Inspiration Times Two Hip-Hop Hip Hop artist artist Napoleon Napoleon Maddox Maddox mines mines hishis aunts’ great-grandaunts’ experience asexperience conjoined twins as and conjoined sideshow twins acttotoexplore exploreAfrican-Americans’ African-Americans’dual duallives lives BYBYK ATHY K ATHYSCHWARTZ SCHWARTZ////PAGE PAGE1212
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Save WNKU! David Hilton: I am ready to pitch a major bitch to stop this from happening. The only good radio station to happen in this area in years. Plz keep us informed. Bill Cogswell: This nearly happened up here in Tacoma, Wash. at kknx.org (formerly KPLU). You need to mobilize like they did! Comments posted at Facebook.com/CincinnatiCityBeat in response to Feb. 17 post, “Louisville Public Media had been exploring a possible purchase of WNKU (89.7) from Northern Kentucky University.”
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Shame on Portman Carroll Peebles: He should have jumped over the aisle on the secretary of education for starters. I am so disappointed in him. I had hope he would vote his feelings instead of party. Erin MacKenzie Ragsdale: He has great posture considering he lacks a spine. Julie Skipton Ellis: Very disappointed also with his support to Betsy DeVos. And to find out he received money from her. Sad! Comments posted at Facebook.com/CincinnatiCityBeat in response to Feb. 15 post, “U.S. Sen. Rob Portman is not so sure about Andrew Puzder, the fast food CEO Trump has picked to be secretary of labor.”
Feeling Skeleton Root Jacklyn Strausbaugh Bryson: And she has done a great job! Love Skeleton Root space, the Rose is yummy and Kate and her husband are wonderful hosts! Brad Stapleton: Cool place and excellent wine!
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What a Week! BY T.C. Britton
WEDNESDAY FEB. 15
Sometimes, a local news story comes along that takes importance over all national and global matters. People across the Tristate this week turned their attention away from national news, their work and families to focus on one shocking headline: Skyline changed its crackers. Following the outraged response on social media, The Enquirer, WCPO and other local media all reported on this important regional news. Skyline Chili had to use a new baker to make its hot sauce vehicle oyster crackers, and people are up in arms! Most complaints centered on them being buttery, salty and more crisp. We tried them here at “What a Week!” and the consensus was that they were on the saltier side, but that’s like saying the maraschino cherry on your sundae made it too sweet. The chili giant is reportedly working to recreate its original cracker recipe, but if that’s not quick enough for you, someone is selling a single packet of OG-recipe crackers for $999 on eBay.
THURSDAY FEB. 16
Chris Rock performed at the Aronoff Thursday and Friday and surprised audiences by bringing on Adult Swim comedian and ranch enthusiast Eric Andre. Why wasn’t everyone tweeting about this unexpected special guest? Because Rock FORBIDS cell phones from his shows. Attendees had to place their phones in a special pouch called Yondr, which automatically locks in certain areas (inside a theater) and unlocks in designated phone
zones (the theater lobby). But between shows Andre was posting up a storm as he documented a quintessentially Cincinnati stay: He ate Skyline (no word on his thoughts about the crackers), visited the Mercantile Library and even took a trip to the Queen City area’s brightest gem, the Creation Museum.
FRIDAY FEB. 17
It rained in L.A. today. One day of intense showers and San Andreas practically unfolded. Yes, Californians are fucking stupid when it comes to anything involving traffic or inclement weather, but this was actually a pretty insane storm. Hopefully Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson kept everyone safe.
SATURDAY FEB. 18
In its continuous assault on all that is sacred, Lifetime network debuted its Britney Spears original movie, Britney Ever After. Typically the network sticks to fictionalized crime against women and starlets gone too soon, so we can only assume they wanted to air this Britney flick in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of her infamous head-shaving incident. The Ever After title was quite fitting because the movie was as fictional and embellished as a goddamned fairytale! It starts in 1998, fast-forwarding through Spears’ formative Mickey Mouse Club years, as she first opens for *NSYNC on tour. And it case you missed the time stamp, Brit reminds us as she’s scoping out her new tour bus: “Look, a furby! Are
those cheese puffs? Cool friggin beans!” Direct translation: “It’s the ’90s, and I’m Britney Spears!” She soon meets a Ramen hair-era Justin Timberlake, and it should be noted that while no one in this film remotely resembles their real-life counterparts, this actor sounds just like JT, especially when he calls Brit “the bomb diggity,” which for Lifetime standards is a slam dunk performance. Forty-five minutes in, around the “I’m a Slave 4 U” period, it appears Lifetime only got music rights to covers Britney did, like “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll.” The movie promptly ends in 2008, when her comeback wasn’t even in full swing yet. No mention of her current, successful Vegas residency, and not a single Britney Spears song to be found! Now we want a dramatized Lifetime movie about the making of this dramatized Lifetime movie.
SUNDAY FEB. 19
American Horror Story: The 2016 Election? Many a meme predicted what Fox network lifeblood Ryan Murphy confirmed on Watch What Happens Live this week: The next season of the horror anthology series will focus on the most recent presidential election. Murphy says he’s not sure whether it will include a Trump character and he doesn’t know what he’s going to call it yet, but he could recycle any previous title and it would be fitting: Murder (in the White) House, (Donald checks into the) Asylum, (Trump) Hotel or even just Freak Show.
MONDAY FEB. 20
Like every ill-fitting trend and washed-up celeb from the 1990s, Zima is back! As if you needed something to drink about today. The Crystal Pepsi of booze, discontinued in 2008, will make its triumphant return sometime this year. And if that reboot wasn’t enough, a live-action Lion King movie happening with the original Mufasa, James Earl Jones, signed on alongside Donald Glover (Simba). Methinks these two throwbacks need to be enjoyed in tandem.
TUESDAY FEB. 21
RIP Monopoly thimble. Game and toy company Hasbro last month asked the internet to vote for their favorite Monopoly token out of the eight current pieces (wheelbarrow, top hat, shoe) and 56 new designs (hashtag, various emojis, computer — you know where this is going). Unfortunately the thimble figurine, part of the game since the pieces were introduced in 1937, didn’t make the cut. Its replacement will be announced on March 19, World Monopoly Day (sidebar: these fake holidays must be stopped). This is not the first time a token has been deemed obsolete and replaced — in 2013, the iron piece was replaced by a cat (thank Downy Wrinkle Releaser for that one). And to anyone joking about millennials not knowing what a thimble is: The joke’s on you, because most people in America think Monopoly is just a McDonald’s promotion. CONTACT T.C. BRITTON: letters@ citybeat.com
Animals We Should Bring Back From Extinction
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BY JEFF BEYER, EXTINCTION OPPONENT
Scientists at Harvard, Russia, Korea and probably other weird places are reportedly considering cloning the extinct Woolly Mammoth. Some scientists claim that bringing back the hairy beast will help combat global warming. The beasts’ activities in Siberia would prevent soil erosion, increase reflected sunlight by felling trees and, due to their sheer size, scare the sun away. These and other potential benefits the Earth stands to gain from bringing back the Woolly Mammoth begs the question: What other animals should we bring back? Tasmanian Tiger: Many people have gazed curiously at grainy early-20th-century black-and-white footage of this presumed extinct marsupial. The Tasmanian Tiger, actually more akin to a dog or wolf than tiger, displays a strange characteristic — both genders have pouches. These pouches served two purposes during the tiger’s heyday. From its pouch, the tiger was able to fire its young, teeth-first like sidewinder missiles, exploding prey upon impact. The pouches also functioned as high-end designer purses, which served as a status marker amongst the Tasmanian ecosystem. Bringing back the Tasmanian Tiger would give a much needed boost to our failing military- and fashion-industrial complex.
Megalodon Megashark: Tooth specimens hint that this ancient shark was anywhere from 40 to 70 feet long. For almost 30 years of Shark Week, the Discovery Channel has been baiting us into endless commercial breaks by alluding to the possibility that this massive fish might yet lurk in our deepest oceans. Normal people are sick and tired of artists’ renditions and nerdy friends’ descriptions of this “Sasquatch of the Deep.” Scientists could extract DNA from one of those giant teeth and bring this monstrosity back into existence, finally ending Shark Week’s bait-and-switch game and safe ocean travel forever. Harambe: Everyone loved Harambe.
Dachshunds: No one has seen a wiener dog for at least 10 years now. Some claim to have seen many of these delicious canines around Oktoberfest Zinzinnati, or even lounging on floor pillows at their grandmothers’ houses. However, this is just one more example of fake news by the mainstream media. Some reliable sources claim they are extinct. Others say they’re just in hiding, amassing their tube-shaped powers and waiting to pounce on the next George Sorosfunded protest. Whatever the case, the mighty Dachshund should be resurrected to resume its rightful reign over the highest mountains, densest forests, breeziest prairies and vastest deserts of this Earth.
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Cable Can’t Get Enough of Conway By Ben L. Kaufman
is asking the White House and Office of Government Ethics for disciplinary action. • Presidential advisor Conway is a perfect alter ego to her boss. News media have found repeated interviews when she got away with claiming that Iraqi terrorists staged a “massacre” in Bowling Green, Ky. Over the weeks she made her bogus claims, she had to know it wasn’t true or she imagined there really was a massacre and the news media covered it up. The reason it wasn’t reported was that it never happened. The scandal is that interviewers let it go unchallenged. • A measure of Conway’s lost credibility was when even London’s rightwing and antiimmigrant dailymail. co.uk called her out for lying. Headlines read, “She cited a fictitious terrorist massacre in the U.S. to justify the new (immigration) policy” and “Conway then falsely claimed President Obama banned Iraqis for six months.” • Trump continues to disregard facts. He recently posted a bogus story on his official Facebook page: “Smart! ‘Kuwait issues its own Trump-esque visa ban for five Muslim-majority countries,” citing the Jordanian news outlet AlBawaba. As so often in the internet age, it didn’t take long before his phony claim was debunked. Reuters, the nonpartisan news/ financial service, said Kuwait’s foreign ministry “categorically denies these claims and affirms that these reported nationalities … have big communities in Kuwait and enjoy full rights.” But, again, in the internet age, refutation trailed falsehood in Trump’s echo chambers. The Daily Beast said conspiracy-infatuated infowars.com repeated the story, citing Sputnik International, a Russian-government news agency. Sputnik later issued a correction saying its story was “untrue,” quoting a denial by Ghulam Dastagir, Pakistan’s ambassador in Kuwait. (Pakistan was listed as one of the five countries under the false visa ban). Daily Beast said the alt-right’s favorite website, rightwing breitbart.com, whose CEO Steve Bannon is now a White House counselor, also reported the bogus ban. • From London’s Guardian: “Donald Trump: a man so obnoxious that karma may see him reincarnated as himself.” • Every reporter knows a story that won’t die but has no life expectancy. In Cincinnati,
it’s the streetcar. But there’s an angle I haven’t seen explored by local reporters hungry for exclusives: How much could Cincinnati get from selling the streetcars and using the money to buy much-needed buses? • With all that is happening in this country and the wider world, where has U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot been? Hiding? Coma? Or busy apologizing for taking an image from an alt-right website without recognizing its antisemitic symbols? • On a happier note, former Cincinnatian Yael Splansky made international headlines when she led one of Canada’s “rings of peace” around local mosques. The interfaith support followed the assas-
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“Conway perfectly deflects reporters from substantive doings in the White House, government departments and agencies.” sination of worshipers in a Quebec mosque. Splansky is senior rabbi of Holy Blossom Temple, the oldest synagogue in Toronto. She is a fourth-generation Reform rabbi and was ordained by Cincinnati’s Hebrew Union College. Her father, Donald, was rabbi of Temple Sholom in Amberley Village. Huffington Post quoted her as telling the Canadian network CTV News, “No Canadian should be afraid to go to their house of worship to pray. It’s a terrifying scene. Imagine people of faith going to pray in peace, to pray for peace and to be at risk. Houses of worship are sacred and must be protected.” HuffPost said more than 100 people joined Splansky’s group to form a circle of solidarity around the Imdadul Islamic Centre. They held hands and formed a human shield during the Friday afternoon communal prayers. Similar actions unfolded at a handful of other mosques around the Toronto area and other parts of Canada. “To see there are people out there — Jews, Christians, people of other faiths or no particular faith, who really care about the Muslim community — I think that says a lot and it’s really reassuring,” Ilyas Ally, assistant imam at Toronto’s Islamic Information and Dawah Centre, told CBC News. CONTACT BEN L. KAUFMAN: letters@citybeat.com
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Until the childish, petulant response of Trump Inc. to Nordstrom dropping Ivanka’s imported fashions, I was going to focus on Kellyanne Conway’s inability to distinguish verifiable facts from her alternative universe. She’s a spectacular liar or delusional and the news media can’t get enough of her. Just like Trump, she says stuff that is so wildly false that no one in her right mind would say it unless it’s true. More important, Conway perfectly deflects reporters from substantive doings in the White House, government departments and agencies. Ignore her? Are you nuts? She’s clickbait. But the crass over-reaction to Nordstrom — from Oval Office to Conway to press secretary Sean Spicer — was so lacking in class that its was mesmerizing. Trump tweeted, “My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person - always pushing me to do the right thing. Terrible.” Everyone covered it. But it reminded me of a far classier reaction from a previous president’s response to criticism of his daughter. Harry S. Truman didn’t like Washington Post critic Paul Hume’s review of Margaret Truman’s singing. Hume said, “Miss Truman cannot sing very well” and “hast not improved” over the years. Truman wrote on his White House stationary: “Mr. Hume: I’ve just read your lousy review of Margaret’s concert. I’ve come to the conclusion that you are an ‘eight ulcer man on four ulcer pay.’ It seems to me that you are a frustrated old man who wishes he could have been successful. When you write such poppy-cock as was in the back section of the paper you work for it shows conclusively that you’re off the beam and at least four of your ulcers are at work. Some day I hope to meet you. When that happens you’ll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes, and perhaps a supporter below! “(Newspaper columnist Westbrook) Pegler, a gutter snipe, is a gentleman alongside you. I hope you’ll accept that statement as a worse insult than a reflection on your ancestry. “H.S.T.” Now there was a man who knew how to use words. It was no mistake when James Whitmore called his one-man show about Truman, “Give ‘em Hell, Harry!” • During an appearance on Fox News, Conway defended the president’s attack on Nordstrom, saying, “Go buy Ivanka’s stuff. I’m going to just give a free commercial here. Go buy it today, everybody. You can find it online.” She told Fox & Friends, “It is just a wonderful line. I own some of it.” Federal rules say government employees cannot use their public office to endorse products. A bipartisan letter from the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee
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Last Days for the Dennison?
