Your Tuesday To Do List
The 2012 Fringe Festival kicks off tonight! Performances don't begin until Wednesday, but the Fringe folks start this celebration of freaky performance art with a party at Know Theatre tonight. Doors open at 7 p.m., and guests will enjoy live music from local Rockers (and house band for the recent successful Know production, Bloody Bloody…
Music: Radiohead
It’s been 19 years since British Art Rock giants Radiohead did their first tour of the U.S. This Tuesday, Radiohead finally finds time to perform in Cincinnati, bringing its tour behind last year’s Grammy-nominated album The King of Limbs to Riverbend Music Center. If there’s any band worth waiting that long for, it’s Radiohead. The…
Art: Re-Rooted
As I was making the rather mind-numbing drive down I-71 during a recent trip back from Cleveland, I was thinking about the profound impact growing up in Northeastern Ohio has had on my identity. Though I’ve lived in the area for nearly a decade, the transition to Cincinnatian is an ongoing process. I’m still an…
Onstage: Avenue Q
“Puppet nudity. Puppet sexual situations. Strong puppet language.” Don’t let the cute-looking characters and a resemblance to Muppets and Sesame Street fool you: Avenue Q is an entirely different neighborhood that Showbiz Players are bringing to Covington’s Carnegie Center. The laugh-out-loud musical was an unexpected Tony Award winner (best musical, score and book) in 2004.…
CAC to Screen LCD Soundsystem Concert Film
After a successful screening of an acclaimed Sigur Ros concert film recently, the Contemporary Arts Center is showing another concert flick soon, this time on the same night as dozens of theaters nationwide. On July 18, the CAC is listed as one of the venues screening Shut Up and Play the Hits, the much anticipated…
Event: Summerfair
Cincinnati has a lot of attractions: professional sports, museums, a zoo, great chili and one of the longest-running arts and crafts fairs in the country. For 45 years, local and national artists have come together to showcase their work. This year, more than 300 artists and craftspeople will come together with a wide variety of…
This Date in Music History: May 29
On this date in 1942 — months away from Christmas 1941 and Christmas 1942 — classic crooner Bing Crosby recorded what remains the best-selling single of all time, "White Christmas." Crosby first performed Irving Berlin's classic for radio on Christmas Day, 1941. On May 29, 1942, Crosby reportedly recorded the song — with the John…
Event: Cincinnati Streetfilms Film Festival and Party
Founded in 2006, Streetfilms produces short films showing how smart transportation design and policy can result in better places to live, work and play. In cities all over the world, ordinary people are utilizing technology to bring change to the places they know and love. Filmmakers and enthusiasts are no exception here in the Queen…
Event: Pitties on Parade
First they were “nanny dogs,” then they were “vicious,” now they are just like any other dog. The pit bull is now welcome in Cincinnati, and dog owners around town are ready to celebrate. Come spike the football and show off your newly legal dog to the rest of Cincinnati. Remember: This event is supposed…
Event: Cincinnati E.A.T.S. at Jimmy G’s
\Cincinnati E.A.T.S. teams up with executive chef Jimmy Gibson of Jimmy G’s for a night of succulent steak and seafood, top-notch craft cocktails and a little socializing all to benefit the Freestore Foodbank. Some of the best cocktails around and a great wine selection are available at 7 p.m. as guests get to know one…
Review: Afghan Whigs in New York City
When The Afghan Whigs announced late last year they would be reuniting for a pair of appearances at All Tomorrow’s Parties in London and New Jersey (since grown to a full blown European tour of summer festivals and clubs), music critics and fans rejoiced. For years, interviewers probed lead singer Greg Dulli about the possibility…
Morning News and Stuff
The Ohio Supreme Court late last week dismissed a legal challenge by the Campaign to Protect Marriage, which had filed a motion challenging the attorney general’s authority to verify a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow same-sex marriage. The Freedom to Marry coalition is collecting the necessary signatures to put a repeal of the state’s…
Art: SOS Art 2012
SOS Art 2012, the most powerful local statement for two vital but elusive goals — peace and justice — begins a 10-day run at the Art Academy Friday evening. More than 200 artists — visual, literary, musical and performers of all ages — are taking part in this 10th appearance of founder Saad Ghosn’s visionary…
Comedy: Greg Morton
Growing up, Greg Morton was always interested in comedy, but it was animation, and the humor therein, that first captured his imagination. “Since I was a kid, I’ve always been a big fan (of cartoons) especially Warner Brothers. I used to draw a lot. I was an only child for nine years so that’s how…
Cincinnati’s Alarming Infant Mortality Rate Prompts Discussion
Cincinnati babies don't get the same chance at seeing their first birthday as do infants in other states across the country, and area health professionals believe it's time to become more proactive about it. On Wednesday, Noble Maseru, Cincinnati health commissioner, and Dr. Elizabeth Kelly, a maternal-infant health specialist at University Hospital, presented statistics to…
