CityBeat | Jan. 22, 2020

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There is something for everyone at Bockfest! Party Like a Bockstar on Friday night by watching the Parade, then enjoying live music, great food, and cold bock beer. Saturday morning kicks off with the Bockfest 5K, the Bock Beer Experience with bock beer tastings, beer games, and historic brewery tours. Saturday night’s highlights include the Beard Baron and Sausage Queen competitions! On Sunday, we refresh ourselves with the BockFeast pig roast, kid friendly Little Links pageant, petting zoo, games, authentic Continental Sunday, beer history programs, and the .05K Fun Run.

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NEWS An End in Sight for the Abatement Debate Mayor John Cranley and Cincinnati Public Schools have reached an agreement on the replacement for an expiring deal on the city’s tax abatements, but City Council must still give approval

BY N I C K SWA R T S E L L Mayor John Cranley and Board of Education officials discuss a possible deal between the city and the district.

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PH OTO: NIC K SWARTSELL

constrained in the deals it can offer developers — 50 percent of the value of taxes due on property improvements for 15 years. The new deal would axe the $5 million stadium payment — which sunset last year anyway — and increase the payments developers make to the district in lieu of taxes from 25 percent of an abatement to 33 percent. That deal would end on Dec. 31, 2030.

That is mostly what the district asked for. Both Cranley and Cincinnati Board of Education members noted that the district’s enrollment has been growing and that it is the top-rated large urban district in the state.

“Our communities for a very long time have asked for fair funding,” CPS Board President Carolyn Jones said Jan. 16, noting that there was more work to be done before a finalized deal. “I’m sincerely grateful that we’re at this point.”

The city and CPS got caught in a morass of details and rhetoric around the agreement, including the opaque role abatements play in a complex state school funding formula that contributes to CPS revenues.

Some activists railed against the city for the tax deals it cuts with developers, sometimes crowding council chambers to

speak against them and saying they took money from schools. Critics of the abatements also say they go to developments that create expensive luxury residential developments in neighborhoods that have been historically low income.

Some in the business community, of course, have a different perspective.

The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber released a statement calling activists’ talking points “anti-development.”

“If — and it remains to be seen — today’s announcement results in a long-term arrangement that allows for a consistent and pro-growth approach to development, then we believe that is a positive step,” that statement reads, before echoing points made by a report released by city administration about the role of abatements in development. “We are competing with other cities for talent and growth. Rebuilding a city and creating an economic climate that benefits everyone will require us to have a competitive growth policy. We think the anti-development rhetoric in this debate was antagonistic and short-sighted.”

In his remarks announcing the deal, Cranley said developers would pay more than is necessary to hold CPS harmless — that is, what the district would have received if the city didn’t do tax incentives.

That’s something the district flatly denies.

The city says that when the state funding is included, the district only needs 5 percent payments, not the 33 percent the district wanted. But both sides have agreed to disagree on that detail, they say.

“I’m here to say, ‘Yes, I accept the recommendation of 33 percent,’ ” Cranley said Jan. 16. “By agreeing to this number, we are asking developers to pay a premium over what is required to hold CPS harmless… the school board may not agree with that statement. But I’m OK with it. Development has been good in the city, thank God. All of us have been trying to build an inclusive capitalism that lifts more boats and expands opportunity. So I think it’s more than appropriate for developers to pay up a little bit more to the next generation.”

Cranley says the increase from 25 percent to 33 percent makes up for the loss of the $5 million annual payment to the district over the life of the deal. While the new deal only generates about $1 million over the 25 percent level in year one, according to numbers generated by the city, it will increase in value over time and average $5.6 million more than what the district would get at 25 percent over the CONTINUES ON PAGE 09

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he end to a drawn-out fight in Cincinnati over tax incentives may be over. Maybe.

Mayor John Cranley and Cincinnati Public School officials announced on Jan. 16 a potential end to a months-long battle over the city’s ability to grant tax incentives to developers who are building or rehabbing commercial projects.

Cincinnati City Council will need to approve the deal — a vote that hadn’t happened at press time and that may hinge on a program that is meant to fund affordable housing and neighborhood improvements.

Tax abatements and tax increment financing (TIF) districts have been worth millions under a 20-year deal the district and the city struck around the construction of the city’s two professional sports stadiums on the riverfront. That agreement lapsed at the end of 2019.

Tax abatements write off the taxes developers would owe the city and district on the increased value of their properties due to development projects like new construction or rehabs. TIFs take money that would have been paid in taxes on property improvements and puts them in a special fund to be used for improvements within a district near the development.

Under the previous deal, the city could max out 15-year tax abatements and 30-year TIFs without going to CPS for approval of each one. In return, the district got $5 million a year to replace property tax payments from the stadiums and 25 percent of the value of tax abatements and 27 percent of the value of funds diverted into TIFs. Without it, the city is much more

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C I T Y B E AT. C O M | JA N. 22-FEB. 4, 2020

CITY DESK

Big Changes Coming for Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Libraries

BY N I C K SWA R T S EL L

Roughly a year after successfully asking Hamilton County voters to approve a $19 million-a-year, 10-year levy increase, the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County unveiled plans for how it will spend that money to revamp its 41 branches throughout the county.

Every branch will get some updates, according to library officials, but some will see more extensive improvements — or even entirely new construction.

The north building of the library’s twobuilding Main Library downtown — once considered for sale by the Library Board of Trustees — will stay put. That will be good news for activists who railed against a proposal to sell the library’s north building downtown three years ago. The library’s board later opted against that decision.

Meanwhile, other big changes will likely come to both the Vine Street and Walnut Street sides of the southern building.

The library spent more than a year drawing up its facilities master plan, and library officials say they engaged more than 3,000 patrons by administering surveys and holding more than 40 public listening sessions and 15 focus groups, the latter facilitated by Cincinnati consulting group Design Impact.

The efforts to revamp the system — expected to cost more than $150 million over the next 10 years — launch this spring with the roughly $7 million renovation of Price Hill’s historic 111-year-old library building and the construction of an addition that will double its size. The building has been closed since 2018 after plaster fell from the ceiling there, and a smaller temporary space nearby has housed the neighborhood’s branch since.

The 115-year-old Walnut Hills branch will also receive its first-ever renovation and expansion starting in the fall at an expected cost of up to $12 million.

The Reading branch of the library will

get some maintenance work in the form of new paint and carpet and the Elmwood branch will get technology upgrades this year, including laptop kiosks.

The 540,000-square-foot downtown Main Library location will see a “reimagining” of its Vine Street entrance starting this year. Currently, steps lead up to an elevated fountain area at that entrance. The plan would create a new plaza for patrons at street level.

Significant maintenance work on electrical systems as well as skylight and elevator replacement will also occur at the downtown branch’s south building starting this year. The flagship location will also seem some “small scale reorganization,” according to the plan, including a rethinking of the library’s atrium to make it more welcoming to patrons.

Further down the line, the library is considering big changes to the Main Library’s Walnut Street side. The library’s plan includes three scenarios for currently-underutilized space east of the main branch’s south building. Presently a fenced-in parking lot, according to the plans, the area could become a 250space parking facility with ground-level retail, a 500-space parking facility with a 250-350-person auditorium and retail, or a high-density mixed-use space including retail, event and residential space.

It is not yet clear which, if any, of these options the library would take up.

“In any case, modification will likely be explored for the Walnut Street frontage of the downtown Main Library, including relocating one of the library’s entries back to its previous orientation toward Eighth Street,” the plan reads. “There are a variety of project funding structures that could be explored, such as a public-private partnership or land lease, either of which could provide funding for library construction projects improving public service spaces

A rendering of proposed changes to the Vine Street entrance of the library’s main branch downtown P H O T O : P U B L I C L I B R A R Y O F C I N C I N N AT I A N D H A M I LT O N C O U N T Y

and funding systemwide improvement efforts.”

The library won’t be closing or consolidating any spaces, according to the plan.

“Readers will not find closure or consolidation recommendations in this 10-year plan,” library Director Paula BrehmHeeger writes in the document. “While we may consider consolidations at some later point, our year of careful study revealed that locations sometimes considered for closure or consolidation provide a very high impact for communities in need without consuming significant resources and funding.”

The library’s plan doesn’t just outline improvements — it creates a new system of classification for the library system’s branches.

The Main Library exists in a category of its own under the plan as the central facility providing support for the entire system.

Three other categories are also proposed: There are 15 “next generation” library branches like Price Hill that will

be between 12,000 and 25,000 square feet and will contain both traditional and cutting-edge features and serve as regional destinations for library patrons. The plan also lays out four “big next generation” branches, including the one in Walnut Hills, which will be branches more than 20,000 square feet.

Under the plan, another 19 “neighborhood libraries” between 6,000 and 12,000 square feet will provide vital services to each community and six “focused libraries” at less than 6,000 square feet will provide services tailored to the specific needs of their neighborhoods.

At least six relocations and replacement building projects are planned for “big next generation” sites in Forest Park, Deer Park and Delhi Township and “neighborhood” branches in Mount Healthy and Miami Township, along with another potential replacement in Madisonville, though that one hasn’t been decided for sure yet. A “focused” library in Blue Ash could also get a replacement under the plan.

Cincinnati City Council Passes Security Deposit Alternative Legislation for Renters

BY N I C K SWA R T S EL L

Among them is the daunting amount of money she’ll need to pay upfront for rent and a security deposit to secure the average apartment there.

“I’m finding that apartments are at a minimum $900,” she says. “That’s a huge barrier, to have $1,800 come out of my monthly budget.”

Security deposits can present a daunting expense to those looking to rent an apartment or home.

But Cincinnati City Council recently approved an ordinance 7-1 that will require landlords renting more than 25 units to offer alternatives to a large, lump-sum payment. Council member Jeff Pastor was the only no vote.

Council member P.G. Sittenfeld announced the legislation in November.

After talking with some real estate groups, Sittenfeld settled on a plan that offers

three alternatives to traditional security deposits: an insurance policy that costs as little as $3 a month; an installment plan on the security deposit paid over no less than six months; or a cap of 50 percent of monthly rent for a security deposit.

barrier to housing. It’s also going to collectively put millions of dollars back in peoples’ pockets. I’m optimistic that this legislation is going to scale and spread to jurisdictions and cities and states all across the country.”

Sittenfeld says the move is the first of its kind in the country.

Mayor John Cranley backs the measure, calling it “one of the most innovative and creative ideas to come through city council” he’s seen during his tenure.

“The impact of this legislation is removing that barrier to housing,” he said. “People want to do the best they can for themselves and their family, and this is sometimes a mountain that is too steep to climb. It removes a very real upfront

“This meaningfully reduces income inequality and makes certain inalienable CONTINUES ON PAGE 09

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Cincinnati resident and IRS employee Kendra Davis is looking to move to the city’s East Side so her daughter can have better access to her school as well as parks and museums — but there are some barriers in the way, she says.

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CITY DESK

Clermont County Declares Itself ‘Second Amendment Sanctuary’

BY N I C K SWA R T S EL L

On Jan. 13, the Clermont County Commission voted unanimously to declare the county east of Cincinnati a Second Amendment sanctuary, becoming the second suburban Greater Cincinnati county to recently do so as gun rights resolutions sweep conservative parts of the U.S. Northern Kentucky’s Kenton County Commissioners passed a similar resolution on Jan. 9, and neighboring Boone County will vote on its own resolution at the county’s fiscal court meeting. Commissioners there say they support the measure.

The resolutions promising to protect county residents’ gun rights against “unconstitutional seizures” began in Virginia last November after Democrats won control of the state legislature there. Ninety of the state’s 95 counties have passed the measures, as have 20 cities in Virginia. The measures come as gun rights activists and others prepare for a Jan. 20 demonstration outside the Virginia capitol building.

The sanctuary resolutions are mostly symbolic, but they’re becoming increasingly popular.

The resolution in Clermont County led to applause from some residents in attendance, though not all supported it.

Some said it was a political move, while others said they supported some degree of regulation over firearms.

Commission candidate Chris Hicks, a Republican who is challenging commission president David Painter in the Republican primary March 17, said the move could actually be detrimental to gun rights.

“As a conservative I believe in the rule of law,” Hicks wrote in a recent Facebook post. “I also believe in effective solutions

to real problems by appropriate levels of government. Counties do not make laws nor do commissioners have any role in directing law enforcement.”

Some Ohio gun groups also aren’t in support of the sanctuary designations.

Ohio Gun Owners Director Chris Dorr says the resolutions carry “severe risks” and can distract from more substantive political action in which gun owners can engage in Ohio.

Dorr cites a 2008 law that forbids municipalities from passing their own gun laws stricter than the state’s.

“Here are the facts, folks: the reason why Virginia is being forced to do this is because no one was paying attention to this over the past two decades,” he said in a Jan. 13 Facebook live video. “Here in Ohio, we are not in that boat… they fell asleep at the wheel in Virginia. We are not asleep.”

Dorr expressed concerns that the resolutions could create a “patchwork” of regulations instead of uniform, gunfriendly laws across the state.

The resolutions come as a fierce battle continues over the role of government in restricting gun ownership following a number of mass shootings locally and across the country.

In Ohio, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine proposed a number of new gun safety measures following last summer’s mass shooting in Dayton, which killed nine and wounded 17.

The core of DeWine’s proposals included a so-called “red flag” law that would seize firearms from those determined to be a danger to themselves or other people via court order.

DeWine’s plan also called for closing the “gun show” loophole in Ohio’s background check laws, requiring such checks for any firearm transfer that isn’t a gift between family members.

It would also seek to increase legal penalties for illegal gun possession, use of a firearm in violent crimes and selling guns to minors and others illegally.

In addition, DeWine wants better mental health interventions for young people who show signs they may become violent and better monitoring — via personnel and software — of social media, where some shooters have posted early clues about their deadly intentions.

“If we do these things, it will matter,” DeWine said at a news conference announcing the proposals in August. “If we do these things, it will make us safer.”

The GOP-led state legislature, however, hasn’t taken up some of DeWine’s proposals, including the red flag suggestion, and has, in fact, eased gun restrictions, even introducing a bill that would eliminate license requirements for concealed carry.

But that hasn’t stopped some conservatives in the state from sounding alarms about gun rights.

“I came back here and said we need to do something to send a message to Columbus that we believe in our Second Amendment rights,” Clermont County Commission President Painter said during the commission’s Jan. 13 meeting.

Clermont is the second Ohio county to declare itself a Second Amendment sanctuary after Meigs County in eastern Ohio.

Kentucky Man Convicted of Assault Outside Trump Rally Sentenced

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JA N. 22-FEB. 4, 2020

BY N I C K SWA R T S EL L

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A Kentucky man will spend four months in jail for his role in an altercation outside a rally for President Donald Trump in Cincinnati last summer.

On Jan. 9, a Hamilton County jury found Dallas Frazier guilty of misdemeanor assault for punching protester Michael Alter multiple times at the Aug. 9 campaign rally for Trump. Frazier was sentenced Jan. 17 to 120 days in jail and ordered to pay restitution for the incident.

Frazier, then 29, jumped out of a red pick-up truck just north of U.S. Bank Arena

(which has since been renamed the Heritage Bank Center) and punched 61-yearold Alter of Hyde Park, breaking Alter’s glasses and leaving visible wounds on his face. Frazier was almost immediately arrested after the incident.

Frazier, who says he was not attending the rally, admitted to punching Alter, but claimed that Alter made statements and gestures that provoked the fight. Frazier and defense attorney Sam Heller argued that Alter took off his baseball cap, raised his hand and motioned Frazier to come at him, then said, “Come on.”

Alter has said Frazier was yelling at him and other antiTrump protesters, and that his own actions and words were not meant to start a fight with Frazier, but rather to express exasperation.

“They pulled up and were yelling at everybody, whatever,” Alter told CityBeat immediately after the incident. “So I was just like, ‘Come on, buddy,’ and he jumped out and started swinging.”

Scott Fantozzi, a bystander, caught the incident on video.

Fantozzi says he saw protesters exchange words with the passenger of the truck about

political matters, but did not believe the anti-Trump group was provoking violence.

In a call placed from jail after the incident and played for the jury in Hamilton County Court, Frazier expressed no remorse for the incident.

“I wish I would have dropped his ass like a sack of flour,” Frazier said in that call, according to multiple media reports. “I would have looked a lot cooler. At least I only hit one dude. He’ll have to go to the hospital every time he sneezes to get his eye put back in.”

Drug Overdose Deaths in Ohio Fell in 2018, Department of Health Says

BY N I C K SWA R T S EL L Drug overdose deaths in the Buckeye State fell in 2018, the Ohio Department of Health says in an annual report released late last month. But the number of deaths is still very high.

Ohio saw about 1,100 fewer deaths due to drugs that year than it did in 2017, but still averaged about 72 deaths a week. That is down from the roughly 92 deaths a week the state saw in 2017, and the lowest level seen since 2015.

The state saw about 30 overdoses per 100,000 people in 2018.

The 3,764 overdose fatalities in the state in 2018 were mostly due to the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl, which was involved in about 73 percent of all overdose deaths.

Overdoses due to that synthetic began spiking sharply in 2014 and have continued to be a major issue.

The overall number of fentanyl deaths dropped last year in Ohio, however.

Overdoses due to drugs like methamphetamines and cocaine rose in 2018, according to the state, though many of those overdoses also involved fentanyl.

Black males had the highest overdose death rates in both 2018 and 2017, overtaking white males — though 2017 year was the first time in a decade that was true. Among black males, those ages 55 to 64 were the most likely to die from an overdose.

For all other groups, the most overdose deaths occurred among people between the ages of 35 to 44. Black females had the lowest overdose death rates.

Over the past five years, Southwest Ohio has been a focal point for the opioid crisis. Montgomery County had the highest per capita overdose death rate in the state between 2013 and 2018 with 61 deaths per 100,000 people, and five other southwestern Ohio counties were also among the top 10. Brown County was second with an overdose death rate of roughly 55 per 100,000 people. Butler County was the third-highest, with a rate of 53 per 100,000.

Hamilton County’s rate was above the state’s — 40.5 deaths per 100,000 people over the five-year period — but lower than some surrounding counties. Officials estimate overdose deaths here declined by 20 percent in 2018.

Smitherman Won’t Run for Cincinnati Mayor

BY N I C K SWA R T S EL L The first announced contender for Cincinnati’s next mayoral election in 2021 says that he’s dropping out of contention.

Vice Mayor Christopher Smitherman, an independent, released a statement on Jan. 15 revealing he will discontinue his run for mayor to focus on his family.

A year ago, Smitherman’s wife Pamela succumbed to breast cancer — a driving factor in his decision to end his mayoral bid, he says.