Fading hope for the iconic downtown building brings up questions about future preservation efforts By NICK SWARTSELL
P H O T O : N I C K S WA R T S E L L
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request for a two-week restraining order pausing demolition on the building after nearby property owner Matthew Wood sued to block Columbia from tearing it down. “Once the building comes down, the damage is done and you can’t undo that,” Wood’s attorney, Tabitha Hochscheid, told the court. After about an hour of testimony from both Hochscheid and Columbia’s attorneys, Fran Barrett and Tim Burke, Allen quickly shot down the request for the delay without much comment. “He can’t show any harm to his property,” Barrett told the court, describing Wood’s suit as “not the 11th hour, but the 12th hour.” That leaves few legal options for preservationists. They can challenge a decision from the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals, which overturned an earlier refusal to issue a demolition permit from the city’s Historic Conservation Board. They can also take issue with Columbia’s use of city-owned alleys near the Dennison for parking. Or they can push the city to delay the demolition until it decides on a proposal from Cincinnati City Councilman Chris Seelbach that the Dennison be declared a historic landmark. The Historic Conservation Board initially ruled that Columbia didn’t show that the Dennison presented an economic hardship
Contractors have begun dismantling the Dennison Hotel building at 716 Main St. The building was designed by famed architect Samuel Hannaford’s firm and constructed in 1892. — a requirement when demolishing a building in a historic district — and that the company could still sell or rehabilitate it. Potential buyers, including Pittsburghbased developers Linden Partners, expressed interest in purchasing the Dennison, but were rebuffed by Columbia. On Dec. 9, 2016, however, the Zoning Board of Appeals overturned the HCB’s decision, clearing the way for the city to issue the permit. Preservationists would likely have to appeal the ZBA’s decision before Hamilton County Magistrate Michael Bachman. Last week, Bachman overturned a ZBA decision that had blocked the demolition of another historic building on Main Street — the Davis Furniture Building, a few blocks north of the Dennison in Over-the-Rhine. That case, an appeal from the building’s owners against the city’s decision to deny a demolition permit, hinged on similar legal questions to those involved in the potential appeal on the Dennison’s demolition. Another legal road involving historic landmark status also presents obstacles. Last month, Cincinnati City Manager Harry Black issued a memo stating that Seelbach’s proposed historic landmark designation
wouldn’t keep the city from issuing Columbia a demolition permit. The city has used that same landmark status to prevent the demolition of buildings in the recent past. In 2015, the city declared the former King Records facility in Evanston a historic landmark to block its owners, Dynamic Industries, from demolishing the structure. The difference, the city says, is in the timing. “In the case of the Dennison Hotel, the property owner exhausted the city’s procedures for obtaining a certificate of appropriateness prior to the filing of the landmark designation application,” a Jan. 6 memo from the Cincinnati city solicitor says. But preservationists, and attorney Suder, take issue with the differing approaches the city has taken to the two buildings. Critics see political elements to the Dennison saga. The building’s plight has energized urban progressives and critics of Mayor John Cranley like Councilman Seelbach, Council candidate Derek Bauman and others. Dennison owners the Josephs are big Cranley donors — having given some $18,700 to Cranley’s 2013 election campaign CONTINUES ON PAGE 11
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atches of sky were visible through the top-floor windows at the back of the 125-year-old Dennison Hotel the morning of Feb. 20, and a thick, drifting fog enveloped the building in downtown Cincinnati’s Main Street Historic District. As contractors began to demolish it by removing portions of its roof, a crane stood nearby at the ready. Critics say the final chapters of the fight over the Dennison, owned by powerful auto magnates the Joseph family through real estate company Columbia REI, leave larger questions about historic preservation, city politics and affordable housing downtown. “This Dennison situation is not right,” attorney Sean Suder, who represents preservationists seeking to save the Dennison, wrote on social media Feb. 20. Columbia says the building is standing in the way of progress and that it has reached the end of its functional lifespan. The company purchased the Dennison in 2013 as part of a plan for a large office site and to block a proposed permanent supportive housing development. The Dennison was built in 1892 and cycled through several uses before becoming affordable housing in the last decades of the 20th century. It was the last of 20 singleroom occupancy buildings downtown when its final tenant was evicted in 2011. Advocates say the building is an important part of the historic district it sits in. As they rush against the clock and the odds to find a way to block demolition, they’re also looking toward future battles. On Feb. 18, a small group of Dennison supporters gathered a few blocks from the building to talk strategy. The paths through local courts are dwindling, but there’s also a bigger fight to consider. “We need to build an infrastructure for historic preservation,” said Danny Klingler, a preservation advocate, at the meeting. “We have 1,000 members on the Save the Dennison Facebook group. Facebook is great, but we need to convert that into real action.” Among those potential actions: backing pro-preservation candidates in the coming mayoral and City Council elections, identifying at-risk historic structures and working earlier to save them and using boycotts, pickets and other tactics to pressure businesses and politicians who haven’t been friendly to historic preservation. Meanwhile, chances for a last-minute reprieve for the Dennison get narrower and narrower. Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Lisa Allen on Feb. 7 turned down a
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More Personnel Changes at Hamilton County Clerk of Courts
EEOC Asks Federal Court to Order TriHealth to Turn over Health Records
Newly elected Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Aftab Pureval continues to make big changes at that office, stirring up controversy among some conservative backers of his predecessor, Republican Tracy Winkler. Pureval on Feb. 17 appointed veterans from the corporate world to three senior leadership positions and sent five of Winkler’s hires packing. That caused pushback from conservatives like Anderson Township Trustee and former Hamilton County Commission candidate Andrew Pappas, who blasted Pureval via Facebook. Those hires include Rene Cheatham, formerly of General Electric, as chief financial officer; Ash Agrawal, formerly of Fifth Third Bank, to be the office’s chief of information technology; and 10-year talent acquisition veteran Shonda Sullivan to head the clerk’s human resources department. Republicans, including Pappas, cried foul at the dismissal of the clerk’s former chief financial officer, human resources consultant, chief of auto titles and other employees. Pappas says Winkler’s hires were fired because they weren’t “liberal Democrats.” “Aftab fired five more good employees yesterday,” Pappas wrote. “They have spouses and children. “ Pureval’s office says the hires will help him modernize and professionalize the Clerk of Courts office and improve service to taxpayers. The Democrat, a former attorney for Procter & Gamble, won a surprise victory over longtime Clerk of Courts Winkler back in November. The first clerk of courts from his party to take the office in Hamilton County in over a century, Pureval ran on promises to improve the Clerk’s website, make access to records easier and to make the office more efficient and less political. The dismissals are the second round of house-clearing for Pureval. The day after taking office in January, he fired assistant administrator Carl Pieczonka, deputy chief Annie Boltman and chief of operations Tony Rosiello. The office then listed those jobs and others publicly and received hundreds of applications. That move also drew ire from Republicans. “The new Clerk of Courts is off to an inauspicious start. Firing career civil servants who know the job is a rookie error,” Hamilton County GOP Chair Alex Trianatfilou tweeted following the dismissals. Pureval’s office says all hiring and firing decisions have been carefully vetted and have nothing to do with politics. (Nick Swartsell)
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is asking a federal judge to order TriHealth Inc. to disclose the name of a business client that forces its employees to tell what drugs they take and why they take them. Such a requirement, charged EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum in March 2016, violates the Americans with Disabilities Act because it isn’t job-related and isn’t “consistent with business necessity.” The charge surfaced publicly, 11 months later, only because the EEOC wants a federal judge to force TriHealth to produce documents showing the extent of mandatory drug-use disclosures by the unnamed company’s employees over the last four years. “In the course of its investigation, the EEOC issued a subpoena to TriHealth seeking documents relating to the investigation of the charge,” the EEOC states in a Feb. 1 court filing. “TriHealth refuses to respond to this subpoena.” Based in Cincinnati, TriHealth employs about 12,000 people at more than 130 locations in the region. It owns the Bethesda hospitals, Good Samaritan Hospital and numerous doctors practices, rehab hospitals and health centers. The department of the unnamed company that receives its employees’ medication usage is managed and staffed by TriHealth. Last August, the EEOC sent TriHealth a subpoena for the names of all employees who self-disclosed their prescriptions and over-the-counter drugs to the company going back to Jan. 1, 2013. It also asked for the drugs used and the records created when the disclosures were made. Months went by, and the EEOC told TriHealth it would settle for the disclosure documents alone. That offer was spurned, as was the agency’s later offer to rummage through the company’s file itself or through a vendor, the EEOC says. TriHealth spokesman Joe Kelley says the company refused to comply with the subpoena because TriHealth doesn’t own the records containing the requested information. “They belong to another company,” Kelley says. What company? Kelley says he is “not allowed” to name it. David Torchia, a Cincinnati attorney specializing in employment law, said the Americans with Disabilities Act provision against forced disclosure of medication usage exists to protect workers’ rights. “It would require employees to disclose conditions that are not affecting their work,” he says. “I think there’s an invasion of privacy there.” CONTINUES ON PAGE 11
FROM PAGE 09
and another $15,000 to the Cranley-backed Issue 22 park levy in 2015. Columbia purchased the building from the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation in August 2013 for $744,000. 3CDC had purchased the property from The Model Group the month prior for $1.3 million. Model itself purchased the property in 2010 for $700,000 to develop affordable housing with Talbert House. The Dennison was among the last of downtown’s affordable housing options. Just a few years ago, there were some 230 affordable single-room-occupancy units at the Metropole, 114 at the Dennison and another 84 at the Anna Louise Inn. Now, the Metropole is the luxury 21c Museum Hotel and the Anna Louise Inn is empty and undergoing a similar redevelopment. Columbia bought the Dennison at least in part to block the plan to turn it into permanent supportive housing, documents filed
FROM PAGE 10
Employers might be justified in asking about medication usage if workers were overtly demonstrating unfitness for duty, Torchia says. “But if they’re just making a blanket request without any objective reason behind it, I think that’s a problem.”
with the HCB reveal. “Since it was believed this type of use would have a damaging effect on their investment in particular and on the neighborhood in general, the family concluded it was necessary to acquire this property,” Columbia wrote in the April 1, 2016 filing. “The acquisition would then be a part of the assemblage of the parcels in this block to facilitate a major redevelopment.” In the Dennison’s place, Columbia says it would like to construct a headquarters for a Fortune 500 company. The company has been acquiring property around the Dennison since the 1960s, when it owned a car dealership downtown. A Jan. 14, 1987 article in The Cincinnati Enquirer shows buildings near the Dennison being demolished and quotes a Columbia spokesperson saying that a big development project on the parcels was “several years” down the road. Today, the lots are used for pay parking. ©
TOM TOMMORROW; -
On Feb. 8, U.S. Magistrate Stephanie Bowman ordered TriHealth to explain why it shouldn’t have to comply with the subpoena and give the employee records to the EEOC. The show-cause hearing is scheduled for March 29 in Cincinnati. (James McNair)
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sharonville convention center exit #15 off I-75 special exhibit: drafted + crafted: iconic Cincinnati MCM homes special exhibit presented by:
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february 25-26, 2017
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n oita rips n I
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Napoleon Maddox mines his great-grandaunts’ experience as conjoined twins to explore African-Americans’ dual lives BY K ATHY SCHWART Z
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Inspiration
apoleon Maddox, the socially conscious frontman of the Hip Hop group IsWhat?!, does everything with passion and thought. But he’s giving at least double his usual effort to Twice the First Time, an intensely personal project that makes its world premiere Wednesday night at the Contemporary Arts Center. Maddox’s multimedia piece, part of CAC’s Black Box Performance Series, retells the story of his great-grandaunts Millie-Christine McKoy, conjoined twins who were born into slavery in 1851 in North Carolina. (Although there is an alternative spelling of their names, Maddox prefers the one used here.) First sold to a showman before they were a year old, and later kidnapped, the sisters became known as “The Eighth Wonder of the World” and “The Two-Headed Nightingale” while touring the United States and Europe as a circus act. The CAC performance combines song, dance, film, poetry and speculative fiction as it alternately travels back to the 1800s and brings Millie-Christine into the present day. Maddox shares the floor with other local musicians and his frequent collaborator Sorg, a French beatmaker/producer.
A Circus Poster’s Cincinnati Connection
B at c h e l l e r & D o r i s ’ G r e at I n t e r - O c e a n : M i l l i e C h r i s t i n e , T h e T w o - H e a d e d L a dy, 1 8 8 2 , c o l o r l i t h o g r a p h y p o s t e r , C i n c i n n at i A r t M u s e u m , g i f t o f T h e S t r o b r i dg e L i t h o g r a p h i n g C o m pa n y, 1 9 6 5 . 6 8 3 : 5 0
The 1882 image of Millie-Christine McKoy on CityBeat’s cover was printed by Strobridge Lithographing Co. of Cincinnati and is part of the Cincinnati Art Museum’s permanent collection. In 2011, the museum exhibited it and 79 other prints for the first time in a show titled The Amazing American Circus Poster.
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From about 1880 to the Great Depression, Strobridge was the leading printer for circus companies. It operated a plant along the Miami-Erie Canal (now Central Parkway) and an office in New York. As demand for circus posters waned around World War II, Strobridge turned its attention to movie ads. In 1961, the company was sold to H.S. Crocker printing. When the business closed 10 years later, it gifted posters to the museum. Another local printer, The Hennegan Company, also has a tie to Millie-Christine. It published a turn-of-the-century biographical sketch about the conjoined twins, plus other ephemera that caught Napoleon Maddox’s attention during his research for Twice the First Time. He learned that within the last decade or so, the Florence, Ky. company sold its stock of circus materials at auction. “Had I been doing this project (then), I probably could have had in my possession original posters and printed materials,” he says. The Strobridge poster advertises Millie-Christine as “the most marvellous (sic) human being born since Creation,” echoing a line in their poetry. “It does praise them, but I wonder about the motivations,” Maddox says. “The illustration looks beautiful, but it’s not
really representative of what they looked like. They’re very thin, kind of tall, and look like brown versions of the ideal of Western beauty.” Maddox says he’s made peace with the idea that creative liberties were taken and that Millie-Christine were lauded for the benefit of the people exhibiting them. He has seen other materials calling them “marvelous monsters.” Both descriptors influenced his development of Twice the First Time, which looks at “the beauty and the ugliness of objectification.” Strobridge’s poster for Batcheller & Doris’ Great Inter-Ocean circus also stresses Millie-Christine’s “enormous salary” of $25,000 for the season. “We can see that as one example of the roots of celebrity worship,” Maddox says. “But it was well-documented that they were decent people and the kind of people you’d like to get to know.” The sum allowed the twins to buy the North Carolina plantation on which they were born and turn it over to their father. The sisters retired there at the end of the 1880s. A song from Twice the First Time, “All You Got,” addresses celebrity culture then and now. “All you got in your closet don’t matter, man, if you got no soul,” the chorus goes. Circus posters drew crowds to Millie-Christine because the twins appeared so different. But once patrons were in the sisters’ presence, Maddox says, they got to discover how real they were.
Maddox hopes audiences will “think about thinking” as they consider not just what happened to Millie-Christine but how they responded and why. Historical writings by and about the sisters indicate that they proudly celebrated their “other” status a century before Jimi Hendrix ever sang about flying one’s freak flag. When the Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery in 1863, Millie-Christine chose to stay with their white custodians and keep performing music, dance and poetry. In an autobiography, they share their affection not only for one another, but also their owner-turned-manager and the God who made them. Any bitterness seems to be reserved for the doctors who subjected them to public exams to determine whether they were frauds. The sisters learned multiple languages, met Queen Victoria, became successful enough to support both their biological family and their proprietor’s family and gave money to African-American schools and churches before their deaths in 1912 at age 61. Maddox, who grew up in Cincinnati, first heard the Millie-Christine story from his mother when he was as young as 3. The twins were his maternal grandmother’s aunts. As a child, he never questioned the story’s veracity, but as an adult he realizes there are “multiple truths” to express. Millie-Christine’s existence between exploitation and freedom influences how Maddox thinks about his own “twoness” as a black man living in the United States. “I see that there is a very real hyphen between ‘African’ and ‘American,’ just like there is a hyphen between ‘Millie’ and ‘Christine,’ ” he says. “I’ve found that really rich to be able to draw from, in terms of identity and confidence and purpose and declaring ‘This is who I am.’ I know I have my place in the universe, or else I wouldn’t be here.” The twins themselves alternated between identifying as two and one, yet they resisted the idea of a surgical end to their dual state. Maddox recognizes that his great-grandaunts’ selfacceptance and benevolence despite their circumstances can serve as both an example and an irritant for AfricanAmericans and others in 2017. He wonders whether he and his modern audiences unfairly project their own frustrations about inequality onto Millie-Christine in assuming that the sisters covered up anger. “I’m still figuring out how much of their story will ever be understood and known,” Maddox says. “Because when you are owned, your voice is also owned.” The matter of being depersonalized is especially troubling to Maddox. Reality TV and internet videos aside, freak shows are no longer official forms of entertainment. “But in other ways, people are very objectified,” he says. “I think looking at someone else’s supposed oddness or perceiving some of us as ‘the other’ makes some of us feel more secure in our sameness. And, unfortunately, we’re seeing a lot of that right now in the last set of news cycles.” Twice the First Time was commissioned by the CAC and developed in partnership with France’s Banlieues Bleues Jazz festival, which will stage the piece next month. Maddox, who previously performed A Riot Called Nina, his tribute to singer/activist Nina Simone, at Banlieues Bleues, says the years he’s spent touring, collaborating and teaching Hip Hop around the world opened his eyes to the complexities of identity at home. “I see myself as a global citizen,” he says. “I’m very aware of and connected to my African heritage, and I know that I have an American passport. I was born and raised here and I vote as an American citizen. But there’s something more to that when you watch the news or walk down the street. I have been arrested because I ‘fit the description,’ and I know that doesn’t happen to every citizen. So that complicates my citizenship.”
