Cranley Defeats Qualls as Both Advance to General Election
Ex-Councilman John Cranley decisively defeated Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls today as both the Democratic mayoral candidates won the primary election and advanced to the general election. With all precincts reporting, Cranley got 55.9 percent of the vote and Qualls picked up 37.2 percent, according to unofficial results from the Hamilton County Board of Elections. The…
Music: Julianna Barwick
Julianna Barwick was originally scheduled to perform in Cincinnati at the MidPoint Music Festival later this month, but after a call to tour with some new friends from Iceland, she chose to drop off the fest. Barwick now comes to town for a show opening for the like-minded Icelandic crew Sigur Rós. Barwick’s haunting, experimental…
Onstage: Double Talk 2013
Vent Haven Museum, the only ventriloquism museum in the nation, will host a family-friendly ventriloquist show and fundraiser, Double Talk 2013. The show will feature nationally recognized ventriloquist Ronn Lucas, who blends comedy, improv, audience interaction and ventriloquism into his live show. Funds will benefit the museum’s mission to raise awareness about ventriloquism and support…
Sports: The Galloping Pig
Dhani Jones and the BowTie Foundation (which supports underprivileged youth) invite all to experience a day of polo at Wilshire Farm, home of the Cincinnati Polo Club. Guests will watch a match between the Cincinnati and Columbus polo clubs with announcer P.G. Sittenfeld, a traditional divot-stomping event, time to pet the horses, meet the players,…
Event: Race for the Cure Cincinnati
Join runners and walkers, survivors and supporters for the 16th edition of Cincinnati’s Race for The Cure to help “run breast cancer out of town.” The Susan G. Komen foundation’s race will cover more than 10k, with activities and kid-friendly booths stretched in their own directions across the city. The early morning activities will offer…
Event: Pallet 23 Bazaar
Pallet 23, the flexible event space in Northside, will host its first Pallet 23 Bazaar, a vendor-driven community market selling vintage, household, industrial, collectors’, unique, furniture and found items and treasures from 15 vendors. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. Pallet 23, 3932 Spring Grove Ave., Northside, pallet23.com.
Event: Cincinnati Celtic Festival
Celebrate the cultural texture of this fair city with Cincinnati’s Celtic Festival — a festivus for the Celtivus — on full display throughout the weekend at Washington Park. With Celtic games, food and multi-staged music and dance events, the fest will honor the seven Celtic nations: Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man, Cornwall, Wales, Galicia, Spain…
Event: Longstone Street Festival
The second annual Longstone Street Festival is a family-friendly fall festival in historic Milford with 40 local goods and services vendors, 20 musical performances, a street chalk art project and more. There will be family games like hamster water balls and a bungee joust, plus arts and crafts from local painters, jewelry makers and apparel…
Event: WordPlay’s One-Year Anniversary
WordPlay, the learning and support center dedicated to helping children find their voice through literacy and creative expression while developing the skills, knowledge and character necessary for them to succeed, opened its doors in Northside on International Literacy Day (Sept. 8) last year. Since 2012, more than 500 children have participated in the center’s programs…
Event: The Big Lebowski at the Esquire
Step aside, Rocky Horror: The Big Lebowski fans are gearing up for their time to shine as they put the “cult” in “cult classic.” The Esquire Theatre promises to keep the White Russians flowing at the bar as Lebowski’s biggest fans gather for an evening of costumes and quotes. Gather up your dudes to celebrate “The…
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Loses Obamacare Money
Limitations imposed by Ohio lawmakers who oppose the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) have forced Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center to give up a $124,419 federal grant that would have gone toward helping uninsured Ohioans navigate new online marketplaces for health insurance. Specifically, the state law, which Gov. John Kasich signed on April 30 and went…
