Your Negro Tour Guide: Gracias
Editor’s note: CityBeat is sad to report the passing of our former columnist, Kathy Y. Wilson. Wilson created works that were frank, profane and hilarious. At CityBeat, she wrote the column “Your Negro Tour Guide,” where she discussed issues of race, urban living, scandal, trends and humanity with her profound perspective and razor-sharp wit. Wilson was…
Victor Frankenstein
Director Paul McGuigan (Push and Lucky Number Slevin) and writer Max Landis (American Ultra and Chronicle) approach this reimagining of Mary Shelley’s classic monster tale from the perspective of the trusted assistant Igor (Daniel Radcliffe), who works side-by-side with young doctor Frankenstein (James McAvoy) as he attempts to trigger life in dead flesh. The change…
Trumbo
Dalton Trumbo (Bryan Cranston) sat among the elite in Hollywood — a top screenwriter in the 1940s — until he and others were arrested and blacklisted for their political beliefs. Trumbo took full advantage of his wit and the power of language to not only garner fame and glory (a pair of Academy Awards for…
The Good Dinosaur
The Pixar team (director and co-writer Peter Sohn with Meg LeFauve, who wrote the screenplay based on a story by Sohn, Erik Benson and Kelsey Mann) imagines a world in which the asteroid that struck the Earth and created the extinction-level event that wiped out the dinosaurs never happened. The new world order leads to…
Brooklyn
As a fundamental aspect of the American Dream, we remake ourselves, but we also redefine the meaning of home, too. This idea lives and breathes in director John Crowley’s adaptation of Colm Tóibín’s novel (working with screenwriter Nick Hornby), which explores the personal journey of Eilis (Saoirse Ronan), a smart young Irish girl stifled by…
Shipshape and Seaworthy: H.M.S. Pinafore in Louisville
Critic's Pick Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic operetta H.M.S. Pinafore was a hit in 1878. The very tongue-in-cheek tale of class distinctions in the British Empire seems pretty creaky in 21st-century America. G&S’s topsy-turvy world still has its partisans, but the humor requires some work. Unless it’s in the hands of some very creative theatrical types:…
Event: Bourbon & Bacon
If you like eating divine swine or drinking high-quality brown liquor, head to New Riff for CityBeat’s annual Bourbon & Bacon party — with Cincinnati as Porkopolis and Kentucky as the home of bourbon, where else would it be? Guests will enjoy samples of bacon-inspired dishes from local restaurants like Holtman’s Donuts, Pompilios, Cuban Pete,…
Holiday: Macy’s Light Up the Square
Macy’s kicks off the holiday season by lighting up Fountain Square Friday with their massive, glowing Christmas tree and festive fireworks display. The annual Light Up the Square event has all the holiday cheer you could ask for to start really digging into the joy of the season — ice skating, live music, an official…
Holiday: Water Wonderland with Scuba Santa
We all know that Santa Claus is more than comfortable flying through the crisp, cold Christmas skies on his reindeer-pulled sleigh. But did you know that Santa also has a knack for deep-sea diving and a sweet set of scuba skills? Saint Nick is excited to showcase his little-known talent at the Newport Aquarium this…
Holiday: City Flea Small Mall
Skip the mayhem of Black Friday crowds and big-box stores this holiday season. Instead, head to the City Flea’s annual Small Mall, where dozens of local and independent small businesses will congregate under one roof at 21c Museum Hotel. Participants include Article, Casablanca Vintage, Coffee Emporium, Hi-Bred, Libby Boutique, MiCA 12/v, Rock Paper Scissors and…
Event: Findlay to the People Storytelling Series
For more than 160 years, Findlay Market has been a place for community interaction and education in Cincinnati. It has been the scene for good times and hard times, and has been a cultural gathering place for the residents of Over-the-Rhine and beyond. In an effort to celebrate the market and the stories it has…
Holiday: Home Alone Live in Concert with the Pops
Calling all filthy animals: Head to Music Hall Saturday for a live orchestral screening of holiday classic Home Alone. The Cincinnati Pops will play John Williams’ charming score live as the film shows on the big screen above the orchestra. Fun for the whole family, Wet Bandits, Buzz’s girlfriend, etc. 7 p.m. Saturday. $25-$101. Music…
Music: Lee DeWyze
Occasionally, American Idol winners are able to maintain a presence in the mainstream Pop music universe. And sometimes the winners seemingly disappear. But every now and then a TV singing-competition winner will go back to the music career they’d started before the hoopla, using the exposure as a lift, but not relying on it. Lee…
Holiday: Crafty Supermarket
I n the darker pre-Etsy days in the early 2000s, Grace Dobush had a website that served as her handmade shop for paper goods. It included a little note for people to mail her checks or money orders. This seemingly shady operation happened in a time when DIY crafting was a lesser-known art. But Dobush,…
Holiday: Greater Cincinnati Winterfair
This annual juried art fair, now in its 37th year, is one of the largest gatherings of fine art and crafts in the Tristate. Thousands come from all over the region to view original, handmade pieces by more than 200 American artists. Works include furniture, fine jewelry, glass, metal, sculpture, 3-D mixed media, clay works…
Holiday: Irving Berlin’s White Christmas
This holiday tale, full of romance, comedy and choreographed dance routines, is brought from the screen to the stage in an all-new Broadway musical. Including classic Berlin songs like “Blue Skies,” and, of course, “White Christmas,” this story follows two war buddies from Florida to Vermont as they plan a fantastic show in the rundown…
Art: Response Project VI at Chase Public
Organizers Zohair Hussain and Scott Holzman of Chase Public, a collaborative space for art and assembly in Northside, host the sixth program in their ongoing Response Project series, a monthly event offering writers, artists, performers and thinkers the opportunity to share their own interpretations of a chosen artwork. This month’s responses, from local artists and…
Holiday: The Nutcracker Jazzed Up!
