Live Review: The Fray at PNC Pavilion
It’s funny that The Fray are called what they’re called, because they hardly ever leave any loose threads or ragged edges — whether on their perfectly-produced, radio-friendly songs or live in concert. The piano rock band is so harmless and clean-cut that they probably couldn’t hurt a fly if their lives depended on it. It’s…
Israeli-Born Choreographer Honored at American Dance Festival
The American Dance Festival’s Israeli Festival portion of its season escalated Thursday night with the inaugural ADF performance at the new Durham Performing Arts Center in downtown Durham, N.C. New York City-based repertory company Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet made their ADF debut unforgettable with a high-octane performance of Israeli-born choreographer Ohad Naharin’s 2007 work, Decadance.—-…
CAC Cancels Fall Show
The Contemporary Arts Center has canceled one of its first shows of the 2009-10 season, Young Country. That group show, in which young artists address issues and symbols of Americana, was scheduled to open Oct. 3 and continue through Jan. 10. —- The center cited several reasons for the cancellation, including economic factors and a…
Local Musician Killed in Crash
Sad news from Arizona: Covington-based "freelance bass player" Cary Jaquish was killed in a one-vehicle motorcycle accident on I-10 in Buckeye while en route to Fresno, Calif. from Phoenix on Sunday. He had landed a gig with a band and was traveling with the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey circus troupe. —- According to Jaquish's…
Onstage: Red, White and Boom
Classical music isn’t something you’d probably normally associate with the Fourth of July, a holiday often defined by drunken games of cornhole, copious meat consumption and booming fireworks. Class your celebration up a bit this year with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra’s Red, White & Boom. Enjoy a family-friendly evening with patriotic musical selections from Tony-nominated…
Music: The Flight Station and Watson Park
“Before, we were Alternative Grunge. But then, the first band we heard that was kind of Emo-Poppish-Punk-Indie was Jimmy Eat World,” says Corey Moore of The Flight Station. “That’s when we started changing our musical style.” Jimmy Eat World opened the boys’ ears to Dashboard Confessional, Sunny Day Real Estate and “mid-range underground” groups like…
Music: Th’ Legendary Shack*Shakers
On their latest traveling tent revival, the Shack*Shakers will likely be singing from the upcoming chapter in their snake-handling hymnal, the fall-scheduled AgriDustrial. Col. J.D. Wilkes remains the hypnotically frenetic presence behind the microphone and harmonica, and stand-up bassist Mark Robertson still thumps out the Shack*Shakers’ pulse. But if you haven’t prayed at the band’s…
Music: Aerosmith POSTPONED
POSTPONED DUE TO ARTIST INJURY. Go to http://www.riverbend.org/ for details. Tickets for tonight's show will be valid at the rescheduled show.
Events: Fourth of July Bash on Fountain Square
Fountain Square takes their Saturday night movie event to a whole new level for this American holiday with the addition of live music and a whole lot of fireworks. Starting at 7 p.m., listen to some patriotic tunes by the New Sousa Band. They’ll perform the marches of John Philip Sousa and other classic American…
Art: Green Spaces at the Weston Art Gallery
Columbus photographer Ardine Nelson became fascinated by the history of the private community gardens of Dresden, Germany, and set off to visit and document them and their owners — not just working-class folks who need a bit of land to grow their food and flowers, but also a wide variety of professionals who find it…
Onstage: Best of Shadowbox
If you’re bored with fireworks and the usual tomfoolery that happens around Independence Day, you might want to head to Newport on the Levee for one of Shadowbox Cabaret’s performances this weekend. For the summer, they’re offering a greatest-hits revue of material that has entertained audiences at the “sketch comedy and Rock & Roll Club”…
Events: Northside Fourth of July Parade/Festival
Spend your Fourth of July weekend in Northside and you’re guaranteed a constant stream of brain-tickling entertainment. The craziness starts at Hoffner Park at 6 p.m. on Friday when the Rock ‘N’ Roll Carnival comes to town and transforms the Park into a giant beer garden. There, you’ll get an eyeful of deliciously deviant and…
Public Enemies (Review)
From Thief (1981) to Miami Vice (2006), Michael Mann has made a career of investigating men who live by morally ambiguous codes of honor. Who better, then, to tackle the life of John Dillinger, a man who fancied himself as a Robin Hood for the Depression Era? Public Enemies is based on Bryan Burrough’s book…
