CityBeat Aug. 30, 2017 by Cincinnati CityBeat

CINCINNATI’S NEWS AND ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY • AUG. 30 – sepT. 05, 2017 • free

Hail to the Bard

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s remarkable history enters a new stage BY RICK PENDER • PAGE 12

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VOICES

What a Week! BY T.C. Britton

WEDNESDAY AUG. 23

Chuck E. Cheese has begun phasing out its longtime house band, the Pizza Time Players. Comprised of Chuck the rat, Grimace wannabe Mr. Munch, Helen Henny the chicken, hound dog Jasper T. Jowls and the somewhat culturally insensitive pizza chef Pasqually P. Pieplate, the animatronic band has been an act since Chuck E. Cheese opened its first Pizza Time Theatre in 1977. We’re still haunted by the Pizza Time Players’ lifeless gaze, robotic movements and that loud clunking sound every time they blinked, but it does mark the end of an era. Certain locations have begun replacing the characters with a light-up disco dance floor, where kids can interact with the “real” Chuck (and no, that’s not a reference to the dead mouse allegedly found in a California location this week). So pour one out for the PTP — most Chuck E. Cheeses do serve beer, BTW. At least they’re saving countless children from disturbing animatronic nightmares for years to come.

THURSDAY AUG. 24

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Taylor Swift is back. After a year that included feuds with Kanye, Kim and Katy, a legal battle against an alleged groper and speculation that she avoided paparazzi by hiding in a suitcase, Swift announced a new album, Reputation, with hints, singles and videos dropping this week. But this is not the “old” Taylor, whatever that means, because as she says in her first single, “Look What You Made Me Do,” she’s dead. Judging by the song, New Taylor is ~edgy~ but like a 15-year-old who paints her nails black for the first time tries her hand at angsty spoken-word poetry desperately trying to seem self-aware. As

usual, her music hits us over the head with an obvious theme and reads like a bunch of diary entries, with thinly veiled references to the Kardashian-Wests — Reputation is out Nov. 10, the 10-year anniversary of West’s mom’s death… WOOF — a costume that made her look exactly like nemesis Katy Perry and some visuals that look vaguely similar to Beyoncé’s Lemonade (cue #MayonnaiseInMyBagSwag). Curiously, the song does not acknowledge her noted silence on issues like the election, Black Lives Matter movement, Women’s March or anything more controversial than the topic of unicorn rights. But dammit, it’s an earworm and it’s been stuck in our head for days — thanks in part to ’90s Europop kings Right Said Fred. That’s right: “LWYMMD” samples the “I’m Too Sexy” melody and the band received writing credit.

FRIDAY AUG. 25

Since apparently it’s the ’90s again, Shania Twain was in the news this week. The original Country-Pop goddess (yeah, you heard that, T-Swift) celebrated her 52nd birthday while the recording of her song “That Don’t Impress Me Much” turned 20. Another 20th anniversary: Brad Pitt’s appearance in the August 1997 issue of Playgirl. In fact, it’s all related. Twain told Billboard this week that the line, “OK, so you’re Brad Pitt? That don’t impress me much,” stems from the hunk’s Playgirl spread, which included nude photos snapped without his consent. Pitt sued the publication and the issue was pulled, but even in the pre-TMZ days that shit leaked to the public. Twain apparently didn’t get all this fuss over Pitt’s dingaling, started writing about it and a hit was born!

SATURDAY AUG. 26

Undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather took on Irish MMA fighter Conor McGregor in a widely hyped showdown this weekend. We’re not the most well-versed in combat sport, but the egos, shit-talking and FASHUN made for an enjoyable spectacle for all. Preliminary fights featured lots of gold lamé, a grill-style mouth guard and a blue fur-lines ensemble. As for the main event, Mayweather entered in a ski mask while McGregor remained in a suit until the very last minute (we hope it was a tearaway). As for the fight, underdog McGregor performed better than expected until a blink-and-you-miss-it “technical knockout” in the 10th round. Aren’t they supposed to go until one is pummeled to the ground? We want our hundred bucks back!

SUNDAY AUG. 27

The MTV Video Music Awards coincided with the season finale of Game of Thrones Sunday and, really, the Venn diagram of those programs overlapped quite a bit. Kendrick Lamar’s performance featured climbers on a wall of fire (instead of ice); Ed Sheeran followed his Season 7 cameo with a VMA for Artist of the Year; host Katy Perry dressed as Daenerys… OK, that’s about it. Elsewhere, MTV continued to try and prove it’s the wokest network in the world by changing the Moonman award to a gender-neutral Moon Person (yeah OK), honoring transgender troops (actually cool) and inviting Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s descendant to the show. Wait, wut? Rev. Robert Wright Lee IV spoke against white supremacy, racism and hate

and in support of movements like BLM, women’s marches and recent counterprotests. He even introduced the mother of Charlottesville victim Heather Heyer, to join in sharing a unifying message. But the wokeness ended with a tonedeaf Perry dabbing her way through illtimed jokes about fidget spinners and the fucked up state of our country. ¯\_(..)_/¯

MONDAY AUG. 28

A full-out wine war has erupted in France after a number of distributors struck a deal to import less expensive booze from Spain, leading local winemakers to revolt. No, seriously — we’re talking masked breakins, molotov cocktails, the works. They’ve even formed a militant organization made up of anonymous winemakers called Comité Régional d’Action Viticole. Le sigh. The French are so cool, even their guerilla groups sound chic. Can we join the vino vigilante fight?

TUESDAY AUG. 29

This week in questionable decisions: A Colorado man who claimed he was attacked based on his Neo-Nazi haircut actually stabbed himself; James Cameron says Wonder Woman is a “step backwards,” suggesting he handles feminist film better; Savannah Guthrie swaddled Matt Lauer like a giant baby burrito on Today; Jon and Kate (of Plus Eight infamy) are STILL FIGHTING; and celebrity televangelist Joel Osteen is under fire for not opening his megachurch to victims of Tropical Storm Harvey. CONTACT T.C. BRITTON: letters@ citybeat.com

The Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is moving into a brand-new building. How about some new twists on some old Willy Shakes favorites? BY JEFF BEYER MacBurfict

This play depicts a man, Vontaze MacBurfict, spurred on to become the king of the linebackers through personal prophecy and ambition. Mimicking the original Macbeth, MacBurfict attempts to murder several rival characters, including the ankles of Ben Roethlisberger, Greg Olsen, Cam Newton and, at the exciting climax, the cranium of Antonio Brown. However, MacBurfict is haunted by the ghosts of his past victims and ultimately done in by a vengeful Roger Goodell and the NFL’s selective policy of rule enforcement.

The Mousetrap

A tragic-comedy, this short piece is adapted from Hamlet’s Act III, wherein Hamlet prepares a trap-play for his father’s fraternal usurper and suspected murderer to confirm that he indeed killed his father. In this adaptation, Judge Pat DeWine plays Hamlet, setting an accidental trap for Prosecutor Joe Deters by writing an email requesting Deters secure another of his sons an internship in the prosecutor’s office. Public records of Deters’ response land him in hot water for cronyism, nepotism and dubious moral practices in his role at the courthouse.

Much Ado About Public Transportation

This hilarious take on romance is based on the events of 2011 when the scheming “Don John” Kasich attempts to derail a Cincinnati streetcar project by declining $52 million in federal funds, thus cutting the route short of its original uptown destination. As a result, “Claudio,” played by a skeptical public, becomes suspicious of “Hero,” played here by the streetcar. In the end, the public and a maligned streetcar are married as Don John Kasich runs off to make a failed presidential bid against an even bigger buffoon than himself.

Biblius Caesar

This historical tragedy based on the downtown library’s North Building saga portrays various members of the Library Board of Trustees as they attempt to sell the publicly owned building and land to private developers. As in the original, some members of the board attempt to profit from the “death” of the building. However, unlike the original, they continue on with their plans and enjoy very profitable careers in finance and real estate.

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Rising Up

Startup newspaper RISE offers resources and connection to local inmates BY STEPHEN NOVOTNI

RISE is an effort to combat the feelings of hopelessness and isolation that incarceration brings. “There is hope,” Brumfield says. “We are resource-rich in Cincinnati. There are resources here that want to help you, but you have to know who to reach out to and you have to be willing to reach out. I think there are people in there who are ready, who are sick and tired of being sick and tired.” Thirty-year-old Anna is a former resident of the Justice Center (she asked that only her first name be used in this article for privacy reasons). Anna says she’s been clean since May when she was sentenced to serve time for violating her probation by using heroin. Anna met Brumfield in the Justice Center while Brumfield was volunteering, working with inmates and offering guidance. She says Brumfield’s counsel was a positive influence that gave her a lot of hope. Since then, Anna has been released, stayed clean and landed a job. She is working on a series of articles that document her recovery, which are ready to be published in RISE. She says she wants people to know who she is as a mother, a writer and as a functional part of society, not as just an addict. “No one grows up wanting to be an addict,” Anna says. “All the negative things I did — I have ‘receiving stolen property,’ ‘theft’ on my record, and that’s not me. I’m not my record. Those are symptoms of my disease. Who I am in active addiction is not who I am when I’m not using. People do the things they do to get the next high. When you’re using you’re just a different person.” Anna says she is excited to be part of the project and believes the resource listings will help people find the support they need. “The list of resources that (Brumfield’s) getting, oh gosh, it’s going to be so helpful,” Anna says. “Because some people walk out of the Justice Center with nothing. When you don’t have a plan, it can be so overwhelming that it’s real easy to go right back to what you were doing. So having a list of resources to help you get a job, help you with treatment, get medicine, it’s going to be very, very helpful.” Each edition of RISE has to be reviewed by officials at the Justice Center before it is released. RISE lead designer Chelsie Walter says she does not expect any problems with censorship. Walter started working for People’s Liberty about a year ago and got involved in RISE after meeting Brumfield in the spring. She recently toured the Justice Center with Brumfield to get a first-hand look at what life is like behind the walls and

Tracy Brumfield hopes RISE will connect incarcerated people with resources to help them turn their lives around once they’re out. says that visit and Brumfield’s longterm experience as a former inmate inform the design and content of the publication. “You can’t serve a community well unless you understand what they’re going through and what their needs are,” Walter says. “I think it was really eye-opening for me to see and it influences how I approach RISE. I keep that lens in mind — what it was like that day I was there.” Brumfield says she intends for the newspaper to be just one aspect of RISE.

She hopes to develop a street team of mentors to assist those newly released. Another goal is to program and distribute cellphones that would be loaded with numbers and contacts of rehabilitation services. “Why can’t we do a publication about hope and resources?” Brumfield says. “Maybe that will spark something bigger.” RISE launches with a 6-9 p.m. celebration Aug. 31 at People’s Liberty, 1805 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. More info: peoplesliberty.org.

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here’s already a sort of community inside the Hamilton County Justice Center, but it sure doesn’t feel like that to most of its 1,500 or so inmates. “Jail’s the worst time you’ll ever do,” former inmate Tracy Brumfield says. “It’s the hardest time you’ll ever do. County jail, everything is loud because everything’s cement. Every seat, every bench is stainless steel. There’s little tiny windows. You get no fresh air. You don’t get to go outside. You’re stuck in a housing unit, typically with 40 other people. There’s no privacy.” Brumfield describes an alienating, isolating experience. There is little friendship or guidance to be found. It’s only topped by the day you’re released, often with just the clothes on your back and without a social network to help you rebuild your life. Brumfield has decided to do something about this. After getting back on her feet, she began volunteering at the jail and realized that starting a newspaper for inmates would be a way she could help her peers and find a higher purpose in her own life. The result is RISE — Re-enter Into Society Empowered — a newspaper for the inmates at the Justice Center. It’s starting off small, with just four pages in the initial issue, but packed with listings of who to call when you get out and want to make a new way in your life. There are stories of people who did — and are — doing just that. Brumfield describes the experience of most prisoners as like a fish that has been caught and released: They go right back into the same river they started in. Resource listings will include health care, treatment for addictions, employment and housing assistance. Brumfield was awarded a grant by the local nonprofit People’s Liberty that covers the production of six issues of RISE, to be released about once a month. The Justice Center is allowing the publication in on a trial basis. “They want to see if people are taping it up over their windows or throwing it out or gobbling it up and reading it, which is my hope,” Brumfield says. She describes two types of scenarios for those inside the Justice Center: people who had nothing going in and people who might have lost a job or apartment because of their time served. Either way, they’re walking back out the door and having to start over. “It’s for both of those populations that I made this paper,” Brumfield says. “To let them know they can get through this process.”

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ceLeBr aTing 22 Years

Following five years of trekking to 46 different countries at taxpayer expense, Cincinnati Congressman Steve Chabot has quietly reined in his urge for travel. CityBeat documented Chabot’s globehopping ways last October. From the time he returned to office in 2011 after a twoyear hiatus, Chabot went on a 16-trip travel spree that cost the government $193,517. His junkets were sanctioned as chairman of the House Small Business Committee, yet he went to out-of-the-way nooks like Bhutan, Myanmar and Moldova as often as he visited major trade markets. Chabot’s most recent subsidized trip, a six-day jaunt through Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia, occurred last August. The trip cost $11,544 and, as was the case with his previous trips, he reported no accomplishments on his congressional blog. Chabot explained last year that he likes to gain “first-hand knowledge of the people, places and issues with which our nation is dealing overseas” and to better understand trade deals. With President Donald Trump threatening to deep-six trade deals in every direction, Chabot’s calming appearance abroad would seem to be in order. But he has stayed put ever since that trip to Baku and Yerevan a full year ago. Chabot spokesman Brian Griffith could not be reached last week. He said this in an email in May: “Due to the start of the new administration, the congressional schedule has been fairly hectic, and there is nothing currently on his (travel) schedule.” A Republican who lives in Westwood, Chabot was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994 and has now been in office 21 years. “He always took fairly expensive trips even though he has a reputation for being frugal,” says Michele Young, an Indian Hill attorney who lost to Chabot in the Ohio District 1 election last November. Young says Chabot’s overseas travel was outrageous considering how many Americans are struggling to make ends meet and how Chabot advocated cuts in what he calls “wasteful government spending.” “Citizens are showing up for the first time at his door every recess and they’re asking to see him,” she says. “He’s not holding town halls and he’s not seeing them. I think he doesn’t want to be seen gallivanting across the globe when he won’t hold town meetings.” Chabot is viewed as a tad more vulnerable when he’s up for re-election in November 2018. The Democratic Party sees the seat as winnable, even though the district’s 2010 addition of solid-red Warren County

gave Chabot a 60-to-40 win percentage last year. The Cook Political Report now considers the district as “competitive,” although “likely Republican.” Chabot has kept his head down in 2017. His preferred town hall meeting is with business leaders or, when it comes to the rabble, of the telephonic variety. He hasn’t posted anything in his congressional blog since congratulating La Salle High School, his alma mater, on its state football championship last fall. And while sparing taxpayers the expense of costly trips abroad, he has also resisted the usual travel opps dangled before members of Congress by special interest groups. His one reported “gift” trip in 2017? A two-day visit to New York City, courtesy the Heritage Foundation. (James McNair)

Former Mason Resident Detained in Connection with Charlottesville Assault Dan Borden, an 18-year-old former student at Mason High School, was arrested by law enforcement officials Aug. 25 as a suspect in the Aug. 12 beating of Deandre Harris during a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va. Bystanders recorded video of a group of five white men beating Harris, who is black, during the contentious protests and counter-protests around the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee in the Virginia college town. An effort by social media activists later identified Borden as a possible participant in that beating. In the video, a man in a hardhat bearing a Nazi symbol is seen beating Harris with a pole. Other photos of Borden at the rally show him wearing a very similar hardhat and other matching clothing. Harris says he suffered a broken wrist in the attack and required eight staples to close a gash in his head. Charlottesville police later confirmed that Borden, a former resident of Mason, was a person of interest in the beating. As of Aug. 30 he was being held at the Hamilton County Justice Center on malicious wounding charges. Borden’s attorney Greg Berberich says his client faces those charges due to violence instigated by “antifah” (presumably referring to anti-fascist protesters), that Borden was tear gassed and beaten and that he believes Borden will be exonerated of the charges in court. Charlottesville police will make the call as to when to extradite Borden to face charges in Albermarle County, where the city is located. The Aug. 12 rally gained national attention after another Ohio resident, CONTINUES ON PAGE 11

FROM PAGE 10

20-year-old James Alex Fields Jr., drove his car into a crowd of anti-racist protesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and wounding 19 others. Fields, who expressed Nazi sympathies during his time attending high school in Florence, Ky., is charged with murder in that incident. Borden lived in Mason and attended Mason High School through his junior year. A Facebook account bearing Borden’s name and likeness has sent virulent, violent messages to other users in the past. “Go see if those west side niggers will treat you the same as the kids in Mason,” read screenshots of messages Borden allegedly wrote to another Facebook user earlier this year. “If I could round up people to shoot I’d start right in that town. Black don’t do shit but biych (sic) and moan and collect welfare.” (Nick Swartsell)

ICE Detains, Releases Local Immigrant with DACA Status A Northern Kentucky woman detained last week by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents was released Aug. 26, ending for now worries that she would be deported despite her legal immigration status.

