Onstage: The New Nutcracker
Imagine what goes into creating a brand-new production of a beloved favorite full-length ballet, top to bottom. The time is finally here: Cincinnati Ballet’s long-awaited, eagerly anticipated The New Nutcracker premieres Thursday at the Aronoff Center. It takes a lot to make any ballet look effortless, and an undertaking as big as a new Nutcracker…
Music, Movies and the Not So Mundane
The Coast Guard is worried about having too many obese people on boats. On Dec. 1, it amended a federal rule that recalibrated the average weight of a passenger at 185 pounds, a 25-pound jump, which means the maximum capacity for vessels has dropped dramatically. “The U.S. Coast Guard feels the U.S. people have gotten…
2011 Music Nominees and Winners
[Winners noted in red] Artist of the Year Buffalo Killers The Chocolate Horse The Greenhornes Brian Olive Pomegranates The Seedy Seeds Skeetones Walk the Moon Album of the Year Josh Eagle and the Harvest City: A Good One Is Hard to FindThe Guitars: High ActionBrian Olive: Two of EverythingThe Seedy Seeds: Verb NounShiny and the…
Art: George Inness in Italy
There’s only a few weeks left to visit George Inness in Italy at the Taft Museum of Art downtown. The show, organized by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, features several stunning canvases made by the master of Tonalism during two formative trips to the Italian countryside. The exhibition also allows the viewer to witness firsthand…
2010 Music Nominees and Winners
[Winners noted in red] Artist of the YearFoxy Shazam The Lions Rampant Magnolia Mountain The Seedy Seeds State Song The Sundresses The Tillers Wussy Album of the Year Eat Sugar: Levántense! Enlou: Body of Friends, Body of Water 500 Miles to Memphis: We’ve Built Up to NothingThe Lions Rampant: It’s Fun to Do Bad Things…
R.I.P. Newport’s Village Discount Outlet
Tristate hipsters' shopping selection has significantly decreased with the closing of Newport's Village Discount Outlet this week.—- The 2010 Best of Cincinnati readers' pick for Best Clothing Store (Non-Chain) is closed permanently, according to Village Discount, Inc., representatives in Columbus. The other area location, in Colerain, has been closed for some time now. Although it…
Music: The Kentucky Struts
Todd Lipscomb didn’t deliberate very hard or very long in conceiving the concept around the second album from his locally based band The Kentucky Struts. Like most great ideas, it was a flash of illumination in a contemplative moment. “Last December, I was eating a bowl of cereal for breakfast and it just hit,” the…
Music: The Devil Wears Prada
It’s been a wild ride for the Christian Metalcore maniacs of The Devil Wears Prada since forming in Dayton six years ago. The sextet’s 2006 debut, Dear Love: A Beautiful Discord, brought them to the attention of the Christian Metal audience and earned the band invitations to Christian festivals like Cornerstone. But the band’s sophomore…
Music: Marbin
Just four short years ago, Marbin came together in Israel when two musicians met just when both were in coming-of-age “crossroads” periods in their lives. Israeli saxophonist Danny Markovitz had just completed his military service (he was an infantry sergeant) when he met Israeli-American guitarist Dani Rabin, who had also just been through a rigorous…
Music: Straight No Chaser
There are parallel realities in Straight No Chaser, the a cappella men’s singing group named simultaneously for Thelonious Monk’s brilliant 1967 album of the same name and the popular bartender command. Fifteen years ago, Indiana University student Don Ponce started a men’s chorus with nine fellow students, dubbing the aggregation Straight No Chaser. In short…
Music: The Koffin Kats
For a show focused on two skeevy, aimless teenagers, Beavis and Butt-Head sure has done a lot of good for the world. In its original run, the MTV program delivered endless numbers of gloriously stupid dirty jokes, set the stage for Daria, and gave hundreds of musicians exposure by way of playing music videos alongside…
Slow Food Happy Hour
Slow Food Cincinnati has a holiday happy hour party this Thursday, December 15 at the Bar at the Palm Court at the Netherland Hilton downtown. Pretty place, great food and drinks! There will be appetizer specials from the American Culinary Federation’s Chef of the Year Todd Kelly featuring Red Wattle Pork from Dean Family Farm,…
Morning News and Stuff
Ohio voter advocates say there was a big elephant in the room during the creation of Ohio's controversial redistricting map, and it was super tan and cried a lot. The Ohio Campaign for Accountable Redistricting says John Boehner was central in the process, working with map-making consultants and the National Republican Congressional Committee. Here's a…
