (a recurring songwriter showcase) rolls into the Southgate House Revival Room (lineup is here)
• Rachel Mousie and the Casey Campbell band play Washington Park
• Ludlow has Black Circle, a Brazilian band doing 90s grunge songs.

On Friday, Dave Tellmann (co-host of the 97X Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast*) and I are seeing a free house concert in Hamilton by Wonderlick (band featuring Tim Quirk and Jay Blumenfield of Too Much Joy). Well, I think we’ll be seeing two former members of Too Much Joy play an acoustic house show… it’s quite possible that some rando from Hamilton mentioned “two dudes” and “too much joy” to Dave and offered him a free “Wonderlick.”

*If you were one of the 13 regular listeners of the 97X podcast and wish Dave and I would do some new episodes, you wish just might be granted. Soon.

Other Friday gigs:

• Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band is doing a free show at the Levitt in Dayton
• Lou Barlow (Sebadoh) and Bobby Bare Jr. (GBV) are doing an acoustic song swap at Southgate
• Stacy Mitchhart plays Ludlow Garage
• The Outlaws play the Fraze in Dayton
• The Collies (a.k.a. the band my son Gabriel plays drums in) will be at Big Ash Brewing

Saturday shows:

• Cereal Killers at Big Ash Brewing (great tunes, free beer)
• Southgate hosts the world film premiere of Honky Tonkin’ and the Honky Tonk Hoedown with Jason Ringenberg, The Royal Hounds, and Jerry King & the Rivertown Ramblers.

• The Del McCoury Band plays the old Annie’s – this gig has been cancelled
• The Liberty Theater in Lawrenceburg has Briscoe with Miles Miller
• 311, Badflower, and Sitting on Saturn are at the Ovation
• Rob Thomas is at the PNC Pavilion
• Mama’s Black Sheep and Courtney Wilder play a Downtowne Listening Room show at the historic Boone County Courthouse

On Sunday, Pat Sajak’s favorite band, Caamp, plays an outdoor gig at the Jan Brady, and Ozomatli plays Ludlow Garage.

Gary Clark Jr. plays the Peter Brady on Monday, and Creed (not the good ones) plays the Mausoleum.

Tuesday:

• The Tedeschi Trucks Band and Whiskey Myers play Riverbend
• Robert Randolph plays Ludlow Garage

Ruthie Foster plays Ludlow Garage on Wednesday, August 27.

Shows on Thursday, August 28:

• UB40 at Bogart’s
• Rebirth Brass Band plays Ludlow Garage
• Deke Dickerson & the Whippersnappers play Southgate with Kyle Eldridge opening
• Liberty Theater has a free Songwriters in the Round show with Keagan Hatton and Dave Hudson
• Improvement Movement and Magoo play a freebie at RiversEDGE in Hamilton (“Home of the Wonderlick!”)
• Ben Knight and Willy Tea Taylor do the free Washington Park roots show
• Fraze hosts the Happy Together Tour featuring The Turtles, Jay & The Americans, Little Anthony, Gary Puckett, The Vogues, and The Cowsills – sponsored by a reverse mortgage company and/or a lift chair brand, perhaps?

On Friday, August 29:

• JP Harris and Anthony Ray Wright are at the Liberty Theater
• You wanted the best, you got the best… Völkerball is Germany’s Best Rammstein tribute band! They’re playing the Ovation.

• You wanted the ultimate, you got the ultimate… Rumours: the Ultimate Fleetwood Mac tribute – at Ludlow Garage

• You wanted the weirdest double bill tribute, you got the weirdest double bill tribute: Sabbath (“the complete Black Sabbath experience”) with Night Moves (“the ultimate tribute to Bob Seger”) at the old Annie’s. NOTE: this gig has been cancelled.

Shows on Saturday, August 30:

• Jim Trace & the Makers play Rabbit Hash General Store at 5 p.m.
• Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe at the old Annie’s
• Emi Sunshine and Wonky Tonk are at Southgate
• The Levitt Pavilion in Dayton hosts Reggae Fest

And list member Mark Griffin has a reco for all of us (via FB):

Past episodes of Mark’s most excellent streaming music show Gray Days and Gold can be found here.

We love it live!

Emma Swift put on a great show at The Columbia. New tunes (her new album drops 9/12) plus some amazing Bob Dylan covers (her album Blonde on the Tracks is top notch!) in an old church (The Columbia at 4311 Eastern Avenue – home of Ween Wednesdays!) with stellar acoustics.

We love it live… but we love our spouse too!

I showed amazing restraint by NOT dragging my wife to the Mountain Goats/Craig Finn show that just so happened to be in Bar Harbor, Maine while we were vacationing in Vacationland.

Besides, we were getting up before the crack of dawn the next day to see the sunrise at Acadia and then hike the Beehive Trail. We were the Mountain Goats!

Of course, when we got back to the ‘nati, my wife sent me this Instagram clip:

She knows me too well.

Real country

I think the “S.G.” in S.G. Goodman stands for “so good.”

Real Horny

No, this is not about a “Wonderlick.”

I’m digging what Jim’s digging

Jim Wilbur of Superchunk is exactly as down-to-earth and no-frills as I thought he’d be in this clip where he shares some fave albums:

Everything’s fair game for the Gamecocks

True story: when I went to see Ozzy at the Pine Bluff (Arkansas) Convention Center back in early 1982, it was shortly after Ozzy’s bat biting incident (and two weeks before Randy Rhoads passed away) and venue security was patting down pretty much everyone. My long-haired friends gave me the pint of whiskey they hoped to sneak into the show, telling me “you’re clean-cut, they won’t frisk you.” Sure enough, they all got stopped and I waltzed right through with the Jack Daniels jammed into my jeans. Security probably thought I had the wrong date for Baptist Youth Night. Ah, memories…

Album Cover(s) of the Week(s)

They might be the opener for Wonderlick.

I just feel like we needed a palate cleanser after my most ribald post ever.