Morning News and Stuff
Maybe because she thought no one was watching Fox News on Saturdays — they’re watching reruns of The Daily Show — conservative commentator Liz Trotta this weekend denounced Tea Party goddesses Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin. Quoting Ezra Klein and Rolling Stone writer Matt Taibbi Trotta, joked that, “as far as flubs go, they are…
Music: Delicate Steve
Steve Marion certainly knows how to stir things up, in the studio and in the press. Back in February, David Byrne’s Luaka Bop label reissued Marion’s originally self-released Wondervisions, his debut effort as Delicate Steve, which was accompanied by a “press release” penned anonymously by Rock critic Chuck Klosterman. The renowned author of Sex, Drugs…
Events: Music on the Trails
It’s no secret that musical performances focus on the auditory aspect of art — most people don’t attend a concert at Music Hall driven by a burning desire to feel its luxuriously plush seating or appreciate its distinctly historical aroma. But thanks to sponsorship from local organizations, audiences will be able to experience a true…
Events: Cincinnati Pride Weekend
Gay rights supporters everywhere celebrated a momentous victory June 24 when the state of New York legalized same-sex marriage. The liberating moment in history couldn’t have come at a better time — Pride Week is upon us, and those who disagree with the government telling its citizens who to love have extra reason to sport…
Events: Second Sunday on Main
Whether it be your pedigree pooch or lovable mutt, canines of all shapes, shades and sizes are welcome to this month's Second Sunday on Main. In celebration of the Dog Days of Summer there will be a Puppy Parade and Dog Show to watch with your best pal. There will also be live music all…
Art: Circus Posters
Now that those obligatory
Music: Umphrey’s McGee
Like many of today’s bands, Umphrey’s McGee has found itself debating the question of how to best release new music into the market. Some musicians and industry professionals have gone as far as to declare the album a dying format. Especially with younger music fans, the iPod and similar devices has changed the way they…
Comedy: Dan Davidson
“I like to talk about the social issues that make people uncomfortable,” says comedian Dan Davidson. “People in Cincinnati think they’re conservative, but they’re really not. It’s no different than where I grew up.” That would be in Lafayette, Ind., home to Purdue University. “I like to call Indiana ‘God’s country, if God doesn’t like…
Music: Big Freedia
Freddie Ross Jr., known to nearly everyone in his native New Orleans as Big Freedia (pronounced Free-da), is an iconic figure in several ways. On one hand, he is a flamboyant, larger-than-life representative of gay pride and member of the city’s Sissy culture, a local appellation denoting men with ambiguous sexual identities. A quick scan…
Events: The City Flea
Summer is the best time to get outside and enjoy the warm weather in Cincinnati, and it is always a good time to find inexpensive unique goods, enjoy delicious food and drinks and meet all different kinds of people.
Art: Phyllis Weston Gallery Shows
Phyllis Weston Gallery has recently opened two exhibitions, The Lyrical Modernist: Harry Reisiger (1922-2009) and Fragmenting the Landscape: Contemporary Work by Kim Flora and John Humphries. Reisiger studied at the Art Academy of Cincinnati and there befriended the Modernist maven Paul Chidlaw. This — the first posthumous survey of Reisiger's paintings — clearly indicates their…
Music: Ladybug Transistor
The Ladybug Transistor’s sonic path over the past 16 years has typically shifted with the band’s membership. Under the constant tutelage of founder Gary Olson, LT has embraced avant Shoegaze/Pop (1995’s Marlborough Farms), sugary Psychedelia (2001’s Argyle Heir) and varying degrees of baroque Indie Pop (1999’s The Albermarle Sound) and its Folk/Country byproduct (2007’s Can’t…
Onstage: 42nd Street
For many years, the most famous address on Broadway in New York City has been 42nd Street — a place where dreams of stardom can come true. The hit 1980 musical that borrows its title from the street calls it “Naughty, bawdy, gaudy, sporty,” and invites you to “hear the beat of dancing feet.” The…
Dayton Dragons About to Break Record
I've never been to a Dayton Dragons game. In fact, I've never been to a minor-league baseball game anywhere — a surprising fact for a lifelong connoisseur of the sport, someone who religiously collected baseball cards and played his fair share of Strat-o-Matic as a kid, someone who currently manages two fantasy baseball teams quite deftly…
Morning News and Stuff
Fox’s political Twitter account early today and posted updates that said President Barack Obama had been assassinated. In a series of six tweets from the FoxNewsPolitics account reported that an unknown assailant shot Obama to death in Iowa. Fox News called the tweets “malicious” and “false” in a statement on its website later in the…
Interfaith Service Set for Gay Pride
Across the nation, commemorations of Gay Pride Month have just wrapped up. In Cincinnati, where things often seem a little behind the times, they haven't even begun yet. Cincinnati Pride Equinox 2011 is scheduled for July 7-10 in the Queen City. To kick off the festivities, a multi-faith worship service will be held at St.…
Larry Crowne (Review)
