Pols Focus on Price Hill
Federal, state and local officials will meet with a neighborhood group later this month to discuss efforts to improve safety and promote economic development in Price Hill. The group, Price Hill Will, is hosting a town hall meeting Feb. 18 that will feature a panel of politicians. Those scheduled to attend are U.S. Rep. Steve…
Lit: Steve Lopez
Steve Lopez, a busy human-interest columnist for The Los Angeles Times, was walking back to his downtown office some years ago when he spotted a homeless man on a street corner who was dressed in rags and playing Beethoven on a battered violin. He started learning about the man and writing about him. So popular…
Art: Happy Valley or Helltown at Prairie Gallery
David Rosenthal’s Prairie Gallery is an elegant, well-conceived, second-floor exhibition space recently opened in Northside. For its inaugural exhibition Happy Valley or Helltown, Prairie invited Voss Finn to create a complex installation alongside photographic works by Samantha Johnson. Finn’s large work, composed of “repurposed industrial objects,” winds up from the floor to the ceiling and…
The Super Bowl Unites Americans As Few Cultural Moments Do Anymore
Watching Joe Willie Namath wade through the Pittsburgh Steelers with the Lombardi Trophy right after Super Bowl XLIII brought back the true meaning of the Super Bowl even more powerfully than the game itself, which, considering the stakes, has to be considered one of the greatest football games of all time. If the game lacked…
Art: Openings at the Contemporary Arts Center
The Contemporary Arts Center's two eagerly awaited new shows open Friday with a free 8-11 p.m. celebration, and they should attract regional and even national attention during their stay. Donald Sultan: The First Decade spotlights the early linoleum paintings of this painter's painter, who has championed the use of accessible, de-romanticized materials such as tar,…
Comedy: John Rathbone
What’s new with comedian and Canton native John Rathbone? “Absolutely nothing has changed,” he states. “Except I ache more and I have less hair.” Actually, Rathbone does have some interesting news to report. “I just auditioned for Def Comedy Jam,” he says. “I headlined a show at a club and after my show they had…
Art: Hans Hofmann: Drawings at the Carl Solway Gallery
In the exhibit, Hans Hofmann: Drawings 1934-1951, Hofmann is represented by lesser works that nonetheless typify the artist's contributions to art history. Born in Germany in 1880, the artist and teacher played an important role in the development of Abstract Expressionist painting and became one of the most important figures in the history of postwar…
Lit: Temple Grandin
Ever wonder what your dog or cat is thinking when it looks at you with that quizzical gaze? If so, check out Temple Grandin’s latest book, Animals Make Us Human, an exploration that identifies the core emotional needs of animals. Grandin has written several books on the subject (including The Hidden Life of Dogs and…
Onstage: An Evening of Classic Lily Tomlin
She might be just one human being but when Tomlin is onstage there’s a whole cast of characters who show up to entertain audiences. More than a dozen of them will be showcased on Friday when she makes a stop at the Aronoff Center in downtown Cincinnati: the precocious six-year-old Edith Ann; the irascible telephone…
Music: Holy Ghost
With the departure of bassist Jesse Ebaugh (who joined The Heartless Bastards last year), it appears that local, critically-acclaimed Rock/Blues juggernaut Pearlene has retooled and become "born again" as Holy Ghost. According to a press release from Perkins Pickles (uh, more on that in a sec), drummer Andy Jody, singer/songwriter/guitarist Reuben Glaser and The Greenhornes'…
Sports: Perfect North Ski Slopes
Who says you have to trek all the way to Aspen to hit the slopes this winter? Ski buffs, snowboarders and even novices more comfortable on inflatable tubes are all welcome at Lawrenceburg, Ind.’s Perfect North Slopes. Perfect North, which is only about half an hour from Cincinnati, has something for every ambitious winter sportsperson.…
Art: Joan Miró: Masterpiece Lithographs at the Carl Solway Gallery
