May 4-11, 2016
Bike Month: Al Gerhardstein’s Cycling Lifestyle, Mountain Biking in the Queen City, West Side Cruisin’, Bike Month Rides, Deals and Special Events
Council Passes Resolution Recognizing Alternate IDs
Cincinnati City Council today passed a resolution recognizing coming alternate photo ID cards supplied by a group of social service organizations for the homeless, undocumented immigrants, those recently returning from incarceration and others who face challenges getting standard state IDs. Many in the faith and social service communities cheered the move, though some city officials…
Planned Parenthood Sues Ohio over Law Defunding the Organization
Planned Parenthood has filed a lawsuit over an Ohio state law that stands to strip the organization of its federal funding to provide services like HIV and cancer screenings, domestic violence education and sex education for kids in the foster care and judicial system. The law, signed by Gov. John Kasich in February, bars any…
Art: Untethered at Reverb Art + Design
Michelle and Leo D’Cruz opened the doors to their second-floor studio in April to reveal a brand-new contemporary art space downtown. After hauling 1,300 pounds of art from France to West Court Street, the final step was to fix a plaque to the entrance that boasts their logo in red and gray translucent letters: Reverb…
Art: Unraveled: Textiles Reconsidered at the CAC
In Unraveled: Textiles Reconsid ered, nine artists deconstruct and reanimate clothing, blan kets, rugs and other fabrics into emblems of political and personal expression. Textiles are mined for their metaphors to explore aspects of identity and interconnectedness. Adrian Esparza’s “Dawn,” an azure weft spun around a grid of nails using a cheap serape’s single thread,…
Event: Burlington Antique Show
One more outdoor eat-drink-buy event: the monthly Burlington Antique Show. This antiques and vintage-only collectibles market features more than 200 dealers hawking everything from giant metal letters and vintage postcards to industrial lighting, old globes, 1960s Fiestaware and more. It’s generally pretty crowded, so if you’re a real hunter, aim for early-bird admission ($5; 6-8…
Comedy: Laugh Out for Multiple Sclerosis
It’s a big night of laughs at Go Bananas to benefit the Ohio Valley chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Cincinnati native Josh Sneed, a nationally headlining comedian, performs along with Mark Chalifoux, Cam O’Connor and Faith Muller. Sneed, a former P&G employee, started his comedy career at Go Bananas and has gone on…
Art: Edward Wolfley: Reflections on a Journey at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center
To honor the artist Edward Wolfley, who is now 90-years-old and formerly taught at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, his son Marc and Marc’s wife, Lisa Kallman, have organized a retrospective of drawings and paintings at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center. There are several poetic connections to the show:…
Event: Asian Food Fest
Pho Lang Thang, Revolution Rotisserie & Bar, Mabuhay Pinoy Foods, Elephant Walk: The extensive list of local eateries participating in this year’s Asian Food Fest gives festivalgoers a lot to chew on this weekend at Washington Park. Fill up on two day’s worth of cuisine from Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, China, Indonesia, India and Malaysia…
Event: Incline District Street Fair
There are so many fests and fairs across town this weekend, and this one takes place in East Price Hill. The first of this year’s Incline District Street Fairs, this en plein air party celebrates the diversity and growth of the Incline District with goods from local crafters and artisans, along with food and drink.…
Get Involved: People Working Cooperatively Repair Affair
Since its foundation in 1975, People Working Cooperatively has performed home repairs and services for low-income, elderly and disabled homeowners, enabling them to remain in their homes and live safely and independently. PWC is seeking individuals to get involved with their mission this weekend during the Repair Affair, the organization’s annual spring volunteer event. If…
Art: A Product of Sand at Wave Pool
Wave Pool hosts an exhibition opening for the Research Institute of Analogue Sampling (RIAS) Studio of site-specific glass sculptures as part of their 2016 Art Space Is Your Space residency award. New York-based RIAS artists Sam Ihrig and Anna Riley harvest local and regional raw materials in an effort to explore the intimacy between maker…
Event: CincItalia
