The Perfect Children Deliver on Debut Album
Cincinnati Garage Soul/Roots group The Perfect Children celebrate the release their debut album, Get Me Mine, this Friday at Northside Tavern (northside-tavern.com). The free show also includes a performance from special guests Brian Olive (who produced Get Me Mine at his local Diamonds studio) and his band, as well as DJ Harvination, who will be…
Paul Giamatti Isn’t THAT Good
HOT “Fuck Tha Merlot!” Game over — we have the greatest music-related headline of the year thanks to music site Stereogum and some recent Hollywood-casting news. The site announced the casting with the headline, “Paul Giamatti To Star in N.W.A. Biopic Straight Outta Compton.” Given the scientific fact (probably) that 93 percent of Facebook users…
We Built This Old City
After issuing a trio of EPs since 2012 — originally on old school cassettes — and a live album back in January, the current incarnation of Cincinnati’s Old City concluded it was time for a proper full-length release. In the retelling, though, the recording of Old City’s eponymous new album takes on the air of…
Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
Michael Cleveland is simply one of the best fiddlers in the world. Hailing from Southern Indiana, he first came on the scene in 1993 when he was a part of the Bluegrass Youth All-Stars, which played at the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Awards show that year. The now-famous performance featured Cleveland jamming alongside fellow…
Bob Log III with Pop Goes the Evil
If Bob Log III didn’t exist, no one would invent him because no one is bat-shit crazy enough to think his psychotronic one-man-band concept could actually work. Born Robert Logan Reynolds III in Chicago, Log spent his Arizona childhood absorbing the sounds of AC/DC, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Screaming Jay Hawkins and Hasil Adkins, which…
Kongos
A reasonably brief lifetime ago, South African musician John Kongos, a veteran of bands including Johnny and the G-Men and Floribunda Rosa, concocted an infectious hit single propelled by a blazing tribal beat while striking all the proper melodic Pop chords. “He’s Gonna Step On You Again,” pulled from Kongos’ 1971 surname-titled sophomore album, proved…
The Polyphonic Spree
Robin Williams’ recent demise was an all too common example of depression spiraling down to a tragic conclusion. Tim DeLaughter chose to spiral in the opposite direction. Deeply depressed after the 1999 overdose death of good friend/Tripping Daisy bandmate Wes Berggren, DeLaughter emerged from his soul’s dark teatime to create The Polyphonic Spree, a psychedelic,…
Gin Blossoms
Gin Blossoms blew up and deflated quickly, going from mondo-selling MTV staples behind the relentlessly catchy single "Hey Jealousy" — an era-defying Power Pop oasis in a desert of Grunge — to extinct by 1997. But things got weird before their breakthrough second album, 1992's New Miserable Experience, was even released — co-founder, guitarist and chief songwriter…
Art: Cincinnati Silver 1788-1940
Cincinnati Silver 1788-1940 is a sterling example of how an art exhibition can be about local history while still assuring the displayed objects are worthy of our long, concentrated gaze. Indeed, Cincinnati Silver — at Cincinnati Art Museum through Sept. 7 — stresses that the 150-200 objects, primarily silverware, are more than just precious metal. …
Onstage: Harry & the Thief
Harry & The Thief by Sigrid Gilmer is a wonderfully ridiculous, history-twisting, large cast mash-up of a play about Harriet Tubman (Harry), slavery and time travel. It is also the first play in Know Theatre’s 17th season, with Andrew Hungerford now at the artistic helm. This bodes well. The Underground (Know’s bar and lobby theater) has…
Event: Cincy Summer Streets
On any other day in Walnut Hills, the streets would have been mostly populated by a stream of passing cars. On July 19, however, hundreds of people gathered to play, walk, run and bike in the open asphalt of the neighborhood. Woodburn Avenue and East McMillan Street were closed to car traffic for a mile…
Event: Crown Jewels of Jazz Festival
Kathy Wade, the founder and CEO of Cincinnati-based arts education organization Learning Though Art, is a well-versed, albeit quiet, conversationalist when it comes to her brainchild, which will put up its second Crown Jewels of Jazz Festival this weekend. The Crown Jewels of Jazz Festival takes place Friday and Saturday, with events in Washington Park…
Comedy: Cincy Brew Ha-Ha
Alot of comedy falls under great scrutiny and derision, often unnecessarily so. Impressions, props, magic, duos — anything slightly out of the ordinary seems to open itself up to criticism. Yes, there are bad impressionists, but there’s also Frank Caliendo, Mike MacRae and James Adomian. There are bad prop comics, but then there’s Carrot Top,…
