Music: Love at First Bite
Tim Sofer Vampire Weekend In music, early failure is often a harbinger of later success. New York's Vampire Weekend is another rising case in point. Days after the quartet of Columbia University students formed the band in 2006, they played a campus battle of the bands, finishing third in a field of four. Rather…
Sound Advice: : Supersuckers and Jason Isbell
Stephanie Neal Supersuckers Supersuckers with Eddie Spaghetti and Jordan Shapiro, Angels of Meth and True Grit Saturday
Miss Lonelyhearts, Artonmony, Herculaneum, Muskies on the march and much more
Miss Lonelyhearts WEDNESDAY 2/6 ART: MIAMI UNIVERSITY ART MUSEUM Even though the exhibition runs until May 10, get yourself out to the explosive installations, photographs and prints by Sally Heller in Bloom N' Doom at the Miami University Art Museum. Fans of the zany post-painting projects by Miami's own Tracy Featherstone should gear up…
Former Enquirer Reporter and Newspaper Reach Settlement over His Termination
James McNair has been unfired. "My termination of last August has been converted to the voluntary acceptance of a buyout,¨ McNair wrote in an e-mail last week. "That's all I'm legally able to say about the subject." McNair had been the award-winning, aggressive and hard-hitting business reporter at The Cincinnati Enquirer who was fired Aug.…
Willie Unclear on the Facts
Regarding Bill Cunningham's absurd comment that the problems with the Hamilton County jail might lead to the early release of the so-called "Blue-Eyed Rapist" ("Si Leis Plays Bogeyman," issue of Jan. 30), surely Cunningham and the sheriff know that David Hopper was never arrested in Hamilton County and was never in the Hamilton County Justice…
Film: Culture Clash
Paul Lynde – Halloween Special Does anybody else ever get the niche culture blues? We have all the choice we could want now in our fragmented, high-tech pop culture, but it's very, very difficult for anything — especially anything the big corporations aren't convinced can make a fortune — to make an impact on…
Film: Review: Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show
Picturehouse Films Vince Vaughn (center) emcees the aptly titled Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show. Spike Lee's Kings of Comedy rested on the shoulders of its four well-established comic performers. DL Hughley, Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer and Bernie Mac had already solidified their fan bases (largely African-American) through years on the stand-up circuit,…
Mallory Pitches for Cincinnati
Woodrow J. Hinton After Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory's State of the City address Feb. 4, one audience member made a bold statement. "I think he threw that pitch that way on purpose," he said. The pitch, which wasn't mentioned in the approximately 30-minute speech at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, was the mayor's grossly…
Rumors, Lies and General Misunderstandings
This Sunday, late local Blues hero Big Joe Duskin will be honored at the "first annual" Big Joe Duskin Memorial Birthday Party at Topper Ballroom inside Music Hall. Proceeds from the show go to the Big Joe Duskin Music Education Foundation, a program that will send musicians into area schools to encourage them to pick…
News: The Perfect Murder
Woodrow J. Hinton Coverage of a hearing in front of the U.S. Supreme Court last month referred to a "death penalty case," but the case isn't going to make much difference in efforts to abolish the death penalty. The case concerns the constitutionality of lethal injection, considered by some a form of cruel and…
Another Sign of Bush’s Arrogance
Matt Borgerding Mr. Irrelevant … or not? With less than a year left in office, many conservatives and liberals alike would prefer to consider President Bush irrelevant. A little-reported action taken last week by the decider-in-chief, however, should alarm voters and spark Congress to prepare for a constitutional showdown. Bush took pen to paper…
Dancing on the Ceiling
Just when I think I've seen it all, someone like Jeremy Allen Millsaps shows up. Then I'm amazed all over again at the range of artistic activity that proliferates in a buttoned-down city like Cincinnati. Young Jeremy is an aerial artist, a producer and the first person I ever knew who went to circus school.…
Five Proven Techniques to Help Detox Your Body
Today's world is full of ways to get toxins into your body. The trick is to find ways to eliminate those toxins at the same rate or faster than they're introduced. Our bodies do a pretty good job of eliminating toxins by filtering them out in the kidneys and liver and then eliminating them through…
News: Streetcar Plan Might Derail
John Schneider Modern streetcar systems have been an economic boon in Portland, Ore., and other cities. A behind-the-scenes political war is being waged over a $102 million proposal to build a streetcar system through parts of downtown and Over-the-Rhine, fueled by concerns over cash and ideology. Although the proposal still seems to have the…
