Feb 3-10, 2016
Once Upon a Time: Storytelling Endeavors Connected Cincinnatians Through an Age-Old Act, Sharing Chronicles within Intimate Spaces, Among Friends and Neighbors
Bill to Defund Planned Parenthood Heads to Kasich’s Desk
A bill that would strip Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio of all government funding is on its way to Gov. John Kasich's desk. The Ohio House of Representatives today passed HB-294 with amendments added by the state Senate that would ban the Ohio Department of Health from distributing state and federal funds to centers that…
Event: Jungle Jim’s Big Cheese Festival
Looking for a cheesy way to celebrate Valentine’s Day? Jungle Jim’s has you covered. This year’s Big Cheese Festival promises to be the biggest one yet, featuring 40 booths from more than 80 different companies. Choose from 1,400 types of cheeses and pair your selections with meats, olives, breads, condiments and various liquors offered at…
Event: My Furry Valentine
Cincinnati’s largest pet adoption event returns to the Sharonville Convention Center for its fifth year of connecting animals in need with forever families. Meet a variety of pets, including cats, dogs, rodents, reptiles and birds. More than 500 adoptable animals from 40 local rescue groups, like Adore-A-Bull Rescue, League for Animal Welfare and SPCA Cincinnati, will…
Music: Palisades
The music today known as Hardcore (or Metalcore or Post Hardcore) grew out of a scene of musicians in the ’80s enamored with the raw power of both clenched-fist Punk and heavy, thrashy Metal. Since then, the Metalcore recipe has been augmented in many different ways by artists who strive to work into the mix…
Event: Passion: A Pole Troupe Presents Noir
Couples looking for an artistic Valentine’s night out can head to Northside Tavern for aerial art, acro-yoga and some thematic burlesque by Passion: A Pole Troupe. The show is part of Passion’s mission to promote pole dance as performance art; ain’t no creep joint. Come be awed by some sultry athleticism from ladies dressed as…
Event: Lunar New Year
Celebrate the Lunar New Year and ring in the Year of the Monkey with a fusion of cultures in OTR’s newly renovated historic Gothic church, the Transept. Kick off the night with a cocktail hour and dim sum, including steamed pork belly sliders, sticky rice, rock salt tofu, turnip cakes and create-your-own congee. Main party…
Event: Urban Hike: Winter Edition
Lace up your trainers for a group urban hike with the folks from Imago and Park + Vine. Trek through Over-the-Rhine, downtown, across the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge into Covington and finally into Devou Park for a great view. The hike is about eight miles and will consist of some hills. Hikers will stop…
Dance: Cinderella
This weekend, Cincinnati Ballet’s Cinderella, last seen in 2010, takes the stage at the Aronoff Center. The timeless tale has fresh choreography by artistic director and CEO Victoria Morgan. There are newly refurbished sets and updated costumes, too, as well as the addition of friendly puppet mice and more children’s roles. Carmon DeLeone conducts the…
Event: Cincy Winter Beerfest
Cincy Winter Beerfest is one of the top 10 craft beer festivals in the nation and one of the Queen City’s biggest beer bashes of the year — and that’s saying a lot (we have a lot of beer festivals). More than 350 craft beers from more than 100 breweries will descend on the Duke Energy…
Art: Passage
O nly a few of us can travel in space like Neil Armstrong or Yuri Gagarin, but we all travel through myriad spaces in everyday life. It’s so common, we rarely even think about it. But the South Korea-born, London-based artist Do Ho Suh thinks about it very much. He approaches public and private spaces…
Art: The Little Things at Visionaries + Voices
Visionaries + Voices’ exhibitions director Krista Gregory says of the upcoming The Little Things exhibition, “Conceptually, the idea of ‘the little things’ as a saying in our culture refers, I think, to ideas of gratitude. And more broadly to how a large thing is made of many small things happening.” Thus we can take the title and theme of…
Comedy: John Roy
John Roy has been touring steadily and plugging away at his podcast, Don’t Ever Change, where he talks to comedians about what they were like in high school. We hear a lot of so-called origin stories from comics, but Roy insists there’s quite a bit of variety in people’s backstories if you know how to…
Clinton’s New Hampshire Defeat Highlights Campaign Issues with Women
Bernie Sanders clobbered Hillary Clinton in his neighboring state of New Hampshire last night, and the early dominant performance could send shockwaves through Clinton’s operations. Once seen as an afterthought in the Democratic primary, Sanders took the Granite State in an impressive 60-percent victory over the former secretary of state’s 38.3 percent. "Nine months ago,…
Event: Speed Dating at the Overlook Lodge
