Toeing the 100-Foot Line
Hamilton County Board of Elections Executive Director Sally Krisel calls it the most common election-day problem: “We have to strictly follow the 100-foot rule.” Election law prohibits protesters, proponents and campaigning volunteers from setting up signs or handing out information within 100 feet of a polling place. The rule, Krisel explains, is enforced by the…
Training Varies Among Poll Workers
For some Hamilton County poll workers, the November 2009 election is taking place on the backs of their experience rather than training they’ve received. “They did the training only for new people to cut back costs,” said Joyce Baitz, 80, a veteran volunteer with 26 years of experience.—- Board of Elections administrator Joe Mallory said…
Herzog Studios Marker a Go
It was recently announced that the historical marker proposed for the former site of Herzog Studios (811 Race St., current downtown home to CityBeat’s offices) has been approved. Thanks to the hard work of the Cincinnati USA Music Heritage Foundation, Brian Powers and others, the marker will be installed at the site — where Hank…
Rap As a Weapon, Local Bands Smell Better and Official Tequila Sponsors
[HOT] Stop Using Rap As a WeaponFour teenagers living near Salt Lake City are in deep doo doo following a recent prank. While other teens engage in such antics as smashing roadside mailboxes and putting flaming bags of dog shit on neighbors’ front porches, these Utah teens stepped over the line when they had the…
November Is for Foodies
Your first November foodie fling should be Park and Vine’s “Vegan Love Fest” Dinner Party on Nov. 11 from 6-8 p.m. Get vegan Thanksgiving inspiration from local restaurants and food purveyors including Five Star Foodies, Lavomatic, Loving Cafe, Lucky John Market, Melt, Myra’s Dionysus, Naturally Yours, Tucker’s Restaurant and World Peace Jubilee. Registration is $11.…
Ron Esposito (Profile)
If Ron Esposito printed out a hard copy of his résumé, it would have to be on a continuous roll of teletype paper. Exploratory drummer at 10. Guitarist at 12. At Ohio University, while playing in Rock and Folk bands, he was on the student concert board that booked Jose Feliciano with some obscure British…
Dead Musicians Society
This year’s Halloween festivities seemed especially zombie-heavy. Zombies are cool and all but, jeesh, what happened to originality in costuming? Unless you were Zombie Billy Mays. Now that’s funny. Anyway, if you did do the zombie dress-up thing and grew so attached you want to sport your costume again this weekend, you’d probably fit right…
2009 Best of I-275
Welcome to CityBeat’s 2009 Best of I-275 Issue! We’re excited to finally offer a guide to the city’s often-overlooked suburban neighborhoods via the highway that enables them to feel connected to Cincinnati even though their residents can’t vote here. For too long it’s felt like we share a postal address and nothing more… We hope…
Art: Form from Form at the Philip M. Meyers Jr. Gallery
Artists are a lot like scientists: They observe and collect, question and describe, experiment and record. They interpret what they’ve gathered, creating solutions to problems or theories that pose more questions — in physical, visual form. This concept was the impetus for the current exhibition Form from Form: Art from Discovery at the University of…
Dead Musicians Society Offers Lively Show
• This year’s Halloween festivities seemed especially zombie-heavy. Zombies are cool and all but, jeesh, what happened to originality in costuming? Unless you were Zombie Billy Mays. Now that’s funny. Anyway, if you did do the zombie dress-up thing and grew so attached you want to sport your costume again this weekend, you’d probably fit…
CAM Sets New Date for ‘Imperishable Beauty’
Hopefully, by the time you read this – or shortly thereafter – the Cincinnati Art Museum will have opened Imperishable Beauty: Art Nouveau Jewelry, the twice-delayed exhibition of over 100 turn-of-20th-Century pieces from the finest American and European designers and jewelers. On Nov. 3, Director Aaron Betsky said it would open “by the 18th.” This…
Hip Hop (Un)Scene: The MC/DJ Relationship
I remember the first time I decided I wanted music to be my career and/or life. Still in high school, my friend Zone and I went up to Columbus to see Method Man and Redman perform. When I saw Method Man walk over the crowd’s hands like Jesus walked on water, it was a wrap.…
News to You
There’s been a lot of talk lately about the legalization of marijuana. Should it just be decriminalized, used only for medicinal purposes or made completely legal? If it’s the latter, what happens to the Showtime series Weeds? “That’s a good question,” says Kevin Nealon, one of that program’s stars. “I guess it’ll be a show…
Very Extremely Dangerous Singles
As co-owner of Northside’s Shake It Records and its namesake record label, Darren Blase would seem to have all the work he can handle this year. In addition to running the busy and popular shop and coordinating its in-store events, he’s had to manage the growing interest in the label’s Wussy, whose breakthrough third album…
Film: The New Metropolis
