Saw Shovels and Rope last Sunday night at the Madison Theater in Covington KY (Cincinnati). Holy Cow! What a great show. This married Duo is incredible live. They played a great set of alt-country, folk country and rock/rockabilly that was superb. Seriously, it was one of the best small venue shows I've ever seen. Was luck enough to also see Lucinda Williams and Steve Earl over the last 6 months at the same venue. |
It's been a GREAT year of concerts for me. Since the beginning of the year I've seen Lucinda Williams, Springsteen, Shovels and Rope, Zac Brown Band, Shawn Colvin and Steve Earl, and Lucinda Williams again last Tuesday night. All were within the first 4 rows - center except Springsteen and Zac Brown. I loved all of these shows, but the standouts were Shovels and Rope and the most recent Lucinda WIlliams show with her excellent backing band - Buick 6. These two show were ROCKIN' in small, intimate theaters. The hits keep coming with Elvis Costello at the Ryman Theater on Oct. 17 and Nick Lowe in a tiny 400 seat theater on Oct. 19. Can't wait...... |
Concert season is heating up in the Cincinnati Area. Just bought tickets to a few more upcoming shows. Here the current list of tickets I'm holding for spring - early summer: Shovels and Rope Pixies Richard Thompson Dave Mason Wussy Adrian Belew Bruce Cockburn Diana Krall Looks like its going to be a fantastic year for live music..... |
I saw Shovels and Rope again last night. All I can say is WOW! I've seen hundreds of shows spanning 40 years. I've seen most of the top bands in the world, many in their heyday, and I can tell you that the Shovels and Rope shows I've seen are in my top 10 of all time. Maybe top 5. This duo puts on one heck of a ROCK show. You would likely never know they could ROCK if you've just heard their studio recording. I like their studio stuff, but the way they perform them live is a totally different thing. They come off the stage at the end absolutely drenched in sweat, having given everything they have to the audience. My highest recommendation. And only $20 at the 1500 capacity theater where I saw them last night. |
Saw Richard Thompson last night at Memorial Hall in the Over the Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati. Wow! What a venue. The beautifully renovated 1908 Theater is a fantastic place to see a concert. Beautiful room, great sight lines and excellent acoustics. Richard Thompson was outstanding. It was a solo acoustic show. Richard's guitar playing was outstanding and his lyrics and singing always pull you right in. Authentic! |
Wow! What a treat. Saw Bruce Cockburn last night at Jorma Kaukonen's Fur Peace Ranch. It was a great show by a great artist. Super simple setup consisting of one amplified acoustic guitar and a stool in a 200 seat concert venue. If you are not familiar with Fur Peace Ranch, take a look via the link below. Fur Peace Ranch is primarily a guitar camp, run by Jorma and his wife with rotating guest guitarist/instructors. Unfortunately, I don't play. But I can dream.......... https://furpeaceranch.com/ |
Last Friday night I took my wife and 13 year old son to see the U2 - Joshua Tree 30th Anniversary Tour show at Papa John's Stadium in Louisville, KY. One Republic opened the show. All I can say is WOW! Absolutely the best stadium show I've seen in my 40 years of going to rock concerts. U2 is the biggest band in the world for a reason. They have the art of the stadium show down. So good I'm going to go to another show this year. Next one will be floor tickets (standing room) to get a different perspective on the show. Highly recommended........ |
I saw the Elvis Costello - Imperial Bedroom and other Chambers Tour tonight at Fraze Pavilion in Kettering, Ohio. Awesome show. The finale of "Pump it Up" and "What's so Funny 'bout Peace, Love and Understanding" is one of the great concert moments of my life. Interestingly, I just saw Elvis's wife, Diana Krall at the same venue, just last month..... |
I saw dada last night at Southgate House Revival in Newport, KY. Great show. In my book, dada is the best band that never made it big. The Trews opened up for dada. The Trews were awesome! I had never heard of this band. Now I'm a big fan. Interestingly, they were much better live than I would have ever guessed from listening to recordings and watching videos. |
@thepigdog - Not only do small venues count, you actually get extra credit for seeing a show in a small venue! This last year I saw Bruce Cockburn in a 200 seat room and I saw Richard Thomson in a 450 seat room. Both shows were incredibly intimate and outstanding. I would always prefer to see a great artist in a small venue over seeing a "mainstream" band in a large arena. However, I did enjoy seeing U2 twice this summer on their Joshua Tree stadium tour...... |
@swampwalker - I did enjoy it. I really like Lyle Lovett live. This is the first time I've seen him do an acoustic show. I do prefer the Large Band show, but I'll take any Lyle I can get. He's really funny and engaging. I enjoyed the banter between he and Colvin. I thought Shawn Colvin was pretty good. I saw her last summer, doing a similar show with Steve Earle and I think she was better this time. I thought the few songs where Shawn sang with Lyle were some of the best of the show. |
Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio - Last Evening at my Local Record Store - Plaid Room Records - Loveland, Ohio. Plaid Room has a sister company - Colemine Records who do a lot of new and re-issue soul and funk. Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio is a newly signed band on the Colemine label. They were at Plaid Room to help celebrate Record Store Day 2018. A good time was had by all. The Trio played a really fun set out on the patio. Terry Cole - Colemine Records recorded it and hopefully it will result in a new live album on the Colemine label. We ran into Delvon Lamarr a little earlier in the evening at a local restaurant. Had a nice conversation with him. He seemed like a genuinely nice person and seemed very happy that he was recognized on the street by a fan. |
