May 18-25, 2016
Weekend Warrior: 12 Regional Road Trips for Arts, Eats and Oddities
Sports: FC Cincinnati
After a handful of packed games, it appears that Cincinnati is ready to bleed orange and blue for our hometown futbol team, FC Cincinnati — 23,000-plus fans broke the United Soccer League attendance record at the club’s May 14 home game. Come cheer the boys on at the University of Cincinnati’s revamped Nippert Stadium as they…
Music: Purple Reigns: A Celebration of the Music of Prince
The shock of Prince’s sudden death last month hasn’t waned, and tributes to the iconic musician continue to flow (most recently, Madonna and Stevie Wonder paid tribute to him at the Billboard Music Awards). This weekend, a local tribute featuring a diverse array of artists will honor Prince’s huge contribution to the music world. The…
Art: Pang Jen and Bruce Riley at Miller Gallery
Known for his soft, bright oil paintings which have the look of pastels, Chinese-born American immigrant and artist Pang Jen’s romantic compositions will be on view at Miller Gallery in Hyde Park beginning Wednesday. Pang’s work often consists of still-lifes and landscapes, which include women and children as well as traditional Chinese boats, and Miller…
Event: O.F.F. Market
It can be difficult for local artisans, peddlers and food vendors to get their products into the marketplace. Dynamic husband and wife duo Leah Durig and Mikey Griffin, designers and small business owners themselves, created the Oakley Fancy Flea Market four years ago to give entrepreneurs a jumping-off point. Now, the open-air marketplace is better…
Event: Cocktails & Comedy Festival
Share some laughs and some drinks at Jungle Jim’s inaugural Cocktails & Comedy Festival. Each ticket includes eight craft cocktail samples, food and big laughs from area performers, including Holly Lynnea, Tom Schmidlin, Lee Kimbrell and Hayward J. Thompson. Kick the night off with a bloody mary bar — like dinner in a glass! — followed…
Event: Taste of Cincinnati
The nation’s longest-running culinary arts festival returns to the streets of downtown, featuring booths from more than 50 restaurants, six stages of live music and an estimated 500,000 attendees. This 38th-annual Memorial Day Weekend tradition of fun and food provides Cincinnatians with the opportunity to sample the many flavors of the Queen City, ranging from…
Event: Park + Vine’s Ninth Anniversary Party
Everyone’s favorite green general store Park + Vine celebrates nine years in business on Final Friday with a family-friendly party, featuring live music, food, a photo booth, vegan birthday cake and an ’80s-themed DJ. The events continue into Saturday with a sidewalk sale, featuring fresh food from local producers and info from environmental organizations. 6-10…
Event: Furry Friends Festival
The Furry Friends Festival is a dog-gone good time for pups and their people at Washington Park. Pet-friendly vendors will coalesce on the green, offering everything from dog food and accessories to toys and photography services. Share a plate of Eli’s BBQ with your pooch and imbibe craft beers from Taft’s, Rhinegeist, MadTree and Christian…
Event: Spring Grove Memorial Day Activities
Commemorate Memorial Day all weekend long at Spring Grove Cemetery, where mini American flags will wave beside the graves of Civil War soldiers. The Ohio Military Band kicks things off 7:30 p.m. Thursday with a concert in the Rose Garden Gazebo. Friday through Monday, a veterans tribute will be on display at the onsite Gwen…
Lit: Nathaniel R. Jones
Published in time for his 90th birthday, Judge Nathaniel R. Jones’ new biography, Answering the Call: An Autobiography of the Modern Struggle to End Racial Discrimination in America, shares the life of a man who has spent his career trying to make the world a better and more just place. Jones grew up in Youngstown,…
Comedy: Michael Malone
“The last album dealt with life, death, love and sex, and those things still apply,” says comedian Michael Malone, who is currently working on a new hour of material. Previously, he talked about the loss of his stepfather, but last June he also lost his mother. “I’ve been trying to deal with that onstage as…
Onstage: Antony & Cleopatra
When Mark Antony addressed his “friends, Romans and countrymen,” he was on top of the world. Fast forward several years and things weren’t going so well. Besotted with Cleopatra, the Egyptian Queen, he was at war with one-time compatriots. If you’re familiar with Shakespeare’s well-known tale of Caesar’s assassination and Antony’s manipulative rise to power,…
Morning News and Stuff
Good morning all. Lots to talk about today so let’s get to it! The 13 children of Samuel DuBose will each receive more than $200,000 as part of a settlement between the family and the University of Cincinnati, a Hamilton County judge ruled yesterday. DuBose was shot and killed by UC police officer Ray Tensing…
