Event: Victory of Light Expo
The two-day Victory of Light expo features more than 85 seminars focusing on topics of the body, mind and spirit. Seminars will explore everything from dreams and astrology to spirit guides, meditation, past lives and more. There will also be live music, healers and shopping. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. $15-$25. Sharonville Convention Center,…
Onstage: MUSE
MUSE, Cincinnati’s Women’s Choir, always mixes it up, and their “Unresolved” program promises to challenge and entertain. Two definitions of unresolved define the music: social issues like slavery, exile and racial profiling; and the unresolved chords of Jazz, with music by Ella Fitzgerald, Ysaye Maria Barnwell, Elizabeth Alexander, Harry Belafonte and Quincy Jones. MUSE is…
Holiday: Festival of Lights
The Cincinnati Zoo illuminates for the annual PNC Festival of Lights — a spectacular light show with holiday-themed areas, symphonic synchronized light displays and wintry events. There will be visits with Santa and Mrs. Claus, puppet shows, Fairyland, a holiday post office, a Polar Express train ride and more (including alcoholic hot chocolate for the adults).…
Event: Northside Record Fair
More than 40 vendors will dust off their wares and set up this weekend at the annual Northside Record Fair, where hundreds of collectors and music enthusiasts will gather to dig through thousands of records, cassettes, CDs, posters and music memorabilia. And if you’re worried about missing out on some vinyl treasures, spend an extra…
Holiday: BuyCincy Holiday Event
BuyCincy, Greater Cincinnati’s Independent Business Alliance, urges you to shop local this weekend. Stop at one of the 200-plus certified Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky small businesses, and be entered to win prizes by sharing your experience on social media. “Put your money where your heart is” Friday through Sunday. More information and business map available…
Art: Tarot Card Release Party
During the early 20th century, local artist and Art Academy of Cincinnati professor John Augustus Knapp illustrated books for Canadian-born author and mystic Manly Palmer Hall; the two collaborated on a tarot card deck originally produced in 1929. Ken Henson, current associate professor and illustration coordinator at the Art Academy, was recently commissioned by the…
Holiday: Christkindlmarkt
The Germania Society of Cincinnati hosts a traditional German Christmas market. Can’t make it to the Rhineland? No problem. Find authentic German products and pastries, along with Saint Nicholas, traditional German dishes, more than 60 taps serving German and domestic beers, hot mulled wine (Gluhwein) and a Saturday lantern parade. 5-10 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m.-10…
Onstage: The Comedy of Errors
Early in his career, William Shakespeare knew how to make Elizabethan theater audiences laugh — and his humor still works. The Comedy of Errors, about two sets of identical twins, separated at birth and unknown to one another, could be considered one of the first sitcoms. Cincy Shakes gives this staging a carnival setting in…
Event: Secret ArtWorks
After nine years, ArtWorks is bringing its popular fundraising event, Secret ArtWorks, to a close. With admission, party attendees receive a voucher to select one of hundreds of original 5-by-7-inch artworks by local “secret” artists. Along with mini masterpieces, there will also be food, drinks and live music from Burning Caravan. 5-9 p.m. Friday. $125;…
Music: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
Besides sporting one of the best band names in recent memory, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. also makes wildly endearing, monstrously melodic Indie/Electro Pop. Detroit’s Daniel Zott and Joshua Epstein started the project in 2009 as a home-recording venture, but a pair of EP releases the following year drew widespread attention, leading to a deal with…
Onstage: Hansel and Gretel
This familiar fairytale has become an equally familiar opera since its premiere in 1893. Inspired by German folk music, composer Engelbert Humperdinck’s deceptively sweet score offers moments of high comedy and heart-tugging lyricism. Stage director Robin Guarino is going for a modern take on this story of children fleeing into the woods to escape poverty…
Comedy: Jessimae Peluso
The Boston comedy scene has given us the likes of Bill Burr, Steven Wright, Paula Poundstone and many more. But it wasn’t that rich comedy tradition that brought a young Jessimae Peluso to Beantown. “I moved to Boston for a boy,” she says. Growing up in Syracuse, N.Y., Peluso was always funny and used humor…
Film: Pulp: A Film About Life, Death and Supermarkets
Britpop — the 1990s British music movement that featured bands whose songs had literate (and British-specific) lyrics and singers who flaunted their native accents and love of the Beatles, Kinks and Who — had only limited impact here (e.g. Oasis). America overlooked the best of the bands, Pulp, whose raucously seductive “Common People” was recently…
