Music Today: To quote Ghost World, “You guys up for some Reggae tonight?” If you are, head to Shades Lounge in Mount Healthy for a triple dose. Headlining is Milton Blake, Jamaican native and (according to his Reverbnation profile) current Ohio resident who was influenced by everyone from Dennis Brown to Luther Vandross and has worked with Luciano, Admiral Tibets and other Dancehall greats (though Blake is more traditional and Roots-oriented). Also on the bill is singer Papa Muntu, a Jamaican native/Arizona resident influenced by American R&B and Gospel, and JR Mark. Doors open at 9 p.m., show starts at 10 p.m. and admission is $12. Below is Blake’s track “Living in Sorrows.”—-
• This STILL isn’t over yet — local Folk Pop duo Ellery are back after taking an extended hiatus following the touring behind their excellent 2010 album, This Isn’t Over Yet (which was recorded by super-producer Malcolm Burn). The twosome (with drummer Josh Seurkamp) perform their first show in Cincinnati in over a year this evening at The Monastery, the Walnut Hills performance/recording space run by guitarist/producer Ric Hordisnki (who opens the show). Tickets are $8 and showtime is 7:30 p.m. Click here for a taste of Over Yet and, in honor of the colder weather this weekend, enjoy the track “December Days,” from the duo’s Down, Down, Down digital holiday EP.
• The Queen City Zapatistas headline the Southgate House (Ballroom) tonight, with fellow Cincy act Jake Speed and the Freddies and Athens, Ohio trad Country act Southpaw and the Sinisters. The Zapatistas, who describe themselves as a “Brass-Rock-Danceband,” formed in 2007 in the spirit of classic New Orleans parade bands, but with an eccentric, modern twist. The band features founding members Ellis Seiberling (trombone, vocals) and Dan Dorff (drums), plus trumpeter Rob Muhlhauser, trombonist Eric Campbell, Oz Landesberg on sax, Mike “Maddog” Mavridoglou on trumpet, guitarist Brian Lovely and bassist Nick Blasky. Dorff also currently tours with Northern Ky. Sub Pop artist Daniel Martin Moore and Chicago band Jon Drake and the Shakes, while Seiberling is a member of Chicago’s “circus punk marching band” Mucca Pazza. Showtime is 9:30 p.m. Admission is $10; $13 for those 18-20 years old. Check out some of the Zaps’ tunes here. —-
Music Tomorrow: Pat Benatar (or “her people,” at least) banished them from their opening slot at the Taste of Blue Ash this summer, but The Devonshires make their way back to Greater Cincinnati Saturday night with a show at Covington’s Madison Theater. The Benatar camp reportedly claimed their contract included a clause that forbid bands like The Devonshires from being on the same bill. Still trying to figure out what kind of band they meant — energetic ones not past their prime? Classic Rock bands? Bands from Nashville? Bands that play “Smoke on the Water”? See for yourself when the band brings its Classic Rock spectacular to town. Songs they won’t play? We’re guessing anything from the Pat Benatar discography.
• Great, locals-heavy “whole house” show at the Southgate House tomorrow (Saturday) night, as Post Punk squad The Strongest Proof call it quits after 10 years and puts out its final release, Paths Will Collide. The digital-only release (those attending the show will receive free download cards, courtesy of Phratry Records) began before the tragic death of their drummer and friend Tony Bryant last year. Following a hiatus to figure out whether to continue, the band decided to complete the record with help from drummers Chris Wolfe (formerly of Humans Bow Down) and Jerry Dirr (Phratry founder and Knife the Symphony skinsman), then call it a day. (Read Brian Baker’s interview with Bryant and the rest of the band from 2008 here.)
Tonight’s lineup is spectacular, with Mad Anthony, Ampline, Mala In Se, State Song, The Sweep, Swear Jar, The Bitter Airplane (featuring former members of Caterpillar Tracks) and New Third Worlds (with former members of Arms Exploding). Showtime is 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 for legal drinkers; $8 for 18, 19 and 20 year olds.
• The Cincinnati Zoo is a great place to see a show (except for those drunken, rowdy giraffes — why does the tallest mammal always stand right in front of me when I go to concerts?!). Saturday, you can verify that for yourself as the Zoo presents Zoograss, a Bluegrass/Roots music festival featuring Magnolia Mountain, Rumpke Mountain Boys, Comet Bluegrass Allstars, Wild Carrot, Cecil Jackson, Dry Ridge, Blue Country and Rubber Knife Gang, the local Roots trio that recently returned from a successful tour jaunt in Europe. Music runs 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Entry is free with park admission ($14; $10 for those ages 2-12 and 62+; kids under 2 can come in for free. Parking in a Zoo lot is $8.)
Check out RKG’s cool music video for the tune “White Embers” off the band’s fantastic album, Drivin’ On.
(Leave your suggestions/promote yourself or your favorites by telling everyone about your favorite music event recommendations for the day in the comments below.)
Momentous Happenings in Music History for Sept. 30 On this day in 1993, Kate Pierson, one of the singers for The B-52s, was among eight protesters arrested at the New York offices of Vogue magazine. Pierson was a part of a group from PETA protesting the glamorization of fur. According to New York Magazine, the New York City cops that arrested and booked Pierson had a grand ol’ time with the singer, “posing for phony mug shots with Kate and asking her to autograph them.” When she was sprung from the brig, according to the report, her friends made her a carrot cake … “with a file in it.” Ah, the innocent old days when PETA staged “sit ins” instead of making porn or mocking shark-attack victims.
Born This Day: Musical movers and shakers sharing a Sept. 30 birthday include: superstar vocalist Johnny Mathis (1935); Glam Rock legend Marc Bolan (1947); Country star Marty Stuart (1958); Rap icon Marley Marl (1962); Goo Goo Dolls bassist Robby Takac (1964); Phish guitarist/singer Trey Anastasio (1964); and 5th Dimension singer and TV host Marilyn McCoo (1943).
McCoo was a hostess on the ’80s music program Solid Gold, the cheesy “music on TV” bridge between shows like American Bandstand and Midnight Special and the introduction of MTV. McCoo was the show’s longest-running host; others included a pre-“Psychic Friends” Dionne Warwick, a pre-dead Andy Gibb, a post-“Disco Duck” Rick Dees and a pre-“Dog Pound” Arsenio Hall (MTV’s Nina Blackwood and Pop singer Rex Smith were also briefly presenters on the program). Besides lip-synched performances of Top 40 hits, the show is probably best remembered — at least by adolescent boys — for the sexual awakening that was the “Solid Gold Strippers Dancers,” a troupe of gold lamé-bedazzled hoofers who would perform short choreographed routines for the show’s weekly chart countdown.
Kids, this is what us old folks had to resort to as confused, horny youngsters before internet porn became omnipotent and made Hustler seem impotent.
And if you were one of those young men who “enjoyed” the dancers in their youth, here’s something to make you feel ancient — three former Solid Gold dancers performing on Paula Abdul’s failed post-American Idol/pre-X Factor TV dance competition, Live to Dance (which appears to also have the same set designers as Solid Gold).
This article appears in Sep 28 – Oct 4, 2011.