Tag Archives: Music

Ludlow Garage 50th Reunion!

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The Ludlow Garage is a sadly dim shadow in my personal reminisces. I blame that on being busy and broke. My first child was born about seven months before the Garage’s opening on September 19, 1969. Some months prior to that, my wife and I had moved from an apartment roughly half a mile from where the Ludlow Garage was about to appear to a house in a Cincinnati suburb some seven miles distant. Besides the new baby, I was working a full-time job and playing in a band which meant there was little time. A mortgage and commuting to downtown — along with that new baby — meant there was little money. I visited the Garage a few times but I missed biggies like the Allman Brothers and Pink Floyd. I almost saw Santana. A friend and I were in line when we convinced each other to go somewhere else. I may have seen Mother Earth since I distinctly recall seeing East Orange Express there and their only appearance listed on the Ludlow Garage Archive is as a Mother Earth opener. Despite thin credentials, I attended the 25th reunion in 1994 and came back for the 50th. As Ludlow Garage owner Jim Tarbell delivered some opening remarks, Rob Fetters, the day’s opener, crept up behind him following Jim’s mention of his name. This might have been a great photo if I hadn’t been so close and chopped off Jim’s head. But it’s the thought — and the spirit — that counts. Right?

Jim managed to finish his remarks and Rob got the show rolling. The January 1971 demise of the Ludlow Garage preceded the start of Rob’s impressive musical career so he never got to play there. In the early 1980s, he fronted local legends The Raisins. The Psychodots, The Bears (featuring Adrian Belew), and lots of solo work have followed. Using recorded tracks lifted from albums combined with live guitar and vocals, he delivered a cool retrospective.

I don’t believe Sonny Moorman ever played at the Garage either, but he’s played just about everywhere else. A typical performance consists of lots of his own blues songs but one of his side projects was an outstanding Allman Brothers tribute band and he has been a super fan of Lonnie Mack since childhood. Grand Funk Railroad headlined that first Ludlow Garage with Lonnie Mack preceding them. I’ve often said that if a Lonnie Mack biopic is ever produced, it absolutely has to involve Sonny. He reinforced that today with a remarkable Lonnie Mack tribute set.

This guy definitely played the Ludlow Garage. Sandy Nassan opened the Garage’s second concert which featured Spirit. I apologize for not catching the names of the folks providing harmonica and vocals. They were quite good and certainly added to the performance but, on the other hand, they might not have really been necessary for a guy who released the critically acclaimed Just Guitar within a year of that Ludlow Garage appearance.

Robin Lacy & DeZydeco recently celebrated their own 30th anniversary but I missed it. In fact, it had been a while since I’d seen the band and I’d almost forgotten how much fun they are. Robin and Joani Lacy live near the Ohio River town of New Richmond where they often perform as a trio with DeZydeco guitarist Ricky Leighton. It’s a place I tend to end up in on semi-aimless drives now and then and I’ve enjoyed several summer afternoons listening to the three of them rotate song selections. As enjoyable as that is it just isn’t the same as a toe-tapping bead-tossing full-band outing. “If you ain’t having fun,” Robin’s been known to point out, “it’s your own damned fault.”

I’m pretty sure everybody did have fun and that includes Mr. Tarbell. Here we see him catching a strand of thrown beads, struggling a bit to get them over his hat, then casually tossing off a few dance moves before continuing his walk to the opposite side of the stage.

The members of Haymarket Riot nearly exceeded the space available on the stage and the name apparently did exceed the space available on the behind stage screen. That screen, by the way, showed a recorded Ludlow Garage light show in addition to each performer’s name. The band was started in 1965 by the two guys in the second picture, G. Parker and Steve Helwig. They did play at the Ludlow Garage. Over the years, quite a few members have come and gone around Parker and Helwig and one was in town to help them with a song today. Gary Griffin left Haymarket and Cincinnati in the late 1970s then spent the ’80s and ’90s recording and touring with the Beach Boys and Jan & Dean. He is currently touring with Brian Wilson but had some time off to help his former bandmates perform Good Vibrations.

