Cincinnati Police Department’s Ticketing Quotas: Promoting or Undermining Public Safety?
The Faces and Stories of Cincinnati’s Page 8 I FILM
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editor/co-publisher John
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On the Beat CityBeat’s police column debuts by questioning the effect on public safety of Cincinnati’s ticketing quota policy
This must be the place: No other form of music evokes the mysteries and delights of nightfall quite like Jazz. Come explore the clubs and street comers of Cincinnati with writer Pam Allen and photographer Jon Hughes and meet the people who play, sing and promote Jazz here (including Eddie Morgan, left).
Cover story, 8
Trippin’: Members of the local Alternative Rock trio Lazy (right) have big things on their minds a new album, a full-blown East Coast tour and a possible show with the Violent Femmes. But can they muster the energy to finish their interview with our Brian Baker? Music, 17
Not considering investigating editors
I am very impressed with your first issue of Cincinnati CityBeat, dated November 17, 1994, and I appreciate how you tried to be very balanced in your reporting. However, let me clear up one misrepresentation. I never told you that 1 am considering an investigation of the Cincinnati Post’s or the Cincinnati Enquirer’s editors. I definitely did not tell you that I was going to investigate Mr. Larry Beaupre. He has always treated me with respect and I know him to be an honorable man.
However, I did tell you that a reporter first started this whole matter of investigations by threatening to use my divorce of 15 years ago against me. 1 did tell this particular reporter that if a reporter wanted to play that game of investigations that I could also play the same game.
This same reporter is now trying to expand remarks directed at them personally to all reporters in Cincinnati, which was never my intent.
This is another example of how it appears a reporter is trying to create news instead of reporting news. This is another example of how it appears a reporter is trying to use their position with intent to maliciously injury (sic) me. In general, I appreciate the media in Cincinnati. We have some good reporters in Cincinnati, and I have developed a good working relationship with many of them. We need them to watchdog our government. However, we cannot say that all reporters are “bad” because of a few who have personal agendas.
Thanks again for trying to be objective, and I am looking forward to reading your next issue. I know if we are straightforward and honest with each other, we can both better serve the public.
Charlie Winburn, City Hall
Editor’s note: Councilman Winburn, you are confusing your comments with Enquirer Editor Lawrence Beaupre’s responses. Your comments and quotes clearly targeted for investigation any member of the media not just one reporter who became involved in investigating you. CityBeat stands behind our report.
Appealing and necessary
I read the premiere issue last night and want to let you know it is impressive much that is appealing (to the eye and mind) and necessary. Especially solid pieces include Nancy Firor’s expose on Over-the-Rhine (very strong); the Charles Winburn profile (very up-to-date and a clever move to publish it) and Daniel Brown’s essay (excellent). I like the way the events listings (“Kiosk” section) carry a review on the same page of the respective listing. It’s easy to follow, in my view.
JeffHillard, Delhi
Being coy
Welcome! It’s a delight to have you folks around. God knows our city needs you.
Question: Conspicuously absent from the “Doing the Demographics” column was political propensities. Don’t be coy. Cough it up: Democrat or Republican? Liberal or conservative? It’s much more important than number of tattoos. Your obvious side-stepping concerns me.
Chris Williams, via America On Line
Editor’s note: Good question. Guess you’ll have to keep reading to find out.
Issues of interest to downtown residents
On behalf of the Downtown Residents’ Council I would like to congratulate you and your staff on the successful completion of the first issue of Cincinnati CityBeat.
I was pleasantly surprised this morning on my walk to work to find your publication on a newsstand on East Fourth Street. I have not as of yet had the time to completely study the issue but have found some of the more prominent articles to deal with similar issues that interest the Residents’ Council.
Introductions Are Necessary
Police column attempts to give voice to those otherwise ignored
BY JOHN FOX
One of the most exasperating tasks of starting up a new venture such as CityBeat is dealing with the overwhelming sense of urgency.
For the past few months, as we planned the first issue, we felt a good deal of pressure to establish ourselves immediately. Select nothing but the best stories for Volume 1 Number 1. Include all the columns and cartoons and features we’d ever thought up. Put all our eggs in one basket.
But then we reminded ourselves not to lose sight of issue number 2 or 14 or 106. We’re in this for the long haul; remember, not to publish a handful of papers and then disappear.
As a result, we’ve targeted an unofficial “roll-out” period for the first seven issues, taking us through the end of the year. By then we should have had the opportunity to introduce all of our initial columns,
The Downtown Residents’ Council is a nonprofit organization, sanctioned by the City. We are dedicated to improving the quality and vitality of Downtown living and provide our residents with a voice in community affairs and strive to maintain Downtown as a world-class neighborhood.
Again congratulations on your achievement.
Joe Carr, president, Downtown Residents' Council
You call that new?
Just got a lpok at your “new” weekly tabloid and a few descriptive words come to mind: Me-too, Ditto, Copy-cat.
Pity! All the stuff you had was either done before (Over-the-Rhine, Politicians Crying) or available in every other local periodical in the city (Health, Reviews, etc.).
If you’re going to tender a “new” mag at least give us something NEW. How ’bout a single’s advice column, reports on local police tactics and interesting cases or how ’bout investigating auto repair pricing, to suggest but a few.
On the plus side the paper
THIS M«»hKU W#RLB by TOM TOMORROW
PUNDITS QUICKLY REACHED A CcmSEMSUS CONCERNING THE RECENT REPUBLICAN SWEEP,..
this IS oBVtovSlY A REPUPIATION OF SlLI, CLINTON AND EVERYTHING HE STAHbSfOH!
YES/ IT CLEARLY MEANS that VOTERS 8EUEVE liberals should be rounded up j MPRtSeNEb f ACTUALLY, WHAT IT MEANS IS THAT most citizens eligible to vote
PdH'T BATHER'- BUT A SU&MT MAJORlTY op THOSE WHO DC WERE swayed By simple-winded RepurLION PROPAGANDA AND ATTACK AM..
looks very professional, so you get an A+ for mechanicals.
James Cohen, Cincinnati
Thank you
Bravo! Bravo! What a great premiere issue! I would like to thank you for bringing to Cincinnati what it has needed for a long time an informative, insightful and creative alternative to the “usual.” Thank you!
Nancy Donahue, Clifton
Letters policy
CINCINNATI CITYBEAT accepts letters for publication.
mail to: Letters, Cincinnati CityBeat 23 E. Seventh St., Suite 617 Cincinnati, OH. 45202 fax to: 513/665-4369
Please include the letter writer’s name, address and daytime phone number.
Writers may request their names be withheld from publication. Letters may be edited for length. Please type letters if possible.
writers and ideas without cramming them all into one issue.
One particular column of note, “On the Beat,” is introduced this week. It’s the perfect example of one of this paper’s most basic goals; to give voice to those who are not heard elsewhere.
Michelle Kennedy is the wife of a Cincinnati police officer. When the Police Department went to rotating shifts this past spring, scheduling officers through different day parts each month, Kennedy formed a group called Spouses for Officer Safety. She protested to police administration and City Council about the safety concerns from cops, their families and the public of such a scheduling policy. She wrote letters to 50 community councils throughout Cincinnati alerting them to the potential problems of officers constantly changing beats and shifts. Rotating shifts remain in effect.
During this process, however, Kennedy says she learned more about internal police policies and how they affect public safety. Again, she addressed her concerns through official department and City Council avenues but got little response.
So she approached CityBeat with the idea of communicating directly with the public about different topics from ticket quotas and rotating shifts to officer recruitment and training that directly impact our daily lives. We said “let’s do it.”
Each week, Cincinnati CityBeat poses a question on its back page. Here are some of the responses to last week’s question, “What do you do when a panhandler asks you for money?”:
TESHA WARD: In return you ask them how much can they give you before you give to them.
LINDA SHARP: I usually give them some change if they confront me. If they are sitting on the sidewalk, I pass them by.
MARTY WOOD: Since I am employed by Snelling Personal I hand them my card and ask if they want a job.
JOE AND KYM CARR: Our response to them is a polite but stern “no.” Polite from the standpoint that these are people like ourselves regardless of their appearance or situations and are therefore deserving of respect that any one of us would expect from another. Stern from the standpoint that being asked once is enough and responding once is sufficient.
DAVID BEESON: Ask them only if they have change for a $20.
JIM COLE: “I ain’t holding, G.”
CONSTANCE MCCLURE: I show him (no hers yet) my bus change.
GERRY STEWART: When one comes my way, 1 ask them for money before they have a chance to ask me.
R. LANDRUM: I say “Damn Dude! I was fixin’ to ask you.”
NICK GIORDANO: The first thing I do I refuse them. Then I say to myself why can’t they get off their lazy butt and try to find a job. Although maybe some are legit.
VICTOR FABRO: I say “I’m sorry" and keep walking. I contribute enough $ to United’Way, Legal Aid & H.O.M.E.
MARC HOROWITZ: Walking past the panhandler will ask, / and sometimes give my mind a task. / With a singsong kind of tone, / could he please have a very small loan? / I’ll “no,” and make my face a mask.
1WE PUNDITS ALSO INSIST THAT DEMOCRITS must NOW move to the’•CENTER AS IF THEY HAVEN'T ALREADY SEEN WioVING RlfeHTWARP FoR. yearsTHE REAL LESSON FOR DEMOCRATS @ Kgg uFC?£ TJ4AT IP PEOPLE WANT iM republicans... THEt'U- VoTE FoR NREPUBLICANS' -RIGHT. FOLIC S. irs all Moot, of course... The elecTIDNS ARE OVER...AND NOW ITS TIME FOR THE REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP TO focus ON WHAT REALLY MATTERS THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE!
MINING QUESTIONS
BY BRAD KING
Lagging Leadership From Democrats
Negotiations on the General Agreement on Trades and Tariffs (GATT) have produced controversial U.S. legislation to help establish the World Trade Organization, in which each country would have one vote and no veto power on trade dispute rulings.
The House of Representatives set its final vote for before the recent elections-, but the Senate was not as anxious to vote on GATT. Senator Fritz Hollings, D-S.C., using a loophole that allows committees to delay votes for 45 legislative days, delayed its vote until after the election and required a lame-duck session. Soon after, the House put off its vote as well.
So is this the type of leadership that prompted Democrats to be tossed out of office two weeks ago?
Defeated Rep. David Mann, D-Cincinnati, who will return to Washington, D.C., to vote on GATT, did not return six telephone calls over three days to comment.
Money for Nothing Or Banking on the Sacred
Halfway between Cincinnati and Chillicothe along Route 73 is Serpent Mound, an ancient burial ground that’s become an ideological battleground between local activists and developers. The snake-shaped mound is believed to be more than 900 years old, though some disagree on its significance to an indigenous culture that no longer exists.
The Serpent Mound and Ohio Brush Creek Alliance, along with the Ohio Historical Society, is developing a report for the World Heritage Commission to demonstrate why this man-made monument should be a world heritage site, a designation that would prevent development on the site.
U.S. Concord, which is based in Mount Vernon, OH, is pressing to develop land around the'site by damming Brush Creek to create a 1,100-acre lake which would run up to the base of the mound and possibly erode its limestone foundation. More than 2,500 homes are planned.
If Serpent Mound is potentially a world heritage site, why would anyone develop the land and possibly destroy the monument? U.S. Concord officials did not return four telephone calls seeking an answer.
Terry Napore, a local activist, offered an answer: “(U.S. Concord) can make a lot of money off of it.”
Cleaner Kentucky, But At What Cost?
On Jan. 1 gas prices in some Northern Kentucky counties may be going up.
Federal environmental regulations mandate that auto emissions be reduced. Ashland Oil, Kentucky's largest oil company, supports clean fuel as the best reduction solution for Kentucky. Stan Lampe, director of media relations at Ashland Oil, Inc., says reformulated gasoline costs about 3 to 5 cents more per gallon to produce.
The amount of emissions reduction is about the same with emissions testing or the use of clean fuels. If a Kentucky auto emissions test costs $8, why do major oil companies like Ashland and Exxon support clean fuels as the answer when they are likely to increase consumer costs even more?
“We believe the quick, easy way to capture environmental benefits is to support clean fuels,” Lampe says, “and we believe reformulated gas is the best clean fuel."
BURNING QUESTIONS isour weekly attempt to afflict the comfortable.
News&Views
An Alternative Look at How and Why It
Happened
Under Her Thumb?
City Councilmen say disagreeing with the mayor negative consequences
BY NANCY FIROR
Despite all the talk about bickering on Cincinnati City Council, some members say there’s a different problem at the heart of disruption at City Hall.
Councilmen Tom Luken, Dwight Tillery and Todd Portune say that, though democracy is built on discussion that allows for “spirited debate,” a council member.who disagrees with the mayor can quickly be labeled a bickerer. The three were among five criticized last month by Mayor Roxanne Qualls for petty politics.
Compounding the problem, said the three, is that the media is not telling the public the whole story.
“The other part of this whole image (of bickering) that’s been manufactured is that there’s something wrong with spirited debates,” Tillery, said. “They’re attempting to silence us. It’s a very serious issue.”
Luken said, “Anybody who disagrees with her is under-cutting the mayor.”
Almost a month after Qualls’ remarks appeared in The Cincinnati Enquirer triggering claims from Councilman Charles Winburn that the’ mayor was having an “emotional crisis” Tillery, Luken and Portune say they remain concerned about the divisiveness such episodes have created.
“We are trying to move ahead and get a majority of people (on council) to move in the right direction,” Luken said.
Discussions among some of the five about the possible formation of a majority council coalition came to the forefront last month after Qualls blasted fellow Democrats Portune, Tillery, Luken and Tyrone Yates and, at times, Republican Winburn in the Oct. 27 Enquirer article.
But Portune said exclusive coalitions can also promote division.
“I’m looking for constructive ways for all nine (council members) to move ahead,” he said.
5
At the mayor’s invitation, Portune and Tillery have met with her since Oct. 27 in an attempt to settle differ-
Cincinnati City Council member by the city’s Law and he chairs. The committee had and Portune said elements parental accountability what some council members move,” Councilman nance from committee who proposed the curfew,
The Balkanization of America
Republican electoral sweep shifts public attention back to ‘states rights' and helps pit regions against regions
ESSAY BY DANIEL BROWN
Americans cluck and chide Europeans and Africans for the so-called “Balkanization” of existing nations that devolve into component ethnic communities which are ungovernable. Megalopolises emerge on the coasts of Africa and South America, creating borderless countries. Serbs, Croats and Slovenes demand their Wilsonian rights to “self-determination,” along with Palestinians, Basques in Spain, Kurds in three countries, Protestants in Ireland, Armenians and any number of'groups from the former Soviet Union.
“Ethnic hatreds from time immemorial,” Americans claim. Italy and Germany, unified for less than i50 years, may yet devolve.into duchies, principalities, city-states.
The balkanization of America proceeds along parallel tracks with the rest of the world but goes unnoticed as such.
The return of “states rights” is beginning to pit state against state. During the Reagan presidency, welfare and education were dumped on individual states without proper funding. States, in turn, dumped social problems on their largest cities. Grass-roots politics were imposed from above, downwards in an inversion of the populist norm as presented by the likes of Ross Perot.
States, of course, have individual constitutions and legislatures. Education, historically, was always a local issue, funded by municipal property taxes. The great debates of the 1950s about federal funding for public schools were legitimate concerns: fear centered around preempted states rights and local autonomy. During the civil rights movement, the Supreme Court reinterpreted the 14th Amendment to knock down segregation laws in the South. Since then, Americans have assumed that federal law supersedes state law.
THUMB: FROM PAGE 5
The following week, he and the others changed their votes because it was not their intent to keep the curfew from going into effect July 1, Portune said. He said changes that addressed original concerns with the ordinance were made in the permanent curfew, approved in October.
Alternative theories
Luken, who as of Friday had not met with the mayor in the aftermath of last month’s dispute, said he, too, had grown accustomed to inaccurate depictions of himself as someone who constantly bickered.
While there are various opinions among council members about Luken being critical, Luken said it seemed that all he had to do was ask a question and he would be accused of bickering.
For example, he said, during a July 6 discussion about funding for the conservatory on Fountain Square West, he asked City Manager John Shirey a question. According to a partial transcript of that meeting, Luken’s question followed others from Portune and Tillery. But Luken, not satisfied with the manager’s answer, repeated his question in some form four times before Shirey, according to the transcript, said: “You know I am happy to answer questions of council members who give me an opportunity to answer, but I don’t
A history of conflict
Our litigious, fractious, balkanized country emerged from such conflicts. Our Constitution guarantees more rights to states than Americans may realize; the country grew in the last century, state by state, as The Great Compromise allowed each new state to include or exclude slavery.
During the oil crisis of 1973, Southwesterners gloated about oil heating prices in the Northeast; now Northeasterners don’t want to pay for water rights or mineral rights for the Southwest and Mountain states. No one is simply American anymore only AsianAmerican, Irish-American, African-American and the like; all are indicators of American balkanization. The myth of the melting pot was deconstructed into its most fragmentary components. All peoples require myths to cohere.
Fate of cities
Putting It Together
The recent Republican electoral sweep is portrayed as a.national mandate while manipulating the issue of states rights through nationally-funded television campaigns imposing “family values” state by state. Cincinnati’s pro-issue 3 campaign was funded from Colorado which used to be called “outside agitation” in the ’60s. Republicans and religious fundamentalists have created a simulacrum of the Constitution, inverting states rights and local issues through a national agenda.
America is divided by class, race, gender, rich vs. poor, white vs. people of color, cities vs. suburbs. But the real balkanization is emerging as region against region, similar to what’s happening in Europe.
The cycle begins as the Northeast loses jobs to the non-union Southeast. And soon the Balkans of America appear: the mid-Atlantic states; the two Midwests (the original Northwest Territory, including Ohio, and the true farm-belt Midwest) Rocky Mountain states; the Mid-South/Deep South; the Southwest; three potential Californias; the Pacific Northwest; and Texas, a region unto itself.
New counties are being created today, breaking away from Washington state and the old Kansas Territory.
Staten Island seceded from New York City. Californians will vote to potentially create three individual states. These rights are guaranteed by our Constitution.
like coming here and being bullied.”
Then, a July 10 Enquirer article titled “Squabbling plagues city council” reported: “During a bitter discussion Democrat Tom Luken practically picked a fight with City Manager John Shirey, peppering the manager with so many questions that the normally sedate Shirey lost his cool.”
‘“I don’t like to come here and be bullied,’ Shirey shouted at Luken,” the story read.
Sometimes Luken is critical, Tillery said, but the bickering problem on council has been blown into something it is not.
And the exaggeration, he said, stems from a concerted effort that began after last year’s election to single out former mayor Tillery and certain council members.
“I’ve been rather astonished,” Tillery said. “I think some of the media have become personal advocates for the mayor.... It’s very clear only one side is being told.”
Tillery said he did not appreciate the results of last month’s outbursts, which placed him in the most recently defined group of malcontents because of Winburn’s comment about the mayor having an “emotional crisis.”
That comment, coupled with discussions between Winburn and the four others that followed, prompted editorials from both daily newspapers criticizing the five members for promoting patronizing messages about the mayor.
Winburn previously told CityBeat that he has been
Those who claim that Jerusalem and Sarejevo should be international cities might take a look at four American cities which have become national entities and problems. All are ports of entry for immigrants, each a microcosm of American problems: Los Angeles, New York, San Diego and Miami (and, soon, Houston) are intramural, national cities. Washington, D.C. is to Bonn, Germany what Berlin is to New York: just an administrative capital.
States will form regions as economic blocs to compete with other regions, while national cities are bankrupted. The recent Republican sweep ignores such issues, attempting to dump such cities on the states where each exists.
The Republican victories may be viewed two ways: as a national mandate for a vague “Contract with America” or, more probable, as citizens voting against bickering Democrats but not for Republicans just as they voted against George Bush two years ago and not necessarily for Bill Clinton. “Throw the bums out” is the operative expression, twice. Americans have said “not” twice in two years but “yes” to nothing, potentially unaware of the country’s balkanization.
The balkanization of America will continue as states rights coalesce with regional development, and the battie lines should move from Congress to the courts with increasing lawsuits, cities against states, states against the Feds.
targeted by the mayor for reasons that included his stance in favor of Issue 3 and his refusal to be forced into voting consistently with a coalition of other council members thatdncluded the mayor.
Yates did not return a telephone message to comment.
