New Year’s Rockin’ Eve

Wow, can you believe it’s almost New Year’s Rockin’ Eve? Neither can I!

Now that Dick Clark has gone to that great big Bandstand in the sky, I can rightfully claim his former title of “World’s Oldest Teenager.” Just call me Lil’ Dick… wait, strike that.

UNITED STATES – SEPTEMBER 13: AMERICAN BANDSTAND – 2/26/1976, Host Dick Clark (left) chats with Cheech Marin (center) and Tommy Chong of “Cheech & Chong” during the “Rate-A-Record” segment of American Bandstand. , (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

Er, let’s just get to the gigs, shall we?

Tomorrow evening, Old Crow Medicine Show plays the Taft, with Molly Tuttle as the opener.

On Friday, Goose kicks off a two-night stand at the Alice the Housekeeper Brady Center.

That same evening:

Jeremy Pinnell and Justin Wells play Southgate, with special guest Adam Lee
Afroman’s “Merry Spliffmas” is at the old Annie’s (this is a rescheduled date from the Snowpocalypse)

Saturday is New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. Or New Year’s Rocking Eve if you only have one apostrophe.

On the cusp of a new year:

Goose plays Night #2 at the Carol Brady
Arlo McKinley is at Bogart’s
Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band is at Southgate, with Joe’s Truck Stop and The Hammer & The Hatchet (not Molly Hatchet… that would be flirtin’ with disaster)
Mad Anthony and A.M. Nice play a free show in the Southgate Lounge
Rumpke Mountain Boys play the old Annie’s
Rob Fetters hosts another “Fetters is Cheap” online show starting at 9 p.m.
Noah Smith’s Big Ol’ Family New Year show is at Big Ash
The Almond Butter Band (local Allman Bros. tribute outfit) plays Fretboard
The Newbees and Chalk Eye play the Village Theater in Ft. Thomas
The Hard Rock Casino has a NYE party hosted by… Joe Mixon? Shouldn’t he be studying the Bills defense?
Your favorite publisher of sporadic concert updates turns… Joseph Ossai’s jersey #.

Then there’s a bit of a live music drought. (I blame climate change… and the ghost of Dick Clark.)

You’ll have to wait until Friday, January 6th before the shows crank up again:

Pure Prairie League (“featuring one original member!”) is at Ludlow Garage
The Menzingers play Bogart’s
Diamond Rio is at the Taft

Then there’s another mini-drought until Friday the 13th… but we’ll chat again before then.

R.I.P. D.R.B. Fare thee well, Dan.

Local music legend David Rhodes Brown (Warsaw Falcons, 500 Miles to Memphis) passed away in early December. Cincinnati.com story is here.

Dan Hamilton’s family hosted a celebration of life for Dan at Little Miami Brewing’s event center last night. It was a fine send-off for a great dude, capped off by Dan’s longtime Spookfloaters bandmate Mike Holmes playing the Grateful Dead’s “Eyes of the World” and Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic” for Dan.

Dan, a soulful and whole-hearted musician, was a beloved and dedicated father, life partner, son, brother and friend to many. He had a giant, magnificent heart as wide as the ocean. He was a kind soul to friends and strangers alike. Whether you were in the audience watching him play, working with him or were lucky enough to call him family or friend – Dan had a way of making you feel seen and heard. He was the personification of love, light, art, kindness and humor.
from Dan’s obit

Royal Crescent Mob rules once again!

Fantastic show by the RC Mob at the Madison Theater on 12/17.

It was great to see them on stage again, and great to see so many familiar faces in the crowd. (CincyMusic photo gallery of shots from Jon Calderas is here.)

A special shout-out to 97X superfan David Groff (the one who looks like he’s a foot taller than I am in the photo above), who rented a party bus to take him and his Miami U. friends and their spouses to the show:

I’ve got a mailbag in my trousers… or a Trouser in my mailbag

The PR folks at Trouser Press must have a Google Alert set up… that’s the only possible explanation for how they came across the 97Xbam.com website post that mentioned them.

Why yes, I’d be happy to mention your books, available here.

The Ira A. Robbins Music in a Word three-volume set looks pretty cool, and you can get all three books for $48. Not too shabby!

Best of the Best of 2022

This website compiles a boatload of “best of” lists (Pitchfork, NPR, Stereogum, NYTimes, et al) in one handy-dandy location. It’s like American Bandstand‘s Rate-A-Record on steroids.

Hat tip to list member Cullen Lewis, of Bourn Yesterday fame, for the “best of” link. Cullen’s latest post is “22 Great Songs from ’22.”

Album Cover of the Week

Perfect for your New Year’s resolution!

I hope 2023 is really rockin’!

Mob Rules!

97X, Concert review, Music

If I had to pick one word to sum up this past Saturday’s Royal Crescent Mob concert, that word would be “joyous.”

