Remembering the Jockey Club
A couple of weeks ago, local indie publishing house Aurore Press released a book featuring memories and essays by people involved with the seminal local Punk club The Jockey Club. Stories for Shorty was feted with an in-store party at Shake It Records and a "Jockey Club Reunion" at the Southgate House, with reunited sets…
Onstage: Twelfth Night
So it’s the holidays and you want to go to the theater but you really don’t care much for all the good cheer and midnight ghosts. What to do? I recommend Twelfth Night at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company (CSC). I think it’s Shakespeare’s wittiest and most charming comedy, one of those twisted-up mistaken identity pieces that’s…
Week 12 – Brad Cunningham
You are the winner of tonight's Bud Light Bolo toss game. How does it feel to be a champion? Any advice for Carson Palmer? Unbelievable! I can't describe it. Tell Carson I will back him up any time. Now that you are in the spotlight, you are a role model. Any words of wisdom for…
Music: Shiny Toy Guns
If you were trying to determine the age demographic of Shiny Toy Guns, you'd have a very difficult time. Though they've landed several songs on the Billboard Modern Rock chart, they have a legion of young fans. Very young fans. “I probably took 20 pictures from people under the age of 12 last night,” says…
Art: Supplemental Ornament at the Weston Art Gallery
Althea Murphy-Price is fascinated by the everyday fashion show of our lives, where we all walk around projecting and revealing information about ourselves through the hairstyles we sport, what we wear and all the superficial details that make up our self-images. In her brand-new exhibition, Supplemental Ornament, at the Weston Art Gallery in downtown’s Aronoff…
Onstage: Alice in Wonderland
For a holiday show that will delight kids and adults while teaching a lesson that’s totally palatable at the same time, it’s nice to know that Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati (ETC) is back with another musical fairytale by Joe McDonough and David Kisor. ETC has done this one before (in 1998 and 2003), but Lynn…
Art: Afterlifestyle at the Art Academy
Ralph Lauren, along with every WASP-engendered, suburban-circumscribed good-taste notion of the good life, gets it in the eye in Carlton Scott Sturgill’s finely crafted and very funny show, Afterlifestyle, at the Art Academy of Cincinnati's Pearlman Gallery, 1212 Jackson St. in Over-the-Rhine, now through Dec.12. The Ralph Lauren lifestyle, so commercially viable, seems to Sturgill…
Music: Mudvayne
You have to admire the bravura of a band that names itself after a crustacean’s poop chute. Mudvayne has experimented with various Metal concepts since their 1996 inception in Peoria, Ill., beginning as a Rap Metal outfit before switching to a more traditional Metal direction for their 1998 debut demo, Kill, I Oughtta. The quartet’s…
Dance: CCM Fall Dance Concert
I’ve always thought our fair city fortunate to have such a venerable institution in its backyard as the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). You can catch tomorrow’s stars today—be they destined for a ballet company, an esteemed orchestra or Broadway bound. The talent on display is reliably substantial and the production values high.…
Art: Gary Gaffney at Meyers Gallery
Of Gary Gaffney’s new exhibition of work at Meyers Gallery on the University of Cincinnati campus, local poet Matt Hart writes: “His vision is monstrous, angelic, imperfect yet beautiful, and as a result this work resembles all of us, manifold with moving parts, marked with many questions.” The lustrous gallery space has been made into…
Music: Arms Exploding
The five members of Arms Exploding are very serious about making music, and it shows. The sounds emanating from Ruminari, the band’s debut album for the local Phratry label, are intense and harrowing, a melodic Post Punk/Prog cacophony of double clutch drumming, heart attack bass, delicately thrashing guitars and unhinged vocals. And their songs are…
Lit: Poems from Guantanamo
In order to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that all humans have “inherent dignity” and that the “equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,” the ACLU of Ohio and the First Unitarian…
Comedy: Rich Vos
You’ll have to forgive Rich Vos if he seems just a little tired. “I’d rather have nap than have sex,” he says wearily via telephone from his home in New York City. “Why do these kids keep calling me?” he asks as one of his daughters tries to reach him on his cell phone. Though…