ICE officers arrested Riccy EnriquezPerdomo Aug. 17 at an immigration office in Louisville, where she had gone to post bond for another immigrant. Perdomo, 22, is a mother of two who has legal immigration status under former president Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. She came to the U.S. from Honduras when she was 9 and worked until recently at an Amazon warehouse in Hebron, Ky. After outcry from immigration activists and work by Perdomo’s attorney, ICE released her and said a paperwork error led to her detention. ICE held Perdomo at several locations, including an immigration detention center outside Chicago that is often the last stop before deportation. Perdomo says ICE agents told her DACA status wouldn’t protect her from deportation when she was arrested. She received DACA status in 2015 and renewed her immigration credentials Jan. 31 this year for the next two years. Perdomo and other DACA recipients’ statuses are still precarious — President Donald Trump has indicated he’s considering ending the program. He has until Labor Day to decide if he will do so, and if he does, Perdomo and thousands like her could face deportation. (NS)

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Hail to the Bard

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s remarkable history enters a new remarkable history enters a new stage BY RICK PENDER BY RICK PENDER

Important stages in the career OF william Shakespeare: 1564: Shakespeare is born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. He goes on to become the greatest playwright in the English language and perhaps the most admired dramatist the world has ever known. His 38 plays continue to be staged with incredible frequency, and numerous theater companies are focused on his classic works.

1993: Fahrenheit Theatre Company presents its first season in Cincinnati, offering both classic plays and contemporary works. The company renames itself the Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival in 1997, with a sharper commitment to the classics. In 1998, it moves to 719 Race St., taking over space previously occupied by The Movies repertory cinema. The year 2006 brings another name change, to Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, reflecting its year-round status.

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2017: The company fulfills its vision, announced in 2015, of creating a new $17 million theater facility at 1195 Elm St. in Over-the-Rhine: The Otto M. Budig Theater. It’s specifically designed for more sophisticated production of classic plays for larger audiences. It will open on Sept. 8 with a production of Shakespeare’s popular comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

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2014: Cincinnati Shakespeare Company completes the entire canon of Shakespeare’s 38 plays, one of the youngest classic theater companies ever to do so. (Only four other companies in North America have achieved this feat, and none this quickly.) But it’s bursting at the seams on Race Street.

The Need for a New Home

Cincy Shakes’ old home for 19 of its 23 seasons, at 719 Race St., had numerous limitations. The small space, never intended for performances, had no fly space or wing space for scenery. No grid to hang lights. Limited office space. Sets had to be built off-site and brought into a theater space lacking a loading door. To leave the stage and re-enter behind the audience, actors had to leave the building and run down a side alley. On a low visibility downtown street, the theater was not on many Cincinnatians’ radar. Even worse, when people walked in, some said, “This isn’t a theater where I want to spend an evening.” Nevertheless, those who stuck around for performances became a devoted following. Executive Director Jay Woffington says they told the company, “We love the intimacy. We love being spit on and getting blood on our clothes.”

Ethereal lights for the lobby

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PHOTO : haile y bollinger

Cincinnati Shakespeare’s new theater affords the latest in theater design and technology, with more intimacy for everyone. “Our plans have actually increased that aspect,” Woffington points out, “despite doubling our audience capacity.” Artistic Director Brian Isaac Phillips is over the moon about the new theater’s potential. “Now we’ve got a fantastic building, and we’ve removed as many obstacles as possible. Now the audience can come closer.” Enjoying a production at Cincinnati Shakespeare’s new theater will be up close and personal for everyone. With six rows of seats horseshoed around a thrust stage, plus a single row of 47 seats on the balcony, the theater can accommodate 244 patrons with no person more than 20 feet from the stage. (Race Street’s audience capacity was 150, with nearly half of the seats 30-40 feet from performers.) The new stage can be lowered for more seating when the stage is used as a traditional proscenium. The new theater, situated in Over-the-Rhine’s “arts corridor,” is close to Music Hall, Memorial Hall and the School for Creative and Performing Arts. Its glass-walled lobby will be highly visible on performance nights. Actors working in the second-floor rehearsal room, the Bridgeland Performance Studio, can be seen from Washington Park. That space can also host public and private events and receptions and be a venue for other performing

organizations. The theater was designed with a particular eye to accessibility. Elevators connect the street level to the balcony and rehearsal area, and ramps allow easy entrance to the main floor seating areas. Phillips is still discovering how the space will work as he rehearses his actors for A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He mentions a recent conversation with Know Theatre’s Andrew Hungerford. “I was showing him around, and we were in the trap underneath the stage. He asked if it could be a Fringe venue. I said, ‘I don’t know. Maybe!’ ”

The More-than-Just-Shakespeare Company

The thing Phillips most wants people to know about Cincinnati Shakespeare is that it’s not all Shakespeare all the time. “We are Shakespeare and the classics. Yes, it’s the works of William Shakespeare, and we’ve done the complete canon of his plays, some of them four or five times. But we also present contemporary classics, American classics, literary adaptations.” The debut season at the company’s new theater offers two plays by Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which Phillips is directing, and Othello. But it also includes stage adaptations of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and the 1967 movie Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. An American classic by Tennessee Williams, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, is on the docket, as is Michael Frayn’s hysterical 1982 backstage comedy Noises Off. “Our work with Shakespeare helps us to better produce these other plays,” Phillips points out, “because of how textually savvy our performers can get. If it scares you off that we’re only Shakespeare, then this is absolutely the right season to try us out.”

The new facility also enables the company to expand education and outreach. “The Bridgeland studio will have space for student performances while there’s something happening on the main stage,” Phillips says. “We have space for classes and summer camps, too, in the adjacent building where our offices and dressing rooms are.” The company’s programs for young theater enthusiasts have been wildly successful. “Those kids come in the summer and love

Maggie Lou Rader in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” PHOTO : mikki schaffner photography

it, and they’re our best fans ever. Emily Sullivan, an actor in this year’s Young Company, was in our Groundlings program when she was in fifth grade.” Sullivan has toured regional parks this summer for “Free Shakespeare” productions, and she will travel to area schools throughout the season. The Young Company’s focus on off-site productions opens up more opportunities for community actors and guest artists in mainstage shows.

Phillips continues, “When I joined the company, I had fallen in love with live classical theater at Canada’s Stratford Festival. I always believed we could be that type of an institution for Cincinnati, for Ohio and the region. There was the potential here to build something special.” Benchmarking trips to London, New York, Chicago and elsewhere provided detailed inspiration regarding the theater’s shape, stage and amenities. The quickest consensus was for the thrust stage, projecting into the audience. “That was the way to create the closeness that our stakeholders loved,” Woffington explains.

First Stages

Beginning as Fahrenheit Theatre Company in 1993 with a production of The Taming of the Shrew, the fledgling organization’s first shows were at Gabriel’s Corner (an Over-the-Rhine church basement) and then at The Carnegie in Covington (long before its renovation). Its founders were interns at Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati in 1992-93: Jasson Minadakis (who served as artistic director), Jason McCune, Chris Reeder, Joanna Parson, Brian Griffin and Erin Cowan. Marni Penning and Nick Rose, college friends of Minadakis at James Madison University in Virginia, arrived soon. (Rose is still an acting company member.)

The new CSC stage PHOTO : Mikki schaffner photography

“Even though this is Season 24, we’re talking about it as Year One,” Woffington says. “It’s a fresh look at everything. It’s zero-base, a chance to plan exactly what we can do. It’s all unique — designers, casting and show selections. It wasn’t just, oh, yeah, one more season. This is the first!”

The Leadership

Others during the company’s early days were Sharon Polcyn McCune, C. Charles Scheeren (another James Madison grad), Stephen Skiles (now heading Xavier University’s theater program), Stan Ginn, Angela Warden, Nicholas Korn, Richard L. Arthur, Glenn Becker, Khris Lewin and Jim Stump (now artistic director of New Edgecliff Theatre). The close-knit, hard-working band did everything: acting, promotion, design and maintenance. They developed a small but faithful following with two seasons (1996-1998) at the new Aronoff Center’s Fifth Third Bank Theater. Phillips, who joined the company in 1999 after interning as an actor at Ensemble Theatre, became its artistic director in 2003 when Minadakis left for a theater job in Atlanta. Corinne Mohlenhoff, another actor, joined the company in 1999. They expected to work in Cincinnati for a year and then move on to greener pastures.

Executive Director Jay Woffington (left) and Artistic Director Brian Isaac Phillips PHOTO : mikki schaffner photography

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Phillips became the company’s artistic leader in 2003, a role he has fulfilled for almost 15 years. In 2012, Woffington, a six-year board member with the theater, became its executive director. He is focused on the business end of operations. In particular, Woffington spearheaded the design, construction and fundraising for the company’s new home. He had sold Bridge Worldwide, the ad agency he built and grew in downtown Cincinnati. “I was looking for something to keep me out of trouble,” Woffington says. “Brian asked what I wanted to do. I said I wanted to be closer to things that I’m passionate about. I saw that the company had a lot of the pieces, but pouring a little rocket fuel in was what it needed. Some say I’m a kind of rocket fuel. But the truth is, the staff really hasn’t changed that much. All the pieces were here. We just had to stitch them together and tell a compelling story of what the company could achieve.” When Woffington was on the company’s board, Phillips outlined his ambitious vision. Today, he kids Woffington, saying, “Didn’t you tell me ‘Hell, no’ at one point when I said it (a new home) at a board meeting 10 years ago?’ A new facility had always been the dream. We used to call it ‘the mansion on the river,’ thinking about London’s National Theatre. How could we get something like that?”

More Shakespeare Around Town

“But it turned into, ‘No, we’re going to stay here because it’s something special,’ ” Phillips says. Today he and Mohlenhoff are married with two children, firmly settled in the Queen City.

Besides having his A Midsummer’s Night Dream produced as the first play in the first season at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s new theater in Over-the-Rhine, he’s also the subject of Cincinnati Playhouse’s season-opening production: Shakespeare in Love (previews begin Sept. 2; opening is Sept. 7; runs through Sept. 30). It’s Lee Hall’s stage adaptation of the 1998 Academy Award-winning movie screenplay by Marc Norman and venerable playwright Tom Stoppard. It was a major hit in London in 2014 and played to sold-out audiences during the 2016 Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada.

What does the future hold as Cincinnati Shakespeare begins to inhabit its new theater? “It’s not just toys,” Woffington says. “It’s the intentionality of the design, every little piece. Early on we faced a lot of challenges from donors and public officials who said, ‘Yeah, but just for you? A single space?’ Once we explained that we do 350 performances annually, people got over the idea that we had to share. That allowed us to design single-use space very intentionally. “We’re already talking to Cincinnati Opera for a performance they want to do on our stage,” Woffington continues. “SCPA is very interested in some things here, too. But the value to our company is that every piece of it has been designed for what we do.”

After more than four centuries, William Shakespeare still sits atop the theater world. American Theatre magazine annually publishes a list of the most-produced playwrights on American stages; Shakespeare is omitted because he would always lead the list. He is the world’s most frequently staged playwright.

Playhouse Artistic Director Blake Robison says, “A big epic production like this is what the Playhouse does best. Though the stage version sticks closely to the original screenplay, this is a story that belongs on the stage.”

The Next Stage(s)

The show’s speculative premise is that young William Shakespeare has writer’s block and a deadline for a new play. He meets and falls in love with Viola de Lesseps, who aspires to an onstage career — despite the Elizabethan convention allowing only men to be actors. Their forbidden romance inspires him to create Romeo and Juliet. The show is full of allusions to other classic works and populated with historical figures including Queen Elizabeth I. Robison calls it a production for everyone. “It’s a wonderful way to dip your toe into this vast ocean of Shakespeare’s world,” Robison says. “There are snippets of Romeo and Juliet played out before you in verse, but most of the action is in everyday language that is accessible and understandable to everyone.” For more of Shakespeare’s world, stop by the Cincinnati Museum Center for Shakespeare and the Queen City, currently on view through Oct. 29. The exhibition’s focal point is a copy of the “First Folio,” first published in 1623. There are 234 surviving copies of this collection of Shakespeare’s plays, preserving 36 of the 38 works attributed to him today. Many plays in this volume were unpublished during his lifetime; Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night and The Tempest might have been lost without it. The exhibition examines how Shakespeare’s stories and characters have resonated, evolved and been adapted over time, including their influence on Cincinnati. A stage area at the Museum Center will be programmed by several partner organizations with performances. It’s also an opportunity to select scenery and props and try out a scene from Shakespearean plays.

