Wussy

November Reign

Concert Listings, Concert review, Music

Rocktober, we hardly knew ye…

(Jesus gives out full-size candy bars!)

But now it’s Rollvember! Let’s take a gander at who’s rollin’ into town.

But first, this is a Public Service Announcement… with guitar.

You’ve been warned.

OK, on with the shows… on Thursday evening:

  • Jaguar Sun and Television Blonde play MOTR (9 p.m., tix are $15 day of show)
  • Loreena McKennitt is at the Taft
  • The Mat Kearney Acoustic Trio plays Memorial Hall
  • The Cadillac Three are at Bogart’s
  • Rainbow Full of Sound (yes, that’s a Grateful Dead tribute band… how’d you guess?) will be at the old Annie’s, recreating the GDs legendary 1972 tour of Europe.

Rubblebucket plays Bogart’s on Friday.

Here’s your Saturday slate o’ shows:

  • Blues guitarist Walter Trout is at Ludlow Garage
  • Willy & the Cigs play MOTR
  • Southgate House hosts the Queen City Blues Fest (lineup is here)
  • Ovation has Wish You Were Here – The Sight & Sound of Pink Floyd presents “The Dark Side of The Moon 50th and Beyond Tour” (“North America’s biggest, most authentic Pink Floyd stage production in a spectacular tribute of music, performers, lighting, lasers, videos and inflatables.”)
  • Travis Tritt plays the Hard Rock (although he doesn’t play hard rock)

Speaking of casinos, Tuesday is 11/7 (or 7/11 if you’re a Eurotrash Girl or Guy)… and if you’re a fan of Victor Wooten and the Wooten Brothers, it’s your lucky day. They play Memorial Hall.

On Wednesday, 11/8, Popa Chubby (yes, that’s his real name*) plays Southgate, with Luther Ray and the Flood.

*No, it isn’t. But here’s a true story: when I worked on the Gary Burbank Show at WLW, cast member Dukie Sinatra and I would sometimes fill in for Gary on holidays. We had a Popa Chubby tune as one of our “bumper” instrumental beds. As we were coming back from a commercial break. I made the mistake of saying the artist’s name… Duke never let me live it down.

Next Thursday, November 9th, is jam-packed with jams (but not jam bands… sorry Tommy Chong!)

  • The Head & The Heart play the Mike & Carol Brady (see what we did there?)
  • Memorial Hall hosts a musical conversation with Valerie June, Rachael Davis, Thao (of Thao and the Get Down Stay Down fame) and Yasmin Williams
  • Tommy Prine plays Southgate with Jordan Smart
  • Eric Hutchinson is at Ludlow Garage (which isn’t in Ludlow, KY)
  • The Blue Wisp Big Band plays Bircus Brewing (which IS in Ludlow, KY)
  • AJ Croce will be at the Taft
  • Jeff Tweedy’s Fall Book Tour makes a stop at Walnut Hills High School’s auditorium, with Nathan Salsburg as the moderator
  • Last, but certainly not least, you can enjoy some Post Sex Nachos (that’s a band… good thing they didn’t have any instrumental tracks when I worked on Gary Burbank’s show) and Divine Sweater at Madison Live.

(The original Lovin’ Spoonful)

Concerts on Friday, November 10th:

  • Grace Potter plays the Jan Brady
  • GZA and Fishbone are at Bogart’s
  • Freddie Gibbs plays the Madison Theater
  • The Ladybug Transistor plays an early show at MOTR, with Northern Kentucky Derby handling the late shift
  • Memorial Hall hosts The Eagles Project (acoustic) – we hope they play the Eagles new hit “Tush Push”

Eric Roberson plays Ludlow Garage on Saturday, 11/11.

On Monday, Nov. 13th, the Woodward Theater will be screening the fantastic Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense.

Nellie McKay plays Southgate’s Revival Room on Tuesday, 11/14, and Amy LaVere and Will Sexton will be in that same spot on Wednesday, 11/15.

On Thursday, November 16th, password presale tickets for The Raisins reunion shows (Mar. 1 and 2 of 2024 at the Woodward) will go on sale.

Not-so-hot Ticket

As list member Michael “Rico” Carrico said, “these top two musical headlines tell you pretty much all you need to know about Cincinnati live music scene.”

And as list member Ken Laube said “‘Nickleback but better’ is a pretty low bar.” (BTW, Ken’s weekly show on Inhailer Radio is moving to Fridays 11a-3p.)

Funny Business

This McSweeney’s piece called “So, You’ve Decided to Start Listening to Radiohead in Your Mid-Thirties” is a knee-slapper. Favorite line:

The true Radiohead experience is 80 percent confusion, 20 percent feigned understanding. That’s the sweet spot. That’s the center of a Yorke peppermint patty.

