• With the Greenhornes in hibernation, The Cincinnati Suds should own the crown as Cincinnati's current Garage Rock kings (heck, the two groups even share guitarist Craig Fox!). Proof? Besides their firecracker live shows, their great debut CD,
In Your Bedroom, should more than suffice. The Suds could be the soundtrack to your drunken basement party whether it's 1964 or 2008, with their vintage sound and hotwiring of everything from classic Soul/R&B, Blues and even stumbly Country & Western ("I Don't Mind"). Ultimately, it's a
Nuggets-hugging collection that is endearingly raw but accomplished (especially in a songwriting sense), with singer/drummer Sean Morrissey and singer/guitarist Adam Wesley rivaling all challengers when it comes to pure personality-driven vocalization in the Garage world. The Suds host a CD release party for the new one this Saturday at The Comet. (
myspace.com/cincinnatisuds)
• The female-centric "Chicks Rock Fest" is no more, as organizers focus more on individual shows and out-of-town dates. But, for a flipped-script version, look no further than Friday's "Dicks Rock" festival, featuring male-oriented Rock acts. Yes, beleaguered dude-rockers finally get their say! It's all in good fun, of course, and it's also for a good cause presented by charitable local music foundation the Rivertown Music Club (which also presents the female-friendly One More Girl on a Stage show), a portion of the proceeds from the event will be donated to the American Cancer Society for testicular research. Artists slated to appear include G Burton & J Bling, Eric Mathew Tepe, Joshua Michael Scutella, Frontier Folk Nebraska, Jeff Leist and the Cousin Kissers, The Star Devils, Eatafetus Trio, The Gambling District, Pete Dressman and Soul Unified Nation, 500 Miles to Memphis, Straw Boss and Pain Link.
• There's a looser theme to Saturday's Freakout Fest at the Southgate. Curated by eccentric local ElectroRock duo Le TechnoPUSS13s as a way to bring attention to local artists from Cincinnati's more out-there underbelly, the festival spotlights acts of all stripes, crafting music and visuals best described as "freaky." "The purpose of the show is to bring out some of the stranger parts of the city and get on the good foot for performance art," PUSS13s singer Vinnie Williams wrote in a recent e-mail. In the ballroom, catch aurally/visually stimulating artists the PUSS13s, Kentucky's The Smacks!, Hollywood's blissfully bizarre Punk Bunny and the return of locals Heevahava. In the upstairs parlour will be an array of performance art and, overall, the night will be heavy on the unexpected ("Adult novelty" raffles? Giant ass prints? Drag kings and queens? Accordion music?).
• This Sunday at The Comet in Northside (before and after the Comet Bluegrass Allstars perform their usual Sunday evening jam), Paul Harris, brother of The Hiders' Beth Harris, will bring his "cowboy poet/songster" show to the local stage before embarking on a tour that will take him and his pickup truck to "Western" locales like Wyoming, Idaho, Montana and the Dakotas. Harris will be backed by his sister, fellow Hider Bill Alletzhauser (both of whom played on Paul's new album) and other local performers. (myspace.com/tmf3ph)
Contact Mike Breen: mbreen@citybeat.com