Once again, Meridith Benson and Mario de la Nuez’s de la Dance Company brings the seasonal favorite The Nutcracker Jazzed Up! to the Aronoff. The innovative presentation opens in 1940s New York City and features dancers swinging and bopping to Duke Ellington’s jazzy The Nutcracker Suite score. In Act II the stage transforms into the…
Holiday: Cincideutsch Christkindlmarkt
Cincideutsch, Cincinnati’s society for German speakers, hosts its annual Bavarian-inspired Christmas market on Fountain Square. Inspired by the famous holiday markets across Germany, Christkindlmarkt features gifts made by local vendors and artisans, traditional German eats and Glühwein (aka hot spiced wine). Another good excuse to break out the dirndl. Weekends through Dec. 20. Free admission. Fountain…
Onstage: All Childish Things
It’s 2006 and two thirtysomething guys still pine for the galactic adventures promised by Star Wars when they were kids. In Joseph Zettelmaier’s 2011 play, one guy lives in his mom’s basement; another has a girlfriend who could care less about The Force. But they’ve concocted a plan for their big break that involves raiding…
Sports: Thanksgiving Day Race
Speed up your metabolism in preparation for your Turkey Day feast. Established in 1908, Cincinnati’s Thanksgiving Day Race is the oldest road race in the Midwest, taking runners and walkers through a 10-kilometer course through downtown and Northern Kentucky. A post-race party with food and live music from local band Nativity CODE awaits at the…
Comedy: Greg Warren
Greg Warren returns to his adopted hometown this week for a series of shows at the Funny Bone. Over the years, Warren, a St. Louis native and former P&G employee who started his stand-up career here, has made audiences laugh with his caricatures of his family and friends. These days he’s more reflective. “I’m talking…
Music: Get Stuffed on Local Music
The best “band-bang-for-your-buck” Thanksgiving Eve show is all about local music — and lots of it. The “Get Stuffed on Local Music” event takes over the three stages at Southgate House Revival Wednesday, showcasing more than 15 of Greater Cincinnati’s finest, playing various shades of Rock and Roots music. Slated to appear: Frontier Folk Nebraska,…
Cocktails for a Cause
With the season of giving upon us, there are a number of local drinking establishments that not only actively give back, but also provide patrons with opportunities to support and contribute as well — outside of just being entertaining drunks. The Littlefield in Northside has had philanthropic interests since opening its doors last July. “The…
Beyond the Books
There’s nothing like being greeted by the bright echoes of music as you step inside from the pouring rain. On this particular day I was visiting the main branch of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County for the monthly Jazz of the Month Club performance, featuring the Jamey Aebersold Quartet. It wasn’t hard…
Learn to Love Leftovers with These Creative Recipes for Reusing Thanksgiving Day Remains
Anyone can make a day-after-Thanksgiving turkey sandwich. Take two pieces of bread, add some turkey, top it with whatever leftovers you’ve got — mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing — and liberally smother the whole thing with gravy and call it a day. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not maligning your efforts to feed yourself…
Popping Bottles and Memorizing Flashcards
If you frequent the Netflix documentary section — or if you’re just a veritable wino — you may have come across the excellent documentary Somm. The 2013 film looks at a group of wine stewards (aka sommeliers) studying for the Master Sommelier Exam, the highest designation in fine-beverage service, which requires a brutal test of…
‘Creed’ Spins Off into Its Own Glorious Orbit
Right away, Ryan Coogler lets us know that we’re in good and special hands with Creed, his Rocky spinoff that arrives with not only the complete blessing of series creator Sylvester Stallone, but also with his quietly mesmerizing appearance as Rocky Balboa, the long-past-his-prime champion boxer living out the rest of his days in a…
Best of Enemies
An outspoken gay man and largely self-taught writer, Gore Vidal was a liberal iconoclast whose opinions challenged conventional thought and whose acerbic wit frequently eviscerated those who dared to cross him. William F. Buckley, Jr. was the opposite side of a similar coin, an outspoken, controversial conservative who founded National Review. Each was born in…
Fun Times in the Forest of Arden
Critic’s Pick One of Shakespeare’s greatest comedies, As You Like It, is Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s early holiday offering, and it’s a silly delight with a big cast. The company has a tradition of producing an entertaining show from just before Thanksgiving to mid-December, and this is one of the best they’ve done. Staged by CSC…
Don’t Look Back
The opening sentences of The New York Times’ 1967 review of D.A. Pennebaker’s now-classic documentary Don’t Look Back read as follows: “It will be a good joke on us all if, in 50 years or so, Dylan is regarded as a significant figure in English poetry. Not Mr. Thomas, the late-Welsh bard, but Bob, the…
Harvesting a History: Findlay Market Storytelling
For more than 160 years, Findlay Market has been a place for community interaction and education in Cincinnati. It has been the scene for good times and hard times, and has been a cultural gathering place for the residents of Over-the-Rhine and beyond. In an effort to celebrate the market and the stories it has…