Twins proclaim: ‘I am most wonderfully made’ This poem by Millie-Christine McKoy is part of their autobiography titled The History of the Carolina Twins, Told in “Their Own Peculiar Way” by “One of Them.” Napoleon Maddox has sampled his great-grandaunts’ writing for some songs in Twice the First Time. “If you had two heads, would you be useless, or do your best not to be fruitless?” one rap goes. “Their lives were incredibly fruitful,” Maddox says.
N A P O L E O N M A D D O X O N S E T AT T H E C A C // P H O T O : H A I L E Y B O L L I N G E R
M I L L I E - C H R I S T I N E M C KO Y // P H O T O : W E L L C O M E I M A G E S
’Tis not modest of one’s self to speak, But, daily scanned from head to feet, I freely talk of everything, Sometimes to persons wondering. Some people say I must be two! The doctors say it is not true. Some cry out “humbug,” till they see, And then exclaim, “great mystery.”
None like me since the days of Eve, None perhaps shall ever live. If marvel to myself am I, Why not to all who pass me by? I am happy too, because content; For some wise purpose I was sent. Our Maker knows what he has done, Whether I’m created two or one.
as Harriet Tubman, away from the stage Maddox tries to put himself in his great-grandaunts’ shoes in the 1800s. “How would I have responded? I don’t know,” he says during our interview. He weighs his mature feelings of grace against the rage his younger self would display and explains that everyone likes to say they would have taken the ideal path against injustice. “Sometimes I hear people talk about how they might not have the due admiration for a person like Dr. (Martin Luther) King, or they may look at a film like The Butler and say, ‘I’m not going to be soft.’ They want to celebrate the Malcolm X character. And I do, too,” Maddox says. “Do I devalue or underestimate the power and the rebellion of Dr. King just because I also respect Malcolm X? Not in the least. I see them as nearly as joined as Millie-Christine.” Maddox says the only stories we have about MillieChristine are accounts of being dignified and pleasant. In addition to the performance piece, he is putting together a book that will include a section about the psychology behind Millie-Christine’s path. Maddox says he can’t imagine the twins didn’t feel frustration and even anger sometimes. “But I don’t see evidence of hatred. I see a lot of evidence of love, which came from themselves and then radiated to ‘the other,’ so that ‘the other’ nearly disappears,” he says. “I think that made them incredibly powerful, and it made them very, very able.” Hyphenated Millie-Christine realized the power of connection, he says, not just with one another but in the world. Napoleon Maddox performs TWICE THE FIRST TIME 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday at the Contemporary Arts Center. $15; $10 members. More info: contemporaryartscenter.org.
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Two heads, four arms, four feet, All in one perfect body meet. I am most wonderfully made, All scientific men have said.
Maddox, an education major at the University of Cincinnati, has explored assumptions about identity and “the other” through youth and adult workshops here and overseas. In Italy, he introduced young adolescents to his personal background, U.S. history and Millie-Christine’s tale while talking about perspective, compassion and confidence. The students created a story about how they’d respond to meeting the twins today, considering everything from the kind of seat they’d need to what visitors from the 19th century would eat. Maddox asked the kids whether it was right to assume two people connected would be sad, because the sisters portrayed themselves as happy and beautiful in their poetry. Talking among themselves, the students decided they needed to apologize to Millie-Christine. “I expected them to get into it, but that (exercise) just made me more excited about the project,” Maddox says. “Twice the First Time is really complex, but my greatest ambition is to feed it in stages so that we move from milk to meat, as it were, in a seamless way. I hope people will still be thinking about it for months or years.” Maddox, who has spent two years developing Twice the First Time, found a storytelling model in Octavia E. Butler’s 1979 time-travel novel Kindred, about a modern black woman who is repeatedly pulled to the past to save the plantation owner who is also her ancestor. “Kindred gave me a way to talk about existing in two times,” Maddox says. “Some of the poetry I wrote is about how far we’ve come, and what they might say about how far we’ve come, and what little we’ve done about how far we’ve come.” While Twice the First Time considers how Millie-Christine might react in different periods and how they might respond to the opportunity to join historical figures such
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WEDNESDAY 22
ART: Hip Hop artist Napoleon Maddox premieres TWICE THE FIRST TIME — the story of his great-grandaunts, conjoined twins Millie-Christine McKoy — during the Contemporary Arts Center’s Black Box Performance Series. See cover story on page 12. ART: DRESSED TO KILL: JAPANESE ARMS & ARMOR at the Cincinnati Art Museum features 130-plus objects, including weapons, artwork and eight suits of armor. See Big Picture on page 21. TV: LEGION mines the mythology of the Marvel universe to create a puzzling collage that feels at once retro and futuristic. See TV on page 25. MUSIC: LILY & MADELEINE Based in Indianapolis, sisters Lily and Madeleine Jurkiewicz — who perform as simply Lily & Madeleine — kicked off their music career in earnest in 2013, when Sufjan Stevens’ Asthmatic Kitty Records released EP The Weight of the Globe to a wide and receptive audience and fellow Hosier John Mellencamp invited the pair to sing on the soundtrack to his Ghost Brothers of Darkland County musical. Also that year, the duo — which specializes in a unique, haunting Indie Pop/Folk sound — performed its first live shows (two sold-out hometown gigs), released its self-titled LP and made its network TV debut. Things haven’t slowed down much since, as Lily & Madeleine have continued to build their following with regular touring and releases, including last year’s fantastic Keep It Together album, the siblings’ first effort for New West Records. 8 p.m. Wednesday. $12 advance; $15 day of. Southgate House Revival, 111 E. Sixth St., Newport, Ky., southgatehouse.com. — MIKE BREEN
THURSDAY 23
ONSTAGE: Footlighters, Inc. presents cult musical SIDE SHOW, about a set of reallife conjoined twins (not Millie-Christine McKoy from this week’s cover story) who rose to public attention in the 1930s. See review on page 23. MUSIC: EDM/Synth Pop/Soul duo BIG GIGANTIC plays Bogart’s. See interview on page 30. MUSIC: FRONTIER RUCKUS plays Folk music for Indie Rock fans (or Indie Rock for Americana fans) at the Southgate House Revival. See Sound Advice on page 32.
ONSTAGE: SOMETHING ROTTEN! Shakespeare and musical theater, all in one show? Impossible, you might say — but one wag termed this show “Broadway’s funniest musical in at least 400 years.” A pair of frustrated playwrights in Elizabethan London are eager to best an upstart guy named Shakespeare who’s getting all the raves. How to beat him at his own game? A soothsayer suggests the next big thing in theaters will be “musicals.” So they set out to invent them — with hilarious results. If you hate Shakespeare, you’ll love this show. And if you love Shakespeare (and musicals, parodied throughout), you’ll love this show. Through March 5. $30-$94. Aronoff Center for the Arts, 650 Walnut St., Downtown, 513-621-2787, cincinnati.broadway.com. — RICK PENDER
COMEDY: STEVE BYRNE “I was given a non-voluntary break from TV,” Steve Byrne says with a laugh. After three seasons, his hit TBS sitcom Sullivan & Son was canceled by the network last year. “Any time a new president takes over a network, a lot of shows are guaranteed to get canceled,” he says. Sullivan & Son, though, was one of the network’s highest-rated original programs. “We had a strong case for being renewed for a fourth season, but they wanted a clean slate.” He’s felt no pressure to get back on the horse as it were. “I’m getting back to what I think I do best,” he says. Onstage he continues to make his comedy more personal, which makes it that much more accessible. Showtimes ThursdaySaturday. $15-$17. Liberty Funny Bone, 7518 Bales St., Liberty Township, liberty. funnybone.com. — P.F. WILSON
FRIDAY 24
ART: FORMATIVE AT 1305 GALLERY Bulgarian-born, Cincinnati-based visual artist Ivan Ivanov will show a selection of his recent body of acrylic paintings on canvas at 1305 Gallery this Final Friday. Trained as a visual artist more than 20 years ago at the prestigious Savannah College of Art and Design, Ivanov took a long pause from exhibiting his work to raise children but recently returned to many of his explorations that began in the early 1990s. With an inclination toward the expressive gesture, Ivanov’s mid-size canvases are bustling with color and fluid abstract forms. Opening reception 6-10 p.m. Friday. Through March 26. Free. 1305 Gallery, 1305 Main St., Over-the-Rhine, facebook.com/1305gallery. — MARIA SEDA-REEDER
MUSIC: BEST OF BROADWAY FEATURING SUTTON FOSTER As the Cincinnati Pops’ season winds down and its residency at Taft Theatre draws to a close, Broadway superstar Sutton Foster pays a visit to Cincinnati to perform a selection of Broadway favorites as well as classics like “I Get A Kick Out of You” in celebration of Cole Porter’s 125th birthday. Sutton is a two-time Tony Award winner (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Anything Goes) and has performed and originated roles in a remarkable number of Broadway productions, including Shrek the Musical, Little Women and Violet. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. $25-$105. Taft Theatre, 317 E. Fifth St., Downtown, cincinnatisymphony.org. — MONROE TROMBLY CONTINUES ON PAGE 18
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ONSTAGE: Audiences can revel in the delicious villainy of RICHARD III at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. See review on page 22.
wednesday 22
beerS, burgerS & boozy SluShieS
photo : scooter media
Thursday 23
222 W 12th St - qcrbar.com
MON - FRI 4 PM - 2:30 AM || SAT & SUN 11 AM - 2:30 AM
EVENT: THE ART OF FOOD The Art of Food at The Carnegie this year takes inspiration from the 1950s. Step back to a time when Mom and Pop sipped Old Fashioneds in the den before the whole family sat down to TV dinners, but enjoy those memories with modern twists. For instance, Thursday’s An Atomic Dinner Party for 200 people will include guided bourbon tastings from Maker’s Mark. For the big bash Friday, artist Joe Girandola is raiding Dad’s toolbox to create duct tape sculptures, and Pam Kravetz and a team of fellow creatives are channeling Julia Child for a playful take on cooking shows. Meanwhile, 20 chefs from top local restaurants and caterers will offer bites celebrating the Joy of Cooking and other ’50s classics. An Atomic Dinner Party 6-9 p.m. Thursday; The Art of Food 6-9 p.m. Friday. Dinner party $100, $75 members; The Art of Food $50, $35 members. The Carnegie, 1028 Scott Blvd., Covington, Ky., thecarnegie.com. — KATHY SCHWARTZ
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FROM PAGE 17
EVENT: MAINSTRASSE MARDI GRAS Let the good times roll at the MainStrasse Mardi Gras. Want to join in the festivities? Enter your own float in the parade or register to walk in it by contacting the MainStrasse Village Association Office. If you’re just feeling in the spirit(s), you can join your friends and neighbors in a pub crawl. Participating bars will have specials on Little Kings and Hurricanes. Bejewel your Mardi Gras getup with Cappel’s, which will be selling beads on the street before and during the parade. Saturday’s parade route is scheduled to go down Main Street. Friday and Saturday. Free. MainStrasse Village, Covington, Ky., mainstrasse.org. — LAUREN MORETTO EVENT: ART AFTER DARK: SAMURAI, SUSHI AND SAKE Immerse yourself in Japanese culture at the Cincinnati Art Museum’s Art After Dark: Samurai, Sushi and Sake. Get free, exclusive access to the museum’s newest exhibits, Dressed to Kill: Japanese Arms & Armor and Transcending Reality: The
Woodcuts of Kosaka Gajin, with a happy hour featuring specialty sake cocktails, sushi from FUSIAN available for purchase, live music from DJ ODI, origami making in the Terrace Café and a kendo performance (a martial art that uses bamboo swords as the primary weapon) in the Great Hall. Also includes a screening of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. Note: Sushi, cocktails and origami supplies are limited, so get there early. 5-9 p.m. Friday. Free admission. 953 Eden Park Drive, Mount Adams, cincinnatiartmuseum.org. — MAIJA ZUMMO
SATURDAY 25
MUSIC: Chicago quartet NE-HI plays MOTR Pub. See Sound Advice on page 32.
EVENT: JUNGLE JIM’S WHISKEY TRAIL Grow some hair on your chest at Jungle Jim’s Whiskey Trail. Themed food by the bite, cigar rolling, live music and the chance to take part in a Whiskey 101 class welcome you. Whiskey 101 features master distillers from the area like Ryan Lang, co-founder of Middle West Spirits, and brewer and
photo : provided
saturday 25
EVENT: 20TH CENTURY CINCINNATI The annual 20th Century Cincinnati show of Modernist furniture, lighting, fashion, housewares, decorative objects, Pop Culture memorabilia and more occurs this weekend, and some 70 dealers will be showing in the exhibit hall of the Sharonville Convention Center. Special this year is an exhibition called Drafted + Crafted: Cincinnati MCM Blueprints by Cincinnati Form Follows Function, an appreciation group for Midcentury Modern architecture. It explores the design process for six local Midcentury homes, with representations of hand-drawn blueprints, plans and original drawings. There are also period and contemporary photographs, as well as related material. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; Java Preview 9 a.m. Saturday. $8 general admission (good for both days); Java Preview $25 advance or $30 door. Sharonville Convention Center, 11355 Chester Road, Sharonville, 20thcenturycincinnati.com. — STEVEN ROSEN
master distiller Mark Coffman. Itching for a drink? Your ticket includes eight samples of whiskey — chosen from more than 40 different high-quality, top shelf whiskies and bourbons — a custom cocktail and more. 7-10 p.m. Saturday. $53.25; $21.30 nondrinker. Jungle Jim’s Oscar Event Center, 5440 Dixie Highway, Fairfield, junglejims.com. — LAUREN MORETTO
WITH ADULT BEVERAGES.
acatemyawards. — EMILY BEGLEY EVENT: CINCINNATI HOME AND GARDEN SHOW The Cincinnati Home and Garden Show returns Saturday. The family-friendly show has been hosted since 1969 and features a large showcase of various home improvement resources for professionals and the public from landscaping to interior designs. Through March 5. $13 adults; $11 online; free for kids 12 and younger. Duke Energy Convention Center, 525 Elm St., Downtown, cincinnatihomeandgardenshow.com. — CHRISTINA DROBNEY
SUNDAY 26
MUSIC: JASON RINGENBERG brings alter ego Farmer Jason to Southgate House Revival. See Sound Advice on page 33.
