Apr 15-21, 2009

Apr 15-21, 2009 / Vol. 15 / No. 23

Onstage: Avenue Q

A cast of Muppet-like characters searching for love, purpose and a decent apartment is certainly not typical Broadway fare. But it made Avenue Q into a hit show. Back in 2003, the show’s producers (which included Kevin McCollum, a 1984 musical theater grad of UC’s College-Conservatory of Music) gambled that Avenue Q’s appeal was big…

Music: Junior Boys

I love syncopated beats. Especially when they’re played right and the vocals behind them sound like an electrocuted Luther Vandross. This is why everyone should listen to Junior Boys. Unbeknownst to most of Earth, Junior Boys are preternaturally adept at infusing Techno and Soul that isn’t awful, but rather suspiciously wonderful. This band almost makes…

Lectures: Cowboy Copas

As the revival of interest in Cincinnati's late King Records continues to grow, attention is turning from its justly celebrated Blues and R&B releases toward its early Country, Bluegrass and Country Boogie releases — “hillbilly music,” as it was known. One of its biggest stars in this field was Cowboy Copas, an Adams County native…

Lit: InkTank

It’s a big weekend at InkTank as the literary mainstay explores the American Dream with a 7:30 p.m. Final Friday reading by Larry Smith of Cleveland-based Bottom Dog Press, along with local Bottom Dog poets, and two simultaneous writers’ workshops from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday. Smith, a former steel mill worker, is the author…

Music: Lucero

Lucero’s organic mixture of skilled Punk and Tennessee-bred Southern Rock could mesh equally well with the tastes of old-school Country fans out for something classic and Rock radio listeners in the market for something rootsy. The problem is getting the attention of those people. Once they’ve heard the band, there’s no way their charm couldn’t…

Events: Antique and Classic Car Show

For the 32nd consecutive year, the Sharonville Chamber of Commerce lines up shiny old hot rods for your viewing pleasure. The Antique and Classic Car Show features hundreds of well-maintained (or just plain refurbished) vehicles from the Golden Age of American auto manufacturing. Mopar muscle cars, Camaros and Corvettes from Chevy and Ford Mustangs and…

Music: MDC

“MDC” means a lot of things. Using each record to interpret their name differently, the acronym of the Austin, Texas-bred band has stood for Millions of Dead Cops (from their 1982 full-length debut and the most commonly applied meaning), Multi-Death Corporations (1983), Millions of Dead Children (1984), Metal Devil Cokes (1989) and Magnus Dominus Corpus…

Crank: High Voltage (Review)

Sometimes you just want extra pulp with your pulp. And, by golly, this sequel to the pulpy Crank starring tough-guy Jason Statham as Chev Chelios, a supposedly near-perfect human specimen and the perfect killing machine, is all guts (all the time and everywhere) and no glory. For those who remember the end of the first…

Events: Eco Go Go

Looking to spend Earth Day in style? This year Fountain Square is the place to be! Models will be rocking eco-chic clothing while they work their way down a flower carpet designed by Cincinnati graphic designer, Joel Knueven. The new eco-conscious clothing will be provided by Park Vine, Nati Evolvement and The Spotted Goose. This…

Scott Miller, Willie Nile, Fastball, Tragically Hip and More

The titles are stacking up like cordwood here in April, and rolling the weekly excess into the following posting seems less like a solution and more like stockpiling. But the physics of the situation are immutable: Too many releases too little time = overflow into next week’s blog. Enough about what can’t be covered, and…

Comedy: Mike Epps

You don’t think of Indiana as being a particularly funny state, but it has given us David Letterman, Jim Gaffigan and Mike Epps. The latter was raised in Gary, the hometown of Michael Jackson. “They almost caught Michael Jackson,” Epps says of the singer’s various transgressions, “but I’m glad they didn’t get him. I’ll bet…

Art: Hit List at 1305 Gallery

1305 Gallery’s Hit List: 4 Years and Counting at 1305 Main Street is like a television drama’s episode made up mostly of clips from previous episodes. This exhibition functions as a retrospective as the gallery observes its four years in operation. On display will be a medley of objects for sale, publicity from the gallery…

