Mom vs. Gorilla vs. Booze vs. PROJECTMILL
It’s 6:30 a.m. Friday morning. I find myself staring into my reflection at the Econo Lodge’s employees-only lobby bathroom watching blood pour from my nose and drip all over the sink, diffusing into the water and I ask myself, “How did I get here?” Looking to the floor I admire still more of my blood,…
Playhouse Announces Celebratory 50th Season
When the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park kicks off its 50th anniversary season this fall, Ed Stern will be in his 18th year as producing artistic director. He wanted to put together a year of shows that not only reflected what the Playhouse has become since its founding in 1960 but also made a contribution…
X Is a Factor Again in March Madness
One realizes that he’s tried too hard to be a college basketball fan and is therefore a fool when he notices that he’s taken the regular season seriously. Such a fuss we made those few weeks ago when Xavier lost three straight on the road in the Atlantic-10 Conference. We started wondering if the same…
Don’t hit! SMACK!
Violence begets violence; it certainly doesn’t have the effect of bringing about effective communication that ultimately leads people to understand and embrace positive actions. So why would Ohio schools – institutions of learning and thought – allow hitting kids as punishment?—- The history of abuse and tyranny connected with physical violence ought to be enough…
Playhouse Announces World Premieres for 2009-10 Season
At the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s announcement event for its 2009-10 season last night, Producing Artistic Director Ed Stern offered some intriguing insights and facts about his upcoming season (see my report on the new season's 11 shows here).—- The show opening the Playhouse’s 50th season next September will be Anthony Shaffer’s mind-bending murder…
Another Furlough at Enquirer
Faced with the choice between job layoffs or a second round of unpaid furloughs for employees, executives at the financially troubled Gannett Co. announced today they were selecting the latter course. Gannett, the parent firm of The Cincinnati Enquirer, announced a furlough program that will require most non-unionized workers to take at least five days…
It’s Spring Break, Do You Know Where Your Daughter Is?
Ah, the spring has sprung and days are growing longer. No more depressing winter cold invading our souls and sucking our lives away as we nap into the afternoon. The imprint in my bed will soon start to rise and my silhouette will disappear. Winter fades into the past and mid-terms or finals come to…
Have You Hugged Your School Today?
What happens when tree-huggers go to school? You get “Green & Healthy Schools.” ALLY: Alliance for Leadership and Interconnection is a “citizen’s group providing leadership coaching and strategic guidance for policy development and implementation of environmental sustainability programs.” According to their Web site. And their first significant action in 2004 was to begin the Growing…
Hey Mom. PROJECT MILL @ SXSW
So here it is, Friday night and I'm opting to stay in to write. Let's get retroactive. Last night, Wednesday night, we visited Levi's and FADER magazine's FORT (don't ask me what it stands for) tent to watch B.O.B. and Little Boots. I don't know either of them but they were modestly entertaining. More than…
Friday Movie Roundup: Nic Cage, Man-Love & Double Agents
David Lynch once called Nicolas Cage ''the jazz musician of actors.'' So what happened, Nic? A quick glance at your recent movies includes stuff like Bangkok Dangerous, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Next, Ghost Rider and Wicker Man. That’s like Charlie Parker deciding to do Kenny G covers. —- On the plus side, I notice…
Bang Bang Tacos!
