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VOL. 23 ISSUE 25 ON THE COVER: puzzlingly perple xing clown // PHOTO: HAILE Y BOLLINGer

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How ’Bout That Equality Laurie Bauer Arwood: Let’s all cave to these mentally ill individuals! This is disgusting and just plain ignorance at its best! Its (sic) one thing to cover MEDICAL expenses but to cater to this is proving to be the new norm! Dan McMichael: I bet you were stoked when the kid in Kings Mills killed herself. And it’s becoming a norm because mental health professionals know more than you do and, mental illness or not, the effective treatment is reassignment surgery. Wanting to limit treatment options because it hurts your fragile sensibilities despite medical consensus is wrong, plain and simple. And your feelings on the matter are utterly irrelevant. Monica Kittle Pierson: Great news. Congratulations to Rachel! Comments posted at Facebook.com/CincinnatiCityBeat in response to May 16 post, “Library settles lawsuit, will provide transgender benefits”

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What a Week! BY T.C. Britton

WEDNESDAY MAY 10

The 2016 U.S. presidential election might have been a circus show, but South Korea’s recent election was a game of thrones. SBS, a top Korean news network, pulled out all the stops with its graphics for election night. As the tallies came in, the station depicted candidates as Rocky-style joggers, Pokémon Go characters and, yes, dragon-riding warriors a la Game of Thrones. Moon Jae-in was crowned upon the Iron Throne elected. He has instantly been outshined by his v. attractive bodyguard, Choi Young-jae, who captured the hearts of the internet this week. That’s a pretty legit deflection away from the hot mess that is South Korean politics. Perhaps Trump should try hiring personnel that don’t look like the Crypt Keeper. Speaking of Korea, apparently no one knows where North Korea is. The New York Times asked around 1,700 American adults to place the country on a map, and the result looks like a polka-dotted eastern hemisphere — only about 36 percent got it right. Can you identify either Korea on a map? Probably not. But now you can name the South Korean president, and have you really ever been able to do that before? (Intelligent reader: “Uh, yeah…”)

THURSDAY MAY 11

Everybody fakes it on social media, but it’s usually confined to filtering away your face fug and pretending like your relationship is ~perfect~. Celebrities are guilty of this kind of “curation” too, but they have to be even more cautious about getting caught in an Insta-lie. Case in point: Rapper Bow Wow posted a photo of a private jet this week as he traveled to New York. He really was en route to NYC — the only problem is that he was spotted that day on a commercial flight… in coach. Cue the #BowWowChallenge, wherein folks snap a faked shot of some luxurious experience. Meanwhile, our broke asses would gladly take a Frontier flight any day. They serve Giuliana Rancic’s wine!

FRIDAY MAY 12

SATURDAY MAY 13

Melissa McCarthy hosted Saturday Night Live this week, so you know the White House threw a hatewatch party in its honor. Of COURSE there was going to be an epic Sean Spicer skit. Of COURSE Alec Baldwin was going to return to play Trump. You’d

SUNDAY MAY 14

Emmanuel Macron was inaugurated as France’s president today. In his first move in office, he nominated Édouard Philippe to be the next Prime Minister of France — but let’s talk about Macron’s wife! Brigitte Macron is 64 — 25 years older than her husband, the youngest French president at age 39. The age difference is basically the same as that of Donald and Melania Trump, and people have OPINIONS about both. You see, Brigitte was Emmanuel’s high school teacher in the 1990s and her children were among his classmates (naturally, they did not get together until years later). How do you say “mommy issues” in French? We’re not sure if it’s more sexist to scrutinize or glorify the relationship, but there’s something very cool and European about it all. Then again, we are big fans of Aaron TaylorJohnson, the young star of Kick-Ass who glowed up into a big-screen babe. He met wife Sam Taylor-Johnson (yes, they are sooo progressive, just wait), director of Fifty Shades of Grey, on a film set when he was 18 and she was 42. They married three years later, took on shared hyphenated names, he became a stepdad to her two children (one is just seven years his junior) and they had two more kids together. Scandaleux!

MONDAY MAY 15

Do you remember the commencement speaker at your graduation? If you’re anything like us, you probably skipped that boring mess or slept through the opening remarks. But for graduates at the University of Southern California, alumnus Will Ferrell made the ceremony one to remember. Ferrell received an honorary doctorate from USC, which he believes allows him to “perform minimally invasive surgery at any time or any place, even if people don’t want it.” He then capped off his remarks with a performance of “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston. Guess it pays to attend USC! Actually, you pay — a cool 50 grand per year (loosens collar).

TUESDAY MAY 16

This week in fashion: tooth gems and “RompHims.” Are tooth jewels a thing now? The supposed ’90s trend that we do not remember whatsoever is being rekindled by celebs like Katy Perry. Just like they sound, they’re tiny charms you stick to your teeth, like a girlier version of the grill or a dumber version of a temporary tattoo. As an unfortunate soul who still had metal braces in college, this is as confusing as it is triggering. And “tooth gems?” More like poop gems, because you know you’re gonna accidentally swallow them. And for the men taking fashion nods from the ladies, we have the RompHim — a romper for dudes. It appears they’re going for summery coveralls, but they’re giving us giant toddler onesies. And joke’s on the guys, because rompers are insane: They’re unforgiving and make peeing in public a nightmare. CONTACT T.C. BRITTON: letters@citybeat.com

With last week’s release of the McClatchy newspaper chain’s guidelines for newsworthiness, CityBeat decided it was time to update our own playbook. The overriding question is whether information meets our standards for news. To that end, it must pass the following tests: • Is it important enough to spur people into taking decisive action, that is, posting it on their Facebook page? • Would the story add to the knowledge of serial Facebook commenters who already know everything? • Is it worth texting to a friend while changing lanes on the Brent Spence Bridge during rush hour? • How angry will this story make people? • How hungry will this story make people? • How… you know… “thirsty” will this story make people? • Did it happen everywhere but Cincinnati in the past 10 years? • Would someone on the Alford Motors used car lot in Hartwell already know about it? • Would someone in the Cabela’s store in West Chester already know about it? • Does it involve a public official admitting or denying anything? Did the person say anything brief enough to tweet? • Does it involve a Bengal? • Does it involve Benghazi? • Does the story have video? • Does the story have cute animals? • Does the story have video of cute animals? • Does the story involve a beloved candy or fast food restaurant sandwich being taken off the market? • Is the story about beer? • Would the story be of interest to residents of readership-targeted areas like Sayler Park, Bromley or Goshen? • Does the story clearly identify the person or entity causing misery, pain or deleterious health effects to segments of the population? • Are there simultaneous events occurring that would divert people’s attention from the story, like a convenience store shooting in Westwood, A Taste of Blue Ash or an approaching stationary front? • Are there “influencers” involved in this story who will share it on Snapchat after it’s published?

C I T Y B E A T . C O M • M A Y 1 7 – 2 3 • 0 7

Wooing to be outlawed at Great American Ballpark? OK, maybe not really, but if local sports reporters had their way, it would be. According to certain schmohawks at WCPO and The Cincinnati Enquirer, wooing is the worst possible thing to happen to professional sports and possibly America. Nevermind the fact that they represent a small group of folks who get to attend games regularly. What if you’re taking a kid for his first MLB game and he wants to get on the big screen? You yell and dance, you cheer. Think of the children, Doc. But from now on, the only acceptable celebratory noises at sports games are as follows: the slide whistle sound effect, yelling “Yas queen,” a plastic clapper toy you win at carnivals, poetry slam-style snaps and the Tim Allen-patented grunt.

think the writers would want to serve up something unexpected, but maybe they knew dumb jokes were the only ones the administration would understand.

CityBeat Reporter Checklist: Vetting for Audience and Meaning in This Cold, Dark World

VOICES On Second Thought

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All the News That’s Fit to Ignore

By Ben L. Kaufman

When I consider whether news can survive as a foundation of our participatory democracy, I’m more a soiled idealist than the optimist I used to be. Reasons for optimism include some national news media that refuse to be cowed and myriad local news media where toilers remain dedicated to fact-based journalism and traditional ethics. However, they don’t come together to create a critical mass to challenge our Axis of Evil: Oval Office, alt-right websites and Fox News, whose disinformation stokes fear and anger with alternative facts, deceptions, dishonest spins, falsehoods, lies and conspiratorial theories. Shouted epithets, violence and threats of violence increasingly replace what once was vigorous, informed public debate. And now, Donald Trump’s resident handler, Reince Priebus, is renewing Trump’s vengeful campaign threats to journalism’s constitutional protections. I’m not shelving my notebook and Leica, but I have a new respect for Sisyphus and his labors and my mood darkened further when I read recent essays in the New York Times Review of Books and London’s Guardian. Reviewing “The Knowledge Illusion for the Times,” Yuval Harari said the authors reject the assumption that democracy is founded on the idea that the individual, rational voter knows best. Not now. Not ever. Citing the authors — cognitive scientists Steven Sloman and Philip Fernbach — Harari writes that “not just rationality but the very idea of individual thinking is a myth. Humans rarely think for themselves.” Instead, “as individuals we … rely on the expertise of others for almost all our needs.” That’s not all bad, but “people fail to realize just how ignorant they are of what’s going on.” Harari continued, saying, “Consequently some who know next to nothing about meteorology or biology nevertheless conduct fierce debates about climate change and genetically modified crops, while others hold extremely strong views about what should be done in Iraq or Ukraine without being able to locate them on a map. “People rarely appreciate their ignorance, because they lock themselves inside an echo chamber of like-minded friends and self-confirming newsfeeds, where their beliefs are constantly reinforced and seldom challenged.” More frightening for the future of my trade and our democracy, the authors argue that providing people with more and better information is unlikely to improve matters. Harari writes that “Such hopes are grounded in a misunderstanding of how

humans actually think. Most of our views are shaped by communal groupthink rather than individual rationality, and we cling to these views because of group loyalty. “Bombarding people with facts and exposing their individual ignorance is likely to backfire. Most people don’t like too many facts, and they certainly don’t like to feel stupid.” And in an increasingly complex world, Harari writes, “Individual humans will consequently know even less about the technological gadgets, the economic currents and the political dynamics that shape the world. How could we then vest authority in voters and customers who are so ignorant and susceptible to manipulation? If Sloman and Fernbach are correct, providing future voters and customers with more and better facts would hardly solve the problem.” Compared to that dismal picture, the Guardian essay by Rolf Dobelli is almost lighthearted when he concluded, “News is bad for you.” Here is my summary of his essay, drawn from his book, The Art of Thinking Clearly: Better Thinking, Better Decisions. The quotes are his. “News misleads. News leads us to walk around with the completely wrong risk map in our heads. So terrorism is overrated. Chronic stress is under-rated. “News is irrelevant. Out of the approximately 10,000 news stories you have read in the last 12 months, name one that … allowed you to make a better decision about a serious matter affecting your life, your career or your business. “News has no explanatory power. News items are bubbles popping on the surface of a deeper world. Will accumulating facts help you understand the world? Sadly, no. The important stories are non-stories: slow, powerful movements that develop below journalists’ radar but have a transforming effect. The more ‘news factoids’ you digest, the less of the big picture you will understand. “If more information leads to higher economic success, we’d expect journalists to be at the top of the pyramid. That’s not the case. “News is toxic to your body. Panicky stories spur the release of cascades of glucocorticoid (cortisol). This deregulates your immune system and inhibits the release of growth hormones. In other words, your body finds itself in a state of chronic stress. High glucocorticoid levels cause impaired digestion, lack of growth (cell, hair, bone),

nervousness and susceptibility to infections. The other potential side effects include fear, aggression, tunnel-vision and desensitisation. “News increases cognitive errors. News feeds the mother of all cognitive errors: confirmation bias. In the words of Warren Buffett: ‘What the human being is best at doing is interpreting all new information so that their prior conclusions remain intact.’ News exacerbates this flaw. “We become prone to overconfidence, take stupid risks and misjudge opportunities. It also exacerbates another cognitive error: the story bias. Our brains crave stories that ‘make sense’ even if they don’t correspond to reality.

“I’m not shelving my notebook and Leica, but I have a new respect for Sisyphus and his labors.” “News inhibits thinking. Thinking requires concentration. Concentration requires uninterrupted time. News pieces are specifically engineered to interrupt you. They are like viruses that steal attention for their own purposes. News makes us shallow thinkers. “Online news has an even worse impact. In a 2001 study two scholars in Canada showed that comprehension declines as the number of hyperlinks in a document increases. Why? Because whenever a link appears, your brain has to at least make the choice not to click, which in itself is distracting. News is an intentional interruption system. “News kills creativity. This is one reason that mathematicians, novelists, composers and entrepreneurs often produce their most creative works at a young age. Their brains enjoy a wide, uninhabited space that emboldens them to come up with and pursue novel ideas. “I don’t know a single truly creative mind who is a news junkie – not a writer, not a composer, mathematician, physician, scientist, musician, designer, architect or painter. “On the other hand, I know a bunch of viciously uncreative minds who consume news like drugs. If you want to come up with old solutions, read news. If you are looking for new solutions, don’t.” CONTACT BEN L. KAUFMAN: letters@ citybeat.com

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news

UC’s Secret, Money-Losing Investments

Endowment lost $9.3 million on hedge funds in the last two years; university won’t say what’s in them By JAMES McNAIR

Average Annual Investment Returns 12.5% University of Cincinnati Endowment Fund

12.1

11.7

805 Endowments in NACUBO* Survey Standard & Poor's 500 Stock Index

10%

Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index *National Association of College and University Business Officers

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2011, says hedge funds diversify the portfolio’s exposure to risk. Still, he says, the UC Board of Trustees’ Investment Committee in April lowered its hedge fund allocation from 20 to 18 percent. “Part of the reason hedge funds have done so poorly is that market forces have favored things like U.S. equities (stocks),” Scheer says. “We would expect them to do well at different times. If U.S. equities start to do poorly, we would expect these to do relatively much better. We believe we’re pretty well positioned for a (stock market) correction. If one should happen tomorrow, we would expect to outperform benchmarks by a lot.” That broadened exposure comes at a high cost. While hedge funds make up 18 percent of UC’s investments, they accounted for 38 percent of the fees paid to its outside money managers in 2015-16. Ever since UC dipped into hedge funds, those funds have cost big money — $2.3 million in fees last year alone — for low returns. “Alternative fees are sometimes three to 10 times larger than regular investments,” says Chris Tobe, vice president of investments at First Bankers Trust in Louisville and a former trustee of the Kentucky public employees retirement plan. “They’re paying excessive fees for strategies that have not provided the values that were expected.”

