CityBeat | July 25, 2018

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LETTERS Memories of McCloskey Dave Mackey: I hope this exhibit includes the enormous totem pole he carved that stood on the grounds of Camp Campbell Gard.

Comment posted on Facebook.com/CincinnatiCityBeat in response to the July 22 post, “You’ll have a whale of a good time at the Cincinnati Art Museum’s new Robert McCloskey exhibit.”

CONTACT US ONLINE CityBeat.com FACEBOOK @CincinnatiCityBeat

After the Tents Come Down Steve Stein: Nobody grows up and wants to live on the streets. I’m amazed at what people on previous posts on this subject said. It’s a societal problem that needs to be addressed. Mental health, medical, job training, addiction treatment and more needs to be addressed. Throwing people in jail isn’t the solution. Kicking them from one location to another isn’t either. 62% of bankruptcies are from medical expenses (Harvard study). This could happen to anyone, and probably will increase with Trump’s death by 1000 cuts on ACA. Tina Bennington Sansone: Agreed but it’s still against the law to put up a tent and live on the street... You, me or anyone... There are numerous agencies that provide assistance… It’s getting them to go and making them aware of the services. Many are afraid of being in the “system” for one reason or another. It is an extremely sad and difficult situation.

Mary Beth Monter Salyers: Tina Bennington Sansone, very true. Sadly living outside like this is a choice they make. Most of the shelters have rules and hours they do not want to follow.

Steve Stein: I read an article in the “other” local paper today (sorry CityBeat, that’s all that Which Wich had to read) and most shelters aren’t set up for couples. Many people don’t want live inside, rather be outside because of rules and regulations of shelters. There will be some people social services will never reach, but at least we should try.

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Robert Golden: Good! It’s embarrassing having people drive through Cincinnati and seeing this shit. It should have been gone the second someone set up a tent. Finally, someone said something.

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Comment posted on Facebook.com/CincinnatiCityBeat in response to the July 19 post, “After a special meeting of Cincinnati City Council today, a tent city in downtown Cincinnati is set to be removed next week. But the issues the camp presents look likely to linger far longer.”

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IMAGE: Denali and Wonder Lake, Denali National Park, Alaska, 1947. Photograph by Ansel Adams. Image courtesy of Collection Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. ©The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust

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The majority of works are from the collection of Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg, with selections from the Cleveland Museum of Art and the collection of Connie and Jack Sullivan. This exhibition is organized by art2art Circulating Exhibitions, LLC, and the Taft Museum of Art.

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The Kaplan Foundation

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WHAT A WEEK!

BY T.C. B R I T TO N

Cents and the City

People are mad about a Refinery29 story that’s part of an ongoing series called “Money Diaries,” in which a 21-year-old shares her lifestyle and spending habits for a week on a $25-per-hour internship salary…and a monthly stipend from multiple family members. With a title like “A Week In New York City On $25/Hour And $1k Monthly Allowance,” you know what you’re signing up for when you click to read on: seething, bitter jealousy. The anonymous poster’s parents also pay her rent.

She’s still in school so she doesn’t have any student loans, and won’t ever because they’re paying for that, too. She’s a marketing intern making $25 per hour but claims it’s boring and she shops online a lot at work because they don’t give her enough to do. Joke’s on you, kid, I have lots to do at work and still manage to make all my e-commerce purchases on the clock.

Anyway, this nameless, faceless and fancy-free student is now the millennial poster child and that ain’t cool. I mean, is it fair to be pissed about someone openly disclosing their kept lifestyle? Isn’t that better than pretending to struggle just as hard as the rest of us povos? BTW, there have been many different women who’ve submitted Money Diaries, of various ages and incomes.

For me, the most disturbing part of the story wasn’t the $23 goat cheese and avocado wrap, the $55 she spent on coffee last month (“Not too bad, tbh.”) or the fact that she and her rich friends insist on splitting the costs of everything from a $30 Uber to a few sips of Bacardi, but that I didn’t know what Brazilian sugaring was and when I Googled it, that shit was NSFW!

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18th-Century Millennials

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The 20-something hatred doesn’t end there! Times Higher Education published a piece titled “Millennials: the age of entitlement,” wherein a professor recognizes the generation’s financial burden when it comes to higher learning, but says she has trouble respecting these students who cannot read critically or take responsibility for their learning.

(Sidebar: If you’re going to group people arbitrarily by birth year in a range that spans nearly two decades, it’s worth noting that the youngest millennial at this point is 22 and likely finishing up or graduated from college.)

But there’s at least one person defending millennials! Scottish academic Jenny Bann #TookToTwitter to share some insights from her research of 18th-century student disciplinary records. Spoiler Alert: All young people are dumb, no matter what generation. Some hijinks kids found themselves in 300 years ago? Dueling with swords; getting loudly and raucously drunk and getting kicked out of taverns;

disturbing the house with noise and breaking the furniture; making “obscene toasts” when drunk; oh, and skipping class. Kids today yesterday, right?

ESPYs Hot Takes

The ESPY Awards (aka the Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards) took place this week, which, tbh, aren’t that appealing to me. I think I only watched them once before to follow the Kardashian storyline when Caitlyn Jenner was honored a couple years ago. But nothing is on TV Wednesday nights so I tuned in, and, I have to hand it to host Danica Patrick! As the first woman and (retired) race car driver to host, she did a solid job — even if you wouldn’t know it by the sleepy audience. Her jokes fell flat on the straight-faced crowd, who even had to be rallied by Jon Stewart to applaud a veteran honoree. “One cheer for the Marines? Really?”

That woke ‘em up. But seriously, how can you be so somNinja Show at Iga Ninja Museum, Ueno, Japan ber while rocking a mohawk P H O T O : S P E C I A L O P E R AT I O N S - W W W . F L I C K R . C O M and a designer short-suit?

(Patrick came out in her own “Know your neighbor, love your neighbor, pink version that looked so good it actuhelp your neighbor.” ally made me reconsider athletics’ new Um, Jake Wood for president? fave fashion statement.) For a room full of athletes, these folks weren’t really good Wanna Be a Ninja? sports! (Sorry.) A highlight of the night This is not a joke: There is a ninja shortwas a riff on I, Tonya dubbed Me, Danica, age in Japan. The rural city of Iga, which where the host really flexed some hilarious claims to be the birthplace of the ninja, is acting chops. Aaron Rodgers appeared as actually facing a human shortage with a Jeff Gillooly-inspired character. Patrick depopulation and young people opting for also drew attention to the “real national cities over the countryside. In an effort to anthem controversy” — Fergie’s woeful boost tourism and population, the mayor rendition at the NBA All-Star game. I mean, is promoting Iga’s ninja heritage and I laughed a little. Am I lame? has even received government funding Then, some serious stuff: 150 survivors to relocate city hall and turn the curof Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse, coaches rent space into the city’s second ninja from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High museum. Now what they’re seeking are School and former quarterback Jim Kelly, ninja performers to train for entertainwho is battling cancer, were all honored at ment purposes. The kicker: these “wanthe event. nabe” ninjas can earn up to $85,000 a year.

And finally, ESPY Bae Jake Wood. The So remember, if that bachelor’s degree Pat Tillman Award recipient is basically is still taking you nowhere, Iga has its a saint who played football for Wisconsin welcome mat out for you. before joining in the Marines after 9/11, One unexpected challenge would be and founded Team Rubicon, a nonprofit surviving the country’s oppressive heat. disaster relief organization that deploys It’s the hottest summer in Japan’s history, volunteer response teams of veterans all with a recent heat wave claiming 44 lives over the world. He’s also very attractive. In since July 9. Now folks are worried about his acceptance speech, he shared a saying the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Not they have at Team Rubicon: “If Americans to mention those black ninja outfits — treated each other every day like they do they don’t seem very breathable. after disasters, we’d live in a truly special Contact T.C. Britton: letters@citybeat.com place.” In closing, he advised viewers,

This Week in Questionable Decisions…

1. MGM Resorts International, owner of Mandalay Bay, filed suit against more than 1,000 victims from the Las Vegas mass shooting to avoid liability.

2. Rugrats is getting the reboot treatment with a 26-episode series and a live-action movie with CGI characters — the stuff of nightmares.

3. In a new Vogue interview, Katy Perry claimed she suffered “bouts of situational depression” after her fakewoke 2017 album Witness was met with a lukewarm response.

4. A shirtless Jeff Goldblum statue was erected (lol) in London to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Jurassic Park... and the film’s scenes featuring a shirtless Jeff Goldblum.

5. Ashrita Furman, a New Yorker who holds the Guinness World Record for the most Guinness World Records, broke an unusual one: number of watermelons sliced on his stomach.

6. Burberry destroyed nearly $38 million worth of merchandise, including clothing, accessories and perfume, to prevent it from being sold at a discount.

7. Netflix announced a new movie it’s dropping next month about an overweight teen — “Fatty Patty” — who is tormented in school, gets punched in the face, has her mouth wired shut and, as a result, loses a bunch of weight and seeks revenge on her classmates and others. Oops, spoiler alert!

8. Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol is set to appear in the next season of MTV’s Teen Mom. Isn’t that about nine years too late?

9. Wiz Khalifa advised Charlamagne tha God on The Breakfast Club that guys have to break up a banana into pieces before eating it because eating it the normal way is gay.

10. A Forbes article suggested replacing libraries with Amazon stores in order to save taxpayer money.

11. There is reportedly a “secret” Roe v. Wade movie in the works featuring Stacey Dash, Jon Voight, Steve Guttenberg, Joey Lawrence, Milo Yiannopoulos and Tomi Lahren. Wonder what the angle will be!

NEWS

After the Tents Come Down Dynamics underlying the battle over the camp at Third and Plum streets, built by those experiencing homelessness, will likely linger after it’s disbanded

BY N I C K SWA R T S E L L

S

The camp at Third and Plum streets downtown PH OTO: NIC K SWARTSELL

drugs and illegal activity.

“We’re just a peaceful community,” Wow Wow says. “It’s calm here. We don’t bother anybody. We break bread with anybody.”

Jeff McDowell, a senior communications manager at Procter & Gamble, sits on the board of nonprofit Maslow’s Army, which has been working with camp residents. He says he finds the camp safe and doesn’t have any qualms about being there or bringing his 16-year-old daughter there.

“I have spent more than 30 hours in the camp in the past three days alone,” McDowell says. “I’ve been there at all hours of the day and night and I have never observed any dangerous, unhealthy or illegal activity. I’m not denying that we need to address the issues that downtown residents have expressed. They’re real. But I’m here to tell you that (camp residents) are part of the solution.”

Samuel Landis, the co-founder of Maslow’s, has been at the camp daily with volunteers, working to organize residents, provide support and advocacy and help move those who want it toward permanent housing. Other groups, including the CONTINUES ON PAGE 09

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months. DCI employs two social workers who do outreach, says CEO Mindy Rosen (also the wife of CityBeat Arts & Culture Editor Steve Rosen), and in recent weeks, they’ve spent 48 hours a week at the camp.

Along with Duhaney, Mayor John Cranley has also pushed for the removal of the camp as soon as possible.

“Acting City Manager Duhaney’s decision to remediate the homeless encampment is made with the utmost consideration for the safety of the homeless individuals who are staying there, as well as people who live, work and visit downtown. Health department officials have confirmed an outbreak of Hepatitis, instances of HIV, and needle sharing,” he said in a statement July 18. “Police are conducting investigations into human and drug trafficking. This is a public health emergency and we are required to respond in a way that ensures safety.”

At least a couple former camp inhabitants have moved up onto a stretch of Third Street west of Race Street, saying they were concerned about drug activity at the camp months ago.

But some have pushed back at the characterization of the camp as a place full of

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released, Cincinnati Police officers were under the overpass handing them out, accompanied by social service organizations there to direct residents to aid.

“I think it’s a bad idea,” Wow Wow says of the camp removal. “People here have nowhere else to go.”

Duhaney’s move to get rid of the camp came after complaints by residents of nearby apartment and condo complexes, as well as members of Cincinnati’s business community. A few of them showed up at council’s July 19 meeting.

Gary Bryson, a seven-year resident of downtown, says that he felt ignored by the city.

“You haven’t engaged all parties,” he says.

“The Downtown Residents Association wasn’t engaged... you wouldn’t like people camping on the sidewalk in your neighborhood. The laws have to be enforced.”

A few other apartment and condo residents also spoke, recalling times they say they’ve seen people near the camps using the restroom outdoors, fighting or using drugs.

Nonprofit Downtown Cincinnati Incorporated says it has worked to address the existence of the camp for a number of

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itting in a folding chair under the steady hum of semi trucks and sedans speeding across Fort Washington Way, a man who calls himself Wow Wow explains how he came to live with 40 or more other people who have taken to staying in the underpass between Paul Brown Stadium and the looming glass office towers of Third Street.

“I’ve been here since the winter time,” he says, motioning back to a tent he has set up a few feet away. “I commute back and forth from the camp to work nearby — I get jobs at a temp agency.”

Wow Wow grew up on Elm Street, but ran into some bad situations, he says, “some struggles,” and found himself couch surfing with friends and relatives. Then, this past winter, he ran out of places to stay and started living here under the overpass.

Originally, residents of the camp faced removal by July 20 under order of city officials. But in a special session of Cincinnati City Council on July 19, five of the body’s Democrats voted to approve a compromise with Cincinnati’s Acting City Manager Patrick Duhaney that will push the removal until Wednesday, July 25. (Removal of some residents started on Tuesday, July 24.) That compromise was negotiated between several council members, the city manager, residents at the camp and nonprofit groups.

Despite the brief pause, however, the deeper issues the camp has come to symbolize look likely to linger long after it is gone.

In a July 16 memo, Duhaney cited “public health and safety concerns” with the camp that he said necessitated its immediate removal. The city is legally required to provide 72 hours’ notice before removing a camp, so the same day the memo was

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CITY DESK

Hamilton County Sales Tax Fight Proxy for Bigger Battles

Subsidized West End Apartment Complex Up for Sale

BY N I C K SWA R T S EL L

BY N I C K SWA R T S EL L

A large apartment complex in Cincinnati’s West End that provides subsidized housing could change hands soon, according to a sales prospectus obtained by CityBeat.

The owners of the Arts Apartments at Music Hall, formerly known as Richmond Village, are seeking to sell the 248-unit complex on Ezzard Charles Drive near I-75.

The 21-building, eight-acre complex was built in 1962 using funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The complex currently has a site-based Section 8 contract covering about a third of the units and another HUD Housing Assistance Payment contract also providing subsidized rents to residents, many of whom are low-income seniors.

That contract expires in 2020.

