Author Archives: Chip Midnight

Friday: Mr. Fahrenheit and the Loverboys @ Kobo

Posted on August 7, 2012 | Comments Off on Friday: Mr. Fahrenheit and the Loverboys @ Kobo

Let me see if I get this right – a cover band covers many different songs by many different artists and a tribute band pays tribute by covering just one band’s songs? If that’s the case, Columbus needs less cover bands and more … WAY MORE … tribute bands. (Come on tribute bands, let’s start a rally, the Cleveland tribute band scene blows away the Columbus tribute band scene!)

Though they play shows few and far between, Mr. Fahrenheit and the Loverboys, Columbus’s (only?) Queen tribute band, will grace the stage for the first time in a year Friday night at Kobo.

Mr. Fahrenheit and the Loverboys will be performing with the Mrs. Children tribute band Ghost Shirt (just kidding … I think) and Chicago’s Milano (definitely NOT a Chicago tribute band, though I think I’d pay to see a band cover “25 or 6 to 4”). Doors at 8, Ghost Shirt kicking the music off at 9:30. More info here.

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Saturday: Lydia Loveless, Brujas del Sol, Love Culture, Woosley Band, The Grateful Lovers, L.O.C.K. play birthday bash/fundraiser at KOBO

Posted on August 6, 2012 | Comments Off on Saturday: Lydia Loveless, Brujas del Sol, Love Culture, Woosley Band, The Grateful Lovers, L.O.C.K. play birthday bash/fundraiser at KOBO

Life can change in an instant. Last July, I asked an old friend of mine, Brian Hake (Kopaz singer/guitarist), and his Van Halen cover band (Van Haken), to perform at my 40th birthday bash. The band blew the roof off KOBO putting on a show that some might argue was better than the real thing.

Then, in January, life got real – Brian was diagnosed with Leukemia. By enduring multiple chemotherapy treatments at the James Cancer Center at Ohio State Univerisity, Brian’s cancer is now in remission and he’s continuing to be proactive in his fight.

I invite you, Donewaiting readers, to join me for the second annual Chip Midnight 40th birthday bash, at KOBO (2590 N. High St.) which is not only an excuse to get together a bunch of bands I really dig to cover songs I really like, but, more importantly, is an opportunity to help raise money for the Hake-n-Roll Pelotonia team which will be riding 100 miles earlier that day to support the James Cancer Center at the Ohio State University. A portion of each $7 cover will be donated to the Hake-n-Roll team.
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Happy 25th Birthday, Def Leppard’s ‘Hysteria’

Posted on August 3, 2012 | Comments Off on Happy 25th Birthday, Def Leppard’s ‘Hysteria’

25 years ago today, I went to Great Northern Mall to buy Def Leppard’s brand-new cassette, Hysteria. There was no such thing as a “leaked” album back then, the only song I had heard was the first single, “Women”, as the video had been given to MTV in July to help hype the upcoming release.

I remember throwing this in the Sony Sports Walkman and being amazed by the expensive-sounding production and the glossy hooks and choruses. This was not Pyromania and it was definitely not the NWOBM-sound of On Through the Night and High N’ Dry. This was a HUGE sounding record that was designed to sell millions of copies to people who would, without a doubt, pay big money to see Def Leppard in an arena. And you know what? I absolutely loved it at the time and I love to this day. Yeah, I skip over “Pour Some Sugar on Me” because MTV ruined that song for me but the rest of the songs (“Rocket”, “Gods of War”, “Hysteria”, etc.) I still listen to on a pretty regular basis. Happy Birthday, Hysteria!

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Discovered new music at the Easton Farmer’s Market – TJ Kong and The Atomic Bomb

Posted on August 2, 2012 | Comments Off on Discovered new music at the Easton Farmer’s Market – TJ Kong and The Atomic Bomb

The wife and her friend had a booth set up at the Easton Farmer’s Market this afternoon so I swung by to offer some moral support. Camped out next to the Big Green Head tent was a band performing folk-infused whiskey blues (that sounds fancy, doesn’t it?). Not exactly sure what that means but it was acoustic-based music played by guys with beards, tattoos, and deep voices. I’m not saying we don’t have talent like that in Columbus, but their vibe said “out of towners” and sure enough, my daughter informed me that they had announced earlier in their set that they were from Philly and they were called TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb.

Stumbling across a great band like this, completely unexpected, is one of those great little moments in life that I wish happened more often. Hope these guys had a good time in Columbus and swing through here again.

Give TJ Kong and The Atomic Bomb’s 2010 release, Idiots, a listen and if you dig it, buy a digital copy from Bandcamp. (I bought a CD-R copy of Idiots from the band after their set – a great purchase!)

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Bunbury Music Festival announces 2013 dates (July 12-14)

Posted on August 1, 2012 | Comments Off on Bunbury Music Festival announces 2013 dates (July 12-14)

Well, that didn’t take too long. About two weeks after Death Cab for Cutie closed out the inaugural Bunbury Music Festival in Cincinnati, festival organizers have announced that the festival will return next year. The dates for the festival are July 12 – 14. Because it’s still a year away, there, of course, is not much additional information as to who might be performing but per the festival’s Facebook page: Tickets will go on sale after Labor Day and will be the same price as Bunbury 2012. Prices will increase when we announce the headliners in February.