Local Brewery Gets State Aid
The state of Ohio has approved funds to help a Cincinnati brewery expand its operations, as well as assisting two other local companies with projects. The state will spend $663,000 to assist the Samuel Adams Brewery Co. in expanding operations on Poplar Street in the West End. The money will go toward buying the property…
Music, Movies and the Not So Mundane
Barack Obama set off metal detectors Friday on his way back into the White House. "I just wanted to see what it was like getting in here," Obama said. "I think I beeped a couple of times." Obama shook hands with the gatehouse guards and talked football as he set off the metal detectors. The…
WATCH: 30-Minute Southgate House Documentary
In the summer of 2009, several student filmmakers from Northern Kentucky University decided to make a documentary about Newport music venue the Southgate House. With a soundtrack loaded with local music (Mack West, The Tillers and many others), the movie features some great historical information about the old mansion, lovely footage of the interior and…
Staff Changes at CityBeat
Yesterday CityBeat management internally announced a staff reorganization, and I wanted to publicly share the news and thoughts on what these changes mean for us and for you, our readers. As everyone knows, media companies have faced challenging issues during the last few years of economic downturn, and newspapers everywhere have laid off staff in…
Music, Movies and the Not So Mundane
David Fincher’s protégé Noble Jones is working on a low-budget remake of American Psycho. Originally a novel by Bret Easton Ellis (Rules of Attraction), American Psycho tells the tale of a yuppie serial killer by the name of Patrick Bateman running amok in the streets of New York City. The 2000 release, directed by Mary…
More Metromix Outlets Close
The Denver Post reported Thursday that Metromix, a series of entertainment websites owned by Enquirer parent Gannett Co., is closing its localized websites in seven cities. Metromix is closing its website operations in Denver, Atlanta, Cleveland, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Tampa and Washington, D.C. Each of the markets is where Gannett owns a television station but…
Squeeze the Day for 12/9
Music Tonight: The range of shows/concerts today is pretty impressive — you can see/hear everything from a patriotic Country singer at a casino (Lee Greenwood at Belterra) to a chainsaw-wielding Hard Rock band (Jackyl at the venue-formerly-known at Annie's, Inner Circle). If your speed clocks somewhere in the middle of those two extremes, I highly…
Your Weekend To Do List: 12/9-12/11
Santa Claus is coming to town a little early this year. SantaCon kicks off at noon Saturday, when Santas of all sorts will gather on Fountain Square, then disperse around the city, singing, passing out candy and bringing holiday cheer to area bars and restaurants. To participate, email santa@cincinnatisantacon.com and follow @CincySantacon on Twitter to…
Holiday Award Winners
I’ve extolled the virtues of White Christmas at the Covedale Center in my CityBeat review, but I’m not the only one who feels that way. The judging panel from the League of Cincinnati Theatres (LCT) has chimed in with an award for Dan Doerger, playing the role of Phil Davis, originated in the 1954 film…
White Christmas (Review)
Critic's Pick Showbiz is at the heart of White Christmas. The popular 1954 movie has been translated into a charming stage musical that’s premiering locally at the Covedale Center this month. (A touring production passed through Cincinnati in November 2009.) This backstage musical about good-hearted people putting on a show to save a struggling Vermont…
Cellphones Killed the Rock Star
At the City & Colour concert at Bogart's a while back, I watched as a woman in the front row texted her way through both of the great opening acts. I glanced around and discovered that she wasn’t the only one. I figured everyone would surely stop when Dallas Green and the rest of C&C…
Music, Movies and the Not So Mundane
The Walmart security team (read: elderly men who think they’re still in Korea) had it pretty easy when Timothy Randall Clark decided to try and steal $500 in video game products (read: a copy of the new Call of Duty for each one of his cousins) during the “Shop With a Cop” community program. Apparently…
Squeeze the Day for 12/8
Music Tonight: Ohio musical pioneers Rocket From the Tombs perform at the Southgate House with local greats Buffalo Killers and SS-20. Formed in 1974 in Northern Ohio, the pre-Punk legends might not get the credit of some of Punk's other earliest engineers, from New York and the U.K, but their importance in shaping the music…
