Onstage: In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play
Sarah Ruhl’s In the Next Room, or the vibrator play, now at Covington’s Carnegie Center in a production by the drama program at UC’s College-Conservatory of Music, has a current running through it. The production is warm, bright and slightly shocking. The story centers on two women, unhappy in marriage and deeply disappointed with sex.…
Events: SugoiCon
If you’re a fan of anime, then SugoiCon, Cincinnati’s Premiere Anime Convention at the Drawbridge Hotel and Convention Center, is the place to be Friday through Sunday. Lovers of all things anime will have the opportunity to attend concerts, participate in a costume competition, a rave, karaoke and attend guest panels and workshops. Cosplayers are…
Music: The War on Drugs
The best music incorporates the influences of the past with the energy and sensibility of the present to make the sound of the future. Frontman/visionary Adam Granduciel must have inherently known this when he began assembling the brilliant components of The War on Drugs. The Philadelphia quartet (Granduciel, multi-instrumentalists Robbie Bennett and Dave Hartley and…
Events: Film and Vintage Camera Workshop
Reminisce and rediscover the true art form that is photography. Before the arrival of digital photography, manual photography was, well, manual. You worked with your hands just as any great artist does. You handled and chose the proper camera. You had to decide whether you would shoot in color or black and white, then loaded…
Music: Brown Bird
The once five-piece band turned duo Brown Bird hasn’t exactly stumbled upon anything new, but it certainly feels fresh. The Rhode Island-based band, which is now made up of only Morganeve Swain and David Lamb, still re-creates the full sound often only achieved by a band of their former size. While Swain alternates between fiddle…
Music, Movies and the Not So Mundane
In the spirit of Halloween, The Dresden Dolls’ Amanda Palmer, The Magnetic Fields’ Stephin Merritt, Neil Gaiman and Moby dropped by late night star Craig Ferguson’s set to cover The Rocky Horror Show’s “Science Fiction/Double Feature.” And in the spirit of being awesome, Reggie Watts performed Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back in Town” to…
Art: Elements of Perception
Now playing — um, on display – at Phyllis Weston Gallery is Elements of Perception, a motion picture — er, pictures with motion and emotion — from Mark Patsfall and Brian Stuparyk. The cardboard 3-D glasses supplied for Stuparyk’s work will make the comparison clearer. Put them on and feel like a kid, knowing…
Onstage: Trouble in Mind
Alice Childress (1920-1994) didn’t get much recognition during her lifetime. She won acclaim as an actress in the 1940s but was dissatisfied with stereotyped roles, so she began writing plays. Trouble in Mind, presented in 1955, made her the first woman to win an OBIE award, but it never landed on to Broadway and was…
Squeeze the Day for 11/1
Music Tonight: Hip Hop up-and-comer Big Sean brings the tour behind his debut album, Finally Famous, to Covington's Madison Theater for an all-ages, 8 p.m. concert with guests Shawn Chrystopher and Cyhi the Prynce. Admission is $25. As legend has it, the Detroit MC got his big break in old-school fashion — when Kanye West…
Music: Truth & Salvage Co.