Art: Art and Privacy Lecture
Wednesday evening there will be a discussion on “Art and Privacy” at Cincinnati Art Museum as part of programming for the Eyes on the Street photography exhibition. Cincinnati Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell and civil rights lawyer Alphonse Gerhardstein will discuss the issue in the museum’s 300-seat Fath Auditorium. 7 p.m. Free for members; $10 non-members;…
Council Might Name Third Street after Carl Lindner
What do you do to remember a billionaire who created thousands of jobs in the city and spread millions of dollars around to various charities? What if that same guy gave generously to a group that pushed the passage of one of the country’s harshest anti-gay ordinances, hung out with the folks responsible for the…
Morning News and Stuff
Hey all. The tide has turned. Nearly every morning, I stop into one of a few downtown spots to grab a donut and (lately decaf) iced coffee on my walk to work. In the summer, this was unremarkable, but as the weather has gotten colder, it’s become something cashiers laugh at me about. Thing is,…
Music Tonight: Joe Bonamassa, Shaggy and More
Modern Blues/Rock guitar hero Joe Bonamassa might not be a household name, but he has a gigantic fan base. Tonight, many of those fans will fill Music Hall to watch the six-string superstar do his thang. I just drove by Music Hall and he has multiple trucks and busses parked around back, one adorned with…
What Was It Like When…Gannett Started a Weekly?
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that’s the case, The Cincinnati Enquirer’s 2003 gambit to get into the weekly paper game looked very flattering on us. The Enquirer’s CiN Weekly was aimed at adults in their twenties and thirties, featuring arts and entertainment news from around the city, much like another…
Music Tonight: Nils Frahm and Dawn of Midi
Sonic adventurer Nils Frahm performs tonight at the Contemporary Arts Center. Doors open at 7 p.m. and tickets are $20. The German-born composer is touring behind his most recent album, 2013’s Spaces, which was compiled from footage from various performances over the previous two years. His live presentation is something to behold, as Jason Gargano writes…
Morning News and Stuff
I’m sure the big old lumps of snow are a bummer for those of you who drive to work, but it was super cool walking from Mount Auburn to CityBeat HQ this morning. Seeing the hillsides shrouded in white and downtown poking out of the mist on my way down reminded me how much I…
Weekend Music: Chris Forsyth, Huun Huur Tu and More
Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band bring their tour behind their debut studio album, the recently released Intensity Ghost, to The Comet in Northside tonight. Heart of Palm and Public Housing open the free 10 p.m. show. Forsyth, who co-founded the experimental group peeesseye in New York around the turn of the century, is…
Your Weekend To Do List: 11/14-11/16
If you're feeling super brave and think you can make it from your heated car into a heated venue, then, boy, do we have some events for you this weekend. Kicking off on Friday … Adorable and hilarious musical duo Garfunkel and Oates are at Bogart's tonight. It also happens to be CityBeat's 20th birthday party…
Morning News and Stuff
Hey all, here’s what’s happening this morning. I’ll be brief. It’s Friday, and we all have stuff to do if we want to get out of work early. City Council committed to doubling human services funding in its meeting yesterday. The fund, which provides money to 54 organizations that fight poverty in the city, will…
Council Commits to Doubling Human Services Fund
City Council yesterday unanimously passed a motion committing $1.5 million more to the city’s Human Services fund in its next budget, doubling the fund’s size. The increase is part of an ongoing rethinking of the city’s human services funding. But with that change in focus comes the potential that some of the 54 organizations that…
Stage Door: Broadway Here, Broadway There — It’s Everywhere
If you're looking for good theater this weekend you have two great choices at downtown Cincinnati's Aronoff Center. It's your pick: Recent Broadway hit Once, in a touring production, or a past award-winner, Young Frankenstein, staged by one of Cincinnati's best community theaters. The musical Once began life as an Academy Award-winning film in 2007;…
The Disaster in Disaster Relief
National media have a bottom drawer into which they stuff important stories that someone else did. That’s apparently what happened to the recent expose of American Red Cross incompetence and worse by NPR and ProPublica.org. Locally, a check of the Cincinnati Enquirer archive found nothing in its USA Today sections. The Red Cross is one…
Remember That One Time When…Breen Pissed Off All the Parrotheads?
