Free Flow
Occasionally I get to read a response to our editor about the "Phoenix" column, a response happy or agreeable (rare) or an irate ideological objection to the information I present (more typical). Often in public speaking, I either get laughter — when I'm lucky — or the same semi-ponderous, quasi-fearful stare that I imagine readers…
Adam Marsland
There will be some excellent Pop/Rock music from both edges of the U.S. to help chase away those early week doldrums. Boston's Calendar Girl will be pulling into Sudsy Malone's in support of their new release, {Everyone But You}, a clever collection of well-constructed songs delivered with a sugar-buzz drive and an emotive, occasionally…
Cover Story: Hot Shirts
slim Jim Puvee T-shirts are as essential to the summer experience as creamy whip, mosquitoes and swim trunks. Two new, uniquely Cincinnati designs are now available at extremely reasonable prices. The first is a cheeky little number borne from the city's recent unrest, designed and sold by the folks at Buzz Coffeeshop & CD-o-Rama…
Curly tales of the city
Besides, It Might Put Out Your EyeA Hamilton County jury's acquittal of Elyse Metcalf on obscenity charges, for selling naughty movies, is not the end of anti-pornography cases in Greater Cincinnati. For example, the Butler County Prosecutor's Office, whose success rate is even lower than Hamilton County's, has launched a new task force on obscenity.…
Cover Story: Hot Glass
Jymi Bolden Dale Chihuly's glass sculpture is installed in the Cincinnati Art Museum lobby. If it's not a hot summer, it'll shimmer as if it were. At least anywhere near the glittering, 1,000-pound Dale Chihuly glass sculpture, "Rio delle Torreselle," that's now suspended from the ceiling of the Cincinnati Art Museum's main entrance lobby.…
Cover Story: Hot Wiff
It's one, two strikes you're out at Wifflepalooza Some people are passionate for a sport because they get paid millions to play. Others are passionate for a sport because of the bragging rights — like the hearty souls who organized Wifflepalooza, a 3-on-3 wiffle ball tournament with the slogan, "We've Got the Balls, You…
Cover Story: Hot Sundays
Reggae Fest at The Beach is hard to describe. It's not just a sanctuary for all the Buffett-heads dreaming of Margaritaville. It's not just a venue for hard-core dance hall roots-based bands. It's not just a place where the lights go down, the smoke goes up and the dreads come out. And it's certainly not…
An Artistic Response to City Problems
Workmen are finished dismantling vending booths. Trash has been hauled away. The 2001 edition of Taste of Cincinnati is over. But for the time being, the media spotlight remains focused on the Central Parkway food festival. A debate continues over whether the April street riots, ensuing protests and the Taste of Cincinnati boycott by the…
Cover Story: Hot Drink
This summer's most popular drink claims to give you a boost of energy, enhance your athletic performance and increase your metabolism. Oh yeah, and with that shot of vodka in it, it'll give you a good buzz to boot. Red Bull, an Austrian sports drink, combined with a shot of vodka is fast becoming this…
News: Hot: The Middle Ground
Maybe more than any other occasion, the events surrounding the Coors Light Jazz Festival and the accompanying Ujima Cinci-Bration have symbolized the dysfunction of race relations in Cincinnati. Could this be the year business owners, patrons and police find the common ground they've been searching for? Three years ago, black and white leaders created Ujima…
Low/Dirty Three ‘In the Fishtank’
Lots of plunking, strumming and sawing going on In the Fishtank, the new EP collaboration from Minnesota minimalists Low and Australian instrumental trio Dirty Three. On first listen, none of it sounds particularly skillful, and sometimes it's hard to know whether the groups' less-is-more approach is indicative of restraint or a lack of good…
Cover Story: Hot Tuesdays
Jymi Bolden Phammilly Impulze at The Overflow It's hard enough to get people in Cincinnati to go out to see original local music on the weekends. So, on a Tuesday night, it would appear to be downright impossible to lure the masses. But if you're ever feeling like a little live music on Tuesday…
News: Mac’s Here in Spirit
Jymi Bolden The late Rev. Maurice McCrackin embodied the principles behind Saturday's March for Justice. For a man with such controversial political views, Rev. Maurice McCrackin was remarkably gentle. "What brought me to him was his kindness," says Brian Garry, a social activist and friend of McCrackin. "When a person is on that sort…
Community Calendar
Community Council Meetings Bond Hill Community Council, 7 p.m. the first Thursday of the month, Bond Hill Recreation Center, 1501 Elizabeth Place Clifton Town Meeting, 7:30 p.m. the first Monday of the month, Clifton Community Center, 320 McAlpin Ave. East End Area, 7 p.m. the first Monday of the month, LeBlonde Recreation Center, 2335 Eastern…
Locals Only: : Brian Lovely
"Band membership is more fun. Band leadership is more rewarding." With a nod, Brian Lovely explains the difference between leading the band and being a member of it. Believe him. He knows. On the night we speak, the mad Pop Funk trio Brian Lovely's Flying Underground is headlining a show at Newport's York St. Café.…
Diner: The Green Grill
Vegetarians are supposed to be peaceful people, unstirred by the churning of other animals' life-force in their stomachs. And by all appearances, nutritionist and cooking instructor Jill Nussinow fits that description, peacefully contributing to the vegetarian cooking culture out of her peaceful home in Northern California. But when her non-vegetarian husband tries to put a…
Cover Story: Hot Genre
Cincinnati has a few genre-specific sub-scenes that look to be particularly thriving at the moment. Local Hard Rock/Metal bands play to packed houses at Bogart's and other venues, while the Pop/Rock scene has produced several groups that are among the city's biggest draws. At the moment, though, it's the Roots music scene that seems to…
News: Getting on Portland’s Groovy Train
For someone looking to experience Portland's MAX, the nationally recognized, 33-mile light rail system, a trip from the Portland International Airport to downtown begins in a slightly disappointing fashion. Adjacent to the airport's steel and glass terminal, only three people are waiting on a recent weekday afternoon for Tri-Met Bus #12 Sandy Blvd. The $1.50…
Will Police Again Fire on Peaceful Protesters?
