So, I know you probably read CityBeat exclusively and religiously, but it is kind of cool when Cincinnati pops up in national news for fun reasons. Lately, our grub and attractions have been name-dropped by some major outlets. Food and Wine mentioned Eli's BBQ as one of their "Best BBQ Pit...

Megadeth can be considered one of today's legendary bands, not just in Metal, but in all of music. They are synonymous with a time period, moments in the lives of so many of their fans. They may have a different look than when the band was formed in 1983 but they are one of the founding fathers...

Tonight, the Venue Formerly Known As The Southgate House hosts its first big show. The Thompson House — as it's now called after a family dispute went to court and resulted in the longtime operators getting the boot and the owners of faux-strip club the Brass Ass taking over — opens its doors...

When Shirley Temple sang about the “Good Ship Lollipop,” she probably wasn’t envisioning a booze cruise of drag queens (though, you know what they say about the crazy lives of child stars). Tonight, CNKY Scene and BB Riverboats present Big Ship Lollipop, a sweet late-night cruise for the...

Though today he is known as one of the strangest characters on "celebreality" TV, Gary Busey was once thought to have the potential to be one of the greatest actors of his generation. On this date in 1978, The Buddy Holly Story — featuring Busey in the title role — premiered. The film covered...

If I were you, I’d to my best to catch a performance of Titanic: The Musical before it closes on Saturday at the Aronoff Center’s Jarson-Kaplan Theater. The show puts you in the midst of dozens of characters as they board the ship, overflowing with great expectations — of success,...

The Afghan Whigs have unveiled their first new recording in five years, an acoustic-based cover of "See and Don't See," original recorded in 1970 by Soul singer Marie Queenie Lyons. The song premiered this morning on Rolling Stone's website. At noon today, the song will be available for free at...

After 18 months in the courts, Democrat Tracie Hunter has won a Hamilton County Juvenile Court judgeship, but a GOP challenge to the court's acceptance of Hunter's challenge is likely to follow. Republican John Williams led hunter by 23 votes on election night 2010, but Hunter filed a lawsuit...

If I were you, I’d to my best to catch a performance of Titanic: The Musical before it closes on Saturday at the Aronoff Center’s Jarson-Kaplan Theater. The show puts you in the midst of dozens of characters as they board the ship, overflowing with great expectations — of success,...

I was at the Tuesday night opening of a one-week run of the tour of the 25th anniversary production of Les Misérables. You might be saying, “I’ve seen that before — more than once.” But this is a new version — no more turntable or pirouetting barricades. Now we have some...

If this week’s theater offerings sound familiar, it’s because we’ve seen some of these shows (or their inspirations). The best choice, for my money, is Keith Glover’s Thunder Knocking on the Door at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, a revival of sorts from 1999 — but...

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, sporting a slightly abbreviated name and a half-painted façade, today announced most of its 2012-2013 season. As usual at ETC, it’s a work in progress: That how things are when you’re on the cutting edge of contemporary theater. But Artistic Director D....

Cincinnati Playhouse just opened Thunder Knocking on the Door, a show it staged in 1999 and sold a boatload of tickets — the most for any musical it’s presented in the past two decades! I was there on Thursday night for the opening, and this is a drop-dead gorgeous production —...

In case you haven’t been paying attention, the Carnegie Center in Covington has been producing some ambitious theater and following a course that others haven’t tried: It’s called collaboration. Joshua Steele, the managing director of theater for the arts center in a one-time Carnegie...

I was at UC’s College-Conservatory of Music last evening to see this weekend’s production of Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia. I love this densely intellectual script that’s awash in math and physics theory as well as conflicting perspectives deriving from the Romantic movement and the Age...

Know Theatre has announced the 2012 Cincinnati Fringe Festival, kicking off May 29 and continuing through June 9. Festivities begin with the official CityBeat Fringe Kick-Off Party on May 29 at 6 p.m. (A suggested donation of $5 gets you in.) During the Festivals’ two-week run, 29...

Napoleon Ridge Farm is hosting “Dinner on the Farm” on Friday, June 1 at their farm in Gallatin County. The fundraising dinner is part of this year’s Farmers’ Fair: Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food series. The event will raise funds for Community Farm Alliance, a 26-year-old nonprofit...

The "Best of Taste" awards — a precursor to the Taste of Cincinnati food fest later this month — were doled out today. Eighty dishes from 30 restaurants were served to judges — "celebrities, foodies and the epicurious" — and they awarded the Crab and Shrimp Dumpling with Noodle from Arloi...

Cincinnati has a rich brewing history, plain and simple. And if you haven’t been living in a hole for the past couple of years you know that. So it should be of no surprise that someone would take a piece of that history back home with them. That’s exactly what 25-year-old Daytonite and...

