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WHAT A WEEK! BY T.C. B R I T TO N

Final Year for Local Zombie Nativity All good things must come to an end, and thus 2017 will be the last year for the infamous local zombie nativity. Jasen Dixon of Sycamore Township erected his ghoulish take on the manger scene for the fourth and what he says is the fi nal time. He debuted the display, complete with an undead baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, in 2014 and soon caught worldwide attention — and lots of complaints. Unfortunately but unsurprisingly, some folks took issue with Dixon’s creepy depiction of the Christ child. The township took Dixon to court, citing zoning issues that amounted in 27 misdemeanor charges and $13,500 in fi nes. Last year those were all dropped and Sycamore pretty much stopped wasting time and money on the case. Still, Dixon says he is done with the zombie scene and only displayed it this year to appease its hordes of fans. He’ll either put it in storage or sell the pieces after Christmas. But who knows. Maybe, like any zombie, the scene will reanimate and wreak havoc once again.

Awards Shows to Address the Rapey Elephant in the Room

P H O T O : E VA N - A M O S

MoonPies Reclaim Relevance

I feel like a straight-up humanitarian if I exceed the Secret Santa spending limit by one cent, but I have nothing on George Clooney, who apparently gave 14 of his friends a millions dollars each one year. Longtime Clooney bud and husband of Cindy Crawford, Rande Gerber, told MSNBC about the time in 2013 when George invited his boys over and handed them each a suitcase fi lled with $1 million in $20 bills as a “thank you” for letting him couch surf back in the day. He even offered to pay the taxes on that cash! Shelling out $14 million on gifts is the epitome of #TooBlessedToBeStressed. While it was a life-changing gift for some of the guys, Gerber has a net worth of more than $100 million and was already super rich then, so he tried to refuse the generous gift. Clooney insisted. Hope you found some purpose for that suitcase of cash, Gerbs…

Epic Fail: British Cheese Tasting Event Be wary of any event promising “unlimited” amounts of food or alcohol. There are few things people love more than either of those, and people often underestimate the power of a hangry human who has dropped cash on tickets. Remember this summer’s Taco Festival fi asco? Brits ran into a similar situation at the Giant Cheeseboard, a London festival promising unlimited cheese and mulled wine. Sounds like the perfect way to spend a winter day, except it wasn’t. Attendees who dropped $40 (£30) were disappointed to fi nd long lines, scant amounts of cheddar cubes, stale crackers and diluted wine. Folks posted bleak photos and updates from the fest on social media, but the organizers are standing by their event, essentially calling all internet hate fake news. The Giant Cheese Board is set to continue on its fi nal date this Saturday. Contact T.C. Britton: letters@citybeat.com

1. Omarosa out! Donald Trump’s director of communications for the White House Office of Public Liaison either quit or got fired (because what is truth) this week, making a dramatic exit that might or might not have included setting off alarms, cursing the president and being escorted out of the White House. 2. The FCC voted to repeal net neutrality. If you use the internet, you should care. 3. In an interview with Peter Travers, Matt Damon tried to point out that not all sexual misconduct is created equal, completely missing the point that his line of thinking is part of the problem. 4. Oxford Dictionaries named “youthquake,” a term coined in the 1960s that I’ve literally never heard, the word of the year. 5. The Trump administration has apparently banned the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from using the following words and phrases in its budget documents: fetus, diversity, transgender, vulnerable, entitlement, science-based and evidence-based. 6. Word spread Sunday morning that Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis would be stepping down at the end of the season, but Lewis denied the reports. 7. Fox gave A Christmas Story the live TV musical treatment which, despite a stellar cast and beloved source material, fell totally flat. 8. Will and Kate hosted a holiday party for Kensington Palace staffers, but they had to B their own B. Lame. 9. Ted Cruz tried to “smarm-splain*” Star Wars to Mark Hamill on Twitter, them got owned by Luke Skywalker himself. *Favorite new word courtesy of Hamill. 10. Steelers wide receiver JuJu SmithSchuster mocked his illegal hit on Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict in a RUDE victory display during Sunday’s game against the Patriots. Because brain traumas are hilarious! At least the Steelers lost. 11. George Zimmerman threatened to feed Jay Z to an alligator in response to the Hov’s Trayvon Martin documentary.

C I T Y B E AT. C O M

Lately some corporate Twitter accounts have been going rogue, roasting people or offering messages completely unrelated to their brand (@DennysDiner is wonderfully weird and @Wendys was reviewing movies there for a minute for some reason). Th is week, it’s @MoonPie, the s’mores-like snack cake. The account has been offering odd musings (“Some days you’re the moon and other days you’re the pie not real sure what that means but if you’re feeling sad we can talk about it”), words of wisdom (“Informed opinions are like MoonPies they’re great to have”), reminders to vote on Election Day (“Please vote in your local elections but please don’t vote for us we only know how to make tasty MoonPies and we’d be in way over our heads”) and some fi re memes. They completely shut down haters shit-talking the snack cake, joined forces with @ Wendys and drew attention to a bot that’s been politely asking for a MoonPie every

It Literally Pays to Be Friends with Clooney

This Week in Questionable Decisions…

Meanwhile, in Canada... As the Supreme Court prepares to make a decision in the case involving a Colorado baker who refused to make a wedding cake for two men, an Ontario

Best snack on Twitter

day on Twitter for the past four years. I’d make a joke about this being someone’s actual job, but they’re probably singlehandedly responsible for an entirely new market becoming interested in the 100-year-old snack cake. Great job!

DEC. 2 0 – 2 6, 2 0 17

Awards season is coming up and the celebrity celebrations might be a bit more somber this year in light of the sexual harassment and assault revelations in Hollywood (and beyond). The Screen Actors Guild is addressing the issue by assembling a lineup of all women presenters at the SAG Awards. Kristen Bell will be the show’s fi rst ever host of either gender. Meanwhile, dozens of actresses at the Golden Globes are rumored to be wearing black as a sort of silent protest. Rose McGowan, who has been outspoken about misogyny in the industry and accused Harvey Weinstein of raping her, pointed out on Twitter that this “silence” is part of the problem, suggesting that the women wear Marchesa (the fashion brand co-founded by Georgina Chapman, Weinstein soon-to-be ex-wife) instead. BURN.

bakery created the “gayest cake” ever. To celebrate his engagement and upcoming nuptials, a Canadian man requested “the gayest cake they could make” from Cake & Loaf Bakery. The bakery happily obliged because they’re not miserable dicks, and what it created is almost too fabulous to eat. The rainbow cake is topped with colorful flowers and gold accents, including a gilded unicorn horn. At the base, LGBTQ-related terms like “inclusive,” “queer,” and “yas queen” are written in icing. Photos of this technicolor dream are quickly spreading across the webs in what must be excellent publicity for Cake & Loaf. Also: Beverly Hills 90210’s Brandon Walsh and Canadian babe Jason Priestley tweeted about the time he punched Harvey Weinstein in the face at a Miramax party after the 1995 Golden Globes. Th anks for leading by example, Canadians!

NEWS

Collateral Moves Recent ICE raids have left families without breadwinners, triggering calls for help from immigration groups By N I C K SWA R T S EL L

C i t y B e at. c o m | D E C . 2 0 – 2 6 , 2 0 1 7

ose is a soft-spoken mother of three with a direct gaze and ready smile. The woman, whose name CityBeat has changed to protect her identity, has lived in the United States for 10 years after fleeing her native Guatemala, where harassment from gangs culminated in the brief kidnapping of her then 2-year-old son at a market. Others at the market were able to chase down the gang members and rescue the child, but it was the final straw. Rose resolved to join her husband, who fled to the U.S. two years prior to make money for the family. They eventually settled in Newport, where they found jobs and community. But last week, authorities picked up Rose’s husband on his way to work. He was one of more than 50 people suspected of being in the U.S. without documentation apprehended by local law enforcement or Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Northern Kentucky since late November, immigration attorneys say. The bulk of those immigration enforcement efforts, carried out over a two-day sweep, were ostensibly aimed at 22 individuals — 20 men and two women — with serious criminal records, according to ICE. Six are charged with re-entering the country after being deported previously. “Most had prior criminal histories that included convictions for assaulting a police officer, child neglect, forgery, fraud and driving under the influence,” a Dec. 8 press release from ICE’s Louisville office says. But Rose says her husband isn’t one of those people. Despite that, he is currently locked up in a Kentucky justice center awaiting possible deportation. If he wants to spend the holiday with his family, they’ll have to find $15,000 to pay his bond. Without him making money, Rose says, she will struggle to pay bills and buy food for the couple’s children. “I’m worried,” she says. “His bond is very high. He was working, but now I have to pay everything on my own. The kids keep asking for their dad.” Activists, immigration advocates and legal aid groups met the evening of Dec. 14 in a cavernous Newport church to spread the word about the apprehensions

Linda Vila Passione P H O T O : N ick S wartsell

and get community support for the families like Rose’s. A number of groups held strategy sessions earlier in the week before convening the Dec. 14 meeting. They include Supporting Latino Families in Northern Kentucky, Black Lives Matter Cincinnati, Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center, Democratic Socialists of America, the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center, the Immigrant and Refugee Law Center, Kentucky Women’s Network, Transformations CDC and others. “When we heard about this, we knew we had to take action,” IJPC’s Samantha Searls said. “We’re here to organize and connect people with the help that they need.” The groups are asking for donations to help families with rent, groceries, legal fees and other necessities while their apprehended loved ones are behind bars. “As much as people may want to give specific items right now, the need is for (cash) donations so we can tie it in to exactly what each family needs,” says Linda Vila Passione, vice president of Supporting Latino Families in Northern Kentucky. Advocates are also asking for volunteers who can provide rides and other non-monetary help, including finding ways to reach out to detainees’ families outside the U.S. Passione says that, often, wage earners are sending money back to family in

their countries of origin. When they’re apprehended, that money stops, but family members back home don’t necessarily know why. That can be a huge blow to their impoverished families. In Rose’s home country of Guatemala, the share of the country’s population living in poverty grew from 51 percent in 2009 to almost 60 percent in 2014. Other statistics shed light on why people like Rose leave. In 2014, Guatemala had the 10th-highest murder rate in the world. Applications for asylum from the country have spiked in recent years, according to data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security CityBeat obtained last year. As their families wait, those picked up by ICE face an uncertain legal road. Some will get bond and some won’t, based on a tangle of factors including family status, prior convictions and other considerations. Alexandria Lubans-Otto is a Florencebased immigration attorney who often represents undocumented clients picked up by the agency in immigration courts in Chicago and Louisville. “ICE conducted raids based on their current policy, which is to seek out individuals who have been convicted of felonies, significant misdemeanors or who have been deported previously and have re-entered the country without permission,” she says.

“When they go to look for these individuals, they will also take into custody anyone they find who does not have proof that they are here with permission or legal status.” Lubans-Otto says that on one day last week, half of the 18 people ICE picked up fit that description as “collateral” apprehensions. By early this week, more than 50 people were in jail on immigration-related charges in Northern Kentucky, she says. “ICE doesn’t know their criminal records at the time,” Lubans-Otto says of so-called collateral apprehensions. “They’ll start with, ‘You’re not speaking English. I’ve asked you for identification and you’ve handed me a passport from Guatemala.’ It’s on suspicion of being here unlawfully. Even though it’s a Class-B misdemeanor, that’s grounds enough for ICE to detain you and put you in removal because you’re deportable.” There are many mitigating factors, however, to whether someone is indeed eligible for deportation. Those include whether or not a detainee is working with immigration courts and seeking asylum. As one might expect, the raids have caused controversy among immigration advocates. Some have leveled charges that ICE officers have recently beaten detainees during arrests. CONTINUES ON PAGE 07

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city desk

Harker’s Choice — Football Coach or Family Man?

SORTA Unveils Improvements Sales Tax Boost Would Fund

By JA M ES M c N A I R

In a twist on the parenting-versus-career dilemmas facing many American women, the former athletic conditioning director at Miami University claims in a lawsuit that he was forced out of his job for taking paternity leave when his wife had twins. The suit was filed in federal court by Paul Harker, who was Miami’s athletic conditioning coach for six years until his departure in June. Represented by attorney Chris Jenkins, Harker seeks unspecified monetary damages from the university for retaliation and denial of his Family and Medical Leave Act rights. A Miami spokeswoman said the university had no comment on the suit. “We can’t comment on litigation involving personnel,” says Claire Wagner. Harker’s twins were born Jan. 20 and his wife and new son and daughter were discharged from McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital in Oxford three days later. He applied for paternity leave the next day, and Miami approved his paid time off until Feb. 9. “This infuriated Miami’s head football coach, Chuck Martin, who complained that every other man who had ever worked for him was back at work the next day after his wife gave birth and told Mr. Harker he needed to decide whether he was a football coach or a family man,” the suit states. Martin, head coach since December 2013, was named as a defendant in the lawsuit. Also named were Miami’s athletic director of five years, David Sayler, and Associate Athletic Director Steven Brockelbank. Harker’s lawsuit drives home the point that taking time off did not sit well with Martin. While on paternity leave, Harker says Martin left him a voicemail saying they needed to discuss “Mr. Harker’s

Paul Harker P H O T O : W ay ne S tate U ni v ersit y

future with the program.” In a Feb. 7 meeting, the suit states, Martin told Harker that his future with Miami was “in jeopardy” because of Harker’s “non-commitment” to the program. It was at this meeting that Harker says Martin posed the “football coach or family man” question. The meeting ended, the suit states, with Martin saying he would be talking to Sayler about Harker’s future at the college. Ten days later, Harker says he met with Martin again and was told that the decision had been made to let Harker’s yearto-year contract expire on June 30. Harker says Martin told him to “find another job quickly so his replacement could be hired.” Harker says he took that to mean that he’d been given notice of his termination.

Although upset, Harker says he continued to do his job, even as Martin asked him “several times” if he’d been hired elsewhere. Harker says he had indeed begun a job search and, expecting to move, sold his house in Oxford. Harker was wearing thin on Brockelbank, too. In an April 6 email to Kristin Henegar in Miami’s human resources office, Brockelbank cited the athletics’ department’s mounting dissatisfaction with Harker. He wrote that Harker skipped two 2016 away football games and a Dec. 26 bowl game in Florida. Brockelbank wrote that Harker’s twins were delivered Jan. 20 in a C-section “scheduled in advance.” Harker, in his suit, says he requested — and received — permission to stay home during the bowl game because his wife was “35 weeks pregnant, unable to travel and at risk for early delivery.” On March 31, Harker told Martin that he wanted to take another nine weeks of paternity leave, his suit states. Martin, it says, replied that he and Brockelbank would not “fight” the request if Harker would resign June 30. And if he resigned, the suit says, Martin would serve as a reference in Harker’s job search. Harker went on a second, unpaid paternity leave from April 3 to June 4. Because he conceded the inevitability of his nonrenewal, he didn’t resign. Harker, who played football at Michigan State University, landed on his feet. Today he’s assistant athletic director at Wayne State University in Detroit, the job he held before moving to Miami University in 2011. Even though the job pays less, it was a step up of sorts: Miami had a won-loss record of 5-7 this year. Wayne State went 5-6.

