Women’s Clinics to Stay Open — For Now
The only remaining women's clinic in Cincinnati that provides abortions will stay open, for now at least. A federal judge today issued an injunction allowing Planned Parenthood's Elizabeth Campbell Medical Center, a women's clinic that provides abortions in Mount Auburn, to stay open until next year as it fights Ohio's abortion laws and appeals a…
Parks Tax Fight Gets Real
As voters get nearer to weighing in on Mayor John Cranley's proposed amendment to Cincinnati's charter that would create a permanent property tax to fund the city's parks, things are getting contentious. Supporters of Issue 22, which would raise property taxes by about $35 for a $100,000 house, say it will help Cincinnati create “world…
Morning News and Stuff
Cincinnati Public Schools could be getting much needed additional space for pre-schoolers as soon as next school year. The CPS board voted unanimously in favor of renovating the old Vine Street school. The old school, which sits at Vine and Mulberry streets in Mount Auburn, has been empty since 2012. The building was last used…
Leftovers: What We Ate This Weekend
Each week CityBeat staffers, dining writers and the occasional intern tell you what they ate this weekend. We're not always proud — or trendy — but we definitely spend at least some money on food. Colleen McCroskey: Cincinnati’s love affair with Skyline is predicated upon our collective ability to ignore what it is we’re actually eating. It’s…
Morning News and Stuff
Good morning Cincinnati! Here are today's headlines. • City Democrats got together Saturday morning in Northside and voted 41-17 to endorse Mayor John Cranley's proposed permanent income tax levy to support the city's park system. If passed on the Nov. 3 ballot, the tax would be written into the city charter and would cost homeowners…
Tom Wesselmann Street Banners Offered for Sale
If you’re looking for a way to honor Cincinnati-native Pop artist Tom Wesselmann in your front yard or in your home or office, you might be interested in one of these 30-by-89-inch museum street banners from the popular Wesselmann retrospective, Beyond Pop Art, that came to Cincinnati Art Museum last year. They have just been…
Know and CCM Drama’s Demented Take on Spanish History
Know Theatre continues its second season under the artistic direction of Andrew Hungerford with more experimental and adventurous fare, producing new works and connecting with new collaborative partners. This time it’s CCM Drama from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, with faculty member Brant Russell staging Charise Castro Smith’s historical mash-up, The Hunchback of…
Your Weekend To Do List (10/9-10/11)
FRIDAY EVENT: AYE MUSIC & ART FESTIVAL The AYE Music & Art Festival — founded in 2006 to raise money for various charities — returns for its biggest fest yet this Friday-Sunday. Held at several venues in Over-the-Rhine, proceeds from the 2015 edition of AYE (which stands for “Adjust Your Eyes”) will go to Boys…
Morning News and Stuff
Good morning all. It’s news time friends. Today marks the opening of David and Rebecca Baron Center for Men, the homeless shelter in Queensgate replacing the Drop Inn Center that was located in Over-the-Rhine for decades. The shelter, located in a renovated Butternut Bread factory on Gest Street, has 150 beds and more than 79,000…
Stage Door
I gave a Critic’s Pick to the Cincinnati Playhouse’s production of Sex with Strangers, a new play by Laura Eason (who’s written scripts for House of Cards on Netflix). Ethan, an arrogant 28-year-old blogger has turned his writing about sexual conquests into a best-selling book, while Olivia is a serious, introspective writer who, at 39,…
WATCH: Alone at 3AM’s “I’m Dying” Music Video
Over the past year or so, Northern Kentucky’s SofaBurn Records has risen to become one of the more notable independent record labels in the region. The imprint has helped draw national attention to locally-produced gems like singer/songwriter Jeremy Pinnell’s amazing OH/KY album , and it has also released various singles featuring area artists like Buffalo Killers and…
Spoonful of Cinema: Sicario
You can feel it. Under the suspense, the action, the tension — fear. The fear of the unknown. The fear of death. The fear that you don’t amount to anything more than the dirt you tread on. The fear that your efforts to do what is right only contribute to the very evil you fight.…
99 Homes
Michael Shannon can do no wrong. The Academy Award nominee (Supporting Actor for Revolutionary Road) and Lexington, Ky. native may play deeply flawed men — and some like Rick Carver in 99 Homes step over the divide and gleefully dance with the devil — but Shannon always grants such evil men a recognizably human face.…
The Walk
