• Cincinnati Rock foursome LiViD is releasing its new album, As It Happens, in conjunction with a performance Saturday night at Thompson House (24 E. Third St., Newport, Ky., thompsonhousenewport.com). The band is joined by fellow local rockers Lift the Medium, Rootbound and Brent James & the Vintage Youth for the 7 p.m. event. Tickets are available now at ticketweb.com for $15.
As It Happens shows LiViD, which has been active for the past 15 years, in top form. The album is crisply produced and impressive from start to finish, showcasing the band’s broad-view approach to Hard Rock, which combines air-tight rhythms and riffs and more brutal, in-your-face elements with soaring, arena-ready hooks and dynamic song arrangements, sounding a little like a pristine blend of Fall Out Boy, Korn and Deftones. Finding the intersection of grinding, grunting heaviness and accessibility makes them perfectly suited for commercial Rock radio stations. Don’t be surprised if As It Happens pushes LiViD to the next level and into the national spotlight.(lividsounds.com)
• “Jazzy Blues” group The Moxie Band celebrates its recent full-length effort, Eminent Domain, this Saturday at Everybody’s Records (6106 Montgomery Road, Pleasant Ridge, everybodysrecords.com) with a free 2 p.m. performance and release party.
The Moxie Band estimates that between its five members it has about 200 years of experience performing music. Singer Donna Moxness-Lawson (an early member of Warsaw Falcons) and guitarist/keyboardist Jim Lawson formed the eight-piece Moxie & the Matchboys in 1990, then reconfigured the group into the five-piece Moxie Band in 2004, adding harmonica wizard Larry Bloomfield (who has played with Blues favorites from Big Joe Duskin to Dick and the Roadmasters), bassist Mike Barrett (Modulators, The Burning Caravan) and drummer Gus Thierry (Ma Crow and the Flock, The Usual Suspects).
The band’s experience can be heard in the expert chops evident on Eminent Domain, which includes The Moxie Band’s smooth, groove-based arrangements of material by the likes of Duke Robillard, Michelle Shocked and others. The album also features three songs written by Ed Cunningham of Cincinnati’s Comet Bluegrass All-Stars, including the swingin’ “Money,” which was co-written with fellow Bluegrass legend Katie Laur. (moxieband.com)
• The Grove was formed in Athens, Ohio, while local high school friends Adam Forsthoefel (vocals/guitar) and drummer Jeff Voegele were attending Ohio University. Mixing AltRock and Blues influences, the band developed a following and released its debut, Procuriosity, in late 2012. Forsthoefel and Voegele returned to Cincinnati after graduation and added new members Matthew Forsthoefel (Adam’s brother) on keyboards and Matt Holt on bass.
The Grove’s second full-length release, Pseudothump, gets the release party treatment Saturday at Stanley’s Pub (323 Stanley Ave., Columbia Tusculum, stanleyspub.com). Columbus, Ohio’s Personal Public opens the show at 9 p.m. There is a $5 cover charge; the first 20 people through the door receive a free copy of Pseudothump on CD. (thegroveband.com)
• Cincinnati Folk/Americana crew Buffalo Wabs & the Price Hill Hustle is releasing a new live album, Revival. The band is hosting an 8:30 p.m. release show Saturday at Southgate House Revival’s Sanctuary (111 E. Sixth St., Newport, Ky., southgatehouse.com). Paintsville, Ky.’s Tyler Childers & the Foodstamps and Cincy folkies Willow Tree Carolers are also on the bill. Tickets are available for $10 at ticketfly.com. (pricehillhustle.com)
Ray’s Music Exchange Returns
One of Cincinnati’s best groups from the late ’90s/early ’00s, Ray’s Music Exchange, is returning to the stage this weekend for its fourth annual reunion show. The band, which crafted a wide-ranging sound that incorporated everything from Jazz and Rock to Electronica, World music and beyond, performs at the Woodward Theater (1404 Main St., Over-the-Rhine, woodwardtheater.com) Saturday at 9 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance through cincyticket.com and $18 at the door.
Saturday’s concert will feature most of the members that performed with the group throughout its run, many of whom now live out of town. Guitarist Brad Myers says that after the reunion the “local core” of the band — which will debut new material at the show — will continue to perform locally and regionally, carrying on under the name Rays. Joining Myers in Rays are Mike Darrah (keyboards), Michael Mavridoglou (trumpet), Nick Blasky (bass) and Jason Smart (drums).
Those who may have missed out on Ray’s Music Exchange the first time around (or those who might want to complete their Ray’s collection), the group’s entire back catalog — including the double live album A Live Rayunion, recorded at the band’s first reunion show — is available through most major digital music retailers (including here).
For more on Ray’s Music Exchange, visit facebook.com/raysmusicexchangecincinnati.
CONTACT MIKE BREEN: [email protected] and @
CityBeatMusic