Event: Cincinnati Comic Expo
The Cincinnati Comic Expo comes to the Duke Energy Convention Center for a weekend of comics, cosplay, zombies, activities, gaming, sci-fi speed dating and appearances from special guests including Lord of the Rings’ Billy Boyd, Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Nicholas Brendon, horror legend Ricou Browning, Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Marina Sirtis, Doctor Who’s TARDIS…
Rancid
Rancid at 22? That’s a notion many purebred punks might scoff at, but this Berkeley, Calif., crew is still kicking despite dropping only one album, 2009’s Let the Dominoes Fall, in the last decade. Rancid’s seven studio albums burn with righteous energy and copious hooks, as influenced by the fervent Ska swing of frontman Tim…
Event: Cincy Beerfest
The Queen City celebrates its ever-expanding palate for all things beer on Fountain Square during Cincy Beerfest. Raise your glass to craft beer, live music and good company this weekend; think of it as Cincinnati’s very own craft beer block party with more than 200 beers from down the street and across the country available…
Comedy: Adam Ray
Growing up in Lake Forest Park, Wash., Adam Ray developed an interest in comedy, particularly characters and impressions. In elementary school he fooled a buddy into thinking the prettiest girl in school was calling him. “I could impersonate her voice pretty well, so I would call him and talk to him as her,” he says.…
Event: Rookwood Pottery Overstock Open House and Sale
Rookwood Pottery, Cincinnati’s collection of world-renowned potters and ceramics artists, will host a fall open house. For more than 100 years, Rookwood has been producing highly sought-after art tile and pottery and has its own dedicated gallery in the Cincinnati Art Museum’s Cincinnati Wing. Speak with Rookwood Pottery artists at the open house and find…
Queens of the Stone Age
Kyuss generated positive reviews, sold a fair number of albums and amassed a cultish but fairly substantial audience over the course of its eight-year run. Still, the news that guitarist Josh Homme had started a new band after his Kyuss’ 1995 demise caused a stir that was largely limited to the band’s relatively small fan…
X with Blondie
Legendary Rock group X coalesced in 1977 and quickly became one of the most beloved and influential Punk bands on the burgeoning Los Angeles circuit. The quartet — lean and smoldering bassist/vocalist John Doe, his thrift store chic poetess girlfriend Exene Cervenka singing lead, blisteringly cool guitarist Billy Zoom and baby-faced hammer D.J. Bonebrake on…
Art: Martin Tucker: Remembered at the DAAP Galleries
Martin Tucker was a retired painting and drawing professor at the University of Cincinnati’s Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP) School of Art for 37 years before he passed away last March. The first in his own family to attend college (via the GI Bill), the Korean War Army veteran touched the work and lives…
Onstage: Fly
The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park takes flight this week — more or less. The show is Trey Ellis and Ricardo Khan’s Fly, a story inspired by heroes from World War II — the first African-American military pilots, now known as the Tuskegee Airmen. It’s a documentary, but the story of these men and the…
Cincinnati Zoo Levy Renewal to Appear on November Ballot
After getting approval from county commissioners, a levy renewal for the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden will appear on the Nov. 5 ballot as Issue 2. The renewal wouldn’t increase taxes from today’s rates, but it would keep property taxes $10 higher for every $100,000 of home value. If approved by voters, the funding would…
Morning News and Stuff
Today is the mayoral primary election between Democrat Roxanne Qualls , Democrat John Cranley , Libertarian Jim Berns and Independent Sandra “Queen” Noble . Qualls and Cranley are widely seen as the frontrunners. The big difference between the two candidates: Qualls supports and Cranley opposes the streetcar project and parking lease . Polls will be…
Landmark Productions Won’t Return to Showboat Next Year
Abandon ship! Well, that's not exactly true. In fact, Cincinnati Landmark Productions has done a remarkable and loving job of sustaining the ship — in the form of the Showboat Majestic, which it has operated for 23 years in the face of at least 10 floods and countless repairs (including a leaky hull). But with…
