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NEWS The Long Flight Home: Getting Deported in Greater Cincinnati President Donald Trump recently ramped up his battle for a border wall. Meanwhile, deportation efforts are surging. Here is what that looks like for one local family.

BY N I C K SWA R T S EL L

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t is about four in the morning when two Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, both tall, bearded men in khaki-colored work jackets and jeans, lead Benjamin Yat-Xicol by the arm through the mostly-empty departures terminal at the Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky international airport.

The 28-year-old is wearing a plain white T-shirt despite the chilly evening and clutching a clear plastic bag full of his belongings.

He is about to be deported. But first, he will be reunited with his son, whom he has not seen for eight months; Benjamin has been in detention for that time.

The younger of the two ICE officers stays with Benjamin as the older officer peels off to check him in for his flight.

“Cinco minutos,” the officer tells Benjamin, sitting him down on a couch and standing close while the two wait.

Benjamin’s deportation will likely be one of hundreds of thousands this year as the administration of President Donald Trump continues an aggressive approach to undocumented immigration.

Trump and his supporters say that approach is necessary to preserve American jobs and combat illicit drugs entering the U.S. On Feb. 15, Trump promised to declare a national emergency in order to construct a border wall with Mexico, one that he promised to build as part of his 2016 campaign. Whether or not that wall is ever constructed, Trump’s administration continues to ramp up immigration enforcement.

Last year, the Department of Homeland Security sought the removal of more than 300,000 people, according to data from Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, which combs data provided by DHS. That’s the highest number of deportation orders sought by DHS since at least 1992, when TRAC began.

Meanwhile, apprehensions of undocumented immigrants at the southern border have decreased more than 50 percent since

that time and are at their lowest levels since 1971, according to Department of Homeland Security data.

The chain of events tying deportation arrests to eventually being deported is complex and can take a Benjamin Yat-Xicol embraces his son before the two are escorted by ICE officers to an airplane at CVG. long time, especially given the masPH OTO: NIC K SWARTSELL sive backlog in immigration cases faced by U.S. courts. Actual deportations under the Trump administration are still lower than they were population living in poverty grew from just isn’t reasonable. Those patterns of under the tenure of President Barack 51 percent in 2009 to almost 60 percent in economic and systemic racism continue to Obama, but they are rising quickly, espe2014 and has continued rising since. exist today.” cially from areas that aren’t around the In many Central American countries, Two borders away, political pressures U.S.-Mexico border. Interior arrests under violence is also a huge problem. fueled by worries about drugs, crime and Trump have surpassed the numbers made In 2014, Guatemala had the 10th-highest jobs have pushed America’s immigration during Obama’s final two years in office. murder rate in the world. Simply crossing a enforcement efforts to aggressive new About 45 percent of deportees last year border doesn’t offer escape: Honduras and highs. originally came from Central American El Salvador, to the south, have the world’s Trump and other supporters of hardline countries like Honduras, El Salvador and highest and second-highest murder rates, immigration prohibitions have highBenjamin’s native Guatemala, where respectively, and Belize, to the east, has lighted alarming stories about immigrants skyrocketing crime and pervasive the world’s seventh-highest. who have committed murders and other poverty have pushed migrants out by the All the economic hardship and violence unspeakable crimes while in the U.S. thousands. After Mexico, Guatemala is the has driven much of the contemporary But about 90 percent of the deportees country of origin for the highest number of unauthorized immigration Trump ran last year, like Benjamin, are being removed deportees so far this year. against in 2016. solely for violating immigration law, a Benjamin and his son are from Coba, In Guatemala, much of the unrest has departure from past policy and part of a a predominantly-Mayan village of roots in the country’s brutal history. For 36 widespread undocumented immigration about 1,300 in the Yucatan Peninsula years beginning in 1960, a bloody civil war crackdown that began with a January 2017 that depends mostly on tourism drawn raged in the country as leftist guerrillas Trump executive order. by nearby Mayan ruins. Benjamin had sought to overthrow a dictatorial governThat stance has hardened further in 2019. significant trouble finding employment ment. During that war, government-affilEarlier this year, Trump and Congress there and elsewhere in Guatemala, he iated military forces undertook a wellwere locked in a bitter battle over the presisays, and decided to make the difficult, documented genocide against indigenous dent’s demand for a $5.6 billion border wall dangerous trip across the Mexican and Mayan citizens of Guatemala. that triggered the nation’s longest-ever U.S. borders with his son, Danny, leaving The American government had some government shutdown. the rest of his family behind with a plan of role in the strife. The U.S. backed the ruling But Congress passed a budget that sending money back for them. regime, sending military and economic doesn’t include the requested funding “I had to leave because my children were aid until at least the late 1970s. The United for the wall. Trump, in turn, vowed dying of hunger,” he told an immigration Nations brokered a peace agreement in to declare a national emergency over attorney working on his behalf.

1996, but hardships have persisted. Today, immigration so he can spend the billions Economic reasons aren’t enough to win many Guatemalans coming to Cincinnati needed to construct the barrier he has asylum in the U.S., though others from are of Mayan descent, including the Yats, been promising supporters since he made Guatemala have won asylum when they who primarily speak an indigenous dialect. immigration a keystone issue of his 2016 have been able to prove their lives are in “You had just entire Mayan communities presidential campaign. danger from specific threats like political burned to the ground,” Eastern Michigan That promise has been dominating or gang violence.

University sociologist Dr. Maria Garcia, headlines across the country. But for The suffering Benjamin describes is a who has researched extensively in Guateimmigrants like Benjamin, other concerns common experience in his home counmala, told CityBeat in 2016. “To expect ecoare more immediate. try. By the Guatemalan government’s nomic recovery after that extreme violence CONTINUES ON PAGE 07 own measures, the share of the country’s

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5 Cincinnati City Beat 02-20-19 M19NASB96 RSD Yellow.indd 1

1/30/2019 9:49:58 AM

CITY DESK

Parking Ticket Amnesty Could be Coming for Cincinnatians

BY S E T H W E B ER

Do you have some hefty parking fines looming overhead? One Cincinnati City Council member is interested in making them easier to pay off.

Council member Tamaya Dennard introduced a motion for city administration to submit a report on the details and feasibility of a Parking Amnesty Program.

That report is due to council by May 1.

Currently, if you don’t pay a City of Cincinnati parking ticket within two weeks, you get an additional $10 fine. If you still don’t pay, the base fine doubles after three weeks.

Dennard’s plan seeks to remove late fees from parking tickets and impounded vehicles, dropping the fees down to the original amount.

This program would be a significant expansion on past amnesty offers, which only lasted a few days. Dennard’s proposed program would last a month.

Amnesty could be especially enticing to folks who visit Over-the-Rhine for work or play. Parking spots can be tough to find ever since the neighborhood’s parking permit program went into effect last month,

and parking in the wrong place without a permit can easily lead to finding a ticket on your windshield.

Anthony Johnson, Dennard’s policy director, researched similar programs and modeled the proposed plan on Philadelphia’s, which lasted from the beginning of May through the end of April 2018 and forgave the full cost of tickets.

They were able to do so due to a large tax base, Johnson said.

Cincinnati has a smaller tax base because of the smaller population, so full forgiveness is not an option. But Johnson said many of the late tickets wouldn’t be paid otherwise, as “all we can do is go through a collections agency to try to get people to pay, but oftentimes people just don’t.”

“We’re not trying to get people out of paying parking tickets,” Dennard said.

“The point is if we can encourage people to pay their tickets, we still bring in income.”

During May 2-8, 2005, the city received $135,000 in parking ticket fees through its amnesty program — then called Operation Clean Slate — though Acting City Manager

David Rager complained in a May 2006 memo to the mayor that the amount of money collected was “significantly lower than anticipated.”

The fees collected during the amnesty period were just a hair above 3 percent of the $4 million in fees the city collected during 2005, Rager wrote.

The following year, Operation Clean Slate saw slightly less revenue, bringing in only $88,116 from 2,260 tickets — a 34 percent decrease from the previous year, Acting City Manager Milton Dohoney, Jr. wrote in a November 2006 memo to the mayor and city council.

The same memo noted the amnesty program in 2003 yielded even less for the city — just $28,656.95.

Rager also mentioned repeated implementation of the program could disincentivize people to pay their tickets.

“It should be noted that frequent use of the amnesty programs may actually discourage violators from paying their parking tickets when due, essentially leading violators to wait until the next amnesty program,” he wrote.

Task Force Will Investigate Ways to Make Downtown More Pedestrian-Friendly

BY N I C K SWA R T S EL L Someday soon, you may be able to drive your car both ways on Vine Street downtown and possibly enjoy a stroll along parts of Court Street without worrying about cars at all.

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City officials, business leaders and advocates for increased walkability in Cincinnati announced the creation of a group called the Downtown Cincinnati Urban Pedestrian Task Force to study those possibilities and others.

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“Our history is not cars, our history is on our feet,” Cincinnati City Councilman Chris Seelbach, who helped put together the task force, said at a Feb. 15 news conference.

“Our neighborhoods were built based around people, and it made us thrive. We lost sight of that, and the city took great places for people and focused on how to make them better for our cars…

This task force is about making sure our downtown is built for people first. “ Another aim of the task force will be making efforts to perk up a key section of the

Central Business District just south of Over-the-Rhine.

“If you think of the revitalization of Fountain Square, you look at the excitement of the riverfront park, the revitalization of Washington Park and Ziegler Park and what’s happening at Findlay Market, Court Street could use some uplift,” Mayor John Cranley said during the announcement of the task force. “If you think about the streetscape, you think about the access to this part of downtown, seeing a new vibrant resiliency here is interesting.”

The announcement, made in the lobby of Cincinnatibased grocery giant Kroger’s downtown office building, comes as the company builds a two-story store just a block east. That store will sit underneath an 18-story residential tower developed by the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation.

That development, plus a $9 million condo project next door to Kroger’s offices, could be part of making the area more active, 3CDC President and CEO Steve Leeper says.

“We have felt very strongly at 3CDC that, although we’ve made some progress in Overthe-Rhine, this area south of Central Parkway and north of Fountain Square needs some love and attention,” he said.

“We’ve been referring to it as no-man’s land, and we don’t want it to be that anymore.”

Cranley said he’s interested in studying whether to dedicate “some or all” of Court Street to pedestrians to create a place where people can congregate and perhaps patronize new retail locations that may arise as the block sees redevelopment.

Cranley says the task force will focus most intently on the one-block stretch of Court between Walnut and Vine streets, but that other stretches on the street may also be considered.

Another key point the task force will explore: making Vine Street two ways “from Over-the-Rhine to the river,” Cranley said. Leeper pointed to the fact that the main downtown artery is two ways after it crosses Central Parkway in Over-the-Rhine and gave that some credit for

the area’s development boom.

“We want it to happen,” Cranley said of making Vine Street two ways. “We’re not looking for reasons why it can’t happen.”

Cranley added that other streets, including Ninth Street and Central Avenue behind City Hall, could also become two ways.

The task force could get $20,000 to $30,000 from the city, Cranley said, and perhaps a matching amount from 3CDC. Former Mayor Roxanne Qualls will chair the committee, which will also include transit activist Derek Bauman, representatives from 3CDC, Downtown Cincinnati Inc., Kroger, The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, the Downtown Residents Council, downtown retailers, the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners, urban planner John Yung and an as-yet-to-be-named transportation planning expert.

Cranley said he would like an initial report from the group in three months.

Planned Parenthood Files Suit Over Ohio Abortion Law

BY N I C K SWA R T S EL L The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, along with state and local chapters of the women’s health organization and an affiliated Dayton clinic called the Women’s Med Center, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the state of Ohio over abortion restrictions state lawmakers passed in December.

House Bill 145 banned so-called “dilation and evacuation” procedures, which are used in roughly 95 percent of second-trimester abortions — those taking place between 15-20 weeks after conception.

The procedures are sometimes also undertaken after a woman has a miscarriage. Under the law, doctors performing the procedures could be charged with fourth-degree felonies and sentenced to a year and a half in prison.

The law makes limited exceptions when a pregnancy presents a risk of death or serious injury.

The procedure accounted for roughly 3,400 of Ohio’s more than 20,000 abortions in 2017. During the second trimester, the only alternative to the outlawed procedure is inducing labor, an expensive and more arduous option.

Pro-life groups have applauded the passage of the bill, while advocates for abortion access have called it unconstitutional and cited opposition from physician groups like the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

“As a doctor, I know how important it is for patients to work with their doctors to choose the best medical procedure for their individual medical situation,” Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s Leana Wen said in a statement. “Medical decision-making must be free from political interference.

This ban has no basis in medicine — it is opposed by medical organizations and will cause harm to women in Ohio.

Abortion is part of the full spectrum of reproductive health care, which is health care, and Planned Parenthood will always safeguard the ability of our patients to access safe, legal abortion, no matter what.”

Nine other states have passed similar laws, some of which have been rejected by courts in Alabama, Arkansas, Texas and elsewhere after legal challenges.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed Ohio’s bill into law late last year before leaving office, though he vetoed an even stricter “heartbeat bill” that would have outlawed abortions as early as six weeks after conception. Lawmakers CONTINUES ON PAGE 07

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missed overriding Kasich’s veto by two votes in the state Senate and have reintroduced the legislation under new Gov. Mike DeWine, who has indicated he will sign it into law.

As he waits with the ICE agents in the airport lobby, a car driven by an immigration attorney and carrying his 8-year-old son Danny glides south through the night on I-75.

The trip from the northern suburbs of Cincinnati passes the rooflines of stillsleeping urban neighborhoods and the towering downtown offices before crossing the glassy, swollen Ohio River to Northern Kentucky. It is a final flash of an America Danny will likely not see again soon.

He does not want to leave the United States and sits wordlessly in the car as it speeds him toward his father, the waiting airplane and the country both of them fled less than a year ago.