The Warsaw Falcons arrived a little too late for the Ludlow Garage. Originally forming in 1981, the band has deformed, unformed, and reformed multiple times with the only constant being guitarist David Rhodes Brown. The current three-piece lineup came together in 2014 and has continued the legacy of solid live music with a tinge of rockabilly.

It’s possible that I saw Tracy Nelson at Ludlow Garage fronting Mother Earth. As mentioned earlier, that’s based on the fact that I recall seeing openers East Orange Express but I doubt that was the only time they played there. Today she had wonderful backing by Cincinnati’s Bluebirds. Great voice and great performance.

As stated, Nelson’s backing band was the Bluebirds. There were a few members I didn’t recognize but that wasn’t particularly unusual. The band has been around a long time and I’ve lost count of the various lineups I’ve seen. The schedule called for the Bluebirds to perform their own set, including an Allman Brothers tribute, following Nelson’s set. I expected Nelson to just walk off and the band stay in place. Instead, a full onstage shuffle commenced and when it ended a more familiar lineup was on stage. Both groups were, of course, the legitimate Bluebirds. It’s kind of like whatever plane the President is on being Air Force 1. Whatever musicians accompany guitarist Marcos Sastre are the Bluebirds. And they’re always fantastic.

Although Jeffrey Seeman did not perform at the Ludlow Garage, his musical career is inextricably tied to the venue. Seeman was one of the neighborhood teenagers who helped create the place during the summer of 1969 and who worked there after it opened. Much about the experience made long-lasting impressions but none like being the only person to witness the Allman Brothers rehearsal on the eve of their first Ludlow Garage appearance. The teenager was already playing guitar but watching Duane Allman’s slide work inspired Seeman to master the technique which he has done incredibly well. Today he performed on both acoustic and electric and had Skip Cason join on guitar and vocal for one song.

I’d been there when the music started at noon and sort of surprised myself by still being there when headliner Rick Derringer took the stage more than eight hours later. Rick played the Ludlow Garage in 1970 as a member of Johnny Winters’ band. I stayed for a few songs, including Hang on Sloopy, before starting the climb to my car. I saw Rick most recently back in his hometown when Sloopy was turning 50. The band had been a trio then but now contained a keyboard player whose gear included a keytar. I was parked in the Art Museum lot which isn’t all that far from the concert pavilion but the museum completely blocked the music. Only when I pulled out and cleared the building could I hear what was being played. I exited Eden Park to the sound of Frankenstein as a keytarist presumedly did his best Edgar Winter. Maybe I should have stayed for that.

 

Trip Peek #86
Trip #133
Rock ‘n’ Rail Redux

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This picture is from my 2016 Rock ‘n’ Rail Redux trip. Readers may recall that previous railroad based trips to Washington, DC, have had issues ranging from extremely late trains to completely canceled trains. This one was essentially problem free. The “Rock” in this particular outing was a Willie Nile concert at, as the sign says, The Hamilton Live. In addition to a pretty much on schedule train ride and a rollicking concert, I enjoyed a day on the National Mall including an independence for Punjab parade.

Trip Peeks are short articles published when my world is too busy or too boring for a current events piece to be completed in time for the Sunday posting. In addition to a photo thumbnail from a completed road trip, each Peek includes a brief description of that photo plus links to the full-sized photo and the associated trip journal.

Trip Peek #85
Trip #148
Allegheny, Monongahela, Ohio, and Nile

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This picture is from my 2018 Allegheny, Monongahela, Ohio, and Nile trip. It consisted of a day driving to Pittsburgh, PA, a day in the city, and two days driving home during which I got to visit with three old friends. The picture shows the Duquesne Incline which I rode down on after riding up on the Monongahela Incline. I also checked out a couple of museums in Pittsburgh and another on the way home. The Allegheny and Monongahela are the rivers that meet in Pittsburgh to form the Ohio. Willie Nile is the musician whose concert the trip was centered around.

Trip Peeks are short articles published when my world is too busy or too boring for a current events piece to be completed in time for the Sunday posting. In addition to a photo thumbnail from a completed road trip, each Peek includes a brief description of that photo plus links to the full-sized photo and the associated trip journal.