Music: Peter, Bjorn and John

From Stockholm, Sweden, Peter, Bjorn, and John, are the Euro version of Peter, Paul, and Mary, with two great distinctions — they have good songs and are savagely non-irritating. But their appeal rests in the fact that they sound foreign to American ears which often expect music to change our lives or make us want…

Music: Of Montreal

Of Montreal, the non-Canadian, pro-vaudevillian, Ziggy Stardust-esque troupe from Athens, Ga., seemed to have come out of nowhere, even though they released their first album, Cherry Peel, in 1997. It wasn’t until 2005, when the album Sunlandic Twins was released, that Of Montreal began to cause a stir. Previously, their vibrant, synth-driven, flamboyant energy was…

Events: Cincinnati Flower Show

Hailed “the king of all flower shows” by Better Homes and Gardens, the 20th anniversary celebration of the Cincinnati Flower Show is sure to ignite the green thumb spirit just in time for the 2009 gardening season. Whether visitors are looking for ideas on how to arrange flowers in their window boxes, how to improve…

Art: Rites of Passage at Manifest Gallery

Manifest Gallery’s fifth annual Rites of Passage exhibition suggests that tomorrow’s artists are fascinated by people: their presence, their shadowy absence and even by their accouterments. For this lively and diverse gathering of soon-to-be or recent art-school graduates, the gallery presents 24 works by 14 artists from nine states, culled from over 700 works submitted…

Art: Dreams and Trees at Aisle Gallery

The painting-objects that are presented in Peter Voshefski’s solo exhibition at Aisle Gallery in Over-the-Rhine pack the tranquility and specialty of the New Mexican landscape into artwork that is discreet, unorthodoxly spiritual and clear-sighted. Dreams and Trees features installations of paintings and drawings on an array of surfaces clustered around shelves hung intermittently down the…

Events: This American Life Live

I can’t imagine anything better than seeing Ira Glass on the big screen, I mean besides seeing him in real life or marrying him, so I’ll settle for what I can get because This American Life is going to be beaming their live stage show into movie theaters across the country via satellite. And Mr.…

Eating for 1,243

In 2009 Hamilton County was responsible for the lives of 1,243 children. “They were involved with the court system because of abuse or neglect by their parents or caregivers,” according to ProKids.—- But only 434 were given a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). The sole purpose of a CASA is to look out for the…

Rare Cut: Whigs Tangle Lennon and McCartney

Defunct Cincinnati-bred rockers The Afghan Whigs have a rare track posted on their MySpace page. The song is a cover of John Lennon's "Woman," originally recorded for a planned (then shelved) Lennon tribute album in the mid-’90s. —- The group had trouble with the song initially because it was based around a looped sample from…

New Fantasy Owners and the Pirates Who Love Them

There's nothing like another fantasy loss acting like a set of hard knuckles across your face. Really wakes you up and shakes up your roster.—- Upon inspection, I've found that the fantasy baseball schedule features 24 weeks, with only two playoff weeks. My boys deserve to be in the playoffs, and if they are one…

20th Annual Take Back the Night March

The belief that anyone “asks” to be abused and the complacency that relegate domestic violence to “a family matter” is why Take Back the Night is marching into another decade.—- On Friday, April 24 a host or organizations and individuals organized by Women Helping Women of Cincinnati and the Women's Crisis Center of Northern Kentucky…

Sunshine, Lollipops and Rock Rainbows

GO OUTSIDE! It is effin’ gorgeous out! I’m just gonna state the weekend worthy facts and go frolic in this fantab weather. Plus I’m all out o’ funny stories for the moment.—- ‘Tas been a moderately melancholy week in the Land o’ Leen. Besides being unexpectedly catapulted across The Comet this past Monday night via…

Friday Movie Roundup: Movieline: Part Deux and Robot Love

Movieline is back. Sort of. Launched in 1989, the magazine was — like the beat it covered — a glossy, gossipy, A-list-laden Hollywood wank-fest full sometimes vapid, usually smart, almost always entertaining content. (I still have a copy of the issue with Wild at Heart’s Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern on the cover. —- Hey,…