Art: Bessie Potter Vonnoh: Sculptor of Women at the Cincinnati Art Museum
At the turn of the 20th Century, when a woman’s most acceptable occupation was motherhood, Bessie Potter Vonnoh succeeded professionally as a sculptor, flouting convention by focusing on a career instead of raising children. Rather than challenging traditional expectations of women, however, her sculptures idealized women as mothers. Her success as an independent, working artist…
Events: Newport Motorcycle Rally
Need something to do for Fourth of July weekend? Well, if you’re into motorcycles, this event is perfect. Starting on Friday, the Newport Motorcycle Rally will take over the Newport Kentucky Festival Park with a performance by the Natalie Wells Band followed by a great fireworks show. Then on Saturday the annual charity ride to…
Comedy: Al Jackson
Al Jackson has been doing stand-up comedy for about six years, and he’s played some tough rooms. None were tougher than the classroom where he taught seventh graders in Miami. “You think you’re the funny teacher,” he says, “but when you’re 26 and they are 12-year-olds, they think you’re old and washed up. They don’t…
Music: O’Death
O’Death’s rugged stomp grafts the power of Punk and Metal onto the faculties of Jazz, Bluegrass and Folk and spits the combination out with the unencumbered spirit of pre-WWII music. 2008’s Broken Hymns, Limbs and Skin provides a suitable portrait of a hydra-headed sound that’s garnered some varied reactions. “I feel very comfortable with using…
Events: LaRosa’s Balloon Glow
For some reason, the Fourth of July makes Americans want to light the sky on fire. You’ve got the traditional fireworks displays from everyone and their mother, and then there’s the sort of untraditional LaRosa’s Balloon Glow, now in its 10th year. This event is pretty much self-explanatory. As many as 20 glowing hot air…
The Mighty Swine Carry the ’80s Metal Torch
In discussions on Hard Rock and Heavy Metal, the phrase “veteran rockers” basically means “old dudes with electric guitars” (or “badasses turned corporate vacuoles turned money-hungry corpses in makeup writhing around on a stage” if we’re talking about Aerosmith), but as long as they’re playin’ it loud and proud, age ain’t nothin’ but a number,…
Th’ Legendary Shack*Shakers at Independence Day Throwdown
Picture a ramshackle one-room church by a gravel road in the swampy South. You take a seat in the front pew and the preacher strolls up to the pulpit, his demon-haunted face showing that he knows from firsthand experience that you cannot experience redemption without first experiencing sin. A lot of it. And just as…
Patterson Hood, LANDy, Foreign Born, Tortoise and More
There’s a great passage in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest where Chief Bromden explains how Big Nurse controls the clocks in the hospital, tormenting the patients by slowing the clock down during the majority of the week and then speeding it up during visiting hours. It’s a moving little scene. It’s also indicative of…
O’Death at Independence Day Throwdown
“When we started the band, I was listening to a lot of old music,” starts vocalist/guitarist Greg Jamie when speaking of O’Death’s origins. This line has been heard in a dozen variations before, yet when Jamie says old, he means old. Inspiration came from American Primitive, Vol. 1, a compilation covering Blues and Gospel recorded…
D.I.Y.-er Du Jour: Amber Reis
Etsy shop-owner Amber Reis of Latonia, Ky., grew up where the concept of D.I.Y. runs true: on a farm. Originally her grandfather’s, Amber’s farm is located in Southern Campell County in a town called Grants Lick. It was there that Amber learned about the importance of making her own food and clothing and reducing her dependence…
Local GOP: Facts Don’t Matter?
When it comes to debating policy issues, most people will tend to respect their opponents more if they at least use verifiable facts when making their arguments and not outlandish statements that are easily shredded. Such is the case with Hamilton County Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou and his attacks on U.S. Rep. Steve Driehaus…
Cincinnati Reindustrialization Plan: Dance!
Cincinnati is not known as an Industrial music destination. Unlike San Francisco in the late ‘70s, Chicago in the mid-‘80s and Cleveland in the early ‘90s, the Queen City has never really enjoyed a love affair with the ever-morphing genre of all things dark, mechanical and dingy-sounding. Ilan Kaim is the man who intends to…
Fashion Inspiration: The Uniform Project
Tired or bored with what’s in your closet? Look no further and seek advice from Sheena Matheiken and designer Eliza Starbuck. If you haven’t heard of it already, The Uniform Project is an effort that started in May 2009 for Sheena to wear one dress for one year in 365 reinvented ways. Sheena wears seven…
Like Mike?