Groups Come Together to Persuade Public on Gay Marriage
LGBT groups, civil libertarians and legislators are coming together in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus today to announce Why Marriage Matters Ohio, a new statewide effort to educate and persuade Ohioans to support legalizing same-sex marriage. Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry, explained the campaign’s purpose in a statement: “Why Marriage Matters Ohio…
Q&A with Lightnin’ Malcolm
Lightnin’ Malcolm is an emerging driving force in the genre of underground Blues as a member of the North Mississippi All-Stars and also as a solo artist. Alongside counterpart Carl Gentle White aka "Stud" on drums, the dichotomy of their two styles produces a rough, soulful sound that reminds folks of Blues legends like Lightnin'…
Morning News and Stuff
Attorney General Mike DeWine’s office is taking steps to secure Ohio’s facial recognition program against hackers after potential problems were found. The program allows law enforcement and other public officials to use a simple photo to search driver’s license and mugshot databases to get contact information. In the past, officials needed a name or address…
Oliver Twist (Review)
A full house for opening night of Cincinnati Shakespeare’s 20th season was warmed with affable speeches by the leadership team of Brian Phillips and Lettie Van Hemert. When the audience calls out pre-show punch lines in unison, you know you have a friendly house. Michael Evan Haney, an associate artist at the Cincinnati Playhouse (which…
Local Entrepreneurs to Mass Produce Sun-Powered Stove
It started with a couple of greasy hot dogs. When solar energy expert and Cincinnati native Patrick Sherwin was charged with removing some solar collectors from a client's roof, he got to thinking. Those solar collector tubes, he realized, were collecting such a great deal of heat that he thought it just might be enough…
Stage Door: A Substantial Start to September
The first week of September always brings an avalanche of theater productions, and that's exactly what's available to you this weekend. I'll start with Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati's Other Desert Cities, which opened on Wednesday. You can read my review, which gives this excellent production a Critic's Pick. It's a drama about generational family strife coming to…
Four Finalists Remain for Cincinnati Police Chief
City officials are now considering four finalists for the Cincinnati Police Department’s top job, City Manager Milton Dohoney announced today. The city has been looking for a replacement for former Cincinnati Police Chief James Craig, who left in June to take the top police job in his hometown, Detroit. Since then, Paul Humphries has been…
City to Crack Down on Cellphone Theft
In partnership with the Cincinnati Police Department, City Councilman Chris Seelbach on Thursday unveiled a legislative plan that would crack down on cellphone thefts by making it more difficult to sell stolen devices. “We know that the cellphone is such an important part of everyone’s lives,” Seelbach says. “It’s how we connect to our loved…
Where to Shop: MPMF 2015
ANTIQUES AND FLEA MARKETS The City Flea Photo: The City Flea Burlington Antique Show: More than 200 dealers featuring only vintage collectibles. Find everything from art to furniture to quilts. Third Sunday of the month April-October. Burlington Fairgrounds, 5819 Idlewild Road, Burlington, Ky., 513-922-6847, burlingtonantiqueshow.com. The City Flea: Cincinnati’s curated urban flea market with vendors from Ohio, Kentucky,…
Morning News and Stuff
With the war on drugs widely considered a failure after more than four decades, experts are suggesting legalization and decriminalization as viable alternatives . One concern: Despite recent attempts at sentencing reform, Ohio’s prison population is set to grow further and breach a capacity barrier previously set by the U.S. Supreme Court in a ruling…
Other Desert Cities (Review)
There’s a lot of heat in the desert, but it gets painfully cold at night. So it’s the perfect setting for Jon Robin Baitz’s Pulitzer Prize-nominated Other Desert Cities, opening Ensemble Theatre’s 2013-2014 season. Palm Springs, Calif., is the home of the rich and famous, and it’s where the Wyeth family has dug in, allying…