Ed Stern’s ‘Youth’
Ed Stern “retired” three years ago after two decades of artistic leadership at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. I put quotation marks around that word because he’s still busy as can be, much to the surprise of everyone — himself included. Shortly after announcing his retirement, Stern was diagnosed with a type of cancer…
Handmade Heroes
I n the darker pre-Etsy days in the early 2000s, Grace Dobush had a website that served as her handmade shop for paper goods. It included a little note for people to mail her checks or money orders. This seemingly shady operation happened in a time when DIY crafting was a lesser-known art. But Dobush,…
Kasich Proposes Federal Action to Spread Judeo-Christian Values
Ohio Governor and GOP presidential primary candidate John Kasich has a great idea for fighting terrorism: federal programs spreading Christianity and Judaism in the Middle East and beyond. Kasich floated that idea during a Nov. 17 speech at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. in the wake of attacks by affiliates of the Islamic…
Hartmann Pulls Out of 2016 County Commissioners Race
Republican Hamilton County Commissioner Greg Hartmann will not seek reelection next year, he said in an emailed statement sent Nov. 21. Hartmann’s departure from the race could mean big changes for county government. Hanging in the balance: a partisan majority on the powerful commission, which sets Hamilton County’s budget, among other functions. In his email,…
Remembering Tamir
T hree hundred and sixty-four days after a Cleveland police officer shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice, a group of about 60 people gathered in a cold, driving rain at the Hamilton County Courthouse. Over a megaphone, organizers of the Nov. 21 demonstration addressed the crowd and a few beleaguered-looking TV news cameramen. An imam…
Worst Week Ever! Nov. 25-Dec. 1
Cranley Emails Self-Righteous Press Statement About Refugees, Wishes Someone Had Paused It Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley does a lot of things that piss people off. But, if you think about it, a lot of things piss Cranley off, so to him it kind of evens out. In the case of Syrian refugee resettlement after the…
Music: 4onthefloor
Minneapolis rockers The 4onthefloor came together in 2009 and gradually built up a fervent fan base in its hometown. In 2011, the group released its debut album, 4X4, and began touring more consistently, building its national profile (the album’s “Workin’ Man Zombie” was chosen as the theme song for Duck Dynasty when its first season…
Sound Advice: The 4onthefloor with Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band and The Easthills
Minneapolis rockers The 4onthefloor came together in 2009 and gradually built up a fervent fan base in its hometown. In 2011, the group released its debut album, 4X4, and began touring more consistently, building its national profile (the album’s “Workin’ Man Zombie” was chosen as the theme song for Duck Dynasty when its first season…
Music: Carousel
Pittsburgh’s Carousel plays the same touring circuit as many Stoner and Psych Rock groups, but the band’s barroom-boogie is less fuzzed-out and often more up-tempo than its sludgy peers’ output. And, as every review or article about the foursome mentions, Carousel is more indebted to Thin Lizzy (as well as early KISS, Aerosmith and similar…
Sound Advice: Carousel with Electric Citizen
Pittsburgh’s Carousel plays the same touring circuit as many Stoner and Psych Rock groups, but the band’s barroom-boogie is less fuzzed-out and often more up-tempo than its sludgy peers’ output. And, as every review or article about the foursome mentions, Carousel is more indebted to Thin Lizzy (as well as early KISS, Aerosmith and similar…
Music: The Queers
It’s both amazing and ironic that, at some point this year, The Queers celebrated their 33-1/3 anniversary. It was 1982, two years into Ronald Reagan’s first term, when New Hampshire native Joe King felt Punk’s inexorable pull. King added a snarky sense of humor and a love of The Ramones and Beach Boys and began…
Sound Advice: The Queers with The Dopamines
It’s both amazing and ironic that, at some point this year, The Queers celebrated their 33-1/3 anniversary. It was 1982, two years into Ronald Reagan’s first term, when New Hampshire native Joe King felt Punk’s inexorable pull. King added a snarky sense of humor and a love of The Ramones and Beach Boys and began…
Music: Mato Nanji & Noah Hunt
Noah Hunt and Mato Nanji have been swirling around each other on the Rock circuit for a long time. In the late ’90s, Blues Rock quartet Indigenous came onto the scene. Nanji, the founding guitarist and lead singer of the band formed on the Yankton Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, was touted as a six-string…
Sound Advice: Mato Nanji & Noah Hunt with Shun Ng
Noah Hunt and Mato Nanji have been swirling around each other on the Rock circuit for a long time. In the late ’90s, Blues Rock quartet Indigenous came onto the scene. Nanji, the founding guitarist and lead singer of the band formed on the Yankton Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, was touted as a six-string…
Give Thanks to Local Music by Feasting on It
