Ex-Mayor’s Nephew Nabs TV, Film Jobs
The scion of a Cincinnati political dynasty is starting to make it big in Hollywood. Jesse Luken, the grandson of ex-Congressman Tom Luken and the nephew of former Mayor Charlie Luken, has recently landed notable roles on TV and film. Luken recently had a recurring role on the third season of Justified on…
Review: Brendan Benson’s ‘What Kind of World’
If Jack White is Indie Rock’s most prominent attention deficit multitasker, his Raconteurs bandmate Brendan Benson is his lesser known Indie Pop counterpart. The Detroit native’s band work with the Well Fed Boys and the Mood Elevator received good notices, but his solo output (1996’s One Mississippi, 2002’s Lapalco, 2005’s The Alternative to Love, 2009’s…
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Lauded for Heart Care
The Heart Institute at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center has received a prestigious accreditation that puts the facility in the vanguard of the country's network of pediatric cardiovascular health care. The Healthcare Accreditation Colloquium has recognized the Cincinnati Children's Heart Institute for its groundbreaking efforts to collaborate the worlds of care for both pediatric…
Hot Dog Showdown
All great artists struggle to create something new, something original. And so the biggest fear for artists is stumbling over themselves while attempting to come up with the next big thing. Chefs are no exception to this rule. For Adam Easterling and Jim Thompson, the solution is simple — just make the best things better.…
Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati 2.0
Things ain’t what they used to be at Ensemble Theatre. A decade ago 1127 Vine St. in Over-the-Rhine was near ground zero for some of the city’s worst behavior — drug-dealing, shootings, arrests and police controversy. During the 2001 riots, artistic director D. Lynn Meyers and the cast of a show she was rehearsing had…
A Combo Platter
S haron Van Etten began winning admirers with a pair of intimate, soul-bearing albums — 2009’s Because I Was In Love and 2010’s Epic — that explored love gone bad via a voice that was so big and expressive and sad-sounding that one feared for the woman from which it was emanating. Guitarist for The…
Girls, The Dead and Nugent
[HOT] Girls Vs. Girls The trend of cool, new bands naming their groups something so generic and random it’s impossible to Google is all well and good, but can we at least all agree that if you give your band such a moniker, you cannot bitch about other people using the same phrase or word…
Reds’ Slow Start No Reason for Panic
One of the great beauties of baseball is that one pitch can mean everything and one game can mean nothing. The Reds are off to a slow start, winning seven of their first 16 games. It’s not ideal and wins in April count as much as wins in September, but it’s baseball — every team…
‘Thunder’ Knocks Again
I became CityBeat’s arts and entertainment editor in 1998, following a few years of being a contributing writer, covering the local theater scene. In 1999 I wrote my first big cover story — it was about Keith Glover and his Blues musical, Thunder Knocking on the Door. The show was created for the Alabama Shakespeare…
Music Tonight: Cowboy Junkies
Canadian Alternative band Cowboy Junkies perform tonight at the 20th Century Theatre in Oakley. Formed in the mid-’80s, the group has been consistently critically acclaimed and have had a few moments of mainstream breakthrough, including its cover of The Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane," a minor MTV hit in the late ’80s that was revived as…
This Date in Music History: April 24
On this day in 1984, arguably the greatest concert film ever made, Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense, premiered. The film was directed by Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, a trio of Neil Young documentaries) and shot during three concerts at Hollywood's Pantages Theater in December of 2003. Along with being a compelling…
‘Jeff, Who Lives at Home’ Saved Me from the ‘Stooges’
So I recently tried to force myself to buy a ticket to The Three Stooges, but in the end my better judgment prevailed. Standing at the box office trying to convince myself that the Stooges wouldn’t be that bad was a near impossible task. There are just so many things wrong with the Stooges movie…
Morning News and Stuff
