http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/ [Third Man Records] Q: How many minor supergroups can Jack White assemble? A: All of them, apparently. The Dead Weather is merely the latest installment of "What Will Jack Do Next?," the novelty this time being that the vaunted frontman of The White Stripes and co-frontman of The Raconteurs is taking his place behind the drumkit, the most stereotypically invisible role within most bands except for those timekeepers blessed with outsized personalities (Keith Moon, Ringo Starr, John Bonham).]]> [Ferret Music] Since the release of their previous album in 2007, the winds of change have swept over MATSOD like an F-4 tornado, resulting in a new lineup and sound on their latest album. Composed of four new members, including Matt Clark and Kelly Scott Nunn (ex-Underoath), the Alabama-based Metalcore outfit expresses its Southern roots more than ever with banjo tracks, guitar slides and hand claps to compliment the down-tuned, fist-pounding sound that fans have come to expect from the band's previous albums.]]> [Ferret Music] Like drinking tall boys of Steel Reserve, listening to Poison the Well's new album requires either an acquired taste or an extreme apathy in order to endure it. This fifth installment of the band's discography maintains the Post Hardcore brutality, speed and intensity of its former albums, which is likely to please long-time fans but unlikely to draw a new crowd.]]> [Jive Records] Coolness is an indispensable character trait for bands pursuing real success in today's world, because if you don't sound cool enough, the TV-viewing public won’t pay any attention to your crap.]]> [Capitol Records] Colin Meloy has created a song cycle that details the story of a fair young maiden and the metamorph that takes advantage of her, set to a soundtrack worthy of the best Prog/Folk purveyors of the '70s and shot through with contemporary melodicism and verve. ]]> [Domino Records] First off, dude sounds like the long-lost lovechild of Queen's Freddie Mercury and T. Rex frontman Marc Bolan, a pair who in a perfect world would have made a great Rock & Roll gay couple, no doubt. In any case, the fusion could only have created a mutant MercuRex musician so ferociously pompous in his stylistic grandiosity as Mr. Ferree, whose overly verbose songs are pretty catchy despite their penchant for being over-the-top.]]> [Blue Note] L.A. duo The Bird and The Bee loves to use that bad synthesized harpsichord sound that Stereolab somehow made kosher. They also add hackneyed Tropicalia and "Jazz" flourishes, and it's all set down on top of mindless, pre-programmed beats.]]> [Emarcy Records] John Scofield has applied his innovative Jazz guitar methodology to every conceivable subset of the genre (Funk, Blues, Bebop, Chamber Jazz, Electronica and many others) over his storied career as a Jazz sessioner and solo artist. For his astonishing 36th album under his own name, Piety Street, Scofield has assembled a crack band of singers and players to create a Gospel/Blues/Jazz hybrid that is inspirational from both a musical and spiritual context.]]> [Happy Jack Rock] Whether the Indie Rock veteran is fronting Guided by Voices or experimental Circus Devils, Bob Pollard is a god among songwriting men, and for good reason. ]]> Reports say any Guns 'N Roses fans attempting to sport Slash-related shirts to a concert in Canada recently were asked to turn them inside out or go home. In other music news, Hip Hop Artist shun clothing line for oil company and Steven Tyler does karaoke.]]> Reports say any Guns 'N Roses fans attempting to sport Slash-related shirts to a concert in Canada recently were asked to turn them inside out or go home. In other music news, Hip Hop Artist shun clothing line for oil company and Steven Tyler does karaoke.]]> The nearly $2 million file-sharing fine leveled by a judge on behalf of the recording industry against a Minnesotan mother of four has been reduced 97 percent (to a still hefty $54,000) by a U.S. District Court judge who called the original fine "monstrous and shocking." (The woman reportedly "stole" 24 songs.)]]> Like most of us, politically-minded British Folk singer Billy Bragg is disgusted by the way the banking industry has continued to hand out giant bonuses, despite being given huge "bailouts" from we the taxpayers.]]> Recently released documents show some of the complaints to the FCC over American Idol loser Adam Lambert's allegedly shocking performance on the American Music Awards broadcast last year, during which he made out with a bandmate (who was a dude!) and simulated oral sex with a dancer (who was also a dude!). Dude!]]> Chris Cornell announced Soundgarden would reunite in 2010, "tweeting" about it on New Year's Eve. The band has been gone for about 12 years, and the other members have done a better job keeping their dignity. You know what all this means? We are one Kurt Cobain zombie away from the Grunge Oldies Allstar Revue Tour!]]> Mini Gauge has never been a KISS fan. OK, growing up in the ’70s, there was a month or two we listened to them, but, like Dungeons & Dragons and crystal meth, it was just something we tried because our friends were all into it.]]