Author: Damian

A December to Remember

Concert Listings, Music

IF you’re not too busy buying expensive new vehicles for your significant other and yourself… like this totally relatable and not-at-all-unrealistic GMC commercial:

https://youtu.be/DQTVh5EF_tc

… then perhaps you can rustle up enough cash to see a concert or two in December. Oh, and save some coinage for a show next spring too…

Waxahatchee will be playing the Woodward Theater on Wednesday, April 13th of 2022. Tickets go on sale TODAY at 10 a.m.

Her most recent album was one of the best of 2020 (sez me… and pretty much everyone else), so you don’t want to miss this gig. Unless your wife’s due date is a couple of days before the show (Hi Rico!).

OK, now let’s get to this week’s list of gigs, shall we?

Max Weinberg’s Jukebox (that’s a band, not an eBay listing for a Seeburg Select-O-Matic that was once owned by the E Street Band drummer) is playing at Ludlow Garage tonight. Max lets the audience pick the tunes the band will play from a list of 300+ songs. Perhaps it’ll turn out better than this:

Tomorrow night

  • Jess Lamb & the Factory play Findlay Market at 5 p.m.
  • Shakey Graves is at Bogart’s, with This Week in Live Music favorite S.G. Goodman as the opener.

But the really big Saturday show is at Fretboard Brewing: local jam band Spookfloaters (featuring my wife’s cousin Mike on guitar and vocals) will be playing from 8-11 p.m. I’ll be there (look for the old guy NOT doing the twisty-floppy dancing), along with list members Dan and Anne Robinson, Whit and Barb Gardner, and Pat “Print’s not Dead Yet” Latham. What about my lovely bride, you ask? Well, even though Mike is her first cousin, she won’t be attending because she has a “Girls Night Out” (if you’re keeping score at home, this will be the 8th one this week). Blood may be thicker than water, but apparently it’s thinner than margaritas.

Or cousins…

Sunday is a church day. It’s also a Chvrches night – they’re playing the Ovation, with Donna Missal as the opener.

On Tuesday, Jesse Dayton plays Southgate, and David Benoit does a Christmas tribute to Charlie Brown at Ludlow Garage.

Southgate will be rockin’ on Wednesday, with a triple bill of The Queers, the Dollyrots and Tiger Sex. (Note: Tiger Sex is a band, not a cologne.)

Speaking of pungent aromas, Hot Tuna will be at Ludlow Garage on Thursday, with Steve Kimock & Friends opening the show. That gig is damn near sold out. But plenty of tickets are still available for guitar whiz Tommy Emmanuel and acoustic picker Andy McKee at Taft.

Next Friday, December 10th, Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit kick off a two-night stand at the Icon, with Marty Stuart & the Fabulous Superlatives as the opener. I’ll be there, along with list members Chris Lecky, Whit and Barb Gardner… and yes, my lovely bride too (shh, don’t tell Cousin Mike).

If you can’t make the Isbell show next Friday, you can enjoy an Olde English Christmas…

Wait, I meant an Olde English Christmas with Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone. That’s at Ludlow Garage. Not sure which one will bring your more enjoyment.

Also on tap next Friday: The Ben Levin Trio will be playing Lucious Q, with legendary bluesman Lil’ Jimmy Reed, and Multimagic will be at Woodward, with JV Golf and Bershy.

That’s about it for shows in the week ahead. Let’s dip into the ol’ mailbag…

(Artist’s rendition. The actual mailbag is dang near empty… I blame DeJoy.)

List member Janet Welling picked up the sweet Maker’s Mark vinyl designed by list member Keith Neltner:

Sharon McCafferty chimed in after we featured a Devo video recently:

Funny about Devo. My father-in-law is a big fan. He’s known to sport an energy dome at weddings and the band has to play “Whip it.” He wants Jarrod to join him in going to see them in New York – on a Wednesday. Alas practicality prevails. 

He might have just earned the title of coolest father-in-law ever!

And Chris Lecky provided a couple of quick concert recaps:

I saw Dylan for the millionth time, not one of my favs. Setlist wasn’t great and no Charlie Sexton sucks. Dave Chappelle at the arena was an odd one. Hoping for stand up but got Bones Thugs and Harmony performing.

