Mar 14-21, 2018
This Is Us: The Tillers document their journey with a new self-titled album
Sound Advice: CIFIKA with Fee Lion (March 26)
A pit stop at CIFIKA’s Soundcloud page may intimidate the uninitiated. The South Korean producer’s recent uploads vary wildly in scope and sound. “Emoji Love,” posted in February, weaves a series of tongue-in-cheek melodies with synth bloops that resemble Nokia Tracfone ringtones. It’s silly, yet symphonic, like Crazy Frog trying its hand at Modern Classical…
Sound Advice: Moon Taxi with Tauk, Red Wanting Blue and Brother Smith (March 23/24)
For the better part of a decade, Moon Taxi had been building a cultishly loyal fan base on the strength of strenuous touring and five quality, self-released albums. As frustrating as it was for the Alabama-born, Nashville-based band, the quintet resolved to soldier on with its fifth studio album, which they again planned to release…
Music Important to Freedom Center Head
Dion Brown, the new president of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, has only been in town a few weeks — too soon, he says, to formulate specific exhibition programming ideas. Coming here from St. Louis, where he was founding executive director of the National Blues Museum, he does know that one of his goals…
Spring’s New and Returning TV Series
The weather outside might still be frightful, but spring is here and with it comes a fresh crop of new and returning series. The Americans (Season Premiere, 10 p.m. March 28, FX) – The final season of this excellent Cold War-set KGB spy drama flashes forward three years from Season 5’s finale to 1987. We…
Allyson Currin Prepares for a Premiere
Bringing a new play into existence involves very different activity than staging a show that’s had previous productions. Playwright Allyson Currin, from Washington D.C., has the world premiere of her new play, Sooner/Later, this month at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park — starting in previews on Saturday and officially opening March 29. It’s her…
Cincinnati AltPop superstars Walk the Moon come home for stadium show at Great American Ball Park
Massively successful Cincinnati AltPop band Walk the Moon has announced a July 28 date at Great American Ball Park. The group’s stadium gig is its first in the members' hometown since last year’s MidPoint Music Festival performance at Taft Theatre. The July event is part of “The Ohio Lottery Post-Game Concert Series” following Cincinnati Reds…
A Close-to-Home Thriller from a Rising Local Writer
According to Cincinnati author Jessica Strawser, the most important aspect of creating a story is writing from a central question. But her forthcoming novel, Not That I Could Tell, reveals that the answer may be just as important — and sometimes just as dangerous — as the different perspectives that uncover it. This enthralling thriller,…
This Week in Questionable Decisions
This Week in Questionable Decisions… 1. Shia LeBeouf told Esquire that he let Kanye West raid his closet and the rapper took everything — including Shia’s Indiana Jones hat. 2. WWE superstar John Cena jokingly auditioned for the role of Steve in Blue’s Clues during Nickelodeon’s upfront event this week, only to have O.G. Steve…
What a Week!: March 14-20
R.I.P. Donessa Vanessa Trump lived out some of our wildest fantasies by breaking free from the Trump family as she and Don Jr. announced their separation last week. The two have been married for 12 years and have five kids. Vanessa is seeking an uncontested divorce, which means they’re not going to fight over assets…
Malcolm Cochran Holds a ‘Requiem’
Malcolm Cochran’s exhibition Requiem, currently on view at the Weston Art Gallery, is a grand gesture of remembrance. The three-part exhibition begins with “History Lessons,” an austere installation in the gallery’s street-level atrium of a larger-than-life replica of a 1955-57 Chevrolet side-view mirror. It’s precariously standing on its thin aerodynamic mounting, and perched upon…
Inside Cincy’s Growing Cookbook Club
Tablespoon Cookbook Club isn’t your mother’s book club, or even your mother’s cookbook. The group equips local readers with more than just recipes — they become acquainted with the culture, region and history behind the dishes, too.“I have a ton of cookbooks, I love to travel and I love food and cooking,” says Jordan Hamons,…
A Cheese Shop For Every Neighborhood
The food scene is ever shifting and trendsetters come and go, but one popular item isn’t going away anytime soon: cheese. Stacks of cheese wheels with lopsided edges and intricately laced rinds stink up Pinterest on wedding boards for cake alternatives. Buzzfeed’s “Tasty” videos show hands pulling apart bread held together by gooey strands of…
Overdose deaths up in Hamilton County; Ohio lawmakers propose total ban on abortions; more news
Happy first day of spring, Cincinnati. Let’s celebrate with… a couple inches of snow. Real cool. Let's move on to news so I don't cry about that. Is Harry Black still Cincinnati’s city manager? Why yes, and he’ll probably continue to be until at least Wednesday and quite possibly beyond that, despite efforts by Mayor…
Minimum Gauge: blink-182 and Perry Farrell announce Las Vegas projects