Federal Court Blocks Ohio Law Defunding Planned Parenthood
A federal circuit court today temporarily blocked an Ohio law that would strip Planned Parenthood of about $1.4 million in state and federal funds. That law was slated to go into effect today, but will now be placed on hold until June 6 as the court considers a longer-lasting injunction against the defunding move by…
Morning News and Stuff
Hey hey Cincinnati. Hope you got outside and soaked up the perfect weather this weekend. Now it’s back to the real world, where news happens. The directors of every city of Cincinnati department received raises this past year, according to city records reported by The Cincinnati Enquirer. In total, those raises are costing city taxpayers…
Stage Door: Happy Days, Sad Romances, Bad Dates and a Little Sleaze
Since last week’s Stage Door I’ve seen several productions that are definitely worth checking out. Diogenes Theatre Company is presenting Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days at the Aronoff Center’s Fifth Third Bank Theater through Sunday. Don’t ask me to tell you what it’s about — it’s by Beckett, so it’s an absurdist piece that deals with existence,…
Your Weekend To Do List
FRIDAY ONSTAGE: HAPPY DAYS If you’re looking for uplifting plays, Samuel Beckett is not the guy you’d normally turn to. Nevertheless, the writer of Waiting for Godot had occasional lighter moments, and Happy Days was one of them — even though it’s an absurdist tale of a woman buried up to her waist and a…
Morning News and Stuff
Good morning y’all! Here are your morning headlines. • Councilwoman Yvette Simpson might have released the first shred of evidence that she’s running for mayor next year. Simpson sent a letter to consulting firms this month searching for someone who could help with a “campaign against an incumbent executive office holder,” aka Mayor John Cranley.…
It’s City Budget Season Again!
Are you ready for city budget season? It started today. City Manager Harry Black this morning presented his vision for Cincinnati’s fiscal year 2017 spending blueprint; a $1.2 billion budget he touts as structurally balanced. On deck: a literal deck, as in, a marina along the Ohio River built by the Cincinnati Parks Department, raises…
Will Sen. Sherrod Brown be Clinton’s VP Pick?
You might have missed it, but U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from the Cleveland area, was traveling around with Vice President Joe Biden yesterday in Columbus. It’s easy to see the two palling around as a hint that Brown, whose name has been tossed around as a running mate for Democratic presidential primary frontrunner…
Morning News and Stuff
Good morning all. Let’s talk about that news stuff. Cincinnati’s population increased slightly again last year, though not as much as the surrounding suburbs. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the Queen City’s population grew to 298,550 people from the 298,041 who lived here in 2014. That’s a .17 percent bump — smaller than the metropolitan…
The Donut Trail
If you’re interested in binge eating without the drive, may we suggest the new Butler County Donut Trail? Just a short 45-minute jaunt from Cincinnati is a magical place called “Butler County,” home to one of the largest number of donut shops per capita in the Midwest. And among these donut shops are nine family-run…
Lit: Melissa Fay Greene
Dogs are pretty much the best living beings on the planet. For more proof, look no further than The Underdogs: Children, Dogs, and the Power of Unconditional Love, Melissa Fay Greene’s latest elegantly rendered and undeniably moving effort. The book centers on 4 Paws for Ability, an Ohio-based nonprofit service-dog academy that provides disabled children…
Event: OTR 5K and Summer Celebration
Summer is on the way, and Over-the-Rhine is celebrating its arrival early with a neighborhood 5k and block party. The 10th-annual OTR 5k run/walk leaves from and returns to Washington Park, with a course that winds its way through city streets. After the race, cool down in the park with a big-ass party. There will…
Music: Wisewater
The latest show at the DownTowne Listening Room — an intimate space located in the former Shillito’s building — is being headlined by Nashville’s on-the-rise Wisewater, an acoustic Folk/Americana duo featuring members with some impressive credentials. Kate Lee, who has backed artists from Lady Antebellum to Rod Stewart, sings and plays fiddle, while Forrest O’Connor,…
Art: Domestic Departures at Kennedy Heights Arts Center
Multimedia installation artist Susan Byrnes has taken over five rooms throughout the Kennedy Heights Arts Center’s historic house to reframe domestic activities for audiences and reflect the processes and environments that contain and shape the development of personal identity and family interaction. In addition to the sculptural installation and ambient audio work featured within the…