Carlton’s smile can light up an entire venue. (Photo credit: Jon Calderas. Full gallery here.)

If I got to use two word to describe it, I’d pick “joyous” and “sweaty.”

Joyous and sweaty were the hallmarks of any Royal Crescent Mob live show, back when they were a touring band, in the late 80s through the mid-90s. One of the best live bands in the entire world. Yes, a club band, with a mostly Midwestern fan base. But ask anyone who ever attended one of the RCMob shows and they will easily attest to the Mob’s punk ethos, their funk bona fides and their stellar showmanship. You had a 100% chance of leaving their shows feeling joyous and sweaty.

But it had been 28 years since the Royal Crescent Mob played together live. A lifetime ago. And now “lifetime” has a brand new meaning for the audience members, and especially the band members.

Time takes its toll on all of us. If we’re lucky, we manage to avoid cancer. In that department, the RC Mob has been decidedly unlucky. Lead singer David Ellison is being treated for prostate cancer. Lead guitarist Brian “B” Emch lost his wife to pancreatic cancer earlier this year. Drummer Carlton Smith has a rare form of brain cancer.

Rather than wallow in pity, the band decided to take their heaping helping of lemons and make lemonade… and sell it to raise funds for cancer research.

They played a fundraiser show in Columbus (their home base back in the day) on Friday, and Cincinnati (their second home, and strongest market, thanks in no small part to 97X radio station) on Saturday. Two shows in two nights. A limited engagement. Then again, life is a limited engagement.

It was a different kind of joyous this time around. For a couple of nights, for a couple of hours, they could focus on the music instead of mortality. So could their fans.

we’re four guys up there…and, you know, our audiences, our fan base is our age probably now. And it’s important for them to know there’s like, there’s this shitty thing about getting older, it’s like, things pop up. And, you know, I mean, hopefully we can raise some awareness about that as well. That’d be just extra special to be able to do that and it’s going to mean a lot for everybody to up on stage just to be playing together, that whole camaraderie.
Lead singer David Ellison in this CincyMusic interview with Jon Calderas

The Royal Crescent Mob brought a ton of joy to thousands of people 30 years ago. It was so good to experience that joy once again. It makes life worth living.

So if I had to use three words to describe their show, those words would be: Joyous. Sweaty. Grateful.

Thank you B, David, Carlton and Happy. Take a bow. Because we’re all happy now.

Bah! Humbug!

Concert Listings, Music

December strikes another devastating blow to the hearts of Cincinnati music lovers, stealing Dan Hamilton of the Spookfloaters:

Kinda hard to go on with this silly little post now. But Dan loved music, and lived music. Next gig you go to, send some positive vibes to his family.

This Friday:

Ian Noe plays Southgate
Over The Rhine kicks off a three-day run at Memorial Hall (Sunday’s gig is a 4 p.m. matinee)
Ricky Nye plays a free gig at The Orbit Room near Findlay Market
Plush Machine and Fairmount Girls rock Northside Tavern
Herman’s Hermits/Peter Noone have an Xmas show at Ludlow Garage
The 1975 has a sold-out gig at the Marsha Brady

Saturday night, it’s the Big Show… the Royal Crescent Mob reunion show at Madison Theater. It’s a fundraiser for the Tri-State Cancer Research Fund. Dan “Danny Crash” Reed (97X, WVXU Nightwaves, WNKU, WXPN) will be spinning some old school funk to open up the gig. Hat tip to Jon Calderas for a great interview with David Ellison on CincyMusic.com. Nice to see some coverage in CityBeat and Cincinnati.com as well. Hope to see you there!

Other Saturday shows:

Motherfolk plays “A very Motherfolk Christmas” at Bogart’s
Afro-Man’s “Merry Spliff-mas” is at the old Annie’s
Pam Tillis plays a holiday gig at Ludlow Garage
Hard Rock Casino hosts “A Boy Band Christmas” with members of 98 Degrees (but not Nick Lachey… weird), O-Town and All-4-One, plus Ryan Cabrera.

I will Alvvays love you…

After Saturday’s shows, we hit the Xmas lull… not much on the ol’ Koncert Keeper until late in the month. You’ll have to tide yourself over with this great live in-studio set from Alvvays:

Speaking o’ live, Ryan Adams brought his A-game for his 35-song set at the Jan Brady.

We can still have fun on Twitter

Ranking albums is dumb

Steven Hyden has it right in his Favorite Albums of 2022 piece:

If you care to share your faves of the year, you can do so here.

He “Ken” rock you!

List member Ken “Music is my hobby” Laube now has an air shift at Inhailer Radio. Tune in (online, on the app or WGUC HD-3) to his “Welcome to the Weekend” show Fridays from 3-7 p.m.