Right up front, I have to admit my bias when it comes to The Walk, the new film from Robert Zemeckis about high-wire artist Philippe Petit, played by the ever-energetic and engaging Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I am an unabashed fan of Man on Wire, the Academy Award-winning documentary on Petit’s insane scheme to rig a high…
Morning News and Stuff
It's almost Friday, Cincy! Hang in there with me. I've got plenty of studies and polls to keep you going this morning. • City Council voted unanimously yesterday to designate the old Kings Records building a historic landmark. The future of the building has been controversial as city leaders and activists have fought to save…
Pan
The journey of Peter Pan (newcomer Levi Miller) begins when he’s left on the steps of an orphanage with a panpipe necklace — a keepsake that will define his legacy. Director Joe Wright (Atonement) injects jaded wonders and dark magic into his version of Neverland, while Jason Fuchs’ script pilfers and plunders from a treasure…
The New Girlfriend
Parisian director François Ozon (Swimming Pool, Young & Beautiful) knows how to tease and subtly manipulate audience expectations, especially when playfully inserting sexuality into the mix. So his latest, The New Girlfriend, which dresses itself up as a humanist drama, will likely delve quite subversively into smart comic territory as it explores and exposes the…
Big Stone Gap
This quaint slice of small town life — set in author, screenwriter and director Adriana Trigiani’s hometown of Big Stone Gap, Va. — has all the hallmarks of quirky Americana. Its protagonist is Ave Maria Mulligan (Ashley Judd), a spinster in the mid-to-late 1970s, who dares to dream of more than settling down because that’s…
Beyond the Books
I must confess, driving by a library and seeing a silhouette of a rhino through a window is pretty cool. But that was nothing compared to the large giraffe that nodded its head at me just a few feet inside the entrance of the main branch of the Boone County Public Library, in Burlington, Kentucky.…
Music: Helado Negro
R oberto Carlos Lange’s music, performed under the moniker Helado Negro, celebrates his Latin heritage in ways both obvious — he often sings in Spanish and there’s a breezily funky vibe to his textured electronic soundscapes — and subverting — his lyrics tend toward personal ambiguities and his song structures frequently jump off in unexpected…
Event: Cincinnati Chocolate Festival
It’s paradise for your sweet tooth: an entire afternoon of tastings, contests and demonstrations centered on nothing but chocolate. The sixth-annual fest features more than 20 vendors — including Aglamesis Bro.’s, Macaron Bar, Three B’s Sweets and Gigi’s Cupcakes — who will give out treats throughout the day in exchange for tasting tickets. The event also incorporates…
Lit: Lauren Groff
Lauren Groff’s Fates and Furies focuses on two charismatic characters, Lancelot (Lotto) and Mathilde, as they navigate the peaks and valleys of their seemingly idyllic matrimony. The depths and intricacies of these two protagonists are revealed separately in two sections, with Lotto recounting their lives in Fates, and Mathilde often offering divergent takes and revealing…
Event: The City Flea
For the fifth year in a row, the City Flea showcases a variety of regional vendors, from vintage dealers and hair stylists to coffee shops and book sellers. Find anything and everything you need, all while enjoying the great social atmosphere of Washington Park. A live DJ provides music and trucks serve food all day.…
Music: SeepeopleS with Benchwood Wyse
The first thing you see on the website for Portland, Maine quintet SeepeopleS is the pronouncement that the group plays “Anti-Genre-New-Music.” One listen to the group’s 2015 release, the two-disc, 25-song epic Dead Souls Sessions, and the description makes perfect sense. The band’s kitchen-sink Alt Rock is a psychedelic swirl of influences that makes it…
Event: Zombie Ball: Dance of the UnDead on Pyramid Hill
Don’t fear the walking dead — dance with them at the inaugural Zombie Ball: Dance of the UnDead on Pyramid Hill. Come dressed as a zombie, vampire, mummy or your favorite ghoulish character and enjoy creepy cocktails, haunted hayrides and more with fellow specters. For a particularly stylish spook (and a few extra dollars), guests can…
Event: Great Ohio River Swim
Grab your goggles for the eighth-annual Great Ohio River Swim. Starting at the upstream end of the Serpentine Wall, this 900-meter course goes straight across the river to Kentucky and angles back to finish at Public Landing. A 30-minute swim clinic starts at 7:30 a.m. and will give nervous participants a rundown of the basics…
Music: Sounds in the Art at Chase Public