As of this week’s publication date, you have four days to find a valentine. And if you’re in the mood to mix and mingle to find a sexy single to spend this Sunday with, head to Overlook Lodge for a speed-dating party. Enjoy a glass of champagne, sweets and lite bites, plus a signature love…
Onstage: The Revolutionists
A world premiere at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park (simultaneously with another, Native Gardens). In The Revolutionists, up-and-coming playwright Lauren Gunderson assembles a crowd of badass historical women, including Marie Antoinette and assassin Charlotte Corday, imprisoned during the French Revolution. She imagines how they might encourage, inspire and support one another during the horrific…
Art: Tiny Tomes at the Library
Tiny Tomes features 71 of the library’s smallest books, on display in six cases through March 13. It’s a quirky and thoroughly charming exhibit. Who knew so many miniature books of all types existed, or that their subject matter could be so unusual and their graphic design so beautiful? Read more about the exhibit here.…
Slice of Cincinnati: Cincinnati Observatory
To the naked eye, there are not very many stars visible in the Cincinnati night sky. However, a look through one of Cincinnati Observatory’s telescopes on a clear day makes it possible to catch a glimpse of the galaxy. It’s no wonder that the observatory’s assistant director and outreach astronomer Dean Regas says the most…
Morning News and Stuff
Good morning, Cincinnati! Here are your morning headlines. Recently-released federal airfare data says that flying out of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport is no longer cheaper than flying out of Dayton. The average ticket price is $427 for both. As someone who frequently flies out of every Tri-State area airport but CVG, I'm skeptical, but hopeful.…
Music: Whitey Morgan and the 78’s
When Morgan and crew come to town, Brett Robinson will pluck that rectangle-shaped bunch of strings sitting on a table, aka a steel guitar, Morgan will play guitar and sing, Joey Spina will add more guitar, Alex Lyon will hold the bass bottom, Tony D will rock the drums and Tony Martinez will play acoustic…
Music: Seratones
Shreveport, La., foursome Seratones began playing together in 2014. After working on its live profile, by the end of 2015, the band had signed a deal with Fat Possum Records, played acclaimed shows at the South by Southwest and CMJ fests and were named one of the 20 best new bands of 2015 by Paste…
Music: Mike Stud
As a general rule, adopting the name “Stud” as a Hip Hop handle would be little more than chest-thumping braggadocio. But for Mike Seander, aka Mike Stud, it’s more or less a factual declaration. The Rhode Island native lettered in both baseball and basketball in high school. As a senior, Seander averaged 21 points and…
Music: Turkuaz
Brooklyn nine-piece Turkuaz is a musical powerhouse that takes cues from throughout Funk’s history and mashes them together with its own personalized groove and vibe. From Parliament-Funkadelic through Fitz and the Tantrums, with stops in Electro Funk, Disco and AfroBeat, Turkuaz has all the Funk bases covered and then some. The band was formed about…
Local Lawmakers Call on Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice to Consider Grand Jury Reform
Black lawmakers from the Ohio General Assembly today met with Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor to press for changes to the state’s grand jury process, including greater transparency in what are currently secret proceedings. The Ohio Legislative Black Caucus, which includes State Sen. Cecil Thomas and president State Rep. Alicia Reece from Cincinnati,…
Clinton and Sanders to Spar in Flint
CNN is set to host the sixth Democratic debate of the cycle. The Democratic National Committee scheduled the March 6 debate in Flint, Mich. The Flint debate came after presidential hopefuls Sen. Bernie Sanders’ and Hillary Clinton’s campaigns agreed to additional debates which were motivated by a virtual tie in the Iowa caucuses. Clinton’s campaign…
Morning News and Stuff
Good morning all. Here’s the news today. Will Cincinnati and Hamilton County opt to stop working together on the Metropolitan Sewer District? Recent statements by Mayor John Cranley and Hamilton County Commissioner Chris Monzel suggest that the two governments are more CeeLo Green than Al Green right now and that the idea is at least…
Neighborhood Councils Renew Push for Stalled Bike Lane Expansions
Community councils for two popular Cincinnati neighborhoods are urging the city to expand its bike lane program, which has stalled after the 2014 completion of a major protected lane leading downtown. Both Clifton Town Meeting and the Over-the-Rhine Community Council passed resolutions last month reiterating support for the sometimes-controversial Central Parkway Bikeway and pushing for…
