Eclectic acoustic Blues duo 46 Long is set to release its latest full-length, the dynamic Tennessee, tonight at downtown’s Arnold’s Bar & Grill. Showtime is 9 p.m. and the shindig is a freebie. The show will be a brand-new experience for fans of the duo. The group will be debuting a lot of new material and the first set will feature drumming assistance from percussionist Joe Pro. For 46 Long's second set tonight, the twosome will go "full band" with the addition of bassist Bobby Loggs and some other special guests.

Though “dynamic” and “eclectic” might not be the first words to come to mind when you think “acoustic Blues duo” — all three words suggest inherent limitations — 46 Long is both of those and more. Eschewing Blues clichés while still staying fairly faithful to the music’s rich tradition is a difficult balancing act to pull off, but Tennessee finds the twosome subtly integrating sounds from a broad spectrum of influence without losing their core, distinct sound. In the end, it’s one of the more creative Blues releases you’ll likely hear all year, yet the detours and tangents shouldn’t deter (most) purists.

On Tennessee, Blake Taylor (who primarily sings and blows a mean harmonica, though also contributes keys, percussion guitar and, uh, “crowbar” on the album) and Jonathan Reynolds (who sings and plays guitar while also providing bass and percussion) start things off with the stanky groove of “More,” then take the listeners through deft interpretations of gritty, Delta-esque Blues (like the title track), gruff Tom Waitsian eccentricity (“Lock It Up or Lose It”), full-bodied, swaggering AltCountry (a cover of the Starkweathers’ “One for Her, One For Him”), boogying Lyle Lovett-like Swing (“Don’t Drink”) and stompin’ Garage Rock (“Something Strange”).

Other standouts on Tennessee include a sparsely percussioned take on Morphine’s “Thursday,” and “The Best Revenge,” a dark, ominously atmospheric track that’ll send creepy shivers up your spine.

The recording is refreshingly natural (with only some distortion here and there to add shadowing), the perfect setting to wrap your ears around the duo’s ace musical skills. Taylor once again proves he’s one of the best Blues harmonica players in the region, playing the mouth harp like a saxophone, a vocal part, a rhythm guitar or pretty much any other instrument you can think of.

If you’ve given up on the Blues because you think you’ve heard it all before, pick up Tennessee and let 46 Long show you otherwise.

Here's a live clip of the duo performing the new LP's title track.

It's not quite the same as being there — unless you have long lines at your refrigerator, like to keep your house a balmy 105 degrees and live shoulder-to-shoulder with thousands of drunk people — but watching a music festival from the comfort of your own home isn't the worst thing in the world. (You could, for example, be watching Two and a Half Men.)

The Lollapalooza YouTube channel will be streaming various artists' sets from this year's festival in Chicago, including today's 5:15 p.m. (Cincy/EST time) performance by reunited Cincinnati icons The Afghan Whigs. The festival begins this afternoon; streaming starts at 1:30 p.m. I watched a few live sets from last year's Lollapalooza through the YouTube site and the footage and stream were both pretty strong.

Here's another Cincy act performing at Lolla last year.

Here's the full rundown of streams for the next three days of Lolla (times are CST, so add an hour if you are in the Queen City):

FRIDAY
    •    1:30 PM
    •    Yellow Ostrich
    •    
    •    1:30 PM
    •    Michael Kiwanuka
    •    
    •    2:15 PM
    •    The Black Angels
    •    
    •    2:15 PM
    •    Dr. Dog
    •    
    •    3:00 PM
    •    The War on Drugs
    •    
    •    3:30 PM
    •    Blind Pilot
    •    
    •    4:00 PM
    •    Metric
    •    
    •    4:15 PM
    •    The Afghan Whigs
    •    
    •    5:15 PM
    •    The Head & The Heart
    •    
    •    5:15 PM
    •    Tame Impala
    •    
    •    6:15 PM
    •    The Shins
    •    
    •    6:15 PM
    •    Band of Skulls
    •    
    •    7:00 PM
    •    Sharon Van Etten
    •    
    •    7:30 PM
    •    Dawes
    •    
    •    8:00 PM
    •    Die Antwoord
    •    
    •    8:30 PM
    •    The Black Keys