It isn’t all about Bavaria in Cincinnati this weekend despite our many Maifests — CincItalia brings a taste of the Old Country to Cheviot for a festival that celebrates the culture, cuisine and cannoli of Italy. Enjoy Italian cooking demos, travel talks, games, raffles, an open-air wine garden, a mini piazza — complete with a…
Event: MainStrasse Maifest
This springtime celebration takes over six city blocks to create a traditional bash of epic proportions. In addition to the essential German food and drink, this Maifest party features an assortment of arts and crafts by more than 90 different makers. Special areas are set aside for the young and young at heart — the Kinderplatz…
Event: Uncorked at FSQ
It’s a weekend of vino at the corner of Fifth and Vine streets when Fountain Square gets taken over by Uncorked at FSQ. The two-day event features generous samples from the nation’s top-selling wine brands, along with local and regional wine producers. Guests can navigate their ways through booths of booze, food pairings and knowledgeable…
Event: Germania Society Maifest
Raise a stein to spring with the Germania Society. Maifest is the traditional German celebration of the season, and the Society isn’t cutting any corners with this authentic bash. Carnival rides, traditional food, a spring flower market and games for kids and adults transform Germania Park into a tiny slice of Europe. Choose a homemade…
Music: School Dance
Fans of dreamy, quirky Indie Pop are in for a tasty (and free) treat as Dayve Hawk brings his acclaimed Memory Tapes project to town with on-the-rise special guest School Dance. Featuring singer/keyboardist Allison Lorenzen and drummer/vibraphonist Sam Tremble, School Dance came together when the two musicians met in a Philadelphia art store in 2012;…
Onstage: Violet
Ensemble Theatre staged this moving musical back in 1999 to great success, but that was before people were flocking to Over-the-Rhine as they do today. To close out its 30th-anniversary season, ETC has revived the story of an anxious young woman bearing a disfiguring scar from a childhood accident. She’s on a cross-country pilgrimage to…
Art: Chasing the Whale and Other Endless Pursuits
Self-taught artist Matt Kish wanted one last shot at creating something notable. The project he chose was illustrating Herman Melville’s 1851 literary classic Moby-Dick, one drawing per day for each of the 552 pages in his Signet Classic edition paperback version of the novel. It took him almost one and a half years of exhausting…
‘Chelsea’ Defies the Typical Confines
After eight years at E!, Chelsea Handler is back with a series that defies the typical confines of “late-night talk shows.” Airing on Netflix Wednesdays through Fridays, each 30-minute episode of Chelsea (Series Premiere Wednesday, Netflix) can be streamed at any time of day. In moving to the platform, Handler’s famously “unfiltered” style can truly…
‘The Man Who Knew Infinity’ on His Own Terms
As a film critic preaching the gospel of critical thinking in a world locked into the mainstream belief that math, science and technology are the only fields of study that matter, writer-director Matt Brown’s new biopic, The Man Who Knew Infinity, offers a persuasive — and quite surprising — counter-argument. What we’re talking about isn’t…
Connecting Art, Communications and Politics
Michelle and Leo D’Cruz opened the doors to their second-floor studio in April to reveal a brand-new contemporary art space downtown. After hauling 1,300 pounds of art from France to West Court Street, the final step was to fix a plaque to the entrance that boasts their logo in red and gray translucent letters: Reverb…
Political and Personal Metaphors of Textiles
If you keep up on art news at all, you probably saw headlines a couple weeks ago declaring that New York’s Guggenheim Museum would be installing a solid gold toilet. The sculpture, made by Maurizio Cattelan, “offers a wink to the excesses of the art market” while also embodying “the inescapable physical realities of our…
Catch a Show Starring Someone You Know
There’s plenty about our professional theater scene here in Cincinnati to keep me busy writing, but I like to switch gears occasionally and talk about work that’s being done by “amateurs.” I put that term in quotes because quite a few of our community theaters produce shows of very high quality using volunteers — people…
Process Makes Perfect
S elf-taught artist Matt Kish had just turned 40 in 2009 and was considering giving up after years of receiving little recognition for his work. Breaking through seemed as elusive as catching a great white whale. He’d been married for eight years, had a promising new career as a public librarian in Dayton, Ohio and…
Southern Comfort
