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4 CITYBEAT.COM | AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 PUBLISHER TONY FRANK EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ASHLEY MOOR MANAGING EDITOR ALLISON BABKA DIGITAL CONTENT EDITOR MAGGY MCDONEL SPECIAL SECTIONS EDITOR MAIJA ZUMMO STAFF WRITER MADELINE FENING CALENDAR EDITOR, WRITER SEAN M. PETERS CREATIVE DIRECTOR HAIMANTI GERMAIN PRODUCTION MANAGER SEAN BIERI GRAPHIC DESIGNER ASPEN SMIT CONTRIBUTING EDITORS MUSIC: MIKE BREEN ARTS & CULTURE: MACKENZIE MANLEY THEATER: RICK PENDER DINING CRITIC: PAMA MITCHELL CONTRIBUTING WRITERS ANNE ARENSTEIN, BRIAN BAKER, STEPHEN NOVOTNI, BRIAN CROSS, HAYLEY DAY, JANE DURRELL, BILL FURBEE, JASON GARGANO, GREGORY GASTON, AUSTIN GAYLE, MCKENZIE GRAHAM, NICK GREVER, KATIE GRIFFITH, KATIE HOLOCHER, BEN L. KAUFMAN, DEIRDRE KAYE, JAC KERN, HARPER LEE, MADGE MARIL, ANNE MITCHELL, LAUREN MORETTO, TAMERA LENZ MUENTE, JACKIE MULAY, JUDE NOEL, GARIN PIRNIA, KATHY SCHWARTZ, MARIA SEDA-REEDER, LEYLA SHOKOOHE, SAMI STEWART, STEVEN ROSEN, KATHY Y. WILSON, P.F. WILSON, MORGAN ZUMBIEL CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS HAILEY BOLLINGER, SCOTT DITTGEN, JESSE FOX, PHIL HEIDENREICH, KHOI NGUYEN, BRITTANY THORNTON, CATIE VIOX EDITORIAL INTERNS LAUREN SERGE LINDSAY WIELONSKI SENIOR DIGITAL CONSULTANTMARKETING MARK COLEMAN DISTRIBUTION TEAM TOM SAND, STEVE FERGUSON EUCLID MEDIA GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER ANDREW ZELMAN CHIEF OPERATING OFFICERS CHRIS KEATING, MICHAEL WAGNER VP OF DIGITAL SERVICES STACY VOLHEIN DIGITAL OPERATIONS COORDINATOR JAIME WWW.EUCLIDMEDIAGROUP.COMMONZON 06 NEWS VOL. 27 | ISSUE 17 ON THE COVER: THE FALL ARTS PREVIEW GUIDE PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER 10 COVER 20 ARTS & CULTURE 22 EATS 27 MUSIC 39 CROSSWORD CITYBEAT | 811 RACE ST., FOURTH FLOOR, CINCINNATI, OH 45202 PHONE: 513-665-4700 | FAX: 513-665-4368 | CITYBEAT.COM PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER WITH SOY-BASED INKS PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER! THANKS. :) © 2022 | CityBeat is a registered trademark of CityBeat Communications, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission. CityBeat covers news, public issues, arts and entertainment of interest to readers in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. The views expressed in these pages do not necessarily represent those of the publishers. One copy per person of the current issue is free; additional copies, including back issues up to one year, are available at our offices for $1 each. Subscriptions: $70 for six months, $130 for one year (delivered via rst–class mail). Advertising Deadline: Display advertising, 12 p.m. Wednesday before publication; Classi ed advertising, 5 p.m. Thursday before publication. Warehousing Services: Harris Motor Express, 4261 Crawford Street, Cincinnati, OH 45223.
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6 CITYBEAT.COM | AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER 6, 2022
Why Obergefell’s political race matters to the nation
PARKER PHOTOGRAPHY In
NEWS
PHOTO: EMMA Ohio Campaign, Obergefell to Fight Again for LGBTQ+ Protections
Prepares
House
Same-sex Cincinnati couples are worried about the future of their marriages after the fall of Roe v. Wade. BY MADELINE FENING
J im Obergefell hasn’t gone doorknocking since the early ‘90s. As a University of Cincinnati student and leaf raker in Clifton’s Gaslight District, he was raising money for the University of Cincinnati Men’s Chorus. But now Obergefell is going door to door asking for the citizens of Ohio’s House District 89 to elect him as its rep resentative on Nov. 8. “ at’s the last time I went door to door! I was a little worried to get started again, but I really do enjoy it,” Obergefell tells CityBeat Per the district maps that were redrawn by a Republican-led com mission this year, the area Obergefell is running to represent encompasses portions of Erie, Huron and Ottawa counties along Lake Erie in the northern portion of Ohio. Sandusky – known for rollercoaster destination Cedar Point –is home for Obergefell, but Cincinnati is where his ght for marriage equality began.Obergefell is running for o ce in the new post-Roe world, which could have big reverberations upon his own famous case, Obergefell v. Hodges, and other settled landmark laws. In June, the conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Dobbs v. Jackson, ulti mately overturning the long-standing Roe v. Wade, which granted citizens the right to privacy to choose and seek an abortion.Manypeople now think that Oberge fell, which grants same-sex marriage rights nationwide, will fall next, thanks to opinion language used in the Dobbs/ Roe decision.
Jim
NEWS
While living in Cincinnati in 2013, Obergefell and longtime partner John Arthur ew to Maryland to marry after Arthur became severely ill with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). But because their home state of Ohio did not recognize same-sex marriages, Oberge fell would not be listed on Arthur’s death certi cate as the surviving spouse. e couple did not have the time to wait for Ohio law to change. Obergefell led suit to have his name listed on Arthur’s Ohio death certi cate in several lower courts before the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. In Obergefell v. Hodges – led against the Ohio Department of Health’s then-direc tor Richard Hodges and as well as other defendants – all nine judges decided in 2015 that states could not discriminate between heterosexual and same-sex marriages and that legal marriages in one state must be recognized in other states.Now Obergefell nds himself preparing to ght once again for mar riage equality in Ohio, this time poten tially as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives.“Beingbackin my hometown, back in my roots, it was really a matter of right time and right place. is is how I can keep ghting to make things better,” Obergefell says. When the Supreme Court ruled on Dobbs in June, some justices used lan guage in the opinion that opened up the possibility of rescinding additionl rights. In his concurring opinion in overturning Roe, Justice Clarence omas wrote, “In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Law rence, and Obergefell.” (Griswold v. Con necticut grants the right to obtain contra ceptives, while Lawrence v. Texas grants the right to private, sexual activity). is means the court’s conservative Jim Obergefell is known as a marriage-equality leader.
Why Obergefell’s political race matters to the nation While living in Cincinnati in 2013, Obergefell and longtime partner John Arthur ew to Maryland to marry after Arthur became severely ill with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). But because their home state of Ohio did not recognize same-sex marriages, Oberge fell would not be listed on Arthur’s death certi cate as the surviving spouse. e couple did not have the time to wait for Ohio law to change. Obergefell led suit to have his name listed on Arthur’s Ohio death certi cate in several lower courts before the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. In Obergefell v. Hodges – led against the Ohio Department of Health’s then-direc tor Richard Hodges and as well as other defendants – all nine judges decided in 2015 that states could not discriminate between heterosexual and same-sex marriages and that legal marriages in one state must be recognized in other states.Now Obergefell nds himself preparing to ght once again for mar riage equality in Ohio, this time poten tially as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives.“Beingbackin my hometown, back in my roots, it was really a matter of right time and right place. is is how I can keep ghting to make things better,” Obergefell says. When the Supreme Court ruled on Dobbs in June, some justices used lan guage in the opinion that opened up the possibility of rescinding additionl rights. In his concurring opinion in overturning Roe, Justice Clarence omas wrote, “In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Law rence, and Obergefell.” (Griswold v. Con necticut grants the right to obtain contra ceptives, while Lawrence v. Texas grants the right to private, sexual activity). is means the court’s conservative
BY MADELINE FENING J im Obergefell hasn’t gone doorknocking since the early ‘90s. As a University of Cincinnati student and leaf raker in Clifton’s Gaslight District, he was raising money for the University of Cincinnati Men’s Chorus. But now Obergefell is going door to door asking for the citizens of Ohio’s House District 89 to elect him as its rep resentative on Nov. 8. “ at’s the last time I went door to door! I was a little worried to get started again, but I really do enjoy it,” Obergefell tells CityBeat Per the district maps that were redrawn by a Republican-led com mission this year, the area Obergefell is running to represent encompasses portions of Erie, Huron and Ottawa counties along Lake Erie in the northern portion of Ohio. Sandusky – known for rollercoaster destination Cedar Point –is home for Obergefell, but Cincinnati is where his ght for marriage equality began.Obergefell is running for o ce in the new post-Roe world, which could have big reverberations upon his own famous case, Obergefell v. Hodges, and other settled landmark laws. In June, the conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Dobbs v. Jackson, ulti mately overturning the long-standing Roe v. Wade, which granted citizens the right to privacy to choose and seek an abortion.Manypeople now think that Oberge fell, which grants same-sex marriage rights nationwide, will fall next, thanks to opinion language used in the Dobbs/ Roe decision.
In Ohio House Campaign, Jim Obergefell
Prepares to Fight Again for LGBTQ+ Protections
Same-sex Cincinnati couples are worried about the future of their marriages after the fall of Roe v. Wade.
Roe fell in June, but Ohio Repub licans had chipped away at abortion care access within the state for years by regulating gestational deadlines and enacting burdensome protocols on abortion“Whenclinics.welose one right, every other right is at risk,” Obergefell says, adding that Ohio already is taking swings at marriage equality. He points to recent legislative e orts to control the LGBTQ+ community, such as Ohio’s version of Florida’s “Dont Say Gay” bill, which would prohibit the “promotion and teaching of divisive or inherently racist concepts in public schools” while also nixing educational materials about sexual orientation and gender identity.
“Every time we talk about it, it’s an exciting and wonderful moment, but we always have just in the corner of our mind, ‘Is this really going to happen?’” DilbertObergefellsays. says he’s familiar with love during uncertain times. “We became a couple when the charter amendment was passed. We were in Cincinnati during a really dark time for the queer community,” Obergefell says, referring to Cincinnati’s Article XII, which denied discrimination protections for LBGTQ+ city residents. Voters repealed Article XII in 2004, which Obergefell says gave him hope that Cincinnati would become more welcoming for the LGBTQ+ community. In 2015, Cincinnati City Council banned “conversion therapy,”which attempts to “cure” LGBTQ+ people –often youth – of their sexual orientation, gender expression or gender identity when those don’t line up with heterosexual or cisgender ideals. Earlier this year, Cincinnati revised its municipal code to more directly protect gender expression and identity for city workers.
“I thought, ‘Are we going to be able to get married? Are we going to do this together?’ Because, unfortunately, in the world it’s not legal everywhere, and right now it feels like we’re backtracking. It makes us feel belittled,” Dilbert says. Dilbert says he proposed to Taylor in January under strings of lights and sur rounded by thick bamboo stalks at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. He says when they discuss their upcom ing wedding, they become excited and then nervous – but it’s not the kind of nerves an engaged couple typically feels.
Local same-sex couples question their future Cincinnati residents Daniel Dilbert and his ance Michael Taylor have worried about Ohio’s ability to maintain marriage equality, even before the Dobbs decision was announced. “ e world is still changing and people are scared of change,” Dilbert tells CityBeat. “ at’s what frightens me every single day.”
But those advances could be neutered in the future, many legal analysts say. It makes Dilbert and other members of the LGBTQ+ community nervous.Dilbert says people are afraid of love they don’t understand.
“ ey are saying, ‘Sorry teachers, you can’t teach our nation’s history. You can’t acknowledge the existence of – the reality of – the queer communuty.’ at’s harmful, it’s hateful, and when we’re messing with education in that way, it’s not preparing our kids to be successful in a diverse, complicated world,” Obergefell says.Many Republican lawmakers like Jean Schmidt, an Ohio House rep from Loveland, have chosen schools as their battleground for removing LGBTQ+ rights. In April, Schmidt worked a trans phobic amendment into a bill about paying college athletes. e amendment bars transgender students from partici pating on women’s teams in high school and college.
majority could punt the legality of marriage equality back to the states in the future – and Obergefell says Ohio’s legislature already has acted unfairly.
“We have one political party that the whole redistricting mess shows they have no interest in following the law,” Obergefell says. “ ey have no interest in what’s in the best interest for the people of Ohio.”
“No matter what, people are scared of something true and wonderful – something that is happy and wonderful for other people, because it’s not the way they like to see other people,” Dilbert says.In the meantime, Obergefell will tackle this and other issues in his quest to represent Ohio’s 89th District. Even if he wins, he knows he’ll have an uphill battle in “ComeColumbus.November, do I think the Democratic party is going to take the majority in the statehouse? No,” Obergefell says. “But what I do hope is we can break the Republican supermajority, because that would give Nan Whaley [the democrat running for governor against incumbent Republican Mike DeWine] the power of the line-item veto. Even when bad bills are passed by the House, by the Senate, well, Nan as governor has the ability to veto the lines,” Obergefell says. Obergefell will face o against Republican incumbent D.J. Swearingen during the general election Nov. 8. majority could punt the legality of marriage equality back to the states in the future – and Obergefell says Ohio’s legislature already has acted unfairly.
“ ey certainly shouldn’t be attacking that one trans girl athlete who simply wants to play sports with her friends,” Obergefell says. Local same-sex couples question their future Cincinnati residents Daniel Dilbert and his ance Michael Taylor have worried about Ohio’s ability to maintain marriage equality, even before the Dobbs decision was announced. “ e world is still changing and people are scared of change,” Dilbert tells CityBeat. “ at’s what frightens me every single day.”
“Every time we talk about it, it’s an exciting and wonderful moment, but we always have just in the corner of our mind, ‘Is this really going to happen?’”
“We became a couple when the charter amendment was passed. We were in Cincinnati during a really dark time for the queer community,” Obergefell says, referring to Cincinnati’s Article XII, which denied discrimination protections for LBGTQ+ city residents.
Roe fell in June, but Ohio Repub licans had chipped away at abortion care access within the state for years by regulating gestational deadlines and enacting burdensome protocols on abortion“Whenclinics.welose one right, every other right is at risk,” Obergefell says, adding that Ohio already is taking swings at marriage equality. He points to recent legislative e orts to control the LGBTQ+ community, such as Ohio’s version of Florida’s “Dont Say Gay” bill, which would prohibit the “promotion and teaching of divisive or inherently racist concepts in public schools” while also nixing educational materials about sexual orientation and gender identity. “ ey are saying, ‘Sorry teachers, you can’t teach our nation’s history. You can’t acknowledge the existence of – the reality of – the queer communuty.’ at’s harmful, it’s hateful, and when we’re messing with education in that way, it’s not preparing our kids to be successful in a diverse, complicated world,” Obergefell says.Many Republican lawmakers like Jean Schmidt, an Ohio House rep from Loveland, have chosen schools as their battleground for removing LGBTQ+ rights. In April, Schmidt worked a trans phobic amendment into a bill about paying college athletes. e amendment bars transgender students from partici pating on women’s teams in high school and college. “ ey certainly shouldn’t be attacking that one trans girl athlete who simply wants to play sports with her friends,” Obergefell says.
DilbertObergefellsays. says he’s familiar with love during uncertain times.
Dilbert says that when he heard that omas cited the Obergefell decision in his Dobbs opinion, his fears came into sharper focus.
AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 | CITYBEAT.COM 7
Voters repealed Article XII in 2004, which Obergefell says gave him hope that Cincinnati would become more welcoming for the LGBTQ+ community. In 2015, Cincinnati City Council banned “conversion therapy,”which attempts to “cure” LGBTQ+ people –often youth – of their sexual orientation, gender expression or gender identity when those don’t line up with heterosexual or cisgender ideals. Earlier this year, Cincinnati revised its municipal code to more directly protect gender expression and identity for city workers. But those advances could be neutered in the future, many legal analysts say. It makes Dilbert and other members of the LGBTQ+ community nervous.Dilbert says people are afraid of love they don’t understand.
“We have one political party that the whole redistricting mess shows they have no interest in following the law,” Obergefell says. “ ey have no interest in what’s in the best interest for the people of Ohio.”
Dilbert says that when he heard that omas cited the Obergefell decision in his Dobbs opinion, his fears came into sharper focus. “I thought, ‘Are we going to be able to get married? Are we going to do this together?’ Because, unfortunately, in the world it’s not legal everywhere, and right now it feels like we’re backtracking. It makes us feel belittled,” Dilbert says. Dilbert says he proposed to Taylor in January under strings of lights and sur rounded by thick bamboo stalks at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. He says when they discuss their upcom ing wedding, they become excited and then nervous – but it’s not the kind of nerves an engaged couple typically feels.
“No matter what, people are scared of something true and wonderful – something that is happy and wonderful for other people, because it’s not the way they like to see other people,” Dilbert says.In the meantime, Obergefell will tackle this and other issues in his quest to represent Ohio’s 89th District. Even if he wins, he knows he’ll have an uphill battle in “ComeColumbus.November, do I think the Democratic party is going to take the majority in the statehouse? No,” Obergefell says. “But what I do hope is we can break the Republican supermajority, because that would give Nan Whaley [the democrat running for governor against incumbent Republican Mike DeWine] the power of the line-item veto. Even when bad bills are passed by the House, by the Senate, well, Nan as governor has the ability to veto the lines,” Obergefell says. Obergefell will face o against Republican incumbent D.J. Swearingen during the general election Nov. 8.