Cincinnati Police Test-Scoring Errors Lead to $165,000 Settlement

C i t y B e at. c o m | DE C . 2 0 – 2 6 , 2 0 1 7

BY JA M ES M c N A I R

Three Cincinnati police sergeants whose botched lieutenant exam scores gave them false hopes for promotion have settled a lawsuit for a combined $165,000. The out-of-court deal was reached last month by Cincinnati Police Department sergeants Ronald Childress, Stefanie Torlop and Cassandra Tucker, the city of Cincinnati and Ergometrics & Applied Personnel Research Inc. It calls for each of the officers to receive a total of $42,500 in three installments. It also picks up their $37,500 legal bill.

The lawsuit was filed in October 2016 after a re-scoring of lieutenant exams resulted not only in different scores but different rankings of those who had taken the test. Childress, for example, had been told he was the highest performer after the first round of scoring. After the second, he ranked 25th. Ergometrics, a Lynnwood, Wash., company that was hired by the city in 2012 for public safety testing, accepted the blame. “The city of Cincinnati was in no way involved in the scoring process,” company President Carl

Swander wrote to the city in July 2016. “We sincerely apologize for the trouble this has caused.” The settlement agreement precludes the three plaintiffs and their lawyer, Kristen Myers, from discussing it. CityBeat obtained a copy of it from the city. According to the agreement, each of the officers were to receive three payments of $14,167, or a total of $42,500 per officer, subject to all regular payroll deductions. The city agreed not to transfer any of the three from their current jobs now or in the future “in retaliation for any of the facts alleged in the lawsuit.”

The lieutenant exams were given in the spring of 2016 and were initially scored that June. After several test-takers questioned their scores, the city asked Ergometrics to score the tests again, and the errors were caught and corrected. Even though the company conceded making the mistakes, the city paid $45,000 of the $165,000. A city spokesman had no comment on the settlement. After the test-scoring fiasco, the city awarded its testing contract to another company, Industrial/ Organizational Solutions Inc.

BY N I C K SWA R T S EL L The Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority Dec. 12 unveiled plans it says could dramatically improve bus service across Cincinnati and Hamilton County. But there’s a cost — and the higher the price, the better the improvement will be, SORTA says. The transit authority is poised to present county voters with a sales tax levy next year that, under state law, could range anywhere from .5 percent to 1 percent. That money would go toward shoring up the region’s struggling Metro bus system. “This is a critical time for our community’s public transportation system,” Metro CEO and GM Dwight A. Ferrell said. “We’re talking about setting up our riders for the future. Metro is excited about the options we’re bringing to the public and look forward to letting the community decide.” The .5 percent tax — the plan supported by Mayor John Cranley during his reelection bid — would result in bus service staying the same due to coming deficits and looming needs for the system. But with a .6 percent or .8 percent sales tax increase, Metro says it could expand access for people with disabilities, add new crosstown and circulator job access routes, increase the frequency and hours of service on existing routes — including 24 hour service on major routes — extend some routes further into the county, and, if voters pony up for the .8 percent increase, even provide some so-called bus rapid transit. Those are routes that mimic light rail with dedicated lanes and fewer stops, speeding up commute times. All of those projections assume that the .3 percent city earnings tax currently providing some $56 million in funding for Metro goes to other things or is done away with. It also assumes that fares will go up slightly over the next few years. Metro is already considering a boost to $1.90 per Zone 1 ride next year. Metro says the plan, released Dec. 12 at SORTA’s board meeting, has been three years in the making and incorporates extensive public feedback. “Now that we have collected valuable feedback and data,” SORTA Board Chair Jason Dunn said, “our next steps are to engage and have a dialogue with our riders and the public to determine the future of Metro and to build community coalitions to successfully achieve meaningful change in 2018.” Cincinnati’s bus system continues to face big financial challenges. Though a $98.1 million 2018 budget SORTA’s board released earlier this month narrowly avoids deficits, Metro faces a $188 million shortfall over the next decade under current funding conditions.

FROM PAGE 04

Attorney Charleston Wang Dec. 11 filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus on behalf of a man identified as Edgar Morales, an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala. Morales had been deported previously, and in the early morning hours of Dec. 7, ICE agents came looking for him at his home in Covington. Wang says ICE agents violated Morales’ constitutional rights against unreasonable search and seizure by entering his house without his permission and that his arrest is invalid. “It doesn’t matter if he’s undocumented or not,” Wang says. “He’s protected by the constitution.” According to an affidavit filed by Morales’ wife, ICE stopped her as she was returning from work and held her outside the house she shared with Morales and their four children. Morales’ wife says she asked officers for a search warrant, but the officers did not produce one. Morales opened the door to see what was going on, but his wife warned him in their native language, Mam, that ICE officers were with her. Morales then locked the door and hid in the house. According to his wife, ICE officers then searched her, took her house keys and unlocked the door to pursue Morales. His wife testifies in the affidavit that he was beaten by an ICE officer during his subsequent arrest.

Morales has been moved from a deportation processing center in Louisiana back to Kenton County ahead of court proceedings. Others apprehended recently were picked up by local law enforcement and held on a detainer issued by ICE. Many detainees facing immigration charges in Northern Kentucky move from local jails to Boone County Detention Center and then on to the Oldham County Jail, which has a contract with ICE. At Oldham County, ICE officials decide whether or not a detainee will get bond. “They have enormous discretion when it comes to that,” Lubans-Otto says. “Over the decade I’ve been practicing, there are times when they’re super-easy on people and other times when they’re like, ‘No bond for anyone.’ ” From there, it’s off to immigration court in Louisville, Memphis or Chicago, where it can take months to get in front of a judge. There are some 600,000 immigration cases in the United States and about 300 judges to hear them. Rose says she would go back home herself, but that her children need the opportunities found in the U.S. “I love my country,” she says of Guatemala. “But my oldest son wants to keep going to school here. He has goals and opportunities — all these different career paths he wants to explore — that couldn’t happen there.”

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footba l l le ague ba nishes N FL f a n ta s y e l a e a g a i n s t w o m e n | b y d a n n y c p l ay e r em c n f e l o i l v s ross of ca A lo accused

08 I L L U S T R AT I O N : J uli e H ill

Eva ngeline Bau er le is by a ll accou n ts a benevolen t ru ler . The two-time defending cham-

pion of She FF, a local all-women fantasy football league, refuses to subject her vanquished foes to demeaning tasks or punishments, like the winners of many fantasy sports leagues do. Instead, during a recent chat with league mate Hannah Purnell, Bauerle even let the former champion reconnect with the league trophy — a bedazzled crown adorned with a sparkly football on the front. In keeping with league tradition, Purnell held the crown during her two stints as champion, proudly displaying it on her living room mantle during those years. To get it back, Purnell will have to usurp Bauerle’s team, the Mystic Farts, who have been a fixture atop the standings during the league’s eight-year run. “I was also regular-season champion a couple of times,” Bauerle says, recalling seasons when her bid for the title fell short in the playoffs. “But that doesn’t count for anything, except for in my heart and in the screenshots I keep of the trophy case.” These women are not alone in their pursuit of glory at the expense of their friends. More than 59 million people played fantasy sports in 2017, which is more than double the 27 million who participated in 2009, according to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association. The FSTA estimates the industry to be worth more than $7 billion annually. The premise is simple: Participants are the general managers of their teams, which accumulate points based on players’ real-life performances each week. Score more points than your opponent, win that week’s game. A playoff bracket during the final weeks of the NFL’s regular season determines the fantasy league champion. Things can get pretty serious. Hardcore leagues have been known to cost last-place finishers the indignity of tattoos at the behest of the winner. Others are forced to wear signs in public detailing their shameful lack of fantasy prowess. League websites

— H a n n a h Pu r n e l l

keep track of past winners for all to see. “I used to be a lot more intense about it when I had a corporate job that didn’t demand much of me,” says Purnell, a 37-year-old freelance writer and former CityBeat staffer. “I would spend a really good portion of my day setting my fantasy teams. I’ve fallen off a little bit in recent years.” Bauerle’s current pursuit of a three-peat almost didn’t happen. Frustrated by the National Football League’s

After considerable debate, the group chose not to abandon what had become a fun and supportive community where longtime friends share in their enjoyment of pro football and friendly competition. They also didn’t want to give up the annual draft-day pool party at Fielding’s place where the “10th round plunge” — a group splash into the pool after shots of booze — takes place. “Draft day is better than Christmas,” Fielding says. “That’s the best day of the year for me.”

“Draft day is better than Christmas. That’s the best day of the year for me.” — S u s a n Fi e l d i n g

Instead, they decided to add a critical new provision to the league rules: No one is allowed to roster any player implicated in domestic violence. “In times like these you kind of have to put your money where your mouth is, and it’s kind of hard to reconcile your feminist beliefs with an organization that clearly doesn’t value that,” Fielding says. With all in favor — and an agreement to donate a portion of league fees to local nonprofit Women Helping Women — She FF set about creating a new fantasy league with parameters that allow conscientious women to feel OK about supporting the NFL. The NFL is not necessa r ily the pa r i a h of professiona l sports ,

but it’s safe to say that its PR department stays pretty busy. The league is currently facing intense pressure over players kneeling during the national anthem in protest of police brutality in America. President Trump even took to Twitter to call out the NFL and its owners for allowing the gesture, even though it is protected under the players’ union contract. Owners’ demands for new taxpayerfunded stadiums and their willingness to de-root franchises in search of higher profits continue to turn off average fans. The heightened awareness of head injuries Evangeline Bauerle and tragic effects of a degenerative brain P H O T O : h a i l e y bo l l i n g e r condition called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE, promise to stay in the news for the foreseeable future. Still, violence against women has been a consistent issue during the tenure of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who has admitted to the former University of Oklahoma running back who was mistakes in handling these issues over the years. caught on video punching a woman in the face. You can trace the start of the NFL’s about-face on “We are a league of women,” says Susan Fielding, a domestic violence to its handling of the Ray Rice case. In 44-year-old wedding photographer who lives on the West 2014, an elevator surveillance camera captured video of Side. “And I think that was our initial problem: What is the Baltimore Ravens running back punching his thenthe message we’re putting out there as a group of women, fiancée in the face, knocking her out cold, then dragging even if it’s passively supporting an organization that so her limp body off the elevator. clearly disregards our safety as women?”

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“I think that what’s happening right now in pop culture and in the world of politics is part of the reason that we’ll keep doing it.”

leniency with players involved in domestic violence and worn out by the election of admitted pussy-grabber Donald Trump, the ladies of She FF nearly canceled the league this year. It was exhausting, they say, to continually see the NFL come down easy on players guilty of committing violence against women. During a day and age when the NFL drops full-year bans on players who smoke weed, a team like the Bengals will spend a second-round draft pick on Joe Mixon,

Questions arose over when the league, team and press conference. “But that’s one day in the young man’s The NFL’s attempts to cater to its female viewers over coaches knew about the video, with evidence suggestlife. He’s had to live that since then. He will continue to the years hasn’t landed well, either. It turns out that ing they might have ignored it during a dramatic series have to live that. And he gets an opportunity to move adding a pink color scheme to uniforms during Breast of events meant to get Rice back on the field as soon as forward and write a script from there on.” Cancer Awareness Month doesn’t do much to assuage the possible. Goodell, who had initially suspended Rice for The move was heavily criticized locally. discomfort of a woman rooting for a verified wife beater. only two games, ended up suspending him indefinitely Longtime Cincinnati Enquirer columnist Paul Daugh“I think it was just so many things compounding,” says once the video became public. Rice fought the suspension erty wrote that seeing Bengals all-time great Anthony Bauerle, the reigning champ who is also a designer at a in court and was eventually reinstated, though no team Munoz announce the Mixon pick made him feel like crying. local branding agency. “We’re not stupid — obviously the would sign him and he never played again. “The Bengals have forfeited any and all rights to the NFL is a business and we get that if they’re courting women Goodell admitted missteps in the process and word ‘character’ as a descriptive,” Daugherty wrote. “They it’s just to increase their viewership. But sometimes I just announced a new domestic violence policy that would have lost all remaining sympathy from anyone who still wish the NFL could be smarter about it.” suspend players for six games for a first offense and believed Cincinnati’s miscreants were no different than To distance themselves from these realities, Fielding order a lifetime ban for a second. any other team’s miscreants.” set about creating the “undraftables” list. Any player “My disciplinary decision led the public to question our sincerity, our commitment, and whether we understood the toll that domestic violence inflicts on so many families,” Goodell wrote in a letter to NFL owners. “I take responsibility both for the Players banished from the She FF fantasy football league decision and for ensuring that our actions in the future properly reflect our values. I didn’t get it right. Simply put, we have to Conduct do better. And we will.” Player Current team accused of* Just one year later, the Dallas Cowboys had no issue signing free agent defensive end Greg Hardy to a contract, even though Dez Bryant Dallas Cowboys Domestic violence he had been accused of throwing his exgirlfriend onto a futon piled with semiauJulian Edelman New England Patriots Assault tomatic guns and choking and threatening — R o g er G o o d e l l , N F L to kill her. Hardy had been found guilty of c o m m i ss i o n er two counts of domestic violence, but his Ezekiel Elliott Dallas Cowboys Domestic violence case was dismissed on appeal after the victim didn’t show up in court. ProsecuQuincy Enunwa New York Jets Domestic violence tors said she and Hardy reached a financial implicated in a situation involving settlement, which hurt their case. violence against women, convicted or Since then, more than a dozen players not, would be formally added to a Google Tyreek Hill Kansas City Chiefs Domestic violence have been arrested for domestic violence, spreadsheet — along with his position, battery or sexual battery, according to a charge and number of arrests — and Jarvis Landry Miami Dolphins Domestic violence USA Today database of NFL arrests. banned from ownership in the league. There was a time when the Bengals were USA Today’s handy database of NFL infamous for employing players with crimiplayer arrests was a good place to start. Brandon Marshall New York Giants Domestic violence nal records, and in recent years guys like The website details 876 arrests dating Adam “Pacman” Jones have continued to back to 2000, searchable by year, team or Joe Mixon Cincinnati Bengals Assault wear out the Hamilton County court system. position. A quick scroll reveals the details of lesser crimes like violating court orders and eluding police, along with the more Adrian Peterson Arizona Cardinals Child abuse heinous: assault, battery, domestic violence and sexual assault — even a handful Dede Westbrook Jacksonville Jaguars Domestic violence of murder charges. The database includes the following editor’s note: “It cannot be considered fully Ben Roethlisberger Pittsburgh Steelers Sexual assault complete because records of some player arrests might not have been found for various reasons, including lack of media * Accusations according to the USA Today NFL arrest database or other media reports. — M a rv i n L e w i s , B e n g a l s coverage or accessible public records.” h e a d c oac h Compiling the undraftables was more daunting than Fielding expected. DefenBut the drafting of Mixon was different. ESPN 1530 radio host Mo Egger reached out to the victim, sive players abound on the bad-guys list, but most fantasy During college at Oklahoma, a café surveillance camAmelia Molitor, to tell her story instead of Mixon’s. leagues don’t draft individual defensive players. Fieldera captured the 6-foot-1-inch, 226-pound Mixon laying The editorial board of WCPO.com called for a boycott ing considered scrapping the team defense position but out a woman with a vicious right cross, causing her to fall of the team, writing, “Apparently, Mike Brown, Marvin decided not to go that far. face-first into a table, breaking her jaw and other bones in Lewis and the Bengals management think winning is all “It got a little sticky because not all of those were her face. that matters. Apparently, those franchise leaders don’t confirmed and some were just charges, not necessarily Many NFL teams decided they would not draft Mixon. care about potentially alienating the team’s female fans.” convictions,” Fielding says. But the Bengals saw value in selecting him with their The Mixon selection was also tough to stomach for the But, as league commissioner, Fielding wielded unilateral second-round pick this past April, believing him to be a women of She FF. power over the players, and she ended up banning a total first-round talent. “The Bengals have always been kind of a big group of of 11. One was Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, “I don’t know who isn’t disgusted at what they saw,” Benmisfits anyway,” Fielding says, “but that kind of brought it who is currently serving a six-game suspension related to gals head coach Marvin Lewis said during a post-draft all together.” accusations of domestic violence against him in 2016. Even

The “Undraftables”

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“I don’t know who isn’t disgusted at what they saw. But that’s one day in the young man’s life.”