Particularly when Cincinnati was dominated by conservative powers, CityBeat was one of the only outlets in the city to give voice to liberal and progressive ideas others wouldn’t discuss. In 2000, since no one else was doing it, we decided to give voice to another largely silent segment of our community: people who think Jimmy…
It was Legit When…We Talked to Obama for Five Minutes
Even these days, as unpopular as President Obama is, it’s pretty much impossible for a reporter to get 30 seconds with the commander-in-chief. But back in February 2008, when he was an upstart senator from Illinois campaigning for his first term against Sen. John McCain, Obama gave CityBeat a whole five minutes (a campaign aid…
That was Cool When…Wussy Formed at the CEAs
The Cincinnati Entertainment Awards have long been a celebration of the city’s great local bands, but back in 2001 it played a small role in helping to create one. That year, Chuck Cleaver of The Ass Ponys scored a nomination in the “Singer/Songwriter” category (his band was also up for Artist of the Year honors)…
From the Copy Desk
Good afternoon readers! I've spent my day wrestling with terribly out of date software and silently cursing in my sad, grey cube. How's your day been? If you haven't already noticed, this week marks CityBeat's 20th anniversary. (Hooray!) Our enormous anniversary paper recaps coverage of the issues Cincinnati has grappled with over the last 20…
Molly Wellmann’s Myrtle’s Punch House Opening Nov. 28
Forget your Kool-Aid and your Sprite and whatever else goes into your office party’s punch bowl, for soon dignity will be restored to punch. Molly Wellmann’s newest creation, Myrtle’s Punch House, will specialize in handcrafted punch and a wide array of wines and craft beers. (The Wellmann Brand also owns Japp’s, Neons Unplugged and Old Kentucky…
20 Years of Favorite Music Interviews and Moments
Favorite interviews … man, that’s like picking your favorite child. I’ve gotten to talk to so many of my musical heroes: Todd Rundgren, Bill Nelson, Joan Armatrading, Peter Gabriel, Jorma Kaukonen, Russell Mael from Sparks, Led Zep bassist John Paul Jones, Cheap Trick madman Rick Nielsen (who once flipped me off at Bogart’s for taking…
What If… Metro Moves Had Passed?
Imagine this… “new transit hubs in 30 area neighborhoods, from the inner city to West Chester, providing improved bus service throughout the region. New light rail lines serving at least 50 area neighborhoods, spurring new development near stations and making the region less dependent on cars. Imagine a transit system like the one in Portland,…
Why the Hell…Did We Endorse Ralph Nader?
Ah, the year 2000. It was a new millennium and anything seemed possible, even the nation electing a third party consumer protection wonk as president. Ralph Nader flew the flag of the Green Party and pushed hard for votes, touting his environmental and worker-friendly bona fides. And we were right there with him, endorsing him…
Remember When…We Sued CCV?
Sometimes you get picked on. That happened to CityBeat in 2008. It all started when City Councilman Charlie Winburn held a news conference in which he demanded we stop selling adult-themed ads. Citizens for Community Values, a conservative group, also called us out for the ads. It was par for the course for the group,…
2013: Private Prison Profits & Problems
The alternative press hangs its hat on in-depth news features and investigative journalism, and CityBeat’s news reporters through the years have enjoyed a unique amount of freedom to pursue stories other local media either don’t prioritize or won’t touch. (By “enjoy freedom” we actually mean they can wear T-shirts to work most days….) Reporter German…
2012: The Sporting Life
Cincinnatians love sports, as does your friendly neighborhood altweekly. We’ve always kept a keen eye on this aspect of our cultural identity despite the local teams’ losing ways over the years. We published profiles and in-depth stories on the likes of Boomer Esiason, Deion Sanders, OJ Mayo and Ken Griffey Jr. and for years featured…
2011: It’s Easier Being Green
A key theme of this CityBeat anniversary section is that many lifestyle choices considered “alternative” at some point in our 20 years are now fairly mainstream as Cincinnati has evolved. Count “living green” as one of those evolutions. Government-sponsored curbside recycling was once controversial here. Mountaintop removal was an acceptable way to dig out coal.…