SATURDAY
    •    1:30 PM
    •    JEFF the Brotherhood
    •    
    •    1:30 PM
    •    Los Jaivas
    •    
    •    2:15 PM
    •    Delta Spirit
    •    
    •    2:15 PM
    •    GIVERS
    •    
    •    3:00 PM
    •    Neon Indian
    •    
    •    3:15 PM
    •    Aloe Blacc
    •    
    •    4:00 PM
    •    The Temper Trap
    •    
    •    4:15 PM
    •    Alabama Shakes
    •    
    •    5:15 PM
    •    FUN.
    •    
    •    5:15 PM
    •    First Aid Kit
    •    
    •    6:00 PM
    •    The Weeknd
    •    
    •    6:00 PM
    •    Washed Out
    •    
    •    6:45 PM
    •    tUnE-yArDs
    •    
    •    7:00 PM
    •    Bloc Party
    •    
    •    8:00 PM
    •    Red Hot Chili Peppers
    •    
    •    8:30 PM
    •    Avicii

SUNDAY
    •    1:30 PM
    •    Oberhofer
    •    
    •    1:30 PM
    •    Bombay Bicycle Club
    •    
    •    2:15 PM
    •    Trampled By Turtles
    •    
    •    2:30 PM
    •    White Rabbits
    •    
    •    3:00 PM
    •    The Walkmen
    •    
    •    3:15 PM
    •    Gary Clark Jr.
    •    
    •    4:15 PM
    •    Franz Ferdinand
    •    
    •    4:15 PM
    •    J.Cole
    •    
    •    5:15 PM
    •    The Gaslight Anthem
    •    
    •    5:15 PM
    •    Toro Y Moi
    •    
    •    6:00 PM
    •    At The Drive-In
    •    
    •    6:15 PM
    •    Of Monsters & Men
    •    
    •    7:15 PM
    •    Florence + the Machine
    •    
    •    7:15 PM
    •    The Big Pink
    •    
    •    8:15 PM
    •    Miike Snow
    •    
    •    8:30 PM
    •    Jack White
    •    
    •    9:15 PM
    •    Childish Gambino

Click here to watch all of the Lollapalooza streams.



The Whigs — who will perform at great Chicago club Metro for a sold-out post-Lolla party tomorrow night — have most recently added tour dates in Cleveland, Boston, Philadelphia, Portland, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The group comes home to Cincinnati's Bogart's on Oct. 25 for a sold-out gig with part-time tourmates Wussy. (Don't have tickets? Click here for a chance to win a a pair.)

Cincinnati's Walk the Moon has been doing the promo rounds hardcore for a while now, performing on network TV shows like the Late Show and Late Night, and touring the planet to ever-increasing crowds. The band tweeted photos about a month ago from its sessions for an episode of MTV Unplugged, the long-running acoustic series on the now-music-deficient network.

Today, Walk the Moon announced that the episode will premiere this coming Monday (Aug. 6) on MTV.com. The band also revealed the first clip from the episode — an a cappella version of "Maps" by popular AltRock trio the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Enjoy.

Like death, taxes, Who reunion tours and Wolfen sequels, one certainty every year in Cincinnati is a local summer appearance by the master of mediocrity, Jimmy Buffett. If you live here, it's as inevitable as the changing of the season: Buffett brings his plastic palm tree and awful music to Riverbend, and thousands of morons flock to see him.

We've resisted writing about this "phenomenon" in the past. It's kind of like making fun of Kathie Lee Gifford or Kenny G -- it's just too cheap and easy. Of course, CityBeat is nothing if not cheap and easy.

