Goatwhore
Wikipedia describes Goatwhore as "blackened Death Metal." Apparently absolutely nothing escapes being blackened in New Orleans. The band began in 1997 with Acid Bath guitarist/vocalist Sammy Duet's intention of making raw, fast Death Metal that broke from the Gothic sensibilities of Scandanavian Metal. Duet and drummer Zak Nolan began working on Black Metal jams during…
Olly Murs
The musically obsessed often make fun of music-based television talent shows. Rightfully so, too. Any scheme that lands Taylor Hicks and Kelly Clarkson in our faces deserves all the scoffing possible. However, sometimes there’s a diamond in the screaming, nasally roughness. Olly Murs is one such diamond. He’s like the Carrie Underwood of The X…
MilkDrive
Back in the 1970s, acoustic music began to expand and evolve. Bluegrass music morphed into many different genres, from Jamgrass and Newgrass to even more esoteric fare. One exciting new offshoot at the time was the “Jazzgrass” of the David Grisman Quintet. These days, acoustic music has seen a resurgence under the umbrella genre of…
Lucero
Lucero frontman Ben Nichols seems destined to be a Rock & Roll lifer, a guy who revels in playing 200 shows a year for a relatively small but passionate fan base. The Memphis-bred band Nichols leads has dropped eight albums since forming in 1998, moving from Punk-inflected Roots rave-ups (think The Replacements playing Uncle Tupelo…
Survey Confirms Statewide School Cuts
A survey released April 29 found Ohio schools are making cutbacks in response to budget cuts previously approved by Republican Gov. John Kasich and the Republican-controlled Ohio legislature. The 15-question survey from left-leaning Policy Matters Ohio, which received responses from 42 percent of the state’s K-12 school districts in 82 counties, found 70 percent of…
Morning News and Stuff
City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. defended the streetcar project at a special four-hour session of City Council yesterday, but the city manager did not reveal any specifics over how the project’s $17.4 million budget gap could be closed. Dohoney revealed the price of halting the project would be $72 million: the project has already cost…
Friday ‘Indie Summer’ Concert Series Announced
The lineups for 2013's PNC Summer Music Series on Fountain Square — featuring live music from different genres for free throughout the summer — have been coming out gradually. We're happy to announce the lineup so far for the Friday night "Indie Summer" shows (presented by CityBeat and the MidPoint Music Festival). Look for the…
City Manager Defends Streetcar Project
Convening in packed City Council chambers today, Cincinnati officials discussed the costs and benefits of the streetcar project in light of a $17.4 million budget gap revealed by the city administration on April 16. City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. said the project could and should be saved, but a minority of public speakers and some…
MidPoint Music Festival ’13: Announcement Coming Soon
Get ready, MidPoint Music Festival fans. This Friday, the first 10 or so artists booked for 2013's MPMF — returning to the streets and venues of Over-the-Rhine and Downtown Sept. 26-28 — will be announced. And longtime MPMF sponsor Dewey's Pizza will have the scoop. Friday, those wanting the info first should head to facebook.com/DeweysPizza…
Morning News and Stuff
City Hall will be hosting a meeting on the streetcar project at 6 p.m. today to figure out what the project’s options are now that it has a $17.4 million budget gap. The meeting was called by Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls after City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. explained in a memo that the project has…
ETC Shares News About Four Shows for Next Season
Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati today announced four of its six shows for the 2013-2014 season, which opens on Sept. 4. Producing Artistic Director D. Lynn Meyers says, "We are planning a truly original, fresh and exhilarating season of dynamic regional premieres, and I am absolutely thrilled to showcase some of the hottest titles and newest voices…
Mayor Rescinding Salary Raises
Mayor Mark Mallory announced in a memo today that he will not be following through with previously planned salary raises for his staff, citing poor morale in light of recent — but misleading — press coverage. But the rest of his budget plan will remain. Mallory explained his reasoning in a statement: "I am rescinding…
Ohio Is No ‘Economic Miracle’
It’s one issue Ohio’s leading conservative and liberal think tanks seemingly agree on: The “economic miracle” often touted by Gov. John Kasich is not really happening. The bleak economic news has been highlighted by recent reports from the right-leaning Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions, which supports little government intervention in the economy, and the…
The Heights Music Fest Returns This Weekend
