Fall of the Concert Calendar
That has been our one significant success to this date: we are the longest-lasting, most disastrous commercial outfit to ever appear in rock 'n' roll. No one can come close to matching our loss to longevity ratio.
- Dave Thomas, Pere Ubu
And on that note, let's start a new concert calendar. Bold means I am going, italics that I am more than usually interested. You can hear a lot of these bands on my radio show. As always, tell me what I'm missing.
Also, Peabodys is moving. For the moment, all shows from November 1 onward are going to be at the Agora.
October
R 10/10 - Lisa Doll & the Rock N' Roll Romance @ Now That's Class. $5 bet on a band described as "female fronted, Ramones like".
R 10/10 - Bill Callahan @ Beachland Ballroom. He used to be touring as Smog. I had a ticket, but then I got sent out of town for work.
F 10/11 - Herzog @ Happy Dog. onabus's band. Good stuff. Named after a great director. Can't go wrong.
F 10/11 - Hot Club of Cleveland w/Cyrille Aimee @ Nighttown. Man, Cyrille is around a lot, isn't she?
S 10/12 Sara Bareilles @ Lakewood Civic. Seems vaguely interesting for pop.
M 10/14 - Mary Chapin Carpenter & Shawn Colvin @ PSQ. Every time I go home Dad & I play MCC in the car on the way to our camping trip.
M 10/14 - Aimee Mann w/Ted Leo @ Kent Stage. Ted will be there sans Pharmacists.
T 10/15 - Classical Revolution @ Happy Dog. If you're looking for an excuse to hit up Happy Dog (I am), then free classical from locals isn't a bad option.
W 10/16 - Robert Randolph and the Family Band @ Beachland Ballroom. Funk & soul.
W 10/16 - Electric 6 @ Grog. Listed so I have an excuse to play their one good album again.
W 10/16 - Barenaked Ladies @ Lakewood Civic Auditorium. Must have left their 15 minutes behind, but it is only 5 minutes from my house.
F 10/18 - Los Straitjackets @ Beachland Ballroom. The greatest luchador mask wearing surf rocking band you've ever seen. Seriously, everybody should see Los Straitjackets at least once.
S 10/19 - Ghost Brothers of Darkland County @ Akron Civic. A rock & roll music by Stephen King, John Mellencamp and T Bone Burnett. No, really.
S 10/19 - Hugh Laurie & The Copper Bottom Band @ Kent Stage. I don't much care, but I suspect some of you like House enough to see his band.
S 10/19 - Kelley Richey Band w/Freekbass @ Winchester. Her new album is solid, and I love me some Freekbass.
M 10/21 - Steve Wozniak @ EJ Thomas Hall. Not a band, obviously, but only the greatest engineer of the personal computer era.
T 10/22 - Mike Doughty @ Beachland Ballroom. Ex-Soul Coughing. One of my favorites. He "I've reworked Soul Coughing songs" is interesting. I have a ticket.
W 10/23 - Harry Connick Jr @ PSQ. Made my song book, for better or worse.
10/23 to 10/27 - CityMusic Cleveland @ various locations. This program includes Dorman, Mozart, Vivaldi and Schubert, with Rachel Barton Pine playing violin on Mozart. She played for them last year and is fantastic.
S 10/16 - Melt Banana @ Grog Shop. Japanese weirdo noise rock.
R 10/24 - King Khan & the Shrines @ Grog Shop. Their new album "Idle No More" is well worth your attention.
Su 10/27 - KMFDM @ Peabodys. They were fun the one time I saw them. This is the last show at Peabodys present location that I have any interest in seeing.
Su 10/27 - Brian Wilson & Jeff Beck @ EJ Thomas. Now that Brian Wilson got 'kicked out' of the Beach Boys, he's on tour with Jeff Beck. Why not?
M 10/28 - Steve Earle & The Dukes @ Kent Stage. The first time I saw Steve it was in the run up to the 2004 election and it was all passion and anger. I don't know what he's like now, but I'd like to find out.
