Jul 25 – Aug 1, 2018
The Power of Three: Local music, art and activist group Triiibe blends Hip Hop, acts of service and a DIY ethos to create its own brand of “artivism”
Pusha T Cancels Cincinnati ‘DAYTONA’ Tour Stop Next Week
On June 20, Bogart’s announced that rapper Pusha T would be coming to Cincinnati in August on the tour to support his latest high-profile DAYTONA album (a collaboration with some upstart producer named Kanye West). It was a pretty big get — DAYTONA’s June release was big news, buoyed by surrounding controversy, like West’s decision…
REVIEW: Know Theatre’s ‘Whisper House’ is a Ghost Story Set in a Lighthouse After the Events of Pearl Harbor
CRITIC'S PICK Know Theatre’s 2018-19 season opens with Whisper House, a truly spooky and wonderfully satisfying AltRock chamber musical. With music and lyrics by the Tony-winning composer of Spring Awakening, Duncan Sheik, and book and lyrics by Kyle Jarrow, the Tony-nominated bookwriter of SpongeBob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical, Whisper House is a heartbreaker, a toe…
Wayne Coyne comes to Waynesville as The Flaming Lips headline southwest Ohio’s new Bellwether Music Festival
Considering the surreal, carnivalesque world of psychedelic wonders The Flaming Lips — with frontman Wayne Coyne’s mad-hatter derring-do and the band’s singular, lysergic Pop, which bleeds bliss and transcendence in equal doses — can there be a better musical act to inaugurate the new Bellwether Music Festival in the small Ohio town of Waynesville (of…
REVIEW: ‘Eighth Grade’ Captures a Difficult Age for Both the Teen Living Through It and Her Father
Kayla — the protagonist of comedian Bo Burnham’s new film Eighth Grade — is an awkward middle school student on the cusp of transitioning to high school. She has her own YouTube channel, which captures her life lessons as she makes her way through the last week of her eighth-grade year. From the very first…
Mark de Jong’s Contemporary Arts Center exhibit is far more than an adjunct to his famous Cincinnati Swing House
You’re forgiven if you follow the Cincinnati arts scene but are unaware that local artist Mark de Jong has a current exhibit at the Contemporary Arts Center. That’s because the show, up through Sept. 3, is called Swing House — the same name as his architectural transformation/art installation project at an old house in Camp…
La Grassa Brings Italian-Style Gelato to Madeira
If you wanted to try every flavor of gelato available at La Grassa Gelato in Madeira, you could. Entertain no fear of being too picky or taking too long to decide on a flavor, as you might at other dessert shops. Proprietor John Berman wants you to find your favorite; in fact, he’s determined to…
Downtown Camp Inhabitants Issue Requests, City Issues Eviction Notices; More News
Hello all! A ton of stuff has happened in the past couple days. Let’s do a brief news rundown, shall we? The City of Cincinnati is facing a lawsuit from a billboard company over a tax it instituted to shore up the city budget. Norton Outdoor Sign company filed the suit alleging 1st and 14th Amendment violations…
Traveling One-Minute Play Festival takes over Cincinnati’s Know Theatre for three nights next week
Andrew Hungerford, producing artistic director at Know Theatre, refers to the upcoming three-day One-Minute Play Festival there as “this fantastic machine.” That’s because it has to be finely tooled to allow for nine directors and more than 70 actors to rehearse and perform 60 one-minute plays written just for Cincinnati. It sounds like chaos. But…
First Bottles of New Riff Bourbon Available at Distillery Now
New Riff Distilling has announced a release date for its first batch of bourbon: Fall 2018. But before the spirit is officially in stores, you can get your hands on a bottle at the Distillery Gift Shop starting at noon on Aug. 1. Limit one per person. Suggested retail is $39.99 for 750 ml. The bourbon is…
Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra opens its Summermusik festival Saturday with a hometown hero, Coleman Itzkoff, as guest performer
When Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra’s fifth Summermusik festival opens Saturday (Aug. 4) with a program of music by British composers or about Britain, it will serve as a homecoming for 25-year-old cellist Coleman Itzkoff. He left Cincinnati eight years ago for college and a professional career and will return to perform Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto in…