Sitting next to him are a woman in her 30s and her daughter, who is a couple years older than Danny.

They took Danny and his father into their home in a suburban Cincinnati apartment complex eight months ago, when the two first arrived in the U.S. from Guatemala.

“I had an extra room, so I let them come stay with me,” Danny’s caretaker, who asked not to be named, says. “After 20 days, (his father) got picked up, so I took over after that.”

Benjamin was arrested when police pulled over a van full of workers headed to

House Bill 258, sponsored by Republican State Reps. Christina Hagan and Ron Hood, would have made it a fifthdegree felony to administer an abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected. That can be as soon as six weeks after conception. The legislation didn’t make exceptions for rape or incest.

Both pro-life and pro-choice advocates have identified such legal restrictions — 20 of which Ohio has passed under Kasich and now DeWine — as attempts to trigger a court battle that could topple Roe v. Wade, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that affirmed women’s rights to abortion access.

Abortion opponents criticized Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit.

“It’s hard to imagine how Planned Parenthood could be in support of a procedure which allows living unborn babies to be ripped limb from limb,” Ohio Right to Life said in a statement. “At what point will the court reject Planned Parenthood’s frivolous lawsuits?”

luggage and what he will throw away with the garbage bag he brought. Crouching just inside the door of the airport lobby, he sorts through a pink folder of officiallooking papers in Spanish and hands some to Danny, fishes out some clothes and more papers and eventually consolidates everything into one bag.

The ICE agents ask the immigration attorney if Benjamin has a phone.

“You know, so he can’t…” one agent says, making a texting motion with his hands.

Benjamin fishes a smart phone out of a plastic bag and places it in a manila envelope one of the agents is holding. The agents, who work out of an ICE office in Blue Ash, will escort the Yats to the plane, then watch it take off.

Benjamin’s phone will be handed off to other agents waiting for him at the airport gate in Miami, where the flight will stop briefly. He will get the phone back in Guatemala.

The woman who took care of Danny for eight months talks quietly with the Yats as tears well up in her daughter’s eyes. The immigration attorney speaks briefly to Benjamin.

Then, the ICE officers, Benjamin and Danny, who is trailing slightly behind, walk toward the airport’s security gates. It is time to go.

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a construction site in Lebanon. ICE agents have arrested about 3,900 people in Ohio since Trump took office, including 179 in Butler County, where Benjamin was picked up. ICE placed a detainer on him soon after, and he spent months in the Butler County Justice Center before he was transferred to a federal detention center in Morrow.

Now, Benjamin is being sent back to Guatemala, and Danny will come too instead of facing life in a strange country without his father or documentation.

The prospect is visibly difficult for Danny’s caretaker, who has risked a lot to come with them to the airport.

“I’m going to stay in contact with them,” she pledges.

The group, which also includes an immigration attorney, arrives in the airport lobby about 10 minutes after Benjamin and the ICE agents. Benjamin embraces Danny, who says little as tears stream down his face.

Danny’s group has come bearing gifts: a gym bag full of additional belongings Benjamin hasn’t seen since ICE arrested him, another pair of brown leather shoes to replace his beat-up sneakers and some cash.

There are precious few minutes left, and Benjamin must try to decide which of his things will go into his makeshift

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The first national touring company of Hamilton, which stops in Cincinnati Feb. 19-March 10. PHOTO: Joan Marcus

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M

any of you reading this reside in Hamilton County, the most populous county in the Greater Cincinnati region. It’s named for Alexander Hamilton, one of America’s Founding Fathers. Have a $10 bill in your wallet? You have a picture of him in easy reach. Thanks to Lin-Manuel Miranda, local theater fans will soon be learning more about the historical figure via Hamilton: An American Musical, an unlikely megahit, based on the Founding Father’s life. Here are 10 questions (and answers) to consider as this phenomenally popular show is presented at Cincinnati’s Aronoff Center over the next three weeks.

01. W H O WA S A L E X A N D E R H A M I LT O N ?

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Austin Scott as Alexander Hamilton PHOTO: Joan Marcus

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He was indeed one of the men who created our American nation. He wrote 51 of the 85 installments of The Federalist Papers, which are still valued essays that explained and defended the U.S. Constitution. Hamilton had a remarkable financial mind, making him the best choice for America’s first Secretary of the Treasury (1789-1795).

He was also involved in establishing the U.S. Mint and, to many, he’s the patron saint of Wall Street, the financial center that is the beating heart of our national economy.

But that’s not his whole story. He was an orphan and an immigrant, born out of wedlock on the Caribbean island of Nevis in the mid-1750s. Taken in by a prosperous merchant, he was sent from St. Croix to New York City as a promising teenager in need of formal education not available on a backward island. He enrolled at what is now Columbia University, but his studies were interrupted when, around the age of 20, he joined the militia to support the fight for American independence from Great Britain. He quickly rose through the ranks, eventually becoming a senior aide to General George Washington and assisting in the management of the Continental Army. When the war ended, he self-studied the law and passed the New York bar exam in 1782.

In 1780, Hamilton married Elizabeth Schuyler, one of three brilliant daughters of an esteemed general. Hamilton was the first American politician to be involved in a sex scandal, following an illicit affair with a young married woman in 1791-1792; her husband blackmailed Hamilton. In 1797 his indiscretion became public knowledge.

Political enmity between the brash patriot and Vice President Aaron Burr resulted in a July 1804 duel in which Hamilton was fatally wounded. He had not reached his 50th birthday. He was buried near Wall Street and Broadway in Lower Manhattan. Though he was never forgotten, after two centuries he was no longer a familiar historical figure. That is, until Lin-Manuel Miranda read his biography.

02. W H O I S L I N - M A N U E L M I R A N D A ?

Born in 1980, Miranda grew up in New York City. His parents were from Puerto Rico, and he spent at least one month a year with his grandparents there. His father was a Democratic Party organizer; his mother a clinical psychologist.

Young Miranda was a precocious teenage musician who penned jingles for political campaigns his father managed. In high school he played the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance and Judas in Godspell. Later, he attended Wesleyan University in Connecticut where he co-founded a Hip Hop comedy troupe — and played Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar.

In 1999, he drafted his fi rst Broadway musical while still in college — In the Heights. He continued to work on the show post-graduation in 2002 with director Thomas Kail and book writer Quiara Alegría Hudes. In 2008, it hit Broadway stages with Miranda in the leading role. It earned 13 Tony Award nominations and won four, including Best Musical and Best Original Score.

The cast recording won a 2009 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.

(Cincinnatians recently flocked to see the just-closed production of In the Heights at the Playhouse in the Park.)

The energetic, multifaceted composer and lyricist was quickly at work on numerous musical projects. He translated some West Side Story lyrics by Stephen Sondheim into Spanish for the show’s 2009 Broadway revival, and composed two new songs for a Florida production of Stephen Schwartz’s 1978 musical Working. He worked in TV, too, making guest appearances on The Sopranos and House, as well as Sesame Street and the 2009 revival of The Electric Company. He co-wrote another musical, Bring It On, based on the 2000 movie about competitive cheerleading, that had a limited Broadway run in 2012.

Not yet 40, Miranda seems to be everywhere in today’s entertainment world: He recently wrote music for the Disney animated fi lm Moana and played the leading role of Jack the lamplighter in another Disney fi lm, Mary Poppins Returns. But Hamilton is the phenomenon that made his name. Following its Broadway arrival in July 2015, Miranda was named the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation “genius grant,” and Time Magazine named him one of its 100 “influential people” in America.

03. H O W D I D M I R A N D A

D I S C O V E R H A M I LT O N AND WHY DID HE USE RAP TO TELL HIS STORY?

Julia K. Harriman (left) as Elizabeth Hamilton and Austin Scott as Alexander Hamilton PHOTO: Joan Marcus

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In preparation for a beach vacation in Mexico in 2008, Miranda snagged a copy of Ron Chernow’s 2004 biography of the Founding Father. He was immediately struck by Hamilton’s life and its resemblance to rising Rap stars in the 21st century: an ambitious, verbally audacious motormouth with a combative ego. To Miranda, Hamilton was a Rapper two centuries before such artists took on the music and entertainment world.

Miranda made the genius — and not yet obvious — connection between Hip Hop and 18th-century politics. “The idea of Hip Hop being the music of the Revolution appealed to me immensely,” he told The New York Times Magazine in 2015. “It felt right.”

His lyrics call Hamilton “young, scrappy and hungry,” precisely the quality of late 20th-century artists like Jay Z, Eminem and the Notorious B.I.G. Hamilton’s career was built on words; Miranda, noted that Hamilton produced over 27 volumes of written work.

“I think it’s appropriate that we would need a musical style that transmits more words per minute than any other genre,” he said in the same article.

Calling Hamilton a “Rap musical” is too narrow. Like opera, it’s sungthrough with very little dialogue. Rap certainly constitutes a prominent element, but it’s not the only music to be heard. Listen to the cast recording or see a performance, and you’ll discover Rhythm & Blues, choral ballads, bits of Gospel, Broadway-styled songs and even a number that sounds straight out of the British invasion of the 1960s — King George III’s haughty “You’ll Be Back,” a smarmy, sing-song prediction scolding American Revolutionaries for their ingratitude.

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04. D I D M I R A N D A R E A L LY P E R F O R M AT THE OBAMA WHITE HOUSE? In May 2009, as Miranda began working on what he first called The Hamilton Mixtape, he was invited to the White House Poetry Jam by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. “We wanted to open the doors really wide to a bunch of different folks who usually don’t get access to this place,” Michelle explained in a release.

The intention had been for Miranda to perform a number from his Tony Award winner, In the Heights. Instead, he offered a number “about the life of someone who embodies Hip Hop: Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton.” Those words evoked amusement when he said them that evening, but in an archived recording you can hear his quick

Julia K. Harriman, Sabrina Sloan, Isa Briones and company PHOTO: Joan Marcus

response: “You laugh, but it’s true. He was born a penniless orphan in St. Croix of illegitimate birth, became George Washington’s righthand man, became Treasury Secretary, caught beef with every other Founding Father — and all on the strength of his writing. He embodies the words’ ability to make a difference.”

The Obamas became champions of the show, taking daughters Malia and Sasha to see a July 2015 performance. At a White House event in March 2016, the First Lady said, “It was simply, as I tell everyone, the best piece of art in any form that I have ever seen in my life.”

05. W H AT O T H E R

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CHARACTERS ARE IN H A M I LT O N ?

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Many of the Founding Fathers are present: Stern, pragmatic George Washington was Hamilton’s mentor, a steady hand trying to calm the young hot-headed military leader. Thomas Jefferson, Hamilton’s political opposite, is a constant thorn in his side. There’s another eventual president, James Madison.

The continentally sophisticated Marquis de Lafayette has a part to play. Aaron Burr, Hamilton’s ultimate archenemy — the opponent who kills him in a duel — is a fascinating study in jealousy and seething frustration. (On Broadway, Leslie Odom, Jr. — playing the part of Burr — won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actor in Musical.) The Schuyler Sisters bring plenty of sass and feminist attitudes to the show: Eliza, who becomes Hamilton’s wife; the fiery Angelica, his muse; and Peggy.

Actors of color play all of Hamilton’s characters. Why? Here’s what biographer Chernow said in a 2015 interview with The New York Time Magazine: “The whole concept of Hamilton, I realized, was inseparable from casting. The miracle of the play is that it shows us who we were as a nation but also who we are now. The young, multiracial cast has a special feeling for the passion, urgency and idealism of the American Revolution.”

In the show, while speaking to Marquis de Lafayette — a Frenchman who helped America fight for independence — Hamilton says, “We’re immigrants. We get the job done,” a line that repeatedly resonates with audiences.

06.

IS THERE A C I N C I N N AT I CONNECTION? Aside from the geographical name-checks we have locally, there’s a personal link. Choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler, a 1988 grad of Cincinnati’s St. Xavier High School, is a member of Miranda’s creative team.

They first worked together on In the Heights in 2007-2008, with Blankenbuehler winning the 2008 Tony Award for the season’s best choreography. He picked up another nomination for the 2009 Broadway production of 9 to 5. In 2013 he worked with Miranda again, choreographing and directing Bring It On: The Musical.

Hamilton came next. Blankenbuehler picked up a 2015 Drama Desk Special Award. It recognized “his inspired and heart-stopping choreography in Hamilton, which is indispensable to the musical’s storytelling.

His body of work is versatile, yet a dynamic and fluid style is consistently evident. When it’s time to ‘take his shot,’ Blankenbuehler hits the bull’s-eye.” That honor was followed by the 2016 Tony for Best Choreography.

(Subsequently, Blankenbuehler — currently Broadway’s go-to choreographer — earned another Tony for the musical Bandstand, by another Cincinnati star, composer Richard Oberacker.)

07.

Downtown’s Aronoff Center decked out for Hamilton PHOTO: Provided

H O W M U C H M O N E Y I S H A M I LT O N MAKING? much revenue. Likely, it’s headed toward being a billion-dollar Broadway show. Ticket sales have remained strong even as the original cast members have moved on to other productions.

The average ticket price in New York City is presently $375 and $849 for the best seats.

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According to The New York Times, Hamilton cost $12.5 million to produce originally, which was recouped quickly. It has continually broken weekly gross records for Broadway ticket sales. In late December 2018 it grossed $4.04 million in one week, the first time a Broadway production has ever generated that

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The cast of Hamilton’s first national tour PHOTO: Joan Marcus

08. H O W M A N Y P R O D U C T I O N S A R E

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THERE?

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The Broadway production, now approaching four years onstage, continues to have sold-out houses at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, week in and week out. An open-ended production started in Chicago in October 2017 and continues to run. The production’s first national tour began with performances in March and April 2017 in San Francisco; it will eventually visit 20 cities. (That production is the one in Cincinnati from Feb. 19 to March 10.) A second national tour began in Seattle last year, making the rounds to more cities and venues, and a third national tour kicked off in Puerto Rico in January 2019. The three-week run there was presented in part to raise funds for hurricane relief, featuring Miranda returning to the title role. That company, without Miranda, will continue to travel the U.S. Hamilton has also been a hit in London’s West End since December 2017 at the Victoria Palace Theatre; productions will soon be mounted in Europe and Australia.

