48 Hours In Nashville: Part One
I spent a recent weekend in Music City attending Rites of Spring, an annual music festival presented by Vanderbilt University. My boyfriend Jeff and I were on a mission — a mission to cram in as much Nashville goodness as possible in a short weekend.—- (Side note: please don't be mean about my shitty photos…
Art for the Sky with Picking Up America
Sawyer Point's Earth Day celebration and educational events were all but closed on Saturday, as wind and rain caused the cancellation of most activities. Despite the inclimate weather, members of Pick Up America took part in an Art of the Sky exhibit during which members of the public were invited to stand in a silhouette…
Music: The New Pornographers
This whole Rock criticism racket is admittedly pretty subjective and it shouldn’t come as any surprise that opinions are often shaped and determined by personal experience and preferences. As such, there is a small pocket of humanity that neither understands nor supports the contention that The New Pornographers feature the most amazing collection of musical…
Music: Jukebox the Ghost
Jukebox the Ghost seems to be under so many influences that it should have a designated driver. Just two years after the band’s accomplished debut, Let Live and Let Ghosts, the Philadelphia trio’s sophomore album, Everything Under the Sun, was easily one of the most surprising albums of 2010. A work of incredible maturity and…
Music: Vivian Girls
If you ever need a reminder of how incredibly valuable location and hype are to a band's success, take a look at Vivian Girls. When the New York City-based outfit bubbled up in the Indie Rock world in late 2007, they were greeted with buzz and excitement. That early positive push was crucial to giving…
Art: Cincinnati, USA: Before Meets After
PAC Gallery’s newly opened Cincinnati, USA: Before Meets After, a solo exhibition of Courttney Cooper’s drawings, continues its recent interest in ambitious projects by artists without formal training. As I’ve written in these pages previously, I don’t believe the merit of these artists’ work is found in the discussion of their differences from “mainstream” art.…
Comedy: Rachel Feinstein
The bio on Rachel Feinstein’s website mentions that the comedian will release a CD later this year on Comedy Central Records. Where do you suppose she’s going to record it? “Comedy Central recommended it,” she said of the decision to record at Go Bananas in Montgomery. “They said the crowds are smart, fun and not…
Onstage: Cirque du Soleil presents OVO
It’s big top time again! The animal-free circus of astounding humans, Cirque du Soleil brings another Grand Chapiteau — French for “big top” — performance to Cincinnati, this time at Coney Island. There aren’t animals, but there are plenty of bugs. The inimitable Montréal-based organization presents OVO, featuring a host of insect characters performing feats…
Music: D12
It’s not every day that Hip Hop collective D12 rolls through Covington, especially to headline a set at The Mad Hatter (620 Scott St.). Hell, it’s not every day that D12 rolls anywhere together, given that two members — Bugz and Proof — were tragically shot to death and member Eminem has been busy being…
Onstage: Shrek The Musical
Much to my surprise, I had a great time at Shrek The Musical. I went expecting a silly cartoon and that’s exactly what it is — but it’s a really well-done silly cartoon, perfect fare for an audience full of kids and parents. (At two-and-a-half hours long, I thought it might be too much for…
Attractions: Butterflies of Brazil
Put some Samba in your step by fluttering on down to the Krohn Conservatory’s 16th annual butterfly show. The event provides a rare opportunity to celebrate culture, nature and the beauty of the butterfly. It’s not every day that you can interact with 16,000 of those pretty little winged creatures, but at the butterfly show,…
Music: The Black Lips
Let’s imagine a perfect Rock world where everyone is young and alive. Got it? Now, right after we patch up that crazy spat between Lennon and McCartney and get those goofballs back on the path, we’ll play a rousing game of Build a New Band. Let’s take Tommy and Bob Stinson and pair them up…
Events: Final ArtsWave Sampler Weekend
If you missed out on the last five weekends of ArtsWave activities, consider yourself lucky that they’re throwing one more shabang Saturday. With over 47 varieties of free events celebrating the creative arts, you’ve got no excuse to be lounging on the couch. Forget your spring cleaning (if you happen to be one of “those”…
Art: Kent Krugh at Iris Bookcafe
Radiance, the current exhibition from photographer and medical physicist Kent Krugh at Iris Bookcafe (1331 Main St., Over-the-Rhine, 513-381-2665) includes several diverse series of photographs. Most interesting are a couple of different projects that use dolls as subjects. Combining light and X-ray processes, a number of Krugh’s pieces show ethereal specters glowing like beacons in…
Art: Little Kings at Prairie Gallery
Boxing is a brutal sport, one that all too often leads to injury and even death, but it is also among the most heavily romanticized by writers like A.J. Leibling, artists like George Bellows, and films from Body and Soul to The Fighter. Maybe it's just admiration for what the boxers are willing to risk for success —…
