Concert Review: The Afghan Whigs @ Newport Music Hall, Columbus, OH (11/19/1998)

In the late summer of 1998, I finished my college internship and was an official graduate of Bowling Green State University. In September, I packed up a moving van and relocated from Buffalo, New York to Columbus, Ohio. It's the last major move I've made, as Columbus has been my home ever since. I moved without a job to start but instead the idea I was going to make music with my college friends, Keith and Jason.

One of the reasons I wanted to make music was because of The Afghan Whigs. I had discovered them a few years early upon the release of their fourth album Black Love, which remains to this day one of my favorite all-time records. So the move was timed well. Upon first arriving, I caught Wilco and The Tragically Hip together at a free show in Bicentennial Park. A month later, Soul Asylum would play a costumed Halloween show at long-gone Mekka. Getting to see the Whigs on tour supporting what would be their just-released fifth album 1965 made me pretty sure I'd made the correct decision to make the move, even if it meant working a temp retail job while the band got off the ground.

At the time, I didn't know the long history of the Whigs and Columbus. How they had cut their teeth diving here in the late 80s/early 90s playing places like Apollo's with bands like Royal Crescent Mob, Scrawl or Barbed Wire Dolls. I had been to the Newport Music Hall a few times to see bands, and this time I was going to see one of my favorites with the added assist that a former college radio cohort had gotten us backstage passes to meet the band.

The band was, of course, great. Dulli was on fire, with the band expertly backing him up. They played a heavy amount of new tunes, plus tracks from every record I knew while tossing in a few choice covers (Prince and Rolling Stones, off the top of my head). Highlights were many, but getting Marcy Mays of Scrawl on-stage to sing "My Curse," which does on the record, was a magical sight.

After the show, I managed to get a promo flat, which was signed by everyone in that incarnation of the band (except Dulli), and hangs on my wall, along with the backstage pass and concert ticket.

If you want to read a more detailed write-up of the show, OSU's The Latern has their review online.

Concert Review: Hot Rod Circuit and Ultimate Fakebook at Bernie’s, Columbus, Ohio (8.31.00)

This one is sort of a cheat, because I was actually a part of this bill. The Stepford Five opened for Hot Rod Circuit and Ultimate Fakebook at Bernie's, thanks to meeting the gents of Ultimate Fakebook a month earlier at the Blind Lemon in Cleveland, where we also shared a bill (along with Mars Electric). We got to talking, as bands occasionally do waiting around before, during and after the bands played, and we ended up being added to this bill.

Both Hot Rod Circuit (If It's Cool With You, It's Cool With Me) and Ultimate Fakebook (This Will Be Laughing Week) had really great records out at the time with a couple of years under their belt, while we were still pretty green half way through our second year as a band. From what I recall, it was just going to be UFB and us, and then HRC were added to the bill. Memory doesn't serve me well here, not sure if this was a one-off for them, or if HRC and UFB ended up doing more dates together.

Concert Review: George Clinton And The P-Funk All-Stars @ the Newport Music Hall, Columbus, Ohio (6/30/96)

There are many things I enjoy and appreciate about my time at Bowling Green State University, but one the best was the free stuff. Not tuition, or books, or food; stuff that would been useful. What I'm talking about is entertainment. How did we get free entertainment? Glad you asked.

One way was the campus movie theater, which showed advanced screenings of movies. Basically, you signed up in an office ahead of time, and if you got their early enough, you'd get on the list. When the movie was over, there was usually a comment card to fill out. Over the the years, I saw movies such as Grosse Point Blank, While You Were Sleeping, PCU and a few other this way.

Another way was via the campus radio station I worked at, WFAL AM 680. Working in the music department, we had access to piles of free promo cds, most of which never got played on the air. We also sponsored concerts and other events, so when the Violet Femmes, Wally Pleasant or Ani DiFranco came to campus, we promoted it and got free tickets. We also sponsored movies, like the premier of Trainspotting and an anime festival. But the really good gets were the concert tickets outside Bowling Green.