HOT: Viva Pop Punk Vegas When you discover new music in your youth, it feels like it’s going to be that fresh and vibrant forever. And it does live on like that, in your memories and, apparently, in Las Vegas. When music gets to the age where its most fervent fans have disposable income and…
“Lost” DJDQ project due on new Herzog Music label
New music hub Herzog Music (811 Race St., Downtown, herzogmusic.com) is getting into the Record Store Day action this year by issuing a lost classic by a Cincinnati great. On April 21, Herzog — which sells vinyl alongside instruments and gear — is hosting a listening/release party for Where the Sidewalk Begins, a 28-minute sound…
Damage Assessment: New book documents events at DIY Experimental music space Art Damage Lodge
When I asked Jon Lorenz and John Rich what the Art Damage Lodge was, they both replied, in tandem, “Umm.” Then Rich volunteered, “It’s a long story.” After all, how do you describe an art space inspired by old-school Cincinnati Experimental music artists and aficionados that housed shows ranging from ecstatic psycho improv heroes Wolf…
Sound Advice: Davina and the Vagabonds with FrenchAxe (March 22)
Davina Lozier has the tatted-up look of a Punk burlesque headliner, but there’s a lot more to the Minneapolis resident than her sensual charms. Lozier is a passionate vocalist whose love of vintage Blues, Jazz and R&B oozes from every note she sings, and that same verve runs through her like an electric current when…
The Pete Rose/Cincinnati sports curse is real
Sunday evening, as the University of Cincinnati’s Bearcats started their second-round game in the NCAA tournament against Nevada, UC forward Kyle Washington was in flex mode, extending his jaw and jutting his biceps as his team jumped out to a big early lead. My father casually said, in the direction of the TV, “Don’t get…
Black agrees to settlement, but council majority still opposed
After two weeks of turbulence, including an all-out standoff with Mayor John Cranley, City Manager Harry Black agreed to a settlement to leave his position March 17. “Earlier today Mayor Cranley and I executed an amicable and mutually acceptable settlement, which is in the best interest of the City,” Black wrote in a statement. “I believe it…
FCC: we won’t build in West End
Following weeks of working to negotiate a land swap with Cincinnati Public Schools, FC Cincinnati won’t build a stadium in the West End, the team announced March 16. The team says costs — tax payments to the school district and a community benefits agreement — would make it too expensive to locate in the neighborhood.…
Council majority: special counsel needed for Black/Cranley rift
A majority of Cincinnati City Council has called for a "cease fire" between Mayor John Cranley and embattled City Manager Harry Black while an independent investigation into claims the two have lobbed back and forth is conducted. Council members Tamaya Dennard, Greg Landsman, Chris Seelbach, P.G. Sittenfeld and Wendell Young, all Democrats, released a statement…
Where to Celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day
It’s rare for Cincinnatians to run out of reasons to gather and drink beer on the weekend, but St. Patrick’s Day brings a distinct level of “enthusiasm” to the city — especially when the holiday falls on a Saturday. It would probably be easier to make a guide of places not offering some variation of…
Fallout over Black vs. Cranley moves to council; state lawmaker suggests 18-year-olds be allowed to open carry in school; more news
Good morning, all. Let’s cap off this bizarre week with a quick news rundown of all the weirdness. The standoff between Mayor John Cranley and City Manager Harry Black could be coming to a close soon. Or not. Cranley and Black have reportedly agreed on a settlement — 18 months pay if Black walks away…
Can Cincinnati institutions change the way they buy food?
A local group wants to change the way large institutions like schools and hospitals buy food to make it more nutritious, sustainable and fair. Their preferred approach — called the Good Food Purchasing Program (GFPP) — has been adopted in cities like Los Angeles. Could it work here, too? The Greater Cincinnati Good Food Coalition…
‘A Fantastic Woman’ Is a Fantastic Movie
This year’s competition for the Best Foreign Language Oscar was tough. Besides Sweden’s The Square, a satire about an art curator’s life that is by turns deadpan and terrifying, there was Lebanon’s The Insult, Russia’s Loveless, Hungary’s On Body and Soul and the winner, Chile’s A Fantastic Woman. The latter won widespread attention for the…
Over-the-Rhine Foundation to Announce Winner of Infill Design Competition
One of the biggest questions around development in Cincinnati’s historic neighborhoods has been how to build new things in the gaps left by neglected and demolished buildings. How can projects built 100 or more years after an area’s existing historic structures complement the neighborhood’s character? The Over-the-Rhine Foundation has explored that question with a recent…
CPD could expand ShotSpotter; judge temporarily blocks Ohio abortion restriction; more news
Good morning, all. Here’s a quick news rundown in case you missed anything from yesterday’s hectic news day. The prospect of a potential FC Cincinnati soccer stadium in the West End may be dead. The Cincinnati Board of Education yesterday told FC Cincinnati to pay its fair share of taxes if it wanted to build…
