Apr 12-19, 2017
Pillars of Favoritism: The Hamilton County courthouse clings to the ancient practice of hiring people on the basis of family, political and business connections
Minimum Gauge: Called out on album, Geraldo Rivera doubles down, insists Kendrick Lamar is worse than racism
HOT: Geraldo Blames Rap Some unexpected special guests appear on DAMN., the new album from Hip Hop genius Kendrick Lamar. And U2 is far from the weirdest. Al Capone vault-seeker Geraldo Rivera made the guest list, with Lamar sampling his nonsensical proclamation on Fox News that “Hip Hop has done more damage to young African…
Morning News: Richardson to detail crime reduction plan; mapping Cincinnati’s density; Butler Co. Sheriff: bomb Mexican cartels
Hello all. Hope your Easter weekend was a good one. I took an epic 30-mile, six-brewery bike ride for CityBeat’s upcoming bike week issue. Stay tuned for the results. But that’s a bit down the road. Let’s talk news in the meantime. Gun violence in Cincinnati has been one of the big issues in the…
Morning News: Downtown’s population increased last year; KKK flyers found in Covington; state budget shortfall looms as tax receipts fall flat
Hey hey Cincy. Let’s talk news, shall we? This first bit probably explains why a young reporter can’t go to the downtown YMCA after work and shoot some basketball or take a run on the track in peace without being elbow to elbow with 30 or 40 spandexed young professionals these days. I mean, it’s…
Stage Door: ‘Matilda,’ ‘Bloomsday’ and More
The touring production of the Broadway hit Matilda the Musical wraps up its run at the Aronoff Center on Sunday. The Tony Award-winning show based on Roald Dahl’s unusual book that appeals to adults and smart children is an unusual piece of musical theater. It’s more tart than sweet, despite the fact that there are more…
Lineup for free ‘Indie Vol. 2017’ concert series on Fountain Square announced
It’s going to be another great summer on Fountain Square, with regular free events returning all season long, including the Friday night “Indie Vol. 2017” concerts, which just announced another stellar lineup of local and touring musical acts. This year’s lineup (the ninth year the events have taken place) includes a mix of Indie Rock,…
Your Weekend To Do List (April 14-16)
FRIDAY 14 ART: REUSED + RECYCLED AT C-LINK GALLERY Held in conjunction with Brazee Street Studios’ first Open Studios event of the year, as well as their sixth-annual art material swap, C-LINK Gallery hosts an opening reception for a group show titledReused + Recycled featuring work made with recycled materials. Using found objects as a…
Findlay Market Adds Evening Hours
Since Jean-Robert's French Crust Café added dinner hours on Friday and Saturday to its Findlay Market location, many have been looking for more reasons to head to everyone's favorite historic market house in the evenings and after work. Good news: Findlay was listening, and it just announced that it is launching extended evening hours this…
Exciting Local Easter Candies
This weekend is Easter, which means it’s time to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus with baskets full of edible molded-chocolate animals, marshmallows and pastel-colored candies stuffed in plastic-grass-lined baskets. Luckily, in Cincinnati we have a glut of local chocolatiers and candy makers who take seasonal sweets to the next level. From century-old traditional chocolates to…
Morning News: Richardson drops first ad; streetcar still on budget; local government fund formula changeup could cost Cincy
Hello all. Let’s talk news for a few. Cincinnati’s streetcar is still in the black — despite some months of lagging ridership, late cars and service interruptions — the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority told Cincinnati City Council’s Transportation Committee Tuesday. Revenues from multiple sources have outpaced expenses by about $158,000, the transit authority told…
What a Week! April 5-11
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 05 Coca-Cola is having the best week ever after Pepsi decided to run a problematic, protest-centered commercial that reeked of white privilege courtesy of Kendall Jenner. The “live for now” ad felt like a conservative’s interpretation of any recent protest movement: just a bunch of ethnically ambiguous, gender neutral pierced millennials protesting for…
Melania Trump’s Fake Photo
If you cruise internet news sites — especially nipple-obsessed dailymail.com — you can’t avoid images of young women who dedicate their wealth and bodies to looking like a Barbie doll or some cartoon character. When I saw the White House’s first formal portrait of Melania Trump, I thought it was a prank: Her face was…
Standouts at Louisville’s Humana Festival
I like to be surprised. That’s why I enjoy annually attending the Humana Festival of New American Plays at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, where six full-length productions are premiered. Advance descriptions tantalize but often don’t do justice to the world premieres. I’ve attended this celebration of new plays for two decades and seen more…
More from the 41st Humana Festival in Louisville
In my Curtain Call column in the April 12 issue of CityBeat, I described two plays that surprised me at the 2017 Humana Festival of New American Plays. (I attended a weekend of performances at Actors Theatre of Louisville on April 7, 8 and 9.) Here are my thoughts on several more shows that were…
The Burden of Being ‘Gifted’
The first time I saw the trailer for Gifted, the new film from director Marc Webb ((500) Days of Summer), I was instantly reminded of the soft spot I harbor for Jodie Foster’s Little Man Tate. Foster’s directorial debut presented a brief glimpse behind the mystique of her own beautiful mind. On screen, as the single…
‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Keeps Growing
