U R Hot…and Yet You Don’t Make Me Feel Sexy
I understand that text messaging is a common form of communication for many people, regardless of age. I send text messages. Generally, I have no problem with them. However, I believe they are not a viable form of communication in the early stages of a relationship. And still so many of the men I date…
The Cost of Fuel Efficiency
Over the past few weeks, my wife and I have begun seriously shopping for a replacement for my truck. There are two big reasons for this: First, my truck has a long shopping list of repairs that need to be done to it in the next six to twelve months, bills totaling about $5,000 according…
Art: Prints by Jiri Anderle at the Cincinnati Art Museum
The sheer beauty of the work is reason enough to pay a visit to Illusion and Reality: Prints by Jiri Anderle, but the perceptive viewer will find much to think about beyond the skill of this Czechoslovakian artist. Turning adversity into a virtue is something artists are good at. The adversity of being an artist…
Art: Insider/Outsider: Alternative Views of America at the Sanda Small Gallery
Anyone interested in quirky, surreal or cynical art should drop by Sandra Small Gallery before Nov. 7 to see Insider/Outsider: Alternative Views of America. The show presents artists from as near as Cincinnati to as far away as Maine. Steve Geddes’ painted wood sculptures include dinosaurs aboard a kinetic Noah’s ark. Michael Ransdell’s wall-mounted wood…
Onstage: Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony
The Viennese composer Gustav Mahler wrote that he could never write a Mass because he had no Credo. But he composed a massive symphony, his second, for orchestra, choir and vocal soloists, inspired by a German poem extolling the promise of resurrection. The “Resurrection” symphony has moved audiences for over 100 years and for Gilbert…
Music: Little Brother
Like many Hip Hop outfits, Little Brother is part of a larger collective that releases music under a variety of banners. Little Brother’s three original members, Phonte Coleman, Thomas Jones and Pat Douthit (Phonte, Big Pooh and 9th Wonder, respectively), assembled a decade ago as students at North Carolina Central University, first forming the Justus…
Comedy: Iliza Schlesinger
Having won this past summer’s edition of Last Comic Standing, one would think that Iliza Schlesinger would be breathing a little easier. Through January she is touring with other comedians from that program, and she’s actually feeling more pressure in a way. “People have seen you on TV,” she says. “Now they’re paying to see…
Onstage: The Seafarer
According to Ensemble Theatre’s D. Lynn Meyers, playwright Conor McPherson is “one of the greatest storytellers alive today.” If you’ve been paying attention to Cincinnati stages over the past few years, you’ve likely been charmed — and frightened — by his stories of hauntings and desperate people. Last month New Stage Collective presented McPherson’s Shining…
Art: China Design Now at the Cincinnati Art Museum
China Design Now makes its U.S. debut as a comprehensive exhibition of hundreds of objects elaborates on the booming innovations presently taking place in the fields of design, fashion, and architecture throughout China. The exhibition is split into three sections, corresponding one of those design areas with an eastern coastal city: Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing.…
Onstage: The Boys Next Door
Tom Griffin’s 1983 play The Boys Next Door is about four mentally challenged men in a group home. Falcon Theatre is staging the heartwarming drama with a cast of talented local actors directed by Jared Doren. (The show was a 1980s off-Broadway hit, a production at the Cincinnati Playhouse in 1990 and a 1996 made-for-TV…
Music: The Seedy Seeds
The Seedy Seeds have set some astonishing benchmarks for themselves in just three years. Arising from a chance meeting between Mike Ingram and Margaret Weiner at a friend’s birthday party, the Seeds have quickly become a scene favorite. Buzz on the duo’s early shows made them one of the city’s most anticipated new acts and…
Events: Drive By Press
In what sounds like an innovative way to bring its art to the people, a mobile printmaking studio known as Drive By Press will be parked at the plaza outside the student union at Northern Kentucky University to show the contemporary graphic art its creators have collected driving across the country. The collection was gathered…
CEA Music Nominees Announced Tomorrow
With the MidPoint Music Festival a glorious memory, we turn our attention to the next big local music event: the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards. The nominees will be announced — and you will be able to vote — tomorrow at citybeat.com. Vote early before you start worrying about that other little voting thing coming up in…
Concert Review: The Black Keys at the Madison Theater
Being the next to last show of the tour, my expectations were running pretty high for The Black Keys as they strolled into the Greater Cincinnati area, playing Covington's Madison Theater on Oct. 10. I can at least say that I have never had quite a concert-going experience like this one. Openers The Royal Bangs…
The National Talks Barack, Fountain Square Concert/Rally
In advance of The National’s highly anticipated free performance this Thursday at Fountain Square, I had the opportunity to talk with the lead singer of the band, Matt Berninger. The concert is part of a rally in support of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, donning the title “Vote Early, Rock Late.” It will feature political…
The Kooks…
These guys are apparently very popular in England…not so popular here. Not that that's a bad thing. A bunch of their fans got to get up close and personal at Shake It Records' in-store on Sunday. Check out an interview here and photos of the in-store here.