I Love It Loud (and Live)

List member Mighty Joe Sampson and I saw two relics at once a couple of weeks ago: KISS at the Riverfront Coliseum.

It was as over-the-top as you’d expect, and cheesier than Post Sex Nachos (the food, not the band). Which is exactly what we were hoping for!

The God of Thunder in a cherry-picker? Yes please!

We tried to steal the giant inflatables for our Halloween displays…

Just your average 71-year-old and 74-year-old, wearing sensible shoes.

Flash forward a week and list member Ken Laube and I were at the polar opposite show: Chuck & Lisa from Wussy playing a garage in the back of a gallery in Northside.

No pyro, no confetti cannons, just stellar singing and songwriting. The headliner was a band called Dusk from Appleton, WI. Not too shabby:

Album Cover of the Fortnight

Good ol’ Doug is up for whatever. A great Rollvember roll dawg.

June’s tunes

97X, Concert Listings, Music

Wow, is it June already? June: our favorite month AND our favorite Johnny duet partner.

I know I’ve been slacking on keeping you abreast of the live local gigs. May was a bit busy. Really!

We had one kid graduate from O.U. (“Oh yeah!”):

[Peter was a triple major (Data Analytics, Finance, and Business Information Systems) and graduated summa cum laude. If you help him find a job, I will pay a finder’s fee (out of the savings on my healthcare plan and grocery bill).]

Lest I forget, our youngest, Andrew, also put on an overpriced robe, as he graduated from Walnut Hills High School:

This fall, he’ll be wearing ugly candy cane/barber pole overalls at Indiana U.

Since we last chatted, there was a fabulous 97X book event at the Mercantile Library.

Chuck Cleaver and Lisa Walker from Wussy played my house yet again!

And Inhailer Radio trotted out the 40th anniversary of the 97X Modern Rock 500, an event that garnered a lot of publicity.

My podcast pal Dave Tellmann and I even made it onto Channel 12, where we were interviewed by former 97X Breakfast Club intern Jen Dalton… and I wore a headset that made me look like the spitting image of noted Hollywood heartthrob Clint Howard:

But the really rewarding part of the whole Modern Rock 500 was stuff like this:

OK, the May madness is over. Let’s turn to June’s tunes. (BTW, I’ll be covering a full month’s worth of concerts, as our whole fam-damily will soon be off to Alaska to see the glaciers before they all melt.)

The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band plays a free gig at Levitt Pavilion in Dayton tonight.

On Friday:

  • Damien Jurado plays the Woodward Theater (good dude, just bad spelling of his first name)
  • Caitlin Rose and Andrew Combs are at Southgate
  • The Harmed Brothers play as part of the free Fountain Square “Indie Fridays” concert series (full summer lineup is here)
  • Zac Brown will perform after the Reds-Brewers game at GABP. (Look for list member and Reds sales all-star Dan Lewis in the front row – he’ll be the shirtless guy with “I ❤ Zac” painted on his chest.)

Saturday has a whole slew of gigs:

  • Wussy plays a house concert in Dayton, KY (of course I’ll be there, I’m a stalker)
  • Barenaked Ladies (not to be confused with Shirtless Dan Lewis) play PNC, with Semisonic and Del Amitri also on the bill (Del Amitri – that’s the band that was on Late Night with David Letterman when I was in the studio audience!)
  • Adrian Belew and Jerry Harrison are doing a “Remain in Light” concert at Newport Music Hall in Columbus
  • Sawyer Point has a free concert featuring Vernon McIntyre’s Appalachian Grass, Jake Speed, and Henhouse Prowlers
  • .38 Special and Loverboy play the Fraze in Dayton. If you enjoy cheesy 80s videos, this one is tough to top:

Dallas Moore has an album release show at Southgate on Sunday, with Ricky Nye also on the bill.

On Tuesday, June 6th, All Time Low plays the Newport venue that has reached an all-time low with its god-awful corporate name… which is why we still call it the Ovation.

On Wednesday, June 7th, Rose Music Center has the Kenny Wayne Shepherd “Backroads Blues Festival” with Eric Gales and King Solomon Hicks. That same evening, The Minks play Southgate.

Next Thursday, 6/8, Sylmar and Electric Indigo play the free “Rockin’ the Roebling” show at the Moerlein Lager House in Smale Park. (Full summer schedule is here.)

Hank Williams Jr. and Old Crow Medicine Show are at Riverbend on Friday, June 9th.

On Saturday, June 10th, Cereal Killers play Big Ash Brewing. Tell a buddy, bring a friend, but don’t you dare miss this big show! First beer’s on me.