LISTEN: The National Records Song for ‘Game of Thrones’
The Cincinnati natives of hugely popular Brooklyn-based Indie Rock band The National have recorded a song for the upcoming soundtrack for the second season of HBO's critically-acclaimed series, Game of Thrones. The soundtrack is due June 19. The National is the only group featured; the rest of the soundtrack album is the instrumental score, written…
Ohio Attorney General Sues The Beach
Back in April and early March, many Cincinnatians were all 😛 as they looked ahead to another summer of fun in the sun at Mason’s longtime waterpark, The Beach. But their faces were more like 🙁 on March 9, when The Beach abruptly announced that it would not reopen for the 2012 season, and many…
A Memorial Day Playlist
Memorial Day (originally called “Decoration Day”) was founded after the Civil War. The amount of men both the South and the Union lost during the Civil War was so staggering that it is often still referred to as our bloodiest war. Needing a way to grieve for their fallen loved ones, women and children took…
New Akhe Abdullah Album Listening Party Tonight
Musician and Creative Director of the Elementz Hip Hop youth center Akhe Abdullah hosts a listening party tonight for his new album, Journey: The Sound of Life. Abdullah will speak about the album and give a short presentation before spinning the new, all-instrumental recording which mixes Jazz, Hip Hop and other elements (pun neither intended…
Your Long Weekend To Do List: 5/25-5/28
Summer doesn’t officially begin until June 20, but it’s Memorial Day weekend and Cincy’s signature mugginess is in full effect — the season is upon us! Stay hydrated, slap on the sunscreen and get ready to make the most of this three-day weekend. It’s tradition to fire up the grill and open pools at the…
WATCH: The Mighty Swine’s “Lust”
Cincinnati rockers The Mighty Swine have released its very first music video for the new single, "Lust." The single is available on Broad Horizon Records through digital retailers like iTunes and Amazon (or from the band directly here). The song has already received some airplay, notably from the program Hard Rock Nights, which helped break…
MidPoint Music Festival 2012 Tickets on Sale Now
Tickets for the 11th annual MidPoint Music Festival went on sale this morning. Click here to get yours before everyone else. Here's what MPMF producer Dan McCabe has to say about this year's event: "This is the fifth year CityBeat has operated Cincinnati's 11-year old MidPoint Music Festival. In each year we have pushed to…
This Date in Music History: May 25
On this date in 2004, modern "jam band" kings Phish announced on their website that they would be breaking up after a short summer tour. The group's "final" tour included a seven-song set on the Ed Sullivan Theater marquee for a swarm of fans on the street and a final show in Coventry, Ver., that…
Stage Door: Theater Offerings For a Hot Weekend
It’s a three-day weekend that’s more about being outdoors and kicking off summer fun. That being said, if you’re looking for a theater production that will give you some laughs for your weekend, I recommend catching a performance of see The Second City 2: Less Pride – More Pork at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the…
Morning News and Stuff
Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel has returned more than $100,000 in campaign contributions in response to an FBI investigation into 21 donors who had no record of giving to federal campaigns and many appearing to have low incomes. Mandel, a Republican, is running against incombent Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown. Mandel's campaign treasurer Kathryn Kessler sent a…
MadLove Music Festival This Weekend
Friday and Saturday at Sawyer Point, the inaugural MadLove Music Festival is set to bring the riverfront alive with art installations, a little comedy, a little wrestling (yeah!), several DJs and numerous local and regional live acts from the worlds of Hip Hop, Electronic music and Indie Rock. DJ Sinceer, DJ Deepfro, DJ Sab and…
Caribou with Radiohead
Electronic music generally feels more machine-like than the product of conventional guitars-and-drums setups, but that doesn't mean every electronic artist is inclined to create work that's cold or inhuman. Dan Snaith exemplifies this idea in Caribou. In his project (formerly known as Manitoba), Snaith creates and chooses particularly fluid synths and effects, leaves a healthy…
Yelawolf with Rittz
When Michael Wayne Atha was born in 1979 in the relatively small Alabama town of Gadsden, it’s doubtful that his mother looked at her new son and said, “Future Rap superstar.” But that’s just where Atha — now known by his stage name Yelawolf — is heading. Yela moved between Tennessee and Alabama as a…
Dave Dondero with Mechanical River
The music industry is fueled by schlockmeisters churning out sugary confections that make millions but provide little enlightenment, while a courageous few pursue their creative vision in relative obscurity, a noble ethic that earns a cult following and a smattering of critical respect. David Dondero falls solidly and willingly into the latter category. Dondero began…