Tillery said his problems had been brewing since the last election, after which he said he was characterized as someone who resented a new mayor being elected even though he had not made any comment to that effect.
“I don’t have an issue with Mayor Qualls,” Tillery said. “Just because she became mayor doesn’t mean she became my enemy.”
He said such characterizations were undermining his accomplishments on council, such as strides he made in moving forward Fountain Square West development and other projects.
In evaluating council’s progress, Tillery also compares legislative records. In 1993, when Tillery was mayor, council passed 457 legislative items. As of Monday, the total so far for 1994 was 414.
You’re driving along, trying to get home in time to catch a few minutes with the family before they head off in a multitude of directions. You know you're going a little faster than you should, but you’re in a hurry. Then you see the flashing lights in your rear-view mirror. As the police officer walks up to your car, you can’t help but wonder, “Am just another number being added to this cop's daily quota sheet?’’
The answer to that question is YES.
Every patrol officer in every district in the City of Cincinnati is required to write a certain number of parking and speeding tickets. The exact numbers vary from district to district and shift to shift.
Most officers agree that the numbers required are so minimal that they’re not unattainable and that they usually only ticket someone, when there is no doubt of guilt. What’s at fault here, however, is that quotas promote ticketing for borderline violations, especially when an evaluation period is drawing to a close.
The Cincinnati Police Department’s administration refers to these required numbers as "work goals,’’ saying they’re used as a form of evaluation. Supervisors can look at an officer’s worksheet at the end of a 28-day rotation period and see if he/she was goofing off or actually working. This argument would be more believable if officers’ performances were judged on more than just the number of moving and parking tickets they wrote.
More important crimes
The department administration has tried to convince the public that we need to be ticketed in order to prevent auto accidents. If the police think that they can keep the number of auto accidents down by writing traffic tickets, why don’t they suggest a similar strategy for decreasing the number of drug deals, burglaries, domestic violence or rapes?
Could it be that these types of crimes don't generate money for the city, but use it?
The very nature of quotas places more importance on one crime over another. Every police officer understands the message from their supervisors: offenses which make money for the city are the most important ones. An article in the November 1993 issue of Forbes magazine sums it up: “Politicians everywhere are turning to parking tickets as a handy source of revenue to either reduce deficits or fund pet projects that have absolutely nothing to do with eliminating traffic congestion."
Unsafe practice
The most troubling aspect of using a quota system is that it’s unsafe for police officers and the citizens they serve. Officers should not have the added anxiety of meeting minimums when they are preoccupied with more tangible matters. In fact, in order to meet their quotas, some Cincinnati officers have been known to write traffic tickets on their way to less important, non-life threatening runs.
The fact that the City of Cincinnati uses traffic fines to pay for development projects or operating revenues isn't cause for concern. It’s a good idea to utilize extra money to help keep up the quality of life here and keep down taxes.
That the city relies on these funds and therefore emphasizes the management of revenue-generating crimes is more than a cause for concern. It’s dangerous.
MICHELLE KENNEDY, married to a Cincinnati Police Officer, is a founder of Police Spouses for Officer Safety. This column will run monthly in CityBeat.
Changing Flight Patterns
Citing current jet noise and pollution, Delhi Township official wants to move airport (and its money) to Ohio
BY NANCY FIROR
While the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport considers future expansions, support could be mounting for a plan to build a new airport on the Ohio side of the river.
The plan was devised by Delhi Township Trustee Ron Kruse and is backed by the environmental group he heads Planning Around Nature And Community Environmental Areas (PANACEA).
The idea is to build a new regional international airport in Clinton County and connect it to downtown Cincinnati and Dayton with a light rail system. Kruse says Ohio officials need to consider the plan before airplane noise, traffic jams, air pollution and economic benefits the airport gives Kenton County, Ky., are out of control.
“Environmentally, the (Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky) airport is positioned wrong for expansion,” Kruse says. “The airport has outgrown its area.”
Dale Huber, the airport’s deputy director of aviation, says expansion undertaken by the Kenton County Airport Board generally relies on federal dollars and is, therefore, subject to rigorous environmental testing before approved. Airport officials have determined that the airport will need a new runway if traffic at the facility is up to 600,000 takeoffs and landings a year by 2011. If that number is reached, a master plan to be released by the end of the year outlines expansion designed to accommodate the growth. That could include construction of a new terminal, land purchases and industrial and commercial development.
“If it comes, we’ll be ready,” Huber says. “The airport is positioning itself to expand if necessary. No expansion takes place without the necessary environmental work.”
But Kruse says: “1 think Ohio better stand up and start seeing what’s happening. (Ohio’s officials) are not thinking of our future and they’re asleep at the switch.”
Kruse has sent his plan to an array of officials in hopes of gaining support and the governor’s attention. He envisions a new regional international airport probably being built at the old Clinton County Air Force Base, where, he says, it would truly serve southwestern Ohio. Cincinnati is growing to the north, he explains, and a trip to the existing airport hindered by traffic congestion already is taking many area residents more than an hour to make.
“On a general scope, certainly his idea warrants looking at,” says State Rep. Jerome Luebbers, D-Cincinnati. Kruse says his plan also is needed to: Reduce noise problems and traffic congestion around the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport.
Ease the area’s air pollution problems by getting automobiles off the road.
Combat lack of control over the airport by Ohio officials, an on-going problem that revolves around the
Huber points out that Ohio does have representation on the airport board. While not among the seven voting members, he says, Ohio has six advisory board members who do get to vote on the committee level, where recommendations for the board are devised.
As for noise, the airport has a $110 million noiseabatement budget and has purchased more than 120 of 158 homes in the Ethan’s Glen subdivision in Burlington, west of the airport, because of night aircraft activity. In addition, the airport has purchased about 90 homes in other areas.
‘Environmentally, the (Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky) airport is positioned wrong for expansion. The airport has outgrown its area.’
The airport also is extending an east-west runway, which will allow the airport to direct more of the noise away from Ohio and areas south of the airport.
RON KRUSE
Other factors such as what has happened in other cities where officials decided another airport was needed also should be considered, Huber says. Those examples include:
A regional airport at Newburgh, N.Y., that was supposed to be linked by light rail to the New York City metro area. The idea did not muster support because people could not justify traveling for an hour by train when they could take a 20-minute taxi ride to one of the area’s three other airports. There is an airport at Newburgh, but it serves only the immediate area.
Delhi Township Trustee Ron Kruse were to go away?” he
Cincinnati musicians, clubs and fans
build a small but passionate local jazz community
There is no musical art form so uniquely identitled with the city as jazz.
Born out of African-Americans’ struggle against the white man’s chains in turn-of-the century New Orleans, embraced by the working class masses who worked the docks and tended by the upper crust, jazz implores a freedom of expression, a freedom woven securely in the fabric of American experience.
The sound of jazz thrives wherever hearts beat free, acting on its audience like a siren’s call. Its rhythm cannot be suppressed, its call demands a visceral response.
Jazz lives within the soul of the musician, many of whom have made Cincinnati their home through the decades and left their personal imprint on this region’s jazz tradition. Fats Waller, Curtis Peagler, Frank Foster, Cal Collins and Jimmy McGary all contributed a musical legacy that begs Cincinnatians never to forget.
Even now in Cincinnati there exists a small but strong core of professional jazz musicians who live, breathe and play jazz in clubs, coffee houses, hotel piano bars, downtown, uptown and all sites in between.
You can hear bebop, big band, contemporary and free. You can dress up, dress down, make a request, or even sit in if you can handle it.
But the only request Cincinnati’s jazz musician will ask of you is, “Listen to this.”
tration. Just three notes, played subtly different each time, not quite right. Those who call the night their home look up from their posts, ears tracking the eerie sound to its source.
Standing amidst a half-moon of burned out cigarette butts and an open instrument case, the trumpeter points his horn eastward. Though the early morning is cool, fine beads of sweat line his brow and upper lip, his shirt open to the breeze.
He’s been standing here since his gig was up at 2 a.m., trying to recapture the feeling of the riff that haunted him all evening. The audience left satisfied, the musicians packed up and left on cue, but he’s not ready to quit. The riff is insistent, it burns on his brain. Sleep, he knows, will elude him until he gets it right. Just one more time, he thinks.
He plays the opening bars with calm determination, the tempo gradually building. He takes a quick breath, and to perfection plays the three-note phrase. All those who hear him breathe a collective sigh of relief, return to their lonely posts. The trumpeter packs his instrument, his movements heavy with exhaustion. Birds chirp greetings to the day. Runners' feet beat rhythmically on pavement. Fountain Square pumps spray into the dawning sky. Downtown stirs to life.
These are the sounds of the city.
This is a place where jazz lives.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
Mike Malone
Vivid turquoise eyes are not Mike Malone’s only feature that surprises. This thoughtful young man with the hard-edged sax is surprisingly poised for one so young. Malone, 25, has been a working jazz musician in Cincinnati for four years. A Cleveland native, he came here to attend CCM and earned a degree in broadcasting. He received his jazz schooling sitting in with local jazz talent. He never had to employ himself as a broadcaster after graduation because the gigs kept coming.
“Music is my first love,” Malone acknowledges. “I’ve been lucky to be able to make a living doing what I love most.”
Now a familiar face around town, Malone has sit in as a sax sideman with Eugene Goss & Volition, the Art Gore Trio, Jim Anderson & Cohesion, Phil DeGreg and Kathy Wade in such venues as Jazz Live at the Hyatt, the Swifton Jazz Series, the Blue Wisp and the Greenwich Tavern. His lilting sax phraseology gave Ekimi a Village Vanguard sound and truly catapulted him into the local limelight.
Malone prefers to play the harder edge, Miles Davis 1960s free jazz a sound not found frequently in Cincinnati. He prefers to break new ground with a free improvisational style that might shock the more conservative listener. And most Cincinnati club owners are not willing to risk patronage to introduce locals to a freer interpretation of jazz.
“I prefer to play in a kind of New York club that permits the musician to cut loose,” Malone says. “There’s only one place I’ve played in Cincinnati where the musician has total freedom. That’s the Jazz Loft Society in Clifton. There the audience comes to listen.”
Most of us expect Cincinnati’s club scene to be different from New York’s or Chicago’s, both in sheer numbers of clubs and the style of jazz heard there. But Malone claims that even Cleveland’s club scene is much more diverse with greater than 30 clubs playing jazz five nights a week and the city’s jazz style is much less bebop oriented.
“The City of Cleveland is more supportive of jazz as an art form, with more festivals and a regional jazz society,” he says. “Because the audience is much more supportive of live jazz in Cleveland, the clubs can attract more national acts. And more national acts means a more diverse listening audience.”
Malone and his quartet recently produced a recording of original work and new arrangements of jazz standards called Agile. He’s floating the tape around the industry, hoping for a recording contract and trying to get showcased in New York.
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You won’t find Mike Malone performing anywhere in Cincinnati for the next four months, though he’ll be in the Caribbean playing on the Premier Cruise Line. But, he says, “I’m planning on returning to Cincinnati. It’s a good place to live with a good base of local talent.”
A Warner Bros, talent representative supposedly responded to Agile by saying, “Mike Malone is one to watch.” Cincinnati’s watching.
A Song of Common Prayer
It’s 7 a.m., any Friday. Early morning traffic converges on downtown. Headlights snake along interstate tributaries. Radios blare, horns screech, drivers bleep and car phones connect.
Men and women in business suits carrying mahogany leather scurry along congested sidewalks, steaming coffee in one hand, morning newspaper tucked under their arm and folded to the business who's-getting-ahead section.
Inside buildings, the office coffee klatsch welcomes the usual Friday morning chatter. Plans are made for the weekend, what to where, who to go with, who will I see there, what kind of music to hear. Need to hear some hot jazz. They fire up computers, check calendars, look out the window, anticipate the weekend. They check their watches.
It’s only 8 a.m.
This is a place where jazz lives.
Patrick De Santos
Serendipity led Patrick De Santos to visit Cincinnati in 1992, and serendipity brought him back to live in 1994.
A well-known jazz vocalist in his native France, De Santos’ popularity is on the rise among Cincinnati’s young jazz audience who delight in his sophisticated yet energetic delivery.
Born in the Cape Verde Islands to parents of African, Swedish, Portuguese and Asian extraction, this jazz singer with the soulful chocolate eyes, shy grin and disarming French accent first came here as a participant in Cincinnati’s Cultural Exchange Program. Originally trained as a classical vocalist, De Santos became disenchanted with the predictability of classical voice and dedicated himself to the jazz improvisational style that is uniquely American. His mind was set on coming to America, the birthplace of jazz.
“When I got the-letter inviting me to teach a-Master Class at the College Conservatory of Music,” he says, smiling, “it was the fulfillment of a dream to come to the United States, the musical garden of the world.”
De Santos could only stay for ten days in ’92, but time spent here visiting local jazz clubs and meeting musicians was enough for him to know he wanted to return. He left a position as the head of the voice department in the largest private music school in. France to move back to Cincinnati in January. Since returning he’s been waiting to clear legal residency. He’s teaching a vocal technique class at the School for Creative and Performing Arts, but U.S. requirements do not allow him to receive pay for any of his performances for one full year. That process takes a toll on personal savings and risks personal failure.
He shrugs off the risk, however, stating, “You create your world with your own thoughts. If you have a positive attitude, then what you want will come to you. I have faith that what I’m doing is what I need to be doing, and where I am right now is where I need to be.”
“Cincinnati is a good place to start,” he adds. “The city is more human, it is a more reasonable place. And, there is a lot of work for me here.”
De Santos has been working steadily in local jazz clubs for the past 11 months. His favorite haunt is Ivory’s in Clifton Heights. His vocal improvisational style lends an extra dimension to the cabaret/big band vocal
Patrick De Santos
style more prevalent here. Comparisons to a young A1 Jarreau, he cautions, are unwanted. To him, the voice is an individual apparatus. De Santos has dedicated his efforts for the past two years toward creating his own jazz vocal style, a style he acknowledges is not yet mature.
“This is a lifetime process for most musicians,” he emphasizes.
De Santos uses his tenor voice to create unique sounds, lending a surprising twist to jazz standards. None of his performances are ever the same, but they are all emotional.
“I hear my African roots when I sing,” he says, holding a hand over his heart. “I may be. culturally European, but I am American in my heart because 1 sense the freedom that is jazz.”
Friday Night Friends
Every Friday night in downtown Cincinnati between 9 and 10 o'clock, the time when the only people in the streets are those who choose to be there, a gentleman stands outside the jazz club greeting his regulars with a handshake and a nod.
Inside, the crowd stands loosely around the polished bar, discreetly.checking their faces in the mirror half-hidden by dark-colored bottles. Conversations never quite begin, as words blend with the fragments of melody floating out of the arched doorway where attentive jazz patrons fill the lounge.
This could a jazz club like any other in town. The favored style here is long on Levis and short on Armani. This is not a club where bodies are draped langorously across satin-backed chairs in sophisticated nonchalance. No casual listeners these.
Eyes closed, feet tapping, fingers snapping, head nodding to the rhythm of the bass strings. Caught up in days too busy, too full of people and obligations, commitments and overcommitments, dinner parties, deadlines and deadbeats, there is solace in the vocalist’s song. She speaks of autumn leaves drifting by windows, reminds me to smile even though my heart is aching.
Her voice is an invitation to dance cheek to cheek. From the moment she sings I know he’s around when the sky and ground start in ringing, time stands still. You’re transported to a 1940s cabaret where women in sheer organza dresses are held tightly in the arms of their men, debonair in black tie and tails, white cravat at their throats.
I know that he’s near by the thunder I hear in advance. The soft call of the trombone moves the melody, touches the secret places. His words and his words alone are the words that can start my heart singing. Tender smiles, long gazes.
His is the only music that makes me dance.
In a ‘90s world where folks would rather rent a movie on Saturday night than spend an intimate evening with loved ones, Ann Chamberlain and Eddie Morgan —jazz vocalist and trombonist to the stars offer an alternative to the dinner and movie routine. Ann and Eddie offer a mix of contemporary and big band tunes, and you will rarely find them performing with a large combo.
“I prefer a small combo,” Chamberlain says. “It gives us a much more intimate sound.”
Chamberlain grew up in the jazz scene. Her father was a jazz saxophonist, so she traveled the road with her family as a young girl. Although her family settled in Findlay, Ohio, she never lost her jazz focus. Singing in gigs from Indianapolis to Dayton to Cincinnati, Chamberlain has been living and performing in here since 1987. “I had to make it as a single mom, and there’s always been enough work for me here,” she says.
Morgan, an off-and-on Cincinnati citizen since the age of 16, played trombone on the road with the big bands of Jimmy Dorsey and Woody Herman in the 1950s. He’s played the club set in New York, the show orchestras in Vegas and still gets the call to play with Frank Sinatra’s orchestra several times a year. He only recently returned from Chicago, where he opened the Bulls’ new United Center with Sinatra. “Frank is as good as it gets,” Morgan says.
When Vegas show orchestras gave way to Disneyland and circus acts, Morgan came back to Cincifmati in 1989 and began working at the Blue Wisp. “There’s always been good jazz here,” he says. “In L.A. clubs come and go, but the Blue Wisp has been around over 12 years.”.
One evening a few years ago Chamberlain sat in with the Blue Wisp house band and the rest, as they say, is history. Ann and Eddie have been partners on and off the stage now for five years, exchanging musical phrases and bantering chatter in Cincinnati hotels and small jazz clubs. Her powerful, sultry vocals and his whispery, soft trombone combine to set a mood from playful bossa nova to intimate jazz ballads.
“I choose songs for their lyrical content,” Chamberlain says. “It-doesn’t have to be my story, but a good story.”
Cincinnatians can hear Chamberlain and Morgan at regular gigs at Coco’s in Covington, Pacific Moon Cafe in Montgomery and The Boot at Watertown Yacht Club. Leave your worries at home, and be prepared to be transported.
His is the only music that makes me dance.
The Bridge
The city sleeps as the saxophonist stands on the footpath of the bridge overlooking the rock-filled ravine. Solitude and nothing else to do are luxuries in a musician's day of constant phone calls, endless rehearsals, running from gig to gig, setting up, packing up, only to get up tomorrow to do the same thing.
He lovingly removes his instrument, checks his reeds, massages his chops, raises the mouthpiece to his lips, and plays his favorite Sonny Rollins solo ballad, ‘“Til There Was You." The night embraces the sax's refrain, envelopes the notes in the bosom of its cloak of darkness.
When his song is completed and the only sound that breaks the silence of the night is the echo of his song’s final call, he gives a satisfied smile.
“Yes, he thinks, “that’s how it should be played."
This is a place where jazz lives.
Randy Villars
The cacophony of conversation in the club subsides to an excited hum as Randy Villars approaches the microphone, saxophone held casually against his hip. Club patrons end conversations, stub out cigarettes and focus their attention on center stage.
From the first hypnotic lyric, the line of demarcation between the musician and his saxophone evaporates. Villars becomes his sax.
A Dayton native, Villars has been part of the jazz scene in Cincinnati for more than ten years. He takes seriously his role in the Cincinnati jazz scene.
“The stigma that great jazz can only be heard in New York doesn’t have to be necessary,” Villars states. He assumes that, like New York jazz fans, Cincinnati jazz listeners demand a professional level of performance and technical skill. “Every note carries the melody forward. Great jazz musicians have an absolute respect for melody above chops. There can be no room for fluff.”
The Chicago and New York jazz sounds have found their way to Cincinnati’s club scene. Jazz listeners can enjoy the contemporary sound with a home-town twist on Friday nights at Bacchus on Seventh Street downtown, where Villars’ quartet breathes new life into Cincinnati jazz. “The ’50s bebop style is always changing,” he says. “It can change here, too.”
Villars’ first jazz recording, Levels, bridges the gap between the traditional Cincinnati bebop style and popular jazz. A collection of nine original compositions composed, produced and arranged by Villars and performed entirely by local jazz talent Levels is scheduled for release in early 1995.
“I started the project three years ago,” Villars admits. “The compositions make a musical statement that parallels a personal spiritual journey I undertook in 1991.”
Always a respected addition to local and national acts, he spent the first few years of his career on the
Randy Villars
fringe of jazz. “Up until three years ago, I was always a sideman, a musician for hire. Levels represents a departure from being a follower of jazz styles to being a leader both as a producer and performer.”
