Aug 17-24, 2016
Hollywood’s Modern Gods and Superheroes: How comic book movies got so big
Kurt Vile and his band rock a more laid-back vibe on his latest LP
Kurt Vile’s most recent album, 2015’s b’lieve i’m goin down, was a left turn of sorts — a Folk-fortified collection powered less on the Philadelphia native’s soaring guitar leads and more by a laid-back, meditative vibe. “Wheelhouse,” the album’s melancholic centerpiece, sounds like something lifted from prime-era Yo La Tengo, its atmospherics and circular guitar…
How innocent residents of a building declared a nuisance can be left out in the street
His wife had just left for work, and Paul Johnson had fallen back asleep when the pounding at his apartment door started. “Police!” a voice shouted. A blur of loud commands and combat-geared police officers with assault rifles followed. In quick order, Johnson was sitting on the sidewalk outside with his 3-year-old daughter and residents…
Minimum Gauge: The Tragically Hip shows how to exit gracefully with celebratory final concert
HOT: How to Exit Gracefully In this day when bands gaudily milk every last dollar from their legacies, star Canadian group The Tragically Hip recently capped off what may well be the most graceful and moving “farewell tour” in Rock history. After the band’s singer/songwriter Gord Downie was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of…
Federal Appeals Court Nixes Ohio’s ‘Golden Week’ for Early Voting
Want to register and vote the same day in Ohio? You’ll have to bug state lawmakers about it, because a federal court won’t step in to undo laws passed by Republicans in the State House ending the state’s hotly contested “Golden Week.” The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on Aug. 23 upheld state laws passed…
Concerts and Clubs Listings (Aug. 24-30)
Wednesday 24 Arnold’s Bar and Grill – Todd Hepburn. 7 p.m. Blues/Jazz/Various. Free. Bella Luna – RMS Band. 7 p.m. Soft Rock/Jazz. Free. Blind Lemon – Dave Hawkins. 8:30 p.m. Celtic/Folk. Free. Century Inn Restaurant – Paul Lake. 7 p.m. Pop/Rock/Jazz/Oldies/Various. Free. Esquire Theatre – Live n’ Local with Everything’s Jake. 7 p.m. Blues/Jazz/Rock. $5.…
Morning News: Zoo deletes its Twitter account; health department to name new director amid controversy; will Ohio get a second try at botched execution?
Hey hey all. It’s news time. First off, here’s a story that should probably give all those trolls out there pause, but almost certainly won’t. The Cincinnati Zoo has deleted its Twitter account after an ongoing barrage of memes and criticism regarding Harambe, the gorilla the Zoo shot and killed after a child fell in…
Good Old Days: ‘Chicago’ and ‘Rock of Ages’
The Warsaw Federal Incline Theater has finally stepped up to the potential of its facility for 2016 with its production of Kander and Ebb’s Chicago. This is a classic musical that debuted on Broadway 40 years ago; its still-running 1996 Broadway revival has set records there. A 2002 film version won the Oscar for Best…
Morning News: Community groups propose solutions to CCAC/CPS rift; Harambe lives on; Trump falls flat in Hamilton County, but keeps it close in Ohio
Hello all. Hope your weekend was grand. Let’s talk news, K? A group of community councils and other stakeholders that have been mulling the fate of the embattled Clifton Cultural Arts Center believe they may have solutions to an impasse between CCAC supporters and Cincinnati Public Schools. Members of Clifton Town Meeting, the CUF Neighborhood…
Morning News: Streetcar gets major sponsor; Covington mayoral challenger gets FOP endorsement; Trump apologizes, sort of
Good morning all. Here’s your news today. The big news, of course, is that the streetcar has a major official sponsor. Cincinnati Bell yesterday announced that it will pay $3.4 million over the next 10 years for naming rights for the streetcar, which it will call the Cincinnati Bell Connector. Cincinnati Bell’s logo will also…
Stage Door: A show about nothing, two pairs of fine musical performances and a radio comedy of romantic errors
Only one truly new item for your onstage entertainment this weekend: Will Eno’s Thom Pain (based on nothing) is getting two performances at Know Theatre on Sunday and Monday evenings at 8 p.m. by #theatrecompany (read that as “Hashtag Theatre Company”). They’re drama grads from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music who have staged…
What a Week! Aug. 10-16
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 10 All eyes were on Trump Tower last week when a man scaled the building, climbing for more than two hours before police finally isolated him and pulled him in through a 21st-floor window. Usually when people take over corporate buildings it’s in some kind of protest — lookin’ at you, Greenpeace —…
Sorting Out the Valid from the Lies
Brits are suffering serious buyers’ remorse after voting to leave the European Union. There’s a lesson in this for Americans choosing between two dramatically different presidential candidates and their incompatible visions of the next four years. Part of the successful “Leave” campaign was the manipulation of “statistics” to show angry older, whiter voters how they’d…
Gateway’s Erstwhile Board Perk
Three months ago, the Gateway Community & Technical College board of directors abruptly learned that a longstanding practice of giving free tuition to student board members was a violation of state policy. Traditionally, one student serves on the Gateway board, and the free tuition was a mutually agreeable tradeoff. But when Pam Duncan, an attorney…
Morning News: Clinton, Trump to appear in Cincy; Mount Healthy PD faces federal suit; can Ohio solve legal weed banking conundrum?
