Flip-Flop: Paul Woos Bailout Supporters
In a turnabout from a campaign pledge, Republican senatorial candidate Rand Paul is getting help raising campaign money by GOP senators who voted for the 2008 Wall Street bailout. According to an Associated Press report, Paul is holding a fundraiser Thursday night in Washington, D.C. Although Paul earlier had said he wouldn't seek money from…
Bonnaroo 2010: The Final Wrap-Up
Sometime in the late afternoon this past Saturday, the annual Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn., inched closer to world-class status. By sunrise on Saturday, over 70,000 attendees had already been treated to unforgettable performances by The Flaming Lips, Tori Amos, Kings Of Leon, Daryl Hall, The Black Keys, Damian Marley and Nas,…
Music: Holly Golightly
Holly Golightly moved from the UK to the American South two years ago after long tours and a growing sense of rootlessness forced her to seek some permanence; she and partner Dave Drake (aka Lawyer Dave) found a small ramshackle Georgia farm that serves as home and studio. The move was the latest milestone along Golightly’s…
FTC Studies How to ‘Save’ Journalism Via Federal Government Intervention
The Federal Trade Commission is sticking its nose into the future of journalism. It’s not needed. The FTC has enough to do; news is not a monopoly, nor is it a fraud. That hasn’t kept staff from studying what already is being studied, drafting issues and suggestions that hardly suggest novelty or media neutrality and…
Bettye LaVette, Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band, Widespread Panic, The Melvins, Tift Merritt and More
If one needs proof of the existence of a cosmic overmind or benevolent deity, the recent re-emergence of Bettye LaVette should be all the evidence required. Lavette toiled away in relative obscurity in the ‘60s and ‘70s when she should have been lionized and feted with the same future Hall of Fame fervor accorded to…
Events: World Record Attempt at Wake Nation
Face it: You love watching people wakeboard. Your heart pounds when you see a kid going 20 mph on a lake. And Wake Nation? It's the nation's only pully-go-round-a-lake-repeatedly watersports complex. This weekend some of the region's finest wakeboarders will be practicing their art in order to break some sort of wakeboard-for-a-long-time record. They won’t…
Events: Paddlefest
For nine years Paddlefest has been celebrating the beauty of the Ohio River with the largest on-water canoe and kayak event featuring the Kid’s Outdoor Adventure Expo, the Ohio River Music and Outdoor Festival and the Paddle the Ohio paddling race, complete with a finish line festival. The Kid’s Outdoor Expo takes place 9 a.m-noon…
Jonah Hex (Review)
Jonah Hex (Josh Brolin), the hero of this DC comic book adaptation, is a dark and wounded Civil War soldier turned bounty hunter with supernatural inclinations — having survived a way-too-near-death experience thanks to the assistance of Native American shaman not unlike a combination of Brolin’s character from No Country For Old Men and Javier…
Attraction: America I AM: The African American Imprint
National TV/radio talk show host Tavis Smiley presents a historical continuum of pivotal moments in courage, conviction and creativity that solidifies the undeniable imprint of African Americans across the nation and the world. A single iconic quote from scholar W.E.B. DuBois inspired Smiley to begin his monumental quest: “Would America have been America without her…
Onstage: OCTAfest
The 2009-10 season marked the 50th anniversary of the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, but it’s not the only theatrical institution that’s been around for a half-century. In fact, our vibrant community theater scene has a history that goes back before 1960, too. This time of year is a good opportunity to take stock of…
Events: Virtual Photo Exhibit Kick-Off
Every summer, Learning Through Art hosts multiple events, and this year’s series will begin with a flashy kick-off: The Virtual Photo Exhibition at Fountain Square, featuring photography from Cincinnati residents as a part of the Kroger Cincinnati Snaps Competition. While the photo exhibit makes its debut on the Macy’s Jumbotron, LTA will distribute 2,500 free…
Events: Milk Money Release Party
They say print is dead. But the editors of Milk Money Magazine are out to prove “they” are wrong by putting their mechanical duplicator to good use and providing Cincinnati’s creative writers with a quarterly literary journal that features poetry, prose and fiction … on page, in black and white. Milk Money founders Maija Zummo…
Onstage: An Evening With Anthony Bourdain
Internationally known chef, author and host of Travel Channel's No Reservations speaks to the masses at the Aronoff Center Sunday for his one-man stand-up engagement. While sharing stories from the kitchen, the "bad boy" foodie will discuss his latest book, Medium Raw, and take questions from the audience. Read Maija Zummo's full interview with Bourdian…
Art: Walker Evans at Cincinnati Art Museum
The Cincinnati Art Museum's current Walker Evans exhibition represents a lifetime of iconic photography. This collection explores the southern American condition during the Great Depression, views a series of Victorian Houses in 1931 and shows rare prints from Evans' travels through Tahiti and Cuba. The show continues through Sept. 5. Read Tammy Muente's review here.