Concert Review: The Darkness at Promowest Pavilion, Columbus, Ohio (6.14.04)

For a brief, glorious moment, The Darkness were a lot of fun. Actually, it was more like a year. In Summer 2003, the band released their debut album Permission To Land. Over the top Freddie Mercury-ish vocals with massive glam metal guitar riffage? It was Buckcherry with a sense of humor, or Steel Dragon with a sense of taste, one of those out-of-nowhere, completely uncool-its-cool popular culture happenings that seem preposterous in retrospect, but at the time was a lot of fun.

I played the hell out of that debut album, learned various riffs on guitar, and generally enjoyed something so out of sync with the times, which was dominated by Arcade Fire, Modest Mouse, The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, Kanye West and a lot of other very good, but also very serious, music. The Darkness were not serious, and it's good to have a balance, or at least that's what I've learned over the years. If all you do is listen to a very narrow sect of sounds, you're going to either burnout, or becoming boringly repetitive.

Concert Review: The Cult @ Newport Music Hall, Columbus, OH (5/23/01)

This show was something of a personal disaster, and it probably a strong contender for why I don't enjoy going to big venues for shows. Isn't that a fantastic way to start a concert review?

I was never a huge fan of The Cult. I liked a few songs off of Sonic Temple, Love and Electric, but I was actually more of a fan of their odd 1994 self-titled album, as well as Ian Astbury's solo Sprit/Light/Speed from 2000. In the spring of 2001, the new album Beyond Good And Evil was still a few months away from being released, but it was a big deal the band was back together after several years apart, and the first single "Rise" caught my attention. Yes, it had the big Bob Rock production and down-tuned guitars, things that would usually turn me off, however in this instance, I was psyched. So when my friends and bandmates Keith and Jason were getting tickets, I said count me in.

As a concert goer, I tend to be pretty chill. I just want to stand, nod my head a bit, enjoy the music and performance. As soon as we walked in and found a spot on the floor, I knew this was not going to be that kind of evening. Maybe it was the hard rock vibe the band gave off, though I always thought of them as a bit more artsy and adventurous, but the crowd was full of amp'd up assholes. The kind of guys shoving through the crowd, looking to agitate someone into a confrontation. I have never understood that inclination, and I was immediately on edge as The Cult started, opening with the single "Rise."

Retro Concert Review: Josh Rouse At The Black Orchid, Chicago IL (1.19.06)

(Note: this was going to be just a straight-up concert review, but then it got derailed by my brain)

Back in 2006 I traveled to Chicago, IL. to take in a concert by Josh Rouse at the Black Orchid. That sentence, by itself, is completely average and mundane. I was in my twenties, in a band, and going to see live music was something I did almost any weekend. I had actually been to Chicago once before, briefly in 2003 to play a venue called The Note with my band The Stepford Five and our friends Miranda Sound, along with a pair of Chicago bands (Woolworthy and Light FM), on a short tour put together by Donewaiting.com. I managed to do the tourist thing and grab a Chicago Dog at a place around the corner from the venue, but that was the extent of the sightseeing as we had gigs the day before and after that required lots of driving.

Here's the part, in dusting off my memories of this trip, that are putting my brain through a bit of a workout. I went with a girl named Amy (not her real name), who I had met through the music scene here in Columbus and we hung out a bit. We weren't best friends or dating, just a casual "hey, let's hang soon" sort of thing, usually with a group of people. She was a grown-up compared to me, owning a house and having a real job, and liked to go to the Short North galleries that featured local artists, something I wanted to do, but wasn't finding the time to do so. She also listened to music I didn't. She introduced me to Kanye West, thanks to a loud sing-along of "Gold Digger" in her VW Beetle along with several of her female friends on our way to one of the nicer bars in town I never hung out in. She also introduced me to Josh Rouse.

15 Years Ago: The Moving Parts at the Treebar

While recently searching through the Cringe.com website for some info, I stumbled upon these pictures from fifteen years ago when The Moving Parts played the Treebar here in Columbus. Damn, I was thin! (credit to Joel Treadway for the taking the pics)

New Book, New Blog, New Music

I've been a little quiet (well, as quiet as I can be) on this blog recently. The weekly Dig Me Out Podcast keeps me busy on a regular schedule, and of course being a parent and husband with a regular job means all sorts of time consuming responsibilities. Also, it's spring, and the weather has finally warmed up, so I'm getting my little patch of earth back into shape, planting seeds and seedlings in the vegetable garden and putting in new flower beds. Exciting stuff, I tells ya!