Will Cincinnati Police officers restrain themselves Saturday, or will they treat the March for Justice like a shooting gallery? The answer is so unclear that attorney Robert Newman last week asked a federal judge to issue an order protecting protesters from police. Newman sought a ban on the use of "non-lethal" ammunition against protesters. He…
Buried Feelings
Hey, Dad. It's me. Bob. Guess I don't have to tell you that, though. You know, given the circumstances. I mean, after all, this visit, my talking to you here, is nothing more than an expedient. A device. Something my shrink claims'll help me work through some crap. You know, "Resolve some issues." But there's…
News: Getting There
Steve Ramos In Portland, light rail and regional planning help make downtown the city's vibrant center. If seeing is believing, Cincinnatians who have used light rail might be more likely to believe in it. To find out, John Schneider, transportation advisor for Downtown Cincinnati Inc., organized a trip in early May to Portland, Ore.…
Dining
Pricing Guide$ = Inexpensive (entrées $6 and under). $$ = Reasonable ($7-$13). $$$ = Moderate ($14-$20). $$$$ = Expensive ($21 and over). Payment GuideAC = All credit cards accepted. SC = Some credit cards accepted. AP = All forms of payment accepted. CA = Checks accepted. LC = Local checks only. CO = Cash only.…
If You Book Us, We’ll Come … Not
White people in Cincinnati can't live with Negroes, and they can't live without us. We all know majority-sponsored street festivals in Cincinnati are excuses for white people to get drunk in public. Someone was afraid some black folks with nothing to lose — and isn't that most of us lately? — would show up at…
News: Hot Race
Will the Cincinnati mayor's race still be the hottest thing in politics by November, or will public interest experience a meltdown by then? During the recent civil unrest in the city, all eyes were on Mayor Charlie Luken and his performance in handling a city on the brink of a breakdown. In November, for the…
Cover Story: Hot Italian
Jymi Bolden The hottest Italian offering in Greater Cincinnati this summer won't come with pasta. It'll be served on gravel. It's bocce ball, the traditional Italian game that's played on a gravel surface about the size of a shuffleboard court. Players team up in pairs, and each pair receives four balls (boccia). One player…
Cover Story: Hot Game
Matt Borgerding For several years I've been aware that people played a form of golf with Frisbees. Some friends played it, but I never had the equipment and I didn't know how to play, so I never went. Plus they insisted on calling it "disc golf" instead of "Frisbee golf." I found that pretentious,…
Cover Story: Hot Chamber
The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra plans to generate a bit more heat this summer than it has during the past 106 years when it presents Bach and Beyond: A Series of Great Music for Small Orchestra, three chamber orchestra concerts, more intimate in music and ensemble than a typical CSO concert. Chamber orchestra music is a…
Cover Story: Hot Voices
Jymi Bolden Nicholas Muni Nicholas Muni travels the world to entice opera's top performers, directors and conductors to perform for his Cincinnati Opera. Things will soon heat up for four productions in the Summer Festival. The season opens with Madame Butterfly (June 21, 23, 29), Puccini's classic tale of forbidden love between an American…
Cover Story: Hot Sauce
Matt Borgerding Joe Kelley (right) schools John Stoehr and his hot mouth. With a name like Harry's Hot Pussy Juice, it has to be good. Novelty names for hot sauces — Cocksucker Sauce, Pain 100%, Flaming Balls, Holy Shit!, Screaming Sphincter, Nuclear Waste and Hillary's Down on Her Knees Hot Sauce — help make…
Cover Story: Hot Food Fest
If you're a hot fan of goetta, you'll want to head to Goettafest this June in Covington's MainStrasse Village. If you're not a fan, you're probably now asking, "Why a food festival devoted to the stuff?" "Because it's never been done. There's nothing like it anywhere in the world," would be Artie Kidwell's response. Kidwell,…
Cover Story: Hot Dispute
Summertime in the USA means longer days, warmer weather and less TV watching. The latter might actually be a good thing, as viewers decompress from a season of their favorite programs. Why not leap off the couch and play ball, visit an amusement park or work on the yard? Then again, you don't want to…
