The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Greater Cincinnati Meat Ball
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Greater Cincinnati Chapter is holding its inaugural Meat Ball. On Saturday, Nov. 2, join the foundation for a five-course chef's gala featuring, what else, a ton of meat. Meat from Cincinnati meat companies like Fresh Sausage Specialists, Rose Packing Company, Birchwood Foods and more will be prepared by Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati…
Onstage: Flashdance The Musical
What a feeling! That’s what Broadway in Cincinnati expects local audiences to recall from the hit movie that danced its aerobic way into the hearts of moviegoers 30 years ago. Dance is indeed at the show’s core, epitomized by a young woman who works as a welder in a Pittsburgh, Pa., steel mill by day…
Music: The Winery Dogs
The Winery Dogs released their first album in July, but if you are a serious fan of Progressive Metal and Hard Rock, you were likely already familiar with the virtuosic instrumental prowess of the trio’s members — drummer Mike Portnoy (co-founder of modern Prog legends Dream Theater), singer/guitarist Richie Kotzen (Poison, Mr. Big) and masterful…
Onstage: Miwa Matreyek’s This World Made Itself
After two shows devoted to different styles of cutting-edge music (No Age and Olafur Arnalds), the Contemporary Arts Center’s vanguard Performance Series switches to a multimedia/live performance piece Sunday when Los Angeles artist Miwa Matreyek brings her This World Made Itself to CAC’s Black Box theater. This entrancing piece merges film/video and theater to inject…
Event: Seasonably Chic Showcase
Grab your fellow shopaholics and spend your Saturday shopping with some of the best local boutiques and vendors, all under one roof. Bring a canned good for the FreeStore FoodBank and gain a free all-access pass to a day of mini-massages, spa treatments, fashion shows and — of course — all the latest trends. Scoop…
Event: Velocity Bike & Bean Home Sale and Swap
Bring your old, unwanted household items to Velocity Bike & Bean for a chance to swap or sell these items to other homeowners. If you have designed home décor items, you can also bring these to the event to sell. This is the perfect opportunity for money-tight but savvy individuals to flaunt their style in an…
Event: City Apple Festival
Be sure to head over to Washington Park with a healthy appetite for the first-ever Apple Festival. Local farmers from around the Tristate area will sell their homegrown apples and fresh produce. But apples won’t be the only thing on the menu: Queen City favorites like Eli’s BBQ, Taste of Belgium and even more will…
Art: Billy Tackett at POPP=D ART Gallery
Even after Halloween, the undead come out at night. They’re just insatiable that way — and so are their fans. Find both at POPP=D ART Gallery during Artbeat on Short Vine, the first Friday gallery/business hop. Billy Tackett, trademarked zombification specialist, will host the opening of a solo exhibit. The Florence, Ky., artist is known…
Art: Piece Makers Exhibition Opening at 71 Gallery
Arynn Blazer and Joel Blazer are a quintessential example of Cincinnatians’ pragmatic approaches to being working artists. The couple work their 9 to 5 jobs, raise their family and create/sell their art in their very spare “spare time”— showing at galleries whenever possible, but also selling their work regularly in coffee shops, boutiques and other…
Halloween: Ride the Ducks Haunted Duck Tours
Over land and across water, come take a scare-riddled ride down the Ohio River. The amphibious Ride the Ducks continues on in the holiday spirit, offering a bounty of ghost stories and a tour of some of the most famous haunts in the area. Among the haunted stops on the tour will be spooky sites…
Comedy: Troy Baxley
“I’ve always let my mood drive the material,” comedian Troy Baxley says. “I feel it’s at least believable that way.” Cincinnati audiences may be familiar with Baxley and his impish style, though lately he’s become a bit more forceful on stage. In addition to stand-up, Baxley also does voice work, is a published cartoonist and writes…