“My disciplinary decision led the public to question our sincerity, our commitment, and whether we understood the toll that domestic violence inflicts on so many families.”

though criminal charges were never filed, the NFL suspended Elliott after its own investigation. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones — the same man who signed Hardy — pushed back, criticizing Goodell’s handling of the situation and fighting against the commissioner’s recently signed $200 million, five-year contract extension because of it. Fielding posted the spreadsheet in the league Facebook group, accompanied by the following note: “Here is our list of shame. I limited this list to active, offensive players. USA Today has a running list of all NFL arrests. Don’t look it up. It’s depressing.”

reporting on the likes of Matt Lauer, Charlie Rose and Garrison Keillor shined a light on the extent of sexual harassment and sexual assault in the workplace. Even the NFL Network, which is owned by the league, just last week suspended three former players working as analysts after a former female staffer filed a lawsuit accusing them and a producer of sexual harassment. The downfall of these powerful men — and others in top positions from government to media to business — was a welcome change for women used to seeing such indiscretions shrugged off.

BECAUSE the league was R ENEWed SO L ATE, She FF moved to an online

draft for the first time, which was kind of a bummer. No pool party or 10th-round plunge. No old-school draft board covered in color-coded stickers. No cigarettes dangling from the mouths of intensely focused managers. Nevertheless, the draft on Sept. 1 went as well as could be expected considering the unfamiliar format and the collection of alleged criminals on everyone’s minds. But the online draft room made it somewhat difficult to respect the undraftables list as the pace picked up. “Autodraft kept putting people up who were on the list,” Fielding says. “The next pick would be Tyreek Hill or Ben Roethlisberger and we’d have to go back and stop the draft and redo it.” The first pick — and the right to draft dynamic Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson — went to Dana Burns’ team, called My Ball Zach Ertz. Bauerle’s Mystic Farts scored the second pick and selected Pittsburgh’s Le’Veon Bell. Kelly Kampsen chose hometown guy A.J. Green to start her Turd Ferguson squad. Carley Manning’s team, MagnificentBush, and Fielding’s team, Ginger kids have no Sproles, rounded out the first round with

Back row (L-R): Evangeline Bauerle, Mallory Feltz, Hannah Purnell, Annie Lewis and Dana Burns. Front row: Susan Fielding and Carley Manning. P H O T O : h a i l e y bo l l i n g e r

“You have to keep talking about it. These rules help you to be aware of it — have it on your mind and talk to other people about it.” — E va n g e l i n e B au er l e

“I think the conclusion we ended up with was that keeping a group of women hanging out together was important.” “I think that what’s happening right now in pop culture and in the world of politics is part of the reason that we’ll keep doing it,” Purnell says. “Because finally there’s a moment where it’s public, and I know that sounds really trite but it just felt so hopeless there for a minute. Now that there’s a national conversation, it’s like, ‘OK. Maybe I don’t have to give up everything that I love just because the world is awful.’ ” Instances of sexual assault and violence against women are well documented and pervasive, especially in the workplace. Recent reporting has depicted the

The national conversation about these issues has given women hope that things could change for the better, however conflicted they might be about football. “I’ve read a bunch of articles about people feeling similar,” Bauerle says. “You have to keep talking about it. These rules help you to be aware of it — have it on your mind and talk to other people about it.” Discussing their rule changes and the planned donation to Women Helping Women prompted Purnell’s husband’s league to also donate a portion of its fees to a women’s charity. “That’s kind of cool,” Purnell says. “That sort of keeps us going, like a sense of purpose — having a conversation and making other people aware that you can be a football fan and also a feminist.” Like many fantasy leagues, She FF is more of a social space than a cut-throat competition — a way for friends, family members and co-workers to stay connected as people grow up, build families and drift apart over time. One of She FF’s participants lives in Denver. Another just had twins. Most take part in an all-female lake trip every year. “I think the conclusion we ended up with,” Purnell says, “was that keeping a group of women hanging out together was important.” The same could be said for the league’s crown, which Bauerle has worn with honor the past two years. Her team, in fact, is still in the running for the 2017 title. As of publication of this article, she held a healthy 28.6 point advantage in the fantasy semifinals. Should that lead hold up against Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan’s Monday Night Football appearance, a familiar face awaits in the championship round: Purnell’s team already qualified for the finals, meaning one of these two is likely to take home her league-leading third She FF title — and the glittering hardware to boot.

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— H a n n a h Pu r n e l l

Atlanta’s Devonta Freeman and Tennessee’s DeMarco Murray, respectively. Things were rolling along for She FF’s 12 members through the end of September, aside from a few earlyseason pickups of banned players. “I had to call a couple people out and say, ‘Hey you have to drop this dude,’ ” Fielding says “By Week 4 we kind of all had our shit together.” Then on Thursday, Oct. 5, The New York Times broke the Harvey Weinstein story, detailing decades of alleged sexual assault by the Hollywood mogul. Subsequent

barriers women face in reporting sexual harassment and abuse, from top Hollywood actresses to women working in restaurants. The statistics paint a dire picture: One out of every six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, the country’s largest anti-sexual violence organization. Twelve percent of sexual assault survivors were working at the time of the assault. Only six out of every 1,000 perpetrators of sexual assault end up in prison, according to RAINN.

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Ring in the New Year

STUFF TO DO

There are plenty of parties, concerts, dances and special events to end 2017 with a bang and welcome the new year. Here are a few.

New Year’s Eve Speakeasy — Party like it’s 1923. Dress like a flapper, don a fedora and indulge in an evening of martinis, sidecars and Jazz. There will be a swinging live band, backroom gaming, appetizers and a champagne toast at midnight. 8 p.m.-1 a.m. $40; $50 door (if available). Know Theatre, 1120 Jackson St., OTR, citybeat.com. Night at the Museum 3 — Head to the CAC for a dance party featuring three DJs on three different floors. Includes a top-shelf open bar, party favors and a champagne toast at midnight. 10 p.m.-2 a.m. $100; $150 VIP. Contemporary Arts Center, 44 E. Sixth St., Downtown, contemporaryartscenter.org. Glitter & Glam: An NYE Drag Spectacular — The party includes three drag shows, hosted by Jessica Dimon, plus a photobooth, dancing, light bites and drinks from Metropole. Proceeds benefit Caracole. 9 p.m.-1 a.m. $35. 21c Museum Hotel, 609 Walnut St., Downtown, facebook. com/21ccincinnati. Bill NYE Bash — Features plenty of Bill Nye-themed cocktails, a Bill Nye the Science Guy TV marathon

WEDNESDAY 20

ART: We... by Tim McMichael is on display at Clay Street Press. See review on page 26.

The Rumpke Mountain Boys New Year’s Eve Ball — A two-night celebration with the Rumpke Mountain Boys and special guests Restless Leg String Band, David Gans, Old Salt Union and Pickin’ Pear. 7 p.m. Dec. 30 and 31. $15-$30; $35 two-day pass. 20th Century Theater, 3021 Madison Road, Oakley, the20thcenturytheatre.com. New Year’s Eve at MadTree — There will be a private party in the barrel warehouse featuring beer, a full bar, dinner by the bite, a photobooth and music from DJ Maize. 8 p.m.-1 a.m. MadTree, 3301 Madison Road, Oakley, madtreebrewing.com. NSYC New Year’s Eve — Live music upstairs and downstairs with bands The Dopamines, Tweens, Vacation, Mad Anthony, Honeyspiders and more. There will be a Rhinegeist Bubbles toast at midnight. 9 p.m.-2 a.m. $7 presale; $10 day of (if available). Northside Yacht Club, 4227 Spring Grove Ave., Northside, facebook.com/northsideyachtclub.

albums, this summer putting out his latest (and first in seven years) 10th of Seas, a compelling effort that places fuzzy vocals, buzzy guitars and a glaze of tickling psychedelia on top of a strongly melodic songwriting base. Barbe’s music shows the perhaps unavoidable influence of Athens’ pioneering music scene — there are frequent sniffs of swaggering jangle and slanted Pop, featuring hooks that Athens-adjacent singer/songwriter/producer Mitch Easter would be proud to call his own — but it’s also tinted by broader genres like Psych Rock, Power Pop and the California sound of the Paisley Underground. Barbe is touring backed by New Madrid, an Athens’ Pop/Rock band that he has worked with frequently in the studio. 9 p.m. Wednesday. Free. MOTR Pub, 1345 Main St.,

Black Light Ball — Urban Artifact’s upstairs Sanctuary will be transformed into a glowing wonderland with music from DJ Bit Flip, plus beer, wine, cocktails and a midnight toast. 8 p.m. $65; $15 DD. Urban Artifact, 1660 Blue Rock Road, Northside, artifactbeer.com. Cheer the New Year at Rhinegeist — There will be food from Sartre OTR and music from DJ Matt Joy and Jess Lamb and The Factory, as well as a photobooth, lounge seating and a midnight countdown with balloon drop. 8 p.m.-2 a.m. $20 presale; $25 day of (if available). Rhinegeist, 1910 Elm St., OTR, presale bit.ly/2niQ7Cu. NYE at Netherland Plaza — The hotel recreates its grand opening in 1931 with a Great Gatsby-style party featuring a buffet feast, sparkling wine centerpiece, music from the Queen City Serenaders and a midnight champagne toast and balloon drop. There will be awards for the best-dressed couple (men must wear jackets). 7 p.m.-1:30 a.m. $150. Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza, 35 W. Fifth St., Downtown, bit.ly/2Bonr0w.

Over-the-Rhine, motrpub. com. — MIKE BREEN HOLIDAY: Santa’s Workshop featuring The Shillito Elves From the 1950s to the 1980s, more than 130 hand-built animatronic elves were displayed in interior vignettes and the exterior windows of downtown’s Shillito’s department store each holiday, bringing Santa’s workshop to life. Today, they’ve been refurbished and restored and have a home in Mariemont, where visitors can see 12 animated scenes of elves building toys, sorting mail and more. Kids can even drop letters to Santa in a big blue mailbox on their way in. It’s the elves’ last season at this location and the owners don’t know where or if they’ll be on display next year, so now’s your

chance to see them if you want to/haven’t. Through Dec. 31. $4. 6940 Madisonville Road, Mariemont, thesantaworkshop.com. — MAIJA ZUMMO FILM: Star Wars Holiday Special Celebrate the release of Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi with a screening of the super weird and ridiculous 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special. The 98-minute spinoff musical features the original cast (plus a singing Bea Arthur!) and a plot involving Han Solo and Chewbacca attempting to get to Chewbacca’s home planet of Kashyyyk to celebrate Life Day with his wife and kid. The special only aired once — everyone thought it kind of sucked so it was never rebroadcasted or officially released on video. It’s a cult

thing these days and hard to find (unless you know how to use YouTube), but you can watch it at The Video Archive Wednesday on a relatively big screen. The bar is currently hosting A Yuletide Nightmare pop-up in honor of the holidays, with décor referencing another cult favorite: The Nightmare Before Christmas. 7:30-10 p.m. Wednesday. Free admission. The Video Archive, 965 E. McMillan Ave., Walnut Hills, facebook. com/videoarchivecincinnati. — MAIJA ZUMMO

THURSDAY 21

HOLIDAY: Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some) It might be hard to believe, but 2017 is the 12th straight year that the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company has offered this zany show:

90 minutes of silliness that pokes fun at every BHC — that’s a “Beloved Holiday Classic.” A Christmas Carol? Check. It’s a Wonderful Life? Check. The Grinch? Check. Frosty the Snowman? Watch out. Rudolph? Well, kind of (there’s a way around a copyright problem). This production is one of Cincy Shakes’ most popular shows, annually crushing attendance and sales records. That’s sure to happen again with lots of seats close to the action up for grabs in the company’s new Overthe-Rhine theater. Standing room tickets are available before Christmas. Through Dec. 31. $38. Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, 1195 Elm St., Over-theRhine, cincyshakes.com. — RICK PENDER CONTINUES ON PAGE 14

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MUSIC: David Barbe David Barbe’s Indie Rock credentials are impressive — besides being the bassist in Sugar (the band Bob Mould formed after Hüsker Dü ended), he is also a noted producer and engineer, working on projects by the likes of Deerhunter, Drive-By Truckers and the impossibly underrated Glands. He’s also a longtime resident of “College Rock” capital Athens, Ga., where he has played in several bands over the past 30 years and where he is currently the head of the University of Georgia’s music business program. Barbe has also released a trio of well-received solo

and hypercolor T-shirt giveaways. 7 p.m.-3 a.m. Free admission. 16-Bit, 1331 Walnut St., Over-the-Rhine, 16-bitbar.com/cincy.