Cincinnati and other cities have long lamented perceived “brain drains” as talented and creative people leave supposedly bigger and better environs. But Cincinnati resident and award-winning documentary filmmaker Andrea Torrice (pictured) claims our city as inspiration. “Moving to Cincinnati gave me the idea for The New Metropolis,” she says. The New Metropolis is a two-part…
InCahoots (Review)
There are people who own restaurants in Cincinnati who are so phenomenal with detail that they actually coordinate the linen napkins to the color of your clothes. If you’re wearing something dark, the napkin is black; something light, it’s white. And there are restaurants like this that aren’t any more expensive than InCahoots, which reopened…
Music: Ramming Speed
If the recent success of bands like Municipal Waste is any indication, Thrash Metal is back with a vengeance. With everyone from metalheads to Hardcore fans and punks wearing flip-up hats, Thrash Metal isn’t just experiencing a revival: It’s undergoing a renaissance. That's just one of the reasons why Boston’s Ramming Speed, with their incredible…
Form from Form (Review)
Critic's Pick Artists are a lot like scientists: They observe and collect, question and describe, experiment and record. They interpret what they’ve gathered, creating solutions to problems or theories that pose more questions — in physical, visual form. This concept was the impetus for the current exhibition Form from Form: Art from Discovery at the…
Music: Hatebreed
If you’re reading this, chances are you know what to expect from this show and are surprised to see it being written about here. If that’s the case, all you need to know is that the new Hatebreed CD is awesome and there’s a hilarious bonus track. Now, for those of you to whom this…
Music: Hoots & Hellmouth
In “Root of the Industry,” the opening track on the June release The Holy Open Secret, Hoots & Hellmouth makes its seditious tendencies clear. Take a listen to this Roots Rock group without inspecting the lyrics and you might figure that their country-fried acoustic work is moonshine-making music without any teeth to it. That’s not…
Lit: Marty Brennaman
The Mercantile Library continues its By the Book speaker series with … Marty Brennaman? Yes, the longtime Cincinnati Reds play-by-play man will talk about the books that have influenced a broadcasting career that’s approaching 50 years, the last 36 with the Reds. ' “I’ve been a voracious reader my entire life, which has obviously helped…
A PATH Out of Homelessness
There are about 8,400 homeless people in Hamilton County. More than 2,000 have a severe mental illness. A local nonprofit called PATH is trying to help them. Until two years ago Timothy Mills had lost any hope of living a normal, stable life. His despair started years back, when he turned 18 and had to…
Comedy: Kevin Nealon
There’s been a lot of talk lately about the legalization of marijuana. Should it just be decriminalized, used only for medicinal purposes or made completely legal? If it’s the latter, what happens to the Showtime series Weeds? “That’s a good question,” says Kevin Nealon, one of that program’s stars. “I guess it’ll be a show…
Pepper, Portune, Trombley, Smitherman, GOP
[LOSER] DAVID PEPPER, TODD PORTUNE: The two Hamilton County commissioners, both Democrats, have long complained about how the Bengals’ lease for the county-owned stadium is wreaking havoc on taxpayers. With sales tax revenues less than expected, commissioners may have to soon dip into county accounts to pay for the debt, meaning services to residents might…
Good Intentions, Bad Choices
Interstate-275 is a lifeline for many Cincinnatians who commute to work and school or whose neighborhoods are separated by the very freeways they use to get to other parts of town. The country’s only auxiliary freeway that crosses through three states, this orbital route is heavily speckled with Cincinnati’s landmark eyesores, including strip malls, gas…
PIO Takes Informational Skills to the Poll
Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) Director of Public Affairs Janet Walsh is spending today sharing information, but not in her usual manner. Walsh is outside the Hamilton County/Cincinnati Public Library’s main branch sporting a sweatshirt and sign that urge voters to support Issue 52, the renewal of the CPS tax levy. “I’m a stand-in for all…
A Slow Day for E-Slate
Each Hamilton County polling location has a $40,000 machine on hand to make voting handicapped-accessible, even though poll volunteers say the machines rarely see use. “In the last three elections, we’ve had about three people using it,” says poll volunteer and District 6 Deputy Presiding Judge Tom Feldhaus.—- The five-year poll worker explained that most…
Candidates On: Annexing Other Areas
With about 12 hours left until the polls open, CityBeat concludes its coverage of the non-incumbent candidates for Cincinnati City Council with a question about annexation. One possible method for Cincinnati to expand its tax revenues and population is to annex smaller communities that surround the city, such as St. Bernard or Delhi Township.—- Non-incumbents…
Clifton Cultural Arts Center Lights Up
