Dogs and Cats Living Together
“Human sacrifice. Dogs and cats living together. Mass hysteria!”— Dr. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) in Ghostbusters, describing a looming supernatural calamity. In what’s surely a sign of the End Times, I find myself agreeing with former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for the first time ever.—- Palin has posted on her Facebook page that President Obama…
Valentine’s Day: Onstage
Adding Machine The Musical: Celebrate the opening of Know Theatre’s latest performance with a party. This heartbreaking musical is a remake of Elmer Rice’s 1923 play about the life of middle-class worker, Mr. Zero, who after 25 years of service to his company is replaced by a mechanical adding machine. There will be food provided…
Events: D*Flower*MF
For some of us, waking up the Sunday after monthly dance party/art installation/booze fest DANCE_MF means taking several ibuprofen and eating something that won’t taste that bad if we have to barf it up later. This week could be different, though, as the friendly folks over at PROJECTMILL are giving everyone a chance to feel…
Sports: Cincinnati Cyclones Thirsty Thursdays
We’re still months away from the start of baseball season, which means two things: It’s still cold outside and there are fewer reasons to consume nachos and beer in public. Luckily for those who enjoy this classic American combination (nachos and beer, not nachos and baseball), the Cincinnati Cyclones are here to help. Thursday home…
When in Rome (Review)
The severity of this grade is by no means an attempt to leave a searing scarlet brand marking it as the worst film ever made, but it does signify that the filmmakers (writers David Diamond and David Weissman and director Mark Steven Johnson) committed the unforgivable sin of taking a premise that could be magical…
The Brothers and The Sisters CD Release Party with The Guitars, 20th Century Tokyo Princess and Frontier Folk Nebraska
Relative newcomers The Brothers and The Sisters launch their debut album (a self-titled affair) this Saturday with a free show at Northside’s Mayday. The Guitars (who share drummer Matt Ayers with the headliners), 20th Century Tokyo Princess and Frontier Folk Nebraska also perform. The seven-piece band features singer/songwriter Jeremy Pinnell, whose work with The Light…
Sibling Reverence for The Brothers and The Sisters
Relative newcomers The Brothers and The Sisters launch their debut album (a self-titled affair) Saturday with a free show at Northside’s Mayday. The Guitars (who share drummer Matt Ayers with the headliners), 20th Century Tokyo Princess and Frontier Folk Nebraska also perform. The Brothers and The Sisters feature singer/songwriter Jeremy Pinnell, whose work with The…
Onstage: Falsettos
William Finn’s short musicals about gay men in the late 1980s were adventurous for their time. Today such stories are more familiar and common on stage and screen, but two decades ago, this was new territory. Composer and lyricist Finn, a Jewish man who is also gay, knew the territory. His songs in Falsettos paint…
Music: J.D. Souther
If you were asked which “lady or gentleman of the canyon” — the iconic 1970s-era singer-songwriters of Los Angeles’ Laurel Canyon — had recently delivered a late-middle-age masterpiece, you’d probably guess Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Carole King, Don Henley, CS&N … basically anyone but JD Souther. That’s partly because Souther, 64, isn’t that well-known, despite…
Off to See the Blizzard
PARK CITY, UTAH — Scott Weinberg, a Philadelphia-based writer for Cinematical.com, found himself stranded in Phoenix on Jan. 21 when a huge Pacific storm shut down the airport. He and a few other Sundance Film Festival-bound souls rented a car, drove through the maelstrom and arrived here at somewhere around 5 in the morning on…
Classes: MoBo Bike Co-op’s Winter Workshop Series
It’s hard to ride your bike in winter. It’s cold out and flying down one of Cincinnati’s many giant hills with the wind in your face doesn’t make it any warmer. Neither does trying to ride in snow. But MoBo Bicycle Co-op doesn’t want to you to forget about your two-wheeled ride while you’re huddled…
Save Our Strays CD Release Party
Northside Tavern hosts a party Friday to benefit the local Save Our Strays (SOS) animal rescue. Local bands Buckra (pictured), Daughters & Sons and Nathan Holscher & the Ohio 5 perform their standards as well as tracks from the new SOS album, Free Lap Dances Volume 5: Friends With Benefits. The event is free, but…