The week of Thanksgiving has become one of the best times of the year for fans of Greater Cincinnati’s original music-makers. The Wednesday before the holiday has established itself as The Biggest Bar Night of the Year, so local music venues often have good shows that night. Besides most people being off of work/school Thursday,…
Morning News and Stuff
Hey Cincy. Hope you’re winding down your work week. It’s T-minus two days 'til turkey time, which also happens to be my birthday this year. I’m hyped for both. Oh, and if you want to get your favorite reporter a b-day gift, I’ll take a pair of these in size 8.5 thx. Huh. Now you…
Straight Outta Lockland
J eremy Spencer is first and foremost a writer, so it may well be that his Hip Hop handle, Sleep, is a reference to Hamlet ’s “To sleep, perchance to dream.” And there’s the rub; Spencer doesn’t need to hit the pillow in order to dream. With his third full-length release, The H.W. Bush/Clinton Era…
A Toothy Holiday Classic?
HOT: A Toothy Holiday Classic? This holiday season, TV viewers in the U.K. will be treated to a new documentary, Shane MacGowan: A Wreck Reborn. The hour-long program follows MacGowan, lead singer for Irish music legends The Pogues, as he receives a full mouth of dental implant (MacGowan’s wrecked teeth were as much a part…
Growing Beyond ‘Childish Things’
Count on Know Theatre to come up with offbeat onstage stories. Joseph Zettelmaier’s All Childish Things has the appearance of just that: A trio of guys who remain stuck in childhood despite approaching age 30. They’re immersed in “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away” — the sci-fi fantasy of Star Wars…
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Food
Y ou’ve seen them as you walk through the farmers market or the produce section of the supermarket: the hideous potato, the monstrous lemon, the mutilated carrot. Fruits and vegetables that are misshapen or bruised and — although perfectly fine, safe and tasty to cook with and eat — usually go unsold and are eventually…
All Jazz Hands on Deck
That old trope about doers doing and non-doers teaching holds no currency with saxophonist Dave McDonnell. The Chicago native relocated to Cincinnati six years ago to complete his doctorate Jazz studies at the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music, which ultimately led to positions at UC and the University of Dayton, teaching both music and…
Thanksgiving Dinners
Whether you can't make it home for Thanksgiving, you're avoiding your family or you just don't actually feel like waking up at 6 a.m. to start cooking, plenty of area eateries are making it easy to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving feast with all the trimmings minus the time spent in the kitchen sticking your hand up a turkey's butt (and…
Morning News and Stuff
Good morning, Cincinnati! Hope y'all are ready for a short work week followed by some binge eating! Hamilton County Commissioner Greg Hartmann is officially not running for re-election next year. Hartmann, who has served as commissioner for the last seven years, announced his decision in an email Saturday. He stated his main motivation was to…
Beyond the Books
There was little reading happening at the Boone County Public Library on Native American Day on Nov. 14. A life-size tipi sat on the lawn of the main branch, and inside the sound of drums carried from the second floor. In a corner of the children’s area sat craft tables where kids could make pinch…
Your Weekend To Do List (11/20-11/24)
FRIDAY EVENT: MYTHBUSTERS: JAMIE & ADAM UNLEASHED! You’ve seen the Emmy-nominated show; now you can live it. The hosts of MythBusters will be wishing co-host and frequently bereted Jamie Hyneman farewell on a nationwide tour, and they need your help to conduct some of their final experiments when they make their stop in Cincinnati. Attendees…
Spotlight
Tom McCarthy (The Visitor) takes a searing look at the dogged journalistic pursuit undertaken by the cracker-jack team at The Boston Globe, which exposed a widespread molestation scandal in the Boston Archdiocese that included a cover-up extending to cities all over the United States and ultimately to the Vatican. Spotlight is also a relic of…
Secret in Their Eyes
Yet another reimagining of previously filmed material, although this time writer-director Billy Ray (Breach) tackles Argentinian Juan José Campanella’s Academy Award-winning film The Secret in Their Eyes (The Best Foreign Language Film in 2010), which was a searing thriller about a search for a killer, which haunts a crack team of investigators for decades. For…
The Night Before
Writer-director Jonathan Levine has made a name for himself as a filmmaker on the verge and the edge (borrowing a pair of clichés), tiptoeing the dividing line between comedy and drama (with films like The Wackness and 50/50) that have sought to fully earn the hybrid dramedy label for the millennial set. With The Night…
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2
The trend of breaking up final installments of movies based on bestselling literary adaptations seeks not only to milk the material for extra box-office receipts, but also to create an action-packed finale for the ages. In the case of Francis Lawrence’s one-two punch with Mockingjay (the concluding text of The Hunger Games series), Part 2…
By the Sea
Having detailed a pair of global wartime narratives (In the Land of Blood and Honey and Unbroken), Angelina Jolie turns to a more intimate battlefield, starring in By the Sea alongside husband Brad Pitt. The duo, who very publicly became a couple during the filming of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, capture the ennui of married…
