It’s almost time for that very special holiday:

Uh, not May the 4th… a.k.a. Spock’s birthday. Or maybe his “Life Day.”

The big day is May 10th – members of Wussy are playing a gig at my house. It’s the 3rd appearance for Chuck & Lisa, and to celebrate #3 they’re bringing a third member: Mark Messerly.

Mark and I are twin sons of different mothers – or we just have similar tastes in cool band t-shirts:

BTW, Mark’s solo project INERT has a new album out soon. Here’s the lead track:

But there are plenty of other cool (albeit less exclusive) gigs coming our way in the merry month of May. Let’s eyeball ’em.

Tonight (5/1):

• The 502s and Daniel Nunnelee play Bogart’s
• Kelsey Waldon is at Southgate
• Todd Lipscomb and Easy Mark play MOTR

On Thursday:

• The Tillers play the “Tunes & Blooms” gig at the Cincinnati Zoo
• Red Wanting Blue plays Southgate
• Camp Springs Tavern hosts the bi-weekly Bluegrass Jam
• The Breakers (a tribute to Tom Petty… or to ’91 Keanu and Swayze) play Ludlow Garage

Friday night, the Wussy Trio (Chuck, Lisa, Mark) plays The Lodge in Dayton, KY.

That same evening, local Mumford-adjacent band Jim Trace & The Makers plays Arnold’s. That group features two of my co-workers… and a name clearly dreamt up on the bourbon aisle of a liquor store. (Perhaps “Cabooze” – the train caboose retrofitted to be a liquor store that was a famous landmark in Newport, KY.)

Saturday, in the new-Newport, Ovation hosts The Ultimate Doors: a tribute to The Doors. (Now I really miss the old Sin City… and the doors of Cabooze.)

Shows on Tuesday, May 7th:

• Rufus Wainwright plays Ludlow Garage
• Stiff Little Fingers are at Bogart’s (and also on my pickleball paddle hand)
• The Messthetics (drummer Brendan Canty and bassist Joe Lally from Fugazi) play the Woodward. Opener is James Brandon Lewis w/Siren Suit

Kamasi Washington plays Ludlow on Wednesday, 5/8, and EXTC (with XTC drummer Terry Chambers) plays Radio Artifact.

On Thursday, 5/9, it’s time to bust out the pipe.

The Verve Pipe plays the Woodward Theater. That same evening, Tenille Townes (no relation to “Captain &” or “Van Zandt”) plays Ludlow, and Thievery Corporation plays Bogart’s. Thievery Corporation has a pretty cool logo:

Hah, that’s just a little good-natured ribbing there, my IRS friends… no need to audit me for that jibe. My “Cabooze” deductions are research expenses, and therefore completely legit!

On Friday, May 10th, Chuck Cleaver, Lisa Walker, and Mark Messerly of Wussy will be playing in my living room! (A rare occasion when I’m not the only wussy in the house…)

That same evening, Stanley Clarke plays the first of two nights at Ludlow. And Southern Culture on the Skids plays Southgate. Their poster is pretty cool:

Stanley Clarke is back at it on Saturday, 5/11 at Ludlow Garage.

Other 5/11 shows:

• Robbie Fulks and Scott Miller play Southgate’s Revival Room (I’ll be at that gig)
• Snõõper. Fruit Loops and The Serfs play the Woodward (list member Dave Tellmann’s son Jack produced some Snõõper tracks and has an engineering credit on their new album)
• Bendigo Fletcher is in Southgate’s main room

Social Distortion and Bad Religion play the Cindy Brady on Sunday, May 12th, and Tommy Prine plays Southgate.

(My neighbors occasionally listen to live Wussy too!)

They Might Be Giants play a two-night “An Evening with…” stand at the Madison Theater on 5/14 and 5/15. The bill promises “2 very different shows. 8 piece band. 3 horns. 2 sets. 0 openers. Starts early. Gets loud.”

Another cool gig on Wednesday, May 15th is Parker Millsap and Robert Ellis doing the solo acoustic thing at Southgate.

There’s another bluegrass hootenanny at Camp Springs Tavern on Thursday, 5/16. Bring your own instrument.

Also on 5/16, Kraftwerk is playing the Ovation in Newport.

Friday, May 17th is a big night for shows:

• The Violent Femmes will play their first two albums in a row during a show at the old Annie’s (I’ll be there. I already bought tickets… I got “two, two, two for my family” but now my son can’t go, so LMK if you want my extra, free of charge.)
• The Secret Sisters play Southgate, with special guest Tyler Ramsey, formerly of Band of Horses
• The jam band Houseplant plays Madison Theater
• Ludlow Garage hosts “Live at the Fillmore – the definitive Allman Brothers tribute”
• Saxon and Uriah Heep will rock Bogart’s… well, it’s more like Sagsome and Heap of Urologists now, but still, more power to ’em.

On Saturday, May 18th, the PNC Pavilion opens the shed season with… Brit Floyd… celebrating the 30th anniversary of a post-Roger/”meh” PF album (The Division Bell). (Sigh.) But at least on your way in, you can check out the progress on the destruction of the beloved Coney Island Pool. Maybe this guy can save it:

Webb Wilder closes out the weekend with a 70th Birthday Bash at Southgate House on Sunday, May 19th.

Love it live

Suzanne Vega put on a great show at Memorial Hall, and it was great to see quite a few list members there, including Janet W., who hooked me up with the presale code for Jayhawks tickets. Score!

Alvvays played a great set at Bogart’s. I went with list members “Deuce” and Matt V. List member Mighty Joe Sampson also was there with his 21-year-old daughter Maggie.

The GBV/Wussy show at Madison Theater was top-notch. Great to hear the full Wussy band. List members David and Amy Groff were there, but their daughter Maggie wasn’t… she’d better up her concert game!

John P. Strohm (Blake Babies, Lemonheads, Antenna, Velo-Deluxe) wrote a really nice Substack post about Guided By Voices. Check it out here.

The Far Side said it best

Then again, it beats the alternative. But old age does create some challenges:

Visual/caption above from this New Yorker piece called “How to dress for a concert in your thirties.”

Fast forward a generation and this happens:

Album Cover of the Week(s)

Ever the gracious hosts/hostess. Hold the lobster. But bring your dentures!