CityBeat | Jan. 10, 2018

CINCINNATI’S NEWS AND ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY | JAN. 10-16, 2018 | FREE

Artists take on the walls blocking social justice and community -building

BY KATHY SCHWARTZ | PAGE 10

TaftTheatre.org

umphrey’s mcgee

FrI & sAT

JAN 12 &13

On Sale NOW!

EDITOR IN CHIEF

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WHAT A WEEK!

BY T.C. B R I T TO N

I’m. Cold.

Move over polar vortex — “bomb cyclone” is the new scary storm du jour. Basically it means everyone was cold AF last week.

Winter Storm Grayson — which sounds like it was named after the toddler son of a Real Housewives star — brought snow, ice and frigid temps across the East Coast and Midwest. It was so cold that it snowed in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. So cold, iguanas were falling from trees (supposedly they’re OK though?), sharks were washing up on beaches frozen solid and penguins headed indoors at zoos. New Year’s Eve in Times Square registered at 9 degrees, making in the coldest NYE since 1917. ONE HUNDRED YEARS. I’d say, “thanks, climate change,” but some might think that’s a joke. After all, our dumb president tweeted about the chilly holiday, stating, “Perhaps we could use a little bit of that good old Global Warming that our Country, but not other countries, was going to pay TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS to protect against. Bundle up!” Go suck an icicle, Donnie.

believe, if for but a moment, the Trump Gorilla Channel Tale. We all lose!

Bills Fans Go HAM

Thousands of Buffalo Bills fans migrated south to Florida to watch their team take on the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday. The low of 36 degrees in Jacksonville is downright balmy for upstate New Yorkers, not to mention Bills fans have waited 17 years for the team to make it to the play-

First Food Fad of 2018

And while we’re on the topic of new terminology, let’s throw out a new foodie trend: cronuts are out, and crossushi is in.

(And by “trend,” I mean “something one restaurant is doing that the internet won’t shut up about”). Mr. Holmes Bakehouse, which has locations in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seoul, South Korea, has a California Croissant on the menu, which is a flaky pastry wrapped around a salmon sushi roll. What’s next, croissmoothies? Croissteak? Croissoup? OK, my fat ass thinks a flaky bread bowl actually sounds delicious…

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Fire and Fury and Gorillas

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Journalist Michael Wolff ’s Trump tell-all Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House hit the shelves last week and, shockingly, it doesn’t paint the most fl attering image of our commander in chief and his ragtag crew of white supremacists and imbeciles. The book features wild descriptions of Trump’s behavior in the White House and his interactions with staffers and some infl ammatory comments from none other than personified bullfrog Steve Bannon. On Twitter, @pixelatedboat crafted a fake excerpt from the book about Trump insisting that there is a “gorilla channel” on TV and aides pulling together gorilla footage to create a makeshift 24-hour ape network. And people believed him. Some took the parody as being a literal quote from the book while others called “fake news” and scorned the jokester for tricking people with his made-up lies about the president. Only in 2018 America would a significant amount of people

workplace — in Hollywood and beyond. It was all part of the women-led Time’s Up movement, which started a legal defense fund for people who have experienced sexual harassment, assault or abuse in the workplace. Jaded folks might roll their eyes at fashion statement slacktivism, but it really pulled attention to this issue. If you didn’t wear black you looked like an ass (lookin’ at you, Hollywood Foreign Press Association president). But the Globes wokeness didn’t stop there.

Tons of stars brought activists as their dates, and instead of the tired “Who are you wearing” routine on the red carpet, stars discussed why they wore black and different causes they support instead.

Seth Meyers nailed it as host, achieving a perfect tone of delivering hilarious commentary and poking fun at the stars while still addressing the garbage fi re that is our current world. Joke of the night: “Harvey Weinstein isn’t in the room tonight. Don’t worry, he’ll be back in 20 years when he’ll be the fi rst person to be booed during the In Memoriam segment.” The winners’ speeches were fi re, capped off by a nine-minute address by Cecil B. DeMille honoree Oprah Winfrey. The fi rst black woman to receive the lifetime achievement, Oprah spoke on race, gender and her own incredible story and had the entire audience in L.A. and homes everywhere calling for #Oprah2020.

Some highlights:

Long live the Gorilla Channel.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF AMA ZON

off s, so they showed up in droves, and they arrived early. Lots around EverBank Field had to open hours early to accommodate long lines of visitors. Footage from the tailgate showed a sea of red, white and Zubaz. And apparently bodyslamming folding tables is the official passtime in Buffalo, because they were smashing tables left and right outside the stadium. Unfortunately for them, diehard fandom does not guarantee a win, and the Bills lost to the Jags. But if the parking lots full of shattered plastic are any indication, those tables never stood a chance against ’em!

Golden Globes Go Black

Awards season kicked off with the 75th annual Golden Globe Awards Sunday, where the color of the night was black and the theme was Get Woke! Basically every person in attendance wore black as a symbol of solidarity against harassment, abuse and discrimination in the

• Sterling K. Brown became the fi rst black man to win best actor in a TV drama.

• Aziz Ansari is the fi rst Asian man to win best actor in TV comedy.

• The Room star Tommy Wiseau joined winner James Franco (and brother Dave) onstage — but James wouldn’t let him grab the mic.

• Tonya Harding was in the building and drew mixed reactions.

• While accepting his Globe for best director, The Shape of Water’s Guillermo del Toro was not about to get played off, so he told them to cut the music — and they did!

• Presenter Natalie Portman made a point to note that the best director nominees were “all male.”

• Between awards, a weird shampoo commercial revealed Winona Ryder as the new face of L’oreal, comparing her comeback to reviving damaged hair…

• Interestingly, very few of the male winners spoke about gender equality or the movements being highlighted that night (despite many wearing the Time’s Up lapel pin).

Contact T.C. Britton: letters@citybeat.com

This Week in Questionable Decisions…

1. Pennsylvania is making patients choose between owning a gun and qualifying for medical marijuana.

2. DJ Khaled jumped on the Weight Watchers wagon as a new spokesperson for the diet program.

3. Trump tweeted about his “Nuclear Button” being much bigger and more powerful than North Korea’s.

4. Demi Moore might be dating Nick Jonas, who is roughly her kids’ age and a full 30 years younger than her. (Get it!)

5. A museum exhibition of Justin Bieber memorabilia is making its way to his hometown in Ontario.

6. Eric Trump thinks Ellen DeGeneres is part of the “Deep State.”

Sounds hot!

7. Mariah Carey says “linner” (a late dinner) is the new brunch.

8. Jon Snow himself Kit Harington got kicked out of a bar in New York City this weekend — twice! — for being a drunk mess. The same thing happened to me when I heard it was confirmed that the final season of Game of Thrones is only six episodes long and it’s not coming until 2019.

9. Gwyneth Paltrow’s ridiculous faux-wellness lifestyle site Goop recommends readers buy $135 athome coffee enemas.

10. When Trump’s mental state was taken into question this week (as it is each week), he tweeted about being a “stable genius.”

11. Filmmaker/abuser Roman Polanski reportedly expressed disappointment about not being able to hang out with Harvey Weinstein over the holidays.

12. Marvin Lewis signed a two-year extension to continue coaching the Bengals and everyone freaked out.

13. I watched more than seven hours of Golden Globes coverage Sunday.

SPORTS!

Considering Past Unpopular Bengals Coaching Decisions

BY JAC K B R EN N A N

But darned if Mike Brown and Lewis didn’t agree on a new deal. And even after QB Carson Palmer subsequently refused to honor his contract for ’11, threatening his own high-profile NFL career and dealing the franchise a massive embarrassment, Lewis somehow guided the team back to the playoffs.

The club wasn’t great, but 9-7 seemed like heaven to a fan base which had been told by most analysts to expect another 4-12 or even worse.

Rookie QB Andy Dalton cured the Palmer sickness like a wonder drug, rookie WR A.J. Green marked himself as a future Hall of Famer and new offensive coordinator Jay Gruden appeared in hindsight as a marvelous Lewis hire.

Lewis’s Bengals went on after ’11 to make the playoffs another four straight years, remarkable for a franchise that only once before had reached even twice in a row.

The man must be given his due.

But the seeds of a strange and frustrating fan discontent were slowly germinating again, as Team Tease was never able to win a playoff game.

The last two seasons have been losers, and now we’re into 2018 with Lewis coming back for a 16th and a 17th season, thanks to the new two-year deal announced Jan. 2. Public approval on the move is polling at 15 percent tops, based on my unscientific observation, and the reason can be summed up in a few simple numbers: Lewis has coached 240 regular-season games without moving on to a playoff win, the most in NFL history by 73. Jim Mora of the New Orleans Saints is second at 167, and Ted Marchibroda of the Baltimore/ Indianapolis Colts stands third, 102 back of Lewis at 138.

One could easily choose to blame the organization as much or more than Lewis for that. Over my 23 years with the Bengals, I never saw Lewis work less than tremendously hard, and even though he couldn’t end what now is an NFL-long streak of 27 straight years without a playoff win, he at least had the cojones to change the team’s stated goal from “winning seasons” to “winning Super Bowls.”

But I never saw the Bengals front office work less than tremendously hard, either, and though its ways have been bottomline proven as less than successful, it’s not fair to say Lewis has been absolutely hamstrung by an ownership unwilling to spend money on players.

The Bengals have spent for years to the limit of the NFL salary cap, and nobody would be missing the free agent departure of offensive tackle Andrew

Whitworth if his carefully scouted draft replacements had not turned out so far to be busts.

Draft busts happen in the NFL, to all teams, and the Bengals were rated by analysts as draft masters during that five-year playoff run.

But the bottom line for me is simply great surprise that the Bengals are willing to risk the colossal fan fatigue that seems inevitable with the re-upping of Lewis.

It’s already very serious, as evidenced by 2017 attendance figures, and one could go just plain batty searching last week’s announcements for signs of a playoffwinning change.

Lewis’s post-renewal comments were gauzy and intangible. (I continue to feel,

Read us on your phone when you’re at the bar by yourself.

“Fans still coming to PBS aren’t there for the halftime presentations of the Marvin Lewis Community Fund.”

as stated previously in this space, that his key could be more iron discipline toward miscreant players.)

And Mike Brown, for all his usual acuity, came off as not realizing reality in prepared remarks that led with his calling Lewis “an important member of the Cincinnati community.”

True enough, but the fans still coming to PBS aren’t there for the halftime presentations of the Marvin Lewis Community Fund.

Brown also pledged confidence Lewis will “re-establish winning football in 2018,” but that’s the kind of tepid stuff Lewis has tried to eliminate from the vocabulary.

Does that mean 9-7, and either losing in the playoffs again or missing them entirely?

That is not going to sell ticket one.

So do I really think the Bengals will pull a third straight rabbit from the hat and thrive in ’18, as they so surprisingly did in ’88 and ’11?

To unsarcastically borrow what sarcasm-dripping wide receiver Carl Pickens used to say when refusing his 100th or 1,000th straight routine request from public relations, “I’d like to, but I just can’t.”

Contact Jack Brennan: letters@ citybeat.com

the all-new

.com

J A N . 1 0 – 1 6 , 2 0 18 | C i t y B e at. c o m

1-800-621-8383.

That’s the Bengals Ticket Hotline, provided here so that dear readers of this column will not miss out on the upcoming and great 2018 season.

The “8383” numbers correspond to “TDTD” on your keypad, and you figure to score big for football entertainment, especially if you can snag some of the great seats that others — regrettably lacking a proper sense of history — will be abandoning.

No, I’m not working for the team any more. (I retired.) And no, I’m not out of my mind. Really, I’m not even all that serious.

But still folks, I’m just sayin’: The last two times the Bengals brought back a head coach and almost everyone considered it worse than reintroducing New Coke, the team responded immediately with a fantastic year.

In 1988, for goodness sakes, Sam Wyche took the Bengals to within 34 seconds of a Super Bowl win. The fans wanted Sam fired after 1987, and media generally agreed. Wyche had missed the playoffs with his first four teams, and the ’87 edition’s 4-11 performance was even uglier than the record.

Wyche’s helmsmanship had been seen as most erratic as the team endured a contentious campaign marked by a threegame leaguewide players’ strike.

But Paul Brown spat in the wind of public opinion, called the ’87 campaign an “aberration” and honored the final year of Wyche’s five-year contract.

The team went on to go 12-4 in supremely entertaining fashion, as QB Boomer Esiason became a hero and Wyche was proclaimed an innovative game-changer.

The team rolled to two playoff wins, surviving a terribly mistaken league initiative to shut down Wyche’s “no-huddle” offense (exceedingly bold at the time, but have you noticed that the huddle is now virtually extinct?). Cincinnati’s 20-16 nailbiter of a Super Bowl loss to San Francisco was proclaimed by Commissioner Pete Rozelle as the most exciting in the game’s then-23-year history.

And then there was Marvin Lewis in 2011. Lewis’ contract had expired after 2010, and what a mess ’10 was. The team had a bushel-basket of seeming veteran standouts, but it went 4-12, including a 10-game losing streak. (Believe me, those 10-game skids will wreck your season every time.)

The veteran atmosphere turned toxic, led by the worn-out act of Chad Johnson and the reliably cancer-causing presence of Terrell Owens, and it was widely assumed that Lewis and Mike Brown would agree to part company. Though Lewis had brought the Bengals a long way from the disaster years of 1991-2002, he had only two playoff berths and no playoff wins to show for eight seasons.

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PERFORMS thE MuSic OF Paul SiMOn

Sat, Jan 13, 7:30pm @ The Sonic Boom Room Sun, Jan 14, 1pm @ The Redmoor

thE JaM BanDS ShOW

Fri, Jan 19, 7:30pm @ The Sonic Boom Room Sun, Jan 21, 4pm @ The Southgate House Revival

OZZY OSBOuRnE tRiButE

Sat, Jan 20, 7:30pm @ The Sonic Boom Room Sun, Jan 21, 7pm @ The Redmoor

thE ac/Dc ShOW

Fri, Jan 26, 7:30pm @ The Sonic Boom Room Sun, Jan 28, 4pm @ The Woodward Theater

thE RuSh ShOW

Sat, Jan 27, 7:30pm @ The Sonic Boom Room Sun, Jan 28, 7pm @ The Woodward Theater

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kickin’ cOuntRY

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(Adult Performance Program) Fri, Feb 16, 10pm @ Rick’s Tavern & Grille

ticket and other information available at

Mason.SchoolofRock.com now Enrolling For Spring Shows & adult Performance Program

NEWS

Five Big Questions CityBeat asked incoming first-time Cincinnati City Council members about big issues. Next up: Greg Landsman AS TO L D TO N I C K SWA R T S EL L

C

ity Council’s three newcomers will have to wrestle with a number of tough questions now that they’ve been sworn in. CityBeat reached out to each — Republican Jeff Pastor and Democrats Greg Landsman and Tamaya Dennard — to ask five in particular.

(Find Dennard’s responses at citybeat. com.) Now it’s Landsman’s turn. Pastor’s responses will be published in the next issue of CityBeat.

Landsman might be a first-time Cincinnati City Council member, but you’ve probably seen his name before. In 2016 he led the drive to convince voters to pass a tax levy for Cincinnati’s Preschool Promise. Mayor John Cranley recently appointed him the chair of council’s newly created Major Projects and Smart Government Committee.

CB: One of the city’s biggest moves last year was the creation of an independent board that will oversee the Metropolitan Sewer District, which has been riddled with allegations of monetary mismanagement and conflict between the city and the county.

Assuming state lawmakers approve the MSD deal, do you see the deal the city struck as a good one? Why or why not?

CB: Part of the impetus behind that deal was a less-than-cordial relationship between the city and the county. As an incoming council member, do you see that improving under your tenure? Any plans to make that happen?

GL: I certainly hope the relationship between the city and county gets better.

