Kentucky Struts

Time marches on. So do tunes.

Concert Listings, Music

Great news: our Presidents’ Day sale on subscriptions has been extended to the end of the month! It’s sorta like a BOGO (buy one, get one) sale. In the case of This Week in Live Music (an ill-fitting name due to my laziness), we’re having a GOGO sale – get one email and get obnoxiousness free!

Let’s get to the gigs while the getting is good…

Tonight, Silversun Pickups play Bogart’s, Faux Frenchmen play the Mansion Hill Sanctuary, and Rob Fetters teams up with his ol’ pal “Bad Bob” Nyswonger for a live stream available here.

Let’s talk Mohawks!

Uh, actually, it’s the old Cincinnati hockey team. List member and hockey-head Eric Weltner has created a movie about how the Cincinnati Mohawks dominated the IHL in the 1950s.

You can catch a screening of The Mohawk Monopoly tomorrow and Sunday at the Woodward Theater. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. and the movie starts at 1:30 p.m. both days. On Saturday, DJ Mr Keith McLenon from Detroit will be spinning tunes before and after the screening, and former players will in attendance.

Let’s talk Ludlow

Y’all need to check out the cool “Cabin Fever” music and arts festival going on in scenic Ludlow, KY tomorrow. Proceeds benefit Music Fund Cincinnati, which was started by list member and porch picker John Sandman – get tickets at the Music Fund website and learn more about what they do.

Tomorrow night:

  • Brainiac is at the Woodward
  • 500 Miles to Memphis, Kentucky Struts, The Nightbeast and Backalley Brujas play Southgate
  • a Black Sabbath tribute band plays Ludlow Garage and Bogart’s hosts an ABBA-inspired disco dance party. I hope the Sabbath fans and the ABBA fans show up at the Clifton Skyline after the gigs. It could go down like this:

Elle King plays the Marsha Brady on Tuesday. [Fun fact: Elle King is the daughter of former Saturday Night Live cast member Rob Schneider, who was barely funny when he was on the show (basically the male Victoria Jackson) and is almost totally humorless now.]

On Wednesday, Wishbone Ash plays Ludlow Garage. (Fun fact: Wishbone Ash is also the least popular salad dressing ever.)

Thursday gigs:

  • Beth Harris (of Hiders/Heartless Bastards) kicks off her March residency (every Thursday 8-11 p.m. – free!) at the Listing Loon in Northside, with special guest Ali Edwards (Ruby Vileos). The full list of March events at the Loon is here.
  • Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country sets up camp at Ludlow Garage
  • Country superstar Carrie Underwood plays the Coliseum

Next Friday (3/3) :

  • Red Wanting Blue plays Southgate, with Angela Perley as the opener
  • Crash Test Dummies are at Ludlow Garage
  • Colony House plays Bogart’s
  • Taft Theatre hosts “The Fab Four – the Ultimate Beatles tribute”… don’t settle for “The So-So Four: the Mediocre Beatles tribute”… or these guys:

Gigs next Saturday (3/4):

  • Matt Nathanson and Stephen Kellogg play Memorial Hall
  • Ernie Johnson from Detroit plays Woodward, with Electric Citizen and the Harlequins
  • Katie Toupin (formerly of Houndmouth) plays Southgate
  • Highly Suspect headlines the 96Rock anniversary show at Ovation (anyone remember Bender & Fingers in the morning on 96Rock?)
  • Speaking of radio stations, The Sklar Brothers bring their comedy to the Lawrenceburg Event Center. Check out this bit about a rock station in St. Louis:

On Sunday, March 5th, Skillet and Theory of a Deadman play the Alice Brady.

That’s not a skillet!

On Wednesday, March 8th:

  • Taft has “An Evening with Dawes”
  • Dylan LeBlanc and David Ramirez are at Southgate

Friday, March 10th shows:

  • Bonnie “Prince” Billy is at the Woodward, with Planchette
  • The Lemon Twigs play Southgate
  • Michael Martin Murphey is at Ludlow Garage

On Saturday, 3/11, Southgate has a local band benefit show:

That same evening, the Ark Band (reggae) plays a Bob Marley tribute at Ludlow . That event is BYOS – bring your own spliff.

After the smoke clears from the Ark Band show, Nektar will play Ludlow on Sunday, 3/12. It’s a 50th anniversary show of their album Remember the Future… the title seems more fitting now.

Hot Tickets Alert!

Tickets on sale today for:

  • Richard Thompson plays a solo acoustic show at the 20th Century Theater on Wednesday, May 10th. I already got my tix!
  • Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit play a two-night stand at the Bobby Brady on April 28-29. Pro tip: buy at the Brady box office to save a boatload on fees – it’s open 11a-3p today.
  • Tedeschi Trucks Band with Ziggy Marley at PNC on July 18
  • Dwight Yoakam with the Mavericks at PNC on Aug. 4
  • And for list member Dan “Reds single game tickets on sale now!” Lewis, who is a huge Debbie Gibson fan: she’s playing the Taft on 6/24.
Dan Lewis has this magazine cover framed

New Order Order

The National’s new tune “New Order T-shirt” is strong:

And you can place a new order for a New Order t-shirt from The National:

Old (but good) News

At long last, John Fogerty got back the rights to his CCR songs. Here’s the article in Billboard from back in January.