Trip Peek #80
Trip #82
International Blues Challenge 2010

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This picture is from my 2010 International Blues Challenge trip. Three things came together to make it happen. One was my retirement the previous month which gave me the required free time. The other two may not have been quite as big in absolute terms but they sure were big in terms of pure luck and in actually getting me to the event. About the same time someone posted the availability of a spare ticket via the local blues society group, someone else posted the availability of a room in a block reserved at the host hotel. I snagged the room but was just a little too late on the ticket. It still worked out great. I was able to get my own ticket and I learned that the person offering the extra was a fellow I worked with some years back. We connected in Memphis and have kept in touch since then.

There were 224 competing acts performing on two nights with a third night for the finals. There were also many non-competing acts performing around town in various showcases. I’ve heard the IBC called the largest gathering of blues musicians in the world. Knowing two of the bands in the finals was cool, and having one of those bands place third was downright phenomenal. The picture at the top is of those third place finishers: Cheryl Renee & Them Bones.

Trip Peeks are short articles published when my world is too busy or too boring for a current events piece to be completed in time for the Sunday posting. In addition to a photo thumbnail from a completed road trip, each Peek includes a brief description of that photo plus links to the full sized photo and the associated trip journal.

Trip Peek #77
Trip #13
To & From Two Johns

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This picture is from my 2003 To & From Two Johns day trip. Even though it was categorized as a day trip and documented on a single page, there were actually two days involved. The first day was spent driving to Indianapolis on back roads. After a night in the city, we headed south to visit Columbus and Madison, Indiana. The reason for the trip and the source of the title was a concert featuring Johnny A and John Hiatt. That’s Johnny A in the picture.

Trip Peeks are short articles published when my world is too busy or too boring for a current events piece to be completed in time for the Sunday posting. In addition to a photo thumbnail from a completed road trip, each Peek includes a brief description of that photo plus links to the full sized photo and the associated trip journal.

Carillon Christmas

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For the fourth time, the giant bell tower that gives Dayton’s Carillon Historical Park its name has been turned into a tree of light rising 200 feet above the park. The tree is quite visible from I-75, and I’ve seen it every year as I drove through the city, but this is the first time I’ve stopped for a closer look. The 20,000 bulb tree is merely the biggest feature of a month long celebration involving the entire park.

I obviously knew about the big tree but I encountered the rest of the party more or less by accident. I entered the park to enjoy some of its historical aspects and took a few pictures during regular hours. Regular hours means before 5:00 PM when the park normally closes.

I finished up my daytime stroll a little after 4:00 and headed to Carillon Brewing for some ale made the old fashioned way and one of the biggest mettwursts I’ve ever seen. When I entered the brewery, the crowd was sparse. When I left, the place was completely full with a line at the door. The parking lot, which had been nearly empty at 4:30, was packed an hour later. Sunset was at 5:14. The Christmas related activities begin and all the lights go on at 5:00. I took the picture at the start of this article just before I reentered the park roughly half an hour after sunset.

During my daytime walkabout, I’d noticed smoke coming from the kitchen behind the bakery, and paused to visit with the lady stirring up gingerbread cookie batter. I now stopped in to wash down one of the  cookies baked in the wood heated brick oven with cider heated over an open fire.

Every building, bridge, and other structure in the park was decorated for the occasion. A small train took passengers, including me, on a tour of the large open and decorated area behind the buildings. This tiny engine pulled over a dozen passengers, more than half of whom were full sized adults, through the arches and past the trees without even a hint of struggle. I was impressed.

Other activities included a puppet show, Christmas cards being printed on a 1930s era press, a place to write and mail letters to Santa Claus, and a place to talk to the jolly gent in person. I paused inside the main building to warm up and listen to these talented carolers before leaving the park.

