CItyBeat | May 30, 2018 by Cincinnati CityBeat

CINCINNATI’S NEWS AND ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY | MAY 30–JUNE 5, 2018 | FREE

THE RING’S THE THING

The athleticism, drama, camaraderie and pure entertainment are raw and real in Greater Cincinnati’s Northern Wrestling Federation

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LETTERS Library Appreciation Steve Purnell: Thank you for your dedication. Libraries are close to heaven and earth. Charlotte Smith: You will be missed. Comments posted at Facebook.com/CincinnatiCityBeat in response to the May 25 post, “Director of Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County to retire.”

Cincy Art Museum’s Not Moving

Jill Dunne: Love Camp Wash (esp @CampWashChili) but the @cincyartmuseum has been in Eden Park (Walnut Hills/Mt Adams) since 1886… and we aren’t going anywhere. Comment posted (with a smiley face) at @CityBeatCincy in response to May 24 tweet, “Another arts/cultural organization — this time a gallery — is moving to Camp Washington. Anytime Dept. opens Saturday. The way it’s going, can the Cincinnati Art Museum be far behind?”

Arts Boom = Gentrification? Justin Marquis: #gentrification Comment posted at Facebook.com/CincinnatiCityBeat in response to the May 24 post, “Another arts/cultural organization — this time a gallery — is moving to Camp Washington, opening on Saturday.”

Caring Enough to Post About Not Caring Robert Golden: Nobody cares Steve Stein: But you do by commenting. Nice try. Mike Olberding: She’s just not funny and nobody cares. Steve Stein: Yeah, she’s not as funny as tRump. Comments posted at Facebook.com/CincinnatiCityBeat in response to the May 22 post, “You won’t find a comedian more cutting-edge right now — or more dynamic — than Maria Bamford, who comes to the Taft Theatre Saturday”

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Burnet Woods PH OTO: NIC K SWARTSELL

Changing Burnet Woods Will Cincinnatians welcome private nonprofits into one of the city’s biggest and most beloved public parks? BY N I C K SWA R T S E L L

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“We don’t have any new buckets of resources falling out of the sky,” Parks Director Wade Walcutt says. “I’m not interested in making changes for changes’ sake. But if there’s an opportunity for all of us to get more people into the parks, I think that’s worth exploring. If we have to do that by talking to different partners, that’s worth exploring too.” Walcutt said the changes proposed are designed to improve the park while bringing in partners who can raise outside money for their projects and provide programming the parks themselves don’t have funding for. He says that no parkland would be sold and that neither plan would use taxpayer funds. One plan, from the Clifton Cultural Arts Center, would place a 25,000 square-foot arts center in the park. The other, from the Camping and Education Foundation, would mean a smaller building occupying about 2,500 square feet, as well as renovations to other park facilities.

in the past. When it was initially leased to the city by wealthy Cincinnatians Robert Burnet and William Groesbeck in 1874, the park encompassed more than 170 acres. After the city purchased most of the land outright, it lopped off 74 acres that in 1895 became the home of the University of Cincinnati, which was then seeking to leave its crowded, hill-perched location surrounded by industry at Vine Street and Clifton Avenue. Half a century later, the city gave UC another 18 acres now occupied by the College of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning and other buildings. Since then, fans of the park have been increasingly vigilant about proposed alterations. Voters in 2015 rejected Issue 22, a controversial charter amendment suggested by Mayor John Cranley that would have created a fund for big changes to the woods as well as many other parks around the city. Some of the suggestions for Burnet Woods in that proposal — a restaurant in the park, for example, thinning out trees, and a Washington Park-like center area — were met with big opposition among residents of Clifton and other fans of the park. Clifton Cultural Arts Center would like to create a three-story facility on Brookline Drive in the park. That space, which would have a footprint of roughly 8,400 square feet plus additional parking, would replace

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ou can’t blame Cincinnatians for being a bit touchy about Burnet Woods. The 90-acre, heavily-wooded park wedged between the University of Cincinnati, several of the city’s hospitals and a few of its biggest uptown neighborhoods is one of the city’s most distinctive features and has seen some controversial proposals to change it over the years, many of them battled tooth and nail by the park’s fans. So it wasn’t a surprise that a standingroom-only crowd of about 200 crammed into the Clifton Recreation Center May 23 to hear presentations about two new possibilities for the park during a meeting facilitated by the Cincinnati Parks Board. The suggestions come as Cincinnati Parks looks for ways to fund upkeep and improvements to the city’s parks. The system needs some $58 million in deferred maintenance, parks officials say, and it’s unclear where that money would come from.

Some residents expressed excitement around the proposals but also had concerns about the fact both partners are private nonprofits building in the public park. Attendees also had questions about how the partnerships would benefit the parks, which is currently grappling with a big funding shortfall for maintenance, and about the possibility of a new parking lot in the woods. “I think there’s a lot of excitement around these proposals,” one attendee said. “But the real challenges are how these will address the maintenance and safety issues in the parks. It’s unclear that any of these will be a real panacea for those.” Others in Clifton aren’t thrilled by the prospect of a building the size of the CCAC’s at all and predict a divisive battle should it go forward. “Like many people in Clifton, and in the city, I am frustrated that Burnet Woods seems to be a magnet for construction proposals,” University of Cincinnati History Professor and Clifton resident David Stradling says. “Burnet Woods certainly needs investment, but it doesn’t need a 30,000 square foot building and a forty-car parking lot. We have a limited number of park acres, and we aren’t getting more. We should not use the current under-investment in the park to claim that a building represents an improvement.” Changes to the woods have been touchy

CITY DESK

Alms Apartments, other affordable housing under contract for sale BY N I C K SWA R T S EL L

A series of troubled buildings placed in receivership two years ago are under contract to be purchased by new owners pending federal approval, according to Cincinnati City Council documents. Those buildings, formerly owned by New Jersey-based PE Holdings, include the Alms Hill Apartments in Walnut Hills. The 200-unit building is home to a number of long-term residents who wish to stay there despite years of neglect by its former owners. Related Affordable Housing, a New York-based affordable housing provider, has entered into a contract to buy the Alms as well as Entowne Manor and the Burton Apartments in Avondale. Another buyer, American Community Developers, wants to purchase other buildings formerly owned by PE Holdings, including Reids Valley View Manor and Shelton Gardens Apartments. Seven buildings owned by PE Holdings, including the Alms, the Burton Apartments in Avondale and others in North Avondale and Westwood, were placed in receivership by Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Beth Myers in 2016 after horrific building conditions came to light that included leaks, non-functioning heat, insect infestations and other problems. In one case, at the Burton in Avondale, a roof collapsed after a heavy rain. Those conditions moved the City of Cincinnati to ask a court to strip control of the buildings, and their U.S. Department of Housing and Urban

BY N I C K SWA R T S EL L

Alms Apartments PH OTO: NIC K SWARTSELL

The system is one of the busiest and highest-rated in the country. In 2013, it received the National Medal for Museum and Library Service from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Fender’s exit also comes just after voters approved a new levy that will provide the library with more operating funding and avert a deficit. Last year, it had the second-highest circulation of any library system in the country, only behind New York City’s.

Development rent subsidy payments, from PE Holdings. According to City Council documents, Milhaus has spent more than $5 million from federal rent subsidies to repair the properties. Last year, a legal battle erupted over the Alms after HUD attempted to pull

its rent subsidies from the property over its condition, despite the fact that Milhaus had spent more than $700,000 on repairs at the 200-unit apartment building. A federal court eventually ruled in favor of tenants and ordered HUD to keep its subsidies in the property pending its sale.

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BY N I C K SWA R T S EL L

Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County Director Kim Fender, a 30-year veteran of the library, will retire effective June 30, according to a message sent to library staff May 24. Fender served as director of the library for 19 years, during which the library has received a number of accolades but also some criticism.

Proposal Would Offer Free or Reduced-Cost Transit Options to Low-Income Cincinnatians Cincinnati City Council will soon mull a plan to set aside $300,000 a year for the next three years to help some of Metro’s most vulnerable riders better afford transit options. Called the Transit Empowerment Fund, the proposal could be a way to blunt the impact of potential fare increases for the region’s Metro bus system. The idea, recommended by the Human Services Chamber of Hamilton County, would make Metro fare cards — single-ride, daily passes or monthly passes — from the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority available to social service organizations at a 50 percent discount.

Library Head to Retire

Those organizations could then turn around and distribute them free or at a reduced rate to residents making less than 200 percent of the federally-defined poverty guidelines for income. The passes would be for people going to and from work, medical appointments, court, the grocery or other necessary destinations. An advisory board made up of bus riders, SORTA staff, human services professionals and members of the business community would oversee the initiative. The plan has at least one somewhat controversial clause — the possibility that ride-booking companies like

Uber could be included in future years. Cities like Austin, Minneapolis, Portland, Ore., San Francisco and Seattle have launched similar fare discount programs. The suggestion, now a motion submitted by Cincinnati City Councilman David Mann, comes after the Chamber released a survey of bus riders last month showing that many would not be able to afford fare increases proposed in SORTA’s recently-released Reinventing Metro plan. That plan, designed to stave off looming multi-million dollar deficits for the bus system, would raise fares from $1.75 to $2.80

over the next decade — a 60 percent increase. About half of the 700 riders surveyed make less than $25,000 a year. Of those riders, more than 50 percent said they would not be able to continue riding the bus if fares increased by 50 cents. Sixty-five percent said they would not be able to afford a fare hike of $1. Mann’s motion would pull the $300,000 a year necessary to fund the Chamber’s recommendation from the city’s Transit Tax Fund, part of the city’s earnings tax. With that money, the Chamber estimates about 1,400 riders could benefit from the free or reduced fare cards.

“Together, we have made the library one of the busiest and best public libraries in the country, with tremendous growth over 20 years, including increases of 50 percent in circulation and more than 20 percent in the number of cardholders,” Fender said in the message to staff. The library has also seen some controversy during Fender’s tenure, including a contentious battle over a facilities plan that could have seen the north building of the library’s downtown campus sold. Activists decried that possibility and the lack of community engagement on behalf of the library, which had partnered with the Cincinnati City Center Development Corporation to explore the sale of the building. Earlier this year, the library announced it would keep the building. The battle may not be over, however. Critics of the plan point out that 3CDC head Steven Leeper remarked in an interview with the Cincinnati Business Courier earlier this month that he’d still like to see the building redeveloped as office or residential space. “Fender’s mistreatment of library workers and mismanagement of library resources has tarnished the reputation of a precious public institution,” activist group Our Library Our Decision said in a statement about Fender’s departure. “(We demand) that PLCH conduct a transparent and robust national search, with a priority on input from patrons and workers, to ensure that Fender’s replacement will bring much-needed change.” Fender will be replaced by Chief Strategy and Technology Officer Paula Brehm-Heeger as interim director while the library conducts a national search for a permanent replacement.

FROM PAGE 07

“We don’t have new buckets of resources falling out of the sky,” Parks Director Wade Walcutt says. “If there’s an opportunity to get more people into the parks, I think that’s worth exploring.”

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Burnet Woods’ Trailside Nature Center and perhaps have its office in the Works Progress Administration-era structure. It would also like to do work on a nearby concession building, trails in the park and the meadow where its education center would be located. Walcutt stressed that the potential additions to the woods are just ideas. Public input gathered at the May 23 meeting will be compiled and posted on the Park Board’s website, he said, and also presented before the Park Board at its public meeting on June 28. There will also be future public engagement sessions, he said. “At the end of the day, if everything you hear is absolutely the worst thing you’ve ever heard in your life, good,” Walcutt told the crowd. “That’s what we’re here to do. We’re here to have an open dialogue.” At the May 23 meeting, one resident called the park “an oasis of quietness” and didn’t want any additions to disrupt that. Some attendees thought the session should have been a more open listening session asking for suggestions for improving Burnet Woods instead of simply presenting two possibilities. “Development in the park may lead to development in other parks,” Cincinnati Parks employee Jennifer Harten said, reporting out for several other attendees after they broke up into groups. “The question came up — are we privatizing our public parks? How does this benefit parks?”