Recent text reply from a friend/list member when I mentioned the Cereal Killers yet again:

Maybe, but I don’t know if I can amply express how damn good they are. If you enjoyed the 97X Modern Rock 500, you’ll love this gig.

I feel duty-bound to mention the other shows that evening, albeit whilst holding my nose:

Fraze has the “I Love the 90s Tour” featuring Sugar Ray’s Mark McGrath, Treach of Naughty by Nature, Kid N Play, All-4-One, 2 Live Crew, DJ Kool, and Color Me Badd. And Ludlow Garage hosts Bronson Arroyo’s tribute to Pearl Jam. It’s kinda like “pick your poison”… only without any members of Poison.

Sunday, 6/11 Jim Lauderdale plays the Southgate, with Lillie Mae.

Dead & Company make their final tour stop in Cincinnati on Tuesday, June 13th.

That same evening, Pat Metheny is at Memorial Hall.

The Pixies play the Mike Brady on Wednesday, June 14th with Franz Ferdinand and Bully – great triple bill!

On Thursday, 6/15, Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers and Dex Romweber (Flat Duo Jets for the win!) play Southgate. Love the gig poster:

That same evening, The John Doe Folk Trio plays a free gig at the Levitt Pavilion in Dayton — and they play a ticketed show on Friday, 6/16 at the Woodward, with Chuck & Lisa (Wussy Duo…. tired of playing my house) as the opener.

Other 6/16 shows:

  • Lyle Lovett & his Large Band play Ovation
  • Bruce Cockburn (“it’s pronounced ‘COE-burn’!”) and Dar Williams are at Ludlow Garage
  • The Rebirth Brass Band plays Memorial Hall
  • Matchbox 20 is at Riverbend

On Saturday, June 17th:

  • Jimmie Vaughan plays Ludlow Garage
  • Ben Folds is at the Rose
  • 500 Miles to Memphis plays a 20th anniversary show at Southgate

Counting Crows and Dashboard Confessional are at PNC on Sunday, June 18th.

W.I.T.C.H. and Death Valley Girls are at the Woodward on Tuesday, June 20th. Also that night, Mike Gordon is at Madison Theater and Young The Giant and Milky Chance play the Jan Brady.

Gigs on Wednesday, June 21st:

  • James Taylor & band are at Riverbend
  • Peter Frampton plays the Rose
  • Ludlow Garage has a 70s Rock Revival Troubadour Project
  • Tracy Walker plays a free concert in Burnet Woods (7pm start)

On Thursday, June 22nd:

  • The Chris Knight Duo and Mic Harrison (V-Roys, Superdrag) play Southgate (American Aquarium has a Southgate date listed on their website, but it’s not on Southgate’s site… guess you’ll have to go and see who shows up)
  • Peter Frampton comes alive at the PNC Pavilion
  • Ally Venable plays Ludlow Garage
  • Stripmall Ballads and Ray Vietti play the Washington Park “Roots Revival” freebie (full summer schedule is here).

On Friday, 6/23:

  • AJR is at Ovation
  • Melvin Seals and the Jerry Garcia Band play Ludlow
  • Sloan plays a freebie at Fountain Square (at least according to the Fountain Square website… it’s not listed on Sloan’s website). Don’t sleep on Sloan, they are great. I’d definitely be at that gig if I weren’t watching glaciers melt.

Saturday, June 24th:

  • My Morning Jacket plays the Ovation
  • The SteelDrivers are at the old Annie’s with Stringus Khan and the Restless Leg String Band
  • Woodward Theater has Victoria Victoria featuring Charlie Hunter
  • The Surfrajettes and The Nailers play Southgate
  • Richard Marx plays the Fraze
  • Debbie Gibson is at the Taft. I wonder how her kid is now…

Legendary bluesman Buddy Guy plays the Rose on Sunday, June 25th, with next gen blues legend Christone “Kingfish” Ingram and Ally Venable on the bill as well. Also, Jesus Jones will be “Right here, right now” if the “here” is Ludlow and the “now” is 6/25.

Toad the Wet Sprocket plays Taft on Monday, 6/26, with Marcy Playground as the opener. That show is “bring your own sex and candy.” That same evening, the Doobie Brothers play the Rose.

Best What’s Happening!! episode ever!

What’s that you say? You’d love to see some bonus What’s Happening!! music content? Your wish is my command:

Santana plays the Rose on Tuesday, June 27th. Or maybe it’s Cheech Marin from Cheech & Chong… I always get those two mixed up.

On Wednesday, June 28th, The Deslondes play Southgate with Esther Rose as the opener (strong double bill!) and Earth, Wind & Fire (strong triple elements!) are at the PNC.