Ezzard Charles Associates LP, which lists addresses in St. Louis and Irving, Texas, owns the property, according to the Hamilton County Auditor.

The 76-page purchasing memorandum from brokers Affordable Housing Advisors and Marcus & Millichap touts the property’s location in the West End and its overall condition. The apartment complex received an 82 percent on a HUD REAC inspection last year.

The document notes the property’s potential eligibility for Low-Income Housing Tax Credits for rehabilitation.

It also devotes a page to the coming FC

Arts Apartments PH OTO: NIC K SWARTSELL

Cincinnati soccer stadium on the neighborhood’s eastern side.

The prospectus was issued early this month, according to those with knowledge of the deal, and the sale process for the property has progressed quickly. Brokers set up three days for prospective buyers to tour the property and then gave six days for interested buyers to submit preliminary offers. Bids are due this week.

It’s unclear who the interested buyers

might be or if they’re aiming to keep the property HUD-subsidized.

Loss of the complex as subsidized housing could be a big blow to a neighborhood with a median household income around $15,000 a year, housing advocates say.

“It’s important that this property is preserved as affordable housing,” says John Schrider, director of the Legal Aid Society of Southwest Ohio.

Kasich Commutes Death Sentence for Tibbetts

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BY N I C K SWA R T S EL L

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Ohio Gov. John Kasich July 20 commuted a looming death sentence for Raymond Tibbetts, a man convicted of two murders in Cincinnati.

Earlier this year, Kasich temporarily halted Tibbetts’ execution after a former juror at his trial expressed regret for the sentence, citing evidence about Tibbetts’ abusive childhood and mental illness he believes was withheld from jurors. Tibbetts will now serve life in prison without the possibility of parole.

“Tibbetts’s commutation is being granted as a result of fundamental flaws in the sentencing phase of his trial,” a statement from Kasich’s office read. “Specifically, the defense’s failure to present sufficient mitigating evidence, coupled with an inaccurate description of Tibbetts’s childhood by the prosecution, essentially prevented the jury

from making an informed decision about whether Tibbetts deserved the death penalty.”

Tibbetts was convicted of stabbing 67-year-old Fred Hicks to death and beating Hicks’ 42-year-old caretaker Judith Crawford to death with a baseball bat in Hicks’ Cincinnati home in 1997. Tibbetts had married Crawford a few weeks prior. Authorities found three knives left in Hicks. The grisly case made big local headlines. Tibbetts was sentenced to death for Hicks’ murder and life in prison without parole for Crawford’s.

But important information about Tibbetts’ background wasn’t explored fully during his trial, opponents of his execution say. Those opponents included a juror in Tibbetts’ case, Ross Geiger, who penned a letter to Kasich in

January begging the governor commute Tibbetts’ sentence.

“I am writing today to ask you show mercy to Raymond Tibbetts by commuting his death sentence to life in prison with no possibility of parole,” Geiger wrote. “This is not an easy request for me as I was a juror on the trial for that horrible crime.”

Tibbetts, who was heavily addicted to opiates and alcohol, had undiagnosed mental illnesses stemming at least in part from a chaotic and unstable childhood. His biological mother and father were mostly absent, according to testimony from his attorneys before a clemency board hearing in January 2017.

In the months before the murders, Tibbetts attempted suicide. He had attempted to get into a treatment program for drug and alcohol

addiction a month and a half before killing Hicks and Crawford, but was turned away. Those efforts show Tibbetts was suffering from mental illness, his attorneys have argued.

An Ohio Supreme Court joint task force on the death penalty included a ban on executing the mentally ill among recommendations it has made to the state. Many of those recommendations, including the ban, have not been passed by state lawmakers or implemented by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections.

But after a special clemency hearing in June, the State of Ohio Adult Parole Authority released its recommendation that Ohio Gov. John Kasich not halt Tibbetts’ execution. The nine-member parole board arrived at that decision 8-1.

On July 18, anti-tax activists with the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST), the Hamilton County GOP and other groups turned in about 38,000 signatures collected in an attempt to get a tax hike repeal effort on the November ballot. The groups need 23,629 of those signatures to be valid in order for that to happen.

The controversy started when Democrat Hamilton County Commissioners Todd Portune and Denise Driehaus voted to raise the county’s sales tax by .2 percent (a tiny fraction of 1 percent) to cover a $28 million budget deficit earlier this year.

Democrat commissioners say that deficit comes from deep cuts to the state’s local government fund passed by the state’s conservative legislature. Hamilton County has lost more than $32 million since 2010 to those cuts. But conservatives say that the commission knew about that lost revenue long ago and needed to make cuts to the county’s spending to deal with those realities.

Now, some local conservatives have taken that tax hike and run with it in a contentious and pivotal election year.

Republican Hamilton County Commissioner Chris Monzel, who voted against the tax increase, is facing a challenge from Democrat and former Lincoln Heights Village Manager Stephanie Summerow Dumas. And some at a news conference held after anti-tax groups filed the signatures yesterday held signs saying, “Say no to Aftax,” a dig at Democrat congressional candidate Aftab Pureval. That was despite the fact that as Hamilton County Clerk of Courts, Pureval had nothing to do with the tax. He is, however, battling U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot, a Republican, for his 1st congressional district seat. Some observers have suggested that local Republicans are fighting the tax increase so hard because the ballot initiative against it could boost conservative voter turnout in November.

Pureval has since come out against the tax hike — a move highlighting the complicated politics of the situation. A number of Republican county office holders, including Hamilton County Recorder Norbert Nadel and Hamilton County Engineer Ted Hubbard, are against the repeal initiative, while other high-profile county Republicans are neutral.

Commission President Portune has come out swinging against the efforts to repeal the tax, which brings Hamilton County’s sales tax rate to 7.2 percent until the Union Terminal renovation sales tax hike rolls off in 2020. That’s below Columbus’ 7.5 percent and Cleveland’s 8 percent sales tax rate. The boost will cost a household making $50,000 a year about $24 extra annually.

FROM PAGE 07

Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition, have also provided support.

It’s familiar turf for Landis, who says he spent two decades living on Cincinnati streets, including five years at the Third Street camp. He eventually found housing, attended college and founded Maslow’s.

Between fielding phone calls, coordinating with camp residents and speaking with TV news reporters, Landis sits in a truck next to the camp and talks about supporting camp residents in terms borrowed from pioneering psychologist Abraham Maslow’s famous hierarchy of needs.

Provision of basics like shelter can help a person on a path toward their own selfactualization, he says — a place of purpose and healthy self-esteem. That starts with getting off the streets, if a person wants that.

But that path is tenuous and different for everyone. Landis says he believes about one in 10 people experiencing homelessness don’t want to go to shelters for various reasons — social anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder common in military veterans and other conditions.

Many at the camp, including Wow Wow, say they’d like to have some kind of permanent housing eventually. But in the meantime, losing the camp could be destabilizing, Landis says.

“This is a very traumatizing event,” he says of the camp removal process. “I remember several camps I’ve been removed from… when they put the gate up, I remember the anxiety of those 72 hours.

Where was I going to move? My security was threatened. I was scared. We want to alleviate that, in case that was a final possibility. We were ready to put signs up. To chain ourselves to walls. We want to make sure these people are treated with dignity and respect.”

Under the compromise reached by council, residents of the camp and others, including Landis, the tent city received temporary restroom facilities and medical attention over the week before final removal.

About half of the camp’s residents will go to another temporary camp east of downtown that Landis, city officials and residents of the camp chose.

Another six residents have received housing certificates, and others will go to shelters, Landis says. Two will also join a jobs program through the Freestore Foodbank and will be moving into apartments next month.

“We’re excited about the organizations who are coming out here,” Landis says.

“They’re stepping up to the plate. This is a very peaceful resolution, and these people

need that now. “ Beyond the first few days and weeks, however, there are bigger questions.

Camps like the one in downtown and elsewhere in many corners of the city are simply inflection points for a larger set of dynamics that have long gone unaddressed, advocates say, including lack of affordable housing, lagging wages for available jobs, limited access to mental health and addiction treatment options and other issues.

At the council meeting July 19, advocates and several council members commented on those dynamics, but few immediate answers presented themselves.

Federal counts in recent years have tallied roughly 8,000 people experiencing homelessness in Cincinnati — well more than the 1,00 beds in shelters and 2,500 units of permanent supportive housing available. But shelters are temporary solutions anyway, say advocates with organizations like the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition.

They point out that Hamilton County needs thousands more units of affordable housing available to low-income residents.

A study from LISC of Greater Cincinnati released last year suggests that gap could be as high as 40,000 units. Solutions to bridge that deficit could take years to bear

serious fruit. In the meantime, finding and keeping affordable housing in the city can be fiendishly difficult.

Councilwoman Tamaya Dennard, who helped engineer the delayed camp removal, acknowledges the thorny problem.

“The tent city on Third Street is the chickens coming home to roost for years of policies that don’t include affordable housing,” Dennard said, before promising the city would get innovative with solutions.

“The long-term goal is for the city to get serious about affordable housing in a way we haven’t before... we’re going to do things the city hasn’t done before.”

Residents of the camp say they don’t want to cause trouble, but also want to be seen as human.

Leon Evans, a resident of the camp who often goes by the name Bison, helped negotiate the compromise plan.

“I never wanted to cause any problems,” he said at council’s July 19 meeting. “I just live down there... a lot of what is going on down there is positive.”

He asked those living in the camp who attended the council meeting to stand.

Several rose, including one woman wiping tears from her eyes.

“This is my family,” he said. “I felt we were being treated like trash.”

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TO ALL THE CHEFS, RESTAURANTS, SERVERS, BARTENDERS, BEEF LOVERS, AND VEGETARIANS ALIKE - WE COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU!

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THANK YOU TO ALL THE BURGER LOVERS OF CINCINNATI FOR MAKING CINCINNATI BURGER WEEK SUCH A SUCCESS THIS YEAR!

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Local music, art and activist group Triiibe blends Hip Hop, acts of service and a DIY ethos to create its own brand of “artivism”

Three

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THE POWER OF

10

“H

BY JUDE NOEL

ow many people do we have out here who garden?” asks Siri Imani, eliciting a chorus of woos from the sizzling mass of Northsiders brave enough to stand in Hoffner Park’s unshaded edge on the Fourth of July.

A shirtless man dressed as Beaker from The Muppet Show takes the opportunity to lift his cylindrical headwear and wipe the sweat from his brow.

Immediately following the neighborhood’s Independence Day parade, Triiibe’s opening set at the annual Northside Rock & Roll carnival attracts a mixed bag of locals — costumed folks wandering in from their floats, parents and their wildly dancing children, fans who mouth the lyrics — all of whom have prioritized soaking up Neo-Soul grooves over shielding themselves from the dangerous heatwave frying the city.

Fortunately, the trio is willing to deliver. Backed by a live band, Imani, Pxvce (government name CJ Houston) and Aziza Love (Alexis Thompson) exchange verses about everything from growing their own vegetables to the experience of oneness, interjecting ad-libs in the spaces in between.

Comprised of noodly guitar riffs, crystalline keyboard pads

and a hefty rhythm section, the music stretches out comfortably into roomy dimensions to leave space for the emcees to prophesy.

“We don’t need nobody’s help...Green thumb growing; garden still potent.”

Triiibe’s Fourth of July celebration isn’t so much a celebration of American independence as it is an affirmation of individual freedom. In the interval between songs, the collective invites their audience to think introspectively, teaching the virtues of living off the land and taking time to meditate.

“Triiibe: True Representation of Intellectual Individuals Invoking Black Excellence,” Imani says, as the spaced-out melody of the band’s currently unrelease single “A Wrinkle In Time” creeps into the background. “We want to be a positive representation of urban culture.”

And then the beat drops.

This positive representation doesn’t end in the lyrics. Triiibe is equally dedicated to art and activism, churning out new music when they’re not serving the CONTINUES ON PAGE 12

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Left to Right: Siri Imani, Pxvce and Aziza Love PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER

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FROM PAGE 10

community. Outside of the studio, the members of Triiibe help cultivate a community garden in Avondale, mentor students enrolled in Cincinnati Public Schools and organize a monthly free Potluck for the People at downtown’s Piatt Park, which serves those experiencing homelessness.

“The music and art go hand in hand,” says Pxvce. “Artivism’s what we call it. We’ve realized what the world is starting to come to and we want to be the solution to the problem.”

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Triiibe Viiibes

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For a band that has yet to drop an album, Triiibe has established a prolific presence in Cincinnati’s Hip Hop scene. Over the past year, they’ve maintained a busy schedule of DIY shows and single releases, finding time to contribute three guest appearances to Bootsy Collins’ 15th studio album, World Wide Funk: a collaboration that bridged two generations of Cincinnati natives.

After stumbling upon a Facebook Live stream of a Triiibe home recording session, Collins invited the group to his studio in Nashville to help finish a song he was working on at the time.

Impressed with the finished product, he asked the band back for two more sessions, producing a handful of new verses.

At that time, the group was known as the Blvck Seeds, a quartet that included visual artist Jessi Jumanji, whose Afrofuturist collages depict a post-human convergence of humanity, nature and machines.

When Jumanji accepted an opportunity to move to Los Angeles, the group changed their name to Triiibe in January, out of respect to the bond they’d created. Once the four are reunited, they plan to play as the Blvck Seeds once again.

The band first met at The Mockbee, where they were all booked for the same show.

“We really gravitated toward each other and started having jam sessions at my house,” Pxvce says. “That’s when it just started to click. When we started to perform, we had a chemistry that was something that I haven’t experienced. There were a few times that we did things where I don’t know if they’ve ever been done. So, we know there’s a magic between us.”

Each member’s particular role in the group can be difficult to suss out, given Triiibe’s penchant for call-and-response vocals and their adaptive show setup. Generally, though, Imani assumes the role of resident rhymester, shouldering the bulk of the band’s lyrical content while Love belts soaring, glossolaliatic hooks and the occasional verse. Pxvce creates most of the beats from scratch, dropping DJ mixes between sets.

In recent months, fans have enjoyed a bumper crop of new recorded material, released in anticipation of the band’s debut record — III AM WHAT III AM — due Oct. 10. In July alone, they’ve revealed the album’s first single,

“Gossip,” in the form of a music video, alongside a pair of “shemixes”— socially conscious rewrites of popular Trap songs that allow Imani and Love to spread new messages on familiar beats.

Thus far, they’ve dropped Imani’s own take on “Plug Walk,” Rich the Kid’s vibey breakout hit, exchanging the original track’s flex-heavy hedonism for an examination of an artist’s social responsibilities. During live sets, Love has taken to performing a stylistically complex cover of A$AP Ferg’s “Mattress,” detailing her connections to the Northside neighborhood and the spiritual realm atop distorted, speaker-knocking production.

