Blue Jordan Turns 13 in Style
On Saturday, Blue Jordan, the record label and local coalition of similar-minded musical acts, celebrates 13 years of producing and releasing the finest Acoustic, Americana and Folk music the Ohio Valley has to offer. —- The free show, which will take place at Molly Malone’s in Pleasant Ridge, features a generous bill of classic Blue…
Art: Anri Sala at the Contemporary Arts Center
Anri Sala’s solo exhibition, Purchase Not by Moonlight, fills two floors of the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) with sound, light and tactile objects. One work in particular confuses and simultaneously conflates the others. It’s not at the beginning of the exhibition, nor is it at the end. It isn’t what the viewer expects to find…
Onstage: Fuente Ovejuna
We think a playwright today is prolific if he or she creates a dozen works. But that would have constituted little more than warming up for Lope de Vega, a Spanish contemporary of Shakespeare who claimed to have written 1,500 scripts. Even if that was an exaggeration, close to 500 texts are still around —…
Building a Framework for the Future
More than 200 people attended Imago’s Earth Spirit Rising conference at Xavier University this weekend, where they were challenged to rethink their actions and their effect on the planet. Speaker Paula Gonzalez, a Dominican nun and futurist, cast the challenges ahead in stark terms: “We must realize the scale of our times, which is on…
Craigslist Crusades
I admit it. I am a Craigslist addict. The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, right? It started back in April while I was still at college. My friend Ashley and I began scheming to find an apartment to share in Cincy for the summer, dreading living under parental control after…
Take Yourself to the Hospital, Punk
Lately, we’ve been ridin’ this down-home Folk/Americana/Indie wave in the Queen City music scene. Jake Speed. Wonky Tonk. Frontier Folk Nebraska. Wussy. Fairmount Girls. Gul'durnit, we love ‘em! Maybe it’s our hospitable river-town tendency to have a big, open heart for such middle American tunesmithery. Maybe it started with our love for the Ass Ponys…
CA-razy AWESOMETOWN Music/Art Weekend
If you can’t find something to get fired up about in the 'Nati this weekend, it really is time for you to EAT. A. DICK. and move your whiney ass elsewhere. We are sick o’ having you in our town anywho, you bitch-but-don’t-do, non-contributing, grass is always…(GO ALREADY!), motherfuckers! —- Tonight Wilco is at Aronoff…
Events: Pride Alive
Northside's Hoffner Park transforms into a miniature version of the Castro gain as it acts as the terminus and hub for the Pride Alive festival, which invites area LGBTQers, allies and friends to take it to the streets. While the actual festival is a Saturday/Sunday affair at the park, the parade portion of Pride '09…
Side by Side by Sondheim (Review)
About three decades ago, theater enthusiasts in London pulled together a collection of songs by Stephen Sondheim, skimming numbers from shows he’d created during the previous 20 years. Side by Side by Sondheim was an unassuming revue, a narrator and a couple of singers, but it became a hit in London, eventually running for more…
Easy Virtue (Review)
Stephan Eliott’s Noel Coward adaptation hits a lilting comic gallop in 1920s-era England. Jessica Biel plays Larita, a race car-driving American interloper to Kristen Scott Thomas' snooty matriarch Mrs. Whitaker, whose son John (Ben Barnes) Larita is engaged to marry. Colin Firth lends the film an undercurrent of disillusionment as Mr. Whittaker, a layabout aristocrat…
Sonic Youth, Adam Freeland, Slim Twig, Rhett Miller and Chuck Prophet
They can put a man on the moon, so why can’t someone engineer the 30-hour day? Between writing and planning to write and the administration of my writing and downloading and listening and that other devourer of time, family life, the only thing left to cut into is sleep — 3:30 a.m isn’t a bad…
The Merry Gentleman (Review)
An odd choice for Michael Keaton’s directorial debut, The Merry Gentleman is a laconic but admirably obtuse affair that contains the actor’s most restrained performance to date as Frank Logan, a suicidal hit man who strikes up an unlikely relationship with a wounded young woman (Kelly MacDonald). I first caught The Merry Gentleman at the…
CityBeat Podcast 12: Gay Pride in Cincinnati
This is the Gay Pride edition of the CityBeat Podcast. Or maybe it's the Pridecast. Our guests include Christine Wilson, who confesses the sins of the church against the gay community, 2009 Pride Parade Grand Marshall Cheryl Eagleson. Danny Cross and Alex Weber visited the guerilla queer bar staged at the Cadillac Ranch and spoke…
Deep Thrusts into the Past
