Comedy: Underbelly Comedy Spectacular
“When Underbelly was in Cincinnati, it was always my favorite night of the month,” says comedian Mike Cronin. “The worst part about it was that it was usually so packed that we couldn’t watch the show. Whenever we could, our friends onstage would completely surprise us with what they came up with that month.” The…
Holiday: Lighting the Serpent Winter Solstice Celebration
The Winter Solstice is an astronomical event that marks the shortest day of the year, thus the longest night and the following advent of longer days. Since ancient times, cultures around the world have celebrated this day as a time of rebirth and celebration. The Friends of Serpent Mound have been observing the Winter Solstice…
Holiday: Christian Moerlein Brew Ho Ho Ho Dinner Cruise
All aboard BB Riverboats for this holiday — and beer — themed cruise down the Ohio River. Enjoy tastings of four Christian Moerlein seasonal and premium beers, with a full dinner buffet, festive holiday music and a souvenir Moerlein pint glass. 7-9:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20. $55 adults; $38 children. BB Riverboats, 101 Riverboat Row, Newport,…
Sports: Cyclones Ugly Sweater Night
The Cincinnati Cyclones’ themed promotional nights get festive with an on-ice ugly sweater party. The players will wear ugly Christmas sweater jerseys, which will then be auctioned off after the game. Versus the Elmira, N.Y., Jackals. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20. $13-$27. U.S. Bank Arena, 100 Broadway, Downtown, cycloneshockey.com.
Event: Alex Davis Pro Model Skate Deck Release Party
Kentucky-raised, San Francisco-based, globe-traveling skateboarder Alex Davis — who has been skating for more than half his life and representing Cincinnati everywhere he goes — finally has his first professional model skate deck, created by Habitat Skateboards. To celebrate his going pro, Galaxie Skateshop hosts a release party Saturday with 50 decks featuring the imagery…
Holiday: Spirit of Christmas Tour
American Legacy Tours takes you to Over-the-Rhine’s historic churches. Learn about the traditions and history of the area as you visit places of worship, including St. Francis Seraph Church, where you can see a Charles Dickens village, nativity displays from around the world and a live outdoor nativity scene, complete with a stable of animals. …
Holiay: Winter Solstice Celebration
While we often think of the holidays as a time to come together with loved ones who share the same religious or cultural traditions as we do, perhaps an underappreciated way of celebrating the “reason for the season” might be to find ways we can connect with the larger world around us. The Cincinnati Museum…
Music: Lily & Madeleine
Popular Cincinnati band Over the Rhine has traditionally brought in some incredible artists to open its annual hometown Christmas concerts (including Pedro the Lion, Joe Henry and Mary Gauthier, to name but a few) and this year in no different. Up-and-coming Folk duo Lily & Madeleine has the honor this year. The sisters from Indianapolis…
Holiday: Caroling in the Park
Head to Washington Park this weekend to warm up with a hot beverage and live music from area choirs. On Friday evening, the Young Professionals Choral Collective will take over the bandstand to perform holiday tunes. And on Saturday, catch the Voices of Cincinnati Ensemble, an all-female seven-part a cappella chamber choir. 6-8 p.m. Friday,…
Holiday: Amahl and the Night Visitors
Amahl and the Night Visitors is Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra’s annual holiday gift, a multi-media extravaganza of the Christmas classic originally written for television in 1951. Gian Carlo Menotti’s one-act opera of the crippled boy Amahl and his encounter with the three wise men on their way to Bethlehem is a celebration of music, magic and…
Holiday: The Nutcracker
The Cincinnati Ballet celebrates 40 years of dancing sugar plum fairies, rat kings and more fanciful footwork in the land of sweets with its annual production of The Nutcracker. Presented (in partnership with Frisch’s) since 1974, this year’s rendition of Clara’s adventures with the Nutcracker Prince promises fun and fantasy, with international guest dancers Venus…
Event: Fountain Square Ice Rink
If you’re the kind of person who enjoys balancing on foot blades while gliding on top of frozen water, you’re in luck: The ice rink at Fountain Square is open for another couple of weeks. This weekend, daily skate times are complemented by a whimsical Santa Skates event on Saturday and Sunday, where a costumed…
Morning News and Stuff
Good morning all. It’s like, 8 a.m. and I’ve already experienced utter, terrifying confusion today. Normally that doesn’t happen until at least noon. Earlier, I woke up to a loud, continuous peal of thunder, which stupefied me in my half-awake state because it’s, you know, December and that usually doesn’t happen. I thought my house…