“When Aziza and I came up with the shemixes, we just wanted to take male-dominated songs and switch them up,” Imani says. “We felt like their content was something that we could honestly trump. We chose about seven and started remixing them. We did the ‘Plug Walk’ video at Findlay Park, which was a spot that we hit often and we know the people there.

But everything that you hear in the lyrics of the song, you can look at the park and see the culture being cultivated in that space.”

In the meantime, Triiibe’s still putting the finishing touches on their album with help from local Indie Rock outfit Jess Lamb & The Factory at the Harrison Skydeck studio.

“For me, the album is a declaration of the hard work we’ve put in to understanding ourselves,” Love says. “It’s amazing how you can come to that understanding through being with other people. The members of Triiibe are like reflections of me — an opportunity to help me look at myself and look at the music I’m creating effortlessly now that I’m with other people.”

Love says that Imani’s often the group’s songwriting catalyst, penning new verses to Pxvce’s production, then herding the members into the studio to flesh out the idea. Though Imani’s adept at seamlessly knitting her ideas and flows into beats, she’s actually the newest to music out of the group.

Growing up, she was surrounded by poetry.

Her mother, Jennie Wright, was an active member of the Raw Poets Society in the late ’90s and early ’00s and encouraged Imani to take up the craft at a young age.

“I think the first time I performed, I was 5,” Imani says. “And, it was, like, goofy. Just words together. But ever since then, I’ve kept writing poetry. I’m newer to Rap, but it’s really interesting to me. I’d never done it until I got around Triiibe. But, I still have huge dedication to poetry — I want to mainstream it. It has to become a genre where kids are growing up, like, ‘I want to do poetry.’ I’ve been looking at the Chicago scene for ways to do that. Malcolm London, Chance the Rapper, Noname, and all of them.”

Pxvce and Love, on the other hand, have been making music for a good portion of their lives.

Influenced by both Gucci Mane and Arrested

Development, Pxvce’s instrumental creations chop mystical Funk samples to the flutter of drum machine hi-hats. Love’s roots are folkier, giving a rawer, more visceral contribution to the group.

“If you ask my mom, I sang myself to sleep when I was born,” Love says. “I was in church choir when I was young, and that turned into elementary school choir. I stopped choir later on and went to instrumental music throughout high school and college, but I kept singing outside of a structure. I did my first solo shows when I was about 17, and I’ve been rolling ever since.”

Triiibe Proviiides “Does everybody have trays? Paper?” asks LaTrese Green. Two plastic trays filled with soil are at her side as she walks a diverse circle of twentysomethings through the process of transplanting seeds for the fall harvest. She traces five vertical lines on the surface of the soil to sow seeds in each container, and her audience of seven follows suit.

It’s a weekly ritual for Green and her fellow gardeners, who make the trek to Avondale on Saturday mornings to help give life to a once-vacant lot sandwiched between houses on Beldare Avenue. Alongside Triiibe, she’s nurtured the seeds of friendship at the Hilltop Community Garden, attracting regulars and newcomers alike over the past year and a half.

Green, a health educator and civic garden coordinator, hopes the garden will become a “demo site,” promoting plant-based foods and self-sufficiency.

“You know how Triiibe as a collective is all about positivity?” she asks. “They’re who I was able to get this land through, basically. I’m in partnership with the Civic Garden Center (of Greater Cincinnati), and the zoo owns the land.”

Signs of progress: new pear and apple trees sprout around a rainbow-colored shed, built and spray-painted by volunteers. There’s an herb garden that Green hopes to use for “make one, take one” tea parties.

“This is a playground,” she says. “I want schools and community programming to come on out and visit throughout the school year.”

Meanwhile, Pxvce works the soil in a more sun-drenched plot, digging to the steady drone of a lawnmower. Triiibe’s dedication to service makes them tough to catch all at once — while Pxvce gardens, Love focuses on running her weekly “Soulstice” meditation/yoga classes at the Hive in Northside and Imani spreads her passion for poetry to a younger generation via partnerships with Cincinnati Public Schools and OTR-based arts organization Elementz.

And that’s just a single day’s work for the band. Triiibe’s Facebook events calendar reveals just how invested in Cincinnati they really are.

They host a book club at the Public Library’s CONTINUES ON PAGE 14

Triiibe performing at Covington’s Leapin Lizard Lounge PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER

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FROM PAGE 12

main branch on the first Monday of each month, organize a weekly fitness run on Sunday mornings and help serve at the aforementioned monthly Potluck for the People — the next of which takes place July 29.

The Potluck made headlines in June, when the Cincinnati Parks Department billed Triiibe $450 for a special use permit and retroactively charged one of the organizers’ mothers another $450 for the preceding month. The free event had been running regularly since January.

The group says that the event’s purpose is not only to provide nourishment to Cincinnati’s homeless population, but also to bring light to all attendees. The organizers give out free haircuts, clothes and provide opportunities to make art.

“After serious conversation between Triiibe, Cincinnati Peace Movement, Cincinnati Parks and United Way, we were able to come to an agreement that the policy should be changed,” Love says. “For the betterment of all the city. So now the policy stands that anyone providing a free service at Piatt Park can have the opportunity to have the fee waived.”

It’s important to the group that they stay busy, spreading themselves throughout the community as much as possible. Pxvce says that through Triiibe’s activism, he wants to prove that it doesn’t take experience to serve — just the will to help out.

“That’s why it’s so DIY,” he says. “We went through Civic Garden Center to learn about gardening, but this is our first year with our own land. We’re experimenting as we go.”

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Triiibe’s Triiibe

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“When we say Triiibe, we’re inviting you into our hearts and our community,” says Love, enveloped by the red glow of Northside bar and music venue The Comet’s neon signage.

Anyone who’s seen the band live knows the call and response between the performers and audience that follows.

“Triiibe!” “...Triiibe!”

“Triiibe!” “...Triiibe!”

“Tr-aye-aye-aye-be!” “...Tr-aye-aye-aye-be!”

With a sampler basket of nachos cradled in his left arm, Pxvce lowers the volume of his Soul-inflected Cardi B remix as Love introduces the lineup for Triiibe’s Friday the 13th celebration in July: “Blvck Magic.”

Punctuated by more intimate versions

Pxvce at work in the Hilltop Community Garden PHOTOS: T Y WESSELK AMPER

of Triiibe’s usual live setlist, the show features performances by Brooklynn Rae, whose whispery solo tunes recall Frankie Cosmos or Nick Drake; Blasé, who adds a sinister flair to her R&B/Funk output with the help of her technically impressive backing band; and Love herself, whose set stretched to 2 a.m., drawing sleepy showgoers from their drinks and baskets of chips to the small arc of chairs scattered around the performers. The band is as passionate about hyping up their friends as they are when performing their own material. There’s even a short open mic session between acts, with content ranging from freestyles to spoken-word poetry sessions.

“We just know really good people,” Imani says. “Everybody around me has some type of crazy talent. I mean, I don’t think it’s possible for somebody to not have talent, but recently all my friends have just

been showing them out. They put a lot of work into what you see on stage. People ask me, ‘How do you meet these people?’ I met them as friends! They grew into the people you see now.”

It’s seeing Cincinnati’s Hip Hop scene blossom that Triiibe says gives them the energy to press on. First and foremost, they work hard to put their city on the map.

“We might get big, who knows?” Imani says. “But what I really want is to see something beautiful happen here in Cincinnati.

We want to open a school that teaches all of the arts what you can do with a business.

Things it took us years to find out.”

She adds that although Triiibe may not be the best rappers, artists or even people in the world, those people are out there. If her trio shows those people that they, too, can start making DIY artwork, they’ll have succeeded.

And, the band wants to go on tour soon after III AM WHO III AM drops. That is, once they’ve found folks to take care of garden while they’re gone. And keep the Soulstice classes running. And make sure the potluck happens each month.

Through their continued outreach, Triiibe hopes to be the role models they wish they’d had when they were kids.

“I can clearly see changes happening every day,” Imani says. “Once we get it together on one harmonious level, Cincinnati is going to be just like Chicago; just like Atlanta; just like LA. It already is. It’s just a hidden magic.”

For more information on Triiibe and upcoming events, visit facebook.com/ TRIIIBEworldwide.

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PH OTOS: NIC K SWARTSELL

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Left to Right: Aziza Love, Pxvce and Siri Imani

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WEDNESDAY AUGUST 8 • 5:30-8:30PM CINCINNATI ART MUSEUM

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SUGARRUSHCINCY.COM

STUFF TO DO Ongoing Shows ONSTAGE: Another Brick in the Wall Music Hall, Over-the-Rhine (through July 31)

WEDNESDAY 25

MUSIC: Radiohead makes a stop in Cincinnati on its current North American tour. See Sound Advice on page 32.

ONSTAGE: As One opens at the Cincinnati Opera, telling the tale of transgender protagonist Hannah — before and after her transition — with just two voices.

See feature on page 21.

THURSDAY 26

MUSIC: Castlecomer brings Indie Dance Rock to Woodward Theater. See Sound Advice on page 32.

ONSTAGE: The U.S. premiere of Another Brick in the Wall, a Rock opera based on the music of Pink Floyd, continues through Tuesday. See review on page 23.

Monk, Cannonball Adderley and Nina Simone — Jazz eventually took a backseat to Soul and Funk. Still, to this day, it’s most commonly referred to as Jazz Fest.

This year, Cincinnati Music Festival’s lineup is especially strong. After a lower-key opening Thursday night that features MC Lyte and DJ Jazzy Jeff, Friday’s lineup is loaded with the kind of performers that have become the event’s bread and butter, with legacy acts Boyz II Men, Charlie Wilson (of The Gap Band), After 7 and XSCAP3 (plus Fantasia). Saturday’s lineup includes fest favorites The O’Jays and Keith Sweat, as well as Hip Hop/Neo Soul pals The Roots, Common and Jill Scott. Cincinnati’s own Bootsy Collins also performs Saturday. 7:30 p.m.

Thursday-Saturday. $50$100. Paul Brown Stadium, Downtown, cincymusicfestival.com. — MIKE BREEN

EVENT: Intro to Ikebana Ikebana, or Japanese flower arranging, is literally the art of “living flowers.” Unlike Western ideas about what constitutes a good floral arrangement (remember the giant flower wall Kanye West gave Kim K for Valentine’s Day?), Ikebana is a meditative practice that’s all about minimalism and balance.

The art dates back to seventh century Buddhist temples, where flower arrangements would be presented as sacred offerings, and now hundreds of schools exist dedicated to train Ikebana masters. People’s Liberty isn’t one of them, but for one night you can learn the ways of Ikebana and take home your own delicate, sculptural floral arrangement. The class takes place as part of the current Make Someone’s Day project, which invites members of the public to make ceramic flowers to

celebrate local nominees.

Make Someone’s Day is up at the Globefront gallery through Aug. 12. 6:30-9 p.m.

Thursday. Free. People’s Liberty, 1805 Elm St., Overthe-Rhine, facebook.com/ pplslbrty. — MORGAN ZUMBIEL COMEDY: J.B. Ball “I was always a smart class clown,” says comedian J.B. Ball. “I’d joke around about the material we were going over in class. I never got in trouble for it because it was relevant. The teacher was like ‘OK, that was pretty funny.’” At first, the Tampa native had thoughts of being a basketball star. “I was always an athlete that happened to be a good student, and I thought I could just be a funny basketball player.”

Accepted to Columbia and La Salle universities, among others, he opted to stay closer to home and attend the University of

Tampa. After graduating he received offers to play pro ball overseas but declined. “I already knew I wanted to be comedian by then,” he says.

On stage, Ball talks mostly about his life. “Back when I started, I was younger and didn’t have as many experiences,” he says. “Now, it’s more pointed and my perspective is a lot clearer.”

Through Sunday. $8-$14.

Go Bananas, 8410 Market Place Lane, Montgomery, gobananascomedy.com.

— P.F. WILSON

FRIDAY 27

MUSIC: Cincy Grit Pop band Vacation celebrates the release of its new album at MOTR Pub. See Spill It on page 31.

DANCE: The new Moving Arts Cincinnati contemporary dance performance takes over the Aronoff’s CONTINUES ON PAGE 18

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Jazz promoter George Wein as the all-Jazz Ohio Valley Jazz Festival, Cincinnati’s popular “Jazz Fest” has gone through a lot of changes in its 50-plus-year history. It moved locations from the Carthage Fairgrounds to Crosley Field to Riverfront Stadium before shifting to its current home at the Bengals’ Paul Brown Stadium. Before claiming the Cincinnati Music Festival moniker a few years ago, it had undergone numerous name changes over the years, largely reflecting sponsorships, like Ohio Valley Kool Jazz Festival, Coors Light Riverfront Stadium Festival and the Macy’s Music Festival.

Though early on it began to feature a mix of Jazz and R&B — for example, 1972’s event included everyone from Ike & Tina Turner, The Staple Singers and B.B. King to Thelonious

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MUSIC: Cincinnati Music Festival Founded in 1962 by Dino Santangelo and legendary

PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER

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EVENT: Adult Swim at Ziegler Pool Kiddos aren’t welcome at OTR’s Ziegler Pool on Thursday night because it’s reserved for adults only. You heard me. No children will be around to splash you relentlessly while you’re trying to flip through a magazine or wade in the water.

During Adult Swim, DJ Diamond will play tunes for you float to, while the bar keeps suds flowing from the likes of Rhinegeist, Fifty West, Christian Moerlein, Taft’s Ale House and Bud Light. All guests must be 21 or older.

7:30-10:30 p.m. Thursday. $4 admission. Ziegler Park Pool., 1322 Sycamore St., Over-the-Rhine, facebook. com/zieglerpark. — SAMI STEWART

Ziegler Pool

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FROM PAGE 17

Jarson-Kaplan Theater Friday and Saturday. See feature on page 22.

EVENT: Art After Dark: Terracotta Army Beer Bash Toast to the Cincinnati Art Museum’s terracotta soldiers after hours during this month’s Art After Dark, a special beer bash featuring drinks from local breweries. Sample brews from DogBerry, Fibonacci, Fifty West, Mt. Carmel, Listermann, Streetside and Urban Artifact while snacking on bites from Dewey’s and Graeter’s. Creole band The Hot Magnolias will provide the tunes while you wait for your turn to see Terracotta Army: Legacy of the First Emperor of China... for free.

