Music: Sea Wolf
Alex Brown Church’s latest Sea Wolf offering, White Water, White Bloom, dropped last week. Like 2007’s Leaves in the River, the new album finds Alex lifting his nature-centered narratives with a steady acoustic guitar and orchestral rivers full of brooding cello lines and distant pianos. “Spirit Horse, spirit me away/ I had a vision by…
Onstage: Classical Revolution
Once a month, crowds gather at Northside Tavern for a hot session of trio sonatas and brass quintets. Or wind ensembles and string quartets. Or operatic arias. It’s another evening of Classical Revolution, Cincinnati’s branch of a growing national network that bypasses the concert hall for bars and nightclubs. And the audience’s ages skew well…
A ‘Point of Pride
QUICK LINKS: Brian Baker's MidPoint coverage from Thursday, Friday and Saturday; C.A. MacConnell's coverage from Thursday, Friday and Saturday; multimedia shows from Thursday, Friday and Saturday; photo galleries from Thursday, Friday and Saturday; a report on Thursday's "flash dance" on Fountain Square and Deke Dickerson at the Southgate House; CityBeat's MidPoint Central. [Pictured: Erika Wennerstrom…
Events: Donauschwaben Oktoberfest
Hey, guys. We’re serious. This is the last Oktoberfest of the season, so if you haven’t had your fill of pork products and beer, now’s the time. As the only Oktoberfest in the region that actually happens in October, Donauschwaben’s event occurs simultaneously with Munich’s world-famous Oktoberfest. And much like Munich’s event, here you can…
Music: Bobby Broom
Guitarist Bobby Broom may not have the kind of high profile that some of his Jazz contemporaries enjoy but he has the kind of résumé that would make a good many of them green with envy. The New York City native began his Jazz career before high school graduation — at 16, he played Carnegie…
Events: Pharaohfest
Now that the dinosaurs have left the building, Union Terminal is getting ready to welcome another group of the long since dead: mummies. To celebrate the opening of Secrets of Egypt, Lost Egypt: Ancient Secrets, Modern Science and the OMNIMAX’s Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs, the Museum Center is throwing Pharaohfest. From 2-10:30 p.m. you…
Music: Clifton Heights Music Festival
If you’re in the Clifton Heights/UC area this Friday, don’t miss the Clifton Heights Music Festival, taking place at four venues, all kicking off at 9 p.m. The lineup is stacked with quality entertainment from various genres.
Pandorum (Review)
In the distant future, mankind has completely destroyed all of the resources on the planet and nearly wiped out all life as we know it, so after a space probe discovers a suitable planet for habitation the last ragtag human survivors set out to lay waste to this new world in typical fashion. Of course,…
Music: Sonny Landreth
It happens on a fairly regular basis: You’re listening to WNKU, the area’s one consistently excellent radio station, and you hear a slide guitar cut through the air like a freshly tempered scalpel through warm butter. And that sinewy guitar dances pirouettes around your eager ears and you become transfixed with the velvet voodoo sound…
Clifton Heights Music Festival
If you’re in the Clifton Heights/UC area this Friday, don’t miss the Clifton Heights Music Festival, taking place at four venues, all kicking off at 9 p.m. The lineup is stacked with quality entertainment from various genres. • Baba Budan’s has Lazy D, F.R.A., Loudmouth, The Frankl Project, Stick Figures and Marmalade Brigade. • Mac’s…
Events: Fashion It Forward
Leapin Lizard, the phoenix of an art gallery in Covington, possesses a penchant for presenting elaborate events packed with performers, artists and irresistible party spirit. Their latest invention is Fashion It Forward, a runway project event to benefit NKY Pride. At 9 p.m., fashion designer Nathan Hurst and emcee Mirage Love start off the second…
Surrogates (Review)
Jonathan Mostow stumbles from Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines to this I, Robot clone based on a graphic novel that displays none of the visual style one normally associates with these more literate comic book frames. A host of video game and graphic novel adapters find intriguing ways to approximate the look and feel…
Art: U-Turn Art Space
