It’s snowtime… with an occasional flurry of showtime!

Concert Listings, Music

Last night’s Country Westerns gig at MOTR was scuttled by the freezing rain, sleet, and snow. Mmm, wintry mix! (Special message to all those “if it’s going to be cold, I wish it would snow” types: bite me!)

But you can love The Ultimate Doors tribute two times, babe…

OK, technically one time. And probably tonight, because they are riders on the storm.

At press time, Brother Moses and Tom the Torpedoes are still on for Saturday (Southgate and Redmoor, respectively).

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday… it’s The War on Drugs at Ovation in Newport. List member Mighty Joe Sampson and I will be there with bells on (but we will only shake them between songs).

Are you less of a Drugs person and more of a jazzer-person?

Then you can catch the Blue Wisp Big Band’s 40th Anniversary CD Release party at The Redmoor on Sunday starting at 6 p.m.

On Tuesday, Anaïs Mitchell and Bonny Light Horseman trot into Memorial Hall. Bonny Light Horseman is Anaïs Mitchell with Eric D. Johnson (of Fruit Bats fame) and Josh Kaufman (a multi-instrumentalist and producer known for his work with Craig Finn, Hiss Golden Messenger, Josh Ritter, The National and Bob Weir). Should be a really cool show.

Washout Wednesday

Sleigh Bells were supposed to play Taft on Wednesday… but they moved their entire tour back several months.

And the Wailing Jennys were supposed to play Memorial Hall on Hump Day, but they moved that show back an entire year!

Oh, and I hate to pile on, but here’s more breaking news:

Speaking of non-music, The Moth Mainstage will be at Memorial Hall on Thursday, and comedian Whitney Cummings is appearing at the Taft.

But there IS music on Thursday: you can catch list member John Sandman’s Tye Dye Band at Eli’s BBQ in the East End. They’ll be playing (inside the heated/tented barn-like structure) from 6-8 p.m.

Next Friday, Lucy Dacus plays Ovation, with Indigo De Souza as the opener. Once again, list member Mighty Joe Sampson and I will be there. I’m assuming our bells will have been confiscated by Ovation staff earlier in the week, but we’re really pumped up for this show.

Lucy’s most recent album, Home Video, was one of our faves from 2021, and she has a new one-off single out that’s pretty tasty too.

Also next Friday, Ben Levin plays Wiedemann Brewing.

Tickets on sale today…

Manchester Orchestra is playing Ovation on Wednesday, March 16th, and Tori Amos will be at the Taft Theatre on Tuesday, May 24th. Tickets for both shows go on sale this morning. I wonder if Tori will play “Oil Spill”…

If you love me, you’ll buy this for me

Just a gentle reminder that VD is right around the corner. That’s Valentine’s Day – get your mind out of the gutter! And if you’re looking for the perfect gift for your favorite This Week in Live Music correspondent, you can get me this:

The pro model will suffice, no need to splurge on the premium or limited edition… it’s a mere $7K – you probably have that in your couch cushions. Better “rush” out and buy it soon though!

Magazine Cover of the Week

Now that’s an unfortunate sticker placement. Or not, depending on how phreaky Mike Gordon is.

Album Cover of the Week

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. And the Pathway to Heaven is peppered with polyester.

Groundhog Day… or Groundhog Month?

97X, Concert Listings, Music, podcast

February is just around the corner… and if you look around that corner you might see a few band vans headed your way. Maybe even a tour bus or three.

I loved Your Logo Here’s first EP, but they’ve sucked since they signed with a major label.

You might even spot a tour Winnebago.

Charles Napier ruled!

We covered this weekend’s shows in last week’s post, but just in case you were stricken with a serious case of Bengal Fever and missed it, here’s a recap:

Tonight:

Ana Popovic plays Ludlow Garage
Hyryder plays Annie’s
Knotts are at MOTR
Ben Levin is at BrewRiver
Alice Cooper plays the Icon.

Saturday:

The Wombats play Ovation
.38 Special plays the Hard Rock
Buckcherry and The Lacs are at Annie’s
String Theory plays Wiedemann’s
Ben Levin is at Japp’s
[The Big Mountain show at Ludlow Garage has been postponed. Which just goes to show that you can move a Big Mountain if you put your mind to it.]