ONGOING SHOWS VISUAL ART Bijoux Parisiens Taft Museum of Art, Downtown (through May 14)
Over-the-Rhine + 16-BitBar.com
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EVENT: A’CAT’EMY AWARDS And the A’cat’emy award goes to… Find out this (ahem) Caturday at The Phoenix when the Ohio Alleycat Resource & Spay/ Neuter Clinic hosts its sixth-annual A’cat’emy Awards extravaganza. Home videos submitted to OAR by fame-hungry felines and their humans have been analyzed, and the best of the best will be screened and recognized in three different categories: Best Cat Action Film, Best Cat Comedy Film and Best Cat Drama Film. The party is complete with hors d’oevres, drinks and dinner, plus movie trivia, Oscar predictions and a live and silent action. Proceeds benefit OAR. 6:30 p.m. Saturday; 5:30 p.m. VIP. $65; $100 VIP. The Phoenix, 812 Race St., Downtown, ohioalleycat.org/
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arts & culture
Seeking Radical Compassion
Two new Contemporary Arts Center exhibitions confront politically charged topics BY maria seda-reeder
P H O T O : c o u r t e s y o f th e c o n t e m po r a r y a r t s c e n t e r
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he two separate exhibitions currently on view at the Contemporary Arts Center — one by artist Noel Anderson and one by Andrea Bowers — are timely reminders of the power art can wield to catalyze social change. Both artists sift through the archives of the past, making new totems toward an expanded understanding of how we got to this moment in history. Because Anderson and Bowers work with formal approaches to radical compassion, their shows offer the hope of liberation for those most oppressed in our society. They also call upon us to examine our own role, however passive, in preventing the oppressed from reaching that goal. Occupying the upper and lower levels of the second-floor galleries through June 18, Anderson’s Blak Origin Moment and Bowers’ Womxn Workers of the World Unite! equally engage with politically charged topics — and this is likely why CAC curator Steven Matijcio paired the two. While Anderson deftly dissects police brutality, rape culture and the limits of socially prescribed black male identity, Bowers tackles issues of trans liberation, labor equity and immigrant rights. The Louisville, Ky.-born Anderson, a former assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati, has been living in New York and working as a clinical assistant professor of printmaking at New York University since 2015, and Blak Origin Moment marks his first solo museum show and first major show in Ohio. (Miller Gallery in Hyde Park is also showcasing studies for Anderson’s CAC show from Thursday through March 25.) In a series of poetic gestures, much of Anderson’s work in Blak Origin Moment is translated through a variety of distressed textiles and piled-upon surfaces: digitally produced, chemically and hand-treated jacquard tapestries; erased and subsequently printed-upon pages of Ebony magazine; purposefully besmirched old rugs; and large sheets of dirt-caked roofing rubber. The implicit centerpiece of the show is Anderson’s monumental tapestry, “die Leitung” (“The Administration”), a distorted, oversized black-and-white digitally reproduced image of a lineup of black men forced to publicly submit to a strip search while armed policemen look on. Like its suggested visual reference, Francisco de Goya’s powerful early-19th-century anti-war statement “The Third of May 1808,” Anderson’s image likewise implicates the viewers as complicit in these acts of violence and urges understanding.
Noel Anderson in front of his monumental tapestry “die Leitung” in Blak Origin Moment. The pieces in Blak Origin Moment feel as haunted by the sins of America’s recent past as the work itself is haunting. Seen within the context of his images of black men, the inclusion in a diptych of a distorted mug shot of convicted white sex offender Brock Turner — the former Stanford University student who was only sentenced to six months in confinement for raping an unconscious young woman — stands as a poignant testimony to ongoing racial inequity. In a triptych entitled “Escapism (misnamed),” Anderson creates computer-generated portraits that fuse together the faces of three young black men who were killed by police with those of the officers who either shot or choked them to death. Pairing the visages of slain black men Michael Brown, Eric Garner and Cincinnati’s own Samuel DuBose with the portraits of the police officers who killed them requires a kind of empathy on behalf of the viewer. One must sit with the difficult contradiction of identifying with both perpetrator and victim. In a time when no visit to social media comes without an onslaught of public and private tragedies that provoke a tangible mixture of guilt and anger, Anderson’s works in Blak Origin Moment seem to have
a finger on the pulse of our current political climate. But, to some extent, this is perhaps the point. As the accompanying exhibition text suggests, Anderson’s pieces “evoke moments where racial recognition is heightened,” yet consciously avoid any kind of neat resolution. Ohio-born, Los Angeles-based Andrea Bowers works at the intersection of art making, social justice and activism, and nothing about Bowers’ work is neutral. The self-identified white, cisgendered “activist artist” stated during the opening night talk that one of her most important jobs as an artist is to “look at things that have been under-recorded and make them visible.” To that aim, Bowers mines an archive of feminism, from rare early glimpses of empowered women — in political posters and placards from the late 19th century and the early years of the women’s movement — to contemporary documentations of activists currently working to broaden the scope of inclusion. The artist also highlights the work of activists who are working at various intersections of social inequality. Bowers creates photo-realist drawings of isolated
individuals who marched on behalf of immigrant labor reform on International Workers’ Day in 2011 and were in TransLatina Coalition protests in 2016. On these intimate images, which require an up-close inspection to realize that they are in fact hand drawn, each subject is positioned near the edges of the page to reflect their marginalized status. Three life-sized photographic portraits of trans feminist activists and women of color — CeCe McDonald, Johanna Saavedra and Jennicet Gutiérrez — occupy a large section of gallery wall space, and their oversized presence speaks to a need for greater visibility of trans women within the larger women’s movement. As the artwork throughout both Bowers’ and Anderson’s shows attest, we must first see truth before we can act upon it. Neither of these shows is easy to “get,” but both artists seduce with gestures that include and implicate the viewer as simultaneous witness and potential conspirator. They’re urging us to see truth. BLAK ORIGIN MOMENT and WOMXN WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE! are on display at the Contemporary Arts Center through June 18. More information: contemporaryartscenter.org.
a&c the big picture
Samurai Armor as a Fashion Statement BY STEVEN ROSEN
a fascinating object. Another one of the suits, from the early 19th century, is for a child. Made of metal, doeskin and fabric, it is more resplendent than fierce with its headdress-shaped helmet and wave-shaped turned-back deflectors. Rare today, these small-scale suits were presented to children by their samurai families as coming-of-age gifts.
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Child’s suit of armor at Cincinnati Art Museum PHOTO : Haile y bollinger
For anyone who has ever seen the great samurai movies of the genius director Akira Kurosawa, it’s easy to accept that an exhibit about samurai is appropriate for an art museum. The exhibit also has samurai-related objects created as artwork — woodcuts, calligraphy, ceramic jars and two spectacular handmade banners created for an event called Boy’s Day. Still, there are some things here hard to view as artful in their own right. I barely glanced at the section on matchlock guns, for instance. But the art museum does try to put the weaponry into an artistic context. That can be a tricky balance. For instance, we are informed that a “short sword” made in 1839 by Kato Tsunatashi passed the “tai tai” cutting test — it sliced through a person’s neck and upper arm bones cleanly. (The victim, we are informed, was the cadaver of an executed criminal.) It’s not all that pretty of an image. But on display just below the sword is its scabbard with black-lacquer finish, which sparkles from the reflective crushed shells it contains. It’s so gorgeous you could wear it without the sword. CONTACT STEVEN ROSEN: srosen@citybeat.com
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With a title like Dressed to Kill: Japanese Arms & Armor, you might think this is purely a warlike exhibit, aiming for throngs of young (and older) men rushing to the Cincinnati Art Museum through May 7 to imagine themselves in battle with the weaponry on display. And there may be that aspect to it. But really, despite — or because of — the clever pun of a title, the way to think of this show is as a fashion exhibit, not unlike the Taft Museum of Art’s current Bijoux Parisiens: French Jewelry from the Petit Palais, Paris. Only it is one where the decorative objects are samurai armored neck guards instead of gemstone-bedecked necklaces; katana swords with long curved blades rather than bracelets and brooches. Really, the designers who installed this show for Asian Art Curator Hou-mei Sung may have been thinking the same thing. The central attractions of this 130-plus-object exhibit, which also includes weapons and artwork, are eight suits of armor. (Three are from the museum’s collection; the rest are on loan from collector Gary Grose.) In their rooster-ish helmet bowls with turned-back deflectors, wearing ominous battle masks that sometimes have realhair mustaches above the mouth openings, the suits of armor are posed as if they are seated models — you can imagine crossed and folded legs. Displayed on roped-off platforms, they seem a little like runway models. They each have a personality. The term “samurai,” museum information informs us, means “one who served,” and Japanese samurai were elite soldiers with a strict code of honor, called bushido, which had religious elements. Samurai warfare virtually ended by the mid-17th century. A majority of these heavy metal suits of armor are from well after that, even into the 19th century, so they were worn ceremonially, or out of tradition, by the samurai families who had become Japan’s political elite. Their political power ended by 1867. The most notable exception to these more “recent” objects is the show’s signature piece, a suit of armor from 1596 made by Saotome Iyetada from metal and fabric. To say this one has teeth is not merely a euphemism for noting that it has a powerfully imposing visual presence. It really has teeth, lining the facial mask’s open mouth and looking ready to bite. (The museum assures these aren’t real teeth.) It also has hinged flaps on its arm protectors, possibly to hold easy-to-reach opium balls for wound-inflicted pain, and a secret compartment in the chest protector where the warrior kept silver pieces given in exchange for the heads of slain enemy soldiers. It’s evident a great deal of practicality went into this suit of armor’s design and it’s
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a&c onstagE
Richard III: Power-Mad King and Murderer BY RICK PENDER
Shhakespeare’s Richard III, written first see Chace as Richard, he’s wearing an in the early 1590s, has been produced ill-fitting black wig that he doffs to reveal a continually for more than four centuries. shaved head with a scalp infection. The power-mad royal who died in battle in Chace finds numerous ways to demon1485 at the end of the War of the Roses was strate Richard’s horrid, intemperate nature Shakespeare’s first great villain. — simpering when it’s useful and forceful Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s Billy when necessary, frequently revealing his Chace is currently grabbing the part furichilling innermost thoughts directly to the ously with both fists and his very soul. (Well, audience. perhaps only one fist: Richard’s left arm Three women fiercely resist Richard’s was withered.) vile ways. Queen Margaret, the widow of Cincy Shakes’ thunderous, hurtling Henry VI, played melodramatically by Kelly production is the culminaH tion of a multi-year project CRITIC’S to chronologically present “The History Cycle,” ShakeH speare’s eight plays covering the reigns of Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI and Richard III. The 23-year-old company is only the second in the United States to complete this feat. As Artistic Director Brian Isaac Phillips, who staged Richard III, told a sold-out opening night audience, the endeavor represented “five years of work and thousands Billy Chace (left) has the title role in Cincy Shakes’ production. of corpses.” PHOTO : MIKKI SCHAFFNER PHOTOGRAPHY Many of those deaths resulted from warfare, but also a surfeit of murder and executions. Mengelkoch, skulks into several scenes Richard III, first as the Duke of Gloucester like one of Macbeth’s witches and predicts before deviously grasping the throne, is the bloody ends for Richard and others. Sara greatest perpetrator of these crimes. His Clark is Queen Elizabeth, Edward IV’s breathtaking tale of cunning deceit and widow, who tries but fails to protect her cold-blooded elimination of those in his children from Richard’s murderous plans. way invites showy acting. Not only do we She eventually thwarts his intention to see Richard repeatedly scheme to capture marry her daughter by pretending to agree the crown, we hear his inner thoughts with his horrid pursuit. Richard’s own expressed, often cruelly, in monologues. mother, the Duchess of York, played with Chace is a fine choice for this legendary starch and passion by Annie Fitzpatrick as role. He excels in manic roles and his sense a woman who regrets giving birth to this of timing, usually lavished on flat-out comwanton villain, curses him, too. edy, is well suited to Richard’s brazen acts. Shakespeare’s play was originally titled Until his death at the play’s end, Richard is The Tragedy of King Richard the Third, the supremely confident manipulator. We and we do witness his tragic end, screaming, see an early demonstration of his power “A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!” when he seduces Lady Anne (Aiden Sims), in the thick of battle. He’s soon in hand-tohis late nephew’s wife; Richard has been hand fatal combat in a horrendous onstage the instrument of her husband’s death. rainstorm with Henry, Earl of Richmond, She is repelled by his advance, but as he who becomes Henry VII (Grant Niezgodski woos her over the coffin of her father-in-law, fills the brief role with a sense of upright Henry VI, he wins her over. It’s the first of honor). Ghosts of his many victims haunt many vile acts, including ordering the murhim in searing dreams before his bloody ders of his brother George, Duke of Clardemise. ence (Kyle Brumley) and most heinously Richard III is a demanding role, and his two young nephews who stand between Chace dives into it head first. Audiences will him and the crown. flock to Cincy Shakes to hate him — and Chace plays the role with imposing physirevel in his delicious, cynical villainy. cality and relish. Richard was a hunchback RICHARD III, presented by the Cincinnati (probably because of scoliosis) who walked Shakespeare Company, continues through March with a limp, had a deformed arm and appar11. More info: cincyshakes.com. ently suffered from ringworm. When we
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a&c onstage
‘Side Show’: Doubling Down at Footlighters BY RICK PENDER
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Any show — especially a musical that They’re both fine singers, as soloists and in promotes itself with the invitation to “Come duets, which are naturally the majority of look at the Freaks” — should anticipate numbers they sing. In particular, they soar a challenge finding an audience. The 1997 on a pair of power ballads, “Who Will Love musical Side Show, inspired by Daisy and Me As I Am?” and “I Will Never Leave You.” Violet Hilton, a set of real-life conjoined Gregory Good plays Terry, the zealous twins who rose to public attention in the agent who discovers the twins in a carnival 1930s, had its champions. It ran on Broadshow and helps them escape its loathsome way for just three months, earning four tyrannical manager, Sir (belligerently Tony Award nominations, but didn’t win any. played by Chuck Ingram). Some found the story a tad on the creepy Jeffrey Surber is Buddy, a talent scout side, voyeuristically focusing on the twins’ and choreographer who Terry entices to physical deformity and wallowing in their divergent aspirations: Daisy was eager for the spotlight of performance, while Violet yearned for a quiet married life. Both were gullible and easily manipulated by others who made promises that couldn’t be fulfilled. The show is full of sadness and heartbreak — despite a backdrop of camaraderie among the troupe of freak show performers. In 2014, the show was back on Broadway with an even darker script and some new The cast of Footlighters’ ambitious production of Side Show songs. Like its predecessor, PHOTO : jim r ac ster it failed to catch on, running just seven weeks. I’m not sure what the producers were thinking: refine the twins’ act. While it’s never overtly Side Show’s subject matter is an unlikely stated, it’s clearly inferred that he is gay and topic for commercial success. But it’s an plays the romance with Violet at Terry’s intriguing show with a fine musical score insistence for publicity. and a cult following. Jake, the sideshow’s only AfricanThat’s the backstory for the show’s American member, first appears as a raving satisfying amateur production by Footlight“Cannibal King.” In truth, he’s Daisy’s and ers, a community theater that performs at Violet’s protector, and Corey Tucker turns Newport’s Stained Glass Theatre, an 1882 in powerful vocal performances with the Methodist church converted into a theatriadmonitory song “Before the Devil You cal venue. Bear in mind that community Know” and his heartfelt appeal to Violet, theaters use volunteers — actors, stage“You Should Be Loved.” hands, musicians and more — and Side The production is simply staged, using Show is a challenging show to produce. Of overhead projections to convey a variety course there are limitations that result from of settings. Costumes by Tia Casey are the modest budgets and limited talent pools show’s most spectacular physical aspect. of willing if not perfect performers. But The ensemble constantly changes from Footlighters still has assembled a solid cast freaks — a bearded lady, a lizard man, a of 21 for the show, directed by Bill Geraghty, half-man half-woman and more — to a and a strong orchestra with 14 musicians, rabble of reporters to vaudeville dancconducted by Todd Florin. ers to the New York upper crust at a New Finding two actors to play the twins, litYear’s Eve party. Daisy and Violet evolve erally and metaphorically joined at the hip, from curly-haired innocents to sleek bottle requires some serious searching for a pair blondes, wearing sophisticated dresses. who are physically similar and up to the Side Show is not a typical community roles’ acting and singing demands. Just like theater production in content or execution. Daisy and Violet, they need to work together It’s an adventurous artistic choice ambieven if they’re performers used to solo tiously presented. leading roles. Katie McCarthy embodies the SIDE SHOW, presented by Footlighters, Inc. at sunny, star-struck Daisy; Helen Anneliesa Newport’s Stained Glass Theatre, continues Raymond-Goers takes on the more complex through March 4. Tickets/more info: footlighters. role of reticent, introverted Violet. With cosorg. tumes and wigs, they certainly look alike.