PHOTO : maria dehne

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On Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, there will be a panel discussion, Shakespeare Across the Arts. Featured speakers include the Playhouse’s Robison, Cincinnati Shakespeare’s Brian Phillips, Whitney Owens from the Museum Center, Cincinnati Ballet’s Victoria Morgan (the Ballet stages Romeo and Juliet Oct. 26-29 at Cincinnati Music Hall) and Ensemble Theatre’s D. Lynn Meyers (ETC presents Red Velvet March 6-31, 2018, a new play about the first African-American actor to portray Othello). The program is free and open to the public, but reservations are necessary: 513-421-3888. The new theater will enable some unprecedented international exposure for Cincinnati Shakespeare and the city early next year when the Shakespeare Theatre Association comes to town for a weeklong conference (Jan. 17-20, 2018). Attendees will include representatives from Shakespeare companies in Oregon, Utah, Orlando, New Jersey, Washington, D.C. and Chicago. The Globe from London and Canada’s legendary Stratford Festival will be here, as will representatives from two theaters from Australia, one from Brazil and one from Prague, the host of the association’s 2019 conference. “They’re all going to be here in Cincinnati,” Phillips says. “We’ll bring guests to the theater for workshops and morning warm-ups. We’ll be trading secrets, sharing troubles, anything that we have in common as producers of Shakespeare. There will be ‘tracks’ (sets of sessions) for artistic staff, management, educators and board members. “We’re planning a fantastic conference, a chance to show off this new building and tell the story of how this happened,” Phillips says. Woffington chimes in, “And show off the city!” It will be another important stage — perhaps a debut on the world stage? — for Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. ©

CSC’s new lobby, viewable from the street PHOTO : haile y bollinger

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to do

Staff Recommendations

“ E b b & F l o w ” b y K r i s t i n e D o n n e l ly a n d “ M t. B at u r at D aw n ” b y E r i n M a h o r n e y // p h o t o : D eo g r a c i a s Le r m a

WEDNESDAY 30

MUSIC: GEOGRAPHER, the Electronic AltPop brainchild of singer/songwriter Mike Deni, plays the Woodward Theater. See Sound Advice on page 34. ONSTAGE: The Actors Theatre of Louisville presents both parts of ANGELS IN AMERICA. See Curtain Call on page 23. ART: PRETTY.VACANT. at the Art Academy celebrates the spirit of Punk with works selected from the collection of George and Linda Kurz. See feature on page 24. EVENT: SHAKESPEARE IN THE QUEEN CITY Shakespeare has arrived in Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Museum Center is the temporary home of a rare edition of the Bard’s “First Folio,” the first published collection of his most famous works. Published in 1623, the edition — on loan from the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. — is one of only 234 known surviving copies. Although the folio is the centerpiece of the exhibit, Shakespeare in the Queen City also features ephemera from Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and the public library like playbills, costumes and props, as well as a stage area established in collaboration with Cincy Shakes that lets guests channel Shakespearean actors. Through Oct. 29. Free admission. Cincinnati Museum Center, 1301 Western Ave., Queensgate, cincymuseum.org. — EMILY BEGLEY

VOLUNTEER: LIVING LANDS & WATERS 2017 OHIO RIVER TOUR Help keep one of our most precious and beautiful natural resources as such by volunteering to clean up the Ohio River. Living Lands & Waters is bringing its barges and boats to Covington (yes, you get a boat ride) and calling for volunteers to participate in

water-based clean-up events. This environmental organization travels through the nation’s waterways to remove trash and promote watershed conservation. Since 1998, LL&W has removed nine million pounds of debris from America’s rivers. So if you’ve ever found yourself strolling across the Roebling Bridge, thinking about how beautiful our river is, help keep it that way and register to participate. Through Sept. 19. Free; register to volunteer at livinglandsandwaters.org/volunteer/river-cleanups. — KATIE GRIFFITH

THURSDAY 31

EVENT: POETRY AND PIE Playing off the current Gathering Space exhibit, Wave Pool is hosting a pie and poetry party on Thursday. With the help of San Francisco’s Adobe Books proprietor

Andrew McKinley, Gathering Space has transformed the gallery into a temporary bookstore, tea shop and “living room” to be used as a community-builder and hangout. Poetry and Pie — a simple, friendly concept organized by Joshua Kruer — will combine readings from local poets with dessert. 7-9 p.m. Thursday. Free admission. Wave Pool, 2940 Colerain Ave., Camp Washington, wavepoolgallery.org. — MAIJA ZUMMO COMEDY: TOM THAKKAR In his bio, comic Tom Thakkar withholds very little information about his upbringing. “I like to put as much information as I can in the bio because that’s what I like to talk about,” he says. “I have kind of a trashy family and an Indian father who was in prison for a long time.” Area comedy fans may recognize him as the former Tom Brady. “I was born Tom Brady but my parents were never married

and my father’s last name is Thakkar,” he says. “My mom gave me her ex-husband’s name because her family wouldn’t give me their name — I think because I’m half Indian.” He changed it to Thakkar in January. Comedy, first watching it, then doing it, turned out to be quite therapeutic for Thakkar. “If I’m laughing, nothing’s wrong,” he says. His set is a mix of silly jokes and autobiographical stories. Showtimes Thursday-Sunday. $8-$14. Go Bananas, 8410 Market Place Lane, Montgomery, gobananascomedy.com. — P.F. WILSON

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MUSIC: SCOTT H. BIRAM brings his Dirty Old One Man Band to the Southgate House Revival. See interview on page 32. CONTINUES ON PAGE 20

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FILM: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Disney’s live-action remake of the classic anthropomorphic and slightly unconventional love story — featuring a human woman imprisoned by a hairy talking animal in a coat — Beauty and The Beast is slated to screen as the last installation of the Summer Cinema Series at Washington Park. Watch Emma Watson glide across the screen as Belle and Downton Abbey’s Dan Stevens growl and smash stuff as the titular Beast. Talking candles and kitchen accessories round out the cast of singing, enchanted castle inhabitants, performing all your favorite Oscar-winning songs from the 1991 animated feature, plus four new ones. 9-11 p.m. Wednesday. Free. Washington Park, 1230 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, washingtonpark.org. — MAIJA ZUMMO

WEDNESDAY 30

ART: ART UP CLOSE ARTIST TALK WITH KRISTINE DONNELLY AT CINCINNATI ART UNDERGROUND Printmaker/sculptor Kristine Donnelly has shown little of her work around town since being chosen as one of the Taft Museum of Art’s Keystone Contemporary emerging artists in 2010. However, her work is currently on view in a group show alongside local abstract painter Erin Mahorney and Florida sculptor Noah Brock at Cincinnati Art Underground. This Wednesday, Donnelly will give viewers some insights into her recent evolutions that include working in collage and experimenting with Tyvek. Her work seems apt for the gallery’s exposed brick and large-windowed space, as her art often responds to interior architecture — an approach that was also used in the exhibit at the Taft. 6:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Free. Cincinnati Art Underground, 1415 Main St., Over-the-Rhine, cincinnatiartunderground.com. — MARIA SEDA-REEDER

p h o t o : c h ec k m at e p h o t o g r a p h y

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SATURDAY 02

EVENT: OHIO RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL Jousters, jesters and turkey-leg eaters, don your finest breeches, lace-up bodices and cosplay costumes (fox tails and Doctor Who fezzes welcome) for the annual Ohio Renaissance Festival. The 30-acre festival grounds have been historically recreated to look like a 16th-century English village filled with entertainment ranging from swordfighters, jugglers and strolling storytellers to blacksmiths, battling knights and rides powered by humans. New this year is a Willy Nilly Trivia pub crawl. That’s right: Along with bread bowl stews and steak on a stake, the fest offers plenty of hearty ales, meads and wine for those 21 and older. Themed weekends include Time Travelers Weekend, Highland Weekend and Barbarian Invasion. 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays, Sundays and Labor Day. Through Oct. 29. $22.50 adults; $9.50 children; free 5 and under. 10542 E. State Route 73, Waynesville, Ohio, renfestival.com. — MAIJA ZUMMO

FROM PAGE 19

EVENT: KING RECORDS MONTH kicks off at the Woodward Theater. See Spill It on page 33.

SUNDAY 03

MUSIC: Inventive MC and eccentric Hip Hop artist SERENGETI plays MOTR Pub. See Sound Advice on page 34.

EVENT: ART ON VINE Revel in the cooler temps this Labor Day weekend with a little outdoor shopping. Grab snacks from local food trucks as you browse wares from more than 60 vendors — you’ll find everything from artworks and crafting materials to homegoods and jewelry. Only one more outdoor market remains this season before Art on Vine heads back indoors at Rhinegeist. Noon-6 p.m. Sunday. Free admission. Fountain Square, 520 Vine St., Downtown, artonvinecincy.com. — EMILY BEGLEY EVENT: FIREWORKS PARTY AT DARKNESS BREWING Want to see some fireworks without hanging out with half a million of your closest friends? Head to Darkness Brewing for a less-claustrophobic celebration. The brewery will have the fireworks on TV and music blasting during the show. Order

some brews and soak up the alcohol with some banh mi from local food truck SEA Cuisine. 6 p.m.-midnight Sunday. Free admission. Darkness Brewing, 224 Fairfield Ave., Bellevue, Ky., facebook.com/ darknessbrewing. — EMILY BEGLEY EVENT: TRI-STATE ANTIQUE MARKET Since 1985, the Tri-State Antique Market has been “Indiana’s largest antiques and vintage-only market.” Featured in a handful of publications, including Midwest Living, the event requires every item for sale to be at least 30 years old and out of production. And with more than 200 dealers, that means there’s plenty to pick through, from primitives and Pop art to farmhouse finds and salvaged architectural items. 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. $3; free 18 and under. Lawrenceburg Fairgrounds, 351 E. Eads Parkway, Lawrenceburg, Ind., queencityshows.com. — MAIJA ZUMMO

TUESDAY 05

EVENT: THE NEW COLOSSUS is a two-night event where artists respond to Emma Lazarus’ 1883 sonnet of the same name. See feature on page 25.

MUSIC: Los Angeles’ ELECTRIC GUEST bridges the gap between Electro

photo : Provided

IT’S ON LIKE DONKEY KONG... LITERALLY! SUNDAY 03

EVENT: RIVERFEST The Queen City’s biggest pyrotechnic party returns for its 41st year of lighting up the Ohio River. Culminating with WEBN/Western & Southern’s massive fireworks display at 9:05 p.m., the all-day Riverfest includes food and live entertainment by the likes of Judah & The Lion, Hey Violet and AJR. Thousands of yellow rubber ducks will also dive into the river from the Purple People Bridge during the Freestore Foodbank’s 23rd-annual Rubber Duck Regatta. One lucky duck will win its owner this year’s grand prize: a 2017 Honda HR-V. Ducks are still available online and at select Kroger stores. Noon-11 p.m. Riverfest; 3 p.m. Rubber Duck Regatta Sunday. Free admission. Sawyer Point and Yeatman’s Cove, 705 E. Pete Rose Way, Downtown, webn.iheart.com. — EMILY BEGLEY

Pop and contemporary Motown-tinged Soul at the Woodward Theater. See Sound Advice on page 35.

ONSTAGE: OTR IMPROV FESTIVAL What began as a love letter to local comedy has grown into a festival with national impact. Helmed by OTRimprov, the fourthannual Improv Festival Cincy is a five-day event featuring performers from across the country — from New York to Chicago to San Diego. This year’s headliners include Heyday, a group of veteran improvisers that includes members of Second City and Upright Citizens Brigade; Matt Damon Improv, comprised entirely of women of color; and Big Ol’ Show, which features Amber Nash, voice of Pam on the animated series Archer. Feeling funny? This year’s fest kicks off Wednesday night with an Improv Jam that invites anyone to take the stage. The event also includes a variety of workshops on topics like committing to character and growing within a scene. Sept. 6-10. Ticket prices vary. Know Theatre, 1120 Jackson St., Over-the-Rhine, ifcincy.com. — EMILY BEGLEY

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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MUSIC: ROZWELL KID West Virginia’s Rozwell Kid sometimes gets called a “Pop Punk” band. But while there’s certainly bratty energy and a catchy melodic pull to the band’s sound, there’s a depth to Rozwell Kid’s songwriting that is more Power Pop than Punk. The group’s latest album, Precious Art (released in June on SideOneDummy Records), is the best example yet of its ability to deliver endless hooks, cementing Rozwell Kid’s position as the top 21st-century torchbearers of the ’90s Pop Rock scene that gave the world Weezer, Superdrag, Nada Surf and Fountains of Wayne. As the sarcastic album title suggests, another big part of the group’s identity is an often self-depreciating sense of humor (previous albums include Too Shabby and Unmacho), which is deeply ingrained in all of its songs. Even when a Rozwell Kid track deals with something difficult or painful, it’s delivered with a wink. Though the humor is often sophomoric, Rozwell Kid’s grasp on Pop songcraft is Master’s level. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. $12; $14 day of show. Southgate House Revival, 111 E. Sixth St., Newport, Ky., southgatehouse. com. — MIKE BREEN

WEDNESDAY 06

arts & culture

Artful Conversations

Local museums and libraries are bringing visual and literary arts to listeners via podcasts BY JUDY GEORGE

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hen established, the Cincinnati Art Museum was revolutionary. Public art collections were rare in 1886, especially in areas as far west as Cincinnati. More than a century later, the museum has birthed another novel idea: Art Palace, a podcast that brings together a roster of local voices — actors, musicians, dancers, writers, scientists, curators and more — to view visual art in the museum through many distinct perspectives. The museum joins two other cultural institutions that have also expanded Cincinnati’s cultural offerings through podcasting: the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County and the Mercantile Library. Produced by the Cincinnati Art Museum, Art Palace is hosted twice a month by Russell Ihrig, the museum’s assistant director of interpretive programming. An episode could be a conversation with Cincinnati Shakespeare Company actor Jeremy Dubin about a painting of a scene from Hamlet, or with Cincinnati Ballet’s Director of Education Julie Sunderland about the dancers in the museum’s Degas sculptures. Art Palace developed from a series of conversations Ihrig hosted last year during 30 Americans, a museum exhibit about race, gender and historical identity. “The idea was that we could get into more charged issues and have conversations around topics in the show,” he says. When the exhibit ended, Ihrig wanted to keep engaging people to talk about art and move the discussions beyond the galleries. He saw that podcasting was a way to reach more people. “I wanted to create something that could be serious, but also casual and fun,” Ihrig says. “I joked there would be no Baroque music in the podcast, which is ironic because the podcast theme song actually is Baroque, but it’s kind of a Hip Hop take on Baroque.” Art Palace’s scope is as wide as the museum’s collection, which gives Ihrig myriad ways to connect with local artists. A recent show featured soprano Catalina Cuervo, who sang the leading role in the Cincinnati Opera’s performance of Frida. Cuervo studied everything she could find about painter Frida Kahlo to prepare for her role. For the podcast, she discussed the museum’s online exhibition of its photos of Kahlo in the 1940s, originally taken by Cincinnatian Bernard Silberstein. “The light of this picture is absolute perfection, because the focus is her face,” Cuervo says of one of those images in Episode 20. “You see two things that people who are familiar with Frida see,” she tells Art Palace listeners. “Her gaze is very straight. Who is

PHOTO : haile y bollinger

standing there? What is she looking at? The other thing is the little pout she did with her mouth — you see it in all of her portraits — that’s both very sensual and strong.” Art Palace has featured astronomer Dean Regas of the Cincinnati Observatory, Ramona Toussaint of the Society for the Preservation of Music Hall, recording artist Daniel Martin Moore and editor of The Cincinnati Anthology Zan McQuade, each talking about a different piece in the museum. “I like to do shows with people who have a different perspective, who see things I don’t,” Ihrig says. “Someone made choices about each piece of art that’s been created. Why did they make those choices? That’s what I want to explore.” Instead of visual art, the two aforementioned literary institutions — the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County and the Mercantile Library — bring books and writing to podcasting. Kurt Dinan, the Library Foundation’s current writer-in-residence, hosts Inside the Writer’s Head. From the MakerSpace studio at the Main Library, he interviews local and national writers about their craft. “I love talking to authors about their process and discussing the strategies and tools they use,” Dinan says. “I want listeners to understand that this is something they can do. The podcast is a great way to show that.” Novelists and short story writers John Mantooth, Jessica Strawser and Mindy McGinnis have shared insights on Inside the Writer’s Head. “Many people in the Cincinnati area want to write a novel,” Dinan says. “It’s really eyeopening when they hear about the labor that goes into a manuscript — writing, rewriting, editing and revising again. That’s what comes out in the podcast, hearing authors be real about the craft.” The longest-running cultural podcast in town, with 55 episodes on file, is the Mercantile Library’s The 12th Story. Produced by the Mercantile Library’s Business and Membership Manager Chris Messick, the show is recorded on the 12th floor of the Mercantile Building on Walnut Street downtown. Many episodes of The 12th Story are a public book club, a discussion among three or four readers about works ranging from J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy to Neal Stephenson’s Seveneves. Others feature interpretive readings — actor Landon Hawkins recently read from the library’s new poetry and translations acquisitions. This year, The 12th Story launched its Founders Series to interview heads of local startup companies about their entrepreneurial journey and the books they read.