2010: Food for Thought
Food is necessary for survival, yes, but we also considered food a necessary subject for an alternative weekly paper. It’s a lot of fun to use food and restaurants to explore the area’s buzz-worthy neighborhoods, favorite traditions, ethnic shifts, demographic splits, social changes and emerging talents. CityBeat is fortunate to have featured the city’s best…
2009: Riding the Rails
Progressives have been trying for decades to improve Cincinnati public transportation. When the new wave of light rail lines sprang up in Portland, Denver, St. Louis, Salt Lake City and Dallas in the ’90s, local transit wonks proposed a comprehensive regional plan to improve the bus system and build a light rail network. Called MetroMoves,…
2008: Shifting Gears on Bike Infrastructure
By the late-2000s, the merits of investing in urban cycling infrastructure were well known outside of Cincinnati. Places like Portland, San Francisco and Chicago had proven that, if you build it, bike riders would come, and many mid-sized cities were beginning to enjoy a safer biking culture for the growing number of new urbanites choosing…
2007: Odes to Joy
One of our favorite words at CityBeat is “emerging,” probably second only to “alternative.” Third place goes to “fuck.” We love writing about emerging music, arts, food, political and social scenes in Greater Cincinnati — it’s sort of the whole point of CityBeat. We’ve seen a lot of scenes emerge over the past 20 years,…
2006: Profiles in Politics
CityBeat has been fortunate over the years to exchange ideas, stories and designs with our alternative press colleagues across the U.S. and Canada, both in formal story-sharing through the Association of Alternative Newsmedia and in spontaneous coalitions of the willing. When Cleveland and Pittsburgh built new stadiums before Cincinnati in the ’90s, for instance, we…
2005: Classical Arts Stretch Out
CityBeat’s coverage of the local arts scene has always tilted more toward new and emerging ideas than the traditional (see “1997” on page 9). We’ve devoted thousands of words and photos to fresh concepts like Fringe Festival, MusicNOW and FotoFocus, showcasing still-evolving artists in theater, music and photography, respectively. Still, we all know the traditional…
2004: The Soundtrack of Our Lives
Whenever we’ve put together anniversary issues, starting back at our fifth birthday, we’ve half-kiddingly suggested to Mike Breen that he compile an alphabetical list of all the musical acts CityBeat covered over the years. Just to show the sheer volume of local bands, touring acts, newbies and established stars we’ve interviewed, described, reviewed, slobbered over…
2003: Saving a Life
We founded CityBeat in order to, as early 1900s muckraker journalists put it, comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Mostly we wanted to make a difference by celebrating “alternatives” in Cincinnati, be they people, causes, ideas, lifestyles or organizations. Then in 2003 came the ultimate opportunity to make a difference: save a person’s life,…
2002: Cincinnati Wants, Needs Young Professionals
Urban development guru Richard Florida burst on our local scene in summer 2002 when he presented his “creative class” concept at a University of Cincinnati lecture. His basic idea was that mobile young professionals (about 38 million Americans at the time) were choosing to live in cities that offered lively and active downtown streets, thriving…
2001: The Riots and the Aftermath
A 19-year-old named Timothy Thomas, known to Cincinnati Police due to a string of outstanding traffic warrants, bolted from the cops one night in April 2001, leading them on a wild chase through Over-the-Rhine. In an alley near 12th and Republic, he ran up on Officer Stephen Roach, who suddenly shot and killed Thomas. He…
2000: Creationism Vs. Evolution
A new tourist attraction had just secured land near Burlington, Ky., in fall 2000 with the dream of using dinosaur statues to teach families that the Earth is just 6,000 years old and dinosaurs were part of the animal throng on Noah’s Ark. Australian native Ken Ham and his Answers in Genesis group, with infrastructure…
1999: Please?
