Author: Damian

Earth, Wind, Fire… and Music

Concert Listings, Music

Those are the 4 basic elements, right?

And three of them are scheduled to appear at Riverbend tomorrow night.

I say “scheduled to appear” because they’re opening for Santana, and he collapsed on stage during a show at Pine Knob in Michigan a couple of days ago. Apparently he was “overtaken by heat exhaustion and dehydration.” I can relate – the power was out at our house Wednesday afternoon through Thursday morning. No A/C? In this heat?

I’ll bet the weather is better in Berlin. Oh, speaking of Berlin, they’re playing Timberwolf on Saturday, with A Flock of Seagulls (the band… the avian version can only be found at the original Coney Island in Brooklyn – they’re eating leftover hot dogs).

Other Saturday shows:

  • Less than Jake, Bowling for Soup and Aquabats play the Ovation
  • O.A.R. plays a concert at Great American Ball Park after the Reds 4:10 tilt vs. the Tampa Bay Rays. That show is sponsored by the Ohio Lottery, which seems fitting, as the Reds have as much chance of winning the game as you do of winning the lottery.
  • Joshua Ray Walker and Joslyn & the Sweet Compression play RiversEDGE in Hamilton
  • The Paradise Music Festival continues at Braxton Brewing in Covington
  • Last but not least (at least in the “noises he can make” category) Michael Winslow brings his wacky sound effects comedy to Ludlow Garage. Steve Guttenberg sold separately.

On Tuesday, Riverbend will engage in an annual tradition that they cherish so much: whipping out the Rod.

Uh, Rod Stewart is playing at RB… with Cheap Trick as the opener.

Wednesday, mere inches away from the previous night’s Rod show, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Los Lobos and Gabe Dixon play PNC.

The Cult plays PNC on Thursday, with special guests Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Zola Jesus… or Jesus Motorcycle Cult for short.

Other Thursday shows:

  • Scott Miller (of the late great V-Roys) plays a solo gig at Southgate
  • Ruby Vileos will be doing the Roots Revival Series at Washington Park
  • Ben Levin plays Shires’ Garden
  • the Red NOT Chili Peppers and BLINK180True are at RiversEDGE

Please note the NOT… I do NOT want you to wind up like this dude:

The full story is here.

Next Friday, the Reds are out of town, but Great American Ball Park is hosting Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe, Poison and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts… so #1 Mötley Crüe fan Dän “Reds in 2023” Lëwis surely will be front and center.

Dan has been working out.

Also next Friday, The Cult/Black Rebel Motorcycle Club/Zola Jesus show will be at Rose Music Center in scenic Huber Heights, OH.

Cereal Killers killed it at Big Ash Brewing

Great sets, awesome crowd – including several list members who cashed in their “first beer on d2” online offer. Next CK gig at Big Ash is on Sept. 10th. I’ll be out of town, so your first beer is on you… but don’t you dare miss this big show!

Mea Culpa

Your esteemed This Week in Live Music editor does exhaustive research* to compile this (nearly) weekly post. But occasionally he does miss a show or three, sometimes incurring the scorn and ridicule of list member “Rico” (he’s not in the mob, I hope) in the process. And let’s just say that Lee Greenwood is crying tears like the “Native American” in that “don’t litter” commercial from the 70s because I forgot to mention the b-list bands cashing fat checks for civic/corporate-underwritten gigs patriotic events that happened last weekend, including Gavin DeGraw at Red, White & Blue Ash; Spin Doctors at Taps, Tastes and Tunes in West Chester; and Smashmouth at Red, Rhythm & Boom. Mea maxima culpa to Smashmouth Superfan Dan “All Star” Lewis.

He was walking on the sun, but he used SPF 5000.

*lazily checking a couple of websites every few weeks

Summer means popsicles… and listicles

Uproxx offered up a list of the best albums of 2022 thus far… and they rank their favorite Replacements songs.

Just plain creepy.

Shameless Self-promotion

In the latest episode of the “97X Rumblings from the Big Bush” podcast, Dave Tellmann and I talked to Garin Pirnia, author of this book:

Album Cover of the Week

Going with a brand new release:

On that cheery note… have a great week!