Occupy Group is Recharging
After two days of testimony, the criminal trespassing trial of some Occupy Cincinnati protestors has been continued until Jan. 30 while attorneys on both sides continue to negotiate a possible resolution. Meanwhile, the Occupy Cincinnati group isn't resting; it will stage an event called “Recharge Weekend” on Saturday and Sunday, designed to boost the morale…
Recalling Religious Hysteria, Enquirer Firings and How Jesus Died
Fussing over the latest translations of the Roman Catholic Mass recalls one of the truly weird moments in my years as a religion reporter. It was more than 40 years ago when the New Order of the English-language Mass replaced the seemingly eternal Latin Tridentine Mass. Traditionalists hated the changes. In addition to some clumsy…
Music, Movies and the Not So Mundane
Alec Baldwin was kicked off an American Airlines flight due to depart from LAX after refusing to put away his phone before take off. Baldwin tweeted, "Flight attendant on American reamed me out 4 playing WORDS W FRIENDS while we sat at the gate, not moving. #nowonderamericaairisbankrupt." An airline representative declined to comment on the…
Squeeze the Day for 12/7
Music Tonight: Hailing from the same Tulsa, Okla., suburb (Broken Arrow) as singer/actress Kristin Chenoweth, Saturday Night Live comedian (and South Park writer) Bill Hader and Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Warren Spahn, singer/songwriter JD McPherson's upbringing found him youthfully exploring the music of Nirvana and The Stooges right alongside Carl Perkins and Buddy Holly,…
Art: Seekers
Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going? These questions, famously scrawled upon the surface of Paul Gauguin’s masterpiece of the same name, seem particularly relevant today. We’re all plagued by these uncertainties and perhaps none are more driven to answer them than the artist. Seekers, on view at the Fitton…
Literary: Joani Lacy
Eve Hollister is back, as is the banyan tree that looms so ominously near the recently restored Victorian home that Eve and her family believe is no longer haunted. Hollister House: The Banyan Tree Awakens — local author Joani Lacy's follow-up to 2008's atmosphere-drenched Hollister House and the second entry in what she says will…
Events: Reindog Parade
What is your loving four-legged friend doing while you are busy running around buying presents, decorating the house and sprinkling cookies? Do you wonder if he/she feels left out from all of the hoopla? And are you jealous that your pup does not have to deal with the stress of the season? Are you becoming…
Events: City Flea Wrapped Up
Wrap yourself up in the holiday spirit with the final City Flea Holiday Market this Saturday. If you’re looking for unique, handmade and locally created gifts for the holiday season, The City Flea is the place to shop as it celebrates its first year in Cincinnati. Wander the stalls of local vendors, visit with artists…
Know Theatre Screens Sundance Documentary Tonight
There's been a lot chatter in the vast, ever-opinionated movie blogosphere about the 2012 Sundance Film Festival's recently unveiled slate of films. Locally, the inclusion of Cincinnati native Todd Louiso's third directorial feature, Hello I Must Be Going, in the U.S. Dramatic competition is the most intriguing development. But there's also another noteworthy local Sundance…
Events: Cincinnati SantaCon
Didn’t know Cincinnati has an annual holiday-inspired flash mob full of barhopping, Christmas-caroling Santas? Well, we do and you can be a part of it. Kris Kringles take over Fountain Square around noon Saturday to spread a little Christmas cheer to all. The Santas will receive texts and tweets all day long, directing them when…
Events: Cincinnati Bombshells
When does an age-old craft like knitting become hip fiber art, street art and performance art? When it’s practiced by the Cincinnati BombShells yarn bombers, approximately 15 women ages 25-65 with sassy alter egos, Jackie O sunglasses and platinum wigs. The mostly secretive BombShells, led by Pinky Shears (fiber artist Pam Kravetz), knotted their status…
Art: A Whole New World
When artist Sheida Soleimani was 6, her Iranian upbringing became the focus of intrigue among her Cincinnati classmates. They wanted to know if she had a flying carpet like Aladdin. There is actually no mention of Aladdin flying on a carpet in the iconic tales of The Arabian Nights. Carpets, genies and the phantasmagoria of…
The Afghan Whigs to Reunite!