Holiday: Arnold’s Misfit Thanksgiving
Quirky families — and whose family isn’t quirky? — have lots of memories and stories about Thanksgiving dinners. Chosen families are often just as quirky as the ones we’re born into, but that’s what makes Arnold’s annual Misfit Thanksgiving dinner “part of the fun,” according to Ronda Breeden, owner of Arnold’s and instigator of their…
Stage Door: Non-Holiday Holiday Shows
Several of our local theaters produce shows this time of year that are a kind of antidote to the usual fare of A Christmas Carol and other happy, merry tales. Three get under way this weekend: I went to a rockin’ party earlier this week, and you can, too — if you turn up for…
Morning News and Stuff
Good morning all. Hope you’re hyped for the weekend. I’m going to see Jens Lekman at the Woodward tonight, so I totally am. Music isn’t my beat and you should probably just read our article on the show after we talk about news. But for now, let’s get to it. The Human Rights Campaign, a…
Cincinnati Art Museum to Screen ‘Dior and I’ Movie Sunday
As a perfect accompaniment for its current High Style: Twentieth-Century Masterworks from the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection exhibition, the Cincinnati Art Museum is offering a free screening of the new documentary Dior and I this Sunday at 2 p.m. The film, by director Frederic Tcheng, shows the high-pressure process by which new designer/creative director Raf…
Morning News and Stuff
Good morning all. Here’s the news today. You might’ve missed it entirely, but GOP presidential candidate and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson was in Cincinnati last night. He was speaking at a private event at Music Hall and didn’t really hit the town much or give public stump speeches. But he did chat with press outside…
Lit: Bill Nye
Bill Nye, the quintessential science guy and public defender of evolution, discusses his latest book, Unstoppable: Harnessing Science to Change the World, at the main branch of the public library. Unstoppable combines optimism and scientific curiosity to examine today’s environmental issues, positing that global warming isn’t an insurmountable problem but a chance for our society…
Holiday: Turkey Bowl
It’s a turkey tradition that comes once a year — we’re not talking about Thanksgiving, though. We’re talking about the Turkey Bowl. Celebrate the return of the Fountain Square ice rink by tossing frozen turkeys down the ice like bowling balls, trying to knock over the most pins. Players must either donate $5 or two…
Holiday: BRICKmas
Newport on the Levee has partnered with the Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana LEGO Users Group to present BRICKmas. This holiday display is centered around one of the world’s favorite toys, but in large-scale. With more than 13 scenes built out of LEGO bricks — from a life-size Santa head to a Star Wars tribute to giant…
Dance: Black Dance is Beautiful
Help arts advocate and People’s Liberty Project Grant recipient Quiera Levy-Smith celebrate the Black Dance is Beautiful festival during a free performance featuring African-American choreographers and dancers from four companies. Included are two groups from Cincinnati: Bi-Okoto Drum & Dance Theatre, directed by Adebola T. Olowe, Sr., and Studio Kre8v, the Hip Hop dance team…
Film: Homebodies
A rare public screening of Homebodies, a “lost” movie filmed in Cincinnati’s West End and released in 1974, will take place Sunday at the main library. The film by Larry Yust is a very dark comedy about some desperate pensioners who, when their apartment building is targeted for demolition as part of urban renewal, resist…
Event: Mustache Ball Crawl
Embark on bar and restaurant group 4EG’s Mustache Ball Crawl on Saturday to benefit the Testicular Cancer Society and Midwest Rugby Development Foundation. The bar crawl kicks off with free appetizers at event presenter The Sandbar; then, head to Mt. Adams Pavilion, The Righteous Room, Igby’s and O’Malleys. Ticket price includes round-trip transportation and drink…
Holiday: Festival of Lights
It’s that time of year again — more than 2 million sparkling lights illuminate the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, transforming its exhibits and landscape into an exuberant “Wild Wonderland.” New in 2015 are a Wild Lights Show on Swan Lake and a Frozen-themed area where guests can meet Anna and Elsa. Other festival features include…
Holiday: Studio Collection Holiday Sale
Twelve well-regarded Cincinnati artists and artisans have banded together for a Studio Collection Holiday Sale Saturday. Judy Dominic, Jennifer Gleason, Renee Harris, Lisa Inglert, Terri Kern, Pam Korte, Mary Mark, Sara Pearce, Margaret Rhein, Melinda Ramos, Ursula Roma and Pat Statzer will be offering everything from ceramics, painting and prints to handmade condiments, hand-dyed clothing…
Event: Victory of Light Expo
This psychic festival has been Cincinnati’s premier body, mind and spirit event for more than 20 years. With 79 seminars and more than 250 exhibitors, it’s the best opportunity for exploring alternative spirituality in the Midwest. Seminars feature dozens of experts as they speak about dreams, past lives, meditation, tarot, astrology and more. Other activities…
Event: Mythbusters: Jamie & Adam Unleashed!
