Schmidt’s Lawsuit Gets Nat’l Attention
A congresswoman's lawsuit against a local businessman and onetime political opponent is featured in an article today on the popular Politico website. U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Miami Township) is suing David Krikorian, who ran as an independent against Schmidt in 2008 for Ohio’s 2nd Congressional District and also unsuccessfully ran in the Democratic primary for…
Art: EcoSculpt
To heighten awareness of environmentalism as Earth Day approaches on April 22,
Music: Young Prisms
In the “Genre” section of their Facebook page, Young Prisms shout their answer in caps-lock: “SHOEGAZE.” It’s nothing new for bands to skewer the concept of embracing or self-identifying with genres (comb through MySpace for a couple of hours and you’ll lose track of how many bands think that listing themselves as “Christian Rap” or…
Comedy: Todd Barry
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…
Events: Project Northside Spring Fashion Show
Calling all fashion fiends — as if Cincinnati residents need another reason to spend a Saturday kicking back at the ever-inviting Northside Tavern, the bar will be hosting the Project Northside Spring Fashion Show this weekend. Funky Northside boutiques Chicken Lays an Egg and NVISION will be showing off their stuff in the name of…
Onstage: [title of show]
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 bother with…
Events: Pick Up America Earth Day Celebration
If you’re looking for a way to have free, Earth-friendly family fun this weekend, here's your chance. Make your way downtown to Sawyer Point along the riverfront Saturday from noon-5:30 p.m. for the 41st annual Earth Day celebration. This year’s theme is in honor of the nation’s first coast-to-coast roadside litter clean-up, Pick Up America,…
Events: Tunes & Blooms
Spring is in the air and so is local music as the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens hosts Tunes & Blooms, an event featuring some of the city’s finest and most respected musical acts. The concerts are in the blooming gardens every Thursday in April. This week’s lineup features No No Knots and Walk the…
Music: Patty Larkin
If you surf the web and scan the blogosphere with enough regularity, you’ll find chat-box commentary from testosterone-addled mooks professing that women are incapable of being great guitarists. I’ve read this hogslop so many times I’m convinced that ignorance should be defined as institutionally sanctioned stupidity. Patty Larkin certainly heard it enough times over the…
Onstage: Behind the Eye
If you think the Cincinnati Playhouse is just a place to see good mainstream theater, you need to re-examine your attitude. It’s also garden where inventive new plays are launched. Last season’s The History of Invulnerability (about Superman’s comic book creator) just won a national prize as one of the best new plays of 2010.…
Events: Record Store Day
Shake It Records has a treat for you Saturday— quite a few of them, actually. On top of the borderline-Hoarders amount of music they have available for sale, they’ve also arranged a meet-and-greet, Q&A session with a certain Talib Kweli. Maybe you’ve heard of him. Whether or not he’s performing really depends on Kweli’s schedule,…
Art: Vhils at BLDG
The Cincinnati area’s love affair with street art continues this week with the arrival of Portuguese artist Alexandre Farto (aka Vhils) for a residency at Covington’s BLDG (30 West Pike St.). The Northern Kentucky gallery and studio frequently releases limited-edition print projects and occasionally hosts sleek, urban-influenced art exhibitions. Along with scouting sites around the…
Music: The Black 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…
NKU’s Y.E.S. Festival (Review)
Northern Kentucky University’s Y.E.S Festival is showcasing three new and very different plays through April 17: Karla Jennings’ Monstrous Beauty; Jacqueline T. Lynch’s One Good Turn; and Kelly Kingston Strayer’s Marfa, Texas. Jennings’ play spans decades and the world with stops in Hitler’s Berlin, the glamorous Marlene Dietrich’s boudoir, Andy Warhol parties, dive bars and…
Comedy: Kurt Metzger
Americans seem to enjoy British comics, but how do our comedians do over there? Not bad, according to Kurt Metzger, who just returned from a series of shows in the United Kingdom. “I had a great time there,” he says. “I’d never been there before. It went very well; it was a very cool experience.”…
Music: Bassnectar
