The first treat is the Cereal Killers gig at MadTree tonight, 7-10 p.m. EDT. Sage advice from list member/Cereal Killer Howard Cohen (lead singer and driver of the Winnebago):

Dress in layers and pray it doesn’t rain

The forecast looks semi-promising (my glass is half-full, and that’s not rainwater). The second treat is a glass that’s completely full: a free MadTree beer (or non-alcoholic beverage) from me. Usually when I open my wallet a few moths fly out, so you’ll want to take advantage of this limited time offer.

Other gigs of note tonight: Earth, Wind & Fire will be playing the Horseshoe Jack Hard Rock Casino, Will Hoge plays Southgate, and Hyryder opens a two-night stint at the old Annie’s.

Hyryder will still be playing Annie’s on Saturday (perhaps it will be the same song, as they are a Grateful Dead tribute band).

Also on Saturday:

• Todd Rundgren (a fave of Dan “Who needs a bullpen?” Lewis) is playing the Icon
• Rodney Crowell* will be at Memorial Hall
• Peabo Bryson is at Ludlow Garage
• Blessid Union of Souls will play an acoustic set at Music Resource Center (a.k.a. MRC) in Walnut Hills (tickets here). Jacob Strom is the opener, which is a real treat. My oldest son used to play in a band with Jacob (and the son of list member Matt Fellerhoff) back in high school – they formed their band at MRC, a wonderful place for teens to learn about music and life.
• the Tom Petty tribute band Tom the Torpedoes plays Hamilton’s Urban Backyard (which sounds like a place you’d find a lot of used syringes, but it’s actually a bar on Main Street in Hamilton with a covered outdoor stage, food trucks, etc.)
• Carter Bridge is the featured musical entertainment at Neltner’s Farm Fall Fest (with The Pour Hours playing on Sunday… the last day to enjoy this great family-friendly event)

*Last time I saw Rodney Crowell live was waaay back in the late 80s when I worked at local country music station B-105. He was part of the lineup at the station’s annual “Free Day in the Country” free concert… the running gag was “What has 100 arms and legs and only 3 teeth? The front row at Free Day!”

We love Blue Monday, but this week we’ll also have Blues Sunday: Joe Bonamassa will be guitar-slinging at the Taft, and another bluesy guitar hotshot, Carolyn Wonderland, will be at Southgate.

But wait, there’s more: Ben Levin will be playing the first of his “Ben’s Blues Brunch” shows at the Horseshoe Jack Hard Rock Casino at 10 a.m. on Sunday, with special guest Bob Stronger. Lose yourself in the music… lose your money at the craps tables.

Ben & Bob are also playing Schwartz’s Point on Monday.

On Wednesday, Dawes plays Taft with opener Erin Rae, and The Districts play Madison Live. (And Ben Levin has yet another gig, his trio is playing at Ghost Baby).

It’s not exactly music, but Mystery Science Theater 3000 has always been music to my ears (and eyeballs). MST3K Live comes to the Taft on Thursday. I don’t think I’ll make it, as I prefer the “classic” cast members. Besides, I’ll be…uh… busy… that evening.

Speaking of Slippery Creek, they’re opening for The Del McCoury Band next Friday at Memorial Hall. That same evening, Melvin Seals and the Jerry Garcia Band play Ludlow Garage, and the Ben Levin Trio will be at Dead Low Brewing, with Noah Wotherspoon.

Gig Pics

List member “Lenny” is right. Bob Mould abso-fu#&^in’-lutely rocked the house last Friday. Amazing energy and a stellar career-encompassing set list from a dude who has been doing it a long, long time. (More on that later…) Opener Jason Narducy was great as well.

Every touring band’s nightmare:

Listen up

This Fresh Air interview with Nick Lowe from 2001 is still quite fresh:

Matt Lacefield, a former WVXU Nightwaves DJ, posted this tasty audio from Hüsker Dü’s concert at the Jockey Club back in 1984:

BTW, Matt has a new music playlist/blog/online radio show thing called The Unfamiliar. You can listen to the 15-song first episode here… and you can listen to our interview with Matt about his Nightwaves days and his new venture in the latest episode of the 97X Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast.

Random Album Cover of the Week

Have a great week!