Where to Shop: Staff Picks
Favorite CityBeat staff shopping destinations from the 2014 Best Of Cincinnati issue. BEST USE OF A DEMOLISHED KENTUCKY BARN The proprietors at Frameshop — Jake Gerth, Jake Baker and Troy Gribler — have found a cool niche by creating beautiful framed works with reclaimed wood from Kentucky barns. That and vintage frames, custom frames, commercial framing options,…
CityBeat Music Editor Mike Breen Wins Another Award
CityBeat Music Editor Mike Breen for the second straight year has won the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists statewide contest for Best Rock and Roll Commentary. The Central Ohio SPJ chapter this week recognized work from all across Ohio, with CityBeat’s entries falling into the "Less than 75,000 Circulation" category. Breen also won first place…
Curmudgeon Notes 09.04.2013
• I was at UPI in London during the 1963 March on Washington. I read about it in London dailies and the Paris Herald-Tribune. Since then, all kinds of “marches” on Washington have cheapened the brand. So has the obsessive replaying of snippets from King’s “I Have a Dream” speech as if it were the…
Riddick
Writer-director David Twohy teams up once again with Vin Diesel for another installment in the continuing adventures of the perpetually hunted Riddick (Diesel), an against-all-odds survivor, who, this time, has been left to die on a sun-ravaged planet with a host of aliens that have evolved with only one goal: to kill. On top of…
Adore
Coco Before Chanel director Anne Fontaine and screenwriter Christopher Hampton (Dangerous Liaisons, A Dangerous Method) tackle Doris Lessing’s novella (“The Grandmothers”) about Roz (Robin Wright) and Lil (Naomi Watts), childhood friends who, as adult neighbors, end up falling for each other’s sons. Tom (James Frecheville), Roz’s son and Ian (Xavier Samuel), Lil’s son, also happen…
Show Me the Movies: Festival Preview
A Variety “Breaking News” alert arrived via email trumpeting, “Venice Joins Oscar Race with ‘Philomena,’ ‘Gravity,’ ” and just like that the race is on to tantalize and tease critics and audiences with the first bite, that world premiere of the titles that will likely be on the lips of film’s tastemakers during the awards…
‘Enquirer’-Kentucky Relationship Strained by Rocky Coverage
The Enquirer’s latest flight from Northern Kentucky leaves execs and journalists trying to persuade Kentuckians that retreat is just advancing in a different direction. All of this recalls an Enquirer publisher who found unexpected problems after he took the job. So he asked employees for help. That publisher, Harry Whipple, expected a handful of volunteers;…
‘Blurred Lines’: Styled vs. Sensationalized, or Why ‘We Can’t Stop’
Following last week’s “scandal” at the MTV Video Music Awards, the pacing of news and reporting made itself known as a speed force to be reckoned with. In the minute-by-minute duration and aftermath of the performance of one, Miley Cyrus, and her “partner in crime”, Robin Thicke, new age media came together to do what…
Ready to Explode
Mangrenade vocalist/guitarist Nick Thieme has just driven a sparkling new (to him, at least) van off the lot. Speaking like a proud new father who’s still a little afraid of dropping his child, he spouts off the specs of his 2010 Ford E350 while also explaining his fear of scratches and traffic infractions. But this…
Cincinnati Folk Music Group Celebrates 50th Anniversary
In 1963, some students from the University of Cincinnati decided they wanted to start something that would examine, celebrate and showcase the increasingly popular Folk music they were discovering and falling in love with. It was the year of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s March on Washington, which was anchored by “freedom songs” performed by Odetta,…
Parts and Labor
O n Tuesday, Aug. 20, An Object, the fourth full-length from Los Angeles-rooted Art Punk twosome No Age, was let loose into the wild. That same night, vocalist/drummer Dean Spunt and guitarist Randy Randall played a record release show in Seattle, Wash., the home of Sub Pop, No Age’s label. The duo made plans for…
Ohio Supreme Court Rejects Parking Lease Challenge
The Ohio Supreme Court today rejected an appeal for a legal challenge that threatened Cincinnati’s parking plan and the city’s emergency powers. The lawsuit, which was backed by the conservative Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST), claimed the city could not bypass a referendum on its plans to lease its parking meters, lots…