Nashville-based, College-Conservatory of Music-trained percussionist Colleen Phelps presents an evening of percussion, spoken word and visual art at Chase Public. Aided by painter Drew Yakscoe, Phelps’ current project combines music and visual art and includes classical compositions by famous composers such as Bach, as well as more conceptual-based art practices like John Cage’s “Composed Improvisation…
Event: Rebuild Tucker’s Fundraiser
Tucker’s, the comfort-food breakfast and lunch café and Over-the-Rhine landmark, has been a Vine Street institution for 50 years, opened by current owner Joe Tucker’s parents in 1957. In July, the restaurant’s kitchen caught fire and the resulting damage devastated the building, closing Tucker’s for now. However, the community is rallying to help the family…
Event: River Grill Before the Big Chill
If you ever thought you could win a Kansas City Barbecue Society-sanctioned cooking contest, now is your chance to prove it. If you could care less about a cooking competition and would rather enjoy eating barbecue at your leisure, this is your chance, too. The River Grill Before the Big Chill hosts barbecue competitions in…
Event: PET-oberfest
CityBeat’s inaugural PET-oberfest celebrates Adopt a Shelter Pet Month by bringing hundreds of adoptable dogs, cats, puppies and kittens from local rescue and adoption groups to the Bertke Electric Warehouse in Northside. The goal of this festival is to find loving, permanent homes for pets from rescue agencies including Tails of Hope, Dream House Rescue,…
Event: Greater Cincinnati Kitchen & Bath Show
Whether you’re in need of some renovation inspiration for your kitchen or bath, or you just get a thrill from looking at the latest in tiled backsplashes, the Greater Cincinnati Kitchen & Bath Show has what you need. The show features vendors that specialize in the latest trends and products in cabinetry, flooring, hardware, plumbing,…
Event: Cincinnati Craft Breweries’ Oktoberfest
The fourth-annual Cincinnati Craft Breweries’ Oktoberfest returns to the Listermann Brewing Company. Your favorite local brewers — Blank Slate, Fifty West, Christian Moerlein, Rivertown, Mt. Carmel and more — will descend on the brewery for a weekend of fall brews, food and a ceremonial keg tapping of Listermann’s Oktoberfest lager (the only official Oktoberfest beer…
Event: Oak, Toast & Two Aging Barrels
When it comes to native spirits, there are few that excite as much as Kentucky bourbon. This weekend, the Mainstrasse Village Association and Wellmann’s Brands plan to bring the very best in micro, craft and large-scale distillery representations to keep the bourbon flowing at Oak, Toast & Two Aging Barrels. But there’s more to the…
Onstage: The Hunchback of Seville
Set just after Columbus’ discovery of the New World, Charise Castro Smith’s satirical and often anachronistic historical play covers a lot of territory. In 1504, Spain’s Queen Isabella is fretting about her empire and dying of some horrible plague, and she’s likely to be succeeded by her bratty daughter. Meanwhile, Isabella’s brilliant sister — a…
Comedy: Nick Griffin
Comedian Nick Griffin is what they call a “road warrior” in the comedy business. “I’m out there doing the road 30 to 40 weeks a year,” he says, “just constantly writing new material and trying to get on TV like every other comic.” On stage these days, Griffin talks about maintaining a positive attitude. “I…
Frida 602 (Review)
I n August, mezcal bar and taqueria Frida 602 opened in Covington’s MainStrasse neighborhood. Owners Paul Weckman and his wife Emily Wolff, who also run Otto’s down the street, wanted Frida to be a hub for the growing village. So far they’ve succeeded — the locals have been coming out in droves. For those who…
Checking in at the Hotel Cortez
We’ve moved into the Murder House, been institutionalized in the Asylum, entered the Coven and joined the Freak Show. This week, fans will check into American Horror Story: Hotel (Season Premiere, 10 p.m. Wednesday, FX). With a 90-minute premiere, Hotel opens with Detective John Lowe investigating a string of brutal murders in Los Angeles. A…
He Named Me…
Imagine having parents who were actively involved in the Civil Rights Movement, who participated in non-violent boycotts and rallies, who were beaten and jailed by local authorities, who likely feared for their safety behind closed and locked doors at night, who attended the March on Washington and found themselves inspired by the words of Martin…
Lauren Groff Talks Marriage, Writing and Life on Tour
Lauren Groff’s Fates and Furies focuses on two charismatic characters, Lancelot (Lotto) and Mathilde, as they navigate the peaks and valleys of their seemingly idyllic matrimony. The depths and intricacies of these two protagonists are revealed separately in two sections, with Lotto recounting their lives in Fates, and Mathilde often offering divergent takes and revealing…
