Sam Bush

Hot fun in the summertime

97X, Concert Listings, Concert review

First, an apology. List member Mighty Joe Sampson pointed out that our previous post’s headline was a bait-and-switch. You can’t call a post “Cruel, Cruel Summer” without paying it off with some Bananarama. So here you go, Joe:

Oops, my bad. Let’s try that again:

Ah, that’s better. OK, now, on with the show(s).

Thursday:

  • The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band plays a free show (paid VIP tickets also available) at RiversEDGE in Hamilton, with Cristina Vane as the opener.
  • The TyeDye Band (fronted by list member John Sandman) plays a free gig at Washington Park as part of their Roots Revival series.
  • Devon Allman and Donovan Frankenreiter play the Madison Theater.
  • James Taylor & His All-Star Band are at Riverbend

All four shows are guaranteed to be hot, hot, hot.

(Sorry Joe, not gonna add a Buster Poindexter video… )

On Friday:

  • Sam Bush plays the old Annie’s – it’s an indoor show
  • Michigander headlines the free concert at Fountain Square
  • Danielle Nicole plays the blues at a freebie show at Levitt Pavilion in downtown Dayton
  • ZZ Top (featuring two original members) and Lynyrd Skynyrd (featuring two fewer original members than ZZ Top) play Riverbend, with Uncle Kracker (featuring one original Kracker… or uncle… or both)

On Saturday, the Cereal Killers bring their inimitable brand of vintage punk and new wave music to Big Ash Brewing.

By now, you should know the drill: first beer’s on me.

Other Saturday gigs include Black Flag at Ludlow Garage, Barry Manilow at the Coliseum (not a lot of overlap in the Venn diagram of Black Flag and Barry Manilow fans), and Live with Fuel at the Hard Rock Casino. “Live with Fuel” sounds like a commercial for a drag racing event (non-RuPaul version):

Or “Live with Fuel” could be be a Zoolander scene:

Speaking of fire, Ring of Fire: the Music of Johnny Cash opens at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.

Train comes chugging into the Rose Music Center on Tuesday and Pentatonix is at Riverbend. (Pentatonix is NOT a doom metal band… if you go expecting one, you’ll be quite disappointed.)

Wednesday:

  • The Offspring, Simple Plan and Sum 41 are at Riverbend
  • The TyeDye Band plays Wunderbar in Covington
  • tu:NER [“a musical trio comprised of Trey Gunn, Markus Reuter, and Pat Mastelotto, that celebrates the music of the Double Duo era (1998 to 2003) of King Crimson”] is at Ludlow Garage
  • RiversEDGE has Satisfaction: a tribute to the Rolling Stones and the Billy Rock Band

Darlingside plays Memorial Hall next Thursday (8/31) and Ludlow Garage has an evening with Ottmar Liebert.

Next Friday and Saturday (9/1 and 9/2), Guided By Voices celebrate 40 years with an amazing lineup:

Other Friday 9/1 shows include Los Straitjackets with the Jake La Botz Trio at the Woodward Theater, Modern English at Ludlow Garage, and Union Son doing an acoustic show at Stanbery Park in scenic Mt. Washington.

9/2 shows include Men without Hats at Ludlow Garage, and the Kings of Late Night (Craig Ferguson, Jay Leno, Arsenio Hall) at the Hard Rock Casino.

Staind will leave their mark on the Hard Rock Casino on Sunday, 9/3.

Monday, September 4th is Labor Day. Here’s your holiday P.S.A. from Billy Bragg:

Smashing Pumpkins play PNC Pavilion on Tuesday, September 5th. (The W.A.S.P./Armored Saint gig slated for the Cindy Brady has been cancelled.)

Skid Row (featuring a lead singer not named Sebastian Bach) and Buckcherry play the Rose on Wednesday, 9/6.

Bobbing for Tickets

Tickets go on sale Friday for Bob Dylan’s Oct. 20th show at the Carol Brady. Buy ’em at the box office and save on the TicketBastard fees.

