Yo La Tengo

Going ape for April tunes

Concert Listings, Concert review, Music, podcast

Howdy, I hope you’re staying warm and dry. Aw, who am I kidding? This monsoon season weather has been for the birds – as long as they’re aquatic and like cold weather.

But even Canada geese are probably boycotting our country. Can’t say I blame them.

Maybe the live music schedule will heat things up a bit. I can feel it, coming in the air tonight… when The Phil Collins Experience plays Ludlow Garage.

On Tuesday, ZZ Top plays the Mike Brady. Their longtime guitar tech Elwood Francis has replaced the late great Dusty Hill on bass. He certainly fits the hirsute profile:

Whenever I hear the name “ZZ Top” I’m reminded of the time my high school friend Mauricio Sanchez and I drove from Morrilton, Arkansas (the original “Mo-town”) to Little Rock to see them in concert back in ’83, during their Eliminator tour. Somehow* I convinced myself that spending $25** of my hard-earned*** cash on the sleeveless tour t-shirt was a good idea, even though I had zero muscles. When I put that shirt on in the harsh light of day, it was a sobering experience.

Needless to say, the Top top was “eliminated” from my wardrobe immediately. $25 down the drain.

*it was the beer

**today’s value: $1,500

***Lifeguard at the Morrilton city pool… it was tough twirling a whistle in the sun

The Tallest Man on Earth will be at the Taft on Thursday. (To clarify, it’s the band called The Tallest Man on Earth, not 8′ 11″ Robert Wadlow, that guy from the Guinness Book of World Records.)

Also on Thursday, Jeffrey Martin plays Southgate’s Revival Room, with Lou Hazel opening. And the Cincinnati Zoo’s April “Tunes & Blooms” series features Gina & Johnny plus Linus Tate.

Shows on Friday:

  • Heavy Hinges, Easy Mark and Veronica Grimm at Northside Tavern
  • Midwinter’s Dream and Agents of the Apocalypse at Liberty Theater
  • Kashmir: the Led Zeppelin Show at Madison Theater (it’s “the” Zep show but not the “ultimate” – that’s on Saturday… )
  • Blue Note in Harrison has a hair band extravaganza with Trixter, Enuff Z Nuff, Pretty Boy Floyd

(The answer is Harrison, Ohio…)

The Southgate House presents a real Sophie’s Choice on Saturday. Alejandro Escovedo plays the main room, with Kevn Kinney (Drivin N Cryin) as the opener. I’ll be at that show, along with Dave “the Magnum P.I. of Modern Rock” Tellmann and Steve “El Blanco” White (“the White Shadow of Modern Rock”). But were it not for that gig, I’d be upstairs in the Revival Room for Brett Newski with The Dreaded Laramie and Tooth Lures a Fang.

Other Saturday shows:

  • Jay Ashton’s Gene Loves Jezebel (they have to be billed that way, for legal reasons) at Ludlow Garage
  • Smoke Healer at Liberty Theater
  • Lunar Ticks at Stanley’s
  • ZOSO: The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience at Ovation
  • Signs of Life: The American Pink Floyd at Madison Theater

Next Sunday (4/13):

  • Asleep at the Wheel at Memorial Hall
  • The Queers with The Usuals and The Raging Nathans at Madison Live
  • Jason Eady at Southgate

And, if you often find yourself saying “Boy, I really wish I could hear a ukulele orchestra”:

  1. Better change your meds.
  2. Taft Theatre has The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain.

Tuesday, April 15 is IRS tax deadline day… assuming we still have an IRS by then. We may not need it if those penguins from the Heard and McDonald Islands quit pillaging us.

Lanky local troubadour Todd Lipscomb plays Arnold’s that evening, and Ben Folds will be rockin’ the suburbs woodwinds live with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra at Music Hall.

Victor Wooten & the Wooten Brothers play Memorial Hall on Wednesday, April 16, and British blues-rocker Joanne Taylor Shaw will be there on Thursday, April 17.