What started as a niche reality show on little-known LGBTQ network Logo in 2009 has transformed into a runaway hit, and as RuPaul’s Drag Race (8 p.m. Fridays, VH1) evolves, the show is staying true to its quirky, queer roots. With two queens eliminated and a previous season’s contestant returned, Drag Race Season 9 is officially underway. The…
Mandela’s Legacy at the Freedom Center
When Matthew Willman was 14 years old in 1994, the 75-year-old Nelson Mandela became president of South Africa. It was the end of the country’s apartheid system of government, which had slowly but sometimes violently been coming apart as a white minority tried to limit the black majority’s rights. Though Willman knew nothing about politics…
Corporate Choirs Sing Out for Cincinnati
Since the 1850s, Cincinnatians have found ways to sing together. Blame it on those German immigrants who flocked here in the mid-19th century — they came from a rich tradition of choral singing and they laid the foundation for the city’s legendary May Festival, the annual choral musical celebration that continues today. Singing expressed civic…
Minimum Gauge: Wack hound dog tryna play ICP for some chedda
HOT: Deep Clown Turns Sued Clown Who knew those dudes in Insane Clown Posse were so in tune with their emotions that they read Chicken Soup for the Soul? ICP twist: Then they stab it in the neck! Or at least they steal poetry from it and try to pull it off as their own,…
Celebrated Mid-Century design merchant Rob Hofbauer shows his secret alter ego in new gallery
Rob Hofbauer, the owner of Leftcoast Modern vintage furnishings in East Walnut Hills, long ago selected Mid-Century design as his defining style and found success with it. But he has another lesser-known artistic inclination, a kind of alter ego. He hasn’t flaunted it — until now. Introducing the mysterious R. Gerard. It’s the name Hofbauer,…
Morning News: Bill would allow ouster of officials who pass ‘sanctuary city’ designations; will firefighters get bulletproof vests?; Dems flex county commission majority
Good morning all. It’s a glorious day and you should be outside right now if you possibly can be. But stay with me for a minute (or grab your smartphone and read from it) so we can talk news. Could city officials who support sanctuary city declarations like Cincinnati’s be ordered to enforce federal immigration…
Look Who’s Eating: Mike Moroski
Mike Moroski’s very public breakup with the Cincinnati Catholic school system in 2013 didn’t stop the passionate educator and community organizer for a split second. In fact, he hit the ground running with a position at Community Matters in Lower Price Hill, and a run — albeit unsuccessful — for Cincinnati City Council. Fast forward…
A New Type of Fusian
When Latin-Asian eatery Lalo opened on Court Street in November, it joined a slew of new ventures and favorite mainstays including Queen City Exchange, Tom+Chee, Avril-Bleh and the forthcoming Legal Lobster Bar. It also breathed some new life into the street’s dinner options. The space that now holds Lalo used to be Asian barbecue spot…
Duo R. Ring’s anticipated debut full-length, ‘Ignite the Rest,’ is worth the seven-year wait
The old saying goes, “If you want to make God smile, tell Him your plans.” If that platitude is true, the Big Man must have been paralyzed with laughter when Kelley Deal and Mike Montgomery formed R. Ring in 2010 with no defined goal of ever documenting their newly forged duo with an actual album.…
Sound Advice: Arrington de Dionyso’s This Saxophone Kills Fascists with Jennifer Simone (April 13)
If you asked most people whether protest music needs to have lyrics, the instinctual reaction would be, “Yes, definitely.” It’s understandable given the songs most people think of as “protest music.” While the delivery can enhance the power of the protest, the words are what convey the direct message, as exemplified in everything from Woody…
Cincinnati Seeks a Ceasefire
In January, three armed men stormed into the imposing white house in Mount Auburn where 9-year-old Alexandrea “Sissy” Thompson lived. Her father, Alex Thompson, says he struggled with one of them before the man shot him four times. One of the shooter’s bullets also struck Alexandrea in the chest, killing her. Just 18 days into…
Sound Advice: Kishi Bashi with Tall Tall Trees (April 14)
Classically trained violinist Kaoru Ishibashi — better known by his performing moniker, Kishi Bashi — sharpened his Pop chops by lending his talents to the music of such artists as Regina Spektor, of Montreal and Sondre Lerche. He’s also a founding member of Electro Pop outfit Jupiter One, but in recent years he’s stepped out…
Sound Advice: Son Volt with Anders Parker (April 14)
The splintering of the very popular Uncle Tupelo in the mid-’90s provided conclusive evidence that its two massively gifted songwriters were better off on separate playgrounds. Jeff Tweedy has certainly been a diverse musical juggernaut with Wilco over the past two decades, but Jay Farrar has been an unparalleled sonic explorer, collaborating with the Flaming…
The Dreamy Grandeur of Joesph’s ‘Temples’
After teasing its release with the great EP Glowing Flower at the start of 2017, Indie/Psych/Pop trio Joesph — which began life as a solo recording/writing project for Joey Cook, formerly of the acclaimed Cincinnati Indie Rock group Pomegranates — will unveil its second full-length, Temples, this Friday at the Woodward Theater (1404 Main St.,…
The Hamilton County courthouse clings to the ancient practice of hiring people on the basis of family, political and business connections
As many people know all too well, locking down a job with generous pay and benefits takes you through an American Ninja Warrior-style obstacle course of proving your educational record, showing work skills and surviving a barrage of interviews. But when an insider — a family member or another connection — shows you a shortcut,…
