Free Full-Album Tributes for The Strokes, Nirvana
This year, two big Rock albums that were among the best of their respective decades celebrate milestone anniversaries. On October 9, 2001, New York City band The Strokes helped define Indie Rock in the ’00s with their debut album, Is This It. About 10 years before that, on Sept. 24, 1991, Nirvana released its breakthrough…
Morning News and Stuff
District Judge Thomas Marten yesterday issued a temporary injunction against a Kansas law that would strip all federal funding from Planned Parenthood. Marten’s injunction immediately resumes the funding provided to Planned Parenthood facilities until the lawsuit works its way through the courts.—- A Missouri school board yesterday decided that Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler…
Events: Can-Can Cocktail Classic
Looking for a drinking experience that doesn't involve blaring sports games or endless bottles of Bud? Head to Japp's in Over-the-Rhine as it hosts its first event since reopening — the 4th Annual St. Germain Can-Can Cocktail Classic. The classic will feature local bartenders Molly Wellmann of Japp's, Susy Mulroy of LaPoste and The Comet…
Music: The Decemberists
If one were to only read the words written about five-piece Portland ensemble The Decemberists, you might come away thinking the band is a bunch of pretentious English Lit majors who prance around to harpsichords and chamber music, dress like extras from The Remains of the Day and act out dramatic scenes based on their…
Art: Artists as Activists
The concept of "art as activism" is not a new one, but because the effects of art on society can be difficult to quantify, the conversation can sometimes be slippery and elusive. Enter Saad Ghosn, a local artist and activist who exhibits, curates and writes about art in ways that clearly examines the themes of…
Music: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
As Kip Berman discusses the influences, motivations and history that guide his New York Indie Rock quartet, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, the composed and intelligent frontman explodes in mock frustration. "All my descriptions are really boring!" he says. "I should be like, 'We wanted to turn the world upside down and reject…
Art: Hard Knocks: Art Without Art School
Thunder-Sky Inc.'s current exhibition Hard Knocks: Art Without Art School features the work of 30 artists who, as the gallery explains, "could not go, did not go, chose not to go to, and/or dropped out of art school." Nearly 120 works are presented densely in a salon style installation that overwhelms the mind. It is…
Events: Glier’s Goettafest
Goetta brownie? Got it. Goetta burrito? Got it. Goetta egg roll? Definitely got it. No matter how you like your goetta, this meat and oats jamboree known as Glier's Goettafest has got it all, sans perhaps a goetta swimming pool. (Maybe next year?) This celebration has grown every year since it began, increasing to over…
Music: Rock the Boat Part III
Two laps complete. One more to go. Headlining the third and final installment of Live Loud Industries’ Rock the Boat concert series, Seven Circle Sunrise and Nashville’s Dory Drive will wrap it up tight with more music, a lot more booze and — if everything goes accordingly, man — some action in the backseat of…
Events: A-Line Magazine’s The Great Getaway
Workdays seem longer in the heat — your temper gets shorter and an ice-cold cocktail is always soothing after a hard day. Laying in bed on a warm summer evening, I'm sure we've all dreamed of being in an exotic place with captivating scenery. We might not be able to hop on a plane and…
Music: Valley of the Sun EP Release Party
Recently surviving 3,000 sun-blasted miles in a tour van strapped with guitars, drums, three Swedish Rock gods and a case of Pedialyte, Cincinnati’s token Desert Rock cosmonauts, Valley of the Sun, have returned to the motherland to unleash their debut weapon of mass destruction: The Sayings of the Seers. Recorded and produced by John Naclerio…
Comedy: Greg Hahn
“It’s one of those things where you’re looking at your schedule and you’re happy to see it,” comedian Greg Hahn says of Cincinnati and Go Bananas Comedy Club. “It’s a really intimate club. It’s like a party in someone’s basement with best friends that you’ve never met. And I like to go bananas on stage…
Music: Carbon Leaf
Multi-instrumentalist Carter Gravatt once famously described Carbon Leaf’s wide-ranging sound as Brazilian Polka Metal, and while the Virginian band’s sonic spectrum isn’t quite that broad, the members have indeed embraced a number of styles in crafting their own singular approach. Carbon Leaf began nearly two decades ago when the original five members were students at…
Music: Cold War Kids
It’s been an eventful seven years since guitarist/vocalist Jonnie Russell, vocalist/keyboardist/guitarist Nathan Willett, bassist Matt Maust and drummer Matt Aveiro emerged from Russell’s Fullerton, Calif., apartment as Cold War Kids and began churning out a distinct blend of Indie Rock, Blues and Garage Soul. In that relatively brief span, CWK has released three albums (including…
Music: Cincy Blues Fest
