Oscar Nods Announced
Oscar nominations were announced this morning. At first glance, I have to admit that this year’s batch seems uncommonly competent. The 10 Best Picture nominees are all worthwhile in one way or another, and four of them actually made my top 10 of 2010: The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit and Winter’s Bone.…
Olbermann for Senate?
Just days after his abrupt firing by MSNBC, some progressive activists and politicians are pushing for Keith Olbermann to run for the U.S. Senate as a Democrat. Overtures are being made to convince Olbermann to run for the seat being vacated by the retiring Joe Lieberman of Connecticut. Olbermann, 51, is a New York City…
Solway Tries Something New
This week through Sunday, Carl Solway Gallery is one of just 139 prestigious galleries from 30 countries (and the only local representative) involved in an international experiment to see if virtual, online-only art fairs can sell contemporary work. Based on technical problems early this week, that experiment has some room for improvement. The VIP (Viewing…
Burn the Floor (Review)
I recently saw Black Swan, a new film about a neurotic ballet dancer who descends into paranoid madness. It made me wonder why anyone would pursue a career in dance. Watching Burn the Floor, a company of exuberant dancers on tour — and on fire — who obviously revel in movement, I had my answer.…
Art: David Mack at PAC Gallery
David Mack, the internationally acclaimed Cincinnati-born graphic novelist and children's book creator whose Daredevil is one of the nation's best-selling comics and whose Marvel Comics-published Kabuki has attracted wide attention for
Jan. 19-25: Worst Week Ever!
WEDNESDAY JAN. 19 Far be it for a newspaper that recently published a cover story on a rapper to criticize a competitor for covering the genre — even a white dude from Hamilton deserves his props for earning a spot on a BET reality show. But a comparison of the prose offered last week by…
Music: Ender with Catalepsy
Relentless aggression is crucial to Ender's MO. The New Jersey five-piece's debut is called This is Revenge; they play a vindictive cross between Metal and Hardcore (heavier on the latter); and its merch sports slogans like “Break Shit,” “Payback's A Bitch” and “Ruin Somebody's Fucking Day.” Last September, its hostile approach came into question when…
‘Darkness’ Prevails
Ólafur Arnalds, the 24-year-old Icelandic pianist and composer of trance-inducing, classically informed New Music, is bringing his string quartet to Cincinnati on Thursday to perform from his quietly beatific album …and they have escaped the weight of darkness. You might assume, given the evident influences on Arnalds of composers like Eric Satie and Philip Glass,…
Comedy: Vic Henley
Vic Henley is not only a top headlining comic, he also has a knack for spotting gold in the sets of other comedians. A few years back, for example, he told funnyman Jim Gaffigan to expand on a bit about Hot Pockets. Gaffigan was about to toss it. “He was having a hard time with…
Events: The First Annual Funk Fest
Let’s face it, watching graffiti artists and fire breathers probably doesn’t sound like the typical way to spend a Saturday night, but The First Annual Funk Fest isn’t your typical affair. Come join local art enthusiasts and fashionistas alike on Saturday from 7 p.m.-2 a.m. as the Newport Syndicate transforms into a hodge-podge of art,…
Events: Pop-up Swap Shop
As the phrase goes, if you love something, let it go. But if Park and Vine had anything to say about it, they’d amend the phrase to: if you don’t want it, trade it for something else. Every Saturday, the local, eco-friendly, store sets up the Pop-Up Swap Shop and Last Bites Bakery, at 1200…
Music: Ólafur Arnalds
Ólafur Arnalds, the 24-year-old Icelandic pianist and composer of trance-inducing, classically informed New Music, is bringing his string quartet to Cincinnati on Thursday to perform from his quietly beatific album …and they have escaped the weight of darkness. You might assume, given the evident influences on Arnalds of composers like Eric Satie and Philip Glass,…
Brighton Beach Memoirs (Review)
Neil Simon is a comic playwright, but in 1983 his writing showed new depth with Brighton Beach Memoirs. The first of several autobiographical plays, this one features his alter ego, Eugene, at 14, growing up part of an extended family in the Brooklyn/Coney Island neighborhood of Brighton Beach, an enclave of second-generation Jewish immigrants. Told…
Onstage: Turandot