Russell Ihrig, host of Cincinnati Art Museum’s Art Palace podcast “Our library was founded by merchants and clerks who wanted to better themselves, but who didn’t have access to higher education,” Messick says. “We’ve started a series to talk to people in the startup community, people who might have been in that group of merchants if they had been around in 1835.” Though the Cincinnati arts podcast audience is small — each institution has about 200 listeners per show — it is growing. “The first episode of Inside the Writer’s Head this season had over 1,100 listeners, and several episodes have reached 500,” says Angela Hursh of the public library’s marketing department.

But podcasting is more than numbers, she adds. “Although we don’t have millions of listeners, the people who are listening are very engaged,” she says. “You can’t get any more intimate than being in somebody’s ear for 20 or 30 minutes. It’s like having a personal conversation.” Free podcasts ART PALACE, INSIDE THE WRITER’S HEAD and THE 12TH STORY are available on SoundCloud and iTunes and at each institution’s website (cincinnatiartmuseum.org, cincinnatilibrary.org, mercantilelibrary.com).

a&c curtain call

Louisville Staging ‘Angels in (Trump’s) America’ BY RICK PENDER

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Meredith McDonough has loved Tony director Les Waters to let her stage the Kushner’s immense Pulitzer Prize-winning entire show. “We should do both parts of this two-part play, Angels in America, since because it’s a play about marginalized people she was 16. She attended its 1994 Broadway that are coming together to say we won’t debut six times while enrolled in a summer stop moving,” she says she told him. “As Prior pre-college program in New York City. “You says, ‘The world only spins forward.’ ” could get $20 rush tickets if you waited in She’s particularly interested in one of line all day,” she says. “It was two rows of Angels’ characters: a fictionalized version of folding chairs above the lighting grid.” Roy Cohn, the closeted, power-hungry attorShe was enthralled with the theatrical ney who’s in total denial that he has AIDS. landscape Kushner created, both intimate “It’s crazy to listen to the play now because and epic. In the chaos of the mid-1980s, a Cohn was such a mentor to Donald Trump,” web of eight friends, lovers, enemies and McDonough says. Cohn’s rhetoric and selfstrangers struggle to make sense of a world aggrandizement, which once sounded like plagued by AIDS and threatened by a disapcomic relief, are today painfully echoed in pearing ozone layer. At the conclusion of Milthe White House. lennium Approaches, Part One of Angels, a heavenly messenger literally crashes through the ceiling above Prior Walter, the play’s AIDSinfected central character. Describing the show’s impact on her teenage self, McDonough says, “There was just something about it that I found so tremendously moving. It was happening in the late ’80s and early ’90s, when the AIDS crisis was still everywhere. It’s been incredibly important to me.” Millennium Approaches Meredith McDonough (center) with Angels in America actors was produced at Actors P H O T O : ph i l i p a l l g e i e r Theatre of Louisville during McDonough’s apprenticeship there in 1997-98. In 2002, as a grad student at “It’s not a joke now,” she says. the University of California, San Diego, she Why should audiences today care about directed it. She returned to Actors Theatre in a political play written 25 years ago? “First 2012 as associate artistic director; now she’s of all, I think it’s the most beautiful play staging both Millennium Approaches and ever written, a Pulitzer Prize-winning, epic Perestroika, Part Two of Kushner’s seventheatrical masterpiece,” McDonough says. and-a-half-hour dramatic behemoth. “Kushner’s intricate weaving of these charac“The play has immediate relevance to ters reveals the basest and most beautiful in today’s world,” McDonough says. “Lookhuman nature. And what is happening in this ing back on it now, I don’t understand how country right now is terrifying — the amount anybody does just Part One. You get to the of our country that’s losing its mind and very end of Part One, and there she is — a beautidangerously sentimentalizing a false past hisful angel. You assume that great things are tory — that’s what this is fighting against. coming from her. But her message is, ‘I need “It puts a marginalized group at its center,” you to stop moving.’” she continues. “It’s not about white-straightPrior battles the angel throughout Permale America. It’s actually about the difestroika. That gives Kushner’s show, subficulty to continue to have more opportunity titled “A Gay Fantasia on National Themes,” and more life. It’s a play that asks for more contemporary relevance. life — over and over. We all need to come “Right now, there are a lot of people in this together and sit in a shared space in the country who would like to go backward or dark with other strangers who will share at least just stop,” McDonough says. “If you that experience. That feels very critical to look at what’s happening today all over the me right now.” country, you’ll see people saying, ‘No, we ANGELS IN AMERICA PART ONE: MILLENNIUM will not go backward. We will resist those APPROACHES is playing now through Oct. 10; who would create a false past and a false PART TWO: PERESTROIKA follows Sept. 19-Oct. history.’ The play’s message is not subtle; it’s 14. There are some opportunities to see both in a about forward motion.” single day. More information: actorstheatre.org. She convinced Actors Theatre artistic

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a&c visual art

An Art Show with Punk Spirit BY MARIA SEDA-REEDER

Various art sites around town — ranging painter Chris Johanson, “artist’s artist” from institutional galleries and museums to painter Carroll Dunham and the amusing, more DIY artist-driven spaces — offer collecsexually explicit Cary Leibowitz. And those tor-focused exhibitions like the one currently larger vignettes are interspersed with single on view at the Art Academy of Cincinnati pieces by art-market darlings like Ryan called Pretty. Vacant.: Works Celebrating McGinley, Catherine Opie and Mark Flood. the Spirit of Punk, Selected from the CollecThe Johanson installation demonstrates tion of George and Linda Kurz. the collector’s resourcefulness. Many of the Such exhibitions at traditional museums wooden cutouts of “floating bodies” had are a problematic endeavor — showing been gifted to the artist’s friends — often work owned by a potential future donor in folks who Johanson felt needed some a formal institution effectively canonizes financial assistance. In order to get enough the art and thus inflates its market value. But Pretty. Vacant. is exactly the right kind of show for the exact right venue. It is the fourth installment in the Art Academy’s “Collectors Series” of exhibitions, which coincides with the beginning of the school year. Previous showings of work from local contemporary art collectors Sara Vance Waddell, Michael Lowe and Andy Stillpass were all titled simply Selections from the Collection of… Chris Johanson’s work is featured in Pretty. Vacant. Instead, the Kurzes’ exhiPHOTO : jimmy baker bition title comes from the Sex Pistols song of the same name, and the show reads quite differently of them to create an installation (seven are than the previous three. included in Pretty. Vacant.), the Kurzes George Kurz explained his thoughts would buy the objects (which were once on about the process of selecting works for view at the Venice Biennale) one at a time as the show in a phone conversation: “We they came up on auction site. Kurz explains wanted the show to be driven by attitude that they were spread all over the country — not medium, era or style. It’s a collaboraand pretty difficult to tack down. tive process.” “Most of these things come up just by And, indeed, it sounds like it was a labor chance and you either buy them now, figure of love for the students and various Art out a way to pay for them and find the Academy faculty involved in pulling off the money later, or you don’t get it,” Kurz says. installation of no less than 75 (extremely “When you’re ‘all in,’ you’re often art rich valuable) artworks in two diminutive and cash poor.” exhibition spaces in the school’s Over-theHe explains that a lot of the artists whose Rhine building. work he and his wife collect “come from Just hours before the opening reception different backgrounds but share the desire Aug. 25, Art Academy exhibitions coordinato be agitators.” Many are also artists who, tor Matt Coors described how the collector despite being beloved by curators and other was hands-on throughout the entire process artists, often make work difficult to sell. of choosing the artwork, its installation and “That’s something I respect a lot — crafting the show’s nine-page gallery guide. someone so committed to their vision that Kurz really wanted to involve the school they’re not going to compromise by making and the students as much as possible. He something pretty or easier to digest,” Kurz brainstormed various methods of installasays. “I think art is supposed to shake tion with Coors and faculty members. things up and make people think and The Kurzes seem drawn to both the maybe even upset them.” provocative and the figural in various mediAnd so art that is, as Kurz terms it, “a ums — there are four Robert Mapplethorpe little bit edgy,” fits his — and thusly, Pretty. photographs, for instance. Vacant.’s — aforementioned “attitude.” The gallery spaces are activated by larger PRETTY. VACANT. is on view at the Art Academy installations of several works hung in tight through Sept. 22. Admission is free. More info: salon-style clusters from artists such as artacademy.edu. self-taught San Francisco Mission School

a&c LIT

‘The New Colossus’ Reinterprets Our Freedom BY LEYLA SHOOKOOHE

her name” (or his) regarding victims of police violence. The Lazarus poem has become closely connected with the notion, ingrained in the American spirit, that this country is a safe haven for refugees and immigrants. She wrote it as part of a fundraiser to build the base for the Statue of Liberty, itself a goodwill gift from France. It was later inscribed on a plaque mounted to the base, and its

Chase Public’s Scott Holzman P H O T O : a a r o n c o n way

presence helped the statue become a symbol of freedom. Holzman says it completely changed the meaning of one of the United States’ most significant monuments. “This sonnet has become a thing,” says John Faherty, the Mercantile’s executive director. “Immigration is top of mind and with it identity, and who’s an American is relevant and important. I’m just so excited we’re a part of this.” With its new nonprofit status, Chase Public can now fundraise and potentially expand its offerings to make itself more known. As it does so, watch for more projects like this. “The feedback we’ve gotten is that a lot of people’s favorite Chase Public events are the Response Projects,” Holzman says. “So I think the more we can tease out and experiment with that form, the more fun we can have and the more meaningful experiences we can help facilitate.” The first NEW COLOSSUS performance occurs 7 p.m. (with a 6:30 p.m. reception) Tuesday at the Mercantile Library, 414 Walnut St., Downtown. Free; reservations required by emailing reservations@mercantilelibrary.com. The free performance at 7 p.m. on Sept. 7 is at Chase Public, 1569 Chase Ave., Northside, chasepublic.com.

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Chase Public unveils The New Colossus, a riff on the nonprofit Northside literary arts center’s popular Response Project series, Tuesday at the Mercantile Library and Sept. 7 at Chase Public’s headquarters. It is named for the famous Emma Lazarus 1883 sonnet that is inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty, with its unforgettable lines like “your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” This two-night event will feature 14 artists, writers, performers and others offering a newly created work that interprets — rather than responds to — a single line from Lazarus’ poem. Scott Holzman, Chase Public’s executive director, calls the event an experimental, “performative” reading. The New Colossus project is presented in partnership with the Mercantile Library and the Contemporary Arts Center and was initially inspired by an upcoming performance in the CAC’s Black Box performance series called By Heart. The latter, occurring Sept. 28 and 29, will feature the Portuguese playwright and actor Tiago Rodrigues leading 10 audience members in memorizing a poem. Chase Public — which just officially became a nonprofit this month — has found keen interest in its Response Project series, in which performers appear before an audience to interpret different creative works, such as a Frida Kahlo painting, Prince’s song “When Doves Cry,” Georges Méliès’ 1902 short film A Trip to the Moon and the national anthem. “This is definitely in the same vein,” Holzman says. “The big difference here is I’m not asking people to respond; I’m asking them to interpret. There’s a really different mental approach to something when you’re asked, ‘Take this thing, understand it and then respond to it’ versus, ‘Take this piece and then kind of recreate it in your own form.’” Among the 14 artists participating are Elese Daniel, Napoleon Maddox, Nancy Paraskevopoulos, Nick Swartsell (CityBeat staff writer) and Loraine Wible. The participants come from an array of creative backgrounds. A poet featured in a few Response Projects, and who was most recently an artist-inresidence with the Price Hill Creative Community Festival, Daniel is also on the board of Chase Public. She’s been tasked with interpreting the line, “Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name.” She requested it after Holzman approached her to participate. “I chose it because it’s a representation of womanhood,” Daniel says. “And then there’s the idea of lightning and imprisoned lightning — I just really liked that phrase and wanted to play around with it.” As for the second part of her line — “and her name” — Daniel compares it with the recent national social-justice advocacy effort that involved using the phrase, “Say

a&c film

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There is something familiar about Patricia (Clarence Williams III) in Purple Rain. In Dombrowski (Danielle Macdonald) — aka the case of Patti and Barb, however, there’s a Killa P, aka Patti Cake$ — an aspiring rapper more traditional generational squabble over from New Jersey who is barely surviving whether or not Barb can see and appreciate life on the other side of the tracks, despite Patti’s interest in rap as authentic musical big dreams and unexpected talent. Writerexpression. The argument, while outdated, director Geremy Jasper, a New Jersey native opens up the door for Patti and her ragtag himself who initially made his name in the crew — featuring her best friend (Siddharth music video world on projects like Selena Dhananjay), a fellow dreamer and a musical Gomez & the Scene: Love You Like a Love and cultural outcast (Mamoudou Athie) — to Song, positions her as the Garden State’s appropriate vocal elements from Barb’s past distaff version of Rabbit (Eminem) from efforts into a brand-new piece, much like The 8 Mile, with a few sampled elements from Kid does after his father’s suicide attempt. other movies about underdogs included. Patti Cake$ is a straight-up love song with a backbeat and bite. Patti’s a full-figured woman living in a world where, no matter how we try to rebrand our cultural models, being thin remains the standard. But that doesn’t stop Patti from staring into the mirror and celebrating her reflection with self-love. We watch Patti as she strolls down the street, walking with the supreme confidence and swagger generally associated with A-list Danielle Macdonald’s character has big dreams and great talent. athletes and entertainers. P H O T O : c o u r t e s y o f f o x s e a r c h l i g ht p i c t u r e s She’s a star in her own mind, merely waiting for the rest of All of these sampled genre elements set world to catch up with her own estimation. the stage for a typically rousing and uplifting What’s fascinating about Patti is how finale, but Jasper doesn’t shy away from the eerily similar she is to the character of Predesperate reality of life in New Jersey, where cious (Gabourey Sidibe) from the 2009 Lee there really can’t be a fairy tale “happily ever Daniels film of the same name. Precious after” ending, because the state’s workingwas a Harlem teen — obese, abused and class roots are about as far away as you can pregnant with her second child — seeking get from such make-believe fantasies. to escape her situation. An educational During a recent phone interview, I asked opportunity offered a way out, but Precious him what films inspired and informed him had delirious fever dreams of fame and while working on Patti Cake$. “The big love as the elusive keys to the other (and far inspiration,” he acknowledges, “was The brighter) side of life. Acceptance was what Wrestler, the Darren Aronofsky film. It was a she truly wanted, but she struggled mightily huge inspiration. Then, Welcome to the Dollto grant this vital gift to herself. Patti, it house by Todd Solondz. Do the Right Thing seems, has a leg up on Precious, because (Spike Lee) is one of my favorite films ever she has a foundation of faith and self-love. — just visually what Ernest Dickerson does Which is important, since there’s little with the camera is inspiring. I studied that chance of finding anyone else to believe in movie over and over again. Boogie Nights her. Her mother Barb (Bridget Everett) is a (Paul Thomas Anderson) and Belly by Hype boozy has-been, a singer who, once upon a Williams. It was interesting, since I was starttime, had real pipes (and the looks to have ing out with little filmmaking experience. been the sister of Heart’s Ann and Nancy People wanted to know what the film would Wilson). Now, she stumbles into the bar look like and I would tell them it would be a where Patti works, downs a series of shots combination of all these films.” and belches her way through a karaoke tune Like the music coming from Patti’s heart, or two before retreating to the bathroom, the film draws from disparate sources, where she vomits the night away with her daughter sometimes left holding her hair. weaving and recontextualizing these inspiIt’s not difficult to see the contentious rations into a groovy anthem for a powerful relationship between Patti and Barb as generation no longer waiting patiently to be analogous to the constricting ties that bound heard. (Now playing at Esquire Theatre.) The Kid (Prince) and his musician father (R) Grade: B+