The Power of Sex
Between 1982 and 2015, Americans’ attitudes about sex evolved. For evidence, check out two plays in production locally: Laura Eason’s contemporary Sex with Strangers at the Cincinnati Playhouse on its Shelterhouse stage and William Mastrosimone’s 1980s drama Extremities at Incline Theater. • Sex with Strangers is a new play about two very different writers. Nicholas…
Robert Mapplethorpe’s Art, Life Focus of Upcoming Symposium
FotoFocus, the nonprofit organization dedicated to furthering local interest in photography as an art form, isn’t spending this year solely planning for its 2016 Biennial. Instead, it and the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) are tackling the proverbial “elephant in the room” whenever one talks about Cincinnati’s support of photography — or of the arts in…
Cranley’s Anti-Poverty Plan Gets Mixed Reviews
Mayor John Cranley’s State of the City speech earlier this week touched on a number of issues the mayor has deemed priorities in the coming year — among them, the city’s sky-high childhood poverty rate. Last year, according the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, 44.3 percent of the city’s children lived in poverty. That’s…
A Cincinnati Story
B ruce Willis’ Marauders is just the latest in a string of Hollywood productions to film in the Queen City. Plenty of movies have been filmed here in the past (Rain Man, anyone?), but it’s never been with this frequency, even for movies that take place here. Take, for instance, 2008’s Kit Kittredge: An American…
Ladyfest: Grassroots Collaborative Feminism in Action
The concept of this weekend’s Ladyfest — Cincinnati’s iteration of the interdisciplinary fest promoting women involved in arts and activism — began in Olympia, Wash., in the summer of 2000 as a six-day festival of female bands, artists and speakers. Back then, calling oneself a feminist was not as fashionable as it is now, thanks…
Morning News and Stuff
Hey Cincy! Here are your morning headlines. • There's potentially more trouble on the horizon for ResponsibleOhio less than a month before voters head to the polls to vote on its ballot initiative to legalize marijuana. The Hamilton County Board of Elections is looking into possible voter registration fraud after the board found that at…
Ladies First
W hile she knows full well today, the first time Rachelle Caplan visited Cincinnati six years ago, she thought, “Where are my ladies at?” She would go to shows with her then-partner/now-husband who was in a well-established band with well-established friendships — most of which were male friendships — and feel out of place. She…
Activists Take to City Hall, State of City Speech to Protest Pending Clinic Closure
Pro-choice activists and community members joined outside of City Hall the evening of Oct. 5 to call on city and state officials to keep the two last abortion providers in southwestern Ohio open. The Mount Auburn Planned Parenthood and the Women’s Med Center in Dayton have been in jeopardy of closing since last month after…
Cincinnati Among Top Cities for Growth in Bicycle Commuting
Recent American Community Survey data released by the U.S. Census Bureau reveals that bicycle commuting continues to rise in America. Cincinnati has been one of the cities leading the way in that growth, it turns out. The League of American Bicyclists recently analyzed those ACS numbers and came up with data showing where cycling and…
City Reveals Steps to Eliminate Gender, Racial Inequities in Contracting
City of Cincinnati officials on Sept. 30 unveiled ordinances to address inequalities in the city’s contracting practices, including race- and gender-based requirements for contractors. The ordinances come after a so-called Croson Study showed that between 2009 and 2013, black-owned businesses were awarded only 2.7 percent of the city’s contracts, totaling about $5 million, despite blacks…
Waiting Game
W hen 64-year-old veteran Thomas Vance went in for a routine screening at a Veteran’s Affairs Clinic seven years ago, he was finally diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, a condition commonly seen in veterans. But unlike most veterans, his condition was brought on by childhood sexual abuse, not his military service. Vance had spent…
Routine 15
Oregon is bewildering. Think of Oregon and images might appear of bearded peaceniks, some of the world’s best coffee, bicycle trails, bucolic scenery, logging camps, Nike Town and every manner of Northwest Territory DIY schematics known to modern hipsters. When I spent a few vacation days in Portland in 2008 during the feverish run up…
Worst Week Ever! Oct. 07-13