Concert review X 2

List member Dave Green raved about Charley Crockett’s gig at the Peter Brady. Meanwhile, faithful readers (all two of them) will recall that the last post from a poorly written, sporadically published, lazily distributed, rarely read blog made this audacious claim:

That prediction was 110% accurate. Or 25% accurate, because it might’ve been the show of the year! The Beths were amazing. Elizabeth Stokes writes some fantastic songs, and the three dudes in the band aren’t just great on guitar, bass and drums but they also contribute strong backing vocals. Great sound, stellar set list, enthusiastic crowd… and an inflatable fish on stage. Perfect! (Opener DISQ was very cool too.)

Mic Drop

It’s yet another sign-off for 97X – list member Dave Tellmann and I wrapped up our “Rumblings from the Big Bush” podcast with Episode 97.7. We only had about 13 regular listeners, but they appreciated it:

Dave was hoping that our final episode might earn us some “M.A.S.H. finale ratings” but I told him ours would be more like South of Sunset.

(Look on the bright side, Dave – our show is bigger than Glenn Frey’s!)

Album Cover of the Fortnight

This might be the most unintentionally creepy album cover ever. I’m not quite sure what’s going on here, but I think Rex Allen Jr. might be stalking Billy Barty.

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?

Spring forward. Irish Spring. March madness.

Concert Listings, Music

Top o’ the evening to ya. Can you believe how late it stayed light tonight? Other than the car wrecks, Daylight Saving Time is the best.

Actually I wrecked trying to change the car clock while driving.

Speaking of car wrecks, congrats to my beloved Xavier Musketeers for backing into the NIT like Jim Rockford eluding the bad guys.

That’s OK, though, I’m sure the entire Tri-State will get behind the… Wright State Raiders?

Their mascot name is Raiders and their mascot is a wolf. Makes sense.

OK, enough sporty-sports talk, let’s get to the music:

Monday, Little Feat’s Waiting for Columbus tour comes to the Taft, with opener Ida Mae. And Rob Schneider’s daughter (Elle King) plays Bogart’s.

Talent skips a generation

Sammy Rae & Friends play Memorial Hall on Tuesday

Wednesday, Manchester Orchestra plays Ovation, and Sam Bush is at Ludlow Garage.

Thursday is St. Patrick’s Day – here’s a public service announcement:

List member Howard Cohen recommends this particular brew:

If you’re looking for tunes that evening, Ludlow Garage is hosting An Evening with J.D. Souther – all the hits, some of the stories.

Friday, 10,000 Maniacs will be at Ludlow, and Jukebox the Ghost plays Taft.

Saturday is a Jethro night.

Martin Barre from Jethro Tull will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of Aqualung with a show at Memorial Hall. And David Sanborn will sax up Ludlow Garage.

New tunes

A live version of a new tune from Lucius… goosebumps!

Cincy’s own Afghan Whigs have a rockin’ new tune out:

And The National’s Matt Berninger does guest vocals on a new tune from TWILM favorite Caroline Spence – mighty fine!

(If you haven’t checked out Caroline’s 2019 album Mint Condition, do so posthaste. It’s fantastic.)

Art about artists from an artist

Michael Wilson, acclaimed Cincinnati-based photographer, collaborated on a new body of work with the Visionaries + Voices community. His process, using a 4×5 format camera led to a series of intimate black and white portraits of artists with the possessions they hold most dear.

During his distinguished career Michael has worked with the likes of B.B. King, David Byrne, Robert Plant, Aaron Neville, Bill Frisell, Doc Watson, and Dr. John. See Cherished at V+V’s Northside gallery this spring to learn why Michael is known widely as a master storyteller. The exhibit runs through the end of April at the Visionaries + Voices Northside Gallery, M-F, 10a-4p.

Album Cover of the Week

We’re really diggin’ the main font… and Bob’s disco shirt, of course… but the secondary font is nearly illegible.