Review: Brian Jonestown Massacre’s ‘Aufheben’
Anton Newcombe is one of the rare people about whom an old maxim is absolutely true — if he didn’t exist, someone would have to invent him. Newcombe is a musical shaman, an acid casualty, a shrewd media manipulator and a conductor of immeasurable skill, a sonic conjurer who fearlessly channels eras, styles and influences…
“MidPoint Indie Summer” with The Bright Light Social Hour
If you missed The Bright Light Social Hour when it shredded at last fall’s MidPoint festivities, the acclaimed Austin quartet must have missed you, too, because the band notched a slot on their winter tour for another swing through Cincinnati to level any shaky structures that survived the last visit. This week, the hard-touring Texans…
DMX
The recent death of the Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch underscored the fact that Rap and Hip Hop have now been a major part of the musical conversation for over three decades. Earl Simmons, better known as DMX, is another Hip Hop figure whose evolution traces back to the genre’s nascence and whose success and gruff…
Your Thursday To Do List
The Sierra Club and Food & Water Watch present a screening of Josh Fox’s fracking documentary, Gasland, tonight at Esquire Theater. Learn more about the controversial natural gas drilling techniques taking place across Ohio, and discover potential health/environmental risks that can result. The free screening begins at 7:30 p.m. followed by a discussion with the…
This Date in Music History: May 24
On this date in 2006, Taylor Hicks won that year's American Idol karaoke contest, laying waste to runner-up Katharine McPhee. Soul Patrol!!! McPhee would bounce back and is currently starring in the hit network TV show Smash. Hicks, of course, went on to superstardom, scoring major hits with songs like … oh, wait. What ever…
Coy Bike Polo Court Opens Today
Klutzes beware — today marks the opening of the Coy Bike Polo Court in Clifton. If you've never heard of bike polo, it's when people ride around on bikes using mallets to push a ball across a court into a goal. Scared yet? Don't be. It just takes some practice. Bike polo is one of…
Morning News and Stuff
Mitt Romney's campaign has reportedly entered an “audition phase” in its search for a vice presidential candidate, and local boy Rob Portman is on the AP's speculative list. With three months to go before the Republican National Convention, Romney's people will soon be asking intensely personal questions of potential VPs, such as whether they've ever…
Terminal Union Terminate Union, Focus on Solo Work
Rootsy local musician David Faul is no longer with the wonderfully-named duo project with fellow singer/songwriter Ian Mathieu, Terminal Union (my favorite Cincinnati-centric band name of all time … and there are a lot of good ones). The two artists are discontinuing their project, which had been recording, and pursuing the solo route for a…
Review: The Cribs’ ‘In the Belly of the Brazen Bull’
It’s never easy for a band to follow up a hugely successful album, but The Cribs had a doubly tough task after the overwhelming response to 2009’s Ignore the Ignorant, which was the group’s first Top 10 U.K. hit, outselling 11 of the 13 Beatles reissues that were released the same week. At least part…
Reds Lead League in Fan Web Gems
When Reds pitcher Mike Leake hit his first career home run Monday night off Braves starter Mike Minor at Great American Ballpark, it landed directly in the lap of 20-year-old casual-turned-hardcore fan Caleb Lloyd, who was sitting at the edge of the left field bleachers. It was also Lloyd's first home run catch, he said…
We Are Ohio to Join Redistricting Fight
The well-funded organization We Are Ohio announced Monday that it will be taking up redistricting laws as its next major battle. We Are Ohio is already known for leading the charge against the state legislature’s attempts to weaken collective bargaining among public employees with Senate Bill 5 and lower the window of time to vote…
This Date in Music History: May 23
Today's a big one for synthesizer fans. You know partly what I'm talking about if you've visited Google today (see below). But today also marks the 30th anniversary of a drastic and controversial move by the UK Musicians' Union. The union proposed a ban on synthesizers and drum machines because, to quote South Park, "Thur…
Ohio Supreme Court Rules Smoking Ban Constitutional
Since 2006, the Ohio Smoke-Free Workplace Act has banned indoor smoking at public establishments and places of employment, making Ohio the first Midwestern state to enact a state-wide ban. Despite controversy and contestment, that ban will continue to be enforced statewide. The owner of Zeno's Victorian Village in Columbus who attempted to combat the law…
Your Wednesday To Do List
The Reds take on the Atlanta Braves tonight in the third of a four-game series at Great American Ball Park. If the boys bring home another W, that will make five consecutive Reds wins. The game begins at 7:10; get tickets here. May 23 is National Lucky Penny Day, so keep an eye out for…
Morning News and Stuff
