Upcoming CAC Performances Define Musical Progressivism
The Contemporary Arts Center is so excited about a performance piece that musician Jace Clayton will be doing there in April that it’s bringing him here earlier — Friday — as an advance introduction to Cincinnati. Under curator Drew Klein, CAC’s performance series is now rivaling MusicNow for genre-defying musical progressivism. As part of the…
M Marks The Spot
M any Hyde Park residents already familiar with Cumin, the community’s six-year-old, “eclectic” fusion restaurant on Erie Avenue, have eagerly awaited Chef Owen Maass and owner Alex Mchaikhi’s latest venture, the neighboring M Wood Fired Oven. A little more than two months old, M uses its freshly-imported European oven as a centerpiece for its casual…
Where Art Meets Construction
M ark Dejong is a sculptor of buildings. The formally trained artist, who has participated in the reconstruction of older homes for most of his working life, bought a turn-of-the-century building four houses down from the warehouse in which he lives in late December 2011 for a mere $5,000 — an opportunity he couldn’t pass…
So Much for Socialism
A YouTube video that went viral over the weekend may have broken the rosy illusions the average American has about wealth and income inequality. Using data from Mother Jones , Dan Ariely , ThinkProgress and CNN , the video compares the average American’s ideal distribution of wealth, what the average American says wealth inequality looks…
The Funniest Video You’ll See Today
Though so far the closest it'll get to Cincinnati is Columbus, Ohio's LC Pavilion (June 8), the reunion tour for Platinum-selling Electronic Pop duo The Postal Service continues to add dates. While you anxiously await news of any shows closer to your hometown, you can sneak a peak at some recently unearthed footage of Jimmy…
Winter Storm Saturn!
Hey, guys. Hope you have some blankets, canned food and a hefty dose of unnecessary panic because we're about to get hit with 2-5 inches of snow. (Note: A dollar bill is 3 inches high.) While there is indeed a Winter Weather Advisory and Winter Storm Warning for the Tri-State through 1 p.m. tomorrow, today we're…
Morning News and Stuff
Two Ohio senators, including Senate Minority Leader Eric Kearney of Cincinnati, are pushing a bill that will require the state’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles to grant driver’s licenses to the children of illegal immigrants. The senators claim state BMV offices are inconsistently applying President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which allows the…
City Council Committee Approves Parking Plan
City Council’s Budget and Finance Committee today approved a plan to lease Cincinnati’s parking assets to the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority in a 4-3 vote, but the plan will require five votes to become law in a final City Council vote on March 6. Council members Roxanne Qualls, Yvette Simpson, Cecil Thomas and…
Parking Meter Company’s Past Problems Resurface
The company that would operate Cincinnati’s parking meters if the city passes its controversial parking plan this week was mired with audited problems and complaints in the past. The issues surfaced years before Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) was bought by Xerox in 2010, and Xerox now denies any wrongdoing. A 2007 audit found ACS had…
Forecastle Announces 2013 Festival Lineup
Louisville's giant Forecastle music festival, taking place July 12-14 (the same weekend as Cincinnati's Bunbury Music Festival), today announced its preliminary lineup. Headliners include Avett Brothers, The Black Keys, The Flaming Lips, Animal Collective, Jim James, Crow Medicine Show, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, Big Boi, Matt & Kim and Alabama Shakes. The festival is…
Morning News and Stuff
City Council may vote today on the controversial plan to lease the city’s parking assets to fund economic development and temporarily balance the deficit . On Friday, Councilman Chris Seelbach put forward Plan S , which would redirect $7.5 million in casino revenues, cut $5 million based on the results of the city’s priority-driven budgeting…
Stuck
This happened during one of those last days in January. Living in Covington, Ky., at the beginning of February, I was getting ready to move to another apartment building. Moving into a new apartment called for a new bed. I found one at Ikea that I liked. Having said that, what I don’t like about…
Seelbach Announces “Plan S” Budget Alternative
City Councilmember Chris Seelbach this afternoon released a third alternative to City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr.'s budget plans, both of which have received negative feedback from the public. Like Dohoney's "Plan B" (read about that here), Plan S would not lease the city's parking system to a private operator, a solution that citizens and officials…