T 10/29 - Of Montreal @ Beachland Ballroom. I keep thinking that the one time I saw them was just ok, but then I realized I bought a CD and an EP at the gig, and I only do that for good shows. So now I'm conflicted. They're good albums too.
W 10/30 - Lindi Ortega @ Beachland Tavern. $12 bet. No idea, I just liked the flavor text.
W 10/30 - Mark O'Connor String Quartet @ CMA. O'Connor is a classical composer and violinist who has worked with Yo-Yo Ma and Edgar Meyer, among others. gieves and I are going.
November
F 11/01 - Pelican @ Agora Ballroom [Location Changed!]. Instrumental metal. My man Steve Davis says I should check them out.
F 11/01 - The Smithereens @ Beachland Ballroom.
S 11/02 - Yo-Yo Ma & Kathryn Stott @ Finney Chapel. I scored tickets. Huzzah!.
S 11/02 - Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons @ PSQ. Apparently Jersey Boys was based on real life. Who knew?
Su 11/03 - Kate Nash @ Beachland Ballroom. Brit pop. Fun. Her voice sounds kind of like Lily Allen.
Su 11/03 - 2Cellos @ EJ Thomas. As labeled on the tin; their last CD was fun if you like classical covers of pop songs.
W 11/06 - Chuck Prophet @ Beachland Tavern. I had a good time when I saw him earlier this year. This appears to be a solo show.
R 11/07 - Guantanamo Baywatch @ Now That's Class. Now that's a name. Surf.
Su 11/10 - The Dickies @ Grog Shop. Weirdos. As heard in Kill Bill.
T 11/12 - Bela Fleck & Brooklyn Rider @ EJ Thomas. Brooklyn Rider features members of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble. I'm going with Dr.Boo.
W 11/13 - Johnny Marr @ Grog Shop. The guy from the Smiths that my cohost is NOT enamored of.
F 11/15 - Less than Jake w/Anti-Flag @ Aogra Theatre [Location Changed!]. Still on my 'see them eventually' list after 15 years.
W 11/20 - Kayhan Kalhor @ CMA. A member of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble, he is a master of the Persian spiked fiddle.
S 11/23 - Mephiskapheles @ Grog Shop. The best Satanic ska band you ever saw. This means I have an excuse to play the Bumblee Bee Tuna song on my show. It's like it's my birthday!
December
12/04 to 12/08 - CityMusic Cleveland @ Various Locations. Featuring lots of Strauss on this program, with Mark Maliniak on trumpet.
W 12/04 - NOFX @ HOB. Loud, sophomoric, occasionally political. Punk.
R 12/05 - MythBusters: Behind the Myths @ EJ Thomas. Jamie & Adam appear to talk about Mythbusters.
F 12/06 - Animal Collective @ HOB. Of course, they've cancelled what, the last three shows? So I wouldn't hold your breath. And the date changed since last time too. Possibly sold out, depending on what site you look at.
F 12/06 - Bill Wharton & the Ingredients @ Wilberts. Makes gumbo live on stage and feeds the crowd after.
Su 12/08 - Zoe Keating @ Kent Stage. Have cello & loop pedal, will travel. Ex-Rasputina.
R 12/12 - Justin Timberlake @ The Q. It probably makes me a bad WRUW staff member, but if I happened into deeply discounted tickets I'd probably go to this. Judge me as much as you want!
F 12/14 - Straight No Chaser @ PSQ. Acappella.
S 12/21 - Mr. Gnome @ Beachland Ballroom. Locals made good.
Beyond
R 1/30 - The Intergalactic Nemesis Live-Action Graphic Novel @ PSQ. Not a concert, but looks like an awesome good time. Check it out.
F 1/31 - Air Supply @ Akron Civic. There is humor somewhere in here, but I'm all out of jokes, I'm so last without them... Sorry.
Su 3/09 - Lily Tomlin @ PSQ. Now here's a comedian I might catch. I saw her one woman show on Broadway and it was hilariously awesome.
Su 3/09 - The Punch Brothers @ Finney Chapel. Bluegrass.
3/12 to 3/16 - CityMusic Cleveland @ Various Locations.