Electronica has evolved over the past decade from a cultish fringe genre to a phenomenal cultural and commercial force, with multiple-act bills and weekend festivals attracting thousands of rabidly loyal and often chemically altered fans. Within that community, there are few names that carry as much weight as Lorin Ashton, more prominently known to his…
Events: Civic Garden Center Earth Day
If you are concerned about global warming, climate changes or sustainability, it’s time to celebrate Earth Day. Come down to the Civic Garden Center (2715 Reading Road, Walnut Hills) Saturday and enjoy a great day for the family at the Center, which will be abuzz with activities. Whether you're planting trees at home, recycling or…
Art: Nam June Paik and The Conservation of Video Sculpture
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…
Morning News and Stuff
In response to Gov. John Kasich’s (R-Ohio) approval rating dropping to 30 percent after just two months in office, Ohio Democratic lawmakers Mike Foley and Bob Hagan this week will introduce legislation to allow voters to remove and replace state officials. This new legislation would require a petition signed by 15 percent of the votes…
LISTEN: Cleveland Confidential Book Tour Live
The Cleveland Confidential Book Tour that came to The Comet in Northside this past Sunday is in its namesake town tonight and you can listen to discussions (and readings from books) about the pioneering Northern Ohio Pre-Punk/Punk/Post Punk scene live as it happens at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum, delivered by some…
Carousel (Review)
If it’s great singing and musical accompaniment that draws you to classic musicals, then you need to spend some time at the Carnegie Center in Covington where there’s currently a satisfying staging of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel at the Otto M. Budig Theatre. Let’s start with the orchestra, assembled by Carmon DeLeone, who has been…
The Dragon (Review)
Know Theatre of Cincinnati is known for its fearless work and for partnering with other artists and companies. But I wish more of their work engaged me. Last season’s Angels in America, featuring several excellent local directors and actors, was a box-office success and last fall’s Skin Tight featured an experimental script — as much…
Behind the Eye (Review)
Critic's Pick According to Carson Kreitzer’s new script, Behind the Eye, premiering at the Cincinnati Playhouse, Lee Miller “reflects light so well it seems that she herself is the source.” Miller, you see, is a forgotten but real historical figure, a photographer’s model in Vogue in the 1920s, a photographer herself in the 1930s and…
UC Pop Praxis: Social Justice & the Media
I opted out of typing music listings and attending sociology class Friday in favor of checking out the conference taking place on the University of Cincinnati’s campus: Pop Praxis: Social Justice & the Media. With discussion topics like, “Disco Stick: Lady Gaga and the Phallus” and a keynote speech from Bitch Magazine’s own Andi Zeisler,…
Morning News and Stuff
White House senior adviser David Plouffe said on Sunday that President Barack Obama plans to raise the taxes for the wealthiest Americans. Plouffe, who went on NBC’s Meet the Press, said Obama will hold true to his pledge not to raise the taxes on the middle class. "But the congressional Republican plan, for instance, ……
Dems Endorse, Plot Strategy
Local Democrats are counting on a planned statewide referendum on Senate Bill No. 5 to boost Democratic voter turnout this fall, and help restore the party's majority on Cincinnati City Council. That was the message preached Thursday night by party leaders — along with Mayor Mark Mallory and three of the four Democratic incumbents —…
Miral (Review)
Transitioning from the 1980s art scene, where he shared the spotlight with the likes of Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, into feature filmmaking, Julian Schnabel has, in the relatively short span of five directing efforts, furthered his visual legacy and displayed a unique political perspective, a calling to explore the lives of wandering souls constrained…
Young Prisms
In the “Genre” section of their Facebook page, Young Prisms shout their answer in caps-lock: “SHOEGAZE.” It’s nothing new for bands to skewer the concept of embracing or self-identifying with genres (comb through MySpace for a couple of hours and you’ll lose track of how many bands think that listing themselves as “Christian Rap” or…
Patty Larkin
If you surf the web and scan the blogosphere with enough regularity, you’ll find chat-box commentary from testosterone-addled mooks professing that women are incapable of being great guitarists. I’ve read this hogslop so many times I’m convinced that ignorance should be defined as institutionally sanctioned stupidity. Patty Larkin certainly heard it enough times over the…