When you live in a middling Rust Belt city in a vanilla Midwestern state with exactly average demographics, you cling to anything remotely unique about being a Cincinnatian. There’s the chili spaghetti thing — which outside of town is actually called “Cincinnati chili” — and then…. Well, CityBeat was founded on the notion that current-day…
1998: Arts Spurring Downtown Development
By the mid-’90s, the Contemporary Arts Center and its downtown surroundings were struggling. The CAC was housed on the second floor of the Mercantile Building on Fifth Street, across from the bus stops on Government Square. It had lost funding, patrons and enthusiasm since the long Mapplethorpe controversy in 1990, even after winning the infamous…
Morning News and Stuff
Hey hey all. Hope your Thursday is going well. Tomorrow’s Friday! And that's our 20th anniversary party! You should come. You should also venture out into that bleak, unforgiving cold to pick up a copy of our 20th anniversary issue now. It’s got a lot of really fun looks back at the past two decades…
1997: Emerging Underground Arts
Rick Pender has been writing about Cincinnati’s live theater scene for almost 30 years now, starting with a magazine called The Entertainer in the ’80s and then EveryBody’s News, moving over to CityBeat when we debuted in 1994. His eight-year run as full-time Arts & Entertainment Editor here included introduction of the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards…
1996: Those Damn Stadiums
Looking back over 20 years, it’s fascinating to review the CityBeat archives to see how hundreds of people, decisions and events built Cincinnati into what it is today. Issues that at the time we deemed “do or die” — from redeveloping Over-the-Rhine in 1994 to endorsing Ralph Nader for President in 2000 to building a…
1995: Rise of the Religious Right
Issue 3 was a painful blot on Cincinnati’s civic psyche, marking the city’s official anti-gay stance for 11 long years. When City Council dared to add “sexual orientation” to a list of protected traits and practices in its 1992 Human Right Ordinance, local religious zealots sprang into action with Issue 3, a ballot initiative to…
1994: Urban Redevelopment and the Future of Cincinnati
Ah, Volume 1, Issue 1, sporting that new newspaper smell. What better way to come out of the gate than covering the city’s most vexing problem: the decades-long decay of historic Over-the-Rhine and the lack of political will to do anything about it. News Editor Nancy Firor’s cover story featured the subhed, “Two sides face…
Vogue to Rogue Dance Party at Kaze
Japanese gastropub Kaze is known not only for its food, but also its nightlife. With a popular karaoke night and frequent weekend dance parties, Vogue to Rogue is their newest campaign to expose the OTR eatery's dine and dance duality. Recently ranked in the top 100 hot spot restaurants in America by OpenTable Inc.'s Diner's Choice Awards, Kaze…
Low Down
Jazz narratives feature genius-level improvisation and communication between supremely talented musicians, plagued by dark impulses off the bandstand. Generally, biopics (and the memoirs that serve as the source material) come from spouses or partners, slightly more clear-headed voices and witnesses to the highs and lows. In the case of Low Down, which captures the life…
Dumb and Dumber To
Twenty years later, Harry (an unrecognizable Jeff Daniels for those of us enjoying his work in the HBO series The Newsroom) and Lloyd (Jim Carrey, who seems to be the clown prince in winter) reunite to hunt down Harry’s daughter. Back in the day, the Farrelly brothers (Bobby and Peter) and Carrey stormed out of…
I Just Can’t Get Enough
Survivor-type Bear Grylls may drink his own pee and propose to his wife with an ass diamond, but naturalist filmmaker Paul Rosolie is upping the ante in the weird wilderness game by allowing himself to be “eaten alive” — for real, apparently — by an anaconda on TV. Judging by the trailer, viewers will witness…
Beyond the Lights
We live in a world where Pop princesses rise and flame out with such regularity that we tend to forget these fragile young women might actually have been relatable human beings at some point, and not just subjects of Pop fairytales. Writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love & Basketball) takes audiences “beyond the lights” to remind us…
User-Generated Doc Follows Banksy’s NYC Takeover
Anonymous international street artist Banksy has become a cultural icon and household name, despite the fact that no one really knows who exactly is behind the tongue-in-cheek graffiti and installations seen across the globe. The 2010 Banksy documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop gave us a glimpse into the secretive artist’s world, but really ended…
Twenty Years of Music in CityBeat
In honor of CityBeat’s 20th anniversary, music editor Mike Breen and music section contributor Brian Baker (both of whom have been with the paper since the first issue) did an e-chat to discuss their experiences writing about music for the past two decades, from interview horror stories to the joys of covering Cincinnati musicians. Mike…
Tommy Lee Jones: At Home on Either Side of the Camera
Sometimes all an artist needs is the right muse, and in Mary Bee Cuddy, played by the ever-reliable period performer Hilary Swank, co-writer and director Tommy Lee Jones has found a distaff analogue that could be his spiritual twin. It is likely due to the source material. The Homesman, a novel by Glendon Swarthout, cannily…
My Life as a Foreign Country: A Memoir
It is night and Sergeant Brian Turner is airborne, lying next to his wife in bed. Silently, he soars like a drone flying over the landscape of Iraq. And then, in another moment, Turner is soaring above Bosnia. As the dream continues, Sergeant Turner coasts over other fields of fire. Over Vietnam. Over the killing…
Lila
Marilynne Robinson’s Lila is an achingly beautiful and deeply spiritual meditation on life, love, humility, loss, redemption and, ultimately, the divine presence of grace. This final book of a trilogy that began with the Pulitzer Prize-winning Gilead takes us back to the dusty little town in Iowa (to which the book is dedicated). It’s a…
Garfunkel and Oates: What the Folk?
