You know when you discover something new, like a word or band, and suddenly, they're everywhere? Well, if you've recently started following comedian Geoff Tate, you're probably having a similar experience. Dude is popping up left and right.Two weeks ago, the Cincinnati native appeared on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson after the host saw his stand-up in Wichita, Kan. Tate's five-minute set definitely brought the laughs. Check it out:Hearing Craig Ferguson say "MOTR Pub" on television did kind of make me squeal.Tate is back in Cincy this week to record a CD/DVD at MOTR tonight through Wednesday. Comedy starts at 8 p.m. each night and admission is just $5. Have a couple laughs (and beers) and support this up-and-comer. Find details here.Keystone Bar & Grill nabbed a Best of Cincinnati staff pick for "Best Comfort Food All Jazzed Up," and tonight is a perfect opportunity to check it out for yourself. Famous for their killer macaroni and cheese, Keystone has locations in Covington and Hyde Park. Their twists on the homestyle classic include the Fleetwood Mac (fresh mozzarella, pesto and tomatoes) and The B.B. King (grilled barbecue chicken and bacon). Best of all, mac-n-cheese is half-price on Mondays.Speaking of staff favorites, downtown dive bar Knockback Nat's also made this year's list as the "Best Place to get Smoked Out." OK, get your mind out of the head shop — we're talking about Knockback's delicious smoked wings. Knockback Nat's transcends typical bar food with these meaty wings they smoke outside behind the bar. On Mondays they're just 50 cents a pop, so enjoy the smoky goodness and wash it all down with a cold brewski.Find art exhibits and other daily events on our To Do list and check out music blog for tonight's live shows.

Nashville Indie Roots band The Winter Sounds performs a free show tonight at MOTR Pub in Over-the-Rhine. The band matches beats and synths with a more organic, rootsy base that somehow successfully marries romantic, lush ’80s Pop and contemporary Indie Rock and Folk for a distinctly exquisite and evocative sound. The Nashville Scene sez the band churns out a "well-coalesced mixtape of Indie Rock’s finer moments from the past 10 years, resulting in a familiarly anthemic wall of guitars, electronics, strings and melancholy melodies that all add up to a no-brainer for critical acclaim.” Great sassy local Indie Pop/Rock band Automagik opens things up around 10 p.m. tonight. (Give the band's self-titled nine-track release a listen here.) Here's a couple of videos from The Winter Sounds — a version of their song "Carousel" and a cover of a-ha's ’80s smash "Take On Me" (which was also covered to great acclaim by Cincinnati's own Shiny and the Spoon; check it here).

Read More

One year ago today, the home of Shannon DeBra, founder of the all-foster rescue Recycled Doggies, caught on fire. Thirteen dogs and one cat died as a result, and Recycled Doggies faced a tremendous setback. Tonight, on the tragedy's anniversary, animal lovers everywhere are invited to attend a benefit, give what you can and support the organization and all its foster families and volunteers. Head over to Star Lanes at the Levee for a silent auction, raffles, happy hour specials and, of course, plenty of bowling fun. Go here to RSVP to the event, which runs from 5:30-8:30 p.m.CANstruction kicked off today, with teams building artistic creations made entirely out of canned goods. Stop by the Weston Gallery to see their progress and drop off canned goods of your own. All donations, and all cans used to build the artwork, will go to the Freestore Foodbank. Crazy! Cool. No, I'm not talking about TLC's 1994 album, I'm talkin' 'bout West Side Story. The Bernstein and Sondheim hit is alive and well 55 years after its debut on Broadway. The Jets and Sharks put any Crosstown Shootout rivalries to shame, and in this revived version, audiences can expect a grittier tale with more Hispanic influence. The classic runs at the Aronoff Center through March 11. Find details here.Every Tuesday is Writer's Night at MOTR Pub. Songwriters, poets, spoken word artists — anyone with original work is welcome to share. Sign ups open at 8:30 p.m. and $40 goes to a special winner each week. Lucas of The Dukes Are Dead hosts. Enjoy a beer, a BLT and great company.Honey in Northside offers a $10 comfort food menu every Tuesday. Choose from homestyle favorites like fish and chips, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, chicken stew with dumplings and more. It's a great chance to try the local spot if you've never been and you're on a budget. Peep our full review of Honey here.Check out our To Do page for tons of recommended art shows open today.

It's a slow night if you're looking for some touring acts to check out — in other words, typical Monday — but there are still a handful of local artists performing tonight. If you're a musician, there are some open jams (Blues jam with Sonny Moorman at Anderson Bar & Grill and Jazz jam with the Sandy Suskind Quartet at the Blue Wisp) and open mics (with host Pete DeNuzio at Knotty Pine and Bob Cushing's acoustic open mic at Shady O'Grady's). If you'd rather just watch and listen, great local Rock trio Sparrow Bellows plays the last night of its every-Monday "House Band" residency at Over-the-Rhine's MOTR Pub. The group — which features ace musicians Sammy Wulfeck (Goose, ex-Stapletons), Brian Kitzmiller (Black Owls, Trojan Rabbit) and guitar wiz Ric Hickey (solo, Telegram Sam, Speed Hickeys) — announced on its Facebook page this morning that its 9 p.m. MOTR performance tonight will be its "last multi-set show for a long time to come," so Bellows superfans take note. The show is a freebie, as always at MOTR. Click on for Sparrow Bellows' track "Thousand Recurring Signs" to get you in the mood.

Read More

Music Tonight: Young quartet Bua (say: "boo-ahh") brings their acclaimed traditional Irish music to the Irish Heritage Center of Greater Cincinnati for a 7 p.m. performance. Members of the group — which uses traditional instrumentation that includes wooden flute, fiddle, Uilleann Pipes, Tin Whistle, concertina and bouzouki — performed at the Center last year (each musician has other projects outside of the group) and were so fond of the venue and the audience they asked to return with the full band. Based in Chicago, Bua is a nationwide festival favorite, widely praised for their expert musicianship, passionate delivery and adherence to the foundational roots of Irish music. The group won "Top Traditional Group" at the 2009 Irish Music Awards and Bua's latest release, last year's self-released Down the Green Fields, was recently praised by Driftwood magazine, which wrote, "Damn, they killed it. Seriously. If you have any interest in the traditional music of Ireland, an emerald sound born of fiddles, pipes, whistles, and a clarity of voice that sounds like the musical equivalent of a crystal clear mountain stream and refreshes just as much, buy this album." And/or go see them in concert tonight if you're in the Greater Cincinnati area.

Read More

Music Tonight: Louisville Indie/Folk singer/songwriter Cheyenne Marie Mize has been on a fast track in the music biz over the past year. A member of a couple of rootsy acts in the rich Louisville music scene, once she broke out on her own, she began to draw increased attention for her lovely, ethereal sound. Last year when Mize performed in town, she was on the verge of releasing a new EP, but it was delayed … for good reason. Mize had inked a deal with Yep Rock Records (home to Nick Lowe, Liam Finn, Fountains of Wayne, John Doe and Paul Weller) and that EP, We Don't Need, became her first release for the label. Just released Jan. 24, We Don't Need fleshes out Mize's wispy sound (particularly with some creative rhythmic additives), but that dreamy, ghostly soul still hovers above each of the five songs. Click here to read more about Mize then head to MOTR Pub tonight to catch her free show (with special guest Margaret Darling of The Seedy Seeds). Below, enjoy a session Mize did recently for LaundroMatinee.com.

Read More