Sound Advice: : Blind Melon and The Almost
Blind Melon Blind Melon with Blue Karma Friday
Chesley Keeps Company With Key Powerful Republicans
Jean Schmidt's new best friend For some people, the pursuit of power trumps any principle. Local attorney Stan Chesley, who's made hundreds of millions of dollars from tort lawsuits, is known as a big cash contributor to Democratic politicians, but he's also given generously to conservative Republicans such as Phil Heimlich. His latest fund-raiser,…
Film: Review: Sex and the City
(Photo courtesy of New Line Cinema) The girls are back in town. Crossing over from premium cable to the big screen would seem to indicate that Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte (Kristen Davis) would have finally laid some of their casual observations about, well, sex and the city…
Film: Review: The Fall
(Photo courtesy Roadside Attractions The Fall's bad dudes Tarsem Singh
Onstage: Review: Jersey Boys
Christopher Kale Jones (left) plays Frankie Valli and Andrew Rannells is fellow Four Seasons bandmate Bob Gaudio in Jersey Boys. The 2006 Tony Award winner, Jersey Boys, might not be profound, but it sure is entertaining. Cincinnati audiences at the Aronoff Center will eat it up during the hit show's three-week run. While "jukebox musicals"…
Diner: A Not So Secret Ingredient
Joe Lamb Nectar Chef/owner Julie Francis of Mount Lookout Square's Nectar restaurant has found a unique way to connect with her customers. Nectar's Dinner Club is a monthly affair with a special five-course menu priced at $51 per person, and based, generally, on one delicious ingredient. I loved the "Everything Goat Cheese" dinner I…
Show Up
Cincinnati Fringe Festival Cincinnati Fringe Festival In case you need another heads-up about the Cincinnati Fringe Festival, I urge you to drop in between now and June 7 to see theater that's beyond the mainstream. Last week, CityBeat provided an overview of the Fringe — and how our city's five-year-old version is back with…
J.D. Biggs
J.D. Biggs J.D. Biggs Bombs & Bombshells, J.D. Biggs satirical series of pin-up style celebrity portraits, is on view at Collector's Art Group (225 E. Sixth St., 2nd Floor, Downtown) through May 31. Hours are 8-5 p.m. Monday-Friday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday. Here, Biggs shares five things that inspire his tongue-in-cheek paintings. (Tamera Lenz…
Fast, Authentic Greek Lunch Downtown
Emily Maxwell Mythos Grecian Grill I was once engaged to a Greek American man who introduced me to the art of Greek eating. There were a few rules you always had to follow, including eating all meals at long, communal tables with at least 20 other people; making sure that at least 15 of…
Cover Story: Getting Sauced
Emily Maxwell Jungle Jim's becomes the center of the hot sauce universe in August. If you've ever signed up for an account on the social networking site Facebook, you might be aware of the "Relationship Status" area. It's where you can list yourself as "Single," "In a relationship" or "Married," to either repel or…
The Reds Need More Hitters Like Dunn, Not Fewer
Jerry Dowling Whatever happens, Adam Dunn is going to be fine. The Reds can sign him to another contract or not. If not, he goes to a ball club of his choice, perhaps his hometown Houston Astros, who don't have a spot for him at the moment, or the New York Yankees, where he…
Cover Story: Working in Hell
Andy Houston Blake Sellman grinds metal during a not-so-hot day at City Iron. The guys at City Iron are embarrassed that it's such a nice day when a reporter and photographer show up to talk about how freakin' hot it gets there during the summer. The thermometer reads 67 on a slightly overcast Monday…
Art: Tristate of the Art
Speed Museum, Louisville Werner Reiterer's "I thought it's an Idea, but it's my Brain" can be seen at The Speed Art Museum in Louisville this summer. While there's plenty of art to see in town this summer, what better time to check out what's happening in the rest of the region? Cincinnatians are fortunate…
Cover Story: Long Gone and Back Again
The way it was: The Customs in their heyday at the Jockey Club. It's been 30 years since Mole's Records owner Jess Hirbe and producer Daryl "Doc" Kalmus unleashed the primal Garageabilly sounds of The Customs on an unsuspecting Cincinnati populace through their newly fashioned local label, Shake It Records. With that 7-inch single…