And June goes out with a bang on Friday the 30th:

  • Dave Alvin & the Guilty Ones play a free show at Levitt Pavilion in Dayton (I’ll be at that gig)
  • Greensky Bluegrass plays the Rose
  • The Steel Wheels are in Southgate’s main room
  • Maurice Mattei & the Tempers play a free show in Southgate’s Lounge (10pm)
  • Ambrosia is at Ludlow Garage

Homecoming when I’m not home

The National announced their lineup for this year’s Homecoming Festival.

I’ll be out of town when it’s going on, and to be honest, I’m not overly distraught that I’ll miss it.

“20th Century” is right… and I’m alright with that

JBM is booking shows at the 20th Century Theater in Oakley once again. The acts tend to skew toward an older demographic, but this old man is cool with that. I saw two great shows from septuagenarians in May – Richard Thompson and Junior Brown.

Up next, the young whippersnapper Bob Mould (a mere 62!) on October 22nd.

Oh! You Pretty Things

Book publishing guru Jane Friedman tipped me off (in her free Electric Speed newsletter) to this cool site called Album Whale where you can create visually appealing lists of albums to share with friends.

Album Covers of the Month

Listen your way to that beach body you’ve always wanted.

Gigs and Books

97X, Concert Listings, Music, podcast, woxy.com

I let you down yet again (you should be used to it by now). I’m tardy with my list of gigs so I didn’t get to tell you about the New Pornographers show at Memorial Hall last night. That said, the show was sold out. Besides, I don’t know why people need New Pornographers, the old ones still work just fine.

Tonight, Southgate House is hosting The Nude Party. (It’s a band, get your mind out of the old pornographers gutter.)

OK, let’s focus on the future. The Future of Rock and Roll, that is. Robin James wrote the book about 97X, and thanks to Northside’s Downbound Books and Shake It Records, she’ll be talking about it with a couple of knuckleheads at the Mercantile Library this Thursday. If you’re one of the faithful 200 who registered for this event, you can hear from Robin, get a book signed and enjoy some tasty Great Lakes Brewing Co. beverages courtesy of our ol’ pal Howard Cohen (Cereal Killers… more on them later).

If you can’t attend in person, you can stream the event on Crowdcast here. (Great Lakes Beer not included.)

Tomorrow night, Richard Thompson plays a solo acoustic show at the 20th Century Theater. I’ll be there, of course. Forget about King Charles III, to me, King Richard is the Brit who rules.

KT Tunstall and Martin Sexton are also playing a double bill tomorrow, at Memorial Hall.

On Thursday, if you can’t make the Merc, Memorial Hall is hosting An Evening with the Cowboy Junkies.

Wait, wrong sort of Cowboy Junkie…

Friday night, Chuck Cleaver and Lisa Walker from the band Wussy are playing at my house. (Apparently they didn’t learn their lesson from the first time I hosted them back in October of 2022 and totally fanboyed out.)

John “Don’t call me Cougar” Mellencamp also kicks off a two-night stand at the Aronoff on Friday. And The Comet hosts BurritoFest 2023 on Friday and Saturday.

The Taft Theatre has some interesting shows lined up:

  • An Evening with Natalie Merchant on Sunday
  • The Wood Brothers with Shovels & Rope on Tuesday, May 16th
  • David Cross on Thursday, May 18th

Roger McGuinn does a “Songs & Stories” gig at Memorial Hall on 5/18.

On Friday, May 19th, Cereal Killers play at MadTree Brewing in Oakley. 7-11 p.m. First beer’s on me.

I won’t be dressed like that… unless you ask nicely.

That same evening, Frank Turner plays Bogart’s and Leo Kottke is at Ludlow Garage.

On Saturday, 5/20, Dopapod is at the Madison Theater, Steve Goodie and Eric Gnezda play a comedy music show in Florence, KY, and Fountain Square hosts the KISS tribute band Strutter.

The Gem City shines

Dayton, Ohio (birthplace of flight… and the Deal sisters) has some really nice freebie shows coming up this summer at the Levitt Pavilion downtown, including Dave Alvin, John Doe, Tab Benoit, Ernie Johnson from Detroit, and Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys. The first gig is The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band on Thursday, June 1st. Check out the full lineup here.

Mailbag

List member Mighty Joe Sampson, a resident of a posh Cincy suburb, wrote:

This longtime subscriber is formally objecting to your slanderous comment about Madeira aka “the friendly town.”

You’re right, Joe. Madeira is very accepting of strangers… as long as they follow the instructions to leave the DoorDash food delivery on the front porch.

Reading Room

Amanda Petrusich profiles The National in The New Yorker.

Sweet Swag

Inhailer Radio has a nice t-shirt to celebrate the 2023 Modern Rock 500, coming to their airwaves May 22-29.

