John Boehner, Music Video Star
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-West Chester) is getting some serious face time on YouTube these days. A person named Josh Stanley has created a mash-up of Boehner’s angry “Hell no, you can’t” rant on the floor of Congress from the March 21 vote on the health care reform bill with the popular song, Yes…
Music: Alejandro Escovedo & the Sensitive Boys
Alejandro Escovedo’s career has been a successful one, but the acclaim — and public support — for him has come slowly, without any one major hit. If anything, at age 59 his following is still growing as he finds his groove as an Austin-based Roots musician capable of explosively rockin’ out one minute and writing…
Angels in Cincinnati … Finally
As the 20th century closed, the American Theatre Critics Association surveyed its members regarding their choices for the top plays of the past 100 years. Only one play from the 1990s cracked the Top 10: Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, the massive, two-part work subtitled "A Gay Fantasia on American Themes." In 1993, Part I:…
Music: Homo-a-GoGo
Homo-a-GoGo is an event that deserves your attendance for its name alone … even if it were a 15-hour-long lecture about the homogenization process in milk. As luck would have it, this Homo-a-GoGo is more than just a great name — it sounds like a blast to boot. The event began as many great ideas…
Onstage: Omnium Gatherum
Under Professor Sandra Forman’s zesty direction, the student actors turn the first hour of this 2002 script into rattling good spit-and-spirit theater. The 95-minute work is by Theresa Rebeck and Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros. It’s just post-9/11. Seven glitterati (some lampooning real world celebs) gather over gourmet grub prepared by domestic diva Suzie (Katie Kershaw). Back stories…
Doom With a View
When “Dixie” Dave Collins ponders the question of how Weedeater has changed since its 1994 birth, he has an unusual answer. “We‘re definitely a lot more tired, beat up a little bit and minus one toe,” Collins says in his dry North Carolina drawl. “I blew off half my toe about two months ago. I…
Henry Rollins
I met Henry Rollins in 1987 when he did an in-store appearance at Wizard Records in Corryville, where I was working at the time. To be in his presence was a little overwhelming physically and emotionally — he was like a tightly compressed truck spring, a metric shit ton of potential energy about to explode.…
Opening Day Extravaganza Featuring Jake Speed & the Freddies
While the Opening Day parade has for decades now been a cool little “uniquely Cincinnati” event folks look forward to every year, there is a newer Opening Day tradition that's beginning to rival it in terms of sheer baseball pomp and pageantry. For the past several years, local Folk and Americana experts Jake Speed &…
Remembering Alex Chilton, Plus New CDs from Bettie Serveert, Goldfrapp & Gregory, Joe Bonamassa and Mose Allison
If heaven seems a little warmer, it’s because Alex Chilton is writing lovely melodies for the celestial choir. And if hell seems globally cooler, it’s because The Stooges are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Credit Iggy Pop with one of the great acceptance speeches of all time. “Roll over, Woodstock,” he rightfully…
Attractions: Zoo Blooms at the Cincinnati Zoo
One half of the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is the animal zoo part, but the frequently overlooked half is the Zoo’s beautiful botanical garden. The annual "Zoo Blooms" event celebrates the coming of spring and the gardens with a magnificent explosion of colorful flowers. More than 93,000 tulips and 1 million daffodils, hyacinths, flowering…
Art: Disturbing Reality
The Weston Art Gallery at downtown's Aronoff Center for the Arts has its new spring show up and running, a group exhibition featuring nine artists who — according to the Weston — “explore quirky and disquieting images, psychological dramas and off-kilter environments.” Four of the artists are from Cincinnati: Christopher Hoeting, Guennadi Maslov, Emily Hanako…
Easter: Egg Hunt on Fountain Square
On the day before Easter, Fountain Square turns into a kiddie free-for-all with a giant egg hunt. Children will be divided into three age groups (ages 2-3, 4-6 and 7-9) with staggered starts and let loose on the square to find brightly colored eggs filled with Graeter's chocolate, candy or tickets to the Newport Aquarium…
Such Great ‘Heights’ in Clifton
Once upon a time, the Clifton area near the University of Cincinnati — much like the bustling music scenes centered around colleges across the country — was ground zero for original, creative music in Cincinnati. If you were a serious “local music fan” and you weren’t in Clifton (in the clubs on or near Short…
