Ryan Bingham show was as sweet as Honeyhoney

Ryan Bingham at the Taft Theater

Back in action and feeling rejuvenated.

I must say it was nice taking a short break, but I was also extremely excited to capture the Ryan Bingham and Honeyhoney show at the Taft Theater in Cincinnati.

If I am being completely honest, I was more excited to photograph opening band Honeyhoney and to try to capture the sheer beauty of Suzanne Santo.

Upon seeing her in person, the pictures did not lie. She is gorgeous – and more importantly amazingly talented.

Suzanne Santo of Honeyhoney

The band — violinist, banjo player and vocalist Santo, and guitarist and drummer Ben Jaffe — played a selection of songs off their album Billy Jack and left the crowd wanting more. Their rockin-country-folk-Americana sound weaved slow melodic ballads in with hard-driving bluegrass-rock. They did not disappoint.

I also loved the fact that the band went out to the merch booth after their set to meet their fans. They were very down-to-earth and both seemed sincerely interested in their supporters. It definitely made me like them more. AND all of this was the opening act.

The headliner was Ryan Bingham who has taken his act on the road without his long-time backing band the Dead Horses.

Bingham always raises eyebrows from people who have never seen him live as he is very thin and sinewy, with a scruffy beard and a cowboy hat. Then he sings.

His voice is sandpaper rough and very strong. It definitely does not look like the voice that should come out of this person.

Bingham started quickly with Guess Who’s Knockin’? and did not let up for the entire set. The crowd was filled with obvious fans, and most were on their feet the entire time (despite the extremely intimate feel).

To be honest, I was surprised the show was not sold out, but I hope that doesn’t dissuade Bingham and Honeyhoney from coming back around to the area.

I know that I am definitely looking forward to seeing Bingham again soon at the Hangout Music Festival.

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The dancing, dubstep violinist! What?

Lindsey Stirling has been called many things. Dancing violinist? The dubstep violinist? The hip-hop violinist? The Zelda violinist? Whatever you want to call her is fine. I call her immensely talented.

I interviewed the 26-year-old America’s Got Talent fallout girl last week (read the interview here), and got a little insight into what makes her tick. But even after a wonderful 30-minute conversation, I did not understand how amazing the YouTube star’s show would be.

I have to admit, I was excited to check out her show after watching many of her videos online (and because she is very beautiful). But my excitement was understated compared to the performance.

She was all over the place, with beautiful dancing (which she learned how to do by watching YouTube videos), beautiful beats and virtuoso violin playing.

The show was filled with dance-inducing joy from the Michael Jackson tribute to the Zelda Medley. At one point, I could feel the floor moving because of the amount of dancing along that was going on in the sold-out 20^th Century Theater crowd.

This show was one of my favorite shows of the year (the opening band The Vibrant Sound was great, too).

I cannot say enough that if you get a chance to check out her show, please do it. You will not be disappointed.

Indigo Girls weather the storm

Wow is all I can say.

I have to admit that I thought the Madison Theater would be nearly empty for the Indigo Girls show this past Tuesday night. Not because I do not think they are a good band or because they have been around for a long time, but because the storm of the century was being forecast for two days.

I had looked early in the day at the event listing on Facebook and it only had 14 people listed as going (one of them was me). And with the storm supposedly bringing up to eight inches of snow and beginning at 9 p.m., I really thought people would just stay home.

Boy was I wrong.

I have photographed a lot of shows at the Madison, but I think this was one of the most crowded and engaged audiences I have seen there. It was probably not even sold out, but there were not many people hanging around the bar. They were all awe-struck with the Girls, and they did not leave disappointed.

The opening act The Shadowboxers were an excellent segue act for the Indigo Girls as they offered some variation from fast-paced pieces, to slow melodic harmonies that reminded me of the Rites of Passage album.

Apparently the Indigo Girls agree as The Shadowboxers played double-duty as they also served as the Girls’ band.

The crowd of mostly women were in a frenzy by the time Amy Ray and Emily Saliers took the stage. The band dove right into one of their big hits Least Complicated urging the throng of fans to sing along.

The show did not slow down there and was strong from start to finish mixing in some old hits with some newer tunes before closing out with a bang (Galileo, Tether, Closer to Fine).

They even encored with Bob Dylan hit Tangled up in Blue.

At the end of the day the only people that were left blue were the fans who wanted to see more.

For images from the show, click here.