Cincinnati Roots Music Veteran Dave Gilligan Looks at Life in the Trump Era on New Grey Dogs Album
Singer/songwriter/guitarist/harmonica-ist and Greater Cincinnati Roots music hero Dave Gilligan celebrates the release of Watching the World Go to Hell, the latest album by his band Grey Dogs, Saturday (Aug. 4) at Mansion Hill Tavern. Showtime is 9 p.m. and cover charge is $5. Gilligan has played a variety of music over the past couple of…
Nickelodeon ’90s TV Stars from ‘The Adventures of Pete and Pete’ to Perform at Taft’s Ale House
If Endless Mike; Artie, the strongest man in the world; or the name Petunia mean anything to you — or you want to know where Mr. Tastee goes in winter — there's a chance you're a fan of 1990s Nickelodeon show The Adventures of Pete & Pete. This upended and surreal indie suburban sitcom followed Pete…
21c Museum Hotels sells a major ownership interest to AccorHotels for $51 million
AccorHotels, which handles more than 4,500 hotels, resorts and residences across 100 different countries, today announced it has agreed to acquire 85% of 21c Museum Hotels, a boutique hotel chain featuring cutting-edge contemporary art in its public spaces and offering arts programming in addition to fine dining. Started in Louisville in 2006 by Laura Lee Brown…
Downtown’s Fine-Dining Restaurant Orchids at Palm Court Stays Excellent Under New Leadership
If you have an upcoming special occasion or would like to treat your sweetheart to a perfect dining experience, there’s nowhere within hundreds of miles likely to achieve the culinary heights of Orchids at Palm Court. And if your bank account permits, why wait for a birthday, anniversary or to pop the question? Yes, you’ll…
The Mysterious Death of Price Hill Sniper George Budde
Curled snug in a corner of the West Side, St. Joseph Cemetery molds to a niche of suburbia — specifically, Price Hill. Among its nearly 20 acres of graves, grown green with age, exists a slice of unresolved family lore. George Budde: a Cincinnati native, decorated Marine sniper and America’s final foot-soldier to perish under…
Play “Spot the Cincinnati Musician” in the New Music Video from Indie Rock duo Lung
In late June, Cincinnati Indie Rock duo Lung (featuring engaging singer/songwriter/cellist Kate Wakefield and Foxy Shazam’s Daisy Caplan on drums) announced that its second album, All the King’s Horses, would be coming out via area label SofaBurn Records on Sept. 7. Late last week, New Noise Magazine premiered the music video for the first single…
What a Week!: July 25-31
Office Vest Chic If you work in an office, near an office or you’re just aware of offices, you may have noticed a new trend among office dudes (and some ladies) centered on an unlikely garment: the fleece vest. The ubiquitous khakis and button-up combo is now often accompanied by what was once considered casual…
Happy Avocado Day! Here’s Where to Find Cincinnati’s Best Guacamole
It may sound odd to call a food item "hot," but over the past few years, avocados have truly taken centerstage. Spread on toast, made into a creamy pasta sauce, mashed into dips, used as toppings, smushed into ice cream — the possibilities are endless when it comes to this nutrient-packed fruit. July…
Film Cincinnati lures another motion picture, ‘Point Blank,’ here
The Netflix original film Point Blank , directed by Joe Lynch and starring Frank Grillo, Anthony Mackie and Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden, will be shot here beginning Aug. 6. It is being co-produced by Cincinnati native Johanna Byer, who met the executive director of Film Cincinnati, Kristen Schlotman, on the set of Traffic here…
This Week in Questionable Decisions: July 25-31
This Week in Questionable Decisions… R. Kelly released a 19-minute song called “I Admit,” touching on everything from his sexual assault allegations to his child bride Aaliyah to being illiterate. More like “I Deflect.” A Massachusetts man was arrested for stripping naked at a Planet Fitness. In his defense, he said he thought it was…
Stormy Daniels to Dance at the Fully Nude Diamonds Cabaret in Dayton
