Onstage: Joe Matarese
Several years ago, after his first performance at the prestigious Montreal Comedy Festival, comedian Joe Matarese struck a developmental deal with VH1. Later he had a similar deal with NBC, but none of the projects came to fruition. He was, however, able to buy a house with the money they gave him. Indeed, his real…
The Big Bar List: Central Core/Downtown
Central Core AliveOne941 Pavilion St., Mount Adams, 513-721-6977Drinks we’re known for: A great beer selection with eight premium beers on draught and an elaborate micro brew collection of about 75 beers.Promotional nights or events we’re known for: Our famous $2 Tuesdays with specials on domestics, import beers and micro brews along with DJ Matt Joy…
Northside
Northside is hands down one of the best bar-hopping neighborhoods in town. Chalk full of cover-charge-free imbibing stations that continually showcase local and national bands and DJ nights, quirky little stores and newfangled eateries filled with artists, musicians, hipsters, gays, Punk rockers, vegans, old-timers, the bearded, mustachioed and tattooed, all amidst one of Cincy’s most…
Music: Ani DiFranco with Erin McKeown
Twenty years ago, a good many savvy, too-hip-for-the-scene industry types were dismissing Ani DiFranco as a fringe dwelling, mohawked, my-fist-your-face Folk Punk evangelist preaching an angry message to an all-grrl choir, a hard-strumming one trick pony destined to marginalize herself into a narrowly defined cult performer of little consequence. Clearly, DiFranco didn’t follow that particular…
Downtown/Over-the-Rhine
If you like fun, then Downtown Cincinnati is the place to be. It caters to every type of bar enthusiast looking to let loose on the town. Whether you’re P&G rich or CityBeat poor, Downtown is the place for all. Follow this guide for a great “Sincinnati” night. Catch a bus to Government Square and…
Music: Pop Empire CD Release Party
Local music fans who like their Indie Pop noisy and creative need to check out Pop Empire, a new duo featuring Cameron Cochran (of The Sheds and Lions Rampant fame) and Henry Wilson. And, like Cochran's Sheds (which gave away all of its music free online), Pop Empire is recession-friendly. Head to popempire.com and download…
Ko-Sho (Review)
Critic's Pick When I took a trip to Tokyo a few years ago, most of the highlights of my trip were food-related. What I now most associate with Japan is food. From the abundance of super fresh and delicious sashimi to the amazing udon soup served at a concert I went to and the salad…
Oakley
Oakley is a pleasant place. Imagine that you’re Goldilocks but looking for alcohol instead of porridge. If you went up the hill to Mount Adams, you’d probably be all “Mount Adams is too sloppy,” and then if you rode your moped over the viaduct to Northside you’d probably be all “Northside is too cool.” But…
Onstage: Anything Goes
If you’re seeking a good investment for your entertainment dollar, when it comes to musicals, you can’t go wrong with the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). The convergence of talent that sets sail this week in Cole Porter’s Anything Goes makes an especially attractive production, a singing-and-dancing spectacle that was a megahit from…
The Big Bar List: Eastside/North
Eastside Allyn’s Café3538 Columbia Pkwy., Columbia-Tusculum, 513-871-5779Drinks we’re known for: Frozen margaritas, more than 120 beers (all bottles) and a wine shop that sells wine at retail.Promotional nights or events we’re known for: Happy Hour Monday-Friday with reduced drink prices and reduced appetizer prices. We’ll soon return Tuesday open mic night.Truly unique about us: Our Sunday night…
Music: Willy Porter with Venus Mission
Although an acoustic guitar is Willy Porter’s weapon of choice, don’t expect some strum-and-mumble folkie tilting at societal windmills with a pained aura bleeding from his voice and instrument. In the first place, Porter is a virtuoso guitarist, inspired by Leo Kottke and John Fahey to fingerpick his way up and down the fretboard with…
Mount Adams
The Hill is alive, and you probably can’t afford the rent. Well, maybe, but the paradox is that if you pay your rent you’re probably not going to be able to drink like we’re recommending below — and then the whole avoiding-the-DUI-by-walking-from-your-home-to-the-bar-and-back-again-thing is kind of moot. So our advice is to drink, wander and be…
Music: Kiss Kiss with The Venetia Fair