The UC endowment’s strategy of diversifying away from stocks and bonds has deprived it of sizable returns in periods that ended June 30, 2016. UC’s hedge funds are not household names like Apple or Procter & Gamble. It has $27 million in its biggest hedge play, a brew of distressed and restructuring companies run by King Street Capital Management in New York. That fund netted exactly nothing in 2015-16. UC lost $1.7 million of its $14 million stake in the Claren Road Credit Master Fund and $600,000 of its $10 million position in the Centerbridge Credit Partners Offshore Fund. Scheer said the UC investment committee dumped Claren Road at the end of last year. It stuck with Centerbridge, which is now running well in the black. What is in these funds? CityBeat sent UC a public records request for a breakdown of their holdings. Three months later UC’s general counsel’s office declared them to be trade secrets exempt from the Ohio Public Records Act. Ohio State University says the contents of its $648 million in hedge funds are trade secrets, too. Unlike UC, OSU refuses to disclose how well, or poorly, its hedge funds performed. Its entire portfolio, 18 percent of which is in hedge funds, lost $128 million, or 3.4 percent, in fiscal 2016. So when you donate $10,000 (or $10) to UC or the UC Foundation, you won’t know if your money went into a stock, a bond, an

IOU from a fading restaurant chain or a Peruvian goat farm. If a UC trustee wants to know the underlying holdings of a hedge fund, Scheer says, he or she would have to accompany UC investment office staff to the fund itself, most likely in New York, to get a glimpse. “We asked our fund managers what we’d be able to share,” he says, “and the overwhelming response back to us was, if you share the contents of our portfolio, you will put our companies at a potential disadvantage.” Sounds like what Bernie Madoff might have told a nosy accountholder before his corrupt fund — the biggest Ponzi scheme ever — imploded in 2008. It is quite possible that UC donors aren’t insisting on more transparency because they don’t know that the fund contents are secret. As a general rule, transparency is important in investing, says Joe Bell, senior market strategist at Schaeffer’s Investment Research. “It’s important that you have the ability to know exactly where your money’s being invested,” he says. “They shouldn’t be shielding the investments from donors.” CONTINUES ON PAGE 13

C I T Y B E A T . C O M • M A Y 1 7 – 2 3 • 1 1

ollege alumni and the parents of college students have grown quite accustomed to the persistent phone calls and snail-mail pleas for donations. It’s not like the robo-call you just hang up on, or the junk mail you trash. Colleges have a place in the heart. Their base wants to help. The University of Cincinnati is right up there in turning former students into donors. Its endowment of nearly $1.2 billion ranked 74th in the United States and Canada last year, third in Ohio. “From creating vital student scholarships to funding leadingedge research to providing for world-class patient care, our donors make a difference,” the UC Foundation says on its website. But what does UC and its foundation do with the money before spending it? About a fourth of it sits in restricted trust accounts set up by donors. Another chunk goes into real estate projects. The rest, $784 million as of last June 30, is invested. Not that well, it turns out. Even though the markets for U.S. stocks and bonds generated returns of 4 and 6 percent, respectively, in the collegiate fiscal year that ended last June 30, UC’s investment portfolio lost 1.3 percent. In monetary terms, $8.3 million went down a hole somewhere. How did UC manage to lose money in a rising market? To be sure, most college endowments did. The 805 U.S. university endowments responding to the annual National Association of College and University Business Officers survey lost an average of 1.9 percent of their money in the 2015-16 school year. Where did they go wrong? Their skittishness after the 2008-09 stock market crash sent them into ever-larger plays on so-called “alternative” investments. That sector includes real estate, but also a controversial species of investment known as hedge funds. Nearly $1 of every $5 in UC’s $784 million portfolio is in these things. No one is suggesting that UC put all its eggs in one basket, but some of its edgier baskets have cost donors millions in losses and missed opportunities. Its hedge fund basket, worth $144 million as of last June 30, returned an average of 2.7 percent over each of the last five years. Meanwhile the S&P 500 index returned 12.1 percent a year. Apply those returns to a hypothetical stash of $125 million, and the difference is $78.5 million, according to a calculation by Schaeffer’s Investment Research in Blue Ash. How many scholarships could UC have funded with $78.5 million? A 54 percent drop in the U.S. stock market between 2007 and 2009 sent UC down the hedge fund path. Karl Scheer, who became UC’s chief investment officer in

I N F O G R A P H I C : DY L A N R O B I N S O N

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City Budget Proposal: Big Cuts but No Layoffs BY NICK SWARTSELL

Ready Set Work! July 5 - July 27

TELL ME ABOUT IT: Ready Set Work! Is a 4 week summer work exploration program that focuses on developing the social and vocational skills needed for employment PROGRAM INCLUDES:

1 2 • C I T Y B E A T . C O M • M A Y 1 7 – 2 3 , 2 0 1 7

• Skills Training/Assessment • Career Exploration • Community-Based Assessment • Job Training • Off Campus Activities • And So Much More

WHEN IS IT? July 5 - July 27 WHAT TIME? 9:00a - 3:00p WHERE IS IT?

The Children’s Home of Cincinnati 5050 Madison Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45227

Need More Info? Contact:

Amanda Tipkemper 513-272-2800

atipkemper@thechildrenshomecinti.org

(513) 272-2800 www.thechildrenshomecinti.org

Cincinnati City Manager Harry Black presented his $1.1 billion fiscal year 2018-2019 city budget proposal late last week, outlining the city’s response to a $26 million budget shortfall brought about by lower-thanexpected tax receipts, unplanned raises for unionized city employees and other factors. Black’s budget avoids layoffs and closures to parks, health clinics and other city facilities by “millimeters,” the city manager said at a news conference after the budget’s release May 11. Black said the city’s financial situation is precarious and will continue to be so unless it continues to cut expenses, increase revenues or both. That could be a tough tightrope to walk, one made tougher by potential conflict over proposed cuts to priorities like human services funding that have sparked fights in the past. The budget Black put forward seeks to boost money to the city by raising parking ticket fines and parking meter rates while decreasing expenditures with 25 percent cuts to outside agencies funded by the city. Despite cuts to most outside agencies, some groups came away with more money in Black’s budget. The fiscal plan devotes $1.15 million less to the city’s human services spending than it did last year. The biggest portion of that comes from the United Way-administered human services fund, which will get a $772,000 reduction. That spending has been a flash point with Cincinnati City Council in the past. Council fought with city administration on the 2016-17 budget over human services funding, which goes toward alleviating poverty, addressing health concerns like infant mortality and other programs. The city has a longstanding goal of providing 1.5 percent of the operating budget for human services, though the last time it hit that goal was 2004. Among other human services organizations losing some funding: Controversial nonprofit The Center for Closing the Health Gap will get $250,000 less than last year, bringing its funding down to $750,000. The organization, run by former Cincinnati mayor Dwight Tillery, has seen funding increases in every budget since Mayor John Cranley was elected in 2013. In that time, it went from $350,000 to $1 million. Tillery, who served as Cranley’s 2013 campaign co-chair, has since become a vocal opponent of the mayor. The relationship between the two soured further after Cranley called for an investigation into the Health Gap’s spending following local media reports raising questions about expenditures on salaries, outside consultants and a program designed to promote fresh produce availability at local corner stores.

Mayor Cranley’s Hand Up Initiative, a job training program, will also see $62,500 in cuts, as will violence prevention programs, even as the city experiences a potentially record-setting year for shootings. In the neighborhood support and economic development sphere, the city’s community councils will see $88,000 less this year, cutting their funding to $265,000, and neighborhood business districts will get $129,000, a $43,000 reduction from last year. Another organization currently under city scrutiny — blight mitigation nonprofit Keep Cincinnati Beautiful — would still receive money in the upcoming budget proposal. The organization would take the across-the-board 25 percent cut, but would still receive about $400,000 from the city under Black’s proposal. Keep Cincinnati Beautiful director Mary Huttlinger was suspended last week after the organization’s president Brad Lindner asked Black to audit the agency’s invoicing system, citing potential financial discrepancies. The city contracts with the nonprofit on blight abatement efforts and has given the agency $1.3 million over the past two years. Not every organization supporting neighborhoods came out losing funds. Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation would get $750,000 in operating support it didn’t get last year under Black’s proposal. The city manager noted 3CDC will get $66,000 less for its operations on Fountain Square but that the organization put in a request for additional funding for other facilities, which Black granted. “After reviewing all of what they do, I’m recommending an increase,” Black said at a question and answer session May 11. “Those venues have become so popular.” Leading up to the budget proposal, Black asked all city departments except police and fire to outline 10 percent cuts to their budgets. Nearly $9 million is cut from departmental budgets in Black’s proposal. Under Black’s budget, non-union city employees wouldn’t see the 4 percent merit raises Council approved for them, but would see a 1 percent cost of living increase. Many unionized employees, including police and firefighters, will see 5 percent raises this year and next and a 4 percent raise in 2019 thanks to moves made by Cranley outside the usual contract negotiation process. Those raises will cost the city $20 million over three years. Revenues in the operating budget would be increased under the proposal by bumping parking tickets up from $45 to $60, generating an estimated extra $900,000. Boosting parking meter rates would generate an estimated $640,000. CONTINUES ON PAGE 13

FROM PAGE 11

Tobe agrees. He knows that hedge funds dabble in esoterica like offshore limited partnerships, collateralized securities and private debt. Moreover, he says, they go in and out of things. “The lack of transparency is troubling,” Tobe says. “You don’t even know what country your money’s in. You don’t know where it is.” Scheer, who is very forthcoming in person, describes UC’s hedge fund holdings as opportunistic and mostly in the U.S. Its funds buy distressed debt, such as Puerto Rican bonds. They look for openings to make money on valuation spreads in corporate mergers and other situations.

FROM PAGE 12

Public safety — police and fire — represent the largest portion of the operating budget at more than $261 million next year — an $8 million increase over this year. Nonpublic safety expenditures in the operating budget account for $116.7 million. Those expenditures saw a $600,000 increase. “All cities are seeing large expenditures going to public safety,” Black said. “That’s something all cities are grappling with.” Even though overall expenditures are going up for public safety, Black pointed to

“If you’re buying a company’s debt at 20 or 30 cents on the dollar and you think it’s worth 80, that can be very profitable and not that risky,” Scheer says. “When it’s a fire sale, you can buy some very attractive assets at a huge discount to their actual value.” Scheer says his office expected average annual returns of 6 to 8 percent on hedge funds. He still hopes to get there. But the wait, he says, has been frustrating. “If we thought they were going to continue to generate returns like this, we would greatly reduce our allocation to (hedge funds),” he says. “Unfortunately, we’ve got to look forward and see what’s going to happen next.” ©

some belt-tightening. Police recruit classes would be frozen for the next six months under Black’s plan. That move will save $2.3 million. Cincinnati City Council must approve Black’s budget before it goes into effect. Council can also draw up its own budget proposal or amend the city manager’s plan. It must do so before the beginning of the fiscal year July 1. Last year’s budget work came down to the wire and was marked by hours-long special meetings and lastminute adjustments. ©

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SEND IN THE CLOWNS

Ugo Rondinone transfor ms the Contemporary Arts Center with his strange clowns and rainbow colors words BY STEVEN ROSEN // PHOTOS BY HAILE Y BOLlINGER

n a world that seems increasingly divided between scary clowns and jovial ones, the artist Ugo Rondinone provides a third choice: introspective, meditative, puzzlingly perplexing clowns. You can see 45 of them at the Contemporary Arts Center now through Aug. 20 in an installation titled “vocabulary of solitude” that takes up much of an entire floor. There, the clowns are lost in a surrounding world of color so intensely alive it should make them want to jump and dance — even if they are life-like, life-size sculptures rather than actual humans. They should at least look happy. This is the key portion of a larger exhibition, a selective retrospective of the Swiss-born, New York-based Contemporary artist Rondinone, titled let’s start this day again. He first created “vocabulary of solitude” in 2014. This show containing it has already been to museums in Rotterdam and Rome, and after Cincinnati, it moves on to Berkeley, Calif. and the Bass Museum of Art in Miami. At each venue, the exhibit name is different to reflect slight changes in the works displayed. Since this exhibit first was announced a year ago, clowns have gotten their share of bad press, what with all those “scary clown” sightings a few months back. At one time, that negative publicity prompted Raphaela Platow, the CAC’s director, to tell CityBeat that, “We do hope, even if the scary clown images and stories prevail, that we can introduce a different perspective — a much more positive and thoughtful one — into the discourse.”

And now that let’s start this day again — and “vocabulary of solitude” in particular — is finally here, it reaffirms what she hoped the show would reveal. Platow had also said at the time, “The artist is interested in the tension between the inward poses of the sculptures and their outward appearance of comical entertainers. I would claim that we all experience that dichotomy of inward and outward in our lives.” Rondinone’s clowns are closer to Rodin’s “The Thinker” than to either Bozo or the Insane Clown Posse. But with Rondinone, it’s as if “The Thinker” has wandered somewhere over the rainbow. The CAC’s walls, floors and ceilings have been painted the most intense colors this side of a mountain range of boulder-sized gumballs. It makes for a weird contrast, and as you wander through “vocabulary of solitude” looking at all 45 kneeling, seated, reclining clowns, you’ll wonder what they could be thinking. They’re so passive that they offer no indications. During a tour of the exhibit just ahead of its recent opening, Rondinone gave an explanation of sorts. “The 45 clowns represent one single person, middle-aged, and they represent the 45 actions that someone does by himself — from dream to sleep to wake to sit to walk to pee. Each is named after an action,” he said. And indeed, the exhibit’s wall text helpfully provides each clown’s name: Be. Breathe. Sleep. Dream. Wake. Rise. Sit. Hear. Look. Think. Stand. Walk. Pee. Shower. Dress. Drink. Fart. Shit. Read. Laugh. Cook. Smell. Taste.

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Eat. Clean. Write. Daydream. Remember. Cry. Nap. Touch. Feel. Moan. Enjoy. Float. Love. Hope. Wish. Sing. Dance. Fall. Curse. Yawn. Undress. Lie. But while they are named after those actions, they aren’t all actually posed as if doing them — fortunately, in some cases. That’s the kind of contradiction Rondinone savors. To him, the clowns are engaged in “self-inspection.” Perhaps they are awaiting enlightenment; perhaps they know they are waiting in vain — he cites the writer Samuel Beckett, author of the classic absurdist play Waiting for Godot, as a key influence. “The clowns symbolize entertainment, but in this case they don’t do anything,” he says. In short, they’re holding back, which makes us all the more curious about them. And also curious about the man who created them. Rondinone, who is in his early 50s, thinks maybe visual artists need some kind of protection when they make their intensely personal work public — the way that the clown-like jesters of yore assumed their exaggerated, costumed roles to be able to speak truth to power. He knows he personally needs distance after an early attempt at performance art left him unsatisfied. “It was difficult in the beginning to realize that, as an artist, you have to defend your private freedom once you’re out in public,” he says. “The public has no boundaries, so you have to set some.” Thus, his reluctant clowns can be seen as a passive-aggressive statement about his own inner thoughts about being an artist. “Even if my work tells you a lot about myself, it gives you a distance to myself,” Rondinone says. The clowns are made with epoxy-covered polystyrene foam and they wear white masks without pronounced eye openings. To create them, Rondinone used 23 women and 22 men as models. The final sculptural objects are made from 3-D casts; the masks, made from casts of the models’ faces, have eyelashes, red noses and intentional smudge marks denoting life’s bumpy roads. It’s a hard life, being a clown. Their costumes, while not elaborate in terms of material or accouterments — Rondinone likens them to jumpsuits — still have a riot of polka dots, thick stripes,

bold checks and neck ruffles, which have the fluffy otherworldly hues of cotton candy. All wear gloves and socks. The artist worked with a designer on them. The clowns’ environment of florescent-like colors looks much different than the way Zaha Hadid’s much-heralded museum usually appears. The CAC had to get special paint from Switzerland for the walls and apply layers of vinyl flooring; the CAC’s skylight has been covered with colored film, distorting the “reality” of the museum’s interior even further and making for an interesting, trippy experience when clouds move across the sky on a bright day.