Halloween: Costume Contest on Fountain Square
Before the witching hour is upon you, when trick-or-treaters are at your door or that first spooky drink is in your hand, why not spend your Halloween afternoon on Fountain Square? 3CDC is bringing back its annual costume contest. Dress in your scariest suits, your funniest fashion or your most creative costume and come join…
Halloween: USS Nightmare
For 22 years, this ghoulish steamboat has emerged from the fog of the Ohio River for the Halloween season — and this year is no different. Named as one of the Top 13 scariest locations for haunted houses by Haunt World Magazine, this ghastly attraction features 40 hair-raising areas of fright, 20,000-square-feet of gore and…
Halloween: Assorted Halloween Bar Events
Several bars around town are hosting themed Halloween party nights. Here are a couple of ’em. The Next to Nothing Costume Party is hosted by Miss Hooters International 2013, with music by DJ Masha from Russia and a sexy costume contest. Free. 9 p.m.-2:30 a.m. Oct. 30. PLAY, 35 E. Seventh St., Downtown, playcincy.com. Fear…
Music: Night of the Living Dead: Resurrecting Hip Hop
On Halloween night, excellent Cincinnati Hip Hop MC Buggs Tha Rocka will be joined by modern Hip Hop legend Talib Kweli as they head up a strong lineup of local acts at Over-the-Rhine’s Rhinegeist Brewery. The “Night of the Living Dead: Resurrecting Hip Hop” show comes on the heels of Buggs and Kweli’s performance together…
Music: Freedy Johnston
There are few better examples of the injustice of the term “one-hit wonder” than Freedy Johnston. Although he fits the description with his lone hit single, 1994’s “Bad Reputation,” his output before and after his one ubiquitous smash has been every bit as deserving of commercial acceptance as his signature song and This Perfect World,…
Music: Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion
In the human lexicon there is the old adage that says, “Talent skips a generation.” In the music business, however, that cliché has been proven wrong many times. In the case of Sarah Lee Guthrie, who returns to MOTR Pub to perform with her musical partner in crime Johnny Irion, there are multiple generations of…
Music: Matt Wertz
Matt Wertz’s music can be described in two words: Mom Rock. He falls in line with guys like Matt Nathanson and Gavin Degraw (both former tour mates). It’s the kind of Lite FM sound that only works on people in love or people who are waiting for their rom-com moment (e.g. girls working on their MRS).…
Music: Distant Correspondent
How can a fifth album be a debut? With David Obuchowski’s compartmentalization skills, almost anything is possible. Three years ago, Obuchowski relocated from New York to Colorado and struck up a friendship with Michael Lengel, which turned into an email collaboration — Obuchowski would send Lengel random guitar parts and Lengel would add bass and…
NuVo at Greenup (Profile)
Chef Mark Bodenstein left the original NuVo in Newport, Ky., back in 2009 — right before the restaurant closed — but it never really left him. Although he went on to work in other local restaurants for a while, including Chalk Food + Wine and Nicholson’s Pub and Tavern, NuVo was always in the back…
Chef Steven Geddes to Leave Local 127
Effective Nov. 5, Chef Steven Geddes will step down as executive chef of Local 127, the local New American restaurant he has spearheaded since 2009. Geddes' successor will be chef Kyle Johnson, who has a wide-breadth of experience ranging from a Michelin-starred kitchen to extensive travel. Johnson began his career at Alize in Las Vegas…
Morning News and Stuff
Many jobs the state government claims it’s creating don’t actually exist, according to The Toledo Blade . The Ohio Development Services Agency claims it improved its process for tracking the effects of taxpayer-financed loans, grants and subsidies, but The Blade found errors led to more than 11,000 claimed jobs that likely don’t exist. Part of…
Literary: Tom Clavin