09.

WHY IS H A M I LT O N S O I M P O R TA N T ?

It’s clearly a work that resonates beyond its specific narrative. “We could all be dead tomorrow,” Miranda told The New York Times. “Who tells our story? Will it be told? We have no way of knowing.

In essence, that’s what the show is about. We are telling the story of someone who I don’t think would expect it to be told in this way if he were alive. But he very much wanted his story told.”

All the characters in Hamilton ask, “Who lives?

Who dies? Who tells your story?” The message of the show is eminently relatable. Miranda had stated his belief that these are questions everyone in the audience asks of themselves. “It leaves you reckoning with: Wait, who does tell my story?

What am I doing with my life?”

The ensemble of Hamilton PHOTO: Joan Marcus

10. A R E T H E R E S T I L L T I C K E T S F O R

P E R F O R M A N C E S H E R E I N C I N C I N N AT I ?

Tickets were sold for $65 to $195 with a select number of $279 to $449 premium seats available at every performance. (Alas, they have all been snapped up.) But you aren’t totally out of luck. As they’ve done with other stops, 40 tickets per performance will be offered via a daily digital lottery, priced at $10 (thanks to Hamilton’s appearance on the U.S. $10 bill). Each lottery will open two days prior to the performance at 11 a.m. You can apply for tickets for each date, but you must enter each lottery separately and only once per performance. You can register via the official Hamilton phone app or via hamiltonmusical.com/lottery. Don’t throw away your shot!

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Hamilton, presented by Broadway in Cincinnati at the Aronoff Center for the Arts, continues through March 10. More info: cincinnatiarts.org.

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STUFF TO DO

Ongoing Shows VISUAL ART: Thoughts Made Visceral Weston Art Gallery, Downtown (through March 24) VISUAL ART: Winslow Homer to Georgia O’Keeffe: American Paintings from the Phillips Collection Taft Museum of Art, Downtown (through May 19)

WEDNESDAY 20

ATTRACTIONS: Egypt: The Time of Pharaohs features more than 350 artifacts from ancient Egypt on display at the Cincinnati Museum Center. See feature on page 22.

Ingri Fiksdal: STATE PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE CONTEMPOR ARY ARTS CENTER

ONSTAGE: The Last Wide Open at the Playhouse in the Park is a romantic tale of fate and thunderstorms in a late-night restaurant. See review on page 23.

EVENT: Experience Sankofa takes guests back in time to the Harlem Renaissance or dawn of Hip Hop at the People’s Liberty Globefront Gallery. See feature on page 24.

FRIDAY 22

MUSIC: Indie quartet Mipso supports their latest at the Woodward Theater with Young Heirlooms. See interview on page 31.

MUSIC: Wild Moccasins bring Fleetwood Macinspired Alt Pop to MOTR Pub. See Sound Advice on page 34.

MUSIC: British Indie Rockers The Kooks take over Bogart’s. See Sound Advice on page 34.

MUSIC: Gina Chavez fuses Soul, Folk, Pop and Latin at Ludlow Garage. See Sound Advice on page 35.

EVENT: The Art of Food The Carnegie in Covington is hosting a lucky 13th birthday for its annual Art of Food celebration. This one-of-a-kind culinary fête combines food, fun and art for an evening of culture and cuisine. Top local chefs from more than 20 area restaurants including

Aflio’s Buon Cibo, Branch, Coppin’s, Frida 602, Lil’s Bagels, Red Feather and the BonBonerie will be on hand to provide tastings that elaborate on installations and performances from area artists like Cryptogram, Tony Dotson, Joe Girandola and Pones. “The Art of Food has been continuously evolving since its inception 13 years ago,” said gallery director Matt Distel in a release.

“On Feb. 22, artists and chefs will create a dynamic environment with visual art, performers, interactive installations, and, of course, food.” The event will be spread through six galleries and a heated front tent.

VIP tickets include lounge seating and complimentary beer and wine. 6-10 p.m.

Friday. $50; $35 members; $100 VIP. The Carnegie, 1028 Scott St., Covington, thecarnegie.com. — MAIJA ZUMMO MUSIC: DaniLeigh Even if the name DaniLeigh

doesn’t immediately ring any bells, you might recognize her dance moves. The on-the-rise Hip Hop vocalist caught big attention last year when her homemade entry in the “In My Feelings” dance challenge — during which she fluidly danced to the Drake song alongside a moving car after jumping from the driver’s seat — made her the poster girl for the entire craze. But she’s hardly an overnight/flash-inthe-pan viral star. Signed to Def Jam, DaniLeigh began her career as a young dancer, while also posting YouTube covers of favorite songs by Musiq Soulchild, Drake, Alicia Keys and others in her early teens.

Eventually moving to L.A. from her native Florida when she was 16 and getting jobs dancing in music videos and commercials, Prince gave her the opportunity to direct and co-star in his “Breakfast Can Wait” music video CONTINUES ON PAGE 18

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ART: Ingri Fiksdal: STATE What happens when an internationally renowned contemporary Norwegian

choreographer (Ingri Fiksdal) and an award-winning Danish director (Jonas Corell Petersen) collaborate with an avant-fashion designer (Henrik Vibskov) and an experimental noise artist (Lasse Marhaug)? STATE. This immersive performance art piece uses five dancers and two musicians to examine the role that ritual dances have played in the creation and preservation of the state. Marvel and ponder as the choreography, design and sonics build upon each other before an ultimate crescendo. This will be Fiksdal’s first return to the CAC since 2015’s Night Tripper. Fair warning, this performance features moments of powerfully pounding percussion, flashing lights and a smoke machine. 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday. $15; $10 members. Contemporary Arts Center, 44 E. Sixth St., Downtown, contemporaryartscenter.org. — TOMMY MCDONALD

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EVENT: The Big Fake Wedding Cincinnati You are all cordially invited to a big fake wedding: expect an emotional vow renewal ceremony, a fun-filled reception and even some good food. Come view a bridal show like you’ve never seen before. The Big Fake Wedding hosts a mock wedding to show new couples the best of local wedding vendors and also provide some inspiration. As “wedding guests,” attendees will get a cocktail-style dinner with a signature drink and swag bag. Take away the stress of wedding planning and have some fun while doing it. 7-9 p.m. Thursday. $25; $30 at the door. The Transept, 1205 Elm St., Over-theRhine, thebigfakewedding. com. — KIARA REECE

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ONSTAGE: Hamilton The wait to see Hamilton on a Cincinnati stage is finally over: The production’s first national tour makes its local stop at the Aronoff Center through March 10. The rapped and sung Broadway musical, written

by Lin-Manuel Miranda, follows the life of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton and is a bona fide pop culture sensation. And while standard tickets are sold out, 40 tickets per performance will be offered through a digital lottery priced at $10 each. Learn more about Hamilton in the cover story on page 09. Through March 10. Aronoff Center, 650 Walnut St., Downtown, cincinnatiarts.org. — MAIJA ZUMMO

THURSDAY 21

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when she was 18. Now in her early 20s, her single “Lil Bebe” became a streaming hit when it was released last fall, and it was followed by her debut album, The Plan, which features guests like YG and Lil Yachty. Currently on her first headlining tour, DaniLeigh recently talked to Harper’s Bazaar about how she feels performing live.

“What drives me is the energy in the crowd,” she said. “I can see the type of crowd I’m gonna have and I’m like ‘OK, let’s go.’ Something in me just clicks and everything else I was dealing with before, whatever, that day, just doesn’t matter and I just happened to be putting on a great show.” 9 p.m.

Friday. $15-$55. Top Cats, 2820 Vine St., Corryville, topcatscincy.com. — MIKE BREEN EVENT: Art After Dark: We Built This City The Cincinnati Art Museum remembers “150 years of creativity” with an exhibition of over 90 pieces of drawings and prints in Art Academy of Cincinnati at 150. On Friday, the museum celebrates the local institution with an afterhours party featuring food from Camp Washington Chili and Dewey’s, plus cocktails, docent-led tours and a stargazing event led by astronomer Dean Regas of the Cincinnati Observatory.

Telescopes will be set up to view the stars, weather permitting. Live music from local band and Art Academy

alumni Heavy Hinges will satisfy your ears while the art and stars satisfy your eyes. 5-9 p.m. Friday. Free admission. Cincinnati Art Museum, 953 Eden Park Drive, Mount Adams, cincinnatiartmuseum.org.

— BEN REES EVENT: Rhinegeist Tropical Disco Get down with Rhinegeist as the brewery transforms the taproom into a funky disco. The dance floor will be lit with a black light, so make sure to put on your best glow-in-the-dark gear to shine the brightest.

The event will feature multiple DJ sets and also face painting. The taproom will be selling Rhinegeist brews and Swizzle, their latest cider. 9 p.m.-2 a.m.

Friday. Free admission.

Rhinegeist, 1910 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, rhinegeist.com.

— KIARA REECE COMEDY: Margaret Cho Opinionated and sometimes bawdy, comedian Margaret Cho isn’t afraid to reinvent herself. “I really always wanted to be comedian, and I always knew this would be my life,” she says. She tried her hand at stand-up comedy at age 14 and by 16 she was performing regularly. “By the time I was 18 or 19, I was pretty much set into what I was going to do. Very focused.” It

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PRE S E NT E D BY

was around this time that she entered a stand-up contest. First prize, which she captured, was a slot as the opening act for comedy king Jerry Seinfeld. From there it was on to Los Angeles and appearances on the Arsenio Hall Show, as well as a Bob Hope special and a tour of colleges nationwide. Since then she’s worked behind and in front of the camera for both the big screen and TV. 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday; 7

SATURDAY 23

EVENT: 20th Century Cincinnati For one weekend, the Sharonville Convention Center is transforming into the swankiest pop-up thrift store in the Queen City.

20th Century Cincinnati is celebrating its 25th anniversary of showcasing the best of Vintage Modern design from Art Deco furniture and lighting to knick-knacks and works of art. A cornucopia of offerings for all budgets awaits with over 70 dealers spread out across 20,000 square feet. This year’s special guest is 91-year-old Modernist glass designer Wayne Husted, who will be both exhibiting some choice vintage works and selling more contemporary designs. For true collectors, Saturday’s Java Preview offers early-bird admission to snag advance shopping opportunities, with bonus coffee, tea and juice. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; 9-11 a.m. Java Preview Saturday. $8 is good for both days; $25 Java Preview. Sharonville Convention Center, 11355 Chester Road, Sharonville, queencityshows.com.

— TOMMY MCDONALD

ONLY $45!

SATURDAY 23

CLASSICAL: Christine Kim on the Balcony Huh, what’s that gorgeous sound? If you’ve ever daydreamed about a classically trained musician supplying the soundtrack to your life, that wish can briefly come true this Saturday.

Christine Kim, a graduate of UC’s College-Conservatory of Music with a master’s in violin performance, will be reprising her role from the closing ceremony of 21c Museum Hotel’s Future is Female exhibition by giving a violin performance on a balcony above the busy Walnut Street sidewalk for an hour and a half. Whether you’re looking to camp out for a free Classical concert, make the perfect romantic sidewalk date or just catch some beautiful music as you’re making your way downtown, keep an ear out for Kim’s virtuosic strings filling the air. 5:30-7 p.m. Saturday. Free. 21c Museum Hotel, 609 Walnut St., Downtown, facebook. com/21ccincinnati.

— TOMMY MCDONALD

SATURDAY 23

your home. There are design and installment shows on the big stage, as well as celebrities — including Ty Pennington of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Tyler Wisler of HGTV’s Design Star — to give you the latest info on home trends. Exhibitors include remodelers, kitchen and bath designers, lighting experts, pool and spa outfitters, household appliance providers and more. This event has been around for 50 years and they are ringing in their anniversary by offering free admission for those born in 1969. 10 a.m.-9 p.m.

Saturday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Feb. 28 and March 1; 10 a.m.-9 p.m.

March 2; 190 a.m.-6 p.m. March 3. $12; $14 door; free 12 and under.

Duke Energy Convention Center, 525 Elm St., Downtown, cincinnatihomeandgardenshow.com.

— KIARA REECE

HOPS & HORSES

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SUNDAY 24

EVENT: For the Love of Frenchies Oakley Wines is going Francophile with this event for you and your furry friend.

Meet local Instagram star Vince Cincy (@vincecincy), a French bulldog with more than 16,000 followers who enjoys wearing goofy glasses, while sipping some vino. Oakley wines will be donating $2 from each glass to Queen City Bulldog Rescue, a nonprofit that helps rescue, rehabilitate, educate and support bulldogs — a breed predisposed to many health problems — and their owners. All breeds are welcome to visit and Pugalicious Pet Treats free-dried snacks will be on hand as well. 1-3 p.m.

Sunday. Free admission.

Oakley Wines, 4011 Allston St., Oakley, facebook.com/ freedrinkinglessons.