Hamilton experiencingCountyhigh COVID levels
Administration’s Own COVID-19 Safety
BY MADELINE FENING
Some local universities are enforcing masks in certain campus areas as college students start the fall semester. University of Cincinnati Masking is not required on UC’s campus, but it is recommended, according to a campus-wide email and the university’s website. e only areas where masking is required at the University of Cincinnati is in the College of Medicine, where everyone must wear a mask at all times except when alone in an o ce or while eating. e university strongly recommends COVID-19 vaccines.
As of press time, students and teachers in Cincinnati Public Schools don’t have to mask up to slow the spread of COVID-19.
According to the district’s 2022-2023 safety plan, district policy #5321 says the administration “shall inform the board and recommend requiring masks” when the community spread of COVID-19 is high in Hamilton County, as de ned by the CDC. Mary Wineburg, chair of the health of safety committee for the board, tells CityBeat, “As of right now, masks are encouraged and optional. If you would like more clari cation regarding this, I ask that you reach out to Superintendent Wright and her communications team.”e superintendent’s team did not immediately respond to CityBeat’s request for comment about why the mask requirement has not happened despite the district’s safety policy.
e CDC advises that those testing positive for COVID-19 or who have COVID-19 symptoms should isolate themselves from others, especially from those who are immunocompromised. Avoiding travel for at least ve to 10 full days is recommended, depending on symptoms, severity or setting. People ending isolation should continue to wear a mask for ve more days, the CDC says. A tool to help determine how long you need to isolate, quarantine, or take other steps to prevent spreading COVID-19 is available on the CDC’s website. However, many doctors and epidemiologists, including experts at Yale University, caution that the CDC’s current guidance for isolation may be too short to stop or slow COVID-19 transmission to others.
Some local universities are enforcing masks in certain campus areas as college students start the fall semester. University of Cincinnati Masking is not required on UC’s campus, but it is recommended, according to a campus-wide email and the university’s website. e only areas where masking is required at the University of Cincinnati is in the College of Medicine, where everyone must wear a mask at all times except when alone in an o ce or while eating. e university strongly recommends COVID-19 vaccines.
PHOTO: KELLY SIKKEMA,
Miami University Miami students are not required to mask up to be on campus, but they are encouraged to do so if the community spread for COVID-19 is high, as it currently is in Butler County. COVID-19 vaccines are required for students and sta who are not exempt.
Masking Not Required for Cincinnati Public Schools, Despite Plan
“If we experienced a spike of illness on campus among employees or students, or if there were a new, more serious variant, it is possible we would need to temporarily adjust our approach,” the university writes on its website. Mount St. Joseph University Mount St. Joe is requiring all students and sta to wear masks on campus while Hamilton County remains in the high level of community spread. COVID-19 vaccines are not required but are“Atencouraged.mediumand low-risk levels, masks may still be required in some settings,” the university writes on its website. Testing options available locally Most local and regional health agencies, including the Health Collaborative, provide lists of places where residents can be tested for COVID-19 or pick up a testing kit to use at home. e CDC advises that those testing positive for COVID-19 or who have COVID-19 symptoms should isolate themselves from others, especially from those who are immunocompromised. Avoiding travel for at least ve to 10 full days is recommended, depending on symptoms, severity or setting. People ending isolation should continue to wear a mask for ve more days, the CDC says. A tool to help determine how long you need to isolate, quarantine, or take other steps to prevent spreading COVID-19 is available on the CDC’s website. However, many doctors and epidemiologists, including experts at Yale University, caution that the CDC’s current guidance for isolation may be too short to stop or slow COVID-19 transmission to others.
As of press time, students and teachers in Cincinnati Public Schools don’t have to mask up to slow the spread of COVID-19.
COVID-19 plans vary among colleges and universities
C incinnati Public School students and their families have entered a new school year, but packing a mask isn’t a requirement for CPS parents, despite the administration’s own COVID-19 safety plan amid high coronavirus case numbers.
As of press time, Hamilton County has had a high level of community spread for COVID-19 since July 22, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 tracker. Other Greater Cincinnati counties are also experiencing high levels of community spread, including Butler, Clermont and Warren counties. On Aug. 18, the seven-day average of COVID-19 cases in Hamilton County was 215.91 cases per 100,000 residents, or 1,765 cases total. e county was in the low level of community spread in March when the Cincinnati Board of Education passed a resolution to lift its mask requirement for students and sta . At the time, the district said it would ask the board to pass another resolution requiring masks if cases were to spike. CPS not abiding by its own safety plan
C incinnati Public School students and their families have entered a new school year, but packing a mask isn’t a requirement for CPS parents, despite the administration’s own COVID-19 safety plan amid high coronavirus case numbers.
UNSPLASH NEWS
e CDC recommends masking for schools in areas where the spread of COVID-19 is high, but it is not required on a federal or state Recommendationslevel.bythe CDC for counties with high COVID levels – like Hamilton County and other Greater Cincinnati counties – include: * Wearing a mask indoors in public * Staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccines*Testing for COVID-19 if you have symptoms*Speaking to your doctor about additional precautions for people at high risk for severe illness Vaccines are also recommended for children but are not required for public school students. According to the CDC, about 54,000 children under the age of 18 have been vaccinated for COVID-19 in Hamilton County.
Northern Kentucky University NKU will not require students to wear masks on campus. COVID-19 vaccines are recommended, but not required. “ e university recommends meetings include a virtual option available for those who are uncomfortable with an in-person setting,” a spokesperson for NKU tells CityBeat. “When gathering indoors, NKU recommends people wear masks, which are readily available in the Student Union and other select areas of campus.”
Hamilton experiencingCountyhigh COVID levels
On Aug. 18, the seven-day average of COVID-19 cases in Hamilton County was 215.91 cases per 100,000 residents, or 1,765 cases total. e county was in the low level of community spread in March when the Cincinnati Board of Education passed a resolution to lift its mask requirement for students and sta . At the time, the district said it would ask the board to pass another resolution requiring masks if cases were to spike. CPS not abiding by its own safety plan
According to the district’s 2022-2023 safety plan, district policy #5321 says the administration “shall inform the board and recommend requiring masks” when the community spread of COVID-19 is high in Hamilton County, as de ned by the CDC. Mary Wineburg, chair of the health of safety committee for the board, tells CityBeat, “As of right now, masks are encouraged and optional. If you would like more clari cation regarding this, I ask that you reach out to Superintendent Wright and her communications team.”e superintendent’s team did not immediately respond to CityBeat’s request for comment about why the mask requirement has not happened despite the district’s safety policy. Protecting kids from COVID-19 e CDC recommends masking for schools in areas where the spread of COVID-19 is high, but it is not required on a federal or state Recommendationslevel.bythe CDC for counties with high COVID levels – like Hamilton County and other Greater Cincinnati counties – include: * Wearing a mask indoors in public * Staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccines*Testing for COVID-19 if you have symptoms*Speaking to your doctor about additional precautions for people at high risk for severe illness
Northern Kentucky University NKU will not require students to wear masks on campus. COVID-19 vaccines are recommended, but not required. “ e university recommends meetings include a virtual option available for those who are uncomfortable with an in-person setting,” a spokesperson for NKU tells CityBeat. “When gathering indoors, NKU recommends people wear masks, which are readily available in the Student Union and other select areas of campus.”
Miami University Miami students are not required to mask up to be on campus, but they are encouraged to do so if the community spread for COVID-19 is high, as it currently is in Butler County. COVID-19 vaccines are required for students and sta who are not exempt. “If we experienced a spike of illness on campus among employees or students, or if there were a new, more serious variant, it is possible we would need to temporarily adjust our approach,” the university writes on its website.
“We have re- lled sanitizing and cleaning stations and are ready for students to return,” a spokesperson for Xavier tells CityBeat. “We have a dedicated Covid-19 Task Force that has been meeting since Covid began and will continue to touch base throughout the semester. As you may have noticed, more than 95% of our students and employees are already fully vaccinated.”
8 CITYBEAT.COM | AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER 6, 2022
As of press time, Hamilton County has had a high level of community spread for COVID-19 since July 22, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 tracker. Other Greater Cincinnati counties are also experiencing high levels of community spread, including Butler, Clermont and Warren counties.
Vaccines are also recommended for children but are not required for public school students. According to the CDC, about 54,000 children under the age of 18 have been vaccinated for COVID-19 in Hamilton County. COVID-19 plans vary among colleges and universities
“We have re- lled sanitizing and cleaning stations and are ready for students to return,” a spokesperson for Xavier tells CityBeat. “We have a dedicated Covid-19 Task Force that has been meeting since Covid began and will continue to touch base throughout the semester. As you may have noticed, more than 95% of our students and employees are already fully vaccinated.”
Mount St. Joseph University Mount St. Joe is requiring all students and sta to wear masks on campus while Hamilton County remains in the high level of community spread. COVID-19 vaccines are not required but are“Atencouraged.mediumand low-risk levels, masks may still be required in some settings,” the university writes on its website. Testing options available locally Most local and regional health agencies, including the Health Collaborative, provide lists of places where residents can be tested for COVID-19 or pick up a testing kit to use at home.
Xavier University At Xavier, masks are not required on campus, but COVID-19 vaccines are mandatory unless a person has a religious or medical exemption.
Protecting kids from COVID-19
Xavier University At Xavier, masks are not required on campus, but COVID-19 vaccines are mandatory unless a person has a religious or medical exemption.
PHOTO: KELLY SIKKEMA, UNSPLASH
NEWS Masking Not Required for Cincinnati Public Schools, Despite Administration’s Own COVID-19 Safety Plan BY MADELINE FENING
PHOTO: TWITTER.COM/BENGALS
Cincinnati GracesQuarterbackBengalsJoeBurrow
Cincinnati Bengals announced that Paul Brown Stadium now is called Paycor Stadium, named for a human resources software company that’s based in Cincinnati. e Bengals’ 2022-2023 regular season kicks o against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 11 at Paycor Stadium and will end on Jan. 7 or 8 in a battle with the Baltimore Ravens in Cincinnati. e team will debut its new white tiger helmet during the Sept. 29 game against the Miami Dolphins.
AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 | CITYBEAT.COM 9
Before undergoing surgery, Votto was hitless in his previous 22 at bats – a new career high for the slugger. During a brie ng with reporters, Votto said that he’d injured his shoulder in 2015 and had been able to play through it, but the past few months had brought new pain. Votto was on the injured list earlier this year thanks to COVID-19 and missed several games in July due to tightness in his back.
Both Riley and Anderson were inducted into the Bengals’ own inaugural Ring of Honor class in 2021.
On Aug. 14, he set a new MLB record for games played by a player born in Canada with 1,989 – more than previous record-holder Larry Walker, who is enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. As of press time, the Reds are more than 20 games behind the NL Centralleading St. Louis Cardinals and are not expected to see playo action in October. - Allison Babka
Former Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Ken Riley might be on his way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame – nally.
Former Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson also was a nalist under consideration to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2023 but did not make the cut. Anderson played for the Bengals for his entire 16-season career.
On Aug. 19, Votto said, “I didn’t know I was hurt. ought I just stunk,” onAfterTwitter.the surgery that day, Votto posted a photo to Instagram saying, “Today called for ice cream.” In the photo, he licks an ice cream cone while his left arm rests in a sling. e Toronto-born Votto – who the Reds drafted in 2002 and who entered the big leagues in 2007 – is just nine games shy of playing in 2,000 career games, all of them for Cincinnati.
Former Cincinnati Bengals Cornerback Ken Riley One of ree Finalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame Paw by paw, a Cincinnati Bengal is moving one step closer to having the Pro Football Hall of Fame as his new den. is month, the Hall of Fame selection committee selected the late Ken Riley as one of three nalists for the 2023 induction class. If approved, the former cornerback would become just the second Cincinnati Bengal to be enshrined in the hall. Riley moves forward for a January vote, along with Chicago Bears linebacker Chuck Howley and New York Jets defensive lineman Joe Klecko. All three are considered seniors whose careers ended during or before the 1996 NFL season. Seniors will need 80% approval from the committee in January to enter the hall. Riley spent his entire career with the Bengals. He’s considered one of the team’s all-time best players with 65 interceptions — fth-most in NFL history. Nicknamed “ e Rattler,” Riley played 207 games and spent 15 seasons with the Bengals, both in the AFL and the NFL. With Riley, the team went to the playo s ve times and had its rst Super Bowl run in 1982.Riley later became head coach and athletic director at Florida A&M, the alma mater where he had been a starting quarterback, had been selected for a Rhodes Scholar Candidacy and later would coach his son, Ken Riley II. As CityBeat previously reported, Riley was excluded from the NFL’s “In Memoriam” segment during the Super Bowl in 2021, just months after he had passed away. e snub incensed fans and increased the calls for his enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame even more. Former Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson also was a nalist under consideration to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2023 but did not make the cut. Anderson played for the Bengals for his entire 16-season career. Along with Riley, he led the team to its rst Super Bowl in 1982 and was crowned the Most Valuable Player and O ensive Player of the Year. He’s one of just ve players to have earned four passing titles.
Former Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Ken Riley might be on his way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame – nally.
Sports Illustrated Cover for September
e Bengals went to Super Bowl LVI in February, falling 20-23 to the Los Angeles Rams in the jungle’s rst shot at the Vince Lombardi trophy since 1989. e team earned a 10-7 regular-season record for 2021-2022, won the AFC North, and pulled out magical win after magical win in the post-season — including the AFC Championship.Duringtheregular season, Burrow threw 366 passes for 4,611 yards and 34 touchdowns and set several team records, including the most passing yards in a game, passing yards in a season and passing touchdowns in a season.Burrow recently underwent an
Former Cincinnati Bengals Cornerback Ken Riley One of ree Finalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame Paw by paw, a Cincinnati Bengal is moving one step closer to having the Pro Football Hall of Fame as his new den. is month, the Hall of Fame selection committee selected the late Ken Riley as one of three nalists for the 2023 induction class. If approved, the former cornerback would become just the second Cincinnati Bengal to be enshrined in the hall. Riley moves forward for a January vote, along with Chicago Bears linebacker Chuck Howley and New York Jets defensive lineman Joe Klecko. All three are considered seniors whose careers ended during or before the 1996 NFL season. Seniors will need 80% approval from the committee in January to enter the hall. Riley spent his entire career with the Bengals. He’s considered one of the team’s all-time best players with 65 interceptions — fth-most in NFL history. Nicknamed “ e Rattler,” Riley played 207 games and spent 15 seasons with the Bengals, both in the AFL and the NFL. With Riley, the team went to the playo s ve times and had its rst Super Bowl run in 1982.Riley later became head coach and athletic director at Florida A&M, the alma mater where he had been a starting quarterback, had been selected for a Rhodes Scholar Candidacy and later would coach his son, Ken Riley II. As CityBeat previously reported, Riley was excluded from the NFL’s “In Memoriam” segment during the Super Bowl in 2021, just months after he had passed away. e snub incensed fans and increased the calls for his enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame even more.
Cincinnati Reds Veteran Joey Votto Out for Remainder of the 2022 Season Joey Votto is done – at least for now. e longtime Cincinnati Reds’ rst baseman had surgery on his left rotator cu on Aug. 19 after not appearing in a game since Aug. 16. He was yanked from the lineup against the Philadelphia Phillies on Aug. 17 and placed on the 60-day injured list. Reds medical director Dr. Timothy Kremchek performed the surgery at Beacon Orthopaedics in Cincinnati, a note from the Reds’ camp says. “Joey this morning had successful surgery to repair his left rotator cu and bicep,” Reds general manager Nick Krall says. “ e surgery was a little more than expected. e injury de nitely limited the use of his left shoulder and a ected his performance, but we expect he will be able to participate in spring training and be ready for the 2023 season.”
Anderson remained connected with the Bengals even after his playing days were over, serving as a quarterback coach and radio broadcaster. His lack of selection to the Hall of Fame thus far is widely considered an egregious snub among sports experts. Both Riley and Anderson were inducted into the Bengals’ own inaugural Ring of Honor class in 2021.
Cincinnati Sports Briefs
Doctors emphasized that the surgery needed to happen in order for the Reds to have Votto back in time for next season, Bell says.
Along with Riley, he led the team to its rst Super Bowl in 1982 and was crowned the Most Valuable Player and O ensive Player of the Year. He’s one of just ve players to have earned four passing titles.
Cincinnati GracesQuarterbackBengalsJoeBurrow
Sports Illustrated Cover for September Cincinnati Bengals quarterback and fashion icon Joe Burrow’s star has been rising, and now he’s got one more way of proving it. Burrow is featured on the cover of the September issue of Sports Illustrated, which began hitting newsstands Aug. 17. e issue is dedicated to previewing the 2022-2023 NFL season, and Burrow represents the league’s current favorite nice guy who has the turf skills to match his Midwestern charm. Last season, Burrow played a key role in the Bengals’ impressive post-season tear after the team had su ered through years of drought. e Bengals went to Super Bowl LVI in February, falling 20-23 to the Los Angeles Rams in the jungle’s rst shot at the Vince Lombardi trophy since 1989. e team earned a 10-7 regular-season record for 2021-2022, won the AFC North, and pulled out magical win after magical win in the post-season — including the AFC Championship.Duringtheregular season, Burrow threw 366 passes for 4,611 yards and 34 touchdowns and set several team records, including the most passing yards in a game, passing yards in a season and passing touchdowns in a season.Burrow recently underwent an appendectomy.OnAug.9,the Cincinnati Bengals announced that Paul Brown Stadium now is called Paycor Stadium, named for a human resources software company that’s based in Cincinnati. e Bengals’ 2022-2023 regular season kicks o against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 11 at Paycor Stadium and will end on Jan. 7 or 8 in a battle with the Baltimore Ravens in Cincinnati. e team will debut its new white tiger helmet during the Sept. 29 game against the Miami Dolphins.
Reds medical director Dr. Timothy Kremchek performed the surgery at Beacon Orthopaedics in Cincinnati, a note from the Reds’ camp says. “Joey this morning had successful surgery to repair his left rotator cu and bicep,” Reds general manager Nick Krall says. “ e surgery was a little more than expected. e injury de nitely limited the use of his left shoulder and a ected his performance, but we expect he will be able to participate in spring training and be ready for the 2023 season.”