Can’t stop thinking about ‘em! Yesterday, my friend Mikey B. pulled a menu out o’ his wallet that he’d snagged cuz it made him think of me. One o’ the items listed was Bang Bang Tacos! Those who know me know I’m kinda obsessed with tacos. I don’t know why, I just am. Mostly cuz…
Onstage: Stalag 17
Stalag 17 is a 1951 play by Donald Bevan and Edmund Trczinski about World War II prisoners of war. It was also a 1953 movie starring William Holden and the inspiration for the TV series Hogan's Heroes. One of Cincinnati's fine community theaters, Mariemont Players, has brought the show back to life. This show runs…
Duplicity (Review)
Writer/director Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton) runs his ship aground with a smarty-pants crime romance set amid the world of corporate espionage. Uber-spies Ray (Clive Owen) and Claire (Julia Roberts) get themselves in deep when they decide to leverage their mutual distrust for one another as a foundation for a romantic relationship. The wrongheaded decision makes…
Knowing (Review)
Alex Proyas has a thing for dark thrillers that probe complex aspects of human existence. The Crow (1994) introduced the director’s distinctive, gothic-informed visual skills to a wide audience, but Brandon Lee’s on-set death and an impressively curated soundtrack overshadowed the effort. It wasn’t until Dark City (1998), a visionary, futuristic noir rife with atmosphere…
Mauritius (Review)
Critic's Pick Collectors of postage stamps don’t seek perfection. When something is off, that adds individuality and value. Hence the conflicts that make Theresa Rebeck’s Mauritius, currently onstage at Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, a compelling piece of theater. Mauritius is about two half-sisters, Jackie (Sara Mackie) and Mary (Annie Fitzpatrick), in a tug-of-war over two…
Stage Door: Mauritius and Stalag 17
It's funny how one or two words can convey many different meanings. Take the word Mauritius. If you know your geography, it's an island in the Indian Ocean east of Africa. If you're a stamp collector, it's one of the first places in the world where postage stamps were issued — and it's where some…
Artists in Parks
Cincinnati Artists are invited by the Cincinnati Park Board to participate in their new Artist Registry by submitting a portfolio or work and a resume. This is the beginning of the process whereby artists will be commissioned to crate public art for the Cincinnati Riverfront Park and other future projects. The deadline for first application…
A Rally’s Mean Streak
An actual tea party is supposed to be a cordial, civilized affair but as more details emerge about Sunday’s “Cincinnati Tea Party,” it’s clear that some attendees need a lesson in manners.—- Instead of the political protest remaining focused on substantive policy issues, many in the crowd at Fountain Square revealed their true colors through…
Events: Music Cafe Anniversary
Another anniversary of note next week is the 10th one for “Music Café,” a diverse series that takes place the fourth Tuesday of each month at the Fitton Center for Creative arts in Hamilton. For the 10th anniversary showcase, local artists Jake Speed, Mark Cormican, Eric Loy, Raison D'etre and Rooster Forbes will perform starting at…
Events: Northside Tavern Seventh Birthday
The Northside Tavern — one of the city’s best clubs for original local music — is celebrating its seventh birthday Saturday night with Lovely Crash, The Guild of Calamitous Intent and DJ K Pool helping the club blow out the candles with a 10 p.m. show. As always at the Tavern the music is free.…
SXSW Blog: Hey Mom, I’m Austin-tatious
A little over 24 hours ago, when I am telling my mother I am headed to Austin to film several showcases with Cincinnati's own PROJECTMILL at SXSW, I tell her my idea for the name of my blog for "The Morning After" would more or less be titled "Ostentatious." In a lowered voice, she questions…
The Seventh Time Around
There are few exhibition spaces in Cincinnati as dependable and consistent in quality as Aisle Gallery. Its current exhibition, Almost Certain, features two series of abstract paintings by Jeffrey Cortland Jones and Paige Williams. Remarkably, this is the seventh time these two painters have shown together. Even before they met, Jones and Williams were running…
Ratatat
Evan Mast’s and Mike Stroud’s kaleidoscopic, pop-culture-saturated interests yield instrumental soundscapes that range from guitar-driven anthems to atmospheric tunes that could double as the soundtrack of a spaghetti western as directed by Wes Anderson. The scruffy-headed Brooklyn duo known as Ratatat — Mast plays keyboards and crafts beats; Stroud plays guitar and various other things…