Starting at 5 p.m. this Friday, the Clifton Cultural Arts Center will hold a ceremony for the lighting of its historic 1906 Clifton School Building. The actual lighting is slated for 6 p.m. The new exterior lighting has been provided by funds raised by the CCAC, with and installation donated by Architectural Landscape Lighting &…
Lectures/Art: Thin Air Studio
Did you hate to have Thin Air Studio’s terrific construction disappear from the Weston Gallery’s street level space last summer? It was that very site-specific piece that incorporated bare branches lashed together with manila rope, producing a tree-like canopy where none is expected. “Tidal,” a smaller example of Thin Air’s inspired use of Ohio River…
Big Joe Duskin (2004)
[Big Joe Duskin was the 2004 CEA Music Hall of Fame inductee. This profile article originally ran in CityBeat on Nov. 17, 2004.] "What's goin' on, Big Joe?" bass player Ed Conley asks. "Ain't nothing goin' on but the weather, time and old age," Big Joe Duskin replies. With all due respect, Duskin's wrong. At…
2004 Music Nominees and Winners
[Winners are in red.] BluegrassComet Bluegrass AllstarsTaylor FarleyMa CrowRumpke Mountain Boys CountryBrothers FirstStraw BossThe SidecarsDallas Moore Folk/AmericanaJake Speed and the FreddiesMesserly and EwingMaurice MatteiChris Haubner and the Roanoke Ramblers World MusicBodhi Fannin & Anam CaraMohenjo DaroRoger Drawdy & the FirestartersMe Or The Moon RockViva La FoxxPaperbackThee ShamsMoth Hard Rock/MetalSoul CasketJackassCroatanBlack Tractor Singer/SongwriterChuck CleaverAli EdwardsKim TaylorTristen…
King Records Celebration (2008)
[There was no CEA Music Hall of Fame inductee in 2008. Instead, the CEAs helped celebrate the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's recognition of King Records. This profile article originally ran in CityBeat on Nov. 19, 2008.] It won’t exactly be the sort of historical marker you’ll stumble upon while taking a stroll. It…
Blues & Boogie Piano Summit
If President Obama were to appoint a Boogie Woogie Czar — someone to travel the world promoting the rolling and rollicking Blues style popularized in the late 1930s by pioneers like Albert Ammons and Big Joe Turner — Cincinnati-based pianist Ricky Nye would definitely be on the short list for the appointment. Each year, Nye…
Hatebreed with Cannibal Corpse, Unearth, Hate Eternal and Born of Osiris
If you’re reading this, chances are you know what to expect from this show and are surprised to see it being written about here. If that’s the case, all you need to know is that the new Hatebreed CD is awesome and there’s a hilarious bonus track. Now, for those of you to whom this…
Hoots & Hellmouth with William Elliott Whitmore and Wake the Bear
In “Root of the Industry,” the opening track on the June release The Holy Open Secret, Hoots & Hellmouth makes its seditious tendencies clear. Take a listen to this Roots Rock group without inspecting the lyrics and you might figure that their country-fried acoustic work is moonshine-making music without any teeth to it. That’s not…
Three Sisters (Review)
When a director pushes boundaries, great things can happen. That’s certainly what John Doyle’s staging of Three Sisters has tried to do. A high-profile venture for the Cincinnati Playhouse’s 50th anniversary, Doyle’s production uses a new, very colloquial version of Anton Chekhov’s play by the much-admired writer Sarah Ruhl and a team of Tony Award…
2005 Theater Nominees and Winners
Local Actress In A Leading Role (Play)Amy Warner as Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Cincinnati Shakespeare FestivalSue Breving as Kimberly in Kimberly Akimbo, New Stage CollectiveSherman Fracher as Frances McGlauphlin in While We Were Bowling, Ensemble Theatre of CincinnatiJulianna Bloodgood as Carol in Oleanna, Clear Stage Cincinnati Local Actor In A Leading Role…
Events: The Royal Hanneford Circus
Looking for a fun and affordable, old-fashioned outing for the whole family? The Bank of Kentucky Center can help when the Royal Hanneford Circus rolls into town, bringing their talented performers, animals and over 100 years of experience with them. Bring your family and witness entertainers flip high in the air or see tigers, bears,…
2005 Music Nominees and Winners
[Winners are in red.] Bluegrass/CountryRumpke Mountain BoysComet Bluegrass AllstarsDanny Frazier BandDallas Moore BandMack West Folk/Americana/Roots500 Miles to MemphisThe HidersGregory Morris GroupJake Speed and the FreddiesThe 13s World MusicRobin Lacy and DeZydecoRoger Drawdy and the FirestartersMohenjo DaroSilver ArmTropicoso RockHeartless BastardsBastionNoctalucaThe TerrorsVinyltones Hard Rock/MetalFoxy Shazam!Black TractorBlacklight BarbarianCroatanPain Link Singer/SongwriterWhitney BarricklowPeter AdamsRob FettersDan MecherGregory MorrisJeremy Pinnell Alternative/IndieThe Minni-ThinsCathedrals(In)cameraStaggering…
John Von Ohlen (2005)
[John Von Ohlen was the 2005 CEA Music Hall of Fame inductee. This profile article originally ran in CityBeat on Nov. 16, 2005. Photo: Chuck Madden] At the age of 14, three years before he ever sat behind a kit or held a drumstick in his hand, John Von Ohlen became a drummer. He'd already…
