This Week in Live Music: July 8-14

Concert Listings

Howdy folks, I’m back from vacation – tan, rested, and ready to rock.

While I was on vacation, I saw a great show every evening:

Rockin’!

But let’s focus on the Tri-State Area.

More specifically, let’s focus on live music in the Tri-State Area.

On Tuesday, “Hell is for Children“… and the Fraze Pavilion is for the Pat Benatar/Neil Giraldo show. I said Neil Giraldo, not Gerardo.

Fun fact: The Fraze Pavilion is named after Ermal Fraze, late resident of Kettering, Ohio, and inventor of the pop-top beverage can.

That same night, the underage Ben Levin is at Arnold’s.

Wednesday, Sheryl Crow is playing Fraze, which is named after… someone whose first name is an anagram for Lamer.

On Thursday, Leggy is playing Urban Artifact, along with And The Kids, Strobobean and The Harmaleighs.

Friday, the legendary local band Cereal Killers are playing MadTree Brewing in Oakley. Tell a buddy, bring a friend, but don’t you dare miss this big show!

That same evening, there are several other gigs on tap:

  • Junior Brown is playing Southgate
  • Michigan Rattlers and Oliver Hazard are playing the free gig at Fountain Square
  • Peter “I used to live in Cincinnati” Frampton makes a stop at Riverbend on his farewell tour, with Jason Bonham’s “Led Zeppelin Evening” as the opener. Lawn 4-packs for that show are $90.
  • Carly Rae Jepsen is at Bogart’s. If you have an extra ticket, maybe you should go up to someone you just met and give them your phone number. It’s crazy, I know, but it just might work.

Forecastle Festival also kicks off in Louisville on Friday, and runs through Sunday evening.

Saturday is quite the musical grab bag:

  • Like indie rock? Check out Gringo Star at Northside Tavern.
  • For metal/slasher movie fans, Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson are playing Riverbend.
  • Disco till you die? Shake (shake shake) your booty at the KC & the Sunshine Band show at Riverfront Live.
  • Hair band/glam enthusiasts can check out Faster Pussycat and Bang Tango at MVP Bar & Grille in Silverton (this is a sign that Faster Pussycat and Bang Tango need to hang it up).
  • Grunge-ish rockers can hit Bogart’s for the Candlebox show.
  • For Americana/acoustic/local music fans, Highly Likely is playing Camp Springs Tavern and The Harmed Brothers/Buffalo Wabs & the Price Hill Hustle/The Old Souls String Band are at Southgate.

Sunday, the Comet Bluegrass All-Stars will play their usual gig at the bar that gave them their name, and Ricky Nye & Chris Douglas are at MOTR.

In case you missed it, Taft Theater recently announced dates for Wilco and Elvis Costello & The Imposters… Wilco plays 11/9 and Declan Patrick Aloysius MacManus (a.k.a. Elvis Costello… wonder why he changed his stage name) is on 11/19. Tickets are on sale now… go to the Taft box office to save the TicketBastard charges. (If you don’t work downtown, I’ll be your ticket gitter.)

That’ll do it for this week. The latest live show photo comes courtesy of Todd Butler, who thoroughly enjoyed the Courtney Barnett gig at Madison Theater last week.

Playing it lefty… but it’s right-handed in Australia.

This just in from the Shameless Self-Promotion Department: a new episode of the 97X podcast featuring an interview with longtime 97X air personality Shiv can be found here: https://www.97xbam.com/2019/07/07/episode-15-a-shiv-for-all-seasons/

Episode 15: A shiv for all seasons

97X, podcast

Matt Shiverdecker, a.k.a. Shiv, ran the gamut at 97X… from boyhood superfan/long-distance listener to station intern to part-time DJ to full-timer at 97X, then woxy.com, where he worked until the bitter(sweet) end in Austin, Texas. Dave and Damian talk to Matt about his journey, get his take on the online station’s untimely demise, and find out more about middle school broadcast camp and the top-secret WOXY historical archives. 

As Shiv mentions in our podcast interview, he reviews movies for the Austin American-Statesman. His most recent column is here: https://www.austin360.com/entertainmentlife/20190701/on-demand-the-beach-bum-is-laugh-out-loud-wild-ride

You can find more of his columns here: https://www.austin360.com/search?text=matt%20shiverdecker&start=1

Matt is also on Twitter.

This week (and next week) in Live Music

Concert Listings

Special Double Issue: June 24-July 7

That’s right kids, this go-round you get a “special double issue” because I care so much that I want to give you double the usual content, as a no-cost bonus to you. It’s like two, two, two mints in one!