Episode 84: Garin Pirnia wrote the book on Ohio rock and roll

97X, Music, podcast

Garin Pirnia grew up in Centerville, Ohio and discovered 97X when she returned to the area after stints in L.A. and Chicago. She’s written about music (as well as film, food, and travel) for dozens of publications including Rolling Stone, Esquire, Vanity Fair and The Atlantic. Her book about bands from the state of Ohio, Rebels and Underdogs, came out a few years ago. We chat with Garin about the many bands who hail from the Buckeye State and explore why Ohio is such a fertile ground for musicians.

You can find out more about Garin’s writing on her website.

A Killer long weekend

Concert Listings, Music

It’s a rare Thursday night edition of This Week in Live Music, because I want to give you extra time to gear up for the big CK show on Friday night.

That’s right, Cereal Killers are playing a FREE show at Big Ash Brewing — on the site of the old El Rancho Rankin Motel — on Friday night!

Not Howard Cohen

You know the drill: Cereal Killers play stellar covers of great songs from the 97X era — Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, X, The Clash, INXS, Guided by Voices, et al. — with some Stones and Tom Petty in the mix for good measure.

Not only is the show free, but your first beer is free.

Courtesy of your favorite author of a little known, infrequently-read weekly roundup of live music in the Tri-State area. (C’est moi!)

It’s really true!

Free Killer tunes and a free beer… a great way to kick off your All-American holiday weekend.

Other free shows tomorrow night include Lilly Hiatt and Heavy Hinges doing the Fountain Square gig, Ben Levin at Wiedemann’s, and the Sunburners at Stanbery Park.

The Northside Rock & Roll Carnival takes place at Hoffner Park the rest of the holiday weekend:

Wild Carrot plays Harmony Hill Vineyards in Bethel on Saturday, and Ben Levin plays at Schwartz’s Point on Sunday.

Monday is Independence Day – here’s your Public Service Announcement:

Monday also marks the official starts of “was that fireworks or gunshots?” season on the NextDoor app.

On Wednesday:

  • The Psychedelic Furs and X play at Rose Music Center near Dayton
  • Third Eye Blind, Taking Back Sunday and Hockey Dad play an outdoor show at the Ovation.

Death Cab for Cutie rolls into the Ovation on Thursday, with Illuminati Hotties as the opener. That’s an outdoor gig as well.

That same evening:

  • Noah Wotherspoon plays the Rocking the Roebling free show on the lawn by the Moerlein Lager House (6-8 pm), and the Doobie Brothers play their 50th anniversary tour (a year or so late) at Riverbend.

We are contractually obligated to mention the best 70s sitcom two-part episode ever whenever we mention the Doobie Brothers.

The part where Rerun gets busted is pure gold:

The entire episode is here. Don’t act like you don’t want to watch it.

Next Friday, July 8th:

  • Wilderado plays Madison Live. List member Jeff Franco and I saw them the last time they were in town, and it was a great show. I’ll probably go to that gig.
  • Sheryl Crow and Keb’ Mo’ are at Rose Music Center
  • China Crisis plays Ludlow Garage
  • The Brook & the Bluff play a free gig at Fountain Square, with Abby Holiday and Knotts also on the bill
  • Perpetual Groove is at the old Annie’s

Oops, I did it again

I forgot to mention the Ann Wilson show at the Hard Rock last week. List member Michael “Rico” Carrico, whose musical tastes are firmly in the “Sad Dad” music camp, wasn’t even upset with me. And the show wound up getting cancelled, so perhaps I’m not forgetful, just prescient.

Cancer sucks. Scholarships rock!

Speaking o’ Rico, some of you may recall that he lost his brother to cancer three years ago. His brother Kevin passed away while he was in med school working to become a pediatric oncologist… after he had beaten Hodgkin’s Lymphoma as a teenager… a cruel twist of fate which is heartbreakingly tragic on so many levels.