Sunday:

Railroad Earth plays the Madison Theater.
The Cincinnati Bengals play the Kansas City Chiefs. Playoff football, NBD.

But there might be a QB who can beat him in 13 seconds or less.

The week ahead is kinda desolate. Julia Jacklin was slated to play Madison Live on Monday, but that gig has been cancelled. It’s like a pre-Groundhog Day Groundhog Day.

Speaking of our ol’ pal Punxsutawney Phil and his special day, Ben Levin plays the Hard Rock Cafe on Wednesday. And in true Groundhog Day fashion, he’s got a few other gigs this week… just like he does every week. You can see the entire list on Ben’s website. (No word on whether he’ll play a cover of “I Got You Babe.”)

The mighty fine band called Country Westerns will be at MOTR on Thursday. (Hey, do they drive a Winnebago too?) The Hiders duo opens the show. I hope to make that gig, but it’ll be a game day decision, given the late set time and my advanced age. (I might be too tired from playing pickleball and/or shooing kids off my lawn and/or yelling at a cloud.)

Next Friday you can watch Garage Doors…

Wait, check that, it’s actually a Doors tribute at the Ludlow Garage.

Next Saturday, Brother Moses (a rock band from… Arkansas!) plays the Southgate House’s Revival Room, and The Fighting Side and Wonky Tonk play a free show in the Southgate Lounge. Over on the Ohio side of the river, Tom the Torpedoes, a Tom Petty tribute band, is at the Redmoor.

Big show next Sunday: The War on Drugs at Ovation in Newport. List member Mighty Joe Sampson and I will be there. You should be too.

Watch This

Superchunk’s video for their new song “This Night” is a homage to the Replacements’ videos of yore.

Read This

Longtime Cincinnati arts journalist Steven Rosen has a new book called Lost Cincinnati Concert Venues of the ’50s and ’60s : From the Surf Club to Ludlow Garage. Read more here and order the book on Steven’s website. (Thanks to list member Jay Stowe for the story.)

The Words of the (Chuck) Prophet

And even if there’s a lot of political noise out there, and people who have strong opinions about things like science and religion, the stage remains my church and my job is to bring a group of strangers together and make them into a community for 90 minutes or so. If they don’t agree with every word that comes out of my mouth, that’s cool. Hell, if they don’t like every chord, that’s okay too. All I know is that they all left the house and had to find a place to park and they have to decide how much alcohol it’s okay to drink to be a responsible citizen or just not to get a DUI and have to sit in traffic school and endure the jokes of failed comedians. It’s because of those folks that I’m not one of those guys teaching at traffic school myself.
(Sign up for Chuck’s always entertaining and often enlightening newsletter on his website.)

The Words of the Podcast

The latest episode of the “97X Rumblings from the Big Bush” podcast features an interview with former 97X weekend DJ Jeff Rohrs, who talks about polka music, mispronouncing an artist’s name, bands he loved, and that time it rained on stage at Bogart’s during a Violent Femmes show.

You can listen to every episode of the podcast on pretty much every major podcasting platform (Spotify, Apple podcasts, Podbean, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, etc.) I don’t like to brag, but in 2021, “97X Rumblings from the Big Bush” was the 27th-fastest growing podcast about defunct radio stations. Take that, Joe Rogan! Oh, and take this too! (not a link to ivermectin)

Album Cover of the Week

Look at that track list! (Hat tip to list member Howard Cohen for sharing the Dick.)

Episode 75: Jeff Rohrs, Weekend Warrior

97X, Music, podcast

Jeff Rorhs was hooked on 97X from the very first song he heard on the station. In fact, he attended Miami University mostly because of 97X, and he was so determined to work at the station that he played polka music at his hometown radio station just to get on-air experience. All that polka-playing paid off – he wound up working weekends and fill-in shifts at 97X for his entire college career, from 1987 through 1991.

In this episode, we talk to Jeff about that first song he heard, how he scored the weekend gig, his unfortunate mispronunciation of an artist’s name, how he pissed off Doug Balogh, the longest song in the 97X library, the bands he championed both at 97X and on his music video show at Miami U., his MTV regrets, and the Violent Femmes concert at Bogart’s when it started raining on the stage.