— MAIJA ZUMMO

YOUR WEEKEND TO DO LIST: LOCAL.CITYBEAT.COM

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EVENT: Maple Sugar Days Maple sugaring is a tradition going back generations in Ohio. This weekend, Great Parks of Hamilton County is hosting a free opportunity for people of all ages to learn about maple sugar and how maple sap becomes a sweet treat. The weekend includes crafts,

hikes and definitely some maple sugar tasting. For those who don’t like crowds or those who experience sensory overloads, there will be limited activities open for an hour before the crowds arrive. Noon-4 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday. Free admission. Farbach-Werner Nature Preserve, Ellenwood Nature Barn, 3455 Poole Road, Colerain Township, greatparks.org. — BEN REES

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EVENT: Cincinnati Home + Garden Show Before you go to YouTube for that DIY home improvement video, stop by the Cincinnati Home + Garden Show. With multiple experts, interior designers and galleries to spark inspiration, this event has everything you need to help you spruce up

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FLOGGING MOLLY

www.memphisinmay.org

ARTS & CULTURE Fielding Fake Orchestras and Economic Hardships in ‘Sounds Like Titanic’ In her debut memoir, Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman explores disillusionment with the realities she finds herself in

BY L E Y L A S H O KO O H E

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Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman PHOTO: MACKENZIE MANLEY

with dates and locations. Her choice to use second person point-of-view is grounding, letting readers feel like we, too, are naïve college kids trying to figure out the best path through life. She also weaves in bits of narrative written in first-person present tense, which she notes was used in chapters recounting her time on tour with The Composer.

Issues of class and the American societal belief that hard work is of utmost importance are Sounds Like Titanic’s most resonant themes. Hindman says talking about money in the memoir was the hardest part — even harder than talking about the fake performances, The Composer and the mental and physical illnesses that manifested during her time with the ensemble.

“If (my memoir) can encourage people to be more honest about that, perhaps more honest about the way in which class and money and higher education kind of intertwine, I think that’s good,” she says.

To learn more about Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman, visit jessicahindman.com.

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on, Hindman had hundreds of index cards tacked up on a board.

“There’s The Composer thread; explaining Appalachia to Ivy League thread; then the whole thing in the Middle East, which was like I knew that was a big thing about this book,” she says. “But when you try to explain this to people, they get so hung up on fake violining and then you’re like, ‘Oh, also, September 11,’ and they’re looking at you like you’re insane. This is six different stories.”

She’s referencing her time in Cairo, where she studied abroad in the fall of 2001, after she’d decided to become a Middle Eastern studies major. It was a tense and turbulent time. Though her experience of 9/11 was distinctly different than most of her contemporaries back in the U.S., many of her experiences are also universal.

“The best memoirs are able to tell not only the individual’s story, but also the societal story,” Hindman says. “I have all these flaws, but they’re not just mine — I am also living in the society in which I live in.”

The memoir is arranged in two parts; each contains a series of mini-chapters

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as a violinist, it, very fittingly, doesn’t.

Hindman admits in the memoir that her violin talents were not virtuosic.

That realization came while attending Columbia, where she found herself surrounded by “dozens of better-than-you violinists,” she writes. To make ends meet and pay her exorbitant tuition, Hindman eventually resorts to selling her eggs. But first she sees an ad calling for violinists.

“You read the ad again and again,” reads the memoir. “If you got this job, you would double your current income. More than that, you would become what you had spent your childhood dreaming of becoming: a professional violinist.”

Enter The Composer. Hindman gets a callback for an audition, which takes her on a wild ride that ends up comprising the crux of the memoir: Her experience “playing” the violin at fake performances.

The Composer and his small ensemble tour around the country. But instead of actually performing, Hindman and the other violinists play quietly into an unplugged microphone while audiences hear music that sounds suspiciously like the Titanic soundtrack pouring out from the speakers.

The figure of The Composer is flamboyant, quirky and outsized. (He is reminiscent of the conductor in the Amazon television series, Mozart in the Jungle.) In one scene, Hindman plays Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and The Composer asks her who it is. For all that, he remains a figure of mystery.

“While he is a very entertaining character, he’s not the point of the book,” Hindman says. “I’m not going to tell anybody who The Composer is or confirm any guesses.

I’m happy people are interested, but I also hope people would be kind and realize this is not a crime; no one was hurt in the making of this music.”

If it feels like Sounds Like Titanic is about a lot of things, it is. Hindman began writing the memoir, which she initially intended to be an article, several years ago. She says it took her five or six years to get past page 50, and then three months to write the rest. To keep track of all the moments she touches

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hrough the course of Sounds Like Titanic — a new memoir by local author Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman — the reader comes to understand Hindman is overtly referencing the 1997 mega-hit film’s soundtrack, which was filled with soaring penny whistles, aching violins and, obviously, Celine Dion.

But Hindman has also done something very clever: From the get-go, she’s lets us know that the story she’s about to relay in this book is an unmitigated disaster.

Hindman’s own proverbial ship goes down in flames. It’s uncomfortable. It’s tense.

And it’s really funny.

A creative writing professor at Northern Kentucky University, the memoir published by W.W. Norton & Company is Hindman’s full-length debut.

“When I was (at Columbia University’s MFA program) everyone was writing a memoir,” Hindman says. “I was like, ‘Not me.’ First of all, what even is a memoir? It sounds really French and pretentious — memoir — but then I started to realize that this was not just about Classical music. It was also about class, and that I played a role in that, too.”

Raised in Appalachian West Virginia as the daughter of a family physician and social worker, class was something Hindman struggled against; she came to this realization when she arrived at Columbia as a freshman undergraduate.

But, comparatively, she was one of the lucky ones. Growing up, her father’s job as a doctor meant she was better off than most of her peers; eventually, she would be able to indulge in violin lessons a lengthy four-hour-drive away.

She recounts the latter in her memoir, writing in second person: “You ask your parents for a violin for your fifth birthday.

When no violin arrives, you ask for a violin for Christmas. Then again for your sixth birthday. Seventh. Eighth. There are no violin teachers in your region of West Virginia, your parents explain. Not even Santa can fix this problem.”

Though, at first, it seems like the memoir will be centered around Hindman

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Egypt Comes Alive in ‘Time of Pharaohs’

BY M AC K EN ZI E M A N L E Y

Ancient Egypt now resides inside the Cincinnati Museum Center via a collection of artifacts dating back more than 4,500 years. Making its U.S. debut, Egypt: The Time of Pharaohs gives a sweeping look at Egyptian life five millennia ago, from the gods they worshipped to the flourishing arts scene to the everyday lives of both commoners and the ruling class.

The show boasts over 350 original artifacts and is heralded as the largest exhibition of ancient Egyptian items to ever go on the road. Items featured are pulled from the University of Aberdeen Museums in Aberdeen, A close-up of a statue of Hatshepsut Scotland; the Roemer- und PelizaeusMuseum in Hildesheim, Germany; PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER the Berlin Egyptian Museum in Berlin, Germany; and the Gustav-LubckeMuseum in Hamm, Germany. be reincarnated into animal forms. Main “Four-thousand-five-hundred years; deities were frequently depicted with let’s think about that for a moment,” said animal features, like Anubis, the god of the CMC’s President Elizabeth Pierce at The afterlife, who was shown with the head of Time of Pharaohs’ opening. “Together we a jackal. Near the tail-end of the exhibit, will marvel at the beautiful stonework, there’s even a mummified cat on display. ornate sarcophagi, meticulously prepared Other sections of the exhibit feature mummies and original papyrus depicting a timeline of ancient Egypt’s various Egyptian myths. And we will transport historical periods, hieroglyphs, a papyrus back in time to the land of hieroglyphs, fragment with a scene from the Book of the pyramids and god-kings and queens.”

Dead, and impressive miniature replicas Upon entering the space, visitors are of various temples and housing. Regine greeted by a projected image of the Nile Schulz, the curator of the exhibit and River, which stretches across an entire director of the Roemer- und Pelizaeuslength of wall. The image visually grounds Museum, noted Egyptian culture’s lasting the exhibit and is the backdrop for cases worldwide impact at the opening of The upon cases of artifacts, each adding their Time of Pharaohs. own revelation about this culture and “We want to tell the story of the people people. As Wafaa El-Saddik, the former and the development,” she said. director of the Egyptian Museum in Cario, The sheer amount of artifacts — many in put it: “The Nile, for us in Egypt, is our life — remarkable condition despite their age — since ancient Egypt to today. And it defines are joined by modern replicas and features. its entire history and culture.”

Perhaps most notable is what Schulz says At the show’s opening, El-Saddik said is the world’s first three-dimensional The Time of Pharaohs provides an accesmummy hologram, which is the last thing sible experience for kids and adults alike visitors will see before leaving the space. that gives “perspective on the Egyptians’ The hologram in question depicts the way of life and socio-cultural structure.” embalmed body of Ta-khar, a wealthy Notable items on display at the Museum woman from the city of Thebes. (Her mumCenter include the sphinx head of the phamified body itself is in a coffin in another raoh Hatshepsut, one of Egypt’s most proroom.) Using CT scans, researchers were lific rulers who presented herself as a king able to view the deceased’s internal organs rather than a queen; and a slab stela of to glean insight into how her body was lunu, or a horizontal tablet, which is one of preserved without needing to unwrap the the best preserved on display. It depicts an 50 layers of linen she was put to rest in. administrator of pharaoh Khufu stretching Aside from the aforementioned cat his hand toward an offering table. (Khufu and Ta-khar, a few other mummy-related is believed to be the pharaoh who ordered artifacts can be seen. The coffin of Nakht the building of the Great Pyramid of Giza.) is most notable, perhaps. An Egyptian Also on display are numerous statues official, Nakht was an astronomer, scribe depicting gods and goddesses, as well as and priest. The coffin mimics a palace; animals, like a resting lion and two uraeus from the interior, its occupant could see snakes — upright cobras which symboloutside through a pair of drawn eyes, ized protection and, like the sun god Ra, which could allow him to join the sun were crowned with golden solar discs. god’s regeneration with each sunrise.

That theme of zoomorphism runs Egypt: The Time of Pharaohs runs throughout The Time of Pharaohs: Animals through Aug. 18. More info/tickets: were seen as sacred to ancient Egypcincymuseum.org. tians, as it was thought that gods could

ONSTAGE

False Starts, Broken Hearts and True Love R E V I E W BY R I C K PEN D ER

CRITIC’S PICK

It seems only logical in February to produce a play about love, especially if it opens on Valentine’s Day. The world premiere of Audrey Cefaly’s new script at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park starts with charming Roberto (Marcus Kyd), dressed in a restaurant uniform at Frankie’s trattoria.

He directly addresses the audience. “The Last Wide Open is a love story,” he tells us. “And what is Kimberly Gilbert (left) and Marcus Kyd in The Last Wide Open not to love about a love story?”

PHOTO: MIKKI SCHAFFNER PHOTOGRAPHY He quickly clarifies that we’ll witness three or Lina’s pessimistic points of view. versions of his story with Lina (Kimberly By the end of the three movements — Gilbert), maybe a waitress, maybe a when things seem to be about to go off customer. The three “Movements” portray the tracks again — Roberto says to the similar events that unfold and evolve with audience, “By now, you are screaming on different outcomes. We really get three the inside.” potential, circuitous paths toward love, Kyd and Gilbert’s endearing perforeach one a bit more revealing than the one mances have so engaged us that we are before it. indeed holding our breath, yearning for Each movement has a simple, amusing them to break through walls of loneliness musical interlude sung by Lina, starting and finally connect with one another. with “The Song Before the Love Songs,” There’s a third player, though she’s not which she qualifies as “The Shit People Say really a character: It’s Debra Hildebrand, About Love Songs.” She adds, “It’s kinda crew chief of the Playhouse’s props team, sad.” Truth to tell, it’s downright funny: As who silently appears at key moments to she accompanies herself on a ukulele, she move some furniture, hand over a guitar sings, “They say that there’s a song in your or ukulele, or accept a hug or shrug at the heart… and that love finds a way.” But, she mystifying interactions between Lina and wryly questions, “Who is this ‘they’?”

Roberto. Her role is a fascinating meta The first movement shows Roberto quizreminder that we’re watching theater zical and Lina depressed and annoyed; magic as she hands out necessary items at they’re two people who have worked the precise moment they’re needed. together for years but have been too shy to Staged with considerable good humor get acquainted. It ends in frustration. In

by Playhouse Artistic Director Blake the second movement, Roberto is recently Robison, this 82-minute production (with immigrated from Italy and barely converno intermission) is a heart-warming sant in English; Lina is a part-time waitress story perfect for chilly winter nights. The nervously planning her wedding to a man compact set (designed by Jo Winiarski) is she has serious misgivings about. In the a quaint Italian trattoria complete with a third movement, they’ve been “adulting”: wine bar, parqueted floor and a view of a Roberto is a teacher and she’s a nurse, but vine-covered fence through glass doors they are rooted in the previous movements. that reveals rainfall, which dampens the They’ve had bad luck in love and wish mood of each movement. they’d made different choices.

The show’s title comes from Roberto Their conversations are rendered with in the second movement. Even with his considerable humor, sometimes caused by linguistic limitations, he has gathered language barriers, sometimes by cultural that Lina’s impending marriage seems differences, and sometimes by feelings ill-advised. He asks if she has heard of “the they struggle to express. As Roberto, Kyd last wide open,” explaining that it’s “the is warm, sensitive and genuinely likelie they tell you” — the same “they” in able, offering simple wisdom that seldom Lina’s first song. “The big lie about the one gets through to Lina. Gilbert’s character chance.” is manic, worried about being alone and He means that more chances should be simply hilarious in her observations about explored. That’s the gift of this sweet play: life and love. Both actors are great fun to faith in eventually finding the right way. watch, especially when they make occaThe Last Wide Open, presented by the sional direct addresses to the audience Playhouse in the Park, continues through — soliciting our opinions and seeking our March 10. Tickets/more info: cincyplay.com. agreement with either Roberto’s optimistic

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FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT CITYBEAT.COM

‘Sankofa’ Time Travels into Black History

BY J U D E N O EL

Time travel doesn’t require a DeLorean After a brief hiatus, Sankofa will return or 1.21 gigawatts of power. Sometimes, March 7, this time, offering visitors a all it takes is the collective will to look chance to revisit the 1980s and 1990s. backward. At least, that’s the concept Sankofa’s second half, titled “These Are driving Jennie Wright’s Sankofa Experience, The Breaks,” shares its name with a 1980 an immersive art project that uses single by rapper Kurtis Blow, notable for performance, curation and cosplay to featuring six instrumental breakdowns transform the People’s Liberty Globefront that have been sampled or repurposed in Gallery into a time-warp portal. hundreds of other beats.

