Music: Umphrey’s McGee
Music labels can be helpful when used to define a band to neophytes, or it can be a hindrance when a descriptive term jumps the shark. In the 1970s, the tags “Prog Rock” and “Fusion” went out of favor when many bands in those genres succumbed to their own musical excesses. The Jam Band moniker…
Music: Keb’ Mo’
Success comes in the strangest forms. For more than four decades, Keb’ Mo’ has been considered one of the leading contemporary lights in the Delta Blues tradition, a guitarist of infinite skill and invention who can easily play straight Delta translations or seamlessly hybridize the genre with dashes of Pop, Jazz, Folk and Rock. Yet…
Music: BoomBox
While founded on the backbeats and synth sequences often associated with Electronic music and the riffing guitar and improvised sets known to Jam music fans, BoomBox avoids association with the term “Jamtronica.” Rather, they like to think of themselves as a single DJ, operating as a unit built to get the party going, very much…
Music: Shooter Jennings
Following a father’s musical footsteps is hard enough, but boots don’t come harder to match than those of Country icon Waylon Jennings. Yet, in a similar (if somewhat less extreme) manner as fellow Country scion Hank III, Shooter Jennings has honored and reflected his father’s incalculable Country contributions while forging his own unique and successful…
Event: Dining Out for Life
Significant progress has been made since the 1980s HIV/AIDS epidemic, but there is still research and work to be done in finding a cure. Spearheading the movement in Ohio is Caracole, an organization that provides affordable housing and supportive services for individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS. You can help too. The annual Dining Out…
Event: Cincy Stories
Where does the art of storytelling fit into our technology-obsessed world? Well, Cincy Stories, an intriguing new quarterly storytelling event, has an answer. The people behind this exciting concept believe that stories have the transformative power to break down walls, build bridges, create community and that there simply isn’t enough storytelling in society today. Come…
Event: Tristate Winter Market
Interested in putting the finishing touches on a room in your home? Searching for a piece to serve as inspiration for a full-fledged redesign? Sometimes the most arbitrary item can become the one that ties everything together. Whether you’re looking or not, Cincinnati’s Tristate Winter Market’s indoor antique show is a stellar carrier of local…
Event: MadTree Winter Bonanza 2
MadTree Brewing turns two with this bonanza of a birthday party, replete with beer, food and live music in the brewery’s warehouse and taproom. They are offering a completely insane selection of local and regional craft beers, including more than 30 of their own brews, plus beers from Bad Tom, Blank Slate, Fifty West, Old…
Event: Bridalrama
For those currently involved in the wedding planning process, add some method to the madness at this popular bridal showcase. As Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky’s leading bridal planning event, Bridalrama will have you exploring decorative and informative exhibits by local wedding professionals. Brides and grooms will have the opportunity to meet potential wedding vendors face-to-face,…
Film: Cincinnati World Cinema Oscar Shorts
Cincinnati World Cinema hosts two days of screenings to bring you the five short documentary films nominated for this year’s Academy Award in Documentary Short Subject, plus two additional Oscar short-list films. The nominees offer an astonishing degree of diversity in respect to genre, narrative and style, capturing the full spectrum of documentary filmmaking in…
Event: Bockfest Beefsteak Club Dinner
Come and enjoy a delicious meal by Ronda Breeden and Arnold’s Bar & Grill, paired with beer from Over-the-Rhine’s Christian Moerlein Brewing Company, to support fundraising efforts for Bockfest. You are mistaken, however, to believe you’ll be eating steak. The event’s misleading name derives from an elite club that has formed annually since 1896, in…
Music: SuperJam 2015
Though it’s (obviously) wintertime, organizers of SuperJam 2015 will create an outdoor music festival atmosphere indoors at Tori’s Station in Fairfield on Saturday. The all-day show features an eclectic array of some of the area’s best bands, including reigning Bluegrass Cincinnati Entertainment Award winners Rumpke Mountain Boys, plus Rising Smoke, Peridoni, Sassafraz, The Almighty Get…
Event: Outdoor Adventure Expo
What do archery and Bigfoot have in common? Both are features at the Outdoor Adventure Expo at the Sharonville Convention Center this weekend. No, sadly, you don’t get to hunt Bigfoot. But you do get to try out an archery range with your bow or one provided by the expo. The Bigfoot Experience is an…
Event: Blues & Brews
Surround yourself with soulful Blues, tasty craft beer and mouthwatering food. Join season two of Memorial Hall’s Signature Series Blues & Brews, featuring a performance from internationally renowned Tennessee Blues band The Ori Naftaly Band. Begin the night with a pre-performance reception with light bites from Eli’s BBQ and The Phoenix, until it’s time to…
Comedy: Black & Brown Comedy Get Down