Attention ‘80s headbangers—and those misguided younger souls among our readership who are fascinated with ‘80s nostalgia: Thruster, Cincinnati’s “premier” metalhead ensemble from those glory days of perms on men and t-shirts with no sleeves, is getting the fancy reissue treatment for their 1987 record M.I.A. —- We here in the states have traditionally relied on…
Onstage: The Marriage of Figaro
Cincinnati Opera’s summer season isn’t quite virtual travel, but you can experience Spain at four pivotal moments in its long history. Three operas are standard repertoire and one contemporary work has its regional premiere. And all were written by foreigners. The season opens with Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, deemed “the perfect opera” for its…
Art: Tribute to Merce Cunningham at the Carl Solway Gallery
There’s much to say about legendary modern dancer/choreographer Merce Cunningham, but above all, he’s a well-rounded, thoroughly modern guy. The Carl Solway Gallery is hosting A Tribute to Merce Cunningham in His 90th Year, a smallish but worthy assembly of Cunningham’s drawings, photos of the artist and in-depth documentaries shown on flat screens. When one…
Literary: George Packer at the Mercantile Library
The subtitle of The Mercantile Library’s lecture series is “Writing to Change the World.” Few people embody that sentiment better than George Packer. Packer, currently a staff writer for The New Yorker, has been doing exactly that in various books, essays and articles over the last two decades, including his deeply incisive 2005 book Assassins’…
4 Theater Companies Announce New Seasons
Over the weekend, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati announced its 2009-10 season, and it’s full of works you’ve never heard of but will be glad that D. Lynn Meyers has picked. ETC generally offers premieres of works that have been presented elsewhere, but not locally, and she’s kicking off the season with a powerful piece, Moisés…
Bret Michaels’ Face
Please note that it is totally from someone who is videotaping the action on their TV. Please also note that this person lives in Kansas and seems to be under some sort of severe thunderstorm/tornado warning. Bye, bye Bret.
Changes Afoot at the CAC
If you were out and about this weekend, you may have heard rumors that Maiza Hixson has put in her resignation at the Contemporary Arts Center. Those would be true. Hixson was Associate Curator. Last year, she was the curator for the exhibition American Idyll: Contemporary Art and Karaoke, putting together a set of artists…
Lineup Announced for Adjust Your Eyes Fest
An impressive and eclectic roster of local bands will transform an otherwise stark Loveland VFW hall into an artsy, flashy, sorta hippy-ish Rock ‘n’ Roll venue for this year’s third annual Adjust Your Eyes Music and Arts Festival, June 26 and 27. The two-day, two-stage, multimedia extravaganza, which is the brainchild of Grasshopper Juice labelmeister…
The Taking of Pelham 123 (Review)
Look, I’m not making any inappropriate allegations. All I’m saying is that, if Tony Scott has scandalous photos of Denzel Washington, it might explain a lot. This is what I’m trying to wrap my head around: How does one of the most universally respected actors of this generation come to trust this particular director —…
Land of the Lost (Review)
You can call it updating or re-imagining or anything else you want, but the new Brad Silberling take on the Sid and Marty Kroft classic Land of the Lost is, at its core, lost. That’s the plain and simple truth of the matter. Silberling gives us a character named Rick Marshall (Will Ferrell) who is…
Music: Caterpillar Tracks/Arms Exploding
Cincinnati is the new Olympia, Wash., this week, as Arms Exploding and Caterpillar Tracks, two politically charged bands with aggressive Post-Punk/Post- Hardcore tendencies, celebrate their 7-inch vinyl releases on local label Phratry Records. Newport’s Southgate House is ground zero for getting your face kicked in (sonically speaking) Friday night. Caterpillar Tracks and Arms Exploding, whose…
Music: Wilco
Nels Cline, Wilco's current axeman and former prolific recording artist, was chosen by Rolling Stone as one of the “Top 20 New Guitar Gods” of 2007. Before joining Wilco, he was struggling financially in part because of the improvisational avant garde music he played (and still plays). But joining the band ostensibly set up off…
The Limits of Control (Review)
Much of Jim Jarmusch’s 10th film, The Limits of Control, unravels at airy outdoor Spanish cafés where an enigmatic, well-dressed man sits alone sipping espressos and absorbing the surrounding environs. Equally mysterious individuals interrupt the stretches of solitude to stop, sit and join him in conversation. The visitors include Tilda Swinton, the translucent, crimson-haired actress…
Music: O.A.R.
