Morning News and Stuff
Now that ResponsibleOhio's initiative to legalize marijuana is officially on the Nov. 3 ballot, opposition has formalized against constitutional amendment that could legalize a weed monopoly. Yesterday, a coalition called Ohioans Against Marijuana Monopolies launched its coalition against the constitutional amendment that would only allow 10 Ohio farms to grow and sell the plant. The…
Leftovers: What We Ate This Weekend
Each week CityBeat staffers, 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: On Friday, the BF and I met some friends at Metropole for a long, leisurely lunch. I had…
Morning News and Stuff
Good morning y’all. I hope your weekend was fantastic and your summer is winding down nicely. Here’s the news today. Former employees of now-shuttered Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar at The Banks have filed a lawsuit claiming the bar’s management purposely concealed the fact that the bar was closing and issued paychecks that later…
Straight Outta Compton
The movie gods could not have scripted a better scenario than the narrative behind F. Gary Gray’s new release. With our current social and cultural concerns about the urban experience and the rampant abuses of authority by the police, what better time than now to tell the story of the emergence of NWA and the…
Gemma Bovery
One of the few missed opportunities for me from last year’s Toronto International Film Festival from Anne Fontaine (the writer/director of Coco Before Chanel), Gemma Bovery dances along the demarcations that seek to define comedy, drama and romance. The story’s perspective belongs to Martin (Fabrice Luchini), a former urban Parisian now living in a small…
Stage Door
Know Theatre’s Hundred Days is not running for 100 days. In fact, it has only seven more performances, so I urge you to get your tickets now if you haven’t seen it yet. (I say this in part because I’ve now heard from three acquaintances that they liked the show so much they’ve purchased tickets…
Morning News and Stuff
Good morning, Cincinnati! Here are your morning headlines. • Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld announced yesterday at a press conference at Lincoln Recreation Center in the West End that the city will be rolling out an eight week pilot program partnership between the city, the Cincinnati Police Department and the city's recreation centers to keep…
Your Weekend To Do List (8/14-8/16)
FRIDAY MUSIC: JOHNNYSWIM The success of duo Johnnyswim has come gradually and organically. Abner Ramirez, a multi-instrumentalist who attended the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Florida, first met singer Amanda Sudano, onetime back-up singer for her mother (the late Rock and Roll Hall of Fame vocalist Donna Summer), at church in the early…
Your Weekend Playlist: Bootstraps
With vocals as scratchy as sandpaper and an instrumental rock sound, Bootstraps are killing it with their soundtrack — their only soundtrack, to be exact. Bootstraps are unique while maintaining a bit of what you’ve heard before. Lead singer Jordan Beckett’s voice is similar to Ray Lamontagne, while the overall sound resembles something along the…
Morning News and Stuff
Good morning all. Here’s a quick rundown of the news happening in Cincy and beyond today. First, let’s flip the script and talk about some big statewide news: Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted yesterday approved pot legalization group ResponsibleOhio’s petition drive, meaning the group’s proposed constitutional amendment will appear on November’s ballot for voters…
Event: 1940’s Weekend
Men, strap on your fedoras, and ladies, put on your favorite shirtwaist, because it’s time to Lindy Hop back in time and experience a little living history at Union Terminal’s 1940’s Weekend, a celebration of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. The schedule includes a classic car show, food tastings, film…
Art: Bail or No?
