The Player’s Club

Concert Listings, Music

What up, playa?

Speaking of players, let’s see who’s playing this week.

Tonight:

  • Steep Canyon Rangers are at Annie’s
  • Soul Pocket headlines the free show on Fountain Square
  • Tower of Power and Lettuce play the Rose Music Center

On Saturday:

  • Sleigh Bells play the Taft. (It may seem early for sleigh bells but I had a pumpkin beer last night so all bets are off.)
  • Lany is at the Bobby Brady.
  • The Zac Brown Band and the Robert Randolph Band play Riverbend.
  • The Spinners play Ludlow Garage.
  • Local band The Newbees have a free show at Fernbank Park (7-9 p.m.)
  • Ziggy Marley does a tribute to his father at Rose. (Note: this is much better than his tribute to the comic strip Ziggy.)

And Southgate will have something called “Super Satan Fest II – Live as Hell”

“Something Involving a Monkey” for the band name win…

On Sunday, Boz Skaggs and The Robert Cray Band are at Rose, and Southgate House hosts a matinee benefit show for Eastern Kentucky Flood Relief:

Monday, it’s the “uplifting band name” trifecta: Anthrax, Black Label Society and Hatebreed at the Mike Brady.

Tuesday:

  • Wilco plays the Ovation
  • The Beach Boys and the Temptations are at PNC Pavilion
  • Lake Street Dive plays the Marsha Brady. The following evening, they’ll be at the Rose.

Other Wednesday shows:

  • Kid Rock is at Riverbend.
  • Yngwie “Can I buy a vowel, Pat” Malmsteen is at Ludlow Garage
  • Accordionist Sally Lukasik plays an early gig at Baker’s Table Bakery. I normally don’t mention accordion shows, but Sally just seems so darn happy in her promo photo:

On Thursday

  • River Whyless is at Southgate
  • The Surfragettes (yes, a surf rock band, how’d you guess?) play Ludlow Garage
  • Alicia Keys works the keys at PNC
  • The Dead Man String Band and Ray Vietti do the free gig at Washington Park
  • Bam Powell & the Troublemakers play an equally free show at Behringer-Crawford Museum in Covington

Next Friday:

  • Chris Stapleton is at Riverbend
  • The Del McCoury Band plays Memorial Hall
  • Al Stewart is at Ludlow Garage
  • The two-night Whimmydiddle Festival kicks off at RiversEDGE in Hamilton with Shovels & Rope as the headliner

Normally when you hear “shovels and rope” and “Hamilton” in the same sentence, it’s about a crime scene.

Distant Early Warning

Since list member Michael “Rico” Carrico gave me so much grief for not mentioning the last Ian Noe show at Southgate (which, it should be noted, Rico did NOT attend), I need to let you “Noe” that Ian has another Southgate gig lined up for December 16th.

Oh, and please consider playing in — or making a donation to — the Kevin Carrico Memorial Golf Scramble on 10/1. (Rico is Kevin’s brother.)

Kevin Carrico was in his third year of medical school at the University of Louisville, studying to become a pediatric oncologist, when he was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma.  His goal was to help children as they faced their battle with cancer, just as he did after he overcame Hodgkin’s Lymphoma at the age of 17.  Kevin faced his battles with a sense of humor and a positive attitude like only he could.  Although Kevin passed away in 2019 at the age of 25, we have vowed to carry on his legacy.  The University of Louisville awarded Kevin a posthumous doctorate of medicine in 2020, and he received the Dr. Presley F. Martin Award, given to the senior student chosen by his peers who possesses and reflects characteristics of a good physician:  competence, ethical behavior, leadership, compassion, and humor.  Our mission is to carry on Kevin’s legacy to aid other young adults that have faced cancer and are pursuing higher education goals. Our proceeds are allocated 100% to our scholarship program. 

Reason #3,698 of why I love Wussy

On their most recent FB livestream (which is reason #2,294 of why I love them!), Lisa posed a question about “who are your three favorite vocalists?” Check out Chuck and Mark waxing poetic about a band that I also happen to love dearly:

The most recent Wussy livestream also featured some absolutely amazing cover songs. Check it out. Oh, and check out their appearance on the Songwriter podcast with Jonathan Franzen:

Album Covers (plural) of the Week

I’m sure you remember former ACotW star Woody Woodbury:

Well, Woody has some competition in the “party albums of the 50s and 60s” category.