The Black & Brown Comedy Get Down is an all-headliner tour of who’s who in today’s comic scene: Mike Epps, Cedric the Entertainer, George Lopez, Charlie Murphy, D.L. Hughley and Eddie Griffin. This lineup of laugh-inducing lords of stand-up really needs no description — all of these comedians are staples of both the big and…
Art: Small Works at 1305 Gallery
Artists Jan Nickum and Rebecca Weller show a selection of their paintings and assemblages at 1305 Gallery. Weller, an Art Academy of Cincinnati-educated artist, paints vintage figures with either stained floral painted or printed patterned backgrounds made using handcrafted screens, as well as a series of “Cake Portraits,” which allow her to experiment with nuances…
Art: Slam Bam Comic Jam at the Art Academy of Cincinnati
The Art Academy’s Slam Bam Comic Jam is more than an art show — it’s basically a month-long comic-geek celebration. While the cornerstone of the exhibition is the comic work of David Michael Beck (Dark Horse Comics’ Star Wars: Empire and Star Wars: Republic), Tony Moore (Fear Agent, The Exterminators and the first six issues…
Comedy: Greg Morton
Greg Morton’s most popular bit by far is his Star Wars reenactment, in which he does a mini-promo of the saga, complete with character voices and sound effects. Where most comedians end with their signature bit, Morton often starts with it. “That’s how I figure out where the crowd is at,” he says from his…
Onstage: The Other Place
Juliana Smithton is a scientist renowned for her expertise in pharmaceuticals. She’s highly respected as a professional, but she’s becoming unhinged as a result of divorce and being estranged from her daughter. In an effort to put the pieces of her life together she visits “the other place,” a cottage on Cape Cod that she…
Morning News and Stuff
Hey all, let’s talk news. This is a weird one. Someone or multiple someones fired shots at the Great American Tower downtown four times in the last week. The shooters have taken their potshots after business hours, when few people are in the building. There have been no injuries, though windows have been shattered. Police…
Aaron Betsky Lands New Job
Aaron Betsky, who stepped down from his post as Cincinnati Art Museum director last year, has a new job: Dean of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture. The school, which offers M.Arch degrees, offers graduate students educational training at Taliesin in Spring Grove, Wisc., and Taliesin West in Arizona. It is an evolution of…
Morning News and Stuff
Let’s just get right to it this morning. It’s clear we as a society have lost our way. We’re so focused on the little things — pervasive poverty, military conflicts around the globe, our government’s inability to accomplish much of anything, etc. — that we’ve let a major atrocity slip right past us. But at…
Greater Tuna (Review)
Tuna, Texas, once a real-live speck of a town, had been written off state maps for decades. That changed in 1981 when Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard penned Greater Tuna, the first of four comedic plays focusing on the quirky, small-town conservatism of Tuna. Currently onstage at the Covedale Center, the show introduces…
The Handmaid’s Tale (Review)
Critic's Pick Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, was published 30 years ago, but when you see its theatrical adaptation by Joe Stollenwerk at Know Theatre, you might imagine that it’s even more possible today. It’s a powerful personal story of a woman held hostage in the Republic of Gilead, a dystopian future America harshly…
2015 Cincinnati Entertainment Awards: The Winners
It was another great celebration of the Greater Cincinnati music scene Sunday night at Covington’s Madison Theater, as CityBeat presented the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards for the 18th straight year. The eclecticism of our local music scene was on display via excellent performances by nominees Mad Anthony, The Cliftones, Young Heirlooms, Zebras in Public, The Whiskey…
Clifton’s Hebrew Union College Celebrates 140 Years
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is using a two-day event this weekend to kick off the 140th anniversary celebration of the founding of HUC in Clifton. On Sunday at 4 p.m., it will observe the role of one of the school's past presidents, Julian Morgenstern, in rescuing 11 college professors and five rabbinical students…
And the Winner is … Us
There are a couple of things that have been on my mind of late, and this always seems like a decent forum to vent my musings, particularly since I'm not in therapy. First of all, what exactly constitutes medical attention for an erection lasting more than four hours? Does a stereotypically sexy nurse, um, give…
Morning News and Stuff
Hey hey! In the past, specifically around election time, I’ve admonished you about getting involved in the democratic process. Well, it’s time to do your civic duty once again by casting your ballot in CityBeat’s Best of Cincinnati reader survey. Vote! Yes, it’s a long ballot, but don’t worry. You can skip some sections in…
Stage Door: Theater Abounds This Weekend
I attended the opening of Ring of Fire: The Johnny Cash Musical at the Cincinnati Playhouse last evening. The show offers some sense of the great Country music singer's life, but it's not detailed in the way Rosemary Clooney was portrayed in the Playhouse's recent production. Instead, it's Cash's music that's front and center, performed…