Events: Party in the Park
What better way to spend a Wednesday evening than surrounding yourself with drunken Cincinnati yuppies? Party in the Park has returned once again to promote mediocre bands to overly intoxicated crowds, right next to the mighty (likely irradiated) Ohio River. Thirty one years — that’s how long Party in the Park has kept it up.…
Morning News and Stuff
Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear will meet up today to discuss roads, bridges, prescription drug abuse and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, presumably over bacon sundaes at Denny’s. Beshear is up for re-election this year and is hoping his second encounter with Kasich goes well. They first met at the National Governors’…
David Foster Wallace Takes on IRS
It’s no coincidence that the late David Foster Wallace’s new novel, The Pale King, was published on April 15. Actually, “new novel” might not be the best wording — the 560-page book, which carries the telling subtitle An Unfinished Novel, was crafted from Wallace’s papers after he committed suicide in 2008. I’ve yet to read The…
Local Musician Shot, Killed By Police
David Hebert was the man shot and killed last night in Northside by police. But most who knew him wouldn’t recognize the name. Hebert, a beloved, longtime local musician and local music supporter, is far better known by his nickname, Bones. An expressive drummer, in the ’90s he was the rhythmic foundation for local bands…
The New Pornographers
This whole Rock criticism racket is admittedly pretty subjective and it shouldn’t come as any surprise that opinions are often shaped and determined by personal experience and preferences. As such, there is a small pocket of humanity that neither understands nor supports the contention that The New Pornographers feature the most amazing collection of musical…
Scream 4 (Review)
The most exciting part of the latest installment in horror maestro Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson’s slasher deconstruction series is the intro, which is how the original was able to grab audiences — by offing a familiar actress during the pre-title sequence, it meant that anything could happen. The swift kill wasn’t about trying…
Return to ‘Black Planet’
Exiled from Main Street XXXVIII: for B.K. Growing up goth in the late-1980s, I was of course a big fan of MTV’s 120 Minutes. Who could argue with two hours of late-night alternative music videos and the occasional interview when one was nocturnal? Thus I find pleasure in the fact that 120 Minutes has just…
Vivian Girls
If you ever need a reminder of how incredibly valuable location and hype are to a band's success, take a look at Vivian Girls. When the New York City-based outfit bubbled up in the Indie Rock world in late 2007, they were greeted with buzz and excitement. That early positive push was crucial to giving…
Midwestern Marco Polo
Critic's Pick PAC Gallery’s newly opened Cincinnati, USA: Before Meets After, a solo exhibition of Courttney Cooper’s drawings, continues its recent interest in ambitious projects by artists without formal training. As I’ve written in these pages previously, I don’t believe the merit of these artists’ work is found in the discussion of their differences from…
Ghost in the Record Machine
Jukebox the Ghost seems to be under so many influences that it should have a designated driver. Just two years after the band’s accomplished debut, Let Live and Let Ghosts, the Philadelphia trio’s sophomore album, Everything Under the Sun, was easily one of the most surprising albums of 2010. A work of incredible maturity and…
Public’s Ignorance About the ‘Submerged State’
Few encounters are more difficult for reporters than trying to interview people living, at least in part, in some alternate universe. I’ve dealt with otherwise seemingly reasonable people who hold beliefs or embrace misinformation with certainty and passion that are impervious to skeptical questions. It’s especially troubling when covering controversies involving public policy. For instance,…
[title of show] (Review)
Critic's Pick Deadlines scare us, and being creative on a deadline is especially daunting. When composer-lyricist Jeff Bowen and writer Hunter Bell decided to submit a show to the New York Musical Theatre Festival a few years back, they had just three weeks. What to write about? How about their high-pressure situation? They didn’t even…
Fringe Festival Lineup Announced
Despite recent chilly weather, I have received a sure sign of intense future warmth. It came in the form of the news release from Know Theatre listing the shows that will make up the eighth annual Cincinnati Fringe Festival, which opens its two-week run on May 31 at 6 p.m. with CityBeat’s official Fringe Kick-off…
The Black Lips
Let’s imagine a perfect Rock world where everyone is young and alive. Got it? Now, right after we patch up that crazy spat between Lennon and McCartney and get those goofballs back on the path, we’ll play a rousing game of Build a New Band. Let’s take Tommy and Bob Stinson and pair them up…
Eat Local with the CORV Food Guide