Daughters and Sons (Profile)
Daughters and Sons Seven is enough: Daughters and Sons After listening to Daughters and Sons' four blistering slabs of joyous Funk/Rock on their MySpace page, it's hard to imagine Willy Morren as depressed, on the verge of abandoning music. Not long ago, that seemed a distinct option for the affable guitarist. "I quit playing…
Cover Story: All They Want to Do Is Have Some Fun
Raven Bull National City Pavilion opened with good site lines and a great sound system May 24 and 25. Sheryl Crow's comment that she was happy to "pop the cherry" on the new National City Pavilion at Riverbend was appropos for two reasons. The audience for her May 25 concert was filled with groups…
The Listening Gift
Hear the water pour down from my roof, greeting the ground. Leftover rain disappears. A car, a truck. Machines growl in the distance. That dog just stopped barking. Workmen stomp down the fire escape. Inside, light guitar music. The smacking of my gum. My fingers, yeah, on the keys. I've always been a listener. I…
Music: Town Revitalized
Equity Music Group Little Big Town If ever a band was going to be determined to avoid any kind of sophomore slump, it was Little Big Town. Like any group that achieves the dream of having a hit record, Little Big Town faced the pressure to live up to the expectations created by its…
Cover Story: Everybody’s a Star
Joe Lamb Vinyl junkies for 30 years: (L-R) Harry Lushey, Marilyn Kirby and Woody Dorsey. In 1978, Marilyn Kirby was a suburban Dayton housewife with two kids, a shaky marriage and the need for occasional interaction with the adult world. To this end, she clocked part-time hours at her brother's Second Time Around used…
Film: Americans in Cannes
Steven Soderbergh Penelope Cruz in Vicki Cristina Barcelona Cannes, France — Sean Penn has great taste in movies. He championed Russian director Elem Klimov's 1985 Come and See long before most critics had ever even heard of it. So it's fitting that the talented actor/writer/director should become the ninth American to preside over a…
Cover Story: Books Revel in Cincinnati History
Raven Bull Local writers Philip Ciafardini and Pamela Ciafardini Casebolt get inside Cincinnati's Italians. Oddly, the best publisher of books about Cincinnati has its main business office in suburban Charleston, S.C., and its chief "local" editor in Chicago. But this isn't the only unusual thing about Arcadia Publishing. It's managed to make a thriving…
Cover Story: Hot Issue: On the Edge
Jacob Drabik Hot Issue 2008 Quick Link: Rick Pender's Fringe Overview Quick Link: Visual Fringe Preview Quick Link: Film Fringe Preview For the fifth year, the Cincy Fringe Festival is offering two weeks of edgy theater and dance — plus visual art, film and everything in between. The best way to experience the festival…
Cover Story: Hot Supersize Picks
Emily Maxwell Oceanaire Seafood Room Hot Opening: Oceanaire Seafood Room Downtown dining continues to evolve with the grand opening of the Oceanaire Seafood Room June 2 at the corner of Sixth and Walnut streets. The restaurant, which features furnishings and décor reminiscent of classic 1930s ocean liners, will offer more than 25 species of…
Bill Bellamy, ‘Three’ artists, Summerfair, Powerhouse Factories, PKU Walk-a-Thon and much more…
Dee Dee Zoretic Bill Bellamy WEDNESDAY 5/28 ONSTAGE: JERSEY BOYS, a good "jukebox musical," continues through June 15. See Rick Pender's review here. FRIDAY 5/30 ART: ARTWORKS GALLERY CityBeat visual arts writer Matthew Morris is one of three local artists, all graduates of the Art Academy, who are showing new work in There Were…
How I Forgave My Molester
Almost 10 years ago I was on a spiritual retreat at the Abbey of Gethsemane in central Kentucky. While I was there I noticed this guy, Martin (not his real name). It was my first time at the Abbey, and he seemed too loud for the place and I tried to avoid him — but…
Cover Story: To Catch a Thief
J.D. Cutter While many of us look forward to summer's long daylight hours, barbecues and family vacations, we're also reminded of the things we've had stolen from us during past years. Warm weather and lackadaisical attitudes are prime conditions for frat boys and poor people to sneak up and gank our stuff, and nearly…