You can order yours here.

Shameless self-promotion

The latest episode of the “97X Rumblings from the Big Bush” podcast features the woxy.com crew (Shiv, Mike Taylor, Joe Long, Bryan J and Brian Niesz) talking about their rollercoaster ride on the interwebs from 2004-2010.

Album Cover of the Fortnight

Those wacky Brits… I don’t know how in the heck you can guard a horse when your helmet obstructs 70% of your field of vision and your “chin” strap is well above your chin. But… “tradition!”

Go-vember Music

97X, Concert Listings, Music, podcast

Happy All Hallow’s Eve, y’all. Quick question: can we dispense with the whole “trick/treat” thing (which, IMHO is a false dichotomy) and get right to the feet-smelling? Er, asking for a friend…

And now let’s get to the live shows in the Tri-state area over the next fortnight:

Scott H. Biram has a gig at Southgate on Wednesday.

On Thursday,

  • Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears and Cedric Burnside play Ludlow Garage
  • Chris Smither and Tim O’Brien with Jan Fabricius are at Memorial Hall
  • Wheatus plays Madison Live
  • Banditos play Southgate. Note, they are not related to the Frito Bandito.
https://youtu.be/5irr_2nbB_Y

Friday is a busy night for gigs:

  • The Smithereens play Ludlow, with Marshall Crenshaw as the guest vocalist
  • Taft has a “Celebrating David Bowie” show featuring Todd Rundgren, Adrian Belew, Royston Langdon, Jeffery Gaines… and someone called “Scrote” for reasons that we don’t care to investigate. More on the show here.
  • The Redmoor in Mt. Lookout hosts An Evening with Karla Bonoff
  • Buffalo Wabs & the Price Hill Hustle are in Southgate’s main room
  • William Elliott Whitmore plays Southgate’s upstairs Revival Room
  • Northside Tavern has a show they’re billing as “Alternative Indie Psychedelic Shoegazey Garage Rocking show!” (They must be trying their hand at SEO…)

The Queen City Blues Fest rolls into Southgate on Saturday.

On Sunday, Christine Havrilla and Mama’s Black Sheep play a matinee show (4 p.m.) at the Cincinnati Fire Museum. And that evening, Yes plays a Close to the Edge 50th anniversary show at Taft.

Giving us yet another excuse to run this classic skit:

Looking ahead to next week…

Sun Room plays a sold-out show at Top Cats on Wednesday, Nov. 9th.

On Thursday, 11/10:

  • Puscifer (fronted by Maynard James Keenan of Tool) plays the Jan Brady
  • Fun Lovin’ Criminals are at Ludlow (“Scooby Snacks” sold separately)
  • My Brother, My Brother and Me are at the Taft. Note: My Brother, My Brother and Me are not related to another trio of brothers:

Also on 11/10, Memorial Hall hosts Majesty – a Tribute to Queen.

Next Friday, 11/11:

  • The Mavericks play Taft
  • Twiddle is at Madison Theater
  • Paramore plays the Marsha Brady
  • The Yellowjackets jazz up Ludlow Garage

Ludlow hosts John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band on Saturday, 11/12. (Note: the Beaver Brown Band is not related to Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver.) And Southgate has An Evening with Lucy Kaplansky on Sunday, 11/13.

Hot Ticket Alert: Get on the Bus!

97X favorites (and Ohio’s own) The Royal Crescent Mob have announced two reunion shows in December, to raise funds for cancer research. They’re playing Columbus on 12/16, and hitting the Madison Theater in Covington on Saturday, December 17th. More info and a ticket link here.

(Fun fact: RCMob lead singer David Ellison is currently tour manager for Miley Cyrus, Camila Cabello, and Ke$ha, and formerly was the tour manager for Jay-Z, Demi Lovato, Avril Lavigne, Alanis Morissette, Adam Lambert, Goo Goo Dolls, and Panic at the Disco.)

What Heaven is Like…

Heaven is Chuck Cleaver and Lisa Walker of Wussy playing in my living room. What a great night! New tunes from Wussy coming soon…

What Hell is like…

Two downer articles for live music fans:

“The Live-Music Industry is Broken” from Vulture and “How Ticketmaster gets away with it” from Popular Information.

We still miss Mr. K

The latest episode of the 97X Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast features a tribute to Ken “Mr. K” Glidewell, who worked at the station and was in Chemdyne and later Big in Iowa, and also had a long radio career at WEBN and 92.9 The Fox.

On my holiday shopping list:

Album Cover of the Fortnight

Wendy likes Action Pants. And Children of the Corn.

Trick or Treat

Concert Listings, Music

Some folks like to trick you with nasty Halloween candy:

But I’m going to treat you to two weeks’ worth of concerts, which will take us right up to the eve of All Hallows Eve.