Event: Cincy ComiCon
Comic book conventions have exploded in recent years (e.g., the monolithic San Diego Comic-Con) but they’ve also lost touch with what a comic convention should be, forfeiting the artistry of graphic novels to instead concentrate on a tumescent number of celebrity guests. This weekend marks the inaugural Cincinnati ComiCon, a convention that shepherds Cincinnati back…
Dining: Diner en Blanc
If you come across thousands of people dressed head to toe in white Saturday evening, don’t be alarmed — it’s just Dîner en Blanc. François Pasquier founded the “dinner in white” picnic party in Paris 25 years ago as a means for him to reconnect with his friends. He made sure his picnicking guests wore…
Art: Vessels: All the Eyes Can Hold
As home to Vessels: All the Eyes Can Hold, Kennedy Heights Arts Center is a vessel itself, brimming with nearly 100 works representing 57 artists. Co-curator Lynn Conaway saw to it that this wouldn’t be a show of only stoneware pots, which is an easy place to go when the theme is “vessels,” so she…
Music: Zedd
German Progressive/Electro House DJ Anton Zaslavski, whose profile has risen to stratospheric levels as Zedd, is the latest to appropriate the caboose of the alphabet for his moniker, perhaps indicating that he is the be-all-end-all in EDM culture, perhaps just an allusion to the initial in his surname. (He also tacked on an additional “d”…
Music: Shooter Jennings
It is not easy being the son of a legend, especially if you’re in the same line of work. That is the case with musician Shooter Jennings, whose daddy was the late Outlaw Country great Waylon Jennings. His mother, Jessi Colter, is also a successful Country artist. But Shooter has been cutting his own distinctive…
Ohioans Support Job Protections for Gays and Lesbians
Ohio voters overwhelmingly support laws that would protect gays and lesbians from job discrimination, but even more Ohioans mistakenly think such laws are already in place, according to the 2013 Ohio Values Survey from the Public Religion Research Institute . The poll found 68 percent of Ohio voters favor laws that protect gays and lesbians…
Music: Tav Falco
There are Rock legends and then there are Underground Rock legends – musicians who aren’t known well beyond their support base, but whose core followers believe they represent everything good and exciting about the spirit and energy of Rock & Roll. One of the greatest examples ever of an Underground Rock legend, Memphis’ Tav Falco,…
Music: El Ten Eleven
Americana, Folk, Country and Rockabilly all exist in a hazy shared space, and the border between Punk, Post Punk, Post Hardcore and Indie Rock can grow thin to nonexistent as bands trade stylistic calling cards. Kristian Dunn’s interpretation of his own output in El Ten Eleven offers more evidence of that fluidity. By broader definition,…
Far-Reaching Exhibit ‘Vessels’ Is More than Just Bowls
As home to Vessels: All the Eyes Can Hold, Kennedy Heights Arts Center is a vessel itself, brimming with nearly 100 works representing 57 artists. Co-curator Lynn Conaway saw to it that this wouldn’t be a show of only stoneware pots, which is an easy place to go when the theme is “vessels,” so she…
Morning News and Stuff
Despite unanimous opposition, City Council yesterday fulfilled duties dictated by the City Charter and reluctantly voted to allow the controversial pension amendment on the November ballot . The amendment would privatize Cincinnati’s pension system so future city employees — excluding police and fire personnel, who are under a separate system — contribute to and manage…
In This Life
For all I've been blessed with in this life There was an emptiness in me I was imprisoned by the power of gold But one honest touch could set me free Just a few days after Labor Day, September 1994, I was sitting in a chair alongside my twin brother who was lying in a…
I Brake for Tacos
There are some great, hip taco joints in town, but sometimes I like to get my lomo on the down-low. Warning to drivers: Do not tailgate in the vicinity of taquerias. I have been known to spot salsa verde with my peripheral vision and slam on my brakes. That’s how I discovered Taqueria Yolandita (1881…
Surrender Imminent?