Access to the exhibit is limited to timed tickets — hit up the visitor services desk

in the front lobby starting as early as 4:30 p.m. Friday to try to reserve a spot. 5-9 p.m. Friday. Free admission. Cincinnati Art Museum, 953 Eden Park Drive, Mount Adams, cincinnatiartmuseum.org. — MAIJA ZUMMO

SATURDAY 28

EVENT: SprinkleFEST Forget Candy Land: Busken’s SprinkleFEST is the ultimate sweet-tooth wonderland brought to life in the Hyde Park bakery’s parking lot. This yummy fest is all in celebration of Busken’s 90th birthday, so skip dinner and go right for dessert. The fest will feature “funtivities” such as donut Plinko, sprinkle sandboxes, smiley face tongue tattoos, DIY donut dipping and the city’s largest birthday cake.

5-9 p.m. Saturday. Free

admission. Busken Bakery, 2675 Madison Road, Hyde Park, facebook.com/buskenbakery. — LIZZY SCHMITT EVENT: Fear and Loathing in Cincinnati Party Bus Tour Gear up for a night on the town while riding in style on the Fear and Loathing in Cincinnati Party Bus Tour, hosted by Gorilla Cinema Presents — the mind behind movie-themed bars Tokyo Kitty (Lost in Translation), Video Archive (Pulp Fiction) and Overlook Lodge (The Shining). Start off at downtown’s Tokyo Kitty, one of the city’s best karaoke bars, then hop on the bus, which will cart partygoers to Video Archive. After drinks, hop on the bus again to travel to the ever-mysterious Overlook Lodge in Pleasant Ridge before lapping back around to Tokyo Kitty.

FRIDAY 27

ONSTAGE: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) Don’t think that a classic theater can’t have a good time. Prime evidence is offered this week as Cincy Shakes again presents one hilarious piece of theater that gallops through the Bard’s entire canon of 38 plays. Many of them are touched on in the silliest of puns and visual jokes, but whether you’re a fan of Shakespeare or not, you’re guaranteed a good time watching three of the company’s best comic performers have their way with props, wigs, outrageous costumes, puns, jokes and slapstick. It’s a whole midsummer night’s scream of laughs and giggles. Through August 11. $57 adult; $53 senior; $31 student. Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, 1195 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, cincyshakes.com. — RICK PENDER

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AN IRISH WHISKEY, SCOTCH ANd cRAFT BEER TASTING EVENT

Save the date

october 3rd, 2018 5:30-8:30 Pm New Riff Distillery

Newport, Ky

hopscotchcincy.com

18 PHOTO: MIKKI SCHAFFNER PHOTOGRAPHY

PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER

SATURDAY 28

EVENT: Danger Wheel You remember Big Wheels, right? If you didn’t have a trike of your own, surely you had the chance to pedal around on some neighborhood kid’s. But alas, you grew up and left those days behind you — or so you thought. Danger Wheel is back to take over the streets of Pendleton for a day of adult, downhill Big Wheel racing. Get your gear on and prepare to crash and burn your way to the finish line or trash talk from the sidelines as the fearless competitors go racing past. Races will last well into the evening until a single team emerges victorious. Grab a beer and hang out (or hang tight) — it’s gonna be a wild ride. Registration to participate in the race is over, but you can still watch the thrills and carnage. Noon checkin; 2 p.m. first race Saturday. Free to watch. Nation Kitchen and Bar, 1200 Broadway St., Pendleton, dangerwheel.com. — MORGAN ZUMBIEL

Booze, snacks and special discounted cocktails are included in the ticket price. 6 p.m. Saturday. $45. Tokyo Kitty, 575 Race St., Overthe-Rhine, facebook.com/ gorillacinema. — LIZZY SCHMITT

SUNDAY 29

MUSIC: Quixotic Indie rockers Hop Along support their latest — Bark Your Head Off, Dog — at the Taft Theatre.

See interview on page 30.

ONSTAGE: The Book of Mormon The nine-time Tony-winning Book of Mormon is back

YOUR WEEKEND TO DO LIST: LOCAL.CITYBEAT.COM

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TUESDAY 31

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MUSIC: Industrial Garage Rock duo Uniform plays The Mockbee. See Sound Advice on page 33.

onstage at the Aronoff Center. Called the “best musical of the century” by the New York Times, this laugh-outloud tale follows two mismatched Mormon missionaries who travel to Uganda to convert the masses. Written

by South Park’s Trey Parker and Matt Stone and Robert Lopez, co-writer of Avenue Q, the missionaries try to share the scripture of Latter Day Saints with the inhabitants of the village, who seem more concerned about famine, Africa’s AIDS crisis and nearby warlords than the teachings of Joseph Smith.

Through Aug. 5. Tickets start at $39. Aronoff Center, 650 Walnut St., Downtown, cincinnatiarts.org. — MAIJA ZUMMO

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EVENT: Urban Pong Sixty four of table tennis’ top competitors will suit up for a ping-pong battle at Washington Park in preparation for the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament (Aug. 11-19). Watch one rise through the ranks and into the winner’s circle, where the prize package includes tickets to the W&S Open Finals Match and a mini replica of the tournament’s Rookwood Cup. It’s like being at the real Open, but with smaller courts and paddles. There will also be crowd giveaways, food, cold brews, live music and

mobile tennis courts and ping-pong tables for families and friends to practice sans pressure. 1-6 p.m. Saturday. Free. Washington Park, 1230 Elm St., Over-theRhine, wsopen.com.

— MACKENZIE MANLEY

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ARTS & CULTURE

A New Opera Asks ‘Who Am I?’ Cincinnati Opera’s As One, an intimate piece written for just two voices, sings the journey of a transgender woman

As One illustration

BY A N N E A R EN S T EI N

PHOTO: PROVIDED

O

Laura Kaminsky

Mark Campbell

Kimberly Reed

Matthew Worth

Amber Fasquelle

PHOTO: PROVIDED

PHOTO: PROVIDED

PHOTO: PROVIDED

PHOTO: PROVIDED

PHOTO: PROVIDED

understand what Sawyer went through,” he says. “This is something that needs to be talked about and the libretto is so beautifully nuanced.”

Since its premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2014, As One is now this century’s most-produced contemporary opera (with 22 productions, including Cincinnati’s), and not just for economic reasons (hiring two stars can be more economical than paying a larger, traditional operatic cast). Cincinnati Opera’s production comes under the CO Next: Diverse Voices initiative, which presents new works focusing on issues that are “timeless and timely,” according to the Cincinnati Opera’s artistic director, Evans Mirageas.

Cincinnati Opera is also partnering with local organizations to present panels on trans identity as well as a discussion with the creative team and talkbacks after each performance.

And as efforts ramp up to push back the legal advances for trans people, works like As One take on increased urgency. “With art, there’s a trajectory that you can’t go back, and that’s what keeps me going,” Guarino says.

As One will be performed at 7:30 p.m. on July 25, 27, 29 and 30 and at 3 p.m. on July 28 at the Wilks Studio inside Music Hall.

Tickets: cincinnatiopera.org.

C I T Y B E AT. C O M

Kaminsky loved the libretto from the moment she read it, and was thrilled with the presentation of Hannah as a single character in dialogue with herself. The part of Hannah is sung by a male baritone and a female mezzo-soprano — the only such role in all of opera. And the word “transgender” is never used.

The constant intertwining of vocal parts determined the structure.

“I didn’t want the male voice singing the first half, and the woman the second,” Kaminsky says. “I could hear it right away — the humor, the awareness of danger that trans people face, and the joy when you realize there are people like you.”

Instrumental support is provided by a string quartet, and the viola takes on a leading role. “The viola is Hannah’s soul,” Kaminsky says.

Director Robin Guarino recruited Sawyer Pardo, a young playwright and recently transitioned man, as her assistant director. Pardo says As One is like finding a friend and hearing his own voice. “There are times when I almost laughed out loud during rehearsals — that was my life!”

Baritone Matthew Worth, who sings Hannah Before, adds that working with Pardo helped him and mezzo Amber Fasquelle better understand the emotional arc in the words and music.

“Those of us who have always felt that we are in the right gender can never

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try to find their truth and society creates blockages?”

Part of her research included watching librettist and filmmaker Reed’s 2008 documentary, Prodigal Sons, about her return to Montana as a transgender woman. It details her struggles for acceptance after her own transition.

Kaminsky recruited Reed to create film elements for the opera project, and then turned to Campbell, a prolific librettist whose works also include the Pulitzer Prize-winning Silent Night, which was presented by Cincinnati Opera in 2014.

“I was interested in it, but I knew I was walking into a minefield as a white, cisgender homosexual male,” Campbell says.

“I invited (Reed) to co-author with me and it was a good decision. She’s a brilliant storyteller.”

Reed says, “I wasn’t daunted by writing my first libretto. Screenwriting is also a compressed form, and Mark and I write in a style I call ‘unpretentious realism.’ ” Campbell and Reed crafted a threepart sequence about a character named Hannah: youth, middle years and the decision to transition. Reed’s story inspired the plot, but she insisted that it not be autobiographical. And everyone agreed that Hannah would not be politicized.

“We wanted this to be accessible, and there’s a lot of humor in her story,” Campbell says.

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pera has embraced gender fluidity since its founding in the mid-17th century, with men singing women’s roles and, starting in the late 18th-century, women portraying adolescent boys (e.g., Cherubino in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and Octavian in Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier).

But no opera took on gender fluidity as its subject matter until As One premiered in September 2014, telling the story of a transgender protagonist, with music

by Laura Kaminsky and a libretto by Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed.

Commissioned by the Brooklyn-based American Opera Projects, the 75-minute piece was written about a single character, Hannah, using two voices to represent her.

There is also a string quartet.

Cincinnati Opera is presenting As One for five performances in the new Wilks Studio Space at Music Hall, beginning Wednesday (July 25) and continuing through Monday (July 30). Seating is limited to 190 people.

Kaminsky, who is also credited with the opera’s concept, is a composer inspired — “provoked,” she says — by social and political issues. In her career, she has composed for string quartets, solo piano and orchestra. Working with co-librettists Campbell and Reed, she was the composer for the opera Some Light Emerges, which celebrates the (Mark) Rothko Chapel in Houston and was given its world premiere

by Houston Grand Opera in 2017.

She says she was motivated to compose As One after watching states wrestle with ratification of the Marriage Equality Act, which would legalize same-sex marriage.

She read about a New Jersey family in which the husband was transitioning to a woman and the family planned to stay intact. If ratification failed, the couple would no longer be married. (The Supreme Court preempted that battle when it ruled in 2015 that same-sex marriage must be legal in all 50 states.)

“I said, ‘Wow, this is opera,’ ” Kaminsky says. “What happens when human beings

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DANCE

New Dance Festival Fills a Summertime Gap

BY L E Y L A S H O KO O H E

C I T Y B E AT. C O M

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You can add a new dance festival to the city’s cultural offerings when the inaugural Moving Arts Cincinnati occurs Friday and Saturday (July 27-28) at the Aronoff Center for the Arts’ Jarson-Kaplan Theater.

Created by Cincinnati Ballet principal dancer Cervilio Miguel Amador, former Cincinnati Ballet dancer Anthony Krutzkamp and Kansas City Ballet dancer Logan Pachciarz (who all serve as co-artistic directors), Moving Arts fills a dance void for both audiences and performers over the summer months when the ballet, itself, is inactive.

“It’s a very exciting opportunity for the dancers to have work over the summer and to be able to work with these choreographers, keep themselves motivated and aspiring and to keep going as an artist,” says Amador, who has been with Cincinnati Ballet since 2004. “(It’s also exciting) for the community in Cincinnati. We go four months without having a ballet production — I think it’s a little bit long, so I think that’s great for the city.”

Moving Arts is partnering with and draws some inspiration from the Kansas City Dance Festival, founded by Krutzkamp and Pachciarz in 2013. This year, choreography performed at Moving Arts will also be presented at the upcoming Kansas City fest.

Thirteen dancers comprise the inaugural Moving Arts company, including six from Cincinnati Ballet, four from Kansas City Ballet and one each from Oklahoma City Ballet, Dayton Ballet and Grand Rapids Ballet. The dancers spend five weeks learning choreography in Kansas City, in the studio rehearsing every weekday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“As a dancer, coming in on the ground floor of Moving Arts is really cool,” says performer Melissa Gelfin, also a Cincinnati Ballet principal dancer. “Being a part of something that has the potential to take off is exciting.”

Choreographers presenting world premieres at the inaugural festival are

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Dancer/Moving Arts fest co-creator Cervilio Miguel Amador PHOTO: PHILIP KOENIG

Stephanie Martinez, Colby Damon, Heather Britt, Ryan Jolicoeur-Nye and Jennifer Owen. Aside from Britt, a local favorite who regularly choreographs for Cincinnati Ballet’s New Works, none of the

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Tohi

“So that way it will be something new for the audience, but also new for the dancers.”

Amador doesn’t want to give too much of the choreography away but describes a few pieces: He says Martinez’s work is fluid and musical with a “Spanish flair;” describes Jolicoeur-Nye’s as “neo-classical, with nice beautiful lines and musicality;” and says that, by comparison, Damon’s is “darker” and more abstract.

“There’s something to be said about performing in a piece (that’s a) world premiere, where it’s been created almost entirely on you as a dancer,” says Gelfin, who partners with Amador in Martinez’s piece and also performs in Jolicoeur-Nye’s.

Britt’s work is accompanied by a live performance on stage by the musician duo The Amador Sisters — who are, yes, Amador’s sisters.

“I would like to create a show where you stimulate all the tastes, so it’s a full experience,” Amador says. He is eager for future collaborations with arts organizations. For now, Moving Arts will incorporate some visual arts elements and live music.

After 14 years with Cincinnati Ballet and the recent birth of his first child, it’s natural to wonder if Amador is looking to artistic leadership as the next step in his ballet career. He says he will continue dancing as long as he feels he is dancing well, and that dancers, like any other athletes, have to take it a day at a time. “I’m taking it a season at a time,” he says.

“This is also a way for me to start learning about life after dancing,” Amador adds.

“There’s a lot that I’m learning so I can prepare myself for the future. Whatever I do after I’m done dancing, it’s going to be in the dance world.”

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others has had work performed in Cincinnati before.

“One of my priorities was to bring to Cincinnati (choreographers who have) never done work in Cincinnati,” Amador says.

Moving Arts Cincinnati occurs Friday and Saturday (July 27-28) at the Aronoff Center for the Arts (650 Walnut St., Downtown).

Tickets/more info: cballet.org.

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‘Another Brick’ is an Entertaining, Cathartic Trip

BY S T E V E K E M PL E

C I T Y B E AT. C O M

Another Brick in the Wall has performances 7:30 p.m. Thursday (July 26), Saturday (July 28) and Tuesday (July 31) at Music Hall. Tickets: cincinnatiopera.org.