Last week, CityBeat published our annual Green Issue, and tucked inside was the 2011 Central Ohio River Valley Local Food Directory. —-CORV has made the insert available as a PDF here. Learn about CORV's mission. Find local farmers' markets (there way more than you think). Get a list restaurants that utilize local goods and produce. …
Morning News and Stuff
House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has proposed a 10-year budget plan that includes Medicare privatization and further tax breaks for the wealthy and a lower tax rate for corporations. If the government were to go through with this plan, the average senior on Medicare by 2030 would be responsible for more than two-thirds of…
Go See Frankenstein (from London) … Twice
Don’t go looking for Boris Karloff or any kind of campy make-up if you decide to see the National Theatre of London’s production of Frankenstein on Tuesday or Wednesday evening at The Carnegie in Covington. This version, provided via HD digital transmission, is much more faithful to Mary Godwin’s creepy and profound Gothic novel written…
Interview with Nikki Sixx
Motley Crue’s infamous bassist Nikki Sixx took up photography in 1989 as a way to help have an outlet to stay clean from his well publicized drug and alcohol abuse. His new book, This Is Gonna Hurt: Music, Photography And Life Through The Distorted Lens Of Nikki Sixx, came out this week as a showcase…
Seelbach Gets Nat’l Endorsement
Chris Seelbach, a first-time candidate for Cincinnati City Council, has won an endorsement from the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, a national group that could provide a boost in campaign fundraising. Founded in 1991, the Victory Fund provides strategic, technical and financial support to openly gay and lesbian candidates across the United States, helping them…
Council’s S.B. 5 Vote Rescheduled
Cincinnati City Council's long-delayed vote on a resolution opposing Ohio Senate Bill No. 5 has been delayed again, this time at the request of the member who introduced it.—- Council's Budget and Finance Committee was scheduled to vote on the resolution this Monday, April 18. But Councilman Wendell Young, who introduced it on March 2,…
Friday Movie Roundup: Scream 4 Edition
We're already back to reality: One week after 10 films found their way into local movie houses we have only four new offerings, one of which is Scream 4. It's been 15 years since the original Scream bewitched audiences who grew up with decades of B-movie horror films on late-night TV, at drive-ins and via…
Mills: Ex-Chief a “Republican Leader”
Catherine Smith Mills, a new Republican candidate for Cincinnati City Council, is raising eyebrows with her campaigning. Mills held a fundraiser April 8 that featured former Police Chief Thomas Streicher Jr. as the keynote speaker. In a press release touting the event, Mills is quoted as saying, “As a first time candidate, I am so…
Composer Therese Edell, 1950-2011
Cincinnati composer and founding member of MUSE Cincinnati’s Women’s Choir Therese Edell passed away last month after an extended battle with MS. She was 61. Considered a pioneer of “Women’s Music,” Edell was born in Pennsylvania and moved to Cincinnati in 1969 to attend CCM. Edell and longtime collaborator Betsy Lippitt toured the country and…
Morning News and Stuff
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker on Thursday came under fire at the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing. Walker was taking questions about the anti-union bill that was forced through in March when Congressmen Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) got the ball rolling with some underhand questions. “Can you please explain to me and members of…
Stage Door: Ogres and Actors
If you're a fan of musicals, you should be happy this weekend, whether your preferences are big or small. Let's start with big, or perhaps I should say BIG! The tour of Shrek The Musical at the Aronoff delighted me a lot more than I had expected. It looks great — colorful costumes, dazzling sets…
Do Something Reel Film Festival
Just in time to align nicely with our annual Green Issue comes the Do Something Reel Film Festival, which is described as a “collection of six provocative, character-driven films focused on passionate people making a world of difference.” Presented by Whole Foods Market in conjunction with and in celebration of Earth Month, the traveling festival…
Oz Poster Added to Library Exhibit
The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County has added a must-see piece to its This Is Strobridge show of posters that Cincinnati' Strobridge lithography company made around the turn of the 20th century for theaters and other entertainment events. It is of a musical production of The Wizard of Oz, directed by one Julian…
New Music From The Lions Rampant
Local rockers The Lions Rampant have announced the forthcoming release of their latest 7-inch single titled Going Native. The band is releasing the 3-song vinyl effort on April 29 in conjunction with a show at downtown Rock club Mainstay in honor of the bar’s second anniversary. But for those who can’t wait until then, the…
Picking Up America
Catch up with members of the nation's first cross-country continuous roadside litter pick-up project as they pass through Cincinnati.