Puccini’s opera Turandot challenges even the biggest opera companies. But if the singers have the dramatic heft required and the orchestral and choral forces are on board, outsize sets and costumes hardly matter. Fortunately, UC’s College-Conservatory of Music has the musical resources to mount a concert performance of Turandot, presented in collaboration with Beijing’s Central…
Onstage: Contemporary Dance Theatre: im’ij-re/Amy Seiwert
Combining dance with video projection is not a new concept. However, choreographer Amy Seiwert manages to make it awe-inspiring: Her White Noise piece —created in collaboration with software artist Frieder Weiss— features real-time interactive video projection and manipulation that exaggerates and elongates dancers’ movements to dazzling effect. Seiwert, a Cincinnati native and SCPA grad, founded…
Onstage: Next Fall
Geoffrey Nauffts’ Next Fall, currently onstage at Ensemble Theatre, refers to a moment that’s just beyond reach — and never to be attained. It’s when Luke (Ryan Wesley Gilreath), a young gay man, promises to come out to his conservative family, perhaps allowing for greater peace and balance in his relationship with Adam (Michael G.…
Hot Blues in the Wintertime
The Winter Blues Fest — created as a cold-weather sister event to the Cincy Blues Society’s massive summertime Cincy Blues Fest — returns to the Southgate House this Friday and Saturday. The event is the main fund-raiser for the Blues in the Schools program, which sends professional local Blues performers into area schools to educate…
Music: Headtronics
Scanning the mid-morning crowd at the Rookwood Commons Starbucks, it should be a cinch to spot Freekbass. Cowboy hat, fur vest, feather boa, red leather chaps; he’ll stand out in this laptop-and-latte aggregation like a mercury light in a mineshaft. Imagine my surprise when Freekbass introduces himself, sporting a down parka vest and woolen cap.…
Events: Stardust Runway Fashion Show
“There’s a place I know if you’re looking for a show/ where they go hard core/ and there’s glitter on the floor”. Yes, now you have a Ke$ha song in your head. But along with these lyrics comes an invitation to the Stardust runway show at the Northside Tavern, Saturday from 9 p.m.- 2 a.m.…
Film: The Cincinnati Jewish and Israeli Film Festival
The cinematic dead zone known as January gets a welcome jolt this week as the Cincinnati Jewish and Israeli Film Festival returns with another unique batch of offerings. The six-day festival (Saturday-Feb. 3) provides “insights on various aspects of Jewish life, culture and history” via seven films that run the gamut in terms of genre,…
Liam Gallagher, Cracker Barrel Music and rapgenius.com
[HOT] Sniffing Off the Shoulder of Giants When it comes to snortable human residue stories (boy, we’ve all got a few, don’t we?), nothing will ever top Keith Richards’ disclosure that he inhaled some of the ashes of his dead father. But former Oasis/current Beady Eye frontman Liam Gallagher recently told a tale to Q…
Multicultural Exchange
Puccini’s opera Turandot challenges even the biggest opera companies. But if the singers have the dramatic heft required and the orchestral and choral forces are on board, outsize sets and costumes hardly matter. Fortunately, UC’s College-Conservatory of Music has the musical resources to mount a concert performance of Turandot, presented in collaboration with Beijing’s Central…
Music: Super Desserts
While Columbus doesn't have the rep for spawning musical talent that, say, Seattle or New York does, Ohio's capital can lay claim to a handful of well-known artists. The notables include RJD2, Phil Ochs, New Bomb Turks, Dwight Yoakam and part-time MC “Macho Man” Randy Savage. (I can’t be the only one that remembers the…
Art: Final Friday at Creative Gallery
Dan and Meghan Robson are both graduates of the Art Academy of Cincinnati and since May 2007, they have operated Creative Gallery in Over-the-Rhine. At the end of March, the gallery will close its doors, because the couple will be relocating to New York. The swan song of the space will be a three-month long…
Music: Tea Leaf Green with Sons of Bill
San Francisco has birthed a cosmic number of bands over the past half-century. Tea Leaf Green represents the Bay Area’s stellar contribution to the current Jam community. The band coalesced in 1997 around rhythm section jams between San Francisco State University students Scott Rager and Ben Chambers, on drums and bass, respectively. Los Angeles defector…
CityBeat’s State of the Union Drinking Game!