Primary Cheat Sheet: Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton (Democratic) Fun Fact: Then-Senator Hillary Clinton had a vodka-drinking contest against Sen. John McCain (R-AZ.) when the two were touring Estonia in 2004, possibly the most legendary drinking story in modern politics. “We agreed to withdraw, in honorable fashion, having, I think, reached the limits that either of us should have had,” the…
Morning News and Stuff
The Cincinnati Planning Commission has approved plans for a 131-unit apartment complex downtown. The $52 million complex will be at Eighth and Sycamore streets pending the approval of City Council as early as next week. The parking garage and apartments are part of a larger development plan for the city-owned site, which will also feature…
Stage Door
Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey met with great success when they created next to normal, winning several Tony Awards and the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for drama. They didn’t strike gold with their next show, If/Then, onstage locally for just a week in a touring production — but I found it to be a very satisfying,…
Your Weekend To Do List (2/5-2/7)
FRIDAY EVENT: MAINSTRASSE MARDI GRAS Laissez les bons temps rouler, y’all! Break out your beads for MainStrasse’s 20th-annual Mardi Gras parade and party. Events kick off Friday with New Orleans-style drinks and dancing at MainStrasse bars. Then the Grande Parade Saturday features a raucous collection of floats, Big Heads and various wandering intoxicated people weaving…
Report: Kentucky Official Disputes DeWine Claim on Fetal Tissue
Following controversy around videos released by anti-abortion groups purporting to show Planned Parenthood officials in Texas discussing the sale of fetal tissue to a fake medical company, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine launched an investigation of Ohio Planned Parenthood late last year. That investigation didn't find any fetal tissue sales at the organization's Ohio clinics,…
Morning News and Stuff
Morning all. Here’s what’s up in the news today. Hamilton County Democratic Party’s executive commission last night voted not to censure Ben Lindy, a candidate to replace Denise Driehaus as state representative. But the party also had strong words about a paper Lindy authored that is currently in being used in a legal attack against…
“Pro-Rape” Men’s Rights Group Cancels Meetups; Cites Safety Concerns
A group of so-called "men's rights" activists led by a blogger who once advocated the legalization of rape has cancelled a word-wide series of meetups, including one near Cincinnati. Return of Kings founder Roosh Valizadeh, 36, wrote on the group's website that all meetups, which had been scheduled for 8 p.m. Saturday across the U.S.…
Study: Cincinnati Ranks High for Prosperity, Low for Racial Economic Inclusion
As the economy continues to rebound from the Great Recession and as interest in urban living continues to build, many cities across the country are seeing a rebound in their fortunes. But who benefits from this resurgence? A new study from the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program released last week seeks to provide some answers to…
Morning News and Stuff
Good morning all. Here’s a quick rundown of the news today. Cincinnati City Council yesterday passed an ordinance that would punish employers who don’t pay their workers, making Cincinnati the first city in the state to do so. We told you about that ordinance earlier this week. The law would allow the city to better…
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Can you live by the rules of social etiquette and polite society in the face of an escalating zombie apocalypse? Screenwriter-director Burr Steers (Igby Goes Down) tackles Seth Grahame-Smith’s Quirk Books re-imagining of the world of Jane Austen, carpet-bombing the rigid social order with an uncouth undead element. How will Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James) and…
Mustang
One of my now-tragic near-misses at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, director Deniz Gamze Ergüven’s Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, which he co-wrote with Alice Winocour (Disorder), captures the innocent interactions between five sisters and some local Turkish boys during the early summer that results in scandal with harsh personal consequences.…
Ip Man 3
In the late 1950s, Master Ip (Donnie Yen) maintains a peaceful existence as a Kung Fu master and teacher in the community with a wife and young son. He keeps watch over the neighborhood with a handful of disciples, but soon must contend with a local thug and his gang who are in the employ…
The Choice
Yet another Nicholas Sparks adaptation, this time from director Ross Katz (an Academy Award-nominated co-producer of In the Bedroom and Lost in Translation), traffics in the typical melodrama we have come to expect from the master of love disasters. Travis (Benjamin Walker) meets Gabby (Teresa Palmer) in some god-awful cute fashion and the pair bickers…
Hail, Caesar!