For the alternative, the fresh and the contemporary, the art district in Brighton welcomes its newest neighbor: the U-turn Art Space. This art space is comprised of five Cincinnati-based artists: Molly Donnermeyer, CityBeat Arts writer Matt Morris, Patricia Murphy, Zach Rawe and Eric Ruschman, who are all excited to bring new developments in sculpture and…
Comedy: Ryan Stout
Comedian Ryan Stout hopes you’re paying attention during his set. “People who are willing to sit and listen will enjoy my act,” he explains, “more than those who just want to get an emotional response to something. If I say something on stage, the set-up to my joke might make you cringe a little bit,…
Onstage: Equus
For the past five years or so, Alan Patrick Kenny has been staging shows in Cincinnati that make audiences stop and watch. His own theater, New Stage Collective, made it through April, but the punishing economy pretty much signed its death warrant. Kenny has, however, stuck around for several more good productions. He staged a…
Pharaohfest: The Sundresses, Kentucky Struts and More
Now that the dinosaurs have left the building, the Museum Center at Union Terminal is getting ready to welcome another group of the long since dead: mummies. To celebrate the opening of Secrets of Egypt, Lost Egypt: Ancient Secrets, Modern Science and the OMNIMAX’s Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs, the Museum Center is throwing Pharaohfest…
Arts: Full Spectrum
The City of Covington is gearing up for Full Spectrum, an arts celebration that combines eight different events over the month of October. Residents and businesses alike have come together to create this Covington-encompassing gala. This Friday patrons can enjoy a Hyper Gallery Hop, where they tour the city viewing different art exhibits, and a…
Music: Popopolis
On Friday and Saturday Fountain Square keeps the good vibes from MidPoint and this summer’s MidPoint Indie Summer concert series going with a new incarnation of the “Popopolis” event. Popopolis was founded in the late ’90s by Mike Breen and musician Jay Hopper as a way to bring the best in Power Pop and other…
Lit: Larry Gross
The subtitle of Larry Gross’ latest independently published book says everything you need to know about its contents, which largely consists of his Living Out Loud columns for CityBeat: “Adventures, Discoveries and Conclusions Made While Exploring a Life — Namely My Own.” CityBeat recently traded e-mails with Gross, who revealed everything from Jack Webb’s influence…
Art: Before I Start Singing at Semantics
Saturday marks the opening of a long-awaited solo show (his last was in November of 2005) by Publico co-founder Paul Coors. The Art Academy graduate will present a collection of editioned silkscreen-based works along with a handful of drawings in Before I Start Singing. Coors was a panelist at this past Saturday’s “Albums in the…
Music: Built to Spill
Built to Spill’s long, strange trip — six proper albums in 17 years, the last five for major label biggies Warner Bros. — reached an apex of sorts in July when the Boise, Idaho-based band agreed to take part in the Pitchfork Music Festival’s “Write the Night” in Chicago. The fan-friendly experiment allowed festival attendees…
Does Free News Content on the Web Still Make Sense?
Let’s make this column local local or, as the new conventional wisdom sometimes puts it, hyperlocal: How much would you pay to read The Enquirer online if it quit being free? Or, if the main news section remains free online, which features would you pay for: Pilcher? Korte? Wilkinson? Daugherty? Radel? Johnston? Op-ed columnists? Callinan…
Fame (Review)
Back in 1980, Alan Parker and Christopher Gore introduced audiences to a collection of incredibly talented students attending a New York City high school for the performing arts. As the saying goes, everything old is new again. So, too, it is with Fame. A new edition promises to live forever, but can talent, drive and…
Music: Tomorrows Bad Seeds
For the past five years, L.A.’s Tomorrows Bad Seeds have been honing their hard rocking version of Reggae, Metal, Punk and Hip Hop to increasingly loyal and exponentially larger audiences at home and around the country. Spicing Rock with island rhythms is certainly no new development. The Police, The Clash, The English Beat, Shaggy, Sublime,…
Nice Win, Bengals…
The conclusion of Sunday’s Bengals win over Pittsburgh was both exciting and strange. It’s not very often you get to witness a last-second come-from-behind victory over a hated rival. Seeing it occur in your own stadium is even better. See you in Week 10 if you still matter, Stiller fans! —- But an overall crappy…
