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Why I Don’t Like Trying New Things
Worst Week Ever! BY DANNY CROSS
Removal of Confederate Plaque Angers Anonymous Individuals It’s not often that Cincinnati media has a hard time localizing the nation’s latest bout with racial tension, but this week in response to the tragedy in Charlottesville, Va. — and Trump offending every normal person in the country with his response to neo-Nazis starting shit — local reporters had to venture 40 miles north to Franklin, Ohio to find the only Confederate monument around here. Within days, the city had taken down the small plaque mounted to a rock on the side of a road, hauling it off to join its contemporaries in the blackface/Confederacy/Cleveland Indians hall of racism history. Of course, not everyone was happy about the monument’s removal and a few people came out to protest its disappearance, saying even such a weak glorification of Southern history shouldn’t be erased and that they barely ever even noticed the plaque because that stretch of roadway is wide enough to make texting and driving safe.
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Presidents Bad, Plastic Bottles Good Nothing is really sacred in the U.S. now that President Pussy Grabber has climbed the highest mountain of power while presumably dealing with the effects of living with serious heel problems for 90 years or however old he is. *Heel/heal joke maturely avoided.* In response to monuments honoring segregationists coming down across the country, activists have even started pushing for the removal of Mount Rushmore, a national monument depicting the stone faces of presidents Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln looking over South Dakota and wondering where everyone is. But before these activists/liberals/antifa/fake-news-pushers can break one ugly nose off that stupid giant rock, they’ll likely find themselves scaling a new mountain of plastic bottles because Trump last week ended a six-year-old ban on selling them in national parks. Even though the parks offer free water stations that include interesting environmental information like how many eagles are surprisingly still alive, America’s rapid evolution into a dystopian world Kurt Vonnegut thought funny to joke about was hailed by some — namely the International Bottled Water Association, a trade group whose lobbyist Trump named as deputy interior secretary three weeks ago. What’s next? A climate science denier heading the EPA? Oh...
Lawmaker Talks About Something, Literally
aren’t even allowed to kick dirt on them and throw the bases into the outfield anymore. (Technically this wasn’t allowed in the past, either, but it was acceptable and funny.) Nevertheless, the drama between the umpires’ union and certain players talking shit reached a breaking point last week after one player said an umpire “needs to find another job.” Umpires, in response, decided to wear white wristbands to protest such “verbal attacks” from players. The
You can’t always trust a headline in today’s digital media landscape, but sometimes clickbait can be too tempting not to risk a video advertisement blaring out of your phone in a public restroom. That’s why it’s nice to see a media outlet follow through as promised, and The Enquirer delivered one of the more literal offerings on the web last week — a headline that read “Lawmaker talks about allowing dogs on restaurant patios” and linked to a video of said lawmaker talking. Rather than wasting a bunch of time typing up an article about why dogs are currently not allowed in restaurants, where such a ban originated and whether his idea has any notable supporters or detractors, the 41-second video quickly confirms the accuracy of the headline when, 30 seconds in, Liberty Township State Sen. Bill Coley says “I No one even knows where this is. think that we’re going to find PHOTO : Wiki that it’s a very acceptable thing and people enjoy it a lot.” wristband standoff only lasted a day or so — Then the video switches to a sportswriter once the commissioner’s office met with the talking about the Bengals instead of writing umpires, their union was able to refocus its an article about that, either. efforts on figuring out what umpires will do to make money once their jobs are replaced by robots like the rest of America.
Fake News ‘New York Times’ Visits Cincy
These days, it’s all good when national media come to town and fawn all over the stuff local rich people think is cool, and last week it was Cincinnati’s turn to revel in the “36-hours-in-______” treatment by the New York Times. Proving that only the bad things it publishes about President Trump are fake news, the Times put together a nice overview of some of this town’s best spots, including the CAC, Sotto, streetcar, Findlay Market and Rhinegeist. “Cincinnati is experiencing a boom, especially in the Over-theRhine district where rich cultural offerings and breweries thrive,” the article states, accompanied by photos of people with their backs turned inside the 21c Museum Hotel and texting on Vine Street. The article also advocated for trying goetta but was too biased to mention Skyline.
MLB Umpires Take Stand Against Mild Criticisms Major League Baseball umpires haven’t had as much to complain about ever since MLB instituted replay challenges — managers
Trump Defies Scientists Again, Stares into Eclipse It’s no wonder everyone in the Trump administration is quitting or getting fired when the president can’t even follow the simplest instructions Americans have been given in about 80 years. Despite most local TV newscasts and all good neighbors repeatedly reminding people not to look into the sun during the eclipse, the U.S. commander in chief wouldn’t listen. Minutes after America finished Instagramming photos of the Eclipse 2017™ experience, photos of Trump squinting into the sky — even pointing at the fucking eclipse — spread across social media. Trump staring into the sun gave the world faith that he truly is too stupid to enact any major conservative policy before seriously harming or accidentally perjuring himself. Trump’s home-schooled son Barron was smart enough to look at the ground instead of listening to his dad — good job Melania! CONTACT DANNY CROSS: dcross@ citybeat.com
BY DANNY CROSS
There are many new things going on all the time. But trying new things comes with several different possible outcomes — you could certainly enjoy the new thing and maybe look forward to it happening again in the future. (But the second time you do it, it won’t be new again, so you’ll kind of just be back to square one.) More likely, something annoying will happen if you try something new like a food tasting kind of gross, an event being more crowded than you’d like, new music causing anxiety or the sun making people hot when they choose to sit outside at a restaurant. There are a million different ways things can go wrong. The chances are higher whenever you do something differently. Here are five reasons why I generally don’t like trying new things:
1. Don’t like being disappointed — feel like it’s 50/50 a new thing will be worthwhile but that doesn’t seem worth it. Examples: pre fixe menus, joking with strangers, buying in bulk
2. Haven’t done it in a while — something could have changed. Examples: running outside, updating phone software, wearing plaid
3. Something I don’t value that much — doesn’t really matter if it’s a little better than whatever I’m used to. Examples: new toothpaste, wine of the month, haircuts
4. Conscious choice that I make — actually kind of know what the new thing will be like and believe it won’t be good. Examples: food with mayonnaise on it, talking about Trump, using Internet Explorer
5. Already know what will happen with other stuff — no reason to risk wasted time. Examples: applying for new jobs, asking parents for advice, late-night TV shows
VOICES SPORTS!
Trying Times for Reds, Bengals BY JACK BRENNAN
multiple years left before his physical ability will decline. (He’s 29.) As for Lewis, entering his 15th season but presently unsigned beyond this year, take your pick. You can like him for making the Bengals a good team again after the excessively dark years of 1991-2002, or you can dismiss him for his unprecedented (for one coach) 0-7 playoff mark. But I know from personal experience (2003-15 as Bengals public relations director) that Lewis will live in the moment each day, finding a way to plug on without energy-sapping concern about the past or future. As he once told me: “Every Sunday at 10 minutes to one when I leave (this office) to go to the field, I know that in the next three hours, either me or the other guy is about to get his butt kicked on national television. I’ve got no time to worry about the other stuff.” That convinced me that coaches really do live in the moment, much more than the rest of us. And if you plan to follow the Bengals in ’17, that mindset is highly recommended. • Now let’s move on to the Reds. Give ’em a little credit, as they are not totally in the tank. They opened this week’s home series against the Cubs having won seven of 12, and there were flickers of hope for the young starting pitchers. They won a dramatic 13-10 game at Wrigley Aug. 17 and then took the first two at Atlanta. But enough of that. The Reds still are headed for a fourth-straight losing season, and a third straight with setbacks in the 90s. They are the One True Doormat of the five-team NL Central, needing a miracle to avoid a third straight last-place finish. As this week’s Cubs series began, they were as far behind from the fourth-place Pirates (seven games) as the Pirates were behind the first-place Cubs. It’s sad, because the Reds are the most important positive thing ever to happen to Cincinnati. Because of the Reds, the first true pro sports franchise in U.S. history, Cincinnati has been viewed for 140-odd years as a “major league” city, even though many of our civic stats have now fallen to mid-major. If not for the Reds, and Cincinnati’s status as a major league town, the Bengals likely wouldn’t be here, either. Cincy just wouldn’t have been the same sports town when the Brown family went looking for a spot for Paul Brown to return to pro
football, and the team likely would have looked elsewhere. But a deep history with some long-ago world championships will take you only so far, and I think the current-era Reds owe fans more acknowledgment that the rebuilding is, to be polite, “well behind schedule.” An honest bit of “Sorry, we’ve fumbled this, you have reason to be upset, please stay with us, we promise we’ll work even harder.” It would be refreshing, because still lingering in the Queen City air are Bob Castellini’s many proclamations from 2006
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“A deep history with some long-ago world championships will take you only so far.”
onward about the glory in store on his ownership watch. It was all about “bringing championship baseball back to Cincinnati,” and Castellini was lionized in the media for being the “anti-” to the unceasingly noncommittal forecasts of Mike Brown. But the Reds are bound for their ninth losing season in Castellini’s 12 years. And though Brown and Castellini are joined at the hip with no trips beyond the first round of postseason, Brown clearly has been the more successful owner during their dual era. Not even counting this year, when the Reds are likely to add another minus-20 in win-loss differential, the Castellini regular-season record is 869-913, a winning percentage of .488. The Bengals’ record in the same span is 91-82-3 (.526). And the Bengals have made the postseason six times, twice as many as the Reds. (Yes, it’s a tad harder to make postseason in baseball, but nowhere close to twice as hard.) So maybe you’ll say it’s the former Bengals employee in me, but I just don’t buy the seemingly still prevalent sentiment in this town that Castellini “always has the backs of the fans” and Brown cares only about making money. The numbers just don’t back that up. JACK BRENNAN’s column appears in this space biweekly. Contact him: letters@citybeat.com.
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This week, a bit of Bengals and a bit of Reds: Let’s start with the Bengals, the Strangest Team in Sports. You don’t know whether to love ’em or just wish they’d go away and stop torturing you. OK, the former sentiment still prevails — they’re our NFL team, after all — but the road they’ve taken us down… well, let’s just say it’s been “trying.” Forget last year’s 6-9-1 result. Just a garden-variety bad season, like tens of thousands of others across sports history. Plenty of reasons to believe it won’t be defining for 2017. But the real head-banger still active is 2011-15, when our Cats became the only team in league history to make the playoffs five straight seasons and lose the first playoff game each time. The corollary head-banger is their seven straight one-and-dones between 2005 and 2015. Only two other franchises have had as many as seven straight playoff trips with immediate elimination, and both of those over much longer spans. So it’s fair to say our concentration of anticipation-then-disappointment has been virtually unprecedented, and the emotional hangover of that for fans is significant. With just a couple playoff wins — or how about even one! — it would be possible to look back with some satisfaction on the truly stellar .652 winning percentage (52-27-1) that marked the 2011-15 regular seasons. Only four of the other 31 teams did so well. The reality of the Big Playoff Zero is that while fans in other cities can feel unreservedly good about being 4-1 or 8-2 or 10-4 during a regular season, looking ahead to January, Bengals fans struggle, cringing at the seeming inevitability of the postseason angst to come. No magic pills in this column. Nothing to do but try and work through it. And though national NFL analysts are not giving the squad much love in their 2017 forecasts, I’m here today to say the Bengals will be back in the playoffs again. Their overall talent level seems to me not so wildly different from 2011-15, a continuing credit to the organization, and at quarterback — the most crucial position by far in any team sport — they have a very good player who should not be finished getting better. Head coach Marvin Lewis has called Andy Dalton’s 2016 season the best of his six-year career, and I call Dalton underrated. Last year, with 1) multiple injuries to key offensive performers, 2) a sacksagainst total that equaled 2014-15 combined and 3) an absolute plague of crucial missed place kicks, Dalton had the team on his back most of the way. He wore the strain with no whining, burnishing his credentials as a team leader, and he has
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May It Please the Court
Ohio Justice Pat DeWine’s request for a favor from Joe Deters might be ripe for ethical review BY James Mcnair
P H O T O : N I C K S WA R T S E L L
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state nepotism statute. That law, though, applies to the hiring of one’s own relatives or “business associates” by a public official. DeWine and Deters are not known to be in business together. Moreover, a spokesman for the Ohio Supreme Court said the appointment of special prosecutors falls not to the chief justice but to courts of common pleas or appeals courts. Thomas said Aug. 21 that he is making the same request of Hamilton County’s presiding Common Pleas Court Judge Melba Marsh. The Ohio Supreme Court, however, does have a mechanism in place to deal with ethical violations by judges and lawyers. Its Office of Disciplinary Counsel investigates complaints for violations of ethical rules. If it finds sufficient grounds for wrongdoing, it will file a formal complaint with the high court’s Board of Professional Conduct, whose members are appointed by the Supreme Court. Based on that board’s findings, the Supreme Court can then “limit or prohibit the lawyer from practicing law or serving as a judge.” Cassandra Robertson, director of the Center for Professional Ethics at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Law in Cleveland, says the state’s Code of
State Sen. Cecil Thomas on Aug. 16 called for an investigation into the awarding of paid internships to the sons of a state Supreme Court Justice and other GOP honchos. Judicial Conduct would appear to provide guidance in the DeWine episode. That code forbids judges and their family members from accepting gifts or things of value, but the exceptions are numerous. Better guidance, Robertson said, comes from the rule that says judges “shall not abuse the prestige of judicial office to advance the person or economic interests of the judge or others, or allow others to do so.” (Emphasis not added.) “It’s definitely a troubling situation,” she says. “I think this kind of situation certainly gives rise to inquiry.” DeWine has not responded to requests for comment. Deters, in a live interview with Bill Cunningham on WLW-AM, said no laws were broken in his intern hiring. He said he prefers to “have people in there that I trust.” He called CityBeat “trashy” and slammed Thomas as a hypocrite because Thomas vacated his City Council seat in 2013 and gave it to his wife. “For him to defame the good name of the DeWine family makes me sick, because they would never, ever ask anyone to do anything improper,” Deters said. “Pat simply asked if we had room in my program — his son had worked there before — and
I told (executive assistant) Janet, ‘Sure, make sure he gets invited to be an intern.’ “If he (Thomas) thinks that’s against the law … I don’t think Cecil Thomas knows dirt about being a prosecutor or what the law is.” Because DeWine is a judge, he is governed by a higher ethical bar. He was elected to the Ohio Supreme Court last November after serving four years on the First District Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. “The judicial ethics code requires judges to avoid the appearance of impropriety,” says Camille Wimbish, co-director of the Ohio Fair Courts Working Group in Columbus. “These rules exist because our judicial system relies on the public’s confidence that our courts are a fair playing field for all. When a Supreme Court justice asks a prosecutor for a favor, you can naturally expect the justice will someday return the favor. Ohioans should not have to question whether justice is being served in the state’s highest court.” David Niven, a politics professor at the University of Cincinnati, boiled it down into spade-calling terms. CONTINUES ON PAGE 11
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hat began as a seemingly innocuous request for a favor — one public official asking another for a paid internship for his son — has mushroomed into a call for an independent investigation and an end to the cronyism rampant in the Hamilton County courthouse. Sitting at a makeshift table in front of the courthouse Aug. 16, State Sen. Cecil Thomas, a Democrat, aired his displeasure with Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters in May giving an $11-an-hour internship to a son of Ohio Supreme Court Justice Pat DeWine. DeWine had asked Deters for the favor in an April 23 email obtained by CityBeat. DeWine has another, older son who spent his third year as a prosecutor’s intern. Deters also gave internships to the sons of local Republican honchos Alex Triantafilou and Charles “Chip” Gerhardt. Thomas credited CityBeat with exposing the arrangement. “The story clearly, based on the emails, shows a relationship connection — and a collusion — between Joe Deters and Supreme Court Judge DeWine in getting the son a job,” he said. Thomas said he would ask that Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor — a Republican like DeWine and Deters — to appoint a special prosecutor to determine if any laws or codes of professional conduct were violated. Thomas did not know who would best fill that role. Ohio’s top law enforcement official, Attorney General Mike DeWine, is Pat DeWine’s father. “What we’re dealing with is a situation where nepotism and cronyism have gone on far too long,” he said. “So many people in our community who pay their taxes every day would like to know that their children have an opportunity just as all the individuals we see with family ties and friends of certain individuals.” Adding impetus to Thomas’ call for an investigation was the episode’s similarity to one of the charges filed against former Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge Tracie Hunter in 2014. Hunter, a Democrat, was indicted on nine criminal counts, one for hiring a brother. That charge was dismissed, though Hunter was convicted on a related charge. After Thomas spoke, she stepped forward and called for Pat DeWine’s head. “I absolutely believe that Pat DeWine should be investigated, prosecuted and sentenced to jail,” she said. Thomas said that the requesting and granting of an internship for DeWine’s son Matt would seem to violate the
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Franklin’s Monument to Robert E. Lee Removed By NICK SWARTSELL
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Somewhere in Warren County, Robert E. Lee is hiding out, waiting for controversy to die down after absconding in the night. Not the real Lee, of course — he’s been quite dead since 1870. But in the early morning hours of Aug. 16, crews working for the city of Franklin removed a plaque with his likeness and a stone it is presumably still attached to that once occupied the side of Dixie Highway (Old U.S. 25) and Hamilton-Middletown Road. That move follows national uproar over a rally in Charlottesville, Va. where an Ohio white supremacist protesting the removal of similar monuments to Confederates caused the death of an anti-racist protester when he drove his car into a crowd of people. Anti-racist activists from Dayton announced a rally advocating the memorial’s removal set for the weekend of Aug. 19. But before that could happen, the city removed it. Officials with the city handed the monument honoring the Confederate general over to Franklin Township officials, who wanted it left up. “I truly think the history of these markers and the concept of them being racist or unfair to people is blurring the lines between history and opinion,” township trustee Brian Morris told the Middletown Journal News of the monument. “I sympathize with anybody who has been treated unfairly in the past because of their ethnicity. However, these items are our history and we can learn valuable lessons and continue to learn.” But, as it turned out, it wasn’t the township’s call. The land the monument occupied once belonged to the township, but sat in an easement to the highway annexed by the city in the 1980s. The city wrung its hands about what to do with the big rock bearing a memoriam to the military leader of the Confederacy. Some, including Vice Mayor Carl Bray, thought it should be left up. But the city opted to remove it, though it says it’s doing so only to protect the monument and return the township’s property to its rightful owner. “Right of ways must remain clear to avoid the creation of a public safety hazard,” a statement from the city released before the monument was removed said. Some residents of Franklin were upset to learn the monument was removed. About a dozen protesters showed up Aug. 19 with confederate flags to decry removal of the memorial. And an overflow crowd filed into Franklin City Council’s Aug. 21 meeting to speak against — and in a few cases, in favor — of removing the monument. ““They’re destroying our history all over America, everyone is,” an attendee named Robert Fisher Jr. said.
Racial justice activists, however, cheered the city’s decision, even if it was a practical instead of social measure. “I’m glad to hear this is going to get removed,” Black Lives Matter Miami Valley’s Yolanda Simpson wrote on Facebook. “I’m sorry some in the city of Franklin don’t see this as an incredibly positive move forward.”