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (Review)
German wild-man Werner Herzog blissfully resurrects old-school Nicolas Cage in this hilarious, noir-infested tale about a drug-addled homicide detective whose disintegration (both moral and physical) coincides with that of his hurricane-ravaged hometown. Only loosely related to Abel Ferrara’s 1992 original, Herzog’s clunkily titled ode to B-level crime movies follows the exploits of Terence McDonagh (Cage)…
Music: The Ohms
Most local bands hit a nice area studio to record their first album. But The Ohms had a bigger impact in mind. After putting together a better-than-average home demo and receiving a spectacular response to their set at their own annual Ohmstead music festival, the Reggae/Rock quartet — guitarist/vocalist David Danforth, bassist Psycho D, drummer…
Benefit Show for Pat Rice Featuring Duppy a’ Jamba, The Frankl Project, Loudmouth and More
If you're a frequent attendee of local music shows, you’ve no doubt seen Pat Rice, the 65-year-old “superfan” who probably attends more music events than just about anyone and is beloved by the bands she consistently checks out. Local musician Chris Grannen (of the band The Pinstripes) captured the essence of Rice’s unwavering dedication in…
Comedy: Cash Levy
Over the years you may have seen Cash Levy on any number of TV talk shows. Perhaps you caught him on Comedy Central. Those controlled doses, however, don’t really capture the comedic sensibilities of his club set. While he has plenty of good jokes, his real love is just interacting with the crowd and improvising.…
Art: Critical Run at CS13
Where would Cincinnati's art scene be without its alternative-leaning co-ops and their new ideas? This Friday at 7 p.m., CS13 in Over-the-Rhine will combine impassioned art discussion with running in its first Critical Run event. Participants will argue about art's relationship to economic capital based on material in the publication Art Work from Chicago collective…
Valentine’s Day: Wine & Dine
Apsara: Four-course dinner for two includes two glasses of champagne. Regular dinner menu is available. $60. 4:30-11 p.m. Feb. 13 and 14. 4785 Lake Forest Drive, Blue Ash, 513-554-1040, www.apsaraasiancuisine.com Bella Luna: Celebrating Valentine's Day all week with a four-course meal Feb. 10-14. $50 a couple. 4632 Eastern Ave., East End, www.bellalunacincy.com Chalk Food &…
Music: Save Our Strays CD Release Party
The Northside Tavern hosts a party to benefit Save Our Strays (SOS) animal rescue. Local bands Buckra, Daughters & Sons, and Nathan Holscher & the Ohio 5 perform their standards as well as tracks from the new SOS album, Free Lap Dances Volume 5: Friends With Benefits. The event is free but CDs are $5.…
Art: Huxy: Modes of Masculinity at Museum Gallery/Gallery Museum
Museum Gallery/Gallery Museum is filling out the artistic vibe at the corner of 13th and Sycamore streets in Over-the-Rhine, just across from the arts venue CS13. Its second exhibition, curated by Reid Radcliffe and Alan Wight, is entitled Huxy: Modes of Masculinity. An enormous crowd of artists has been gathered to think about the semiotics…
Art: Kim Flora at PAC Gallery
One of the last artists to benefit from Cincinnati's artist grants program is Kim Flora. In 2008, she was awarded $6,000 to support the creation of the large-scale encaustic paintings that grace her exhibition Personal Vistas, opening this Friday at PAC Gallery in East Walnut Hills. (It is up through Feb. 27.) Encaustic (paintings in…
Events: Cincy Art Snob Tour Launch
Cincinnati Art Snob (cincy-artsnob.blogspot.com), a blog advocating “elevated discussion of the arts, education and of Greater Cincinnati's vibrant art scene,” run by art historian, writer and critic, Kathy Stockman, is hosting a launch party for its new tour series. This custom Cincy Art Snob tour series consists of three 90-minute tours at different art venues…
Music: The Brothers and The Sisters CD Release Party
Relative newcomers The Brothers and The Sisters launch their debut album (a self-titled affair) this Saturday with a free show at Northside’s Mayday. The Guitars (who share drummer Matt Ayers with the headliners), 20th Century Tokyo Princess and Frontier Folk Nebraska also perform. The seven-piece band features singer/songwriter Jeremy Pinnell, whose work with The Light…
Valentine’s Day 2010: Sweetheart Events