FROM PAGE 13

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FRIDAY 22

HOLIDAY: Queen City Yule Ball This Yule Ball has more in common with a golden snitch than Rudolph’s red nose. It’s the 15th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and the Northside Yacht Club is celebrating with a “Potter-themed night of holiday magic.” That’s right, geeks. Wear your best Gryffindor or Slytherin (or Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff)

costumes to compete for the House Cup, test your skills and knowledge in a Tri-Wizard Tournament and drink some thematic cocktails (there better be butter beer). Live wizard Rock from bands including Tonks & the Aurors, Neville’s Diary, Ludo Bagman & the Trash and more will be onstage all night. Dress like a muggle if you feel like being a dick. 8-11:30 p.m. Friday. $7 for 21 and up; $10 ages 18-20. Northside Yacht Club, 4227 Spring Grove Ave., Northside, northsideyachtclub. com. — MAIJA ZUMMO

SATURDAY 23

HOLIDAY: Nightmare Before Christmas Holiday Party If the holidays feel like they aren’t actually the most wonderful time of the year for you (the end-of-year doldrums are real), Queen City Radio is hosting a Nightmare Before Christmas party to make the season a little more spooky. Wear your ugliest and scariest holiday sweater

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COMEDY: Gabe Kea “We put Christmas lights up for the first time this year,” says comedian Gabe Kea, who settled into a cul-de-sac in Loveland with his family last year. Kea, the son of St. Louis Blues hockey legend Ed Kea, came to Cincinnati to pursue his comedy career several years ago. “I wish we would have put a giant blue note on our roof,” he says referring to the Blues’ iconic logo, “but instead we put a big star so I guess we are posing as Dallas fans for the time being.” Lately, Kea has been headlining around the Midwest and appearing regularly on The Bob & Tom Show. Lucas Waterfill, who won the Funniest Person in Cincinnati this past year, will feature for him at Go Bananas this week. Blake Hammond, who was a finalist in that same contest, will emcee. Through Sunday. $8-$14. Go Bananas, 8410 Market Place Lane, Montgomery, gobananascomedy. com. — P.F. WILSON

HOLIDAY: Ugly Sweater Party at the Cincinnati Art Museum Think your tackiest holiday sweater is a work of art? Wear it to the Cincinnati Art Museum for an Ugly Sweater Party featuring a cash bar, food and after-hours access (and free admission) to Iris van Herpen: Transforming Fashion, which closes Jan. 7. 5-8 p.m. Thursday. Free admission. Cincinnati Art Museum, 953 Eden Park Drive, Mount Adams, cincinnatiartmuseum.org. — MAIJA ZUMMO

THURSDAY 21

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HOLIDAY: Trans-Siberian Orchestra Nothing says holiday car commercial more than the electric ring of “Carol of the Bells” as performed by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, but the group’s annual holiday tour is a much more interesting and immersive experience. They’ll be performing their Rock opera, The Ghosts of Christmas Eve, which has a loose plot line that follows a runaway girl as she leaves home and seeks refuge in an abandoned theater (why?) only to be visited by ghosts of the building’s past. The plot is basically manipulated in service of the music, with a lineup featuring holiday fan favorites including “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24” and “Good King Joy.” Expect plenty of laser lights, fog machines, shooting flames and giant visual displays. 4 and 8 p.m. Thursday. $40-$76. U.S. Bank Arena, 100 Broadway St., Downtown, usbankarena.com. — MAIJA ZUMMO

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CINCINNATI.ALTPERKS.COM Facebook/ T w i T Ter: @perkopoL is PHOTO: PROVIDED

P H O T O : laure n - edward film

FRIDAY 22

FILM: Everything Beautiful is Far Away at The Mini Microcinema Los Angeles-based filmmakers and partners (and former Cincinnatians) Pete Ohs and Andrea Sisson return to the Queen City to screen their latest film, Everything Beautiful is Far Away, a recent winner of the U.S. Fiction Cinematography Award at the 2017 LA Film Festival. Written and directed by Ohs and co-directed by Sisson, the film tells the story of a lonely man, his robot-head companion and a determined young woman who navigate a harsh environment in search of a mythical lake. Like much of the work the pair have done in the past, expect epic landscapes and gorgeous cinematography throughout. 7 p.m. doors; 7:30 p.m. screening Friday. $5 suggested donation. The Mini Microcinema, 1329 Main St., Over-the-Rhine, mini-cinema.org. — MARIA SEDA-REEDER

and indulge in themed wintry drinks, like eggnog and hot cider with Maker’s Mark, before hopping in the Framester photobooth. This holiday happening will also raise funds for the Lighthouse Youth Organization. 8 p.m.-2 a.m. Saturday. Free admission. Queen City Radio, 222 W. 12th St., Over-theRhine, qcrbar.com. — MAIJA ZUMMO

SUNDAY 24

HOLIDAY: Latkapalooza 2017 While the Christians are away, the Chosen will play. The Jewish Federation’s Young Adult Division and Meyerson JCC host this annual dance party featuring drink specials and raffle prizes. Skip the standard Chinese takeout and get ready to sip and schmooze. 8:30 p.m.-1 a.m. Sunday. Free admission. Shooks Bar & Dance, 920 Race St., Downtown, jewishcincinnati. org. — MAIJA ZUMMO

TUESDAY 26

HOLIDAY: Annual Citywide Kwanzaa Celebration For more than 40 years, the Cincinnati Citywide Kwanzaa Committee has been bringing together area communities and families to celebrate seven nights of Kwanzaa with inspirational and historical events, live entertainment and special awards. The week kicks off at the Carl Lindner YMCA with a recognition of the Kwanzaa principle of Umoja, or unity. The event includes a Kwanzaa Holiday Bazaar Marketplace, a children’s African drum workshop, West African dance classes, African-style head-wrapping presentations, health and wellness information and a Taste of Africa. Events follow throughout the week at different venues to honor the rest of the “first fruits” — Self-Determination, Collective Work and Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity and Faith. 3-8 p.m. Tuesday. Free. Carl Lindner YMCA, 1425 Linn St., Over-the-Rhine, bit.ly/2BYdJP5. — MAIJA ZUMMO

YOUR WEEKEND TO DO LIST: Local.citybeat.com

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HOLIDAY: Feast of the Seven Fishes The Feast of the Seven Fishes, or Festa Dei Sette Pesci, is an Italian-American holiday celebration that, as the name would suggest, features a lot of seafood. It’s a giant family meal, traditionally held on Christmas Eve, where people abstain from eating meat but have no issues eating seven full courses of fish. The RomanCatholic-meets-baby-Jesusvigil thing is now a fun tradition at some local restaurants (the defunct Bella Luna had a popular one), including The Presidents Room and Washington Platform. The Presidents Room feast features seven courses of seafood — tuna tartar, prawn salad, sea bass, brodetto tonnarelli and more — plus

unique wine pairings, live music and a champagne cocktail reception. At Washington Platform, it’s a seafood buffet with fresh oysters and more raw bar selections, fresh fish, seafood pasta and other accouterments. The Presidents Room: 6-9 p.m. Saturday. $95; $25 wine pairings. 812 Race St., Downtown, thepresidentsrm.com. Washington Platform: 5-10 p.m. Saturday. $40 adults; $35 seniors; $20 children. 1000 Elm St., Downtown, washingtonplatform.com. — MAIJA ZUMMO

ARTS & CULTURE

It’s Electric Matt Summers designs beautiful household objects that have a strong sense of currency BY E M I LY B EG L E Y

C i t y B e at. c o m | D E C . 2 0 – 2 6 , 2 0 1 7

lectricity pulses through Cincinnati artist Matt Summers’ in-home studio. Shocks of color radiate from fabrics, plastics and other materials featuring symbols that appear to dance and pulsate right off their surfaces. Summers is pursuing a passion to take something not typically seen as beautiful — drawn representations of electricity — and turn them into aesthetic pieces motivated by Mid-century Modern design. He established Matt Summers Design this year, launching with just a few products — pillowcases, duvet covers, wallpaper — and is slowly adding to his collection. Some of his newest work appears in what he calls the “Ohm Series”: designs inspired by electricity and electrical symbols that appear on everything from phone cases to shower curtains to coffee mugs. “The thought was, how can I take something not seen as beautiful and make them beautiful?” Summers says. “So I explored hundreds of symbols and how I can repeat them, merge them, use scale and color to create prints and patterns I would enjoy in my own home.” He began brainstorming ideas for the series about six or seven years ago. “I was wiring an old Honda motorcycle and saw these symbols and thought they were cool,” he says. “I wrote (the idea) down on a scrap piece of paper and never did anything with it for years. But it always stuck in my head as a cool concept.” When he launched Matt Summers Design, the concept returned to the forefront. Summers would spend months letting different ideas develop and would make a quick sketch of them; then, he wouldn’t return to the project for weeks at a time. But seeing something in real life would trigger new ideas and instigate a return to old sketches. The artist plays with symbols for things like multi-cell batteries, differential pressure and three-pole contactors: images that typically appear on schematic diagrams. By mixing and matching these symbols and playing with color, orientation and spacing, Summers gives the otherwise ordinary images entirely new meanings. The symbol indicating that a resistor — which is used to reduce the flow of electricity in a circuit — is fixed, for example, is a series of jagged lines similar to those seen on a heartbeat monitor. As part of the Ohm Series, the symbol appears in white on two different pillows, one yellow and one pale blue, interspersed with another symbol representing a current transformer, which includes a series of cloud-like half-circles.

Other finished products include pale-yellow electrical circuits framed by a creamy green background; multicolored positive and negative charge symbols on top of a pale-yellow backdrop; and charge lines pulsate along a series of towering columns. Each design is hand-sketched from an initial concept, and a final design is rendered digitally. The process begins with Summers sketching hundreds of ideas onto paper before he examines each of them more closely. “This is how I believe the best ideas quickly and organically come to fruition,” he says. “I then take several of those ideas and either scan or render them in a digital format so I can further manipulate or colorize them.” “Some ideas at that point just don’t make the cut and get dropped,” he continues. “I hand-select ones I personally like and push those further until I feel they create a unique design or pattern.” One of Summers’ favorite designs is the aforementioned “Resistor.” It’s a concept that mashes up a series of different electrical symbols, creating what the artist calls an “airy but linear graphic quality.” A graduate of both the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning and Northern Kentucky University — “I haphazardly picked commercial art as a degree to go into and fell in love with it,” he says — Summers first became interested in design as a child. He recalls exhibiting a love of both drawing and building from a young age. “I have always been someone who likes using my hands to make something new or fix up old, recycled items,” he says. “I decorated my apartments and now my home with lots of finds from thrift stores, antique shows and estate sales. I find it fun to take that vintage item and bring it back to life or create something new from it.” As a student, he learned about designers like Charles and Ray Eames, a husband-and-wife team specializing in modern architecture and furniture. They are most well-known for their Eames Lounge Chair, designed for the Herman Miller furniture company in 1956. Summers was also inspired in school by the post-World War I Bauhaus movement, which placed an equal emphasis on art, architecture and design. More recently, Summers has felt particularly motivated by the graphic and textile designs of Alexander Girard. The late architect, furniture and interior designer collected textiles from all over

Matt Summers displays pillows from his Ohm Series in his home. P H O T O : h a iley bolli n ge r

the world throughout his lifetime and employed an emphasis on color and humor in his own work. “I was in awe of these designs and have always been fascinated how the same item can be designed in so many different ways, and how your life can be lived surrounded by better-designed items that also excite and engage you visually,” Summers says. And what better way to accomplish that goal than by implementing a shock of electricity? The artist has taken steps to make his Ohm Series designs more available. He set up shop at the latest installment of Design Build Cincy, an annual event that

showcases artisans, designers, contractors and more, at Music Hall in late October. He plans to continue participating in local events in the future. Summers has also been experimenting with a few new projects like woodblock printing. “I just want to keep doing interesting work, and hopefully other people find it interesting as well,” he says. For more information about Matt Summers Design and to purchase pieces, visit mattsummersdesign.com. To see additional work from the Ohm Series, follow @mattsummersdesign on Instagram.

FILM

The Greatest Cincinnati Movie Ever? BY JAS O N G A R G A N O

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D E C . 2 0 – 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 | C i t y B e at. c o m

Cincinnati is emerging as a vital presmeager-looking Over-the-Rhine café ence on the current cinematic landscape. marked by the words “American Food’ and After nearly two decades of spotty activity, “Home Cooking.” Who is this lanky man the Queen City has become a significant in a suit and hat? Why is he hiding? And movie production destination in recent why is he walking around what seem to be years. deserted, rundown sections of Cincinnati? There are a number of reasons for this The entire opening sequence takes development, the most obvious being Cinless than three minutes to unfold — and cinnati’s architecture, the area’s diverse features the only undeniably recognizable terrain and the relatively inexpensive shots of Cincinnati — but it sets a pungent nature of production costs. Then there are and highly effective tone for the story to the dedicated efforts of various behindfollow. We’re in a grimy post-war unnamed the-scenes local entities to entice a series Midwestern American city where crime is of notable productions, including George an everyday occurrence and everyone is Clooney’s The Ides of March, Todd Haynes’ trying to get “out from under.” Carol, Anna Rose Holmer’s The Fits and Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Killing of a Sacred Deer. Yet one movie featuring Cincinnati-shot scenes that reigns supreme with cinephiles came well before all this recent activity — John Huston’s 1950 masterpiece, The Asphalt Jungle. A recent Criterion Collection Bluray release, armed with a trove of extras, reveals the landmark black-andwhite noir to be as visceral and groundbreaking as the day it surfaced nearly 70 years ago. Sterling Hayden in a scene from 1950’s The Asphalt Jungle Adapted for the screen P H O T O : c o u r t e s y o f th e c r i t e r i o n c o l l e c t i o n by Huston and Ben Maddow from W.R. Burnett’s hard-boiled crime novel, The Asphalt Joining Dix in this goal is Doc (Sam Jaffe), Jungle centers on a group of men despera professional criminal who, as the movie ate to get what they don’t have or what opens, has just finished an extended prison they think they need — men often dreamsentence. Doc has an idea for one last score, ing of a future marked by nostalgia for a jewel heist that will allow him to retire to the past. It’s a post-classical Hollywood Mexico. But he needs help, which is when anomaly told from the point of view of the he meets up with Cobby (Marc Lawrence), criminals — an existential heist movie a bookie who suggests he meets Alonzo that shows as much empathy for the “bad Emmerich (Louis Calhern), a lawyer and guys” as it does for the “good guys.” seemingly upstanding citizen who agrees The Asphalt Jungle opens with a lowto bankroll the heist. angle shot of the John A. Roebling SuspenThese men, all yearning to transcend sion Bridge from the east side of what is their circumstances, dominate The Asphalt now the public landing. The camera pans Jungle — none more curious or compelling slowly right to reveal Cincinnati’s two than Dix, played with nuanced menace by most enduring buildings — the Carew a never-better Hayden. Tower and what was then the Central But The Asphalt Jungle is not exclusively Trust Building (now PNC Tower) — loomthe domain of men; it also possesses the ing hazily in the background. The musical screen debut of Marilyn Monroe, who score, laced with punchy horns and omiplays Alonzo’s mistress, Angela. Huston nous strings, sets the mood as a police car introduces Monroe, who lies lazily on drives past long-gone warehouses on the a couch, with a carefully staged shot in Ohio River waterfront. Then the film cuts which Alonzo gazes down at her from to a shot of the police car driving north on above. Angela’s demeanor and visage are what seems to be Vine Street, with nonpure Monroe — innocence mixed with descript, mostly dingy buildings lining its seduction. ascent toward Clifton. Monroe only has a few scenes, little And then one of the most indelible shots more than five minutes total, but her in The Asphalt Jungle — Sterling Hayden, presence, much like the brief establishplaying the hoodlum Dix Handley, hides ing shots of various Cincinnati cityscapes, behind a pillar as the police car drives leaves a distinctive impression in a movie past. Moments later Dix enters a small, full of them.

C i t y B e at. c o m | D E C . 2 0 – 2 6 , 2 0 1 7

visual art

What We Mean When We Say ‘We’ BY M A R I A S EDA - R EED ER

Mixed media artist Tim McMichael’s exhibition We…, currently on view at Over-the-Rhine’s Clay Street Press gallery, is a meditation on the meaning of the pronoun in America today. And although the Cincinnati artist has engaged with the idea of place as a subject in the past, here he seems to apply that interest to a much more pointed look at our current social and environmental conditions. McMichael makes elegant dimensional drawings that feel like poetic gestures. For We…, he repurposes and builds upon the written words “We the People” from the United States Constitution, using maps of sites that have experienced recent trauma, the flag as a compositional element and satellite imagery of environmental phenomena. McMichael creates his pieces from multi-layered applications of paint and paper that are sandwiched between thick coats of poured resin that he sands down to obscure details. He also frequently draws with conceptually loaded materials such as pulverized volcanic ash, coal and brick. Additionally, his simple yet open-to-interpretation titles and his frequent use of maps — both imagined and real — lend the viewer an insight into the artist’s exploration of what the “We” in the exhibition title might mean. This showing includes two newer bodies of work that explore environ mental issues as well as the current political situation. We… features 22 pieces, half of which were made this year, so it comes perhaps as no surprise that events of 2017 have tied together environmental and political concerns. Clay Street Press gallerist and artist Mark Patsfall, who has collaborated on prints with McMichael in the past, says, “I think a lot of people are thinking about being more active — what can they do to change the situation? An artist can bring some attention to those (political issues) in a way that’s not necessarily obvious and makes you think about it on a different level.” “Tempest, Maria,” for example, is a drawing of a satellite photo of September’s Hurricane Maria’s northwestern edge at its peak intensity, made from pulverized brick on paper. In the wake of the resulting humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico (and a president who humors himself by throwing paper towels at devastated islanders), one might be hard-pressed not to wonder if McMichael is engaging in political critique. While all of the six other similar pieces are made from pulverized volcanic ash or coal, “Tempest, Maria” uses pulverized bricks — a possible reference to both the lack of infrastructure the island is currently experiencing and the wall that the current president swore to build during his campaign to keep out people of color.