Jeff still has a special place in his heart for 97X, as witnessed by his description of the station in his LinkedIn profile:

Here are the photos of the Violent Femmes show at Bogart’s back in 1990 when it rained on stage.

Jeff is at the left, getting Gordon Gano’s autograph

Janu-Wary

Concert Listings, Music

Late-breaking news from the This Week in Live Music newsroom: Everyone’s favorite Meat Loaf has expired.

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, Meat Loaf, 1975

The pandemic just goes on and (omicr)on, so it’s OK to be a bit wary about venturing out this month. But hope springs eternal that when spring arrives, we’ll be in a better spot.

If you ARE comfy taking in a show or three, take a gander at the gigs o’ the week and pick your faves.

Tonight, we have Ben Levin at Wiedemann’s, Sabbath (a tribute) at Ludlow Garage and Justin Wells at Southgate.

Saturday night, Dopapod plays the Madison Theater and Better than Ezra and Tonic are at the Hard Rock Casino. And Southgate is hosting a Western Kentucky Tornado Relief benefit:

Ben Levin is back on the brunch shift at Hard Rock (10:30 a.m. until 2 p.m.) on Sunday. (Just to clarify, Ben will be playing piano and singing the blues, he won’t be taking your order for Quiche Lorraine… although maybe he can play a bluesy version of that song.)

On Wednesday, you can check out Albert Lee at Southgate, with The Cryers as the opener, or see Lucky Chops (brass/funk) at the Taft Ballroom. (Lucky Chops are not affiliated with the Slap Chop.)

Thursday, Umphrey’s McGee is at the Ovation in Newport, and Ludlow Garage welcomes Tim Reynolds with TR3.

Next Friday, January 28th:

Ana Popovic plays Ludlow Garage
Hyryder plays Annie’s
Knotts are at MOTR
Ben Levin is at BrewRiver
That guy who is on the insurance commercial with Baker Mayfield plays the Icon.

This Pine Box was originally slated to play the Woodward that same evening, but that gig has been postponed. And the Erasure concert on 1/29 has also been postponed.

Next Saturday (1/29):

The Wombats play Ovation
.38 Special plays the Hard Rock
Buckcherry and The Lacs are at Annie’s
Big Mountain is at Ludlow Garage
String Theory plays Wiedemann’s
Ben Levin is at Japp’s
Bogart’s hosts a “Taylor Swift Inspired Dance Party”… just watch out for Taylor’s variant!

Next Sunday (1/30), Railroad Earth will be at the Madison Theater.

January Heat

Give it up for Parquet Courts for their incendiary performance on… Ellen?

And check out this super hot (or super cool) lineup from an old Jazz Fest.

Hat tip to list member Lisa Collins for sharing the visual.

2nd Best Match Game ever!

This McSweeney’s piece by John Moe, “What Your Favorite Sad Dad Band Says About You,” is quite funny… and sometimes hits a little too close to home.

Best Match Game ever!

CNR… the Dickster… Miss Jane… the dude from the Doritos commercials… and Gene Rayburn!

57 X 3 = Fun Gig

List member John Sandman (57), Ellis Paul (57) and your humble scribe (57) after Ellis Paul’s birthday show at the Redmoor

Album Cover of the Week

Have a great week!

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…

Concert Listings, Music

“Coronavirus cases in the U.S. are at an all-time high and concerts are being postponed or cancelled left and right.”
January 2021

“Coronavirus cases in the U.S. are at an all-time high and concerts are being postponed or cancelled left and right.”
January 2022

Gonna keep this one short and sweet because there ain’t much going on and it’s a bit depressing to think about it for too long.

This week’s postponements:

Erasure’s 1/29 show at the Icon is off – no new date yet.
Oliver Wood’s show at the Taft Ballroom, originally scheduled for tomorrow night, has been shifted to May 14th.

This week’s cancellation: Fairmount Girls at MOTR is a no-go this evening.

We already covered the shows for tonight (Ellis Paul at Redmoor… oh, and the happy hour at Big Ash starts at 5 – first beer’s on me!) and tomorrow night (uh… Vince Neil?) in last week’s post.

