MidPoint to Offer Single Day Passes

The MidPoint Music Festival will offer single day passes for $20. These passes will be available at the door of each venue.

3-Day pass on-line sales WILL STILL END tomorrow(09/21/2010) at 5PM, and will NOT be for sale at the venue doors. A 3-Day pass is the only way you can go to the Secret Show. A 3-Day pass will also get you free rides on the Metro Midpoint route. If you are going more than 1 day, a 3-Day is still your cheaper route. So Get your's NOW.

MidPoint 3-Day Passes Will NOT Be Sold During the Festival!

For all of you procrastinators out there, you better get your Midpoint 3-day wrist bands for 3 days full showcase access before 5 PM on Tuesday September 21st, when online sales will end.  Retail locations will continue sales while supplies last.  To repeat:

 

• 3-Day Wrist Bands ($39) for Midpoint will not be sold at venue doors during the festival.
• There will not be any single day all venue passes. This detail may change.
• You will have pay the cover ($10-$20) for each venue without a 3-Day Wrist Band.

Get your pass TODAY! The Festival takes place September 23-25.  Some retail locations to try: Neon's, Coffee Emporium in OTR, CAC, Park+Vine, Grammer's, Shake-It and more.

To buy online: GO HERE.

Update: Details may be changing.

More on MOTR on Main

Soapbox has a nice article this week with some of the details of the new bar opening on Main Street later this month, MOTR. Hightlights include a courtyard, food, basement rooms, no cover, and eventually there will be music seven days a week. The last one is the biggest challenge. I welcome it.

Seven nights of music is something that only happens with coverband venues, like J-Hall in Newport. Original music venues like Southgate House and Northside Tavern come close to seven nights a week, but they don't adhere to that model, and use alternate programming to fill big holes: think Dance MF and Karaoke. Using genre themes on "off nights", something the owners plan to do, is a good idea to target wider audiences and make the seven day model more attainable.

MOTR as defined in the article is the type of cultural attraction OTR needs. Success will necessitate the owners put a lot out there to get the fans to make it a destination. There is not natural parking immediately near-by and OTR does not currently have as many live music fans living with in walking distance as Northside does. This would mean they need to capitalize on the proximity to Downtown and the new casino and draw in people who on any given night are looking for something interesting to do. There is risk, but I for one will have fewer reasons to go to Northside for live music.

Fun Campaign Event

As a criminal defense attorney, I get invited to judicial campaign events all the time. They're pretty standard fare: pay $150 for entrance to some restaurant or bar, have a couple beers, and eventually listen to a judge or judicial candidate say a few words thanking everyone in attendance.

Judge Nadine Allen, running to retain her seat on the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas, does things a little bit differently.

On Sunday, August 29, beginning at 4:00 at the Evendale Amphitheater, her campaign will throw a concert. Those scheduled to perform include Eliot Sloan of the Blessid Union of Souls. Bootsy Collins will make a special appearance, and the judge herself will take the stage with the Supreme Courtettes. (Judge Allen and the Courtettes won the Cincinnati Bar Association's "Idol" competition late last year.)

Admission is twenty bucks and includes food and beverages.

MPMF it ain't. but it'll probably be the most interesting campaign event I've been to in a really long time.

Friday Night

There's lots to do this coming Friday night.

If you're hip enough, you can head up to Northside for the Greenhornes concert at the Comet. I'm not sure if this is properly termed a reunion or a revival, but lots of people are excited that the group is releasing a new album and playing again.

Then there's Fountain Square, where you can hear Bad Veins and the Harlequins. If the weather stays reasonably nice, anybody into Cincinnati's indie music scene who can't get into the Comet will be on the Square.

If indie music isn't your thing, then the Bengals play their final home pre-season game at 8:00. This is their third game, so there's a good chance the first team plays most of the first half. And it could be interesting to see exactly how bad a McNabb-less Eagles team is.

The Greenhornes Return: August 20th at the Comet

Local music heavy weights, The Greehornes, are reuniting while The Raconteurs are on hiatus and launch a tour at the Comet on August 20th leading up to a new album to be released in October.  Their FB page seems to be the place for the most up to date information, as their website appears to be under construction.

They would make a great guess for the MidPoint Secret Show at this point.  I have zero inside information, but their tour schedule has a big gap that leaves plenty of time for some MidPoint love.  Let the rumors fly!

Blues Fest and Blues, Brews, and BBQ

The Reds are out of town this weekend, but that's OK: it's time for the annual Cincy Blues Fest. With over 40 bands spread over four stages on Saturday and Sunday, there's lots of choices.

