Cabana on the River (Review)
Chances are if you’re a local Cincinnatian, you’ve experienced outdoor dining on the Ohio River at some point — probably downtown at The Banks or a spot just across the river, like Newport on the Levee. But you might not know that just about 20 minutes west, down Route 50, you can find some of…
The KillTones Go Wild on ‘Raw. Animals. Dance’
This Friday, superb Cincinnati rockers The KillTones host an album release party in honor of their new nine-track effort, Raw. Animals. Dance. The band will be joined by locals Lemon Sky and Philly-based Soraia for the free, 9 p.m. event at Over-the-Rhine club The Drinkery (drinkeryotr.com). The KillTones will be filming the show and are…
Cincinnati vs. the World 07.23.2014
UNICEF has called for accelerated action against child marriage and genital mutilation after its new report revealed the continued prevalence of both practices. Seven-hundred-million women alive today were married before they were 18. WORLD -2 Cincinnati’s small businesses may be getting friendlier, according to the annual rankings of Thumbtack and the Kauffman Foundation. Overall friendliness…
Randy Wolf: November 7, 1964-July 11, 2014
On July 11, my high school classmate, Randy Wolf, dropped dead unexpectedly of a heart attack. This is not about the shock of a 49-year-old man dying unexpectedly; we are born to die. This is not about my own mortality; I feel my body’s anarchy everyday. My time may also be nigh. This will not…
Junk: It’s What’s for Breakfast
Thanks to a nobly health-food-conscious mother, growing up I was never allowed to wake up and eat a bowl of the alluring, overly sugared cereal that I would marvel over at the grocery store — packaged in boxes adorned with cartoon characters and often containing toys. It was only at friends’ houses that I ever…
Jonah and Kumail Bring L.A. Live Show to Comedy Central
For the past four years, comedians Jonah Ray and Kumail Nanjiani have hosted a weekly show from NerdMelt, a small space in the back of Los Angeles comic book shop Meltdown. Launched by Chris Hardwick (creator of blog/podcast-turned-digital entertainment network The Nerdist; Talking Dead host) — NerdMelt may not be your typical L.A. comedy club.…
Embracing the Present in ‘Wish I Was Here’
There’s something fitting in the work of Zach Braff — the star of successful television comedy series Scrubs, which sang, danced, and laughed its way through the madcap years of med school residency for its hapless trio of would-be doctors — because Braff, settling in at the helm of his second feature film, has a…
Northside Community Council OKs Needle Exchange Program
Northside Community Council voted July 21 to create a needle exchange program in the neighborhood. The effort, run by the Cincinnati Exchange Program, will start sometime in August and operate from a van one day a week for three hours at a time. Planned Parenthood will also participate, providing testing services for diseases like HIV…
Local Rally Supports Palestinian Civilians in Embattled Gaza
About 500 people rallied downtown July 20 to show support for Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, where more than 400 civilians have been killed over the past few weeks in clashes between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas. The protesters massed at Fountain Square before marching around downtown for about three hours. Local attendees…
Holder: Obama Administration Will File in Ohio Early Voting Suit
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says the Justice Department plans to join a lawsuit against the state of Ohio seeking to restore early voting in the state. Holder revealed the DOJ’s intention to join the fight in Ohio over early voting during an interview about terrorism with ABC News in London July 11. That portion…
Greenpeace Activists Refuse Plea Deal, Face Prison
Eight of the nine Greenpeace activists charged with hanging a giant banner from the Procter & Gamble building downtown in March showed no interest in a plea deal with prosecutors July 21, a lawyer for the group said. Without a plea deal, the eight risk a maximum sentence of eight years in prison on felony…
Puppets Provide Inspiration for Local Creative
Wearing a Mister Rogers T-shirt with the words “never forget” emblazoned across it, Terrence Burke studies a newspaper while drinking an iced coffee at Northside’s Sidewinder Coffee. The clothing choice is pretty indicative of Burke. In 2010, Burke founded the zany puppet troupe Wump Mucket Puppets, creating and performing with his original cast of characters,…
DUI Debate
I f Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) can convince the Ohio Statehouse to pass “Annie’s Law,” or HB 469, all first-time DUI offenders wishing to drive during any probation will have to install a breathalyzer machine in their car and pass it for the car to start. MADD’s Ohio office in Columbus believes the law…