“I’m the dad [of these songs]. I created them. They never should have been taken away in the first place. And that hijacking left such a massive hole in me.”

John Fogerty

Oh Canada

Alan Thicke writing and performing the theme song to Alex Trebek’s first American TV game show… a Canadian tag team nearly as good as Geddy Lee joining forces with Bob & Doug McKenzie.

Album Cover of the Week

Your humble scribe is often mistaken for this artist. List member Dan Lewis’ wife is always asking him “What’s the website that has the live music posts that Dick Feller wrote?”

New Year’s Revolution

Concert Listings, Music

In 2023, let’s resolve to support live music and the artists we love. Go to a gig – it’s heart-healthy, low-calorie* and great for your mental health.

*your results may vary, depending on how many alcoholic beverages you consume

Gigs are kid-tested and mother-approved*.

*your mother probably does not approve of concerts by the hair band Kix. She raised you better than that!

Warning: side effects of going to a gig may include euphoria, delirium and uncontrollable body twitches.

Ask your doctor if Gigrocka is right for you. Speaking of doctors…

Chris Barron (of Spin Doctors fame) spins into Ludlow Garage on Friday the 13th, while The Astronomers and Moonbeau play Southgate.

[If you happen to read this early enough on Thursday, Camp Springs Tavern hosts their bi-weekly Bluegrass Jam, Ben Levin plays Dee Felice, Parker Gispert of The Whigs (the non-Afghan variety) is at MOTR and the Blue Wisp Big Band plays Bircus Brewing in Ludlow.]

On Saturday:

  • The Kentucky Struts play Southgate’s big room, along with Witches of the Rifle Range, Luther Ray & the Flood, and Matt St. George.
  • The Brother Brothers and The American Buffalo play Southgate’s upstairs Revival Room
  • Hyryder is at the old Annie’s (this is a rescheduled show from the snowpocalypse)

The Read Southall Band is at Top Cats on Tuesday.

Wednesday, Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi play Memorial Hall, and Marielle Kraft is at Southgate.

Next Friday, January 20th, the words of the profits are written on the studio wall: Memorial Hall! It echoes with the sounds… of… a Rush tribute band.

Now, I’ve been a bona fide, certified Rush fan since junior high:

How did my neck not snap from the sheer weight of that hair helmet?

So part of me is tempted to go to that show… but I know no one else is fit to carry Neil’s drumsticks, Alex’s guitar picks or Geddy’s voice-constricting underpants. And I draw the line at “Fake Neil” wearing the signature Peart skull cap:

Guess I’ll just have to stay at home and crank up my Rush albums.

Or perhaps I’ll go to Bean & Barley in O’Bryonville that evening to catch Night Owl and Tim Reisert.

Next Saturday (1/21) is a busy evening for concerts:

  • George Clinton brings his funk to Lawrenceburg, Indiana, a town desperately in need of a good funking. He’s playing the Hollywood Casino, a venue desperately in need of a naming reality check.
  • John McEuen and the Circle Band play Ludlow Garage
  • Ben Levin is at BrewRiver
  • the Bronson Arroyo Band (yes, that’s a thing, apparently) is at Bircus Brewing in Ludlow, KY
  • Bogart’s has Cash Unchained: The Ultimate Johnny Cash Tribute
  • Aronoff Center hosts an Elvis Tribute Artist Spectacular

Looking ahead to Tuesday, Jan. 24, The Arcadian Wild is at Southgate, with Sam Hibbard & Elijah Bedel opening the show.

And on Friday, Jan. 27:

  • Neko Case plays Memorial Hall (here’s hoping she doesn’t have a sh*t fit like she did several years ago at Taft)
  • Glen Phillips (of Toad the Wet Sprocket) is at Ludlow Garage
  • Bret Michaels (of Poison… or Ratt… or Kix) plays the Hard Rock Casino

Get ya tickets here!

Speaking of the aforementioned Neko Case, she’ll be back in town on Monday, May 8th, as part of The New Pornographers, who are playing Memorial Hall. Tickets go on sale tomorrow.

Bonnaroo tix are on sale now. Here’s the lineup:

Why major labels suck, Reason #398,275:

Why this Florida Man rocks

Yes, he looks like your typical “Florida Man”… your standard-issue Okeechobee gator ‘rassler or Daytona Beach self-employed roofer. But he rocked out on the National Anthem at a recent Jacksonville Jags home game AND he has a foundation that gives away guitars to kids.