Kiss Kiss revels in melodrama. This New York outfit loads its strain of Indie, Emo and Experimental music with endearingly over-the-top flourishes: electric violins that strike and whine, snatches of slow burn piano and blasts of guitar that ring passionately. The current five-piece version of the band has recently picked up steam by supporting last…
Clifton/Clifton Heights
Although Clifton isn’t your typical university bar district community, it’s not impossible to have a great time drinking and bar hopping all over this part of town. But the key to ensuring that you and your liver get to toxify yourselves together at a variety of establishments is planning your drinking adventure ahead of time.…
The Big Bar List: Westside/Northern Kentucky
NKY Arnie’s on the Levee120 E. Third St., Newport, 859-431-4340Drinks we’re known for: Real drinks: No 3/4-ounce shots here.Promotional nights or events we’re known for: Flip Night on Wednesdays from 8-close: You can flip to get half off. 25-cent wings until 1 a.m.Truly unique about us: VIP section with bottle service. The Avenue411 Madison Ave.,…
Covington MainStrasse
The Covington MainStrasse district is like a trip back in time to a place where people from all cultures enjoy drinking outside and walking the streets. Here you can visit an Irish pub, an English ale house, a German biergarten and fine French dining all in a single night. And, of course, there are touches…
Taste This: Clamato Juice
Gene-splicing fruits can create some interesting cross-breeding. If nothing else, the names are fun. There’s the grapple (part grape, part apple), tangelo (tangerine and pomelo or grapefruit), pluot (plums meet apricots) and the graisin, a giant raisin that messes with not only genetics but the time/space continuum, resulting in grape-sized raisins. These fruits were created…
Art: Out of Order at Thunder-Sky
Until now, the Thunder-Sky gallery in Northside has been devoted to the work of its namesake, the late self-taught/outsider artist Raymond Thunder-Sky, whose charmingly imaginative spins on Cincinnati construction sites have brought his work national attention. Thunder-Sky presents its first show not by or about him — Out of Order, which combines the Minimalist-inspired paintings…
The White Ribbon (Review)
Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, German filmmaker Michael Haneke’s latest is yet another look at the evil that men (and women and children) do. Set in a small, pre-World War I German-Protestant village, The White Ribbon’s narrative is conveyed via the voice over of a now-aged former village schoolteacher…
Events: Sausage Queen Competition
Beer and contests (i.e. sporting events, beer pong) go together like peas and carrots. Therefore, it just makes sense that prior to Bockfest, Cincinnati’s annual Renaissance celebration of Bock beer, Over-the-Rhine and the coming of spring, that various bars throughout the city would be hosting preliminary rounds of the Sausage Queen competition. Who is the…
Art: Winged at 1305 Gallery
Kelly Frigard has spent four years on labor-intensive projects that combine small-scale ceramic animal figures with such soft elements as white rabbit pelts and handmade felt as a way to ruminate on questions about innocence, safety and loss. Her new exhibition, Winged, includes several small sculptural installations in which dense cloud forms, reminiscent of Tiepolo…
Newport
Newport is an ideal spot to cut loose and enjoy the finest fruits of life: Irish whiskey, pints of German bock and plenty of other folks who are down to achieve “hog wild” status. In one night here you can dance on tables, throw elbows in a mosh pit, chain smoke indoors and cool down…
Events: 20th Century Cincinnati
Cincinnati’s vintage-modern art, furnishings and fashion show, 20th Century Cincinnati, is holding its annual showcase this weekend at the Sharonville Convention Center. The showcase features pieces from 50 vintage-modern dealers from around the country. 20th Century is known for its home furnishings and light fixtures, but this collection includes everything from household appliances to vintage…
Events: Laughing OUT Loud
The Human Rights Campaign brings its third annual “Laughing OUT Loud” comedy night to Below Zero Lounge with comedians Dana Goldberg and ANT. This is a fundraiser and membership night for HRC, America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. (If you don’t know who HRC is, you probably…
Hyde Park/Mount Lookout