Hey Cincy. Wanna talk news? If you don’t, I’m not sure why you’re reading this. But forge on! You’ll probably find something interesting anyway. Maybe you thought the wildest days of the 2016 presidential election were over, or at least that the contest would slink away into the distant blathering of national news that can…
Review: ‘Florence Foster Jenkins’
Director Stephen Frears has a knack for creating semi-biographical films starring eccentric female leads and their multi-dimensional male counterparts. His Florence Foster Jenkins, a whimsical portrayal of the early-20th-century American socialite, praises its titular character (Meryl Streep) for her devotion to the craft of opera, despite her one major drawback: She can’t carry a tune.…
Sugar n’ Spice: A Wispy-Thin Diamond Anniversary
In 1941, the Cincinnati Reds played baseball at Crosley Field, the streetcar was a popular form of transportation and mobsters were running rampant across the river in Kentucky. It was also the year that Mort Keller opened a breakfast restaurant called Sugar n’ Spice in Paddock Hills. Seventy-five years later, Sugar n’ Spice remains one…
Pleasant Ridge’s Nine Giant is bigger than the beer it’s brewing
It appears Cincinnati is well on its way to surpassing Asheville, N.C. by aiming to have the highest brewery count per capita. As a value, I believe every small town square should have a microbrewery to frequent; I know I would rather see one around every street corner than a Starbucks. So in the spirit…
The ‘Serial’ Effect
MTV jumps on the serialized true-crime bandwagon with Unlocking the Truth (Series Premiere, 11 p.m. Wednesday, MTV), a docuseries hosted by Ryan Ferguson, a Missouri man wrongfully imprisoned for almost 10 years until he proved his innocence, as he meets other convicts fighting their charges and investigates their cases. In 2001, when Ferguson was a…
Just Say Yes to ‘Don’t Think Twice’
Merriam-Webster’s simple definition of comedy (as it pertains to entertainment) reads, “Things that are done and said to make an audience laugh.” Complexity enters the consideration when you factor in the dueling approaches — stand-up versus improv. The intention to garner laughs remains the same, but how you go about it changes. The introduction of…
A lost TV classic, ‘Lou Grant’ returns on DVD
The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which lasted from 1970-77, was a landmark sitcom. So strong were the writing and acting, and so vivid and true-seeming were the characters, that it spun off not only two other CBS sitcoms named after supporting characters (Rhoda, Phyllis) but also a drama based on a third, Lou Grant. That…
Where Are They Now? Alan Patrick Kenny
Unlike the other past Cincinnati theater professionals I’ve caught up with for this series, Alan Patrick Kenny grew up as a Cincinnatian. His family moved here in 1996 and he graduated from Sycamore High School in 1998. From there, he attended New York University, majoring in vocal performance for musical theater. Kenny is an energetic…
Online and on the street, Cincinnati brewing artifacts are going public to honor our history of drinking
Much of Cincinnati’s 200-year-old brewing history has been lost to both the neglect and renovation of the industry’s old buildings, but a lot is still out there in the hands of collectors and others. There is a two-part effort going on right now at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County to honor that…
Sound Advice: Tommy Stinson with Alone at 3AM and Torn’d Up Dudes (Aug. 20)
Should he choose to, Tommy Stinson will one day be able to write a fascinating book about his career in Rock & Roll, having been a member of two of the most legendarily debauched bands in Rock history. Stinson got his first bass guitar at the end of the ’70s when he was just 11,…
Sound Advice: The High Kings (Aug. 19)
When The High Kings burst into the limelight the year they formed, the band was clearly destined for greatness. The Celtic supergroup assembled in 2008 and immediately recorded its self-titled debut album, which hit No. 2 on Billboard’s World Music chart and earned them an opening slot on Celtic Woman’s American tour. Three years later,…
Sound Advice: The Julie Ruin with Olivia Neutron John (Aug. 17)
Every musical generation produces a few visionary artists that not only define the parameters of their particular era but also continue to create relevant and thought-provoking work that sends ripples of influence through successive generations. Kathleen Hanna has been that kind of musical and cultural beacon for the past two and a half decades, from…
PsychoAcoustic Orchestra returns with new LP
In the ’90s, two of the best albums to come out of Greater Cincinnati were by The PsychoAcoustic Orchestra, a progressive ensemble based in Jazz but unafraid of exploring any number of other stylistic enclaves. Formed by pianist, composer and arranger Patrick Kelly in 1990, the adventurous group released Supreme Thing in 1994, followed by…
Mayoral race underlines rift among Cincinnati Democrats
Two-thousand-sixteen is shaping up to be an intense year for politics. But if you’re a Cincinnatian looking for a respite come Nov. 9, you’ll have a while longer to wait. As you cast your ballot in a historic and strange presidential election, one of the most interesting and potentially competitive local races in recent memory…
With a dedication to the classic Thrash Metal sound, Cincinnati’s War Curse has risen in the local scene and beyond
There’s something to be said for purity. With many musicians meshing influences, styles and sounds into their output, it’s refreshing to see a band raise one single flag and wave it with all their might. War Curse, Cincinnati’s Thrash Metal stalwarts, has done exactly that by concentrating on crafting pitch-perfect Thrash-revival bangers. With one release…
Morning News: MSD wants new vehicles after saying it has too many; Covington PD would like its handguns back, thanks; another shakeup in Trump town
Good morning all. Here’s your news today. Does the Metropolitan Sewer District need more vehicles? The answer to that is… confusing, at least at first glance. In January, an internal review found that 40 percent of MSD vehicles weren’t being driven enough miles or used enough hours to justify having them. But now, the district…
Hollywood’s Modern Gods and Superheroes
Once upon a time, Comic-Con International: San Diego, as a brand, conjured up images of devoted geeks rifling through dusty crates of comic books in plastic protective sleeves as they debated the relative contrasting merits of their favorite superheroes. The focus in the early days, which go all the way back to 1970, was not…
Accessing court case documents in Hamilton County is reserved for a privileged few
When it comes down to it, you should be able to read court documents in the raw. Naked, that is. From home. You can in many places. But not in Hamilton County, unless you’re a lawyer, a reporter or work in law enforcement. Here you have to get dressed and hump down to the county…