Having attended the 3-day festival, I strongly recommend that you pencil this in for next year and take advantage of the early low ticket prices ($93 for a 3-day pass).

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Buy thenewno2’s new CD (digitally) for $5 this week

Posted on July 31, 2012 | Comments Off on Buy thenewno2’s new CD (digitally) for $5 this week

I thought Kevin Tihista was George Harrison’s son. Now you’re telling me he’s not? George’s real son, Dhani, has been kicking around with his band, thenewno2 (pronounced “The new number two”) since 2006 but have kept touring to a minimum. So, if you’re not familiar with thenewno2, that’s understandable.

The band’s second album, thefearofmissingout, was released today and, this week only, you can download the CD for $5 from Amazon. If you take advantage of this offer, it’ll be the best $5 you spend this week.

The curse, if you will, of the Beatles kids who wound up performing music (well, at least Julian and Sean Lennon) is that they sound like their dad and the case can clearly be made that Dhani inherited his dad’s voice. But, musically, there is more Radiohead influence than Beatles, and that makes for one of my favorite releases of 2012 (which I can say after only listening to whole thing one time through so far!).

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Kids interview JD McPherson

Posted on July 31, 2012 | Comments Off on Kids interview JD McPherson

Earlier this year my friend Wes was trying to find JD McPherson a show in Columbus and asked for my help. That didn’t work out (JD wound up playing at MOTR in Cincinnati) but what it did do was introduce me (and the family) to JD’s music. The Oklahoma native’s style of music is a throwback to the ’50s where Chicago blues served as a foundation for bands who played at high school Sock Hops. It’s the sound of early rock n’ roll. It’s a sound that resonates with 11-year-olds as much as it does with 70-year-olds (and every age in between).

Connie and Olivia, fresh off their Bunbury Festival experience, grabbed a few minutes of JD’s time a few hours before he played to a packed house at Woodlands Tavern.

JD’s got a few tour dates coming up at the end of August before heading overseas.

Aug 24 – Downtown Springfield, Inc – Springfield, IL
Aug 25 – Orton Park Festival – Madison, WI
Aug 26 – Bash on Wabash – Chicago, IL
Aug 27 – Minnesota State Fair (Heritage at Sundown) – St Paul, MN

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Tuesday: Blind Pilot at The Newport

Posted on July 30, 2012 | Comments Off on Tuesday: Blind Pilot at The Newport

The timing couldn’t be better for Blind Pilot. Folk-based indie rock is doing extremely well, maybe not on the radio but bands like Dawes, Mumford & Sons, Quiet Corral, and The Decemberists (just to name a few) are playing to larger and larger crowds on each tour. The last time Blind Pilot played the Newport (Feb.6, 2012), the band apparently made the show an intimate experience by hopping down into the crowd for an acoustic number while asking people to put away their cell phones and just enjoy the experience. What a refreshing change in this digital age where everybody (guilty as charged) wants to take photos and videos throughout a band’s performance.

Blind Pilot and River City Extension perform at The Newport Music Hall on Tuesday. Doors open at 7pm. Tickets are $20.

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Tonight: Cinderella/Sebastian Bach show moved indoors

Posted on July 26, 2012 | Comments Off on Tonight: Cinderella/Sebastian Bach show moved indoors

Due to the threat of a bad afternoon storm, the LC has decided to move tonight’s previously scheduled outdoor LC Cinderella/Sebastian Bach show indoors. Sounds like a very good move.

Cinderella rolled through town a few years ago, playing a free show at the LC after the band they were touring with (The Scorpions) canceled due to an illness. With no new material on store shelves, Cinderella will bang through the catalog of hits from the late ’80s and early ’90s.

Meanwhile, it’s been almost four years to the day since former Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach has performed in Columbus (not counting his pop-up guest appearance at Rock on the Range last year singing “Youth Gone Wild” with Asking Alexandria). Though the singer has released two great solo hard rock albums (Angel Down, Kicking & Screaming), fans want to hear Skid Row songs and Bach undoubtedly will pepper his set with songs that the masses will know.

Local band Level 7 opens the show. Doors are at 6:30, Sebastian Bach is scheduled to hit the stage at 8pm. Tickets are $20.

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Kids interview A Silent Film; band unveils new Sycamore Tapes videos

Posted on July 25, 2012 | Comments Off on Kids interview A Silent Film; band unveils new Sycamore Tapes videos

For the most part, I’ve given up on terrestrial radio, opting instead for the variety XM provides. UK-based A Silent Film have been getting loads of exposure on satellite’s Alt-Nation station which has their song “Danny, Dakota & The Wishing Well” in heavy rotation.

The band had a late-afternoon slot at the Bunbury Music Festival on July 14 where they played to a thousand or so fans who – much to my surprise – seemed to be intimately familiar with the band’s Coldplay-meets-The-Killers-sounding songs. Later that afternoon, while waiting for Grouplove to perform, I spied A Silent Film’s lead singer Robert Stevenson sitting by his lonesome so I approached him and asked if he – or anybody from the band – would be willing to answer a few questions from our now-expert 11-year-old reporters, Olivia and Connie. He gave me drummer Spencer Walker’s cell phone number and said, “Give Spencer a call or text and he’ll work out all the details.”

The following afternoon we hooked up with Spencer who informed us he was the only member of the band at the park at the time but, “The drummer’s always the best person to interview because we have so many interesting things to say!”


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