Blues Fest is at Sawyer Point and is on Friday from 5:00 to midnight and Saturday from 2:30 to midnight. Admission is $10 on Friday and $15 on Saturday. Kids 13-18 are five bucks each day, and children twelve and under (accompanied by a parent) get in free.

And if you don't get your fill of blues on Friday and Saturday, head on over to Findlay Market on Sunday from 11:00 to 4:00 for the Fifth Annual Blues, Brews, and BBQ. The Christian Moerlein will be flowing in the OTR Biergarten. Mayberry's Josh Campbell and Virgil's Matthew Buschle will be working the grill, and rumor has it that Molly Wellmann will be serving some sort of alcoholic, BBQ-friendly concoction. (She probably won't have the ingredients on-hand for it Sunday, but one of these, days, I've got to try her Manhattan, for which I've heard a great deal of praise).

Just one more weekend of nothing to do in Cincinnati.

Wussy, The Dukes, Yo La Tengo, and Molly Wellmann

I'm not feeling very politically motivated these days, so I thought I'd share a snapshot of my weekend.

Friday, following a late night at the office, I decided to stop at Mainstay on the way home. I'd heard that (a) Cincinnati's favorite mixologist, Molly Wellmann, was tending bar that night, and that (b) there was no cover charge. So I moseyed on up to the bar and, trying to be heard over the band, asked Molly what she was mixing up that night.

I just assumed that anytime Molly's behind a bar, she's working on some awesome craft cocktails. But based on the look she gave me, I'm pretty sure she was just filling in for one of the bar's regular bartenders, and didn't have much up her sleeve. But after a couple seconds' hesitation, Molly went to work, grabbing a bottle here and a bottle there, finally setting something in a martini glass in front of me. She made me a variation on a Martinez, which, as Molly explained (I could listen to her talk about liquor for hours!) was a precursor to the martini. I'd never heard of it before--much less had one--but, as seems to be the case with everything Molly makes, it was delicious.

Now, away from the booze, and on to the musical part of the post. Playing at Mainstay that night was The Dukes. I hadn't heard them before. I'd characterize them as a garage rock band, and from what I heard, they're really good. Good enough, in fact, that I'll look for another opportunity to see them perform.

Saturday night took me across the river to Southgate House. For some time, I had that night marked on my calendar for Yo La Tengo, a group I'd first seen in concert several years ago on the East Coast. It was great to see them again, and the concert was marked by moments of brilliance. Unfortunately, it was also marked by long stretches of self-indulgence: stuff that probably is fun for them to fool around with during a practice session, but frankly, isn't much fun to listen to. Lots of reverb and distortion, coupled with some riffs reminiscent of '70s psychadelic rock. I'm not sure if they were aware that those sections kept sucking the enthusiasm out of the crowd.

Wussy opened for Yo La Tengo, and their set alone was worth the price of admission. I've seen Wussy a couple times and a friend who was there has seen them more, and we agreed it was the best we've heard them.

Finally, Saturday was my first time at a smoke-free Southgate House. It was a tremendously better experience than the smoke-filled version (I was actually able to see the ceiling!). Should northern Kentucky communities choose to enact smoking bans, I don't think they have to worry about it hurting business.

And (really finally this time) what a great weekend downtown! Friday and Saturday night, downtown Cincinnati was wall-to-wall people. (Yes, I grumbled about traffic, although I felt bad about doing so.)

Eat Sugar Plays Midpoint Indie Summer at Fountain Square This Friday

For the kids out there, this is what music videos were like in the early and middle 1980's. No frills, no real point, just imagery that may or may not makes sense with the song. In this case it makes pretty good sense.

For more check out www.mpmf.com or www.eatsugarmusic.com.

Some Props for MidPoint

A very nice article in the Enquirer singing the praises of the MidPoint Music Festival. The festival schedule hopefully will be out in July. Until then, focus on Friday Nights, when you can see great music on Fountain Square for FREE!.

Woxy.com Returning???

CincyVoices reports on a recent online comment which indicates WOXY.com may be back. No details are known on how or when, except the key element that the DJs who made the station what it is, are either looking for work or in the case of one staffer have a job and looking to return to Cincinnati. I have to agree with Classicgrrl that without Joe, Shiv, Mike, you don't have much of a station.

Friday Night: Click @ CAM

If you are looking for a cool event for a hot May night, put your eyes on Click*, 8PM to 11PM at the Cincinnati Art Museum. Entertainment includes the amazing indie-electronica sounds of You, You're Awesome.