Other 4/17 shows include The Yardbirds (drummer) [they don’t have to be billed that way legally, but my conscience won’t let me type it any other way] at Ludlow Garage, and Tunes & Blooms at the Zoo features Cecil Jackson & Dry Ridge on one stage and The Laurelys on the other.

Friday 4/18 is a busy evening for gigs:

  • Grayson Jenkins at Liberty Theater
  • Remi Wolf plays Ovation
  • Mol Sullivan with Namby Pamby and Sappha at Northside Tavern
  • Memorial Hall hosts Live Dead & Brothers (music of the Grateful Dead and the Allman Bros.)
  • Sqwerv (jam band from Denver) plays Stanley’s

Shows on Saturday, 4/19:

  • The Bright Light Social Hour at Liberty Theater
  • Blackjack: a Neil Young tribute band at Big Ash Brewing
  • Saturday’s Children (Grateful Dead tribute band) at Stanley’s
  • Bircus Brewing in Ludlow, KY has Pirate’s Creed.

Please note that Pirate’s Creed isn’t taking a page from the Dread Zeppelin playbook. They are NOT a Creed cover band with members dressed in pirate regalia. But it would be pretty cool to hear “Arrrrrrrrrrms Wide Open” and “High-arrrrrrr,” dontchathink?

Looking ahead a bit further, here are the live concerts on Wednesday, April 23:

  • Bright Eyes plays the Ovation, with Cursive as the opener
  • The Fixx and Jill Sobule are at Ludlow Garage
  • Bluegrass band Never Come Down is at the Woodward
  • The Ben Levin Trio plays the rooftop at the Phelps Hotel

We love it live

The Yo La Tengo show at the Woodward Theater was phenomenal. Great to see a whole slew of list members there (Frank, Matt, Pam, Jay, Alyssa, Dave R, Kevin S, Rico, Lobby Boy, et al.)

And I’m really glad I hydroplaned over to Lawrenceburg, Indiana last Sunday for the Sarah Shook & the Disarmers show. They were making it rain more than the thunderstorms were.

Sarah Shook & the Disarmers’ leader goes by River these days, and here’s what they had to say about the music vs. business equation:

It shows! Quote above is from this Brooklyn Vegan article.

Listen here!

Lisa Walker and Chuck Cleaver from Wussy were at the Yo La Tengo show, naturally. If you haven’t checked out their Forever Sounds radio show on WAIF-FM, you can catch the replays here. Come for the great tunes, stay for the playful banter.

Columbus legends Scrawl got a lot of love from Chicago music critics Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis on this seven-minute bonus episode of their Sound Opinions podcast.

The new release from Craig Finn — produced by Adam Granduciel of The War on Drugs and featuring a few WoD band members as well as Kathleen Edwards — is really good.

We should’ve heeded the warning Signal

Album Cover(s) of the Week(s)

“We’ve traced the source of the trumpet player… it’s coming from inside the house!”

Oh snap, the Reverend Cleophus… I heard about him from Cab Calloway!

Spring Music Flings

Concert Listings, Concert review, Music

Like an agitated monkey, I’m about to fling some poop at you.

But you should be used to it by now – I do it every few weeks! If you can navigate around the verbal shite, you’ll find some cool concerts to check out.

Shows on tap for tonight:

  • Henhouse Prowlers and Moonshine Drive at the Liberty Theater in Lawrenceburg
  • William Elliott Whitmore and Dave Hause at the Woodward, with Micah Schnabel opening
  • The Screaming Orphans at Ludlow Garage
  • Comedian Sebastian Maniscalco is at the Coliseum

Saturday shows:

  • Sylmar does two sets at MOTR
  • Buffalo Nichols plays the Liberty Theater
  • Southgate hosts the Newport Music Roots Festival (doors 3 p.m.) – details below
  • Woodward Theater has “Play for L.A.” – a benefit for fire-impacted musicians. The lineup includes Rae Fisher, The Montvales, Jess Lamb, Siri Imani and more.
  • Mike Detmer and Adam Gilliam play the Lost Bridge Beverage Co. in North Bend
  • Christine Harvilla Duo with Colleen Clark plus Sami Riggs at the Boone County Courthouse
  • Annie’s hosts Grateful River III (a benefit for Down Syndrome) – details below

On Sunday, Ben Levin Blues Band is doing the Rabbit Hash Music Behind the Stove Series at 2 p.m., and the band Lawrence plays Bogart’s in the evening.