F 3/14 - Tomatito @ CMA. Very famous flamenco guitarist.
W 4/02 - Bela Fleck & Chick Corea @ Finney Chapel. I scored tickets!.
F 5/02 - Roby Lakatos @ CMA. "King of the gypsy violinists"
How do you find local shows? Try these: Beachland Ballroom & Tavern, Grog Shop, Peabodys, CSU Convocation (aka Wolstein) Center, HOB, Winchester, Kent Stage, Agora Theater & Ballroom, Wilberts, Quicken Loans Arena, Night Town, Playhouse Square, Rock Hall, Cain Park, Blossom, Nautica Pavilion, Lakewood Civic Auditorium, Severance Hall, E.J. Thomas Hall (Akron), Musica (Akron), Akron Civic, CityMusic Cleveland, Now That's Class, Happy Dog, Mahall's 20 Lanes, Tri-C Jazzfest, Dionysus (Oberlin), Oberlin College, Cleveland Museum of Art.
I've seen a lot of shows since the last calendar.
Wesley Bright & The Hi-Lites had their record release party at the Beachland on August 30. They put on their usual high energy soul show. I went to buy an album, and it was vinyl only. No CDs. Apparently we've now reached the phase of the vinyl revival. I'm not buying a turntable... for now. Their opener was the Vallures, which was an (almost) all girl Motownesque band. Good fun.
The next night I had friends in town for Labor Day. What to do with three kids on a Saturday night? It was off to Blossom to see the Cleveland Orchestra perform Pixar in Concert. It was as crowded as I've seen yet, but we ran into gieves, darlox and butterandjelly who graciously gave us some of their hoarded seating. The performance was on par with the similar Bugs Bunny nights; big video screens synchronized with the best damn orchestra in the land. Afterwards there were some fantastic fireworks.
The following Saturday my radio station hosted our annual Studio-A-Rama. The headliner, Mikal Cronin, was pretty average. I've already more or less forgotten them. Fortunately, the local headliner Mirrors was excellent. They weren't quite as good as Death of Samantha last year, but they were still well worth seeing. Performance from Wingtones, Goldmines and Obnox were all quite fine, and the ex-Peru Ubites Home & Garden was also a lot of fun.
On 9/11 I hit the Beachland Ballroom to see Deerhunter with Marnie Stern opening. I've now seen Marnie twice this year, and listened to her newest album "The Chronicles of Marnia" repeatedly... and I still have no idea if she's any good or not. I change my mind every couple of minutes. Deerhunter was unhappy about the sounds and lights for the first 5-6 songs, but once that was settled to their satisfaction (or at least until they stopped complaining) they really turned it on and played a good set for a nearly full house.
Eight days later I got to see Pere Ubu at the Beachland Ballroom. They had excellent support from long-time locals This Moment in Black History. Then Dave Thomas came out and performed as "Gagarin" with a Pere Ubu band member who was in the U.K. due to visa issues. They projected his room on to the back of the stage. This featured a man in a chicken suit and lots of weirdness. Finally, those members of Pere Ubu who got visas took the stage and rocked the house. I really enjoy that sort of weirdness, and Dave Thomas himself tells hilarious anecdotes between songs. On the improbable pairing of Pere Ubu with Sly and the Family Stone on a tour in Denmark: "The Danes are not like you and I." I had a great time and would go again. It was a really strange crowd too, ranging from high schoolers to sixty-year-olds with no one demographic being substantially larger than the others.
One more week later I returned to the Beachland Ballroom for the third time in 15 days. Time time I took Judie with me to see Stars and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. I missed Clap Your Hands Say Yeah back in 2006 when they were white hot. It would have been better to see them at the peak, but since I don't have a time machine this had to be enough. It was pretty good; every time they played their debut album (aka, the famous one) the crowd got into it. Everything else, the crowd sort of died. Stars, on the other hand, didn't have that problem. They blew the crowd away. It might have been even better than the first time I saw them. I reacquired one of their albums that left with my ex; two more to go.