Joan Miró: Masterpiece Lithographs from 1948 represents lesser works that nonetheless typify this artist's contribution to art history. The galley of the downstairs space is lined with 13 of Miró’s lithographs, full of wide-eyed little goofs that topple around stars, moons and curly scribbling. Where Tomaselli might comment on hallucination, Miró’s work is informed by…
Events: Murder Mystery Dinner
If you were the type of kid (or adult) who liked to figure out that it was Professor Plum in the parlor who was the make-believe murderer, now you can use your wannabee detective skills while noshing on steak and sipping cocktails. The Hamilton County Park District has launched its latest season of Murder Mystery…
Onstage: Gem of the Ocean
One could make a steady career staging the works in August Wilson’s 10-play “Century Cycle” chronicling each decade of the 20th century, and director Ron “OJ” Parsons is doing just that. He’s directed productions of seven of them so far, several more than once. Gem of the Ocean goes back to the first decade of…
Buy an Ad, Save a Newspaper
A member of a Leadership Cincinnati class once asked how readers could get more news in The Enquirer. “Buy more ads,” was my answer, explaining that more ads meant more space for news. “If you buy another two pages of ads every day, I can assure you that there will be more news in the…
Onstage: Bat Boy: The Musical
If you occasionally put down your weekly issue of CityBeat to read The Weekly World News, then you’ve no doubt heard of the mysterious Bat Boy. His “legend” inspired this wacky musical that became a cult hit after its 1997 premiere. Sometimes it’s been called “a classic love story with a bite,” but audiences love…
Art: Fred Tomaselli: Selected Editions at the Carl Solway Gallery
Selected Editions: 1991-2005 presents prints and other editions by Fred Tomaselli, who pursues the psychedelic in his patterns and repetition, Eastern-like visions that at one time might be considered hallucinatory. Tomaselli has been exhibiting widely since attending California Institute of the Arts in the early 1980s. He now works in Brooklyn, with shows in 2009…
Gems of the Neighborhood
Our current economic downturn springs from many interconnected sources and has far-reaching consequences. So does the rebirth of a neighborhood. There’s no single cause for renewed interest in Over-the-Rhine and no single reason why more people are living, working, going to school, shopping and spending free time there. After countless studies and false starts, progress…
Music: Stop AIDS Benefit Concert
It is seldom that the opportunity arises to rock out to live music, dance and slam beers until after midnight while simultaneously contributing to a noble effort (getting a royal flush with PBR bottle caps arguably does not amount to a ‘noble effort’). However, Stop AIDS offers this rare opportunity by hosting a benefit concert…
Random Ramblings
Sunday's Super Bowl commercials were like Ruby Tuesday's in that they were not cheap but terribly bad. But fear not loyal readers A and B! I'm not going to dull the blade by penning some lame blog about advertising disguised as a sports piece … like the people who get paid a lot of money…
Winter Hiking – Not an Oxymoron
Winter weather can make for an ugly commute, but it certainly improves the bleak cold-weather landscaper. That’s particularly true for the miles of hiking trails at Cincinnati Nature Center's Rowe Woods.—- Then there are the natives. "Birds at the feeder include an immature Red-Tailed Hawk which seems to pose for even amateur photographers, as well…
Get Your Pride On
The 2009 Pride Parade – for the uninitiated this is Cincinnati’s gay pride parade – is up to its annual shenanigans and the planning has commenced.—- If you enjoy the fun, frivolity and festivities of this unique event, then why not lend a hand? Volunteers are “the lifeblood” of the June event, according to Michael…
Charlie’s Corner: One Last Snowbration
The snow has come and then the ice and then the snow again. It was a beautiful winter sandwich that made for an entertaining ice chunk breaking contest. —- As you know, most of us had a snow day this past week. If you were a tough guy who didn't flinch when the media scared…