- Allison Babka
“It’s a big blow, obviously. We’re going to miss him a ton,” manager David Bell says. “I have no idea how he was playing with it. I don’t know what he said, but trying to play this game with a torn rotator cu …” Doctors emphasized that the surgery needed to happen in order for the Reds to have Votto back in time for next season, Bell says. On Aug. 19, Votto said, “I didn’t know I was hurt. ought I just stunk,” onAfterTwitter.the surgery that day, Votto posted a photo to Instagram saying, “Today called for ice cream.” In the photo, he licks an ice cream cone while his left arm rests in a sling. e Toronto-born Votto – who the Reds drafted in 2002 and who entered the big leagues in 2007 – is just nine games shy of playing in 2,000 career games, all of them for Cincinnati. On Aug. 14, he set a new MLB record for games played by a player born in Canada with 1,989 – more than previous record-holder Larry Walker, who is enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. As of press time, the Reds are more than 20 games behind the NL Centralleading St. Louis Cardinals and are not expected to see playo action in October.
PHOTO: TWITTER.COM/BENGALS
Before undergoing surgery, Votto was hitless in his previous 22 at bats – a new career high for the slugger. During a brie ng with reporters, Votto said that he’d injured his shoulder in 2015 and had been able to play through it, but the past few months had brought new pain. Votto was on the injured list earlier this year thanks to COVID-19 and missed several games in July due to tightness in his back. “It’s a big blow, obviously. We’re going to miss him a ton,” manager David Bell says. “I have no idea how he was playing with it. I don’t know what he said, but trying to play this game with a torn rotator cu …”
Cincinnati Reds Veteran Joey Votto Out for Remainder of the 2022 Season Joey Votto is done – at least for now. e longtime Cincinnati Reds’ rst baseman had surgery on his left rotator cu on Aug. 19 after not appearing in a game since Aug. 16. He was yanked from the lineup against the Philadelphia Phillies on Aug. 17 and placed on the 60-day injured list.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback and fashion icon Joe Burrow’s star has been rising, and now he’s got one more way of proving it. Burrow is featured on the cover of the September issue of Sports Illustrated, which began hitting newsstands Aug. 17. e issue is dedicated to previewing the 2022-2023 NFL season, and Burrow represents the league’s current favorite nice guy who has the turf skills to match his Midwestern charm. Last season, Burrow played a key role in the Bengals’ impressive post-season tear after the team had su ered through years of drought.
appendectomy.OnAug.9,the
Anderson remained connected with the Bengals even after his playing days were over, serving as a quarterback coach and radio broadcaster. His lack of selection to the Hall of Fame thus far is widely considered an egregious snub among sports experts.
FallArts Preview
“We’re a big spectacle light show, but at the end of the day, I really do think that we’re just a free public art event. And we do it at a grand scale and level of artistry that’s world-class and pretty amazing,” he says. “ e fact that hundreds of thousands of people line the streets and come out in droves to enjoy community and culture and art and light is pretty special.”
10 CITYBEAT.COM | AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER 6, 2022
While some details are still being nalized — more information will be released in the coming weeks, and Brookhart says speci cs are subject to change — the core of BLINK is still
SCHOOL IS BACK IN SESSION, pool season is coming to a close and the annual Riverfest rework display is about to signal the o cial end of summer in Cincinnati over Labor Day weekend. As we wave goodbye to one season, it’s time to welcome another — fall — and the urry of art activity that comes with it.
BLINK and FotoFocus are back, along with new theater, dance and classical music. BY CITYBEAT STAFF
FOR FOUR NIGHTS this October, the streets and structures of Greater Cincinnati will be zzing with illuminations, immersive activations and — if 2019’s event numbers are any hint — 1.3 million people during the third BLINK festival.
Justin Brookhart, who took over as the rst executive director of BLINK for the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber in January, says his goal for the 2022 event is to “curate the balance between making sure that we’re always showing o the incredible local talent that exists here in Cincinnati,” while simultaneously making the fest “a true international event that stands up to some of the larger events like this all over the world, like Vivid in Sydney [Australia] and the Lumiere Festival.”
And Oct. 13-16, BLINK will convert 30 blocks of downtown Cincinnati, Over-the-Rhine and Covington into a lineup of literally and guratively glowing visual, auditory and kinesthetic encounters.
is will be Brookhart’s rst time both directing and attending BLINK. With previous experience as the chief operating o cer for the Chicago-based but internationally touring Renegade Craft series of arts and crafts shows, the freshly minted Cincinnatian says he’s been impressed by the city’s devotion to and collective excitement about BLINK.
Greater Cincinnati’s immersive art and light festival returns this October with new activations, old favorites and the loss of one of its founders. BY MAIJA ZUMMO IsBack
In CityBeat’s Fall Arts Preview, we take a look at two big events that are back this October, the BLINK art and light festival and the FotoFocus lens-based art biennial; explore new seasons for local theaters and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; and see what the Cincinnati Ballet’s new artistic director has in store for the future.
e large-scale event — back for the rst time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic — touts itself as “the nation’s largest light, art and projection-mapping experience” (projection mapping is a technique that casts computer-programmed light, color and animations across three-dimensional surfaces).
BLINK
Above: BLINK 2022 will kick off with a glowing parade on Oct. 13.
Brave Berlin helped produce BLINK in 2017 and 2019 with the Chamber, AGAR and ArtWorks with support from the Haile Foundation and ArtsWave (the Cincy Nice community collective came on board in 2019 and is a producing partner this year). But the group announced on social media in July that it had severed ties with the Chamber, writing, “Our presence at the leadership table was feeling to us more and more like an honorary courtesy than an active and collaborative partnership.”Inastatement to CityBeat, Brave Berlin owner and partner Dan Reynolds said, “We are happy to see how BLINK 2022 is progressing and are sure it will be another great event for our city. We are curious to see how some of the changes announced by the Chamber play out in October. We remain proud and con dent knowing a new iteration of BLINK is only possible because we thought to do it in the rst place and led the e ort to gure out how to make it a success in 2017 and 2019.”
“What I hope people understand is that there are lots of folks that are involved in making [BLINK] possible. We have a lot of our returning partners that are a part of that original founders group…and what we’re seeing is that so many artists and collaborators are making this event possible,” Brookhart says. “I just hope people understand that there’s lots of folks involved in bringing the event to life, and I want to encourage people to see what the creative opportunities are like this year. And please feel free to judge us after October.”
But BLINK is also bringing unique pieces to Cincinnati, including the American premiere of “PULSE,” an immersive tunnel-like audio-visual experience from the U.K.’s is is Loop; a 20-foot in atable sculpture of pair of manicured hands called “ e Full Set” from art collective Mz. Icar; and a site-speci c collaboration between international mural artist Shantell Martin and ArtWorks near Findlay Market.
“We plan on a really vibrant, colorful and entertaining o er ing. ere will be lighthearted sequences that re ect the city and the state — like the state bird, ower, sh, spider and snake all making appearances,” Coppage tells CityBeat. “ e anima tion will cycle through the four seasons and will be full of Easter eggs that touch on lots of current social topics like COVID, the social unrest of 2020, Roe v. Wade, LGBTQ and more. It’s important the project ties back to my studio practice but still be [rated] PG, family-friendly, fun and representative of the city.”
Local artists and members of the community will also be on display during the BLINK kick-o parade on Oct. 13.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Among the Greater Cincinnati artists participating in this year’s BLINK are Jason Snell, who will be activating the “Ezzard Charles: e Cincinnati Cobra” mural he designed with ArtWorks; Michael Coppage, who will be animating a new installation from his BLACK BOX exhibit (originally on display in the 21c Museum Hotel’s Gano Alley); and Jessica Wolf, who turned a Findlay Market alleyway into a glowing paper art installation in 2019. Collaboration is a through-line for BLINK. Coppage and Snell — a repeat BLINK artist — are working together on Coppage’s 40-foot animated installation, slated to be projected onto the facade of the Arono Center. Called “CARE BEAR,” it’s an extension of Coppage’s BLACK BOX mural series, devoted to “positively highlight[ing] Black men, promot[ing] understanding and empathy, and foster[ing] education and healing,” per an exhibit description from the 21c.
is year’s glowing procession — produced by Cincinnati’s ish Jewish and Israeli arts and culture group — will march through the Central Business District and feature the theme “Together: a constellation of shared cultures and unique identities; we illuminate joy through creative expression.”
Brookhart does mention one big “philosophical change” that separates BLINK 2022 from previous events: widening the call for artist participation. He says the team opened up all disciplines, saying, “any artist that’s interested in being a part of the collaboration this year, raise your hand, let us know.” “ at way, we can just kind of see both what the local talent pool’s level of interest is, but then also see how far our reach has grown,” he says. “We’ve done this event twice before, BLINK’s kind of gotten a little bit of a reputation internationally now and we wanted to see, can we get folks from all over the world that say, hey, we want to come to Cincinnati and bring our work here.”
Opposite page: Murals again will be illuminated with projections during BLINK 2022, like this Charley Harper mural was during BLINK 2017.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 | CITYBEAT.COM 11 made up of the same pillars attendees have come to expect: a kick-o parade, projection mapping on local architecture, interactive light sculptures, murals animated with projected visual e ects and live music. But some things have changed, including the loss of founding partners Brave Berlin, the local creative agency that originated BLINK out of its 2013-2016 LumenoCity projection mapping events in Over-the-Rhine.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Top right: Architects of Air is bringing a new inflatable luminarium to BLINK 2022.
Brookhart is quick to thank Brave Berlin for its vision and “everything that they helped make possible” and says he wants BLINKgoers to keep an open mind as they anticipate this year’s event.
e rst wave of participants that BLINK has announced includes 14 international artists from four continents and 18 local artists/institutions. And those are just the starting numbers — Brookhart says more artists will be announced in second and third waves over the coming weeks. ey all will be variously contributing to the projection mapping experiences, activations and the creation of 17 new murals. is will be a blend of new faces, familiar events and novel installations, both in terms of artists and experiences, Brookhart says. “We are bringing back some fan favorites like Architects of Air and Lightborne projection mapping onto the CAC,” he says. e U.K.-based Architects of Air will be setting up a new in atable luminarium at this year’s BLINK. It will be located in Ziegler Park and, similar to its installations at Washington Park in 2017 and 2019, will be the only ticketed BLINK experience.
Parade participants will be utilizing light to celebrate their “unique attributes, symbols or cultural traditions,” per an eventInternationaldescription.names taking part in BLINK 2022 include Portuguese illustrator Add Fuel, who will be “incorporating
“Some of our projection sites are familiar, like Memorial Hall, but have di erent artists assigned to them to mix it up and create some excitement,” Brookhart continues. “Some favorites like [South African artist Inka Kendzia’s] projection onto the Faith47 mural on Liberty Street will come back in a new form with new artwork/animations.”
In addition to the expansive slate of artists taking part in BLINK 2022, the festival is expanding in literal size. e scope of the event necessitated more room, but Brookhart says organizers also wanted to adapt BLINK to re ect the way people attend large-scale events in a post-COVID world.
KNOW THEATRE Know eatre’s Season 25 is themed “What we owe to each other” and features productions centered around “what it means to be alive, how our lives intertwine and what the risk of truly living can be,” according to the theater. It got the ball rolling early with Sunrise Coven (through Aug. 28), a sharptongued comedy about healers, pharmaceuticals and witchcraft. e theater makes a quick turnaround with another show, It’s Not a Trip It’s a Journey (Sept. 23-Oct. 9), a crosscountry road-trip tale about friendships among Black women.
“I think that’s why BLINK is so fun — because the city just lls with happiness,” Mason says. “I love the fact that there’s just so much opportunity for discovery throughout the city that whole weekend.”
He says the team also considered logistics, like where people will walk from or how they can utilize services like the Red Bike bike share.
12 CITYBEAT.COM | AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 elements in uenced by 140+-year-old e Rookwood Pottery Company” into his work, per a release; London-based Afro-surrealist Vince Fraser, who worked with local Napoleon Maddox on a large-scale projection installation on the history of Little Africa; and Australia’s Wendy Yu, who is producing a dance-based projection in collaboration with local hip-hop arts center Elementz.
“We like to joke internally that BLINK is secretly one of the largest music festivals in the Cincinnati area,” Brookhart says.
“I think that [the bands are] kind of beacons that say, hey, there’s something happening here. And it’s good to kind of guide people in di erent directions,” Mason says. “You might be comfortable in e Banks, but you might not be willing to walk from e Banks to Findlay Market. But if there’s di erent things going along the way that are kind of pulling you there, I think that can just add for a lot of di erent discovery and excitement and the kinds of memories that only can be made during that kind of experience.”
Know rounds out its fall season with Lizard Boy (Nov. 18-Dec. 11), an indie-rock musical and self-described “comic-inspired queer fable” about a scale-covered youth in search of love. knowtheatre.com.
Onstage OfferingsHe mentions Abound
SHANTELL MARTIN AND ARTWORKS MURAL PROJECT 18 W. Elder St., Over-the-Rhine International artist Shantell Martin is collaborating with ArtWorks on a special mural project near Findlay Market. “We candidly think [Findlay Market’s mural district] stands up to some of the mural districts that you see, like Wynwood in Miami and the RiNo district in Denver, Eastern Market in Detroit,” Brookhart says. Martin’s “iconic black-and-white drawings typically explore the themes of intersectionality, identity and play,” says a description from BLINK, so expect this site-specific artwork to riff on that.
Info: blinkcincinnati.com.
Rob Mason, operations manager at AGAR (a BLINK executive partner), handles all of the talent booking for BLINK and has done so for both 2017’s and 2019’s events.
with stages located in Covington, e Banks, Fountain Square, Court Street, Washington Park and Findlay Market.
“We’re organizing this year’s event with the understanding that social behaviors have changed since 2019. Just due to public health concerns, people may want a little bit more space between them and their neighbors,” he says. “We’re thinking about ways that we can kind of widen that footprint a little bit, but also go a little bit bigger with some of our installations. So we’re going to be projection mapping onto much larger buildings than we have in years past, just allowing people to view those from a little bit farther away and creating certain designated viewing areas for some of those installations.”Hementions illuminating downtown’s American Building, “which I believe will be [the] tallest projection installation that we’ve ever done before,” he says. BLINK’s main zones will include the urban core of Overthe-Rhine, downtown and e Banks/Smale Riverfront Park with events spreading across the river into MainStrasse in Covington. But BLINK will move “further west,” potentially near City Hall and Plum Street, and “a little bit further east” to Ziegler Park and along Liberty Street, Brookhart says. e Findlay Market mural district also will be expanding by a few streets this Brookhartyear.says
BLINK took different “cultural, com munity and architectural assets” into consideration when planning this year’s festival map: “beautiful public spaces, historical buildings, dense walkable areas, and [play ing] with the idea of discovery — discovering streets you may have not walked down, buildings you may have not noticed, alleyways that you discover anew under the lights of BLINK,” he says.
“Wendy is one of those international artists that raised her hand and said, hey, you know, BLINK looks awesome, I’d love to come and be a part of it,” Brookhart says. “And from our very rst conversations with Wendy, she said, ‘I really wanted to capture some breakdancers, some hip-hop dancers, but I don’t want to use my friends here in Australia. I’d love to collaborate with some local dancers in the Cincinnati area.’”
BLINK 2022 takes place throughout downtown Cincinnati, Over-the-Rhine and Covington Oct. 13-16.
Cincinnati theaters offer everything from comedies and classics to hit musicals and horrors this fall.
“CINCINNATI TOY HERITAGE” MURAL 23 W. Court St., Downtown “So many people tell me that’s one of their favorite murals in Cincinnati and so we’re really excited to be working on a collaboration between a projection artist from Spain named Graffmapping and the local artists that originally designed that work,” Brookhart says. Artist Jonathan Queen, who created the mural with ArtWorks, has sourced the original Kenner toys in the piece — things like a Care Bear, Strawberry Shortcake and Mr. Potato Head doll — to be 3D-scanned for the animation.
THE AMERICAN BUILDING 30 E. Central Parkway, Downtown Brookhart says this is the tallest projection mapping project BLINK has undertaken. Artist, animator and designer Sean Van Praag — who has previously illuminated the exterior of Memorial Hall for past BLINK events — will lead the effort to turn this Art Deco downtown condo building into a beacon of light.
“PULSE” BY THIS IS LOOP Location TBD U.K.-based art group This Is Loop is bringing “PULSE” to BLINK for its American premiere. According to the group’s website, the work is a “large-scale immersive audiovisual installation exploring the perspectives of visual and auditory perception.” It looks a little bit like a tunnel made up of mirrored rings, boasting “14,400 individually programmable LEDs.”
Here are five can’t-miss BLINK 2022 experiences, according to BLINK Executive Director Justin Brookhart.
Note: Check with each theater for the most up-to-date COVID-19 restrictions.
BY RICK PENDER
THE ADVENT OF SEPTEMBER means the start of theater season in Cincinnati, as local companies get ready to launch their 2022-23 productions. e lineups promise everything from dramas and comedies to hit Broadway musicals and the world premiere adaptation of a 1960s horror lm. e Playhouse in the Park is nding novel ways — and locations — to produce its shows as construction continues at its new mainstage facility in Eden Park. And Cincinnati’s community theater groups and universities are mounting classics worth revisiting. After two years of pandemic-related cancellations, limited capacities and perhaps too much streaming, it’s time for live theater again — and there’s plenty to choose from.
Yu’s completed work will feature ve di erent Elementz performers, animated in her style, projected somewhere on Fourth Street.