As conversation heats up over how appropriate the use of Redskins is as a football team's moniker, Bob Drury and Tom Clavin give us The Heart of Everything That Is: The Untold Story of Red Cloud, An American Legend. The extensively researched book tells the largely unknown story of the Oglala Sioux warrior chief, who…
Lawsuit Filed to Scrub Blogger Off Voter Rolls
A lawsuit filed on Oct. 23 asks the Hamilton County Court of Appeals to compel the Hamilton County Board of Elections to scrub UrbanCincy.com owner Randy Simes off the local voter rolls. The lawsuit was filed less than two weeks after the board of elections ruled that Simes is eligible to vote in Cincinnati. The…
Distant Correspondent
How can a fifth album be a debut? With David Obuchowski’s compartmentalization skills, almost anything is possible. While thrashing away in Goes Cube, his acclaimed Metal outfit, Obuchowski was also making music so far removed from his primary genre that he was forced to create an alternate musical identity to accommodate his moonlighting activities. Thus…
Matt Wertz
Wanna get into your wife’s pants or finally ask out that girl who friend-zoned you? We recommend taking her to the Matt Wertz concert Sunday. Wertz’s music can be described in two words: Mom Rock. He falls in line with guys like Matt Nathanson and Gavin Degraw (both former tour mates). It’s the kind of…
All Yesterday’s Memories, All Tomorrow’s Parties
I was a few months shy of 16 when I first heard the lucidly stark voice of Lou Reed stream over the airwaves. I was just another suburban weirdo, looking for a justified rebellion to call his own. I had spent those “formative years” sleeping around with any album loud enough to drown out my…
Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion
In the human lexicon there is the old adage that says, “Talent skips a generation.” In the music business, however, that cliché has been proven wrong many times. In the case of Sarah Lee Guthrie, who returns to MOTR Pub to perform with her musical partner in crime Johnny Irion, there are multiple generations of…
Freedy Johnston
There are few better examples of the injustice of the term “one-hit wonder” than Freedy Johnston. Although he fits the description with his lone hit single, 1994’s “Bad Reputation,” his output before and after his one ubiquitous smash has been every bit as deserving of commercial acceptance as his signature song and This Perfect World,…
Music Tonight: The Toasters at MOTR
New York City Ska legends The Toasters were the bridge from the late ’70s 2 Tone Records-fueled Ska revival in the U.K. to the one that brought Ska into the American mainstream in the ’90s. Easily one of the most influential Ska acts of all time, The Toasters were formed in 1981 by Robert “Bucket”…
Morning News and Stuff
A Republican-proposed bill in the Ohio legislature is drawing criticism from voting rights advocates because they say it would unnecessarily limit absentee voting. The bill would permit the secretary of state to send out absentee-ballot applications on even years, when gubernatorial and presidential elections are held, only if the legislature funds the mailings, and it…
Panel Recommends Limiting Facial Recognition Access
A panel of nine criminal justice officials on Friday recommended limiting access to Ohio’s facial recognition program and establishing protocols that would seek to make the program less prone to abuse. The panel’s recommendations follow a nearly two-month review of current procedures and public criticisms over the program’s secrecy and alleged lack of oversight. The…
Councilwoman Questions WCPO Source over Bigoted Posts
Councilwoman Yvette Simpson is questioning why WCPO used a man named Jim Kiefer as a source for a story after he harassed her on social media with racist insults. WCPO’s Kevin Osborne quoted Kiefer in a story, identifying him as a supporter for John Cranley’s mayoral campaign. (Full disclosure: Osborne formerly worked for CityBeat.) When…
National Drug Take-Back Day Set for Tomorrow
