Feds Nix Metropole Claim
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has informed attorneys that it’s rejected a fair housing complaint involving downtown’s Metropole Apartments. Kelly Leon, a spokeswoman for the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC), said its attorney informed the organization today that a complaint filed by Metropole tenants had been turned down.—- The Metropole…
Onstage: The 39 Steps
Sound familiar? That’s because Alfred Hitchcock used The 39 Steps for a 1935 thriller. But it’s found new life as a hit theatrical piece, a Tony Award winner that’s transferred to an off-Broadway venue where it’s still pulling in big crowds. Some find this inventive stage production more engaging than Hitchcock’s film, and it’s certainly…
Music: Amina Figarova Sextet
While Amina Figarova’s credentials and talents as a Classical concert pianist are evident, she has found a greater affinity for Jazz trailblazers like Wayne Shorter, Miles Davis, Horace Silver and Bill Evans, among others. But Figarova is no mere stylistic parrot. With over a dozen discs in her catalog, she stands as a true compositional…
Events: Taste of Northern Cincinnati
Some of us have little reason to visit the northern part of our fair city, largely due to the city of Forest Park’s pretty clear indication that we aren’t welcome (apparently lifetime banishment from Forest Fair Mall transfers to whatever new name it takes on). But being unwelcome in Bass Pro Shops won’t stop us…
Events: Bockfest
The Over-the-Rhine Foundation and the Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewing Co. have teamed up for this year’s 18th annual Bockfest, a celebration of German brewing heritage, Over-the-Rhine and the coming of spring. Friday kicks off the weekend-long festival with the Bockfest Parade. The parade, which starts at Arnold’s at 5:30 p.m., will travel up Main Street led by…
Good Moves and Positive Change
The Dish brings you today’s moments in optimism! Not all news is negative — no, no, no! Some of our favorite local dining spots are doing quite well, thank you, and expanding their operations. Bouchard’s at Findlay Market, source of wonderful fresh, homemade pasta and sauces so delicious they make you want to eat them…
Brooklyn’s Finest (Review)
All of the Six Degrees of Separation/Kevin Bacon mental gamesmanship generated by a star-studded ensemble cast could detract from the simple, propulsive narrative drive of a film like Brooklyn’s Finest, but director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) boldly dares audiences to play the game anyway. And, for the most part, his gambit pays off. For his…
Music: The Architects with Flogging Molly
When it comes to points of comparison, The Architects chiefly receive it by way of two types of Rock & Roll groups: the long dissolved (The Clash, The Replacements, Husker Du) and the aged but still chugging along (AC/DC, The Who, Queen). Sonic similarities aside, Phillips feels a kinship with older bands because he perceives…
Events: Cinciditarod
If you’ve ever dreamed of joining Jack London on a wild, Alaskan adventure in which you’re driving a team of dogs across the tundra, well, dream on. Until then, there’s the Cinciditarod and a shopping cart full of verve. Cheer on as local teams (people, not dogs) drag grocery carts on a five-mile race course…
Events: PWC’s Oscar Night
The 82nd annual Academy Awards takes place on Sunday. That means so does People Working Cooperatively’s annual Oscar Night party, one of only 52 official Oscar night parties in America sanctioned by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. And this party, themed “It Came from Hollywood,” is more than just an evening of…
Comedy: Brent Weinbach
Comedian Brent Weinbach sounds weary. “I just got back from India,” he explains. “I went for a wedding then I traveled around the country a little bit.” He didn’t perform there, though he has entertained folks in Japan. “Not comedy, but modern dance. Just kidding.” Actually, Weinbach is an accomplished pianist and will sometimes favor…
Art: PAINT and Selections from INDA at Manifest
Manifest Gallery's juried shows seem to be broadening in reach. The gallery’s new PAINT exhibit features 21 works by 17 artists from 12 states as well as Belgium, Hong Kong and Thailand. It occurs just as interest in painting is growing again in contemporary art circles, which seem to be tired of conceptual, installation and…
Art: The Art of Food at the Carnegie
The edibility factor rules at the annual Art of Food exhibit at Carnegie Visual & Performing Arts Center, a once-a-year celebration of the meeting of art and comestibles presided over by both artistic and culinary masters. Visual and culinary treats abound when top area artists like Eric Brass, Bruce Frank, Suzanne Prouix and others, and…
Music: Vetiver with the Buffalo Killers
Over a decade and a half ago, one of Greensboro, N.C.’s strongest bands was The Raymond Brake, an idiosyncratic quintet that earned favorable comparisons to the likes of The Grifters and Polvo. When The Raymond Brake ground to a screeching halt in 1998, guitarist/vocalist Andy Cabic packed up and headed for San Francisco, where he…