There are a lot of people out there who are adept at mixing comedy and music, but no one does it quite like Garfunkel and Oates, the duo comprised of actresses Kate Micucci and Riki Lindhome. No strangers to comedy, their humorous songwriting partnership happened quite by accident. “We were friends for a while,” Lindome…
What’s New Onstage? What’s Popular?
Cincinnati has a theater scene that’s surprisingly sophisticated for a city this size. Local theaters present hit plays, often well before they are produced in larger cities. American Theatre magazine compiles an annual list of the season’s most-produced shows at 404 theaters, where a total of 1,876 plays will be produced during 2014-2015. (The list…
Mapplethorpe Redux
W hen Indiana University’s Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction prepared to show its newly acquired set of 30 Robert Mapplethorpe photographs, there was some trepidation. After all, many of the black-and-white photos in Robert Mapplethorpe: Photos from the Kinsey Institute Collection (on display at IU’s Grunwald Gallery of Art in the…
Instant Coffee: A Reconsideration
Like millions of Americans, I love coffee. And probably like the vast majority of those millions, I require coffee. As much as I love/need coffee, though, I’m far from a connoisseur. I often pick up a bag of Starbucks for the home coffeemaker; the way I know I’m not a coffee snob is because coffee…
Sprout (Review)
R estaurants that serve locally grown food have become commonplace in Cincinnati and beyond, but Sprout Market and Eatery in Mount Adams raises the concept in a meticulous and exceptional way. Sprout opened last month in the old aliveOne spot, on the corner of St. Gregory and Pavilion streets. The restaurant’s lime green exterior stands…
Music: Joe Bonamassa
Joe Bonamassa has never suffered the slings and arrows that have beleaguered his musical forefathers, but it’s never stopped him from being an authentic and impassioned translator of the Blues. While Bonamassa has never made a secret of his love for and debt to contemporary second-generation British Blues/Rock guitarists — Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Gary…
New Politics with Bad Suns and SomeKindaWonderful
Danish Dance Pop trio New Politics has had an extraordinary year so far, and the seeds they’ve planted in 2014 may come to full fruition early next year when they release Vikings, their much-anticipated third album. If the band’s recent strategy was to get in front of as many faces as possible, it certainly nailed…
Joe Bonamassa
You don’t necessarily have to endure struggle to understand it. Take Bruce Springsteen, for example; although he’s never labored at a traditional job, few songwriters have as much empathy for the working man as The Boss. Similarly, Joe Bonamassa has never suffered the slings and arrows that have beleaguered his musical forefathers, but it’s never…
Music: Huun Huur Tu
Tuvan throat singing describes the wild-sounding songs created by musicians in the southern Siberian and Mongolian Steppe region of Central Asia who, for want of a better explanation, use their throats as if they were a didgeridoo. Huun Huur Tu is a Tuvan throat singing string band, who hail from the Russian republic of Tuva near…
Nils Frahm with Dawn of Midi
Nils Frahm’s live performances are kind of hard to believe. He sits alone on stage, surrounded by multiple pianos and a few other gadgets. He moves back and forth between instruments, slowly building and altering the music as it unfolds, all of which is done without the use of loops or playbacks. It’s an impressive…
Music: Nils Frahm and Dawn of Midi
Two gifted acts in the forefront of creating inventive contemporary genre-defying instrumental music — German keyboardist Nils Frahm and Brooklyn acoustic trio Dawn of Midi — share the bill for a show at Contemporary Arts Center on Monday. Frahm is a phenomenal keyboardist, capable of building symphonic layers of sound by mixing piano with synthesized…
Huun Huur Tu
Tuvan throat singing describes the wild-sounding songs created by musicians in the southern Siberian and Mongolian Steppe region of Central Asia who, for want of a better explanation, use their throats as if they were a didgeridoo. Not only does it sound cool — creating multiple notes at the same time using nothing but the…
Literary: Brock Clarke
Aficionados of the local literary scene certainly know the name Brock Clarke — specifically as a onetime University of Cincinnati creative writing professor, as the former fiction editor at The Cincinnati Review and as the gifted author of such sly novels as An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England and Exley. Now Clarke,…
Event: Lentz & Company Anniversary Party
Clifton vintage shop Lentz & Company is celebrating its anniversary in style with a ’60s-inspired soiree. One part Mad Men and one part classic Americana kitsch, they’ll be serving creative cocktails and hors d’oeuvres to the sounds of Sinatra, along with Tang and astronaut ice cream for the kids. Dress in vintage and be in…
Shamble On
T he Whiskey Shambles’ membership seems like the set-up to an elaborate shaggy dog joke. The drummer is actually a bassist. The bassist is a producer. The evocative, earthy female vocals are provided by an Opera singer. The man mountain with the cavernous voice and hellhound guitar is working on his Ph.D. The band’s punchline…
Sports: Cincinnati Cyclones Star Wars Night
The Cincinnati Cyclones take on the Fort Wayne, Ind., Komets on Saturday. Joining them on the ice? A variety of characters from the Star Wars franchise. The first 1,500 kids through the gates get a light saber. 7:30 p.m. Saturday. $13-$26.50. U.S. Bank Arena, 100 Broadway, Downtown, cycloneshockey.com.