With co-bookers Justin Haley of Over-the-Rhine Bar Ghost Baby and Kick Lee of the Cincinnati Music Accelerator, Mason put out an open call for bands interested in playing BLINK and assembled a lineup of mostly local musicians across six stages (there may be some national headliners determined at a later date). Bands like Carriers, Freedom Nicole Moore, Jess Lamb & e Factory, Leggy, Mol Sul livan, Multimagic, Vacation and Siri Imani are some of the 60-some-odd artists slated to play over the four-day festival,
MOTHER OF GOD CATHOLIC CHURCH 119 W. Sixth St., Covington “Mother of God Church in Covington is sure to be a showstopper,” Brookhart says. Italian artist Antaless Visual Design will be projection mapping onto the historic Italian Renaissancestyle structure, completed in 1871. “[Antaless Visual Design] is one of the best projection mapping artists in all of Europe — and the world.”
Like Brookhart, Mason relishes that idea of curiosity and natural discovery that BLINK engenders, as well as the positivity it brings to the city — a sentiment that seems to be shared by the Cincinnati community at large.
Dedicated anchor experiences and projections in each zone will help navigate people throughout the pedestrian-friendly event, but so will a handful of live music stages.
ENSEMBLE THEATRE CINCINNATI Ensemble eatre Cincinnati has just one production this fall — an important and powerful drama very much in keep ing with Artistic Director D. Lynn Meyers’s focus on works that wrestle with contemporary social issues. Lynn Nottage’s 2017 Pulitzer Prize winner Sweat (Sept. 17-Oct. 9) takes audiences to the forgotten heart of America, a neighborhood bar where old friends gather and share challenges in a fraying economy. Many have worked for decades in the same factory, but layo s now pit them against one another with a divisive, complicating overlay of race and class. Nottage did extensive research with people in Reading, Pennsylvania, to deepen her understanding of the impact of economic decline. She is a MacArthur “genius” grant recipient, and Sweat displays her ability to blend compassion, humor and suspense. ensemblecincinnati.org.
Cincinnati’s universities often present classic shows worth see ing — or seeing again. Xavier University, for instance, has three productions: David Lindsay-Abaire’s Rabbit Hole (Sept. 16-18), about a marriage crumbling following a tragic accident; Some thing Rotten (Oct. 14-22), a very funny musical about Shake speare and some 16th-century shenanigans; and ornton Wilder’s 1938 classic, Our Town (Nov. 18-20). xavier.edu.
COMMUNITY THEATERS Community theaters also o er tried-and-true shows. Check out e Footlighters’ Newport production of Stephen Schwartz’s melodic fairytale, Pippin (Sept. 22-Oct. 9). footlighters.org. Or try Cincinnati Music eatre’s presentation of Leonard Bernstein’s musical Wonderful Town (Nov. 4-12) at the Arono Center’s Jarson-Kaplan eatre. Set in 1930s New York City, it follows two Ohio sisters and their adventures. cincinnatimusictheatre.org.
Clockwise from top left: Vanessa Severo as Frida Kahlo in the Playhouse in the Park’s production of Frida...A Self Portrait
Photo: Brian Paulette Playwright Lynn Nottage
CINCINNATI SHAKESPEARE COMPANY
AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 | CITYBEAT.COM 13
CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK ree o -site productions by the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park happen beyond Eden Park as the theater nishes con struction of its new mainstage, slated to open in March. Up rst will be the classic mystery Murder on the Orient Express (Sept. 25-Oct. 23) at the Arono Center’s Jarson-Kaplan eatre. Agatha Christie’s master detective Hercule Poirot is determined to seek out a killer in a crowd of glamorous passengers on a luxury train trapped in a snowdrift. Ken Ludwig’s adaptation of this ingenious golden-age detective story springs to life onstage. e Playhouse’s next production, a one-woman show, Frida … a Self Portrait (Oct. 15-Nov. 6), takes place at e Carnegie in Covington. It is a solo work about renowned Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, told with stunning creativity by writer and performer Vanessa Severo. e third “o -the-hill” Playhouse production will be e Lion (Nov. 12-Dec. 4) on the Warsaw Federal Incline eater Stage in Price Hill. In it, a singer-songwriter tells his family’s story using emotional monologues and original songs. It’s about the redemp tive power of music, coming straight from the London stage for an exclusive engagement here in Cincinnati. cincyplay.com.
CINCINNATI LANDMARK PRODUCTIONS
Broadway in Cincinnati’s fall season has a four-week blockbuster at the Arono Center for the Arts: Lin-Manuel Miranda’s award-winning mega-hit Hamilton (Sept. 6-Oct. 2) in a touring production. Later this fall, Tina: e Tina Turner Musical (Oct. 25-Nov. 6) explodes at the Arono with a comeback story about a powerhouse performer who broke barriers and overcame adversity on her way to becoming the Queen of rock and roll. cincinnati.broadway.com.
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company stages a classic tragedy, King Lear (Sept. 9-Oct. 1), using a concept inspired by the HBO series Succession about families torn apart by ambition and intrigue. Before it opens, you might catch one of the nal free Shake speare in the Park performances of Twelfth Night, including one at Eden Park on Aug. 30. For a very di erent tragedy, check out the theater’s world premiere of e Living Dead (Oct. 14-29), adapted by Cincinnati playwright Isaiah Reaves from the classic 1968 horror lm, just in time for Halloween. It’s the company’s rst commission in an emerging new works program develop ing shows to be fully produced on its main stage. After that, it’s another classic with Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women (Nov. 11-Dec. 3), adapted by Kate Hamill. e proli c playwright’s rendition of Pride and Prejudice recently was produced by the classic stage company. cincyshakes.com.
e Warsaw Federal Incline eatre, operated by Cincinnati Landmark Productions, is currently staging Rodgers and Ham merstein’s classic golden-age musical Carousel (through Sept. 11). At CLP’s other venue, the Covedale Center for Performing Arts, two shows are in the works. My Way: A Tribute to the Music of Frank Sinatra (Sept. 15-Oct. 9) features 55 songs from the Great American Songbook. at will be followed by the feel-good musical comedy, Sister Act (Oct. 20-Nov. 13), based on the hit 1992 lm about a spirited group of nuns hiding a lounge singer in need of witness protection. cincinnatilandmarkproductions.com.
At the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, the season starts with a tribute featuring works by renowned Broadway musical theater composer Stephen Flaherty, a CCM alum, on Sept. 23. Other productions on the UC/ CCM stages include adaptations of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata and Euripides’ e Trojan Women (Sept. 29-Oct. 2); the charming musical She Loves Me (Oct. 6-9); the Shakespeare-inspired musical comedy Something Rotten (Oct. 20-30); and August Strindberg’s unusual script about whether life is worth living, A Dream Play (Nov. 3-6). ccm.uc.edu.
Photo: Zach Rosing
Photo: Provided by Ensemble Theatre Andrew May as Hercule Poirot in the Playhouse’s production of Murder on the Orient Express
BROADWAY IN CINCINNATI
In Highland Heights, the theater program at Northern Ken tucky University will stage the intimate musical Violet (Sept. 23-Oct. 2) about a dis gured girl seeking to be healed and made beautiful. Later it will present Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (Oct. 27-Nov. 6), a play based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s tale about a respected scientist who explores his darker alter ego. nku.edu.
CINCINNATI UNIVERSITIES
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Moore also is curating Ian Strange: Disturbed Home (Oct. 1-Dec. 9), which will be on view at Art Academy of Cincinnati’s SITE 1212 and Annex. Strange is an inter nationally acclaimed Australian artist and photographer whose work incorporates elements of cinema, archi tecture and site-speci c structures. Per FotoFocus, he is known for “provocative transformations of damaged or abandoned homes” and worked with Art Academy of Cincinnati students and the Hamilton County Land bank during a three-month residency for this exhibit. Disturbed Home features locally produced photographic works, drawings, lm and light-based architectural interventions, including a site-speci c installation at the Art Academy Annex, to generate conversations about how environmental concerns and economics have changed the populations of Cincinnati neighborhoods over time. Moore says the exhibition will be “very striking.”
A few of the local shows encapsulate what this year’s biennial theme is all about. Moore and Best are curating On the Line: Documents of Risk and Faith (Sept. 9-Jan. 15) at Contemporary Arts Center, a series of photographs that “address a range of topics, spanning performance and the body, climate change, power, colonialism and identity, heritage, and territory,” per a description. Two other exhibits will be on view at the CAC to coincide with FotoFocus: Images on Which to Build, 1970s-1990s (Sept. 30-Feb. 12), which is a photographic exploration of the interconnected LGBTQ+ movements of the 20th century, and Baseera Khan: Weight on History (Sept. 30-Feb. 12), a solo exhibit that uses video, photography, sculpture and performance to explore “capital, politics and the body,” per a description.
e National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is exhibiting ‘Free as they want to be’: Artists Committed to Memory (Sept. 30-March 6), which “considers the historic and contemporary role that photography and lm have played in remembering legacies of slavery and its aftermath and examines the social lives of Black Americans,” per a description.
“‘Free as they want to be’ is very much about how we remember things, how artists deal with historical artifacts to maintain history,” Moore says.
THIS FALL
PHOTOGRAPHY IS IN FOCUS
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BY NATALIE CLARE WHEN YOU HEAR OR READ the phrase “world record,” what comes to mind? at’s the question more than 600 artists and curators are exploring during the regional 2022 FotoFocus Biennial, a month-long series featuring more than 100 artistic exhibitions, installations and events centered around photography and lens-based art. is year’s biennial, which takes place in October, is the Cincinnati-based nonpro t’s sixth iteration and represents the largest event of its kind in the United States, according to FotoFocus.
Greater Cincinnati’s FotoFocus Biennial returns in October to celebrate lens-based art with 100+ projects and a month-long series of events.
From top: Ian Strange, “Twenty-Five,” 2017; Dejiah ArchieDavis, “The Stars Come out at Night,” 2021 Photos: Courtesy of the artists
Kevin Moore, FotoFocus artistic director and curator, tells CityBeat that more than in other artistic media, photographs can lead to discussions of what people care about. It makes the biennial — a signature program of nonpro t, which also supports other lensbased-art programming, exhibits and artists in Greater Cincinnati — an ideal opportunity to engage in topics around us through art.
FotoFocus was founded in 2010 with the mission of “inspiring conversations about the world through the art of photography,” and it launched its biennial in 2012.
Other major museums also are participating in the biennial this year, with FotoFocus-curated shows at the Cincinnati Art Museum and Taft Museum of Art. e CAM will mount Natural World (Sept. 30-Jan. 15), a collaborative exhibit of photos, lms, textiles and more from artists David Hartt and John Edmonds, poet Jason Allen-Paisant and curator Nathaniel M. Stein.
In Northern Kentucky, e Carnegie will present a group exhibition titled ese ings Are Connected (Oct. 1-Jan. 28), which is guest-curated by the venue’s Exhibitions Director Matt Distel. Distel explains that part of e Carnegie’s curatorial mission over the past few years has been to introduce and integrate local artists into the larger arts industry. e FotoFocus Biennial provides a unique gateway for that to happen. Distel is bringing together ve curators from Minne apolis, Atlanta, Columbus and New York to select artists
e Taft Museum of Art’s Craft and Camera: e Art of Nancy Ford Cones (Oct. 1-Jan. 15) will explore the innovative photographic works of Loveland resident Cones, who was alive from 1869-1962.
“One of the things I think FotoFocus does so well is that we do things quickly. If you’re trying to do contemporary shows — things that relate to what’s going on in the world — museums are planning two or three years in advance. By the time they cross the nish line, there have been, like, 50 more gun shootings or a major upheaval in a country or some kind of climate issue,” Moore says. “A year in advance [of the biennial], we try to think about what’s really going to be on our minds when we arrive at this point.” is year’s theme considers photography’s extensive record of life on Earth. Under the banner of “world record,” audiences can expect to see artwork that prompts conversations about nature, science, climate change, humanity, energy and utopian and dystopian visions of man in nature, according to a release from FotoFocus.Mooresays the theme has double meaning: e planet has been experiencing world-record-breaking environmental events of late, but also, photography and lens-based art records the world through documenta tion of people and events. He says it’s important to remember that “world record” is also “about social life.”
e FotoFocus Biennial’s core “Program Week” takes place from Sept. 29-Oct. 8. It includes not only art exhibits but also keynote lectures, screenings, receptions, tours and panel discussions with artists, curators and collabo rators at museums, galleries and other venues across Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, Dayton, Oxford and Columbus. Locally, there are more than 50 venues participating, ranging from the Cincinnati Art Museum, Contemporary Arts Center and Taft Museum of Art to Wave Pool, the Michael Lowe Gallery and Somerset. Many exhibits will remain on view throughout October and beyond, but the main lectures and panels — including a keynote from Makeda Best, the Harvard Art Museums’ Richard L. Menschel Curator of Photography — take place during that initial week.
16 CITYBEAT.COM | AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER 6, 2022
Classical Meets Modern
FotoFocus also o ers a passport that can be obtained for free on the organization’s website and includes access to exhibitions during the month of October, membersonly events and the FotoFocus Biennial Program Week. e website also o ers descriptions of each exhibit and a map to help plan your experience.
Photo: Brian Bowen Smith to feature alongside those working in the Cincinnati and Covington area. e exhibition will include a wide range of photographic styles from observational to photojour nalistic to historical to sculptural, re ective of the range of curators and artists themselves.
Sun Dogs is part of FotoFocus’s performing arts series, with ve opportunities Oct. 14-16 to experience world premieres performed in Music Hall’s Springer Audito rium by the CSO, led by composer and CSO creative part ner Matthias Pintscher. All the participating artists will attend. And, as Bachhuber proudly notes, tickets are $5.
CSO Proof began four years ago as a new format to experience orchestral music with cutting-edge artistic collaborations in an informal setting and for a lowerpriced
Russell adds that Common didn’t sequester himself in the green room when he wasn’t onstage. “You could see him in the wings, taking in the whole thing,” he says. “When we concluded with the ‘ e Battle Hymn of the Republic,’ he was literally jumping up and down. And he greeted everyone coming o stage, orchestra, chorus, all of us.”
e Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra opens its 2022-23 season with Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony on Sept. 24-25. Info: cincinnatisymphony.org.
Common’s music has never been con ned to one style or genre as any fan can testify. But as he’s said in numerous interviews, his heart is rooted in hip hop. His most recent releases (A Beautiful Revolution, Pt. 1 and Pt. 2) feature artists including PJ, Black ought and Lenny CommonKravitz.hasdeep ties to Cincinnati, having spent summers here with his aunt’s family in Bond Hill, where he wrote his rst rap verses paying tribute to “the Bond Hill Crew.”
The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s 2022-23 season highlights innovation, inclusion and positivity.
“We’veadmission.wantedto collaborate with FotoFocus, and after four years, it’s nally happening,” Nate Bachhuber, CSO vice president of artistic planning, tells CityBeat. He says that linking lm and music is more than an obvious connection.
“As I study the score, each page becomes my favorite, but that nal choral passage is the ultimate, going from minor to major, from darkness to light,” he says. ree weeks later, the city truly lights up when the BLINK takes over Oct. 13-16. e CSO is teaming up with the 2022 FotoFocus Biennial — which also is taking place in October — to join BLINK’s city-wide festival with Sun Dogs, a CSO Proof presentation of three world-premiere lms and accompanying lm scores performed by the CSO.
Bachhuber recruited Kate Nordstrum, artistic director of Liquid Music — widely acclaimed for its productions of new classical music — and electroacoustic composer and orchestrator Daniel Wohl as co-curators.FotoFocus organizers helped to identify an international roster of emerging lm artists. Wohl and Grammy-winning Pakistani composer and vocalist Arooj Aftab are working with American lmmaker Josephine Decker. French-Senegalese director Mati Diop and French director Manon Lutanie previously have collaborated and will join forces to work with British composer Dev Hynes, better known as Blood Orange. ai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul is working with American Ra q Bhatia, the guitarist, composer and producer for the band Son Lux.
“We’ve all experienced a lm whose music moved us as much as the cinematic elements,” he says. “I know that a lm sequence can inspire a composer and it goes the other way, too. We wanted to explore the process and see and hear the results.”
Common performs with the Cincinnati Pops on Oct. 25.
“ e way that we felt like we were connecting to ‘world record’ was a kind of criss-cross intersection of traveling, [with] the curators conceptually and physically and artistically traversing a large geography, which takes up a good chunk of the Midwest and the South,” he says. This year’s biennial also includes a first-ever col laboration between FotoFocus and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Sun Dogs is a live program which will take place at Music Hall from Oct. 14-16.
Composer Wohl tells CityBeat each of the three pieces explores extra-sensory ideas — a record of things that are felt but unseen. Although Sun Dogs is a ticketed event, many venues included in the biennial are free and open to the public.
e events highlighted here only scratch the surface of the FotoFocus Biennial; hundreds of artists and cura tors are contributing to a far-reaching series of artistic experiences. e expansive nature of the biennial aims to prompt endless conversations about a variety of topics, which Moore has said is always the goal of photography.
THE CINCINNATI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA’S 202223 season is one of positivity and light in the wake of the global events that have occurred in the past two years. Highlights of the fall lineup demonstrate why the CSO has become a touchstone for innovative and inclusive programming: an epic symphony, world premieres of lm and lm scores, and a renowned hiphop master making his debut as a Pops headliner. e season opener on Sept. 24 and 25 is a statement in itself: Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Resurrection. Maestro Louis Langrée leads the CSO, the May Festival Chorus and soloists Joélle Harvey and Kelley O’Connor in this monumental work that concludes with a rousing a rmation of transcendence. It’s the perfect work to open the CSO’s rst full season in Music Hall since the pandemic abruptly ended the 2020 season in March of that year. “ ose were times of uncertainty, fear and tragedy,” Langrée tells CityBeat. “So, we had to open our return to a normal season with a work that is more than the music, that celebrates a new beginning. Mahler’s second symphony struck me as the most necessary and the most Humanappropriate.”voicesarean essential element. “ e intertwining of the May Festival Chorus’s sonori ties is so crucial to creating these intimate and powerful moments in the nal movement,” Langrée says. Mahler experienced profound losses in the years leading up to the symphony’s premiere in 1895. He was inspired by a hymn, with text by German poet Friedrich Klopstock, that extolled the soul’s resurrection. If the concluding choral wash of sound isn’t as well-known as Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, it packs a more emotional wallop. e vocal soloists have performed frequently with the CSO. Mezzo O’Connor was here in 2019, performing in Mozart’s Requiem.