Where did this strange little monument go? PHOTO : Provided
Afterward, the city explained that the late-night removal was for safety reasons, not any kind of secrecy. So, wither will Lee go? It’s unclear. Township officials say they’ve been instructed by the Warren County Sheriff’s Office not to comment about the memorial or its whereabouts for fear of violence or vandalism.Franklin Mayor Dennis Centers suggested the plaque go to a museum. It’s the latest weird chapter in the monument’s odd and unlikely history. CityBeat tracked the monument down a couple years ago (see “Ohio’s Strange Monument Honoring Robert E. Lee,” issue of Aug. 11, 2015). The monument’s origins seems to date to the highway’s construction in 1927, when it appears it was placed there by the United Daughters of the Confederacy “in Loving Memory of Robert E. Lee and to Mark the Route of the Dixie Highway,” as the plaque says. The Daughters of the Confederacy placed three such memorials in Ohio. The other two mark cemeteries where Confederate soldiers are buried. A number of other, similar memorials line sections of the Dixie Highway in other states. CONTINUES ON PAGE 11
FROM PAGE 09
“The most fundamental currency in politics is not money; it’s favors,” he said. “DeWine asked for a favor, knowing full well he’d get one, and assumed the public would never hear of it. Either he will someday be called upon to pay that favor back, or he’s a modern-day Solomon, capable of clear, disinterested thinking that is totally unaffected by personal relationships. “Justice DeWine asked for a favor,” he went on. “He asked for a favor from a person whose office will regularly appear before DeWine’s court seeking favorable
judgments. Asking for a favor is a sloppy, partisan, political act from a person whose office is meant for people who are neither sloppy, partisan nor political. “Even under the most generous interpretation here, DeWine asked for special treatment, and asking for special treatment is (an) offense against what (former U.S. Supreme Court) Justice John Paul Stevens called the people’s ‘confidence in the judge as an impartial guardian of the rule of law.’ ” CONTACT JAMES McNAIR: jmcnair@citybeat.com, 513-914-2736 or @jmacnews on Twitter
FROM PAGE 10
The monument, little-noticed, was re-dedicated in 1981 after a car hit it, but had seemingly slipped from general public consciousness again until recently. Lee was commander in chief of the Confederacy’s army, leading it in battles during which hundreds of thousands of Americans died. Some historians suggest he fought for the Confederacy because of loyalty to his native Virginia. But he was also a slave owner who opined in an 1856 letter to his wife that while slavery was evil, it was also
beneficial for black people and that the “painful discipline they are undergoing is necessary for their instruction.” In case you were worried about the awkward blank spot left by the rock bearing Lee’s likeness, rest easy. Someone has placed a yard sign with a confederate flag there. “Robert E. Lee Monument 1927 Franklin Ohio,” the sign reads in scrawled marker. “We do not negotiate with terrorists. BLM (Black Lives Matter) is a terrorist organization.” ©
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FULL LINE URBAN GROCERY STORE
FALL
ARTS PRE VIE W C L O C K W IS E F ROM T OP :
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BLINK P HO T O : prov ide d “ e q ua li t y,” b y k at e c u nnin g h a m P HO T O : prov ide d “ r e f in e r y smoke ” by iri s va n h e r p e n P HO T O : michel z oeter
FALL ARTS PR EVIEW
TAKE TIME to ‘Blink’
New visual art shows and an exciting citywide event BY S T E V EN R OS EN
“ S w o o n ” // P ho t o : T od S ee l ie
Meanwhile, the Iris van Herpen show at the art museum, Transforming Fashion (Oct. 13-Jan. 7, 2018), introduces the 33-year Dutch fashion designer who interned with Alexander McQueen and has created outfits worn by Lady Gaga and Beyoncé. Her work, sometimes created with the aid of 3-D printing but also using traditional handwork, has a sculptural element as a result of her collaboration with architects, artists and engineers. This can be seen in such imaginatively named pieces as “Refinery Smoke,” a 2008 storm cloud-like dress of untreated metal gauze, cow leather and cotton; “Chemical Crows,” a 2008 skirt collar formed from the ribs of children’s umbrellas, industrial boat yarns, cow leather and metal eyelets; and “Capriole,” a 2011 dress of transparent acrylic sheets, tulle and cotton. Transforming Fashion covers van Herpen’s work from 2008-15 and features 45 outfits and nine pairs of shoes. The art museum’s Cynthia Amneus has curated the show, which has been organized by Atlanta’s High Museum of Art and The Netherlands’ Groninger Museum. The art museum has high hopes for this — it’s a ticketed show.
The Contemporary Arts Center kicks off its 2017-18 season with a major survey of the work of SWOON (Sept. 22-Feb. 25, 2018), who in the course of 19 years has moved from drawings, prints and murals to large-scale public installations and socially driven site-specific projects in Haiti, Kenya, Europe, New Orleans, Braddock, Penn. and elsewhere. The large exhibit, curated by the CAC’s Steven Matijcio, will find ways for Swoon’s work to engage and interact with the museum’s celebrated architecture. For instance, one of Swoon’s past projects is “Swimming Cities of Switchback Sea,” where she brought the phantasmagorical raft Alice to journey aroung Manhattan. At least elements of that raft and another one will be used for new installations at the CAC, which also will show a video of the raft project. At the city’s other art museum, the Taft, the fall show is Elegant Geometry: British and American Mosaic Patchwork Quilts (Oct. 21-Jan. 21, 2018). It features 21 quilts highlighting the way that women wrapped and sewed cloth around identically sized, geometrically shaped paper pieces and then stitched the pieces into
intricate patterns. The earliest quilts in the exhibition originated in 18th-century England; American examples date through the 19th century and were made by women from Eastern and Midwestern states. Here’s a selective look at some of the other visual art exhibits and events slated for this fall: Two CityBeat contributors figure prominently in fall shows at the Weston Art Gallery in downtown’s Aronoff Center. Contributing arts writer Maria Seda-Reeder curated UnFunction (Sept. 8-Nov. 19), which examines the intersection of functional objects and fine art and features such Cincinnati artists as Denise Burge, Terence Hammonds, Emily Hanako Momohara and Sean Mullaney, as well as ones from elsewhere. And one of the three exhibits opening there in December features objects collected by columnist Kathy Y. Wilson and kept in her East Walnut Hills apartment. Sanctuary: Kathy Y. Wilson Living in a Colored Museum (Dec. 1-Jan. 28, 2018), curated by Emily Buddendeck, offers a display of local art, racist objects and antebellum collectibles mixed with family photographs and other personal items. Coming off its triumphant summer show, Distant Horizons: Pioneers of Psychedelic Art, the Carl Solway Gallery introduces a new artist, Los Angeles-based painter Cherie Benner Davis, in the show Super Natural — New Paintings (Oct. 6-Dec. 31). She uses saturated colors and references such as Southern California art movements of the past as Finish Fetish and Light and Space, as well as Pop Art and Georgia O’Keeffe. The show is concurrent with ILLUMINATED (space), featuring nine artists who use incandescent bulbs, LED bulbs or screens, video projection or candles in their art. And the always-inventive Wave Pool in Camp Washington gets its fall season underway this Saturday by transforming its gallery space into The Gathering Space (Aug. 26-Sept. 28) — a temporary bookstore, photography studio, tea shop and community “living room” presided over by artist-in-residence Andrew McKinley, owner of San Francisco’s Adobe Books. Several specific events are planned before the installation closes. Also opening on Saturday, and scheduled to last through mid-September, is Utopia Remains, a show of photographs by Katherine Cunningham that considers what’s left after the demise of idealistic communities. ©
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There are two especially noteworthy and eagerly awaited museum exhibits on tap for Cincinnati this fall — retrospectives of work by the avantgarde Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen at the Cincinnati Art Museum and the idealistic, community-minded street artist Swoon at the Contemporary Arts Center. But the single biggest and most ambitious visual art event of the season — the whole year, really — is occurring out on the streets of downtown and Over-theRhine from Oct. 12-15. It’s called BLINK and it consists of at least 70 light projection mappings on buildings; interactive art sculptures created by local, national and international artists; new murals; and other art displays. Like Lumenocity, the light projection mappings will be overseen by Brave Berlin, but many will be created by others. ArtWorks is supervising the interactive art sculptures, and Agar event-production company is handling the murals. The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber is producing the event; the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation is a major funder. BLINK will be free (save for one special installation) and occur from 7-11 p.m. each night, roughly along the streetcar route from The Banks/Underground Railroad Freedom Center to the south and Findlay Market to the north. The event is designed for walking and multiple visits rather than just a single ride-through, as some of the individual light projection mappings will last three to five minutes. To date, five artist installations and light projection mappings have been announced. We Have Become Vikings will do two: “King City” will honor King Records behind Saint Francis Xavier Church (607 Sycamore St.) and its “Our Own Homecoming” (119 E. Court St.) will feature the Modernist art of Charley Harper. Rounding out the remainder is Formstone Castle, a collective of artists and bikers from Baltimore, who will offer rides on a pedal-powered, LED light-bedecked mobile couch along the BLINK route; the DJs/artists of Hebron, Ky.-based Forealism Tribe, who will have dance parties on the Light Ship, constructed from recycled Plexiglas mirrored cuboids, at 1674 Central Parkway; and Toronto-based Lateral Office, which will present “Impulse” — illuminated seesaws that make sounds while ridden — outside the Freedom Center. For more information, visit blinkcincinnati.com.
Exhibitions and Events A Shared Legacy: Folk Art in America Now–September 3, 2017 Anila Quayyum Agha: All The Flowers Are For Me Now–October 15, 2017 William Kentridge: More Sweetly Play the Dance Now–January 28, 2018 Ana England: Kinship September 8, 2017–March 4, 2018 Iris van Herpen: Transforming Fashion October 13, 2017–January 7, 2018 Art in Bloom October 26–29, 2017 Albrecht Dürer: The Age of Reformation and Renaissance November 17, 2017–February 11, 2018
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Terracotta Army: Legacy of the First Emperor of China April 20–August 12, 2018 Art After Dark Final Fridays General operating support generously provided by:
cincinnatiartmuseum.org Anila Quayyum Agha (b. 1965), All the Flowers Are for Me (Red) (detail), laser-cut lacquered steel and lightbulb, Alice Bimel Endowment for Asian Art, 2017.7
FALL ARTS PR EVIEW
The Pl ay’s the Thing
Shakespeare is front and center for theater season BY R I C K PEN D ER
S a r a C l a r k i n “A m i d s u m m e r n i g h t ’ s d r e a M ” P HO T O : mik k i s c h a f f n e r p hoto gr a p h y
his much-traveled show, An Evening with Groucho, to the Shelterhouse Theater (Nov. 4-Dec. 17). Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical, about the rise of the legendary girl singer from Kentucky, shows up at The Carnegie in Covington (Nov. 4-19). This show was a big hit for the Cincinnati Playhouse in 2014. If you prefer fictional characters, you can find one of Mark Twain’s most colorful adolescents at Cincinnati Shakespeare for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Nov. 17-Dec. 9). Elphaba and Glinda, the witches from Oz, will fly into the Aronoff for a touring
production of Wicked (Sept. 13-Oct. 15), and later in the fall, Finding Neverland, the story of Peter Pan and his creator James Barrie, is in town for a tour stop (Nov. 7-19). Halloween often inspires creepy characters on local stages. Falcon Theater presents Frankenstein (Sept. 29-Oct. 14) at its Newport theater venue. Also in Newport, Footlighters, a reliable community theater, is staging the musical Jekyll & Hyde (Oct. 5-21). For trick-or-treat time, you’ll find Dracula at Cincinnati Shakespeare (Oct. 13-Nov. 4) and the musical comedy Young Frankenstein at the Covedale (Oct. 19-Nov. 12).
Cincinnati Playhouse presents two more fascinating characters this fall: In Mr. Joy (Shelterhouse, Sept. 23-Oct. 22), by Dayton native Daniel Beaty, one actress plays nine people who share perspectives about a missing Chinese shoe repairman in Harlem. Of particular interest will be Christopher, the central character in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Marx, Oct. 14-Nov. 11): A precocious 15-year-old boy on the autism spectrum sets out to find who killed a neighbor’s dog. This Tony Awardwinning script is an imaginative trip inside the mind of a very unusual character doing his best to sort out the world around him. Sorting out the world is the task of the seven characters in Steven Dietz’s This Random World (Oct. 11-Nov. 4), Ensemble Theatre’s season-opening production in its beautifully renovated and expanded Over-the-Rhine venue. The dramedy is about missed connections and parallel paths that intersect in unexpected ways. Another play by Dietz, Bloomsday, closed the theater’s 2016-17 season; he writes characters with humor and humanity, just the kind of scripts that ETC’s D. Lynn Meyers excels at staging. Know Theatre will present a pair of interesting characters in The Arsonists (Sept. 22-Oct. 14), a father and a daughter who burn places for a living, the family trade for generations. This will be just the second time Jacqueline Goldfinger’s show has been staged; it uses music, too, rootsy songs from the American Folk tradition. Later in the fall, Know will present 13 Dead Dreams of “Eugene” (Oct. 20-Nov. 14), an unsettling, haunting tale by storyteller Paul Strickland and his frequent partner in offbeat songs and stories, Erika Kate MacDonald. This one is rooted in shared nightmares that trouble the sleepy town of Sabina, Ohio. As always there will be plenty of musicals to be enjoyed. In addition to the aforementioned touring productions at the Aronoff, these include the heartwarming story of a spunky orphan, Annie, at the Covedale (Nov. 30-Dec. 23); Leonard Bernstein’s satirical operetta about a naïve young man, Candide, by CCM Opera (Nov. 16-19); the whimsical Seussical the Musical (CCM Musical Theater, (Oct. 19-29), based on the stories and characters of Dr. Seuss; and Legally Blonde (Oct. 19-21), a contemporary show about a superficial young woman who succeeds surprisingly well in a legal career, at Xavier University. Bottom line: Head for a theater this fall to meet someone new and different. Not only will you be entertained, but your horizons just might be expanded. ©
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We go to the theater to meet interesting people. Not those friends we run into in the lobby — I’m referring to the characters on the stage. This fall, Cincinnati theaters will conjure up a multitude of fascinating characters ready to make your acquaintance. As the theater season opens, the big name is Shakespeare. Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is opening its new Otto M. Budig Theatre with a production of his most popular comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Sept. 8-30). It’s the story of magical mischief and mixed-up lovers, with a hilarious subplot in which a team of inept “rude mechanicals” (today we’d call them blue-collar workers) try to produce a play of their own. They’re directed by the bombastic weaver Nick Bottom — he’s literally transformed into a jackass for several scenes — one of Shakespeare’s most amusing characters. This is a Shakespeare play everyone can enjoy, and in Cincinnati Shakespeare’s glistening new venue on Elm Street in Over-the-Rhine, it will demonstrate just what can be accomplished. (By the way, Northern Kentucky University is mounting its own production of the same show in Highland Height Sept. 28-Oct. 8.) Shakespeare’s plays are so frequently staged that American Theatre magazine omits him from its annual list of mostproduced playwrights. His great tragedy, Hamlet, about a prince wrestling with suspicions that his uncle has murdered his father, will be staged at the University of Cincinnati by the College-Conservatory of Music Acting program (Sept. 28-Oct. 1). While his plays are all over town, Shakespeare himself will be a character onstage at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, which presents a stage adaptation of the Academy Award-winning film Shakespeare in Love to open its season (Sept. 2-30). The story imagines the young playwright afflicted with writer’s block and a looming deadline for a new play. He meets Viola, who aspires to perform onstage (in an era when only men were actors), and she inspires him to write Romeo and Juliet. The show is replete with references to other works by the Bard, but this funny, romantic show — employing accessible, everyday language — will appeal to both Shakespeare fans and newbies. Who else might you meet onstage this fall? Helen Keller is the subject of The Miracle Worker, kicking off productions at the Covedale Center (Sept. 7-Oct. 1), born blind and deaf but brought into the world by Anne Sullivan, a caring teacher. Groucho Marx will take up residence at the Cincinnati Playhouse when Frank Ferrante brings
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FALL ARTS PR EVIEW
Well-Se asoned Comedy
Take your mind off Trump with improv, stand-up and more BY B R I A N BA K ER In one sense, the past eight months of having Donald Trump as our president have been an endless source of comedic entertainment, and yet in another we’ve somehow been transformed into lemmings, laughing all the way to the precipice. We need a more satisfying brand of comedy, something that makes us laugh and think without the nasty side effect of wanting to open a vein in an unclosable manner. We need quality chortles and guffaws, my friends, and thankfully there will be plenty available in the area throughout the upcoming fall season. Here are some of the events that will help us laugh until we cry... for all the right reasons.
products of a THC-soaked one-trick pony, you haven’t seen his breathtaking impression of White House cadaver Stephen Miller on Funny or Die!. Even more surprising is Shore’s award-winning and emotionally wrenching documentary Pauly Shore Stands Alone on Amazon Prime. Tickets/ more info: liberty.funnybone.com.
Alton Brown (Oct. 21, Aronoff Center, Downtown) You know Alton Brown is a funny guy from his hosting stints on Good Eats, Iron Chef America, Feasting on Asphalt and Cutthroat Kitchen, and his podcast, The Alton Browncast. You know he’s a music guy from his 2016 food-themed album Bitter Like Me. And you know he’s a smart guy because he’s written close to a dozen books. You also know Brown’s Eat Your Science show at the Aronoff will be entertaining because apparently you know stuff. Tickets/more info: cincinnatiarts.org.
Fourth-Annual Improv Festival Cincy
John Cleese and the Holy Grail (Oct. 8, Taft Theatre, Downtown) Founding Monty Python member and brilliant comedic actor and author John Cleese has been rewriting the rules of humor for well over 50 years. In his latest stage production, Cleese regales the audience with tales of his long, illustrious career within
Eddie Griffin (Oct. 27-28, Liberty Funny Bone, Liberty Twp.) Eddie Griffin began his comedy career nearly 30 years ago and quickly moved from stand-up to film acting, ultimately starring in more than 50 movies including Undercover Brother, John Q, the Deuce Bigelow series and Scary Movie 3. He made his mark on television on UPN’s Malcolm & Eddie. Griffin made Comedy Central’s 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time list, and he’s still got plenty of edge: His comedy special You Can Tell ’Em I Said It proved that with his very forward declaration about his attraction to Michelle Obama. Tickets/more info: liberty.funnybone.com.
David Sedaris
a lt o n b r o w n // P HO T O : p rov ide d
and beyond the Pythons before taking questions about the same. The evening’s one caveat is in the small print: non-serious questions only. What else would you expect from the Minister of Silly Walks? Tickets/ more info: tafttheatre.org.
John Mulaney (Oct. 20, Aronoff Center, Downtown) Fresh off his hugely successful four-month Broadway run with comedy partner Nick Kroll in Oh, Hello, writer/actor/producer John Mulaney returns to stand-up with his latest tour, Kid Gorgeous. Mulaney, once an
intern at Comedy Central, was nominated for an Emmy for his 2015 Netflix special The Comeback Kid; he was Emmy-nominated four times with the writing staff of Saturday Night Live, where he worked for six years and earned his master’s degree in funny. Tickets/more info: cincinnatiarts. org/aronoff-center.
Pauly Shore (Oct. 20-21, Liberty Funny Bone, Liberty Twp.) If you’re under the mistaken assumption that Pauly Shore’s stoner goofball persona and wildly improbable spoof movies are the
(Oct. 30, Aronoff Center, Downtown) David Sedaris isn’t exactly a comedian. In fact, he might not be exactly anything at all. The award-winning author’s writing is heart-stoppingly hilarious. Sedaris definitely taps into the full range of emotion during An Evening with David Sedaris. It might even qualify as an evening and a half before it’s over. Tickets/more info: cincinnatiarts.org.
Sebastian Maniscalco (Nov. 9, Taft Theatre, Downtown) Sebastian Maniscalco capped his nearly 20-year stand-up career with his funniest hour-long Showtime special to date, 2016’s Why Would You Do That?. His manic energy and wild-eyed observations on everyday life definitely point to two of his avowed influences, Brian Regan and Andrew Dice Clay, but his comedic voice is all his own. Tickets/more info: tafttheatre.org. ©
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(Sept. 6-10, Know Theatre, Over-the-Rhine) Local troupe OTRimprov has once again assembled a stellar lineup for its fourth IF Cincy, held at Know Theatre. It’s a veritable murderer’s row of improv masters from all over the country — Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, San Diego, Atlanta, Detroit, Nashville, Tenn. and Ann Arbor, Mich. — as well as our own homegrown geniuses, for five nights of unscripted hilarity. Originally envisioned by OTRi as a way to showcase both the area’s brilliant improv talent and the city they call home, IF Cincy has grown into a festival with national impact. This year’s headliners include Heyday, featuring members of Second City and Upright Citizens Brigade, among others; Big Ol’ Show, featuring Archer voice talent Amber Nash and Matt Horgan from Dad’s Garage Theatre in Atlanta; and Matt Damon Improv, a Chicago group comprised solely of women of color. (Nearly half of this year’s festival participants are women.) This year also features an Improv Jam on the festival’s opening night, where anyone who wants to take the stage is welcome. There will also be four improv workshops on the fest’s Saturday afternoon and one on Sunday. The full IF Cincy schedule and ticket details are available at ifcincy.com. As OTRi project manager Kat Smith says, “Let’s show people how many different ways this can be done, and let’s blow people away with the incredible talent we have in the city.” Tickets/more info: ifcincy.com.
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FALL ARTS PR EVIEW
Music Hall Redux
New Classical works, new artists and revamped performance spaces BY A N N E A R EN S T EI N
K i t A r m s t r o n g // p ho t o : N e da N ava e e
long-lived May Festival Chorus takes the stage Nov. 4-5 for a program of Bach, Brahms and a world premiere of a new choral work by Julia Adolphe. Looking ahead at the CSO season after that, CSO Music Director Laureate Paavo Järvi returns Nov. 17-18 to lead the orchestra in a program that features Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto, featuring Alice Sara Ott on the keyboard. A German-Japanese pianist who has been recording for Deutsche Grammophon since 2008, she has recently performed with the St. Petersburg
Philharmonic, Washington’s National Symphony and Royal Scottish National orchestras. And on Nov. 24-25, the CSO’s annual One City, One Symphony concerts occur, with Langrée conducting and a program featuring Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique symphony, Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 and a world premiere of a new composition by Emily Cooley. Cellist Truls Mørk will be the guest soloist. The event honors “the visionaries who use music to speak truth,” according to the CSO.