Rico and his family are honoring Kevin’s memory by raising funds for the National Collegiate Cancer Foundation to provide scholarships to young adults who have been diagnosed with cancer.  They’re hosting the Kevin Carrico Memorial Golf Tournament at California Golf Course on October 1st. Any and all support is welcome, whether that is getting a team together to play in the scramble, helping sponsor the event, donating items for auction or simply donating money.

You can sign up or donate here.

More turning lemons into lemonade

Through the blog of a comic strip artist (yes, I’m that guy), I read about the passing of a woman who was part of a husband-wife team that hosted house concerts in Pittsburgh and supported local music. The woman’s published obit included this request:

In lieu of flowers, donations, food, whatever, please honor Deb by gathering some friends to go out for a beverage or meal, and leave your servers a huge tip in her memory. While you are at it, go see some local music, fill up the tip bucket and buy a CD and some merch.

Amen!

Remain in Light Kentucky?

List member Lisa Collins has deep roots in the Maysville, KY area. Recently she went to a book signing by Chris Frantz (Talking Heads/Tom Tom Club) in Old Washington, KY. From Lisa:

His grandparents restored the Harriet Beecher Stowe house in Old Washington in the 1960’s and he spent his teen years summers in Washington and Maysville. He and Tina Weymouth got married there – his talk was on their 45th wedding anniversary.

Former Screed ‘zine creator Terrence Burke also was there with his son and got pix with Chris and Tina:

Chris’ book is called Remain in Love. It’s a decent read.

Album Cover of the Week

Yanking those suspenders qualifies as elder abuse. OTOH, playing old timey banjo tunes to a little kid qualifies as child abuse. Let’s call it a draw instead of calling 241-KIDS.

Have a great week!

Sounds good to me

Concert Listings, Music

I hope your Wet Hot American Summer is going well so far.

Let’s take a look at the live gigs, shall we? Wait, hold the phone! I actually missed a gig last week. Ian Noe played at the Southgate House last night, and I forgot to mention it, which deeply disappointed list member Michael “Rico” Carrico. Because this is a family blog, I cannot repeat what he called me.

Sorry, Rico, I will try not to let you down again. Speaking of letdowns, The Chicks had to postpone their Riverbend show due to “strict doctors orders for vocal rest.”

My wife is a nurse, and she is always giving me “strict orders for vocal rest.” Because this is a family blog, I cannot repeat her exact orders.

Anyhoo, on with the shows…

Tonight:

  • The Jan Brady hosts An Evening with Jackson Browne
  • Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers play the Taft
  • Phil Vassar plays the old Annie’s
  • Soul Pocket does a free show on Fountain Square

Saturday:

  • Maren Morris plays the Cindy Brady, with Brent Cobb as the opener
  • Hannah Wicklund and Daniel Donato are at RiversEDGE in Hamilton
  • The Temptations and the Righteous Brothers play the Rose Music Center in Huber Heights

On Sunday, we want the funk! Annie’s hosts the One Nation Under a Groove Tour:

The Avett Brothers play Timberwolf — yes, Timberwolf — on Tuesday. Tickets are still available here. Blue ice cream sold separately.

On Wednesday, Mt. Joy is at the Peter Brady. Their new album is really good.

The other Hump Day show of note is ABBA: The Concert, at Rose Music Center.

Thursday is a huge day for gigs:

  • The Zombies (with founding members vocalist Colin Blunstone and keyboardist Rod Argent) are at Ludlow Garage
  • Big Bad Voodoo Daddy plays the Taft
  • The Queers, The Dwarves, The Raging Nathans and The Jasons are at Southgate
  • Béla Fleck & My Bluegrass Heart, Sam Bush, and The Jerry Douglas Band play Rose
  • The Turkeys play outdoors (weather permitting) at the Behringer-Crawford Museum in Devou Park
  • Ben Levin is at Shire’s Garden from 6-9 p.m.
  • Jordan Smart is doing the Roots Revival series at Washington Park from 7-9 p.m.

Next Friday, my homies Cereal Killers will be killin’ it at Big Ash Brewing.

