Music: Bettye Lavette at Dayton’s Cityfolk Festival
This has been a great year for veteran classic Soul female singers. Sharon Jones, fronting the Brooklyn-based band Dap-Kings, had one of the year’s biggest hit albums, I Learned the Hard Way, while Mavis Staples has a forthcoming new record produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy. But Bettye LaVette, who’s doing a free show Friday night…
Events: Northside Fourth of July
It’s hot, humid and there is a question lingering in the musty air that you might have misconstrued as your aura: How American are you prepared to be this fourth of July? There are always plenty of ways to show that you love your country: one of the local Fourth of July festivities, your family…
Music: Midpoint Indie Summer Series Featuring Pomegranates
The fountain has probably seen her fair share of fun since 1871, and this Friday is no exception. Come to the heart of Cincinnati and hear some of its best musicians in the latest installment of MidPoint’s Indie Summer. Local bands The Pomegranates (pictured), Enlou, No No Knots and Come On Caboose will rock listeners…
Art: Architectural Foundation Road Trip
The Architectural Foundation of Cincinnati is still accepting reservations for its July 17th luxury-motor-coach guided tour of Columbus, Ind. — considered one of the most architecturally progressive, Modernist cities in America and a tourist destination for architecture fans from all over. The day-long trip, 8 a.m.-6 p.m., costs $75 for the general public and $55 for students. Departure will be from…
The House In My Head (Review)
Critic's Pick The house in your head — the one nobody can foreclose on — is probably an element of the internal life of each of us. But what happens when six artists zero in on explicitly externalizing their visions of such a place? The results are The House in My Head, which fills downtown’s…
Music: Jim Rotondi
Jazz trumpeter Jim Rotondi certainly isn’t the first person to hear a recording of the legendary Clifford Brown and be profoundly moved by the experience. But he was most assuredly the only one to win first place in the International Trumpet Guild’s 1984 Jazz Trumpet Competition as a result. In 1987, Rotondi headed for New…
Dining on the Rails
For me, “dinner train” conjures visions of the Orient Express: mustachioed men in spats smoking cigars and drinking cognac and quietly efficient, uniformed waiters serving caviar on mother-of-pearl spoons to women dripping with diamonds… Yes, I have an overactive imagination. But when I first heard about the Cincinnati Dinner Train, I immediately started searching for…
Art: The House in My Head at Weston Art Gallery
The house in your head — the one nobody can foreclose on — is probably an element of the internal life of each of us. But what happens when six artists zero in on explicitly externalizing their visions of such a place? The results are The House in My Head, which fills downtown’s Weston Art…
Art: Flag Workshop at Prairie Gallery
Make your own flag at Prairie Gallery and march with it in Northside’s 4th of July parade with the aid of artists Katie Parker and Guy Michael Davis. Parker and Davis will conduct a hands-on workshop beginning at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, featuring a die-cutting press to create assembled paper sculptures. The “flags,” which will relate…
Art: Dotson and Adams at Thunder-Sky Inc.
This summer’s been so depleting that I’ve been endlessly thrilled with the uniqueness of Thunder-Sky Inc.’s new show. World Domination: New Works by Tony Dotson and Antonio Adams flashes our lives before our eyes through an exotic cast of historic figures, celebrities and public personalities. For instance, in Adams’ "The Street Fight Is Not Over,"…
Comedy: Tom Segura
Though he moved away when he was nine, comedian Tom Segura always looks forward to coming back to Cincinnati. “I definitely want to have some chili while I’m there,” he says, “and see some family.” Segura has just released his first album, called Thrilled. Whereas some comics start from scratch after a new release, Segura…
Music: Peter Frampton and Yes
Peter Frampton’s career spikes over the past four decades make our recent economic roller coaster seem like gently rolling countryside. The British child singer was “The Face of 1968” in Rave Magazine when he was The Herd’s teenage guitarist, and he became a bona fide sensation as the guitar hero in Humble Pie in the late 1960s…
Onstage: Cincinnati Pops’ Red, White and BOOM!