ON SCREEN Street People BY T T STERN-ENZI

The review on RogerEbert.com for Damon Davis and Sabaah Folayan’s documentary Whose Streets? includes a singularly significant line that speaks to this current moment in our civic and cultural lives. “Fifty years from now, when people ask about the Black Lives Matter movement, I will tell them to see this movie.” The film captures, in stingingly unblinking fashion, the determination and resolve of the birth of this evolving movement. Starting three years ago, on Aug. 9, spurred by the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Mo., a community rose up in resistance, fueled by grief and anger as well as a longstanding sense of resentment over the disrespect that goes all the way back to the founding of these United States. Standing opposed to that aggrieved community was a police force intent on protecting one of their own, backed by the militarized might of the state, which represented, by extension, the institutional authority of the nation. If we were to objectively look at this standoff as a narrative, we would have to acknowledge that it is not presenting a fair fight. The community comes armed with teddy bears and candles, while the state arrives in armored vehicles, with troops in assault gear and with tactical weapons, as if preparing to suppress an invading army. Rubber bullets and chemical agents sting the flesh and eyes, making it easy to round up the broken ranks. Davis and Folayan embed themselves among the movement, alongside a group of fledgling activists forced to create new strategies and appropriate new tools to engage in a modern-day civil disobedience struggle. Getting this close means showing the impact of the effort on families and relationships, but it also ensures that we see how this generation of activists is already planting the seeds for the next. What makes Whose Streets? truly revolutionary is how it erects a monument dedicated to this moment that, 50 years from now, will illuminate exactly what democracy can, and should, look like when any community exercises its rights. (Opens Friday at Esquire Theatre.) (R) Grade: A

a&c television

‘Take a Good Look’ at a Rediscovered Game Show BY BRIAN BAKER

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As we get further away from the 1950s identity of or some interesting fact about and ’60s, a period that for many adults is the show’s guests. In Kovacs’ twisted vernearly two lifetimes ago, we are in serious sion of the format, the celebrity panelists danger of forgetting one of the funniest on Take a Good Look, who often included people in human history. In his day, Ernie wife Adams as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor, Carl Kovacs was a comic genius of almost Reiner and many others, had to determine immeasurable proportions. His rapierthe mystery guest’s line of work or an sharp wit was delivered with a placid odd biographical fact based on a series of drollness and timing that was micrometer almost non-sequitur sketches. For instance, perfect, but he was also capable of broad one guest’s claim to fame was having slapstick that was somehow incredibly blown the world’s largest bubblegum stupid and still brilliantly highbrow. bubble; one of the sketches featured a train Somewhere in the Venn diagram of those making a “choo-choo” sound. disparate qualities was the heart and soul of Kovacs’ humor, which walked the fine line between impenetrability and accessibility, alienation and universality. During Kovacs’ tragically short career — he was killed in a car accident in 1962, just 10 days before his 43rd birthday — he starred in 10 films and on television (The Ernie Kovacs Show, guest-hosting on Tonight Starring Steve Allen and hosting a variety of talk and game shows). Until her death in 2008, Kovacs’ Edie Adams and Ernie Kovacs in Take a Good Look widow Edie Adams, a gifted PHOTO : public domain comedian and performer in her own right who often worked alongside her husband, tirelessly Take a Good Look ran for two seasons tried to preserve Kovacs’ television legacy, on ABC, from 1959 to 1961; the first season much of which was lost to poor storage featured 39 episodes, the second only 14. of fragile kinescopes or to the common Shout! Factory’s seven-disc Ernie Kovacs: practice of erasing old tapes in order to Take a Good Look - The Definitive Coldocument new shows. Adams’ production lection will include all 49 of the surviving company negotiated the rights to Kovacs’ episodes, most of which, beyond a few recordings and television appearances with random and grainy YouTube clips, have the reissue label Shout! Factory. been completely unseen since their original That deal already has yielded a treasure airing five-and-a-half decades ago. The trove of Kovacs’ televised brilliance in the shows have been restored and digitized by six-DVD set The Ernie Kovacs Collecthe Library of Congress and the collection tion in 2011, followed by a second volume also includes an additional 20 hours of rare of surviving material in 2012. On Oct. 17, footage of the comedian’s groundbreaking Shout! Factory will shed light on somework. Kovacs’ ripple effect on the comedy thing previously unreleased — a largely world as a whole cannot be overstated. The unheralded facet brand of chaotic yet laser-focused sketch of Kovacs’ career and one of the last comedy he pioneered in the ’50s was the television projects he worked on, a bizarre influential basis for Great Britain’s greatest and anarchic game show called Take a sketch comedy export, Monty Python’s Good Look. The first 1,000 pre-orders Flying Circus, as well as the National directly made through Shout! Factory Lampoon Radio Hour and its television (shoutfactory.com) will also receive a bonus counterpart Saturday Night Live. And DVD containing Private Eye, Private Eye, Kovacs’ freewheeling morning and lateKovacs’ brilliant spoof of the era’s profligate night talk shows became the template for detective shows that aired as an episode of subsequent comedic hosts like Johnny The United States Steel Hour in 1961. Carson and David Letterman. It isn’t empty Take a Good Look was essentially a hyperbole to call Kovacs a genius. It is a parody of like-minded shows of that time statement of ironclad fact. — What’s My Line?, To Tell the Truth TV critic Jac Kern is on vacation. She will return and I’ve Got a Secret — where film and next week. television personalities tried to guess the

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From jägerschnitzel to chocolate cake, Katharina’s Café-Konditorei brings Deutschland delights to Newport REVIEW BY LAUREN MORET TO

PHOTO : haile y bollinger

Katharina’s new, expanded menu features German dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. a thin breading that was peppery but not overly so. Hambuch told me later that the menu draws on the recipes her grandmother, Katharina, made for them growing up. For this reason, the kitchen utilizes very basic elements: salt, pepper, paprika, nutmeg, cloves and bay leaves. “My grandma didn’t use coriander or didn’t use curry — it was the basic spices that were available in Europe,” Hambuch says. I could taste this refined approach in the protein as well as the gravy, which was thick, creamy and mild. Within it were roughly chopped mushrooms that tasted as if they’d been plucked out of the ground that morning. I would have preferred a different side item to the fries, as the dish itself was already so heavy, but this is a personal preference. In all, it was a tasty introduction to German cuisine. The star of the meal was actually my boyfriend’s choice, the holzfällersteak ($17.50), a marinated pork steak with grilled onions, home-fried potatoes and herb butter accompanied by a side salad. While not as tender as my jägerschnitzel, it was covered in a highly enjoyable garlic-butter mixture. Large chunks of flaky and piping hot panfried potatoes were also coated in the sauce. Katharina’s Instagram-worthy sweets — German chocolate cake and almond croissants to name a few — were on my

mind the entire week leading up to our dinner. Photos I’d seen online showcased beautifully decorated treats that looked like illustrations from a storybook. Unfortunately, we had made our reservation for too late in the day, and by the time we were ready for dessert, around 9 p.m., they didn’t have any cake left. To say I was devastated is an understatement (I may or may not have slowly crumpled to the ground). After paying our bill, though, we were pleasantly surprised with a baggie of complimentary croissants to-go, which I happily devoured with breakfast the next morning. They were buttery, flaky and well worth the hype. Though I wasn’t able to try dessert this time around, I look forward to going with my girlfriends sometime to indulge in afternoon kaffee und kuchen, or coffee and cake. Actually, I could see myself going to Katharina’s for any number of occasions,

whether it be for a date, morning tea with my mother and sister or by myself to sip on a cappuccino and get some work done. The atmosphere is elegant without being too fussy, and the food is fresh and flavorful. Being able to experience another culture’s food so close to home is an added bonus. It’s no secret that here in Zinzinnati we love celebrating German heritage (hello, Oktoberfest). At Katharina’s, Hambuch has seen a significant amount of the Queen City and Northern Kentucky’s European population come out to support her family’s business. During my visit, the host of accents present was something I took note of. “For this community, those who traveled to and ate in Deutschland, or those who are unfamiliar with the cuisine, Katharina’s offers an outlet to the country’s hearty fare,” Hambuch says. “If they miss Germany they come here and have a piece of it.”

Katharina’s Café-Konditorei Go: 736 Washington Ave., Newport, Ky.; Call: 859-291-2233; Internet: katharinas cafe.com; Hours: 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 9 a.m.-midnight Friday-Saturday; 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday.

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or my boyfriend and I, going to Olive Garden and scarfing down enough breadsticks to fill a freight train is our go-to for date night. We’re creatures of habit, which, I admit, has probably hindered our culinary experiences to some extent. So when Newport’s Katharina’s Café-Konditorei showed up on my radar, I jumped at the opportunity to salvage what carb-laden dignity we have left. The café originally opened a few blocks away from its current location on Washington Avenue in 2014, where it quickly outgrew the space. Two years in, they closed to renovate a different building on the street, where they had their grand re-opening July 1. Elena Hambuch, Katharina’s owner and a resident of Newport, conceptualized the restaurant around a European tradition she longed for from her daily routine while living in Mainz, Germany: having an afternoon coffee with cake. Soon after, though, the quaint menu of confections and caffeine expanded to include breakfast, then lunch, then dinner. We decided to go to Katharina’s on a mild Saturday evening, which allowed for a brief stroll through the residential area of Newport before we made our way inside. Outside, diners chatted among themselves and picked at pork and pasta dishes — everything was picturesque. A light breeze ushered us in, where we were met by a packed house. Despite the dinner rush, they quickly accommodated us and gave us a table upstairs that overlooked the street below. With light, mintgreen paint, simple elements and delicate foliage on the windowsills and tables, the café perfectly embodies what Hambuch calls German gemuetlichkeit, or coziness. Once seated, we were given a crispy baguette with butter to munch on, which I washed down with the Hugo ($10), a refreshing summer spritzer comprised of prosecco and elderflower liqueur garnished with mint and a lemon wedge. We settled in after ordering, and I found myself lulled by the café’s old-world, minimalist charm — though, I admit this could have been the Hugo at work. For an appetizer, we split the flatbread spezial ($10.50), which was a generous portion of bread topped with robust diced tomatoes, arugula, a blend of cheeses and black forest ham. The cheese was sharp and complemented the freshness of the veggies. My only gripe with the dish was that it came as a whole and was difficult to cut without making a mess. That, and the ham was sparse. For the main course, I opted for the jägerschnitzel ($16.50), a breaded pork tenderloin in a dark gravy with mushrooms that came with fries and a side salad. The pork itself was tenderized to perfection and featured

F&D WHAT’S THE HOPS

Surprise! It’s Almost Oktoberfest

The New School Year Needs A New Treat

BY GARIN PIRNIA

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

fo od s pecia l s www.bonbonerie.com Monday-Thursday $7 burgers $8 flatbread PiZZ as

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and Brass Monkey Junkie (the same beer A few weeks ago, Cincy lost the dear but with mangoes added). Sales begin at 10 Blank Slate Brewing Company. Accorda.m., but the doors and bathrooms will be ing to a statement published from owner open at 7 a.m. Beers will be sold in cans and Scott LaFollette, “The reason for our available on very-limited draft. While you’re closure is pretty simple. We ran out of at Listermann, check out their growing grafmoney.” He also noted that with the influx fiti wall, which was installed so kids could of local craft breweries, it became more legally create street art. costly to stand out in the crowd. Just a note • In expansion news, MadTree has to remind people to support all of our local launched distribution in the Lexington and breweries, especially the smaller ones. Louisville markets, and this week Braxton Labor Day is upon us, which means explolaunches in Nashville. sions in the sky on Sunday at the WEBN/ Western & Southern-sponsored fireworks over the Ohio River. Newport’s Wooden Cask and Darkness Brewing will both be open for the spectacle. Axis Alley will also host a fireworks viewing party at the vacated Jefferson Hall at Newport on the Levee. Braxton’s pale ale Short Fuse — the official beer of the fireworks — will be available to quaff during the cacophony. Ticket prices range from $25 (two drink tickets) to $150 for VIP (four seats and a bottle of Bacardi and mixers). Do you know where your lederhosen are? Later in September, o k t o b e r f e s t Z i n z i n n at i // P H OTO : p r o v i d e d Oktoberfests return to our fine city. Time to unpack the lederhosen! The 39th-annual MainStrasse Oktoberfest takes place Sept. 8-10, the • The summer edition of Cincy Beerfest weekend before Cincy’s big Oktoberfest takes place Sept. 8 and 9 at Fountain Square. festival. MainStrasse’s celebration will have More than 100 breweries will pour their a local focus, with beers from Braxton and suds throughout the weekend. There will Ludlow, Ky.’s BIRCUS Brewing Company also be food trucks, live music and a VIP and cocktails crafted from Second Sight area. Tickets cost anywhere from $15 (two Spirits’ rum and Villa Hillbillies’ moonshine. pints or five samples) to $50 (25 samples). It On Sept. 9, Rhinegeist hosts the fifthis a family-friendly event, so bring the kids. annual Franztoberfest, described as “an • On Sept. 9, Old Firehouse Brewery, offbeat affair chock full of good vibes and located in Williamsburg, celebrates its third über-questionable facial hair.” The event anniversary with food trucks and specialty celebrates the brewery’s Oktoberfest beer, brews. Some of the proceeds will support Franz, with inflatable jousting, food from local firehouses and EMS workers. Bee’s Barbecue and live music. • Who says you can’t run (or walk) while Sept. 15-17, Cincinnati becomes Zinzindrinking a beer? On Sept. 22, the Cincinnati at Oktoberfest. As usual, the event nati Beer Run will prove it is possible dur— which takes place on Second and Third ing the 5K night race. Put on your glow gear streets between Walnut and Elm streets — and head to the starting point at Riverboat will be rife with giant pretzels, German beers Row in Newport. The race snakes through from local and international breweries and Cincy and ends back in Newport. Every all the German costumes you can handle. half mile you will get to sample a beer. After completing the 3.1-mile course, indulge in a pint of beer from Newport’s Oktoberfest, • MadTree’s popular Dreamsicle — an happening Sept. 22-24. Tickets for the run orange and vanilla kölsch — gets a can cost $40-$45. release 4-8 p.m. Thursday. Stop by the • Fifty West’s annual Fifty Fest returns taproom to purchase a six-pack for $10.50 on Sept. 23. The all-day event features beers (limit one case per person). from more than 25 breweries, including • Every month, Listermann launches a Goodwood, DogBerry, Cellar Dweller and new beer in cans or bottles. On Saturday, Fat Head’s. Besides the beer, there will be it’s Brass Monkey (a “hazy, East Coast IPA”) three stages of live music and food trucks. ©