“As a widowed father of five, I have a higher calling at this time,” Smitherman wrote in his statement. “I am determined to give my children as much love and attention as I can. Running for mayor would make that impossible.”

Smitherman says he will continue to serve on Cincinnati City Council and on the city’s Planning Commission and other committees and groups.

“This statement serves as a pause, not an end, to my political aspirations,” Smitherman wrote. “I look forward to a return to the pursuit of higher service when the time is right.”

Smitherman launched his mayoral bid in August 2018.

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FROM PAGE 07

next decade.

Whether council will support the deal could depend on the fate of another incentive program. The Voluntary Tax Incentive Contribution Agreement program asks developers to contribute 15 percent of the value of tax incentives they receive from the city for use on affordable housing and community improvements in neighborhoods outside of downtown and Over-theRhine, where VTICA funds the streetcar.

Council members Greg Landsman, David Mann and P.G. Sittenfeld drafted a motion seeking to make sure that payments developers make to VTICA aren’t affected by the deal between CPS and the city. Mann’s office says he is considering the deal and agrees with the 33 percent so long as it doesn’t cut into VTICA contributions.

Cranley, meanwhile, said that VTICA contributions are negotiated by developers and the city on an individual basis and that nothing in the agreement between CPS and the city necessarily affects them.

If developers were required to pay the usual 15 percent to VTICA, their maximum abatement on property improvements under the new deal would effectively be 52 percent, down from 60 percent in the previous deal.

rights more attainable,” Cranley said. “It never occurred to me that literally millions of dollars are just sitting in security deposits, just doing nothing...We can keep some or all of that money in (renters’) pockets without harming the landlord, it’s a significant, meaningful act of social justice.”

One potential downside to the program under the original legislation: Security deposits are refundable, assuming a landlord agrees that no damages have been done to their property by a departing resident. Premiums from the insurance policies are not refundable.

Social service groups and housing organizations have applauded the legislation.

Assuming a premium is $10 a month, it would take multiple years to equal the average security deposit, however.

But not everyone was thrilled by its initial draft, which only included renter’s insurance as an alternative to security deposits and didn’t exempt landlords with fewer than 25 units.

A spokesperson for Sittenfeld said that the measure is optional and that the small monthly premiums could be preferable to being priced out of housing due to having to pay a large sum upfront.

The Real Estate Investors Association of Greater Cincinnati says the legislation won’t solve underlying problems with housing access but has agreed the new version with multiple alternatives is better and is supportive of it.

The ordinance stipulates that the insurance must cover the entire term of a rental lease from the day a resident moves in, offer monthly premiums instead of lump-sum payments and that the selected insurer be licensed by the Ohio Department of Insurance.

“The final version of this bill is a significant improvement over the original proposal,” REIAGC President Felicia Bell told council.

“As a result, the organization is able to get on board. But please note that affordable housing is the real issue and no legislation will solve this problem. Removing barriers to developing, building, rehabbing and providing rental housing is the only solution to affordable housing.”

Sittenfeld’s office says there are multiple insurers who offer those services and that the premiums can be as little as $3 a month.

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JA N. 22-FEB. 4, 2020 C I T Y B E AT. C O M   | 

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Final Days!

Closes Feb 17.

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A F I E L D G U I D E T O T H E Q U E E N C I T Y ’ S S P O R T Y, F U R R Y F R I E N D S

BY JUDE NOEL

etail and character — these are the two principles that have helped University of Cincinnati CollegeConservatory of Music alumni Randy Kent build a mascot empire in Cincinnati.

Since founding Stagecraft, Inc. in 1975, Kent, who earned a degree from CCM in costume design and technology, and his wife, Mary, have created and distributed hundreds of mascots for corporations and schools from their Northside headquarters on Spring Grove Avenue.

A look at their website’s character reference sheet reveals the impressive mark he’s made on the craft. (The numbered list has subheads including “birds,” “bears,” “cats,” “dogs,” “prehistoric aquatic,” “human,” “rodents,” “inanimates,”

“illusions” and “other.”) Regionally, he’s built the University of Kentucky’s Wildcat costume, the Frisch’s Big Boy and the former University of Cincinnati Bearcat, but it is his early work that marks his biggest contributions to the world of mascots.

His 1970s creations, like the mascot for the now-defunct Cincinnati Stingers hockey club, were inspired by his summer job working on characters in Kings Island’s Hanna-Barbera Land, bringing the cartoon magic of amusement parks to sports. “(At that time), mascots were not as developed,” Kent says. “So when I started doing mascots, I think one of the

things that was an attraction was I was making a full character as opposed to just a jumpsuit and fur.”

Though other designers have made their local mark, Kent’s influence is still felt today: The Greater Cincinnati area’s professional and collegiate sports teams house a veritable ecosystem of well-designed characters — some by Kent; some not.

From a humanoid tornado to an axe-wielding Viking, here’s a field guide to some of the city’s furry friends.

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T E A M : Cincinnati Reds B O R N : 1953 C L A S S I C T R A I T S : Smiling ceaselessly; literally being a baseball B A C K S T O R Y : The Cincinnati Reds weren’t just the first ball club to field a roster entirely composed of professional players. They were also the first of three major league teams to design a mascot who was an anthropomorphic baseball. Though the costumed version of Mr. Red most Cincinnati natives (and fans) know and love first took the field during the 1972 season — eight years after the New York Mets’ similarly-styled Mr. Met debuted — the mascot was introduced in 1953 as the team’s official logo, later appearing as a sleeve patch in 1955.

The initial mustachioed incarnation of the mascot, known today as Mr. Redlegs — think of him as Mr. Red’s grandfather — was drawn by The Cincinnati Enquirer cartoonist Harold E. Russell, coinciding with the team’s decision to change their name from the Reds to the Redlegs amid the anti-communist “Red Scare” of the time.

The logo received a clean-shaven update in 1968, establishing Mr. Red’s classic form and, thus, inspiring Stagecraft, Inc.’s design of the Reds’ on-field mascot. Mr. Red suited up during the team’s back-to-back World Series run in 1975 and 1976 but was ultimately sidelined in the early ’80s. An Enquirer ranking of MLB mascots compiled in 1982 rated Mr. Red as the league’s worst mascot, citing the conservative organization’s unwillingness to let him engage in the shenanigans that, say, the San Diego Chicken might dabble in.

“I’m restricted,” said then-mascot Jeff Fields in the article’s sidebar. “I’d like to mess around on the field with the players once in a while, but the club believes the game is the only thing that should be on the field.”

Attitudes have certainly changed since then. Since Mr. Red returned permanently in 1997, the Reds have added three new mascots to their ranks: Gapper, a furry Muppet-like creature, was introduced in 2002, followed by the reintroduction of Mr. Redlegs in 2007 and Rosie Red in 2008.

GAPPER T E A M : Cincinnati Reds B O R N : 2002 C L A S S I C T R A I T S : Muppet-like appearance; expressive belly B A C K S T O R Y : Gapper may be the outlier of the Reds’ four mascots, but his lore runs deep. Just read his official origin story as chronicled on the team’s website, which touts his rise to costumed fame as a “tale of heroism and destiny.”

After brief stints in cities like St. Louis (too many birds) and with the Milwaukee Brewers (sausage and cheese made him gain weight), a fateful raft expedition on the Ohio River landed him in Cincinnati, where Mr. Red rescued him. Since the color of Gapper’s fur made him a logical addition to the ball club, Mr. Red offered him a spot on his team’s mascot roster. Gapper was so impressed with the city’s rich baseball history that he couldn’t refuse.

In reality, Gapper was commissioned to debut just before Great American Ball Park, which opened its gates in the spring of 2003.

According to Reds mascot coordinator Nick St. Pierre, who formerly occupied Gapper’s suit, the mascot was designed by Dave Raymond, first inhabitant of the legendary Phillie Phanatic. “(Former Reds COO) John Allen came to me at an All-Star game in Seattle in 2001 and asked, ‘How do we make our mascots more kid-friendly?’ ” St. Pierre says. “I had an opportunity to work with the Phillie Phanatic at that point and decided that we needed something like that — something that’s got a belly he can play with and could be pushed back to be a butt. I described the nose — I wanted it to root around with it, kind of as a prop. And out of that grew Gapper.”

Gapper (far left) with Rosie Red, Mr. Red and Mr. Redlegs PHOTO: Provided by the Cincinnati Reds

Gapper’s design was introduced to the public in 2002 via an Enquirer contest through which readers could submit tentative names for the new mascot. Contestant Sam Frank submitted the winning name, which refers to the proverbial “gap” between outfielders, earning two season tickets for his creativity.

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Until the early 2000s, so the biography goes, our furry friend lived on the island of Blue Stone, which is populated solely by blue monsters who moonlight as soccer hooligans. Except for Gapper. With his crimson coat and passion for baseball, Gapper’s search for a raison d’etre landed him — naturally — in the Midwest, where competition in the Reds’ NL Central division is often fierce.

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T E A M : University of Cincinnati B O R N : 1914 C L A S S I C T R A I T S : Over a century old; originated as a bear/cat hybrid, not an actual bearcat B A C K S T O R Y : The University of Cincinnati’s athletics department doesn’t take its name after a bear or a cat or a binturong (an Asian mammal also known as a bearcat). Instead, the origin of the program’s nickname dates back to 1914, when UC newspaper editor and cheerleader Norman Lyon deemed football captain Leonard Baehr a “Baehr cat” during a face-off against the University of Kentucky Wildcats. Shortly after the UC victory, a cartoon in the school paper depicted their team as a quadruped bear-cat hybrid chasing a scrawny kitten. The name stuck.

The Bearcat’s first on-field mascot suited up in 1950, albeit in a primitive and somewhat creepy form.

With help from Stagecraft, Inc., the school unveiled its first proper mascots in 1976: a bearcat couple who were wed in the student union during that season’s homecoming.

“It stemmed from my work at Kings Island — that was my summer job,” says Stagecraft’s Kent. “But during the winter for four years, I was going to UC. As I started developing characters for Kings Island, I developed the Bearcat, and donated it to UC, which was the single best thing I did as a young entrepreneur. It branched out into word of mouth to Duke, DePaul, Virginia and Maryland.”

The duo, who shared aesthetic similarities with the costumed cast of H.R. Pufnstuf, stuck around until the ’90s, when the male mascot’s design was slimmed down. The Bearcats called on outside help in 2006 for their latest rebrand, creating an edgier and more intimidating iteration of the character.

(UC also has a living mascot in the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden’s new baby bearcat, Lucille.)

Y’ALL STAR T E A M : The team formerly known as the Florence Freedom (they’re in the middle of a rebrand) B O R N : 2016 C L A S S I C T R A I T S : Integral to local lore; maximum hydration B A C K S T O R Y : The concept of freedom is an abstract one — so much so that a bald eagle can be replaced by a water-tower-turned-mall-advertisement and it totally makes sense.

The 6-foot-5-inch, 220-pound mascot debuted in 2016, replacing Liberty and Belle, two birds that formerly served the team.

Josh Anderson, the Freedom’s general manager, says that the change stemmed from recurring maintenance costs and the desire for a mascot that better represents the team’s hometown.

“Whenever we would take Belle to appearances, especially across the river in Cincinnati, no one really associated her with the team,” said Anderson. “Now, when we take the Florence Y’all water tower in a baseball uniform across, it’s much more identifiable.”

He also cites Y’all Star’s resilience as a key factor in the switch. Suits frequently need

Particularly inspired by the Chicago Bulls’ Benny the Bull, Anderson says that having an entertainer’s instincts is the key to being a great mascot.

“They just need to be full of energy. It takes someone to get in there and be fearless,” he says. “Someone who truly loves putting smiles on faces. And if you can dance a little bit, that doesn’t hurt either.”

There may be one other factor as well.

“The good thing about having a water tower mascot,” Anderson says, “is that they never get dehydrated.”

Y’all Star may want to update his resume, however. A new ownership group purchased the team in July, announcing this fall that the team would change its nickname and branding for the upcoming 2020 season, decided by a contest. Fans were able to submit potential names, and the best choices were featured in a poll to determine the winning idea.

Of the thousands of submissions, five were chosen: the Go-Goettas, the Y’alls, the Pop Flies, the No Sox and the Fossil Jockeys, named for the nearby Big Bone Lick State Park Historic Site’s paleontological history.

Polling ran from Nov. 27 to Dec. 11, but the results were not yet announced at press time.

The possibility of a giant, ball-playing tube of goetta boggles the mind.

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For better or for worse, the Florence Y’all water tower is Northern Kentucky’s statue of liberty: a red and white beacon of consumer culture and Midwestern hospitality. At UC Health Stadium, which the Frontier League Baseball team formerly known as the Florence Freedom calls home, the water tower comes to life in the form of the team’s mascot: Y’all Star.

repairs over the course of the season, which Anderson says can be costly. Amazing!!

Mascots, who also designed FC Cincinnati’s Gary, allows for the team to order individual replacement parts, saving roughly 75 percent of the $18,000 it cost to order an entirely new Belle or Liberty.

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T E A M : Northern Kentucky University B O R N : 2005 C L A S S I C T R A I T S : World-renowned intimidator; thickest eyebrows and mustache in the game B A C K S T O R Y : Northern Kentucky University hasn’t shied away from tinkering with the identity of its mascot, experimenting with different species and aesthetics over time. The school’s first foray into costumed territory was in 1992 with Hey U!, a 7-foot reptile who appeared to be the good-natured spawn of Pete’s Dragon and the Loch Ness Monster.

Victor E. Viking, a 10th-century Norseman with braids, took over in 2005 in order to better reflect the school’s nickname. With a permanent grimace surrounded by wild yellow facial hair, Victor is known more for intimidation than charm. A 2015 ESPN article even ranked him the ninth scariest mascot in college basketball, falling just short of Oklahoma State’s Pistol Pete and Arizona State’s Sparky the Sun Devil.

When the NKU Norse rebranded their athletic department in 2016, axing gray from their color scheme and simplifying their logo, Victor also received a modernist facelift. The new Victor smiled, his helmet changed from gray to gold and he carried a cartoonish foam shield.

“We tried to soften him up a little bit,” says assistant athletic director for marketing, promotions and tickets Brandon Hays. “We wanted to make him more kid friendly. And it just didn’t go well.”

The campus community’s response to the reveal was negative enough for the department to go back to the drawing board. A poll taken by the university gave students the chance to choose Victor’s official design moving forward: he could remain in his made-over form, revert to his classic design or swap out heads while keeping his new body. The last option proved to be the most popular, earning 59 percent of 7,000 votes cast.

“It turned out that alums really resonated with Victor as a mascot,” Hays says. “They take a lot of pride in him being a kind of intimidating figure, you know?”

Victor remains in his elected form today, piloted by a theater student who receives a scholarship for his/ her/their services.

“I was a mascot for a couple of minor league teams while I was in college,” Hays says. “Typically, it pays hourly or there’s a scholarship involved.”

TWISTER & PUCKCHOP T E A M : Cincinnati Cyclones B O R N : 1995 and 2015, respectively C L A S S I C T R A I T S : Prodigious head-sliding ability; missing teeth

In 2009, the anthropomorphic tornado set a Guinness world record, notching the longestever slide on ice while doing a head stand. The flat top of Twister’s head, perfectly suited to the task of upside-down sliding, was covered in a layer of Teflon tape to decrease friction — a costume alteration that proved slippery enough to clear the 80 foot distance between the Heritage Bank Center (formerly the U.S. Bank Arena) rink’s blue line to its opposite goal line.

The Cyclones introduced their second mascot in 2015. Puckchop, a uniformed pig with a missing front tooth, joins Twister to help represent Cincinnati’s history as a meat-packing hub in the 19th century.

According to the Cyclones’ website, Puckchop weighs in at 513 pounds, is a fan of Weezer and avidly watches the Food Network. In 2017, he participated in a season of ECHL Bachelorette hosted by the Indy Fuel. According to his contestant profile, he’s “known for bringing his dates to Skyline Chili” and cites The Silence of the Lambs as his favorite movie.

Twister (left) with Puckchop PHOTO: Hailey Bollinger

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B A C K S T O R Y : Most mascots are known for their hijinks on the field (or on the ice, as the case may be), but few show as much athletic dedication to horseplay as Twister from hockey team the Cincinnati Cyclones, the Buffalo Sabres’ ECHL affiliate.

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T E A M : FC Cincinnati B O R N : 2019 C L A S S I C T R A I T S : Regal headwear; commonplace nickname B A C K S T O R Y : Gary isn’t the first name that comes to mind when confronted with a life-sized blue-and-orange lion. But don’t let the unusually common moniker of FC Cincinnati’s mascot fool you — a truly bizarre stroke of fan obsession helped christen the club’s furry frontman.

Gary’s origin story begins well before he was introduced in his physical form. Let’s rewind a little further, back to Nov. 9, 2018, when FC Cincinnati’s upgraded team crest design leaked a few months prior to the start of the team’s inaugural season in the MLS. The new crest introduced a softer color palette, tightening into a squat, five-pointed shape inspired by the architecture of Central Avenue’s Lifehouse Worship Center. More important, though, was its redesigned winged lion emblem. Where the two-dimensional mascot once stood on hind legs, a more detailed and ferocious lion pounced.

According to club promotional materials, the animal’s tail curls into a “c” shape in an act of municipal pride while the seven spikes on its mane represent Cincinnati’s seven hills.

Eagle-eyed fans noticed an even subtler message unintentionally hidden in the lion’s design. As noted by bemused FC boosters online, the orange space between its neck and body spells out “GARY” in jagged text.

When FC Cincinnati introduced its mascot in February, the club capitalized on the meme. Thus, Gary was born.

Designed by Chicago-based company Amazing!! Mascots, he is the cuddly foil to the team crest’s knife-wielding feline, busting moves on the pitch while posting memes on Twitter.

EVEN MORE MASCOTS B L U E B L O B — Xavier University Unveiled in 1985, this amorphous heap of fuzz toes the fine line between cartoonish charm and eldritch horror.

In theory, a wriggling blue shape with a 22-inch tongue tucked inside its gaping maw would be more at home in a Lovecraft novel than on the court. In person, though, it’s strangely cute. Maybe it’s those kind, permanently bugged-out eyes.

The chaotic-good foil to D’Artagnan — Xavier’s mustachioed musketeer mascot — the blob is the ultimate deconstruction of what a mascot should be.

Stripped of distracting characterization, save for his team’s colors, the blob is an abstract force of mischief.

It rolls, it bounces and it flails its giant tongue about, saying more about staying true to your school than words ever could.