Music: The Alvin Brothers
When Dave and Phil Alvin were just kids in Downey, Calif., they already had developed a curiosity about the roots of American music. So when 12-year-old Phil saw a copy of Big Bill Broonzy’s Big Bill’s Blues, he bought it and brought it home. Broonzy, a key guitarist, singer and writer of (primarily but not exclusively) acoustic…
Music: Richard Buckner
Richard Buckner’s obscurity is partly due to the fickle music business, but also due to his decidedly different approach to songwriting and performance. Over the years, Buckner has developed a following overseas in the U.K. and even recorded for a French record label for a while. Here in the United States, his music has been…
Music: Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah
It hardly seems possible that a decade has gone by since the original formation of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, although given the band’s current status, there’s an argument to be made that the quintet didn’t actually make it to the 10-year mark. At last check, the only member of CYHSY still standing is frontman…
Music: Royal Blood with Valley of the Sun
Vocalist/bassist Mike Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher do business as the Garage/Psych/Blues duo Royal Blood. It’s an interesting spin on the guitar/drum concept that has taken hold in recent years, as Kerr brings the bass into the lead role with the force of what Alice Cooper once characterized as a “Heavy Metal elephant gun.” Coming…
Music: Lucius with Sara Bareilles
Like Tegan & Sara (with whom they’ve toured), Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Brooklyn Indie Pop band Lucius wrap their vocals around each other, both in harmony and unison, with the impressive precision of two vocalists who’ve sung together their entire lives. Unlike Tegan & Sara, Wolfe and Laessig didn’t meet until they were…
Art: Michael Wilson, For Musicmakers from These Parts at Iris Bookcafe
“I don’t know the people, but I like the way they look,” says longtime Cincinnati Post photojournalist Melvin Grier. Grier is at Iris BookCafé, surveying black-and-white photos of local musicians. Some are national names, others up-and-comers. All were shot by fellow photographer Michael Wilson, who should be a national name but isn’t. Wilson is the…
Event: Death Cafe
Like the Flaming Lips sang in the conclusion of Bunbury Music Festival: “Everyone you know someday will die,” including you. If death seems like the “elephant in the room” to you, then maybe you should tackle the taboo at Arlington Memorial Gardens’ Death Cafe. It’s Cincinnati’s edition of a worldwide movement to broaden the conversation…
Event: Art on Vine
Washington Park plays host to a boutique art fair showcasing fine arts, crafts and photography from more than 40 local artists, plus live music. A Tavola will offer a day-of special, allowing Art on Vine guests to order any signature pizza and a pitcher of High Life for $15. Attendees also receive one free group…
Event: Milford Street Eats Food Truck Rally
Looking for a food truck this Saturday? It’ll be in Milford. The second annual Milford Street Eats festival will feature more than a dozen of Cincinnati’s favorite food trucks, including C’est Cheese, streetpops, Eat!, Red Sesame and more. Local breweries 50 West and Mt. Carmel will also be on hand doling out some sweet suds.…
Film: The Room 11th Anniversary
Bad movies suck. Movies so bad they’re good, however, can gain a cult following — like Tommy Wiseau’s The Room. If you love guilty pleasure flicks or the phrase “Oh hi, Mark” means anything to you, you’ll want to celebrate the 11th anniversary of cinematic masterpiece The Room this weekend at the Esquire. Complete with cheesy acting,…
Event: Taste of OTR
The second annual celebration of Over-the-Rhine’s best tastes, arts and sounds benefits Tender Mercies, one of the neighborhood’s oldest and most life-changing nonprofit organizations that provides supportive housing and related programs for homeless Cincinnatians with histories of emotional and or mental disabilities. This summer night full of food features Eli’s BBQ, Tom + Chee, MOTR…
Event: Greater Anderson Days
In its 16th year, the popular event hosts approximately 30,000 people over the course of its three-day run. Live music, games, rides and delicious food will all be on hand. The fun continues with an “Anderson’s Got Talent” competition and a firework display provided by Rozzi’s Famous Fireworks. The event benefits the Anderson Foundation for…
Event: Passport to Wine
If you need a glass of vino and hors d’oeuvres to unwind after the workweek, Great Parks of Hamilton County offers the Summer Passport to Wine featuring music from The Chris Comer Trio. Wines from California, Ohio, Kentucky, North Carolina, Germany, Italy, Spain and many more will be available for tasting. Not sure which is…