Villars’ musical training began with classical piano at the age of 5. By the age of 14, however, when he first heard a Bill Evans recording, he fell in love with the pulse and rhythm that is jazz. And when he heard Sonny Rollins’s sax, he knew this would be his instrument. After stints with Disney and flirting with musical academia at Ohio State University, Villars arrived in Cincinnati in 1986 to do studio work and commercial music production. Jazz took a backseat to the demands of making a living.
Today, his talent on the sax is in demand. He still composes and arranges music for local television commercials and scores background music for soap operas, but jaz.z is. once again his top priority.
You can hear him at The Cincinnatian Hotel’s piano bar on weeknights, at Tommy’s on Main and with the Bluebirds at Allyn’s Cafe. But if your tastes lean toward stylistic, eclectic jazz with traditional bebop roots and the occasional funk and Latin surprise, plan to meet Randy Villars and his quartet at Bacchus on Friday nights..
Oscar On...
-Often referred to as the “jazz man’s disc jockey,” Oscar Treadwell is immortalized in the annals of jazz discography. Charlie Parker, Thelonius Monk and Wardell Gray all named Treadwell in original jazz compositions. The most well known is Parker’s “An Oscar for Treadwell,” but Monk’s “Oscity” and Gray’s “Treaclin’ with Treadwell” can still be found on jazz label re-recordings.
Not many American cities can boast a d.j. whose career spans jazz from the Golden Era of the 1940s to today’s freer improvisational style. Treadwell plied his trade on WNOP-AM for ten years before joining WGUC-FM in 1973, where he’s been ever since.
“I love the music,” Treadwell says. “It never gets old.” His current radio program, “Jazz with O.T.,” can be heard on WGUC Tuesday through Friday from midnight to 2 a.m. and Saturday at 11 p.m.-l a.m. Here’s what he has to say about jazz, jazz musicians and Cincinnati jazz fans.
Jazz Style
“Jazz was before, and will be long after we stop playing it, because it is so individually oriented. Jazz is a CONTINUED ON PAGE 12
Ann Chamberlain
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11
wonderful continuum. The jazz musicians of today will be the jazz greats 40 years from now, just as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Bill Evans are today.
“The form of jazz is unpredictable. That’s why we can’t predict what jazz will be like, except there will always be freedom of inquiry. The future of jazz is so exciting: we don’t know what the jazz musician will interpret.
“If there is a definition of jazz, it is the sound of freedom freedom of the musician to create what he feels, and for the audience to open to the musician. If you accept the jazz musician, the musician feels the acceptance and continues the investigation of what he feels. That’s what jazz is all about: the ability of the musician to convey what he feels, and that only comes from freedom of inquiry.”
Jazz Musician
“Jazz men understand the power of their art to influence others. Jazz men revere those among them, their peers, who they know are making the sacrifice to stay right where they are in the local community to push their art. Every city has a Jimmy McGary. He represents some of the best aspects of jazz men the willingness to ignore the financial burden and a dedication to their craft.
“Jazz men are telegraphers. They tell us about the society we live in. Methods of playing jazz change with new demand, and the old ways no longer work. Every era in jazz is representative of the society in which it found itself. There was a time when Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and
Bud Powell’s music was not considered jazz. It was labeled ‘Chinese music’ because they weren’t playing the way they were supposed to play.
“Jazz men are to music as poets are to literature. Poets are the jazz men of literature. They are the free spirits who take chances all the time and who are rejected most of the time. Jazz men are on the outside, acutely aware of their feelings, but not accepted by the majority of jazz listeners who want standards by which to judge. Standards don’t come from jazz men.
“Jazz men make themselves stretch, go beyond what they knew yesterday, to take a chance. We’re all jazz men in that respect. As the Beatles once said, ‘Beethoven was a great jazz man.’
“Jazz men are their own worst critic. They know when they’re not playing well. Jazz men also know when the audience is listening with bad ears, when they’re being turned on by crap. But it drives them to do better.”
Cincinnati Jazz Style
“Cincinnati is styleless, and that’s a good thing. It reflects the willingness of Cincinnatians to live and let live. Where else could a radio program like mine have lasted for 30 years?
A compelling night. It’s the second week in November, yet it feels like a south Florida winter. The warm, humid air is soft on your skin, and the fragrances that drift with the night breeze invite you to stay out of doors. The scents of wood, molding and still-fresh leaves, and rich soil waft from an Earth not yet dormant. Soon all these natural scents will be frozen at their source, locked away for months.
By this time last year the first snow blanketed the ground. Weather records say that temperatures should be in the 40’s now.
You sit on the front porch, with all senses open to the night. There's a wildness in the southern winds; you feel the same tug and turmoil in your veins as follows the first spring thaw. Subtropical winds racing along ahead of an approaching cold front have transported great draughts of the Gulf of Mexico; tonight a low woolly swath of stratiform cloud blankets the sky, reflecting the orange lights of the city.
Your internal clock, which ticks at a pace of constant rush and fast traffic, winds down to a primal pace. Your awareness deepens. Soon you are passing time with the serene ash tree that is a front-yard companion. You are just sitting with each other, growing roots in the Earth.
You can almost feel the character of this hilltop, as if it's unchanged from the centuries-old forest that once covered it. The aged red oak across the street certainly remembers those times; its huge trunk contains wood formed in years before asphalt swaddled this hill, before the bricks were laid for these buildings.
Though we urbanites have accelerated our lives, these trees hold steadfastly to the calm, steady slowness they’ve always known: roots firmly planted in the Cincinnati clay, branches reaching unyieldingly to the sun and rain. Sitting under the trees brings calm, a restoration of a sense of balance. They have kept to their nature, confident; they remind that life cannot be rushed.
Old-timers know that kind of slow pace. They still chuckle: “Doing nothing but watching the paint peel, listening to the wood rot."
Unwinding to that tempo is a deliberate effort for many of us, but once there, the rewards are rich. This is the pace where nothing happens, and everything. It is the pace where you feel the trees growing. If you listen long enough, the rich life of the natural world that exists around you even in the city begins, like a flower, to open.
A week ago a screech owl alighted on this ash tree. Its piercingly clear tremolo cry, which sounds like the whinny of a miniature horse, rang through the night. On occasion, a mockingbird sits in this tree and sings his melodious song to the full moon. A shy possum waddles up, snuffling around for food, perhaps for her young. On being spied by a human, she scuttles away, slow even at her fastest pace, to take shelter under some shrubbery.
It is warm enough tonight that the crickets are in chorus. The hypnotic trilling tugs at some primeval level of your being. You try to separate out the voices, to distinguish individuals from that cacophony.
It’s like trying to hear separate words in a language you don’t understand: All the phonemes run together. Two, three, four, five; each voice is distinctive, at a pitch and meter very different from the others. That soprano drone is a comfort, to be missed during the long silent winter nights. You sit for a while with the trees and the crickets; the breeze moves like the gentle breath of a sleeper.
Nothing has to happen. You are on the dark side of a turning planet; the sun’s return will not be rushed. Your heart is with the trees; this moment cannot be located on a calendar defined by arbitrary landmarks and a mechanical measure of time’s passage.
As it has for eons, your blood flows at the Earth’s pace.
Walnut Hills resident KAREN ARNETT finds the green even in a parking lot.
Hope for the Holidays
Born of Everyday Living
Humor, changing traditions, realistic expectations can ease seasonal stress
BY KATIE REYNOLDS
John Tidd calls it the January influx, the long line of holiday casualties who fill his waiting room at Family Success Consortium.
“I see people coming in January saying, ‘I just had the worst holiday of my life. What’s wrong with me?”’ says Tidd, a psychologist.
The victims aren’t of any particular age, sex or race, but include anyone who discovers their holiday experience didn’t measure up to the Norman Rockwell ideal.
’Tis the season for food, fiascoes, financial crises and family feuds.
“If families are able to get together, often Aunt Sara will bring up Soand-So’s suicide, or Uncle Jerry will complain about the pumpkin pie,” says Ruth-Anne Dierks, a psychotherapist with Catholic Social Services.
It’s a Wonderful Life it’s not.
The symptoms 1 which, begin shortly after Halloween include dread and apprehension. Stress buiids as daily routines are interrupted by holiday shopping, food preparation and family get-togethers. Finally, family confrontations erupt, and disappointments mar holiday cheer.
It’s a Wonderful Life it’s not. The symptoms which begin shortly after Halloween include dread and apprehension. Stress builds as daily routines are interrupted by holiday shopping, food preparation and family get-togethers.
The problems were so pervasive among her patients that psychologist Diane Castelli has in the past given seminars at Hyde Park Psychological Services on how to cope with holiday stresses. Her series have focused in part on one of the biggest culprits of holiday blues unrealistic expectations people have of the occasion, as well as themselves.
Dierks says, “Holidays are the worst because they represent people’s cultural ideals of family togetherness.”
Finally, family confrontations erupt, and disappointments mar holiday cheer. Christmas dinner announcements. For first-year, college their first return pendence. Instead find the same strict says.
Whether it’s finding the perfect gift or preparing a spread that’ll please the palates of finicky in-laws, the pressure to rise to the occasion while still observing
The holidays can recalls one family dition by doing away giving bonanza. Instead, the family approach. Each day, ty, such as cooking When it comes unless
Listings Index Film (capsule reviews, theater guide) 14
(recreational, spectator) 19
(events, meetings) 19
(concerts, clubs, varied venues) 20
(galleries, exhibits, museums) 22
(theater, dance, classical music) 27
(museums, historic homes) 25
(signings, events) 29
(a look at what’s ahead) 29
Utter Failure
Recommendations
CityBeat staff’s stamp of approval
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This Week’s Theme: Thanksgiving
It’s TURKEY time! Start your HOLIDAYS right with 97X’s pre-Thanksgiving dance party tonight at Bogart’s. (See our Etc. listings.) Then, if you’re up for it, put on your running shoes and be at the start by 9 a.m. for Bob Roncker’s Running Spot THANKSGIVING Day Race. (Sports listings.) If that’s not how you want to spend your holiday, take in PSYCHOLOGICAL VACATION at The Palace Club. (Music listings.) Or just enjoy the day of bird. Speaking of fowl, Utter Kiosk is utterly full of bird mentions: the WARSAW FALCONS at Local 1207 (in Music), Closson’s “CARDINALS on the Ohio” (in Art) and at least they have wings the FLYING PTERANDONS at Cincinnati Museum of Natural History (in Attractions). But for real TURKEYS, check out these films: The Pagemaster, / Santa Clause, k ; Junior, TimeCop and the very worst of the worst —Plan 9 from Outerspace. (Capsules in Film.).
To be included
Submit information for CityBeat calendar listings in writing by noon Thursday, seven days before publication. Mail to: Billie Jeyes, Listings Editor, Cincinnati CityBeat, 23 E. Seventh St., Suite 617, Cincinnati, OH 45202. Fax: 665-4369.
emphasis on the woman. For the male-dominated movie industry, their project is legitimately unique. Erotique tells three separate stories: “Let’s Talk about Sex,” directed by Lizzie Borden; “Taboo Parlor,” by the German director Monika Treut; and “Wonton Soup,” by Hong Kong director Clara Law. If art films must have a theme, Erotique breaks that rule. Perhaps there lies Erotique’s agenda women are not all the same, especially when it comes to any facet of their life, such as sex. To be honest, don’t bother looking for grand political statements in Erotique. Its pleasures are not that cerebral. They’re basically carnal.
Please include a contact name and daytime phone number.
Director Borden (Working Girls, Love Crimes) offers a look at a phone-sex operator, who decides to exert control over a client. Treut (The Virgin Machine) reveals a lesbian couple who invite a man into their home with explosive results. Lastly, Law’s story focuses couple, where the man looks
to the past so that the may be satisfied. The sex scenes in Erotique are not any more graphic than the countless soft-pom titles that line the shelves at Blockbuster. The difference is that with Erotique, women are not the victims, but the victors. For that one quality alone, the film reaches above the level of base excitement. Sure, we’re not talking Last Tango in Paris, but Erotique offers women a chance to address some topical issues with intelligence. Consider the fact that there are also gratuitous thrills as icing on the cake. With Kamala Lopez-Dawson, Priscilla Barnes and Hayley Man. (Unrated; at Real Movies.)
CityBeat grade: B. JUNIOR Director Ivan Reitman (Kindergarten Cop, Twins), more than any other filmmaker, should know how to make Arnold Schwarzenegger funny. In Junior, he has the best sight gag, a preg
nant Schwarzenegger. Reitman blows this golden, comic opportunity by miscasting-Danny DeVito as a straight man and Emma Thompson as some slapstick clown. Junior could have been hilarious instead ofjust being cute. With Pamela Reed and Frank Langella. (Rated PG-13; at area Showcase Cinemas.)
CityBeat grade: D. A LOW DOWN DIRTY SHAME
Here’s something we normally don’t see at Christmas time an adult, African-American actioncomedy. It looks like A Low Down Dirty Shame is high on car chases and shoot-outs. With funnyman Keenan Ivory Wayans in the lead, A Low Down Dirty Shame could turn out to be a Shaft with a sense of humor. Surrounded by all those kiddie flicks, A Low Down Dirty Shame may be your only adult choice at the multiplex. With Jada Pinkett, Charles S. Dutton and Sally Richardson. No screening.
(Rated R; at Showcase Cinemas.)
THE PAGEMASTER The older that Macaulay Culkin gets, the less kids like him. At least, that’s what Hollywood fears. This teen-age boy is being considered old before his time. Well, the folks at 20th Century Fox have found a way to keep Mac just the way kids want him turn the child-star into a cartoon. A young boy,
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issues of culture and class in this story of Asian women adapting to their
in England. The people and places may be foreign, but their struggles are familiar. Bahji on the Beach has that one thing that many American movies lack: feminine creative control. A chance to see a movie that will never come to a multiplex near you. With Sarita Khajuria, Nisha Nayar and Renu Kochar. (Unrated; closes Thursday at Real Movies.)
BARCELONA Director Whit Stillman (Metropolitan) builds upon his reputation for great dialogue and performances with his story of young Americans in the Catalan capital. Unlike his first effort, Barcelona benefits from having a real story. Told from a man's perspective, some have referred to Stillman’s film as “guyo-centric.’’ Think of it as simply the best American comedy of the year. With Taylor Nichols, Chris Eigeman and Tuska Bergen. (Rated R; opens Friday at Little Arts Theatre, Yellow Springs, Ohio.)
★ THE BRIDE WITH WHITE HAIR Damn that Dayton. They get fantastic Hong Kong cinema, and Cincinnati does not. Looks like another road trip up Interstate 75. Bride tells a story about a soldier (Leslie Cheung) who falls in love with a wolf girl (Bridgitte Lin). For those who have never seen any Hong Kong fantasy movies, you are missing out on great fun. (Unrated; at Neon Movies, Dayton, Ohio; 1-221-SHQW.)
CAMP NOWHERE Now, today's kids have their own version of Meatballs. Based on its box office results, this film is even too childish for children. With Christopher Lloyd. (Rated PG; at Norwood, Turfway, Forest Fair and Biggs Place Eastgate.)
★ CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER Some critics refer to Harrison Ford as the thinking man’s Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ford deserves better kudos than that. Clear and Present Danger brings some unexpected substance
to a normally flimsy genre. Canadian actor Henry Czerny excels in his role as Jack Ryan’s nemesis. This movie is for those who like a little brain with their brawn. (Rated PG-13; at Turfway, Norwood, Forest Fair, Biggs Place Eastgate and Westwood.)
★ CLERKS Smart people stuck in stupid jobs. That awful truth sums up life for many young men and women today. Film-school dropout Kevin Smith lived the life of a convenience-store clerk and made a film about it. Clerks is sometimes crude, often rude but always hilarious. This cheaply shot, black and white movie is as far away from Hollywood as any film can be. Just when you thought that Miramax Films was becoming another blase, big studio, it takes a chance on a refreshingly honest American independent. With Brian O’Halloran and Jeff Anderson.
(Rated R; at the Esquire Theatre.)
★ CORRINA, CORRINA After a long drought, WTioopi Goldberg gets a role which is equal to her abilities and intelligence. This tender drama about love and loss is one of the best family movies of the year. With Ray Liotta. (Rated PG; at Norwood, Turfway, Forest Fair and Biggs Place Eastgate.)
★ DESTINY IN SPACE Sure, everything looks cooler when it’s blown up super-huge in the IMAX format, but too often the initial excitement fades fast. (Remember Antarctica?) This time, IMAX cameras follow the space shuttle as it repairs the Hubble, and the images are amazing. Move over Star Trek here’s a real out-of-space adventure. (Not rated; at Robert D. Lindner Family Omnimax Theater.)
★ BULLETS OVER BROADWAY Woody .Allen remains one of American film’s more consistent auteurs with his latest comedy. Allen the man may be something of an enigma, but the filmmaker is simply brilliant. A young playwright (John Cusack) receives tips from an unlikely source. Allen’s trademark elements of witty dialogue, quality production and a stellar ensemble cast are in place. Thankfully, his work pace is prolific. One can never see enough of such smart, funny films. With Diane Wiest, Chazz Palminteri and Jennifer Tilly. (Rated R; at Loews Kenwood Towne Centre and Neon Movies in Dayton, Ohio; and Friday at the Esquire.)
DOUBLE DRAGON American film buffs love the furious stunts of Hong Kong action flicksrPerhaps, American children also would appreciate similar adventures.
Inspired by the self-titled video game, its story about two Kung-Fu brothers in an apocalyptic future fits the genre. Unlike quality Hong Kong cinema, Double Dragon has little action, no imagination and weak stunts. The kids deserve better. With Mark Dacascos. Scott Wolf and Robert Patrick. (Rated PG-13; closes today at area Showcase Cinemas.)
★ ED WOOD Filmmaker Tim Burton possesses the morbid style, dark humor and most importantly the authentic affection to bring Ed Wood’s story to life. Wood (Johnny Depp) epitomizes the crass showmanship which is integral to the Hollywood myth. His film Plan 9 from Outer Space says as much about American fimmaking as Star Wars. Wood’s story is funny, touching and worthy of this class treatment. The buzz has Martin Landau earning an Oscar nomination for his incredible turn as Bela Lugosi. With Sarah Jessica-Parker and Patricia Arquette. (Rated R; at Neon Movies, Dayton, Ohio.) ★ FORREST GUMP The phenomenon continues. America never tires of Forrest Gump. Tom Hanks combines the right amount of syrupy pathos with humor. Those people who complain about the movie’s glorification of the retarded are forcing politics where it doe? not belong. Let’s hope that the Christian Coalition does not use Gump as some kind of twisted poster boy. With Gary Sinese and Sally Field. (Rated PG-13; at area Loews Theatres and the Esquire Theatre.)
GO FISH No other art film had buzz than this tale about women looking for love. Unfortunately for first-time filmmakers Rose Troche and Guinevere Turner, it all talk and no ticket sales. Too bad, Go Fish is fresh, funky and very funny. Don’t believe people who tell you that it’s simply a lesbian movie. Go Fish is too good to be pigeon-holed like that. (Rated R; at Neon Movies, Dayton, Ohio; 1-221SHOW.)
THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH Sure, it’s not Cecil B. deMille’s best effort, but this overthe-top look at life under the big top is definitely worth the price of admission. Catch its amazing train crash, which preceded the one in The Fugitive by more than 40 years. With Betty Hutton and James Stewart. (Unrated; at Neon Movies, Dayton,Ohio.)
★ LIKE IT LIKE THAT
First-time filmmaker Darnell Martin’s tells a story that is sassy, funky and vibrantly alive. It vibrates with an honesty seldom evident to Hollywood movies. Martin’s voice may be the only black, female mouthpiece at the studio level. From evidence of this film, one hopes for a long and prolific career. With Lauren Velez, Jon Seda and Griffin Dunne. (Rated R; at Loews Kenwood Towne Centre.)
★ INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPI RE It still puzzles why Anne Rice took a fullpage ad out in Variety (later reprinted by producer David Geffen in the New York Times') to praise Neil Jordan’s adaptation of her novel. Her grandiose, self-congratulatory stance outshines the movie which is just good, not great. Interview possesses a few scary moments, some horrific, blood drenched sequences and one truly creepy scene. Unfortunately, these scenes unfold between long, dull stretches. In places where the novel speaks of loss, futility and longing,
the film becomes tongue-tied. Tom Cruise is fine as Lestat, as is Brad Pitt as Louis. Thankfully, Interview ends on a wild scene that is both terrifying and hilarious. Too bad that tone was not held throughout the entire film. With Antonio Banderas, Stephen Rea and Christian Slater. (Rated R; at area Showcase Cinemas.)