I snapped the first of these three pictures when I arrived at the park around 2:30. The second one was taken about a quarter hour after sunset at 5:38. I didn’t actually see it, but my understanding is that those 20,000 white lights came on at approximately 5:00. The sun had been gone a long time when I took the third picture about 7:15. The carillon rang out Christmas songs throughout the evening. It had been completed in 1942 and the first official concert took place on Easter Sunday of that year. That was not, however, the first time the bells were heard. Although work remained, construction of the carillon was nearly complete by the winter of 1941 and Dayton was treated to an impromptu concert on Christmas Eve 1941; Just 17 days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

A Carillon Christmas continues through December 30. 5:00 to 9:00 Sun-Thu, 5:00 to 10:00 Fri-Sat.

Musical Review
Cincinnati King

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Although it didn’t feel much like it, this was actually something of a repeat. I attended a reading of KJ Sanchez’ Cincinnati King in Washington Park back in 2015. It was during a King Records celebration and drummer Philip Paul was among the musicians performing before the reading. There was music during the reading, too, but it didn’t make me think of the play as a musical. They’re calling it that now, and they’re right. I don’t doubt that my 2015 perception was off a little. In fact, I’ve probably forgotten more about that performance than I remember. But, as enjoyable as that Washington Park reading was, Cincinnati King sure has sure come a long way since then.

From the long list of colorful and talented people associated with King Records, Sanchez picked three to tell her tale. Syd Nathan, the label’s founder and beyond colorful owner, had to be one of them, of course. To represent Syd’s stable of singers, she chose Little Willie John whose story contains some of King’s best and worst. To help keep that volatile pair on point, she picked the guy who did the same thing for much of King’s product, long time session drummer Philip Paul.

Those great characters are portrayed by great actors. Neal Benari is a convincing and properly blustery Syd Nathans, Stanley Wayne Mathis nails Philip Paul, and Richard Crandle made me wish I could have attended just one Little Willie John performance. Benari and Mathis do sing one song each, but it’s Crandle, along with Cullen R. Titmas and Anita Welch, doing the heavy vocal lifting. Titmas and Welch kind of work their way through the King roster from Cowboy Copas to Moon Mullican and Annisteen Allen to Lula Reed. Welch has a wonderful voice and her dancing certainly adds to the show as well. The singers are backed by a top notch quartet comprised of Music Director Richard Livingston Huntley on drums, Terrell Montgomery on bass, Ralph Huntley on piano, and Seth L. Johnson on guitar.

Cincinnati King doesn’t tell the complete King story but it does paint a representative picture. From our current perspective the King Record story may seem rather sad but that could be mostly perception. King Records was successful: the sixth largest record company in the country. It was innovative: the first record company to record, manufacture, package, and distribute its product. It was progressive: generally colorblind hiring practices and minorities in key positions. It was trend setting: Little Willie John preceded James Brown, Moon Mullican preceded Jerry Lee Lewis. It was inspired: Fever, The Twist, The Train Kept A-Rollin’, and other long lived songs originated there. It was noticed: Syd Nathan is in the Rock & Roll and Bluegrass Halls of Fame and several King artists are in one or the other. KJ Sanchez gives us a feel for all of that in a highly entertaining two hours.

It’s also an informative two hours, and I could tell that parts of the story were real revelations to some of the audience. I’m no authority but I have read a fair amount about King Records and Syd Nathan over the years. Still, one piece of the story was entirely new to me. Syd Nathan, in the very early 1960s, traveled to Hamburg, Germany, to see the Beatles. It’s implied that he could have signed them but missed his chance. Whether or not an actual signing was likely, the reason for Syd not even making it to the club is telling. At some point on the day he was to see the Beatles, he watched a group of German boys walk by from his hotel room window. It’s not clear what it was about the boys that seemed menacing but the sighting caused Syd to stay in his room until time to return to London the next day. The Third Reich had been defeated little more than fifteen years earlier. Germany was not a place the Cincinnati Jew wanted to be.