> The son of John Mellencamp doesn't seem to be in any hurry to collect his sure-to-be-huge inheritance check. Speck Mellencamp, 14, started a Facebook page designed to get his dad to stop smoking, a move that appears to be coming from a genuine place of love. See, even Minimum Gauge's Grinch-heart can swell during the holidays.]]> The Brothers and The Sisters feature singer/songwriter Jeremy Pinnell, whose work with The Light Wires and The Great Depression proved him to be one of the most soulful writers in the Folk/Roots arena. The songs are similar but presented in a different setting — instead of electric instruments or a stark acoustic-duo format, The Brothers and The Sisters use banjo, acoustic guitars and dobro (and drums and bass).]]> The Brothers and The Sisters feature singer/songwriter Jeremy Pinnell, whose work with The Light Wires and The Great Depression proved him to be one of the most soulful writers in the Folk/Roots arena. The songs are similar but presented in a different setting — instead of electric instruments or a stark acoustic-duo format, The Brothers and The Sisters use banjo, acoustic guitars and dobro (and drums and bass).]]> Organizers for Sunday's "Help for Haiti" benefit at Oakley's 20th Century Theatre put together a show in just a few days, and the massive and diverse roster of performers shows just how quick to help local artists are when an important cause comes up. The 6 p.m. concert will have Them Bones featuring Cheryl Renee, Freekbass, Kathy Wade, Kevin Fox, Sonny Moorman, Scotty Anderson, Phil DeGreg Trio, Steve Schmidt, Rumpke Mountain Boys, Robin Lacy and DeZydeco and many more acts. Suggested donation is $20. Proceeds go to the Red Cross.]]> Chris Sherman (aka Freekbass) and his Funk band (aka Freekbass) maintain one of the most consistent touring schedules of any band based in Cincinnati. Soon, Freekbass (the man, not the band) will be getting a lot busier, especially if his new "all star" group takes off. His new trio (With DJ Logic and Steve Molitz) gets its official debut Saturday here in Cincinnati.]]> The first time I put on 'Got to Tell the World,' the new album by local Pop/Rock foursome Screaming Mimes, and cued up the first track, "You're the Kind of Girl," I listened for about a minute then had to run outside to pay my parking meter. Walking back to the office, I found myself already singing the chorus hook in my head.]]> The Cincy Blues Society's annual "Winter Blues Fest" is coming up at the end of January, but Monday you can get your Blues fix via a stellar lineup at Play By Play in Silverton. And it's for a good cause: helping area artists spread the good word of Midwestern Blues. The "Road to Memphis 2010" raises money to help local musicians get to Memphis to battle in next month's International Blues Challenge.]]> Local Indie rockers The Koala Fires have the honor of producing the first Cincinnati-spawned release of the new year/decade and, therefore, it’s the best local release of the year/decade so far! In all seriousness, The Beeping in Our Hearts is a strong effort that certainly has the potential to be on future “best of” lists. ]]> The holidays are a good time to be a music fan who lives in a town that has harvested a lot of talented musicians. Many of the ones who have moved away come back home for a visit and want to play a show. Bands that live around here and tour a lot might offer local fans a special performance, something often more casual and fun than usual.]]> Get your fill of holiday cheer with Blue Jordan Records' "Winter Show," local Punk pioneers SS-20's, some Free Lap Dances, the third EP release by You, You're Awesome, and some Rockabilly/Psychobilly action at "Greasemas." All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth knocked out in a mosh pit. What do you want... a Tickle Me Elmo?]]> It'll be pouring CD release parties this weekend, with five very disparate area bands celebrating the completion of their newest studio offerings: altrockers Seabird, Pop Rock band Lovely Crash, Soul Jazz outfit iolite, Cajun vets Lagniappe and Americana favorites Wild Carrot. Get all the details here.]]> Patty Griffin's voice lies somewhere between Emmylou Harris's crystalline Country beauty and Bonnie Raitt's Blues-fried rasp, giving her a perfect instrument to interpret the largely Black and Southern Gospel tracks on her new album, 'Downtown Church.' It was recorded in a Presbyterian church in Nashville that once claimed Andrew Jackson as a congregate, and Griffin sang the songs from the church's pulpit.]]> Mark Oliver Everett doesn't feel the slightest hesitation about baring his soul, whether in his old persona of A Man Called E or in his better-known sonic disguise as Eels. And Everett's particular genius is in the casually devastating manner that he attaches his well-worn heart to his plainly visible sleeve, making it painfully and beautifully universal.]]> There are few singer/songwriters who can make melancholy and alienation as gorgeous and powerful and appealing as Freedy Johnston. His gifts were readily apparent on his 1990 debut, 'The Trouble Tree,' and were almost impossibly strengthened on his 1992 sophomore album, the indescribably wonderful 'Can You Fly.' After nine long years, Johnston has finally returned to the studio with brand new songs.]]