It's that time of the year again — the president's State of the Union speech. Know what that means? Bipartisanship: CityBeat's State of the Union drinking game! Whoot! Whoot! Whoot!—- BIPARTISANSHIP* INSTRUCTIONS: Object of Bipartisanship: to become drunk rather than consider long-term effects of partisan politics. Needs: one bottle of liquor or several beers per…
Worst Day Ever!
Despite a well-researched and not-at-all selfish plea from Western & Southern Financial Group, City Council has majority support for extending $2.6 million in federal housing grants to the women's shelter despite the fact that W&S wants to turn its building into something cool for rich people.—- A day after the Green Bay Packers defeated the…
Sundance Mayhem Underway
The Sundance Film Festival's opening weekend is now in the books, and if occasional CityBeat contributor/Salt Lake City Weekly A&E editor Scott Renshaw is any guide, Park City, Utah, is again awash in movie mayhem.—- While I miss being at the center of the cinematic universe for seven days every January — I covered the…
Commissioners Fire Thompson
He was hired by Republicans, and now he's been fired by Republicans. Hamilton County commissioners voted 2-1 today to fire County Administrator Patrick Thompson. Republicans Greg Hartmann and Chris Monzel voted to terminate Thompson, with Democrat Todd Portune opposed.—- Thompson, 51, was hired for the job in October 2005 by then-Commissioners Phil Heimlich and Pat…
One Singular Citation
Critic's Pick “It was an exciting process, a different kind of show for us,” says Jason Franz, director of East Walnut Hills’ Manifest Gallery, about its unusual, new single-object exhibit. It is “Episteme” by South Korean-born Yun Jeong Hong, who recently received her master's degree from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. It has won…
Super Desserts
While Columbus doesn't have the rep for spawning musical talent that, say, Seattle or New York does, Ohio's capital can lay claim to a handful of well-known artists. The notables include RJD2, Phil Ochs, New Bomb Turks, Dwight Yoakam and part-time MC “Macho Man” Randy Savage. (I can’t be the only one that remembers the…
Ender with Catalepsy
Relentless aggression is crucial to Ender's MO. The New Jersey five-piece's debut is called This is Revenge; they play a vindictive cross between Metal and Hardcore (heavier on the latter); and its merch sports slogans like “Break Shit,” “Payback's A Bitch” and “Ruin Somebody's Fucking Day.” Last September, its hostile approach came into question when…
Tea Leaf Green with Sons of Bill
San Francisco has birthed a cosmic number of bands over the past half-century. Tea Leaf Green represents the Bay Area’s stellar contribution to the current Jam community. The band coalesced in 1997 around rhythm section jams between San Francisco State University students Scott Rager and Ben Chambers, on drums and bass, respectively. Los Angeles defector…
Goodie — 1971
I grew up in and around Vevay, Ind. I’ve only been back there a few times since my mother’s death in the summer of 2000, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still follow the local news. Vevay’s weekly newspaper has a Web site, which is how I learned of Goodie’s death. That’s what we sometimes…
No Strings Attached (Review)
The premise of sex between friends without any emotional attachment is the current urban legend to be exploited by Hollywood, which means that maybe torture porn and paranormal activities will get a well-deserved break. No Strings Attached, from director Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters), beats Friends With Benefits to the punch, but this Natalie Portman-Ashton Kutcher romantic…
’Tronic Boom
Scanning the mid-morning crowd at the Rookwood Commons Starbucks, it should be a cinch to spot Freekbass. Cowboy hat, fur vest, feather boa, red leather chaps; he’ll stand out in this laptop-and-latte aggregation like a mercury light in a mineshaft. Imagine my surprise when Freekbass introduces himself, sporting a down parka vest and woolen cap.…
The Way Back (Review)
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } There is a feral intensity to Colin Farrell that seems difficult for directors to fully exploit on screen. It certainly makes for titillating gossipy chatter in the tabloids, complete with those intoxicating dark-eyed shots of him out carousing late nights, ready to attack photographers or the next pint. Critics responded…
The Roughs, The Posies, Monster Magnet and Aficionado
The release sheets promise to get a little fatter as the new year progresses but 2011’s first new CD Tuesday was thinner than a Phil Spector alibi. One new release and a handful of reissues, none of them too terribly compelling, was all that was being served up last week, leaving me to my own…