Bail or No? The Impossible Tricks Show is the latest unusual exhibition from the Near*By curatorial collective. Artists, including John Auer, Joe Castrucci, Abby Cornelius, Tim McMillan, CityBeat’s Nick Swartsell, Jordan Tate, Loraine Wible and Erica Wine, have been charged with creating skateboards that should be hard — if not impossible — to use. But…
Art: Matt Morris Gallery Talk
Matt Morris, the Chicago-based artist/curator whose show The Perfect Kiss (QQ)* *questioning, queer is at Contemporary Arts Center, will be there himself Sunday to give a gallery talk and sign his new exhibit-related book. In The Perfect Kiss, he matches his own work with that of the late American conceptualist James Lee Byars. Morris, when…
Event: Midwest Regional Black Family Reunion Celebration
Started in 1989, this weekend celebration is wholeheartedly dedicated to showcasing and reinforcing the strengths, values and historic morals of the Black Family. The events kick off with a parade Saturday from Avondale Town Center, followed by an R&B concert; expect Gospel and morning services Sunday. With stages and pavilions for spirituality, young adults, children,…
Onstage: The Food of Love
Kick off the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra’s Summermusik series in style at Food of Love: Fête, an elegant Art Deco-inspired soirée preceding Summermusik’s opening concert Saturday. Begin with cocktails in the Music Hall Ballroom, followed by a sumptuous dinner and a performance — “The Food of Love,” a play on a quote from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night…
Onstage: Company
The Carnegie is staging Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s musical that broke the mold back in 1970, opening a new direction with a concept about friends advising a 35-year-old bachelor about the virtues and challenges of marriage. The show offers a series of vignettes rather than a continuous story that starts and finishes. It was…
Event: Party in Plaid & Paisley
With the mission to provide a safe environment and supportive services for those living with HIV/AIDS in the Tristate, nonprofit Caracole hosts the third-annual Party in Plaid & Paisley. Guests can look forward to cocktails, meals catered by Jeff Thomas Catering, breaking it down on the dance floor in plaid pants, a spontaneous plaid and…
Music: Streetvibes Music Fest
The Cincinnati Homeless Coalition is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its newspaper, Streetvibes, by throwing a music fundraiser this weekend. Streetvibes is also a fundraiser of sorts; the homeless can purchase the newspapers (which features content created by the distributors and others) for 50 cents each, then sell them for $1.50, keeping the profit earned.…
Sports: Western & Southern Open
Cincinnatians freaked out last month when Major League Baseball’s superstars descended on the Queen City for the All-Star Game. This month, the best of the best of another major sport will come to town when the Western & Southern Open kicks off in Mason. The event is the longest-running professional tennis tournament played in the…
Comedy: Dan St. Germain
“I am recently single,” comedian Dan St. Germain explains to an audience. “My girlfriend left me to work at Google up in Northern California. The worst part of the break-up is using other search engines. You think you’re depressed? Try asking Jeeves something.” In addition to appearances on Conan, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon…
Event: Great Inland Seafood Festival
While there might not be any lobster in the Ohio River, there will be 10,000 of them — imported from Maine — on the banks of the Ohio all weekend for the 28th-annual Great Inland Seafood Festival. The fest features more than 15 local and national eateries and vendors selling everything from super-fresh shrimp and…
This Week’s Food & Dining Events
WEDNESDAY 12 Sugar Rush — We've all heard the phrase "Like a kid in a candy store," but you don't have to be a child to indulge in a smorgasbord of sweets. Join CityBeat at the Playhouse in the Park Wednesday for our annual Sugar Rush party. You'll feel like Charlie in the Chocolate Factory…
Event: Sugar Rush
We’ve all heard the phrase “Like a kid in a candy store,” but you don’t have to be a child to indulge in a smorgasbord of sweets. Join CityBeat at the Playhouse in the Park Wednesday for our annual Sugar Rush party. Local sweeteries will provide samples of their best cupcakes, ice cream, donuts, pies,…
Urban Confection
The historic buildings that flank the pedestrian pathways of Findlay Market are bright — painted brick structures in celery green, salmon pink and shocking blue, with overflowing window boxes of impatiens, petunias and marigolds. And that color saturation is seeping past the boundaries of the market and onto buildings like the newly opened OTR Candy…
Sewing the Seeds of Son & Soil
M ost chefs dream of owning and operating their own restaurant. And if a chef has been doing that successfully for a while, there comes a time when it seems like a good idea to open up another place. Sometimes it’s because of customer demand, or sometimes it’s because the chef becomes bored with the…
Heroes and Tragedies
From True Detective to a true story, Sundays on HBO feature new programming for the remainder of the month with Show Me A Hero (Miniseries Premiere, 8 p.m. Sunday, HBO). The creator of The Wire (David Simon) and director of Crash (Paul Haggis, whom you might recognize from his interviews in the recent HBO Scientology…
Guy Ritchie: The Director and ‘The Man’ S.H.R.U.G.S.