Babel and Begats
The revival of political reporting after the 2014 election and holidays reminded me of Genesis 11. That’s where you find two teasures: Babel and Begats. You know the story of Babel, something about hubris and its costs. Here’s a brief sample of the Begats from a modern Catholic translation: “When Shelah was thirty years old,…
Morning News and Stuff
Hey all! The luxurious CityBeat HQ is getting an update on its swank factor at the moment (read: we’re getting new carpet) so I’m hanging out around the house today eating cookies and checking out the news. Here’s what I’ve got: We told you about the rumors last week, and now it’s official: Cincinnati City…
Strange Magic
Having passed the torch on the Star Wars franchise, George Lucas now shares another fantasy story of his. This time the adventure is rooted in the fantastic world of goblins, elves, fairies and imps of all stripes, battling over a potion of great power. While sprinkled with Pop songs from the past six decades, the…
Mortdecai
Based on the trailers, it appears that this action-comedy — about a “debonair” rogue art dealer named Charlie Mortdecai (Johnny Depp) seeking to recover a stolen painting with an embedded code that leads to undiscovered Nazi treasures — will trip, stumble and pratfall heavily on its butt thanks to a plethora of broad hijinks prettied…
Cake
While I can’t say I was ever a huge fan of the hit television series Friends, it would be foolish to discount the talent of its stars, especially the under-rated work of Jennifer Aniston. The problem for Aniston is that her performances tend to get overshadowed by media frenzy (surrounding her relationship with her ex-husband…
The Boy Next Door
How often does a campy movie wear said campiness as openly as Rob Cohen’s latest pic (on the heels of Alex Cross with Tyler Perry)? Jennifer Lopez stars as a recently divorced mother who succumbs to the easy charms of a young man (Ryan Guzman) who has moved into a house across the street and…
Celebrating the Average in ‘Togetherness’
HBO’s newest addition to the Sunday dramedy lineup is the TV debut from filmmaker brothers Jay and Mark Duplass. Togetherness (9:30 p.m. Sundays, HBO) follows Brett (Mark) and Michelle Pierson (Melanie Lynskey), a sound designer and stay-at-home mom, respectively, raising their two kids in Los Angeles. Typical mid-life stress multiplies when Michelle’s sister Tina (Amanda…
Hailed ‘National Gallery’ Documentary Comes to CAM
The year 2014 has been such a good one for feature films about the visual arts — both fictional and documentaries — that its offerings just won’t end. Even after Tim’s Vermeer, Finding Vivian Maier, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Art and Craft, Big Eyes and more have already played here, other art films considered 2014…
Only Lovers Left Alive
Besides Richard Linklater’s groundbreaking Boyhood, Jim Jarmusch’s latest, the aptly titled Only Lovers Left Alive, was the most engrossing moving-going experience for me in 2014. Leave it to Jarmusch, the best filmmaker to ever call Akron, Ohio, home, to make a vampire movie that leaves the now-ubiquitous genre in the dust. Largely set in the…
River’s Edge
River’s Edge debuted alongside Blue Velvet at the 1986 Telluride Film Festival. Both films featured a visceral performance from a newly sober Dennis Hopper, vivid work from cinematographer Frederick Elmes and a rare darkly comic narrative. Nearly 30 years later, Blue Velvet is rightly hailed as David Lynch’s masterpiece, an achievement noted film historian David…
I Just Can’t Get Enough
The Academy Award nominees were announced Thursday, but you only need to know one name: Dick Poop. Dick Poop! Read the rest of the stupid, non-funnily named nominees here. Dick Poop is the Adele Dazeem of 2015. And speaking of Idina Menzel, the woman whose name was famously botched by John Travolta at last year’s…
Evocative Revisionist History in CAC’s ‘Based on a True Story’
When we think about grand historical myths — things like the American Dream, Manifest Destiny or every war, for example — it’s important to acknowledge that society buys into these widespread accepted “truths” because of all the supporting evidence. Art is often submitted as corroborating proof or validation of the truths we already tell…
‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Adaptation Warns Against Complacency
Joe Stollenwerk lives in Bloomington, Ind., where he’s pursuing a doctorate in theater at Indiana University. He was part of the Cincinnati theater scene for more than a decade as a performer and the original artistic director of the Ovation Theatre Company, which shut down in 2008. He worked with lots of performers, including Cincinnati…
Culinary Crystal Ball
H ere you go, folks. Another one of those lists telling you what’s hot in the world of food. But while most other roundups focus on national or worldwide culinary trends, we at CityBeat decided to keep things local and survey hometown food and beverage professionals to see exactly what it is they’re planning to…
Coming Back Down the Pike
T he reanimation of Pike 27 is one of the most unlikely and welcomed Cincinnati-area band reunions in recent history (perhaps second only to The Warsaw Falcons’ recent resurrection). Few saw it coming, but many hoped for it, including the band’s dedicated fans and its creatively restless frontman Dave Purcell. Given his continued songwriting/performing pursuits…