Playhouse’s Ed Stern Is Fighting Back
Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park Producing Artistic Director Ed Stern has shared some news about his health with the theater’s patrons, using a letter in the program book for Over the Tavern, which opens this Thursday. (It’s had preview performances this weekend.)—- “No pain,” he writes, “doing fine … surprising doctors — and continuing the…
New Ranking: Ohio Among Least Tolerant States
A new system of ranking states' tolerance was released last week by The Daily Beast, a news and opinion Web site affiliated with Newsweek. It found Ohio among the country's least tolerant states: at No. 46, ahead of only Nebraska, Kansas, Arkansas and Wyoming.—- The Daily Beast describes its methodology as follows: “Specifically, for each…
Friday Movie Roundup: Borat Is Back Edition
It's kind of hard to evaluate this week's opening films when none of them were screened in advance for critics — or at least none of them were screened locally, a trend that's always more prevalent this time of year. Surprisingly, early word on No Strings Attached — Ivan Reitman's sexually liberated romantic comedy featuring Natalie Portman…
Feds Ready New LGBT Protection
Federal officials Thursday unveiled new pending regulations that offer more protection from discrimination for LGBT individuals in regard to housing and mortgage issues. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the proposed regulatory changes that explicitly protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people under certain circumstances.—- Under the proposed rules, owners or…
Experiments in Sound & Vision
If you’re intrigued by artists who fearlessly work in the musical and video arts, this weekend is all about you. The experimental music boosters at Art Damage are bringing their “Damaged Soundtracks” nights — where artists create new soundtracks to created or previously existing movies and videos — to Mayday every first Thursday of the…
Last One More Girl Fest Full Lineup
The final event from the Rivertown Music Club, a charity/music organization founded by local musician Kelly Thomas (Kelly Thomas and the Pickups, The Tammy WhyNots), begins tonight at the York Street Cafe in Newport with Night 1 of the final One More Girl on a Stage benefit shows. The fest has showcased female musicians and…
“F**k You” Sign language Performance
This young lady's name is Anna, and her final project for a college-level sign language class involved performing Cee Lo Green's "F**k You [Explicit]" in front of the class. She probably got an A. Big ups to intern Eli Johnson for finding the funny video. —-
Worst Day Ever!
• Other mayors are impressed with Mayor Mark Mallory's ability to get himself on TV and not look like a dick, even after doing things like this.—- • The city of Cincinnati is having trouble clearing all the snow off the roads because it got so dang cold it all turned to ice. The city's…
Stage Door: Find Some Heat
If we can shovel the snow away from the stage door, there should be several shows to check out this weekend.—- Cincinnati Shakespeare Company's staging of the rarely produced King John continues and word has it that it's selling well, with lots of combat and period costumes. Here's a little video teaser from Cincy Shakes…
Reece Introduces Voting Bill
As Hamilton County elections officials continue to be stuck in legal limbo following conflicting state and federal directives over a local dispute, an area legislator is introducing a bill that could resolve the matter. State Rep. Alicia Reece (D-Bond Hill) announced plans this week to introduce legislation that would require provisional ballots be counted if they…
Dynamites Heat Up Southgate Saturday
Heads up, live music geeks and/or those looking to heat up an ice-cold January night: Soul masters The Dynamites featuring: Charles Walker are back in town Saturday at the Southgate House. For the uninitiated or those who need a refresher on the ’Mites ass-moving talents, check Brian Baker’s take on the band’s most recent album,…
Winter Blues Fest Introduces New Features
With all the snow today, unless you are a kid who got a day off of school, it's hard not to think about the winter blues. It's also a good time to start thinking ahead about the forthcoming Winter Blues Fest coming up next Friday and Saturday (Jan. 28 and 29) at the Southgate House.…
Worst Day Ever!
Streetcar opponents have started circulating petitions for a charter amendment to block any thoughts of streetcars until 2021. NAACP President Chris Smitherman says the coalition is willing to stop the construction mid-track and that he also will run for either City Council this year or mayor in 2013. Campaign slogan: "Haters gonna hate."—- Fifty six…
Crypt Keeper Owns the Raiders?