As people were busy contemplating the chance of the original Guns N’ Roses reteaming for their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction early next year, news came down that a Cincinnati Entertainment Awards "Hall of Fame" band (and one beloved, influential and respected worldwide) will definitely be reuniting in 2012. The Afghan Whigs will…
A Starlet is Born
Elizabeth Olsen looks just off camera at the voice serenading her. As the titular character in Martha, Marcy, May, Marlene, she watches as the leader of her new family — in actuality, a rural cult in upstate New York — strums his guitar and sings a song written for her. The shot stays distant and…
Love’s Labour’s Lost (Review)
A character man aptly named “Dull” in Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost is chastised for speaking “no word all this while.” He responds, “Nor understood none neither, sir.” Audiences at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s production might commiserate. But director Sara Clark assures us that not understanding “every word or all the puns in this play does not…
Rocket Men
What’s the most important Rock & Roll ever to come out of Ohio? A tough question, but a consensus is emerging that it was the Punk/Post Punk created by northeast Ohio bands in the late 1970s/early 1980s. Underground at the start, but then finding a foothold at indie (and major) labels, the wildly inventive and…
A Very Pop Punk Christmas
Though there are a few local bands that have been known to play only one show a year, they are mostly “reunited” bands who gather together for an annual event for fans (think psychodots, Ray’s Music Exchange, etc.). But the Punk Pop band Kevin and the Octaves might be the only active, successful act capable…
CRC and GOP Lawmakers
[WINNER] RECREATION COMMISSION: The agency that operates the city’s recreational facilities recently was recognized as one of the best in the nation. The Cincinnati Recreation Commission (CRC) was reaccredited by the National Recreation & Parks Association, and is one of just 97 agencies nationwide to receive the distinction. To become accredited, an agency must comply…
Nov. 30-Dec. 6: Worst Week Ever!