The Cincinnati Pops is pulling no punches with its 4th of July celebration. There will be dancing, fireworks, corn hole, and, of course, music. The festivities begin at 6:30 p.m. with a selection of family friendly activities including instrument-making, face painting, some sort of hot air balloon lottery, and corn hole. The Pops begin playing…
Music: We Came As Romans
Over the years, We Came As Romans has fielded many questions about the positivity of its lyrical message (couched as it is in the standard Metal demon shriek, with a melodic Indie soundtrack that recalls Fall Out Boy) and the possibility of being a Christian band, a tag they respectfully deny while admitting that the…
Northside Rock & Roll Carnival, Parade and Festival
Though Fourth of July celebrations across the country have been cancelled due to the bad economy, there are no shortage of Independence Day celebrations in Greater Cincinnati. Along with the “Red, White and Blue Ash” bash on Sunday with current Cincinnati resident Peter Frampton and classic rockers Yes (check out Brian Baker's Frampton interview here),…
Events: LaRosa’s Balloon Glow
Around this time each year you can always find endless parties and celebrations in honor of our nation’s independence but this one is the event you should probably plan on attending Saturday. The 11th Annual LaRosa’s Balloon Glow at Coney Island will offer live music, Coney’s Classic rides and an evening show that will light…
Dayton CityFolk Festival Featuring Bettye LaVette
This has been a great year for veteran classic Soul female singers. Sharon Jones, fronting the Brooklyn-based band Dap-Kings, had one of the year’s biggest albums, I Learned the Hard Way, while Mavis Staples has a forthcoming new record produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy. But Bettye LaVette, who's doing a free show Friday night at…
We Came As Romans
Five summers ago, a quintet of Detroit area friends formed a brutal Metalcore outfit called This Emergency and began making a name for themselves with a steady stream of live dates in and around the Motor City. Within a year, personnel changes led the band to reconfigure, inspiring a name change to We Came As…
Jim Rotondi and All For One
Jazz trumpeter Jim Rotondi certainly isn’t the first person to hear a recording of the legendary Clifford Brown and be profoundly moved by the experience. But he was most assuredly the only one to win first place in the International Trumpet Guild’s 1984 Jazz Trumpet Competition as a result. As a child from a musical…
No, Thank You, Mr. Frampton
Peter Frampton’s career spikes over the past four decades make our recent economic roller coaster seem like gently rolling countryside. The British child singer was “The Face of 1968” in Rave Magazine when he was The Herd’s teenage guitarist, and he became a bona fide sensation as the guitar hero in Humble Pie in the…
PETA Again Asks for Kroger Change
An animal rights group had one of its members question executives of the Kroger Co. grocery store chain at its annual shareholders meeting held here Thursday. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) had member Lindsay Rajt, who also is a Kroger shareholder, ask during the meeting whether Kroger has plans to move…
Friday Movie Roundup: All Hail Pixar!
Can we just have Pixar make every movie? The animation studio is at it again with Toy Story 3, yet another creative triumph that offers everything the rest of the summer's big-budget extravaganzas do not: multifaceted characters, adventurous filmmaking and an emotionally involving story that is surprisingly dark and intense. —- How many kids' movies…
Bettye LaVette: Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook
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…
The Melvins: The Bride Screamed Murder
The Melvins’ story over the past quarter century reads like the acid-fried fiction of Ken Kesey or the theater of the absurd of Kurt Vonnegut. Founded by guitarist/vocalist Buzz Osborne in the early ‘80s, The Melvins started out playing Jimi Hendrix and Cream covers, moved to Hardcore Punk then tried their hand at Slowcore, their…
Oh, Find Me a Trail…
The hikes in 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles cover three states and 25 counties. Below I’ve divided them into smaller sections of hikes that are located close together. Near Interstate 275 Although the trails inside the I-275 loop are more urban, some places (such as trails at California Woods Nature Preserve, Mount Airy Forest, Caldwell…
Widespread Panic: Dirty Side Down