Cincinnati has a wealth of music festivals, from MidPoint Music Festival, Cincy Blues Fest, Macy's Music Festival, Bunbury to new additions like the expanded One More Girl on a Stage event this fall, the recently announced MOXY Music Fest, scheduled for June, and numerous others. But for those who like to get a fresh sampling…
Morning News and Stuff
State Sen. Eric Kearney, a Cincinnati Democrat, introduced a bill in the Ohio Senate yesterday that would allow opened alcoholic beverages in “entertainment districts,” which must have populations of more than 50,000 within one-half mile by one-half mile. Kearney said Over-the-Rhine would be an ideal benefactor of the new bill. “Senate Bill 116 will promote…
Stage Door: Weekend Choices
You still have several weeks to see Cock (aka "The Cockfight Play" for journalism wimps) at Know Theatre. (It's onstage through May 11.) It's an oh-so-contemporary piece of theater about a gay man — or rather a man — who thought himself to be gay until he breaks up with his boyfriend and takes up…
Greater Cincinnati Among Worst for Air Pollution
The Greater Cincinnati area and Hamilton County ranked poorly in the American Lung Association’s annual “State of the Air” report , released April 24, with failing grades in a couple categories. The report, which used 2009-2011 U.S. EPA data, gave the Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington region an “F” for ozone pollution, a “D” for 24-hour particle pollution and…
Onstage: Frampton & The Cincinnati Ballet Live
Few things good ever come easily, or without stepping outside one’s comfort zone. But persistence paid off in Cincinnati Ballet’s pursuit of Peter Frampton, the Grammy-winning guitar hero with a career spanning decades. And he’s still touring and making new music, including some original compositions written especially for Frampton & Cincinnati Ballet Live. Speaking by…
Music: The Heights Music Festival
The first Clifton Heights Music Festival took place toward the end of the last decade, as the Clifton Heights neighborhood near the University of Cincinnati was practically crumbling thanks to demolition and construction for various projects designed to make the area more of a thriving entertainment district for students and residents (you know, like most…
Music: Gov’t Mule
Cincinnati has been good to Gov’t Mule. The band has sold out multiple shows in the area over the years. Unlike many groups who may draw a “music lesson” crowd that tends to sit on its hands and complain when somebody dares to stand up and trance up, Mule audiences rock it from note one.…
Music: Billy Bragg
Billy Bragg has been proffering his brand of topical Folk Rock for more than 30 years now. Is it then cruel injustice or poetic fate that he’ll likely be forever best known in the U.S. as the British guy who teamed with Wilco to deliver the stellar Mermaid Avenue albums, which featured lyrics by his…
Music: Pentatonix
A cappella group Pentatonix had harmony at first sight. The group began when three friends from Texas spontaneously teamed up for a competition to meet the cast of Glee. Kirstie Maldonado, Mitch Grassi and Scott Hoying didn’t win that competition, though. Further down the road, while Mitch was still a senior in high school and…
Music: Disappears
Billed as primer for the Chicago quartet Disappears’ fourth full-length, to be released later this year, the freshly minted three-song EP Kone is a hypnotic dose of psyched-out Post Punk, an ominous soundtrack to a world that seems as dangerous and disturbing as ever. Disappears performs Saturday, April 27 with Palaces at MOTR Pub in Over-the-Rhine.…
Music: Ivan & Alyosha
It is always a fun endeavor to go to a smaller venue and see a band on the rise, to take in a group that has the potential for bigger and better things. That is the scenario for this week’s concert by Ivan & Alyosha at the Mayday in Northside. The band hails from Seattle…
Music: Machine Gun Kelly
Hip Hop sensation Richard Colson Baker, better known as Machine Gun Kelly (or MGK), announced his current Lace Up tour in novel fashion; he became his own street team. Armed with a cardboard sign with the Sharpied message “Come to My Show” and a videographer to document the event, MGK hit the roadsides of his…
Morning News and Stuff
For this week’s cover story , CityBeat analyzed the Ohio House budget bill that would defund Planned Parenthood, fund anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers and forgo the Medicaid expansion in favor of broader reforms. The bill passed the Republican-controlled Ohio House last week, but it still needs to be approved by the Republican-controlled Ohio Senate and…
Mayor Shrinking Staff Budget Despite Raises
Even though some members of Mayor Mark Mallory's staff are getting double-digit raises, the mayor's budget is actually being downsized to rely on less staff members, ultimately shrinking the mayor's office budget by $33,000 between July 1 and Dec. 1. Some of Mallory's staff obtained raises because they will be taking up the former duties…
Lisa Biales, Ricky Nye & Paris Band Touring New Album
