The Art of Rejuvenation
Last October, simplified paintings of windows and doors began to appear across the boarded-up facades of derelict buildings around Over-the-Rhine. Since then, they’ve been sprouting consistently around the inner city. Fittingly, these are the work of Future Blooms, an unusual public-art program initiated by Keep Cincinnati Beautiful. In a small, localized way, it recalls the…
Onstage: Bye Bye Birdie
Northern Kentucky University’s production of the musical Bye Bye Birdie is a surprisingly serious take on growing up and finding true love in various means. That’s not to say that this is a downer of a play — it elicits laughs from the get-go. Bumbling mamma’s boy, Albert Peterson (Matt Bohnert), and his secretary Rose…
Comedy: Craig Ferguson
“It’s a great day in America,” bellows Craig Ferguson every weeknight five minutes after David Letterman’s show fades out. Ferguson — talk-show host, hyper-Scotsman, stand-up comedian and naturalized American citizen — has been credited by many media commentators as being more innovative and substantial than his late-night counterparts, and the ratings have been catching up.…
Tug of War
Despite its impressive name, the “Courage Express” is actually just a 19-year-old retired bus from the Licking County School District. With its worn-out odometer and fresh coat of silvery paint, it’s now a road-weary campaigning machine that supporters of Jennifer Brunner bought online for $2,000. In some ways, the Express mirrors Brunner’s run for U.S.…
Music: Aloha with Pomegranates and The Buried Wires
Aloha might call Brooklyn, N.Y., home now, but like the Hawaiian word that serves as the band’s name "home" has several different and distinct meanings. Aloha’s new album, Home Acres, finds the quartet seeking a balance between the relative quiet of their previous studio outings and the more frenetic pace and volume of their live…
Music: The Manchester Orchestra
Five years ago, the members of Manchester Orchestra were recent high school graduates looking to expand beyond the parameters of their previous youthful aggregations. A year later, the Atlanta quintet was being touted as one of the next big things and playing showcases at South By Southwest. The band’s Indie Rock/visceral Pop evocation subsequently sparked…
Onstage: Cyrano (Rehearsed)
As you enter the Columbia Performance Center, you’re handed a program describing Reservoir Dogs: The Musical. What? Actors swarm the stage, warming up, dancing, practicing swordplay, moving set pieces — all of it as boring as watching somebody paint a storm door. Then an actor announces that, instead of performing Reservoir Dogs, the company will…
Onstage: An Ideal Husband
Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband is the crowning pleasure of Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s 2009-10 season. Everything works. The direction by company veteran Jeremy Dubin is tight, focused and, except for some slippage into cheap farce in the third act, spot on. Design elements (tasteful drawings rooms by Melissa Bennett; late Victorian costumes by Heidi Jo…
Onstage: 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Showbiz Players, a community theater with a history spanning three decades, is presenting the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Madisonville Arts Center in a two-week run through April 25. This is a swift staging of the show, well within two hours, and the intimacy of the Madisonville facility makes it all the…
Music: Trans Am
A thematic consistency runs through the history and work of Trans Am that's almost archaic in today’s disposable Pop atmosphere. The Post Rock trio (bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Nathan Means, guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Philip Manley, drummer/sound sculptor Sebastian Thomson) began as a side project in the Washington, D.C. scene two decades ago. The lineup hasn't changed since their 1990 formation.…
Music: Psychodots and the Faux Frenchman
If you missed Cincinnati’s legendary Psychodots (pictured) last Thanksgiving, you have another chance to see them Thursday, this time with hot string ensemble Faux Frenchmen at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens’ “Tunes & Blooms” concert series. Power Pop guitarist Rob Fetters, bassist Bob Nyswonger and drummer Chris Arduser — all formerly of The Raisins…
Fighting Over Future Frontiers
If you listen to supporters of the state of Ohio’s Third Frontier program, they say it’s a sound investment to bring cutting-edge high-tech jobs here, ensuring that the Rust Belt state realigns its economy for the 21st Century and can better weather future recessions. Opponents, however, contend the program is more of a Jetsons-style pipe…
Music: O’Brother
A handful of motifs dotting O'Brother's 2008 The Death of Day, the inaugural work of the revamped lineup, stem from religion: God and The Devil are mentioned multiple times, while the comparably obscure reference of “Our bread, his body, left to rot” is heard in “Providence.” As the title implies, there's a funereal vibe to…