Album Cover of the Week

He can’t rock you:

A December to remember

97X, Concert Listings, Music, podcast

This holiday season, instead of buying matching his and hers GMC gas-guzzlers (totally believable…), why not buy tickets to some shows around town?

Their 1st show in nearly 30 years (12/17 at Madison Theater) is a fundraiser for cancer research – what’s not to love?

And while you’re at the gigs, maybe buy some merch to support the artists. Speaking of which, December 2nd is Bandcamp Friday:

On the first Friday of the month since March of 2020, we’ve waived our revenue share to help support the many artists who have seen their livelihoods disrupted by the pandemic. Over the course of 23 days, fans have paid artists and labels more than $84 million dollars, helping cover rents, mortgages, groceries, medications, and much more. If you’re among the nearly 800,000 fans who have participated, thank you.

If you’ve started to feel guilty about buying music on any other day of the month, here’s something to keep in mind: on Bandcamp Fridays, an average of 93% of your money reaches the artist/label (after payment processor fees). When you make a purchase on any other day (as millions of you have, with close to $1 billion now paid directly to artists), an average of 82% reaches the artist/label. Every day is a good day to support artists on Bandcamp!

Your This Week in Live Music editor suggests you check out the new album from Gladie on Bandcamp. It slaps, as the kids say. Or used to say last week… they’ve probably moved on to a new slang term by now.

Okey-dokey, let’s get to the gigs:

On Thursday, December 1st, the Redmoor in Mt. Lookout hosts an Island Christmas Holiday (“White Christmas meets Bob Marley”) with The SunBurners, Queen City Silver Stars and The Merry Gentlemen. Ben Levin plays Dee Felice, and Thelma and the Sleaze (great band name!) play Southgate, with Wonky Tonk opening the show.

Friday, Ryan Adams brings his brilliant songs and his hefty baggage to the Jan Brady. In “love the sinner, hate the sin” fashion, I’ll be at that gig.

That same evening, The Steel Woods will be tearing up the tiny Madison Live room, and Ben Levin plays Ghost Baby.

And Friday & Saturday, The Comet in Northside hosts a benefit for the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition, with several local bands on the bill, including Quotah, New Moons, Toon Town, The Bellowing Pines, National Barks (Friday night) and The Harlequins, Heist, The Tangees, The You Suck Flying Circus (Saturday). (BTW, “The You Suck Flying Circus” is a strong candidate for Band Name of the Year.)

On Saturday, Trampled by Turtles play the Peter Brady. “Trampled by Turtles” always calls to mind this:

If Turtles aren’t your speed…

… Hyryder (Grateful Dead tribute band from Indy) will be at the old Annie’s, Maurice Mattei & the Tempers play a free Christmas show in the Southgate House Lounge, Styx will be rockin’ the ~~Paradise~~ Hard Rock Casino. And Ludlow Garage has Lotus Land, a Rush tribute band.

On Sunday, 12/4, Foxing is at Madison Live, and Ben Levin plays Schwartz’s Point.

Next Thursday, December 8th, The Struts play Bogart’s… and Ludlow Garage keeps the tribute band vibe going with Tusk – The Ultimate Fleetwood Mac Tribute.

On Friday, 12/9:

Whiskey Bent Valley Boys play Southgate’s Revival Room
Al Jardine of the Beach Boys plays Ludlow
Ben Levin will be playing with legendary bluesman Lil’ Jimmy Reed at Dead Low Brewing.

On Saturday, December 10th, Christmas and Hanukkah come early, as Cereal Killers will be playing a killer gig at Big Ash Brewing!

You’ve heard me extol the many virtues of the Cereal Killers before. Their playlist is like a trip back to the 97X days – Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, INXS, Southern Culture on the Skids, The Jam, The Clash, Guided by Voices, X, The Plimsouls, Warren Zevon… with some Tom Petty and Cars thrown in for good measure. Just so freakin’ good. (And their drummer is a real heartthrob.) It’s killing me that I can’t make that show… I’ll be in D.C. for the weekend, watching my wife’s niece play b-ball for the McDaniel Green Terror as they take on the Goucher Gophers. (Yes, “Green Terror Gophers” sounds like a Roger Corman horror flick… or bonus Caddyshack footage.)

Please go to the Cereal Killers show in my stead. You won’t regret it. (Pro tip: Big Ash Brewing is offering bonus bucks if you purchase a $50 or $100 gift card… it’s practically the same as getting free beer from your ol’ pal d2.)

Nikki Lane plays Southgate on Sunday, December 12th. That should be a stellar show too.

The Mob Rules!

