May 16-23, 2018
The Invisible Migration: Migrants from Appalachia have left an indelible mark on Cincinnati, but they often feel forgotten
CCAC facility, nature education center outlined as possible additions to Cincinnati’s Burnet Woods
You can’t blame Cincinnatians for being a bit touchy about Burnet Woods. The 90-acre, heavily-wooded park wedged between the University of Cincinnati, several of the city’s hospitals and a few of its biggest uptown neighborhoods is one of the city’s most distinctive features and has seen some controversial proposals to change it over the years,…
State delays licensing medicinal marijuana outlets; more news
Hello all. Here’s a super-quick rundown of news around Cincinnati today. A member of the Cincinnati Park Board resigned yesterday, citing a controversial new agreement between the board and the city that gives the city more control over a private foundation’s funds that donors provide to support the parks. "Since I cannot abide an agreement…
Help Cincinnati music greats 500 Miles to Memphis make their next album
One of Cincinnati’s finest Rock bands has been making noise again after a brief hiatus. This Saturday at Southgate House Revival, “Americana Punk Rock” group 500 Miles to Memphis continues its latest phase with a concert that will be recorded for a forthcoming live album. And the band wants fans to show up and help…
Could this proposal help low-income Cincinnati bus riders facing potential fare increases?
It's no secret: the city's Metro bus system needs big changes. But some of those shifts, including higher fares in the coming years, could be hard for low-income residents who need the bus to get to work, school or the grocery store. Cincinnati City Council will soon mull a plan to set aside $300,000 a…
Successful Cincinnati author Leah Stewart will read from her new novel ‘What You Don’t Know About Charlie Outlaw’ tonight at the Mercantile Library
Leah Stewart, the University of Cincinnati creative-writing professor whose new novel What You Don't Know About Charlie Outlaw has been winning national praise, will read from and discuss the book at 6:30 p.m. tonight (Wednesday, May 23) at the Mercantile Library, 414 Walnut St. in Downtown. It is free and open to the public, but…
Even though it’s warm outside, the annual Cincinnati Winterfilm Festival will be at the Woodward Theater
How is it that we’re in the midst of the summer movie season nationally, yet regionally we’re gearing up for the fifth annual Winterfilm Festival? The screening and awards presentation occurs 7 p.m. Saturday at Woodward Theater (1404 Main St., Over-the-Rhine). I spoke to the event’s director, Kent Meloy, about the timing and purpose of…
Anytime Dept.’s New Camp Washington Gallery Has Ambitious Plans
Last year in the book Queen City Records, I quoted the co-owners of Torn Light Records in Bellevue saying that, despite Cincinnatians’ tendency to complain that our city isn’t New York or L.A. (or any other arts and cultural hub), there is actually an amazing number of people trying to make Cincinnati into one of…
On the heels of her restraining order against Donald Trump, Maria Bamford brings the comedic dynamite to Cincinnati’s Taft Theatre
Maria Bamford, who is performing at the Taft Theatre on Saturday, is a comedian whose career is blowing up big. She stars in the Netflix series Lady Dynamite. Her 2017 Netflix special Old Baby has been praised. And others have noticed her good work: Stephen Colbert, Marc Maron and Judd Apatow, to name just a few…
Two amigos Steve Martin and Martin Short will bring their comedy/music show to town Sunday, ahead of their upcoming Netflix special
It seems like they’ve known each other their whole lives. However, Steve Martin and Martin Short didn’t meet until 1985, when both were well into their show business careers. “We met when I went to Steve’s house to pick up a script for Three Amigos,” Short explains, referring to their popular 1986 comedy western. “We…
Your Guide to the 2018 Cincinnati Fringe Festival
On Tuesday (May 29), the Cincinnati Fringe Festival enters its 15th season with a 6:30 p.m. party at Know Theatre. Since the beginning, the planning team behind the theater festival, now a 13-day event helmed by producer Chris Wesselman, has never stopped innovating. This year welcomes back Film Fringe, a selection of indie movie offerings at…
Cincinnati City Councilmember: city should make streetcar free to ride
Cincinnati City Councilman David Mann has introduced a motion asking the city to move toward making the streetcar free for riders. The first step Mann would like the city to take: exempting developers in downtown and Over-the-Rhine from parking requirements stipulated in current zoning if they contribute 40 percent of the costs associated with developing…
This Week in Questionable Decisions: May 16-22
1. A Florida high school had a live caged tiger at its jungle-themed prom. Others in attendance included a lemur, an African fennec fox and two macaws. “Upon reflection, we regret the decision to have live animals at our prom,” the school principal said. 2. The New York Times’ T Magazine declared this the age…
What a Week!: May 16-22
Royal Wedding Hot Takes Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle are officially the Duke and Duchess of Sussex following the #RoyalWedding Saturday. Folks on this side of the pond had to wake up at the butt crack of dawn (I find it’s best to employ crude language while discussing the monarchy, just to knock…