Art: Hybridity: The New Frontier at the 21c Museum Hotel
Interdisciplinary artist and current Guggenheim Fellow Chris Doyle presents a lecture Friday evening to coincide with the opening of his current exhibition at the 21c Museum Hotel, Hybridity: The New Frontier. Doyle will explore artistic influences of Romanticism and Surrealism in his lecture, referencing his own work as well as art historical traditions, to trace…
Music: Macy’s Music Festival
After the relatively new Alternative music-focused Bunbury and last week’s brand new Country-centric Buckle Up, this weekend welcomes back one of Cincinnati’s classic fests — the two-day R&B/Soul music-celebrating Macy’s Music Festival, which was first held in 1962 (when it was called the Ohio Valley Jazz Festival). After R. Kelly angered some fest-goers for going…
Onstage: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)
In its 20th season, the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company completed “the canon,” the rare theatrical feat of performing every one of the Bard’s 38 works. To kick off its 21st season, the “classic” theater company does it again — in one evening! Just three actors perform this zany romp that cruises through all of Shakespeare’s comedies,…
Comedy: Theo Von
Despite a detour into the world of reality TV, Theo Von always wanted to be a stand-up comedian. “The Road Rules thing was just something that happened,” he says. “It was never like when I was little I said, ‘I want to be on a reality show when I grow up.’ They didn’t even have them then, you…
Onstage: Madame Butterfly
A lot of confirmed opera haters give it up for Madame Butterfly. A novel and a play of the same name were huge hits in the early 1900s but Puccini’s intense, lush score outdistanced them all, and Cincinnati Opera winds up its season with this favorite. Italian lyric soprano Maria Luigia Borsi returns to sing…
Event: Butler County Fair
There is a reason this fair is Butler County’s biggest festival of the year. Complete with a demolition derby, tractor pulls and a corn hole tournament (plus the usual games, livestock exhibits and, of course, fair food), it’s a summer staple for 4-H-ers and non alike. It attracts nearly 100,000 guests each year and gives…
Event: Cincinnati Design Week
Catch the last few days of the third annual Cincinnati Design week, which pulls together the city’s design resources and talent for workshops, panel discussions and, most importantly, parties (beer and creatives, anyone?). Wednesday, go to workshop “Defining a City: Cincinnati’s Big Idea,” in which DJ Trischler of Work With D.J. and Megan Deal of…
Michael Wilson, Picture Taker From These Parts
“I don’t know the people, but I like the way they look,” says longtime Cincinnati Post photojournalist Melvin Grier. Grier is at Iris BookCafé, surveying black-and-white photos of local musicians. Some are national names, others up-and-comers. All were shot by fellow photographer Michael Wilson, who should be a national name but isn’t. “I was born…
Free Theater at Know — You’re Welcome!
You read that headline correctly. The outside-the-box thinkers at Know Theatre, the offbeat company that presents the Fringe Festival every June and other mind-expanding performances year-round, has a new idea. Led by new artistic director Andrew Hungerford, this initiative is called “The Welcome Experiment.” It’s the result of a question they recently asked themselves: “What…
Theater Matters
L ater this week more than 100 high school drama teachers will converge in Cincinnati. That might sound like a lot of theater geeks in one place at the historic Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza downtown, but according to the people organizing this get-together, the very future of our nation might be at stake. OK, maybe…
No Filter
W hile most R&B and Dance Pop artists keep things light lyrically, singing playful songs about the opposite sex, going to clubs, partying and other just-for-fun subjects, there’s not much sweetness and light on K. Michelle’s debut album, Rebellious Soul. And don’t look for any typical heartbroken anthems, either. “I just didn’t want to use…
Lucius with Sara Bareilles
Like Tegan & Sara (with whom they’ve toured), Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Brooklyn Indie Pop band Lucius wrap their vocals around each other, both in harmony and unison, with the impressive precision of two vocalists who’ve sung together their entire lives. Unlike Tegan & Sara, Wolfe and Laessig didn’t meet until they were…
Royal Blood with Valley of the Sun
What if they threw a band party and only the rhythm section showed up? That’s the oddly conceived question that has been answered by vocalist/bassist Mike Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher, doing business as the Garage/Psych/Blues duo Royal Blood. It’s an interesting spin on the guitar/drum concept that has taken hold in recent years, as…