Taste of Blue Ash
Taste of Blue Ash is the suburb's answer to downtown's annual (and the nation's longest running) food festival, Taste of Cincinnati. The free event, celebrating almost 30 years this year, will have more than 25 food vendors including Buona Terra, City BBQ, Alfio's Buon Cibo, La Petite France, Rascals' NY Deli and more. And 16…
Macaron Bar Coming to OTR
Macarons. You can't walk a block in Paris without seeing boulangerie windows lined with the colorful, little cookies — even McDonald's McCafe has a selection: pistachio, raspberry, chocolate. And while a couple of local bakeries specialize in the treat (pastry of merengue and almond flour sandwiching a filling of buttercream, jam or ganache), like Frieda's Desserts in…
Macaron Bar Coming to OTR
Macarons. You can't walk a block in Paris without seeing boulangerie windows lined with the colorful, little cookies — even McDonald's McCafe has a selection: pistachio, raspberry, chocolate. And while a couple of local bakeries specialize in the treat (pastry of merengue and almond flour sandwiching a filling of buttercream, jam or ganache), like Frieda's Desserts in Madeira,…
Music: The Polyphonic Spree
Deeply depressed after the 1999 overdose death of good friend/Tripping Daisy bandmate Wes Berggren, Tim DeLaughter emerged from his soul’s dark teatime to create The Polyphonic Spree, a psychedelic, orchestral Pop band diametrically opposed to the more straight-ahead Rock of Tripping Daisy. In tribute to the sunshine-sparkled Pop of the ’60s and Rock of the…
Music: Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
Michael Cleveland is simply one of the best fiddlers in the world. He and his band Flamekeeper’s brand new album, On Down The Line, is yet another tour de force recording, showcasing an impressive version of the unit that is on fire right now. Cleveland will be a part of a big three-day lineup (Friday-Sunday)…
Music: Kongos
A reasonably brief lifetime ago, South African musician John Kongos, a veteran of bands including Johnny and the G-Men and Floribunda Rosa, concocted an infectious hit single propelled by a blazing tribal beat while striking all the proper melodic Pop chords. Forty-three years later, the Kongos name is again associated with a drum-heavy, gold-certified hit,…
Music: Bob Log III
If Bob Log III didn’t exist, no one would invent him because no one is bat-shit crazy enough to think his psychotronic one-man-band concept could actually work. Born Robert Logan Reynolds III in Chicago, Log spent his Arizona childhood absorbing the sounds of AC/DC, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Screaming Jay Hawkins and Hasil Adkins, which…
Event: Showcase: Dinner for a Cause
Sleepy Bee Café in Oakley serves breakfast and lunch to a swarm of patrons seven days a week. Where does the restaurant get the energy? It’s girl power. On Sunday, indefatigable executive chef Frances Kroner will leave the lights on late for a dinner to support the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati and its programs for…
Music: William Hooker
Cincinnati’s Jazz scene really, really needs more shows by avant-gardists and improvisational experimentalists — their appearances here are all too rare. So it’s a big deal that the veteran William Hooker, a Free Jazz drummer and composer, who has worked with such illustrious figures as Billy Bang, David Murray, David S. Ware and Malachi Thompson,…
Literary: Mark Rea
Ohio State University has produced some of the best players in college football history, which makes the existence of Mark Rea’s new book, The Legends: Ohio State Buckeyes; The Men, the Deeds, the Consequences, pretty much a no-brainer. Among the “legends” are six Heisman Trophy winners, including the award’s only two-time recipient, Archie Griffin (1974…
Art: American Foursquare House
Artist and building renovator Mark Dejong is at it again with his second home reconstruction, in which the woodworker enlists fine artists to create site-specific artwork for the opening of the future residential space. In the same vein as his “5k House” in Camp Washington, Dejong purchased the house less than a year ago and…
Event: Wine Over Water
The seventh-annual Wine Over Water is an evening of wine tastings, hors d’oeuvres and live music on the Purple People Bridge to raise funds for the nonprofit Brighton Center, which creates opportunities for individuals and families to reach self-sufficiency through support services, education, employment and leadership. Starting at 6:30 p.m., there will be free samples…
Event: International Freedom Conductor Awards Gala
A lot is going on with the Freedom Center this weekend, not the least of which is the International Freedom Conductor Awards Gala at the Duke Energy Convention Center (6 p.m. Saturday). The awards ceremony and dinner will honor two freedom fighters and Nobel Peace Prize winners who worked to bring true democracy to their…