We need everyone working together to solve problems, and I’ll push for the highest level of collaboration at every turn. One idea we will push for is even greater progress on shared services by asking that the city manager bring to council every 45-60 days a shared service opportunity with the county (or any of our regional partners).

This could help to drive greater collaboration, and reduce taxpayer costs.

CB: Cincinnati’s Metro bus system is at a crossroads. Its performance is lagging and without further funding or vastly increased ridership, it faces big deficits, fare increases and service reductions during your tenure.

What ideas do you have to help solve this problem? What can council do to keep Metro viable?

GL: We need a transformed, modernized public transit system that gets people where they want to go, particularly as it relates to the good-paying jobs the region has to offer. We need more buses, more routes and a reliable and positive experience for every rider. The city will have to work collaboratively with the county and Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority, alongside riders and employers, to develop a truly compelling vision and plan. Then we need to put that plan before voters and get it passed, and we need to do all of this with real urgency. Getting this right should be our top priority.

CB: The city’s poverty problems have been a big issue for a long time now, and yet we’ve seen very little change recently. What can council do to move the needle? What is your view on the city’s current human services spending? Should it be increased? Should

Greg Landsman P H O T O : haile y b ollinger

the city change the way it allocates those dollars away from the existing United Way process? Do you think the mayor’s initiatives — Hand Up and Poverty Collaborative — are promising, or no?

GL: This council will have the opportunity to take big steps in reducing poverty, and I hope to help lead the way. We need to set and make public measurable goals and track our progress in a transparent way. We must also get existing organizations and efforts to work together to hit these goals and invest our resources in those programs that are getting results.

The city should work with the poverty collaborative on these goals and begin to align our resources to ensure we have the greatest impact possible. Reducing poverty will come with greater investments in what works, but we will also need greater accountability when it comes to the results.

Additional investments alone, even with greater accountability, won’t get our children and families out of poverty unless we also get wages up, fix our public transit system so our folks can access good paying jobs, and pursue local hire and job training opportunities every chance we get.

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CityBeat: City support for infrastructure around a proposed FC Cincinnati stadium, to the tune of $37 million, has been a hot topic of late. It’s likely, if FC Cincinnati wins an MLS expansion franchise, that you’ll be faced with voting on some elements of this spending. Do you support the deal council passed Nov. 29? What could have made it better? The West End has been floated as another potential site for the project. Do you have thoughts on that location versus Oakley?

Greg Landsman: If FC Cincinnati wins an MLS franchise, the city should try and make the investment work without undermining our ability to tackle the big issues: reducing poverty and growing our middle class, transforming our public transit system, fixing the Western Hills Viaduct, investing in neighborhood revitalization efforts, etc. It would be an enormous investment in the city and there are benefits to becoming an international soccer city, but we have to be sure any deal is the best possible one for taxpayers and the community that would have the stadium.

I would hope to play a significant role in making sure Cincinnati taxpayers get the best deal possible, and that we are still in a position financially to tackle the many serious issues we face as a city.

GL: I support the deal, as it should resolve the issue of who is in charge of MSD, though getting the details right will be important. There are many questions I have, but the big one has to do with leadership. At the end of the day, hiring the strongest possible leader will matter greatly, and we have to be sure we get a top-notch leader to run MSD. Council should play a big role in ensuring this kind of transformative leadership.

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city desk

Ohio Chief Justice Says Call for Durrani Judge Change Is “Frivolous”

BY JA M ES M c N A I R

A legal maneuver to wrest more than 500 medical malpractice lawsuits from a stand-in Hamilton County judge has spurred a withering retort from Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor and spawned a second wave of accusations that her oversight of the cases is corrupt.

The escalating dispute stems from court claims that Dr. Atiq Durrani, a surgeon who had offices in Evendale and Florence, harmed hundreds of people by performing spine surgeries that were medically unnecessary. The claims include hospitals where Durrani did the surgeries.

Durrani was arrested in 2013 on charges of billing Medicare and private insurers for millions of dollars in unnecessary surgeries. But before he stood trial, he fled to Pakistan where he operates a spine surgery practice in Lahore.

The civil lawsuits, some of which date back to 2010, are moving ahead. A Hamilton County jury returned a $1.04 million verdict in favor of one former Durrani patient. Two cases in Butler County went against the plaintiffs. Other trials were

BY N I C K SWA R T S EL L

Maureen O’Connor

delayed by judge assignments that didn’t stick for a variety of reasons. Last August, O’Connor appointed a retired judge, Mark Schweikert, to hear the Durrani lawsuits.

Schweikert has scheduled 23 cases for trial between June 2018 and March 2019, but Matt Hammer, an attorney for the plaintiffs, is asking the Ohio Supreme Court to disqualify O’Connor and Schweikert from further involvement. In a long affidavit, he writes that O’Connor is beholden to the medical industry because of its monetary contributions to her election campaigns. He says that she and Schweikert are “collaborating” against his clients in pre-trial rulings. He is also asking a federal judge to prevent O’Connor from ruling on his request to disqualify Schweikert.

Hogwash, O’Connor contends in her response to Hammer’s federal suit. She calls the suit “frivolous” and “meritless” and says the request is based on “unfounded allegations and speculation.”

P H O T O : O hio S u preme Co u rt

CONTINUES ON PAGE 09

BY N I C K SWA R T S EL L

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The ruling overturns an earlier decision by U.S. District Court Judge Mike Barrett on a 2014 lawsuit brought by Allied Construction Industries.

Allied says the requirements, which apply to sewer projects, amount to a ban on non-union companies contracting with the city. The company could appeal the circuit court’s ruling.

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The heart of the suit is a somewhat arcane debate over whether the city’s rules are preempted by a 1974 law called the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. That question in turn hinges on whether the city is acting as a regulatory body or a participant in the labor market when it sets stipulations on contractors. The earlier ruling from Judge Barrett said the city was acting in a regulatory capacity with the “responsible bidder” ordinance.

In the 2014 ruling, Barrett cited

“the public interest in promoting fair competition and low costs for taxpayers” in his decision to impose a preliminary injunction on the rules.

In overturning that decision last week, the circuit court argued that the city is in fact acting as a market participant, not as a regulator.

“The City submitted evidence that many private parties utilize criteria similar to those that the City used in the Ordinance,” the decision reads. “For instance, some private owners impose project standards by contracting with companies under union agreements, requiring certain standards for labor safety, training, and wages. …

Regardless of whether the preference is embodied in a bidding ordinance or an afterbid agreement, the City is acting as would a private party by seeking a contractor that meets certain specifications, aimed towards the efficient procurement of its own goods and services.”

Last week’s decision is the latest chapter in the long,

contentious fight over the city’s rules, which apply to Greater Cincinnati Water Works projects. They may also apply to work done by the city and county on the massive $3.2 billion federalcourt-ordered overhaul of the Metropolitan Sewer District so the system complies with the Clean Water Act. A magistrate in 2014 found that the county has the power to set policy for MSD, not the city, and the county opposed the “responsible bidder” requirements. But an agreement between the city and county forged last year now puts control of MSD in the hands of an independent commission. It’s unclear which approach they would favor.

The circuit court’s ruling is a victory for labor groups in the region and local Democrats who pushed the regulations through Cincinnati City Council in May, 2013. Councilman Chris Seelbach introduced the ordinance, often called “responsible bidder,” in an effort to increase training opportunities and jobs with

Republicans hungry to extend their control of the U.S. Senate — or at least keep it — are down one conservative warrior after Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel last week dropped his bid against Democrat U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown.

Mandel says his wife is suffering an unspecified ongoing health concern and that he will need to devote his time to caring for her and the couple’s three children.

“Understanding and dealing with this health issue is more important to me than any political campaign,” Mandel wrote to supporters Jan. 5. “This was a difficult decision for us, but it’s the right one.”

His departure leaves the GOP without a high-level challenger to take on Brown just a month before Ohio’s Feb. 7 filing deadline for the race.

Businessman Mike Gibbons is self-funding a campaign as a Republican, but his name recognition is low and he’s never held elected office before.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who will face term limits next year, seems an obvious contender. But an aide to the governor was quick to shoot down rumors.

“To all the press calling, the answer is no,” Kasich’s 2016 presidential campaign strategist John Weaver tweeted Jan. 5.

“Bigger fish to fry.”

Federal Court Upholds City’s Responsible Bidder Requirements The city of Cincinnati can require companies with which it contracts to offer health benefits and job-training programs, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Jan. 4.

Mandel Drops out of Senate Race

health and retirement benefits for the region’s workforce.

Council members Yvette Simpson, P.G. Sittenfeld, David Mann and Wendell Young joined Seelbach in voting for the ordinance. The rest of council at the time, as well as Mayor John Cranley, opposed the rules.

The rules require an employer working on city sewer projects to set aside 10 cents to an apprenticeship program per work hour completed. The rules also stipulate that every employer must have graduated at least one employee from the apprenticeship program every year for the last five years. Allied claimed that the only qualifying programs are union programs and that the rules thus exclude nonunion workers, including the 580 it employs.

Some Republicans also mentioned Ohio Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, another contender in the gubernatorial primary. But representatives for Taylor’s campaign say she’s staying in that race.

Other big Ohio Republican names could end up on the ballot for the May 8 primary, however. Among names being floated: U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, who is currently running for governor in a crowded primary field. Renacci has said he’ll decide soon if he’s running.

Mandel jumped in the Senate race more than a year ago and began making waves with a campaign seemingly patterned off the bombast of President Donald Trump’s 2016 effort. Mandel cribbed a little of President Donald Trump’s signature swagger on Twitter, for instance, blasting the “liberal media” and sometimes going out on a limb to support far-right causes and personalities, including some aligned with alt-right movements.

Proponents of the rules cheered the court’s decision last week.

Mandel also helped push controversial legislation in the Ohio State House that would have brought legal repercussions against municipal officials serving in sanctuary cities, mirroring Trump’s staunch opposition to immigration.

“We can finally begin the greatest jobs program Cincinnati has ever invested in,” Seelbach wrote following the announcement.

“Proud to be leading movement in OH to STOP sanctuary cities,” Mandel tweeted last February. “Liberal journalists opposing us & conservative activists supporting us. Charge!”

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She brushed off any notion of personal bias as a result of accepting election money from health care interests.

“The complaint is riddled with plaintiffs’ and their counsel’s ‘belief’ and ‘speculation’ rather than objective truths,” she says in a memorandum filed by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine. “Many of the allegations are exceedingly unprofessional. Others are incomprehensible.”

Additionally, O’Connor writes that granting Hammer’s request would “set a dangerous precedent whereby any plaintiff or defendant seeking to ‘judge shop’ could run to federal court seeking injunctive relief every time they received an unfavorable ruling in a case or did not like the judges assigned to a case by the chief justice.”

Schweikert declined to comment on the matter, says Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Administrator Patrick Dressing.

Hammer has already responded to O’Connor’s answer. In it, he suggests that the “fix” is in for the Durrani plaintiffs.

“There is ONLY one explanation: The chief justice and Judge Schweikert’s desire to come to the aide of their allies in the medical industry, even a doctor who is an indicted fleeing felon and the hospitals who looked the other way to make money from that doctor,” Hammer states.

The hostilities between O’Connor and Hammer, who works for the firm managed by suspended lawyer Eric Deters, have sucked Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters into the fray. The two Deterses are not related.

In his Dec. 15 affidavit, Hammer refers to a letter in which Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Melba Marsh asks O’Connor to appoint a special judge to hear the Durrani cases. Although Marsh signed the Feb. 2, 2017 letter, Hammer states that a “credible witness inside the Hamilton County courts” said that the request wasn’t initiated by Marsh but

by O’Connor.

O’Connor doesn’t address that point in her answer to the federal lawsuit. But after she characterized his suit as one of “unfounded allegations,” Hammer disclosed that the “credible witness” was Joe Deters. A spokesman for Deters said the prosecutor had no comment. Marsh could not be reached Thursday.

Joe Deters, whose status as a part-time prosecutor allows him to take side jobs, entered the Durrani litigation picture in 2014 as co-counsel to the Deters Law Firm. Eric Deters says Joe Deters is no longer involved in the cases.

Contact James McNair: 513-914-2736, jmcnair@citybeat.com or @jmacnews

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Last year will go down as one of the most divisive in recent memory — but not on the streets of Cincinnati. Led

by BLINK and ArtWorks, the public murals program took a markedly progressive leap forward — in message, in design, in sheer presence — from what had come before.

We saw more murals with a deeper meaning and pledges to keep the conversations going in 2018. There was so much change that you may not be familiar with all that was accomplished in 2017, so here’s a look at how some of the most notable new artworks came about.

“I’M PA INTING WA LLS TO BR E A K ’EM DOW N,” says artist Benjamin Thomas while sitting in Parkside Café in Walnut Hills, a neighborhood dealing with questions of disparity and displacement.

Thomas then pauses a beat to let the simplicity and enormity of his action sink in. “There you go. That’s the main focus. That’s the hashtag,” he says. “I’m painting walls to break ’em down.”

His slogan is a bit longer than #wearewalnuthills or #wearecincinnati — the tags officially attached to his project — but Thomas will let others manage the online dialogue. He treasures the face-to-face conversations he had while creating the “We Are Cincinnati” mural outside the café.

Thomas’ artwork, done in partnership with the Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation, depicts four residents affected by segregation. It is one of several murals created in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky in 2017 that address cultural and physical barriers to social justice, diversity and community building. Painted almost entirely freehand with spray cans, Thomas’ mural also reflects a hipper, street-art style that became more pronounced on the region’s walls last year.

“We Are Cincinnati” is a grassroots movement that is just getting started. Meanwhile, ArtWorks, the nonprofit that has been making murals in the region for a decade (and is celebrating with the book Transforming Cincinnati), also set out to push social and artistic boundaries and work more closely with communities last year, says

CEO and Artistic Director Tamara Harkavy. Alongside more traditional murals that celebrate the Scripps National Spelling Bee, artist Edie Harper, the Flying Pig Marathon and Rookwood Pottery, ArtWorks’ other new projects seek to dispel myths about homelessness, welcome refugees, foster cultural understanding, rally defenders of democracy and recognize seven ordinary African-American females as Queen City royalty.

Popping in one time to “beautify a neighborhood” simply doesn’t go far enough in creating change. Artist Lizzy DuQuette, who helped design five multicultural murals in East Price Hill over the summer for ArtWorks, calls that well-meaning phrase “icky,” and Harkavy agrees. Her organization now is doubling down on year-over-year investments in people and places and the issues affecting them.

“I’m really excited about posing the questions, creating the dialogue, creating a safe place have these conversations,” Harkavy says. “It’s about unity. It’s about access. It’s about equity. It’s about respect. It’s about, in some ways, bubbling up and allowing ourselves to talk about our real

Artists take on the walls blocking social justice and community-building

BY K AT H Y S C H WA R T Z

“Wall of Queens” PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER

ArtWorks Murals that Carry a Message

Pate’s name might be familiar to those who saw his Kin Killin’ Kin exhibit two years ago at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. His powerful images compared black-on-black gang violence to the terrorism infl icted by the Ku Klux Klan.

Though all the faces in “Wall of Queens” are AfricanAmerican, this new work is not intended as a political or exclusionary statement, Pate says. Rather, the former Cincinnatian calls it another “wing of humanity” in the convention center.

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“R A ZZLE CA MP” | 2940 COLER A IN AV E., CA MP WASHINGTON: Incorporating patterns from northern Africa, the Mideast and Appalachia, the quilt mural on the building that houses Wave Pool gallery welcomes the refugees and immigrants who are settling in Cincinnati and embraces Camp Washington’s longtime blue-collar residents and makers.

“Pattern is really important to me, but I didn’t want to just make a collage of patterns,” says artist Christian Davies.

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“WALL OF QUEENS” | INSIDE THE DU K E ENERGY CON V ENTION CENTER, 525 ELM ST., DOW N TOW N: Hopefully, both locals and visiting conventioneers will discover this upper-level installation, which is a reflection of the city’s diversity as well as its diligence.