More importantly, with the early winter release of my second instrumental electronic album Sanur and the late winter release of Are You Making A Sound? The History Of The Stepford Five out of the way, and The Black Sky currently in a submission holding pattern, I had some time to redirect my attention to several other projects that had been percolating in my brain.

Corona for the Cure Benefit Show 3.10.18

Last night I got a chance to do something I've always wanted to do - play a set of Afghan Whigs tunes live. Though my current occasional cover band gig is with RVM playing 1990s Pearl Jam tunes, lead singer and guitarist (and former The Stepford Five cohort) Keith Jenkins new outfit Rival Cities was set to take part in a benefit show called Corona for the Cure at the Big Room Bar, owned by CD102.5. Each set consisted of a band or solo performer covering a band or artists lost to cancer, with sets covering Warren Zevon, the Ramones, George Harrison, The Tragically Hip, David Bowie, and more.

Concert Review: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers with Joe Walsh at Schottenstein Center, Columbus, OH (7/7/17)

Welp, the bucket list gets another strikethrough as I finally got to see Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers live. My wife and I grabbed tickets as soon as they were announced – this one wasn’t going to get missed. And thank goodness for that, as this was an amazing performance. Granted, the material leaned more towards the mid-tempo, but damn are there a lot of fantastic tunes in the mid-tempo for Tom and the gang.

It cannot be overstated how massive the hits catalog is for Petty and crew. After three absolute bangers to start, it felt like we had heard an entire concert by most bands, but he was just getting warmed up. Aside from a detour into some deep tracks on Wildflowers, a not unwelcome journey, he landed punch after punch of radio songs and fan favorites. Of course getting to Petty live is a joy, he’s got a laid back cool that is unmatched, but his band is another level. Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell are simply unmatched in creative restraint, playing the exact perfect melodies and riffs that each song calls for when others would overplay and jam needlessly.

This was one of those rare occasions when my wife and I actually stayed to the last song of the encore because we simply had to witness and hear every note the band played, even if it was the familiar jangle of American Girl.

Concert Review: Wire at Ace of Cups, Columbus, OH (9/18/17)

I’ll be honest, I haven’t kept up with Wire like I should, which is dumb because I’m now just discovering all their ’00s releases and it has been a revelation. That said, when it was announced these post-punk legends were playing a bar in Columbus a few months back, I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to see them. My wife agree to go knowing nothing about them other than me dropping the nerdy knowledge that their tune “Three Girl Rhumba” was the basis for the guitar riff in Elastica’s 1990s hit “Connection.”

So, this show was genuinely one of discovery, because aside from the opener “Ahead” and a few other tunes, most of the night was unfamiliar to me, which is not a bad thing. Actually, one of the joys of this show was being able to watch bassist Graham Lewis work his craft, who I would put up there with Peter Hook as being one of the most innovative and distinctive bassists of the post-punk era. Having never seen them live, one thing I took away was how much Lewis up-plucked his picking hand on the strings, which gave his notes a bit more pop and attack.

We left mid-song during the end of the set, and my wife and both remarked how small we felt, having spent the night in the balcony sitting in stools, and then having to make our way to the front door via the first floor crowd. I’m not sure if I’ve started shrinking, but it felt like we were walking through a forest.

Concert Review: Juliana Hatfield at Ace of Cups, Columbus, OH (4/30/17)

On the heels of a surprise new album Pussycat, Juliana Hatfield announced a brief tour and Columbus was announced as one of the lucky stops. My wife and I don’t always mesh on our musical tastes, but Juliana is one where we overlap, myself being a fan since discovering her on the Only Everything album.

Even though it’s been around for awhile, this was only my second trek to Ace of Cups. We arrived early and secured a pair of stools along the second floor balcony with a perfect view of the stage. Not only does it give us a grant vantage point, my feet don’t want to punch me after standing in place for two hours.

Juliana came out swinging with the classic Juliana Hatfield Three track “I Got No Idols.” What became quickly apparent was this was going to be rock show – her guitar was loud and she riffed like a kid raised on Black Sabbath as much as R.E.M. It was a delight to see her joke with the crowd and tear off ripping leads, and then have her dial it down on classics like “Spin The Bottle.”