Ethan and Joel Coen return to period Hollywood comedy, but this time — unlike the black comedy of Barton Fink — it appears that they are far more interested in slaphappy hijinks. Eddie Mannix (Coen regular Josh Brolin) stars as a 1950s studio fixer pushed to earn his fee after an actor (George Clooney) disappears,…
45 Years
Can an encounter, an event or a person from the distant past erase vivid experiences that followed? Geoff (Tom Courtenay) and Kate (Charlotte Rampling) begin to wonder about that very notion when, on the eve of their 45th wedding anniversary, Geoff receives news about a former lover, missing for close to 50 years, who unexpectedly…
Film: Jewish & Israeli Film Festival Opening Night
The Mayerson JCC hosts a month-long festival of thought-provoking, controversial and inspiring films at theaters throughout Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Featuring the work of both established and emerging filmmakers, selections include Jewish-interest films produced in and outside of Israel. The event kicks off Saturday with a screening of Remember at The Carnegie. The thriller follows…
Art: Asylum at Edison Art Gallery
Calcagno Cullen, who runs Camp Washington’s Wave Pool Gallery with husband Geoffrey, travels north to Piqua, Ohio to open a show of her own work, Asylum, at the Edison Art Gallery on Edison Community College’s campus. The work originated with a trip she took last summer to a Southern Italian refugee camp to make art…
Event: Garage Brewed Moto Show
Rhinegeist will be packed with 50 custom bikes from builders all over the Midwest, who range in experience from professional builders to those who build straight outta their home garage. Come view the bikes, many of which were made specifically for the show, and vote for your favorite. That’s right, there are no professional judges.…
Lit: L.A. Reid
Cincinnati native Antonio “L.A.” Reid is a music executive, songwriter, musician and producer who started his career in the 1970s as part of the local Funk Rock outfit Pure Essence. He would later discover and/or work with some of the biggest names in popular music, a list that includes Boyz II Men, Toni Braxton, Justin…
Dance: Performance & Time Arts
Produced and directed by Shakira Rae Adams and co-producer Jacque Corcoran, Contemporary Dance Theater’s Performance & Time Arts this weekend rolls out a typically diverse mix of music, dance, poetry and multimedia from local performers. Aerialist Terri Kendall’s acrobatic “The Spirited Crow” is dramatic yet whimsical and includes some challenging poses and rolls. Performing flow wand…
Event: MainStrasse Mardi Gras
Laissez les bons temps rouler, y’all! Break out your beads for MainStrasse’s 20th-annual Mardi Gras parade and party. Events kick off Friday with New Orleans-style drinks and dancing at MainStrasse bars. Then the Grande Parade Saturday features a raucous collection of floats, Big Heads and various wandering intoxicated people weaving through the town starting at…
Art: Drink and Draw: Valentines and Cards Edition
During a time when coloring books are marketed to both adults and children alike, the therapeutic benefits of art practice are well appreciated. In light of this popularity, local artist Lindsay Nehls’ monthly Drink & Draw series (held the first Thursday of every month) has been bringing larger and larger crowds to the foyer of…
Music: Quiet Hollers
Quiet Hollers is a five-piece band from Louisville, Ky., that first began drawing widespread attention with its 2013 debut, I Am the Morning. On the album, the Hollers wore their Country/Roots influences on their sleeves, but on the group’s remarkable latest album, last year’s self-titled full-length, the members crank the dial more in the direction…
Comedy: Alex Stone