SXSW Aid: Cincy Bands Headin’ South
Hard to believe, but the annual South By Southwest music showcase/festival/conference in Austin, Tex., kicks off in only 11 days. As always, the huge event is featuring some artists from the Greater Cincinnati area. Two SXSW-bound local acts are playing kick-off shows soon to help raise some funds for the trip (the price of gas…
Your Weekend To Do List: 3/1-3/3
Happy Bockfest! The annual event, which turns 21 this year, celebrates Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati’s brewing history and the coming of Spring. And goats. But mostly, beer! Bockfest weekend kicks off Friday with the parade, stepping off at 6 p.m. at Cincinnati’s oldest bar, Arnold’s, and continuing north on Main Street to Bockfest Hall (1619 Moore St.,…
Guest Blog: ‘Musicians’ Desk Reference’ Campaign Hits the Road
Brian Penick of local music promotions company The Counter Rhythm Group is guest blogging for CityBeat monthly to provide a behind-the-scenes look at his journey to release his interactive industry guidebook, Musicians' Desk Reference. For more on the project, visit its Facebook page here. Wow, what a month. Extreme highs and lows, minimal sleep and…
Threepenny Opera (Review)
Critic's Pick The historic musical theater work The Threepenny Opera is not an unfamiliar title. But I’d wager you’ve never seen it, because the 1928 piece by playwright Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill is better known today for its influence on more contemporary musicals such as Cabaret and Urinetown. That’s too bad, because it’s…
Did I Just See a Gay Kindle Commercial?
Last night around 9:30 I was just minding my own business, watching some harmless comedy shows on demand when a commercial came on that piqued my interest via a typically dumb interaction between a dude talking to a babe in a bikini. I was waiting for some type of cliché to end the interaction between…
Stage Door: Old and New
If you're looking for an unusual but gripping theatrical production this weekend, you should head straight to UC's College-Conservatory of Music for The Threepenny Opera. Don't think that this is some stuffy old piece from 1928, although that's when the show with a script by Bertoldt Brecht and music by Kurt Weill was first performed.…
Cinfolk: Sara Bornick
In “Cinfolk,” I ask interesting Cincinnati people doing interesting Cincinnati things questions I’d never get to ask for a traditional news story; the more interviews I do as a writer, the more I find myself daydreaming about what makes these people tick, aside from what I'd usually get to share in a traditional news story.…
Beardwatch 2013
Survivor: Caramoan – Fans vs. Favorites airs every Wednesday at 8 p.m. on CBS. Watch this week’s episode, “There’s Gonna Be Hell To Pay” here. (Skip to the last minute to check out a preview of next week’s ep, “Kill Or Be Killed.") This recap primarily follows the fans because the local Matt Bischoff and…
Music Tonight: Mountains, Buddy & Jim and more
• Cinematic Indie alchemists Mountains perform a free show tonight at Mayday in Northside. Led by longtime pals Brendon Anderegg and Koen Holtkamp, Mountains formed in Chicago and are now based in New York. The band, which electronically "abstracts" and manipulates cello, acoustic guitar, piano and other instruments into unique, ethereal sounds, is touring in…
Morning News and Stuff
The tone was negative once again in the final public hearing for the city manager’s plan to lease the city’s parking system. Of the two dozen speakers, only four were positive. Tabitha Woodruff, who is with the Ohio Public Interest Research Group, voiced mixed feelings about the plan: “As we feared it provides a short-term…
City Manager Lists Alternatives to Parking Plan
If City Council does not agree to lease Cincinnati’s parking system, the city manager’s office says the city will be forced to lay off 344 employees, including 80 firefighter and 189 police positions, but critics argue there are better alternatives. In a memo dated to Feb. 26 , City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. wrote that…
Over-the-Rhine Eco Garden Could Be Forced to Relocate
Leaders of a quiet Over-the-Rhine civic garden that harvests produce like peaches, tomatoes, garlic and blackberries to sell at Findlay Market are worried they could be forced to relocate after calling the same spot home since 1998. CitiRama, a partnership between the Cincinnati Homebuilders Association and the city of Cincinnati that holds annual or biannual…
County Approves Memorial Hall Lease
