Wet Leg

The Long Winter

97X, Concert Listings, Music, podcast

Whatever happened to The Long Winters? I loved that band.

Let’s talk live music during our long winter… which could get even longer if a rodent sees his shadow in the week ahead.

Tonight:

  • The not-always-cheerful Neko Case plays Memorial Hall
  • Glen Phillips (of Toad the Wet Sprocket) is at Ludlow Garage
  • The Mortals headline a MOTR show
  • Bret Michaels (of hairband and hair band fame) plays the Hard Rock Casino

Wait, I’ve just been informed that it might be Fergie who is playing the Hard Rock:

On Saturday, the Tillers play Southgate, the Harlequins play Northside Tavern, and The 5th Dimension (featuring one original member… no, not Marilyn McCoo… no, not Billy Davis Jr. either) brings their beautiful balloon all the way down to Ludlow Garage.

The Wailin’ Jennys are at Memorial Hall on Wednesday.

The Way Down Wanderers play Southgate on Thursday. It’s Groundhog Day, so if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, they will play there for six weeks.

Next Friday, there’s a tribute to local legend David Rhodes Brown at Southgate House, featuring members of the Warsaw Falcons, 500 Miles to Memphis, Chalkeye, The Star Devils, The Tammy Whynots, Maria Carrelli, Dead Man String Band, The Modified, Missy Fairmount, Paul and Sylvia Mitchell, KY Timbre and the Hillbilly Harem, Mister Moriah, Veronica Grim.

R.I.P. D.R.B.

That same evening, John Cowan plays Ludlow and .38 Special plays the Hard Rock Casino. They will be rockin’ into the night slot machines.

On Saturday, Feb. 4th:

  • Dan Bern plays Southgate, with Brandon Costello as the opener
  • Macy Gray plays Ludlow Garage
  • Ovation in Newport hosts An Evening with Lotus

On Sunday, 2/5, Bogart’s has Badfish: A Tribute to Sublime

Noted opera singer Adam Sandler plays the Coliseum on Monday, 2/6.

On Tuesday, 2/7, Supersuckers are at Southgate.

The Dirty Streets and Heavy Hinges play Southgate on Thursday, 2/9.

Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder are at Memorial Hall on Friday, Feb. 10th. Kentucky Thunder is usually a harbinger of Kentucky Rain… which has been known to create this:

There’s quite a grab bag of shows (and venues) on Saturday, Feb. 11th:

  • Blackberry Smoke plays the Lawrenceburg Event Center
  • Joe’s Truck Stop, Willy Tea Taylor and Jordan Smart play Southgate’s Revival Room
  • The Judds (featuring one original member!) are at the Nutter Center in Dayton
  • The Coliseum hosts the Legendz of the Streetz Tour (in case you hadn’t guessed from the use of the “z plurals” — there will be hippin’ and/or hoppin’ at that show. Per the show description, it will be “an interchanging ensemble of some of the most Iconic names in Hip-Hop including Rick Ross, Jeezy, Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz, Jadakiss, Cam’ron with Special Guest Jucee Froot”
  • Last, and most incongruously of all, Michael Bolton will be at the Hard Rock Casino. (Which might be the first time that “Michael Bolton” and “Hard Rock” have been used in the same sentence.)

The Dearly Departed

I’m afraid to check the news these days, as it seems like musicians young (Jeremiah Green of Modest Mouse), not-so-young (Terry Hall of The Specials) and old (Christine McVie, Jeff Beck, et al.) are shuffling off this mortal coil at an ever-increasing pace. I do want to note two folks who did a lot to champion indie music:

Gary Smith was the founder of Fort Apache Studios in Boston.

As a producer and manager, Gary shepherded the careers of some of the era’s most influential artists, among them Pixies, Throwing Muses, Tanya Donelly, Juliana Hatfield, and Natalie Merchant. But his impact transcended the realm of records and contracts. Gary brought people together, cultivating a sense of family that sustained him and the many outsiders, misfits, and dreamers fortunate enough to travel in his orbit.

Read Gary’s full obit here

Lin Brehmer was a host on WXRT in Chicago for 30 years.

Lin Brehmer often ended his radio essay segment “Lin’s Bin” by saying, “Take nothing for granted. It’s great to be alive.”