Truth & Salvage Co. serves as the perfect moniker for this Americana and Country outfit, since every element of their name is represented in some way. The key aspect is “Truth” — the primary aim of the five-piece (which features four singers) is to create music steeped in earnestness and authenticity. T&SC’s school of sound…
Morning News and Stuff
Occupy Cincinnati protesters have asked a judge to throw all charges against them, arguing that the park rules are unconstitutional which means their punishments shouldn't exist. The cases are expected to be delayed until the constitutional argument is figured out. Two county commissioners say they want to help the county's Job and Family Services agency…
CEA VIP Experience
CEA VIP MUSIC HERITAGE PACKAGE – $50 (show ticket price is $17 advance/ $20 day of) Sunday, November 20, 20011 – Showtime: 7 p.m. VIP time: 6 p.m. Experience Cincinnati’s annual music celebration, the 15 th Cincinnati Entertainment Awards (CEAs), in VIP style and become an inaugural member of the Cincinnati USA Music Heritage Foundation…
Candidates On: Consolidating City and County Services
As part of CityBeat's continuing election coverage, we’ve once again sent a questionnaire to the non-incumbent Cincinnati City Council candidates to get their reactions on a broad range of issues. Nine of the 14 non-incumbents chose to answer our questions. Others either didn’t respond or couldn’t meet the deadline. During the next few weeks, we…
Listen to New Guided By Voices Single
On the first day of 2012, the "classic" lineup of Dayton, Ohio's legendary Indie band Guided By Voices will release its first album, Let's Go Eat the Factory. The 21-track full-length features the GBV lineup that has been touring for the past year — Pollard, Mitch Mitchell, Tobin Sprout Greg Demos and Kevin Fennell. It'…
Music, Movies and the Not So Mundane
MTV today announced that it would be honoring Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello with an award that was specifically created in response to the “music spontaneity, artistry and virility of the Occupy Wall Street performances.” The specific performance Morello is winning the award for is his performance of “The Fabled City” on Oct.…
Squeeze the Day for Oct. 31
Music Tonight: The "adult" Halloween (this past weekend, mostly at bars) is over and today it's the kids turn. And by kids, I mean those 12 and under. Went and bought a bag of charcoal this morning — I'm giving every Trick or Treater in their teens one fresh briquet. If you're a grown-up sans…
The War on Drugs
The best music incorporates the influences of the past with the energy and sensibility of the present to make the sound of the future. Frontman/visionary Adam Granduciel must have inherently known this when he began assembling the brilliant components of The War on Drugs. The Philadelphia quartet (Granduciel, multi-instrumentalists Robbie Bennett and Dave Hartley and…
Brown Bird
The once five-piece band turned duo Brown Bird hasn’t exactly stumbled upon anything new, but it certainly feels fresh. The Rhode Island-based band, which is now made up of only Morganeve Swain and David Lamb, still re-creates the full sound often only achieved by a band of their former size. While Swain alternates between fiddle…
Truth & Salvage Co.
Truth & Salvage Co. serves as the perfect moniker for this Americana and Country outfit, since every element of their name is represented in some way. The key aspect is “Truth” — the primary aim of the five-piece (which features four singers) is to create music steeped in earnestness and authenticity. T&SC’s school of sound…
Trouble in Mind (Review)
Critic's Pick Alice Childress (1920-1994) didn’t get much recognition during her lifetime. She won acclaim as an actress in the 1940s but was dissatisfied with stereotyped roles, so she began writing plays. Trouble in Mind, presented in 1955, made her the first woman to win an OBIE award, but it never landed on to Broadway…
Morning News and Stuff
The Cincinnati Enquirer announced its endorsements over the weekend, and four incumbents were left thinking, “What the [expletive] did I do?!?” The current councilpersons who the paper decided not to endorse are Republican Wayne Lippert, who was appointed in March, and Republicans Leslie Ghiz and Charlie Winburn, along with Democrat Cecil Thomas. Ghiz was described…
In Time
Fast-forward to a future where humans only live to age 25 before being forced to buy more time, slaving away to do so. Time rather than money is the coin of the realm and the rich here get to seemingly live forever. What they need is a movement to occupy the banks housing the sands…
Friday Movie Roundup: Oscar Jockeying Edition
A friend recently asked my opinion about what films the Academy might nominate for Best Picture this year. “Uh, I have no idea,” I responded. It's pretty late in the year to be saying that, but, of course, I rarely think about the Oscars until I absolutely have to. Then there's the fact that…
Your Halloweekend To Do List: 10/28-10/30
There's usually so much happening the weekend before Halloween that the problem isn't finding something to do, it's narrowing your options down! Here are some fun, spooky, booze-filled and/or kid-friendly suggestions. It's the Halloweekend, baby I'm about to have me some fun. Tonight is Final Friday in OTR, so check out gallery openings/shows at Aisle,…
Music, Movies and the Not So Mundane
The Roots’ drummer Ahmir Thompson (?uestlove) says the goup's latest album, undun, is finished and should be out Dec. 6. "We actually completed [the album] at five [o'clock] this morning, so it's officially done,” Thompson said. "It's essentially a biographical narrative about Redford Stephens. Stephens [is] a composite of four or five people that we've…
Group Files Complaint Against COAST
A group working to defeat Issue 48 filed a complaint today against a conservative group with the Ohio Elections Commission. Cincinnatians for Progress, which is urging a "no" vote on Issue 48, filed the complaint against the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST). It alleges COAST knowingly and repeatedly has made false statements…