Artist James Pate and nine apprentices etched away at 280 scratchboard panels over the summer and into the fall.

“The only focus was to scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch,” Pate said at the October dedication. Finally, a beautiful panorama that looks like a black-and-white photograph came together.

Six African-American women and a little girl — acquaintances of the Dayton artist, plus his young daughter — gaze proudly from the wall. Each wears a crown and is surrounded by a halo effect. Their number is a reference to the seven hills of Cincinnati. The rippling layout of the panels is intended to evoke the Ohio River.

“Absolutely, undeniably stunning. Love it! Love it!” Harkavy says. “One of the favorite things I’ve ever seen.”

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truths and seriously, honestly, expressing ourselves.”

For proof of art’s ability to connect, she points to the enormous success of the BLINK festival, which ArtWorks helped produce. Over four days in October, an estimated 1 million people visited 20 blocks of downtown and Overthe-Rhine, where artists used light and murals to envision a future city of creativity, innovation and inclusion.

Across the river and on a smaller scale, artist and restaurant owner Emily Wolff also has used art and light to unite neighborhoods. Working with a grant from People’s Liberty, Wolff has been painting a bright abstract mural and installing chandeliers in the Sixth Street railroad underpass that cuts off Covington’s MainStrasse from the Mutter Gottes Historic District and redevelopment on Madison Avenue.

Years of neglect have turned CSX’s passageways into intimidating canyons for pedestrians across the city.

“Challenging people on what we perceive as normal — that’s exciting to me,” Wolff says of her creative placemaking. “Th is should be the standard.”

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Clockwise from top left: “Razzle Camp,” East Price Hill Mini-mural, and “Democracy!”

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PHOTOS: HAILEY BOLLINGER

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The “razzle” part of the title refers to razzle-dazzle camouflage used on ships during World War I. With its diagonal designs, razzle camouflage didn’t hide ships as much as it made it difficult to determine which direction they were going or how many there were.

Davies, of San Francisco, introduced the idea while discussing the mural’s design with immigrant girls who attend Roberts Paideia Academy and refugee women who practice artisan skills at The Welcome Project, a social enterprise between Wave Pool and the outreach organization Heartfelt Tidbits.

“The girls got it right away,” Davies says. “How can you incorporate who you are in how you adapt to navigating these things, to finding safe passage in this new world that you’re transported to?”

Heartfelt Tidbits founder Sheryl Rajbhandari says “Razzle Camp” brings recognition to more than 25,000 refugees who are living among us as a hidden population.

The painting is in sight of “Campy Washington,” a 2008 ArtWorks mural that depicts George Washington in a

Victorian gown with a cow from the neighborhood’s stockyards by his side. The president’s costume is a nod to Schenz Theatrical Supply, a landmark in the eclectic community.

But some residents objected to seeing a Founding Father in drag, even signing a petition that still sits inside U.S. Chili.

Harkavy and Calcagno Cullen, co-founder of Wave Pool, love that “Razzle Camp” is an abstract work that subtly makes its political statement. It’s a different kind of talking point for the neighborhood. The newer mural, says Harkavy, “really marks that permission, or more of a permission, that we have now to use our murals to have community conversations.”

EAST PR ICE HILL MUR AL SER IES | FI V E MINI M U R A LS, 33003600 BLOCKS OF WA RSAW AV E., E AST PR ICE HILL: The childlike collages along this diverse neighborhood’s gritty thoroughfare are full of favorite foods, animals, sports equipment, musical instruments, flowers and messages of unity. What’s more noteworthy is what was left out.

“What we wanted to see is that rainbow reflecting the community that it is. We did not want to see anything trite,” Harkavy says. “I did not want to see (the cliché of) the black people and the white people holding hands. No, we are way beyond that in how we create authenticity.”

The murals’ genuineness grew out of multiple community engagements with artists John Lanzador and Lizzy DuQuette, who is a Price Hill resident. As the two attended MYCincinnati concerts, a Las Alfombras celebration and the opening of Percussion Park or met shoppers at Kroger, they distributed questionnaires asking residents to share treasured things about their heritage and their neighborhood. The letters making up the murals’ messages — positive phrases such as “Give peace a chance” and “Come sit at my table” — were cut of out cloth that neighborhood youngsters and senior citizens painted.

Lanzador, who was born in the Philippines, says it was important to him and DuQuette that they made symbolic references to immigration rather than adopting a heavyhanded point of view. They hint at the topic by including

“Faces of Homelessness” PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER

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“FACES OF HOMELESSNESS” | 1225 V INE ST., OV ERTHE R HINE: This four-story mural on the side of the Recovery Hotel for homeless addicts marks ArtWorks’ second collaboration with Brooklyn-based stencil artists ICY + SOT. In 2016, the Iranian refugees, who are brothers, designed an edgy anti-gun mural for the facade of downtown’s Christ Church Cathedral that was temporary. This mural is permanent — remaining at least until homelessness is eradicated, says Harkavy.

The faces are of real people who have experienced homelessness. They don’t look much different from you, your family, friends or coworkers, which is the point.

“A big challenge is helping the community understand who is actually homeless,” said President and CEO of Strategies to End Homelessness, Kevin Finn, at the mural dedication. “We don’t want people to buy into myths or stereotypes.”

The artists and the youth apprentices hired by ArtWorks met with clients of Over-the-Rhine Community Housing and other agencies to hear stories that would inform the design of the Vine Street mural. The team also made satellite installations about homelessness among the LGBTQ community, abused women, veterans and families. Children represent a quarter of Hamilton County’s homeless population.

Giselle Davis is the young woman on the center of the big wall, with her little boy hoisted on her shoulders. She spoke at the dedication, introducing herself as “one of the beautiful people that’s on this mural.” Their faces are smiling in testament to what happens when people join together to do good.

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“DEMOCR ACY!” | 1200 WA LN U T ST., OV ERTHE R HINE: “Messy” is the adjective Harkavy keeps turning to when describing the gonzo design by British illustrator Ralph Steadman, and the government as well. The word “democracy” is at the center of a large splatter and

a screaming mouth takes the place of the “o.” It’s a call to get involved somewhere, somehow.

This is the first time Steadman’s art has appeared on a public mural. He made his name in the pages of Rolling Stone while collaborating with writer Hunter S. Thompson, but his street-style art deserves to live outside, project manager Jenny Ustick said at the dedication. Harkavy predicts that the “Democracy!” image will spark conversations and become a civic icon, similar to ArtWorks’ “Sing the Queen City” sculpture near the riverfront.

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the migratory Monarch butterfly on some murals. One collage does include the Spanish translation of “The community united will never be defeated”: El pueblo unido, jamás será vencido.

Lanzador says he modeled an image of a girl playing the violin after a Guatemalan child he saw at the Las Alfombras event, but it’s the joy of seeing anyone doing what they love that’s truly important in a thriving community.

One day last summer, the artist was standing by the painting when a woman in a car called to him, “Is that my daughter?”

“She was asking about her own daughter who plays violin,” Lanzador says. “And I said, ‘Tell her it is,’ because it really could be anybody’s daughter.”

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“We Are Walnut Hills”

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PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER

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Davis at one time had an apartment, a car and a job.

Then she lost everything. Th rough the Interfaith Hospitality Network, she found shelter and stability again. “I want everyone to see that the visible person on the street who may ask you for money is not the only face of homelessness,” she told the crowd. “It’s also everyday people hidden in our community.”

ArtWorks apprentice Josie Masset said the stories she heard while working on this mural taught her to overcome feelings of fear, guilt and hopelessness in favor of strength, empathy and engagement.

The entire experience was cathartic, says Harkavy. “It was a very difficult mural to create, as it should have been.”

Find more information on ArtWorks and its murals at artworkscincinnati.org.

We Are Cincinnati Benjamin Thomas spent as much time listening as he did spray-painting for a couple months last summer outside the Parkside Café at 1026 E. McMillian St. in Walnut Hills.

“I would be engaging in conversation after conversation,” he says — sometimes up to an hour. “Doubt about what I was even doing and how it would really affect people was completely erased by all the interaction I had.”

The four people on the “We Are Cincinnati” mural are Walnut Hills residents who feel the burden of segregation in their neighborhood and frustration at the developers who want to push them out, even though they’re trying to make life better.

George Smith played baseball in the Mets farm system.

He’d like to connect with sponsors who could help him start a Little League team that would keep kids away from crime.

Leonard Jackson and wife Shawn pick up trash daily in the business district. “I’m just trying to be an example for people to begin to take initiative and pride in their own properties and their own communities. That’s the only way that you are going to better a community — not by moving people out,” Leonard says. “You hear about all these community organizations, (but) the everyday individual that’s been doing it for years is being overlooked.”

Brenae Ivory is interested in being a photographer and broadcaster. But after a troubled past, she’s still learning how to find the resources to make that happen, says Aprina Johnson, community coordinator for the Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation. The foundation recruited Thomas and three other artists to share the neighborhood’s stories.

With the “We Are Cincinnati” project, Thomas wants public art to move beyond murals that feature people of color only after they’ve achieved something big.

“It’s not about uplifting people already in good spirits and doing things. It’s really about trying to help people right where they’re at,” he says. For example, let an imperfect young person shadow you at your job. If you don’t have time to coach a team, support someone who does.

“Show some love regardless of the merit of that person and what they’ve done for you,” Thomas says. “When people hang out, that’s really where walls break down.”

Thomas wants to bring We Are Cincinnati to his Price Hill neighborhood and others in 2018. Find more information at facebook.com/wearecincinnati.

Emily Wolff P H O T O : L A U R E N D I F U LV I O

BLINK murals by Swoon (left) and “The Annunciation”

by Xylene Projects PHOTOS: HAILEY BOLLINGER

ARTeries

Epilogue: The Future City

C I T Y B E AT. C O M

During BLINK, local marketing agency AGAR recruited international street artists and the Cincinnati design fi rm Xylene to create murals along Pleasant Street and other sites near Findlay Market. Street artist Swoon’s sweeping exhibit at the Contemporary Arts Center overflowed into alleys in Over-the-Rhine. With their cool, funky, bold, beautiful, brooding and psychedelic designs, the invited artists held up a new mirror to Cincinnati. BLINK’s mission was to envision the future city.

ArtWork’s Harkavy expects that city will be a place that both celebrates art for art’s sake and uses it to engage in important conversations that connect communities and lift people up. She and ArtWorks are working on a concept tentatively called Cincinnati Paint by Numbers that will invite more hands to participate in the making of a mural.

“The theme, the look, the tone, the feel, I don’t know what that’s going to be yet,” she says. “But I do know it will have a social charge to it and a meaning beyond the pretty picture.”

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“The star, to me, has this symbolism of a guiding light leading from point A to point B,” she says. “And it’s playful. I want it to feel playful. I want it to feel welcoming.”

Modern-looking chandeliers from a Covington synagogue have replaced tube lighting. Wolff points out that the pattern formed by their six lamps also suggests a star. She fi nds it serendipitous that they are being reused to again create a sense of peace and beauty.

“It’s awesome to hear other people saying we deserve this beautiful underpass,” Wolff says. “Th is should be the standard, as opposed to crumbling cement and unsafe lighting.”

Wolff has worked on the project during festivals when Sixth Street is closed, and she intends to fi nish during MainStrasse’s Maifest 2018. Once this underpass is done, she hopes artists will adopt others to better connect a whole community divided by a railroad.

See video of the underpass transformation and get more information at peoplesliberty.org/emilywolff.

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Restaurateur Emily Wolff found it unacceptable that after dining at her establishments Otto’s and Frida 602 in historic MainStrasse, her customers were taking Uber rather than walking the few blocks to the goings-on at Braxton Brewing Co. on Seventh Street and new businesses along Madison Avenue. They said they were too “creeped out” to venture through the dim, deteriorating CSX railroad underpass at Sixth Street on foot. So she came up a way to make the underpass a destination itself and a connector rather than a divider between Covington’s east and west sides.

Wolff made a pitch to the People’s Liberty philanthropy for a grant that could challenge Covington to rethink its infrastructure. “What if we used creative lighting? What if we used chandeliers? What if we used paint in a way of creative way-fi nding?” she says.

Wolff, who studied fi ne arts and design, has painted a bold graphic of black and white lines, pink triangles and gold stars that spread from the ceiling to sidewalk.

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Vote for your favorite businesses, people, places, organizations and experiences now through Feb. 1. v ot e .C it yBe at.com

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STUFF TO DO

Ramen Rundown

We may not have gotten the East Coast’s #BombCyclone, but it’s been real freaking cold in Cincinnati lately. And what’s better on a frigid day than a steaming bowl of ramen soup? Probably a couple of things, but that’s not the focus here — right now, we’re talking ’bout noodz. And if you’re hunting for some ramen in Cincinnati, here are a few places to find it.

• Northside Yacht Club — While we wait for chef Hideki Harada (formerly of Kaze) and his wife, Yuko, to open their College Hill Japanese gastropub Kiki, Harada is hosting a pop-up ramen night at the Northside Yacht Club every Monday in January. He’s offering a scratch-made meat option and a veggie option to psych people up for Kiki — and it’s working. Ramen night has sold out every time. Get there early to grab a bowl. (Read more on Kiki at citybeat. com.) 4 p.m. Mondays through Jan. 29. 4231 Spring Grove Ave., Northside, northsideyachtclub.com.

• Please — Another weekly pop-up ramen party happens Tuesday nights at Please in OTR. Chef Ryan Santos has been crafting creative noodle options with flavor combos like chicken yuzu shoyu, vegan kimchi with tofu and a real good veggie skyline interpretation (to which you can add beef fat if you’re feeling wild). 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays. 1405 Clay St., Over-the-Rhine, pleasecincinnati.com.

• Quan Hapa — Create your own ramen here. Pick from tonkotsu or mushroom broth, then add in goodies ranging

WEDNESDAY 10

ONSTAGE: Broadway’s Waitress, with music by Grammy winner Sara Bareilles, tells the story of a pie-maker on her journey to self-discovery. See feature on page 20.

• Kaze OTR — On every day but Monday, head to Kaze during happy hour for a lil bowl of pork belly ramen with bok choy and a poached egg for just $4.50.

There are half-price sushi deals too, and the specialty cocktails — like the cutie honey with vodka, elderflower and Aperol — drop to just $5 a pop. 4-7 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 4-6 p.m. Saturday; 4-close Sunday. 1400 Vine St., Over-theRhine, kazeotr.com.

• Maki Express — Maki got a makeover and along with adding some traditional seating and Pop Art murals, they streamlined the menu to feature rice dishes, traditional gastro-apps and a small selection of legit ramen. For $9, grab homemade noodles in either shoyu, tonkotsu and miso broth with toppings like soft-boiled egg, pork chashu, spinach, bamboo and sweet corn. 209 W. McMillan St., Clifton, 513-721-6999.

animal exhibits will also be open throughout the park for you to warm up. And although he won’t be on exhibit yet, the zoo’s newest addition — little baby aardvark Winsol — is hanging behind the scenes with his mom and a care team until he’s big enough to join his dad, Diggy, in Night Hunters.

Through March 9. $8.50 adults; $6 children/seniors.

Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, 3400 Vine St., Avondale, cincinnatizoo.org.

— MAIJA ZUMMO LECTURE: Dr. James Grymes In advance of the Holocaust & Humanity Center’s Violins of Hope concert on Jan. 23 at Music Hall, musicologist Dr. James A. Grymes heads to the library to discuss his book, Violins of Hope: Instruments of Hope and Liberation in Mankind’s Darkest Hour. It tells the

remarkable true stories of the violins played by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust, as well as the story of Israeli violin-maker Amnon Weinstein, who brings the instruments back to life. Dr. Grymes will also discuss the roles the violin played in Jewish ghettos and concentration camps, providing comfort, salvation and even helping to avenge a murdered family. There will be a signing after the lecture. Read more about Violins of Hope on page 21.