T O M M Y M O — Thomas More University

WHO DEY T E A M : Cincinnati Bengals

The real Thomas More was born five centuries too early to have seen a basketball court, though sports were likely of little concern to the patron saint of Statesmen and Politicians. There’s no word on the man’s ballhandling skills, but he did pave the way for the genres of utopian and dystopian fiction (and the later utopian socialist movement) before being executed by Henry VIII. Strangely, his mascot likeness, nicknamed “Tommy Mo,” works pretty well on the sidelines. The suit looks stylish, complete with More’s signature cap and some impossibly thick eyebrows.

B O R N : 2000s B A C K S T O R Y : Named for the Bengals’ iconic rallying cry, Who Dey the tiger “personifies the team spirit,” former Bengals PR director Jack Brennan once said in an Enquirer interview.

The mascot’s current design, which served as a cuter replacement for its more realistic predecessor, was quietly introduced during the 2009 season. Since then, he’s helped Cincinnati field an all-mascot football team, served as a silent sports analyst for Local 12 and demonstrated proper hands-only CPR technique in a TriHealth Cincinnati training video.

The Bengals’ first mascot — a live tiger cub named Benzoo — debuted during the Bengals’ inaugural 1968 season. The team was named for a separate Cincinnati Bengals franchise that existed from 1937 to 1941, linking the present Bengals to their local forebears.

R U D Y F LY E R — University of Dayton From his ripped biceps to his unnervingly intimidating chin, Rudy Flyer is a product of the early ’80s fascination with action and superhuman strength.

According to his press sheet, Rudy can bench press more than 400 pounds, flies a stunt plane on the side and studies hard at the University of Dayton. His perpetual grimace is a little off-putting, but we stan a multi-talented mascot.

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C L A S S I C T R A I T S : Nickname doubles as a slogan

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

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Tell us about someone who has benefitted from making Haven Lighting a bigger part of their life.

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What is new this upcoming year at your business?

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We are a fast-growing business and offer tremendous support for all of our customers.

This support is vital for our success. Being a young, growing and vibrant company we are always concerned about making sure our support is the best in the industry. With our capability launched last year, we are able to proactively find potential problems a customer may be having — sometimes before the customers are aware themselves of the issue. This gives us a huge edge in the market and for our partners.

About Haven Lighting At Haven Lighting, we strive to make a difference. At our core, we are a company that grew from a seed of the idea that we could develop products that enhance the passion inherent in all of us. Our products are so much more than just lights. They celebrate. They champion a cause. They spread awareness. They exhibit gratitude. They support family and friends. They inspire.

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Find your new best friend with My Furry Valentine INTERVIEW WITH LISA JONES, EVENT MANAGER How will finding a new best friend with My Furry Valentine help people grow during the year?

Bringing a pet into your life can bring someone so much joy and happiness. My two rescue pups Roxy and Pablo certainly have filled our house with a lot of laughter over the years.

Since 2012, My Furry Valentine Mega Pet Adoption event has seen over 5,000 companion animals find their forever families.

We hear so many stories from adopters whose lives have been changed for the good after bringing their new pet home — it is really rewarding.

What challenges hold people back from being more engaged with My Furry Valentine?

Unfortunately many people still “shop” for rather than “adopt” their pets. Some may have the misconception that animals in rescues or shelters were abandoned because of health or behavior problems. In reality, most of these animals wound up without a home because of an issue their family was facing, like a move or financial struggles, not because of anything on the animal’s part. You can find all types of animals, even pure bred, in need of a loving home at a local shelter or rescue.

How will engaging with My Furry Valentine help folks achieve their Resolutions goal?

This year’s event will feature hundreds of adoptable animals (dogs, cats, puppies, kittens, birds and other small

critters) from dozens of different rescue and shelter groups from around the region. Adoptable animals are gathered at a centralized location at the Sharonville Convention Center to make it easier to find your perfect pet, but if you want to stay closer to home, the event also offers dozens of satellite locations around the city throughout the weekend.

My Furry Valentine makes adoption a breeze, so if you’re serious about finding a new furry companion, there’s no better place to search. With so many lovable homeless animals out there to meet, the process can seem daunting, but My Furry Valentine eliminates adoption barriers with low fees, convenient meet-and-greet options and pet experts on hand to answer all your questions. In addition to convenience, all animals participating in My Furry Valentine from rescues and shelters are fully vaccinated, spayed or neutered and have health records on site.

What accomplishments are you most proud of during 2019 at your business?

In 2019, we hosted our biggest event yet. Even with the explosive growth we’ve experienced, we’re proud to keep My Furry Valentine free to all rescues and shelters with adoptable animals thanks to the awesome volunteers, sponsors and vendors that support us in our mission to end the euthanasia of homeless animals in our community.

More than 30 participating shelter & rescue groups and nearly 1000 animals under one roof!

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STUFF TO DO

Ongoing Shows ART: Journey to Freedom Taft Museum of Art, Downtown (through March 15)

WEDNESDAY 22

MUSIC: Grace Potter supports her latest album, Daylight, at the Taft Theatre.

See interview on page 45.

ART: NOW That’s What I Call An Art Exhibit! at MOTR Pub features 72 paintings playing off of the Now That’s What I Call Music CD series. See review on page 35.

ONSTAGE: Know Theatre’s In the Night Time (Before the Sun Rises) examines parenthood and existential dread in modern times. See review on page 34.

ART: The CAC’s Tom Schiff: Surrounded by Art features panoramic photographs of opulent museum interiors. See review on page 36.

THURSDAY 23

MUSIC: Phish bassist Mike Gordon plays the 20th Century Theater. See Sound Advice on page 48.

PHOTO: SCREENSHOT

when I’m on the road,” he says. “Like when I’m driving.”

He laughs. “No, that’s not true.” 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23; 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24 and Saturday, Jan. 25; 8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26. $8-$14. Go Bananas Comedy Club, 8410 Market Place Lane, Montgomery, gobananascomedy.com.

— P.F. WILSON FILM: Mayerson JCC Jewish & Israeli Film Festival Award-winning films from across the world converge for this month-long festival that celebrates both established and emerging filmmakers. Film screenings will be held through Feb. 27 at various venues across Greater Cincinnati. Opening night, Jan. 23, features 2018’s The Unorthodox.

(Showtime is 7:30 p.m. at the Mayerson JCC.) Directed

by Eliran Malka, the film follows a man named Yakov Cohen. When his daughter is expelled from school because of her ethnic origins as a Sephardic Jew, he decides to form his own political group in

Jerusalem — despite having no money, connections or experience. Based on a true story, these everyday people brought social change to Israel through their actions.

Stick around for a discussion with Amnon Maggid, a Community Shaliach from Israel, and Justin Kirschner, associate director of the Jewish Community Relations Council, as they delve into what it’s like to vote in Israel. Other films that will be shown throughout the fest include Picture of His Life, Those Who Remained, Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles, Aulcie, Family in Transition and more. Through Feb. 27.

Festival pass $140-$170; prices vary for individual film/event tickets. Multiple locations, mayersonjcc.org.

— MACKENZIE MANLEY

FRIDAY 24

MUSIC: Brooklyn-based Funk outfit Turkuaz plays the Madison Theater. See Sound Advice on page 48.

FILM: The Apartment If you’re under 70 years

old, there’s a good chance you’ve never had the opportunity to watch Billy Wilder’s masterful The Apartment on the big screen. That changes this month as The Esquire hosts four screenings of the 1960 film, starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine at her effervescent best. It feels weird to call The Apartment a “rom com,” but that’s fundamentally what it is — albeit with a prominent melancholic streak. In one of his finest roles — in which he plays his soulful if bumbling everyman character to perfection — Lemmon is C.C. “Bud” Baxter, whose success at an insurance company suddenly hinges on his discretion in regards to the indiscretions of managers at the office who begin to borrow Baxter’s apartment for liaisons with their mistresses. Things take a turn when it turns out one of the mistresses is also his big-time crush, elevator operator Fran Kubelik.

That’s when things get really dark… then darkly sweet.

The Esquire screening is a part of its series of Oscar-winning classics; The Apartment won Best Picture in 1961 and Wilder — just a year removed from another immortal classic, Some Like It Hot — took home the Best Director trophy, one of seven Oscars he’d earn in his lifetime. 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24; 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25; 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26; 7 p.m.

Monday, Jan. 27. $10.25.

Esquire Theatre, 320 Ludlow Ave., Clifton, esquiretheatre. com. — MIKE BREEN

SATURDAY 25

EVENT: CityBeat’s This Is Brunch Keep Friday night’s party going or cure your weekend hangover with This Is Brunch, a Saturday soiree full of sweet and savory bites and plenty to drink.

Sip on bloody marys and mimosas while guests and judges vote for the city’s best in each category, and sample brunch items from the likes of Sugar n’ Spice, The Bagelry, Holtman’s, Lydia’s on Ludlow and many

more. Entertainment will be provided by Ethan & Joey and proceeds benefit the Cincinnati Squash Academy, which “uses the disciplined game of squash to help transform talented students in underserved communities into scholar-athletes, productive citizens, and future leaders.” 11:30 a.m.2:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25. $40 general admission; $50 week of (if not sold out); VIP and early bird sold out.

The Phoenix, 812 Race St., Downtown, brunchedcincy. com. — MAIJA ZUMMO EVENT: Chinese New Year Party Daspo — a local group that promotes Asian-American culture, restaurants, musicians, artists, leaders and more — is hosting its annual Lunar New Year Party at Energy Nightclub. Celebrate the Year of the Rat with two separate dance floors featuring multiple DJs. 9 p.m.-2:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 25. $5 ages 21 and up; $10 ages 18-20. Energy Nightclub, CONTINUES ON PAGE 28

J A N . 2 2 - F E B . 4 , 2 0 2 0 | C I T Y B E AT. C O M

COMEDY: Gabe Kea It’s already shaping up to be a big year for comedian Gabe Kea. He recently returned from Indianapolis, where he headlined a club and squeezed in a feature slot for Kevin Nealon. Back home in Cincinnati, he’s taking care of his daughter.

“She’s in preschool, so most days I take her and pick her up,” he says. “I’m a house dad. I’ll be outside playing with my daughter and one of the neighbors will come by, and then another with her kids. And then there’s me.

It’s all women and then me.”

These shows at Go Bananas are going to be recorded for Kea’s first album — an exciting event made even better by the fact that he won’t be away from his daughter. But when it’s time to hit the road again, he’ll be ready. “I try to FaceTime as much as I can

The Apartment

27

THURSDAY 23

ONSTAGE: Cirque du Soleil AXEL Want to up the ante on a typical high-flying, acrobatic Cirque du Soleil show? Put it on ice and add sharp, pointy skates. Cirque du Soleil AXEL blends ice skating with acrobatics and live takes on Rock and Pop hits to create an “adrenaline-fueled” adventure. Like most Cirque storylines, the plot of AXEL is slightly fantastic, described on the website as: “See sparks fly as Axel falls for the captivating Lei. Together they jet off on a fast-moving quest through fantastic and colorful worlds to retrieve the stolen light from the mystical Vi.” OK! Audiences can expect to see aerial and ladder balance acts, Wushu martial arts and people performing on a cyr wheel backdropped by bright projections and graphic art. Through Sunday, Jan. 26. $44-$130. Heritage Bank Center, 100 Broadway St., Downtown, heritagebankcenter.com. — MAIJA ZUMMO

P H O T O : P R O V I D E D B Y V E H R C O M M U N I C AT I O N S

FROM PAGE 27

C I T Y B E AT. C O M |

JA N. 22-FEB. 4, 2020

700 W. Pete Rose Way, Downtown, godaspo.com.

— MAIJA ZUMMO

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EVENT: Color Ball 2020 The Greater Cincinnati Human Rights Campaign hosts its annual Color Ball party and fundraiser. This formal event includes a cocktail reception, silent and live auctions, dinner, entertainment and guest speakers. 5 p.m. VIP reception; 6 p.m. general reception Saturday, Jan. 25. $200; $150 students; $300 VIP; discounts for Federal Club members and friends. Duke Energy Convention Center, 525 Elm St., Downtown, hrccincinnati.org. — MAIJA ZUMMO MUSIC: Olivia Jean Nashville-via-Detroit musician Olivia Jean appears to have a soft spot for Greater Cincinnati. After headlining Newport’s Southgate House Revival in 2018, the Third Man Records recording artist — who broke away from her role as singer/guitarist in The Black Belles to begin a solo career with 2014’s Bathtub Love Killings — returned to the area and opened for The Raconteurs in September at the Taft Theatre. But

she’d been to the Cincinnati area a few times before that high-profile gig. In 2016, she played at the site of the historic Herzog studios for a celebration of the 65th anniversary of the recording of the classic “Train Kept A-Rollin” at the space. Jean also did some recordings at Herzog (and The Lodge in Northern Kentucky) that were featured on her second solo album, last year’s Night Owl. Local engineers Paul Brumm and Zach Gabbard (a member of Buffalo Killers and touring member of The Black Keys) worked on the album’s “If You Don’t Love Me By Now” and “The Hunt.” 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25. $15; $18 day of show.

Southgate House Revival, 111 E. Sixth St., Newport, southgatehouse.com.

— MIKE BREEN ART: Megan Bickel at Bunk Spot Louisville-based multidisciplinary artist and writer Megan Bickel has, in her own words, recently been spending much of her time “meditating on two words as they relate to one another in their contemporary context: allusion and illusion.” See her explore that relationship at Bunk Spot’s first art opening of the year. Titled

of an event, assigned a date that is too early, Bickel says in her artist’s statement that this particular body of work “utilizes haptic curiosity” as a way to encourage “visual, ethical or empathic critique of contemporary media images.” An Art Academy of Cincinnati alum who is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts at the University of Louisville, Bickel’s work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions regionally and nationwide. Opening reception 7-11 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25. Free. Bunk Spot Gallery, 544 E. 12th St., Over-the-Rhine, facebook. com/bunknews.

— MACKENZIE MANLEY

SUNDAY 26

EVENT: Australia Day Fundraisers The devastating wildfires currently happening in Australia have burned more than 24 million acres, impacted at least half a billion animals and killed at least 30 people, according to the BBC. And people around the globe have stepped up to either help try to control the fires or assist in recovery — including Cincinnatians. Local actress Miranda McGee (frequently seen onstage at the Cincinnati Shakespeare

Company), an Australian citizen, is helping her homeland by hosting an Australia Day fundraiser 2-8 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 26 at Queen City Radio (222 W. 12th St., Over-the-Rhine) on behalf of the American Australian Association Inc. to benefit the Red Cross, Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Australian Bushfire Relief Fund. Also on Jan. 26 — aka Australia Day, basically the Australian Fourth of July — Below Zero Lounge (1120 Walnut St., Over-the-Rhine) is hosting Bikkies & Bevvies for Fire Relief from 1-5 p.m.

Make a donation to be split between the Australian Red Cross, Victorian Country Fire Authority and Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park and get a bikkie (a cookie). The suggested attire is your “best summer beach gear.”

— MAIJA ZUMMO EVENT: Butterfly/Moth Mounting Workshop If your New Year’s resolution was to take on a new hobby and you’re looking for something that combines nature and art (and aren’t particularly squeamish), Hail Dark Aesthetics might have just the thing. Collecting and mounting butterflies and moths takes a delicate

hand, but the shop will have experts at their upcoming workshops to help guide you — don’t worry if you’re a nervous beginner; they will even have some OK-tobreak practice specimens.

For the main mounting projects, the workshops will be using Urania Sunset Moths — beautifully colored, feathery, flying insects.

The event is a part of a critter-mounting series at Hail Dark Aesthetics hosted

by Meddling with Nature, a group that, according to its Facebook description, is “dedicated to exploring the connection between art and natural science” (find more on the collective at meddlingwithnature.com). In February, Hail hosts similar workshops for beetle and scorpion mounting. 6 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 26 and 8 p.m.

Monday, Jan. 27. $65 (one seat; one critter); $110 (two seats; two critters). Hail Dark Aesthetics, 720 Main St., Covington, hailcincinnati. com. — MIKE BREEN EVENT: January Tea Dance at Holiday Spirits This is Tea Dance Cincinnati. People cross through crowds to greet old and new friends alike as others pose for photos, embrace one another and, of course, dance. Music resounds through the space as rainbow-colored flags, shirts and decor spark the scene.

An LGBTQ tradition from the 1940s and ’50s, these events historically functioned as a way for same-sex couples to openly and safely be together. With the intention of creating a gathering spot for the local LGBTQ community on a regular basis, Richard Cooke and husband Marty Wagner first

resurrected the tradition in 2017 to great success. The monthly event — held at various venues throughout Greater Cincinnati — will throw its first bash of 2020 at Holiday Spirits. Groove to the tunes of DJ Thaddeus, sip a few cocktails (or mocktails) and party all afternoon.

What better way to wipe away the post-holiday blues?

4-7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26.

Free admission. Holiday Spirits, 1538 Race St., Overthe-Rhine, facebook.com/ teadancecinci.

— MACKENZIE MANLEY EVENT: Findlay Market Chili Cook-Off Do you have the right ingredients to win the title of Chili Meister? Findlay Market is hosting its 16th-annual Chili Cook-Off to crown a new king or queen of Cincinnati chili. In addition to the long-running chili contest, the market will also be naming a “Hot Sauce Boss.” Each chili competitor will bring four quarts of chili (in a heated slow cooker) for judges to sample, and Hot Sauce Boss entrants will bring 10 ounces of hot sauce in a squeeze bottle; both will have to source at least one ingredient from a Findlay Market vendor. If you want to taste the creations of these amateur chefs, free chili samples will be available at 1 p.m. and hot sauce samples at 3:30 p.m. (while supplies last). Tickets for chili-themed bites from Findlay Market vendors will also be for sale starting at $2 per ticket, with beer for purchase from Christian Moerlein. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26. Findlay Market, 1801 Race St., Over-the-Rhine, findlaymarket.org.

— SETH ROBINSON

WEDNESDAY 29

EVENT: CSO Proof: Singulis et Simul Classical music will meet urban club culture at Music Hall — not a sentence you hear every day. But that’s the theme of Singulis et Simul, the latest installment in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s experimental CSO Proof series, which presents more casual performances that draw from a variety of genres and disciplines and strives to push boundaries. Singulis et Simul — which loosely translates to “be one’s self, together” — combines movement and sound, blending elements of Baroque period music with the spirit of vogue ballroom culture, which grew out of New York City and is described by French artist and performance organizer Frédéric Nauczyciel as “a celebration of femininity in the African-American transgender community.” The

show features CSO musicians, choreography and dancers/performance artists from Paris, Baltimore and Cincinnati and the Central State University Marching Band. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29. $35. Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Over-theRhine, cincinnatisymphony. org. — MIKE BREEN

THURSDAY 30

ART: Benjamin Cook: Paper Pulp Painting has its closing reception at Pique.