It’s slim pickings the rest of this week. But sadly, no Slim Pickens.

It’s pretty much Ben Levin or bust.

Ben’s the young, handsome one… on the left.

Ben’s at Ghost Baby on Wednesday, Shires’ Garden on Thursday and Wiedemann’s on Friday.

True story: I went to the Ovation box office this week to buy tickets for The War on Drugs show (recently announced – Sunday, Feb. 6th) because I love The War on Drugs and I hate ridiculous TicketBastard fees. Guess who was manning the ticket window? Ben Levin’s big bro Joshua! Pro tip from Josh: You can use the “Drop Off & Pick Up Only” lane on 3rd Street during the daytime (box office is open noon-6 p.m., M-F) to run up and buy tix for upcoming shows. I wound up saving about $20 in fees on two tickets.

There are a few other gigs of note this week:

Thursday:

The Ghost of Paul Revere plays Taft Ballroom, with opener Early James (“get there early for Early…”)
Flying Underground (Brian Lovely) and Maurice Mattei & The Tempers are at MOTR – that’s a nice local legends twin bill

Next Friday (1/21):

Justin Wells is at Southgate – list member John Sandman really likes this artist
Sabbath is at Ludlow Garage (it’s billed as “the complete Black Sabbath Experience…. covering the Ozzy Years and the Ronnie James Dio years” – what, no love for Tony Martin, Rob Halford, Ray Gillen, Glenn Hughes, Jeff Fenholt, David Donato, Ron Keel, Ian Gillan or Dave Walker?)

Next Saturday (1/22):

Dopapod plays Madison Theater
It’s ‘Nati Dread Day at Fretboard Brewing, featuring the release of their ‘Nati Dread Bourbon Barrel Stout, with music from the Queen City Silver Stars and opener Positive Libations.
Better than Ezra and Tonic play the Hard Rock Casino… which brings to mind my favorite Norm MacDonald “Weekend Update” joke of all time:

R.I.P. Norm…

Speaking o’ comedians, Hasan Minhaj will be at the Aronoff next Sunday.

Honors Program(s)

Let’s try to end on a high note or three. Patti Smith got the key to New York City… a symbolic one, not one of the 57 keys on the apartment super’s keychain.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1475667304495079424

And the Austin City Limits 7th Annual Hall of Fame Honors program feted Alejandro Escovedo, Lucinda Williams and Wilco. Not too shabby. You can check out the 90-minute show with a slew of special guest right here: https://www.pbs.org/video/austin-city-limits-7th-annual-hall-of-fame-honors-90-min-ije3u7/

Parting words of wisdom from the (Mountain) Goat

If you missed John Darnielle’s New Year’s Eve Twitter thread (which I like to call “The Triumph* of the Three Tubers”), it’s worth checking out below.

*as in victory or success, not as in Canada’s second-best power rock trio.

Hell yes! Hell yes! Hell yes!

New Year, Same Old Song & Dance

Concert Listings, Music

Let me be the 127th* person to wish you a Happy New Year!

*EPA city estimate, your actual mileage may vary.

Now that we’ve turned the page on 2021, the pandemic is over – we can toss our masks into the dustbin of history and enjoy wall-to-wall live music with thousands of other fans…

Nope, no such luck. I’m beginning to think Rip Van Winkle had the right idea. Or wait, was that Robbie Van Winkle?

Yep, it’s a new year, but the same “abundance of caution” – the Secret Sisters gig at Memorial Hall in February has been cancelled. Nick Mason’s show at the Aronoff has been postponed. However, Betty White’s 100th Birthday Party is still a go.

Unfortunately, Betty is unable to attend. More cake for Betty’s Hot in Cleveland co-star Valerie Bertinelli, I suppose. Wait, is she still on Jenny Craig?

OK, enough bitching about what we’ve lost (other than Valerie and her 30 pounds)… let’s focus on the positive. There ARE still gigs on the ol’ This Week in Live Music® Koncert Keeper™. Granted, not many, but a few. Caveat: please check the band and/or venue website or FB page for up-to-date info. Out of “an abundance of caution,” natch.