Stage Door: Mr. Marmalade at Know

Have some time on Saturday afternoon for a one-time theatrical experience? Stop by Know Theatre at 3 p.m. for a reading of Noah Haidle's Mr. Marmalade. Know planned to mount a full production of this show during its current season, but with the economy in the crapper, they had to make some adjustments and Haidle's…

Ellery Announces Creative Pricing Packages for New CD

Cincinnati Folk/Pop duo Ellery has recently announced a new “pricing plan” for its forthcoming album. Following in the footsteps of artists like Jill Sobule and Josh Freese (who recently took a $20,000 donor mini-golfing with the Maynard Krebs from Tool, among other fun perks), the band will be offering several tiers to fans that pre-order…

Where All the ‘Tea’ Really Goes

“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.” — President Dwight Eisenhower, Farewell Address (1961)—- Eisenhower, a five-star general in the U.S. Army who led Allied forces in…

Re: Nachos

Dear Cincinnati Reds: I recently attended a baseball game between the Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ballpark. I don’t usually go to your stadium to watch the games live because walking across Fort Washington Way and looking at the Pepsi Smokestacks in the outfield kind of make me hate being there. I…

Stimulating Stimulus Meeting

Hundreds of local people interested in rebuilding the economy instead of complaining about it gathered today for two sessions organized by Gov. Ted Strickland and State Sen. Eric Kearney (D-Avondale) to explain Ohio’s portion of the federal stimulus package. Besides Strickland aides, representatives from the Ohio Department of Development, Ohio Department of Job and Family…

The Thermals, Dukes of Stratosphear, Bob Mould and Much More

Holy guacamole, it’s another banner week. To expedite this week’s column, I’ve shunted a handful of titles to next week just to give myself a little breathing room. As my design professor used to say, when you’re up to your ass in alligators, it’s difficult to remember that your objective was to drain the swamp.…

Worst President in 100 Years?

Those of us who consistently listen to left-wing, anti-American, pro-socialism media like NPR weren't surprised that the Somali pirates finally captured one of our own. International media have been reporting on the African piracy issue for close to a year. But they did finally screw with us. People really shouldn't do that, as our Marine…

Angry About Something or Another

An estimated 3,000 people attended today’s latest “Tea Party” protest at Fountain Square, this time commemorating Tax Day, and a CityBeat writer and photographer were there to capture the event in all of its sordid glory. [See the photo slideshow here.]—- Cincinnati’s protest and subsequent march to City Hall, one of about 600 tea parties…

Music: Safe Haven Spay/Neuter Benefit Show

Animal lovers that love local music will want to head to Stanley’s Pub Friday for a benefit show for the Safe Haven Spay/Neuter Voucher Program, which helps pet owners who can’t afford to have their animals spayed or neutered. The 9:30 p.m. show features Surf rockers The AmpFibians, Glam/Pop group Leisure and R&B/Funk crew Shake…

Examined Life (Review)

Plato said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Director Astra Taylor uses this nugget as a jumping-off point for Examined Life, an engaging but often elusive documentary that works as a decent primer of various philosophical movements and ideas. Think a less aesthetically ambitious, more academic version of Waking Life. Taylor gives eight different…

Jenny Scheinman with The Flatlanders

Jenny Scheinman has an unusual background to be opening Tuesday at the Southgate House for The Flatlanders, the trio of veteran Texas singer-songwriters (Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock) who invented the Alternative Country/Americana genre back in the 1970s. Yes, she does have her own Americana-influenced singer/songwriter album, the eponymous Jenny Scheinman, produced…

Tony’s 8th Street Deli (Lunch Review)

He looked like a Tony, but when a regular came in and addressed our host as Bill, I realized my mistake. I asked the woman at the cash register and she informed us that Bill Fuerst bought Tony’s 8th Street Deli (326 E. Eighth St., Downtown, 513-564-9866) about three years ago and decided to keep…

Music: Tunes and Blooms

The free “Tunes & Blooms” concert series at the Cincinnati Zoo kicked off last Thursday with Screaming Mimes and The Newbees, and Thursday it returns with the teaming of local Pop/Rock legends psychodots and Gypsy Jazz masters The Faux Frenchmen. On April 23, Jake Speed and the Freddies and The Turkeys folk up the gardens…