Michael Jackson's dead — what more can we say? The response to Jackson's death has made me revisit a long-running question that's rolled around my squishy mind for a few years now: Is it possible to separate an artist's personality and deeds from his or her creative work?—- In other words, does Michael Jackson's strange…
Events: CWC The Wrecking Crew
Cincinnati World Cinema returns with Danny Tedesco's The Wrecking Crew, an illuminating documentary about a fruitful period in Pop music history. It screens 4 p.m. Sunday and 7 p.m. Monday at The Carnegie in Covington, which is rapidly becoming the go-to venue for local film events. As usual, CWC has plenty of supplementary goodies on…
My Sister’s Keeper (Review)
Nick Cassavetes’ three-hankie weepy lurches during its music-video sequences and gratuitous voice-over narration from members of the Fitzgerald family as they struggle with their terminally ill daughter Kate (well played by Sofia Vassilieva). Yet, in spite of some of its less-than-elegant editorial decisions, My Sister's Keeper is full of terrific performances. Parents Sara (Cameron Diaz…
Away We Go (Review)
Younger moviegoers in search of thoughtful, literate romantic comedies that credit them for being intelligent and sensitive might respond strongly to Away We Go, directed by Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road, American Beauty) from a screenplay by husband-and-wife writers Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida. An often-rueful road picture, modeled a bit on Flirting With Disaster, it…
Events: 48 Hour Film Project Screenings
The 48 Hour Film Project is a celebration of creative smarts and Red Bull that rewards those who survive its weekend of filmmaking mayhem. The grassroots project is the antithesis to bloated, big-budget commercial fare like Michael Bay’s Transformers: The Revenge of the Fallen. The premise is simple: Filmmaking teams have 48 hours (7 p.m.…
The Wrecking Crew (Review)
The Wrecking Crew is a term — which has become part of Rock history lore — for the younger, talented session musicians who arrived in Los Angeles as the city was becoming a center for such gifted, ambitious Rock & Roll and 1960s-Pop producers/arrangers/artists as Phil Spector, Brian Wilson, Jimmy Webb, Herb Alpert, Lee Hazlewood,…
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Review)
Nothing I or any other critic can say about this movie will have even the slightest impact on the summer blockbuster crowds starving for a real tent-pole, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to direct moviegoers from seeing this epic monstrosity from the king of epic monstrosities, Michael Bay. A common complaint about…
Iranian Solidarity Rally Planned
A group of local people with connections to Iran will hold a rally Saturday at Fountain Square to show support for the dissidents protesting the recent Iranian presidential election. The rally is scheduled from 4-5:30 p.m.—- Area resident Ahoo Tabatabai and other Iranian natives are organizing the demonstration, which is open to the public. Organizers…
CityBeat Podcast 14: Rollin’ on the River
On this week's episode of the CityBeat Podcast you'll be immersed in the mighty Ohio River. Listen in on our conversation with Brewster Rhodes who is the chairman of Paddlefest, the nation's largest paddling event, happening along Cincinnati's riverfront this weekend. You'll also hear a recent voyage of the riverboat P.A. Denny, a floating ecology…
Mission Man Crusades into Cincinnati
As a singer-songwriter — although that term is pretty misleading — Oxford-based Mission Man is one weird dude. His one-man approach to musical performance is basically the following: set a cheap-sounding, pre-programmed beat on the keyboard and slap on the bass guitar while hyperactively rapping about basketball, buddies and other everyday matters in a warbly, white-guy monotone. Throw in an occasional off-key melody for the chorus,…
American Dance Festival’s Israeli Dance Celebration
In the heat of a Carolina summer, I’m pleased to be taking in a bit of this year’s American Dance Festival (ADF) in and around Duke University in steamy Durham, N.C. I’m here with another local dance writer (Kathy Valin) for the Israeli Festival portion of ADF to catch performances from two companies: Emanuel Gat…
EJ Law Passes Over Chamber’s Objection