Cincinnati's streetcar project manager told City Council Monday that top level officials from the city and Duke Energy are continuing negotiations on who should pay for the relocation of underground utilities for the project. Chris Eilerman, an assistant to the city manager, called the discussions “fruitful.” City officials say some of the cost should fall…
Event: Operation Kitten Knittin’
Expect cute overload when the Cincinnati BombShells, full of kittenish charm themselves, yarn bomb the Ohio Alleycat Resource & Spay/Neuter Clinic open house. Two of CityBeat’s 2012 Best of Cincinnati picks will generate some “knit one, purrrr too” action with Operation Kitten Knittin’. The fiber artists have made blankets to welcome fur babies being showcased…
Event: Bike Expo
As the warmer weather approaches the urge to get the bike out of the garage floats through your mind like dandelions on a breezy April afternoon. The Public Library of Cincinnati and the Hamilton County Main Library rep Bike Month in style with their bike expo. You don’t have to be an avid bike rider…
Event: International Butterfly Show
With more colors than a rainbow, this show is sure to impress. More than 16,000 butterflies from multiple continents will be fluttering through the gardens at this year’s International Butterfly Show. The scenery is equally impressive with elaborate floral displays and set designs. Special events on Grandparent’s, Mother’s, and Father’s days will grant free admission…
Event: ReUse-apalooza
Remember when Captain Planet said, “The power is yours!”? Now that the cheesy 1990s cartoon phrase is over we can get down to business. Building Value is a nonprofit reuse enterprise that specializes in building materials. The materials, some donated and others salvaged from the landfill, are resold to the public. Building Value also provides…
How To Make an Impression
As soon as I was admitted into the emergency room, the first thing the doctor asked was, “What happened?” I answered: “I’m pretty sure I’m the only person who ever broke his ankle while playing golf.” “How’d you do that?” he asked. “It’s a long story,” I answered. He took off my shoe that was…
‘Revolution’ in the Head
At over six feet tall, Joseph Winterhalter is an imposing figure. With a deep voice and a firm handshake, he comes across as a fusion between an aging punk rocker and radical intellectual with a lot on his mind. At a recent gallery talk, I witnessed him expounding upon everything from Post-Structuralism’s emphasis on binary…
Music: Sigur Ros’ Inni Film Screening and Director Q&A
Earlier this month, as part of the auxiliary programming related to its current Spectacle music video exhibition, downtown’s Contemporary Arts Center welcomed award-winning singer/songwriter Feist and music video director Martin de Thurah for a special screening and talk. This Friday, the CAC welcomes another music video auteur, Vincent Morisset, who will present a screening of…
Art: Layered Abstractions
For the past several months, Covington’s Artisan’s Enterprise Center has run a series of top-shelf group exhibitions that mix artists of different backgrounds and temperaments, often with striking results. The current show is Layered Abstractions, featuring works by sculptor Robert Pulley and painters Trish Weeks and Paige Williams. Pulley’s large stoneware pieces recall the monolithic…
Event: OTR Skate
Get ready to bust out those old skates that have been collecting dust in the back of your closest, because it’s back: OTR Skate is an adult roller skating party held in the skating rink of the Over-the-Rhine Recreation Center. Created in 2011, OTR Skate highlights Cincinnati musicians and supports the OTR Rec Center. Last…
Onstage: Ulysses
June 16, 1904, might not be a date you recall as historically significant. But it’s come to be called “Bloomsday,” thanks to a rich, symbolic work of fiction by James Joyce that follows an average Joe through Dublin for a nondescript day. Joyce applied a mock-heroic framework to Ulysses, following the adventures of Homer’s great…
Comedy: John Heffron
Things are going well for comedian John Heffron. His calendar is full, but there are drawbacks. “I’m on the road 48 weeks a year, so I’m sure my wife has a boyfriend by now,” he says from Denver where he’s performing before coming to Cincinnati. “I’m literally going non-stop.” The Michigan native is sort of…
Music: Makr performs Georg Friedrich Haas’ In iij. Noct.