I think it was the day after I saw Cincinnati King that I read a review written a few days earlier. It was very positive. I’d enjoyed the show immensely and the review reinforced my impressions. It praised the story, the actors, the musicians, and the staging. It was all flowers and sunbeams until the very last paragraph. Describing the show as “anchored in local history”, it concluded that it is “not a show that’s likely to move on to other cities and venues.” Maybe so, I thought. King was definitely a Cincinnati company. But I almost immediately started questioning the review’s conclusion. The company’s influence sure wasn’t limited to its home town. People all across the nation were once interested in its music; Why wouldn’t they be interested in its story? There’s a quote from former Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Director Terry Stewart on that panel I photographed:

There are only three places in the country that can claim to be the birthplace of Rock and Roll: New Orleans, Memphis, and Cincinnati.

I’ve no idea what plans may or may not exist for Cincinnati King. I’ve a hunch that KJ Sanchez doesn’t believe that “other cities and venues” are out of reach. I don’t.

Cincinnati King is at Playhouse in the Park through December 23.

Trip Peek #76
Trip #52
Blues, Books, & Battles

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This picture is from my 2007 Blues, Books, & Battles trip. It was, as indicated by the title, a three parter. The blues part was a Patrick Sweany show at The Purple Fiddle in Thomas, West Virginia. I got there on the rather scenic US-50. Following a night in Thomas, I headed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for the book part. The target was a promotional event for a new book, The Lincoln Highway: Coast to Coast from Times Square to the Golden Gate, from Michael Wallis and Michael Williamson. I’ve met Wallis several times before and since but this was my first and only time meeting Williamson. Although I enjoyed that and wandering through the Heinz History Center, the real highlight was meeting Brian Butko and Bernie Queneau for the first time. I did not charge into battle for part three; I visited the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial where lots of military history is on display. Of particular interest and the reason for my visit, was a section devoted to the 78th Infantry Division. That’s the unit my dad was with in World War II.

Trip Peeks are short articles published when my world is too busy or too boring for a current events piece to be completed in time for the Sunday posting. In addition to a photo thumbnail from a completed road trip, each Peek includes a brief description of that photo plus links to the full sized photo and the associated trip journal.

Only Rock and Roll

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In getting in position for my personalized three ring rock and roll circus, I passed through a town whose name has a rock and roll connection even if it’s actually just a stand-in for the place Credence Clearwater Revival made infamous. The circus starts with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Friday, then The Tubes on Saturday. On Monday, Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul will be in ring #3, and I predict a little Lincoln Highway and other stuff in between.

This entry is to let blog only subscribers now about the trip and to provide a place for comments. The journal is here.

Fish Farm Fun

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I like fish… and I like shrimp… and I’ve lived my entire life in Ohio. Why, then, did it take me 17 years to get to the Ohio Fish & Shrimp Festival? Is a puzzlement. It becomes an even bigger puzzlement when you add in the fact that I like music and this is a festival with a reputation for putting some of the best local and regional entertainment available on its stage.

I don’t know about previous festivals but this year’s event covered three days. I made it on Saturday, the middle day, and I made it in time to catch part of the day’s opening performance. The very impressive Devil Doves are based in Columbus, Ohio.

I hung out near the stage until the set was finished then headed up the hill to check out the festival’s reason for being. There are multiple food vendors present but the Fresh Water Farms is the host and naturally has the biggest stand in the best location. I’m a sucker for coconut shrimp so that’s what I picked from an extensive bill of fare. That’s kale Caesar salad in the box and it was delicious. So was the shrimp.

I was eating at one of the tables when Mustards Retreat began their set. The group from Michigan served up some excellent vocal harmonies. This would be the last group I saw. The next group was still on their way when Mustards Retreat finished and I decided not to wait out the delay although I’m sure it was a short one. There would be a total of five bands on Saturday ending with the outstanding Teeny Tucker. Check out the full festival lineup here.

Beer and wine are available but there is an alcohol free zone that includes some of the food vendors and a children’s play area. Speakers at the back of the stage means the live music can be heard through much of this area.

Some of the actual farm facilities lie just beyond the play area and were open for exploring.

On the way back to the festival’s main area, I grabbed some pistachio gelato for dessert. I finished it as Mustards Retreat finished their set. Then, as mentioned earlier, I headed home happy to have added another fine Ohio festival to my experience.