HIRING

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CCAC’s former home at Clifton School. Cincinnati Public Schools reclaimed that facility after a contentious push and pull over the last couple years. “We’ve been at a building that is 53,000 square feet,” CCAC Executive Director Leslie Mooney says. “We probably need somewhere between 25,000 and 30,000 (square feet)” of space. Mooney says CCAC would try to get living building certification for its facility. CCAC would like to start raising money this fall and begin construction next year. The building could take up to two years, Mooney says. The whole facility would cost between $6.5 million and $9 million. CCAC has more than $2 million it can put toward the building from funds Cincinnati Public Schools reimbursed the center after improvements it made to the Clifton School building. The arts center would raise the rest from donors, Mooney says. “The parks asked us to put together some very early conceptual plans of where a building of this size could be,” Mooney says about diagrams showing the three-story building. “With that said, these are extremely early.” Some Cliftonites support the proposal from the arts center. But Stradling and others are opposed to building in the woods, saying it will disrupt the park’s status as a haven for wildlife. “While I think the CCAC is a great institution, it absolutely should not be building a building in Burnet Woods,” says urban historian Anne Steinert. “There are countless places a new building could go, but once we take away the essential natural spaces Burnet Woods provides, we will never get them back.” Another possibility — a “living building” occupying 2,500 square feet south of the lake in Burnet Woods by Hyde Park-based Camping and Education Foundation, a 50-year-old nonprofit that operates urban nature education programs and camping outings locally and at sites in Minnesota. The foundation partners with Cincinnati Public Schools and other area public schools to provide nature education and camping experiences to youth who might not otherwise be exposed to environs outside urban areas. It also partners with the University of Cincinnati on two nature education courses. Camping and Education Foundation President Hugh Haller says the proposed facility in Burnet Woods would be a great fit for the organization’s mission. “Why Burnet? It’s centrally located,” Haller said. “If we’re going to reach all

urban youth, we need a central location. As much as we’re not embedded in this neighborhood like CCAC is, we really value this neighborhood.” Programming at the roughly $625,000 facility would include boat-building classes for public school students. Those classes generally run about two weeks and teach students about using basic tools. Other classes would include nature systems education for students aided by the facility’s potential geothermal heat, solar panels and other green technology. The building would also be living building certified, meaning it would have a number of environmentally-friendly features that would both fit in with the park and provide educational opportunities. The Foundation would also like to restore

The Northern Wrestling Federation at Hits in Covington, Ky.

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THERING’STHETHING

he scene takes you back to grade-school gym classes — sneaker soles against hardwood courts, a lingering hint of sweat and the morass of bodies against a backdrop of beige tile. All the claustrophobic activity of a Hieronymus Bosch painting pulsates through Fairfield, Ohio’s UAW Hall. Thirty minutes to the opening bell and it’s nearly standing-room only at the Northern Wrestling Federation’s annual NWF Rumble. For many attendees, NWF’s weekly shows are a ritual. The die-hard fans shell out $15 in advance for VIP tickets, which ensure a spot at one of the wooden folding tables that surround the ring. Cans of grape Sunkist and nacho trays appear uniformly throughout the front row, which is in turn surrounded by the non-VIP masses — curious locals, teenage goths and hip 20-somethings in graphic T-shirts who sport the gear of other small wrestling promotions, many of them international. Some wear NWF’s own merchandise. An official shirt reads, “The First, The Best.” The league operates on a much lower budget than its more well-known and lucrative counterparts like the WWE (Word Wrestling Entertainment) or Ring of Honor, but the same melodrama and wrestling moves you’d be able to see on television are still on display. Touring the Tri-State area, besides Fairfield, the NWF brings its intimate shows to venues in communities like Covington, Ky. and Wilmington, Ohio.

That’s what’s so crazy about these shows. Not far from where you live, costumed faces (heroes) and heels (bad guys) are delivering hilarious theatrical monologues, performing death-defying dive-bombs off the top of steel cages and duking it out for bragging rights, yet you’ve likely never heard about it. While by no means an expert, I’ve always respected “pro wrestling” for its combination of art and sport. Whenever WWE Raw or Smackdown comes to Cincinnati’s riverfront arena, I’m there. But it’s the more micro sense of community binding the wrestlers and fans that keeps me coming back to the NWF’s events, a sensibility not far removed from the DIY mentality that helps a Punk scene organize its shows. What grabs me about the Rumble isn’t just its surprisingly large attendance — which falls somewhere between 300 and 450 people. It’s the overall magnitude of the event, so ambitious that it feels too big for the UAW Hall’s cozy confines. The NWF is as transportive as any great stage production. An emcee wearing a tuxedo hypes up matches and future events as Alien Ant Farm’s “Smooth Criminal” oozes from a trebly PA system. The wrestlers don costumes that are usually exaggerated enough to contain their larger-than-life personalities. And, most importantly, the in-ring emotion is raw enough that you can really feel it. When you’re seated about 20 feet from the ring, you understand how real wrestling is, even with its theatrical flourishes. When a wrestler dives from the top rope or tosses an

BY JUDE NOEL

The athleticism, drama, camaraderie and pure entertainment are raw and real in Greater Cincinnati’s Northern Wrestling Federation

Highly Functioning Dysfunctional Family Values “You’ve got to be yourself, but turn it up to a different level,” says Josh Adams, taking a short break from an intense practice session. “In the ring, I’m me, just turned up to 100.” Even here, at the BoneKrushers National Pro Wrestling Center in Elmwood Place, the volume and vehemence are turned up to the max. Since the NWF began in 1995, the facility has served as the hub for all behind-the-scenes activity, led by league commissioner and industry veteran Roger Ruffen. A pair of trainees who haven’t yet made the official NWF roster volley improvised insults and grunts as they grapple in the ring. When you’re close enough to the action to pick up the muttered trash talk and technical prowess, the sport is not unlike a Shakespearean sword fight, if the parries and lunges were swapped out for suplexes. Sustaining the drama is as CONTINUES ON PAGE 12

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PHOTOS BY HAILEY BOLLINGER

opponent over their shoulder, the force of impact makes the whole gym quiver. When title-holder Lexus Montez, the self-proclaimed “Prince of Sport,” throws camo-clad challenger CM Lotus into a ringpost during their bout, Lotus’ forehead spills real blood. Though the in-ring drama may be hyperbolic and exaggerated so that the emotions translate from any distance, there’s nothing fake about the physical toll a match takes on a competitor. “Everyone thinks that you punch your hand, you know, or the mat’s a trampoline,” says Titan, NWF’s current overall champion, known for his signature gladiator mask (the same worn by underground rapper MF DOOM). “But it’s real. I may have never been seriously hurt, because I’m smart, but I wake up every day feeling it. It’s like I’ve been in a car accident.” The night’s main event — the titular Rumble — pits 30 NWF affiliates against one another in a battle royale style match. Each minute, a new, randomly selected challenger enters the mass of bodies, each trying to eliminate the other by tossing them over the top rope. The winner earns a golden ticket that allows its holder a free chance to fight for a title of their choice — even Titan’s. The match is like a living, breathing organizational chart, leading each of the league’s feuds and storylines to converge on one point. It’s tough to understand without context, so the seven traditionally formatted matches that precede the main event offer a welcome primer on the players and the league’s lore.

The wrestling league attracts a number of loyal, passionate followers.

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FROM PAGE 11

important as nailing the fundamentals. Jay Donaldson, a seasoned pro who acts as one of the practice leaders, intervenes. “Always be big,” he reminds the students. Donaldson is noticeably slighter than his wrestling peers. When he’s on the canvas, it looks as if your next-door neighbor climbed into the middle of a WWE match. But his experience and in-ring wisdom give him a commanding presence, as he tosses opponents twice his size with relative ease. “This is the first thing I do when I take a hit,” he demonstrates, clutching his lower back and grimacing after tossing himself onto the mat. A sign directly overhead reads, “NWF. TAKE PRIDE… OR GET OUT!!” Another, across the room, invites fans to “JOIN THE STARS OF NWF AND SAY NO TO DRUGS.” ‘Hollywood’ Adam Swayze and his agent Gideon Weinstein wait ringside for their chance to practice. During live events at the UAW Hall, they play the part of a cocky B-list celebrity and his devoted handler, respectively. At BoneKrushers, though, they’re fans. Here, though Swayze’s hair remains bleached blonde, he leaves his bubble gum pink suit jacket at home in favor of a tank top repping the Bullet Club, New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s notorious faction of foreigners. Weinsten’s wearing an “I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats” T-shirt, which he says is often mistaken for merchandise from the Blue Mountain State TV series. He assures me it definitely refers to John Darnielle’s beloved Indie-Folk band (whose Beat the Champ was a professionalwrestling-themed concept album), not the fictional football team. By the time the three of us dip into a back room to chat, the duo has fully transformed into their in-ring selves, channeling their curated personas. “My job is to give Mr. Swayze roles,” says Weinstein, his Brooklyn accent tightening. He does most of the talking for his client, who hunches in a steel chair, hands

clasped and bathed in the glow of a vintage Sprite machine. “Big budget films,” the agent continues. Roger Ruffen “A lot of his movies get released in Thailand, that’s where we do a lot of our work.” “Hey, not just in Thailand,” Swayze interjects. “We do some in Spain and Portugal.” As heels, the men aren’t strangers to conflict. Their entrances invite hatred, often taking the form of disses aimed at opponents, audiences and the entire state of Ohio. Weinstein talks most of the smack, demanding attention with his signature clapperboard in hand. He uses the terms “schmuck” and “broad” in place of actual pronouns. Swayze’s list of recent adversaries include Big Mama, who eliminated him during the Rumble, and Brody Cormick, who is rarely seen without his Milwaukee Brewers jersey and metal baseball bat. “Cormick and I were in a triple threat match a few months ago, because— for whatever reason—he thought he was the No. 1 contender for the NWF world heavyweight championship,” Swayze says. “He wasn’t. I was. So after whining to Roger, he let Brody into my match with Titan. Unfortunately, things didn’t go according to script, as my people say. Titan beat me — pinned me, 1-2-3.” Unfortunately for Titan, the match dealt so much damage that he was carted off on a stretcher, which Swayze elbow-dropped from the ringpost en route to the backstage area in a grisly turn of events. Cormick exacted his own revenge on Swayze a few weeks later at NWF’s Thunderdome cagematch extravaganza, obliterating Weinstein’s clapperboard in a few swift swings. “I don’t really like wrestling him, to be honest,” Swayze says. “He kind of smells. Not that good to look at, like yours truly.” Also no stranger to villainy is Lord Crewe, member of NWF tag team champions The Crimson Mafia and another

prolific trash-talker. He’s not afraid to disparage those who heckle him — even audience members. “You might want to get a hat with a top on it,” he shouted from the ring to a balding, visor-sporting spectator at Thunderdome. “It’s doing you no favors.” He’s one of the NWF’s more Stygian figures, covered in tattoos, a black Thrash Metal jacket and a large mass of facial hair. He’s also one of the roster’s newer additions, though he’s brimming with potential. Aside from his NWF title reign, he’s a member of Paris, Ky.-based Prime Time Wrestling’s tag team Social Injustice and he completed a recent training stint at New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s dojo in Los Angeles. “It’s really a full-time commitment,” he says. Aside from the BoneKrushers practices, which take place twice a week from 6-8 p.m., coming up in the world of indie wrestling takes determination. Newcomers are required to help with security, all wrestlers help set up for matches and many roster members tour the area to participate in other promotions. That’s on top of making sure you’re in good enough shape to look the part of a wrestler. For Crewe, getting to entertain a crowd makes the effort worth it. “I love getting to amplify my personality and show who I really am through my character — getting a reaction out of people,” he says. Pompano Joe, one of the longest-serving members of the roster, has wrestled for the NWF since its first show in Fairfield nearly 15 years ago. Sharing his name with a seafood eatery on the Florida coastline, Joe is known for his trademark in-ring humor. His

catchphrases like ”Homie don’t play that” and “Who’s everyone’s homie?” are printed on his official merchandise, and he’s seldom seen without his signature prop: a boombox radio he carries into the ring for each match. It often doubles as a weapon. “I started (the boombox) thing about a year ago. We were up in Dayton, and we had what’s called a ‘house party match.’ There, anything goes,” he says, sipping on a post-show Natural Light beer. “It’s a house party, so I brought a case of beer and a boombox out to the ring. People liked it, and I thought I’d stick with it. I already dance anyway.” Inspired by Eddie Guerrero, Bobby Heenan and Bret Hart growing up, Joe respects the NWF’s commitment to classic wrestling action. “A lot of independent promotions nowadays get away from what made classic wrestling good. A lot of it doesn’t make sense,” he says. “Here, everything always ties in to each other; there’s a solid, good show, and it’s classic. There’s not anything super over-the-top: the federation is ’90s-style wrestling.” Across the facility, Big Mama sits at a desk, filling out a spreadsheet. League commissioner Ruffen, wearing an “I <3 Pro Wrestling” T-shirt, also fills out paperwork in the makeshift office, while occasionally making his way to the ring to dole out advice to trainees. The two are getting married later this year. “The NWF is a second family to me. I’m working on my wedding list, and out of 150 people, 100 of them are wrestling people,” Big Mama says. Wrestling three or four times a month,

Since the league is underground, wrestlers rotate from match to match — with a few returning staples.

Titan takes on Lord Crewe.

instructor, it’s his job to help new wrestlers enter that same state. “You’re not you until you’re sitting on the couch back at home,” he says. “We just had our first student show for the trainees — me and Jay run it. And leading up to that, we were thinking ‘God, they’re not ready.’ Come showtime, though, we put them in front of a live crowd and everyone turned on. We were all downstairs emotional. The difference is just night and day.” Of all the bouts that take place at UAW Hall, the most fascinating struggle you’ll find in an NWF ring is existential: the id vs the super-ego. A pro-wrestler is his own doppelganger, possessed by the innermost human drive to physically dominate. But there’s artistry to it. What differentiates pro wrestling from a street fight is its focus on the human condition. Each wrestler picks a side of the classic grapple between good and evil, molding their public self to fully embody that ethic. It’s not enough to just be buff. A wrestler needs to be an archetype, a foil, a friend.