Sorry you got Bone-d, Chris. See you at Isbell!

The Reading List

This piece from Washington Post pop music critic Chris Richards was great… and the headline (The Beatles are overrated. That’s our fault, not theirs.) is sure to garner some extra clicks. Here’s the money quote (bold emphasis mine):

When McCartney foresees his bandmates “very old,” we need not mourn the 21st-century Beatles reunion album that nobody gets to hear. The music these four managed to record between 1962 and 1970 is enough to sustain a lifetime of enjoyment, easy. But there’s also an entire world of new music being made at this very moment, and it’s already passing us by. Yes, we have to make room for the past and the present to coexist in our listening lives — but if we’re more excited about spending eight hours fly-on-the-walling with the Beatles than opening our ears to what this world currently sounds like, imagine what we’ll be grieving another 50 years from now.

Hear, hear, Chris, I couldn’t agree more!

And this Substack piece from Damon Krukowski (drummer for Galaxie 500 back in the day, and now in a duo called Damon and Naomi) about how pop stars are squeezing out indie bands at vinyl plants is quite interesting.

I didn’t mention Ed Sheeran or Adele or god forbid Taylor Swift in my testimony – you never know who’s a rabid fan – but vinyl production problems for records that won’t be stocked at Target is a perfect example of what is happening across industries in this moment of corporate oligarchy. There’s nowhere to hide from those intent on market domination – they won’t leave our small scale businesses alone, even though what we represent in dollar amounts is too little for them to really care.  

Nine thousand LPs are nothing to Ed Sheeran. But they are a means to survival for independent artists like me.

Reminder: share your favorite albums of 2021

List member Mighty Joe Sampson got the ball rolling with his faves:

  • Snailmail- Valentine
  • Japanese Breakfast- Jubilee 
  • MMJ- self titled
  • The War on Drugs: I Don’t Live Here Anymore
  • Lana Del Rey- Blue Bannisters
  • The Hold Steady- Open Door Policy
  • Lucy Dacus- Home Video

That’s a Magnificent Seven from Mighty Joe. You can add yours via this link.

Tweet of the Week

Album Cover of the Week

Uh, you could give away a dozen kids and still have a gaggle, Eddie. (At least now we know who George Jetson’s real father is.)

Have a great week!

Designs that Rock

Concert Listings, Music

If I told you that I had an album autographed by a Grammy-nominated artist, you might think I was referring to the recording artist.

That’s Matt Berninger’s solo album, Serpentine Prison, but the autograph isn’t Matt’s. It’s from my good friend (and list member) Dale Doyle, who created the album artwork. And Dale is the one up for the hardware:

I’m thrilled for Dale, (a.k.a. “the original d2”). He and I worked together at the Cincinnati office of Landor Associates. Dale spent 23 years there, until he was “downsized” back in 2018. In hindsight, it was the best thing that could’ve happened to him professionally.

Speaking of getting fired from an ad agency and being nominated for a Grammy, Japanese Breakfast is up for “Best New Artist” this year. (Even though this year’s release Jubilee was their third album… where was the Grammy committee when JB put out Psychopomp in 2016, or Soft Sounds from Another Planet in 2017, or when they were just blowing us away live in the Taft Ballroom back in 2018?) Bandleader Michelle Zauner talks about how she used her two-months’ severance from an ad agency to pursue a music career in this Broken Record podcast:

The moral of the stories: if you want to win a Grammy, the first step is being let go by an ad agency.

OK, let’s get into this week’s list of live shows:

Freekbass is hosting Funksgiving tonight at Ludlow Garage, Darlene has a record release show at MOTR, Ben Levin plays Arnold’s, and Patti LaBelle is at the Hard Rock Casino.

Saturday’s shows run the full gamut of genres and venues: The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band is at Southgate, The Lions Rampant are at MOTR, Ben Levin plays Ghost Baby in OTR, local Tom Petty tribute band Tom the Torpedoes plays the Redmoor in Mt. Lookout… and Michael Bolton is at the Lawrenceburg Event Center in the Hoosier State.

Ben Levin is at it again on Sunday morning (must be trying to work off that extra helping of turkey yesterday), playing the Blues Brunch at the Hard Rock Casino from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. If 10 p.m. is more your style, Gringo Star and The Harlequins play MOTR that evening.