Event: Westside Makers Field Day and Book Release
Calcagno Cullen, who has brought attention to Camp Washington’s potential through her Wave Pool gallery, has also noticed ripples in Covington’s Westside neighborhood. Over the past four months, she’s used a grant from the Center for Great Neighborhoods to profile roughly 30 community-makers and compiled a book of their recipes, designs and DIY tips. Cullen…
Event: Library Comic Con
Set your phasers to stun and head downtown for the fourth-annual Cincinnati Library Comic Con. This year’s event celebrates the 50th anniversary of Star Trek with an exhibit of memorabilia ranging from the original series through the rebooted films, plus screenings of fan-favorite Star Trek movies. This daylong geeky get-together also features tabletop game play,…
Attraction: Da Vinci — The Genius
What do an airplane, a helicopter, an automobile, a submarine, a parachute, a bicycle and a military tank have in common? They were all envisioned by Leonardo da Vinci, the 16th-century artist, scientist and thinker. The new Cincinnati Museum Center exhibit, Da Vinci – The Genius, lets you push, pull, crank and interact with replicas…
Onstage: Happy Days
If you’re looking for uplifting plays, Samuel Beckett is not the guy you’d normally turn to. Nevertheless, the writer of Waiting for Godot had occasional lighter moments, and Happy Days was one of them — even though it’s an absurdist tale of a woman buried up to her waist and a man sleeping in a…
Event: Cincy Swing Fest
Rewind to the 1920s, when crowds in Harlem took to the dance floor with a new type of move called Swing; a time when Swing-era bandleader Cab Calloway referred to dancers as “jitterbugs,” out on the floor with their fast, bouncy movements. You too can Jitterbug, Charleston and Lindy Hop right at home on present-day…
Onstage: May Festival
Surround yourself in song and celebrate music director James Conlon’s final season with the May Festival, America’s oldest choral festival. Performances include Dvorák’s Stabat Mater, the first piece Conlon conducted with the May Festival 37 years ago, plus a special concert of works by Mozart and two world premieres performed in the Cathedral Basilica of…
Event: ReUse-apalooza
This sustainable soirée brings customers, designers and local leaders together to celebrate the power of renewability. Featuring light bites, My Nose Turns Red circus performers and entertainment by Sexy Time Live Band Karaoke, ReUse-apalooza is the annual fundraiser of Building Value, a nonprofit that salvages reusable building materials for public sale. A highlight of the…
Comedy: Dave Ross
Dave Ross is a comedian based in Los Angeles. When he’s not doing stand-up, he’s in a sketch group called WOMEN that produces skits for Comedy Central and IFC’s Comedy Crib. He also hosts a podcast called Terrified and won a MOTH Grand Slam. His advice for young people? Turn 30. “If you’re still in…
Eats: Fête d’Été
Forget the traditional winemaker dinner: Anne Amie Vineyards, a family-owned winery based in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, is putting a literal spin on the concept. Cincinnati’s Fête d’Été — French for “summer party” — will have diners travel from restaurant to restaurant by bike, beginning at Kaze and including stops at The Anchor OTR, Market Wines, Metropole and Boca.…
Sports: AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour
AVP’s beach volleyball tour returns to Cincinnati in the form of a five-day qualifying event for the Rio Olympic Games. The competition, which kicks off at 9 a.m. Wednesday, features main draw tournaments and pool play into the weekend. The tour culminates 6:30 p.m. Saturday with men’s and women’s award ceremonies. But that isn’t all:…
Music: Greg Sinibaldi
Saxophonist/composer Greg Sinibaldi, whose work encompasses Jazz, Experimental and Heavy Metal, will play the Electric Wind Instrument through software he designed and built during a free concert. The opening act for Sinibaldi, who has collaborated with Gunther Schuller, Jimmy Giuffre and Bill Frisell, is the duo QAkcISXU1qc5umgXGzyM, who make experimental music using small chord organs,…
Take Me to Church
AMC — home of The Walking Dead — continues to cash in on the comic book craze currently taking over screens with its latest original series. Developed by Seth Rogen and frequent contributor/childhood friend Evan Goldberg along with Breaking Bad writer/producer Sam Catlin, Preacher (Series Premiere, 10 p.m. Sunday, AMC) brings to life the dark…
‘Meddling’ with the Latest Hollywood Trend
We’re in the last stages of the primary season, so forgive me for talking about a revolution; just know that I’m definitely not talking about overthrowing the political establishment of either party or embarking on a course of transformative economic shifts. In truth, though, the change I’m referring to here has roots in real-world concerns,…