You’ve seen the Emmy-nominated show; now you can live it. The hosts of MythBusters will be wishing co-host and frequently bereted Jamie Hyneman farewell on a nationwide tour, and they need your help to conduct some of their final experiments when they make their stop in Cincinnati. Attendees will be brought on stage to assist…
Art: Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie at the Weston Art Gallery
The Weston Art Gallery hosts an opening reception for Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie, an exhibition organized by artist and sometimes-curator Todd Pavlisko. Gimmie will examine “the varied experience of amassing objects and the practice of collecting” by featuring installation work by artists Antonio Adams and Alfred Steiner, as well as iconic works by world-renowned artists including…
Comedy: Drew Hastings
Drew Hastings is a stand-up comic, entrepreneur and the newly re-elected mayor of Hillsboro, Ohio. He was impressed with how voters responded to Issue 3. “I’m glad people who support legalization weren’t like ‘pot at any cost,’ ” he says, referring to the proposed monopoly system the law would have created. “I was saying a…
Art: Artists as Community Organizers at Wave Pool
How do artists play a pivotal role in community engagement? In conjunction with its current exhibit, Holding Ground (on view until Nov. 21), Wave Pool hosts a panel discussion that seeks to delve into some potential answers — or at least come up with some critical questions on the subject. Linking the roles that artists…
Onstage: As You Like It
Who knew cross-dressing could be such fun? Apparently Shakespeare did. All the actors on the Elizabethan stage were men, so having Rosalind dress as a man while hiding in the Forest of Arden was a kind of double-down trick. While disguised, she finds the forest’s trees covered with love poems about her “real” self. What’s…
Art: Field Guide
Jochen Lempert, the German photographer whose first major U.S. museum show, Field Guide, is now at the Cincinnati Art Museum, combines the metaphysical with the biological so well that the effect is often magical. Or, I should say, the effect is downright scientific. He’d appreciate that latter term — he’s a trained biologist who turned…
Family You Choose
Quirky families — and whose family isn’t quirky? — have lots of memories and stories about Thanksgiving dinners. Chosen families are often just as quirky as the ones we’re born into, but that’s what makes Arnold’s annual Misfit Thanksgiving dinner “part of the fun,” according to Ronda Breeden, owner of Arnold’s and instigator of their…
Piccolo Wine Room (Review)
G lendale is one of the most desirable residential suburbs in Southwest Ohio, but most city-dwellers have few reasons to go there. We hadn’t been in years when we ventured to Glendale Square to try Piccolo Wine Room, adjacent to the shop Village Wines of Glendale (formerly Piazza Discepoli). Luckily, it was one of the…
Nathan Fielder Keeps on Trollin’
As a big fan of Nathan For You (10 p.m. Thursdays, Comedy Central), I was concerned that the show’s satirical shtick would wear off fast — between its prominence on Comedy Central and social media chatter when it wasn’t on the air, surely people would catch on. But three seasons in, nothing seems to be…
A Resourceful Pair Breaks Out of ‘Room’
We tell ourselves the world is a big place, but director Lenny Abrahamson (Frank), adapting Emma Donoghue’s novel Room, shows us just how infinite the space can truly be. He compacts everything down to one room and presents it from the perspective of young Jack (Jacob Tremblay), a 5-year-old who has been raised in a…
Tough Guy Charms in ‘Brooklyn’
I still remember the first time I took notice of actor Emory Cohen onscreen. In the Derek Cianfrance film The Place Beyond the Pines, he played the pampered son of Bradley Cooper’s reluctant cop-turned-hero. Cohen’s role wasn’t intended to be a game-changer or even a marquee feature in his segment of the overall story, but…
City on Fire
For those who never experienced the true melting-pot squalor and splendor of New York City in the 1970s, films like Taxi Driver and Dog Day Afternoon have, for decades, come closest to mirroring the grit, grime and glory of the Big Apple. That is until the recent publication of the 927-page magnum opus City On…
Thirteen Ways of Looking
Irish-born and New-York-City-based author Colum McCann, who has penned several exceptional novels — including Let the Great World Spin, which won the 2009 National Book Award — has acquired a reputation as a writer of great lyrical and emotional beauty. His latest collection of short fiction, Thirteen Ways of Looking, reaffirms this with new characters…
A ‘Field Guide’ to Magical Thinking