> In some circumstances, a solo project from a hot band's lead vocalist might signal a little trouble in paradise, but Clap Your Hands Say Yeah frontman Alec Ounsworth merely seems like a restless creative spirit that can't be contained by a single outlet. 'Mo Beauty' was recorded with producer Steve Berlin in New Orleans, and while the bulk of the material was already written, the album bears the unmistakable mark of The Big Easy, from the loping syncopation to the second line backbeat to the general booze-in-church atmosphere.]]> Richard Lloyd's story on its own is pretty compelling — his membership as guitarist in Rocket from the Tombs and Television, his solo career, his session work with Matthew Sweet — but the tale Lloyd spins on his latest solo album, 'The Jamie Neverts Story,' is worthy of a movie script. In a nutshell, the teenaged Lloyd met a young man named Velvert Turner who had started an unlikely friendship with Jimi Hendrix around the time that Hendrix moved to New York. Turner and Lloyd became best friends, Hendrix began giving guitar lessons to Turner and Turner imparted his newfound knowledge to Lloyd.]]> Snoop Dogg has made his rep in Hip Hop by delivering his gangsta hype in an almost offhand way, perhaps a natural by-product of his blunt intake. He seems equally at ease turning out deep Dub atmospherics and textures, hardcore Hip Hop beats or smooth R&B grooves. Snoop's 10th album, 'Malice N Wonderland,' finds him doing what he's always done best: rounding up a talented slate of producers and performers and putting together a conceptual extravaganza.]]> Although Drivin' N Cryin' never officially went away, its work over the past decade has definitely taken a back seat to Kevin Kinney's solo career, which has yielded four discs since the band's last full album of new material in 1997. 2003's 'Detroit Rock City' EP signaled renewed activity, but only now are DNC unleashing their first full album in a dozen years, 'Whatever Happened to the Great American Bubble Factory?'.]]> Even a cursory glance at Tom Waits' musical arc over the years (from sensitive Folk/Pop singer-songwriter to jazzy boho troubadour to arthouse Blues experimentalist) will give an accurate reading of his overwhelming creative restlessness. So leave it to Waits to find a new format with which to present his double live document of last year's acclaimed and patently brilliant "Glitter and Doom" tour.]]> Them Crooked Vultures aims to restore the luster to the supergroup in the new millennium. Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal) and Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) are pretty potent new generation ringers on guitar and drums, but installing Led Zeppelin's iconic John Paul Jones in TCV’s bass-and-everything-else slot is audacious brilliance, resulting in a trio that effectively crosses Rock's modernity with its classicism. ]]> Patty Griffin's voice lies somewhere between Emmylou Harris's crystalline Country beauty and Bonnie Raitt's Blues-fried rasp, giving her a perfect instrument to interpret the largely Black and Southern Gospel tracks on her new album, 'Downtown Church.' It was recorded in a Presbyterian church in Nashville that once claimed Andrew Jackson as a congregate, and Griffin sang the songs from the church's pulpit.]]> Quartet ventures to the left coast to record their debut full-length album Most local bands hit a nice area studio to record their first album. But The Ohms had a bigger impact in mind. After putting together a home demo and receiving a spectacular response to their set at their own annual Ohmstead music festival, the Reggae/Rock quartet cast its net farther from shore and ended up recording in L.A. with No Doubt producer Dito Godwin. ]]> Steve Bowling turns rejection into Country/Roots flavored magic Steve Bowling has remained with the band Red Idle from its inception to its current cover band status, but he also continued to write Roots/Country songs that didn't fit the band. His bandmates' initial rejection inspired Bowling to christen his new side project Red Idle Rejects, who release their first CD on Saturday.]]> Amidst a packed schedule, Roots duo releases debut EP For Shiny and the Spoon, creating a whimsical, old-timey sound involves using subtlety and simplicity as a crafty tool. Tom Waits meets Ella Fitzgerald with a ukulele in the mix. Americana/Folk/Pop with a '20s spin. And this duo's clever style recently earned them a Cincinnati Entertainment Awards nomination in the New Artist of the Year category.]]> Painting with sound, a melodic heart and discernible texture There is a hypnotic quality to Pete Fosco's guitar manipulations, an Ambient drone that suggests the casual intensity of Steve Reich or Brian Eno. His latest album, the about-to-drop 'In Electric Nights,' is a dreamy, Ambient vision of Funkadelic's 'Maggot Brain' and more typically "song based," featuring five shorter compositions, as opposed to the 30-minute opus and two shorter codas on his first record.]]