7 p.m. Wednesday. Free but spaces are limited; RSVP by calling 513-287-7001.

Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Main Branch, 800 Vine St., Downtown, cincymuseum. org. — MAIJA ZUMMO

THURSDAY 11

MUSIC: St. Vincent supports the Pop-centric Masseduction — her

Chef Hideki Harada’s mushroom ramen P H O T O : maija zummo

messiest and most accessible record to date — at the Taft Theatre. See Sound Advice on page 32.

ART: so far at Eva G. Farris Art Gallery Thomas More College’s Eva G. Farris Art Gallery hosts an exhibition of recent work

by Art Academy of Cincinnati professor and sculptor Keith Benjamin titled so far.

The artist works with found cardboard, plastic and fabric, employing everyday objects like soda cartons, buckets and clothing to make visually compelling assemblages. The opening reception will take place Thursday and Benjamin

Ongoing Shows VISUAL ART:

Swoon: The Canyon 1999-2017 Contemporary Arts Center, Downtown (through Feb. 25)

will give a gallery talk at noon on Jan. 23. Opening reception 4-7 p.m. Thursday. Through Feb. 1. Free.

Eva G. Farris Art Gallery, 333 Thomas More Parkway, Crestview Hills, Ky., thomasmore.edu. — MARIA SEDA-REEDER

FRIDAY 12

MUSIC: Top-tier Jam band Umphrey’s McGee plays two nights at the Taft Theatre. See Sound Advice on page 32.

EVENT: Cincinnati Travel, Sports & Boat Show With 60 years’ worth of tradition in tow, the Cincinnati Travel, Sports & Boat Show docks at the Duke Energy Convention Center on Friday for two weeks of exhibitions featuring sporting equipment for all seasons: pontoons for summertime seafaring, hiking gear for autumnal excursions, winter sports paraphernalia and CONTINUES ON PAGE 18

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ATTRACTION: Half-Price Zoo Days While Fiona the hippo might not enjoy the belowfreezing temps, other zoo animals love a good winter frolic, including penguins, polar bears, snow monkeys, red pandas and even elephants. Watch them all enjoy enrichment activities during the zoo’s deal days, with half-price admission through March 9. On Saturdays and Sundays, the polar bears get fish-cicles, the elephants get fruit iceblocks and the sea lions get a treat while keepers and zoo workers give educational chats. Heated indoor

from pork belly and shrimp to fried tofu, bacon and burnt garlic chili. Prices start at $7, and if you stop by Monday on night, you can also grab an $8 rotating chef-special okonomiyaki. 1331 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, quanhapa.com.

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FROM PAGE 17

The Irish American Theater Company Presents

A new play by Paul Meade North American Premiere Directed

by Michelle Crowley

January 19 - 8pm January 21st - 3pm th

Tickets online at cincyticket.com/faith

OR by calling the Irish Center Box Office

even golf clubs for those who dream of springtime’s thawed fairways. Also, don’t miss the 12th-annual turkey calling contest, which will be held on the show’s second Saturday. Through Jan. 21. $12; free for kids. Duke Energy Convention Center, 525 Elm St., Downtown, cincinnatiboatshow.com.

— JUDE NOEL EVENT: Silent Cincy: Silent Dance Party If you’re interested in being around a bunch of people but only barely interacting with them, Bogart’s is hosting a silent rave where attendees show up, grab a pair of wireless headphones

and pick a live DJ stream from a couple of channels, then dance by themselves to music only they can hear.

It’s a dance party minus the amps and speakers. Find a friend to dance with by checking the colored LED light on their headset; each DJ stream has its own color marker. If you have the same color on, you’re listening to the same DJ. 8 p.m. doors Friday. Bogart’s, 2621 Vine St., Corryville, bogarts.com.

— MAIJA ZUMMO

SUNDAY 14

MUSIC: Chicago Indie rockers Ratboys bring a visceral flurry of whisper-toscream beauty and intensity to MOTR Pub. See Sound Advice on page 33.

EVENT: Art on Vine Head to Rhinegeist for a shoppable indoor art show. Art on Vine features more than 60 local makers selling fine art and handmade goodies. Meet, greet, discuss and shop while grabbing a beer and some snacks from Sartre OTR. Noon-7 p.m. Sunday.

Free admission. Rhinegeist, 1910 Elm St., Over-theRhine, artonvinecincy.com.

— MAIJA ZUMMO EVENT: Reading by Kathy Y. Wilson and Lecture by David Pilgrim Those who have missed reading the no-nonsense words of longtime columnist Kathy Y. Wilson in CityBeat can hear directly

at 513-533-0100

WEDNESDAY 10

3905 Eastern Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45226 IrishCenterOfCincinnati.com

27 Years of Live Stand-Up Comedy in Cincinnati!

Show Times

EVENT: Breathe Free and Columbus Crossing Borders As Congress prepares for a showdown over Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, and President Trump continues to insist on building a wall between the U.S. and Mexico, a touring documentary about immigrants arrives to strip away politics in favor of personal stories of courage. Breathe Free visits five refugees who settled in central Ohio, the people aiding them and the artists who created an exhibit — Columbus Crossing Borders — in their honor. In the accompanying series of 34 paintings, rivers flow, desperate figures run and hands reach from one artwork to another until a community of cooperation emerges. The screening and panel discussion take place at WCET Studios on Wednesday, and the one-day art exhibit will be on display at Xavier University Art Gallery on Thursday. Breathe Free also screens again at 4:30 and 6 p.m. Thursday at Xavier for a $5 donation. Film: 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Free. WCET studios, 1223 Central Parkway, West End, register at breathefree.eventbrite.com. Exhibit: Opens 10 a.m. Thursday with a 4-7 p.m. reception. Free. Xavier University Art Gallery, 1658 Herald Ave., Evanston, eventbrite.com/e/columbus-crossing-borders-tickets-39972887984. — KATHY SCHWARTZ

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SATURDAY 13

EVENT: Jungle Jim’s Barrel Aged Beer Bash Whether you’re proposing a toast to the new year or drowning the sorrows of your crummy 2017, Jungle Jim’s smorgasbord of over 100 hard-to-find and exclusive brews provides an opportunity to ring in the annum with a diverse array of barrelaged flavors. The product of repurposed barrels that once contained whiskey, tequila, rum and wine, these aged beers will teach your tastebuds the Kierkegaardian truth that life can only be “understood backwards, but must be lived forwards.” Ticket holders receive entry to the Barrel Aged Beer Bash, a tasting guide and a nifty commemorative glass to display proudly alongside your collection of novelty dishware. 7-9:30 p.m. Saturday. $60 drinker; $15 non-drinker. Jungle Jim’s, ​5 440​ ​Dixie​ ​Highway,​ ​Fairfield,​ junglejims.com. — JUDE NOEL

COMEDY: Hair of the Dog Comedy Showcase “It’s an afternoon show and it’s booked with the city’s

best local comics,” says comedian Billy DeVore of the Hair of the Dog Comedy Showcase at Quincy’s in Mount Adams. DeVore organizes the show, which is co-hosted by fellow funnyman Jon Holmes. Putting the show together every second and fourth Sunday for the past few months has been exciting for DeVore.

“You get to watch people get better and it feels like you’re helping the scene,” he says. “It’s nice to watch someone who starts at your show and is super green get better and start writing better jokes. It also feels like we’re creating a sense of community with the comics.” DeVore himself has seen his own star rising, regularly hosting and featuring at Go Bananas while planning to tour more throughout the Midwest in 2018. 3 p.m. Sunday. Free admission. Quincy’s, 1101 Saint Gregory St., Mount Adams, quincysmtadams. com. — P.F. WILSON

TUESDAY 16

FILM: Across the Universe Cincy World Cinema heads to Memorial Hall to host a screening of Across the Universe, a musical love story set in the 1960s with a plot driven by the lyrics of Beatles songs. A boy from Liverpool, England (Jim Sturgess) falls in love with a girl from Dayton, Ohio (Evan Rachel Wood) as they “are swept up and come apart in the evolving culture framed by the war in Vietnam, the struggle for civil rights, protests, the nascent women’s movement (and) sex, drugs and Rock & Roll,” according to a description from Cincy World Cinema. Expect dancing, colorful sets, animation and reimagined and reworked interpretations of Beatles classics. 7 p.m.

Tuesday. $10 advance; $15 door. Memorial Hall, 1225 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, memorialhallotr.com.

— MAIJA ZUMMO

YOUR WEEKEND TO DO LIST: Local.citybeat.com

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from the woman herself as she takes the stage at the Aronoff Center to share the memories behind the art and ephemera on display in Sanctuary: Kathy Y. Wilson Living in a Colored Museum.

The exhibit at the adjoining Weston Art Gallery (through Jan. 28) recreates the look of Wilson’s apartment, where she has amassed an Afrocentric collection that includes items from America’s racist history. David Pilgrim, founder and curator of the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia at Ferris State University in Michigan, will speak about how society can turn these objects of intolerance into teaching tools for today. A free salon with Wilson and Pilgrim follows at the Weston at 3 p.m.

1 p.m. Sunday. $20; $15 students. Jarson-Kaplan Theater, Aronoff Center, 650 Walnut St., Downtown, westonartgallery.com.

— KATHY SCHWARTZ

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ARTS & CULTURE

A Sweet Musical about Pies In Waitress, Desi Oakley gets her just desserts in a story of self-discovery

BY R I C K PEN D ER

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pie recipe can seem simple.

Jenna, the beleaguered pie-maker at the center of Waitress, lists the essential ingredients in the first song of the touring Broadway show, at the Aronoff Center for the Arts now through Jan. 21: “Sugar. Butter. Flour.”

Of course there’s more to a winning pie, just as there are many more elements necessary for a successful musical. Pop composer and Grammy winner Sara Bareilles had the recipe for the songs to fill out Jenna’s story, drawn from a film starring Keri Russell, best known today as Elizabeth Jennings, a KGB agent leading a double-life in FX’s The Americans.

The 2007 independent film was written and directed by Adrienne Shelly, who is seen in the film in a supporting role. (The filmmaker was tragically murdered in November 2006.)

Waitress became a surprise 2016 hit on Broadway with a script, adapted by Jessie Nelson, about a young woman trapped in a loveless marriage who finds herself unexpectedly pregnant. The show featured a winning performance by Jessie Mueller (who had already won a Tony for Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) as Jenna.

Bareilles performed the role several times; on Broadway today, Betsy Wolfe, a 2004 grad of University of Cincinnati’s CollegeConservatory of Music, is the lead.

When it came time to cast a touring production, it was essential to find the right performer to play Jenna, who escapes her difficult reality through baking. Desi Oakley landed the part.

“It’s an honor to follow in the footsteps of those incredible, dynamic performers,” she says. “I don’t tend to listen to cast recordings. I learned the music for Waitress from the page, not from hearing the cast recording. Nadia (DiGiallonardo, the show’s music supervisor and arranger) and Sara (Bareilles) worked with me from the beginning to pioneer it for myself.”

“I’m a singer-songwriter myself,” Oakley continues, “so that’s my voice. They stressed a balance of trust with this cast, blending the original Broadway production with our own thing for the tour. We were encouraged to bring our own ideas and artistry.”

Bareilles rose to attention with her 2007 hit single, “Love Song.” Subsequently, she has been often compared to artists such as Regina Spektor, Fiona Apple and Billy Joel — singers who accompany themselves on piano. Working with her has been a singular treat for Oakley.

“Her score for Waitress is brilliant,” she says. “It’s no wonder she wrote a musical.

She is a storyteller — all of her songs are stories with character and tone. Her music is perfect for performing. As an actress, I can go seamlessly from scene to song. Her lyrics are so real, and her deep melodies are so sweet.”

An intriguing aspect of Waitress is the fact that its creative team is female. Beyond Bareilles and DiGiallonardo, there is director Diane Paulus, bookwriter Nelson, costume designer Suttirat Anne Larlarb and choreographer Lorin Latarro. Oakley says that was happenstance.

“Everybody was chosen for the job, just identifying the right person,” she says.

“When they all came together for the first time it was like, ‘Whoa, we’re all women!’

No one said, ‘Let’s make it an all-woman team.’ They were simply the right people for the job.”

Oakley had a singular challenge in playing the pie-loving waitress Jenna: She had never baked a pie. But her mom stepped up to provide some help. She travelled to New York City and told her daughter, “I think it’s important that I teach you how to make a pie with your grandmother’s recipe,” Oakley says. “She taught me how, and I have the photos to prove it — with sugar, butter and flour.”

So she knows how, even if she’s not actually doing it during the play. “Onstage, we’re using real flour, sugar and dough — all the real ingredients, for sure. But there’s not enough time to actually bake anything.”

The character Jenna’s creations reflect her attitudes and feelings. Oakley’s favorite is “The Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness Pie.” “It’s probably Jenna’s most carefully constructed pie, based on how she’s feeling at that moment,” she says. “It’s also the furthest pie from her reality.”

Oakley sensuously repeats the recipe of that patriotic pie: “Meld warm Golden Delicious apples with free-flowing brown sugar, add cinnamon and allspice, fold in cocoa chiffon until they merge perfectly, top with peaks of Chantilly cream.”

She warns those planning to attend Waitress: “This show will make you crave pie.” Indeed, warm slices, baked in the lobby, are available during intermission.

Oakley has come to know Jenna well.

“She is an expert at burying her problems in her pies and not facing her harsh reality,” she says. “She continues to move forward and bus tables and bake pies. But everyone in her life starts to open her eyes to the reality around her. I admire her strength.

Her story breaks my heart every night.”

Desi Oakley plays Jenna in Waitress.

P H O T O : J oan marc u s

It’s not Oakley’s personal story, however.

“She believes she’s not worthy of something more, while I have dreamt of this (theater) career since I was 14,” she says.

“I’ve fought for my dreams. Jenna doesn’t even realize what’s possible. Her story and the people around her have shaped me.”

Oakley feels a responsibility to tell Jenna’s story. She’s been in shows like Wicked and Evita, but she’s never played the “girl next door” type.

“This role is unlike any I’ve played before,” she says. “Jenna is more tangible to an audience than a girl with green skin or a

woman who ran a country. That accessibility excites me and fuels me to tell her story.

This really hits home for a lot of people.”

Waitress, according to Oakley, is not just a show for women. “It’s the story of the people in a woman’s life. This show is a universal story of self-discovery and personal awakening. Men are standing up at the end of the show, too.”

Waitress, presented by Broadway in Cincinnati, continues at the Aronoff Center through Jan. 21. More info: cincinnatiarts.org.

BIG PICTURE

Holocaust & Humanity Center to Move

BY S T E V EN R O S EN

who didn’t go along, who resisted in big or small ways,” she says. “When we pivot to the humanities gallery, (it) will look at how all of us can be upstanders in our own way and in our own communities, using our own talents and skills to work on issues current in our present day.”

Weiss said the center has set a goal of $11 million for the new space, plus $4 million in testamentary commitments for an endowment. To date, it has raised $8.5 mil-

Executive Director Sarah L. Weiss PHOTO: PROVIDED

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lion toward the first goal, from individuals and foundations, and $3.5 million toward the second. Donors Nancy and David Wolf have committed $5 million of the overall amount. The center has also requested $500,000 in capital funding from the state.

This month, the Holocaust & Humanity Center is presenting the Violins of Hope concert at Music Hall at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 23. The eight violins once were played by captive musicians during the Holocaust and subsequently restored by Israeli violinmaker Amnon Weinstein and his son Avshi.

(The center brought one of these violins, used at the Auschwitz death camp, to Cincinnati previously.) At Music Hall, they will be played by members of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and the Ariel Quartet.

“It’s connected to our move,” Weiss says.

“It’s just a year from when we’ll open our new museum at our new home in Union Terminal, so it’s the perfect time to bring a major event to the community.”

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The Holocaust & Humanity Center, founded by Holocaust survivors and their families, has been a presence in Cincinnati since 2000 with its educational programs and small museum. It currently has space inside Kenwood’s Rockwern Academy, a Jewish community day school.