RVM @ Rumba Cafe 11/11

After ten years, I'm playing in a band again. My old bandmate Keith has been playing in a Pearl Jam cover band a year or so back, and the bass player moved out of town, so after a few practices getting up to speed, I'm playing my first gig in forever. If you're into Pearl Jam, specifically the 90s stuff, hopefully you'll dig it.

Doors at 9pm, we go on first at 10pm, then the kick-ass Pinkertones at 11pm. $10 bucks for over 21, $12 for under.

Concert Review: Ben Folds with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Columbus, OH (4/9/16)

From what I had heard, Ben Folds playing with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra would be a special experience. Mainly that was coming from my wife, who is a fan of both. I like Ben Folds, both as a singer/songwriter and a general personality, finding him to be witty and engaging, so I was on board with this unique show.

To say it was unlike anything I’ve experienced or could have expected is an understatement. I mean, I know that bands jam, I didn’t know Folds would get the CSO to jam and improvise a song live on stage. That was something. Getting the audience to provide four-part harmonies? Sure, why not. It was fun, at times goofy, but also insanely musical and gave me an even better appreciation for what insane talent was up on that stage.

Concert Review: J. Robbins & Bicentennial Bear @ Big Room Bar, Columbus, OH (5/4/16)

Over the years of co-hosting the Dig Me Out Podcast, I've had a chance to interview a lot of musicians and music folks, but only on the rarest of occasion have I actually met them in person. That small list grew a tiny bit bigger when I had the chance to see James "J" Robbins and his band in the Big Room Bar here in Columbus, with my old friends in Bicentennial Bear opening. Afterward, I chatted with J for a few minutes, and I picked up some merch to take home.

Concert Review: Swervedriver @ Skully’s, Columbus, OH (9/2/15)

Well, mark this one off the bucket list. I came late to the Swervedriver appreciation party, discover Mezcal Head via an early review we did on Dig Me Out. Since then, I’ve slowly ingested their entire catalog, but really Mezcal Head has been the one that sticks with me, somehow the perfect combo of dreamy 90s shoegaze with muscular guitar riffing.

When the concert at Skully’s here in Columbus was announced in support of their newest (and really good) release, I Wasn’t Born To Love You, I knew I had to go. It was a weeknight, and since my wife is a school teacher with an early alarm, I knew I’d be heading out alone. I figured there would be a familiar Columbus music scene face, but alas there was not so I ended up getting their way too early, sitting around and getting really bored waiting for the band to go on. After a solid set by the opening band whose name I forget, Swervedriver came out and did as expected to a 99% middle-aged male audience (hey, I was in good company) – played really loud.

I had initially positioned myself among the hundred or so people there to the left of the stage (not stage left, theater people!) right by lead singer/guitarist Adam Franklins guitar rig AND HOLY SHIT WAS IT LOUD. Stupidly forgetting my earplugs, after one song I was pretty much deaf and mildly nauseous, so I made my way to the back and then balcony for a respite from the volume, where I took in a pretty great set, filled with classic tunes from the catalog, plenty of stuff from the new record, and luckily heavy on Mezcal Head tracks. I also got to spy Adam Franklin’s massive guitar pedal setup, which was multiple rows deep and shaped like a half-circle. I can only image how many years it has taken him to accumulate so many pedals.

I ended up leaving after the main set and skipping the encore because it was past 11pm and I’m old.

Concert Review: Jack White @ Schottenstein Center, Columbus, OH (1/31/2015)

I like Jack White. Not enough to buy albums, catching the occasional song on SiriusXM has been my maximum investment, though I did enjoy him in the It Might Get Loud documentary.

It was my wife’s idea to go, my first arena concert in many years, and tickets were available through my office, so we made it a date night, got sushi before the show and ended up in pretty good seats eye level, stage right. Openers Chicano Batman were fine, but they locked into a rhythm and stuck with it for much longer than either of us really wanted. I nice, tight half-hour to forty minute set from the opener is all I need in most cases.

White started the set vamping on The White Stripes ‘Icky Thump’ before starting into his solo material, sprinkled with well know Stripes tunes, a Raconteurs song, a couple of covers before an encore that really served as more of a second act, with fifteen songs before the break and twelve after.

