Music Tonight: Rapper Machine Gun Kelly returns to Greater Cincinnati for his first show since a packed appearance on Fountain Square in June and since singing a deal with Diddy's Bad Boy Records in early August. Read more about tonight's show at Covington's Madison Theater here. The 9 p.m. concert is open to fans of all ages. Tickets are $15. Below, check out the MC's signing announcement, which gives a good overview of MGK's career thus far. —-
• Up for a little Halloween pre-gaming? Then head to Covington's Mad Hatter to check out First Jason, the "Monster Metal" band fronted by Ari Lehman, who was the actor who portrayed the maniacal Jason Voorhees in the very first Friday the 13th flick all the way back in 1980 (and that's where they get the name). If you'd like to impress your friends, here's a fun "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" trick — Ari Lehman of First Jason is just one degree from the omnipotent Bacon bro (Bacon played Jack Burrel in that first Friday the 13th movie). Doors open at 7 p.m. tonight and tickets are $10. Opening the all-ages show are fellow rowdies The Vladimirs, Black Tractor and Slaughterous Bereavement.
• John Hiatt and Big Head Todd and the Monsters bring their coheadlining tour to town tonight for a show at Taft Theatre. Hiatt and the Combo (his band) are out supporting his new release, Dirty Jeans & Mudslide Hymns, while Todd and Co. are supporting this year's tribute to Robert Johnson, 100 Years of Robert Johnson, which features guests like BB King, David Honeyboy Edwards and Charlie Musselwhite. Tonight's all-ages show at the Taft starts at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $27-$42.50.
Music Saturday: Winterhymn will present a primer on Folk Metal and Viking Metal this Saturday in Covington, as local Viking crew celebrates the release of its debut album, Songs for the Slain. The talented new band shocked everyone when they won the Mad Hatter's battle of the bands competition … even though it was their first shows ever. Winterhymn used its winnings to put together Slain, which CityBeat's Nick Grever spoke to the group about in this week's paper (check out the interview here.) Doors for the release concert at Radiodown open at 6 p.m. Tickets are $7 or $10 at the door. The show is open to all ages and features opening acts Hell Scorched Earth, Schalkrieg, By Way of Sunstorm and Kephalus.
Wondering what the hell "Folk Metal" sounds like before committing yourself to a night at Radiodown? Give a listen to Winterhymn's track "In the Troll Forest":
Music Sunday: Canadian group Boats bring their lo-fi Indie Pop to MOTR Pub Sunday for a free show. Our Brian Baker compares them to Guided By Voices, The New Pornographers and XTC, so expect lots of colorful, catchy melodies that'll be stuck in your head for at least the next several weeks. The group is supporting its recent release for the Kill Rock Stars label, Cannonballs, Cannonballs, which came out in the States this August to great reviews. Music starts around 10 p.m.
(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 October 7, 8 and 9
On this day in 1995, Tone-Loc was arrested after being accused of swiping $80 at a pizza parlor in L.A. Tone initially claimed the money was his and he was simply taking it back after a screwed up order. But he later pleaded no contest and was ordered to take anger management classes. They apparently didn't work too well — after being arrested at the start of this year for DUI, the "Funk Cold Medina" rapper was arrested in June and charged with felony domestic violence and possession of an assault weapon. This past Monday, Mr. Loc entered a "no contest" plea (again!) and was sentenced to one day in jail, three years probation, more anger management classes and community service. That Medina's a monster, y'all.
On Oct. 8, 1957, Jerry Lee Lewis recorded this Rock & Roll classic:
And John Lennon recorded this little ditty on Oct. 8, 1971:
On Oct. 9, 2006, Barbara Streisand snapped at a heckler during a concert at New York City's Madison Square Garden who was apparently upset by the George Bush impersonator who came out on stage. (No, the heckler wasn't Rich Little.) Streisand reportedly told the heckler to "Shut the fuck up!" which silenced him or her instantly. But Streisand's best line of the night was when a fan yelled "Marry me … and I'm gay!" Streisand responded, "There are gay people here?"
Born This Day: Musical movers and shakers sharing a Oct. 7 birthday include: 10cc (and later Godley & Creme) member Kevin Godley (1945); Indiana's own John Mellencamp (1951); Bon Jovi drummer Tico Torres (1953); cello master Yo-Yo Ma (1955); Christian music legend Michael W. Smith (1957); Radiohead singer Thom Yorke (1968); and South African bishop/activist Desmond Tutu (1931).
Happy 80th birthday to Bishop Tutu, who isn't technically a "musical mover and shaker" but he did inspire the title of an album (and composition) by one of America's greatest Jazz artists, Miles Davis. That alone trumps the gifts given to the world by Simon Cowell, who, coincidentally, was also born this day, in 1959.
October 8 birthday boys and girls include: the "Kool" in Kool and the Gang, bassist Robert "Kool" Bell (1950); R&B star Teddy Riley (1967); Cherry Poppin' Daddies vocalist Steve Perry (1963); Mr. Mariah Carrey, Nick Cannon (1980); and Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone (1951). Here's one of Johnny's last interviews before passing away in September of 2004.
Who was born on October 9? John Lennon (1940); The Who's bassist John Entwistle (1944); soft-rocker Jackson Browne (1948); and Reggae legend Peter Tosh (1944).