It has steadily developed a following — on my recent visit, people slowly but continually arrived to see a traveling exhibit about Anne Frank. Yet, one wouldn’t say the relatively young institution is equal in name recognition with, say, the Cincinnati Museum Center.

But that is on course to soon change. In fact, once the ongoing renovation of Union Terminal is done, the Holocaust & Humanity Center will become part of the Cincinnati Museum Center.

“Visibility is important to us,” says Sarah L. Weiss, executive director of the Holocaust & Humanity Center. “Over the years, people have said to us, ‘You’re a hidden gem.’ We don’t want to be a hidden gem.”

“And there’s an authentic connection between the history of our work and the (new) space,” she continues. “Most of the refugees who came here before the war, and the (Holocaust death camp) survivors who came here after the war, came to Cincinnati by train. So their first steps at rebuilding their lives in our community were at Union Terminal.”

Those numbers of refugees and survivors totaled more than 1,000, she says. Plus, many American soldiers also returned home by train after defeating the Nazis to end World War II. The Nazis were intent on exterminating the Jews of Europe at death camps, and did murder some 6 million.

The Holocaust & Humanity Center has hired Berenbaum-Jacobs Associates and Jack Rouse Associates to design the new 7,500-square-foot exhibit space at the Cincinnati Museum Center. It will be on a lower floor, part of reconfigured space that has held the Cincinnati History Library and Archives and a gallery. The center currently has some 2,000 objects — artifacts and archival material — and is looking for more, especially ones that relate to the stories of local Holocaust survivors and their families.

“We will start the (visitor) experience with an art piece comprised of facsimiles of all the documents needed to come to Cincinnati — the passports and affidavits; for the soldiers, orders or copies of dog tags,” Weiss says.

The gallery telling the story of the Holocaust will use the experiences of the people featured in the exhibit’s beginning, as well as introduce stories of others. It will also put their stories in the context of the larger historical event.

The second “humanity” gallery will attempt, among other things, to introduce and inspire visitors with stories of “upstanders.” There were bystanders, victims, perpetrators and upstanders, Weiss explains. The latter were “individuals

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CULTURE

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Homecoming, MusicNOW Unveil Acts

BY S T E V EN R O S EN

The initial lineups for The National’s new Homecoming music fest and its member Bryce Dessner’s continuing MusicNOW suggests that April 27-29 is shaping up to be a major three-day weekend for music in Cincinnati.

The National, featuring Cincinnati natives who later found success as a band in Brooklyn, N.Y., announced the Homecoming festival in December and said they would headline the April 28-29 event with a different full set each night at Smale Riverfront Park along the riverfront. They also said they’d soon start announcing the more than 20 acts that would perform on two stages as part of Homecoming.

The first names this week to be made public — some established, some relatively new — are big or buzzed-about acts in the AltRock world: Father John Misty, Future Islands, The Breeders, Lord Huron, Julien Baker, Moses Sumney, Alvvays and Big Thief. Homecoming tickets already are for sale at ntlhomecoming.com.

Father John Misty (Josh Tillman) and The National are both nominated this year for a Grammy in the Best Alternative Music Album; he for Pure Comedy and the band for Sleep Well Beast. Some of the others have been winning accolades and showing up on end-of-the-year lists for their 2017 albums: Baker’s spare, cathartic performance of her songs on Turn Out the Lights brought cheers on Late Night with Stephen Colbert, Canadian band Alvvays’ Antisocialites has proved popular and Sumney was called

by Pitchfork an “art-soul singer-songwriter (who) taps into the enduring resonance of (African-American writer Langston) Hughes’ blues melancholy.”

Meanwhile, Dessner’s April 27-29 contemporary music festival MusicNOW has also announced its first musical acts, and there are some very intriguing names. Dessner and his twin brother Aaron (both guitarists in The National) will perform together, and others include Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Mouse on Mars, Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir, Crash Ensemble, James McVinnie and Eighth Blackbird. That latter contemporary Classical ensemble will perform music by the late minimal composer Julius Eastman and will also perform with Bonnie “Prince” Billy (Will Oldham) and Bryce Dessner.

Eighth Blackbird’s Eastman program is promising. Eastman was America’s foremost African-American composer of minimalist Classical music, known for the politically charged and confrontational titles of his work. But he died largely forgotten in 1990, having experienced homelessness. His music/legacy has been enjoying quite a comeback in recent years, however, with recordings of his work being issued and a biography published.

Eighth Blackbird will also play with the Cincinnati Ballet as part of its MusicNOWaffi liated Bold Moves dance program.

Dessner has staged MusicNOW here since 2006 when it began at the

Contemporary Arts Center. Since then, it has primarily been centered at Memorial Hall, Music Hall and the Taft Theatre.

But this year’s fest is decentralized and will offer “city-wide” events. Information on tickets for MusicNOW shows will be released in February.

MusicNOW and Homecoming this year are being produced by Ashley Capps’ AC Entertainment, which also produces Knoxville’s experimental Big Ears Festival.

Moses Sumney will be at Homecoming festival.

PHOTO: IBRA AKE

“I look forward to coming home to Cincinnati every spring for the MusicNOW festival, which has become a huge part of my artistic life,” Dessner said in an announcement. “I am unbelievably excited to invite my bandmates and fellow Cincinnatians from The National this year to join me in creating a new outdoor event called Homecoming that will feature performances from many of our favorite artists in the world.”

In an email, Capps said that he and Dessner enjoyed collaborating back in 2010 when Dessner curated the second Big Ears festival. “Since then ...we’ve shared many ideas, including about ways for MusicNOW to grow and evolve, including the idea of incorporating an outdoor component.

“At the same time, the National has grown to become a major band, and we started discussing creating a special way to celebrate their Cincinnati roots and to do something a bit beyond the scope of having their show here be simply another date on the tour,” Capps says. “It’s very exciting and totally unique.”

Find more information about Homecoming at ntlhomecoming.com and MusicNOW at musicnowfestival.org.

DANCE

Cincinnati Ballet Makes ‘Bold Moves’ By l e y l a S ho kooh e

Collaborative endeavors pepper the rest of Cincinnati Ballet’s season, too. In collaboration with Ballet West of Salt Lake City, the company has commissioned new choreography from Nicolo Fonte for Carmina Burana, running Feb. 8-11 at Music Hall.

The epic Carmina Burana score, by Carl Orff, will be performed by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. The May Festival Chorus will participate as well.

Dancers dress casual in “Murder Ballades.”

P H O T O : A a r o n M . C o n w ay

“Carmina Burana is truly an iconic piece,” Morgan says. “I wanted our dancers to have the experience of working with Nicolo because working with a really good choreographer in the creative process is such an important part of a dancer’s career.”

George Balanchine’s graceful Serenade is also on the same bill. “If Carmina is hot, fiery, raunchy and on edge, Serenade is feminine, beautiful lines, sweeping, organic moonlight. It’s Tchaikovsky’s strings; it’s just gorgeous,” Morgan says.

The mixed-repertoire Director’s Cut: Musical Masters is also part of the season.

It will be performed March 15-18 at the Aronoff Center and features three different works. Fancy Free, choreographed

by Jerome Robbins of West Side Story fame with music by Leonard Bernstein, celebrates the centennial birthday of both men and is the first Robbins work ever performed by the Cincinnati Ballet. Rubies, part of Balanchine’s three-act ballet Jewels, with music by Igor Stravinsky; and Garrett Smith’s Facades, featuring music by Handel, Vivaldi and Philip Glass, round out the program.

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As the Cincinnati Ballet gears up for the second half of its 2017-18 season, the company has a number of exciting endeavors in store. Particularly notable is Bold Moves — the company’s April 26-29 production at the Aronoff Center — because it’s affiliated with the MusicNOW festival helmed by Bryce Dessner of the band The National, who is also a classical composer.

This year, MusicNOW will be concurrent with the new Homecoming festival, curated by and featuring The National.

Bold Moves follows in the vein of the Cincinnati Ballet’s frequent collaborations with musicians performing live on stage and will feature the contemporary classical sextet Eighth Blackbird in each performance. Bold Moves includes two world premieres and one Cincinnati premiere, the latter being Dessner’s “Murder Ballades,” choreographed by New York City Ballet’s resident choreographer Justin Peck.

“I feel like one of my responsibilities is to find out what’s going on and what’s hot,” says Victoria Morgan, artistic director of Cincinnati Ballet. Recently, she traveled to Big Ears, a Knoxville-based experimental music festival, where she met Stephen Dessner, Bryce’s father, and heard Eighth Blackbird perform.

“I started hearing about the things Bryce was doing, and then I started getting recordings of the music,” she says. “And of course, Justin Peck has been a hero of mine for a long time. So I thought, ‘You know what? It would be really nice to have something connecting to Cincinnati.’ ” This connection solidified “Murder Ballades,” which Morgan says is akin to “a balletic, contemporary West Side Story” and features dancers in Keds and street clothes straight from Target.

“There have been conversations now for two or three years at least about the ballet becoming more integrated into the MusicNOW concept,” says Ashley Capps, founder of AC Entertainment, which is producing this year’s MusicNOW and Homecoming festivals. “When it became clear that this was going to be the weekend (of MusicNOW), the fact that the ballet already had Bold Moves planned with Bryce’s music and Justin’s choreography and Eighth Blackbird, it was only natural to bring everyone together.”

If you’re wondering just what you might expect from the pairing of a composition from a member of The National with choreography from a dance rock star, look at the music video for The National’s “The Dark Side of the Gym.” Peck choreographed the dancing and stars in the video.

Bold Moves also features work by Cincinnati Ballet’s resident choreographer Jennifer Archibald and New York Citybased contemporary choreographer Kate Weare. Music includes pieces by Jacob Cooper, David Lang, Robert Honstein, Nico Muhly and potentially others.

For more information and Cincinnati Ballet tickets, visit cballet.org.

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FILM

‘I, Tonya’ Sees Infamous Skater as Victim

BY T T S T ER N - EN ZI

Why is now the right time for a feature the local Portland, Ore. skating rink lookfi lm about the infamous incident that ing for a girlfriend. Gillooly eventually turned figure skater Tonya Harding into a turns abusive, which is nothing new for cultural villain? In 1994, two men associHarding. ated with Harding attacked skater Nancy Th rough it all, though, skating someKerrigan, hoping an injury would keep how continues to fl icker faintly on the her out of the Winter Olympics. Afterward, margins. Harding soldiers on, practicing the U.S. Figure Skating Association perand competing, keeping herself in the manently banned Harding for hindering game. And talent, for a brief moment, the prosecution of the men. opens a door, when she becomes the fi rst I suppose the simple answer to “why American woman to complete two triple now” would be that I, Tonya’s director axels in single competition. (She was also Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl) the fi rst to complete a triple axel in comand screenwriter Steven Rogers (Love bination with a double toe loop, according the Coopers) thought the time approprito Wikipedia.) ate. They’ve made a fi lm that is a gonzo piece of biography, daring to see Harding (Margot Robbie) as a human being worthy of redemption.

The fi lm begs us to dig deeper than its gimmicky setup. On the surface, I, Tonya isn’t aiming to be anything other than a true crime exposé, a hatchet job in the realityTV mode about a bunch of low-class boobs. But it slowly becomes clear that Gillespie and Rogers (and, even more so, a fearlessly dedicated Robbie) refuse to make Harding the Margot Robbie as Tonya Harding in I, Tonya butt of the joke that our PHOTO: PROVIDED culture has been making about her since 1994.

From the start, the fi lm plainly presThat’s an achievement that would seem ents Harding as a person trapped in an to announce to the skating world a talent impossible set of circumstances. As a kid, that could no longer be ignored. That, in played with a remarkable degree of comturn, should guarantee her a coveted spot mon sense by McKenna Grace, Harding in the hearts and minds of the elites who endures the trials of not only being poor had denied her for so long. and trying to break through in a highBut, as I, Tonya presents it, Harding was class sport, but also of trying to survive sold a bill of goods like so many striving the abuse (that we shouldn’t merely dub disenfranchised outsiders who hunger as “tough love”) given out by her mother for acceptance. She fi nds that the door LaVona (Allison Janney). LaVona chases is still barred; she was wrong to believe Harding’s father away with a look so withit would open because of her talent and ering it could depress a thriving economy. accomplishments.

Harding is never allowed to form There is no excuse for what happens friendships with other skaters, since her next — in both the fi lm and in her real life. mother sees them as competitors on the The assault on Kerrigan by Gillooly and ice. And making matters worse, Harding his incompetent associates is an outnever hears a kind word from her mom. rage, and Harding certainly deserves her Clearly, LaVona understands that Hardown personal share of the blame for not ing has the opportunity to be something accepting responsibility for her actions. special. But there’s no proof that champiStill, I, Tonya makes the case that society ons are made from beating weakness out and life itself didn’t do her any favors. of them. In a similar fashion, the skating Gillespie and Rogers have crafted a community, which bestows style points funhouse mirror of America — the fi lm for meaningless elements like expensive works as contemporary allegory. Her story outfits and perfect make-up, repeatedly is, in crucial aspects, representative of an drives home the message that Harding, American electorate who listen to the fake despite having undeniable ability, will promises of men with money and power. never belong to this exclusive club.

The system is a rigged game and maybe With love and acceptance in short supit’s time for all of us to recognize that fact. ply, Harding falls under the spell of Jeff (Now playing.) (R) Grade: B+ Gillooly (Sebastian Stan), a rube cruising

TV

‘Black Mirror’ Evolves in Season 4

BY JAC K ER N

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With just a few weeks’ notice, addictive to find they’ve got mere hours together, sci-fi anthology Black Mirror debuted its and we then follow them through an fourth season on Netflix just before the amusing series of rocky relationships and end of 2017. While the seasons are short one-night-stands. It has gained compari(the first two featured just three episodes sons to last season’s Emmy-winning “San each, plus a Christmas special; since its Junipero” as a rare rom-com episode with move to Netflix, seasons have doubled a happy ending. in size), the deliciously dark Twilight Next up is Black Mirror’s take on the Zone-inspired series packs a lot into each zombie apocalypse — replacing undead story. Heavy themes, fantastic known and humans with killer robots. The shortest of under-the-radar actors and experimental this season, “Metalhead” is a completely directors populate what feel more like stripped-down episode: In black and white, mini films than television episodes. In following one character with very little that respect, Season 4 is no different. dialogue and devoid of a twist, it might The typically futuristic series teases us with a retro season opener, “USS Callister,” that at first seems like a Star Trek spoof. But this cheesy space travel sequence is actually an immersive video game played by its creator. Though a captain and hero in his own digital world, the computer programmer is, in reality, surrounded by arrogant, disrespectful colleagues at the gaming company he co-founded. You can’t help but feel for the guy, bullied by his associates and his inferiors — until you see The cast of Black Mirror, with Jesse Plemons in foreground just how he feeds his geek P H O T O : jonathan pr i m e / net f l i x angst and exacts revenge.

My favorite of the season, “USS Callister” represents the full range of seem like a misstep for the series. But at its what Black Mirror can be: twisty, dark and essence it’s a man vs. machine horror, espehumorous with real-world implications. cially considering these bots look strikingly “Arkangel” employs a quintessential similar to those already on the market.

Black Mirror trope: microchips for chil“Black Museum” is one satisfyingly meta dren. When a woman’s child wanders finale. A young woman wanders into a away from the playground for a few hours museum dedicated to the types of technol(but is found safe), she elects to implant a ogy seen throughout the series. Much like chip in her daughter that not only tracks viewers, she takes in the wild sights and her location but her health and everystories of tech gone wrong. Look closely thing she is exposed to. At what point do and you’ll see nods to several past episodes, a parent’s efforts to protect her children now preserved in the museum. Of course, actually inflict harm? It’s helicopter parour protagonist is there to do more than enting to the extreme. just see a roadside attraction.