I’ll be there for sure, and you should be too, if you know what’s good for you. First beer’s on me!

That same evening:

  • just up the hill in scenic Mt. Washington, The Sunburners (local steel drum band) will be playing a free show at Stanbery Park.
  • Ben Levin is at Wiedemann’s.
  • Lilly Hiatt (daughter of John and a fine artist in her own right) is the headliner for the free show at Fountain Square.

Go figure that four budget-friendly shows I’d like to see are on the same evening. When it rains, it pours… although I hope it doesn’t rain that evening.

The Morton Salt Girl probably has hypertension now.

Fun Fact Friday

Friday Dance Party… from the 80s

I promise to bust out some of these great dance moves at the Cereal Killers show next Friday:

I’ll probably be like the dude at the 1:04 mark or the guy at the 3:43 mark.

Album Cover of the Week

Wow, classical music AND diet tips? What’s not to love?

Summertime blues (and other music genres)

Concert Listings, Music

The official start of summer is just around the corner. So are some decent shows. But first, a P.S.A.:

All day today (until midnight PDT), Bandcamp is holding their third annual Juneteenth fundraiser, where they donate 100% of their share of sales to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, a racial justice organization with a long history of effectively enacting change through litigation, advocacy, and public education. Read their statement here.

Tonight:

  • Steve Rosen discusses his book Lost Cincinnati Concert Venues of the 50s and 60s at MOTR at 6 p.m.
  • The two-day Hell is Ohio festival kicks off at Swine City Brewing in Fairfield, with 500 Miles to Memphis as the headliner.
  • Ben Levin plays Front Street Cafe in New Richmond
  • The Wood Brothers, Guster and David Wax Museum play the Marsha Brady
  • Fitz & the Tantrums and St. Paul & the Broken Bones double-ampersand the Fraze.
  • Matchbox Twenty and the Wallflowers are at Riverbend
  • Hiroshima is at the Ludlow Garage
  • Carriage House Farm in North Bend is hosting Songwriter Sweep: An Evening of Short Sets with The Hiders, Night Owl, Zapruder Point and Peace Police.

Saturday:

Free admission
  • Indigo De Souza plays Madison Live
  • Jackie Venson (blues) and New Breed Brass Band are at RiversEDGE in Hamilton
  • Neal Francis headlines the Fountain Square free show
  • This Pine Box plays a free show at MOTR with Boa and Fat Sal. Showtime is 10 p.m.
  • Ben Levin’s at BrewRiver
  • Jesse Terry will be at Parlor & Patio (a.k.a. the home of list members Dave & Jacqui Killen) in Ft. Thomas. A few tickets might still be available here – and check out the Jesse video below.

On Sunday, Train makes a stop (ba-dump-bump) at Riverbend, with Jewel, Blues Traveler and Will Anderson in tow. (List member Lisa Collins saw Blues Traveler play at Top Cats back in the day. Perhaps the hook will bring her back.)

But most of the smelly hippies will be at the Greg Brady on Sunday night for An Acoustic Evening with Trey Anastasio.

Greg ordering takeout – he got the Phish.

Sunday is Father’s Day too – This Week in Live Music would like to wish a very Happy Father’s Day to all the dads on this list. May your day be peaceful and relaxing.

But Tuesday, is a day for The Chicks (nee Dixie Chicks)… they play Riverbend, with Patty Griffin as the opener.

Or if you prefer Bon-Bons, you can savor Bon Iver and Bonnie Light Horseman at the Ovation. (Sorry, no Bon Jovi.)

https://youtu.be/paOGLFDADgY

Tuesday also is the official start of summer.

The smelly hippies will be back in full force on Wednesday, when Dead & Company come truckin’ into Riverbend. Yours truly will be there, as Mrs. TWILM is quite the deadhead.

Samuel Hibbard plays a free gig at Washington Park on Thursday as part of their Roots Revival series.

Next Friday, June 24th:

  • The Jan Brady hosts An Evening with Jackson Browne
  • Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers play the Taft
  • Phil Vassar plays the old Annie’s

Letters to the Editor

List member/Cereal Killer Howard Cohen riffed on last week’s SMÖRGÅSBORD theme by sending us this gem of a 70s TV commercial:

That commercial sent me down a Mason Reese rabbit hole… I’m still there.

