Free NKY Area Concerts

[B-Ball-fan]

I'm a little late in submitting reviews for two awesome free Fountain Square shows that I attended on Wednesday and Saturday night, but better late than never.

 

Wednesday night is Reggae night on Fountain Square, and with the weather absolutely perfect this one was massively attended to enjoy the happy peaceful jammin' sounds of the Jamaican group "The Talking Dreads" who wonderfully mixed traditional Reggae tunes with Reggae versions of Talking Heads songs.

 

Comprised of both men and woman musicians and singers from Jamaica... 7 in total... and also including a female Japanese keyboardist, The Taking Dreads is fronted by the dreadlocked awesome vocals of a male singer who goes by the stage name of Mystic Bowie.

 

With the perpetual thick scent of ganja in the air, the huge happy dancing crowd made certain that Fountain Squre was the place to be even thought the other "Party on the Purple" was going on at the very same time on the same evening.

 

While I pondered which event to attend, the infectious joy being had at this one made me know that I had made the right decision.

 

These nightly concerts on Fountain Square are becoming more and more popular so much that the attendance is becoming mind blowing.

 

 

Which brings me to Saturday night, where though the style of music was much much different, the drunkened jamming rockin' joy was no less in full effect.

 

As a pre-Riverfest Party, WEBN welcomed to town the spot-on rockin' sound of the Ultimate AC/DC tribute band "Thunderstruck" who rocked the stage to a massive drunk crowd of 20 somethings to 50 somethings playing 3 hours worth of AC/DC tunes from both the Bon Scott era as well as the Brian Johnson era fronted by a lead singer who looked and sounded like both, with a young guitarist from Rhode Island doing his best Angus Young impersonation.

 

No body in attendance cared one bit that they weren't the real band as they kept the hot tunes coming one after another creating a sensation of truly being at a real AC/DC show. The heavy riffs, the familiar screams of the vocals, and the thunder of the drums pounded out with accuracy everyone's favorite AC/DC songs where the crowd sang along knowing every word while collectively getting more drunk by the minute so much that only a few people even noticed that I was wearing my black AD/HD shirt.

 

Even when you thought the band couldn't expire any more energy they came back to the stage to jam out 3 more songs threatening to play all night, and powerfully ended the show with the cannon shooting sounds of "For Those About To Rock".

 

After the show the band jumped into a photo booth so the crowd could snap photos of them, and no one noticed that I crashed the photo session jumping in the booth right up front with forked fingers rocking my black AD/HD shirt. I would have just loved to see the looks on everyone's faces when they sobered up by morning and looked at their pictures from the concert and wondered who the hell was the guy with that shirt!!! LOL!!!

 

[B-Ball-fan]

So this dude Durnad Jones and his band The Indications from Bloomington, IN played a free show tonight at MOTR on Main in OTR downtown Cincy, and because I was asleep at the wheel, and didn't think to check to see who was in town that might be worthy of checking out, I missed what was probably a pretty decent sounding live free club show. :banghead:

 

[B-Ball-fan]

Anyone needing a KISS fix needs to get to Fountain Square this Saturday night, Aug 26th to catch the ultimate KISS tribute band Strutter.

 

[B-Ball-fan]

Fountain Square's nighty free summer concerts is a gift that just keeps giving, and and if this great weather summer hadn't already proved enough in providing great jammin' shows night after night, the city outdid themselves by inviting the veteran KISS tribute band Strutter to town Saturday night to blow downtown Cincinnati up!

 

This was the real deal people with Strutter paying close attention to every last detail necessary to brilliantly give the illusion of being at a real and explosive KISS show.

 

With the stage stacked with shiny silver amplifiers on both sides 18 in all, and the drum kit set high up on a riser, and the whole band head to toe in complete authentic KISS wear with no stone left unturned they rocked the square to perfection all of the band's party rockin' anthems for nearly 3 hours that had the audience on their feet pumpin' their fists and singing along.

 

Every nuance of every band member was emulated so well that it would've made the real members proud.

 

Late in the performance after wooing the crowd with such a dead-on dynamic performance even drummer Peter Criss alone took center stage to sing the crowd pleaser ballad "Beth" to heart tugging perfection, mannerisms and all to teasing his fingers through his hair and moving his head exactly just like the real Peter Criss.

 

While watching the band and observing the crowd, I thought that I was seeing double when I noticed a man in the audience in a black hipster sports jacket w/ jeans, jet black hair and shades looking exactly like the real Gene Simmons. I'm still not even certain, but he looked so believable that it had me thinking that it was indeed him, and for their final number Paul Stanley said that we would like to invite a special member of the audience tonight to join them on stage for their last number, and sure enough, up jumps who I'm guessing was indeed Gene Simmons to sing with the band "I Wanna Rock N' Roll All Night", and by the dead-on vocals and appearance it was either him, or a serious look-a-like. :idunno:

 

Each year the shows on the square are becoming more and more incredible, and massively attended that it's become a no-brainer for the city to just keep bringing it, and that's such a reward to the whole town who can regularly look forward to keeping their summer nights filled with great live performances and downright fun. Even on work nights shows are completed early enough to get home and get to sleep, and wake energized with music in your soul ready to face the day's work.

 

Who needs to wait for the weekend when you're guaranteed great music night after night throughout the summer on the Square? Great job Cincinnati in putting your name on the map as being a true party rockin' town.

 

[B-Ball-fan]

Devougrass - Saturday October 7

 

Noon-Dusk @ the historical Bandshell in beautiful Devou Park, Covington, Ky

 

 

-Whiskey Bent Valley Boys

 

-My Brother's Keeper

 

-Vernon McIntyre's Appalachian Grass

 

-Hickory Robot

 

 

Banjos for Better Futures

 

Music

Edited September 25, 2017 by B-Ball-fan