Next year, the Cincy Blues Society’s annual summer showcase of local, regional and national Blues talent will celebrate its 20th anniversary. One of the Queen City’s prize music festivals (and one of the best Blues fests in the region), 2012’s Cincy Blues Fest is sure to have many unique features and surprises, but you could…
Dancing in the Street
Something fucking awesome happened in Cincinnati on July's Final Friday. A dude with a card table, some DJ stuff and a microphone (two turntables and a microphone, even) incited a random dance party with over 100 people around 1212 Main Street in Over-the-Rhine. Music was pumping, and people flocked to it. I have never witnessed…
Squeeze the Day for 8/2
Music Today: The biggest show of the day, even just in terms of sheer size, will be kicking off shortly. The Vans Warped Tour popped up in the mid-’90s, joining a flood of Lollapalooza-type package tours in the concert marketplace. From that class of tours (which included Lilith Fair, H.O.R.D.E., Ozzfest and Up and Smoke),…
Death Cab’s Coming, Kings of Leon’s Not
Riverbend made two concert announcements today that will have some music fans jubilant and others heartbroken. The good news — popular Indie Pop band Death Cab for Cutie will kick off their fall tour for the new album, Codes and Keys, here in Cincinnati at PNC Pavilion on Sept. 30. On the opposite of the…
Q&A with Journey’s Deen Castronovo
Though Rock/Pop chartbusters Journey don't have the same frontman they did when ruling the airwaves in the ’70s/’80s, the band continues to draw big crowds whenever they tour. The band created some of the most well-known songs in modern music — "Don't Stop Believin" is the No. 1 iTunes download of all time, for example.…
Crazy For You (Review)
I saw a touring production of Crazy for You years ago with a lot of very talented singers and tap dancers, so it was with some skepticism that I took my seat amid a full house at Covedale Center for a production by a bunch of kids (about 80, in fact) whose average age is…
Morning News and Stuff
President Obama and congressional leaders from both parties decided late Sunday on the framework for a budget deal that would cut trillions in federal spending over the next decade. Obama appeared before reporters and said that the deal ensures “that we will not face this same kind of crisis again in six months, or eight…
Squeeze the Day for 8/1
Music Tonight: L.A.-based Electronic trio The Glitch Mob has capitalized on the strength and success of its Hip Hop/Dubstep/Electronica recordings — like last year’s acclaimed breakthrough LP, Drink the Sea — by touring fairly consistently. But, though the three are former DJs, a Glitch Mob show isn’t just a three-headed DJ set. That wouldn’t fly…
Pitchfork 2011: Back in the Saddle Again
“I’m getting too old for this shit.” The phrase was a mantra as I entered the Pitchfork Music Festival 2011, the three-day-long music festival sponsored by the taste-making music website which blasted into Chicago’s Union Park from July 15-17. The thought of crowds thousands deep filled with folks almost 20 years my junior, sweltering heat…
Weekend Music Advisory for July 30-31
Music This Saturday: In 2006, Fountain Square underwent a renovation, not only in a physical sense but also in the way the heart-of-the-city’s space was used by citizens and visitors. The 3CDC group behind the refurbishment greatly expanded the number and quality of events presented on the Square. The biggest part of the expansion focused…
Morning News and Stuff
Michele Bachmann yesterday refused to answer any questions about her family’s business and finances, reiterating that she — not her husband — is running for president. Bachmann was quizzed over her husband Marcus’ Christian counseling clinic that attempts to convert gay “patients” as well as her own beliefs on sexuality during a luncheon at the…
Feather Hair Extensions: Not Animal-Friendly
Feather hair extensions are one of the trendiest fashion accessories right now (I say this knowing that Cincy's always a little behind the times on all things stylish). Celebrities from Ke$ha to Steven Tyler to Roseanne Barr have been rockin' the look, which may sound like a deterrent, but now these birdy little weaves are…
Carbon Leaf
Multi-instrumentalist Carter Gravatt once famously described Carbon Leaf’s wide-ranging sound as Brazilian Polka Metal, and while the Virginian band’s sonic spectrum isn’t quite that broad, the members have indeed embraced a number of styles in crafting their own singular approach. Carbon Leaf began nearly two decades ago when the original five members were students at…
Cowboys & Aliens (Review)
The mashup concept starts off with a nod to The Bourne Identity, when a man (Daniel Craig) soon to be known as Jake Lonergan wakes up in the desert with no idea who or where he is and discovers that he’s been wounded and has a fancy metal shackle on his wrist. Three bounty hunters…
Cold War Kids
It’s been an eventful seven years since guitarist/vocalist Jonnie Russell, vocalist/keyboardist/guitarist Nathan Willett, bassist Matt Maust and drummer Matt Aveiro emerged from Russell’s Fullerton, Calif., apartment as Cold War Kids and began churning out a distinct blend of Indie Rock, Blues and Garage Soul. In that relatively brief span, CWK has released three albums (including…