It has been quite a year for Sycamore Township native Alex Stone. After relocating to New York City, where he moved in with fellow Cincinnati comic Sam Evans, Stone released a CD titled Hello. Recorded at Go Bananas, the album perfectly encapsulates Stone’s storytelling style, while still containing plenty of absurdist jokes. Whether it’s talking…
Music: Cincinnati Soundbox
The new chamber music series Cincinnati Soundbox, which presents “music of our time in an accessible way,” showcases the works of four young composers Thursday. They are Juraj Kojs and Chen-Hui Jen (Miami, Fla.) and Huijuan Ling and Julia Seeholzer. Performances feature sopranos Jackie Stevens and Jilian McGreen, flautist Danielle Stevens and pianist Ivan Moscotta.…
Art: Animals Illustrated at the Library
The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County is full of furry creatures — on paper. The current Animals Illustrated exhibit features a diverse collection of animal-related art in a wide range of historic books, with illustrations of animals found around the world. It also includes “KOALAkoala” by Charley Harper. Through April 24. Free. Main…
Art: Ji Hyun Kwon: The Guilty at Iris BookCafé
Iris BookCafé has extended its current photography exhibition, Ji Hyun Kwon: The Guilty, through Feb. 12. Ji Hyun Kwon, a young Korean woman, began this series to “reconcile her own sense of guilt and selfishness for being an artist while the rest of the world continues in persistent suffering,” according to curator William Messer. She then…
Onstage: Native Gardens
When longtime, waspy residents are proud of their formal garden and the young Hispanic couple moving in next door prefer a more natural “native garden,” the temperature goes up. And when there’s a dispute about the property line, well, then there’s outright warfare. This world premiere by Karen Zacarías will entertain audiences (her Book Club…
Onstage: If/Then
Cincinnati audiences loved Ensemble Theatre’s 2011 production of next to normal, Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Rock musical about a woman afflicted with paranoid schizophrenia. In fact, ETC revived it in 2012 at the end of the same season. Unlike many current Broadway hits, the show wasn’t a musical version of a movie…
Art: Miller Gallery
W hen remodelers finally took their plastic off the windows of Hyde Park Square’s Miller Gallery in December, it was with the promise of a lighter, more open environment. Together with a new owner and executive director, they delivered. A red awning, dark backdrops in the windows, a series of walls and a black sofa…
New Burger on the Block
ZBGB Gourmet Burgers & Bar is the new sister restaurant to Zula, across the street from Taft’s Ale House. As the new kid on the hot block, it’s going to attract a lot of curiosity, which may account for the two-and-a-half-hour waits we heard they experienced during their opening weekend. On the cold, wintery night…
Duplass-Approved Animated Series Takes Flight
What started as a silly office pastime evolved into a festival-circuit comedy project that makes its television debut this week. Needless to say, Animals (Series Premiere, 11:30 p.m. Friday, HBO) is far from the typical adult animated show. Creators Phil Matarese and Mike Luciano worked at a New York production company, where they’d joke around…
Festival of Plenty
When it comes to film, everybody loves a catchy tagline. And the 2016 edition of the Mayerson JCC Jewish & Israeli Film Festival promises “Mystery, History, Mischief and More.” What more can you ask for? Audiences will have the opportunity to criss-cross around the Queen City in order to take in a program of films…
Local Creators Revamp Wine Bottle Candle
If Andy Worley were a candle, he would radiate a blend of basil, sage, mint and bergamot. His aromatic attribute is a smooth, revitalizing fragrance with a menthol boost called “Enliven,” and it’s one of 12 original scents created by A Squared Decor owners Worley and Andrew Harris, whose signature product is Glowine, an evolved…
The Courage to Ask, ‘What If?’