The Pops, with Russell conducting, uses a key weekend in November — Nov. 10-12 — for its American Originals concert mixing orchestral arrangements with Americana music. Guests include roots and blues singer Rhiannon Giddens, ragtime singer-songwriter Pokey LaFarge and bluegrass players Steep Canyon Rangers. Besides Music Hall, the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music is scheduled to have some exciting, high-profile programming — the school is celebrating its 150th anniversary. This year also is the centennial of legendary American composer Leonard Bernstein’s birth, and CCM commemorates the occasion with a production of Candide, the musical adaptation of Voltaire’s biting satire. Meshing opera, operetta and musical theater, Bernstein’s score brims with youthful energy and genuine pathos. It occurs Nov. 16-19 at CCM’s Patricia Corbett Theater. Beyond Music Hall and CCM, activity is heavy at smaller venues. I’m looking forward to checking out Cincinnati Song Initiative’s second season. Its concerts feature art songs ranging from traditional Classical to commissioned pieces performed by acclaimed young artists. On Sept. 23 at Willis Music Company’s Steinway Gallery in Kenwood, it continues last season’s survey of French song from the early 20th century by the composers known as Les Six. Appropriately, six performers are featured in a program of songs lamenting loss and boredom and celebrating love. On Nov. 13 and 14, concert:nova goes to the Cincinnati Art Museum for a program devoted to the fugue, a compositional technique that will be explored via Bach, Beethoven and Cincinnati native Michael Ippolito, with an original dance work by Jimmy Cunningham of the Cincinnati Ballet. Chamber Music Cincinnati begins its season at Memorial Hall on Sept. 18, with virtuoso pianist Marc-André Hamelin featured in a program of classics and rarities from the 19th, 20th and 21th centuries. And Queen City Opera serves up Gioachino Rossini’s delightfully frothy version of Cinderella, La Cenerentola, on Oct. 20 and 22 at the Dunham Arts Center in Price Hill. You can always expect energetic and committed performances from these young artists, and it’s always a pleasant surprise to see how the less-than-ideal performance space is effectively utilized. All this and much more is happening in Classical music this fall: new works, new artists and, especially, renewed performance spaces. Let it begin. ©
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The Classical music season promises to be exciting and innovative, and not only because Music Hall reopens Oct. 6. There is much else. But there’s no question that the grand reopening is the centerpiece, with programming that gives the resident ensembles plenty of opportunities to show off the building’s upgrades. (Look for a detailed report on the Music Hall renovation in CityBeat’s Oct. 4 issue.) It’s safe to say that, aside from more women’s bathrooms, the most anticipated improvement is sonic quality. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s Grand Opening concerts, with Music Director Louis Langrée conducting, cover the dynamic spectrum with contemporary classics and a world premiere. These concerts promise to give the new acoustics a workout. Sonic Splendor: From Beethoven to Scriabin has John Adams’ raucous Short Ride in a Fast Machine, followed by Beethoven’s lively Piano Concerto No. 1 featuring pianist and composer Kit Armstrong. A native of Los Angeles, Armstrong just turned 25 years old and already boasts an impressive list of recordings and compositions. Composer Jonathan Bailey Holland’s Stories of Home, a 12-minute orchestral piece, marks his fourth composition for the orchestra. “This new work celebrates the history of the hall, as well as the lyricism, timbre and sound of the orchestra,” Holland said in a recent interview. The program closes with Scriabin’s Le Poème de l’Extase (“Poem of Ecstasy”), an orchestral phantasmagoria described by writer Henry Miller as “like a bath of ice, cocaine and rainbows.” Cincinnati Pops and its energetic conductor John Morris Russell begin their Music Hall season Oct. 13-15, with a Star Wars and Beyond program featuring the music of film composer John Williams. There will be a premiere of a new arrangement of his theme from Steven Spielberg’s film Schindler’s List, scored for cello and orchestra. On Oct. 20-21, the Cincinnati Opera joins forces with the CSO for a performance of Claude Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande, the final installment in the three-year Pelléas project. Langrée is a renowned interpreter of the ethereal score to the opera, which tells of a forbidden love. James Darrah will direct the semi-staged production. Music Hall owes its existence to a torrential rainstorm in 1875 that pounded on a tin roof, drowning out the May Festival Chorus. Philanthropist Reuben Springer was in the audience and led the campaign for a new hall that combined artistic and commercial ventures. The current incarnation of that
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FALL ARTS PR EVIEW
2 5 MORE fall arts pick s BY C I T Y B E AT S TA FF
VISUAL ART: A DREAM COME TRUE, A SONG WELL SUNG: THE JOHN A. ROEBLING SUSPENSION BRIDGE AT 150 To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the landmark Roebling Suspension Bridge, spanning the Ohio River between Cincinnati and Covington, Cincinnati’s Main Library is hosting A Dream Come True, A Song Well Sung: The John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge at 150. It will feature plans, photographs, documents, antique postcards and more. Built by John A. Roebling and his son Washington, its success spurred John to design the iconic Brooklyn Bridge. This display will be in the Joseph S. Stern Jr. Cincinnati Room on the third floor of the Main Library. Aug. 25-Nov. 12. Free. Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Main Library, 800 Vine St., Downtown, cincinnatilibrary.org. (SR)
V IS UA L A R T : J ACK A R T H U R WO OD J R .
The Camp Washington gallery Hudson Jones has reopened for the 2017-18 season with a show, Meet Me at the Horizon, of 125 vivid, screenprint-inspired paintings on panel by Cincinnati artist Jack Arthur Wood Jr. In these relatively small pieces, Wood creates images rooted in landscape with little regard for traditional figuration. He applies a coat to the panels through the “full pull” technique, then adds color through spray-painted stencil, brayer, brush, paint pen, collaged woodcut and colored pencil. Through Nov. 6. Free. Hudson Jones, 1110 Alfred St., Camp Washington, hudsonjonesgallery.com. (STEVEN ROSEN)
and the Legendary Stardust Cowboy, Hart has written about trains, aliens, puppets, religion and sex (or the lack thereof) across seven solo albums and a half dozen more with former musical collaborator Adam Papagan. Hart’s new album, Space Ranger, with compelling tracks like “Ghost Frog,” “I Caught My Pecker in My Zipper” and “Don’t Sniff Glue,” will be released the same day that he appears in town. 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Sept. 8. $10. Urban Artifact, 1660 Blue Rock St., Northside, artifactbeer.com. (BRIAN BAKER)
VISUAL ART: ANA ENGLAND: KINSHIP For 12 years, Ana England’s “Night Sky Spiral II,” a gray swirl of polished ceramic discs, hung in the Cincinnati Art Museum’s Terrace Café. Its timeless simplicity always encouraged quiet contemplation, so it was a relief when the work returned to view in a new gallery on the third floor. Now we can look forward to even more to explore in Ana England: Kinship, opening at the museum on Sept. 8. England, who led Northern Kentucky University’s ceramics
program for 30 years, discovers galaxies in fingerprints and the patterns of microscopic cells. The exhibit of 25 large-scale sculptures and installations includes three new works. Sept. 8-March 4, 2018. Free. Cincinnati Art Museum, 953 Eden Park Drive, Eden Park, cincinnatiartmuseum. org. (KATHY SCHWARTZ) ONSTAGE: WICKED The subtitle of this immense hit is The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz. After CONTINUES ON PAGE 22
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COMEDY: DAVID LIEBE HART It’s been nearly 40 years since Bill Mumy (Lost in Space’s Will Robinson) and Robert Haimer, operating as Barnes & Barnes, foisted “Fish Heads” on an unsuspecting public. Since then, few have attempted that level of musical comedy (not counting the “Pants on the Ground” guy) until outsider singer/songwriter David Liebe Hart, puppeteer/troubadour extraordinaire for Adult Swim’s Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, who’s done his post-show street-performer-with-puppets shtick outside the Hollywood Bowl and the Los Angeles Music Center for years. With a stream of consciousness writing/singing style that falls somewhere between Daniel Johnston
photo: courte sy of hudson jone s gallery
VISUAL ART: ANTHONY LUENSMAN: NEW WORKS Anthony Luensman, one of Cincinnati’s most accomplished and recognized Contemporary artists, debuts new works on paper and canvas that resulted from him living in the desert near Tucson, Ariz. for much of the past year. It will be very different from the large sculptural, installation art and multimedia pieces he had been concentrating on here. As he says in a statement released by Clay Street Press, where his New Works will open on Friday, “I was ready to disappear for a while from an art scene that I was finding to be overly thematic and too cleverly curated. This new work, then, is a reaction back to letting work grow out of its own formalities without didactic intent.” Opening 6-9 p.m. Aug. 25. Through Oct. 14. Free. Clay Street Press, 1312 Clay St., Over-the-Rhine, patsfallgraphics.com. (STEVEN ROSEN)
photo: peter mueller
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The Cincinnati Ballet has chosen to open its 2017-18 season with its perennial favorite, The Kaplan New Works Series, which is celebrating its 13th year this fall. Each performance is a magnificent display of talent, with dance moves teetering on the edge of what traditionalists might bristle at as “something other than ballet.” This year, there are four world premieres — one by So You Think You Can Dance choreographer Travis Wall. Another will be choreographed by Cincinnati Ballet Artistic Director Victoria Morgan and danced to the lonesome, sensual k.d. lang tune “Black Coffee.” Sept. 14-24. $66-$70. Aronoff Center, 650 Walnut St., Downtown, cballet.org. (MCKENZIE GRAHAM)
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Doctor’s Orders:
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A Benefit for Kathy Y. Wilson
THURSDAY, AUGUST 31 The Comet, 4579 Hamilton Ave., Northside Doors at 6 p.m. // Entertainment at 7 p.m.
Evening hosted by Torrie Wiggins and featuring: Selecta’s Choice DJ Collective AND Bitch’s Brew Poetry Collective Silent Auction // Drink Specials // Taco Bar $5 donation suggested at the door
Can’t make it that night?
Donate here: gofundme.com/kathyywilson K athy Y. Wilson, longtime CityBeat columnist, has been bat tling health problems and has been denied disability coverage despite her inability to work. Let’s raise funds to hire an at torney who can challenge this decision and advocate on her behalf.
a decade on Broadway — 5,000-plus performances — that’s something of a misnomer since Elphaba and Glinda have become more or less household names. But familiarity has not bred contempt for this girl-power story about overcoming differences and living up to one’s potential — “Defying Gravity,” as the song has it. Adolescent females continue to scarf up tickets in New York as well as on tour. That’s why its Broadway in Cincinnati run at the Aronoff Center is for five weeks. Even with all those performances, it’s sure to be an in-demand ticket. Sept. 13-Oct. 15. $42.50-$112. Aronoff Center, 650 Walnut St., Downtown, cincinnatiarts.org. (RICK PENDER) VISUAL ART: ANDREY KOZAKOV: TRADING ROOM As The Carnegie begins its 2017-18 gallery season, it’s trying something new with its upstairs galleries: season-long installations. Beginning Sept. 15, the Cincinnati-based, Ukrainian-born artist Andrey Kozakov will be showing his Trading Room in the Installation Gallery. It is meant to be an interactive environment complete with secret rooms and compartments that reveal all manner of curios. In the Duveneck Gallery, visiting curator Derek Franklin, from Portland, Ore., will show the work he chose to display after visiting local artist studios. Sept. 15-July 1, 2018. Free. The
Carnegie, 1028 Scott Blvd., Covington, Ky., thecarnegie.com. (SR) DANCE: BOUCHRA OUIZGUEN: CORBEAUX The Contemporary Arts Center’s 2017-18 Black Box Performance Series gets underway with Corbeaux (“crows” or “ravens”), a performance staged by Moroccan choreographer Bouchra Ouizguen in which women of different cultures and origins, dressed in black with white headscarves meant to suggest beaks, dance and sing as a means to convey their feminine knowledge. Originally created for the 2014 Marrakech Biennale of Contemporary Art, this has subsequently been presented in Europe and West Asia. 7:30 p.m. Sept. 16 and 17. Free. Off-site location; for more details visit contemporaryartscenter.org. (SR) LIT: HILLBILLY ELEGY J.D. Vance’s vastly successful memoir of growing up poor in Middletown but making it out has become a touchstone in the debate over the future of the Rust Belt’s frequently adrift white working class. Not for nothing is Hillbilly Elegy’s subtitle: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis. Vance himself has been touted for political office in Ohio or nationally. On Sept. 28, he speaks at Cincinnati’s Main Library about his book and experiences before and after its publication. This is CONTINUES ON PAGE 25
p h o t o : c o u r t e s y o f t h e day t o n a r t i n s t i t u t e
French actress Sarah Bernhardt was so captivated by an 1895 poster that Alphonse Mucha created for one of her plays that she entered into a six-year contract with him. Before long, the artist’s seductive illustrations of beautiful young women with flowing hair and flowing robes became known as The Mucha Style, and later Art Nouveau. His sinuous lines captured nature’s beauty and its unruliness. Alphonse Mucha: Master of Art Nouveau, a traveling exhibition coming to the Dayton Art Institute, features 75 works — rare, original lithographs and proofs, paintings, drawings, and ephemera — by a man who influenced art, architecture and advertising for a new century. Sept. 16-Dec. 31. $14; student, senior and other discounts available. Dayton Art Institute, 456 Belmonte Park North, Dayton, daytonartinstitute.org. (KATHY SCHWARTZ)
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COM E DY: H AY R I DE !
Using Cincinnati broadcast station WLW’s historic programs Boone County Jamboree and Midwestern Hayride as references, renowned local musician/ producer Cameron Cochran has concocted Hayride!, a blend of Country music and sketch comedy utilizing some of the area’s best purveyors of both disciplines. At its first performance before an audience, local musicians will offer versions of King Records classics and original songs written for Hayride! and local comic actors/writers will perform a show-within-a-show sketch about the making of Hayride! It promises to be an incredible evening of laughter and song. 7:30 p.m. Sept. 17. $10. Woodward Theater, 1404 Main St., Over-the-Rhine, woodwardtheater.com. (BRIAN BAKER)
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sure to be crowded. 7 p.m. Sept. 28. Free. Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Main Library, 800 Vine St., Downtown, cincinnatilibrary.org. (SR)
CLASSICAL MUSIC: JOSHUA BROWN This presenting group Matinée Musicale continues to reinvent itself with internationally renowned young artists performing in great venues. On October 8, 17-year-old violin phenom Joshua Brown offers a solo recital at Memorial Hall. A regular on NPR’s From the Top, Brown
ONSTAGE: THIS RANDOM WORLD Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati has spent months expanding and renovating its Vine Street facility. When we return to see the results, the show onstage will be Steven Dietz’s serious comedy about missed connections. People often travel parallel paths through the world without noticing one another: In this tale, an ailing woman plans a final trip, her daughter maps out a great escape and her son gets caught up in a misguided prank — they are mutually unaware, but unknowingly interconnected. The show premiered in the 2015 Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre in Louisville. Oct. 10-Nov. 4. $53 adult; $31 student; $27 child. Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, 1127 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, ensemblecincinnati.com. (RP) FILM: FADE2BLACK FILM FESTIVAL This festival — presented by Black Folks Make Movies and the University of Cincinnati Center for Film & Media Studies — will bring some big names CONTINUES ON PAGE 26
V I S UA L A R T : L AY OF F M E I ’ M S TA R V I N G : A E S T H E T I C R E P ON S E S T O CH R I S FA R L E Y
You could live in a van down by the river, or you could turn your life around and go to Lay Off Me I’m Starving: Aesthetic Responses to Chris Farley at Thunder-Sky, Inc. Following popular tributes last year to David Bowie and Prince, the gallery has invited artists to respond to the Saturday Night Live comic’s legacy as “a bombastic slapstick clown, perennial people-pleaser and tragic genius.” (The show’s title is from a “Gap Girls” skit on SNL.) On Dec. 18, the 20th anniversary of Farley’s death, the space will host a reading of works about the characteristically heavyweight funnyman and screen the film Tommy Boy. Opening reception 6-10 p.m. Oct. 14. Through Dec. 29. Free. Thunder-Sky, Inc., 4573 Hamilton Ave., Northside, raymondthundersky.org. (KATHY SCHWARTZ)
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VISUAL ART: FOTOFOCUS SYMPOSIUM Even though this is an off year for the FotoFocus Biennial, the nonprofit organization devoted to lens-based art is sponsoring a day-long symposium devoted to photography, feminism and politics. Called “Second Century” — a play on writer Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex — it occurs Oct. 7 at Memorial Hall and features panels on “Still They Persist,” with Cincinnati’s FemFour; “Gender and Imaging in the Online Realm,” with writer/editor Nora Khan and artist Natalie Bookchin; “Women of Latin American Film;” and “Woman with a Camera.” 10 a.m. Oct. 7. Free. Memorial Hall, 1225 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, fotofocussymposium.org. (SR)
was awarded the long-term loan of a Guarneri violin from the Chicago-based Stradivari Society. 3 p.m. Oct. 8. $20. Memorial Hall, 1225 Elm St., Over-theRhine, matineemusicalecincinnati.org. (ANNE ARENSTEIN)
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CL A S S I C A L M U S I C: DA N I S H S T R I N G QUA R T E T
A group that defines itself as “your average string quartet with above average amounts of beard” gets my attention, but it’s the music that counts, and the Danish String Quartet is equally fluent in Classical and Folk. In 2014, they released Wood Works, featuring arrangements of Folk songs from remote Nordic villages and islands. Their Oct. 11 appearance for Chamber Music Cincinnati includes Bartók, Beethoven and a suite of Nordic songs. 7:30 p.m. Oct. 11. $30. Memorial Hall, 1225 Elm St., Over-theRhine, cincychamber.org. (ANNE ARENSTEIN)
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to Cincinnati. Danny Glover will serve as a guest host, and the great filmmaker Charles Burnett will be there, so the two hopefully can share stories about the making of Burnett’s To Sleep With Anger, starring Glover. There may not be a better modern classic than that 1990 film, in which Glover is a mysterious Southern drifter who winds up on the doorstep of an old friend, a South-Central L.A. transplant with an overcrowded dysfunctional household. During the fest, programming includes screening of films like I Am Not Your Negro, the history of the black cowboy in film, panels on black women behind the camera and more. Oct. 12-14. $10 per two-hour session. Events held at the University of Cincinnati’s DAAP Auditorium, 5470 Aronoff Circle and Mini Microcinema, 1329 Main St., Over-the-Rhine, blackfolksmakemovies. org. (TT STERN-ENZI) ONSTAGE: THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME Mark Haddon’s prize-winning novel about an autistic British teen was adapted for the stage by Simon Stephens, and it won awards in London and New York. Christopher is a near-genius who doesn’t play well with others, but he loves animals. When a neighbor’s dog is brutally murdered, he sets out to solve the mystery — emulating the deductive reasoning of Sherlock Holmes. The show had a spectacular scenic design in its early incarnations; it’s
likely to look different at the Playhouse, but Christopher’s journey of self-exploration will inspire audiences. Oct. 14-Nov. 11. $35-$91. Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, 962 Mount Adams Circle, Mount Adams, cincyplay.com. (RP) DANCE: SHASTA GEAUX POP The Contemporary Arts Center makes this Oct. 26-27 event in its Black Box Performance Series sound pretty irresistible when it describes “Shasta Geaux Pop” this way: “If Millie Jackson, Roxanne Shante, OutKast and Monty Python had a baby in the year 3030.” It goes on to say this wild, irreverent performance artwork/dance party will be “unforgettable, outrageously hilarious and completely uncensored.” As written, conceived and acted by Ayesha Jordan in collaboration with Charlotte Brathwaite, who directs the program, Shasta sings and comments on sexuality and other pressing issues while classic Hip Hop music plays. 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26-27. $18; $12 CAC members. Black Box Theatre, Contemporary Arts Center, 44 E. Sixth St., Downtown, contemporaryartscenter.org. (SR) LIT: ZADIE SMITH Zadie Smith’s award-winning first novel, 2000’s White Teeth, has become one of the most influential and admired of the new millennium (to date), and she’s gone on to further success with such books as On Beauty and Swing Time. She appears here Nov. 4 to deliver the Mercantile Library’s prestigious Niehoff Lecture, the
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An official release date for director Yorgos Lanthimos’ new Cincinnati-shot film has not been established for our region, but when it arrives sometime in November, lovers of his Dogtooth and The Lobster will eagerly be awaiting his latest. The film brings Beguiled co-stars Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell (a Lobster alumnus as well) as a married couple struggling with the unsettling appearance of a teenage boy with an obsessive grudge against Farrell’s character, a surgeon involved in the death of one of his parents. The film earned passionate “love-it-or-hate-it” reactions from critical audiences at May’s Cannes Film Festival, but local audiences will likely be drawn in by its Cincinnati locations. (TT STERN-ENZI)
latest in a line of Niehoff luminaries that includes Annie Proulx, Calvin Trillin, Seamus Heaney and Doris Kearns Goodwin. 7 p.m. Nov. 4. $175 members; $200 non-members. Westin Hotel Presidential Ballroom,21 E. Fifth St., Downtown, mercantilelibrary.com. (SR)
COMEDY: JEN KIRKMAN Perhaps you recognize Jen Kirkman from her always-memorable roundtable appearances on Chelsea Handler’s Chelsea Lately, where she was a staff writer. Or maybe you recognize her name from the New York
COMEDY: NICK OFFERMAN Nick Offerman toiled in relative film/ television obscurity until his breakout deadpan role as Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation. Offerman’s “Full Bush” tour is a blend of musical comedy and stand-up; the star accompanies himself on guitar and ukulele in the service of absurdly funny songs while offering observations on life and living. And he considers himself a humorist, not a comedian. 8 p.m. Nov. 18. $39.50-$59.50. Taft Theatre, 317 E. Fifth St., Downtown, tafttheatre.org. (BB)
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ONSTAGE: FINDING NEVERLAND Based on a 2004 Oscar-winning film, this musical focuses on the mild-mannered J.M. Barrie as he summons the courage to become the writer he yearns to be. When he meets a widow with four children who revel in make-believe adventures, he begins to weave the story of Peter Pan, Captain Hook, the Lost Boys and more. This raucously entertaining production about flying pixies, fairies, dogs and pirates will appeal to kids, to be sure, but also anyone who’s a kid at heart. Director Diane Paulus put together a dazzling Broadway production that’s now touring America and winning more fans for this imaginative show. Nov. 7-19. $42.50-$112. Aronoff Center, 650 Walnut St., Downtown, cincinnatiarts.org. (RP)
Times Best Seller list, where her books, I Can Barely Take Care of Myself: Tales from a Happy Life Without Kids and I Know What I’m Doing - and Other Lies I Tell Myself, have routinely reached the upper floors. Or just maybe you recognize her voice from her narrations on Funny or Die’s Drunk History, where she was actually drunk, and Adult Swim’s Home Movies. Or you may recognize her from her four superior albums/comedy specials, Self Help, Hail to the Freaks, I’m Gonna Die Alone (and I Feel Fine) and the justreleased Just Keep Livin’. Or maybe you just recognize hilarity. Nice spotting on your part. 8 p.m. Nov. 16. $20 advance; $25. Taft Theatre, 317 E. Fifth St., Downtown, tafttheatre.org. (BB)
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M O U NT ST. J OS E P H U N IVE R S ITY 5701 Delhi Road, Cincinnati OH, 45233 // 513-244-4531 // msj.edu A liberal arts education has never been more important than it is right now. Development of intellectual skill sets, such as reading, writing, listening, speaking, critical thinking and problem solving, forms the basis of the core curriculum at Mount St. Joseph University. Given that many jobs today’s students will need to fill in their lifetime haven’t even been invented yet, these skills are vital. Of course, being prepared for a career on graduation day is equally important. The opportunity for students to apply what they learn in the classroom in real-world settings through the Mount’s Career & Experiential Education Center sets MSJ students apart and makes them especially attractive to employers. More than 95% of MSJ undergraduates secure either their chosen full-time career or placement in graduate school within six months of graduation. The Mount’s smaller class sizes, personalized attention from faculty and safe, secure campus enable students to thrive as they make their impact on the world. As a Catholic university rooted in the values of the Sisters of Charity, the Mount community is distinctive in serving those in need with compassion, courage and inclusivity. The faculty and staff’s dedication to student success helps the Mount’s undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students grow into the people and professionals they’re meant to become.