“Pulse” is a larger scale work that overtly draws upon politically charged topics: the flag and the site of the 2016 mass shooting/hate crime incident in Orlando, Fla. For “Pulse,” McMichael included another abstracted map, portions of which obscure the flag’s red stripes and make it look war-torn and battered. The location of the titular nightclub is dead center on the flag — though you’d have to investigate those details independently, as the artist leads with clues yet resists didacticism.

Tim McMichael’s “We (Ut)” P H O T O : m a r k p ats f a l l

There are seven different individual works in the exhibition titled with the word “We,” with two additional letters in parentheses. One might easily associate “We (NV)” as the location of our nation’s most recent (and currently the deadliest) mass shooting, “We (SC)” as the site where nine peaceful African-American worshippers were killed by a white supremacist in the deadly Charleston church shooting of 2015 and “We (OK)” as a reference to the 1995 right-wing domestic-terrorist bombing of 1995 that killed 168 people in Oklahoma City. But other titles are more ambiguous. Still, you’d be hard-pressed not to find a national disgrace that happened in any of the states to which McMichael might refer in his titles. Investigating the clues left by McMichael becomes a way for viewers to engage with and activate the work. Thus, the artist imbues his art with both literal and metaphorical layers of meaning. Or, as McMichael says in his succinct statement for the show, “My utilization of layers mirrors the prevailing tsunami of noise which ultimately leads to a state where we are not ‘We’ anymore.” We… is on display through Jan. 13 at Clay Street Press, 1312 Clay St., Overthe-Rhine. More info: 513-241-3232 or patsfallgraphics.com.

CULTURE

Indie Radio Makes Waves in Northside BY ER I N C O U C H

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“Local. Indie. Weird.” It’s the selfattributes this to Northside’s unconvendescribed trifecta of independent tional inhabitants. programming on Radio Artifact, a radio Moore held a whopping 73 interviews station recently launched by Northside with aspiring radio show hosts to fi ll the brewery and live music mecca Urban Artitime slots, which now have a total of 34 fact. Boasting a peculiar mix of programshows, including a slew of music and ming and equally peculiar hosts, it’s really podcast-type programming. Some of the the only way to describe Cincinnati’s more talk-oriented shows are The Charlie latest indie project hitting the airwaves. Tonic Hour, an all-things-booze podcast; Urban Artifact’s live music presentaStrange Talk, catering to skeptics and tions reverberate throughout the churchbelievers alike; and CinCinema Snobs, an turned-brewery most every night. And, hour of talk during Thursday rush hour with all the recordings of those shows for the cinephiles with an appetite for the piling up, brewery owner Scott Hand more indie, critically acclaimed flicks. says there was a way to treat them as a resource: Broadcast them. “As that library has been building, we say, ‘OK, now what do we do with this?’ ” Scott says. “The first thing that came up was, ‘How about we just find a way to start streaming it?’ The (sound engineers) were super excited to just start this interesting project from scratch, which was essentially the task given to them. Like, hey, ‘We don’t have anything possible in place to start a radio station — let’s do it.’ ” After a few months of Radio Artifact’s Scott Hand working out the kinks PHOTO: SCOT T HAND in building the studio and setting up the tech to make the broadcast possible, on Oct. 1 For CinCinema Snobs co-host Mark Radio Artifact was born. The station has Borison, the indie aspect that Radio Artia keen interest in all things local, so it fact plays up so heavily carries into the was natural that in addition to an online content of his show. streaming option, the station’s broad“We love movies off the proverbial beaten cast would be available in small-radius path,” Borison says. “While we definitely frequency on 1660 AM. That’s reachable will see some big budget blockbuster-type not only in Northside but at least parts of films, our goal is to educate the audience on Clifton, Westwood, Mount Airy, Norwood, what we love about film — the way stories Camp Washington and College Hill. can be told through that medium is so While the shallow-reaching AM signal infinitely interesting to us, and I think we’re started out as a budget restriction, Hand constantly hoping we can elevate everyagrees that it led to Radio Artifact estabone’s love of media through our passion.” lishing a distinct identity — particularly Borison and co-host Michael Robinson in Northside, where a good chunk of the also try to keep it local, featuring as many shows’ producers live. regional fi lmmakers as possible. The next “Once we realized that was a thing big segment on the show is an interview that was within budget and within our with a Hamilton-based producer of James technical feasibility, it fit perfectly with Franco’s latest fi lm, The Disaster Artist. what we’re trying to do,” Hand says. “We Fortunately, if you fi nd yourself outside were super happy that Urban Artifact got of the seven-neighborhood radius of the in fi rst and is Northside’s brewery, and AM frequency, next on the docket for so this radio station is sort of Northside’s Radio Artifact is additional home 91.7 HD radio station.” 2 — a wide-reaching FM signal availAs the wheels were turning in dreamable to anyone with an HD radio hookup, ing up Radio Artifact, the guys branched which Hand hopes will reach listeners in out from the concept of broadcasting their cars. The HD FM signal started up recorded shows and transformed it into a at the beginning of November. It’s a sign, full-fledged radio station with an eclectic Hand says, that listenership is rising. array of programming — part of the Find more information about “weird” aspect of Radio Artifact. Jeremy Radio Artifact and programming at Moore, booking coordinator and one of radioartifact.com. the creative minds behind the project,

FILM

C i t y B e at. c o m | D E C . 2 0 – 2 6 , 2 0 1 7

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Gary Oldman Is Triumphant as Churchill BY T T S T ER N - EN ZI

In comparison with Christopher Nolan’s I added Wright to a select group of filmDunkirk, which covers much the same makers who knew how to use the technitime frame but from a different perspeccal craft to carry audiences into whatever tive, Joe Wright’s Darkest Hour feels like a emotional state the director wanted them muted and quite routine effort. But it has to experience. Few filmmakers have that a towering, memorable performance from capability to let the camera be the absoGary Oldman as Winston Churchill. lute expression of whatever the director is Wright walks us through the massive seeing in his imagination. Dunkirk evacuation during the early days Nonetheless, what makes Darkest Hour of World War II from the point of view of work as a gripping wartime drama is how Britain’s newly appointed Prime Minister Wright uses his quiet presence behind Churchill, a man with few allies in the the camera to show viewers the people of government or the country at-large. The Britain as they walk through the streets, one steadfast person in his corner — his whether with their heads down in the wife Clementine (Kristin Scott Thomas pouring rain or merely under dark and in graceful grand-dame mode) — seeks at every turn to remind her husband to be who he is. Our first encounter with Churchill defines exactly how everyone else sees him, though. Young Elizabeth Layton (Lily James), a new secretary, receives hurried words of warning before being thrown into the great political lion’s den — or more literally, his bedchamber — as he starts his day dictating messages to world and party leaders. She’s required to listen attentively to Oldman shines through the layers of prosthetics in Darkest Hour. the mumbled ramblings, P H O T O : j a c k en g l ish / f o c u s f e at u res stop on a dime as news requires him to adjust his messages and keep her head as he rages threatening clouds (indicators of literal and roils like an active volcano. In effect, and metaphoric storms on the horizon). Elizabeth is a fevered and feverish newbie This is a subtle use of his directorial power musician trying her best to hold steady that is very effective. with a master of improvisation. The fact Of course, he can afford to lie back that she initially fails adds her into the since Oldman, in a gloriously old-school great huddled mass of humanity. performance, shows us how a real leader Everyone fears Churchill, including comes to speak for and embody the will King George VI (Ben Mendelsohn), a most of his people. Oldman’s Churchill might, reluctant partner of the new prime minat first glance, appear to be a bully, but ister. Churchill has taken over for former what becomes obvious is that Churchill Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain is a man born and bred for greatness — a (Ronald Pickup), seen as a Hitler appeaser, man who worked hard and planned and and simply won’t toe that same position. trusted his instincts, even in the face But no one in the kingdom believes that of opposition. To put it plainly, he is the England is capable of standing up to epitome of someone who refused to suffer the Nazis, so there are constant calls for fools. But the moment of his ascension to brokering a “peace.” Churchill stands his power arrives at the worst possible time, ground, but over the course of the narraas if fate and destiny combined to set him tive we see the doubts that plague him at up for failure. And for the first time, he every step along the way. starts to question himself. In doing so, his As an overall cinematic experience, humanity shines. Wright’s film lacks the dazzle and specFrom the first early buzz, it was appartacle of his Atonement (a film in which ent that Oldman’s performance was one to Dunkirk also figures) and Anna Karenina. be reckoned with. Despite working under Where is a scene comparable to the one in layers of prosthetics, there is no way anyAtonement where James McAvoy’s charone could forget that they are watching acter takes a harrowing journey across him. Wright wisely hands the kingdom an extended World War II battlefield, a to Oldman, just like the British put their surreal and sad moment that still breaks faith in Churchill. (Opens Friday.) (PG-13) my heart just thinking about it? It was on Grade: B+ the basis of that extended sequence that

The Supreme (Drag) Queens of Comedy BY JAC K ER N

D E C . 2 0 – 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 | C i t y B e at. c o m

You don’t have to be a RuPaul’s Drag depression. She went on to compete in Race fanatic to enjoy The Trixie & Katya RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 2. Show (10 p.m. Wednesdays, VICELAND), Trixie stands out for her heavy-handed but you might become one after watching makeup application (which is really saying their weird, wonderful talk show fit for the something when you’re talking about drag social media age. queens) that can best be described as BarDrag queens Trixie Mattel (government bie on acid. She didn’t make quite as big of name: Brian Firkus) and Katya Zamoloda splash on Drag Race — her more subtle chikova (Brian McCook) first came into one-liners begged for an instant-replay — the spotlight as contestants on the seventh and she played up her rough upbringing season of RuPaul’s award-winning to comedic effect (her abusive stepfather competition reality show. With their own called her Trixie when she was acting “too individual brands of self-deprecating feminine” as a kid. Talk about making lemhumor, quick quips and ridiculous referonade out of lemons!) She’s also been cast ences, Trixie and Katya quickly became in All Stars 3, coming later on VH1. fan favorites, though neither won the crown. Although firmly planted in the drag realm, they both delivered comedy that could transcend niche audiences — so it’s great to see them doing just that on their own cable TV show. Each episode of Trixie & Katya, which debuted in November, finds the queens deep-diving into a certain subject — hooking up, death, spirituality, porn — or, as Katya so eloquently explains, “On this show we take a single topic and explore it inside and out, like a handsy funeral Trixie Mattel (left) and Katya Zamolodchikova director giving the most P H O T O : M ark C hr i s topher f or V I C E L A N D inappropriate autopsy.” (She’s a quote goldmine.) Segments include “Male Bag” (rude Together, Trixie and Katya are an comments from “fans” on their social uproarious duo. The two have the banter media pages), “Asking for a Friend” of best friends who can at once egg each (advice questions), “Men on the Street” other on while viciously calling each (in which our stars are out of drag and other out (in drag terms, that’s called a quizzing random people on their knowl“read”). It’s clearly mostly improv, which edge of the topic) and the onomatopoeic makes their raunchy, rapid-fire remarks “Thwoorp,” Katya’s take on “Grinds my even more funny and impressive. Gears,” punctuated with the flick of a While Trixie and Katya offer perspechand fan. Each episode ends with their tives as gay men and drag queens, they final thoughts of the week, “Things That delve into topics everyone can relate to, Make Us Go Unhhh.” and their jokes land for anyone with a There’s something very fresh and modsense of humor (so long as it’s of the dark ern about the show. It’s not that it’s highand dirty variety). They’re quick-witted tech — nearly all of the show is filmed in comics armed with an arsenal of pop front of a green screen, with superimposed culture references — they just happen to graphics, stock images and text popping be wearing wigs, dresses and a Sephora in and out erratically — but it’s got this counter’s worth of makeup while they do it. fast-paced meme-like vibe you’d find on The show is perfectly on-brand for the YouTube. Of course, the show is based on off-kilter VICELAND, which features the their popular web series, UNHhhh, and fantastic nightly talk show Desus & Mero, while there are tweaks to this adaptation, it the entertaining Untitled Action Bronson transitions perfectly to TV. Project and Most Expensivest, 2 Chainz’s Despite the Russian-inspired moniker, take on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, Katya is originally from Massachusetts. in its current lineup. On Drag Race, she came to be known Trixie & Katya breaks for the holidays for her hilariously oddball costumes before picking back up in its usual spot (inspired by everything from synchroon Jan. 24. Catch up on past episodes on nized swimmers to Abraham Lincoln demand or at viceland.com and peep all of to Twin Peaks), her impressions of Björk their original web content on YouTube. and Suze Orman and her candidness Contact Jac Kern: @jackern about her experiences with addiction and

C i t y B e at. c o m | D E C . 2 0 – 2 6 , 2 0 1 7

FOOD & DRINK

Best Bites of 2017 CityBeat dining writers recap their favorite food and drink finds of the year BY S TA FF

ityBeat’s intrepid staff of underpaid but relatively well-fed dining writers spent 2017 eating, drinking and reporting back on the city’s newest restaurants, food trends and au courant culinary concoctions to either mildly entertain you or help you decide where to eat dinner. And as the end of the year approaches (hi, 2018!), we asked our team to reflect on their favorite food and drink finds in order to craft a list of their best bites, ranging from old world blintzes and craft coffee to poke bowls, mezcal cocktails and Kentuckystyle beer cheese. The following picks get our stamp of edible approval.