Tuesday, author David Sedaris is at the Aronoff. (Yes, I know it’s not a music gig but he’s a rockstar writer and just so damn entertaining in a live setting.)

On Thursday, Devotchka plays the Woodward Theater, with Milquetoast & Co. as the opener. The irrepressible Ben Levin plays Shires Garden. And if you need more cowbell, Blue Oyster Cult will be at Ludlow Garage.

Max Weinberg’s Jukebox makes a stop at Ludlow next Friday (12/3). And yes, Ben Levin has a gig – he’s playing Muse Cafe.

Next Saturday (12/4), Shakey Graves plays Bogart’s, local Dead/jam band Spookfloaters play Fretboard (my wife’s cousin is in that band, so I’ll be there), Ben Levin (him again!) plays BrewRiver, and Jess Lamb & the Factory will be at Findlay Market for a 5 p.m. happy hour gig.

That brings us full circle to yet another great design on a record: Keith Neltner (who worked with Dale and me at Landor) did the artwork for the limited edition 7-inch vinyl record featuring two songs from Jess Lamb & the Factory.

The record — a collaborative effort among Neltner Small Batch, Otto Printing in Newport, Musicol (recording studio/pressing plant in Columbus), Arnold’s, and Maker’s Mark — was released at Arnold’s on Wednesday evening, and a handful of the splatter vinyl copies went on sale today at five local record stores (Shake It Records, Everybodys Records, Plaid Room Records, Torn Light Records and Herzog Music).

Jess Lamb & the Factory band member Warren Harrison also worked at Landor…

Shop local stores. Support local artists (recording and otherwise). They might wind up winning a Grammy someday!

Episode 72: A Second Serving of Barb Abney

97X, podcast, woxy.com

Here’s more from our chat with 97X/woxy.com alum Barb Abney. In this episode, Barb discloses her 97X souvenirs, we try to solve the mystery of where 97X’s music library wound up, a secret prankster is revealed, and we get more scoop on Barb’s new podcast called “Tied to the Tracks.”

On Barb’s Tied to the Tracks podcast, she and co-host Augustus Watkins are joined by a different guest each episode and they dive deep into one of their guest’s favorite albums, song by song. Tied to the Tracks is available wherever you get your podcasts, including on Spotify, Apple Music and iHeart.

Barb’s come a long way since that fateful day when she interviewed for a job at 97X… here’s the outfit she wore that day:

If you miss hearing Barb on the air (don’t we all?), you can tune in to the morning show she co-hosts on KFAI-FM in Minneapolis (it’s on the interwebs).

We first interviewed Barb back in 2019, on Episode 18. Check it out here.

No Turkeys in Our House

Concert Listings, Music

No thugs either. But for sure no turkeys.

Let’s get to this week’s listings on the old 97X Koncert Keeper.

Tonight Shovels & Rope at Ludlow Garage, Bendigo Fletcher plays the Woodward with Sylmar as the opener, and the local Allman Bros. tribute band The Almond Butter Band plays their “Butterball” at the Redmoor in Mt. Lookout.

(Sidebar: after the year we’ve had, I can understand if you want to take a time capsule back to 1982. If so, you’ll be glad to know that Journey and Toto will be playing the Coliseum next April 24th. Tickets go on sale today. Warning: “Steve Perry” might look a bit different, but he still sounds the same.)

Beach Bunny has a sold-out show at Southgate on Saturday night. Didn’t get a ticket? That’s OK, you can “shop local”: Jeremy Pinnell will play two free sets at MOTR to celebrate the release of his new album Goodbye L.A., from local label SofaBurn Records.

Buy the LP or CD here

You can read list member Gil Kaufman’s interview with Jeremy for Cincinnati Magazine online. (We love Gil’s “resting outlaw face” turn of phrase.) Jason Gargano’s profile in CityBeat is here. And here’s the video (shot in Cincy/NKY) for “Wanna Do Something” from the new album:

Also on Saturday, Ludlow Garage features “Broken Arrow: The Music of Neil Young.” And if you’d prefer to laugh it up that evening, you have two fine choices:

  • Jim Gaffigan is at the Coliseum
  • Iliza Shlesinger is at the Taft (check out her Netflix specials, pretty damn funny)

On Sunday you can take a load off with The Weight Band, featuring members of The Band (revamped edition… no Robbie or Garth) and the Levon Helm Band (we still miss you, Levon). They’re playing Ludlow Garage. Wait! Looks like The Weight was too much to bear, and that show has been postponed.