After more than three years of work and undergoing several alterations, Cincinnati City Council approved an “environmental justice” ordinance Wednesday in a close vote despite opposition from the business community. Vice Mayor David Crowley, a Democrat in his last term, began working on the ordinance with an advisory committee in October 2005. Supporters held a…
Fantasy Fuball Smack Recap
We’re still a few weeks away from the Major League Baseball All-Star break and the NFL’s training camps don’t begin until after that, but it’s never too early to start thinking about how much smack we get to type to our friends during the fall. Those of us too old, bitter and uncoordinated busy to…
Old Ass Ponys Videos See the Light of Day
There was a day way back in time in the wake of a cultural phenomenon called Nirvana when major labels existed solely to give a crap-load of cash to Alternative Rock bands. It was a beautiful time when any group with a skewed approach had a shot via a (usually mishandled) media blitz that often…
Review: Bonnaroo 2009, Part 2
As we reached the halfway point of the festival, I took a step back and reflected a bit. I was dirty, sweaty and sleep-deprived; and yet I could not have been more excited for what was to come. Phish had whet my appetite for their festival-closing performance on Sunday, and who could forget that one…
Appalling News of the Day
The UK furniture store Habitat capitalized on the Iranian political crisis on their Web site using Twitter keywords to lure potential customers who, instead of shopping, were looking for news on more mundane matters — human rights violations, political unrest, that sort of junk. Has it really come to this?—-
The Real Housewives of Cincinnati
So I have to admit, I’m pretty obsessed with all the Real Houswives shows on Bravo TV. Laugh all you want, but turn that shit on and it becomes addicting.—- As I watch series after series of these housewives bitching and moaning about their lives, I can’t help but to think of the mainly close-minded…
Power to the People
If you’re reading this column, I wonder if you’ve ever been moved to do more than simply enjoy theatrical performances. A good place to give it a try is with a community theater, where volunteers put on shows because they enjoy the art and the camaraderie surrounding their efforts. In Greater Cincinnati, the Association of…
Winners and Losers
[WINNER] C.I.R.V.: Cincinnati actually got some positive national press about its police for a change. The New Yorker did a glowing article about the Cincinnati Initiative to Reduce Violence (C.I.R.V.), the program begun in July 2007 that targets gang members for intervention and helps them get jobs. This is what happens when the department opens…
Cincinnati Police Should Think Outside the Box
Cincinnati neighborhoods could use more businesses like Milton’s Prospect Hill Tavern. The watering hole, located roughly where Mount Auburn touches Over-the-Rhine, usually features an interesting cross-section of customers: young and old, black and white, straight and gay. In short, its crowd is often a microcosm of the city. Throughout much of the past two decades…
How Chuck Klosterman Became a Downtown Owl
Chuck Klosterman is the Quentin Tarantino of letters. The guy can talk. Words fly from his mouth at an anxious, wildly accelerated rate, which is ironic given that his writing is distinct for its clear, razor-sharp voice. Klosterman’s hilarious and oddly touching Heavy Metal memoir Fargo Rock City catapulted him from unknown newspaper journalist to…
Camera Obscura (Review)
The ancient device known as a camera obscura (from the Latin for “veiled chamber”) was an indispensable art-making tool for centuries. A new exhibition at Northside’s Prairie Gallery tries to continue its relevance for contemporary artists. The camera obscura’s simple but important technology, which informs modern photographic equipment, consists of a darkened enclosure that can…
48 Hours of Mayhem
Taken aback by that crazy-looking dude wielding a big knife in your neighbor’s backyard last weekend? Don’t be: It was probably just one of the 56 area teams that took part in 48 Hour Film Project, a celebration of creative smarts and Red Bull that rewards those who survive its weekend of filmmaking mayhem. The…
June 17-23: Worst Week Ever!