Speaking of big shows, don’t forget the Royal Crescent Mob concert at the Madison Theater on Saturday, December 17th. Former 97X and WVXU Nightwaves legend Dan Reed (now a host at WXPN in Philly) will be spinning some funky tunes before the RC Mob hits the stage for the first time since… oh… 1994! The show is a benefit for the Tri-State Cancer Research Fund, because cancer has been extremely cruel to the band:

With drummer Carlton Smith recently diagnosed with brain cancer (Glioblastoma), singer David Ellison, recently treated for Prostate Cancer and the loss of guitarist B’s wife, Cincinnati Attorney, Sallee Fry in May, 2022, to Pancreatic Cancer, the four band members, decided there is no time like the present to celebrate life and revel in the joy of playing music together and the healing spirit music embodies in the human soul.

Dave Tellmann and I interviewed David Ellison and Carlton and bassist Happy Chichester on the two most recent episodes of our “97X Rumblings from the Big Bush” podcast. Such great guys – and if you were around in the late 80s/early 90s, you know that the RC Mob shows were legendary. Ira Robbins in his Trouser Press band profile says it best:

Pressing “pause”

Not that they asked me, but if Forecastle wants to “strategize” they should get back to the Americana/indie-heavy lineups that they used to book.

Pressing “rewind” on “When I see you smile”

List member Elizabeth Cannon (at left below) got a photo with John Waite when she was in high school…

And Elizabeth shared that same photo with that same John Waite at his show at Memorial Hall recently:

The end (of the year) is near!

Time for your “favorite albums of 2022” list. Last week’s releases from Gladie and Caitlin Rose are making a late push to be included on mine. If you care to share, you can drop your list here.

Album Cover of the Week

Yep, just Bob & Karen… kinda like that one couple at Thanksgiving dinner, where you’re not quite sure how they’re related to you.

Episode 90: Carlton and Happy from the RCMob make us happy

97X, Concert Listings, Music, podcast

Carlton Smith and Happy Chichester formed the super-cool, super-tight rhythm section of the Royal Crescent Mob. They — along with lead singer David Ellison and guitarist “B” — are getting the band back together to play two fundraiser shows to benefit cancer research. They’ll be rocking the house at the Athenaeum Theatre in Columbus on Friday, December 16th and the Madison Theater in Covington, KY on Saturday, December 17th.

We talked to Carlton and Happy about how they got together way back in the mid-80s, their legendary live shows at Bogart’s, what 97X meant to their band, and why they’re looking forward to performing as a group once again.

Flyer for a Royal Crescent Mob gig back in the day, featuring a great Carlton caricature.

Tickets for both shows are on sale now at the links above. Pro tip: avoid the Ticketmaster fees on the Madison Theater show by purchasing your tickets at the Heritage Bank Center (a.k.a. Riverfront Coliseum) box office (M-F, 11a-3p).

97X Year 10 poster signed by B and Carlton

Former 97X and WVXU Nightwaves DJ Dan Reed, now at WXPN in Philly, will play a DJ set to open up both shows. Here’s more from the press release promoting the Madison Theater show:

The 1980’s-90’s Indie faves, The Royal Crescent Mob (RC Mob) have announced they are Getting Back On the Bus for a Really Big Show, a special 2 night reunion, Dec 16 in Columbus OH and Dec 17th in Covington KY./Cincinnati to benefit the Tri-State Area Cancer Research Fund.

The band last performed together almost 30 years ago, disbanding in 1994.

All four original band members, David Ellison, Harold “Happy” Chichester, Carlton Smith and Mr. B (Brian Emch). will be performing.

After vaulting up to the top 20 in college radio airplay, the band signed to the Sire / Warner Brothers label. The Mob gained national exposure touring with acts like The Replacements, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Living Colour, and the B-52s. Their legendary live shows developed quite a following of their own including Dave Grohl, who mentions the Royal Crescent Mob, as his favorite band back in his teenage days when he worked at Tower Records in DC.

The full Dave Grohl note and article about Happy are here.

“We have this really rich music scene here in Ohio. Y’know, I have friends who played with Miles Davis and Bootsy Collins, or toured the world with Dr. John. Here in Columbus, you’ll find yourself sitting next to the guy who spent ten years playing bass with Ray Charles. It all gets blended together. I sometimes feel like Ohio is the only place where my music makes sense. It’s too eclectic and far-flung for the rest of the world. James Brown, Led Zeppelin and The Meters are all equally important in the way I hear music.”
Happy ChiCHESTER IN THE ARTICLE ABOVE

Columbus blogger Drew Layman has a great post about the RC Mob and their first release, Omerta, on his The Quiet One blog. He also has a cool post about their major-label debut, Spin the World.

RC Mob’s major label debut hit the charts in 1989.

Westerberg, actually… RC Mob opened for the ‘mats back in the late 80s.

Post-RC Mob, Carlton Smith and Happy reunited in Howlin’ Maggie, the band fronted by Happy. (Here’s a link to a live recording of a 1996 show from that band.)