WEDNESDAY NOV. 30 Today was a good day for Hamilton County taxpayers, if by “Hamilton County taxpayers” you mean rich people who don’t want to pay their share of the stadium tax. County Commissioners Chris Monzel and Todd Portune today pulled off a back-room deal to save the property tax rollback for one year by…
Drake Sale a Bad Deal for Taxpayers
I f you’re like most people, you would jump at the chance to buy something that you wanted if it was offered at just one-third of its normal price. And if you were given an 85 percent discount, you would be considered a fool to pass it up. That’s exactly what happened last week when…
Strawberry Letter #4
W ussy’s members are in the MOTR Pub basement, basking in the post-Cincinnati Entertainment Awards glow after closing the 2011 ceremony with a clattering bang. The new songs from the just-released Strawberry are still gelling on stage, but the thrilling anticipatory undercurrent in Wussy’s performance suggests these fresh set additions are blossoming with time-lapse photography…
Stopping Unnecessary Roughness
M ichael Budkie has lasted 15 years in a career most people wouldn’t touch with a pooper-scooper: He studies the day-to-day life stories of animals stuck in laboratory experiments. “That’s not exactly the Sunday comics,” says the 52-year-old from Milford, who has a degree in Animal Health Technology from the University of Cincinnati, and another…
Bon Iver, Motley Crue, Melchior Rietveldt
[HOT] Biting the Hand That Pats Your Back? When it was announced that Wisconsin’s Bon Iver (essentially singer/songwriter Justin Vernon) had scored several Grammy nods (including Best New Artist and Record and Song of the Year), Indie music pundits declared Bon Iver this year’s Arcade Fire, the Canadian band that shockingly took home Album of…
Exiled from Main Street
When word broke one of my drinking buddies, Chris Glandorf, died unexpectedly some weeks back, I was beset by a deadline that I still have yet to meet. I sat in front of my computer, deflated, wondering how such a thing could be true, the long line of goodbyes delivered via Facebook testifying to its…
Pop Evil
This past May’s incarnation of Rock on the Range, the annual Hard Rock/Metal fest held in Columbus, Ohio, was far from noteworthy in terms of idiosyncratic performances. Heavyweights such as A Perfect Circle, Danzig and Korn played sets that were so technically well-orchestrated that they offered little in the way of spontaneity or unusual detail;…
JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound
Soul is what happens on both sides of the chicken wire in the roadhouse at the crossroads of passion and abandon. In the equation “heart + emotion + desire,” the answer is “Soul.” You can lose your way, your mind, your edge, your virginity, your baby, your freedom, your stash, your identity, your lovin’ feeling,…
Ric Hordinski with Daniel Martin Moore
As a kid, Monk guitarist/solo artist/producer Ric Hordinski fell under the spell of spiritual guitarist Phil Keaggy’s brilliant instrumental album, The Master and the Musician. Coincidentally, Hordinski played guitar on tour with Keaggy years later, the experience reawakening his interest in attempting his own instrumental album. Thus was born the Cincinnati-based guitar hero’s jaw-dropping wordless…
Jimmy G’s, a Cookbook, BBQ and Beer
What’s cooking in December? For a start, there’s the new cookbook from Chef Todd Kelly of Orchids at Palm Court. Kelly, the American Culinary Federation’s 2011 Chef of the Year, teamed up with local food blogger/Midwest Culinary Institute graduate Courtney Tsitouris of Epi-ventures to share recipes from one of my favorite restaurants in the city,…
Iron Horse Inn (Review)
A t the Iron Horse Inn in Glendale, there’s a new sheriff in town. His name is Chef Ernesto Luna, and he’s shaking things up a bit with a seasonal menu. As you dine at the Iron Horse, you’ll hear trains in the near distance and have a pretty good meal. The façade of the…
Which Holiday Show Should You See?
People often ask me to recommend the best holiday show. I can’t do it. Everyone has different tastes. You need to think about what appeals to you and choose accordingly. Cincinnati theaters offer lots of options. Many people prefer traditional shows. That’s why certain movies come back year after year — It’s a Wonderful Life,…
Tanner Hall
No doubt resuscitated this year for a brief theatrical (and now DVD) release in advance of star Rooney Mara’s high-profile role in David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, this previously undistributed coming-of-age tale follows the melodramatic adventures of four friends on the verge of graduation from an all-girls boarding school in Providence, R.I. …
A Whole New World
W hen artist Sheida Soleimani was 6, her Iranian upbringing became the focus of intrigue among her Cincinnati classmates. They wanted to know if she had a flying carpet like Aladdin. There is actually no mention of Aladdin flying on a carpet in the iconic tales of The Arabian Nights. Carpets, genies and the phantasmagoria…
Knitting a New Landscape
W hen does an age-old craft like knitting become hip fiber art, street art and performance art? When it’s practiced by the Cincinnati BombShells yarn bombers, approximately 15 women ages 25-65 with sassy alter egos, Jackie O sunglasses and platinum wigs. The mostly secretive BombShells, led by Pinky Shears (fiber artist Pam Kravetz), knotted their…