Jochen Lempert, the German photographer whose first major U.S. museum show, Field Guide, is now at the Cincinnati Art Museum, combines the metaphysical with the biological so well that the effect is often magical. Or, I should say, the effect is downright scientific. He’d appreciate that latter term — he’s a trained biologist who turned…
A Home by Any Other Name
C incinnati Shakespeare Company has announced plans for a new $17-million theater at the intersection of 12th and Elm streets in Over-the-Rhine, across from the southeast corner of Washington Park. This new facility will add heft to a neighborhood already ripe with culture — just south of historic Memorial Hall and Music Hall and east…
Jens Lekman’s Cincinnati ‘Ghostwriting’ Project Yields First Songs
Jens Lekman, the acclaimed Swedish singer-songwriter whose weeklong residency at Cincinnati’s Contemporary Arts Center is now in its third day, has finished and posted the first five songs in his Ghostwriting project. You can hear them here. Through Thursday, Lekman will be meeting with 11 people (it was supposed to be 12, but one had…
The Gift Guide 2015: Presents for Hometown Heroes
Read more in the 2015 Gift Guide to find cozy gifts and presents for her, him, kids and hosts. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: The Jungle sweatshirt, $58, Homage, 1232 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, homage.com; UK T-shirt, $32, Homage, 1232 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, homage.com; Charley Harper cardinal sweater, $149.95, Fabulous Frames and Art, 17 W. Fourth St.,…
The Gift Guide 2015: Presents for Her
Read more in the 2015 Gift Guide to find cozy gifts and presents for him, kids, hosts and hometown heroes. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Banana Girl pot, $65, Continuum, 1407 Vine St., OTR, facebook.com/continuumbazaar; Oxalis Apothecary sea-salt scrub, $24, Park + Vine, 1202 Main St., OTR, parkandvine.com; print dress, $195, Continuum, 1407 Vine St., OTR,…
City Manager: Isaac Only Candidate for Police Chief
City Manager Harry Black on Nov. 13 announced his recommendation of Interim Police Chief Eliot Isaac to be Cincinnati’s next police chief. In the press conference at City Hall, Black said Isaac will move on to the next step of the vetting process, a series of private panels with individuals from the community, police department,…
Cranley Asks Feds Not to Send Syrian Refugees to Cincinnati
Following attacks in Egypt, Beirut and Paris that killed hundreds, the United States should place a moratorium on Syrian refugees, Mayor John Cranley said in a Nov. 16 statement. “I understand the dire circumstances Syrian refugees face because I personally visited a refugee camp in Jordan last summer,” Cranley said in that statement. “However, the…
Morning News and Stuff
Morning all. Here’s the news today. Mayor John Cranley has said he “feels horrible” about any unintended harm he may have caused in calling for a moratorium on Syrian refugees coming to Cincinnati, but is standing by the substance of his comments. Cranley also told The Cincinnati Enquirer yesterday that he merely meant to suggest…
Long Wait
On a recent blustery November day, Michelle Collier waited at a downtown bus stop where her kids would soon be arriving from school on a Metro bus. Collier spends a lot of time on Metro — she lives in Price Hill but takes the bus to jobs she works in Avondale and at the Kenwood…
Worst Week Ever! Nov. 18-24
Renewed Interest in What Others Think Fuels Cranley Concert-Promotion Efforts Mayor John Cranley might have become our mayor mostly because lots of important Cincinnati residents were busy and didn’t vote. And who can blame them — it takes like 10 minutes and makes you late for work unless you get up early. But avoiding this…
Music: Glen Hansard
No one is allowed to break my heart except Glen Hansard. And he does. Daily. The Adeles and Sam Smiths of the world are incredible at amping up the sadness in their voices when they sing their lovely but over-produced ballads. Hansard, however, relies only on his Irish essence, which oozes dull pink sorrow through…
Sound Advice: Glen Hansard with Aoife O’Donovan
No one is allowed to break my heart except Glen Hansard. And he does. Daily. The Adeles and Sam Smiths of the world are incredible at amping up the sadness in their voices when they sing their lovely but over-produced ballads. Hansard, however, relies only on his Irish essence, which oozes dull pink sorrow through…
Music: Sinkane
What do Caribou, of Montreal, Born Ruffians, Eleanor Friedberger and Yeasayer have in common? Besides a propensity for edgy Electro Pop, they’ve all collaborated with Ahmed Gallab —better known as Sinkane — to add a unique spice to their musical recipes. In his solo career, Sinkane combines several connected yet disparate genre elements — Funk,…
Sound Advice: Sinkane with Steven A. Clark