Indiana Republican Shares Sex Video with Entire Contacts List, Then Shares Resignation Letter The good thing about smartphones is that you can store the contact info for the few dozen people you care about and hundreds of humans you’ve come into contact with throughout the last few years. The bad part is that if you’re…
Music: William Fitzsimmons
With a voice like a choirboy and a beard like a lumberjack, acoustic-oriented multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter William Fitzsimmons is a striking visual and aural presence. His music, over the course of seven LPs and EPs since 2005, has brought him comparisons to Elliott Smith, Sufjan Stevens and Iron & Wine’s Sam Beam (and I’d add…
Sound Advice: William Fitzsimmons with Jake Phillips
With a voice like a choirboy and a beard like a lumberjack, acoustic-oriented multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter William Fitzsimmons is a striking visual and aural presence. His music, over the course of seven LPs and EPs since 2005, has brought him comparisons to Elliott Smith, Sufjan Stevens and Iron & Wine’s Sam Beam (and I’d add…
Music: Hopsin
At 30, Hopsin is one of second-generation Hip Hop’s old guard, a genre veteran for nearly half his life who has used devices both fresh (white contact lenses that give him the appearance of an extra in Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video, YouTube promotion, a positive spin in his lyrical message) and time-tested (artist feuds, label…
Sound Advice: Hopsin with SwizZz, Dizzy Wright, Jarren Benton and DJ Hoppa
At 30, Hopsin is one of second-generation Hip Hop’s old guard, a genre veteran for nearly half his life who has used devices both fresh (white contact lenses that give him the appearance of an extra in Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video, YouTube promotion, a positive spin in his lyrical message) and time-tested (artist feuds, label…
Music: Futurebirds
Futurebirds are the first to admit that their six members offer up an array of influences — from ’80s Pop to Country of every stripe to Psych-infused Indie Rock — that coalesce around one common thread: Athens, Ga. and its rich musical heritage. The band’s freshly minted third record, Hotel Parties, is a diverse, twang-infested excursion featuring…
Music: Rod Picott
One spin through Fortune, Rod Picott’s latest album, will inspire any number of referential name-checks and stylistic comparisons, from the storytelling prowess of Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark to the passionate-soul reflection of Tom Waits and Bob Dylan. (For those who keep track of such things, the album’s powerfully affecting guitar work is provided…
Sound Advice: Futurebirds with Harpooner and Wilder
Futurebirds are the first to admit that their six members offer up an array of influences — from ’80s Pop to Country of every stripe to Psych-infused Indie Rock — that coalesce around one common thread: Athens, Ga. and its rich musical heritage. The band’s freshly minted third record, Hotel Parties, is a diverse, twang-infested excursion featuring…
Sound Advice: Rod Picott with Mark Becknell
One spin through Fortune, Rod Picott’s latest album, will inspire any number of referential name-checks and stylistic comparisons, from the storytelling prowess of Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark to the passionate-soul reflection of Tom Waits and Bob Dylan. (For those who keep track of such things, the album’s powerfully affecting guitar work is provided…
Albini vs. EDM
HOT: Albini vs. EDM Steve Albini is probably more known today for his caustic missives about the music industry than for his seminal music. His 1993 essay, “The Problem with Music,” a brutal takedown of the major-label system, is still widely shared and cited. The latest Albini rant surfaced recently when EDM artist Powell revealed…
AYE Fest Packs OTR with Music All Weekend
The AYE Music & Art Festival — founded in 2006 to raise money for various charities — returns for its biggest fest yet this Friday-Sunday. Held at several venues in Over-the-Rhine, proceeds from the 2015 edition of AYE (which stands for “Adjust Your Eyes”) will go to Boys Hope Girls Hope (bhghcincinnati.org). This year’s AYE…
Embracing the Weirdness
R oberto Carlos Lange’s music, performed under the moniker Helado Negro, celebrates his Latin heritage in ways both obvious — he often sings in Spanish and there’s a breezily funky vibe to his textured electronic soundscapes — and subverting — his lyrics tend toward personal ambiguities and his song structures frequently jump off in unexpected…
Music: AYE Music & Art Festival
The AYE Music & Art Festival — founded in 2006 to raise money for various charities — returns for its biggest fest yet this Friday-Sunday. Held at several venues in Over-the-Rhine, proceeds from the 2015 edition of AYE (which stands for “Adjust Your Eyes”) will go to Boys Hope Girls Hope (bhghcincinnati.org). This year’s AYE…