Your Highness (Review)
Thadeous (Danny McBride) is your typical second-born prince, a lazy incompetent boob with little interest in anything other than sex and getting high, who gets drafted to join a quest to rescue the princess bride (Zooey Deschanel) intended for his older brother Fabious (James Franco) from an evil wizard named Leezar (Justin Theroux) with a…
Hanna (Review)
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The Music Never Stopped (Review)
Based on the essay “The Last Hippie” by Dr. Oliver Sacks, The Music Never Stopped offers up a fairly predictable medical melodrama. Following a jagged opening with scenes that flit confusingly between decades, we come to understand that the Sawyer family was riven by the American culture wars and the generation gap of the late…
Arthur (Review)
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Of Gods and Men (Review)
Winner of the Grand Prize at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, Xavier Beauvois' impressively restrained humanist drama centers on eight French Trappist monks whose faith is tested when the remote Algerian monastery in which they reside is threatened by a group of ruthless Islamic fundamentalists. Yet Of Gods and Men almost immediately aims to move…
Jane Eyre (Review)
Early spring is the ideal time for this inspired film rendition of Charlotte Bronte's classic novel about an orphaned girl who reinvents herself in 19th-century Britain. Director Cary Fukunaga (Sin Nombre) vividly portrays the material's bleak social constraints and wistful natural surroundings. Moira Buffini's considerably compressed screenplay is fleet yet retains the dynamic poetry in…
Bassnectar
Electronica has evolved over the past decade from a cultish fringe genre to a phenomenal cultural and commercial force, with multiple-act bills and weekend festivals attracting thousands of rabidly loyal and often chemically altered fans. Within that community, there are few names that carry as much weight as Lorin Ashton, more prominently known to his…
Friday Movie Roundup: Smorgasbord of Options Edition
In a cinematic turn of events akin to a cicada uprising (especially given our slim pickings in recent months), this week delivers no less than 10 new releases that span a number of genres, topics and stylistic approaches. Better yet, several are actually (or look) worthwhile, headlined by a trio of smaller, character-driven films: Cary…
Morning News and Stuff
I hope you stocked up on Spam 'cause the government just shut down! Just kidding. But it might. Democrats say Republicans are prepared to shut down the government over a women’s health policy rider whereas Republicans say Democrats need to “get serious” about spending cuts. Whomever’s fault it is, if Congress doesn’t pass a budget…
Stage Door: Take Your Pick!
There are several interesting things happening onstage this weekend, many with very short runs. Miami University has opened a two-weekend run of The Wiz (a funky musical adaptation of The Wizard of Oz) and Showbiz Players begins its run of Altar Boyz (an amusing musical about a boy band that was a big hit for…
Win Win (Review)
Hollywood would like to convince us that stories fit into nice, neat little genre boxes. There are comedies. There are dramas. They want to lead us like sheep into theaters, sell us the overpriced concession and entertain us without challenging us think — because we might think twice about these simple choices and upset the…
Soul Surfer (Review)
Co-writer and director Sean McNamara (Raise Your Voice) has the unfortunate task of following Danny Boyle’s stunning Oscar-nominated adaptation of the true story of hiker Aron Ralston, who spent five days trapped in a canyon before finding the necessary intestinal fortitude to amputate his own arm in order to survive. Surfer's protagonist, Bethany Hamilton (AnnaSophia…
Morning News and Stuff
President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner met last night for what was hoped to be the last meeting needed to reach a budget agreement but reports say that every time a deal seems imminent the Republicans up the ante. The two today are no closer to striking a deal, which means we could…
Skeetones LP: Name Your Price
Hypnotic Electronic band Skeetones' released its debut long-player, Retrospektive, digitally the day after they completed a regional tour to promote it. The band announced that the download of the album is available at a "name your own price" rate through the Skeetones' Bandcamp site (here). The album can be downloaded for free, but it's a…
Calling All Baby Bumps!