Music: Pro Arte Quartet
When the renowned Pro Arte Quartet makes its Chamber Music Cincinnati debut this week, it will be bringing nearly a century's worth of acclaim and history to its appearance. Currently comprised of violinists David Perry and Suzanne Beia, violist Sally Chisholm and cellist (and CCM faculty member) Parry Karp, the Pro Arte Quartet was actually…
Holiday: Downtown Dazzle
Name: Santa Claus. Age: Old. Dislikes: Polar Bears and Jack Frost. Likes: Long walks on icebergs, sugar cookies and rappelling down the side of buildings! Come see the Jolly Old Elf himself rappel from the 525 Vine building onto the rooftop of Macy's Fountain Place as part of Macy's Downtown Dazzle, a 20-minute presentation, which…
Music: Winterfest 2008
In 2006, Cincinnati Punk Pop band Close to Home lost their original bassist, Bradly Andress, to cancer. The band was just getting started and already garnering national attention when Andress passed away but the band vowed to not let their dreams die with their friend. Close to Home threw itself head-first into touring, averaging about…
Music: The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band
If there’s any truth in the old adage that “the family that plays together stays together,” the Peytons of Indiana will be tight until the next ice age. The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band coalesced a mere three years ago, but in that time the Country/Blues trio — Reverend Peyton on guitar, his wife Breezy…
UC Football Photo Galleries
The UC Bearcats defeated Pittsburgh Nov. 22 and Syracuse Nov. 29 at Nippert Stadium, wrapping up their first Big East championship and the conference's BCS bowl slot, likely in the Orange Bowl in Miami. Check out the photos by Thomas E. Smith. Pittsburgh game Syracuse game For more on UC's incredible journey to football heaven,…
Losing My Friends to Farts
Passing gas is sometimes considered a reaction to a good meal from a satisfied consumer, but actually farts are made during the release of gas that your body produces during digestion. My farts however are starting to push my friends away. I have always farted throughout my life, like most people, but recently things have…
Peace and Justice Poetry
Have something to say that’s more significant about what’s going on in the world than where to find the cheapest beer or what the woman next to you is wearing? Then put those thoughts down on paper and submit them to the 2009 annual Book of Poems and Drawings on Peace and Justice. The first…
Trent Hamm Answers Reader Mail
Each Monday, The Simple Dollar opens up the reader mailbags and answers 10 to 20 simple questions offered up by the readers on personal finance topics and many other things. Got a question? Ask it in the comments. You might also enjoy the archive of earlier reader mailbags. As usual, we’ll start things off with…
City Offers Free Flu Shots
Anyone who wants a flu shot can receive one at several of the city of Cincinnati’s public health clinics.—- The Cincinnati Health Department is offering free shots for Ohio residents ages 3 and older, to help them ward off influenza during the winter months. People who have Medicare Part B benefits are asked to bring…
Monday Wellness Roundup
Personal Health AP: Doctors may drop vaccinations for insured children due to paltry insurance reimbursements. Health News: The brain's natural appetite suppressant. —- WSJ: Why the Swiss said yes to heroin and no to pot. Environment Live Green Cincinnati: Freepeats.org expands to Cincinnati, a Freecycle for parents.
Shopping Ain’t All Bad
I don’t know about you, but I think what’s happening to the economy is great. Let me demonstrate with one simple statement: Gas is ridiculously cheap. These days it costs me just $18 to fill up my car — a “plum” 1993 Saturn to be specific — which means I can actually buy more of…
To Poke or Not to Poke
His name has been altered to protect his identity. D. Cross was just like any ordinary man with an online profile. He uploaded pictures of his spring break trip to Panama City, complete with tags of his new found friends that he met while intoxicated with the sweet sin of Homo sapien love. His friend…
Buy Nothing Today (or Transact Only As Necessary)
Are you thinking about money this morning? That's what most people are doing—fretting over how much they have to spend and where they can find the best deals. Money should be the first thing on your mind today and, conversely, the last. In case you hadn't heard, Black Friday has an alter ego: Buy Nothing…
Biggest Bar Night of the Year!