ll give you two guesses as to what prevalent color scheme immediately greets you at Dayton, Ky.’s newest Southern bistro, Purple Poulet, but you’ll only need one. And just as brightly as the color purple welcomes patrons, so does the staff running the show. A couple of girlfriends and I went to dine on a…
Report: Central Parkway Sees No More Accidents Than Roads Without Bike Lanes
A report by the City of Cincinnati Department of Transportation and Engineering released May 4 states that the stretch of Central Parkway with a controversial bicycle lane has no more accidents than comparable roads without bike lanes. Critics, including Councilman Christopher Smitherman, say the lanes cause confusion because they require drivers to park in the…
Activists call on UC to freeze investments in fossil fuel, but the school’s industry ties complicate the situation
Amy Marks, a third-year industrial design student at the University of Cincinnati, knows that even if the school pulls out of the more than 100 coal, oil and gas companies in which it invests, sea levels will continue to rise. But she believes her tuition should not go toward companies she thinks harm the environment.…
Worst Week Ever! May 4-10
Ted Cruz Emulates Humanoid Behavior by Talking About ‘Could Have Would Have Should Have’ To succeed as a politician, several things are important. It helps tremendously to come from a wealthy family, so you don’t have to work that often. You also need to lack a certain sense of humanity and be willing to serve…
Morning News and Stuff
Good morning, Cincy! Here are your morning headlines. • Cincinnati City Council is expected to vote today on whether the city will accept a city ID card issued by the Metropolitan Area Religious Coalition of Cincinnati that is targeted towards homeless individuals, undocumented immigrants and those transitioning back into the community from incarceration. Mayor John Cranley,…
Music: The Howlin’ Brothers
The conversion from Rock and Punk to Bluegrass and Folk is an oft-told band tale in today’s music world. And so it is with The Howlin’ Brothers, an adrenalized trio that plays Bluegrass with the passion and verve of an amped-up Rock outfit. The threesome — banjoist/fiddler Ian Craft, guitarist/harmonicat Jared Green and upright bassist…
Sound Advice: The Howlin’ Brothers with Ian Mathieu & Scott Risner
The conversion from Rock and Punk to Bluegrass and Folk is an oft-told band tale in today’s music world. And so it is with The Howlin’ Brothers, an adrenalized trio that plays Bluegrass with the passion and verve of an amped-up Rock outfit. The threesome — banjoist/fiddler Ian Craft, guitarist/harmonicat Jared Green and upright bassist…
Music: Snarky Puppy
Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Snarky Puppy is a band of reference. It’s a band that other groups point to for a certain approach to modern, funky music. Some try and put the dreaded “Fusion” tag on the group, but that term blew itself out in the ’70s and ’80s, when Fusion became a genre of clichés. Snarky…
Sound Advice: Snarky Puppy with Charlie Hunter
Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Snarky Puppy is a band of reference. It’s a band that other groups point to for a certain approach to modern, funky music. Some try and put the dreaded “Fusion” tag on the group, but that term blew itself out in the ’70s and ’80s, when Fusion became a genre of clichés. Snarky…
Music: Hayes Carll
Like the best singer/songwriters, Hayes Carll has a wickedly pointed sense of humor, a devastating observational eye for humanity’s flaws and an unfailing hope for its redemption. The Texas native began his career over a decade and a half ago, releasing his 2002 debut, Flowers and Liquor, to great acclaim and drawing appropriate comparisons to…
Sound Advice: Hayes Carll with Emily Gimble
Like the best singer/songwriters, Hayes Carll has a wickedly pointed sense of humor, a devastating observational eye for humanity’s flaws and an unfailing hope for its redemption. The Texas native began his career over a decade and a half ago, releasing his 2002 debut, Flowers and Liquor, to great acclaim and drawing appropriate comparisons to…
New and Recent Local Music Releases
AltRock foursome One Day Steady is set to release its new album, My Real Problem, this Friday. To celebrate, the band is hosting a release party Friday night at the Woodward Theater (1404 Main St., Over-the-Rhine, woodwardtheater.com). Fellow Cincinnati-area bands The Grove, Jim Trace & The Makers and Sundae Drives are also on the bill.…
Mad Driven