Fringe … What We Need in 2009
Although there’s still a lot of winter chill in the air, my thoughts are already turning to the Cincinnati Fringe Festival, our annual theatrical treat that I think of as the kick-off for summer. It usually happens in late May and early June, just before the solstice, so it’s a reminder of good things to…
The Class (Review)
The title of the French film The Class, winner of the Palme d’Or at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and an Oscar nominee for Best Foreign-Language Film, literally translates as “between the walls.” That’s fitting, because director Laurent Cantet sees the classroom as its own world, as well as a microcosm of the larger one…
Show Your Love for Katie
Just like when she was alive and performing, the love for late local singer/songwriter Katie Reider has been strongly evident since her death from a rare tumor last summer. The Web site 500kin365.org — which allows music lovers the chance to download a compilation of Katie’s music for a $1 donation — has helped keep…
GOP Again Relies on Bitterness
After Punk singer Johnny Rotten left the Sex Pistols, he headed another group called Public Image Limited. Among its hits was the song “Rise,” featuring a verse that included the bellowing refrain “Anger is an energy.” It’s true: Anger can be a great motivator for change. But if that’s all a person or a movement…
Nick Moss & The Flip Flops
People who love the Blues aren’t looking for evolutionary progression in the genre. They want players who respect the tradition of the Blues and translate it uniquely with passion and integrity. That sounds like Nick Moss’ mission statement. The Chicago native found his love for the Blues early in life, learning guitar from his older…
Zero Boys: History of
Every once in a while a heretofore ignored piece of Rock history is unearthed, deemed hip by the powers that be and mastered down onto a slice of plastic or vinyl for mass consumption. Luckily, that day has finally come for Indianapolis’ Zero Boys. This totally smokin’, early-‘80s Hoosier punk band’s mind-melting History of cassette,…
Ridge Runner (Profile)
Country Rock sextet Ridge Runner just returned from Nashville, where they showcased for labels, collected business cards and passed around their sophomore CD, the aptly titled Kickin’ and Stompin’. As half of the band — lead vocalist/acoustic guitarist Jeff Workman, bassist/vocalist Troy Brown and fiddler/vocalist Ron Ball — relaxes over beers and fish and chips…
Check Up for Health Department
For all the recent headlines about tainted toys from China and contaminated peanut butter in snacks, public health hazards caused by everyday items are nothing new. In fact, the U.S. has a long and tragic history involving scares caused by overzealous entrepreneurs making profits at the expense of consumers while politicians turn a blind eye…
Don’t Blame ‘The Man’
I was watching some TV news channel or the other last week, and they were talking about what desperate straits we’re in as far as unemployment. There’s no question the shit has hit the fan and many people are in a dire position that no one could have contemplated only a few months ago. Life…
I Love You, Man (Review)
I recently caught a feature on NPR about the emergence of gays and lesbians in the mainstream. The intriguing piece examined the effects of Will & Grace and Ellen DeGeneres (as both a sitcom performer and a talk show host) on the straight male segment of society, long considered the most resistant element to our…
Breaking Rules and Boundaries
There’s rarely a chance these days to witness musicians who represent both the roots and evolution of a genre. In the ’60s, for instance, you could see music history being written in Jazz clubs all over the country, featuring artists who were not just masterful players but creating and expanding an entire musical tradition. Their…
Debating the Media’s Responsibility When Covering Suicides
Local legend has it that a crusty old news photographer once shouted at a reluctant suicide downtown, “Jump, you sonuvabitch, the light’s getting bad.” More typically, editors avoid news and images of local suicides, reflecting our awareness of historic religious stigma and communal sense of shame that can burden survivors. Exceptions generally involve suicides where…
Another Seven Days of Casino Plans and Kickball Bans
WEDNESDAY MARCH 11 After two years of Kentucky trying to F Ohio in the B with its various Northern Kentucky casino proposals — seriously, isn’t taking away our dance clubs enough for you, Newport? — a group of Ohio casino-backers is responding in full-force. The Ohio Jobs and Growth Committee today unveiled a plan that…