If your medicine cabinet could use a good fall cleaning, think about de-cluttering tomorrow during National Drug Take-Back day so you can properly dispose of the pills and make sure they don't get into the wrong hands. The local prescription take-back is sponsored by the Hamilton Country Sheriff Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Prescription…
Music Tonight: Escondido, Dopapod and More
• Nashville’s Escondido came together quickly but very naturally. The project of Jessica Maros and Tyler James (a solo artist who has also toured as pianist for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros) got its start in James’ home studio when he was recording an artist with whom both were friends. During a recording break,…
Your Weekend To Do List: 10/25-10/27
Brand consulting firm Landor Associates hosts coinciding events Friday at the iconic Shillito’s department store building downtown. Miketoberfest is a benefit for Mike Amann, owner of Covington design firm BLDG and linchpin in the Greater Cincinnati arts scene, who is battling stage 4 neuroendocrine cancer. The fundraiser features live music and DJs, grub from local…
Saturday Homelessness March to Protest Displacement
If you had to guess how many people are in Cincinnati are considered homeless, what would be your guess? Would it be anywhere near 7,000? That's the number of Cincinnatians cited in a 2012 report from Strategies to End Homelessness that are either staying in shelters or in places not meant for human habitation. The…
Morning News and Stuff
Issue 4, the ballot initiative that would semi-privatize Cincinnati’s pension system, obtained most of its financial support from out-of-town tea party groups , according to financial disclosure forms filed to the Hamilton County Board of Elections on Oct. 24. Of the more than $231,000 raised for Issue 4 by Cincinnati for Pension Reform, $229,500 came…
Stage Door: ‘Cabaret’ and Halloween Fare
The Cincinnati Playhouse's production of Cabaret is a must-see for anyone who is a fan of musicals. (CityBeat review here.) Kander and Ebb's Tony Award winner from the late '60s has been brought to the main stage with inventive verve by veteran Broadway choreographer and director Marsha Milgrom Dodge. Sure, it's set in 1929 Berlin, populated…
Cabaret (Review)
Critic's Pick Despite the jaunty title tune, John Kander and Fred Ebb’s 1966 musical Cabaret is not a happy tale of love or triumph. Cabaret is, in fact, a cautionary tale about mankind’s shortsightedness about evil, a preference to look the other way and avoid taking a stand for what’s right Broadway director and choreographer…
Few Local Contributions to Issue 4 Campaign
Issue 4, the ballot initiative that would semi-privatize Cincinnati’s pension system, obtained most of its financial support from out-of-town tea party groups, according to financial disclosure forms filed to the Hamilton County Board of Elections on Oct. 24. The report confirms concerns previously raised by city officials, unions and mayoral and City Council candidates: The…
Deadspin Hates Cincinnati Chili
Deadspin, generally a sports blog, recently posted "The Great American Menu: Foods of the States, Ranked and Mapped." The "greats" include dishes like Chicago-style deep-dish pizza; the "goods" dishes like Maine's lobster roll; the "better-than-a-finger-in-the-eye" dishes like Michigan pasty; and, ranked dead-last, with "being hit by a car" a preferable choice, is Cincinnati chili. As…
REVIEW: Carrie (Now in theaters)
It is impossible for fans of the classic horror film Carrie, such as myself, to not compare Kimberly Peirce’s new remake to its 1976 predecessor. Brian De Palma made the original Carrie into a timeless, blood-filled revenge fantasy with his fresh and inspired take on the best-selling Stephen King novel. It is an iconic movie…
Audit: Private Prison Retains Increased Levels of Violence
A re-inspection of the privatized Lake Erie Correctional Institution (LECI) found the prison is “heading in a positive direction,” but the facility is still on pace in 2013 to maintain increased levels of violence similar to the year before, according to the report. In 2011, LECI became the first state prison in the country to…
Study Finds Cincinnati Is Major Twitter Trendsetter in U.S.