Something Extra
In Cajun/Creole culture, “lagniappe” (pronounced “lan-yap”) generally describes a tip for services rendered or additional items proffered from retailer to customer in appreciation of a transaction. But the literal translation of the French-derived word is, as drummer/percussionist Yvan Verbesselt notes, “something extra, something special.” That's precisely what Cincinnati’s Cajun-and-more sextet Lagniappe delivers on a regular…
Pressing ‘Pause’
“My radio, believe me, I like it loud/ I'm the man with the box that can rock the crowd”— LL Cool J It's been said that what's old becomes new again. Watching Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveil the new iPad helped to solidify my decision about the vintage boombox that I'd recently purchased off eBay.…
Cincinnati Guerrilla Queer Bar Celebrates B-Day
Cincinnati's Guerrilla Queer Bar is about to turn one! That means they're celebrating one whole year of transforming popular straight bars (e.g, Cadillac Ranch, the Pavilion) into a flashmob of "queer dance-love-heaven" for one night, the first Friday of the month.—- Organized by local activist and artist Ethan Philbrick, the events are open to anyone…
MPMF Registration Now Open
Is it really that time again? It seems like just yesterday that we were jumping from one packed MPMF venue to another, checking out everyone from local favorites to national and international gems to local favorites turned (inter)national gems. Yes, bands and artists the world over can now register to take part in the 2010…
In All Her Enunciated Glory
Maybe you’ve heard her on BBC Radio via the Internet, when she’s filled in for Diane Rehm on National Public Radio or seen her as a pundit on one of TV’s political talk shows. No matter, British journalist Katty Kay has a growing American fan base.—- Kay is coming to town next week as part…
Tea Party: Candidates Must Be ‘Civil’
In an event designed to highlight the scope of its influence, the Cincinnati Tea Party hosted a press conference Feb. 24 with its candidates lining the stage of the Lakota Freshmen Campus Auditorium in West Chester. With 101 candidates ranging from precinct captain to Congressional hopefuls filling three risers on the stage, they were outnumbered…
Anything Goes (Review)
Critic's Pick Some contemporary theatergoers bemoan today’s lack of tuneful musicals. That’s because of shows like Cole Porter’s 1934 hit, Anything Goes, currently at UC’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). Roughly 30 performers (few Broadway musicals today could afford a cast that large) perform tunes that have been standards for decades: “You’re the Top,” “It’s De-Lovely,”…
Othello (Review)
Considering the talent and sensitivity of the people involved onstage and in the director’s chair, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s Othello is a disappointment. Comparing this production with previous work by virtually everyone, especially director Drew Fracher, it’s a severe disappointment. Little is egregiously wrong. Nobody falls down. Nobody goes up in his or her lines. But…
Planting a New Play, Watching It Grow
Pop quiz: After William Shakespeare, who’s the most frequently produced playwright in Cincinnati? How about Steven Dietz? Who? By my estimate, Cincinnatians have seen 10 of his shows over the past few years. His recent play Becky’s New Car opens March 10 at Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati (ETC), the fifth of his 30 or so…
Local Corporations Tried to Control Health Care Costs Before, and They Failed
General Electirc boss Jeffrey Immelt wants major businesses to create a regional cooperative to deal with major shortcomings — limited access, rising costs — of our health system. I quote The Enquirer: “Immelt outlined a possible plan that could include combined insurance coverage shared among area companies. The plan would include a wellness treatment and…
The Architects with Flogging Molly and Frank Turner
When it comes to points of comparison, The Architects chiefly receive it by way of two types of Rock & Roll groups: the long dissolved (The Clash, The Replacements, Husker Du) and the aged but still chugging along (AC/DC, The Who, Queen). The Kansas City, Mo.-born four-piece's lead vocalist/guitarist, however, doesn't mind being in the…
Amina Figarova Sextet
If the United Nations is looking for a Jazz pianist, Amina Figarova would certainly fit the bill. Born in Azerbaijan, she played and composed at a prodigal age, then studied formally at her homeland’s Baku Conservatory before abandoning her Classical concert curriculum in favor of the Jazz performance programs at the Rotterdam Conservatory and the…
Vetiver with Buffalo Killers
Over a decade and a half ago, one of Greensboro, N.C.’s strongest bands was The Raymond Brake, an idiosyncratic quintet that earned favorable comparisons to the likes of The Grifters and Polvo. When The Raymond Brake ground to a screeching halt (sorry, couldn’t resist) in 1998, guitarist/vocalist Andy Cabic packed up and headed for San…
Chabot Is What Now?