Music: Blues and Boogie Piano Summit
If President Obama were to appoint a Boogie Woogie Czar — someone to travel the world promoting the rolling and rollicking Blues style popularized in the late ’30s by pioneers like Albert Ammons and Big Joe Turner — Cincinnati-based pianist Ricky Nye would definitely be on the short list for the appointment. Each year, Nye…
H-Bomb Ferguson (2007)
[H-Bomb Ferguson was the 2007 CEA Music Hall of Fame inductee. This profile article originally ran in CityBeat on Nov. 14, 2007.] Forget blow-dried scenesters and self-absorbed spotlight stealers. It's original and compelling artists like H-Bomb Ferguson that halls of fame were designed to lionize for the lucky contemporaries who knew the man and for…
Art: Pairs Well With at Aisle Gallery
Matt Morris, one of the city's busier contemporary artists as well as a CityBeat contributing arts writer, opens his newest show, an installation called Pairs Well With, featuring works on facial tissue paired with small objects meant to reply to those tissues. There is a 7-10 p.m. opening reception Saturday at Aisle Gallery in the…
Ramming Speed
If the recent success of bands like Municipal Waste is any indication, Thrash Metal is back with a vengeance. With everyone from metalheads to Hardcore fans and punks wearing flip-up hats, Thrash Metal isn’t just experiencing a revival: It’s undergoing a renaissance. That's just one of the reasons why Boston’s Ramming Speed, with their incredible…
Music: Vic Chesnutt
Ever since he released his first Michael Stipe-produced album Little in 1990, Vic Chesnutt has carved out one of the most unusual careers in the singer/songwriter pantheon. A paraplegic using a wheelchair since breaking his neck in a 1983 car accident, the 44-year-old, Athens, Ga.-based Chesnutt may be physically confined but not creatively. Through 15…
Onstage: Rhinoceros
Eugene Ionesco wrote ironic absurdist plays that draw attention to themselves. In his 1959 work, Rhinoceros, currently being staged at Northern Kentucky University, one character asks of another, “Do you know anything about the avant-garde theater there’s so much talk about? Have you seen Ionesco’s plays.” The response: “Unfortunately, not. I’ve only heard people talk…
2004 Theater Nominees and Winners
Local Actress In A Leading RoleBurgess Byrd as Charlayne in Neat, Know Theatre TribeCorinne Mohlenhoff as Julia in Fallen Angels, Ovation Theatre CompanyAnne Valauri as Isabel in My Children! My Africa!, Know Theatre TribeKate Wilford as Olive Allison in The Women of Lockerbie, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati Local Actor In A Leading RoleBruce Cromer as…
Comedy: Bill Squire
You can be forgiven if, for a moment, you wondered if '80s-era rocker Billy Squier and comedian Bill Squire were actually one and the same. "A few months ago Billy Squier was playing a show with Styxs or some other equally terrific ‘70s/’80s era glam rockers," says the Cleveland-based funnyman. "Some of my parents’ friends…
Joe McDonough (2005)
[Joe McDonough was the 2005 CEA Theater Hall of Fame inductee. This profile article originally ran in CityBeat on Aug. 17, 2005.] You could stand in a check-out line at a grocery story in northwestern Cincinnati behind Joe McDonough and never detect that the guy unloading his cart before you is a playwright whose scripts…
Events: Art in Bloom
You don't have to crawl into a cave to hibernate and wait for the next five months until you can see some flowers because just as the weather is getting cooler, the Cincinnati Art Museum is featuring around 100 different fine art floral arrangements. Come see how live foliage has taken over permanent works and…
Events: Cincinnati Comic and Anime Convention
Meanwhile, at the Radisson Hotel on Fifth Street in Covington, there is a comic and anime convention where novelist and scriptwriter David Mack, illustrator Tony Moore, comic artist Mark Kidwell, graphic novel and Heroes writer RD Hall, great American comic book writer Gary Friedrich (voice of 1985 pop-singing superhero, Jem), Samantha Newark and many more…
Ed Stern and Buzz Ward (2004)
[Ed Stern and Buzz Ward were the 2004 CEA Theater Hall of Fame inductees. This profile article originally ran in CityBeat on Nov. 17, 2004.] Early last May, Ed Stern, producing artistic director at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, had an early morning call from an actor in New York congratulating him on winning…
Free Halloween Yard Haunts
Even cheap bastards like you deserve a good scare. Here are a few homebrew haunts we found out about. They’re all free, so check ’em out and enjoy. Niagra Haunt16 rooms, a tunnel, cabin and chainsaw killers.Dusk to 9 p.m. Halloween.2759 Niagra St., NorthgateGoogle Map Terror on TimberlakeAn extensive home haunt with a children's area.7-10…
CityBeat Podcast 33: Inside the USS Nightmare
CityBeat intern Jac Kern records her trip to the USS Nightmare. Happy Halloween! —- If you like what you hear, please support our podcast by subscribing to our podcast in iTunes or via our RSS feed. Also, please tell your friends and share this link on Facebook and MySpace.