a&c film
Predicting This Year’s Oscar Winners and Their Place in History BY T T STERN-ENZI
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P h o t o : D av i d B o r n f r i e n d // c o u r t e s t y o f A 24
As the Academy Awards season nears its end with Sunday night’s ceremonies, I find that I have been curiously drawn to Blind Vaysha, writer-director Theodore Ushev’s Best Animated Short nominee. It perfectly encapsulates the dilemma critics and discriminating film fans face every year when preparing to make Academy Award predictions. Its succinct narrative presents the allegorical life of Vaysha, a girl born with a unique affliction. With her left eye, she sees only the past, while her right eye peers into the future. Vaysha, so the story goes, never experiences life in the present. There is more than a hint of Vaysha in those who dedicate themselves to watching as many of the nominees as possible (across as many categories as possible) and then spend hours studying drafts of their Oscar ballots. Our critical vision splits, in almost exactly the same way as Vaysha’s. Thanks to Blind Vaysha, I consciously paid more attention to this dual perception than I have previously: What will hold up in the future? What will live up to the past? It all began with memories of my first encounters with this year’s Best Picture nominees. Five years from now, I very likely will remember that Manchester By the Sea was the first film I saw at the Toronto International Film Festival, mainly because it had an immediate and lasting impression on me, overshadowing every screening that followed. Every single film I saw from that point on ended up going head-to-head with Manchester. Only one film came close to unseating it as my festival best, and that film — Moonlight — emerged, by year’s end, as my favorite film of the year. Yet the inevitable Best Picture winner will not be either of these films; that honor will fall to La La Land, a film that, while I thoroughly enjoyed its craft and storytelling, didn’t earn a spot on my Top Ten of 2016. Observing its universally triumphant run through the primary-like early awards season on its way to what will likely amount to a huge Electoral College win at the Academy Awards, I have to admit that I cannot see it through any relevant present lens. You could say that, with my left eye, I seek to compare it to recent Best Picture winners. How does it stack up alongside Spotlight, Birdman, 12 Years a Slave, Argo and The Artist? Three of those films benefitted from the historic circumstances of their subject
Trevante Rhodes (left) and André Holland in Moonlight, this critic’s favorite film of the year. matter, while the other two (Birdman and The Artist) share a similar artistic focus with La La Land that would at least land the musical in good and welcome company. But part of this exercise involves how quickly one is able to accurately recall past winners of the top prize. Will we look back on La La Land as a true and worthy expressionistic landmark in cinema? Again, this notion returns me to Blind Vaysha and the trouble of trying to simultaneously reconcile how a film relates to previous winners and how it might be seen in the future. I cannot say that I will at some point in the future see and remember La La Land as a Best Picture winner. Certainly not in the same way that I can still say with certainty that I know both The Godfather and The Godfather, Part II were winners of the top prize. Or that I know 1980’s Raging Bull wrongly didn’t win it, despite the fact that it is referenced today more than winner Ordinary People and is considered a signature statement from its director, Martin Scorsese.
No Country for Old Men, the 2007 winner, is an achievement that will be talked about ages from now. But 2004’s Crash will continue to get kicked around as a lousy winner, whereas Brokeback Mountain is the one from that year that we all know should have been Best Picture. Fortunately, not all 2016 Oscar predictions create such a conundrum for me. When I look at the Supporting Actor and Actress categories, Mahershala Ali (Moonlight) and Viola Davis (Fences) unify my conceptions of the best performances. The inevitable win by Davis will even go a huge step further by solidifying her status as a historic figure. Thanks to this third nomination — following one for Best Actress (The Help) and an earlier Best Supporting Actress (Doubt) — Davis stands as the most-nominated African-American actress. The lead acting categories will possibly shine brightly on a pair of relatively fresh faces — Emma Stone (La La Land) and Casey Affleck (Manchester By the Sea), both nominated previously in supporting categories and facing tough fights to
claim their first Oscar wins. While I hold Natalie Portman’s work in Jackie in higher regard, the perceived “dark horse” in the Best Actress category is none other than first-time nominee but veteran French actress Isabelle Huppert (Elle). Affleck’s chief rival appears to be the two-time Oscar-winner and seven-time nominee Denzel Washington for Fences. What a fascinating turn of events it would be if Huppert and Washington — performers who, in Blind Vaysha’s framework, would by now represent cinema’s past as much as its future — snuck in and stole these honors right out from under the decidedly current faces of Hollywood. I’ll be able to know at the end of Sunday night, when the top prize is announced. Then and only then does the present, as far as the Oscars are concerned, take center stage for all to see. The 89th ACADEMY AWARDS ceremony begins at 8:30 p.m. Sunday on ABC; red carpet arrivals start at 7 p.m.
a&c television
‘Legion’ Is a Psychedelic, Psychiatric Romp BY JAC KERN
Employing an unreliable narrator is a memories, hallucinations and unexplained popular technique in TV and film, especially events, resulting in a visual hodge-podge lately — think Rami Malek’s Elliot in Mr. of 1960s mod, ’70s polyester, dated and Robot or Emily Blunt’s Rachel in The Girl contemporary tech, futuristic utilitarianism on the Train. Showrunner Noah Hawley and an otherworldly terrain. It’s almost as puts his stamp on this device in his psycheif someone in 1967 was asked to envision delic, psychiatric romp through the X-Men what 2017 will look like. universe, Legion (10 p.m. Wednesdays, FX). While I’m still figuring out the basics of Legion is the mutant alter ego of David this warped and wacky narrative, I’m enjoyHaller (Dan Stevens, Downton Abbey), who ing getting lost in Hawley’s world. audiences meet here as a 30-something struggling with schizophrenia. Taking place prior to his X-Men days — before Black-ish (9:30 p.m. Wednesday, ABC) David even fully understands his abilities or – Once bored with jury duty, Dre finds their origins — Legion’s narrative unfolds renewed interest upon discovering the through a kaleidoscopic point of view. What defendant is a young black man. is real life, as opposed to a memory or halFilm Independent Spirit Awards (5 lucination or illness, and what is a superp.m. Saturday, IFC) – Nick Kroll and John power are all very much unclear to David… and to the audience, resulting in a puzzling collage that feels at once retro and futuristic. Not an X-Men buff or even into comics? No problem. Legion is truly a one-of-akind adaptation that’s basically Marvel-adjacent, also drawing inspiration from other media. Hawley himself expressed little interest in nailing down specifics from the comics, which thus far has worked to the show’s benefit. Those who know L-R: Legion’s Dan Stevens, Rachel Keller and Aubrey Plaza the character’s backstory PHOTO : Chris l arge/f x will understand why he is so significant to the X-Men universe, but don’t expect Mulaney — whose Kroll Show sketch “Oh, that revelation early on in the series. Hello” went to Broadway last year — host Stevens gives a solid performance as the show devoted to independent movies David in his many states of mind, and the and their makers. Think of it as the hipster supporting cast sours with each passing Oscars. episode. David’s love interest Syd (Rachel Keller) is enchanting but tough with a 89th Academy Awards (8:30 p.m. Sunday, Freaky Friday-style superpower. Fans ABC) – Jimmy Kimmel hosts movie’s biggest of the Fargo TV show (Hawley’s other FX night for the first time (he warmed up last drama) might be happy to see Keller in a September as host of the Emmys). It’s the more central role here. Another Fargo alum, most racially diverse group of nominees Jean Smart, serves as mutant matriarch Dr. after the #OscarsSoWhite controversy; Bird at Summerland, a magical place for nevertheless, the decidedly very white La misfits where David begins to understand La Land leads with 14 noms. and hone his abilities. Most surprising in When We Rise (9 p.m. Monday, ABC) the cast is Aubrey Plaza, best known as – This miniseries (which continues the lovably sardonic April in Parks and RecWednesday-Friday) marches through the reation. Here, as a seemingly gender-fluid contemporary history of LGBTQ rights. Lenny, Plaza continues to get laughs, but from a darker, more twisted place. Taboo (Season Finale, 10 p.m. Tuesday, From embarking on the complicated FX) – In the final chapter of Tom Hardy’s conversation of mental illness to the idea beautiful dark twisted fantasy (move of inclusion and how society treats “others,” over, Kanye), Delaney works to escape the Legion comes at an appropriate time. clutches of an infuriated Prince Regent. And speaking of time, when does this take place? Like much else here, it’s CONTACT JAC KERN: @jackern uncertain. David’s point of view is a mix of
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FOOD & DRINK
A Brief History of Fish Logs
An evening of tall tales and homemade tartar sauce at the Old Timber Inn BY Madge Maril
PHOTO : haile y bollinger
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night, it took a minute for us to get our food. “We’re not the fastest in the country, but we’re the best. Well, the best on the block at least,” Elmer said as he popped out to check on us while the fish cooked. You can hear it frying in the kitchen if you sit at the bar’s high top. It’s worth the wait. The fish log is a thick slice of savory cold-water Atlantic cod, fried to a perfect crisp and served with a sliced lemon. “It’s not Mill Creek fish or sewer trout, like some might say,” Elmer joked. Even splitting the whole fish log, I could only get through half of my half. I may have been too distracted by the tartar sauce, Elmer’s own recipe that is so thick it’s hard to squeeze out of the bottle. It is, no joke, the best tartar sauce I have ever had. He told me that people have been asking him for years to sell it in take-home jars, but he hasn’t yet. “Maybe I will soon,” Elmer said to me with a twinkle in his eye. It was then that I asked him the milliondollar question: Why fish logs? Without a word, he passed me the menu to the Old Timber Inn. The first page is a cheeky “brief history of the fish log.” It reads: “The earliest settlers of the New World would often hear stories from the indigenous
Old Timber Inn proprietor Elmer Ferguson makes each order of fish logs — a thick slice of fried cold-water Atlantic cod — from scratch. peoples making reference to strange creatures inhabiting the wilderness. One such account depicted a creature that resembled a large fishlike animal with an extended thorax covered with a type of ‘bark’ where one would typically find scales. These native tribes referred to the creature as ‘yoopapwa’ or ‘fish log.’ ” The menu goes on to credit lumberjacks finding this rare creature and, of course, later harvesting the creature as food. “Restaurants such as Old Timber Inn of Cincinnati, Ohio have helped bring the fish log to the attention of the general public,” it reads. The menu reflects Elmer’s attitude. He laughed and joked with us all night, showing us around the old building and explaining the history. He pointed out the authenticated 1870s photograph of American outlaw Jesse James enjoying a beer in the Old Timber Inn. He told me of the “Northside tough guys” who hung around the bar in the ’80s, showing us the very door he used to throw them out through at the end of the night if they got a little too frisky by the pool table. Elmer even told us about his plans to open up the second dining room, which
has long been closed off to the public, and start renting out the hotel rooms above the restaurant again. Elmer himself lives upstairs in one of the dozens of rooms, all redone by Elmer himself. Before I realized it, two hours had gone by and it was dark outside. When I left Elmer, now in his 80s, his regulars were playing the virtual lotto games at the bar and chatting away with him, as they have for the past almost 40 years since Elmer bought the building in 1979. If you’re like me and have always wondered what lay inside that mystical blue-gray building, go in, if not for the fish logs or the best tartar sauce in town, then for Elmer himself. When so many chain restaurants and Over-the-Rhine eateries are trying to capture a feeling of an authentic dining experience, with comfy but courant food made by real people, go get some soul food handmade from someone who can tell you the entire story of Cincinnati, fish logs and all. OLD TIMBER INN is located at 4330 Spring Grove Ave., Northside. For current hours and more information, call 513-681-8149.
C I T Y B E A T . C O M • F E B . 2 2 – 2 8 , 2 0 1 7 • 2 7
f you’ve ever driven on Spring Grove Avenue on your way to Northside, you know the Old Timber Inn. Or should I say: the fish logs place. Right. That place. The giant blue-gray building featuring a mural of a happy couple and waitress painted on the side — the one whose sign is perpetually advertising fish logs. When I drove by, I would wonder out loud with my friends what a fish log might be. Was it a giant fish stick? Some sort of vegan alternative to fish, made out of tree bark? Since I started spending time in Northside, I heard more and more rumors about the Old Timber Inn, mythologizing the place into an urban legend. I’ll admit: I was both nervous and excited to finally get to the bottom of what may be one of the most unique eateries in Cincinnati. Walking in, I was greeted by Elmer Ferguson, the owner of the Old Timber Inn. He was sitting at his bar, watching Fox News. I think I was more surprised to see him than he was to see me. “Well, you want to eat?” he asked me. And that was that. He didn’t have to give me a menu — Elmer (who’s on a first-name basis with every guest who walks in the joint) knew why I was there, of course. Any newcomer off the street was obviously in for the fish logs. Most of the diners who trickled in and out that evening were old buddies of Elmer’s, regulars that plopped down at the bar and just ordered water. “I’m on a diet, no alcohol,” one of them told me as we sat together, watching Trump give a speech about Russia. “Thirty pounds in 30 days.” “I get so busy around Lent; everyone’s eating fish. This place will be full,” Elmer said as he prepared a vodka soda for my boyfriend and a water with two lemons for myself (his own personal touch). “Don’t get too hip on that,” he said to my boyfriend as he placed the vodka soda down. “That’s mostly vodka.” I had a sip. It was. We ordered a whole fish log ($13.95) to share, though there’s always an option to order a half fish log ($9.25) if you aren’t feeling up to what might be the best deal around. For just $13.95, the whole fish log is served with your choice of classic sides like coleslaw, macaroni and cheese or mashed potatoes and bread and butter. Elmer recommended we try the macaroni and the hot slaw, his specialty Southern treat of vinegary shredded cabbage served with crispy bacon bits. Because Elmer makes everything fresh himself, and was the only one there that
F&D WHAT’s THE HOPS
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Last week, Cincy got another craft brewery — Brink Brewing Co., College Hill’s first — but at the end of the month, the city will lose one when Ei8ht Ball inside Northern Kentucky’s Party Source pours its beers for the final time. To celebrate our long-standing brewing heritage and its ebbs and flows, the 25th anniversary of the world’s largest bock festival, Bockfest, takes place March 3-5 at various venues in Over-the-Rhine, including the main Bockfest Hall at the Christian Moerlein Malt House Taproom. The fest begins with a drunken and debaucherous goat- and keg-led parade on March 3, and the rest of the weekend entails sausage dinners, a fish fry, Sunday brunch with a bloody mary bar, a Billygoat Ball, live music, beer tours, the crowning of the genderneutral Sausage Queen and Arnold’s annual bock beer tappings. Find a full listing of events at bockfest.com.