So, here, we bring you the only press you will ever read about Jimmy Buffett in this publication. Unless, of course, there's a shooting spree in the middle of the concert or Riverbend sinks into the river.

10) His music It's sorta tropical, sometimes Country-ish, sometimes "silly," and always boring. It's music for people who don't like music: background, laid-back fluff. It's easy listening for Boomers.

9) His lyrics

"Blew out my flip flop/Stepped on a pop top/Cut my heel, had to cruise on back home."

"So he took her to this movie called Body Heat/She said, 'The Junior Mints were mushy and the sex was neat.' "

"Fruitcakes in the kitchen/Fruitcakes on the street/Struttin' naked through the cross walk/In the middle of the week."

"Evolution can be mean/There's no 'dumb-ass vaccine.' "

Apparently not.

8) His album titles A White Sport Coat & A Pink Crustacean. Last Mango in Paris. Off to See the Lizard. This guy makes "Weird Al" look like Oscar Wilde.

7) He recorded a cover of "Purple People Eater" "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" is bound to be next.

6) He likes to sue aspiring restaurateurs Buffett's lawyers have gone after entrepreneurs for calling their new bistros things like "Margaritaville" and "Cheeseburger in Paradise." Hey, if they're that stupid ...

5) He was a fratboy No doubt. At the University of Southern Mississippi. Shocker!

4) He wrote and staged a musical (Don't Stop the Carnival) Rock stars shouldn't do that.

3) He tricked Brian Wilson into recording one of his songs "South American" on Wilson's Imagination record. Hasn't this man been taken advantage of enough?

2) His CDs don't even make good coasters I proudly own one Jimmy Buffett CD -- 1999's Beach House on the Moon, which I use on my desk to set my drink on. Damn things keep slippin' off.

1) Parrotheads Fans of Buffett use his summer concerts for an excuse to get completely obliterated and "partay." It's like Mardi Gras with tasteless people in stupid hats and Hawaiian shirts. Not so amazingly, his strongest cult is here in Cincinnati. Like we need some other cultural crisis to be embarrassed about.

Five Finger Death Punch is one of the most popular Metal bands in the world. The band has a catchy, melodic sound that resonates with its crowds and the band's songs have become arena anthems across the country. Five Finger continues to tour on its third studio album American Capitalist. Currently, the group is out headlining the Trespass America Festival with the bands Trivium, Pop Evil and Killswitch Engage.

CityBeat was able to spend some time with the band’s lead guitarist Jason Hook to discuss, among other things, the band’s feverish tour schedule and the effect it has on the band members' relationships, as well as what makes the music so addictive. The Trespass America Festival comes to the PNC Pavilion at Riverbend tomorrow (Wednesday) night.

CityBeat: What has been the highlight of Trespass Festival so far?

Jason Hook: Well, the first show was awesome. We opened the show on Friday the 13th just outside of Denver. The place was almost sold out, packed. We had all of our friends, family, record label, managers and agents with us. It was a massive party (and) it was day one. It was awesome, really awesome.

CB: Who leaves the biggest mess backstage at Trespass?

JH: The biggest mess? As far as what, a hot mess or just messy?

CB: It could be either.

JH: I’ll give both to Ivan (Moody, Five Finger's frontman).

CB: OK, I wouldn’t picture that.

JH: Well you don’t know him as well as I do.

CB: Is it true that he still throws up before he performs?

JH: I haven’t seen that lately but it might be because I tend to steer clear of him a little bit more than usual because of that. But he does do that. That is not an urban legend.

CB: You consistently are having these hits with huge sports and military following. What is really the formula for creating a modern day Rock anthem?

JH: I think that you have to keep things simple. People like a really consistent beat, something that has a good thump to it. Obviously, an easy to follow storyline or a relatable storyline and as many hooks as you can get into each section of the song for example the intro, the verse, the pre-chorus, the chorus, the bridge, the solo — all those are sections — and if they get too long or drawn out or too complicated or the resolution set too high for the listener, they just miss out and it will go over their head. A big part of having an anthem is having something that is simple enough that many people can grab it easily like “Rock & Roll all night and party every day.”