Paranoid in the Queen City
We’re a long way from September 2007. Remember when nearly every political pundit was frothing at the mouth to cover the inevitable Hillary Clinton vs. Rudi Giuliani presidential battle royale? Well, some 13 months later, Hillary is campaigning for Barack Obama and Rudi is left to drop divisive, stereotype-laden cultural bombs (all the while being…
Make Your Own Cereal Bars
If you use cereal bars as a quick snack (as I often do), you might be concerned about the ingredients (high fructose corn syrup) and maybe even interested in making your own. I tried this a couple of years ago and ended up with some rather dry fare. I learned that I didn't use a…
Monday Report
The U.S. stock exchanges have opened strongly this morning, following gains in Asia and Europe earlier today. The Bush Administration's ever-evolving bail-out plans are, as they say in the bidness world, fluid. Barack Obama has opened a 10-point national lead on John McCain, according to The Washington Post. Some pundits think the race is even…
Cyclists Unite!
In case you haven’t heard, big changes are coming to I-75 in the next decade. We need more room on the freeways for all of our cars, and with widening comes other infrastructure changes. One that will certainly affect bicycle commuters is the I-75/Hopple Street interchange, which needs to be updated so future generations of…
Drive-By Art
In what sounds like an innovative way to bring its art to the people, a mobile printmaking studio known as Drive By Press will be parked at the plaza outside the student union at Northern Kentucky University on Thursday to show the contemporary graphic art its creators have collected driving across the country. Actually, the…
Warmer Milks at The Void Skateshop in Lexington…
Video, once again, by the concert-filming Ashley Thomas. WARMER MILKS – THE VOID SKATESHOP – LEXINGTON KY from console on Vimeo.
C. Spencer Yeh at The Void Skateshop in Lexington…
Video lovingly provided by Ashley Thomas. C. Spencer Yeh – The Void Skateshop – Lexington, KY from console on Vimeo.
Ryan Adams at the Taft Theatre…
Ryan Adams & the Cardinals at the Taft Theatre on Oct. 3. Video provided by Ashley Thomas (Adams).
Corn Syrup: The Devil in the Drink
This article on the murky and industrialized world of high fructose corn syrup walks readers through a psychotically complex process that takes corn and turns it into sweetened gel (or fat Americans or poison, however you'd prefer to describe it). "HFCS has the exact same sweetness and taste as an equal amount of sucrose from…
The Black Keys Tonight in Covington: What to Expect
(Note: CityBeat's Keith Klenowski caught the show by Akron's Black Keys last night in Columbus. The Indie/Blues/Rock duo plays Covington's Madison Theater tonight. Here's Keith's report from last night's show, to give you an idea of what to expect.) Going to a concert out-of-town is like visiting another country. They have different customs, people are…
Friday Movie Roundup
The fall movie season is off to a shaky start. Anticipated films like the Coen brothers' Burn After Reading, Clark Gregg’s Choke, Spike Lee’s Miracle at St. Anna and Fernando Meirelles’ Blindness have left critics (and most audiences) wanting. Even the relatively well received Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist has its detractors (like me) —…
Stage Door: Militant Language
This is the weekend for you to get a step ahead of your cultured friends by attending the opening of a world premiere play, Sean Christopher Lewis’ MILITANT LANGUAGE: A PLAY WITH SAND. It’s an Iraq War drama, but it’s really more about how war affects soldiers and their relationships — an intense hostage situation…
Q&A with Ragged Productions…
Adam Lytle is the co-founder of Ragged Productions, a new collaborative video production company staffed by former and current Electronic Media students from UC's CCM. The company, made up of directors, designers, animators and editors, creates professional grade videos on the cheap. Just another example of emerging creativity in the Queen City, Lytle answers some…
Privilege
PRIVILEGE (NEW YORKER)1967, Unrated British director Peter Watkins creates a multi-faceted critique of celebrity, corporate culture, government and religion in his criminally underappreciated 1967 film, Privilege. Set in a dystopian near future, the film follows a Pop star named Steven Shorter (Manfred Mann lead singer Paul Jones) whose fame has reached an incredible worldwide critical…
Life: Season One
LIFE: SEASON ONE (UNIVERSAL)2007-’08, Not RatedLife: Season One gives us Charlie Crews (Band of Brothers’ Damian Lewis) as a cop, wrongly accused of murder and incarcerated for years, who is exonerated thanks to DNA evidence. Not only is he given his life back but he also receives a reported $50 million settlement and a higher…
Ladies and Gentleman, the Fabulous Stains
LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, THE FABULOUS STAINS (RHINO)1982, Rated RBack when cable superstations were new in the early 1980s, USA Network used to play Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains seemingly every weekend. It was a good film with strong music, barely released to theaters, about an inexperienced, Runaways-like, teen-girl Punk band confronting the road’s and…
The Last Word on The Afghan Whigs’ Gentlemen
While I’m not quite a junkie, I am fairly addicted to the “33 1/3” book series from publisher Continuum. If you’ve yet to hear about the series, the books are each dedicated to one specific album that has gained some sort of notoriety in the music world. The records chosen are mostly cult favorites with…
What Makes a Good Neighborhood?