Hap has also released music under his own name.

https://e.issuu.com/issuu-reader3-embed-files/latest/twittercard.html?u=futurepublishing&d=roc284.issuu&p=1

“To be honest with you, yeah, I’m a very happy person,” he smiles. “And I don’t know if that’s because it’s my name, or because I’ve had the incredible good fortune of being able to record and write my music. But being happy, yeah, it’s my natural state. And as long as I get to hit my drums and play music for few hours every day, it’s pretty easy to stay happy.”

See you all at the Big Show!

Episode 89: Get (back) on the bus with David Ellison of the Royal Crescent Mob.

97X, Music, podcast

The Royal Crescent Mob was a longtime 97X favorite. Now the band is getting back together for the first time in nearly 30 years, for two fundraiser shows – Dec. 16th in Columbus and Dec. 17th at the Madison Theater in Covington, KY. Proceeds will benefit the American Cancer Society and the Tri-State Cancer Research Fund. We talk to RC Mob lead singer David Ellison about the reunion shows, the early RC Mob days, the impact cancer is having on the band, and his longtime career as a tour manager for several bands, as well as pop stars like Miley Cyrus.

Former 97X and WVXU Nightwaves DJ Dan Reed, now at WXPN in Philly, will play a DJ set to open up both shows. Here’s more from the press release promoting the Madison Theater show:

The band last performed together almost 30 years ago, disbanding in 1994.

All four original band members, David Ellison, Harold “Happy” Chichester, Carlton Smith and Mr. B (Brian Emch). will be performing.

About the members of the The Royal Crescent Mob

David Ellison is currently tour manager for Miley Cyrus, Camila Cabello, and Kesha, and formerly was the tour manager for Jay-Z, Demi Lovato, Avril Lavigne, Alanis Morissette, Adam Lambert, Goo Goo Dolls, and Panic at the Disco.

Happy Chichester, formerly was in Howlin’ Maggie and toured with The Twilight Singers, before embarking on his solo career releasing several albums and singles.

Carlton Smith also played with Howlin’ Maggie, and currently plays with Columbus Soul and Salvage and also working as a TSA Agent.

Mr. B has played guitar at the Florence Christian Church in Florence, KY and volunteered at Melodic Connections, a music therapy program based in Cincinnati.

The Royal Crescent Mob headlined the 97X 10th Anniversary Concert at Bogart’s back in 1992.

From a Bogart’s show in 1992, possibly the 97X 10th anniversary show…

RC Mob doing “Fire” at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. in 1987

“Get on the Bus” from the same D.C. show as above

Live in Columbus in 1991

Some great footage of the RC Mob in the studio with Ohio Players legend Leroy “Sugarfoot” Bonner in March of 1991.

Turkey time! (also tofurky time)

Concert Listings, Music

Can you believe it’s almost time to go over the river and through the woods to your grandmother’s house? I can’t either – mostly because I thought your grandmother moved to Del Boca Vista years ago. Or maybe it was Del Besta Bicko…

Well, yer grammy may not make it to many gigs anymore, but that doesn’t mean you can’t. Let’s look over the menu.

On Tuesday, Gable Price & Friends play a sold-out gig at Madison Live. (Also, the kitchen is out of turkey, but we can substitute tofurky.)

She can hear him all the way down in Florida.

Wednesday evening, you can enjoy Smut at MOTR (their new album came out Friday and it’s pretty tasty… unlike Aunt Betty’s green bean casserole).

On Thursday:

Tenci plays MOTR, with Freedom Nicole Moore
Chris Knight plays Southgate, with Ben Knight and Chance Stanley
Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown play Ludlow Garage
Tommy Goodroad and Willie & the Cigs play Madison Live
Woodward Theater screens Meet Me in the Bathroom, a movie about the NYC music scene of the early 2000s.

I would love to be a fly on the weirdly-angled wall on Friday night, when Ludlow Garage hosts the SoCal Punk Invasion, featuring Black Flag, T.S.O.L., The Dickies and Total Chaos. I’m sure those bands have played some weird basement gigs in their day, but probably not a venue with a wall 10 feet from the stage. At least Ludlow is removing their airline seats for this show.

Why yes, that is Doc from Love Boat… full afterschool special is here.

Also on Friday, the Menzingers play Bogart’s.

Oops, these are Kid Zingers, not Menzingers.

Memorial Hall hosts The Eagles Project. If you want to see these guys playing acoustic versions of Eagles songs, go for it:

If you squint hard enough, the guy on the far left looks a bit like Don Felder

And the Hard Rock Casino has The Jacksons – Jermaine, Jackie, Marlon… and of course your favorite Jackson (and mine)… Tito!