Through its commitment to serving local, national and international communities, the Mount is recognized in the President’s Higher Education Community Service National Honor Roll. The university is also recognized as a Military Friendly School for services for veterans.
Year Founded: 1920 Current Enrollment: 2058 Number of Undergraduate Degrees Offered: 40+ Number of Master’s Degrees Offered: 5+ Number of Doctoral Degrees Offered: 2+ Distance from Downtown Cincinnati: 15 minutes Tuition: $28,100/year Out-of-State Tuition: $29,665 Students on Financial Aid: 98%
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The Mount strives to provide highquality instruction by integrating new technologies into the classroom. The newest pieces of technology are two Anatomage Tables, with a virtual anatomy program that allows students to hone their skills through virtual dissection on an interactive table. The Mount is the first university or college in the region to have this new technology.
U n ite d we stan d Socializing with peers can help lead to academic success
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BY S T E V E N OVO T N I There are times when it is difficult for new students to connect with their peers in college. Fresh out of high school, trying on adulthood for the first time, campus life can be intimidating and alienating. But the rise of smartphones and constant internet connections has created new challenges. Being online all the time means students often engage in electronic socializing at the expense of face-to-face conversations. Local college faculty members say helping students get to know one another and develop relationships is a critical part of the firstyear experience. “I think the trick is to meet students where they’re at and to find ways to get them to meet each other where they’re at in meaningful ways,” says Kevin Reynolds, Thomas More College dean of students. “That meaningful interaction piece is the real trick. Can you have students engaging with one other on Snapchat and Instagram in meaningful ways? How can you incorporate that into the classroom? It’s a challenge.” Reynolds says students tell him they feel like they have too much going on at once. He says they respond best to “micro programs” and “micro interactions.” “At a place like Thomas More where half our students are student athletes, you might have someone who is working, and has practice, and is trying to take 18 credit hours a semester,” Reynolds says. “They’re doing so much that they don’t want to take two-and-a-half hours of their time to go and watch an outdoor movie. They like micro programs, things they can do between classes or right before they leave for the day.” He says the school tries to offer short educational and entertainment programming to students that can be opportunities for socializing. Finding 15-minute activities on campus can get students talking. Recently, in a student lounge on campus, Reynolds says, the school cleared out old couches and arcade games and replaced them with furniture facing each other so students and are more likely to talk. Games like shuffleboard and ping pong that require two
players were added. He says student organizations are likewise fine-tuned to attract student membership. Reynolds mentions that when he was in school it was common for students to get together to watch their favorite television shows. That happens now, too, he says, but to a lesser extent. He has observed that social time revolves around video games or live sports broadcasts. Other than that, socializing is organized around academic advancement. “Here, with the majority of our student organizations, the student has to find that they’re getting their money’s worth out of it,” Reynolds says. “When I was in school I joined a fraternity and I was always going to do things with the fraternity because I was paying for it. Today’s college student — their most valuable resource is their time. So, they might not have to spend money to be a part of the organization, but them spending their time is incredibly valuable to them. So the types of clubs that they’re drawn to joining are ones where they see that they can get a direct return on that investment. We’re seeing a lot more involvement in things directly tied to their major, to their career aspirations, to their career development.”
University 101 Tracy Hart teaches the University 101 course to first-year students at Northern Kentucky University. Her primary role is helping students get acquainted with the NKU campus and connected to other students and campus organizations. Hart says social media plays a large part of students’ lives and that it can be useful to help students find peers interested in the same things. But, conversely, it can also narrow their world view if it only reflects their own interests. “I want them to think bigger but also find value in that initial connection with likeminded students,” she says. Hart says responsible use of social media is stressed in the University 101 course. Students are encouraged to seek out divergent points of view and also reminded that, even though it’s the internet, social norms still apply. “We ask them to think about their employer looking at this,” she says. “Are these things you want people to see that you have posted? Even emailing, too. That first email to a professor — you don’t email the same way that you text someone. One of their first assignments is to email me and I will get the full range
— professional ones and ones that read, “Hey, Trace, what’s up?” This is University 101 and I’m pretty laid back, but if you email any other professor that way, you’ll have trouble in their class.” Helping students connect with their peers and with campus organizations is critically important to their college experience, Hart says. “Sometimes there are students in the University 101 program who are at risk, and they don’t necessarily like that label. My goal is to help them see that this is a great program, that it is going to be beneficial,” Hart says. “One of the best ways to do that is to help them socialize with each other and see that we’re all in this together.” Hart says with a little nudge, students will begin to work together and encourage one another to complete assignments and support one another in their academics. And freshmen who get in the habit of working cooperatively early on carry those relationships forward as they move on in their academic careers. “They will intentionally take classes together and support one another,” Hart says. “I think it’s really important.” ©
Year Founded: 1869
Art Acad e my o f C i n c i n nati 1212 Jackson St., Cincinnati, OH 45202 513-562-6262 // artacademy.edu
At the Art Academy of Cincinnati, we believe that the arts are a promise of something more; something that can take you anywhere and transform you into anything. Pursued with passion and discipline, the study of art and design can lead to the best you possible — stimulated by knowledge and creative problem solving. Located in Over-the-Rhine, the Art Academy is at the heart of an active and vibrant culture — one that drives curiosity and passion and is filled with inspiration and opportunity. As one of the smallest independent art colleges in the country, our program is distinct. The intimate community is composed of radical artists and designers who establish the rules the future will follow. With an 8:1 student-to-faculty ratio, you’ll receive individualized attention from faculty who are die-hard creatives — which makes them perfect for ushering in a new generation of artists.
Current Enrollment: 200 Number of Undergraduate Degrees Offered: 8 Number of Master’s Degrees Offered: 7 Subject Matter Expertise: Art and Design Distance from Downtown Cincinnati: Located in Over-the-Rhine In-State Tuition: $29,665 Out-of-State Tuition: $29,665 Students on Financial Aid: 85% Awards and Recognition: Our building is LEED certified and has won several awards for its environmentally sensitive design Famous Alumni: Charley Harper, John Ruthven, Elizabeth Nourse, Petah Coyne
Cross the threshold and enter a world where the ingenious and the rebellious come to play. Where the relentless and the radiant find better ways to work and create. Where the cutting-edge become the celebrated and the radicals teach the fundamentals. Start the journey at www.artacademy.edu
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HARRIS WHEELER (BFA ‘19)
Bac k to Sc h oo l Returning to school as a non-traditional student — industry jargon for college students who are older than most of their peers — can feel like an uphill struggle. Often, non-traditional students are trying to leverage school against full-time work and their responsibilities to children and family. Local college representatives say they try and make this balancing act easier by offering night classes, flexible course options and counseling. Doug Bowling is the dean of Cincinnati State’s Center for Innovative Technologies. He works to help students earn degrees that apply to the tech sector — areas like computer support, computer programming and computer networking. These degree and certificate programs are just some of the offerings at Cincinnati State’s Workforce Development Center, which is a division of the school designed to provide training for workers who are already employed and looking to advance in their fields. The center also has offerings in hazardous materials handling, emergency medicine, supply chain logistics and manufacturing. “Ford Motors might come and ask us to train their workers to do that or this,” Bowling says. “We also have what we call open
enrollment programs where students can come in and get some type of certificate or training in a particular area.” Welding is one of the school’s most popular programs, Bowling says. “It’s one of those things where there’s just not as many people as there are jobs to fill them,” Bowling says. “Anything manufacturing right now is hot. With the economy being good, employers are looking for more and more skilled laborers. We can help — we can give them that skill.” Bowling says the amount of time needed to complete a program varies, but some specialized training can be learned in a season instead of a couple of years. “If you want the full-blown two-year associate degree, we offer that,” he says. “For the non-degree student, they might be looking for something faster.” Certificates can also become building blocks to an associate degree later on. “The more you know, the higher the salary can be,” Bowling says. “So that transfers over into our two-year associate degree. We try to have stackable certificates so you can take these certificates and then bring them into a degree program and apply them to a degree.”
Non-traditional students gain skills and a résumé boost BY S T E V E N OVO T N I
Challenges of nontraditional students Northern Kentucky University Director of Graduate Education Christian Gamm says non-traditional students can be looked at as two distinct populations — working professional graduate students who are looking for career advancement, typically ages 35 to 50, and undergraduates who are older than 21. She says teacher education programs are the most popular among NKU’s degree programs. “It earns them more pay and more leverage to move up in their school system,” Gamm says. Family and other outside factors can be a challenge for students, Gamm says. But NKU is flexible, allowing students to come and go within a two-year block of admission. “We are pretty flexible,” Gamm says. “If a student has a project at work and they simply cannot take classes in the next semester, we work it out so that they can kind of come and go as they please.” Gamm says this often comes up in the school’s nursing and teaching programs.
“Those are traditionally female-dominated at the graduate level so we often have students we haven’t heard from in a while,” Gamm says. “So, we’ll check in on them and it’s, ‘Oh. I’m pregnant,’ or ‘I’m getting married,’ and they need to take a semester off. Our curriculum is such that it’s not lock step in most programs and students can come in when they are ready.” Degree programs aren’t the only ways local colleges can help professionals advance. University of Cincinnati Director of Continuing Education Melody Clark says UC’s Communiversity programs, which provide a wide variety of non-credit continuing education, give students a chance to broaden their horizons and become more valuable workplace assets. “The Communiversity program is primarily evening, weekend and online,” Clark says. “The business, web-related, professional development, those are the courses that are most popular.” Clark says these courses can add depth to a professional’s knowledge base and help them move forward in their careers with new skill sets. ©
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There’s nothing like it.
XAVIER.EDU
C I N C I N NATI STATE 3520 Central Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45202 513-861-7700 // cincinnatistate.edu
Cincinnati State is the regional leader in career education and one of the best higher education values. It provides relevant education geared to local employment needs, with one of the most comprehensive co-op programs in the country. For bachelor-bound students, Cincinnati State is a smart start with tuition less than half the cost of traditional universities and credits that transfer seamlessly to other colleges and universities. Cincinnati State offers associate degrees and certificates in nursing and health care, engineering technologies, culinary arts, business and information technologies, environmental technologies, humanities and sciences and a wide range of specialized areas. Its Workforce Development Center provides customized training for corporate, governmental and non-profit clients as well as job-oriented courses for the public. Cincinnati State information sessions are held at the Clifton campus every Tuesday at 9 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Year Founded: 1969 Current Enrollment: 10,000 Number of Undergraduate Degrees Offered: 130 two-year degrees or certificates Subject Matter Expertise: Health & Public Safety; Engineering; Midwest Culinary Institute; Business and Environmental Technologies; Transfer Degrees Distance from Downtown Cincinnati: 2 Miles In-State Tuition: $148.64 per credit hour Out-of-State Tuition: $287.28 per credit hour Students on Financial Aid: 70% Affiliated Colleges/Satellite Campuses: Middletown; Harrison, Evendale (Workforce Development Center); West Chester (Supply Chain Career Development Center); Great Oaks campuses (LPN classes)
SeeSee yourself yourself See at yourself Greater at Greater at Greater Cincinnati’s Cincinnati’s Cincinnati’s Career Career College. College. Career College.
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Cincinnati Cincinnati StateState is Cincinnati a great is a great fit State for fityour for is ayour needs, great needs, fit for your needs, whether whether youryour planwhether plan is to ischange toyour change careers, plancareers, is to change careers, get aget joba or jobsave or save on getthe on a job first theor first two save two years onyears the of first of two years of youryour college college degree. degree. your college degree.
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Contact Contact the Office the Office Contact of Admission of Admission the Office at at of Admission at (513)(513) 861-7700 861-7700 or visit (513) or visit cincinnatistate.edu/career 861-7700 cincinnatistate.edu/career or visit cincinnatistate.edu/career
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Staff Recommendations
photo : haile y bollinger
WEDNESDAY 23
ONSTAGE: SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK Need to get in shape for some heavy-duty Shakespeare coming your way with the opening of the fall theater season? If you want to tune up your Elizabethan ear for classic theater, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s free presentations of plays in area parks are hot and heavy this week. You can see three free performances trimmed to less than two hours, inventively using six actors in portable productions. At 7 p.m. Wednesday it’s Romeo and Juliet at Saint. Lawrence Square (3650 Warsaw Ave., Price Hill); 7 p.m. Thursday, you’ll find The Merry Wives of Windsor at Flagship Park (Deerchase Drive, Erlanger, Ky.); and at 7 p.m. Friday you can catch Romeo and Juliet at Stanbery Park (2221 Oxford Ave., Mount Washington). Find more info at cincyshakes.com/shakespearein-the-park. — RICK PENDER
THURSDAY 24
MUSIC: BLACKBERRY SMOKE shares headliner duties with GOV’T MULE at Riverbend. See Sound Advice on page 44.
COMEDY: CINCY BREW HA-HA Cincy Brew Ha-Ha, as the name suggests, has perfected the art of mixing comedy and alcohol (the more you drink, the funnier people get!). More than 80 comedians, including headliners Kevin Heffernan and Steve Lemme (Super Troopers, Beerfest), Bryan Callen (The Hangover, The Goldbergs) and Brooks Wheelan (SNL), will take over Sawyer Point on four different stages while you sip on a selection of more than 110 craft beers, ciders and wine. Come for the comedy — the laughs are free — and grab a wristband and beer tickets to sample tons of local, national, rare and seasonal brews. 5 p.m.-midnight Thursday and Friday; 4 p.m.-midnight Saturday. Free; $5 wristband; $1 beer tickets. Sawyer Point, 705 E. Pete Rose Way, Downtown, cincybrewhaha.com. — MACKENZIE MANLEY
MUSIC: Evocative Country/Bluegrass musician TYLER CHILDERS plays this weekend’s Whispering Beard Folk Festival. See Sound Advice on page 44. MUSIC: COM TRUISE brings Indie Electronic Sythwave sounds to Fountain Square. See Sound Advice on page 45. LIT: BRUCE CAMPBELL heads to Joseph-Beth to discuss and sign his book, Hail to the Chin. See interview on page 35. EVENT: BEWILDERFEST This weekend, Urban Artifact hosts its
EVENT: MARGARITA MADNESS Raise a glass to the dog days of summer at CityBeat’s fifth-annual Margarita Madness, a tequila-fueled fiesta at Newport on the Levee. Get some food in your stomach from local restaurants like Dewey’s Pizza and Bakersfield OTR, then imbibe margaritas from the likes of El Rancho Grande, Calle Cantina and Queen City Radio. Participating vendors will compete to make the best margs and guacamole (as determined by 96ROCK deejays JD and Bridget), and local Alt Rock group Beloved Youth will play all evening long. Ticket price includes 10 drink tickets and food samples. Tickets from the rescheduled May event will be honored. 5:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesday. $35 advance; $40 day of. Newport on the Levee, 1 Levee Way, Newport, Ky., citybeat.com. — EMILY BEGLEY
second-annual Bewilderfest, a celebration of wild culture as manifested in music and craft beer. Urban Artifact is famous for its funky, tart brews, highlighting wild-caught yeast, bacteria and other microscopic friends. This fest builds on that unique philosophy by asking a roster of bands — including Abiyah, BLVCK SEEDS, Dream Tiger, Eugenius and more — to perform songs outside their comfort zone, and breweries to test their limits by bringing barrels of fun fermented brews to tap. Friday-Sunday. Free admission. Urban Artifact, 1660 Blue Rock St., Northside, artifactbeer.com. — MAIJA ZUMMO EVENT: TASTE: BLUE ASH FOOD & MUSIC FESTIVAL Held in the still-expanding Summit Park, the Taste of Blue Ash is bigger these days than ever before, complete with a brand new name: Taste: Blue Ash Food & Music Festival. The event consistently draws thousands
of people from all over Cincinnati eager to get a taste of the ’burb. This year’s participating restaurants and food trucks include C’est Cheese, City BBQ, Busken Bakery, Le’s Pho and TAHONA Kitchen + Bar (and that’s just scratching the surface). Friday’s performers include Naked Karate Girls, Blessid Union of Souls and Loverboy, while Saturday features the Keith Swinney Band, Halfway to Hazard and Big & Rich. Noon-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Free admission. Summit Park, 4335 Glendale Milford Road, Blue Ash, blueashevents.com. — EMILY BEGLEY FILM: MOVIE MADNESS! LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS Resurrect lost cinema with host Count Fatcula and explore the terrain of late-night movie specials of times gone by — think Elvira’s Movie Macabre or Svengoolie. This week, watch an alien plant mooch off lovable, clumsy Seymour in the original
classic Little Shop of Horrors (1960), which later spawned the famous musical. Held at Darkness Brewing, the popcorn is free and the beer is good. Grab tickets in advance by calling 859-815-8375. 9 p.m. Friday. $5. Darkness Brewing, 224 Fairfield Ave., Bellevue, Ky., facebook.com/darknessbrewing. — MACKENZIE MANLEY EVENT: GERMANIA SOCIETY OKTOBERFEST Authentic to the first Oktoberfest — held in Munich in 1810 — the Queen City’s Germania Society has celebrated the Bavarian tradition since 1971. Feast on German food like sauerkraut balls, schwenkbraten and classic wursts, then wash it down with German beir, wein and schapps. Throw on some lederhosen and dance to live music all weekend. Kids will be entertained by rides and games, and the whole family can kick off the event CONTINUES ON PAGE 30
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FRIDAY 25
WEDNESDAY 23
photo : Anthony Luensman
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FRIDAY 25
ART: ANTHONY LUENSMAN: NEW WORKS AT CLAY STREET PRESS After 25 years of working with large sculpture, technology and installation, Cincinnati’s prodigal son Anthony Luensman has returned from his desert retreat outside of Tucson, Ariz., where he’s been living for the past year or so. According to the artist, “I began to grow weary of the complicated processes that kept me out of my studio in a constant sourcing of materials and services and onsite installations.” This new practice, then, is a result of “letting work grow out of its own formalities without didactic intent.” Opening reception 6-9 p.m. Friday. Through Oct. 14. Free. Clay Street Press, 1312 Clay St., Over-the-Rhine, patsfallgraphics.com. — MARIA SEDA-REEDER
FROM PAGE 29
with a parade of dignitaries from German organizations across Southwest Ohio. 6 p.m.-midnight Friday; 2 p.m.-midnight Saturday; noon-8 p.m. Sunday. $5; free 12 and under. Germania Park, 3529 W. Kemper Road, Colerain, germaniasociety. com. — MACKENZIE MANLEY COMEDY: BRYAN CALLEN Having lived in seven different countries by the time he was 15, Bryan Callen quickly discovered that laughter is indeed a universal language. “I was put into an entirely new situation with strangers,” he says. “The way you get guys to like you is to be good at sports and to make them laugh. I was pretty good at sports, but I was better at being an idiot, and now I get paid for it.” Comedy fans will recognize Callen from his scores of appearances on TV shows over the years, most notably as a cast member of Mad TV and as Bilson on How I Met Your Mother. He headlines the Cincy Brew Ha-Ha Comedy Festival Friday. 9:30 p.m. Friday. Free admission. Sawyer Point, 705 E. Pete Rose Way, Downtown, cincybrewhaha.com. — P.F. WILSON
SATURDAY 26
EVENT: CHARM AT THE FARM’s summer vintage and craft market takes place Saturday and Sunday. See feature on page 34.