The Wrestling Whisperer As commissioner, Roger Ruffen (government name: Roger Bachman) is the conductor that orchestrates the NWF’s web of conflicts — internal and external. What should be a cacophony of plotlines and information becomes cohesive and longtime fans and newcomers alike can understand what’s transpiring. Ruffen’s first brush with professional wrestling took place long before the league was founded in 1995. His personal wrestling history can be traced back to the early ’70s, when he was in his early teens,

religiously attending matches at the nowdefunct Cincinnati Gardens. “I got to a point where I’d be one of the first ones there for every show,” he says. “I’d be waiting there three or four hours before the doors would open. Then when the matches were over and they were turning the lights out, they’d have to throw me out of the building.” Local wrestling promoter Les Ruffen took notice of his devotion, eventually approaching the boy after a show to chat. When he expressed an interest in becoming a wrestler one day, the veteran Les took him under his wing. At the start of his wrestling career, Roger Bachman became Roger Ruffen, taking the name of his mentor. At the same time as he was learning how to wrestling, Ruffen was also learning another wrestling trade: officiating. Connections with Cincinnati’s local boxing and wrestling commission allowed him to don black and white stripes during matches at the Gardens, including matches organized by the WWF (now known as the WWE). Then, in 1998, Ruffen purchased a 3-year-old local promotion that he’d helped organize the scenes for since its founding, training new talent at BoneKrushers as the NWF. Thanks to wrestling’s surging popularity in the late-’90s (sparked by the WWE’s edgier, harder-hitting “Attitude Era”), NWF gained traction under Ruffen’s leadership, building a following in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky while producing up-and-comers like Total Nonstop Action Wrestling’s “Wildcat” Chris Harris, Impact Wrestling’s Abyss and current WWE superstar Karl Anderson. The league maintains its devoted fan base, but its popularity tends to wax and wane alongside wrestling’s popularity as a

whole, Ruffen says. Thanks to the WWE’s impressive fiscal 2017, which netted the league’s highest-ever total annual revenue, the NWF has received a welcome boost in its own attendance. Still, the NWF retains its own, unique identity. “I think our real strong point is that we’re really interactive with the fans,” Ruffen speculates. “As big as the WWE is, with their huge crowds, they don’t have the opportunities to get one-on-one with the fans like we do. Come to one of our events, and no matter where you are in the building you’ve got a great seat, close to the wrestlers. During intermission, you can even get autographs and photos.” Ruffen spends each event out of sight backstage, making sure the action is entertaining and easy to understand. Twenty years in charge of the NWF under his belt, he says he’s able to evaluate a match’s success without even watching it. Hidden behind the gym’s stage curtains, he listens, taking in the sounds and emotions of each bout. “Some of the younger guys will come back here after the match and ask me, ‘Was my match any good?’ ” Ruffen says. “And I’ll say, ‘No, it was terrible.’ They’ll ask if I watched it and I’ll tell them no. I could tell because it was quiet. No fans booing. No fans cheering. The same guy might come back and I’ll say it was dynamite. I could hear that people were into the match.” First and foremost, Ruffen believes that wrestling’s about entertaining a crowd. “If the fans are into it,” he says, “the match is good.” To learn more about the Northern Wrestling Federation and upcoming events, visit nwfwrestling.squarespace.com.

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Big Mama is one of the roster’s more traveled members. She reigned as the champion of North Carolina’s Professional Girl Wrestling Association for six and a half years and has worked with Tennessee’s Xtreme Wrestling and Akron’s Ohio Championship Wrestling. “As a little kid, I’d watch wrestling on TV all the time with my brother,” she says. “I decided that I wanted to be (WWE star) Chyna and press-slammed my brother off my bed. And then wrestling was banned at our house.” Though she’s worked with a diverse range of organizations in the past, the NWF is her favorite. The roster is largely native to Cincinnati and the emotion is raw. “They focus a lot on homegrown talent,” she says. “You have a lot of companies that’ll go out and get wrestlers from all over. Here, you’ve got local guys who really come from Cincinnati. And behind the scenes, once you get involved, it’s a brotherhood and a sisterhood.” NWF champion Titan, who helps BoneKrushers trainees learn the basics on the facility’s astroturf surface, says that the camaraderie is deep, and a little complicated. “Just ask Adam Swayze if wrestling’s real,” he says. “We were running a storyline in Fairfield not too long ago. The whole day, everything was fine between us, but the moment we got into the ring, it’s real. We get back (from the match) thinking, ‘Man, I didn’t know you felt like that.’ ” The idea of the ring as a transformative space is a universal one. Ask any wrestler how it feels to climb onto the canvas and they’ll have a crisp metaphor at the ready. Titan views his commitment to character as a high he’s constantly chasing. Morphing into the current version of his persona was his personal peak. As an

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STUFF TO DO Ongoing Shows ONSTAGE: Cincy Fringe Festival Downtown/OTR

WEDNESDAY 30

ART: Garden to Table: Traditions and Innovation explores the world of food gardens via rare illustrations, etchings, seed catalogs and archival material at the Lloyd Library & Museum. See feature, page 21.

ONSTAGE: Aladdin The 1992 Disney animated film Aladdin did big business from the get-go, earning over $500 million worldwide in its first year. It won a Oscar for best original score and for the hit song, “A Whole New World.” That pretty much guaranteed that a Broadway adaptation would be a hit, and the magical tale of Aladdin and his genie has done just that: It has broken a dozen sales records at the New Amsterdam Theatre, where it has been running since 2014, with more than 1,700 performances. The North American tour is in town thanks to Broadway in Cincinnati, so fire up your magic carpet and head to the Aronoff Center. Through June 10. Tickets start at $30. Aronoff Center, 650 Walnut St., Downtown, cincinnatiarts.org. — RICK PENDER

THURSDAY 31

MUSIC: Parker Millsap brings Oklahoma Folk Rock to the Southgate House Revival. See interview, page 28.

EVENT: Zoo Paint Night Budding artists and animal lovers are invited to the zoo for an evening of guided art instruction. Artists from Liberty Township’s Pinot’s Palette will be on hand to tell you how to make your own masterpiece, step by step, using a provided canvas, easel, paint, brushes and an apron. Animals will be making a special appearance to inspire your creations. Light bites, iced tea and water are included; a cash bar is available. For ages 13 and up. 6:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday. $75. Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, 3400 Vine St., Avondale, cincinnatizoo.org. — MAIJA ZUMMO

Jack White, one of Bunbury’s headliners P H OTO : DAV I D J A M E S S WA N S O N

FRIDAY 01

MUSIC: Bunbury Music Festival Created in 2012 by MidPoint Music Festival co-founder Bill Donabedian and then taken over by PromoWest Productions in 2014, out of the many music festivals in Greater Cincinnati, Bunbury Music Festival is the most like the big-time events across the country that draw headlines and tons of music fans — and also compete for marquee headliners year after year. The three-day event returns for its seventh

year to Cincinnati’s Sawyer Point/Yeatman’s Cove along the riverfront. The top-line acts for the 2018 fest include three amphitheater/arena headliners — Jack White (headlining Sunday), The Chainsmokers and blink-182 (the Pop duo and Pop Punk band both perform Friday). The rest of the lineup is a similar mix of Pop, Electronic, AltRock and Hip Hop, featuring Post Malone, Incubus (which is the headlining act on Saturday), Foster the People, Young

the Giant, Dropkick Murphys, Royal Blood, Third Eye Blind, GRiZ, Coheed and Cambria, Manchester Orchestra, Fitz and The Tantrums, Lecrae and much more. The Cincinnati bands slated to perform at the festival are progressive Hard Rock crew Lift the Medium; Pop Punk/ Post Hardcore band Friday Giants; Synth Pop act Moonbeau; Soul/Pop singer/songwriter Lauren Eylise; Americana favorite Arlo McKinley; and AltRock act Daniel In CONTINUES ON PAGE 18

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EVENT: Summerfair This national arts fair returns for its 51st year, showcasing the best artists in the country in media like ceramics, jewelry, painting, printmaking and other

hands-on crafts. For three days, guests can peruse and buy handmade art while listening to live music on one of five stages or grab a bite from a gourmet food artisan. There are even areas for kids to make their own art projects. Held rain or shine. 2-8 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. $10 per day; $15 three-day pass. Coney Island, 6201 Kellogg Ave., California, facebook. com/summerfaircincinnati. — MAIJA ZUMMO

EVENT: National Donut Day National Donut Day, founded in 1938, celebrates the Salvation Army Donut Lassies and their work serving the breakfast/dessert hybrid to American soldiers on the front lines during World War I. Local bakeries will descend on the square during lunch to provide donuts for sale and sample. Sweet. Noon-1 p.m. Friday. Free admission. Fountain Square, Fifth and Vine streets, Downtown, myfountainsquare.com. — MAIJA ZUMMO

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EVENT: Summer Cinema: Mulan Disney’s animated classic Mulan, based on the sixthcentury Chinese legend of the badass female warrior of the same name, turns 20 on Tuesday. Tonight, watch it on Washington Park’s lawn. The film is set to launch the annual PNC Summer Cinema series, so break out the camping chairs and dust off those picnic blankets for a night at the movies everyone can enjoy. (Everything from Black Panther to Grease will feature this summer.) To the more enthusiastic fans, please check your surroundings before attempting martial arts kicks in your

reenactment of “I’ll Make a Man Out of You.” The rest of us will appreciate it. 9-11 p.m. Wednesday. Free. Washington Park, 1230 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, washingtonpark.org. — MORGAN ZUMBIEL

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Stereo. Visit citybeat.com for previews of our picks for who to see at this year’s fest. Noon Friday and Saturday; 1 p.m. Sunday. $89 single-day tickets; $179 three-day tickets. Sawyer Point/Yeatman’s Cove, 705 E. Pete Rose Way, Downtown, bunburyfestival. com. — MIKE BREEN MUSIC: Berlin-based avant-garde musician Mary Ocher plays a free show at Northside Tavern. See Sound Advice, page 30.

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EVENT: CincItalia A flight to Rome out of CVG may cost you over $1,000, but this weekend you don’t have to travel far to enjoy the flavors and fanfare of Italy. CincItalia — St. Catherine of Sienna Parish’s annual celebration of all things Italiano

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— kicks off this Friday. Plans for the weekend include traditional music and Italian folk dance, cooking demonstrations and even a cheesestacking contest — for kids only, unfortunately. Sample wines from the vineyards of Tuscany or pig out on meatballs, calamari or tiramisu. Friday is adults-only night for ages 19 and up, but come back with the kiddos on Saturday and Sunday for games, rides and as much cannoli as you can handle. 6 p.m.-midnight Friday; 3 p.m.-midnight Saturday; 1-9 p.m. Sunday. Free. Harvest Home Park, 3961 Northbend Road, Cheviot, cincitalia.org. — MORGAN ZUMBIEL

SATURDAY 02

EVENT: Pinups at the Zoo Do you love to look at cute animals and enjoy

dressing up in your best vintage or retro-chic outfit? If so, Pinups at the Zoo is perfect blend for you. Doll yourself up with your most voluminous curls and bold lips — don’t forget the Marilyn Monroe beauty mark — and head over to the Cincinnati Zoo for a celebration of the finer things in life. Inspired by Dapper Day at Disney, Pinups at the Zoo wants to bring the family-friendly event closer to home. To participate, get dressed to the nines like it’s the 1940s. 11 a.m. Saturday. Included with admission: Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, 3400 Vine St., Avondale, pinupsatthezoo.com. — LIZZY SCHMITT

SUNDAY 03 MUSIC: Canadian Death Metal band Kataklysm

SATURDAY 02

EVENT: Troy Strawberry Festival Sweet, tangy, juicy and richly red — strawberries are one of summer’s favorite fruits. Beyond their plump, heart-shaped exterior, strawberries have the power to bring together a community for what is about to be 42 years. Troy’s weekend-long strawberry-palooza engages not only the community by bringing together small businesses and nonprofits, but in years past has brought together over 150,000 attendees from all over Ohio and the country. The festival will feature a wide variety of events from a Berry Bike Tour, the Queen’s pageant and even a diaper derby, as well as performances from local groups and over 200 arts and craft booths. However, the most exciting part is the over 60 food vendors who have incorporated strawberries in every way possible in their dishes, from strawberry donuts to strawberry barbecue. 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. Free admission. Troy, Ohio, gostrawberries.com. — LIZZY SCHMITT

plays Northside Yacht Club with Jungle Rot. See Sound Advice, page 30. EVENT: Negroni Week Negroni Week is a special celebration of a simple Italian cocktail that gives you a reason to drink for a cause. Enjoy a Negroni — a bitter, delicious and refreshing blend of Campari, gin and vermouth — at participating bars and eateries through June 10 and proceeds from your purchase will go to help build Little Free Library book benches across the city. The kick-off party at The Backstage Event Center (625 Walnut St., Downtown) on Sunday features a friendly Negroni competition between Cincy bartenders and mixologists, each providing their own take on the classic cocktail. Kickoff party 4-7 p.m. Sunday. Negroni Week through June 10. More info at negroniweek.com. — MAIJA ZUMMO

TUESDAY 05

ONSTAGE: Wickedly funny Rock musical Hedwig & The Angry Inch returns to Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati. See feature, page 19.