Remember the Crypt Keeper from HBO's long-lost and much-beloved series Tales from the Crypt? He apparently now owns the Oakland Raiders, which is convenient given the team's "menacing" and "scary" persona over the years. The photo above was taken at a press conference yesterday as the Keeper announced the hiring of new Raiders coach Hue…
WNKU Buys Stations to Boost Signal
Northern Kentucky-based public radio station WNKU (89.7 FM) will more than triple its population reach with today's announcement that it's acquired three stations: 105.9 FM and 910 AM in Middletown (both currently WPFB) and 104.1 FM in Portsmouth (currently WPAY). The station's normal daily programming will be simulcast on the new frequencies beginning Feb. 1.…
REO Speedwagon, Gucci Mane and Dire Straits
[HOT] Spaced Invaders Several months ago we told you about a new video game based on ’70s rockers REO Speedwagon. If you thought, “That has to be the weirdest, most random and unlikely band to have its own video game,” you were right. Until now. Curious Sense, the makers of the REO game, has announced…
Rascals’ NY Deli (Review)
W hat are the signs of civilization? Indoor plumbing, a literate population and a good deli, right? There’s something about a real deli that’s big city and major league. If you’ve never eaten at a genuine deli, how do you understand half the jokes on Seinfeld? The black and white cookie, the marble rye —…
One More One More Girl On a Stage
The One More Girl on a Stage fest returns Friday and Saturday to Newport’s York Street Café for the Rivertown Music Club’s last ever event. Local musician Kelly Thomas has used the Rivertown Music Club to promote local music and raise money for a variety of charities for the past seven years. The One More…
Housing Agency: West End Project Mismanaged
A Boston-based firm responsible for managing City West, the once-praised $200 million West End development, might be removed from the project after its relationship with the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) has worsened in recent weeks. The agency's long-strained relationship with management firm The Community Builders (TCB) is now tenuous at best after the organization…
Crowley’s Life Was a True Model of Service
W hen I was first told by a friend Sunday morning that former Cincinnati City Councilman and Vice Mayor David Crowley had passed away at age 73, I was taken aback by how much the news affected me. After all, I knew that David’s prostate cancer , which he successfully battled in 2005, had returned…
Terrible Things with Bayside and The Sleeping
In 2008 and 2009, Coatesville, Pa., was victim of bizarre, cruel trauma. Within that period, the small town with a population of about 10,000 was subject to some 44 arsons within its city limits. The damage was in the millions of dollars, several families were displaced because of destroyed homes and one woman died. The…
Joey Votto and Mayor Mallory
[WINNER] CLOVERNOOK: The nonprofit center in North College Hill that helps blind and visually impaired people find employment and become self-sufficient recently was honored with a major award. The National Industries for the Blind gave its 2010 Employment Award to Clovernook for its success at helping blind people lead more fulfilling lives. The unemployment rate…
King John (Review)
S hakespeare’s King John is not frequently produced. It has many unfamiliar historical characters (John reigned during the early 13th century; history remembers him because he was forced to sign the Magna Carta in 1215). He was a ruthless schemer, more concerned with pomp and personal preservation than ruling justly, and Shakespeare’s play is shot…
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day March
Here from local residents and watch the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day March through Downtown Cincinnati.
Shortt’s Sweet Spot
In a phone conversation with Paul Shortt, the CEA Hall of Fame scenic designer explains the distinction between the theaters for which his set for Tom Dudzik’s Over the Tavern was created. It was presented at St. Louis Repertory Theatre late in 2010, and now it’s coming to the Cincinnati Playhouse’s Marx Theatre, opening on…
The Dore of Preception
W hen he hears people describe fellow comedians Jon Stewart and Bill Maher as “liberal comics,” Jimmy Dore bristles. “They’re comedians,” he insists. “They tell jokes.” More than once on his Jimmy Dore Live radio show, as well as his podcast Comedy and Everything Else, he has stated that a comedian should “speak truth to…
Freddie Gibbs Builds Buzz
They say when times get lean it’s best to reel it in and stick together. Born and raised in post-industrial, Reagan-approved-crack-era Gary, Ind., Freddie Gibbs gets that. This would explain his grassroots approach to re-inventing a once-promising major-label-approved career into an independent DIY movement. In 2004, Gibbs signed with Interscope, but, not one for the…
Terrible Things Respond to Tragedy with Concept Album
In 2008 and 2009, Coatesville, Pa., was victim of bizarre, cruel trauma. Within that period, the small town with a population of about 10,000 was subject to some 44 arsons within its city limits. The damage was in the millions of dollars, several families were displaced because of destroyed homes and one woman died. The…
Jan. 12-18: Worst Week Ever!