We Are Ohio, the organization that helped repeal SB5 last year, says it will team up with nonpartisan Ohio Voters First to help put on the November ballot a constitutional amendment that would change the way legislative and congressional districts are drawn. The effort is in response to Republican-drawn redistricting maps that attempted to create…
More Questions Than Answers for 2012 Reds
During a baseball season, 40 games isn’t enough to tell the whole story, but it should be enough to get an idea where it’s going. Except when it isn’t — like with this season’s installment of the Cincinnati Reds. Heading into the 2012 season, there were plenty of questions, and even after 40 games it…
Miles and Miles and Still At Home
I read an article once that said you should never date (or eventually marry) someone you can’t travel with, and as far as advice goes, that’s in the same ballpark as shacking up before putting a ring on it — another warning I ignored on my trek down the altar. So much of my life…
Local Theater Awards Need Work
Although most people think that theater awards are about recognizing excellence, the real bottom line is marketing. A half-dozen award programs in New York City — the Drama Desk, the Outer Critics Circle, the Lortels, the Obies — lead up to the big kahuna, the Tony Awards, focused on Broadway shows. They do showcase the…
Cincinnati Pit Bull Ban Repealed
Pit bulls can legally put their paws on Cincinnati ground for the first time in nine years. After a long, arduous battle for dog lovers and Cincinnati animal welfare advocates, Cincinnati City Council on May 16 voted 8-1 to officially repeal the breed-specific language in Cincinnati’s vicious dog ordinance, which previously made ownership of pit…
Planned Parenthood Battles Defunding Efforts
Planned Parenthood advocates and supporters packed a hearing room in Columbus May 16 to demonstrate opposition against controversial House Bill 298, a measure that, if passed, would put family planning clinics such as Planned Parenthood at the back of the line for state funding, instead giving priority to health departments. The House Health Committee heard…
Drug Test Requirement for Welfare Rejected Again
In a move that was quickly contested by Democrats, Republicans on May 15 attempted to add another controversial policy to John Kasich’s mid-biennium budget review: drug testing for welfare recipients. The proposed program would have been active in three counties for two years and would have required anyone suspected of using drugs to submit to…
May 16-22: Worst Week Ever!
WEDNESDAY MAY 16 Know how to not get sued by a small bank chain? Don’t allegedly carry out fraudulent schemes. Such advice would have been good for Fifth Third Bancorp to hear before it was sued today by a Virginia bank chain called First Bank & Trust Co that believes Fifth Third was aware that…
Writing and Romance On the War Front
HBO’s latest television film follows the professional and romantic journey of literary great Ernest Hemingway and legendary journalist Martha Gellhorn. Starring Clive Owen and Nicole Kidman as the title characters, Hemingway & Gellhorn (9 p.m. Monday, HBO) shows that while the duo travelled from Spain to China to Cuba reporting on some of the most…
Downtown’s Festive Musical Weekend
If you spend any of this long Memorial Day weekend in downtown Cincinnati, there’s a really good chance you’ll hear some of the best music makers in the area doing their thang. Two festivals will be competing for your ears. • Friday and Saturday at Sawyer Point, the inaugural MadLove Music Festival is set to…
Fresh Energy
Leah Strasser and Tyler Smetts have lived in Cincinnati. In fact, they’re first cousins. She’s an actor; he’s a writer. They’ve been talking about creating a year-round theater company that draws on homegrown talent, and the 2012 Cincinnati Fringe seemed like the perfect moment to take the next step by undertaking a production. To emphasize…
Face It
T he four images on the cover of the 2012 Cincinnati Fringe Festival program (included in CityBeat’s May 16 issue) featured various people smushing their faces against a window. Cross-eyed, surprised, disgruntled, quizzical, amused — it’s a diverse set of reactions, all appropriate responses to shows that Know Theatre will present May 29-June 9 during…
The Speculative ‘Sound of My Voice’
I have a question for Greta Gerwig, the odd naturalistic beauty who has bounded out of the Mumblecore underworld into the bright and glaring lights of mainstream attention, while still skipping back and forth across the great divide. Hey, Greta — and I want to go on the record here as a critic who is…
WATCH: Afghan Whigs on Jimmy Fallon
For those who needed to see it before they believed it, The Afghan Whigs are officially back. The band appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night, performing the old-school Soul cover "See and Don't See" that was released as a free download recently. The band also played "I'm Her Slave," the first full…
Letting Sleeping Giants Lie: Jannis Varelas
Jannis Varelas’ exhibition at the Contemporary Arts Center, Sleep, My Little Sheep Sleep, is a multi-media installation of exaggerated figures collaged together from banal materials, the first in a series of projects organized by guest curators from around the world. Sleep is also Varelas’ first solo exhibition in America, and the Athens-born artist (who divides…