If you don’t typically barhop around the Hyde Park/Mount Lookout area, you might have some preconceptions about this part of town. Sure, the East Side is home to some ritzy bars and restaurants, but don’t sweat it: You don’t need to rush out to Snooty Fox for a Lily Pulitzer dress. Don’t go rent an…
Hilton Davis Hearing Set for Thursday
State environmental regulators will hold a hearing to gather public input on a proposed cleanup plan of a contaminated industrial site in Pleasant Ridge on Thursday evening. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold the session at the Pleasant Ridge Community Center, 5915 Ridge Ave., beginning at 6 p.m. The neighborhood council will hold…
Kiss Kiss With The Venetia Fair
Kiss Kiss revels in melodrama. This New York outfit loads its strain of Indie, Emo and Experimental music with endearingly over-the-top flourishes: electric violins that strike and whine, snatches of slow burn piano and blasts of guitar that ring passionately. (A quick example of the band’s offbeat nature: “Through the Day” contains a transition that…
Simply the Bess
George Gershwin had high hopes for his first opera, a setting of DuBose Heyward’s novel Porgy. “If I am successful,” he wrote, “it will resemble a combination of the drama and romance of Carmen and the beauty of Meistersinger, if you can imagine that.” Seventy five years after its premiere, Porgy and Bess exceeds Gershwin’s…
Events: Cincinnati Auto Expo
Tired of looking at your car all covered in dirt, salt and snow? Then come to the 2010 Cincinnati Auto Expo where cars have been cleaned, buffed and shined for your enjoyment. Exhibitors include Audi, BMW and Maserati. Tickets are $10 for adults and free for children 13 and under. The event runs from 11…
Onstage: Porgy and Bess
Seventy five years after its premiere, Porgy and Bess exceeds composer George Gershwin’s most outsized expectations. Produced all over the world, from the Metropolitan Opera to that operatic holy of holies, La Scala in Milan, the opera has become an American icon, the source of now classic standards “Summertime,” “I Got Plenty of Nothin’” and…
Onstage: How? How? Why? Why? Why?
If God really did create people so he’d have an endless supply of stories — to quote a line from the likable How? How? Why? Why? Why? now at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park — then the heavens must be smiling down on Kevin Kling. The playwright/performer well known to fans of National Public Radio…
How? How? Why? Why? Why? (Review)
If God really did create people so he’d have an endless supply of stories — to quote a line from the likable How? How? Why? Why? Why? now at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park — then the heavens must be smiling down on Kevin Kling. The playwright/performer well known to fans of National Public Radio…
Peter Gabriel, Juliana Hatfield, Story of the Year and More
My wife and daughter survived their weekend together while I was howling at the Michigan moon on my own, thereby negating any opportunity on my part to relate potentially wild tales of their hammer-and-tong battles. I was afraid I'd be returning to a combination of the Donner pass and the Overlook Hotel, but my periodic…
Colored Museum (Review)
When George Wolfe’s The Colored Museum was new, back in 1986, it drove some New York critics to spasms of praise for its liberating satire. Newsweek: “Bound to shake up blacks and whites with separate-but-equal impartiality.” The Village Voice: “Has the potential to bring to black theater the type of nasty, naked racial revelation once…
Fishbone Skanks Down Memory Lane
John Norwood Fisher remembers hearing Two Tone Ska for the first time. It was the early 1980s, and fellow Fishbone member/trumpeter “Dirty” Walter Kibby introduced him to The Selecter and The English Beat. The bassist's reaction? “I was disappointed,” he jokes. “We didn't invent Ska?!” While it might sound both preposterous and solipsistic for Fisher…
Willy Porter With Venus Mission
Although an acoustic guitar is Willy Porter’s weapon of choice, don’t expect some strum-and-mumble folkie tilting at societal windmills with a pained aura bleeding from his voice and instrument. In the first place, Porter is a virtuoso guitarist, inspired by Leo Kottke and John Fahey to fingerpick his way up and down the fretboard with…
Ani DiFranco With Erin McKeown
Twenty years ago, a good many savvy, too-hip-for-the-scene industry types were dismissing Ani DiFranco as a fringe dwelling, mohawked, my-fist-your-face Folk Punk evangelist preaching an angry message to an all-grrl choir, a hard-strumming one trick pony destined to marginalize herself into a narrowly defined cult performer of little consequence. Clearly, DiFranco didn’t follow that particular…