WEDNESDAY JAN. 12 Many Cincinnatians were excited to learn last week that The Enquirer hired a new executive editor, hoping that future coverage might shy away from hilarious arrest stories and toward thoughtful investigation of social issues and government abuse (or maybe the new editor notices a talented young writer for the local alt-weekly who…
The Creatively Conscious Donald Deskey (Review)
Though he’s not a household name, it’s likely you have something designed by Donald Deskey inside your home right now. The current exhibition at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP) thoroughly outlines the life of this modern Renaissance man. Born in Blue Earth, Minn., in 1894, Deskey helped pioneer…
New GLBT Web Site Has High Hopes
TriStateNews.com launched this month after weeks of quietly building the Web site. It’s aimed at the region’s GLBT communities, and like the unrelated newspaper, GLBT News, it offers everyone a portal into the interests and achievements of a significant minority. Produced by Troy May and his nonprofit firm, May Media Institute Inc., in Taylor Mill,…
Freddie Gibbs with DJ Clockwork
They say when times get lean it’s best to reel it in and stick together. Born and raised in post-industrial, Reagan-approved-crack-era Gary, Ind., Freddie Gibbs gets that. This would explain his grassroots approach to re-inventing a once-promising major-label-approved career into an independent DIY movement. In 2004, Gibbs signed with Interscope, but, not one for the…
Thank You For Not Allowing Smoking
Dee Felice Café in Mainstrasse (529 Main St., Covington, 859-261-2365) had a waiting list on Saturday night. Why’s that remarkable? Well, because it’s been two weeks since the Jazz club banned smoking and, once upon a time, the cool cats of Jazz would not have gone smoke-free without a fuss. So it was in a…
Construction Finally Nears for University Plaza
As the redevelopment of Clifton Heights continues to occur, another area neighborhood is also preparing for a complete renovation. Corryville, which is located directly next to Clifton Heights and is home to many University of Cincinnati students, will be experiencing various changes during the coming year. The first will be the complete reconstruction of a…
Dan McCabe [MOTR Pub, owner]
New music venue/restaurant MOTR Pub (1345 Main St., Downtown, 513-381-6687) is owned by Dan McCabe and Chris Schadler, who have booked up-and-coming bands for various local venues over the years. McCabe also produces the MidPoint Music Festival and the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards for CityBeat and plays in the band The Kiss Me Everlasting. “I occasionally…
Just for Laughs
T ricycles and thongs are sore subjects for Brian Stevens — literally. “It (the thong) was uncomfortable and caused a lot of pain,” Stevens says. “And it took forever to shoot the scene because certain things kept falling out. And the tricycle was not easy either.” The co-writer and star of the independent comedy The…
Golden Globes: The True Winners
By now you've heard all about the Golden Globe awardees (and, if not, click here). But anyone who watched this hot mess of an awards show knows that the true winners are all of us viewers. Ricky Gervais made us wet our pants in laughter with one hell of a hosting job, Ryan Seacrest made…
Socialism More Popular Than Tea Party
Here's a bit of news that should spoil the day for Sarah Palin, Mike Wilson, Dusty Rhodes and their ilk: A comparison of two polls suggests that socialism is more popular among Americans than the Tea Party movement. A new, wide-ranging Washington Post-ABC News poll reveals that 35 percent of respondents had a favorable view…
Worst Day Ever!
• Miami University in 1997 decided to stop naming its sports teams after Native Americans who were killed by white people. Today it stopped selling memorabilia with its Indian logo on it. —- • Cincinnati has launched a search for its next police chief, who has large shoes to fill in replacing Tom Streicher. Seriously, he…