The Hamilton County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a 40-year agreement with the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) that will lease the county-owned Memorial Hall and provide renovations to the 105-year-old building. County officials have long said the building, which is used to host concerts, shows and speaking events, is in dire need of…
Music: They Might Be Giants
There’s no “might” about it — John Flansburgh and John Linnell stand as giants of the “Alternative music” revolution. Formed in 1982, They Might Be Giants have charmed their way into the hearts and minds of hundreds of thousands of music lovers over the years. While the duo’s clever songwriting is nearly impossible to “copy”…
Event: 2013 Northside Female Drag Queen of the Year Pageant
Northside non-profit Caracole, which provides safe and affordable housing and support services to people and families living with HIV/AIDS, knows how to put the “fun” in “fundraiser” — we’d say drag show set in a bar is a pretty solid recipe for success. Come out for Caracole’s inaugural drag queen pageant, where female Caracole employees…
Event: Cincinnati Home and Garden Show
The importance of keeping your home looking sharp inside and out is a difficult and time-consuming project. The DIY mentality is alive and well in modern home design, and if you’re in need of some guidance, you might get a few ideas at the Cincinnati Home and Garden Show. As the largest and longest running…
Event: Macy’s Arts Sampler 2013
Thanks to our friends at Macy’s, we can use these next couple months to discover and observe various types of art that make up our great city. The Macy’s Arts Sampler will go on for two more Tuesdays: March 2 and April 13. On these days, people all around the region can enjoy free theater, music, dance,…
Event: Night Owl Market Kickoff
Last spring, two ladies with a mutual love for food and downtown Cincinnati changed the landscape of local late-night munchies forever when they launched Night Owl Market, the monthly gathering/party/foodfest where food trucks, local artisans and live music coalesce to form a haven for hungry people all around Over-the-Rhine. Stop by after a night at…
Event: Bockfest
Celebrate Cincinnati’s German past, debauched and medieval at this year’s festival of deliciously dark goat-beer. It all starts off with a meandering parade, replete with beer-bellied monks (who historically made nutritious bocks for fasting), goats and floats. It’s always a bunch of fun and there’s usually a bit of rain, so be sure to stand…
Onstage: Why Do Fools Fall in Love?
Even as Million Dollar Quartet is still shakin’ things up at the Aronoff, the Covedale Center for the Performing Arts this week kicks off a different kind of quartet with a lot of familiar Pop melodies. This less famous foursome is a bachelorette party that not only sings classic numbers from the ’60s — including “My…
UC’s Return to Conference USA Days
The Big East is officially a mid-major. Not that it’s a surprise, but the agreement on a TV deal with ESPN for $130 million over seven years seals it. Just remember, two years ago the conference rejected a deal that would pay it $130-$150 million annually in hopes for greater riches. Yes, it’s easy to…
Cincinnati in Running for $5 Million to Reduce Infant Mortality
Babies in Cincinnati don’t get the same chance to celebrate a first birthday as do babies in other areas across the country, and Mayor Mark Mallory has entered Cincinnati into a contest that could change that. A proposal Mallory submitted was selected Feb. 20 as one of 20 finalists from more than 305 cities in the…
UC Researchers Could Redefine Location of Food Deserts
Food deserts are a big problem for many of Hamilton County’s impoverished families, but University of Cincinnati professor Michael Widener is heading research that looks into how mobility can alter perceptions about neighborhoods that lack access to healthy foods. So far, his findings have suggested that some people might have access to healthy foods throughout…
Inspection Finds Dangerous Conditions at Private Prison
A surprise inspection of the private prison owned by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) on Feb. 22 revealed higher levels of violence, inadequate staff, high presence of gang activity, illegal substance use, frequent extortion and theft, according to the report from the Correctional Institution Inspection Committee (CIIC), Ohio’s nonpartisan prison watchdog. The CIIC report found…
Comedy: James Johann
Like many comics, James Johann landed in the stand-up business after washing out at a number of other vocations. “I used to be a welder,” he recalls. “I don’t know what I made. They never even told me what I was working on. It might have been golf carts, might have been the space shuttle,…