Woodward has An Evening with Yo La Tengo on Tuesday. I’ll be at that gig, along with several other list members. Because Georgia, James and Ira are badasses!

Shannon McNally plays Southgate on Wednesday.

Thursday gigs:

  • Shadowgrass in Southgate’s main room, and Jake Blocker in the Revival Room
  • “Sons of Cream” (Kofi Baker, Malcolm Bruce and Rob Johnson) play Ludlow Garage. (Maybe they should call themselves “Half & Half”?)
  • Liberty Theater has a Comedy Night featuring Adam Minnick

Concerts next Friday, March 28:

  • The Blind Boys of Alabama with Shemekia Copeland at Taft Theatre
  • Chicago Farmer & the Fieldnotes at Southgate
  • The Outlaws at Ludlow Garage
  • Cody Ikerd & the Sidewinders Album release show w/Joe Clark at Liberty Theater
  • Little Miami Brewing’s event center has “Night Moves: The Ultimate Bob Seger Experience”
  • Blue Note in Harrison hosts The Prince Experience (pancakes not included)

The slate on Saturday, March 29:

  • Liberty Theater has a Rebel Whiskey tasting (4 FREE tasting!) from 5-7, followed by the Lowdown Brass Band
  • Blackhawk at Ludlow Garage
  • Lily Rose at Bogart’s
  • Bumpin’ Uglies at Madison Theater
  • Willi Carlisle at Southgate in the Revival Room
  • Annie’s has the all-female Led Zeppelin tribute band Zepparella
  • Blue Note features “Midnight Blue” (Foreigner Tribute) with One Way to Rock (Sammy Hagar tribute)

Shows on Sunday, March 30:

  • The Star Devils play Rabbit Hash in the afternoon
  • Sarah Shook & the Disarmers are at Liberty Theater (I plan to go to that show)
  • JD Simo and Luther Dickinson (of North Mississippi Allstars) at Southgate

Ricky Nye will be tickling the ivories as only Ricky can on Monday, March 31 at Memorial Hall, and Taft has The Faint with Plack Blague.

Shows on April Fools’ Day:

  • The Surfrajettes with Black Widow at Madison Theater
  • Al Stewart & Livingston Taylor at Memorial Hall
  • The Righteous Brothers “Loving Feeling Farewell Tour” makes a stop at Taft. (If you’ve lost that loving feeling, see your urologist!)

Wednesday, April 2 is another WEENsday at The Columbia in the East End (4311 Eastern Ave.) and this month’s featured WEEN album is Chocolate and Cheese… so they’ll have some chocolate-covered cheese to share.

I plan to attend that event. You should too – The Columbia is a very cool space (with a vintage jukebox in the basement), and WEENsdays are free and you can BYOB!

Tunes & Blooms kicks off at the Cincinnati Zoo on Thursday, April 3. Moonshine Drive and Pickin’ Pear will be on the T&B stages. The full April lineup is here. That same evening, right down the street, you can catch The Seven Wonders (yes, yet another Fleetwood Mac tribute band) at Ludlow Garage.

The Liberty Theater in Lawrenceburg has a Record Fair April 4-5.

Shows on Friday 4/4 include Judah & the Lion* at Bogart’s and Eaglemania “The World’s Greatest Eagles Tribute”** at Ludlow Garage.

* If Bogart’s says their bathrooms are clean, they’re lion… er, lyin’.