BB Riverboats Valentine’s Day Cruise: Nothing says romance like cruising the Ohio River. Cruisers will enjoy a buffet dinner and live music. Special packages are offered and include things like roses, photos, candy, wine and Mylar balloons. $30.95 adults/seniors; $20 children. Special packages run an additional $25-$50. 7-9:30 p.m. Feb. 13-14. 101 Riverboat Row, Newport,…
Music: Wild Carrot and the Roots Band
Accomplished local Americana duo Wild Carrot (Pamela Temple and Spencer Funk, pictured) and their accompanying Roots Band (Brenda Wolfersberger and Brandt Smith) present a special family-friendly concert Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. at St. John’s Unitarian Universalist Church in Clifton. The “Our Roots are Showing” event is an interactive “edutainment” concert, which the musicians have…
Music: Pat Rice Benefit
If you're a frequent attendee of local music shows, you’ve no doubt seen Pat Rice, the 65-year-old “superfan” who probably attends more music events than just about anyone and is beloved by the bands she consistently checks out. Local musician Chris Grannen (of the band The Pinstripes) captured the essence of Rice’s unwavering dedication in…
‘Our Roots Are Showing’ with Wild Carrot and the Roots Band
Accomplished local Americana duo Wild Carrot (Pamela Temple and Spencer Funk, pictured) and their accompanying Roots Band (Brenda Wolfersberger and Brandt Smith) present a special family-friendly concert Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. at St. John’s Unitarian Universalist Church in Clifton. The “Our Roots are Showing” event is an interactive “edutainment” concert, which the musicians have…
Lit: Rebecca Stead
Rebecca Stead’s When You Reach Me, which just won a fancy prize called the John Newberry Medal for “the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature,” centers on Miranda, a precocious 12-year-old whose mom is going to be on The $20,000 Pyramid (yes, the Dick Clark-hosted game-show staple) and whose best friend is a New York…
Local Artist Showcased in Charlotte
Charles Woodman, a Cincinnati artist and assistant professor of electronic art at DAAP, reportedly has a knockout five-screen video installation at the new group show The Romance of the Road: Photographs in Search of the Promised Land at Charlotte's Light Factory Contemporary Museum of Photography and Film. —-Woodman's piece, "American Diorama," consists of five 45-minute…
Emergency Benefit for Local Music Superfan
If you are a frequent attendee of local music shows, you’ve no doubt seen Pat Rice, the 65-year-old “superfan” who probably attends more music events than just about anyone and is beloved by the young bands she consistently checks out. Local musician Chris Grannen (of the band The Pinstripes) captured the essence of Rice’s unwavering…
Focus on the Family Focuses on the Super Bowl
It’s a time for frothy beer commercials and girls dancing in bikinis. A time for bulldogs riding skateboards and wardrobe malfunctions to rock your television set in between plays of actual football. It’s time for the Super Bowl. But apparently it’s also a time to think about where you stand on the issue of abortion.…
The Ohms (Profile)
Most local bands hit a nice area studio to record their first album. But The Ohms had a bigger impact in mind. After putting together a better-than-average home demo and receiving a spectacular response to their set at their own annual Ohmstead music festival, the Reggae/Rock quartet — guitarist/vocalist David Danforth, bassist Psycho D, drummer…
Nick Oliveri
The music emanating from Nick Oliveri’s latest album, Death Acoustic, represents some of the most brutal sounds the journeyman Punk bassist has ever recorded. For his accompanying solo acoustic tour, Oliveri should have a Woody Guthrie sticker affixed to his instrument, amended to read, “This Machine Kills Fascists … and Anything Else Within a 300-Yard…
RJD2 with Kenan Bell and Happy Chichester
The Third Hand was not received well. On the 2007 album by Indie Hip Hop producer RJD2, he concentrated on throwing his singing voice into his slow-cooked stew of scratched, sample-heavy sonics. After it came out, RJ stopped paying attention to the press. “I used to read reviews of my albums,” he recalls. Alternative Press'…
Souther Man
If you were asked which “lady or gentleman of the canyon” — the iconic 1970s-era singer-songwriters of Los Angeles’ Laurel Canyon — had recently delivered a late-middle-age masterpiece, you’d probably guess Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Carole King, Don Henley, CS&N … basically anyone but JD Souther. That’s partly because Souther, 64, isn’t that well-known, despite…