The name Sankofa — a Ghanaian Wright will revive elements of Hip Hop’s phrase that means “go back and get it” — golden age — graffiti, poetry, freestyle Rap represents a desire to return to happier — to transform the storefront. Born in 1973, moments in history while learning from she considers the rise of Hip Hop a major those memories.

“The concept is based on the idea that our past holds these amazing keys and learning opportunities to our future,” Wright says.

“Going back and exploring the culture — the good, bad and ugly — and deciding what things we should grow from and which things we should never do again. We can bring that into our present life and teach the next generation.”

For the first stretch of Sankofa, which kicked off Feb. 2 and runs through (L to R): Siri Imani, Jennie Wright and Alexis Thompson March 24, the space transports guests to The PHOTO: PROVIDED BY PEOPLE’S LIBERT Y Cotton Club, a Harlem venue that flourished in the mid-1920s, hosting now-legendary influence on her formative years. performers like Ella Fitzgerald, Louis “It’s one of the newer, most groundbreakArmstrong and Josephine Baker. ing genres of music that African-Ameri“As far as art and culture goes, the cans have introduced to this country,” she Harlem Renaissance is an exceptionally says. “Hip Hop’s what I grew up with and rich period of painters, singers, writers, what I love. You’re starting to see that part dancers and poets,” Wright says. “For of the culture come back around, but I African-Americans, it’s one of the richest think people definitely don’t know the full periods of the arts.” roots of the genre.”

“The Cotton Club Experience,” which Wright’s idea for Sankofa partially functions as a museum Monday through extended from an appreciation for cosplay Thursday, will conclude with two celebraand a desire to make its surrounding tions: a Rent Party (7:30-10 p.m. Feb. 23) community more inclusive. and a Dance Party (noon-6:30 p.m. Feb. 24).

“I’m a self-proclaimed ‘blerd’ — a black During the Harlem Renaissance, rent nerd,” she says. “I love sci-fi, I love the parties were casual social functions where opportunity to dress up, and I love our cultenants would bring Jazz bands into their ture. To be able to merge these and bring homes to perform and pass a hat to help it to Cincinnati is amazing. Black cosplay pay the month’s rent. is something is something I hadn’t really “Rent parties came to be after the Great seen here. I’d been to a few other events Migration, with so many African-Amerwhere there was some representation from icans from the South moving up to the people of color, but very little.” industrialized North,” Wright says. “This A former nationally-ranked slam poet created a housing crunch. People would and current booking agent, Wright shares be paying astronomical rent for literally a passion for the arts with the members of closets and day-shift sleeping. To make her team, Siri Imani and Alexis Thompson, the rent, people would hire a band, make who make of two-thirds of local Hip Hop plates and charge a dollar to get in.” crew Triiibe.

The Cincinnati Lindy Society will help Sankofa Experience runs through teach attendees the popular dance steps March 24 at People’s Liberty Globefront of the Roaring Twenties, while pianists Gallery in Over-the-Rhine. More info: attempt to outdo each other in a cutting experiencesankofa.com. contest: Jazz’s equivalent to a Rap battle.

TV

Teenage Fame, Sibling Flops in ‘The Other Two’

BY JAC K ER N

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Comedy Central has been in a bit of a especially when it comes to their brother. downward slump for me lately. The Daily ChaseDreams has definite Justin Bieber Show’s Trevor Noah is nowhere near as vibes. (Think bowl-cut blowout, “Baby”funny as Jon Stewart. There hasn’t been era Biebs, not the new-wave Christian, a grotesquely uproarious offering like tatted-up husband to Hailey Baldwin Workaholics or an obscurely endearing one we know today.) And the best part is he’s like Nathan For You since those brilliant actually a sweet, innocent kid, so Brooke series ended. Broad City lost some of and Cary want to protect him (while riding its charm for me in its current and final his coattails when they can), not compete season. And now the network’s schedule is with him. mostly made up of reruns of The Office. Not Their concerns are warranted when we that I don’t tune into those (Every. Single. see the lengths Chase’s sleazy manager Day.), but the channel’s lack of DVRStreeter (Ken Marino, who always nails worthy original content definitely leaves the role of dickish authority figure) and something to be desired. publicist Shuli (Wanda Sykes) will go to That’s why I’ve been so pleasantly surprised

by The Other Two (10:30 p.m. Thursdays, Comedy Central). Created by former Saturday Night Live head writers Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider (with SNL creator Lorne Michaels’ stamp of approval as executive producer), the 30-minute series follows a family flung into the public eye when its youngest child catapults from Ohio obscurity to worldwide fame when his YouTube Heléne Yorke as Brooke (left) and Drew Tarver as Cary music video — “I Wanna Marry U at Recess” — goes P H O T O : J O N PA C K viral.

As the series’ title would suggest, The Other Two’s focus isn’t on teen launch Chase’s career — and make bank. star Chase “ChaseDreams” Dubek (Case Some of the funniest scenes come Walker), but instead on his adult siblings, from exploring the weirdness of child Brooke (Heléne Yorke) and Cary (Drew fame, from the steps taken to keep Tarver). See, all the Dubek siblings have the 13-year-old as youthful as possible been bitten by the performance bug — (including binding his Adam’s apple and Cary is an actor and Brooke’s professional dying his tongue a pinker hue) to a staged dancing career started when she was relationship between Chase and a young around Chase’s age — but Cary struggles social media influencer. A particularly to book even the smallest, quite degrading cringey — yet hilarious — scene involves a commercial roles and Brooke hasn’t mini makeup guru who Brooke hangs out danced in a decade. So when their mom (a with after mistaking her for a peer, when perfectly-cast Molly Shannon) reveals that she is, in fact, a tween.

Chase has become a rising recording artist The writing is a pop culture goldmine, overnight, Brooke and Cary must cope with loads of references and nods to show with living in their little brother’s shadow biz and cameos galore. The show walks a while reevaluating their personal lives for careful line between raunchy and realistic, the sake of ChaseDreams’ brand. satirical and sweet, which results in a And that turns out to be quite a task family-photo caricature that is somehow because, in short, Brooke is trash. She’s as relatable as it is ridiculous. a stereotypical fledgling millennial, who The Other Two was recently renewed for grasps for the success she found in her a second season — and I can’t wait to see youth as she tries to find herself and her where the show goes. Will Chase pivot into passions. Cary is a bit more of a more TV and film? Elevate his siblings’ careers? sympathetic character but equally as Meet the dire fate of young stars? I can see messy; he shamefully hooks up with his it now: “This season, on Teen Rehab…” straight-presenting roommate between Wherever the ChaseDreams train takes stints at odd jobs. (Cary’s internal battle us, Comedy Central just may have its next with his sexuality is truly one of the more big original. genuine storylines in this comedy that is at Contact Jac Kern: @jackern times over-the-top.) As funnily flawed as the duo may be, they really do have hearts,

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FOOD & DRINK Midas Touch East Walnut Hills’ Branch — housed in a former Art Deco bank — is a triumph for the team from The Littlefield

BY PA M A M I TC H E L L Branch is located in a former Art Deco bank

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but in a tiny kitchen. Ford said that one goal of Branch was to give Anderson “a proper kitchen, where she can do even more interesting food” than she produced at Littlefield.

Branch The scene at the 1535 Madison Road, The dining room restaurant’s bar as well East Walnut Hills, 513as along the row of PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER 221-2702, eatatbranch. tables feels distinctly com; Hours: 5-10 p.m. urban, with people Monday-Thursday; 5-11 running into friends with sweet golden p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. from around town raisins and a touch and 5-11 p.m. Saturday; who happen to be of crunch from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and trying the new eatery, quinoa gremolata.

5-9 p.m. Sunday. too. There’s enough I would be happy parking nearby to to eat any of those satisfy venturesome appetizers again. suburbanites, Other “Share” although as with most dishes I tried were city neighborhoods, parking isn’t free. a chilled Israeli chickpea salad Go ahead and spring for the paid lot, ($10) and satisfyingly meaty chilieveryone: Branch is the real deal. I think smoked wings ($12). Anderson it’s one of the best new restaurants we’ve loves to use a smoker on a variety of seen around town in a while. meats and sometimes even cheeses, What we especially loved, food wise, so look for occasional specials with Banana cake were the appetizers and desserts. Oh, and a smoky flair. Ford said that Branch the cocktails. Although we all ordered offers three specials each weekend PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER entrées as well, I’d be perfectly happy to night, including a dessert special skip that course and chow down on the most nights. rest of the menu.

Main courses — or “Stocks” on the each) that had a flaky crust and a scoop Dinner choices are presented in two menu — range from an Italian sandwich of honey vanilla ice cream. If you want to columns, “Shares” and “Stocks,” a play on on baguette ($14) to flank steak with try something completely different, order the building’s history. It was the shares — charred onion salad and grilled baguette the wonderful float ($10) — chocolate ice or smaller plates — that knocked me out. ($22) and diver scallops ($26). I tried the cream, dessert sherry and housemade Over the course of two visits, I and my scallops and was a little surprised when coffee soda. I loved this one best of all the companions tried almost all the smaller only two of them showed up on my plate, desserts and had it twice. plates, and we were delighted by the but the richness of the seafood along Night Drop, in the basement, is a variety of savory dishes among the starter with a sauce that included pork belly was separate establishment with a completely choices. quite filling. A companion ordered crispy different feel — dark, cozy and a little Our favorites included a pork belly skin-on salmon ($24) with grilled rapini, cramped, by my standards. (Ford says they and vegetable dumpling ($13) — a few rice and a somewhat spicy sauce and loved are redesigning the seating at Night Drop tender but chewy crescent-shaped pasta the combo of flavors. to make it a bit more inviting.) In addition pillows covered lightly in an umami-rich Anderson always has excelled with to dinner six nights a week, Branch serves miso broth. Two other hits were roasted her desserts — I remember fondly the brunch on Saturday and Sunday with a sunchokes ($11) and curry roasted banana cake she featured at her former menu that looks terrific. cauliflower ($10). The sunchokes had restaurant, Honey. She continues to make the consistency of artichoke but with a scrumptious sweets at Branch, some FIND MORE RESTAURANT NEWS delicious flavor all their own enhanced familiar and others more adventurous.

AND REVIEWS AT CITYBEAT.COM/ by garlicky aioli, while the cauliflower We delighted in a smooth, not-too-sweet FOOD-DRINK had just a little heat from the curry along crème caramel and an apple crostada ($8

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e had such a good time at Branch in East Walnut Hills recently, no doubt in part because I enjoyed laughs and chatter with friends that I hadn’t seen in a while. Over the course of a leisurely evening we experienced a justabout-perfect dinner at this new addition to city dining. And judging from the fact that we had to book a couple weeks out to get a table after 5:30 or before 9 p.m., Branch already looks like a triumph for its seasoned team.

Littlefield Restaurant Group rehabbed a historic building over a two-year period and in December opened the restaurant and adjacent downstairs bar called Night Drop. For much of the last century, the building housed a bank, thus the name of both the restaurant and bar.

Their original eatery, Northside’s Littlefield, is one of my very favorite spots for bourbon cocktails and innovative, inexpensive comfort food with an inimitable Northside vibe. Branch is a much more ambitious venture both in food, service and ambiance, although we can thank chef Shoshannah Anderson for creating the delicious menus in both places.

Managing partner John Ford has said that they want Branch to be a neighborhood spot, and I’m sure it will bring in plenty of East Walnut Hills residents. But judging by the crowd during the two dinners I had in the first month or so of its existence, Branch is attracting diners from other metro communities, too.

The Littlefield group and various architects, contractors and artists spent about two years and over $1 million to design, build out and decorate the Art Deco interior of this unique building at DeSales Corner. The dining room graces a relatively long, narrow space that seats 72, including 20 at the bar. Above the bar sits an imposing mural commissioned for the restaurant that fits so beautifully with the original design of the room that it could be vintage 1935 instead of 2018. Created by artists Curtis Goldstein and Matt Lynch, “The Genius of Alcohol” is a Formica mosaic that depicts a fanciful take on Cincinnati in its pre-Prohibition days.

Executive chef Anderson most recently worked her culinary magic at Littlefield,

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Main Street Tavern

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701 Main St., Covington, mainsttaverncov.com At first glance, Main Street Tavern is easy to overlook among the other trendy spots on the road with updated exteriors.

The Tavern is in the building that once held Mulligan’s Pub and still rocks some of the gritty bar vibes.

Co-owner Bill Lynch (with Trent Riley) is also the chef and menu creator. Our server didn’t hesitate to tell us how much Lynch loves food, and happily declared that the only store-bought items Lynch allows on the premises are ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise. After tasting the food, I can well believe it.

The restaurant has an excellent dinner menu, but in a smart move, it also serves brunch on Saturdays and Sundays We started off with the biscuit and baloney sliders ($7). These come with housemade baloney glazed with either sweet or spicy sauce and a hefty scoop of chow-chow (a pickled vegetable relish).

Our first entrée was a house special called The Rev’s Fried Chicken ($14).

With a name as Southern as that we had high expectations for the bird and weren’t disappointed. The crispy skin was crunchy until the last bite, and the meat was literally falling off the bone.

The second entrée we ordered was the

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Cowboy Bill Watts Burger ($12), made with local beef and topped with pimento cheese, crispy fried onions, barbecue sauce, lettuce and tomato. The surprise star of this meal was the buttery, golden bun with a Wonder Bread-soft interior, and the french fries doused with everyone’s favorite: Grippo’s barbecue spice. (McKenzie Graham)

Wodka Bar 1200 Main St., Over-the-Rhine, babushkapierogies.com Sarah Dworak recently expanded Babushka Pierogies into Over-the-Rhine, opening a weekend walkup window at 1200 Main St. for conquering late night-cravings with kielbasa bowls and pierogies filled with everything from pizza toppings to Cincinnati-style lentil chili.