MidPoint Music Festival Taking Submissions
It seems like only yesterday that we were running all over Downtown trying to see a bazillion bands perform for the 2008 MidPoint Music Festival. Now it’s time to start preparing for a bigger, badder, better MidPoint in 2009. —- Artists can now electronically submit their music for consideration to perform at MidPoint – which…
Onstage: Travels of Angelica
Cincinnati Playwright Joseph McDonough has a new show onstage at the Playhouse, his third in six years, making him that theater’s most frequently presented playwright since 2000. And with good reason: His scripts are evocative, lyrical and always engaging. Travels of Angelica, while not an absolute home run, is nonetheless a work of substance and…
Letterman Makes Amends With Bill Hicks
Jan Leno bores me, I dig Jimmy Kimmel and I think Conan is the king of late night (even before he takes over Leno's show in the very near future). David Letterman is the Jack Benny and Johnny Carson of our times, all rolled into one. Last night, Letterman showed his class, his legendary status…
IIN Is Down, but Not Out
Cincinnati City Council’s Finance Committee recently decided not to extend the contract of a controversial organization for a full year amid allegations questioning how that group distributes taxpayer dollars to neighborhood groups.—- The Finance Committee initially voted 5-2 last week to reject an extension for Invest In Neighborhoods Inc. (IIN). After the tally was taken,…
Bruce at the Super Bowl
It seems like every sports show I have watched or listened to this week has brought up what I now assume is the biggest question surrounding the Super Bowl. No, not "Arizona has a football team?" or "Why don't players just grab Troy Polamalu's hair to slow him down?" (Is that holding?) Nope, all of…
Big Ben Fine, Ward Great, Cardinals Screwed
It seems like months ago that football was actually interesting. The first round of the NFL playoffs is cool, and the conference semifinals offer a nice slate of games over a two-day period. But once the conference championships get here, it’s like, “Ah, I’m bored. F the Steelers, and the NFC sucks.” Then the two-week…
Taken (Review)
The ever-capable Liam Neeson takes a well-earned payday as retired CIA agent Bryan Mills, whose 17-year-old daughter (Maggie Grace) is kidnapped by Albanian sex traffickers when she runs off to Paris with her best friend to follow a U2 tour around Europe. Ham-fisted screenwriting over-establishes Mills’ desperation at winning his daughter’s affection before he gets…
New in Town (Review)
A driven female executive getting run through the corporate ringer and discovering love along the way sounds like the kind of generic working-girl-slash-romantic-comedy-boilerplate project that would have studio executives speed-dialing Sandra Bullock. Of course, a quick perusal of the 2009 movie release schedule might leave audiences scratching their heads because The Proposal, the story of…
Music: Winter Blues Fest
The Cincy Blues Society, renowned across the region for its annual summertime Cincy Blues Fest, is once again giving local Blues fans a hot taste of some of Cincy’s best Blues acts this winter. The Winter Blues Fest used to feature acts scattered around various Northern Kentucky clubs, but this year it will have the…
The Jayhawks, Secret Policeman’s Balls and Sensational Alex Harvey Band
The weeks are very quickly passing from the December/early January dearth of albums when there’s little to review to the overstuffed release sheets heading into February/March when there’s more to talk about than I have the time or ability to discuss. I have not yet heard the new Bruce Springsteen (no promo love from the…
That’s One Expensive Elevator
The new elevator for the Clifton Cultural Arts Center (CCAC) and it’s only going to cost $1.5 million. OK, not really – the entire first phase of renovations to the old Clifton School that are needed to make the facility handicap accessible – which includes an elevator – also include a fire protection system and…
Gil Mantera’s Party Dream Friday
Come to Gil Mantera's Party Dream on Friday at the Mad Hatter. See photos from last year here. Read about what to expect here.