With just under three months to go, I've got 31 concerts on the list and 57 bands. I've got tickets for four more shows for sure (well, unless they send me out of town again), and are a bunch of things that look interesting. It's been a good year.
- Dave Thomas, Pere Ubu
And on that note, let's start a new concert calendar. Bold means I am going, italics that I am more than usually interested. You can hear a lot of these bands on my radio show. As always, tell me what I'm missing.
Also, Peabodys is moving. For the moment, all shows from November 1 onward are going to be at the Agora.
October
R 10/10 - Lisa Doll & the Rock N' Roll Romance @ Now That's Class. $5 bet on a band described as "female fronted, Ramones like".
R 10/10 - Bill Callahan @ Beachland Ballroom. He used to be touring as Smog. I had a ticket, but then I got sent out of town for work.
F 10/11 - Herzog @ Happy Dog. onabus's band. Good stuff. Named after a great director. Can't go wrong.
F 10/11 - Hot Club of Cleveland w/Cyrille Aimee @ Nighttown. Man, Cyrille is around a lot, isn't she?
S 10/12 Sara Bareilles @ Lakewood Civic. Seems vaguely interesting for pop.
M 10/14 - Mary Chapin Carpenter & Shawn Colvin @ PSQ. Every time I go home Dad & I play MCC in the car on the way to our camping trip.
M 10/14 - Aimee Mann w/Ted Leo @ Kent Stage. Ted will be there sans Pharmacists.
T 10/15 - Classical Revolution @ Happy Dog. If you're looking for an excuse to hit up Happy Dog (I am), then free classical from locals isn't a bad option.
W 10/16 - Robert Randolph and the Family Band @ Beachland Ballroom. Funk & soul.
W 10/16 - Electric 6 @ Grog. Listed so I have an excuse to play their one good album again.
W 10/16 - Barenaked Ladies @ Lakewood Civic Auditorium. Must have left their 15 minutes behind, but it is only 5 minutes from my house.
F 10/18 - Los Straitjackets @ Beachland Ballroom. The greatest luchador mask wearing surf rocking band you've ever seen. Seriously, everybody should see Los Straitjackets at least once.
S 10/19 - Ghost Brothers of Darkland County @ Akron Civic. A rock & roll music by Stephen King, John Mellencamp and T Bone Burnett. No, really.
S 10/19 - Hugh Laurie & The Copper Bottom Band @ Kent Stage. I don't much care, but I suspect some of you like House enough to see his band.
S 10/19 - Kelley Richey Band w/Freekbass @ Winchester. Her new album is solid, and I love me some Freekbass.
M 10/21 - Steve Wozniak @ EJ Thomas Hall. Not a band, obviously, but only the greatest engineer of the personal computer era.
T 10/22 - Mike Doughty @ Beachland Ballroom. Ex-Soul Coughing. One of my favorites. He "I've reworked Soul Coughing songs" is interesting. I have a ticket.
W 10/23 - Harry Connick Jr @ PSQ. Made my song book, for better or worse.
10/23 to 10/27 - CityMusic Cleveland @ various locations. This program includes Dorman, Mozart, Vivaldi and Schubert, with Rachel Barton Pine playing violin on Mozart. She played for them last year and is fantastic.
S 10/16 - Melt Banana @ Grog Shop. Japanese weirdo noise rock.
R 10/24 - King Khan & the Shrines @ Grog Shop. Their new album "Idle No More" is well worth your attention.
Su 10/27 - KMFDM @ Peabodys. They were fun the one time I saw them. This is the last show at Peabodys present location that I have any interest in seeing.
Su 10/27 - Brian Wilson & Jeff Beck @ EJ Thomas. Now that Brian Wilson got 'kicked out' of the Beach Boys, he's on tour with Jeff Beck. Why not?
M 10/28 - Steve Earle & The Dukes @ Kent Stage. The first time I saw Steve it was in the run up to the 2004 election and it was all passion and anger. I don't know what he's like now, but I'd like to find out.
T 10/29 - Of Montreal @ Beachland Ballroom. I keep thinking that the one time I saw them was just ok, but then I realized I bought a CD and an EP at the gig, and I only do that for good shows. So now I'm conflicted. They're good albums too.
