Primary Cheat Sheet: Rand Paul
Sen. Rand Paul (Republican) Fun fact: Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is a practicing ophthalmologist that specializes in corneal transplants, cataract and glaucoma surgeries and LASIK procedures. The 52-year-old constitutional conservative has spent time during every senate recess performing pro-bono eye surgeries for low income Kentuckians and citizens of poor countries like Haiti. Even if he…
Comedy: Sick of Stupid Comedy Tour
The Sick of Stupid Comedy Tour, featuring comics Tom Simmons, Stewart Huff and Cliff Cash, seeks to give audiences a different take on Southern humor. “I’m a Southerner,” says Cash, who also organized the tour. “I have bit of a Southern accent. I talk about the South, and I’m a pretty liberal thinker.” That’s sometimes…
Onstage: trueTheatre
Even if you made a New Year’s resolution to lose weight, you still have to eat. “trueFood” is the topic for this quarter’s trueTheatre at Know. Featured stories are about what a homeless woman did when she had access to a kitchen, a man who ate the wrong thing at the wrong time, a man…
Sports: AMSOIL Arenacross
AMSOIL Arenacross off-road motorcycle racing makes a visit to Cincinnati this weekend. The floor of U.S. Bank Arena will be covered in truckloads of dirt and obstacles for professional and amateur racers. Attendees will get to experience live music from local DJs, win prizes and meet the Monster Energy Girls. 7 p.m. Saturday; noon Sunday,…
Onstage: I’m Every Woman
Join the Cincinnati Pops and a group of talented vocalists in saluting the great divas of Soul, R&B, Jazz, Opera and Gospel at Music Hall this weekend with the program I’m Every Woman. Vocalist Capathia Jenkins (pictured) and friends will have audiences “Feeling Good” with songs from artists like Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald,…
Art: The Garden of Restoration at Thunder-Sky, Inc.
Thunder-Sky, Inc. kicks off its first exhibition of the New Year with a two-man show featuring the work of artists Tom Hieronymus Towhey and Adrian Cox. Towhey is primarily self-taught (although he briefly attended both the Art Academy of Cincinnati and the University of Cincinnati in the late 1970s) and has worked full time as…
Eats: Over-the-Rhine Sweet Stroll
If you didn’t get enough candy and cakes during the holidays, or if you’re already over your New Year’s resolution, take a stroll around OTR with Cincinnati Food Tours. This themed, escorted “Sweet Stroll” includes a walking history of the neighborhood, a chance to discover new dining destinations and, of course, tasty food samples. Stops…
Event: Queen City Rubik’s Cube Competition
Are you the proud owner of a good, old-fashioned, infuriatingly difficult-to-solve Rubik’s cube? Can you not only solve that aforementioned cube, but also pride yourself on the speed at which you successfully lock its layers into place? This weekend is your chance to put those skills to the test. The Queen City 2016 Rubik’s Cube…
Music: James Leg
Rowdy and intense Rock and Soul singer/keyboardist James Leg (who first came to the public’s attention with Black Diamond Heavies) released his latest solo album, Below the Belt, in early September and has spent the past few months supporting the album throughout Europe. This weekend, the Tennessee-based Leg brings his acclaimed live show to Cincinnati,…
Event: Cavalcade of Customs
The 56th-annual Cavalcade of Customs returns to the Duke Energy Convention Center this weekend. There will be more than 500 classic cars, custom rides, racecars and motorcycles on display — if it’s got wheels and it’s cool, it’s there. There will also be a workshop for high school and college-level students on Friday to learn…
Event: Drink and Draw: Coloring Book Edition
Come spend an evening with a sketchpad and a drink from Collective CAC at the Contemporary Arts Center. Enjoy sketching in the quiet, laid-back atmosphere alone or bring a friend for the CAC’s monthly Drink and Draw session — an idea created by Cincinnati artist Lindsay Nehls, former owner of Rock Paper Scissors who made…
Art: Tree of Life
The Tree of Life: a unifying symbol of hope, wisdom, protection, strength, bounty, beauty and redemption. Cincinnati artist Matt Kotlarczyk created an interpretation of this collective human image for the Cincinnati Art Museum, upon which members of the community can share their hopes, dreams and wishes for the New Year by writing them on colorful…
Council Poised to Set Streetcar Hours