Say what you want about our chili, but the Queen City is particularly savvy in the Twitter world, according to a new study from Indiana University. A social media study that sought to pinpoint geographic areas that most frequently are hubs for information flow found that ol' Cincinnati was among a couple of much larger,…
One More Girl on a Stage Festival Begins Tonight
After taking a year off, the One More Girl on a Stage music festival returns starting tonight, bigger and better than ever. Founded by local musician Kelly Thomas (Kelly Thomas and the Fabulous Pickups, The Tammy Whynots), One More Girl (OMG) is striving to raise $10,000 for the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast…
Boca’s Chef David Falk Loves Cincinnati
Cincinnatians, whether natives or transplants, love sharing their views on the city, especially in the form of an editorial letter. Last month, “Jenny” shared her feelings on the city’s apparent lack of inclusivity with The Enquirer. After two years of living on the East Side, she still hasn't made any friends. 🙁 On the flip…
Morning News and Stuff
CityBeat yesterday revealed its endorsements for the City Council and mayoral races. Check them out here . Also, early voting is now underway. Find your voting location here . Normal voting hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., although some days are extended. JobsOhio and similar privatized development agencies in other states create scandals and…
National Report Criticizes JobsOhio, Other Privatized Agencies
JobsOhio and other privatized development agencies have created scandals and potential conflicts of interests instead of jobs, claims an Oct. 23 report from Good Jobs First, a research center founded in 1998 that scrutinizes deals between businesses and governments. The report looked at privatized development agencies in seven states, including Ohio, and found that many…
Park + Vine Hosts Fifth Annual Vegan Thanksgiving
Park + Vine will be hosting its fifth annual vegan Thanksgiving on Thursday, Nov. 21. From 6-9 p.m., travel from Park + Vine to other Main Street businesses for inspiration from local restaurants, chefs and food producers for a Thanksgiving meal centered around festive plant-based foods plus appetizers, soup, salad, entrees, dessert and drinks. Proceeds…
Dewey’s Pizza Oakley to Reopen
Dewey's Pizza opened its first location in Oakely in 1998. Since then, the local pizza chain has opened a total of 17 locations across Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, Cleveland and St. Louis. On Sept. 30 of this year, Dewey's Oakley closed for renovations, which include a slight expansion as well as an updated interior. The restaurant…
Film: I Used to Be Darker
In October 2010, Cincinnati-based singer/songwriter Kim Taylor was promoting her extraordinary new album, Little Miracle, while balancing home life with her husband and son. Taylor was also making time for classes at the University of Cincinnati as she attempted to complete her science degree in geology, a path cut short by her pregnancy years earlier.…
Music: One More Girl on a Stage
After taking a year off, the One More Girl on a Stage music festival returns this week bigger and better than ever. Founded by local musician Kelly Thomas (Kelly Thomas and the Fabulous Pickups, The Tammy WhyNots), One More Girl (OMG) is striving to raise $10,000 for the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast…
Onstage: Swan Lake
It’s perhaps the most iconic dance segment in the world-famous 19th-century ballet Swan Lake. It begins in Act II, when enchanted swan maidens, costumed in pristine white tutus, enter a moonlit lakeside scene one by one in what’s often been called the greatest possible accomplishment for a corps de ballet. It’s a sight to behold.…
Onstage: Dracula
Cincinnati Landmark Productions recently announced plans to focus its productions on the West Side’s Covedale Center for the Performing Arts, adding a new, smaller venue in the Incline District and foregoing the riverfront Showboat Majestic. For those who haven’t ventured west for theater, reconsider swiftly. Dracula is a fun and well-timed gothic offering for theatergoers…
Music: Rusko
With his shorn sides/unkempt mop top haircut and defiantly Punk energy, Rusko has the period look of one of Ian Dury’s Blockheads circa New Boots and Panties. But his birth in 1985 places him in a different musical context entirely. Born Christopher Mercer in Leeds, England, Rusko’s musically curious family life led him inevitably to…
Music: Tech N9ne
Rolling Stone recently dubbed Tech N9ne “the hardest-working rapper,” and this calendar year is potent proof of that assertion. In August, Tech dropped the blazing Something Else, which debuted at No. 4 on Billboard’s Rap charts and gave the Kansas City, Mo., music mogul his highest charting album to date. Tech N9ne will cap 2013…
Music: Dopapod