See review on page 36.

COMEDY: Jessica Kirson “I was a funny kid, but not a fan of stand-up comedy,” says comedian Jessica Kirson. “I was a big fan of Saturday Night Live, as well as Carol Burnett. But I was just never exposed to standup.” It was at the behest of her grandmother that she finally tried stand-up. These days, besides being onstage, she’s a frequent contributor to the Howard Stern Show where she not only

writes with the host’s crack staff but calls in as various characters. Over the years her style has developed into quite an eclectic presentation. “I still incorporate a lot of characters into my show,” she says. “My style is basically a mix of things. I tell jokes, I talk to myself with my back to the audience, I do crowd work, I can be dry, I can be crazy. It all depends on the vibe in the room and what’s going on, but it’s all the kinds of things that make me laugh.” 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30; 7:30 and 10 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 31 and Feb. 1; 8 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2. $10-$18. Go Bananas, 8410 Market Place Lane, Montgomery, gobananascomedy. com. — P.F. WILSON EVENT: Fine Art Flow Stretch into warrior pose and fix your gaze on a work of art. This 60-minute Vin to Yin yoga class unfolds at the Cincinnati Art Museum and is followed by a 30-minute gallery talk. Each month, CONTINUES ON PAGE 30

THURSDAY 30

MUSIC: Moon Hooch Brooklyn instrumental trio Moon Hooch crafted its unique sound while busking in the streets and subway stations of New York City. With two horns (saxophonists Mike Wilbur and Wenzl McGowen) and drums (James Muschler), the group’s adventurous Jazz stylings began to take on a dancier form as they noticed it engaged listeners more. With the EDM (minus the E) elements taking stronger hold, those subway sessions started to become makeshift raves and Moon Hooch was well on its way to becoming a popular touring act, sharing worldwide a unique style McGowen has called “Acoustic Techno” (though they’re known to incorporate elements from a wide range of other genres). The band’s eponymous 2013 debut album was followed the next year by This is Cave Music (referring to another affectionate descriptor the musicians have given their music) and 2016’s Red Sky. After dropping EPs in 2017 and 2018, Moon Hooch just released its anticipated new album Life On Other Planets, another alternatingly fun and hypnotic 10-tracks’ worth of horn-driven, synth-laced dancefloor jams.

Moon Hooch is the Dance music act for the Apocalypse — even when the electrical grid goes down, there’s no stopping them. 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30. $15; $18 day of show.

Madison Live, 734 Madison Ave., Covington, madisontheater.com. — MIKE BREEN PHOTO: KELLIE COLEMAN

DON’T MISS THESE EVENTS AT CINCY’S MOST UNIQUE VENUE Bourbon & Bites: Featuring New Riff at American Sign Museum | January 23 Signs & Songs: Robin Lacy and DeZydeco | January 31

ASM Maker Series: Screen Printing with Pull Club | February 27

Guided Tours · Events · Neon Workshops 1330 Monmouth Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45225 513-541-6366 · americansignmuseum.org

J A N . 2 2 - F E B . 4 , 2 0 2 0 | C I T Y B E AT. C O M

Galentines Day: Featuring Heidelburg Distributing at American Sign Museum | February 13

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LITTLE RIVER BAND SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2020

EVENT: Bockfest Beefsteak Club Dinner Help raise funds for the 28th-annual debaucherous Bockfest with a beer dinner at the Moerlein Lager House. Named after an exclusive and elite 1890s dinner at Cincinnati’s Windisch-Muhlhauser Brewery, the Beefsteak Club Dinner features four courses prepared

by Moerlein chefs, paired with five bock beers. The evening also includes stories, a limitededition Bockfest 2020 print and tales of Bockfests past. 6-8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1. $80.

Moerlein Lager House, 115 Joe Nuxhall Way, Downtown, bockfest.com. — MAIJA ZUMMO

FROM PAGE 29

the class explores different themes relating to art and yoga. All ability levels are welcome and a limited number of mats will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. The class meets in Gallery 229. 6-7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 30. $7 members; $15 non-members.

RSVP required. Cincinnati Art Museum, 953 Eden Park Drive, Mount Adams, cincinnatiartmuseum.org.

— MACKENZIE MANLEY

C I T Y B E AT. C O M |

JA N. 22-FEB. 4, 2020

FRIDAY 31

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SATURDAY 01

MUSIC: The Iron Maidens The Iron Maidens are part of a relatively new breed of tribute acts in which women perform the music of bands that have almost certainly had their sound described as “testosterone-fueled” by a music critic. Joining allwomen tributes to Metallica (Misstallica), The Ramones (The Ramonas), Mötley Crüe (Girls, Girls, Girls) and Rage Against the Machine (Take the Power Back) in helping to explode stereotypes is The Iron Maidens, a Southern California-based group that has been offering its take on the oeuvre of British

Metal giants Iron Maiden since 2001. The band’s lineup of talented musicians use fun pseudonyms like Bruce Chickinson (singer Kristen Rosenberg) and Nikki McBURRain (drummer Linda McDonald) and have individually been nominated for instrumental awards over the years. The Iron Maidens’ show features songs from throughout Iron Maiden’s career and, yes, a facsimile of Maiden mascot Eddie also joins them onstage — though, somewhat disappointingly, he is not renamed Edie. 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31. $15-$20. Bogart’s, 2621 Vine St., Corryville, bogarts. com. — MIKE BREEN EVENT: Art After Dark: Monochromatic In celebration of exhibition The Levee: A Photographer in the American South — an 83-picture suite consisting primarily of vivid black-and-white landscape photographs taken by Indian photographer Sohrab Hura — the Cincinnati Art Museum is going monochromatic for this iteration of Art After Dark. Listen to live music, eat some grub, sip specialty cocktails and explore the museum via docent-led

tours. Sticking with the theme, guests are encouraged to dress in black/white.

5-9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31.

Free admission. Cincinnati Art Museum, 953 Eden Park Drive, Mount Adams, cincinnatiartmuseum.org.

— MACKENZIE MANLEY EVENT: MOVE at Rhinegeist Normally when drinking beer at a local taproom, you’re not going to see a ton of movement among your fellow patrons, outside of glasses being lifted to mouths and maybe a few people milling about. But at Rhinegeist’s MOVE, the movement will be almost nonstop… and graceful. The annual event — first held at Rhinegeist in 2018 — features aerial acrobats from the Cincinnati Circus Company and dancers from local troupes like the QKIDZ Dance Team, the Exhale Dance Tribe and the University of Cincinnati Dance Team. It’s free to attend but Rhinegeist is donating a portion of its proceeds from taproom sales to its event partner Mission2Move, a Cincinnati organization that promotes wellness and stress-reduction through physical movement and

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THE MIDWEST’S CHEESIEST FEST! PHOTO: 3CDC

SATURDAY 01

EVENT: Mascot Broomball Want to see giant anthropomorphic Cincinnati mascots battle each other on the ice? Then head to Fountain Square for the Mascot Broomball competition where mascots including the Cincinnati Rollergirls’ Wooly Bully, Cincinnati Reds’ Gapper, the Flying Pig Marathon’s Flying Pig, Rumpke Waste & Recycling’s Binny and many more will face off in this annual game using a “broom” stick and a small ball. “Comical thrills and spills” are promised, as well as meet-and-greets and photo ops. Learn more about some local mascots in our cover story on page 11. 11 a.m.-noon Saturday, Feb. 1. Free. Fountain Square, 520 Vine St., Downtown, myfountainsquare.com. — MAIJA ZUMMO

self-awareness. The program works with students in Cincinnati Public Schools to help teach them mindfulness and coping mechanisms.

6-9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31.

Free admission. Rhinegeist, 1910 Elm St., Over-theRhine, rhinegeist.com.

— MIKE BREEN

SATURDAY 01

MUSIC: “Brass House” band Too Many Zooz plays Urban Artifact. See Sound Advice on page 49.

MUSIC: Jamey Johnson brings discerning Country to Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg. See Sound Advice on page 50.

EVENT: Onesie Bar Crawl The “ultimate and original” Onesie Bar Crawl is back for its fourth year. Put on your favorite one-piece pajama set/furry animal outfit and get ready to drink your way from 16-Bit Bar+Arcade across Over-the-Rhine.

Participating stops include MOTR Pub, the Drinkery OTR, Below Zero Lounge and Revel OTR Urban Winery. Registration fees

get you a onesie T-shirt (at the after party), a koozie, discounted drinks, DJs, photographers and a crawl map. 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1. 16-Bit Bar+Arcade, 1331 Walnut St., Over-the-Rhine, facebook.com/barcrawlusa.

— MAIJA ZUMMO

SUNDAY 02

EVENT: Chocolate in the Chapel Spring Grove Cemetery hosts its sixth annual Chocolate in the Chapel, a familyfriendly event in the Norman Chapel. Several local businesses will be vending their most delectable desserts, and if you’re not looking to buy, samples will be given out as well. Noon-3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2. Free admission. Spring Grove Cemetery, 4521 Spring Grove Ave., Spring Grove Village, springgrove.org.

— SETH ROBINSON

TUESDAY 04

MUSIC: Jamgrass greats Greensky Bluegrass play the Madison Theater. See Sound Advice on page 51.

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MUSIC: Winter Salsa Social Warm up your winter with some Salsa dancing and a pair of local Latin music favorites at this year’s Winter Salsa Social. Presented in conjunction with the local social group Cincinnatísimo, the event will feature the 11-piece ensemble Son del Caribe, a centerpiece of Cincinnati’s Latin music scene for more than a decade and a fixture of the popular Salsa on the Square series on Fountain Square.

“A Salsa Social is an inclusive Latin dance party where everyone is welcome,” says Gina Stough, one of the three lead vocalists in Son del Caribe. “An invitation to dance is like a mini conversation without the need for words. When we add live music, the energy and chemistry extend to

and from the stage.” Also performing are The Amador Sisters, another Salsa on the Square staple. 8 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 31. $20; $25 day of show. Woodward Theater, 1404 Main St., Over-theRhine, woodwardtheater. com. — MIKE BREEN

Feb 8 & 9

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ARTS & CULTURE

Looking Above the PAR PAR-Projects hopes to take steps to create a permanent arts complex in the heart of Northside’s old industrial area

BY S T E V EN R O S EN

W

Jonathan Sears (left) and Rick Wolf of PAR-Projects P H O T O : E M I LY P A L M

everything we want.”

Already Sears has announced the names of four artists and creatives who will sublet space in the new building — woodworker Ginny Krone of groove & knot co., Doug Meyers of SkyVengers Cartoon animation studio, Kick Lee of Cincinnati Music Accelerator and Rick Wolf of Wolf Custom Tile & Design.

“Much of the PAR-Projects mission is community building through the arts and art education,” says Wolf, a Northside resident and also a board member of the organization. “And this is an opportunity for (that) unlike anything that had been dreamed of, by housing artists.”

When Mark Heiman, owner of the lur apparel line and its building, announced his retirement, Sears inquired about buying the site. A meeting was scheduled. “It was very casual,” Sears says, explaining that Heiman said, “I’ve heard good things and I’d like to help out, here’s an offer.”

“It was better than a fair price,” Sears says. “And it has a back-end out if it doesn’t work out.”

Sears didn’t want to divulge the price without his board’s permission, but Heiman — who deferred to Sears on that point — says, “I wanted this to be something he could do and, understanding the constraints on nonprofits, I just made favorable terms based on that.”

For the first year, PAR-Projects has a lease with an option to buy. In January 2021, it becomes a mortgage with the same monthly terms and no necessary down

payment, although PAR-Projects may choose to make one.

On a recent weekday afternoon, Sears gave a tour of the spacious new property — it’s actually six interconnected buildings — and explained what will be changed as part of the renovations he plans to begin soon. First is an office space that, with some work on the walls and removal of fluorescent lights, will become a community room that can be expanded. Another self-contained room will house groove & knot, because it has space for a built-in exhaust fan to the outside.

Another open, relatively modern-looking space will house the animation studio and a classroom for teaching digital media.

To the rear is where the building begins to look like an old factory. Accessible via a sliding metal door is roughly 2,500 square feet of open space that is temporarily home to a ghostly-looking resin car, an artwork.

Adjacent to that is a 1,000-square-foot room with a skylight that will be adapted into a permanent gallery space. “We’ll focus exclusively on wall art,” Sears says.

Especially interesting is a loft-like, concrete-floored upstairs space that Sears and I reached via an old factory elevator that he hand-operated. There were blocks of windows facing outside, many in need of panes. Elsewhere, windows were completely bricked-up, but Sears wants to convert them to glass block. In the middle of the room is an expansive conference table, which he says they used for a board meeting.

While Sears pursues getting Studeō PAR- up and running, he’s also preparing to build the outdoor cinema and event lawn on the property that came with the lumber-drying facility. His original plans had called for stacking two existing shipping containers to provide backing for the screen and to also be outfitted for restrooms. But problems emerged last year finding a sewer-line connection, even though a map showed one existed.

And then there was a snag related to the use of the shipping containers. At an estimated extra cost of more than $40,000, PAR-Projects has come up with an alternative. Sears hopes to have the cinema operating by June.

“The goal is to have a full mix of film,” he says. “I’ve had conversations with a number of people about curating.

“The funny thing is we already have the sound system and projectors, we even have turf because we thought we were going to open last year.”

Finishing the tour of Studeō PAR-, Sears looks admiringly at a high sign on the building’s front property, near Hoffner Street, announcing “Finish Master Automotive Paint Store.”

It belongs to him, once building ownership becomes final. It’s the kind of exposure any art gallery would crave.

“My gut tells me we may use this someday,” he says.

For more information on PAR-Projects, visit facebook.com/parprojects.

J A N . 2 2 - F E B . 4 , 2 0 2 0 | C I T Y B E AT. C O M

hen the Northside-based nonprofit art organization PARProjects was starting a decade ago, it led a somewhat nomadic existence.

Rather than having a central location, it used two large shipping containers as mobile galleries, while also working with others on exhibits and classes.

That began to change in 2016, when it acquired a vacant, 6,000-square-foot wooden lumber-drying building — akin to a barn — at 1662 Hoffner St. Although PAR-Projects (PAR is an acronym for Professional Artistic Research) first planned to tear it down to reuse the land, it has since reconsidered.

So far, the building — now with a new metal roof — has hosted some of the best installation-art projects I’ve seen locally in its evocative 1,100-square-foot space, like Michigan artist Lisa Walcott’s Making Space and Cincinnati artist Rick Mallette’s FIRE. The first installation of 2020, set to open in June, looks very promising, too — it features the work of Rochester, New Yorkbased artist Susan Ferrari Rowley, who was one of seven sculptors that participated in a show connected to the 2018 International Architecture Exhibit in Venice, Italy.

In fact, 2020 looks to provide PAR-Projects with a great leap forward on several fronts. The nonprofit hopes to take giant steps to create a permanent arts complex, appealing to diverse users, in the heart of Northside’s old industrial area. If all goes as planned, it will renovate for artistic uses an adjacent 15,000-square-foot building at 1646 Hoffner St., previously home to the manufacturer of an environmentally sustainable line of women’s apparel called lur.

The new space will be called Studeō PAR-.

PAR-Projects committed to buying the site late last year and now has possession.

Simultaneously, after a series of delays, PAR-Projects is moving forward to create an outdoor cinema with an event lawn on the grounds of its 1662 Hoffner St. site.

“This goes back to our original vision for owning anything,” says Jonathan Sears, PAR-Projects’ executive director, of all the activity. “Now we’re going to be able to do

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THEATER

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We live in an age of unsurpassed existenand newspapers than a bombed-out tial dread. The ravaged environment, the family home — the latter presumably the unforgiving economy and the chances of intention — but this does not distract from nuclear war are grimly relevant topics that Segal’s philosophically declarative script encircle us like hungry vultures. Our era’s that addresses the horrors of conscientious sense of inherited doom makes it hard to parenting in a dying age. believe that it’s kind to bring children into After their apartment’s implied this world, but we reproduce all the same. destruction, Woman finds an egg in the That rationality sets the tone for In rubble. She and Man marvel at its ability the Night Time (Before the Sun Rises), a to remain intact despite their best efforts two person play written by Nina Segal. to crush it in their hands. It’s a popular Currently onstage at Know Theatre parlor trick, since eggshells are incredibly through Feb. 8, it stars Elizabeth Chinn durable when pressure is applied to their Molloy and Brandon Burton. strongest points — the top and bottom of As the audience files in before the the oval — but it serves as a potent thesis show, Man (Burton) sits on a couch in for the show. It’s a touching moment, but a dilapidated apartment with his back its dark follow-up occurs after the show turned to the audience. He watches a concludes when you realize that just a few photo slideshow projected onto the back wall.

Images alternate between typical lifestyle snapshots — formal functions, Woman (Molloy) smiling with friends, Man posing with his dessert at a table — and grim photographs of natural and manmade disasters: floods, fires, tarp-covered shanty towns and trash-strewn streetscapes. The world falling apart in between In the Night Time (Before the Sun Rises) at Know Theatre innocuous smiles.

Woman and PHOTO: DAN R. WINTERS Man are new parents and their baby, portrayed onstage by a backpack, scenes earlier Woman said she intended won’t stop crying. The 60-minute to cook eggs and toast for breakfast. Even performance follows them through a though the egg seemed impervious, it’ll be sleepless night tending to the baby’s needs, no match for the skillet. coping with the big questions that are in The show is not heavily plot driven as the back of everyone’s minds when hope is much as it is a declaration of philosophical in short supply. observations framed around a simple Woman and Man narrate the show story. There’s plenty to discuss after a as if reading a book about themselves. performance of In the Night Time (Before Despite the unorthodox dialogue this the Sun Rises); and for someone not yet creates, Molloy and Burton’s characters enamored with the stage, it could make for are clearly fleshed out thanks to excellent an accessible first play. performances and the script’s carefully Whether you leave the show with a selected details. positive or negative reaction largely The parents try everything they can depends on your outlook on life. Unsure to soothe the implacable child. Tensions whether you’re an optimist or pessimist? run high in their home and eventually the This is required theater. scope of discussion expands far beyond In the Night Time (Before the Sun Rises) their personal grievances and onto a global runs through Feb. 8 at Know Theatre (1120 scale. At the show’s climax, their apartJackson St., Over-the-Rhine). Tickets/more ment is blown apart by outside forces. info: knowtheatre.com.