Cincinnati’s Tea Party

An estimated 3,000 people attended today’s latest “Tea Party” protest at Fountain Square, this time commemorating Tax Day, and a CityBeat writer and photographer were there to capture the event in all of its sordid glory. Cincinnati’s protest and subsequent march to City Hall, one of about 600 tea parties scheduled nationwide, ostensibly were held…

Music: The Ohms

Progressive, jazzy Reggae/Rock/Jam crew The Ohms celebrate the release of their new CD, the EP Resistance, with a show Friday at Play by Play in Silverton. The eight-year-old band (formerly The Four Ohms) will be joined by Reggae faves Super-Massive for the show. The new “sample” CD is in advance of a forthcoming long-player, which…

Environmentally Responsible Dining

Owners of a new Pleasant Ridge eatery, The Loving Cafe, hope to help the environment by serving up tasty plant-based meals as a way for people to ease their dietary impact on the planet. Cafe team member Meghan Burke says agriculture — especially raising animals for food — has been identified as one of the…

Music: PJ Herrington

PJ Herrington, a former local musician now based in Austin, Tex., swings back through town this Wednesday as a member of The Underground Township, an Americana group serving as the backing group for Graham Wilkinson (the Township’s frontguy), Chris Denny and Dany Malone, three rootsy singer/songwriters. Cincinnati’s Noah Sugarman has also been a part of…

Mountaintop Removal Protest Targets Duke Energy

Concerned locals are taking a stand against mountaintop removal at an upcoming protest march called Walk Past Coal for a Sustainable Future. Sponsored by Footprints for Peace, the walk will protest Duke Energy’s expansion of its coalburning Cliffside Power Plant in the Carolinas. The action corresponds with a simultaneous protest at Duke’s Charlotte headquarters. The…

One Family’s Trash

I overestimated my ability to go green. Before I heard the term “waste audit” — a study of all the trash a corporation produces so that it can move toward improving its recycling rate — I was intrigued by the idea of being honest with myself. How much waste was my family producing? What’s our…

Onstage: Spring Briefs Festival

On Sunday at 2 p.m., the Actors and Playwrights Collaborative will present six new short plays in the final day of its “Spring Briefs Festival.” (The works were also presented April 9-10.) The venue is a new one: The Space at Permafringe, a storefront at 14th and Main streets in Over-the-Rhine. Admission is $10 at…

State of Play (Review)

Based on a politically charged BBC miniseries, director Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland) moves the action from the House of Parliament to Washington, D.C., where the suspicious death of a congressman’s co-worker mistress underlines the desperate state of newspaper journalism in America. Russell Crowe — looking considerably older these days — plays Cal…

Recession Taking a Toll on Local Eateries

Gajah Wong West, a Little Indonesia in the middle of Northside, opened its doors three years ago and will close them at the end of this summer. Rumor has it that Gajah is another casualty of the recession, joining other supposed economic casualties like Pigall’s, Kona Bistro, Edgecliff Bistro and Fresh, to name a few.…

Onstage: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Enlightenment

The following week (7 p.m. April 24-25 and May 1-2), Permafringe will be the site for another new work, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Enlightenment. Written, directed and read by Paul Eisenman with original music and sound effects, the work is about a man experiencing travel delays en route to his childhood home in Philadelphia…

Where It All Goes

The Rumpke Sanitary Landfill in Colerain Township, colloquially known as Mount Rumpke, is massive. This behemoth monument to our mass consumption and throwaway culture towers as the highest point in Hamilton County at 1,070 feet — the next highest elevation (962 feet) is the natural hill at the corner of Colerain Avenue and North Bend…

Celebrate Earth Day

More than 8,000 locals are expected at the 39th annual Cincinnati Earth Day celebration, one of the city’s top outdoor festivals and a tribute to all things green and eco-friendly. Performances include native flute music by Janice Tryten, contemporary Folk music by Wild Carrot and the Roots Band and Jamgrass music by the Rumpke Mountain…

