Freekbass

Jive. Turkey.

Concert Listings, Music

No turkey for me, thanks. I’m a veg head.

And I don’t speak jive. But I know Beaver Cleaver’s mom does.

Let’s speak a universal language: music! But before we get to the gigs in the near future, just a quick reminder that pre-sale tickets were made available today for The Raisins reunion shows next March 1st and 2nd at The Woodward Theater – the code is: porkopolis.

Tonight:

  • The Menzingers play Bogart’s
  • Tiny Moving Parts and World’s Greatest Dad (which could be a warning label on a Swiss watch and a coffee mug screen printing, respectively) are at Southgate in the Revival Room
  • John R. Miller plays Southgate’s main room (a.k.a. Sanctuary)

On Friday, Meshell Ndegeocello plays Ludlow Garage.

Saturday gigs:

  • In the Pines (new album is pretty good) plays the Woodward, with Lung and Mol Sullivan also on the bill
  • Memorial Hall has An Evening with Joan Osborne
  • Ludlow Garage features Bruce in the U.S.A. (“The world’s #1 tribute to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band”) – almost as good as this act:

Sunday is a busy day for shows:

  • Black Stone Cherry plays the old Annie’s
  • John Waite and his band are at Memorial Hall
  • The O’Jays make a “Last Stop on the Love Train” tour appearance at the Greg AND Peter Brady

The Whiskey Shambles play Northside Tavern on Tuesday, 11/21, with Achilles Tenderloin and Sarah Dactyl also on the bill.

Wednesday, November 22nd is Thanksgiving Eve… and you can feast on live music:

  • Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band plays Southgate
  • Ernie Johnson from Detroit is at MOTR
  • Maria Carrelli will be playing at Arnold’s in conjunction with the limited edition vinyl release of a live album she recorded at Arnold’s back in April. The album artwork is from list member Keith Neltner, in collaboration with Maker’s Mark. The first 150 people to show up will get the album for free!

Details from the Arnold’s Facebook page:

These aren’t just regular albums. There is a ton of work that goes into them. Releasing these Thanksgiving Eve albums for free has been a passion project for Arnold’s owner Chris Breeden and celebrated graphic designer Keith Neltner for over 5 years now. They handle every aspect of this release from the vinyl pressing all the way to stuffing the records into the sleeves at the end. 

Next Thursday, you’ll be too stuffed on stuffing to see a show.

But you can dance it off on Friday, 11/24 during the Funksgiving show hosted by Freekbass at Radio Artifact (in the Urban Artifact taproom). Or try this:

Other shows on Friday 11/24:

  • Trouble No More and Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country kickoff a two-night stand at the Madison Theater
  • Buffalo Wabs and the Price Hill Hustle are at Southgate
  • Tweens play MOTR
  • Night #1 of Inhailer Radio’s “Inspired” fundraiser concerts at The Woodward – full lineup:

Gigs on Saturday, 11/25:

  • Night #2 of the Inhailer fundraiser shows (Woodward) and the Trouble No More/Daniel Donato combo (Madison Theater)
  • Blues wunderkind Taj Farrant plays Ludlow Garage
  • Papadosio plays the Taft
  • Camp Springs Tavern hosts Gehner Dueling Pianos – Holiday Kickoff Show
  • Ben Levin plays BrewRiver
  • Your favorite music list author will be slinging beers at the Mt. Washington Biergarten in the parking lot on Oxford Avenue. Stop by and say hi.

Christone “Kingfish” Ingram puts a bow on Rollvember with a show at Ludlow Garage on Thursday, 11/30.

I went to a rock concert and a ballgame broke out… or vice versa

Foo Fighters and Green Day are both playing Great American Ball Park this summer. Foos have Pretenders and Mammoth WVH opening. The Green Day lineup also includes Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid and The Linda Lindas. Look for list member Dan “Reds win it all in ’24” Lewis in the front row for both shows.

Have we learned nothing from “Disco Demolition Day”?

It turns out that Jeff Tweedy likes ABBA’s “Dancing Queen”… [story link courtesy of list member Michael “Rico” Carrico, who said “This seems like some well-timed wisdom from one of our favorites that maybe you should make note of there old (cranky, crotchety) friend…] Hmm, guess Rico wasn’t onboard with my Radiohead bashing. He’d better get off my lawn!

The 70s were the best!

I miss those halcyon days when you could you see the “I am Woman” woman and Fonzie singing along with Neil Diamond.

Album Cover of the Fortnight

I feel better than James Brown.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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!

Once a rocker, always a rocker…

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!

Spring Awakening

Concert Listings, Music

Spring has officially arrived… meaning we should only have four more snow days before May. But the gigs are popping up like crocuses. (Sorry, no gigs from Krokus though. Guess you’ll have to settle for their “Live at Wacken” album.)

Krokus fans and Wacken – they go together

Graham Nash rambles into Memorial Hall on Tuesday for “An Intimate Evening of Songs and Stories.” Graham’s 80 now, so I don’t know how “intimate” we want to get with him… that’s a hard pass even for Joni Mitchell.

“I’m not wearing any pants!
(Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

Meanwhile Thao (of Thao and the Get Down Stay Down fame) plays the Woodward with her band (which may or may not be the Get Down Stay Down…). Becca Mancari and Why Bonnie open the show.

Urkel will not stay down

On Wednesday, David Ramirez plays Ludlow Garage, with TWILM favorite Caroline Spence as the opener.

Thursday’s gigs:

  • Dark Star Orchestra plays Ovation
  • The Other Favorites are at Southgate
  • Ben Levin is at Shire’s Garden
  • The Red Hot Chili PIPERS play Ludlow (so no Flea… also no fly, because they wear kilts)

Freekbass and the Bump Assembly hit Ludlow on Friday for FunKISSdelic – a Funkadelic/KISS mash-up.

Oops, wrong KISS mash-up.

That same evening, the equally funky Combo Chimbita plays Northside Tavern.

On Saturday, Todd Snider plays Madison Theater, and əkoostik hookah is playing the old Annie’s. That’s an indoor show – the better to smell the Hookah.

Sunday is the perfect day for Holy F*ck to play Madison Live. More for the “Holy” part than the… well, you know.

Ticketbastard!

Faithful readers of This Week in Live Music (all three of you) already know how much I despise Ticketmaster. John Oliver just add more heat to my already-boiling blood:

Listen to this!

Here’s a nice half-hour interview with Michael Stipe on World Cafe:

Watch this!

Sly Stone in a halter top… with a super-tight band… and, at the seven-minute mark, a dancer who is a dead ringer for Roger from What’s Happening!!? Yes please!

https://youtu.be/bJ_QaEir7FU

Album Cover of the Week

I can certainly understand why Elvis shot his TV set when this guy was on…

Parting shot

No Turkeys in Our House

Concert Listings, Music

No thugs either. But for sure no turkeys.

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

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

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

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

Buy the LP or CD here

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

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

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

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

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

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

*these people are stoned out of their gourds

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

On Thursday, Bird is the word.

Ted Cruz’s dream…

Or in my case, Tofurkey.

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

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

Watch this

Johnny Rotten on The Masked Singer is so 2021.

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

More Devo footage from that era is here.

Road trip next summer?

This festival lineup is redonk:

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

2021 favorites – care to share yours?

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

Album cover of the week

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

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!