WEDNESDAY JUNE 17 Americans understand that there are times when you just have to do what’s right — we’ve all known someone who stepped up and helped an old lady cross the street or gave Ken Broo directions to the nearest Chipotle at some point in time. Barack Obama made a similar gesture today…
Eat Sugar Gets a Buzz
As soon as the laser sears the aluminum surface of Eat Sugar’s new disc, It’s Not Our Responsibility, any booty with a soul attached is liable to grow a mind of its own, get itself up off the chair and shake its proprietor around like a useless sack of meat. But while the bumpin’ backbeat…
My Weird Life
A few days ago, for the first time in probably decades, I started thinking of Carl and Pearl Butler. Would they be on YouTube? Sure enough, there they were in their flashy Country music suits singing “Don’t Let Me Cross Over,” their only No. 1 hit, released in 1963. As kids, my brothers and I…
Three Stories the Local Media Need to Cover Better
I call it “reporter’s remorse.” It embraces important stories we know we screwed up, missed or pursued with insufficient energy or smarts. Every one of us has that secret list. Of course, there is a cure for reporter’s remorse offered by a serpent in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It’s the…
Scared in Clifton, Worried in West Chester
Dear Maija,I flunked out of UC last month but didn’t tell my dad because he’s going to seriously F me up. I only went to college because my parents know I’m good at math and think when the economy picks up there will be many new jobs for engineers (they really think the stimulus package…
Lightly Through the Minefield
The area near the intersection of Roundbottom and Broadwell roads in Anderson Township features manufacturing buildings, a landscaping company, a park, a few blocks of small, older houses and signs. Lately, lots of signs. They consist of a red circle with a slash through it, crossing out the word “blasting.” Many homes and some businesses…
The Restaurants Most Likely to Make You Look Good Naked
I was recently at a restaurant in Chicago, Nacional 27, that served a Look-Better-Naked Margarita. (They also happen to serve the best margaritas in the country.) I appreciated the gesture and it made me think about all the dining opportunities to help you look better naked right here in our city. (It seems there are…
The Unwavering July for Kings
Sometimes, life’s lightning hits home. Maybe the whole world turns shades. Perhaps the sky fades in reverse, from blue to purplish black. In 2005, I battled a severe illness. But sometimes, magically, the right music strikes, and, coincidentally, while I was fighting to get well, July for Kings’ album Nostalgia landed in my shaky hand.…
Music: The Kiss Me Everlasting
Behold! Another Cincinnati supergroup has assembled and is ready to unleash its first creative sputterings upon your eyes and ears. The Subway Lounge is the nexus of genesis for The Kiss Me Everlasting, whose debut show, a free one, starts at 11 p.m. Friday night. The band counts Ali Edwards (Ruby Vileos), Dan McCabe (Roundhead),…
Music: Ryan Malott and Kelly Thomas
Sometimes, when you get two solo artists together for a collaboration disc, you’ve just got to have two separate release parties to celebrate. And when you have the distinct pleasure of living in a border city separated from another border city by a river, you’ve got to make sure those release shows cover both metro…
Ken Jones Explores Lincoln
Even though he is a self-described Civil War buff, playwright Ken Jones didn’t realize that Abraham Lincoln spent his formative years, from age 7 through 21, living in southern Indiana. Jones, the chairman of the department of theatre and dance at NKU, began to explore this part of Lincoln’s life after being commissioned to write…
Meals for Deals
Sure, there’s a global recession imposing on many aspects of our lives, but the savvy diner can still get good eats on a budget. On a recent Thursday evening Stephen Pierce of Mariemont and his girlfriend sat down at Mio’s Pizzeria for a casual and filling meal. But they didn’t need to see the menu.…
Brian Olive (Profile)
For the better part of the last decade, Brian Olive has been someone’s guitarist — sometimes as Oliver Henry or Henry Oliver — from post-high school outfits to his stints with The Greenhornes and Soledad Brothers. When the time finally came for Olive to blaze a solo trail, he had plenty of experience to draw…
Oasis Refund, Boss v. Ticketmaster and Eminem
[HOT] Refund? No Way, Sis! Weird or rude off-the-cuff remarks from musicians on stage are nothing new. And they’re usually pretty disingeuous— do you really think Rob Thomas genuinely cares, “How ya doin’ tonight, Boise?” Those statements are innocuous enough, but there’s a lesson to be learned from an Oasis concert earlier this month in…
Release Show Déja Vu
Sometimes, when you get two solo artists together for a collaboration disc, you’ve just got to have two separate release parties to celebrate. And when you have the distinct pleasure of living in a border city separated from another border city by a river, you’ve got to make sure those release shows cover both metro…
Andy Brownfield, Bug Killer
I killed a spider today with astringent. I didn’t know you could kill spiders with astringent until today. But there it was, chilling in my bathroom while I was taking a piss. My first instinct was to douse it with some kind of liquid, and barring the source of liquid currently in my hands, the…