Onstage: Cincinnati Opera’s Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg
Set in Nuremberg in the mid-16th century and based on a true story, the plot of Richard Wagner's comic opera revolves around a singing competition where the prize is marriage to Eva, a lovely young maiden. The winner must prove that he is a "master singer" in order to earn her father's approval for marriage,…
Toy Story 3 (Review)
Andy is going off to college — my, how time flies — which signals the end of the run for his childhood toys, right? The twin heroes in his toy constellation, the earnest cowboy Woody (Tom Hanks) and the galactic defender Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), are the two heads of the luckiest coin any boy…
Music: Rubik
The best music rides waves of musical dichotomy, surrounding melancholy lyrics with giddy melodies or disguising upbeat sensations in dour atmospherics. The best music cloaks its influences like a master magician, producing them at exactly the right time with exactly the right personal flourish. The best music requires multiple listens to fully absorb its incredible…
Comedy: Auggie Smith
Comedian Auggie Smith has gotten a lot mellower in the past few years. “Yeah, unfortunately, and a lot less funny,” he laughs. “I haven’t turned the corner on that.” Don’t believe him. Smith is as fresh as today’s headlines. Literally. “I’m doing a lot about political things, and I have very strong opinions," he says.…
Events: Nik Wallenda, King of the High Wire
Not many people in the world can walk or ride a bicycle on a thin piece of wire thousands of feet above the ground. Not many people can call themselves “king of the high wire,” either. Come out to Coney Island to see a man who can claim both. Nik Wallenda holds the Guinness world-record…
Events: Panegyri Greek Festival
If Cincinnati chili is the closest you’ve ever come to satisfying your Big Fat Greek taste buds, then now is the time for you to expand your palette at this weekend's Panegyri Greek Festival. Last year more than 100,000 people indulged themselves in the festival’s wide array of Greek delicacies including honey-coated Baklava, grilled Gyro…
Art: Pictures and Statues at Country Club
Country Club has opened a new group show, Pictures and Statues, at its Oakley gallery space, where it remains on view through July. Described as an "inelegant approach to the examination of the role of objects in post-digital culture," the show seeks to build a "point/counterpoint" discussion through the use of objects and images. Among…
Everything Old Is New Again in OTR
Like many of the new businesses along Over-the-Rhine’s Main Street, it’s basically a neighborhood thing with a stellar lineage. Something that's new and old at the same time. It’s Another Part of the Forest, the used record store/Siamese twin of Iris BookCafe, with which it shares a leafy rear courtyard. The name comes from Shakespeare’s…
Music: Smoking Popes at MidPoint Indie Summer Series
In the early ’90s, there were few bands in the Chicago Punk scene with bigger audiences or more cred than Smoking Popes. Rising from a teenage novelty band called Speedstick, guitarist/vocalist Josh Caterer and his brothers Eli (on guitars and backing vocals) and Matt (on bass), along with original drummer Mike Felumlee, retooled themselves as…
Art: Impressions at The Carnegie
As part of the current rotation of exhibitions at the Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center collectively titled Impressions, Christian Schmit has extended an in-progress look at his studio practice into one of the upstairs galleries. Schmit’s work is propelled by story, in this case a post-apocalyptic tale he has invented about a lone adventurer…
Art: Water and Stone at CAC
Known for her poured "waterfall" paintings, Pat Steir’s work showcases the interplay of the paint, her pouring technique and gravity. In Water and Stone, she treats the CAC gallery space as if it were a canvas, painting the surfaces and creating one of her signature waterfalls directly on a 24-foot-tall wall at the end of…
Bernadette Watson Gets a New Gig
As Bernadette Watson decides whether to run for Cincinnati City Council again in 2011, she's keeping busy by helping a former council member get elected to state office. Watson has been named as campaign manager for Alicia Reece, a Democrat who is seeking to keep the Ohio House 33rd District seat. Reece, an ex-Cincinnati vice…
Anthony Bourdain’s Irresistible Impulses
When I called the number that Anthony Bourdain’s assistant gave me, Bourdain picked up the phone and said, “Hello.” This wouldn’t be surprising if I considered him a normal human, but as the cult hero of Kitchen Confidential and the thinking-man’s basic-cable gastro-traveler who slips in Aguirre, the Wrath of God references while fending off…
MidPoint Indie Summer Series Featuring Smoking Popes
In the early ’90s, there were few bands in the Chicago Punk scene with bigger audiences or more cred than Smoking Popes. Rising from a teenage novelty band called Speedstick, guitarist/vocalist Josh Caterer and his brothers Eli (on guitars and backing vocals) and Matt (on bass), along with original drummer Mike Felumlee, retooled themselves as…