Cincinnati audiences loved Ensemble Theatre’s 2011 production of next to normal, Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Rock musical about a woman afflicted with paranoid schizophrenia. In fact, ETC revived it in 2012 at the end of the same season. Unlike many current Broadway hits, the show wasn’t a musical version of a movie…
Same Name, Different Frame
When remodelers finally took their plastic off the windows of Hyde Park Square’s Miller Gallery in December, it was with the promise of a lighter, more open environment. Together with a new owner and executive director, they delivered. A red awning, dark backdrops in the windows, a series of walls and a black sofa in…
Slice of Cincinnati: Cincinnati Art Museum’s Conservation Department
It’s the 15th century, and remnants of the Middle Ages hang over Europe as it unknowingly waits for the Renaissance. In the dim candlelight somewhere in Spain shines an altarpiece painted to depict the lives of St. Peter and Jesus Christ along with images of the Virgin Mary and other saints. With its impressive strokes…
Morning News and Stuff
Hey hey Cincy! How are you all on this fine spring morning? Wait, it’s early February? Guess I better change out of these jean shorts and put the slip-n-slide away. Bummer. Be right back. OK, where were we now? News. Right. Let’s get to it. Last night Xavier University held a packed town hall discussion…
What’s Your Story?
"Tell me a story.” That’s been a human desire since prehistoric times as tales have been spoken from person to person and passed from place to place, even before they were written down. The Epic of Gilgamesh, about an actual Sumerian king from 5,000 years ago, might be the oldest known story. We credit the…
Keeping Secrets
More and more, campus sexual assault prevention and counseling are the purview of schools like the University of Cincinnati, thanks to a shift in federal policy that places more responsibility for those assaults on the colleges where they happen. UC got off to a rough start this school year when the school's Division of Student…
Like Water for Black People
America has either been denying black Americans access to all manner of water to drink while we worked ourselves dead in its fields and for rejuvenated and recreational (even competitive) swimming. Or it has let us drown; drown in filthy hurricane water or, as in Flint, Michigan in the tainted water flowing into the tubs…
Worst Week Ever! Jan. 27-Feb. 2
Poverty Expert Says Cincinnati Is Doing a Good a Job Dealing with the Poors Poverty is a funny thing. You can even keep yourself from being in poverty by getting a job talking about it. That’s what Robert Doar, described as a “poverty expert” at the American Enterprise Institute, recently did, much to the delight…
Music: Marianas Trench
For the Canadian band’s latest album, Astoria, Marianas Trench frontman Josh Ramsay envisioned a Pop/Rock concept piece that bowed in the direction of ’80s coming-of-age fantasy/adventure films, particularly The Goonies, whose fictional town inspired Ramsay’s title. Marianas Trench is no stranger to conceptual territory, having already mined that vein with 2009’s Masterpiece Theatre and 2011’s…
Sound Advice: Marianas Trench with Secret Someones and Mainland
For the Canadian band’s latest album, Astoria, Marianas Trench frontman Josh Ramsay envisioned a Pop/Rock concept piece that bowed in the direction of ’80s coming-of-age fantasy/adventure films, particularly The Goonies, whose fictional town inspired Ramsay’s title. Marianas Trench is no stranger to conceptual territory, having already mined that vein with 2009’s Masterpiece Theatre and 2011’s…
Music: Carolyn Wonderland at Winter Blues Fest
I first heard Carolyn Wonderland sing and play guitar when she appeared on an episode of Austin City Limits. This fiery Austin-based redhead can rip the Blues on the six-string, and I mean hard-as-hell lead licks and everything that goes with it. Wonderland’s latest album is called Live Texas Trio, a fired-up concert album that has…
Sound Advice: Carolyn Wonderland at Winter Blues Fest
Several years ago, Rolling Stone magazine asked a panel of famous musicians to rate the top guitarists of all time and that list included all the usual, familiar names. But how many women were on the list? Just two — Joni Mitchell and Bonnie Raitt. The panel of accomplished musicians who compiled the list included…