The set looks more like a squatter den with its scattering of empty liquor bottles

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VISUAL ART

Now That’s What I Call An Art Review R E V I E W BY S T E V E K E M PL E

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“We shall now convene for the purpose of own, but they’re best seen all together. evaluating this art,” says my friend Micah, Their painterly directness calls attention startling me at the bar. It’s 8 p.m. on a to the Now moniker’s implied serial and Friday night at Over-the-Rhine’s MOTR immediate nature. It’s a dumb joke taken Pub. In the next room, 72 square canvases to the extreme, a punchline half-baked

by Cincinnati-based artist and comedian with insight.

Alex Leeds fill the walls — one for every CD “Could you imagine these with Roman cover in the Now That’s What I Call Music! numerals?” I ask Micah when he returns. series. (The show is aptly titled NOW That’s Micah, slurring his words now: “I’ve lost What I Call An Art Exhibit!) all faith in the Now trilogy.”

Leeds, as he is described on the exhibit’s Now, 10 minutes later, having achieved Facebook event page, is “most wellstupefying inebriation, we give the known for his ‘dumb celebrity drawings’ paintings our final review: Instagram page, where he mails dumb “So, if you were to ever have a life that drawings to celebrities and sometimes didn’t revolve around a series of, you know, they send them back.” He can also be you’ve got this series of bricks.” Micah regularly seen at Go Bananas Comedy gestures toward an empty wall. “They’re Club in Montgomery, and has been featured on Buzzfeed and the A.V. Club.

A few days earlier, I had described to Micah the project of reviewing this show, proposing that he join me as an accomplice.

“If we’re going to look at an art exhibit in a bar, it’s imperative we view it in its proper context: stupefying NOW That’s What I Call An Art Exhibit! at MOTR Pub inebriation,” PHOTO: STEVE KEMPLE I said. He agreed.

I order a Bulleit on the rocks. Micah orders a very unanimous.”

Jameson, neat. On our third round, we “Yes indeed, very unanimous,” I say. move to consider the paintings. I record “Beyond that, you just have a door. It our conversation on my phone. means nothing.”

“Would you say Now 10 anticipated the “Now means nothing?” I ask.

Tide Pod fad?” I ask.

“Correct. Now that’s what I call…” he “Oh yes,” Micah replies. “Every Now after trails off.

10 is like a version of heaven after you died It’s now midnight, and Micah has gone eating a Tide Pod. In 14, you’re moving home. A band plays “Rockin’ In The Free through the stars. 15 is, like, bubbles? Who World” with sloppy abandon. Is it ironic or knows? In 16 you’re just cosmic. Now 17, sincere? The room is crowded and smells you’re a star, and 18 is pizza.” like beer. A couple next to me can’t decide “Have we discussed NOW 69?” if they want to dance or make out. The wall “Nice.” of paintings smiles above them. I close out We’re making important progress, my tab, call an Uber, and head home to but there’s much work to be done. At write an art review. the bar we’re joined by our friend Nick, who serenades us with a song about NOW That’s What I Call An Art Exhibit! communicating with boiled peanuts. runs through January at MOTR Pub (1345 It’s 9:55 p.m. Nick and Micah wander off.

Main St, Over-the-Rhine). More info: I order another drink and check out the motrpub.com. paintings again.

The bar is dark and crowded, and it’s hard to look closely. A few hold up on their

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VISUAL ART

C I T Y B E AT. C O M |

JA N. 22-FEB. 4, 2020

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Benjamin Cook: Paper Pulp Painting at Pique

Paper Art and Photography R E V I E WS BY S T E V E K E M PL E

I confess: When I first looked at promotional images from Benjamin Cook’s solo exhibition at Pique, they didn’t do much for me. That changed when I saw them in person. Cook has built up the surfaces of these paintings with mounds of paper pulp spread out in thick layers, twisting and snaking like psychedelic Gordian knots.

The pulp’s texture catches the light, and the muted colors seem to glow from Benjamin Cook’s “Bite From the Woods of Indiana” within.

PHOTO: STEVE KEMPLE Staring into “Monday Morning News” is like you’ll see in The Sunday Times, but I can’t chewing on a delicious shake the feeling they’re trying to sell me glob of sour gummy worms. In “Bite From something. The American dream? the Woods of Indiana,” the artist builds up the edges of the lines like guardrails on a Tom Schiff: Surrounded By Art is on handmade Mario Kart track. Painted shadview at the Contemporary Arts Center (44 ows add virtual depth to dashed marks E. Sixth St., Downtown) through March 1. over the surface; with the real shadows, it’s More info: contemporaryartscenter.org. like looking at a 3D Magic Eye, but without having to cross your eyes.

These paintings are fun to look at and a Fairey Dust in Northside nice reminder that the world as it appears On a brisk January afternoon, I visited the on a screen is different from how it appears corner of Hamilton Avenue and Vandalia in person. Instagram is a neat way to look Street in Northside. Until recently, this was at art, but without seeing it directly, you the site of Shepard Fairey’s mural of Aung don’t know what you’re missing.

San Suu Kyi, the controversial Burmese leader. Passersby gave me a wide berth Benjamin Cook: Paper Pulp Painting while I fumbled with a box of matches, is on view at Pique (210 W. Pike St, trying to light sticks of incense (“Fairy Covington); closing reception 7:13 to 10:13 Dust” scent, obviously). As wisps of smoke p.m. Jan. 30 More info: piquewebsite.com. were carried toward Hamilton Avenue, I considered the mural’s remains.

When it was pasted up in 2010, Suu Kyi Tom Schiff: Surrounded By was shown in the style of Fairey’s iconic Art — Panoramic Views of Barack Obama “Hope” posters. It has since America’s Landmark Museums enjoyed several unauthorized additions, including dripping blood from the at the Contemporary Arts corners of Suu Kyi’s mouth — a reference Center to accusations that she presided over a Tom Schiff’s panoramas of opulent genocide of Myanmar’s Muslim minority. museum interiors are dead gorgeous. The In December, someone covered the mural Cincinnati-based photographer’s current with a crude mess of gold and black, and solo show at the Contemporary Arts Center the building’s owners removed the mural is a culmination of years spent traveling shortly thereafter. cross-country capturing various museums Like Rauschenberg’s “Erased de through the lens of a Cirkut, an antique Kooning Drawing,” traces remain “full rotation” panoramic camera. The visible. A ghost patina of white-ish film exhibition’s layout is smart and intuitive, cover portions of the red brick, and pulp and it manages not to feel overwhelming. clings above in a square blast radius. As So why can’t I stop thinking about real the incense burned into the sidewalk, estate photos?

I couldn’t help but spot new forms in Real estate photography’s function the noise: a cartoon dog; a bird with is not just to sell buildings but also to something in its beak… The mural may be sell fantasies of upward mobility. Their gone, but there’s still much to see. aesthetic is optimized to that end: interiors become empty receptacles for our private 1699 Vandalia Ave. at the intersection of fantasies. Schiff’s virtuosic photos are Hamilton Avenue and Vandalia Street, indeed more interesting than anything Northside.

TV

‘Servant’ Delivers Shyamalanian Twists R E V I E W BY JAC K ER N

February 8–May 3

Discover one of America’s greatest visual storytellers, N. C. Wyeth, who interpreted many classic novels of fantasy and adventure, including Treasure Island—a swashbuckling tale of buccaneers and buried gold!

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The Sutphin Family Foundation IMAGE: N. C. Wyeth (1882–1945), Treasure Island, endpaper illustration (detail), 1911, oil on canvas, 32 3/4 × 47 1/8 in.

Brandywine River Museum of Art, purchased in memory of Hope Montgomery Scott, 1997

J A N . 2 2 - F E B . 4 , 2 0 2 0 | C I T Y B E AT. C O M

Creepy dolls, vulnerable babysitters and brings all manner of changes in the house haunting homes with a life of their own are and family, begging the question, are the all staples of the horror genre — and pretty elements at play something heavenly or played-out ones at that. But Apple TV+’s occult? Saintly or sinister? Viewers, not Servant — from creator/writer Tony Basunlike the characters that slowly become gallop and the king of supernatural twisty unhinged, may begin to question if what fare, M. Night Shyamalan — expertly they’re seeing is authentic — whose blends the quintessentially spooky eleperspective are we really seeing through? ments of the genre with all-too-real horrors, Food is a huge theme in Servant — like losing a loved one or your mind. with Sean’s obscure culinary creations Servant opens with a couple, Dorothy juxtaposing Leanne’s steady diet of canned (Six Feet Under’s Lauren Ambrose) and soup — employed in a lush way that can be Sean (Black Mirror’s Toby Kebbell) Turner, both beautiful and chilling. Total Hannibal welcoming a live-in nanny into their vibes. Hats off to the cinematographer for enviable Philadelphia brownstone. Leanne (Game of Thrones’ Nell Tiger Free) doesn’t exactly fit in with her posh, onepercenter employers — she’s modest, reserved and pious, while the Turners are cynical, secular and ostentatious, defined more by what they have rather than who they are.

Nevertheless, Leanne settles right in to her duties as a caregiver for the Turners’ baby, Jericho.

Nell Tiger Free as Leanne in Servant Chock-full of the PHOTO: COURTESY OF APPLE plot twists we’ve come to expect from the guy who gave us The Sixth Sense, Servant’s first big reveal — making even ordinary scenes, dining and which is truly not a spoiler if you’ve seen otherwise, feel vaguely ominous. the show’s trailer or even a poster — is that The first season is definitely addictive Jericho is actually a “reborn doll,” a lifelike and bingeable, but if you watched the recreation. The real Jericho died weeks quickly fleeting 30-minute episodes before at just a few months old — the weekly as they premiered, it builds up a details of his death are suspiciously thin — lot of excitement and gives time for your sending Dorothy into a catatonic state. The mind to develop theories. There are plenty only thing that brought her out of shock, of clues leading up to final-act reveals, and explains Sean, who is totally not on board the show is definitely aware that eaglewith the charade, was the doll. It appears eyed viewers are looking out for them. It’s Dorothy genuinely thinks he’s real. part of the fun of watching a Shyamalan Hearing all this, Leanne doesn’t flinch. offering. The 10 installments are worth She rocks Jericho with care, takes him a second watch, especially once you’ve on walks and greets Dorothy with him finished the season. when she returns from work. Dorothy’s There’s been some frustration about the a TV news reporter; Sean is a consulting pacing of the show and its lack of answers chef, though we don’t see them at their throughout much of the plot. But I think respective jobs (besides Dorothy on TV).

Servant is just meant to be savored, like an In fact, viewers rarely leave the confines expertly crafted menu. A second course, er, of the Turner home, which is sort of a season has been ordered, and it’s unclear character itself. The cast is as limited as how this story will expand, whether as a the setting, consisting primarily of these continuation of this tale or an anthology three and Dorothy’s brother, happy-gowith a completely new one. lucky playboy Julian (Ron Weasley himself, As unsettling and head-scratching as Rupert Grint). All deliver engaging the show can be, it’s a fun watch, especially performances. with its setting and character constraints.

While the lack of details surrounding Servant is a true unexpected treat from the Jericho’s death is immediately suspect, new Apple TV+. so is Leanne. She, too, has a mysterious Contact Jac Kern: @jackern backstory, and while Dorothy adores her, Sean and Julian are leery. Her presence

37

27 Years of Live Stand-Up Comedy in Cincinnati!

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Gabe Kea

Januar y 23 - 26

FILM

The Second Half of the 2000s in Four Acts

BY T T S T ER N - EN ZI

How do you distill a decade’s worth of films down to the essentials? In this case, it has nothing to do with focusing solely on 10 years’ worth of top 10 lists, and cutting and pasting each onto a list ready for a quick ranking. A critical and subjective reevaluation must take place. It wouldn’t be fair to reflect on a year-by-year basis.

Films, like memories, move and bleed into one another and those synaptic drippings on our emotional canvases aren’t limited by time. Unless that is part of the parameters we set.

The Dreamscapes

• Melancholia, Lars von Trier (2011) • Upstream Color, Shane Carruth (2013) • Only Lovers Left Alive, Jim Jarmusch (2013) • The Babadook, Jennifer Kent, (2014) • Parasite, Bong Joon-ho (2019)

Jessica Kirson Januar y 30 Februar y 2

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Februar y 6 - 9

At first glance, the most recent addition to this group — the currently celebrated Parasite — would seem to be unlike the other selections. Melancholia presents the end of the world as a hazy feverdream. Upstream Color occupies a surreal alternative universe with a logic all its own.

Only Lovers Left Alive imagines vampiric immortality as the wearied existence it is.

And The Babadook transports audiences back to childhood and the irrationality of its fears. In all the ways that matter, Bong Joon-ho incorporates every single one of these elements into his fantastic look at class warfare and the familial ties that bind us together in Parasite.

The Historic Moments

• 12 Years A Slave, Steve McQueen (2013) • A Hidden Life, Terrence Malick (2019) • Fruitvale Station, Ryan Coogler (2013) • Amazing Grace, Alan Elliott and Sydney Pollack (2018) • Mudbound, Dee Rees (2017)

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Both personal and critical history factor into these moments. I first saw three of the films listed — 12 Years A Slave, A Hidden Life and Mudbound — during their festival runs in Toronto; they immediately became the benchmark titles for their respective years. Fruitvale Station achingly told a tragic story that could have sadly been forgotten. Amazing Grace unearthed and revisited an event so stunning that even iconic celebrities attending the recording sessions couldn’t believe it. It should be pointed out that Mudbound is based on a novel, but the truth of its narrative perspectives feels just as real as any of the other films.

The Startling Intimacy

• Cold War, Pawel Pawlikowski (2018) • Moonlight, Barry Jenkins (2016) • Ida, Pawel Pawlikowski (2013) • The Hunt, Thomas Vinterberg (2012)

Moonlight P H OTO : C O U R T E SY O F A 24 / DAV I D B O R N F R I E N D

• Blue Is The Warmest Color, Abdellatif Kechiche (2013) • A Bigger Splash, Luca Guadagnino (2015) Lots of filmmakers produced several major works during the second decade of the still-new millennium, but Pawel Pawlikowski delivered the surest onetwo punch in his two starkly rendered black-and-white tales of love and devotion.

Barry Jenkins accomplishes the same feat in muted and soothing tones, focusing on a protagonist we rarely imagine having any kind of interior life, while Thomas Vinterberg places a bullseye on a target many wouldn’t suspect and dares us to not pull the trigger.

Blue Is The Warmest Color, possibly one of my favorite films of the decade that was, pulls us inside the gravitational force of first attraction and then shows how that feeling evolves. Luca Guadagnino’s Splash, once again, would seem to be the odd choice, but its rockstar vibrancy zeroes in on what happens to the world famous when the spotlight shifts and/or fades.

The Realities Of Who We Are

• Stories We Tell, Sarah Polley (2012) • Boyhood, Richard Linklater (2014) • American Honey, Andrea Arnold (2016) • Burning Cane, Phillip Youmans (2019)

I came close to cheating by including an extra film in this act (Take This Waltz from Sarah Polley), but The Stories We Tell is by far the more haunting and impressive work from this actress-director. Is it a documentary about her talented family or a love letter dedicated to the idea of the intimate myths that make us human? At the end of the day (or the decade), it doesn’t matter either way. Boyhood and American Honey trod the same narrative territory.

And Burning Cane just might be the greatest and most mysterious revelation of all, because it grants us access to a burgeoning filmmaker creating his own mythic origin right before our eyes.

Contact tt stern-enzi: request@citybeat.com

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FOOD & DRINK

A Part of Paris From the owner of Maribelle Cakery comes Mon Petit Choux, a French-style café and patisserie on Court Street

BY SA M I S T E WA R T

T

An assortment of pastries from Mon Petit Choux PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER

Mon Petit Choux 24A W. Court St., Downtown, facebook.com/monpetitchouxus

recipes from the original owners of Maribelle. Those were the recipes the community came to know and love. Grillo gussied up the buttercream recipe and introduced fondant and modeling chocolate to their classic cakes and put her creative stamp on them through presentation.

There’s a common saying in the culinary world: “You eat with your eyes first.” While having high-quality ingredients and tasty treats is at the top of Grillo’s priorities for her business, she also strives to create the most beautiful pastries possible.

“That’s the No. 1 rule: They have to taste delicious, but they also have to look delicious,” she says.

While Maribelle serves special-event cake needs, Grillo was missing a storefront; the bakery’s kitchen sits on a one-way street in Cheviot that doesn’t get much foot traffic.

“It’s a great spot for private tastings; it’s not great for walk-ins,” Grillo says.

So she kept her eyes peeled for the right space where her dream pastry shop could live.

Maribelle will remain in Cheviot, piping frosting and layering cakes, but Grillo’s new venture, Mon Petit Choux, seeks to serve a different need in the community.

“The ultimate goal for this location is to be a high-quality pastry shop,” she says. “I

don’t want it to be super expensive, and I don’t want to carry stuff that you would see at a normal bakery.”

While this shop is heavily inspired by French cafés, Grillo still plans to serve the American classics, so brownie lovers can rest easy.

Mon Petit Choux’s new home will be in a light, airy space on Court Street downtown. The shop will focus primarily on pastries and leave the birthday cakes to Maribelle. Expect classic French delicacies including, but not limited to: fruit tarts, eclairs, macaron towers, croquembouche and cream puffs, the shop’s purposely misspelled namesake.

“Mon petit chou” is a French term of endearment, literally translating to “my little cabbage.” Court Street’s future pastry shop is a play on words, replacing “chou” with “choux,” from pâte à choux, the pastry dough used to make cream puffs.

Grillo says she especially loves making cakes and could spend hours shaping sugar flowers, but her first love will always be fruit tarts.

“Every time I see a really beautiful display case, I always go for the fruit tart,” she says.

But the plan for Mon Petit Choux isn’t just to serve passersby looking for a treat.

There will be a lunch menu for those who want midday sustenance and espresso

from Deeper Roots Coffee for those looking to break through that 2:30 p.m. fog.

Eventually, Grillo wants to open the space up for elaborate events.

“We want to get to a point where we can do really creative parties and make the space really enchanting,” she says.

Grillo has dreams of expansion and growth in the coming years. “We have big goals. And when I say we, I include my team,” she says. “Everyone’s going to be a part of this business as it grows. We make more money; they make more money.”

She explains her vision for the future of her company as a central hub (Maribelle) and several sub-companies. Mon Petit Choux is the first in the potential chain of businesses that will feed into one another.

The goal is to be largely self-sourcing, but for now Grillo buys what she can’t make from local vendors when possible.

“It has to be something that happens in time, slowly, and then we grow as we go,” she says.