The window has proved popular since opening in December, but its presence is only a sampling of what’s to come at the location.

This March will see the opening of Wodka Bar, which will be housed in the rest of the space attached to the pierogi window’s kitchen. For Dworak, it’s a passion project dedicated to the patron spirit of Eastern Europe: vodka.

Wodka Bar will carry an ambitious

selection of vodkas, stocking upward of 60 types including many Russian, Polish and Ukrainian brands that are lesser known in the United States.

That’s why Wodka Bar will leave room on the liquor shelves for several dozen house-infused vodkas with flavors lent from ingredients like Russian Caravan black tea, caraway seeds, pine needles, rosemary, berries and citrus zest, among many others.

Vodka will dominate, but the bar will offer a rotating cocktail list as well as a small selection of other spirits, European wines and a single draft beer: O.K. Beer, a Premium Lager from Brzesko, Poland’s Okocim Brewery.

Bar snacks are mandatory of course, but forget about french fries and beer cheese. Instead, you can chase your shots with bites of caviar, pickled fish and vegetables, smoked meats, cheese and butter on dense, dark rye bread. (Morgan Zumbiel)

Gaslight Bar & Grill 351 Ludlow Ave., Clifton, gaslightbarandgrillclifton.com The owners of Ludlow Garage, Dave and Claudia Taylor, have renovated a historic building across the street and opened

the Gaslight Bar & Grill in the old Clifton branch of the public library. It serves lunch and dinner six days a week, includes an expansive bar with a dozen seats and, when the weather warms, they’ll debut Clifton’s first rooftop patio.

Chef/General Manager Kevin Worthington and Chef de Cuisine Manuel Mediodia put together the dinner, lunch and drinks menus toward what I would characterize as straight-ahead American comfort food with a few highend flourishes. You can get soups, salads and sandwiches in the $5-$13 range or try pricier pasta or meat/seafood dishes.

I’ve had both lunch and dinner at Gaslight. While it’s pleasant to have a new lunch option on Ludlow, dinner is Gaslight’s strong suit, along with giving the neighborhood the best bar it’s had over my 20-year time as a resident.

Two of the three apps met with everyone’s approval: the excellent fried oysters ($11) and what the menu listed as a “beet plate” ($8) — very thinly sliced red and yellow beets with a large-ish serving of mild creamy cheese and balsamic drizzle.

Just as tasty was the Greek spaghetti ($14; $2 upcharge with added bacon), nicely al dente and boasting hearty flavors of tomato, olives, onion and feta.

We took a staffer’s advice when choosing dessert: He said the bread pudding ($7) was the bomb. This one surpassed my expectations. (Pama Mitchell)

THEIR HISTORY OUR STORY NOW OPEN at Union Terminal

CLASSES & EVENTS WEDNESDAY 20

February Beer Dinner at Moerlein Lager House — This beer dinner features a five-course meal paired with drinks from guest brewery Stone Brewing. The night starts with a pint from either Moerlein or Stone, followed by dinner and dessert. Chefs and brewers will be on hand to walk you through the meal. 6-9 p.m. $60. Moerlein Lager House, 115 Joe Nuxhall Way, Downtown, facebook.com/ moerleinlagerhouse.

FRIDAY 22

Botany and Brews: Blood Orange at Krohn — Woodburn Brewery took blood oranges grown at Krohn and brewed a special blood orange ale with them.

Taste the beer at this event, hear a short presentation and take an evening tour of the conservatory. Additional beers can be purchased for $5. 6-8 p.m. $12; $5 each additional beer. Krohn Conservatory, 1501 Eden Park Drive, Mount Adams, facebook.com/cincyparks.

The Art of Food — The Carnegie is hosting a lucky 13th birthday for its annual Art of Food celebration. This one-of-a-kind culinary fête combines food, fun and art for an evening of culture and cuisine. Top local chefs from more than 20 area restaurants will be on hand to provide tastings that elaborate on installations and performances from area artists. 6-10 p.m. $50; $35 members; $100 VIP. The Carnegie, 1028 Scott St., Covington, thecarnegie.com.

SATURDAY 23

tray modeling and a talent portion. 8-11 p.m.

Free admission. Lucius Q, 1131 Broadway St., Pendleton, facebook.com/ bockfestsausagequeen.

Nutcase Day at Listermann — Listermann will be releasing Mixed Berry Nutcase on draft and in bottles with Marshmallow Fluff Nutcase and Imperial Coffee Nutcase with amounts and limits TBD. There will also be some special variants on draft only.

10 a.m.-11 p.m. Listermann Brewing Co., 1621 Dana Ave., Norwood, facebook. com/listermannbrewing.

Maple Sugar Days — Maple sugaring is a tradition going back generations in Ohio. This weekend, Great Parks of Hamilton County is hosting a free opportunity for people of all ages to learn about maple sugar and how maple sap becomes a sweet treat. Noon-4 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday. Free admission. Farbach-Werner Nature Preserve, Ellenwood Nature Barn, 3455 Poole Road, Colerain Township, greatparks.org.

SUNDAY 24

Oscars Watch Party at Overlook Lodge — Head to the Overlook Lodge for an Oscars watch party in your PJs or black tie. Fill out a ballot to predict the winners. Whoever guesses the most correct gets a gift card. 8 p.m.-midnight.

Overlook Lodge, 6083 Montgomery Road, Pleasant Ridge, facebook.com/ overlooklodge.

EST. 1933

AN

NIVERSARY

There’s No Queen Like a Snow Queen Drag Brunch — The queens get frosty at this Metropole drag brunch. Chef David Kelsey will prepare a family-style brunch with a welcome mimosa as local queens perform. Guest costumes encouraged. 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Metropole, 609 Walnut St., Downtown, metropoleonwalnut.com.

For the Love of Frenchies — Meet local Instagram star Vince Cincy (@vincecincy), a French bulldog with more than 16,000 followers who enjoys wearing goofy glasses, while sipping some vino. Oakley wines will be donating $2 from each glass to Queen City Bulldog Rescue, a nonprofit that helps rescue, rehabilitate, educate and support bulldogs. All breeds welcome. 1-3 p.m.

Free admission. Oakley Wines, 4011 Allston St., Oakley, facebook.com/ freedrinkinglessons.

MONDAY 25

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French Country Buffet at Jean-Robert’s Table — Table is serving a special French country-style buffet with two seatings. Includes 20 percent off the French bottle wine list. 5:15-9:30 p.m. $40. Jean-Robert’s Table, 713 Vine St., Downtown, facebook.com/jrtable.

NSYC Ramen Pop-Up — The line-up for February features kakuni ramen with braised pork belly, tea-marinated egg, green onion and shoyu broth; and a roasted vegetable ramen with shoyu butter oyster mushrooms and roasted cabbage. 4-9 p.m. $11 ramen. Northside Yacht Club, 4227 Spring Grove Ave., Northside, northsideyachtclub.com.

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Keystone’s Great Chili Bowl — Keystone Clifton’s chili cook-off features chili entries submitted by area

th

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Secret Society of Spirits — Watershed Distillery heads to Memorial Hall for a spirit sampling party.

This mixology session features four cocktails, with instructions and methods for making them, plus cheese and charcuterie from The Rhined to complement each. 4 p.m. $40. Memorial Hall, 1225 Elm St., Over-theRhine, memorialhallotr.com.

chefs, which guests can sample and vote on. Taster tickets get you 10 samples, a beer and a vote. Tickets can be purchased in advance or from the bartender the day of. 1-4 p.m. $10. Keystone Bar & Grill, 249 Calhoun St., Clifton, facebook.com/ keystoneclifton.

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Sausage Queen Preliminary at Lucius Q — Each year, the genderneutral Bockfest Sausage Queen has the honor of leading the Bockfest parade carrying a symbolic tray of Brew City and Avril-Bleh Bockwurst. In the weeks leading up to the Bockfest festival, there is a series of Bockfest Sausage Queen preliminary competitions.

Tonight, there will be three rounds: a Q&A, sausage

Most classes and events require registration and classes frequently sell out.

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MUSIC

Challenging Edges Scheduling issues led Indie Folk/Bluegrass group Mipso to test its versatility and get experimental on Edges Run

BY A L A N S C U L L E Y

I

Mipso PHOTO: D.L . ANDERSON

it was just more so (this time) because it was nasty outside most of the time. And we were all staying in a little tiny Airbnb together, and there was just not a lot of personal space. And we were all to some extent wondering if we were doing the right thing and if we should be making an album so soon.”

The group’s mood is anything but dark now. Before beginning touring last year, Mipso had a couple of months off, which helped recharge the batteries after what had been a long stretch of writing, recording and touring. The four musicians also enjoyed the challenges they encountered figuring out how to translate some songs from Edges Run to the live stage.

Rodenbough says recreating some of the organ and piano sounds from the recordings presented some onstage logistical puzzles the musicians have enjoyed solving.

“They’re all simple parts and we’re all capable enough players on a keyboard that we can probably all cover the parts, but it’s a matter of figuring out where we need the other instruments we play and where somebody can hop on a keyboard for a little while,” she says. “I like that kind of challenge because I think that the best live shows are when the performers are a little bit unsure of themselves, just enough that you have that sense it’s possible that things could fall off the rails. So I think it’s better if you can find ways to naturally confuse yourself a little bit for the live show. That’s a good thing.”

Mipso plays Friday, Feb. 22 at Woodward Theater with Young Heirlooms. Tickets/ more show info: woodwardtheater.com.

C I T Y B E AT. C O M

reached a place where the music can’t really be assigned to any genre, Bluegrass or otherwise. There’s Country, Americana, Bluegrass and ambient Pop in the ballads “Didn’t Know Love” and “Take Your Records Home.” The sturdy “Moonlight” and the peppy “Servant To It” parcel out Pop/Rock and Country in pretty equal amounts. Then there’s “Oceans,” a gentle tune with a lovely winsome vocal that is as Pop as anything Mipso has recorded, and “Sleep, Little Dreamer,” a rustic Country/ Bluegrass lullaby.

There’s also a darker tone to Edges Run than on the more upbeat Coming Down The Mountain. This makes sense considering the latter album was recorded in the summertime in North Carolina and Mipso enjoyed the camaraderie and familiarity of having musician friends around to contribute to the tracks.

Rodenbough feels the backdrop for the recording of Edges Run may have helped bring out the darker vibe in Mipso’s music.

Not only was the group dealing with the strain of embarking on a second album, but they had also seen some relationships end and some friends and family members had died. Plus, the session happened in the middle of winter when the weather outside of Sickafoose’s Oregon studio was rather depressing.

“It’s so hard to know if it’s your landscape that is affecting your mood or if it’s your mood that’s making you notice the landscape,” Rodenbough says. “But I think it was a dark-feeling time for all of us and it was tough because you couldn’t go outside much. You’re always cooped up in the studio during recording anyway, and it can feel a little bit claustrophobic. But

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Mipso’s three earlier albums, Long, Long Gone (2012), Dark Holler Pop (2013) and Old Time Reverie (2015).

But the lack of fan feedback also helped make the band feel free to explore different ideas in recording the songs for Edges Run. That was part of the idea behind working with a new producer in Sickafoose, who is well known as Ani DiFranco’s musical director and collaborator.

Some of the songs Mipso brought to the Edges Run sessions weren’t finished — band members Terrell, Rodenbough, Jacob Sharp (mandolin, vocals) and Wood Robinson (bass, vocals) weren’t sure how to move forward with the tunes and hoped Sickafoose would be able to help.

“We wanted Todd (to) help us make sense of them a little bit,” Rodenbough says of the unfinished songs. “There was a lot of taking songs apart and rearranging them and messing with the structures of the songs or the feel, and there was a little more of an experimental approach to production.”

The music on both Coming Down The Mountain and Edges Run continues to expand the breadth of Mipso’s sound. Long, Long Gone and Dark Holler Pop hued fairly closely to the group’s Bluegrass roots, but the band explored broader influences on Old Time Reverie.

With Coming Down The Mountain, though there was still plenty of Bluegrass woven into the material, several songs pushed beyond usual string-band boundaries, like the eerie organ-laced ballad “Water Runs Red,” the Laurel Canyon-ish Country Pop of “Monterey County” and the tender and spare ballad “Cry Like Somebody.”

With Edges Run, though, Mipso has

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n spring 2016, the string band Mipso found themselves looking at a musical embarrassment of riches. The group was ready to begin recording then and there, only to discover that the person they wanted to produce their next album, Todd Sickafoose, wouldn’t be available until January 2017.

But instead of biding their time, Mipso decided they had another option.

“We realized we had more than an album’s worth of material already,” says violinist/singer Libby Rodenbough. “This was in mid 2016. So we decided we would just make an album in the Triangle (the nickname for Mipso’s North Carolina home base, anchored by Raleigh/Durham, Chapel Hill and Greensboro/WinstonSalem) with some of the people we knew well there. Then we would keep the January session (with Sickafoose) on the books.”

The two albums ended up being released almost exactly one year apart from each other. The one recorded in summer 2016, Coming Down The Mountain, was released in April 2017, while the Sickafooseproduced Edges Run was released in April of last year.

In retrospect, Rodenbough and Mipso guitarist/singer Joseph Terrell agree that doing two albums in such a short span of time may not have been the best idea.

“There were definitely some times during that period where we felt like we had bitten off more than we could chew,” Terrell says.

“Looking back, it’s interesting to hold these two things true in my head: One is that I’m really proud of both of these records; I think they both feel like us. On the other hand, I wouldn’t recommend this process of making records to anybody because it was stressful as hell.”

“It’s a lot to make two albums in something like six months,” Rodenbough adds.

“It was a lot for us financially and it was a lot for us interpersonally and emotionally.”