MPMF: Soaking Saturday
[Further Saturday coverage: 217 photos here and multimedia show here.] Hello. First stop, Blue Wisp, where I got carded. I was so excited to get carded, really. When you start getting older, you're easily amused. I saw Cincinnati’s Syd Natanists here. Bring on the funk. Swarthy from the Swarthy Band was kicking ass, sitting in…
MPMF: Saturday Night’s All Fight for Writing
[Further Saturday coverage: 217 photos here and multimedia show here.] After shooting the rapids of downtown’s Friday night to get to the Sundresses’ affair (in which I played the part of the kayak), it was my fervent hope that the skies would clear and remain free of precipitation for MidPoint’s final slate of shows on…
Built to Spill
Built to Spill’s long, strange trip — six proper albums in 17 years, the last five for major label biggies Warner Bros. — reached an apex of sorts in July when the Boise, Idaho-based band agreed to take part in the Pitchfork Music Festival’s “Write the Night” in Chicago. The fan-friendly experiment allowed festival attendees…
Bobby Broom Trio
Guitarist Bobby Broom might not have the kind of high profile that some of his Jazz contemporaries enjoy, but he has the kind of résumé that would make a good many of them green with envy. The New York City native began his Jazz career before high school graduation — at 16, he played Carnegie…
Sonny Landreth
It happens on a fairly regular basis: You’re listening to WNKU, the area’s one consistently excellent radio station, and you hear a slide guitar cut through the air like a freshly tempered scalpel through warm butter. And that sinewy guitar dances pirouettes around your eager ears and you become transfixed with the velvet voodoo sound…
Tomorrows Bad Seeds
For the past five years, L.A.’s Tomorrows Bad Seeds have been honing their hard rocking version of Reggae, Metal, Punk and Hip Hop to increasingly loyal and exponentially larger audiences at home and around the country. Spicing Rock with island rhythms is certainly no new development. The Police, The Clash, The English Beat, Shaggy, Sublime,…
Art Is All Around Covington
As Covington gets ready for Thursday’s launch of its October-long Full Spectrum — a celebration of the arts intended to attract 10,000 or more visitors — it’s positioning itself as a major regional cultural force. This is a move to bring overdue attention to the arts in a city traditionally overshadowed by its larger neighbor,…
Popopolis
On Friday and Saturday Fountain Square keeps the good vibes from MidPoint and this summer’s MidPoint Indie Summer concert series going with a new incarnation of the “Popopolis” event. Popopolis was founded in the late ’90s by yours truly and musician Jay Hopper as a way to bring the best in Power Pop and other…
Sea Wolf with Port O’Brien and Sara Lov
When I ask Alex Brown Church for thoughts on A Wolf at the Table, he laughs. “I don’t think I can really say,” he admits. I leave it at that, because I don’t want to shake up his relationship with Augusten Burroughs, author of the aforementioned memoir, for which Church wrote “Song of the Magpie.”…
MidPoint Music Festival – Saturday
The 2009 MidPoint Music Festival wrapped up Saturday with some of the best performances of the whole weekend. Check out nightly reports from Brian Baker and C.A. MacConnell and Mike Bree's wrapup of the whole festival at MidPoint Central.
MPMF: The Heavens Roared, the Ground Roared Back
[Further Friday coverage: 235 photos here and multimedia show here.] Other than an intermittent and often heavy rainfall and a cancelled show or five, Thursday was a very good opening night. The lessening rain upon arrival in downtown Friday night boded well for a drier and less drippy MidPoint experience, and so it was. For…
MPMF: Diary of a MidPointer
[Further Friday coverage: 235 photos here and multimedia show here.] Dear Diary: Friday Midpoint. Wearing my green Noctaluca T-shirt, my super cool non-leather jacket that looks like leather and my faded black jeans that are too big and too long — with my distracting, cool clothes choice, I was trying super hard to steer people…
MPMF.09 Slideshow – Friday
Cincinnati audiences were blown away on Friday during the second day of amazing performances at the MidPoint Music Festival. Get more info at MidPoint Central.
