Waxahatchee

Turkey with Jam

Concert Listings, Concert review, Music

Wow, it’s nearly Thanksgiving Day!

The concert slate could use a bit more stuffing. That’s fine, it leaves room for family gatherings… or for watching a WKRP in Cincinnati rerun.

But there are a few shows, which is a reason to be thankful.

Skip the can-shaped cranberry sauce, and feast on The Raisins instead.

Bob, Rob, Bam and Ricky have shows on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday at the Woodward Theater. (They also have a documentary movie out that features performances from their March shows – check out the interview on WVXU Cincinnati Edition.) The Saturday gig is sold-out, but tickets remain for the other two shows.

Other Wednesday shows include Northern Kentucky Derby at Southgate House, and State Champs at Bogart’s.

Thursday is Turkey Day! (Or in my house, Tofurkey Day!)

Speaking of expanding waistlines, Bret Michaels is at the Hard Rock Casino on Friday.

Also on Friday:

  • Jeremy Pinnell kicks off a two-night stand at Southgate House with a solo set, along with Justin Wells.
  • Freekbass hosts “Funksgiving” at Radio Artifact, with Tracy Silverman Project.
  • The Raisins are at Woodward

Saturday gigs:

  • Jeremy Pinnell plays a full-band show in Southgate’s main room, with G.W. Garner and The Montvales also on the bill.
  • The Ark Band plays Ludlow Garage on Saturday
  • Memorial Hall hosts Christmas with the Celts
  • The Whiskey Shambles, Veronica Grim, and The Shivers in Southgate’s Revival Room
  • The Raisins at Woodward (sold-out)

Unless you’re going to NYC for the Jesse Malin benefit shows on 12/1 and 12/2 (more on that below), there’s a bit of a lull in the ol’ Koncert Keeper. Maybe you can do some holiday shopping.

Or go see your friend’s band:

On Friday, 12/6, the animals (but not The Animals) are out in full force:

  • Benjamin Tod & Lost Dog Street Band at Bogart’s
  • Spirit of the Bear and Bear the Moon in Southgate’s Revival Room
  • The Surfrajettes and Kyle Eldridge play Southgate’s main Sanctuary – that should be a rollicking good time!
  • Ludlow Garage crams three tributes into one band, when Magical Mystery Doors plays tunes by the Beatles, Led Zep, and The Doors

On Saturday, 12/7, Noah Smith’s Crooner Circus takes over all three Southgate House stages:

Other 12/7 shows include:

  • Tropidelic at Bogart’s
  • Mosant and Ascension Day at the Liberty Theater
  • Siren Suit with Girl Gordon and Marsha at Urban Artifact
  • Ludlow Garage has Aja: A Tribute to the Music of Steely Dan, with shows at 3:30 (when they play The Royal Scam in its entirety) and 7:30 p.m.

Then there’s another lull in the schedule. Maybe you can make sure the Christmas lights are hung.

The English Beat plays Ludlow Garage on Thursday, 12/12.

On Friday the 13th:

  • Erika Wennerstrom (Heartless Bastards) kicks off three nights of solo shows at The Loon Wine Bar in Northside. (Friday and Saturday shows are sold-out, but they added a 6 p.m. Sunday show. Tickets on sale here.)
  • Ludlow Garage has A John Waters Christmas on Friday and Saturday
  • The Tillers have a 10th anniversary vinyl release of Hand on the Plow (with cover artwork by list member Keith Neltner)

Motherfolk has “A Very Motherfolks Christmas” at Bogart’s on Satuday, 12/14.

Tears on our Cheek

R.I.P. Randy Cheek (Libertines, Ass Ponys, The Ready Stance, et al.) Here’s a loving tribute from Chuck Cleaver:

Here’s to you, Randy!

Joy to the Wussy World

Now more than ever, we need the healing words and music of our friends in Wussy, on their new release Cincinnati Ohio.

Check out Jason Cohen’s profile of Wussy in Stereogum. And put your ears on this segment about their new album from NPR’s All Songs Considered:

We live for live

It’s hard to believe that Eric Bachmann’s recent Undertow show was off my radar. Heck, he’s played an Undertow show at my house before (2019):

And I applied to host his show this time around. But somehow I missed the listing – thank goodness an alert list member tipped me off that morning, and I DID catch the show thanks to list member Jeff B.