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Costume designer Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt must have tapped into some kind of Hieronymus Bosch hellscape dimension to devise the bird creatures that populate the stage. And James Eder’s performance as The Judge is fiendishly inspired.

Wheeled out in a hallucinatory blend of demon blackbirds and surgical light, he bellows his judgment as a trembling, cowering Pink says, “They must have taken my marbles away!”

In spite of its flaws, Another Brick in the Wall is an entertaining and cathartic trip that Pink Floyd and modern opera fans alike will find compelling. The Cincinnati Opera has done an outstanding job realizing this ambitious project.

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Cincinnati Opera’s production of Another Brick in the Wall, based on Pink Floyd’s 1979 Rock magnum opus The Wall, is an entertaining and hallucinatory spectacle that explores Rock & Roll excess, mental illness and fascism.

It had its U.S. premiere here Friday evening at Music Hall, in an operatic version composed by Julien Bilodeau using the original words and music of Pink Floyd’s co-founder Roger Waters. Opera Montreal gave Another Brick in the Wall its world premiere last year.

Rather than simply adapt the album into a stage performance, Bilodeau has deconstructed the familiar tunes, stripping the lyrics and melodies to their essences to build something new.

This solves a crucial problem: How to render The Wall’s familiar twists and climaxes in a surprising way?

This isn’t a Rock opera.

Vocals are unamplified; guitars only appear as visual props. And throughout, the audience is treated to mind-bending visuals, an outstanding chorus and lighting, stage design and Pink’s Wife (Caroline Bleau) leads a protest in Cincinnati Opera’s U.S. premiere of Another Brick in the Wall at Music Hall. choreography of the highest caliber.

PHOTO: PHILIP GROSHONG Like the album, the opera struggles to find coherence in its first act. the set plays a prominent role in keeping Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and This is a problem built into the story itself: the production exciting. Johnny Ranger’s Bilodeau’s orchestration shine brilliantly.

A Rock star crumples under the weight of video design, shown on a central LED Every bit as divergent from the original his own manic grandeur, embodied by a screen and projected onto flanking walls album version as the Scissor Sisters’ 2004 literal and metaphorical wall. We see and that move around the stage, is exquisite Disco rendition, the familiar lyrics and hear everything through the eyes and and hypnotic, if occasionally overwrought. melodies of “Comfortably Numb” are voice of the unraveling star, Pink (Nathan The projections were most effective as deconstructed amid eerie woodwinds as Keoughan). As the story ramps through abstraction but sometimes fell flat when Bellemare’s Mother breathlessly sings to disorienting heights of Rock & Roll induldepicting recognizable imagery, such as a convalescing young Pink. On the Pink gence, the spectacle feels deflated and its when shaky stock footage of people partyFloyd album, the song is propelled by star seems bored and disengaged. It’s hard ing renders Pink’s hedonism generic.

David Gilmour’s guitar solo like a spaceto tell if this was a deliberate choice or the Although there are some missteps in ship sling-shotting around a star. Here, the result of the bass-baritone lacking stage the first act, the darkly spectacular second gravitational center is removed, and it is presence. act more than makes up for it. The opera’s easily among the production’s most stunWhile other characters are allotted much stronger second act opens with ning transformations. some depth, they remain the projections young Pink before the curtain, setting up The opera’s final crescendo wholly of a supreme megalomaniac’s disordered rows of white crosses. The curtain rises to immerses the audience in Pink’s madmind. Pink often stands to the side, a an adult Pink, strung out, shadows playing ness, which has devolved into a full-blown stoned observer, while France Bellemare on the wall. Keoughan’s powerful vocals fascist fantasy. The massive chorus and (The Mother) and Caroline Bleau (The at last fall into place, and Ranger’s video cast of extras writhe and clamor from Wife) carry the show with stellar vocal and design hits its mark and adds depth to every surface, giving way to the climatic dramatic performances.

Pink’s inner anguish. trial scene.

When the story dives into incoherence, Under the baton of Alain Trudel, the Two aspects are especially noteworthy:

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COMEDY

‘Conan’ Writer Laurie Kilmartin to Perform

BY P. F. W I L S O N

“For some reason, my parents weren’t says. “But then, I haven’t had a Netflix bringing home Richard Pryor records,” special either. If I’d had a Netflix special, says comic and writer Laurie Kilmartin maybe I would.” with a laugh when asked about how she “I don’t want this to turn into me grumfirst became interested in comedy. “(So) bling about that,” she adds, with a laugh. “I my entry into comedy was through Carol just keep writing jokes and dropping jokes Burnett.”

I hate or am sick of. That’s sort of my proThat served her well. In addition to being cess. I don’t know how people keep writing a writer on Conan, she’s also a touring brand new hours every year. It actually stand-up. She’ll be at Montgomery’s Go stresses me out.”

Bananas from Aug. 2-5.

Describing herself as more of a joke “Now, when I look back, I realize she was writer than a storyteller, she says she doing crowd work right up top,” Kilmartin improves her mostly autobiographical act says of Burnett. “She’d open the show, take questions and then go into sketches. It was a very stand-up opening.”

Not surprisingly, Kilmartin subsequently gravitated toward sketch and improv when she began pursuing a career.

But she switched to standup when she realized that if she did it, she wouldn’t have to depend on others to do a good set.

As for her other job, she never had her sights set on a career as a TV writer. “It never occurred to me,” she Kilmartin has become an in-demand stand-up comedian. says. “It always seemed like a guys’ job and you PHOTO: PROVIDED had to be a certain type of guy to do it, like a crony in sort of a way.” in 30-second joke-telling intervals — a Her first writing job was on 2002-04’s slow process. “I’m not having that many Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn. Quinn things happen to me where it’s an hour of insisted on only hiring stand-ups. new stuff a year,” she says.

“I was like, ‘Oh I do stand-up; I can do And while Kilmartin does maintain that.’ ” she says. And so she started. a fairly regular schedule with a steady Once she got into writing, she fell in love job, it’s hard to escape the entertainment with the stability of the job. Of course, she industry in Los Angeles. still does stand-up regularly, mostly in Los “It’s obviously such a show business Angeles, using her own life as a reference town,” she says. “You can’t escape everypoint. one else’s successes or failures. You’re just “We write a lot of jokes on Conan, and surrounded by people that are doing better most of them don’t get used — for good than you or worse than you.” reason. But I’m never like, ‘I’ll use that in She’s actually a little envious of comics my act,’ ” she says. “Because I just don’t do like our own Josh Sneed, Geoff Tate, Brian politics in my act. I save my act for my life Million and Gary Owen, who can live in a and those frustrations that are a little more place like Cincinnati and still have solid universal.” careers as headlining comics.

Kilmartin struck a nerve when she “To be able to be based out of your appealed through Twitter for jokes to help hometown, where show business is not her through her father’s time in hospice everyone’s prime reason for waking up in care in 2015. The result was 45 Jokes About the morning, must be nice,” she says.

My Dead Dad, which was released as a It’s far different in Los Angeles, she says. special on the now-defunct streaming serAnd the infatuation with show business vice Seeso in 2016 and as a CD by A Special starts early.

Thing Records in 2017.

“All the kids in my son’s school seem to Beyond showbiz, Kilmartin actube working on a show,” she says. “I hope ally leads a pretty normal existence. For my son doesn’t think this is normal, but example, CityBeat caught up with her by I’m afraid he does.” phone as she was about to take her son to Laurie Kilmartin is at Go Bananas (8410 the orthodontist. Indeed, she’s not like a lot Market Place Lane, Montgomery) Aug. 2-5. of her peers.

Tickets/more info: gobananascomedy.com.

“I don’t build a new hour every year,” she

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11:45 AM

Sacha Baron Cohen’s ‘America’

BY JAC K ER N

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

Sacha Baron Cohen

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PHOTO: JOELL A MARANO

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he claims it was he that was duped into appearing on Cohen’s show. He even posted a letter to Palin demanding an apology for her reaction, saying he never lied to her about being a member of the service (United Parcel, that is) and that he has defended his country — by shooting a Mexican on his property.

The most poignant character is hulky “terrorist terminator” Morad, who, with an assist by gun lobbyist Philip Van Cleave, convinced a number of current and former U.S. senators and representatives to back a proposal to arm children as young as 3 years old as part of a “kinder-guardian” program. Anything to combat liberals’ “anti-tragedy agenda,” right?

Least compelling so far is Sherman and his “Ex-Con Second Chance” show. I don’t really get the choice to make him a cockney Brit or create art out of his own excrement, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t laugh at even the more base-level jokes.

Who Is America? has already faced plenty of criticism, some of which is warranted. There’s concern that it pokes fun at regular people rather than politicians, but I argue that in creating these ridiculous characters, the joke’s on the people who buy it. Sanders humoring the logic of “moving the 99 percent into the 1 percent” and Trump voters holding back their obvious disapproval of a liberal man forbidding his son from peeing standing up speaks more to their own prejudices.

In this time of “trolling,” Cohen is still supreme. In Who Is America?, he makes us laugh, think, groan and laugh again. And what better time than now for that type of crude yet critical insight?

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Sacha Baron Cohen is back.

On July 4, the sardonic master of disguise delivered a cryptic video on Twitter featuring clips of Donald Trump bashing Cohen in 2012, the Trump University logo and the message, “Sacha graduates soon.”

I was intrigued. My first thought was that there must be a forthcoming movie in the vein of Borat and Bruno, but I’d long wondered how or if Cohen could ever replicate the success of his hilarious characters that so rely on him staying incognito. Isn’t he too much of a famous face now?

Yes and no.

Mystified fans like myself soon got clarity on the project when Showtime announced a new Cohen series called Who Is America? (10 p.m. Sundays, Showtime).

In this political mockumentary, Cohen harkens back to his roots in the Emmynominated Da Ali G Show, going deep undercover to dupe politicians, public figures and others with his signature style of irreverent satire.

Here, Cohen transforms into not one but four new characters: Billy Wayne Ruddick Jr., Ph.D., “citizen journalist” for truthbrary. org; Democratic activist and gender studies lecturer Dr. Nira Cain-N’Degeocello; British ex-convict and budding artist Rick Sherman; and Col. Erran Morad, an Israeli anti-terror expert. Cohen has displayed an uncanny ability to alter his appearance with minimal effort in previous works, but now turns to body pads and prosthetics to pass as these varied characters.

Cohen is granted unprecedented access to high-profile individuals that clearly have no idea who they’re really speaking to. The premiere episode features Bernie Sanders, and other targets in the series include Sarah Palin (who’s already been quite vocal about being tricked by Cohen as Ruddick), Dick Cheney, Matt Drudge, Ted Koppel, Howard Dean and Roy Moore.

As always, Cohen is not only interested in a “gotcha” moment for conservatives, but in exposing everyone’s true colors across the spectrum.

Case in point: the NPR-loving, pussyhatwearing bleeding heart liberal CainN’Degeocello. His segment of Who Is America? aims to “heal the divide” in the country, meeting with folks on the opposite side of the party line, like Trump voters and Republican delegates.

And on the far — or alt — right side of that line lies Ruddick of truthbrary.com (as opposed to the “lie-brary” of fake news from mainstream media). Overweight with blonde hair and mustache, this is perhaps Cohen’s best disguise. Ruddick primarily appears seated on a mobility scooter, which — as he explains to Sanders during their interview — is not due to a disability, but to conserve his “body’s finite energy.”

His alt-right conspiracy theorist outlet à la InfoWars is a real, working site that you definitely need to check out. On it

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FOOD & DRINK

The Ultimate Taco Truck Guide to the 275 Loop Authentic Latin American cuisine is the star attraction at these Queen City Taquerias

BY L AU R EN M O R E T TO

W

hen dissecting the anatomy of the taco, one must first start with its exterior: the tortilla. Aside from this pillowy vessel, the rest is up to interpretation, and cultures across the world have their own unique take. Blanketing meat, seafood or simple veggies could be any number of toppings, from fresh cilantro to zesty salsa. Its very versatility is what makes it worthy of a weekly celebration (shoutout to the #TacoTuesday crew) and the staple of many food trucks.

We’re not talking ground beef and packaged seasoning in a skillet tacos — these humble eateries serve up wallet-friendly, authentic tacos encased in warm corn tortillas. Often, they’re paired with lime wedges and green and red salsa. And, at all the locations we visited, they’re prepared by friendly, hardworking Cincinnatians.

So, hop in your car and embark on a culinary adventure this summer with five taco truck/trailer destinations within the I-275 loop. ¡Buen provecho!

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Taqueria Valle Verde

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There’s a new dining option for hungry students at the University of Cincinnati: the Taqueria Valle Verde food truck. They have a brick and mortar location on Vine Street, but the truck is usually in the Stop N Go parking lot on W. McMillan St. They even have two tables set up on the sidewalk for sit-down dining in between classes. Their tacos ($2) come with a meat option, onion, cilantro and lime, but their vegetarian version is the best of the bunch. It has grilled red peppers, mushrooms, green peppers and ooey, gooey, melted cheese on top.

And if you’re in need of adult beverages, they carry six packs of Sol and Pacifico.

Stop N Go, 141 W. McMillan St., Clifton; 6711 Vine St., Carthage, taqueria-valleverde.negocio.site.

Tacos El Joven When you make your way to Tacos El Joven, know that you are also en route to taco nirvana. Once you see the sign for Merkato

Taqueria Valle Verde PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER

Market on Queen City Avenue, swing into the gravel parking lot. Permanently parked there is a red-and-white food trailer with tacos ($2-$2.50 each) that are worth braving the hellscape of road construction you have to go through to get there. Tacos El Joven doesn’t have much seating on-site, but you can also take your spoils to go.

Two painted signs showcase their protein selection. You’ll see both what you would expect (chicken, shrimp, etc.) and more daring choices like beef tongue, brains and huitlacoche. The latter is a fungus that grows on corn, but it’s considered a delicacy and has been utilized by civilizations as far back as the Aztecs. If you desire something less intimidating for your first visit, the barbacoa is my favorite. It’s tender and juicy and soaks up the juice from the accompanying lime wedge beautifully.

This place really piles on the meat, too, so four tacos is a hearty meal. El Joven also offers quesadillas, tortas, burritos, huaraches and sopes. 2157 Queen City Ave., Westwood, 513-208-1713.