If it turns out that list member Lisa Collins’ mom is also breakfast buddies with Rusty, we’re going to have to stage an intervention.

Have a great week, baby!

Who’s on first?

Concert Listings

Happy Friday the 13th!

Tonight:

  • Ritt & Wilder Dietz play a sold-out gig at Parlor & Patio
  • Marc Cohn plays Ludlow Garage
  • The Ghost of Paul Revere is at Taft
  • BitchKatie Cash and Kristen Ford are in Southgate’s Revival Room
  • Night Owl and The Hiders (duo) play a free gig in the Southgate Lounge.
  • Chris Gaines Garth Brooks opens a two-night stand at Paul Brown Stadium.

On Saturday:

The Cereal Killers, fresh off their fantastic gig at Fries Cafe, have a matinee slot (3-5 p.m.) at MadTree Brewing’s “One Good Party”:

First beer’s still on me!

Look for me at the CK gig, I’ll be the guy up front in the open front shirt:

Made you look… twice… and again!

On Saturday evening:

  • Ben Levin’s Blues Revue is at 20th Century Theater
  • Houndmouth plays the Madison Theater
  • Oliver Wood (of the Wood Brothers) will be in the Taft Ballroom
  • Willy Tea Taylor and Jeffery Martin play Southgate
  • Garth Brooks plays another evening at PBS
  • After your kids ride the carousel at Smale, take them over to the Mike Brady center for a family-friendly lineup of Danzig, Cradle of Filth, Crobot and Necrofier

On Sunday, The Who returns to Cincinnati for the first time since their ill-fated 1979 concert at the Coliseum. Pete Townshend talks about that heart-crushing tragedy in this clip from his Audible “Words + Music” release. (Read more here.)

It was a very sad situation – sending good vibes to anyone adversely affected by that event.

Shifting gears: of course any mention of The Who brings to mind the famous comedy bit from Harry “Derek Smalls” Shearer and David “Squiggy” Landers.

Also on Sunday, the Rumjacks (kinda like an Aussie version of The Pogues) play Southgate.

Foy Vance plays Memorial Hall on Tuesday. Hearing the name “Foy” brings to mind the old Foy-Johnson Paint Co. in Cincinnati, and their “It’s a joy to paint with Foy” tagline. (I can’t remember my wife’s birthday but I remember taglines from defunct paint companies. Welcome to my twisted brain!)

It’s a joy to paint with Bob too!

Something old, something new…

Thursday has a primo gig for the kiddos, and a sop for the silver-haired set: Haim plays the Jan Brady, with Faye Webster as the opener… and Janis Ian plays Memorial Hall with Tom Rush opening the show. (Janis Ian is no longer “At Seventeen” and Tom Rush is no relation to Rush or Big Time Rush.)

Welcome to the (time) machine

To paraphrase Mark Twain, “When the end of the world comes I want to be at Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati, because their lineup is always 30 years behind the times.”

Mark Twain… he licked his fingers a lot.

Want proof? Tears for Fears and Garbage are playing there next Friday. But at least both of those bands are still making new music, which is more than you can say for 85% of the Riverbend lineup every year.

2022 may be the Year of the Tiger (Who Dey!) but next Friday is the Year of the Cat as Al Stewart plays Ludlow Garage.

Thoroughly modern artist Will Kimbrough plays Southgate that evening too. And the two-day Big River Get Down kicks off at RiversEDGE in Hamilton, featuring hometown hero David Shaw.

Tickets on sale

Wilco plays the Ovation on August 16th. Tickets are on sale today. Wilco’s new album is a country music set… call me old-fashioned but I liked Wilco’s country music better when it was called “Uncle Tupelo.”

Other upcoming shows with tix on sale today:

Letters to the Editor

List member Rob Ervin sent along this note about a month ago when we referenced the Uproxx article ranking all the Red Hot Chili Peppers albums.

More deserved RHCP snark. Kinda long, but this guy is funny and makes a lot of good points. For a band as boring and blah as the Peppers are, I’ve spent way too much time considering their mediocrity lately.

And Lisa Collins had this to say about last week’s Album Cover of the Week:

the Leif album cover was terrifying – please don’t find Shaun Cassidy – hahaha!

Album Cover of the Week

Sorry Lisa, but I’m a sucker for personalized white bell-bottom overalls…