Event: Wordup! Wordplay Grand Opening
As a child, I remember finding myself tickled when I learned the meaning of “conceited” from one of books from The Baby-sitters Club series: I think Kristy used the word, and I went to the dictionary to find out what it meant. Reading and writing are tools absolutely essential to children’s mental development, and, when…
Film: Ryan Singer in The Wonderland Express
If you haven’t done so already, add Ryan Singer to the list of comics from the area making a splash on the national comedy scene. Singer regularly features for Marc Maron and also headlines around the U.S. This weekend, you can catch him in the independent film The Wonderland Express at the Cincinnati Film Festival.…
Event: Architreks: Betts Longworth Walking Tour
Take a walk where you are unlikely to have walked before, the Betts Longworth Historic District, with a guide from Architreks at 2 p.m. on either Saturday, Sept. 8 or 22. The 90-minute tour follows the streetscapes of the area, unique in the city, lined with Italianate homes, the occasional 19th century farmhouse and early…
Event: Cincy Beerfest
It’s been a long workweek. Clock out and meet your friends on the square to unwind over a few craft beers. For $30 in advance or $45 at the door, enjoy up to 25 five-ounce samples of microbrews. Come thirsty because with more than 150 choices, there’s no shortage of beverages — from beers brewed…
Onstage: The Three Musketeers
Let’s say you’re the new artistic director at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, following in the footsteps of someone who did a magnificent job there for 20 seasons. Wouldn’t you want to make a big impression and send some signals about what you’ll be offering theatergoers? That’s what Blake Robison has in mind with…
Comedy: Andy Woodhull
Long before trying stand-up comedy, Andy Woodhull was stockpiling jokes. “In high school I read in a book that Jerry Seinfeld wrote that he kept a notebook and wrote funny things down in it.” Woodhull started doing the same, but it wasn’t until after college that he decided to give stand-up a shot. “I found…
Event: Cincinnati Film Festival
The weeklong Cincinnati Film Festival kicks off its third year this Thursday with an opening night red carpet screening of the Cincinnati Beer Story at the historic Emery Theatre, which is still in the process of being renovated but open for the short-term special event. The documentary, narrated by local personality Gary Burbank, highlights Cincinnati’s…
Lightning Love
The members of Indie Pop trio Lightning Love are no strangers to Cincinnati, performing in town frequently on tours routed out of their home base, Ypsilanti, Mich. The melodically enrapturing three-piece opened for Cincy pals Bad Veins’ album release party this past spring and performed at the MidPoint Indie Summer series on Fountain Square this…
Reporter’s Notebook: Mitt Romney Comes to Town
There are a lot of things that don’t make it into any given news story. When you attend an event as a reporter, such as Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s visit to Union Terminal last Saturday (as I did), you wait in line for about an hour, then wait inside for another hour while security…
Bricklayer
As I started to wash some dishes, I noticed that my bottle of dishwashing liquid was practically empty. I wouldn’t have enough suds to get the dishes done. I looked at my watch. It was a quarter after 6. I figured with it being early evening, Walgreens, up on Madison Avenue here in Covington, wouldn’t…
Blowfly
Blowfly hatched from Soul songwriter/producer Clarence Reid’s depraved imagination as his alter ego who loves to make parodies about, well, getting off. As Blowfly, he rapped nasty ditties decades before Too Short and 2 Live Crew. In the ’70s and ’80s, Reid released a slew of Adults Only party records as Blowfly on his own…
Metric
Once upon a time in a loft in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Emily Haines and James Shaw made New Wave music together. They performed around New York City calling themselves Metric and trying to scrape up enough money to pay rent and buy food. One day, a very important producer/fairy godfather, Stephen Hague, summoned the duo to…
Halestorm
Although Halestorm’s initial exposure for most people came with the release of its eponymous 2009 debut for Atlantic Records, the Red Lion, Penn., quartet was actually conceived more than a decade earlier. Lzzy Hale and her younger brother Arejay both learned to play piano at age 5, with Lzzy gravitating toward guitar and Arejay moving…
Eilen Jewell
To her infinite credit, Eilen Jewell has never been tempted to churn out a sanitized and commercially viable version of Country with a view toward success and fame. The Idaho native has consistently blazed a unique musical trail, using her love of the roots of Country, Folk, Blues, Rockabilly, Gospel and Honky Tonk and her…
Morning News and Stuff
A federal judge ruled that in-person early voting in Ohio must be extended to include the weekend and Monday before Election Day for all voters. The ruling is a result of President Barack Obama’s campaign team and the Democrats filing a lawsuit against Secretary of State Jon Husted to extend early voting. Attorney General Mike…
Romney Lays Out Recovery Plan in Cincinnati