Music: Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins has made a cottage industry of his different facets. Author, publisher, columnist, actor, DJ, spoken word artist, social activist and now stand-up comic, there’s barely a moment left over for him to make music, which, in fact, he hasn't done in quite some time. Four years ago, in an interview with Tom Green…
Onstage: Top Girls
Can a 28-year-old play about societal values still pack a punch? Unfortunately, yes, which means we haven’t fixed it yet. If Top Girls isn’t the shocker it was when Caryl Churchill’s play first appeared on a London stage in 1982, it’s only because we’ve seen enough to recognize the problems. The current production at Northern…
Art: LUCK NOW SpillSpell at Aisle Gallery
The etherealness of Aisle’s current exhibition LUCK NOW SpillSpell — featuring installations by Debbie Brod and Diane Fishbein — is grounded in both artists’ adept inclusion of artifacts in their artworks. Brod shapes castoff clothing in acerbic hues into letters in her “text message: DYE” wall construction, and a floor work of collected watercolors and…
Onstage: Othello
It’s the final week for Cincinnati Shakespeare’s production of a classic domestic tragedy built on a foundation of jealousy and misunderstanding. It's guest directed by Drew Fracher, whose past work for various Cincinnati theater companies is always thoughtful and comprehensive. His aim with this Othello was to build a streamlined and suspenseful production with a…
Music: Opening Day Extravaganza Featuring Jake Speed & the Freddies
While the Opening Day parade has for decades now been a cool little “uniquely Cincinnati” event folks look forward to every year, there is a newer Opening Day tradition that's beginning to rival it in terms of sheer baseball pomp and pageantry. For the past several years, local Folk and Americana experts Jake Speed &…
Events: Findlay Market Opening Day Parade
No one else celebrates baseball's opening day like Cincinnati. Although it’s not marked on any calendars, Opening Day has been a holiday celebrated by Cincinnatians since the 1900s. This year’s 91st Findlay Market Opening Day Parade will be led by Grand Marshal Johnny Bench starting at 10:30 a.m. on Monday. In the beginning the parade…
Comedy: Mike Loftus
“I was all over the board,” comedian Mike Loftus says of his pre-comedy career ambitions. “At one point I was going to be a medical illustrator. I thought that would be a good career path. Thank god I did not do that. Now it’s all computers and I’d be out of a job. I’m glad…
Alejandro Escovedo & the Sensitive Boys
Alejandro Escovedo’s career has been a successful one, but the acclaim — and public support — for him has come slowly, without any one major hit. If anything, at age 59 his following is still growing as he finds his groove as an Austin-based Roots musician capable of explosively rockin’ out one minute and writing…
ACORN Is Gone, but the Struggle Remains
Amid their crushing defeat last week in the health care bill debate, GOP pundits and conservative groups had at least one victory to celebrate: ACORN, the liberal community activist group, announced it was shutting its doors. Citing financial difficulties fueled in part by its image problem and Congress’ move to shut off funding to the…
Poll: Gay Prez Is OK, Barely
Although many voters in Southwest Ohio probably would disagree with its findings, a new poll indicates most Americans would have no problem with a president who is openly gay.—- A poll conducted by the 60 Minutes TV show and Vanity Fair magazine found that 50 percent of respondents would be comfortable with supporting an openly…
Critics Being Positive and Rewarding
I was in Louisville over the weekend for the Humana Festival of New American Plays, which means I had another opportunity (my 13th, in fact) to witness the recognition of outstanding plays by the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA) March 27 from the stage of the Pamela Brown Auditorium at Actors Theatre. The evening's first…
Reader Picks
ART GALLERY: Cincinnati Art Museum953 Eden Park Drive, Mount Adams, 513-721-27872. Contemporary Arts Center, Downtown3. Pendleton Arts Center, Over-the-Rhine BAR/NIGHTCLUB STAFF: Southgate House24 E. Third St., Newport, 859-431-22012. Northside Tavern, Northside3. Below Zero Lounge, Over-the-Rhine BEST OVERALL BAR/NIGHTCLUB: Northside Tavern4163 Hamilton Ave., Northside, 513-542-36032. Southgate House, 24 E. Third St., Newport, 859-431-22013. Below Zero Lounge,…