Nimoy’s suit is highly illogical

Speaking of rabbit holes, list member Gil Kaufman and I were at the same grad party last weekend and he was telling me about his detective work trying to track down the kid from the Pearl Jam “Jeremy” video. The piece Gil wrote for Billboard back in 2017 is here – as Spock would say “fascinating!”

Silliness for a serious cause

Also from Gil comes news that you can pre-order a seven-inch vinyl edition of this Who medley from Tenacious D, with proceeds benefitting Everytown for Gun Safety:

Silliness for the sake of being silly

If you’re not familiar with James Fridman, a Photoshop whiz who accepts requests from anyone… but often turns them into something a bit too literal… you really need to check out his website. Here’s an example of his work:

Album Cover of the Week

Happy Father’s Day! Happy Summer!

Summer Smörgåsbord o’ tunes

97X, Concert Listings, Music
Meatballs again?

The concert chef has whipped up a big batch of gigs this week. Let’s dig in!

Saturday night:

  • Rose Music Center in Dayton has An Evening with Jackson Browne (Daryl Hannah would not recommend)
  • Wallows plays the Ovation
  • Styx, REO Speedwagon and Loverboy play the time machine that is Riverbend Music Center
  • The Pat Travers Band and Cactus are at Ludlow Garage
  • Here’s one for the Swedish chef: the Aronoff presents ABBAfab: the premier Abba experience (note, this is not to be confused with ABBA, The Concert, yet another Abba tribute, which is playing Rose Music Center later this month)
“It was the 70s” is an acceptable explanation

On Sunday, Fraze Pavilion in Kettering hosts the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band Birthday Party featuring Samantha Fish, the Ally Venable Band and Shemekia Copeland. And maybe the members of ABBA will jump out of the birthday cake!

Björn, Agnetha and Benny with the mad hops. Anni-Frid, not so much.

On Tuesday, The Wood Brothers and Guster play Rose Music Center, with special guest David Wax Museum. (Note: David Wax Museum is not to be confused with the wax figures at the ABBA Museum in Stockholm, Sweden, where adult admission is 250 kronor, and kids 6 and under are free!)

L to R: BAAB.

On Wednesday, Billy Strings plays a sold-out gig at Rose, and Whiskey Myers is at the Greg Brady.

Thursday:

  • Steely Dan is at Riverbend – Steve Winwood was originally going to open the show, but since it was covid-poned, the new opener is Snarky Puppy.
  • Air Supply plays Rose
  • Willy Tea Taylor performs at the Washington Park Roots Revival free show

On Friday, June 17th:

  • The Wood Brothers, Guster and David Wax Museum play the Marsha Brady
  • Fitz & the Tantrums and St. Paul & the Broken Bones double-ampersand the Fraze.
  • Matchbox Twenty and the Wallflowers are at Riverbend
  • Hiroshima is at the Ludlow Garage
  • Carriage House Farm in North Bend is hosting Songwriter Sweep: An Evening of Short Sets with The Hiders, Night Owl, Zapruder Point and Peace Police.

Re-running up that hill

Kate Bush is having a moment, courtesy of her 1985 song “Running up that Hill” which features prominently in the new season of Stranger Things. You can read more on Paste and in Vogue. Hat tip to list member Cullen Lewis for the Vogue article… it’s great. Here’s an excerpt:

Cullen does a great Substack newsletter every Friday, covering music, arts and fashion. (Soooo much better than this rag.) Check it out here.

More recommended reading

The New Yorker has a nice feature on Angel Olsen, whose new album is delightful.

New tunes for your earballs

Last week’s releases featured a bumper crop of tasty tunes – in addition to the aforementioned Angel Olsen, you should check out the new releases from Horsegirl, Drive-By Truckers, S.G. Goodman, Andrew Bird, and Supercrush.