The Conspirator (Review)
Robert Redford's first directorial effort since his 2007 anti-war polemic Lions for Lambs is a striking Civil War courtroom drama not far removed from a film like Bruce Beresford's Breaker Morant. The assassination of President Lincoln calls into question the possible participation of Mary Surratt (Robin Wright), the mother of a young man who befriended…
Eating Right
Earth Day is upon us again, and every year at this time spring offers us the chance to start anew, to gain a fresh perspective on our goals and intentions. This annual holiday allows us to step back and evaluate our place on this planet and ask ourselves whether we are truly showing it the…
Morning News and Stuff
Last week Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said at a Senate meeting that providing abortions is “well over 90 percent of what Planned Parenthood does.” Now, without thinking about that for too long because your eyes would glaze over and you’d stroke out, you know that there’s no way that those figures are correct. And they’re…
Qualls Opposes S.B. 5, But…
This week's issue of CityBeat features a lengthy letter to the editor by Cincinnati Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls explaining why she opposes Ohio Senate Bill No. 5, which limited collective bargaining rights for public-sector labor unions including police and firefighters.—- Qualls wrote the letter for CityBeat after we asked about her position on S.B. No.…
Spreading Some Bad Seeds?
Alongside corporate giants like Philip Morris and Wal-Mart, Monsanto Co. is locked in the crosshairs of consumer criticism with nowhere to run. A quick Google search will reveal staggering amounts of information on Monsanto’s long history of paying lobbyists to block government regulations on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), putting small farmers out of business, polluting…
Preservation Overhaul
University of Cincinnati owns an important video sculpture by the man who basically created multimedia art, Nam June Paik. But don’t expect to see Cinci-Mix, which was commissioned in 1996 for an interior wall in then-new Aronoff Center for Design and Art. Because the old-school components — 18 stacked rear-projection monitors playing laser-discs — started…
Asking the Tough Questions
An area civic group will launch a series of public meetings this week to examine the city of Cincinnati’s ever-growing Police Department budget and help residents make informed decisions about whether some cuts can be made. Citizens for Civic Renewal (CCR) will conduct open discussions with a panel of experts followed by several town meetings…
Rio (Review)
Remember Disney? That’s not merely a rhetorical question, nor is it intended as sarcastic. I only wonder because over the last decade of animated filmmaking, you might ask if anyone still does remember Disney. Rio arrives at an interesting moment, when it often seems that mainstream computer-animated features have become a license to print money.…
Record Store Day’s Local Spin
Saturday’s third annual Record Store Day, a global celebration of the endangered species known as independent record stores, is shaping up to be the biggest yet, with hundreds of special limited-edition releases and in-store appearances around the country by some of the biggest names in music, from Jerry Lee Lewis to Foo Fighters. Here, Northside’s…
NAACP/COAST Marriage Getting Tested
Let’s call it what it really is: codependency. I’m referring to the parasitic relationship between the two demagogues named Chris, Messrs. Finney and Smitherman. They’re the Oscar Madison and Felix Unger of the Cincinnati political scene. For those not familiar with the concept, codependency is a psychological term that refers to the tendency in a…
The Green List
EARTH DAY EVENTSCelebrating the 41st annual Earth Day C atch the fun and frolic at the 41st-annual Cincinnati Earth Day Celebration . It’s a free, open party for Mother Earth, featuring a recycled materials costume contest, environmental awards, eco-friendly exhibitors and activities and live performances throughout the day. Activities for adults and children include a…
Shades of Green
P erhaps you envision yourself as environmentally conscious. You recycle, drive a hybrid, compost and even use a water reclamation system. Don’t get me wrong, that’s great, but there are a number of local folks who are taking it to the next level. Not only do they educate others on sustainable living, but they themselves…
The Upside of Reusing
G etting ready to toss that candy wrapper in the trash? Or maybe that old bicycle tire? It’s garbage, right? Just waste in transit from your receptacle to an enormous landfill. Think again — your discarded rubbish can take on an entirely new existence in the form of a different and improved entity. A process…
Naked Lunch
Social media is a powerful force these days, providing the means for the people of Egypt to shake their government at its very foundation. Here at home, Naked Pizza (3646 Edwards Road, Hyde Park, 513-871-4400, www.nakedpizza.biz) is using social media to shake up Americans’ love affair with pizza. The franchise opened its first Cincinnati location…
CPR For OTR
When someone sparks a discussion about Over-the-Rhine, various viewpoints and feelings come into play. You either love the neighborhood for its rich past and diversity or you tend to stay away from amazing landmarks like Findlay Market, Music Hall, Memorial Hall, Washington Park and Ensemble Theatre because you’ve “heard things.” You know, never actually going…
Enter the Void (Review)
“HEY! DRUGS ARE BAD!” That’s Gaspar Noe’s Enter the Void in a nutshell. The all-caps is appropriate. From the opening credits that pulse like strobes at an all-night rave through the ambiguous ending, Noe pummels his thesis with subtlety of a jackhammer. Of course, subtlety is not in the director’s vocabulary. While not as immediately…
David Krikorian and West Chester
[WINNER] DAVID KRIKORIAN: A visiting judge in the Clermont County Common Pleas Court ruled that an attorney who works for the Turkish American Legal Defense Fund cannot represent U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Miami Township) in a lawsuit there. The ruling is a victory for Krikorian, who ran as an independent against Schmidt in 2008 for…
Fractured Barry Tales
Todd Barry bristles somewhat when he’s described as a “comedian’s comedian,” but he is often cited by his fellow comics as a favorite. “That isn’t always a good thing,” he says. “That’s sometimes a backhanded compliment. It also is high praise, I suppose, if you’re liked by your peers. That’s a good thing. I assume…
April 6-12: Worst Week Ever!