> Warming up for a special full-length release with a Christmas-themed album After recording a full-length album this summer with Grammy-winning producer Malcolm Burn (Bob Dylan, Ryan Adams, Iggy Pop), Ellery was inspired to punch out 'Down, Down, Down,' its 2009 holiday EP. The full-length will come out this spring. Justin Golden explains: "We're in that interesting place many artists now find themselves, deciding whether to release an album on our own or on a label — it's a lot to weigh."]]> The Minor Leagues survive internal and external friction to create their best work to date Three years ago, it was a safe bet that The Minor Leagues would soon be dominating the Cincinnati Indie music scene. The band’s 2006 album, The Pestilence is Coming, and its entertaining live work had earned them two CEA nominations and they were already working on a follow-up release.]]> Thirty years after The Who concert tragedy, some say a memorial is overdue In some ways, The Who concert tragedy of Dec. 3, 1979 – in which 11 died and many were injured during a crush of fans trying to get into Riverfront Coliseum (now U.S. Bank Arena) for a "festival seating" show — seems like ancient history. But in other ways, it's just like yesterday. The 30th anniversary is Thursday.]]> Quartet ventures to the left coast to record their debut full-length album Most local bands hit a nice area studio to record their first album. But The Ohms had a bigger impact in mind. After putting together a home demo and receiving a spectacular response to their set at their own annual Ohmstead music festival, the Reggae/Rock quartet cast its net farther from shore and ended up recording in L.A. with No Doubt producer Dito Godwin. ]]> When on the 'Net, promote as you would in real life: Be coy, don't annoy One thing I've learned to be careful of is killing an opportunity before you've even studied and realized exactly what it is. Social networking promotions and building is a chess game, not checkers: It's not about the immediate victory as much as it is the one three steps ahead. ]]> Kentuckians Moore and Sollee team up to address unsound mining practices in Appalachia Two years ago, regional Folk phenoms Daniel Martin Moore and Ben Sollee met at a Lexington show and began making small talk about music when the subject of Appalachian strip mining was broached. This mutual passion led to the collaborative album, 'Dear Companion.']]> JD Souther returns to the studio and stage after 24 years If you were asked which "lady or gentleman of the canyon" — the iconic 1970s-era singer-songwriters of Los Angeles' Laurel Canyon — had recently delivered a late-middle-age masterpiece, you’d probably guess Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Carole King, Don Henley, CS&N ... basically anyone but JD Souther. That's because he'd stopped recording for 24 years before releasing 'If the World Was You' to such acclaim in late 2008.]]> Toronto hardcore outfit aims to mesh the raw and the refined on new album Singer Liam Cormier vows to expand his repertoire of aching, personal tracks on Cancer Bats' new album, due in April. He describes it as "Glenn Danzig going on a camping trip with Black Flag's Greg Ginn, a reanimated Vincent Price and the Beastie Boys." Despite that incongruous congregation, he swears the band's third CD is its most cohesive work yet.]]> Owl City and Lights find wide audience with their solo crafted Electronic Pop From the humblest of beginnings Adam Young has built a 21st Century Pop juggernaut called Owl City that's traveled the information superhighway on a meteoric rise to fame and acclaim. Opening on Young's current tour is the lovely and talented Lights, whose birth name is Valerie Poxleitner. In a way, you could call her the female and/or Canadian version of Owl City. The similarities are striking.]]> Dreams are great, but temper your excitement, be realistic and enjoy every moment I have a theory: Your dream is kind of like the moon — the further away you are from it, the more beautiful it looks. The closer you get to it, the more you see the reality of it: the craters, the flaws, the reality. If "me" from 2002 could see me now, I'm sure he would be so excited that he finally "made it."]]> Sarah Borges spreads beloved live presence around on stage and record When Sarah Borges appeared in Cincinnati last September on the MidPoint Music Festival's closing night, she was ailing, her band was playing the unknown-to-them Know Theatre and they were following the rejuvenated Wussy, clearly one of the local scene's biggest names. Of course, Borges and the Singles retained nearly every Wussy fan and rocked the Know to its very foundation. Her comfort in front of unpredictable audiences comes to Borges naturally.]]> JD Souther returns to the studio and stage after 24 years If you were asked which "lady or gentleman of the canyon" — the iconic 1970s-era singer-songwriters of Los Angeles' Laurel Canyon — had recently delivered a late-middle-age masterpiece, you’d probably guess Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Carole King, Don Henley, CS&N ... basically anyone but JD Souther. That's because he'd stopped recording for 24 years before releasing 'If the World Was You' to such acclaim in late 2008.]]