• Veteran Indie Rock cult heroes Low pull into town tonight to play the new Ballroom at the Taft Theatre. Formerly known for their "slow-core" approach, the Duluth, Minn., trio has expanded its sound greatly in recently years. Check out a clip from last month, filmed at The Guardian offices in the U.K., of Low explaining and performing the song "Witches." 

Opening the 8 p.m. show is R. Ring, featuring Dayton, Kentucky's Mike Montgomery (thistle, Ampline) and Dayton, Ohio's Kelley Deal (The Breeders, The Kelley Deal 6000). The band is getting ready to release a full-length album, but here's a live clip of them performing the song "Hundred Dollar Heat" in Austin, Tex., during the recent SXSW fest.

R.Ring - Hundred Dollar Heat from Be Lie All on Vimeo.

• Santa Cruz, California-based Psych Rock band Sleepy Sun performs a free show tonight at MOTR Pub at 10 p.m. The band recently released its third album, Spine Hits. Check out what our Jason Gargano has to say about Sleepy Sun here. Space rockers White Hills, which recently issued Frying On This Rock through Thrill Jockey, open the show with their own brand of "fuzzed out psychedelia."

Here's the trailer for Sleepy Sun's Spine Hits, followed by a video for White Hills' "Pads of Light."

Sleepy Sun - Spine Hits trailer from ATP Concerts & Recordings on Vimeo.

White Hills - Pads of Light from Thrill Jockey Records on Vimeo.

Click on for more info on shows tonight by The Fray and Lucy Wainwright Roche.

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It's looking like the historic Emery Theatre on the border of Over-the-Rhine and Downtown is back in business as a full-time functioning venue. Bands like Magnolia Mountain and Pop Empire have been using the Theatre to film music video projects and, next Saturday (April 28), the Emery hosts the "Rock This Town" benefit concert for CityLink, which helps resident "break the cycle of poverty" by providing employment training and other assistance. The event's music will be provided several groups of business people who can play instruments or sing (modeled on the "Suits That Rock" concerts that benefit the Carnegie Arts Center in Covington).

On April 27, the Emery will host a dual album release party/concert in honor of two new releases from the label Ol Kentuck, run by SubPop recording artist and Northern Kentucky native Daniel Martin Moore. One of the albums is a vinyl release of producer/guitarist/composer Ric Hordinski's Arthur's Garden (read more about the album here).

The other is the first release from a duo project consisting of Moore and singer Joan Shelley (pictured) titled Farthest Field. The event will also feature readings from authors Silas House and Marianne Worthington (who wrote one of the most engaging press releases for the album I think I've ever laid eyes on for the duo's debut; click the "Bio" pdf link on this page to read it).

It's a great time to check out the Emery circa 2012 because the concert is also free and open to the public. (Rock this Town's tickets range from $35-$100 — for a great cause, of course.)

Here are two video clips (shot by photographer Michael Wilson with help on the audio side from Pop Empire) promoting the concert, with music from Moore and Shelley's Farthest Field (officially available May 8).

Rockin' Cincinnati group The Kickaways have taken to Kickstarter for some assistance in completing the band's sophomore long-player, currently titled Show Yr Teeth, the follow-up to the excellent (and free) debut LP, America! America! The Cincinnati Entertainment Awards' 2011 winners for Best Rock Band have songs at the ready and even picked out a studio – Michigan's Key Club, where Indie duo The Kills recorded its first two albums. The band hopes to start recording in June.

The Kickaways are offering several pledge perks for those who donate to the Kickstarter drive, including handmade art from the band members, special T-shirts, CDs, a B-sides and rarities collection and your very own private concert from the band (within 130 miles of Cincinnati and, per Kickstarter, "if the cops show it's not on us please"). If you're a deep-pocketed Kickaways fan and you wanted to donate, say, $5000, the band will "pretty much do anything you could think of as long as (it's) not illegal or (could) get us or someone else hurt." The Kickaways are aiming to have Show Yr Teeth ready by this October.

Here is the official Kickstarter video for the project. Click here for ways to donate.

One of Cincinnati's all-time greatest bands, The Afghan Whigs, have announced numerous overseas dates on its forthcoming reunion tour, but the only U.S. show announced was the Sept. 22 concert headlining the Greg Dulli co-curated "I'll Be Your Mirror" event in Asbury Park, NJ. Today, another American show was announced with the release of the 2012 Lollapalooza lineup (the event takes place in Chicago's Grant Park, Aug. 3-5). The Whigs were up pretty high on the poster for the event, but the top-billed acts announced are soon-to-be Rock & Roll Hall of Famers the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Black Keys, Black Sabbath and Jack White. (Check the full lineup here and the announcement video below.) Lolla tickets are on-sale here.

That sets up a loose timeframe for more U.S. dates for the Whigs — Aug. 3-Sept. 22 (minus about three days in August when they'll be back overseas). We've been hearing about a few offers to the band for shows in Cincinnati from a pair of larger festivals, but so far nothing official has been ironed out (at least to the point that an appearance could be announced). Stay tuned. The band now has about 20 dates booked worldwide.

On this date in 1962, a pre-performance speech by legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein, seen by some as an attack on guest pianist — the almost equally as legendary Glenn Gould — caused quite a stir in the Classical music world. The concert was to feature Gould performing Brahms' "First Piano Concerto," but apparently the pianist and music director (Bernstein) disagreed on how it was to be performed. The New York Philharmonic concert came towards the end of the orchestra's final season at Carnegie Hall.