Pama Mitchell

Garin Pirnia

Favorite tater tots that aren’t exactly tots: You’d be hard-pressed to find homemade tots in this town — most of the time they’re of the frozen variety. However, Coppin’s takes their tots to a new level. Listed as a side item on the dinner menu and surrounded by quotation marks, “tots” aren’t what you’d expect. Somehow the chef figured out a way to layer the rectangle potato slices and insert cheese between them. The bite-sized snacks are super crunchy and come with a spicy Duke’s mayo dipping sauce. They’re so good, you’ll want to ask for another round. 638 Madison Ave., Covington, Ky., hotelcovington.com. Favorite weekend boozy milkshakes: On Saturdays and Sundays from noon-4 p.m., “ice cream savant” Giacomo Ciminello whips up his boozy milkshakes at Sundry and Vice. There’s a set menu, but every week he creates a timely and themed shake. For instance, around Thanksgiving he manufactured a milkshake with mashed potato whipped cream, a mini pumpkin pie and turkey-fat-washed Wild Turkey. This summer he recreated Skyline Chili in shake form: bourbon, creme de cacao, cream sherry, cinnamon and Coke topped with grated gjetost (a Norwegian goat cheese). Another drink consisted of the surprisingly good combo of jalapeño tequila, corn, cumin and ice cream. The boozy shakes are the best kind of liquid brunch. 18 W. 13th St., Over-the-Rhine, sundryandvice.com. Favorite place to drink both coffee and beer: When owners Anne and Andrew Decker opened Landlocked Social House this summer, they introduced Walnut Hills to the idea of having coffee and beer at the same time, in the same place. The Wood Burl coffee flows all day and night, as does the draft and canned beer, mainly comprised of hard-to-get local and regional brews. Every week they’ve also

Sundry and Vice’s boozy milkshakes are “the best kind of liquid brunch.” P H O T O : ha i l e y bo l l i n g e r

been hosting some sort of food night. One night OTR bar Longfellow brought curry; another night pretzels from Allez Bakery came with three types of dipping sauce. 648 E. McMillan St., Walnut Hills, facebook. com/landlockedsocialhouse. Favorite Kentucky-style beer cheese: Elevated pub grub has become a recent trend, but the aforementioned Longfellow makes food almost more of a focus on its menu than its cocktails, which are equally as good. How often do you go to a bar that serves cottage cheese, curry and a purslane salad? Well, Longfellow does, and it also serves Vic’s Snappy Cheese, made by a guy who lives in Ohio and delivers it

weekly to the bar. Vic’s version comes with saltine crackers circling a crumbly scoop of beer cheese. It’s not quite like what was invented in Central Kentucky, but it’s better than most cold beer cheese offerings in the Tristate. 1233 Clay St., Over-the-Rhine, longfellowbar.com. Favorite vegetarian sandwich: In Oakley, the Italian-centric carryout The Wheel makes from-scratch pastas, lasagna and pizza alongside foccacia sandwiches, like a mortadella and a veggie-forward, meaty smashed sweet potato sandwich layered with young kale, romesco sauce and garlic

D E C . 2 0 – 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 | C i t y B e at. c o m

Favorite combo of smoky and sweet… and boozy: Mezcal cocktails at Casa Figueroa. The mezcal old fashioned with its dash of molé bitters was my summer favorite, but now they’ve added a new mezcal-based cocktail with lime and jalapeño that drinks like a spicy, smoky margarita. Decisions, decisions! 6112 Montgomery Road, Pleasant Ridge, casafig.com. Favorite variety of tasty bites on a single plate: Mild chili spices a hefty portion of shredded chicken as a centerpiece in the Guajillo Chicken Bowl at Maplewood Kitchen and Bar, but along with it comes a farro/quinoa blend, smoked black beans, roasted corn, sliced avocado, pickled onions and a few other treats to perk up your taste buds. With a beer or a nice glass of pinot noir, it’s a super supper. 525 Race St., Downtown, maplewoodkitchenandbar.com. Favorite reason to come in from the cold: It’s not usually one of my favorite types of soup, but maybe the bone-marrow-enriched beef broth of the French onion soup at Postmark elevates this version? Or maybe it’s the top-quality Gruyere cheese? The soup is presented in the traditional crockpot with cheese oozing over the side. The restaurant has had it on the menu every day since they opened in late summer and I certainly hope it carries through the icy days of winter. 3410 Telford St., Clifton, postmark.restaurant. Favorite cheesy thing to eat while you’re shopping: “Not Your Mama’s” grilled cheese at Em’s Sourdough in Findlay Market. This sandwich combines garlic cheddar and sharp cheddar cheeses on Em’s signature sourdough bread, grilled on a panini press. You can add tomato and avocado or a side of housemade soup for a few dollars more. Or do as I do and sub in honey-sweetened whole wheat bread as your base. When grilled, the seeds and nuts in the bread add a welcome element

of crunch. 1801 Race St., Over-the-Rhine, emsbread.com. Favorite riff on a deli classic: Of course, you can’t go wrong with pretty much anything they dish out at Jose Salazar’s cozy, eponymous Salazar OTR, but lately I’ve been unable to resist the salmon entrée, an elevated take on a bagel with smoked salmon. You get a perfectly cooked piece of king salmon with an “everything” crust (poppy seeds, sesame seeds, etc.) plated with cream cheese dumplings, pickled Fresno chilies, crispy and thin bagel chips, tangy caper berries and a bit of dill sauce. 1401 Republic St., Over-the-Rhine, salazarcincinnati.com.

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for decades. At this combination old-school barbershop/Italian espresso bar, barber Aaron Mucha runs the chair, Austin and his mom Theresa man the espresso machine and Sinatra is on the iTunes. Time seems to slow down a bit as customers enjoy Deeper Roots coffee while getting a classic haircut and hot-towel shave. Which also means that I get to indulge in my new favorite once-amonth routine: a relaxing post lunch-date cappuccino while I watch my man “Keep it handsome,” as the Ferrari’s say. 5 Garfield Place, Downtown, ferraribarbercoffeeco.com. Favorite place for drinks on the patio: Any beautiful day without humidity in Cincinnati is a day I want to be outside with a tasty beverage and a casual meal. Much to my delight, Queen City Radio has given us a large, all-ages-friendly urban space in which to gather, enjoy a burger or falafel from the onsite food truck and listen

Favorite blintz brunch: Weekend brunch at CWC the Restaurant, featuring their insanely delicious blintzes. Blintzes are an old-world Eastern European Jewish dish — the ultimate comfort food — consisting of a thin crepe that’s folded around a sweet cheese fi lling, which is then sautéed and served with a cooked fruit sauce and sour cream. In the case of CWC, the blintzes are fi lled with sweetened ricotta and topped with blueberry sauce. Adding to the feeling of warmth is the very nature of CWC itself. Owned and operated by gregarious sisters Kelly Trush and Caitlin Steininger, you’ll feel at home and like part of the family in no time. 1517 Springfield Pike, Wyoming, cwctherestaurant.com. Favorite lobster roll: As an East Coast native, it certainly didn’t take me long to become addicted to Skyline and Graeter’s, but occasionally there are a few dishes from my native land that I crave. Thankfully, the opening of Court Street Lobster Bar came to my rescue with its Connecticut-style lobster Panino’s charcuterie is best enjoyed with a glass of wine. roll. It’s a very simple PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER version of the dish: lobster meat, seasoned butter and pea tendrils on the best-damned buttered to live music on the patio. They get bonus Sixteen Brix challah roll. I take off the pea points for their tasty boozy slushies and tendrils because, let’s be honest, it’s called a fun events like trivia nights and pop-up “lobster roll” and all I want is the lobster and drag shows. 222 W. 12th St., Downtown, the roll topped lots of butter, which is how qcrbar.com. lobster was meant to be served. 28 W. Court Favorite charcuterie at the bar: Nino St., Downtown, courtstreetlobsterbar.com. Loreto is producing the fi nest handFavorite fresh sushi stop: These days, crafted cured meats in the region, and it’s easy to find sushi in virtually any retail his charcuterie platters are the perfect situation, be it a grocery store or large gas way to introduce yourself to this culinary station, and in some of the higher-end art. Panino is a self-proclaimed specialty joints, it can actually be quite palatable. sandwich shop where Loreto turns out But if you’ve always wanted to know what salumi, mortadella, capicola and more the best stuff is supposed to look and taste from his underground curing chamber, like, you owe it to yourself to experience all without the use of chemical agents. sushi prepared by a master. Chef Ken Ando The restaurant offers phenomenal sandand his wife Keiko have been welcoming wiches at lunch — the Reuben is outstandguests to Ando Japanese Restaurant and ing — and full plates at dinner, but I highly Sushi Bar in Blue Ash since 1998. The recommend an evening at the bar enjoying dining room includes a 10-seat sushi bar, the charcuterie platter (a selection of meats which is the perfect place to watch chef with local cheeses and accouterments) Ando work his magic on the freshest of fish, with a glass of wine. 1313-1315 Vine St., sourced directly from Japan and Taiwan. Over-the-Rhine, findpanino.com. 5889 Pfeiffer Road, Blue Ash, andojapaneAustin Gayle serestaurant.com. Favorite Asian street food: A mouthful Favorite place for a latte and a haircut: to say on top of being a mouthful to taste, As is the case with many dual-career couQuan Hapa’s okonomiyaki are far and ples, my fiancé Bill and I often find it hard to away worth the added labor behind the fit in quality time together. Enter brothers tongue twister. Dubbed an “oki” for the Tony and Austin Ferrari and their Ferrari faint of heart, the Japanese-style pancake Barber & Coffee Co., an homage to the comes three ways: Pork lovers can stick to shop their grandfather and great uncle ran

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the house oki, featuring tonkatsu (breaded espresso drinks and pastries. All of Urbapork cutlets), bacon and a fried egg; the na’s baked goods are made in-house and ahi tuna oki suits seafood savants with the shop’s upstairs bar is perfect for anyits seared ahi tuna, pickled red onions one interested in watering down hours of and bonito flakes; and for veg fans, the responsibility with an uplifting view. 1206 cauliflower oki features fried cauliflower Broadway St., Pendleton, urbana-cafe.com. tossed in a housemade honey-Sriracha Lauren Moretto sauce. Keeping things fresh, chef Mapi De Favorite place to play Connect Four Veyra tests his talents on new oki recipes and eat pancakes: Breakfast and board every Monday after 5 p.m. and serves them games: The combination you never knew at the discounted price of $8. 1331 Vine St., you needed and now can’t live without. Over-the-Rhine, quanhapa.com. Sugar n’ Spice is a Pepto-Bismol pink resFavorite beer and pizza pairing: Beer taurant near the Xavier University campus. and pizza combos range from the standard Its colorful interior is brimming with odds delivery box and six-pack to coal-fired slices and ends, including a collection of rubber and craft pints. If you’re interested in the ducks. Their wispy thin pancakes, fluff y latter, Taft’s Brewpourium is the go-to spot. omelets and lunch dishes are best enjoyed An extension of Over-the-Rhine’s Taft’s Ale while playing one of the board games House, the Brewpourium is fitted with all stowed away behind the main counter. It’s of Taft’s top beers, New Haven-style pizza a wacky atmosphere that’s endearing and (crispy and coal fired with a light dusting of cheese) and enough televisions to satisfy all of Cincinnati’s sports fans. Whether paired with Taft’s Gavel Banger or the seasonal Santa’s Bribe, the BBQ Pork Pie will have even the most avid beer drinker opting for slices over sips. Featuring a barbecue sauce made with Taft’s Cherrywood amber ale, the specialty pizza includes pulled pork, red onion, jalapeño and smoked cheddar. 4831 Spring Grove Ave., Spring Grove Village, taftsalehouse. com/brewpourium. Favorite poke: After Poke Hut brought the poke bowl trend to OTR in November. opening in November, PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER Poke Hut Fish & Tea Bar brought a much-needed one of a kind. 4381 Reading Road, Paddock poke presence to the city. Serving variaHills, sugar-n-spice-restaurant.com. tions of tuna, salmon and scallops in both Favorite dive restaurant: There’s nothbowls and “Pokirritos,” Poke Hut lets the ing more beautiful than the neon lights of customer tap into their creative side when Cincy Steak & Lemonade illuminating the crafting their ideal poke dish, offering a sidewalk on Short Vine. It’s a Styrofoamrange of proteins, sauces and toppings container-in-a-to-go-bag sort of deal, but to go with bubble teas and matcha lattes. you can get tasty classics like hamburgers, Adding to the experience, the restaurant chicken wings or gyros with a side of fries has a mural of notable Cincinnati landfor an unbelievably cheap price. The best marks and tropical décor to work with the part? Their frozen lemonade drinks, which Hawaiian-inspired cuisine. 1509 Race St., are topped with an orange slice and a Over-the-Rhine, pokehutusa.com. cherry. You can even add fruit flavors like Favorite Greek delight: The search for strawberry, orange and grape for personalthe best baklava in Cincinnati starts and ized sipping. 2607 Vine St., Corryville, 513ends at Areti’s Gyros. Areti’s dessert follows 221-0800 and searchable on Facebook. a tried-and-true recipe of filo dough and Favorite caffeine fi x not in a coffee nuts with a healthy portion of honey to hold shop: When you think Dojo Gelato, you it together. The flakiness is second to none, likely picture rows of colorful frozen treats but the ratio of honey to filo is what keeps and sweets. But they also have a slew of people coming back. Areti and George hot beverages that you should not pass up. Papastergiou have also created “Chokolava.” Their mocha drink, for instance, is like hot Coined “the Cadillac of all baklava” by Areti, chocolate with a kick. Silky smooth and the chocolate-dipped sweet pushes baklava topped with a dollop of dense whipped purists to kick tradition to the curb. 1509 cream, it takes the concept of “dessert cofRace St., Over-the-Rhine, findlaymarket.org/ fee” to a new, decadent level. 137 West Elder merchants/aretis-gyros. St., Over-the-Rhine, dojogelato.com. Favorite coffee hangout: Highly regarded for its commitment to a traditional Italian take on coffee, Daniel Noguera’s Urbana Café is the place to be FIND MORE RESTAURANT NEWS for those interested trading in a run-ofAND REVIEWS AT CITYBEAT.COM/ the-mill Starbucks blend for housemade FOOD-DRINK

MUSIC

Think Inside the Box A look at five of the best vinyl box sets of 2017 that would make exceptional last-minute/belated holiday gifts BY M I K E B R EEN

C i t y B e at. c o m | D E C . 2 0 – 2 6 , 2 0 1 7

ver the past few years, with the dominance of digital music (streaming or otherwise), record companies seem to have stepped up their box-set game, giving beefed-up collections some extra beef in the form of more expanded packaging. And though some labels, like Light in the Attic and the Numero Group, appear motivated to release such titles and compilations as a way to document and share lost or under-noticed music, the larger ones are probably also looking to recoup at least some of the financial losses incurred with the rise of streaming. The vinyl resurgence continues to grow, giving literal weight to many of the repackaged collections and allowing for even more extra bells and whistles. Vinyl’s appeal now crosses generations, with listeners who can appreciate both the sonic perks of high-quality vinyl pressings and the dopamine boosts that come with every extra “like” a photo of a 12-inch record earns on Instagram. Depending on when you’re reading this and what holiday you celebrate, time is either running out or has already run out for gift-giving ideas. If you’re getting desperate and wiping brow sweat at the mere thought of tackling the rest of your shopping this late in the game, the following items would make smile-inducing day-of or belated presents for anyone on your list who likes music and can actually play physical formats in their home (though that might not be a deal-breaker for everyone, as the “cassette revival” has proven — some people just appreciate the aesthetic and souvenir/knick-knack quality of hard-copy packaging). While many of the following suggestions are available on vinyl, some come in CD format as well. All of these box sets can be found online, but a couple won’t ship in time for the holiday, so you’ll have to put the receipt in a card and tell the recipient to be happy they’ll have something cool coming their way soon. Shipping fees can also add up when buying online, especially expedited shipping. Instead, you’ll be better off visiting one or more of Greater Cincinnati’s superb independent record stores. While you could call ahead to see if a particular store has what you’re looking for, why not do it up old-school style and just pop in to flip through the selections? You may well find even more appropriate gift ideas (including a few for yourself), and supporting our area’s small businesses might be just what’s needed to move your name

from the naughty column over to the nice column in Santa’s Excel spreadsheet.