> When on the 'Net, promote as you would in real life: Be coy, don't annoy One thing I've learned to be careful of is killing an opportunity before you've even studied and realized exactly what it is. Social networking promotions and building is a chess game, not checkers: It's not about the immediate victory as much as it is the one three steps ahead. ]]> [Third Man Records] Q: How many minor supergroups can Jack White assemble? A: All of them, apparently. The Dead Weather is merely the latest installment of "What Will Jack Do Next?," the novelty this time being that the vaunted frontman of The White Stripes and co-frontman of The Raconteurs is taking his place behind the drumkit, the most stereotypically invisible role within most bands except for those timekeepers blessed with outsized personalities (Keith Moon, Ringo Starr, John Bonham).]]> Dec. 18 • Southgate House The Elms' latest anthemic, blue-collar swaggerfest, 'The Great American Midrange,' is rightly inspiring even more effusive praise. With this kind of heat coming from their studio work, it's clear that The Elms approach every live gig with the blazing intent of a demolition crew.]]> Dec. 18 • Madison Theater I've got to hand it to the guys in Gym Class Heroes. They accomplished something I might never have even dreamed of attempting for the sheer improbability of it: They made my teenaged daughter sing a Supertramp song.]]> Dec. 20 • Southgate House When Monty Are I coalesced nearly a dozen years ago, the quintet was a Skatecore/Ska band. That aspect of the band still creeps up in their current Alternative/Punk/Pop sound (which they've dubbed "Action Rock") when Andrew Borstein and Ryan Muir break out their horns.]]> [Ferret Music] Since the release of their previous album in 2007, the winds of change have swept over MATSOD like an F-4 tornado, resulting in a new lineup and sound on their latest album. Composed of four new members, including Matt Clark and Kelly Scott Nunn (ex-Underoath), the Alabama-based Metalcore outfit expresses its Southern roots more than ever with banjo tracks, guitar slides and hand claps to compliment the down-tuned, fist-pounding sound that fans have come to expect from the band's previous albums.]]> Kentuckians Moore and Sollee team up to address unsound mining practices in Appalachia Two years ago, regional Folk phenoms Daniel Martin Moore and Ben Sollee met at a Lexington show and began making small talk about music when the subject of Appalachian strip mining was broached. This mutual passion led to the collaborative album, 'Dear Companion.']]> Jan. 9 • Southgate House Parlour When you hear the soaring Post Hardcore roar of Dayton's successful Hawthorne Heights, the first thing you think is probably not, "Wow, that tune would sound great around a campfire performed on just an acoustic guitar." But singer JT Woodruff will do just that (minus the campfire) Saturday in the Southgate House's intimate Parlour room, the same venue in which the Heights filmed a music video and, more recently, performed the final show of their 2009 tour.]]> [Ferret Music] Like drinking tall boys of Steel Reserve, listening to Poison the Well's new album requires either an acquired taste or an extreme apathy in order to endure it. This fifth installment of the band's discography maintains the Post Hardcore brutality, speed and intensity of its former albums, which is likely to please long-time fans but unlikely to draw a new crowd.]]> Jan. 23 • Play By Play Chris Sherman (aka Freekbass) and his Funk band (aka Freekbass) maintain one of the most consistent touring schedules of any band based in Cincinnati. Now he's teaming up with two high profile musicians for a new project: DJ Logic (known for his groove-intensive, Jazz-informed turntable magic and versatility) and Steve Molitz (the keyboardist behind Particle, a band that helped shape the increasingly popular fusion of Jazz, Funk and Electronica).]]> Jan. 9 • Blue Wisp Jazz Club OK, here's the deal ... a “new rule,” if you will: If you move to Cincinnati and are in a really good active band, even though your bandmates might not live here, we still get to claim you as an honorary "local band." Such is the case with Cincinnati's newest revved-up Swing/Rockabilly/Blues/Jazz band, Neon Swing X-perience, based in Pittsburgh but with singer/trumpeter Mike Urick in town for grad school.]]> Jan. 8 • Southgate House When CityBeat profiled Butler County kinda roots kinda indie/alt rockers Sohio a few months ago about their forthcoming album, it was confirmed that the release was finished (after more than three years in the making) and that it would be released in early 2010. What the band members didn't know was what the full-length would be titled. We'll all find out Friday at the Southgate House.]]