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah with Public, Dream Tiger and Danny & His Fantasy
It hardly seems possible that a decade has gone by since the original formation of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, although given the band’s current status, there’s an argument to be made that the quintet didn’t actually make it to the 10-year mark. At last check, the only member of CYHSY still standing is frontman…
Richard Buckner
Richard Buckner’s obscurity is partly due to the fickle music business, but also due to his decidedly different approach to songwriting and performance. Over the years, Buckner has developed a following overseas in the U.K. and even recorded for a French record label for a while. Here in the United States, his music has been…
Northside Community Council OKs Needle Exchange
Northside Community Council voted July 21 to allow a needle exchange program in the neighborhood. The effort, run by the Cincinnati Exchange Program, will start sometime in August and operate from a van one day a week for three hours at a time. Planned Parenthood will also participate, providing testing services for diseases like HIV…
Morning News and Stuff
It's morning! I have news! Morning news! Wow, sorry, that's a lot of exclamation points. I sprung for the large iced coffee this morning and probably need to settle down a little. Anyway, here we go: Cincinnati is playing host to the annual National Urban League Conference this week. The event, held by one of…
REVIEW: Cincinnati Opera’s ‘La Calisto’
Don't walk. Run to the School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) to catch the remaining performances of La Calisto, an opera composed in 1653 that's equal parts romance and raunch, performed by a superb cast of singers, instrumentalists and dancers who are all clearly having a wonderful time. Composer Franceso Cavalli was savvy enough…
Panic! Counter-Attack
HOT: Panic Counter-Attack Weird Al wasn’t the only one riling up the Internet with song parodies last week. In honor of their plans to picket a Missouri concert by Alt Rockers Panic! at the Disco (because the group’s singer has talked about being bisexual), the hateful idiots of the notorious Westboro Baptist Church turned the…
REVIEW: Louisville’s Forecastle Fest Day 3
The third and final day of Forecastle finally arrived. The fest’s weekend felt much longer than, well, a weekend, though each day seemingly flew by. By this point, the festival started to feel like home. I entered the media tent expecting familiar faces, waited like a patient puppy in front of its food bowl for…
Bond of Brothers
When Dave and Phil Alvin were just kids in Downey, Calif., they already had developed a curiosity about the roots of American music. So when 12-year-old Phil saw a copy of Big Bill Broonzy’s Big Bill’s Blues, he bought it and brought it home. Broonzy, a key guitarist, singer and writer of (primarily but not…
Morning News and Stuff
Heavy stuff in the news today, but there’s a bright spot at the end of this rundown, something so inspiring it will probably change your life. Well, maybe just your week. Err, I don’t want to oversell it. I promise you’ll be amused for at least a couple minutes if you make it to the…
Lois Rosenthal, Cincinnati Arts Patron, Has Died
It is with sadness that we report the death of one of Cincinnati's great art patrons, Lois Rosenthal, at age 75. This notice was in today's issue of The New York Times: ROSENTHAL—Lois, 75, on July 20, 2014, died peacefully. She is survived by her husband Richard, their children Jennie (Allan) Berliant and David, her…
REVIEW: Louisville’s Forecastle Fest Day 2
What I love about Day 2 of a fest is that I usually have my bearings — I understand the layout of the festival and know how to find what I need. What I love more about Day 2 of a fest is that, while things seem the same, there is still much to be…
REVIEW: Lousville’s Forecastle Fest Day 1
Kentucky’s Forecastle is a music festival that I had never been to before this year. At the end of Day 1, I was asking myself why. After spending the majority of my Friday bouncing from stage to stage and tent to tent (still with much more to explore today), I found myself having the time…
Your Weekend To Do List: 7/18-7/20
Cincy Summer Streets — a new free citywide festival series — takes cars off the road to make way for a pop-up playground for kids and adults alike. Like a block party on steroids, the inaugural Cincy Summer Streets takes over a one-mile strip in East Walnut Hills Saturday with activities like dance classes, yoga,…
Morning News and Stuff
The news transpiring this morning is all across the board. The reshaping of Cincinnati’s downtown continues, and one of the biggest signs of more impending changes is the increase in housing in the city’s urban core. More people are interested in living in or near downtown, and developers are happy to oblige. Construction is ongoing…
