Rumpke Mountain Boys

HollyDaze

Concert Listings, Music

However you choose to celebrate the holiday season, please don’t spin any of those overplayed seasonal tunes within earshot of me. It’s not just Mariah, it’s also Andy Williams, Bobby Helms, Brenda Lee… basically the same 12-song rotation that’s been shoved down our earholes since November 1st.

There are good Christmas songs (R.I.P. Shane and Kirsty), but you’ll rarely hear them on iHeart/Cumulus radio stations or in the malls.

Thanks, my spleen feels vented now. On with the shows!

Tonight, Ben Levin plays Schwartz’s Point, and then he’s got his big Holiday Blues Revue on Thursday.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy plays a “Wild & Swingin’ Holiday Party” at the Taft Theatre on Wednesday.

On Saturday, it’s a Sophie’s Choice for the stoners:

  • Afroman’s “Merry Spliffmas” is at Annie’s
  • Hyryder (Grateful Dead tribute band) plays the Madison Theater

After those smokin’ Saturday shows, all is calm, all is bright… two adjectives that my school teachers never used to describe me.

Things pick up a bit after the fat guy heads back to the North Pole.

On Friday, December 29th, Sylmar and Bendigo Fletcher play the Woodward, and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra trots out their usual holiday tuneage at the Coliseum.

Saturday, December 30th is a very busy night for concerts:

  • Jess Lamb & The Factory (featuring Siri Imani) plays MOTR
  • Rumpke Mountain Boys kick off a two-night stand at Annie’s
  • Root Cellar Extract plays Plain Folk Café in Goshen
  • Tickled Pink (Scott Covrett, Bob Nyswonger and Bam Powell) plays the Pub in Rookwood

On Sunday, December 31st:

  • The Rumpke Mountain Boys ring in the new year at Annie’s
  • Foxy Shazam plays the Foxy Carol Brady
  • Your favorite writer of a semi-coherent, sporadically-published list of Cincinnati-area concerts will celebrate his birthday… by attending the wedding of one of his wife’s co-workers.

Coney Island Baby

Did you hear the news that MEMI is draining the Coney Island Sunlite Pool for good, and building a concert venue in its stead?

Oh goody, a state-of-the-art venue to host those cutting-edge Lynyrd Skynyrd/Kid Rock double bills!

Best Coast, best advice

Bethany Cosentino from the band Best Coast put out a really good solo album this year… and not many people heard it. She talked to Stereogum about her disappointment. Money quote:

I just genuinely think the record I made is really fucking good, and I love it. And again, that’s what matters. I guess maybe at the heart of this message is: If you really love something, do it. Don’t give up. Don’t overthink it. Don’t say, “Well, I should just do the other thing that works already.” No. Do the think you wanna do. Make the thing you wanna make. You know what? If it doesn’t work out, that’s OK.

And the story has a bit of a happy ending, thanks to the dumpster fire that is whatever Twitter is called now.

Album worth a spin

I’m really digging the new release from a UK band called Witching Waves.

Read an interview with the band members here and check out the album below:

Matt & Dave

Cincy meets Indy when Matt Berninger chats with David Letterman.

Hot Ticket Alert

Alvvays plays Bogart’s on Friday, 4/19, and Jerry Harrison & Adrian Belew bring the Remain in Light tour to that same venue on Friday, July 26th. (The Bogart’s box office is open Mondays and Fridays from noon-5, and it opens two hours before showtime on the nights of a show — purchase your tickets there to save big on fees.)

Favorites of 2023

Steven Hyden of Uproxx has it right:

Before I share my list, I need to repeat my regular “year-end list” disclaimer. If you already know the drill, feel free to skip ahead.

1) Ranking albums is dumb … We all know this. Art isn’t a competition. I can’t really distinguish between my 13th favorite album and my 15th favorite. This is all talk. None of it really matters.

2) … but it’s kind of fun … Of course it is! Because it’s about sharing music recommendations. And I do mean share — make your own lists and show them to me, especially if you’re the sort inclined to complain about lists. Put yourself out there and let me complain about you, too!