Even a cursory spin through Dopapod’s third album, 2012’s Redivider, is a jaw-dropping exercise in suspending disbelief. When the album was recorded earlier that year, Dopapod had only been together since 2009, a relative blink of an eye considering the quartet’s technical sophistication and stylistic diversity. If Primus, Phish, Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Muse…
Music: Valerie June
If you think of Americana music as a delicious home-cooked stew of Blues, Soul, Country, Folk, Gospel, acoustic-guitar meditation and funky Rock reverie, then you’ll have an idea of what to expect from Valerie June. A native of Tennessee, she is steeped not just in the Blues, Gospel and Appalachian Country music of her home…
REVIEW: Terminal Union – ‘Making Arrangements’
One of the best albums to come out of the Greater Cincinnati music scene this year is the debut full-length from Terminal Union, which began as the duo of singer/songwriters David Faul and Ian Mathieu and is now rounded out by bassist Lynette Mathieu and drummer Mark Becknell. The members of Terminal Union are great…
Slinging Riffs, Rigging Streams and Dissing Biggie
HOT Slinging Riffs Hip Hop producers selling beats has long been a common practice, so why can’t Rock artists sell off their old riffs if they aren’t using them? Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich revealed to The National that his band has so many unused guitar riffs laying around, they’ve discussed selling them on “an eBay…
I Just Can’t Get Enough
Deadspin’s Albert Burneko recently determined a signature food that represents each of the 50 states (plus Washington, D.C.) and ranked each dish/state accordingly — from The Greats and Goods (deep-dish pizza, pulled pork sandwiches) to The Better-Than-A-Finger-In-The-Eyes (chicken-fried steak, hamburger casserole)…and worse. Ohio was ranked dead last with Cincinnati chili, which came in at No.…
Smartphones Piss Off Neko Case
So what the heck happened at the concert by the always dazzling Neko Case at the Taft Theatre last night? Case's biggest show ever in the Cincinnati area was musically solid, but didn't go as smoothly as planned thanks to flared tempers, the proliferation of smartphone cameras and some angry and/or obnoxious audience members. It's…
Homeless Sue County Over Courthouse Eviction Policy
Homeless advocates gathered in front of the Hamilton County Courthouse on Oct. 16 to speak out against the county sheriff’s attempts to evict homeless people sleeping at the courthouse and Hamilton County Justice Center and threaten jail time. The press conference came on the same day that four local homeless people filed a lawsuit in…
Requiem Project Wants UC to Give up Emery Building
The Requiem Project on Oct. 15 amended its lawsuit against the University of Cincinnati and lessees of the property housing the Emery Theatre in Over-the-Rhine, arguing that UC and the organizations operating the building have systematically failed their charitable purpose by allowing the theater to fall into disrepair after non-use for so many years. “The…
Audit Slams Former Sheriff
A scathing audit of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) suggests former Sheriff Simon Leis crippled technological developments, stacked leadership positions with political cronies and still kept his staff fiercely loyal during his 25-year reign over the sheriff’s office. According to the Oct. 15 audit, the result was an agency “largely frozen in time” that…
CityBeat: Wendell Young for City Council
There’s a reason Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls picked Wendell Young as her top choice for vice mayor. Young previously served four years in the U.S. Air Force and 25 years in the Cincinnati Police Department — he clearly gets Cincinnati and holds public service to its highest regard. Young is part of a new partnership…
CityBeat: P.G. Sittenfeld for City Council
It’s true that P.G. Sittenfeld doesn’t support the current incarnation of the streetcar project, but he has stopped short of using promises of stopping the project as a campaign talking point, instead suggesting that he will consider such decisions when they’re in front of him — with all the information present. This is a reasonable…
CityBeat: Yvette Simpson for City Council
Yvette Simpson has been one of the strongest supporters of the city’s progressive policies, including the streetcar project. She’s also not afraid to call out other council members when she feels they’re being dishonest or misleading the public on any given issue. But perhaps Simpson’s best work has been her vigorous pursuit to provide better…
CityBeat: Chris Seelbach for City Council
Chris Seelbach is probably CityBeat’s most confident choice for City Council. In the past two years, Seelbach almost seemed to model himself as the ideal council member: He’s easily accessible, he’s active on social media, he supports the city’s progressive policies and he even makes personal sacrifices to do what he thinks is right for…
CityBeat: Laure Quinlivan for City Council