Georg Friedrich Haas’s In iij. Noct. goes where no string quartet has gone before. The performers will be seated in the theater’s four corners, the house lights will be doused and Makr will take on this intriguing work described by The New Yorker as “a modern masterpiece that transforms the concert hall into a place…
Historic Burial Records Placed Online
Newly restored digital copies of 73-year-old maps detailing where U.S military veterans are buried throughout Hamilton County will be unveiled Wednesday. The Hamilton County Recorder’s Office recently received map books dating to 1939 that were thought to have been destroyed. Created by the Works Progress Administration, the map books register the burial location of…
Cincinnati Electric Car Club To Meet May 10
Ever thought about jumping aboard the electric car train? Do your research and communicate with others also seeking more sustainable methods of transportation. The inaugural meeting of the Cincinnati Electric Car Club will be held at 6:30 p.m. May 10 at Cincinnati Hybrid at 6403 Madison Road. The meeting is open to all community members,…
Review: Natalie Wells Band’s ‘Live From Earth’
When the phrase “guitar hero” gets tossed around, it’s naturally in reference to some of the greatest six string figures in Rock history. But if there is a subset of that hallowed group — guitar heroes in waiting, as it were — then Natalie Wells surely deserves to be included on that hopefully short waitlist.…
This Date in Music History: April 23
On this day in 1981, The Survivors Live, an album featuring Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis, was recorded in West Germany. The story goes that the three artists — who all started out together on the trailblazing Sun Records — were touring Europe at the same time and Lewis and Perkins joined…
Larry Flynt in Cincinnati Today
Hustler publisher, First Amendment defender and creepy uncle to us all, Larry Flynt is in town today. The porn mogul will be onsite at the Hustler Hollywood sexplex's Monroe location. Flynt is currently touring in support of his book, One Nation Under Sex: How the Private Lives of Presidents, First Ladies and their Lovers Changed…
Carnegie Plays Well with Others
In case you haven’t been paying attention, the Carnegie Center in Covington has been producing some ambitious theater and following a course that others haven’t tried: It’s called collaboration. Joshua Steele, the managing director of theater for the arts center in a one-time Carnegie Library, has amplified his results by working with other arts institutions…
Morning News and Stuff
The sole Republican and independent members of Cincinnati City Council have called a special meeting of the group tonight to address black on black crime. Councilman Charlie Winburn, a Republican, and Councilman Christopher Smitherman, an independent, want their colleagues to allocate an extra $300,000 for CrimeStoppers, which offers cash rewards for tips leading to the…
Council Seeks Input On Four-Year Terms
Have you ever felt like Cincinnati City Council members seem like they’re in perpetual campaign mode, spending six months out of each two-year term trying to explain to voters why the stuff they did during the previous year and a half has earned them a second year-plus before they have to start campaigning again? Us,…
Sittenfeld Proposes Litter Law Change
Cincinnati officials are about to give property owners more of an incentive to clean up their yards. City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld has proposed changing Cincinnati’s litter laws to allow for a full refund of fines for first-time violators if they remedy the problem within 10 days of being cited. Currently, when the city issues citations…
Your Weekend To Do List: 4/20-4/22
The next 48 hours or so present a trifecta of holidays: Saturday is Record Store Day, Sunday is Earth Day, and, thanks to a group of teens in 1971, today (4-20) is unofficially Weed Day. Surely we can find a way to celebrate all three this weekend. Visionaries and Voices, the Northside gallery that works…
Oberhofer
How many bedroom-projects-gone-bands can Indie Rock possibly handle? If you're not familiar with this phenomenon's popularity over the last three years, let's use its basic narrative to explain why this question is important: A guy makes music in his bedroom by himself; blogs and indie publications take note and praise said project; guy gets signed…
Trampled by Turtles
