All About Political Picnics and Polls
More information is emerging about Cincinnati City Councilman Jeff Berding’s “un-endorsement” by the local AFL-CIO, as well as about an election year poll commissioned by Democrats. Attendees at the Cincinnati AFL-CIO’s annual Labor Day Picnic on Monday at Coney Island were surprised when they read a flyer listing in alphabetical order the union’s endorsed candidates…
Knife the Symphony (Profile)
Three is an important number for Knife the Symphony. The Post Hardcore band’s three members — guitarist Jeff Albers (ex-Ampline), bassist Robyn Roth, drummer Jerry Dirr (both ex-Theraphosa) — assembled three years ago and are currently preparing to release their third album, the visceral yet nuanced Dead Tongues. “The idea of marketing and making sure…
Art: Morgan Aero 8 at the Cincinnati Art Museum
The Cincinnati Art Museum seems to have found a real crowd pleaser with its rotating exhibition of high-design automobiles — displaying one at a time for several months each. The latest, which went on display Sept. 1 and stays out through Jan. 11, is a black 2007 Morgan Aero 8, the first new design since…
Music: Busdriver
If speed really does kill, please, don’t tell Busdriver. The L.A. “Art Rap” MC rhymes so quickly sometimes, you wonder if he has a Silly Putty tongue. Of course, the number of syllables one can spit in a micro-millisecond has nothing to do with lyrical ability (cough, cough — Twista), but Busdriver is cool in…
entheos (Profile)
Grampie, my Mom’s dad, was a kind man with a near-photographic memory. To memorize lengthy sermons, he glanced at them. Once. One night, we were all messily eating his homegrown blueberries in Bear Lake, Mich. Wearing her tan, wraparound skirt, Grammie passed me the pale blue sugar bowl and Grampie started telling a joke. Usually…
Jackie, Oh!
Sometimes musicians have to leave the Midwest to get better — they need more ideas than any one region can provide. That was the case with Jackie DeShannon, whose long career has included such hit recordings as the Bacharach/David composition “What the World Needs Now” and her own “Put a Little Love in Your Heart,”…
Music: The Silversun Pickups
The Silversun Pickups have had an exciting 2009, and Swoon might be the year’s pinnacle. The band’s pulse-pounding combination of visceral Indie Rock finesse and Shoegaze thunder has been sharpened extraordinarily on its sophomore full-length CD. After just a month’s hiatus following nearly two solid years of touring, the foursome (Aubert, keyboardist Joseph Lester, bassist…
Music: Knife the Symphony
Three is an important number for Knife the Symphony. The Post Hardcore band’s three members — guitarist Jeff Albers (ex-Ampline), bassist Robyn Roth, drummer Jerry Dirr (both ex-Theraphosa) — assembled three years ago and are currently preparing to release their third album, the visceral yet nuanced Dead Tongues. The past three years have been a…
Music: The Whiskey Daredevils
It’s been five years since vocalist Greg Miller, bassist Ken Miller and drummer Leo P. Love emerged from the smoldering wreckage of Cleveland’s Cowslingers, acquired guitarists Bobby Lanphier and Dave Bowling and set about reinventing Rockabilly by applying a thick, viscous layer of Punk sneer, Country twang and Garage snot. The group rolls it all…
Music: Ninja Gun with The Gaslight Anthem
“With seclusion comes originality,” asserts Jonathan Coody, guitarist/vocalist of Ninja Gun. If it’s seclusion you’re looking for, then Valdosta, Ga., isn’t a bad place to start. It’s the city where the Cowpunk foursome formed some eight years ago and has resided ever since. As documented ably on last year’s Restless Rubes, Ninja Gun’s second full-length…
Berding on the Chopping Block
CityBeat has been trying to confirm the hottest rumor swirling in political circles since last Thursday, but the information was already the talk of the town at today's annual AFL-CIO Labor Day Picnic at Coney Island: Local union leaders have rescinded their endorsement of Cincinnati City Councilman Jeff Berding, a Democratic incumbent.—- Reliable party sources…
33 Variations (Review)
Critic's Pick The creation of art is a fascinating subject, but delving into the mysteries behind what motivates a creator can be infuriating. Such an exploration is both the story of and the fuel that drives Moisés Kaufman’s 33 Variations, which Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati (ETC) has chosen to launch its 24th year. A 21st-century…
O’Horten (Review)