Rondinone sees this presentation as a response to the CAC’s architecture — the neutral colors, hard angles, mysterious corridors, dramatic overlooks and steep, exposed stairways of Hadid’s design which, taken as a whole, can challenge any artwork on display for the viewer’s attention. He found the building an imposing presence, so he decided to make the interior a giant canvas, in a sense. “It limits us a lot, the architecture. It guides you,” he says. “I made a positive situation out of it.” To Platow, what Rondinone has done with the building is extraordinary. “It’s amazing how the architecture

Among the other pieces in let’s start this day again is 2003’s “lines out to silence,” containing 30 separate haiku-like poems written in pencil on paper. Another, 2006’s “the 8th hour of the poem,” is a large realistically rendered light bulb cast from wax and suspended in a gallery occupied at what Rondinone considers “bellybutton level.” He made 24 of these, each named after a different hour of the day. let’s start this day again also contains a floor display of his series of cast bronze and lead candles, each painted a different color and referred to by their color,

Ugo Rondinone’s LET’S START THIS DAY AGAIN is on display at the Contemporary Arts Center through Aug. 20. More info: contemporaryartscenter.org.

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has changed through this,” she says. “He’s changed the entire environment.” Speaking on opening night, she referred to let’s start this day again as an “amazing color explosion on our concrete walls.” Since moving to the United States in 1998, Rondinone has become known for, on one hand, working with intense colors — red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet — and, on the other, exploring more naturalistic tones. His art often has a poetic dimension — specific and concise imagery with strong metaphoric implications.

as in “still.life. (neon yellow candle),” “still.life. (warm yellow candle),” “still.life. (straw yellow candle),” “still. life. (carrot orange candle),” etc. They are so life-like, you might want to light them. “It hasn’t happened yet,” Rondinone says, with a laugh. “Perhaps behind my back.” Another work, from 1998, is one of the many circular sun paintings he has done since 1992 — this one is acrylic on canvas, and the lines between the colors grow imprecise as the viewer stares at the emanating radiance. That is intentional. “You cannot visualize the sun — it blurs,” Rondinone says. “This is really something out of focus that lulls you. It’s connected to the clowns. This is a device to put you in a mental state of inspection.” Rondinone, ever looking for bold contrasts in his art (and in our lives), has paired “vocabulary of solitude” with a work called “your age and my age and the age of the rainbow.” It is nothing less than a long wall containing many of the 5,000 drawings of rainbows made by Cincinnati schoolchildren from 8 months old to age 12 at the CAC’s and the artist’s request. (He’s doing this in each of the five cities on this show’s tour and will display all the drawn rainbows in Miami.) To him, this serves as a polar opposite to his clowns and is another example of how his work reflects dichotomies. “These represent the other end of the spectrum — done by children in their innocence, where here (the clowns), we have a state of soberness,” he says. There’s as much to think about in let’s start this day again as there is to see. The exhibit is entertaining, but it isn’t meant to be merely a “fun” show with easy-on-theeyes gimmicky imagery. It’s really a plea for all of us to make more of what little time we have on Earth. “In my mind, the entire show is a meditation on the passing of the hours of the day,” Platow says. “It’s an opportunity for thinking of time as something other than duration, to just dwell on beautiful moments.”

Saturday June 3rd • THE PHOENIX 11:00 am – 2:30 PM

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TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT CITYBEAT.COM/citybeat-events FeaturING food + drink from: BLOC Coffee Company, Covington Coffee Company, Cozy’s Cottage, DRAKE’s, Keystone Bar & Grill, Macaron Bar, McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood & Steaks, Pompilio’s, The Pub Rookwood, Revel OTR Urban Winery, Seasons 52, Smooth Nitro Coffee, Wellmann’s Brands, Wild Eggs, + more to be announced!

Presented by:

SUPPORTING SPONSORS:

proceeds benefit:

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Staff Recommendations

photo : GLINTstudios

WEDNESDAY 17

ART: Ugo Rondinone’s LET’S START THIS DAY AGAIN is a colorful riot of introspective clown sculptures and meditations on the passing of time at the Contemporary Arts Center. See cover story on page 14. ONSTAGE: ERMA BOMBECK: AT WIT’S END at the Playhouse in the Park is filled to the brim with humor and heart. See review on page 24. ART: WORDLY is a three-artist exploration of text as imagery at The Carnegie. See review on page 25. ONSTAGE: THE TEMPEST There are only a few more performances of this final production at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s longtime downtown location on Race Street. (The company moves to its new Over-the-Rhine theater in September.) The Tempest, Shakespeare’s final play and his farewell to theater, has been the perfect show to round out this part of the company’s existence. Actor Nick Rose, involved in starting the company back in 1993, plays the magician Prospero. From start to finish, this is a magical production with an excellent cast and imaginative design. In fact, that’s part of the fun: seeing just what’s behind the scenes. Through Saturday. $14-$36. Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, 719 Race St., Downtown, cincyshakes.com. — RICK PENDER

THURSDAY 18

MUSIC: Excellent Alt rocker Adrian Belew plays the 20th Century Theater with the ADRIAN BELEW POWER TRIO. See Sound Advice on page 34.

EVENT: GALLERY GAMES: ART SPEAK SPELLING BEE Challenging those of us who are so used to operating in the world of autocorrect that we no longer know how to spell without automated assistance, this month’s Gallery Games program — a collaborative, monthly event created by the Cincinnati Art Museum and 21c Museum Hotel — is a contemporary take on the classic spelling bee. The contest will take place in the main lobby of the 21c and the winner will receive a $25 gift certificate. Interested participants should arrive by 5:30 p.m. There will be a cash bar on hand for some “liquid courage.” 5:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday. Free. 21c Museum Hotel, 609 Walnut St., Downtown, 21cmuseumhotels.com/cincinnati. — MARIA SEDA-REEDER

FRIDAY 19

EVENT: OTR SUMMER CELEBRATION AND 5K Lace up your running shoes for the 11thannual OTR 5K. The 5K, which featured more than 1,200 runners last year, will kick off at Washington Park 9 a.m. Saturday and loop around OTR and the Brewery District. But it isn’t just a race: It’s also a two-day Summer Celebration. The party starts on Friday, when everyone is invited to take a ride with Red Bike for a neighborhood tour and then stroll through the park for Art on Vine, with bonus food trucks and live music. After the race on Saturday, join local vendors at the first City Flea of the summer. Get active and show support for the shops, restaurants and people that make Over-the-Rhine thrive. 4-10 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. $40 race registration; free summer celebration.

Washington Park, 1230 Elm St., Over-theRhine, otrchamber.com. — GRACE HILL EVENT: ART ON VINE  Featuring more than 75 local artists, the Art on Vine vendor and shopping fair is a bohemian paradise displaying delicately crafted fine arts pieces and handmade goods for sale. The fair is part of the weekend’s Summer Celebration in Washington Park and will also feature live music and food trucks lining 12th Street. If you can’t make it out Friday, don’t fret: Art on Vine happens again June 4 at Fountain Square. 4-10 p.m. Friday. Free. Washington Park, 1230 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, artonvinecincy.com. — AMANDA WEISBROD EVENT: REUSE-APALOOZA! Building Value’s annual ReUse-apalooza fundraiser brings the goals of sustainability and accessibility together, giving artists an opportunity to get crafty for a

cause. The eccentric evening will feature Late Night-inspired lip sync battles, power tool drag races and a wine bike, as well as the main event: the Designer Challenge. In a night full of oddity and artistry, guests can bid on creatively repurposed furniture and decor. Local eats will also be provided. Proceeds benefit Building Value, a nonprofit reuse center founded by Easterseals that recycles building materials and employs those with workplace disadvantages. 7-11 p.m. Friday. $35. Building Value, 4040 Spring Grove Ave., Northside, buildingvalue.org. — GRACE HILL EVENT: AN EVENING WITH GARRISON KEILLOR If you miss the soothing sounds and quaint Midwestern aphorisms of Garrison Keillor, humorist and former host of A Prairie Home Companion, coasting CONTINUES ON PAGE 20

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COMEDY: AL JACKSON Al Jackson is a stand-up comedian and TV host originally from Cleveland. Onstage he talks about things happening in his personal life, including raising a son. “I knew nothing about children before I had them,” he tells an audience. “My son had just turned 3 and my wife calls me and says, ‘Our son can read anything you put in front of him.’ ” Jackson, a former middle school teacher, wasn’t sure how impressive that was. Then his wife called a few weeks later while he was on the road and said their son had taught himself sign language using an iPad. “I’m like, ‘We’re not deaf. How do we know he’s doing it right? He could be throwing up gang signs.’ ” Showtimes Thursday-Sunday. $8-$14. Go Bananas, 8410 Market Place Lane, Montgomery, gobananascomedy.com. — P.F. WILSON

Thursday 18

photo : philip groshong

FRIday 19

EVENT: CINCINNATI MAY FESTIVAL The Cincinnati May Festival — the oldest choral festival of its type in North America — has been reimagined this year, promising “a revolutionary new model of artistic collaboration and leadership” to provide a fresh approach. Spanning two weekends, the festival features choral masterpieces by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Bach and beyond, performed by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and May Festival Chorus alongside world-renowned conductors and soloists. Things kick off Friday with the May Festival premiere of Walter Braunfels’ “Te Deum,” which represents the composer’s spiritual journey after serving in World War I, followed by a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony under the direction of Markus Stenz. Highlights throughout the event’s duration include the May Festival Chorus and Youth Chorus’ annual concert at Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption (8 p.m. Sunday) and the Dream Project, a new immersive concert experience curated by conductor Gerard McBurney presented in two installments: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (8 p.m. Saturday) and The Dream of Gerontius (8 p.m. May 26). Through May 27. Ticket prices and locations vary. Visit mayfestival.com for a full schedule of events. — EMILY BEGLEY

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FROM PAGE 19

through your stereo speakers via NPR, spend an evening with the man himself at the Aronoff Center. The prolific storyteller is bringing his dry wit and wisdom to Cincinnati for a solo performance; expect masterful tales that weave together love, laughter and life lessons drawn from his own experiences, plus snippets of a cappella singing and a limerick or two. 8 p.m. Friday. $30-$70. Aronoff Center, 650 Walnut St., Downtown, cincinnatiarts. org. — MAIJA ZUMMO EVENT: MAINSTRASSE MAIFEST  Break out the lederhosen and celebrate the city’s German roots as the MainStrasse Village Association hosts its 38th-annual Maifest this weekend. This six-block Bavarian spring tradition is the warmweather counterpart to Oktoberfest and boasts a weekend’s worth of arts, crafts, traditional German dancers, live music, circus acts, festival food, an expanded Kinderplatz for the kids, a chalk art contest on Saturday and, of course, tons of German and local beers. Even the world-famous

Goebel Goats will be there, grazing while you get your fest on. 5-11 p.m. Friday; noon-11 p.m. Saturday; noon-8 p.m. Sunday. Free. Goebel Park, 501 Philadelphia St., Covington, Ky. mainstrasse.org. — AMANDA WEISBROD

SATURDAY 20

MUSIC: PAUL TAYLOR defies the negative connotations of Smooth Jazz with relentless energy and melody at Live! at the Ludlow Garage. See Sound Advice on page 34.

MUSIC: Neo-Classical Metal god and supernaturally talented guitarist Yngwie J. Malmsteen brings his YNGWIE J. MALMSTEEN’S RISING FORCE to the Madison Theater. See Sound Advice on page 35.

SUNDAY 21

TV: TWIN PEAKS’ premiere on Showtime promises to revive David Lynch’s surreal dreamscape (including appearances from FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper). See feature on page 22.

photo : provided by the cit y fle a

Saturday 20

EVENT: THE CITY FLEA Cincinnati’s original curated urban flea market is a one-stop shop for fascinating finds, whether you’re looking to spruce up your home, grab a bite to eat or add a few things to your wardrobe. With more than 160 vendors stationed throughout Washington Park, the City Flea has a little something for everyone. Vendors include All About That Burn, wood-burning designs by local artist Sarah Henry; Game Day Feels, connoisseurs of sports-related accessories like bracelets and key chains; and Truckshop, a colorful clothing store literally on wheels (it’s located inside a bright yellow van). 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Free admission. Washington Park, 1230 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, thecityflea.com. — EMILY BEGLEY

TUESDAY 23

MUSIC: DIAMOND HEAD Though the band didn’t go on to have the same blockbuster success as fellow juggernauts of the ’70s/early ’80s movement known as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal like Def Leppard and Iron Maiden, the U.K.’s Diamond Head is a hugely important band in Metal history due to its contribution to the

WITH ADULT BEVERAGES.

music’s development and its large influence on other artists. The group was a major inspiration to Metallica, which has covered Diamond Head songs like fan favorite “Am I Evil,” while Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine named Diamond Head guitarist Brian Tatler as one of his top influences (alongside Paul McCartney and Jimmy Page). The band has been through a few breakups, various musical shifts and several lineup changes since its mid-’70s debut, but founding guitarist Tatler has kept the Diamond Head fire alive in the new millennium. With new singer Rasmus Andersen (the third vocalist in the band’s long history), Diamond Head put out its seventh album (and first in nine years) in 2016, a self-titled affair that scored some positive reviews upon its release and led to the band’s current U.S. tour. The group is joined by likeminded locals Moonbow and Smoke Healer for its Cincinnati visit. 8 p.m. Tuesday. $18; $20 day of show. Southgate House Revival, 111 E. Sixth St., Newport, Ky., southgatehouse.com. — MIKE BREEN

ONGOING VISUAL ART Color + Rhythm: New Paintings by Cedric Michael Cox Taft Museum of Art, Downtown (through June 25)

Over-the-Rhine + 16-BitBar.com

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EVENT: SCORPION MOUNTING Are you sick of having your dead scorpion sitting out without any interesting artistic accouterments or stately display? Solution: Join Meddling with Nature at Hail Dark Aesthetics for an evening of preserving and mounting these “pinchy, pokey little critters.” This hands-on, DIY class lets participants position and mount a provided Heterometrus cyaneus (aka Asian Blue Forest Scorpion). Frames, bell jars and wooden bases will be available for purchase. Because of their size — about 6 inches from claw to stinger — you could even try your hand at some light taxidermy and stuff the little buggers. And if scorpions aren’t your strong suit, Meddling With Nature also has upcoming workshops on beetle mounting, dove skinning and a general intro to taxidermy. 6-8 p.m. Sunday. $69. Hail Dark Aesthetics, 720 Main St., Covington, Ky., meddlingwithnature.com. — MAIJA ZUMMO

UNLEASH YOUR INNER CHILD...