Cincy Brass Goes Metal, Then Unveils Debut Album (VIDEO)
Horny local ensemble The Cincy Brass hosts a free costume/Halloween party at MOTR Pub tonight. Sorry, I should say “The Heavy Metal Cincy Brass,” because the group, known for their brass renditions of Pop and Rock classics, will tackled a different realm of tuneage, performing their takes on songs by Black Sabbath, Tool, Rush, Led…
Squeeze the Day for 10/28
Music Tonight: If you're hitting the bars and clubs this weekend, there's an extremely high probability that you'll run into Halloween hijinks. If you're a Bluegrass fan, the best place to get your groovy-ghoulies on and kick off the elongated weekend Halloween celebration is Covington's Madison Theatre. After a summer of hitting the fest circuit…
Morning News and Stuff
Streetcar proponents have spent considerably more on their campaign than the anti-streetcar people, probably because Issue 48 is so wide-reaching it has brought out people concerned with things way more important than the streetcar such as regional planning, commuter rail and making Cincinnati not look like it totally sucks. Also being outspent are the SB…
Rockets Launched at The Banks
The Banks district is finally starting to take shape with the Grand Opening Wednesday of Johnny Rockets. Franchise owner Rick Thompson has brought a unique version of Johnny Rockets to his new location across from Great American Ball Park, as the restaurant is decked out in baseball memorabilia and offers new menu items keeping with…
Blake Robison is the Cincinnati Playhouse’s Next Leader
The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park today announced that Blake Robison, a highly accomplished director and producer, will be its next artistic director after a year-long search that considered more than 100 candidates. Currently the producing artistic director at the Round House Theatre in Bethesda, Maryland, he will assume his full-time duties at the Playhouse…
Smitherman’s Strange Assertions
Based on the latest comments on his Facebook page, it appears Christopher Smitherman either doesn't understand the wording of Issue 48 or is deliberately trying to mislead voters. On Wednesday, Smitherman wrote on his Facebook page: “Remember Issue 48 DOES not STOP light rail but it does force City Council to ask the citizens (sic)…
Breast Cancer Benefit Features Local Artists
Bricks Along the Journey is holding the 10th annual Breast Cancer Brick Auction at the Cintas Center at Xavier University this Sunday from 2-5 p.m., featuring bricks painted by artists that can be purchased through silent auction. Funds raised benefit breast cancer research, education, advocacy and patient support in the Greater Cincinnati area. —- Hundreds…
Puss in Boots
Spun off from the finally-adjourned Shrek franchise, Puss in Boots is a well-crafted DreamWorks animated movie that succeeds in spite of the aid of its extraneous 3-D treatment. Silver-tongued Antonio Banderas once again voices the Zorro-like swaggering orange tabby whose lack of eye-whiskers does little to diminish his self confidence. With a bounty on…
Anonymous
Having spent most of his career destroying the world in grand computer-generated fashion, German writer-producer-director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, 2012) apparently is ready to transition into a new filmmaking phase. Working with screenwriter John Orloff (A Mighty Heart), Emmerich sets his sights on ripping apart the notion that William Shakespeare…
The Tillers’ Special Benefit Concert Trailer (VIDEO)
On Saturday, Nov. 19, Mike Oberst of the fantastic local Folk trio The Tillers presents a benefit concert for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and the Mike Seeger Scholarship Fund at a Newport's Southgate House. The show is being put on in memory of Oberst's mother and Folk legend Mike Seeger, both of whom died…
The Rum Diary
Johnny Depp spent more than 15 years building exactly the kind of cinematic résumé that keeps actors from being movie stars, roles featuring weird hair and silly voices. Then he changed exactly nothing in his approach, and scored a few huge blockbusters. Now those same movies Depp was making 15 years ago, instead of…
Music, Movies and the Not So Mundane
DJ Premier, Nas and the Berklee Symphony Orchestra were recently featured in a documentary called RE:GENERATION which studies the blend of various musical cadences. You can stream the Nas and Premier single, “Regeneration,” here. And you can watch the trailer for RE:GENERATION (which features The Crystal Method, Mark Ronson and Mos Def) here.—- Rep. Ritch…
Squeeze the Day for 10/27
Music Tonight: Nineties Indie Rock stalwarts Sebadoh bring their "Bakesale/Harmacy Remembering Time Tour" to Newport's Southgate House tonight. The tour is in honor of the recent reissues of the 1994 and 1996 albums in the tour title. Our Jason Gargano spoke to Sebadoh main-man Lou Barlow for this week's CityBeat and some of Barlow's comments…
Morning News and Stuff
City Council conservatives made Mayor Mallory real mad yesterday, blocking his appointment of Councilwoman Laure Quinlivan to the Hamilton County Transportation Improvement District. An initial vote actually allowed the appointment until appointed Republican Councilman Wayne Lippert heard that the other Republicans and Chris Bortz voted against it for various trivial reasons. Lippert asked for a…
Music, Movies and the Not So Mundane
Did you love The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? Good, because they’re making an American adaptation with Daniel Craig! Southern California authorities rescued a man stuck up to his chest inside a tree trunk. It took about 90 minutes for firefighters to free the man, and at this point it is unclear whether he climbed…
The Show-down: Scary TV Edition
Television can be scary year-round (ex. Keeping Up with the Kardashians, The Rachel Zoe Project, Breaking Bad), but terror gets turned up a notch this time of year. With Halloween around the corner, here are some horror-ific shows to check out.—- The Walking Dead Whether or not you're a zombie aficionado or a fan of…
The First Two — Really?