A fter 42 years, the war on drugs has imposed enormous costs on Ohio and the rest of the country, pushing state budgets and prison systems to their limits. But little can be said for the actual gains: Drug abuse continues to be a problem in many communities, and nationwide drug use has trended up…
Behave Yourself
As the season kicks off, it’s the perfect moment for a few reminders about theater behavior. Attending a play does not require dressing up or even being concerned about when to applaud (that’s more complicated for symphony-goers). But it’s not the same thing as watching TV at home. After all, you’re out in public, in…
Dinner In White
I f you come across thousands of people dressed head to toe in white Saturday evening, don’t be alarmed — it’s just Dîner en Blanc. François Pasquier founded the “dinner in white” picnic party in Paris 25 years ago as a means for him to reconnect with his friends. He made sure his picnicking guests…
A Cast Of Heroes
C omic book conventions have exploded in recent years (e.g., the monolithic San Diego Comic-Con) but they’ve also lost touch with what a comic convention should be, forfeiting the artistry of graphic novels to instead concentrate on a tumescent number of celebrity guests. This weekend marks the inaugural Cincinnati ComiCon, a convention that shepherds Cincinnati…
Cincinnati vs. the World 09.04.2013
A new Nike offshoot store in Shanghai was built with 100 percent trash: 5,500 soda cans, 2,000 PET water bottles and 50,000 old CDs and DVDs. WORLD +2 The Department of Agriculture confirmed that a hunter shot and killed the first documented free-ranging, federally endangered gray wolf seen in Kentucky in 150 years. WORLD -2…
Obamacare to Lower Costs
The Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) will lead to an increase in Ohio’s raw health care premiums, but the increase will be more than offset by the law’s tax credits, according to an Aug. 29 study from the RAND Corporation, a reputable think tank. Specifically, health care premiums will rise to an average of $5,312 under…
Medicaid Expansion Could Reach Thousands in Hamilton County
The federally funded Medicaid expansion currently being blocked by state Republicans could provide health insurance to more than 42,000 people living in Hamilton County, according to a county-by-county breakdown released on Aug. 28 by the Ohio Poverty Law Center (OPLC). In Hamilton County, OPLC reports nearly 89,000 people are currently uninsured and roughly 155,000 use…
Pension Amendment to Appear on November Ballot
Despite unanimous opposition, City Council on Sept. 3 fulfilled duties dictated by the City Charter and voted to allow a controversial pension amendment to appear on the ballot this November. Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls explained that all council members oppose the amendment, but it’s part of City Council’s ministerial duties to allow ballot initiatives if…
Secrecy Plagues Potentially Good Programs
It’s hard to imagine what Attorney General Mike DeWine was thinking when he allowed his office to withhold knowledge of the state’s facial recognition program for more than two months. What seems like a perfectly sensible law enforcement tool is now mired in controversy thanks to the unnecessary secrecy. The program allows police to use…
Home Invasion?
I t’s a quiet, muggy Saturday afternoon in Avondale on Alaska Avenue. There’s a woman coaxing her pet boxer inside from the front yard of her apartment building. A group of friends meander down the sidewalk. Someone’s tending to a garden outside. Just what you’d expect to see on a summer afternoon in a residential…
Worst Week Ever!: Aug. 28-Sept. 3
WEDNESDAY AUG. 28 The Enquirer today spotlighted Crossroads — a community church in Oakley that doesn’t use the word “church” on any of its promotional materials — describing it as place where “entrepreneurs from across the region gather to work in space not for Earthly profits, but for winning converts to God.” In order to…
Fantasy Football Is Better than a Lot of Stuff
Fantasy football is addictive and important. It acts as a prism which makes the NFL many times more enjoyable to watch and nerd out on. Players can never stop getting better at it, and the master study of the craft involves perfect fall Sundays and leisure time spent in its purest form. For a brief…
Wash-Off Color
So it is no accident that the source of Hip is the Negro… — Norman Mailer Nigger is a slow death. — Hilton Als It has been made obvious by the spectacle, speculation and news cycle of her MTV Video Music Awards show performance why Miley Cyrus is a white nigger or, clearer and stranger…
‘Boardwalk’ Barrels Beyond Atlantic City for Season Four
As HBO’s gripping period piece Boardwalk Empire (Season Premiere, 9 p.m. Sunday) returns for a fourth season, months have passed since last year’s explosive finale. It’s February 1924. Nucky Thompson has been lying low, eventually making peace with mob boss Joe Masseria. This year he’ll have his hands full with Chalky White taking a bigger…
The Maid’s Version
Daniel Woodrell is clearly among the best living American writers when it comes to evoking the sights, sounds and even the smell of the blood-soaked terrain on which most of his novels take place. Described by some as the master of “country noir,” Woodrell is incredibly gifted at describing small towns of the Missouri Ozarks…
Night Film
Written with hip, smart and exquisitely brilliant prose, Marisha Pessl’s latest novel, Night Film, is like a roller coaster ride through the haunted house at the wildest amusement park ever built. It’s a spine-tingling journey covering enormous territory as it delves into the deep recesses of the human psyche. The novel is packed with all…