Shot in Iceland, the beautiful landscape Overall, this fourth installment is a of “Crocodile” gives way to a disturbing fitting addition to the Black Mirror canon, domino fall when a terrible accident sets a though it did leave me still craving one woman on a destructive path of cover-ups. crazy, mind-boggling tale that would stick Tech takes a backseat here, but it does play with me long after. The show must keep a role in a machine that can scan a person’s evolving as it has, relying less on dystopian memories and is used to investigate crimes devices and more on story and characters and insurance claims. to drive this binge-worthy series. Perhaps Taking a lighter turn, “Hang the DJ” its presence on Netflix is a bit of a hinexplores the ubiquitous world of online drance — maybe it would be better to savor dating and asks: what if an app not only each episode, letting its ramifications sit selected compatible matches but told you with us before devouring another. But exactly how long the relationship would we’re not a patient audience and it’s diflast? In this universe, users agree to a ficult to hold back. An audience addicted prescribed timeline regardless of their to a show, unable to resist consuming it in true feelings toward one another, as if one sitting — now that sounds like a Black it’s imperative they experience different Mirror episode in itself. sub-par courtships in order to find “The Contact Jac Kern: @jackern One.” We watch one couple hit it off only

25

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26

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FOOD & DRINK

Hunting for Hot Chocolate A guide to some of the city’s best toasty and tasty chocolate concoctions

BY M AC K EN ZI E M A N L E Y

C

afés are mostly associated with a range of coffee-inspired beverages, but instead of caffeine, you can also turn to the cup-of-joe’s often overlooked, sweet cousin that will keep you just as warm this winter: hot chocolate. Disrobe yourself of pretension and take a sip of the best Cincy has to offer — trust us, these are a step up from hot water and Swiss Miss.

Here’s a list of some of our favorites.

Carabello Coffee

Most Aesthetic: Cross the bridge into Newport and enter the tweest coffeehouse in Northern Kentucky: Carabello Coffee.

Along with a menu of craft coffee drinks and their rare Analog Slow Bar, patrons claim that this philanthropic endeavor also has the best hot chocolate around.

And honestly, it’s hard to beat. The smooth and familiar mug o’ cocoa is delicate and made like a latte (instagram-worthy art included). It’s blended with dark chocolate Monin and a touch of corn syrup for softness that is perfect for keeping your insides cozy. It’s served with a spoon to scoop up the sweet, sweet foam on top. 107 E. Ninth St., Newport, Ky., carabellocoffee.com.

Coffee Emporium

Maverick Chocolate Co.

Most Rich: OK. This drink will blow you away. Maverick’s “drinking chocolate” has to be the richest, creamiest beverage ever to touch my lips. So rich, in fact, that I had to take breaks in between sips just to process the profound nature of the chocolate.

Melodrama aside, this local bean-to-bar craft chocolatier makes cocoa with their in-house drinking chocolate mix (65 percent dark chocolate) and whole milk. In the French style, this drinking chocolate is topped with fresh whipped cream and chocolate shavings (add marshmallows for

Taste of Belgium

Most Creamy: If you’re looking for something slightly less rich than Maverick’s blend, look no further than Taste of Belgium. Made with dark chocolate and topped with soft whipped cream, it feels snug and at home among the eatery’s waffles and seasonal tortes. Multiple locations, authenticwaffle.com.

Sidewinder Coffee

Most Vibes: Not gonna lie, this one made the list because the Northside café has a pet bunny named Patrick. Somehow, a classic cup of hot chocolate and staring longingly at a cute rabbit go hand-in-hand.

If you don’t feel like hanging out with the shop’s pet, take your cocoa to go and walk down the stretch of storefronts and equally cool restaurants. Or be a little extra and grab a White Rabbit latte with a blend of macadamia nut and white cocoa. The space is one-part cozy and one-part hip and a neighborhood fave. Go where the locals go (Alice would probably go here if it was in Wonderland, amiright?). 4181 Hamilton Ave., Northside, sidewindercoffee.com.

The Booksellers on Fountain Square

Most Traditional: Looking for something simple and to the point? Made with dark chocolate and nostalgia-inducing whipped cream, curl up with this delicacy and pick up that cozy cat mystery you’ve had your eye on (no shame). Located downtown, grabbing a no-frills cocoa at Booksellers is the perfect pick-me-up before ice skating on the Square or speed-walking back to your car muttering about the windchill.

505 Vine St., Fountain Square, Downtown, facebook.com/booksellersonfountainsquare.

Other notable cocoas:

Dojo Gelato — Dojo’s take on the warm delicacy is crafted from melted chocolate, steamed milk and pulls from Italian tradition; it’s rich enough to taste like a whipped-cream-topped candy bar. 137 W. Elder St., Findlay Market, dojogelato.com.

Echo Restaurant — This Hyde Park diner tops its hot chocolate with homemade whipped cream. It’s perfect paired with

Carabello’s hot chocolate comes with lovely latte art.

P H O T O : hailey bollin g e r

their Flying Pig Sandwich — ham, bacon and Swiss stuffed between two pieces of French toast. 3510 Edwards Road, Hyde Park, echo-hydepark.com.

Sleepy Bee Café — The Sleepy Bee blends Origin A2 Milk (or your choice of a nondairy alternative) with housemade dark chocolate sauce. Get crafty and add other housemade syrups like vanilla, hazelnut or caramel, or a dash of local honey. 3098 Madison Road, Oakley; 9514 Kenwood Road, Blue Ash, sleepybeecafe.com.

Roebling Point Books & Coffee — This bookstore and fair-trade coffee shop offers a classic hot cocoa along with advanced options like a Redlegs, with white chocolate and raspberry; Sidewalk Choc, with chocolate and amaretto; or the Muddy River, with

caramel and chocolate. 306 Greenup St., Covington, Ky., roeblingpointbooks.com.

Rohs Street Café — Rohs Street kicks it up a notch with Xocolatl, cocoa (steamed milk and housemade chocolate sauce) dosed with cayenne pepper. 245 W. McMillan St., Clifton Heights, rohsstreetcafe.com.

The 86 — This coffee bar/concert venue’s Red Velvet hot chocolate also comes in a frozen frappe version and is just as colorful and creamy as the cake flavor itself.

2820 Vine St., Corryville, facebook.com/ the86cincy.

Find more restaurant NEWS AND reviews at CityBeat.com/ food-drink

j a n . 1 0 – 1 6 , 2 0 18 | C i t y B e at. c o m

Most Airy: Listed under drinks without a jolt, this blend is dusted with light cocoa powder and made like a cappuccino (sans caffeine). It doesn’t overwhelm, making it the most balanced on the list. Though it’s not overly rich, it still satisfies on the sweet factor. If you work downtown, stop in for a quick warm-up before braving one of the coldest Queen City winters in recent memory. The baristas also offer an “Aztecspiced” option, blended with spicy cayenne pepper. If you’re like me, though, opt for their Bumble Bee, a cozy and straightforward blend of soothing steamed milk, honey and vanilla. Sweet perfection, but minus the chocolate. 110 E. Central Parkway, Downtown, coffee-emporium.com.

50 cents). It’s more bitter than its counterparts and could only be rivaled by Willy Wonka’s chocolate river. Located in Findlay Market, it will make you feel like royalty. Or Augustus Gloop. Either way, it’s magical.

You can even buy a bag of mix to make your own at home. 129 W. Elder St., Findlay Market, Over-the-Rhine, maverickchocolate.com.

27

THE DISH

Warm up at BonBonerie’s Café

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Fast-Casual Indian Coming to OTR

BY AU S T I N G AY L E

What started as a two-wheeled food interested in fast-casual burgers, but Ben cart has pumped the brakes on mobility as was a big fan of Indian food and wanted Injoy Street Food, a Queen City pioneer of something quicker than Cincy’s current fast-casual Indian cuisine, is set to launch offerings. Ben convinced the team to pivot its fi rst brick and mortar in Over-the-Rhine. to Indian in the early planning stages, and Injoy will open its doors later this month following in the footsteps of the many at 1400 Republic St., replacing the former millennial innovators and entrepreneurs picnic-and-pantry shop Bottle & Basket. before them, the friends were quick to seek Unlike other traditional takes on Indian out a tried-and-true source of culinary fare, Injoy’s mainstays are create-yourinformation: the internet. own bowls and roti roll wraps featuring “We’re internet-trained chefs,” Phillip says. an array of Indian-inspired sauces and “And I use that word ‘chef’ loosely, but it’s just toppings, including a “tikkasala” sauce, a process of trial and error. Understanding basmati rice and aloo gobi, a spicy blend of what works with this and what works with cauliflower and sweet potatoes. that and kind of piecing that together.”

Catering to the healthconscious and vegan crowds, Injoy uses coconut milk rather than whole cream to create their go-to sweet and simmered tikkasala. “We’ve been able to make (our sauce) so delicious but still vegan while incorporating healthy factors,” says co-owner Ronaldo Gillespie. “I would say that we’ve found a whole new demographic that I never even expected to like our food.”

The menu also includes of a range of fresh, scratchmade garnishes like curry peanuts in chickpea flour, L-R: Injoy’s Ben Ranly, Ronaldo Gillespie and Phillip Ranly oven-roasted chicken and PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER chili sauce sweetened with beet kvass and agave. The idea is to let patrons pile on the toppings “Google and YouTube are our best without piling on the often-accompanying friends,” he adds. guilt of eating a heavy meal.

Now, moving to a restaurant model, “There’s just a lot more layering that we Injoy’s big three will have even more bring to the table compared to traditional opportunities to focus on their customers.

Indian restaurants,” Gillespie says.

“We just want to be awesome to people,” Even after they open their doors, the Ben says. “We want to spread good vibes, team behind Injoy — Gillespie and brothspread positivity. Our tag line is ‘Take a ers Phillip and Ben Ranly — will continue moment to be in the moment,’ so we want to tour their food cart to local events. The to blow people away when they taste our menu will stay intact in terms of the cart’s food and the experience they have with us. current offerings, but with the added We just want to be genuine, and that’s just stability, the three hope to experiment a big factor in our business model.” with other toppings and sauces to bolster The emphasis on good vibes stems the restaurant menu, which also includes from their experience embarking on this samosas and naan. journey both as friends and as a team. “We “We’ve been experimenting with what break that rule of ‘Don’t do business with kind of chutneys we want to use with our your friends,’ ” Gillespie says. “We’ve gotsamosas and what kind of fi llings,” says ten that warning so many times, but I think Phillip. “We’ve got some recipes we feel that’s what makes our business so cool.” really good about, but we also want to add Friendship hasn’t always been easy to to that and add seasonal stuff as well.” juggle with the business, but they’re conBefore the restaurant, the trio behind fident that the hardships are only making Injoy were tight-knit friends working jobs them stronger. outside of the culinary sector. However, a “I think five years from now, we’ll look combination of sudden inspiration and back and see these difficult situations their already strong bond pushed them to and how they made us closer, even better uproot their respective lives and pursue friends,” Gillespie says.

Injoy following a “game-changing” sailing Injoy Street Food will open at 1400 trip across Europe in the summer of 2015.

Republic St., Over-the-Rhine. More info: They wanted to open a restaurant, but injoystreetfood.com. were still looking for ideas. Gillespie was

CLASSES & EVENTS WEDNESDAY 10

Raclette Night at The Rhined — The Rhined takes a big old half-wheel of raclette cheese (a semi-hard cow’s milk Swiss) and heats it and scrapes it onto different stuff, like potatoes and charcuterie. 5-8 p.m. Prices vary. 1737 Elm St., Overthe-Rhine, facebook.com/ therhined.

THURSDAY 11

Steakhouse Secrets with David Willocks — Learn how to transform your ribeye with some simple steak skills. The menu features herb-grilled coulette steak with pommes frites and black-olive aioli. 6:30-7:30 p.m. $35. Artichoke OTR, 1824 Elm St., Over-theRhine, artichokeotr.com.

A New Year’s Party Buffet — Join Marilyn Harris for a class featuring lucky foods for the new year. Learn to make red beans and rice, cornbread salad, black-eyed pea salad and more. Noon2:30 p.m. $60. Cooks’Wares, 11344 Montgomery Road, Harper’s Point, cookswaresonline.com.

FRIDAY 12

Signature Over-the-Rhine Walking Tour — This threehour walking tour includes stops at three sit-down eateries in the Vine Street corridor and samples from one or two specialty shops or bakeries. 1 p.m. $50.

Leaves from the information desk at Findlay Market, 1801 Race St., Over-the-Rhine, cincinnatifoodtours.com.

SATURDAY 13

every Monday in January for a ramen pop-up. Veggie options available. Harada and his wife are opening Japanese restaurant Kiki in College Hill in late spring. 4 p.m. Prices vary.

Northside Yacht Club, 4227 Spring Grove Ave., Northside, facebook.com/ northsideyachtclub.

Pierogi and Stuffed Cabbage Roll Class with Babushka Pierogies — Grab a rolling pin and join Sarah Dworak from Babushka Pierogies to learn how to make her grandma’s stuffed cabbage roll recipe. The class covers the pierogi-making process and the cabbage roll-making process. Bring containers to take home your own piergoies. 11 a.m.-1 p.m. $60. Findlay Kitchen, 1719 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, fi ndlaykitchen.org.

TUESDAY 16

Sweet Stroll Through Over-the-Rhine — Explore bakeries and specialty shops during a two-and-ahalf hour walking tour, which includes six sweet samples plus one glass of wine, beer, coffee or tea. 10 a.m. Saturday. $50. Leaves from Daisy Mae’s Market, 1801 Race St., Over-the-Rhine, cincinnatifoodtours.com.

MONDAY 15

Northside Yacht Club Ramen Monday — The bar hosts chef Hideki Harada

Ramen Tuesday at Please — Please hosts a ramen night every Tuesday with unique twists on the traditional dish. 5:30-10 p.m.

Prices vary. Please, 1405 Clay St., Over-the-Rhine, pleasecincinnati.com.

Sunday Suppers – Brooklyn Style — Brooklyn is a melting pot of ethnic recipes.

Rita Heikenfeld leads this class on making a memorable dinner from immigrant Italian and Jewish kitchens.

Menu includes pasta shells stuffed with gorgonzola and hazlenuts, Ora’s brisket, latkes and garlic confit on toasted baguette. 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday. $55. Jungle Jim’s, 5440 Dixie Highway, Fairfi eld, junglejims.com.

Rhinegeist on draft

Happy Hour M-F, 4-6pm

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fo od s pecial s kentuckyhouseofgrill.com Monday-Thursday $7 burgers $8 flatbread PiZZ as

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WEDNESDAY 17

Going with the Grain — CityBeat dining writer Ilene Ross leads this class on cooking with whole grains, which can be made into sweet or savory dishes.

Recipes include black bean and quinoa enchilada bake, spelt-almond cake with mascarpone cream and eggplant, lentil and bulgur salad. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. $45.

Cooks’Wares, 11344 Montgomery Road, Harper’s Point, cookswaresonline.com.

(859) 5 81-3 0 65 p o m pi li o s .co m 6 0 0 wa s h i n g to n av e . n e w p o r t, k y

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C I T Y B E AT. C O M

Cellarman’s Tour — The Brewing Heritage Trail leads this tour featuring the tales of several Cincinnati breweries, plus the city’s past and present brewing traditions. Learn about the 19th-century workers who built the dangerous lagering tunnels and the Beer Barons who built their fortunes producing local brews. Tour includes a visit underground into the lagering cellar of the Schmidt Brothers Brewery and a beer tasting at the Christian Moerlein Malt House Taproom. 1:30 p.m. By donation. Leaves from the Christian Moerlein Malt House Taproom, 1621 Moore St., Over-the-Rhine, brewingheritagetrail.org.

Cheese 101 — The Rhined hosts this intro cheese class.

Taste and discuss different families of cheese. Class includes a tasting journal and seven tastings, with a baguette to cleanse the palate. Wine and beer are available for purchase. 6-7 p.m.

