Forgotten Classics: Quigley Down Under
As I said in my in Silverado review, western films fell out of popularity during the ‘80s and ‘90s with some obvious exceptions. One of these was the TV miniseries Lonesome Dove, based on the novel of the same name by Larry McMurtry. On a side note: Lonesome Dove is probably my favorite novel of…
Brian Is (Not) a Punk Rocker
HOT: Brian Is (Not) a Punk Rocker Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys is a Pop music genius whose songs are steeped in the classics, so perhaps it’s understandable (yet still a bit surprising) that Wilson is very out of touch with contemporary music. “Contemporary” meaning music from the past 40 years. In an interview…
Ben Knight, Coconut Milk and More New Local Releases
Cincinnati Roots Rock foursome Ben Knight & the Welldiggers celebrate the release of their excellent new album, American Highways, with a rare all-ages afternoon show Sunday at Southgate House Revival (111 E. Sixth St., Newport, Ky., southgatehouse.com). Music starts at 4 p.m. (doors open at 3 p.m.) and the $10 cover charge includes a copy…
Beyond the Mat
Jon Wurster is a busy guy. Best known as the drummer with Indie Rock mainstays Superchunk, Wurster is currently in the midst of promoting his other passion as one half of a comedy duo (with Tom Sharpling) who host the cult radio (now podcast) program called The Best Show. That comes on the heels of extensive…
In a Galaxy ‘Faraway’
Vibraphonist Rusty Burge has amassed an impressive curriculum vitae over the past 20-plus years: professor of vibraphone and percussion at University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, director of CCM’s Steel Drum Band, member of the university’s acclaimed Percussion Group Cincinnati, one-time principal percussionist with the West Virginia Symphony and a healthy session musician with a…
Lucy Wainwright Roche with Cheryl Wheeler
If my family should ever disown me and I’m forced to find a new one, I would start by begging Loudon Wainwright III to adopt me. Talent seems to spew from his every orifice and I want a piece of it. He already gave his envy-worthy genes to three incredibly talented musicians — Rufus and…
The Suicide Machines with Break Anchor, Bastardous, Derek Grant and Loudmouth
In the Ska/Punk canon, no titan stands mightier than 1989’s Energy, the only album from Operation Ivy. But in 1996, Detroit outfit The Suicide Machines came close to matching that shooting star’s power and prowess with their first album, Destruction By Definition. The finest Ska/Punk is an elusive elixir, a mixture that’s youthful, exuberant, reflective…
Cory Branan with Tim Easton
As invigoratingly honest Alt Country or Americana continues to blossom amid the musical banalities of Modern Country like a desert rose, it brings with it a new phenomenon: the “No-Hit Wonder,” those contemporary, down-home troubadours whose grittily propulsive, slyly smart songs just can’t get commercial Country airplay but who nevertheless develop enough of a following…
Morning News and Stuff
Hello all. What’s up? Let’s dive right into the news today. If you live uptown and frequently need to hop on I-75 north, I have some bad news for you. It’s going to be another, oh, five years before the already years-old ODOT project to revamp I-75 makes it easier to access the highway from…
Guster with Kishi Bashi
It hardly seems possible that next year marks the 25th anniversary of the meeting of guitarists Ryan Miller and Adam Gardner and percussionist Brian Rosenworcel, freshmen at Tufts University who turned their dorm room songwriting hobby into a quarter century of Alt Rock/Folk Pop wonder as Guster. The trio worked the college coffeehouse circuit during…
Leftovers: What We Ate This Weekend
Each week CityBeat staffers and dining writers (and the occasional intern) tell you what they ate this weekend. We're not always proud — or trendy — but we definitely spend at least some money on food. Ilene Ross: After a long, tiring week, all I wanted was someone to bring me food at home. Unfortunately, the delivery options…
Morning News and Stuff
Hello all. I hope you got out and enjoyed the weather this weekend, which was spectacular. I took a nice six-mile hike organized by Imago, a Price Hill-based nature preserve and environmental education organization and Park and Vine, the planet friendly general store on Main Street in Over-the-Rhine. It was pretty great to spend the…
LumenoCity Returns this Summer