Strike Anywhere with Four Year Strong, This Time Next Year and Title Fight
A lot of Punk bands’ political activism extends as far as sporting a stylishly ripped Che Guevera T-shirt, but Strike Anywhere isn't a band that wears its politics on (or as) its sleeves. You'd be hard pressed to find a more informed and literate group of guys playing political, social and cultural manifestos at skin-blistering…
Supreme Court: Let’s Fight Words With Words, Not Muzzles
It didn’t take long before I realized the true horror of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision freeing corporations to spend freely to support political campaigns. It wasn’t the new potential for corruption or wealth drowning out other voices. It's the promise of more campaign ads on local TV. Bad as those seasonal ads are, it…
Music: Nick Oliveri
The music emanating from Nick Oliveri’s latest album, Death Acoustic, represents some of the most brutal sounds the journeyman Punk bassist has ever recorded. For his accompanying solo acoustic tour, Oliveri should have a Woody Guthrie sticker affixed to his instrument, amended to read, “This Machine Kills Fascists … and Anything Else Within a 300-Yard…
Music: RJD2 wit Kenan Bell and Happy Chichester
The ex-Ohioan (he’s now based in Philly) Indie Hip Hop producer RJD2 's latest album is The Colossus, which contrasts his last polarizing project by adding vocalists like Kenna and Illogic. The Colossus is a canvas of collages: The soulful thump of “Let There Be Horns” is only tangentially related to “Small Plans” (which has…
Music: Strike Anywhere
A lot of Punk bands’ political activism extends as far as sporting a stylishly ripped Che Guevera T-shirt, but Strike Anywhere isn't a band that wears its politics on (or as) its sleeves. You'd be hard pressed to find a more informed and literate group of guys playing political, social and cultural manifestos at skin-blistering…
Onstage: The Fall of Heaven
In a recent essay in Newsweek, Walter Mosley stated, “Everybody is guilty of something.” That truism is apparent in The Fall of Heaven, the first play by the well-known crime and mystery novelist in its world premiere at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Tempest Landry (Leland Gantt) is a guy who’s done a few bad…
Off to a Bad Start
Before Scott Brown (R-Mass.) was elected to the U.S. Senate last month, he campaigned as a “change” candidate who wouldn’t abide by politics as usual and would better represent constituents’ interests than his Democratic challenger. So, of course, one of his first actions before even being seated is prompted by self-interest.—- In an interview Sunday…
CBS and Double Standards
Almost every year, the Super Bowl is the most-watched television program and it's not just football fans who are responsible for the massive viewership. The annual game has become a social event replete with parties and non-football fans who tune in to see highly publicized halftime shows, inventive commercials and episodes of promising new TV…
They’re Equal Opportunity Offenders
To celebrate its 90th anniversary, the League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area is holding a fundraiser that will put the heat to some local politicians with the help of talk show host Jerry Springer. The league is hosting a political roast on Feb. 27. Targets of the evening’s entertainment will be Cincinnati Mayor…
Friday Movie Roundup: Jewish & Israeli Film Festival
As we head into the post-awards, pre-summer period known as The Dead Zone (see Legion, The Spy Next Door, The Tooth Fairy, as well as a dumpster-load of upcoming titles), the 2010 Jewish & Israeli Film Festival should be an oasis for filmgoers seeking fare that strays from Hollywood formula. And while the festival obviously…
Schneider Gets Back on Stage
Like most current and former Saturday Night Live cast members, Rob Schneider started out as a stand-up comic. Unlike many of that show’s alumni, since then he hasn’t spent a lot of time telling jokes in front of live audiences. It was pals Chris Rock and Adam Sandler who gave him the nudge. “Adam’s been…
Comedy: Rob Schneider
Like most current and former Saturday Night Live cast members, Rob Schneider started out as a stand-up comic. Unlike many of that show’s alumni, since then he hasn’t spent a lot of time telling jokes in front of live audiences. It was pals Chris Rock and Adam Sandler who gave him the nudge. “Adam’s been…
Magnetic Fields, Patty Griffin, Retribution Gospel Choir, Pat Metheny and I See Hawks in L.A.