White Death Averted, Things Back to Normal
From an entertainment perspective, it seems that life is back on track in Greater Cincinnati following yesterday's brush with White Death. Doing some quick checking, the key recommended events at the top of our home page appear to be on schedule tonight: Cheech & Chong, Grease, Passion Pit/Cale Parks at Northside Tavern, etc.—- Send photos…
Georgetown Win Gives Bearcats Hope for NCAA Tournament
Though few people in Cincinnati could watch the game on TV, those of us who dug out the old Walkman tape deck to listen to the radio broadcast were treated to a well-played ballgame by the Bearcats last night. In beating Georgetown, the ‘Cats have overcome their first major obstacle to earning consideration for an…
Money Where Their Mouth Is
Maija Zummo and Ian Wissman want you to think literature is cool. That’s one of the reasons they started Milk Money, a handmade literary magazine on the cusp of releasing its fourth issue, entitled “Weird Workout.” “If you want to read something that’s cool, pick up a literary magazine that’s cool,” Zummo says while sitting…
Been a Long Time Comin’
Almost 15 years after Robert A. Lewis decided to bequest his collection of modern-era outsider/folk and contemporary art to a museum, it finally makes its debut at one firmly committed to keeping it. And, befitting the evolution of popularity of outsider art, what a strange trip it has been for Lewis. Isn’t It Great To…
Together Again
"Misunderstanding" is a word that crops up a lot when discussing legendary comedy duo Cheech and Chong, whether it’s the reason behind their original breakup, what their comedy is really about or the U.S. government’s 2003 decision to send a SWAT team to arrest a then-65-year-old Tommy Chong for selling bongs over the Internet. After…
The Blossoming
With her third record, Asking for Flowers, making many critics’ “Best of 2008” lists, Kathleen Edwards can finally relax a bit and enjoy the fruits of her labors. Yet this Canadian singer/songwriter still can’t wait to get to her next show in the next town. Edwards, an Ontario native, has quietly been strengthening her reputation…
New Ideas on Tap in OTR
The district is something of a ghost these days — buildings that once were home to the city’s breweries, some empty, some gone, just an historic whisper. Those that remain stand among barely intermittent housing and a collective memory. The Over-the-Rhine Brewery District is generally the area that was developed north of Liberty Street, an…
Living Wage for Cintas Workers in Cali?
There are good reasons that many U.S. manufacturing and service workers are urging President Obama and Congress to pass a new law that would make it easier for employees to join labor unions. One prime case in point is Mason-based Cintas Corp. For the second time since September, Cintas is facing a legal decision in…
Bearcats on the Verge of Returning to Basketball Respectability
The conceivably meaningful portion of the college basketball season is about three weeks old, telling us little except what we wanted to hear. The news is pretty good — not that it means anything. We wanted to know that the University of Cincinnati basketball team is climbing back to a level of esteem. Now we…
Feeling Old, Staying Young
Some days you feel new and invigorated, and on other days the world conspires to remind you how old you’re getting. Barack Obama’s inauguration and first week in office fuel the first set of feelings. This week’s issue of CityBeat, in a strange way, makes my bones creak a little. Or maybe that’s just the…
Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell (Review)
One reason it’s become so hard for new musicians to make an impact is because so many old ones — including deceased ones — are still being discovered (or rediscovered), thanks to the proselytizing efforts of those who somehow got turned on to their obscure work the first time around. In this media age, those…
Winter Blues Fest, NachoFest and Brews and Bands
• The Cincy Blues Society, renowned across the region for its annual summertime Cincy Blues Fest, is once again giving local Blues fans a hot taste of some of Cincy’s best Blues acts this winter. The Winter Blues Fest used to feature acts scattered around various Northern Kentucky clubs, but this year it will have…
Another Seven Days of Scary Bars and Good-Smelling Games
WEDNESDAY JAN. 21A film crew from the Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures TV show began its three-day ghost hunt and conference today at Bobby Mackey’s Music World in Wilder. The hunt began with show host Zak Bagans focusing his kindly efforts on the establishment’s basement, replete with “old brick walls and an old well that some…
Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone
The 25th Sundance Film Festival came to a close on Jan. 24, and for the first time in 15 years a CityBeat staffer wasn’t there to witness it. As was the case for many publications (as well as general film freaks and industry people), the shitty state of our economy forced us to skip Sundance’s…
The Atriums (Profile)
The Atriums’ Northside practice space is close, small, tight. It fits us, the equipment and that’s it. In this maze-like, huge old warehouse’s halls and rooms, other bands play, walk by and shoot the shit. The rowdy building is like a musical fraternity house. Walls speak. Shudder. This night, The Atriums are fidgety. Hands clasp…
Sundance Rewind
PARK CITY, UTAH — The Proposition 8 backlash boycott! The collapse of media entities that could afford to send journalists! The collapse of boutique distributors for independent films! The collapse of the American bank account! Global warming! Take your pick — any and all of these were offered as reasons why this year the Sundance…
Jean Paul’s Paradiso (Review)
I couldn’t have asked for a more cinematic entrance to Jean Paul’s Paradiso. As my friend and I entered the brightly lit shop, we noticed a man sitting behind the counter looking at the television hanging from the ceiling in one corner. He (Jean Paul) seemed completely oblivious to the perfectly shaped pie he cradled…
Outfitting the Past
Patrons of the Taft Museum of Art know it to be a rare kind of historical document: An earlier era’s furniture, artwork and architecture summon an aura of rigid manors, ladies’ teas and regency gowns. It’s not surprising then that the Taft would aim its curatorial eye on the traveling exhibition, Fashion in Film: Period…
Travels of Angelica (Review)
Critic's Pick Cincinnati Playwright Joseph McDonough has a new show onstage at the Playhouse, his third in six years, making him that theater’s most frequently presented playwright since 2000. And with good reason: His scripts are evocative, lyrical and always engaging. Travels of Angelica, while not an absolute home run, is nonetheless a work of…
Foreign Exchange with Darien Brockington and Others
Because of the Internet’s omnipotent networking potential, in 2004 North Carolina-based MC Phonte established a creative kinship swapping tracks via Instant Messenger with Holland-based producer Nicolay. They became Foreign Exchange, an eclectic side project separate from Phonte’s work with Hip Hop group Little Brother and Nicolay’s signature Drum and Bass mixes. Though their debut, Connected,…
Stones in the Road
Staring at my drink, I suddenly look up at the bar television. The Rolling Stones are on. It looks like some recent footage from a concert in China. Mick Jagger is dancing around on that stage like a young dude. Looking at his sleeveless shirt, I can see the veins in his arms. I can…
Empowering City Neighborhoods
My hero in the Cincinnati world of responsible journalism has been CityBeat until I read the article “Being Neighborly” (issue of Jan. 21), which contains many inaccuracies and misleading statements about Invest in Neighborhoods (IIN). The members of IIN are 47 of the 51 city-recognized neighborhood community councils — four neighborhood councils have chosen not…
Greening the Present and the Future
There are so many ways to cut back on our energy consumption it can be dizzying. When President Obama was sworn into office Jan. 20, I looked at the man standing (high above, on a specially built platform) on the Capitol steps with the burden of the world on his shoulders. Amazingly, with all that…
Cedric Burnside & Lightnin’ Malcolm
To the uninitiated, drummer Cedric Burnside and guitarist Lightnin’ Malcolm would seem to be trapped in a perfect storm of musical cynicism. Guitar/drum duos are nearly as prevalent as more conventional trios and quartets have been in the past, and the history of the Blues has been thoroughly examined and translated over the past half…
What Will He Eat?
Post-inauguration, inundated by videos of my favorite president dancing with his wife and smitten as a 16-year-old pouring over Bride magazine, I try to write this month’s column with only one thing on my mind: Not what will he do, but what will he eat? (Insert shrieking of teenage girl here.) God knows that every…
Everything’s Closed, Including CityBeat
Not that you need our help to tell you Greater Cincinnati is shut down by the snow storm, but Hamilton County is under a Level 3 Snow Emergency, meaning you're not allowed out on the roads even if you want to be. So stay home and relax. CityBeat World Headquarters is closed today. Most (if…