LumenoCity, the popular outdoor 3D light and music show, will return to Washington Park with five performances Aug. 5-9. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra will again provide the live music to accompany 3D projection lighting by Brave Berlin that makes the facade of Music Hall appear to come to life. Performances include a dress rehearsal on…
The Cuckoo Clock Might Need Some Fine Tuning
When you hear the name Steve Martin, you surely think of a funny guy — "wild and crazy," in fact — both as an actor and a comedian. But he's also a playwright, and you have the opportunity to see one of his most amusing works at The Carnegie where The Underpants is onstage through…
Your Weekend To Do List (4/10-4/12)
FRIDAY See Classical music through a new lens at THE CONSTELLA FESTIVAL An ambitious initiative, Constella was conceived as an arts showcase featuring the best in international and local performers. This year’s festival is no less ambitious, but it’s considerably scaled back from the sprawling array of choices that in the past have potentially overwhelmed…
Morning News and Stuff
Hello Cincy, let’s talk about the news today. The big story, of course, is the death of Lauren Hill, the 19-year-old Mount Saint Joseph freshman who very publicly and courageously battled inoperable brain cancer. Hill inspired many across the country, continuing to play basketball with Mount Saint Joe even as her illness weakened her. Through…
Stage Door: The Heat Is on at CCM … And All Over Town
There's a ton of theater opening up this weekend, something for just about every taste. But if you're looking for something free, I have a special recommendation: It's 110 in the Shade at UC's College-Conservatory of Music. This is a production in the Cohen Family Studio Theater (an intimate black box venue that seats about 150). The…
Weekenders: What We’re Doing This Weekend
Each week CityBeat staffers share their weekend plans: from dinner and drinks or special events to out-of-town concerts and stories we're working on. And some of us just watch TV. Maija Zummo: My only plan so far this weekend is to go to Zoo Blooms at the Cincinnati Zoo. The zoo is probably my favorite…
I Just Can’t Get Enough
Jon Stewart is stepping down as host of The Daily Show sometime later this year, and now we know who will be taking his spot: 31-year-old South African comedian Trevor Noah. He joined The Daily Show as a correspondent last December. As to be expected, people scoured his Twitter feed to find something to be…
Morning News and Stuff
Good morning y’all. How are you? I’m feeling great today because I just polished off a 6,000-word draft for an upcoming cover story that you’re definitely going to want to read. That’s always a great feeling, and a short-lived one — soon comes the editing process. But let’s stay focused on the here and now,…
Art: Up at Bat: Warhol and Baseball
Turns out Pete Rose wasn’t the only baseball player that artist Andy Warhol ever depicted. He wasn’t even the only Red. Tom Seaver came first — but accidentally. That’s one surprise of Cincinnati Art Museum’s new and informative exhibition Up at Bat: Warhol and Baseball, on display in a first-floor gallery now through Aug. 2. It’s…
TV: Game of Thrones
As many know, Game of Thrones is based on author George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire book series. But what happens when the show’s progression surpasses that of the source material? Debuting this week, Season Five will cover the series’ fourth and fifth novels; by the time the finale airs, the show will be “off…
Music: Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors
You could glean a great deal about singer/songwriter Drew Holcomb and his wife/bandmate/occasional co-writer Ellie from the fact that they named their first child Emmylou. The Holcombs’ daughter arrived almost simultaneously with Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors’ 2013 album Good Light, a set that was ecstatically received by the band’s zealous fan base and positively reviewed…
Event: The Constella Festival
The Constella Festival rolls out its fourth season this week, marking not only a shift in timing, but also lessons learned from its previous three years, according to Artistic Director Tatiana Berman. A violinist and passionate arts advocate, Berman established the Constella Festival in 2011. An ambitious initiative, Constella was conceived as an arts showcase…
Music: Colleen Green with Leggy