Borgore
To say that Israeli Electronic Dance producer/DJ Borgore has a broad range would be the understatement of the ages. Borgore (born Asaf Yoseph Borger in Tel Aviv) began his musical journey as a music school student before a brief stint seven years ago as the drummer for Shabira, that rarest of musical entities, an Israeli…
Carlene Carter with John Mellencamp
Mother Maybelle Carter was a member of the Carter Family, whose infamous 1927 recordings in Bristol, Tenn., (along with Jimmie Rodgers, Blind Alfred Reed and others) brought Country music to the masses. Later in life, Maybelle would record and tour with her daughters, including June, who would go onto marry Johnny Cash. Before June Carter…
Aoife O’Donovan with Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Over the Rhine, Rosanne Cash and more
What could be better than a night with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra doing Stephen Foster classics? Uh, how about when they’re joined by the likes of Rosanne Cash, Cincinnati’s own Over the Rhine, Dom Flemons and Aoife O’Donovan? Dubbed “American Originals,” the Pops will endeavor to entertain fans with three nights of some of the…
Morning News and Stuff
Hello all. I hope you’re not too hung over this morning from playing State of the Union Address drinking games, and that you found something worthwhile in the speech to either applaud or decry on social media for an adequate number of likes/retweets/whathaveyous. I’ll get back to the speech in a moment, but first let’s…
Stephen Foster Reconsidered
T his weekend the Cincinnati Pops pays tribute to the music of Stephen Foster and other songs rooted in the American experience with “American Originals,” performed by veteran and emerging Roots musicians. Grammy Award-winner Rosanne Cash will be joined by Over the Rhine, Dom Flemons (founder of the Carolina Chocolate Drops), Joe Henry, Aoife O’Donovan…
US Supreme Court to Hear Ohio Gay Marriage Case
The U.S. Supreme Court announced Jan. 16 that it will hear arguments about gay marriage bans in Ohio and three other states this spring, lining up what could be a precedent-setting legal battle over the bans. In November, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati upheld gay marriage bans in Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan…
Requiem Project Files New Suit Against UC over Emery Theatre
The nonprofit Requiem Project filed a new lawsuit Jan. 14 against the University of Cincinnati over the right to renovate the long-neglected Emery Theatre in Over-the-Rhine. The latest chapter in a nearly two-year fight over who should oversee the historical theater’s renovation, the suit alleges that UC has failed to uphold its end of a…
A Growing Hunger
C incinnati in many ways is riding a high, winning national attention for its continued resurgence. But as an ongoing revitalization fueled by complex multi-million dollar developments bustles, many residents are still struggling with a basic need for food. And while programs exist to help stamp out hunger from one day to the next, experts…
U.K. Venue Heroes Ban Selfie Stick
HOT: U.K. Venue Heroes The “selfie stick” (literally an elongated stick narcissists can place their smartphones on to take better pics of themselves) is a hot item right now, but if you’re in the U.K., there are a handful of big music venues that won’t let you in with them. London’s The O2 and the…
Forever Yours, Mitt Romney
My Dearest America (wealthy, white American males): You must know by now as I hint around the subject of running for president yet again — my third try — how much I really do love you and want to be your leader. I want to be president so badly I don’t just taste it, I…
Cincinnati vs. The World 1.21.15
A small town Kentucky state senator is set to sponsor a bill banning transgender students from using restrooms that don’t correspond to their biological sex. The move is reportedly in response to a Louisville High school last year allowing a transgender student born male but who identified as female to use the female restroom. World…
It’s Cincinnati Entertainment Awards Time
The votes have been cast and tallied and now it’s time to find out which local musicians have won 2015 Cincinnati Entertainment Awards. The awards show, presented by CityBeat and now in its 18th year, returns to Madison Theater (730 Madison Ave., Covington, Ky., madisontheateronline.com) this Sunday. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show…
Worst Week Ever!: Jan. 14-20
Fox News Exaggeration Actually Results in Apology It’s a topsy turvy world we live in, where people more humorous and astute than your friends here at CityBeat long ago realized that Americans get their news from Comedy Central and their humor from Fox News. When you think about it, it really does make sense, though.…
The Delta Saints with Moonshine & Wine
In interviews, the members of Nashville, Tenn., quintet The Delta Saints often downplay the relevance of their band’s name. But the moniker’s origin story is a good one — after jamming together and writing songs in 2008, the group booked some shows before deciding on what to call themselves. Up against the clock, the musicians…