Mr. Piff Is a Funny Bloke Dressed as a Dragon
Piff the Magic Dragon is not only a brilliant illusionist, he’s also hilariously funny. Always interested in both comedy and magic, he worked a day job in IT for many years. “Magic was the first thing, but I never did that seriously,” says the London native, whose real name is John van der Put. Speaking…
Exhibit Reveals Carl Solway’s Impact on CAM
In some ways, it feels unnecessary for the Cincinnati Art Museum to have a show honoring the gallerist Carl Solway’s connection to its Contemporary collection — the current Not in New York, which does just that, is up through Oct. 30. Would there even be much of a Contemporary collection without him, or without patrons…
Seeing and Being Seen
O n May 9, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch delivered a powerful speech contextualizing North Carolina’s new discriminatory House Bill 2 within the historic struggle for civil rights in this country. Less than two weeks earlier, the Thunder-Sky, Inc. gallery in Northside hosted an exhibition opening with several performances throughout the night that celebrated the…
Where the Pros Dine Al Fresco
If you’re stuck inside a restaurant for up to 16 hours a day cooking and serving food to others, when you finally do get some time off, you’re going to want to see the light of day and enjoy a meal prepared by people who take as much pride in their job as you do. …
Made with Chutzpah
I n 2012, Julia Keister and Hannah Lowen met in New York City, where they were both living at the time. When Lowen got a job as the general manager of New Riff distillery in Newport, Ky., they started a long-distance relationship until Keister decided to follow Lowen to her new home in Covington. When…
Who’s on Board?
T he contested fate of a historic building downtown is in the hands of an appointed seven-member board — and that makes preservationists nervous. Dennison Hotel owners the Joseph family say it’s not economically feasible to save the building. Preservationists disagree. So does the city’s urban conservator, who issued a report last month highly critical…
Media Musings From Cincinnati and Beyond
In some European communities, Christians sought to avoid or mitigate plague with processions of men whipping themselves bloody as they moaned through the narrow streets. Those unfailingly ineffective attempts to appease a loving God came to mind as I followed the comments of today’s penitent political journalists. One after another, reporters and commentators whipped themselves…
When We Get It Wrong
Everywhere I’ve worked and regardless of the medium, I’ve heard similar reader complaints: “You got it wrong.” And the too-frequent follow-up: “If you can’t get something that simple right, how can I trust the rest of what you report?” That first, even when mistaken, is not unreasonable. The second, however, is juvenile, irrespective of age.…
Morning News and Stuff
Hey all. It's news time. Let’s start out with some good news today, shall we? Yesterday, MadTree Brewering Co. hosted a ground-breaking celebration for their new Oakley brewing facility, MadTree 2.0. That facility in a former manufacturing site in Oakley will have 50,000 square feet of production space and another 10,000 square feet for a…
Worst Week Ever! May 11-17
Texas Town Spends $60 Million on High School Football Stadium, Cares Not What Jokes Others Make Texas. It remains to be proven that everything is bigger down there, but after the town of McKinney approved a bond for a ridiculous amount of money to build a 12,000-seat high school football stadium, one thing is certain:…
Art and Architecture
It feels like a dream now, but there was a time not so long ago that the Cincinnati Art Museum had plans for a new cutting-edge contemporary addition to its campus. The now-departed Aaron Betsky, who himself had a master’s degree in architecture from Yale, became the museum’s director in 2006 partly to shepherd that…
Offbeat Roadside Attractions within Driving Distance from Cincinnati
The roadside attraction is a quintessentially American construct. Anchored in the nostalgia of Route 66, Airstream trailers and a bit of Thelma & Louise, our national narrative feeds off experiences like veering off the highway to visit the Corn Palace, a peanut statue that looks like Jimmy Carter, an abandoned Cadillac Stonehenge or even Northern…
Epicurean Escapes
Since the day President Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act 60 years ago, people have been itching to hit the road and get way the hell out of town, regardless of the strains of “are we there yet?” coming from the back seat of the family truckster. And since we all know that an army…
Trump Hated More Than Nickelback