EVENT: Fête d’Eté If your standard wine-and-dine routine feels like it’s getting a bit old, it might be time to try a more action-packed evening. Dinner plans, meet bike tour. Anne Amie Vineyards, a family-owned winery in northwest Oregon, paired its passion for their craft with their winemaker’s love of cycling and voilà, Fête d’Êtê was born. French for summer party, Fête d’Êtê takes guests on a ride through the city, stopping for courses at various restaurants along the way. Travel to The Anchor-OTR, Zula, Ruth’s Chris, Aster and AC Marriot at The Banks to enjoy specially prepared dishes paired with Anne Amie wines. They’ll supply the booze, just bring your own bike. 6-9 p.m. Tuesday. $89. Downtown. fetecin18.eventbrite.com. — MORGAN ZUMBIEL

and before that I was opening for Roy Wood Jr. I have shows in Ft. Wayne later this month, so I have been getting a lot of face time with my daughter over FaceTime.” 8 p.m. Tuesday. $20. Go Bananas, 8410 Market Place Lane, Montgomery, gobananascomedy.com. — P.F. WILSON

WEDNESDAY 06

MUSIC: Metal lords Slayer play Riverbend with Testament, Lamb of God, Behemoth and Anthrax. See sound advice, page 31.

YOUR WEEKEND TO DO LIST: LOCAL.CITYBEAT.COM

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Kindervelt Psychiatric Emergency Assessment Center. Scheduled to perform are comedians Gabe Kea, Kelly Peter the Tennis Pro and Mr. T. In addition to the comics, there will be door prizes and raffles, including a split the pot. “I have done it the last three years,” Kea says. “The show is always a fun time.” Kea, who grew up in St. Louis but is now Cincinnatibased has been headlining clubs across the Midwest this spring. “I just got back from Appleton, Wisconsin’s Skyline Comedy Club. I was at Dr. Grins in Grand Rapids,

COMEDY: Laughter is the Best Medicine Benefit Show Comedians at Go Bananas will prove the laughter is the best medicine with a show that has that very same name. Proceeds will benefit Cincinnati Children’s

TUESDAY 05

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EVENT: Bark in the Park Nothing goes better together than baseball and hot dogs, well, except baseball and actual dogs. The Cincinnati Reds are bringing back Bark in the Park, so grab your furry friends and head out to Great American Ball Park for a pregame pet parade on the warning track surrounding the field. Then sit back and relax with your four-legged friend and enjoy America’s favorite pastime. Just make sure your pupper is up to date on all their shots, can chill on a leash and are ready to have a great time. 7:10 p.m. Tuesday. Dog and human package $50; each additional human $30; each additional dog $20. Great American Ball park, 100 Joe Nuxhall Way, Downtown, reds.com. — LIZZY SCHMITT

PHOTO: THOMAS HOUSEMAN

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ARTS & CULTURE

The Triumphant Return of ‘Hedwig’ Todd Almond and the show that saved Ensemble Theatre in 2001 are back for a revival BY R I C K PEN D ER

Almond revisits his Hedwig. PHOTOS: HAILEY BOLLINGER /FILE PHOTO

feels neither here nor there, isolated and angry and betrayed and having to face her own culpability. Having a trans person onstage isn’t so radical today — we’re beyond all that and we can see deeper.” Hedwig, Almond maintains, is truly an amazing character. She bitterly resents the lot that life has handed her, but her performance is “like seeing an actual Rock star,” he says. “It’s a thrilling, late-night burlesque with a naughty, over-the-top quality to it. It’s one of those shows that allows people to let go of their inhibitions because there’s this character right in front of you who’s just larger than life and going through it for you.” Hedwig and the Angry Inch with Todd Almond in the title role is indeed the show that saved Ensemble Theatre. Almond loves how Hedwig’s story of “an outsider who doesn’t feel like (they have) a home and is struggling to find an identity” was such a catalyst for the theater to find its place in a downtown neighborhood that was likewise struggling for identity. This production is truly a celebration of survival. That will be happening nightly at ETC as the Angry Inch fires. Are you ready? Hedwig And The Angry Inch opens Tuesday at Ensemble Theatre and continues through July 1. Tickets/more info: ensemblecincinnati.org.

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Beth Harris as Yitzhak, plus three of the five musicians — Billy Alletzhauser, Sam Womelsdorf and Andrew Smithson — who lit the fuse on the show’s memorable score, with its elements of the Glam and Punk of David Bowie, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop channeled through a late ’90s filter. Almond attributes some of his current success to relationships made with those band members and the 2001 production’s sound designer, John Curley, whose Ultrasuede Studio was the birthplace of some of Cincinnati’s best Indie Rock in the 1990s. Almond was able to further work with Curley (also a member of The Afghan Whigs) and the band members on his own compositions. “Those guys put some wind in my sails about my songwriting, which I had been sort of quiet about,” Almond says. Of course, Hedwig itself has a pulsing Rock score, composed by Stephen Trask. “Every single song is fantastic,” Almond says of the show’s music. “It’s one of those pieces that feels relevant every time you do it. It doesn’t feel dated. It always feels like it’s happening right now and has something to say about today.” To be sure, Almond says, it means different things in 2018, since transgender issues are now better understood. “It’s a smart piece, because there’s more to it than that,” he says. “So maybe people will now (look) beyond that part of it and see the universal part — this person that

expanded venue, now in the heart of the flourishing Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. Unlikely though the thought might be, Hedwig is a legitimate candidate for the neighborhood’s patron saint. Almond, now a respected composer, lyricist, actor and playwright in New York City, is back to recreate the role he filled so vividly that audiences were compelled to pay a visit to ETC. When asked why he would return, Almond says, “In making a career in the theater, I have found that you make relationships with theaters and artistic directors and other artists. I’ve always had such a great connection to this theater. I knew at some point that I wanted to come back to Hedwig. The first time I wasn’t exactly the age I wanted to be; I wanted to be a little bit older. Now is the time that I am. It just felt right.” In New York these days, he writes and works routinely with high-profile stars, including rocker Courtney Love and Tony Award winner Laura Benanti, a wildly creative singer and actress. Nevertheless, “I just had this great longing to be in someone else’s show, not something that I’ve written,” he says. “I find myself returning often to artistic institutions and collaborators that I have a great history with. It seemed very natural to have a conversation with Lynn, and we agreed to do this again.” In fact, most of Hedwig’s original cast will be onstage with Almond, including

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eventeen years ago, Over-the-Rhine resembled a battle zone. There was a curfew in place because of riots that followed the April 2001 shooting death of unarmed Timothy Thomas in the neighborhood. Police vigilantly patrolled the streets. And Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati on Vine Street felt like it was teetering on the brink of existence. D. Lynn Meyers has said, more than once, “It couldn’t get worse. But it got worse.” Then, something miraculous happened. The show that pulled Ensemble back from dire straits was John Cameron Mitchell’s throbbing Rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which opened in June of that year. Meyers knew she had to do something daring and extraordinary to get people back to her urban theater space. Hedwig was the ticket — it was new and risky, having debuted Off Broadway in 1998. It sold a lot of tickets here, largely due to an extraordinary performance by lanky Todd Almond, who graduated from UC’s College-Conservatory of Music in 1999. He played a transgender East German singer who fronted a Rock band named in honor of the singer’s botched gender confirmation surgery. That might sound like an unlikely savior for a small Cincinnati theater, but it sold tickets night after night, and Almond’s performance with a band comprised of some of the city’s best rockers was acclaimed and recognized by the 2001 Cincinnati Entertainment Awards, sponsored by CityBeat. (In fact, Almond and the band were the featured act at the raucous awards ceremony at Old St. George, adjacent to the UC campus.) Meyers brought the show back for another shot of celebration (and income) in 2003, and it did very well again. Over the intervening years, Meyers and Almond stayed in touch and kept speculating if or when it might be time to resurrect it once more. Once more is now, as ETC marks the end of its first season in its renovated and

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Picture Books for Black Children Get Respect BY K AT H Y S C H WA R T Z

Storytime for illustrators of African-American children’s books has finally arrived. Led by exhibitions curator Jason Shaiman, Miami University Art Museum has assembled the first major museum exhibition devoted to the art found in literature for young black readers. Spanning nearly 50 years of publishing, Telling a People’s Story recognizes 35 illustrators (all but two of them black) who have depicted a complex cultural history in a way that not only appeals to children but heightens adults’ awareness as well. A total of 130 original artworks — sweet and tender as well as bold, lively, stoic, spiritual and, at times, scary — are on display along with the nearly 100 books in which they appear. Almost every picture speaks a thousand words about African folklore, slavery, the Civil War, the civil rights movement, a collective identity and individual contributions to music, sports, medicine and more. Nevertheless, “kiddie lit” is marginalized, and books for black kids have received even less attention. The Newbery Medal for authors and the Caldecott Medal for artists have honored contributions to children’s literature since 1922 and 1938, respectively, but it wasn’t until the mid1970s that a winner was black. Separate works by author-illustrators John and Javaka Steptoe, father and son, serve as symbolic bookends for the exhibit, which incorporates the publishing world’s slights into the show’s broader narratives of African-American history and social justice. John’s 1969 book Stevie, his earliest work, is about a little boy’s mixed reaction to having a foster brother. The characters could have been black or white, but the fact that they are black and portrayed positively made Stevie the first children’s book for African-Americans to receive critical acclaim. It didn’t win one of the major awards, but it helped lead to the establishment of the Coretta Scott King Book Award for black children’s lit a year later. Forward to 2017, and Javaka’s book Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat won both the King award and the Caldecott, a first. In between those literary milestones, Telling a People’s Story illustrates more than 400 years of history, all the way back to Africa. Floyd Cooper depicts a Zimbabwean elder entertaining a group a children with ancestral tales. It’s a scene that Shaiman has enjoyed seeing repeated in the galleries, where books have been placed at a tyke’s eye level and next to comfy chairs. Words gain more meaning when spoken, and art comes alive when it’s not on the printed page. The exhibition is an opportunity to fully appreciate the textile work of Ohio artist Aminah Robinson. Rod Brown’s oil paint sparkles like the summer sun that’s beating down on a cotton field

in the book From Slave Ship to Freedom Road. For his story about Basquiat, Javaka created three-dimensional works out of objects found in the late street artist’s New York neighborhood. Shaiman, who is white, has asked himself why a historically black institution didn’t do this kind of exhibition first. But a colleague noted that hosting it at a place like Howard University would be preaching to the choir. So Shaiman prefers to believe that things happen for a reason and that Miami University was always meant

Ekua Holmes’ Fannie Lou Hamer book cover PHOTO: SHERRI KRAZL

to host these works. For proof, he points to Ekua Holmes’ collage illustrations of Fannie Lou Hamer, the civil rights activist who came to Oxford in 1964 for Freedom Summer and rallied volunteers just steps away from where the art museum now stands. “This is not alone an African-American story. This is part of the American story,” Shaiman says. The need to protect the dozens of artworks on paper thwarts plans for a museum tour of the original exhibit. But the solution to reproduce the show on vinyl panels and send them to schools and libraries has Shaiman excited. “Getting this into the schools and libraries is more important than getting it into the museums,” he says. “Imagine: With a museum, you get thousands and thousands of people coming in. With a traveling panel show, you can reach hundreds of thousands of kids. You can reach millions of kids. That’s going to have a bigger impact.” Telling a People’s Story is up through June 30 at Miami University Art Museum (801 S. Patterson Ave., Oxford). More info: miamioh.edu/artmuseum.

VISUAL ART

Lloyd Library Shows Gardening Traditions BY K AT H Y S C H WA R T Z

women on their covers. Now a new generation is making gardening sexy, even on tiny city balconies. The Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation and the Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati have partnered with the Lloyd during the exhibition to promote urban agriculture and healthy “garden to table” eating. Pictures on display from the Civic Garden Center and Walnut Hills show happy people of all ages and different races feeling connected with the earth. Van Skaik

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Illustration from 1854 book La Belgique Horticole PHOTO: PROVIDED

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Garden to Table: Traditions and Innovation is on display through July 13 at the Lloyd Library and Museum (927 Plum St., Downtown). More info: lloydlibrary.org.

wants to highlight more of those faces during the exhibit through a photo-sharing campaign. “Gardeners, maybe they’re a modest group,” she says. “They tend to take lots of pictures of tomatoes and the things they produce, but they don’t take pictures of the gardener!” The sepia-toned photos of men and horses working the dusty fields a century ago at Carriage House Farms are as captivating as any of the rare botanical works in the exhibit. In fact, Campbell says visiting that North Bend operation today was her favorite thing about putting the show together. “I could stay inside, researching these plants,” she says. “I love the illustrations — love, love, love them. But to go out and see them actually being planted and actually talk to farmers really fleshed things out for me.” Any gardener can dig that.

