Cover Story
Cards let their stats do the talking
It’s that time of year — the season after the thoroughbreds of the Kentucky Derby have run their races and the nation’s eyes descend upon the Commonwealth of Kentucky once again. It is said time and time again that Kentucky is known for its fast horses and its beautiful women, but Kentucky is also known,…
The six best local songs of December
Lydia Burrell – “X-Mas Morning” There is a quiet calm imbued in every note in “X-Mas Morning,” the most recent single to drop from the indie pop wizards in Lydia Burrell. The band, stripped down to the barest of necessities, offers a nuanced and beautiful standard that somehow generates a tension, while simultaneously seducing the…
LEO Podcast #18: Andrew Rinehart
Musician Andrew Rinehart stopped by the LEO office to talk about his new album, moving back to Louisville and more.
The season of magical thinking: Big Blue Nation and the ambiguous ghost of Christmas present
Christmas asks us to believe in magic. Children are told to behave in order to bribe a benevolent, magical home invader. Presidential candidates ask us to believe that national security can be solved by finding the proper balance between folksiness and racism. Governor Bevin not only believes in the magic of the Christmas story, but he…
What to do and where to go on New Year’s Eve in Louisville
BARS & CLUBS 3rd Turn Brewing 10408 Watterson Trail, 482-3373, 3rdturnbrewing.com NYE party with a selection of brews, cocktails and specialty drinks. $40-$300; 7 p.m. 8UP 350 W. Chestnut St., 631-4180 8uplouisville.com Live music by local DJs with party favors, a balloon drop and champagne toasts at midnight. $10; 7 p.m. Against The Grain Brewery…
On the way back home: ?A conversation with David Grubbs
Regardless of where he calls home, David Grubbs is a part of the fabric of the rich musical tapestry of this city. After his tenure in the seminal Louisville band Squirrel Bait, Grubbs went on to form the mighty Bastro, which developed into the broken indie pop duo Gastr Del Sol. Now performing solo, Grubbs’…
b-sides: Terry Adams/NRBQ
From NRBQ’s self-titled debut in 1969 to founding member Terry Adams’ new release with them — “Talk Thelonious” — thematic divergence has been, paradoxically, a unifying thread. NRBQ’s opening one-two punch of Eddie Cochran’s “C’mon Everybody,” followed by Sun Ra’s “Rocket Number Nine” establishes a no-holds-barred template. Adams’ tribute to jazz legend Thelonious Monk simply…
Local musicians battle Beck vs. Timberlake for charity
If you’re looking for a dance party with an interesting concept that supports a good cause, swing by Headliners Music Hall for Where It’s At. A benefit for Strive, a non-profit arts and wellness organization, the concert puts a twist on the battle of the bands format. Featuring some of Louisville’s finest musicians — Peter…
The Mess – Holding on to a Lifeless Life
(self-released) I woke up the other morning thinking about a song by Shakespeare’s Sister, a mid-’80s band with a flair for the dramatic and more than a little gothic panache. It seems that was a premonition, as I found myself drawn to the neo-goth punk of The Mess the next day, a local act who…
Axel Roley – Winter in Louisville II
(self-released) In Axel Roley’s hands, it’s an all too laid back affair that ignores the biting winds and low temperatures, but loses none of the chill. There is an undeniable Madlib or J Dilla vibe to the music, which is as welcome as ever. The sample base is heavily influenced by jazz and R&B and…
Les Disinfectantes – Endless Pleasure
(self-released) What an unexpected — and hopefully endless — pleasure it was to discover a release by erstwhile guitarist Adam Rains, who has remained largely absent since the awesome fuzzed-out grunge of Prideswallower. Operating currently as Les Disinfectantes, Rains has complete control over his instrument. The guitar work at play is similar to My Bloody…
Andrew Rinehart – Nothing / Everything
(Buddyhead / Rinehart Media) With an art-rock-meets-singer-songwriter-folk sound, which seems to be the result of years of exploring different genres, and then being able to settle in to something that’s comfortable and unique and always changing, Andrew Rinehart’s “Nothing / Everything” captures a series of jumbled narratives and feelings and molds them into a very…
Plugged In
Wed Dec 23 8UP: High Sounds with DJ Matt Anthony; 7:30 p.m. Baxter’s 942: Full Contact Karaoke; 10 p.m. Bearno’s (Highlands): Ryan Conroy; 8 p.m. Bistro 42: Soul Circus Brooke & Billy’s: Tyrone Cotton; 6 p.m. Brownies The Shed (Highlands): Karaoke with French Kiss Prod.; 8 p.m. Brownies The Shed (Hurstbourne): Karaoke with French Kiss…
Favorites of 2015 (part two)
I was looking back at some of my top tens from previous years and was surprised at how many of those albums I rarely got around to listening to again. I don’t love them any less, and a large part of it is that my job keeps me always listening to new music, but some of…
Smoked Apple’s ‘6’10’ Showcase ?and the debate over diversity in theater
The University of Louisville’s African-American Theatre program is more than 20 years old. For more than a decade, from 1997-2010, the Juneteenth Legacy Theatre Company (founded by former UofL professor Lorna Littleway and Kristi Papailler, now on the theater faculty at Georgia College) was a powerful and artistically successful company dedicated to African-American theater. In…
Hometown show at ?Laughing Derby
Keith McGill is a smart, clever and well-respected comedian who calls Louisville home. He travels the highways and byways of America, club after club, making audiences all across the country laugh with his slanted view of the world. McGill sat down for a chat with LEO before his upcoming performance at The Laughing Derby that…
FoodPort is risky, revolutionary and necessary
The original concept of the West Louisville FoodPort was not the dynamic infrastructure it’s planned to be now. Originally, developers described it as a food hub, like many other food hubs that already exist across the country. A traditional food hub functions as an independent entity, simply aggregating and distributing food. Unlike a hub, the…
Having standards
I applied for a job this week. I’m out of work right now, and things are getting pretty lean. I decided to swallow my pride and see about working at a corporate place, a place I knew would have job security and union protection and proximity to home and predictable hours to trade for a…
Organic hot dog, ?evil hot dog
Growing up in the 1970s and ’80s, families were far more concerned about ease and convenience than about organic meals. For instance, while I eschewed vegetables, the ones my parents did manage to force down my throat generally came from a vacuum-sealed can purchased at the disgustingly dirty Greyhound Market in Clarksville. And the number…
Moving on
I started this year with dancing, pop streamers, my toddler and my husband. We decided after the tense beginning of 2014 to make the beginning of 2015 something special. Now a year later, we are again looking forward to the next and hoping to end this one with some positive energy. Getting to this place,…
A year of swagger and violence
Among the hilarious tunes in the songbook of comedian Steve Martin, who is often accused of being my twin, is a misleadingly pretty ditty that begins, “Oh, death and grief and sorrow and murder.” It epitomizes the dissonance between two of the United States’ supreme distinctions: violence and entertainment. It was a very good year…
The nightmare after Christmas
Dear Santa, I haven’t asked you for anything in a long, long time, pretty sure it was 1990. I was 7, and it had something to do with Micro Machines. After a few years of naughtiness, I decided it wasn’t worth wasting your time with my requests. Then came the teen years, and I was…
Your Voice
On “Enough: What’s fueling the city’s gun violence epidemic” Read it. Bookmark it. Read it again. —Nancy Stephen, Dec. 17 On “Enough: What’s fueling the city’s gun violence epidemic” Thank you for addressing the issue and helping to show a different perspective. —Chea K. Woolfolk Radio Personality at Truth Network, Dec. 17 On “Louisville graffiti…