A mighty wind is blowing everyone's favorite dancer to Dayton as Stormy Daniels (government name Stephanie Clifford) takes the stage at Diamonds Cabaret fully nude gentleman's club on Aug. 3 and 4. According to the Diamonds website, Facebook and a shiny digital I-75 billboard, the Penthouse Pet, XXX film star and human who had sex with Donald…
Recommended Concerts: Bonny Doon with Band of Horses at Bogart’s (Aug. 7)
Bonny Doon is a band from Detroit, a place that when mentioned immediately evokes a certain kind of sound. Yet it takes less than a minute into the quartet’s 2017 self-titled debut to realize that this is a different kind of Rock City outfit. Led by the songwriting duo of Bill Lennox and Bobby Colombo,…
Recommended Concerts: (Sandy) Alex G at Woodward Theater (Aug. 6)
Not to be confused with the YouTuber and cover artist of the same name, Pennsylvanian singer/songwriter Alex Giannascoli officially prefaces his name with a parenthetical “(Sandy)” as of 2017. The name change doesn’t just give him the weird sense of familiarity you have with a favorite pro baseball player you affectionately refer to as “Scooter,”…
More Money Coming for Western Hills Viaduct
Efforts to replace the crumbling Western Hills Viaduct are a little closer to reality after Hamilton County scored a $5 million grant toward a new structure spanning the Mill Creek Valley. The Hamilton County Engineer’s office applied for the funding under the Local Bridge Replacement program, which is administered by the County Engineers Association of…
Watch the new music video from former Cincinnati musician Erika Wennerstrom, “Staring Out the Window,”
This past spring, Erika Wennerstrom, leader of the widely-acclaimed Cincinnati-born/Austin, Texas-based band Heartless Bastards, released her excellent debut solo album, Sweet Unknown, through Partisan Records. Yesterday, Relix premiered the music video for album track “Staring Out the Window.” The singer/songwriter told Relix the clip was a collaboration with artist Julián González Leon, who also did…
CityBeat selects the five best movies screening in Cincinnati this week (through Thursday, August 2)
Want to get out and see a good movie during the week? Here's our choice of the five best now playing first-run in Cincinnati. We'll update this come Friday (Aug. 3), when new movies open and old ones close. The five best, in our opinion: 1. Three Identical Strangers: It's a great year for documentaries,…
Mount Adams Mainstay The Celestial Has Closed, Demo Begins
The 55-year-old Celestial steakhouse, a Mount Adams eatery that had one of the best views in the city, has closed. It will be reopened as The View Event Center in March 2019. Opened in 1963, the Celestial held its last dinner service on July 21. Demolition on the current historic restaurant interior begins July 31.…
Minimum Gauge: Billy Corgan Is (Allegedly) Not Taylor Swift’s Dad
HOT: Taylor Swift’s Dad is Not a Pumpkin Following Drake’s confirmation that the rumor he had a son with a former adult film star is true, another high-profile musician has made a paternity confession. Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan says he is not Taylor Swift’s dad. Corgan took to Instagram to write two posts denying that…
This Far-Right Candidate Landed on the November Ballot for the Green Party in a Cincinnati-Area Congressional Election
If you're a fan of understatement, Jim Condit, Jr. has what you might call non-mainstream political beliefs. He’s posted 9/11-truther statements on his Facebook page and website, likes to rail about a global “Jewish shadow government” and has asserted that the death toll historians cite for the holocaust has been highly inflated. And if you…
Adopt a Pet and Have a Beer at Queen City Radio’s SPCA Adoption Event
Grabbing a drink with your pals after a hard day's work is almost always a good idea. When the proceeds from that drink benefit your local pet rescue, that good idea becomes a great one. Queen City Radio will host a pet adoption/fundraiser on Thursday (Aug. 2) with funds benefiting the local pet adoption agency…
‘Conan’ writer and stand-up comedian Laurie Kilmartin to perform in Cincinnati this week
“For some reason, my parents weren’t bringing home Richard Pryor records,” says comic and writer Laurie Kilmartin with a laugh when asked about how she first became interested in comedy. “(So) my entry into comedy was through Carol Burnett.” That served her well. In addition to being a writer on Conan, she’s also a touring…
A List of All the Pending TV and Film Reboots to Make You Cringe or Cheer