My wife and I chose our home in Norwood because more than two dozen of our friends live within a couple of blocks of our house. Camaraderie, to me, makes for a good quality of life in a neighborhood. It’s a friendly place and people frequently greet each other on the street. Norwood also has…
Protecting the Great Lakes
The final ratification of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact came Oct. 3 when President Bush signed the joint resolution of Congress. The law is now on the books, even though some in Ohio who support Issue 3 – the constitutional amendment to guarantee property owners the right to reasonable use of…
More Details on Today’s Obama Rally
Barack Obama will speak at the Pavilion in Ault Park at 3 p.m. today. Gates to the lawn west of the Pavilion will open at 1:00. No umbrellas or folding chairs will be permitted. They'd prefer you don't bring bags so the search at the gates will go smoother. Don't know about signs or blankets.…
Dodge My Balls…
Dodgeball: the gentleman's ball game. It seems like this sports fad would have died out after people got sick of quoting movie lines from Dodgeball, but it didn't. Probably because people still quote that movie, and because people take dodgeball very seriously. Every Tuesday from 10 p.m. to midnight a bunch of dudes in basketball…
Dubya Gets Stoned
Oliver Stone has been out of sorts ever since he gave people an aneurysm with the over-the-top, frenetic football extravaganza Any Given Sunday (1999). Now that I think about it, U-Turn (1997) blew, too. In fact, it’s been since the underrated (and under-seen) Nixon (1995) that Stone had me fully engaged. Recent years have been…
JustNews
The Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center (www.cworkers.org) is putting out a newsletter with all kinds of peace and justice events in the Queen City. To sign up, send an e-mail to calendar@cworkers.org. In the meantime, here’s a sample of what’s coming up this week: Saturday, Oct.11: Amnesty International – Group 86 Location: Sitwell’s Coffee House 324…
Bring On the MLB Tournament
Last week I was sitting in a smokey Portland bar, chatting nonchalantly with friends about current events when I looked up at a TV screen and saw that the Dodgers were beating the Cubs for the second straight night. The Cubs led the National League in wins this year and were on the brink of…
Debate About Nothing
Did you watch much of the presidential debate last night? I watched the first 15-20 minutes, fast-forwarded through the rest and saw the closing remarks. John McCain didn't press enough on his issues, and Barack Obama is basically playing defense and trying not to mess up. As I say in my editorial in today's CityBeat,…
Maria Lassnig (Review)
Critic's Pick It is astonishing that Maria Lassnig, whose work is presented in an impressive solo exhibition at the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC), is widely unknown in the United States. She is an influential force throughout Europe, working in Vienna for the past few decades. At the age of 89, Lassnig is highly accomplished as…
Music: Tchaikovsky Festival Opening Concert
Cincinnati's College Conservatory of Music brings you Tchaikovsky, all the way from Russia, with love. To celebrate on of the most famous composers of the late Romantic period, CCM is hosting a Tchaikovsky Festival. The festival kicks off with Curtain Rising, the opening concert, on Oct. 14. This concert will feature the CCM Philharmonia Orchestra…
162 Regular Season Games Get Trumped by Three Playoff Losses
In 14 years since Major League Baseball introduced expanded playoffs, the baseball postseason stands apart from similar productions by other sports and especially from its own regular season. In no other sport is the regular season less instructive about how the playoffs will develop. Count it as one more indication, among many, about how differently…
Censored Again … and Still
The daily dispatches and nightly newscasts of the mainstream media regularly cover terrorism but rarely discuss how the fear of attacks is used to manipulate the public and set policy. That’s the common thread of many unreported stories last year, according to an analysis by Project Censored. Since 1976, Sonoma State University in California has…
Who Owns the World? (Review)
Critic's Pick Ohad Meromi is part of a group of Israeli artists who migrated from Tel Aviv to attend Columbia University’s graduate program. Matt Distel previously made us aware of this group when, while working at the Contemporary Arts Center, he brought Guy Ben- Ner’s work there in 2005. Now he has brought Meromi’s installation…
deSha’s (Review)
Writing a dining review is a great gig, right? Hey, I can’t complain. But sometimes it can be challenging, especially when the assignment isn’t on your home turf. “Symmes Township?” I asked my editor. “Surely, you are not sending this city girl to Symmes Township?” “Don’t call me Shirley,” she replied. To Symmes Township I…
Movies: The Duchess