Music: Whispering Beard Folk Festival
Founded in 2008 as more of a small-ish party, the outdoor, Folk/Roots/Americana-celebrating Whispering Beard Folk Fest in nearby Friendship, Ind., continues to grow, attracting great lineups and an ever-growing, die-hard fan base almost completely by word of mouth. Beardos this year will be treated to three days of musical performances by some of Greater Cincinnati’s…
Event: Germania Society Oktoberfest
The 44th annual Germania Society Oktoberfest — “Cincinnati’s original and most authentic Oktoberfest” — returns to Germania Park for a weekend of beer, brats and gemutlichkeit. Find assorted German and domestic beers from more than 60 taps; homemade German food like Oktoberfest chicken, schnitzel, Bavarian cream puffs, sauerkraut balls, giant pretzels, limburger cheese sandwiches and more;…
Event: Taste of Blue Ash
With 25 food vendors and 16 “Best of Taste” winners, this festival’s 29th year might be one of its best. The Charlie Daniels Band, Michael McDonald & TOTO and Kellie Pickler join foodies and those just looking to soak up some final summer nights at Blue Ash’s new Summit Park for the Taste of Blue…
Comedy: Bret Ernst
Bret Ernst discovered a knack for making people laugh back in grade school. “I went to 14 different schools growing up,” he says. “When you’re the new kid, they make you stand up in class and introduce yourself. I looked forward to that and doing book reports in front of the class. I’d try to…
Film: Sharknado 2: The Second One
If watching at home on SyFy wasn’t enough to satisfy your Tara Reid/Ian Ziering craving, no worries: Sharknado 2: The Second One is coming to the big screen. Yes. The sharks inside a tornado have returned, and this time they’re terrorizing New York City. Fin (ha) Shepard (Ziering) and ex-wife April Wexler (Reid) are on…
Road Scholar Adds Cincinnati to Signature Cities
This is big news for Cincinnati tourism — a sign that the city's ongoing revival is attracting national interest. Road Scholar, the big tour company that plans excursions around the world — from Cuba to Cambodia — has just added Cincinnati to its Signature (American) Cities offerings. The first trip will be March 29-April 3,…
Morning News and Stuff
Hey. It's news time. Check it. One of two abortion clinics in the Greater Cincinnati area must close by the end of the week, a Hamilton County judge ruled, unless its lawyers file an appeal. Women's Med in Sharonville has been fighting for months to stay open after the state of Ohio refused to grant…
ArtWorks Launches Mural Walking Tour
As Downtown and Over-the-Rhine continue to see a growth of walking tours related to the revived inner city's heritage (especially its brewing heritage) and architecture, a new one will soon be offered dedicated to its ever-growing collection of public murals. ArtWorks, which is responsible for many of those murals (including a just-finished one at Eighth…
Q&A with Godsmack
Looking on music shelves this week, it will be hard to miss the bright and loud 1000hp, the latest offering and No. 1 Rock album from Godsmack. It may be a little bit different vibe, but it is the same great Rock music they have given audiences for well over a decade. Since the breakout Awake album in…
Morning News and Stuff
It's Friday. News was intense this week. Enough said. Let's get to this so we can all get to our weekends, shall we? About 100 people gathered yesterday at New Prospect Baptist Church in Roselawn to observe a moment of silence for Michael Brown, the 18-year-old shot by police in Ferguson, Missouri. People from all…
Magic in the Moonlight
In the poem “Marmion,” Sir Walter Scott opined, “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” Well, Woody Allen’s latest is all about deception. Englishman Stanley (Colin Firth), during a live stage presentation in Germany in Berlin (1928), poses as Wei Ling Soo, an Asian practitioner of the mystic arts,…
Let’s Be Cops
Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans Jr. have established an easy and engaging enough rapport on the hit television series New Girl, so it’s not surprising to see them test the big screen market, and what better way than the buddy-cop genre? Except Let’s Be Cops from Luke Greenfield, the thoroughly unpredictable director behind The Animal, The Girl Next Door (an intriguing…
The Giver
The next adaptation in the long line of young adult fantasy books with dystopian societies and pretty protagonists, The Giver curiously rates slightly higher on the scale thanks to the presence of Phillip Noyce (the Australian helmer of Clear and Present Danger, Rabbit-Proof Fence and The Quiet American knows how to handle action thoughtfully without sacrificing the thrills) behind the camera and…
The Expendables 3