Market Tested, Market Approved
If you haven’t been to Findlay Market lately, you’re in for some surprises. Sure, if you’re a home cook or even a professional chef, the market is a great place for ingredients — fresh, local, good values, great variety. Now more than ever, though, the market has become a place to eat. In addition to…
Omnium Gatherum (Review)
Under Professor Sandra Forman’s zesty direction, the student actors turn the first hour of this 2002 script into rattling good spit-and-spirit theater. The 95-minute work is by Theresa Rebeck and Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros. It’s just post-9/11. Seven glitterati (some lampooning real world celebs) gather over gourmet grub prepared by domestic diva Suzie (Katie Kershaw, pictured). Back…
Second Chances Are a Priority
For the first time ever, more than one in every 100 U.S. citizens is incarcerated in either jail or prison, a recent study revealed. Even if you’re not troubled by that statistic on ethical or moral grounds, consider the public cost: The burgeoning number of people locked up costs state governments about $50 billion annually,…
Putting the ‘Broad’ in Broadcasting
Michael Grayson remembers when he was a program director in commercial radio and his national programming boss sent him a tasty new CD. It was the first October Project disc, and Grayson thought it was the best thing he’d heard in years. “I asked, ‘Can we play it?’ He said, ‘No, it hasn’t tested well,’”…
Senate (Review)
Critic's Pick Senate is the new place where the cool kids go, and I know why: It's fun, the menu doesn't take itself too seriously, and its location is red hot. The Gateway Quarter, the southern edge of Over-the-Rhine surrounding Ensemble Theatre and invigorated with new businesses, is the destination du jour. If you haven't…
Cincinnati’s New Car Smell
They call in to local talk radio shows. They write letters to the editor in The Enquirer. You overhear their conversations at the coffeeshop. One of them might even be your brother-in-law. They’re the Know Nothings, who like to tell you (and the world) how Cincinnati is a boring city and there’s nothing to do…
Tale of the Tape
April is the perfect time to assess Cincinnati’s sports landscape. Not only does baseball begin in April, but the NFL draft takes place, leading to summer workouts and eventually training camp. College basketball practice begins during football season, then the regular season spans the winter months and brings us all the way back around to…
Staff Picks
Best 'Pot Calling the Kettle Black' Moment:Hoping voters wouldn’t be too concerned with facts, Hamilton County Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou tried a lame attack last June against U.S. Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-Westwood) over the proposed “cap and trade” bill that sought to limit carbon dioxide emissions. Triantafilou wrote, “Mr. Driehaus’ party-line voting history is…
Top Girls (Review)
Can a 28-year-old play about societal values still pack a punch? Unfortunately, yes — which means we haven’t fixed it yet. If Top Girls isn’t the shocker it was when Caryl Churchill’s play first appeared on a London stage in 1982, it’s only because we’ve seen enough to recognize the problems. The current production at…
No No Knots (Profile)
Like a bird, just follow the breadcrumbs. No No Knots’ trail leads to four sharp, classically trained, College-Conservatory of Music junkies plus Molly Sullivan, one vivid vocalist. With a sweet range, Sullivan has the innate ability to stray into sudden, yet fitting wildness. Here, with careful timing and an instinctive style, she lets loose. A…
Staff Picks
Best Off-Broadway Theater:Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati is way off-Broadway, but if you go regularly you see some of the finest, most provocative works on their stage in regional premiere performances, often right after they’ve been hits in New York City. In September 2009 it was Moises Kaufman’s 33 Variations (pictured), not long after its New…
Reader Picks
BEARCAT: Mardy Gilyard2. Tony Pike3. Zac Collaros BENGAL: Chad Ochocinco2. Cedric Benson3. Rey Maualuga CYCLONE: Barret Ehgoetz2. Twister (mascot)3. Robert Mayer MUSKETEER: Jordan Crawford2. Jason Love3. Brad Redford NORSE: Amanda Mason2. Victor E. Viking (mascot)3. Nancy Winstel RED: Joey Votto2. Brandon Phillips3. Bronson Arroyo COACH/MANAGER (PRO/COLLEGE): Marvin Lewis, Bengals2. Brian Kelly, UC football3. Mike Zimmer,…
Staff Picks
Best Street Art:As part of his exhibition at the Contemporary Arts Center, Supply and Demand, artist Shepard Fairey put up murals on the exterior of seven buildings in Downtown, Over-the-Rhine and Northside. The CAC worked for months to secure a range of sites around the city for sanctioned, permitted paper murals to be glued to…