Eric played a cool venue in South Fairmount called the Lunken Lounge. Hopefully there will be more shows there in the future.

List member Dave Tellmann and I finally made it over to Dan McCabe’s new venue, Whiskey City’s Liberty Theater, in Lawrenceburg, IN. What an amazing place to see a show! And we saw a fantastic high energy performance from Low Cut Connie.

The opening band, Sweat, from Pittsburgh, was great too!

Dan McCabe has some great shows lined up over the next couple of months… check ’em out here and support a great dude who has spent decades bringing great music to our area.

The Reading Room

Tip o’ the tam to Kevin Sullivan for the link to a Jesse Malin feature in the NYT in advance of Jesse’s return to the stage on Dec. 1 and 2, with dozens of high profile friends.

They’re just trying to return the kindness Jesse has always shown to them:

Jesse still has his PMA – positive mental attitude:

Live Performance Video of the Week Year

Waxahatchee and M.J. Lenderman at the Americana Music Awards, with an all-star backing band that includes Buddy Miller, Don Was, Larry Campbell, and Jen Gunderman. Top notch!

Album Covers of the Weeks

Cornucopia… accent on the corn.

This “little singing band” used the Thanksgiving tablecloth to make skirts and ties (or are those dickies?).

You can throw the albums shown below onto the turntable after Turkey Day to make those pounds melt away – it’s a miracle!

Spring-ing into action

books, Concert Listings, Music

Last things first if you’re into Devo (and if you’re not, why read this blog?): there’s a free The Beginning Was The End book event tonight at the OTR Stillhouse, courtesy of our friends at the Mercantile Library.

Details and the free registration link are here. I’ll see you there – I’ll be the guy wearing the Energy Dome.

Let’s take a gander at the music shows coming our way.

Tomorrow night, catch Mom Jeans at Bogart’s

Thursday:

  • Colin Hay is coming all the way from the Land Down Under to the Taft Theatre
  • Brandy Clark and Hayes Carll play the Ludlow Garage
  • Less Than Jake (no relation to Better than Ezra) plays Bogart’s
  • Too Many Zooz (more like too many z’s) plays Madison Theater
  • Bumpin’ Uglies and Bikini Trill play Madison Live

Friday it’s time for a Come to Jesus session. Jesus Jones, that is, at Ludlow Garage.

On Saturday, Alex Salcido of The Harmed Brothers plays Camp Springs Tavern, and the Madison Theater hosts the jam band Spafford. (No relation to Susan Stafford, the original letter-turner on “Wheel of Fortune.”)

Blues dude Noah Wotherspoon plays the Rabbit Hash General Store’s “Sunday Music Behind the Stove” series on 3/21 – music starts at 2:30.

Breaking news: this coming Monday, we’re shutting down our music blog.

Beach Fossils are at Bogart’s next Tuesday, 4/2 with Nation of Language.

TC Superstar plays a free show at MOTR next Wednesday, 4/3.

I really hope their band name is a tribute to T.C. the true superstar of “Magnum, P.I.” (apologies to Larry Manetti).

Shows next Thursday, April 4th:

  • Raul Malo of The Mavericks brings his amazing voice to Ludlow Garage
  • Chicago Farmer & the Fieldnotes play Southgate with Joe’s Truck Stop
  • Camp Springs Tavern hosts their bi-weekly Bluegrass Jam

On Friday, April 5th:

  • William Fitzsimmons plays Southgate
  • The Rabbit Hash String Band will be at Plain Folk Café in Pleasant Plain, OH
  • Badfish (a tribute to Sublime… or to gas station sushi) plays the Madison Theater

Ludlow Garage hosts Dave Mason’s Traffic Jam on Saturday, 4/6.

The Tillers play the Rabbit Hash Music Behind the Stove series on Sunday, 4/7.

Supremely talented singer/songwriter John Moreland plays Ludlow Garage on Thursday, April 11th.

That same evening, Brothers Osborne play the Mike Brady.

Hot Ticket Alert!

The Violent Femmes are playing the old Annie’s on Friday, May 17th. Not only that, but they’re playing their first two albums cover to cover!

Get yer tix here.

And come November 3rd, Drive-by Truckers will be bring their Southern Rock Opera Revisited Tour to Bogart’s. Let there be rock!

Tickets for that gig go on sale to the general public on this Friday.

Podcast Promo/Hot FREE Ticket Alert!