Georgiana (Keira Knightley), the Duchess of Devonshire, is reported to have been a progressive woman during her lifetime. The personal and the political realms of her life took center stage and the world was seemingly aware of her every move and thought on any and all subjects, again both personal and political. She spoke her…
Cari Clara with Noctaluca and Wake the Bear
Cari Clara Listening to the new self-titled long-player from Cincinnati’s Cari Clara, I had a thought that I’ve had for about 15 years now. Eric Diedrichs (CC’s brain trust) should be famous. Not because he’s a pretty guy (though he is) and not because he has a great onstage presence (he does). Diedrichs has been…
Events: Zoo Brew
This beer tasting event benefits the Zoo's Lindner Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife. There will be a variety of beers provided by Samuel Adams, brew-masters on site to discuss the “science of beer," appetizers, live music and animals. 6-8:30 p.m. $10-$150. Get details, buy tickets and find nearby bars and restaurants here.
Another Seven Days of Bad Parenting and Free Bacon
WEDNESDAY OCT. 1Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby’s terrible parenting skills might have resulted in a child dying a slow and excruciating death this summer, but that didn’t stop her from accepting an invitation to kick it with a sympathetic talk show host. The Symmes Township woman’s taped appearance on Oprah aired today, leading many to wonder why she…
A Hero for Laughing at Cincinnati
Josh Sneed, to borrow a line from a famous dead comedian, doesn’t get any respect. Locally, anyway. The comedian from Saint Bernard has two Comedy Central specials under his belt — a 6-minute set on Premium Blend and a 30-minute special of his own — and tours across the United States doing more than 160…
Kiss the Kooks
It might seem like a letdown for a group like The Kooks to tour the United States. The band is a major headliner in the U.K., playing prestigious festivals and arenas in that country, where its two albums, Inside In/Inside Out and Konk, have been million-selling hits. But stateside, The Kooks are playing clubs. Kooks…
Events: Cirque du Soleil: Saltimbanco
The word "saltimbanco" comes from the Italian meaning "to jump on a bench." Well, these acrobats will be doing more than jumping on benches. They will be taking you on an allegorical journey through urban life, touching on the people who live in the city, the hustle and bustle of the streets and the heights…
The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder (Review)
Vincent Bugliosi’s thesis in The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder is that Bush should be tried for conspiracy to commit murder over his misstatements (lies, in Bugliosi’s eyes) that created the pretext for the 2003 Iraq invasion. And Vice President Dick Cheney and now-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice could be co-conspirators, as might…
He’s Got Nothing, Jerry
Nov. 4 can’t get here soon enough. I’m writing this column before the second McCain-Obama presidential debate, exactly four weeks until Election Day. I can’t wait for it all to be over and for Barack Obama officially to be president-elect. Back in the Spring I was certain that the winner of the Democratic primary between…
‘The Day I Gave Up’
Frank Leonhartsberger used to scream in his sleep. I knew this from my mother, who lived with him for a while. Born in Allentown, Pa., to immigrant parents, his father died when he was 3 years old. His mother took him back to her family home in Austria, just in time for the Anschluss, the…
It’s Just Crepes (Lunch Review)
I don’t believe I’ve written a restaurant review while I was still eating, but it’s the perfect indicator of how fast our world moves. Going to It’s Just Crepes (39 E. Court St., 513-63-CREPE) downtown was a big reminder of that: This place really caters to our busyness. The scene: Four people in a small…
American Wife (Review)
Earlier this year, I went to my cousin’s wedding. It was a seriously Republican crowd. The only Democrat I met all weekend used to babysit the Bush twins. At a bridal luncheon given by a friend of the family well into her sixties, I was surprised to find a copy of Cincinnati native Curtis Sittenfeld’s…
Local and National GOP Out of Touch
There’s an old saying: “All politics are local.” The phrase, attributed to longtime House Speaker Tip O’Neill, emphasized his belief that a politician’s success is directly tied to an ability to understand and influence the issues of his constituents. Put simply, elected officials must appeal to the mundane and everyday concerns of those they represent…
West Side Is Changing
West Side Is Changing Kevin Osborne’s article “Considering ‘Life Peace Zones’ ” (issue of Oct. 1) really made my neck veins pop. The establishment of so-called “life peace zones” is just a transparent attempt to thwart a constitutionally guaranteed right and to ram Catholic orthodoxy down our throats. This appalling presumptuousness is almost more frightening…
Music: The Black Keys
Akron, Ohio's Blues-Rock duo The Black Keys comes to the Madison Theatre to support their latest album, Attack & Release. Get details, buy tickets and find nearby bars and restaurants here.