Laure Quinlivan has bizarrely taken to advertising herself as the only elected mom on council, but she’s so much more than that. She has proven to be a strong, nonpartisan voice on a council that at times gets mired in the pettiest of politics. While most politicians would be terrified at the notion of being…
Ruth’s Parkside Café Opens in Northside
If the names Mary Kroner and David Tape sound familiar to you, it’s for a very good reason. Both have been on the Cincinnati food scene for decades. Kroner and Tape first met back in the late 1970s while working for the famous Jim Tarbell at Arnold’s Bar and Grill. After long and extraordinarily adventurous…
CityBeat: Mike Moroski for City Council
Mike Moroski is the biggest surprise of the City Council campaigns. The Independent candidate has proven that he isn’t just any other newbie in the political arena; his campaign has a serious, viable platform and a social media campaign that is refreshingly transparent. If Moroski runs his council office like he runs his friendly, outgoing…
The Glendalia Culinary Studio (Profile)
Robin Thomas is copying the cooking classes she took in Italy at her culinary studio in Glendale, bringing in trained chefs to instruct home cooks in Cincinnati. Enchanted by everything she learned and saw abroad, Thomas came home inspired to recreate the experience. And she did so at the Glendalia Boutique Hotel and Culinary Studio,…
Morning News and Stuff
Republican legislators filed a lawsuit against Ohio’s two-year, federally funded Medicaid expansion after Republican Gov. John Kasich went through the Controlling Board, an obscure seven-member legislative panel, instead of the Republican-controlled Ohio House and Senate to get approval for the expansion. The lawsuit, filed to the Ohio Supreme Court, claims, “Each representative is disenfranchised in…
CityBeat: Greg Landsman for City Council
Greg Landsman is one of the most experienced City Council challengers. Under former Gov. Ted Strickland, Landsman worked as director of the Governor’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and as chair of the Ohio Anti-Poverty Task Force. That experience helps explain why Landsman holds a clear, proven perspective of what’s required to move Cincinnati…
CityBeat: Michelle Dillingham for City Council
Every once in a while, a candidate comes around and shows that an election is not just about advancing a political career or any other personal stake. Michelle Dillingham is one such person. Not only does Dillingham maintain smart stances on the big issues facing the city — homelessness, income inequality, public safety, the streetcar…
Easy-to-Make, Last-Minute DIY Halloween Costumes
If you plan on leaving the house this Halloween weekend, most humans you see or run into at bars, parties or the gas station will be in costumes. Most of these costumes won’t actually look anything like what they’re supposed to be, or if they’re store-bought will consist of some type of wig, mask or…
CityBeat: Roxanne Qualls for Mayor
If John Cranley wants to make the mayoral election a referendum on the streetcar project, so be it. That immediately vanquishes any possibility that CityBeat could support his campaign. The streetcar project has already effectively been supported by two voter referendums, and the situation has progressed to the point that stopping the project could end…
One More Girl on a Stage Fest Returns
After taking a year off, the One More Girl on a Stage music festival returns this week bigger and better than ever. Founded by local musician Kelly Thomas (Kelly Thomas and the Fabulous Pickups, The Tammy WhyNots), One More Girl (OMG) is striving to raise $10,000 for the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast…
Super Simple No-Bake Halloween Party Food Ideas
Chances are, you’ll probably be invited to some type of Halloween party this week — a coworker’s, a friend’s, a relative’s or as someone’s date. You might even need to throw a Halloween party of your own for the aforementioned coworkers, friends, relatives or dates. At this party, you’ll need to bring a gift of…
Sharing Halloween’s Roots with Children
Children have a natural affinity for Halloween. It’s no wonder. It’s the only holiday that frankly and honestly addresses the fear that is always a lurking presence in the psyche of children; the fear of being eaten, chased or grabbed plays a role in many children’s games and stories. No single holiday confronts this inborn…
When Comedy Went to School
Directors Mevlut Akkaya (Kanake) and Ron Frank (The Naked Truth) set off to research and present their findings on the birth of modern stand-up comedy, which is universally recognized to have been in the Catskill Mountains. That fabled location was the boot camp where quite possibly the greatest generation of Jewish-American comics came of age.…
Mademoiselle C