Republican Steve Chabot, who’s trying to win his old Congressional seat back from Democrat Steve Driehaus, is one of 10 candidates chosen for the GOP’s “Young Guns” program this year. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) selects candidates for the program, which is designed to offer training and assistance to challengers in districts deemed vulnerable…
Music: Small Time Crooks and I Am the Messenger
At The Mad Hatter two local bands team up for a dual release party celebrating their latest creations. And the disparity between the their musical styles is a great testament to how local bands don’t seem too concerned about genre classification, at least in terms of what bands they play shows with. With the entire…
Will Kimbrough, Alkaline Trio, Shout Out Louds and More
Is there some government rebate program that I’m blithely unaware of that’s offering a cash bonus for releasing an album on Feb. 23? That can be the only explanation because, sweet Aunt Fanny, this Tueday’s release sheet was more full of shit than my old man on a fifth of scotch. Due to the inexplicable…
Pet Pantry Distributes Food
People who are having trouble providing pet food or cat litter for their pets during the recession can receive free temporary assistance from the newly created Cincinnati Pet Food Pantry.—- The non-profit pantry, founded by Recycled Doggies and the Pet Alliance, will hold its first distribution day on March 6 at the Queen City Self-Storage…
Friday Movie Roundup: February Blues
It’s been a typically lean February on the movie front. How bad? Well, of the 16 movies that have opened this month, only four have received positive reviews from CityBeat writers, two of which are opening at The Esquire this week (Untitled and The White Ribbon), and only one of which is a true multiplex…
Berding’s Proposal Prompts Boycott Call
A long-simmering dispute about how much oversight should be imposed on a contractor that doles out city money for neighborhood projects is heating up again. Just when it looked like Cincinnati officials were about to restore a contract to Invest In Neighborhoods Inc. (IIN) to manage the city’s Neighborhood Support Program (NSP), a stumbling block…
Dual CD Release Party: Small Time Crooks and I Am the Messenger
At The Mad Hatter two local bands team up for a dual release party celebrating their latest creations. And the disparity between the their musical styles is a great testament to how local bands don’t seem too concerned about genre classification, at least in terms of what bands they play shows with. With the entire…
Dem Chairman Faces Challenger
After years of increasing grumbling among some of the party’s rank-and-file members, Hamilton County Democratic Party Chairman Tim Burke will face a challenger for his post later this spring. Darren Tolliver, the party’s treasurer who also served as treasurer for candidate Brian Garry in his 2007 Cincinnati City Council race, told precinct executives this week…
Blame It on Capra
As the latest issue of Time magazine spells out, our government is frozen because Senate Republicans are playing a game, blocking virtually all important bills that the Democratic majority wants to pass, especially much-needed health-care reform. That such a political strategy is cruelly un-public-spirited in its refusal to work with a majority to solve problems…
Under the Influence
I can’t say I know this person. She’s really just an acquaintance I run into every now and then. but apparently she feels like she knows me well enough — or more likely had enough drinks in her — to send me some text messages. Here’s an exchange one night a few weeks ago. “Hey…
William Eggleston the ‘Big Star’ of CAM’s ‘Starburst’
In the new Cincinnati Art Museum exhibit Starburst: Color Photography in America 1970-1980, a key point is that this work was tough stuff in its time. The art world couldn’t understand why the new, upcoming photographers were eschewing artful black-and-white compositions and colorful nature landscapes to concentrate on banal, even grotesque shots of unglamorous everyday…
Digging Cole