“We had to rebuild the auditorium after that concert,” Cincinnati Pops maestro John Morris Russell says with a Commonlaugh.equally was a ected by the experience, Russell says. “You hear an orchestra on the soundtrack, but this was Common’s rst time hearing it with a live orchestra and chorus. He was blown away,” he says.
On Oct. 25, a hip-hop legend is the Cincinnati Pops headliner. Oscar-, Emmy- and Grammy Awardwinning artist Common makes a rare solo appearance with Pops principal guest conductor Damon Gupton. e rapper, producer, composer, poet, author, actor and activist made his CSO debut as a symphonic artist during the 2016 Classical Roots concert, performing his Oscar-winning song “Glory” from the lm Selma with soloist Capathia Jenkins and the Classical Roots choir.
His previous Cincinnati stop also launched a series of appearances with top orchestras including the Houston, Chicago, San Diego, Pittsburgh and National Symphony Orchestras. Many of those performances were led by conductor Gupton.
Four composers (Daniel Wohl, Arooj Aftab, Rafiq Bhatia and Dev Hynes) and two filmmakers (Jose phine Decker and Apichatpong Weerasethakul) have created three compositions to be performed by the orchestra while their accompanying films are pro jected onstage.
As he described in an April 2022 article for CityBeat, “You don’t show art as only a kind of solitary, contemplative experience. You show it to have a conversation.”
BY ANNE ARENSTEIN
AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 | CITYBEAT.COM 17
For soprano Harvey, Mahler brings her full circle: She was scheduled to perform a Handel concert with the CSO in March 2020 when Langrée says the CSO’s director of personnel interrupted rehearsal to announce the symphony was shutting down. “None of us will ever forget that,” Langrée says. e symphony is an epic journey from despair to catharsis, especially for Langrée.
e 2022 FotoFocus Biennial takes place throughout October, with core programming Sept. 29-Oct. 8. Info: fotofocus.org.
Now a hip-hop elder, Common remains an impressive artist, juggling multi-media gigs, and advocating for underprivileged youth through his Common GroundAccordingFoundation.tohiswebsite, the Pops gig is Common’s only scheduled appearance for the rest of 2022.
Cincinnati Ballet Artistic Director Jodie Gates
“New Works highlights three company choreographers, which I love that we do that,” she says. “I love that we’re giving an opportunity to our company dancers to make work.” at includes premieres from Daniel Baldwin, corps de ballet dancer; Taylor Carrasco, corps de ballet dancer; and Melissa Gel n De-Poli, principal dancer; all of whom have choreographed for the Cincinnati Ballet before. Local DANCEFIX tness class founder and New Works favorite choreographer Heather Britt also returns with a new work for the company. e nal work on the bill is a Cincinnati premiere from award-winning English choreographer Cathy Marston. e rest of the season plays like a Cincinnati Ballet greatest hits album: there’s the hugely popular Car mina Burana and Extremely Close on a double-bill at Music Hall the rst weekend in November, followed, of course, by e Nutcracker in December (which retains Morgan’s revamped choreography). February sees the return of Alice (in Wonderland), with the kid-friendly Family Series: Beauty & the Beast in April. e season closes in June with Bold Moves, another medley of new and existing shorter works, including one featuring a guest company, curated by Gates herself. e guest company will be announced in early September. If this is what the beginning of Gates’ tenure with the Cincinnati Ballet looks like, one can only imagine the heights to which she will take it.
JODIE GATES IS TAKING the Cincinnati Ballet to new heights. As the new artistic director of the ballet, follow ing the 25-year reign of previous artistic director and onetime CEO Victoria Morgan, Gates is inheriting an established company on the cusp of its next chapter.
AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 | CITYBEAT.COM 19
BUILDING BRIDGES AT THE CINCINNATI BALLET
Photo: Hiromi Platt Photography
Up rst is the next installment of the crowd favorite e Kaplan New Works Series, running Sept. 8-18 at the Arono Center for the Arts.
“I have a mission,” she says. “I’m not checking boxes. I want to take the time to actively listen. I probably will not succeed at all of it, but at least if we could just nd a few bridges, that would mean a success.”
“I know that sounds strange, but my hope is that the [Cincinnati Ballet] dancers start to develop a style, a community style,” she says. “A style that, for example, if a few of our dancers go out and do a community appearance somewhere across the nation, somebody will see them onstage and go, ‘Oh, wow, they look like a Cincinnati Ballet dancer.’ Wouldn’t it be great to get to that Indeed,moment?”thecompany is primed for such a moment. Having outgrown its longtime home studios on Central Parkway with explosive enrollment and demand at its public dance academy, the company set its sights on an even bigger future and a facility to match. e brand new, 57,000-square-foot, $31 million Margaret and Michael Valentine Center for Dance opened in mid-2021 in East Walnut Hills. With a new home comes new opportunities — and a sharper focus on its public
A typical day for Gates, whose rst season with the ballet o cially kicked o Aug. 8, includes in-studio and in-o ce duties. She typically will teach a morning ballet class for the company dancers, which is both a technique refresher and warm-up for the rest of their rehearsal day. On the day she spoke with CityBeat, she spent three hours after class teaching and coaching dancers on a ballet to be performed later in the season. She auditioned a dancer at lunchtime and then went back into the studio with dancers for another hour, followed by administrative and press interviews.
e Cincinnati Ballet opens its season with e Kaplan New Works Series Sept. 8-18. Info: cballet.org.
BY LEYLA SHOKOOHE
“Telling new stories, that’s going to take some time, because I’m really interested in that and have some thoughts on how I would love to do that,” Gates says. “But it will take a little time and resources to get there. Also, yes, I do think that not only should we [have] more representation on stage, but also everywhere in the organization, and going out and just listening to people in marginalized communities. How do they feel about ballet, and what can we do to bring it into their lives? Are they interested? Is it something [where] we can build some bridges, and not just do a one-time visit, but actually do something more meaningful?”
Gates is calling on her existing connections to broaden the Cincinnati Ballet’s horizons and is also –like any good Cincinnatian (transplant or otherwise) — looking in the ballet’s own backyard. For example, in May, she reached out to David Choate, artistic director of Revolution Dance eatre, a diverse dance out t. Choate asked if Gates would be willing to have some Cincinnati Ballet dancers perform in the organization’s inaugural Black, Brown & Ballet Summer Festival on Aug. 14 in Washington Park, to which Gates readily agreed. While that was a one-time situation, Gates already is laying a solid foundation for future collaborations. e works in Gates’ rst season at the helm of the Cincinnati Ballet were selected by Morgan, her predecessor, but she is as knowledgeable — and contagiously excited — about them as if they were her own. “I love this season,” she says. “I think it’s fantastic.”
“ is rst year, obviously, I’m going to do a lot of listening and assessing by being an observer, though I’m leading,” says Gates, who previously was commissioned to choreograph a piece for the Cincinnati Ballet’s 2014 season with local band Over the Rhine. Originally from Sacramento, Gates started her dance career when she was recruited by Chicago’s Jo rey Bal let at age 16. She was later a principal dancer with the Pennsylvania Ballet, New York City’s Complexions Con temporary Ballet and Germany’s Frankfurt Ballet and has choreographed more than 60 original works. After founding the Laguna Dance Festival in 2005, she transi tioned to academia and was most recently the founding director of the University of Southern California’s Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, a renowned national conser vatory dance model.
New artistic director Jodie Gates has big plans for the company as it enters its 60th year.
One sign that Gates already is well on her way to becoming a bona de Cincinnatian? “I love football,” she says. “I’m very excited that now I’m living in a town that has two exceptional teams, at the professional level and at the university [level]. I look forward to going to some games and getting to know the community. People have been so nice about extending and welcoming me from all over and I really appreciate that.”
ere is an expectation of art to re ect its community, both locally and more broadly, in its performances and storytelling endeavors. Part of Gates’ vision statement for her role as artistic director includes a commitment to uplifting new choreographic and artistic voices, particularly those of female-identifying and BIPOC individuals.
“[Weresponsibilities.needtobe]aware of popular trends, and looking at the voids in the eld — there is more of a recognition of the form,” Gates says. “We need to demystify it, and what I mean by ‘demystify’ is that it’s not just for the European courts, it’s still kind of a folk dance of sorts. Putting it in a position of any other form of dance and being able to talk about it. I think it’s going to take time... I think there’s something about ballet right now that we have an opportunity to reimagine what its future will be.”
“I’ve always been a pretty good multitasker, and I just know that I have something to o er these individuals,” she says. “I feel compelled to be at the service of this organization and support the organization’s forward movement to whatever the next place is. If that is more opportunities to tour, bigger scale productions, expanding the company number in size, I’m assessing all of that and seeing what’s possible.”
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A touring company of LinManuel Miranda’s blockbuster Broadway hit, Hamilton, is on its way back to Cincinnati for a second appearance at Downtown’s Arono Center for the Arts. It will be onstage Sept. 6-Oct. 2. e show that tells the story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton has created a revolutionary moment in theater. It’s a tale of our nation from more than two centuries ago, but told by America now. A cast of 19 – almost all Black and brown performers – is propelled by a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B and Broadway. Hamilton has had a profound a ect on culture and politics well beyond most Broadway musicals. e term “blockbuster” repeatedly describes this production, and it’s justi ed. Alexander Hamilton was America’s rst treasury secretary, and he would be amazed that his story told onstage earned back its $12.5 million investment in less than a year after its 2015 debut; that’s an astonishing feat, as most Broad way shows do not make back the money investors put into them. Other than the pandemic disruption (which closed everything on Broadway from March 2020 to September 2021), Hamilton con tinuously has sold out its Broadway per formances. It reopened a year ago and continues to sell at an unbelievable clip, already playing to nearly three million people. rough theatrical performance, recordings and streaming platforms, it has earned more than $1 billion. In addition to the Broadway produc tion, two touring companies are criss crossing the United States and Canada. When tickets for the rst tour stop in San Francisco went on sale in 2016, more than 110,000 were snapped up in 24 hours.at company will be at the Arono , presenting a production as mind bogglingly complex as the one at Broadway’s Richard Rodgers eatre. It requires 14 truckloads of cargo and a core group of more than 60 traveling cast, crew and musicians. Each tour has the goods and the talent to duplicate the original show’s choreography, which revolves around a pair of concentric turntables on the stage. e tour has two portable sets so that one can be assembled in advance of the next stop ( e company at the Arono arrives here two days after closing in Toledo; two days after it’s nished here, it will be up and running in Columbus).
PHOTO: JOAN MARCUS Broadway’s Hamilton Returns to Cincinnati for Four-Week Stint BY RICK PENDER
e Cincinnati stop will feature 32 performances during its four-week run – a week longer and eight performances more than it had here in 2019. Many likely will sell out (tickets went on sale May 19). Prices range $59-$179 with a select number of premium tickets from $249. e Arono ’s Procter & Gamble Hall has 2,700 seats that will add up to an attendance gure of roughly 86,400. During the local shows, pay special attention to the choreography – the work of a talented Cincinnatian, Andy Blankenbuehler, a graduate of St. Xavier High ere’sSchool.agood reason for all this success. Hamilton won just about every theater award possible, including the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It swept the 2016 Tony Awards with 16 nomina tions and 11 wins, including Best Musi cal, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, Best Costume Design of a Musical and many more. e show’s original cast recording debuted in 2016 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with the highest entrance for a cast recording since the West Side Story soundtrack in 1963. It went on to win the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Musical eater Album. It has sold more than 3 million copies, making it “Triple Platinum.”
Broadway’s Hamilton Returns to Cincinnati for Four-Week Stint
BY RICK PENDER A touring company of LinManuel Miranda’s blockbuster Broadway hit, Hamilton, is on its way back to Cincinnati for a second appearance at Downtown’s Arono Center for the Arts. It will be onstage Sept. 6-Oct. 2. e show that tells the story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton has created a revolutionary moment in theater. It’s a tale of our nation from more than two centuries ago, but told by America now. A cast of 19 – almost all Black and brown performers – is propelled by a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B and Broadway. Hamilton has had a profound a ect on culture and politics well beyond most Broadway musicals. e term “blockbuster” repeatedly describes this production, and it’s justi ed. Alexander Hamilton was America’s rst treasury secretary, and he would be amazed that his story told onstage earned back its $12.5 million investment in less than a year after its 2015 debut; that’s an astonishing feat, as most Broad way shows do not make back the money investors put into them. Other than the pandemic disruption (which closed everything on Broadway from March 2020 to September 2021), Hamilton con tinuously has sold out its Broadway per formances. It reopened a year ago and continues to sell at an unbelievable clip, already playing to nearly three million people. rough theatrical performance, recordings and streaming platforms, it has earned more than $1 billion. In addition to the Broadway produc tion, two touring companies are criss crossing the United States and Canada. When tickets for the rst tour stop in San Francisco went on sale in 2016, more than 110,000 were snapped up in 24 hours.at company will be at the Arono , presenting a production as mind bogglingly complex as the one at Broadway’s Richard Rodgers eatre. It requires 14 truckloads of cargo and a core group of more than 60 traveling cast, crew and musicians. Each tour has the goods and the talent to duplicate the original show’s choreography, which revolves around a pair of concentric turntables on the stage. e tour has two portable sets so that one can be assembled in advance of the next stop ( e company at the Arono arrives here two days after closing in Toledo; two days after it’s nished here, it will be up and running in Columbus).
ARTS & CULTURE
Bryson Bruce (in red) is the Marquis de Lafayette in Hamilton
ARTS & CULTURE
e Cincinnati stop will feature 32 performances during its four-week run – a week longer and eight performances more than it had here in 2019. Many likely will sell out (tickets went on sale May 19). Prices range $59-$179 with a select number of premium tickets from $249. e Arono ’s Procter & Gamble Hall has 2,700 seats that will add up to an attendance gure of roughly 86,400. During the local shows, pay special attention to the choreography – the work of a talented Cincinnatian, Andy Blankenbuehler, a graduate of St. Xavier High ere’sSchool.agood reason for all this success. Hamilton won just about every theater award possible, including the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It swept the 2016 Tony Awards with 16 nomina tions and 11 wins, including Best Musi cal, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, Best Costume Design of a Musical and many more. e show’s original cast recording debuted in 2016 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with the highest entrance for a cast recording since the West Side Story soundtrack in 1963. It went on to win the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Musical eater Album. It has sold more than 3 million copies, making it “Triple Platinum.”
Hamilton runs Sept. 6-Oct. 2 at the Arono Center for the Arts, 650 Walnut St., Downtown. Info: cincinnatiarts.org.
Hamilton expanded its reach in July 2020 when a video of the Broadway production streamed on the Disney+ platform. During a two-week period, it racked up 2.7 million views, compared to the 2.6 million people attending 2,000 Broadway performances. What’s behind all this enthusiasm for what, to many, rst sounded like a joke, a hip-hop musical about one of America’s founding fathers? Here’s the backstory, as Miranda told CNBC in 2017: Miranda went on vacation in 2008 with a copy of biographer Ron Chernow’s 832-page Alexander Hamilton that he had snagged in an airport bookstore. e Broadway star immediately was struck by Hamil ton’s early life, born out of wedlock in St. Croix, orphaned and transplanted to New York City where revolution was brewing. Hamilton eventually died in a duel. In a 2015 interview with e New Yorker, Miranda noted the similarities between Hamilton and rapper Tupac Shakur. Words poured out of Hamilton, not unlike Shakur, who was shot to death in 1996. e seeds of Miranda’s phe nomenal musical were planted, and like Hamilton and Tupac, words then poured out of Miranda. In fact, on the original cast recording, there are 20,520 words. It’s two hours and 23 minutes long, meaning the music averages 144 words per minute (at the pace of the typical Broadway show, it would take nearly six hours to perform these many words). “Guns and Ships,” sung by the Marquis de Lafayette, speeds by at 6.3 words per second, and Angelica Schuyler’s “Satis ed” rips along at ve words per second. A word of advice: If you haven’t seen the show, give the cast recording a listen in advance. You’ll get more out of the live performance that way. As with Hamilton’s Broadway produc tion, there will be a “HAM4HAM” ticket lottery, providing $10 seats for 40 lucky recipients to attend each performance — inspired by Hamilton’s face on the U.S. $10 bill. For details, go to hamiltonmusi cal.com/lottery.Evenifyou’ve already seen Hamilton, it’s worth returning, especially for a live performance. When the tour was in Cin cinnati in 2019, it was every bit as good as the original Broadway production. Hamilton runs Sept. 6-Oct. 2 at the Arono Center for the Arts, 650 Walnut St., Downtown. Info: cincinnatiarts.org.
AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 | CITYBEAT.COM 21
Hamilton expanded its reach in July 2020 when a video of the Broadway production streamed on the Disney+ platform. During a two-week period, it racked up 2.7 million views, compared to the 2.6 million people attending 2,000 Broadway performances. What’s behind all this enthusiasm for what, to many, rst sounded like a joke, a hip-hop musical about one of America’s founding fathers? Here’s the backstory, as Miranda told CNBC in 2017: Miranda went on vacation in 2008 with a copy of biographer Ron Chernow’s 832-page Alexander Hamilton that he had snagged in an airport bookstore. e Broadway star immediately was struck by Hamil ton’s early life, born out of wedlock in St. Croix, orphaned and transplanted to New York City where revolution was brewing. Hamilton eventually died in a duel. In a 2015 interview with e New Yorker, Miranda noted the similarities between Hamilton and rapper Tupac Shakur. Words poured out of Hamilton, not unlike Shakur, who was shot to death in 1996. e seeds of Miranda’s phe nomenal musical were planted, and like Hamilton and Tupac, words then poured out of Miranda. In fact, on the original cast recording, there are 20,520 words. It’s two hours and 23 minutes long, meaning the music averages 144 words per minute (at the pace of the typical Broadway show, it would take nearly six hours to perform these many words). “Guns and Ships,” sung by the Marquis de Lafayette, speeds by at 6.3 words per second, and Angelica Schuyler’s “Satis ed” rips along at ve words per second.
A word of advice: If you haven’t seen the show, give the cast recording a listen in advance. You’ll get more out of the live performance that way. As with Hamilton’s Broadway produc tion, there will be a “HAM4HAM” ticket lottery, providing $10 seats for 40 lucky recipients to attend each performance — inspired by Hamilton’s face on the U.S. $10 bill. For details, go to hamiltonmusi cal.com/lottery.Evenifyou’ve already seen Hamilton, it’s worth returning, especially for a live performance. When the tour was in Cin cinnati in 2019, it was every bit as good as the original Broadway production.
22 CITYBEAT.COM | AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER 6, 2022
An Updated Abigail Street Offers a Quieter
FOOD & DRINK Inside Abigail Street PHOTOS: MATTHEW ALLEN
e Over-the-Rhine standout has expanded into the former Senate space next door. BY PAMA MITCHELL
I don’t need an excuse to eat at Abigail Street, inarguably one of Cincinnati’s most reliably excellent restaurants. Go there with a few people, order and share two or three items per person, and you’re all but guaranteed to have a memorable feast of a Butmeal.I’m happy to have a reason not only to dine there but also to help spread the news about some welcome additions to this 11-year-old standout in InOver-the-Rhine.October,owners Dan and Lana Wright closed their adjacent restaurant, Senate, and said they planned to expand Abigail into the space. Ten months later, that project is near completion.enewdining room, now open to the public, has a noticeably di er ent décor and vibe from the one I’ve known and loved for all these years. e seating is more widely spaced, there are more banquettes and booths than tables, and the room conse quently doesn’t get so loud that you have to shout to converse with your dining companions. e often-oppres sive noise level in the main dining area previously was a downside – although not enough of one to keep me away – but the option of having both a wonderful meal and less cacophonous social interaction makes the new addi tion quite attractive. As with so many construction projects these days, transforming what was Senate into an enlarged version of Abigail took longer than expected. Dan Wright said that one of the most timeconsuming facets of the project was to duplicate the nish on the ooring to create a smooth transition between the two dining rooms. His team also tore out the Senate bar to make room for more table seating. Wright said the expansion has doubled the restaurant’s capacity, add ing 50 seats. at includes three large eight-person booths and two banquet tables that also can serve eight per table; nothing like that was possible in the original dining room. Outdoor tables on Vine Street add another few dozen seats, and Wright has man aged to nd enough sta to serve at capacity.erestaurant now uses the reserva tion service Resy, a welcome move. For years, Abigail Street didn’t take reser vations, and the walk-in waits could be prohibitive. Wright said with that convenience and the added capacity,
Space for Enjoying Expertly Crafted Meals
REVIEW
FOOD & DRINK
e Over-the-Rhine standout has expanded into the former Senate space next door.
Dan and Lana Wright closed their adjacent restaurant, Senate, and said they planned to expand Abigail into the space. Ten months later, that project is near completion.enewdining room, now open to the public, has a noticeably di er ent décor and vibe from the one I’ve known and loved for all these years. e seating is more widely spaced, there are more banquettes and booths than tables, and the room conse quently doesn’t get so loud that you have to shout to converse with your dining companions. e often-oppres sive noise level in the main dining area previously was a downside – although not enough of one to keep me away – but the option of having both a wonderful meal and less cacophonous social interaction makes the new addi tion quite attractive. As with so many construction projects these days, transforming what was Senate into an enlarged version of Abigail took longer than expected. Dan Wright said that one of the most timeconsuming facets of the project was to duplicate the nish on the ooring to create a smooth transition between the two dining rooms. His team also tore out the Senate bar to make room for more table seating. Wright said the expansion has doubled the restaurant’s capacity, add ing 50 seats. at includes three large eight-person booths and two banquet tables that also can serve eight per table; nothing like that was possible in the original dining room. Outdoor tables on Vine Street add another few dozen seats, and Wright has man aged to nd enough sta to serve at capacity.erestaurant now uses the reserva tion service Resy, a welcome move. For years, Abigail Street didn’t take reser vations, and the walk-in waits could be prohibitive. Wright said with that convenience and the added capacity,
An Updated Abigail Street Offers a Quieter Space for Enjoying Expertly Crafted Meals
REVIEW BY PAMA MITCHELL I don’t need an excuse to eat at Abigail Street, inarguably one of Cincinnati’s most reliably excellent restaurants. Go there with a few people, order and share two or three items per person, and you’re all but guaranteed to have a memorable feast of a Butmeal.I’m happy to have a reason not only to dine there but also to help spread the news about some welcome additions to this 11-year-old standout in InOver-the-Rhine.October,owners
Former executive chef Yousef Shtiewi— who also should be thanked for the great food coming out of this kitchen—has been promoted to culinary director for Queen City Hospitality Group, the umbrella company for all the restaurant and bar concepts in the Wrights’ growing empire.With the expanded capacity at Abigail comes a few new menu items, but longtime favorites aren’t going away. Some of the additions are seasonal, such as the spectacular peach and tomato salad. Since the menu helpfully lists all ingredients for each dish, I tried to reproduce that salad at home the next night and did a halfway decent job of it, but the restaurant’s is a cut above – I didn’t have burrata cheese or berbere croutons, and I used nectarines instead of Equallypeaches.refreshing and at-out yummy is fattoush, a cold salad that’s been a mainstay here since perhaps day one. One of my companions said he always orders it, and yet I never had tried what sounded rather dull. How good could yellow peppers, radish, tomato and cucumber be? Way better than it sounds, it turns out, thanks to a lemony dressing and crunch provided by bits of toasted pita bread. Fattoush now goes to the top of my must-have list for return visits. We ended up trying eight dishes shared among the four of us. Other hits included lamb spaghetti, a relatively recent addition that Wright said could become permanent, given its popularity.
Abigail Street, 1214 Vine St.,abigailstreet.com.Over-the-Rhine, the restaurant now “is doing better than ever.”When the expansion opened earlier this summer, the Wrights also made a couple of personnel changes, most nota bly elevating sous chef Joe Bedel to the position of executive chef. Bedel is no newbie to the operation—he was sous chef for a half-dozen years—and many of the avor combinations that make dining at Abigail Street so memorable can be traced to his creative in uence.
Former executive chef Yousef Shtiewi— who also should be thanked for the great food coming out of this kitchen—has been promoted to culinary director for Queen City Hospitality Group, the umbrella company for all the restaurant and bar concepts in the Wrights’ growing empire.With the expanded capacity at Abigail comes a few new menu items, but longtime favorites aren’t going away. Some of the additions are seasonal, such as the spectacular peach and tomato salad. Since the menu helpfully lists all ingredients for each dish, I tried to reproduce that salad at home the next night and did a halfway decent job of it, but the restaurant’s is a cut above – I didn’t have burrata cheese or berbere croutons, and I used nectarines instead of Equallypeaches.refreshing and at-out yummy is fattoush, a cold salad that’s been a mainstay here since perhaps day one. One of my companions said he always orders it, and yet I never had tried what sounded rather dull. How good could yellow peppers, radish, tomato and cucumber be? Way better than it sounds, it turns out, thanks to a lemony dressing and crunch provided by bits of toasted pita bread. Fattoush now goes to the top of my must-have list for return visits. We ended up trying eight dishes shared among the four of us. Other hits included lamb spaghetti, a relatively recent addition that Wright said could become permanent, given its popularity.
As with much of the cuisine at Abigail Street, the preparation is uncomplicated, letting the high-quality ingredients shine. e pasta, cooked perfectly aldente, is robed in a sauce of crispy lamb shoulder, parmesan cheese and kale. Merguez stu ed dates didn’t please everyone at our table, but I enjoyed this savory preparation that took almost all the sweetness out of the dates. ey are stu ed with lamb sausage (merguez), wrapped with bacon and sauced with tomato and sa ron. Sweet dates have their place, but this savory version was a revelation.I’mnotsure how it happened, but we didn’t get around to ordering two of my favorite dishes—wood grilled octopus and potato gnocchi. Wright assured me that while the chef might tweak the preparations, these two items won’t be taken o the menu. We did enjoy the daily hummus preparation, one of the newer o erings that starts with housemade hummus and builds the plate with either meat, sh, or vegetables, according to “what the farmers bring in,” Wright said. Wright is still waiting for completion of a second kitchen in the rear of the former Senate space, which needs approval from the city. It will include a wood- red oven and generally give the sta more space to produce such remarkably tasty food. Sunday brunch also is on the horizon, maybe before the end of the Lookingyear.beyond Abigail Street, the Wrights’ restaurant group Queen City Hospitality will be making changes to its Liberty Street spot, Forty ieves, and developing two new eateries out in TerraceWhilePark.wewait for that, it’s easier than ever to nab a table at the Wrights’ stellar standout.
AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 | CITYBEAT.COM 23 the restaurant now “is doing better than ever.”When the expansion opened earlier this summer, the Wrights also made a couple of personnel changes, most nota bly elevating sous chef Joe Bedel to the position of executive chef. Bedel is no newbie to the operation—he was sous chef for a half-dozen years—and many of the avor combinations that make dining at Abigail Street so memorable can be traced to his creative in uence.
As with much of the cuisine at Abigail Street, the preparation is uncomplicated, letting the high-quality ingredients shine. e pasta, cooked perfectly aldente, is robed in a sauce of crispy lamb shoulder, parmesan cheese and kale. Merguez stu ed dates didn’t please everyone at our table, but I enjoyed this savory preparation that took almost all the sweetness out of the dates. ey are stu ed with lamb sausage (merguez), wrapped with bacon and sauced with tomato and sa ron. Sweet dates have their place, but this savory version was a revelation.I’mnotsure how it happened, but we didn’t get around to ordering two of my favorite dishes—wood grilled octopus and potato gnocchi. Wright assured me that while the chef might tweak the preparations, these two items won’t be taken o the menu. We did enjoy the daily hummus preparation, one of the newer o erings that starts with housemade hummus and builds the plate with either meat, sh, or vegetables, according to “what the farmers bring in,” Wright said. Wright is still waiting for completion of a second kitchen in the rear of the former Senate space, which needs approval from the city. It will include a wood- red oven and generally give the sta more space to produce such remarkably tasty food. Sunday brunch also is on the horizon, maybe before the end of the Lookingyear.beyond Abigail Street, the Wrights’ restaurant group Queen City Hospitality will be making changes to its Liberty Street spot, Forty ieves, and developing two new eateries out in TerraceWhilePark.wewait for that, it’s easier than ever to nab a table at the Wrights’ stellar standout. Abigail Street, 1214 Vine St.,abigailstreet.com.Over-the-Rhine,
24 CITYBEAT.COM | AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER 6, 2022
“We o er cocktail classes, more gin-centric stu in the future, for sure,” Petiprin says. Fifty Fifty Gin Club is open ursday, Friday and Saturday evenings for walkins, though Petiprin says reservations are preferred.
“We o er cocktail classes, more gin-centric stu in the future, for sure,” Petiprin says.
EATS W alk into Fifty Fifty Gin Club in Over-the-Rhine and you’re in a di erent era. It’s still Cincinnati, but time’s turned back in all the right ways. Nostalgia pours from the blue walls, sandy wood furniture and red lighting. e room makes you feel like you’re about to run into an old friend. e drink of the night is gin and it’s got a lot of its own stories to tell.
Fifty Fifty Gin Club in Over-the-Rhine Offers 60 Types of Gin
Fifty Fifty Gin Club bills itself as a mostly modern cocktail bar with a few retro twists.
Fifty Fifty Gin Club, 35 E. 13th St., Over-the-Rhine, fty ftyginclub.com.
PHOTOS: HAILEY BOLLINGER
Attached to Homemakers Bar, which describes itself as a slightly retro, mostly modern cocktail bar, Fifty Fifty Gin Club o ers around 60 di erent gins, from locally distilled to imported Japanese varieties alongside representatives from seemingly every distinguished ginproducing region. e cocktail menu runs the gamut (or gimlet) of all of gin’s expressions, making it an alluring destination for juniper lovers.
EATS
Petiprin’s credentials in OTR’s drinkeries are notable, as she’s the cofounder and owner of Sundry and Vice as well as Homemakers Bar. Regular patrons of Homemakers Bar, which has been open since 2019, would recognize Fifty Fifty Gin Club as the former mentioned bar’s extra seating area. e original building’s beautiful doors were being put to waste in the scant used space, so Petiprin’s instinct was to set up an additional bar. “I’m a bar person, so I’m like, ‘Put a bar everywhere!” Petiprin says. e bar seats 22 guests, so don’t plan on simply dropping by with a large crew and expect enough seating. e menu includes the inventive mixology that made Petiprin’s other bars so highly regarded, harboring a genuine spirit of adventure with unique recipes that are obviously the result of years of joyous gin-fueled experimentation. ere’s nuanced adherence to proven standard recipes with no shortage of creativity. For example, instead of using simple olive brine in a dirty martini like so many other bars do, Fifty Fifty uses the pickling brine from its own house-made gardiniera (a mixture of peppers and aromatic vegetables pickled in tart and salty vinegar-based brine) — still salty and savory, but with an added little kick. ere are plenty of other cocktails, too. e current menu o ers a watermelon negroni, which pairs Salers – an aperitif – with Hendrick’s gin, Dolin Blanc vermouth, clari ed watermelon juice and salt. e sparkling beverage is a refreshing and light way to cool down after a hot day. Other drinks include several iterations of gin and tonic, plus wine, beer, and even cocktails made with vodka or bourbon. While the menu is gin-forward, it doesn’t discriminate against those who don’t have room for the herbaceous spirit on their palate. e selection of light bites shows a deep sense of solidarity with other locally owned culinary entrepreneurs. ere are roasted marcona almonds from Tablespoon Cooking Co.; a mini cheese board with seasonal preserves and quark, a creamy European-style of cheese from Urban Stead; and bread and dipping oil with some chimichurri from e Empanada Box, which recently opened its rst permanent brick-and-mortar restaurant in Covington. For those not familiar with what distinguishes gin from other spirits, Petiprin and her sta can talk through history and options with patrons.
Petiprin’s credentials in OTR’s drinkeries are notable, as she’s the cofounder and owner of Sundry and Vice as well as Homemakers Bar. Regular patrons of Homemakers Bar, which has been open since 2019, would recognize Fifty Fifty Gin Club as the former mentioned bar’s extra seating area. e original building’s beautiful doors were being put to waste in the scant used space, so Petiprin’s instinct was to set up an additional bar.
Fifty Fifty Gin Club, 35 E. 13th St., Over-the-Rhine, fty ftyginclub.com.
W alk into Fifty Fifty Gin Club in Over-the-Rhine and you’re in a di erent era. It’s still Cincinnati, but time’s turned back in all the right ways. Nostalgia pours from the blue walls, sandy wood furniture and red lighting. e room makes you feel like you’re about to run into an old friend. e drink of the night is gin and it’s got a lot of its own stories to tell. Attached to Homemakers Bar, which describes itself as a slightly retro, mostly modern cocktail bar, Fifty Fifty Gin Club o ers around 60 di erent gins, from locally distilled to imported Japanese varieties alongside representatives from seemingly every distinguished ginproducing region. e cocktail menu runs the gamut (or gimlet) of all of gin’s expressions, making it an alluring destination for juniper lovers.
Fifty Fifty Gin Club bills itself as a mostly modern cocktail bar with a few retro twists.
BY SEAN M. PETERS
“I love the experience of going to new cities and discovering little nooks,” Julia Petiprin, the bar’s founder, tells CityBeat. “ is was the perfect opportunity to create a little nook in the city — it’s almost like a little hideaway.”
“I’m a bar person, so I’m like, ‘Put a bar everywhere!” Petiprin says. e bar seats 22 guests, so don’t plan on simply dropping by with a large crew and expect enough seating. e menu includes the inventive mixology that made Petiprin’s other bars so highly regarded, harboring a genuine spirit of adventure with unique recipes that are obviously the result of years of joyous gin-fueled experimentation. ere’s nuanced adherence to proven standard recipes with no shortage of creativity. For example, instead of using simple olive brine in a dirty martini like so many other bars do, Fifty Fifty uses the pickling brine from its own house-made gardiniera (a mixture of peppers and aromatic vegetables pickled in tart and salty vinegar-based brine) — still salty and savory, but with an added little kick. ere are plenty of other cocktails, too. e current menu o ers a watermelon negroni, which pairs Salers – an aperitif – with Hendrick’s gin, Dolin Blanc vermouth, clari ed watermelon juice and salt. e sparkling beverage is a refreshing and light way to cool down after a hot day. Other drinks include several iterations of gin and tonic, plus wine, beer, and even cocktails made with vodka or bourbon. While the menu is gin-forward, it doesn’t discriminate against those who don’t have room for the herbaceous spirit on their palate. e selection of light bites shows a deep sense of solidarity with other locally owned culinary entrepreneurs. ere are roasted marcona almonds from Tablespoon Cooking Co.; a mini cheese board with seasonal preserves and quark, a creamy European-style of cheese from Urban Stead; and bread and dipping oil with some chimichurri from e Empanada Box, which recently opened its rst permanent brick-and-mortar restaurant in Covington.
AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 | CITYBEAT.COM 25
BY SEAN M. PETERS
Fifty Fifty Gin Club in Over-the-Rhine Offers 60 Types of Gin
PHOTOS: HAILEY BOLLINGER
For those not familiar with what distinguishes gin from other spirits, Petiprin and her sta can talk through history and options with patrons.
Fifty Fifty Gin Club is open ursday, Friday and Saturday evenings for walkins, though Petiprin says reservations are preferred.
“I love the experience of going to new cities and discovering little nooks,” Julia Petiprin, the bar’s founder, tells CityBeat. “ is was the perfect opportunity to create a little nook in the city — it’s almost like a little hideaway.”
26 CITYBEAT.COM | AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER 6, 2022
The Afghan Whigs Prepare for a Genre-Bending
Homecoming in September e Cincinnati natives will make a pit stop in the Queen City on their rst tour in four years.
MUSIC
BY GABE ECHAZABAL M usical acts that defy categorization and are di cult to describe are rare, fascinating creatures. While so many artists’ styles and sounds can often be compared or harkened back to a musical ancestor or predecessor, a few make it extremely di cult to determine their musical lineage.Take, for example, e Afghan Whigs. e band formed in the mid-80s in Cincinnati, and have been releasing superb (albeit hard-to-categorize) records since the latter part of the decade of theirLedarrival.bycharismatic, passionate singer and songwriter Greg Dulli, it was almost inevitable that the group’s sound would evolve into a mélange of genres, textures and styles. Raised and reared simultaneously on heavy doses of R&B, punk-rock, jazz and rock and roll, Dulli’s appreciation for music as a whole is clearly evident both through his recorded works and in conversation.
AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 | CITYBEAT.COM 27
After a long hiatus (the band’s last full-length album, In Spades, was released in 2017), Dulli and e Afghan Whigs are on the verge of kicking o a new tour in advance of a brand new stu dio album—How Do You Burn?— that’s due Sept. 9. Below, Dulli addresses a variety of topics from his base in California ahead of the band’s live dates.
The Afghan Whigs PHOTO: CHRIS CUFFARO
MUSIC
A lot of artists have their own unique version or their own take of what the pandemic did for them in terms of creativity or what having time o from touring was like for them. What did the pandemic do to you? Did it give you more time to write or to re ect? What was that like for you personally? Well, I had just put a record out the last week of February of 2020. I put out my rst solo record [Random Desire]. I was getting ready to y to Ireland to start a tour when it was like, “It’s the plague! Everybody stay in your house!” and I was like, “Oh my God,” you know. So in regard to that, it sort of really knocked the wind out of my sails because I had worked really hard on a record that I loved and was excited to go out and play it and then obviously, the world shut down. So, nobody knew [when the pandemic would end] but were saying “It’ll be done by June,” or “It’ll be done by July,” so I rebooked the shows for the fall of that year and then it became pretty clear that it was not going to go away. So I lmed a couple shows where I played alone and in a friend of mine’s club, and I did pay-per-view for those. As soon as I was done with that – that was August 2020 – I called my manager
A lot of artists have their own unique version or their own take of what the pandemic did for them in terms of creativity or what having time o from touring was like for them. What did the pandemic do to you? Did it give you more time to write or to re ect? What was that like for you personally? Well, I had just put a record out the last week of February of 2020. I put out my rst solo record [Random Desire]. I was getting ready to y to Ireland to start a tour when it was like, “It’s the plague! Everybody stay in your house!” and I was like, “Oh my God,” you know. So in regard to that, it sort of really knocked the wind out of my sails because I had worked really hard on a record that I loved and was excited to go out and play it and then obviously, the world shut down. So, nobody knew [when the pandemic would end] but were saying “It’ll be done by June,” or “It’ll be done by July,” so I rebooked the shows for the fall of that year and then it became pretty clear that it was not going to go away. So I lmed a couple shows where I played alone and in a friend of mine’s club, and I did pay-per-view for those. As soon as I was done with that – that was August 2020 – I called my manager
After a long hiatus (the band’s last full-length album, In Spades, was released in 2017), Dulli and e Afghan Whigs are on the verge of kicking o a new tour in advance of a brand new stu dio album—How Do You Burn?— that’s due Sept. 9. Below, Dulli addresses a variety of topics from his base in California ahead of the band’s live dates.
The Afghan Whigs Prepare for a Genre-Bending Homecoming in September e Cincinnati natives will make a pit stop in the Queen City on their rst tour in four years.
BY GABE ECHAZABAL M usical acts that defy categorization and are di cult to describe are rare, fascinating creatures. While so many artists’ styles and sounds can often be compared or harkened back to a musical ancestor or predecessor, a few make it extremely di cult to determine their musical lineage.Take, for example, e Afghan Whigs. e band formed in the mid-80s in Cincinnati, and have been releasing superb (albeit hard-to-categorize) records since the latter part of the decade of theirLedarrival.bycharismatic, passionate singer and songwriter Greg Dulli, it was almost inevitable that the group’s sound would evolve into a mélange of genres, textures and styles. Raised and reared simultaneously on heavy doses of R&B, punk-rock, jazz and rock and roll, Dulli’s appreciation for music as a whole is clearly evident both through his recorded works and in conversation.
28 CITYBEAT.COM | AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER 6, 2022
“And, while I love to play new stuff, I don’t want to drown people in it and say, ‘Hey, what the fuck is this?”’
AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 | CITYBEAT.COM 29 and my booking agent and I said, “Cancel those fall shows. ey’re not going to happen. I’m going to make a new Whigs record.” We went from September of 2020 and nished it in December of 2021. So, it was written and recorded in about a year and, you know, with me and Patrick [Keeler] the drummer, living in California, and then we went out to Joshua Tree where our new guitar player [Christopher orn] has a studio and the three of us worked on it there. And then sent it to the other guys in New Orleans, Cincinnati and New Jersey. at’s a long answer to your question. I’m always intrigued by bands that defy categorization. With the Whigs, you can’t really pinpoint what the origin is or what the exact in uence is of the music. I’m always fascinated by bands like that. But, from your side, is that kind of by design? Or is that something that just comes out naturally? I’ve heard and seen your band referred to or associated with grunge and with all these other subgenres, but I think you guys are kind of in your own sort of category. What’s your take on that? Well, I mean I’m an omnivorous music person, so I listen to a lot of stu and always have. I grew up listening to Motown, pop music, Rolling Stones, whatever the older neighbor kids were listening to, Zeppelin and AC/DC. But my grandmother and my aunts and uncles, they were [in] Kentucky and West Virginia, so I was listening to a lot of country music. And then when I got to college, like, I got turned onto jazz, I got turned onto punk-rock and all that. And not to mention my high school metal years and my absolute love of Lynyrd Skynyrd, one of my favorite bands of all time. So I was the kid who listened to Lynyrd Skynyrd, Earth, Wind & Fire, Al Green, and George Jones, so I like a lot. I just like a lot of di erent stu . So that’s the best way I can describe it. My songwriting is like a bird, making a nest: there’s some newspaper, there’s some hay, there’s a fucking fast food bag – whatever I can nd to get myself a styling vehicle or home or a place to rest. at’s how it’s going to happen. So I feel like, rst of all, thank you for saying so, but I can easily say we sound like e Afghan Whigs and nobody sounds like us. So that’s how I answer that question. I have to give my condolences for the loss of former bandmate Mark Lanegan. at had to be pretty tough. I know you’d done so much work with him in the past. One of the greatest people I’ll ever know. One of my absolute most beloved and beautiful friends and friendships that I have ever or will ever have. But, you know, in the words of eodor Geisel, “Don’t be sad it’s over, be glad it happened.” [Geisel, also known as Dr. Seuss, said, ‘“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”] And that’s how I’m going through this particular thing. I will miss Mark forever. He just was such a good friend of mine – such a kind, intelligent, incredibly funny, wildly talented person. One of the greatest singers to ever fucking walk the planet. I appreciate your condolences. So it’s been awhile since you guys have done a tour of the extent of the one you’re about to embark on. Tell me a little bit about the show and what you have planned. Are you going to focus on the newer stu ? I know you always like to go back and throw some surprises in your setlists. What can the audience coming to see you at Bogart’s expect?
Notwithstanding, I haven’t played a concert in front of people in four years. at’s the longest since I was 20 years old…even longer than that probably – since high school. Keep in mind, I was about to do a tour two years ago and it got pulled out from under me, and then we had basically two years o . So, yeah, it’s been four years, but, to the point of your question, we have the album coming out in September. We have this second song coming out before the album.And, while I love to play new stu , I don’t want to drown people in it and say, “Hey, what the fuck is this?” I mean, by the time that we start playing on my birthday, the world will have been able to hear two of the songs, and we’ll play both of those, and we’re going to play one other one from the new record and then stu from the last two records. I’m going to slip a song from my solo record into the show that every body in the band wants to play. ere will be a generous helping of some ‘90s highlights from almost all of the old records.
is story originally was published by CityBeat sister newspaper Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. The Afghan Whigs will perform at 8 p.m. Sept. 11 at Bogart’s, 2621 Vine St., Corryville. Info: theafghanwhigs.com.
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Wolfe curates makes a di erence, musicians say. “ e sun was setting and insects were buzzing, and there was something enchanting in the air,” Fosco says. “Hard to describe, but some places just get it.”
O ne of Cincinnati’s newest and most varied venues sits on a hilltop in Northside, hosting carefully curated performances and events from musicians from a variety of genres andIt’sbackgrounds.calledHexagon House, and it’s also the home of venue curator, Liz Wolfe. Sur rounded by the colored glow of carefully positioned lamps and paper lanterns, acts perform from a deck to an audience spread across her back lawn in the open air. In some cases, shows take place in the house itself among more lights and eclectic decor. Originally from California, Wolfe moved to Ohio with former partner and Cincin nati native musician Josiah Wolfe in 2008. In 2013, the couple purchased the North side home that would become Hexagon House for its seclusion and proximity to the city. Wolfe worked in food and bever age hospitality while creating music under the name Dream Tiger, the electronic, dream-pop project she has since put on hold to focus on establishing Hexagon House.Wolfe says that as a touring musician herself, she noticed a huge need for better representation in venue programming and ownership as well as in the overall concert experience.“Asawoman, it just left me feeling salty and dirty the way most venues are main tained, the way they treat musicians and the absence of personal care for all aspects of live entertainment both on stage and in the audience,” Wolfe tells CityBeat. “So I made it my mission to work towards open ing my own venue.”
Wolfe curates makes a di erence, musicians say. “ e sun was setting and insects were buzzing, and there was something enchanting in the air,” Fosco says. “Hard to describe, but some places just get it.”
PHOTO: BRENT STROUD
BY BRENT STROUD
Wolfe had time to move toward that goal in the summer of 2020, thanks to the pandemic-imposed shutdown. With both Wolfe and her partner sidelined from work, the team began preparing their home to host events by building a deck, painting and“It’slandscaping.anaturalpart of me and my creative expression to curate my physical environ ment,” Wolfe says. “Since people respond positively to that, it made sense to use what we already have to bring our community together to experience live music in a safe and well-cared-for outdoor space.”
“We only have a few clubs and venues that get it right in terms of sound, quality of programming and intentional listen ing. ere is usually, at least, one of those elements sacri ced, and I aim to challenge that.”e artists and Wolfe’s audiences are treated as what they are – guests at her home.“Liz is a gracious host that cares deeply about her guests and the artists, as well,” says longtime Cincinnati experimental ambient guitar player Pete Fosco. “ e space itself is incredible. Liz spares no expense in energy when it comes to aesthetics,” adds Cincinnati alt-pop singer/ songwriter and three-time Hexagon House performer Mol Sullivan. “Everything is lit very intentionally and beautifully. On the hillside, she puts little tabletops on stakes so that you can have a at surface for your drinks.”eatmosphere
Audiences seem to be pleased with their experiences, as well. “I think that one of the best things about the Hexagon shows so far has been the reception of the audience,” Sullivan says, noting that audiences are invested and committed to the evening by the very nature of ticketed house shows. Diversity also is important to Hexagon House, Wolfe says. “I know for myself and many artists, we do not feel welcome, safe, comfortable, or – at the very least – feel the programming is diverse enough that there is something there for them and their community,” Wolfe says about shows in traditional ven ues. “I am really intentional about that.” Wolfe says she puts care into spot lighting di erent genres, such as local alternative neo-soul band Freedom Nicole Moore & e Electric Moon, experimental percussionist and visual-artist Ben Sloan, rapper/activist Siri Imani and world-trav eling performer pianist Brianna Matzke. She hopes to book more touring artists but must rst nd funding to give them a nancial guarantee. “If you’re reading this and you are that person, please hit me up!” Wolfe suggests. “I’m very interested in securing funding and collaborating for acts that honestly don’t usually come through Cincinnati because we don’t have the right venue for them.”Hexagon House shows also often feature local up-and-comers like multi-instru mentalist Bailey Miller or singer/song writer Rae Fisher as opening acts. On a recent night with a threat of rain, Sullivan, her band and Fisher performed inside the house together in a special one-night-only collaboration, with Fisher backing Sullivan on vocals while 50 or so attendees loosely crammed into the open space.
Audiences seem to be pleased with their experiences, as well. “I think that one of the best things about the Hexagon shows so far has been the reception of the audience,” Sullivan says, noting that audiences are invested and committed to the evening by the very nature of ticketed house shows. Diversity also is important to Hexagon House, Wolfe says. “I know for myself and many artists, we do not feel welcome, safe, comfortable, or – at the very least – feel the programming is diverse enough that there is something there for them and their community,” Wolfe says about shows in traditional ven ues. “I am really intentional about that.”
Hexagon House, facebook.com/hexagonhouse.Northside,
BY BRENT STROUD
MUSIC
Hexagon House has a number of events lined up, including the third installment of runway show Nite Lewks on Aug. 27, and Whited Sepulchre Records Festival on Sept. 3 and 4, featuring local and national artists such as Airport People (Indianapo lis), Midwife (Los Cruces, N.M.), Cincin nati’s Breanna Kelly and Bailey Miller and others.Wolfe says that Hexagon House is just the beginning – she ultimately wants to open a location that serves as a venue, club and art space. She adds that she’ll schedule Hexagon House programming until she sells the Northside house – cur rently planned for spring – at which point, “I’ll have the next location/iteration of HH ready to “Takinggo.”the next step from DIY to an intimate but highly curated and profes sionally executed nightclub is my goal,” Wolfe says.
After separating from her partner, Wolfe has been curating and hosting Hexagon House events along with setup, promo tion, ticketing, sound and breakdown. For events with larger audiences of more than 100 – like that of July’s stripped-down with local duo WHY? – she hires friend Emma Roberts to help out. e rst Hexagon House performance took place Aug. 29, 2020. Wolfe says there were nine shows in that series and 12 in 2021. is year will bring Wolfe’s longest series yet, she says, with events occurring regularly.Wolfe’s events are perhaps more ambi tious than a normal house show or those in DIY spaces, both of which give musicians, like-minded artists and audiences alterna tives to traditional bars, clubs and venues. She says she’s always looking to bring a complete and thoughtful experience to artists and music lovers.
Hexagon House, facebook.com/hexagonhouse.Northside, Hexagon House Brings DIY Ethos to Music Lovers in Northside
Hexagon House has a number of events lined up, including the third installment of runway show Nite Lewks on Aug. 27, and Whited Sepulchre Records Festival on Sept. 3 and 4, featuring local and national artists such as Airport People (Indianapo lis), Midwife (Los Cruces, N.M.), Cincin nati’s Breanna Kelly and Bailey Miller and others.Wolfe says that Hexagon House is just the beginning – she ultimately wants to open a location that serves as a venue, club and art space. She adds that she’ll schedule Hexagon House programming until she sells the Northside house – cur rently planned for spring – at which point, “I’ll have the next location/iteration of HH ready to “Takinggo.”the next step from DIY to an intimate but highly curated and profes sionally executed nightclub is my goal,” Wolfe says.
AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 | CITYBEAT.COM 31
Mol Sullivan performs with Rae Fisher at Hexagon House.
Hexagon House Brings DIY Ethos to Music Lovers in Northside
Mol Sullivan performs with Rae Fisher at Hexagon House.
PHOTO: BRENT STROUD MUSIC O ne of Cincinnati’s newest and most varied venues sits on a hilltop in Northside, hosting carefully curated performances and events from musicians from a variety of genres andIt’sbackgrounds.calledHexagon House, and it’s also the home of venue curator, Liz Wolfe. Sur rounded by the colored glow of carefully positioned lamps and paper lanterns, acts perform from a deck to an audience spread across her back lawn in the open air. In some cases, shows take place in the house itself among more lights and eclectic decor. Originally from California, Wolfe moved to Ohio with former partner and Cincin nati native musician Josiah Wolfe in 2008. In 2013, the couple purchased the North side home that would become Hexagon House for its seclusion and proximity to the city. Wolfe worked in food and bever age hospitality while creating music under the name Dream Tiger, the electronic, dream-pop project she has since put on hold to focus on establishing Hexagon House.Wolfe says that as a touring musician herself, she noticed a huge need for better representation in venue programming and ownership as well as in the overall concert experience.“Asawoman, it just left me feeling salty and dirty the way most venues are main tained, the way they treat musicians and the absence of personal care for all aspects of live entertainment both on stage and in the audience,” Wolfe tells CityBeat. “So I made it my mission to work towards open ing my own venue.”