Taft Theatre has a Scribble Showdown on Monday. But it’s an improv animation game, not a throwback to the old hip-hop Scribble Jam.

On Thanksgiving eve (Wednesday, 11/24), you can catch “All Together Now – A Beatles Thanksgiving Celebration” featuring the Newbees – it’s at Memorial Hall. Or you can head to Annie’s to enjoy the song stylings of the band that many* have called “The new Beatles”: Jackyl.

*these people are stoned out of their gourds

Ernie Johnson from Detroit will be at MOTR on Wednesday too.

On Thursday, Bird is the word.

Ted Cruz’s dream…

Or in my case, Tofurkey.

Wanna dance off your turkey/tofurkey coma next Friday? Get your booty down to Ludlow Garage for Freekbass and his “Funksgiving 2021” celebration.

Next Saturday, 11/27, The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band plays Southgate, and Tom the Torpedoes will be at the Redmoor.

Watch this

Johnny Rotten on The Masked Singer is so 2021.

Speaking o’ punk, Devo is a band that doesn’t get nearly the credit they deserve. Check ’em out live in 1977 in NYC:

More Devo footage from that era is here.

Road trip next summer?

This festival lineup is redonk:

Whereas this pairing — Psychedelic Porn Crumpets with Acid Dad as the opener — is an early contender for twin billing of the year.

2021 favorites – care to share yours?

We’re heading down the homestretch of this year (2020 Part Deux: More Dumpster, Slightly Less Fire). If you care to share your list of favorite albums, EPs, songs, TikTok clips, whatever, you can add them here.

Album cover of the week

When you go over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house for Turkey Day, don’t forget to bring along some Sloppy fifths. Rated “Code E” for everyone.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Episode 71: Talking Tracks with Barb Abney

97X, podcast, woxy.com

Barb Abney, who was on-air at 97X and woxy.com from 1994-2006, returns to talk about weird promotional giveaway items, why corporate radio still sucks… oh, and her great podcast “Tied to the Tracks.” Barb has some excellent podcasting pointers for Dave and Damian… which we will probably ignore.

On Barb’s Tied to the Tracks podcast, she and co-host Augustus Watkins are joined by a different guest each episode and they dive deep into one of their guest’s favorite albums, song by song. Tied to the Tracks is available wherever you get your podcasts, including on Spotify, Apple Music and iHeart.

In our interview, Barb also mentioned some of the more unusual promotional giveaway items from 97X. Here’s her “vintage” Blur condom:

And here are several more choice items from Barb’s swag collection:

Can’t finish your soda? Why not use your Squirrel Nut Zippers can cover…
We wonder if that phone number is still active…
Band-Aid dispenser from Stanford Prison Experiment… makes perfect sense.

Here’s a shot of the woxy.com crew: Shiv and Barb up front, Mike Taylor and Bryan J. in the back.

And here’s one of Barb’s handwritten playlist from the woxy.com era, along with her “DJ Princess” business card:

If you miss hearing Barb on the air (don’t we all?), you can tune in to the morning show she co-hosts on KFAI-FM in Minneapolis (it’s on the interwebs).

We first interviewed Barb back in 2019, on Episode 18. Check it out here.

Go-vember

Concert Listings, Music

It’s time to GO to a gig.

$200 in fake money sold separately

And you’ll have several opportunities this week. Tonight, Gary Clark Jr. plays the Icon, The Wild Feathers play Madison Theater, and Spyro Gyra plays Ludlow Garage.

Saturday, you can head to Memorial Hall for the North Mississippi All-stars with the Rebirth Brass Band and Cedric Burnside. The show sounds pretty cool:

For one special night, these three artists will be playing their own favorite selections as well as collaborating throughout the show on an array of great songs, exploring the musical connection between the Mississippi Delta and Bourbon Street… right down Highway 61.