CEA Votes: 3,000 High and Rising
With slightly over a week to go in voting for the 2009 Cincinnati Entertainment Award for Music, more than 3,000 ballots have already been turned in via the intertubes. Remember that your votes determine the winners in 16 categories, with three other "critical achievement" categories hashed by the CEA judging committee. Deadline to vote is…
D. Lynn Meyers (2006)
[Lynn Meyers was the 2006 CEA Theater Hall of Fame inductee. This profile article originally ran in CityBeat on Aug. 23, 2006.] The 10 years that D. Lynn Meyers has served as producing artistic director at Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati (ETC) coincide exactly with the 10 years covered by the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards (CEAs), presented…
2006 Theater Nominees and Winners
Local Actress In A Leading Role (Play)Molly Binder as Ben Affleck in Matt & Ben, Know Theatre TribeAnnie Fitzpatrick as an American woman in England in Wayfarer’s Rest, Ensemble Theatre of CincinnatiSherman Fracher as Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire, Cincinnati Shakespeare FestivalCorinne Mohlenhoff as Amanda Prynne in Private Lives, Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival Local…
Music: BRINK New Music Showcase
Perhaps the only show you can attend Saturday and not be encouraged to wear a costume, the annual BRINK New Music Showcase returns to the Southgate House Halloween night with three floors’ worth of local band freshness. An attempt to spotlight the next crop of local music wavemakers, the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards-sponsored event has hosted…
2007 Theater Nominees and Winners
Local Actress In A Leading Role (Play)Corinne Mohlenhoff as Rosalind in As You Like It, Cincinnati Shakespeare CompanyKendall Karg as Lysistrata in Lysistrata, College-Conservatory of MusicApril Leonhard as Evie in The Aaronsville Woman, Northern Kentucky UniversityAmy Warner as Stevie in The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?, New Stage Collective Local Actor In A Leading Role…
2008 Music Nominees and Winners
[Winners are in red.] BluegrassComet Bluegrass AllstarsKatie LaurMoonshine DriveMt. Pleasant String BandRumpke Mountain BoysTanner Hill BluesJ Dorsey Blues BandJon Justice BandSonny Moorman GroupRicky Nye Inc.Kelly RicheyThem Bones CountryThe Bad WordsDallas Moore BandKinsey RoseStraw BossThe TurkeysDan Varner Band Experimental/ElectronicChick Pimp, Coke Dealer at a BarEagle to SquirrelPete FoscoIOVAEJohnnytwentythreeC Spencer Yeh Folk/AmericanaGreg MahanDaniel Martin MooreJeff Scott RobersonJake…
2006 Music Nominees and Winners
[Winners are in red.] Alternative/Indie1000 ArmsThe Spectacular FantasticThe SundressesThe Minor LeaguesStaggering StatisticsWussy BluegrassComet Bluegrass All-StarsKatie Laur & Her All Girl BandRumpke Mountain BoysThe EarlytimersMt. Pleasant String Band BluesII JuicySonny Moorman GroupRicky NyeCheryl Renee Blues BandKelly RicheyGreg Schaber CountryCatalog CowboysLiquid FireStraw BossDanny Frazier BandDallas Moore and the Snatch WranglersMack West Experimental/Electronic24hourfluCrimes of the Black CatHungry LucyBurning…
Kenny Smith (2006)
[Kenny Smith was the 2006 CEA Music Hall of Fame inductee. This profile article originally ran in CityBeat on Nov. 15, 2006.] One of the most heartwarming and vindicating moments of this year's Cincinnati Entertainment Awards ceremony will come when local Soul/Funk legend Kenny Smith takes the Taft Theater stage to accept his long overdue…
2009 Music Nominees and Winners
[Winners are in red.] Artist of the YearBad VeinsThe DopaminesThe Lions RampantPomegranatesThe Seedy SeedsThe SundressesThe TillersWussy Album of the YearBad Veins: Bad VeinsJ. Dorsey Blues Revival: Get Right ChurchFrontier Folk Nebraska: PearlsBrian Olive: Brian OlivePomegranates: Everybody Come OutsideThe Seedy Seeds: Count the DaysJake Speed & the Freddies: World Come CleanWussy: Wussy New Artist of the…
2007 Music Nominees and Winners
[Winners are in red.] BluegrassMa Crow and the Mother PluckersComet Bluegrass AllstarsRumpke Mountain BoysTaylor Farley and Blue RockMt. Pleasant String Band CountryLiquid FireDan Varner BandCoy Taylor BandMack WestStraw BossDallas Moore Folk / Americana / RootsThe Great DepressionNathan HolscherFrontier Folk NebraskaTupelo HoneyThe HidersBlue Rock Boys World MusicThe PinstripesTropicosoDuppy a JambaBaoku & the Image Afro-Beat BandMohenjo DaroSelecter…
Onstage: Poe
If you're looking to get revved up for Halloween, I can think of no better choice than heading to Cincinnati Shakespeare Company this weekend for Giles Davies' performance of Poe, a compilation of creepy stories from the master of the macabre. Davies spent nine seasons at CSC, where he excelled at playing memorable, kinky characters…
Onstage: Three Sisters
When a director pushes boundaries, great things can happen. That’s certainly what John Doyle’s staging of Three Sisters has tried to do. A high-profile venture for the Cincinnati Playhouse’s 50th anniversary, Doyle’s production uses a new, very colloquial version of Anton Chekhov’s play by the much-admired writer Sarah Ruhl and a team of Tony Award…
Chuck Prophet, Heavy Trash, Gov’t Mule and Maurice Mattei
This posting is considerably later than I would have liked, and if blame is to be assigned then let it be on my hippie kidneys. They just love getting stoned. I have read that the pain from a kidney stone is comparable to labor for a woman. Being uterus-less, I can't compare and contrast, but…
2008 Theater Nominees and Winners