**Pretty sure the world’s greatest Eagles Tribute is playing the Sphere in Las Vegas.

On Saturday, April 5:

  • The Young Dubliners play Ludlow Garage
  • John Waite is at the Taft
  • Queensrÿche plays Belterra Casino in Florence, Indiana
  • Patterson Hood is at the Whirling Tiger in Louisville, with Lydia Loveless as the opener

Sunday, April 6, Ludlow Garage has The Phil Collins Experience (warning: contains no Phil Collins).

We love it live!

MJ Lenderman and Wild Pink at the Green Lantern Bar in Lexington KY was off-the-charts amazing (set list is here). A Top 5 all-time show for me, thanks to list member Frank B.

This GQ profile of MJ is nice too. Money quote:

“Once music and work and money all become the same thing, it gets hard to do it casually. But that was the reason I was able to do anything meaningful in the first place,” he admits. “You can see that through my whole life, just being able to go to a friend’s house and make something and not worry about what it is.”

Now hear this!

The new album from The Tubs is top-notch. Richard Thompson meets Hüsker Dü.

Speaking of Richard Thompson, Bandcamp has a great feature about his influence on younger artists. Sayeth Mary Timony:

“His tone is always amazing, but here’s the thing—most importantly—his songwriting is great. He’s kind of the total package, in that he does both songwriting and playing guitar very well.”

Neil Young to The Cure: Why can’t I be you?

Neil is following Robert Smith’s lead on ticket prices. Could Neil wearing guyliner be next?

Ohio All The Time

New songs from Mommy and Sun Kil Moon reference the Buckeye State.

Of course it’s not Sun Kil Moon’s first Ohio rodeo:

The Best Video Ever

Today is the greatest… actually, 30 years ago was better

Fake Album Cover of the Week

This one (which came our way courtesy of Cereal Killers frontman Howard Cohen) has been doctored, but it should have been real:

Here’s the original album cover:

Speaking o’ our friends Cereal Killers, their drummer Chris Glen recently had surgery for prostate cancer. Here’s an update and his PSA P.S.A.

Album Cover(s) of the Week(s)

Yet another PSA P.S.A.

The Clarion Trio was waaay ahead of the curve on “throuples.”

Febrockuary

Concert Listings, Music

Congrats, you’ve nearly made it through “Dryuary!” Now it’s time for a portmanteau that’s even more cumbersome (but not in the Seven Mary Three way), and not really a portmanteau TBH. But when Febrockuary rolls around, you can put on your concert-going shoes (Doc Martens?) and get out to a gig or three.

On Thursday, the Woodward Theater has Donny Benet with Yusef Quotah. Check out Donny’s promo photo:

It’s giving off some serious “love child of Dom DeLuise and ‘Meathead’ from All in the Family” vibes.

Ludlow Garage hosts “Family Tradition: A Hank Williams Jr. Tribute” on Friday. (I hope they play the Monday Night Football Theme that Junior sang… complete with the Jazzercise background dancers.)

That same evening, CG5 plays the Woodward, and MOTR kicks off the preliminary rounds of the Bockfest Sausage Queen competition. (Eat your heart out, Abe Froman.)

The full Sausage Queen schedule, rules, and judging criteria are here.

Febrockuary kicks off Saturday with a full slate o’shows – although most of them are of the tribute band variety:

  • JD Shelburne plays the Liberty Theater, with Jordan Dermody as the opener
  • Madison Theater hosts “Tell Me Lies – The Fleetwood Mac Experience” while next door at Madison Live it’s Riddim Fest
  • The old Annie’s has “Grunge: The Sounds of Seattle”
  • Bogart’s hosts “Cash Unchained: The Ultimate Johnny Cash Experience”
  • At Memorial Hall, it’s “Genesis ReTouched” (a tribute to late 80’s to late 2000’s Genesis concerts… quite specific!)

On Sunday, check out the Positively Mainstrasse event at the Village Theater in Covington. It’s a Cincinnati Children’s “Giving Hope to Kids” fundraiser and features dozens of local artists doing Dylan covers. Who knows, maybe Timothée Chalamet will show up…

[Artwork for the poster above by list member Keith Neltner.]

Sunday is Groundhog Day too!