Colleen Green’s third full-length (and first album recorded in an actual recording studio) is titled I Want to Grow Up, which is no coincidence. Well, that is if you equate a glossier sound and trying to kick coffee and weed as growing up. For I Want to Grow Up, Green hooked up with friends Jake Orrall (JEFF…
Music: Lotus
Very few bands have successfully incorporated as many genres and directions into their groovy, improvisation-heavy Jam Band presentation as Lotus. For the past 16 years, the Philadelphia-based quintet has carved out a niche within the admittedly open and accepting Jam community with a fascinating combination of late ’90s Pop Rock, gadgety Electronica, noodly Fusion, raise-the-roof…
Music: Mark Utley
Pr olific singer/songwriter Mark Utley has released a single album’s worth of songs. And that’s all. Bulletville, Utley’s excellent sophomore solo album, is not a double-set on a single CD or accompanied by a new release from his band Magnolia Mountain or another musical vessel for the songs that pour endlessly from his head, heart…
Music: Zines, Screens & Screams Fest
The Zines, Screens & Screams Fest, a celebration of DIY music and culture, comes to Main Street in Over-the-Rhine this weekend for the first edition of what organizers hope to make an annual event. The festival starts Friday at 5 p.m. and Saturday at noon and will be centered around two main locations: Maudie’s (maudieslive.com) and…
City: Don’t Like Indiana RFRA Law? Come to Cincinnati
In the wake of controversy around Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which detractors say allows businesses to discriminate against LGBT individuals on the basis of religious beliefs, Cincinnati City Manager Harry Black is making a pitch to Indiana businesses: Come to Cincinnati. “The city of Cincinnati is extremely well positioned for growth, as it is…
Sen. Rand Paul Announces 2016 Presidential Campaign
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky officially announced his candidacy for the 2016 presidential election April 7 at a rally in Louisville. “I have a message, a message that is loud and clear and does not mince words,” Paul said at the rally. “We’ve come to take our country back. … The Washington machine that…
Poll: Ohioans Favor Strickland over Portman in Senate Race
Former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, a Democrat, had a surprisingly strong showing in a recent Quinnipiac University poll on the 2016 Senate race released April 6, leading incumbent Republican Sen. Rob Portman by nine percentage points among a random sample of 1,000 registered Ohio voters. Portman is running for his second term in the Senate.…
Morning News and Stuff
Good morning y’all. Let’s get right to the news. Are million-dollar homes coming to Over-the-Rhine? At least one of the city’s big movers and shakers thinks so. Reds owner Bob Castellini made that prediction last night during a speech at Music Hall for the Over-the-Rhine Chamber’s annual Star Awards, which spotlights the neighborhood’s growth and…
Tidal Waves “Hello”; Public Sneers Back
HOT: Tidal Waves “Hello”; Public Sneers Back As the music industry continues to try and get a handle on (and more control over) the rise of music streaming services, Tidal, a new streaming outlet Jay Z and scores of high-profile musicians are publicly backing (and have monetary stakes in), has been introduced with a big…
DIY Music and Culture Fest Debuts in Over-the-Rhine
The Zines, Screens & Screams Fest, a celebration of DIY music and culture, comes to Main Street in Over-the-Rhine this weekend for the first edition of what organizers hope to make an annual event. The festival starts Friday at 5 p.m. and Saturday at noon and will be centered around two main locations: Maudie’s (maudieslive.com)…
The Utley Truth
Pr olific singer/songwriter Mark Utley has released a single album’s worth of songs. And that’s all. Bulletville, Utley’s excellent sophomore solo album, is not a double-set on a single CD or accompanied by a new release from his band Magnolia Mountain or another musical vessel for the songs that pour endlessly from his head, heart…
Prophet, Sharing
Chuck Prophet is making some of the best music of his career. Jangly, unique and rocking, Prophet’s jams should be reaching a bigger audience. But fickleness and modern tastes don’t always coincide with true creativity that may be lying in the grass like a snake. Prophet has been in the music business for decades and…
Lotus