The Complete Prestige 10-Inch LP Collection Thelonious Monk In much the same way as John Coltrane did with the sax, iconic musician Thelonious Monk (who would be 100 years old this year) changed the way musicians and listeners perceived Jazz piano, opening minds to the music’s potential and radically adding previously unimagined shadows and colors to Jazz. The formative period from 1947-1952 was a rough one for Monk. His recordings for Blue Note were met with bewilderment and the pianist was arrested, did two months in prison and lost his “cabaret license,” which decimated his finances. Then Prestige, the small label run by young entrepreneur Bob Weinstock, offered him a contract. While the Prestige albums didn’t sell much better than his ones for Blue Note, the sessions he did for the label over the next three years were pivotal, gradually helping to raise his profile among his peers and (much more gradually) critics. Craft Recordings (the catalog branch of Concord Music) has compiled those Prestige sessions into a box set that includes five 10-inch vinyl recreations of Monk’s albums, precisely replicating the album artwork and labels (the audio has, of course, been remastered). The recordings are spectacular, showcasing an important part of Monk’s musical evolution through sessions that capture the unusual playing styles and rhythms he so naturally experimented with, as well as the dissonance, tension, beauty and humor for which his music is celebrated in the Jazz history books. The conditions played a part in making these recordings so compelling — tracks could run longer after Prestige switched its release format from 78s to 10-inch, giving Monk and his impossibly talented session-mates (including Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins and Frank Foster, a gifted tenor sax player from Cincinnati) more space. The label also wanted the musicians to be unrehearsed and capture songs in one take, which gave the recordings a palpable immediacy. Among the Prestige sessions included are the first recordings of live standards like “Sweet and Lovely” and Monk’s own legendary composition “Blue Monk,” as well as his final official album release for Prestige, Thelonious Monk and Sonny

Thelonious Monk PHOTO: Fr ancis Wolf/ M o s a i c I m a g e s LLC

Rollins, which was initially Rollins’ session, with Monk filling in at the last minute.

The Voyager Golden Record Various Artists

Do you have an astronomy fan on your gift list? Perhaps someone who idolizes Carl Sagan or Neil deGrasse Tyson? The Voyager Golden Record project would particularly be great for a younger person who fits those descriptions, because the story behind the original “Golden Record” provides great perspective of not only the work of NASA and Sagan in the ’70s but also of our species’ place in the universe.

Originally, there were only two copies of the Golden Record, which were placed aboard the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecrafts and launched into space in 1977 (they’re now believed to be billions of miles from Earth). The Golden Record was “curated” by a committee led by Sagan that compiled sounds, spoken languages and music they felt best represented what life on our planet is like; the belief behind the project was that one day, extraterrestrials in the distant future would discover the record (and accompanying instructions, background and images) and learn about what Earth was like, or even just what Earth was.

Besides a limited CD release in the early ’90s, the “time capsule” was never made available to the public (even Sagan had trouble getting a copy). So last year a group of people long fascinated by the Golden Record’s mythology — including former Cincinnatian David Pescovitz — launched a Kickstarter campaign to bring the most ambitious compilation album ever to the general public on vinyl. Initially, the goal for the funding was a little less than $200,000; it ended up raising $1.3 million. The team behind the release formed Ozma Records to distribute the collection (in conjunction with Light in the Attic Records) in the wake of vast public interest in the project. The CD version of the box set comes packaged with a hardcover book that includes all of the images sent on the Voyager crafts, photos transmitted from space from the probes and, of course, all of the audio. The vinyl version includes a few bonus items (like a turntable slipmat) and three luminous translucent gold platters. (The packaging recently scored a Grammy nomination for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package.) The tracks incorporate whale songs, birdcalls and other nature sounds, plus greetings in 55 languages and a message from the United Nations. The music used on the Hüsker Dü record includes field PHOTO: STEVE recordings of indigenous music from all over the world, operatic and classical pieces and more contemporary American songs from Chuck Berry, Louis Armstrong and Blind Willie Johnson. The popularity of this fascinating artifact/release means the hard-copy versions will be difficult to get quickly — the Ozma Records site says both the CD and vinyl editions are currently backordered until February, though you can pre-order now. You can also purchase the digital audio at ozmarecords.bandcamp.com to give to an intended recipient as a sneak peek.

Savage Young Dü Hüsker Dü

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who’d collected around 150 tape recordings of shows from throughout Hüsker’s lifespan — and Numero co-founder Ken Shipley, who slowly broke the ice of the musicians’ notoriously contentious relationship and explored getting rights for some of the band’s SST Records material from notoriously contentious label founder Greg Ginn. It was worth the wait, patience and hard work. While most archival releases are “remastered,” that’s an understatement when discussing the quality of the recordings used for Savage Young Dü. Featuring material from 1979-1982, the three-CD/three-vinyl-album compilation includes clearer and more muscular versions of various singles and the trio’s second album, 1983’s Everything Falls Apart, but the engineering magic behind the project really comes into focus on the demos and live tracks, which often sound better than some of group’s seminal SST releases, despite their cassette origins. Speaking of SST, the producers found a workaround solution to Ginn’s stubbornness that enabled them to include Hüsker’s 1981 debut album, the fast and furious Land Speed Record, which was recorded live at a concert the band played

DEC. 2 0 – 2 6, 2 0 17

The death of Grant Hart in September was heartbreaking for his fans. But the numerous passionate remembrances and reflections on his legacy made it slightly easier and, perhaps best of all, it likely led a few curious music lovers to check out the massively influential music of Hüsker Dü, the landmark band in which he sang, wrote songs and played drums alongside singer/guitarist/songwriter Bob Mould and bassist Greg Norton. Along with The Replacements, the St. Paul, Minn. band was a leader in the underground Punk and AltRock movement of Minneapolis’ fertile music scene in the ’80s. Though the volatile group

broke up well before the ’90s began, the music Hüsker Dü released between 19831987 left its mark on what would become “Indie Rock” and “Alternative Rock.” The band initially made its splash in the burgeoning Hardcore Punk community before a wider audience caught on, as Hart and Mould’s songwriting grew into what would become a trademark melodic, powerful and heart-wrenchingly honest and emotional style. Intensity was the constant in Hüsker Dü’s music, and a box set from the Numero Group label that was released in November proves that it was evident from the very beginning. Savage Young Dü lovingly documents the group’s earliest years. Excavating the band’s fi rst songs and recordings had been long in the works, becoming a labor of love for the group’s longtime friend Terry Katzman —

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earlier that year. Originally released on the New Alliance imprint, SST obtained the rights when it was reissued in 1987. The original tapes from the Land Speed Record performance were stolen and SST’s source recordings were garbage, but Numero discovered higher-quality soundboard tapes of the same set from two weeks later and used that on Savage Young Dü instead. With the wealth of material in its possession, the Numero Group is reportedly plotting more Hüsker Dü releases, covering other periods of the band’s history. Given the way Savage Young Dü so splendidly, if circuitously, came together, it may take a while, but it will undoubtedly be another thoughtfully constructed tribute and testimonial to the brilliance of one of the more underrated bands of the past 40 years.

The 7-inches for Planned Parenthood project is a fundraiser for the women’s health organization that Republicans have long dreamed of shutting down (and are closer than ever to doing just that) and features a collection of artwork, songs and spoken-word pieces by some top-notch artists, musicians, comedians and others. Among the musical acts contributing songs are Bon Iver, Foo Fighters, Mary J. Blige, Feist, Laurie Anderson, Elliot Smith, Björk, members of The National, Sharon Van Etten, Sleater-Kinney, Common and St. Vincent, who duets with John Legend on a cover of Minnie Riperton’s 1974 hit “Lovin’ You.” Among the spoken performances are exclusive comedy bits

Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of “Weird Al” Yankovic

“Weird Al” Yankovic

Though the chances that there’s someone on your shopping list who warrants a $400 gift and is a Weird Al superfan are improbably low, if it’s applicable to your situation, then Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of “Weird Al” Yankovic is perhaps the most perfect present available this holiday season. As the title suggests, this collection includes every studio album released by the king of parody songs over the past 34 years — that’s 14 individual albums, plus a rarities album titled, of course, Medium Rarities. It also includes a 100-page book featuring photos and memorabilia from throughout Yankovic’s career. But the coolest part of Squeeze Box, as the name also suggests, is that the albums come packaged in a playable replica of Yankovic’s actual accordion (“squeeze box” is slang for accordion, if you’re unhip… or, in this case, too hip), a Yankovic trademark thanks to its use on his comedic Polka medleys (as well as other songs). Due to the complexity of the packaging, the pre-order for the release began in January through Pledge Music, 10 months before the actual release. Those who pre-ordered got fi rst dibs, with the remaining copies being made available through other online retailers, which makes Squeeze Box even more of a limited edition. Yankovic’s website recently revealed that the CD version of the collection is sold out, while the vinyl version is also almost gone.

7-inches for Planned Parenthood Various Artists

So this one is probably not the right gift for your MAGA-worshiping, Fox Newsloving evangelical Christian uncle, but if you have a more “woke” person on your list who loves music (particularly from the Indie world) and activism, you can’t do much better.

“Weird Al” Yankovic PHOTO: WEIRDAL .COM

from Jenny Slate, Zack Galifianakis and Tig Notaro, plus pieces by authors Margaret Atwood, Dr. Willie Parker and other activist figureheads. While the 33-track collection was released digitally this fall, the full packaging is well worth the $100 price tag (all proceeds go to PP). There’s a beautiful book with artwork from various artists and photographs of the participants, as well as PP information and endorsements. The recordings are laid out across several pink-colored 7-inch vinyl records, which are encased in sleeves featuring covers designed by visual artists like Rashid Johnson, Domonique Echeverria and Shepard Fairey. Even someone like Mike Pence would have to appreciate the stunning packaging. Visit 7inchesforplannedparenthood. com for more info on the box set, the cause, the participating artists and ordering details. You probably won’t be able to get this one mailed to you in time for gift giving, but every physical order includes the digital fi les, so you can give the giftee MP3s as a heads up.

SPILL IT

Johnnytwentythree Returns with Moving LP BY M I K E B R EEN

in your throat, your capacity for empathy is probably deficient. If you’re dealing (or have dealt) with the kind of profound despair that sparked the album’s creation, while it can be a cathartic listen, you might find yourself needing to take a few breaks. The album does feature several voices, including poetry by Abraham Smith on the tracks “Keys to Freedom” and “Shipwreck” (“Your death is not kind/Your death is not benign/Your death is a shipwreck”). There are also children’s voices — the track “After the End” closes with a child (presumably Joe and Brianne’s) softly saying, “Daddy, I want you to come back home… love you.”

BY M I K E B R EE N

Last year, an extremely rare promo copy of Prince’s The Black Album — which the artist notoriously stopped from being released a week before it was supposed to come out in 1987 because he’d decided it was “evil” — sold for $15,000, a record for the Discogs database/marketplace site. Those who missed their chance to buy a copy might get another shot after five more were discovered by a former executive at Warner Brothers Records, Prince’s label at the time. The man reportedly was looking in old boxes for vinyl to give to his daughter when he found five sealed copies of the LP on vinyl (previously, only three such pressings had emerged in the past 30 years). Three of the unopened albums were quickly sold (fetching between $15,000-$20,000); the owner is said to be keeping one and selling the other later.

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the lovers mark gibson, iamchelseaiam

fri 22

red samantha: record release the midwesterns

s at 23

the auburnaires

m o n the guitars, the delaware family 2 5 christmas funeral: sketch comedy tue 26

motrmouth presents: zak toscani & friends / writer’s night

wed 27

motrmouth presents: zak toscani & friends

free live music open for lunch

1404 main st (513) 345-7981

Photographers Call BS on Killers Last week we told you about how Queens of the Stone Age leader Josh Homme was suffering backlash after kicking a photographer during a radio festival appearance. Initially, after Brandon Flowers made a show of support for photographers during The Killers’ appearance at the fest the next night, the singer was hailed as a hero. But pro photographers weren’t having it, with several telling various press outlets that The Killers have for years been one of the few big acts that doesn’t allow anyone (even those from legit press outlets) to shoot shows from the pit, relying instead on photos taken by their own official photographers. Even the night Flowers declared photographers “safe and respected” at Killers shows, there was only one credentialed photographer working the pit, and he worked for Getty, a service that provides pics to a vast network of subscribers.

12/3 1 bleSSid union of SoulS

room for zero, roger klug power trio

2/2

why?, open mike eagle

12/23

“Santa goeS Straight to the hood” movie premiere

1/7

madcap puppetS: juleS & verne’S excellent adventure buy tickets at motr or woodwardtheater.com

C I T Y B E AT. C O M

Contact Mike Breen: mbreen@ citybeat.com.

Following the unveiling of nominees up for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the final class of 2018 was recently announced. Those going in are Bon Jovi (who won the fan poll by a huge margin), The Cars, Dire Straits, The Moody Blues and Nina Simone, with the pioneering Sister Rosetta Tharpe getting the Award for Early Influence. The 2018 Rock Hall ceremony is April 14 in Cleveland, with a highlight reel broadcast shortly after on HBO.

w e d david barbe & inward dream ebb 20 new madrid, lightwash

Personally, each time I listened to the album, that moment stopped me in my tracks. It’s incredibly overwhelming. The Bridge is “mood music” of the highest order, in that it is inspired by the same kind of emotional weightiness it conveys, a testament to johnnytwentythree’s unique musical and artistic abilities. If you appreciate works of art that move you so deeply they have a visceral, physical effect, from a modern musical perspective, there are few better examples than The Bridge. But while the music and concept are darkly transportive, the project is not devoid of hope. There’s inspiration in the band members channeling their anguish into a memorial to their departed friend that honors his memory by helping others, both through the music and more directly. Proceeds from sales of The Bridge go to the aforementioned National Alliance on Mental Illness, a large grassroots mental health organization that provides assistance and educational programs across the country. The Bridge can be purchase beginning Saturday at johnnytwentythree.bandcamp. com. View videos from the project at youtube.com/johnnytwentythree.

1345 main st motrpub.com

A Bounty of Black Albums

DEC. 2 0 – 2 6, 2 0 17

For many, the hoidays are the most “joyful and triumphant” time of the year. But for others, it’s the bleakest. A 2014 survey by the National Alliance on Mental Illness found that 64 percent of those with diagnosed mental health issues feels that the holidays make them worse. So while it might seem unusual for Cincinnati’s johnnytwentythree to release a “comeback” album two days before Christmas, given the motive and story behind it, the timing makes sense — it’s a heartbreaking tribute to a former bandmate who took his own life. Formed in 2002, johnnytwentythree was much-buzzed-about in Cincinnati music community due to its unique music and performances. The five musicians’ expansive, expressive and evocative instrumental sound (a particularly dynamic brand of Post Rock) was captivating enough on its own, but sixth member Stephen Imwalle’s artistic visual accompaniment — a component of the band’s persona as crucial as the music — made J23’s live appearances mesmerizing events. The band began working on a new project in 2009, but everything stopped in 2012 when bassist Joe Maier committed suicide. Joe wasn’t just the J23 musicians’ friend and bandmate; his wife and the mother of his children, Brianne Maier, played violin and J23 guitarist Michael Maier is his brother. The album project the band had started was coincidently inspired by the documentary The Bridge, which was the result of a year of filming at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, caputuring several jumps from the bridge and interviewing family members and friends of those who perished. The song J23 composed in response to the film became “The Bridge,” which is filled with the group’s trademark swelling atmospherics, cascading guitars and musical, pulse-quickening drums by Brian Tyree. That song became the basis and title track of the group’s since completed album, a tribute to Joe Maier’s life and struggles, that is described as “a candle lit for those who are gone (and) a light for those left.” The musical and visual work of J23 always possessed the ability to effectively communicate emotion without the overt expression vocals can provide. And The Bridge bleeds melancholy, reflecting both the dark state that leads one to make such a drastic decision and the cataclysmic, often lifelong sorrow it casts on friends and family. Sonically, The Bridge is a thoroughly absorbing listen, and those who can directly identify with the topic will likely notice how much of it feels like a recreation of the turmoil that swirls around in the conciousness of everyone touched by such tragedy. Knowing the source of the music’s darker tones makes it an even heavier listening experience. If you listen to The Bridge in its entirety (as the band intended it to be heard) and you don’t at some point get chills, tears welling in your eyes or lumps forming

MINIMUM GAUGE

LISTINGS

CityBeat’s music listings are free. Send info to Mike Breen at mbreen@citybeat.com. Listings are subject to change. See CityBeat.com for full music listings and all club locations. H is CityBeat staff’s stamp of approval.