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Saturday laid out five steps that he said would have America “roaring back” during his first campaign stop since formally accepting the Republican nomination. At Cincinnati's Union Terminal, Romney was joined on stage by his wife Anne, who spoke briefly, echoing her convention speech meant to humanize her husband. He…
Early Voting Gets Another Weekend
In a statement on Aug. 22, Secretary of State Jon Husted said of early voting, “The rules are set and are not going to change.” Husted made the comment in an attempt to end discussion over in-person early voting hours. Unfortunately for Husted, a federal judge disagrees. In a ruling today, Judge Peter Economus said…
Post-Fireworks Party Sunday at MOTR
If you still have the energy after ooh-ing and ahh-ing at the fireworks on the river Sunday night — or if you're avoiding them altogether because you hate crowds (I'll be live tweeting the TV broadcast of the fireworks for all you homebodies) — two great Ohio bands are performing for free at Over-the-Rhine club…
City Council Cancels First Half of September Meetings
After taking a two-month summer break — with a week for some committee hearings and a council meeting — Cincinnati City Council has canceled its meetings for the first half of September. The council meetings for Sept. 6 and 12 have been canceled, along with all committee meetings for the first week of September and…
Music Tonight: Wussy, R. Ring, Rob Base and More
• Downtown at Arnold's tonight (Friday), catch influential cult hero Paleface, a man who has been on the cutting edge of contemporary music's continual fascination with traditional Folk music and an influence on some of the more adventurous musicians who seek to translate that vintage spirit into their own voice. Over the past 20-plus years,…
Your Weekend To Do List: 8/21-9/3
Labor Day weekend is upon us, and even though the weather may stay hot through October, it represents our kiss goodbye to summer. Fire up the grill, bust out the margaritas and find your prime spot to watch Sunday’s WEBN fireworks because no matter which side of the river you’re cheering from, there are tons…
Stage Door: Last Call for Summer
OK, it's the last day of August and the last true weekend of summer. That typically means there's almost no theater, since most of the stages in town are readying their season openers. But you do have a few choices: At the Clifton Performance Theatre you can see the last few performances of Nothing, a…
Morning News and Stuff
Presidential candidate Mitt Romney is coming to Cincinnati tomorrow. He will be speaking at Union Terminal at 10 a.m., with doors opening for the event at 8 a.m. Romney is expected to need Ohio to win the presidential election, but he is currently behind Obama in aggregate polling by 1.4 points. Romney gave his speech…
Strategies to End Homelessness Loses Stimulus Funding
When the stimulus package passed in 2009, the federal government sent out funds that worked to prevent homelessness. The funds, which seek to prevent homelessness instead of just treating the problem after it arises, made their way to local organization Strategies to End Homelessness. With the boost, the group, which coordinates efforts to combat homelessness…
Mixtapes Rock Fireworks, Then Hit the Road
That big annual rite of passage into autumn, the Cincinnati Bell/WEBN Fireworks (a.k.a. "The Fireworks"), goes down this Sunday on the Ohio River. To get people warmed up for the big booms, a full slate of live music has once again been booked for the P&G Pavilion stage at Sawyer Point. Impressively, the bands booked…
Your Thursday To Do List
Raise money for the United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Cincinnati while chasing a pack of stone-cold foxes? You can be a part of the fun at tonight’s Fox and Hound 5K at Sawyer Point. The race combines fundraising, running, walking and flirting for participants of all athletic abilities. Here’s the deal: The "hounds" (fellas) will…
Morning News and Stuff
Duke Energy told city officials to OK an operating deal for the streetcar before trying to talk costs. The fighting words are in the middle of an ongoing feud between city officials and Duke Energy about who will move utility lines and pipes to accommodate the streetcar. The operating details will help Duke know what…
Suspended Frat Sues Miami U. for $10M
UPDATE: 5:11 p.m. Updated with comment from Miami University spokeswoman. A Miami University fraternity that was suspended after an alleged fireworks battle led to police finding drugs when executing a search warrant has filed a lawsuit with the frat demanding $10 million from the university. The Phi Kappa Tau chapter at Miami university alleges in…
Pop is Alive (Get Over It)
You know what I like? Pop music. Some of you may be judging me right now and, for that, I’m judging you in return. There is absolutely no legitimate reason to dislike Pop. Of course, I get it. Most Pop music isn’t the well-written, deeper-than-the-ocean type stuff, but rather easy to understand and anchored by…
Fall Fringe
P erhaps you overslept back in June and missed the 2012 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. Maybe you came for a night or two and caught just a few performances. Or it might be that you saw all the good stuff and just want to see some of it again. Regardless, you now have a chance to…