Masterful Cincinnati Boogie Woogie piano stylist Ricky Nye is much loved in his hometown. In CityBeat's Best of Cincinnati issue this year, readers voted Nye "Best Local Musician," which he also won last year. And there's a pretty good chance he has more Cincinnati Entertainment Awards and CAMMY awards (the old Enquirer program) than any…
Art: Empire Falling: New Photographs from Elena Dorfman
The huge stone quarries that hide in the landscapes of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky are strange things, monsters of ruggedly carved-out negative space that — when abandoned and filled with water — attract illicit swimmers and divers. The surreal beauty of the quarries, wet and dry, also attracted Los Angeles photographer Elena Dorfman. After spending…
Onstage: Legally Blonde: The Musical
Ohmigod, you guys: The Covedale Center’s production of Legally Blonde is like, totally fabulous. A bubbly, warm, laugh-out-loud evening of theater at its cutest, Blonde is well produced and wonderfully entertaining. Elle Woods has it made — she’s president of Delta Nu sorority at UCLA, has a 4.0 in fashion merchandising, and she’s just waiting…
Onstage: Cock
Know Theatre has opted for quality rather than quantity in its productions this season. It’s following the highly regarded When the Rain Stops Falling with its second show, Cock by Mike Bartlett, maintaining a similar high level of material and performance. In fact, Know’s upstairs performance space has been physically reconfigured to resemble an arena…
Art: Art of the Scarf
If you think a scarf is just a way to keep from catching cold, you’re missing the fun. Art of the Scarf at Northside’s NVISION shows these ubiquitous accessories as the delight of designers and indicates the multitude of ways they may be worn or displayed. Emily Buddendeck, NVISION founder, put together the exhibition to…
Onstage: concert:nova
The dynamic ensemble concert:nova continues to celebrate the music of Steve Reich for their annual Composer Focus series. Reich’s “Pendulum Music,” “New York Counterpoint” and “Nagoya Marimbas” will be performed in the first half of The Music of Steve Reich. Ghanian drumming was a huge influence on Reich’s minimalist compositions and an African Folklore group…
Event: VogueVert Trunk Show and Fundrasier
Looking to go green, even in your closet? VogueVert, a curated global conscious luxury goods provider founded by Cincinnatian Kathy Hamm, brings the most talented green designers to one place online — and now in person. These upscale accessories, jewelry and handbags allow you to be stylish and environmentally friendly while supporting causes that advance…
Event: Cincinnati Opera Ball and After-Party
Suit up, Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Opera hosts its 2013 Opera Ball, “The Night of the Rose,” inspired by their June debut of Der Rosenkavalier. Cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and Viennese waltzing fill the black-tie event with singing by soprano Sarah Coburn, who will be performing songs from both opera and Broadway classics. After the ball, the…
Event: Crafty Supermarket
Crafty Supermarket’s Spring Show is the best reason to get out of your house on a potentially rainy (or snowy for that matter) Saturday afternoon. The gathering of 50-plus crafters, artists and designers is going on its fourth year in existence, and the event draws crowds of people interested in buying wares straight from the…
Music: Cincy Psych Fest Freak-Out Series with Goat and Holy Wave
Engulfing psychedelic rockers Goat, coming straight outta Sweden, have made a name for themselves in their homeland and, gradually, the rest of the world appears to be catching on. Sub Pop Records is helping to facilitate that wider exposure with the upcoming release of the band’s disorienting “Dreambuilding” single (which got a limited early release…
Event: Dining Out For Life
Dine out at a favorite restaurant Thursday and a portion of your check will benefit Caracole, a local nonprofit that provides housing and supportive services to individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS in Southwest Ohio. Dining Out For Life, an annual fundraising initiative created in Philadelphia in 1991, now involves more than 3,000 restaurants in…
Event: Modern Architecture Symposium
It’s a prized time for fans of modernism, with four days celebrating the philanthropy of former Cincinnatian Emily Rauh Pulitzer. The Cincinnati Preservation Association (CPA) sponsors a modern architecture symposium Wednesday and Thursday at Pulitzer’s childhood home in Woodlawn. The St. Louis arts patron and widow of newspaperman Joseph Pulitzer Jr. bought the vacant and…
Onstage: Double Indemnity
Need a little noir in your week? You’ll find a stylish dose onstage at the Cincinnati Playhouse. Double Indemnity is the story of a disillusioned insurance agent who takes up with a sensuous, philandering woman. They concoct an elaborate plan to murder her husband and collect on an insurance windfall. It seems like the perfect…
Elvis Impersonators Gone Bad?