ARTS & CULTURE

The Return of a Surreal Dream

After a 26-year absence, David Lynch revives his touchstone Twin Peaks series for Showtime BY T T STERN-ENZI

P H O T O : s u z a n n e t e n n e r / c o u r t e s y o f s ho w t i m e

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n dreams, David Lynch walks with us. In dreams, he talks with us. In dreams, we’re his, all the time. And here’s a little Lynchian secret — you can’t binge-watch dreams. That’s why filmmaker Lynch (Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive) and his production partner Mark Frost have refused to sign with Netflix or Amazon to revive Lynch’s classic 1990-91 Twin Peaks cult television series. A singular mix of murder mystery and surreal journey into the subconscious, the original required that viewers experience it slowly. So, too, will the new series. The show’s long-awaited revival begins 9 p.m. Sunday on Showtime, with a special two-hour episode. Lynch will be allowed to carefully let Twin Peaks unfold over the course of its 18 episodes — no streamingstyle episode dump; not even preview episodes for critics. Like before, it is all about those dreamy slow teases that have been a staple of Lynchian storytelling from the beginning. We do know that certain cast members are returning — Kyle MacLachlan, crucially, is again FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper in this Washington town, and Angelo Badalamenti is once more providing the unforgettably eerie music. Lynch wants us to sit with his stories wafting ghost-like through our subconscious. Approximating the science of dreams, these narrative fragments stain the blank canvas of our brains as we drift off into sleep, mixing with the random and fleeting synaptic bursts that fire just before we go under. What remains becomes the framework for the dreams and nightmares that bedevil us throughout the night. Ever the genius within this realm, Lynch makes us all seekers on a journey, but the goal is not merely to reach the end as quickly as possible. Instead, he wants us to embrace each step of the journey, to dive deeply into the unfolding mysteries. In this way, we are similar to Jeffrey Beaumont, MacLachlan’s character in 1986’s Blue Velvet, as well as his Agent Cooper in Twin Peaks. Despite the fact that Blue Velvet is a narrative feature, time stretches in it. There is none of the fevered rush we typically feel in more traditional thrillers. Lynch slows things down, twisting our conception of time and its relation to the obvious tension he creates in certain moments. We hold our breath as Jeffrey watches Frank (Dennis Hopper) engage in his psychosexual games with Dorothy (Isabella Rossellini), but those anxious beats seem disconnected from the normal passage of time. This is what Lynch desired from the viewing experience in his first Twin Peaks series,

Kyle MacLachan is back for the Twin Peaks revival that starts Sunday. which ran on ABC. To binge-watch, now that such an option is increasingly available, would break that psychological control, that willingness to exist in a cocoon of experience that can extend over the course of a week, until the next episode. To him, a TV series is about truly living in a narrative landscape, not greedily staying attached to a device that allows for a download of data. Of course, the debate here goes far beyond the notion of the delivery device hooking us up to the storytelling matrix. Binging is ideally suited to plot-driven procedural shows (think of the CSI, Criminal Minds or Law & Order franchises with their multitude of spinoffs) where the hunt for clues is paramount. Better still, a series like 24, during its initial run where the ticking clock counted down to a terroristic Armageddon, would be suitable for binging. We used to laugh at the absurdity of Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) constantly racing around the globe without stopping for food or drink or to even satisfy his basic bodily functions. The typical viewing experience, now dominated by binging, involves a headlong rush to answer questions, to solve problems through the acquisition of information/data. We are plot-driven and under the belief that

the answers are (or should be) immediately available. For Lynch, there is no imperative to force us to rush through Twin Peaks and then move on. There’s no hurry — we’ve already been waiting 26 years after all. There is an invitation to come and stay awhile. With Twin Peaks, Lynch is whispering, “Let’s Get Lost” — a reference to Bruce Weber’s documentary of Chet Baker, the cool Jazz icon who looked like a wandering soul untethered from some forgotten Lynchian dreamscape. This continuation of Twin Peaks is an antidote to the immediacy of film and streaming formats. Twin Peaks was a singular and quite bizarre series, both during its initial twoseason run and the subsequent “prequel” film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me that was released in 1992. Yet an argument can be made that it inspired others to dabble in surreal psycho-thrills. Quite possibly, the best example might be the first season of the HBO series True Detective, which brought together Rust Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Martin Hart (Woody Harrelson), former detectives, to finally close out the investigation into a serial killer whose capture somehow eluded them.

Walking with them on that journey required jumping into the same fire, enduring the heat so that your vision sharpened. Like classic wanderers in Lynchian dreamscapes, Cohle and Hart had to willingly tap into and embrace their subconscious senses in order to solve their case. It will be interesting to see if that series influences the new Twin Peaks, just as the first Twin Peaks influenced True Detective. So, after all this time, the return of Agent Cooper to a Twin Peaks still populated with some of the original characters will have us on edge. We wonder to what extent the story will reference the original one wherein a homecoming queen, Laura Palmer, had been murdered. We don’t know yet, but the very existence of a revived Twin Peaks lets us conjure images of the first — a slice of cherry pie, the love of a damn fine cup of coffee, Bob, the log lady. Lynch beckons both Cooper and us back to savor the trippy sensations only he can create. It’s hard to tell how we’ll respond, but it will be an experience best left un-binged. The TWIN PEAKS revival begins 9 p.m. Sunday on Showtime.

a&c the big picture

Is Creative Philanthropy an Art Form? BY STEVEN ROSEN

C I T Y B E A T . C O M • M A Y 1 7 – 2 3 • 2 3

As social-practice art picks up momenShowcase Cinemas 12 occupied until 2008. tum, some blurring of definitions is occurEach bus will have at least three built-in ring. The People’s Liberty philanthropic screens and hold about 25 people. There lab, an extension of the Carol Ann & Ralph will be two movies (DVD releases) shown V. Haile Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation, has been on a given night; only families with children giving $10,000 project grants to individuals will be able to board. who submit ideas for projects. Sometimes, “You’ll get to meet other families as there’s those projects involve the arts — other more of a communal feeling to it,” Kelly says. times, there’s artistic inspiration in the very She’s aiming for the first one to be held Aug. proposal. Now that the fifth round of proj12 and then two more in October and during ect grants has been announced, it’s useful to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend. look at the winners. Television figures in the grant awarded to When John Dixon attended January’s the commercial filmmaker Scott Fredette, Women’s March with his sister and girlfriend, who plans to make a pilot for a travelogue he was struck when President Donald that explores Cincinnati’s cultural underTrump’s administration characterized the belly. It will be hosted by songwriter Yoni huge crowds opposing his policies as “professional protesters.” That certainly didn’t jibe with anything Dixon saw. “When they say the word ‘professional,’ it has a different association — a profit motivation,” says the Cincinnati industrial designer. “When you say that people are only out there because they’re getting paid — when they’re not getting paid and that’s not their motive — that marginalizes them.” As a satirical response to that characterization, as well John Dixon and Amber Kelly received People’s Liberty grants. as a means to serve the practiPHOTO : provided cal needs of future protesters, he has come up with PROtest — a project that will create and package reusWolf, who has the Wandering Wolf podcast. able, dry-erasable blow-up protest signs. The Writing from Africa, where he is shooting signs will be distributed for free. For this, he a branding piece for Luxottica eyewear in received one of the project grants. Tanzania, Fredette explained his project: “I The goal of his project, Dixon says, is to have always been fascinated by subculture facilitate peaceful communication between and, because of that passion, I’ve attracted differing groups in difficult times. “We’re film work that explores a city’s cultural trying to make sure we’re relatively neutral,” underbelly,” he wrote via email. “For examhe says, adding that signs are a better form ple, 12 years ago, I was in London scouting of personal/political expression than shoutfor a broadcast-commercial campaign. Our ing, arguing or worse. location scout took us on a tour of street Currently, a company that makes pool culture, exposing us to the subversive rafts is working on creating the signs. Packmurals of the at-the-time-unknown artist aging has yet to be decided, but he’s hoping Banksy (and) the art galleries of London’s to get everything worked out by July 4. punk culture.” Movies figure in Amber Kelly’s winning There are five other interesting ideas that proposal. With FamilyFlickin, she wants to have received grants: Kaia Goodwin’s plan recreate a version of what she had known to use milk crates for modular intensive as a girl. “I grew up in Bond Hill and I went gardens; Christa Hyson’s idea to work to the Showcase Cinemas in Bond Hill a lot,” with children to prevent opioid abuse; Karl says Kelly, a mother of two and a community Laube’s proposed six-week course to help psychologist living in Kennedy Heights. “I people learn auto maintenance and identify remember how close it was to my home and honest mechanics; Kick Lee’s Cincinnati how much I enjoyed going. We want to repliMusic Accelerator; and Yemi Oyediran’s cate that experience in the old neighborhood.” plan for community concerts featuring Her plan is to park three party buses in songs from the King Records catalog. For the large parking lot of Mercy Health’s Bond more info, visit peoplesliberty.org. Hill corporate campus at Reading Road CONTACT STEVEN ROSEN: srosen@citybeat.com and the Norwood Lateral, the very spot that

a&c onstage

Celebrating Erma Bombeck’s Timeless Wit BY ERICA REID

“I feel like I’ve stepped into my grand(In fact, the Engels’ script allows Bombeck mother’s 1970s home,” says Artistic Director to interrupt the end of her own show, shoeBlake Robison on the opening night of horning in a few final jokes.) Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End at the PlayAt Wit’s End is a one-woman show that house in the Park. It’s true — no detail has requires Chisholm to interact with offstage been spared in Daniel Conway’s set design, children, impersonate an oblivious husband from the Mid-Century dining set and coffee and hold one-sided conversations with a service to the avocado-green bedspread. door-to-door salesman. The actress’ knack The carpet falls just short of shag and there for characterization and impression keeps is a typewriter tucked in the bedside table. these interactions clear, populating the Of course, “the Socrates of the ironing stage with characters from Bombeck’s life. board” — as Erma Bombeck was known — would not be at home without a vacuum, plastic laundry basket and a H copy of Good Housekeeping. CRITIC’S I had heard the name Erma Bombeck countless H times in my life without having much context; Bombeck’s career as a humorist picked up steam in the 1970s and continued until her passing in the late ’90s. At Wit’s End are useful, serving as an opportunity to bring a new generation up to speed while providing a Barbara Chisholm portrays “the Socrates of the ironing board.” blast from the past for those P H O T O : m i k k i s c h a f f n e r photo g r a ph y already familiar. For the initiated — and judging by the uproarious laughter on Chisholm’s delivery also makes it clear opening night, that was most of the audithat Bombeck’s jokes and snark come from ence — At Wit’s End is filled to the brim a place of deep love. Bombeck comes off as with Bombeck’s signature one-liners and a woman who cherishes being a mother and aphorisms. “Never go to a doctor whose housewife; she simply wants those roles to office plants have died,” she quips, or “God be appreciated or even simply noticed. She created man, but I could do better.” (Fear is also a successful and influential writer not, it would be difficult to spoil the show’s alongside, not instead of, being a mother. jokes; Margaret and Allison Engel’s script is In the program book, the playwrights sugabsolutely rife with them.) This is the audigest they were “amazed by her discipline ence that will enjoy At Wit’s End the most — in finishing deadlines before her children gags about penny loafers and rotary phones came home each afternoon.” Who can say seemed to hit their marks. how many women were inspired by the For those of us less familiar with revolutionary balance that Bombeck struck Bombeck, this 65-minute play provides an between her career and home life? overview of her truly robust career. BomAt Wit’s End previously has been probeck began her weekly newspaper column, duced at Washington, D.C.’s Arena Stage, which documented the life of the suburban and Robison commented that mounting housewife, at $3 per story. Her mix of it in Cincinnati feels to him and director candor and humor quickly found an audiDavid Esbjornson “like bringing it home.” ence, and ultimately Bombeck’s columns Not only are the script’s authors Ohio were syndicated to 900 papers across North natives, but Bombeck herself hailed from America. She published 15 books, made freDayton and first published her column quent television appearances and served as in Dayton’s Kettering-Oakwood Times. grand marshal for the Rose Parade. Actress The opening night audience was even Barbara Chisholm embodies Bombeck with treated to a surprise visit from Bombeck’s spirit and cheer. Chisholm has a fluid comedaughter Betsy. Bombeck’s writing struck dic timing and an authenticity that becomes a familiar chord in households across the important when the tone eventually (and country, but there is a special poignancy in briefly) shifts to address Bombeck’s critcelebrating a hero with local roots. ics, health problems and eventual passing. ERMA BOMBECK: AT WIT’S END runs through Even these serious topics are handled with June 18 at the Playhouse in the Park. More info/ Bombeck’s brand of sincerity and wit; the tickets: cincyplay.com. show feels lighthearted from start to finish.

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a&c visual art

Carnegie’s ‘Wordly’ Whispers Rather than Shouts BY KATHY SCHWARTZ

APRIL 22 – MAY 20

C I T Y B E A T . C O M • M A Y 1 7 – 2 3 • 2 5

Although it’s an exhibit examining how style is called “asemic language,” which language is employed by visual artists, Distel explains as intended to form a feeling The Carnegie’s Wordly is not wordy. This rather than a word. sparsely installed show doesn’t spell out A separate exhibit downstairs also each artistic intention with wall text. It’s features an artist who developed his own up to you to translate. At times, a work will language — Raymond Thunder-Sky, the remain impenetrable. But with just one or stoic “construction clown” who was a familtwo words, or sometimes only a hint of a iar sight downtown in his overalls, hard word, its three artists frequently make conhat and frilly collars until his death in 2004. nections that are humorous, comforting and When visiting Wordly, also tour Demolition thought-provoking. Man: Selected Works from the Raymond An insistent buzz from a closet leads to an Thunder-Sky Archives to appreciate the open suitcase containing a red neon sign that local artist and builder Fred Ellenberger has programed to flash EAT, ME and MEAT. With “HERE,” a handlettered sign stuck in two small pots of grass, Avril Thurman stakes out her own space, even if temporarily. A separate asphalt-on-canvas piece from this Cincinnati poet and artist reminds us she’s “Not Done.” The raised letters suggest a bumpy path that she plans to smooth out soon. “Here” by Avril Thurman is in the Wordly exhibit. John M. Bennett, a ColumP H O T O : c o u r t e s y o f th e c a r n eg i e bus poet known for performing, producing and collecting experimental literature since the 1970s, essential building blocks of our lives and scrawls random words and fragments that our communications. can be impossible to decipher. His collages A generous 136 of Thunder-Sky’s 2,000 on cardboard carry nonsensical titles like drawings line the walls, along with his many “Bomb the Neck” and “Leaky Fork” — loose toolboxes of found objects and a rack of his thoughts that flow into childlike drawings clown suits. Whenever this quiet outsider artmerge with torn pages from Spanish-lanist took a wrecking ball to a factory or govguage texts. Yet in the openness of the galernment institution in one of his artworks, leries, some of these mysterious mash-ups he used his block-letter caption to envision have a way of evoking a snippet from some something better — a Clownville amusement forgotten dream. park, a costume factory or a highway honor“It’s called Wordly, but it’s not label-heavy,” ing his Native American heritage. says Carnegie exhibitions director Matt Dis“I could have easily seen if we did tel, who curated the exhibit with Cincinnati (Wordly) as a single exhibition in the whole gardener, artist and archivist Peter Huttinger. space, Raymond could have been the fourth Huttinger concedes that visitors will find artist in the show,” Distel says. “He was some Wordly work obtuse, but by catalogvery deliberate about his text. It’s a narraing and showcasing all kinds of Bennett tive, but it’s also sometimes a false narraephemera — labels, postcards, matchbooks tive or an imaginative, hopeful narrative, — in a small reading room, he helps redefine full of hopeful wishes.” and elevate what art can be. Visionaries + Voices and Thunder-Sky Huttinger describes Bennett’s poetry Inc. gallery, both in Northside, carry on his readings, which are on a video loop, as legacy today. “percussive rants,” yet he writes that, “I was Together, Wordly and Demolition Man stunned to find that the repetition of a twotear away at notions of how much you have word phrase could both irritate and invoke to say to have an impact on the world. a sense of well-being.” WORDLY and DEMOLITION MAN continue through For 30 years, Bennett produced Lost and June 10 at The Carnegie (1028 Scott Blvd., Found Times, which started as a “mail art” Covington). There’s a free poetry reading by John listing of fake ads. His clip suit from 1978 — M. Bennett and Avril Thurman 7 p.m. Thursday and a white butcher’s coat covered with metal a free screening of Thunder-Sky: A Documentary clips — suggests he’s found offbeat sources Film 7 p.m. June 1. More info: thecarnegie.com. of inspiration every day. His looping writing

a&c film

Richard Gere Is the Perfect Fixer in ‘Norman’