Sylvester Stallone is back as good-time Barney, the leader of the merry band of mercenaries known as The Expendables, and this time he’s facing his deadliest foe yet — Conrad Stonebanks (Mel Gibson), co-founder of the original team and a nefarious weapons dealer, willing to sell out to the highest buyer without cause for concern…
Stage Door: Busy August
Not too many years ago August was a very quiet month on local stages. No longer. You have plenty of good choices this weekend. Stacy Sims reviewed Know Theatre's production of Harry & the Thief, which opened last week. She called it "a wonderfully ridiculous, history-twisting, large cast mash-up of a play," and that's just…
Morning News and Stuff
Here at the morning news, we usually lead with things local and work our way out to the national stuff. But dear lord, it’s impossible not to talk about what’s going on right now in Ferguson, Missouri right off the top. I touched on the unrest in the St. Louis suburb a couple days ago,…
Conserving a Pneumatic Dress at the Cincinnati Art Museum
Recently at Cincinnati Art Museum, Mary Baskett wore this very colorful and exciting "pneumatic dress" designed by Naoki Takizawa for Issey Miyake's 2000-2001 fall/winter collection, while textile conservator Chandra Obie discussed the very complicated but successful effort the museum has completed to restore and preserve the dress, which had started to leak air. Baskett owns…
Legal Question
Surrounded by reporters, Brittani Henry-Rogers and Brittni Rogers of Golf Manor cradled their newborn son Jayseon in a third-floor conference room at the downtown Westin Hotel Aug. 6. The three were in good spirits, the baby resting peacefully, despite the three hours they had just spent in the Potter Stewart Courthouse a block away. That’s…
Music: Nashville Pussy
There can’t be too many people in Rock’s vast audience who are scratching their heads and wondering why Nashville Pussy isn’t a household name. Let’s face it, Nashville Pussy has Rock & Roll cred to burn and plays harder than a coke boner. Blaine Cartwright sings with the my-fist/your-face passion of a hillbilly Alice Cooper, while…
Music: Stand of Oaks
Like many good singer/songwriters, Timothy Showalter harnesses his personal dramas and setbacks into potent songs about growing up in Goshen, Ind., and wrestling his demons — sometimes within the span of the same song. On his fourth record, the June-released HEAL, the now Philly-based Showalter, aka Strand of Oaks, sheds some of the minimal Folk Rock…
Music: Drake and Lil Wayne
Canadian-born Aubrey Drake Graham, better known as simply Drake, has proven to be a talented triple threat — a dramatic and comedic actor, a rapper with R&B authenticity and a songwriter for himself and others. In 2006, Drake launched his music career with his debut mixtape, Room for Improvement, followed a year later by Comeback Season; he…
Morning News and Stuff
The thing about mornings and news is that they both keep happening over and over again, and you've gotta work to keep up with them. So here we are. The furor over the icon tax change-up is not going away just yet. Mayor John Cranley had some choice words for Hamilton County Commissioners Chris Monzel…
Vinyl Overload
HOT Vinyl Overload If you ever feel guilty about spending half your paycheck on music, reading through a great article from the recent New York Times Magazine about a collector in Brazil should make you feel better. The piece profiles Zero Freitas, a rich businessman who has amassed a collection of “several million” vinyl records…
Drake with Lil Wayne
Canadian-born Aubrey Drake Graham, better known as simply Drake, has proven to be a talented triple threat — a dramatic and comedic actor, a rapper with R&B authenticity and a songwriter for himself and others. Drake was born in 1986 to an African-American father who once drummed for Jerry Lee Lewis and a white Jewish…
Strand of Oaks with Christopher Denny
Like many good singer/songwriters, Timothy Showalter harnesses his personal dramas and setbacks into potent songs about growing up in Goshen, Ind., and wrestling his demons — sometimes within the span of the same song. On his fourth record, the June-released HEAL, the now Philly-based Showalter, aka Strand of Oaks, sheds some of the minimal Folk…
Nashville Pussy with Fifth on the Floor
There can’t be too many people in Rock’s vast audience who are scratching their heads and wondering why Nashville Pussy isn’t a household name. For those who may be baffled by Nashville Pussy’s lack of hot-and-cold-running-champagne success, allow me to paraphrase James Carville: It’s the Pussy, stupid. Let’s face it, Nashville Pussy has Rock &…
The Black Dahlia Murder with Goatwhore, Beverly Hellfire and Apex
Trying to pin a sound on The Black Dahlia Murder (BDM) is almost as tricky as tracking the band’s membership over the course of its 13-year history. The Waterford, Mich., quintet came together toward the end of 2000 but coalesced into a solid unit early the following year; since then, lead vocalist Trevor Strnad and…