The Southgate House hosts the Cincy Groove Music Fest on Saturday – bands are listed on the hand turkey below:

Also on Saturday, Danielle Ponder plays the Taft Ballroom, and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (a.k.a. Elmo & Patsy for the highbrow set) plays two holiday shows at the Coliseum. But remember:

Will Hoge and Dave Hause play Southgate on Sunday. And John Waite (who is no longer a Baby) will be “Missing You” if you don’t go to his show at Memorial Hall.

Thanksgiving Week might be loaded with extra calories (I blame the marshmallows on the sweet potatoes*)…

… but it’s rather thin on concerts.

*Marshmallows on sweet potatoes is like a hat on a hat. Stop it – the potatoes are sweet enough on their own.

Of course, you’ll want to spend Turkey Day Eve with Jackyl at the old Annie’s. Maybe swing by Del Boca Vista on the way and bring grandma – she loves Jackyl!

You can dance your stuffing off next Friday, November 25th, with the FUNKsgiving show at Ludlow Garage featuring Freekbass and the Bump Assembly.

That same evening, Southgate has two shows of note:

The Harmed Brothers and Carriers play the main room (Sanctuary)
The Speed Hickeys play their first gig in eight years in the Southgate Lounge

On Saturday, 11/26:

Trouble No More (an Allman Brothers tribute – they’ll be playing Eat a Peach in its entirety) and the Rebirth Brass Band play the Taft,
You can get on the “Love Train” with The O’Jays at Hard Rock Casino,
Woodward hosts An Acoustic Evening with July for Kings,
Johnny Berry & the Outliers play Southgate with The Kentucky Struts opening,

Down about Low

R.I.P. to Mimi Parker, drummer and co-vocalist for the band Low. She had been battling ovarian cancer for a few years. Mimi and her husband Alan Sparhawk formed Low in Duluth, Minnesota in the early 90s.

Paste Magazine has a nice remembrance. And Robert Plant paid tribute to Mimi with a couple of songs at a recent concert:

Thankful for you

I realize this semi-regular music missive is a mishmash-y mess (like Uncle Harold’s potatoes). If you actually read it on a semi-regular basis, thanks!

Album Cover of the Week

Perfect for losing those Thanksgiving pounds… especially if you live in Del Boca Vista!

Go-vember Music

97X, Concert Listings, Music, podcast

Happy All Hallow’s Eve, y’all. Quick question: can we dispense with the whole “trick/treat” thing (which, IMHO is a false dichotomy) and get right to the feet-smelling? Er, asking for a friend…

And now let’s get to the live shows in the Tri-state area over the next fortnight:

Scott H. Biram has a gig at Southgate on Wednesday.

On Thursday,

Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears and Cedric Burnside play Ludlow Garage
Chris Smither and Tim O’Brien with Jan Fabricius are at Memorial Hall
Wheatus plays Madison Live
Banditos play Southgate. Note, they are not related to the Frito Bandito.

https://youtu.be/5irr_2nbB_Y

Friday is a busy night for gigs:

The Smithereens play Ludlow, with Marshall Crenshaw as the guest vocalist
Taft has a “Celebrating David Bowie” show featuring Todd Rundgren, Adrian Belew, Royston Langdon, Jeffery Gaines… and someone called “Scrote” for reasons that we don’t care to investigate. More on the show here.
The Redmoor in Mt. Lookout hosts An Evening with Karla Bonoff
Buffalo Wabs & the Price Hill Hustle are in Southgate’s main room
William Elliott Whitmore plays Southgate’s upstairs Revival Room
Northside Tavern has a show they’re billing as “Alternative Indie Psychedelic Shoegazey Garage Rocking show!” (They must be trying their hand at SEO…)

The Queen City Blues Fest rolls into Southgate on Saturday.

On Sunday, Christine Havrilla and Mama’s Black Sheep play a matinee show (4 p.m.) at the Cincinnati Fire Museum. And that evening, Yes plays a Close to the Edge 50th anniversary show at Taft.

Giving us yet another excuse to run this classic skit:

Looking ahead to next week…

Sun Room plays a sold-out show at Top Cats on Wednesday, Nov. 9th.

On Thursday, 11/10:

Puscifer (fronted by Maynard James Keenan of Tool) plays the Jan Brady
Fun Lovin’ Criminals are at Ludlow (“Scooby Snacks” sold separately)
My Brother, My Brother and Me are at the Taft. Note: My Brother, My Brother and Me are not related to another trio of brothers:

Also on 11/10, Memorial Hall hosts Majesty – a Tribute to Queen.

Next Friday, 11/11:

The Mavericks play Taft
Twiddle is at Madison Theater
Paramore plays the Marsha Brady
The Yellowjackets jazz up Ludlow Garage

Ludlow hosts John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band on Saturday, 11/12. (Note: the Beaver Brown Band is not related to Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver.) And Southgate has An Evening with Lucy Kaplansky on Sunday, 11/13.