Shameless self-promotion

The most recent episode of the non-award-winning “97X Rumblings from the Big Bush” podcast features our interview with Taylor Fox of Inhailer Radio. Check it out here or wherever you get your pods.

More like Podcast Servant…

Song of the Year (IMHO)

Really diggin’ this new song by The Dream Syndicate… not sure why:

Album Cover of the Week

Backwards it’s Odi Odi Odi Odi Odi… odious.

Episode 83: Taylor Fox, keeping cool music on the air

97X, Music, podcast

Taylor Fox (a.k.a. “TayFo”) is a co-founder and morning host on Inhailer, a streaming/HD radio station that plays indie rock and helps promote local bands and the music scene in Cincinnati. The impetus for the station came from losing other local stations that played cool music, first 97X and WVXU’s Nightwaves, and later WNKU. Taylor tells us about how the station started, how he discovered 97X, and how the 97X message boards helped him connect with kindred spirits.

Inhailer can be streamed from their website or mobile apps (Apple App Store and Google Play), and you can also tune in over the airwaves on 90.9 HD3.

In our podcast interview, we mentioned Taylor goes to a ton of live concerts. Here’s his list for June:

June. Moon. (Spoon isn’t until September.)

Concert Listings, Music

Greetings and sun salutations!

I pulled a muscle just looking at this series.

Let’s get down to the gigs, Dawg!

Tonight, Inhailer Radio celebrates their 5th anniversary at Madison Live:

Other gigs:

  • Mad Anthony returns to the Southgate House stage, in the Lounge
  • Clownvis Presley and Jimmy Psycho play Southgate’s main room
  • Lagniappe plays a free show at scenic Stanbery Park in even more scenic Mt. Washington
  • Ben Levin plays Wiedemann’s Brewing
  • The Hard Rock Casino has “Big Hair Friday” with Skid Row, Warrant and Winger

Saturday features the Sawyer Point Summer Concert Series kickoff concert:

Free admission

The Southgate House has a quadruple bill of local/regional bands: Bohemian Funk, Trippin’ Roots, The Electric Indigo, and Dead Humor.

Pup and Oceanator play Bogart’s on Sunday.

Pup in the Bogart’s men’s room…

And Ben Levin plays Schwartz’s Point.

On Tuesday, Kate Bollinger is at MOTR Pub, and the Lumineers play Riverbend…

Uh, that’s Lumineers, not Lumiere… but R.I.P. Jerry Orbach! The Lumineers latest album is quite good, and the opener is Caamp – that’s a strong double bill. Speaking of Camp, this one is sold out:

Wednesday is chock full o’ tunes:

  • Nick Lowe’s Quality Rock & Roll Revue starring Los Straitjackets, with Tommy McLain + CC Adcock is at Memorial Hall
  • Flogging Molly and The Interrupters play an outdoor gig at the Bobby Brady
  • The Band Camino rolls into Ovation
  • Jill Andrews plays Southgate’s main room
  • Bob Log III is in the Southgate Revival Room – his stage getup (and setup) are interesting:
  • Billy Bob Thornton and the Boxmasters play Ludlow Garage. Remember when Billy Bob teamed up with Dwight Yoakam, Vic Chestnutt, Col. Bruch Hampton, Ian Moore, and Mickey Jones? That was fun!

On Thursday:

  • Kristin Hersh and Fred Abong (miss you, Throwing Muses!) play MOTR. Show’s at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20.
  • Flying Buffaloes and Red Clay Strays play RiversEDGE in Hamilton
  • Whiskey Bent Valley Boys do the Roots Revival Series at Washington Park
  • Ben Levin plays the rooftop bar at The Phelps
  • Chris Rock opens up a two-night stand at the Taft. They added a second show after “the slap heard ’round the world” — now Chris can afford a nicer meal:

Next Friday, June 10th, the Ben Levin 3 plays the Southgate Lounge, Motion City Soundtrack is at Bogart’s, and We Are Scientists headline the Fountain Square freebie.

Festivals galore!

Video of the Week

Buzz band Wet Leg gets the parody treatment with this send-up of “Chaise Longue”:

Album Cover of the Week

Vic Damone never could find a steady girlfriend… probably because he often wore a monogrammed shirt.