Future of the Left with Against Me! and Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
A couple of years ago I missed an opportunity to see a band called Mclusky. Reports using loaded language reached me — the show was “totally awesome” and “great” and “shitass phenomenal” and all that kind of stuff. But one person in particular, Erin Proctor (of local band Eat Sugar at the time), said it…
‘No One Owns Water’
Most people believe that government shouldn’t control how you use your property, including water that runs under or through land you own. And most would agree the only role government ought to have is making sure one property owner doesn’t use, pollute or damage those resources in a way that limits the rights of other…
Spiders Invade
Yes! That was my first response upon seeing Carlos Amorales’ new show, Discarded Spider, at downtown’s Contemporary Arts Center (CAC). This show works perfectly in the gallery spaces of the Zaha Hadid-designed building, whose many angles and openings have proved the master of too many prior CAC shows. Along with the current Maria Lassnig painting…
The Duchess (Review)
Georgiana (Keira Knightley), the Duchess of Devonshire, is reported to have been a progressive woman during her lifetime. The personal and the political realms of her life took center stage and the world was seemingly aware of her every move and thought on any and all subjects, again both personal and political. She spoke her…
Cintas Under a Microscope
An institutional shareholder at Cintas Corp. will make a motion at the company’s annual meeting later this month seeking to have an independent chairman appointed to its board of directors to improve oversight and increase company performance. Representatives for the North Carolina Retirement Systems (NCRS), which represents the pension investments of retired North Carolina state…
Folking Off
I don’t think I’ve ever written anything about Jake Speed without mentioning Woody Guthrie. Call me lazy, but the political Folk pioneer is such an obvious influence on Speed’s songs and lyrics it almost seems dishonest not to mention it. While listening to World Come Clean, Jake Speed and the Freddies’ brand new release, I…
Events: Canine Happy Hour
If you like alcohol and dogs and want to help find a cure for multiple sclerosis, this is the event for you. Canine Happy Hour wants dogs, dog owners and dog lovers to come out for an afternoon of drinking, live music, furry friends and a great cause. A $20 donation, which goes to benefit…
Body of Lies (Review)
Throughout David Ignatius’ 2007 novel Body of Lies, you can feel the potential for creating something … deeper. While the surface markings were those of an age-of-terrorism espionage thriller, there were also hints of Mystic River author Dennis Lehane — the portrayal of a world in which moral decision-making was virtually impossible, and the best…
Brave New World of Jazz
Jazz congas. It’s a phrase that requires a second look — and definitely a listen. Though a less common instrument in Jazz than saxophone or drum set, congas are nevertheless an important ingredient of a form of music that bears the dubious moniker, “Latin Jazz.” Latin music, a general term for music that combines African…
Kyle English (Profile)
My first open mic: The Full Moon Café, a sketchy Virginia club where shots came by the glassful. My hands shook. The redhead host, Jane (Radar Rose), cheered me on. That night, I met my future bandmates. Two of us fell in love. Others fought, sure. Like a band would. Later, back in Cincy, I…
Parenting: Lowering SIDS risk, Ohioans’ Medical Records and more
• Park Vine is hosting a discussion and workshop on cloth diapers with cloth diaper authority Elizabeth Whitton. Free. 10 a.m. Oct. 18 at Park Vine, 1109 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, 513-721-7275. RSVPs requested before Oct. 11. —- • The New York Times reports that placing a fan in a baby's room might dramatically lower the…