Tonight, the irrepressible Ben Levin plays Arnold’s with his band.

On Saturday, Inhailer Radio presents Physco with Coastal Club at the Woodward Thea…

Whoops, there goes another gig… Alrighty then. Well, the Tom the Torpedoes show at the Crow’s Nest is still a go… even COVID is afraid of the West Side.

Sunday, the indefatigable Ben Levin plays Schwartz’s Point – show starts at 6:30.

On Thursday, the Louisiana Swamp Stomp Tour featuring The Iguanas and Kevin Gordon rolls (or stomps) into the Redmoor in Mt. Lookout.

Next Friday, there are a whole slew of gigs and goings-on (fingers crossed):

List member Whit Gardner is hosting the BDFM (Beer Drinking Flash Mob) at Big Ash Brewing. Starts at 5 p.m. and This Week in Live Music® list members will get their first beer gratis, courtesy of your humble editor.
The Fairmount Girls are at MOTR
Evanescence and Halestorm play the Coliseum
The intrepid Ben Levin plays at a library… the Hebron Branch of the Boone County Public Library to be exact
Comedian Nate Bargatze is at the Taft
Last but certainly not least, Ellis Paul will celebrate his 57th birthday with a gig at the Redmoor. List member John Sandman (who turns 57 tomorrow) and yours truly (I turned 57 on New Year’s Eve) will have to bring him some leftover birthday cake. I still have plenty of mine:

Next Saturday, Vince Neil will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the last time he was relevant with a gig at the Lawrenceburg Event Center.

That same evening (Jan. 15), Oliver Wood of the Wood Brothers is at the Taft, and the Aronoff is hosting an Elvis Tribute Artist Spectacular.

Andy Kaufman won’t be there… or will he? (Andy always played the long game.)

2021 Favorites – straight outta Albuquerque!

List member Dave Purcell, who now lives in New Mexico (and has joined a local band in Albuquerque!) put together a list of his favorite albums and live music events. Check out the lists and get a link to Dave’s Spotify playlist here.

Here’s the story… of a man named Brady

The Icon music venue in downtown Cincinnati, which has only been open since last July, has changed its name. It will now be known as:

Nah, just kidding, they dropped the “Icon” and now it’s just the Andrew J. Brady Music Center. As list member Jay Stowe said, “‘Icon’ sounds like a place you’d see a concert, but ‘Andrew J. Brady Music Center’ sounds like a place where your kid takes trumpet lessons.” In keeping with my hard and fast TWILM “no venue name changes allowed ” rule, I will still call it the Icon (see also: Coliseum and Annie’s).

You know that you’re over the hill…

… when Forecastle announces their 2022 lineup and you’ve only heard of about 18% of the artists, and actually heard the music of about 5% of them.

On a more positive age-related note, my AARP membership not only gets me discounts at Red Roof Inns from coast to coast (take that, Super 8 Motel!), but it also got me exclusive access to Barn, the companion film to Neil Young’s new album of the same name. It’s pretty cool to see not-so-young Neil and the Horse still rockin’ more than a chair.

“When you get to be the age that I am, every day is a gift, and every day should be filled with creativity. That’s what keeps us alive, and if you are not working on something and feeling good about what you did, that’s pretty much death in a handshake right there… Getting love and happiness out of your creation is going to keep everybody on the planet longer.”
Neil Young

Amen, Brother Neil! Let’s all live to play another day!

Episode 74: Anthony Hartke comes full (vinyl) circle

97X, Music, podcast, woxy.com

Anthony Hartke was really into music even in grade school. He discovered 97X around 6th grade and stuck with the station throughout its existence. (He even tuned in to woxy.com when he was deployed overseas in the Army back in 2005-2006.) When woxy.com sold off vinyl LPs from the original 97X music library, Anthony picked up several albums that still contained an old school “grid” on the cover for 97X DJs to mark the date and time that they played a track. We talk to Anthony about his love for the station, and Dave explains what the heck “ultracore” meant.