Long weekend, short list

Concert Listings, Concert review, Music

This week’s list of gigs is “more rock, less talk goofy memes”… Sorry, but the latest round of news makes it harder to be all fun and games.

Tonight:

  • Kitchen Dwellers and Neighbor play RiversEDGE in Hamilton
  • Smashing Pumpkins do an outdoor gig at the Ovation in Newport
  • Comedian Tom Segura kicks off a two-night stand at the Aronoff
  • Ben Levin plays Big Ash Brewing
  • Local bluesperson Erin Coburn plays a free gig on Fountain Square
  • Last but certainly not least, America’s AC/DC tribute, Thunderstruck, plays the Event Center at Little Miami Brewing in Milford

I’m thinking of starting a band that plays country versions of New York Dolls and Heartbreakers songs and calling it “Thunder’s Truck”…

UNITED KINGDOM – JANUARY 01: MUSIC MACHINE, CAMDEN PALACE Photo of Johnny THUNDERS, & The Heartbreakers L-R Walter Lure, Billy Rath, Jerry Nolan, Johnny Thunders (Photo by Erica Echenberg/Redferns)

Saturday:

  • Ray Lamontagne and Sierra Ferrell at the Brady
  • Ben Levin plays at an outdoor gig at Miami Whitewater Park from 7-9 p.m.
  • Kentucky Struts at Southgate
  • Veronica Grim, Alex Salcido (of The Harmed Brothers) and Hayden Kaye play Fountain Square

The rescheduled Haim show happens at the Marsha, Jan, and Cindy Brady on Sunday.

That same evening, Jeremy Pinnell, Wonky Tonk and Dead Man String Band are doing a free show on Fountain Square.

On Tuesday, New Found Glory plays Bogart’s, and the Woodward Theater will be screening Freakscene: The Story of Dinosaur Jr.

Bright Eyes and Alex G play the Greg Brady on Wednesday, June 1st, and Ben Levin plays Ghost Baby.

On Thursday:

  • Darrell Scott plays Memorial Hall with Ben Sollee as the opener
  • Joslyn & the Sweet Compression play Washington Park as part of their freebie Roots Revival Series (full list of shows is here)
  • Erin Coburn is “Rocking the Roebling” on the Schmidlapp Event Lawn by the Christian Moerlein Lager House in Smale Park
  • Marcy Playground swings (get it?) into Ludlow Garage

Next Friday, June 3rd, Inhailer Radio celebrates their 5th anniversary with a big gig at Madison Live:

Other gigs that same evening:

  • Mad Anthony returns to the Southgate House stage, in the Lounge
  • Clownvis Presley and Jimmy Psycho play Southgate’s main room
  • Lagniappe plays a free show at scenic Stanbery Park in even more scenic Mt. Washington
  • Ben Levin plays Wiedemann’s Brewing
  • The Hard Rock Casino becomes the Hair Rock Casino with Skid Row, Warrant and Winger upping the Aqua Net ante. (No ripped acid-washed jeans, no entry….)

Next Saturday, June 4th, the Sawyer Point Summer Concert Series kicks off with a real hootenanny:

Free admission

The Southgate House has a quadruple bill of local/regional bands: Bohemian Funk, Trippin’ Roots, The Electric Indigo, and Dead Humor.

Oh, and Mother Nature will revoke my tree-hugger card if I don’t mention Cincy VegFest at Burnet Woods (11 am-6pm)… yoga, plant-based food demos, and live music with headliner Wonky Tonk.

Concert reviews

List member/Cereal Killers guitarist/This Week in Live Music neighbor Matt weighs in on The Who’s gig:

List member/neighbor Barb loved Tears for Fears at Riverbend:

And my co-worker Bob, a.k.a. DJ Bob, who worked at Cooter’s decades ago, had this to say:

Freebie Outdoor Shows this summer

I’ll try to mention some notable gigs in my weekly list, but Cincinnati.com has a comprehensive list here.