Although I was well aware of Jack White “the personality,” seeing Jack White live gave me a better appreciation for him as a songwriter, a player, a band leader and a performer. Even though his voice quickly went ragged and his guitar playing wasn’t note-perfect, he’s simply operating at a level of abandon rarely seen in today’s manufactured and manicured pop stars.

I might have to go out buy one those records soon.

Concert Review: Shawn Smith & Happy Chichester @ Natalie’s, Columbus, OH (6/18/2014)

There are not many people I have on my “must see before I die list,” but Shawn Smith was one of them. Brad, Satchel, Pigeonhed, All Hail The Crown, solo albums – some people are obsessive about Bob Dylan or Robert Pollard, collecting every odd ball release, bootleg, b-side, etc. For me that’s Shawn Smith. I haven’t investigated, but I’m sure a fair amount of my external hard drive is taken up with his recordings, whether they’re studio albums, live bootlegs or Bandcamp demos.

Getting a chance to see him play solo, with just a piano or guitar, to a seated crowd of no more than 75 or so folks at Natalie’s Coal Fired Pizza in the Columbus suburb of Worthington, seemed… bizarre. It shouldn’t be possible that this legend (in my mind) from Seattle would play at such an odd venue, but there it was.

Opening was Happy Chichester, who I had seen solo and with Howlin Maggie many times, and as usual, he did not disappoint. His manic energy, somehow channelling Mick Jagger, Iggy Pop, Stevie Wonder and Frank Black all one lanky, expressive form never ceases to amaze me. He’s managed to evolve and expand his songwriting pallet from propulsive guitar rock to soulful ballads and loop-based drones, while circling back on his most recent album to straight-up rock that made me fall in love with him two decades ago. But like I said, Happy has been on the Columbus scene forever, while most night’s he’d be the main attraction, tonight my mind was on Shawn Smith.

I could say he played the perfect set, but that would discount the 30 or so other songs I wanted to hear. Getting the chance to hear thundering piano of Not Too Late, the steady groove of The Day Brings, the stately swing of Wrapped in My Memory, and the gorgeous re-imagining of Mother Love Bone’s Crown of Thorns was just the tip of my fan boy iceberg. Shawn has never gotten his due, and the business of music seems to not be interested in a man who has without a doubt one of the most unique, interesting and gorgeous voices of the last 20 years.

Maybe he’ll always be on the outskirts, toiling away with self-released albums and low-budget tours, but I would like to believe that the public will catch up to him one day.

Reuben Tour of Columbus – Danny’s Deli (Downtown)

My last reuben stop during my downtown Columbus work adventure brought me to Danny’s Deli. Located in the heart of downtown at Front and Broad, Danny’s is the closest I’ve seen a Columbus deli recreate the feel and vibe of a New York City deli, right down to the subterranean location. But how about the sandwich?

Here’s the scorecard:

Corned Beef – massive amount, tender
Sauerkraut – light, but tasty
Swiss Cheese – melted
Thousand Island – none!
Rye Bread – good grilled crunch and chewiness

I’m giving Danny’s Deli a 4 out of 5, but if I were to revisit, this would probably move to 5 out 5. Why? Because there was no Thousand Island dressing on my sandwich, and turns out they don’t put it on unless you ask. An ordering quirk, but doesn’t detract from the overall fantastic sandwich. Best in Columbus? It just might be.

Reuben Tour of Columbus – Sunny Street Cafe (Downtown)

Although there are plenty of deli’s in downtown Columbus to visit for a reuben, sometimes it’s the unexpected places that produce surprisingly good results. In this case, that’s the Sunny Street Cafe.

Open for breakfast and lunch, Sunny Street is better known as the place you can get sausage stuffed biscuits and huge omelets rather than deli sandwiches. Luckily, I made it past the breakfast items on their menu and decided to try the reuben in their sandwich section.

Here’s the scorecard:

Corned Beef – plentiful, and juicy, not dry
Sauerkraut – good amount
Swiss Cheese – melted and gooey
Thousand Island – proportionate
Rye Bread – warm, buttery and good thickness

Sunny Street manages to pull all the elements together and make a better reuben than most of the deli’s downtown. Easily score a 4.5 out of 5, just wish the sandwich overall was a little bigger.