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
As Kip Berman discusses the influences, motivations and history that guide his New York Indie Rock quartet, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, the composed and intelligent frontman explodes in mock frustration. “All my descriptions are really boring!” he says. “I should be like, ‘We wanted to turn the world upside down and reject…
The Guitars’ Debut EP Release Tonight (AUDIO)
Tonight at Over-the-Rhine’s MOTR Pub, wildly impressive Cincy Soul/Pop/Rock quartet The Guitars celebrate the release of their new EP, High Action. Local Folk faves The Tillers open up the free show. Below is a review of the release, a slightly shorter version of which appeared in this week's CityBeat. You can also check out a…
Friday Movie Roundup: Ryan Gosling x 2 Edition
We have a odd-ball batch of opening films this week, including a pair of documentaries (one about a fascinating 1970s experiment on a chimpanzee, the other about a money- and fame-hungry woman disguised as a political and cultural leader); a pair of genre mashups (one a sci-fi western starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, the…
Squeeze the Day for 7/29
Music Tonight: The free MidPoint Indie Summer Series continues tonight with one of its most eclectic bills of the summer. Kicking things off at 7 p.m. is impressive Northern Kentucky group Belle Histoire, whose debut EP Spirits is a stunningly sophisticated and accomplished introduction, especially for such a young group. The band’s acoustic-based Indie Folk…
Enjoy Lollapalooza 2011 … In Under An Hour! (AUDIO)
Next weekend, the Lollapalooza music festival returns to Chicago for its 20th anniversary extravaganza. CityBeat will have some reporters in the field covering the event, but most of us don't have the money for such a costly road trip this year. Thankfully, you can have a sort of "virtual reality" audio experience of Lollapalooza without…
Your Weekend To Do List
It's Final Friday! The best day of the month for sauntering through Over-the-Rhine, perusing local art and sipping on some vino. One of many gallery openings takes place at the Art Academy of Cincinnati from 5-8 p.m. In Context is a thesis exhibition for art teachers working towards their Masters of Arts in Art Education.…
Dan Savage vs. Rick Santorum Redux
Remember in 2003 when Rick Santorum, an ultra-conservative current Republican presidential nominee and former Pennsylvania Senator, likened gay sex to beastiality and incest, prompting Savage Love columnist and proud gay man Dan Savage to name a certain sexual byproduct a "santorum"? The problem for Santorum, who's back in the spotlight via his sure-to-go-nowhere run for…
Morning News and Stuff
Republicans have taken a stand on this whole debt crisis thing and won’t be moved on the matter. Even if all they could come up with is some second-rate plan. House Speaker John Boehner’s plan will be voted on by the House today and isn’t expected to make it through the Democratic-controlled Senate and even…
Project Nim (Review)
James Marsh, director of Man on Wire, examines the 25-year chronicle of Nim Chimpsky, a research chimpanzee who was put through the mill in the service of science. Nim's origins trace back to early 1970s hippie Columbia University professor Herb Terrace. Terrace took the baby chimp away from his mother and attempted to train it…
Menopause the Musical (Review)
I am not the target demographic for Menopause the Musical, the show that’s spent 10 years “celebrating the Change.” The tour is in the midst of a three-week stop in Cincinnati, playing to largely “girlfriend” audiences at the Jarson-Kaplan Theater at the Aronoff. As the publicity states, it’s a show about “four women at a…
The Smurfs
In their familiar 1980s cartoon incarnation — as with most other properties turned into films during Hollywood's ongoing molestation of our collective nostalgia — were always horrible. So there has to be something intensely masochistic about buying tickets for a frantic, formulaic 100-minute dollop of hell like this one, in which the familiar blue faces — now…
Squeeze the Day for 7/28
Music Tonight: Though they moved their world headquarters to Austin, Tex., a while back, The Heartless Bastards will always be a Cincinnati band in the minds of both their local fans and the band members themselves (band leader Erika Wennerstrom said as much when the group performed on David Letterman’s show a couple years ago).…
‘Ides of March’ Movie Trailer Unveiled
A couple of days ago I wrote about news regarding the release dates of George Clooney's Ides of March, much of which was shot in and around Cincinnati. Now we have Ides' first trailer, which gives us a much better idea of the film's tone and focus. Here's Ides' official synopsis, the contents of which…
Q&A With Rocker Grace Potter
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals' Blues- and Folk-tinged sound is a wake-up call to the shift in the music quality that is overtaking American Rock music right now. The band continues to promote its 2010 self-titled album, which has given them their biggest spike in popularity, in part due to hit single, “Paris (Ooh La…