If you’re old enough to remember the 1990s, and if you’re even slightly into music, and you appreciate great writing, you really owe it to yourself to check out the 60 Songs That Explain the ’90s podcast.

Rob Harvilla, a senior staff writer for The Ringer, spends each episode breaking down a single song from the ’90s. Actually, he spends about half of each episode on a series of digressions, often about his time growing up in northern Ohio in the 90s, before finally getting to the featured song. And the digressions are great – brilliantly written, completely engaging, and typically hilarious… and the humor is usually self-deprecating.

Rob’s written a book to accompany the podcast, and he’ll be talking about both at the OTR Stillhouse on Friday, April 26th. Better yet, list member Jay Stowe will be conducting the interview!

It’s yet another freebie from our friends at the Mercantile Library. Sign up here. (Unfortunately that event is the same night as the Guided by Voices/Wussy show at Madison Theater, so I’ll have to cut out early to get across the river in time for Wussy’s set.)

Speaking of Wussy…

They’ll be playing a trio house concert (Chuck, Lisa, Mark) at Casa de Dubbatrubba on Friday, May 10th. If you’re keeping score at home, this’ll be their third home show at my home. Much to my utter delight… and my wife’s ever-increasing odds for sainthood.

Hot tunes

Waxahatchee’s new album Tigers Blood is fire.

The album’s songs got their live debut during a club show at the Empty Bottle in Chicago – check out some clips in this Stereogum article. (Hat tip to list member Joe Sampson for the link.) And here’s an interview with Katie Crutchfield in Pitchfork.

Cleveland’s own Dave Hill is right up there with Rob Harvilla on the writers-who-are-hilarious-and-musically-inclined scale. (Check out his books Parking the Moose, Tasteful Nudes and Dave Hill Doesn’t Live Here Anymore for proof.) Dave’s also a musician, and his band Valley Heat has a rockin’ new single out.

Here’s to Music Moms

I’m not a fan of The Facebooks, but I loved this post from Buffalo Tom bassist Chris Colbourn (and the comment from his bandmate Bill Janovitz):

(Hat tip to list member Lisa Collins for bringing it to my attention.)

Here’s to the faithful departed

R.I.P. Karl Wallinger (The Waterboys, World Party) and Eric Carmen (The Raspberries, cheesy movie soundtracks).

Video above courtesy of list member Todd Butler.

Album Cover of the Week(s)

Nothing says “raising hell” like a crewcut, a sports coat, and a piano singalong.

Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and… live music

Concert Listings, Music

Now that 30 billionaires have settled their differences with 700+ millionaires on how to divvy up the incoming millions, Major League Baseball is underway across America. Except in Cincinnati, where the roster consists mostly of players from the Reds’ minor league affiliate Chattanooga Lookouts, only now they’re wearing uniforms with less of a “Mr. Potato Head eyes” vibe.

That’s because the Reds, in the words of GM Nick Krall “must align our payroll with our resources.”

Don’t worry, though, this payroll reduction doesn’t affect list member Dan “The Reds – learn their names along with us!” Lewis, who is still being compensated quite handsomely for “HELPING PARTNERS ENGAGE/ACTIVATE WITH OUR FANS IN THE BALL PARK, ONLINE AT REDS.COM AND ON REDS ON RADIO.”

(We rarely use “quite handsomely” in the same sentence with “Dan Lewis” but in this case we mean Dan gets his pick of bobbleheads, and any leftover popcorn from concession stands. Score!)

Speaking of Herb Score, the Reds take the field Tuesday afternoon for their home opener against the Cleveland Indi…er, Guardians.

And after the game you can stick around downtown to see a live performance from a real rock star:

No, that’s not Queen’s Brian May, or REO Speedwagon’s Kevin Cronin, or the ghost of Ronnie James Dio… it’s noted curmudgeon Fran Lebowitz. She’ll be at the Aronoff on Tuesday evening.

I don’t often engage in hyperbole (except when talking about Dan “Moneyball” Lewis’ salary) so believe me when I say that this Wednesday is the Humping-est Hump Day ever!

It’s an embarrassment of musical riches:

  • Waxahatchee will be at the Woodward Theater with opener Madi Diaz – list member Joe Sampson and I will be there, with bells on.
  • Jack White plays the Jan Brady Music Center.
  • Jim Lauderdale is doing a solo gig at the Southgate.
  • Country Westerns will be at MOTR.
  • Penny & Sparrow are at Ludlow Garage.
  • Last, but certainly not least, the Taft hosts Baby Shark Live.