Tacos Locos In Pleasant Ridge — just a stone’s throw away from the Overlook Lodge (that bar styled after the film The Shining) — sits Tacos Locos, which has whipped up Mexican fare since 2011. For taco protein options, they offer chorizo, chicken, steak, pork (all $2.50 each), beef tongue and shrimp ($3 each). This mobile truck is

usually parked in the lot of a BP gas station, but I’d suggest checking their Facebook page before heading out, as they weren’t there the first time I tried going. You can customize your order with a copious selection of toppings: guacamole, cheese, sour cream, lettuce and jalapeños — but keep in mind they all cost extra (50 cents). They even have options for breakfast-lovers, such as a bacon or Mexican sausage with egg taco ($6 for three); vegetarians, with options ranging from veggie tacos with bell pepper and onion to a super veggie burrito with beans, mushrooms, spinach and zucchini; and people who just want a hot dog torta. 6135 Montgomery Road, Pleasant Ridge, tacoslocosfoodtruck.com.

Taquitos Uruapan Aside from a margarita (or two), a mango Jarritos ($2.50) is my next favorite thing to wash down some Mexican food. Taquitos Uruapan has several flavors kept in their fridge ready to be cracked open and enjoyed alongside their freshly prepared tacos ($2.50 each). Protein options range from chorizo to chicken

Tacos El Joven PHOTO: L AUREN MORET TO

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Taquitos Uruapan PHOTO: L AUREN MORET TO

to barbacoa, but the toppings are kept simple with cilantro and onions. In colder weather they enclose the dining area — a low wooden deck — and have a heater going, but the deck is open to let in the breeze now that it’s summer. They share a parking lot with a car wash, but you can’t hear it due to a large TV playing channels like Video Rola. There’s a wealth of seating with several fold-out tables, so you’ll have no problem securing a spot. And if you need a place to walk off any subsequent food babies, Sharon Woods is less than 5 miles up the road. 7591 Fields Ertel Road, Sharonville, 513-462-7001.

Taqueria Yolandita

Crown Republic Gastropub, 720 Sycamore St., Downtown, 513-246-4272, crgcincy.com The newly opened Crown Republic Gastropub is located on the first level of the same building as Encore Apartments.

I stopped by on a Saturday for a solo, pre-theater meal, and because my eyes are always, always bigger than my stomach, I ordered enough food for two: the octopus tabbouleh ($16), fried chicken gobbets ($8) and pappardelle ($16).

The octopus was tender, served on a bed of farro tabbouleh under creamy, zesty duck-fat hummus and loaded with fresh herbs and merguez. When I ran out of the four pieces of housemade pita (more akin to the kind gyros are served on than pocket-y pita), I shoveled the rest of that delicious food confetti into my mouth with a fork.

Did you know the name “pappardelle” comes from the Italian phrase “to gobble up”? Well, it does, and that’s exactly what you’ll do. The housemade noodles are at least two-inches wide and curled in a winding nest under a nice Bolognese sauce, topped with a pat of green ricotta gremolata and sprinkled with parmesan cheese and parsley.

Oh, and the gobbets. You’re probably wondering what those are.

They’re basically adult chicken nuggets. The gobbets are soaked in the malt brine the crew makes their pickles in then fried and served with honey hot sauce on the side. (Leyla Shokoohe)

C I T Y B E AT. C O M

Sacred Beast 1437 Vine St., OTR, 513-2132864, sacredbeastdiner.com Before I had the chance to eat at Sacred Beast, 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. It took me two tries to understand the raves, but then I became a believer.

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.

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 hardpressed 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. (PM)

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Blackbird Eatery, 3009 O’Bryon St., O’Bryonville, 513-321-0413, blackbirdeatery. com Blackbird is the latest venture by longtime Cincinnati restaurateurs Mary and Mark Swortword, who closed their Columbia Tusculum restaurants Green Dog Café and Buz to focus on the new project in a more central neighborhood.

(The Swortwords were also the original owners of Blue Ash’s Brown Dog Café.)

Formerly a chicken joint called Son of a Preacher Man, the building had been vacant for over a year when the Swortwords began extensive renovations in January. While they were able to use a lot of kitchen equipment from their

previous restaurants, Mark told me they completely gutted the dining room and started from scratch to transform the single room into a more intimate, inviting space where guests might linger over drinks and dinner or Sunday brunch.

My first visit — for dinner — turned out surprisingly quiet, even though we went on a Saturday night. For mains, the Nori Pesto Salmon ($17) with zucchini, pea shoots and green couscous sounded so good we al-most fought over who would get to order it. Not only was it lacking in taste, but the dish also arrived lukewarm. We had better luck with the grilled lamb tenderloins ($29), consisting of slices of medium-rare lamb over green lentils with pickled golden raisins and a yogurt sauce.

Overall, while I think the cooking needs a few tweaks, there’s enough good stuff coming out of the kitchen to satisfy most diners who find their way to this little restaurant row on O’Bryon Street.

(Pama Mitchell)

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Taqueria Yolandita PHOTO: L AUREN MORET TO

Formerly located on Queen City Avenue in Fairmount, this taco trailer is the stuff of local legend — in 2010, a CityBeat reviewer called it their “secret favorite Mexican eatery.” Now located in Westwood, Taqueria Yolandita is an excellent option for people who want a lil’ more pizzazz when it comes to their taco toppings. They have a threetaco meal ($6) that comes with cilantro and onions, but they also have another trio ($7) loaded with sour cream, cheese, tomato, lettuce, cooked onions, cilantro and hot sauce. This makes them a tad messy to eat since the tortilla isn’t very big, but dirty fingers are no issue since you’ll be licking them clean. I’d suggest their shredded chicken or steak with green salsa poured on top. And don’t be surprised if your meal comes with a lime wedge and a slice or two of radish. The menu also offers quesadillas, tortas and open-faced burritos. They have a fold-out table propped up behind the truck and a picnic bench painted to look like the Mexican flag overlooking the serving window, so feel free to chow down there or take it to go. But come prepared: They’re cash-only. 1881 Westwood Ave., Westwood, 513-551-0828.

BY S TA FF

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WHAT’S THE HOPS

Dogs, Dinosaurs and Beer Dinners

BY G A R I N PI R N I A

The dog days of summer are upon us, and breweries are continuing to release new drafts, cans and bottles — but not at the pace they were during the spring. However, some new beers include The Queen City Brewery of Cincinnati’s James Nut Brown Ale (named after the Funk legend) and Bircus Brewing’s Raspberry Buffalo Chip, aged in a wine barrel. A wide-range of beer events during the next few weeks includes music festivals, dinosaur education, brewery anniversaries and dog-friendly activities.

NEW BEERS

• On July 28, Streetside will release their latest bottle: Tequila Mockingbird. The beer was aged in barrels that previously held red wine and then cask-finished tequila. The result is a margarita-ish wild ale with notes of key lime, agave and sea salt. The cost and limit are TBD. • A couple of weeks ago, Urban Artifact released its seasonal Fire Iron, a Midwest Fruit Tart brewed with 1,500 pounds of pink guava, 500 pounds of bananas and 400 pounds of passion fruit. The beverage is available in cans and on draft at the taproom. But on July 28, they’ll release cans of six Fire Iron variants, including Lime Daiquiri (with lime zest and lime juice) and Packin’ Heat (with jalapeño and habanero peppers).

EVENTS

J U LY 2 5 – 3 1, 2 0 18

• In case you haven’t noticed, Rhinegeist has a life-size, nearly complete Galeamopus dinosaur skeleton on display in the taproom. On loan from the Cincinnati Museum Center to raise awareness and interest in its future Dinosaur Hall in Union Terminal, the never-beforeexhibited 50-foot-long sauropod fossil will be at the brewery through the summer. On July 25, the brewery is hosting an Insights Lecture with paleontologist Dr. Glenn Storrs, who will detail how “18 years of work resulted in the collection, conservation and preparation of a one-of-its-kind skeleton.” Paleontologist Greg Liggett will

also be on hand to give insight into the history of fossil management, and Rhinegeist’s Chief Science Officer, Jim Matt, will discuss the science behind Rhinegeist’s Galeamopus-inspired Belgian beer Brittlebrain, brewed in collaboration with the Cincinnati Museum Center.

• Head to Delicio Coal Fired Pizza on July 27 for a six-course beer-pairing dinner. For $25, you get six items from Delicio and six beers from West Side Brewing. RSVP on Facebook: facebook.com/ deliciocoalfiredpizza.

• Grainworks in West Chester hosts a seafood boil on July 28. Tickets cost $10-$35 and include a plate of crawfish, crab legs, corn on the cob, shrimp, clams, red potatoes, langostino lobster tails and Andouille sausage. Food will be served in two sessions: 3:30-5:30 p.m. and 6:30-8:30 p.m. More info: facebook.com/ grainworksbeer.

• Fibonnaci turns 3 on July 28 and will commemorate the occasion with an onsite food truck, live music and by releasing their first bottled beer. Beer line-up details are TBD. • Also on July 28 (is this the busiest beer day of the year?), Swine City hosts Tossing for Tatas, a cornhole tournament to raise money for their friend Sandi Paxton, who was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Registration begins at 9 a.m. and the entry fee is $45 per team, or $25 per individual.

Proceeds from the tournament and bar sales will be donated to Paxton.

• On Aug. 1, Braxton — a super dogfriendly brewery — will host Pones + Pups.

Inspired by the photo series “Dancers & Dogs,” dancers from Covington’s Pones studio have posed with adoptable pups from Louie’s Legacy Animal Rescue for photographer Sarah Laubacher. See the collaborative photos at this event, get a portrait taken of you and your own dog, meet adoptable dogs and listen to live music from Aaron LaVigne. A portion of Storm sales will benefit Pones and Louie’s Legacy.

• On Aug. 4, DogBerry teams up with

bands including Eugenius, J Dorsey Band, Mara Moon and more.

On Aug. 25, the brewery will put on BeWILDerfest, a “beer boutique festival that celebrates ‘wild’ music and beer.”

Acts include New York City’s Cults, Columbus, Ohio’s Saintseneca, Brooklyn’s Gangstagrass, locals Dawg Yawp and Chuck Cleaver of A photo from the Pones + Pups series on display at Braxton on Aug. 1 Wussy. The bands will play on three PHOTO: SAR AH L AUBACHER stages, including outdoors. Ticket Greenacres Farm for a five-course farmprices range from $16 to $50 for VIP passes. to-table dinner. DogBerry will provide the • Pie and beer? Yup. On Aug. 11, Brink beers, and Jeff Thomas Catering will make Brewing will host a homemade pie-baking dishes using meat and produce sourced contest. Contestants must make sweet pies from the farm. While there, learn about (no savory ones) from scratch, including Greenacres’ education programs and the crust. O Pie O’s founder Louis Ginocequine center. Tickets are $99 each. More cio, writer and editor Stephanie Meinberg info: facebook.com/dogberrybrewing. and Brink’s co-founder Mark Landers • Also on Aug. 4, MadTree will release will judge the pies based on appearance, the next cans in its Sensorium series. texture and taste. Winners receive crowler Orators is a double dry-hopped unfiltered fills and various Brink swag. Register on IPA with passion fruit and Historians Brink’s website. Contest is limited to 60 is a Berliner Weisse with blueberries. pies.

The 16-ounce cans will only be sold in • On Aug. 18, Hops in the Hangar takes MadTree’s taproom, and a limited amount place at the Middletown Regional Airport, will be available on draft. where local breweries including FigLeaf • Municipal Brew Works’ second annual and Grainworks will pour their brews. The Ales for Tails takes place on Aug. 11. point of the event is to gather craft beer lovAlongside beers, food trucks and live music, ers and aviation enthusiasts — in a hangar. the event will offer 50 percent off dog and Professional skydivers will jump from cat adoptions, $10 pet microchipping and planes while people point at them, drink host a pet parade. Proceeds benefits Hambeer and eat food-truck cuisine. Ticket ilton’s Animal Friends Humane Society. prices range from $20-$45 and include • Urban Artifact has two music fests beer samples. It’s discouraged to steal a coming up. On Aug. 10, they’ll host a benplane and fly drunk. efit show for the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition. Donate $5 to check out local

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CLASSES & EVENTS WEDNESDAY 25

Focaccia Workshop — Turner Farm leads this half-day workshop on how to make focaccia at home.

Learn the basics of breadmaking and take your dough through the entire process to finished focaccia. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. $80. Turner Farm, 7400 Given Road, Indian Hill, turnerfarm.org.

THURSDAY 26

Wine and Lobster Night — Pair lobster from Court Street Lobster Bar with wine from Corkopolis. Lobster will be served in the form of lobster rolls. Specially priced pairings include a roll, side and a rosé or Chablis. 5-8 p.m. Prices vary. Corkopolis, 640 Main St., Downtown, corkopolis.com.

FRIDAY 27

Summer Sips: A Vodka and Tequila Tasting — Sample seven one-ounce tastings of either infused vodka or tequila, complemented by mixers and snacks. Food trucks will be on site and wine will be available by the glass. Music will be provided by the Faux Frenchmen. 6:30-10:30 p.m. $30 presale through July 24; $40. Ault Park, 5090 Observatory Circle, Hyde Park, aultparkac.org.

Fibonacci Brewing’s Third Birthday — The brewery celebrates its third birthday with Ono Grindz food truck, live music and specialty beer releases. Noon-midnight.

Free admission. Fibonacci Brewing Company, 1445 Compton Road, Mount Healthy, facebook.com/ fibonaccibrewing.

Danger Wheel 2018 — Adult down-hill Big Wheel races are returning to Pendleton for the fourth year.

Watch people catapult themselves down 12th Street in a crash course on a Big Wheel bike. The all-day event also includes food trucks, burgers and beer from local breweries. Noon. Registration to race ended July 11; free to watch. Broadway and 12th streets, Pendleton, dangerwheel.com.

Christmas in July SAAP-y Hour — Newberry Bros.

Prohibition Bourbon Bar is open for a Christmas in July happy hour with Santa Claus, photo ops, a silent auction, barbecue, drink specials and a welcome drink — all to benefit the Stray Animal Adoption Program. Bring donations to for dogs and cats to fill Santa’s sleigh. 5-9 p.m. $25.

Newberry Bros. Prohibition Bourbon Bar, 530 Washington Ave., Newport, facebook. com/newberrybroscoffee.

Brunch at Know — See Know Theatre’s performance of Whisper House plus brunch by Water Tower Fine Wines. The seasonally inspired pre-show buffet includes a mimosa or coffee before a 3 p.m. showtime.

1:30-3 p.m. $35; includes tickets to the show. Know Theatre of Cincinnati, 1120 Jackson St., Over-the-Rhine, knowtheatre.com.