From the Memorial Hall website

If you fancy a bit of a road trip, you can catch Hamilton Leithauser and Kevin Morby at Headliner’s in Louisville. If you’d rather stay home, Rob Fetters is streaming another house show on the YouTubes.

Sunday has a few gigs of note:

  • Ben Levin & Friends are doing the boogie-woogie brunch at Hard Rock Casino
  • Tab Benoit is at the Taft with Alastair Green
  • Carl Palmer plays Ludlow Garage
  • Sebastian Bach will be at Bogart’s for a tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of Skid Row’s Slave to the Grind. Maybe 20 years from now he’ll do an anniversary tour of the time he sang “Hollaback Girl” on Gilmore Girls.

On Monday I’ll probably be at MOTR Pub enjoying the sweet song stylings of Lydia Loveless, with Amber Nash as the opener. It’s a rare ticketed show for MOTR (most are free), but $15 is cheap for that gig. Doors at 7, show at 8.

Tuesday Southgate House has Alice Peacock with Tim Grimm and the Family Band: A Concert to Benefit The Music Resource Center.

Hayes Carll plays Southgate on Wednesday with the splendid Caroline Spence as the opener, and David Cross will be at Bogart’s. No word on whether any other members of Dr. Fünke’s 100% Natural Good-Time Family Band Solution will be there.

Ben Folds (hold the Five) is playing Taft on Thursday. That same evening, Olivia Jean and Leggy are at Southgate, and Edwin McCain plays Ludlow Garage.

Ludlow will be hosting Shovels & Rope next Friday, November 19th.

Dr. Shovels, with the Rope, in the Garage

Hot Ticket Alert!

Lucy Dacus (her latest album is one of my 2021 faves), will be playing Ovation (the PromoWest venue in Newport) on Friday, February 11th, 2022. Tickets go on sale today at noon (and yes, the “convenience fees” are redonk). Ovation also recently announced a Bon Iver show on June 21, 2022, with Bonny Light Horseman as the opener. The PromoWest lineup of shows had been rather underwhelming thus far, but these tasty gigs give us hope that, as list member Ken Laube put it, “maybe we’re finally getting out of concert jail.”

Gig Pics

Brett Newski and the No Tomorrow played a thoroughly entertaining set at MOTR on Wednesday. Then the band stayed at the home of list members Dave and Jacqui Killen – the same place where Brett played a Parlor & Patio gig pre-pandemic. Now that’s hospitality!

Brett had a “virtual tip jar” set up at his merch booth – take a page from the book of list member John Sandman: if you’ve been listening to a band’s music on Spotify, why not Venmo them some $ (or give them some cold hard cash… that’s still a thing) to make up for what you would’ve spent on an album? That little bit of extra moolah — and the occasional free “bed & breakfast” from friendly hosts — goes a long way for up and coming bands.

Not the Bank of Spotify

Words of wisdom

“Punk taught me that music didn’t have to express consensus. You could use music as a way to set yourself apart from the world, or at least some of the world. You could find something to love and something—perhaps lots of somethings—to reject. You could have an opinion, and an identity.”

Kelefa Sanneh in his new book Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres (Hat tip to list member Cullen Lewis for the reco)

Watch this

The Sparks Brothers, the new documentary about the band Sparks (streaming now on Netflix) is delightfully entertaining. Well worth a watch.

As they point out in the doc, Sparks really invented the “Molly Ringwald” Breakfast Club style of dance. It’s merely one of many examples of the ways that Sparks blazed the trail for others musically and stylistically.

Random Album Cover of the Week

The John Denver-meets-Miami-Vice vibe is entertaining enough (as advertised), but the inscription really seals the deal:

I think ol’ Jim might be confused about how the whole brother-sister thing works. It’s not like she had a choice.

Have a great week… GO to a gig!

Roll-vember

Concert Listings, Music

Let’s get rolling with the concert rundown…

First, the Melvin Seals & the Jerry Garcia Band show that was supposed to happen tonight at Ludlow Garage has been postponed. But the Del McCoury Band gig at Memorial Hall is still a go, and the Ben Levin Trio plays Dead Low Brewing with special guest Noah Wotherspoon.