Perhaps hoping to mimic the suspenseful aspects of an Alfred Hitchcock film or a Thomas Harris novel, an ultra-conservative group has been issuing press releases announcing its endorsements for Cincinnati City Council one at a time. Oh, the anticipation!—- First, the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST) announced Oct. 24 that it endorsed…
Brit Media Savages the Absurd
If you want an alternative to the faux even-handedness of American daily journalism, turn to London papers and news/opinion magazines. They know how to treat whack jobs. None of this same-space “objectivity” that leaves it to readers to decide whether the mainstream of, say, science or climate-change deniers are correct. Sometimes they savage the innocent,…
Squeeze the Day for 10/26
Music Tonight: New Orleans Jazz/Funk wunderkind Trombone Shorty grooves into Oakley tonight for a show at the 20th Century Theater. The young musician (who appeared on the HBO series Treme) will be joined by his band Orleans Avenue, delivering his unique mix of Funk, Jazz and Hip Hop. Last month, Shorty released For True, his…
Who’s Afraid of Post-Blackness
Earlier this year, the Internet was abuzz with a series of videos entitled Art Thoughtz. In them, artist Jayson Musson performs as his fitted-cap-wearing, flashy-chain-dangling alter-ego Hennessy Youngman, while offering sharp, LOL-worthy commentary on the contemporary art world. He tackles concepts like relational aesthetics and post-structuralism. He gives advice on subjects such as “How to…
Happy 60th Birthday to Bootsy Collins!
Locally born and bred musical icon Bootsy Collins celebrates his 60th birthday today! The living legend has a firm handle on his position near the top of any list of the most famous and important Cincinnatians, helping to design the blueprint for Funk music during his time as a crucial member of James Brown's band…
Morning News and Stuff
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney yesterday popped in on a local pro-Issue 2 and Issue 3 call center and then refused to publicly endorse either Republican initiative. “Yes” votes on Issues 2 and 3 would keep Senate Bill 5 and allow Ohioans to opt out of mandatory health care passed by Congress last year, respectively.…
More Endorsements Released
OCT. 27: The First Two — Really? Perhaps hoping to mimic the suspenseful aspects of an Alfred Hitchcock film or a Thomas Harris novel, an ultra-conservative group has been issuing press releases announcing its endorsements for Cincinnati City Council one at a time. First, the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST) announced Oct.…
Oct. 19-25: Worst Week Ever!