Pretty much every minute of my life is defined by music. When I’m not listening to it, I’m thinking about it in some capacity. I’ve said it on many occasions — and I see no reason to refrain from repeating myself — but when I shuffle off this mortal coil and my life passes before…
The Fall of Heaven (Review)
Critic's Pick In a recent essay in Newsweek, Walter Mosley stated, “Everybody is guilty of something.” That truism is apparent in The Fall of Heaven, the first play by the well-known crime and mystery novelist in its world premiere at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Tempest Landry (Leland Gantt) is a guy who’s done a…
My Name Is Asher Lev (Review)
Critic's Pick The intensity that drives My Name Is Asher Lev comes close to swamping the show in its regional premiere at Ensemble Theater of Cincinnati. An hour into Aaron Posner’s 96-minute, no-intermission script (adapted from Chaim Potok’s 1972 novel), the title character’s pitiless, relentless self-analysis has shifted toward self-absorption. The core argument — which…
Events: Jewish & Israeli Film Festival
The 2010 Jewish & Israeli Film Festival should be an oasis for filmgoers seeking fare that strays from Hollywood formula. And while the festival obviously centers on films that fall in line with its namesake, viewers of any faith or nationality are likely to appreciate and enjoy its humanist-leaning, character-driven offerings. The six-day fest (Jan…
An Update From My Beloved Black Owls
Near and dear to my Rock & Roll tendencies, I’m excited for the Black Owls return to town this Saturday. Don’t know who they are? The Black Owls are a Rock & Roll band with a riffed up/stripped down sound, simple yet intense, familiar yet beguiling. Heavy beats and biting riffs lined with stealth bass.…
Portune, Burke Battle Over BOE
Tongues are wagging over a harsh e-mail exchange between two of Hamilton County’s top Democrats about who should be appointed to fill a vacancy on the Board of Elections (BOE). The e-mail exchange Monday between Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune and Hamilton County Democratic Party Chairman Tim Burke revolves around what criteria should be used…
Montgomery: Pick Me, I’m Rich
This week’s issue of CityBeat features an article about the Ohio Republican Party’s jockeying about who exactly will be its candidate for state auditor. Now we can add yet another name to the list of potential contenders. Robert Montgomery, the Franklin County recorder and a favorite of conservatives, has written a letter to the Republican…
Legion (Review)
The angel Michael (Paul Bettany) defies an order from God and comes to the defense of humanity as the rest of the angels prepares to make Earth a vacation getaway. Following a bit too closely on the heels of the Hughes brothers’ The Book of Eli, this potential franchise smacks of The Prophecy in that…
The Tooth Fairy (Review)
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson continues to mine the kid-friendly project pool with this lightweight pitch about an arrogant aging hockey star, busted into the ranks of the tooth fairies (since Santa’s been abused, it would seem the Easter Bunny might be next). After the mind-bending indie psychosis of Southland Tales, I fully expected Johnson to…
The Spy Next Door (Review)
Jackie Chan has been scaling back his headlong rush into the action-oriented abyss, mixing his slap-sticky martial arts mania with misdirection based on his bumbling and mangling of the English language. His pairings with various comic performers (Chris Tucker and Owen Wilson) have rendered him a box-office draw of some note, but now he’s preparing…
Podcast All-Star: The Newport Gangster Tour
We're on hiatus and taking a look back at some of the engaging stories from 2009. Episode 13: The Newport Gangster Tour is one of our favorites. —- Suscribe to our podcast in iTunes or use our RSS feed.
How Could This Have Happened?