Great Lake Swimmers

When Tony Dekker debuted Great Lake Swimmers six years ago, comparisons to the exquisite chamber Folk of Nick Drake, Elliott Smith and Neil Young seemed inevitable. Dekker channeled the expansive desolation of his soul into his eponymous GLS album by way of his whispery vocals, sparse accompaniment and unique studio environment (an abandoned and cavernous…

Music: Cari Clara and The Koala Fires

Those on a tight budget these days who happen to be fans of atmospheric Indie Rock band Cari Clara will be happy to hear that the next CC album will be made available for free as a download. The release date is still up in the air, but expect it soon (we’ll keep you posted).…

86 the CO2 ASAP

Quick, look around you. Notice the lights that are on. Look at the tiny blips of red or green on the cable box or the cell phone charger or the plugged-in laptop. Listen to the hum of a heater or air conditioner. Notice how you’re surrounded by items using electricity. Now think about everyone you…

Bold Pact at PAC

Considering the state of the economy, it might seem daring for a new commercial gallery dedicated to contemporary art to open its doors. But the brand new PAC Gallery in East Walnut Hills, set for a grand opening 5-8 p.m. Saturday, is not only opening but also devoting its first show to contemporary art from…

17 Again (Review)

You might wonder why it was necessary to add 17 Again to Hollywood’s long list of “body swap” comedies over the last 25 years, but I have a theory about such genre fare: At some point in the rise of every young would-be star, the movie industry needs to figure out if they’ve really got…

Onstage: Y.E.S. Festival

14th Biennial Y.E.S. Festival at Northern Kentucky University, which kicks off on Thursday and continues through April 26. For nearly three decades, NKU’s “Year-End Series” has given full productions to aspiring playwrights. This year three more new works will receive world premieres, each directed by an NKU theater faculty member. (The plays are presented in…

Green Fashion Sense

Going green definitely is in style. The second annual Eco Go Go fashion show April 22 will include eco-friendly clothing as well as a number of booths sponsored by environmentally-conscious local businesses. A percentage of sales will be donated to the Imago Earth Center, the West Side educational nature preserve. Organizers want to show locals…

Soul Mates

“Soul Music will never die,” proclaims Herbert Wiley, a veteran of a 1960s-era Southern Soul band now staging an improbable comeback. And indeed he makes a very good point. Originated by black singers who brought the fervor, spirit and “testifyin” of Gospel to secular concerns, it was as much a part of the soundtrack of…

Another Seven Days of Starting Iraq and Stopping Trains

WEDNESDAY APRIL 8 President Obama on Tuesday pulled the ol’ “pop-in” on our friends over in Iraq, but instead of dropping a friendly “Hey buddy” like Kramer in Seinfeld, Obama told the entire nation to hurry up and become self-sufficient. The AP today described the message from Obama, who was said to have gotten a…

Vigils (Review)

Critic's Pick Is Know Theatre obsessed with death? Following a production of Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice, about a songwriter who tries to retrieve his beloved bride from the Underworld, the Over-the-Rhine theater is now presenting Noah Haidle’s Vigils, about a widow who keeps the soul of her dead husband, a firefighter, imprisoned in a trunk. Haidle’s…

Despite Bashings, Enquirer Continues to Move Forward … to a Tabloid

Celebrating Reds Opening Day might be the only local tradition whose popularity and numbers exceed badmouthing The Enquirer. Hostility to the morning daily is amazing, as is critics’ frequent admission that they don’t subscribe or read it regularly. If they did, the paper might be unique in contemporary American journalism, posting double-digit increases in circulation…

Clifton Jazzed by Garage Developments

Unlike most of Cincinnati’s 52 neighborhoods, residents of the Clifton Gaslight District don’t have to get in their cars or catch a bus to go about their daily lives. Depending on their mood, Gaslight dwellers can walk to get groceries, watch the latest independent film, grab a bite to eat at restaurants featuring various types…

‘Nobody’s Above the Law’

Cincinnati Police officers were due to sweep a homeless camp on the riverfront, arguing the responsibility to guard public safety. But local attorney Jennifer Kinsley counter-argued First Amendment protections and won a restraining order, resulting in a conversation about how to approach homeless shelters here and across the U.S. “I got this random call from…