It’s gigs galore on Saturday:

  • The Steeldrivers play the old Annie’s
  • Silversun Pickups are at Ovation in Newport
  • Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening rock and rolls into the Icon (see what we did there?)
  • The Yugos play Bircus Brewing in Ludlow
  • Last but certainly not least, Styx will be rockin’ the Paradise Hard Rock Casino. No Dennis DeYoung, but Tommy Shaw, James Young and the living Panozzo brother (Chuck).

Oh, and Rob Fetters kicks off another round of “Fetters is Cheap” – streaming live shows from his home. He promises “crowd faves plus more debuts of rarities.” You can tune in via Rob’s website.

Early on Sunday, Ben Levin & Friends will again be playing the Hard Rock Casino from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Davy Knowles and the Noah Wotherspoon Band play the Southgate House, and there’s a Play It Forward benefit concert at the Madison Theater, with my old radio boss Gary Burbank listed as a “speaker”… makes sense, as he was a Pioneer in radio (see what we did there?).

Tuesday is an evening for music legends. Bob Dylan plays the Aronoff, and John Hiatt & the Jerry Douglas Band will be at Memorial Hall.

If he were really “me” he’d still go by Robert Zimmerman

That same evening, someone named TobyMac has a sold out show at Taft. I thought TobyMac was a menu item at Keystone Bar & Grill, but apparently he’s an “American Christian hip hop rapper and singer.”

TobyMac… no, wait…

On Wednesday, I’ll be at MOTR Pub, along with list members Jacqui and Dave Killen (remember their Parlor & Patio house shows? I miss them…). Former Parlor & Patio performer (say that three times fast) Brett Newski and his full band (“The No Tomorrow”… they’re from Milwaukee, you do the math) will be playing at 9 p.m., followed by Adam Flaig (of Mad Anthony). Brett’s a very entertaining dude, and you can’t beat the MOTR ticket price. Join us, won’t you?

Also on Wednesday, The Lone Bellow plays Taft, and the Hooten Hallers are at Southgate.

Thursday, GWAR plays Bogart’s and Dennis Quaid plays Ludlow Garage. Yes, that Dennis Quaid, the actor. Guess he got tired of punching the clock with his fellow actors on movie sets.

Bogart’s and Ludlow Garage are pretty close to each other – fingers crossed that GWAR sits in with Dennis for his encore. Or vice versa… although that might not end well for DQ. Also on Thursday, Neal Francis plays Taft. I don’t know much about Neal’s music, but I know his promo photo makes him a dead ringer for Nigel Tufnel:

  • Goes on by 10
  • Goes up to 11

Next Friday, November 12th, Gary Clark Jr. plays the Icon, The Wild Feathers play Madison Theater, and Spyro Gyra plays Ludlow Garage. When I was younger, I used to love Spyro Gyra…

Spyro Gyra… no, wait…

Gig Pics

What a fabulous show by the Cereal Killers at MadTree last Friday — including a special guest appearance by our neighbor Amy Hueneman doing vocals on a Pretenders song! Great crowd too, including list members Dave Tellmann, Whit & Barb Gardner, Bruce Roy, Todd Butler, and Dan Bockrath (who brought several of his high school buddies – do NOT attempt to keep pace with them on drinking).

On Sunday morning, I joined Dave & Mindy Tellmann at the Hard Rock Casino for the Ben Levin brunch show with Chicago blues legend Bob Stroger (I misspelled his name last week – sorry Bob!). Bob is 90 years young… amazing voice and great stage presence. Noah Wotherspoon was on guitar too!

Dave, Mindy and I were joined by Dave’s son Joe (of This Pine Box), Joe’s friend Liam and none other than one of Joe’s non-traditional CCM classmates: John Curley of the Afghan Whigs! When you go to live shows, good things happen.

Two feet from stardom. I had the French toast… John had an Impossible Burger.

Dave and I interviewed John Curley on our 97X podcast in April of 2020. Just sayin’.

