Hot August Night

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

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.

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Tricks and Treats

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

It’s Spooky Season!

It’s also Mookie Season!

Do the Right Thing and support live music. Here are your options over the next couple of weeks:

This Wednesday, Richard Lloyd (of Television* fame) plays the Woodward Theater with a full band. Static Falls also is on the bill.

*Television the band, not the medium. But here’s Television on (Spanish) Television:

Also on Wednesday, Judy Collins plays Memorial Hall. Speaking o’ Spooky Season, ol’ “Sweet Judy Blue Eyes” is looking more like a Hocus Pocus witch these days:

Alice Peacock plays the Southgate House on Thursday. She’ll be in the Revival Room, with a lead pipe.

Wait, wrong Peacock!

Friday shows:

  • The Steep Canyon Rangers play Memorial Hall
  • Buffalo Wabs & the Price Hill Hustle are at Southgate (maybe the ghost of Pete Rose will show up)
  • America plays the Taft (they won’t have a headless horseman, but they will have a horse with no name)
  • Ludlow Garage has Dead Letter Office, a tribute to R.E.M.

This Saturday, Cereal Killers play Big Ash Brewing!

(Continuing my string of ill-timed trips, and jeopardizing my status as a Cereal Killers superfan, I once again will be out of town for their gig. Our whole fam-damily is going to Bloomington, Indiana to see the perennial football powerhouse Hoosiers take on their longstanding Big 10 27 rival, the Washington Huskies.)

Other Saturday shows include the sold-out “BEAT” show at Taft

Former King Crimson members ADRIAN BELEW and TONY LEVIN band together with guitar virtuoso STEVE VAI and explosive Tool drummer DANNY CAREY for the first time to create BEAT, a creative reinterpretation of the three iconic 80s KING CRIMSON albums – DisciplineBeat, and Three Of A Perfect Pair

  • ekoostic hookah plays the Liberty Theater
  • Blues Traveler brings their “30 years of Four” tour to… Turfway Park
  • Pappy’s Jam Band plays Neltner’s Farm Fall Fest (1:30-4:30)
  • Lotus Land (a tribute to Rush) plays Ludlow Garage

On Sunday, the Casey Campbell Project plays Neltner’s Farm, Pink Martini plays Memorial Hall, and Taft has Mania, the ABBA tribute.

Next Tuesday (10/29), the Buena Vista Social Orchestra is at Bogart’s.

Next Wednesday:

  • KMFDM and the Morlocks play the Ovation
  • The Woodward hosts two showings (7:30 and 10:30) of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, with a shadow cast
  • Daphne Eckman plays Southgate’s Revival Room
  • Disco Biscuits (hold the Yung Gravy) play the Madison Theater

Next Thursday is Halloween.

That’s “hallow”-een not “hollow”-een… Hollow is for Easter.

“Rollvember” kicks off a week from Friday. There are several shows slated for Friday, 11/1:

  • Los Honchos play Southgate
  • Anthony Ray Wright and Andrew Hibbard are at Liberty Theater
  • Stacy Mitchhart plays an album release gig at Ludlow Garage
  • The Jacksons (R.I.P. Tito) play the Hard Rock Casino

I’ll be up in Boston that weekend for the Please Come to Boston festival. My favoritest band Buffalo Tom will be doing three concerts in three days (including an old-person-friendly “matinee” show on Sunday). They’re playing a different album from their 90s oeuvre each show, and the festival also features comedy sets from Eugene Mirman and Dave Hill, and something called “Punk Rock Aerobics”… I’m sure it’s quite the workout!

On Saturday, Nov. 2nd,

  • Gipsy Kings play the Hard Rock
  • The Peter Brady hosts “Life is a Carnival – The Last Waltz Tour ’24” with Ryan Bingham, Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, Jamey Johnson and more.
  • Trippin’ Billies (Dave Matthews Band tribute) are at Ludlow Garage.

Here’s some Trippin’ Beverly Hillbillies:

The Drive-by Truckers play a Southern Rock Opera Revisited show at Bogart’s on Sunday, 11/3. Shut your mouth and get your ass on that plane into that show!

On Thursday, Nov. 7th, “Turn to Stone: A Tribute to ELO” will be at Memorial Hall, and Yngwie Malmsteen plays the Madison Theater.

On Friday, 11/8:

  • Goose opens up a three-night stand at the Carol Brady
  • Billie Eilish plays the Coliseum
  • Noah Wotherspoon plays the Liberty Theater with Noah Pavey

Saturday, 11/9 gigs:

  • Wussy plays a full-band show at the Woodward, with the Chris Brokaw Band as the opener.
  • Jimmy Webb (“America’s Songwriter”) is at Memorial Hall
  • Samantha Fish plays Ludlow Garage, with Mitch Ryder performing as part of Samantha’s band, and Canned Heat as the opener
  • Moonshine Drive plays Arnold’s

City & Colour are at Bogart’s with Pedro the Lion on Monday, 11/11.

We live for live

It’s been quite a fortnight for your music-addicted editor. Charly Bliss at the Exit/In in Nashville was great…

The opener, Pronoun, was cool too. And Marc from the one-hit-wonder band Len came up on stage for the encore to do “Steal My Sunshine” with Charly Bliss.

A week ago, list member Ken “Lobby Boy” Laube (check out his show on Inhailer Radio, Fridays 11a-3p) and I went to Columbus to see Superchunk. They rocked!

(Bassist Jason Narducy’s set list – he gave it to a kid in the front row… classy!)

For the final song of the encore, noted Breeder Kelley Deal and Mike Montgomery of R. Ring came on stage to do their song “Cartoon Heart/Build Me a Question.” (R. Ring drummer Laura King is touring with Superchunk right now.)

The opening band, Quivers, was stellar too.

While Ken was waiting in line to get Mac from Superchunk to sign his poster (yes, Mac was at the merch booth – dude’s top-notch in my book), I chatted with the members of Quivers – Mike, Holly, Bella and Sam. They were super-nice to this old man, and funny as heck. Check out their recent live in-studio set at KEXP and you’ll be hooked by their hooks:

List members Dave Tellmann, Todd Butler, Carl “The Truth” Williams and I caught the Eddie 9V/Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears double bill at the Woodward on Wednesday.

And those shows were just the warm-up for another Chuck Cleaver/Lisa Walker Wussy Duo house show at my place this past weekend.

List members Todd, Regi, Tom, and Jamie were in the house, and they can attest that it was amazing.

I didn’t make the Mountain Goats show at Taft, but their stage setup was interesting:

Malin on the mend

Here’s a nice CBS Saturday Morning sessions interview with Jesse Malin.

Shameless Self-promotion

Dave Tellmann and I got the “97X Rumblings from the Big Bush” podcast out of mothballs to chat with Randy Malloy, who went from unpaid college intern to owner of WWCD-FM in Columbus (nee “CD101″… and later “CD102.5″… and finally “CD92.9” before signing off under duress earlier this year).

The Randy interview is here, and you can catch all the episodes on your favorite podcasting platform.

Album Covers of the Week(s)

Here on earth, I’m a bit disappointed that a band named “Rebels” chose conformity in their outfits.

On the other hand (the one with five fingers), at least Rebels don’t struggle with basic math. Or perhaps the dudes are the Gospel Four and the woman is there because her hair is heavenly.