I wasn’t sure I needed to see this exhibition. I’m already against lynching — who isn’t these days? What’s the point of showing photographs of a shameful, hateful chapter of American history? These questions, among others, have dominated the National Underground Railway Freedom Center’s planning for Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America, which opened last…
Crazy Heart (Review)
Jeff Bridges has been steadily rolling on screen for so long that it's easy to overlook him or simply forget the numerous stops along the way. But he’s back again, and Country singer-songwriter Bad Blake (Bridges) in rookie director Scott Cooper’s Crazy Heart is poised to be the destination of distinction. Blake is a force…
Pregnancy Center More Than Just ‘Anti-Abortion’
Cincinnati’s Pregnancy Center East sees hundreds of women each year, all facing what’s likely the toughest question of their young lives: I’m pregnant. Now what? And in this tough economy, for women who typically visit the center that question isn’t getting any easier to navigate. “That number is trending up, I will tell you, in…
GOP Lures New Candidate Against Pepper
The honeymoon might be over between Tea Party followers and Ohio Republicans. Although the Cincinnati Tea Party has long said it’s a non-partisan group, its largest rallies and protests have featured a predominantly GOP slant. Speakers and attendees at the events have included former Congressman Steve Chabot — who’s seeking a return to Ohio’s 1st…
Jan. 20-26: Worst Week Ever!
WEDNESDAY JAN. 20The Democratic Party might be well versed in political irony, but it took years for Al Gore losing his home state and George Bush calling John Kerry rich to really seem funny to most of them. It might also be a while before Dems laugh about the death of longtime health care proponent…
New CET Arts Channel Has Ambitious Goals
Come Monday, Cincinnati’s CET will unveil what the Public Broadcasting System says is the first public television station to devote one of its new digital channels to 24/7 arts programming. The immediate impact of CETarts — digital channel 48.3; Time Warner Cable Cincinnati channel 987 — will be to offer expanded broadcast of PBS shows…
Conan, DL Is for Download, Ticketmaster
[HOT] Fab Faux Pas?Music played a pretty big role on the final Tonight Show featuring Conan O’Brien last week. There was the tone-deaf but kinda funny version of “Free Bird” featuring Will Ferrell in the Ronnie Van Zant role and Conan on sloppy guitar (plus Beck, Ben Harper and one of the bearded dudes from…
Art: Without Sanctuary at the Freedom Center
The National Underground Railway Freedom Center’s Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America opened last week and is up through May 31. Convinced that no good can come of ignoring or forgetting this shameful aspect of American history — some 5,000 murderous, illegal lynchings, mostly of African-American males, from 1882 to 1968 — the Center has…
This Revolution Will Be Televised
It was a story that made headlines in the International sections of U.S. newspapers and occupied a nearly three-week slot in the 24-hour cable news cycle, but few Americans likely took notice of the actual events occurring on the ground in Ukraine back in 2004 as that country’s presidential elections took a decidedly undemocratic turn.…
Ten Days in January
Jan. 6: The first major snowfall of the winter season is predicted for tomorrow and I’m ready. I tell myself I live in the Midwest because I like the change of the seasons and snow can be beautiful. As I make a vodka and tonic, I think to myself that when the snow comes I’ll…
Taste This: Spotted Dick
Lost in the Supermarket is for anyone who has come across a weird food item at your local grocery store and either a) erupted in a giggling fit or b) tasted a little vomit in the back of your mouth. Or both. The concept is simple: My stomach is being put on the line so…
Barbara Hartman and Arnold Barnett
[WINNER] BARBARA HARTMAN: Thanks to the vigilance of Pierce Township resident Barbara Hartman, the public now knows that township trustees there have violated Ohio’s Open Meeting Act 18 times in the past two years. Hartman filed a complaint against the trustees, alleging they violated state law by not specifying what types of personnel actions were…
Portune’s Lessons in Futility
It’s difficult to resist the urge to tell Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune, “I told ya so.” Portune made a big deal a few weeks ago of his teaming up with his colleague, County Commissioner Greg Hartmann, to devise a solution for the looming deficits in the county’s stadium account. That account pays for debt…
Edge of Darkness (Review)
Acting in his first film since 2003, Mel Gibson is a bit rusty as retiring Boston homicide detective Thomas Craven in a part corporate thriller, part old-school revenge fantasy that feels dated from the start. A gratuitously bloody murder sets up a gauntlet of corporate espionage Craven must navigate to investigate the death of his…