Terrell says it was strange to make Edges Run without having any sense of how audiences would respond to Coming Down The Mountain or how fans viewed those songs in comparison to the material from

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JUNE 13–16, 2019

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MANCHESTER, TN

SPILL IT

The Woodward Theater Gets Turned On

BY M I K E B R EEN

BY M I K E B R EE N

R.E.M.’s Trump Takedown

After Donald Trump retweeted a video that a right-leaning Twitter user made featuring a montage of Democratic members of Congress looking dejected during the State of the Union soundtracked by R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts,” reps for the notoriously liberal AltRock band filed a copyright claim to have it removed. Though it likely qualified as “fair use,” the clip was quickly removed by Twitter. The original creator soon replaced it with a version featuring the nauseating Lee Greenwood song “God Bless the U.S.A.,” which made it spectacularly unfunny. That, of course, didn’t stop POTUS from resending the reworked clip back out to his 58 million followers almost immediately.

Experimental Release?

Press releases for new music aren’t designed to be flashy, so it’s rare for one to go viral. But that’s just what happened to a release for a new Meghan Trainor EP. With a casual, slang-ridden tone resembling a tween’s Tumblr post, social media was endlessly amused by lines like “Unless your phone’s been broken for a hot minute, you know that Meghan just got married to the ginger from Spy Kids” and musings about how Valentine’s Day is the time for “smashing bae’s junk to smithereens.” Apparently, the comedic factor was intentional — after it went viral, a writer for CBS’ The Late Late Show, Caroline Goldfarb, took credit for crafting what she called her “experimental press release.”

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There’s now an even easier way to tell the difference between Bryan Adams and Ryan Adams. Ryan is the one recently outed in a New York Times story for alleged manipulative and psychologically abusive behavior by several women, including singer/ songwriter Phoebe Bridgers and his ex-wife Mandy Moore. Ryan is reportedly being investigated by the FBI over an allegation in the story from a woman who said she had an online relationship with the singer that began when she was just 14 and included sexually-charged communications. Ryan’s music has also been dropped by several radio stations, he’s lost sponsorships and at least one of the three albums he planned to release this year has reportedly been put on hold by his label.

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In late 2017 it was announced that The record for powerhouse Loveland, Ohio Woodward Theater (1404 Main St., Overvintage Soul label Colemine Records, play the-Rhine, woodwardtheater.com) would March 1 with local Garage Rock heroes receive a $150,000 grant to bring back its The Mortals, who recently reunited for the exterior marquee. On March 2, the new first time in nearly a quarter century for a marquee and lighted sign will officially performance at the Woodward. Baltimore be unveiled and lit up as part of The Big band Super City plays March 2 with Turn On Festival at the Woodward and local support from Indie Pop/Dance act nearby MOTR Pub (1345 Main St., OverAutomagik, which celebrated the release the-Rhine, motrpub.com). Beginning of its album Goldmine with a show at the right after the opening of the 27th annual Woodward late last year.

Bockfest celebration (the Bockfest parade on March 1 runs in front of the Woodward), Big Turn On events will include live music throughout the weekend of March 1-2.

According to a press release, The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Partners In Preservation grant was “used to bring back the original intent of The Woodward’s 1913 façade exterior including design, fabrication and install of the copper marquee, return of the historic electric sign, replacement of 52 plaster ‘rosettes’ and cleaning Automagik performing at The Woodward Theater last year of her glazed brick.” On PHOTO: EMERSON SWOGER March 2 at 6 p.m., the more than 300 light bulbs on the new sign will be switched on for the first time and the Sungaze Unveils Debut Single copper marquee designed by local artist Cincinnati Shoegaze/Dream Pop/ Kate Schmidt will officially be introduced.

Dreamgaze band Sungaze recently “Cincinnatians understand and released its alluring debut single, “New embrace our city’s history,” Woodward Familiar,” which was followed by the Theater (and MOTR Pub) co-owner Dan premiere of the track’s equally captivating McCabe says in the release. “From our music video via liveeyetv.org. music, our beer, our baseball… to our With echoes of Stone Roses and Mazzy unique architectural heritage. Cincinnati Star, the song and video swell and swirl continues to demonstrate to other cities with the blissful dizziness of a new love how to celebrate and leverage their history affair, and that’s no coincidence. The track for future growth.” was inspired by the “whirlwind romance” The Woodward won the PIP grant as of Sungaze founders Ian Hilvert (guitar/ part of a nationwide contest. The marquee restoration project received more than vocals) and Ivory Snow (keys/vocals), 53,000 votes. while the video was shot at locations In honor of the theater’s restored façade, important to their relationship — in The Big Turn On Festival will feature Elk River Falls, North Carolina, where performances at the Woodward and the pair first met, and in Hocking Hills, MOTR Pub by a slew of local musical acts.

Ohio, where they were married this past The Big Turn On shows at the Woodward September.

Theater are Soul singer/songwriter Lauren Snow says that Sungaze — which has Eylise and her band The Part Time been performing live for the past year-plus Lovers with Jon Schuyler and Audley on (around Cincinnati and beyond) and also March 1 and Funk/AfroBeat ensemble features drummer Tyler Mechlem — will Ernie Johnson From Detroit with Doctor be releasing its debut album, Light in All of Bionic and FLOCKS on March 2. The It, later this year.

Woodward shows are ticketed events; visit Sungaze performs this Friday at MOTR woodwardtheater.com for details.

Pub with Houston, Texas group Wild MOTR Pub’s Big Turn On shows are free Moccasins and fellow locals Hateflirt. and feature a pair of out-of-town bands as For more Sungaze goodness, visit headliners, plus support from two local sungazemusic.com. acts that have had big shows of their own at Contact Mike Breen: The Woodward Theater recently. Nashville mbreen@citybeat.com.

Soul Funk crew The Gripsweats, who

MINIMUM GAUGE

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SOUND ADVICE Wild Moccasins with Sungaze and Hateflirt Friday • MOTR Pub

There are a lot of references to Fleetwood Mac in write-ups about Houston, Texas band Wild Moccasins and their 2018 album, Look Together. But those allusions have nothing to do with the glistening Alt Pop sound of the album, which has far more in common with early New Wave, melodic Post Punk and the dreamy, ethereal approach of 4AD acts like Lush and Cocteau Twins than it does the earthy Classic Rock of Stevie Nicks and Co. The Mac comparisons are specific to that band’s 1977 album Rumours, a creative (and commercial) triumph that famously arose from the heavy tensions within the group due to the fractured state of the musicians’ romantic relationships with each other.

In the case of Wild Moccasins, the songs on Look Together came about as the group’s creative core — singer Zahira Gutierrez and guitarist Cody Swann — worked to figure out how to continue the band after the dissolution of their romantic relationship, which began a year before they started writing songs together in 2007.

After a couple of early releases, Wild

Moccasins signed with large indie label New West Records, home to a diverse roster that includes Steve Earle, Ben Folds, Shovels & Rope and All Them Witches.

New West released Wild Moccasins’ 89 92 album to critical acclaim in 2014.

The songs on Look Together (the band’s third full-length) are broadly relatable, examining the more universal truths and complexities that come with trying to move forward after being so close to someone on so many levels for so long.

Wild Moccasins’ sound has always mixed colorful and provocative tones full of romance and melancholy with alluring melodies, energetic rhythms and dreamy swirls of synths and glimmering guitar, but the personal circumstances under which Look Together was created seem to make everything bigger and more punctuated.

In a recent interview with Phoenix New Times, Gutierrez said she and Swann remain very close and appreciate the specialness of their creative relationship even more in the aftermath of making Look Together.

“When we write music, it clicks,” she said. “We are able to speak this language to each other that maybe other people don’t understand. A lot of it has to do with our history.” (Mike Breen)

Wild Moccasins PHOTO: ARTURO OLMOS

The Kooks with Future Feats Friday • Bogart’s

More than a single meaning can be inferred in The Kooks’ chosen band name. On a strictly surface level, the British Indie Rock quartet consciously christened themselves after David Bowie’s “Kooks” from his 1971 album, Hunky Dory.

Dig a little deeper and you uncover an

The Kooks PHOTO: ANDREW WHIT TON

> M AY 3 - 5

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Alexis Nunez. The Kooks dropped their fourth album, Listen, in 2014; it spent a mere two weeks on the charts and reviews were again mixed, with the negative ones being particularly savage. In 2017, they released The Best of… So Far and mounted a huge “Best Of” U.K. tour, and last year they released their fifth album, Let’s Go Sunshine, which was largely seen as something of a return to form.

What’s next for the foursome?

Hard telling — they’re just a bunch of Kooks, hung up on romance, more than a little drama and a whole lot of great music. (Brian Baker)

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interesting parallel. Bowie was notorious for changing creative guises, and The Kooks, like Bowie, have certainly done their share of sonic experimentation, dabbling in BritPop, Indie Rock, Post Punk, Reggae, Ska, Funk and Hip Hop over the course of their decade-and-a-half history.

They’ve also achieved extraordinary success with their debut album and nearly broken up due to internal tumult.

The Kooks were born in 2004 when vocalist/guitarist Luke Pritchard recruited guitarist/vocalist Hugh Harris, bassist Max Rafferty and drummer Paul Garred for a mock music project while they were students at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute. They sent their first demo out in order to secure gigs, but they were inundated with management and label offers. The Kooks had been a band for four months when they signed a contract with Virgin Records.

The Kooks’ debut album, 2006’s Inside In/Outside Out, was an inventive blend of ’60s-meets-’90s BritPop melodicism and Post Punk fury and it quickly amassed a legion of fans. Although reviews were generally mixed — several critics dinged them for the exact qualities that had earned them praise from others — the album was certified quadruple platinum in the U.K. by year’s end. The Kooks’ sophomore album Konk was released in the spring of 2008, just months after the band sacked Rafferty — they said he was drug addicted and unreliable; he said he’d been fired for saying that Konk was a poor album. Despite the controversy, Konk was a hit in the U.K., debuting at No. 1.

In 2009, Garred left the band due to a nerve problem in his arm, but returned for the sessions for 2011’s Junk of the Heart; he played some live radio gigs but didn’t tour with the band and ultimately left for good at the end of 2012, replaced by

Friday • Ludlow Garage

Gina Chavez’s fusion of Soul, Folk, Pop and Latin sounds has made her one of the more widely celebrated musical acts in her Austin, Texas homebase, which says even more than it would about similarly-acclaimed artists from other cities, given Austin’s reputation as a musicians’ haven.

But her 10 Austin Music Award nominations haven’t kept Chavez from having an impact beyond the city limits.

And that impact extends beyond music, as well. In 2009, she taught English to children living in poverty in El Salvador, an experience that led her and her wife to create the Niñas Arriba College Fund, which awards scholarships to young Salvadoran women. Chavez is also a cultural ambassador with the U.S. State Department and has traveled all over the world performing in that capacity.

Last year Chavez released the EP Lightbeam, a follow-up to her 2014 bilingual album Up.Rooted, which greatly expanded her fanbase after exposure through NPR’s All Things Considered and the program’s “Tiny Desk Concerts.” The five-song Lightbeam has a sultry, slowburn Sade-like quality and was inspired by the romance with her wife, which began more than a decade ago and caught the “staunchly Catholic” Chavez by surprise. Everything about Lightbeam is a celebration of the couple’s love — a European tour last year served as their honeymoon and the music video for the EP’s first single, “Heaven Knows,” features footage from their 2017 wedding.

“This is the story my heart wanted to tell,” Chavez said in a press release about Lightbeam. “The story (of) what it means to be a Catholic Latina and fall in love with a woman; the story of what it means to live your heart no matter what the world says.”

(MB)

35

MAY 23 , 2019 RD

PURPLE PEOPLE BRIDGE

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F E B . 2 0 - 2 6 , 2 0 19

5:30 - 8:30

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PM

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PRE SE NTE D B Y

LISTINGS

CityBeat’s music listings are free. Send info to Mike Breen at mbreen@citybeat.com. Listings are subject to change.

See CityBeat.com for full music listings and all club locations. H is CityBeat staff’s stamp of approval.

WEDNESDAY 20

ARNOLD’S BAR AND GRILL - Todd Hepburn. 7 p.m. Piano/Various. Free.

BLIND LEMON - Tom Roll.

7:30 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

BOGART’S - Badfish with Bumpin’ Uglies and Roots of Creation. 8 p.m. Sublime tribute. $15.

HILTON NETHERLAND PALM COURT - Mike Darrah Trio. 6 p.m. Jazz.

Free.

KNOTTY PINE - Dallas Moore. 10 p.m. Country.

Free.

THE LISTING LOON Ricky Nye. 8:30 p.m. Blues/ Boogie Woogie. Free.

THE MAD FROG - Hip Hop Open Mic. 9 p.m. Hip Hop

H

MADISON LIVE Magic Giant with Castlecomer. 8 p.m. Indie/ Folk/Rock. $15.

MANSION HILL TAVERN Losing Lucky. 8 p.m. Roots.

Free.

MARTY’S HOPS & VINES - Mike Biere and Rick Boyer.

7 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

H

MOTR PUB - Smut with Slow Glows and Rei Clone. 10 p.m. Indie/ Rock/Post Punk. Free.

NORTHSIDE TAVERN Shiny Old Soul. 9 p.m.

Roots/Rock/Jazz/Various.

Free.

H

NORTHSIDE YACHT CLUB - Tetrarch with Glassworld, Sacrifice the Sun and BBS. 8 p.m. Metal. $10, $12 day of show.

H

STANLEY’S PUB Maritime Law & Friends. 9 p.m. Acoustic/Improv. Free.

H

URBAN ARTIFACT Marjorie Lee and The Lovers with Elsa Kennedy, Brooklynn Rae, Anna

ARNOLD’S BAR AND GRILL - Philip Paul Trio.

7:30 p.m. Jazz. Free.

BLIND LEMON - Mark Macomber. 7:30 p.m.