The Chris Comer Trio plays the “Jazz at the Memo” series on Monday, Feb. 3rd, and they’re doing something interesting:

Following last year’s debut at Memorial Hall, The CC3’s (Chris Comer Trio) return engagement will feature a unique inspired arrangement of the landmark ambient piece MUSIC FOR AIRPORTS by Brian Eno. The evening will conclude with an original collaboration by all three CC3 members called MUSIC FOR SPACESHIPS, juxtaposing the styles of the meditative Eno composition and the jazzy groovy “outer space music” of the Comer trio. This concert is in-part a tribute to Cincinnati musician and radio legend Ron Esposito, who has performed MUSIC FOR AIRPORTS and collaborated with The CC3 many times. 

“Music for Spaceships”… far out, man! Almost as far out as this version:

Shows on Wednesday, Feb. 5:

  • Cheryl Renee plays the blues at Arnold’s
  • The Blue Wisp Big Band is at Caffe Vivace
  • The Columbia (see our previous post for more on this event space) has WEEN Wednesday, and the album will be The Pod

Highly Suspect plays the Mike Brady on Thursday, Feb. 6th.

IMHO, Mike Brady IS highly suspect. We never found out how his first wife died… mysterious circumstances, no doubt. And somehow we’re supposed to believe that a guy who mixes up architectural plans with a Yogi Bear poster can afford a luxury home and a live-in housekeeper? Is “Cousin Oliver” really Mike’s love child from an affair that his first wife found out about? And what’s the deal with the AstroTurf yard? Is Mike covering up (literally) a backyard grave? Tune in to my new true crime podcast “Here’s the Untold Story of a Man named Brady…” as we do a deep dive into the clues hidden in plain sight. (Tiger knows a lot more than he’s letting on.)

Plenty o’ shows on Saturday, Feb. 8th:

  • Hot Tuna plays the Ludlow Garage
  • H.R. (of Bad Brains) plays Southgate, with Knife the Symphony
  • Vanessa Collier headlines the Cincinnati Winter Blues Experience* at Manor House (*not to be confused with the Cincinnati Winter blues experience of having snow and ice on sidewalks for weeks on end…)
  • Electric Indigo, Eastwood, and Funky Ducks play a free show at MOTR
  • The Woodward Theater hosts “Dark Wave” (a covers show benefitting the Freestore Foodbank). Lots of local bands on the bill, including Wussy, Fairmount Girls, Tweens, Leggy, and Static Falls. The full lineup is here.

Last but certainly not least, when you think of “Hard Rock” your mind no doubt goes right to the titans of that genre: Black Sabbath, Metallica, and Air Supply.

One of those three bands will be at the Hard Rock Casino on 2/8.

On Wednesday, Feb. 12th, the Redmoor in Mt. Lookout hosts “Forever Simon & Garfunkel.” Have you ever seen the Photoshop version of S&G’s Bridge Over Troubled Water album cover with Paul Simon removed?

It makes Artie look like Donny Benet:

Mdou Moctar plays a special acoustic performance at the Woodward on Thursday, Feb. 13th.

Friday, February 14th is Valentine’s Day. I choo-choo-choose you to be my favorite blog post reader.

When love is in the air, our minds naturally turn to thoughts of noted romantic balladeer George Thorogood, with his equally lovestruck band the Delaware Destroyers. They’ll be at the Hard Rock Casino. (When typing this, I nearly transposed the “C” from Casino with the “R” in Rock, by accident. But it made me realize I could do that on purpose and score some promotional ad dollars from Enzyte.)

Where was I before I nearly got in trouble with Citizens for Community Values? Oh, yes, concerts… Other shows of note on Saint Valentine’s Day (I threw in the “Saint” to get ‘em off my case):

  • Josh Morningstar & his band play Southgate’s Revival Room
  • Liberty Theater has CFG & the Family with Heather Redman & the Reputation
  • Unlike the Hard Rock, Ludlow Garage knew the V.D. assignment – they have “Lovesongs: a tribute to The Cure”
  • Little Miami Brewing Co. hosts “Captured: The Ultimate Journey Tribute”

On Saturday, Feb. 15th, the Liberty Theater features the Mama Said String Band with Andrew Hibbard. The Downtowne Listening Room has EG Knight and Maria Carrelli. Also, Valentine’s Day is over.