As an early military retiree working for a Walmart knockoff (UMart), middle-aged company man Larry Crowne (co-writer and director Tom Hanks) loses the war against downsizing, but quickly strikes back with his late decision to attend community college for the degree he never pursued. His hard luck quickly changes, thanks to a positive attitude, which…
Monte Carlo (Review)
High school grad Grace (Selena Gomez), boring stepsister Meg (Leighton Meester) and Texas perky best friend Emma (Katie Cassidy) embark on the vacation of a lifetime, which begins with them slumming around Paris as part of a tsunami-paced bus tour before Grace gets mistaken for Cordelia Winthrop Scott, a British heiress, and they traipse off…
Morning News and Stuff
While visiting the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in downtown Cincinnati on Thursday, former Mexican President Vicente Fox emphasized the shared opportunity and shared problems of the country's North American neighbors. Fox called for the U.S., Mexico and Canada to better harness their collective economic might to ward of the challenge of growing economies in…
YMCA to Close One Site, Alter Another
As part of a realignment of its facilities in the urban core, the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati will close the Williams branch in East Walnut Hills in August. Also, although the YMCA will continue some programs at the Melrose branch in Walnut Hills, it also will end general membership services there. Both changes are effective…
Morning News and Stuff
A man thought it wise to grab French President Nicolas Sarkozy by his shoulder this morning. It was quickly proven otherwise as he was tackled by security officers and taken into custody by the police.—- Ben Stein — comedian, economist and the guy who provided everyone with “Bueller … Bueller” — told Fox News’ Laura…
Los Lobos
In the disposable culture of today’s music industry, it’s almost inconceivable that a band could stay together for close to 40 years without the benefit of sustained platinum sales/arena-seating success while rising from a relatively narrow niche. Inconceivable for most bands but clearly not a problem for the massively talented Los Lobos, who formed in…
Wednesday Movie Roundup: Michael Bay Edition
Some say Michael Bay is the devil, the man responsible for the death of cinema as we know it. It seems the director behind such crass mainstream entertainments as The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor and the Transformers films — the third of which, subtitled Dark of the Moon, opens today — has no shame when it…
Sheriff Makes ‘Hall of Shame’
A bipartisan political action committee (PAC) that lobbies for “fair and just immigration laws” has selected Butler County's outspoken sheriff as one of 10 U.S. politicians inducted into its newly created Hall of Shame for local officials across the nation. Immigrants' List says Sheriff Richard K. Jones was selected because the conservative Republican exploits fear and…
Thanks to Issue 5, LAPD Veteran Will Take CPD Reins
I t’s been a long and winding road, to borrow a phrase from Lennon and McCartney, but the will of Cincinnati voters that was first expressed in November 2001 is now finally coming to fruition. Nearly a full decade after a charter amendment was approved that changed how police chiefs are selected, it’s being used…
Comedy: Steve Trevino
Steve Trevino always knew he wanted to be a stand-up comic. "I remember watching my parents gathering around the TV to watch Richard Pryor," he says, "and me not being able to watch because they would put me to bed. I'd sneak into the hallway and lie (there) and just listen. I'd hear my parents…
Holocaust Museum Discusses New Project
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington has many active supporters in the Cincinnati area, including the local Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education (8401 Montgomery Road, Kenwood, 513-487-3055). As a result, the museum’s director of curatorial affairs, Scott Miller, came last week to Amberley’s Adath Israel Congregation to discuss a sensitive ongoing oral…
Events: Northside Rock ‘N Roll Carnival/Parade
Every Fourth of July brings family, friends, food and fireworks, but the Northside Rock ’N Roll Carnival celebrates America’s birthday on a whole different level. The free carnival/parade/festival includes fire breathers, drag shows, sword swallowers and a bed of nails, plus tons of food, drinks, specialty vendors and some of your favorite local bands performing…
Painting a Better World
M ary Ann Lederer’s story has a bright line down the middle: Before she was shot in the back at age 35, and since then as she turns 70 on July 4 and marks half her life in a wheelchair. The darkness of her story is contrasted by vivid splashes of color in paintings seen…
Events: Red, White and Blue Ash
Start your Independence Day celebrations early as typically quiet suburbia lights up and rocks out with a Rozzi's Famous Fireworks show and a performance by movie-theme-song-king Kenny Loggins. Come just for the fireworks or stay all day. The fun begins at 2:30 p.m. with the band Exile and continues later with Country trio Blue Sky…
Modest Muth
Z oe Muth’s press kit for her new album, Starlight Hotel, reveals several impressive references — everyone from Emmylou Harris, Kitty Wells and Iris DeMent to Merle Haggard, John Prine and Hank Williams — concerning her songwriting ability and vocal prowess. Those are lofty comparisons for someone who’s promoting her sophomore album, but the correlations…
Events: Balloon Glow