Music: Fishbone With The English Beat
John Norwood Fisher remembers hearing Two Tone Ska for the first time. It was the early 1980s, and fellow Fishbone member/trumpeter “Dirty” Walter Kibby introduced him to The Selecter and The English Beat. The bassist's reaction? “I was disappointed,” he jokes. “We didn't invent Ska?!” While it might sound both preposterous and solipsistic for Fisher…
Best of Cincinnati Voting Ends Tonight
They say that all good things must end, and tonight a fun annual tradition comes to an end at midnight. That's when the 2010 Best of Cincinnati
GOP Seeks Protection from Tea Party
The Republican Party likes to say it embraces the Tea Party movement, except when it’s preparing to possibly have followers arrested. With Teabaggers angry over state GOP leaders convincing Dave Yost to run for the party’s nomination for Ohio Auditor against the more conservative Seth Morgan, Republicans in Yost’s home county are preparing for trouble…
Galactic, Sade, Lil Wayne, You Say Party! We Say Die! and More
I'm working with the frenzied flailing of a one-legged extra in a Jackie Chan movie in an attempt to wrap up way too many deadlines before I head up to Michigan for a long weekend of much deserved R&R. This means that I have to complete a laundry list of local and out-of-town assignments (which…
Events: Fine Arts Fund Sampler Weekend
Spend the weekend celebrating the arts in Greater Cincinnati with the Fine Arts Fund's Sampler Weekend. With events happening all over the Tristate, spend Saturday gallery hopping Downtown or check out special afternoon ballet performances with the Cincinnati Ballet, stop by the Playhouse for backstage tours, watch a family-friendly performance of Brothers Grimm at Know…
Events: CAC Opening Reception
The Contemporary Arts Center celebrates the opening of Shepard Fairey: Supply and Demand and Shilpa Gupta: A Bit Closer with a reception and public party starting at 8 p.m. Fairey will be DJing a special set. Read Matt Morris' interview with Fairey here and get details about his exhibition (running through May 2) here; get…
Stage Door: Weekend Theater Options
Couple of good choices for theatergoing this weekend, including the final chance to see Walter Mosley's world premiere play, Fall from Heaven, at the Cincinnati Playhouse (read our review here). It's a great chance to see this renowned novelist in a new genre, with his first play. It's a jazzy morality play about good and…
Friday Movie Roundup: Shutter Island
Back in August of last year, Paramount Pictures announced that it was moving Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island, the anticipated follow-up to the director’s Oscar-winning The Departed, from an Oct. 2 release date to February 2010. The move was perplexing for a variety of reasons, the most obvious of which was the presence of an Oscar-bait…
Cheney OPPOSES Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
Hold onto your hats, kiddies! Those trying to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” have a new supporter on their side. And it’s not at all who you would expect. It’s former Vice President Dick Cheney! That’s right, the Dick Cheney. In a shocking twist on the debate of whether or not gays and lesbians should…
Court Document: Chiquita Willingly Paid Terrorists
A statement given to the Colombian government by an ex-paramilitary leader could mean trouble for Chiquita Brands International as it tries to fight lawsuits about the firm’s payments to terrorist groups. The statement — which was recently entered into the court record in the lawsuits — alleges the terrorist group had an "an open public…
Clean Energy Day of Action
A coalition of groups participated in the "Clean Energy Day of Action" event Monday. Despite the heavy snowfall, attendees gathered on downtown's Fountain Square to urge Congress to pass a comprehensive clean energy and climate plan this spring. The event — part of the Cincinnati for Clean Energy Campaign — was organized by members from…
The Last Station (Review)
Writer/director Michael Hoffman’s film adaptation of Jay Parini's novel doesn't effectively rally the strength of its accomplished actors. The inimitable Christopher Plummer plays novelist Leo Tolstoy, who is in the midst of a bitter dispute with his wife of 48 years, Sofya (Helen Mirren), over his plans to bequeath his vast wealth and utopian Yasnaya…