Odd Horten (well played by Bard Owe) is a retiring 67-year-old Oslo train conductor whose consciousness expands over a couple of days in Brent Hamer's (Factotum) fascinating seriocomic character study. Pragmatic and self-effacing, Horton is a lonely bachelor whose high regard for the ritual and regimentation of his job has made him respected among his…
Film: CAM Reel Art: Herb & Dorothy
Herb & Dorothy is a wonderful new documentary about some unusual contemporary art collectors and has broad human-interest appeal because of its affectionate yet inquisitive look at what makes people want to live with art and seek to acquire the best they can find. It’s also a profoundly patriotic and pro-American government movie, perfect for…
Extract (Review)
As prolific as writer/director Mike Judge has been throughout a stellar career that includes such television staples as Beavis and Butt-Head and King of the Hill, it's to his detriment (and ours) that he hasn't done more feature films. Office Space (1999) became a cult classic after its failed theatrical release. Idiocracy (2006) did the…
Local Color (Review)
Writer/director George Gallo looks back to his own youth in this coming-of-age tale about an aspiring artist and his curmudgeonly mentor. Na
The Whiskey Daredevils
It’s been five years since vocalist Greg Miller, bassist Ken Miller and drummer Leo P. Love emerged from the smoldering wreckage of Cleveland’s Cowslingers, acquired guitarists Bobby Lanphier and Dave Bowling and set about reinventing Rockabilly by applying a thick, viscous layer of Punk sneer, Country twang and Garage snot. The group rolls it all…
Ninja Gun with The Gaslight Anthem, The Loved Ones and Murder by Death
“With seclusion comes originality,” asserts Jonathan Coody, guitarist/vocalist of Ninja Gun. If it’s seclusion you’re looking for, then Valdosta, Ga., isn’t a bad place to start. It’s the city where the Cowpunk foursome formed some eight years ago and has resided ever since. “I grew up on a hog farm here in South Georgia,” Coody…
Silversun Pickups with Cage the Elephant and Manchester Orchestra
The Silversun Pickups have had an exciting 2009, and Swoon might be the year’s pinnacle. The band’s pulse-pounding combination of visceral Indie Rock finesse and Shoegaze thunder has been sharpened extraordinarily on its sophomore full-length CD. Given the phenomenal response to 2006’s Carnavas, a certain hesitation might have been expected. But the Pickups were confident…
George Usher, Patton Oswalt, The Melloncollies, Rev. Horton Heat and Blue Ridge Rangers
Four weeks ago, I was drinking a beer and staring at a small lake in northern Michigan. Right now I feel like there‘s a cement mixer parked on my chest. What a difference a month makes. My wife’s shoulder is healing nicely and won’t require surgery, which is great news, and she’s regained enough mobility…
Halloween II (Review)
Rob Zombie earns the distinction of being the first director in the Halloween series to follow-up his own film. Zombie’s spirited reboot kicked things off on a high note with his thoughtful (not exactly a word many would associate with horror) combination of a prequel/remake, and this time it looks like the director sought to…
Herb & Dorothy (Review)
This wonderful new documentary, which is about some unusual contemporary art collectors, has broad human-interest appeal because of its affectionate yet inquisitive look at what makes people want to live with art and seek to acquire the best they can find. It’s also a profoundly patriotic and pro-American government movie, perfect for Labor Day. Directed…
The Final Destination (Review)
After escaping from a tragic plane crash, a massive multi-car pileup on the highway and a rickety old roller coaster, this series, which is concerned with the best laid plans of Death and the frail attempts by a random collection of the most vacuous pretty faces to thwart them, scrapes the bottom of the barrel…
Cold Souls (Review)
High on concept, low on execution, writer/director Sophie Barthes’ gray comedy of postmodern, existential panic never finds its balance before falling off the same kind of narrative wire that Being John Malkovich danced effortlessly on. Just as in Spike Jonze’s film, where John Malkovich played himself, Paul Giamatti incarnates his life as a New York…
CityBeat Podcast 24: Third Place
This week we'll speak with Larry Bourgeois. Larry is the director of 1801 Mills and promotes the idea of Third Place, places such as coffeehouses and bookstores that are the heart of a community's intellectual life. His organization offers support and training to groups wanting to open coffee houses. (See Elizabeth Wu's interview with Bourgeois…
Uh, President Who?