Sunny thoughts from a normally gloomy guy

the everyday human gesture is always a heartbeat away from the miraculous – that ultimately we make things happen through our actions, way beyond our understanding or intention; that our seemingly small ordinary human acts have untold consequences; that what we do in this world means something; that we are not nothing; and that our most quotidian human actions by their nature burst the seams of our intent and spill meaningfully and radically through time and space, changing everything.

Nick Cave, on his always-entertaining Q&A website The Red Hand Files

Album Cover of the Week Month

Moe is not observing Dryuary.

Fall on me

97X, Concert Listings, Music

Even though I’m referring to the season, not the verb, I can’t use that headline and not pay it off… so here you go:

Speaking o’ R.E.M., local legends and TWILM favorites Cereal Killers often do an R.E.M. song or three in their stellar sets. And Cereal Killers are playing tonight around 8:30 outside Crowley’s in Mt. Adams as part of that bar’s 85th anniversary celebration. (Here’s a news clip if you want to experience some awkward happy chat from Tricia “PermaTan” Macke. Is it just me or has she become Magda in There’s Something about Mary?)

Normally, list member Dave Tellmann and I would be all over the CK gig. (That might be the first time that Dave and I have appeared in the same sentence with a variation of the word “normal.”) But in typical feast-or-famine fashion, we’re already slated to attend the Whispering Beard Festival this afternoon and evening. (Dave’s son Jack engineered the new album from The Deslondes, who hit the Beard stage at 9 p.m. tonight.)

Other gigs today include Sweet William at Neltner’s Farm this afternoon, Hyryder at Annie’s, Joan Osborne at Ludlow Garage and the Corn Stand Jam free show at RiversEDGE with Rumpke Mountain Boys headlining.

Tomorrow, the Kentucky Struts are playing Neltner’s Farm from 1:30-4:30. I’ll be pulling up a hay bale for that gig. Lead singer Todd Lipscomb’s wife Angie just took our son Andrew’s senior photos and Angie’s so good that he looks like a GQ model, despite his hereditary handicap on the paternal side.

If you need some pro photos, check out Angie’s website. Highly recommended. (Even though I’m the world’s biggest cheapskate, this is in no way an attempt to get her to cut us a deal on wallet-size prints.)

Other Sunday shows include The Paper Kites at Top Cats, Flobots at Southgate, and Live Skull with Fairmount Girls at MOTR.

On Tuesday, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott rambles into Southgate, with Mike Oberst and Sean Geil of the Tillers as the opener.

(Speaking of Ramblers, one of the roughly 138 crappy $500 used cars that my dad bought* during our time in Arkansas was an AMC Rambler with push button automatic.)

*on the installment plan, of course… man, we were poor!

Sierra Hull plays Memorial Hall on Wednesday. Taylor Rae opens that show.

On Friday, Lucinda Williams plays Madison Theater. That’s a seated show… and Lu may be seated as well. She’s had some health issues, but she’s still one of America’s finest singer/songwriters.

Also on Friday, American Aquarium is at Southgate.

Next Saturday, there’s a free concert at Seasongood Pavilion as part of a celebration and fundraiser for The Community Program for Recovery.

From CincyMusic.com

And it wouldn’t be “Rocktober” without a battle of the tribute bands: Thunderstruck plays Annie’s, and The Ultimate Doors play Ludlow.

Fake Angus will whip out his Gibson SG, and Fake Jim will whip out his… uh, nevermind!

Other 10/1 shows include Deadmau5 at the Marsha Brady and Sam Hibbard & Elijah Bedel at Neltner’s Farm.

Hippie Bob is listening in heaven

I’ll readily admit that my musical tastes are outside the mainstream, which means most shows I go to have a smaller crowd. You start noticing the same faces. And for a long stretch in the late 90s and early 2000s, it seemed like every show I went to — especially the Magus shows– I’d see this older dude with a ponytail. The Venn diagram of our musical tastes overlapped significantly. So I finally introduced myself to him, and every show after that, we’d compare notes on new albums we liked and upcoming shows on our radar. His name was Bob Gregory (I called him “Hippie Bob”), and he taught photography at Sycamore High School for decades before retiring to a life of going to sparsely-attended shows and being bothered by some music nerd (c’est moi!). He was a sweet dude, soft-spoken, funny, and kind. I’m now at the age where I read the obits to make sure my name isn’t in it. This past Sunday I read that Hippie Bob had passed away earlier this month at the age of 82. R.I.P. my music friend.

WTF is on a roll

Marc Maron’s been on a music tear lately… recent episodes of his WTF podcast include interviews with Sharon Van Etten, S.G. Goodman and Covington’s own Adrian Belew. All are well worth a listen.

Coming next year to a bookstore near you

Album Cover of the Week

Any dude with an umlaut in his name knows how to rock! Party on, Günter!