Panelists and Community Discuss 2001’s Ongoing Legacy
Xavier University held a packed town hall discussion last night on the state of Cincinnati 15 years after the police shooting of unarmed black citizen Timothy Thomas and the civil unrest that shook the city afterward. Thomas was the 15th black Cincinnatian killed by police during the previous three years, and frustrations in the black…
Music: Nick Moss Band at Winter Blues Fest
If you happen to be born in Chicago, the Blues is in your DNA like the genes that determine your hair and eye color. And if you show even a spark of musical talent, the sonic traits that accompany your birthplace will emerge early; your first word is likely to be “Muddy” and you’ll probably…
Sound Advice: Nick Moss Band at Winter Blues Fest
If you happen to be born in Chicago, the Blues is in your DNA like the genes that determine your hair and eye color. And if you show even a spark of musical talent, the sonic traits that accompany your birthplace will emerge early; your first word is likely to be “Muddy” and you’ll probably…
Music: Diane Coffee
Like Fleet Foxes drummer J. Tillman, Foxygen drummer Shaun Fleming surprised a lot of people when his impressive solo material came to wider attention. Like Tillman (aka Father John Misty), Fleming’s work has come out under a pseudonym (Diane Coffee) and is remarkably impressive and certainly on par with the band for which he provides…
Sound Advice: Diane Coffee with PRIM
Like Fleet Foxes drummer J. Tillman, Foxygen drummer Shaun Fleming surprised a lot of people when his impressive solo material came to wider attention. Like Tillman (aka Father John Misty), Fleming’s work has come out under a pseudonym (Diane Coffee) and is remarkably impressive and certainly on par with the band for which he provides…
Winter Blues Fest Heats Up the Weekend
This Friday and Saturday, the Cincy Blues Society’s Winter Blues Fest returns to The Phoenix (812 Race St., Downtown, thephx.com) showcasing over two-dozen Cincinnati Blues acts, as well as headliners like the Nick Moss Band and Carolyn Wonderland on four stages. Music begins at 6 p.m. Friday and 5:15 p.m. Saturday. This year’s lineup shows…
In With the New
A common grievance heard after every Cincinnati Entertainment Awards show is that the same musicians seem to win every year. Internally at CityBeat (which organizes and runs the CEA program) over the years, we’ve discussed retiring certain nominees from categories after they’d dominate them for several years in a row, maybe even naming the award…
Stumping and Singing
HOT: Stumping and Singing After Vampire Weekend played a Bernie Sanders rally recently, The Guardian did a rundown of popular musicians who vocally support U.S. presidential candidates. Bernie certainly attracts the “coolest” kids, with Lou Barlow, Thurston Moore, Lil B and Jello Biafra pledging to feel the Bern. Hillary Clinton has heavyweights like Kanye West,…
Brewhaus Dog Bones: Craft Meets Community
When Lisa Graham started the local small-batch dog treat company Brewhaus Dog Bones in 2014, it just made sense. She grew up on a farm in southern Indiana near Louisville, she has a background in biology, her family loves to bake and she has had dogs her whole life. The fact that the program is…
‘BlackTop Sky’: Painful Reality
The view from the asphalt-paved courtyard surrounded by housing projects isn’t a pretty sight. In fact, the desolate space with nothing but a pair of park benches is downright depressing for Ida (Aziza Macklin), an 18-year-old girl who yearns to escape from the environment and from her disabled, domineering mother. The restricted view prevents seeing…
Patrick Dacey Explores Stories on the Cape
Born and bred in the troubled tourist town of Centerville on Cape Cod, Patrick Dacey is one of the most exciting young voices in literature today. His debut, We’ve Already Gone This Far, a collection of 13 short stories that touch on war, cosmetic surgery and the conflicts of alcoholism, among other topics, is about…
The Ups and Downs of Strong Women
Critic’s Picks Plays about strong women are on several Cincinnati stages this month — frivolous and serious, but reflective of the broad spectrum of roles women play in American society today. Audiences will laugh and gasp at Karen Zacarías’ amusing Native Gardens at the Cincinnati Playhouse and feel troubled by the plight of a fighter…
