David Rhodes Brown

The Long Winter

97X, Concert Listings, Music, podcast

Whatever happened to The Long Winters? I loved that band.

Let’s talk live music during our long winter… which could get even longer if a rodent sees his shadow in the week ahead.

Tonight:

  • The not-always-cheerful Neko Case plays Memorial Hall
  • Glen Phillips (of Toad the Wet Sprocket) is at Ludlow Garage
  • The Mortals headline a MOTR show
  • Bret Michaels (of hairband and hair band fame) plays the Hard Rock Casino

Wait, I’ve just been informed that it might be Fergie who is playing the Hard Rock:

On Saturday, the Tillers play Southgate, the Harlequins play Northside Tavern, and The 5th Dimension (featuring one original member… no, not Marilyn McCoo… no, not Billy Davis Jr. either) brings their beautiful balloon all the way down to Ludlow Garage.

The Wailin’ Jennys are at Memorial Hall on Wednesday.

The Way Down Wanderers play Southgate on Thursday. It’s Groundhog Day, so if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, they will play there for six weeks.

Next Friday, there’s a tribute to local legend David Rhodes Brown at Southgate House, featuring members of the Warsaw Falcons, 500 Miles to Memphis, Chalkeye, The Star Devils, The Tammy Whynots, Maria Carrelli, Dead Man String Band, The Modified, Missy Fairmount, Paul and Sylvia Mitchell, KY Timbre and the Hillbilly Harem, Mister Moriah, Veronica Grim.

R.I.P. D.R.B.

That same evening, John Cowan plays Ludlow and .38 Special plays the Hard Rock Casino. They will be rockin’ into the night slot machines.

On Saturday, Feb. 4th:

  • Dan Bern plays Southgate, with Brandon Costello as the opener
  • Macy Gray plays Ludlow Garage
  • Ovation in Newport hosts An Evening with Lotus

On Sunday, 2/5, Bogart’s has Badfish: A Tribute to Sublime

Noted opera singer Adam Sandler plays the Coliseum on Monday, 2/6.

On Tuesday, 2/7, Supersuckers are at Southgate.

The Dirty Streets and Heavy Hinges play Southgate on Thursday, 2/9.

Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder are at Memorial Hall on Friday, Feb. 10th. Kentucky Thunder is usually a harbinger of Kentucky Rain… which has been known to create this:

There’s quite a grab bag of shows (and venues) on Saturday, Feb. 11th:

  • Blackberry Smoke plays the Lawrenceburg Event Center
  • Joe’s Truck Stop, Willy Tea Taylor and Jordan Smart play Southgate’s Revival Room
  • The Judds (featuring one original member!) are at the Nutter Center in Dayton
  • The Coliseum hosts the Legendz of the Streetz Tour (in case you hadn’t guessed from the use of the “z plurals” — there will be hippin’ and/or hoppin’ at that show. Per the show description, it will be “an interchanging ensemble of some of the most Iconic names in Hip-Hop including Rick Ross, Jeezy, Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz, Jadakiss, Cam’ron with Special Guest Jucee Froot”
  • Last, and most incongruously of all, Michael Bolton will be at the Hard Rock Casino. (Which might be the first time that “Michael Bolton” and “Hard Rock” have been used in the same sentence.)

The Dearly Departed

I’m afraid to check the news these days, as it seems like musicians young (Jeremiah Green of Modest Mouse), not-so-young (Terry Hall of The Specials) and old (Christine McVie, Jeff Beck, et al.) are shuffling off this mortal coil at an ever-increasing pace. I do want to note two folks who did a lot to champion indie music:

Gary Smith was the founder of Fort Apache Studios in Boston.

As a producer and manager, Gary shepherded the careers of some of the era’s most influential artists, among them Pixies, Throwing Muses, Tanya Donelly, Juliana Hatfield, and Natalie Merchant. But his impact transcended the realm of records and contracts. Gary brought people together, cultivating a sense of family that sustained him and the many outsiders, misfits, and dreamers fortunate enough to travel in his orbit.

Read Gary’s full obit here

Lin Brehmer was a host on WXRT in Chicago for 30 years.

Lin Brehmer often ended his radio essay segment “Lin’s Bin” by saying, “Take nothing for granted. It’s great to be alive.”

Read the entire tribute here.

Hot ticket alert

The Woodward Theater recently added three cool shows:

  • Snail Mail on Tuesday, May 2nd (list member Mighty Joe Sampson and I will be in the house for that one)
  • F*cked Up on Friday, May 5th (lead singer is Damian… cool name!)
  • Damien Jurado (great guy, despite misspelling his first name…) on Friday, June 2nd.

Hot tunes alert

boygenius (Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus and Phoebe Bridgers) announced a full-length album. Check out three choice tunes from it here on Stereogum or below.

Hot Pod Alert

Remember that time when a Goo Goo Doll tried to beat up a sound man? The staffers who were at 97X back in ’93 (Steve Baker, Phil Manning, Jae Forman, etc.) recall that ill-fated “Day in Eden” concert that turned into a day from hell, and they share their memories here.

Recommended Reading

The New Yorker has a nice (albeit short) feature on Wet Leg. Love this quote from Rhian Teasdale of that band:

Recommended shopping

Hat tip to list member Todd Butler for the video

Album Cover of the Week… or just February 2nd

Step aside, Punxsutawney Phil!

New Year’s Rockin’ Eve

Concert Listings, Concert review, Music

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

Dead & Company!

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.

The Goose is almost ready…

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:

“Get on the bus…”

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’!