Reader Picks
FIRST DATE RESTAURANT: Melting Pot11023 Montgomery Road, Symmes Twp., 513-530-55012. Cheesecake Factory, Kenwood3. York Street Café, Newport RESTAURANT WITH A VIEW: Primavista810 Matson Place, Price Hill, 513-251-64672. Montgomery Inn Boathouse, Downtown3. The Celestial, Mount Adams RESTAURANT WITH LIVE MUSIC: Arnold’s Bar & Grill210 E. Eighth St., Downtown, 513-421-62342. Dee Felice Café, Covington3. The Comet, Northside…
Reader Picks
NEW THING: Five Guys Burgers and FriesMultiple locations2. Kroger Marketplace, Newport3. Streetscape in Gateway Quarter, Over-the-Rhine OLD THING: Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden3400 Vine St., Avondale, 513-281-47002. Findlay Market, Over-the-Rhine3. Union Terminal, West End APARTMENT COMPLEX: The Lofts at Shillito Place151 W. Seventh St., Downtown, 513-651-16612. One Lytle Place, Downtown3. The Drexel, Oakley BUILDING: Union…
Reader Picks
LOCAL ACTIVIST: Jim Tarbell2. Bill Cunningham3. Bootsy Collins LOCAL CAUSE: Matthew 25 Ministries2. Freestore Foodbank3. ArtWorks LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIAL: Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory2. Cincinnati Councilwoman Roxanne Qualls3. Cincinnati Councilwoman Leslie Ghiz BEST CINCINNATIAN: Jim Tarbell2. Carl Lindner3. Bootsy Collins BEST NORTHERN KENTUCKIAN: Cris Collinsworth2. NKU President James Votruba3. The man who walks and reads DO-GOODER:…
Frenzied Coverage of Toyota Problems Short on Skepticism and Attribution
We’re watching the meltdown of another story that was too good to be true, too vivid and contemporary to challenge: the runaway California Prius. Most of us haven't driven a late model Prius, so we're dependent on reporters to tell us what happened and what might have been done to bring the car under control…
Staff Picks
Best Use of Free Agent Money:Small market teams like the Reds can’t compete with the big boys when it comes to signing proven ace starting pitchers. But when the chance to sign a 22-year-old who might be the second coming of Randy Johnson came along, Reds GM Walt Jocketty said, “Let’s do this.” It’s all…
How to Train Your Dragon (Review)
On an IMAX 3-D screen, it becomes such an immersive cinematic experience that you become the character riding that dragon — which is fortunate, because you’re probably more interesting than the character riding that dragon. Based on Cressida Cowell’s book, Dragon follows a young Viking named Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) who tries to change his history…
Reader Picks
ACUPUNCTURIST: Carole Paine5400 Kennedy Ave., Pleasant Ridge, 513-317-36602. Jennifer Walther-Liu, TriHealth Pavilion, Blue Ash3. Dorothy Shaffer, Full Spectrum Health Center, North Avondale ANTIQUE STORE: Duck Creek Antique Mall3715 Madison Road, Madisonville, 513-321-09002. Woodel Nickel, Over-the-Rhine3. Brass Armadillo, Tri-County BANK/CREDIT UNION: Fifth Third Bank2. U.S. Bank3. PNC Bank BICYCLE STORE: Montgomery CycleryMultiple locations2. Campus Cyclery, Clifton…
A Prophet (Review)
Unrelentingly intense from start to finish, Jacques Audiard’s bold examination of the modern-day French prison system hinges on its central character’s transformation from an ignorant submissive criminal into an intelligent, dominant force. For much of the story impressive newcomer Tahar Rahim plays petty Arab criminal Malik El Djebena with such thin-skinned transparency that it’s agonizing…
Chloe (Review)
You couldn't hope for a higher caliber sexploitation movie than Chloe, even if the sex thriller falls flatter than a day-old quiche. Atom Egoyan rekindles his lurking soft-core desires with a tawdry script by Eric Cressida Wilson, whose 2002 film Secretary transcended a cultural movement of sexual identity. Audiences will have no such luck with…
Fashion Forward
Ohio native Nathan Hurst is a self-taught designer whose first projects involved decking out his dog. Having moved on to successful runway shows here in Cincinnati and later conquering the “Hip Hop Meets Couture” fashion show in San Francisco, Hurst is back in town with a new vision: Cincinnati Fashion Week. “I hope to bring…
Staff Picks
Best Place for a Downtown Lunch Powwow:If you love (or are as addicted to) coffee as much as we do, there’s no better place to get your fix than Coffee Emporium (pictured), purveyors of some seriously tasty “artisan roasted” brew. More than just an emporium of coffee, the place has become a buzzing hub for…
Friday Movie Roundup: Sony Classics, Greta Gerwig & the 1980s!