What do Caribou, of Montreal, Born Ruffians, Eleanor Friedberger and Yeasayer have in common? Besides a propensity for edgy Electro Pop, they’ve all collaborated with Ahmed Gallab —better known as Sinkane — to add a unique spice to their musical recipes. In his solo career, Sinkane combines several connected yet disparate genre elements — Funk,…
Music: Will Kimbrough
If there’s one phrase that Will Kimbrough’s family and friends don’t use in conversation with the renowned Roots/Rock singer/songwriter, it would have to be, “When you have some spare time…" The concept of unused hours in a day has to be fairly foreign to Kimbrough, who generally maintains a schedule that would exhaust three burly…
Sound Advice: Will Kimbrough
If there’s one phrase that Will Kimbrough’s family and friends don’t use in conversation with the renowned Roots/Rock singer/songwriter, it would have to be, “When you have some spare time…” The concept of unused hours in a day has to be fairly foreign to Kimbrough, who generally maintains a schedule that would exhaust three burly…
Music: Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds
Berry Gordy may not have envisioned the intersection of Rock, Blues and Soul when he was drafting the Motown blueprint, but there can be little doubt that, when done right, that particular genre hybrid is among the most powerful forces in the musical world. The combination of blistering guitars, wailing harmonica, a smoking horn section…
Sound Advice: Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds with Smooth Hound Smith
Berry Gordy may not have envisioned the intersection of Rock, Blues and Soul when he was drafting the Motown blueprint, but there can be little doubt that, when done right, that particular genre hybrid is among the most powerful forces in the musical world. The combination of blistering guitars, wailing harmonica, a smoking horn section…
DAAP Girls Release Stellar Sophomore Set
Cincinnati rockers DAAP Girls celebrate the release of their new album, Look Inside Your Love, Saturday at Northside Yacht Club (4227 Spring Grove Ave, Northside, northsideyachtclub.com). Joining the band for the 9 p.m. show are All-Seeing Eyes and DJ Soul Step, who closes out the night, dance-party style. DJ Soul Step is Melvin Dillon, founder…
The Last Band Standing
The music industry is an odd construct in the human universe in which people sometimes generate as much interest for the things they don’t do as for the things that get done. Look at Axl Rose and Chinese Democracy. Maynard James Keenan hasn’t begun to approach that Zen level of non-accomplishment. He’s pathologically busy with…
Obama Denies Being Korn Singer
HOT: Obama Denies Being Korn Singer Barack Obama is the first African- American elected president and the first president born outside of the continental U.S. Obama recently accomplished his latest “presidential first” when he publicly name- checked Metal band Korn. When army captain Florent Groberg was hospitalized after tackling a suicide bomber while serv ing…
The Gift Guide 2015: Cozy Presents
Read more in the 2015 Gift Guide to find presents for her, him, kids, hosts and hometown heroes. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Smokin S’more bar, $6.50, Chocolats Latour, chocolatslatour.com; Grateful Grahams vegan graham crackers, $7, Picnic and Pantry, 1400 Republic St., OTR, gratefulgrahams.com/product/original-grahams; fabric, $17-$18, Silk Road Textiles, 6106 Hamilton Ave., North College Hill, silkroadcincinnati.com;…
The Gift Guide 2015: Presents for Hosts
Read more in the 2015 Gift Guide to find cozy gifts and presents for her, him, kids and hometown heroes. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Folk fiber wall hanging, $62, Fern, 6040 Hamilton Ave., North College Hill, fern-shop.com; Holy Smokes, $30, Continuum, 1407 Vine St., OTR, facebook.com/continuumbazaar; vintage snail shell hors d’oeuvres picks, $12, Hi-Bred, 2807…
The Gift Guide 2015: Presents for Kids
Read more in the 2015 Gift Guide to find cozy gifts and presents for her, him, hosts and hometown heroes. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Dragon, $132, HighStreet, 1401 Reading Road, Pendleton, highstreetcincinnati.com; ArtWorks CincyInk kids tattoos, $14.95, Contemporary Arts Center, 44 E. Sixth St., Downtown, artworkscincinnati.org; Cincinnati Book O Fun, $6, Steam Whistle Letterpress, steamwhistlepress.com;…
The Gift Guide 2015: Presents for Him
Read more in the 2015 Gift Guide to find cozy gifts and presents for her, kids, hosts and hometown heroes. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Vacation Non-Person, Black Plastic Records, 4027 Hamilton Ave., Northside, facebook.com/blackplasticrecords; Sacred Mushroom reissue, $15.99, Shake It Records, 4156 Hamilton Ave., Northside, shakeitrecords.com; Me or the Moon, $15, Rock Paper Scissors, 1301…