Hot Ticket Alert: Get on the Bus!

97X favorites (and Ohio’s own) The Royal Crescent Mob have announced two reunion shows in December, to raise funds for cancer research. They’re playing Columbus on 12/16, and hitting the Madison Theater in Covington on Saturday, December 17th. More info and a ticket link here.

(Fun fact: RCMob lead singer David Ellison is currently tour manager for Miley Cyrus, Camila Cabello, and Ke$ha, and formerly was the tour manager for Jay-Z, Demi Lovato, Avril Lavigne, Alanis Morissette, Adam Lambert, Goo Goo Dolls, and Panic at the Disco.)

What Heaven is Like…

Heaven is Chuck Cleaver and Lisa Walker of Wussy playing in my living room. What a great night! New tunes from Wussy coming soon…

What Hell is like…

Two downer articles for live music fans:

“The Live-Music Industry is Broken” from Vulture and “How Ticketmaster gets away with it” from Popular Information.

We still miss Mr. K

The latest episode of the 97X Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast features a tribute to Ken “Mr. K” Glidewell, who worked at the station and was in Chemdyne and later Big in Iowa, and also had a long radio career at WEBN and 92.9 The Fox.

On my holiday shopping list:

Album Cover of the Fortnight

Wendy likes Action Pants. And Children of the Corn.

Episode 88: Mr. K was A-OK

97X, Music, podcast

Ken “Mr. K” Glidewell put the personality into “radio personality.” He had the gift of gab, a wicked sense of humor and a way of making friends wherever he went. Ken worked at 97X during the station’s formative years while also playing with fellow 97Xer Dan “Danny Crash” Reed in Chemdyne. He later moved on to WEBN-FM and 92.9 The Fox in Cincinnati for his day job, and co-founded the Americana band Big in Iowa.

Unfortunately, Mr. K passed away in May of 2008 from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. In this episode of the podcast, we talk to a few 97X-ers who worked with Mr. K: Phil Manning, Julie “Jae” Forman and Steve Baker, as well as the founding members of the Mr. K Fan Club, Elizabeth Cannon and Wendy Dorn.

Mr. K (2nd from left) mugging with Timothy Hiatt, Jetson and the BoDeans.

Mr. K and Jetson with Mike Peters from The Alarm.

A review of Big in Iowa’s 1999 release in *No Depression* magazine.

https://www.citybeat.com/music/farewell-mr-k-12171326

https://cincygroove.com/2008/05/27/musician-mr-k-dies-in-crash/

Here are a couple of videos of Mr. K playing with Big in Iowa.

You can find more Big in Iowa videos on their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/BigInIowaBand

Big in Iowa was awarded their first Cammy (Cincinnati’s version of Grammy Awards) as Roots Rock Band of the Year in 1997, a trophy they would own over the next several years. By the beginning of 1998, Bryant had left the band and O’Keefe was replaced by Jeff Wilson, thereby formulating the core quartet, which proceeded to prepare its second album for release. Twisted was a substantial improvement on the preceding effort. In addition to standing as Big in Iowa’s first mature work, it also began its long-term association with Germany’s Blue Rose Records. In addition to its Group Cammy, Twisted also helped to earn individual honors for Burns (Best Vocalist) and House (Best Instrumentalist), as well as new fans such as Mojo Nixon and an appearance at the 1999 South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, TX. The band contributed a version of “Cinnamon Girl” to the Neil Young tribute album This Note’s for You, and then set about working on its third studio album, Bangin’ ‘n’ Knockin’, which appeared in Europe at the tail-end of 1999. As outstanding a progression from Twisted as that album was from Big in Iowa, Bangin’ provided the band with its most extensive praise yet, including notices in Bucket Full of Brains, No Depression, and Amplifier magazines; as well as its first opportunity to tour Europe (Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, United Kingdom, Switzerland) at the beginning of 2000, and jaunts through the Midwest and New England. Such was the band’s reputation that it also began landing opening slots for such lauded peers as Dave Alvin, Dan Baird, the BoDeans, the Bottle Rockets, Cheap Trick, Alejandro Escovedo, Bob Mould, Drivin’ N’ Cryin’, and Jerry Jeff Walker, among others.