Looking for more than fireworks this Fourth of July weekend? How about hot air balloons? Coney Island will host the 12th-annual LaRosa's Balloon Glow. As many as 15 hot air balloons will illuminate the sky, glowing in every color of the rainbow. The Balloon Glow starts at 8 p.m., but the fun starts long before.…
Sung Korean Bistro (Review)
How hot is it? Oh, don’t even ask! This summer has come in with a blazing red bang, just in time for me to abandon my cushy air-conditioned cubicle for three weeks in the wild, doing a field study of the roaming American teenager. What was I thinking? Who knows! Sunstroke’s got the best of…
Taste This: Pickled Eggs
During the past couple of years, you’ve been able to follow a ribbon of pink through the supermarket aisles. Part of a campaign to help breast cancer research and awareness, you can find a wide range of products emblazoned in pink throughout your corner grocery. While everything from Oreos to Special K features the pink…
The Listening
T his column is due the day I’m writing it. Up until today, I didn’t know what I wanted to write about. I’ve been writing these columns for a couple years now, and in the interest of not feeling like I’m writing the same thing over and over, I never just want to phone it…
Chuck Warriner [Dilly Café]
Chuck Warriner knows his wines, which is a good thing, as he’s the co-owner of the Dilly Café and the manager of the Dilly Wines & Gourmet wine shop in Mariemont. The former Dilly Deli, Dilly Café has been at its present location on the Mariemont Strand since 1996 (6818 Wooster Pike, 513-561-5233). Chuck and…
Hot Tuna, Band of Heathens, Broken Bells and Britney Spears
Get me, I’m back in the blogosphere. I’m looking to catch up in a big way over the next few weeks, but like Grandma always said, if you want to make God smile, tell him your plans. Let’s really give the Old Man a real laugh and see where we go this summer … good…
Onstage: Winter Wonderettes
It’s almost time to bid a fond farewell to Betty Jean, Cindy Lou, Missy and Suzy, aka “The Marvelous Wonderettes.” They were such a hit at Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati in 2010 that they’ve made a return engagement this summer. In a clever reversal of seasons, ETC is offering a holiday show in July: It’s…
Derailroaded: Inside the Mind of Larry
Frank Zappa loved his freaks. Through his record labels Straight and Bizarro, he recorded such one-of-a-kind acts like Alice Cooper, Captain Beefheart, the GTOs (a bunch of groupies) and, last but not least, Larry “Wild Man” Fischer. Fischer, who died a couple weeks ago at age 66, was a manic-depressive, paranoid-schizophrenic Los Angeles street singer…
Art: Moving Images
Newly opened at the Weston Art Gallery, the survey of 15 of Alison Crocetta's revelatory film and video works takes up the entire space for the entire summer (until Aug. 28), a rarity for the downtown gallery. I can’t recall ever seeing an exhibition with so many films on view simultaneously; it’s comprised of more…
Events: Newport Motorcycle Rally
Dust off your leather jacket and hide your Prius at home, because it’s time for the annual Newport Motorcycle Rally. The rally boasts four days of festivities celebrating Cincinnati motorcycles and the people who know them best. Attendees can trek to the waterfront and admire the rows of bikes framed against the Cincinnati skyline, and…
The Flowering of a Conductor
J oana Carneiro has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. She was born in 1976, two years after her native Portugal overthrew dictatorship for democracy. “The country was open to opportunity for everyone — there were no barriers,” Carneiro says, grateful for the opportunities for an aspiring conductor. Twenty-six…
Art: CINCY GossipLip Weekly
Museum Gallery/Gallery Museum (1218 Sycamore St., Over-the-Rhine) has a reputation for high-concept thematic exhibitions packed with wit and humor. The space places emphasis on its gallery openings as performance art events; oftentimes its activities live on in rumor and hearsay proliferated by those who saw them. One of its most recent projects is CINCY GossipLip…
Not So Jazzy
Jazzy is what I called him as did others who knew him. He considered us friends, but the reality is I don’t think any of us really knew him at all or even wanted to. Why he kept popping up in my life I don’t know. Some people keep resurfacing like a bad penny, and…
Harlequins Romance New EP
Last year was not a particularly good period for The Harlequins, losing several friends to the scourge of heroin while dealing with the standard personal and professional travails that have plagued us all. You’d be hard-pressed to find the marks to prove it on the trio’s wild and wonderful new EP, Midwest Coast, which is…
Music: Zoe Muth
Zoe Muth’s press kit for her new album, Starlight Hotel, reveals several impressive references — everyone from Emmylou Harris, Kitty Wells and Iris DeMent to Merle Haggard, John Prine and Hank Williams — concerning her songwriting ability and vocal prowess. Those are lofty comparisons for someone who’s promoting her sophomore album, but the correlations are…
Denise Driehaus and Judge Bouchard
[WINNER] DENISE DRIEHAUS: The state representative from the Ohio House’s 31st District, covering western Cincinnati and nearby areas, is one of 14 state lawmakers who wrote Gov. Kasich this week demanding answers about the state budget. Specifically, they want to know why Kasich and many GOP lawmakers are pushing for $8 billion in budget cuts…
June 22-28: Worst Week Ever!