The local cinematic universe gets a much-needed shot of adrenaline this week. Even the Hollywood studio efforts look palatable. —- Sony Pictures Classics, perhaps the last of the big independently minded distributors that is still a vital entity, continues its recent string of worthwhile offerings (like An Education, Broken Embraces, Coco Before Chanel, The White…
Stage Door: Long-Legs and Top Girls
OK, I can't see any theater in Cincinnati this weekend because I'm attending the Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre of Louisville, 100 miles down I-71. But if I were in town, I'd have to make some tough choices. Because of a busy travel schedule, I missed the opening of Daddy-Long-Legs at…
The Truth About the Tea Party
The Tea Party might be good at organizing rallies outside the Capitol building in Washington and staging rallies at Fountain Square, but just how pervasive is the group’s views among the American people? Not very, according to a new poll.—- A national poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University found that just 13 percent of respondents…
Staff Picks
Best Friends for Your Naughty Bits: Some say diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but I say a well-fitting, beautiful bra does so much more. For the most sumptuous, luxurious lingerie around — from fabulously functional to drop-dead sexy (or both!) — look no further than La Silhouette (pictured). Owner Britt Cruikshank prides herself on…
Driehaus’ Address Is Published; He Responds
Just when you think the tactics of far-right health care reform opponents can’t get any worse, they do. Today’s issue of The Whistleblower – a gossipy Web-based newsletter – published the home address of U.S. Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-Price Hill), who voted in favor of the recent health care reform bill. The newsletter suggests opponents…
Music: Jedi Mind Tricks
Formed back in 1996, the group Jedi Mind Tricks has been an ever-evolving force in underground Hip Hop. From its influential debut album The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological, And Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness to the trilogy of "Army of the Pharaohs" projects (the latest, much-anticipated The Unholy Terror comes out the day of the JMT…
Social Security, Medicare Faced Same Arguments
Don’t listen to what the squeaky wheels on the far right are yelling this week: Most Americans will support the health care reform bill passed by the House once they see what’s included in it. In fact, the first major poll taken after the March 21 vote suggests a much different picture than what’s being…
The Road to Redemption
Nick Miller hopes putting a face on the term “gay” will help change the perceptions of conservative college students who’ve never been exposed to gay or lesbian people before. Well, at least not knowingly exposed. “They’ve probably known and talked to gay people before, they just didn’t know it,” he said. “Because of the environment…
Recession Brings New Architectural Challenges to Midwest Cities
As the Great Recession grinds on, one unusual aspect has been its impact on urban architecture. We see less privately financed construction — certainly far fewer single-family homes, office and retail buildings — and more ideas about urban deconstruction. Cities are concerned with rethinking what they have that is now vacant, derelict and a drain…
Worst Patient Ever
Whoa, the suspense continues. My cat, Tree, still hasn’t lost his tooth. His one canine is hanging there, dangling all nasty. Pretty useless really. Don’t think it bothers him, ’cause he still seems to scarf his food down like a vacuum cleaner on crack. Stubborn sucker, that cat. Speaking of stubborn, when it comes to…
Will Your Culinary Concept Kill Your Restaurant?
“Dear ‘concept’ restaurant: It is not the diner’s responsibility to be in tune with your fad, unless you only want to appeal to the few who knew ahead of time that you have a ‘niche.’ When a customer is visibly uncomfortable with your concept, offer guidance. Or kiss that customer goodbye forever. Can you afford…
R.I.P. Alex Chilton, Hello CD Sales and No Hip Hop in Texas
[HOT] R.I.P. Alex ChIltonHaving legendary singer/songwriter Alex Chilton die during the weekend of Austin’s massive music showcase/conference South By Southwest is kind of like if Stan Lee died on the first day of Comic-Con. You’d be hard pressed to find an event where Chilton would be more understood, appreciated and instantly missed. While a minor…
The T.A.M.I. Show: Collector’s Edition
Plenty of music fans have been waiting decades for this 1964 concert film — the greatest Rock concert film of all time, in many people’s opinion — to finally come out on DVD in its entirety. (A weird, truncated version called That Was Rock came out on video in the 1980s.) Here, finally, it is…
March 17-23: Worst Week Ever!