Acoustic. Free.

BROMWELL’S HÄRTH LOUNGE - Emmaline & Ryan Mondak. 8 p.m. Jazz/ Soul. Free.

CAFFÈ VIVACE - Eric Wurlzelbacher Trio. 7:30 p.m. Jazz.

COMMON ROOTS Common Roots Open Mic. 8 p.m. Open Mic. Free.

THE GREENWICH - Retro Nouveau. 8 p.m. Jazz. $7.

HILTON NETHERLAND PALM COURT - Brian Cashwell Trio. 6 p.m. Jazz.

Free.

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

Free.

LATITUDES BAR & BISTRO - Ricky Nye and Bekah Williams. 6 p.m.

Jazz/Blues. Free.

MOLLY MALONE’S IRISH PUB & RESTAURANT Missy Werner Band. 7:30 p.m. Bluegrass. Free.

H

MOTR PUB - Noah Smith’s Crooner Circus with Eric Bolander, Wonky Tonk, Michael Moeller, Sundae Drives, Taylor Shannon, Dan Conn, Charlie Smith, Sarah Tolley and more. 9 p.m. Singer/ Songwriter. Free.

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

H

THE REDMOOR - Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz Orchestra presents “Moanin’: The Music of Mingus” with Lauren Sevian.

7 p.m. Jazz. $20.

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (REVIVAL

Magic Giant plays with Castlecomer and Weathers Wednesday at Madison Live.

PHOTO: WILDER BUNKE

ROOM) - Me Like Bees. 8 p.m. Indie Rock. $8, $10 day of show.

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

STANLEY’S PUB - The Qtet. 10 p.m. Jazz/Funk/ Fusion. Free.

CAFFÈ VIVACE - Lauren Sevian with Scott Belck Quartet. 8:30 p.m. Jazz.

TAFT THEATRE - St. Paul & The Broken Bones with Valley Queen. 8 p.m. Soul. $30-$40.

H

H

MVP BAR & GRILLE - Eric Martin and P.J. Farley with Highball and Tracy Walker Trio. 11 p.m. Rock. $10.

H

JAG’S STEAK AND SEAFOOD - My Sister Sarah. 9 p.m. Pop/Rock. $5.

H H

TOP CATS - GrandAce, Dayo Gold, Leo Pastel and isicle. 8 p.m. Hip Hop. $12.

URBAN ARTIFACT - Argos, Typhoon and Resonator. 9 p.m. Rock. Free.

FRIDAY 22

ARNOLD’S BAR AND GRILL - Lagniappe. 9 p.m.

Cajun. Free.

BLIND LEMON - Donna Frost. 9 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

H

BLUE NOTE HARRISON - Green Jelly. 7 p.m. Rock/Various. $13.

H $28.

BOGART’S - The Kooks. 8 p.m. AltRock.

HILTON NETHERLAND PALM COURT - Petra Van Nuis Quartet. 9 p.m. Jazz. Free.

JIM AND JACK’S ON THE RIVER - Deuces Wild. 9 p.m. Country. Free.

KNOTTY PINE - Flatline.

10 p.m. Hard Rock. Cover.

H

LUDLOW GARAGE - Gina Chavez. 8:30 p.m. Soul/Pop/Folk/Latin/ Various. $15-$35.

MANSION HILL TAVERN Blue Ravens. 9 p.m. Blues.

Cover.

MARTY’S HOPS & VINES - Just Two Howlers. 9 p.m.

Classic Rock. Free.

MAURY’S TINY COVE Ricky Nye. 7 p.m. Blues/

Boogie Woogie. Free.

H

MOTR PUB - Wild Moccasins with Sungaze and Hateflirt. 10 p.m. Indie Rock. Free.

NORTHSIDE TAVERN - Electric Citizen with Relaxer. 10 p.m. Rock. Free.

NORTHSIDE YACHT CLUB - Steve Adamk Band with The Dopamines and Raging Nathans. 9 p.m.

Pop/Rock/Punk. $8, $10 day of show.

H

OCTAVE - Peridoni and Formula 5. 9 p.m.

Rock/Jam/Various

PLAIN FOLK CAFE No Sorrow. 7:30 p.m.

Americana. Free.

H

THE REDMOOR - Play It Forward presents The 10th Annual Tie Dye Ball with Jerry’s Little Band and Spookfloaters. 9 p.m.

Rock/Jam/Various. $10.

RICK’S TAVERN - Bourbon

Road. 10 p.m. Country. $5.

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (LOUNGE) Donnie Bowling with Nic Allen and The Troubled Minds. 9:30 p.m. Acoustic/ Various. Free.

H

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (REVIVAL ROOM) - Lost Coast with JIMS and St. Stevns Choir.

9 p.m. Roots/Rock/Various.

Free.

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (SANCTUARY) - Cody Canada and the Departed with Smoke Parade. 9 p.m. Rock/Roots. $15, $18 day of show.

STANLEY’S PUB - Red Samantha and 10 Miles High. 10 p.m. AltRock.

Cover.

H

TOP CATS - DaniLeigh.

9 p.m. Hip Hop/Dance/ Pop. $15-$55.

URBAN ARTIFACT- Mike Bandanna with The Ape Tones, OG Swango and Flatline Franko. 9 p.m. Hip Hop

C I T Y B E AT. C O M

TAFT THEATRE - Kurt Vile and the Violators with The Sadies. 8:30 p.m. Indie/Rock/Various. $30-$40.

THURSDAY 21

|

H

VINKOLET WINERY AND RESTAURANT - Vernon McIntyre’s Appalachian Grass. 6:30 p.m. Bluegrass.

Free.

F E B . 2 0 - 2 6 , 2 0 19

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (LOUNGE) – Ryan Malott and Mike Oberst. 9 p.m. Singer/ Songwriter. Free.

Applegate and Wavelette.

8 p.m. Pop/Folk/Various.

Free.

37

H

LATITUDES BAR & BISTRO - Leroy Ellington’s Sacred Hearts (release party) with Danny Frazier, Bam Powell, Chuck Brisbin and Scotty Bratcher.

5 p.m. R&B/Soul/Blues. $20-$35.

WASHINGTON PLATFORM - Jimmy Leach Quartet. 9 p.m. Jazz. $10 (food/drink minimum).

H

MOTR PUB - MARR (album release show) with Moira. 10 p.m. Indie Rock. Free.

H

NORTHSIDE TAVERN - Freak Mythology with Acrylic Grooves and BareFuzz. 10 p.m. Rock/ Various. Free.

H THE AVENUE EVENT CENTER - Q Money. 10 p.m. Hip Hop. $25-$45.

H

BLIND LEMON - Jake Walz. 9 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

WASHINGTON PLATFORM - Mike Wade & The Nasty ‘Nati Brass. 9 p.m. Jazz. $10 (food/drink minimum).

C I T Y B E AT. C O M

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F E B . 2 0 - 2 6 , 2 0 19

H

38

WOODWARD THEATER - Mipso with Young Heirlooms. 8 p.m.

Indie Folk. $10, $12 day of show.

SATURDAY 23

H

20TH CENTURY THEATER - The Dudley Taft Band and Johnny Fink & The Intrusion.

7 p.m. Blues. $12, $15 day of show.

ARNOLD’S BAR AND GRILL - Warrick & Lowell.

8 p.m. Country/Americana.

Free.

BOGART’S - Coheed and Cambria. 8 p.m. Rock. Sold out.

BROMWELL’S HÄRTH LOUNGE - Brandon Coleman with The Steve Schmidt Trio. 9 p.m. Jazz.

Free.

CAFFÈ VIVACE - Paul Keller & Andy Brown. 8:30 p.m. Jazz.

H

THE COMET - Dylan Lancaster, J Dorsey Band and Chelsea Ford and The Trouble. 10 p.m.

Rock/Country/Roots/Blues/ Various. Free.

THE GREENWICH - Sonny Moorman Group with the

Jason Wilmot Band. 9 p.m.

Blues/Rock. $10.

THE GREENWICH - The Spear Shakers. 9 p.m.

Blues/Rock. $10.

HILTON NETHERLAND PALM COURT - Gary Gorell-Jim Connerley Quartet. 9 p.m. Jazz. Free.

JAG’S STEAK AND SEAFOOD - Gee Your Band Smells Terrific. 9:30 p.m. ’70s Pop/Dance/ Various. $5.

JIM AND JACK’S ON THE RIVER - Dan Varner. 9 p.m.

Country. Free.

JIMMY B’S BAR & GRILL - Trailer Park Floosies. 10 p.m. Dance/Rock/Pop/ Country/Rap/Various. $5.

KNOTTY PINE - Flatline.

10 p.m. Hard Rock. Cover.

URBAN ARTIFACT - “Beat Faction.” 10 p.m. Dance/DJ.

MACADU’S - Ambush. 9 p.m. Rock.

MARTY’S HOPS & VINES - Working Title. 9 p.m.

Steampunk. Free.

U.S. BANK ARENA - Eric Church. 8 p.m. Country. $39-$139.

TOP CATS Moonbeau, tri patterns and Sun Delay. 9 p.m. Alt/ Electronic/Pop. $5.

U.S. BANK ARENA - Eric Church. 8 p.m. Country. $39-$139.

MANSION HILL TAVERN - Prestige Grease. 10 p.m.

Blues. Cover.

PHOTO: WILLIAM AUBREY REYNOLDS

H

LUDLOW GARAGE - Bob James Trio. 8:30 p.m. Jazz. $30-$65.

THE MAD FROG - Jonn Hawley. 9 p.m. Electronic/ Dance. Cover.

Former Band of Horses guitarist Tyler Ramsey plays Tuesday at Ludlow Garage with Carl Broemel.

Rock. Cover.

OCTAVE - David Starfire, K.L.O and Alejo. 9 p.m. Electronic/ Various. $22, $25 day of show.

PLAIN FOLK CAFE Rated BG. 7:30 p.m.

Bluegrass. Free.

RICK’S TAVERN - Whiskey Daze. 10 p.m. Country/ Rock. $5.

SHORTY’S SUGARTIT KENTUCKY PUB - Saving Stimpy. 9 p.m. Acoustic Rock. Free.

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (LOUNGE) Porter Road Jug Band. 9:30 p.m. Americana. Free.

H

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (REVIVAL ROOM) - Krystal Peterson, Marjorie Lee and The Lovers and Freedom Nicole Moore. 9 p.m. Pop/Soul/ Roots/Various. $5.

STANLEY’S PUB - Mark Borison Vanity Project and Muddy Gutt. 10 p.m. Blues/

SUNDAY 24

BLIND LEMON - Jeff Henry. 8:30 p.m. Acoustic.

Free.

H

THE COMET - The Comet Bluegrass AllStars. 7:30 p.m. Bluegrass.

Free.

H

THE GREENWICH - Pat Kelly & the PsychoAcoustic Orchestra.

7 p.m. Jazz. $13.

HILTON NETHERLAND PALM COURT - Rob Allgeyer. 10:30 a.m. Jazz.

Free.

KNOTTY PINE - Randy Peak. 10 p.m. Acoustic/ Various. Free.

MANSION HILL TAVERN - Open Jam with Deb Ohlinger. 6 p.m. Blues.

H

MOTR PUB Jontavious Willis. 8 p.m. Blues. Free.

KNOTTY PINE - Open Mic. 9 p.m. Various. Free.

MANSION HILL TAVERN - Open Acoustic Jam with John Redell & Friends. 8 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

MOLLY MALONE’S IRISH PUB & RESTAURANT Open Bluegrass Jam. 8 p.m.

Bluegrass. Free.

STANLEY’S PUB - Jazz Jam. 9 p.m. Jazz/Improv.

Free.

TUESDAY 26

BLIND LEMON - Nick Tuttle. 8:30 p.m. Acoustic.

Free.

CAFFÈ VIVACE - Scott Wojahn Trio. 7:30 p.m. Jazz.

H

THE COMET Casteless with Flesh Mother, Shankable Offense and Opium Doom Cult. 10 p.m. Metal/Various. Free.

CROW’S NEST - Open Mic Night. 8 p.m. Various. Free.

HILTON NETHERLAND PALM COURT - Nick Fryer Trio. 6 p.m. Jazz. Free.

LATITUDES BAR & BISTRO - Latitudes House Band and Open Mic. 8 p.m.

Various (open mic at 11 p.m.). Free.

H

LUDLOW GARAGE Tyler Ramsey and Carl Broemel. 8:30 p.m. Rock. $35-$75.

THE MAD FROG - House Music. 9 p.m. EDM. Free.

STANLEY’S PUB - Open Jam. 9 p.m. Improv/Various.

Free.

H

URBAN ARTIFACT - State of Calamari with Honey Combs and Combo Slice.

7:30 p.m.

H

WESTSIDE VENUE - Blues Jam with Jimmy D. Rodgers and Lil Al Thomas. 7 p.m.

Blues. Free.

MONDAY 25

NORTHSIDE TAVERN - Hello June, Oginalli and Strobobean. 9 p.m.

Free.

STANLEY’S PUB - Trashgrass Troubadours with Maria Carrelli Band. 8 p.m.

Bluegrass/Various. Cover.

URBAN ARTIFACT - Urban Jam featuring The Electric Indigo. 8 p.m. Rock/Various.

BLIND LEMON - Ben Armstrong. 7:30 p.m.

Acoustic. Free.

H

CAFFÈ VIVACE Petra Van Nuis and Dennis Luxion. 7:30 p.m.

Jazz. Cover.

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

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Saturday, February 23, 2019 • 7:30PM Music Hall Ballroom · CincinnatiArts.org · (513) 621-ARTS (2787)

· Aronoff Center and Music Hall Ticket Offices · Group Sales (10+): (513) 977-4157

2018-19 Season Sponsor: Dee and Tom Stegman The Alpaugh Foundation The LaBoiteaux Family Foundation

Cincinnati Arts Association

2018-19 Season