Diner: Tasty Tapas
I love the idea of Latitudes. The concept of sharing small dishes over drinks with friends is casually sophisticated and fun. Lately, the typical restaurant meal looks like something out of the Coneheads movie — appetizers, entrées and desserts heaped on oversized platters. I don't want to consume mass quantities, but I also don't want…
Film: Takes Two to Tango
Students Wilson (left) and Jatnna show off their skills in director Marilyn Agrelo's fine documentary, Mad Hot Ballroom. One image sums up debut director Marilyn Agrelo's joyous documentary Mad Hot Ballroom. Young Wilson and female classmate Jatnna dance atop a large rock in a Washington Heights Park in their Upper Manhattan neighborhood. They are cute,…
News to Use
Health Care for Everybody The Single-Payer Action Network Local, advocates of health insurance reform, meet at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 8, at Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church in Clifton. On the agenda: the status of a petition drive to put a single-payer health system providing full and comprehensive coverage to all Ohioans on the ballot. For…
Put Your Left Foot Out
I'm a straight male foot fetishist and, like any other American male, I regularly Google my fetish. Last night I ran across a Web site promoting foot fetish parties in New York City (www.foot-worship-party.com). Have you heard of this event? Is it legit? Is it legal? For a guy with a foot fetish, it seems…
Notices
EXPOSE YOURSELF! With one simple phone call, you can reach up to 17 million young, active and educated readers in more than 100 newspapers just like this one. Call (513) 665-4700 ext 103 (AAN CAN)
Musicians Exchange
BAND REHEARSAL SPACES Large, carpeted, private rooms w/ security. Heat & electric included. Call 513-478-6560. THE CINCINNATI JAM FACTORY Band Rehearsal Spaces Off-street parking, 24 hour access. Call John @ 513-665-4658 www.cincijamfactory.com Studios HAVE YOU BEEN TO ICB LATELY? ICB Audio & Video Equipment best prices & most knowledgeable staff in town Sound & Video…
‘Black’ Celebration
Six-member Indie Rock unit The Minni-Thins unleash their first full-length album, In Black Cause I Asked, in conjunction with a big show Saturday at the Southgate House. To celebrate, the group has booked all three floors of the Newport venue, lining up a roster that includes Lovely Crash, Frankl Project, Paperback, The Spectacular Fantastic, Dr.…
Cover Story: Pride Thrives
John Pennell (right) hangs with Harold Keutzer and Marakah Nystrom-Mancini at the Pride Alive kickoff event June 3 at Yadda Club. If you thought there was nothing to celebrate in the struggle for sexual equality, consider this: Greater Cincinnati is now a leader in the cause of gay and lesbian pride. That alone justifies the…
Up in Smoke or Into the Drink
Graham Lienhart David Pepper wants to make high times more scarce by increasing the penalty for possessing the sacred herb. Cincinnati City Councilman David Pepper says he's never smoked marijuana, and he wants to increase the punishment for adults who do. Pepper, a candidate for mayor, has proposed increasing the penalty for possession of pot…
Deep Bench Spurs San Antonio Toward Another NBA Title
Jerry Dowling Slow and steady isn't supposed to win this race, but basketball sometimes trumps bombast, even in the NBA. So the San Antonio Spurs, the league's most consistent power, are back in the NBA Finals after their five-game bludgeoning of the Phoenix Suns for the Western Conference Championship. The Spurs will go to the…
Music: The Gospel of Roots
New York's Ollabelle formed by happenstance when the band members found common ground at an every-Sunday-night Gospel jam at a local bar. Three short years ago, Ollabelle was more a concept than a band. What began as a group of friends assembling for a weekly jam session with no designs on anything more extensive quickly…
The Underpants
A lot of people who wanted to see Steve Martin's underpants were disappointed this spring. Perhaps I should clarify that statement: The Cincinnati Playhouse's production of Martin's hilarious comedy, THE UNDERPANTS, proved so popular that it was all but sold out before the show ever opened. Despite a slightly extended schedule throughout April, there were…
Unhappy with Plan for Square
The present design of Fountain Square was much lauded when it was built. Its beauty is in the interesting architecture, the fine quality of polished stone, different construction materials, the variation of levels and the various nooks that gave it variety. This beauty hasn't diminished over the years. The square should remain a raised oasis…
In the Fringe Crowd
Warm nighttime breezes and overcast skies greet the few people waiting June 1 on the front steps of Over-the-Rhine landmark Memorial Hall. The audience sits on the stairs while the 8:10 p.m. performance of A Comment from the Peanut Gallery, one of the first shows in the 2005 Cincinnati Fringe Festival, is about to get…
Hippocamp Ruins Pet Sounds
HOT Heavy Pet-ting A new illegal album project featuring various Electronic and Experimental artists rewiring the Beach Boys' historic Pet Sounds album has been making the rounds. Spearheaded by the Manchester, U.K.-based musical collective/Internet label Hippocamp, Hippocamp Ruins Pet Sounds is an enthralling remix project made by artists who have a clear reverence for the…
Go Ahead, Fall!