Nous Non Plus: Menagerie
What in God’s name would possess a group of otherwise regular New York hipsters to form a faux French band is beyond my comprehension. I do find it hilarious, though, that they’ve chosen stage names like Céline Dijon, Jean-Luc Retard and Franois Hardonne. So with handles like that and a cover shot of a lucky…
Music: Nick Moss & The Flip Flops
People who love the Blues aren’t looking for evolutionary progression in the genre. They want players who respect the tradition of the Blues and translate it uniquely with passion and integrity. That sounds like Nick Moss’ mission statement. The Chicago native found his love for the Blues early in life, learning guitar from his older…
A Dose of Reality
The first episode of MTV’s new reality musical, Taking the Stage, opens with a visual montage of Cincinnati, showing viewers that we are a sizable Midwestern city with an urban core. There’s a panoramic scan of the skyline, a hyper-saturated shot of the Roebling Bridge and students in an urban-looking area walking into a school.…
Obits with Bear Hands
Obits are a band without a plan. Even though their debut full-length, I Blame You, will be released via Sub Pop Records on the same date that they’ll headlining in Newport, this Brooklyn quartet has yet to outline any long-term ambitions for the group. This sense of irresolution is to be expected from a group…
Circus Devils: Gringo
Bob Pollard is a god among songwriting men, and for good reason. Whether the Indie Rock veteran is fronting Guided by Voices, releasing solo albums or joining his pals the Tobias brothers (GBV alumni themselves) in the psychedelic, experimental Circus Devils, the graying yet eternally youthful Pollard just can’t keep himself from churning out skewed,…
Gambling on Gravner
We recently ate at San Marco, a Mario Batali restaurant at the Venetian Las Vegas. The food was good and the service wonderful but the real star was the encyclopedic wine list assembled under the direction of Joe Bastianich, Mario’s business partner and wine director of their dining empire. But Joe is much more than…
Arrested Economy
Arrested Economy I really enjoyed Larry Gross’ last Living Out Loud column about the suits (“Greed, Suits and Bailouts,” issue of March 11). I think he nailed it when he said not to expect the suits to have any kind of common sense or not know that it’s not business as usual. I don’t know…
Bad News and the Media
News about death keeps piling up. Anyone perusing the daily newspaper or the 11 p.m. TV newscasts lately knows about the 13-year-old SCPA student killed while jogging and the 11-day-old baby squeezed to death by his young parents in Batavia. My eye happened on a small item in The Enquirer about a 16-year-old in Over-the-…
The Foreigner (Review)
As the foundation for its laughter The Foreigner, now at Cincinnati Playhouse, asks audiences to accept a lulu of a gimmick. Many comedies do. Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors has identical twin businessmen employing identical twin servants. Mary Chase’s Harvey has audiences believing in an invisible white rabbit. The problem with gimmicks is that once they’re…
Jack White, Hannah Montana, Radiohead, 50 Cent
[HOT] JACK WHITE IS RECESSION-PROOF! There is now no question as to who is the hardest-working man in showbiz. In what appears to be an effort to never spend a second off stage or out of a recording studio, Jack White has formed yet another “side project.” Scary thing is, once again, it’s a fantastic…
Switching to Glide
So many of us want Cincinnati to be a progressive city. Maybe one day we ought to start thinking like one. Considering I’m a first-generation American (on my Dad’s side) West-side German Catholic who’s relatively comfortable in this fine Midwestern town and proud of its history (mostly), I still know Cincinnati can be a whole…
Iris BookCafe (Review)
Julie Fay and her business partner, Mike Markiewicz, had been involved in various aspects of Cincinnati’s Main Street arts and entertainment district since the early 1990s. After St. Theresa’s Textiles moved from a building that Fay owned, she decided to open a “destination business” that would bring people to the area. She wanted to create…
Stealing Elections and the New Ohio Economy
Ohio, like every other state, has “issues.” When it comes to the political kind we’ve had more controversial elections than most in the recent past. On the other end of the spectrum – how we’re like everyone else – the “new economy” is supposed to be here any minute and it’s all green.—- To keep…