Very few bands have successfully incorporated as many genres and directions into their groovy, improvisation-heavy Jam Band presentation as Lotus. For the past 16 years, the Philadelphia-based quintet has carved out a niche within the admittedly open and accepting Jam community with a fascinating combination of late ’90s Pop Rock, gadgety Electronica, noodly Fusion, raise-the-roof…
Colleen Green with Upset and Leggy
Colleen Green’s third full-length (and first album recorded in an actual recording studio) is titled I Want to Grow Up, which is no coincidence. Well, that is if you equate a glossier sound and trying to kick coffee and weed as growing up. Green’s first two records — 2012’s Milo Goes to Compton and 2013’s Sock…
Springing Ahead
T he Constella Festival rolls out its fourth season this week, marking not only a shift in timing, but also lessons learned from its previous three years, according to Artistic Director Tatiana Berman. “I wouldn’t say I’m a veteran, but we’re getting there,” she says. “This year’s festival is really cool, with something for every…
Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors with Humming House
You could glean a great deal about singer/songwriter Drew Holcomb and his wife/bandmate/occasional co-writer Ellie from the fact that they named their first child Emmylou. The Holcombs’ daughter arrived almost simultaneously with Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors’ 2013 album Good Light, a set that was ecstatically received by the band’s zealous fan base and positively…
Up in the Old Hotel
My first apartment did not count. It was a roach-, flea- and mouse-infested studio apartment on Ohio Avenue, one of the worst streets in Clifton known even then for its flashes of violent crime, trash, out-of-control parties and the constant foot traffic of vagrants and dopeheads voyaging to Mecca, the city park down at the…
Liz Longley with Brian Wright
While there is now a genre of music officially called Americana — a category that can either be characterized as full of diverse artists who aren’t afraid of mixing Roots music in with their sound or as a way to promote and market artists who can’t get on Country radio — there is still an…
Attention to Detail
I magine a classic 1920s storefront window complete with mannequins posed in their finery. Now imagine a new type of display — a space filled with buzzing drones, giant 3D printers and announcements of the latest medical breakthroughs. Welcome to the dichotomy soon to be known as of the University of Cincinnati’s new innovation center.…
While We’re Young
Writer-director Noah Baumbach (Frances Ha) sets out in his latest film, While We’re Young, to skewer the pretensions and First World problems of the artistically privileged by inserting razor-sharp barbs that slide in but furiously rip the flesh at the slightest tug. And Baumbach has not one, but two big meaty fish on the hook…
Seymour: An Introduction
Renaissance man Ethan Hawke steps behind the camera to document the life of Seymour Bernstein, a trained concert pianist who walked away from the stage and the spotlight in order to teach the instrument and life lessons for decades. The film captures the everyday wisdom of this exceptional teacher and man with as much grace…
The Longest Ride
Nicholas Sparks has cornered the sentimental star-crossed romance market, penning a satchel of novels that have been adapted into movies that inexplicably rank in our cultural consciousness right behind the comic book craze and the young adult fiction movement. His latest, The Longest Ride, features parallel romances — a Sparks staple. Champion bull rider Luke…
Danny Collins
Rock & Roll may never die, but in the latest project from writer-director Dan Fogelman (the writer of Crazy, Stupid, Love and Last Vegas taking the helm for the first time here), it seems like it might be on its last legs. The titular hero (Al Pacino) is a rocker of some renown in the…
5 to 7
A tale of marital infidelity with a bit of a twist for more conservative American audiences. Brian (Anton Yelchin) is a would-be novelist who walks with eyes wide open into an affair with Arielle (Bérénice Marlohe), the wife of a French diplomat, but the two lovers can only spend time together between the hours of…
‘Game of Thrones’ Progresses into Uncharted Territory
As many know, Game of Thrones (Season Premiere, 9 p.m. Sunday, HBO) is based on author George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire book series. But what happens when the show’s progression surpasses that of the source material? Debuting this week, Season Five will cover the series’ fourth and fifth novels; by…