3) … because it’s really about discovering an album or two (or possibly more!) that you might not have known about otherwise. Exactly!

Now, let’s rank!

Steven’s list is here. Other lists:

And this site compiles several “best of” lists into… you guessed it… a list!

If you care to share your 2023 favorites, post them in the comments.

Album Covers of the Week(s)

Slim and Rampal not only know how to rock, they also know how to rock a gorgeous robe!

Merry, Happy, etc.

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’!

Live music, no foolin’.

Concert Listings, Music

Another week, myriad opportunities to check out live music.

On Monday, Nektar is at Ludlow Garage. That’s a Brit prog rock band that’s been around since 1969. And the name is pronounced like “nectar”… although it’d be cooler if it were “Neck-Tar”… and it came from the instrument that was the ill-fated, banned-due-to-choking hazard follow-up to the Keytar.

Where was I? Oh, that’s right, gigs. Also on Monday, Relient K plays Bogart’s. (The “K” stands for Keytar!)

On Tuesday, Colin Hay (of Men at Work) comes all the way from the Land Down Under to the Peter Brady Icon Music Center, creating a magical marriage between vegemite sandwiches and pork chops & applesauce.

That same evening, Greta Van Zeppelin… I mean Led Fleet… I mean Greta Van Fleet, plays the Coliseum, creating a magical marriage of a band that reeks of the 70s and an arena that reeks of the 70s.

Also on Tuesday, Mike Zito and Albert Castiglia play Southgate.

Sylmar plays MOTR on Wednesday – it’s an 8 p.m. ticketed ($12 advance) show. And finger-style guitarist Yasmin Williams is at Ludlow Garage.

Thursday, Ludlow Garage has Church of Cash. It’s a tribute to Johnny Cash, not Kash Amburgy… although I’d be fine with either.

Friday is April Fools’ Day.

Celebrate with some Negative-Calorie Cookies and Tree Frog Beer… or just get sad that a formerly progressive radio station is now a parody of itself.

That evening, Johnnyswim plays the Ovation. The band features the marriage (literally) of Abner Ramirez and Amanda Sudano. Amanda is the daughter of Donna Summer, so she probably grew up around keytars.

Also on Friday:

  • Kishi Bashi is at the Madison Theater
  • The Wooks play Southgate’s Revival Room
  • Rumpke Mountain Boys kick off a two-night stand at the old Annie’s
  • EXTC plays Ludlow Garage. EXTC features Terry Chambers (drummer for XTC) plus Steve Tilling (vocals, guitar, ex-TC&I, the band of XTC’s Colin Moulding and Terry Chambers), Steve Hampton (guitar, vocals) and Matt Hughes (bass, vocals).

Saturday shows:

  • Shawn Colvin is at Memorial Hall, and she’ll be playing her brilliant 1989 debut Steady On acoustically, along with other favorites.
  • Buffalo Wabs & The Price Hill Hustle/The Harmed Brothers have a nice twin bill show at Southgate in the Revival Room.
  • Rumpke Mountain Boys are back at Annie’s.
  • The Ben Levin Blues Band plays Ghost Baby
  • The Yugos play a free show at MOTR.

On Sunday, list member Dale Doyle just might win a Grammy in the Best Recording Package for his artwork/design on Matt Berninger’s solo album Serpentine Prison.

They should’ve used a keytar image

Even though Dale’s work should be feted during the evening telecast, he’s not a teenage pop songstress (at least he wasn’t the last time we checked his…er, recording package…). So you’ll have to tune in to the afternoon event where more than three-quarters of the 86 winners will be announced. The live stream will start at 3:30 EDT and will be available on the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel as well as on the website live.grammy.com. 

After Dale picks up his hardware, Ben Levin has a 6:30 show at Schwartz’s Point, the cool jazz club in OTR. The building’s been around since about 1870, and a keytar has never darkened its doorway.

Motherfolk is at Top Cats — yes Top Cats — on Sunday.