MUSIC: Local Pop/Punk quartet VACATION plays an album release show at Shake It Records. See feature on page 42. ART: FANDOM: STRANGER THINGS The Cincinnati Art Museum’s Fandom series bridges pop culture and art history by presenting quirky themes as a lens through which to view the museum’s permanent collection. In June it was Game of Thrones and in July it was The Bachelorette. This time around the theme is Stranger Things. Find out how the sci-fi Netflix hit relates to the art on display and listen to several jokes about Barb and Eggo waffles. Fandom programs take place the fourth Saturday of the month. 2-3 p.m. Saturday. Free; reservations required. Cincinnati Art Museum, 953 Eden Park Drive, Eden Park, cincinnatiartmuseum.org. — MAIJA ZUMMO EVENT: PARTY IN PLAID PLUNGES UNDER THE SEA Caracole, the local nonprofit devoted to reducing the impact of HIV/AIDS through housing, care and prevention, is celebrating its 30th anniversary underwater. Party in Plaid Plunges Under the Sea is a perfect excuse to try out that mermaid hair you’ve secretly been considering — both plaid and nautical-themed attire are encouraged. The evening includes live music, cocktails, dinner-by-the-bite and a performance by noted local choreographer and DANCEFIX
photo : provided
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EVENT: TASTE OF OTR Discover all the culinary delights of Over-the-Rhine (and nearby) without the usual two-hour wait. Head to Tender Mercies’ fifth-annual Taste of OTR to fill up on food from the likes of Eli’s BBQ, Macaron Bar, Che, Taste of Belgium, Tom+Chee, Fireside Pizza and more while benefiting the nonprofit’s mission of transforming the lives of homeless adults with mental illness. The event also includes beer from locals Rhinegeist and Samuel Adams, plus a full lineup of live entertainment. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday. Free admission; $25 VIP (includes special tastings and covered seating). Washington Park, 1230 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, tendermerciesinc.org. — MAIJA ZUMMO
founder Heather Britt. The event’s signature silent auction also returns. 6:30 p.m. Saturday. $75 general admission; $40 young professional. Cincinnati Masonic Center, 317 E. Fifth St., Downtown, caracole.org. — EMILY BEGLEY
SUNDAY 27
MUSIC: DOWNTOWN BOYS If the stench of social injustice that has been especially putrid in America over the
ONGOING shows VISUAL ART A Shared Legacy: Folk Art in America Cincinnati Art Museum, Eden Park (through Sept. 3)
Over-the-Rhine + 16-BitBar.com
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EVENT: AN AFTERNOON WITH THE BEER BARONS Do you like beer and dead people? Spring Grove Heritage Foundation does, too, and its fourth-annual An Afternoon with the Beer Barons explores both via tours and tastings (of beer, not people). Docents will lead guests on guided coach jaunts of the final resting places of famous local beer kingpins like Christian Moerlein and John Kauffman, relating tales of their history and alcoholic achievements along the way. Local living brewers — including Braxton, MadTree, Rivertown and more — will also be on hand so you can sample their most popular and unique beers. Strictly 21 and up. 4-7 p.m. Saturday. $40. Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum, 4521 Spring Grove Ave., Spring Grove Village, springgrove.org. — MAIJA ZUMMO
past several months has you feeling overwhelmed or perhaps all alone in your anger and frustration, Downtown Boys’ appearance in Cincinnati this week might just be the perfect communal experience for you — in desperate and divisive times, a shared expression of rage and empowerment can do wonders. Unless you are on the wrong side of history and societal evolution (in which case, Kid Rock is still accepting fans), there probably isn’t a more “of-the-moment” band right now than Downtown Boys, which just released their high-profile Sub Pop debut, Cost of Living, an album overflowing with righteous, pull-no-punches/ throw-all-punches Punk Rock manifestos that rail against the very hatred, bigotry and pro-oppression ideologies that dominate headlines daily in Trump’s America. 10 p.m. Sunday. $10. Northside Yacht Club, 4227 Spring Grove Ave., Northside, northsideyachtclub.com. — MIKE BREEN
arts & culture
Let’s Go Glamping
Hueston Woods State Park offers a yurt and other options for those who want something fancier than a tent BY KATIE GRIFFITH
P H O T O : k at i e g r i f f i th
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W
e may never know if it was the day Cady Heron of Mean Girls finally talked to Aaron Samuels in calculus class (she says “grool,” unable to decipher great and cool) or if it was Brangelina (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) who popularized the portmanteau — a term for two words united as one. But we do know that it’s usually a fun way to combine two things we like, or maybe one thing we like and another we don’t. Example: glamping. Glamorous camping, or glamping, is the latest way to enjoy the outdoors and it’s closer, cheaper and less pretentious than you’d think. Regular camping is all about doing it yourself: pitching a tent, starting a fire, hiking out to a nice spot and cramming things into a backpack. Glamping is about arriving to your destination with all of those amenities and more already set up for you. “We are evolving in our travel and want experiences that are really meaningful,” says Linda Clark, director of sales at glamping.com. “People are looking for something more unusual and glamping is that, because you have that experimental component, but then you are staying in this awesome accommodation that would be very different from a hotel room.” This “upscale version of camping,” as Clark puts it, is available in various forms, such as tree houses and trailers or cottages and tepees. But one in particular is growing in use and popularity: the yurt. And Hueston Woods State Park, in Butler County north of Oxford, has one. (It offers several no-tent-necessary overnight options.) I know what you’re thinking. What is a yurt? Is it as dinky as it sounds? Can something called a yurt really be glamorous? Does it have windows? Is there a bed, a fridge? Is it safe? How is it different from staying in a tent? Does it even have Wi-Fi? Well, to save you the trouble I braved this foreign structure for a night. But first, what is a yurt? (I had to look it up, too.) Originally built by nomads in Central Asia, yurts were a portable way of life and shelter. Think tepee with more space and a solid foundation. Modern yurts, like the one at Hueston Woods, are constructed mostly of accordion lattice walls, wooden rafters and a weather-proof canvas cover. They range in size and usage but are always circular. Personal, business and government use are three main categories cited by Alan Bair, president of Pacific Yurts Inc., the first company to modernize the yurt and also the constructor of the Hueston Woods one. They are often residential properties or temporary living for people who build rural homes, he said. They are also commonly
Despite forgetting to bring DVDs and beer, writer Katie Griffith enjoyed her stay at the yurt. used for yoga studios or artist studios while government use mostly falls under rentable structures for public parks. Those seem to have growth potential. “I think that, for a lot of people, it’s having that comfort yet still hearing the rain or feeling the wind,” Bair says of the glamping attraction. “(You’re) feeling a lot closer to nature than you would in a typical cabin or house; it really provides best-of-bothworld experiences.” I knew this Hueston Woods yurt was going to go beyond my expectations when I received a pre-trip email welcoming me with no-cook recipes, to do lists, camping and safety rules — even one on how to cook comfort food at your outside campsite. I’m used to hiking a trail and pitching a tent, so grabbing my daypack and sleeping bag would leave me more than prepared, right? Well, kind of. I was prepared but not equipped. The circular, canvas-covered shelter sits along a vast tree line on the RV campground and offers two futons, a mini-fridge, TV, DVD player and a microwave. Upon entering through the French doors I was immediately regretful for not bringing a movie. I thought, ‘Nah, I’ll be camping.’ I’ll want to
enjoy the chirping crickets and bright stars, the pure darkness of night and the golden glow of the sunrise. But this was more than camping… it was glamping. “Yurts are becoming a really popular overnight option for folks who want a camping experience and don’t want to bring all the gear,” says Heidi Hetzel-Evans, communications manager at Ohio State Parks. Hueston Woods only offers one yurt for the time being, but Hetzel-Evans said over the last five to 10 years Ohio State Parks has continually been adding yurts to the reservation system. As of now, eight out of roughly 70 Ohio State parks have at least one yurt available for rent, making it a fairly exclusive experience. Her park’s yurt was occupied 126 of 184 rentable days last year. So there I was, stuck with my granola and water in this exclusive, circular dome, staring out of the sunroof contemplating my choice of “gear.” You see, it’s not that you don’t have to bring any gear at all; it’s that you have to adapt the gear to your surroundings. For example, beer should have been involved. And everything else I strung along could have paralleled what I would have brought to a sleepover at age 12.
Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable experience. When I closed my eyes, I could feel the wind and hear the birds. I could smell fire smoldering and hear leaves rustling. The sound of rushing water lured me to a trailhead directly behind the yurt. I followed the steep trail into the woods and down to a creek, where I spent most of my time until dusk. At first, I thought it was strange that the yurt was settled among a bunch of RVs, but I was thankful for the company as the sun went down. While I was preparing to start a fire in the nearby fire ring, numerous people stopped to ask me about the yurt. Suddenly, I felt like the weird yurt lady, perched outside my dwelling, handing out history lessons, roasting marshmallows and merrily waving at passersby. The majority of questions mirrored my initial inquiries. It was comfortable and glamorous (no Wi-Fi, by the way) compared to tent camping, but when it comes down to it they are too different to compare. That doesn’t mean a backcountry camper couldn’t enjoy a night in a yurt, however. Just about anyone could. ©
a&c THE big picture
WANTS YOU TO
A Lesson for Urban Cultural Centers
WIN STUFF!
BY STEVEN ROSEN
CHRIS STAPLETON SEPTEMBER 8TH RIVERBEND
Visit citybeat.com/win-stuff to enter for a chance to win tickets to this upcoming show!
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Cincinnati’s method toward creating inside and out, that show a very humane state-of-the-art homes for its arts and touch. The front brick façade has arched cultural institutions has been to use historic windows and an entranceway that form invitpreservation — restoring and modernizing ing facial features; there is an actors’ meditaits landmark buildings like the 19th- cention balcony behind the stage; and a graceful tury Music Hall and the Art Deco Union folding wooden partition encloses the large Terminal. We’ll begin seeing the results of curved entrance to a studio. The 500-seat that soon; Music Hall reopens Oct. 6-7. theater is what Kahn called a “concrete But not all cities have done it like this. violin” (with concrete catwalks) encased by Some have sought to create new multi-buildan exterior “brick violin case.” For all the ing campuses for the cultural arts as a stateproblems, this wasn’t just a commission for ment of their growth and urban renewal. And Kahn — he saw it as a mission to further the Cincinnati has tried a smaller version of that meaning and impact of the arts in a city. — the Cesar Pelli-designed Aronoff Center for the Arts. There are minuses of thinking big (and new): You have to be able to deliver. One community that thought really big was Fort Wayne, Ind. In a burst of post-war forwardthinking civic optimism, it hired one of America’s greatest and most artistic architects — the late Louis I. Kahn — to build a civic center for the city’s Fine Arts Foundation (now known as the Arts United) that would be the envy of far bigger cities. Fort Wayne, Indiana’s Arts United Center Kahn is famous for manyP H O T O : t i f fa n y s t r e e t/ c o u r t e s y o f th e f o r t way n e m u s e u m o f a r t such buildings as La Jolla, Calif.’s Salk Institute, Yale University’s Center for British Art and Fort Fort Wayne seems to want to promote Worth, Texas’ Kimbell Art Museum, which the Arts United Center to outsiders. There’s often gets praised because of its use of natuan excellent exhibition at the Fort Wayne ral light — and for being the subject of the an Museum of Art (fwmoa.org) now through Oscar-nominated documentary My Architect. Oct. 15, On the Pursuit of Perfection: The But he’s not famous for his Fort Wayne Legacy Architecture of Louis I. Kahn in project, which was the last one he personally Our City. For the first time, it brings together completed before his death in 1974. (Some his blueprints, drawings, newspaper stories were finished posthumously). By the time it of the time and the often-shocking corwas finally done in 1973, vastly scaled down respondence from the civic leaders trying from his original proposal and the foundato get the project built. For instance, in tion’s dreams, he had been involved since 1969 — after Kahn had disregarded a plea by 1961 and had worn the city’s patience out. the foundation to scale back his plans (and That may be one reason why the Arts costs) because of fundraising problems — United Center, as the one completed building the organization’s president wrote him this: is called, is so little known nationally or even “I am at a loss to understand why you regionally, even though it’s Kahn’s only projcontinually assume that we can and will ect in the Midwest and his only theater. somehow come up with the additional Kahn originally had envisioned 12 elefunds for a far more costly building.” ments of a sweeping campus, nine of which Best of all, the Arts United Center is adjawould be buildings. When he subsequently cent to the museum (which was built in the proposed an amphitheater, performing arts 1980s), and its management is encouraging theater, philharmonic hall, art museum and visitors to tour. (Reservations can be made art school, the price tag was $20 million by calling 260-424-0646 and leaving a mes— roughly $127 million in today’s dollars. sage for Miriam Morgan). You can easily get In 1963, the foundation said it could only to Fort Wayne and back in a day from Cincinrealistically fundraise for the performing nati, and it’s well worth doing for this exhibit arts center and a school; in 1967 it estimated and building. The show adds immensely to those would cost $10-$12 million. Eventually, understanding Kahn — and also to underthe school was removed from the plan. standing the ambitions of cities. The building as finished is not perfect but CONTACT STEVEN ROSEN: srosen@citybeat.com it has fascinating and lovely design features,
a&c culture
Former Clydesdale Farm Hosts Vintage Market
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BY EMILY BEGLEY
Nearly two decades ago, the 56-acre farm Chestnut Tree Studio and statement jewelry that Amy Doyle calls home with her husband mecca Off the Beaten Path. and three young children was used to raise More than 90 vendors will set up shop for champion Budweiser Clydesdales, whose the summer market, with booths adjacent names are still emblazoned on the stalls to the barn; the event is just as much about inside their barn. But today, a different vision the atmosphere as it is about the shopping. — Doyle’s — is manifested on the Lebanon, A VIP session takes place 5-8 p.m. Friday, Ohio farm: a seasonal vintage market she open solely to VIP ticket holders ($20) established with the help of her best friend. before the market opens to the public on It’s called Charm at the Farm, and it takes Saturday. Doyle says multiple limited-ability place this Friday through Sunday. exclusives will be available. From rustic gifts and furniture to one-of-a-kind décor from local vendors, the open-air market exudes its namesake: charm. Two years in the making, the grand-opening event was held on June 3, 2017, attracting nearly 3,000 shoppers over a two-day period. After this weekend’s summer market, the fall installment is scheduled for Oct. 27-29. Originally from Phoenix, Doyle developed a passion for discovering vintage, unique finds hidden within the big Amy Doyle (left) and Jayme Kuenkel of Charm at the Farm city — a love she wanted to P H O T O : n at i v e i r i s photo g r a ph y bring to the Lebanon community when she and her family purchased the farm about three years ago. Four DIY workshops will also be offered The market’s mission, she says, is to bring onsite for an additional ticket price ($25): together “the treasure seeker with those who a pillow-making demonstration requiring restore, repurpose, inspire and create.” minimal sowing; flower arranging; an infor“We first created our vision for the market mative succulent workshop; and decorative and shared our concept with a few select Scrabble tile painting. Each workshop will vendors, and it really has just exploded be led by a local company and all materials since then,” Doyle says. To bring that vision are included with ticket price. to life, she recruited help from her best For Doyle and Kuenkel, giving back is an friend, who now serves as the creative force imperative aspect of Charm at the Farm. A behind the event: market co-owner Jayme full $1 of every $5 general admission ticket Kuenkel. The two met seven years ago at purchased benefits the Blue Ash-based Mattheir church in Mason, Ohio; their husbands thew 25: Ministries, an international humanialso work together. tarian aid and disaster relief organization. “We’ve been blessed to have our husbands More food trucks, drink selections and and close friends who believe in us and live music have been added to this event in Charm at the Farm,” Kuenkel says. “We than the previous one, Doyle says. wouldn’t be able to provide such an amazing In the near future, the duo looks forward experience without a solid, dedicated team to growing the market as they continue of volunteers, friends and family tremenbringing local vendors together on the farm. dously helping in the background.” “I love being able to walk out my front Vendors participating in the upcoming door and be able to offer incredible shopmarket include Two Little Buds, a wedding ping and an experience for our farm,” Doyle and event florist working out of its own says. “If you were to walk through my home, farm in Morning Sun, Ohio; Cincinnati’s you’d see pieces from our vendors all over Happy Groundhog Studio, which sells handthe place.” made and eco-friendly plush critters for “I also love just walking around and seeing kids (and kids-at-heart); and Vintage Mason, all the amazing, one-of-a-kind items (vena Versailles, Ohio purveyor of rustic home dors) bring to the farm,” Kuenkel adds. goods and décor. CHARM AT THE FARM’s Summer Market Dozens of Ohio towns are represented at takes place Saturday and Sunday, with a VIP the market, from Dayton to Pickerington to session 5-8 p.m. Friday. More info/tickets: Columbus. Additional vendors from Cincincharmatthefarm.com. nati include hand-printed textile enthusiasts
a&c LIT
Bruce Campbell Keeps His Chin Up BY JASON GARGANO
Raimi directed the pilot and has continued as an executive producer on the series. “Sam’s the same,” Campbell says of working with him again. “He’s still bossy. He still tries to belittle me in front of the crew. But, in all seriousness, his skill sets continue to improve, which was why it was fun to work with him again.”
Actor Campbell is also a bestselling author. PHOTO : mike ditz
Campbell has a theory, which he explores via various anecdotes in his latest book, as to why the types of slanted, largely genredriven movies and television shows he has been affiliated with over the years have been so successful with certain audiences. “Part of it is that people are looking for an escape,” he says. “I think when things in our country or society get funky, we tend to run for cover. And this is certainly a time when people want to hide. You can get all sociological here — we’re looking for heroes, so these Marvel movies are perfect for that. The world makes sense when you do a superhero movie. It is part of the fantasy of why people go to movies — they go to escape.” As for the publishing business, Campbell says there is at least one area where he prefers it to movies. “They know how to add and subtract,” he says. “People in the movie business need to take math classes. But it’s nice to know in the movie business that even the accounting is creative.” BRUCE CAMPBELL will appear 7 p.m. Friday at Joseph-Beth Booksellers at Rookwood Pavilion, 2692 Madison Road, Norwood. More info: josephbeth.com
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Bruce Campbell has been a cult actor for more than 30 years. He has been riding a career wave that has encompassed everything from B-movie-actor extraordinaire to author of 2002’s surprise bestseller If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor to, most recently, semi-mainstream TV success. Campbell, who appears Friday at Joseph-Beth Booksellers at Rookwood Pavilion to support his new memoir Hail to the Chin, made his name playing Ash, the lead character in Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead film trilogy, crafty horror adventures that were as humorous as they were terrifying. Campbell and Raimi grew up together in the suburbs of Detroit dreaming of making movies, and 36 years after the debut of the original Evil Dead, each is still doing what he loves. The most unlikely of Campbell’s endeavors has been his success as an author: His 2002 memoir’s out-of-nowhere success was evidence of the square-jawed actor’s unique presence on the cultural landscape. Now comes its sequel of sorts, Hail to the Chin: Further Confessions of a B Movie Actor. “I look back and it was a pretty packed 15 years,” Campbell says by cellphone from a train on the way to the next stop on what will be a 35-city book tour. “There was plenty of material for a second book, and the good news is that I don’t have to make anything up with books like this. I just have to go on imdb.com and remind myself of what I did. “On this one, I partnered up with Craig Sanborn, who’s a co-writer, because I needed a little help getting this book done in a timely fashion since I was working a lot,” he continues. “He and I sat down and recorded a bunch of conversations about the various projects that I remembered. He would interview me. Then he transcribed it and we started hacking it into chapters. Then I would finish the chapters so that it was in my voice.” Among the projects Campbell discusses in the book is Ash vs. Evil Dead, a continuation of the character he created with Raimi, but this time as a television series on Starz. “It’s a bizarre situation,” Campbell says of the series, which debuted in 2015 and will unveil its third season sometime this fall. “I’m very glad to be able to do it. I feel like George Lucas on the Stars Wars movies: I can go back and fix Ash now. The last time I played him was 25 years ago for Army of Darkness, and so I now have a quartercentury of experience I can bring to the part. It’s been fun in a TV format to flesh the character out and give him new dimensions. You find out new phobias and quirks, dumb things that he says.”