Streetcars Clear Another Hurdle
Cincinnati’s long-discussed streetcar system is a bit closer to reality today after City Council approved spending $2.58 million on the project. The money will be used for planning and design work for the system. Its first phase would be a loop through downtown and Over-the-Rhine, with a later segment built to the uptown area near…
‘Westwood Works’ Gets Mural
A new group in Cincinnati’s Westwood neighborhood that seeks to be less political and more positive than its counterparts has achieved one of its initial goals. The group, Westwood Works, formed late last winter to help revitalize and publicize the neighborhood. Its creation, in part, was due to discussions about how another organization — the…
Oh, Pete Ohs
While making my daily Pitchfork pit-stop, I noticed the site was pimping the latest work by Cincinnati native Pete Ohs, a fresh-faced dude who’s directed crafty music videos for such Indie faves as Wavves, Ghosthustler, Fiery Furnaces and The Unicorns. “When I’m with You,” a ’50s-influenced piece of fuzzy Surf-Pop by LA-based Best Coast, features…
An Ideal Husband (Review)
Critic's Pick Putting it as simply as I can, Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband is the crowning pleasure of Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s 2009-10 season. Everything works. The direction by company veteran Jeremy Dubin is tight, focused and, except for some slippage into cheap farce in the third act, spot on. Design elements (tasteful drawings rooms…
Mourning Glory for O’Brother
When O'Brother was left without a frontman, the band decided to hold an audition for a new lead vocalist/guitarist. Sadly, the experience wasn't anything resembling American Idol: There were no TV cameras, no squealing hordes ready to hear about going to Hollywood, no snarky Brits, no spectacle. “I wish it was like that,” says O'Brother…
Aloha with Pomegranates and The Buried Wires
Aloha might call Brooklyn, N.Y., home now, but like the Hawaiian word that serves as the band’s name "home" has several different and distinct meanings. Since the band coalesced 13 years ago, the quartet has operated out of Bowling Green (where guitarist Tony Cavallario and bassist Matthew Gengler formed the band in 1997), Cleveland and…
Psychodots and Faux Frenchmen
If you missed Cincinnati’s legendary Psychodots (pictured) last Thanksgiving, you have another chance to see them Thursday, this time with hot string ensemble Faux Frenchmen at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens’ “Tunes & Blooms” concert series. Power Pop guitarist Rob Fetters, bassist Bob Nyswonger and drummer Chris Arduser — all formerly of The Raisins…
Bye Bye Birdie (Review)
Northern Kentucky University’s production of the musical Bye Bye Birdie is a surprisingly serious take on growing up and finding true love in various means. That’s not to say that this is a downer of a play — it elicits laughs from the get-go. Bumbling mamma’s boy, Albert Peterson (Matt Bohnert), and his secretary Rose…
Jeff Beck, Earl Greyhound, Carrie Rodriguez, Coheed & Cambria, Kaki King and Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers
Once again, a surplus of reviewables and a deficit of newsworthy music-related topics leaves me at a loss for a lengthy opening paragraph. I could likely surf around for 20 minutes and find something to bitch about comment on from atop my humble soapbox, but with a variety of deadlines and responsibilities breathing down my…
Craig Ferguson’s Wee Small Hour
“It’s a great day in America,” bellows Craig Ferguson every weeknight five minutes after David Letterman’s show fades out. Ferguson — talk-show host, hyper-Scotsman, stand-up comedian and naturalized American citizen — has been credited by many media commentators as being more innovative and substantial than his late-night counterparts, and the ratings have been catching up.…
Annabel’s (Review)
Critic's Pick I set out to find treasure in Mount Lookout Square, and I found a real gem. Annabel’s is a cozy little jewel — a great neighborhood eatery with a fresh, creative menu that’s full of surprises. The first thing I noticed at Annabel’s is how abso-freaking-lutely cute the place is. Surrounded by attractive…
Trans Am
A thematic consistency runs through the history and work of Trans Am that's almost archaic in today’s disposable Pop atmosphere. The Post Rock trio (bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Nathan Means, guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Philip Manley, drummer/sound sculptor Sebastian Thomson) began as a side project in the Washington, D.C. scene two decades ago. The lineup hasn't changed since their 1990 formation.…
Benefit Retrospective for Brian Joiner