Though you’ll be waiting a while if you try to catch one any time soon, riders now have an idea of exactly what times they’ll be able to catch the coming streetcar when it starts picking up passengers in September. Cincinnati City Council’s Major Transportation and Regional Cooperation Committee approved operating hours presented by the…
Film: Sherlock: The Abominable Bride Screening
The BBC New Year’s Day special that marked the return of what is arguably the world’s most famous investigative duo is coming to the big screen in theaters nationwide. The one-off Sherlock: The Abominable Bride follows Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and John Watson (Martin Freeman) as they travel back in time to 1895, when a…
Morning News and Stuff
Good morning, Cincinnati! Here are your morning headlines. • Change is coming this way, or so some say. Leaders of Madisonville say they hope 2016 could be the neighborhood's year for development. Some of the upcoming changes in the town include the opening of a restaurant and two apartments in the vacant FifthThird Building on…
The Hateful Eight
Critics have been tripping over themselves to draw comparisons between grindmeister Quentin Tarantino and the great mystery writer Agatha Christie, due to the Ten Little Indians premise that serves as the foundation of The Hateful Eight, and the obviousness of the setup smacks us hard enough to generate a vicious sting to the cheek while…
Morning News and Stuff
Happy New Year, Cincinnati! Hope everyone had a fun and safe kickoff to 2016. Here is your first round up of headlines this year. • So, 2016 will probably be the year of some exciting elections as we inch closer to November, but locally, Cincinnati faces many upcoming issues dealing with planes, trains, and automobiles.…
Spring Grove Cemetery
Directions From downtown Cincinnati, take I-75 North to I-74. Take exit 19 off I-74, the Elmore Street/Spring Grove Avenue exit. At the end of the exit, turn right onto Colerain Avenue. Colerain will dead end into Spring Grove Avenue. Turn left onto Spring Grove Avenue. Follow this road for a little longer than two miles.…
Events: Coffee and Shakes
Coffee and Shakes is more than a clever name for a Shakespearian fundraiser at a coffee shop, it is an evening filled with music, a silent auction, Shakespeare and free food provided by Apna Indian Restaurant. The auction, and donations if you’re feeling generous, will go towards Cincinnati Outdoor Classics production of Love’s Labour’s Lost.…
Primary Cheat Sheet: Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders (Democratic) Fun fact: Don’t think your vote counts? The first office Sanders held was mayor of Burlington, Vt., and he won the election by 10 votes in 1981. That small margin of victory led this Jewish politician on a course to the Senate and the race for the presidency. What’s up with the…
Morning News and Stuff
Happy New Year, Cincy! Here are your final morning headlines of 2015. • It hasn't quite hit 2016 yet, but new Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin is already thinking ahead to 2017. The Republican governor has said that he plans to transform the state's Medicaid plan, which will take effect in January 2017 and will affect the…
We’ve Got You Covered
CityBeat's news team has been all over the map this year. In the past 365 days, we've delved deep into college athletic funding, the experiences of refugee families in Cincinnati, new community ownership models for neighborhood grocery stores and any number of other issues. Often, we’ve covered stories no other media outlet in Cincinnati thought…
Music: The Werks
F rom the outset, The Werks have been content to be impressive contributors to the Jam scene, earning adoration from their loyal fan base and respect from the community’s critical arbiters. Since their official 2007 formation, through a handful of personnel changes and a quintet of studio/live releases, the Dayton, Ohio quartet — now comprised…
Eats: Hangover Brunch at Metropole
Heyyyyyyy. Good morning, sunshine. Party a little too hard last night? Still got the confetti that shoots out of those poppy noisemaker things in your hair or glitter in your nethers? Mouth taste like a Jägerbomb? Put some sweats under that dress and head to Metropole at 21c for a hangover brunch — a two-course…
Event: Boar’s Head Yule Log Festival
This year’s 76th-annual festival — a traditional holiday production performed by a cast of more than 100 — dates all the way back to the year 1340 in Oxford, England. Legend says that a scholar was walking through a forest on his way to Christmas mass when he was confronted by an angry wild boar, which,…
