Whiskey City’s Liberty Theater

New Year, New Tunes

Concert Listings, Music

Happy New Year, my friend! May your 2025 be rockin’!

I hope your resolutions are holding up well, too.

It’s not exactly a monster lineup of concerts, but let’s check the ol’ calendar to see what’s brewing the the live lab.

Tomorrow night, Memorial Hall has Queen Of The Queen City, The Musical Times of Mamie Smith. The band will be Ben Levin, Candice Ivory, Noah Wotherspoon, and Brandon Pettiford. And the Woodward Theater screens Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story.

On Wednesday, Hillary Hahn (the NKY singer-songwriter, not Hilary Hahn, the violinist) plays Arnold’s, and The Gilmour Project: Wish You Were Here is at Memorial Hall. The Gilmour Project is:

  • Pete Lavezzoli (drums with Black JGB, Oteil & Friends), and Hilary Hahn plays Arnold’s
  • Jeff Pevar (lead guitar with CSN, David Crosby/CPR, Joe Cocker, Ray Charles, Bette Midler, Phil Lesh & Friends, Ricki Lee Jones, Marc Cohn)
  • Berry Oakley (bass & vocals with Allman Betts Band, North Mississippi All-Stars, Blue Floyd & The Doors)
  • Mark Karan (guitar & vocals with Bob Weir, RatDog, The Other Ones, Dave Mason)
  • Scott Guberman (keyboard & vocals with Phil Lesh & Friends, Keystone Revisited)

The Gilmour Project isn’t: David Gilmour.

Thursday, The Daniel Wayne Band (more on them later) plays MOTR. And if you’re into pro wrasslin’, Lori’s Roadhouse in West Chester has something big… er, little, in store.

Shows this Friday:

  • Peter Mulvey plays Southgate
  • Ernie Johnson from Detroit is at the Liberty Theater in Lawrenceburg, IN
  • Ludlow Garage has The Ultimate Doors
  • Ludlow Theater rolls out the red(s) carpet for the Bronson Arroyo Band

On Saturday:

  • Pelican and Knife the Symphony play the Woodward
  • Southgate House hosts Blind Mouse (a Radiohead tribute band)
  • Annie’s has the KISS tribute band Strutter

I wonder if, when Strutter hits the stage, they say “you wanted a reasonable facsimile of the best, you got a reasonable facsimile of the best”…

A week from tomorrow — on MLK Jr. Day, no less — it’s inauguration day for, as Jeff Tiedrich calls him:

a quadrice-indicted twice-impeached once-convicted popular-vote-losing adderall-huffing insurrection-leading ear-diapering testimony-ducking judge-threatening lawyer-ignoring debate-avoiding witness-tampering day-one-dictatoring disabled-veteran-dishonoring inheritance-squandering rube-fleecing clown-makeup-smearing language-mangling sneaker-hawking serial-sexual-predating draft-dodging casino-bankrupting butler-bullying daughter-perving hush-money-paying real-estate-scamming bone-spur-faking ketchup-hurling justice-obstructing classified-war-plan-thieving golf-cheating stock-manipulating weather-map-defacing war-criminal-pardoning horse-paste-promoting paper-towel-flinging race-baiting tax-evading evidence-destroying charity-defrauding money-laundering diaper-filling 88-count 78-year-old fluorescent-tangerine narcoleptic fart factory. 

Next Tuesday (1/21), local singer/songwriter/all-around-great-guy Todd Lipscomb plays Arnold’s.

Liberty Theater has a free Songwriters in the Round show next Thursday (1/23) featuring Harley Day and James Reed.

Shows on Friday, Jan. 24:

  • Webb Wilder and Bucket play Southgate
  • Mosant is at MOTR
  • Papadosio kicks off a two-night stand at the Madison Theater
  • Meshell Ndegeocello plays Ludlow Garage
  • Little Miami Brewing Co. hosts The Eagles Project
  • The Blue Note in Harrison has Captain Fantastic (Elton John tribute) with 52nd Street (yes, a Billy Joel tribute band)

On Saturday, Jan. 25:

  • Memorial Hall has “On a Winter’s Night” with singer/songwriters Cliff Eberhardt, John Gorka, Lucy Kaplansky, and Patty Larkin
  • Magnolia Boulevard plays the Liberty Theater, with Pure Grain also on the bill
  • The Montvales play the Woodward, with The Harmed Brothers and Rae Fisher
  • Papadosio is papa-doing it again at Madison Theater
  • Adeem the Artist plays Southgate
  • JD Legends in Franklin, OH has Thunderstruck (America’s AC/DC)
  • The Aronoff hosts The Elvis Tribute Artist Spectacular

Noah Wotherspoon plays the Rabbit Hash “Music Behind the Stove” series on Sunday, Jan. 26 (2 p.m. show start) and Tinfoil Hat Cowboys play two sets that evening at MOTR.