StreetScapes, Taste of Tarbell Backup Plans
If you're heading out for the StreetScapes street painting festival in Clifton, be advised they've moved it indoors to the Clifton Cultural Arts Center (Clifton Avenue and McAlpin across from Fairview-Clifton German Language School). Rain plus chalk plus asphalt don't mix, so unfortunately we won't get to enjoy seeing masterpiece artworks being reproduced on Telford…
MPMF: Friday Photopalooza, Saturday Fun
What a night for music and for Cincinnati last night at the MidPoint Music Festival. As expected, the Heartless Bastards packed the huge Topic Design Tent at Grammer's and played a fantastic set. Erika and the boys were clearly blown away by the quantity and quality of support from their friends and ex-neighbors. Look for…
West Side Progressives Gather
“Being a Westsider and a progressive is not an oxymoron. We are thousands.” That’s the motto of an event being held Saturday by Nicholas Hollan, a Democrat running for Cincinnati City Council. Hollan is organizing the “Potluck for Progressives” picnic, which will be held from 4-7 p.m. at Rapid Run Park's shelter house.—- Hollan, who…
Cincinnati Art Museum: Genius Factory
Cincinnati Art Museum did well at this week's announcement of MacArthur Foundation $500,000 "genius grants" — one of the most prestigious in the world. Among the 24 recipients were artist Los Angeles artist Mark Bradford (pictured), who creates large-scale map-like collages out of everyday material and whose show Maps & Manifests was featured at Cincinnati…
Stage Door: Mystery in the Park
I'm quick to admit that suspense mysteries are not my favorite form of onstage entertainment: They always feel a bit contrived to me. But I know I'm in the minority, and if anyone is going to do a good job with one of them, it's certainly the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and its associate…
MPMF: Flash Dancing and Stripper Music at MidPoint
[Further Thursday coverage: 172 photos here and multimedia show here.] I wanted to chime in on two fun events from the opening night of the 2009 MidPoint Music Festival that not many people saw: the kick-off shows on Fountain Square and Deke Dickerson at the Southgate House. The Young Republic at the Blue Wisp after…
MPMF: Perfectly Imperfect First Night of MidPoint
[Further Thursday coverage: 172 photos here and multimedia show here.] After months of planning and judging and selecting and scheduling and designing and implementing, the big night has arrived at last. The first night of MidPoint 2009. You can almost smell the impending disaster in the air. The Elms Well, perhaps disaster is a bit…
MPMF: Thursday’s Top 14 MidPoint List
[Further Thursday coverage: 172 photos here and multimedia show here.] 14. At the risk of getting too wordy, I’ve decided to do a list to keep myself under control. (Insert reader’s furious clapping here.) Why? Because people love lists. And I love lists. I’ve noticed that band members particularly love lists. Set lists, lists of…
MPMF: MidPoint Band in Serious Van Accident
Some sad news on the MidPoint front. Chicago "Chamber Pop" band The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir were involved in a serious highway accident on the way to their MPMF show last night at the Contemporary Arts Center. The Seedy Seeds, playing to a packed room in the slot right before SYGC's, said a few words…
Friday Movie Roundup: The Fantastic Mr. Fox
The fall movie season has gotten off to a pretty mediocre start, and this week’s slate of new multiplex offerings does little to reverse the trend: a pair of ho-hum-looking sci-fi thrillers, Pandorum and Surrogates, and what looks to be a glossy remake of Fame, the 1980 movie musical that would serve as the senior…
MidPoint Kick-Off a Go on Fountain Square
The old saying goes that everyone complains about the weather but no one ever does anything about it. Well, MidPoint is doing something about the crummy weather: They're having the music festival anyway. Come down to Fountain Square at 5-7 p.m. for two performances by MPMF.09 acts: Shanya Zaid & the Catch from New York…
The Stoning of Soraya M. (Review)
In fulfilling its blatantly exploitative title, director Cyrus Nowrasteh crafts a prosaic telling of the brutal 1986 murder of an Iranian family woman, as orchestrated by her own husband in the interest of avoiding divorce payments and running off with a teenaged girl. Shohreh Aghdashloo plays Zahra, the caring aunt to Soraya (Mozhan Marno), a…
Love Happens (Review)
Director/co-writer Brandon Camp doesn’t seem to understand what’s happening in his movie, but Love Happens suffers from a very common ailment: a lack of focus and will. The story of a self-help guru and widower (Aaron Eckhart) and the florist (Jennifer Aniston) who helps him come to grips with his own past issues desperately wants…
Whiteout (Review)
The tagline for the latest action thriller from Dominic Sena (Swordfish) is “see your last breath,” and while that is supposed to cue audiences into the visceral sensation of mystery and adventure with a hint of danger in Antarctica, nothing in the movie’s chilly execution comes close to approximating a white-knuckle experience. Carrie Stetko (Kate…
Departures (Review)
Winner of the 2008 Oscar for Best Foreign Picture, Departures is director Yojiro Takita's emotionally rich story about Daigo Kobayashi (Masahiro Motoki), a world-class cellist who moves with his wife to his northern Japanese hometown when the symphony he plays for goes bankrupt. Intent on finding quick employment, Daigo takes an unconventional job in “departures,”…
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Review)
The onslaught of animated features taking advantage of the latest 3-D technology is in full swing, and Sony’s animated production arm looks ready to join the cast of the usual suspects. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, adapted from the children’s book by Judi and Ron Barrett, feels like the kind of meal the whole…
Local Designer at Urban Outfitters
Earlier this year, Ashley Thomas interviewed local DAAP student and fashion designer Lacey Voss about her upcoming self-titled capsule collection (see interview here). Well, ladies (and maybe some dudes), the wait to preview, buy and wear Voss' designs is over because she will be at Urban Outfitters from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday for a special…
CityBeat Podcast 27: Larry Gross
On this episode CityBeat columnist Larry Gross reads three stories from his new book, Living Out Loud. —- 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.