W 10/30 - Lindi Ortega @ Beachland Tavern. $12 bet. No idea, I just liked the flavor text.
W 10/30 - Mark O'Connor String Quartet @ CMA. O'Connor is a classical composer and violinist who has worked with Yo-Yo Ma and Edgar Meyer, among others. gieves and I are going.
November
F 11/01 - Pelican @ Agora Ballroom [Location Changed!]. Instrumental metal. My man Steve Davis says I should check them out.
F 11/01 - The Smithereens @ Beachland Ballroom.
S 11/02 - Yo-Yo Ma & Kathryn Stott @ Finney Chapel. I scored tickets. Huzzah!.
S 11/02 - Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons @ PSQ. Apparently Jersey Boys was based on real life. Who knew?
Su 11/03 - Kate Nash @ Beachland Ballroom. Brit pop. Fun. Her voice sounds kind of like Lily Allen.
Su 11/03 - 2Cellos @ EJ Thomas. As labeled on the tin; their last CD was fun if you like classical covers of pop songs.
W 11/06 - Chuck Prophet @ Beachland Tavern. I had a good time when I saw him earlier this year. This appears to be a solo show.
R 11/07 - Guantanamo Baywatch @ Now That's Class. Now that's a name. Surf.
Su 11/10 - The Dickies @ Grog Shop. Weirdos. As heard in Kill Bill.
T 11/12 - Bela Fleck & Brooklyn Rider @ EJ Thomas. Brooklyn Rider features members of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble. I'm going with Dr.Boo.
W 11/13 - Johnny Marr @ Grog Shop. The guy from the Smiths that my cohost is NOT enamored of.
F 11/15 - Less than Jake w/Anti-Flag @ Aogra Theatre [Location Changed!]. Still on my 'see them eventually' list after 15 years.
W 11/20 - Kayhan Kalhor @ CMA. A member of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble, he is a master of the Persian spiked fiddle.
S 11/23 - Mephiskapheles @ Grog Shop. The best Satanic ska band you ever saw. This means I have an excuse to play the Bumblee Bee Tuna song on my show. It's like it's my birthday!
December
12/04 to 12/08 - CityMusic Cleveland @ Various Locations. Featuring lots of Strauss on this program, with Mark Maliniak on trumpet.
W 12/04 - NOFX @ HOB. Loud, sophomoric, occasionally political. Punk.
R 12/05 - MythBusters: Behind the Myths @ EJ Thomas. Jamie & Adam appear to talk about Mythbusters.
F 12/06 - Animal Collective @ HOB. Of course, they've cancelled what, the last three shows? So I wouldn't hold your breath. And the date changed since last time too. Possibly sold out, depending on what site you look at.
F 12/06 - Bill Wharton & the Ingredients @ Wilberts. Makes gumbo live on stage and feeds the crowd after.
Su 12/08 - Zoe Keating @ Kent Stage. Have cello & loop pedal, will travel. Ex-Rasputina.
R 12/12 - Justin Timberlake @ The Q. It probably makes me a bad WRUW staff member, but if I happened into deeply discounted tickets I'd probably go to this. Judge me as much as you want!
F 12/14 - Straight No Chaser @ PSQ. Acappella.
S 12/21 - Mr. Gnome @ Beachland Ballroom. Locals made good.
Beyond
R 1/30 - The Intergalactic Nemesis Live-Action Graphic Novel @ PSQ. Not a concert, but looks like an awesome good time. Check it out.
F 1/31 - Air Supply @ Akron Civic. There is humor somewhere in here, but I'm all out of jokes, I'm so last without them... Sorry.
Su 3/09 - Lily Tomlin @ PSQ. Now here's a comedian I might catch. I saw her one woman show on Broadway and it was hilariously awesome.
Su 3/09 - The Punch Brothers @ Finney Chapel. Bluegrass.
3/12 to 3/16 - CityMusic Cleveland @ Various Locations.
F 3/14 - Tomatito @ CMA. Very famous flamenco guitarist.