And now, the sad stuff…

When satire becomes sad reality:

Making music memories

Concert Listings, Music, podcast

Everybody wants to rule the world. Except me. I’d settle for the dogs staying off my side of the bed.

But Tears for Fears said everybody wants to rule the world. And they’ll be at Riverbend tonight, along with Garbage… dogs like garbage too!

Other gigs tonight include Will Kimbrough at Southgate and Al Stewart at Ludlow Garage. Al’s more of a cat person.

The two-day Big River Get Down kicks off at RiversEDGE in Hamilton tonight as well. Here’s the full schedule:

On Saturday:

  • Martin Sexton plays Ludlow Garage
  • The Heavy Hours play Southgate
  • It’s Night #2 of the Big River Get Down
  • SNL funnyman David Spade plays the Taft. Let’s hope he makes his audience crack up half as much as Chris Farley made him crack up in this sketch:

Miranda Lambert plays Riverbend on Sunday, with Little Big Town. Country shows always seem to draw a crowd there. I’m really hoping Memphis-Kansas Breeze comes to town this year.

On Tuesday, John R. Miller and Vincent Neil Emerson play Southgate, and Tabitha Johansen Tori Amos is at the Taft Theatre.

on Wednesday, Elephant Stone plays MOTR and Valerie June plays Memorial Hall.

Southgate has a couple of options on Thursday:

  • Charlie Hunter & Scott Amendola Duo play the Southgate Sanctuary
  • Joe Buck Yourself plays the Revival Room

Speaking of Joe Buck, here’s a fun game to play this fall – it’s a variation on the old “Hi Bob” game. Watch a football game where Joe Buck is the announcer and take a drink every time he says “pass is caught”… you’ll be hammered before the 1st quarter is over.

Next Friday is a busy night for gigs:

  • Kitchen Dwellers and Neighbor play RiversEDGE in Hamilton
  • Smashing Pumpkins do an outdoor gig at the Ovation in Newport
  • Comedian Tom Segura kicks off a two-night stand at the Aronoff
  • Local bluesperson Erin Coburn plays a free gig on Fountain Square
  • Last but certainly not least, America’s AC/DC tribute, Thunderstruck, plays the Event Center at Little Miami Brewing in Milford.
The Angus and Malcolm of the late 1800s.. or more like the Liam and Noel Gallagher.

Next Saturday (5/28), Ray Lamontagne plays the Carol Brady, with Sierra Ferrell as the opener. Also, local band Kentucky Struts plays Southgate.

Due to a recent COVID outbreak within the touring group, the Haim show originally slated for 5/19 has been rescheduled for Sunday, May 29th. That same evening, Fountain Square has a nice freebie show featuring Jeremy Pinnell, Wonky Tonk and the Dead Man String Bang.

Cool cover of an amazing original

Jenn Wasner has a new album out under the Flock of Dimes moniker (she also is in Wye Oak) and she does a great cover of a gorgeous tune from the woefully underappreciated Joan Armatrading. Here’s a live version from her appearance on KEXP:

The original always gives me goose bumps too. Here’s Joan doing it live:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjQG8zYCQFw

This Teacher is a Wussy

Congrats to Mark Messerly, bassist for Wussy, on being a finalist for Educator of the Year.

Why I love Jon Wurster’s social media posts

Jon is the drummer for Superchunk… and Bob Mould… and the Mountain Goats… and he’s part of The Best Show… and he’s well worth a follow on the socials – you know, your Facegrams and Instatweets and such.

Shameless Self-promotion… and local music promotion

The latest episode of the 97X Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast (available wherever you get your pods… but not your Tide Pods) features our interview with Brian Niesz, who engineered 400+ live performances on woxy.com. If you go to our post on 97XBam.com, you’ll find a few of Brian’s favorites – including one from Magnolia Electric Co. Brian is keeping the old woxy.com “Lounge Acts” name alive with live performances from bands on WCPO.com. Check ’em out here.

Album Cover of the Week

Let the double entendres commence. (The album is actually pretty good… in other words, I think you might really enjoy some new Peaness.)