Here are the 97X artifact albums that Anthony picked up at Shake It Records in Northside:

Story behind my acquisition: sometime after the terrestrial station went off the air, the station sold off old vinyl since everything was going CD or digital. Maybe it was to raise funds? I don’t remember. Anyway, the sales all went thru Shake It Records. I was at UC at the time and stopped in and found a milk crate of them in the basement of the store and pulled out a few. Looking back, I wish I would have bought the entire milk crate!
Anthony Hartke

The albums that 97X DJs played in the studio contained a grid that listed the suggested tracks to play, and spaces for the jocks to write down the date/time that they played a particular tune, to help the station avoid playing the same song or artist too frequently.

At some point, the vinyl grid on the album was replaced by an index card in a old-school “recipe box.” The intent was still the same: to ensure variety instead of repetition.

On the one album, there is a hand-written date of 5/17/1989 … it’s really cool to think that some of the DJs you have had on your podcast would have touched these exact albums back when I was listening to the station as a kid. And seeing the handwritten notes like “Ultracore” are just awesome. “That’s Entertainment” by the Jam is a quintessential 97x song in my head; I remember hearing it on the radio as a kid and it was probably from this exact album.
Anthony Hartke

I remember the 2004 shut down vividly and getting really emotional. No one understood it. No one understood why a 21 year old guy would cry over a radio station. But it was really like losing a friend…
When WOXY shut down March 23rd, 2010 (9 days after my 27th birthday) I was devastated again. Painful to this day thinking back on it (tearing up thinking about it now), but I’ll be forever grateful to 97X/WOXY for all that it gave me.
Anthony Hartke

Thanks to YOU for listening, Anthony. It was passionate music lovers like you that made our time at 97X/woxy.com so rewarding, and it’s why we do our “Rumblings from the Big Bush” podcast.

(Anthony reached out to us via email at 97Xwoxy@gmail.com. We welcome your notes as well.)

In the Bleak midwinter

Concert Listings, Music, podcast

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.

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:

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!

Episode 73: Joe “Rock the” Voet, Model Citizen

97X, podcast

Joe Voet was a mild-mannered student in a small Midwestern college town, working at the Miami U. student radio station and listening to 97X… until one day Rictile turned him into Joe “Rock the” Voet, political correspondent. That led to a Breakfast Club co-producer role, with highs (meeting The Cure) and lows (reading the news on-air without any prep).

Joe claims he was the worst Breakfast Club co-producer ever, but we beg to differ. We talk to him about his 97X memories, and learn how he’s used his IT skills to build a mini-97X. We also learn that Damian sucks at geography.

Back in his Oxford days, Joe lived downstairs from 97X-er Kevin Couche, and across the street from Shiv… and near Matt Sledge and Mark Abuzzahab. Truly a “Cradle of DJs.”

Front row L to R: Joe Voet (seated), Shivvy, Kevin Couche, Mark Abuzzahab and Rictile.
Back row: women who prefer to remain anonymous, for reasons that should be obvious considering the folks in the front row.

The resemblance to the cast of Melrose Place is uncanny:

Here’s Joe today, from his home in… some country in Europe, maybe?

Spark VanBuren… sounds like an alias to us.

Joe sent us a few photos of his 97X swag…

I have found a couple threadbare shirts, which are in my “never to be worn again” shirt archive due to the sorry state they are now in….1 more wash and I fear disintegration.

I also found the Alternative Division gas can flask, which is by far my favorite flask. I believe it was some sort of call in prize, but I cannot remember…I only know that it came from 97X.

Thanks for adding “fuel” to our 97X memories, Joe!

Jingle (Is)bells

Concert Listings, Music

Before we get into this week’s gigs, I’m providing a holiday shopping public service announcement for those with teenage daughters (and for list members who are “still 16” like Amanda Woodly – more on her later): Tickets for Olivia Rodrigo’s April 22nd show and the Haim show on May 19th go on sale today at 10 a.m. (Both shows are indoor gigs at Icon, which is punching well above its weight… time for Ovation to up its game.) If you’d like to “try before you buy” on Olivia Rodrigo, check out her Austin City Limits appearance (her band is all-female, which is pretty cool)… and of course stick around for the Phoebe Bridgers portion of the show.

OK, on with the shows…

It’s Friday, and Jason is in town!

Wait, my bad, I meant Jason Isbell.