Local Actress In A Leading Role (Play)Hayley Clark as Juliet in Romeo & Juliet, Cincinnati Shakespeare CompanyAnnie Fitzpatrick as Becca in Rabbit Hole, Ensemble Theatre of CincinnatiSherman Fracher as Agnes White in Bug, New Stage CollectiveDale Hodges as Mary Tyrone in Long Day’s Journey into Night, Cincinnati Shakespeare CompanyCorinne Mohlenhoff as Imogen in Cymbeline, Cincinnati…
Zift (Review)
Javor Gardev’s stylish noir is an entertaining if overstuffed entry into genre — shot in luminous black and white, it features enough flourishes to fill two movies: copious nudity, both male and female; hardboiled voice-over narration; a mysterious missing diamond; a sage cellmate; a sexy femme fatale; violence; elaborate set design; multiple narrative flashbacks; pretentious…
Jack Louiso (2007)
[Jack Louiso was the 2007 CEA Theater Hall of Fame inductee. This profile article originally ran in CityBeat on Aug. 22, 2007.] Jack Louiso knows kids. Maybe that's because he's kind of a big kid himself. His joyful sense of fun has, for many years, enabled him to get inside the heads of kids he's…
Film: CWC screening of ‘Zift’
Cincinnati World Cinema continues its Global Film Series with two screenings of Zift at The Carnegie in Covington. Javor Gardev’s stylish noir is an entertaining if overripe entry into genre — shot in luminous black and white, it features enough flourishes to fill two movies: copious nudity, both male and female; hardboiled voice-over narration; a…
2009 Theater Nominees and Winners
Local Actress In A Leading Role In A PlayJulianna Bloodgood as Kelly in Dying City, New Stage CollectiveCourtney Brown as Eurydice in Eurydice, Know Theatre of CincinnatiSara Mackie as Jackie in Mauritius, Ensemble Theatre of CincinnatiKelly Mengelkoch as Raina Petkoff in Arms and the Man, Cincinnati Shakespeare CompanyKate Wilford as Linda Loman in Death of…
This Is It (Review)
The cynics among us will decry This Is It as a money grab, the latest step in the exploitation of dead superstars to enrich the coffers of this or that financial entity (studios, record companies, family estates, etc.). It’s a sad reality that certain performers, like Tupac and Biggie Smalls, gained iconic status and platinum…
Bill Hartnett and Ellie Shepherd (2008)
[Bill Hartnett and Ellie Shepherd were the 2008 CEA Theater Hall of Fame inductees. This profile article originally ran in CityBeat on Aug. 20, 2008.] Bill Hartnett likes to tell stories. Ellie Shepherd, his partner — in life and frequently onstage — listens to him patiently. Sometimes she prompts him or fills in a detail.…
Jennifer and Tim Perrino and Denny Reed (2009)
[Jennifer and Tim Perrino and Denny Reed of Cincinnati Landmark Productions were the 2009 CEA Theater Hall of Fame inductees. This profile article originally ran in CityBeat on Aug. 26, 2009.] When things really got rolling for Tim and Jennifer Perrino and Denny Reed, they had no trouble seeing that their efforts were having an…
A Serious Man (Review)
Larry Gopnick (Michael Stuhlbarg) wants somebody to love him, or at the very least he wants to know that God or whatever higher power in existence doesn’t have some ancient vendetta against him, because based on the comically tragic circumstances Larry finds himself enduring, it seems that he is at the very top of someone’s…
Stage Door: Frighteningly Funny
While others are scaring themselves silly this weekend, perhaps you'd like to have a good, old-fashioned laugh. I can recommend the perfect show for you to escape the ghosts and goblins of Halloween, not to mention the scary world of 2009 (with unemployment and financial distress). Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman's 1936 Pulitzer Prize…
CityBeat Podcast 32: The Cincinnati Blog
On this episode we'll hear from Brian Griffin and Donald Caster of the Cincinnati Blog, which is one of the city's liveliest places for discussion of local news and politics. —- If you like what you hear, please support our podcast by subscribing to our podcast in iTunes or via our RSS feed. Also, please…
Candidates On: Changing Council Elections
CityBeat recently asked the non-incumbent candidates for Cincinnati City Council whether the charter should be amended to change the way future councils are elected. The question posed was, “What are your thoughts on suggestions to either expand council terms to four years, or to elect council members by districts rather than at-large?”—- Tony Fischer (Democrat):…
WOXY Still Loves Cincinnati Music
Though Internet radio juggernaut WOXY.com has moved to Austin, Tex. — and now has a weekly Local Lixx show focused on the station’ current “local music scene” — programmers haven’t turned their backs on the area of the country that gave the station its start. The first Local Lixx program broadcast from WOXY out of…
BRINK New Music Showcase
BRINK is back! Perhaps the only show you can attend Saturday and not be encouraged to wear a costume, the annual BRINK New Music Showcase returns to the Southgate House Halloween night with three floors’ worth of local band freshness. An attempt to spotlight the next crop of local music wavemakers, the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards-sponsored…
Onstage: Rent
Actor Anthony Rapp played videographer Mark in the original Broadway production of Rent in 1996. This show can change lives, he believes. “Rent is certainly entertaining,” he said in a recent interview, “but it’s also transformative. Over the years, people have told me that the show caused them to rethink their lives.” There is no…
You Can Vote No. Just Saying.