HOT Tweet to the Beat Twitter has rolled out its new music app with some targeted marketing. The “Twitter #music” app was designed to help music lovers find new artists and songs and easily share them amongst their friends. To build buzz, a week before the public release Twitter gave “tastemakers” like Ryan Seacrest, Blake…
Morning News and Stuff
Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld is asking Cincinnatians to take part in the Greater Cincinnati Day of Fasting today and put off lunch to help support the Freestore Foodbank. Sittenfeld’s office said in a press release that the event will allow participants to “experience a small measure of the hunger that is a part of many people’s…
Know Your ‘Heights’
The first Clifton Heights Music Festival took place toward the end of the last decade, as the Clifton Heights neighborhood near the University of Cincinnati was practically crumbling thanks to demolition and construction for various projects designed to make the area more of a thriving entertainment district for students and residents (you know, like most…
Streetcar’s No. 1 Problem: Obstructionism
Step one: Create problems for Cincinnati’s streetcar project. Step two: Blame the problems on the streetcar project. Step three: Political profit. That has been the path taken by opponents of Cincinnati’s streetcar project since its inception. With the announcement from the city manager’s office that the streetcar is $17.4 million in the red, it’s officially…
Policy Group: Ohio House Tax Plan Favors Wealthy
The budget bill currently working through the Republican-controlled Ohio legislature would cut taxes in a way that favors the wealthy, according to an analysis from Policy Matters Ohio, a left-leaning policy group. The bill, which passed the Republican-controlled Ohio House with a 61-35 vote on April 18, would cut state income taxes for all Ohioans…
David “Bones” Hebert Wrongful Death Lawsuit Expanded
April 18 marked the two-year anniversary of the death of David “Bones” Hebert, a well-known local Punk musician and cook who in 2011 was shot to death by Cincinnati Police Sergeant Andrew Mitchell April in Northside, prompting his estate to file a wrongful death lawsuit against Mitchell on April 18, 2012. Bones, described by friends…
Budget Gap Threatens Streetcar
After years of delays and obstructionism, an April 16 memo from City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. revealed a $22.7 million budget gap is threatening to put an end to the streetcar project, prompting Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls to call for a public hearing to address the issue. In the city manager’s memo, the city says…
Cincinnati vs. The World 04.24.2013
Best news we already knew: Science has confirmed that just the taste of a single sip of beer can make you happier by jump-starting dopamine levels in your brain. WORLD +2 A poll from Quinnipiac University found that a plurality of Ohioans now support same-sex marriage (48 percent yay, 44 nay), following a trend first…
Maternal Instincts
O n Dec. 14, 2012, Shannon Watts experienced the worst kind of déjà vu. Less than five months prior, after gunman James Holmes stormed a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colo., she was doing just about the same thing she’d have to do after school that day — try to…
Defining and Re-Defining Allegiance
How often do we think about what it means to pledge allegiance to a group or a set of ideals? Are we truly committed to hitching our personal wagons up with a mule team that, at times, barrels down a path contrary to our moral compasses? Do the ends justify the means and, if so,…
Made in the U.S.A.
“When somebody’s 15 or 16 years old, what do they want to be? They want to be older, and they want to be cool like the girl in college, and that’s part of the magic of what we do at PINK.” That’s how Victoria’s Secret Chief Financial Officer Stuart Burgdoerfer envisions teenage girls. As a…
Worst Week Ever!: April 17-23
WEDNESDAY APRIL 17 The Vermont House of Representatives last week approved a bill that will reduce the penalty for possessing up to an ounce of marijuana, putting the offense on the same level as a speeding violation. The bill passed by a 2-to-1 margin, which shouldn’t come as much of surprise in the state that…
Black Trash
It makes me sad, angry and bewildered every time I see a black person littering, just blatantly tossing down with impunity and careless disregard for their surroundings the remnants of their ghetto diets and their ghetto lifestyles: plastic bottles, Arizona Tea cans, 40-ounce bottles, barbecue Grippo’s bags, blunt wrappers, McDonald’s cartons, Magnum wrappers, soiled Kotex…
This Mule Still Kicks
Cincinnati has been good to Gov’t Mule. The band has sold out multiple shows in the area over the years. Unlike many groups who may draw a “music lesson” crowd that tends to sit on its hands and complain when somebody dares to stand up and trance up, Mule audiences rock it from note one.…
The Chastity Bunch
I n the early 1960s, Roe v. Wade had yet to legalize abortion, Medicaid didn’t exist and educating teenagers on issues related to women’s health and sex was still considered taboo. Progressives often argue that society has made great strides on these issues since that time. But looking at the budget proposal passed by the…