2 6 • C I T Y B E A T . C O M • M A Y 1 7 – 2 3 , 2 0 1 7

BY T T STERN-ENZI

Norman: The Moderate Rise and awareness that he always has to work, to Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer, the full strive, to connect more and harder than the title of the new film from American-born next guy. He’s hungry, and that rumble in Israeli writer-director Joseph Cedar (Foothis belly keeps him sharp. note), has the potential to be a bit misleading. As a small-time hustler, Norman always It all comes down to our associations with has multiple irons in the fire, which sets him the idea of what a “fixer” is. When I hear apart from the traditional notion of who someone being called a “fixer,” I immediately and what a fixer is. He has clients, but they think of tough guys who come in after the come to him seeking aid in the pursuit of shit has hit the fan and clean things up. I their agendas. They desire the access they assume the worst — expecting the kind of believe he has accumulated through his person that has to take action and remove a network of contacts. troublesome element, usually by force (see Liev Schreiber’s character on the Showtime series Ray Donovan). I suppose I have to acknowledge that there are exceptions. What about The Wolf (Harvey Keitel) from Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction? A curiously hands-off figure, The Wolf is a cultured man, dressed in a fine suit and with a wad of cash to dispense, whose prompt availability and cool-headed no-nonsense leadership help when Vincent (John Travolta) Richard Gere (left) and Lior Ashkenazi and Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) P H O T O : n i ko tav e r n i s e / c o u r t e s y o f s o n y p i c t u r e s c l a s s i c s need to clean up a killing. I bring that up to highlight We never truly know how Norman makes the distinct difference between The Wolf a living. He has no home to speak of, nor a and Norman Oppenheimer (Richard Gere), family. He is constantly moving around, plotthe focus of Cedar’s film. Norman travels in ting and planning his next encounter. completely different circles, trafficking in At one point, Norman saddles up next to a world of money and favors. We’re talking Eshel (Lior Ashkenazi), an Israeli functionpolitics — which is crime by another name, ary with vague political aspirations, tailing to be sure, but crime where the bodies don’t the man as he wanders the streets of New get buried so much as rendered invisible. York, until cornering him in an upscale Imagine Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man if men’s boutique where he eventually agrees its historic trappings of race were replaced to buy Eshel an expensive pair of shoes. It is by a culture rooted much more fundamena costly favor, a high-risk gamble that takes tally in achievement at all costs: You (meanyears before leading to any kind of payoff. ing everyone) use the people you know to But it serves to define the stakes for Norman get ahead. Sometimes knowing is little more and his approach to his identity as a fixer. than having a name to drop at the right Nothing else matters, other than his faith in moment in a conversation. In Norman’s the powerful potential of a connection. world, knowing and hearing is another form Norman, as a narrative, plays out like a of seeing and being seen. series of tangential chapters that gradually And Norman operates in a decidedly intertwine over time. The title cues us in old-world fashion. He courts and curries to the inevitable tragedy of Norman’s life, favor through a fawning attentiveness which has been obvious from the moment that is cunning and could be lethal — if we first laid eyes on him. employed in a more nefarious way. He obviIt is hard to believe, but Gere truly disapously has studied Machiavelli, but has no pears inside the small shell of this man who desire to weaponize the lessons. There is a is forever fighting to be seen. For one brief sincerity and honor that is unwavering and and shining moment, Norman stands before anachronistic. us, and we appreciate his herculean effort. Gere is uniquely suited to the role. As a performer known for his good looks, Then, in the blink of an eye, he’s gone, and there is a visceral charge in watching him so are everyone’s problems. minimize his charms, which have become Which begs the question, who else should even smoother as he has aged. His Norman you call? (Opens Friday at Mariemont Thehas a recognizable frumpiness to him, an atre.) (R) Grade: B+

ON SCREEN Champion of Cities By tt stern-enzi

Documentarian Matt Tyrnauer (Valentino: The Last Emperor) presents, in Citizen Jane: Battle for the City, an unlikely redefinition of the story of David versus Goliath. As the stand-in for the little guy, you’ve got Jane Jacobs, a writer carving out a name for herself on the architecture beat, with a commonsense approach based on ground-level observation of people in communities around New York City. In the 1960s, she faced off against urban planner Robert Moses, a self-appointed savior of the grid. Known early on for his widespread support for neighborhood parks, Moses veered toward an extreme modernist perspective, positioning himself as the all-knowing eye gazing down on what he believed to be a festering problem. Moses comes across as the ultimate capital-G godfather, the final arbiter with the power to serve as judge, jury and executioner. Tenements are bad, so he wipes them out. By focusing on high-rise projects in New York (championing a movement that swept across the nation), Moses bulldozed anything in his path with casual arrogance, watching from his insulated god’s-eye remove. Jacobs, author of 1961’s The Death and Life of Great American Cities, had her feet firmly planted on the ground, walking the streets, studying the organic intermingling of people, families and cultures. But Jacobs wasn’t merely an objective academic, surveying a scene; she and her family lived in the heart of New York during this pitched battle. She wanted to protect urban neighborhoods because she belonged to one. Moses saw the battle as one of philosophy and principle and he wholeheartedly engaged in the defense of his ideas. He, the irresistible force, met an immovable object in Jacobs, who tapped into salient swirling movements of the day — Civil Rights, anti-war and feminism — to galvanize a diverse collection of individuals into an informed, engaged army. And as the war to protect cities from demolitions and bad developments rages on everywhere, this is a perfect time to consider the story of Citizen Jane, one of the seminal compassionate warriors on the front lines. (Opens Friday at the Mariemont Theatre.) (Not Rated) Grade: A

a&c television

Aziz Ansari’s Rom-Com for the Ages BY JAC KERN

Comedian turned multi-hyphenate Aziz into the life of working actors (Dev lands Ansari might have claimed the title Master a cooking-show hosting gig that leads to a of None (now on Netflix), but after two travel and dining show opportunity, and yes, seasons of the show he created and stars in, I totally would watch Clash of the Cupcakes he’s clearly a master of his craft. and Best Food Friends). But perhaps most Master of None’s debut was a runaway of all, it’s a romantic comedy that proves hit in 2015. Audiences gobbled it up in single you can incorporate fresh perspectives, sittings; Ansari and co-creator/writer Alan intelligent humor, intentional inclusion Yang won an Emmy for Outstanding Writand other contemporary elements into the ing for a Comedy Series category. It could oft-bemoaned category. A good rom-com have stood as a single-season series, but in 2017 is quirky and relatable, doesn’t shy fans clamored for a second season, and last away from the ugly and focuses on the love Friday we got one. But could Ansari recreate its successful first season? For sure — and then some. Season One found its protagonist Dev (Ansari) pursuing acting while trying to avoid stereotypical and racist roles. Ansari spoke openly about trying to cast a diverse mix of actors and how difficult that turned out to be. This season builds on that melting pot of faces and stories. Diversity means more than just black, white and brown, and we see that in Ansari proves his artistic mastery on Master of None. Season Two’s storylines that PHOTO : courtesy of netflix feature immigrants, people with disabilities, older people entering the dating pool and gay women. we have for our friends — from Denise to The “New York, I Love You” episode barely “Big Bud” Arnold (portrayed like none other features the regular characters, instead by the charmingly odd Eric Wareheim). following three intersecting stories of an There’s a real joie de vivre felt in Master apartment doorman, a deaf shop clerk and of None that can only come from Ansari, a Rwandan cab driver. The second storyline, Yang and the cast having a great time while which follows a deaf couple discussing their making it. Life is a fun, wild trip for Dev and, sex life, is completely silent. It’s a brilliant thankfully, we’re along for the ride. example of the importance of visibility and a hilarious episode to boot. The show experiments with the episodic Twin Peaks (Series Premiere, 9 p.m. format in a truly unique way. “The Thief,” the Sunday, Showtime) — David Lynch and first episode of the season, is shot entirely Mark Frost return with FBI Special Agent in black-and-white and mostly in Italian Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) to Twin with English subtitles. It’s a love letter to Peaks, Wash., picking up 26 years after the Italy, where Dev traveled to get his Eat, Pray, mystery drama’s original run ended. Fore Love on and learn to make pasta after a more, see feature on page 22. breakup. “Thanksgiving” gives us a deeper look at Dev’s friend Denise (Lena Waithe, The Bachelorette (Season Premiere, 9 who co-wrote the episode with Ansari), p.m. Monday, ABC) — Rachel Lindsay (who recapping the many Thanksgivings she and came in third place in the last season of Dev have spent together as Denise and her The Bachelor with Nick Viall) makes her family come to terms with her sexuality. mark as the first black Bachelorette. A few Of course, Dev’s love life is central to questions come to mind. Is this significant? this season, too. He rides the rollercoaster There have been notably few people of that is app-dating as he develops a deep color in the franchise’s massive vault — but relationship with a friend who might become will her suitors be as diverse? Will they something more. And if you loved Noël Wells’ celebrate it respectfully or just make a few Rachel, Dev’s love interest in Season One, “Once you go black…” jokes? (Spoiler alert: don’t worry — she’ll be back. one has already been made.) Judge away, Master of None is many things — a look but I will be watching to find out. at immigrant families with Americanized CONTACT JAC KERN: @jackern millennial children, a hilarious glimpse

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Pick Your Perfect Produce

Regional farmers and farmers markets offer myriad convenient chemical-free produce options BY ILENE ROSS

PHOTO : Haile y Bollinger

n 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency — in response to a petition filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council and Pesticide Action Network North America — proposed a ban on all uses of the chemical Lorsban on food. The frequently utilized pesticide has been applied by farmers for more than 50 years but was banned for indoor use against household pests more than a decade ago due to mounting concerns about health risks, including evidence that the endocrine disrupter poses a danger to fetal brain and nervous system development. A federal judge gave the EPA a deadline of March 31 to decide whether or not it wanted to finalize the ban. On March 29, President Donald Trump’s new EPA chief, Scott Pruitt, declined to ban Lorsban, siding instead with manufacturer DOW Chemical and large farm groups despite the scientific data Pruitt’s own agency put together regarding potential hazards. While most evidence shows that the nutritional value of healthy foods is not altered by the growing method, some early animal-based research suggests that pesticides could be harmful at lower levels than previously believed. So we’ve decided to look at alternate growing methods and local organizations, farms and farmers markets that can help you make educated decisions when it comes to feeding your family.

Certified Organic To qualify for this USDA-regulated designation, farmers must grow and process their products according to strict federal guidelines addressing, among many factors, soil quality, pest and weed control and the use of additives. Instead of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, organic farmers must use natural products and “physically, mechanical or biologically based farming methods.”

Certified Naturally Grown This private, nonprofit group relies on peer review. CNG farmers don’t use any synthetic herbicides, pesticides or genetically modified organisms and rely on the personal commitment of their members to practice robust organic practices.

Cook never sprays her plants and relies only on compost to amend the soil. Find Carriage House produce at the Hyde Park, Northside and Wyoming farmers markets and Findlay Market as well as on the farm. carriagehousefarmllc.com.

a water-based, nutrient-rich solution and without soil. Hydroponic gardening has the advantage of being environmentally friendly since it requires considerably less water than soil gardening. Farmers also spend less time dealing with soil-based pests and disease.

Rains and Sun Hilltop Farm: Located in Independence, Ky., Steve and Anna Raines offer vegetables, berries and herbs through a CSA or via OVFC. rainsandsun.com.

Finn Meadows Farm: Claire and Marc Luff never use herbicides or chemical fertilizers on their 50-acre farm in Montgomery. Their fruits, vegetables and herbs, as well as pastured meats, are available on the farm, through their CSA and at the Montgomery and Hyde Park farmers markets. finnmeadowsfarm.com.

Waterfields: This specialty produce grower provides microgreens, petite lettuces, edible flowers and specialty cuts to our region’s finest local restaurants as well as directly to consumers. They’re grown with no pesticides or herbicides. Find them at Jungle Jim’s, Clifton Market, Clifton Natural Foods, Madison’s at Findlay Market and in Dayton at Dorothy Lane Market. waterfieldsllc.com.

No Spray/Low Spray

Brickel Creek Organic Farm: Visit Whole Foods for Dayton farmer Sue Borton’s heirloom varieties of greens, beets and herbs. Summer produce includes berries, tomatoes, and sweet corn. brickelcreek.com.

The terms “pesticide-free” and “spray-free” are often used quite loosely in farming. Because there is no legally recognized definition, these labels can be confusing and a dialogue with individual farmers is imperative. For example, if something is labeled “spray-free,” the crop might have been spared from being sprayed, but the soil could have been primed with synthetic fertilizer or the seeds might have been dipped in fungicide. Farmers can also use GMO plants or seeds.

Salad Days Farm: Pick up salad greens (plus asparagus, radishes and strawberries) at the Versailles, Ky. farm or order through OVFC. saladdaysfarm.com.

Carriage House Farm: More than 50 different vegetables, herbs and culinary flowers are available from this registered Ohio Century Farm. Garden Manager Kate

Oakley Urban Farm: Farmer Brian Lytle offers heirloom tomatoes, sweet peppers, superhots, eggplant, greens and zucchini. Lytle only uses organic input when growing his crops. He also produces five flavors of pickles. Find these items at the Liberty Centre, Lettuce Eat Well, Madeira and Mount Washington farmers markets, Findlay Market and special events at the Hyde Park Farmers Market. Searchable on Facebook.

Hydroponics Hydroponics is the art of growing plants with their roots suspended directly into

Aquaponics Aquaponics is hydroponics plus fish. Fish waste turns into nitrates and ammonia, which are normally deadly for fish but make great fertilizer for plants. The plants absorb the waste as nutrients, purifying the water and making it safe for the fish. Greener Portions Aquaponics: Urban farmer Casey Miller produces his veggies and herbs in an Anderson strip mall. Purchase his produce at the “farm” or through OVFC. greenerportions.com. ©

C I T Y B E A T . C O M • M A Y 1 7 – 2 3 • 2 9

5 Oaks Organics: More than two dozen vegetables and herbs are produced on this nine-and-a-half-acre Oxford, Ohio farm. Find Kristi Hutchison’s produce at the Oxford, Hyde Park and Wyoming farmers markets as well as through the Ohio Valley Food Connection (OVFC). ohiovalleyfood.com.

Local hydroponic farm Waterfields produces microgreens with no pesticides or herbicides.