Speaking of Jack White and baseball, check out his version of the Star-Spangled Banner at the Detroit Tigers home opener:

We’re really digging Jack’s Papa Smurf-meets-Devo-plastic hairdo

On Thursday, Loudon Wainwright III plays Memoria Hall, much liked he played the M*A*S*H 4077 back in the day:

That same evening, Celtic Women play the Aronoff, and the Cincinnati Zoo’s “Tunes and Blooms” series features the Whiskey Bent Valley Boys.

On Friday:

  • Bill and the Belles play Southgate.
  • Hyryder (Grateful Dead tribute) plays Annie’s.
  • Keiko Matsui is at Ludlow Garage.
  • Local band Gentle Leader XIV opens for System Exclusive at a free show at MOTR. A member of Gentle Leader XIV works with list member Anne Robinson, and Anne encourages all of us to attend. And another “Gentle Leader 14” is willing to bet it’ll be a great show.

Rainbow Kitten Surprise plays the Ovation on Saturday, with The Brook & The Bluff as the opening band. Aronoff hosts Rain: a tribute to the Beatles. And Ludlow Garage has “Live at the Fillmore: the definitive original Allman Brothers Band tribute.”

Baseball season is also Festival season

Strong lineup for this year’s Bourbon & Beyond:

But it’s no match for the original Borbón:

New Tunes

This week, new albums came out from Lucius, Calexico, Wet Leg, Father John Misty, Jack White, Orville Peck, and Pillow Queens. And check out this delightful song from The Loyal Seas, which is Tanya Donelly (Throwing Muses, Breeders and Belly – try to top that trifecta!) and Brian Sullivan:

Happy Trees Tripping

From this article on Dangerous Minds: A man named Alexander Reben has created the ultimate psychedelic Bob Ross artifact. It’s called Deeply Artificial Trees. According to Reben, “This artwork represents what it would be like for an AI to watch Bob Ross on LSD.”

Album Cover of the Week

Woody is also looking at two to four years in prison for invasion of privacy…

And finally, the song that’s been in your head since you read the headline of this post, if you’re an old-timer like me:

A December to Remember

Concert Listings, Music

IF you’re not too busy buying expensive new vehicles for your significant other and yourself… like this totally relatable and not-at-all-unrealistic GMC commercial:

https://youtu.be/DQTVh5EF_tc

… then perhaps you can rustle up enough cash to see a concert or two in December. Oh, and save some coinage for a show next spring too…

Waxahatchee will be playing the Woodward Theater on Wednesday, April 13th of 2022. Tickets go on sale TODAY at 10 a.m.

Her most recent album was one of the best of 2020 (sez me… and pretty much everyone else), so you don’t want to miss this gig. Unless your wife’s due date is a couple of days before the show (Hi Rico!).

OK, now let’s get to this week’s list of gigs, shall we?

Max Weinberg’s Jukebox (that’s a band, not an eBay listing for a Seeburg Select-O-Matic that was once owned by the E Street Band drummer) is playing at Ludlow Garage tonight. Max lets the audience pick the tunes the band will play from a list of 300+ songs. Perhaps it’ll turn out better than this:

Tomorrow night

  • Jess Lamb & the Factory play Findlay Market at 5 p.m.
  • Shakey Graves is at Bogart’s, with This Week in Live Music favorite S.G. Goodman as the opener.

But the really big Saturday show is at Fretboard Brewing: local jam band Spookfloaters (featuring my wife’s cousin Mike on guitar and vocals) will be playing from 8-11 p.m. I’ll be there (look for the old guy NOT doing the twisty-floppy dancing), along with list members Dan and Anne Robinson, Whit and Barb Gardner, and Pat “Print’s not Dead Yet” Latham. What about my lovely bride, you ask? Well, even though Mike is her first cousin, she won’t be attending because she has a “Girls Night Out” (if you’re keeping score at home, this will be the 8th one this week). Blood may be thicker than water, but apparently it’s thinner than margaritas.

Or cousins…

Sunday is a church day. It’s also a Chvrches night – they’re playing the Ovation, with Donna Missal as the opener.

On Tuesday, Jesse Dayton plays Southgate, and David Benoit does a Christmas tribute to Charlie Brown at Ludlow Garage.