Crawford Family to File Lawsuit Over Police Shooting
The family of John Crawford III, the 22-year-old Fairfield man a Beavercreek police officer shot Aug. 5 in a Walmart, is filing a lawsuit against Beavercreek Police Chief Dennis Evers, officers Sean Williams and David Darkow and the Walmart corporation, the family’s lawyers announced today via a news release. Officer Williams shot Crawford, a Fairfield…
Morning News and Stuff
Morning all. Here’s the news today. Eight Greenpeace activists arrested for hanging huge banners from P&G headquarters in March were found guilty and sentenced Friday after accepting a deal allowing them to plea down to misdemeanor charges. The group will have to perform 80 hours of community service and will be placed on probation for…
MusicNOW Announces 2015 Lineup
The annual MusicNOW festival, founded by Cincinnati native and guitarist for Indie Rock superstars The National, returns to various venues in Over-the-Rhine this March for a celebration of the festival’s 10 successful years. The event will utilize Music Hall and Memorial Hall (past MusicNOW venues), as well as the new Woodward Theater (the Contemporary Arts…
Call Board: Theater News
Actors Sought: If you're an actor looking for an unusual afternoon this week, the Cincinnati Police S.W.A.T. team invites you to volunteer for a training event on Tuesday from noon to 3 p.m. at a location near downtown. Officer Tim Eppstein wrote this in his announcement: "Volunteers will play characters in S.W.A.T.-type situations that may…
Tape Shows Police Harshly Interrogating John Crawford’s Girlfriend
A video released by Ohio Attorney General Mike Dewine in response to a public records requests by British site The Guardianshows a Beavercreek Police detective berating John Crawford III’s girlfriend about where Crawford got a gun. You can read The Guardian's story and watch the video here. Police shot Crawford, a 22-year-old from Fairfield, in a…
Morning News and Stuff
Morning all. It’s Friday, I’m almost finished with a couple big stories for next week and I’m warm and cozy next to my portable fireplace (read: space heater). Things are looking up. Let’s talk about news. Mayor John Cranley recently announced he is replacing Planning Commission Chair Caleb Faux with former Pleasant Ridge Community Council…
Stage Door: A Weekend of Holiday Theater
This weekend affords you numerous chances to see a holiday show. (Quite a few shows will still be onstage in another week, but you might be too busy shopping or baking cookies …) A Christmas Carol at the Playhouse has been drawing crowds for 24 seasons, and it's worth seeing (CityBeat review here). Lots of…
Seelbach Proposes Protecting Homeless Under Hate Crime Laws
A proposed city ordinance could add homeless people to groups protected by hate crime laws, making Cincinnati one of just three cities to do so. The proposal by Councilman Chris Seelbach could add up to 180 days in extra jail time for those convicted of crimes against people because they don't have homes. “Homeless people…
Cincinnati Art Museum to Host MetaModern Show
Delving into Modernism’s relationship to today’s Contemporary artists, Cincinnati Art Museum in 2016 will present the traveling show MetaModern. It is organized by Krannert Art Museum at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in collaboration with curatorsquared of Winter Park, Florida, and Boston. In Cincinnati, it will be curated by Amy Dehan, Decorative arts and Design…
From the Copy Desk
Good morning readers. Well, we're in the thick of the holiday season. There's Christmas decor and Christmas music in every store and the expectation to attend holiday office parties, secret Santa games and family get-togethers. For those of you who find this terrifying, exhausting or nerve wracking, check out our latest issue: "In Defense of…
Morning News and Stuff
Morning y’all. Let’s get this news thing going. Cincinnati City Council yesterday approved zoning changes for a major, and controversial, development in the CUF neighborhood just south of UC. The project, done by Rhode Island-based Gilbane Development Co., will bring 180 apartments mostly for student housing, townhomes, a 380-space underground parking garage and up to…
UC Med Students Stage “Die In” to Protest Racial Inequalities
More than 70 University of Cincinnati medical students today staged a “die in,” lying on the floor of the busy UC Medical Sciences Building to protest what they say are serious racial disparities in the nation’s justice system. That protest mirrored similar events across the country reacting to police killings of unarmed black citizens and…
In Defense of Office Secret Santas