IN THE ARMY
NOW Whatever may be Pauly Shore’s appeal, let’s hope that it is fading fast. This latest stab at slapstick is easily his worst. The weasel should stay out of films and stick to MTV. With Lori Petty. (Rated PG; at Norwood, Forest Fair, Turfway and Biggs Place Eastgate.)
★ JASON’S
LYRIC In a beautiful woman named Lyric, young Jason seeks respite from all the hurt that surrounds him in Houston’s inner city. Much of the sex has been removed from first-time director Doug Henry’s effort, but the violence remains intact. (Unfortunately, the Motion Picture Association of America has trouble with young AfricanAmerican adults making love. Although, African-Americans shooting each other is just fine.) Even after the MPAA’s fooling around, Henry’s film retains its true-to-life poignancy. With Forest Whitaker, Allen Payne and Jada Pinkett. (Rated R; at Showcase Cincinnati.)
★ THE LION KING Hey, the kids were clamoring for it. So, nice folks at Disney brought this animated blockbuster back for the holidays. Right, let’s get one thing straight. Disney doesn’t have a new animated movie for Christmas, and this is great opportunity to squeeze more money out of this popular tale. You’ve heard of the circle of life? Think of this as the circle of cash. With the voices of Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons and Whoopi Goldberg. (Rated G; at area Showcase Cinemas.)
LITTLE GIANTS Two brothers a former football hero (Ed O’Neil) and a nerd (Rick Moranis) coach separate football teams for the right to represent their
small town. As a high concept comedy for kiddies, Little Giants works well enough. There may even be a valuable lesson learned. (Rated PG; at Loews Northgate, Florence and 275 East.)
The Beverly Hillbillies director Penelope Spheeris moves further back in time with this rehash. Kids do not even know who Hal Roach and Our Gang were. Spheeris once made intelligent, avant-garde films. Now after going Hollywood, she churns out crap. With Travis Tedford and Bug Hall. (Rated PG; at Norwood, Turfway, Forest Fair and Biggs Place Eastgate.)
LOVE AFFAIR Now, during America’s infatuation with the ultra-violent, movie audiences have no time left for love. Real-life coupie Warren Beatty and Annette Bening take their turn at another remake of the classic tear-jearker An Affair to Remember. Glenn Gordon Caron is the credited director, but Beatty produced, cowrote and controlled the final cut of this stiff treatment of a forbidden relationship. He and his wife look great. It’s too bad that the film is so flat. With Gary Shandling, Kate Capshaw and Katharine Hepburn. (Rated PG-13; closes today at area Showcase Cinemas.)
MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENSTEIN All of actor/director Kenneth Branagh’s pomp and circumstance result in a monster movie that contemplates the metaphysical more than menace. Robert DeNiro’s spin on the monster is all
makeup and little action. Branagh’s version stays truer to Mary Shelley’s vision than other movies. Unfortunately, it seldom scares. With Tom Hulce and Helena Bonham Carter (Rated R; at area Loews Theatres.)
★
PHOTO: TIMOTHY WHITE
Keenen Ivory Wayans stars in A Low Down Dirty Shame with Angela Flowers, left, and Jada Pinkett.
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★ QUIZ SHOW Finally, a film whose qualities are proportional to its critical acclaim. Taking a cue from attorney Richard N. Goodwin’s book Remembering America: A Voice From the Sixties, director Robert Redford has crafted his best movie to date. Today, many people may regard the scandals regarding TV game show Twenty-One as trite. Through phenomenal performances from Ralph Fiennes as star contestant Charles Van Doren, Rob Morrow as Goodwin and John Turturro as discontent Herb Stempel, Quiz Show both entertains and educates. Sure, it’s not historically accurate, but that makes Quiz Show more pleasurable. With Mira Sorvino, David Paymer and Paul Scofield. (Rated R; at Loews Florence, Northgate and Tri-County.)
ONLY YOU Rehashes often appear tepid in comparison to the original. Director Norman Jewison and screenwriter Diane Drake would argue that their work is distinct and different from either Moonstruck or Roman Holiday. Still, Marisa Tomei’s misguided search for romance in Italy feels more like a travelogue than a movie. True love is far more interesting than this. With Robert Downey Jr. and Bonnie Hunt.
(Rated PG; at Norwood, Turfway, Forest Fair and Biggs Place Eastgate.)
★ THE PROFESSIONAL
French filmmaker Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita, Subway) revolves his bloody action story around an unlikely protagonist, a young girl. Just as cinema violence begins to seem blase, Besson shakes things up by throwing a child in the mix. Did we also mention that she’s sexy? Besson’s The Professional thrills like few films this year. With Jean Reno and Natalie Portman.
(Rated R; at area Showcase Cinemas.)
★ THE RIVER WILD Meryl Streep takes a successful leap as action heroine in the latest effort from director Curtis Hanson (The Hand that Rocks the Cradle). Streep’s character leads her husband and son on a white-water rafting trip, only to face terror from two criminal goons. What the story lacks in substance and character development, it makes up with frantic action and breathtaking photography. For her fans, Streep’s role may seem like slumming. Hey, the girljust wants to have fun. With Kevin Bacon and David Straithaim. (Rated PG-13; at area Loews Theatres.)
THE SANTA CLAUSE Tim Allen makes the leap from TV stardom to the big screen. His sense of ease for kiddie comedy is wasted on this unimaginative story. Hopefully, Disney has Allen in mind for another Son ofFlubber. Kids may eat, up the story about a grouchy dad who becomes Kris Kringle. Do they know what “tool time” even means? Adults may wish there was less cute and more camp. Instead, MORE, PAGE 19
★ PULP FICTION After only two films, director Quentin Tarantino has shifted from cult favorite to mass media darling. With wild frenzy, Tarantino mixes together gun play, drug abuse and racial epithets into a series of interrelated crime tales. Certain to send teen-age boys into wet-dream heaven. Adults may rather emphasize Tarantino’s skill at fast and funny dialogue. If Pulp Fiction did not reveal strong growth in Tarantino’s technique, his personal hype might have overshadowed this fantastic film. An accurate reflection of what really makes America go round, violence, drugs and racism. With John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman. (Rated R; at Showcase Cincinnati.)
"Fasten yoijrsoatbelts for this journey into the female sexual psyche."
"Plenty ofsexy, hunky actors... riveting...
"Deliciously
UtterKiosk
‘Wonton’ Woman
In sexually charged Erotique segment, director Clara Law uses soup as a metaphorfor being lost between two cultures
INTERVIEW BY STEVE RAMOS
Some people may consider director Clara Law as some type of trailblazer. Law is a woman who works in film, a male-dominated industry.
Many women would probably say that she strikes new ground with every completed movie.
In her native Hong Kong, Law has only a handful of female peers. Now, through the film Erotique, Law tells a highly sexual story, “Wonton Soup,” about a couple who look toward the past in search of mutual pleasure.
With tackling the subject of sexuality, she moves further into a genre where male directors have a great stronghold. The fact, that Law is a woman may seem important to others, but it’s not to her. Law sees herself as a filmmaker, period. That’s also how she would like others to view her.
“As a filmmaker, I have never consciously thought that because I’m a woman, then I should be doing this,” says Law, speaking from her home in Melbourne, Australia.
In Law’s eyes, there are simply good filmmakers and bad filmmakers. Tell Law that she’s good or tell her that she’s bad, but don’t refer to her as a woman director.
“If you are doing certain things just because you’re a woman filmmaker, then you are really limiting.yourself,” she says. “As a woman, I will perceive things in a certain way, and that will of course affect my work. But, I am also a human being, so I perceive things as a creature of the world.”
Law has been directing films since she graduated from London’s National Film and Television School in 1985. Law’s films (The Reincarnation of the Golden Lotus, Autumn Moon and Temptation of a Monk) have received positive audience and critical response in America. Although none of her movies qualify as erotica, audiences have come to expect a powerful sensual!ty to her work. This is because Law seems to frame every shot in a rich lushness. In “Wonton Soup,” a bare room becomes as sexual as a naked body simply by the way Law sets her shots.
But “Wonton Soup” is not all bare rooms and stark images. Its story centers on a couple from different cultures. Adrian (Tim Lounibos) seeks to bridge a cultural gap with his lover Ann (Hayley Man). He is Chinese. Although she is native Chinese, she has become more Western due to attending school in Australia. In order to strengthen his relationship with Ann, Adrian looks to his native past. What he learns from his forefathers is an intricate method of love-making.
Tim Lounibos and Hayley Man rest after love-making in “Wonton Soup,” a segment in Erotique directed by Clara Law, at left. The movie, with three segments by three female filmmakers, offers a woman’s view on sexuality that all women are different.
Law has filmed action scenes in her previous movies, and she sees love-making scenes as pretty much the same. It’s all a matter of positions and holding certain postures for long periods of time, so that the director can achieve the correct angle. “A lot of actors, after doing an erotic scene, would tell that their bodies ache because it’s so difficult.”
It may be too easy to watch Law’s segment in Erotique and understand it as one extended sex scene. For Law, “Wonton Soup” does more than just arouse its audience. She also sees other important themes in this story. Wonton Soup’ is about being between two different cultures and being disoriented in your own cul-' ture, which I have explored in other films like Autumn Moon and Temptation of a Monk. This is a very important theme to me because I have been caught between two cultures myself.”
Law chose wonton soup as a metaphor for her story because it does not exist in China. Of course, there are wonton noodles but not soup. “I found wonton soup in Melbourne, in a Chinese take-away shop,” she says. “Australians find it very natural, but I find it very strange. Like wonton soup, Adrian and Ann are neither very Chinese nor very Western. They are trying to find out who they are.”
Much like the characters in “Wonton Soup,” Law has also bridged two cultures. A native Chinese, Law went to school in England and now lives in Australia. For her, this aspect of her life has great benefits as a filmmaker.
“I was brought up in two cultures, and these two cultures enriched me. I am very lucky because I am able to be an observer and a part of it at the same time. This gives me the experience to be the kind of filmmaker that I believe that I am fated to be.”
EROTIQUE is playing at The Real Movies.
Miscarriage of Comedy
Even with a pregnant Arnold, ‘Junior’fails to deliver healthy laughs
REVIEWED BY STEVE RAMOS
Can’t miss. That’s the industry buzz on Junior. Well, high-concept films normally breed high expectations. Junior sets a new Hollywood standard. No other film this year can be summarized in just two words: Arnold, pregnant.
Unfortunately, when high-concept movies fall, they fall long and hard. A two-word idea may support a producer’s sales pitch, but it cannot sustain a feature-length movie. Director Ivan Reitman’s latest comedy has the look, but not the laughs. Junior falls down and goes boom.
Faced with losing FDA approval for research on their drug Expectane, Drs. Alexander Hesse (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Larry Arbogast (Danny DeVito) decide to continue the project on their own. One problem is that they need a subject. So, Dr. Hesse steps up and takes his own experimental drug like a man. That’s their second problem. Dr. Hesse is a man, and Expectane works to ensure healthy pregnancies. Here, the physically impossible becomes a dramatic necessity.
Screenwriters Kevin Wade and Chris Conrad toss some other subplots into this pregnant man gag. DeVito becomes his ex-wife’s (Pamela Reed) pediatrician, wondering if he’s the father. An obnoxious university head, Noah Banes (Frank Langella), looks to take credit for Hesse’s and Arbogast’s unsanctioned work.
But romance has been given the prime subplot slot. A new researcher, Dr. Diana Reddin (Emma Thompson), occupies Hesse’s and Arbogast’s old lab. Unknowingly, she plays a major role in their experiment. Thompson also grabs hold of Schwarzenegger’s heart. In turn, he falls hard for her. Thompson simply falls on him. She also stumbles and fumbles through every scene. Food sticks to her face. Shoes fly off her feet. She drops everything and anything. It’s called slap-stick. When it looks believable (Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Jacques Tati), slap-stick is hilarious. When it looks fake, slap-stick falls flat. In her native England,
After taking a pregnancy drug,
Thompson acquired fame as a Carol Burnett-like host of her own comedy/variety TV show (Thompson). She must have been funnier on that show. She even had more laughs in Much Ado About Nothing. Poor Emma, she’s the key to Junior’s main flaw. This movie is brought down by miscasting. Check out the bodies: little DeVito, humongous Schwarzenegger and normal looking Thompson. It’s hilarious just to look at the two, physically opposite bodies of DeVito and Schwarzenegger side by side. That’s what made Reitman’s Twins so funny. Here, the same director creates an obstacle for the audience by putting the wrong person, Thompson, in the goof-ball role.
DeVito has done a fine job playing a straight character before (Terms ofEndearment, Hoffa), but he needs to be in a dramatic vehicle. Reitman puts this natural comedian in a comedy and then asks him to play the straight man. How frustrating. Any prat-fall that Thompson does, you know that DeVito can do better.
Schwarzenegger could do better as well. For him, physical comedy is effortless. This huge, muscle-bound mountain of a man is sort-of funny looking even when he’s standing still. Simply put, Arnold has the bod for comedy. Do something goofy to that famous body. Make his belly poke out like a pregnant woman, and it’s guaranteed to be funny. Too bad, comedy is just not that
Film easy. Looking funny is the first step. Then, you have to do something funny and say something funny. Junior misses on two out of three.
What a waste. Reitman will never have a more hilarious image than Arnold Schwarzenegger with a big, nine-month pregnant belly. Reitman normally has the Midas touch when it comes to comedy (Stripes, Ghostbusters). But, he has struck out before (Legal Eagles).
What makes Junior such a shock is that Reitman misuses both DeVito and Schwarzenegger. Starting with Kindergarten Cop and continuing through Twins, Reitman cultivated Schwarzenegger into a credible, comedic actor.
Like a baby, Junior is sometimes cute. Well, cute doesn’t cut it. Comedies have to be funny, and Junior is seldom funny. File Junior as another opportunity wasted. Unfortunately, family comedies are in short supply this holiday. Junior may succeed at the box office, strictly by default. Reitman and company will probably end up with huge bonuses. They deserve spankings. CityBeat grade: D.
With Judy Collins and Aida Turturro. (Rated PG-13; at area Showcase Cinemas).
KENTUCKY
PHOTO: BRUCE MCBROOM
Dr. Alex Hesse (Arnold Schwarzenegger), left, surprises his colleague, Dr. Larry Arbogast (Danny DeVito), with the “project.”
rent the kiddies the ultimate, funky X-mas movie Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. With Judge Reinhold and Peter Boyle. (Rated PG; at area Showcase Cinemas.)
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
Based on the Stephen King short story Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, director Frank Darabont (screenwriter of Kenneth Branagh’s Frankenstein) inspires more than frightens with his tale of friendship behind bars. What King’s tale lacks in depth, Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman make up with their performances. With William Sadler and Clancy Brown. (Rated R; at Loews Kenwood Towne Centre and Florence.)
SPEED It is hard to explain how this blase, routine actioner became the unexpected hit of the summer. By now, you probably can recite the bus and bomb plot in your sleep. The American movie audience have elevated Keanu Reeves into a box-office star. Now, audiences must accept responsibility for their actions. With Sandra Bullock, Jeff Danials and Joe Morton. (Rated R; at Norwood, Turfway, Forest Fair and Biggs Place Eastgate.)
THE SPECIALIST Two of Hollywood’s hardest bodies, Sly Stallone and Sharon Stone, come together in a soft and limp action vehicle. On paper, the film looked like a winner. The sad reality is a story with too much talk and not enough action. It’s frustrating when Hollywood starts missing the mark on this type of fluff. With James Woods, Eric Roberts and Rod Steiger. (Rated R; at area Showcase Cinemas.)
STARGATE Cutting-edge special effects wrap around a rather old-fashioned science-fiction epic. Unlike recent action films, Stargate takes nothing seriously. Its childlike innocence is refreshing. Consider Stargate as a hip Forbidden Planet. In true ’90s fashion, The Crying Game’s Jaye Davidson steals the show instead of Robby the Robot. With Kurt Russell and James Spader. (Rated PG-13; at area Loews theaters.)
STAR TREK GENERATIONS
decides to give the action genre a whirl. Guess she wants to branch out like Meryl Streep. With James Gandolfini and Christopher McDonald. (Rated PG-13; at Norwood, Turfway, Forest Fair and Biggs Place Eastgate.)
TIME COP Jean Claude Van Damme desperately wants to be another Sylvester Stallone. To his frustratipn, goals once considered easy quickly turn difficult. Timecop pales in comparison to Sly’s earlier take on sci-fi Demolition Man. Looks like the Muscles of Brussels may be doomed for being an action genre second banana forever. With Mia Sara and Ron Silver. (Rated R; at Norwood, Turfway, Forest Fair and Biggs Place Eastgate.)
TRUE LIES Big Arnold Schwarzenegger does not save the day here. A better editor would have. Director James Cameron has made a movie so big that it needs two plots. The part that focuses on Arnold’s homelife bores. To no surprise, the action sequences excel.
See if the theater manager will let you sneek in for the last 30 minutes; that is the only portion of the movie worth seeing. With Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold and Tia Carrere. (Rated R; at Norwood, Turfway, Forest Fair, Eastgate.)
THE WAR Often, children ereate something good only for adults to step in and ruin it. Through his young character’s eyes, director Jon Avnet contemplates issues of poverty, racism and violence in the Deep South, circa 1970. The young stars of director Jon Avnet’s drama, Elijah Wood and Lexi Randall, shine. Its seasoned performers, Kevin Costner and Mare Winningham, languish. The disappointing result is a mixed film, which should have been great. With Christopher Fennell and Donald Sellers. (Rated PG-13; at area Showcase Cinemas; opens Friday at Norwood, Turfway.)
Repertory
COLORADO COWBOY Fashion photographer Arthur Elgort spotlights legendary rodeo rider Bruce Ford in this documentary that won a Best Cinematography Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Elgort’s film promises an in-depth look at the rodeo circuit and the people who live the rodeo life. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Wexner Center, Columbus, 614-292-2354.
in America. With Peter Weller and Nancy Allen. Midnight Friday and Saturday at Westwood.(Rated R.)
Events
97X NIGHT AT BOGART'S DJs from WOXY spin Modern Rock faves at this pre-Thanksgiving dance party with record, T-shirt and Beavis and Butthead video-game giveaways. Doors open at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. Bogart’s, 2621 Vine St., Corryville. 281-8400.
CANDLELIGHT WALK —Takes
place after a 5 p.m. Advent service at Mother of God Church. Join Covington Mayor Denny Bowman in the candlelight procession through MainStrasse Village and witness the lighting of the first candle of the area’s largest Advent Wreath. 6 p.m. Saturday. 119 W. Sixth St., Covington. 491-0458.
Classes & Exhibits
BACKYARD BIRDS Bird
lovers can learn how to attract an array of feathered friends to feeders. 2 p.m. Saturday. Visitor Center, Miami Whitewater Forest, Harrison. 521-7275, Ext. 40.
COLLEGE-CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC Composer Martin Mailman, winner of the Queen Marie-Jose Prize for Concertofor Violin and Orchestra, speaks. 3 p.m. Monday. Mary Emery Hall, Room 241, University of Cincinnati, Clifton. 556-4183.
CREATIVE KITCHEN CLASSES
Kathleen Sweeney presents “Mediterranean Light.” 6 p.m. Monday. $32. Barbara Bond and Carol Tabone show how to make “A Fabulous Hors D’oeuvres Party." 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 30. $34. Lazarus Department Store, 699 Race St., Downtown. 369-7911.
LOVELAND ART CENTER
Offers classes in watercolors, oils, calligraphy, papermaking, acrylics and pastels for adults and children. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. $59 per 12-hour course. 118 Taylor St., Loveland. 683-1888.
MIAMI UNIVERSITY ART MUSEUM Linnea Dietrich lectures on “The Harlem Renaissance.” 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Patterson Avenue, Oxford. 1-529-2232.
OHIO ARTS COUNCIL
CINCINNATI CRAFTS AFFAIR
A craft fair sponsored by the Ohio Designer Craftsmen. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m: Sunday. Convention Center, 525 Elm St., Downtown. $5 covers all three days. 352-3750.
DICKENS BRUNCH 10 a.m.-2
p.m. Sunday. Omni Netherland Plaza, Fifth and Race streets, Downtown. $19.95 adults; children 5 and under free. 421-9100.