Fall Arts Picks
Get ready to buckle your swashes and gird your loins for the merry adventures of The Three Musketeers at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. We all know some form of this story, probably from a movie version, but the Playhouse’s new artistic director Blake Robison maintains that Tony Award-winning playwright Ken Ludwig’s new adaptation…
Cardinals Still the Reds’ Biggest Threat
For a few months the Pirates were a nice, uplifting story, but deep down everyone knew the Cardinals were the real threat, the real enemy of the Reds. Sure, Tony La Russa’s not around, Chris Carpenter has plenty of time around his children and Albert Pujols is off in Disneyland, but they’re still the Cardinals…
Anna Louise Inn Wins Zoning Approval, but W&S Plans to Appeal
The Historic Conservation Board knew it was in for a long afternoon when Western & Southern showed up to Monday’s hearing with an army of suits to argue against a recommended zoning permit for the Anna Louise Inn. Three-plus hours of testimony and an hour-long deliberation later, the Board approved a conditional use permit that…
‘Enquirer,’ Buchanan Sacrifice Public Interest for UC Board
University of Cincinnati President Greg Williams abruptly stepped down Aug. 21. According to reports, Williams walked into a UC Board of Trustees meeting, announced he was resigning effective immediately and left. Greg Hand, spokesperson for UC, said Williams resigned for “personal reasons.” No further explanation was provided by Williams. Williams was at UC since 2009,…
Dems Propose Q&As with Governor
Some Democratic lawmakers want answers from Republican Gov. John Kasich. A group of Democratic state representatives has put forth a bill that would require Kasich — and every governor after him — to come before the Ohio House of Representatives 10 times per year for 45-minute question and answer sessions where the governor would have…
State Grant to Help LGBT Homeless Youth in Cincinnati
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced Aug. 23 that grant money will go to a local organization to help homeless youth. Some of the money, which is taken from the State Victims Assistance Act, will go to Cincinnati-based Lighthouse Youth Services (LYS) to help victims of domestic violence, including gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth,…
Cincinnati vs. The World 08.29.2012
A 10-year-old distraught over smoothie company Jamba Juice’s use of giant Styrofoam cups created a Change.org petition to end Styrofoam usage, garnering more than 130,000 signatures and a call from corporate Jamba promising to phase out the stuff by 2013. WORLD +2 When Tropical Storm Isaac tore through Haiti leaving 19 dead, Meghan McCain offered…
Republicans Admit Racial Politics
“I guess I really actually feel we shouldn’t contort the voting process to accommodate the urban — read African-American — voter-turnout machine,” said Doug Preisse, chairman of the Franklin County Republican Party and close adviser to Gov. John Kasich, in an email to The Columbus Dispatch on Aug. 19. The admission to racial politics was…
Morning News and Stuff
The City of Cincinnati and Duke Energy are still fighting over the streetcar. The city and company are both disputing who is required to relocate utility lines and pipes in order to accommodate for the streetcar. Cincinnati officials say Duke Energy is required to do it under state law, but the company disagrees. The city…
Rolling Back Time
The Hamilton County Board of County Commissioners is poised to approve spending almost $300,000 on an insurance policy to help cover the stadium bonds — a move they say will protect the property tax rollback while giving them more time to work on a long-term solution. Critics say the commissioners are again putting off any…
The Possession
At the very least, audiences should thank their lucky stars that this latest supernatural thriller from Danish director Ole Bornedal (Nightwatch, I Am Dina) contains no paranormal “found footage,” which makes this tale about a young girl (Natasha Calis) who picks up an heirloom at a yard sale somehow linked to devious spirits an old…
Herzog Happenings and Wussy Steps It Up
There has been more activity downtown at the former home of the historic Herzog recording studios than there has been since the studio’s heyday in the ’40s, when legendary songs were recorded by everyone from Flatt and Scruggs and Patti Page to The Delmore Brothers and Hank Williams. This week sees a double dose of…
Robot & Frank
Jake Schreier’s feature debut, scripted by comic writer-actor Christopher D. Ford (the duo teamed up for the 2005 short Christopher Ford Sees a Film) jumps a step into the future where Frank (Frank Langella), an aging jewel thief, is forced to accept a robot caretaker (voiced by Peter Sarsgaard) from his son (James Marsden), but…
Lawless
Depression-era bootlegging draws the attention of director John Hillcoat and musician/screenwriter Nick Cave, who last worked together of The Proposition. Based on Matt Bondurant’s novel, their film tracks the tale of Forrest (Tom Hardy) and Jack (Shia LaBeouf) Bondurant, outlaw bootleggers fighting off a new deputy (Guy Pearce) and a host of officials seeking illicit…
Hall & Oates Kill PAC, Romney Faves and Moon Shots