Enquirer Prepares for More Layoffs
In its latest round of cutbacks, The Cincinnati Enquirer began the process this week of laying off more employees — although reporters and editors aren’t affected this time. Managers at Cincinnati’s only remaining daily newspaper announced on Monday that some graphic designers and sales coordinators would lose their jobs, according to Enquirer sources.—- About 36…
COAST Wins in Court
Between tweeting happily about U.S. Rep. John Murtha’s death and gloating over Cincinnati losing out on federal funding for its proposed streetcar project, an anti-tax group has also posted on its blog about something more substantive: A legal victory against an Ohio law it said was unconstitutional.—- The Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes…
Rumors, Lies and General Misunderstandings
• The recent snow blast caused the cancellation of the Feb. 15 “Help Them Sing Again” Haitian relief benefit at the Blue Wisp Jazz Club, but you can make up for it this Saturday at The Leapin Lizard gallery space in Covington. The 7 p.m. show’s lineup showcases Blues, Jazz, R&B and World music and…
TV Weather Forecasters Force the Snow/Danger Drumbeat
True to their tribe, local TV forecasters created as much anxiety as possible about a storm moving into our region. Day after day during the first week of February, we learned nothing new from redundant presentations and banter with anchors. Each day, we heard again how the snow would begin in earnest Friday night and…
Get Geeked
Everyone knows about Iron Man 2. People have already bought their tickets for the next (and penultimate) Harry Potter installment. You have June 30 marked on your calendar, knowing you’re seeing the new Twilight that weekend. You and about 70 million pre-pubescent girls. But what about the films getting little-to-no love in all those 2010…
Vatican Tunes and Carnival Blues
[HOT] If the Vatican’s Rockin’, Don’t Come Knockin’ Someone in the Vatican is either a little bit nutty or The Pope and Co. have hired somebody to “cool” things up and make them seem hip to the youngsters. Of course, “cool” is in the eye of the beholder. After blessing a Vatican MySpace site that…
Peace Isn’t Passive
In a world crowded with more than 6.8 billion people, each of whom faces some kind of human struggle, it might seem like a lofty ambition to have sights set on solving some of humanity’s most formidable, age-old problems. But for the last 25 years, the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center (IJPC) has courageously taken…
Shutter Island (Review)
Martin Scorsese’s latest is a gorgeously stylized psychological thriller full of darkly lush horror that torments its obsessed protagonist. As former World War II veteran and U.S. Marshal Edward "Teddy" Daniels, Leonardo DiCaprio hits every psychological mark that Scorsese dynamically orchestrates against a vast metaphorical natural and unnatural setting. Peddocks Island in Nahant, Mass., stands…
How Clean Is Clean?
A 20-year investigation and debate over toxic waste at a Pleasant Ridge industrial site may be nearing its end, as state regulators have issued a draft plan to clean the Hilton Davis chemical facility — a plan that many nearby residents call insufficient. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the plan late last month…
Feb. 10-16: Worst Week Ever!
WEDNESDAY FEB. 10 It’s long been understood that Citizens Opposed to Additional Taxes knows how to talk a little stuff — even those of us offended by its insensitivity to homosexuals can respect the effectiveness of the group’s “That streetcar gay as hell” campaign. But The Enquirer today reported that the Hamilton County Democratic Party…
McConnell and Chesley
[LOSER] MITCH MCCONNELL: The Republican Senate leader from Louisville recently criticized President Obama’s plans for reducing carbon emissions by stating it would cost every household about $3,100 a year. Nevermind that Democrats pledge to include tax rebates in the plan, especially for the poor, and aim the measure mostly at large polluters. No, we suspect…
Dems Willing to Sacrifice Local Seat for Congress
First he was in, then he was out and now he’s in again. Just weeks after winning his third term on Cincinnati City Council, Cecil Thomas surprised most political observers by announcing he would seek the Democratic nomination to run for the Hamilton County Commission seat being vacated by David Pepper. Sure, we all expected…