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What could a modern-day apartment dweller craving fresh-picked produce possibly have in common with a 17thcentury Dutchman? How about container gardening? Garden to Table is not just the buzz phrase of home cooks and trendy restaurants — it’s also the name of the current exhibit at the Lloyd Library and Museum. Though known for its collection of botanical books dating to the 1400s, the downtown Cincinnati institution is taking a fresh approach to celebrating a summertime tradition. Historical illustrations of edible plants and vintage seed catalogs are being presented along with programming that includes timely discussions about food deserts, a walking tour of community plots in Walnut Hills and a photo project recognizing gardeners who inspire. The two stooped figures that are depicted transporting a potted citrus tree deserve some admiration as they labor under the watch of a well-dressed gentleman, as shown in a 1676 book by Johannes Commelin. The volume is the oldest work in the exhibition. The library’s collection of 250,000 books and manuscripts grew out of the work of John, Nelson and Curtis Lloyd, three brothers from Northern Kentucky. They established Lloyd Brothers Pharmacists Inc. in 1885 with an interest in providing plant-based drugs. Curtis, in particular, amassed an assortment of books about medicinal plants while traveling the world for specimens. Up until the 20th century, most published material about plants treated gardening as strictly a scientific pursuit, Lloyd executive director Patricia Van Skaik says. Reference librarian and exhibit curator Erin Campbell adds that botany was a hobby mainly practiced by wealthy physicians. “It was a (sign of) status to be able to publish these books, collect certain plants and collect images from certain artists,” she says. The realistic illustrations of fruits and vegetables from this period are the botanical equivalent of John James Audubon’s bird paintings. The text in an 1830 book from the Horticultural Society of London might be dry, yet the fruit is depicted in juicy detail and luscious color. Campbell regularly turns the pages of the books in the display cases to “rotate the crops.” The “democratization” of food production and publications would arrive with the victory gardens of World War I and World War II. “By 1919, it is your patriotic duty to grow a garden,” Van Skaik says. Government publications used cartoon humor to mobilize backyard farmers, even portraying cabbageworms and potato bugs as sneaky enemies. When GIs returned from overseas, bought homes and started families in the mid-1940s, seed catalogs turned to featuring smiling, shapely

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Newspaper Boxes as Food Pantries BY CAS S I E L I PP

Imagine that a piece of public art your neighborhood takes pride in —like a painted flying pig sculpture or a wall mural — could also feed the hungry. That’s the basic idea behind People’s Pantry. Only the objects being used weren’t originally intended to be street art. They are old newspaper boxes finding a new life. In neighborhoods throughout Cincinnati, 11 boxes have been painted by local artists and turned into 24/7 outlets for free food distribution, somewhat like the Little Free Library movement. People’s Pantry was started last year by Lisa Andrews of Pleasant Ridge, who had heard online about a woman in Little Rock, Ark. who successfully began a similar project. “I saw it more or less as a way to connect people,” Andrews says. “I’m a dietician by trade, so I’ve seen malnutrition and hunger, and (I) thought it was a really good way to connect people, because we were in an election year and (the opposing sides) weren’t really talking to each other. It just seemed to me like a no-brainer.” After each box is painted by a local artist, they are placed in a food-desert neighborhood under the care of a “community champion.” Champions work to ensure the boxes are filled with goods, connecting with neighborhood organizations to run food drives and other efforts to fill each. “The point is to make it a community project,” Andrews says. Ideal donations include non-perishable food items and toiletries. The newspaper boxes were donated by The Cincinnati Enquirer and The Cincinnati Herald and painted by such local artists/ designers as Bob Dyehouse, who has done artful bike racks, and Sean Mullaney, also a toy and game inventor. Many of the artists are from the same neighborhood where their boxes are located or have some sort of special connection to the neighborhood. The People’s Pantry box in Northside, for instance, was painted by the students of Chase Elementary. Aside from Northside, the other People’s Pantry boxes currently are in Lockland, Winton Hills, North Fairmount, Millvale, Camp Washington, East Price Hill, Overthe-Rhine, the West End and Walnut Hills. Andrews says People’s Pantry already has inspired groups in nearby Harrison and Forest Park to start their own free small pantries. However, Andrews didn’t originally plan to have so many pantries around Cincinnati. She initially began with just the Pleasant Ridge Lil Pantry, which worked out so well that she pitched her citywide idea to People’s Liberty, the philanthropic lab affiliated with the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation. This secured a 10-month, $10,000 grant that covers supplies for local artists to paint the boxes and gift cards for the community champions to buy goods to fill them.

Although the grant-assisted 10 months are up, Andrews plans to add five more People’s Pantry boxes around the Greater Cincinnati area. She recently shipped boxes to an Amelia Girl Scout troop and a West Price Hill tattoo artist for painting. A Lebanon woman will also design a box with the help of her community. Andrews would like to place the completed pantries in Mt. Washington, Avondale and Northern Kentucky. Andrews says the intersection of art and serving the community are what has made

Lisa Andrews with repurposed newspaper box PHOTO: PROVIDED

People’s Pantry such a successful project across Cincinnati. “It’s a focal point and sense of pride for the community,” she says. “People post pictures and messages on our Facebook page that say, ‘I just filled the pantry today’ or ‘The pantry could use some love’ or ‘Our Girl Scout troop did a food drive for the pantry.’ It’s a good way to connect people and get them talking and take care of your neighbors.” There is no way for Andrews to track how many people are actually using the pantries, so she measures the success by how much it gets a neighborhood’s residents excited about working on a project together. “For people to see that it’s possible to be nice to your neighbor, be nice to strangers and care about people even if you don’t know them is the biggest success of this project,” she says. For more People’s Pantry Cincy info, visit facebook.com/peoplespantrycincy.

Love, ‘Americans’ Style BY JAC K ER N

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| C I T Y B E AT. C O M

Much like the KGB spies it depicts, The Philip is far from fancy-free. The business Americans (Series Finale, 10 p.m. Wednesis tanking — so much so he has trouble day, FX) has methodically played the long paying Henry’s tuition. It’s devastating to game, setting up storylines like dominoes him not only financially, but also symboliuntil, at the end of the series, they all come cally. Everything is falling apart. Elizabeth tumbling down. grows understandably more distant, his For six seasons, audiences have followed daughter is heading down the most danPhilip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth gerous path despite his concerns, and he’s Jennings (Keri Russell), seemingly allspent his life working in opposition of his American travel agents and parents to only true friend. Paige (Holly Taylor) and Henry (Keidrich It would seem like the show is poised Sellati) by day, lethal KGB officers by night, to set Philip and Elizabeth against one as the line between those disparate identianother — and they certainly have major ties became increasingly blurred — especially after Paige learns the truth about her parents in Season 3. (Meanwhile, young Henry — almost comically absent from the Jennings household — hasn’t a clue.) We’ve seen the evolution of Elizabeth and Philip as individuals — him being more emotional and affected by the brutal work that they do while she’s more of a stone-cold killer ready to do anything for the cause — and a couKeri Russell and Matthew Rhys ple, as their relationship grows from a cold business P H O T O : PA R I D U KO V I C arrangement to a true loving bond, complete with a secret Russian Orthodox wedding to make clashes — but The Americans at its core it official. We’ve held our breath watching is about marriage and family. They (both countless spy missions riddled with bad Philip and Elizabeth and the show’s crewigs and almost always resulting in wayators) are not about to just throw that away. too-close calls, all while they live next door Elizabeth faces some humanizing encounto FBI agent Stan Beeman (Noah Emmters that warm her ice queen persona a bit erich), who also happens to be Philip’s best while Philip becomes more disillusioned friend. That’s a lot of dominoes. by the American Dream as it fails him. And This final season heats up from a simthese experiences help bring the two closer. mer to a boil as we anticipate Stan finally As the walls close in on the Jennings, discovering the Jennings’ true identities they must decide if they want to stick as Philip and Elizabeth’s conflicting views together — and for two people whose lives and ideologies come to a head. And with have essentially been prescribed to them, just one episode left, we’re still waiting for there’s almost a sense of freedom in that that sort of defining moment. choice, even if it is to go down together. The current Season 6 opened with a fitThe Americans is the definition of a slow ting three-year time jump to fall 1987 (just burn, so don’t expect there to be some before Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorover-the-top climax and resolution. That’s bachev met for the Washington Summit). not what this show is about. The series sucPhilip followed through with his intentions ceeds in wringing out every drop of tension to get out of the soul-crushing spy busiin a scene, making a conversation between ness and focus on the travel agency full two people as gripping as a guns-blazing time. Haggard and overworked, Elizabeth undercover spy mission. appears to be making up for his absence, This is a series that flew under the radar, constantly working and, for the first time receiving nominations but few awards, getit seems, questioning her assignments as ting critical love but diminishing ratings. Gorbachev begins to steer the Soviet Union It’s done what it does well, an understated in a new direction. Perhaps most excitingly, masterpiece that never once jumped the Paige — now a 20-year-old college student shark. While I could watch the Jennings — is following in mom’s footsteps under and their revolving door of disguises for the tutelage of Elizabeth and her handler years to come, this satisfying ending feels Claudia (Margo Martindale), and has even spot-on. begun to take on some missions. (Henry is Contact Jac Kern: @jackern away at boarding school.) Elizabeth has a lot on her plate, but

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FOOD & DRINK

Belly of the Beast Sacred Beast, Overthe-Rhine’s new diner-meets-bistro, lives up to the hype BY PA M A M I TC H E L L

Sacred Beast PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER

Sacred Beast 1437 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, sacredbeastdiner. com; Hours: 11 a.m.midnight Monday; 11 a.m. -1 a.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-2:30 a.m. Friday; 10:30 a.m.-2:30 a.m. Saturday; 10:30 a.m.-1 a.m. Sunday

a couple dishes of chocolate pudding. Our friend Michael, an architect by trade, made an interesting observation about the diner’s acoustics. He noted that even though we could converse easily, the ambient music also was crystal clear and enjoyable. That makes Sacred Beast unusual among so many eateries not only in OTR but pretty much anywhere you go. Music is often either too loud and adds to a general din or is so faint that it may as well not even be there. When I brought the subject up with chef and owner Jeremy Lieb, he was happy to elaborate. “Music is so important,” he said. “It’s a big part of the vibe when you walk into a restaurant.” But in most restaurant design music is an afterthought, he added. Lieb said he put a lot of thought — and money — into working with specialists to install a reel-to-reel system and create a variety of playlists featuring all-analog music. “The acoustics here are about the same as at Music Hall,” he said. That’s another feature to appreciate while you enjoy those delectable eggs.

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Sweet T, and my companions agreed that the house martini and Hemingway Daiquiri tasted great. It wasn’t easy to decide what to eat, but I’m happy to report that my choice of the Diner Breakfast hit the jackpot. It’s a truly great plate of food and I’d be hard-pressed to order anything else upon a return visit. Soft scrambled eggs, a short stack of ricotta pancakes topped with two strips of maple-glazed pork belly and a small grilled tomato make up this scrumptious meal. Clearly, this kitchen knows how to get the very best out of the humble egg: My husband had the equally delicious omelet filled with a simple combo of goat cheese and sweet peppers. I’ve heard that the deviled eggs with pork rinds and chilies are excellent, as well. The chicken thighs spiced with turmeric and served with a heaping portion of marinated cucumbers had a tasty mix of flavors, although the chicken came out a bit overcooked. The cucumbers rocked, though. Matzo ball soup rounded out our dinner choices and tasted fine, but it wasn’t quite filling enough to satisfy our friend’s hunger. Overall, the men at our table left feeling a bit underfed, even after the four of us split

and I went for supper. It was early in the week and not busy. It was hard to tell which of the food choices might qualify as a main course, but our server said that the bottom portion of the “Now Serving” column could be considered entrées. Those entrées include king salmon, steak tartar with french fries and an egg, chicken thighs, hash browns (yes, in the main course section) and the cryptically listed “ham and cheese,” all priced between $13.95-$18.95. Descriptions of these and other presumably lighter dishes are sparse, and you might want to ask before you order. For instance, I assumed ham and cheese meant a sandwich, but actually the dish comes as a creamy concoction with pieces of toast for dipping or spreading that I think would work best as a shareable appetizer. We each ordered one of the “strong cocktails,” which I found out later meant strong flavors and not what one would expect — heavy on the booze. Most of the drinks were hits, although my sidecar had too much ice and was too quickly watered down to deliver much strong flavor. But I liked the tall citrusy tequila drink they call