Cincinnati vs. The World 02.27.2013
Downtown Cincinnati is on track to receive its own high-end grocery store on the ground level of the proposed apartment complex at Fourth and Race streets; it’s supposed to focus heavily on fresh produce, something the area has lacked widespread access to for years. CINCINNATI +2 Wildlife experts are trying to decide whether or not…
Buddy (and Jim) Picture
Over the course of the past 20 years or so, Jim Lauderdale and Buddy Miller have both experienced a certain rise in their respective rootsy Country profiles. Miller has become one of Nashville, Tenn.’s hottest speed-dial numbers, as an artist, a guitarist-for-hire (a role he has performed for Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris and Robert Plant,…
Sequester Looms as Republicans Refuse Negotiations
Washington, D.C., is once again on the verge of another manufactured crisis. On March 1, the sequester, a series of mandated spending cuts, is set to kick in, threatening the country with another round of austerity measures that will cut jobs and bring down an already-fragile economy. But instead of acting to prevent the cuts,…
Art: Daap Galleries’ Artist Reception, Rise and Fall: Monumental Duct Tape Drawings
Contemporary artists who use non-traditional media to create their work often muddy the lines between categories of drawing, sculpture and painting. Philadelphia-based Joseph Girandola is one such artist who pushes those boundaries, and his large-scale drawings of iconic cultural symbols as the Taj Mahal, the leaning Tower of Pisa and Stonehenge will be on display…
Parking Stimulus
O n Feb. 19, City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. announced what he called a “public-public partnership” that would give control of Cincinnati’s parking assets to the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority to fund more than $110 million in economic development and help balance the city’s budget for the next two years. The plan, which…
Greater Cincy-Spawned Releases Celebrated
Sweet Spirit, the new album from phenomenal local Blues/Rock singer/guitarist Kelly Richey , will be celebrated with a release party this Friday at West Side club Legends ( legendscincinnati.com ). Showtime is 8 p.m. and admission is $10. The 10-track Sweet Spirit is Richey’s 10th studio effort and first to feature the always-impressive bass playing…
The Sweetest Thing
P am Kravetz is the hostess with the mostess. The big-hearted artist rarely shies from attention. Her craving began in kindergarten, when she was sent to the principal for wearing go-go boots and a miniskirt, continued at the University of Cincinnati as the Bearcat mascot and persists today as her alter-ego Pinky Shears, who leads…
Morning News and Stuff
A report issued by Director of Public Services Michael Robinson found Findlay Market would be the best place for a freestanding public restroom , which could cost as little as $35,000. The idea has been heavily pushed by Councilman Chris Seelbach, who has argued that the restrooms are necessary to accommodate a growing population and…
Worst Week Ever!: Feb. 20-26
WEDNESDAY FEB. 20 Cincinnati Police Chief James Craig has been in charge for less than two years but admits that he would “consider it” if Detroit offered him the opportunity to take over as police chief there. That position has recently become available after the man who was selected over him for the job in…
Take a Ride with Me
I have a vision for Cincinnati. It is borne of my own selfish needs and desires, but if implemented it could have the kind of positive impact we always preach about. One day, I want to be able to use a public transportation system that has evolved to meet the flexible schedule of a truly…
The F-word
For a country in which a majority of the residents are overweight, America sure hates fat people. As it’s been reported and discussed on many platforms, fat hate is one of the last acceptable forms of discrimination. “Fat” itself is something of an expletive today — when it’s actually used, it is generally meant to…
Let Me Take You down, ‘Cause I’m Going
Sadly, I will keep writing columns like this one, only this time about Strawberry Edwards. So long as black Cincinnatians keep killing other black Cincinnatians, I will write columns like this one. This is a dirge. This is a lamentation for we, the living, who feel vacancies, stricken as we are by confusion and loss…
I Just Can’t Get Enough
Beardwatch 2013 Last week on Survivor, most of the episode was devoted to the Bikal tribe, aka the Favorites. Our homeboy Matt Bischoff didn’t get a ton of airtime, but was selected to join an alliance with Sherri, Laura, Julia, Shamar and Mike. The other alliance, referred to as “The Lovers,” is comprised of the…