Cover Story: A Key Spot for Summer
Raven Bull Taking their bar and grill success across the river: Bob Deck (left) and Dan Cronican. When you close your eyes and envision a "bar and grill," odds are you imagine a menu that pairs everything with ketchup, a place where all the food tastes exactly the same. You might expect the décor…
Another seven days of banning tattoos, ignoring Kentucky and dissing Hyde Park
WEDNESDAY MAY 21 Hamilton County Sheriff's officers who have tattoos underneath their winter uniforms received some bad news today: Sheriff Simon Leis has banned visible tattoos on all uniformed officers. Leis says that tattoos are often associated with motorcycle clubs, which are the enemies of law enforcement in movies like Easy Rider. Any arm tattoos…
Cover Story: Just ‘Cuz She Dances Go-Go…
It's not that I love strippers. I mean, I don't even know any well enough to quantify how I feel about them. But I actually think they're pretty fun in a no-holds-barred, I'm-taking-my-clothes-off-in-public-for-money sort of way. And, surprisingly, I don't mind strip clubs. Even though a friend was convinced I wouldn't be able to…
Friends in Need
· Cincinnati-bred singer/songwriter Katie Reider is in the middle of a fight for her life. The 30-year-old Reider has a rare medical condition called myofibroblastic inflammation, which has resulted in tumors all over her body, including behind her eye (she has lost sight in her left eye), jaw, skull and behind her heart. Reider began…
News: Zoning and the Homeless
Jon Hughes/Photopresse.com Dormitory-style housing such as in the Drop Inn Center would be limited under proposed zoning code changes. Cincinnati officials are considering proposed zoning code changes that would limit where some social services agencies like homeless shelters could build new facilities. They'd also like to impose stricter requirements on existing agencies that want to…
Cover Story: Hot 100 Days
Jacob Drabik Hot Issue Wednesday, May 28 The CINCY FRINGE FESTIVAL performances kick off tonight. Continuing the fest's mission of challenging our perceptions of performing and visual arts, artists from here and everywhere descend on downtown and Over-the-Rhine for 12 days of experimental works. "Full-frontal" all-access Fringe pass is $150; $10 for individual performances.…
This Week in Wellness
Check out the screening of Dalai Lama Renaissance, a documentary on His Holiness narrated by Harrison Ford. Chanting and prayer with Tibetan monks precedes the film, and a discussion follows. $10. 6:30 p.m. May 28. Otto M. Budig Theatre, Carnegie Visual & Performing Arts Center, 1028 Scott Blvd., Covington. www.consciouschoicecinema.com. The Seedy Seeds perform at…
Loving, Hating
My love/hate relationship with Cincinnati continues in its 23rd year. I'm not sure either side will ever win. The pendulum swung to the negative side last month after I visited Chicago to see my sister. I always seem to come back from a happening city with a bad attitude about Cincinnati. It's like clockwork. I…
Music: I Am (Not) Legend
Shawn Brackbill Working for a living: Mudhoney A musician's definition of success must differ from the rest of the world's inhabitants. One might define success as the ability to achieve supreme greatness for an evanescent moment, like Icarus trying to ascend to heaven on stolen wings. It could also be the ability to maintain…
Doing Summer Right in Cincinnati
With Memorial Day comes another summer. That last Monday in May opens a floodgate that signals all the great things about living in this town. Everywhere there are signs of what a great place this can be when the weather is right. Boats are docked to restaurants along the Ohio River, families play in…
Cover Story: Artistic Awareness
Gordon Baer Local photographer Gordon Baer and 21 contributing artists explore the conflicting emotional states that arise in all wars and consider how wars throughout all generations have invariably generated divergent social and political thought. Baer brings together some the region's finest artists in Shattering the Myths: 21 Visions of the True Cost of…