After the limited appearance of the live 4 Guys in a Trabi — which delightfully documented a show from its first German tour — the quartet began making treks to Brooklyn to begin working on its fourth studio album with Eric “Roscoe” Ambel, one of the catalysts of the ’80s roots revival as leader of the fabled Del Lords, in the producer’s seat. Released in Europe in mid-2001, Green Pop was a quantum leap ahead of anything Big in Iowa had previously recorded, an artistic apex that single-handedly vaulted the band into the upper level of roots rock bands. In Europe, the CD’s first pressing sold out in just two weeks, and on a second tour of the continent, the band routinely played to capacity crowds, including a headlining performance before up to 5,000 people at the Wolfstock Festival. After returning to the United States, House decided to leave the band due to family obligations, and he was replaced in early 2002 by Jason Erickson. (Source: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/big-in-iowa-mn0000060379/biography)

Trick or Treat

Concert Listings, Music

Some folks like to trick you with nasty Halloween candy:

But I’m going to treat you to two weeks’ worth of concerts, which will take us right up to the eve of All Hallows Eve.

It’s OK, Charlie Brown, we all gotta rock.

On Monday, JD Pinkus (of Butthole Surfers and the Melvins) plays Southgate House.

Local H is at Top Cats on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Madeleine Peyroux and Paula Cole play Memorial Hall and Illuminati Hotties play Top Cats.

Thursday:

Freedy Johnston is at Southgate
Jeff Beck rocks the Greg Brady
The Cadillac Three play Bogart’s
Baby Jake is at Top Cats
Bumpin Uglies are at Madison Live

The shows this Friday really run the gig gamut:

Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives play Memorial Hall (I’ll be at that show)
Joslyn & the Sweet Compression are at Madison Live
John McEuen (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band… also part of the backing band for Steve Martin’s “King Tut”) and the Circle Band play Ludlow Garage
GWAR (the band that thinks every day is Halloween) plays Bogart’s

Saturday’s a busy day for live music as well:

The Redemptioners will be at Neltner’s Farm Fall Fest in the afternoon
The Record Company is at Madison Theater
Gogol Bordello plays Bogart’s
Joe Satriani is at Taft
Acoustic Alchemy plays Ludlow Garage
Ramble On Bros (Grateful Dead tunes) play Carriage House Farm

Next Monday (10/24), Judas Priest and Queensryche play the Mike Brady.

American Authors play Madison Live on Tuesday, 10/25. Our favorite American author is Franklin W. Dixon.

A riveting tale of Joe Hardy’s heroin addiction. Or not.

On Wednesday, 10/26, Corb Lund is at Southgate, and Michael Martin Murphey is at Ludlow Garage. Ol’ 3M can no longer play the west coast because “Wildfire” is a dirty word out there. However, he did compose the state ballad of New Mexico, “Land of Enchantment.”

Next Thursday, 10/27, features some fun band names on the bill:

Puddles Pity Party and Piff the Magic Dragon play Taft
Squirrel Nut Zippers play Ludlow Garage

Next Friday, 10/28, I get a real treat: Chuck Cleaver and Lisa Walker of Wussy play my house!

List members Ken Laube, Dr. David Reid, Dave Roberto, Jay Stowe and Matt Fellerhoff will be in the house too.

Next Saturday, 10/29:

The Lone Bellow plays Memorial Hall
EXTC is at Ludlow Garage
Paul Anka plays the Hard Rock Casino… talk about an oxymoron!
Jordan Smart is at Neltner’s Farm
Michael Schenker plays Bogart’s
The Newbees and Bad Ass Brass host the Flower Power Ball, a benefit for Shriner’s Hospital.
Dropkick Murphys play the Cindy Brady

On Sunday, October 30, Randy Steffen and The Poor Hours wrap up the Neltner’s Farm Fall Fest.

Guided by non-sucky Voices

A fun interview with Robert Pollard is here in the Sydney Morning Herald. And I totally agree with him about Sting:

Reliving the Future

Musical musings from aging hipsters

Music

New Year’s Rockin’ Eve

R.I.P. D.R.B. Fare thee well, Dan.

Royal Crescent Mob rules once again!

I’ve got a mailbag in my trousers… or a Trouser in my mailbag

Best of the Best of 2022

Album Cover of the Week

Mob Rules!

Bah! Humbug!

I will Alvvays love you…

We can still have fun on Twitter

Ranking albums is dumb

He “Ken” rock you!

Album Cover of the Week

A December to remember

The Mob Rules!

Pressing “pause”

Pressing “rewind” on “When I see you smile”

The end (of the year) is near!

Album Cover of the Week

Episode 90: Carlton and Happy from the RCMob make us happy

Episode 89: Get (back) on the bus with David Ellison of the Royal Crescent Mob.

Turkey time! (also tofurky time)

Down about Low

Thankful for you

Album Cover of the Week

Go-vember Music

Hot Ticket Alert: Get on the Bus!

What Heaven is Like…

What Hell is like…

We still miss Mr. K

On my holiday shopping list:

Album Cover of the Fortnight

Episode 88: Mr. K was A-OK

Trick or Treat

Guided by non-sucky Voices

This is Us

Album Cover of the Week