Pass the time while you wait to get your hands on Mon Petit Choux’s pastries and follow the bakery’s progress on Facebook (@monpetitchouxus).

FIND MORE RESTAURANT NEWS AND REVIEWS AT CITYBEAT.COM/ FOOD-DRINK

J A N . 2 2 - F E B . 4 , 2 0 2 0 | C I T Y B E AT. C O M

he owner of Cheviot’s Maribelle Cakery is breaking out of her cake mold to bring French pastries to downtown’s Central Business District.

Nine years after buying Maribelle from the original owners, Angela Grillo is branching out with her new venture, Mon Petit Choux, which is set to open in the next couple months on Court Street.

As a child, she and her family took a trip to Paris, where she fell in love with European-style cafés. “Ever since then, I’ve dreamt that’s what I want to do someday,” she says.

Her life path didn’t lead her directly to a career in pastry arts, though. Grillo worked in customer service at Cincinnati Bell for 12 years and loved it, she says, but was ready for a change. She was ready to make her dream of a Parisian café a reality.

She went back to school to earn her pastry education, studying under several master pastry chefs — including renowned cake artists Ron Ben-Israel and Nicholas Lodge — at the International Culinary Center in New York.

“I truly believe if you really want to do (something) well, then you should take from the people that you think are the best in the industry,” she says. “And that’s what I did.”

During her time in culinary school, she learned to decorate next-level cakes, craft elaborate sugar flowers and lean in to her love of confections — skills she would later use to make Maribelle Cakery her own.

Nearly a decade ago, Grillo called Maribelle to order a cake for her daughter’s birthday. There was a message on the machine saying that the current owners were retiring and looking for someone to buy their business. Grillo hung up the phone, looked at her husband and said, “It’s a sign from God. We’re buying Maribelle Cakery.”

She bought the bakery while she was nine months pregnant. People thought she was crazy, she says, remembering the beginning of her journey as a pastry chef.

“You will never have the timing right,” she says. “You can wait forever and the timing is never right. You just gotta do it.”

She decided to keep all of the cake

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WHAT’S THE HOPS

New Year, New Beers and Fun Events

BY G A R I N PI R N I A

It’s a new year and a new decade, which means a lot of new beers, anniversary parties and winter holiday celebrations, including February Galentine’s Day events.

Galentine’s Day — a celebration of female friendship inspired by an episode of Parks and Recreation — traditionally takes place on Feb. 13, but any day is a good day to hang out with your buds. On Feb. 8, head to Streetside Brewery for a cupcake bar and brunch. 3 Sweet Girls Cakery will provide the desserts and Daisy Jane’s Flower Truck will help you make your own flower bouquet.

Street Chef Brigade will provide brunch alongside a new Streetside Galentine’s beer, beermosas, bloody marys and mimosas. It costs $9 to participate in the cupcake bar.

Also on Feb. 8, Braxton gets into the Galentine’s Day spirit when they host a ladies’ brunch. For $50, you get Taste of Belgium’s waffle and crepe bar, bottomless mimosas and bloody marys and Braxton beer.

New Beers

• On Jan. 31, MOVE returns to Rhinegeist. Expect an evening of aerial acrobatics from the Cincinnati Circus Company and performances from the Q-Kidz Dance Team, the Cincinnati Ballet and DJ Smokeface. Some of the taproom sales will benefit chronic stress prevention group Mission2Move, which helps students in Cincinnati Public Schools.

• On Jan. 31 Northside’s Humble Monk turns one and to commemorate the milestone, they’ll have live music from Don’t Fret Quintet and food from Watson’s Catering.

• On Feb. 1, Middletown’s Rolling Mill Brewing Co. will partner with Gluten-Free for Cincinnati to raise awareness for celiac disease. For a $5 donation, play trivia and sample gluten-free beers and gluten-free treats from Ella Bella, Tina’s Sweet Treats and First Watch.

Contact Garin Pirnia: request@citybeat.com

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• Fifty West’s new 100-calorie beer Quencher is different than most beers. Quencher is a naturallyflavored watermelon and lime “activated ale” with added electrolytes, reduced gluten, no added sugars and 5 grams of carbs. It was “crafted specifically for people pursuing a balanced and active lifestyle,” says the brewery. Get it in cans at Kroger, and try it on draft at the brewpub.

Quencher is a new low-calorie beer with added electrolytes from Fifty West • Earlier in January, Rhinegeist P H O T O : FA C E B O O K . C O M / F I F T Y W E S T B R E W I N G C O M PA N Y released Night Whale, a two-year barrel-aged bottled imperial stout. Rhinegeist says it “bellows with waves of espresso, chocolateScandinavian farmhouse ale named after Dread BBA Stout release. The day will be covered-cherry and light vanilla from the former brewery building tenants the El filled with tappings of all four of their 2019 barrel.” The 16.2 percent ABV stout can be Reggae Series beers — in cans and on draft Rancho Rankin Motel and El Rancho found at the taproom (limit one bottle per — with a live performance from Columbus Grande Mexican restaurant. person). Also new is Rhinegiest’s recently band the Quasi Kings.

• Bircus’ new beer Juggleoats is an canned Uncle, a British mild ale.

• On Jan. 25, Swine City Brewing oatmeal IPA that pays homage to Juggalos • MadTree has released two new beers. A celebrates two years in business. They’ll and the Insane Clown Posse.

Little Salty, a stout, takes inspiration from have food and new beers.

• In the new year, Brink has already Aglamesis Brothers’ salted caramels and • West Side Brewing asks: “Do you have released a Baby Yoda NE IPA, Buffalo Trace is only available in cans at the taproom. an award-winning chili recipe?” If you bourbon-barrel-aged Baltic porter and Wheat, Pray, Love contains wheat flavors do, enter the third-annual chili cook-off, Flying Peanut, a peanut butter chocolate balanced with citrus punch and can be which takes place Feb. 1 (you must enter porter that supposedly takes like a liquid found on draft and in cans.

by Jan. 25). Entry is $10, but you could win Nutter Butter.

• The Common Beer Company has a $50 brewery gift card, a private tour and • A couple of weeks ago, Urban Artifact released Chapeau Gris, a fruity saison, and tasting, a set of pint glasses and the feeling welcomed back Woodbreaker, a black Muzz, a “creamy, full-bodied, fruity pale that you’ve accomplished something in life. cherry lemonade Midwest Fruit Tart. It’s ale,” on draft.

• If you’re a fan of The Bachelor, beer, available on draft and in cans.

• Sonder’s latest beer, Midwest Haze, roses and rosé, stop by 3 Points Urban Events is brewed with Midwest ingredients, Brewery every Monday for a viewing party.

• Fiona’s third birthday is coming up, including Ohio hops. The beer contains The next party takes place Jan. 27. so on Jan. 24 Listermann will release “notes of citrus with melon and vanilla • On Jan. 30, Braxton teams up with a new NE IPA Fiona beer in cans called undertones.” Get it on draft and in cans at Quaintrelle Confections for a s’mores and Sonder’s taproom.

Team Fiona 3rd Birthday. On the same beer pairing at the taproom. The $30 ticket • Big Ash Brewing just released El day, they’ll also release Orange Mocha includes a pint of beer and pairings of four Rancho in cans and on draft. It’s a Frappuccinos!!!, a milkshake IPA, in cans. more beers with s’mores, like lemon lavenlight jalapeño and habañero-spiced der marshmallow and snickerdoodle.

• On Jan. 25, come to Fretboard for ‘Nati

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C I T Y B E AT. C O M | JA N. 22-FEB. 4, 2020

MUSIC

From Midnight to Daylight Grace Potter’s latest album reflects the hopeful turn her personal life took after the dark spell that preceded her last release

BY B R I A N B A K ER

G

Grace Potter P H O T O : PA M E L A N E A L

Valentine moved in together. Potter also really wanted a break from music, which she was prepared to make permanent to concentrate on her life and well-being; she instructed her managers to tell inquiring labels that she was done. Then her rollercoaster spiked steeply upward with the realization she was pregnant with her son Sagan, a monumental event that made her rethink walking away from her craft.

“I started thinking about my future and what kind of life I wanted to offer my child and where my heart really lies,” Potter says.

“It would be horrible to remove the joy of music entirely from his life, regardless of how I might feel or how many complicated feelings I have about the industry.

I didn’t want to act out of fear anymore.

Fear causes people to do what they think is playing it safe, but safe is an incredibly empty space. I enjoy the creative process of taking life by the balls, so that’s what I did.”

Potter had started playing music again, and Valentine documented these impromptu sessions on his phone but largely avoided commenting on the work or its ultimate goal. Although she was laying the foundation for Daylight’s songs, she wasn’t following her standard writing format so she was blithely unaware that anything concrete would come from her endeavors.

“I didn’t have an approach to this album because I didn’t think it was an album,” says Potter. “In making Midnight, deciding it was a solo album and emancipating

myself musically and creatively, there was a real sense of loss and hurt. I lost my friends, I ended up on the wrong end of a lot of anger and the legal stuff. It made me feel like I’d lost the innocent joy of music, so I had no idea I was constructing Daylight. My creative brain goes down a lot of rabbit holes when I’m writing with the intention of releasing. I think Eric thought it would be a major mistake to encourage or do anything to put pressure on where this music was going to go. He was just happy I was playing, but it needed to be from a place of joy, where I was inviting music back in, not because I had to but because I wanted to.”

Eventually Potter sent her management some demos that they shared with labels that had been calling during her “retirement,” and she finally signed with Concord Music for the release of Daylight.

One of the album’s most distinctive features is Potter’s broad stylistic spectrum, although it’s hardly a surprise, given her diverse catalog with the Nocturnals and her collaborations with everyone from Kenny Chesney to The Flaming Lips.

“I’m definitely trying to confuse my audience, 100 percent,” says Potter. “Even artists that stick to one formula have an instinct to take it somewhere else.

Unfortunately, it’s often met with disgust, confusion and alienation. Weezer is a good example; (some of) their fans hate everything that’s happened since ‘The Blue Album.’ I feel lucky that I’ve had patience

from my fans and I think people approach me with a bit of trepidation and curiosity as to where I’m going next. That’s fun for me and the fans because it’s a conversation and not just a stamp I put out that looks the same every time.”

It’s already been established that Potter would be performing select Nocturnals songs on her Daylight tour, and she’s adamant that it’s the right thing to do, since she’s interpreting them from a new viewpoint.

“When you play those songs from this perspective, there’s this common understanding like, ‘Wow, this is a totally reframed experience,’ ” she says. “I am Grace Potter that wrote the songs for the Nocturnals and I’m still Grace Potter singing and writing new songs. I’m still that person, and I’m processing life and my emotions the same way I did then, I just have a different perspective.

“You know, they say, ‘The truth isn’t what you’re looking at, it’s where you’re looking from.’ If those songs resonate for people — and they certainly resonate for me — then absolutely they’re going to get played and absolutely I want to pay tribute to the years and songs that formed me into the artist I am and invite in whatever new perspectives might come from that, for me and for the audience.”

Grace Potter performs at the Taft Theatre on Wednesday, Jan. 22. Tickets/more show info: tafttheatre.org.

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race Potter is reflective when she discusses the past five years of her personal and professional life, and you don’t have to be psychic to discern the emotional roller coaster she’s ridden in that span. Her 2015 solo album was titled Midnight, and her latest album is diametrically dubbed Daylight.

“I wasn’t trying to be cute; it really is how it feels,” Potter says. “Midnight is a representation of deep, dark times. It was pitch black. I was definitely in a fog of creative and personal turmoil that led to the clarity that Daylight invited in. I really love Midnight and Daylight for embodying in music the exact experiences I was going through, so I have those markers in time for the rest of my life. I’m really grateful for that.”

Rollercoaster doesn’t begin to describe Potter’s last half-decade. Her longtime band, the Nocturnals, disintegrated during the recording of Midnight, leading to the conclusion that she was actually creating a solo album. Her husband and longtime drummer Matt Burr had left the band, signaling trouble in their relationship (which she says actually predated their 2013 marriage). As she was knee deep in planning Midnight’s support tour, Potter also confronted subconscious feelings for her Midnight producer and co-writer, Eric Valentine.

“There was a recognition of a very new sensation: ‘Am I possibly in love with my record producer? Because that’s weird,’ ” Potter says. “We finished Midnight and were moving into the ‘OK, we’re going on tour, here’s the first few dates with The Rolling Stones,’ and where my life would normally fill up and get really exciting, it started to feel incredibly empty. I was like, ‘I miss that guy a whole lot. I might need to take a step back and ask myself what’s going on there.’ I imagine a lot of people were asking the same thing, because I was changing rapidly and getting more honest and tuning in more to what I needed.”

Potter and Burr had been separated and finally divorced in 2017, and she and

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C I T Y B E AT. C O M |

JA N. 22-FEB. 4, 2020

SPILL IT

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Devin Burgess Goes It ‘Alone’ on New Album

BY M I K E B R EEN

Devin Burgess’s talents are multifaceted.

The Cincinnati Hip Hop artist is perhaps best known for his crafty studio work — he’s worked with numerous artists, be it providing beats, mixing or mastering. His skills as an MC are less known, but only because his focus has, particularly of late, mostly been on the recording side of things.

That changed recently when Burgess unveiled the 14-track release Alone, a trippy, dark and dank album that is a compelling showcase for his unique artistry. Fittingly titled, Alone is truly a “solo” project — he says it’s his first album he’s rapped on and fully produced. It follows a few albums of beats released over the past couple of years (which you can listen to at devinburgessmusic.bandcamp. com and on his pages on other streaming platforms) and is his first official album since 2018’s Trash, which featured a slew of special guests, including fellow Cincinnati artists like Bla’sze, Siri Imani, JayBee Lamahj, Dayo Gold and D-Eight.

“Dropping Trash in 2018 took a lot out of me mentally so I wasn’t rapping a lot, but (I) had to find another outlet for creating so I started making beats again,” Burgess says via email. “That turned into creating a sound for myself and eventually an album.”

On Alone, he conjures a dark tone that’s reflected in the textural sound of the project— murky, hazy and psychedelic with a loping, lurching (but never lazy) flow that’s incredibly hypnotic.

Though the sound is often rather somber, Burgess comes off as lyrically and vocally confident and resilient. The Alone title also serves as a thematic statement — Burgess says the insular creative process resulted in the kind of self-reflection that comes during periods of isolation. But instead of loneliness, Burgess thought about how such seclusion can serve as a form of selfcare and self-improvement.

“Alone is really about me decompressing and searching for inner peace,” he says. “It’s not really a sad album, more of an exhale from a weight being lifted off your shoulders. How people perceive being alone really just comes down to perspective. In theory, if a person tells you that they’re alone, you tend to think that they’re sad, depressed, looking for attention, which isn’t always the case.

“I take my alone time to heal and grow.

So even if I’m not around a lot, it doesn’t mean I’m wallowing in my sorrows. It can mean that I’m working on growth within myself.”

Find Devin Burgess’s Alone on Spotify, Apple Music and other digital outlets.

Visit facebook.com/devinburgessmusic for more info and also check him out on Twitter (@d_burgessmusic) and Instagram (@DevinBurgessMusic).

Devin Burgess PHOTO: PROVIDED BY DEVIN BURGESS

Helping Australia

The harrowing scenes coming out of Australia after the recent widespread and devastating wildfires have caused people all over the world to step up and offer help.

That includes several musicians in Greater Cincinnati who have banded together to organize some upcoming benefit concerts.

• On Thursday, Jan. 23 at The Comet (4579 Hamilton Ave., Northside, cometbar. com) there will be a benefit to raise funds for organizations trying to assist and save the millions of animals in Australia impacted by the fires. Local musician MayaLou Banatwala (Heavy Hinges, Mynah Tones) organized the Aussie Animal Benefit show, which will include raffles of items from local businesses like The Esquire Theatre, Rhinegeist, The Party Source, Queen City Hemp, Kitchen Factory and many more.

Kicking off at 7:30 p.m., the benefit will feature performances by Still Witches, Abby Vice, Kristen Kreft, The Whiskey

Shambles, Bon Air, Sarah Gorak and Valley of the Sun, who recently toured Europe in support of their most recent album, Old Gods. This will be VotS’s first Cincinnati show in more than a year and first local appearance with drummer Lex Vegas (of Cadaver Dogs), who recently took over for longtime member Aaron Boyer.

The event is free to attend. Donations and money raised from the raffles will be given to Victoria Wildlife & Animal Rescue Support, the Balu Blue Foundation and Wildlife Victoria.

• On Saturday, Feb. 1 at Newport’s Southgate House Revival (111 E. Sixth St., southgatehouse.com), Aussie Aid will benefit the people and animals affected by the Australian fires, with proceeds going to the volunteer NSW Rural Fire Service brigades fighting the fires, as well as Wildlife Warriors, the animal conservation group founded by Steve Irwin that is helping with the rescue and rehab of animals in the region.

Aussie Aid was conceived by Cincinnati

musician Veronica Grim (Switchblade Syndicate, Veronica Grim & the Heavy Hearts). “Each of our actions taken alone may only be a drop in the bucket,” Grim says, “but together we are a rainstorm… and that’s just what our friends in Australia need right now.”

The event will raise money via ticket sales ($12 in advance via ticketweb.com or $15 at the door), as well as raffles and auctions featuring items donated

by Rivertown Brewery, Urban Artifact, Cincinnati Cyclones, Bang Bang Salon, Busken Bakery, Dew Or Dye Salon, Arcadian Comics & Games and several other area establishments.

The live entertainment for the 7 p.m. benefit concert will include sets from Grim’s eponymous band, The Racket Club, Viceroy Kings, Carian, Chalk Eye, Bloody Royal Family, True Falcon and Megahussy.

Contact Mike Breen: mbreen@citybeat.com

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SOUND ADVICE

Mike Gordon

C I T Y B E AT. C O M |

JA N. 22-FEB. 4, 2020

Thursday, Jan. 23 • 20th Century Theater

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Mike Gordon might well be one of the highest profile bassists on the planet, due largely to his consistent role as the stringed half of Phish’s rhythm section over the past 37 years (barring a two-year hiatus and a five year “break up”). In that time, Gordon has become renowned as a fluid and inventive bassist whose contributions to Phish (which early on included answering fan mail, booking gigs and managing the finances) have been critical to the band’s success and longevity. He’s also turned that well-deserved reputation into an acclaimed solo career.