Events

New Beers

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

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

WEDNESDAY 30

Groceries & Grilling: Labor Day Prep — Head to Findlay Market for late-night market hours and special Wednesday grilling parties. Guests will get the recipe and list of ingredients so they can shop and then grill the recipe onsite. 5-8 p.m. Free admission. Findlay Market, 1801 Race St., Over-theRhine, findlaymarket.org. How to Properly Cook a Steak — Remove the mystery from cooking steak at home. Practice different cooking techniques and temperatures and make your own strip steak with brandy cream sauce. 6-8 p.m. $80. The Learning Kitchen, 7659 Cox Lane, West Chester, thelearningkitchen.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 and with a heat rating of mild, medium or stupid. Through Sept. 3. Prices vary. Washington Platform, 1000 Elm St., Downtown, washingtonplatform.com. Party on the Purple — Hosted by Glier’s Goetta, this is the final party on the Purple People Bridge of the summer. It features music from Naked Karate Girls and food from trucks including Big Dog BBQ, Chili Hut and Glier’s Goetta. 5-10 p.m. Free admission. Purple People Bridge, Newport, Ky., purplepeoplebridge.com.

THURSDAY 31

Italian Favorites — A salute to Italy. This hands-on class menu includes sausage- and mascarpone-stuffed mushrooms, simple herbed focaccia, baked manicotti crepes and cinnamon-sugar biscotti. 6-8:30 p.m. $75. Jungle Jim’s, 5440 Dixie Highway, Fairfield, junglejims.com.

FSQ Eats — Fountain Square gets taken over by food trucks during lunchtime. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Free admission. Fountain Square, Fifth and Vine streets, Downtown, myfountainsquare.com. Meet the Chefs — CityBeat’s Greater Cincinnati Restaurant Week launches its inaugural Meet the Chef’s event at The LB. Meet four chefs from GCRW — Jared Bennet of Metropole, Shawn McCoy of Brown Dog Cafe, Thomas Ross of Season’s 52 and Dave Himmelberger of Capital Grille — and the COO of Maker’s Mark. The evening includes light bites, Maker’s Mark samples

Stuffed Shells Dinner — An easy meal for a night in. Prepare sausage- and ricottastuffed shells with herbs and a homemade marinara. 6-8 p.m. $65. The Learning Kitchen, 7659 Cox Lane, West Chester, thelearningkitchen.com.

FRIDAY 01

Date Night: Wine-Pairing Workshop — Chef Rania Shteiwi and wine expert Charles Redmond hosts this class to make tapas and sample wine. 6-8 p.m. $170. The Learning Kitchen, 7659 Cox Lane, West Chester, thelearningkitchen.com.

SATURDAY 02

Date Night: Saturday Steak — You and your date will work together to create a salad, filet mignon with white wine and wild mushroom sauce and herbed risotto with shallots and honey-glazed snap peas. 5-7 p.m. $165. The Learning Kitchen, 7659 Cox Lane, West Chester, thelearningkitchen.com.

SUNDAY 03

Fireworks Party at Darkness Brewing — Head to Darkness for a fireworks party featuring music, fireworks viewing, a DJ and SEA Cuisine foodtruck for dinner. 6 p.m.-midnight. Free admission. Darkness Brewing, 224 Fairfield Ave., Bellevue, Ky., facebook.com/darknessbrewing.

Fireworks Dinner Train — Travel by train from the Cincinnati Gardens area to the riverfront and back while viewing the WEBN/Western & Southern fireworks in style. A full four-course meal will be served on the way downtown. If you don’t want to dine, book a seat in the air-conditioned long distance coach. 6 p.m. $115; $60 without dinner. 2172 Seymour Ave., Golf Manor, cincinnatirailway.com.

MONDAY 04

Labor Day Picnic — This private amusement park is only open to the public a couple of times a year — including today! Ride roller coasters, eat a snow cone or popcorn and have fun. 1-8 p.m. $12.50; free for kids 2 and under. Stricker’s Grove, 11490 Hamilton-Cleves Road, Hamilton, strickersgrove.com.

TUESDAY 05

Get Your Mojo On! — Mojo is usually a blend of olive oil, peppers, garlic and cumin. Make it and put it on cumin-crusted chicken breast. 6-8 p.m. $70. The Learning Kitchen, 7659 Cox Lane, West Chester, thelearningkitchen.com.

NEW LOCATION

OPENING SOON Sun-Thurs 11am - 9pm Fri-Sat 11am - 11pm

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Poetry and Pie — Programmed as part of Wave Pool’s Gathering Space exhibit, this party features “utterances, exclamations and reflections from a few local poets” and pie. 7-9 p.m. Free admission. Wave Pool, 2940 Colerain Ave., Camp Washington, wavepoolgallery.org.

and fun mingling. 5:30-8:30 p.m. $30. The LB, 3825 Edwards Road, Rookwood, citybeat.com.

music

Alone Again (Unnaturally)

Scott H. Biram’s 10th solo album is more dirty, passionate Country Blues BY L. KENT WOLGAMOT T

P H O T O : C h r i s toph e r C a r d oz a

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hough a solo performer, Scott H. Biram doesn’t sit on a stool and gently strum his acoustic guitar like one might expect from a singer/songwriter. With distortion always within arm’s reach, he plays electric guitar and stomps beats out on a board while he sings his ragged Roots rave-ups and soulful ballads in concert. Biram’s juiced-up setup is less about the songs themselves — which are often recorded with expanded, more traditional instrumentation — and more about his desire to not be pigeonholed. The electric guitar and stomp-board enable Biram — aka The Dirty Old One Man Band — to play in the kind of venues and with the types of acts that he desires. “It’s helped me to stay in the Rock clubs and play with bands and not get stuck in coffee shops,” Biram says of his rambunctious solo approach. “I don’t even drink coffee. I hate the word singer/songwriter. The minute somebody says that I think of somebody playing a cheap guitar with a bad pickup at open mic night. “I don’t ever refer to myself as a singer/ songwriter,” he continues. “I’m proud of my songwriting and the songs come easily. I’m proud I can pull these random lines and images out of my head, but singer/songwriter — no. I don’t want to be thought of as something lame.” Lame isn’t a word that will ever be used to describe The Bad Testament, Biram’s 10th album, which was released earlier this year on Bloodshot Records, the pioneering label that has been spotlighting the edges of Americana music for more than 20 years. The latest from the Austin, Texas-based performer is filled with dark songs of loneliness and escape, delivered with a mix of melancholy and aggression. “It fits in there pretty good with the rest of my records,” Biram says of The Bad Testament. “Definitely all my records have some darkness on there, and there’s some joy in there. There’s always a battle between heaven and hell on my records. With this one, I was kind of aware of going back to my first Bloodshot record (2005’s The Dirty Old One Man Band). It was kind of gritty and rough. I wanted to go back to that kind of feel. It has some pretty songs on it, but I sort of dumbed-down the production a little bit to get it rough.” Bloodshot is a perfect fit for Biram’s sound, which he calls “the bastard child of Punk, Blues, Country, Hillbilly, Bluegrass, Chain Gang, Metal and Classic Rock.” He was signed to the label based on an unsolicited demo (a rarity for Bloodshot)

To avoid the “singer/songwriter” pigeonhole, Scott H. Biram developed a rowdy solo setup. in 2004, not long after an incident that would have ended the career (or worse) of a lesser man. Biram was severely injured in a head-on collision with an 18-wheel semitruck 14 years ago. Despite two broken legs, a broken arm and a broken foot, Biram famously was back on stage a month later, IV still in his arm. Even though he is in constant pain as a result of the injuries, he says the accident no longer plays much of a role in his songwriting. “It’s getting pretty far in the past now,” he says of the crash. “I would say it’s more my emotions and childhood that influence my songwriting. I grew up out in the country and loved running up and down the riverbank and the little town. (The) places my mind goes to when I’m writing songs — back in the country, being on the road, the endless highway and heartbreak and revenge.” Biram also writes lots of songs about drinking. His catalog includes “Whiskey,” “Only Whiskey,” “Still Drunk, Still Crazy, Still Blue,” “Alcohol Blues” and “Red Wine,” a Honky Tonk ballad on the new album that indulges more than just a glass of burgundy.

“We managed to get red wine, whiskey, cold beer and a martini in there,” Biram says of the tune. “That’s a lot of alcohol.” As with past albums, the songs on The Bad Testament had to be reworked to go from studio to stage. His recordings often have multiple parts played on multiple instruments, leaving Biram to rearrange them for just guitar, vocals and a stomping foot. “I always have to edit the songs for the stage,” he says. “I’ve got to figure out how to keep a rhythm and do the solo. Sometimes it’s a year and a half, relearning the solo I did in the studio. The rest of it, I’ve been doing it long enough (that) it’s no big deal to stomp my foot and play at the same time. They say I’m a one-man band, but I say I’m just a guy with too many speakers.” Once the songs have been — to use his term — edited, Biram puts them in a set list that stays more or less the same through each tour. The promotional cycle for The Bad Testament began almost immediately following its February release, keeping Biram solidly on the road ever since.

“I’m pretty much booked up through (November),” he says. “Record release years are pretty busy for me. I have to promote the record and try to cash in on it and pay some debt down. Then after a year or so, I can get to working on the next record. I need to get to work now. I’ve got a bunch of songs and parts of songs I recorded on my phone that I need to finish so I don’t forget them.” As we talk on the phone (another part of the “promotional cycle”) during a break between tour legs, Biram isn’t crafting new songs or going over half-finished ideas. More immediate matters have his attention. “I’ve got all five of my guitars out right now, changing the strings for tour,” Biram says. “I used to be such an OCD control freak I’d change the strings on my main guitar every night. Now, with so many guitars, I’ll do a string change once or twice on tour. I don’t like changing strings anymore. I’ve probably changed strings 10,000 times.” SCOTT H. BIRAM plays Friday at the Southgate House Revival. Tickets/more info: southgatehouse.com.

music spill it

Cincinnati Celebrates King Records Month BY MIKE BREEN

1345 main st motrpub.com

BY mike breen

Swift Tix Scam The machine behind Taylor Swift’s forthcoming album, Reputation, officially revved up with the release of a new single, and it appears that machine is set to “maximum monetary exploitation” and aimed directly at her fans. Swift’s partnership with Ticketmaster is raising eyebrows. Sold as a part of the ticket seller’s fight against scalpers, fans that enter the “Taylor Swift Tix” program receive priority for future concert tickets by helping Swift sell her album. You can earn some “boosts” by doing free things like promote the album on social media or, for many more boosts and much higher priority, you can purchase Reputation up to 13 times. Draining your bank account doesn’t even guarantee tickets, merely a spot in line.

wed 30

heiner schwendemann

thu 31

the lovers

fri 1

nicholas & the pessimistics, arlo mckinley & the lonesome sound

sat 2

iswhat? native sun

sun 3

tba

mon moon king (toronto) truth serum: comedy game show 4 tue 5

free live music now open for lunch

Hate Music Takes Another Hit After Spotify announced it would step up its game to prohibit “hate music” with messages of white supremacy, white-power Rock was dealt another blow when the police chief of a small town in Oklahoma was outed for allegedly operating neo-Nazi websites. One site was for “ISD Records,” the label home of albums like The Klansmen’s Hitler was Right. When local news exposed the sites, they disappeared. The man denied any involvement, saying he was framed, but he resigned as chief while keeping his job on the force, because the town said he was “qualified.” Allah-Las Attract Threat In an effort to not offend, a handful of Indie bands changed their names in the past year or so, including Viet Cong and Andrew Jackson Jihad, which said it didn’t want to be disrespectful to Muslims. Members of L.A.’s Allah-Las, who just last year told The Guardian they were surprised to get emails from Muslims offended by their name, might be rethinking their moniker after a show in the Netherlands was canceled as a result of a terror threat. The band continued its tour and police arrested a man in relation to the threat after getting a tip from authorities in Spain (which had just suffered its own terror attack), but details are still vague.