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ometimes a lot of advance hype doesn’t do a new restaurant much good. At least, not unless the place lives up to it. Sacred Beast qualifies as a case in point. Before I had the chance to eat there, I had heard so much buzz — about the concept, the owners and their impressive pedigree, the physical design and the “simple food, taken seriously” motto — that my expectations were over the moon. A doorman at a favorite cocktail bar said the burger and fries were “awesome.” And then one of my foodie friends wrote on social media that Sacred Beast was “the restaurant of (her) dreams.” It took me two tries to understand the raves, but then I did become a believer. First time, I made my way down to the upper reaches of the gentrified portion of Vine Street to meet a friend for lunch. The restaurant feels like one of the largest in OTR, although the effect may be enhanced by its corner location, floor-to-ceiling windows and open floor plan. You have a choice of seating areas, including a back room with tables, plenty of counter stools, roomy leather booths and a few patio tables on one sidewalk. We settled into a two-seater table by the window. I noticed right away that the drink offerings take up more room on the two-sided paper menu than do the food choices. “Strong Cocktails” dominate one side of the front page, paired with most of the food under the heading, “Now Serving.” On the back you’ll find beer, wine and “craft shots,” or two-ounce cocktails served in shot glasses. I had to pass on the liquor at noontime but made a mental note to try some of the libations another time. We had a light lunch. Hers was a chopped vegetable salad (no longer on the menu) with a side of french fries and Mornay sauce; I tried the cheeseburger and helped her with the fries. The burger — two three-ounce beef patties with cheddar, lettuce, tomato and a housemade sauce — came naked on a large plate and struck me as nothing special. I prefer a thicker piece of meat with some pink in the middle, which really can’t be done with small patties. The fries didn’t have much crispiness and we thought the sauce was unremarkable. But it was only lunch. A week later, my husband, two friends

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The weather went from cold to hot, which is probably why so many breweries have released new seasonable beers — lower ABV brews for easy summer drinking. Brink released a lime-sherbet milkshakestyle IPA and the hazy La Guatavita New England IPA. Urban Artifact’s Hypatia is a taproom-only brew made with pawpaws from Athens, Ohio. 13 Below’s new ones are Sandbag Pale Ale and Rail & River Porter, which can be found at the brewery. Little Miami Brewing has two gose beers: Limelight is brewed with real key lime juice and Goggles Paisano is brewed with sea salt, coriander and orange peel. March First just introduced a session IPA. And the next time you go to the Cincinnati Zoo, keep an eye out for Taft’s Brewkeeper IPA, a zoo exclusive. Breweries have also released brews in cans. MadTree recently released their year-round kölsch, Lift, in 12-packs — one of the first breweries in Cincy to do so Last week, Streetside released their popular Prince-themed Raspberry Beret in cans, and they also released bottles of

EVENTS

The Pendleton neighborhood finally gets a brewery when the art-focused 3 Points Urban Brewery opens its doors to the public June 1-3 for a grand opening weekend. L OVING TH E FARM AND FARMING TH E L OVE

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School’s almost out for summer, so Alexandria Brewing wants to celebrate another good year. Teacher Freedom Day takes place on June 1. Educators should stop by the brewery from 3-6 p.m. to receive $1 off beers. Valley Vineyards/Cellar Dweller throws its annual beer and wine fest June 1-2 as a part of A Taste of Warren County. People will be able to try food from all over the county and Valley Vineyards’ wines and beers. Tour the cellars and take hot air balloon rides, too. On June 2, help the environment and also get discounted beers. Show up to Streetside at 9 a.m. for free bagels and coffee, then pick up trash until noon as part of The Great American Cleanup. The brewery will offer $5 pints, with $1 from every pint benefitting Keep Cincinnati Beautiful. Volunteers must fill out a form in advance.

MadTree Brewery PHOTO: PHILIP HEIDENREICH

High Tea, a barrel-aged sour brewed with tea. Both beers are for sale at the taproom while supplies last. West Side Brewing will get into canning when they release their Common Ale in cans on June 2. Six-packs will be available for purchase at the taproom. With a 4.7 percent ABV, Common Ale fits nicely with summertime session drinking.

Gears and Beers takes place at MadTree on June 3. Sponsored by Cincyscca (Cincinnati Region Sports Car Club of America) and supporting Give Back Cincinnati, the event entails bringing your favorite exotic ride or garage project to the brewery so you can “hang out with like-minded automotive enthusiasts.” Brunch will be served by ‘Catch-a-Fire’ pizza alongside Deeper Roots Coffee and beer. On June 9, Newport on the Levee gets funky with Local Brews and Grooves. Live music will accompany beer tastings from Taft’s, Rhinegeist, MadTree, Braxton, Fifty West, Platform, Country Boy, Urban Artifact, Great Flood and Kentucky Ale. The $40 ticket includes 15 fiveounce tasters and a full beer. On June 10, Fifty West hosts the second annual Brew + Bulldogs, a fundraising event for Queen City Bulldog Rescue. A $25 ticket option includes a custom QCBR pint glass and a raffle entry, but no ticket is required to attend. Wellbehaved dogs (and humans) are welcome to participate in a photo booth, baby pools and an adoption station.

Brink Brewing and Darkness come together on June 16 for 3 Cheers, a festival of collaboration beer releases, live music and “intentional awesomeness.” The festivities go down at Darkness’ taproom in Bellevue from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Father’s Day is June 17, an excuse to show how much you love dad by getting him drunk. Rivertown hosts Brunch, Beer and Bloodies — exactly what it sounds like. Swine City also gets into the dad spirit. On Father’s Day, men receive $1 off pints all day. It’s hard to believe that Rhinegeist turns five years old on June 23. To commemorate the milestone, the taproom will host Are We There Yet?, an adventure/ travel-themed party. Guests are “very much encouraged” to wear vacation and touristy attire. Rhinegeist will have “a full-throttle lineup of rare beers and surprises,” including The Wagon Queen Family Truckster. On June 29 and 30, Wooden Cask will throw the Paradise Music & Beer Festival. Two stages of live music will be set up, and beers and food will be on hand.

CLASSES & EVENTS WEDNESDAY 30

Cincy Top 10 Food Tour — Enjoy a tasty sightseeing tour that stops by 10 Cincinnati landmarks and five restaurants the city is famous for. The jaunt includes lunch, an all-day streetcar pass and a three-hour tour. Tasting locations include Taste of Belgium, Graeter’s, Skyline, Holtman’s and more. 10 a.m. $49 adult; $39 children. Leaves from Taste of Belgium, 16 W. Freedom Way, The Banks, Downtown, riversidefoodtours.com. Cincinnati Chili Workshop with Tablespoon Cooking Co. — Impress at the next backyard barbecue by learning the original recipe that inspired Cincinnati’s famous chili. Make the whole recipe from scratch and learn the different variations that are served throughout the region. Wine, beer and non-alcoholic drinks will be available. 6-9 p.m. $75. Findlay Kitchen, 1719 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, findlaykitchen.org.

THURSDAY 31

Wine Essentials with Revel OTR — Revel and Tablespoon Cooking Company team up for a wine tasting covering the most popular wine regions and grapes, how to taste wine, the basics of pairing food and wine and more. 6-8 p.m. $45. Revel OTR, 111 E. 12th St., Over-the-Rhine, tablespooncookingco.com.

The Very Versatile Egg — Generally considered a breakfast staple, eggs are a common ingredient in sauces, casseroles, salads and soufflés. In this hands-on class, Joe Westfall will show you how to master making an over-easy egg, an effortless omelets and a great

frittata for dinner. 6-7:40 p.m. $30. Cooks’Wares, 11344 Montgomery Road, Harper’s Point, cookswaresonline. com.

FRIDAY 01

CincItalia — This West Side Italian festival at Harvest Home Park celebrates all thing Italian. There will be good food, good wine, beer, music, cooking demos, games, rides for kids, an open-air wine tent, mini piazza and fountain and more. Expect homemade lasagna, classic cannoli from the “cannoli ladies,” arancini, stromboli, pizza, pasta and lots of Trivoli string lights. 6 p.m.-midnight Friday; 3 p.m.-midnight Saturday; 1-9 p.m. Sunday. Free admission. Harvest Home Park, 3961 North Bend Road, Cheviot, cincitalia.org. Cupcakes and Cocktails — Head to The Bonbonerie for a girlfriend hang or date night. Decorate three different cupcakes — Bonbonerie style — and select something from the bakery’s small bites menu, paired with a cocktail or glass of wine. 7-9 p.m. $55. The Bonbonerie, 2030 Madison Road, O’Bryonville, facebook.com/ bonbonerie. Date Night: Tapas + Sangria — Head to Spain for date night with Tablespoon Cooking Co.’s class featuring classic tapas (croquettes, paella, patatas bravas) and sippable sangria. The partystyle cooking class lets you visit different stations to do either hands-on cooking or observe food being made. Eat and drink everything you make in class and take recipes home. 6-9 p.m. $150. Findlay Kitchen, 1719 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, findlaykitchen.org.

SATURDAY 02

Cellarman’s Tour — The Brewing Heritage Trail leads this tour featuring the tales of several Cincinnati breweries, plus the city’s past and present brewing traditions. Learn about the 19th-century workers who built the dangerous lagering

tunnels and the Beer Barons who built their fortunes producing local brews. Tour includes a visit underground into the lagering cellar of the Schmidt Brothers Brewery and a beer tasting at the Christian Moerlein Malt House Taproom. 12:30 p.m. Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday. $25. Leaves from the Christian Moerlein Malt House Taproom, 1621 Moore St., Over-the-Rhine, brewingheritagetrail.org.

EST. 1933

NIVERSARY

SUNDAY 03

Summer Cocktail Class at Fries — This summer cocktail class, led by Rawnica Dillingham of Souther Glazers Wine & Spirits, shares her trade secrets for creating summer cocktails. Help create and taste cocktails including strawberry-rhubarb gin and tonic, strawberrybasil lemonade with vodka and a build-your-own margarita. Class includes light bites. 1-3 p.m. $10 advance; $15 at the event. Fries Café, 3247 Jefferson Ave., Clifton, facebook.com/friescafe. Please Bake Sale — Cincinnati chef and entrepreneur Ryan Santos is doling out extra treats this summer at his OTR eatery Please with a series of “bake sales,” hosted by some of the most celebrated female pastry chefs in America — all complemented by featured wines, exclusively from female winemakers. The series continues with baker Sasha Piligan, from Los Angelesbased Squirl. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Prices vary. Please, 1405 Clay St., pleasecincinnati. com.

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Tea 101: Around the World in 15 Cups of Tea — Taste five teas in this class. Learn where tea comes from, how it’s made, how to brew each type of tea and what’s the differenc between true tea and herbal infusions. Class continues Tuesday. 6-8 p.m. $35. Churchill’s Fine Teas, Rookwood Commons, Norwood, webapps2.uc.edu.

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Grilled Tandoori Chicken — In this hands-on class, make grilled green “tandoori” chicken, rice pilaf with chickpeas, buttery coconut cake and spicy red lentil dip. 6-8:30 p.m. $75. The Cooking School at Jungle Jim’s, 5440 Dixie Highway, Fairfield, junglejims.com.

Most classes and events require registration and classes frequently sell out.

MUSIC Arrangements and Permutations Unconcerned with categorization, Parker Millsap breathes fresh life into Americana on his latest album BY G R EG O RY G AS TO N

C I T Y B E AT. C O M

M AY 2 3 – 2 9 , 2 0 18

ith a fervent following and two critically acclaimed records of Americana to his credit, Parker Millsap considers it time for a change. The young Roots star adds a new, aggressive Pop edge to his music on the pivotal, third release, Other Arrangements, revitalizing his budding career in bold shades of electric catharsis. Coming from the small town of Purcell, Okla., the 24-year-old Millsap was raised in the Pentecostal church, which shaped everything early on for him, especially musically. At a young age, Gospel roots inspired him to play guitar both in church and out, eventually resulting in his formative, self-titled debut in 2014, a throwback, fiery blend of acoustic charisma and passionate vocals. Millsap’s first single, the rowdy, semireligious rave-up “Truck Stop Gospel,” sets the tone for much of the exuberance to follow on record and onstage. Tapping into ample reserves of presence, vitality and rawboned abandon, Millsap’s restless energy surges through all his songs. It was probably just a matter of time until he burst out on record with more rocking, accessible music, and Other Arrangements certainly qualifies. With blazing lead-off track “Fine Line,” Millsap immediately flashes his mettle with stuttering blasts of electric guitar punctuated by his powerful, supple tenor, testifying, “I been walkin’ the fine line between the thought and the action.” It’s a tougher, more Rock sound, and it’s easy to hear Millsap feeling liberated by breaking through the familiar Roots template of acoustic guitar and fiddle. Even the cover photo foreshadows the changes in store, as he stands alone against a stark white background with his cherry red electric guitar and amp. “For me, Pop means more easily digestible music,” Millsap says. “When I think of Pop music, I think of it differently than a lot of people. I didn’t grow up listening to Pop radio, so to me Pop is Motown. What I mean by that is concise, simple songwriting that’s universal. My previous records have a lot of religious imagery, and 1) that turns a lot of people off, I found out, and 2) a lot of people can’t connect with it if you didn’t grow up with these symbols, (and that) prevents them from getting into the

song. This just kind of informs my move to more direct songwriting.” His last album, The Very Last Day, combined lively Gospel Blues with an apocalyptic fervor that literally hinted at the end of times in the title track. His lyrics and testimony recall The Louvin Brothers as Millsap sings about the “great atomic power” and a final reckoning all must face. The lyrical weight also includes character studies like “Heaven Sent,” a fearless portrayal of a gay son coming out to his preacher father, which underscores this record’s thematic gravity and Parker’s earnestness here. But Millsap lightens up lyrically on the new record, and his craft makes it sound like he’s just letting it rip and savoring the spontaneity. “That title, Other Arrangements, means everything you want it to mean,” he explains. “It just brought so many images to my mind. It’s actually the first song I wrote for this album, and as soon as I was writing the chorus, I knew this would be the title. I knew the title of the album before I had most of the songs for it.” Musically, Other Arrangements pulses off and on with intensity, though it feels fuller with a whole band. Millsap’s band members — the classically-trained Daniel Foulks on violin, longtime collaborator Michael Rose on bass and Paddy Ryan on drums — have transformed into a buoyantly versatile combo. “We were playing a lot of shows with a full band, and I just wanted to write for that, rather than just for me and my acoustic guitar and stand-up bass thing,” Millsap says. “So I went back to electric guitar, which is what I played in high school before we started gigging. It just made sense to write these Rock & Roll songs, which are fun to sing and play live. I grew tired of seeing arms crossed.” With the Power Pop urgency of “Let a Little Light In” and the frenetic verve of “Some People,” Millsap embraces a fresh, raucous edge on the new album. In concert, if his recent set on PBS’s Austin City Limits program gauges anything, Millsap and Co. deliver something far from somber singer/ songwriter recitals. Their singer/songwriter’s natural ebullience and Gospel flair fire up the audience.