Words of wisdom

And in case you missed it (I sure did), apparently the Mountain Goats song “No Children” went viral on TikTok. (Read more here.) Lead singer John Darnielle has the right perspective on it:

But when people do find it, it affirms for those of us who make indie music that when the broader public is exposed to it, there’s more people who would like it if they get a chance to hear it. The consolidation of radio and the diffuse nature of the media landscape means that there’s lots of good stuff that people don’t generally hear unless it gets a viral moment…

…Our childish dreams of how these things work have value. So when something like this happens in my life, well, that’s a dream come true. We did not tell people, “Check out ‘No Children,’ you’re gonna love it.” No. they took it and they ran with it, and it’s beautiful. If there was more stuff like that in the world, the world’s a better place. Not just for me, but for whoever, because there’s a million fun songs out there for people to find that people do not need to be told by the influencer factory which one to listen to.

John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats in this Variety interview

Watch this

The War on Drugs live in a studio… amazing.

You can see all three songs that The War on Drugs performed on CBS Saturday Morning via the embedded videos in this article.

Random Album Cover of the Week

I don’t need a gym membership, I just need a turntable. Upper arms, waistline and hips don’t lie.

Have a great week!

No Tricks, All Treats

Uncategorized

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.

That’s my bank! And my account balance!

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).

Ben’s new album is called Still Here… his tour schedule should be called “Playing Everywhere”

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.

When Jason signed his album for me, he pointed out that my first name is spelled the same as the lead singer for the band Fucked Up. Birds of a feather…

Every touring band’s nightmare:

Akron, bringing the whole state down yet again…

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:

We told you Bob Mould’s been rocking for a long time…

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

Come for the body shaming, stay for the polka.

Have a great week!

Episode 70: Getting (un)familiar with Matt lacefield

97X, Music, podcast

Matt Lacefield played cutting-edge music on a Cincinnati radio station… but it wasn’t 97X. While Dave and Damian were on the air at 97X in the 90s, Matt was a DJ for Nightwaves, which aired overnights on WVXU-FM. So we were kindred spirits… and still are, because Matt loves discovering new music. He’s sharing his latest favorites via his blog/podcast called “The Unfamiliar.” We chat with Matt about his radio days and how he finds and shares the latest and greatest indie tunes.

97X served as a gateway to a life of music discovery for Matt, just as it did for so many other Tri-state teenagers. Here’s an excerpt from Matt’s blog:

My older brother, three years older and close enough in age to be an influence (for better or worse), also played a big role in my music obsession as a teen.  He was tuned in to U2, the Talking Heads, INXS, the Smiths, and so much more.  The walls of his bedroom were lined with racks of cassettes full of bands who were completely foreign to me.  Like the scent of a pie on the windowsill, the sounds coming from down the hall lured me in. I would sneak into his room, borrow cassettes, listen to them when he wasn’t home, and sneak them back. This exposed me to bands like R.E.M., Husker Du, the Minutemen, and the Replacements. In hindsight, this was the beginning of my love of digging for new music.  I had also heard him listening to a radio station that I had never heard of, WOXY – 97X FM, broadcasting from Oxford, Ohio, playing the same music that lined his walls. For me and so many others my age who lived in Southwest Ohio, discovering 97X was like striking gold. It provided a soundtrack to my life until it went off the air in 2010.

From the “About” page of Matt’s blog

Matt’s podcast is called The Unfamiliar, and you can listen to the first episode below.

https://the-unfamiliar.com/the-unfamiliar-episode-one-10-1-21/

Here are a couple of shots of Matt’s extensive music collection:

Live to play another day

Uncategorized

If you need a bit of inspiration (or motivation) to get to a show or three, this photo ought to be worth at least a thousand words of encouragement:

Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit with Brittney Spencer at the Ryman Auditorium. Photo Credit: Joshua Weichman

Live music – there ain’t nothin’ else like it. Here are your opportunities for communal energy this week:

Tonight, Bob Mould is going to rattle the rafters of Memorial Hall. Which is great, because I’ll be up in the nosebleeds, along with list member Dan Bockrath. Can’t wait. Also, Ben Levin has an album release party at BrewRiver.

On Saturday, Whitney Rose plays Southgate House. If you’d rather hear “Ramble On Rose” you can head to Stanley’s for U.S. Blues, a Grateful Dead cover band.

Breakfast of champions…

Speaking of stoned, Stone Temple Pilots play the Madison Theater on Tuesday. We miss Cap’n Scott Weiland, but Jeff Gutt is at the controls now. Is Herr Gutt any gut? Ich weiss nicht!