It’s OK, Charlie Brown, we all gotta rock.

On Monday, JD Pinkus (of Butthole Surfers and the Melvins) plays Southgate House.

Local H is at Top Cats on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Madeleine Peyroux and Paula Cole play Memorial Hall and Illuminati Hotties play Top Cats.

Thursday:

  • Freedy Johnston is at Southgate
  • Jeff Beck rocks the Greg Brady
  • The Cadillac Three play Bogart’s
  • Baby Jake is at Top Cats
  • Bumpin Uglies are at Madison Live

The shows this Friday really run the gig gamut:

  • Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives play Memorial Hall (I’ll be at that show)
  • Joslyn & the Sweet Compression are at Madison Live
  • John McEuen (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band… also part of the backing band for Steve Martin’s “King Tut”) and the Circle Band play Ludlow Garage
  • GWAR (the band that thinks every day is Halloween) plays Bogart’s

Saturday’s a busy day for live music as well:

  • The Redemptioners will be at Neltner’s Farm Fall Fest in the afternoon
  • The Record Company is at Madison Theater
  • Gogol Bordello plays Bogart’s
  • Joe Satriani is at Taft
  • Acoustic Alchemy plays Ludlow Garage
  • Ramble On Bros (Grateful Dead tunes) play Carriage House Farm

Next Monday (10/24), Judas Priest and Queensryche play the Mike Brady.

American Authors play Madison Live on Tuesday, 10/25. Our favorite American author is Franklin W. Dixon.

A riveting tale of Joe Hardy’s heroin addiction. Or not.

On Wednesday, 10/26, Corb Lund is at Southgate, and Michael Martin Murphey is at Ludlow Garage. Ol’ 3M can no longer play the west coast because “Wildfire” is a dirty word out there. However, he did compose the state ballad of New Mexico, “Land of Enchantment.”

Next Thursday, 10/27, features some fun band names on the bill:

  • Puddles Pity Party and Piff the Magic Dragon play Taft
  • Squirrel Nut Zippers play Ludlow Garage

Next Friday, 10/28, I get a real treat: Chuck Cleaver and Lisa Walker of Wussy play my house!

List members Ken Laube, Dr. David Reid, Dave Roberto, Jay Stowe and Matt Fellerhoff will be in the house too.

Next Saturday, 10/29:

  • The Lone Bellow plays Memorial Hall
  • EXTC is at Ludlow Garage
  • Paul Anka plays the Hard Rock Casino… talk about an oxymoron!
  • Jordan Smart is at Neltner’s Farm
  • Michael Schenker plays Bogart’s
  • The Newbees and Bad Ass Brass host the Flower Power Ball, a benefit for Shriner’s Hospital.
  • Dropkick Murphys play the Cindy Brady

On Sunday, October 30, Randy Steffen and The Poor Hours wrap up the Neltner’s Farm Fall Fest.

Guided by non-sucky Voices

A fun interview with Robert Pollard is here in the Sydney Morning Herald. And I totally agree with him about Sting:

This is Us

Album Cover of the Week

Debbie Does… Aerobics!

The fruits of my Labor (Day)

Concert Listings, Concert review, Music

Summer’s gone a summer song
You’ve wasted every day, every day
Summer’s gone, can’t wipe it off my hands
Write it in the sand, in the sand

Buffalo Tom “Summer“

Wow, hard to believe that Labor Day is fast approaching. Better wear my white jorts every day this week before I switch over to my fall jorts:

Let’s cover two weeks’ worth o’ gigs in this post, shall we?

Breaking Naming Rights News

Sorry to interrupt our slate o’ shows, but we’ve just been informed that the PromoWest Pavilion at Ovation in Newport, Kentucky has sold the naming rights, and is now… drumroll please…

Uh, no… just no. In keeping with the cherished This Week in Live Music tradition, we refuse to refer to venues by their corporate-sponsored names. Especially when that name sounds like something from Office Space or Stepbrothers.

Tonight, Sophie B. Hawkins (remember her? She wished she were your lover) headlines the Fountain Square freebie, with Tracy Walker and Kaitlyn Peace also on the bill. Other shows include Tiffany Williams and Ray Vietti at Southgate, and The Fab Four (“the Ultimate Beatles Tribute”) at Rose Music Center in scenic Huber Heights.

Sunday, Imagine Dragons, Macklemore and Kings Elliot play a sold-out show at Riverbend, The Damned are at Bogart’s, and the Disco Biscuits play Annie’s.

Monday is the rescheduled date for the Barenaked Ladies/Gin Blossoms/Toad the Wet Sprocket show at PNC.