HOLIDAY POTPOURRI Puppet shows, storytelling, sing-alongs and holiday crafts for youngsters. 1-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Seasongood Nature Center, Woodland Mound, Old Kellogg, Anderson Township.
FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS ON FOUNTAIN SQUARE Mayor Roxanne
Qualls will join Greater Cincinnati youngsters to switch on the holiday lights on Fountain Square at 6 p.m. Friday. There will be continuous entertainment noon-6:30 p.m.
FUJI FILM LIGHT UP CINCINNATI
The Queen City will shimmer with lights Friday night, setting the stage for the annual photography contest. Winning shots will be published in the Cincinnati Post. The grand prize is a trip for four on a Premier Line Cruise ship. 579-3194.
ST. PETER IN CHAINS CATHEDRAL Continues “In One-Body,” a program designed to combat racism in the church community. Korean songs will be sung before and after Mass. 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Parishioners of Korean descent are invited. 325 W. Eighth St., Downtown. 385-2655.
and loved ones. All services are free and confidential. Holiday cards and sets available. 2183 Central Parkway, West End. 421-2437.
Bereavement Support Group For people who have experienced loss related to HIV. Meets 7 p.m. every other Wednesday. Common Bonds For individuals living with HIV Meets at p.m. every Tuesday. Family, Friends & Loved Ones For loved ones of persons with HIV/AIDS. Meets at 7 p.m. every Tuesday.
Room With A View An AA-based group for individuals who are HIV+ and in recovery chemical and/or alcohol dependency. Meets at 8 p.m. every Wednesday.
Womancare For women are living with HIV. Meets at 7 every other Wednesday.
ENJOY THE ARTS Offers stantial discounts to various arts organizations. Only full-time students eligible. $24.50 for one year, $39 for two years. 751-2700.
UNITED WAY HELPLINE Provides counseling, support-group information, crisis intervention and assistance 24 hours a day. 721-7900.
YWCA PROTECTION FROM ABUSE PROGRAMS Alice Paul House and House of Peace are emergency shelters providing housing, advocacy and support battered women and their children. 241-2757.
There is a changing of the guard in the Star Trek movie universe. TV’s Next Generation has pushed James T. Kirk and company off the silver screen. Who would have thought that a seemingly momentous occasion would result in such a dull affair? Generations’ flimsy story about an evil scientist who harnesses a rift in time is high on technology and low on drama. A mediocre movie didn’t stop trekkers from crowding the multiplexes this past weekend. That doesn’t mean the rest of us have to follow their bad lead. With Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes. (Rated PG; at area Showcase Cinemas.)
DALIBOR MARTINIS
Croatian media artist Dalibor Martinis screens a selection of his recent videotapes and discusses his large-scale installations. A participant in last year’s Venice Biennale, Martinis is renowned for his project, which involved taking live images from Bosnia into a gallery space in Germany. This is a rare chance to see an exciting synthesis of sculpture and film. Martinis is in residence at the Wexner Center Art and Technology Facility for November. 7:30 p.m. Nov. 30. Wexner Center, Columbus, 614-292-2354.
Provides matching money grants to artists, arts programs and major institutions. Call for applications. Summer fellowships for teachers of the arts also are available. Contact Christy Fambauch. Nominations for the Ohio Arts Council’s 1995 Governor’s Awards for the Arts are being accepted. Contact Bill Nordquist, Ohio Arts Council, 727 E. Main St., Columbus, OH 43205-1796. 614-466-2613.
PUBLIC LIBRARY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY
Groups & Programs
AIDS VOLUNTEERS OF CINCINNATI AVOC offers support groups for persons living with HIV, as well as their families, friends
Recreational
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND WALK 7.6 miles. Sighted walkers are needed to accompany blind walkers. 10 a.m. Saturday. Miami Whitewater Forest, Harrison. 921-3186.
SENIOR STROLL Adults 55 and older are invited to join the Hamilton County Park District uralist to walk along the park’s paved hike/bike trail and learn about migratory waterfowl. 10 Tuesday. Sharon Woods, Route Sharonviile. 521-7275, Ext. 40.
Presents the exhibit Flags Fly High, historic flags and banners dating to’ 1788 collected by three generations of the Meyers/Locy family. Through Dec. 2. 9 a.m.-9 p.m. weekdays; 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday; 1-5 p.m. Sunday. A spe-
Concerts
and pianist Liz Story and bassist Joel DiBartolo. New is steel-drum master Andy Narell. This concert is one of the best holiday traditions in Cincinnati. 8 p.m. Friday. Emery Theatre, 1112 Walnut St., Over-the-Rhine. $20 and $15. 7319898 or 784-6838.
PRONG WITH CLUTCH 7 p.m. Friday. The Newport, 1722 N. High St., Columbus. $9.50 advance, $11 day of show. 614-228-3582.
STEEL PULSE 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Bogart’s, 2621 Vine St., Corryville. $13.50 advance, $15 day of the show. 281-8400.
TESTAMENT WITH DOWNSET AND RED SQUARE BLACK 7 p.m. Sunday. Bogart’s, 2621 Vine St., Corryville. $11.75 advance, $13 day of the show. 281-8400.
JAZZ EXPLOSION WITH RACHELLE, WILL FERRELL, ENINGE AND JONATHAN BUTLER 8 p.m. Sunday. Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. $27.50. 381-0645 or 721-6100.
KENNY ROGERS WITH FAITH HILL 8 p.m. Tuesday and Nov. 30. Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. $29.50. 381-0645 or 721-6100.
Varied Venues
THE WESTHEIMER FAMILY BAND Seasonal. 8 p.m. Friday. Grammer’s Restaurant, 1440 Walnut St., Over-the-Rhine. $3. 281-7575.
JIM BARBICK TRIO Jazz. 8 p.m. Saturday. Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Rookwood Pavilion, Madison and Edwards roads, Norwood. Free. 396-8960.
Clubs
WEDNESDAY
THE ARK BAND Reggae. Ripleys. Cover.
ARNOLD'S WEDNESDAY NIGHT GUYS Eclectic. Arnold’s. Cover.
THE BLUE BIRDS Blues. Tommy’s Main. Cover.
BLUE WISP BIG BAND Big-Band Jazz. Blue Wisp. Cover.
BOB CUSHING Solo Acoustic. Arlin’s. Cover. FOREHEAD Alternative favorites. Murray’s Pub. Cover. GREENWICH JAZZ QUINTET Jazz. Greenwich Tavern. Cover.
NOAH HUNT Acoustic open jam. Local 1207. Cover.
ONLY MORTALS Rock Favorites. Club One. Free.
RIVER RUNT SPOOK FLOATERS Hippie-Rock. Top Cat’s. Cover. SHAG Funk. Sudsy Malone’s. Cover.
TRILOGY Rock. Mt. Adams Pavilion. Cover.
THE WEBSTERS Alternative favorites. Salamone’s. Cover.
THURSDAY
ED MOSS Solo Jazz Piano. Ivory’s. Free.
FOREHEAD Alternative favorites. Blue Note Cafe. Cover.
FRANK POWERS JR. Eclectic. Arnold’s. Cover.
FULL CIRCLE Classic Rock. Katmandu Cafe. Cover.
GOSHORN BROTHERS Classic Rock. Tommy’s on Main. Cover.
JOHNNY SCHOTT Wild open mike. Local 1207. Cover.
JOSHUA BREAKSTONE TRIO Jazz. Kaldi’s. Free.
PSYCHOLOGICAL VACATION College Rock. The Palace Club. Cover.
SNOWSHOE CRABS Alternative Rock favorites. Salamone’s. Cover.
FRIDAY ANN CHAMBERLAIN JAZZ TRIO Jazz. Coco’s. Cover.
MOLLOY’S ON THE GREEN 10 Enfield Place, Greenhills. 851-5434.
Clubs Directory
MS. KITTY’S SALOON 218 W. Third St., Downtown. 721-9520.
MT. ADAMS PAVILION 949 Pavilion St., Mount Adams. 721-7272.
MURRAY’S PUB 2169 Queen City Ave., Fairmount. 661-6215.
MUSIC
ALLYN’S CAFE 3538 Columbia Parkway, East End. 871-5779.
OZZIE’S PUB & EATERY 116 E. High St., Oxford. 1-523-3134.
New Tunds
POSITIVIEV
YEAH, YEAH, YEAH
BY JOHN M. JAMES
Sound(track) advice
Fans
PALACE CLUB 2346 Grange Hall Road, Dayton, Ohio. 1-426-9305.
ANNIE'S 4343 Kellogg Ave., East End. 321-0220.
RIPLEYS 2507 W. Clifton Ave., Clifton. 861-6506.
ARLIN'S 307 Ludlow Ave., Clifton. 751-6566.
SALAMONE’S 5800 Colerain Ave., Mount Airy. 385-8662.
ARNOLD’S BAR & GRILL 210 E. Eighth St., Downtown. 421-6234.
scattered in the soundtrack, such as Deee-Lite’s trip on Hot Chocolate’s "You Sexy Thing’’ and The Proclaimers doing Rare Earth’s “Get Ready.” The movie comes out on Dec. 16. In other soundtrack news, MCA Records has just released a double-CD set containing the Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs soundtracks. The package includes a special 20-page booklet with commentary by director Quentin Tarantino on music and his films.
(After seeing Reservoir Dogs don't you love that wonderfully eerie feeling that 'ya get whenever “Stuck in the Middle With You” comes across the radio?)
Flaming on TV
The heck with Post-lt-Notes. Scrawl this directly on the TV screen with a black Sharpie: From the land of horse-hide glue and bad acid, Oklahoma’s own Flaming Ups will invade MTV’S The Jon Stewart Show on Nov. 30.
Hopefully you fine readers haven’t gotten rid of your turntables. The 7-inch format is far from dead in the ereative minds and eyes of so many young bands trying to convey their unique identities. Without a doubt, some of the classiest packages ever have been surfacing on the vinyl format especially on 7-inch singles. Two new ones on the SubPop label are simply gorgeous: The “Barrabas” single from England’s S.M.A.S.H. is on murky olive-green wax, its sleeve crafted from two tones of natural fiber cardboard and die cut to reveal the band's name on the front. And surprise! the flip side is S.M.A.S.H.'s cover of Cincinnati’s own Afghan Whigs’ “Turn On the Water.’’
THE WATERFRONT 14 Pete Rose Pier, Covington. 8:30 p.m.-2 a.m. Friday-Saturday. 581-1414.
IVORY’S JAZZ CABARET 2469 W. McMicken, Over-the-Rhine. 684-0300.
KALDI’S COFFEE HOUSE & BOOKSTORE 1204 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 241-3070.
ARNOLD’S HOLIDAY REUNION Fun and eclectic. Arnold’s. Cover.
BLUE LOU & THE ACCUSATIONS Blues. Mansion Hill Tavern. Cover.
The "Your Flead is So Small” single from Jessamine requires a screwdriver to dismantle a rivet in the middle of the sleeve before you can take apart the elaborate layers of silk-screened cards that surround the single.
New releases for Tuesday
And like the winds, young grasshopper, are subject to change Nick Lowe The Impossible Bird (Upstart), contains “The Beast in Me”; Mary J. Blige My Life (MCA); Steve Howe Not Necessarily Acoustic (Caroline); The Bottlerockets The Brooklyn Side (East Side Digital).
THE KELLOGG CLUB 4343 Kellogg Ave., East End. -321-0220.
THE BLUE PERSUADERS Classic Rock. Ms. Kitty’s. Cover. THE EMBARCADEROS Rock. Top Cat’s. Cover. FULL CIRCLE Classic Rock. Katmandu Cafe. Cover.
KING TUT’S WA WA HUT 1338 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine. 241-6045.
GOSHORN BROTHERS Classic Rock. Tommy’s Main. Cover. THE
LOCAL 1207 1207 Main St., Downtown. 651-1207.
LONGWORTH’S 1108 St. Gregory St., Mount Adams. 579-0900.
MANSION HILL TAVERN 502 Washington St., Newport. 431-3538.
New releases for Dec. 6
Black Sheep Nonfiction (Mercury); The Beatles Legendary BBC Recordings 1962-65 (Capitol), double CD, cassette and LP; Pearl Jam Vitalogy (CBS), CD and cassette; various artists The Unplugged Collection (Warner Bros.), with Lenny Kravitz and Elvis Costello; KMFDM Sin, Sex and Salvation (Wax Trax'* /TVT), with PIG; James & Brian Eno Wah Wah (Mercury), regular package issue; Vanessa Williams The Sweetest Day (Mercury); King Tee King Tee TV Life (MCA); various artists It’s Now or Never (Mercury), Elvis Presley tribute; ZZ Top One Foot in the Blues (Warner Bros.).
JOHN JAMES can be found behind the counter at Wizard Records in Corryville.
RON ENYARD TRIO WITH PAUL PLUMMER Jazz. Kaldi’s. Free.
SNOWSHOE CRABS
Alternative Rock favorites. Salamone’s. Cover.
UNDER THE SUN WITH PORTERHOUSE New Wave. Salamone’s. Cover.
WARSAW FALCONS Rock. Local 1207. Cover.
THE WOLVERTON BROTHERS WITH RADIAL SPANGLE Underground Rock. Sudsy Malone’s. Cover.
SATURDAY
ARNOLD’S HOLIDAY REUNION Fun and eclectic. Arnold’s. Cover.
THE BLUE PERSUADERS Classic Rock. Ms. Kitty’s. Cover.
ECHOBELLY AND SCARCE Alternative. Hurricanes.. $5..
FULL CIRCLE Classic Rock. Katmandu Cafe. Cover.
GENERICS Rock. Local 1207. Cover.
GOSHORN BROTHERS Classic Rock. Tommy’s on Main. Cover.
HEAVY WEATHER Funk. Ripley^. Cover.
★ HIGH STREET RHYTHM ROCKERS Original Bluesmasters celebrate the release of their fantastic new self-titled album. Mansion Hill Tavern. Cover.
HOGSCRAPER AND MR. UNIVERSE Swamp Rock. Top Cat’s. Cover.
Lazy Is As Lazy Does
Local trio hits the road in support of the nationally released \Some Assembly Required
SUNDAY
CAT CITY Jazz. Blue Wisp. Cover.
INTERVIEW BY BRIAN BAKER
RON ENYARD TRIO WITH STEVE SCHMIDT Jazz. Kaldi’s. Free.
STACY THE BLUES DOCTOR AND BLUES U CAN USE Blues. Local 1207. Cover.
L★ STITCH Heavy and dramatic Alternative rock from these Cincy up-and-comers. Sudsy Malone’s. Cover.
MONDAY
BIG BONGO WITH JOANNA PARSONS Folk/Altemative. Kaldi’s. Free.
FRED GARY AND DOTTIE WARNER Eclectic. Arnold's. Cover.
PATRICK DESANTOS
R&B/Jazz. Ivory’s. Cover.
PAUL PLUMMER QUARTET Jazz. Blue Wisp. Cover.
THE PIE TASTERS WITH PHANTOM ROCKERS Alternative/Ska. Sudsy Malone’s. Cover.
TUESDAY
azy is tired. Guitarist Steve Schmall apologizes for his quiet demeanor while fashioning a combination splint/tourniquet to his busted cigarette. Suzanne Lynch smiles pensively while working on a Perkins bread bowl salad, and drummer Meghan Haas sips a Coke. Maybe the edge is off because I’ve shown up 45 minutes late. Maybe it’s because the interview has caused certain members of the band to miss Melrose Place. Maybe it’s because, as Schmall explains, they woke up early to get in an afternoon practice before their imminent departure for a seven-week tour of the eastern half of the country. Whatever the reason, they all look slightly drained.
BRIAN LOVELY AND THE SECRET Alternative Rock. Tommy’s on Main. Cover.
HUMHCANES
THE JUNIOR CRUISERS Eclectic. Arnold’s. Cover.
ONLY MORTALS Rock Favorites. Club One. Free.
CINCINNATI’S A yf-f W. PETE H'J-Lall sho
PAT HARBISON WITH THE PHIL DEGREG QUARTET Jazz Blue Wisp. Cover.
LTERNATIVE FOR LIVE MUSIC ROSE WAY DOWNTOWN WS $5 IN ADV./S6 DOOR
RON ENYARD TRIO WITH DAVID YOUNG Jazz. Kaldi’s. Free.
Friday, Nov from Virgin Recordsl Ci ’ember 25
UNCLE SIX WITH PLOW ON BOY Alternative/Folk. Sudsy
THE MIDNIGHTERS Acoustic. Arlin’s. Cover.
OVERDUE Rock Favorites. Salamone’s. Cover.
PHIL DEGREG Jazz. Blue Wisp. Cover.
P1GMEAT JARRETT Blues. Ivory’s. Cover.
TIERRA DEL Alternative. Sudsy MORE, PAGE 22
Saturday, No Rhythm King Records Echobe vember 26 Recording Artists Ely With SCARCE
idnesday, ivember 30 rican Records Recording Artist ete Droge
Friday, Decen Spider! nber 2 oot wiioiline
Saturday, Deicember 3
SimmE
ALL SHI CALL 241-CANE DWS 18 & OVER FOR MORE INFORMATION
Not that this flurry of pre-tour activity is.any surprise to the band. It has been almost exactly two years since Schmall, Lynch and Haas formed Lazy and began working clubs locally, regionally and beyond. Until just recently, Schmall divided his time and guitar duties between the trio and the higher-profile Tigerlilies. Now that the latter is his ex-band, he is clearly reticent to discuss his exit from their ranks, perhaps because of strained feelings, but more likely because he wants to concentrate on his new venture. (Schmall’s recorded swan song with The Tigerlilies, a three-song 7-inch on Shake It/Atavistic, is available now.) Smiling, he offers a Mafia-like “no comment.”
Tour veterans
As Lazy prepares to hit the road for its first long-haul tour, members focus on the details. The afternoon has been taken up with laundry, finishing the equipment loft in the van and sleep-deprivation practice. They all want essentially the same result from the tour. Schmall says wryly, “We just want, the kids to dig us.”
Lynch offers a scenario where a very cool bar .' sees them and takes them to Europe (“... maybe Jon Spencer”).
Whatever the outcome, they have toured enough regionally to know what to expect, sans rose-colored shades. A one-week tour in September had them playing to so-so crowds but afforded them the opportunity to meet their musical peers. In Albany last year, opening for Buttsteak, they played to a dead-empty house except for the bartender and the third band’s parents, who left before Lazy took the stage.
Also working in their favor is experience. Schmall’s Tigerlilies stint was on-the-job training for this jaunt. Lynch had previously played with Joe Patt from the Hairy Patt Band and then joined Killdren, which, as she
Lazy (from left) Suzanne
and
currently on a seven-week tour of the eastern half the United States, should return to Cincinnati by February.
explained, “practiced for eight months and played out once. We did a 20-minute version of ‘Heroin.’ Now we do two-minute versions of everything,” Haas, on the other hand, learned the drums to join Lazy. Her musical training before that was, to say the least, different. She was studying performance violin at Indiaria University, which was the culmination of nearly 12 years of playing with youth orchestras and symphonies on the East Coast. The tremendous amount of practice and discipline eventually made it “a miserable thing, not fun anymore.” She gave up music college for a general studies degree.
Play list
The band’s set list for this tour will be evenly divided between material from their just-released Some Assembly Required (Roadrunner) and new material. Schmall jokes, “We’re sick of the old stuff, but we pretend we’re still into it.”
The problem is common with bands such as Lazy. Signed by Roadrunner months after the band formed, the material on the disc was written shortly thereafter for a release that should have happened a year ago. Band members are, of course, very excited by their CONTINUES ON PAGE 22
Lynch, Meghan Haas
Steve Schmall
LAZY: FROM PAGE 21
latest work. Haas’ drumming has expanded considerably since their initial songs. Among the new songs sprinkled in the mix are “Favorite Song,” “Emily” and “Cool.”
And there are the obligatory covers that flesh out a new band’s playing time. “We do a great cover of ‘Black Dog’ for the baby boomers,” deadpans Schmall.
They also do a Saints’ song, although they don’t know the name of it, as they found it on a tape with no titles attached. Always helpful, Lynch offers, “It’s that one, you know.”
‘We do a great cover of “Black Dog” for the baby boomers.’
STEVE SCHMALL, GUITARIST FOR LAZY
They also drop in songs by Thee Headcoats, Car Club and Wedding Present. “We-don’t do anything too obvious,” says Schmall.
“But the right people always know,” quips Lynch.