Wednesday 20

BrewRiver GastroPub - Old Green Eyes & BBG. 9 p.m. Jazz. Free.

The Comet - Steve Schmidt Organ Trio “Christmas Schmidtacular!” 8 p.m. Holiday Jazz. Free.

The Greenwich Networking Happy Hour with DJ T Sweet. 7 p.m. Karaoke/ Various. Free. Knotty Pine - Dallas Moore and Lucky Chucky. 10 p.m. Country. Free. Latitudes Bar & Bistro - Ricky Nye and Bekah Williams. 9:30 p.m. Jazz/ Blues. Free. The Liberty Inn - Stagger Lee. 7 p.m. Acoustic. Free. The Listing Loon - Ricky Nye. 8:30 p.m. Blues/Boogie Woogie. Free. Mansion Hill Tavern Losing Lucky. 8 p.m. Roots. Free. MOTR Pub - David Barbe with New Madrid and Lightwash. 9 p.m. Indie Pop/Rock. Free.

Northside Tavern - Shiny Old Soul. 9 p.m. Roots/ Rock/Jazz/Various. Free. Southgate House Revival (Lounge) - Chelsea Ford and The Trouble with Joe’s Truck Stop. 8 p.m. Roots/ Americana/Various. Free. Taft Theatre - 96 Rocks Mistletoe Rock Show with Seether, Shaman’s Harvest, The Dead Deads and American Sin. 6:50 p.m. Rock.

C i t y B e at. c o m | D E C . 2 0 – 2 6 , 2 0 1 7

Common Roots - Open Mic. 8 p.m. Various. Free. Crow’s Nest - Aaron Hedrick. 9:30 p.m. Acoustic/ Various. Free. The Greenwich - Phil Degreg & Brasilia. 8:30 p.m. Brazilian Jazz. $5. Knotty Pine - Chalis. 9 p.m. Pop/Rock/Various. Free. McCauly’s Pub - K.J. Summerville. 7 p.m. Various. Free. MOTR Pub - The Lovers with Mark Gibson and Iamchelseaiam. 10 p.m. Pop/Rock/Folk/Various. Free. Plain Folk Café - Open Mic with Russ Childers. 7 p.m. Various. Free. Southgate House Revival (Sanctuary) - Elia Burkhart, Amber Nash, andyman Hopkins, Randy Steffen, Chelisa Clifton, Kelly Thomas and Renee Frye. 7 p.m. Singer/ Songwriter. Free.

Urban Artifact - Abby Vice, Henry Mansfield and The Last Troubadour. 8 p.m. Alt/ Rock/Various.

Hillside Gastropub - Sonny Moorman Group. 8:30 p.m. Blues/Rock. Jag’s Steak and Seafood The Company Band. 9 p.m. Dance/Pop/Various. Free. Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse The Grace Lincoln Band. 8 p.m. R&B/Soul/Jazz/Pop. Free. Jim and Jack’s On The River - Danny Frazier. 9 p.m. Country. Free. Knotty Pine - Naked Karate Girls. 10 p.m. Pop/Rock/ Dance. Cover.

The Venue Cincinnati - Insane Clown Posse. 5:30 p.m. Rap. $35.

Mansion Hill Tavern Mistermann and The Mojo Band. 9 p.m. Blues. $4.

Friday 22

MOTR Pub - Red Samantha with The Midwesterns. 10 p.m. Altrock. Free.

The Avenue Event Center Yung Bleu. 10 p.m. Hip Hop. $25-$30.

Bromwell’s Härth Lounge - Pamela Mallory with The Rob Allgeyer Trio. 8:30 p.m. Jazz. Free.

Herzog Music - Herzog Harmony Series presents: Spirits Of Hank with Arlo Mckinley and Friends. 7 p.m. Hank Williams Tribute. $10.

Thursday 21

The Comet - Steve Schmidt Organ Trio “Christmas Schmidtacular!” 8 p.m. Holiday Jazz. Free.

The Greenwich - Radio Black. 9 p.m. Various. $10.

U.S. Bank Arena - TransSiberian Orchestra presents The Ghosts Of Christmas Eve. 4 p.m. Holiday/Prog/ New Age. $40.50-$76.

Blue Note Harrison Battery. 7 p.m. Metallica Tribute. $10.

The Church In Oakley - Island Christmas Holiday with The Sunburners, The Queen City Silver STARs and The Young Professionals Choral Collective. 7:30 p.m. Island/ Holiday. $10, $13 day of show.

Grand Central Delicatessen - Slick Willie and The Kentucky Jellies. 8 p.m. Rockabilly. Free.

Madison Live - Madison Theater Band Challenge with Blue Amber Iris, Bookends, Joe Tellmann Band, Samson, The Thrifters, Useless Fox and Wax Wings. 7:30 p.m. Various. $10.

Urban Artifact - Blue Wisp Big Band. 8:30 p.m. Big Band Jazz. $10.

Crow’s Nest - Bob Cushing. 10 p.m. Acoustic/Various. Free.

College Hill Coffee Co. Ricky Nye. 7:30 p.m. Holiday Boogie Woogie. Free. The Comet - Steve Schmidt Organ Trio “Christmas Schmidtacular!” 9 p.m. Holiday Jazz. Free.

MVP Bar & Grille - Winter Rock Fest with Last Weekend, Blue Print and More. 9 p.m. Rock. $5. Northside Tavern Pearlene (10-year anniversary album release). 10 p.m. Rock/Blues/Garage/ Various. Free.

Plain Folk Café - Rabbit Hash String Band. 7:30 p.m. Bluegrass. Free. The Redmoor - Soul Pocket. 9 p.m. Dance/Pop/R&B/ Various. $10. Redwine & Co. - 2nd Time Around. 8 p.m. Bluegrass. Free.

Rick’s Tavern - Whiskey Daze. 10 p.m. Rock. $5. Silverton Café - The Billyrock Band. 9 p.m. Rock/ Soul. Free. Southgate House Revival (Lounge) - The Chris Comer Trio Holiday Show with Jason Arbenz, Ricky Nye, Rob Ervin, Jd Riggs and More. 9 p.m. Holiday Jazz. Free.

Southgate House Revival (Revival Room) - Moonbeau with Bliss Nova, Palaces and Kuber. 9 p.m. Synth Pop. $7, $10 day of show.

Southgate House Revival (Sanctuary) Motherfolk with Telehope and Joshua Powell & The Great Train Robbery. 7:30 p.m. Indie/Pop/Rock/Various. $10, $12 day of show.

Thompson House Axemas 2017 with Spaz Nazty, Murder Clique, Ez 606, Super Famous Fun Time Guys, Soldiers Of Fortune, Majik Duce, S.O.N. and Lazy Ass Destroyer. 7 p.m. Hip Hop/Various. $10. Turfway Park - Trailer Park Floosies. 9 p.m. Dance/Pop/ Rock/Country/Various. Free. Urban Artifact - Heavy Hinges, Founding Fathers and Near Earth Objects. 9 p.m. Rock/Alt/ Indie/Various.

Woodward Theater - Home For The Holiday: The Party with The Afrochine Players, Malcolm London, Genesis Renji, This Pine Box and DJ Hd. 6 p.m. Various. Free.

Saturday 23 Bogart’s - Thunderstruck. 8 p.m. Ac/Dc Tribute. $10. Bromwell’s Härth Lounge - “Steve Schmidt Christmas Special” with Amy London and The Steve Schmidt Trio. 8 p.m. Holiday Jazz. Free. Cincinnatian Hotel - Philip Paul Trio. 7 p.m. Jazz. Free. College Hill Coffee Co. Dave Hawkins. 7:30 p.m. Folk/Celtic/Various. Free.

The Comet - Puerto Rico Fundraiser with Fists Of Love, Darlene, Sky Hank & The Heady Weed and Butt. 9 p.m. Indie/Rock/ Various.

Crow’s Nest - Red Beard’s Revenge. 10 p.m. Roots/Americana. Free.

Grand Central Delicatessen - Ben Levin. 8 p.m. Boogie Woogie/Blues. Free. The Greenwich - Dixie Karas Quintet. 9 p.m. Jazz. $10. Jag’s Steak and Seafood - 3 Piece Revival. 9 p.m. Dance/Various. $5. Jim and Jack’s On The River - Heather Roush. 9 p.m. Country. Free. Knotty Pine - Under The Sun. 10 p.m. Alt/Rock. Cover. Latitudes Bar & Bistro - Tone Yard. 9 p.m. Rock. Free. Madison Live - Madison Theater Band Challenge with 6 Hours To Kill, Call It Crisis, Flee The Valley, Highway Republic, Immortal Substance, Peonies, Sonny B Gould and The Kenton Lands Band. 7:30 p.m. Various. $10.

Rick’s Tavern - Final Order. 10 p.m. Rock. $5. Southgate House Revival (Lounge) - Two Inch Winky Christmas Show with Nithing, Bloodgate and Sagermen. 9:30 p.m. Punk. Free.

Southgate House Revival (Revival Room) - Camp Sugar’s 8th Annual Christmas Party with Camp Sugar, Hank Erwin and James Brown Dance Party. 9 p.m. Various. $10.

Southgate House Revival (Sanctuary) - Feels So Good To Be Bad: A Maroon 5 Tribute featuring The Black Ties and The Ape-Tones. 9 p.m. Pop. $10. Thompson House - Wreck The Hall Christmas Show with Dead Roses and More. 8 p.m. Alternative. $10. Urban Artifact Subterranean and Ample Parking. 9 p.m. Rock/Jam/ Various. $5. Washington Platform Saloon & Restaurant - Jack Broad. 9 p.m. Jazz. $10 (food/drink minimum). Westside Venue - 100 Mph. 9 p.m. Rock.

Sunday 24

Mansion Hill Tavern Tickled Pink. 9 p.m. Blues/ Various. $3.

Mansion Hill Tavern - Open Jam with Deb Ohlinger. 6 p.m. Various. Free.

MOTR Pub - The Auburnaires. 10 p.m. Rock/ Garage/Soul/Various. Free.

Washington Platform Saloon & Restaurant Holiday Jazz Buffet with The Mike Sharfe Trio. 10 a.m. Jazz. $10 (food/drink minimum).

Northside Tavern Master Fresh Live with DJ Drizzle, B. Luck, Vick Gotti, Gvo, Yno, Mamanamedmeevan, Iamchelseaiam, Tori Helene, Jus Clay, Blvck Seeds and More. 10 p.m. Hip Hop/ Various. Free.

Octave - Strange Mechanics and Ethosine. 9 p.m. Jam/ Funk/Prog/Various. Cover. Padrino - Sonny Moorman Group. 8 p.m. Blues Plain Folk Café - Rockstead. 7:30 p.m. Various. Free. The Redmoor - Mike Wade & The Nasty Brass Band. 8 p.m. Jazz. $10.

Monday 25

MOTR Pub - The Guitars. 10 p.m. Holiday Rock. Free.

Tuesday 26

The Comet - Marr. 10 p.m. Alt/Electronic/Pop/Various. Free.

Stanley’s Pub - Trashgrass Tuesday featuring members of Rumpke Mt. Boys. 9 p.m. Bluegrass. Cover. Urban Artifact - After Funk. 8 p.m. Funk. Free.

PUZZLE

Guiding Light

CLASSIFIEDS

By B rendan E mmett Q uigley

Ac r o s s

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67. “___ Christmas” (classic holiday song) 68. Bela Lugosi’s role in “Son of Frankenstein” 69. Buttercup kin Down

1. Health class topics 2. Mother of Eos and Helene 3. Use a Nook 4. “Finally!” 5. Unit of energy equivalent to 3,600 joules 6. Francis’s title 7. Ken of “The Man In the High Castle” 8. More loaded 9. Invoice bottom lines 10. Insignificant amount of time 11. Pennsylvania lake 12. “Far From You” author Sharpe 13. Egg holder 19. Albuquerque sch. 23. Accusatory phrase 25. Lip applications 26. Watch name

27. Biting midges 28. Conclusion 29. Near-eternities 31. “That can’t be good!” 32. Simply the best 33. Dry out 39. Sodom escapee 40. Tenure holder, for short 41. Golf’s equalizer 44. Time traveler’s destination 48. Using only 1s and 0s 49. Racetrack

has-been 50. Dead zone message 52. Having veins 54. Shade similar to electric blue 55. Sets (down) 56. Danish shoe brand 57. Animal with hoofs 59. Digging a lot 60. Milton Friedman’s subj. 61. “Call Me By Your Name” studio 62. Colin Jost’s show

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L AST WEEK’S ANSWERS:

dec . 2 0 – 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 | C ity B eat. com

1. Creche floor covering 6. Dessert wine 10. Brings home 14. Letter from Larissa 15. Little bit of everything 16. The surrounding neighborhood 17. “Who ___ last?” 18. Record collector’s curio 20. Middle East statesman Anwar 21. Improves 22. Sea shell seller 24. Giggly Muppet 25. Extremely disinterested 30. Central Park force 34. Letters in many Protestant church names 35. Alternative reader name 36. Horrible 37. Romania’s currency 38. Christmas figure whose prominent feature appears four times in this puzzle 42. Drummer’s setup 43. “Kids” band 45. Protagonist of the YA book “Hush, Hush” 46. ___ Rap (Lil’ Peep’s genre) 47. Brownie’s decorative band 48. 2004 curse breakers 51. Badder than bad 53. Prohibition repealer 54. Tacked on 58. Wall-climbing plants 62. Event with a caller 63. Franco’s five 64. Out of one’s gourd 65. Prelude to a recount 66. ___ Bell (Anne Brontë’s pseudonym)

Read us on your phone when you’re at the bar by yourself. the all-new

C I T Y B E AT. C O M

DEC. 2 0 – 2 6, 2 0 17

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513.651.9666

513-476-2365

DELIVERY CONTRACTORS NEEDED

CityBeat needs contractors to deliver CityBeat every Wednesday between 9am and 3pm. Qualified candidates must have appropriate vehicle, insurance for that vehicle and understand that they are contracted to deliver that route every Wednesday. CityBeat drivers are paid per stop and make $14.00 to $16.00 per hr. after fuel expense. Please reply by email and leave your day and evening phone numbers. Please reply by email only. Phone calls will not be accepted. sferguson@citybeat.com

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