WEDNESDAY APRIL 6 Have you ever showed up to a work meeting considerably late, severely unprepared and generally looking like crap because you accidentally drank 11 beers on a Tuesday? (Neither have we.) Two City Council members, however, showed up to their work meeting today needing to use the same excuse (“Wha happened?”) after being…
Shrek the Musical (Review)
Critic's Pick Much to my surprise, I had a great time at Shrek The Musical. I went expecting a silly cartoon. That’s exactly what it is — but it’s a really well-done silly cartoon, perfect fare for an audience full of kids and parents. (At two-and-a-half hours long, I thought it might be too much…
Holy Grail (Review)
The long-delayed Banks project has been the City of Atlantis for Cincinnatians. We’ve long heard rumors of the riverfront retail and entertainment development’s imminent existence and continually wonder if it’s even real. A decade and a half after planning began, we finally have evidence of its existence with the opening of the Holy Grail Tavern…
Ungaming the System
This Oct. 18 marks 26 years since the Nintendo Entertainment System came to North America. After the NES went on accomplish the kind of colossal feats that few products do, like drumming up enough business to set the stage for an entire industry and promoting a mascot whose global notoriety rivals Mickey Mouse and Superman,…
The Interview
This happened last summer in June on one of those hot, sticky days. The first thing I remember doing that morning was turning on my coffeemaker. It was a Tuesday and I needed to be in downtown Cincinnati by 10 a.m. I got up in plenty of time to get ready for a job interview.…
An Eye for Individuality
As Carson Kreitzer put the finishing touches on her new play, Behind the Eye, we talked by phone from her home in Minneapolis. We first met when The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer premiered at the Cincinnati Playhouse in 2003. In 2007, 1:23, her disturbing script about several women who drowned their children, got…
Qualls: Why I Cannot Support SB 5
The acrimonious discussions about Ohio Senate Bill 5 reflect deep ideological and partisan divisions that distract from a serious discussion of much-needed reforms to Ohio’s public sector collective bargaining laws. With the passage of SB 5, the pendulum that swung excessively to the left in 1984 when Revised Code 4117 took effect has now swung…
Desolation Angels
The Black Angels’ music often sounds as if the world is coming to an end, which is just how singer Alex Maas likes it. “I think the world is a very scary place,” Maas says by cellphone from the band’s latest tour stop in Washington, D.C. “It’s obviously a beautiful place, too. Maybe this is…
Bruce Springsteen, The Grammys and Coldplay
[HOT] A Boss Do-Over If you were attending an esteemed university and ready to enter the job market, what would you do if some of your fellow students pulled a stunt that made your school a national laughing stock? If it’s New Jersey’s Rutgers and the stunt is paying a flash-in-the-pan reality TV star a…
Morning News and Stuff
Cincinnati city leaders and streetcar supporters went to Columbus yesterday to ask for the state transportation board to sign off on funding parts of the $128 million project. Mayor Mark Mallory addressed the TRAC (Transportation Review Advisory Council) board by saying, "Chairman, members of the board, I respectfully ask that you approve the recommendation made…
PJ Harvey Does Conan
The ever-enchanting PJ Harvey stopped by Conan Monday night to play "The Last Living Rose," an evocative ditty from her stellar new album, Let England Shake. —- Clad in a white dress and a curious white-feathered headdress — not to mention a white electric guitar that was nearly as large as her diminutive frame —…