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All that glitters… well, forget that old saysome comic book-based franchise, nor is ing, because in Good Time, from the brothers it an audition for a slot as a romantic icon. Safdie (Josh and Benny), there isn’t a single Pattinson is just Connie caught up in a big frame of glitz or glam, which says quite a bit dumb scheme reacting to every bad move considering that Twilight heartthrob Robert and decision with another worse choice. Pattinson takes center stage for a significant He’s not going ugly like Charlize Theron amount of the film’s running time. in Monster, or pushing the limits of his body Pattinson plays Connie, the older brother like Robert De Niro in Raging Bull. Pattinof Nick (Benny Safdie), a mentally chalson weasels into himself, into that dark heart lenged young man who quietly idolizes his that we all have but rarely ever stare at in the brother and would do anything to walk in his mirror, because who but the worst among shadow. Connie grabs Nick from therapy and us would want to acknowledge the base evil cajoles him into standing next to him during that we might possess but have locked away? a bank robbery that’s short on planning and full of desperation. Complications ensue. Pattinson’s Connie operates on pure feral passion, which simply won’t get him far in the urban jungle. At some point, the brutal rules of civilization become will harsher than the natural order. It is truly fascinating to watch the transformation of Pattinson, the brooding matinee idol who sparkled like some Rihanna stone opposite Kristen Stewart in the disjointed film adaptations Pattinson’s Good Time character operates on feral passion. of the Stephenie Meyer YAP H O T O : c o u r t e s y o f a 24 vampires-and-werewolves-inlove-and-war franchise. Now, he’s prowling in unfamiliar terrain, like a When I spoke with the Safdies by phone, newly sprung panther. Benny talked about how they wanted not Stewart also has found a way to throw just Connie, but all of the characters, to be off the yoke of early-age stardom — she real. “These people exist, so you’re watchhad started out as a child actor in David ing it, but also you’re feeling that there are Fincher’s Panic Room alongside child-star real stakes and consequences,” Benny says. alumna Jodie Foster. “And it feels like at any moment the cops Pattinson already has been in some edgy could bust in. You’re in that moment.” movies geared toward the art/indie market Further into the discussion, Josh menlike David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis and tions the idea where “character and genre Map to the Stars and this year’s The Lost become one thing” in Good Time, much like City of Z from director James Gray. But in such quirky thrillers of the 1970s and ’80s maybe for the first time in his movies, he as Dog Day Afternoon and After Hours. completely disappears inside Connie, per“We were making a movie at the pace of the haps because the character doesn’t rely on main character, and with his mindset,” he reminding us that Pattinson is the famous says. “You’re getting your information when face representing this wounded figure. Conyou need to get it — not beforehand. So, you nie isn’t some good kid with a future turned learn about the brothers’ relationship just bad; he’s an immigrant kid without hope by seeing them interact.” or understanding of the American Dream. That notion encapsulates our experiences His life, his very world, is nothing but the with Connie and his own limited understandunderbelly, the underneath where there’s no ing of his life and situation. There’s no need beauty or sweetness to be found. or time for self-reflection. He never pauses You don’t need a pretty face to play long enough to reconsider. He reacts, and this role, just dark dead eyes and a sense Pattinson seems to relish the freedom this of movement — a headlong propulsion grants him. It is not just a Good Time for Patforward toward the trap of the future that’s tinson, but a perfect moment for genre and waiting. And Pattinson brings that sense of movie stars (and directors like the Safdies) abandon. He doesn’t have the calculation of to explore new possibilities. (Opens Friday a performer announcing that he’s “making at the Esquire Theatre.) (R) Grade: A a transition.” This isn’t intended to be part CONTACT TT STERN-ENZI: letters@ citybeat.com of his show reel for his next starring role in
ON SCREEN ‘Wind River’ BY T T STERN-ENZI
Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Taylor Sheridan (Hell or High Water) takes the helm on Wind River, a spiritual sequel of sorts to both Hell or High Water and Sicario, his first attempt at film writing. Prior to settling in behind the camera, Sheridan patrolled the other side, working as an actor in action-oriented television fare, from one-off appearances on shows like Walker, Texas Ranger and NYPD Blue to more sustained efforts like his stint on Sons of Anarchy. It is plain to see that he brings a jaded perspective to what we’ve come to expect from typical genre exercises. His scripts focus on outsiders on either side of the law-and-order divide. Sicario put the spotlight on a female FBI agent (Emily Blunt) enlisted by an amorphous governmental task force to take an undisclosed (and undefined) role in the border drug war between the United States and Mexico, while Hell or High Water two-stepped from a pair of seemingly mismatched Texas Rangers (Jeff Bridges and Gil Birmingham) to a duo of desperate brothers (Chris Pine and Ben Foster) seeking to remain afloat in the aftermath of the 2008 economic crisis. Wind River takes us to another unstable crossroad, as FBI agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) gets assigned to a murder case on a Native American reservation. There, she’s required to team up with the town’s veteran wild game tracker (Jeremy Renner), who has deep ties to the community and a haunting loss of his own that mirrors the crime under investigation. The procedural elements of the narrative get shuffled so that the primary drama rests on the shoulders of these two characters. Longstanding concerns about politics and the social order (from gender to the friction between Native Americans and the government) loom large, choking off the usual mindless release we gain from the explosive scenes of violence that pop up here. Sheridan shows us that living the way of the gun has harsh consequences that cannot be washed away, no matter how strong the current of the river or the gust of wind blowing by. (Opens Friday at area theaters.) (R) Grade: B+
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Shocking Revelations in ‘Game of Thrones’ BY JAC KERN
any of the valuable information he’s gathered in recent years. For all intents and purposes, Bran is dead, his body only a vessel for this magical, all-seeing entity. And when it comes to magic, there’s always some brewing north of the wall. As we have learned this season, any living thing can be turned into a wight (Game of Thrones’ answer to zombies). We knew White Walkers reanimate dead people
Davos Seaworth and Jon Snow PHOTO : helen sloan/courtesy of hbo
beyond the wall and we’ve seen dead horses in their crew, but the this season brought wight giants and dragons and bears — oh my! The big question is how fatal the ice-breathing zombie dragon will be and who can ultimately kill him. Meanwhile in Winterfell, a minigame of thrones is in play. Sansa Stark is acting Queen of the North in Jon’s absence, and while she should be celebrating a reunion with her badass, face-snatching assassin little sister Arya, the conniving Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish has positioned the sisters at each other’s throats. Everyone knows Littlefinger cares only for himself and is in it for the long game. Could he pit the Starks against one another, eliminating the family entirely and taking the throne himself? While this week’s finale — nearly an hour and a half long — will likely include much set-up for the six-episode final season, the pace of this season suggests more battles, long-awaited reunions and shocking reveals to keep fans theorizing through 2019 — which is unfortunately how long we’ll have to wait for Season 8. CONTACT JAC KERN: @jackern
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Game of Thrones (Season Finale, 9 p.m. Sunday, HBO) is such a quintessentially fan-centric show. Few other series incite such a rabid following. The ultimate fans can dive into the books and the show, delving into the etymology in agonizing detail and comparing clever observations and wild assumptions after each episode airs (or, in this season’s case, leaks!). This penultimate 7th season — perhaps more than any one yet — gave fans even more to mull over in the most action-packed, rewarding episodes so far. Here’s what’s happened through Sunday’s “Beyond the Wall” episode. One of the most widely known theories among book readers is that Jon Snow is not Ned Stark’s bastard, but rather his nephew — the child of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen. Last season basically confirmed half of that theory when Bran travelled back in time to the Showdown at the Tower of Joy, which ended with Lyanna dying after childbirth and making Ned promise to keep the child’s identity secret. This season, Jon’s Targaryen side shone through when he (finally!) met not only Daenerys but her dragons. While the King of the North and Mother of Dragons had their differences, he got up close and personal with her No. 1 baby, Drogon — and didn’t get roasted! The dangerous dragon reacted quite mildly to Jon’s touch. And while it’s been long believed that Rhaegar raped Lyanna (a sad reality for many characters in this messed-up saga), this season revealed that the two were likely in a consensual, romantic relationship. When we find Sam Tarly at the Citadel, struggling to put his knowledge to good use — outside of, you know, curing Jorah Mormont’s greyscale! — Gilly haphazardly reads from a book about how Rhaegar had an annulment and had a secret wedding in Dorne. And if that marriage was to Lyanna, that means Jon Snow is no bastard, putting him ahead of Daenerys in the line to the throne. So Jon is Daenerys’ nephew, and a threat to her claim. But even though the two are related, fans still seem set on a romantic relationship — and there certainly appears to be a connection there. By today’s standards, hooking up with your aunt is disgusting and possibly illegal, but in Westeros, where siblings marry and have bastard babies, it’s kind of no biggie. There was a sweet moment in the latest episode where Jon called her “Dany,” a nickname she said she heard from her brother. Hopefully Jon’s fate is better than Viserys’… Of course, only the all-seeing Bran Stark, now exclusively answering to the title Three-Eyed Raven, knows Jon’s real family tree, and he doesn’t seem intent on spilling
Rob Samuels, the COO of Maker’s Mark
Foodies, you won’t want to miss this unique intimate meet and greet with chefs from some of your favorite Cincinnati restaurants and Rob Samuels, the COO of Maker’s Mark. It’ll be a night of curious questions, tasty food samples, refreshing Maker’s Mark cocktails,
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and good conversation.
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FOOD & DRINK
More Late Night Pizza Options
Late Night Pizza Party
BY MAIJA ZUMMO
If you need cheesy goodness after midnight, Chameleon has you covered BY CASEY ARNOLD
PHOTO : haile y bollinger
T
If you went to the University of Cincinnati, this pizza destination is already listed in your drunk-food Rolodex. While Adriatico’s offers menu items beyond their signature Sicilian-style pizza (pastas, subs, zonis, wings, etc.), their garlic-crusted slightly spicy pie is king here. Beautiful, chewy thick-crust pan-cooked dough is topped with housemade sauce and classic pizza parlor options, including peppers, onion and anchovies. Go all out with a Meaty specialty pizza: pepperoni, bacon, sausage, ham and ground beef. There’s plenty of protein in there to offset the alcohol. Delivery 11 a.m.-1:30 a.m. Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-2:30 a.m. Friday-Saturday; 11 a.m.-12:30 a.m. Sunday. 113 W. McMillan Ave., Clifton Heights, adriaticosuc.com.
Goodfellas Pizzeria
Goodfellas’ ever-expanding New York-style pizza franchise has two local shops — one in MainStrasse and one in OTR. Both are open late and both boast upstairs craft bourbon bars. But if you aren’t there for the booze, you’re likely there for the pizza. The hand-tossed slices are huge — like fold-inhalf-to-eat huge — made with fresh dough topped with everything from ciliegine mozzarella and meatballs to roasted red peppers. Hungry patrons can grab a slice or two to go from the ready-made options, or order their own 12-, 16- or 22-inch pie. 11 a.m.-midnight Sunday-Wednesday; 11 a.m.-2:30 a.m. Thursday-Saturday. 603 Main St., Covington, Ky.; 1211 Main St., Over-the-Rhine, goodfellaspizzeria.com.
Lucy Blue Pizza
Chameleon’s pizza can be sprinkled with seven different crust-seasoning options. amount of cheese — the kind of slice one could fold in half, if one was so inclined. The end bit of seasoned crust was chewy and crisp; I could pick out salt, basil and maybe some oregano in the Greek seasoning. Tasty stuff, whatever was in there. Since Brian couldn’t decide on one sauce, his wings came nude with two cups on the side. The Beasters was bright orange and rich with some zing. The serrano-based Fire had a good deal of heat and thicker consistency. The wings were whole wings
rather than drumettes and were indeed tender without a hint of crisp. For a dance-club-cum-restaurant, we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of food. If you’re looking to get a quick bite without sacrificing good taste, Chameleon fits the bill perfectly. Chameleon Pizza (4144 Hamilton Ave., Northside) is open 7 p.m.-midnight Sunday; 7 p.m.-1 a.m. Monday; and 7 p.m.-2 a.m. Tuesday-Saturday. More info: chameleon-northside.com.
The family-owned Lucy Blue is a late-night legend, famous for their original walk-up pizza window where Gomez Salsa now slings tacos. Several years ago, Lucy’s relocated to bigger digs at 12th and Main, with real sit-down space, a bar with craft beer (and wine and cocktails) and additional soups, sandwiches and salads. It’s a nice dinner option in OTR, but the eatery also harkens back to its classic past with late hours on weekends to cater to bargoers and industry types. You can grab a hand-tossed pizza with build-yourown toppings or go specialty, like on the BLT (bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato and ranch). Bonus: If you don’t feel like waiting until late-night, they have a lunch buffet Monday-Friday. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. SundayTuesday; 11 a.m.-midnight Wednesday; 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Thursday; 11 a.m.-3 a.m. Friday-Saturday. 1126 Main St., Over-theRhine, facebook.com/lucybluepizza.
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he Chameleon is a Northside bar where folks go to get their drink and dance on, play pool and enjoy some fresh air on the patio. But recently the nightlife hot spot introduced a new food menu. It consists mainly of pizza and wings, which sounds just about right for a bar, but the comparison to “bar food” ends there. On a recent Tuesday evening, my boyfriend Brian and I stopped in to check out the new offerings. It’s basically the perfect spot for us: With his gluten allergy and love of wings and my vegetarianism and affinity for pizza, we could sample each side of the menu. At first glance, the menu seems small, with just three kinds of pizza to choose from: cheese ($3 slice/$19 pie), pepperoni ($4/$22) or veggie ($4/22), which changes daily. It’s available by the huge slice — 11 inches to be exact — or a whole 20-inch pie. But take a closer look and see that there are seven different crust-seasoning options from which to choose. The purpose isn’t to cover up the flavor, either. The pizza dough is made from scratch, along with the sauce. Seasoning options include Cajun, garlic, cooler ranch, barbecue, peppered or house, but I went with the bartender’s suggestion of Greek. The veggie pizza of the day was Cabbage Carrot Basil Ranch, which I wasn’t sure was my style. I managed to sneak a peek at someone else’s slice and it looked pretty tasty, though — a pile of lightly sauced coleslaw on a slice. I opted for plain cheese. Three types of wings are available: classic, Chameleon or boneless. The Chameleon confit wings ($10 for six; $14 for 10) are slow cooked in chicken fat so they’re fall-off-thebone tender and not breaded. There are seven sauces and seven dry rubs — all different and not simply variations of heat. The dry rubs are the same as the pizza crust seasoning options. Most wing sauces are standard like spicy garlic, barbecue and Buffalo. Brian went with the most popular: Beasters, a mild Buffalo, and a side of Fire sauce, a step down from the hottest. There are three other menu items: Juan’s spicy cheese bites ($6), stromboli ($6) and fries ($4), also available with all of the pizza crust seasoning options. We decided to share an order of garlic fries. We took a number and headed outside to the tables on the back patio to wait for our food, which came in short order. The pizza looked just like every slice of pizza I’ve had on the street in New York — a good sign of things to come. The crust was paper thin and crisp with a rich tomato sauce and just the right
Adriatico’s
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4100 Hamilton Ave., Northside, 513-818-8951, wellmannsbrands. com/melt-cincy Having moved from a cramped space in a crowded block on Hamilton Avenue to the ground floor of the Gantry building, funky little Melt Eclectic Café debuted brand-new digs this summer. The vegetarian-friendly eatery now dominates a prominent corner in what owner Molly Wellmann calls “the heart of Northside.” With more than twice as much space, a completely different vibe and a new, full-service bar overseen by Cincinnati’s unofficial cocktail queen, the new Melt is poised to become a dominant neighborhood hangout. And yet, when it comes to the food menu, the new Melt is very similar to the old Melt — so far at least, the only notable menu changes emanate from Wellmann’s bar, not from the kitchen. Our consensus favorite of “Molly’s Signature Cocktails” is called Blue-Bell, a pretty drink made with vodka, lime, lavender syrup, blueberries and sparkling water. Melt’s niche has been top-notch sandwiches, especially grilled ones filled with oozy cheeses. I’ve always loved the Artichoke Melt — served open-faced with a garlicky artichoke-spinach spread, tomatoes and white cheddar — but somehow nobody I was with ordered it that night. I had the Verde Chicken, a grilled sandwich with a pleasing flavor profile of pesto, artichoke, other veggies and melted provolone cheese. Another hit was the East Village, topping smoked turkey with lots of creamy goat cheese surrounded by grilled sourdough bread. (Pama Mitchell)
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rant.com To borrow from the tagline for the original Disneyland in California, CWC the Restaurant might just be the friendliest place on Earth — or at least in Cincinnati. CWC — from Cooking with Caitlin, Caitlin Steininger’s longtime catering business — opened this summer on Springfield Pike. Her sister and partner Kelly Trush runs the front of the house and makes sure each guest is satisfied, while their dad buses tables, among other tasks. Mom pitches in, too, as does Steininger’s 13-year-old niece, who’s in charge of the busy pizza oven. We had made a reservation for six, the minimum number of people for which they’ll
reserve a table. Good thing, too; we waited at the bar while enough seating freed up. That gave us a chance to try a beer — none on tap, but an acceptable variety of local and national brews in cans or bottles ($3-$6) — and a couple of the house cocktails. The menu isn’t extensive — we tried almost all seven of the items listed as “shareables” or “starters.” Just about everyone in the house was ordering the homemade baby biscuits with tomato jam and corn butter ($5), and we managed to grab the very last of the night’s batch. We also tried a few of the half-dozen “Mains.” My zucchini carbonara ($12) used strips of squash instead of pasta as a base, dressed simply with a light roasted garlic cream sauce, a sprinkling of parmesan and the dish’s saving grace, crumbled bacon. We enjoyed grilled snapper ($14) over avocado purée with roasted salsa verde — a small portion, but with satisfying flavors. The Char Cheddar Burger ($9) came with a large pile of crispy fries and was covered in a housemade cheese sauce. Trush told me later that this burger is their biggest seller. (PM)
Casa Figueroa 6112 Montgomery Road, Pleasant Ridge, 513-6313333, casafig.com More than a year ago, I heard that an important addition to our foodie world was coming to an out-of-the-way corner of the metro area. A Mexican/Latin restaurant with an ambitious chef and design-conscious owner would open in Pleasant Ridge, probably by the end of last summer. As it happened, though, the chef went elsewhere and Casa Figueroa took almost another year to open its doors. But based on one terrific visit, I’m happy to report that the end result definitely rewards the wait. Chef Matthew Schroeder, most recently sous chef at Anchor OTR, developed a menu that so far skews mostly Mexican (heavy on really good tacos), with eventual plans to move toward a more pan-Latin cuisine. As of mid-June, the menu includes three salads, along with appetizers such as fried calamari and steamed mussels. There were seven tacos and three entrées ($14-$24): pork chilaquiles, grilled shrimp and asparagus salad and pan-seared scallops. The tacos we loved best included Baja fish (fried cod, cabbage and herb slaw, grilled ramp and avocado), smoked duck confit (with parsnip and radish slaw, charred carrot and queso fresco) and chicken and chorizo (with smoked garlic aioli and shaved romaine). That last one was my fave and it wasn’t even on my plate — my husband let me try a bite of his. (PM)
F&D classes & events Most classes and events require registration; classes frequently sell out.