Melva’s Manifesto?
Imagine my surprise when I looked out on my front porch this morning and discovered a pamphlet left by Westwood Concern that was chock full of political commentary — albeit a great deal of it written in incomplete sentences.—- The first page of the four-page tract was fairly straightforward: the agenda for a recent meeting,…
Annoyed in Anderson
Dear Maija, I find it completely unfair how the media treats our celebrities, and since you’re in the media I have a little question to ask you: Shut up, I’m not even going to ask you a question. You’re just going to talk more shit about Kanye acting like a dick or David Hasselhoff getting…
New Local Releases at MidPoint
Here is my one big tip for those attending the MidPoint Music Festival this week. If you see MPMF director-in-chief Dan McCabe, be sure not to utter these words — “I’ve never heard of any of these bands.” You will get a stare/glare that might just turn you into stone. With around 270 performers from…
Crime and Punishment: Locally and Globally
Although he’s done his best to keep it under wraps, it appears Cincinnati Police Chief Thomas Streicher Jr. had a change of heart about his No. 2 man in the department. Either that, or the complaint filed by the police union forced him to reconsider. Responding to a public records request by CityBeat, a police…
Events: Taste of Tarbell
Join ArtWorks as they dedicate their latest mural. If you haven't seen it yet, it's on Central Parkway and it's called, "Mr. Tarbell Tips His Hat." From noon-3 p.m. Saturday, they will be honoring the man with Taste of Tarbell, a potluck. Held on the corner of Central Parkway and Vine Street, you can bring…
On, Wisconsin!: Learning from the Badger State’s Art Museums
A recent trip to Wisconsin reaffirmed for me the exciting correctness of the Cincinnati Art Museum’s efforts to build collections in Folk/Outsider Art and Contemporary Crafts. This year, the museum has displayed work from two new collections — Chicago collector Robert Lewis’ Outsider Art and Cincinnati collectors of Contemporary Craft Nancy and David Wolf. Next,…
Friday Pick: The Dynamites Featuring Charles Walker
I grew up 70 miles west of Detroit at a time when absolutely everything that Berry Gordy touched turned into solid Soul gold. The Motown label (and its galaxy of related imprints) was like the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for Soul music; even the marginal stuff was danceable and cool. And because of my…
Thursday Pick: Vanity Theft
In its bio, this Dayton-area foursome says the members are “just trying to break the stereotypes of lame girl bands and play something that doesn’t sound like everything else out there.” Mission accomplished. Vanity Theft makes Indie Pop music that's fun, danceable and brazen. Alicia Grodecki and Brittany Hill are the band’s co-lead singers, usually…
Friday Pick: Heartless Bastards
Erika Wennerstrom’s stuff might be jammed into an apartment in Austin, Texas, but Cincinnati will always be home for her and The Heartless Bastards. It’s been nearly two years since she dismantled the original Bastards after her personal break-up with bassist Mike Lamping and relocated to Texas. “I think it was a good move for…
Friday Pick: Eagle to Squirrel
Eagle to Squirrel probably will be one of the more unique acts you’ll catch at MidPoint … or most any festival, really. Also going by the fitting name The Eagle to Squirrel Variety Hour, the eclectic performance art/spoken word/Electronic/Jazz/ Hip Hop/Soul/Dance squad is releasing its debut CD, Werk, in conjunction with its Friday MPMF show…