It’s almost here, Cincinnatians — Opening Day 2012 takes place Thursday. The beginning of the Reds’ season is one of several cultural celebrations that the Queen City does bigger than most other places (is it really possible that another city gets down like our triumvirate of Opening...

Congratulations to Chef Daniel Wright of Senate and Abigail Street! Wright won Food & Wine’s People’s Choice competition for Great Lakes Region’s Best New Chef. Wright’s work is wowing locals and filling his two hip Over-the-Rhine eateries out the door with eager diners. Nice to...

Food & Wine magazine has named two of Cincinnati’s finest young chefs as runners-up for the title of "Most Talented New Chef in America." Daniel Wright of Senate (and Abigail Street) and José Salazar of The Palace are both outstanding, talented chefs who do Cincinnati proud and can truly...

The grilled cheese-n-tomato soup gods at Tom + Chee are no strangers to the spotlight. Since its inception in 2009 as a food tent on Fountain Square, the comfort food joint has gone on to expand to two permanent locations and has been featured on Man vs. Food Nation and Amazing Eats. They even...

My mom always told me that nothing gets a man’s heart like good cooking. After two sticks of butter, one quart of heavy cream and a half-gallon of milk, my date might have thought I was trying to clog his arteries rather than “steal his heart.” Instead, we discovered each other’s love for...

Megadeth can be considered one of today's legendary bands, not just in Metal, but in all of music. They are synonymous with a time period, moments in the lives of so many of their fans. They may have a different look than when the band was formed in 1983 but they are one of the founding fathers...

Tonight, the Venue Formerly Known As The Southgate House hosts its first big show. The Thompson House — as it's now called after a family dispute went to court and resulted in the longtime operators getting the boot and the owners of faux-strip club the Brass Ass taking over — opens its doors...

Though today he is known as one of the strangest characters on "celebreality" TV, Gary Busey was once thought to have the potential to be one of the greatest actors of his generation. On this date in 1978, The Buddy Holly Story — featuring Busey in the title role — premiered. The film covered...

The Afghan Whigs have unveiled their first new recording in five years, an acoustic-based cover of "See and Don't See," original recorded in 1970 by Soul singer Marie Queenie Lyons. The song premiered this morning on Rolling Stone's website. At noon today, the song will be available for free at...

Black Stone Cherry is a Kentucky-based band that combines its Southern roots with hints of Metal. Last time we spoke with the band, BSC had just released its third studio album, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, which the group continues to tour behind this summer. BSC have been featured...

Australian Pop/Rock band Men At Work hit me — and many other music fans around the world — at just the right time. I was 12 when the single “Who Can It Be Now?” exploded onto the charts. I was intrigued by the group’s quirkiness, but it was singer/guitarist Colin Hay’s voice that...

If you're feeling a little adventurous this weekend, there are a pair of great music festivals in the region this that are less than a three hour-drive from Cincinnati. (Stay tuned for continuing previews of the Rock on the Range Hard Rock/Metal fest in Columbus this weekend, for those who like...

Today is the 46th anniversary of one of the most memorable "heckles" in entertainment history. And the response was pretty classic, too.In July of 1965, Bob Dylan shocked the audience at the Newport Folk Festival (where he was virtually a god after performing the previous two years) by performing...

After 18 months in the courts, Democrat Tracie Hunter has won a Hamilton County Juvenile Court judgeship, but a GOP challenge to the court's acceptance of Hunter's challenge is likely to follow. Republican John Williams led hunter by 23 votes on election night 2010, but Hunter filed a lawsuit...

Pit bulls can legally put their paws on Cincinnati ground today for the first time in nine years. After a long, arduous battle for dog lovers and Cincinnati animal welfare advocates, success has arrived. Today, Cincinnati City Council voted 8-1 to officially repeal the breed-specific language in...

In a move that is now being contested by Democrats, Republicans have pushed for a pilot program to make drug testing a requirement for welfare recipients. The program will be active in three counties for two years. It would require anyone suspected of using drugs to submit to and pay for a...

Planned Parenthood advocates and supporters packed a hearing room in Columbus this morning to demonstrate opposition against controversial House Bill 298, a measure that, if passed, would put family planning clinics such as Planned Parenthood at the back of the line for state funding, instead...

The ongoing saga involving Cincinnati Police Chief James Craig and his nonexistent policing powers will continue into July, as a hearing scheduled for Thursday has been continued. Craig's attorneys will argue in front of the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission that his prior experience, and...

From the edge of the Ohio River at blooming Smale Riverfront Park to the buzz at Fountain Square to gush in the Gateway Quarter, it feels like something is happening in downtown Cincinnati. It feels different. Something is different: According to the findings of the "2011 State of Downtown...