Although she’s no longer a TV news reporter, maybe Laure Quinlivan still isn’t used to not having fact-checkers around to provide backup. Quinlivan, a former reporter with WCPO-TV’s I-Team who is now running as a Democrat for Cincinnati City Council, distributed an e-mail Wednesday in Democratic circles seeking volunteers for upcoming campaign events. Given the…
Café Mediterranean (Review)
Critic's Pick Before Café Mediterranean, my attitude toward Mediterranean food was becoming a bit jaded. It was that cynical “if you’ve seen one stuffed grape leaf, you’ve seen them all” mentality. But when I took my first bite of Stuffed Grape Leaves ($5.45) at Café Mediterranean (which serves Turkish, Greek and Lebanese dishes), I fell…
Aug. 26-Sept. 1: Worst Week Ever!
WEDNESDAY AUG. 26Anyone who’s ever accidentally kept a cell phone ringer turned on at a family reunion knows that it’s really not that difficult to scare the shit out of an old person. Republicans last week performed the equivalent of turning the alien-themed ringer all the way up when they introduced their “Seniors’ Health Care…
Media Bridges Hosts a Free Riot, MidPoint Indie Summer Wraps Up
• Community media center Media Bridges is turning 20 years old and this Saturday it’s time to celebrate in honor of its past and in support of its future. “Free Wave Riot: Celebrating 20 Years of Local Music, Local Voices, Local Media” is a benefit concert at the Know Theater in Over-the-Rhine which will raise…
Fall Arts Preview: Literary
The state of Cincinnati’s literary scene is as strong — and diverse — as ever. Proof, you seek? Check out this list of locals who have nurtured the written word in one way or another in recent weeks: • Cincinnati-based authors Peter Seidel and James Braziel published impressive dystopian fictions set in desolate, not-so-distant futures.…
Events: Rubber Duck Regatta
It's duck season again. Rubber duck season, that is. This Sunday will mark the 15th anniversary of the Regatta, the longest-running and largest rubber duck race in the nation. As part of this year's Riverfest bash, more than 85,000 duckies will be dropped from the Purple People Bridge into the Ohio River and swim a…
Creative Economics
Staff positions have taken the biggest hit as Cincinnati’s arts and cultural institutions hunker down to survive the recession. Some organizations have adapted through deliberate attrition. “In 2007 we had a staff of 12. Now we’re down to seven, so we’re basically all doing two people’s jobs,” says Tamara Harkavy, director of ArtWorks, the lively…
Bernie Fiedeldey, ODOT and Sterling Research
[LOSER] BERNIE FIEDELDEY: Critics earlier this year alleged Fiedeldey, a Colerain Township trustee, violated state ethics laws by hiring his grandchildren as township park employees for the last few years. Also, Fiedeldey awarded a township construction contract to a firm his own private company does business with. The slippery trustee said the actions were accidental…
Getting Personal
For staffers and volunteers at the Contact Center, advocating for issues to help improve the lives of low-income people and the working poor is nothing new. The non-profit community-organizing agency lately has been focusing its efforts on health care reform. Some of the organization’s volunteers pay regular visits to area legislators; others tour strategic sections…
Documenting the End of the Line
The recent automobile industry narrative reads like a case study in stunning incompetence coupled with a complete disregard for the storied innovations and the hard work necessary to build such a legacy. And while the Big Three carmakers foolishly flew to the nation’s capital for Senate hearings, then carpooled a short time later after being…
Music: Clifford Nevernew
One of the better Indie Pop/Rock bands in Cincinnati in the 1990s was Clifford Nevernew. Since they stopped performing, bassist Eric Appleby has played with local bands like 7 Speed Vortex, while singer/guitarist Matt Hart continues to play with Squirtgun, a Pop/Punk band that's released albums through Lookout! and Honest Don’s. The two have continued…
Scared but Happy in Madeira