I once worked on a high ropes course at a summer camp. I didn't know I was afraid of heights until I was up in the trees. I thought I would be fine, but everything looks different when your mind's eye is still on the ground. When you get up there and literally have the…
Locals Only: : Local CD-O-RAMA
CATALPA CATALPA — HARDONCITY CATALPA CATALPA — HARDONCITY (OPSOUND) Hardoncity is the first CD release from Opsound, a label/collective/online artist resource center founded by New York-based artist Sal Randolph. Eschewing copyright and licensing red tape, Opsound's Web site offers musicians a chance to upload and download music and sound in a share-friendly "sound pool." It's…
Without Irons
The recent Brian Nichols case put the spotlight on courthouse security. In March, he overpowered the diminutive female deputy sheriff bringing him to court in Atlanta as she was removing his handcuffs. He took her gun, then killed the judge, the court reporter and another deputy before escaping. Why take the cuffs off? After all,…
News: Designing Clifton Heights
Matt Borgerding Inn the Wood has closed after accepting a settlement with the city. Owner Diana Wood (below, with her son Michael) says it could've been easier. The University of Cincinnati and the Clifton Heights Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation (CHCURC) increasingly dominate the changing landscapes of Calhoun and McMillan streets in the neighborhood immediately south…
Chris Arduser – Graveblankets/ The Bears – The Record That Changed My Life
Chris Arduser- Graveblankets/ The Bears The Kinks, The Kinks' Greatest Hits The year was 1964, and I was a scant 5 years old. The Beatles had conquered our universe. My elder brothers and I drew facsimiles of guitar strings on wooden building blocks and jumped about frantically in Fab Four fashion. What or whom could…
What’s the Going Rate for Agony?
Will the Catholic Church never understand the harm perpetrated by priests who molest kids? The settlement of a class action lawsuit against the Diocese of Covington is touted by church officials, attorneys for the victims and the news media as a step toward healing. But, even at $120 million — the largest damage award yet…
Onstage: Wow Moment
The curtain-opening moment in Showbiz Players' production of The Scarlet Pimpernel is exactly why there are curtain openings in musicals. The reveal of the elaborate sets and stunning costumes as the orchestra segues from overture to first production number should — in the Broadway musical tradition — be magical and jaw-dropping. In this production, that…
Spam Report
An elderly friend was enjoying a can of Armour's "Potted Meat Food Product" when I stopped by for a short visit a few weeks ago. I say "enjoying" because she was still upright and smiling when I brought her some real food several hours later and not ill like my entire family once was after…
Tap Water and Vinegar: Trying to Understand Drug Testing
Because of all the Bible thumping from conservative people now controlling our country and our cities, I'm going to have to change some names and places in this story. I don't want to get friends in trouble like Mike, who's now back working again. I'm glad. He's a smart guy, a hard worker and the…
Upcoming Concert Reviews of Walking Bicycles, Black Crowes and More…
The Black Crowes WALKING BICYCLES WITH THE WADING GIRL Thursday · The Comet What's more fun than New Wave revivalists? Female-fronted New Wave revivalists, of course. From the Au Pairs and Sonic Youth to Boss Hog and Sleater-Kinney, there's no denying that the juxtaposition of Post Punk catharsis and female energy is a winner. California…
Cover Story: Equal, Not Separate
What's After Article 12 Last fall's repeal of Article 12 was rightly seen as a turning point in Cincinnati history. Not only did it remove the 11-year-old city charter amendment that blocked the city from granting legal protection based on sexual orientation — making Cincinnati the only U.S. city to officially discriminate against its own…