(This double issue has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I’ll be on vacation next week. I would never, ever, ever prioritize relaxing/drinking on the beach over delivering piping-hot TWILM content.) OK, on with the show(s)!

Hmm, there’s not much live music action in this neck of the woods on Monday or Tuesday… guess this is more like a “special one-and-a-half issue.” But hey, Delta Rae will be at the 20th Century in Oakley on Wednesday.

Thursday, Jimmie Vaughan will be at Memorial Hall, with a full band.

Jimmie is perhaps best known for being a member of the Fabulous Thunderbirds and Stevie Ray Vaughan’s older brother/mentor/inspiration, but I always liked this quote about him from his little bro:

“I play probably 80 percent of what I can play.  Jimmie plays one percent of what he knows.  He can play anything.”

— Stevie Ray Vaughan

It should be a Fabulous show (see what I did there?). At last check, only a handful of single seats remained for this gig.

Also on Thursday, John R. Miller and the Engine Lights are at Southgate, Mykal Rose featuring Sly and Robbie will be at the old Annie’s, and Ben Levin Trio is playing Latitudes in Anderson Township, and pimping Ben’s new CD.

Hey, he looks like the kid who lives down the street from me. Wait, he IS the kid who lives down the street from me!

Guided By Voices are playing a sold-out show at the Woodward Theater on Friday evening. Bob Pollard and the boys always put on an entertaining show. Also, in the time it took you to read that last sentence, they released three new albums.

Some other shows of note on Friday:

  • NRBQ is at Southgate
  • Ricky Nye and Chris Douglas are at Wiedemann Brewery & Taproom
  • The Stolen Faces play Stanley’s
  • Ben Levin & Noah Wotherspoon are playing a Cincy Blues Fest fundraiser at Christian Moerlein Taproom
  • The Adjust Your Eyes (AYE) festival kicks off at various Northside venues, and runs through Saturday
  • Ghost Man on Second plays Northside Tavern

Saturday, the fabulous local band Cereal Killers will be playing Mt. Adams Pavilion. I’d totally be there if I weren’t on vacation. Please go in my stead. Also on Saturday:

  • Car Seat Headrest is at Bogart’s
  • Dark Star Orchestra plays Annie’s (OK, Riverfront Live)
  • Stanley’s has the 9th annual Reggae Fest, featuring the Cliftones, Elementree, the Ark Band and more
  • Ray Vietti of the Harmed Brothers plays Camp Springs Tavern. I saw Ray open up for Caroline Spence about a month ago, great stuff.
  • Ben Levin Duo is at Streetside Brewery
  • Styx is playing a sold-out gig at the Rose Music Center. Huber Heights loves their Mr. Roboto almost as much as they love brick homes.

All of those shows are really just appetizers, the main course is a Sunday show: Kidz Bop World Tour at PNC Pavilion!

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones are playing Taft that night, too. Good luck trying to compete with Kidz Bop, Banjo Boy!

Well, that does it for this week’s live gigs…

Congratulations, you’ve reached the bonus round! Your reward? Courtney Barnett at Madison Theater on Monday, July 1st.

One of my favorite tunes of the past decade.

Tuesday, July 2nd, the Dave Matthews Band will be at Riverbend. I hate to name drop, but my youngest son went to grade school with the sons of the drum tech for DMB.

On Wednesday, July 3rd, Built to Spill is playing their classic album Keep It Like A Secret in its entirety at Woodward Theater. Crap! I’m missing Cereal Killers, GBV, Courtney Barnett and BTS? Looks like I picked the wrong week to go on vacation.

That same evening, Reel Big Fish and Aquabats are at Bogart’s, and Weird Al is playing the Fraze Pavilion in Dayton.

On Thursday… it’s the Fourth of July!

(The Cereal Killers do a killer version of this fantastic tune too!)

Most bands are taking a well-deserved holiday, so you’ll just have to play your Lee Greenwood albums.

Actually, 500 Miles to Memphis is playing the lawn by the Moerlein Lager House at 5 p.m., and Kansas is playing Red, White and Blue Ash at 8:30… but the band logo in the promo poster makes it hard to figure that out:

Hey, Bob Sumerel is playing!

On Friday 7/5, Ohio Valley Salvage is playing Camp Springs Tavern, Ben Levin and Cheryl Renee are at Wiedemann, and Thunderstruck, the AC/DC tribute, is at Bogart’s.

