Greg Warren
What’s Greg Warren talking about on stage these days? “I don’t know,” he says sitting in a coffee shop somewhere in his hometown of St. Louis, Mo. “And when I say that I’m not answering your question with, ‘I don’t know,’ literally I’m starting every show with, ‘I don’t know,’ because I don’t know. As…
Carriers at Park National Bank Gallery
Carriers at the Park National Bank Gallery in Batavia is an astute comment on the flux of daily life. In a series of polished 48-by-40-inch collages, artist Jonathan Gibson positions figurative references beneath a torrent of corporate detritus. Vestiges of logos, slogans and brand names are cut, pasted and intermingled with glimpses of arms and legs;…
Music, Movies and the Not So Mundane
Harold Camping, oracle/crazy person, admits he was wrong when he said the world was to end on May 21, 2011 (obviously). But it’s just that his calculations were off. The world is going to end Oct. 21, according to Camping who is still recovering from a stroke he suffered in June. "There will be no…
Cincinnati World Cinema Visits Britain
Just a heads up that Cincinnati World Cinema tonight continues its screenings of The British Arrow Awards, a collection of British television commercials (or, as they're called across the pond, adverts) that put their American counterparts to shame. In fact, as I wrote the other day, there is often more creative energy in one of…
Squeeze the Day for 10/18
Music Tonight: We usually (always) give suggestions for live music to check out in this space, but today, we're telling you to go to the movies. But there's still quite a "live music" component. For one night only, the never-before-seen concert flick Rolling Stones: Some Girls Live in Texas is being screened at movie theaters…
Morning News and Stuff
Uh oh, the owners of buildings adjacent to Piatt Park are angry and they're not going to take it anymore. They reportedly met with city officials yesterday led by Arn Bortz, former mayor and Towne Properties partner/Councilman Chris Bortz's super-rich uncle, to ask that they be removed. Bortz also accused protesters of defecating in the…
Leo Rubinfien at the AAC
Photographer Leo Rubinfien's Wounded Cities series — based on his having witnessed the 9/11 World Trade Center terrorist attack from a nearby apartment — looks at how people around the world have been psychologically affected by terrorist attacks. He has traveled the world — London, Nairobi, Moscow, Buenos Aires, Istanbul and Colombo — on the project.…
Leo Rubinfien at the CAM
At 7 p.m. tonight at the Cincinnati Art Museum’s Fath Auditorium, there will be a free Lightborne lecture by photographer Leo Rubinfien, whose Wounded Cities series — based on his having witnessed the 9/11 World Trade Center terrorist attack from a nearby apartment — looks at how people around the world have been psychologically affected…
Smashburger Opens Wednesday in Highland Heights
The first Northern Kentucky location of Smashburger opens this Wednesday, October 19, at 2515 Wilson Avenue in Highland Heights. The burgers are “smashed-to-order,” which I assume means “flattened by a spatula on the grill” and is unrelated to bovine collisions of any other sort. Smashburger develops a sandwich that “highlights the distinctive flavors” of the…
‘The Walking Dead’ Returns With a Vengeance
Nightmare Season is upon us as AMC's chilling zombie show The Walking Dead returns. A record-setting 7.3 million viewers tuned in last night to see Rick, Lori, Shane and the gang continue their apocalyptic journey.—- Season 2 Trailer (obviously don't watch if you haven't seen the first season but plan to): Last year's debut season…
Cracking the FOP’s Secrets
As has become the norm during the last few election cycles, Cincinnati's police union is reluctant to publicly reveal its full slate of endorsements, for some strange reason. No matter: CityBeat managed to get this year's information. Working through multiple sources at different campaigns, we've compiled what we believe to be an all-inclusive list of…
Music, Movies and the Not So Mundane
Two brothers are facing charges of criminal mischief, theft, receiving stolen property and conspiracy after allegedly stealing a western Pennsylvania bridge and selling the 15.5 tons of scrap metal. Benjamin Arthur Jones and Alexander Williams Jones of New Castle are accused of using a blowtorch to dismantle the bridge and scoring around $5,000 for the…
Drive-By Truckers
The amazing success of the Drive-By Truckers over the past decade has been as improbable as it has been well deserved. The Truckers began life as Adam’s House Cat (which made the Top 10 in MusicianMagazine’s Best Unsigned Band contest in the late ’80s). After assuming different forms and then taking a break, guitarist Patterson…
Misfits
If you’re walking around Newport on Thursday and run into adults with horror-flick make-up or awesomely spiked hair, don’t fret — you haven’t missed out on an early Halloween party. Misfits are playing at Southgate House and the band’s fans like to turn out in style. After 30 years and multiple lineup changes since their…
Melt Banana