In more than 15 years of covering the film beat, never have I encountered a more out-of-left-field production than Guy Ritchie’s reboot of The Man from U.N.C.L.E., which was based on the television series that aired from 1964 to 1968, followed almost 20 years later by the TV movie The Return of the Man from…
Watching Lumenocity From an OTR Porch
In 2013 and 2014 I saw Lumenocity up close. I caught the dress rehearsal the first year, before anyone knew what a big deal it was going to be. Last year I scored free tickets at the last minute. I wasn’t so lucky in 2015, so my wife and I invited friends and neighbors to…
Theater of Follies
On a sweltering July morning, a cabal of volunteers ransack the interior of the Imperial Theatre Mohawk, a 102-year-old theater that’s been empty for decades, with the exception of an occasional church service and its stint as a store selling mattresses and furniture. It’s one of those places you drive by as you leave Over-the-Rhine…
School District Stands Behind Officer Who Cuffed Students
Covington Independent School District is standing behind Kenton County Sheriff’s Deputy and School Resource Officer Kevin Sumner after footage from last fall recently emerged showing Sumner handcuffing an 8-year-old boy to a chair. That footage has prompted a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union against the Kenton County Sheriff’s Department. In a letter to…
Morning News and Stuff
The police dash camera footage of the aftermath of the shooting of Cincinnati Police Officer Sonny Kim is now in the hands of Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters. Kim was shot and killed June 19, police say by Madisonville resident Trepierre Hummons who was then shot and killed by CPD Officer Tom Sandmann. Deters says…
Moving Up, Moving Out
For the past year, Reginald Stroud has lived in a tucked away dead-end street in Northside. His block is buttressed on one side by the steady hum of traffic on I-74 and the quiet of a large wooded cemetery on the other. Before he moved to this somewhat isolated spot, Stroud had a far different…
My Only Uncle John Thomas Hill (1936-2015)
Well, I took him for granted — strong, strapping and chiseled from the black coal of Chattaroy, West Virginia, as he was and had always been. If ever there was an embodiment of Affrilachia — that nexus of Africans in America intersecting Appalachian ways and culture — it was my Uncle John. Our shared family…
Worst Week Ever! Aug. 12-18
Jailed Labor Force Financially Benefits Clermont County; Definitely Not Cause for Concern “A penny saved is a penny earned” is what old stupid people used to say back in the day while trying to increase morale about not having or spending money because they were poor and didn’t value having fun as much as they…
Looking to Metal For Help
HOT: Looking to Metal For Help Heavy Metal has long been demonized by those who don’t understand it, but Metal fans are a tight-knit community — something that an investigator in Wisconsin is counting on for help with a long-unsolved case. In 1995, the skeletal remains of a man were discovered in a remote area…
Music: Family and Friends
When Marcus Mumford and his multi-talented Sons hit the trifecta of artistic integrity, critical acclaim and mainstream success, a good many similarly inclined groups climbed on the stomp-and-chant Folk/Rock carousel and made a grab for the same brass ring. Some groups had developed along a parallel track, with similar influences and translations, others were clearly…
Sound Advice: Family and Friends
When Marcus Mumford and his multi-talented Sons hit the trifecta of artistic integrity, critical acclaim and mainstream success, a good many similarly inclined groups climbed on the stomp-and-chant Folk/Rock carousel and made a grab for the same brass ring. Some groups had developed along a parallel track, with similar influences and translations, others were clearly…
Music: Johnnyswim
