Queens Of The Stone Age: Express Live!, Columbus, Ohio – Sept. 12, 2017 Tuesday evening, as downgraded tropical storm Irma was making her way into Southern Ohio, the lawn and concrete pit of the Express Live! outside stage was filling up with Queens of the Stone Age fans. While it rained much of the evening, … Read more
Yes Featuring Anderson, Rabin and Wakeman: Fraze Pavillion, Kettering, Ohio – Sept. 12, 2017 The “New” Version of Yes hit all the right notes! As a newly-minted member of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame you would think that all would be peace and love in Yes world. In case you haven’t been following … Read more
The Alarm: Music Box Supper Club; Cleveland, Ohio – August 27, 2017 The Alarm, led by original member Mike Peters, returned to the US for a tour that included a number of dates on Vans Warped tour, and a series of stand alone dates in cities that had befriended the Welsh band in its 80s … Read more
Green Day: Riverbend Music Center; Cincinnati, Ohio – Sunday, August 20, 2017 Over 20 years ago, as Green Day began dominating alternative rock radio with singles like “Basket Case” and “Longview,” which required a few words to get the censor “bleep” treatment, that we’d be talking about a multi-platinum selling, Rock & Roll Hall of … Read more
U2 w/ The Lumineers: MetLife Stadium; Meadowlands, New Jersey – Wednesday, June 28, 2017 After U2’s triumphant tour two years ago in support of their Son(g)s of Innocence release, everyone expected the next tour would center around the promised sequel, Songs of Experience. While the album was given a positive review critically in some corners … Read more
Nowhere Else Festival: Featuring Over the Rhine & the Band of Sweethearts, Birds of Chicago, Red Dirt Boys, Carrie Newcomer, Carrie Rodriguez, “Treasure of the Broken Land: The Songs of Mark Heard” with various artists, Matt Haeck, Levi Parham, and Phil Madiera Clinton County, OH – May 27 & 28, 2017 The forecast for Memorial … Read more
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers w/ Joe Walsh: Scottrade Center, St. Louis, MO – May 12, 2017 When Tom Petty led the Heartbreakers to the stage for their 40th Anniversary Tour stop in St. Louis, the large screens at the rear of the stage projected a photo of one wall of the band’s practice space, … Read more
Prophets of Rage: Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH – October 5, 2016 “Cincinnati, are you awake?” asked rapper B-Real early in the performance of the Prophets of Rage on Wednesday, a theme he would revisit throughout the night. It felt like a warm late summer night in spite of the fall date on the calendar, … Read more
King’s X (w/ King of Spades): Rockstar Pro Arena, Dayton, Ohio – September 29, 2016 On a cool and gloomy Fall night, about 300 people filled the Rockstar Pro Arena, just east of downtown Dayton, to hear the world-class hard rock trio and recording artists, King’s x offer up a 90+ minute show that spanned … Read more
Nothing like a three day music festival and 81 artists over 4 stages to totally enthrall a music lover. The 2016 lineup for Cincinnati’s Midpoint Music Festival was one of the best they have had in years and with some cooperative weather (although really hot at times) the overall experience will go down as a … Read more
Probably the best thing about music festivals, aside from gathering some bands you want to see into one place for a long day of music, or three days if you have the stamina and interest, is the times you stumble onto good bands you’ve not encountered previously. As I was new to the MidPoint Fest, … Read more
Guns N’ Roses (w/ Tyler Bryant & the Shakedown): Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio – July 6, 2016 Here in 2016, it’s hard to gauge the significance of bands that were hugely popular in the 1980s after all the time that has passed. Few would argue against the dominance of L.A. band Guns N’ Roses … Read more
Guided by Voices (w/DTCV): Oddbody’s Music Room, Dayton, Ohio – June 23, 2016 A Guided by Voices show is a two-faced beast. In one sense, you always know what to expect: the camaraderie of the fans, lots of beer, some Robert Pollard stage-banter, and at least a few “classic” GBV tunes, whether its “I Am … Read more
MUTEMATH: Newport Music Hall, Columbus, OH – March 30, 2016 The first time I saw MuteMath was ten years ago, their self titled debut album had come across my desk as a pre-release but it wasn’t yet in stores. They were playing one of those tiny trailer sets early in the day at the Warped … Read more
Ty Segall & The Muggers: Majestic Theatre, Detroit, MI – March 5, 2016 If you saw Ty Segall and some of his band mates bowling next door before the show in Detroit Saturday night, you wouldn’t think twice about going to their concert. Just regular guys hanging out, not caring about their score and generally … Read more
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band: KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, KY – February 21, 2016 It’s been over 35 years since the release of Bruce Springsteen’s The River, but the veteran rocker has had no trouble filling arenas with fans more than happy to pay premium ticket prices to revisit both the artist’s, and … Read more
Wolf Alice with Radkey: Madison Live, Covington, Kentucky – December 16, 2015 Let’s get this out of the way: If you get the chance to see Wolf Alice in concert, you need to do it. The sooner the better. Why? The British four-piece has been on the brink for the past year and justified the … Read more
Glen Hansard: Taft Theatre, Cincinnati, Ohio – October 24, 2015 Even though Glen Hansard has an impressive resume, it still seems people are unaware of the talent he brings to the musical world. The Irish singer/songwriter/actor is most known for his Academy Award winning Best Song “Falling Slowly” that appeared in the film ONCE (2006). … Read more
Yes: Rose Music Center, Dayton, Ohio – August 14, 2015 With the untimely passing of co-founder and bass player extraordinaire Chris Squire from a rare form of leukemia, witnessing a Yes show threatened to be more like a wake than a concert event. Ultimately, it was more a celebration of his life and artistry. His … Read more
Cincinnati’s MidPoint Music Festival was once again a success this year with another solid lineup. I will be the first to admit that when I initially scanned the 150 plus bands I didn’t think the offerings were quite as good as last year but after attending, I would say MPMF did alright! From better venues, … Read more
I came WAY late to the GBV party: by the time I caught on to the band’s greatness, the reunited “classic lineup” had already released four albums, and it looked like that might be all we got from them. (I proceeded to procure a massive collection of all things GBV, Pollard, and his various side … Read more
There’s been a lot of turmoil in Pixie-land of late. With the departure of Kim Deal and her replacement Kim Shattuck, attention has been understandably centered around whatever female bass player lines up to play with the legendary band. The newest member is no stranger to the spotlight – or to strong personalities within a … Read more
If you weren’t at this event/show on Saturday night (Jan. 18, 2014), then you missed out. Why do I go with the whole show/event phrasing? Only because of the great idea that led to pairing together the entities of Misra Records, We Care Arts, and The Motel Beds. The “old” Yellow Cab building, a half … Read more
The Lone Bellow: The 20th Century Theatre, Cincinnati, Ohio – 11/12/13 If The Lone Bellow are a band you should be listening to, they are no doubt a band you should experience live. Their self-titled album has been a favorite of mine since hearing them on my local public radio station and I was very … Read more
I saw Neko Case 10 years ago in a much smaller venue so I was very excited to see one of the best voices in music live again at the Taft Theatre in Cincinnati Tuesday night. Well that excitement ended very quickly as Neko hit the stage with a starting stretch and yawn telling the … Read more