Council Forum Set for Friday
Several groups are teaming up to sponsor a forum on Friday for candidates running for Cincinnati City Council. So far, seven candidates — including one incumbent — have indicated they will attend the session. They are Councilman Wendell Young, a Democrat; Nicholas Hollan, Jason Riveiro, Chris Seelbach and P.G. Sittenfeld, also Democrats; and Kevin Flynn…
Neon Indian Tease New LP (AUDIO)
Neon Indian is finally getting ready to release the much-anticipated follow-up to its 2009 breakthrough debut album, Psychic Chasms. The Texas Indie/Electronic band — a MidPoint Indie Summer Series "regular," playing packed shows at Fountain Square's free Friday night concerts this and last year — is dropping Era Extraña on Neon Indian mastermind Alan Palomo's…
Morning News and Stuff
Bill O’Reilly is in the news today after distancing himself and the Christian community from mass murderer Anders Breivik. The Norwegian killed more than 70 people in a bombing and sequential shooting this weekend in Oslo and on Utoya Island, but O’Reilly says that no one who believes in Jesus can commit a mass murder.…
Squeeze the Day for 7/27
Music Tonight: When CityBeat contributing writer Gregory Gaston was in New Orleans earlier this summer, while roaming around the city, he happened to overhear some people talking about how AltCountry/Roots Rock forefather and current Americana music adventurer and Renaissance man Steve Earle had been murdered. Greg was stunned — not only is he a fan…
Megan Ketover and Ted Hubbard
[LOSER] TED HUBBARD: People might start calling Hamilton County Engineer Ted Hubbard “chicken little.” As part of the local GOP’s circling of the wagons around Green Township to prevent an expansion of subsidized housing, Hubbard really stretched to stoke more fear. He told The Enquirer that a clause in a contract with the Metropolitan Housing…
Tumi Cafe (Review)
O ne of my favorite things about this job is getting to try new foods and different cuisines. Lately, we have been fortunate that more exotic, ethnic restaurants have been popping up around town. Tumi Café is a kitschy yet urbane four-table restaurant serving Peruvian-style cuisine that would fit in as perfectly in New York…
Mr. Boehner, You’re Not Being Honest
L et’s connect the dots and see who is being more honest and straightforward in negotiations to raise the federal debt ceiling. (And for readers who think the debt ceiling fight doesn’t affect them, you’re just flat out wrong.) There are four simple ways to tell House Speaker John Boehner (R-West Chester) isn’t being serious-minded…
YMCA Loses $6 Million Over Closings
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; The YMCA of Greater Cincinnati unexpectedly lost a $6 million grant this week due to the recently announced closings of two branches in the city's urban core. Lamont Taylor, president of the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA), announced the agency's decision during a public forum held at Bush Recreation Center in…
Old Rock, Booze and Celine
[HOT] That Explains New Slayer Embroidery Project A group of elderly women in a nursing home see an advertisement for “a rock and roll evening” and decide to plan a night out, hoping the music wouldn’t be as wild as that Elvis Presley boy’s. But when they get to the club, they realize the “rock…
Escalating Tempers
Maurice Mattei has some impressive Renaissance Man credentials. He’s a gifted contemporary designer, a talented photographer and a smart singer/songwriter who sets his scuffed musical short stories to compelling Americana soundtracks. Over the past couple of decades, Mattei has self-released a truly stunning amount of material, the majority of which would fit comfortably in the…
All About the Magic
M ozart’s opera The Magic Flute is a perfect point of entry for kids. There’s plenty of fantasy, a happy ending, no one dies and the music is sublime. But for director Tomer Zvulun, it’s all about the magic. A member of the Metropolitan Opera’s directing staff, Zvulun has staged productions in Atlanta, Seattle, Cleveland,…
July 20-26: Worst Week Ever!
WEDNESDAY JULY 20 Some people believe that privatization is really great, an efficient means of shrinking the government so society can be more free from the fascists we only get a chance to vote out of office every two-to-four years. The Enquirer today reported one example of why handing over public utilities to a private…
Taste This: Gummy Things
For this week’s exploration of the wacky and wild items found at most neighborhood supermarkets, I decided to go gummy. I’ve always been bewildered by the random shapes of gummy candy, which are often molded to resemble spiders, snakes, frogs and other creepy pests. In a short time span, I found around 15 different weird…
Welcome Back, Beavis and Butt-head
Has it really been 14 years since Beavis and Butt-head (dis)graced MTV and 15 years since the duo invaded movie houses with Beavis and Butt-head Do America, which, despite being a bit of a letdown as a full-length movie, is still one of my all-time favorite moviegoing experiences due to the unprecedented enthusiasm put forth…