Parker Millsap P H OTO : DAV I D M C C L I S T E R

“Musically, I don’t think I can ever escape my Gospel tonality, because that’s how I learned to play music: playing it at church,” Millsap says. “But it was Pentecostal Gospel music, which is not like Catholic dirges. I mean, there were drums, two or three electric guitars, bass, organ and choir, all doing it.” Other Arrangements is not entirely guitar-dominated. Millsap’s collaboration with Sarah Jarosz, “Your Water,” sweeps in like a long-lost Van Morrison Soul chestnut, a kind of “Tupelo Honey” update for millennials. Co-written and performed with Jillette Johnson, “Come Back When You Can’t Stay” ends the album with delicate piano and finger-picked guitar, as Millsap and Johnson share whispered regrets and goodbyes. In regard to where his music fits in the grand scheme of things, Millsap offers a

compelling theory. “For me, genre is mainly illusion,” he says. “I read this book called How the Beatles Destroyed Rock ‘n’ Roll by Elijah Wald, and it talks about how genre was basically invented to tell white people not to buy a certain kind of record and to tell black people to buy these records. But it’s just music, and I enjoy it all. Americana is great because it’s really a catch-all for any kind of Roots (music), which nowadays is anything with a guitar, so I don’t mind being lumped in with it. But I also don’t mind being lumped in with Pop music, Rock or whatever you got. “ Parker Millsap plays Thursday at Southgate House Revival with Travis Linville. Tickets/more show info: southgatehouse. com.

SPILL IT

FLOCKS Celebrate Debut Release BY M I K E B R EEN

More Local Notes

The Best Donald The viral ascension of Donald Glover’s brilliant and chart-topping “This is America” (released by his Hip Hop alter-ego Childish Gambino) has resulted in the best viral fan swarm ever (sorry, Beyhive). Gambino/Glover fans overtook the #MAGA minions on the subreddit /r/thedonald, which is usually reserved for grammatically sketchy discussions about “Donald Trumps (sic) great contributions to modern society.” Now, that little corner of Reddit is overwhelmed with photos, gifs, music and more, all in tribute to “the real Donald.” A photo of a sticker on the page summed it up nicely: “The Only Donald We Acknowledge is Glover.”

FLOCKS debut album PHOTO: PROVIDED

Contact Mike Breen: mbreen@citybeat.com.

Worse Than Statues? Has Wynton Marsalis just become the Kanye West of Jazz? Short (and only) answer: No. The legend has done noble work to preserve Jazz’s rich history in the public consciousness, but he recently drew headlines and criticism for comments about a different kind of history. The trumpeter re-entered the national argument over whether statues honoring heroes of the losing, slave-wanting side of the Civil War have any place in modern society; on a Washington Post podcast he said that he feels Hip Hop is “more damaging” than Robert E. Lee memorials in terms of racial issues. Though baiting headlines made it sound like he was going all Geraldo Rivera, Marsalis was just continuing a longtime curmudgeonly streak that is on-brand with his purist inclinations — he has long been against the use of derogatory words in Rap music (though he praised the aforementioned “This is America”) and, in the same chat, he complained about the use of drum machines.

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Swift Injustice She may have co-written a huge hit with a complete nonsense word as its hook (“bah-deeyah”?), but songwriter Allee Willis does have a way with words. Commenting on Taylor Swift’s unnecessarily maligned version of that hit Willis co-wrote with Earth Wind & Fire — “September” — she said, “I felt it was as lethargic as a drunk turtle dozing under a sunflower after ingesting a bottle of Valium.” But she also defended Swift, saying she didn’t think her cover was “horrible,” adding a little perspective to the backlash by remarking, “I mean, she didn’t kill anybody.”

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C I T Y B E AT. C O M

Greater Cincinnati and surrounding regions. Running noon-9 p.m. at Germania Park (3529 W. Kemper Road, Mount Healthy), the event/competition helps determine who will represent the Cincy Blues Society at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tenn. early next year. The winners also get a prime slot at this summer’s Blues Fest, and most of the other participants end up performing at the festival as well. Playing this year’s Blues Challenge are Lil’ Red Rooster, Rhythm Jones, Chuck Brisbin and the Tuna Project, Everett & Delta Storm, Brian Tarter, Michael Locke & the Repeat Offenders, Johnny Fink and the Intrusion, Ralph and the Rhythm Hounds, Strum N’ Honey, Joe Wannabe, Cougar Ace, Tempted Souls Band, Jimmy D Rogers, Leroy Ellington’s Sacred Hearts, Blue Strings, Jamie Carr Band, Misterman and the Mojo Band, Eric Drum, Soulrockers, Bob Dellaposta, Jersey Joe Tellmann and Fred Gillespie and the Swamp Bees. Admission is $15; for Germania Society and Blues Society members, it’s just $10. Visit cincyblues.org for more details. • Back in February, veteran Cincinnati musician Mark Brasington released his latest solo work, X, a meditative, ethereal collection that showcased a different, piano-based side of his highly melodic and emotive songcraft. (Purchase/stream the album at markbrasington.bandcamp. com.) Brasington hosts an album release party for X this Thursday at The Listing Loon (4124 Hamilton Ave., Northside, listingloon.com). At the free 8 p.m. show, which also features a performance by singer/songwriter Scott Cunningham’s Wake the Bear, Brasington will perform with Jude Hayden, as well as Dave Purcell and Sean Rhiney from the band Pike 27.

• The long-running Cincy Blues Fest returns to Sawyer Point on Aug. 11, trimmed down to a one-day event headlined by Blues Rock favorite Delbert McClinton (tickets are available now at cincybluesfest.org). This Sunday you can get a preview of the rest of the Blues Fest lineup as the Cincy Blues Society presents the 20th annual Cincy Blues Challenge, featuring some of the top Blues acts from

BY M I K E B R EE N

M A Y 2 3 - 2 9 , 2 0 18

Three top-notch Cincinnati musicians have joined forces to explore and experiment with sound at the crossroads of Electronic music, Jazz and other styles, and the fusionary results make for an exhilarating and provocative listen. Among many others, the players have worked with the likes of Hi-Tek, Mark Mothersbaugh and Fareed Haque, as well as members of WHY? and Deerhoof, which gives a good starting point for understanding the project’s unique sonic mélange. Known as FLOCKS, Tom Buckley (drums/samples), Joshua Jessen (synths/ keyboards) and Stephen Patota (bass/ guitar) released their engaging self-titled album in early May; it’s available now through Spotify, Soundcloud (soundcloud. com/flockstheband), Bandcamp (flockstheband.bandcamp.com) and other sites and services. FLOCKS is a piece of digital art driven by an analog heart, with not only jazzy elements within the tracks’ structures, but also a Jazz-like mentality driving the proceedings, showcasing both fluid, improvlike movement and a sturdy compositional base. While Electronic music is often stigmatized as cold and rigid, in FLOCKS’s world, the musicians give it a vibrant sense of humanity — the music sounds “played” and not merely “initiated” with a button. Buckley’s magnificent drum work in particular is a constant reminder that there are actual humans behind every note in the soundscaping. The album’s journey moves gracefully from the Neo-Soul Jazz of “Panoramic” to the roiling, progressive, Hip Hop-adjacent atmospherics of “Mouthful” to bass-heavy live-Electronica workouts like “You’re Still Young.” Though largely instrumental, the trio craftily works voices into the mesmerizing layers on some songs. Sampled dialog is embedded in tracks like album opener “When You Appear, Everything Will Be,” while the standout “Cold” features the jazzily colorful rhymes and lyrics of Eric Rollin, the front-person for Columbus, Ohio-based Hip Hop/Funk/Soul outfit Mistar Anderson. This Thursday, FLOCKS celebrates the release of their debut with a show at Northside Tavern (4163 Hamilton Ave., Northside, northsidetav.com). Mistar Anderson opens the free show at 9 p.m. Find more info at facebook.com/flocks.

MINIMUM GAUGE

SOUND ADVICE

Mary Ocher PHOTO: BORIS ELDAGSEN

Mary Ocher with Blossom Hall and A Delicate Motor

C I T Y B E AT. C O M

M AY 2 3 – 2 9 , 2 0 18

Friday • Northside Tavern

Singer, songwriter and multimedia artist Mary Ocher was born in Russia in the mid-’80s, grew up in Tel Aviv and moved to Germany with her band The Baby Cheeses in the 2000s. But just as they’re not defined by any specific genres or time periods, Ocher’s otherworldly creations aren’t given any special elucidation from geographical context clues. She is an artful explorer and spirited collaborator following her own untethered vision and crafting avantgarde music that often addresses realworld issues from a kaleidoscope of sonic and philosophical perspectives. At 14, while still in Tel Aviv, Ocher recorded her first song with popular Israeli musician Idan Raichel. Along with self-releasing Baby Cheeses material after moving to Berlin, in 2008 she issued her first solo effort, a collection of “acoustic and apocalyptic” Avant Folk songs titled War Songs, which drew big attention when the Haute Areal label reissued it in 2011. Ocher’s exhilarating experimentalism continued on 2013’s EDEN, her acclaimed collaboration with Canadian producer and Garage/Pscyh artist King Khan. The album led to Ocher’s first dates in North America. Along the way, Ocher has worked in other media, including poetry, photography, performance art and film, all undertaken with the same thought-provoking zeal. On Ocher’s latest aural project, last year’s The West Against the People (and Faust Studio Sessions and Other Recordings companion release), she combines sound collaging, elastic Art Folk, various World music touches, ambient and rhythmic texturing and electronic/Synth Pop elements for a head-spinning album

Kataklysm PHOTO: PROVIDED

that was co-produced by German music pioneer Hans Joachim Irmler (Faust). The ideological thrust and title of the project — described as “a document of social indignation and the deconstruction of our identities as citizens” — is taken by a provocative essay Ocher wrote about society, identity, discrimination and oppression. (Mike Breen)

Kataklysm with Jungle Rot Sunday • Urban Artifact It’s no surprise to anyone to learn that making it in music nowadays is a grueling endeavor. The era of the superstar is largely coming to an end as income has shifted from record sales potential to hardscramble touring revenue and hopefully some merch kickbacks. While there will always be flashes in the pan, regardless of genre, the bands who put in the time and effort are the ones that are ultimately rewarded with notoriety and remembered as something more than “that one guy… you know the one.” This concept even carries to the edges

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is one of a handful of Extreme Metal bands that has been able to transcend the limitations of the genre and enter into the world’s musical zeitgeist. And the group managed to do so without forsaking its music’s undying aggression and sense of danger. While the members have grown a bit greyer around the temples, they have consistently built upon their prior works to create a range of sound Slayer expression that can only be described as Slayer, PHOTO: MARTIN JAUSLLER through and through. Perhaps the band’s greatest accomplishment of the music world with bands like Death has been its ability to balance the fury Metal heavyweights Kataklysm, who that’s kept fans enraptured for almost four have been active since 1992 and have decades with its ability to infiltrate pop been cranking out albums like clockculture as a whole. The group’s most widely work, culminating in the June 1 release of known song, “Raining Blood,” deals with Meditations. In their over 25-year history the concept of destroying Heaven, and its the band has released album after album opening can be recognized by just about of unrelenting Death Metal savagery. In a any Rock fan in three notes’ time. In many genre dominated by hacksaw guitars, blistering double bass and thrashing vocals, it ways, Slayer has become shorthand for pays off to be one of the bands that helped Metal as a whole. More than even Metaldefine the sound. lica, Slayer is seen as the entry into the But it’s not all smashing faces with world of “true” or “real” Metal for many, hammers for Kataklysm; fans and critics alike. throughout its history, the One only has to look at band has woven in melody the lineup of Slayer’s fareFuture Sounds and showcased its techniwell tour to see just how cal profanely amidst the Too Many Zooz – far-reaching the band’s chaos, giving the listener June 20, Taft Theatre influence has spread. more to sink their teeth Ballroom Thrash colleagues Testainto than just ear-shatment and Anthrax, New No Response Festival tering brutality. Every Wave of American Heavy with Body/Head, Keiji release has enabled the Metal titans Lamb of God Haino, To Live and band to hone its output and Poland’s favorite Shave in L.A. and and expand a genre that Satanists, Behemoth, are more – June 21 and inspires rigid devotion to all on tap and all can trace 22, Woodward Theater tradition. a direct line to Slayer’s legThe band’s local release Pouya – June 25, acy. The group has endured show (free album for Bogart’s the loss of one of its princievery attendee!) is one of Dead By Wednesday pal songwriters (R.I.P. Jeff only four dates in North – Sept. 7, Madison Live Hanneman), an ongoing America. (Nick Grever) feud with longtime drumJason Aldean – Sept. mer Dave Lombardo and Slayer with 13, Riverbend the realities of 40 years of Testament, Lamb Bernhoft & The Fashabuse on vocalist/bassist ion Bruises – Sept. 13, of God, Behemoth Tom Araya and guitarist Taft Theatre Ballroom and Anthrax Kerry King, but the Slayer Donnie Lee Strickland Wednesday (June 6) • name and brand has stood and Tayla Lynn – Sept. tall. The ride may be windRiverbend 15, Madison Live ing down, but the band’s To attempt to explain accomplishments will Lord Huron – Sept. 22, Slayer’s importance and rightfully be passed down Bogart’s impact on music today like that well-worn copy of is a lesson in futility. Not Rainbow Kitten Seasons in the Abyss that because it can’t be done, Surprise – Oct. 12, we’ve all owned at one but because there truly is Bogart’s point or another. (NG) no reason to do so. Slayer

LISTINGS

CityBeat’s music listings are free. Send info to Mike Breen at mbreen@citybeat.com. Listings are subject to change. See CityBeat.com for full music listings and all club locations. H is CityBeat staff’s stamp of approval.