> With a new album at the ready, The Tillers have ambitious goals for 2010 It's been a good year for The Tillers. They won Best Folk/Americana at the recent Cincinnati Entertainment Awards and now are releasing their second album, 'By the Signs.' The Tillers also are excited about their inclusion in an upcoming USA Network documentary and series of reports about people who live along Route 50, produced and hosted by veteran TV newsman Tom Brokaw. ]]> Jan. 9 • Northside Tavern It wasn't so long ago that Michael Bond and Matt Dennewitz packed up their respective keyboards and guitars and headed for Chicago after plying Cincinnati fans with their eclectic vision of droning noisy Dance Punk. They still make regular pilgrimages back to Cincinnati, but don't take their presence for granted. It's just a matter of time before Coltrane Motion gets noticed in a major way and their indoor musical maelstroms make them a buzzy sensation on the coasts.]]> Jan. 11 • The Mad Hatter Over the past nine years, The Bled has lived up to its name in more ways than one. The Tucson Post-Hardcore quintet formed in 2001, initially billing itself as the Radiation Defiance Theory and then almost immediately (and wisely) shortening it to The Bled. A pair of EPs within their first year raised the band's profile, making them a hot local club draw and ultimately leading to the band signing with Miami's Fiddler Records.]]> Jan. 16 • Inner Circle (formerly Annie's) In the Metal omniverse, there aren't many purveyors of six-string mayhem that are better or busier than Marc Rizzo. Spending a good deal of his time recording and touring with Max Cavalera's dual projects (Soulfly and Cavalera Conspiracy) Rizzo somehow managed to crowbar into his triple stacked day planner a solo career, a couple of side projects (Inpsychlobleedia and Committee of Thirteen) and his label duties as the co-founder/president/A&R swami at Phlamencore Records.]]> Feb. 13 • Madison Theater A little Country, a little Pop and a lot of Texas-spun, story-laced Americana, singer/songwriter Robert Earl Keen's latest release, 'The Rose Hotel,' has been hailed as one of the best of his storied career. His show Saturday at the Madison Theater in Covington features support from Bobby Bare Jr. ]]> Jan. 13 • Southgate House In the wake of the 2005 demise of vaunted indie band Ticonderoga, guitarist/vocalist Phil Moore and keyboardist/vocalist Mark Paulson decided to maintain their working relationship. They invited accordionist/vocalist Beth Tacular to complete their resurrection as a band. It was Tacular who dubbed the newly minted unit Bowerbirds, after an Australian species known for the male's mating strategy of building beautiful and elaborate nests.]]> Jan. 11 • Play By Play The showcase raises money to help local musicians get to Memphis at the end of the month to battle in the International Blues Challenge against entries from around the world. Scheduled to play Monday (and head to Memphis) are Cheryl Renee with Them Bones, Ricky Nye, Twelve-Eight and Jimmy D. Rogers.]]> Jan. 15-16 • York Street Cafe This year's OMG event again features a broad range of musical styles and some fun additions like the Black-n-Bluegrass Rollergirls lending a hand and chanteuse Vicki D'Salle hostessing. Performers include organizer Kelly Thomas (playing with Ryan Malott), Lauren Houston, Tupelo Honey, Wonky Tonk, The Polly Esthers, Raison D’etre, Shiny and The Spoon, J. Dorsey Blues Revival, De Los Muertos, Jenny Ward, Stick Figure Drawings, Carole Walker and Smitten Hicks. Proceeds from the annual fest go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer research.]]> Jan. 21 • Blue Wisp Jazz Club Setting contemporary Pop to an African beat is threatening to overtake baseball as the Great American Pastime, but there are plenty of practitioners out there who are hybridizing genres in unique and original ways. Among them is the Chicago Afrobeat Project, formed in 2002. They honed their skills playing the Windy City's loft party scene, earning a solid reputation as a complete live experience and accruing a rabid fan base.]]> Jan. 22 • The Monastery A decade ago, Cincinnati native Tony Miracle headed off to college in Nashville and wound up with more than a degree. A high school multi-instrumentalist, he crossed paths with vocalist Annette Strean and together the duo began creating songs. Adding second multi-instrumentalist Kip Kubin, the trio blended chilly '80s Synth Pop with soulfully traditional Pop and came up with a sound akin to an Americanized Sugarcubes.]]> Jan. 26 • Bogart's Even as record sales dip to no apparent end, labels are still a significant source of pride, stability, experience and (despite poor sales) money for young bands. The Swellers know a good label's value intimately, probably because it's taken them eight years to find one.]]