I was researching details on the tax levies on Tuesday's ballot and grabbed the millage and property tax costs from the Hamilton County Auditor's web site when I saw this wisdom from Auditor Dusty Rhodes. It's right at the top of his home page next to his photo: "It has become a fairly common practice…
Candidates On: Evaluating Milton Dohoney Jr.
Coverage of the non-incumbent candidates for Cincinnati City Council continues with their thoughts about the job performance of the man who oversees City Hall’s daily operations and its roughly 6,000 municipal employees. The question is, “Do you think the current city manager, Milton Dohoney Jr., is doing a good job?”—- Anitra Brockman (Green): “Whether I…
Some Dems Angry at Quinlivan, Burke
Some rank-and-file Democrats — including a few Democratic candidates for Cincinnati City Council — are angry with first-time contender Laure Quinlivan’s campaigning tactics, and are letting the party’s chairman know. Quinlivan’s detractors dislike her public criticism of other Democratic incumbents on council, as well as her recommendation for voters to use “bullet voting” so their…
Cold Weather Takeout for Nights with Family and Friends
As we cozy up and dine at home this freezing November, it doesn’t mean we have to cook. With deals like these, it’s tempting (and cheap) to carryout. Germano’s Ristorante/Montgomery Even though Germano’s, which has some of the most authentic Italian cuisine in the city, may be slightly expensive when it comes to indoor dining,…
Fall Back
I should probably make a note of it somewhere. This Sunday, we turn our clocks back an hour — you know, “spring forward, fall back.” I usually never remember to do it until days later while constantly being confused as to what time it really is. That phrase — spring forward, fall back — has…
Art: Imperishable Beauty at the Cincinnati Art Museum
It’s taken a couple unwanted delays for Cincinnati Art Museum to get Imperishable Beauty: Art Nouveau Jewelry open, but it’s been worth the wait. The museum has done a wonderful job displaying it; Cynthia Amnéus, the museum’s associate curator of costume and textiles, has really made it look sparkling. The show, up through Jan. 17,…
The Accidental Poet
Ever since he released his first Michael Stipe-produced album Little in 1990, Vic Chesnutt has carved out one of the most unusual careers in the singer/songwriter pantheon. A paraplegic using a wheelchair since breaking his neck in a 1983 car accident, the 44-year-old, Athens, Ga.-based Chesnutt may be physically confined but not creatively. Through 15…
Sisters and Stories
When the Cincinnati Playhouse’s Ed Stern described his 50th anniversary season last spring, he was especially excited about a new version of Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters, a 1905 play about three siblings who yearn for the life they once enjoyed in Moscow but now find themselves trapped in a cultural backwater. Some were surprised to…
Local 127 (Review)
Critic's Pick Local 127 isn’t the electricians’ union. The “Local” part is about the local food movement. According to Executive Chef Steven Geddes, “127 (W. Fourth St.) is our address, and we start there. Everything is sourced as close to this address as possible.” “Locally sourced” isn’t always locally grown and harvested, but that’s OK.…
Baby Alpaca (Profile)
If you’ve never seen Chris Kittrell (aka “baby alpaca”), he’s like this 7-foot-tall autoharp-wielding Ginsbergesque satyr who’s on a personal mission to provide others with an auditory escape from the everyday, as well as an outlet for creative collaboration and/or a skinny-dipping partner, all under the umbrella of his cuddly moniker. And because he doesn’t…
The Many Sides of Charlie Winburn
Ask anyone who knows the Rev. Charlie Winburn, and they’re sure to have one or two favorite anecdotes about the bombastic, fast-talking former Cincinnati city councilman. Equally well known for his flamboyant oratorical style and his conservative views on issues like abortion, gay rights and gun control, Winburn served for seven eventful years on council.…
The Tara Way
Tara Jane ONeil is like the Daniel Boone of Indie Rock. From the very dawn of her career — as a founding member of Rodan, Retsin and The Sonora Pine — to her decade-long solo stint, ONeil has blazed sonic trails in favor of following trends, making a name for herself as a guitarist, singer/songwriter,…
Onstage: The Shaolin Warriors
Performing this Sunday at 7 p.m. are a bunch of Chinese vegetarians who have dedicated their entire lives to a discipline, arguably the source of all known martial arts. The Shaolin Warriors, Kung Fu masters and disciples of the Shaolin schools, will be performing a choreographed theatrical show at Cincinnati Music Hall demonstrating the limits…
Home Again