The Faux Frenchmen play Memorial Hall on Monday, Jan. 27. Here’s my favorite faux Frenchman:

Memorial Hall has “All You Need is Love: An All-Star Tribute to the Beatles” on Tuesday, Jan. 28.

  • Kasim Sulton – Vocals, Bass, Guitar (Meatloaf, Todd Rundgren’s Utopia, Blue Oyster Cult, Hall & Oates, Cheap Trick, Cyndi Lauper, Patty Smyth, Joan Jett)
  • Steve Kimock – Guitar, Bass (Zero, Oteil & Friends, Jazz Is Dead, The Other Ones, RatDog, Rhythm Devils, Phil Lesh & Friends, Kingfish, Heart of Gold Band)
  • Prairie Prince – Drums (The Tubes, Journey, Todd Rundgren, Blue Floyd, Jefferson Starship, Phil Lesh & Friends, XTC, George Harrison, Chris Isaak)
  • Bobby Lee Rodgers – Vocals, Guitar, Banjo, Sitar Simulation (Jazz is Dead, The Codetalkers with Col. Bruce Hampton, Vassar Clements, Warren Haynes, Widespread Panic, George Porter Jr.)
  • Gil Assayas – Vocals, Keyboard (Kasim Sulton’s Utopia, Todd Rundgren’s Utopia)
  • Mark Rashotte – Guitar (Jake Clemons, Creed, Photograph)
  • Andy Forgie – Vocals, Theatrics (Creed, Photograph)
  • Narrated by Michael Des Barres (The Mistakes, Power Station, Detective, Silverhead)

Not part of the band: Pete Best.

Go to church on WEENsdays

Here’s a pretty cool monthly event going on down on Eastern Avenue (where it’s still called “Eastern Avenue” not the hoity toity “Riverside Drive” section). My friend Eric’s wife Laura runs The Columbia, an old church that’s been converted into a performance space.

I’ve visited the venue, it has great acoustics, a cool vibe, and a vintage jukebox in the basement.

And it’s available for audio and video recording (Ruby Vileos, The Hiders, and Daniel Wayne Band all have test driven it), rehearsal space, private shows, social gatherings, and more.

Follow The Columbia on Instagram, and email the.columbia.cincy@gmail.com for more info.  

A+ on SNL

I’m not the biggest Hozier fan in the world, but he and his band and backup singers did justice to one of the best Xmas songs ever.

Wurster has Slim musical knowledge

Jon Wurster (drummer for Mountain Goats and Bob Mould, formerly with Superchunk) is a great follow on Instagram. His #mynewworstfriend posts are consistently hilarious (see below for a prime example). But he also is a student of the the scene, and his tribute to the late great replacement Replacement Slim Dunlap was fantastic:

List member Joe Sampson and I will always fondly remember talking to Slim at the old Southgate House. The liquor store named Cabooze figured prominently in the conversation.

Jon Wurster also played on this tune (as did Wilco’s John Stirratt):

Winter weather is the Wurst

From the aforementioned Jon Wurster Instagram, where folks can submit weird and wacky photos/images to claim the daily title of his new worst friend.

America is catching on to Wussy

Their new album Cincinnati Ohio made several 2024 year-end best of lists. #50 on the Rolling Stone’s 50 Best Indie Rock Albums, #50 in the Stereogum Top 50, and #36 on Paste’s 40 Best Rock Albums.

Album Covers of the Weeks

My new year’s resolution. It’s a lot better than my current “work and stay poor” plan. I’m struggling with the “think” part, though.

Drinking and driving… what could possibly go wrong?

R.I.P. Slim

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.

Craig Finn also ditched my living room for the Woodward Theater this go-round on his solo tour. (Can’t blame him.) What a great storyteller!

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.

List members Joyce, Matt, Pam, and I also enjoyed the “Words and Music” event featuring Karin and Linford of Over the Rhine (photo above)… especially because we got a sneak preview of updated/upgraded/expanded Mercantile Library. It officially reopens on 12/2.

We now occupy both the 11th & 12th floors of 414 Walnut Street and have more seating areas, more workspaces, more light, more bathrooms, more bookshelves, and, most importantly, more books.

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!

Back-to-Cool Music

Concert Listings, Music

Howdy boys and gurls, I hope back-to-school season is treating you well.

Let’s dive into the live… live music, that is.

Tomorrow night, legendary concert promoter/booker Dan McCabe (Sudsy Malone’s, Southgate House, MPMF, MOTR, Woodward) opens up a brand-spanking-new music venue in an old German music hall in the historic downtown DORA district of Lawrenceburg, Indiana. The venue is called Whiskey City’s Liberty Theater.

The very cool logo was crafted by very cool list member Keith Neltner of Neltner Small Batch (available to work on your brand too!)

You can read more about Dan’s new concert baby on the Cincinnati Magazine website. You might recognize the byline, too! (It was a real treat to tour the venue with Dan and get the scoop! Hardhat tip to list member John Fox for the assignment.)

