Books: Mid-Century Snapshot
Sarge Marsh Mid-Century cheer: The Tyler-Davidson Fountain during Christmas season. You wouldn't know the place. Mid-Century City: Cincinnati at the Apex shows us a Cincinnati full of zip, making things, confident of its role and, however wide-eyed at disasters like the 1937 flood, as ready to have fun as to do business. Striding through…
Upcoming Concert Review of Flogging Molly, K-os and More…
Sideonedummy Records Flogging Molly FLOGGING MOLLY WITH STREET DOGS AND TWOPOINTEIGHT Saturday · Bogart's Even after the advent of Rock and its many permutations, the only point of reference most people had with Celtic music was the sound of a pennywhistle, the rough-hewn Folk of The Chieftains and the antiseptic Gaelic reels of the…
Music: The Yorn Supremacy
Jim Wright Pete Yorn says he loves to throw unexpected cover songs into his sets, often picking songs associated with the city he's playing. Like any creative discipline, the craft of songwriting takes time to develop. But in the fickle world of today's music industry, artists are rarely given enough time and room to…
Cover Story: Fuming Over the Smoking Ban
Graham Lienhart Allison Kate and Jeff Blum smoke the hookah at Andy's Mediterranean Grill. The smoking ban is especially troublesome to local hangouts that specialize in smoking ambiance. While some restaurants attract clientele solely on food and ambiance, Andy's Mediterranean Grill and Havana Martini Club depend on smoking to help create their entertainment. Majed…
Film: Southern Blues
Woodrow J. Hinton Christina Ricci scratches an itch in Black Snake Moan. Black Snake Moan is something to behold. Teetering on the edge of complete outrageousness but never less than sincere, this far-out fable centers on Rae (Christina Ricci), a white-trash skank with an insatiable sexual itch whose anxiety kicks into high gear when…
Music: Cult of Personality
Robert Bahner/BlueOysterCult.com Though well past their hit-making days, Blue 214yster Cult continue to creatively dabble in sci-fi mythology and progressive Hard Rock. I've seen Blue Oyster Cult (BOC) seven times in concert, once naked — me, not them. Keep that in your pocket for a moment and I'll explain it after some context. BOC…
It’s About Time
What does time mean to you? Timing is everything. Time heals. Is it precious, wasted, so little? If only you had more! Is it meaningless, standing still or flying by? Do you take your time doing things or have just enough time to get things done? Are you early, late or right on time? Is…
Midwest Thugs
Hot Arrrrrrg! Top Pirate Schools Announced The Recording Industry Association of America has announced its list of the Top 25 music-piracy school in the country, signifying colleges that have received the most copyright infringement notices for illegal downloading on school computers. The RIAA says they've sent out three times as many notices this school year…
Living Out Loud: : History and Friendships
Susan and I happened to meet on a sidewalk downtown last week. She and I worked together back in 1994, and I probably haven't seen her in almost 10 years. I asked if she still stayed in touch with Sam. She told me he was killed in an auto crash three years ago. She assumed…
Diner: Betta? You Betcha!
Joe Lamb Pizza, pizza, pizza! A word that conjures up slumber parties of our past, after-game high school dates and Jerri Blank, a 46-year-old high school freshman. (Is Strangers with Candy only a cultural touchstone for me?) Pizza's also the word at Betta's Italian Oven, which specializes in the thin crust, wood-fired variety. Nestled…
News to Use
The End of the Collaborative How is the Collaborative Agreement on Police-Community Relations faring? Signed in 2002, the agreement is scheduled to expire in August. Civil rights attorney Al Gerhardstein discusses the status of the agreement in a forum at noon March 1 at Christ Church Cathedral downtown. Lunch is available for $5, or you…
News: Pollution for the Poor
Natalie Hager Councilman David Crowley wants an environmental justice policy for Cincinnati. Many people across the country know the Zip code area 45232 as a "toxic donut," with the residential neighborhoods of Winton Hills, Winton Place and Spring Grove surrounded by more than 50 polluting industrial facilities, according to local activists. Yet many Tri…
No Surprises: Huggins Is Doing Great and UC Is Struggling
Jerry Dowling They held a big high school basketball showcase game Feb. 25 in Manhattan. That's Manhattan, Kansas. Who ever heard of anything so ridiculous? They didn't even hear of it, perhaps, in Manhattan, Kan., where only about 3,200 people showed up. But that's what happens when the new basketball coach in town is…
Onstage: Bare Essentials
Mark Lyons (L-R) Mitchell Walker, Danny Visconti and Colt Prattes star in The Full Monty. The musical theater program at UC's College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) always does an impressive job, even with shows that don't deserve it. Sometimes mediocre material is redeemed. And sometimes a production overshoots the work itself. That's the case with…
Cover Story: Raving On
Katie Freshley Twirling glow sticks are popular sidearms at raves When sent on assignment to check out a rave, I wasn't sure there would even be three people in the club. I had been under the impression that raves or "parties" were totally dead. Sparkly and shiny and fuzzy, but dead nonetheless. So when…
Cover Story: Do You Feel Lucky, Punk?