GRILL OF INDIA

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513-961-3600

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Where the locals come to eat, drink and have fun

5/17 - Wing Wednesday 60¢ House-Smoked Wings Live Music from Love Train 6-9pm

5/18 - Jazz & Wine Thursday $9 Wine Tasting Jazz from BBG & Ben Walkenhauer 6-9pm

5/19 - Friday 3 0 • C I T Y B E A T . C O M • M A Y 1 7 – 2 3 , 2 0 1 7

Live Music from Kelsey Mira 7-10pm

5/20 - Saturday Live Music from Lisak & Rowe 7-10pm

5/21 - Sunday Neighborhood Night 27% OFF for the 45227 Live Music from Kyle & Ulysses 5-8pm

5/23 - Prime Tuesday A Savory Prime Rib Special Local Talent Showcase w/ Todd Hepburn 6-9pm 6818 Wooster Pk. Mariemont, OH 45227 (513) 561-5233

513.784.0403 Inner Peace Holistic Center

811 RACE ST, 3RD FLOOR | CINCINNATI, OH 45202

F&D LOST IN THE SUPERMARKET

Mountain Dew’s Patriotic Pop BY MADGE MARIL

Americans use many different names to talk about flavored carbonated beverages — those in the Northwest and Midwest call it “pop,” the upper East Coast and lower West Coast call it “soda” and Southerners call any and all bubbly beverages, regardless of flavor profile and color, “coke.” However, there is one thing all Americans can agree upon: the power of the good ol’ DEW.S.A. Naturally, DEW.S.A. is Mountain Dew’s newest patriotic flavor of soda. It was reportedly released on April 28 to coincide with Memorial Day and Independence Day and the name DEW.S.A. is meant to be a play on words to sound like U.S.A. DEW.S.A. is a combination of Mountain Dew’s Code Red, White Out and Voltage flavors. Mountain Dew Code Red tastes like cherry, White Out tastes like citrus and Voltage is intended to taste like “ginseng and raspberry citrus.” You might be thinking to yourself, “Hey! All of those flavors should not naturally go together as a beverage.” To which Mountain Dew replied, “You are so wrong and America is the greatest country in the world. DEW!S!A!” The combination of blue, white and red soda produces a light, lavender-colored beverage that is, honestly, pleasing to the eye. I held my plastic soda bottle up to natural sunlight and marveled at the colors produced by the shifting bubbles and chemical flavoring. The flavor itself was surprisingly pleasant — not too tart, not too sweet. It tasted kind of like a mix of a Coke and cherry Slurpee in a Styrofoam cup from a 7-Eleven. Not to be outdone by Mountain Dew, Pepsi (actually owned by the same overarching PepsiCo) has also been putting out new flavors, including Pepsi 1893. The Pepsi 1893 containers are slick, skinny metal cans with minimalist advertising that could almost be misconstrued as pre-mixed alcoholic beverages. I myself don’t care if I’m drinking a soda or an alcoholic soda, so I eagerly purchased both new flavors of Pepsi 1893 — available in black currant and citrus. Pepsi 1893 has been around for a minute, or so I have concluded based on some thirdparty food-reviewing websites, but I’m not even sure what Pepsi 1893 is referencing. Was Pepsi founded in 1893? Was Mr. Pepsi himself born in 1893? I don’t know. When I tried to research Pepsi 1893’s origin — by Googling Pepsi 1893 in all quotes — I was directed to a plain HTML website that just said, in all capital letters: “DON’T BE SAD. BE GLAD. BECAUSE YOU’RE JUST ONE CLICK AWAY FROM GETTING BACK ON THE PULSE. GO TO PEPSI.COM.” Maybe 1893 means that there are 1,893 mysteries behind what this Pepsi could be referencing? Pepsi’s website says the drink is a “modern take for consumers while honoring the

original cola recipes created over a century ago by our founder.” But the site also says Pepsi-Cola was formulated in 1898, not 1893. Again, mysterious, until you consult Wikipedia, which says Pepsi was first introduced in 1893 as “Brad’s Drink” at Caleb Bradham’s drugstore in North Carolina. It was then renamed Pepsi-Cola (a combination of dyspepsia and kola nut) in 1898.

Dew.S.A. is a blend of red, white and blue soda. PHOTO : haile y bollinger

The drink does play into the natural soda trend by combining “old-fashioned” ingredients like kola nut, real sugar and sparkling water with its mix of caramel color, phosphoric acid, sodium citrate and gum arabic. The black currant Pepsi 1893 reminded me of something I would have manically made myself as a child, standing in front of a soda fountain, mixing every single available flavor at my fingertips. It tasted like citrus, berries, soda, chocolate and also weirdly like an artisanal syrup found on the very top shelf of Starbucks during Unicorn frappe season. The citrus flavor tasted like nothing at all, even though it contains grapefruit essence. My grandfather woke up every morning and consumed a single grapefruit half and thanked the citrus superpower every birthday for his long life. I don’t think he would have been satisfied by 1893’s citrus flavor. Really, I don’t think my grandfather, who grew up drinking sodas before aspartame and corn syrup and was intensely patriotic, would have been impressed by either Pepsi 1893 or DEW.S.A. Stick to traditional Coca-Cola or a Mountain Dew and leave the vintage styling and American pride to Old Navy’s discount Fourth of July section. CONTACT MADGE MARIL: letters@ citybeat.com

F&D classes & events Most classes and events require registration; classes frequently sell out.

WEDNESDAY 17

Nibble and Munch: Garden Snacks — Combine fresh ingredients to create seasonal bites. 6-7:30 p.m. $35. Civic Garden Center, 2715 Reading Road, Avondale, civicgardencenter.org.

Ganache, by Golly! — Lisa Cooper-Holmes of Haute Chocolate leads this class on making the perfect ganache for chocolate truffles, brownies and more. 6:30-9 p.m. $50. Cooks’Wares, 11344 Montgomery Road, Harper’s Point, cookswaresonline.com. Groceries & Grilling: Ride Your Bike Night — Head to Findlay Market for latenight market hours and special Wednesday grilling parties. Guests will get the recipe and list of ingredients so they can shop and then grill the recipe on-site. 5-8 p.m. Free admission. Findlay Market, 1801 Race St., Over-the-Rhine, findlaymarket.org.

THURSDAY 18

Cooking 101: The Essentials of Perfect Chicken — Learn how to roast a whole chicken and make it a foundation for other meals. Noon-1:30 p.m. and 6-7:30 p.m. $25. Cooks’Wares, 11344 Montgomery Road, Harper’s Point, cookswaresonline.com.

Delicious Weeknight Steak — Make a quick-cooking skirt steak with orange oregano chimichurri compound butter. 6-8 p.m. $75. The Learning Kitchen, 7659 Cox Lane, West Chester, thelearningkitchen.com. Aperitivo: An Italian Cocktail Party — Give your next happy hour an Italian accent with salty snacks, including warm olives, burro tonnato and summer squash omelet. 6:30-7:30 p.m. $35. Artichoke, 1824 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, artichokeotr.com Sokol Blosser Winery Dinner — A fivecourse dinner paired with wines from the organic winery. 6:30 p.m. $65. The Summit, Midwest Culinary Institute, 3520 Central Parkway, Clifton, cincinnatistate.edu.

FRIDAY 19

S o u t h A S i A A n d n e p A l e S e c u i S i n e

SATURDAY 20

Garden Practicum: Preparing Garden Beds and Seed Sowing — Learn garden basics with topics including growing fruit and vegetables, sowing seeds and potatoes, sesonal growing practices, managing pests and how and when to harvest. 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Free with advance registration. Price Hill Recreation Center, 959 Hawthorne Ave., Price Hill, turnerfarm.org. Chicken: Season, Sear and Sauce — Learn three different ways to cook, season and sauce chicken. 6-8 p.m. $75. The Learning Kitchen, 7659 Cox Lane, West Chester, thelearningkitchen.com.

Flavor Bomb Spring Appetizers — An exotic vegetarian buffet featuring Moroccan carrot spread; beet, apple and horseradish mash; endive scoops filled with Greek lentil salad; and vegetable crudité. 6:30-8:30 p.m. $65. Artichoke, 1824 Elm St., Over-theRhine, artichokeotr.com. Carriage House On-Farm Dinner — Chefs visit the farm for a series of on-farm dinners using seasonally available ingredients, prepared on a wood-fired oven and grill. Features chef Jose Salazar. 1 p.m. $95. Carriage House Farm, 10251 Miamiview Road, North Bend, carriagehousefarmllc.com.

SUNDAY 21

20 Brix Wine Festival — 20 Brix celebrates its 10th =anniversary with a wine festival featuring live music, more than 25 wines from around the world, food stations and more. 1-6 p.m. $20; $25 at the door. 20 Brix, 101 Main St., Milford, 20brix.com.

MONDAY 22

Red Feather Kitchen with Brad Bernstein — Chef Bernstein leads the demo class based on spring produce, with a heavy emphasis on foraging. 6:30-9 p.m. $50. Cooks’Wares, 11344 Montgomery Road, Harper’s Point, cookswaresonline.com.

fe aturing all local dr afts cr aft beer menu nk y’s original bourbon bar

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

Cooking 101: Side Dishes, Simplified — Learn to make classic sides, including rice, mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese. Noon-1:30 p.m. and 6-7:30 p.m. $25. Cooks’Wares, 11344 Montgomery Road, Harper’s Point, cookswaresonline.com.

Buckeye BBQ Fest — Blues music, classic cars, brews and barbecue from 16 vendors. 5-11 p.m. Friday; noon-11 p.m. Saturday. $5. The Square @ Union Centre, West Chester, buckeyebbqfest.org.

In Season: Asparagus — Prepare and enjoy shaved asparagus salad and bacon, corn and asparagus risotto. 6-8 p.m. $75. The Learning Kitchen, 7659 Cox Lane, West Chester, thelearningkitchen.com.

4165 Hamilton Ave Cincinnati, OH 45223 (513) 374-9354

Find us on

liv e m us i c May 18

the 2 steves

May 19

out of the blue

May 20

jeff thomas

May 25 j. ford

Swad Indian Restaurant

1810 W. Galbraith Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45239 513-522-5900 ORDER ONLINE AT WWW.SWADTASTYOH.IN

TUESDAY 23

Streetcar Brewery Tour — Cincy Brew Bus uses the Cincinnati Connector to visit three local breweries, incorporating tastings, tours and architecture. 1 p.m. Friday. $20$35. Meets at Taft’s Ale House, 1429 Race St., Over-the-Rhine, cincybrewbus.com.

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C I T Y B E A T . C O M • M A Y 1 7 – 2 3 • 3 1

Salmon Under Wraps — Make salmon en papillote — salmon wrapped in parchment. 6-8 p.m. $75. The Learning Kitchen, 7659 Cox Lane, West Chester, thelearningkitchen. com.

Malts in Ault — Sample 20 great American beers from around the country, accompanied by live music and food. 6:30-10 p.m. $25-$30. Ault Park, 5090 Observatory Ave., Hyde Park, aultparkac.org.

music

Riff Riders

Cincinnati’s Casino Warrior couples Metal intensity with a seriously silly lyrical approach BY NICK GREVER

PHOTO : provided

3 2 • C I T Y B E A T . C O M • M A Y 1 7 – 2 3 , 2 0 1 7

iguel Richards, vocalist and lead guitarist for Cincinnati-based rockers Casino Warrior, is a man of discerning taste, even if his wife disagrees. His newest endeavor is to grow a “skullet” — envision a mullet but with the business part in the front completely shaved and the party in the back flowing freely. Before that, Richards grew a glorious push-broom mustache. Both follicle-driven goals were decided upon for two very important reasons: for the hell of it and because they’re funny. It’s this earnest dedication to goofing off that Richards and his bandmates bring to their raucous take on swampy Heavy Metal and Rock & Roll. The formation of Casino Warrior (Richards, guitarist Billy Buzek, bassist Kevin McNair and drummer Chad Wolary) followed the same template as many Cincinnati bands — each member knew the other socially via years of playing live in previous bands before finally coming together. “Miguel and I were in a Heavy Metal cover band together,” Buzek says. “Then he left to move to Indianapolis and he said, ‘I’m coming back and you and I are starting a real band.’ So while he was gone, he was sending me demos of music he was writing.” Richards returned to Cincinnati and recruited bassist McNair, then set his sights on Wolary. And he did so with the utmost professionalism and class when he ran into him at a bar on a cold, fateful night. “Miguel shows up fucking hammered,” Wolary says. “He’s like ‘Hey, lumberjack! You need to fucking listen to this!’ All I know is Miguel wants me to listen to some guitar parts on his cellphone and I’m like, ‘Fuck man, I just want to get a drink.’ ” Luckily, while attempting to get Wolary to join the band, Richards also mentioned that McNair was a part of the project, which piqued Wolary’s interest and helped lock in the lineup. All the quartet needed to do now was dive into the morass of riffs that Richards had amassed during his time in Indianapolis. “We had a motherload of riffs to cull from that we’re still kind of culling from,” Buzek says. “A lot of stock to pull from because (Richards) was sending me everything.” Of course, for a band so beholden to the power of the guitar riff, having a massive catalog of heaviness at your beck and call certainly has its benefits. “The riff is king,” Buzek says. “That’s an ideology that we all subscribe to. The riff that dominates the track is gnarly enough to carry the track; we are slaves to the riff.” The band may be slaves to the riff, but the musicians are also masters at constructing

Over the past year and a half, Casino Warrior has made its name with a wild live show. songs around them with an expert mix of Every Time I Die’s groove and humor and Black Tusk’s sludgy intensity. Wolary and McNair create a sturdy backbone in the low end, which allows Buzek and Richards to build infectious earworms that stick in your mind longer than the inevitable post-Casino Warrior-show hangover. Richards’ lyrics bring the whole package together and provide some welcome brevity to the intense sonic attack, even if he initially needed a not-so-gentle kick in the ass to find his voice. “Some of the vocals weren’t even written until the night before I went into the studio,” Richards says. “It was really difficult at first, but after learning that process, I’ll just keep a pad of paper and shit just comes to me.” Casino Warrior’s lyrics are based on mythical creatures like the chupacabra, Medusa or trolls. But any expectation of scholarly rumination on these subjects is shattered at about a minute and a half into “Centaur,” as Richards proclaims, “Horse balls!” The lyrics are fun, irreverent, hilarious and totally by design. “I think it’s indicative of all our personalities,” Wolary says. “It makes me happy to be able to laugh still while I’m playing.”

It is this mash-up of serious songwriting, cheeky lyricism and impeccable onstage swagger that has allowed Casino Warrior to make a big splash in Cincinnati’s Rock and Metal scenes over the past year and a half (which included winning a Cincinnati Entertainment Award for Metal last year). The quartet takes live performances and partying very seriously, and those two pillars of the band complement each other. Fans at a Casino Warrior show might see McNair taking breaks from pumping out his rumbling basslines in order to flex his guns for the crowd or steal the microphone from Richards, and it’s almost guaranteed the crowd will get a nice long look at the massive owl tattoo on Richards’ chest. When drinking before and during a show, musicians can sometimes ride a fine line between putting on an entertaining and musically sound performance or becoming a sloppy, drunken spectacle. For some, that line gets blurrier with every attempt. But Casino Warrior’s engagingly wild live show is one of its strong suits and a big reason people love the group. Musicianship and songwriting are no joke for the band, but when they play live, they

really try to put on a “show.” The times the quartet goes off script are the most memorable, but the music itself never suffers. “We play Rock & Roll,” Buzek says of the band’s live presence. “Rock & Roll is flawed.” While he’s right, Casino Warrior has learned to show the audience only the flaws it wants you to see. The guys know when to buckle down and when to loosen up, and that instinct seems to cut through the numerous PBR cans on their amps. Casino Warrior recently finalized a music video for the song “Pigroast,” which appears on the band’s debut EP (visit citybeat.com for the premiere of the clip). And the members are currently finishing writing their first full-length release and hope to enter the studio to record by the end of the summer. That means with several months to put on final touches, Casino Warrior’s songs will only get better, the lyrics will get funnier and the skullet will get longer. Richards’ wife’s loss is Cincinnati Hard Rock and Metal fans’ gain. For more on CASINO WARRIOR, visit facebook. com/casinowarrior.

music spill it

Root Cellar Xtract Captures Spirit of Country Rock’s Zenith BY MIKE BREEN

these days — and given the expertise in varying genres that the players bring to the table — one might expect a band like Root Cellar Xtract to veer off on, say, an acoustic Country Blues jag for at least one song. But, reminiscent of the stylistic commitment on early albums by The Mavericks or Chris Isaak, the group never breaks character and it makes the album a more satisfying listen, especially because the musicians pull it off so incredibly well. With some help from the crisp production work, Root Cellar Xtract