On Wednesday, Linda Gail Lewis is at Southgate.

Thursday, Spoon, Interpol, and Water From Your Eyes are at the Brady Kids Center. (Remember when Alice worked at The Golden Spoon?)

https://youtu.be/Bg1pl2muWIA

Also on Thursday, RiversEDGE in Hamilton has a Prince Tribute show, with local band Moonbeau as the opener.

Next Friday, Sept. 2nd, the Fountain Square freebie features Motherfolk, with The Wonderlands, and Coastal Club.

The Black Keys and Band of Horses are at Riverbend next Saturday.

On Labor Day, Jack Harlow and City Girls play the Cindy Brady.

Tuesday, Sept. 6th, Thundercat is at the Ovation. Yes, I said the Ovation. Mega-sue me!

On Wednesday, Sept. 7th:

  • S.G. Goodman (a TWILM fave) and Garcia Peoples are at Southgate.
  • “due to overwhelming demand” the Odesza, Sylvan Esso, Elderbrook and Nasaya show originally slated for outdoors at the Jan Brady will now be at Riverbend.
  • Ben Levin plays Ghost Baby.

Next Thursday (9/8):

  • Paul Thorn and Angela Perley are at Memorial Hall
  • Oteil Burbridge and Friends (feat. Melvin Seals, Steve Kimock, Eric Krasno and Johnny Kimock) play the Rose
  • Magic City Hippies play the Madison Rooftop in Covington.

On Friday, September 9th:

  • The Mountain Goats play Bogart’s.
  • Donna the Buffalo is at Ludlow Garage
  • Sam Hunt and Travis Denning are at the Mike Brady.

The Cereal Killers play Big Ash on Saturday, September 10th. I’ll be out of town for that show, but YOU should be there.

Built to Spill, built to rock!

Great show from BTS this past Monday at the Woodward – and opener Prism Bitch was cool too. Speaking o’ cool, list member Todd Butler busted out a vintage, mint condition 97X t-shirt for the gig.

Built to Spill
Prism Bitch. (Why yes, that is the same drummer – she did double duty.)

You may already be a winner

List member Elizabeth Cannon (who worked at Riverbend for eons) was rewarded for her Bengals season ticket status.

Wussy duo wants to play your house (or mine)

Chuck Cleaver and Lisa Walker from Wussy are doing a run of house concerts this fall, and are looking for a Cincy host on Friday, October 28th.

You can volunteer here.

Album Cover of the Week

The album is pretty good, tbh.

Have a great Labor Day!

The Player’s Club

Concert Listings, Music

What up, playa?

Speaking of players, let’s see who’s playing this week.

Tonight:

  • Steep Canyon Rangers are at Annie’s
  • Soul Pocket headlines the free show on Fountain Square
  • Tower of Power and Lettuce play the Rose Music Center

On Saturday:

  • Sleigh Bells play the Taft. (It may seem early for sleigh bells but I had a pumpkin beer last night so all bets are off.)
  • Lany is at the Bobby Brady.
  • The Zac Brown Band and the Robert Randolph Band play Riverbend.
  • The Spinners play Ludlow Garage.
  • Local band The Newbees have a free show at Fernbank Park (7-9 p.m.)
  • Ziggy Marley does a tribute to his father at Rose. (Note: this is much better than his tribute to the comic strip Ziggy.)

And Southgate will have something called “Super Satan Fest II – Live as Hell”

“Something Involving a Monkey” for the band name win…

On Sunday, Boz Skaggs and The Robert Cray Band are at Rose, and Southgate House hosts a matinee benefit show for Eastern Kentucky Flood Relief:

Monday, it’s the “uplifting band name” trifecta: Anthrax, Black Label Society and Hatebreed at the Mike Brady.

Tuesday:

  • Wilco plays the Ovation
  • The Beach Boys and the Temptations are at PNC Pavilion
  • Lake Street Dive plays the Marsha Brady. The following evening, they’ll be at the Rose.

Other Wednesday shows:

  • Kid Rock is at Riverbend.
  • Yngwie “Can I buy a vowel, Pat” Malmsteen is at Ludlow Garage
  • Accordionist Sally Lukasik plays an early gig at Baker’s Table Bakery. I normally don’t mention accordion shows, but Sally just seems so darn happy in her promo photo:

On Thursday

  • River Whyless is at Southgate
  • The Surfragettes (yes, a surf rock band, how’d you guess?) play Ludlow Garage
  • Alicia Keys works the keys at PNC
  • The Dead Man String Band and Ray Vietti do the free gig at Washington Park
  • Bam Powell & the Troublemakers play an equally free show at Behringer-Crawford Museum in Covington

Next Friday:

  • Chris Stapleton is at Riverbend
  • The Del McCoury Band plays Memorial Hall
  • Al Stewart is at Ludlow Garage
  • The two-night Whimmydiddle Festival kicks off at RiversEDGE in Hamilton with Shovels & Rope as the headliner

Normally when you hear “shovels and rope” and “Hamilton” in the same sentence, it’s about a crime scene.

