If you’re a proper music festival goer and you haven’t attended Bunbury yet, you need to mark your 2019 calendar now. Arguably the most underrated festival in America, it has … Read More
Concert Review: Brian Setzer Orchestra, Cincinnati, Ohio
My Pop Culture Beast colleague Pat Francis has often said, and he’s not the only one, that certain guitarists have their own sound. When Brian May of Queen plays, you … Read More
CD Review – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, “The Echo of Pleasure”
The biggest thing that leaps out immediately about The Pains of Being Pure at Heart’s fourth album, The Echo of Pleasure, is how crisp it sounds. Previous efforts have taken … Read More
CD Review – Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, “The Punishment of Luxury”
In the very fine book Mad World: An Oral History of New Wave Artists and Songs That Defined the 1980s by Jonathan Bernstein and Lori Majewski we learned, among other … Read More
Concert review: Retro Futura Tour, Dayton, Ohio
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what made this year’s Retro Futura Tour so great, as there were many factors working in the show’s favor, starting with how good everyone looked … Read More
Bunbury Music Festival 2017 Review
The summer got off to great start in Cincinnati with the sixth edition of the Bunbury Music Festival on the banks of the Ohio River. A sure sign that … Read More
The 1975, Live in Cincinnati (BB&T Arena, Highland Heights, Kentucky)
The most astonishing thing about The 1975’s performance at BB&T Arena, on the campus of Northern Kentucky University, is the song they didn’t play. The group first gained national exposure … Read More
Summer Concert Roundup: Bunbury Music Festival, Cincinnati
Sure, Lollapalooza, Bonaroo, and Coachella get a lot of ink and social media attention from music fans both casual and hardcore, but the festival you should have on your itinerary … Read More
Hall & Oates, Live in Cincinnati
Unlike many ‘70s-era groups, Hall & Oates very much moved with the times. Even before there was any place to show them, they were making videos. And while never fully … Read More
The Vaccines, Live in Columbus, Ohio
That the Vaccines aren’t a massive arena act is a crime against popular music. They have three solid albums in their catalog, but have only made it into the UK … Read More
CD Review: Guy Grogan – “Dynamite Bouquet”
Talk about prolific. Santa Fe, New Mexico native Guy Grogan has released nine albums since 2010. His latest, Dynamite Bouquet, continues his tradition of making pop music that fuses rock, … Read More
Live Performance Review: Cirque du Soliel, Toruk-The First Flight, Cincinnati, OH
Cirque du Soliel’s Toruk-The First Flight is based on the James Cameron film Avatar and is set before the events portrayed in that movie. It has been touring the country … Read More
CD Review: Plastic Yellow Band – “Above Gravity”
With a name like the Plastic Yellow Band, you’d think this lot fell right out of the 1970s. And you’d be right! At least, that’s what it sounds like. … Read More
CD Review: Daniel Grinberg – “Short Stories”
Daniel Grinberg is an American— well, South American. Sort of. Born in Buenos Aries, Grinberg now resides in Israel. Build as a multi-instrumentalist, he uses three different vocalists (two female, … Read More