Jason Isbell’s superb band, the 400 Unit, is named after a hospital psych ward. So maybe Jason Vorhees will be here in spirit? I know I’ll be at tonight’s show at the Icon (in the flesh… but wearing pants for a change), along with about half the folks on the “This Week in Live Music” mailing list. (The other half will be at Saturday’s show.) Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives open up both shows. A good time will be had by all.

The jaunty ascot… who wore it best?

Other shows this evening include Multimagic at the Woodward, and An Olde English Christmas With Herman’s Hermits Starring Peter Noone at Ludlow Garage. I hope they do the theme song from the 80’s Olde English TV commercial – that song rocks!

On Saturday, it’s a Jason sequel…

Meaning it’s Night II for Jason Isbell/Marty Stuart at Icon. (Don’t forget to get a Marty Stuart ascot at the merch booth!)

Meanwhile, Them Dirty Roses are at the old Annie’s, with The Josephines as the opener. Our ol’ pal Rob Fetters wraps up another round of his “Fetters is Cheap” free livestreams – accessible via his website. And Emaline will sing the Christmas classics at Ludlow Garage.

Ludlow can keep the (Christmas) lights on, because on Sunday you can enjoy Christmas with the Celts at that venue. If you prefer goth garb to kilts, you can check out Evanescence and Halestorm at the Coliseum. If you’d rather boogie-woogie in the morning, Ben Levin’s playing the Hard Rock brunch, with special guest Lil’ Jimmy Reed. Now that’s a winning combination!

Ben’s got a solo gig at Arnold’s on Thursday, but other than that, the rest of the week is kinda light on gigs. I blame the supply chain. Everyone else is doing it!

But then next Friday the scene really heats up… all the way up to 98 Degrees! They’re playing the Hard Rock Casino – sounds like a classic lose/lose proposition to me.

If you’d rather see a better band with local connections — and much less boy band baggage — Over the Rhine kicks off a three night stand of their annual holiday show next Friday at Memorial Hall.

If you’d rather see and hear a facsimile of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham instead of real-life Karin and Linford, head to Ludlow Garage for Rumours: A Fleetwood Mac Tribute.

Sorry Linford, but Lindsey’s hair is better. Actually, it WAS better.

Or you can shop local and hit the Motherfolk Christmas show at Bogart’s, with Sylmar as the opener.

Favorite albums of 2021

Today’s the last day to vote for your Top Ten of this year on KEXP’s website.

But there’s plenty of time to add your faves to the TWILM list here. Grammy-nominated artist Dale Doyle (the original D2) chose these slabs o’ wax:

Black Keys – Delta Kream
Julien Baker – Little Oblivions
Wolf Alice – Blue Weekend
Slowthai- Tyron
Weezer – OK Human
Leon Bridges – Gold-Diggers Sound
Japanese Breakfast – Jubilee
Fleet Foxes – Shore
Taylor Swift – Evermore
Low – Hey What
Lucy Dacus – Home Video
Kanye West – Donda (Just kidding)

While list member Amanda Woodly decided to chide me for my document choice (“this should be an Excel file”) before listing her top tunes o’ the year:

Snailmail- Valentine
Japanese Breakfast- Jubilee
Lucy Dacus- Home Video
Olivia Rodrigo- Sour (I’m still 16)
Doja Cat- Planet Her
Julien Baker – Little Oblivions
Tyler, The Creator- Call Me If You Get Lost
Kacey Musgraves- Star Crossed (Cincinnati’s newest #goodwife)
I wish I could put the new St Vincent album here, but…

Sorry to let you down, Amanda. I like to think outside the box, and Excel is nothing but boxes.

Friday Funnies

We mocked the GMC holiday commercial last week, so this week it’s time for some Lexus holiday commercial fun:

Tico the Parrot is a dead ringer singer for Axl Rose:

He does a pretty good Bon Scott too:

Tweet of the Week

Cover of the Week

Courtesy of list member Michael “Rico” Carrico who said “Covering Mr Waits. Phoebe at her best.” (We agree wholeheartedly!)

Album Cover of the Week

It’s the Holiday Houseguest from Hell. Crazy Otto is back in town. Looks like he flew Allegiant. And he brought sheet music.

Have a great week!