commemorate the occasion, they brewed a German chocolate cake barrel stout in collaboration with the Greater Cincinnati Craft Beer Society called GCCBSX2. That beer and other special brews, plus barbecue, live music and tours, will be part of the festivities. • Fat Tuesday and a new, wild Urban Artifact beer collide during the Tuesday evening release of St. Anthony’s Quad, a beer brewed with wild yeast collected from the grounds of Saint Anthony’s Shrine in Mount Airy. The brewery worked with Saint Anthony’s
New Beers • Homebrewer Michael The 25th-annual Bockfest descends on Cincinnati March 3-5. Roller won Rhinegeist’s P H O T O : s t e v e n h a m pto n / B r e w e r y D i s t r i c t C U RC third-annual Homie Homebrew Competition with his friars to create the beer, which spent 10 Belgian dubbel. Rhinegeist describes the months aging in red barrels. The beer will be brew as having flavors like bubblegum, released in bottles and on draft and will be raisin and plum. It is available on draft in the accompanied by live Jazz at the taproom. taproom and in bombers. • On March 2, Rhinegeist hosts its second• Braxton is replacing its core Crank annual ProKids fundaiser for the local nonShaft IPA with a new formula and a new profit that advocates for children’s interests. name: Revamp. This IPA will have more of a The event will feature live music, Eli’s BBQ tropical taste. The cans will be released on and specialty brews. March 10, and it will be available on draft in • It’s Girl Scout cookie season! On March 2, Braxton’s taproom shortly before that. Woodburn Brewery will pair its Chocolate • Bad Tom’s new beer is called Doc’s Dark Mint Imperial Stout with Thin Mints and Cream Ale. Similar to a Kentucky Common, other Girl Scout treats. And on March 5, East it contains a “hefty amount of corn and rye.” End brewery Streetside will host a Girl Scout The brewery also added acidulated malt to cookie-inspired tasting in collaboration with give it a bit of tartness. It’s available on draft bakery The Jaded Fork. Different cookies at their taproom. will be paired with Streetside’s beers. • Last week, Moerlein launched soccer • March 8 is not only International Wombeer FC Cincinnati, a blood orange IPA. The en’s Day, but it’s also the day Listermann will beer is available in 16-ounce cans and on release Hibiscus Rose Hipped Saison, an draft at the taproom and the restaurant. homage to Rosie the Riveter. The release • Fifty West unveiled the latest iteration party will feature live music from Coconut of its popular Coffee Please! beer, made with Milk, food trucks and a raffle. A portion of coffee beans from Madeira’s Coffee Please. proceeds will go to support the nonprofit Chocolate Churro Coffee Please! is available Women Helping Women. on nitro only at Fifty West’s taproom. If you • On March 11, Bellevue’s Darkness do not like nitro — and, believe it or not, a lot Brewing teams up with neighboring bakery of people do not — then you will not be able Mama C’s Buttercream & Sprinkles for a to enjoy this delicious new beer. cupcake and beer pairing brunch, starting at 11 a.m. The cupcakes will be served with four of Darkness’ beers. For $16, you get four • Morrow brewery Cellar Dweller cupcakes, four 5-ounce pours and a full pint celebrates five years on Saturday. To of beer. ©
Events
F&D classes & events Most classes and events require registration; classes frequently sell out.
WEDNESDAY 22
Flavors for the Whole Family with Paul Barraco — A parent and teen class. Learn to make braised bacon wedge salad, pulled pork with collard green waffles and homemade whoopee pies. 6:30-9 p.m. $75. Cooks’Wares, 11344 Montgomery Road, Harper’s Point, cookswaresonline.com.
Slow Food Cincinnati Dinner — Streetside and Tela Bar + Kitchen bring a fourcourse beer dinner to the brewery to benefit Slow Food Cincinnati, a nonprofit that supports sustainable food initiatives. 6:30-8:30 p.m. $20 Slow Food Cincinnati members; $25 general admission. Streetside Brewery, 4003 Eastern Ave., East End, facebook. com/slowfoodcincy.
THURSDAY 23
Southern-Fried Soul Food — Get out the cast-iron skillet and learn to fry up chicken, paired with cole slaw and collared greens. BYOB. 6:30-7:30 p.m. $35. Artichoke OTR, 1824 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, 513-2631002, artichokeotr.com. Mediterranean Flavors with Hector Esteve — Learn to make Hector’s special black paella, with seafood fiduea and limoncello. 6:30-9 p.m. $50. Cooks’Wares, 11344 Montgomery Road, Harper’s Point, cookswaresonline.com. An Italian Peppercorn Steak Dinner — Indulgent green peppercorn sauce complements tender steak and bright green broccoli rabe. Hands-on class. 6-8:30 p.m. $75. Jungle Jim’s, 5440 Dixie Highway, Fairfield, junglejims.com. The Art Of Food — The 11th-annual Art of Food celebrates all things 1950s. Culinary artists test their skills by creating recipes that celebrate the quintessential Atomic Age Joy of Cooking and TV dinners. 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday. $75-$100 Thursday; $35-$50 Friday. The Carnegie, 1028 Scott Blvd., Covington, Ky., thecarnegie.com.
FRIDAY 24
Precipitation Retaliation Happy Hour — Bockfest’s tradition of burning a snowman in effigy continues. Watch this year’s victim burn and toast to a beautiful Bockfest weekend at Milton’s. 5:30-10 p.m. Free admission. Milton’s Tavern, 301 Milton St., Prospect Hill, bockfest.com. Cold Nights & Warm Spirits at Ault Park — An evening of whiskey, music and
Fuge Friday at Fibonacci — Spin the centrifuge to try and win free glassware, $1 off pints or a chance to buy someone a drink. Science and beer, together at last. 4-10 p.m. Free admission. Fibonnaci Brewing, 1445 Compton Road, Mount Healthy, facebook.com/fibonaccibrewing.
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Taft’s Tuesdays & Tots — Every Tuesday from now until March 7, if you visit Taft’s Ale House and purchase a beer, you’ll receive a free basket of tots. One free basket, so control yourself. Through March 7. Taft’s Ale House, 1429 Race St., Over-theRhine, facebook.com/taftsalehouse. Burger Night at Nine Giant — For $13, get a grass-fed burger with weekly rotating toppings. Or for $20, make it a combo and get a burger, fries and beer. 4-9 p.m. $13$20. Nine Giant, 6095 Montgomery Road, Pleasant Ridge, facebook.com/ninegiant.
Expires03/22/17 3/10/16 Expires
350 Ludlow • 513-281-7000
Taste the Streetcar Tour — Travel from OTR through the Central Business District to The Banks on the 3.6-mile streetcar loop. Step on and off four times and take a short walk to popular restaurants and bars. 1 p.m. $50. Leaves from Daisy Mae’s Market, 1801 Race St., Over-the-Rhine, cincinnatifoodtours.com.
Mardi Gras at BrewRiver — Celebrate in style with Hurricanes, Sazeracs, beads, masks, king cake, king cake beer (a collaboration with Woodburn Brewery) and flavorful Creole dishes. 5-9 p.m. Free admission. BrewRiver GastroPub, 2062 Riverside Drive, East End, brewrivergastropub.com.
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Fastnacht Celebration — Celebrate Fat Tuesday with the German American Citizens League. Features music by Alpen Echos and prizes for best costumes. 6-11 p.m. Free admission. Hofbräuhaus, 200 E. Third St., Newport, Ky., gacl.org.
Only 2 Coupons Per Party, Per Table
Expires03/22/17 3/10/16 Expires
Wander Walnut Hills — Learn the history of Walnut Hills on a walking tour that includes stops at four or more local establishments. 1:30 p.m. $45. Leaves from Daisy Mae’s Market, 1801 Race St., Overthe-Rhine, cincinnatifoodtours.com.
TUESDAY 28
2nd Lunch Entree
$5 Off 2nd Carryout Entree Good Only at Ambar India
SATURDAY 25
Czech-Slovak Ethnic Dinner — The American Czechoslovakian Club hosts a dinner with music, traditional dance and authentic eats, including chicken paprika, Polish bigos and pastries. 6-7:30 p.m. $14. American Czechoslovakian Club, 922 Valley St., Dayton, Ohio, accdayton.com.
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C I T Y B E A T . C O M • F E B . 2 2 – 2 8 , 2 0 1 7 • 2 9
MainStrasse Mardi Gras — The weekend features a grand parade, live music, a Hurricane drink contest and more. Friday and Saturday. Free admission. MainStrasse Village, Main Street, Covington, Ky., mainstrasse.org.
cigars. Each ticket includes seven tastings from more than 40 American, Canadian, Irish and Scotch whiskey brands. 6:30-10 p.m. $30 presale; $40. 5090 Observatory Circle, Hyde Park, aultparkac.org.
music
Notorious Big
Big Gigantic preaches the gospel of hope, love, charity and dance with Brighter Future BY BRIAN BAKER
P H O T O : j a s o n s i eg e l
3 0 • C I T Y B E A T . C O M • F E B . 2 2 – 2 8 , 2 0 1 7
I
n the current sociopolitical climate of discord and dread, it’s a challenge to remain upbeat. Against all odds, EDM/ Synth Pop/Soul duo Big Gigantic is striving to steer its fans away from despair and back toward the light of hopefulness. The twosome’s message is blazingly apparent in the title of its latest album, last year’s Brighter Future. “Everything is so crazy right now, we’re trying to do what we can. We’re just trying to stay positive and spread the love,” drummer Jeremy Salken says. “With everything going on in the world and the country, everyone’s divided, and with the election, it’s even more relevant. We’re just hoping people can find some peace and understanding within themselves and that we can figure out a way to get everyone on the same page — which seems almost impossible at this point — but we’re trying to stay positive. If everybody does that, that positivity is contagious and hopefully will spread.” That feeling starts with Big Gigantic’s infectious soundtrack, a brilliant mix of contemporary Electronic pulse, ’60s Soul bounce and ’70s Funk thump that grooves at a molecular level. Like a perfect gumbo, the distinct sonic flavor that Boulder, Col.-based Big Gigantic has cooked up over its half-dozen fulllength and EP releases (all available for free at biggigantic.net) is sourced from a variety of influences but takes on its singular form through the creative filters of Salken and multi-instrumentalist Dominic Lalli. “Man, that’s really tough,” Salken says when asked about the duo’s direct influences. “We both kind of have Jazz backgrounds, so Herbie Hancock has always been an influence, synth-wise and in forms, but literally we’re drawing on everything. Dom listens to a ton of Classical music, so who knows where it comes from? It’s hard to pinpoint the inspiration, it’s such a conglomeration of all these different things.” The big difference between Brighter Future and the rest of Big Gigantic’s catalog to date is the presence of vocals on the new album, provided by a variety of hyper-talented featured artists including GRiZ, Naaz, Logic & Rozes, Cherub and Waka Flocka Flame, who took the opportunity to address his recent marital woes on the track “Highly Possible.” “This is the first album where all the tracks have vocals, and we’re super psyched about that. It was really fun to work with all the different folks who are on the album,” Salken says. “Originally, the tunes started as instrumentals and then it was like, ‘Who can we find to do this or that and make it
Big Gigantic continues its ongoing practice of raising money for charity on its current tour. work right?’ It was a fun journey figuring that out. We found some of them through our manager, some of it was through the scene or old friends. “(Trey Anastasio Band members) Jennifer Hartswick and Natalie Cressman are friends of ours that we’ve played with a million times,” he continues. “They’re talented trombone and trumpet players and they can both sing, so that was easy. They were in town and Dom was like, ‘Hey, why don’t you come over and record some stuff?’ We had seen Waka Flocka at a bunch of festivals and became like homies, and then Dom had this track and he was like, ‘Dude, I think you could spit over this Hip Hop track, and get back to your roots a little bit,’ which is different from what he’s been doing, and that lined up with what was going on with him and his wife, and he essentially rapped about her. It was just really cool.” Given the schedules of everyone involved on the vocal end, it’s difficult to facilitate guest appearances on the road, so Big Gigantic relies on the recorded vocals in a live setting. Brighter Future dropped last summer and the duo has already been out on the road with the new album. But if you witnessed Big Gigantic’s largely sold-out tour last fall, rest assured that the
latest circuit offers a new experience. “We have a brand-new light rig that we took out for this tour,” Salken says. “We had our first show in Charleston last night and it was crazy, super fun. There’s a ton of new music we’re playing. We have a track with (EDM artist) Snails that we’ve been playing, there’s a bunch of remixes out there of some of the Brighter Future tracks that we’re throwing in and Dom’s mixing the set up. Of course, we’re playing a bunch of the stuff from the album, but we’re trying to mix the sets up each night and keep it fresh for us and for the kids. It won’t be the same show you would have seen three or four months ago.” From Big Gigantic’s start nearly a decade ago, charitable outreach has been almost as important to the duo as making music. The pair met when Salken, also a graphic designer, was doing work for Lalli’s band Motet and they became friends and eventually roommates. Lalli acquired a computer and began crafting beats, which sparked the formation of Big Gigantic. The project’s genesis was quickly followed by the musicians’ association with Boulder-based hunger-fighting charity Conscious Alliance. Last year, the pair decided to diversify
their fundraising efforts by starting their own organization, A Big Gigantic Difference Foundation, directing funds to a range of charities. On last fall’s leg of the Brighter Future tour, Big Gigantic chose a different local charity in each city it played to receive a show-generated donation. This time out, the duo is funneling a dollar from each ticket directly into its foundation with the intent of collecting a large sum by the end of the tour in order to pursue a larger overall goal. “Last tour went really well and we were super psyched about it, but this tour, we’re going to do a larger project, either over (the course of) the tour or over the year,” Salken says. “We’re going to try to directly effect people or kids in some way, rather than just, ‘Oh, we raised $800 or $1,000 and we’re going to donate it to a local charity.’ We’re seeing what’s going on in the world and how things are changing, and if there are different causes, we can help out as more and more comes to light with what’s going on. There’s so much craziness, we’re just trying to focus it in the right direction to see if we can do something really cool.” BIG GIGANTIC performs Thursday at Bogart’s. Tickets/more info: bogarts.com.
music spill it
Singles Going Steady BY MIKE BREEN
February Local Music Playlist at citybeat.com
1345 main st motrpub.com
BY mike breen
Donating the Chicken Scratch If it seemed weird to hear a song that Classic Rock icon Grace Slick sang on used in a Chick-fil-A commercial (even if it is “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now,” a grating Pop tune by distant Jefferson Airplane offshoot Starship), the singer herself is in your corner. In an op-ed for Forbes, Slick revealed that the company — which has notoriously been connected to anti-gay marriage efforts — “pisses (her) off,” but she allowed the song to be used in order to “spend the cash in direct opposition to ‘Check’-fil-A’s causes.” Slick said she is donating all of her money from the commercial to Lambda Legal, which fights for the rights of those in the LGBTQ community.
wed 22
suck the honey
thu 23
vibrant troubadours cougar ace
fri 24
mr. phylzzz the erers (detroit)
sat 25
ne-hi (chicago) cross country
sun 26
future science: sketch comedy
mon 27
salty candy, abiyah
tue 28
writer’s night w/ lucas word of mouth: open poetry
free live music now open for lunch
It CAN Get Worse! If you think it’s awful that an unhinged businessman/reality TV star is the president, brace yourself — it might get worse! After it was reported that Kid Rock was being courted to run as a Republican for senator in his home state of Michigan, a more experienced right-wing loony rocker — fellow Michigan native Ted Nugent — hinted that he may also run for office in the state. Nugent said he wants to remove the “embarrassing high-crime (Democrat) smudges in the state.” From Laughter to Tears In a single day, celebrity gossip sites did an entire tonal 360 in its coverage of one-time Pop idol David Cassidy. After posting clips from a performance by Cassidy that showed the singer having trouble keeping his balance and slurring his speech, many of the tabloids insinuated that he was drunk and reminded everyone of his DUI arrests over the past decade. The ridicule subsided instantly when — hours after the performance — Cassidy revealed that he was suffering from dementia. Perhaps to give truly awful people something to do between social-media trolling fits, TMZ kindly reran the concert video footage with its update story about Cassidy’s condition.