writer’s night w/ dave

1404 main st (513) 345-7981

9 /4

cindy wilson of the b52S

9 /8

nikki lane

9 /5 9 /9

MOONBEAU

motherfolk

electric guest

NINE POUND SHADOW

diarrhea planet daap girls, death before disco

buy tickets at motr or woodwardtheater.com

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It’s safe to say that compared to 20 years Hamilton Ave., Northside, cometbar.com). ago, Cincinnatians are now more aware of The Blues and R&B music of King will be King Records, the revolutionary record label honored Sept. 19 during Cheryl Renée’s that helped shape the sound and spirit of performance at Arnold’s (210 E. Eighth American music. With King Records Month, St., Downtown, arnoldsbarandgrill.com); September’s celebration of the iconic label’s Sept. 20 at The Listing Loon (4124 Hamilcontributions, the many local boosters and ton Ave., Northside, listingloon.com) with artists who’ve helped raised King’s profile Ricky Nye; and at Sonny’s All Blues Café over the past several years continue their & Lounge (4040 Reading Road, Avondale) mission with a variety of events throughout with Sonny’s All Blues Band on Sept. 24. Greater Cincinnati, including performances, Local musician Cameron Cochran (The exhibits, discussions and much more. SepSheds, Pop Empire, Jeremy Pinnell and the tember marks the 74th anniversary of the 55’s) and his steel guitar will be very active sessions for the first songs recorded for King. throughout King Records Month. Cochran In 1943, Cincinnati’s Syd Nathan asked appears Saturday at 2 p.m. with veteran Country artists Grandpa Jones and Merle Travis to go into the studio for those first King sessions. Nathan saw that the Country & Western market was underserved and under-exploited by the music industry. Within a couple of years, Nathan turned to R&B, another type of music the major labels largely ignored. While also releasing Blues, Jazz, Soul, Gospel and an assortment of other music, Country and R&B music became the legacy of King and its subsidiary labels, not King Records legend Philip Paul only due to the influence PHOTO : provided of particular King songs or artists or the wider exposure it gave to the genres, but also because the steel guitarist Chuck Rich (who did sessions label’s roster was integrated, a rarity in those for King) at Shake It Records (4156 Hamilpre-Civil Rights times. King Records was ton Ave., Northside, shakeitrecords.com) to home to landmark releases by The Delmore trade stories and songs. Cochran is joined Brothers, The Stanley Brothers, Cowboy by Harold Kennedy and Chris Douglas on Copas and Wynonie Harris, plus Rock and Sept. 16 at 2 p.m. at the main branch of the Roll Hall of Fame artist Hank Ballard & The library (800 Vine St., Downtown) to pay Midnighters, Freddy King, Little Willie John, tribute to another steel-guitar veteran, Jerry The “5” Royales and James Brown. Byrd. And on Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m., Cochran Woodward Theater (1404 Main St., and his current band, The Midwestern Over-the-Rhine, woodwardtheater.com) Swing, team up with local comedy group hosts a King Records Month kickoff on Future Science to pay tribute to MidwestFriday, beginning at 5 p.m. City officials are ern Hayride, the influential Country musicexpected to attend, as well as King-affiliated fueled variety show created for local radio musicians like Philip Paul, the session and television (it eventually aired nationdrummer on many King recordings in the ally) which fed into King’s stable of musi’50s and ’60s; Paul’s Jazz trio plays every cians. Hayride!: A Tribute to Cincinnati’s Friday at 8 p.m. at the Symphony Hotel (210 Country Music Variety Show takes place at W. 14th St., Over-the-Rhine). Students from Woodward Theater; tickets are $10. School of Rock Mason will perform King Other King Records Month events include music (with King legends Otis Williams and exhibits at MOTR Pub and the National Paul joining in) beginning at 8 p.m., then CinUnderground Railroad Freedom Center, cinnati Funk artist Freekbass hits the stage radio tributes and interviews on WVXU (91.7 at 9:30 p.m. Like most King Records Month FM; wvxu.org) and much more. For the full events, the kickoff gathering is free. rundown of happenings, visit kingstudios. Several local musicians are turning org, the site for King Studios, an expansive recurrent club gigs into King tributes for community center being developed in King’s the celebration. The Comet Bluegrass Allformer Evanston neighborhood. Stars will play Bluegrass from King’s cataCONTACT MIKE BREEN: mbreen@citybeat.com log at its Sept. 10 show at The Comet (4579

MINIMUM GAUGE

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C I N C I N N AT I P I Z Z A W E E K . C O M

MUSIC sound advice Geographer with Betty Who Wednesday • Woodward Theater Geographer is the Elecronic AltPop brainchild of singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Mike Deni, who grew up in New Jersey as a shy kid, channeling his emotions and introverted ways into writing and music. It has served him well. Though he became a solid saxophone player (starting at age 9) and messed around with guitar and other instruments, when it came time for college, Deni chose to pursue writing. But when he realized he didn’t have the chops to successfully write novels, Deni turned back to his sax and moved to Boston, working the club scene. That ended in 2004 when his sister got sick and died suddenly, leading a distraught Deni back to New Jersey and his mother’s basement. Geographer’s Mike Deni He began to channel PHOTO : provided his grief into songs, writing more than he ever had and recognizing it as a possible new path for his life. From the basement, Deni moved to San Francisco and hit the city’s open mic scene, through which he met the cellist and drummer (also exiles from Boston) who would become the core of Geographer for several years Serengeti to come. The trio’s PHOTO : provided 2008 debut, Innocent Ghosts, showcased Deni’s relatable lyrics, passionate vocals and catchy, well-crafted songs, garnering attention instantly and leading Geographer to a deal with Tricycle Records. The band became a big deal in the Bay Area, and by the time of its first national tour in 2010 (opening for Stars), national recognition was gaining steam. After 2012’s Myth, Geographer was able to tour the U.S. as headliners. Geographer’s characteristic sound — blending subtle Indie Rock elements with danceable beats and a wash of electronics and strings — creates a romantic swoon that is magnified by Deni’s deft writing ability, which still retains the emotive weight that defined his earliest songs. On 2015’s Ghost Modern, Geographer was in peak creative form, but before its release Deni’s longtime bandmates decided to leave the project due to the demands of touring.

Undeterred, Deni enlisted cellist Joyce Lee, guitarist/bassist Duncan Nielsen and drummer Cody Rhodes and kept up the frantic touring pace, building the band’s following even more, while also raising money for Deni to stay in the studio on his quest to discover what was next for Geographer. This fall will see the release of the appropriately titled Alone Time, an EP culled from the post-Ghost Modern sessions for which Deni (recording largely alone) pushed himself to explore his talents, resulting in more than 100 songs. Alone Time’s first single — the just-issued “Read My Mind” — is the most radio-friendly Pop nugget Geographer has put out to date, but it still has the lushness and sensitivity that made fans fall in love with the music in the first place. (Mike Breen) Serengeti Sunday • MOTR Pub There are certain artists whose creativity operates faster than the speed of the music industry. Eccentric Hip Hop artist Serengeti is a solid example — since Dirty Flamingo, his first release in 2003, the inventive MC has issued dozens of projects for several different labels, including plenty of collaborative work and side projects, and almost all of it explores new ground. While fans of many artists anticipate new music every two years at most, Serengeti’s followers would probably start to seriously worry about his wellbeing if six months went by without a note. He might have a higher profile with a long-con marketing effort behind him, but some of the glory of Serengeti’s artistry might be lost were it to be forced into focus that way. The vast and varied discography his pace has created represents an incredibly impressive body of work. Born in Chicago as David Cohn, Serengeti’s revolving, renegade sound, left-field humor, creative and investigational rhyme schemes and lyrical wordplay have made him one of the most fascinating and imaginative artists in Alternative Hip Hop or Art Rap or whatever you choose to call

featuring prominent singing from the MC) is a heavy and dark exploration of emotional tumult, yet it is still spun with the same sublime ingenuity that makes all of Serengeti’s work so consistently intriguing. (MB) Electric Guest with Nine Pound Shadow Tuesday • Woodward Theater As those crafty wise guys say, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. Those same sages will tell you that timing is everything. Both pearls of wisdom are represented in the timeline of Los Angeles Soul/Electro/ Indie/Pop band Electric Guest. The “who” part of the equation came into play when vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Asa Taccone began corresponding with his older brother’s friend, Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton, to get advice about his music. (Taccone’s older brother is Jorma, cohert of Andy Samberg and member of The Lonely Island.) Eventually, Burton invited Taccone to take over the L.A. apartment space he was about to vacate; Taccone’s new living space came with roommate Matthew “Cornbread” Compton, a highly regarded session drummer. The pair began making music together and when Burton heard their demos, he offered to produce their 2012 debut album, Mondo. (Taccone named the band after a comment a woman had made to him about being “an electric guest of the universe.”) Electric Guest debuted Mondo’s first single, “This Head I Hold,” on The Late Show with David Letterman; the duo has subsequently appeared on several other late-night shows and has had songs featured in various other TV programs. Prior to the release of Mondo, MTV cited Electric Guest as one of the Artists to Watch in 2012, and the act’s numerous appearances on the BBC, plus glowing reviews in the British press, helped raise its profile in the U.K. and Europe. Electric Guest has played sold-out shows in London and Paris and appeared at some of the most prestigious festivals in the world, including Bonnaroo and Australia’s Splendour in the Grass. Electric Guest’s latest album, Plural, was released in February to favorable acclaim, fueled by the success of first single “Dear to Me.” With the band fleshed out by bassist Luke Top and guitarist/ keyboardist Reese Richardson, Electric Guest continues to bridge the gap between Electro Pop and contemporary Motowntinged Soul. (Brian Baker)

Doctor’s Orders:

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.

C I T Y B E A T . C O M • A U G . 3 0 – s e p t . 0 5 , 2 0 1 7 • 3 5

the more avant-garde faction of the underground Hip Hop universe. Logically, he eventually hooked up with Anticon, which operated like experimental Hip Hop’s version of Roc-a-Fella in the ’00s, putting out mind-mending music by musical misfits like Doseone, Why?, Buck 65 and Sage Francis. Serengeti’s solo debut for the imprint, 2011’s Family & Friends, is among the cornerstone releases from the label. The most high profile of Serengeti’s sideprojects released its first music, Beak & Claw, on Anticon in 2012. Originally called S/S/S, the project with Son Lux and Indie singer/songwriter Sufjan Stevens became Sisyphus a year later, releasing a self-titled full-length in 2014. Another well-received collaboration was with Anticon co-founder, Why? frontman and Cincinnati native Yoni Wolf. Last year’s Yoni & Geti album Testarossa earned positive reviews for the duo’s mix of Indie Pop and Hip Hop, as well as the thematic device threaded through the lyrics. Testarossa’s lyrics revolved around one larger story, and the use of characters and conceptual storytelling is one of Serengeti’s unique gifts. With almost Andy Kaufman-like flair, one particular Electric Guest story has actually P H O T O : N i c k Wa l k e r spanned multiple releases. In 2006, Serengeti created the character Kenny Dennis, a middle-aged blue-collar Chicagoan who loves Windy City sports, bratwurst, O’Doul’s beer and the actor Brian Dennehy. A joke that began in 2006 with the EP Dennehy (later expanded to an LP) has now lasted more than a decade. But the gag isn’t limited to funny rhymes — Serengeti has taken the story to cinematic heights, diving deep into the details of Dennis’ personal life and backstory and even creating music as the character. Followers have gotten to hear music from Dennis’ once-promising but derailed Rap career, and Dennis’ beloved wife Jueles continued the story with her own recently released solo album, Butterflies. Featuring mostly chill R&B/Pop songs delivered by a vocalist named Jade, Jueles’ album doesn’t only show a different view of Dennis’ story, it also reveals unknown plot points and twists. Taking a one-note character and turning him into a heartfelt, 3-D, movie-like franchise is the perfect example of Serengeti’s talent. He’s funny, but no joke. His lyrics have explored other realms — 2013’s brilliant Saal album (recorded in Germany with an experimental Classical musician and

music listings WEDNESDAY 30 BREWRIVER GASTROPUB - Old Green Eyes and BBG. 6 p.m. Standards. Free. BROMWELL’S HÄRTH LOUNGE - Burning Caravan. 8 p.m. Gypsy Jazz. Free.

Now featuring deals from:

FOUNTAIN SQUARE - Reggae Wednesday with The H Cliftones. 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.

MOTR PUB - Heiner Schwendemann. 9:30 p.m. German. Free.

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SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (LOUNGE) - The Exit Strategy, Veronica Grim & the Heavy Hearts and Moose and Th’ Monkeypaws. 9:30 p.m. Rock/Roots/ Various. Free.

THE COMET - Doctor’s Orders: A Benefit for Kathy H Y. Wilson featuring Selectas

Choice, Bitches Brew Collective and more. 7 p.m. Dance/Spoken Word/Various. $5 (suggested donation). COMMON ROOTS - Open Mic. 8 p.m. Various. Free.

JIM AND JACK’S ON THE RIVER - Project Doyle. 9 p.m. Rock/ Pop. Free. KNOTTY PINE - Almost Famous. 10 p.m. Rock. Cover. MANSION HILL TAVERN - Sonny Moorman Band. 9 p.m. Blues. $4. MARTY’S HOPS & VINES - Wild Mountain Berries. 9 p.m. Americana. Free.

WASHINGTON PARK Bandstand Bluegrass with H The Harmed Brothers. 7 p.m.

MOTR PUB - Nicholas & the Pessimistics with Arlo McKinnley & the Lonesome Sound. 10 p.m. Americana/Various. Free.

FRIDAY 01

NORTHSIDE TAVERN Sungaze, The Savage Blush H and Slow Glows. 10 p.m. Psych/

nabe. 8 p.m. Blues. $17, $20 day of show.

Americana. Free.

20TH CENTURY THEATER Room for Zero (EP release H show) with Hello Luna and Young

Colt. 8 p.m. Indie Rock. $10, $12 day of show.

THE AVENUE EVENT CENTER Rotimi. 10 p.m. R&B. $35.

BOGART’S - Koffin Kats. 8 p.m. Psychobilly. $12. BROMWELL’S HÄRTH LOUNGE - Andrea Cefalo Quartet. 8 p.m. Jazz. Free. FOUNTAIN SQUARE - Indie Vol. 2017 with RJD2, Dawg H Yawp and Us, Today. 7 p.m.

Electronic/Alt/Rock/Post Rock/ Various. Free. FRONT STREET CAFE - Encore Duo. 7 p.m. Acoustic Classic Rock/Americana. Free.

GRAND CENTRAL DELICATESSEN - The Brussels Sprouts. 9 p.m. New Orleans R&B. Free. THE GREENWICH - Rollins Davis Band featuring Deborah Hunter. 9 p.m. Jazz/R&B. $5.

THE MOCKBEE - Gold Route, Beloved Youth, Motel Faces and Near Earth Objects. 7 p.m. Indie Rock. $5.

HARMONY HILL VINEYARDS & WINERY - KJ Summerville. 5 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

MOTR PUB - The Lovers. 10 p.m. Folk/Pop. Free. OCTAVE - Brother Smith. 9 p.m. Country/Funk/Soul. $5-$10.

JERZEES PUB & GRUB - Pandora Effect. 9 p.m. Rock.

THE MOCKBEE - Q-Easy, Chris Crooks, Oski Isaiah, Modus Operandi, Allen 4 President and Partyocalypse. 9 p.m. Hip Hop. Free.

THURSDAY 31 BROMWELL’S HÄRTH LOUNGE Todd Hepburn and Friends. 8 p.m. Various. Free.

JAPP’S - Burning Caravan. 5:30 p.m. Gypsy Jazz. Free.

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (SANCTUARY) H - Samantha Fish with Joe Wan-

BLUE NOTE HARRISON - Amy Sailor Band. 10 p.m. Country. Free.

KNOTTY PINE - Chalis. 9 p.m. Pop/Rock/Various. Free.

CINCINNATI.ALTPERKS.COM

SEASONGOOD PAVILION It’s Commonly Jazz featuring H Mandy Gaines. 6 p.m. Jazz. Free.

ARNOLD’S BAR AND GRILL - The Dirty Shirleys. 9 p.m. Jazz. Free.

FOUNTAIN SQUARE - Salsa on the Square with Tropicoso. 7 p.m. Latin/Salsa/Dance. Free.

Log into our website for the full list:

RIVERSEDGE - Bostyx with The Baked Potatoes. 6:30 p.m. Rock. Free.

WOODWARD THEATER Betty Who with Geographer. 8:30 p.m. AltPop. $16, $18 day of show.

ARNOLD’S BAR AND GRILL - Dottie Warner and Wayne Shannon. 7:30 p.m. Jazz. Free.