S tep into the living room/practice space of Ringo Jones’ cozy Northside home and one thing quickly becomes apparent — there’s nowhere to sit. Instead of seating, the living space has been taken over by the music equipment used by Jones and his bandmates in Cincinnati Rock group Mad Anthony. Marc Sherlock’s drum kit occupies…
Powers of the Outsiders
W hen the history of Cincinnati’s MidPoint Music Festival is written, there should be a chapter about the incendiary performance given by Kid Congo Powers and the Pink Monkey Birds to close out the 2014 event. Brian Baker was there to witness the powerful show for CityBeat, writing, “MOTR’s dance floor was a boiling mass…
Ashes to Mosh Pits
HOT: Ashes to Mosh Pits If you’re a fan of extreme Metal and your dying wish is to have your ashes scattered into a mosh pit during a show, you don’t have to call the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Three bands reportedly scattered the ashes of a man identified only as “Nick” at recent shows in Chicago.…
Ohio House Passes Medicinal Marijuana Bill
For some sufferers of chronic and painful diseases, a new (or at least newly legal) form of relief might be on the way. After lengthy debate, the Ohio House of Representatives today passed a bill that would legalize medical marijuana in certain, highly specific circumstances and forms. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Steven A Huffman…
Morning News and Stuff
Good morning all. Here’s the news today. Cincinnati City Council will vote Wednesday on whether the city should accept ID cards for homeless residents and undocumented immigrants. The resolution, which a local coalition of religious groups has been advocating for months, would make Cincinnati the first city in the state to accept the cards issued…
Clifton Town Meeting to CPS: Don’t Use Survey
A community group representing Clifton residents has taken issue with a survey sent out by Cincinnati Public Schools that could influence the fate of the embattled Clifton Cultural Arts Center. CityBeat reported last week on the battle over the Clifton School Building, which is currently occupied by the CCAC. The arts organization has leased the…
Morning News and Stuff
Good morning all. Here’s what’s happening today. Critics of U.S. Senator Rob Portman are getting louder in their opposition as the Republican faces a tough re-election campaign this year. A group will gather outside his Cincinnati headquarters today for a news conference around Portman’s refusal to consider President Barack Obama’s U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge…
Bad Dates (Review)
Critic's Pick Theresa Rebeck’s comedy, Bad Dates, was a box-office hit in 2005 (the Cincinnati-born playwright’s script was produced at numerous American regional theaters for several seasons), and the Playhouse clearly has high expectations for its revival, scheduled until mid-June. Staged by Michael Evan Haney (who also directed the production 12 years ago), it’s a…
Violet (Review)
Critic's Pick Violet was a hit for Ensemble Theatre back in 1999, at a time when ETC was struggling to survive and audiences were hesitant to venture to Over-the-Rhine. What a difference 17 years have made: Today ETC is an anchor in the bustling restaurant and entertainment district. Jeanine Tesori and Brian Crawley’s heartfelt, anthem-filled…
Stage Door
I’ve seen — and enjoyed — a number of Cirque du Soleil shows, but they didn’t prepare me for Toruk: The First Flight, currently at U.S. Bank Arena. This is one of Cirque’s newest productions, less than a year old, and it’s enormous, reproducing the world of Pandora in the distant Alpha Centauri star system…
Morning News and Stuff
President Barack Obama on Thursday gave a Cincinnati man named Thomas Farmer a second chance when commuted his life sentence along with 57 other federal convicts. Farmer has been in a federal prison serving a life sentence since 1995 for charges of cocaine possession and distribution. Obama's latest round of commutes targeted those serving life…
Morning News and Stuff
The city of Cincinnati has opted to replace the city's sad, beat-up, beheaded parking meters with multi-space meters requiring motorists to print out a ticket to put in their windshields, according to a memo from City Manager Harry Black. The new meters will soon be installed in 40 locations across the city, including Findlay Market,…
Report: Central Parkway Crashes in Line with Other Streets Without Bike Lanes
There's been a lot of controversy around the Central Parkway Bikeway, with some in the city, including City Council members, asking whether it has caused more accidents along the busy street. But a study undertaken by the city and re-released yesterday seems to show that's not the case. A report by the city of Cincinnati…