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3/19
mac sabbath
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C I T Y B E A T . C O M • F E B . 2 2 – 2 8 , 2 0 1 7 • 3 1
• Last week, Northern Kentucky singer/ bubbling rhythmic bounce and swagger songwriter Wonky Tonk (aka Jasmine provided by the rhythm section of Brian Poole) celebrated the release of a vinyl Driscoll (bass) and Steve Hennessy (drums), 7-inch titled Love Detox. Issued by Brooklyn, singer/guitarist Pat Hennessy and guitarist N.Y.’s Leesta Vall Sound Recordings (leesBrendan Bogosian provide extra sparks tavall.com), the release features just two with their Television-like six-string tango. tracks, but they show the breadth of Wonky For more info, go to facebook.com/ Tonk’s unique gifts and her ability to jump thetigerliliesusa. off from a traditional “Country music” base and take the listener into new and unexpected territory. “Peter Pan from Brooklyn” is an ominous, sweeping dirge laced with Last month, CityBeat launched a new ghostly back-up vocals, crackling, displaylist feature showcasing music from torted guitars and storm-like atmospherics, some of the new releases by Greater Cincinwhile “Four Letter Word” is a more direct and minimal acoustic-andstrings tune. But both songs bleed emotion and showcase Poole’s amazingly charismatic songwriting style. Poole was assisted with the recordings by an impressive array of area musicians, including Kate Wakefield, Kristen Kreft, Brian Olive, Dead Man String Band and Paul Patterson. Visit wonkytonkmusic. com for more info. • Another impressively talented and original area singer/songwriter who Wonky Tonk’s new two-song release, Love Detox. performs under a pseudPHOTO : provided onym, JSPH (aka Joseph Nevels), has released another nati artists to come out each month. Visit stellar single that showcases his progresthe music section of citybeat.com to listen sive, modern slant on Soul music. “lifeLESS” to the February installment. — which was premiered in early FebruThis month’s playlist has music written ary at youknowigotsoul.com — features about in Spill It over the past four weeks, JSPH’s warmly intense vocals and seduclike a pair of tracks from Jade, the latest tive melodies wrapped around a throbbing, album by (mostly) instrumental Progressparse beat and augmented by synth stabs sive Rock crew Peridoni, a couple of songs in the chorus. JSPH has scored some muchfrom rockers Injecting Strangers’ likely deserved national attention, like airplay on final EP, Dyin’ to Be Born, and “Living Pharrell’s show on Beats 1 Radio and the On Top,” the title track from Brian Olive’s inclusion of “lifeLESS” on Spotify’s “Weekly forthcoming full-length that CityBeat Buzz” playlist, and the strength of this latest premiered earlier in February. The playlist single suggests that spotlight will shine also includes other tracks that caught our even more brightly on him moving forward. attention this month, including excellent For more on JSPH, visit jsphnvls.com. songs by Brandon Coleman Quartet, • Cincinnati legends The Tigerlilies have Softspoken, Break Up Lines, Clinton scored positive notices for their new 7-inch Jacob, Wolfcryer (whose “Facing Down single for North Carolina-based Sir Gregory the American Dream” is a benefit release Records, which features the songs “Lovers for DCCH Center for Children and FamiDu” and “Shipwrecked.” The tracks were lies), Strange Creature (which celebrates recorded last year in the downtown space its new Get Strange album with a release that once housed the historic Herzog studio, party Friday at Northside Tavern) and local where Hank Williams recorded American Jazz duo Brad Myers & Michael Sharfe, standards like “I’m So Lonesome I Could whose new album, Sanguinaria (HopefulCry” (among other classics). The quartet song), will be celebrated with release gigs sounds as great as it ever has on the single in March (check this space for more on the — “Shipwrecked” in particular ranks with full-length in a forthcoming issue). some of the best songs in The Tigerlilies’ illustrious catalog of hyper-melodic, Punk/ CONTACT MIKE BREEN: mbreen@citybeat.com Glam Rock/Post Punk-inspired gems. With
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2/22 lily & madeleine, jane decker; joe macheret - feB artist in residence w/ casey campBell, the tillers 2/23 frontier ruckus; cash o’ riley 2/24 jack ingram, elise davis; joe & vicki price 2/25 Bedford & co. , greg finger; maddy rose Band, the nantzlane Band, cevin west Band; oso Bear / cowgirl reunion show 2/26 farmer jason; Bloody mary sunday; jason ringenBerg (of jason & the scorchers) solo 3/2 the cold hard cash show; this way to the egress, ford theatre reunion; nathan kalish
12/30 the medicine men
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Frontier Ruckus Thursday • Southgate House Revival As has often been noted, much of today’s commercially successful Country music seems to simply be Pop music with the light addition of fiddle, banjo or some other instrument so crucially tied to the genre. It seems like as soon as those elements were stripped from, say, Taylor Swift’s music, she was instantly moved from the “Country” to the “Pop” queue. Though far less calculated, that intersection is similar to the crossroads where Detroit band Frontier Ruckus lives. Often called a “Folk Rock” act, at its essence, Frontier Ruckus’ fantastic, melody-rich songs and general aura have more in common with Indie Pop/Rock bands like Beulah, Death Cab for Cutie, Neutral Milk Hotel, Bright Eyes or The Apples in Stereo than, say, Steve Earle or The Lumineers. The priFrontier Ruckus mary difference is PHOTO : Elise Mesner that Frontier Ruckus’ music prominently features violin and banjo. Not that there aren’t moments of organic twang or hints of Folk in the band’s approach. On its latest (and finest) album, the justreleased Enter the Kingdom (produced Ne-Hi by Ken Coomer, PHOTO : Provided former drummer for Wilco, a band that most gracefully balanced on the lines between Roots music and Pop, Prog and other styles), there are guitar and pedal-steel leads that are clearly derived from traditional Country influences, and it’s not difficult to see how one might jump to the “Folk” conclusion when hearing the beautiful harmonies between frontperson/songwriter Matthew Milia and bassist Anna Burch laid out over stark acoustic guitar strumming. But it is done so imaginatively — and there’s so much else going on throughout the album and within each track — it almost seems a disservice to label it simply “Folk Rock,” lest it scare away potential listeners. With its emotionally resonating lyrics (revolving around the everyday challenges of Milia’s upbringing), the varied instrumentation and the lush, layered arrangements of the various string-laden tracks, Enter the Kingdom is an incredibly
dynamic piece of music that deserves to be heard by as many people as possible. Call it Folk music for Indie Rock fans or Indie Rock for Americana fans — beneath it all, it’s simply one of the best albums to come out in this young year. (Mike Breen) Ne-Hi with Cross Country Saturday • MOTR Pub “Offers,” the title song on Ne-Hi’s freshly minted second album, is a brief, slowburn Psych rocker heavy on atmosphere and light on words (20, to be exact). It’s a curious left turn for a band known for the jangly, upbeat approach present in songs like the album’s opener, “Palm of Hand,” which brings to mind early R.E.M. fronted by Buzzcocks’ Pete Shelley instead of a mumble-mouthed Michael Stipe. Ne-Hi frontman Jason Balla’s high whine of a voice punches through his own guitar lines and that of his fellow guitarist Mikey Wells, a combination that powered Ne-Hi’s stellar self-titled debut and continues here. But it’s the deft rhythm section (drummer Alex Otake and bassist James Weir) on rousing burners like “Prove,” from the new album, that is the icing on Ne-Hi’s cake. The quartet was nurtured in the same Chicago scene that gave us Twin Peaks, a likeminded outfit that melds ’60s British Invasion with Indie staples like Guided by Voices and The Clean. And while Ne-Hi admits to such touchstones, it doesn’t have a set agenda before embarking on a new album — the songs arrive organically and then get tweaked from there. “We have pretty much the same writing process as before, but with this record, the songs are more thoughtful,” Otake said of Offers in an interview with Paste last year. “We’ll still write it in a very visceral way. Some of our favorite songs (from) the new batch of songs are ones where we were jamming, and it sort of came out of (that). But then (we put) more thought into arrangements and having an identity for each song and stuff like that.” (Jason Gargano)
p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively, and it will definitely be fun for… well, you know. (Brian Baker)
FUTURE SOUNDS SHOVELS & ROPE – March 1, Madison Theater WHITECHAPEL – March 2, Bogart’s MAROON 5 – March 3, U.S. Bank Arena COREY SMITH – March 3, Bogart’s ST. PAUL & THE BROKEN BONES – March 3, Madison Theater JOSEPH – March 4, 20th Century Theater AGENT ORANGE/GUTTERMOUTH/THE QUEERS – March 5, Southgate House Revival SAD13 – March 7, Woodward Theater
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JOHNNYSWIM – March 9, Bogart’s NORAH JONES – March 16, Taft Theatre WHY? – March 16, Woodward Theater BLUE OCTOBER – March 18, Bogart’s THE REVIVALISTS – March 21, Madison Theater COLD WAR KIDS – March 24, Madison Theater CHUCK PROPHET & THE MISSION EXPRESS – March 24, Southgate House Revival ANDREW MCMAHON IN THE WILDERNESS – March 28, Bogart’s HAYSEED DIXIE – March 30, Southgate House Revival 20th Century Theater
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LOCAL NATIVES – April 3, Madison Theater NEW FOUND GLORY – April 7, Bogart’s SON VOLT – April 14, Southgate House Revival THURSDAY – April 22, Bogart’s ERIC CHURCH – April 22, U.S. Bank Arena HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF – April 24, Woodward Theater MAYDAY PARADE – April 26, Bogart’s THE DAMNED – April 27, Bogart’s TESTAMENT – April 29, Bogart’s BLACK ANGELS – May 9, Woodward Theater RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS – May 19, U.S. Bank Arena THE BLASTERS – May 24, Southgate House Revival CITY AND COLOUR – May 27, Bogart’s FUTURE – May 31, Riverbend Music Center THE WEEKND – June 9, U.S. Bank Arena TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS – Jun. 12, U.S. Bank Arena TRAIN/O.A.R./NATASHA BEDINGFIELD – June 27, Riverbend Music Center FOREIGNER/CHEAP TRICK – Aug. 8, Riverbend Music Center GREEN DAY – Aug. 20, Riverbend Music Center TIM MCGRAW/FAITH HILL – Sept. 2, U.S. Bank Arena
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C I T Y B E A T . C O M • F E B . 2 2 – 2 8 , 2 0 1 7 • 3 3
Jason Ringenberg/Farmer Jason Sunday • Southgate House Revival When events are advertised as “fun for the whole family,” that typically means they are considerably more enjoyable for the shorter members of the clan and at least tolerable for the taller ones. When a Jason Ringenberg appearance is the event, you can believe the hype. When Ringenberg isn’t out front with Jason and The Scorchers — the Roots Rock titans are still going strong 35 years on — he operates under a pair of musical personas, as a powerful and passionate solo act and as a brilliant singer of original children’s songs under the banner of Farmer Jason. And like Santa Claus’s annual fly-by, both are coming to town. Ringenberg’s solo career grew out of the natural gaps that occurred in The Scorchers’ long history, first with the slickly recorded One Foot in the Honky Tonk in 1992, and then with the selfreleased and infinitely more authentic A Pocketful of Soul in 2000, followed by his duets album, 2002’s All Over Creation. With those records, Ringenberg established his solo Folk/Country/Rock identity, which, in Jason Ringenberg all honesty, didn’t P H O T O : g r eg r oth depart significantly from his role in The Scorchers; he stomped when he felt like stomping, and he broke hearts when he felt achier and breakier than Billy Ray Cyrus ever imagined. Nearly a decade and a half ago, Ringenberg concocted a new creative outlet for himself as Farmer Jason, a troubadour for children who sings silly songs that are just as authentically conceived and executed as his adult songs while being relatable to a younger, smaller demographic. Over the past 14 years, Ringenberg has released four Farmer Jason albums, 2003’s A Day at the Farm, 2006’s Rockin’ in the Forest, 2012’s Nature Jams and 2014’s Christmas on the Farm. In that time, he has also released another solo album, 2004’s excellent Empire Builders, and a jaw-dropping career retrospective, 2008’s Best Tracks and Side Tracks. For a fairly long time, Ringenberg has been doing double duty on the road, arriving early to do an afternoon Farmer Jason appearance for his newer fans and hanging around for a standard stellar solo show in the evening. His latest local tandem shows will both be happening at Newport’s Southgate House Revival at 2
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 22
Blind Lemon - Sara Hutchinson. 8 p.m. Acoustic. Free.
Bromwell’s Härth Lounge - Phil
DeGreg. 6 p.m. Jazz. Free.
The Comet - Resistance is Fertitile: Standing Rock H Benefit featuring Heavy Hinges,
The Lovers, Jennifer Simone and Rose Hip. 9 p.m. Various. $5 (suggested donation).
Knotty Pine - Dallas Moore and Lucky Chucky. 10 p.m. Country. Free. The Liberty Inn - Stagger Lee. 6:30 p.m. Country/Rock. Free. Miller’s Fill Inn - Karaoke with A
Mystical Sound Sensation DJ Rob. 9 p.m. Various. Free.
MOTR Pub - Suck the Honey.
H Northside Yacht Club Ripped Genes, J Burroughs H and Pills. 10 p.m. Indie Rock/ 9 p.m. Rock. Free.
Various. Free.
Pit to Plate - Bluegrass Night
with Vernon McIntyre’s Appalachian Grass. 7 p.m. Bluegrass. $2.
Silverton Café - Bob Cushing. 8
p.m. Acoustic. Free.
Southgate House Revival (Lounge) - Joe Macheret, Casey
Campbell and The Tillers. 9:30 p.m. Folk/Americana/Roots. Free.
Southgate House Revival (Revival Room) - Lily &
H Madeleine. 8 p.m. Alt/Pop/Various. $12, $15 day of show.
Thompson House - Stephanie
Brite with It Lives, It Breathes, Big Tim Kellams and The World I Knew. 8 p.m. Dance/Pop/Rap/Rock/ Various. $10.
Trinity Gastro Pub - Tana Matz. 7
p.m. Acoustic. Free.
Urban Artifact - Blue Wisp
3 4 • C I T Y B E A T . C O M • F E B . 2 2 – 2 8 , 2 0 1 7
Big Band. 8:30 p.m. Big Band H Jazz. $10.
Thursday 23
Arnold’s Bar and Grill - Dottie Warner and Ricky Nye. 7:30 p.m. Jazz. Free.
Blind Lemon - Mark Macomber. 8 p.m. Acoustic. Free. Bogart’s - Big Gigantic. 9 p.m. Electronic/Dance/Jam/ H Various. $26. Bromwell’s Härth Lounge - Todd
Hepburn featuring Yvan Verbesselt. 6 p.m. Various. Free.
Doc’s Place - Tom Kaper. 7 p.m.
Acoustic. Free.