WEDNESDAY 23
Groceries & Grilling: Cheesy Celebration — Head to Findlay for late-night market hours and special grilling parties. Guests will get the recipe and list of ingredients so they can shop and then grill onsite. 5-8 p.m. Free admission. Findlay Market, 1801 Race St., Over-the-Rhine, findlaymarket.org. Margarita Madness — The fifth-annual Margarita Madness features a margarita throw-down as participating vendors compete to make the best margaritas. 5:308:30 p.m. $35; $40 day-of. Newport on the Levee, Newport, Ky., citybeat.com.
Back to School Dinner — Take a trip down memory lane with a themed dinner featuring five courses inspired by favorite school lunch items. 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. seatings. $75. The Presidents Room at The Phoenix, 812 Race St., Downtown, facebook.com/presidentsroom. Wild: A Summer Gin Cocktail Contest — Six local cocktail bars compete in a gin cocktail contest to benefit Lighthouse Youth & Family Services. 6-9 p.m. Free admission, New Riff Distillery, 24 Distillery Way, Newport, Ky., newriffdistilling.com. WingFling at Washington Platform — Discover more than 40 different flavors of wings — from bulgogi Korean to honey bourbon — all available either boneless or bone-in. Through Sept. 3. Prices vary. Washington Platform, 1000 Elm St., Downtown, washingtonplatform.com. Starry, Starry Night — Head to the Cincinnati Observatory for an evening of wine, cheese and summer stargazing. The Cincinnati Museum Center leads this event. 7-9:30 p.m. $30 member; $40 non-member. Cincinnati Observatory, 3489 Observatory Place, Mount Lookout, cincymuseum.org.
THURSDAY 24
A Tuscan Dinner — Chop, slice and grill your way to a Tuscan meal featuring shrimp, bruschetta, sausage-stuffed mushrooms and steak panzanella. 6-8:30 p.m. $75. Jungle Jim’s, 5440 Dixie Highway, Fairfield, junglejims.com. Cincy Brew Ha-Ha — America’s largest comedy and beer festival. Features more than 120 different brews and 75 comedians on four stages. 5 p.m.-midnight Thursday and Friday; 4 p.m.-midnight Saturday. Free admission; $5 for beer wristband. Sawyer Point, 705 E. Pete Rose Way, Downtown, cincybrewhaha.com.
Taste: Blue Ash Food & Music Festival— A two-day event featuring food from unique food vendors and food trucks, live music and family-friendly fun. Noon-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Free admission. Summit Park, 4335 Glendale Milford Road, Blue Ash, blueashevents.com.
859.206.6324
14 E 5t h St • Cov i n gto n, KY 41011
Rhinegeist on draft
Bewilderfest — A music fest at Urban Artifact featuring unique and unusual beers from local breweries and unique and unusual music from local bands. FridaySunday. Free admission. Urban Artifact, 1660 Blue Rock St., Northside, facebook. com/urbanartifactbrewing.
Happy Hour M-F, 3-6pm
Carry Out Specials
Kebab Platters
$7.99
Germania Society Oktoberfest — Billed as Cincinnati’s original and most authentic Oktoberfest. Includes German food, including the Germania Society’s famous sauerkraut balls, live German music, German beer and more. 6 p.m.-midnight Friday; 2 p.m.-midnight Saturday; noon-8 p.m. Sunday. Germania Park, 3529 W. Kemper Road, Colerain, germaniasociety.com.
SATURDAY 26
Taste of OTR — This fest celebrates the tastes, flavors and sounds of Over-theRhine with local craft beer, live music and eats. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. $25; two for $40. Washington Park, 1230 Elm St., Over-theRhine, tendermerciesinc.org.
www.bonbonerie.com
kentuckyhouseofgrill.com
No-Fear Fish with Hannah Luken — Expert Hannah Luken will show you how to filet a fish, cook a whole fish, make ceviche and prepare the best tuna salad. It’s all fish! 6:30-8:30 p.m. $65. Artichoke OTR, 1824 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, artichokeotr.com. An Afternoon with the Beer Barons — Learn about the history of our local beer barons, see some of their final resting places and enjoy samples from local craft breweries. 4-7 p.m. $40. Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum, 4521 Spring Grove Ave., Spring Grove Village, springgrove.org. BBQ & Grilling Festival — Jungle Jim’s inaugural BBQ & Grilling festival will feature smoked meats, saucy eats and cold drinks. Tickets include unlimited samples. Noon-5 p.m. $15. Jungle Jim’s, 5440 Dixie Highway, Fairfield, junglejims.com. Wine Over Water — Head to the Purple People Bridge for an evening of wine, food and live entertainment. 6:30-10 p.m. $35 advance. Purple People Bridge, Newport, Ky., brightoncenter.com.
TUESDAY 29
Homemade Pasta Workshop — Make your own pasta dough and learn about the techniques of resting and kneading. 6-8 p.m. $65. The Learning Kitchen, 7659 Cox Lane, West Chester, thelearningkitchen.com.
NEW LOCATION
OPENING SOON Sun-Thurs 11am - 9pm Fri-Sat 11am - 11pm
4 1 7 2 H a m i l t o n av e C i n C i n n at i o H , 4 5 2 2 3
D J A N G O N O RT H S I D E . C O M
C I T Y B E A T . C O M • A U G . 2 3 – 2 9 , 2 0 1 7 • 4 1
Delicious Weeknight Steak — Make a main course of skirt steak with orangeoregano chimichurri compound butter over sesame jasmine rice. 6-8 p.m. $70. The Learning Kitchen, 7659 Cox Lane, West Chester, thelearningkitchen.com.
FRIDAY 25
The Proof Is In The Eating
music
Rejuvenating Vacation
Lineup changes lead to opportunity as Cincinnati’s Vacation develops a more multidimensional sound BY BRIAN BAKER
PHOTO : R achel mcne al
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V
acation might be the most inappropriately named band in the Cincinnati music scene. Three years after the formation of one of the city’s most vibrant Punk/Pop outfits, the band’s Jerri Queen (drums) and Peyton Copes (bass) joined guitarist/vocalist Bridget Battle as Tweens, juggling both bands’ gigs thereafter. That pathological desire to make music remains strong for Queen. He moved to the guitarist role in Vacation and left Tweens when Copes decided to become a tour manager, but Queen has since joined three other bands — Mardou, Black Planet and The Switzerlands. Vacation’s other current members are also multi-banded. Drummer Dylan McCartney fronts Mardou and also plays in The Switzerlands, while bassist Evan Wolff fronts his own hometown band, Pretty Pretty, in Columbus, Ohio. Guitarist John Hoffman moonlights with Swim Team and records and performs as a solo artist. “We love the punishment,” Queen jokes. Much of that “punishment” involves the recording studio. Queen and Hoffman are also among the most notable recording engineers in Greater Cincinnati, working with some of the area’s more widely known bands, including Leggy, The Dopamines and Wussy. On top of that, Mardou just issued a new album and Vacation’s double album, Southern Grass: The Continuation of Rock ’n’ Roll Vol. 1 & 2, is on the verge of release. Southern Grass is Vacation’s first album since Hoffman became a full member — though he contributed heavily to 2015’s Non-Person — so the creative process was vastly different. But Queen says some of that was also due to a wobbly motor on the 8-track cassette machine the album’s sessions began on. With Wolff’s time in Cincinnati limited, plans were reconfigured on the fly and the digital machine the band used for its first demos was redeployed. “We ended up doing it in our basement on that,” Queen says. “It wasn’t fancy and we probably turned out my favorite stuff.” Southern Grass offers an interesting pastiche of styles, as Vacation gathers Pop, New Wave and Classic Rock elements under its Punk umbrella. Some of those stylistic shifts are indicative of all four band members contributing songs to the process. “It may sound collage-y because all four of us write, but I feel like we all have defined styles,” Queen says. The idea for a diverse double album arose when Queen and Hoffman were in the studio with a band that didn’t rely on just one or two writers for material, resulting in a disparate and varied sound.
Vacation’s latest effort, Southern Grass: The Continuation of Rock ’n’ Roll, is a double LP. “All these people contributed these different songs to this one band,” Hoffman says. “I realized, ‘Oh man, we can do that.’ ” “We’re kind of like Fleetwood Mac,” Queen adds. “The new Vacation record is like Fleetwood Mac does Use Your Illusion 1 and 2,” Wolff clarifies. The seeds of Southern Grass — which will be available on cassette and as a twovinyl set with a download code — were planted when Vacation was working on Non-Person. McCartney had become roommates with Queen and they were playing together with McCartney on drums, leading Queen back to the guitar. “(Previously) I was writing most of the songs on guitar and showing them to Peyton — he and Evan would add whatever and (then) I’d play them on drums,” Queen says. “Dylan and I were playing tunes and I was like, ‘Hey, you do all these parts better than I do.’ ” With McCartney on drums, Vacation played some shows as a quartet and started the sessions for Non-Person. But Copes left shortly after recording began. Hoffman, who was working on the album behind the boards, ended up contributing more to the sessions musically in Copes’ absence. “Non-Person was more production and a bit higher fidelity,” Queen says. “This new
one was, ‘Let’s get together and see what we can do when we play live.’ It was more bare bones and the songs were short and sweet.” Hoffman became a full-fledged member of Vacation after Non-Person was released and the newly forged foursome began a grueling tour regimen. That tour galvanized the lineup’s chemistry and sparked ideas for a new album. All four members quickly compiled an impressive song archive, and between the equipment issue and Wolff’s time restraint, Vacation recorded Southern Grass’ 32 tracks in just four days. “A lot of them, we learned the tune, hit record, played until we got a good take and moved on,” Queen says. “We did leave the imperfections in, because that’s how we play live.” Even with that warts-and-all attitude and lo-fi approach to Southern Grass, Vacation’s dynamic has grown immeasurably with the lineup’s shift and expansion. Both McCartney and Hoffman came in as fans. Though McCartney says he didn’t consider his impact on the band to any great extent, Hoffman was nervous. He didn’t want to screw up Vacation. “Which is funny, because I’m usually the guy that pretty much consistently fucks up,” Hoffman says. “But I knew I could make a
bunch of noise if I fucked up because I saw Peyton do that constantly.” Queen notes that the current version of Vacation has been doing considerably less “spazzy noise stuff,” with the interplay between the musicians providing a new sonic palette. “I do think that dynamic shift finally clicked once we started playing these new songs,” Hoffman says. “Instead of me just being given songs to play, there were songs where I had come up with my own parts. And that’s when it turned into a guitar band.” Although Vacation is solid now, Queen admits that Copes’ departure could easily have ended the band if not for McCartney’s arrival. When he considers his role as Vacation’s savior, he offers a Zen-like observation. “I feel like glue,” McCartney says. “I feel like the extra glue you peeled off your hands when you’re 7.” “As a wise man once said,” Queen interjects, “ ‘I don’t want to be the glue that keeps us together, I want to be the glue that gets us high.’ ” So much for Southern Grass. VACATION plays an album-release show at 5 p.m. Saturday at Shake It Records. More info: vacation.bandcamp.com.
music spill it
In Praise of Whispering Beard: Folk Fest Turns 10 BY MIKE BREEN
1345 main st motrpub.com
BY mike breen
Fear of Getting Dixie Chicked Still Strong Rolling Stone examined the response from Country artists following the white supremacy rally in Charlottesville, Va. that resulted in the murder of activist Heather Heyer by a “white nationalist.” While hit-makers like Kip Moore and Kacey Musgraves issued unequivocal denunciations of white supremacy, most superstars were silent. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill were exceptions, but the angry attacks on their social media condemnations speak to why they are so alone, something RS postulates is a hangover from Country music’s successful ostracization of the Dixie Chicks over their post-9/11 anti-George Bush stance. Artists afraid that stating “racism is bad” would end their career is sad and deplorable on so many levels.
wed 23
behold the brave
thu 24
lowdown brass band
fri 25
philip paul jazz trio (5-7:30pm) vita and the woolf, brianna kelly
sat 26
jamaican queens
sun 27
future science: sketch comedy
mon 28
banducci & the wheels
tue 29
word of mouth: featured/open poetry
free live music now open for lunch
Streaming Hate The Tiki-torch racists who rallied in Charlottesville were protesting the removal of a statue honoring a Confederate general, but as a result, the Confederacy took another “L,” as officials across the country began removing similar monuments in response. Digitalmusicnews.com was also inspired post-rally, identifying 37 neo-Nazi acts that had music streaming on Spotify. The service announced it would remove the racist bands and be more vigilant, although, as Pitchfork pointed out, such music generally runs wild in the digital music jungle. Morbid Beatles Souvenirs The copy of Double Fantasy John Lennon autographed for Mark David Chapman hours before he murdered Lennon went to auction last month seeking $2 million. For a less creepy but still morbid artifact with a smaller price tag (around $3,000), fans can bid on the deed for the Liverpool gravesite of Eleanor Rigby, whose gravestone inspired the 1966 Beatles hit that shares her name. According to The Guardian, the winning bid gets some documents and a Bible with Rigby’s name inside, but not the rights to be buried alongside Rigby, as was initially reported, forcing the news site to issue a correction to its grave error.
writer’s night w/ kyle
1404 main st (513) 345-7981
8 /30
betty who, geographer
9 /8
nikki lane
9 /4
cindy wilson of the b52s
9 /5
presented by maltesers
motherfolk
MOONBEAU
electric guest
NINE POUND sHADOW
buy tickets at motr or woodwardtheater.com
C I T Y B E A T . C O M • A U G . 2 3 – 2 9 , 2 0 1 7 • 4 3
Running Thursday through Sunday, Whiseventual big-shot artists before they became pering Beard Folk Festival is entering must-gets for other events, including Jason its 10th year, an impressive milestone for an Isbell. This year’s Whispering Beard has event that started as a friendly get-together perhaps the best example: Headlining Friday, with a few Cincinnati Folk bands playing. Tyler Childers comes to Whispering Beard Now held in the small town of Friendship, as one of the most talked about artists in Ind., about 50 miles west of Cincinnati, the the Americana music universe thanks to fest was founded by some passionate music his recently released debut album, which is fans and musicians from Greater Cincinnati drawing a crazy amount of effusive press. (including Matt Wabnitz of great Folk band While most Country/Americana fans might Buffalo Wabs & the Price Hill Hustle) be wondering where the hell this guy came who were initially just hosting a party. from, Beardos (as attendees are known) “We called it a festival almost as a joke,” are intimately familiar thanks to Childers’ Wabnitz told CityBeat in 2013. “It was just appearances at multiple Whispering Beards. going to be a gathering of basically our The festival has also featured artists on the favorite local Folk groups, a one-night house party.” When 200 people showed up to the initial Whispering Beard, they realized they were on to something a little bigger. Ten years later, the festival is a marquee Americana event for many fans of the music genre — as well as the artists who play it — and a testament to how grassroots festivals can not only survive but also thrive without a corporate machine running behind them. The festival still owes much of its success Buffalo Wabs & The Price Hill Hustle to simple “word of mouth” PHOTO : pricehillhustle.com promotion among hardcore Folk and Americana fans — there are none of the big sponsorship deals fringes of Americana, as well as those imporor costly marketing budgets on which most tant to the music’s contemporary history, like music festivals are so dependent. Tim Easton (who plays again this year) and In its intimate and casual setting (campCharlie Parr (who is also returning), and ing is encouraged), Whispering Beard pressome who’ve helped expand the vision of ents a lineup that is a consistently excellent Americana, like Peter Rowan and Paleface. showcase of what Americana means. “CuraWhile Whispering Beard took the humble tion” has become a silly and overused term, vision of that first event — with organizers but it seems fitting when looking at the booking their “favorite local Folk groups” Whispering Beard lineups over the years. — and expanded it in the broadest possible From the start, the Whispering Beard way, the festival remains a dedicated supexperience has been the draw and key to porter of Greater Cincinnati artists. The success, with attendees trusting that the area’s consistently robust Americana scene bookings will match up with their sensibiliis still at the heart of Whispering Beard. ties and likely introduce them to something The rise of The Tillers has run parallel to new and interesting within that realm. the festival’s; with the widely revered Folk Building up and retaining that kind of loyalty band’s expanding success, it has been holdand trust is rare and invaluable for a music ing down headlining slots in more recent festival. The Whispering Beard organizers’ years, including for this year’s Saturday understanding of and passion for Americana night festivities. Other top-notch Cincinnati music in its many forms results in a booking acts performing at Whispering Beard this aesthetic that is like a great old-school casyear include Frontier Folk Nebraska, Mt. sette mixtape a knowledgeable and tasteful Pleasant String Band, Krystal Peterson friend made just for you that draws liberally and the Queen City Band, My Brother from a variety of eras and styles in order to The Bear, Honey & Houston and Wabcreate the best overall listening experience. nitz’s Buffalo Wabs & the Price Hill Hustle. By comparison, a lot of new-breed summer For complete festival info, visit whisperfests are like the latest Now That’s What I ingbeard.com. Call Music compilation. CONTACT MIKE BREEN: mbreen@citybeat.com Whispering Beard has booked some
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Blackberry Smoke with Gov’t Mule Thursday • PNC Pavilion at Riverbend With the recent passing of Gregg Allman, the greatest of all the Southern Rock icons — the Allman Brothers — finally ended their nearly 50-years-long career. To pass the torch, it’s fitting that Allman sings a song with Blackberry Smoke on the band’s latest album, Like an Arrow, recording his part the year before his death. More than anything, the duet, “Free on the Wing,” underscores the influence shared by a legendary singer and a younger band in search of its own legacy. Touring in support of Arrow, the group’s fifth album, Blackberry Smoke has been sharing headliner duties with Gov’t Mule across the country. This double-shot of Dixie road-dogs epitomizes contemporary Southern Country/Rock in all its rugged twang and guitar glory. Blackberry Smoke isn’t exactly a secret anymore — Like an Arrow debuted at Blackberry Smoke No. 1 on Billboard’s P H O T O : Ro b B l a c k m a n Country/Americana charts, a feat Holding All the Roses, the band’s previous album, accomplished in breakthrough fashion. Don’t let the Atlanta, Ga. quintet’s mainstream success fool you — the group has almost nothing in common with the pop-pabulum formula of whatever Tyler Childers passes for Country in P H O T O : D av i d M c C l i s t e r Nashville these days. Blackberry Smoke brings a veteran swagger to the stage, not to mention old-school wallop, gritty chops and feral intensity. In a Venn diagram containing Steve Earle and The Black Crowes, Blackberry Smoke’s music fills the crossover intersection. A renewed love of Rock comes through on Like an Arrow, which features guitar riffing that evokes vintage Led Zeppelin’s fiery strain if it were seeping through the red-dirt plains of Georgia. Opener “Waiting for the Thunder” struts in with an almost Metal edge, with Charlie Starr’s charismatic vocal and stutter/stun guitar interplay with Paul Jackson leading the charge in pissedoff abandon and Brandon Still’s Hammond B3 organ pumping in the refrain. Elsewhere, “Let it Burn” pours on the kind of two-step guitar boogie that would make trucking on the Southern byways sound better than ever.
As soulful ballads like “Ain’t Gonna Wait” and “The Good Life” start to bleed between the groove and grind of Like an Arrow, it becomes clear just how much Starr’s songwriting has remained a core strength of the band. Formed in the early 2000s, Blackberry Smoke embodies the next worthy link of the hallowed Southern Rock tradition. (Gregory Gaston) Tyler Childers at Whispering Beard Folk Festival Friday • Old Mill Campground (Friendship, Ind.) Although he’s just 26, Tyler Childers is already a seasoned music veteran. For the past six years, the Paintsville, Ky. native has been writing evocative new songs that are so steeped in Country/Bluegrass tradition, you’d swear they were obscure covers rescued from the dusty drawer of a forgotten Nashville publisher. Childers has also been forging the performance aspect of his craft with constant touring throughout the South and Midwest — on his own or with his bands, The High Walls and The Food Stamps — revealing a novelist’s eye for detail in his songs and a showman’s gift for holding an audience’s attention from first note to last while onstage. Childers’ new album Purgatory, produced by cosmic outlaw Sturgill Simpson and engineered by ace Johnny Cash tech David Ferguson, is being identified as his debut, but his Bandcamp page offers a handful of live recordings as proof of his previous musical commitment. Purgatory truly is an introductory release for Childers in a variety of ways, from the expansive atmosphere that Simpson helped create to Childers’ comfortable interplay with some of Music City’s best session hands. In addition to those natural challenges, Childers established the album’s biggest hurdle on his own by writing Purgatory as a song cycle about his personal journey from hard-living, fast-track wastrel to grounded married man. Most artists would save a concept album for later in their careers but, as you may have gathered, Childers is far from the madding crowd of most artists.