OMG! Just scored tickets to see Bettye Lavette at Jorma Kaukonen's Fur Peace Ranch on October 13. Holy cow! Can't wait. The concert hall at Fur Peace Ranch only seats 200 people. Last time there, we saw Bruce Cockburn and were only about 15 feet away from his position on the stage. Can't wait to see Bettye, up close and personal. |
LSD Tour 2018 Lucinda Williams Steve Earle Dwight Yoakam At Riverbend Music Center - Cincinnati, Ohio 6/2/2018 Awesome show. Steve Earle was great, ending with a brilliant cover of "Hey Joe". Lucinda Williams was the best I’ve seen her in 10 years. Really inspired. Seemed to be enjoying life again. Dwight Yoakam was really good. Very professional band. Tight. Great song selection. My first time seeing Dwight (I’ve seen Lucinda and Steve many times) and I would go see him again. |
The Alarm - Ludlow Garage - Cincinnati, OH - 11/8/2018 Awesome show. If you like the Alarm, go see this tour. Yes, it's really only Mike Peters and 3 newer members. But, it is in support of their new album and they play ALL of the great old songs from The Alarm. The Ludlow Garage is a tiny venue, seating 300. Mike and company had the place rockin'. It was Awesome! I've been a huge fan of The Alarm for 30+ years, but had never seen them live. It was WAY better than I was expecting.... |
@slaw - Glad you made it to the Courtney Barnett show. I missed her the night before, here in Cincinnati, because I was on vacation. But I did catch her last year at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee. Great show! Proof that rock and roll is definitely not dead...... @big_greg - Full "Car Wheels". What a treat! I saw Lucinda last summer on the LSD Tour and she was the best I've seen her in a long, long time. She seems to have gotten out of the funk she was in for a few years. Question: Did she have a stand with her lyrics on the stage in front of her? I saw her in 2016 and 2017 and she relied on her lyrics book quite a bit. When I saw her last year, I don't think she even looked at it. A good sign that she is in a better place than she was a few years ago...... |
The Alarm - Sigma Tour w/ Modern English and Gene Love Jezebel - Last night - 8/15/2019 at The Turner Hall Ballroom, Milwaukee, WI. Fantastic show! Gene Love Jezebel was kinda mediocre. I was really surprised how much I liked Modern English. They are a much harder rockin' band than I was expecting. Really solid. And The Alarm was absolutely fantastic. I've seen The Alarm a couple of times before, but this was the best I've ever seen them. Honestly, as good as any band I've seen in the last 10 years or so. Go see The Alarm if they are near your town. Really fantastic stuff.... |
Reviving this thread from the dead. So, in these challenging times, anyone seen any good shows? Or any shows at all? I'm holding tickets for 3 different shows - Son Volt, Elvis Costello and Shovels and Rope, in Sept. 2021, October 2021 and November 2021. I'm wondering if they are all going to go off as planned or be cancelled. Also wandering if I'm going to go :~( |
Elvis Costello and the Imposters - Saturday 10/18/2021 - Andrew J Brady ICON Music Center - Cincinnati Great artist, good show, mediocre venue I'm a big fan of Elvis Costello fan and I've seen him a few times. This was the least-good show of his that I've seen. He was having a hard time with vocals and the setlist was not the greatest. The last half-hour was fantastic, as they always are, ending with "Pump it Up" and "What's So Funny 'bout Peace Love and Understanding". Charlie Sexton was a guest guitarist and was very good, but not featured. The newly opened Andrew J Brady ICON Music Center was a disappointment. Boring, sterile environment. Felt like it was designed by corporate bean-counters only interested in separating you from your money. And don't even get me starting regarding Ticketmaster fees... |
I saw The Tubes tonight - 10/28/2021 @ The Ludlow Garage in Cincinnati's Clifton neighborhood. This is the third time I've seen them - 1979, 1996-ish and 2021. GREAT, every time. Fee Waybill is 70 years old! Still does "Mondo Bondage" and "White Punks on Dope"! Scary moment tonight. The 8 ft tall Quay Lewd (fee on huge platform shoes) got off balance fell off the stage! Luckily, not injured and keep singing like it was part of the act. BTW, for any fans, or non-fans, Roger Steen is a monster guitar player. Really fantastic. Fun, fun music, from back in my day. Could have gone either way. Was really happy that they still got it and seemed to be having a good laugh at their own expense... |
Last night - Thursday 6/16/2022 - Steely Dan - Riverbend Music Center - Cincinnati Took my 18 year old son to see Steely Dan (Donald Fagen and Co.). My son has somehow become a big fan and says it's his favorite band. Can't fault him for that! We bought tickets day of show through Stubhub and got GREAT seats, about 10 rows from the front, center section, and got them for about 30% less than face value. Show was good, not great. I saw Steely Dan and their last summer tour before Walter passed away (RIP Walter Becker) and this show was not as good. Fagen has aged a bit more, the sound system had some glitches, and the song selection was good, but missed several of our favorites. Also, opening was Snarky Puppy. They were better and more entertaining than I expected. However, last go around, Steve Winwood opened and was fantastic. So, all in all, glad to spend a hot summer night outside with the crowd listening to good music. Having my son there was the best part of the experience... |