The tour will find Lazy opening for a number of bands, some already determined with some dates to be picked up as they travel. They are most excited about playing with Chicago’s Girls Against Boys in Texas in the middle of the tour and a show with Matador Records’ Come toward the end. They also are looking forward to once again sharing the stage with Buttsteak for a few shows. There is also a possibility of an opening slot with Violent Femmes somewhere along the line, which could introduce them to a potentially large, and sympathetic, audience.
One thing is certain: Lazy is ready.
Their “send-off’ show in mid-October at Sudsy Malone’s, playing with the not-so-incognito Ass Ponys, was a tremendous success. They realize that success like that may not be so easy to come by outside Cincinnati, but they’re smart enough to capitalize on any opportunity they may get on this tour.
Breakfast ♦ Brunch ♦ Lunch ♦ Dinner and a full bar.
and books, bookvbooki & more books.
Appearing this Friday & Saturday:
1202-04 Main Street
Over-tlie-Rhine Cincinnati, OH Telephone - 241-3070 'Open 7:30 am - seven days a week.'
Fourth St., Downtown. 333-0022.
Music
Malone’s. Cover.
NOV. 30
ARNOLD’S WEDNESDAY NIGHT GUYS Eclectic. Arnold’s. Cover.
THE BLUE BIRDS Blues. Tommy’s on Main. Cover. BLUE WISP BIG BAND
Big-Band Jazz. Blue Wisp. Cover.
BOB CUSHING Solo Acoustic. Arlin’s. Cover.
INDIKA Reggae. Ripleys. Cover. LOW WITH BIG GREEN CARPET AND DETOUR Alternative. Sudsy Malone’s. Cover.
NOAH HUNT Acoustic open jam. Local 1207. Cover.
OVERDUE Rock Favorites. Salamone’s. Cover.
PETE DROGE Alternative. Hurricanes. Cover.
YOU WOULD IF YOU LOVED ME WITH SWANK, GONGKICKER AND GOJIRA Underground Alternative. Top Cat's. Cover.
BY MIKE BREEN
LEFTHANDED MOON Presents the clay creations of Cincinnatian Paula McQuown. Opening reception 7-9 p.m. Friday. Through Dec. 3.11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. MondaySaturday. Tarot readers available noon-3 p.m. every Saturday. 48 E. Court St., Downtown. 784-1166.
Openings
★ARTS CONSORTIUM OF CINCINNATI Parts of the AIDS Quilt, a memorial and a healing process, reminiscent of the Vietnam Memorial, by remembering through names. Opens Monday.Through Dec. 13. 1-8 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 1-5 p.m. Friday-Saturday. 1515 Linn St., West End. 381-0645:
CONTEMPORARY ARTS CENTER
Lynn Hershman of San Francisco exhibits Room of One’s Own, an interactive videodisc computer installation dealing with the ideas of woman as object and voyeurism. Opens Tuesday. Through Jan. 29. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, ThursdaySaturday. $2 adults; $1 students and seniors; children 12 and under free; free to CAC members; free to all on Mondays. 115 E. Fifth St., Downtown. 721-0390.
JAMAR GALLERY Quietudes, realist paintings by Cincinnatian Blair Beavers. Opening reception 5-8 p.m. Friday. Through Dec. 23. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday. 135 W.
MILLER GALLERY Objects of Desire III features eclectic ceramic teapots, decoupage by Cincinnatian Alice Balterman and crystal sculptures by Christopher Ries and Gary Fitzgerald. Opening reception 1-4 p.m. Saturday. Through Dec. 31.10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday. 2715 Erie Ave., Hyde Park. 871-4420.
The local night spot Hurricanes is undergoing a booking facelift. On Nov. 19, with a show by the Punk band The Ex-Idols, Hurricanes took a new direction, away from Heavy Metal and toward Alternative music.
“We were brought in as a consultant by the club,” explains Richard Waring, president of Immigrant Music, which is doing the bookings for Hurricanes. "Before they had a real crappy, cheesy Metal image, which wasn’t doing them any favors and certainly wasn't jriaking them any money.”
★ RAYMOND GALLERY
First-ever prints by Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Jim Borgman of The Cincinnati Enquirer and Cincinnati Post cartoonist Jeff Stahler; a coming art form internationalized by Art Spiegelman. Opening reception 6-9 p.m. Friday. Through Dec. 31. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday and Wednesday. 2700 Erie Ave., Hyde Park. 871-7373.
In the coming months, the 750-capacity club will be the site of several hot shows by bands that are too big for the smaller venues but don’t have the draw to do good business at a Bogart’s-size venue.
Singer/songwriter Mark Curry appears Friday, and there’s a great double-bill Saturday with the Smiths-ish Echobelly and the not-to-bp-missed Scarce. Future shows include the Celtic-influenced Rock of Black 47 (Dec. 7) and Sponge (Dec. 9). In the works is a possible Ween show and an amazing groove test featuring former Sub-Poppers Big Chief and live Hip-Hoppers The Goats.
And, perhaps best of all, the shows will all have low ticket prices. Tickets for all shows are $5.
"The idea isn’t that, 'Hey, we can bring in a band and make money off of them by selling tickets at $10,”' says Waring. “The idea is to promote the music."
UC HEALTH SCIENCE LIBRARY Paper.; Scissors, Rock features construction, watercolor, pastel and sculpture by Jerome Olander and Diane Szczepaniak. Opening reception 4:30-6:30 p.m. Monday. Through Jan. 13. 231 Bethesda Ave, Clifton. 558-5627.
WENTWORTH GALLERY Architecture is a group show showing the works of Ledan, McKnight and Armand. Opens Tuesday. Through Dec. 5. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday, noon-6 p.m. Sunday. Kenwood Towne Centre, 7875 Montgomery Road, Kenwood. 791-5023.
Rising from the ashes
The members of Peppermint Subway, one of the old Jockey Club veteran bands, have started Metro Rouge. (Peppermint Subway broke up in 1987, partly because a fire where the band practiced charbroiled all of the equipment.) The band features Mark Miller, Jerry Allen and and Dale Kestler from PS plus the newest member, bassist Robert Buettner (formerly of the Inhabitants).
Galleries & Exhibits
Metro Rouge's sound is self-described as “Revolutionary FolkPunk BubbleGrunge" (a noble ambition). Members plan to release a new record next year on their own Porkorpolis label; in the meantime, watch for them giggin’ near you.
Local releases
★ ADAMS LANDING ART CENTER A thoughtful re-assessment of artwork from a variety of each artist’s varied careers. Paintings by Stewart Goldman, photographs by Thomas Schiff and sculpture by Joel Otterson and Derrick Woodham. Through Dec. 30. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. WednesdaySaturday or by appointment. 900 Adams Crossing, East End. 723-0737.
The High Street Rhythm Rockers have just released a great new self-titled CD (and cassette) featuring their very diverse brand of original Blues. Great production, impeccable musicianship and well-written songs make this a must-have for Blues fans (and anyone just a little bit curious). Pick up a copy at Borders Books & Music, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Record Theatre, Everybody's Records, Globe Records & Tapes, Mole’s Record Exchange or Phil’s Records. There also will be the requisite release party at Mansion Hill Tavern on Saturday. Call 542-5406 for more info.
ARTS CONSORTIUM OF CINCINNATI -Art For City Walls is a year-long exhibit focusing on local artists. 1-5 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, noon-5 p.m. weekends. Union Terminal, 1301 Western Ave., Queensgate. 241-7408.
Other local band releases: Ass Ponys’ major label debut, Electric Rock Music (A&M); Lazy's debut CD, Some Assembly Required (Roadrunner); Jason Dennie’s Collection of Sounds (Queen’s Roan/Equus); the Borgia Popes’ debut single (Monocat 7); Flowerfist’s EP Her (Lavaskag Inc.); Under The Sun’s CD Stretch (self-release); and Braniac’s latest, Bonsai Superstar (Grass).
BEAR GRAPHICS AND ILLUSTRATION GALLERY Paintings, prints and sculptures by Jan Knoop feature constructions using animal bones and images of imaginary creatures. Through
Send all music-related materials to MIKE BREEN, Cincinnati CityBeat, 23 E. Seventh
Three Faces of G’s
Recent releases define the state ofHip-Hop, for better or worse
REVIEWED BY MIKE BREEN
Rap is in a strange state today. There is a staleness that happens with all types of music at some point. But that isn’t to say that there isn’t still a lot of great Hip-Hop. It just gets overlooked.
Media attention has shifted away, which would seem to indicate lower album sales even though, through word on the street publicity, rap still sells millions.
Rap is still a vital musical form, and the following three recent releases are a good representation of the entire spectrum.
Scarface, a former member of the graphic, Houston-based crew Gheto Boys, is one of the most poetic of the Gangsta bunch. On The Diary (Rap-A-Lot, 11902 Jones, Road, L221, Houston, TX 77070), he carries on the emotional honesty of the Gheto Boys. Musically, The Godfather theme crossed with the Superfly soundtrack sound fits perfectly behind his already movie-script-like lyrics. The album, in fact, would make a good Hollywood script.
“1 got this Killer up inside of me/1 can’t talk to my mother so I talk to my diary/ I’m going off on the deep end/1 find myself face to face with myself when I’m sleepin’,” Scarface raps on “No Tears.” Scarface’s song about paranoia and fear vividly portrays what it’s like to grow up in a violent world and feel trapped.
This type of vulnerability separates his lyrics from the usual Gangsta fare. There’s still a lot of shooting and killing on The Diary, but there’s more to Scarface.than guns and poses. To question an artist’s right to release this type of music is as imposing and ethnocentrie as Dan Quayle’s “family values.” Scarface puts it best on his duet
with Ice Cube, “Hand on the Dead Body,” where he raps “An open and shut situation/ Cop gets got; they wanna blame it on my occupation.”
The far less brutal Flatlinerz are a part of the new Horrorcore genre.
The obsession here is with death and evil and, while it is obviously a gimmick, it still is a great listen.
On their debut disc, U.S.A. (Def Jam), Flatlinerz have the attacking, wicked skills of Onyx and ereate a dark and heavy musical atmosphere. But lyrically there’s not much being said. It is almost as if they are taking the murder-angle of Gangsta one step beyond since most of the songs take place A.D. While U.S.A. is less thoughtful than The Diary, the entire package is sonically more appealing and less repetitive, and the vocal approach is more unique.
But not more unique than the Boogiemonsters, whose debut, Riders of the Storm: The Underwater Album (Pendulum/ EMI), is even more crazed and quirky than the Pharcyde.
Riders’ lyrical content ranges from total nonsensical, freestyle blurbs to positive and uplifting messages and nonpreachy praises to God.
Each of the rappers have a distinct delivery, and such diversity adds to the dynamic overall sound. The rapping is melodic and hummable, a refreshing approach for a rap crew.
More than almost any other Hip-Hop group, the laid-back, whimsical ’Monsters seem to know no boundaries and don’t follow established style. Though this may be overzealous, with the lack of any blueprints to follow, they are like the Sun Ra of rap. Hopefully the shape of Hip-Hop to come will be more like Boogiemonsters’ approach: Follow no leaders.
CityBeat grade: Scarface, A; Flatlinerz, B; Boogiemonsters, A.
Short Takes
REVIEWED BY MIKE BREEN
JASON DENNIE Collection of Sounds (Queen’s Roan/Equus, 2181 Victory Parkway, Suite 304, Cincinnati, OH 45206).
Interesting and soothing, Dennie’s music is a unique take on New Age music, especially in Cincinnati. The sound is reminiscent of the wooden pops and fluttering strums of Michael Hedges. This disc contains no vocals and doesn’t appear to have any guitar overdubs. It’s simply Dennie’s guitar, both peaceful and emotional, alternately flowing from harmonies to inventive scales and even a littie slide playing. Very relaxing and ereative. CityBeat grade: A.
DEAD SUSAN Dead Susan (Roll One, 124 Oxford Hill Lane, Havertown, PA 19083-2802).
This Philly-area band takes cool riffladen, heavy Alterna-Rock and doses it with singer D.J. Lyons’ dramatic vocal style. The band made the mistake of praising Jane’s Addiction on the liner notes, which invites obvious comparisons, but that would be too easy. “No Questions Asked” is a full-on scorcher with metallic overtones, while “Open Window” takes on a more balladesque feel. Overall, these six songs are dynamic, somewhat enigmatic and show big potential. CityBeat grade: B.
VARIOUS ARTISTS Field Day (Sound of the Sea, P.O. Box 18078, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118).
While a few of these 14 Clevelandarea bands have a fresh sound, several fall into either a generic, understated MOR style or whimpy Alternative Pop. Coltrane Wreck is a weirdly unique crew with Industrial Metal vocals, aggressive guitars and even an interwoven violin. Mark Kunz’s “Here and Gone” is an appealing countrified ballad complete with steel guitar, and Alan Grandy’s “Field Day” is a great, sparse love song that recalls This Mortal Coil and Red House Painters. The best of the lot is Shimmy Disc recording artists Jehova Waitresses, who creatively use sax, have
a female singer with a beautifully sweet voice and write wonderfully eclectic SOngS. CityBeat grade: B.
PORTISHEAD Dummy (Go Discs/London).
Portishead is a brilliant gush of somewhat ambient, somewhat jazzy sounds that slightly recall Luscious Jackson but are far more understated and less oriented toward Hip-Hop. Cleverly combining electric keyboards and Hammond organ with Beth Gibbons’ flighty vocals and way laidback house beats, this record would make a great soundtrack to a drugged-up Gus Van Sant movie. It is slightly repetitive, but that is part of its droning appeal. CityBeat grade: B.
VARIOUS ARTISTS Jock Rock Volume 1 (Tommy Boy).
All your favorite arena-sports theme songs (“We Will Rock You,” “I Feel Good”) are performed by the original artists here. There also are some completely cheesy sound effects (“He shoots, he scores” and “Play ball!”). All the songs ai;e great classics, but the concept is too stupid to even remotely recommend. Tins mind numbingly ridiculous compilation apparently was released to help you recapture that swelling adrenaline you feel at your favorite sports event. It’s kind of like those videos with an image of a fireplace that you’re supposed to'put on to make you feel relaxed. CityBeat grade: F.
SALT PETER “Empire State” 7-inch (Monocat 7, P.O. Box 19880, Cincinnati, OH 45219-0880).
This former Cincinnati band has transplanted itself to the Big Apple, but there is still a tinge of that Midwestern wholesome twang on its debut single. Both songs are exercises in solid songwriting, strong melodies and precise harmonies. There’s a Paul Westerberg feel with the group’s mature sound, but there’s also a youthful zeal that harkens to the best days of the Replacements. Overall, this is a great debut. CityBeat grade: A. h
Cincinnati’s Classical Theater Presents:
William Shakespeare’s holiday comedy oflove ana mistaken identity
TWELFTH NIGHT or, What You Will Nov. 25-Dec. 10
Thursday, Friday and Saturday 8:00 pm Additional Saturday Matinees at 2:00 pm Gabriel’s Corner Theater Corner of Liberty and Sycamore Streets, Over-the-Rhine Tickets: $7.50.
Wednesday. Noon-5 p.m.
Tuesday-Saturday. 105 E. Main St., Mason. 398-2788.
CARL SOLWAY OALLERY
Alan Rath: Recent Sculpture highlights new works by the San Francisco-area artist. Through Dec. 31. 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Monday-Friday, Saturday by appointment. 424 Findlay St., West End. 621-0069.
CARNEGIE ARTS CENTER
The Second Annual Miniature Silent Auction is a group show juried by Cincinnati sculptor Derrick Woodham. Bidding continues until 4 p.m. Saturday. Donations will be given to the League for Animal Welfare.
Veronica is a collection of “digital-traditional” paintings and prints by Daniel Jasper. Through
Saturday. 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Tuesday-Friday, noon-4 p.m.
Saturday. 1028 Scott Blvd., Covington. 491-2030.
CHIDLAW GALLERY, ART ACADEMY OF CINCINNATI
Sculptures by Nancy Bowen. Through Wednesday. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays. Art Academy of Cincinnati, Eden Park. 562-8777.
CINCINNATI ART CLUB
Viewpoint ’94 is a juried show with awards for Cincinnati artists. Through Sunday. 1-5 p.m. Thursday-Sunday. 1021 Parkside Place, Mount Adams. 241^591.
FITTON CENTER FOR CREATIVE ARTS Sculptures by Alan LeQuire and paintings by Louise LeQuire in the gallery. Painted silk angels by Margaret Agner in the first-floor lobby. Through Dec. 23. 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.-noon Saturday. 101 S. Monument Ave., Hamilton. 863-8873.
Mysteries features unusually thought-provoking and mysterious paintings by Cole Carothers: landscapes of the mind, neither naturalistic nor realistic, proving that art is never a representation of reality. Through Wednesday. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Saturday. 635 Main St., Downtown. 381-2128.
THE CIVIC GARDEN CENTER OF GREATER CINCINNATI New paintings by midcareer Cincinnatian Joanne Honschopp. Through Saturday. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 9 a.m!-3 p.m. Saturday. 2715 Reading Road, Downtown. 221-0981.
GALLERY AT WELLAGE & BUXTON Features the ink drawings and stone carvings of James Alan Sauer. Through Tuesday. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. 1431 Main St., Downtown. 241-9127.
GALLERY 99 —Features works by 20 gallery members. Through Dec. 31. Noon-6 p.m. Thursday and Sunday, noon-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. 1101 St. Gregory St., Mount Adams. 651-1441.
GOLDEN RAM GALLERY Showing floral and landscape oils by Cincinnati artist Nelle Ferrara. Through Wednesday. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. 6810 Miami Ave., Madeira. 271-8000.
tographs both documentary and fine-art, with a genuine multi-faith relief program for Sarajevo. Through Dec. 9. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday. 2615 Clifton Ave., Clifton. 221-6728.
IN SITU 11 a.m.-5p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. 1435 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 651-4631.
JAMAR GALLERY Objets
D'Art features still lifes in oil by Cincinnati artist Irene Paian. Through Friday. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday. 135 W. Fourth St., Downtown. 333-0022.
KALDI’S COFFEE HOUSE & BOOKSTORE Paintings by Tom Sanker. 7 a.m.-l a.m. Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m.-2:30 a.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-2:30 a.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-midnight Sunday. 1202-04 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 241-3070.
LEFTHANOED MOON Features black and white prints and photographs transferred to stones and tiles by Robert Giesler.'11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Tarot readers available noon-3 p.m. every Saturday. 48 E. Court St., Downtown. 784-1166.
★ MACHINE SHOP GALLERY Rebinding: Psyche, Spirit, Soul group show proves the high quality of imagination and technique represented by artists living and working in this region. Through Dec. 2. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. 100 E. Central Parkway, Over-the-Rhine. 556-1928.
MADISON ROAD GALLERY Celebrates its annual holiday exhibit with works by local artists. 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Saturday, noon-4 p.m. Sunday. 1991 Madison Road, O’Bryonville. 321-6257.
MALTON GALLERY —Artistic
Park explores diversity in media and process using animal imageiy featuring the works of Anne Embree, Kendahl Jan Jubb, Martha Wolf and Bill Reid. Through Dec. 24. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. MondaySaturday. 2709 Observatory Ave., Hyde Park. 321-8614.
★ MARTA HEWETT GALLERY
Ana England’s “Self Portrait with Chrysalis” is on display at the Machine Shop Gallery.
HEBREW UNION COLLEGE SKIRBALL MUSEUM Aishet Hayil: Woman of Valor features paintings, textiles and sculptures. Through Feb. 25. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 2-5 p.m. Sunday. 3101 Clifton Ave., Clifton. 221-1875.
GALLERY 48 Artist’s Choice: Dreams and Seeing features multimedia works by Carol Kerfoot Hall, mandalas integrating dreams, imagination and landscape based on mythological/autobiographical childhood memories. Through Wednesday. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays. 1223 Central Parkway, Over-the-Rhine. 381-4033.
CLOSSON’S GALLERY DOWNTOWN Continuing exhibition of maritime paintings and prints by Cincinnati favorite John Stobart. Through Dec. 31 .Paintings From Our Past features oils on canvas by Frank McElwain.
Commemorates artist John Ruthven’s 30-year anniversary with Closson’s with a special print, “Cardinals on the Ohio.” Reception noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Through Dec. 31. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday. Holiday hours start Sunday: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. daily. 401 Race St., Downtown. 762-5510.