Joel and Ethan Coen occupy a unique place in American movies: They essentially make what they want, when they want and (usually) with whom they want. The brothers have made 13 movies since their noir-informed 1984 debut Blood Simple, none of which suffer from a lack of distinction. In a risk-free age rife with remakes…
The Last Starfighter
Time has not been good to the arcade game. In the last decade, the accelerated pace of take-home technology has unarguably established consoles like the Nintendo Wii and the Xbox 360 as the video game’s dominant products, forcing the coin-operated game out of the market. Once the vehicle that launched the entire industry (1971’s stand-up…
Music/Art: Osso at Contry Club Gallery
Country Club Gallery is using its new space in Oakley — in the Voltage Lofts building — to have multimedia events in addition to its art shows. One of the first occurs 8 p.m. Tuesday, when modernist string quartet Osso’s live performance will be paired with a special screening of singer/songwriter Sufjan Stevens’ new 40-minute…
Many Motives Behind Issue 9
It might take a lesson in understanding games of logic to understand all the various aspects surrounding Issue 9. Here’s how it begins: There is an issue on the ballot this November called Issue 9. One side that’s interested in the topic says it's about stopping wasteful spending; the other side insists it’s about saving…
Torture Tunes, Sublime and The Game
[HOT] Music As TortureA group of musicians and performers has teamed up to demand that the U.S. government release the names of all songs used to grease the interrogation wheels (a.k.a. torture) at the GW Bush Sleepaway Camp (a.k.a. the Gitmo prison in Cuba). It had previously been announced that interrogators were blasting all sorts…
BRINK Is Back and Other Good News
• BRINK is back! Perhaps the only show you can attend Saturday and not be encouraged to wear a costume, the annual BRINK New Music Showcase returns to the Southgate House Halloween night with three floors’ worth of local band freshness. An attempt to spotlight the next crop of local music wavemakers, the Cincinnati Entertainment…
The Reality of Evolution
There were some inaccuracies in the Sept. 30 article (“Beyond Belief”) on the visit by atheists to our Creation Museum: Our date for the Earth’s age was given at 4,300 years old; my name was wrongly printed as “Ken”; and a “stir” was created at the museum, it was stated, by an atheist’s T-shirt when…
Scared Silly
It is Halloween night. You’re gathered with friends for a movie marathon chocked full of remorseless axe-wielding madmen, brain-munching ghouls and unspeakable monsters. Your companions howl as horror builds and body parts fly, but you’re blind to it all with hands clamped tight across the eyes. You hate scary movies, and you’re stuck in the…
Events: Cincinnati Toy and Collectible Show
Since debuting the Columbus Toy Show in 2003, James Ford and CTS Promotions have held pop culture conventions for six years. However, Sunday's event at the Sharonville Convention Center marks the company's first foray into Cincy as they try to rein in a new market of Midwestern collectors who might not want to travel to…
Christ Church, Deters, Haap and Flynn
[WINNER] CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL: This progressive downtown church, located on East Fourth Street, helps serve the public good with its “Community Issues Forum.” Held alternating Thursdays at noon between late September and May, the forum features speakers on current issues and political races affecting Cincinnati. The intimate gatherings, which are free and open to the…
Oct. 21-27: Worst Week Ever!
WEDNESDAY OCT. 21 When we at WWE! heard that the Cincinnati Tea Party was planning to spend the second half of this week participating in something called “We Surround Him,” we thought, “Good, if those assholes are busy doing weird shit to god they won’t bother the rest of us.” But it turns out that…
Museum Center, Libraries Seek Help
With four countywide tax levies on the November ballot, the most since 1994, you would expect the public to balk. But with two in particular — levies in support of the Cincinnati Museum Center and the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County — that doesn’t seem to be the case, with widespread support for…
Music: Tara Jane ONeil
Tara Jane ONeil is like the Daniel Boone of Indie Rock. From the very dawn of her career — as a founding member of Rodan, Retsin and The Sonora Pine — to her decade-long solo stint, ONeil has blazed sonic trails in favor of following trends, making a name for herself as a guitarist, singer/songwriter,…
Vote the CityBeat Ticket or Die!
One of the results of the city of Cincinnati’s budget crisis is the necessity to cut costs, particularly personnel costs. Mayor Mark Mallory and a majority on City Council decided to spread the pain across city departments, asking employees and worker unions to accept unpaid days off and reduced benefits in order to save full-time…