Thus concludes today’s German lesson…

I find myself on the horns of a musical dilemma on Wednesday. Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express are playing Southgate, and I really want to go to that gig. But it’s also my wife’s birthday. Not just any birthday either – it’s her Steve McGarrett birthday!

The big 5-0…

So I might have to miss the Chuck concert in the interest of maintaining harmony at home. Or maybe I can just go to the Chuck Prophet concert and get my wife a personalized BD greeting from 90s indie rock heartthrob Evan Dando of The Lemonheads.

The only problem with that plan is my wife has no idea who Evan Dando is… she’d probably be happier if I gave her a box of Lemonheads.

Also on Wednesday, Memorial Hall is hosting The Musical Box: A Genesis Extravaganza. It’s a re-enactment (don’t call it a tribute) of the band Genesis (circa 1970-1978), not the biblical book. Although that could be cool too, what with all the nakedness.

Weigh station ahead – trucks, please present your fee waybill

Fee Waybill! It’s fun to say. It’s also fun to know that The Tubes still have their wacky lead singer Fee Waybill (along with other original members: drummer Prairie Prince, guitarist Roger Steen and bassist Rick Gator Anderson) in their lineup.

They’ll be playing at the Ludlow Garage on Thursday, and playing their 1981 album The Completion Backward Principle in its entirety.

Also on Thursday, The Steel Woods are playing Madison Theater, and the Southgate House is chock-full of good music: The Wooks are playing the Sanctuary (main room), Joshua Powell, Freedom Nicole Moore, and Hyssop are in the Revival Room (upstairs) and Stephen Babcock and Brad Goodall of the band Ona are playing a free gig in the Lounge (bar).

All of the gigs listed above are merely appetizers… the main course is Cereal Killers at MadTree next Friday, October 29th.

For the uninitiated, Cereal Killers played their first gig at Sudsy Malone’s on Short Vine in 1989, and their current set list consists predominantly of songs from late ’70’s British & American punk, with a dash of the New Wave, a dollop of garage rock, a heaping helping of hijinks, and a side of shenanigans. It’s like 97X is still on the air, but better because it’s live! List members Howard Cohen and Matt Hueneman are in the band (and their new drummer is Chris Glen – he was in local faves Plow on Boy back in the day). The patio show is absolutely free… and yours truly will buy your first round of beverages. You truly can’t afford to miss it!

[List member Dave “The Reuben Kincaid of Modern Rock” Tellmann, co-host of the 97X Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast, will also be at MadTree. We’re happy to sign your earbuds…]

While we’re on the subject of podcasts, this Andy Richter interview with John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants was quite entertaining:

For a real newsletter, try this:

List member Cullen “My dad is delusional – he thinks the Reds can win it all next year” Lewis is killin’ it weekly with his Friday Links newsletter on Substack. (Whereas I’m so out of it, I thought “Substack” was a footlong with extra meat at Subway.) If not for Cullen and his cool coverage of music, fashion, art, and culture, I never would’ve heard this tasty new tune from Corridor:

Cullen also featured this new gem from Lightning Bug:

You can (and should) subscribe to Cullen’s Friday Links email via the link above.

A tip o’ the 97XBam cap to list member Joe Sampson for the link to the NYT profile of Adam Granduciel of The War on Drugs. Really looking forward to their new album. Ditto for new music from Charly Bliss, who recently opened for Japanese Breakfast in NYC (a d2 dream gig).

Check out this audio-only live concert recording of Japanese Breakfast from WXPN in Philly (also courtesy of Mighty Joe).

Gig Pics

The photo above of Elvis Costello & the Imposters was taken by list member Todd Butler, who also provided a nice overview of the new Icon venue:

It is like a rectangle box with U shaped balconies (2) although top level was closed. Floor is concrete with connected folding chairs that were cushioned and were impressively quite comfortable. Most seats and sight lines I thought were good. They used modern construction methods to avoid support structures blocking views. Good amount of bathrooms so not much wait there. Beer line was long however.

If you know Todd, you know the beer line (or lack thereof) is crucial to his experience.

Todd’s profile on Untapped. He’s always thirsty.

Have a great week!