Tickets are $20 before the show, or $30 at the door. So buy your's today!

MidPoint 2010 Details Revealed

The Midpoint Music Festival is again teaming up with Fountain Square's PNC Music series and has programed a set of national acts as headliners for the summer music series every Friday night. Acts confirmed so far are:

June 4th: Camera Obscura (Glasgow, Scotland)
June 11th: Neon Indian (Austin, TX)
June 18th: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (Muscle Shoals, AL)
June 25th: Smoking Popes (Chicago, IL)
July 9th: Why? (Cincinnati, OH)
August 6th: Dawes (North Hills, CA)

Local acts will join these groups and will be announced next month.  Note to local bands: You want to perform on the Square this year, go here and apply. This event has been the center of the Summer Cincinnati Music Scene for the last two years and will continue to be the place to be every Friday night.  For updated schedules for every night of music on Fountain Square, be sure to check out: www.myountainsquare.com/musicseries.

For everything Midpoint, you need to memorize the link: www.mpmf.com.

WOXY.com Halting Broadcasts

WOXY.com announced via its website that effective today, March 23rd, it is shutting down broadcasting due to a lack of funds. I hope they can continue operating, but this type of step indicates thier financial backers are unable to carry on support of the station. They may need another white knight. Good luck to the whole WOXY staff. I hope they are back on the air soon.

UPDATE: CityBeat's Mike Breen has a blog post including reference to a Facebook post from a long time WOXY staff member. The future does not look promising.

UPDATE #2: WOXY staffer Joe Long shared his thoughts on WOXY going silent via his music blog: www.eachnotesecure.com.

UPDATE #3: Jason at the Cincinnati Man has more, including a response from WOXY owner Future Sounds.

MidPoint 2010 Release Show Changed to April 23rd

The Midpoint Music Festival has announced a change to the date and performers for its release show. The CAC will host Midpoint on April 23rd for show from Aloha(www.myspace.com/aloha), Pomegranates (www.myspace.com/pomegranatesart), and The Buried Wire (www.myspace.com/theburiedwires).

Midpoint is slated to announce other new features of this year's festival including performers, new stages, and partners.

The show was previous announced for March 25th at the Blue Wisp.

PNC Music Series to Return in Force to Fountain Square

The wildly successful PNC Summer Music Series returns to Fountain Square in 2010 and with an expansion to include Monday Jazz and an improved booking process through Sonic Bids.

Last year's Indie Summer events every Friday were great showcases to the best of local Cincinnati music as well as some special shows like the Fiery Furnaces.

The weekly line will be:

Monday: Jazz
Tuesday: Country, Blues
Wednesday: Reggae
Thursday: Salsa on the Square
Friday: MidPoint's Indie Summer
Sunday: Gospel, Soul and R&B

MusicNow 2010 Announces Dates and Line Up

MusicNow returns to Memorial Hall March 30th with a great 2010 festival lineup. Headliners include Joanna Newsome, St. Vincent, yMusic, and Justin Vernon of Bon Iver.

Tickets are on sale now. $20 per night and $50 for 3 day pass.

An Amazing Gift for Cincinnati Arts

Louise Nippert has made history with her incredible gift to the CSO, Opera, and Ballet. Classical music is the base of fine arts and this gift will go far to ensure that the CSO can continue as a world class orchestra and in turn provide first class live music to the Opera and Ballet for many years to come. This donation will also help all of the local arts organizations in the city, if by no other way then opening up opportunities for other donors to focus on an expanded list of Arts groups (like local live Theatre!). Mrs. Nippert played the role of Mrs. Claus in a big way yesterday, so turn on WGUC right now and think of the culture this city will be able to continue to remain famous for throughout the world.

Wussy Packs Them In, From Canada

If you've been living under a rock, then you may not know that Wussy is one of the best bands in Cincinnati. They have attracted a nationally following amongst indie music experts which has attracted Stuart Laidlaw from the Toronto Star to fly to Ohio to see wussy. He loves Wussy, and one might say put the fanatic in fan. He likely was a little giddy when he got to met the band after a recent Show at the Northside Tavern, but we can forgive that. It is great attention for a band that continues to grow and continues to be a standard barer for the Cincinnati Music Scene. Help out the band and give a gift of Wussy this holiday season.

Thank You WOXY!

I was very glad to read CitBeat's blog post about WOXY's Local Lixx program keeping a Cincinnati centric edition going after WOXY moved its operation to Austin, TX. Thanks to all the WOXY team for keeping this showcase of great Cincinnati area music going.