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.