Cincinnati activists to rally outside Sen. Portman’s office for stricter gun control laws; more news
Hello all. Here’s a quick rundown of the news going on around Cincy today. Vice Mayor Christopher Smitherman is seeking a ballot referendum in Cincinnati that would amend the city’s charter to move city council back to two-year terms. Council’s current four-year terms went into effect in 2013 after a similar city-wide vote. Smitherman says…
New Film About the ‘Ghost Signs’ of Walnut Hills Gets its Debut on Thursday
The first product of a new collaboration between musician and Walnut Hills resident Ric Hordinski and photographer Michael Wilson will be debuting at 7 p.m. this Thursday (May 24) at Hordinski's The Monastery recording studio, 760 William Howard Taft Rd. in Walnut Hills. It is the short film Signs & Wonders, which features the fading…
Sound Advice: Lara Hope & The Ark-Tones at MOTR Pub (May 28)
There is nothing more alluring than a powerhouse artist in red cat-eye glasses playing the living hell out of a hollow-body guitar and howling at the moon’s various phases to create a sonic seismic event that combines the most potent attributes of Rockabilly, Roots Rock and early Rock & Roll. That exactly describes the look…
Sound Advice: Arrested Development with Sons of Silverton at Bogart’s (May 25)
Laying the groundwork for crews of colorful eccentrics like Odd Future and Brockhampton, conscious Hip Hop collective Arrested Development emerged from Atlanta in the early ’90s, resisting Gangsta Rap’s steely ultraviolence with a soulful, experimental aesthetic. Led by founding member Todd Thomas, better known mononymously as Speech, Arrested Development released a sleeper hit in the…
Sound Advice: Fotocrime at Northside Yacht Club (May 24)
Multi-instrumentalist Ryan Patterson may not have been a firsthand witness to the ’80s-era blending of angular guitar Rock with atmospheric Synth Pop, but he certainly understands it. As Fotocrime, Patterson and his bandmates — bassist Shelly Anderson, guitarist Nick Thieneman and ever compliant drum machine Mother — create a Post Punk tumult that evokes a…
Youth is not wasted on teenage Blues pianist Ben Levin, as evidenced by his debut album and relentless work ethic
Musicians often juggle simultaneous responsibilities — work, home life, rehearsals, gigs — and in that sense, Ben Levin mirrors his contemporaries in the local scene. The gifted Blues pianist differs from his peer group in the fact that his current airborne chainsaws include finishing high school, preparing for the University of Cincinnati in the fall…
Cincinnati pumps the brakes on demolitions in Hyde Park and Mount Lookout
Isaac Ferris and his family settled near Cincinnati sometime in the late 1790s, just a few years after the city was formally established as a huddle of wood frame buildings close to the Ohio River. He helped found one of the Northwest Territory’s first Baptist churches and built an estate in the green, gentle hills…
Minimum Gauge: Ed Sheeran has inspired ketchup ice cream, a crime against humanity for which he should be prosecuted
HOT: Ice Cream as Hate Crime After a group aiming to ban abortion in Ireland co-opted his 2012 track “Small Bump” for its campaign, Ed Sheeran was forced to come out and say that the meaning of the song (about a friend’s miscarriage) was being misrepresented and that he’d not given permission for such use.…
Theatrical ‘Microproductions’ Coming to Cincinnati Streetcar
People’s Liberty, the philanthropic lab that's an offshoot of the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation, has announced the winners in the seventh round of its $10,000 project grants. The program started in 2015. Here are the winners and a brief description of their proposals: • Carolyn Crombie wants to beautify three sets of…
Kasich moves to welcome immigrants to Ohio via executive order; more news
Good morning all. Here’s a quick news rundown to start your week off. The City of Cincinnati last year passed on purchasing technology costing roughly $580,000 that might have helped emergency crews find Kyle Plush, the 16-year-old who last month suffocated in his van after calling 911 twice. Now, the city is mulling purchasing the…
Wussy’s Chuck and Lisa Celebrate Today’s Release of ‘What Heaven Is Like’ by Choosing Their Five Favorite Cover Songs of All Time
Wussy's release today of its latest album, What Heaven Is Like, is notable for numerous reasons, including the fact it's the first time the Cincinnati band has included covers on one of its regular albums. One of those, "Aliens In Our Midst," has become the album's early breakout track, garnering national airplay. It was originally…
LISTEN: Cincinnati Indie/Art Pop band The Ophelias unveil new track, “Fog”
Cincinnati’s The Ophelias are releasing their first album for noted indie label Joyful Noise Recordings on July 13. The band recently unveiled the first preview of the album, titled Almost, in the form of a lyric video for the song “Fog.” The video was premiered by the popular music site Stereogum. Watch the clip below.…
Cincinnati’s summertime Friday Flow music series at Washington Park to feature TROOP, CeCe Peniston and more
Lineups for the various free music series at downtown's outdoor spaces Fountain Square and Washington Park have been coming out gradually as temperatures give an early preview of the hotness to come this summer. The latest summer series to announce performers is Washington Park's returning Friday Flow. The lineup includes a mix of local and…