Root Cellar Xtract’s debut album P H O T O : L i s a S u ll i va n

captures the atmosphere of the classic Country Rock sound impeccably, yet never veers into total rehash territory. Highlights of Rear View Mirror Eyes include the chugging “Bury Me,” featuring a great chorus hook, bubbling banjo, lovely multi-part harmonies and beautiful fiddle parts, and “I Still Wonder If,” which is a great exhibition of traditional Honky Tonk guitar, pedal steel and piano interplay. “Don’t Take Me Home” is another standout, with sublime melodies and an evocative mournful-sunset ambiance. For anyone who misses that distinct emotional feeling those songs that came out of the ’70s Laurel Canyon scene gave them, Rear View Mirror Eyes is a must-have. There aren’t many people making music like that anymore, and even if there were, it’s doubtful anyone could do it with the precision and artistry Root Cellar Xtract does. For more information, visit rootcellarxtract.com, where you can listen to and purchase Rear View Mirror Eyes digitally. The title track is also available on the site as a free download. CONTACT MIKE BREEN: mbreen@citybeat.com

1345 main st motrpub.com

BY mike breen

Phoenix Tries RoboMerch Certain government officials justify efforts to crack down on immigration to the U.S. as a job-saving tactic. Meanwhile, robots continue their takeover of the global workforce without a peep. French band Phoenix unveiled a new way to sell T-shirts at its recent tour kickoff; instead of waiting in line at a table and having to speak to someone to get your merch, fans could visit the band’s automated vending machine. If the trend takes off, look for merch-booth workers to promote their competitive edge with signs reading, “We take crumpled bills!” Not Knowing Adam From Adam A track on KRS-One’s new album about great Hip Hop artists who have died mentions “King AdRock,” which is the nom de rap of Ad-Rock’s fellow Beastie Boy Adam Horowitz, who is not dead. The MC apologized saying he meant Adam “MCA” Yauch, and pretty much everyone rightly forgot about it because KRS is a legend. Since the album was released digitally through Bandcamp, KRS had the luxury of pulling the track and re-recording it, though the error might not have happened if it had gone through traditional release channels where someone else could’ve had a chance to catch it. BTTM Dwellers Indie Punk duo PWR BTTM went from rising stars with a message of empowerment for LGTBQ music lovers to likely the end of its career in the course of five days. After one of the members was accused of sexual assault and predatory behavior in a Facebook post, it quickly spread and led to further corroborating claims. Then all of the dominos fell — the band’s album release show was canceled, opening acts dropped off its tour, touring band members quit, management bailed and venues canceled tour dates almost immediately. The label Polyvinyl soon announced it would no longer be selling any PWR BTTM product and dropped the duo. Eventually the band announced it was canceling the tour less than a week after the backlash started. In other words, karma is real.

wed 17

ryan fine & the media the indigos

thu 18

build us fiction mr. phylzzz, go go buffalo

fri 19

filthy beast red wine hangover

sat 20

warsaw falcons veronica grim

sun 21

bluegrass jam w/ katie laur & jim tarbell

tue 23

writer’s night w/ lucas

wed 24

ben miller band (joplin, mo) free live music now open for lunch

1404 main st (513) 345-7981

5/30

DIET CIG SPORTS

6 /8

THE JOY FORMIDABLE CUSSES FUTURE SCIENCE: 3RD

5/26 ANNIVERSARY, SUCK THE HONEY 6 /2

SYLMAR: RECORD RELEASE BRIANNA KELLY, STOOP KIDS

6/7

THELMA & THE SLEAZE BIRDCLOUD

buy tickets at motr or woodwardtheater.com

C I T Y B E A T . C O M • M A Y 1 7 – 2 3 • 3 3

With a sound based on the breezy, dusty Country Rock model conjured in the ’70s by bands like Buffalo Springfield, Poco, Eagles, Little Feat, Pure Prairie League, Sweetheart of the Rodeo-era Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, Root Cellar Xtract is a relatively new Cincinnati band featuring some veteran area musicians. The group was formed in early 2016 by singer/songwriter/guitarist Clyde Bailey, whose roots go back to ’90s band Clyde and the Loonies (which won one of radio station 97X’s annual local band competitions) and who later spent a decade in Europe with his Clyde Bailey Band before returning stateside. After years performing solo, Bailey got the band itch again and built Root Cellar Xtract around his vision of a pure, vintage Country Rock sound. He nabbed some top-notch talent for the group, enlisting drummer Paul Ellis, who plays with a wide array of area musicians, including Ricky Nye; pianist Phillip Burkhead, a longtime educator and notable area Jazz artist; bassist Elia Burkhart, a solo performer and member of Moonshine & Wine, among other projects; guitarist Jim Pelz, a singer/ songwriter known for his solo work and the band Hickory Robot; and pedal-steel guitarist Steve Mueller, who has also worked with various musicians in the area and was inspired to start playing after seeing JD Call play with Pure Prairie League in a Mount Adams bar in the early ’70s. With a few months of playing together under their belts, the members of Root Cellar Xtract teamed up with ace musician/producer Brian Lovely and recorded their debut album, Rear View Mirror Eyes, which features contributions from local players like Nye, Scott Carnder, Brandt Smith and Lauren Schloemer, among others. The album will be released this Saturday in conjunction with a show at Arnold’s Bar & Grill (210 E. Eighth St., Downtown, arnoldsbarandgrill.com). Showtime is 9 p.m. and there is no cover charge. Given the members’ impressive qualifications, it’s not a surprise that Rear View Mirror Eyes is loaded with tremendous musicianship. What’s somewhat unanticipated is the songwriting. While it’s not shocking that the songs are well constructed (Bailey and Pelz in particular have established their formidable writing skills with other projects), it is amazing how much the music sticks to the “ ’70s Country Rock” game plan (including the streak of Bakersfield Country reverence that ran through much of the original music) so thoroughly and consistently. Given the broad spectrum of Americana styles finding favor with the popularity of Roots music

MINIMUM GAUGE

Don & Beth Schott - KoKopelli Stages Presents:

PERSISTENCE OF SURF MUSIC V4

ROCK THE BOAT SaturDay,

at LEGENDS in Cheviot 8:00pm

May 20

3801 Harrison ave. Cheviot, OH 45211 || $10

the Lei Men 3 4 • C I T Y B E A T . C O M • M A Y 1 7 – 2 3 , 2 0 1 7

12-1:00

the Madeira

(from Indianapolis) 10-11:45

the Nicky Kay Orchestra (from Dayton) 9-10:00

Grateful Surf 8:00-9:00

MUSIC sound advice Adrian Belew Power Trio with Saul Zonana Thursday • 20th Century Theater

albums, which became grand exhibitions of his broad talents. Belew has some rare gifts; few artists are so radically inventive and game changing as an instrumentalist, yet Adrian Belew should be in the Rock and also capable of writing beautifully crafted Roll Hall of Fame. The Northern Kentucky Pop-oriented songs. He further showcased native’s career as a performer might be too his melodic side with The Bears, a band under the mainstream radar to get him in, formed with Cincinnati music legends psythough you could make an argument that his chodots, which has been creating indelible influence has cast a pretty big shadow on the Pop Rock off and on since the mid-’80s. “Alternative” music of the past 40 or so years. The rest of Belew’s career has been just as The Rock Hall has inducted many musicians unpredictable and fascinating. His further under the guise of the “Award for Musical studio work should also be considered Excellence,” which was formerly known as when making the case for Belew’s Rock Hall the “Sidemen” award. And if you don’t think credentials, having included historic albums Belew at the very least meets those qualificalike Nine Inch Nails’ The Downward Spiral tions, you don’t know much about the guitarand Paul Simon’s ist/singer/songwriter/ Graceland. The first explorer’s career. film score he did was Just a rote telling of for Pixar’s animated Belew’s life in music short Piper, which would be a good read, won him an Acadbut he’s recently been emy Award this year. recounting stories Always an embracer from his past on his of new technology Facebook page that in music, Belew creare so funny, thoughtated an expansive ful and engaging, an Adrian Belew Power Trio app project called autobiography would PHOTO : provided FLUX, which features likely be an instant original music and musician-memoir is described as “a classic. creative toolkit for After moving to the next generation of Nashville in the musicians and sound early ’70s, Belew designers.” caught Frank Zappa’s Belew’s current attention while tour features his playing with a cover Power Trio bandband, soon joining mates, Julie Slick the iconic rocker as (bass) and Tobias a touring guitarist. Ralph (drums). The Though wildly profishow begins with cient on guitar, Belew Paul Taylor the trio playing was (and remains) a PHOTO : Melissa Castro music from his solo true “artist” with his albums, plus some instrument, a remarkKing Crimson songs and “touches” of Bowie ably adventurous player capable of conjurand Zappa material. The second part of the ing sounds no one has ever heard come out show has Belew performing acoustic mateof a guitar before. That mix of imagination rial from the FLUX app. The trio returns for and skill impressed other legendary, forthe night’s third act, which includes parts of ward-thinking eccentrics; later in the ’70s, Belew’s symphonic piece, “e,” and finishes Belew joined David Bowie’s band, touring with a pair of King Crimson cuts. and appearing on the Lodger album, and in The concert is a good sampling of Belew’s 1980 he began working with Talking Heads, immense artistry — perhaps someone contributing to the classic Remain In Light should send a few tickets to Cleveland for the album and touring with the group. gatekeepers of the Rock Hall. (Mike Breen) Belew’s “sideman” roles could have ended there and his legacy would still be a crucial Paul Taylor piece of modern music’s development. But Saturday • Live! at the Ludlow Garage like his playing, Belew has always pushed In recent years, the genre tag “Smooth Jazz” forward to new challenges. Belew joined has come into the same disfavor as Prog, iconic Prog Rock band King Crimson, — not with both descriptors inspiring the notion as a sideman, but a full-fledged member — that the music therein is comprised of oversinging, writing and playing guitar alongside inflated puffery that is devoid of substance. another artful guitar wizard, Robert Fripp. The fact is, every genre is inflicted with Belew got to show off his knack for melody artists that create nothing out of something and singing with King Crimson, something and Smooth Jazz has its share, but Paul showcased gloriously on his underrated solo

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Yngwie J. Malmsteen’s Rising Force with The Raskins, Crooked Rook and 80 Proof Saturday • Madison Theater “Unconventional” doesn’t begin to describe Yngwie Malmsteen, the Swedish prodigy who has been cited by uncountable publications as one of the world’s greatest guitarists. At age 10, the Stockholm native

— born Lars Lannerbäck — started his first band, a guitar/drums duo, with a friend. Two years later, he changed his name to Yngwie Malmsteen, a slight tweak on one of his middle names (Yngve) and his mother’s maiden name. Soon after, he combined his love of Classical music, particularly the work of violinist/composer Niccolò Paganini, with his love of guitarists Brian May, Uli Jon Roth and Ritchie Blackmore (his beacon influence), and converted it into the Neo-Classical-shredding style he helped popularize in the early ’80s. Malmsteen was introduced to America by Mike Varney, founder/operator of Shrapnel Records, a guitarist-oriented Metal label. After a stint with the band Steeler, Malmsteen shifted to Alcatrazz for two albums, but his 1984 solo debut, Rising Force — intended to be an Alcatrazz side project — vaulted him into the limelight. The album nearly cracked the Top 50 of Billboard’s albums chart, Guitar Player cited it as the best Rock album of the year and Malmsteen was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. Throughout the ’80s, Malmsteen was one of Metal’s most influential guitarists — he and Eric Clapton were the first to be honored by Fender with a signature Stratocaster model — but his star descended slightly in the subsequent decade as Neo Classical Metal faded. Still, Malmsteen continued to steadily release albums and guest with other artists, including former members of his band, and after the turn of the century, he joined the G3 collective with Joe Satriani and Steve Vai. Over the past three-and-a-half decades, Malmsteen has released more than 20 studio albums, various live sets and compilations and close to 20 videos, several of an instructional nature. In 2008 he founded his own label, the appropriately named Rising Force, and began self-releasing his work, including last year’s acclaimed World on Fire. Last year also saw him appear alongside Vai, Nuno Bettencourt, Tosin Abasi and Zakk Wylde on the wildly and deafeningly popular Generation Axe tour. Since the very beginning of his career, Malmsteen has been widely celebrated for his almost supernatural guitar talent and he reinforces every citation with each new album and stage appearance. “Play Loud” isn’t just the nickname of one of Yngwie Malmsteen’s Stratocasters, it’s the only way he knows how to unwrap his musical gifts. (BB)

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Taylor is certainly not among their number. The Denver-born, Las Vegas-based saxophonist has released 11 albums over the course of his 22-year career, collaborated with some of the biggest names in R&B (including Peabo Bryson, Regina Belle and Maxi Priest), guested with The Rippingtons and generally been a goodwill ambassador for one of music’s most maligned categories. Taylor picked up the saxophone when he was 7 and joined Mixed Company, a Top 40 outfit, when he was in high school. He gigged around in a variety of capacities for a good many years until he was discovered at the Catalina Island JazzTrax Festival (a kind of Smooth Jazz Coachella) by star keyboardist Keiko Matsui and her now former producer/ husband Kazu Matsui, who offered Taylor a role in their band. Two years later, Kazu helped Taylor launch his solo career by producing his 1995 debut album, On the Horn, which made a significant mark on the Jazz chart, largely thanks to the airplay “‘Til We Meet Again” received. His next two albums, 1997’s Pleasure Seekers and 2000’s Undercover, were equally successful, and the rise in his profile ultimately led to an invitation to fill the saxophone slot for Yngwie Malmsteen The Rippingtons after PHOTO : Bubamara ( CC BY 2.0 ) the departure of Jeff Kashiwa in 1999. Taylor returned to his solo path with 2001’s Hypnotic and then put together a string of well-received albums, culminating with 2007’s Ladies’ Choice, his first No. 1 set on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz chart. Taylor’s last two albums have been particularly interesting — 2014’s Tenacity featured guest appearances from Fusion icon Jeff Lorber and renowned Jazz pianist Jonathan Fritzen and produced the No. 1 hit “Supernova,” and last year’s Countdown hit the Top 10 on the Jazz charts (both albums featured Taylor’s reimagined takes on songs by R&B/Pop sensation The Weeknd —“Wicked Games” on the former and “The Hills” on the latter). For the past two-plus decades, Taylor has negated the shade thrown at Smooth Jazz with a relentless supply of positivity, melody and energy. (Brian Baker)

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music listings

CityBeat’s music listings are free. Send info to MIKE BREEN via email 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 17

BrewRiver GastroPub - Old Green Eyes and BBG. 6 p.m. Standards. Free.

Bromwell’s Härth Lounge - Burning Caravan. 8 p.m. Gypsy Jazz. Free. The Comet - BOYTOY with Slow Glows and more. 9 p.m. Rock/ Psych/Pop/Various. Free. Knotty Pine - John B. Kinnemeyer & Matt Holt. 10 p.m. Acoustic. Free. The Liberty Inn - Stagger Lee. 6:30 p.m. Country/Rock. Free. The Listing Loon - Ricky Nye. 8:30 p.m. Blues/Boogie Woogie. Free. Madison Live - Zebbler Encanti Experience with Sixis. 9 p.m. Psych/Bass/Electronic. $10. Mansion Hill Tavern - Losing Lucky. 8 p.m. Roots. Free. Marty’s Hops & Vines - Mike Biere. 7 p.m. Acoustic. Free. MOTR Pub - Ryan Fine & the Media with The Indigos. 9 p.m. Rock/Pop/ Jazz/Soul/Various. Free. Northside Tavern - Shiny Old Soul. 9 p.m. Roots/Rock/Jazz/Various. Free. Pit to Plate - Bluegrass Night with Vernon McIntyre’s Appalachian Grass. 7 p.m. Bluegrass. $2. Southgate House Revival (Lounge) - Arlo McKinley with Mark Utley. 8 p.m. Roots/Americana. Free. Southgate House Revival H (Revival Room) - Jesse Ebaugh & the Tender Things with

Joe’s Truck Stop. 9 p.m. Country/ Americana. $5. Urban Artifact - Blue Wisp Big Band. 8:30 p.m. Big Band Jazz. $10.