Gordon was the last of Phish’s members to work on a project outside of the band, with the Jazzgrass trio Grappa Boom in the early 2000s, which was followed in 2003 by his debut solo album under his own name, Inside In. Gordon has played in a number of subsequent side projects, including bands with Grateful Dead members, like SerialPod (which also featured his Phishmate Trey Anastasio), Rhythm Devils and the House Band, but he’s been most active in his solo pursuits, releasing two collaborative albums with iconic acoustic guitarist Leo Kottke, and four studio albums, including his last solo set, OGOGO. Released in 2017 via ATO Records, the layered, synth-laden and, of course, grooveheavy album was written with longtime collaborator Scott Murawski and recorded with drummer John Kimock, percussionist/vocalist Craig Myers and keyboardist Robert Walter (of Greyboy Allstars fame), all of whom are in Gordon’s touring band.

Gordon has also released an official live album, 2013’s The Egg, but, in keeping with Phish’s storied encouragement of taping live performances, he has issued seven other concert recordings from 2008 to 2016, and one from 2006, when the bassist sat in with the Benevento-Russo Duo for a set at 2005’s Bonnaroo.

Although there doesn’t seem to be any imminent plans for new studio recordings, Gordon’s appearance here at the 20th Century Theater will fall about halfway through his 13-date winter tour schedule, which comes on the heels of Phish’s 13th New Year’s Eve show at New York’s Madison Square Garden. (Brian Baker)

Turkuaz with Neal Francis

Friday, Jan. 24 • Madison Theater

In the diverse and danceable world of Funk, Brooklyn-based Turkuaz is the full monty, drawing on tried-and-true genre giants like Parliament-Funkadelic, while folding in potent elements of AfroBeat, Disco, New Wave, Gospel and Classic Rock, plus Pop music of every discernible substripe. Now in their 12th year, the horndrenched, nine-piece outfit generates enough live power to serve as a back-up generator in the event of an East Coast

Mike Gordon PHOTO: RENE HUEMER

blackout. They have no trouble translating that power in the studio, particularly on their all-too-brief 2019 EP Kuadrochrome, a four-track teaser of soulful, ass-shaking dynamite that follows the band’s exquisite 2017 single, “On the Run,” produced by former Talking Heads keyboardist Jerry Harrison.

Formed in 2008 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Brandwein and several fellow students at Boston’s Berklee College of Music (including vocalist Sammi Garett, who splits her time between Turkuaz and singing with Cincinnati’s own Funk giant, Freekbass), Turkuaz spent the first three years honing their live sound and building a fan base on the Jam band and festival circuit. The band’s studio debut, 2011’s Zerbert, was an incredible introduction but their 2012 sophomore album, Live at Southpaw, was the clearest proof of their volcanic stage presence.

The following year, Turkuaz dropped their self-titled third album, the mindblowing Covers Vol. 1 (featuring covers of songs by Talking Heads, Led Zeppelin and

The Box Tops by way of Joe Cocker) and A Live Affair, their second live set, all in the space of three months.

After an EP and another studio set, Turkuaz released 2015’s Digitonium, an expansion of their basic Funk foundation that became a viral sonic curiosity when fans somehow discovered that the album was in sync with Disney’s animated classic, The Sword in the Stone. (You can almost hear the bubbling of bongwater.)

Perhaps the biggest news of late in the Turkuaz universe is the fact that Jerry Harrison has tapped the group to back him when he presents the entirety of Remain in Light this summer to celebrate the album’s 40th

Turkuaz PHOTO: DANI BR ANDWEIN

Too Many Zooz P H O T O : PA Q U I N A R T I S T S A G E N C Y

anniversary; Northern Kentucky native Adrian Belew — who played guitar on Remain in Light and its subsequent tour — will also be performing on those festival shows with the ensemble.

Interesting trivia note: “Turkuaz” is the Turkish word for turquoise, but Brandwein named the band after a Turkish market where they bought cigarettes and soda while they were recording their first demos.

Cue the bongwater. (BB)

Too Many Zooz with Birocratic Saturday, Feb. 1 • Urban Artifact

CONTINUES ON PAGE 50

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Too Many Zooz have come a long way from their early days busking on subway platforms beneath the streets of Manhattan. One of the self-described “Brass House” trio’s first videos to appear on YouTube — a single-camera, singletake clip of a completely improvised jam recorded in the Union Square subway station — was posted in 2014. It went on to rack up more than 7 million views.

In the years since, they’ve collaborated with high-profile acts like Beyoncé and the Dixie Chicks, as well as artists like British Soul singer Jess Glynne and EDM producer Kaskade. They’ve reached such a level of pop culture success that their sax player Leo Pellegrino is having to sue Fortnite developer Epic Games for purportedly

ripping off his likeness and “signature moves” without permission.

As impressive — and highly unusual — as this list of achievements may be, Too Many Zooz trumpeter Matt Doe is no less proud of the trio’s humble underground origins.

“At the time, it felt like the music world viewed us as second-class citizens, and I couldn’t understand why they didn’t get it,” he says of the group’s subterranean playground. “But for us, it was literally such a no-brainer. Every band in New York City is looking for a rehearsal studio, right?

And we not only had a rehearsal studio (the subway stations), we were getting fucking paid — and paid well — to rehearse.”

It wasn’t long before the band’s irrepressible music and eye-catching dance moves reached well beyond those subway platforms. They began touring America, then Europe, while recording and releasing an album and five EPs over the next five years.

Too Many Zooz’s latest single and video, an instrumental cover of Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy,” was released in mid-September; the video now has more than a half million views on YouTube. The track craftily juxtaposes musical genres, shuttling from Dixieland to Dubstep, with a number of

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Attention former or current plasterers of Cincinnati!

Upcoming shows Ultimate 90’s Country with Morgen & Alan & The Achy Breaky Hearts Saturday, January 25 Adelitas Way with Blacklite District Thursday, January 30 Jo Dee Messina Saturday, February 1 Rumpke Mountain Boys Fan Appreciation Night Saturday, February 8 Rakim Wednesday, February 12 Riff Raff “Cranberry Vampire” Album Release Friday, February 14

We are looking for people who worked with, on the same job sites or have knowledge of the work that Von Holle Plastering performed during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Please contact us immediately if you or someone you know has any of the below information: • Location of Von Holle Plastering jobsites • Products and materials used by Von Holle Plastering workers • Identity of individuals who worked with/for Von Holle Plastering; and/or • Supply houses frequented by Von Holle Plastering employees.

We can be reached at 469-562-3813

Another Lost Year Friday, February 21 Mick Blankenship with Livid & Rootbound Saturday, February 22 Mack Lethal Friday, March 6 Jacob Bryant Saturday, March 7 Perpetual Groove Wednesday, March 25

C I T Y B E AT. C O M |

JA N. 22-FEB. 4, 2020

Brother Ali Friday, March 27

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Bimp Lizkit / Limp Bizkit Tribute Saturday, April 4

Combichrist & King 810 with A Killers Confession, Heartsick Friday, April 24

riverfrontlivecincy.com Ticket Information 513-321-2572

Jamey Johnson PHOTO: JACK SPENCER

FROM PAGE 49

Soul Asylum with Local H Saturday, February 15

Upchurch Friday, April 10

SOUND ADVICE

COZY, ECO FRIENDLY CAF CAFÉ É BREAKFAST & LUNCH LOCALLY SOURCED Open Daily - 8am | Sundays - 9am Open Late - Thursday, Friday, Saturday

CALL FOR CATERING 513-381-3436

genre-blurring stops along the way.

As it turns out, Too Many Zooz’s fans haven’t been the only ones paying attention. After a string of lower-profile collaborations, they received an unexpected invitation from Beyoncé to appear on her 2016 album Lemonade. The full band participated on the track “Daddy Lessons,” while Doe also contributed trumpet to the hit “Formation.”

“Anyone who knows me will tell you that I’m the last person to get excited about all this,” Doe says. “Of course, I’d be lying if I said that getting a call to work with Beyoncé wasn’t exciting, but for me, I try to approach every session the same way. If you’re going to take the job, do the job, you know what I mean? And with Beyoncé, it was the same thing: You show up and do your very best with what you have — which, in my case, is my trumpet — to serve her record.”

When it comes to their own music, Too Many Zooz gleefully celebrates random acts of creativity.

“It’s not that there’s no such thing as a bad idea, because there are bad ideas,” Doe says. “But it’s more like, everyone in this group is entitled to say, play and act however they want. None of the three of us are ever going to be like, ‘Yo, don’t play that or don’t say that.’ Like, we just don’t give a fuck, bro. We have this creative and democratic environment, whereas I know a lot of bands and artists who don’t have that.”

Doe views the bigger picture in much the same way.

“We live in a world where people will make fun of you and condemn you for just trying something different,” he says. “So if you’re in a place where your ideas are constantly challenged, and there’s this

dictatorship over your creativity, fucking leave. Just run so far from that. Because if you hold onto that mentality, you’ll never ever evolve or change.” (Bill Forman)

Jamey Johnson

Saturday, Feb. 1 • Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg

Alabama native Jamey Johnson made his name with a string of discerning Country albums throughout the aughts, culminating with 2010’s The Guitar Song, a gritencrusted double album of rare diversity and depth — from dark-hued acoustic ballads to Honky Tonk rave-ups.

Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran — which featured inspired duets with the likes of Merle Haggard, Alison Krauss, Elvis Costello and Willie Nelson in honor of the singular songwriter — followed in 2012. Yet, besides a few stray tracks (including a collaboration with singer/songwriter Bill Anderson on his 2018 album Anderson) and an EP of Christmas songs, it’s been almost complete radio silence ever since.

Johnson addressed the lack of new material while speaking to website The Boot in 2017, saying he’s been working on a proper follow-up to The Guitar Song but that an accident impacted its progress.

“I’m in no hurry and no rush to get it done,” Johnson said. “I’m making progress on the creative parts of my brain. It’s been about seven years ago I got a concussion. I slipped on some ice coming out of the studio one night and I hit my head pretty hard.

“What I found out from a neuroscientist out in Scottsdale, Arizona here recently is that ever since then, my brain has been locked in a hyper-vigilant state (in) which it focuses on survival. Anything that isn’t directly relevant to survival, it just doesn’t

NIGHTLY FREE LIVE MUSIC AND LATE NIGHT EATS DAILY LUNCH AND 1/2 OFF HAPPY HOUR

PH OTO: DY L A N L A N G I L LE

Greensky Bluegrass with Ghost Light

Tuesday, Feb. 4 • Madison Theater

WED 29

HILLARY HAHN, WEIRDOSE, THE NEW MATERIALS

THU 23

SWEET LIAR, RTIST, AND THE MARCH DIVIDE

THU 30

W/ LO, THE LOYAL CONSCRIPTS

FRI 24

FRI 31

4-7, JOEL WEST ART OPENING AND 1/2 OFF HAPPY HOUR

S AT 25

IN2ITIV3 [RECORD RELEASE], BELLOWING PINES, AND JAYBEE & THE PHONK US, TODAY W/ SWOOPS AND KITSCHY (CLEVELAND)

S AT 1

SUN 26

7:30, GIRLNXTDOOR, WOLFMANE, AND PANGEAUX 9:30, COMEDY OPEN MIC

SUN 2

HUMAN HEART, BOA (LOUISVILLE), JAY MADERA J DORSEY BLUES BAND W/ SHAWNTHONY CALYPSO (LEXINGTON)

debut album, 2004’s Less Than Supper, was a fairly straightforward Bluegrass affair, but certainly hinted at the underlying expanses they were about to explore.

For the recording of Less Than Supper, Greensky Bluegrass added a bassist and dobro player, both of whom quickly exited the band; the bass position was ultimately taken by Classical cellist Michael Devol, who had initially offered his assistance in a management role.

In 2006, the band released a sophomore studio album, Tuesday Letter. The following year, they played a three-show run with the Wayward Sons in Colorado and jammed with the Sons’ dobroist Anders Beck, who subsequently sat in with Greensky Bluegrass for their big stage debut at Telluride Bluegrass Festival. He joined Greensky as a permanent member in 2008.

As the band’s profile has expanded through live collaborations with the likes of the Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh and Bill Kreutzmann, Bluegrass icon Sam Bush and like-minded group Railroad Earth, Greensky Bluegrass has rocketed into the limelight in the past four years. After five well-received studio albums and a trio of live releases, all through their own label — Big Blue Zoo — the band dropped their sixth album, 2016’s Shouted, Written Down & Quoted, which was produced by Los Lobos’s Steve Berlin and is a brilliant showcase of their Bluegrass-through-apsychedelic-looking-glass ethic. In short order, the band began playing larger venues and adding shows to accommodate ticket sales, all leading to the release of the tongue-in-cheekily titled All For Money a little over a year ago.

They may not be your grandpappy’s Bluegrass, but ignoring Greensky Bluegrass’s version of it might just deprive you of the best night of your life. (BB)

TUE 28

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A good many traditionalists have a clawhammer banjo wedged sideways up their collective asses about Greensky Bluegrass, who saw the cinemascope potential in the genre’s front-porch intimacy and evolved in that direction, as evidenced by their latest release, last year’s All For Money. As a result, Greensky Bluegrass has a greater affinity for the Jamgrass crowd.

Greensky Bluegrass began 20 years ago in Kalamazoo, Michigan with the founding trio of guitarist Dave Bruzza, banjoist Michael Bont and mandolinist Paul Hoffman, who brought a wide spectrum of musical influence to their newfound love of Bluegrass. Even with the swirling crosscurrents of their individual tastes, Greensky Bluegrass’s

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focus on it all anymore.”

But the situation hasn’t impeded his need to play his songs for appreciative audiences.

“The only way I’ll be able to completely write out of sheer inspiration, I’d have to come off the road for a period of time for a good while,” he said. “I’m not ready to do that yet. The truth is, I really love it. I love traveling. I love playing all of these shows for all of these folks. I love that they love it and I could do that for a long time. I don’t see me ever quitting it.”

So it sounds like it might be a good while before we actually get an album of new material from Johnson. On the plus side, we’ll continue to hear from him in a live setting, which seems like a different kind of survival tactic from one of the best Country artists of the 21st century. (Jason Gargano)

WED 22

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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 22

PALM COURT - Marc Wolfley Trio. 6 p.m. Jazz. Free.

CAFFÈ VIVACE - Blue Wisp Big Band. 8 p.m. Big Band Jazz. $10.

KNOTTY PINE - Mitch Greve. 9 p.m. Various. Free.

HILTON NETHERLAND PALM COURT - Jim Smith Trio. 6 p.m. Jazz. Free.

MOTR PUB - Sweet Liar. 10 p.m. Pop/Alternative Rock.

Free.

KNOTTY PINE - Dallas Moore and Lucky Chucky.

10 p.m. Country. Free.

NORTHSIDE TAVERN Farm Report. 9 p.m. Roots.

Free.

H

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

MOTR PUB - The Ophelias, Smut and Pocket.

10 p.m. Indie Rock. Free.

SILVERTON CAFE - Bob Cushing. 8 p.m. Acoustic.

Free.

STANLEY’S PUB - Maritime Law. 9 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

H

TAFT THEATRE Grace Potter with Devon Gilfillian. 8 p.m. Rock. $29.50-$49.50.

VINOKLET WINERY - Bluegrass Wednesdays with Vernon McIntyre’s Appalachian Grass. 6:30 p.m. Bluegrass.

Free.

H

WOODWARD THEATER - Mipso with Bridget Kearney & Benjamin Lazar Davis. 8 p.m. Indie Folk/Bluegrass/Various. $14, $16 day of show.

THURSDAY 23

H

20TH CENTURY THEATER - Mike Gordon.

8:30 p.m. Rock/Jam/Various. $27.50, $30 day of show.

ARNOLD’S BAR AND GRILL - Philip Paul Trio.

7:30 p.m. Jazz. Free.

BIG ASH BREWING - The Katawicks. 8 p.m. Indie/Folk/ Various. Free.

CAFFÈ VIVACE - Braza Trio.

7:30 p.m. Jazz. Cover.

H

THE COMET - Australian Animal Benefit with Valley of the Sun, Abby Vice, Still Witches, Whiskey Shambles, Rae, Sarah Gorak, Kristen Kreft and Bon Air. 7:30 p.m. Rock/Various.

Free.

FRETBOARD BREWING COMPANY - Matt Waters. 6 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

HILTON NETHERLAND

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (REVIVAL ROOM) - Sam Morrow and Hilary Hahn. 7:30 p.m.

Acoustic. $8, $10 day of show.

STANLEY’S PUB - Harmless Varmints and Highway Natives. 9 p.m. Americana/ Folk. $5.

H

THOMPSON HOUSE - Doctor P + Cookie Monsta. 8 p.m. EDM. $22.50.

URBAN ARTIFACT - Jazz Night. 9 p.m. Jazz. Free.

FRIDAY 24

ARNOLD’S BAR AND GRILL - Chelsea Ford and the Trouble. 8 p.m. Bluegrass/Americana. Free.

BACK PORCH SALOON - Bob Cushing. 6 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

BIG ASH BREWING - Shiny Old Soul with Molly Morris. 8 p.m. Rock/Roots/Various.

BLIND LEMON - Kyle English. 9 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

BROMWELL’S HÄRTH LOUNGE - Steve Schmidt Trio. 9 p.m. Jazz. Free.

CAFFÈ VIVACE - Steve Allee Trio. 8:30 p.m. Jazz.

Cover.

THE COMET - Margot and the Toothless Hags, Darity, Night Owl and Zoo. 10 p.m.

Indie/Rock/Various. Free.

FRETBOARD BREWING COMPANY - Bruno. 8 p.m.

Free.

HILTON NETHERLAND PALM COURT - Marc Fields Quartet. 9 p.m. Jazz. Free.

JIM AND JACK’S ON THE RIVER - Danny Frazier. 9 p.m. Country. Free.

KNOTTY PINE - Flatline. 10 p.m. Rock. Cover.

H

LUCIUS Q - New Moons and The Midwestern at Lucius Q. 9 p.m.

AltRock/Various. Free.

LUDLOW GARAGE Johnny Payne and The True Believers. 8:30 p.m. Reggae. $10, $12 day of show.

H H

THE MAD FROG Angelic Root. 9 p.m.

EDM. Cover.

MADISON THEATER - Turkuaz with Neal Francis. 9:30 p.m. Funk/Pop/ Dance/Soul. $20, $22 day of show.

ROOM) - Chromatic Crew, Queen City Silver Stars and Jamwave. 9 p.m. Funk/Reggae/Rock/Various. $6, $10 day of show.

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (SANCTUARY) Nirvana Tribute with Orchid in the Ivy and Spring Grove.

8 p.m. Rock. $8.

H

STANLEY’S PUB Mcstarkatz featuring Dave Katz, Ed Mcgee and Cliff Starbuck of Ekoostik Hookah. 9 p.m. Jam/Various. $15.