Event: Latin American Culture Fest
Celebrate the people and the culture of Latin America at Union Terminal on Saturday. Explore the music, dance, arts, crafts and modern issues surrounding Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Cuba and Panama. Buy goods from the Latin American marketplace in the rotunda, pay tribute at a Day of the Dead altar, or watch everything from…
Music Tonight: Avi Buffalo, San Fermin and More
Avi Buffalo plays a free show tonight at MOTR Pub at 10 p.m. Cincinnati’s Founding Fathers open. Avi Buffalo began when Californian teenager Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg began home-recording songs in high school. After completing high school, he had a full band and an offer from esteemed indie label SubPop Records quickly followed. Avi Buffalo’s sublime, ethereal…
Attractions: Magic and Mistletoe at Krohn
The Krohn Conservatory gets colorful with thousands of poinsettias, cyclamen and tropical flowers as the miniature interactive train display returns for the Magic and Mistletoe holiday floral show. The train will chug along over botanical bridges and historical buildings, the Roebling Bridge, Ault Park Pavilion, a tiny Santa’s village and more, all constructed out of…
Onstage: One City, One Symphony: Heroes
The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s “One City, One Symphony” project aims to connect the community through music and themes relevant to everyday lives. This weekend’s “heroes” theme will be interpreted through the music of Beethoven, Mahler and Albéric Magnard. The symphony performs Beethoven’s “Coriolan Overture,” a dramatic interpretation of legendary Roman leader Caius Marcius Coriolanus; Magnard’s…
Art: Translations at Covington Arts
The work of four artists who examine the nature of interpretation through the use of abstraction will be featured in Translations, an exhibition opening at Covington Arts Friday. Participating artists Tracy Featherstone, Edward Holland, Jeremy Lewis and George Schroeder create works that provide no definitive answers but instead allow viewers to develop their own narrative.…
The Backstabbers
Hillary Gotdamn Clinton is smiling a little slyly to herself these days; she relished each time she took the stage to stump during the midterm elections knowing she’d been chosen over her old nemesis President Barack Obama. Just how truncated are our memories? Wasn’t so long ago Hillary was putting Barack — then America’s “Magical…
Event: Greater Cincinnati Holiday Market
Get some quality holiday shopping in before Black Friday at the Greater Cincinnati Holiday Market. The Duke Energy Convention Center will be full of unique vendors and specialty shops featuring everything from home decor and holiday treats to accessories and body products. An added bonus? The Cincy Specialty Food & Treats Show runs in tandem…
Event: Jungle Jim’s International Wine Festival
Drink around the world without ever leaving Fairfield (that is until you have to take an Uber home). More than 90 international wineries will be on hand at Jungle Jim’s, pouring more than 400 wines paired with finger foods from various countries. Grand Tasting tickets include a wine tasting guide, snacks, wine and a souvenir…
At FotoFocus Show, Michael Keating Remembers His Elderly Neighbor
I wish the “sunroom installation” that is part of Michael Keating’s current Shadow & Light exhibition at Kennedy Heights Arts Center (through Saturday) could move straight into a museum afterward. It could serve to anchor a fuller, larger look at the noble project this veteran Cincinnati photojournalist (formerly with Cincinnati Enquirer) undertook to chronicle the…
Comedy: Roy Wood Jr.