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MONDAY 30

Taco Bingo featuring Tacos Locos — Every Monday, get a free taco from Tacos Locos with your first drink purchase and play Chalupa Bingo. 7 p.m. Free admission. Overlook Lodge, 6083 Montgomery Road, Pleasant Ridge, facebook. com/overlooklodge.

NSYC Ramen Mondays: The Sashimi Bowl — This new NSYC/Kiki College Hill pop-up features fresh, raw marinated tuna bowls over rice or coconut curry ramen from chef Hideki Harada. 4-9 p.m. $11$15. Northside Yacht Club, 4227 Spring Grove Ave., Northside, facebook.com/ northsideyachtclub.

TUESDAY 31

Taste of Northern India — Chef Stephanie leads guests on a culinary journey through Northern India.

Learn to make dishes like lassis, vegetable samosas, saag paneer, aloo gobi and chai tea. 6:30-9 p.m. $80.

Turner Farm, 7400 Given Road, Indian Hill, turnerfarm. org.

WEDNESDAY 01

Montgomery Inn + Rhinegeist Beer Dinner — Rhinegeist and the Ribs King join forces for a paired beer dinner featuring four courses and five beers. Dine on dishes like blackened scallop salad with Cidergeist Bubbles, followed by a tilapia beignet and Puma pilsner and pork loin back ribs with Truth IPA. 6:309:30 p.m. $75. Montgomery Inn, 925 Riverside Drive, Downtown, call 513-7217427 for tickets.

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C I T Y B E AT. C O M

Hands-On Summer Truffles + Bubbly Workshop — Velveteen Chocolate leads this hands-on class, where you’ll learn how to make herb-infused ganaches (with lavender, thyme basil and mint) that you’ll roll into truffles. Leave with a box

Gorilla Cinema Presents: Party Bus Tour — Themed “Fear and Loathing in Cincinnati,” this boozy party bus tour from the team behind Tokyo Kitty, Video Archive and Overlook Lodge, takes you to each location with “snacks, singing and mysteries along the way.” Tickets include booze, food and a specialty discounted cocktail at each location. 6 p.m. $45. Bus leaves from Tokyo Kitty, 575 Race St., Overthe-Rhine, facebook.com/ thattokyobar.

SUNDAY 29

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SATURDAY 28

of your own creations and enjoy some champagne while you work. 5:30-7 p.m. $55. Findlay Kitchen, 1719 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, findlaykitchen.org.

J U LY 2 5 – 3 1, 2 0 18

Art After Dark: Terracotta Army Beer Bash — Local breweries descend on the Cincinnati Art Museum for an evening of beer tastings, pizza from Dewey’s and ice cream from Graeter’s, live music from The Hot Magnolias and free, timed entry to the Terracotta Army exhibit.

5-9 p.m. Free admission; beer tickets $2 each or 6 for $10. Cincinnati Art Museum, 953 Eden Park Drive, Mount Adams, cincinnatiartmuseum.org.

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

29

MUSIC

Hopping Onward and Upward With their new album, Bark Your Head off, Dog, Hop Along cements their reputation as the quixotic darlings of Indie Rock

BY B R I A N B A K ER

C I T Y B E AT. C O M

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J U LY 2 5 – 3 1, 2 0 18

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or existing fans of Hop Along, their recently released new album, Bark Your Head Off, Dog, is yet another wonderful Indie Rock synthesis of their varied influences and continued evidence of the band’s ongoing brilliant musical and lyrical evolution. For anyone who is just discovering the Philadelphia quartet’s estimable gifts, Hop Along’s third album has them scrambling backward to chart the path the band took to arrive at this impressive juncture.

Singer/songwriter Frances Quinlan has been plying her musical trade for over a decade, beginning in high school under the solo acoustic banner of Hop Along, Queen Ansleis. During her college years, she self-released a handful of demos and after her 2008 graduation, her older brother Mark abandoned his Metal pursuits and set up his kit behind his clearly talented sister. While he agrees that his familial bond with his sister affords him a ringside seat to her incredible work, he doesn’t feel that it gives him a greater insight into how he should approach his contributions to their songs.

“I’m not saying I don’t have a unique take on her songwriting, I just don’t think being her brother gives me an advantage insofar as the actual composition itself,” says Mark Quinlan. “I think what it does lend to though is being very aware of my sister mentally and emotionally and making sure we’re achieving our goals in a constructive manner. Frances is so unique in her songwriting, it’s important to complement those ideas.”

The freshly minted sister/brother duo streamlined their royal nomenclature to become simply Hop Along, and welcomed bassist Tyler Long in 2009, documenting their new working relationship with 2012’s Get Disowned, an album that was championed by Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus and earned the band a contract with Saddle Creek Records. Those sessions were abetted by multi-instrumentalist/producer Joe Reinhart, who eventually became a

Hop Along PHOTO: TONJE THILESEN

full-fledged band member in 2013. The full quartet was in place for the recording of 2015’s Painted Shut, and the stage was set for their next developmental step.

Painted Shut represented Hop Along’s first studio experience with an actual producer, renowned boardsman John Agnello.

The band was extremely happy with the results of Agnello’s input on the album, but as new material began to emerge, the quartet increasingly felt as though their next album would be better served by an in-house production.

“I think in spending time in the studio and working at our own pace…gave us the freedom and ability to be honest and to properly serve the songs,” Mark says. “We just wanted to have a little more freedom within our own timeline, completely unencumbered by anything else. It was just the band within itself.”

One of the biggest advances came by way of Frances’ growth as a lyricist. Always a confessional writer with an unflinching observational perspective, she began digging even deeper into her emotional core for her words, which challenged the band to raise the bar of their musical compositions. As a result, Bark Your Head Off, Dog is the most sophisticated, expansive and produced album in the Hop Along catalog, featuring tastefully appointed strings for the first time.

“We were just trying to be as honest and

as forthright as we could possibly be on this record, really serve the writing itself, and to sound cohesive as the four original members of the band writing the songs,” Mark says. “Every song is unique. Either Frances will come to us with a pretty fleshed-out idea that kind of writes itself or she’ll come to us with something very abstract that needs to be built from the ground up and then reimagined a few times. We did more reimagining of songs from scratch than we’ve ever done before.

And I think we always wanted strings on this record. It just felt like it was time for instruments outside of the realm of strictly Indie Rock that we could expand a little more.”

With all four Hop Along members working toward writing together on Bark Your Head Off, Dog, it stands to reason that strategy would naturally lead to the band playing together more effectively in the studio. As Mark notes, the band’s singular sonic profile remains identifiable as Hop Along, but the new album shows they have progressed exponentially over the past three years.

“It was definitely more about playing with each other, rather than trying to make this thing that bucked up against what the others were doing,” he says. “Being that cohesive unit was what we were able to accomplish a little bit better with this record, and I think with every record as we

move forward.”

Hop Along has evolved greatly over the past nine years, morphing from Frances’ solo singer/songwriter persona to a sibling guitar/drums duo to an actual band that initially sounded like the sum of its parts and now uses a more integrated, translational approach to its influences. Predictably, the band’s individual influences are diverse but never oppositional, and they converge to create a sound that is uniquely their own.

“We’re all different. Joe naturally is very guitar-forward in his influences, but there’s a lot of things we all agree on,” Mark says. “I think we all like Elvis Costello and the Attractions, and we also all love Songs: Ohia. And I think Frances is more songwriting, as far as her influences. She loves Bill Callahan, most of Mount Eerie’s stuff, Joni Mitchell is a big influence, and Kate Bush. Tyler is a little more heartland vibe with his music; he’s very versatile and his tastes tend to change one way or another.

And my thing is lots of Jazz, lots of psychy Indie Rock, something with an interesting beat but not necessarily complicated.

The point is we’re relatively eclectic in our tastes.”

Hop Along plays the Ballroom at Taft Theatre on Sunday (July 29). Tickets/more info: tafttheatre.org.

SPILL IT

Vacation’s New Album is Urgent Grit Pop

BY JAS O N G A R G A N O

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Mouth Sounds #2699 a sonic leg up. The guitars on “Skyline” — which opens with this instantly recognizable bit of local color: “I took a drive down 75” — are so visceral, so lacerating and engulfing, that it seems as if the listener is literally in the room or on the stage while the band is playing.

Album closer “A Lap as Ken Worthy” might be the most curious song here.

There’s an uncommonly wistful tone to Queen’s vocals, and the pace isn’t as frenzied — it’s the culmination of an album that leaves the listener yearning for yet another track. It also includes a bit of studio trickery — about two-thirds of the way through it seems like whatever device you’re listening on is breaking down when, in in fact, the disturbance is intentional.

“Cincinnati doesn’t have a specific sound,” Queen told Stereogum back in 2013. “That can be a blessing or a fucking nightmare when it comes to local artists. It’s a town that should have been but never was, and I think since the turn of the century its people have been searching for some sort of identity. But I think the best bands around have always known exactly who they are and what they want to do. Honesty in music is so important to me.”

His words remain intact five years later: Mouth Sounds #2699 is not just honest; it’s sure to be one of the best Rock & Roll records emanating from the Queen City this year.

Vacation plays a free show Friday at MOTR Pub (1345 Main St., Over-theRhine, motrpub.com) to celebrate Mouth Sounds #2699’s release and launch a tour supporting the album.

J U LY 2 5 – 3 1, 2 0 18

Keeping up with Vacation’s output takes some effort.

The Cincinnatibased quartet — which currently includes guitarist John Hoffman, drummer Dylan McCartney, vocalist/guitarist Jerri Queen and bassist Evan Wolff — has dropped a torrent of releases via various indie labels since surfacing in 2009, nearly all of them anchored by Queen’s first-personladen lyrics and a brand of Rock & Roll they call “Grit Pop.” The band’s latest full-length, Mouth Sounds #2699, is available Friday (July 27) through Indiana-based Let’s Pretend Records.

In typical Vacation fashion, it’s a whirlwind ride, spitting forth a dozen songs in 27 minutes. Album opener “Action Road” seethes with urgency as corrosive guitars and Vacation’s ‘Mouth Sounds #2699’ a driving rhythm section frame PHOTO: LET’S PRETEND RECORDS Queen’s vocals, which have grown more nuanced and expressive over the years. The first thing the muck. The very next song, “Deflector we hear him say is, “I’m coming alive.” It’s Head,” might be the most accessible, with a telling sentiment for a song that culmiclearly delineated beats and guitar lines nates with an unexpected acoustic guitar and uncommonly discernible lyrics, the break before bleeding into the second most evocative of which is “like a stinking track, “Broken or Breaking,” a barnburner upper lip that’s been smeared with my own with even more corrosive guitars and shit.” That’s not to say “Deflector Head” is a guttural, almost pleading, emotional any less gritty or urgent than the tunes that thrust. “Broken or Breaking” is two minsurround it. utes of sonic chaos that recalls Fugazi at In fact, the sequencing of songs is one of its slashing best — or, for those who need the album’s strengths — each track plays a more recent reference, Metz, a Toronto off the next in a cohesive yet dynamic band equally adept at railing against injusway, which shouldn’t come as a surtices both personal and universal. prise. Afghan Whigs’ bassist John Curley “My Fake Life” sounds like a lost transrecorded the album at his Ultrasuede Stumission from Bee Thousand-era Guided dios, the longtime locally beloved venue

by Voices, a drum-less missive curiously that recently closed after nearly 30 years laced with rudimentary keyboards and a in existence. Further, Mouth Sounds #2699 bluesy guitar outro marked by this request: was mixed by the band, which includes “Please let me stay in my fake life.”

Queen and Hoffman, both of whom have “Born On a Bass” is the longest song by worked at Ultrasuede for years. (Hoffman far — nearly five minutes of noisy guitar co-produced the most recent Wussy record, riffage and thunderous bass with incomWhat Heaven Is Like.) prehensible vocals that barely emerge from The band’s studio background gives

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Radiohead could very easily have reimagined the stylistic parameters of 1993’s Pablo Honey and its eventual signature hit “Creep” in slightly varying degrees over the course of a dozen subsequent albums and made a rainbow’s-end kettle of cash, as well as a respectable career out of that enterprise. Thankfully, the band’s Saint Vitus-infused frontman Thom Yorke and his mad science Art Rock cohorts had zero interest in climbing aboard the Pop treadmill and churning out washed-out Xerox copies of a single (and singular) early triumph in order to cash cow their way to the middling top.

From the start, Radiohead had a more complex and elaborate vision of how they would take over the world; look at the sea change of differences between the band’s impressive debut, the startling sophomore leap of 1995’s The Bends, the jaw-dropping advances of 1997’s OK Computer and the structural dismantling of 2000’s Kid A. From somewhere beyond the veil, Charles Darwin was muttering about evolution taking a shitload more time than seven years.

If longtime producer Nigel Godrich — a fixture in Radiohead’s firmament since engineering the My Iron Lung EP in 1994 — is looked upon as the band’s sixth member, then their creative conviction could be considered the seventh. The group’s restless and yet never cavalier search for exciting new modes of expression, their courage in walking away from the corporate safety net and succeeding with a pay-what-youwant model, the sonic self-awareness necessary to seamlessly incorporate electronics and orchestration into their malleable architecture, and the focus required to maintain continuity of message in the breadth of experience between commentary on the human condition and political outrage — these are hallmarks of Radiohead’s brilliant playbook.

An equal part of Radiohead’s amazing creative curriculum vitae is Yorke’s blazingly original solo experimentations and guitarist Jonny Greenwood’s astonishing soundtrack work; the remaining ’heads — guitarist Ed O’Brien, bassist Colin Greenwood and drummer Philip Selway — have worked extensively outside the band and either have released or are planning solo excursions as well. And that may speak to the most impressive aspect of Radiohead’s

Radiohead’s Thom Yorke PHOTO: STEVE KEROS

Castlecomer PHOTO: PROVIDED

sonic diversity over the years; it has been achieved by the same five contributors since the band’s formation in 1985. No influx of new ideas or new influences by virtue of personnel shake-ups and replacements, just an incredible quintet of impossibly gifted musicians finding exciting new musical possibilities within the confines of their genius cloister. (Brian Baker)

Castlecomer with Passeport

Thursday • Woodward Theater

Castlecomer checks all the boxes for an ambitious Indie Pop group in the new millennium. The handy pronunciation guide on the band’s Facebook page indicates that their Australian lineage and lingual constructs should lead you to call them “Castlecoma” regardless of the spelling.

Castlecomer is the name of a coal-mining village in Ireland — the town where the band’s family emigrated from. The group, which is comprised of four cousins and

first major headlining tour and, for all intents and purposes, their introduction to American audiences.

America, meet Castlecomer. Castlecomer, meet America. Everybody dance, awright?