Dear Maija, I am seriously afraid of monsters. I hate scary movies, Halloween and freaky looking people. Well, the other day I went to my friend’s house to watch reruns of Sex and the City, and she turned on this crazy new show about vampires and like five minutes into it there was full-on sex!…
Events: Riverfest
It began on a Thursday night as a modestly-promoted celebration of WEBN's 10th anniversary, with around 80,000 attendees. Now, 32 years later and 500,000 spectators strong, Cincinnati Bell and WEBN say goodbye to summer with an entire day of riverside partying. This year you'll get to watch BMX riders and skateboarders from ASA Entertainment show…
Fall Arts Preview: Visual Art
Cincinnati Art Museum starts its busy fall season Saturday, when it celebrates the inaugural 4th Floor Award — a biennial competition for local artists — with a show of works by Don Lambert, who creates maps and spin paintings. This exhibit is up through Nov. 29. An exhibit years in the making opens in October:…
Fall Arts Preview: Classical Music
The relatively mild summer is giving way to what could well be a mild fall (with hopefully no more hurricane residue this year), so maybe the only excitement we’ll see this season will be this year’s Classical music offerings. As always, Maestro Paavo Jarvi and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra offer a wide array of talent…
Kate’s Kafe (Lunch Review)
“You’ve never been to the Original Pancake House?” My friend’s eyebrows rose with her voice. It was nothing compared to what she said when I told her I hadn’t been to Waffle House. Breakfast-challenged me and my two partners in crime recently headed to Kate’s Kafe (10764 Montgomery Square, Sycamore Twp., 513-489-7999) where I planned…
Nose Ring = Devil Worship
Someone thought my nose ring was a sign of the devil. Or gross, or inappropriate, I’m not sure. In any event, he/she complained to the management at a club where I fill in as a substitute yoga teacher. I’m not sure exactly what the client said, but I wish I knew. That would be awfully…
Fall Arts Preview: Theater
The landscape of Cincinnati theater has changed since a year ago. As the 2009-10 season starts this week, New Stage Collective is gone and the leaders of Know Theatre of Cincinnati have moved on to new jobs. It’s a momentous year for the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, marking its 50th anniversary with beloved revivals…
Streetcar Battle Gets Ugly
Cincinnati is a city that was settled predominantly by German Catholics, but I doubt if even the most devout modern-day resident knows Latin well enough to understand what “e.g.” means. Sure, you might know because you’re smart enough to read CityBeat and therefore probably have a curious mind. And I know because it’s my job…
Grooveshire (Profile)
It’s a sticky Saturday afternoon in College Corner, Ohio, and four out of the five members of Grooveshire are sitting under a small canopy on the grounds of Hannon’s Camp America. They’re here for Ohmstead, the camp’s smokiest music festival, a neo-hippie magnet. As the band settles on the couches, drummer Mike Hennel returns from…
Contact High
The success of the Woodstock Festival in New York 40 years ago prompted dreams of hundreds of other mythic, idealistic Rock festivals in communities throughout the United States. Including Cincinnati. As luck would have it, the city’s first major outdoor Rock festival — the Midwest Mini-Pop Festival — was scheduled for Sept. 6, 40 years…
Fall Arts Preview: Dance
Even with President Obama’s “stimulus” plan and package, there’s still much to be desired in terms of arts funding. But there’s some good news: A Cincinnati dance organiztion has landed a respectable sum from the NEA Arts Recovery and Recruitment (R&R) grant program. Contemporary Dance Theater (CDT) received official notice that it would receive $50,000…
Music: The Spits
Leave it to The Spits to write a song called “Terrorist Attack” and make the experience a riot. In the video for the 2005 track from a split 7-inch on Puke Records, the cretins pair an insipid lo-fi Punk track with scenes from the David Carradine/Richard Roundtree ‘80s B-movie Q: The Winged Serpent. The poorly…