Fans of the TBS sitcom Sullivan & Son will recognize comedian Roy Wood Jr. The veteran comic plays Roy, a bar regular on the series. While he welcomes TV work, stand-up is still his first love. “My act now is more about things that make me want to punch walls,” he says. “It could be something as simple as…
Lit: Badass Civil War Beards
Cincinnati sisters Anna and Julia Hider (who are two-thirds of a set of triplets) have created the ultimate guide to historic beards. From cavemen to pour-over baristas, beards have been the hallmark of brave, hot dudes. Like most things — porcelain dolls, knickers, cholera — facial hair experienced skyrocketing popularity in the 19th century. Men…
Music: Avi Buffalo
Avi Buffalo began when California teenager Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg began home-recording songs in high school. After completing high school, he had a full band, and an offer from esteemed indie label Sub Pop Records quickly followed. Avi Buffalo’s sublime, ethereal Indie Pop wowed critics and fans alike upon the release of the band’s self-titled Sub Pop…
Local Sisters Launch Civil War Beard Book Tonight
It might seem impossible to celebrate both No Shave November and the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, but Cincinnati natives Julia and Anna Hider have just the solution. Their blog-turned-book Badass Civil War Beards showcases the best facial hair the war had to offer, from the most recognized politicians to unidentified soldiers. There are many…
Onstage: Once
The musical Once, based on a low-budget 2006 independent film of the same name, earned eight Tony Awards in 2012, including the Broadway season’s best new musical. That’s pretty amazing for the story of a Dublin street musician ready to give up his dream when a young woman takes sudden interest in his songs. One…
Cincinnati vs. The World 11.12.14
Young Americans have stopped saving. According to Moody’s Analytics, adults under the age of 35 (Millennials) currently have a savings rate of -2 percent. In other words, Millennials are burning through their assets or going into debt. World -1 Cincinnati ranked No. 5 on a list of best cities to live in for retired veterans,…
Worst Week Ever!: Nov. 5-11
Well-Reasoned Editorial Appears in ‘Enquirer’ Comparing Gay Marriage to Incest Whenever out of touch folks from affluent suburbs share their opinions, they need to be taken with a grain of salt. Sometimes a grain of salt doesn’t suffice and we need to reject what they say wholly, as it is reflective of the days of…
The Hiders Return with Stunning New ‘Totem’
One of Cincinnati’s musical treasures, The Hiders, returns this week with another spectacular album, Totem. The band celebrates the new full-length (The Hiders’ fifth overall) with a show Saturday at Northside Tavern (4163 Hamilton Ave., Northside, northside-tavern.com). Singer/songwriter Ali Edwards opens the free event at 10 p.m. Despite the winter scene depicted on the cover…
The More Things Change
The photo caption on a 1994 Cincinnati Enquirer story about a new, irreverent local newspaper reads, “CityBeat owner Jim Schiff, left, shown here with editor John Fox and general manager Dan Bockrath, sees the paper making money within five years.” I’m not sure if CityBeat actually turned a profit that quickly (doubt it), but I…
Cranley, Portune Propose Shared Services Task Force
Mayor John Cranley and Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune on Nov. 10 proposed creating a task force that could help the city and county governments share services. The idea has been raised in the past with little progress, due in part to politics and an unwillingness to cut departments. But Portune and Cranley point to…
Federal Court Upholds Region’s Same-Sex Marriage Bans
The Cincinnati-based 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 6 upheld laws banning same-sex marriage in Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee. The 2-1 decision covers six cases brought by a total of 16 couples. Among them are Cincinnati residents Brittani Henry-Rogers and Brittni Rogers, who are fighting so both can be listed as…
Cease Fire
S ince 2007, Cincinnati Parks has been actively managing herds of white-tailed deer through “lethal removal” in select urban parks across the region — including Mt. Airy Forest, California Woods and Ault Park — in response to overpopulation concerns. But a group of citizens in Clifton concerned about the safety and efficacy of the current…
Morning News and Stuff
Morning y’all. Here’s a brief news rundown before I head off to a day full of meetings and news conferences. Hope you’re having as much fun on your Wednesday as I will be. Cincinnati is set to receive a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index, the group's highest possible rating.…