Tuesday and Thursday. $30.

The Rhined, 1737 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, therhined. com/collections/shop.

859.206.6324

14 E 5t h St • Cov i ngton, KY 41011

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Brews for Blue — Get a preview of Humble Monk Brewing Company while supporting research for

type 1 diabetes. Meet the master brewers, learn about their ancient brewing process and taste five oneof-a-kind beers, with hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction and entertainment. 7-11 p.m. $30. 1641 Blue Rock St., Northside, eventbrite.com/e/ brews-for-blue-tickets39947566246?aff=eac2.

J A N . 1 0 – 1 6 , 2 0 18

Barrel-Aged Beer Bash — Head to Jungle Jim’s for a celebration of barrel-aged brews. There will be more than 100 different beers from local, regional and national breweries, plus light snacks and commemorative glassware. 7-9:30 p.m.

Tickets start at $50. Jungle Jim’s, 5440 Dixie Highway, Fairfi eld, junglejims.com.

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

29

MUSIC

Siege the Day Cincinnati’s Siegelord continues to surprise with its beautiful, dark, twisted Metal fantasy

BY N I C K G R E V ER

C i t y B e at. c o m | J A N . 1 0 – 1 6 , 2 0 18

A

30

s any attendee of the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards will tell you, many of Cincinnati’s musical elite have eccentric fashion sensibilities.

But at the most recent ceremony this past November, even those hardened by years of musical debauchery were caught off guard by Cincinnati-based Heavy Metal trio Siegelord’s choice of garb. The musicians’ attire of black leather, steel, animal bone and fancy tuxedo shirts caught many eyes, including those of the CEA mavens of fashion, The Fairmount Girls, who host the annual “Fashion Trashies” in conjunction with the awards show. For many, it was a shock to see the band members’ aggressive and silly ensembles, but Siegelord fans were stunned by one specific sartorial choice by vocalist and bassist Ulfr — he was wearing a shirt for once.

The members of Siegelord — Ulfr, drummer Sieven and guitarist Therod — have pronounced themselves “Cincinnati’s Most Shirtless Band,” but beneath the lack of sleeves is a group that has managed to craft a compelling, unique narrative and marry it to real-life stories of struggle. The trio has flourished under grim circumstances — namely leaving a highly successful local act, setting out on their own, struggling to find their sound and winning back fans that had written them off after the exodus.

“Between December and January of 2012 and 2013, Sieven, Warg (Siegelord’s original bassist and a founding member) and myself left (Northern Kentucky-based Folk Metal act) Winterhymn, and as early as March, the three of us began rehearsing new material,” Ulfr says. “There wasn’t exactly a clean falling out so we wanted to get back into the music because we all felt that we had left part of us behind. In the shadow of Winterhymn, we really wanted to try something different. We had come from this semi-cinematic, costumed band with lots of non-traditional instruments in Metal and the crazy live shows, so we wanted to break away from that and do some more traditional Heavy Metal.”

The band’s attempt to recreate themselves after leaving led them to trade in leather for denim and abandon the symphonic elements that give Winterhymn such a unique sound. But the trio quickly realized they were creatively unsatisfied and that Cincinnati’s Metal fans were not receptive to the new direction.

“It might not have been going back to square one but it was pretty damn close,”

Siegelord P H O T O : H a i l ey bo l l inger

Ulfr says. “I wouldn’t say we lost respect from people, but we definitely didn’t gain it. And I feel like a lot of people could sense we weren’t being true to ourselves because it was better received when we went back to what we’re good at.”

“We enjoy melody but we all had a fascination with dark sound, atmosphere, a lot of Black Metal influence and bringing that to a melodic light and reinforcing the dark fantasy,” Sieven says.

In March of 2015, guitarist Therod joined the band and Siegelord trudged forward to complete its first full-length, Ascent of the Fallen. The album is a 12-song concept work that tracks the members’ alter egos (the same as they had in Winterhymn) as they are cast out of their home realm and into a barren wasteland, where they embrace their new condition and, with the help of the fallen god Ang Ul-Mak the Siegelord, thrive in this new world.

On its surface, Ascent is a traditional dark fantasy with characters and a mythos that can stand independently of the men behind the protagonists. But knowing the true story of Siegelord gives insight into the album’s lyrics.

“Our characters are based off of real-life experiences,” Therod says. “A lot of it is coming from trying to break out of difficult places or (the) self-realization that you don’t like who you are and what you’re

doing and trying to make yourself better.”

“We had these personas and these characters already, so it made sense to use that because those were our identities,” Sieven adds. “Even if they were a part of Winterhymn, they were actually part of our identity as well, so it made sense to keep that.”

While the band presents a serious, heavy-hearted front on Ascent, its live show is decidedly more fun.

“We definitely have personalities live, but we don’t take ourselves seriously,” Ulfr says. “Nobody enjoys themselves when they go to a show and everyone is just mean-mugging the whole time, like the band has a stick up their ass, making some sort of artistic statement about how pissed off they are. The story we tell, the lyrics we do and the music we write is all very serious and, in a vacuum, it’s pretty dark and brutal; all the guys are brooding guys with a chip on their shoulder. But live we make jokes about ourselves so there’s a break in the suspension of disbelief.”

This desire to buck expectations is carrying over to Siegelord’s upcoming release as well: The band intends on continuing the tale of its characters on a new full-length, but are close to completing a four-track EP that should be released in the coming months. With covers of songs by Mastodon, Immortal and Amon Amarth, the EP spotlights the band’s influences, with one

notable exception — a version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”

“I wanted all the lyrics (of the cover songs) to apply to our mythos,” Ulfr says.

“As an artist, I get really bored with bands that cover songs in their same genre. I think that having such a unique sound, it’s a very cool way to rework fan favorites but offer something new.”

“We deconstruct ourselves in that song,” Therod says of “Hallelujah.”

Having a costumed Metal band cover a muted hymn is a gamble, but Siegelord’s drive to nail the song exemplifies the trio’s work ethic as a whole. The musicians have fought through a rocky start and strived to re-earn respect from their music community. They’ve toiled through lineup changes and stuck to their guns to create an ambitious concept album for their very first recording. They crowned a covers EP with an unexpected song choice, which they made undeniably their own. They put their fists up against destiny and landed a haymaker square on its jaw. Now they’re focusing on landing the follow-up shot.

“The message of the band is not just survival, but thriving,” Ulfr says. “Not just getting by, but beating it and truly embracing life.”

For more on Siegelord, visit facebook.com/siegelord.

SPILL IT

Wilbert Longmire 1940-2018

BY M I K E B R EEN

More Local Notes

BY M I K E B R EE N

The year-end sales numbers for 2017, as expected, showed that vinyl album sales continued their upward trajectory, selling more than 14 million units throughout the year, the highest total sales for vinyl since Nielsen Music’s beginnings in 1991. The more unlikely format that continues to see sales soar (relatively) is the cassette, which has experienced enough of a revival (initiated by smaller indie labels) that Taylor Swift’s last album was issued on tape. In 2017, cassette album sales were up 35 percent, but that still only adds up to 174,000 copies. Still, not a bad showing for a hard-copy format in this era of streaming dominance.

Money for Nothing

Wilbert Longmire’s 1980 album, With All My Love P H O T O : TA P P A N Z E E R E C O R D S

Contact Mike Breen: mbreen@ citybeat.com

A music writer and technologist has unintentionally spotlighted some of the major flaws in the system used by YouTube to find copyright violations. In 2015, Sebastian Tomczak uploaded a 10-hour video that was nothing but “low level white noise.”

Recently, Tomczak received a notice that someone had made a copyright claim on the video, something usually reserved for publishers that discover unauthorized use of actual music in clips (which can be found using the site’s automated “Content ID” system). When Tomczak looked into the claim, he found that there were four others, and each one allowed the video to stay up but chose the option to “monetize” it, meaning the bogus claimants could see money from any views. Tomczak disputed the claims and YouTube released a statement saying that it acts quickly and thoroughly when there are disputes.

Mellows, Prepare to Be Harshed For those who’ve scheduled a trip to California this spring based on the convergence of three major, seemingly interconnected events — the state’s Coachella music festival, weed being legal in the state and, like, 4/20 dude (the second weekend of the fest begins on April 20) — some buzz-kill news recently surfaced.

The city of Indio (where Coachella is held) opted out of the state’s legalization law, meaning marijuana can’t be grown or sold within city limits. Coachella is playing along, stating on its website that “marijuana or marijuana products aren’t allowed.” But the fest was, like, super cool about it, adding a “Sorry bro” to the bummer mandate in its FAQ section.

wed 10

soul butter, shock relief

thu 11

lauren eylise, blvck seeds

fri 12

even tiles

s at 13

the cliftones

sun 14

ratboys nnamdi ogbonnaya

tue 16

writer’s night w/ lucas

wed 17

blossom hall, ohmme

free live music open for lunch

1404 main st (513) 345-7981

2/2

2/11 1 /13 2/10

why?, oPen MIke eagle

the dustBowl revIval arlo MckInley & the lonesoMe sound

“Make It Better”

a trIBute to toM Petty

cIncy ProhIBItIon 2018 w/ the cIncy Brass

buy tickets at motr or woodwardtheater.com

C I T Y B E AT. C O M

com for the exact location/show details) is kicking off its 2018 season this Saturday with its fourth annual “Cincinnati SingerSongwriter Showcase.” Created for music lovers who like to listen to live music outside of a noisy club environment, Saturday’s showcase features performances by Brittany Gillstrap, Charlie Millikin and Jonathan Cody White. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. and admission is a $10 donation (DLR is a nonprofit endeavor; all event proceeds go directly to the artists).

The Downtowne Listening Room has also been involved in the multi-media project Balcony TV, which features videos of live rooftop/balcony performances by musicians from all over the world, showcasing the music scenes of everywhere from Los Angeles and Manhattan to Barcelona and Johannesburg. The recently launched Cincinnati channel currently includes clips with Millikin, White, Taylor Henry and Kevin Heider.

There is also a Kentucky channel that has videos featuring Krystal Peterson & the Queen City Band, Jess Lamb, Noah Smith and many others. Watch the videos at balconytv.com.

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• Influential singer/songwriter Tom Petty’s death was one of the more shocking and unexpected of 2017. Th is Saturday at Woodward Theater (1404 Main St., Over-the-Rhine, woodwardtheater.com), several of Cincinnati’s fi nest original acts will pay tribute to Petty’s music by playing his songs during a tribute show dubbed “Make It Better: A Tribute to Tom Petty.”

Artists slated to play up to two Petty tunes include Wussy, Dawg Yawp, The Tigerlilies, Static Falls, Culture Queer, Darlene, Magnolia Mountain, Plastic Ants and The Hiders.

Showtime is 9 p.m. and admission is $5. Proceeds from the show are being donated to Cincinnati’s Freestore Foodbank.

• The Downtowne Listening Room (located in the old Shillito’s building downtown; you must request a show invite through downtownelisteningroom.

J A N . 1 0 – 1 6 , 2 0 18

As 2018 was just getting started, Cincinnati lost another music hero. Beloved Soul Jazz guitarist Wilbert Longmire died on Jan. 1. He was 77.

Born in Alabama, Longmire’s family moved to Cincinnati when he was 3.

Longmire’s early career (beginning in the ’60s) included King Records studio work and stints in the bands of organists Hank Marr and Trudy Pitts, as well as sessions for 1969 albums by Jean-Luc Ponty and Gerald Wilson. Longmire’s fi rst album as leader was 1969’s Revolution, released on the World Pacific Jazz label and featuring arrangements by Joe Sample of songs by The Beatles, James Brown and others.

After early ’70s work with saxophonist Rusty Bryant and organist Bill Mason, Longmire’s friend George Benson — a Jazz superstar following the release of his massively successful 1976 album Breezin’ — recommended Longmire to musician/ composer Bob James, who was starting his own label, Tappan Zee Records. With help from James (whose “Angela” found success as the theme song of the TV show Taxi) and top-of-the-line session players like Michael and Randy Brecker and David Sanborn, Longmire (who also sang) released three albums for the label — 1978’s Sunny Side Up, 1979’s Champagne and 1980’s With All My Love.

Longmire returned to Cincinnati and became entrenched in the local Jazz scene, performing and acting (as he long had) as a supporter and mentor to other musicians. He is said to have offered a young Bootsy Collins one of his fi rst jobs, and just searching his name on Facebook in the wake of his death brings up a wealth of heartfelt posts of gratitude and admiration from a variety of musicians in the area. Longmire’s various recordings have been reissued and many tracks have been featured on compilations over the years, as he was considered a big part of the roots of Jazz Funk, Smooth Jazz and Acid Jazz. His releases are also popular among “crate-digger” DJs and producers — according to the site whosampled.com, artists like Atmosphere and The Foreign Exchange have used Longmire samples in their work. Longmire contributed to Cincinnati Jazz compilations released by the local J Curve label in the late ’90s/early ’00s, and in 2001 he was given a lifetime achievement award from the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Cammys alongside fellow guitarists Cal Collins and Adrian Belew.

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While Umphrey’s McGee sounds suspiciously like a disease in a Charles Dickens novel (“Ooh, he’s caught himself a dire case of Umphrey’s McGee and he’s tits up for sure…”), the band’s name is actually based on lead vocalist/guitarist Brendan Bayliss’ cousin named Humphrey Magee.

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Pop-centric latest album as St. Vincent, is also one of her most alarmingly selfAladdin Temple referential. Clark delivers the following 3850 Stelzer Rd. Columbus, Ohio in a clipped, staccato vocal that’s worlds The Makoy Center away from the rather traditional falsetto In the Columbus take I-270 to the Easton Rd. exit,found weston onher Easton, 5462 N. Center area, St. • Hilliard, OH 43026 2007 debut, Marry Me: “I north on Stelzer (5 off minutes fromColumbus Columbus Airport and hotels) Cemetery Road Exit I-270 NW spent a year suspended in air/My mind on the gap, my head on the stairs/From healwww.ohioguitarshows.com (740) 592-4614 www.ohioguitarshows.com (740) 592-4614 ers to dealers and then back again/From guru to voodoo and voodoo to zen.”

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That Clark would have issues adjusting to her burgeoning fame shouldn’t come as a surprise. The Texas native has long lived by the advice she once gleaned from a friend: “The best performers are those who have a secret.”

Clark’s rise from an ace touring guitarist and vocalist with The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens to the acclaimed creator of four conceptually acute and sonically adventurous efforts — culminating with 2014’s self-titled St. Vincent, which won a Grammy for Best Alternative Album — seemed almost too easy. The surprise this time is that Masseduction is simultaneously her messiest and most Facebook/ T w i T Ter: perkopol is accessible record to date (no doubt aided

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Umphrey’s McGee PHOTO: SHERVIN L AINEZ

Beyond that little factoid, there are other interesting résumé notes on Umphrey’s McGee, particularly that there have only been three lineup changes since the band’s formation just over two decades ago.

Bayliss, bassist Ryan Stasik, keyboardist Joel Cummins and drummer Mike Mirro started the band at Indiana’s University of Notre Dame in December 1997.

Percussionist Andy Farag joined after the 1998 release of the band’s ironically named debut album, Greatest Hits Vol. III, while guitarist Jake Cinninger was added in late 2000 and Mirro departed in 2001 to enroll in medical school. The drummer’s throne was then taken over by former Kick the Cat drummer Kris Myers, whose audition tape was the fi rst of hundreds that the band received.

Umphrey’s McGee has long been associated with the Jam milieu by virtue of its lengthy, diverse and multiple sets, lenient show-taping policy and the fact that early

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performances featured songs by Phish, moe. and The Grateful Dead. Those early sets also featured covers of songs like “Patience” by Guns N’ Roses and “Linus and Lucy” by Vince Guaraldi, which perfectly exemplifies the broad range of styles represented in the group’s music — Prog, Jazz, Rock, Pop, Bluegrass, Metal, Funk, Blues, Electronica and Reggae — as well as the musicians’ incredible facility to translate and reinvent them.