Music: The Skulx
Although fans were surely disappointed that 2015 was the first full year in a decade without successful Cincinnati rockers Foxy Shazam, the band’s “indefinite hiatus” that was announced in 2014 has resulted in a wealth of great new Foxy-related music. Singer Eric Nally appeared on Macklemore’s “Downtown” single and is set to launch his solo…
Art: Can I Just Start Over? Group Exhibition
In the spirit of the New Year, local artist and DAAP MFA candidate Britni Bicknaver has curated a group show of new works that investigate the idea of “screwing up” and what life might be like if we could simply push a reset button. In an unmarked storefront in East Walnut Hills, she has invited…
New Year’s Eve: Fly Me to the Moon NYE Concert
Class it up a little with a New Year’s celebration featuring the Cincinnati Pops and Tony DeSare, described as “two parts young Sinatra to one party Billy Joel” by The New York Times. The special Fly Me to the Moon concert is the final show before Music Hall’s renovation and also celebrates Frank Sinatra’s 100th…
New Year’s Eve: Taft’s New Year’s Bash
Ring in 2016 at Taft’s Ale House’s inaugural New Year’s bash with two choices of body position: reserve a table or stand. Reserved tables are limited and feature a welcome beverage, a special waffle-based beer brewed in collaboration with Taste of Belgium, a six-course heavy hors d’oeuvres meal and a take-home gift. Standing room features…
Comedy: Andy Woodhull
Comedian Andy Woodhull performs at Go Bananas once a year and usually performs at The Brew Ha Ha comedy festival at Sawyer Point in August. “Go Bananas is one of the best clubs in the country and one of my all time favorite clubs to play,” he says. “I’m lucky to be spending New Year’s…
New Year’s Eve: New Year’s Eve Blast on Fountain Square
Fountain Square serves as one of Cincinnati’s top New Year’s Eve spots. Bring your friends and family and celebrate alongside thousands of Cincinnatians. The ice rink opens at 9 a.m. with $6 admission and $4 skate rentals. There will also be plenty of food vendors, a dance competition and a fireworks show once the clock…
New Year’s Eve: Ball of the Beasts
Take a walk on the wild side and celebrate NYE by joining Urban Artifact brewery in a historic and boozy masquerade ball. Inspired by the 1393 Bal des Ardents, or the “Ball of Burning Men” (which unsurprisingly was just as terrifying as it sounds), guests are encouraged to transform themselves for the night by masquerading…
New Year’s Eve: First Midnight
Horseshoe Casino’s First Midnight aims to be one of the biggest New Year’s Eve bashes in the Cincinnati area. Dance your way into 2016 with sounds from producer Just Blaze, who is known for his work with Kanye West and Jay Z. Cincinnati’s own DJ ETrayn and Pete Dressman will also be rocking the stage.…
New Year’s Eve: Happy Zoo Year
The Cincinnati Zoo is kicking off its New Year’s Eve celebration a little early this year — literally. There will be a countdown starting at 5 p.m. and ending at 9, capping off a night full of puppet shows, meet-and-greets and fireworks. General admission tickets include both Happy Zoo Year and the Festival of Lights,…
New Year’s Eve: Know Theatre and CityBeat’s Speakeasy Party
Bid goodbye to 2015 this New Year’s Eve by partying in the past. Know Theatre and CityBeat’s eighth-annual Speakeasy Party is a NYE celebration frozen in time — specifically in the 1920s. Grab a martini, sidecar or Manhattan — or better yet, all three — and whittle down the hours until midnight with live music, casino games and…
Onstage: Cinderella
Think you know the story of Cinderella? It’s a sure bet you’ve never seen it the way it’s being presented at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati — with a nearsighted bookworm heroine, a pair of self-absorbed stepsisters, a diva of a stepmother and a fairy godmother who’s really a “well-wisher.” No glass slippers for this gal: she…
Art: High Style: Twentieth-Century Masterworks from the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection
Two separate traveling fashion exhibitions — High Style and The Total Look — both brought here by Cynthia Amneus, curator of fashion arts and textiles/chief curator, showed how 20th-century fashion can have just as visionary and avant-garde an agenda — in the hands of a Gernreich, Charles James or Elsa Schiaparelli — as painting or…
Art: Heroism in Paint