Since the early ’90s, Tokyo’s Melt-Banana has been the squalling gold standard when it comes to the blistering belligerence of Noise Rock. Vocalist Yasuko Onuki (Yako in the short form) assembled her first band, Mizu, while studying at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies in 1991. The band morphed into Melt-Banana the following year. Since…
Art Brut, Joseph Arthur, David Bazan, Eddie Vedder and more
Art Brut channels the visceral elements of New Wave/Punk from a time when bands churned out clockwork, jerky Pop rhythms while frenetic frontmen delivered the goods in a half-shouted/half-spat/fully-sneered fashion. Over the past three albums, Art Brut has perfectly emulated the style with a contemporary edge, like Billy Bragg fronting XTC in a Punk tribute…
Assembling a Movement
As of this writing, it is now nearly a month since Occupy Wall Street first occupied Liberty Square in the Financial District in New York City. What began with a handful of people has grown into a worldwide movement with at least 1,000 occupations popping up all across this country and around the globe. Just…
Squeeze the Day for 10/17
Music Tonight: Walter Schreifels has been a pivotal part of one of the greatest straight-edge Hardcore bands of all time (Gorilla Biscuits) and one of the finest (if underrated) Post Hardcore bands ever, Quicksand. His winning streak continued when Schreifels formed Rival Schools in 1999. The band — featuring members of Youth of Today (a…
Morning News and Stuff
Here's how The Enquirer describes an Ohio Supreme Court decision allowing Democrats to challenge a ridiculous Republican attempt to unfairly redraw Congressional districts: “Court ruling throws 2012 elections into chaos.” Here's the same report by WLWT, minus the drama: “Ohio Supreme Court Allows Redistricting Challenge.”—- Metropolitan Sewer District to Rumpke garbage dump mountain operators: Pls…
Senna
Even if you couldn't give a damn about fast cars chasing their tails around a track, this British-made documentary about F1 racing legend Ayrton Senna is still undeniably gripping stuff. Senna skips the history and the mechanics of F1 racing, instead confining itself to a portrait of perhaps the sport's greatest practitioner: the Brazilian racer…
The Big Year
Director David Frankel takes a story of single-minded pursuit and squeezes it into a convenient package — albeit one that doesn't feel as though it has all that much to do with the subject at hand. Inspired by Mark Obmascik's fascinating nonfiction book, The Big Year follows three avid birders trying to identify the most individual…
Friday Movie Roundup: Less Than Meets the Eye
The arrival of October typically means we get a more thoughtful round of offerings from the Hollywood Industrial Complex. Yet even a cursory glance at this week's batch of high-profile releases reveals options more in line with the stuff we get during the summer months: a lame-looking comedy (The Big Year) filled with actors who…
Music, Movies and the Not So Mundane
After launching its own cloud music service, Google plans to open up an online music store of its own, one that The New York Times Media Decoder calls an "MP3 store that would compete with Apple and Amazon." Rumor has it that Google is in negotiations with major music labels to make the service possible,…
Wussy’s New LP Strawberry Available NOW!
Nationally-acclaimed Cincinnati foursome Wussy are set to release its fourth full-length album through Shake It Records, Strawberry, with a release show at Northside Tavern on Oct. 29. But if you pre-order the album now, you'll receive an instant download of the full release. Click here to download or just give a listen. There's also a…
I Love a Piano (Review)
Irving Berlin lived for more than a century (1888-1989) and his popular songs have outlasted even that incredible lifetime — including “God Bless America,” “White Christmas,” “Easter Parade” and “There’s No Business Like Show Business” — so the current Covedale Center revue I Love a Piano (a title from another of his well known tunes) has…
Squeeze the Day(s) for 10/14-16
Music Tonight: This weekend is loaded with quality musical events. You can start things off tonight at the Southgate House as local singer/songwriter Jason Ludwig hosts a "two-fer" release(s) party, joined by special guests The Newbees and Sassy Molasses. From the previews on his Bandcamp site (listen — then purchase the records for just $5…
Morning News and Stuff
Cincinnati police didn't give out any citations in Piatt Park last night, saving the people in the Justice Center a lot of paperwork and wasted time. Some occupiers and local homeless activists have planned a march on Saturday to highlight causes of homelessness. New York officials delayed a monthly park cleaning that would have meant…
Buffalo Killers Gear Up for Fall Tour
Local Psych Pop/Rock trio Buffalo Killers are set to hit the road this fall for a tour with another crtitically-beloved trio — bluesy rockers North Mississippi Allstars. The BKs will be traveling from Colorado to Minneapolis (plus several dates in between) before returning to Cincinnati on Nov. 19 for a free show at MOTR Pub…
It’s true. I can make a mistake.