Wolfe says she puts care into spot lighting di erent genres, such as local alternative neo-soul band Freedom Nicole Moore & e Electric Moon, experimental percussionist and visual-artist Ben Sloan, rapper/activist Siri Imani and world-trav eling performer pianist Brianna Matzke. She hopes to book more touring artists but must rst nd funding to give them a nancial guarantee. “If you’re reading this and you are that person, please hit me up!” Wolfe suggests. “I’m very interested in securing funding and collaborating for acts that honestly don’t usually come through Cincinnati because we don’t have the right venue for them.”Hexagon House shows also often feature local up-and-comers like multi-instru mentalist Bailey Miller or singer/song writer Rae Fisher as opening acts. On a recent night with a threat of rain, Sullivan, her band and Fisher performed inside the house together in a special one-night-only collaboration, with Fisher backing Sullivan on vocals while 50 or so attendees loosely crammed into the open space.
Wolfe had time to move toward that goal in the summer of 2020, thanks to the pandemic-imposed shutdown. With both Wolfe and her partner sidelined from work, the team began preparing their home to host events by building a deck, painting and“It’slandscaping.anaturalpart of me and my creative expression to curate my physical environ ment,” Wolfe says. “Since people respond positively to that, it made sense to use what we already have to bring our community together to experience live music in a safe and well-cared-for outdoor space.” After separating from her partner, Wolfe has been curating and hosting Hexagon House events along with setup, promo tion, ticketing, sound and breakdown. For events with larger audiences of more than 100 – like that of July’s stripped-down with local duo WHY? – she hires friend Emma Roberts to help out. e rst Hexagon House performance took place Aug. 29, 2020. Wolfe says there were nine shows in that series and 12 in 2021. is year will bring Wolfe’s longest series yet, she says, with events occurring regularly.Wolfe’s events are perhaps more ambi tious than a normal house show or those in DIY spaces, both of which give musicians, like-minded artists and audiences alterna tives to traditional bars, clubs and venues. She says she’s always looking to bring a complete and thoughtful experience to artists and music lovers. “We only have a few clubs and venues that get it right in terms of sound, quality of programming and intentional listen ing. ere is usually, at least, one of those elements sacri ced, and I aim to challenge that.”e artists and Wolfe’s audiences are treated as what they are – guests at her home.“Liz is a gracious host that cares deeply about her guests and the artists, as well,” says longtime Cincinnati experimental ambient guitar player Pete Fosco. “ e space itself is incredible. Liz spares no expense in energy when it comes to aesthetics,” adds Cincinnati alt-pop singer/ songwriter and three-time Hexagon House performer Mol Sullivan. “Everything is lit very intentionally and beautifully. On the hillside, she puts little tabletops on stakes so that you can have a at surface for your drinks.”eatmosphere
32 CITYBEAT.COM | AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER 6, 2022
Sept. 3 • Riverbend Music Center Before becoming global sensations, the Black Keys were home-state garage blues heroes who ultimately made several last ing connections in the Cincinnati area. e Akron duo of guitarist/vocalist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney had music in their DNA from the start – legendary cult guitarist Robert Quine was Auerbach’s cousin, and saxophonist Ralph Carney, who played with Ohio art rock unit Tin Huey, Tom Waits and many others, was Carney’s uncle – but they quickly established their own credentials with their rst recordings as the Keys. e duo’s acclaimed third full length, 2004’s Rubber Factory, named for the abandoned tire-manufacturing plant which served as their recording space at the time, featured a liner note thanking “ ee Creepy Shams,” a reference to local garage rock trio ee Shams, who shared many early local/regional bills with the Keys. ee Shams, led by bassist/vocalist Zach Gabbard and his guitarist/vocal ist brother Andrew, soon morphed into Bu alo Killers, and the band maintained close ties with the Keys; Auerbach pro duced their 2008 album Let It Ride and Bu alo Killers opened for the Keys on
PHOTO:Interpol
AND SPOON
The Black Keys PHOTO: ALYSSE GAFKJEN
INTERPOL WITH WATER FROM YOUR EYES Sept. 1 • Andrew J. Brady Music Center Are there two more consistently onbrand musical out ts over the last two decades than Interpol and Spoon? Masters of angular guitar grooves, each rose to prominence at the turn of the century — Spoon with 2001’s Girls Can Tell, the band’s jump from arty, minimalism inspired by the band Wire to songcraftcentric hook machine; Interpol with its 2002 debut Turn on the Bright Lights, a visceral, uncommonly mature e ort that melds myriad post punk in uences with a particular strain of post-9/11 desolation. Subsequent recorded e orts from each have been variations on their aesthetic — deceptively simple tunes marked by interlocking guitars, driving rhythms and male singers with modest but distinctive deliveries. It should then come as no surprise that the two are teaming up for the “Lights, Camera, Factions” co-headlining tour. Both acts have made multiple stops in Cincinnati over the years. Spoon has delivered terse, sharpededged shows at venues from long-gone staples of the scene (the iconic Sudsy Malone’s Rock & Roll Laundry and Bar and the equally beloved original Southgate House) and opened for Beck at Riverbend Music Center in 2019.
Sept. 3 • Riverbend Music Center Before becoming global sensations, the Black Keys were home-state garage blues heroes who ultimately made several last ing connections in the Cincinnati area. e Akron duo of guitarist/vocalist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney had music in their DNA from the start – legendary cult guitarist Robert Quine was Auerbach’s cousin, and saxophonist Ralph Carney, who played with Ohio art rock unit Tin Huey, Tom Waits and many others, was Carney’s uncle – but they quickly established their own credentials with their rst recordings as the Keys. e duo’s acclaimed third full length, 2004’s Rubber Factory, named for the abandoned tire-manufacturing plant which served as their recording space at the time, featured a liner note thanking “ ee Creepy Shams,” a reference to local garage rock trio ee Shams, who shared many early local/regional bills with the Keys. ee Shams, led by bassist/vocalist Zach Gabbard and his guitarist/vocal ist brother Andrew, soon morphed into Bu alo Killers, and the band maintained close ties with the Keys; Auerbach pro duced their 2008 album Let It Ride and Bu alo Killers opened for the Keys on
THE BLACK KEYS WITH BAND OF HORSES
The Black Keys
Interpol’s rst local stop — at a sold-out Southgate House in January 2003 — was one of the most buzzed-about shows of that era, occurring a few weeks after Pitchfork crowned Turn on the Bright Lights the best album of 2002. It seems Interpol also has an a nity for Bogart’s, with almost every local gig since occurring at the longtime Corryville venue. Both bands have new albums that no doubt will in uence their current setlists, which are sure to include songs from across their histories. Interpol has e Other Side of Make-Believe, a tweak on their formula that nonetheless remains true to form, while Spoon serves up the stellar Lucifer on the Sofa, as ear-pleasing as anything in the band’s long and fruitful discography.
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Interpol’s rst local stop — at a sold-out Southgate House in January 2003 — was one of the most buzzed-about shows of that era, occurring a few weeks after Pitchfork crowned Turn on the Bright Lights the best album of 2002. It seems Interpol also has an a nity for Bogart’s, with almost every local gig since occurring at the longtime Corryville venue. Both bands have new albums that no doubt will in uence their current setlists, which are sure to include songs from across their histories. Interpol has e Other Side of Make-Believe, a tweak on their formula that nonetheless remains true to form, while Spoon serves up the stellar Lucifer on the Sofa, as ear-pleasing as anything in the band’s long and fruitful discography.
“We did a little bit of touring in September and October (of 2021), and I was warned it would not be fun,” Spoon frontman Britt Daniel said in a recent interview with e Austin Chronicle. “It was actually just as fun. All of the essential elements (were there) — a lot of people cramming together and having a shared experience with really loud music. at’s probably the most important part of the deal, right? And that was still there.” Interpol and Spoon perform at 7 p.m. Sept. 1 at Andrew J. Brady Music Center. Doors Open at 5:30 p.m. Water from Your Eyes will open the show. ere are no COVID-19 protocols. Info: bradymusiccenter.com. (Jason Gargano)
THE BLACK KEYS WITH BAND OF HORSES
SOUND ADVICE
“We did a little bit of touring in September and October (of 2021), and I was warned it would not be fun,” Spoon frontman Britt Daniel said in a recent interview with e Austin Chronicle “It was actually just as fun. All of the essential elements (were there) — a lot of people cramming together and having a shared experience with really loud music. at’s probably the most important part of the deal, right? And that was still there.” Interpol and Spoon perform at 7 p.m. Sept. 1 at Andrew J. Brady Music Center. Doors Open at 5:30 p.m. Water from Your Eyes will open the show. ere are no COVID-19 protocols. Info: bradymusiccenter.com. (Jason Gargano)
PHOTO: ALYSSE GAFKJEN
INTERPOL AND SPOON WITH WATER FROM YOUR EYES Sept. 1 • Andrew J. Brady Music Center Are there two more consistently onbrand musical out ts over the last two decades than Interpol and Spoon? Masters of angular guitar grooves, each rose to prominence at the turn of the century — Spoon with 2001’s Girls Can Tell, the band’s jump from arty, minimalism inspired by the band Wire to songcraftcentric hook machine; Interpol with its 2002 debut Turn on the Bright Lights, a visceral, uncommonly mature e ort that melds myriad post punk in uences with a particular strain of post-9/11 desolation. Subsequent recorded e orts from each have been variations on their aesthetic — deceptively simple tunes marked by interlocking guitars, driving rhythms and male singers with modest but distinctive deliveries. It should then come as no surprise that the two are teaming up for the “Lights, Camera, Factions” co-headlining tour. Both acts have made multiple stops in Cincinnati over the years. Spoon has delivered terse, sharpededged shows at venues from long-gone staples of the scene (the iconic Sudsy Malone’s Rock & Roll Laundry and Bar and the equally beloved original Southgate House) and opened for Beck at Riverbend Music Center in 2019.
ATIBA JEFFERSON
SOUND ADVICE
PHOTO:Interpol ATIBA JEFFERSON
Sept.THUNDERCAT6•PromoWestPavilion at OVATION Stephen Lee Bruner is a curious guy. e Los Angeles native has packed enough into his 37 years of life to rival those twice his age. Better known as his performing alter-ego undercat, Bruner grew up in a musical family, learning to play bass when most kids were still messing with LEGOs. Jazz was his rst love, but, at 16, he became the bassist in the long-running thrash band Suicidal Tendencies, a nine-year odyssey that left an impression, including a taste for rock and roll debauchery. undercat’s artistic versatility has become his hallmark, moving among various projects and musical genres with uncommon acumen and panache. He’s collaborated with an array of artists over the last decade, including Kamasi Washington, Ariana Grande, Mac DeMarco, Erykah Badu, Snoop Dogg, Flying Lotus and Kendrick Lamar. He’s also released four full-length studio albums and an EP since going solo in 2011, each a kaleidoscopic adventure in sound and composition drawing from jazz, hip hop, R&B, funk, pop and electro-ambient. undercat’s most recent e ort, 2020’s It Is What It Is, was less ecstatic and more re ective, no doubt in uenced by the death of his good friend and collaborator Mac Miller. His signature falsetto vocals and dexterous bass playing remain, but there’s a deeper philosophical strain that leavens the sillier tendencies of previous e orts. It Is What It Is won a Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album, which is curious given that R&B is but a fraction of what’s going on in undercat’s genre-jumping visions. But the live experience is where he gets his real juice. “Music is a great vehicle for emotion,” undercat said in a recent interview with NARC magazine. “ e thing with musicians is that we might create it, but it’s not ours. It’s nite, it’s just our job to wield it. It’s multiple conversations, it’s technical stu but then it’s the verbal and it’s the navigating the crowd and it’s the personal things — we try and put everything out there, because that’s human. But you just have to feel it out every night, like a stand-up comic would, it’s reading the room and reacting to Reactingit.” to and interacting with his surroundings is vital to undercat’s way of life, which makes his live shows an unpredictable, ever-evolving adventure.undercat performs at 7 p.m. Sept. 6 at PromoWest Pavilion at OVATION. ere are no COVID-19 protocols. Info: promowestlive.com. (JG) SYLVAN ESSO WITH Sept.ODESZA7•Riverbend Music Center e duo behind Sylvan Esso is a study in contrasts. Singer Amelia Meath is a diminutive whirlwind. Physicality is as much a part of her performance as what comes out of her mouth. It’s as if she is shaking the lyrics from her body. Her husband and creative partner, Nick Sanborn, is the programming/producing guru, his lithe frame and long hair perpetually perched over various electronic devices as Meath dances to the multitude of sounds he conjures.
LIROLA Sylvan
e pair’s curious dichotomy is even more evident in a live setting, lending Sylvan Esso’s hooky electro-pop a new dimension when experienced in person.
AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 | CITYBEAT.COM 35 major tours. As the Keys’ sonic complex ity expanded in the studio, they added a coterie of musical friends to esh out their live sound. For the past several years, the Gabbards have been vital com ponents of the Black Keys’ touring band. e Keys also crossed paths with local polymath Brian Olive, who contrib uted to the sessions for Auerbach’s side project, the Arcs. Olive used Auerbach as his co-producer on his sophomore solo album, 2011’s Two of Everything, and Auerbach then invited Olive to partici pate as a horn player on the sessions for iconic New Orleans artist Dr. John on his Grammy-winning 2012 album Locked Down, which Auerbach produced. Given all this, there are plenty of reasons to witness the tour for the Black Keys’ heralded new album Dropout Boo gie, the latest entry in the band’s 21-year history and 11-album catalog. ere’s the opportunity to see the Gabbards in action before their own tour sets sail with the newly christened Gabbard Broth ers, the o chance that Olive might pop up for a saxophone cameo, or just the thrill of seeing one of the country’s most engaging purveyors of punkish garagetinged blues and rock. e Black Keys perform at 7 p.m. Sept. 3 at Riverbend Music Center. Doors Open at 5:30 p.m. Band of Horses and Early James will open the show. ere are no COVID-19 protocols. Info: riverbend. org. (Brian Baker)
e North Carolina-based duo made its presence known through “Co ee,” an addictive, impressively textured tune from their 2014 self-titled debut driven by Meath’s versatile voice and anchored by Sanborn’s idiosyncratic way with rhythm and other sonic quirks. ree like-minded albums have followed, including the freshly minted No Rules Sandy, which the pair put together quickly in January, juiced by the fact that they were nally able play postshutdown live shows last fall. e result is more playful and less predictable, as if they are shaking free from their previous work. No Rules Sandy is also more intimate and introspective, the work of a duo digging deeper than ever before. “I wrote a love song to myself on this record called ‘How Did You Know’ that’s about my relationship with myself as a songwriter and as the per son who’s taking care of me as I move through the world, and how it’s such an intimate and magical relationship and I’m so grateful,” Meath said in Bill board. “It’s an incredibly vulnerable, strange thing to talk about. But I nd that every time I share things through songs that are something I don’t feel has been talked about in any way, other than braggadociously, I nd that it connects.”eduois opening for fellow electronic gurus Odezsa on their current tour, so be sure to get there early. Sylvan Esso opens for Odezsa at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 7 at Riverbend Music Center. Doors Open at 5 p.m. Elderbrook and Nasaya also are on the bill. ere are no COVID-19 protocols. Info: riverbend. org. (JG)
PHOTO:ThundercatJESSE PHOTO:EssoBRIAN
KARLSSON
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AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 | CITYBEAT.COM 37
38 CITYBEAT.COM | AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER 6, 2022
AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 | CITYBEAT.COM 39 CROSSWORD WORD PLEA BY BRENDAN EMMETT WWW.BRENDANEMMETTQUIGLEY.COMQUIGLEY Across1 Like Etch-A-Sketch sketches, e.g. 5 Some sneaks 10 Like doilies 14 Bank transaction, briefly 15 Mushroom in some yakitori skewers 16 Loathsome baddie 17 Black stone 18 Unpolluted December rain? 20 Pontiac sports car 21 Boo 22 Meaty stew 23 Efficiency stat on some mowers? 28 Legal tag 30 “Black ___ in the Hour of Chaos” (Public Enemy) 31 Poles, e.g. 32 View from the top? 33 Father’s outfit 35 Winning card, often 36 ___ mentality 37 Miniature figurines of Simon and Young? 41 Yamaha competitor 42 QB Burrow 43 Cable channel with the podcast “The Plot Thickens” 44 Character-builder Hagen 45 Some mowers 47 Ancient region south of presentday Izmir 51 Eastern philosophy 52 Lion’s prey in the midst of a hunt? 54 Pull back 56 “Survivorman” host Stroud 57 It may be chemical or biological 58 Really wild haircut? 62 Humped bovine 63 Titular girl with a “Delivery Service” in a Studio Ghibli movie 64 Asked nosy questions 65 Eye piece 66 “No question” 67 Very glad 68 Prepare to travel Down1 “Wild Thing” rockers, with “The” 2 Attacked 3 Back in the day, like way back 4 Activist Dorothea 5 Pie nut 6 “Have we considered ...?” 7 Simpsons character who said “I’ve been called ugly, pug ugly, fugly, pug fugly, but never ugly ugly.” 8 Letters before nicknames 9 Without, in Oaxaca 10 Lounge around 11 Board game info 12 People doing origami 13 Despite all that 19 Ground rounds 21 Babe at the ball 24 Silas who was a diplomat to France 25 Set atop 26 Per 27 Big-ticket item? 29 “Here’s the proof” 34 Small and elegant 36 Shout out to a family member 37 Zero 38 Japanese golfer nicknamed “Tower” 39 Scandinavian goddess of fate 40 Vape juice conduits 41 Even so 45 Long journey 46 Element Argentina is named after 48 Big name in baseball caps 49 ___ pentameter 50 When some streetlights come on 53 Destitute 55 Mark Harmon’s series 58 Strip on the snow 59 Stat tested in Mavis Beacon programs 60 Preposition that’s a homophone of 61-Down 61 Countenance 62 Flair LAST PUZZLE’S ANSWERS: Bertha HelmickG. ATTORNEY AT LAW DISSOLVE Dissolution:MARRIAGEYOURAnamicableend 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 513.651.966645202 DISSOLVEMARRIAGEYOUR 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