As a voracious TV/movie consumer, I am very wary of reboots, sequels and spinoffs. Don’t touch what’s sacred, you know? (I’m lookin’ at you, millennial Daria reboot.) But every once in a while, a reimagining of a classic actually gets it right. Here's a list of all the upcoming reboots: Dreamy goofball daddy Ryan Reynolds…
Recommended Concerts: Sunny Sweeney with Ward Davis at Southgate House Revival (Aug. 3)
Along with the likes of Lucinda Williams, Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, Elizabeth Cook and Ashley Monroe, Sunny Sweeney represents a new traditionalism in Country music, one that adheres to the foundational heritage of the genre while embracing contemporary modes of musical expression and lyrical viewpoint. Over the past dozen years, Sweeney has recorded four well-received…
Here’s Your Next Chance to Talk About Plans for Cincinnati’s Burnet Woods
Hey. Want to talk about Burnet Woods? You have a chance coming up on Aug. 13. Maybe you're a birder who loves the tranquility of the quiet green gem in the heart of Cincinnati or a Clifton resident concerned about finding a home for the neighborhood's beloved arts center or an educator interested in outdoor…
Supporters, Skeptics Emerge for Amendment Reducing Sentencing for Drug Offenses
Ohio voters will get to decide in November on a constitutional amendment that would reduce penalties for non-violent drug crimes. The ballot initiative, called Issue 1, has already won some high-profile supporters. But while lawmakers on both sides of the aisle say they support its overall aims, some Republicans question whether a constitutional amendment is…
Nineties AltRock Giants Soul Asylum Play Intimate Cincinnati Club Show This Week
Minneapolis-spawned rockers Soul Asylum — most widely known for their Grammy-winning 1993 hit “Runaway Train” — are back on the road, touring amphitheaters, casinos and other venues on the “Rock & Roll Express” tour alongside 3 Doors Down and Collective Soul. But this Friday, the band will dial things back a little for a special…
Mystery Science Theater 3000 brings ‘The Brain’ to Cincinnati on Oct. 24
The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live Tour is coming to the Taft Theatre on Oct. 24 with its original host and creator, Joel Hodgson, touring with it for the first time in 25 years. He'll share hosting duties with newer host, yellow-jumpsuited Jonah Ray — their first time together riffing and joking on stage in…
Me and Dad and Radiohead
There’s something fantastically cool and possibly anxiety-inducing about seeing an old band through new eyes. On Wednesday, this journey came when I took my dad to the Radiohead concert at U.S. Bank Arena. My dad isn’t immune to jarringly loud music, even the unfamiliar variety. He’s been my plus one to his fair share of…
Fatal overdoses in Kentucky increased last year, and Northern Kentucky had the most per capita; more news
Hello all! Here’s a quick news rundown to take you into the weekend and all the festivities happening downtown. The Cincinnati Planning Commission today voted down a proposal from a city administration task force to eliminate parking space requirements for developers building in downtown and Over-the-Rhine. The proposal came packaged earlier this week with another…
Wayne Kramer’s MC5 Tribute Tour Adds Detroit Cobras and Faith No More Bassist
It was announced a few months ago that the MC50 tour — featuring MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer and a supergroup backing band — would be coming to Cincinnati on Oct. 25 for a show at Bogart’s. The tour — celebrating the imminent 50th anniversary of the groundbreaking MC5 debut LP Kick Out the Jams —…
This Monday is a rare opportunity to walk freely at Ohio’s historic Octagon Earthworks
Monday (July 30) provides a rare opportunity to visit and walk throughout one of Ohio’s most historically important and architecturally significant sites, the Octagon Earthworks near Newark and just east of Columbus. Because the earthworks site is part of a golf course, there are only four days a year when the state suspends golf and…
RuPaul’s Drag Race ‘Werq the World’ Tour is Coming to Cincinnati