Holly Golightly & the Brokeoffs
Some albums have a deep sonic spiritual streak that implies they were made in a church, but Holly Golightly’s latest album, Medicine County, flips the concept with an Americana album that isn’t particularly spiritual but was made in a church. “Well, when I say church, it’s not an elaborate thing by cathedral standards,” Golightly says.…
Rubik with Mewithoutyou
The best music rides waves of musical dichotomy, surrounding melancholy lyrics with giddy melodies or disguising upbeat sensations in dour atmospherics. The best music cloaks its influences like a master magician, producing them at exactly the right time with exactly the right personal flourish. The best music requires multiple listens to fully absorb its incredible…
Ruckus Roboticus
Dayton native and now world-renowned DJ/mixologist Ruckus Roboticus has a new EP out, and he’s coming to Cincinnati to celebrate. Ruckus has been drawing national praise since the 2008 release of his debut full-length, Playing with Scratches, which charted on the CMJ charts in the Top 10 and also helped him become “in demand” for…
Supersize Me(istersinger)
Richard Wagner’s operas are hardly metaphors for fast food, but when it comes to the "ultra grande" menu nothing competes with his Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg. There might be no calories or saturated fats, but mounting a production of Meistersinger can put a company at risk for cardiac arrest — which it nearly did for…
Jordin Sparks on Tour
Jordin Sparks became the youngest winner of American Idol in May 2007. She followed her victory with the release of her self-titled debut album, which has gone platinum and sold more than 2 million copies worldwide, and then winning an American Music Award for Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist and receiving two MTV Video Music Award…
Friday Movie Roundup: Summer of Discontent
Are we in the midst of the worst summer movie season on record? The bar's admittedly not very high, but it certainly looks like we're heading in that direction. —- In the five weeks since Iron Man 2 kicked off the season, not one of the 14 studio-backed movies has received what I would call…
Bonnaroo 2010: Surviving Day 3
By Saturday, you better have developed enough Bonnaroo survival tactics to make it through the day. The key is to keep pounding water and let the music fuel your body. Saturday’s schedule was like NOS octane pumped into my bloodstream. The day was kicked off at 11:30 a.m. on Which Stage with Rebelution, a Reggae/Rock…
Stage Door: Fantasticks and Opera Gala
The Cincinnati Playhouse's production of The Fantasticks is a great choice for theater this weekend, but you might have a hard time finding seats. I've had two friends tell me they tried to get in and were told that the performance they hoped for was sold out. You can try to get on a waiting…
Hawthorne Heights: Skeletons
Hawthorne Heights has nearly hit for the cycle in its decade-long career. The Dayton band released a demo and EP as A Day in the Life before lineup shifts inspired founding lead vocalist/guitarist J.T. Woodruff to change the band’s name to Hawthorne Heights. Signing with Victory Records seemed a good fit; 2004’s The Silence in…
Smashing Pumpkins: Songs for a Sailor
The long and almost ridiculously documented journey of the Smashing Pumpkins has gotten stranger and more convoluted in recent years, if such a state is even possible. Two years ago, Pumpkins frontman/creative sparkplug Billy Corgan announced that the band would no longer record full-length albums, concentrating instead on singles. Since then, Corgan and whoever passes…
Stone Temple Pilots: Stone Temple Pilots
Just when Courtney Love resurrects Hole and you think the comeback story of the year has been written, along comes Scott Weiland and the DeLeo brothers to give a seminar on exactly how this reunion business should be managed. When Stone Temple Pilots went on a less than harmonious hiatus seven years ago, no one…
Mother and Child (Review)
It's fitting that writer-director Rodrigo Garcia (Looking at Her and Nine Lives) has teamed up with executive producer/filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (21 Grams and Babel) — both are proponents of complex, multi-threaded narratives that interweave in dramatic fashion. Garcia's latest tells the story of three California women (played by the capable trio of Annette Bening,…
Boehner’s Ties to BP
Just as the White House is criticizing one Republican lawmaker for apologizing to BP, it's been revealed that a local GOP leader has extensive stock holdings in BP and other oil companies. The Associated Press is reporting that U.S. Rep. John Boehner (R-West Chester), the House minority leader, bought dozens of stocks in December including…
Stone Temple Pilots, Smashing Pumpkins, Hank Williams III, David Cross, Hawthorne Heights and Far
Holy crap on a communion cracker, the ahead-er I try to get, the behind-er I wind up. I finally got my schedule twisted into position to have some time over the past weekend to get caught up on reviews so that I could post two weeks’ worth of material and begin work on next week’s…
Pet Pantry Has Benefit