> Jan. 23 • Southgate House (Juney's Lounge) He's had a beer named after him. He was on an MTV "reality" dating show where he threw pizza at some bonehead competitor. He's recorded albums live in the studio, playing bass drum, hi-hi-hat and guitar ... simultaneously. And he wears a giant buffalo head "helmet" when he plays live. What's not to love about Scotty Karate? ]]> Jan. 23 • Southgate House (Juney's Lounge) He's had a beer named after him. He was on an MTV "reality" dating show where he threw pizza at some bonehead competitor. He's recorded albums live in the studio, playing bass drum, hi-hi-hat and guitar ... simultaneously. And he wears a giant buffalo head "helmet" when he plays live. What's not to love about Scotty Karate? ]]> Jan. 28 • Southgate House Chatham County Line is just now putting the finishing touches on a new album that should be out this spring. The group's current circuit (featuring assistance from Tift Merritt band members Zeke Hutchins and Jay Brown) will likely offer up at least a small sampling of new material. Secure your wigs, socks and faces: CCL is the Bluegrass band that will rock them off. ]]> Feb. 6 • Southgate House Columbus' own RJD2 (he's now based in Philly) has a new album, 'The Colossus,' that contrasts his last polarizing project by adding vocalists like Kenna and Illogic. "Looking to myself for all the elements didn't sound appealing," he says. "Records should be something exciting and fresh, and part of that is keeping the process exciting and different." ]]> Feb. 3 • Southgate House (Parlour) The music emanating from Nick Oliveri's latest album, 'Death Acoustic,' represents some of the most brutal sounds the journeyman Punk bassist has ever recorded. The bile and rage continues a pattern radiated throughout his career in Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, The Dwarves, The Knives and his own Mondo Generator.]]> Jan. 30 • Northside Tavern Saturday's memorial show is a fitting tribute to 13-year-old Esme Kenney, whose promising life was cut way too short. The show features music from Kim Taylor, Karen Bergquist and Linford Detweiler of Over the Rhine, Ric Hordinski, The Hiders and The Chocolate Horse. Attendees will also be able to support a planned memorial sculpture at SCPA, Esme's school, in a silent auction featuring artwork by photographer Michael Wilson, woodcut artist Jay Bolotin and Esme's mother, Lisa Kenney. ]]> Jan. 29-30 • Southgate House Cure for the winter blues? Winter Blues! The Cincy Blues Society's Winter Blues Fest is beginning to rival the organization's long-running, successful summer Blues Fest in terms of talent and lineup size. The fourth annual event takes place Friday and Saturday, and if you ever wanted to explore the Blues talent in Greater Cincinnati, you won't find a better event.]]> Jan. 31 • 20th Century Theatre Organizers for Sunday's "Help for Haiti" benefit put together a show in just a few days, and the massive and diverse roster of performers shows just how quick to help local artists are when an important cause comes up. Featured acts include Them Bones featuring Cheryl Renee, Freekbass, Kathy Wade, Kevin Fox, Sonny Moorman, Scotty Anderson, Phil DeGreg Trio, Steve Schmidt, Rumpke Mountain Boys, Robin Lacy and DeZydeco, Baoku Moses & the Image AfroBeat Band and many more. Suggested donation is $20.]]> Dec. 31 • The Comet The Comet in Northside presents a special New Year’s Eve shindig Thursday night with a reunion show by one of Cincinnati’s finest bands of yesteryear. The Auburnaires were kind of the like the house party band for Cincinnati’s Jockey Club/ post-Jockey Club Punk scene]]> Jan. 15 • Mayday If anyone should understand what beats get a crowd moving, it's a drummer. It helps if it's a kick-ass drummer from a kick-ass band that specializes in highly-adrenalized Electro Dance Pop ... like Greg Poneris of locals Eat Sugar.]]> Jan. 2 • The Mad Frog Saturday night, you should be all sobered up and ready to get “Stone-d” at The Mad Frog. The Corryville club is hosting a benefit for VH1’s Save the Music foundation, which strives to strengthen music education in public schools.]]> Jan. 16 • Southgate House The Mimes celebrate their uplifting new album, 'Got to Tell the World,' via 'An Evening with...' type show, performing the entire night sans openers. They'll kick things off with an acoustic set, play the new album in full and close things out with a run through of their back catalog (and perhaps some surprises). In between sets, the Mimes will screen their documentary 'Behind the Mask' as well as other new video footage. ]]> Jan. 29-30 • Blue Wisp Jazz Club Dana Hall isn't merely a Jazz drummer — he's a magician who elicits the same jaw dropping reaction with a kit and sticks that David Copperfield gets when he makes aircraft carriers or the Statue of Liberty vanish. His two-night stand at the Blue Wisp serves as a CD release event for his album 'Into the Light,' but the real event will be witnessing the stellar work of one of music's great beatkeepers.]]> Jan. 2 • The Comet In 2003, a group consisting of some of the best musicians in the area released Ancient Tones and Death Knells, a CD of traditional 17th-19th-century broadside ballads from the UK, spun in a more modern context and released under the band name High Strange Drifters.]]> Dec. 26 • 20th Century Theater Two of Cincinnati's most likely next-big-thing contenders, All the Day Holiday and Pomegranates spent 2009 working superb new records. ATDH's lush Dream Pop was introduced to the world via 'All the Things We've Grown to Love,' their stunning debut for Linc Star/Warner Brothers, while the Poms continued their underground surge with the magical 'Everybody, Come Outside!' (which also saw release in the U.K.) on Lujo Records. ]]> Dec. 26 • Southgate House The Heartless Bastards had fans stacked on top of each other last Christmastime at Northside Tavern (or so legend has it, since I couldn't get in) when they played a free two-night stand. You'll have to pony up some dough this year, but the Bastards will again be home for the holidays (from their current headquarters in Austin) on Saturday.]]