Madison Theater – Covington, Ky. – March 5, 2013
Least Complicated
Tried to Be True
Gone
Making Promises
Get Out the Map
Moment of Forgiveness
Fill It Up Again
Go
Watershed
Three Hits
Trouble
Shed Your Skin
What Are You Like
Shame on You
Power of Two
Virginia Woolf
Gone Again
I’ll Change
Kid Fears
Galileo
Tether
Closer to Fine

Encore:
Share the Moon
Tangled Up in Blue

More Girls … The Indigo Girls!

I am jonesin’ some live music. One week without a live show has me going stir- crazy. That, plus the announcement of another killer lineup (this time the Forecastle event in Louisville, Ky.), has me in a “MUST FIND MUSIC” mode.

BTW, did you see the Forecastle lineup? String Cheese Incident, The Black Keys, The Flaming Lips, Alabama Shakes, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Old Crow, Animal Collective, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, The Avett Brothers, Wild Belle, Dr. Dog and many, many more. Tickets go on sale Wednesday for the event. I am guessing you will need to act fast.

Sooooo… all that said, I am heading down to the Madison Theater Tuesday to catch the uber-talented Indigo Girls and their American folk-rock stylings, and The Shadowboxers.

Tickets are $30 for the 8 p.m. show and are available here …www.ticketmaster.com/venue/180386

If you are hitting up the show, stop me and say hello. Hopefully the show will help me get “Closer to Fine.”

Girls, Girls, Girl

DAAP Girls at The Drinkery in Cincinnati, Ohio

This week’s installment is very late in terms of reviews and very slow in terms of new music adventures.

BUT, just because I am a bit late in my show review does not mean I am not excited to report on the DAAP Girls Album Release Party.

Last week was a big week for the DAAP Girls as they were announced on the Bunbury Music Festival lineup and released their album on Friday. I joined the party at The Drinkery (amazingly my first time there) in Over the Rhine in Cincinnati for Cincinnati’s hottest new band. The fun began with a unique slap bracelet download given to everyone as they came into the venue.

The pre-promotion and the buzz about the band’s Cincinnati Entertainment Award for Best New Artist seemed to work as the house was packed and made it difficult to navigate from the front to the back of the bar.

Archer’s Paradox kicked off the festivities with a nice set that kept drawing more and more people in for the show. I enjoyed there rockin’ style and was definitely a nice intro to the main event.

On a side note, I enjoyed seeing the full house and seeing a lot of familiar faces (from other fans and bands) coming out to show support for the DAAP Girls.

Once the DAAP Girls (Stuart MacKenzie, Jay and Alex Duckworth, Richard Sherman and Daniel Peterson) took the stage, you were basically locked into the place you were standing because of the crowd. The band launched into a lot of their new songs including the catchy “Kate” (already a crowd favorite thanks to Facebook promotion).

I personally really like the band’s Indie rock sound and downloaded the album the next day. I would recommend it to anyone who is into the Indie sound and everyone hitting up Bunbury should check out their set.

To see more images from the show, click here.

My week did not include seeing any more live shows, but I did get a chance to interview “The Dub-Step Violinist” Lindsey Stirling for Active Dayton. Stirling will be playing the 20^th Century Theater in Cincinnati on March 13, and anyone familiar with her work would say this show should not be missed. Check out the review in Active Dayton next week.

Check out her videos on her YouTube channel Lindseystomp, or watch this one here.

I will be hitting that show and hope others will come out and say hello.

Music and photography – two of my favorite things

This week’s musical journey started early in the week with a President’s Day show with Good English at the South Park Tavern in Dayton.

I have photographed this band in several different elements over the past six months, and each of them have brought me joy.

My most recent experience was a Monday night show where for the first time, I believe the Rasmussen sisters are starting to find their sound… and it was definitely good old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll.

Good English put a fair number of their recently recorded songs on display much to the crowds approval. These rocking songs showed off Leslie solid time-keeping drumming, Celia’s stoic and steady bass-lines and Liz’s raspy rock-gurrrl vocals.

I enjoyed every minute. (Even when Celia’s bass amp died midway through the last song.)

This band is on its way and has even booked a festival in Austin in April.

The rest of the week was slow musically for me, but will be picking up tonight as I have a couple of events planned.

This evening I will be attending a meet-up of Ohio music photographers at Arnold’s, where hopefully, we will swap stories, ideas and build on already loose friendships through our love for photography and music.

After the photography forum, I am planning on hitting The Drinkery in Over the Rhine to catch the CD release party for the DAAP Girls – a hot new Cincinnati band.

Should be a fun night.

Grateful for a weekend filled with musical diversity!!!