CB: Does the band ever write songs for a specific audience?

JH: Not really. Most of us in the band have a background where we grew up listening to heavy bands but bands that were also on the radio. That reflects in the music we make. None of it is really contrived. We just do what we like. Fortunate for us, it catches with a lot more people. Once you try to do something that is not honest, it is really hard to repeat it. You are always chasing or guessing what to do. It is better to know what you like to do and just do it.

You always have the crazy crowd surfing at the shows, the biggest Rock on the Range crowd surfing in history. Do you ever worry about fan safety?

JH: All the time. All the time. It freaks us out. I see people getting beat up pretty good out there, especially the people in the very front row because people crowd surf up from behind them, they can’t see that these 220 pound guys are being launched forward and the people in the front row are the last people that these heavy people land on their heads on the way into the pit. You get a lot of people getting smashed, and they have no idea it is happening until it happens.

I keep saying, “Is there something we should do to discourage this? Should we say that we want people to be careful and keep your eyes open?” I do see a lot of people getting hammered, and it freaks me out. We are always thinking about it.

CB: How do you stay friends living in such close quarters and being on the road almost all year?

JH: How do we stay friends? We stay away from each other. The only way to control how we all get along is to make sure there is a good amount of separation. You need a little bit of on and a little off.

For example, we get hotel rooms. The band gets hotel rooms. We get them every other day. The hotel rooms are essential and it doesn’t matter what it costs to have everybody be able go and have their own private space to go make phone calls, answer e-mails, relax, watch the TV program they want to watch, whatever. The off is just as important as the on because if you get too much together time all the time, then you are likely to have the engine run a little hot, you know what I am saying?

CB: Who in the band is more likely to get into a fight backstage and who is more likely to get laid?

JH: I don’t really want to focus on the fighting, but as far as the sex part of it, I would say, all the girls like Ivan. The rest of us are just sort of swinging the bat. They all seem to want to get to Ivan. So I would say answer "A"—my final answer — Ivan.

The thing is, to chase girls around, which is also to chase the party or stay up, all these people show up and they want to hang out with the band. This is their big night out. The problem is, if we participated in everybody’s big night out, then we end up having 42 or 55 nights in a row, and it is physically too hard. Imagine having 45 New Years Eves in a row. What kind of shape would you be in after that?

CB: Yeah, bands now are a lot more, I don’t want to say mellow, but you can’t sustain (that type of partying) for long periods of time if this is what you are going to do.

JH: God knows we have tried it. We don’t want to hurt the band. We don’t want to hurt the tour. We have a responsibility to not only talk to people during the day but to play in front of these large audiences, and I don’t want to go up there hung over and feel like crap and be fuzzy and making mistakes. It’s very hard. It’s OK when you are a club band — nobody cares; “Get me another beer.” Everyone is drunk anyway, but now we are talking about playing in front of 15,000 people at 9 o’clock at night and it is a business now. It is for real.

Cincy rockers Wussy are set to join the much-celebrated Afghan Whigs' reunion tour this fall when the band finally hits the U.S. for a string of dates. Another great exhibition of Cincy's rich music scene, again in the national spotlight. Wussy has been touring a lot more than usual lately, including its first West Coast jaunt, so this should help raise the group's national profile even more.

So far, Wussy is set to open for The Afghan Whigs for their homecoming show at Bogart's on Oct. 25 (sold out), as well as dates in New Orleans (Oct. 19), Atlanta (Oct. 20), Carrboro, NC (Oct. 21) and another sold-out affair in Detroit (Oct. 24). More dates are expected to be announced soon.