Once you receive a present, you’ll always have something to give out for next year’s Secret Santa gift exchange. Just keep it wrapped. Here are some places to buy gifts for less than $25: FERN: 6040 Hamilton Ave., North College Hill, fernstudiocincinnati.com; HIGHSTREET: 1401 Reading Road, Downtown, highstreet.com; MICA12/V: 1201 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, shopmica.com; Museum…
In Defense of Eggnog
Eggnog is one of those persistent holiday traditions evoking either fond memories of family gatherings or a general revulsion for the season. Derived from an eggy English drink once available only to the stuffy nobility, its popularity now is largely an American phenomenon. Steep taxes on wine inspired our colonial ancestors to use rum for…
In Defense of Presents
“Something they want, something they need Something they wear, something they read.” So goes the gift-giving mantra made popular by parenting blogs to keep folks in check while filling their carts with presents for kids. It’s a very practical approach to holiday gifting and shopping in general. But since when are the holidays practical?…
In Defense of Doing Social Things During the Holiday Season
Events, attractions and light shows for friends, family and more. Metro Holly Jolly Downtown Trolley — Hop aboard a trolley at Fifth and Vine streets to see the sights of downtown. Noon-5 p.m. Saturdays. Through Dec. 20. Free. 21 E. Fifth St., Downtown, downtowncincinnati.com. Santa’s Workshop at Washington Park — Ditch the mall trip and…
In Defense of Christmas Mass
First, a confession: I’m not Catholic. I’ve had little exposure to the grand traditions of one of Christianity’s largest sects, barring a month-long stretch where my mom thought she could get a better deal on tuition at our local Catholic middle school if my brother and I started attending mass. Turns out, tuition was too…
In Defense of Mother-in-Laws
When people trade horror stories — or, on the more rare occasion, love stories — about their in-laws, it’s the mother-in-law that tends to be the protagonist (or antagonist). As a newlywed, I’ve discovered that married women love little more than commiserating with other married women on the batty antics of their mother-in-laws. Popular culture paints…
In Defense of Jewish Food
According to the Bible’s Book of Exodus, enslaved Israelites didn’t have time to let their bread rise as they were hastily preparing to follow Moses out of Egypt for their mass migration to the Promised Land. Instead, they baked off their unleavened dough, leaving with the resulting product, known as matzo, which is basically a…
In Defense of Christmas Albums
The holiday season is a wonderful time to give in to obnoxiously themed advertisements, celebrate consumerism (and maybe — just maybe — the birth of Christ) and help musicians and producers balance their budgets by purchasing their regurgitated versions of Christmas cheer. Whether it be sappy remakes of already sappy classics about a pedophilic bearded…
In Defense of Saying “Happy Holidays”
Fox News’ greatest holiday tradition and perhaps its greatest ongoing bullshit dissemination is its annual reminder that we are in the middle of a war — a “War on Christmas.” It’s the channel’s A Charlie Brown Christmas special, but way more devious and occasionally funnier. The newshounds at Fox’s primary evidence for this imaginary war…
In Defense of Everything You Think You Hate About the Holidays
The holidays are a time of great joy, yes, but also a time of overwhelming stress, requisite annually observed religious traditions and the never-ending sound of Mariah Carey letting you know that all she wants for Christmas is you* — in the grocery store, in your car, in Target, at the mall, at the gas…
Top Five
In what will seem like an obviously personal narrative, multi-hyphenate Chris Rock (writer, director and star) takes on the role of a comedian-turned-movie-superstar eager to make the transition to serious acting, but must bum rush obstacles — like an upcoming full-broadcast wedding to his reality television star fiancée (Gabrielle Union) and a day-in-the-life profile by…
Pelican Dreams
An undocumented visitor — a California pelican — gets arrested on the Golden Gate Bridge, thrown into the care of a rehab facility and, with assistance, must deal with nesting concerns, upended migration issues and other challenges that threaten its very survival. Fortunately, the pelican does so under the watchful eye of documentarian Judy Irving…
In Defense of Scaring Children into Good Behavior
Let me start this off by saying I don’t have children, so I don’t have to deal with the rampant paranoia and psychosocial trauma that results from explaining Santa Claus to toddlers — the bearded stalker who breaks into their homes to eat their cookies and leave behind wrapped boxes like the killer from Se7en. (There’s…