R.I.P. Taylor Hawkins

New tunes

Here’s a fun new song from Lucius:

Grant-Lee Phillips always delivers:

Digging the new one from Soccer Mommy too:

Old tunes

Gospel great Sister Rosetta Tharpe, born on March 20th, 1915 in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, was as rockin’ as any rock star. Here she is just shredding on a 1965 gospel TV show:

https://youtu.be/cyrQJVxP6Ec?t=28

Album Cover of the Week

We heard that Bob was a fan of The Kinks. Or something like that.

In the Bleak midwinter

Concert Listings, Music, podcast

The dreaded holiday hiatus from live music is inching closer. There are fewer gigs on the ol’ “This Week in Live Music” Koncert Keeper for the next couple of weeks, so let’s make this a double shot to get us thru 2021 (a.k.a. 2020 Part II). Yes, it’s the famous “year-end double issue” that publications like to roll out at this time of year… because “year-end double issue” sounds so much better than “we’re half-assing our way through the next couple of weeks.”

He can hardly bear to hear more Mariah Carey.

Before we get to this week’s fortnight’s gigs, let’s get a crowd ‘n venue review from Mr. Jason Isbell:

Very kind of Jason to say that about our fair burgh. Let’s hope his Icon plaudits attract the attention of other touring artists.

OK, on with the shows…

Tonight, Over the Rhine kicks off a three-night stand at Memorial Hall, Motherfolk and Sylmar play Bogart’s, Ekoostik Hookah plays the old Annie’s, Ben Levin is at Brewriver with special guest Johnny Burgin, and the Fleetwood Mac tribute (the band, not the mac & cheese dish at Keystone) is at Ludlow.

Saturday, Anderson East plays Bogart’s, Squirrel Nut Zippers are at Ludlow Garage, Phil Vassar & Sister Hazel are playing the Hard Rock Casino, Afroman celebrates “Merry Spliffmas” at the old Annie’s, and Ben Levin and Johnny Burgin will be on stage at Big Ash. The next morning, they’ll be playing the Hard Rock Casino.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (no relation to Voodoo Chile) plays the Taft on Tuesday.

Maddie Poppe has an Acoustic Christmas show at Ludlow on Thursday, and Ben Levin plays Shire’s Garden.

Santa Claus is coming to town very late next Friday. You’d better watch out.

Rick “Dr. Noah Drake from General Hospital” Springfield plays the Icon on Wednesday, December 29th.

Not a doctor. Played one on TV.

The Rumpke Mountain Boys kick off a two-night stand at the old Annie’s next Thursday, December 30th. That same evening, Ben Levin will be playing Dead Low Brewing.

Arlo McKinley is at the Madison Theater on New Year’s Eve, while Freekbass will be doing a Funkadelic-KISS mashup called FunKISSdelic at Ludlow Garage. Clutch (the band, not the part I had replaced on my 1976 Datsun B-210 back in ’87) plays the Icon, with Stoner (the band, not the guy in the 2nd balcony with the vape pen) and Native Howl.

Also on New Year’s Eve, this lil’ scamp celebrates another spin around the sun:

Wardrobe by Botany 500.

He plans to celebrate by drinking expired eggnog and staying up until the wee hours (9:45 p.m.).

If he’s feeling extra wacky, he might even have some fruitcake…

Listen Up!

KEXP will be counting down the top albums of the year (as voted on by listeners) today. List member “Rico” recommends this list of the year’s top 100 albums, courtesy of a Finnish music blogger. Luann “Miss Kitty” Gibbs of Inhailer Radio (and the calendar listings queen at the Cincinnati Enquirer) put together a lengthy Spotify playlist of her favorite songs (here), as did Matt “I don’t have a cool nickname like ‘Rico’ or ‘Miss Kitty'” Lacefield (here). Matt also does a music blog/online radio show thang at The Unfamiliar. (Both Luann and Matt have been guests on the 97X Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast… check it out if you have some free time over the holiday break.)

Album Cover of the Week

The person who did the egregious airbrushing work on this cover must’ve already been in “year-end double issue” mode.

Have a great week, and then another great week, and best wishes for a happy 2022!