Widespread Panic has never been a chart threat. From its beginning nearly a quarter century ago (2011 marks the band’s silver anniversary), the Athens, Ga., sextet has made good albums purchased by a cult-numbered few which has somehow translated into great shows attended by more voluminous Jam audiences. In theory, the Panic’s new album, Dirty…
Stage Door: OCTAfest
What do you know about community theater? Did you realize that these companies do this work as volunteers? That's right: They act, direct, build sets, promote and so on because they love it — not for any profit motive. Of course, they have expenses like paying for costumes and renting halls (or maintaining a building…
Grown Ups (Review)
Don't let the title of Adam Sandler's latest movie fool you: It's as juvenile as anything in the actor's filmography. Sandler has strayed from his doofus formula in recent years (see Punch-Drunk Love, Spanglish, Reign Over Me or last year's unfairly overlooked Funny People), but Grown Ups is a classic Sandler/Happy Madison production (a broad,…
Solitary Man (Review)
Michael Douglas has some masterful surprises up his sleeve as Ben Kalmen, a once honest car salesman who abandons interest in both his reputation and his family after learning of an irregularity in his heart. Instead of returning to his doctor to discover the cause of his condition, Ben uses his cutthroat charm to seduce…
Knight and Day (Review)
James Mangold (Walk the Line and Girl, Interrupted) pawns off his directing credentials to shepherd through this spastic piece of celebrity eye-candy action drivel. First-time screenwriter Patrick O'Neill pieces together a series of shoot-em-up CGI chase scenes that exist as inert bubbles of characterless plot points in a sea of vacuous narrative foam. Cameron Diaz…
Dohoney: Deficit Larger, So End Rollback
With the city of Cincinnati facing a $50.4 million deficit next year, the city's top administrator is recommending City Council end a property tax rollback that's been in effect since 1999. Even eliminating the rollback, however, won't prevent some cuts in city services. The deficit estimate is considerably larger than the $30 million amount predicted…
Art: Truth/Beauty at Taft Museum
The Pictorialist exhibition at the Taft Museum of Art plants their flag immediately with its title, Truth/Beauty, echoing a phrase from poet John Keats’ "Ode on a Grecian Urn." On view through Aug. 8, it's drawn from the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film in Rochester and was curated by the Vancouver…
Portman Dumped, Cabrel Puts You in the Mood and McCartney Still Dead
[HOT] Natalie Portman Shunned! Probably due to being sick of waiting for the promo boost of a V For Vendetta film sequel, one of the best-named bands in Indie Rock has changed its name: Seattle’s Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head has decided to drop its unusual moniker for the far more boring Brite Futures. Perhaps a…
Music: 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. At 10 p.m. Friday at The Stand in Mount Lookout, Ruckus Roboticus will join C. Witzel and Marty Spitfly in mixing some creative and danceable tunes. Go here to read Mike Breen's Sound Advice on…
Taste This: Mock Turtle Soup
For this month’s report on “crazy,” “weird” and “gross-looking/sounding” food items found at your local supermarket, the tables have been turned. CityBeat’s Contributing Dining Editor Anne Mitchell offered me a potential topic: mock turtle soup. “Obviously it’s not made from turtles,” she wrote in an e-mail, “but I’ve never had the nerve to try it.”…
Tavis Smiley’s Prints on the African-American Imprint
A single iconic quote from scholar W.E.B. DuBois inspired Tavis Smiley to begin a monumental quest to present the most comprehensive examination of “the African American imprint” on American society. When DuBois asked, “Would America have been America without her Negro people?” the question wasn’t quite so simple. And now, thanks to the efforts of…
Molly Wellmann [Freelance Bartender/Mixologist]
If there’s a restaurant in town known for serving great classic and craft cocktails, there’s a good chance Molly Wellmann has been employed there at some point. The Rookwood and Lavomatic come to mind. Wellmann’s research into classic cocktails from the 1700s through the 1950s, as well as the great chefs she works with, inspire…
Strange Days in the 2nd District
T he congresswoman for Ohio’s 2nd District last week filed a defamation lawsuit against one of her opponents from the 2008 election. The suit by Jean Schmidt (R-Miami Township) alleges that David Krikorian of Madeira and his campaign made a number of knowingly false and derogatory statements about Schmidt during and after the election. And…
Walker Evans: Decade by Decade (Review)