Cincinnati's visual arts community is rallying around the seriously ill artist Brian Joiner to raise money for his medical expenses. This Friday from 5-10 p.m., a retrospective of his work — everything from note cards to a 30-foot work, featuring subjects like running women, a school of fish and his portraits, florals and landscapes —…
25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Review)
I saw the original production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee early in 2005, well before it moved to Broadway. The charming musical about awkward adolescents in a spelling contest had had a summer tryout at Barrington Stage in western Massachusetts. I lucked into a February performance at an off-Broadway venue, Second Stage.…
CityBeat Podcast 44: Wendell Berry
Philosopher-farmers Wendell Berry, Wes Jackson and Gene Logsdon discuss the future of agriculture, the environment and changing our ideas about growth and progress. Recorded live at Xavier University on April 11. Special thanks to Xavier University's Ethics/Religion and Society Department. Read CityBeat's related Green Issue here.—- If you like what you hear, please support our…
Friday Movie Roundup: Movie Trailers, Yankee Wankers
Contemporary movie trailers suck. Not only are they — like most of the movies they pimp — typically lowest-common-denominator dumb but they also mislead viewers about a given movie’s true nature in an attempt to entice the broadest possible audience. (For example, check out the stupid, disjointed Inglourious Basterds’ trailer, which tried to sell Quentin…
Cintas Settles Employee Death Lawsuit
In a stark turnabout from the company’s previous position involving the incident, Cintas Corp. has settled a lawsuit filed by the wife of an employee who was burned to death in an industrial dryer at an Oklahoma facility. When Eleazar Torres-Gomez was killed at the Cintas laundry near Tulsa, Okla., in March 2007, the company…
Stage Door: Great Weekend for Theater Fans
It's not hard to find good theater this weekend in Cincinnati. In fact, the challenge is deciding which of several excellent productions you should choose to see.—- Know Theatre's staging of the great drama Angels in America: Part 1, Millennium Approaches is definitely worth seeing (read my review here), and this weekend would be a…
Death at a Funeral (Review)
Neil LaBute earned a Tony Award in 2009 for Reasons to Be Pretty (Best Play), which came after his remake of The Wicker Man (2006) and then Lakeview Terrace (2008) failed to show any beauty at the box office (to be fair, LaBute was never a top earner). As a filmmaker, he’s an acquired taste…
Cyrano Rehearsed (Review)
Over several seasons, outgoing Artistic Director Greg Procaccino has elevated New Edgecliff Theater’s reputation with sensitive, provocative productions: David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman and Peter Shaffer’s Equus. Now, in a curious farewell gesture, he’s wasting audience enthusiasm and some estimable players in a misconceived muddle called Cyrano (Rehearsed). As…
The Manchester Sound
Five years ago, the members of Manchester Orchestra were recent high school graduates looking to expand beyond the parameters of their previous youthful aggregations. A year later, the Atlanta quintet was being touted as one of the next big things and playing showcases at South By Southwest to support its first official EP, You Brainstorm,…
SPJ, Others Blast Cincy Tea Party Deal (Updated)
(UPDATE AT BOTTOM) Fox News commentator Sean Hannity’s participation in a Cincinnati Tea Party event today is drawing sharp criticism from experts on journalism ethics. Hannity will be taping his TV show tonight during the local Tea Party’s second annual Tax Day rally, which is being held at the University of Cincinnati’s Fifth Third Arena.—-…
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Review)
The first film adaptation of the late Swedish novelist Stieg Larsson's posthumously published Millennium Trilogy, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is an enigmatic mystery thriller fired by the growling intensity of its goth-girl heroine Lisbeth Salander (ferociously played by Noomi Rapace). Although the large dragon tattoo that covers her back is never directly addressed…
The Joneses (Review)
As its generic name of the family that Americans strive to keep up with, The Joneses is an insightful, if not especially scathing, satire from debut director/co-writer Derrick Borte about consumerist manipulation. An upscale, gated suburb where the average income is “over $100,000” is the hunting ground for a manufactured family of product-placement experts whose…
Looking for Palladin (Review)
The ghost of Robert Altman haunts this slight, occasionally amusing slice of life from writer/director Andrzej Krakowski. The narrative opens as Josh (David Moscow), a slick Hollywood talent agent, arrives in a small Guatemala town in an attempt to track down Jack Palladin (Ben Gazzara), a two-time Oscar-winning actor who long ago shunned the spotlight…
Happy Tax Day! Now Pay Up!