The Greenwich - Apollo Open
Mic at The Greenwich. 8:30 p.m. Various. $8.
Horse & Barrel - John Ford. 6
p.m. Roots/Blues. Free.
Knotty Pine - Kenny Cowden. 9
p.m. Acoustic. Free.
McCauly’s Pub - Strum n’ Honey. 7 p.m. Acoustic. Free. MOTR Pub - Vibrant Troubadours with Cougar Ace. 9 p.m. Rock. Free. Plain Folk Café - Open Mic with Nick Baker. 7 p.m. Various. Free.
Southgate House Revival (Lounge) - Cash O’Riley. 9:30 p.m. Outlaw Country. Free.
Southgate House Revival H (Revival Room) - Frontier Ruckus. 8 p.m. Indie/Pop/Rock. $12, $15 day of show.
Talon Tavern - Bob Cushing. 8
p.m. Acoustic. Free.
Trinity Gastro Pub - Carl
Shepard. 7 p.m. Acoustic. Free.
Urban Artifact - Observationist,
Current Events and Sylmar. 8 p.m. Alt/Rock/Various. Free.
Friday 24
Live! at the Ludlow Garage -
Songs and Stories with Kathy Mattea featuring Bill Cooley. 8 p.m. Country. $20-$45.
The Mad Frog - Ready 2 Grind Tour with Wylie and more. 6:30 p.m. Hip Hop. Cover. Madison Theater - Madison Theater Band Challenge Semi-Finals with As You Like It, CrossWalk, Cultural Vultures, Jesse Finley, Life Brother, Mask Of The Charlatan, The Alaskans and Their Accomplices. 7 p.m. Various. $10. Mansion Hill Tavern - The Heat-
ers. 9 p.m. Blues. $5.
The Comet - Even Tiles. 10 p.m. Indie Rock. Free.
Northside Tavern - Strange Creature (release show) with H Lovecrush 88 and JetLab. 10 p.m. Rock. Free.
Northside Yacht Club - Raw Pony, Pills and The Slippery H Lips. 8 p.m. Rock.
Bogart’s - Led Zeppelin 2. 8 p.m. Led Zep tribute. $12.
OTR Live - Chief Keef. 8 p.m. Hip
Bromwell’s Härth Lounge - The
Plain Folk Café - Fox ’N Hounds. 7:30 p.m. NewH grass/Bluegrass. Free.
Italians and Lo the Loyal Conscripts. 10 p.m. Rock/Various. Free.
Common Roots - Live Music
Plain Folk Café - Donna Frost.
Improv with Al & Marty. 7 p.m. Various. Free.
The Redmoor - Play It
Evendale Cultural Arts and Recreation Center - Matthew
7:30 p.m. Acoustic. Free.
Forward presents the EighthH Annual Tie Dye Ball with Jerry’s
with Hot Zombie. 10 p.m. Rock/ Pop. $5.
Silverton Café - Balderdash. 9
p.m. Rock. Free.
Southgate House Revival (Lounge) - Joe & Vicki Price. 9:30 p.m. Blues/Roots. Free.
Southgate House Revival (Sanctuary) - Jack Ingram with
Thompson House - Collins & Company with Ethan & Joey, Tommy Hurrell, Alexandra Constable, Randall Furburger and more. 8 p.m. Acoustic/Various.
Quintet. 8 p.m. Jazz. $15.
Karate Girls, Excalibur and The Belairs. 7 p.m. Rock/Pop/Dance/ Various. Cover.
Ball. 7 p.m. Blues/Boogie Woogie. Free.
The Greenwich - Kelly Richey. 8
p.m. Blues/Rock. $10.
Jag’s Steak and Seafood - Blue Wisp Big Band. 9:30 p.m. Big Band Jazz. Cover.
Jim and Jack’s on the River -
Nick Netherton Band. 9 p.m. Country/Various. Free.
Knotty Pine - 90 Proof Twang. 10 p.m. Country/Rock. Cover. Live! at the Ludlow Garage Geoff Tate. 8 p.m. Acoustic Rock. $20-$45. The Mad Frog - Afton Music showcase with Cutthroat, G Boundless, Yung Flo, King J, Swagga T, No Limit Savage, Cultural Vultures, Wise Wolf and more. 6:30 p.m. Rock/Hip Hop/ Various. Cover.
8 p.m. Acoustic. Free (in Hops House 99).
Trinity Gastro Pub - Tracy Walker. 7:30 p.m. Blues/Folk/Soul/Various. Free.
Jag’s Steak and Seafood Trapped On Earth. 9:30 p.m. Funk/Pop/Dance. Cover.
The Underground - Telehope with Warshful and The Interns. H 7 p.m. AltRock/Pop. Cover.
Jim and Jack’s on the River -
Urban Artifact - Wanyama and Strange Mechanics. 9 p.m. Funk/ Rock/Jam/Various. Free.
Johnson. 9 p.m. Blues. $5.
Knotty Pine - Nick Netherton Band. 10 p.m. Country/Rock/Various. Cover.
Washington Platform Saloon & Restaurant - Pat Kelly. 9 p.m.
Marty’s Hops & Vines - Encore Duo. 9 p.m. Acoustic. Free.
The Listing Loon - Cat Casual,
Woodward Theater - The Cincy
p.m. Rock. Free.
Hollywood Casino - Bob Cushing.
Danny Frazier Band. 9 p.m. Country. Free.
Tender Mercy and Rachel Mousie. 9 p.m. Various. Free.
Hop. $30-$60.
Rick’s Tavern - Black Bone Cat.
Grandview Tavern & Grille -
The Greenwich - Pharez Whitted
Northside Tavern - “Beat Faction.” 10 p.m. Dance. Free.
The Comet - Toon Town, Actual
Elise Davis. 8 p.m. Country. $20, $25 day of show.
Basic Truth. 8 p.m. Funk/R&B/ Soul. Free.
Blue Note Harrison - Naked
p.m. Acoustic. Free.
Fundraiser with The Generics. 7 p.m. Classic Rock. $25.
Common Roots - Samsara Music
Company. 9 p.m. Folk/Rock. Free.
Blind Lemon - Donna Frost. 9
Angels with Devil’s Duo, The Howard Brothers Band, Mojo Rizin’ and Mark Stacey White. 7 p.m. Rock. $10.
86 Club - Test Flight, The Thrifters and The Cove. 8 p.m. Rock. Cover.
College Hill Coffee Co. - Ma Crow and the Lady Slippers. 7:30 p.m. Bluegrass. Free.
Blue Note Harrison - Krazy Fly and SMH. 9 p.m. Rock. Cover.
Steve Schmidt featuring Dixie Karas. 6 p.m. Jazz. Free.
MVP Bar & Grille - Devil City
MOTR Pub - mr.phylzzz with Erers. 9 p.m. Rock. Free. H The MVP Bar & Grille - Chakras, Cody Houston and Crooked H Rook. 8 p.m. Rock. Cover.
Rick’s Tavern - My Girl Friday
Michael Jackson tribute. $10.
Saturday 25
Burning Caravan. 8 p.m. Gypsy Jazz. Free.
Little Band and Spookfloaters. 8 p.m. Rock/Jam. $10.
Bromwell’s Härth Lounge -
MOTR Pub - Ne-Hi with Cross Country. 9 p.m. Indie Rock. H Free.
Marty’s Hops & Vines - Lisak & Rowe. 9 p.m. Rock. Free.
Arnold’s Bar and Grill - The New Royals. 9 p.m. Funk. Free.
Bogart’s - Who’s Bad. 8 p.m.
Wurst Bar in the Square - John Ford. 7 p.m. Roots/Blues. Free.
Jazz. $10 (food/drink minimum).
Brass: Tribute to Michael Jackson. 9 p.m. Brass band MJ tribute. $7, $10 day of show.
Madison Live - Grieving Otis and Hope I Die. 8 p.m. Rock. $10, $12 day of show. Madison Theater - Delbert
McClinton. 8 p.m. Blues/Country/ Rock. $25-$35.
Mansion Hill Tavern - Jay Jesse
McCauly’s Pub - Brownstones. 9
The Redmoor - Ninth-Annual MS
10 p.m. Rock. $5.
Silverton Café - Billy Rock Band. 9 p.m. Rock. Free.
Southgate House Revival (Lounge) - Oso Bear and Cowgirl. 9:30 p.m. Rock. Free.
Southgate House Revival (Revival Room) - Maddy Rose
Band with The Nantzlane Band and Cevin West Band. 9 p.m. Country. $10, $15 day of show.
Southgate House Revival (Sanctuary) - Bedford & Co. with Greg Finger Band. 8 p.m. Rock/ Blues/Various. $8.
Stanley’s Pub - See You In The
Funnies, The Traveling Jam and Ghost Mountain. 9 p.m. AltRock/ Bluegrass. Cover.
Thompson House - Boy-
MeetsWorld with Chasing H Autumn, Before Sunday, Heart
Means More, Jettison and Vibrant Fiction. 8 p.m. Rock/Pop/Alt. $10.
Trinity Gastro Pub - Bob Cushing. 7:30 p.m. Acoustic. Free. Washington Platform Saloon & Restaurant - Jennifer Ellis with the Bobby Sharp Trio. 9 p.m. Jazz. $10 (food/drink minimum).
Sunday 26
The Comet - The Comet H Bluegrass All-Stars. 7:30 p.m. Bluegrass. Free.
Findlay Market - Mardi Gras
at Findlay Market featuring H Lagniappe, J. Dorsey Band and
The Cincy Brass Jazz Quartet. 11 a.m. Jazz/Blues/Rock/Various. Free.
Miller’s Fill Inn - Karaoke with A
Mystical Sound Sensation DJ Rob. 9 p.m. Various. Free.
MOTR Pub - Siren Suit. 9 p.m. Indie Rock. Free. Northside Tavern - The Tillers. 10 p.m. Folk/AmeriH cana. Free. Southgate House Revival H (Revival Room) - Jason Ringenberg (7 p.m.); Farmer Jason (2 p.m.). Roots/Country/Americana/Kids. Cover.
Stanley’s Pub - Stanley’s Open Jam. 10 p.m. Various. Free. Taft Theatre - Vanessa Carlton with Tristen. 8 p.m. Pop/Singer/ Songwriter. $25, $30 day of show (in the Ballroom). Urban Artifact - Acid Ears, Efflorescence and Odds & Ends. 8 p.m. Experimental/Punk/Folk/Jazz/ AltRock/Various. Free. U.S. Bank Arena - Charlie Wilson,
Fantasia, Johnny Gill and Solero. 7 p.m. R&B/Soul. $59-$104.
Woodward Theater - Mickey Avalon with Lazy Ass Destroyer and Mix Fox. 7:30 p.m. Rap/Hip Hop. $15, $20 day of show.
Monday 27
Mansion Hill Tavern - Acoustic Jam with John Redell and Friends. 8 p.m. Acoustic/Various. Free.
McCauly’s Pub - Open Jam with Sonny Moorman. 7 p.m. Blues/ Various. Free. MOTR Pub - Salty Candy with Abiyah. 9 p.m. Roots/Rock/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. Urban Artifact - Wonky Tonk and Ryan Adam Wells. 9 p.m. H Acoustic. Free.
Tuesday 28
Arnold’s Bar and Grill - Diamond Jim Dews. 7 p.m. Blues. Free.
The Comet - Brianna Kelly. 10 p.m. Indie Pop. Free. Crow’s Nest - Open Mic Nite. 8 p.m. Various. Free. McCauly’s Pub - Stagger Lee. 7 p.m. Country/Rock. Free. Northside Tavern - Mayalou, Honey Combs and Combo Slice. 9:30 p.m. Acoustic/Various. Free. Silverton Café - Jazzmerized. 8 p.m. Dixieland. Free. Stanley’s Pub - Trashgrass Tuesday featuring members of Rumpke Mountain Boys. 9 p.m. Jamgrass. Cover.
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C I T Y B E A T . C O M • F E B . 2 2 – 2 8 , 2 0 1 7 • 3 5
1. Residents of Japan’s third-largest city 8. Business lines? 15. Silicon or copper 16. Churchill’s portrayer on TV’s “The Crown” 17. Junior, e.g. 18. Thing left out 19. Building block 20. Just out 21. Stuff baked in some brownies 22. Not worth ___ 23. Leans to one side 25. Overindulges 27. Got some sack time 28. Oozes (into) 30. To and ___ 31. Writer Shelby who sounds like kind of a heel? 32. Need to pay back 34. Open insults 36. Extremist group, and a hint to this puzzle’s theme 39. Never changing 40. Chemistry suffix 41. Madmen, in Mexico 42. “___ polar bear strolls into a bar ...” 44. Grazing matter 48. Brown-___ 49. Brooks from Tulsa 51. Literary lover 52. One on drugs 53. Tarot card 54. Pull-down target 56. Accusatory words 57. Symbol of a government’s insidious spread 59. “From my perspective” 61. Fossil fuel
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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
NIGHT GARDEN RECORDING STUDIO
Seamless integration of the best digital gear and classics from the analog era including 2” 24 track. Wide variety of classic microphones, mic pre-amps, hardware effects and dynamics, many popular plug-ins and accurate synchronization between DAW and 2” 24 track. Large live room and 3 isolation rooms. All for an unbelievable rate. Event/Show sound, lighting and video production services available as well. Call or email Steve for additional info and gear list; (513) 368-7770 or (513) 729-2786 or sferguson.productions@gmail.com.
DISSOLVE YOUR MARRIAGE
Dissolution: An amicable end to marriage. Easier on your heart. Easier on your wallet. Starting at $500 plus court costs. 12 Hour Turnaround.
810 Sycamore St. 4th Fl, Cincinnati, OH 45202
513.651.9666
513-671-7433 • 32 W. CRESCENTVILLE, CINCINNATI, OH 45246 • LOCALSKATEPARK.COM
$5 ADMISSION ALL TIMES
MON-THURS 1PM-9PM
FRIDAY 11AM-9PM
SATURDAY* 9AM-11PM
SUNDAY 9AM-9PM
*9AM-11AM for 12 & younger only
Moeller Band Antique Show
p r es e n t e d b y
March 11th • 9am-4pm $5 admission Moeller High School 9001 Montgomery Road Cincinnati, OH
3 6 • C I T Y B E A T . C O M • F E B . 2 2 – 2 8 , 2 0 1 7
Over 70 Vendors! Antiques! Vintage! Retro! Potato Soup!
Under New Management Check us out on Facebook! Moeller Band Antique Show
For more information contact: Aaron Metzger • 513.353.4135 cincyWAM@fuse.net
JULY 17-23, 2017 $5 b
urger
s from 30+ restaura
nts
Bard's Burgers & Chili
flipside liBerty
priMe CinCinnati
Bistro graCe
gaBBy's Cafe
roCk BottoM
Brown dog Cafe
hangovereasy
saleM gardens
Bru Burger Bar
keystone Bar & grill
the sandBar
BuCketheads
laChey's Bar
tavern on the Bend
Burgerfi
ladder 19
tÈla Bar + kitChen
Chandler's Burger Bistro
Mt. adaMs pavilion
teller’s of hyde park
Chapter Mt.adaMs
Mvp sports Bar & grille
trio Bistro
Crossroads sports Bar & grill
the national exeMplar
fifty west Brewing CoMpany
the over/under Bar & grill
washington platforM saloon & restaurant
flipdaddy's Burgers & Beers
parkers Blue ash tavern
willie's western hills
& More to Be announCed...
www.cincinnatiburgerweek.com
513.784.0403 Inner Peace Holistic Center
811 RACE ST, 3RD FLOOR | CINCINNATI, OH 45202