Fabien Constant’s documentary trains its lens on Carine Roitfeld, fashion stylist and former editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris. The spotlight arrives at the moment Roitfeld moves to New York to launch her own magazine. Constant had exclusive access not only to Roitfeld, but also industry leaders like Donatella Versace, Tom Ford and Karl Lagerfeld along with…
Good ‘Dog’
I n October 2010, Cincinnati-based singer/songwriter Kim Taylor was promoting her extraordinary new album, Little Miracle, while balancing home life with her husband and son. Taylor was also making time for classes at the University of Cincinnati as she attempted to complete her science degree in geology, a path cut short by her pregnancy years…
I Used To Be Darker
This indie family drama from co-writers Amy Belk and Matthew Porterfield, who also directed, possesses onion-like layers that, while peeling away, seems to call forth even more tears. Runaway Taryn (Deragh Campbell), far from her home in Northern Ireland, seeks refuge with an uncle (Ned Oldham) and aunt (Kim Taylor) in Baltimore but the couple…
Bad Grandpa
Octogenarian Irving Zisman (Johnny Knoxville) sets off on a cross-country tour with his grandson Billy (Jackson Nicoll) and you just know it’s going to be a wild ride. Zisman happens to be a creation of Knoxville from his Jackass days, but the old guy earns the star treatment here with Jeff Tremaine (director behind the…
The Counselor
The Coen Brothers took celebrated novelist Cormac McCarthy down an artfully dark pathway in their adaptation of No Country for Old Men, but one can only imagine that Ridley Scott, working from a script by that same great author, will hue closer to a straight-ahead violent exposé into the nature of masculinity seeking to assert…
Cincinnati vs. the World 10.23.2013
Poachers in a Zimbabwe village have killed more than 300 elephants for their ivory— triple authorities’ original estimates — by lacing watering holes with cyanide. That makes it the single worst animal massacre in southern Africa for 25 years. WORLD -2 A food writer for website Deadspin ranked eating Cincinnati chili as a more painful…
Difficult Conversations
The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, right? At least this country knows it has a problem. What exactly that problem is — or what’s causing it — is what’s up for debate. The effect — abhorrent rates of rape and sexual assault in this country — is the regular subject…
Halloween on the Small Screen
All Hallows’ Eve might not be for another week, but judging by the number of “fun-size” candy bags on sale, pumpkin patch photo shoots on Instagram and Halloween-inspired television offerings, it appears this quintessential fall holiday is already upon us. AMC’s annual Fearfest features horror staples like the Halloween and Friday the 13th franchises, The…
Worst Week Ever!: Oct. 16-22
Audit Finds Simon Leis as Unreasonable as He Always Appeared There aren’t many people who expect good news after being audited — too many receipts to dig up and questions about whether you did things the right way when you thought you’d never have to prove it. Former Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis probably saw…
The Alternative Spotlight: Black Cinema Rising
Independent black cinema might finally be coming into its own and it’s worth focusing strictly on this moment. As a longstanding member of the Black Reel Awards, one of several entities that recognizes the best in black cinema each year, I find myself in the enviable position of having access to a number of films…
‘Swan Lake’ Collaboration Brings Fully Staged Classic to Cincinnati
It’s perhaps the most iconic dance segment in the world-famous 19th-century ballet Swan Lake. It begins in Act II, when enchanted swan maidens, costumed in pristine white tutus, enter a moonlit lakeside scene one by one in what’s often been called the greatest possible accomplishment for a corps de ballet. It’s a sight to behold.…
What Kind of Question Is That?
Do corner boys go home and use hand sanitizer after they’ve passed drugs hand-to-hand all day and night? Do you think they’re thinking at all about germs? What do you think the federal government will look and run like once we voters send a message by not re-electing every single person responsible for shutting down…
Grand Rapids’ ArtPrize Is a Grand Experiment
Grand Rapids, a city of less than 200,000 people in western Michigan, isn’t quite ready to be considered one of the Midwest’s great art centers; Cleveland, Chicago and Detroit’s art museums are not yet in danger of being eclipsed by Grand Rapids. But with its annual ArtPrize — a festival-like art exhibition and competition that…
Haunted History
D an Smith has been hunting ghosts for 18 years. As the author of multiple Cincinnati-centric paranormal investigation books including the new Ghosts of Bobby Mackey’s Music World, a traveling parascience technology inventor and speaker and the proprietor of the Haunted Cincinnati Tours ghost tour company, Smith laughs when he says that his whole life…