Graham Lienhart Do you feel lucky, punk? Casinos and drinking go together like sex and cigarettes. They're all vices, but one is particularly fun after the other. It is with that in mind that this year's Swizzle sets out to cover, beyond your run-of-the-mill taverns and gin joints, the bar scenes adjacent to the…
Lunch at Pigall’s Quite an Experience
The origins of elegance can be illusive. Is it waitstaff that serves from the left and takes from the right? Bone china and Riedel glassware? Unpronounceable menu names? Expensive ingredients? Whatever alchemy produces the grace of fine dining, Jean-Robert at Pigall's (127 W. Fourth St., Downtown, 513-721-1345) is steeped in it. Where else will you…
Cover Story: Studio 54, Where Are You?
Joe Lamb The old Redfish has a new lease on life as the Irish pub Sully's As a steadily increasing number of party-seekers are foregoing their old haunts in Over-the-Rhine in lieu of greener, admittedly safer-feeling pastures, there's a rumble downtown. Following the lead of Fountain Square's ongoing facelift, the downtown basin has begun…
Cover Story: Where Do You Go for the After Party?
Scott Beseler Shanghai Mama's is popular with service workers If you've ever worked as a waiter or bartender, you know that the hours are long, the tips aren't necessarily dependable and when you get off there are very few places open that want to serve you. Perhaps you've tired of Taco Bell and want…
Letter Rip
To the Editor, I've subscribed to The Bob Woodiwiss Times for nearly two decades. In that time, your newspaper has proven to be an indispensable source of news, information and insight about the world and its relation to Bob Woodiwiss. I was, therefore, greatly dismayed by your facile, inflammatory Op-Ed piece, "Tequila: Big Mistake" (Feb.…
2007 Cincinnati Fringe Festival
Joan Marcus CCM gradaute Katie Klaus (second from right) in a recent production of Follies in New York City. Check the CityBeat blog on Saturday for a first glance at the list of 30 productions that will have 150 performances onstage during the 2007 CINCINNATI FRINGE FESTIVAL (May 30-June 9). The Fringe, now wholly…
Mallory: ‘They Really Like Us’
Graham Lienhart Mayor Mark Mallory predicts improvement in the homicide rate this year. Last year was another record-breaking year for homicides in Cincinnati, but during his annual State of the City address last week Mayor Mark Mallory said progress was made in fighting crime during his first year in office. Appearing before a near-capacity…
Art: Enabling Abolition
Joe Lamb Terrie Puckett, manager of the Freedom Center's Slavery Institute, is the curator of Invisible, an exhibition designed to shed light on modern-day slavery. Drive out Reading Road and keep going about three miles past Xenia and you'll arrive in Wilberforce, Ohio, where they know about the English abolitionist William Wilberforce. Yet even…
Let’s Take a Chance, Post
As a UC student in 1981, I attended a seminar in which Cincinnati Enquirer Executive Editor George Blake — bright, bold and arrogant — bluntly said he would kill The Cincinnati Post if Gannett would permit him. But alas, Blake reminded, The Post's demise would have to wait until of the end of their joint…
Film: Aging Gracefully
CityBeat Archive Engaged and engaging: 109-year-old composer Leo Ornstein, one of several artists who appear in the documentary Do Not Go Gently Cincinnati filmmaker Melissa Godoy sets out to discover how we can "stay whole against the assault of old age" in her new documentary, Do Not Go Gently. The film tackles a subject…
Manuel’s Labor
Texas native/Cincinnati transplant Steve Manuel landed in the Queen City with a handful of tuneful Pop/Rock songs he was eager to record. As his new CD shows, he found the right guys to work with here in Cincy, teaming up with renowned producer/guitarist Ric Hordinski and producer/drummer Josh Seurkamp, known for their work locally with…
Locals Only: : The Sweep
Sara Yaste The Sweep Once the smoke clears, he claims the band's name heralds from the days of the Cincinnati Reds sweeping the Oakland A's in the 1990 World Series. Brian Moeller, The Sweep's resident beat maker, paces around the attic of his house in Northside. He tries to explain his musical role with…
Cover Story: Welcome to The Soapbox District?
Scott Beseler Tic…Tic…Tic…Bang: the "Soapbox District's" newest club is about to open. When asked about his new nightclub, Bang, Josh Heuser changes the subject. While he's more than happy to speak on the subject of his own establishment, Heuser would rather talk about the potential for the entire West Fourth Street area. "We're not…
Troublemaker’s Journal
Earlier this month I attended a wake for an acquaintance, a friend of some friends. It was held at a funeral parlor in Carthage. I had other appointments that day, so I decided to go early, to be there when the visitation was to begin. I arrived punctually at noon to find no one else…