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PIT TO PLATE - Bluegrass Night with Vernon McIntyre’s Appalachian Grass. 7 p.m. Bluegrass. Free.

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NORTHSIDE YACHT CLUB - Big Huge, Actual Italians and Oids. 10 p.m. Rock/Various. Free.

URBAN ARTIFACT - Blue Wisp Big Band. 8:30 p.m. Big Band Jazz. $10.

NORTHSIDE TAVERN - The Midwestern Swing. 9 p.m. H Country/Western Swing. Free.

PLAIN FOLK CAFE - Open Mic with Dwight Smith. 7 p.m. Various. Free.

Rock. Free.

NORTHSIDE YACHT CLUB - The Chinchees. 9 p.m. Punk. PLAIN FOLK CAFE - Fish Head Duo. 7:30 p.m. Acoustic. Free. RICK’S TAVERN - The Inturns. 8 p.m. Rock. Cover. SILVERTON CAFE - JagWagon. 9 p.m. Modern Rock. Free. SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (LOUNGE) - Fort Defiance and William Matheny. 9:30 p.m. Americana. Free. SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (REVIVAL ROOM) - Damsel and Distress with Matt Schneider and Chandler Carter. 9:30 p.m. Pop/ Rock/Various. $10, $12 day of show. SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (SANCTUARY) H Scott H. Biram with Gallows

Bound. 9 p.m. Country/Roots/ Blues/Various. $15, $18 day of show.

THOMPSON HOUSE - Q-APalooza with Underestimate, H Dead in Paradise, The Obnoxious Boot, The Alexith Effect, Ocean Grid, Today’s Last Tragedy, The World I Knew, Sleep Comes After Death and more. 6 p.m. Metal/ Hardcore/Various. $10.

IRISH HERITAGE CENTER The Town Pants. 7:30 p.m. Celtic/Roots/Rock. $25, $28 day of show.

THE UNDERGROUND - Lily Isabelle, Terrel Tompkins, Spencer Anthony, Cody Lutz and Casey Brenning. 7 p.m. Pop/Various. Cover.

JAG’S STEAK AND SEAFOOD - Battle for the Stage. 9 p.m. Various. Free.

URBAN ARTIFACT - Lipstick Fiction (release show) with H MARR, Dynamite Thunderpunch

859.431.2201

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.

and Abertooth Lincoln. 9 p.m. Alt/Rock/Various. Free. WASHINGTON PARK - Friday Flow with Troop, Vibe 5 and H Deuces Musik. 7 p.m. R&B. Free. WASHINGTON PLATFORM SALOON & RESTAURANT - Mike Wade and the Mighty Groovers. 9 p.m. Jazz. $10 (food/drink minimum).

SATURDAY 02 ARNOLD’S BAR AND GRILL Cincinnati Dancing Pigs. 9 p.m. Americana/Jug band. Free. BLUE NOTE HARRISON - The TaylorMade Band. 10 p.m. Country. Free.

The Obnoxious Boot, Everyone Leaves, Avanti, Burned Out and more. 5 p.m. Metal/Hardcore. $5. PLAIN FOLK CAFE - Dave Sams Band. 7:30 p.m. Blues/Rock/ Roots/Various. Free. RICK’S TAVERN - Top This Band. 10 p.m. R&B/Pop/Dance. Cover. SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (LOUNGE) - Junk H Jam featuring Mike Vallely and the New Arms with A.M. Nice, Todd Farrell, Max Fender and more. 2 p.m. Rock/Punk/Post Punk/Various. Free.

MONDAY 04 THE COMET - Muwosi, Allen4President, ADDVantz, H Sheldon Belcher, Matte and DJ

Iron Chef. 9 p.m. Hip Hop/R&B/ Various. Free.

HARMONY HILL VINEYARDS & WINERY - Tim Snyder. 5 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

THE COMET - The Lovers, Comprador and Gabriel Molnar. 10 p.m. Indie/Pop/Rock/Various. Free.

URBAN ARTIFACT - Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, Bucko and The Midwesterns. 8 p.m. Alt/ Country/Rock/Roots/Various. $10.

WOODWARD THEATER Cindy Wilson with Moonbeau. H 8:30 p.m. New Wave/Alternative.

U.S. BANK ARENA - Faith Hill and Tim McGraw. 7:30 p.m. Country. $69.50-$119.50.

TUESDAY 05

JAG’S STEAK AND SEAFOOD - The Company. 9 p.m. Pop/ Dance/Various. $5.

WASHINGTON PLATFORM SALOON & RESTAURANT - Mike Malone Quartet. 9 p.m. Jazz. $10 (food/drink minimum).

SUNDAY 03

MUGGBEES BAR & GRILL Karaoke DJ. 8 p.m. Various. Free. NORTHSIDE TAVERN - The Qtet. 10 p.m. Jazz/Funk/Rock/Fusion/ Various. Free. URBAN ARTIFACT - Spooky Dreamland, Pout and Activities. 8 p.m. Alt/Rock/Various. Free.

$12, $15 day of show.

LIVE! AT THE LUDLOW GARAGE - Ted Vigil. 8 p.m. John Denver tribute. $10-$20.

MOTR PUB - Serengeti. 8 p.m. Alt/Hip Hop/Art Rap/ H Various. Free.

NORTHSIDE TAVERN - The Stealth Pastille. 10 p.m. Psych/ Pop/Rock. Free.

MADISON LIVE - Saving Abel with Secret Circle Society. 7:30 p.m. Rock. $25.

NORTHSIDE TAVERN - Bulletville. 8:30 p.m. Country. Free.

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (REVIVAL ROOM) H - Rozwell Kid with Death Before

SAWYER POINT - Kiss 107.1 Just Show Up Show featuring H Judah & The Lion, Hey Violet, AJR,

MARTY’S HOPS & VINES - New Brew. 9 p.m. Classic Rock. Free.

Skylar Stecker, Spencer Sutherland and more. 3 p.m. Rock/ Pop/Various. Free.

THE MOCKBEE - Miles Maeda, K-Frey, Will Ross, Mike Donovan, Perry Ellis and x-Ian. 10 p.m. Dance/House/Various. $10.

SONNY’S ALL BLUES LOUNGE - Blues jam session featuring Sonny’s All Blues Band. 8 p.m. Blues. Free.

MOTR PUB - IsWhat?! with Native Sun. 10 p.m. Hip H Hop/Experimental/Jazz/Various.

THOMPSON HOUSE - Rockin’ the River Fireworks After-Party with The New Machine, Infinity Spree, Boxhead Monkey, Dr. J & the Apostles and Real Talk. 9 p.m. Rock/Various.

Free.

NORTHSIDE YACHT CLUB - Q-A-Palooza with H Treason, Spit It Out, Pain Reliever, Chipped Teeth, Pickwick Commons, Cursed Path, Outcast,

saTurday 9/2 Rusty Burge Vibes Trio 8-12 CoCktails

fireplaCes

Wed. - Fri. open @ 4pm | Sat. open @ 6pm

9/1 SCott h. biRam, GallowS bounD; foRt DefianCe, william mathenY; DamSel & DiStReSS, matt SChneiDeR, ChanDleR CaRteR 9/2 junK jam: miKe VallelY & the new aRmS, a.m. niCe, the benChmaRKS’ toDD faRRell, maX fenDeR (of alone at 3am), oPen SKate with miKe VallelY, KRiStian SVitaK & joeY jett, SKateable junK bY able PRojeCtS; when PaRtiCleS ColliDe, loVeCRuSh 88, ChaKRaS, the ClamS, SChool of RoCK maSon 9/5 Rozwell KiD, Death befoRe DiSCo, tooth luReS a fanG 9/6 DaDa 25th anniVeRSaRY touR, the tRewS, GRant Stinnett; olD Salt union, the StRaY biRDS; VeRoniCa GRim - SePtembeR aRtiSt in ReSiDenCe, St. SteVnS ChoiR

125 West Fourth st. | CinCinnati, ohio 45202

www.BromwellsHarthLounge.com

WWW.SOUTHGATEHOUSE.COM

Disco and Tooth Lures a Fang. 7:30 p.m. Pop/Rock. $12, $14 day of show.

STANLEY’S PUB - Trashgrass Tuesday featuring members of Rumpke Mt. Boys. 9 p.m. Bluegrass. Cover. URBAN ARTIFACT - Toon Town and John the Revelator. 8 p.m. Rock/Various. Free. WOODWARD THEATER Electric Guest with Nine H Pound Shadow. 8:30 p.m. Alt/

Pop/Soul/Various. $14, $16 day of show.

Summer Special

No ENrollmENt FEE! the excellence of triHealth classes and training, in the heart of Downtown Cincinnati. Just 2 Blocks North of the Aronoff Center. Located on the streetcar route at the PubLic Library stoP. 898 Walnut St. • WWW.yWcacincinnati.org/fitneSScenter • 513-361-2116 YWCATriHeAlTHFiTnessCenTer

C I T Y B E A T . C O M • A U G . 3 0 – s e p t . 0 5 , 2 0 1 7 • 3 7

MANSION HILL TAVERN - Open Blues Jam with Sonny Moorman. 6 p.m. Blues. Free.

MANSION HILL TAVERN - Blue Ravens. 9 p.m. Blues. $3.

Andrea Cefalo Quartet 8-12

8/31 Samantha fiSh, joe wannabe; the eXit StRateGY, VeRoniCa GRim & the heaVY heaRtS, mooSe anD th’ monKeYPawS

CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL Live@Lunch with Michael Gilbert Ronstadt and Serenity Fisher. 12:10 p.m. Folk/Pop/Various. Free.

KNOTTY PINE - Under the Sun. 10 p.m. Rock/Alternative. Cover.

BREWRIVER GASTROPUB - Todd Hepburn. 11 a.m. Blues/Various. Free.

Thursday 8/31

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THE SOUTHGATE HOUSE LOUNGE OR TICKETFLY.COM

ARNOLD’S BAR AND GRILL John Redell. 7 p.m. Blues. Free.

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.

JIM AND JACK’S ON THE RIVER - Ron Fletcher & The Southern Edge Band. 9 p.m. Country/ Rock. Free.

Burning Caravan 8-11

Friday 9/1

THOMPSON HOUSE - Stevie Moon (EP release show). 8 p.m. Hip Hop. $10.

HARMONY HILL VINEYARDS & WINERY - Mic and Jill plus Open Mic. 2 p.m. Folk/Americana/ Country/Rock/Various. Free.

Wednesday 8/30

MOTR PUB - Moon King. 9 p.m. Electronic. Free.

BROMWELL’S HÄRTH LOUNGE - Rusty Burge Vibes Jazz. 8 p.m. Various. Free.

FOUNTAIN SQUARE - FSQ Live with The Menus. 7 p.m. Pop/ Rock/Dance. Free.

no Cover

Todd Hepburn & Friends 8-11

BOGART’S - Devils Due, KYSS and Ultimate Ozzy. 8 p.m. Hard Rock/Metal tribute. $10.

live MusiC

MADISON LIVE - Raven with Dead By Wednesday, Detached, Solar Flare and One Degree From Mande. 6 p.m. Metal. $13, $18 day of show.

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (SANCTUARY) - When Particles Collide, LOVECRUSH 88, Chakras, The Clams and School Of Rock Mason. 7 p.m. Rock/Various. $5.

111 E 6th St Newport, KY 41071

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

3 8 • C I T Y B E A T . C O M • A U G . 3 0 – s e p T . 0 5 , 2 0 1 7

Maker’s Mark cocktails, and good conversation.

August 31 | 5:30pm-8:00pm st

AT The LB Rookwood |

#GCRWeek

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT CITYBEAT.COM/CITYBEAT-EVENTS

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C I T Y B E A T . C O M • A U G . 3 0 – sept . 0 5 , 2 0 1 7 • 3 9

1. With 28-Down, surfing annoyances 6. Close pals, initially 10. BuzzFeed fodder 14. Team building 15. ___ Grey 16. Compulsion 17. Escargot piece 18. Get the hell out 19. Bit of sparkle 20. Christmastime rental 23. Capacity measure used in HVAC 24. Attention to detail 25. Yankee hurler Masahiro 29. “On the other hand ...” 30. Compass dir. 31. It’s got an electric motor 32. Embalmer’s subj. 35. Bourbon Street necklace (around Mardi Gras) 36. Jokey way to describe the food truck industry ... and a hint to this puzzle’s hidden theme 41. Painter Margaret who does “big-eyed waifs” 42. Nintendo platform 43. Relating to money 45. Afternoon timeout 47. NL team with the most World Series wins, 11 50. He may make your skin crawl 51. ICU staff 52. Org. with range rovers? 53. Place for battle planning 56. “Like that’s gonna happen” 59. Scum 60. Do the honors, as in November (or October, if you’re

2001! Genuine Opportunity. Start Immediately! www.MailingPros.net

River City

Gold & Coin

Most Cash Paid for Gold, Silver Jewelry/Coins 513-205-2681 Call for your appointment today! *Meeting to Sell: Can come to you / Meet in any public place* Minimal Overhead=Maximum Pay Outs

“If you sell to anyone else, you are settling for less”

LAST CALL! Labor Day appointments and summer pricing!

Heavenly Bodies Wax Spa 3680 Marburg Avenue 513.321.8252 www.CincySpa.com

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Please reply by email and leave your day and evening phone numbers. Please reply by email only. Phone calls will not be accepted. sferguson@citybeat.com

NIGHT GARDEN RECORDING STUDIO

Seamless integration of the best digital gear and classics from the analog era including 2” 24 track. Wide variety of classic microphones, mic pre-amps, hardware effects and dynamics, many popular plugins and accurate synchronization between DAW and 2” 24 track. Large live room and 3 isolation rooms. All for an unbelievable rate. Event/Show sound, lighting and video production services available as well. Call or email Steve for additional info and gear list; (513) 368-7770 or (513) 729-2786 or sferguson. productions@gmail.com.

DISSOLVE YOUR MARRIAGE

Dissolution: An amicable end to marriage. Easier on your heart. Easier on your wallet. Starting at $500 plus court costs. 12 Hour Turnaround.

810 Sycamore St. 4th Fl, Cincinnati, OH 45202

513.651.9666

Next Show Sunday, September 3 513-671-7433 • 32 W. CRESCENTVILLE, CINCINNATI, OH 45246 • LOCALSKATEPARK.COM

$5 ADMISSION ALL TIMES

MON-THURS 1PM-9PM

FRIDAY 11AM-9PM

SATURDAY* 9AM-11PM

SUNDAY 9AM-9PM

4 0 • C I T Y B E A T . C O M • A U G . 3 0 – s e p T . 0 5 , 2 0 1 7

*9AM-11AM for 12 & younger only

Lawrenceburg Fairgrounds – U.S. 50

Over 200 Dealers – 5 Acres of Fabulous Finds! LawrenceburgAntiqueShow.com 513-738-7256 • 513-353-4135

AN IRISH WHISKEY, SCOTCH ANd cRAFT BEER TASTING EVENT FOR tickets & More info, VISIT Citybeat.com/citybeat-events

OCTOber 5th 5:30 - 8:30 Pm

New Riff Distillery // Newport, Ky