RuPaul’s Drag Race “Werq the World” tour will grace Cincinnati this October as they stop in cities across the U.S. and Canada. YAS KWEENS. Michelle Visage will host with live performance by some of the reality’s series biggest queens: Newly-crowned season 10 winner Aquaria, runner-ups Asia O’Hara, Kameron Michaels and Eureka. Plus, season 8’s reigning highness…
Recommended Concerts in Greater Cincinnati (July 27-31)
FRIDAY 27 MOTR PUB – Vacation (album release show) with Virginia Creepers and Homemade Drugs. 10 p.m. Indie Rock. Free. (Click here for more.) PAUL BROWN STADIUM – Cincinnati Music Festival with Charlie Wilson, Xscape, Boyz II Men, Fantasia and After 7. 7:30 p.m. R&B/Soul/Pop. $50-$150. (Click here for more.) SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (REVIVAL ROOM)…
Lily Tomlin tells CityBeat what to expect when she performs Aug. 2 in Cincinnati
It might seem logical to assume that the rise of the Trump administration is what pushed Lily Tomlin to return to the road with her entourage of characters and personas, allowing her to express and translate her shock and outrage at the current state of affairs. And it’s clear the president’s agenda, with its reverse…
We Got Schooled at Rhinegeist’s Brewcademy
I’m not one for school — I have a recurring nightmare that I’m back in college, haven’t attended a class all semester and am about to fail. So going back to “school” at Rhinegeist’s Brewcademy seemed daunting, but getting to sample six four-ounce beers from different breweries around the world and learn something new mitigated…
The Last Straw: What the War on Plastic Straws Means for Cincinnati Businesses and those with Disabilities
It’s rare that Americans band together against a common enemy all at once, but social media has a way of lighting fires where no one thought there was kindling. When a graphic video showcasing a team of people removing a plastic straw from a sea turtle’s nose, filmed in 2015 by marine biologist Christine Figgener,…
California Company Unexpectedly Drops Off Rentable Electric Scooters in Cincinnati
They flocked in unexpectedly this morning — little electric scooters that you can rent with a smartphone and a credit card. Bird Rides, the Los Angeles-based company that launched the scooter pilot program here in Cincinnati today, has already set up outposts in a number of California cities, Austin, Texas and Washington, D.C. Bird also…
Cincinnati Music Festival-Adjacent Events This Weekend Include Free Fountain Square Concerts with Estelle, Big Daddy Kane and More
The long-running Cincinnati Music Festival returns this weekend to Paul Brown Stadium (actually beginning tonight with an opening event at PBS featuring MC Lyte and DJ Jazzy Jeff) and once again brings a mass of visitors from across the country to the Queen City. Capitalizing on the influx of tourists coming to Cincinnati for the…
The ‘Book of Mormon’ is Back at the Aronoff Center
There’s not much that’s sacred about this crazy musical comedy that pokes fun at the earnest, white-shirted religious recruiters from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints — aka Mormons — who get sent to Uganda and start making things up about their beliefs. Here’s a tip about the 2011 Tony Award winning show’s…
AYE Music & Art Festival Takes Over Northside for 13th Annual Event this Weekend
The AYE Music & Art Festival — which was founded in 2006 by adventurous local musician Nick Mitchell (Grasshopper Juice Records/ The Terrors/Chick Pimp/Juan Cosby) — returns to various venues throughout Northside this weekend. Featuring local and touring musical acts (often with accompanying visuals) representing everything from Hip Hop and Electronic music to AltPop and…
Compete in Washington Park’s Urban Pong Table Tennis Tournament
Sixty four of table tennis’ top competitors will suit up for a ping-pong battle at Washington Park in preparation for the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament (Aug. 11-19). Watch one rise through the ranks and into the winner’s circle, where the prize package includes tickets to the W&S Open Finals Match and a mini…
Fear and Loathing in Cincinnati Takes Riders on a Party Bus Tour of Tokyo Kitty, Video Archive and Overlook Lodge
Gear up for a night on the town while riding in style on the Fear and Loathing in Cincinnati Party Bus Tour, hosted by Gorilla Cinema Presents — the mind behind movie-themed bars Tokyo Kitty (Lost in Translation), Video Archive (Pulp Fiction) and Overlook Lodge (The Shining). Start off at downtown’s Tokyo Kitty, one of…