If you're angry about how much you owe today in federal and/or state taxes or bewildered at how difficult it is to properly fill out the 1040 and want to blame someone for something, check out Kevin Osborne's current Porkopolis column about the relative pittance that corporate America pays in taxes. Our favorite line, addressed…
More Tea Party Ugliness
CityBeat first wrote about the Springboro Tea Party last month, detailing the agenda for a rally planned Saturday that’s heavy with speakers from the John Birch Society and movies about far-right conspiracy theories. Now the Tea Party leader organizing the event, Brian “Sonny” Thomas, is under fire for racist and vulgar comments he posted on…
Rumors, Lies and General Misunderstandings
• Elsewhere in CityBeat you’ll find plenty of info on Record Store Day (like here and here), so be sure to support your local independent music retailers Saturday. If you're a fan of local Electro/Indie/Folk/Pop wonders The Seedy Seeds (pictured), you’ll definitely want to stop by Shake It Records in Northside, where The Seedys will…
The Kingdom of Ohio (Review)
Life before the internal combustion engine was no damn fun. That, along with a vague sense of disquiet, is the thrust of The Kingdom of Ohio, the debut novel of possibly former Portlander Matthew Flaming. (Flaming has conflicting biographies within the book and on the dust jacket, which describe him as living, respectively, in Brooklyn…
Blank Generation (Review)
More than 30 years ago, Werner Fassbinder protégé Ulli Lommel set up camp in New York and became ensconced in the city’s burgeoning Punk movement. The experience inspired him to make a movie about the disaffected youth who were sneering at the music industry’s status quo at top volume with only the barest concern for…
WKRC-TV and Cincinnati Public Schools
[LOSER] CINCINNATI PUBLIC SCHOOLS: The district’s internal auditor recently found that CPS used an “inconsistent” methodology to count minority contractors who worked on construction projects, resulting in inflated numbers. In reality, CPS’ figures were off by $16 million. That means only 9.5 percent ($67.8 million) of the $712 million spent on projects through last year…
Art: Jardin Femme at Clay Street Press
If you still have doubts as to whether computer-generated art can actually be true art, look in on McCrystle Wood’s Jardin Femme at Clay Street Press. The 21 computer-created archival digital prints, each in an edition of five, capture both the eye and the mind of the viewer. They're beautiful but not “pretty” and intellectually…
Mary Swortwood [Green Dog Cafe]
If you’ve dined at Green Dog Café, you know that chef/owner Mary Swortwood puts the panache in organic, sustainable and seasonal dining with a plentiful lunch, brunch and dinner menu. Green Dog Café not only does a body good but, with local and regional vendors, it also does a community good. Mary is a seasoned…
Just Kids (Review)
Because Patti Smith’s music can be so ferociously turbulent, and because of her Punk legacy, it’s easy to overlook her tender side — one that exudes a charitable, compassionate sweetness and undying loyalty to friends and family as well as awe at the magnificence of great art. Smith wasn’t so much a rebel against post-war…
Jardin Femme (Review)
If you still have doubts as to whether computer-generated art can actually be true art, look in on McCrystle Wood’s Jardin Femme at Clay Street Press. The 21 computer-created archival digital prints, each in an edition of five, capture both the eye and the mind of the viewer. They're beautiful but not “pretty” and intellectually…
Corporations Don’t Pay Their Fair Share
There are few words that can elicit as visceral a reaction as “taxes.” Nobody likes to pay unnecessary taxes but, thanks to a generation of proselytizing by the Republican Party, many people don’t understand the concept of the common good and view all taxes as bad. Apparently, items like roads and bridges, water and sewage…
April 7-13: Worst Week Ever!
WEDNESDAY APRIL 7 Everybody knows that the decennial U.S. Census is just a federal funding free-for-all where cities and suburbs fight over who grew, who shrunk and whose families suffered mass divorces due to casino legalization. The AP reported today that in addition to documenting the waning influence of white people the continuous changing of…
Pope-Mo-Beatle, Hank Dub and Raging F Bombs
[HOT] Lennon, Harrison: Probably Not in HellThe Beatles, once designated “Bigger than Jesus” by John Lennon, are now Vatican-approved. Perhaps because of the changing culture (or maybe designed for an approval-ratings boost timed to “Beatles Week” on American Idol), the Vatican newspaper honored The Beatles with special editions timed to the 40th anniversary of their…
‘Light, Suspended in Moisture’
I’m reading Dava Sobel’s 2006 tour de force Galileo’s Daughter, an engrossing depiction of the great mathematician’s ideas and trials, as well as his tender and loving relationship with his illegitimate daughter, Soer Maria Celeste. The two carried on a lifetime correspondence, with the dutiful daughter writing always from behind the cloistered walls of the…
Chicken Liver
Saturday was my lucky day. Kroger had chicken liver on sale. Lightly breaded and packaged in a plastic container, it cost me less than a buck for 24 chicken livers. As I put the container in my cart, I told myself chicken liver is good for me. Whether it is or not, I haven’t bothered…