Locals Buckle Up for Buckle Up Music Fest
Just like at last weekend’s Bunbury Music Festival, this weekend’s inaugural Country/Folk/Americana-centric Buckle Up Music Festival (founded by the creators of Bunbury) will feature several great Cincinnati area artists. Fans planning to attend the fest (running today through Sunday at Sawyer Point/Yeatman’s Cove on the riverfront) should definitely makes time to check out some of…
Stage Door: Kentucky’s the Place for Theater this Weekend
The Commonwealth Theatre Company's production of Route 66 continues its dinner-theater run at Northern Kentucky University. It's about a band traveling from Chicago to the West Coast in the 1960s along one of America's most legendary highways. Along the way, they meet a lot of colorful characters and see a lot of America. Wes Carman, Roderick Justice, Dain Alan Paige and Joshua Steele make…
Apple Street Market Party
Northside is looking to open a full-service grocery cooperative in the former Save-a-Lot location (4145 Apple St., Northside). The Apple Street Market will be filling the food void in the neighborhood by offering fresh produce, assorted deli items, quality meats, diary and a variety of other foods. The Cincinnati Union Cooperative Initiative (CUCI), a nonprofit…
From The Copy Desk
The idea of using enough self control to pack a delicious meal, find a blanket and change locations without eating said lunch sounds futile to me, but this week’s cover story Pick a Picnic is about as inspiring it gets in the line of picnic inspiration. So pick up your copy and choose your own…
REVIEW: Bunbury Music Festival Day 3
Sideways rain and swamp-ass, but it wasn't so bad. The storms were intermittent, the day was clearly not a total washout and, out of the nine days of Bunbury over the past three years, this one might just have ended on the highest note of them all. Upon arrival, I was greeted by above-and-beyond volunteer…
REVIEW: Bunbury Music Festival Day 2
Another pretty good day overall. The temperature was a little higher, as was the humidity, and even when the clouds moved in and things seemed perhaps a little iffy, the good weather prevailed and all was right for the second day of Bunbury, v.3. The day began as it ended the previous evening, with some…
Morning News and Stuff
Here it is: Everything (well, probably) that you need to know today. The struggle to pay for renovations for Union Terminal and Music Hall continues to make news, with articles out this morning exploring the details of the buildings’ ownership and why a tax hike to fix them up won’t be like the much-loathed 1996…
City Barbeque Named One of the Best in America
Ohio chain City Barbeque — with local locations in Blue Ash, Eastgate, West Chester, Florence, Ky., and Highland Heights, Ky. — has been selected as one of the top 18 best barbecue restaurants in America by Men's Journal. The article says, “It may be a chain, but don’t let it fool you: City BBQ doesn’t…
Morning News and Stuff
Good morning all. I may be writing this news rundown from my porch at home, enjoying the amazing weather and eating Graeter’s black cherry ice cream for breakfast, but that doesn’t mean I’m not real, real serious about the news. Let’s do this. As we reported yesterday, the Obama administration is expected to jump into…
REVIEW: The German Doctor
It is only through an understanding of the undeniable facts of history that we can even begin to consider the evil that was Josef Mengele, the Nazi doctor who conducted the most horrific experiments on Jewish subjects during the Holocaust and then was able to elude the ensuing global manhunt for him that lasted decades.…
Record Dealz for Kidz
HOT Record Dealz for Kidz Sony is reportedly pulling the equivalent of the NBA signing an eighth-grader to a long-term, big money contract by signing two 13-year-olds and a 12-year-old to a potentially long-term, big money record contract. The kids are in a fairly kick-ass Brooklyn Metal band called Unlocking the Truth, which went from…
Two New Relationship Comedies Hit FX
The ups and downs of dating and marriage have long lent themselves to comedic entertainment. From I Love Lucy to Married with Children, it’s fun to watch couples navigate their quirks. This week, FX adds two new comedies to its repertoire (which includes the Emmy-nominated Louie and popular fan faves like Wilfred, It’s Always Sunny…
Filmfest München: What Cincinnati’s Sister City Can Teach Us
Instead of starting off with questions about what I learned about international film culture from attending the Munich Film Festival, it would be far more instructive to kick off with a discussion about what the experience made me think about in terms of what it means to be modern. I routinely revisit the three philosophical…