Over the past two decades, Umphrey’s McGee has become one of the Jam community’s top-tier acts, releasing 11 official live albums, a dozen live DVDs and 10 studio albums, including its latest, 2016’s Zonkey, which featured mash-ups of cover songs by the likes of AC/DC, Beck, ZZ Top, Radiohead and Nirvana. The group’s imminent 11th studio album, it’s not us, has been cited as the most mature and relevant expression of Umphrey’s McGee’s talents in its long and illustrious catalog, and will certainly feature prominently in the current tour’s set list. But there will still be room for “Phil’s Farm,” don’t you think? (Brian Baker)

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Rebelution – Jan. 17, Taft Theatre The Steepwater Band – Jan. 19, Southgate House Revival Black Label Society/Corrosion of Conformity – Jan. 19, Bogart’s Blackalicious – Jan. 20, Northside Yacht Club Los Lobos – Jan. 25, Memorial Hall Aimee Mann – Jan. 26, Madison Theater Davy Knowles – Jan. 26, Southgate House Revival Why? – Feb. 2, Woodward Theatre Hippo Campus – Feb. 7, 20th Century Theatre P.O.D. – Feb. 8, Madison Live Greensky Bluegrass – Feb. 8, Madison Theater Desert Dwellers – Feb. 9, Octave Dustbowl Revival – Feb. 11, Woodward Theater Flint Eastwood – Feb. 13, Taft Theatre Ballroom JD Souther – Feb. 13, Southgate House Revival Ghost of Paul Revere/Parsonfield – Feb. 14, Taft Theatre Ballroom

J A N . 1 0 – 1 6 , 2 0 18

A cursory glance at Ratboys’ name alone might give the impression that the band follows the long tradition of crusty, goblaunching ’70s Punk bands raging at the cause of the day and playing at a volume that raises nails from the floorboards and drops loose plaster from the ceiling. That would be a long way from Ratboys’ sonic truth. There are certainly moments when the Chicago Indie Rock unit performs with a passionate ferocity, but the group never strays far from its gorgeous melodic heart.

Ratboys’ propulsive yet gentle sound is anchored by the ethereal voice of guitarist Julia Steiner, who sings with a combination of vulnerability and strength, while

the band — essentially longtime multiinstrumentalist Dave Sagan and drummer Danny Lyons — provides a dynamic soundtrack of frenetic volume and powerful quietude. Within their stylistic range, Ratboys hint at the Folk/Pop energy of Clem Snide and The Innocence Mission and sonic territories explored by Juliana Hatfield and Smashing Pumpkins, with Steiner’s emotive vocals, intensely wrought lyrics and delicate guitar ministrations set against Sagan’s angular and often unbridled fury.

Ratboys began in Chicago nearly a decade ago, operating consistently as the solid core of Steiner and Sagan, with a revolving support cast around them.

Since its recorded debut with the track “Spiderweb 2/8/09,” the band has dropped a number of solo and split singles, an EP and a pair of full-lengths — 2015’s AOID and last year’s spectacular GN. At the time of AOID’s release, Ratboys were operating with a traditional rhythm section, but by GN, the band was pared down to a trio, with Lyons on drums and Sagan handling bass, guitar and pocket piano (pedal steel, cello and other accompaniment was provided by guest musicians). If the band’s Audiotree session, recorded just after last June’s release of GN, is any indication, a Ratboys gig is a visceral flurry of whisperto-scream beauty and intensity. (BB)

111 E 6th St Newport, KY 41071

33

LISTINGS

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

See CityBeat.com for full music listings and all club locations. H is CityBeat staff’s stamp of approval.

Wednesday 10

BrewRiver GastroPub - Old Green Eyes & BBG. 9 p.m.

Jazz. Free.

Bromwell’s Härth Lounge Phil DeGreg Trio. 8 p.m.

Jazz. Free.

Cincinnatian Hotel - Philip Paul Trio. 7 p.m. Jazz. Free.

College Hill Coffee Co. Chris Collier. 7:30 p.m. Folk.

Free.

Northside Yacht Club - Herzog with Andy Gabbard and The Night Divided.

9 p.m. Rock/Pop/Various. $5-$8.

The Comet - Darkroom Ignite and Sundae Drives.

10 p.m. Alt/Rock/Pop/Soul/ Various. Free.

H

Knotty Pine - Dallas Moore.

10 p.m. Country. Free.

MOTR Pub - Soul Butter with Shock Relief. 9 p.m.

Blues/Rock. Free.

Taft Theatre - St. Vincent. 8 p.m. Art Rock. $33.50-$53.50.

H

H

Octave - Ernie Johnson From Detroit. 11 p.m.

Funk/Jazz/Afrobeat. $5-$10.

Crow’s Nest - Ray Vietti.

10 p.m. Roots/Folk/Various.

Free.

Northside Yacht Club Jesus Piece, Vein, Separated, Typecaste and Cursed Path. 8 p.m. Hardcore. $12.

Urban Artifact - Broken Chairs, Spooky Dreamland and Fritz Pape. 8 p.m. Alt/ Indie/Punk/Various.

Plain Folk Cafe - Everything’s Jake. 7:30 p.m. R&B/ Blues/Jazz/Rock. Free.

Downtowne Listening Room - Cincinnati Singer/Songwriter Showcase featuring Brittany Gillstrap, Charlie Millikin and Jonathan Cody White. 7:30 p.m. Acoustic/Alt/Pop/Rock/ Various. $10.

Pit to Plate - Bluegrass Night with Vernon McIntyre’s Appalachian Grass. 7 p.m.

Bluegrass. Free.

Southgate House Revival (Revival Room) - Ben Miller Band with The Midwesterns. 7:30 p.m.

Roots/Blues/Americana/Various. $12, $15 day of show.

H

Urban Artifact - Blue Wisp Big Band. 8:30 p.m. Big Band Jazz. $10.

Thursday 11

Arnold’s Bar And Grill Dottie Warner and Ricky Nye. 7:30 p.m. Jazz/Blues.

Free.

Bogart’s - Bone ThugsN-Harmony. 8 p.m. Hip Hop. $28.

H

Bromwell’s Härth Lounge Todd Hepburn and Friends.

8 p.m. Various. Free.

Common Roots - Open Mic. 8 p.m. Various. Free.

Crow’s Nest - Elia Burkhart.

9:30 p.m. Folk/Americana.

Free.

C i t y B e at. c o m | J A N . 1 0 – 1 6 , 2 0 18

Plain Folk Cafe - Open Mic with Lars Noble. 7 p.m. Various. Free.

Northside Tavern Cadaver Dogs, North

by North and Filthy Beast. 9 p.m. Rock. Free.

H

Stanley’s Pub - Desmond Jones. 9 p.m. Rock/Funk/ Jazz. Cover.

H

34

Northside Yacht Club Cheem, Mineral Girls and Kid ESP. 9 p.m. Indie Rock.

The Hamilton - Michael McIntire. 8 p.m. Acoustic/ Various. Free.

Knotty Pine - Kenny Cowden. 9 p.m. Acoustic.

Free.

Latitudes Bar & Bistro Marcos Sylvestri Bluebirds Combo. 7 p.m. Various. Free.

MOTR Pub - Lauren Eylise with Blvck Seeds.

10 p.m. Soul/Pop/Funk/Hip Hop/Various. Free.

H

Northside Tavern - Karaoke Fantastic. 9 p.m. Various.

Free.

H

The Redmoor - SaxTone and The Fullfillerz with T.C. & Company and Luv Lock.

7 p.m. Funk/R&B. $15, $20 day of show.

Blue Note Harrison - Amy Sailor Band. 9 p.m. Country.

Rick’s Tavern - Empty Garden. 10 p.m. Rock/Country/ Dance/Various. $5.

Friday 12

Arnold’s Bar and Grill The Part-Time Gentlemen. 9 p.m. Americana. Free.

Bogart’s - Silent Cincy: Silent Dance Party. 9 p.m.

DJ/Dance. $10.

Bromwell’s Härth Lounge Steve Schmidt Trio. 8 p.m.

Jazz. Free.

College Hill Coffee Co. Angela Minton. 7:30 p.m.

Rock/Pop/Country. Free.

The Comet - Sass. 10 p.m.

Rock/Pop. Free.

Crow’s Nest - Thee Vatos Supreme. 10 p.m.

AltCountry/Tex-Mex/Honky Tonk/Various. Free.

H

Jag’s Steak and Seafood Two For Flinching. 8 p.m. ’90s Rock/Pop/Dance. $5.

Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse The Grace Lincoln Band. 8 p.m. R&B/Soul/Jazz/Pop. Free.

Silverton Cafe - Balderdash.

9 p.m. Rock/R&B. Free.

Southgate House Revival (Lounge) - Isle of Eight with Blueprints and Elements.

9:30 p.m. Indie Rock. Free.

Southgate House Revival (Sanctuary) - Michael Glabicki and Dirk Miller of Rusted Root. 9 p.m. Rock/Pop/Various. $18, $20 day of show.

Taft Theatre Umphrey’s McGee with Big Something. 8 p.m. Jam/ Rock/Various. $35-$55.

H

Urban Artifact - Moriah Haven, Old City, Playfully Yours and The Jared Presley Experience. 9 p.m.

Indie/Rock/Pop/Roots/ Various.

H

Jim and Jack’s on the River - Danny Frazier. 9 p.m.

Country. Free.

Washington Platform Saloon & Restaurant - Nick Fryer and Rob Allgeyer. 9 p.m. Jazz. $10 (food/drink minimum).

Knotty Pine - Bad Habit. 10 p.m. Rock. Cover.

Saturday 13

Latitudes Bar & Bistro Paul Otten Band. 9 p.m.

Rock. Free.

Mansion Hill Tavern - Chuck Brisbin and the Tuna Project.

9 p.m. Blues. $4.

Maury’s Tiny Cove - Ricky Nye with Mickey James. 7:30 p.m. Blues/Boogie Woogie.

Free.

MOTR Pub - The Tigerlilies and Even Tiles. 10 p.m. Rock/Alt/Various. Free.

H

Arnold’s Bar And Grill - Warrick and Lowell. 9 p.m. Americana. Free.

H

Blue Note Harrison - Nightrain and Almost Famous. 9 p.m. GNR tribute/Rock.

Bogart’s - The Four Horsemen. 8 p.m. Metallica tribute.

Bromwell’s Härth Lounge Cybele with the Steve Schmidt Trio. 8 p.m. Jazz.

Free.

H

Front Street Cafe - Encore Duo. 6:30 p.m. Acoustic Classic Rock/Americana.

Free.

Jag’s Steak and Seafood Brass Tracks Band. 9 p.m.

Rock/Funk/Jazz/R&B. $5.

Jim and Jack’s on the River - Amy Sailor Band. 9 p.m. Country. Free.

Knotty Pine - Bad Habit. 10 p.m. Rock. Cover.

Latitudes Bar & Bistro Candygram. 9 p.m. Funk/ Soul/Rock. Free.

Plain Folk Cafe - Root Cellar Xtract. 7:30 p.m. Country Rock. Free.

Rick’s Tavern - Deuces Wild. 10 p.m. Country. $5.

Silverton Cafe - String Theory. 9 p.m. Rock. Free.

Smokin’ This and That BBQ - Forest Hills Bluegrass Band. 6 p.m. Bluegrass. Free.

The Sonic Boom Room School of Rock Mason: The Music of Paul Simon. 7:30 p.m. Pop/Rock. $6, $8 day of show.

Southgate House Revival (Lounge) - Office Party with TALK and National Barks. 8 p.m. Alt/Rock/Emo/Various.

Free.

Southgate House Revival (Revival Room) - Mojo Nixon. 9 p.m.

Roots/Country/Rock/Various. $12, $15 day of show.

H

Octave - Strange Mechanics. 11 p.m. Funk/Prog/ Psych/Jam. $5-$10.

The Redmoor - School of Rock Mason: The Music of Paul Simon. 1 p.m. Pop/Rock. $6, $8 day of show.

Southgate House Revival (Revival Room) - Cincinnati Psychobilly Night with Children Of October, Black Cat Attack and The Tallywhackers. 8 p.m. Psychobilly. Cover.

H

Taft Theatre - Jonny Lang with Tony Lucca. 7 p.m. Blues/Rock/Pop/Various. $35.50-$45.50.

H

Incline Lounge at the Celestial - Tom Schneider. 6 p.m. Jazz. Free.

Urban Artifact - Subculture 7.0. 10 p.m. Electronic/ Vaporwave/Techno/Various.

MOTR Pub - The Cliftones.

10 p.m. Reggae. Free.

Northside Yacht Club Datenight, mtvh1n1 and Cross Country. 9 p.m. Rock/ Punk/Pop/Various.

Taft Theatre Umphrey’s McGee with Big Something. 8 p.m. Jam/ Rock/Various. $35-$55.

H

Macadu’s - Basic Truth. 8 p.m. Funk/R&B/Soul. Free.

Mansion Hill Tavern Johnny Fink & the Intrusion.

9 p.m. Blues. $4.

Northside Tavern - Classical Revolution. 8 p.m. Alt/ Classical/Various. Free.

H

Thompson House - All the Above. 8 p.m. Pop Punk. $10.

Madison Theater - Signs of Life: The American Pink Floyd. 9 p.m. Pink Floyd tribute. $20, $25 day of show.

MOTR Pub - Ratboys with Nnamdi Ogbonnaya.

8 p.m. Indie/Folk/Rock/Various. Free.

H

Southgate House Revival (Sanctuary) - Spencer Elliott with Sean Richardson and Alasha Al-Qudwah. 7:30 p.m. Fingerstyle Acoustic Guitar. $8, $10 day of show.

Lawrenceburg Event Center - Eddie Money. 8 p.m.

Rock. $20-$100.

Madison Live - Madison Theater Band Challenge Round 1 with A Long Road Ahead, Big Cat & The Showgirls, Faith to Hate, Steve Shaw, The High Plains Drifter, The Nautical Theme, These Fine Gentlemen and Zack Lemons. 7:30 p.m.

Various. $10.

Mansion Hill Tavern - Open Jam. 6 p.m. Various. Free.

Washington Platform Saloon & Restaurant Brenda Folz with the Bobby Sharp Trio. 9 p.m. Jazz. $10 (food/drink minimum).

Westside Venue - Cincinasty DJ Group. 8 p.m. DJ/ Dance/Various.

Willis Music Auditorium Po Ramblin Boys. 7 p.m. $10.

Woodward Theater “Make It Better: A Tribute to Tom Petty” featuring Wussy, Dawg Yawp, Static Falls, Plastic Ants, Darlene, Salty Candy, Culture Queer, The Hiders, The Tigerlilies and more. 9 p.m. Rock. $5.

H

Sunday 14

The Mad Frog - Kaleido with Softspoken. 8 p.m. Rock/ Pop. $10, $12 day of show.

Urban Artifact - PsychoAcoustic Jazz Orchestra.

7 p.m. Jazz/Various.

Monday 15

Latitudes Bar & Bistro Cincinnati Jazz Hall of Fame: Jazz at Dusk. 6:30 p.m. Jazz.

Free.

McCauly’s Pub - Open Jam with Sonny Moorman. 7 p.m.

Blues/Various. Free.

Northside Tavern - Northside Jazz Ensemble. 10 p.m.

Jazz. Free.

Tuesday 16

20th Century Theater - G. Love & Special Sauce with The Ries Brothers. 8 p.m.

Alternative/Blues/Roots/ Rap/Various. $25, $30 day of show.

Arnold’s Bar and Grill Cheryl Renée. 7 p.m. Blues.

Free.

The Comet - Butt. 10 p.m.

Punk. Free.

The Hamilton - Kate Wakefield. 7 p.m. Cello/Various.

Free.

Madison Live - Jack Harlow.

8 p.m. Rap. Free.

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