To a city slicker, Duluth, Minn., sounds a lot like BFE. To the members of Trampled by Turtles, Duluth is “home.” After releasing a few albums that the band was less-than-stoked about, the Turtles struck out to attempt and harness the energy put forth during their live shows. That album, 2010’s Palomino, was recorded in…
Local Record Store Day Happenings
Tomorrow is Record Store Day and local shops Everybody's Records , Mole's Record Exchange , Phil's Music and Memories and Shake It Records are all getting in on the action. If you’re unfamiliar with “record stores,” here's the Wikipedia page . If you’re unfamiliar with Record Store Day , it’s essentially an annual “holiday” where…
Smug Brothers with The Minor Leagues
What happens when you put two of Dayton, Ohio’s best music writers in a band together? Turns out, you get Smug Brothers, a highly melodic lo-to-mid-fi Indie Rock band with great songs and more than one connection to the city’s godfathers of Indie, Guided By Voices. Singer/guitarist Kyle Melton (formerly of Dayton band Montgomery Greene…
Tedeschi Trucks Band
Like the star-crossed events that improbably introduced peanut butter to chocolate, the universe conspired to match Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks at a beautiful personal and professional crossroad. Trucks, the nephew of Allman Brothers Band drummer Butch Trucks, was a six string prodigy, learning on a yard sale guitar at 9, playing for money at…
Music Tonight: The Werks, Hanni El Khatib and More
There are oodles of live musical options tonight all over our area tonight. Here's a quick rundown. • Dayton/Columbus band The Werks — self-described as a "Psychedelic Dance Funk Rock Improv" group — celebrate the release of their new self-titled album, the band's third, a self-issued full-length. Opening up the 10:30 p.m. show at Covington's…
Stage Door: More Musicals
I was at UC’s College-Conservatory of Music last evening to see this weekend’s production of Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia. I love this densely intellectual script that’s awash in math and physics theory as well as conflicting perspectives deriving from the Romantic movement and the Age of Enlightenment. The play alternates between 1809 and 1993, with characters…
This Date in Music History: April 20
On this day in 1939, Adolf Hitler's 50th birthday was a national holiday in Germany. It was also the day Billie Holiday recorded her version of the stirring "Strange Fruit," which some consider the first Civil Rights protest song/anthem. Originally a poem written by Abel Meeropol, a Jewish high school teacher in New York (who…
A&E Looking For Locals For Documentary-Style Show
British production company KEO Films is looking for area families interested in participating in a television show which would involve temporarily relocating to an Amish community. Living with the Amish is a documentary-style show originally aired on UK's Channel 4 in 2011. In that first season, six British teenagers (three boys, three girls) flew across…
Morning News and Stuff
The Samuel Adams Brewery in Cincinnati's West End is using $3.6 million in grant funding to expand its facilities. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded the grants so the firm could expand its operations onto an adjacent contaminated site that once contained dry cleaning and automotive businesses. “They had a business choice,” said Scott…
Ohio’s Heartbeat Bill Drawing National Attention
"WE ARE ABOUT TO END ALMOST EVERY ABORTION IN OHIO!" proclaims the heading at heartbeatbill.com, the brainchild of the bill's most staunch supporters. That's a terrifyingly bold statement, and it's one that's not entirely true. What is true, though, is that the longtime movement by steadfast anti-abortionists to pass a bill with the power to…
Music Tonight: Cursive, Griffin House and More
Singer/songwriter Griffin House comes back to Cincinnati tonight for an 8 p.m. show at the 20th Century Theatre in Oakley with local guests, the Folk Pop duo Ellery. The Springfield, Ohio, native (currently living in/working out of Nashville) has long received critical acclaim for his albums and his numbers commercially go up with each new…
Enquirer Publisher Explains Lack of Disclosure
The Enquirer’s top boss has told CityBeat that her connection to a major real estate development group was “overlooked” in a lengthy, front-page article about the organization that was published April 15. Publisher Margaret Buchanan wrote in response to an email that she didn’t influence the preparation, editing or placement of an article about…
Q&A with Magnolia Mountain’s Mark Utley