WEDNESDAY 30

ARNOLD’S BAR AND GRILL - Todd Hepburn. 7 p.m. Blues/Jazz/Various. Free. BURNET WOODS BANDSTAND - Wednesdays in the Woods: The Comet Bluegrass All-Stars. 7 p.m. Bluegrass. Free.

MARTY’S HOPS & VINES - Bluegrass Still. 7 p.m. Bluegrass. Free. MOTR PUB - Circus No. 9 with Michael Nau and the Mighty Thread. 10 p.m. Progressive/Acoustic/Roots/ Various. Free. NORTHSIDE TAVERN Krystal Peterson with Queen City Silver Stars. 8 p.m. R&B/Soul/Funk/Reggae/ Various. Free. PIT TO PLATE - Pit to Plate Bluegrass Night with Vernon McIntyre’s Appalachian Grass. 7 p.m. Bluegrass. Free. SONNY’S ALL JAZZ LOUNGE - Karaoke. 7 p.m. Various. Free. SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (LOUNGE) Willow Tree Carolers with twig&leaf, Chelsea Ford and The Trouble and Molly Morris. 9:30 p.m. Americana/ Various. Free. U.S. BANK ARENA - Def Leppard and Journey. 7 p.m. Rock. $49.50-$179.50.

THURSDAY 31

BOGART’S - Young Dolph. 8 p.m. Hip Hop.

$35.

C I T Y B E AT. C O M

M AY 2 3 – 2 9 , 2 0 18

BROMWELL’S HÄRTH LOUNGE - Todd Hepburn and Friends. 8 p.m. Various. Free.

LATITUDES BAR & BISTRO - Ricky Nye and Bekah Williams. 6 p.m. Jazz/Blues. Free.

THE LISTING LOON Mark Brasington (album release party) with Wake the Bear. 8 p.m. Alt/Pop/Rock. Free.

THE MAD FROG - Year of the Locust. 8 p.m. Rock. $10. MOTR PUB - Fax with Ariel Underwood. 10 p.m. Hip Hop/Soul/Funk. Free.

RIVERBEND MUSIC CENTER - Dierks Bentley with Brothers Osborne and LANCO. 7 p.m. Country. $59.25-$94.25.

SCHWARTZ’S POINT JAZZ & ACOUSTIC CLUB - Nicola Són Brazilian Quartet. 8:30 p.m. Jazz. $10.

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (REVIVAL ROOM) - Bendigo Fletcher, Sylmar and Carriers. 9 p.m. Indie Rock. $10.

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (SANCTUARY) - Parker Millsap with Travis Linville. 8 p.m. Americana/Pop/Rock. $17. TAFT THEATRE - Lea Michele and Darren Criss. 7:30 p.m. Broadway/Pop/ Various. $32.50-$85.

URBAN ARTIFACT - Go Go Buffalo with Lipstick Fiction, Dynamite Thunderpunch, Fycus and Preston. 9 p.m. Rock/Various.

FRIDAY 01

ARNOLD’S BAR AND GRILL - Buffalo Wabs and the Price Hill Hustle. 9 p.m. Roots/Americana. Free. BROMWELL’S HÄRTH LOUNGE - Brian Lovely with the Steve Schmidt Trio. 9 p.m. Jazz. Free. COMMON ROOTS - Lisak & Rowe. 8 p.m. Various. Free. FIBONACCI BREWING COMPANY - Vernon McIntyre’s Appalachian Grass. 7 p.m. Bluegrass. Free.

JAG’S STEAK AND SEAFOOD - 3 Piece Revival. 9 p.m. Rock/Various. $5. JEFF RUBY’S STEAKHOUSE - Grace Lincoln Band. 8 p.m. Soul/R&B. Free. JIM AND JACK’S ON THE RIVER - StrangeLove. 9 p.m. Pop/Rock/Various. Free. KNOTTY PINE - 90 Proof Twang. 10 p.m. Country. Cover. THE MAD FROG - Worthy with Bit Flip, Tom Reed, David Michael and more. 9 p.m. EDM. $10. MANSION HILL TAVERN

- Tickled Pink. 9 p.m. Blues. Cover. MARTY’S HOPS & VINES - Wild Mountain Berries. 9 p.m. Americana. Free.

MOTR PUB - Triiibe. 10 p.m. Hip Hop/Jazz/ Soul/Funk/Spoken Word/ Various. Free.

NATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD FREEDOM CENTER - The Ben Levin Band with Bob Margolin. 8 p.m. Blues. $15.

NORTHSIDE TAVERN - Mary Ocher with Blossom Hall and A Delicate Motor. 9 p.m. Experimental/ Indie/Various. Free.

NORTHSIDE YACHT CLUB - Lee Bains III and the Glory Fires with Frontier Folk Nebraska. 9 p.m. Rock. OCTAVE - Goose. 9 p.m. Funk/Jam. Free.

PLAIN FOLK CAFE Cookin’ Hearts. 7 p.m. Americana. Free. THE RADDISON HOTEL Basic Truth. 8 p.m. R&B/ Soul/Funk. Free. RICK’S TAVERN - My Sister Sarah. 10 p.m. Rock. Cover.

SAWYER POINT Bunbury Music Festival featuring The Chainsmokers, Blink-182, Fitz and the Tantrums, Young the Giant, Royal Blood, The Front Bottoms, LANY and more. noon Pop/Rock/Various. $89 (3-day pass: $179).

SILVERTON CAFE - String Theory. 9 p.m. Rock. Free.

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (REVIVAL ROOM) - Split Lip Rayfield. 8 p.m. Punkgrass. $12.

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (SANCTUARY) - The Travelin’ McCourys with Town Mountain. 8 p.m. Bluegrass. $18. STAGE FORTY-THREE Colt Ford. 8 p.m. Country. $25.

URBAN ARTIFACT - The Jared Presley Experience (EP release) with Turtledoves, The Mobros and Moselle. 8:30

p.m. Alt/Rock/Various. Free. WASHINGTON PARK TROOP. 7 p.m. R&B/Pop. Free.

SATURDAY 02

ARNOLD’S BAR AND GRILL - Cincinnati Dancing Pigs. 9 p.m. Americana/Jug band. Free. BLIND LEMON - G Burton. 9 p.m. Acoustic. Free. BOGART’S - New Found Glory with Bayside, The Movielife and William Ryan Key. 7:30 p.m. Pop/Rock. $44. BROMWELL’S HÄRTH LOUNGE - Mandy Gaines with the Steve Schmidt Trio. 9 p.m. Jazz. Free. DEPOT BARBECUE - April Alosio Sings. 7 p.m. Jazz. Free. FOUNTAIN SQUARE - Fifth and Vine Live with Eclipse the Ultimate Journey Tribute. 7 p.m. Rock. Free. JAG’S STEAK AND SEAFOOD - Good Hooks. 9 p.m. Pop/Rock/Various. $5. JIM AND JACK’S ON THE RIVER - Gen X Band. 9 p.m. Rock/Pop/Various. Free. KNOTTY PINE - Under the Sun. 10 p.m. Alt/Rock/Various. Cover. LUDLOW GARAGE - David Allen Coe. 8 p.m. Country. $40-$75. LYDIA’S ON LUDLOW - The Corncobs. 7 p.m. Old-time/ Bluegrass. Free.

THE MAD FROG Defunk. 9 p.m. EDM.

$10.

MANSION HILL TAVERN - Jeff Bonta and the Tucker Boys. 9 p.m. Blues. Cover. MARTY’S HOPS & VINES - New Brew. 9 p.m. Classic Rock. Free.

MEMORIAL HALL - EG Kight with Maria Carrelli. 8 p.m. Roots/Blues/Various. $18-$20

MOTR PUB - Facs with Hissing Tiles. 10 p.m. Indie/Rock/Various. Free.

NORTHSIDE TAVERN - Sexy Time Live Band Karaoke. 8:30 p.m. Various. Free.

OCTAVE - Goose. 9 p.m. Funk/Jam. Free. RICK’S TAVERN - Deuces Wild. 10 p.m. Rock/Country. Cover.

SAWYER POINT - Bunbury Music Festival featuring Incubus, Misterwives, Foster the People, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, GRiZ and more. Noon. Pop/ Rock/Various. $89 (3-day pass: $179).

SILVERTON CAFE - DeJaVue. 9 p.m. Various. Free. SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (LOUNGE) Brass Owl with Joe Wannabe. 9:30 p.m. Blues. Free.

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (REVIVAL ROOM) - Todd Albright with Johnny Walker. 9 p.m. Blues. $8.

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (SANCTUARY) - Science Rocks! A Celebration of Scientific Accomplishment with Music and Art featuring Physco and Resonator. 8 p.m. Sciencecore. Free. URBAN ARTIFACT - Ample Parking, The Punctuation and Ole Dirty Strangers. 9 p.m. Rock. Free. THE VENUE CINCINNATI - Volumes with Upon A Burning Body, The White Noise and Convictions. 4:30 p.m. Rock. $25.

SUNDAY 03

GERMANIA PARK Cincy Blues Challenge. noon Blues. $15 (all-day event).

SONNY’S ALL JAZZ LOUNGE - The Art of Jazz featuring the music of Art Blakey. 8 p.m. Jazz. Free. STANLEY’S PUB - Stanley’s Open Jam. 8 p.m. Various. Free.

URBAN ARTIFACT Kataklysm with Jungle Rot. 6:45 p.m. Death Metal. $21-$28.

MONDAY 04

THE GREENWICH - Baron Von Ohlen & the Flying Circus Big Band. 7:30 p.m. Jazz. $5 donation or 2 canned goods. KNOTTY PINE - Pete DeNuzio. 9 p.m. Acoustic. Free. MANSION HILL TAVERN - Acoustic Jam with John Redell and Friends. 8 p.m. Acoustic. Free. MCCAULY’S PUB - Open Jam with Sonny Moorman. 7 p.m. Blues/Various. Free. NORTHSIDE TAVERN Northside Jazz Ensemble. 10 p.m. Jazz. Free.

RIVERBEND MUSIC CENTER - Dead & Company. 7 p.m. Jam/Rock/ Various. $45-$149.50.

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (REVIVAL ROOM) - Wild Rivers with Alex Salcido. 7 p.m. Folk Pop. $8. URBAN ARTIFACT - Efflorescence, Dead Humor, Courtney From Work and BC Duo. 9 p.m. Rock/Various.

MANSION HILL TAVERN Open Blues Jam with Deb Olinger. 6 p.m. Blues. Free.

TUESDAY 05

MOTR PUB - Andy Pratt. 8 p.m. Free.

CROW’S NEST - Open Mic Night. 8 p.m. Various. Free.

SAWYER POINT Bunbury Music Festival featuring Jack White, Post Malone, Coheed and Cambria, Lecrae and more. Noon. Pop/Rock/Various. $89 (3-day pass: $179). SONNY’S ALL BLUES LOUNGE - Blues jam session featuring Sonny’s All Blues Band. 8 p.m. Blues. Free.

BLIND LEMON - Nick Tuttle. 8:30 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

MOTR PUB - Writer’s Night. 9 p.m. Open mic/Various. Free. PNC PAVILION AT RIVERBEND - Jackson Browne. 8 p.m. Rock. $23.50-$99.

URBAN ARTIFACT Drop The Sun with Harlot, Kate Wakefield and more. 8:30 p.m. Indie/Rock/ Roots/Various.

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