HOT: List of “Things You Can Do Drunk” Gets Bigger Some music fans have exposed the ludicrousness of Super PACs (“political action committees” that fund campaigns without spending limits) by getting drunk and forming one of their own. According to Rolling Stone, the friends were wasted when they jokingly thought up the anti-Romney “Hall and…
Rashida Jones Co-writes, Stars in Tale of Life After Love
The credit sequence offers snapshots of the meet-cute, the courtship and the marriage of best friends, Celeste (Rashida Jones) and Jesse (Andy Samberg), and towards the end, there’s a teasing hint of discord that starts to creep into the mix, but you doubt that it’s going to be bad, especially that bad because what would…
Guilty Pleasures
Let’s face it: The majority of shows on TV can be considered “guilty pleasures” at best. Just based on the sheer ratio of churned-out, crappy television to quality programming, the Kardashians and gypsies far outnumber the Drapers and Game of Thrones. But there’s nothing wrong with a little indulgence, right? While I follow some pretty…
The Dog Stars
Just like in Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer Prize-winning, post-apocalyptic novel The Road, first-time novelist Peter Heller has created a heartbreakingly moving love story with The Dog Stars, one of this year’s greatest literary surprises. But unlike The Road, in which the love story is between a father and son, the passion play in The Dog Stars…
Every Love Story Is A Ghost Story: A Life Of David Foster Wallace
In the late ’90s I was fortunate enough to meet David Foster Wallace. He was kind and generous and we talked about books and language and many other things for a long time. After that I continued to correspond with him and when I heard the news that he had hanged himself in 2008, it…
End of Summer Dining News & Notes
Washington Park is without a doubt the jewel of this excellent summer in Cincinnati. And it’s drawing crowds — whether to its well-chosen events or just to enjoy its well-designed spaces. And crowds, we know, travel on their stomachs. Now, the folks that bring you The City Flea are working with Emanuel Community Center to…
Whatever Will Be, Will Be
Organic is a word that has suffered from a certain amount of overuse in recent years. In musical parlance, it describes a process free from self-conscious overthinking and blueprinted deliberation, resulting in a pure and unplanned outcome. That is exactly how Ampline/thistle guitarist Mike Montgomery (from Dayton, Ky.) and Breeders guitarist/vocalist Kelley Deal (from Dayton,…
Lavomatic Spins a Tasty Makeover
Years ago, the area near Twelfth and Vine Streets in Over-the-Rhine was a grimy, dangerous scene. At night, the unnerving sound of gunfire often echoed off the Italianate-style buildings like popcorn. By 2006, phase one of the Gateway Quarter redevelopment plan was well underway. Crime quickly gave way to safer, brightly lit streets. Hints of…
Stuart Fink: A Welcome Return
Stuart Fink’s Shape to Shape at Brazee Street Studios’ gallery One One bristles with energy, mostly dispenses with narrative (who needs it?) and includes paintings as well as sculpture. Best known as a sculptor, Fink studied to be a painter and never really gave it up. Two- and three-dimensional works co-exist in each of the…
After the (Trash) Dance
Working my way around a packed house at The Neon Theater in Dayton during the Q&A following the FilmDayton Film Festival premiere of Andrew Garrison’s award-winning documentary Trash Dance, I was in awe, once again, before a set of moving images and the stories conveyed. It happens often, on scales large and small, and I…
Put An Owl On It
I t’s just after 5:30 p.m. at Coffee Emporium and Sally Yoon is rushing to the table, packaged coffee grounds in hand. “Look!” she exclaims to her business partner, Nadia Laabs, pointing at the bag and beaming. “Night Owl Blend!” Sure enough, a wide-eyed bird decorates the label — they seem to be everywhere lately.…
Fall Focus
FOTOFOCUS, which gets fully underway in October, is one of the most ambitious visual-arts events ever attempted in Greater Cincinnati — maybe the most ambitious. Some 75 venues — including ones in Dayton, Springfield and Athens — will feature exhibits throughout October (and often beyond) devoted to photography/lens-based-art. The intent is to show the medium’s…
Worst Week Ever!: Aug. 22-28
WEDNESDAY AUG. 22 It’s been more than two years since the good folks of Miami University’s Greek community received lots of negative attention for their behavior at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. While there, sorority members and their dates peed and threw up everywhere, threw drinks on the dance floor and attempted to steal…
The Best Day of the Year
For participants in the 2012 Cincinnati Loser League, Sunday, Aug. 26 was a special day — a day that annually rivals the likes of Thanksgiving, Christmas and Fourth of July when it comes to blatant and unapologetic day drinking and revelry. On Sunday we had our annual fantasy football draft, and it was more important…
What Color is Hatred?
There is a lot wrong in the brutal beating of Pat Mahaney, a 45-year-old white man, by six black teenagers in North College Hill. Sadly and somehow brilliantly, this is a teachable moment about to pass us all by if we don’t start grappling with and then telling some truths. North College Hill officials —…