Southgate will be rockin’ on Wednesday, with a triple bill of The Queers, the Dollyrots and Tiger Sex. (Note: Tiger Sex is a band, not a cologne.)

Speaking of pungent aromas, Hot Tuna will be at Ludlow Garage on Thursday, with Steve Kimock & Friends opening the show. That gig is damn near sold out. But plenty of tickets are still available for guitar whiz Tommy Emmanuel and acoustic picker Andy McKee at Taft.

Next Friday, December 10th, Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit kick off a two-night stand at the Icon, with Marty Stuart & the Fabulous Superlatives as the opener. I’ll be there, along with list members Chris Lecky, Whit and Barb Gardner… and yes, my lovely bride too (shh, don’t tell Cousin Mike).

If you can’t make the Isbell show next Friday, you can enjoy an Olde English Christmas…

Wait, I meant an Olde English Christmas with Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone. That’s at Ludlow Garage. Not sure which one will bring your more enjoyment.

Also on tap next Friday: The Ben Levin Trio will be playing Lucious Q, with legendary bluesman Lil’ Jimmy Reed, and Multimagic will be at Woodward, with JV Golf and Bershy.

That’s about it for shows in the week ahead. Let’s dip into the ol’ mailbag…

(Artist’s rendition. The actual mailbag is dang near empty… I blame DeJoy.)

List member Janet Welling picked up the sweet Maker’s Mark vinyl designed by list member Keith Neltner:

Sharon McCafferty chimed in after we featured a Devo video recently:

Funny about Devo. My father-in-law is a big fan. He’s known to sport an energy dome at weddings and the band has to play “Whip it.” He wants Jarrod to join him in going to see them in New York – on a Wednesday. Alas practicality prevails. 

He might have just earned the title of coolest father-in-law ever!

And Chris Lecky provided a couple of quick concert recaps:

I saw Dylan for the millionth time, not one of my favs. Setlist wasn’t great and no Charlie Sexton sucks. Dave Chappelle at the arena was an odd one. Hoping for stand up but got Bones Thugs and Harmony performing.

Sorry you got Bone-d, Chris. See you at Isbell!

The Reading List

This piece from Washington Post pop music critic Chris Richards was great… and the headline (The Beatles are overrated. That’s our fault, not theirs.) is sure to garner some extra clicks. Here’s the money quote (bold emphasis mine):

When McCartney foresees his bandmates “very old,” we need not mourn the 21st-century Beatles reunion album that nobody gets to hear. The music these four managed to record between 1962 and 1970 is enough to sustain a lifetime of enjoyment, easy. But there’s also an entire world of new music being made at this very moment, and it’s already passing us by. Yes, we have to make room for the past and the present to coexist in our listening lives — but if we’re more excited about spending eight hours fly-on-the-walling with the Beatles than opening our ears to what this world currently sounds like, imagine what we’ll be grieving another 50 years from now.

Hear, hear, Chris, I couldn’t agree more!

And this Substack piece from Damon Krukowski (drummer for Galaxie 500 back in the day, and now in a duo called Damon and Naomi) about how pop stars are squeezing out indie bands at vinyl plants is quite interesting.

I didn’t mention Ed Sheeran or Adele or god forbid Taylor Swift in my testimony – you never know who’s a rabid fan – but vinyl production problems for records that won’t be stocked at Target is a perfect example of what is happening across industries in this moment of corporate oligarchy. There’s nowhere to hide from those intent on market domination – they won’t leave our small scale businesses alone, even though what we represent in dollar amounts is too little for them to really care.  

Nine thousand LPs are nothing to Ed Sheeran. But they are a means to survival for independent artists like me.

Reminder: share your favorite albums of 2021

List member Mighty Joe Sampson got the ball rolling with his faves:

  • Snailmail- Valentine
  • Japanese Breakfast- Jubilee 
  • MMJ- self titled
  • The War on Drugs: I Don’t Live Here Anymore
  • Lana Del Rey- Blue Bannisters
  • The Hold Steady- Open Door Policy
  • Lucy Dacus- Home Video

That’s a Magnificent Seven from Mighty Joe. You can add yours via this link.

Tweet of the Week

Album Cover of the Week

Uh, you could give away a dozen kids and still have a gaggle, Eddie. (At least now we know who George Jetson’s real father is.)

Have a great week!