HOT: Nickelback Trumps Trump While measuring the favorability of presidential candidates recently, the Public Policy Polling group added a round of questions that asked if voters hated Donald Trump more than a series of other terrible things. Joining traffic jams and root canals on the comparison list was Rock punching bag Nickelback. Trump was deemed…
Tiny Towns
Forego the stress of big cities, busy streets and cramped hotel rooms. Tiny destinations a quick road trip away offer quirky attractions, unique adventures and eclectic eats while maintaining cozy, close-knit atmospheres. From cycle-savvy pugs and award-winning wines to national natural landmarks and a few peculiar ghost stories, we’ve honed in on three little towns…
Music: Dom Flemons
Dom Flemons feeds off of many different styles of Roots music and digs deep into the Great American Songbook, but he often explores the more ethnic and obscure sides of the traditions. Flemons’ first steps to becoming widely known in Americana circles came in 2005 when he met Justin Robinson and the now-ascending solo artist…
Sound Advice: Dom Flemons with Buffalo Wabs & the Price Hill Hustle
The term “Folk music” means much more today than it did in the heyday of The Weavers, “Kumbaya” clichés and mind-numbing Peter, Paul & Mary sing-alongs. The “Folk” descriptor now encompasses a wide variety of music, including sounds created by people from different cultures and backgrounds. In that vein, Dom Flemons feeds off of many…
Music: Ruby the Hatchet
The band coalesced five years ago after a succession of basement jams in their home state of New Jersey, followed quickly by their relocation to Philadelphia. The fivesome — vocalist Jillian Taylor, guitarist Johnny Scarps, organist Sean Hur, bassist Mike Parise and drummer Owen Stewart — blended Black Sabbath’s black-hole heaviness, Blue Cheer’s acid-drenched mindmeld,…
Sound Advice: Ruby the Hatchet with Electric Citizen
There aren’t many bands that can (or will) claim its name was conceived during an alcohol-fueled bout of dyslexia. But Ruby the Hatchet proudly owns that distinction. At a party, the Philadelphia-based Stoner/Doom/Psych quintet saw a T-shirt bearing the tagline “Bury the Hatchet” that depicted Jesus and Satan shaking hands. In their drunken revelry, they…
Music: Lukas Nelson & The Promise of the Real
It is always interesting to see what the spawn of legendary musicians will come up with when moving into the family business. One of them is guitarist and vocalist Lukas Nelson, who has been slowly rising up on his own laurels while also still playing with his dad, Willie Nelson, on occasion. Lukas is more…
Sound Advice: Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real with Jim Casto
It is always interesting to see what the spawn of legendary musicians will come up with when moving into the family business. While the kids of a renowned musician have a leg up due to connections and the family name, there is also the chance that the old “talent skips a generation” notion comes to…
Music: Sugar Candy Mountain
California’s Sugar Candy Mountain is one of the new breed of Pysch Rock's top artists to keep an eye on if you’re a fan of modern Psych Pop and Rock. Wonderfully showcasing the music’s tendency to meld vintage elements with new and unique visions, Sugar Candy Mountain is the brainchild of Will Halsey, an active…
Sound Advice: Sugar Candy Mountain with All Seeing Eyes and A Giant Dog
Since its drug-induced ’60s beginnings, Psychedelic Rock has maintained a consistent presence on the musical landscape, progressing with the times but never losing touch with is trippy, mind-altering origins. While popular contemporary artists (Flaming Lips, Beck, Tame Impala, Animal Collective) continue to showcase a variety of approaches to Psychedelia for large audiences, today’s diverse, lesser-known…
Dallas Moore Goes to Jail
Veteran Greater Cincinnati “Outlaw Country/Ameripolitan” singer/songwriter Dallas Moore is one of the busiest musicians in the area, playing shows almost every night of the week, whether around Southwestern Ohio or on tour across the country. But Moore has a performance coming up that even his most hardcore fans won’t be able to attend. That is,…
The Art of Perpetual Curiosity
S ince emerging from Germany in the 1960s, Peter Brötzmann has become one of the titans of avant-garde Jazz. A tenaciously forceful master of saxophone, clarinet/bass clarinet and tárogató (a Romanian or Hungarian woodwind), over the years Brötzmann has played with American explorers of often-improvised new Jazz like Don Cherry, Steve Lacy, Cecil Taylor, Sonny…
Event: Margarita Madness
What better way to celebrate a Wednesday than by letting some expert local bartenders make margaritas for you? CityBeat’s fourth-annual Margarita Madness is a laid-back fiesta at Newport on the Levee, featuring a margarita throw-down, where participating vendors — Redondo, El Rancho Grande, Northside Yacht Club, Just Jerks, The Pub Rookwood, Mitchell’s Fish Market, Game…