Thursday 18

20th Century Theater - Adrian Belew Power Trio with Saul Zonana. 8 p.m. Pop/Rock/Progressive. $24, $28 day of show.

Bogart’s - Palaye Royale with Roosevelt, Saving Escape and Sans Axiom. 7 p.m. AltRock. $12. Bromwell’s Härth Lounge - Todd Hepburn and Friends. 6 p.m. Various. Free.

H H

Crow’s Nest - The Lovers. 9:30 p.m. Acoustic/Folk/Pop. Free.

Plain Folk Cafe - Open Mic with Lars Noble. 7 p.m. Various. Free. Quaker Steak & Lube Florence Pandora Effect. 6 p.m. Rock. Free. Southgate House Revival (Lounge) - James Funk & Friends with John Redell and Moonshine & Wine. 9:30 p.m. Americana/Roots/ Blues. Free. Southgate House Revival (Revival Room) - The Summit with Clark Paterson. 9 p.m. Rock. $8, $10 day of show. Southgate House Revival (Sanctuary) - Emisunshine. 7:30 p.m. Americana. $15. Taft’s Ale House - John Ford. 8 p.m. Roots/Blues. Free. Urban Artifact - Tooth Lures a Fang, Lower Automation, Communications and Lo, the Loyal Conscripts. 9 p.m. Garage/Post/ Punk/Rock. Free.

Friday 19

Arlin’s - Grateful Surf. 9 p.m. Surf Rock. Free.

Arnold’s Bar and Grill - Wilder. 9 p.m. Americana. Free.

Bogart’s - Well-Strung with Thorgy Thor. 8 p.m. Pop/Classical. Cover.

Marty’s Hops & Vines - Kirk and Joe Duo. 9 p.m. Classic Pop/Rock. Free. The Mockbee - Chuck Diesel, CAVE DWLR, Druski, DJAB and MC Chesta T. 9 p.m. Bass/Dubstep. $5.

Northside Tavern - The Cincy Brass and The New Royals. 10 p.m. Funk/ Brass/Soul/Various. Free.

Baker Hunt Art and Cultural Center - The Greg Schaber Trio. 7 p.m. Blues. $20, $25 day of show.

Northside Yacht Club - Pop Empire, Drag Sounds and Fourth Wife. 9 p.m. Indie/Rock/Punk/Blues/ Psych/Various. Free.

Bellevue Beach Park - MayesH fest with The Restless Leg String Band, The Vickie Vaughn

Octave - Shaun Martin (of Snarky Puppy). 9 p.m. Jazz. $10, $12 day of show.

Pee Wee’s Place - Bob Cushing. 7:30 p.m. Acoustic. Free. Pirates Cove Bar & Grille - Basic Truth. 8 p.m. Funk/R&B/Soul. Free.

The Greenwich - Brandon Meeks. 9 p.m. Jazz. $10. Jag’s Steak and Seafood - Brass Tracks Band. 9 p.m. Rock/Dance/ Various. $5. Japp’s - Burning Caravan. 5:30 p.m. Gypsy Jazz. Free. Jim and Jack’s on the River - Stagger Lee. 9 p.m. Country. Free. KJ’s Pub - Saving Stimpy. 9:30 p.m. Rock. Free.

Rick’s Tavern - Lt. Dan’s New Legs. 10 p.m. Pop/Dance/Various. $5.

Bromwell’s Härth Lounge - Burning Caravan. 8 p.m. Gypsy Jazz. Free.

School of Rock Mason - School of Rock Mason’s Four Songstresses Show. 7:30 p.m. Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Laura Nyro and Rickie Lee Jones tibute. $6, $8 day of show.

The Comet - Frigs with Sat Nam, HSY and Eugenius. 10 p.m. Rock/Post Punk/Various. Free.

Silverton Cafe - Thunder Road. 9 p.m. Rock. Free.

Eastgate Brew & View - Encore Duo. 6:30 p.m. Acoustic Classic Rock/Americana. Free.

$18 day of show.

Stanley’s Pub - Hyryder. 9:30 p.m. Jam/Rock. $10, $12 day of show. Symphony Hotel & Restaurant Ricky Nye and Bekah Williams. 8 p.m. Jazz/Blues. Free. Thompson House - Dr. J and the Apostles with The Interns. 8 p.m. Rock. $10. The Underground - Mad After Dark, Written In Red, JYNKS and Then Falls The sky. 7 p.m. Rock/Various. Cover. Urban Artifact - Planned H Parenthood Benefit Show with Kyla Mainous, Lipstick Ficition, DJ Home Alone 2. 8 p.m. Rock/Various. Free (donations encouraged).

Knotty Pine - Final Order. 10 p.m. Rock. Cover.

US Bank Arena - Red Hot Chili Peppers with Jack Irons and IRONTOM. 8 p.m. AltRock. $53-$103.

Live! at the Ludlow Garage H Live at the Fillmore. 8 p.m. Allman Brothers tribute. $15-$35.

The Venue Cincinnati - Trailer Park Floosies. 9:30 p.m. Dance/Rock/ Pop/Rap/Country/Various. Cover.

Horse & Barrel - Sonny Moorman. 6 p.m. Blues. Free.

Madison Theater - Harbour H with Telehope, TheWldLfe and The Key Concepts. 8 p.m. AltRock.

The Village Troubadour - The Corncobs. 7 p.m. Old-time/Bluegrass. Free.

Latitudes Bar & Bistro - Ricky Nye and Bekah Williams. 6 p.m. Jazz/ Blues. Free.

Mansion Hill Tavern - The Bluebirds. 9 p.m. Blues. $4.

Washington Park - Tiny Deck Concert with Chris Comer & Will Toedtman. 7 p.m. Jazz. Free.

Fountain Square - Salsa on the Square with Son Del Caribe. 7 p.m. Salsa/Latin/Dance. Free. The Greenwich - Generation Jones. 8:30 p.m. Jazz/Various. $5.

$10, $13 day of show.

Belterra Casino - The Fab Four: The Ultimate Tribute. 7 p.m. Beatles tribute. $20.

Plain Folk Cafe - Jeremy Francis. 7:30 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

Southgate House Revival H (Sanctuary) - Mipso with Tyler Childers. 9 p.m. Americana. $15,

Fountain Square - FSQ FlashH back with DAAP Girls and more. 7 p.m. Indie/Rock/Various. Free.

Band, Honey & Houston, The Midwestern Swing, The Part-Time Gentlemen, Mikaya Taylor & Raging River and Hickory Robot. 12:30 p.m. Americana/Various. Free.

Blue Note Harrison - East of Austin, 1 Nite Stand and The Belairs. 7 p.m. Country/Rock/Various. Cover.

The Comet - Knife the SymH phony with Body Spray and Army Coach. 10 p.m. Post Punk/

Arnold’s Bar and Grill - Root Cellar Xpress (album release show). 9 p.m. Country Rock. Free.

Southgate House Revival (Lounge) - Mudpies. 9:30 p.m. Blues/Rock/Roots. Free.

Duke Energy Convention Center - Kirk Franklin. 7 p.m. Gospel/R&B/Hip Hop. $35-$50.

Saturday 20

MOTR Pub - Build Us Fiction with Mr. Phylzz and Go Go Buffalo. 9 p.m. Indie/Rock/Various. Free.

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

Indie Rock. Free.

Washington Platform Saloon & Restaurant - Faux Frenchmen. 9 p.m. Gypsy Jazz. $10 (food/drink minimum).

Crow’s Nest - The Whiskey Chronicles. 9:30 p.m. Americana. Free.

Fountain Square - FSQ H Flashback with The Harlequins and The Yugos. 7 p.m. Indie/Rock/ Psych/Various. Free.

The Greenwich - TruFiyah Poetry Presents: The Lady in Satin - An Interpretive Tribute to Billie Holiday. 7 p.m. Jazz/Various. $20. Jack Casino Cincinnati - Brian McKnight. 8 p.m. R&B. Sold out. Jag’s Steak and Seafood - The Company. 9 p.m. Dance/Pop/ Various. $5. Jim and Jack’s on the River - Bourbon Road Band. 9 p.m. Country. Free. Knotty Pine - Southern Savior. 10 p.m. Southern Rock. Cover. Lawrenceburg Event Center - Chase Rice. 3 p.m. Country. $40-$50. Legends Nightclub - Persistence of Surf Music with The Madeira, The Lei Men, Nicky Kay Orchestra and The Grateful Surf. 8 p.m. Surf Rock. $10.

Live! at the Ludlow Garage - Paul Taylor. 8 p.m. Contemporary Jazz. $35-$75.

Ludlow Bromley Yacht Club Trailer Park Floosies. 9 p.m. Dance/Pop/Country/Rap/Rock/ Various. Cover. Madison Live - Trials By Faith with Mad Life Crisis and Detached. 9 p.m. Metal. $10.

Madison Theater - Yngwie J. H Malmsteen’s Rising Force with Crooked Rook and 80 Proof. 6:30

Urban Artifact - Buggs Tha H Rocka, Trademark Aaron & Aaron Roy, VuSkeen, High Rollers,

Mansion Hill Tavern - The Soul Pushers. 9 p.m. Blues. $3.

Washington Platform Saloon & Restaurant - Art Gore Group. 9 p.m. Jazz. $10 (food/drink minimum).

p.m. Metal/Hard Rock. $40, $50 day of show.

Marty’s Hops & Vines - Jason Erickson. 9 p.m. Various. Free. Maury’s Tiny Cove - Ricky Nye. 7:30 p.m. Blues/Boogie Woogie. Free. McCauly’s Pub - Phoenix Rising. 9 p.m. Rock. Free. The Mockbee - Queen City Soul Club featuring DJ Grover and DJ Bryan D. 10 p.m. Dance/DJ/Various. Free. MOTR Pub - The Warsaw H Falcons with Veronica Grim. 9 p.m. Rock/Roots/Various. Free. Northside Tavern - Good Person alities, Pussy Foot, The Flats and Mr Phylzzz. 10 p.m. Indie/Pop/ Rock/Various. Free. Northside Yacht Club - Drug H Church, Rhythm of Fear, Death Metal Pope, Hissing Tiles, Wax and Witch Eater. 8 p.m. Punk/Metal/ Hardcore. $10.

Octave - Chris Comer Jazz Trio. 8 p.m. Jazz. Plain Folk Cafe - Rated BG. 7:30 p.m. Bluegrass. Free. The Redmoor - Glory Days. 8 p.m. Classic Rock. Cover. Rick’s Tavern - Deuces Wild. 10 p.m. Country/Rock. $5. Riverbend Music Center - Dierks Bentley with Cole Swindell and Jon Pardi. 7 p.m. Country. $29.50-$69.25. School of Rock Mason - School of Rock Mason Presents the Cream of Clapton. 7:30 p.m. Eric Clapton Tribute. $6, $8 day of show. Silverton Cafe - Meeting Mars. 9 p.m. Rock. Free. Southgate House Revival (Lounge) - Husky Burnette with The Rattletraps and Dead Man String Band. 9:30 p.m. Roots/Americana/Rock. Free. Southgate House Revival (Revival Room) - “Noir” Dance Night. 10 p.m. Alt/Goth/Dance/DJ. $5. Southgate House Revival H (Sanctuary) - Friday Giants with Ocean Grids, Here Come Here,

Pilot Around the Stars. 8 p.m. Rock/ Various. $10, $12 day of show.

Stanley’s Pub - Eminence H Ensemble with Strange Mechanics. 10 p.m. Rock/Fusion/ Soul/Jam/Various. $7.

Thompson House - Home Sweet Home. 7 p.m. Post Hardcore. $10. Top of the Line - Bob Cushing. 10 p.m. Acoustic. Free. The Underground - StateBirds, Slap Shot and Terrel Tompkins. 7 p.m. Alt/Indie/Rock/Various. Cover.

Devin Burgess, Cadre and Macho Means. 8 p.m. Hip Hop. $5.

Sunday 21

The Comet - The Comet Bluegrass All-Stars. 7:30 p.m. Bluegrass. Free.

Jocko’s Pub - Bob Cushing’s H Farewell to Cincinnati Jam. 2 p.m. Various. Free. The Mockbee - Noise Brigade, Home Plate, 12 Minute Mile and Jettison. 9 p.m. Pop Punk. Free. MOTR Pub - Bluegrass Jam H with Katie Laur and Jim Tarbell. 6 p.m. Bluegrass. Free. Northside Tavern - DJ Pillo – Selectas Choice. 9 p.m. Soul/Dance/ DJ. Free. The Redmoor - School of Rock H Mason: Four Songstresses Show (1 p.m.); School of Rock

Mason Presents the Cream of Clapton (6 p.m.). 1 p.m. Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Laura Nyro and Rickie Lee Jones tribute/Clapton tribute. $6, $8 day of show.

Southgate House Revival H (Lounge) - Gaelynn Lea. 8 p.m. Classical/Experimental/Various. $12, $15 day of show.

Urban Artifact - The Jazz Coasters’ Sunday Swing Dance. 2:30 p.m. Swing/Jazz. $5. Washington Platform Saloon & Restaurant - Traditional New Orleans Brunch with Buffalo Ridge Jazz Trio. 11:30 a.m. New Orleans Jazz. $10 (food/drink minimum).

Monday 22

Mansion Hill Tavern - Acoustic Jam with John Redell and Friends. 8 p.m. Acoustic/Various. Free. Northside Tavern - Northside Jazz Ensemble. 10 p.m. Jazz. Free. Stanley’s Pub - Stanley’s Live Jazz Band. 10 p.m. Jazz. Free.

Tuesday 23

Arnold’s Bar and Grill - Diamond Jim Dews. 7 p.m. Blues. Free. BrewRiver GastroPub - John Ford. 6 p.m. Roots/Blues. Free. The Mad Frog - September Mourning with Curse of Cassandra and Shaun Peace Band. 8 p.m. Gothic/ Hard Rock. $10.

McCauly’s Pub - Stagger Lee. 7 p.m. Country/Rock. Free. Southgate House Revival H (Sanctuary) - Diamond Head with Moonbow and Smoke Healer. 8 p.m. Heavy Metal/Hard Rock. $18, $20 day of show.

C I T Y B E A T . C O M • M A Y 1 7 – 2 3 • 3 7

The Comet - Jesse Ebaugh & the Tender Things. 10 p.m. Country/Americana. Free.

Northside Yacht Club - Starry Nights, Actual Italians, Milkman and Megan Shroer. 8 p.m. Pop Punk/Queercore/Metal. Free.

3 8 • C I T Y B E A T . C O M • M A Y 1 7 – 2 3 , 2 0 1 7

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C I T Y B E A T . C O M • M A Y 1 7 – 2 3 • 3 9

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contractors NEEDED to deliver CityBeat

CityBeat needs contractors to deliver CityBeat every Wednesday between 9am and 3pm. Qualified candidates must have appropriate vehicle, insurance for that vehicle and understand that they are contracted to deliver that route every Wednesday. CityBeat drivers are paid per stop and make $14.00 to $16.00 per hr. after fuel expense. Please reply by email and leave your day and evening phone numbers. Please reply by email only. Phone calls will not be accepted. sferguson@citybeat.com

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