Broson Arroyo is playing Bogart’s on Saturday, 7/6. No, it’s not a whiffleball game (although that might be pretty cool), he’s playing music. The Tillers are the headliners at the Fountain Square free show, and the indefatigable Ben Levin is playing Lucius Q with 46 Long opening. I hate to name drop, but my oldest son had 50% of 46 Long as his English teacher in middle school.

Speaking of Saturdays, I do want to note the recent passing of guitarist Jeff Walls, of Guadalcanal Diary (and the Woggles). Jeff and his bandmates in Guadalcanal Diary deserved way more recognition and acclaim than they got.

“I do miss that pioneering sense of discovery which animated rock music fans at the dawn of the ‘80s. I don’t think that music carries the same desperate sense of importance with young people today as it did with my generation, or to the generations before me.”

Jeff Walls, from this article: https://creativeloafing.com/content-411337-HIGH-FREQUENCIES-Another-page-from-Guadalcanal-Diary

On Sunday, 7/7, Southgate House is hosting Blues, Brews and BBQ, a family-friendly event from 4-8 p.m. I know what you’re thinking right now: “Is the indefatigable Ben Levin playing?” The answer is “But of course, with Noah Wotherspoon on guitar and King Records legend Philip Paul on drums!”

That’ll do it for this week and next. Have a wonderful holiday!

Episode 14: Jae Forman

97X, podcast

The Extended Remix

Jae Forman ruled the evening shift in the early to mid 90s, and also served as the music director during the grunge era, a pivotal point in the station’s history. She also was the Queen of 97Xtrabeats, bringing her club DJ skills to that popular Saturday evening show. Dave and Damian chat with Jae about how she got the job, the grunge explosion, picking songs as music director, her first in-studio interview with a band, life after radio and… yes, Dave’s favorite topic: butt coolers.

Jae and Dave with a record rep (center) enjoying the butt cooler at Lollapalooza
Jae interviews Kim… no big Deal.
Swag galore!

Episode 13: Robin Plan

97X, podcast

Return to Planet X

There were dozens if not hundreds of DJs at 97X/woxy.com over the years. Robin Plan was easily the most unique. A free-spirited person who took freeform radio to a whole new level, every evening after midnight, Robin transported 97X listeners far, far away from the ordinary, to an entirely different universe, and a magical place called Planet X. Dave and Damian talk to Robin about how she pushed the limits throughout her radio career, and what the station meant to her. 

Episode 11: Steve Daedalus part 1

97X, podcast

Idea man and original program director

Steve “Daedalus” Stenken was working as the nighttime DJ at WOXY back in 1983, and doing a weekly one-hour “modern rock” program… he suggested that the station should change the format to all modern rock. The rest is radio history. Steve joins Dave and Damian in the party dungeon to talk about those formative years… and bust some myths along the way. 

Episode 10: Goober, Fish and six packs

97X, podcast

GEORGE “GOOBER” LINDSEY, ABE VIGODA AND A GAZILLION SIX PACKS

In Episode 10, Dave and Damian talk about the Golden Rule of Celebrity Phone Calls… it involves George “Goober” Lindsey, of course. They also chat with superlistener (or perhaps superhoarder) Chris Barkley, who has amassed a mind-boggling amount of recordings of 97X’s “Six Pack” feature. Dave also talks about his side hustle as agent to the stars, and basks in the afterglow of his finest 97X moment: Abe Vigoda’s Birthday Bash. 

Episode 9: Matt Sledge

97X, podcast

Slege. Slegendary.

Matt Sledge not only spent a decade at 97X, the Future of Rock and Roll, he also later worked weekends for WNKU-FM, another Cincinnati area radio station that played similar artists and was near and dear to its listeners’ hearts. Dave and Damian talk to Sledge (we’re on a last name basis with him) about local bands, living through the shutdown of both stations, f-bombs on late-night CDs, and “butt coolers.” (And listen until the very end for some fun outtakes.)

Episode 8: Chris Adryan, Salesman Supreme

97X, podcast

When you can sell something intangible like radio airtime, you’ve gotta be good. When you can sell ads for a station that has a signal so weak that advertisers can barely pick it up in their stores, you’ve gotta be great. Chris Adryan (“The Herb Tarlek of 97X”) spent more than a dozen years as a salesperson for 97X. Dave and Damian chat with him about Frank Eavey, the Rock & Roll Grocer, as well as other advertisers, big hair, flipped ties, ad rates, and the elusive Nick Velvet.