Mea culpa. In a recent post, I suggested I was disheartened by the lack of attendance at the “Meet the Artistic Directors” event at Joseph-Beth Booksellers on Oct. 2 — six artistic directors, moderated by the Enquirer’s Jackie Demaline, with three people in the audience, each with some connection to the speakers. Pretty sad. I…
Music, Movies and the Not So Mundane
After only three aired episodes of its second season, HBO has renewed Boardwalk Empire for a third. Terrence Winter's Prohibition-era drama drew 2.9 million viewers in season one and is averaging 3.2 million in its second. "Following a triumphant first season, I was eager to see what Terry Winter, Martin Scorsese and the rest of…
Q&A with Five Finger Death Punch
Five Finger Death Punch has one of the biggest and most exciting shows you'll find in Metal music right now. The band just released its third studio album, American Capitalist, which features the popular single “Under and Over It” and the song “Back For More,” featured in the latest game in the Madden franchise. FFDP…
Ghost-Writer (Review)
According to novelist Franklin Woolsey (Dennis Parlato), the hyphen in “gentleman-farmer” suggests a dual nature. That points to the hyphenated title of Michael Hollinger’s new play, Ghost-Writer, onstage at Ensemble Theatre, and suggests that the tale is divided between a ghost and a writer. Woolsey, the deliberate, remote writer, is more catalyst than character in…
Squeeze the Day for 10/13
Music Tonight: The greatest Metal band to ever come out of Athens, Ohio, Skeletonwitch, performs at the Southgate House in Newport in support of its latest internationally-released album, Forever Abomination (well, Japan doesn't get it until next week), on Death/Doom/Hardcore Metal label Prosthetic Records, home to releases by All That Remains, The Acacia Strain and…
Q&A with Chevelle
Chevelle has been rocking faces off crowds for over 10 years. The three piece is set to release its sixth studio album in December, Hats off to the Bull. Their most recent release, Sci-Fi Crimes, was a Top 10 album on the Billboard charts, fueled in part by the band's hit “Sleep Apnea.” CityBeat spoke…
Morning News and Stuff
A misleading advertisement by pro-SB 5 group Building a Better Ohio has been pulled from nearly 30 TV stations, including two in Cincinnati. Here's the original report about Building a Better Ohio splicing the an ad created by We Are Ohio. The Columbus Dispatch's “Ad Watch” had already designated the Building a Better Ohio version…
Time to Vote! CEA 2011 Ballot Online Now
The nominees for the 15th annual Cincinnati Entertainment Awards music program have been announced and you can vote for your favorites right now. Just click here, make your selection and then make plans to join us on Nov. 20 at the Madison Theater in Covington, where the CEAs will be doled out during what is…
Council Forum to Include Public Input
Local residents have a unique opportunity to participate in a candidate forum featuring people running for Cincinnati City Council that will occur this Saturday. As it has done for the past few election cycles, The Greenwich nightclub in Walnut Hills will host the forum, which currently is scheduled to include all 23 candidates vying for…
Music, Movies and the Not So Mundane
Jamie Waylett, the tubby bloke who played Draco Malfoy's sidekick Vincent Crabbe in six of the Harry Potter films is now facing charges stemming from his involvement in this summer's London riots. Police say they found a bomb and 15 marijuana plants in his room. The 22-year-old served 120 hours of community service after being…
Musings on politicians and their religious beliefs
To paraphrase Joseph Welch, “Have we no sense of decency?” Nope. Not when candidates’ answers or evasions suggest how they might act in office. At our best, reporters are intrusive so that Americans have the information we need to debate and decide public policies. Reporters should have no reticence when candidates display their families as…
Izzy’s on ‘Man vs. Food’ Tonight
It's Man vs. Reuben tonight as local eater Adam Turer of Anderson Township takes on a 5 1/2-pound Reuben sandwich from Izzy's. Do ya think he had a potato pancake with that? Seriously, I could have caught on fire without anyone noticing in the dry cleaner's this morning when someone connected with this episode arrived…
Squeeze the Day for 10/12
Music Tonight: Ohio-bred Roots Rock champion Tim Easton has been absorbing the soul stirring spirit of Joshua Tree, Calif., lately, but he returns to the Buckeye State tonight for a free, 10 p.m. show at MOTR Pub. Local singer/songwriter Jason Ludwig, who has two fantastic albums coming out this weekend, opens. Read Brian Baker's preview…
The USS Nightmare
Now entering its 20th season, the Nightmare is celebrating by opening up new areas of the 288-foot-long former river dredge William S. Mitchell. This season a crushed section of the first deck was reclaimed and features the Machinist and his biomechanical crew, punching up the event’s “ending scare.” Also new is the Laundry Room, featuring…