CLOSSON’S GALLERY KENWOOD Continuing exhibition of maritime paintings and prints by Cincinnati favorite John Stobart. Through Dec. 31. Wildlife oils and prints by John Ruthven. Through Dec. 30. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday,
★ HILLEL JEWISH STUDENT CENTER Survival in Sarajevo: How a Jewish Community Came to the Aid of Its City by Berlin artist Edward Serotia. Activist photographs recontextualize an empowered Jewish community in Eastern Europe inverting Jew-as-victim; “political art” at its finest; pho
Contemporary Glass features state-of-the-art new art glass from internationally acclaimed Pilchuk master craftsman Dante Marioni. Spare, elegant and contemporary, Marioni’s work is amongst the best, reflecting an international interest in art glass. Through Monday. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 12-5 p.m. Saturday. 1209 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 421-7883.
MASON FINE ART GALLERY Features silverpoints, watercolors and egg tempera paintings by Cincinnatians Ken Landen Buck, Jan Brown Checco and New Yorkers Irwin Greenberg and Kenny Mencher. Through Jan. 15. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; 6-9 p.m. Wednesday. 108 W. Main St., Mason. 398-2625.
MILLER GALLERY
Neo-Impressionist paintings by late world-renowned artist Samuel Oppenheim. Ten percent of sales benefit the Cincinnati Art Museum.
Through Wednesday. p.m. Monday-Saturday. Ave., Hyde Park. 871-4420.
MULLANE'S PARKSIDE First watercolor exhibition Art Academy star alum Pradac. Through Dec. a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, a.m.-l 1 p.m. Friday, Saturday. 723 Race 381-1331.
★ NORTHERN KENTUCKY VERSITY ART GALLERY Boog-a-loo-Beat Series superb, lyrical geometric tions, paintings, some mental scale, combining aesthetics via Frank Nancy Graves with patterns from UC professor Tarrence Corbin’s grandmother’s own work. Through a.m.-9 p.m. weekdays, weekends. Northern University, Highland 572-5148.
OLMES GALLERY p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, a.m.-3 p.m. Thursday, p.m. Friday and Saturday. Roundbottom Road, 271-4004.
ONLY ARTISTS —Minne and the Kentucky features brightly painted animals created by group of naive carvers. Dec. 2. 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
WOMEN'S ART CLUB OF CINCINNATI Group show by members. Through Jan. 2. Parisian Gallery, Forest Fair Mall, 1047 Forest Fair Drive, Fairfield. 922-3585.
WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY
ART GALLERIES
Object/Environment showcases Arts Midwest grant winners Fred Bruney, Barbara Cooper (Chicago) and Judith Yourman (St. Paul, Minn.) in sculpture-as-environment-as-installation. Through Dec. 18. i0 a.m.-4 p’.m. Tuesday-Friday, noon-5 p.m. weekends. Creative Art Center at Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio. 1-873-2978.
★ YWCA WOMEN’S ART GALLERY Living With the Enemy is a collection of photographs by Donna Ferrato, featuring frighteningly shocking images of abuse against women that recharge a topic sensationalized by the media. Sponsored by the Academy of Medicine and its Medicine Alliance. Proceeds go to YMCA Domestic Programs and the Women’s Art Gallery. Closes Wednesday. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. 898 Walnut St., Downtown. 241-7090.
840 GALLERY 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays. D.A.A.P. Building, University of Cincinnati, Clifton. 556-2962.
Museums
★ CINCINNATI ART MUSEUM New Art 3 is a photo-based installation investigating memory and loss by Christian Boltanski, a cutting-edge contemporary international artist. This brilliant, interactive installation utilizes light as metaphor; as well .as being beautifully installed and executed. Through Jan. 26. Manet to Toulouse Lautrec: French Impressionists to Post-Impressionist Prints and. Drawings. Through March 5.Also display are eight paintings from the CAM’s permanent collection by the world-acclaimed, tum-of-the-century Cincinnati American Impressionist Edward Potthast. Through March 5. The Questfor Quality highlights museum acquisitions from the 20-year directorship of recently retired Millard F. Rogers. Through Jan. 29. Kurdish Tribal Rugs of the Senneh Tradition includes carpets and kilims from the CAM collection and the Markarian Foundation from Kurdistan. Through Dec. 11. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Eden Park. $5 adults; $4 students and seniors; children free; free to all on Saturdays. 721-5204.
★ CONTEMPORARY ARTS CENTER Light Into Art features light-as-sculpture, including virtual reality. This show contextualizes computerized virtual reality with a well-chosen, eclectic group of acclaimed artists working with light as their medium; well-conceived in an era of complex technologies. Curated by CAC
Director/Curator Elaine King. Through Jan. 13. Columbus midcareer artist Elizabeth Fergus-Jean interacts with area junior and senior high school students in Sacred Space: Dreams Awakening, an exploration of Midwestern cultural heritage and American myths. Through Jan. 8. Pieter Laurens Mol highlights the artist-as-alchemist who utilizes unusual materials to address the moral aesthetic contradictions of the Modern Age. Through Jan. 15. Horizons: The Art ofHealing includes paintings from psychologically or physically abused children utilizing art-as-therapy for healing; organized by Harlem Horizons Art Studio as part of Harlem Hospital’s Injury Prevention Program. Lectures/panel discussions as adjunct programming.
Through Jan. 8.11 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, ThursdaySaturday. $2 adults; $1 students and seniors; children 12 and under free; free to CAC members; free to all on Mondays. 115 E. Fifth St., Downtown. 721-0390.
DAYTON ART INSTITUTE From Botticelli to Tiepolo: Three Centuries ofItalian Painting. Through Dec. 3. Childe Hassam: Etchings and Lithographs by the tum-of-the-century American artist. Through Jan. 29. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Sunday; 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday. 465 Belmonte Park North, Dayton, Ohio. 1-223-5277.
INDIANAPOLIS MUSEUM OF ART Continuing exhibitions include Textiles by West African Nakunte Diarra, through Dec. 31; paintings by Indiana nativeturned-superstar Kay Rosen in Back Home in Indiana, through Jan. 8. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Thursday; noon-5 p.m. Sunday. $4 adults; $3 students and seniors; children 12 & under free. 1200 W. 38th St., Indianapolis. 317-923-1331.
MIAMI UNIVERSITY ART MUSEUM Stitched, Woven and Plaited: Contemporary Craft Traditions ofAfrica. Through Jan. 11. The Belle Epoque in Caricature. Through Feb. 19. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. Free. Patterson Ave., Oxford. 1-529-2232.
★ THE TAFT MUSEUM The Expatriate American Artist and Other Selectionsfrom a Cincinnati Collection features 30 paintings, watercolors and sculptures, including works by five “Duveneck” school artists. Also includes a display of Herter Bros, furniture. Installations have become the key to director Phillip Long’s exhibitions; superb Elizabeth Nourse paintings from turn-of-the-century mixed with period furniture from original Cincinnati Probasco home as Long attempts to make the Taft a living house once again. Through Jan. 15. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. MondaySaturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday. 316 Pike St., Downtown. $3 adults; $1 seniors and students; children 12 and under free. 241-0343.
WEXNER CENTER FOR THE ARTS House Rides pairs 10 teams of social critics with architects to re-examine the concept of the single-family dwelling through text, models and drawings; three visual artists also address images of “home." Gallery A, through Dec. 11 Burning Beds features paintings, drawings and mattress sculptures by Argentinean artist examining identity and place, memory and loss. Galleries B-C, through Dec. 31. Between the Frames: The Forum features eight videos by installation artist Antonio Muntadas regarding how contemporary art is presented, created and interpreted among differing cultural institutions. Gallery D. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday;-noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Ohio State University, North High Street at 15th Avenue, Columbus. 614-292-3535.-
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF BREWING HISTORY AND ARTS Houses the largest display of brewing and beer artifacts in the world. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekends. $4 adult tour and tasting; $2 under-21 tour and
Potential Barely Bleeds
In Knoop show , most exciting way is tucked away in comer at Bear Graphics
gallery
REVIEWED BY KIM KRAUSE
Midcareer Cincinnati artist Jan Knoop is probably best known for her images of bones and rusted metal sculptures. Recent drawings and paintings manifest an expanding of horizons and possibilities with new media, drawings and paintings.
Bear Graphics and Illustration Gallery in Mason is a well-lit, comfortably set space. Abstract bone sculptures, abstract paintings, painted representational sculpture constructed from bones, paintings evoking fish and tropical aquariums, drawings and “prints” nearly overflow the wide and varied display. The “prints,” and the drawings from which they derive, constitute the primary lure of the exhibition,
The majority of paintings and sculpture comprising Knoop’s exhibition is only peripherally engaging in a fine-art context. Void of transformative manipulations (that transform the viewer as well as the materials), most of the bone sculptures are caught up in whimsy; they’re constructed and painted to form representational images of animals, such as turtles and giraffes. “Waiting” is a work assembled from animal bones, painted to represent a family, standing and waiting, as if for a bus.
I became engaged when I considered the macabre effect of creating a sedate family scene out of the remains of what one might have served for dinner, or even butchered for pleasure, whether intended by Knoop or not. These pieces do not present their own concepts, but rather illustrate ideas that seem unresolved in the artist’s mind. These bones seem disguised rather than transformed. The identification of bone as a remnant of death, beautiful or not, is certainly present, but not successfully defined.
Two sculptures move beyond illustrating the idea and become the visual embodiment of the idea. “Mask V” is
results are colorful less, consistent but ings all relatively fields on solid color tests. Carefully painted “fish” or “amphibian,” ment from the work. tive shapes and “faces”
Jan Knoop’s “Metamorphosis #52,” a 12-by-15-inch ink is on display through Nov. 30.
book or tablet, shapes able as objects and creatures. figure-ground reversals, selves as either positive These drawings rely edges of shapes to compose are tightly packed into specifically and compositionally These “Metamorphosis” space for the viewer Viewed in numerical of play that occurs from the bleed-through shapes image. The results are and mystery of Knoop’s drawing. No longer are instead, they are made series is Knoop’s most
Attractions
breathtaking view of the city’s seven hills. 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. $2 adults; $1 children 5-12; free to children under 5. 441 Vine St., Downtown. 579-9735.
tour only; $2 beer tasting only. Oldenberg Complex, Interstate 75 at Buttermilk Pike, Fort Mitchell. 341-2802.
CHRISTMAS IN THE VILLAGE Celebrate Christmas the old-fashioned way with horse-drawn carriage rides and costumed street strollers. The tree-lighting ceremony takes place 6 p.m. Friday. 2-9 p.m. Friday, 2-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Main Street, Waynesville. 897-8855.
BB RIVERBOATS Lunch, dinner, sightseeing and Santa cruises available. Cruises depart from BB Riverboats base at Covington Landing. $4.50-$27.95. 261-8500.
BEHRINGER-CRAWFORD MUSE-
UM Housed within the historic Devou family home, it is the only museum of Northern Kentucky natural and cultural heritage. Holiday Toy Trains opens Friday and features characters from Thomas The Train and the Lionel American Flyer. Opening reception 2-4 p.m. Friday. Through Jan. 8. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 1-5 p.m weekends. $2 adults; $1 students and seniors. Devou Park, Covington. 491-4003.
CINCINNATI CHILDREN’S MUSEUM Newly opened interactive museum. Children of all ages can show their wild side with removable tattoos for Tattoo You Day on Friday. Members free; $2 non-members. Music is My Life features vocalist Kathryn Gardett and musician Charles Miller, 1:30 and 3 p.m. Saturday; free with admission. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday; noon-5 p.m. Sunday. $5 admission; children under 5 pay their age in dollars. Longworth Hall, 700 W. Pete Rose Way, Downtown. 421-5437.
CINCINNATI FIRE MUSEUM
BENNINGHOFFERN HOUSE
Featuring permanent exhibit, The Early Volunteer Fire Fighters of Cincinnati. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays; noon-4 p.m. weekends. $2.50 adults; $1.50 children 2-12. 315 W. Court St., Downtown. 621-5553.
This restored Victorian mansion, built in 1861, provides the setting for the Butler County Historical Museum. 1-4 p.m. TuesdaySunday. $1 adults; free children 12 and under. 327 N. Second St., German Village, Hamilton. 893-7111.
BICENTENNIAL COMMONS
★ CG&E HOLIDAY TRAINS The B&O model train first pulled into the CG&E lobby in 1946 and The Trains of Christmas has been an annual event ever since. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday. 139 E. Fourth St., Downtown. 287-2639.
More than 300,000 lights are displayed throughout the riverfront park for the Honda Starlight Celebration. The lights are on 5-9 p.m. daily. Skating and free carriage rides are offered. Through Jan. 2. Bicentennial Commons at Sawyer Point, Downtown. 352-4026.
CINCINNATI HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM —Boxing
BUCKINGHAM LODGE A pre-Civil War house deeded to the Indian Hill Historical Society by previous owner Lola Bonnell. By appointment only. Camargo Road, Indian Hill. 891-1873.
CAREW TOWER OBSERVATION
DECK Come to the top of the tallest building in Cincinnati for a
Showcase reviews local legends Ezzard Charles, Wallace “Bud” Smith, Freddie Miller and Aaron Pryor. Flight of the Hawk: The Aaron Pryor Story shows 10 a.m.-4 p.m. daily. Through Wednesday in the Newsreel Theater of the Museum Center. Free. 345-2659. Model Railroads includes balloon-stack wood bumers of the mid-1800s, like The General. Through Jan. 15. Modernist Visions of Urban Housing features materials introduced at the Wessenhof housing project, organized in the 1920s by Mies van der Rohe. Permanent exhibits include Cincinnati: Settlement to I860, a re-creation of the city’s origins from a Western frontier outpost to a booming manufacturing center, and Cincinnati Goes to War, a portrait of the homefront during WWIL 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. $4.95 adults; $2.95 children; members free. Museum Center at Union Terminal, 1301 Western Ave., Queensgate. 287-7030.
CINCINNATI MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY Dinamation’s Carnivore Caper features five animated dinosaur replicas that move and roar, including the infamous T-Rex, with Allosaurus, Deinonychus, Dilophosaurus, Utahraptor and early mammal Dinnetherium. Through Jan. 2. The new computer-animated Simulation film Dino Island, takes viewers on a hair-raising expedition where they will encounter a herd of aptosauruses, flying pterandons and a ferocious T-Rex. It will be shown in a virtual reality theater called The Reactor. Through Jan. 8.11 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-lO p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. Daytime prices (9 a.m.-5 p.m.): $4 adults; $2 children 3-12. Evening prices: $5 adults; $3 children 3—12. Museum hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. $4.95 adults; $2.95 children 3-12; members free.
Frustrated Detective
Carothers exhibit leaves Mysteries’ unresolved
REVIEWED BY FRAN WATSON
Cole Carothers’ recent works, Mysteries, alternate between Mediterranean warmth and a November chill via neatly constructed pseudo-Renaissance architecture and carefully delineated color.
Silence and solitude are the predominant features of the 26-panel exhibit at Cincinnati Art Galleries. Sizes range from about 11—by—11 inches to 64-by-104 inches; the quality diminishes in direct proportion to the increase in dimension.
Carothers espouses an interest in Persian miniatures, intrigued both by their jewel-toned landscapes and their tendency to display slightly skewed perspective, although Carothers’ work always utilized such perspective, before any interest in anything Persian was manifested. The smallest pieces, translating these characteristics into his personal imagery, are ultimately successful.
Colorful, squished-together buildings glimpsed through a variety of openings are scattered teasingly about interiors. Architectural mini-moldings, applied as partly trompe I’oeil, partly “real” 3-D surprises, provide true depth in the real shadows they cast, along with some effective compositional balancing. (Balance is his compositional forte.)
Frames designed by the artist are perfect extensions of these construetions, enhancing the ambiguous perceptions they enclose.
With each additional inch on the outer dimensions, the finest moments of these little gems fade. The paintings seem labored, the sense of struggle too overt, ultimately indicative of an indecisive timidity. Each time Carothers appears to have burst free from the limitations of strict edges and sharp angles, he stops and backs off.
A paradigmatic example such as the clean and uninhabited “Props” features a real pencil adhering to the painted surface of a window sill. Just that one incongruous touch in an otherwise unremarkable composition is both too much and not enough, leaving a disquieting hint of incompletion. Carothers’ largest painting, “Maler-Builder” which has been displayed on four separate occasions introduces pieced paneling, leading to hopes of a new vision, but
once again, its possibilities were abandoned before they could mature.
Patterns that appear richly detailed in smaller formats lose their charm when fully disclosed. Enlargement also focuses attention on paint quality and Carothers’ penchant to follow the direction of lines with his brush strokes.
Perspective, designed to be quirky, requires more exaggeration to assure the viewer that its execution is intentional, rather than an inability to deal with the mechanics of distance. All of these qualities are present in smaller panels, which are simply cohesive enough to become reasonable elements within those areas.
In a recent interview on WGUC-FM, Carothers spoke of beginning his ereations with action painting, specifically mentioning a similarity to Jackson Pollock. He would then allow the painting to reveal itself, never knowing exactly where it would lead. Any splashy abstraction has been well-distinguished in the end product, along with any hint of free-wheeling exploration. Carothers’ work is controlled; its mathematical perfection unerringly steers every creative effort back to the same geometric finale. Even his sole completely pastoral landscape, “Source,” is solidly rimmed by a wide black frame with pronounced corners implying the missing structure; influences from art history abound.
Surrealism, photo-realism, perhaps even a touch of self-conscious primitivism, are all brought to mind. Yet within each of these designations mere proficiency is never enough. No matter how smooth, how perfect the artist envisions his imagery, he may never ignore the need for communicable excitement. Without that, art is merely adequate. The best of Mysteries? “Bridge Palace,” a tiny masterpiece of Italianate buildings leaning dreamily into each other through a window bordered by molding, surrounded by a lush, periwinkle wall and mosaic floor, integrates his multi-faceted painterly possibilities.
Carothers’ mysteries are frustrating; his paintings are all clues, with no evidence of conclusive intent.-We never learn what the butler did.
PROMONT Completed in 1867,
this Italianate villa belonged to former Ohio Gov. John M. Pattison. All rooms are furnished with period antiques. Victorian Christmas runs through mid-January.
1:30-4:30 p.m. Friday and Sunday.
$2 adults; $1 children; group tours can be arranged. 906 Main St., Milford. 831-4704.
QUEEN CITY RIVERBOATS Lunch, dinner, sightseeing cruises. $6-$24.95. All cruises depart from Queen City Landing, 303 Dodd Drive, Dayton, Ky. 292-8687.
SHARON WOODS VILLAGE
The buildings are all decorated for the holiday season. Tours available. 1-5 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Sharon Woods Park, Route 42, Sharonville. Call about school tours. 563-9484.
STAR OF CINCINNATI
Featuring lunch, dinner, weekend brunch, Starlight Party and TGIF cruises. Cruises depart from Star Landing at 15 Mehring Way, Downtown. 723-0100.
WARREN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM Features artifacts from 1790 to the present, including Shaker and Victorian furniture, as well as an extensive collection of paleontological and archaeological artifacts. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. 105 S. Broadway, Lebanon. $3 adults, $1 students. 932-1817.
WILDER-SWAIM HOUSE Zig-Zag and Cooper roads, Montgomery. 793-0515.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
Designated by Congress in 1969, this Greek Revival-style house is the only memorial to the nation’s 27th president and 10th chiefjustice. Free. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. daily. 2038 Auburn Ave., Mount Auburn. 684-3292.
‘Beehive’ Stacks Up
Revue at Playhouse in the Park features high-energy renditions of 60s ‘girl groups’ tunes
Theater
★ CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK Larry Gallagher's Beehive is a musical tribute to nearly every girl group and female pop artist of the ’60s, with Cincinnati favorite Kathy Wade in the ensemble. Great music, too-hot singing and check out all the wigs! 8 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 5 and 9 p.m. Saturday; 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday. Through Dec. 23. $24-$31. Thompson Shelterhouse Theatre, Eden Park. Tickets halfprice when purchased noon-2 p.m. the day of the show. 421-3888.
EAST SIDE PLAYERS Open their 14th season with The King and I, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical about an English schoolteacher who comes to the royal court of Siam in the 1860s. 7:30 p.m. Friday; 2 and 7:30
If you’re middle-aged and getting tired of people telling you “life begins at 40,” pack it up and head to the intimate Thompson Shelterhouse Theatre at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.
Here you, and everyone who loves. ’60s music, can feel at home and have a great time seeing Beehive.