Humans and animals alike are invited to attend an event Saturday to benefit the Cincinnati Pet Food Pantry. Kibble & Ritz 2010 will be held from 6-10 p.m. at the dog park located at the Red Dog Pet Resort and Spa in Oakley. The event will feature booths by various local businesses and offer items…
Opening Doors and Minds
A t 23 years old, James Lunsford might have been out of options. Just a few years out of high school, the Western Hills resident was working a slew of temporary jobs to make ends meet. But a run-in with the law two years ago — a mistake he regrets and quickly owns — changed…
Cincinnati Art Museum Wants You to See America
I had thought the Cincinnati Art Museum was counting on its exhibition Walker Evans: Decade by Decade — which opened Saturday and will be reviewed in next week’s CityBeat — as its summer draw. After all, the show has an ambitious thesis — that Evans is probably the greatest American photographer of the 20th century…
Versailles State Park Hike
Key At-A-Glance Information Length: 4.77 milesConfiguration: Loop and figure 8Difficulty: Easy-moderateScenery: Cliffs, sinkholes, waterways, wood, and Ordovician fossilsExposure: ShadeTraffic: LightTrail Surface: Soil and loose stoneHiking Time: 3 hoursDriving Distance: 1 hour from CincinnatiSeason: Year-roundAccess: 7 a.m.-11 p.m.Maps: USGS Johnson; Versailles State Park mapWheelchair Accessible: NoFacilities: Restrooms, drinking water, and picnic areasFor More Information: Versailles State…
Please Give (Review)
Writer/director Nicole Holofcener (Walking and Talking, Lovely and Amazing and Friends with Money) drops yet another urbane, talky, existentially searching comedy armed with the kind of character and emotional nuance Woody Allen lost years ago. Kate (Catherine Keener) and Alex (Oliver Platt) are a fortysomething married couple with an angsty teenage daughter (Sarah Steele) and…
Deters, Finney Stretch Believability
Here are two amazing facts about last week’s Ohio Supreme Court decision that upheld the firing of some attorneys by the county prosecutor. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled June 9 that Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters was within his legal authority last October when he convinced 12 Common Pleas judges to sign an order firing…
June 9-15: Worst Week Ever!
WEDNESDAY JUNE 9 If you’ve ever tried to get service in Hyde Park while wearing a non-collared shirt, you know how difficult residents of this esteemed neighborhood can be (sorry, bud, thought it was pronounced “Smith-wicks”). One local business owner is feeling the political pain that such people can bring, as his request for rezoning…
Government Meddles in Our Drinking Enjoyment
America’s puritanical streak runs red hot regarding alcohol. That’s why the drinking age was raised to 21, legally acceptable blood alcohol levels are continually lowered and “sin taxes” on liquor are skyrocketing. Many of these initiatives are intended to keep “kids” (i.e., voting-age consumers between 18 and 21) safe from that ol’ demon liquor —…
Exit Through the Gift Shop (Review)
S treet artists tend to be one-trick ponies — guys (mostly) who develop a signature, identifying image that they affix to urban outdoor surfaces as a form of making their mark. The “Obey” posters of Shepard Fairey, who currently has a retrospective at Contemporary Arts Center, are a key example. But then there is Banksy,…
ACLU and John Boehner
[LOSER] JOHN BOEHNER: Just how out of touch is the West Chester Republican from most Americans? Consider the comment Boehner made last week when he supported U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue, who said taxpayers should pick up the tab for BP’s massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Donohue had said, “We…
Thomas Hammons [Cincinnati Opera]
Celebrating 90 years of extraordinary performances, Cincinnati Opera is poised for an incredible anniversary year. While there will be no shortage of opportunities to be a part of the magic, carving out time to chat with acclaimed bassbaritone Thomas Hammons is a rare occurrence. CB: What was the last great meal you ate and where…
Get Ready, Get Set, Go!
• New local band The Ready Stance makes its debut appearance Saturday at the Northside Tavern. The free show also includes performances by Goose and Wussy’s Chuck Cleaver. Local music fans who have been following the scene since before Facebook and MP3s will likely recognize at least a couple of familiar faces in The Ready…
Another Lunch with Andrea
We’ve just sat down at the Frisch’s on Glenway Avenue, and already I can feel my head start to hurt. “You’re skinny, mister,” Andrea says. “You need to get some meat on those bones.” “I’d rather be thin than heavy,” I say. “Are you saying I’m fat?” “No, Andrea, I’m just saying…” “I’m going to…
DEVO’s Cats, Twitter Star and Killer Tunes
[HOT] Duty Meow for the Future A few weeks ago we told you about Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson’s concert in Australia designed especially for dogs. Now DEVO (who coincidentally, like Reed, starred in commercials and ads for Honda Scooters in the ’80s) is target-marketing a different species: cats. To celebrate the release of the…