This Friday night, Cincinnati's finest Americana outfit, Magnolia Mountain is set to celebrate the release of its fantastic new LP, Town and Country, easily one of the best locally-produced albums of the year. Frontman Mark Utley and his bandmates will party in Town and Country's honor by performing tomorrow at the Ballroom at the Taft…
Your Thursday To Do List
Tonight marks O'Bryonville's first Third Thursday Benefit Wine Walk of the year. Support the neighborhood's independent businesses like Hemptations, Phyllis Weston Gallery, Ten Thousand Villages, The Bonbonerie, indigenous and many more as you hop from spot to spot, enjoying complimentary wine and bites at each participating venue. This month's walk benefits Pets in Need (a…
Rebuilding Cincinnati: City vs. Kasich
In his State of the City address last week, Mayor Mark Mallory called on Cincinnati to continue pushing for improvements. After years of stalling, projects like Washington Park’s renovation, the Horseshoe Casino and the streetcar are finally moving forward, and Mallory wants to make sure that work continues. Politically and economically, it makes sense. Not…
This Date in Music History: April 19
On this day in 1943, chemist Albert Hofmann embarked on the first LSD "trip." As a Swiss chemist working in the lab of Sandoz pharmaceutical company in Switzerland five years earlier, Hofmann was the first to create the psychedelic drug. But the psychedelic aspect of wasn't discovered until April 19, 1943. On that day 69…
The Reds Slip in Rankings
With all the talent the Reds have on their roster the bats just aren’t blazing like we all suspected they would. The Reds rank 27th or lower in four major offensive categories, including runs scored — a woeful 31 runs in 10 games. Luckily for the Reds, outside their current opponent — St. Louis —…
2012 Fringe Cranks Up its Engine
Know Theatre has announced the 2012 Cincinnati Fringe Festival, kicking off May 29 and continuing through June 9. Festivities begin with the official CityBeat Fringe Kick-Off Party on May 29 at 6 p.m. (A suggested donation of $5 gets you in.) During the Festivals’ two-week run, 29 productions will receive multiple performances. Some shows are…
Morning News and Stuff
In an effort to avoid an estimated $43 million deficit, the Cincinnati Board of Education decided Wednesday to eliminate 237 teaching jobs for next school year. Of the job cuts, 35 are layoffs, 112 are retirements or resignations, and 90 are long-term substitutes. In March, the board also approved laying off 40 administrators. The actions…
City Gets $3M Grant for Lead Abatement
Cincinnati officials will hold a press conference Thursday to announce that the city will receive a $3 million federal grant to address lead paint problems in apartments and houses. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded the grant to the city’s Community Development Department. City staffers will work with some local nonprofit…
Review: M. Ward’s ‘A Wasteland Companion’
It’s been an eventful three years since Matthew "M." Ward last gave free rein to his solo muse on 2009’s much heralded Hold Time. Ward, doing a brisk Indie Rock business under his first initial and last name, has been almost psychopathically busy in the interim, from recording and touring with Connor Oberst, Jim James…
Kasich Office Shows Gender Wage Gap
As of late, the media has been shoving it in my face that being a woman kind of sucks. Yesterday in particular was a painful reminder that aside from women's highly publicized birth control and body woes as of late, our male counterparts still earn more than $10,000 per year more the rest of us…
Music Tonight: Low, R. Ring, The Fray and more
• Veteran Indie Rock cult heroes Low pull into town tonight to play the new Ballroom at the Taft Theatre. Formerly known for their "slow-core" approach, the Duluth, Minn., trio has expanded its sound greatly in recently years. Check out a clip from last month, filmed at The Guardian offices in the U.K., of Low…
This Date in Music History: April 18
Today in 1996, one of the greatest, most influential bassists ever, Bernard Edwards of Disco/Funk group Chic, passed away after contracting pneumonia while on tour in Japan. My personal favorite bass line is Sly Stone's lick on "If You Want Me to Stay," but it's hard to deny the power of Chic's "Good Times," a…
Estate of David ‘Bones’ Hebert Files Wrongful Death Suit
The estate of David “Bones” Hebert filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against Cincinnati Police Sgt. Andrew Mitchell alleging wrongful death and battery in the April 18, 2011, shooting death of the 40-year-old musician. The plaintiff in the case is listed as Paul Carmack, administrator of the estate of David Hebert. The lawsuit claims that Hebert…