Drop those pickles and ice cream, ladies! Becoming Mom Spa in Mason is looking for the hottest pregnant gut in the Tristate for its Beautiful Belly Contest. Knocked up chicks are encouraged to send in a photo of their lovely lady lumps, which will be displayed on the spa's Facebook page for public voting. Because…
Dems Meet to Decide Council Slate
Precinct executives with the local Democratic Party will meet Thursday evening to decide on the party's slate of candidates for Cincinnati City Council. The Cincinnati Democratic Committee will meet at 7 p.m. at the Hampton Inn, 3024 Vine St., near Martin Luther King Drive, in Corryville.—- Some precinct executives are expected to seek a process…
Wind Is the Worst
If you’ve gone outside during any of the past several days, then you know how windy it has been. The wind is blowing all around and I, for one, am just about goddam sick of it. What the fuck is up with wind?—- I didn’t even know how much I hated wind until the other…
A Teenager’s Introduction to the Riots
In following with Cincinnati tradition, I'll begin this story by telling you where I went to high school. In April of 2001, I was senior at Lakota East High School in West Chester. I was deeply involved with the school's enthusiastic journalism program. Unlike many teen-agers, I did not suffer from indecision. I knew I…
March 30-April 5: Worst Week Ever!
WEDNESDAY MARCH 30 If you are the recently conceived fetus of an extremely irresponsible heterosexual couple (or maybe a responsible couple who was doing everything right by God and just had a little accident), then it is safe to say that “timing is everything” — at least when it comes to whether or not you’ll…
David Taylor [La Poste]
David Taylor’s tastes range from the international to the simplest of comfort food. His home cooking is mostly one-dish suppers made in his grandmother’s cast-iron fried chicken pan. His meals at La Poste (3410 Telford St., Clifton, 513-281-3663) are also straight from the heart — honest food like pork shank with white beans and kale,…
Nukes as ‘the Living Dead’ of Journalism
To everyone telling me about Japanese nuclear troubles: Thanks for a bad case of deja vu. I was The Enquirer’s environment reporter who handled stories about the partial meltdown at Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island (1979) and the nuke that never was, Cincinnati Gas & Electric’s Zimmer Nuclear Power Station (d. 1980s) in Clermont County. Reporting…
Let Them Eat Cake!
It’s April, and my thoughts have turned to cake. Now, mind you, I am not talking about just any cake. There are a lot of cakes in the world that I wouldn’t waste a calorie on. Bad grocery-store cake with super-sugary icing is nasty. It should never be served at home and is acceptable only…
Reflections on Riots & Race
Riots. Civil unrest. Uprising. How a person characterizes the events that occurred in Cincinnati during the early days of April 2001 reveals a lot about his or her mindset. During the early morning hours on a warm Saturday, on April 7, two off-duty Cincinnati police officers in Over-the-Rhine recognized a passerby, Timothy Thomas, as a…
Republicans are the True Radicals
I t’s time to take a sober-headed look at which political party epitomizes the relentless pursuit of a legislative agenda that’s out of step with the American mainstream. Throughout the last two years, we’ve heard one Republican after another bash President Obama and then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for supposedly jamming a “radical agenda” down people’s…
China Gourmet (Review)
I n the next few months, CityBeat’s dining crew is going to periodically revisit some classic Cincinnati restaurants. What defines a classic? Well, if longevity is a factor, Hyde Park’s China Gourmet certainly qualifies. They’ve been serving fine Chinese cuisine since 1977. In an era when restaurants close within months of opening, the fact that…
Last Chance for ‘Red Chapel’
Cincinnati World Cinema's final screening of The Red Chapel occurs tonight at 7:30 p.m. For the uninitiated, Chapel is an odd documentary about a Danish filmmaker and a pair of young Danish-Korean “comedians” who travel to North Korea to get back in touch with their homeland and to perform for an audience that includes various…
J. Rawls Corrals Ohio Hip Hop Love
Ill Poetic — the multitasking Hip Hop artist who made his bones in the Cincinnati and Dayton scenes and writes a monthly words-of-wisdom column for CityBeat called Hip Hop (Un) Scene — will be providing some dispatches from the road this month for us as he embarks on the J. Rawls-headlined “#Ohio Takeover Tour.” The…
Morning News and Stuff
Gov. John Kasich on Tuesday announced his plan to put $36 million in federal and local funds toward fighting prescription drug abusers. Reports say that there are more deaths related to prescription drug abuse than car accidents or suicides. Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services boards across Ohio will put in $8.9 million to…