The Path of Least Assistance

For a band, to expand its sound can be a dangerous and often detrimental experience. The first risk, albeit not necessarily the most important one, lies with critical disapproval. As many would say, any publicity is good publicity. However, it's hard to believe that musicians, as artists, would want their creation discredited or, worse yet,…

Extending I-74 Doesn’t Build Anything

To most, Interstate 74 is the highway that starts in Northside and works its way northwest through rural southeastern Indiana. It’s the best way to get to Indianapolis and cheap flights. From Indy, though, I-74 goes on to Davenport, Iowa, connecting to cross-country Interstate 80. That highway passes over some beautiful parts of our country…

Need to Reduce ‘Those People’ Statements

Need to Reduce ‘Those People’ Statements Regarding Joe Wessels’ column “Cutting the Safety Net” (issue of April 8), I’d like to respond to his comment “handing out money over and over again to those who take and never think about changing themselves is flat-out criminal.” I wonder if this might apply in similar circumstances. For…

Rumors, Lies and General Misunderstandings

• The free “Tunes & Blooms” concert series at the Cincinnati Zoo kicked off last Thursday with Screaming Mimes and The Newbees, and this Thursday it returns with the teaming of local Pop/Rock legends psychodots and Gypsy Jazz masters The Faux Frenchmen. On April 23, Jake Speed and the Freddies and The Turkeys folk up…

Into the Forest

I almost died at Red River Gorge when I was 17. My friend, Michutzel Roberto Giglio, and I crashed through a guard rail on a rainy night. Our car plunged 65 feet to the bottom of a ravine, splitting the boulder on which it landed. On the way down, I yelled, “Lord Jesus, have mercy!”…

Ray LaMontagne

Ray LaMontagne’s soulful spin on Folk/Pop has made him something of a sensation here and around the world, reaching the upper reaches of the album and singles charts with all three of his albums: 2004’s Trouble, 2006’s Till the Sun Turns Black and last year’s Gossip in the Grain. His songs have been atmospheric fixtures…

One Horse (Profile)

Guitarist/vocalist Pete Adams leans into the refrigerator at One Horse’s Fairmount practice space and proclaims with an almost lecherous glee, “Time to break out the drinks.” He looks over the door at his assembled bandmates and asks, “Anybody want a Coke?” That’s pretty much the extent of the party atmosphere at One Horse rehearsals. Day…

Blacks and Gays Sitting in a Tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G

If it’s true that misery loves company, then you might think two groups of people used to being prejudged and scorned just for who they are might be more sympathetic to each other. That’s not the case for Cincinnati’s black and gay communities, at least if you listen to Christopher Smitherman, president of the local…

New Plays Take Root

As the trees begin to put forth their leaves, it feels right that new play scripts are popping up in several locations around the Tristate. Cincinnati might be a mid-sized city, but we definitely have a theater scene that contributes to the future of the art form. I recently wrote about the Cincinnati Playhouse’s 50th…

Making the Stimulus Work for Everyone

Is your company going to be receiving stimulus money? Will you be partnering with the state or local government to build something for your community? What, you don’t know how to become part of the stimulus program? You don’t have connections with legislators to get your idea funded? You’re not part of the club? State…

Swan Song

Alan Patrick Kenny did not find it easy earlier this month to discuss how New Stage Collective’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music would be the company’s final production. He said, “I did everything I could to avoid it.” After seven seasons, NSC and its ambitious co-founder have succumbed to a lack of…

Charlie’s Corner: Internet LSD

Today I was zooming around the Internet trying to figure out what to write my blog about. I decided to visit the CityBeat Staff Blogs, which you are reading now, to try and vote again for my own blog. I really needed to bring my stars back up to five after seeing a dismal 2.5…

CityBeat Podcast 1: Green Issue

The Green Issue podcast features an interview with Mike Reynolds, a UC architecture grad whose Greater World Community in New Mexico features more than 60 homes built from waste materials, and Jim and Eileen Schenk of Imago in Price Hill. Suscribe to our podcast in iTunes or use our RSS feed. —-


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