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Uniform with Decide Today, Obliferous and fever9 Sunday • The Mockbee

Uniform PHOTO: PROVIDED

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J U LY 2 5 – 3 1, 2 0 18

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

their close friend, has also adopted that charming first-name-only boilerplate from so many Dance Pop predecessors, making it easy for potential fans to remember Bede, Tommy, Joe, Neely and Patch (for the record, everyone’s a Kennedy, save for Neely, who’s a Neely as well as the band’s second Joe).

On Australia’s Triple J Unearthed website, Castlecomer cited influences as diverse and cool as Courtney Barnett, Foals, The Wombats, Circa Waves and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, while fan reviews called out similarities to the Bravery and The Strokes, referring to their track “Get In Line” as “an absolute banger” and a “feel good lollipop indie dance jam.”

The band definitely straddles the Indie Rock/Pop line, much like our own Walk the Moon, veering between pure dance floor fodder (“If I Could Be Like You”) and U2/Coldplay/INXS-like anthemics (“All of the Noise”).

Although Castlecomer has been releasing tracks from their debut album since late last year, the album doesn’t appear to be out officially just yet. The quintet, active for the better part of six years, has been steadily releasing EPs and singles and garnering significant airplay since 2013, becoming a fairly big deal on their home shores and playing some of Australia’s biggest festivals, attracting a fervent following in the process. Early this year, Castlecomer signed with Concord Records and relocated to Nashville with the intention of being immersed in a full-time music environment — mission accomplished.

The band’s current summer circuit is their

There’s a scene early on in Twin Peaks’ infamous Showtime reboot in which five would-be carjackers are engulfed in flames when their petty crime intersects with a larger, more sinister conspiracy.

As the crowbarwielding teens break the booby-trapped car’s locks, a harsh cut of Industrial Garage Punk pours out from the stereo of their own car — a foreboding sign of the immolation to come.

Skip to the episode’s credits and you’ll find that the song is titled “Tabloid,” the opening cut off of Uniform’s 2017 LP, Wake In Fright. Though jarring on its own, the track fits seamlessly into the show’s Lynchian atmosphere: sometimes moody, sometimes volatile, always eccentric.

Since then, the New York City duo has begun rolling out its second LP, The Long Walk via Sacred Bones, inspired by the Stephen King novel of the same name in which a totalitarian regime forces teenagers to participate in a life-or-death walking contest. It’s an appropriate title for a record that — based on the five minutes of material available for streaming so far — sounds like lungs straining to take their next breath. Lead single “The Walk” is a mechanized Goth number, grinding like the rusted gears of a device that converts oxygen to fuzz and distortion.

In a press release regarding the upcoming release, vocalist Michael Berdan said that the King novel perfectly encapsulated his feelings toward organized religion and capitalism. “It is one of the most cynical stories I’ve ever read and speaks volumes to many of the ugliest parts of the human condition,” he said.

The Long Walk won’t come out until Aug. 17, but you can still get a taste of what Uniform’s been up to lately thanks to their recent collaborative release with The Body, titled Come and See. (Jude Noel)

Open for Dinner 4:00 PM Tue-Sat

33

LISTINGS WEDNESDAY 25

BLIND LEMON–John Frisch. 7:30 p.m. Acoustic.

Free.

CAFFÈ VIVACE–Blue Wisp Big Band. 8 p.m. Jazz.

KNOTTY PINE–Dallas Moore. 10 p.m. Country.

Free.

MOTR PUB–The Novel Ideas with Honey & Houston.

10 p.m. Country/Folk/Americana. Free.

H

RIVERBEND MUSIC CENTER–Niall Horan with Maren Morris. 7 p.m.

Pop/Country

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (SANCTUARY)– Palisades, Letters From The Fire and Savage Hands. 7 p.m. Rock. $13.

URBAN ARTIFACT–Captain Careless and Happy Little Accidents. 9 p.m.

AltRock. Free.

H

U.S. BANK ARENA– Radiohead. 7:30 p.m.

AltRock. $65-$85.

THURSDAY 26

BLIND LEMON–Mark Macomber. 7:30 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

H

BOGART’S–Otep. 8 p.m. Hard Rock. $20.

CROW’S NEST–David Taylor. 10 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

KNOTTY PINE–Kenny Cowden. 9 p.m. Acoustic.

Free.

THE MAD FROG–THWAP Thursdays. 6 p.m. DJ/Electronic/Dance. Cover.

C I T Y B E AT. C O M

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J U LY 2 5 – 3 1, 2 0 18

H

34

MOTR PUB–Flynt Flossy and Turquoise Jeep with Doughty Family.

10 p.m. Hip Hop. Free.

OCTAVE–The Snozzberries present Floyd is Dead. 9 a.m.

Grateful Dead/Pink Floyd tribute. $7.

H

PAUL BROWN STADIUM–Cincinnati Music Festival opening night with MC Lyte and DJ Jazzy Jeff.

7:30 p.m. Hip Hop. $50-$100.

RIVERBEND MUSIC CENTER–Kenny Chesney with Old Dominion. 7:30 p.m.

Country. $32.50-$103.

CityBeat’s music listings are free. Send info to Mike Breen at mbreen@citybeat.com. Listings are subject to change.

H is CityBeat staff’s stamp of approval.

SCHWARTZ’S POINT JAZZ & ACOUSTIC CLUB– George Simon and Matt McCoy. 8 p.m. Jazz. Cover.

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (LOUNGE)–The Roof Dogs, Ethan Samuel Brown, The Singing Butcher and The Typical Johnsons.

9:30 p.m. AltRock/Various.

Free.

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (SANCTUARY)– Chicago Farmer. 8 p.m.

Americana. $10, $12 day of show.

H

URBAN ARTIFACT– The Whiskey Shambles and Willow Tree Carolers. 8 p.m. Roots/Blues/Folk/Various. Free.

H

WOODWARD THEATER–Castlecomer. 8 p.m. Indie/Folk/Rock. $10, $12 day of show.

FRIDAY 27

BLIND LEMON–Michael J. 9 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

BOGART’S–Fat Joe. 8 p.m.

Hip Hop. $35.

CAFFÈ VIVACE–Mandy Gaines Quartet. 8:30 p.m.

Jazz.

CROW’S NEST–Aaron Hedrick. 10 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

THE GREENWICH–Sonny Moorman Group. 8 p.m.

Blues. Cover.

JIM AND JACK’S ON THE RIVER–Chuck Brisbin and the Tuna Project. 9 p.m.

Blues. Free.

KNOTTY PINE–Lt. Dan’s New Legs. 10 p.m. Pop/ Dance/Various. Cover.

MVP BAR & GRILLE–Benefit for Laura Neugebauer featuring Victor Spoils, Wookie Can Read and Cody Houston. 8 p.m. Rock/Various. Cover.

H

PAUL BROWN STADIUM–Cincinnati Music Festival with Charlie Wilson, Xscape, Boyz II Men, Fantasia and After 7. 7:30 p.m.

R&B/Soul/Pop. $50-$150

PNC PAVILION AT RIVERBEND–Yanni. 7 p.m. New Age. $29-$100.

THE REDMOOR–Soul Pocket. 9 p.m. R&B/Pop/ Dance/Various. Cover.

SCHWARTZ’S POINT JAZZ & ACOUSTIC CLUB–Alex Schrock. 8:30 p.m. Jazz.

Cover.

H

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (REVIVAL ROOM)–William Matheny, Ben Knight and The Welldiggers, Josh Nolan and Silo’s Choice. 9 p.m. Roots/Rock/ Various. $12.

THOMPSON HOUSE– Landon Tewers, Hotel Books and KY Rodgers. 6 p.m.

Rock/Blues/Various. $15.

H

VILLAGE GREEN PARK–See You in the Funnies. 7 p.m. AltRock/ Pop/Various. Free.

WASHINGTON PLATFORM SALOON & RESTAURANT– Nick Fryer Trio. 9 p.m. Jazz. $10 (food/drink minimum).

SATURDAY 28

ARNOLD’S BAR AND GRILL–Ben Knight and the Welldiggers. 9 p.m. Americana. Free.

MADISON LIVE–Rolled in Stone, Jordan Wood Band and The Typical Johnsons. 9 p.m. Country/Rock. $8, $10 day of show.

H

MANSION HILL TAVERN– Blue Ravens. 9 p.m. Blues.

Cover.

H

MARTY’S HOPS & VINES– Bob Ross Trio. 9 p.m. Jazz.

Free.

H

MOTR PUB–Vacation (album release show) with Virginia Creepers and Homemade Drugs. 10 p.m.

Indie Rock. Free.

GREAT AMERICAN BALL PARK–Walk the Moon. 7 p.m. AltPop. $38-$62 on-field packages; $150 VIP.

HANNON’S CAMP AMERICA–Discofest Music Festival with Hyryder, Glostik Willy (acoustic), Subterranean, Eyeris Wide, DIZGO, B.C. Duo, High Altitude, Krunk Town Boogie and Dewey’s Cox. noon Electronic/Jam/Rock/Various. $40, $50 day of show.

LUDLOW GARAGE– Chris Blue. 8:30 p.m. Pop.

$25-$50.

THE MAD FROG–Colette with Lady Bandit, Beat Poet and AZA. 8 p.m. Dance/ DJ. $10.

MADISON LIVE–Southern Charm with Cevin West Band, High Road Band. 8 p.m. Country/Rock. $10, $15 day of show.

MANSION HILL TAVERN– Johnny Fink & the Intrusion.

9 p.m. Blues. Cover.

MARTY’S HOPS & VINES– Working Title. 9 p.m. Steampunk. Free.

NORTHSIDE TAVERN–Lipstick Fiction. 9 p.m. Rock.

Free.

H

NORTHSIDE YACHT CLUB–Electric Citizen with Troll, Attalla and Econophonics. 9 p.m. Hard Rock. $8, $10 day of show.

H

PAUL BROWN STADIUM–Cincinnati Music Festival with Jill Scott, The Roots, Common, Bootsy Collins, Keith Sweat and The O’Jays. 7:30 p.m. Hip Hop/R&B/Soul. $50-$150 PLAIN FOLK CAFE–Kade Puckett. 9:30 p.m. Acoustic.

Free.

RICK’S TAVERN–Second Wind. 10 p.m. Rock/Soul.

Cover.

H

RIVERBEND MUSIC CENTER–Wiz Khalifa and Rae Sremmurd with Lil Skies and O.T. Genasis. 6 p.m. Hip Hop. $39.75-$83.50.

SCHWARTZ’S POINT JAZZ & ACOUSTIC CLUB–Eric Lechliter Trio. 8:30 p.m. Jazz.

Cover.

SILVERTON CAFE– Unmarked Cars. 9 p.m. Pop/ Rock. Free.

THOMPSON HOUSE–The Alexith Effect. 7 p.m. Rock. $10.

H

URBAN ARTIFACT– Fycus, Freedom Nicole Moore & The Electric Moon, Knotts Music, pout, Slow Glows, Kelby Savage and Eva Patterson. 7 p.m.

Various.

WASHINGTON PLATFORM SALOON & RESTAURANT– Greg Chako & The Unity Quartet. 9 p.m. Jazz. $10 (food/drink minimum).

SUNDAY 29

BLIND LEMON–Jeff Henry.

8:30 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

LATITUDES BAR & BISTRO–Blue Birds Band. 8 p.m. R&B/Rock. Free.

MEMORIAL HALL–Christie Lenee with Parker Hastings and Brian Deyo. 7:30 p.m.

Guitar/Various. $18-$22.

H

THE MOCKBEE–Uniform with Decide Today and Obliferous. 10 p.m.

Industrial Punk/Various. $8, $10 day of show.

H H

MOTR PUB–Comprador. 8 p.m. Indie/Rock/ Various. Free.

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (LOUNGE)– Josh Card with Wonky Tonk & The High Life. 8 p.m.

Roots/Country/Rock. Free.

H

TAFT THEATRE–Hop Along with Thin Lips.

9 p.m. Indie/ Rock/Folk. $15, $17 day of show.

Series with Demun Jones, Bezz Believe, Seckond Chaynce and Twang and Round. 5 p.m. Country/Rap/ Dance. $20.

H

MEMORIAL HALL– Langston Hughes’ “Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz” Featuring the Ron McCurdy Quartet. 7 p.m.

Jazz. $28-$40.

NORTHSIDE TAVERN– Northside Jazz Ensemble.

9:30 p.m. Jazz. Free.

H

URBAN ARTIFACT– Ratboys with Leggy and Carriers. 9 p.m. Indie Rock. $8, $12 day of show.

TUESDAY 31

ARNOLD’S BAR AND GRILL–Ricky Nye. 8 p.m.

Blues/Boogie Woogie. Free.

BLIND LEMON–Nick Tuttle.

8:30 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

BOGART’S–BROCKHAMPTON. 8 p.m. Hip Hop

H

NORTHSIDE YACHT CLUB–Long Con with The Obnoxious Boot and more. 9 p.m. Hardcore/ Metal/Various SCHWARTZ’S POINT JAZZ & ACOUSTIC CLUB–Society Jazz Orchestra Plays the Music of Ed Moss. 8:30 p.m.

Jazz. Cover.

H

TAFT THEATRE–No BS! Brass Band. 8 p.m.

Brass/Funk/Jazz/Rock/Pop. $15, $18 day of show.

Future Sounds

URBAN ARTIFACT–Upstairs, Sweet Pablo, Maggy and Drew Joseph. 8 p.m. Rock/Various. Free.

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL–The Pandora Society presents the 2018 Cincinnati Midsummer Masquerade with Cockoff Wego and Mickey James and the Queen City Crew. 8 p.m. Rock/Swing/Punk/Various. $15.

BLIND LEMON–Ben Armstrong.

7:30 p.m.

Acoustic. Free.

SYMPHONY HOTEL & RESTAURANT–Ricky Nye and Bekah Williams. 8 p.m.

Jazz. Free.

BLUE NOTE HARRISON– Backwoods Riot Concert

MONDAY 30

Cro-Mags – Aug. 18, Northside Yacht Club Ruthie Foster – Aug. 24, Southgate House Revival Givers – Sept. 19, MOTR Pub Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals – Sept. 22, Blue Note Harrison Milky Chance – Oct. 4, Bogart’s Bog Log III – Oct. 28, MOTR Pub The Exploited – Sept. 13, Northside Yacht Club Alan Doyle – Nov. 18, Southgate House Revival Pale Waves – Nov. 19, Madison Live Brand X – Dec. 6, Ludlow Garage

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J U LY 2 5 – 3 1, 2 0 18

Bourbon & Bacon

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t i c k e t s ava i l a b l e at c i t y b e at. c o m