Sketch Comedy Troupe Future Science Celebrates its Fourth Anniversary at MOTR Pub
Local comedy troupe Future Science — currently Karl Spaeth, Logan Lautzenheiser, Wayne Memmott and “a whole slew of other brilliant and funny local comedians,” Spaeth says — celebrates its fourth anniversary of absurdist and loosely thematic sketch comedy on Sunday, May 27. The show, themed “power,” will be held at MOTR Pub (the same location…
WATCH: Cincy Funk master Freekbass gets freeky with Turkuaz singer in new music video
Veteran Cincinnati Funk singer/bassist/songwriter Freekbass has released “Love in You Pocket,” a grooving new single with guest vocalist Sammi Garett, who sings for Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Funk/R&B/Rock ensemble Turkuaz. The song is the first track to emerge from a recent creative pow-wow with Itaal Shur, who performed in Cincinnati band Sleep Theater in the ’80s with…
Modest Mouse Coming to Taft Theatre in September
Modest Mouse is coming to Cincinnati Sept. 28 on the Midwestern leg of one of their busier tours in recent memory (and one of the only ones to stop in Cincinnati since 2008). The band kicks things off Sept. 17 in Wisconsin, wrapping around Illinois, Ohio and Indiana before heading to the East Coast. Formed…
Cincinnati musician Napoleon Maddox bundles an eclectic mix of music, art and ideas for the Underworld Jazz Festival
When we last heard from Cincinnati musician Napoleon Maddox, founder of the longtime progressive Jazz/Hip Hop fusion group IsWhat?!, he was doing what he’s been doing a lot of over the past decade-plus — touring in Europe, this time promoting his latest project, an amazing collaborative album with gifted French beatmaker Sorg. Maddox is back…
Could Ohio legalize sports betting after Supreme Court ruling?; more news
Hello, all. There is a ton of stuff happening in the news. Let’s get into all of it. After a marathon series of meetings, representatives of the West End Community Council — who were told it was now or never — signed an agreement with FC Cincinnati around the team’s potential stadium in the West…
Top Five Cincinnati Arts & Culture Events for This Weekend
We've culled this weekend's Top Five Arts & Culture activities from various sources, including our own stories. It's a very busy weekend for the Arts, which is a good thing: 1) It’s hard to imagine a more intriguing, fun combination than watching an avant-garde silent film while listening to live accompaniment from a trio that plays…
Former Hamilton County Jail Deputy Indicted for Unreasonable Use of Force by Federal Grand Jury
Former Hamilton County Sherrif's Deputy Jason Mize of Cincinnati has been indicted by a federal grand jury for unreasonable use of force, the U.S. Attorney's Office of Southern Ohio announced today. That indictment, handed down yesterday, stems from an August 2016 incident in the Hamilton County Justice Center, when Mize allegedly pushed 61-year-old inmate Mark…
Ed Stern Is Back in the Limelight with his Staging of Cincy Shakes’ “Noises Off”
Ed Stern loves a good laugh. Spend some time around the Cincinnati Playhouse’s longtime producing artistic director (1992-2013) and hearty amusement repeatedly bursts forth. Not long after he announced his retirement, something not so amusing happened: He was diagnosed with a typically terminal cancer. But he beat it into submission. In the intervening years he’s…
Council approves revised CBA between West End Community Council, FC Cincinnati
Representatives from the West End Community Council and FC Cincinnati today signed a community benefits agreement subsequently approved by Cincinnati City Council 7-0, removing one of the final barriers to a soccer stadium in the neighborhood should the team get a nod to join Major League Soccer. The parties, along with the offices of several…
Recommended Greater Cincinnati concerts for May 16-22
WEDNESDAY 16 20TH CENTURY THEATER–Amy Shark with TOMI. 8:30 p.m. AltPop. $15, $18 day of show. (Read more here.) MOTR PUB–Pink Mexico with Spaceface. 10 p.m. Indie Pop/Rock. Free. SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (REVIVAL ROOM)–Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys with The Jimmy D Three. 8 p.m. Western Swing/Country/Americana. $17. SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (SANCTUARY)–Basement and Citizen…
Cincinnati-filmed ‘Gotti’ Gets Trashed in Early Review
It's early, but first indications are that Gotti — the Mob biopic starring John Travolta that was filmed here in 2016 — may not be headed for the kind of acclaim that such other recent Cincinnati-made films as Killing of a Sacred Deer, Carol, Miles Ahead and The Fits have garnered. The film, which just…
West End Community Council prepares for what could be final negotiations with FC Cincinnati
The West End Community Council last night made the final preparations it could before an 8 a.m. negotiation with FC Cincinnati and representatives from the city to try and get the best deal possible for the neighborhood as the soccer team eyes a privately financed, 21,000-seat stadium there. But the council’s general body didn’t get…
‘Deadwood’ Is a TV Classic that Deserves to be Rediscovered
Much like my experience watching The Sopranos for the first time, years after the mob drama went off the air, HBO’s Deadwood had long been on my must-watch list. David Milch’s gritty look at the Wild West, featuring real-life figures with larger-than-life personalities, finally made its way to my screen recently and it easily still…
