"The eight instrumentals that make up Ampline's debut disc The Choir have more in common with Mission Of Burma than the standard amorphous post-rock. The Cincinnati group plays passages of complex, chiming beauty, but most of its songs begin and end in a compressed rush so intense that it's easy to forget the lack of vocals..." - The Onion
"Ampline's guitar isn't droning for the sake of holding up the entire song, the way Emo bands typically do...the drums could be a band unto themselves, as the bass rolls along tactfully, never going Flea-like on the listener." - 2Walls
This whole-house event boasts a MASSIVE lineup of (some of) the best and (almost) brightest in the punk / hardcore and instrumental map-making scenes, digging up a few acoustic pals along the way, as if the range of dynamics shaking through the house's walls needed to be any more pronounced... don't miss it.

Stop by for our all-day Riverfest celebration... One cover gets you on the lawn, in the Lounge and the Parlour, too! We'll have plenty of cold drinks and hot food on the grill all afternoon. Rockabilly residents Straw Boss chaperone the shebang in the Lounge, while Americana outfit Duke Jr. & Smokey Boots and roots-rocksteady vintage ska crew Duppy A Jamba play to a vibrant Parlour crowd. Outside, we'll have special acoustic sets by Margaret Darling and lots of other special guests. We'll all meet on the front lawn for the fireworks, then get back into party mode to close out the night. Get here early!

Get your guitar and drink with us! Voted "Best Open Mic" by the readers of CityBeat two years in a row, our Songwriter Showcase and Open Mic is always a real hoot, and it's hosted every Monday by some of the nicest songwriters in the area. We welcome everyone - folk singers, comedians, poets and marimba players - to join our open mic family. Sign up begins at 9pm, and we'll keep it rolling until around 2am. This long-running event is a great place to catch new talent, spit-polish a couple new tunes, or even see a few surprises (you never know who's gonna show up)!

2009 Winner, BEST COMEDY SHOW by Cincinnati Magazine! Underbelly is a wild and unpredictable event featuring the area’s best stand-up comedians as they perform improv, sketches, original characters, poetry, music and dance – everything except stand-up comedy. Always original, undeniably unique, Underbelly is the strangest comedy show in town. Gather about 15 up-and-coming local comedians in a room, turn on the microphone, and see what happens. Not to be missed!

DJ Swirl keeps a huge songbook handy, so whether you're looking for that karaoke classic, or an obscure gem that'll blow everyone's mind, he'll dial it up in seconds. Metromix calls DJ Swirl a "fantastic karaoke guru," and it's even been voted a top karaoke spot by the readers of CityBeat. Karaoke Vocal Social in Juney's Lounge at the historic Southgate House... you've just gotta be here!

Zach Burns is a sweaty grizzly bear who mangles guitar strings like he’s hungry for the ghost flesh of Robert Johnson and Jack White’s heavenly love child... As that wet electric sweat hits the floor of the Down Under basement bricks, it also bounces, accordingly to the beats of the damned drums of Marshall Bertram’s haunting background... This wicked combination of gritty heart-felt blues-‐rock made me question both my relationship with god AND the devil... ’they got telephone books full of books of matches’... They will let you know how we keep starting fires. - Brett Schulte

Dayton's post-hardcore emo-pop outfit Hawthorne Heights saw early releases for Victory Records (a label they'd soon leave after a protracted legal battle) applauded the group with gold releases and packed arena tours; following a lineup change, the group soldiers on and will return here with classics and plenty of material from their latest release, "Skeletons."
* This is the re-scheduled date from the 7/24 show that was postponed. All tickets purchased for the 7/24 show will be honored at this show!

In their own words: "We're a progressive bluegrass band. We have a lot of different influences, from folk to rock to blues to jazz, etc. We're not worried about replicating 'traditional' bluegrass or folk music. Though we use 'bluegrass' instruments, we might not use the in a 'bluegrass' fashion. So like everyone else, we sound like ourselves and our influences at the same time."

Andre "Mr. Rhythm" Williams is a R&B legend, and you may not even know it. He wrote "Shake A Tail Feather," and sang such uber-raunch cult classics as "Bacon Fat" (covered by the Cramps), "Greasy Chicken," and the epitome of songs about little girls, "Jail Bait." He worked at seminal labels such as Motown, Chess, and Fortune. He wrote songs for, or produced folks Ike Turner, Parliament/Funkadelic, Edwin Starr and Stevie Wonder. The guy is like music's version of Zelig; he's been everywhere, man. Yeah, baby. After a few hard years in... er... retirement, he stormed back in the late 90's with a record of smutty garage punk called Silky recorded with members of the Demolition Doll Rods and the Dirt-Bombs. Since then he has recorded with the Sadies, Jon Spencer, Two-Star Tabernacle (which included a very young Jack White) and many others. His resurgence of popularity (and notoriety) continues as he tours the world. An insider tipped me off to The Goldstars, veterans of the Chicago rock and roll scene who apparently got together as friends to simply play the music they loved. What brought them together was a mutual affection for the golden age of primitive rock n’ roll as they worshiped the holy trinity of the Farfisa organ, the fuzzed-out guitar, and the wailing voices of American kids trying to sound like British kids trying to sound black.

Nashville's Matt Urmy has a raspy-soul voice for his country/folk compositions, and we think if you like Tom Waits' early years, you'll especially dig this. The Nashville Scene sez he's "blessed with a tuneful, Knopfler-esque baritone" and that his tunes "recall the groovin’ country soul of The Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers or the thoughtful folk of John Prine."

On September 3rd, 2010 seven local bands and DJ Empirical are donating their time and talents to a benefit show that is raising money to assist in the clean-up of the Gulf Coast region since the B.P. oil spill occurred. ALL proceeds are being donated to The United Way of Greater Cincinnati to aid their parent offices clean-up efforts.

The locals serve up plenty of spacey jazz-inspired rock and psych trips, and the out of towner, Battlehooch... well, read this: “probably the wildest and weirdest outfit in San Francisco right now has got to be Battlehooch - a hyperactive brotherhood of Captain Beefheart fanatics who peddle crazy party-prog that few can comprehend but everyone wants to dance to (irrespective of how completely impossible it may be). Fearlessly experimental, boundlessly energetic and when they end their sets by ripping through an insane cover of James Brown’s “Superbad” you can’t help but wonder what the weather’s like on their planet.” — NME Magazine (UK)

Hailing from the cave-ridden region of western Kentucky, The Lost River Cavemen have spent the last four years playing Rock and Roll on Bluegrass instruments. Always the innovators, The Lost River Cavemen dig up Roots music and shower it with a modern seasoning that will leave your palate tingling. Artfully taking parts of Folk-Rock, Americana, and Country (among others), The Cavemen spin their music into a truly original aural presentation that is easily accessible to everyone from college kids to grandmas. Their influences include masters of the trade such as Leonard Cohen, Johnny Cash, Glenn Danzig, and the Hank Williams lineage.

Featuring work by Ran Barnaclo, Derek Toebbe, Aaron Oliver Wood, Doug Korfhagen, Ryan Little, Ali Calis, and Michelle Eikenbary Calis.