The success of duo Johnnyswim has come gradually and organically. Abner Ramirez, a multi-instrumentalist who attended the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Florida, first met singer Amanda Sudano, onetime back-up singer for her mother (the late Rock and Roll Hall of Fame vocalist Donna Summer), at church in the early 2000s. Ramirez was…
Sound Advice: Johnnyswim
The success of duo Johnnyswim has come gradually and organically. Abner Ramirez, a multi-instrumentalist who attended the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Florida, first met singer Amanda Sudano, onetime back-up singer for her mother (the late Rock and Roll Hall of Fame vocalist Donna Summer), at church in the early 2000s. Ramirez was…
Music: Bobby Long
Clichés are truths that are almost predictably repeated, and one of life’s consistently quoted gems is, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” That’s not to say that Bobby Long would never have become a break-out star without a little assistance from a famous friend, but it certainly helped jumpstart the British singer/songwriter’s…
Sound Advice: Bobby Long with Jayson Erik Alcott
Clichés are truths that are almost predictably repeated, and one of life’s consistently quoted gems is, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” That’s not to say that Bobby Long would never have become a break-out star without a little assistance from a famous friend, but it certainly helped jumpstart the British singer/songwriter’s…
Music: Ancient Warfare
Lexington, Ky.’s Ancient Warfare are veterans of Cincinnati’s MidPoint Music Festival (among other regular area visits) and will return in late September to perform at 2015’s MPMF. This week, the four-piece will be previewing its upcoming MPMF appearance and also celebrating the release of its great debut album, The Pale Horse, by playing a free…
Sound Advice: Ancient Warfare with Hailey Wojcik
Lexington, Ky.’s Ancient Warfare are veterans of Cincinnati’s MidPoint Music Festival (among other regular area visits) and will return in late September to perform at 2015’s MPMF. This week, the four-piece will be previewing its upcoming MPMF appearance and also celebrating the release of its great debut album, The Pale Horse, by playing a free…
Blues Warrior
G uitarist/singer Joe Bonamassa says his new DVD/album, Muddy Wolf at Red Rocks, captures a concert that will always stand out as a highlight of his musical life. Some of his memories involve the sheer enjoyment Bonamassa got from playing with the all-star band he assembled for the show last summer. But what also stood…
Returning Soon to a Stage Near You
This fall is shaping up to be the season of the great local band reunion. We recently told you about Ass Ponys’ two-night return to the stage on Nov. 6-7 at Over-the-Rhine’s Woodward Theater (visit woodwardtheater.com for tickets/details). Also recently announced at the Woodward, popular Fusion crew Ray’s Music Exchange will present another reunion show…
Riding High
Four-year-old Blake Farrell’s favorite activity at Cincinnati Therapeutic Riding and Horsemanship is riding backward on her horse, either while sitting up or lying down. The exercise helps Blake, who has type-two spinal muscular atrophy, stretch out her back and strengthen her core. Blake is one of 125 individuals who participate in programs provided by CTRH,…
Music: Joe Bonamassa
G uitarist/singer Joe Bonamassa says his new DVD/album, Muddy Wolf at Red Rocks, captures a concert that will always stand out as a highlight of his musical life. Some of his memories involve the sheer enjoyment Bonamassa got from playing with the all-star band he assembled for the show last summer. But what also stood…
Art: Under 30 at C-LINK Gallery
C-LINK Gallery at Brazee Street Studios hosts Under 30, an exhibition of artwork featuring local artists under the age of 30. Seven artists — Laura Brooks, Sarah Jones, Kendra Douglas, Justin West, Sam Ferris-Morris and Eric Blythe (working together as creative studio Intermedio), Didem Mert, Andrew Neyer and Jessie Rienerth — will exhibit 2- and…