Currently on display at the Taft Museum of Art is Heroism in Paint: A Master Series by Jacob Lawrence, featuring the world-renowned painter’s first venture in creating a series of historical paintings — The Life of Toussaint L’Ouverture series, which launched his successful 60-plus-year artistic career and made him into a de facto historian. Some…
Up for Grabs
T he coming year looks to be full of intense national political battles, and we’re right in the middle of them. The 2016 presidential race is laser-focused on Ohio, and the state’s U.S. Senate race looks to be a pivotal one. And, oh yeah, we also have a governor running for president. Combine that with…
Historicism in Paint
Currently on display at the Taft Museum of Art is Heroism in Paint: A Master Series by Jacob Lawrence, featuring the world-renowned painter’s first venture in creating a series of historical paintings — The Life of Toussaint L’Ouverture series, which launched his successful 60-plus-year artistic career and made him into a de facto historian. Lawrence…
Check Out the Theater Pipeline: Choices for 2016
If you were captivated by Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati’s hit (and revived) production of next to normal in 2011-2012, then you should consider catching the newest show from the Pulitzer Prize-winning team of composer Tom Kitt and writer Brian Yorkey. It’s called If/Then, and the Tony-nominated show comes to Cincinnati as a touring production at the…
The Best Art Exhibits of 2015
By This River, Weston Art Gallery — For this multi-artist multimedia show, curator Michael Solway chose art that directly related to the show’s aquatic theme. The work was thus accessible, yet without being obvious in its depiction of a waterway. Standouts included works by Benjamin Patterson, Jacci Den Hartog and Steve Roden. Daniel Arsham: Remember…
Sweet Honey in the Rhine
D espite unseasonably balmy weather for December, Sycamore Street is barren compared to the shuffling activity near bars and restaurants on Vine. Nonetheless, there’s no shortage of activity going on inside the vibrant, saffron colored storefront called Sweet Sistah Splash Boutique (S3), owned and operated by Nzingha Byrd and Daphney Thomas since June 2012. These…
No Charges for Officers in Tamir Rice Shooting
Cleveland police officers involved in the shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice will not face criminal charges related to the child’s death, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office announced Dec. 28. A grand jury has been deliberating for months about the case, which has grabbed national attention as debate continues over police-involved shootings of people of color…
Clifton Market Closes on Loans, Sets Construction Timeline
A longtime anchor in the Clifton business district will get new life starting in February. Clifton Market announced Dec. 23 that it has closed on nearly $3 million in loans to open up a cooperatively owned grocery store at 319 Ludlow Ave. National Cooperative Bank will provide a $1.9 million construction loan and the Northcountry…
County Commission Candidate Dennis Deters Files to Run with Brother’s Name
Will Hamilton County voters see the name Joseph Deters twice on the ballot come election day? That could be the situation next year as Dennis Deters runs for the Hamilton County Commission seat vacated Dec. 28 by Republican Greg Hartmann. Deters, who is running against well-known Democrat State Rep. Denise Driehaus, will be doing so…
Changing Lanes
C incinnati is no Portland or Minneapolis when it comes to being a biker’s paradise. Relative to its peer cities, Cincinnati is lacking in on-street bike lanes, and its trail system — while ambitious — is still relatively disconnected. Bike activists across the city are trying to change this, and lately they’ve started thinking big.…
The World, It Softly Lulls
I have a healthy respect for death, as a marker of absences and a gauge of time. Since 2015 knocked me to my literal knees, then on my ass for what looks like the long haul, I wouldn’t say I’m obsessed with death but keenly aware and unafraid of it. I am ready to go.…
Morning News and Stuff
Good morning Cincy! Here are your morning headlines. • A rally and march in Cincinnati last night drew more than 100 people protesting a Cuyahoga grand jury decision not to indict officers in the Cleveland police shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice. The event drew a diverse group of activists and speakers from Black…
Worst Week Ever! Dec. 30-Jan. 05
Hilarious Weed-Smoking Sloth Makes Smoking Weed Look Fun Anyone who has ever shown up to work stoned or after a few drinks knows that it is way easier to work high than drunk. (I just forgot what I was going to say.) However, the War on Drugs doesn’t stem most people’s flow (or their desire…