Cincinnati Art Museum’s Walker Evans: Decade by Decade opens with a rather bold statement that Evans is “probably the single greatest American photographer ever to have worked in the 20th century.” An introduction like that certainly raises the stakes for an exhibition. I don’t feel that, taken alone, the show proves he was the “single…
Selmier State Forest Hike
Key At-A-Glance Information Length: 3.7 milesConfiguration: Two loops and an out-and-backDifficulty: EasyScenery: Forest, river corridor, and pondsExposure: Mostly shadedTraffic: LightTrail Surface: Gravel roads, access lanes, and mowed pathsHiking Time: 3 hoursDriving Distance: 1.5 hours east of CincinnatiSeason: Year-roundAccess: Sunrise-SunsetMaps: USGS Butlerville; Selmier State Forest mapWheelchair Accessible: NoFacilities: NoneFor More Information: Selmier State Forest, (812) 346-2286Special…
These Friends of Mine
I have a few stories I’d like to tell about some of these friends of mine. Riding in a red minivan: He’s a neighbor, and whenever he sees me walking and he’s out driving his red minivan he always rolls down his window to ask if I want a ride. I’m usually heading to a…
X-Lab and Duke Energy
LOSER LOCAL NAACP: When the local NAACP won a public records dispute with Cincinnati Public Schools, local media reported the district would pay $9,313.67 to the civil rights group. It stemmed from a suit the NAACP filed last February, alleging CPS hadn’t turned over all records about contractors working on Hughes High School’s renovation. But…
Adjust Your Eyes Turns 5
This weekend, the folks from local indie label Grasshopper Juice Records are gearing up for its fifth annual Adjust Your Eyes Music & Art Festival. The eclectic, camping-friendly event — this year being held at the Branch Hill VFW Hall (6652 Epworth Road, Loveland) — has hosted all sorts of music and arts in its…
Return of the Man-Child
D on’t let the title of Adam Sandler’s latest movie fool you: Grown Ups is as juvenile as anything in the actor’s filmography. At 43, Sandler remains mainstream America’s go-to goof-off, a guy whose perpetual adolescence has made him one of the most successful box-office stars of the last 20 years in such movies as…
Once Common Disease Returns
Syphilis was once so common that some people viewed the potentially fatal disease as a natural stage of life. “It is unthinkable for a Frenchman to arrive at middle age without having syphilis and the Cross of the Legion of Honor,” said French writer Andre Gide in the early part of the 20th century. Nowadays,…
Hip Hop (Un)Scene: I’m Burnt
I didn’t like my last two columns. Straight up. What started out as lessons for independent artists felt like some holier-than-thou shit. And that’s not cool. At all. So I’m sidestepping for a minute to write what will be the natural third arc in this column trilogy: the burn-out. I didn’t write a column last…
Summertime and Finding Theater Isn’t Easy
There’s a song in The Fantasticks that bemoans the heat of the summer sun — “This Plum Is Too Ripe” — and that’s how hot weather makes me feel. It’s made more depressing by the reduction of shows that might provide some diversion. Most local stages are dark for the summer, which is a shame.…
Poor, Elderly Are Victims of CMHA’s Squabbles
I t’s difficult to sort out the facts from the rhetoric in the fiery dispute between board members who oversee the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA). The agency manages publicly subsidized housing in Hamilton County. Each year, it serves people living in roughly 5,200 units in publicly owned housing as well as another 10,600 families…
City of the Living Dead (Review)
George A. Romero is cinema’s point man when it comes to zombie horror, and rightfully so. His groundbreaker, Night of the Living Dead (1968), and its subsequent sequels set the rules and regulations for the subgenre: The dead have come back to life, they move slowly, they want to eat you. However, another director must…
June 16-22: Worst Week Ever!
WEDNESDAY JUNE 16 Some places just aren’t the same without their gimmicks. You don’t take your kids to Chuck E. Cheese for the grimy ball pit and seizure-inducing sounds — you come for the dude in the giant mouse costume (and because for some reason they serve alcohol). Same goes for the members of Solid…
Adjust Your Eyes Music & Art Festival
Local indie label Grasshopper Juice Records present its fifth annual Adjust Your Eyes Music & Art Festival Friday and Saturday, an eclectic, camping-friendly event being held at the Branch Hill VFW Hall (6652 Epworth Road, Loveland). The festival features visual art from local artists, over two hours worth of stand-up and sketch comedy and fun…