Read the entire tribute here.

Hot ticket alert

The Woodward Theater recently added three cool shows:

  • Snail Mail on Tuesday, May 2nd (list member Mighty Joe Sampson and I will be in the house for that one)
  • F*cked Up on Friday, May 5th (lead singer is Damian… cool name!)
  • Damien Jurado (great guy, despite misspelling his first name…) on Friday, June 2nd.

Hot tunes alert

boygenius (Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus and Phoebe Bridgers) announced a full-length album. Check out three choice tunes from it here on Stereogum or below.

Hot Pod Alert

Remember that time when a Goo Goo Doll tried to beat up a sound man? The staffers who were at 97X back in ’93 (Steve Baker, Phil Manning, Jae Forman, etc.) recall that ill-fated “Day in Eden” concert that turned into a day from hell, and they share their memories here.

Recommended Reading

The New Yorker has a nice (albeit short) feature on Wet Leg. Love this quote from Rhian Teasdale of that band:

Recommended shopping

Hat tip to list member Todd Butler for the video

Album Cover of the Week… or just February 2nd

Step aside, Punxsutawney Phil!

June. Moon. (Spoon isn’t until September.)

Concert Listings, Music

Greetings and sun salutations!

I pulled a muscle just looking at this series.

Let’s get down to the gigs, Dawg!

Tonight, Inhailer Radio celebrates their 5th anniversary at Madison Live:

Other gigs:

  • Mad Anthony returns to the Southgate House stage, in the Lounge
  • Clownvis Presley and Jimmy Psycho play Southgate’s main room
  • Lagniappe plays a free show at scenic Stanbery Park in even more scenic Mt. Washington
  • Ben Levin plays Wiedemann’s Brewing
  • The Hard Rock Casino has “Big Hair Friday” with Skid Row, Warrant and Winger

Saturday features the Sawyer Point Summer Concert Series kickoff concert:

Free admission

The Southgate House has a quadruple bill of local/regional bands: Bohemian Funk, Trippin’ Roots, The Electric Indigo, and Dead Humor.

Pup and Oceanator play Bogart’s on Sunday.

Pup in the Bogart’s men’s room…

And Ben Levin plays Schwartz’s Point.

On Tuesday, Kate Bollinger is at MOTR Pub, and the Lumineers play Riverbend…

Uh, that’s Lumineers, not Lumiere… but R.I.P. Jerry Orbach! The Lumineers latest album is quite good, and the opener is Caamp – that’s a strong double bill. Speaking of Camp, this one is sold out:

Wednesday is chock full o’ tunes:

  • Nick Lowe’s Quality Rock & Roll Revue starring Los Straitjackets, with Tommy McLain + CC Adcock is at Memorial Hall
  • Flogging Molly and The Interrupters play an outdoor gig at the Bobby Brady
  • The Band Camino rolls into Ovation
  • Jill Andrews plays Southgate’s main room
  • Bob Log III is in the Southgate Revival Room – his stage getup (and setup) are interesting:
  • Billy Bob Thornton and the Boxmasters play Ludlow Garage. Remember when Billy Bob teamed up with Dwight Yoakam, Vic Chestnutt, Col. Bruch Hampton, Ian Moore, and Mickey Jones? That was fun!

On Thursday:

  • Kristin Hersh and Fred Abong (miss you, Throwing Muses!) play MOTR. Show’s at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20.
  • Flying Buffaloes and Red Clay Strays play RiversEDGE in Hamilton
  • Whiskey Bent Valley Boys do the Roots Revival Series at Washington Park
  • Ben Levin plays the rooftop bar at The Phelps
  • Chris Rock opens up a two-night stand at the Taft. They added a second show after “the slap heard ’round the world” — now Chris can afford a nicer meal:

Next Friday, June 10th, the Ben Levin 3 plays the Southgate Lounge, Motion City Soundtrack is at Bogart’s, and We Are Scientists headline the Fountain Square freebie.

Festivals galore!

Video of the Week

Buzz band Wet Leg gets the parody treatment with this send-up of “Chaise Longue”:

Album Cover of the Week

Vic Damone never could find a steady girlfriend… probably because he often wore a monogrammed shirt.