Between the teetering economy and the wildly erratic music industry, it would require balls of absolute platinum to start a record label now. And those shiny cojones in your Jo Boxers are likely to be the only platinum you’ll experience if your label deals primarily in 7-inch vinyl singles. Terry Cole is aware of the…
Increasing the Odds
Michaele Pride kicked off the Feb. 20 casino design charette at the Art Academy of Cincinnati with a reiteration of one point everyone in the room needed to remember. “We are not in doubt about whether or not a casino may be built,” said the urban design chair of the Cincinnati chapter of the American…
Kevin Flynn and Koch Foods
[LOSER] KOCH FOODS: The company that operates a chicken packaging factory in Fairfield recently paid $536,046 in fines for violating U.S. immigration laws. In August 2007, federal agents and Butler County sheriff’s deputies raided Koch’s factory on a tip from a citizen and arrested 161 undocumented immigrants who worked there plucking chickens. The raid was…
Release Party Two-fer!
This Friday at Covington’s Mad Hatter, two local bands team up for a dual release party celebrating their latest creations. And the disparity between the their musical styles is a great testament to how local bands don’t seem too concerned about genre classification, at least in terms of what bands they play shows with. For…
COAST, Finney Helped Create Stadium Mess
Some politicians and activists hate the media. Although they might say it’s because of a perceived bias in coverage, the truth is it usually has more to do with holding them accountable for past words and deeds that otherwise might be long forgotten. For example, consider the current ranting and raving by the Coalition Opposed…
Watching Art Unfold
“Time is a good tool for me,” Jay Bolotin says. His Jackleg Testament: Part Two project, a work-in-progress now being shown at Carl Solway Gallery in the West End, will be finished in three or four years. “It’s a voyage of discovery for me,” he says. “I don’t have a schedule in mind. You cross…
Feb. 17-23: Worst Week Ever!
WEDNESDAY FEB. 17During high school it’s common for the basketball coach to post cuts on the gym wall, causing significant embarrassment when most kids have to walk over and see that they didn’t make the team. The city of Cincinnati today felt like the 5-foot-2-inch slow kid in class when it learned that its bid…
Rick Astley Rejected Again, Sting Not Embarrassed, Whitney Stinks Up Australia
[HOT] Viral RejectionThe wet willy of the Internet, Rickrolling (whereby you send someone a link to a video with an irresistible subject line like “Oh man, you gotta see this!,” the video turns out to be for the cheesy ’80s song “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley (pictured) and hilarity ensues for, oh,…
No End in Sight
As envisioned by President Obama, the proposed 3C high-speed passenger train system — connecting Cincinnati to Columbus and Cleveland — is all about investing in the future. Once completed, the 250-mile corridor will travel through 12 economically distressed counties and help create thousands of direct and indirect jobs, supporters say. The rail line will serve…
Bronson
Charles Bronson is Britain’s most dangerous prisoner. No, not the badass American actor of Death Wish fame. Charles Bronson is the nickname of Michael Peterson, a criminal incarcerated in the British penal system for the past 34 years — 30 of which have been spent in solitary confinement. Though relatively unknown in the U.S., Bronson…
Transmigration: Creativity Under the Grow Lights
On Feb. 19 and 20, I spent about six hours at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music wandering from room to room and space to space to see theatrical works created by students in CCM’s drama program. The “event” is called Transmigration, a term that suggests souls that are evolving, and that’s pretty much…
CS13 Grass Roots Grant Dinner
As part of their Creative Economy exhibit, CS13 is hosting a grass roots grant dinner at 5 p.m. on March 14, where all creative types are invited to submit a project proposal in order to get a little financial boost. The Creative Economy exhibit deals with art and economics, particularly the prospects for creative sustainability…