Music: MPMF Conference Panel
After a one-year absence in 2008, the MidPoint Music Festival has brought back the daytime “music conference,” with useful panels and discussions about a range of topics of interest to all types of independent musicians. All panels are Saturday afternoon, so pace yourself Friday night — the first two are at the Garfield Suites Hotel,…
Film: Best of Underneath Cincinnati
As part of the MidPoint Music Festival, the Southern Ohio Filmmakers Association is hosting the Best of Underneath Cincinnati 2009 at the Garfield Suites. Starting at 8 p.m. Saturday, the group will screen short films made by artists throughout the region. The Best of Show includes Audience Choice winners from the year's screenings, as well…
Thursday Pick: The Young Republic
The Young Republic in an Indie band from Nashville whose members are actually quite accomplished on their instruments and utilize seemingly the entire history of popular music in their songwriting. By no coincidence, the group formed five years ago when they met as students at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. But this isn’t…
Prince of Sin City
Prince of Sin City is the long-awaited historically based novel by local literature professor, writer, musician and poet Gary Walton. Set largely in the gambling heyday of Newport, the book provides an engaging view into the area’s mysterious, sometimes seedy past. Dennis Prince is the somewhat reluctant, middle-aged, down-on-his-luck journalist who accidentally stumbles into the…
They’re Weird and They’re Wonderful
When I look at a wine list or scan the bottles behind a bar, I look for the unfamiliar — and not just unfamiliar. In fact, the weirder the better. So when I’m confronted by a list of Napa cabs and a shelf full of easily recognizable Russian vodkas, I opt instead for a seasonal…
Sept. 16-22: Worst Week Ever!
WEDNESDAY SEPT. 16 There’s nothing worse than being condescending toward someone and having it get flipped around so you’re the one who looks like a dick. Today the people who will have to deal with the legal ramifications of the confusing wording on the anti-streetcar ballot said to its supporters, “Yeah, your anti ‘choo choo…
Sharks, Symbols and Simulacra
In the Weston’s first exhibitions of the season, Ryan Mulligan, Casey Riordan Millard and Michael Sharber reinforce the overt qualities of fantasy and illustration in one another’s work, while also calling attention to more understated emo-aesthetics and pseudo-spirituality. Ryan Mulligan’s seriously funny installation I’ll Just Ask Dad is being shown in the Weston’s street-level space.…
Film: The Lite Brite Film Test
The Lite Brite Film Test is on the move. Long a mid-summer fixture at the Southgate House, the creatively diverse visual showcase has been folded into the MidPoint Music Festival. Befitting the shift, this year’s lineup looks to be bigger and better than ever, pimping a host of shorts and several full-length features at its…
Michael Pollan Makes Food Political
Why are questions about where we get our food, how we eat it and the consequences for ourselves and our society so salient? For author Michael Pollan, it’s because we are recognizing new and old options for how we behave and the fact that our choices make a difference. “The food issue is actually one…
Will ‘The Big One’ Stay Number One?