All of your high school friends are back in town and everyone wants to get drunk before they have to hang out with their families all day tomorrow. Here's a list of some bar events going on around town. I'm sure any bar will be fun tonight and you're probably only going to go to…
Wednesday Movie Roundup: Turkey Shoot
The first disappointment of the holiday movie season has reared its head — Baz Luhrmann’s much-anticipated Australia fails to deliver on its high expectations. The Aussie director's long-gestating follow-up to Moulin Rouge founders despite the presence of bona-fide movie stars who can also act — fellow Aussies Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman — both whom…
Stay Away From Us Mallory
Word on the internets suggests that our sports team-supporting mayor is going to publicly recognize the UC Bearcat football team outside City Hall today. From his botched opening day pitch (which was so hilariously poor that it landed him on national talk shows) to his recent vote of confidence in the Cincinnati Bengals, Mayor Mallory…
Hear Ye! (Review)
Sometimes the categories of “art” and “music” run the risk of overlooking a fruitful niche community in Cincinnati that likes its art tuneful and music artful. Were I to attach this movement to one local figure, it would be Jane Ortrun Carver. While we were at the Art Academy of Cincinnati together, I witnessed a…
Think Locally, Shop Locally
I’m not much of a holiday shopper. OK, I’m a terrible shopper period. I generally don’t enjoy wondering around stores looking for things I might want or things I might want to buy for others. It’s just not my idea of fun. I don’t like for salespeople to help me. I always say, “I’m just…
Cooking Changes Lives
I recently had the opportunity to have lunch at Cincinnati COOKS!, a kitchen in an old building on Ezzard Charles Drive across from a vacant lot. No, it’s not the scene you get at most restaurants in Cincinnati, but this building has a thousand times more soul and spirit than all of them put together.…
Holiday Road Trippin’
The cost of an airline ticket isn’t going down any time soon, and unless you’re into cozying up with strangers for a long train ride at about the same price, the best way to get out of Cincinnati for the remainder of 2008 is a vehicle of the four-wheel variety. In a down economy, saving…
Music: Electric Six
In an era when a lot of music has scaled back and become overly somber, Electric Six has revived the concept of “more is more.” Their high-energy guitar, shimmering banks of synthesizers and humor — featuring equal measures of tongue and cheek — have reinvented the Rock experience as a contemporary high-energy vaudeville act. The…
Santa Is Magic
I don’t know what they do during the rest of the year, but every November hordes of old men descend on American malls dressed like Santa Claus. I don’t know if they’re retired or bored — maybe there’s a lot of money wrapped up in this whole Saint Nick racket — but something drives these…
Let’s Make a Deal for Theater Tickets
I’m not much for holiday shopping, but with the wheezing economy dimming our holiday spirits, I have some suggestions for gifts that will keep you — or those you love — theatrically entertained in the New Year without breaking the bank. A great option offered by many mid-sized theaters is a “flex pass.” A set…
Stages of Cheer
Despite the hard times upon us, you can still enjoy the holidays at a local theater. In fact, Charles Dickens — whose Christmas Eve tale of Ebenezer Scrooge helps many theaters in America balance their budgets — has become kind of a patron saint for the holidays. His Victorian England resonates with 2008’s world of…
N.J. Court Decision Threatens Media’s Ability to Cover Lawsuits
This New Jersey appellate decision is dumb or scary. Or both. It allowed a libel suit against The Bergen Record to go ahead even though the defamatory statements were accurately and fairly taken from a bankruptcy court complaint. This ruling contradicts the long-standing protection courts have given to information taken from documents filed with a…
Six Education
In an era when a lot of music has scaled back and become overly somber, Electric Six has revived the concept of “more is more.” Their high-energy guitar, shimmering banks of synthesizers and humor — featuring equal measures of tongue and cheek — have reinvented the Rock experience as a contemporary high-energy vaudeville act. The…
Decision Time at City Hall
Just like a binging consumer who continues using credit cards to buy new items while making only minimum payments on the bills, Cincinnati officials now face the harsh reality of a financial problem they’ve tried to ignore for the past decade. City Council is busy trying to figure out methods for boosting the troubled pension…
Howe, Squire and White of Yes
The truth can finally be told: I nodded off at a 1975 Yes concert in Detroit. In my defense, I had unloaded and loaded four truckloads of furniture that afternoon. And Yes was touring Tales of Soporific Cheese-Whiz or whatever they called that year’s song-per-side double album monument to drying paint. Plus I had ingested…
Bacher Was The Original
Bacher Was the Original In her review of Ryan McGinness’ art exhibition Aesthetic Comfort (“Dark and Dizzy,” issue of Nov. 12), Laura James states that the artist has created something “entirely original.” I’ve been a great fan of McGinness’ work since I first saw it at the Contemporary Arts Center’s Beautiful Losers show, and I…
Lives on the Edge
With rising costs for food and housing combined with a credit crunch and job layoffs for some, an old tune by singer Dolly Parton is ringing truer than ever: “Lord, it looks like a hard candy Christmas.” As some of us grumble about not being able to afford gifts for our families and friends this…