Joe’s Truck Stop hits Rabbit Hash’s “Music Behind the Stove” series on Sunday, Feb. 16, and Todd Lipscomb plays Arnold’s on Tuesday, 2/18.

R.I.P. Garth Hudson, the mad professor

Now there’s no one left in The Band. Garth was the oldest member, and it seems fitting that he was the last to go, as he was the rock of that group in so many ways.

Quote above is from Rob Sheffield’s lovely tribute to a lovely man.

Amanda Petrusich also paid tribute in The New Yorker.

And now, my favorite Band song… with Garth just coolly crushing it on sax:

Sidebar: Now is probably not the time to get into the petty squabbles and financial dealings of The Band, but reading this in the AP obit made me super-sad, and even more of a Team Levon guy:

In recent years, Hudson struggled financially. He had sold his interest in the Band to Robertson and went bankrupt several times. He lost one home to foreclosure and saw many of his belongings put up for auction in 2013 when he fell behind on payments for storage. Hudson’s wife, the singer “Sister” Maud Hudson, died in 2022.

Joan soldiers on

I’ve always liked Joan Armatrading’s music, and think she deserves a bit more recognition.

I agree! Blurb above is from this interview in The Independent. Her most recent album is How Did This Happen and What Does It Now Mean.

Well, the title of my new album is How Did This Happen and What Does It Now Mean. I have no answers and I haven’t met anybody who has, but I hope we get rebooted to something a bit more balanced. I think we’ve become polarised because when you’re face to face with somebody, things such as body language and eye contact stop us doing certain things. That doesn’t happen on social media, then it spills into the real world. We’re not going to get rid of all wars and disagreements, but the album title is asking how on earth do we get out of this situation that we’re in and get back to a nicer place.

Hot Ticket Alert

More info and a ticket link on the Woodward website.

And this event — a lecture from author Michelle Zauner, who also fronts longtime 97Xbam faves Japanese Breakfast — sold out before I could tout it:

But I can at least mention that the newly refurbished/remodeled Mercantile Library is even more amazing than it was before, and the annual membership is totally worth it to get dibs on great literary events. (Poet Laureate Ada Limón will be there on 8/27.)

That’s Sooo Cincinnati ticket alert

Billy Joel and Rod Stewart are playing the Bengals stadium on Saturday, September 20th. I don’t know when tickets go on sale, but I DO know it’ll cost a gazillion dollars to see two dinosaurs.

Railbird lineup

It skews fairly “mainstream country”:

I’d rather spend $2.49 for this Jelly Roll action:

Music is Medicine

Singer-songwriter Laura Burhenn, who records as The Mynabirds (and does house tours via Undertow!), asked Janine Awan to design two complementary poster for her Bandcamp merch site.

A portion of the proceeds from both posters will go to support the World Central Kitchen’s important work in the US and abroad in areas torn by war and climate disaster.

Meet new singles in your area!

The winter new music freeze is finally thawing out. Check out new singles from The Tubs (loved their last album, they remind me so much of Richard Thompson), Lucy Dacus, Sharon Van Etten, and a posthumous release from The Chills/Martin Phillipps.

Album Covers of the Week(s)

Decca certainly didn’t “sell the sizzle” with the adjective they used to describe Earl. Was “versatile” the best that they could come up with? It feels like the album cover equivalent of a “he’s got a great personality” blind date.

There’s a LOT going on with this cover. Good luck coming up with a coherent narrative based on this imagery. The girls is writing in an album (who writes in an album?) while dreaming of a fur trader who doubles as a malt shoppe owner, and he in turn is dreaming of a photographer from 1872. Also a chef is going overboard with the pepper – so much so that the liquid splashing out of his saucepan is black. And there are two anthropomorphic ink blots who get feature credit…