859.431.2201
Childers takes his upbringing of listening to the likes of Drive-By Truckers and deep Southern Gospel, plus details from his hardscrabble blue-collar young adulthood, and transforms them into a semi-autobiographical scrapbook of musical snapshots that describe his life from interior and exterior perspectives. With Purgatory, Childers doesn’t retreat to the viewpoint of a detached observer, preferring to wade into the first-person desperation of a young man spinning dangerously on the brink. All of this he accomplishes by utilizing a soundtrack that is weathered by Appalachian Country and Bluegrass tradition, sharpened to a knife’s edge by contemporary living, energized by the adrenaline of youth and informed by the hard-won wisdom of surviving youthful stupidity. And all of this occurs on Tyler Childers’ very first real album — where he might go next boggles the imagination. Childers is the Friday headliner at the popular Whispering Beard Folk Festival, where he has previously performed. Running Thursday through Sunday, the fest (now in its 10th year) is held in the small town of Friendship, Ind., about 50 miles west of Cincinnati. Visit whisperCom Truise PHOTO : Effix x ingbeard.com for the complete lineup, directions, ticket info and more. (Brian Baker)
live MusiC no Cover
Wednesday 8/23 Burning Caravan 8-11
Thursday 8/24
Todd Hepburn & Friends 8-11
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THE SOUTHGATE HOUSE LOUNGE OR TICKETFLY.COM 8/23 blaze bayley, aDaM FlaIG (OF MaD aNTHONy) - aUGUST aRTIST IN ReSIDeNCe bIlly CaTFISH, SCOT TORReS
Friday 8/25
8/24 QUeeN CITy STORyTelleRS: aDaM FlaIG (OF MaD aNTHONy), JaCOb TIPPey (OF THe FRaNKl PROJeCT), DaN MeCHeR (OF THe TURNbUll aC’S), THe lOVeRS, WIlDeR; SIReN SUIT, bReaKING GlaSS, beTSy ROSS
saTurday 8/26
8/25 PUNK ROCK NIGHT: THe UNDeaD (FeaT. bObby STeele OF THe MISFITS), TOMMy GRIT & THe PRICKS, THe leTDOWNS, 13PaGaN HOlIDay13; SUNDy beST, bROTHeR SMITH; Ky Myle
Kelsey Mira Band 8-12 Phil DeGreg Trio 8-12
8/26 OaK HOUSe, eaSTeR ISlaND, WISe WORDS 8/27 THe QUebe SISTeRS
CoCktails
fireplaCes
Wed. - Fri. open @ 4pm | Sat. open @ 6pm
8/31 SaMaNTHa FISH, JOe WaNNabe; THe eXIT STRaTeGy, VeRONICa GRIM & THe HeaVy HeaRTS, MOOSe aND TH’ MONKeyPaWS
125 West Fourth st. | CinCinnati, ohio 45202
www.BromwellsHarthLounge.com
WWW.SOUTHGATEHOUSE.COM
FUTURE SOUNDS BETTY WHO/GEOGRAPHER – Aug. 30, Woodward Theater TIM MCGRAW/FAITH HILL – Sept. 2, U.S. Bank Arena DADA – Sept. 6, Southgate House Revival YOUNG THE GIANT/COLD WAR KIDS – Sept. 7, PNC Pavilion at Riverbend CHRIS STAPLETON – Sept. 8, Riverbend Music Center HERE COME THE MUMMIES – Sept. 8, Bogart’s DEEP PURPLE/ALICE COOPER – Sept. 10, Riverbend Music Center PROTOMARTYR – Sept. 10, Northside Yacht Club SEU JORGE – Sept. 15, Taft Theatre BRANTLEY GILBERT – Sept. 15, Riverbend Music Center THE QUEERS/THE ATARIS – Sept. 16, Southgate House Revival MATCHBOX TWENTY/COUNTING CROWS – Sept. 21, Riverbend Music Center SYLVAN ESSO/HELADO NEGRO – Sept. 21, Bogart’s BOB SEGER – Sept. 21, U.S. Bank Arena
C I T Y B E A T . C O M • A U G . 2 3 – 2 9 , 2 0 1 7 • 4 5
Com Truise with Moonbeau and Black Signal Friday • Fountain Square For awhile, art director Seth Haley explored a different side of his creative personality by crafting Electronic/Synthwave music under a variety of pseudonymous identities, including SYSTM, Sarin Sunday, Airliner and Komputer Cast. After three years, Haley chose yet another new name for himself by inverting the initials of a certain movie star and recorded his first work under his new nom de synth, the Cyanide Sisters EP. Just before releasing Cyanide Sisters as a free download in 2010, Haley resigned from his job as an art director and turned his full attention to the Indie Electronic project he dubbed Com Truise. While it might have seemed like a gutsy (or even ill-advised) move seven years ago, Haley clearly understood his musical strengths and his audience; his Com Truise alter ego has become a force in the Electronic scene. On top of becoming a respected artist — eight months after Cyanide Sisters’ free release, he signed with
renowned Electronic label Ghostly International (which re-released the EP), for which he records to this day — Truise is also an in-demand DJ, producer and remixer. Since the rapturous reviews for Sister and its various single-track, EP and LP follow-ups — including the recently released album, Iteration — Truise has helmed the board for Little Boots and Oddience and remixed the likes of Maroon 5, Foster the People, Daft Punk, Tycho, Deftones and Deadmau5, among many others. Iteration is the first Com Truise full-length release that features all new material since his album debut, Galactic Melt, which came out six years ago. Utilizing many of the influences that have steered him in the past, including Boards of Canada, Neon Indian and ’80s Synth Pop, Truise also drew on the inspiration (and perhaps frustration) brought about by his recent move to Los Angeles. Although Truise began the process of writing Iteration two years ago, settling into his new environs altered his musical style and approach. Iteration bears the sonic fruit of that shift, including opening things up with a slightly more expansive canvas on which to create. Whether Com Truise is catering to the audience for Chillwave or creating it, he will continue to champion a compelling and singular vision of the sound. (BB)
111 E 6th St Newport, KY 41071
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 23 BOGART’S - “Summer H Slaughter” with The Black Dahlia Murder, Dying Fetus, The
HORSE & BARREL - John Ford. 6 p.m. Blues/Roots. Free.
Faceless, Oceano, Slaughter To Prevail, Origin, Rings Of Saturn, Betraying the Martyrs, Lorna Shore and more. 2:30 p.m. Metal. $29.50.
KNOTTY PINE - Kenny Cowden. 9 p.m. Acoustic. Free.
BREWRIVER GASTROPUB - Old Green Eyes and BBG. 6 p.m. Standards. Free.
THE MOCKBEE - Johnny Hot Sauce, Bijad, Suicide Rascal and Wizard Majeur. 9:30 p.m. Hip Hop. $3.
BROMWELL’S HÄRTH LOUNGE Burning Caravan. 8 p.m. Gypsy Jazz. Free. FOUNTAIN SQUARE - Reggae Wednesday with Lungu Vybz. 7 p.m. Reggae. Free. KNOTTY PINE - Dallas Moore. 10 p.m. Country. Free. THE LIBERTY INN - Stagger Lee. 7 p.m. Country/Rock. Free.
MCCAULY’S PUB - The Pandora Project. 7 p.m. Rock. Free.
MOTR PUB - Lowdown Brass Band. 10 p.m. Jazz/Funk/Dance/ Various. Free. PLAIN FOLK CAFE - Open Mic with Lars Noble. 7 p.m. Various. Free. PNC PAVILION AT H RIVERBEND - Gov’t Mule and Blackberry Smoke. 7 p.m. Rock/ Roots/Various. $35-$55.
THE MOCKBEE - Paradelic, Ludwig and The Other Side. 9 p.m. Hip Hop. $3-$5.
RIVERSEDGE - Natural Wonder with LDNL. 6:30 p.m. Stevie Wonder tribute. Free.
MOTR PUB - Behold the Brave. 9:30 p.m. Indie Rock. Free.
SEASONGOOD PAVILION - It’s H Commonly Jazz featuring Craig Bailey with Bobby Broom
NORTHSIDE TAVERN - White Line Fever. 9 p.m. Americana/Roots. Free. PIT TO PLATE - Bluegrass Night with Vernon McIntyre’s Appalachian Grass. 7 p.m. Bluegrass. Free. SILVERTON CAFE - Root Cellar Xtract. 9 p.m. Country Rock. Free. SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (LOUNGE) - Adam Flaig, Billy Catfish and Scot Torres. 9:30 p.m. Various. Free.
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SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (SANCTUARY) - Blaze Bayley. 8 p.m. Metal. $15, $20 day of show. TAFT THEATRE - Donald H Fagen and the Nightflyers. 7:30 p.m. Rock/Pop/Soul/ Various. $39.50-$125.
4 6 • C I T Y B E A T . C O M • A U G . 2 3 – 2 9 , 2 0 1 7
THE GREENWICH - Retro Nouveau. 8:30 p.m. Jazz. $5.
URBAN ARTIFACT - Blue Wisp Big Band. 8:30 p.m. Big Band Jazz. $10.
THURSDAY 24 ARNOLD’S BAR AND GRILL Dottie Warner and Phil DeGreg. 7:30 p.m. Jazz. Free. BROMWELL’S HÄRTH LOUNGE Todd Hepburn and Friends. 6 p.m. Various. Free. COMMON ROOTS - Open Mic. 8 p.m. Various. Free. FOUNTAIN SQUARE - Salsa on the Square with The Amador Sisters. 7 p.m. Latin/Salsa/Dance. Free.
and more. 6 p.m. Jazz. Free.
SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (LOUNGE) - Ben Stalets. 9:30 p.m. Folk/Americana. Free. SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (REVIVAL ROOM) - Siren Suit, Breaking Glass and Betsy Ross. 9 p.m. Rock. $5. SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (SANCTUARY) - Queen City Storytellers with Adam Flaig, Jacob Tippey, Dan Mecher, The Lovers and WIlder. 7 p.m. Singer/ Songwriter. Free.
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STANLEY’S PUB - Ohmstead H Pre-Party featuring TreeHouse, Roots of a Rebellion, and Rockstead. 8 p.m. Rock/Reggae/ Jam/Various. $7. THOMPSON HOUSE - The Funeral Portrait with Marina City and Awake At Last. 7 p.m. Post Hardcore. $10. URBAN ARTIFACT - Catacomb Saints with Toph and D-Eight. 7 p.m. Hip Hop. Free. WASHINGTON PARK - Bandstand Bluegrass with Comet Bluegrass All Stars. 7 p.m. Bluegrass. Free.
FRIDAY 25 ARNOLD’S BAR AND GRILL My Brother’s Keeper. 9 p.m. Americana. Free. BOGART’S - Psychostick. 8 p.m. Rock. $12.
BROMWELL’S HÄRTH LOUNGE - The Kelsey Mira Band. 10 p.m. Jazz. Free. CELEBERTIES - Blac Youngsta. 10 p.m. Hip Hop. $35-$60. THE COMET - Slow Glows. 10 p.m. Garage Pop. Free. FOUNTAIN SQUARE - Indie Vol. 2017 with Com Truise, Black Signal and Moonbeau. 7 p.m. Indie/Electronic/Various. Free.
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GRAND CENTRAL DELICATESSEN - Lagniappe. 9 p.m. Cajun/Jazz/ Various. Free. GRANDVIEW TAVERN & GRILLE - Basic Truth. 8 p.m. Funk/Soul/ R&B. Free. THE GREENWICH - Sonny Moorman & Final Friday Blues. 8 p.m. Blues. $5. JAG’S STEAK AND SEAFOOD - The Good Hooks Band. 9 p.m. Dance/ Various. $5.
SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (SANCTUARY) - Sundy Best with Brother Smith. 9 p.m. Roots/ Country/Rock. $15, $18 day of show. SAINT LAWRENCE SQUARE H - Concerts in the Square with Harpeth Rising. 7 p.m. Chamber Folk. Free.
STANLEY’S PUB - Heavy H Hinges with Brent James and the Vintage Youth. 10 p.m. Rock/ Roots/Soul/Pop/Various. Cover.
THE UNDERGROUND - Tethered Satellites, Primitive Law and The Thrifters. 7 p.m. Rock/Various. Cover. URBAN ARTIFACT H Bewilderfest featuring Peridoni, Sassafraz, Us, Today, M.
Ross Perkins, The Lovers, Kuber and Vibrant Troubadours. 5 p.m. Various. Free in the Taproom ($10 in Sanctuary).
JAPP’S - Burning Caravan. 5:30 p.m. Gypsy Jazz. Free.
WASHINGTON PLATFORM SALOON & RESTAURANT - Pat Kelly Quartet. 9 p.m. Jazz. $10 (food/drink minimum).
JIM AND JACK’S ON THE RIVER - Danny Frazier. 9 p.m. Country. Free.
SATURDAY 26
KNOTTY PINE - Bad Habit. 10 p.m. Rock. Cover. LAWRENCEBURG EVENT CENTER - Grand Funk Railroad. 8 p.m. Classic Rock. $25-$71. LIVE! AT THE LUDLOW H GARAGE - Joey DeFrancesco. 8 p.m. Jazz/Various. $25-$50. MADISON LIVE - The Borderline Something with Brother Man. 7:30 p.m. Rock. $10, $12 day of show. MANSION HILL TAVERN - Tickled Pink. 9 p.m. Blues/Various. $4.
MOTR PUB - Jamaican H Queens. 10:30 p.m. Indie Pop. Free.
NORTHSIDE YACHT CLUB H Downtown Boys. 10 p.m. Punk. $10.
MVP BAR & GRILLE - Dear Agony, Signal the Revolution, RIND, Trials by Faith and John Bobinger. 7 p.m. Rock/Various. Cover.
SONNY’S ALL BLUES LOUNGE - Blues jam session featuring Sonny’s All Blues Band. 8 p.m. Blues. Free.
NORTHSIDE TAVERN - “Beat Faction” with Jay Downs, DJ Mindcandy and DJ Troll. 10 p.m. ’80s Alternative/Dance/DJ. Free.
SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (SANCTUARY) - The Quebe Sisters. 8 p.m. Americana. $20, $22 day of show.
PIRATES DEN (WESTERN HILLS) - Rock The Plank 2017 featuring Blank State, Dead Humor, Flash & Top Secret, Knucklehead, Mask of the Charlatan, Shadowlife and The Soul Quest Band. 8 p.m. Rock/ Various. $10.
URBAN ARTIFACT - Royalty. 9 Hp.m. Prince tribute. Free.
PLAIN FOLK CAFE - Sinners & Saints. 7:30 p.m. Various. Free. RICK’S TAVERN - LDNL. 10 p.m. Pop/Dance/Various. $5.
ROEBLING POINT - River H City Jam featuring Balance and Composure, Daisyhead and
CINCINNATIAN HOTEL - Philip Paul Trio. 7 p.m. Jazz. Free. THE COMET - Casual Burn. 10 p.m. Rock. Free. DOWNTOWNE LISTENING ROOM - Danika Holmes & Jeb Hart with Anna Applegate. 7:30 p.m. Rock/Pop/Various. $14.
H
GREAT AMERICAN BALL PARK - The Avett Brothers. 10 p.m. Folk/Roots/Americana. Free with Reds ticket.
H
PLAIN FOLK CAFE - Greg Short & Buskin’ Blue. 7:30 p.m. Acoustic. Free.
THE GREENWICH - Radio Black. 9 p.m. Various. $10.
SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (REVIVAL ROOM) - Punk Rock Night featuring The Undead, Tommy Grit & The Pricks, The Letdowns and 13Pagan Holiday13. 8:30 p.m. Punk Rock. $8.
THE MOCKBEE - Prowess, Next To Nowhere and Phoul Phill andt Guill. 7 p.m. Various. Free.
BROMWELL’S HÄRTH LOUNGE The Phil DeGreg Trio. 10 p.m. Jazz. Free.
MOTR PUB - Vita and the Woolf with Brianna Kelly (10 p.m.); Phillip Paul Jazz Trio (5 p.m.). 5 p.m. Alt/Indie and Jazz. Free.
SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (LOUNGE) - KY Myle. 9:30 p.m. Country. Free.
THE MOCKBEE - Yheti, Vusive, Meiosis, Professor K and Andres. 9 p.m. EDM/Dubstep. $10-$15.
RIVERBEND MUSIC CENTER John Mayer with Dawes. 7 p.m. Rock/Pop/Blues. $36-$133.50.
FOUNTAIN SQUARE - FSQ Live with Strutter. 7 p.m. KISS tribute. Free.
RICK’S TAVERN - Final Order. 10 p.m. Rock. $5.
MANSION HILL TAVERN - Open Blues Jam with Sonny Moorman. 6 p.m. Blues. Free.
ARNOLD’S BAR AND GRILL - The Gray Dogs. 9 p.m. Blues. Free.
MARTY’S HOPS & VINES - Roy Peters. 9 p.m. Various. Free.
RAKE’S END - Third World Records, Sesh Gang and Matte. 10 p.m. Hip Hop/R&B. Free.
MARTY’S HOPS & VINES Working Title. 9 p.m. Steampunk. Free.
JAG’S STEAK AND SEAFOOD C-RAS. 9 p.m. Reggae/Soul/Pop/ Dance. $5. JIM AND JACK’S ON THE RIVER - Bourbon Road Band. 9 p.m. Country. Free. KNOTTY PINE - Bad Habit. 10 p.m. Rock. Cover. MANSION HILL TAVERN - Johnny Fink and the Intrusion. 9 p.m. Blues. $4.
Jettison. 8 p.m. AltRock. Free.
SILVERTON CAFE - The Night Owls. 8 p.m. Classic Rock. Free. SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (REVIVAL ROOM) - Oak House with Easter Island and Wise Words. 9 p.m. Indie Rock. $7, $10 day of show. URBAN ARTIFACT H Bewilderfest featuring Dream Tiger, Black Signal, Current Events, RoeVy, The Prescription, Blvck Seeds, Eugenius, Xzela, Abiyah, Build Us Fiction and more. 2 p.m. Various. Free in the Taproom ($10 for Sanctuary).
WASHINGTON PLATFORM SALOON & RESTAURANT - Mandy Gaines. 9 p.m. Jazz. $10 (food/ drink minimum).
SUNDAY 27 20TH CENTURY THEATER Sir Sly with Pluto Revolts. 8 p.m. AltPop. $13, $15 day of show.
H
BREWRIVER GASTROPUB - Todd Hepburn. 11 a.m. Blues/Various. Free. MADISON LIVE - Super Bob with Elisium. 7:30 p.m. Rock/Various. $12, $15 day of show.
MONDAY 28 THE GREENWICH - Baron Von Ohlen & the Flying Circus Big Band. 7:30 p.m. Jazz. $5 (or two canned-good donations for Freestore Foodbank). THE MOCKBEE - OH jam! presents Off tha Block Mondays with hosts Stallitix, Goodword, DJ Noah I Mean, Chestah T, Gift of Gabi, Christian, Toph and Preston Bell Charles III. 10 p.m. Hip Hop. Free. MOTR PUB - Banducci & the Wheels with Aziza & Siri. 9 p.m. Rock. Free. MUGGBEES BAR & GRILL Karaoke DJ. 8 p.m. Various. Free. NORTHSIDE TAVERN - Northside Jazz Ensemble. 10 p.m. Jazz. Free. NORTHSIDE YACHT CLUB - Bucky Harris. 9 p.m. Folk/Punk. URBAN ARTIFACT - Old Time Mondays. 7 p.m. Americana/ Appalachian open mic. Free.
TUESDAY 29 ARNOLD’S BAR AND GRILL Ricky Nye. 7 p.m. Blues/Boogie Woogie. Free. STANLEY’S PUB - Trashgrass Tuesday featuring members of Rumpke Mt. Boys. 9 p.m. Bluegrass. Cover. URBAN ARTIFACT - Darren Deicide, Army of Infants and The Dalai Rocker Ragdoll. 9 p.m. Rock/Various. Free.
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C I T Y B E A T . C O M • A U G . 2 3 – 2 9 , 2 0 1 7 • 4 7
1. With 69-Across, advice for the sad undergoing retail therapy? 4. Orlando hoopsters 9. DEA operations 14. Artist who owns warisover. com 15. Ever 16. “Star Trek” communications officer 17. Come-ons for the anxious in retail therapy? 20. Knockout stuff 21. Old-school TV comic Jack 22. Twee string instruments 23. First halves of LPs 25. Set with nothing in it 27. “Monument Valley” princess 28. Retro alcopop 29. Veggie in paella 32. Just okay 35. Somewhat 37. Five Pillars faith 39. Transaction discussed during Freudian retail therapy? 42. Iranian tongue 43. Word in a Shepard Fairey poster 44. Googly ___ 45. Give it a shot 46. Mass closing 48. Bring down to the station 50. Tag word 51. Pretend to be 54. 65-Across’s home 57. Plat du ___ 59. Scherezade’s home 61. Depressing number in retail therapy? 64. ___ Monday (first Monday after Thanksgiving)
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4 8 • C I T Y B E A T . C O M • A U G . 2 3 – 2 9 , 2 0 1 7
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