WASHINGTON PLATFORM - Marc Wolfley Quartet. 8:30 p.m. Jazz. $10 (food/drink minimum).

WIEDEMANN BREWERY AND TAPROOM - Mike & Jeff. 7:30 p.m. Classic Rock/ Country. Free.

SATURDAY 25

MANSION HILL TAVERN Chuck Brisbin and the Tuna Project. 9 p.m. Blues. Cover.

20TH CENTURY THEATER - AJA. 8 p.m. Steely Dan tribute. $25.

MOTR PUB - IN2ITIV3 (EP release show) with Bellowing Pines and Jaybee and the Phonk. 10 p.m.

Rock/Punk/Hip Hop/Various.

Free.

H

ARNOLD’S BAR AND GRILL - Modern Groove Jazz Band. 8 p.m. Jazz.

Free.

MVP BAR & GRILLE - Howard Brothers Band. 9 p.m.

Rock. $5.

BLUE NOTE HARRISON - KISS Army. 8 p.m. KISS tribute. $10-$15.

H

NORTHSIDE TAVERN - Flocks, Patterns of Chaos and Michael Andrew.

10 p.m. Electronic/Hip Hop/ Jazz/Various. Free.

PLAIN FOLK CAFE - Sassafras Grass. 7:30 p.m.

Bluegrass. Free.

RICK’S TAVERN - Black Bone Cat. 9 p.m. Rock.

Cover.

SCHWARTZ’S POINT - Dan Karlsberg Trio. 8:30 p.m.

Jazz. Cover.

SILVERTON CAFÉ - Basic Truth. 8:30 p.m. R&B/Soul/ Funk. Free.

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (LOUNGE) - Jeff Boling, Kelly Thomas, Jeremy Smart and Matt Baumann. 9:30 p.m. Singer/ Songwriter. Free.

H

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (REVIVAL

BLIND LEMON - Warren Ulgh. 9 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

BOGART’S - Trippin Billies.

8 p.m. Dave Matthews Band tribute. $12.

BROMWELL’S HÄRTH LOUNGE - Five Little Bears.

9 p.m. Jazz. Free.

CAFFÈ VIVACE - Mambo Combo. 8:30 p.m. Latin Jazz.

Cover.

FRETBOARD BREWING COMPANY - The Quasi Kings. 8 p.m. Reggae. Free.

HILTON NETHERLAND PALM COURT - Ricky Nye Inc. 9 p.m. Blues/Jazz. Free.

JAG’S STEAK AND SEAFOOD - The Sly Band. 9:30 p.m. Pop/Dance/Rock/Various. Cover.

KNOTTY PINE - Flatline. 10 p.m. Rock. Cover.

Karlsberg. 8:30 p.m. Jazz. $10 (food/drink minimum).

THE MAD FROG - Golf Clap.

9 p.m. EDM. Cover.

WESTSIDE VENUE - Attic Fanatics, North to Nowhere and Lord Farquaad. 9 p.m.

Indie Rock. $10-$15.

MANSION HILL TAVERN - Johnny Fink and the Intrusion. 9 p.m. Blues. Cover.

MOTR PUB - Us, Today with Swoops and Kitschy. 10 p.m.

Post Rock/Indie Rock/Various. Free.

WIEDEMANN BREWERY AND TAPROOM - Cousin Kissers. 8 p.m. Country.

Free.

SUNDAY 26

MVP BAR & GRILLE Cherry On Top. 8 p.m. Pop/ Rock/Dance. $5.

THE COMET - Comet Bluegrass Allstars. 7:30 p.m.

Bluegrass. Free.

H

HILTON NETHERLAND PALM COURT - Mike Darrah. 10:30 a.m. Jazz. Free.

NORTHSIDE TAVERN - Gutted Alive and Gutted Christ with Engraved Darkness and EGREGOR. 9 p.m. Death Metal. Free.

PLAIN FOLK CAFE - Coal Cave Hollow Boys. 7:30 p.m.

Bluegrass. Free.

RICK’S TAVERN - Naked Karate Girls. 9 p.m. Rock/ Pop/Dance. Cover.

RIVERFRONT LIVE Ultimate ’90s Country with Morgen & Alan & The Achy Breaky Hearts and Mashing Bumpkins. 8 p.m. Country. $5.

SCHWARTZ’S POINT - Ron Enyard Quartet. 8:30 p.m.

Jazz. Cover.

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (LOUNGE) - Ben Levin Trio. 9:30 p.m. Blues.

Free.

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (REVIVAL ROOM) - The Last Troubadour, Sound & Shape, The Grove and Here Come Here.

8 p.m. Rock/Various. $10, $12 day of show.

H

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (SANCTUARY) - Olivia Jean. 9 p.m.

Roots/Rock/Various. $15, $18 day of show.

H

STANLEY’S PUB Highly Likely and Hot Brown Smackdown. 10 p.m.

Bluegrass/Funk. Cover.

JIM AND JACK’S ON THE RIVER - Bad Habit. 9 p.m.

Rock. Free.

THOMPSON HOUSE - Second Annual Schwabfest with Saint’s Among Us, Automatic Evolution, 13peganhoilday13, Mister Mason and more. 7 p.m. Rock/Various.

KJ’S PUB - Saving Stimpy.

9:30 p.m. Rock. Free.

WASHINGTON PLATFORM - Marc Fields with Dan

LATITUDES BAR & BISTRO - BlueBirds. 8 p.m.

Rock/R&B. Free.

MANSION HILL TAVERN Deb Ohlinger Open Mic. 9 p.m. Blues. Free.

SCHWARTZ’S POINT - El Ritmo Del Mañana. 6 p.m.

Latin Jazz WESTSIDE VENUE - Blues Jam. 7 p.m. Blues. Free.

WOODWARD THEATER School of Rock Mason: Rock ‘N’ Grohl (4 p.m.); School of Rock Mason: Tribute to Fleetwood Mac (7 p.m.).

Rock. $6, $8 day of show.

MONDAY 27

BLIND LEMON - Ben Armstrong. 8 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

MANSION HILL TAVERN John Redell and Friends. 9 p.m. Open mic. Free.

H

MOTR PUB - Sharp Toys with Beth Harris and Quiet Lives. 9 p.m.

Rock/Various. Free.

STANLEY’S PUB - Jazz Jam with The Stanleyband.

9 p.m. Jazz/Improv. Free.

TUESDAY 28

ARNOLD’S BAR AND GRILL - Diamond Jim Dews.

7 p.m. Blues. Free.

BLIND LEMON - Nick Tuttle.

8:30 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

BREWRIVER CREOLE KITCHEN - The Twirlers. 7 p.m. R&B/Classic Pop/Standards. Free.

CAFFÈ VIVACE - Emily Grace Jordan & Wayne Yeager. 7:30 p.m. Jazz

J A N . 2 2 - F E B . 4 , 2 0 2 0 | C I T Y B E AT. C O M

BLIND LEMON - Mark Macomber. 8 p.m. Acoustic.

Free.

SCHWARTZ’S POINT JAZZ & ACOUSTIC CLUB - Andrew Haug. 8:30 p.m.

Jazz. Cover.

JAG’S STEAK AND SEAFOOD - Gee Your Band Smells Terrific. 9:30 p.m. ’70s Pop/Rock/Dance. Cover.

53

H H

THE COMET - Mynah Tones. 10 p.m. Pop/ Rock/Various. Free.

HILTON NETHERLAND PALM COURT - Randy Villars Trio. 6 p.m. Jazz. Free.

NORTHSIDE YACHT CLUB - Freeze MF and Place Blame with Outcast. kyhc and Apnea. 8 p.m.

Hardcore/Metalcore. $10.

KNOTTY PINE - Kenny Cowden. 9 p.m. Acoustic.

Free.

STANLEY’S PUB - Trashgrass Troubadours with Ben Carr. 9 p.m. Bluegrass/Folk.

Cover.

WEDNESDAY 29

BLIND LEMON - Thom Stephenson. 8 p.m. Acoustic.

Free.

CAFFÈ VIVACE - Blue Wisp Big Band. 8 p.m. Big Band Jazz. $10.

HILTON NETHERLAND PALM COURT - Pam Mallory Trio. 6 p.m. Jazz. Free.

H

IRISH HERITAGE CENTER - The Merry Ploughboys in Concert. 7 p.m. Folk. $25-$27, $30 day of show

JA N. 22-FEB. 4, 2020

ARNOLD’S BAR AND GRILL - Philip Paul Trio.

7:30 p.m. Jazz. Free.

BIG ASH BREWING - Mark Gibson. 8 p.m. Singer/Songwriter. Free.

BLIND LEMON - Billy Otten.

8 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

CAFFÈ VIVACE - Josh Kline Trio. 7:30 p.m. Jazz. Cover.

H

ELEMENTZ URBAN ARTS YOUTH CENTER - Elementz Artist Showcase. 6 p.m. Spoken Word/ Hip Hop/Various. Free.

FRETBOARD BREWING COMPANY - Kyla Mainous.

6 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

THE COMET - Sun Not Yellow. 10 p.m. Indie Rock.

Free.

DESHA’S - The Pandora Project. 8 p.m. Rock.

H

HILTON NETHERLAND PALM COURT - Brad Myers Trio with Mandy Gaines. 9 p.m. Jazz. Free.

MOTR PUB - Disaster Class with Lo, the Loyal Transcripts. 10 p.m. Indie Rock. Free.

NORTHSIDE TAVERN Night Owl and Shannon Garcia. 9 p.m. Singer/Songwriter. Free.

THE PIKE BAR AND GRILL - Ricky Nye. 6 p.m. Blues/ Boogie Woogie.

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

H

THURSDAY 30

CAFFÈ VIVACE - CCM Jazz Ensemble with Chip McNeil.

8:30 p.m. Jazz.

H

SILVERTON CAFE - Bob Cushing. 8 p.m. Acoustic.

Free.

H

BROMWELL’S HÄRTH LOUNGE - Peter Gemus Trio. 9 p.m. Jazz. Free.

FRETBOARD BREWING COMPANY - Crown Watts. 8 p.m. Alternative Rock. Free.

RIVERFRONT LIVE Adelitas Way with Blacklite District. 7 p.m. Rock. $15.

URBAN ARTIFACT Shane Cooley & the Midnight Girls with Anna Applegate and Phil Cotter. 8 p.m. Americana/Psych/Folk.

Cover.

C I T Y B E AT. C O M |

H

MADISON LIVE - Moon Hooch with SolEcho.

8:30 p.m. Dance/Jazz/Funk/ Jam/Various. $15, $18 day of show.

KNOTTY PINE - Dallas Moore and Lucky Chucky.

10 p.m. Country. Free.

STANLEY’S PUB - Fyakey.

9 p.m. Jazz. $5.

54

LUDLOW GARAGE Freddy Jones Band. 8:30 p.m. Rock. $20-$35.

Blackwater. 8 p.m. Iron Maiden tribute.

SCHWARTZ’S POINT Society Jazz Orchestra 8-Piece Big Band. 8:30 p.m.

Jazz. Cover.

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (REVIVAL ROOM) - Nicholas Jamerson and Brother Smith. 8 p.m. Country/Rock/Funk/ Various. $10, $12 day of show.

H

STANLEY’S PUB Derick Howard. 9 p.m.

Loops/Jam. Free.

WESTSIDE VENUE - Bob Cushing. 9 p.m. Acoustic.

FRIDAY 31

ARNOLD’S BAR AND GRILL - The Matt Tolentino Band. 8 p.m. Jazz. Free.

H

BB&T ARENA - Brantley Gilbert with Dylan Scott and Brandon Lay. 7:30 p.m. Country. $45.25-$70.25.

BIG ASH BREWING - Ricky Nye Inc. 7:30 p.m. Blues/ Jazz BLIND LEMON - Michael J. 9 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

H

BOGART’S - The Iron Maidens with

JAG’S STEAK AND SEAFOOD - My Sister Sarah.

9:30 p.m. Pop/Rock. Cover.

JIM AND JACK’S ON THE RIVER - Danny Frazier. 9 p.m. Country. Free.

JOCKO’S PUB - Saving Stimpy. 9:30 p.m. Rock.

Free.

KNOTTY PINE - Michelle Robinson Band. 10 p.m.

Country. Cover.

H

LUDLOW GARAGE Jackopierce with Clark Jenkins. 8:30 p.m. Alternative Rock. $20-$35.

MANSION HILL TAVERN - Jeff Bonta and the Tucker Boys. 9 p.m. Blues. Cover.

MOTR PUB - The Dukes are Dead. 10 p.m. Rock. Free.

H

NORTHSIDE TAVERN - J Dorsey Band (single release show) with James Leg. 9 p.m. Rock.

PLAIN FOLK CAFE Kentucky Myle. 7:30 p.m.

Americana. Free.

THE REDMOOR - Restless Leg String Band and Hillhouse. 8 p.m. Bluegrass. $10.

RICK’S TAVERN - Everyday People Band. 9 p.m. Rock/ Various. Cover.

SCHWARTZ’S POINT - Eric Wurzelbacher Quartet. 8:30 p.m. Jazz. Cover.

H

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (LOUNGE)

- Smoke Healer, The Nailers and BoozeLords. 9:30 p.m.

Rock. Free.

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (REVIVAL ROOM) - Unrivaled, Life In Idle, Darkroom Ignite and Children of Mana. 7:30 p.m.

Rock/Pop/Various. $10.

H

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (SANCTUARY) - Wayne Hancock with The Tammy WhyNots. 8 p.m.

Rockabilly/Western Swing/ Country/Honky Tonk. $10.

STANLEY’S PUB - After Funk and Strange Mechanics. 9 p.m. Funk/Rock/Jam/ Various. $12, $15 day of show.

H

HOLLYWOOD CASINO LAWRENCEBURG - Jamey Johnson. 8 p.m.

Country. $40-$55.

H

JAG’S STEAK AND SEAFOOD - The Whammies.

9:30 p.m. ’80s Pop/Rock/ Dance. Cover.

WASHINGTON PLATFORM - Pat Kelly Organ Trio. 8:30 p.m. Jazz. $10 (food/drink minimum).

JEN’S BAR AND GRILL The Pandora Project. 9:30 p.m. Rock JIM AND JACK’S ON THE RIVER - Buzzbin. 9 p.m.

Rock/Pop. Free.

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

LUCIUS Q - Ricky Nye Inc. 8 p.m. Blues/Jazz. Free.

THOMPSON HOUSE Michal Menert. 9 p.m. Electronic. $15.

LUDLOW GARAGE - Phillip Phillips. 8:30 p.m. Pop/Folk/ Rock. $30-$50.

URBAN ARTIFACT - Mistar Anderson. 9 p.m. Hip Hop/ Soul/Jazz.

THE MAD FROG - Marsh. 9 p.m. EDM. Cover.

WASHINGTON PLATFORM - Bobby Salvagio. 8:30 p.m. Jazz. $10 (food/drink minimum).

H

WOODWARD THEATER - Winter Salsa Social with Son Del Caribe and The Amador Sisters. 8 p.m. Latin/Salsa/Dance. $20, $25 day of show.

SATURDAY 01

MOTR PUB - Human Heart.

10 p.m. Alternative Rock.

Free.

NORTHSIDE TAVERN Sexy Time Live Band Karaoke. 10 p.m. Rock/Various. Free.

PLAIN FOLK CAFE - Ronnie Vaughn Trio. 7:30 p.m.

Acoustic. Free.

RICK’S TAVERN - Road Trip. 9 p.m. Rock. Cover.

URBAN ARTIFACT Too Many Zooz. 9 p.m.

Dance/Funk/Jazz/Various. $20, $25 day of show.

SUNDAY 02

THE COMET - Comet Bluegrass Allstars. 7:30 p.m.

Bluegrass. Free.

LATITUDES BAR & BISTRO - BlueBirds. 8 p.m.

Rock/R&B. Free.

MANSION HILL TAVERN Deb Ohlinger Open Mic. 9 p.m. Blues. Free.

MOTR PUB - J Dorsey Band with Shawnthony Calypso. 8 p.m. Rock. Free.

H

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (REVIVAL ROOM) - Joe’s Truck Stop, Abbey Hamilton and Kody Skye. 6:30 p.m. Country/ Folk/Bluegrass. $10, $12 day of show.

MONDAY 03

CAFFÈ VIVACE - Soul Message with Chris Foreman.

7:30 p.m. Jazz.

MANSION HILL TAVERN John Redell and Friends. 9 p.m. Open mic. Free.

STANLEY’S PUB - Jazz Jam with The Stanleyband.

9 p.m. Jazz/Improv. Free.

ARNOLD’S BAR AND GRILL - Cincinnati Dancing Pigs. 8 p.m. Americana/Jug band. Free.

RIVERFRONT LIVE Jo Dee Messina. 8 p.m.

Country. $35, $40 day of show.

H

TUESDAY 04

BLUE NOTE HARRISON - Dreamboat Annie. 8 p.m.

Heart tribute. $10-$15.

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (LOUNGE) Strange Creature. 9:30 p.m.

Rock/Americana/World.

Free.

H

BOGART’S - Cash Unchained: The Ultimate Johnny Cash Experience. 9 p.m. Country. $10.

BROMWELL’S HÄRTH LOUNGE - Brandon Coleman Quartet. 9 p.m. Jazz.

Free.

CAFFÈ VIVACE - Craig Bailey Birthday Jam. 8:30 p.m. Jazz.

FRETBOARD BREWING COMPANY - Dr. Bacon. 8 p.m. Funk. Free.

H

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (SANCTUARY) - Aussie Aid with Veronica Grim, Megahussy, Carian, Chalk Eye, True Falcon, Bloody Royal Family, The Racket club and Viceroy Kings. 8 p.m. Rock/Roots/ Various. $12, $15 day of show.

H $25.

THOMPSON HOUSE Black Flag. 7 p.m. Punk.

CAFFÈ VIVACE - Lynne Scott, Lee Stolar and Lou Lausche. 7:30 p.m. Jazz.

MADISON THEATER - Greensky Bluegrass with Ghost Light. 8 p.m.

Progressive Bluegrass. $30, $35 day of show.

NORTHSIDE YACHT CLUB - Omen Stones, Flesh Mother, Lordship and Coelacanth.

9 p.m.

H

URBAN ARTIFACT Slap Frost Revue with Equipto, Michael Marshall, Z-Man, Vocab Slick, DJ True Justice, Sons of Silverton, Peach Street and BPos. 8 p.m. Hip Hop. Cover.

SEE CITYBEAT.COM FOR FULL MUSIC LISTINGS AND ALL CLUB LOCATIONS.

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