Taking a page from Dave Matthews’ informal marketing strategy, O.A.R. relied heavily on word of mouth publicity and actively encouraged recording of their live shows, which created a loyal community of tape traders. After O.A.R released their third album, 2001’s Risen, it proved the wisdom of their grassroots approach by coming in just under the…
Newspapers and the Web Try to Work out a Reasonable Relationship
A local radio station used to read stories from The Enquirer verbatim on its early news segments, back when I still wrote for the morning daily. It was classic “rip and read.” They never credited the paper. The station’s news reader repeated a story on which I had worked for weeks and left the impression…
State of the Movement
Considering the last 40 years of the gay rights movement is complicated. American society has come a long way, as evidenced by the numerous states that recognize gay marriage, the increasing protections gays have secured through legislation and the increasing success of reality TV shows about designers. (Thanks for the exposure, capitalism!) But while there’s…
Aerosmith ‘Toys,’ Evan Dando & GM and Poison’s Indignity
[HOT] AEROSMITH TO DO “TOYS”Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Aerosmith have had the most impressive second act in Rock history. Of course, the second half of their career has been full of shitty, overproduced ballads and fauxrockers, but still, they’ve made way more money in the past 20 years than they did when they…
Kobe Bryant’s Supporting Cast Will Bring Help Him to the NBA Title
The "LeBron vs. Kobe" NBA Finals are on the back burner for at least another year while the Cleveland Cavaliers figure out how to surround their star with championship support. In today’s NBA, it turns out, no one can do it alone, not even LeBron James. For much of the NBA’s conference finals round, the…
Building a Community from the Fringe Festival
The 2009 Cincinnati Fringe Festival wrapped up on June 6 with approximately 200 people jammed into Know Theatre’s bar space, the Underground. It was a festive finale to the sixth annual event’s successful 12-day run. Two days before the Fringe was over, the festival’s ticket goal was met; final attendance was approximately 6,600, spurred by…
Opening Doors in Over-the-Rhine
They say when one door closes another opens. I was reminded of that truism last week in Over-the-Rhine. Kris Sommer took me on a walking tour of new housing projects along Vine, Main, Pleasant and Republic streets, many of them developed by the company he works for, Urban Sites. In a former life, Kris was…
Bootsy’s (Lunch Review)
Jeff Ruby’s newest production, Bootsy’s (631 Walnut St., 513-241-0707), recently began serving lunch Monday through Friday from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. While Bootsy’s typically has more of an after-work party vibe, a midday meal there could be just the mini vacation that keeps you from going batty during a long day at the office. [Read about…
Music: Titus Andronicus
Using Shakespeare’s hackneyed themes — violence, impertinence and a little Rock & Roll — the band Titus Andronicus has created a newer (and louder) interpretation of a classic gone awry. The band’s first effort, The Airing of Grievances, a title lifted delicately from the Seinfeld-derived, faux holiday of “Festivus” (the album even has a track…
Missed Connections
Dear Amanda, It was nice talking to you at Cadillac Ranch Friday night. It was kind of a weird place for a straight person like myself to be out socializing. You know, with the hundreds of gay people who showed up with Guerrilla Queer Bar. That’s why I appreciated your forwardness when you told me…
Farewell, Wall Street
David Korten decided early on to devote his life to a noble cause — addressing world poverty — and spent years in Africa, Central America and Asia setting up schools to bring American business ideas to developing countries. That might be reason enough to hear his perspective on contemporary economic events and meaningful alternatives this…
Music: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
Sometimes, Ted Leo seems too respectable. During his 20-year career, the songwriter has gradually become an unspoken archetype of Punk Rock ideals. His work is layered with spirited socio-political musings but his words never become forced or stale. Anything the man sets to tape is imbued with an organic vitality: Leo’s dulcet vocals are masculine…
The Spanish Expedition
Cincinnati Opera’s summer season isn’t quite virtual travel, but you can experience Spain at four pivotal moments in its long history. Three operas are standard repertoire and one contemporary work has its regional premiere. And all were written by foreigners. “There’s a rich Spanish tradition of literature but it just didn’t make (it) into opera,”…
O.A.R. with The Wailers
Although most of its members hail from elsewhere, Ohio can claim a little local pride when the subject of O.A.R. arises. The band coalesced in the mid-’90s when Marc Roberge, Chris Culos, Richard On and Benj Gershman started Of a Revolution in their hometown of Rockville, Md., while still in high school. Having already released…
Music: Rivertown Breakdown
Local yokels take over the Southgate House stages Saturday for the Rivertown Breakdown, a whole-house event whose proceeds go to benefit an annual cleanup of the Ohio River. The Breakdown, which starts at 8 p.m. and costs $15, will feature an eclectic array of tunesmiths with foundations in Roots, Folk and Americana music (and, especially…
Titus Andronicus with Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
William Shakespeare made mistakes. One of them was Titus Andronicus, a hyper-violent revenge tragedy that for centuries has been considered one of the Bard’s worst affronts on the theater. The play is so supremely damaged — and humorously gross — that its cultural relevance is relegated to the back of most Shakespeare anthologies if it…
Unpacking the Truth
The subtitle of the Mercantile Library’s lecture series is “Writing to Change the World.” Few people embody that sentiment better than George Packer. Currently a staff writer for The New Yorker, Packer has been doing exactly that in various books, essays and articles over the last two decades, including his deeply incisive 2005 book Assassins’…
Homeless, Empowered, Married
Though I’ve technically never been homeless, I realize that like so many people I’m really just a paycheck or two or a major illness or some unforeseen catastrophe from being in some serious financial ut-oh. Giving up sometimes seems like a great idea. Or getting a simpler job. Or no job and no responsibilities. You…
7-Inch Release-a-Thon
Cincinnati is the new Olympia, Wash., this week, as Arms Exploding, Caterpillar Tracks and The Read, three politically charged bands with aggressive Post-Punk/Post- Hardcore tendencies, celebrate their 7-inch vinyl releases on local label Phratry Records. Newport’s Southgate House is ground zero for getting your face kicked in (sonically speaking) Friday night. Caterpillar Tracks and Arms…
The Zen of Gay
Cincinnati is full of gay people. Full. Of. Them. Gays and lesbians operate at every level on the community, from the bartenders at your favorite Clifton pub to doctors and lawyers in downtown firms. They cook your meals. They connect your calls. They tell you that you look fat in skinny jeans. It’s just like…
Modern Love
There’s much to say about legendary modern dancer/choreographer Merce Cunningham, but above all he’s a well-rounded, thoroughly modern guy. In April, Cunningham’s eponymous dance company celebrated his 90th birthday with premier performances of his new work, Nearly Ninety, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. True to Cunningham’s long history of progressive collaborations, Sonic Youth and…
June 3-9: Worst Week Ever!