Dark Star Orchestra – Madison Theater – Feb. 8, 2013 – Covington, Ky.

Wow! Another crazy music and photography filled weekend.

My musical journey began Friday night with a masterful trip through time to experience the music of the Grateful Dead presented by tribute band Dark Star Orchestra. Tribute band does not do DSO justice. This band brings out the joyful feeling of sunshine, along with the Dead fans and their patchouli-scented hippie-ness that reminds me of summer concerts.

The crowds definitely came out in droves for the sold-out show in northern Kentucky. This made for a fun show, but terrible photography conditions as I constantly felt bad about bumping into others to try to get the shot.

Regardless, I had a great time and my highlight was definitely the opening combination of Help>Slipknot>Franklin’s Tower.

As my show buddy Jim said during the beginning of Franklin’s, “How can anyone listen to this song and not smile?” I couldn’t agree more.

Saturday took me in a totally different direction as I had a planned publicity photo shoot with the up-and-coming Dayton band Good English.

We had a good time creating sets and styles in the fourth floor of Hauer Music. I cannot wait to finish working these images and really hope the band enjoys what we have done. I definitely cannot thank the beautiful Rasmussen sisters and their mother enough for the fun shoot.

On Sunday, I saw a wide range of music from bluegrass to instrumentally enhanced, electronic dance music. Strange bedfellows, I admit, but still made for a great night.

It started with dinner and a set of bluegrass at The Comet where I checked out the Comet Bluegrass All-Stars. They were missing their fiddle player Ed, which does change their sound, but still was a nice set. The “Ed-less Horsemen” as they dubbed themselves are a fun band who plays every Sunday night in Northside. Well worth a trip there if you enjoy bluegrass.

Big Gigantic – Brick Street – Feb. 10, 2013 – Oxford, Ohio

I then took a leisurely drive to Oxford to visit the old stomping grounds at Miami University. Electro-dance band Big Gigantic were making what I would call a shocking stop on their tour in Oxford. The band took the stage at 10:55 p.m. at Brick Street (formerly First Run) on High Street.

The Boulder, Colo.-based duo killed it again (the fourth time in six months I have seen them). The show was fun, but reminded me of the things I both loved and hated about Miami.

Loves: Miami women
Hates: Miami frat boys especially after they have consumed large amounts of alcohol. Oddly, I don’t get as upset with the Miami women consuming large amounts of alcohol.

The highlights of this show were many for me. The simple fact that Oxford was hosting music was really a boon. The light show that Big Gigantic puts together always makes for fun photography, the way the crowd bounces to the catchy Big G tunes that seriously stick with you for days, and Big G’s take on Aloe Blacc’s hit “I Need a Dollar.”

Overall, this was another amazing chapter to my quest for all things music.

For images from the Dark Star Orchestra show, click here.
For images of the Big Gigantic show, click here.

Dark Star Orchestra
02-08-13 – Madison Theater – Covington, Ky.
I: China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider ; Beat It On Down The Line ; When Push Comes To Shove ; Never Trust A Woman ; Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again ; *Who Was John? ; Hell In A Bucket ; Cats Under The Stars ; Box Of Rain
II: Help On The Way > Slipknot > Franklin’s Tower ; Man Smart (Woman Smarter) ; Unbroken Chain > drums > space > So Many Roads > I Need A Miracle > Hey Jude > Casey Jones
E: Mister Charlie ; Brokedown Palace
Notes: *First time played

Jamband fans and Deadheads take note

Dark Star Orchestra – All Good Music Festival 2012 – Thornville, Ohio

This week’s festivities begin Friday as Dark Star Orchestra brings their special tribute to the Grateful Dead to the Madison Theater in Covington, Ky.

I will definitely be there, and am really looking forward to the show and seeing some good friends. My show buddy (who I have seen more than 300 shows with) will be there after too long of a hiatus.

This DSO show comes on the heel of this week’s announcement of the Dark Star Jubilee lineup.

The second annual festival returns to Legend Valley (formerly Buckeye Lake)  in Thornville, Ohio, on Memorial Day Weekend, May 24-26, and celebrates the music and spirit of The Grateful Dead, with 3 nights of Dark Star Orchestra, plus two Grateful Dead member and their bands.