Allison Kiehl also did a nice article for The Cincinnati Enquirer, complete with Dan doing his best Village Person impersonation:

“It’s fun to rock at the WCLT… ” (Photo credit: Frank Bowen IV/The Cincinnati Enquirer)

Dan’s a great dude and I wish him all the success in the world. Kelsey Waldron will be the headliner for tomorrow night’s debut concert with Henhouse Prowlers and My Brother’s Keeper playing on Saturday. The full lineup of shows is on the Whiskey City’s Liberty Theater website.

And in the interest of saving my hands from carpal tunnel, Whiskey City’s Liberty Theater shall henceforth be known in these posts as Liberty Theater, or the Liberty, or WCLT…

Other Friday shows include:

  • Deer Tick at Southgate house with Dylan McCartney and Dakota Carlyle also on the bill.
  • Gable Price & Friends at the Woodward
  • Sweet Lizzy (no relation to Thin Lizzy) plays the Levitt Pavilion in Dayton.

Saturday shows:

  • Henhouse Prowlers and My Brother’s Keeper at the Liberty
  • Crash Test Dummies play Memorial Hall
  • Riverbend hosts the Ohio is for Lovers Festival (fun fact that I just made up: Jerry Springer coined the phrase “Ohio is for lovers” when he was writing checks as Cincinnati’s mayor.)
  • Ovation in Newport has the Bourbon Baron Bash with Town Mountain and Kelly Willis (“Enjoy bourbon tastings from local distilleries, a variety of food trucks, and live music. All proceeds benefit The Cure Starts Now to fund pediatric brain cancer research.)
  • Brad Paisley plays outdoors at the Hard Rock Casino
  •  Arnold’s hosts local Americana band Jim Trace and the Makers

Silversun Pickups play Bogart’s on Monday.

John Legend performs with the Cincinnati Pops at Riverbend on Tuesday.

If you want proof that age ain’t nothing but a number, put on your cheater glasses and look no further then the Outlaw Music Festival at Riverbend on Wednesday night: Willie Nelson Bob Dylan and John Mellencamp top the bill. That’s 91, 83, and 72 if you’re keeping score at home. But you shouldn’t be.

Next Thursday:

  • Carson Lowe plays a free show at WCLT with Harley Day also on the bill.
  • Sierra Green and the Giants play the Levitt Pavilion for free. (They’re doing a ticketed show the prior evening at Ludlow, but you wouldn’t want to disappoint John Matarese, would you?)

Calling all Beardos! Calling all Beardos!

This year’s Whispering Beard Festival is next Friday and Saturday (September 13th and 14th) at Carriage House Farm in North Bend, Ohio. The full lineup:

Other shows on Friday, September 13th:

  • Ruby Vileos plays the Liberty Theater
  • My Brightest Diamond is at the Woodward Theater
  • Lung headlines the Indie Friday free show at Fountain Square
  • Taft Theatre has An Evening with Esperanza Spalding
  • The Cincinnati Nature Center hosts Music under the Moon with Jam Band Jovi
  • Jamey Johnson plays PNC Pavilion
  • Ludlow Garage has 1964: The Tribute (I’m not sure if they’re paying tribute to the Beatles or to the year of my birth and at this point I’m afraid to ask)
  • Soulja Boy marches into the Ovation
  • Last but certainly not least, GWAR plays Bogart’s

On Saturday September 14th:

  • Kings Of Leon play the Marsha Brady (According to Greg, her sex is on fire, even if her nose is out of whack)
  • Cincinnati band Sylmar plays WCLT
  • RiversEDGE in Hamilton host Signs of Life: The American Pink Floyd
  • Ice Cube plays the Hard Rock Casino’s outdoor stage

STRFKR (spelled just like it sounds!) are at the Madison Theater on Sunday, September 15th, and Saintseneca (punctuated just like it sounds!) plays the Woodward with Strawberry Runners as the opener

Shows on Tuesday September 17th:

  • Manchester Orchestra plays the Peter Brady
  • Megadeth, Mudvayne and All That Remains are at Riverbend
  • Celtic band Skerryvore plays Memorial Hall

On Wednesday September 18th Riverbend hosts the Marley Brothers: The Legacy Tour. (Why yes, Damian IS part of that show… thank you for asking!)

Adding some spice to Pumpkin Season

Neltner’s Farm Fall Fest starts up at the end of this month, with cool bands on the bill every weekend through October. Here’s a brief description and the full music lineup courtesy of Courtney Phenicie at CincyMusic:

I would write 4 U

Sage advice from Seth Godin:

I’m gonna name you “The Concert Keepers” – because:

a. you like concerts, and

b. if you read this hot mess on a regular basis, you’re a keeper!

Makes No Sense at All…

In a budget cut, NBC axed Seth Myers Late Night band, led by Fred Armisen. This was their kiss off/send-off:

Album Covers of the Week(s)

Brother Dave looks like a Fred Armisen character.

I think you can hang a “Mission Accomplished” banner now, EBO!