Music: Orgy
Electro Rock band Orgy entered the public consciousness in the late ’90s with its harrowing, hard-hitting cover of “Blue Monday,” a 1983 hit by legendary Electro Pop group New Order. Fronted by enigmatic frontman Jay Gordon, Orgy caught the attention of Korn singer Jonathan Davis, who signed the band to his Reprise-distributed Elementree Records and…
Sound Advice: Orgy with Bobaflex and Death Valley High
Electro Rock band Orgy entered the public consciousness in the late ’90s with its harrowing, hard-hitting cover of “Blue Monday,” a 1983 hit by legendary Electro Pop group New Order. Fronted by enigmatic frontman Jay Gordon, Orgy caught the attention of Korn singer Jonathan Davis, who signed the band to his Reprise-distributed Elementree Records and…
Music: Moon Hooch
When Morphine burst into the wider consciousness in 1991, the trio’s two-string bass/saxophone/drums configuration seemed pretty radical. Nearly a quarter century later, it takes a good deal more to drop the jaws of modern music listeners jaded by two- and even one-person bands that feature unusual instrumentation and offer impressive results. But consider what might…
Sound Advice: Moon Hooch
When Morphine burst into the wider consciousness in 1991, the trio’s two-string bass/saxophone/drums configuration seemed pretty radical. Nearly a quarter century later, it takes a good deal more to drop the jaws of modern music listeners jaded by two- and even one-person bands that feature unusual instrumentation and offer impressive results. But consider what might…
Music: Angela Perley & The Howlin’ Moons
A friend of mine who is both a musician and a fellow journalist turned me onto Angela Perley & The Howlin’ Moons a few weeks ago. What turned his head around about the group was its live performance at the Huntington Music and Arts Festival that was held this past summer in West Virginia. Once…
Sound Advice: Angela Perley & The Howlin’ Moons with Wonky Tonk
A friend of mine who is both a musician and a fellow journalist turned me onto Angela Perley & The Howlin’ Moons a few weeks ago. What turned his head around about the group was its live performance at the Huntington Music and Arts Festival that was held this past summer in West Virginia. Once…
Music: Clutch
Since Clutch has never achieved anything resembling mainstream success or acceptance, it’s had to settle for rabidly zealous fan worship. It seems the perfect revenge for a band that’s endured an almost endless cycle of being courted and signed by an excited label only to be advised to change its image and steer its progressive…
Sound Advice: Clutch with Crobot
Since Clutch has never achieved anything resembling mainstream success or acceptance, it’s had to settle for rabidly zealous fan worship. It seems the perfect revenge for a band that’s endured an almost endless cycle of being courted and signed by an excited label only to be advised to change its image and steer its progressive…
A Fab Streaming Christmas
HOT: A Fab Streaming Christmas After apparently realizing some money was being left on the table by not having music on streaming services, hundreds of songs by The Beatles popped up on Spotify, Apple Music and several other platforms just after midnight on Christmas Eve. If The Beatles, who were also late to the CD…
Best Bites of 2015
C ityBeat dining writers are paid to eat — they’re not paid exorbitantly, but, regardless, these intrepid gastronauts spend their year eating, drinking and reporting back on the latest restaurants, food trends, pop-ups and Queen City culinary wizardry to either mildly entertain you or help you decide where to eat dinner. So as 2015 draws…
Ringing in 2016 and Recovering Accordingly
Counting down the year from your couch? Here’s your guide to the growing number of televised New Year’s Eve celebrations. NBC kicks off the night with A Toast to 2015! (8 p.m.). Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb recount memorable moments of 2015. Then Bravo’s main man hosts NBC’s New Year’s Eve Game Night with…
The Narrative and Philosophical Maturity of Youth
Paolo Sorrentino, the Italian writer-director behind 2013 Best Foreign Language Academy Award-winner The Great Beauty, breaks narratives and lives down to carefully observed moments — exchanges between characters, explorations into solitary impressions, quiet meditations on the majesty of ideas and their impact on our humanity. In The Great Beauty, Jep Gambardella (Toni Servillo) has strolled…