The private group hoping to purchase Music Hall for $1 is now asking for $10 million in city contributions to its effort to update the historic building, double the initial $5 million it asked for. The Music Hall Revitalization Co. says failing to strike a deal before June 1 will jeopardize...

Bike to Work Week today kicked off its series of morning commuter stations offering free coffee and treats all week long in an effort to encourage residents to try cycling to work, meet fellow cyclists and learn about bike advocacy. The city was scheduled to announce an award for its Bike Program...

The Reds are on a roll. They haven’t lost any of their last six series — discount the two-game series against Chicago. Despite all the successes the Reds have had there are still some things that need to be addressed.Numero uno: When is Mike Leake going to get off that fat goose egg in the...

No matter how many times Pete Rose makes an appearance at a casino, it still just screams, "INAPPROPRIATE!" in light of his place in baseball history (the bad stuff, not the greatness). Guess a guy's gotta make a living somehow. Next weekend you can once again hang with the Hit King and play the...

Maybe what Joey Votto said after the Reds' latest victory rings true: “I think a losing record early in the year can be a good thing."The Reds have reeled off three straight series wins and a fourth is not out of the question as the last-place Cubs come to the Queen City. Votto ended a...

With all the talent the Reds have on their roster the bats just aren’t blazing like we all suspected they would. The Reds rank 27th or lower in four major offensive categories, including runs scored — a woeful 31 runs in 10 games. Luckily for the Reds, outside their current opponent — St....

When Jose Canseco last month offered his sincere concern over the world’s energy consumption and various global warming issues that have resulted, we at CityBeat were quick to report such thoughtful commentary. In a story titled “Ranking Jose Canseco’s Global Warming Tweets” we provided...

Anyone who misses the days of Eric “The Helicopter” Hicks jamming on people’s heads for the University of Cincinnati basketball team will have a chance to see Hicks suit up for another local team later this month, but this time he’ll be playing football. Hicks signed a one-day contract...

With Opening Day fast approaching, you now have 225 million reasons to go watch the Reds this year. Bob Castellini opened up the checkbook and Walt Jocketty busted out his best persuasive vocabulary and Joey Votto accepted; to the tune of a 10-year, $225 million contract extension — the fourth...

Former Major League Baseball player Jose Canseco doesn’t have the best image. After breaking into the majors as a super fast, freaky power hitter with the Oakland A’s and winning a World Series with his fellow Bash Brother/performance-enhancing-drug-user Mark McGwire, Canseco’s career and...

So, I know you probably read CityBeat exclusively and religiously, but it is kind of cool when Cincinnati pops up in national news for fun reasons. Lately, our grub and attractions have been name-dropped by some major outlets. Food and Wine mentioned Eli's BBQ as one of their "Best BBQ Pit...

When Shirley Temple sang about the “Good Ship Lollipop,” she probably wasn’t envisioning a booze cruise of drag queens (though, you know what they say about the crazy lives of child stars). Tonight, CNKY Scene and BB Riverboats present Big Ship Lollipop, a sweet late-night cruise for the...

GOOD Ideas for Cities is an opportunity for problem-solvers to tackle some of their cities’ greatest urban challenges. GOOD has an excellent magazine, but the company is also a collective of innovative individuals, nonprofits and other organizations united to push the world in a positive...

Ricky, Julian and Bubbles, better known as the Trailer Park Boys, come to Madison Theater tonight. The Canadian mockumentary-style comedy series makes a fun transition to stage with the “Community Service Variety Show.” If last year’s live show was any indication, expect more skits,...

On this first day of Bike to Work Week, Park + Vine and Queen City Bike want to reward all those who swapped their cars for two wheels with a kombucha keg party tonight. Fab Ferments’ brew will be tapped at 4:30 and the fermented goodness will be served 'til 6 p.m. alongside tasty vegan snacks....

Experience the rich tradition of mountain culture, music, craftsmanship and food this weekend at the 43rd annual Appalachian Festival at Coney Island. Bluegrass music fills the air as visitors enjoy dancing and storytelling, taste classic country fare and browse hand-crafted gifts, jewelry,...

I'll admit I'm obsessed with This American Life. I listen to archived shows like most people listen to Rhapsody. I've seen every episode of Showtime's TV version. I have a bit of a crush on Ira Glass. For anyone else who's laughed and cried over a story or reached a destination only to sit in the...

Stop by Fountain Square today to celebrate Museum Day, an event that brings the area’s best art and history museums and attractions to one spot. Get information about your favorite museums and historical sites and discover attractions you didn’t know Cincinnati had to offer. Participants...