Get Santa
I suppose the holiday season wouldn’t be official without a “wild and crazy” madcap adventure that finds Santa (Jim Broadbent) in a heap of trouble and in need of rescuing, right? Thankfully, writer-director Christopher Smith has stepped up to the task in this case, which features a father and son combo that discovers the jolly…
The Babadook
Arriving one week after yet another failed attempt (that shall remain nameless and alone in the desert of lost themes) to exploit the cheap and cheesy thrills we’ve come to associate with the current horror genre, it is refreshing and downright heartening that Australian writer-director Jennifer Kent’s debut feature creeps into regional theaters. Kent knows…
A New Chapter in the ‘Real World’ Saga
This is the true story of seven strangers picked to live in a house and have their lives taped — and then ruined on television. Reality show pioneer The Real World is in its 30th season, and the series has definitely evolved from its original form in 1992. Season One, The Real World: New York,…
A ‘Wild’ Walk Back From the Razor’s Edge
This year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) felt like audiences were strolling the aisles in their favorite bookstores (ideally an independent bookseller with a café stocked with tasty fair-trade beverages), searching for best-selling biographies about dramatic figures just outside the glaring media spotlight — somewhat familiar folks (Stephen Hawking) or historic enigmas (Alan Turing) or…
Theaters Offer Holiday Spirit and More
Catching one of the numerous holiday shows on area stages is a tried and true aspect of celebrating the season. You can’t go wrong with the Cincinnati Playhouse’s A Christmas Carol, now in its 24th year, through Dec. 28. The glittering production features one of the area’s finest professionals, Bruce Cromer, as Scrooge. (Playhouse box…
Local Clothing Brand Celebrates Rebellious Spirits
Nick Elbisser and Jordan White, co-founders of online-based apparel brand Zip Zoo, find their inspiration in skateboard culture, the neighborhood of Over-the-Rhine and the rebellious spirit of both. Their clothing designs represent skaters, artists and musicians — individuals who go against the grain. Elbisser and White started skateboarding when they were teenagers in Northern Kentucky.…
The Heart of Home
M erriam-Webster defines the word “haven” as “a place of safety and refuge; an inlet providing shelter for ships or boats.” For Cincinnati writer Liz Bell Young, it takes on a deeper meaning. “It’s a word that I’ve always loved,” Young says. “I’ve always cared a lot about bringing people to a place that feels…
Ten Things I Learned Supermarketing in 2014
In 2014, Lost in the Supermarket was almost entirely about food trends and odd new products. In the new year, I may try to get back to sampling some of the old “ew”-stirring staples (like gefilte fish, pickled pigs’ feet and spotted dick) that inspired me to start the column initially. But for now, here…
I Just Can’t Get Enough
Peter Pan Live! took over TVs last week and it wasn’t nearly as messy as last year’s live spectacle, The Sound of Music, but I’m still confused about a very feminine woman (Allison Williams) playing a boyish man — and so are the folks at SNL. More on that later. Marnie did a fine job…
Badboxes with Injecting Strangers, Wax TV and Coconut Milk
Badboxes frontman Harrison Wargo has dubbed the sound of his Electronic trio “Northern Pop,” and that’s a fairly descriptive tag. The band’s debut EP JSMN (expanded to 14 tracks on a deluxe edition released early this year) and their recently released full length Violet (available as a free download through Bandcamp) exhibit a chilly Synth…
Exit Verse with New Sincerity Works
Early last year, former Karate vocalist/guitarist Geoff Farina joined forces with Brokeback/Tight Phantomz bassist Pete Croke and ex-Chisel drummer John Dugan to create Exit Verse, a power trio for the 21st century. The band’s recently released self-titled debut is potent proof of the wisdom of pairing Farina’s driving guitar with a rhythm section that can…
PHOX
I n a world filled with so much “Nope,” Baraboo, Wis., brought us the “Fuck yes” that is PHOX. Equal parts fun and fierce, the Indie Pop sextet delivers the exact sound required for properly shaking off the way-too-early cold weather we’ve been experiencing. PHOX singer Monica Martin’s voice perfectly grounds the airy and whimsical…
The Head and the Heart
In sports parlance, a team’s hometown crowd is often credited as an additional member — the 12th man in football, the sixth man in basketball — for its ability to effect an outcome. In some ways, Seattle could be considered The Head and the Heart’s seventh member, since the city drew two-thirds of the band’s…