St. Rita’s Haunted House
At 36 years and counting, St. Rita’s is the nation’s oldest haunt east of the Mississippi River. This season is one of its best, with virtually every area being changed or revamped. A large cast insures that each room is filled with multiple characters, each with professional-level costuming and makeup. The dripping cavern in the…
Mount Healthy Haunted Hall
Where else can you find a character named Bug Boy playing bingo in the Tired Bones Retirement Castle? Well, at least he was until that chandelier tried to squash him. That’s one of the quirky rooms that you’ll see at the Haunted Hall. There’s a whacked-out nursery with a deadly baby and an Ice Scream…
Mayhem Mansion and Haverford Hollow Trail
Mayhem Mansion is alleged to be the site of a mass murder perpetrated by 1920s bootlegger Robert Haverford. One second-story window has come unboarded, and it’s through there you’ll enter. The Mansion is dark, deceptively large and outfitted with nothing but period props and furnishings such as a decades-old embalming machine and mortuary table. Clear…
Kings Island Halloween Haunt
It’s really, really big. As in the biggest haunt you’ll visit this season or, likely, any other. There are eight indoor mazes, four outdoor mazes, two live shows and a ton of twisted October ambiance to soak up. There’s something particularly creepy about an amusement park at night. Generous volumes of fog and a horde…
Dungeons of Delhi
The Dungeons are darker and larger this season, twice as long as five years ago. It’s the “Year of Fear,” and Demonic Derek has a body bag fitted just for you. There’s an excellent amount of grisly detail and some very unique rooms, like one featuring nurse zombies and “Pyramid Head” from Silent Hill. Room…
The Dent Schoolhouse
Ranked No. 11 nationally by Hauntworld Magazine, the Dent Schoolhouse features more than 75 animatronics and a selection of the area’s most recognizable haunt characters. Homicidal janitor “Uncle” Charlie McFree, Bludzo, Jasper & Jinx, Damien Reaper, Calliope and Fatso are a few of the twisted souls encountered. Actors are given a lot of freedom creating…
The Chambers of Horror
Always among the Tristate’s most extreme attractions, the Chambers has made substantial improvements to both its lighting and rooms. The new LED lighting makes for a more subdued and less intrusive look while at the same time bringing out the details it’s meant to highlight. The Graveyard has been completely reworked with an impressive large…
Spooky Kids Events
S ometimes it seems like gluttony is the goal of Halloween. Mountains of candy glommed by little door-to-door ragamuffins are the proud trophies of the spooky night prowl. And this is consumed by sugar-crazed mouths within a day or two. Sick bellies and glazed eyes are the leftovers from the party. But it’s the memories…
Halloween Events
Bar Events Wonderland 3 Party: The third year running for this seasonal bash, celebrate Halloween Alice in Wonderland-style Oct. 29. More frightful festivities on Oct. 30 with a costume contest and bartenders in costume. More details to be announced. FB’s, 126 W. Sixth St., Downtown, 513-246-4333. Longworth’s Halloween Party: Come on out and see your…
Nominee Potpourri
T he nominations have been selected, and now it’s up to you to choose who should win trophies at this year’s Cincinnati Entertainment Awards (CEAs). Back for the 15th year, the CEAs are decided by public voting (save the Critical Achievement Awards, which are chosen by the nominating committee) and the awards will be given…
Oct. 5-11: Worst Week Ever!
WEDNESDAY OCT. 5 It’s obvious that the lawyers over at the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST) pick and choose their legal battles — they hate trains but never say anything about how much it costs to build highways (and the fact that only smaller roads go out to their beautiful, secluded neighborhoods…
Just Like Home
Brunch is mimosas, smoked salmon and omelets with goat cheese, right? It’s a snooty menu served at a civilized hour that accommodates hangover schedules, right? A state of mind? Right? Right? Wrong. It struck me like a lightning bolt when Kent Hugentobler, owner of Doris and Sonny’s Homelike Restaurant, (6856 State Route 128, Miamitown, 513-353-9828)…
Morning News and Stuff
Covington City Commissioner Steve Frank is getting a little bit of local coverage after posting the following to his Facebook account on Sunday: “Turn out the lights on the Occupiers, I feel like going Taliban on them!!!” Frank yesterday explained in a grammatically challenged response the wildly circular logic behind his statement: “The taliban, through…
Why I Marched
I was one of those people who marched Oct. 8 as part of the Occupy Wall Street protests taking place across the nation. We were blessed with a sunny autumn day, and I don’t think I’ve ever been on a march where the esprit de corps was better. Overall, we looked like a pretty mainstream…