Wussy co-lead-singer/songwriter Chuck Cleaver is a longtime friend/mutual fan of the Whigs. Back in 1993, the local label Mono Cat 7 released a split single featuring the Whigs and Cleaver's former band, The Ass Ponys. The Ponys covered The Whigs' tune "You My Flower," while Greg Dulli and Co. tackled the Ass Ponys classic "Mr. Superlove." (That's the cover art, with former Short Vine mayor Archie acting as the model, above.)

Here's a fan-made video for the Whigs' take on "Mr. Superlove" (NSFW due to mild nudity).

More recently, Wussy recorded a great cover version of another early Whigs song, Up In It opening track, "Retarded," for an Afghan Whigs tribute compilation put out by fantastic Afghan Whigs site Summer's Kiss (listen or purchase here). The comp also included Whigs renditions by Mark Lanegan, Joseph Arthur and several other acts.

Give a listen to Wussy's "Retarded" below.

The Van's Warped Tour might not be the most financially successful summer package tour of all time (the promoter and performers work together to keep an ego-free environment and low ticket prices), but it's hard to argue that it is not the most successful overall, especially in terms of longevity. Now in its 18th year, Kevin Lyman's eclectic traveling festival has outlived all of the roving music events that sprouted up around the same time (from Lollapalooza to Lilith Fair) by creating a "customer friendly" experience that's also very "artist friendly."

The tour's 2012 finale is this weekend in Portland, but before shutting things down for the summer, the fest makes its annual stop at Cincinnati's Riverbend today. Doors open at 11 a.m. and music kicks off shortly after. The show ends around 9 p.m. Tickets at the box office will cost ya $42 (about a dime a band, by my estimation).

Click here for more local show details, including info on how you can "Skip the Line" and walk right into the venue.

The set-times for each act are decided just prior to the gates opening; if you're going, look for the giant inflatable Warped logoed amp to see when your favorites are playing. I also highly recommend grabbing the official Warped Tour app.

Be sure to support our local music scene reps — The Few The Fallen, Heres To The Heroes and Let It Happen will play the Ernie Ball Stage. Check out Let It Happen's recent video for "Bridges" from the great release, It Hurts, But It's Worth It.



Here is who's playing where (via Riverbend's site). (Welsh rockers Lostprophets are also on the bill, though not listed on Riverbend's site; all info is subject to change.)

MAIN STAGE: Taking Back Sunday, All Time Low, New Found Glory, Streetlight Manifesto, Yellowcard, Piece The Veil, Four Year Strong, Of Mice and Men, We The Kings, Breathe Carolina, Miss May I, Falling In Reverse, Blood On The Dance

TBD STAGE:  Every Time I Die, Mayday Parade, blessthefall, Chelsea Grin, For Today, Memphis May Fire, Motionless In White, Rise To Remain, Sleeping With Sirens, The Ghost Inside, Vampires Everywhere!, Title Fight

TILLY’S STAGE: Senses Fail, Vanna, Polar Bear Club, We Are The Crowd, Man Overboard, A Loss For Words, Funeral Party, I Fight Dragons, Machine Gun Kelly, Oh No Fiasco

TBD STAGE: Echo Movement, G-Eazy, Stepdad, The Constellations, Ballyhoo!, Champagne, T. Mills, Tomorrows Bad Seeds, Mod Sun, The Green, Amyst

ERNIE BALL STAGE:  iwrestledabearonce, Born Of Osiris, Chunk! No Captain, Fireworks, Transit, Cold Forty Three, The Scissors, The Few The Fallen, Here's To The Heroes and Let It Happen.

KEVIN SAYS STAGE:  Make Do And Mend, Matt Toka, Tonight Alive, Skip The Foreplay, Sick of Sarah, Mighty Mongo, Captain Capa, I Call Fives, Hostage Calm, The Silver Comet, Twin Atlantic, The Darlings, Dead Sara

ACOUSTIC BASEMENT:   A Loss For Words, Koji, Brian Marquis, Rocky Votolato, Transit Owen Plant, Anthony Raneri