For a long time, 700 WLW has been Cincinnati’s top radio station. The 50,000-watt AM behemoth has been the home of local staples like Bill Cunningham and Jim Scott and enjoyed a huge lead in the radio ratings. But what would happen if “The Big One” was no longer number one? We might find out…
Saturday Pick: J. Dorsey Blues Revival
When Josh Dorsey defines his band, the J. Dorsey Blues Revival, the concepts of what it is and is not take on almost equal significance. “It’s our interpretation,” says vocalist/guitarist Dorsey from the patio of the Northside home/rehearsal space he shares with his girlfriend, JDBR keyboardist/ vocalist Kristen Kreft. “We want something that sounds new…
Music: Jupiter One
If you’re like most CityBeat staffers, after a long three-day weekend of MidPointing you’ll be ready to stay in, do inventory on how much you spent on alcohol and stave off a serious music (among other types) hangover. But by Monday we’ll all be ready for some hair of the dog. That’s why you should…
Thursday Pick: The Rubber Knife Gang
The Rubber Knife Gang is a trio of serious Roots/Bluegrass/Americana musicians who don’t happen to take themselves very seriously. Even their name evolved out of a joke. “The name came from this band of friends that get together on weekends and ride these 50CC Hondas,” says RKG stand-up bassist/vocalist John “Johnboy” Oaks. “My brother-in-law Scott…
Simon Leis Jr., Dusty Rhodes, and the Freedom Center
[WINNER] SIMON LEIS JR.: Yes, you’re reading that right. We’re giving kudos to Sheriff Simon for having the cojones to publicly say what many politicians agree with privately: Local governments could save mounds of money and provide more efficient services if Hamilton County took over some functions that are duplicated by cities and townships. Leis…
Lit: Michael Pollan
Why are questions about where we get our food, how we eat it and the consequences for ourselves and our society so salient? For author Michael Pollan, it’s because we are recognizing new and old options for how we behave and the fact that our choices make a difference. “The food issue is actually one…
Pygmy (Review)
Bidding farewell to this terror-stricken decade with the heady mix of jolting rage and deadpan human commentary that made Fight Club an instant classic, Chuck Palahniuk’s latest work of fiction tells the story of a bloodthirsty exchange student hell bent on bringing our flagwaving American infrastructure to its bloated knees. The product of an unnamed…
Same Glow, New Home
The Lite Brite Film Test is on the move. Long a mid-summer fixture at the Southgate House — who can forget John Waters' one-man show at last year's event? — the creatively diverse visual showcase now has been folded into the MidPoint Music Festival. Befitting the shift, this year’s lineup looks to be bigger and…
Events: StreetScapes Festival
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN MOVED TO THE CLIFTON CULTURAL ARTS CENTER DUE TO THE WEATHER. Fine art and a colorful childhood pastime collide on the streets of the Clifton business district this weekend. For the seventh year, local artists will turn the pavement on Telford Street into their canvas with vivid, custom-made chalk. Stop by…
Great Scott! (Review)
Unearthing a new restaurant is always an adventure, so I was excited to find myself exploring Great Scott! this past Sunday following an excursion with the family to Cincinnati’s Museum Center during the final days its Dinosaurs Alive! exhibit. On our way home, we were having difficulty arriving at an acceptable “happy medium” that would…
Friday Pick: The Pinstripes
Winners of the 2007 Cincinnati Entertainment Award for Best World Band, The Pinstripes don’t merely play Ska and Reggae — they inhabit the sound like it’s a ramshackle house that’s keeping them alive. Tight but never slick, fun but never goofy, intense but never serious, The Pinstripes (a hard-touring band with a hard-won following) combine…
Music: MidPoint Music Festival Saturday
The 2009 MidPoint Music Festival continues with Day 3 on 2 stages in downtown, Over-the-Rhine and Newport. Most showcases begin at 8 p.m. (Grammer's acts begin at 6:30) — cover charges apply at each venue, or you can skip the lines by grabbing a three-day wristband for $29 (available at the door at each venue).…
Halloween: Fall-O-Ween
If the Bengals season and pumpkin ale aren’t enough of an indicator that fall is here, then the 2009 Fall-O-Ween Festival should help you break your summertime nostalgia. Enjoy classic rides at Coney Island alongside all the fall-time paraphernalia you’ve come to love over the years. This family-friendly event features the Fright Lights Laser Show,…
Attractions: Museum Day
Attention, Smithsonian magazine readers — and others who like museums! On Saturday a number of area institutions will be open free to holders of Museum Day admission cards (available at the participating institutions, even if you’re not a Smithsonian subscriber). At Betts House, the quirky little museum at 416 Clark St. two blocks west of…
Benj Clarke Is Living the Dream
I’m sort of playing “navigation lady” with my friend Benj Clarke. We’re both on our cell phones with Benj trying to locate my secluded street in Westwood. It doesn’t take him long to figure out how to get here, but why would it? He was the circulation manager at CityBeat for a number of years,…
Toronto Film Festival Marches On
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is a movie geek’s wet dream. The festival’s avalanche of films — 300-plus over 10 days — offers something for cinemaphiles of every stripe, including a typically healthy dose of new works by established filmmakers from across the globe: Pedro Almodovar, Bong Joon-ho, the Coen brothers, Jane Campion, Claire…