WEDNESDAY OCT. 19 Most people RSVP to all sorts of events on Facebook that they certainly are not going to attend (your band is playing at a smokey bar in Kentucky? Cool! See ya there!). But for every person who clicks the “maybe” option and then actually shows up, there are thousands of people who…
Greg Hartmann and Lou Blessing
[LOSER] GREG HARTMANN: When developers of the under-construction Cincinnati casino came to the Oct. 24 meeting of the Hamilton County Commission to give an update on the project, Commission President Greg Hartmann was nowhere in sight. That’s because Hartmann flew to his native Texas so he could attend two World Series games with his dad.…
Genetti Talks New Life Post-Palace
I’d learned through an accidental slip of the lip that pastry chef Summer Genetti left The Palace this summer. She’d been a star at that fine-dining restaurant, and leaving was a tough decision. But for a young woman who’d started soaring ahead in her career soon after she started at age 18, the focus it…
Rose Funeral Opens “Gates”
Local melodic Death Metal group Rose Funeral have released its second long-player for esteemed label Metal Blade. Now a slimmed down trio (though no less ferocious), the band’s Gates of Punishment came out at the end of September, but Rose Funeral is just now making its way back from tour to host a hometown release…
Holler and Stomp by The Cash Box Kings
Despite often being referred to as “young guns” in their genre, The Cash Box Kings have been playing together for over a decade. The seven-piece ensemble is known for its dedication to reviving the sound of the 1920s and ’30s Delta Blues and the post-war Blues that came from Chicago, where CBK resides. Despite the…
The Goodnight Trail by Mack West
When veteran Cincinnati musician Zach Mechlem launched his latest project, Mack West, a few years ago, he didn’t just form a new band — he created a new genre. Calling the band’s sound “AltWestern” to describe the dusty, often cinematic quality of its modern American Roots music, Mack West released its self-titled debut two years…
Strawberry by Wussy
Now in it 10th year, one of Cincinnati’s most celebrated bands, Wussy (led by former Ass Pony Chuck Cleaver and his equally skilled songwriting partner/co-frontperson Lisa Walker), has amassed an amazing discography so far. Beginning with 2005’s Funeral Dress, the group developed a reputation for the “ragged glory” of its performances both live and on…
Occupying Democracy
“It’s coming from the feelThat this ain’t exactly real,Or it’s real, but it ain’t exactly there …Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.” — Leonard Cohen’s “Democracy” T o the U.S.A.? No, Cohen’s got it all wrong. As our leaders loudly preach, democracy is something that we export to the rest of the world — to…
Through the Past, Snarkily
L ou Barlow is a direct guy. The 45-year-old founder and main frontman for lo-fi Indie Rock stalwarts Sebadoh doesn’t mince words or waste time — a fact easily discerned when listening to his band’s concise, emotionally direct songs. It makes sense, then, that Barlow would be similarly to the point when discussing Sebadoh’s return…
Sympathy for the Devil
T he Devil. Beelzebub. Mephistopheles. Baphomet. Scratch. Old Nick. Lucifer. SATAN. The supernatural being who tempts man’s soul to sin and ruin from his fiery underworld throne goes by many names (and if Jagger and Richards are to be believed, he wants us to guess them, too). He’s a creature — mythical or otherwise, depending…
Weiland, Mayer and KISS
[HOT] The Velvet (Revolver) Fog Last week we told of the generosity of Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst, who kindly writes his own punchlines now (calling his potential disaster of a sitcom Douchebag — that’s a stand-up dude). This week, a Saturday Night Live commercial parody came to life when troubled Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott…
Wrapping Up a Column
I arrived a little too early for the meeting. Having a vodka and tonic at the Backstage Café in Covington, I was waiting for my editor to show up. It’s never a good thing when your editor wants to talk about your column and “the future.” I kind of knew the kind of future he…
Your Council Connection
S ome powerful special interest groups know a secret that the average Cincinnati voter doesn’t: If you want to make your votes for City Council truly matter and have the greatest impact, don’t use all nine of them. That’s right: Even though you can cast nine votes in the council race, you really shouldn’t. Using…
Van Zandt (Review)
C incinnati is comprised of many neighborhoods with their own flavor and flair, and the pulse of each can be felt most strongly in their eateries. Many great restaurants call North College Hill home, and for the past couple years Van Zandt Restaurant and Tavern on Galbraith Road has, too. There is so much going…
Good Vibrations at the Carnegie
When Andrew Carnegie mapped out plans for libraries across America — including one now serving as the Carnegie Center in Covington — he probably never envisioned one of them as a venue for a play about issues of love and sexuality in the 1880s. But that’s what’s happening at the Carnegie (Nov. 4-20) when Sarah…
Raising Hope: The Complete First Season
By now we should have learned that a sitcom needs at least a good half-season to find its legs. It’s easy to dismiss a new show early on in its run, yet history shows that even the greatest sitcoms had mundane starts. Raising Hope might be considered such a sitcom, but, in retrospect, its early…
Risky Business
K evin Allison wants you to listen to his podcast, and he will tie your shoes to his balls to do it. The Cincinnati native left town in 1988, and his comedy career launched into overdrive even before he graduated from New York University four years later. Allison now runs a storytelling podcast out of…