W 4/02 - Bela Fleck & Chick Corea @ Finney Chapel. I scored tickets!.
F 5/02 - Roby Lakatos @ CMA. "King of the gypsy violinists"
How do you find local shows? Try these: Beachland Ballroom & Tavern, Grog Shop, Peabodys, CSU Convocation (aka Wolstein) Center, HOB, Winchester, Kent Stage, Agora Theater & Ballroom, Wilberts, Quicken Loans Arena, Night Town, Playhouse Square, Rock Hall, Cain Park, Blossom, Nautica Pavilion, Lakewood Civic Auditorium, Severance Hall, E.J. Thomas Hall (Akron), Musica (Akron), Akron Civic, CityMusic Cleveland, Now That's Class, Happy Dog, Mahall's 20 Lanes, Tri-C Jazzfest, Dionysus (Oberlin), Oberlin College, Cleveland Museum of Art.
I've seen a lot of shows since the last calendar.
Wesley Bright & The Hi-Lites had their record release party at the Beachland on August 30. They put on their usual high energy soul show. I went to buy an album, and it was vinyl only. No CDs. Apparently we've now reached the phase of the vinyl revival. I'm not buying a turntable... for now. Their opener was the Vallures, which was an (almost) all girl Motownesque band. Good fun.
The next night I had friends in town for Labor Day. What to do with three kids on a Saturday night? It was off to Blossom to see the Cleveland Orchestra perform Pixar in Concert. It was as crowded as I've seen yet, but we ran into gieves, darlox and butterandjelly who graciously gave us some of their hoarded seating. The performance was on par with the similar Bugs Bunny nights; big video screens synchronized with the best damn orchestra in the land. Afterwards there were some fantastic fireworks.
The following Saturday my radio station hosted our annual Studio-A-Rama. The headliner, Mikal Cronin, was pretty average. I've already more or less forgotten them. Fortunately, the local headliner Mirrors was excellent. They weren't quite as good as Death of Samantha last year, but they were still well worth seeing. Performance from Wingtones, Goldmines and Obnox were all quite fine, and the ex-Peru Ubites Home & Garden was also a lot of fun.
On 9/11 I hit the Beachland Ballroom to see Deerhunter with Marnie Stern opening. I've now seen Marnie twice this year, and listened to her newest album "The Chronicles of Marnia" repeatedly... and I still have no idea if she's any good or not. I change my mind every couple of minutes. Deerhunter was unhappy about the sounds and lights for the first 5-6 songs, but once that was settled to their satisfaction (or at least until they stopped complaining) they really turned it on and played a good set for a nearly full house.
Eight days later I got to see Pere Ubu at the Beachland Ballroom. They had excellent support from long-time locals This Moment in Black History. Then Dave Thomas came out and performed as "Gagarin" with a Pere Ubu band member who was in the U.K. due to visa issues. They projected his room on to the back of the stage. This featured a man in a chicken suit and lots of weirdness. Finally, those members of Pere Ubu who got visas took the stage and rocked the house. I really enjoy that sort of weirdness, and Dave Thomas himself tells hilarious anecdotes between songs. On the improbable pairing of Pere Ubu with Sly and the Family Stone on a tour in Denmark: "The Danes are not like you and I." I had a great time and would go again. It was a really strange crowd too, ranging from high schoolers to sixty-year-olds with no one demographic being substantially larger than the others.
One more week later I returned to the Beachland Ballroom for the third time in 15 days. Time time I took Judie with me to see Stars and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. I missed Clap Your Hands Say Yeah back in 2006 when they were white hot. It would have been better to see them at the peak, but since I don't have a time machine this had to be enough. It was pretty good; every time they played their debut album (aka, the famous one) the crowd got into it. Everything else, the crowd sort of died. Stars, on the other hand, didn't have that problem. They blew the crowd away. It might have been even better than the first time I saw them. I reacquired one of their albums that left with my ex; two more to go.
With just under three months to go, I've got 31 concerts on the list and 57 bands. I've got tickets for four more shows for sure (well, unless they send me out of town again), and are a bunch of things that look interesting. It's been a good year.