Naked Tchopstix (Review)
“Don’t judge a book by its cover.” I’m sure we’ve all heard that phrase applied to any number of situations, but I had to say it to myself when I learned I was to review a new restaurant named Naked Tchopstix. The name is just a bit twee and made me wonder how the food…
Your Wednesday To Do List
Celebrate: Today's oddball holidays include International Jugglers Day and National Columnists Day. Apparently a "juggler" can refer to an actual entertainer who can juggle several objects at once or a person who "juggles" multiple tasks or responsibilities (isn't that all of us?). Be sure to also show support for your favorite local columnists today. All…
Virtual2pacalypse Now? When Jokes Come Alive
It's always a baffling moment for me when one of the things many of us have joked about happening in the future actually happens in the future. "One day we'll just talk to the TV to change channels," we'd say, goofing around as we maneuvered the broomstick taped to the channel changer dial on (yes,…
Morning News and Stuff
Cemeteries have officially arrived in the 21st Century. A Crawfordsville, Ind., firm is now using Quick Response barcodes on tombstones. The Allen Monument Co. says the code can connect users to an entire memorial site about a deceased person, provided by Cincinnati-based Making Everlasting Memories. The site can include photos, a biography and other information.…
The Big Green List
RECYCLING Hamilton County Recycling and Solid Waste District The Hamilton County Recycling and Solid Waste District offers news and information on local recycling programs. If you have waste materials and you’re not sure where to take them, this should be your first stop. 513-946-7766, www.hamiltoncountyrecycles.org. Northern Kentucky Recycling Centers • River Metals Recycling buys any…
Solar Earth LLC
Installing solar panels is one way a household can help the environment while saving money in the long term. In Cincinnati, one company offering the service is Solar Earth, a start-up founded by Julie Jones and Jennifer Wolford that installs solar panels on both businesses and homes. Jones originally worked at Cinergy. After she had…
Enright Ridge Urban Eco-Village’s Community Fruit Orchard
It all started with a simple grant proposal by ecovillager Suellyn Shupe at Enright Ridge Urban Eco-Village in Price Hill to the Alliance for Community Trees (ACT), a national organization dedicated to improving the environment in cities and metropolitan areas. The ACT’s People’s Garden Grant, according to its website, “promotes the connection between trees and…
Shades of Green
Cincinnatians just love to joke about that old, clichéd quip often attributed to Mark Twain: “When the end of the world comes, I want to be in Cincinnati because it’s always 20 years behind the times.” The colloquialism is used to exemplify anything considered remotely backward, from legislation to fashion to potholes. Signs of life,…
April 11-16: Worst Week Ever!
WEDNESDAY APRIL 11 People who believe that the Cincinnati streetcar plans are stupid have more reason to be pissed off today, as streetcar supporters celebrated the city choosing a design and manufacturer to build the first five streetcars. In order to comply with the federal Buy America program, the company, CAF USA, must build the…
A Happy Record Store Day in Cincy
Some readers are probably giddy with excitement over Friday’s holiday (“4/20, dude”), while others are more anticipating 4/21, otherwise known as Record Store Day. (More than a few are probably psyched for both and have blocked out the entire weekend for debauchery and music buying.) Local record stores Everybody’s Records (in Pleasant Ridge), Mole’s Record…
Enquirer Praises 3CDC, but Omits Publisher’s Ties
F or a company whose main purpose is disseminating information to the public, The Enquirer and its corporate owner sure are keeping tight-lipped about an article that was published April 15. The long, splashy article focused on the ongoing redevelopment of Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood and the central role of the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp.…
Columbus Art Museum’s Radical New Photo Show
One of the most acclaimed photography shows to open last year was The Radical Camera: New York’s Photo League 1936-1951 at New York’s Jewish Museum. Billed as the first major Photo League retrospective in 30 years, and accompanied by a catalogue, it prompted keen, renewed interest in the subject. Yet as New York-centric as the…