WEDNESDAY MARCH 17 It’s understandable that most of us spent St. Patrick’s Day trying to figure out what color shirt would best hide our green beer/Chipotle barf later in the evening (consensus: Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball jersey). But rather than worrying about such socially acceptable issues we should have been trying to keep our…
Music: Awesome Color
Awesome Color’s new album, Massa Hypnos, exudes a more subtle Stooges vibe while digging deeper into the band’s avowed love of Detroit Garage Punk. Guitarist/vocalist Derek Stanton erupts with swirling sheets of psychedelic guitar and vocals that soothe and howl in equal measure, underpinned by Busch and Troutman’s bedrock rhythm section that shifts effortlessly from…
The Bounty Hunter (Review)
The premise of Andy Tennant’s latest — a former cop turned bounty hunter (Gerard Butler) gets the chance to bust his ex-wife (Jennifer Aniston) but gets caught up in a twisty mystery that leads the couple to reconsider their relationship — must have sounded foolproof to studio executives hanging out in a hot tub time…
Dance: Mozart’s Requiem
A bathtub, a bed, lots of heavy leather suitcases — not necessarily props you expect to see onstage for a ballet, let alone for a ballet set to the high funereal seriousness of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Requiem. But that’s just some of what audiences will experience at Adam Hougland’s world premiere ballet, Mozart’s Requiem, Friday…
Art: Cincinnati Colored Pencil Society at YWCA Art Gallery
Colored pencil art works? By grownups? If you thought the colored pencil was an artistic medium reserved for grade school, members of the Greater Cincinnati Chapter of the Colored Pencil Society of America will be quick to dissuade you. The group has a show up at the downtown YWCA right now that features multiple works…
Music: St. Vincent at MusicNOW
St. Vincent can be deceiving. First there’s the name, which brings to mind a chanting religious dude in white robes (it’s actually a reference to the hospital where poet Dylan Thomas spent his final hours). Then there’s the physical appearance of the person behind the moniker, Annie Clark, a demure woman with a mop of…
Look and Listen with The Newbees
If you are a fan of hypermelodic Pop/Rock and you haven’t heard or seen local group The Newbees (pictured), what are you waiting for? The perfect chance to check the band out comes this weekend with the release of a gorgeous CD package, Live @ The Southgate House. The two-disc set includes a “Look” DVD…
Music: VNV Nation
“Bigger is better” is a cliché that VNV Nation must hold close to heart. Composed of Ronan Harris (on vocals and synth) and Mark Jackson (manning percussion), VNV produces industrial-inflected Electronica with a thirst for the grandiose. Witness the intent behind calling their last LP Of Faith, Power and Glory — reusing a tactic that…
Repo Men (Review)
Repo Men certainly looked like a throwaway actioner from a first-time director (Miguel Sapochnick), but for all its nods to Minority Report, Videodrome, Strange Days and Equilibrium, this dystopian tale about an organ retriever (Jude Law) who develops a conscience after losing his heart (and gaining an artificial one with a payment plan he knows…
Music: MusicNOW
Bryce Dessner’s brainchild, MusicNOW, has evolved into one of the singular musical events in the Midwest, a multi-day festival featuring a like-minded collection of adventurous musicians who relish the opportunity to partake in its laid-back, artist-friendly atmosphere. Check this list of past performers, many of which appeared at the festival prior to penetrating larger cultural…
Vinnie Vidi Vici
St. Vincent can be deceiving. First there’s the name, which brings to mind a chanting religious dude in white robes (it’s actually a reference to the hospital where poet Dylan Thomas spent his final hours). Then there’s the physical appearance of the person behind the moniker, Annie Clark, a demure woman with a mop of…
Return to NOW
“I want to do something unique for Cincinnati,” Bryce Dessner told me on the eve of the first MusicNOW festival in 2006. Mission accomplished. Dessner’s brainchild has evolved into one of the singular musical events in the Midwest, a multi-day festival featuring a like-minded collection of adventurous musicians who relish the opportunity to partake in…
Tom Hodges and Cintas Corp
[WINNER] TOM HODGES: Local attorney Tom Hodges was appointed last week to serve on the governing board for the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA), which operates the Metro bus system. At age 30, Hodges is the youngest person ever appointed to the board, and it shows in his forward-thinking attitude. He is a supporter…
SXSW: The Wrap
South By Southwest is a different type of musical festival, catering more to the industry than fans. For starters, access is extremely difficult. When I was in Austin last week, being a “VIP” was meaningless unless your band was headlining the festival or you were a celebrity. Ticket prices were astronomically priced in an effort…
Onstage: Despite the ‘Mendacity,’ Truthful Recognition
On Monday the American Theatre Critics Association, of which I'm a member and past chair, announced the winner of its 2010 M. Elizabeth Osborn New Play Award: Jason Wells for his play Perfect Mendacity, presented in May 2009 at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Fla. The annual recognition also honors an "emerging playwright," an…