WEDNESDAY JUNE 3Are you tired of paying service fees to print out a concert ticket on your own computer? Do you think it’s unfair when the ATM and your bank charge you for taking money out of the wrong machine? Have you ever let someone kick you in the nuts for no reason? If you…
Obama’s Sneaky Maneuvers
Disappointment is inevitable when dealing with people. We’re all only human, and humans sometimes make mistakes, lie and fall short of their goals and ambitions. It shouldn’t come as too much of a shock that — some 140 days or so after he took office — President Obama has acted in a way on two…
Wilco’s Axeman Is Gainfully Employed
During a long lazy night driving along Highway 5, a lonely stretch of West Coast highway that runs parallel to the Pacific Ocean and extends from Canada to Mexico, Nels Cline got a cell phone call from destiny. He was driving back home from the Bay Area. It was 2 a.m., and he had been…
Turning Blue
With Ohio’s 20 electoral votes — more than Nevada, Utah and Colorado combined — presidential candidates work hard to win over the state’s modest, workman-like and pragmatic voters. Last year both presidential campaigns spent so much time here their team could probably order at Skyline Chili without even glancing at the menu. In an effort…
Fix Cincinnati’s Deeply Ingrained Mentality
Regarding Joe Wessels recent column, “Let’s Not Make Another Mistake” (issue of May 20), I’m not for or against streetcars, as I don’t really think that’s the real issue as far as “spurring economic growth” here is concerned. I also don’t have an irrational “brand loyalty” to Cincinnati. But since getting here two months ago,…
Milk Going Bad
Somehow, I felt like I needed to pay my last respects, so I went to Bob’s funeral last Wednesday in Price Hill. I can’t exactly remember how we met, probably through a friend of a friend, but it was in the early 1990s. Throughout the years, we always stayed in touch, but I would often…
Ted Leo Cures Punk
Sometimes, Ted Leo seems too respectable. During his 20-year career, the songwriter has gradually become an unspoken archetype of Punk Rock ideals. His work is layered with spirited socio-political musings but his words never become forced or stale. Anything the man sets to tape is imbued with an organic vitality: Leo’s dulcet vocals are masculine…
Wildflower Café (Review)
Halfway through the storm, it occurred to us that there was nowhere we’d rather wait it out than Wildflower Café. Maybe it was the warm yellow light, the wind blowing through windows no one had bothered to shut or the clanging and clinking of glasses and silverware from the 20-some diners next to us, all…
Music: The Read
The dance-worthy upstarts The Read’s all-ages Saturday release show at the Bikehaus will present an ample night of potential hearing damage. Their new single, “Party Lines” backed with “Yr Garbage,” is a spirited, pissed missive on modern anomie in our throwaway culture and the ultimate, inevitable solution: anarchy, man! The songs, with their jangly, angular…
Reason to Rally
Many people believe that gay and lesbian activism and our fight for GLBT equality began the night of the Stonewall Riots in 1969. But as early as 1895, a group of New York “androgynes” called the Cercle Hermaphrodites united “for defense against the world’s bitter persecution.” In 1924 in the Old Town Triangle District of…
Fashion Inspiration: Tavi G., the Style Rookie
For those of you who are in the loop of the fashion blog-o-sphere, you may already know of Style Rookie aka Tavi G. For anyone who has no idea what I’m talking about, meet Tavi, the 13-year-old girl who runs Style Rookie, a blog dedicated to clothing and all things fashion. —- I’ve been following…