The disagreement was largely over tempo — Gould felt the composition should be played very slowly. Before the intermission, the orchestra played selections by Carl Nielsen. Fearful that Gould would not even show up (he was notorious for last-minute cancellations), Bernstein had the Philharmonic prepared to play Brahms' First Symphony just in case. Gould showed, but to prepare the audience for the unorthodox performance, Bernstein took to the podium and delivered the controversial introduction/disclaimer/diss. (Bernstein delivered the same speech at a preview performance the night before.)

Don't be frightened. Mr. Gould is here. He will appear in a moment. I'm not, um, as you know, in the habit of speaking on any concert except the Thursday night previews, but a curious situation has arisen, which merits, I think, a word or two. You are about to hear a rather, shall we say, unorthodox performance of the Brahms D Minor Concerto, a performance distinctly different from any I've ever heard, or even dreamt of for that matter, in its remarkably broad tempi and its frequent departures from Brahms' dynamic indications. I cannot say I am in total agreement with Mr. Gould's conception and this raises the interesting question: "What am I doing conducting it?" I'm conducting it because Mr. Gould is so valid and serious an artist that I must take seriously anything he conceives in good faith and his conception is interesting enough so that I feel you should hear it, too.

But the age old question still remains: "In a concerto, who is the boss; the soloist or the conductor?" The answer is, of course, sometimes one, sometimes the other, depending on the people involved. But almost always, the two manage to get together by persuasion or charm or even threats to achieve a unified performance. I have only once before in my life had to submit to a soloist's wholly new and incompatible concept and that was the last time I accompanied Mr. Gould. But, but this time the discrepancies between our views are so great that I feel I must make this small disclaimer. Then why, to repeat the question, am I conducting it? Why do I not make a minor scandal — get a substitute soloist, or let an assistant conduct? Because I am fascinated, glad to have the chance for a new look at this much-played work; Because, what's more, there are moments in Mr. Gould's performance that emerge with astonishing freshness and conviction. Thirdly, because we can all learn something from this extraordinary artist, who is a thinking performer, and finally because there is in music what Dimitri Mitropoulos used to call "the sportive element", that factor of curiosity, adventure, experiment, and I can assure you that it has been an adventure this week collaborating with Mr. Gould on this Brahms concerto and it's in this spirit of adventure that we now present it to you

Many critics wrote about the intro and viewed it as the conductor's way of saying, "If this sucks, it's his fault." And many took Gould to task for his interpretation of the music (though some musicologists later said Gould's version was a correct reading of the material). Gould, for his part, said he enjoyed the performance and liked that it caused some in the audience to boo. Columbia had planned to release a recording of the performance but backed off given the controversy. Bootlegs spread like wildfire and Sony Classical, years later (in 1998), released the recording with Bernstein's remarks in tact. In the liner notes, Gould is quoted as saying, "Soloists and conductors disagree all the time. Why should this be hidden from the public, especially if both parties still give their all?" Bernstein also didn't seem too bothered by the controversy and he never stopped praising Gould's unique talent.

Here's a clip of Bernstein and Gould getting along just fine in 1960, performing Bach's "Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor."

Click on for Born This Day featuring Warren Haynes, Gerry Mulligan, Merle Haggard and Cobra Starship's Alex Suarez.

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After Lollapalooza created the "package tour" craze in the ’90s, most of the tours collapsed, faded away or adjusted, including Lolla itself. But the folks behind The Warped Tour figured out how to make it work (mostly by not overpaying bands or treating anyone like prima donnas) and Warped is by far the most consistent and longest running big package tour around. It returns to Riverbend this summer.

The fest brings its usual eclectic lineup of Punk, Metal, Hip Hop and Indie acts back to Cincinnati on July 31. Tickets go on sale April 6 at 10 a.m. (a week from today) and are just $35 (plus ticketing fees). Click here for more on tickets.

The lineups change throughout the Warped jaunt as acts come on and off the tour. Here's who's on board for the Riverbend stop. (Lineup is subject to change.):

Main Stage: Taking Back Sunday, All Time Low, New Found Glory, Streetlight Manifesto, Yellowcard, Piece The Veil, Four Year Strong, Of Mice and Men, We The Kings, Breathe Carolina, Miss May I, Falling In Reverse, Blood On The Dance
 
TBD Stage:  Every Time I Die, Mayday Parade, blessthefall, Chelsea Grin, For Today, Memphis May Fire, Motionless In White, Rise To Remain, Sleeping With Sirens, The Ghost Inside, Vampires Everywhere!, Title Fight
 
Tilly's Stage: Senses Fail, Vanna, Polar Bear Club, We Are The Crowd, Man Overboard, A Loss For Words, Funeral Party, I Fight Dragons, Machine Gun Kelly, Oh No Fiasco
 
TBD Stage: Echo Movement, G-Eazy, Stepdad, The Constellations, Ballyhoo!, Champagne, T. Mills, Tomorrows Bad Seeds, Mod Sun, The Green, Amyst
 
Ernie Ball Stage:  iwrestledabearonce, Born Of Osiris, Chunk! No Captain, Fireworks, Transit, Cold Forty Three, The Scissors
 
Kevin Says Stage:  Make Do And Mend, Matt Toka, Tonight Alive, Skip The Foreplay, Sick of Sarah, Mighty Mongo, Captain Capa, I Call Fives, Hostage Calm, The Silver Comet, Twin Atlantic, The Darlings, Dead Sara
 
Acoustic Basement:   A Loss For Words, Koji, Brian Marquis, Rocky Votolato, Transit, Owen Plant, Anthony Raneri
 
Ourstage.com is also sponsoring a stage this year and local bands are encouraged to sign up for a chance to play their hometown Warped (and possibly even join Ourstage.com's stage for 22 dates). Click here for details.