Celebrating Superfat Tuesday
I write this column on Fat Tuesday, the final day of carnival season that's better known as Mardi Gras. This year, the day is also dubbed Super Tuesday in honor of 24 state primary elections and caucuses that will make or break various presidential campaigns. The confluence of two long-time traditions on one ordinary weekday…
Mike Ladd: Nostalgialator
If George Clinton wouldn't have coined the terms "P-Funk" and "Funkadelic," some music critic might have conjured those words to describe the music on Mike Ladd's Nostalgialator album. The Paris-by-way-of-The-Bronx MC/poet/producer has had this album in the can for a while (it originally came out in Germany in 2004), but the political-minded lyrics hold up…
Diner: Candyland
Joe Lamb Frieda's Desserts Cincinnati might be best known for the culinary delights of Cincinnati chili and Graeters, but did you know candy makers lie tucked away in the corners of our neighborhoods, ready to make some lucky Valentine's Day that much sweeter? My new best friend Armin Hack is a certified master pastry…
Kim Krause
Graham Lienhart Kim Krause Kim Krause's current paintings embody his responses to Greek mythology. This colorful, energetic body of work, Chronos/Tropos, is on view at the Art Academy of Cincinnati's Pearlman Gallery through Feb. 8. (See Laura James' interview with Krause here.) Read on for an eclectic collection of Krause's inspirations, in his own…
Locals Only: : Buckra
Buckra Buckra The four members of Buckra cut it up like brothers. Feels like they shoot me with a hit of natural laugh medicine. Sarcastic humor = love. Not surprising how much they gel, considering Buckra's been together "either six to 10 or three to 12 years." Within 10 minutes, I learn that singer…
Shelby Lynne: Just a Little Lovin’
With her wistfully romantic Country/Soul voice, by turns quietly dreamy and confidently sensuous, Shelby Lynne made her breakthrough with 2000's I Am Shelby Lynne, which contained fine songs she co-wrote. Now she has chosen to record Just a Little Lovin', a tribute album to another female singer whose voice can be described as "wistfully romantic,…
Onstage: Review: Topdog/Underdog
Deogracias Lerma Todd Patterson (left) and Derek Snow star in Topdog/Underdog. You're probably not off to a good start in life as a pair of African-American brothers if your drunk of a father decides to name you Lincoln and Booth. Jokes like that have a way of fulfilling themselves, and that's pretty much what…
Another seven days of broken necks, streetcar worries and fashionable tasing
WEDNESDAY JAN. 30 Iranian citizens will soon see fewer dead bodies hanging in the city streets, as the country's head of judiciary has decided that all public executions must now go through him for approval. It's estimated that Iran killed nearly 300 people last year for doing bad things like murder, rape and armed…
Various Artists: Juno: Music from the Motion Picture
The film Juno, nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, seems poised to make a star out of its chief soundtrack contributor, Washington state-based Kimya Dawson, as well as its lead actress Ellen Page and screenwriter Diablo Cody. (The soundtrack album, in fact, rocketed to No. 1 on the Billboard album charts following the Oscar nom.)…
Review: A Forkable Feast
Years ago, I lived on takeout from a cramped Cuban/Chinese restaurant that made spectacular (and cheap) roast chicken and a local sushi joint where I felt like Norm (good God, I'm old!) entering Cheers every time I picked up dinner. Today I cook more frequently, so I'm not a regular at any carryout spots. But…
Art: Review: Pat Steir: Paintings and Prints
Pat Steir Studio Pat Steir's "Potentially Pat's Living Room" Pat Steir doesn't like to talk about her work. Why should she? She's a visuals person, not a words person. Her work communicates without a wealth of explanation. When we talked just before her current Cincinnati show opened, she sidestepped questions and referred me to…
Cover Story: ‘It Was Awesome!’
Sean Hughes Love and sex are our most private experiences, yet they're almost always shared with another person. Or several people, sometimes at once. But when it comes to admitting to these feelings or to personal preferences, usually we're scared to express ourselves — even to our most intimate friends and lovers. For the…
In Lynn We Trust
Mikki Schaffner Morgan Grahame and Ryan Wesley Gilreath star in Mary's Wedding Plays on several local stages this month are smart and edgy, but not everyone wants to be provoked. Sometimes a sweet, entertaining story is what we want. That's what Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati (ETC) offers with the regional premiere of Mary's Wedding…
Ugly Giants Dragged Shiny Patriots Down to Their Level and Stole a Win
Jerry Dowling It's not how you start in the NFL, or anywhere else. Those last five months mattered for about five months — today, and forever, they won't. If we learned anything Feb. 3, just in case we ever doubted, it's all about the finish. Every bit of it is the finish. Thus, in…