Happy Belly on Vine (Review)
Walking into new Over-the-Rhine breakfast/lunch spot Happy Belly on Vine, you may find yourself wishing you had just come from yoga. There are living plants on the walls, the wooden tabletops are artfully crafted and the list of clean-eating ingredients displayed proudly on the large, hanging roll of brown butcher paper is lacking anything that…
Umin Celebrates Hypnotic New Release
Umin, the unique sonic art project by Cincinnati’s Kevin Poole, has returned with a new full-length release, clast. Thursday at Rake’s End (2141 Central Ave., Brighton, facebook.com/rakesend), Poole will celebrate the latest addition to his discography with a release show featuring special guests Healing Trapeze and Zijnzijn Zijnzijn, plus Louisville, Ky.’s Cher Von. Showtime for…
Fateful Twists
Escape The Fate may be touring behind Ungrateful, an album the band released in May of last year. But the group has a larger overall goal for its shows than just promoting a current release. “Now is our time to really show people that we’re still here. We’re still a band,” vocalist Craig Mabbitt says.…
Making Big Daddy Proud
Cedric Burnside learned how to play the Blues at the side of his legendary grandfather, R.L. Burnside. In 2006, Cedric popped up on my musical radar in a powerful fashion when the album The Record by The Burnside Exploration came out, consisting of Cedric on drums and his uncle Garry Burnside on guitar. The project…
Director Michael Dowse Embraces Affairs of the Heart
We all recognize the emotional trauma associated with broken hearts — the emptiness of loss, the insecurity of being left for another (or discovering first-hand that there was another in the first place), the utter lack of feeling that we imagine will accompany us forever (although it rarely lasts as long as we believe it…
The Many Faces of Chris Lilley
Chris Lilley is a master of disguise. The Aussie multi-hyphenate creates, writes, directs and stars in mockumentary-style comedies in which he plays a collection of diverse characters — sometimes all at once. After giving us face in We Can Be Heroes, Summer Heights High and Angry Boys, Lilley has been narrowing his scope by focusing…
Cincinnati Silver Exhibit Is a Strong Achievement
Cincinnati Silver 1788-1940 is a sterling example of how an art exhibition can be about local history while still assuring the displayed objects are worthy of our long, concentrated gaze. Indeed, Cincinnati Silver — at Cincinnati Art Museum through Sept. 7 — stresses that the 150-200 objects, primarily silverware, are more than just precious metal.…
Hilarious Homecoming
C incinnati might be known historically for its brewing tradition, but in recent years the city has offered the world a different type of export: comedians. Next weekend, Cincinnati will witness the return of several of its comedic expats when the annual Cincy Brew Ha-Ha festival sprawls out over Sawyer Point Aug. 21-23. The fest…
Artist Todd Slaughter Fits Daunting Ideas into ‘American Primitives’
Todd Slaughter doesn’t make the driving force behind his artistic endeavors especially easy to understand. And, actually, since he talks in pieces — individual art pieces — it can be rather difficult to perceive unless one is being both extremely observant and relatively obscure (also: intelligent). Which might be the point of the whole charade…
A Brief Yet Triumphant Introduction
Fifty years ago, the first edition of the daily Zambia Times rolled off our presses in Central Africa and I was in charge of the news operation. It’s as close as I’ll come to giving birth. I went to Africa from UPI in London where I rewrote and edited cables from Africa six nights a…
An Icon Under the Bus
The recent Hamilton County Commissioners’ quarter-cent sales tax dust-up that booted Music Hall from the original package deal that would have helped Music Hall and Union Terminal with major repairs is a perfect storm of class, political finger-pointing and entitlement. Commissioners Greg Hartmann — co-starring as spineless — and Chris Monzel — in a starring…
Harry & the Thief (Review)
Critic's Pick Harry & The Thief by Sigrid Gilmer is a wonderfully ridiculous, history-twisting, large cast mash-up of a play about Harriet Tubman (Harry), slavery and time travel. It is also the first play in Know Theatre’s 17th season, with Andrew Hungerford now at the artistic helm. This bodes well. The Underground (Know’s bar and…
Art For The People
I go with my gut,” says Sara Vance Waddell about her philosophical approach to collecting art. And it is clear that trusting her instinct has done her well as the marketing and advertising CEO/president of her own media business. The collection, which Vance Waddell describes as “hardcore contemporary — the edgier the better,” is filled…