Originally conceived and performed at Sweetwater’s in New York, Larry Gallagher’s revue includes many of the important songs made popular by “girl groups” and legendary female recording artists of the decade.
The opening-night crowd was ready and willing to have a good time, and the strong and flexible cast of six performers didn’t let them down.
The night began with a fast and loose rendition of “The Name Game” that included the audience in the fun and set the carefree tone of the performance.
Adinah Alexander was the first to score a direct hit with Carole King’s classic “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?”. Her soft tones embraced lyric and melody in a musical bear hug that instantly put the audience at ease.
Angela Lockett served up a delightful, if not somewhat satiric, Diana Ross with “Where Did Our Love Go,” “Come See About Me” and “I Hear a Symphony.” The parody brought howls of recognition for Lockett’s closely studied performance of Ross’ supremely calculated presentation.
For the high-energy centerpiece of Act II, Gayle Samuels let go as she burned up the stage with her too-hot Tina Turner version of “Proud Mary.”
Cathy Trien proved to be a powerful comic talent with superior vocal ability in her portrayal of Leslie Gore in a heart-felt and comically maudlin “It’s My Party And I’ll Cry If I Want To,” as well as the spirited
Three of the six stars
Gayle Samuels, Kathy
The revue includes
$40 on Solo Night.) 1127 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine. $20 adults; $15 students and seniors. 421-3555.
FAHRENHEIT THEATRE
Continues its season with Shakespeare’s holiday classic Twelfth Night. Opens Friday. Through Dec. 10. 8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday. Gabriel’s Comer, 1425 Sycamore, Over-the-Rhine. $7.50 adults; $6 students and seniors. Group rates available. 559-0642.
FOREST VIEW GARDENS Sit down to a three-hour meal brought to you by singers-servers who will perform Highlights From West Side Story. Through Saturday. Festival of Carols starts Sunday. Through Dec. 30. 6 p.m. Thursday; 7 p.m. Friday; 5 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 5 p.m. Sunday. Reservations required. 4508 North Bend Road, Monfort Heights. 661-6434.
MARIEMONT PLAYERS Follow the tuneful tribulations of Della Juracko in Blue Plate Special. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. $10. Walton Creek Theatre, 4101 Walton Creek Road, Plainville. 684-1236.
MIAMI UNIVERSITY THEATRE Presents Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare’s classic tale of star-crossed lovers. 8 p.m. Wednesday. $6 adults; $4 students and seniors. 131 Center for the Performing Arts, Oxford. 1-529-2247.
MIAMI VALLEY DINNER THEATRE Presents the musical revue Memories of Christmas. 11 and 6 p.m. WednesdayThursday; 6 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 10:45 a.m. and 5 p.m. Sunday. Through Dec. 31. $26.95-$34.95. Route 73, Springboro. 1-746-4554.
★ SCHOOL FOR CREATIVE AND PERFORMING ARTS Presents Rodger and Hammerstein’s adaptation of Cinderella. 3 p.m. Friday, 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday. Through Dec. 4. Taft Theatre, Fifth and Sycamore streets, Downtown. $15, $12, and $6. 632-5910.
WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY
Presents the musical She Loves Me. 8 p.m. Friday, 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday. Festival Playhouse, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio. $11—$14 adults; $10—$11 students. 1-873-2500.
Classical Music
CINCINNATI SYMPHONY
ORCHESTRA Andrew Davis conducting, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, violinist. Bartok’s Violin Concerto No. 2 and Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. $10—$26. 381-3300.
COLLEGE-CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC CCM'sWind Symphony performs Concertofor Wind Orchestra, Terence Milligan conducting. 8 p.m. Tuesday. Symphony Band, Terence Milligan conducting. 8 p.m. Wednesday. Corbett Auditorium, University of Cincinnati, Clifton. Free. 556^183.
COLLEGE OF MOUNT ST. JOSEPH Presents a recital by the Chamber Singers and Chamber Ensemble. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Little Theatre, 5701 Delhi Road, Delhi Township. 244-4956.
★ NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY Baritone Jerrold Pope \ will perform works by Charles Ives, Ned Rorem, Elie Siegmeister, Leonard Bernstein and Kurt Weil. 8 p.m. Monday. Greaves Concert Hall, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights. Free. 572-5464.
Comedy
GO BANANAS HBO’s Alan Proffitt headlines with Martin Funk as the featured act through Sunday. HBO comic Glen Steer headlines with politics that make you laugh. Rod Paulette is the featured act Wednesday. 8:30 and 10:45 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. Call for prices. 8410 Market Place, Montgomery. 984-9288.
RAY COMBS CINCINNATI COMEDY CONNECTION Tonight Show guest Bert Challis headlines with Rod Paulette as the featured act. Through Sunday. 8 p.m. Thursday and Sunday; 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. Friday. Over 21. $6.50 weekdays; $8.50 weekends. Carew Tower, 441 Vine St., Downtown. 241-8088.
Taking Your Lumps
Don't settlefor ho-hum mashed potatoes when the real thing is easily made and trendy too
BY POLLY CAMPBELL
Mashed potato season officially opens Thursday. I can’t wait. For Thanksgiving, there are mashed potatoes with turkey on the side. At Christmas, we always have some roast beef with our mashed potatoes.
In a season full of the most fanciful food, mashed potatoes are the anchor, the honest plain food that everything goes with but isn’t boring. At least, they shouldn’t be. After all, this is the only food that a rock and roll dance is named after.
Mashed potatoes are only boring if they’re bad, and they’re only really bad if they’re instant. Lately, they’ve acquired a brand new glamour, showing up on trendy menus and cookbooks in new guises. They’re flavored with roasted garlic, or basil puree, or topped with virgin olive oil. They’re combined with purees of fennel, or eggplant and dried tomato.
In chain restaurants, mashed potatoes are replacing the standard baked potato. Boston Chicken has really decent mashed potatoes with lumps. Mountain Jack’s, a chain that just opened a Sharonville location, advertises its “skins-on” mashed potatoes.
This insistence on lumps and skin is interesting. The old-fashioned standard for perfect mashed potatoes was how thoroughly mashed, how smooth and creamy they were. But since instant mashed potatoes have become so appallingly ubiquitous, cooks have to leave the lumps in to prove the mashed potatoes are homemade. (I would not be surprised to soon see an ad on TV singing and dancing about the new instant mashed potatoes WITH LUMPS!)
You don’t need lumps to tell the difference, though. Real mashed potatoes are startlingly better.
And they are in no way hard to make. There are just a few simple rules. If you like rules, you can insist on them. If you hate rules, your potatoes will still be better than something out of a box.
The main factor that affects the end-product is what kind of potatoes you use. There are, roughly, two kinds of potatoes: “mealy” or “waxy.”
Mashed potato recipes almost always specify the
M-F 6:30-5:00
SAT 7:45-3:00
mealy kind (i.e., rough-skinned and fluffy. They “All-purpose” main types, are richer tasting
The Production Line’s Kyra Alex mashes her potatoes skin on and then adds a bit of garlic.
Readings, Signings & Events
BOB BOWERSOX QVC's senior program host brings in some tasty treats and autographs his book, In The Kitchen With Bob. 7:15 p.m. Tuesday. Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Rookwood Pavilion, Madison and Edwards roads, Norwood. 396-8960.
★ NANCY BONNELL-KANGAS AND F. KEITH WAHLE Read from their poetry. Bonnel-Kangas hails from Columbus, and Wahle’s work can be found in the current issue ofEvil Dog, Magazine. 8 p.m. Tuesday. Cafe Vienna, 1141 St. Gregory, Mount Adams. Free. 621-6655.
BREAD FOR BEDLAM An open-mic poetry competition. The lucky winner will receive $50. Sign in at 5:30 p.m.; readings start at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Kaldi’s Coffee House & Bookstore, 1202 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 241-3070.
JEFF STAHLER Award-winning editorial cartoonist will discuss his nine-year career at The Cincinnati Post and the development of his recently published book, Tooned-In, in a free brown-bag lunch program. 12:10 p.m. Tuesday. Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, main branch, 800 Vine St., Downtown. 369-6960.
J. KEVIN WOLFE Discusses the secrets to healthier eating from his The Fat-Free Junkfood Cookbook. He will even bring in samples of his recipes to taste. 2 p.m. Saturday. Borders Books & Music, 11711 Princeton Pike, Springdale. 671-5852.
Groups
CHRISTIAN WRITERS’ FELLOWSHIP Critique group meets at 7:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of the month at Vineyard Community Church, 1391 E. Crescentville Road, Springdale. 521-1913.
CINCINNATI PLAYWRIGHTS Critique group for playwrights meets at 7 p.m. every Monday at the Carnegie Arts Center, Robbins and Scott streets, Covington. 556-3914.
CINCINNATI WRITERS PROJECT Support group for writers of every genre offers monthly meetings. 689-5283.
CINCINNATI WRITERS PROJECT
Forest Fair Drive, Fairfield. 863-6053.
Mr. Mike’s Least-Loved Death
QUEEN CITY WRITERS CLUB Critique group meets at 7:30 p.m. on the third Monday of every month. Northside Bank and Trust, 9135 Colerain Ave., Colerain Township. First meeting free. 522-0108.
Original ‘SNE writer Michael O’Donoghue would have appreciated being overlooked in the obits
REMEMBERED BY BILLIE JEYES
SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS Organization of working journalists and writers offers monthly programs, monthly newsletter and subscription to national Quill magazine. Local and/or national dues. 665-4700.
When Michael O’Donoghue died from a cerebral hemorrhage earlier this month at the age of 54, the event was relegated to a blurb in the celebrity obits.
WRITING LIVES WRITING WORKSHOP Workshop for female writers. 871-8702.
As one of the original writers for TV’s Saturday Night Live, his death warranted more than a mere mention in the mainstream press. After all, his contribution to the show was commensurate with that of fellow dead SNL alumni, John Belushi and Gilda Radner.
Iconoclast that he was, O’Donoghue may have relished this final insult from the establishment that he so despised.
Concerts
O’Donaghue’s preoccupation with death and violence lent a dangerous edge to the fledgling show and did not endear him to the NBC censors who cut many of his sketches.
GUIDED BY VOICES WITH COME Critical darlings from Dayton with that Pavement/Lo-Fi sound.
heavily accented Belushi the English language by having him repeat the immortal phrase “I would like to feed your fingertips to the wolverines.”
Michael O’Donaghue’s preoccupation with death and violence lent a dangerous edge to the fledgling show and did not endear him to the NBC censors who cut many of his sketches. The ones that got on the air on Saturday Night Live, though, were unforgettable.
The ones that got on the air, though, were unforgettable, such as the running gag showing the reactions of various celebrities, including Tony Orlando and Dawn and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, to having long steel needles thrust into their eyes.
His most memorable character was Mr. Mike, who told darkly revisionist children’s stories. “Mr. Mike’s Least-Loved Bedtime Tales” was eventually axed.
BLACK 47 It’s a unique Celtic/Alternative mix from these Irish New Yorkers. 10 p.m. Dec. 7. Hurricanes, 411 W. Pete Rose Way, Downtown. Cover. 241-CANE.
“I’m not sure America is ready for Mr. Mike,” producer Lome Michaels was quoted as saying in Saturday Night by Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad (1987).
‘A cancerous eye’
HELMET WITH QUICKSAND AND CASPAR BROTZMANN MASSAKER Heavy, syncopated Alternative. 7 p.m. Dec. 13. Bogart’s, 2621 Vine St. $15. 2818400.
O’Donoghue appeared in the first ever SNL sketch with Belushi. He played a professor trying to teach the
Writers’ notebook
Events
Fans of the original Saturday Night Live are painfully aware the show is no longer on the cutting edge. It has become soft with success and institutionalized, the fate of most revolutionary movements. Its current roster of writers comes mainly from the Harvard Lampoon which, this month, has put out a parody of Entertainment Weekly. The result is a lackluster attempt at satire, which is hard to distinguish from the genuine article. This is what we have to look forward to on SNL in the years ahead. Thank goodness for The Kids In The Hall.
NUTCRACKER 5K RUN The third annual run begins and ends Dec. 3 at Museum Center at Union Terminal. 10 a.m. Proceeds benefit Cincinnati Ballet/Bravo and the Richard Collins Memorial Fellowship Fund, which supports programs in dance education and artistic development. $7 pre-registration, $9 day of race registration. 1301 Western Ave., Queensgate. 621-5219, Ext. 116.
Spy magazine, on the other hand, is always good for a laugh. This month, jokesters Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck spoke to the PR departments of several major companies and conned them into believing that Clinton was ready to endorse their products, for a fee.
CANDLELIGHT TOUR The Downtown Council will present its fourth annual home tour of Downtown residences from 6:30-9:30 p.m. Dec. 9-10. The School for Performing Arts Choir, led by Reginald Butler, will perform from 6:45-7:45 p.m. $8 for one tour, $14 for both tours. Advance tickets are $2 cheaper. Tickets go on sale Dec. 6. Call 241-8934 for more information.
Spam, Weight Watchers, Red Man Chewing Tobacco and Jimmy Dean Sausages were among the
The two met while working on The National Lampoon Radio Hour. (Many of SNL’s cast members were culled from that show, including Radner, Chevy Chase and Bill Murray.)
Before that, O’Donoghue had helped create National Lampoon, where he developed what he called his “cut and slash” humor.
In a 1979 Rolling Stone interview, he said, “I look at comedy with, not a jaundiced eye, but rather a cancerous eye.”
Mr. Mike’s Mondo Video, a bizarre and outrageous collection of sketches released after his first departure from SNL in 1978, is probably the most unadulterated example of his comedic vision which is why it never aired on network TV and can be found only on video.
He did have success with Scrooged, Murray’s vehicle for which he co-wrote the screenplay. He also played a bit part in Manhattan as Diane Keaton’s ex-boyfriend, Dennis. And, surprisingly enough, Dolly Parton recorded one of his songs, “Single Bars and Single Women.”
Wit in print
O’Donoghue’s latest book, Socks Goes To Washington, was a surprisingly mild collection of cartoons about the first cat. All of his other books are out of print: TV Zeitgeist, Bears, The Incredible, Thrilling Adventures of the Rock and The Encyclopedia of Humor.
His caustic wit, however, can still be found on the back page of Spin magazine in his monthly column, “Not My Fault.”
companies that fell for the ruse. And, with the exception of a PR guy from Burger King who was later told by his superiors to accept the offer, nobody even questioned the fact that the President should not be for sale.
Something that is not for sale is the new issue of Evil Dog Magazine, a quarterly devoted to local fiction and poetry that can be picked up at area coffeehouses and bookstores. Included in the anthology is F. Keith Wahle’s mini-novel, The Minimalist, a very funny piece that spoofs the genre.
Lastly, I hope all of you have sent in your suggestions to Charlton Heston for the title of his forthcoming autobiography. My favorite, so far, “The Life of a No-Talent Right Wing Asshole,” was submitted by my good friend Scott Levy. Mail your suggestions to: Charlton Heston Name My Autobiography Contest, 8730 Sunset Blvd., Sixth Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90069.
BILLIE JEYES
Suburban Torture
BY JULIE LARSON
NewsQuirks
ODD BUT TRUE NEWS ITEMS BY ROLAND SWEET
Lederhosen Uber Alles
The Society for the Protection of Lederhosen announced it was celebrating its third anniversary by opening a Lederhosen museum in Bad Ischi, Austria. President Bernhard Stucklschwaiger began the organization by rescuing the leather shorts from trash cans, where they were thrown by people who feared ridicule if they wore them. Noting that the shorts, traditionally worn by laborers, have begun appealing to trendy youngsters, he explained, “What was once an embarrassing item of clothing has now become recognized as a stylish and practical accessory for the modern man about town.”
Sex Is Its Own Punishment
Officials at Great Park near England’s Windsor Castle reported that a woman was treated for a broken leg after she fell naked from an oak tree while having sex.
“As they reached the height of their passion, the woman slipped from one of the branches at the top of the tree and plunged to the ground,” a park spokesperson explained. “It was a very clear case of coitus interruptus.”
Mistaken Identity
Six teen-agers in New Holland, Pa., beat and robbed a group of Amish, thinking they were members of a sect that doesn’t report crimes to police. Instead, they were Plain Sect members, who called police. The youths were charged.
Grudge Matches
Two groups of armed robbers tried to hold up a Rio de Janeiro bakery at the same time in June. Officials said that one robber was injured as the two gangs shot it out to decide who would carry away the cash box.
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ANGRY HOUR
Fridays, 4pm-9pm DOLLAR NITE
Tuesdays EMPIRE BAR
Take 8th St. viaduct to State Ave. at the old West End Bank
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Record in a pro studio on pro equipment. Get pro results & pay budget studio rates. Call Backstage at 292-TUNE
AVALON CLOTHING
230 W. McMillan St. 651-3847
BUSINESS MEETING ROOM: BOOK KALDI’S MEETING ROOM
For your next breakfast or lunch meeting. Accommodates up to 12. Call KALDI’S 241-3070
CINCINNATI MEN’S CHORUS PRESENTS AN EVENING IN DECEMBER
Friday, Dec. 9 and Saturday, Dec. 10; 8pm Memorial Hall. Tickets $10 advance. Call the CMC Hotline at 861-4042.
CLASSICAL THEATER
Cincinnati’s Classical Theater presents SHAKESPEARE’S “TWELFTH NIGHT” NOVEMBER 25 - DECEMBER 10
Thurs - Fri - Sat. 8pm/Sat. Matinees, 2pm Gabriel’s Comer Theater Liberty & Sycamore, Over the Rhine 559-0642
“COLLECTION OF SOUNDS’* FROM JASON DENNIE
GIVING THANKS TO WAX
WIZARD’S CAVE ANNUAL VINYL BLOWOUT SALE
Friday, Nov. 26, Saturday, Nov. 27 33% OFF
ALL VINYL IN THE CAVE
5 W. Charlton, around comer from Wizard’s 221-CAVE
“GO BELLY UP!”
3 pool tables, foosball, cheap drinks, no cover!
THE BELLY UP (formerly Kilgore’s) 2900 Jefferson Ave
HO! HO! HO!
Gifts by nationally known folk artists Unique hand carved Santas, ornaments, angels & more. ONLY ARTISTS, 1315 Main Street Over The Rhine Tues-Sat 11-5 241-6672
LOVELAND ART CENTER
Art classes for adults and children Artist’s club, supplies, custom-framing & do-it-yourself available 683-1888
MARK CURRY
Friday, November 25 ECHOBELLY
Saturday, November 26 AT HURRICANES
Cincinnati’s alternative for- live music FREE TIX TO BOTH SHOWS!
5 pairs to each show courtesy of CityBeat
6 Hurricanes. Come to the CityBeat office 23 E. 7th St. Suite 617, Downtown
MOONSHINE SCREEN PRINTING
T-Shirts, sweats, hats, bumper stickers. Full art staff.
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Give us a call at 523-7775
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PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK PRESENTS THE BANK ONE HOLIDAY HOUSE PARTY. Friday, December 9 - immediately following the 7pm performance of A Christmas Carol. Free food, live music, cash bar, guided tours.
CALL FOR TICKETS 421-3888
RECORDS WANTED
Cash paid for quality jazz, soul, blues, alternative & 60’s rock LP’s. Clean used CD’s also wanted. Circle CD & Records 5975 Glenway Ave. (At Werk) West. Hills 451-9824
Bob Roncker's Running Spot Holiday Daze Sale runs thru Hov. 27. Receive at least 20# off all merchandise.
Cincinnati’s most remarkable free form, acoustic guitarist. Presented by Queen’s Roan Records. Available at Everybody’s Records, Mole’s and Streetside Records
MULLANE’S
Includes running shoes, Hew balance dress shoes, Birkenstock sandals, clothing and more.
PARKSIDE CAFE
Lunch & dinner. Great food. Art shows. Showing the works of Heinz Pradac thru Dec. 1 723 RACE ST. 381-1331
Send responses by 5 p.m. Tuesday to: Back 23 E. Seventh St., Suite 617, Cincinnati, OH fax: 513/665-4369
Bob Roncker's Running Spots 1993 Madison Road in O'Bryonville. Phones 321-3006.
THANKSGIVING WEEKEND SALE 20% OFF ENTIRE STOCK!
Doc Martens, Georgia Boots, Lip Service, 26 Red, Dog Pile, Tripp SPECIAL HOLIDAY HOURS Fri. 11-8; Sat. 11-8; Sun. 1-6.