Hosted and curated by world-renowned Grateful Dead tribute band, Dark Star Orchestra, the Jubilee also features members of The Dead in their own bands, the Mickey Hart Band and Donna Jean Band. Other artists confirmed include Yonder Mountain String Band (All Good Music Festival alum), Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe (Downtown Dayton Revival alum), The Wailers, The New Orleans Suspects featuring Paul Barrere & Fred Tackett of Little Feat, local favorites The Werks (Downtown Dayton Revival alum), Greensky Bluegrass, John Brown’s Body, Marco Benevento, Elephant Revival, The Pimps of Joytime (All Good Music Festival alum) , Rumpke Mountain Boys (Cincinnati’s own), BigEaR, The Folkadelics, The Ark Band, Matt Reynolds with additional artists still to be announced.

With three nights of Dark Star Orchestra and over two dozen artists for more than 36 hours of music with no overlapping sets, the Jubilee takes place at the historic Legend Valley, home to some of the largest outdoor Grateful Dead concerts. Legend Valley is also the home to the All Good Music Festival, where the 17^th annual event is going on July 18-22. Promoters are offering the only chance to obtain All Good Festival ticket at this time by offering an Early Bird package deal including GA camping, parking and entertainment to both the Dark Star Jubilee and All Good Festivals, for $250, saving buyers over $125 off the gate price.

For over 15 years and 2150 shows, Dark Star Orchestra has toured the world embodying the Grateful Dead’s live concert experience for veteran Deadheads and those too young to have ever seen a Grateful Dead show.  Countless guest musicians have sat in with Dark Star Orchestra, including six members of The Grateful Dead, most recently when GD founding member and bassist, Phil Lesh, joined the band onstage in San Francisco last year.

Dark Star Jubilee tickets are on sale now with discounted ‘Morning Dew Early Bird’ tickets for 3-day GA admission at $99 ($45 off gate price) and for ‘Good Lovin’ VIP’ festival admission at $199 ($80 off gate price). ‘Little Star Kids’ is a $25 ticket for children ages 4-12, who must be accompanied by a festival ticket-holding adult. Festival attendees ages three and under are free while youth above age 13 must have a full price festival pass. Gates open at noon Friday, May 24. Complete ticket options with pricing are available at www.darkstarjubilee.com.

For more sound clips, photos, interview request and any further information on the Dark Star Jubilee or Dark Star Orchestra, please visit www.darkstarjubilee.com and www.darkstarorchestra.net.

Yonder turned up the heat!!!

Yonder Mountain String Band – 1-31-13 –
Madison Theater – Covington, Ky.

The show opened with a bang with bluegrass, American, folk outfit Lake Street Dive (not Drive).

The band had people bouncing early, and noted that “Yonder has an amazing crowd. We seemed to have overlooked Covington in the past. We are definitely going to have to come back!”

If the band’s set has anything to do with it, the crowd will be back as well.

After the warm-up act and despite more than an inch of snow falling during the show, Yonder Mountain String Band kept it smoking hot inside the Madison Theater in Covington, Ky.

Lead by smoldering banjo, guitar and mandolin rifts by Dave Johnston, Adam Aijala and Jeff Austin respectively, and killer bass-lines by Ben Kaufmann, YMSB had the crowd in the palms of their hands right from the beginning.

This was the 20^th or 21^st YMSB shows I have seen, and each one while amazing, is a little bit different than the last.

My personal highlight was the Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter Grateful Dead classic Reuben & Cherise with teases to YMSB’s Girlfriend is Better. I could barely take pictures between the dancing.

Well done, boys!!!

For more pictures from Lake Street Dive, click here.
For more pictures from Yonder Mountain String Band, click here.

01/31/13 – Madison Theater – Covington, Ky.
Set I: Part 1> Easy As Pie, Reuben & Cherise, Pride Of Alabama, Hit Parade Of Love, Finally Saw The Light, Red Tail Lights, 1/2 Moon Rising, Funtime, In The Seam> Ruby> Shake Me Up> Ruby
Set II: Bolton Stretch, I Am The Slime, A Father’s Arms, To See You Coming Round The Bend, Shady Grove> Wheel Hoss> Shady Grove, Dreams, Ripcord Blues, If Loving You Is Killing Me, Hill Country Girl, Isolate> New Horizons> King Ebeneezer> New Horizons
E: Naughty Sweetie, At The End Of The Day, Idah

Ready for some Yonder Mountain String Band jamgrass tonight

Ben Kauffman of Yonder Mountain String Band at the All Good Music Festival

Stoked to be getting back on the horse tonight to check out some Yonder Mountain String Band. I haven’t seen them since the All Good Music Festival this summer and cannot wait to boogie with them and their fast-paced bluegrass stylings.

If you are looking for something to do, I can assure you there will be a party tonight at the Madison Theater in Covington, Ky. Hope to see you there!!!