WEDNESDAY JUNE 22 In most organizations, different tasks are delegated to the people who do each of them well — we at CityBeat have certain types of people who create our content (cultural connoisseurs and watchdogs of public personalities and institutions) and others who sell advertisements in the paper (people who wear fancy shoes and…
Events: Dog’s Night Out
Save your dinner scraps for the cat this Tuesday and treat Spot to some of the city’s finest ice cream crafted specially for dogs. Graeter’s Dog’s Night Out features Frosty Paws — they’re free of sugar, artificial flavors and colors and other normal no-no's for your loyal companion, which makes it totally cool to bring…
Rolling Out the Welcome Mat
W ith still-fresh wounds from the WLW ad campaign in 2007 that thoughtlessly touted the radio giant as “The Big Juan” — with its cartoonishly stereotypical imagery on billboards — and a suburban sheriff constantly in the headlines railing against immigrants, Cincinnati is hardly the city you would think would be embraced by a national…
Music: Los Lobos
In the disposable culture of today’s music industry, it’s almost inconceivable that a band could stay together for close to 40 years without the benefit of sustained platinum sales/arena-seating success while rising from a relatively narrow niche. Inconceivable for most bands but clearly not a problem for the massively talented Los Lobos, who formed in…
State Songs
D avid Johansen of the New York Dolls, who played at Riverbend’s PNC Pavilion on Sunday, displays an acerbic view of Cincinnati — and Ohio in general — in one of the songs on his band’s new album, Dancing Backward in High Heels. In “I’m So Fabulous,” a song about how tourists to New York…
Buck (Review)
I n the preface to the 1975 edition of Animal Liberation, ethics philosopher Peter Singer shared the story of an evening dinner party where the hostess was a keen lover of animals and quite interested in discussing his take on the treatment of animals. She had a dog and two cats that got on well…
Onstage: A Flowering Tree
J oana Carneiro has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. She was born in 1976, two years after her native Portugal overthrew dictatorship for democracy. “The country was open to opportunity for everyone — there were no barriers,” Carneiro says, grateful for the opportunities for an aspiring conductor. Twenty-six…
Moving Pictures
N ewly opened at the Weston Art Gallery, the survey of 15 of Alison Crocetta’s revelatory film and video works takes up the entire space for the entire summer, a rarity for the downtown gallery. I can’t recall ever seeing an exhibition with so many films on view simultaneously; it’s comprised of more than two…
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Review)
After being subjected to a scathing critical bashing for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (including harsh words from Megan Fox, one of the movie’s stars), Michael Bay apparently dedicated himself to cleaning up his act for the final installment in his epic trilogy based on the Hasbro toy line and animated series from the 1980s.…
Art: Cincinnati Meets The Beatles! 1964 & 1966
The work of longtime Cincinnati photographer Gordon Baer forms the heart of a new exhibit, Cincinnati Meets the Beatles! 1964 & 1966, opening Thursday night from 7-9 p.m. at the Behringer-Crawford Museum (1600 Montague Road) in Covington’s Devou Park. In 1966, Baer was able to photograph the Beatles on- and off-stage during the second of…
Morning News and Stuff
Michele Bachmann, who announced her intent to run for president in 2012 and then promptly made an “oops” by saying that she’d be running with “the spirit of” John Wayne the serial killer. Well, during her announcement speech she also said, “the Founding Fathers who wrote the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence worked tirelessly…