YouTube Now Offers Free Jams
HOT: Free Sounds for You to Tube Rather than risk getting your video yanked and Prince visiting your house with a team of lawyers the next time you decide to upload a clip of your baby’s first steps soundtracked with “Let’s Go Crazy,” YouTube is now offering an audio library that allows you to search…
Morning News and Stuff
Hey all. I’m about to run out and cover a bunch of stuff, but here’s a quick hit list of what’s up today. The streetcar’s contingency construction budget may only have about $80,000 unaccounted for, project executive John Dietrick announced yesterday. It started with nearly $8 million. That low number is a worst-case projection, but…
New Sincerity Works Turns Out ‘44’
Dave Grohl effectively made the old joke, “What was the last thing the drummer said before getting kicked out of the band? ‘Hey, let’s try one of my songs’ ” way less funny than it once was. Now, veteran Cincinnati drummer Mike Tittel is further taking the punch out of that punchline with the release…
Buggs Tha Rocka Releases Masterful Album for Free
One of Cincinnati finest Hip Hop artists, Buggs Tha Rocka, is making his new album, Scattered Thoughts of an American Poet, available for free starting today on various outlets across the internet (it’s already generated fairly widespread buzz, including write-ups from the U.K. and France). Buggs recently spoke with CityBeat’s Brian Baker (who called the…
Cincinnati vs. The World 12.10.14
Plans to turn a former Kings Island Resort and Conference Center into a $35 million luxury apartment complex are in the works by local developers. The complex has been dubbed the Towne at Deerfield and will have 300 high-end, market-rate apartment units. Cincinnati +1 According to a recent HuffPost/YouGov poll, 56 percent of Americans (both…
Worst Week Ever!: Dec. 3-9
Atheists Debut Controversial Billboard that Doesn’t Make Sense, Piss off People in the Heartland If there’s anything worse than religious people who try to act morally superior and tell other people who they can marry and where their soul will spend eternity after they kick the bucket, it’s atheists who think other people care what…
Greenpeace Protesters Offered Plea Deal
Prosecutors have offered seven of the Greenpeace activists arrested for hanging banners from Procter & Gamble headquarters last spring a plea deal that would cut charges against the group from felony vandalism and burglary, which carry a penalty of more than nine years in jail, to misdemeanor counts of criminal trespassing, which is punishable by…
DOJ Hammers Cleveland Police Department Use of Force
The Department of Justice released a report Dec. 4 detailing its 18-month investigation of the Cleveland Police Department’s use of force. The report details numerous examples of unnecessary force used by the department. It comes as the nation grapples with a number of police shootings of unarmed black citizens. Among them is 12-year-old Tamir Rice,…
Cincinnati Police to Equip Officers with Body Cameras
Cincinnati’s 600-strong uniformed police force will eventually be equipped with body cameras after a seven-month pilot program involving West Side officers wrapped up last week. Cincinnati’s body camera program will cost anywhere from $500,000 to $2 million depending on which vendor the city chooses. Cincinnati City Council’s Law and Public Safety committee has pledged to…
Ringside Seats
T he 2016 election will almost certainly be a knock-down, drag-out fight between Democrats looking to maintain the presidency and the GOP, which now controls both houses of Congress. A large part of that battle will likely be fought right here. Last week, Cincinnati was tapped for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored…
Forever Plaid: Plaid Tidings (Review)
Critic's Pick Traveling to the Covedale Center on Cincinnati’s West Side often feels like a trip back in time. The onetime movie theater on Glenway Avenue, today a thriving performing arts facility where Cincinnati Landmark Productions presents shows for mainstream audiences, was a popular teen hangout for Baby Boomers back in the ’50s and ’60s.…
The Mercer (Review)
I t’s tempting to think that Over-the-Rhine’s restaurant scene has reached a saturation point, but there are niches to be filled. Many of the newest places appeal to a scenester crowd, happy to hang out and wait for a table in the crunch of friends. But there wasn’t a restaurant for the diners who wanted…
Girls Will Be Boys
S tuart MacKenzie isn’t kidding when he confesses a certain lack of business acumen. His latest and perhaps best musical aggregation, DAAP Girls, is currently sitting on their almost indescribably excellent sophomore album, now due for its fifth (and likely not last) mix. The band has yet to title the album or establish a track…