> Dec. 27 • Blue Wisp Jazz Club The Dan Karlsberg Group's show Sunday will have a reunited-and-it-feels-so-good feel as bassist Steve Whipple and drummer Anthony "T" Lee return from New York City, where they both now live and work, to join Karlsberg. The trio will be heard together again later in 2010 on new releases by the Dan Karlsberg Group and saxophonist Brent Gallaher.]]> Dec. 31 • Stanley's Pub Singer Noah Hunt and guitarist Jason Dennie perform together on New Year's Eve with the 420 All-Stars at Stanley's Pub, where the duo initially cut its teeth back in the mid '90s. The fingerstyle guitar master Dennie (based in Michigan since 1999) and Hunt (singer for the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band since 1997) released their latest acoustic disc, 'All the Dark Things,' earlier this year, and NYE will be the first time the two have performed together since its release.]]> Dec. 31 • Tonic on 4th Boom Bip's career has skyrocketed since he left Cincy for the West Coast earlier this decade. Now based in L.A., Bip (Bryan Hollon) has done Peel Sessions, toured the globe, remixed tracks for Mogwai, Four Tet, M83 and Danny Elfman, remained the dominant force on Lex Records (also home to Danger Mouse) and formed an Electro duo with Gruff Rhys from Super Furry Animals called Neon Neon. And that's just hitting some of the resume highlights.]]> Dec. 26 • Northside Tavern Thanks to the weekend-friendly way Christmas falls this year, Saturday night looks like it might well take over alleged "biggest bar day of the year" (a.k.a. Thanksgiving Eve) honors. If you're a fan of original local music, a sure bet is the Northside Tavern, which a) has no cover charge and b) is hosting two of Cincinnati's best bands, Wussy and The Sundresses, for a night of sardonic wit and electrifying Indie Rock and Blues Punk.]]> Dec. 26 • The Redmoor The Redmoor hosts the "Strings for Strays" benefit concert featuring local Newgrass kings Rumpke Mountain Boys and Jam Rock faves Jerry's Little Band, raising funds for the League of Animal Welfare, a no-kill animal shelter in Batavia. So support your furry little friends ... and help a great cause while you're at it.]]> Jan. 30 • Mayday "Earthquakes" is a live music/dance night at Northside's Mayday on the last Saturday of every month. Founder Kendall Bruns (and fellow DJ John Hogan) spin a variety of cool dance/Indie tunes and showcase an original local band. This month check out locals State Song, who are currently finishing work on their debut release for Phratry Records.]]> Feb. 9 • The Mad Hatter A lot of Punk bands' political activism extends as far as sporting a stylishly ripped Che Guevera T-shirt, but Strike Anywhere is not a band that wears its politics on (or as) its sleeves. You'd be hard pressed to find a more informed and literate group of guys playing political, social and cultural manifestos at skin-blistering volume.]]> Feb. 15 • Southgate House The Southgate House hosts a powerful lineup Monday, featuring Post Punk/Neo Garage Rock retro-modernist Kurt Vile (yes, it's his real name) and the mysterious, constantly evolving seven-year-old outfit from Canada, Fucked Up, that often lives up to its own name.]]> Feb. 6 • Mayday Relative newcomers The Brothers and The Sisters, fronted by veteran singer-songwriter Jeremy Pinnell, launch their self-titled debut album Saturday with a free show at Northside's Mayday. The Guitars (who share drummer Matt Ayers with the headliners), 20th Century Tokyo Princess and Frontier Folk Nebraska also perform. ]]> Feb. 3 • The Mad Hatter If you're a frequent attendee of local music shows, you've no doubt seen Pat Rice, the 65-year-old "superfan" who probably attends more music events than just about anyone and is beloved by the bands she consistently checks out. Rice recently lost her residence and is without the money for a deposit on a new place to stay, so several bands are hosting an "emergency" benefit show for her.]]> Feb. 5 • Northside Tavern Northside Tavern hosts a party Friday to benefit the local Save Our Strays (SOS) animal rescue. Local bands Buckra, Daughters & Sons and Nathan Holscher & the Ohio 5 perform their standards as well as tracks from the new SOS album, 'Free Lap Dances Volume 5: Friends With Benefits.']]> Feb. 6 • St. John's Unitarian Church Accomplished local Americana duo Wild Carrot and their accompanying Roots Band present a special family-friendly concert Saturday morning. "Our Roots are Showing" is an interactive "edutainment" concert using the musicians' wide-ranging grasp on American music styles to teach about the history of everything from Jazz to Folk to Blues.]]> Feb. 11 • Southgate House (Parlour) In 2005, Andy Bean and Fuller Condon abandoned their college Rock band grind, shifting gears toward old-time Bluegrass, Country and hot Jazz music. The duo whipped up some authentically twisted tunes embracing bygone traditions and tested them in New York's Central Park. "People threw money at us, and we got hooked pretty fast," Bean says.]]>