Distant Early Warning

Since list member Michael “Rico” Carrico gave me so much grief for not mentioning the last Ian Noe show at Southgate (which, it should be noted, Rico did NOT attend), I need to let you “Noe” that Ian has another Southgate gig lined up for December 16th.

Oh, and please consider playing in — or making a donation to — the Kevin Carrico Memorial Golf Scramble on 10/1. (Rico is Kevin’s brother.)

Kevin Carrico was in his third year of medical school at the University of Louisville, studying to become a pediatric oncologist, when he was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma.  His goal was to help children as they faced their battle with cancer, just as he did after he overcame Hodgkin’s Lymphoma at the age of 17.  Kevin faced his battles with a sense of humor and a positive attitude like only he could.  Although Kevin passed away in 2019 at the age of 25, we have vowed to carry on his legacy.  The University of Louisville awarded Kevin a posthumous doctorate of medicine in 2020, and he received the Dr. Presley F. Martin Award, given to the senior student chosen by his peers who possesses and reflects characteristics of a good physician:  competence, ethical behavior, leadership, compassion, and humor.  Our mission is to carry on Kevin’s legacy to aid other young adults that have faced cancer and are pursuing higher education goals. Our proceeds are allocated 100% to our scholarship program. 

Reason #3,698 of why I love Wussy

On their most recent FB livestream (which is reason #2,294 of why I love them!), Lisa posed a question about “who are your three favorite vocalists?” Check out Chuck and Mark waxing poetic about a band that I also happen to love dearly:

The most recent Wussy livestream also featured some absolutely amazing cover songs. Check it out. Oh, and check out their appearance on the Songwriter podcast with Jonathan Franzen:

Album Covers (plural) of the Week

I’m sure you remember former ACotW star Woody Woodbury:

Well, Woody has some competition in the “party albums of the 50s and 60s” category.

If it turns out that list member Lisa Collins’ mom is also breakfast buddies with Rusty, we’re going to have to stage an intervention.

Have a great week, baby!

Episode 50: More Mark Messerly

97X, Music, podcast

We continue our conversation with Mark Messerly, a key player in the Cincinnati music scene. In this episode, he talks about the genius of his Wussy bandmates Chuck Cleaver and Lisa Walker, and pays tribute to John Erhardt, who passed away earlier this year. We also talk about his tour blogging (Robert Christgau loves it and we do too!), his day job as a music teacher… and Superchunk.

Mark’s tour diary entries are profound, poignant… and often hilarious as well. (Who doesn’t love a good Snack of the Day review?) The archive is on Wussy’s website here. Robert Christgau, “the dean of American rock critics” loves Mark’s writing. He loves Wussy too – you can read his brief reviews of each Wussy release here.

Mark and Chuck Cleaver both wrote fond tributes to John Erhardt, who played in both the Ass Ponys and Wussy. Read them here.

Mark and his wife Hollie will be doing an episode of the Wussy livestream on Facebook this Friday (11/27).

Yes, you read that right, it’s the 32nd livestream from Wussy band members… each one is a true gem, showcasing brilliant songwriting and playful banter. Check them out here and if you can, cough up some cash for the tip jar.

100% pure Chuck

Music

The 7/10 edition of CityBeat features a great cover story by Brian Baker about Chuck Cleaver, of Wussy and Ass Ponys fame.

Photo is by Anna Stockton, Chuck’s daughter

Chuck’s a brilliant songwriter, and a heck of a singer. (As he says in the interview, his voice is an “acquired taste” but it fits his songs so well.)

As fate would have it, I had listened to the Ass Ponys album Some Stupid with a Flare Gun the day before the interview came out. Man, what a great album! Just like all the other Ass Ponys albums. And all the Wussy albums. And I’m sure his new solo effort is fantastic as well.

The CityBeat piece is a lengthy profile that runs the gamut of Chuck’s career and captures his self-deprecating attitude so well.

“I don’t consider what I have as a career,” he says without a trace of irony. “I think it’s a passion that sort of went haywire.”

Chuck Cleaver in the CityBeat profile: https://www.citybeat.com/music/music-feature/article/21077295/widelyacclaimed-cincinnati-musician-chuck-cleaver-preps-first-solo-album-of-what-he-doesnt-believe-is-a-storied-career

The article is well-worth a read, and Ass Ponys, Wussy and now solo Chuck Cleaver are always worth a listen or three.