CEA Fun, and Turkeys Time
On Nov. 23, CityBeat brought the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards to the Emery Theatre for what turned out to be the best show in the awards’ 12-year history. Bootsy Collins and a large band of James Brown cohorts tore the roof off right away with an opening tribute to the Godfather of Soul, part of a…
Music: Dead Confederate
Dead Confederate’s recently released full-length debut, Wrecking Ball, is a searing amalgamation of various Rock branches — Southern, Stoner, Space, Psychedelic — with howling splashes of Grunge thrown onto the canvas for good measure. Frontman Hardy Morris has been appropriately compared to Kurt Cobain as a vocalist, but his passionately raspy presentation draws just as…
Holiday Nourishment
You know the scene: A jangled Parker family makes their way to a Chinese restaurant on Christmas Day, still mourning their turkey’s fate as a plaything for 785 “Notafinga!” bloodhounds. The Old Man, trying to be jolly — perhaps for the first time in his life — orders the Peking Duck and watches as a…
A Very Cut-Out Christmas
I’m a sucker for good holiday music. And by “good” I mean “weird.” The thing is, the closer the holidays get, the smaller my bank account — and, given the economic crisis, yours too — seems to be. I’ll be making Christmas dinner out of items found at the closest gas station — Spam shaped…
Australia (Review)
The movies sorely miss David Lean. Whenever someone with a lot of money to revive the kind of sprawling romantic and/or war epics that Lean excelled in — Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, Bridge on the River Kwai — actually tries it, we see how hard it is to get right. Baz Luhrmann’s well-over-two-hour Australia…
Cost-Cutting Measures
The average Hollywood movie now costs more than $100 million to make and market. Some would characterize that as an abomination given our current economic climate, but Hollywood has never been known for its frugality. Made near the end of The Great Depression in 1938 and 1939, uber-producer David O. Selznick’s Gone With the Wind…
Another Seven Days of Free Terrorists and New GNR
WEDNESDAY NOV. 19We at WWE! don’t always try our best. But our journalistic indifference results in harmless poop jokes and curse words, unlike Cincinnati Enquirer reporters, whose bad sense of humor often results in the public embarrassment of poor people. Today’s edition of The Enquirer’s court coverage (which can be found under the “Busted!” tab…
Dead Confederate with Manchester Orchestra
Before 2006, Georgia quintet Dead Confederate was an occasional good-time aggregation that assembled when college schedules could be coordinated. That all changed two years ago when the band convened to enter the annual Open Mic Madness competition at Smith’s Olde Bar in Atlanta, winning studio time with their first place finish. The resulting five-song EP…
Uncle Danny Cancels Christmas
When I was a kid, my dad had this friend who was somewhat unpredictable. Known for playing a bugle in the stands at Bengals games and driving his car through the automatically opening doors at Home Depot, “Uncle Willie” was a fun guy to have in charge of you, especially if you were a kid…
Holiday Wishes for Cincinnati
Thank God for the holidays. If it weren’t for He/She/It and a soon-to-be former Senator from Illinois, the world would be very short on hope and promise as we collectively embark on another new year. Thanks to a stellar 2008 — so far, anyway — there is a lot to be thankful for, though, alas,…
Freekbass (CD Release Party) With Eclipse
As any musician who has walked out of a club at the end of the night trying to figure out how to split $5 six ways can tell you, making a living playing original music isn’t easy. Chris Sherman (a.k.a. Freekbass) and his band (a.k.a. Freekbass) have accomplished the rare feat of not only making…
Music: Freekbass
Chris Sherman (a.k.a. Freekbass) and his band (a.k.a. Freekbass) have accomplished the rare feat of not only making it with original music but making it without the help of a record company. Sherman has built an impressive career with Freekbass, touring the region constantly. He’s done so by crafting a “show” — not just a…
Football Playoffs Not Happening in Big-Time College Football
The shadow world of college football features the playoff system that everyone wants. You know, that playoff system that’s supposed to remove all the questions and controversies from deciding the national championship in college football. At the bowl level right now, it’s pretty well understood that the four leading teams are Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma and…
Lunch With Andrea
I couldn’t believe Andrea was putting more salt on her French fries. We were having lunch together at the Frisch’s on Glenway Avenue. She got the Big Boy platter but paid more money and substituted onion rings for the cole slaw. I had the salad bar that features, of course, iceberg lettuce. “I guess you’re…
Music: Yes
The truth can finally be told: I nodded off at a 1975 Yes concert in Detroit. In my defense, I had unloaded and loaded four truckloads of furniture that afternoon. And Yes was touring Tales of Soporific Cheese-Whiz or whatever they called that year’s song-per-side double album monument to drying paint. Plus I had ingested…
CEA Controversy No. 2: “Mr. Cranley, Tear Down That Building!”
There appears to have been a second small controversy over remarks delivered at the podium at Sunday night's Cincinnati Entertainment Awards. At least this time it didn't involve anyone's penis. Before Mr. Rhythm Man, who spins stacks o' shellacks every Saturday night on WNKU (89.7 FM), presented the award for R&B/Funk, he offered his thoughts…
