Tag: music

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Arts & Entertainment News

Dinner in total darkness aims to explore senses, raise awareness

A dinner and concert in complete darkness will be held this Friday and Saturday in Northside at the North Presbyterian Church. The event is part of the growing number of “Blind Cafes” being hosted around the country to raise awareness and improve the lives of those who are blind.

The Cincinnati Blind Café is the fourth such event to take place in the United States, and will include a three-course, gluten-free vegetarian/vegan meal prepared by a popular local chef. There will also be a concert performed by Rosh & One Eye Glass Broken in complete darkness.

Event organizers say that all of the waiters will be blind and that patrons will have the opportunity to participate in a Q&A with the waiters about issues related to visual impairment. Furthermore, a portion of the event’s proceeds will go to support the Clovernook Center for the Blind & Visually Impaired.

The idea is to challenge patrons to experience life without sight, and to force greater use of other senses. Additionally, organizers and patrons claim that the lack of sight allows for heighted taste of the prepared meal, and that the music and poetry elements come to life in a new, unexpected way. Patrons of past blind café events have walked away feeling enlightened, and encourage others to experience the event first-hand.

“I went to the show, and it was magical,” exclaimed Kalea Wright who attended a blind café in Austin, TX. “It truly gave me a new look on life. Thank you so much for the opportunity to share the evening with you all.”

Tickets for the Cincinnati Blind Café (map) start at $50 and can be purchased online or by calling 1-800-838-3006. Organizers say that check in will begin at 5:45pm, with seating to follow at 6pm both nights.

Photograph of two patrons at a recently held blind cafe in Boulder, CO courtesy of Alive Studios.

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Arts & Entertainment News

Over-the-Rhine rec center to offer Final Friday skate

Over-the-Rhine has a skating rink.

No, seriously. The Over-the-Rhine Recreation Center, located just steps away from Findlay Market, houses a 365-person capacity roller skating rink in its lower level that is in pristine condition. Caitlin Behle of Far-I-Rome Productions has stepped forward to bring new attention and patronage to a little-known space, in a way that is both fun and supports the neighborhood.

The Final Friday OTR Skate roller disco party hopes to become another staple in the myriad of events that bring people into Over-the-Rhine on the last Friday night of every month. From 8pm to 11 pm, two dollars buys skate rental for the evening. Two local DJs, Positronic and Dirty C will be providing music, and Cincinnati’s newest food truck, Taco Azul, will be stationed outside with taco treats. Artist collaborative SuchandSuch will have an art installation in the space.

All proceeds from the event will go directly to the Rec Center – everyone involved is offering their services for free. According to Behle, the OTR Skate, at its heart, is about helping the community.

“The OTR Rec Center is an invaluable resource to the community,” said Behle, who is an Over-the-Rhine resident and supporter. “They do so much with the little they have. I wanted to do something unconventional that benefits Over-the-Rhine and the people that live here.”

Another huge part of Behle’s motivation to host the event was to inspire and excite the creative community that is currently in the city. “Look, Cincinnati has all the potential of any other city,” explained Behle. “Tons of people that have so much creative power are leaving. We need to do more things to keep people here.”

Future skates could expand to include the Cincinnati Roller Girls, as well as expand into a side room to sell and display artwork from local artists. Yelp! Cincinnati is an event sponsor, and Southpaw Prints worked to create the initial poster.

The Final Friday OTR Skate is Friday, April 29 at the OTR Rec Center (map), and will take place from 8pm to 11 pm.

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Arts & Entertainment News

Southgate House to host Jason White concert this Friday

The Southgate House will welcome Jason White this Friday, April 22 for a concert highlighting work off his new album entitled The Longing which is due out May 7.

The Cleveland-born musician is coming off two critically-acclaimed albums, Shades of Gray and Tonight’s Top Story. The show at the Southgate House will include David Mead in addition, and prior to, White’s headlining performance.

While excited for the Cincinnati show, Jason White and promoters have expressed concerns about the scale of the audience as they see an increasingly saturated music marketplace and entertainment industry throughout the United States.

“These days, everybody is so inundated with entertainment information, but most of it feels to me like it’s mass-produced,” said White. “So what I hope is that people can listen to this record and hear that it’s homespun, that the songs were written very carefully and come from a sincere place, and that the process was very organic and genuine.”

The concert at Southgate House (map) is scheduled to begin at 8:30pm. Tickets cost $10 in advance (buy online), and $13 the day of the show.

Southgate House photograph by Dan Hewins.

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Arts & Entertainment Business News

Talib Kweli to celebrate Record Store Day in Cincinnati this Saturday

Saturday, April 16 is the 2011 version of the national celebration known as Record Store Day. This is the fifth annual day to celebrate all things great about locally owned and independent record stores around the country as there are specific qualifications for a store to participate.

Organizers say that for a shop to be included they must have a primary focus on a physical store location, whose product line consists of at least 50 percent music retail, whose company is not publicly traded and whose ownership is at least 70 percent located in the state of operation.

In Cincinnati, that means we have three participating shops including Mole’s Record Exchange uptown, Everybody’s Records in Pleasant Ridge and Shake It Records in Northside. On Saturday, each store will be celebrating music and trying to attract customers to their shops mainly through in-store performances and special limited edition vinyl releases that can only be found at certain stores throughout the country. Therefore record collectors and the curious shopper can find different releases at each store.

The in-store performance fun gets started at Everybody’s Records at noon and runs until 6pm with performances by Cletis T & the Poontingers, Quick Turns, and finally State Song. Uptown meanwhile, Mole’s Record Exchange will be focused primarily on special releases this year.

The biggest party will be at Shake It Records. National hip-hop recording artist Talib Kweli will be on hand at 1pm for an in-store performance and a signing of his newest release. Additionally local rockers Wussy will be playing at 7pm and another Cincy band heading for the big time, Foxy Shazam will play at 9pm.

Ben Harper says, “Independent record stores are much more than the name suggests. They are an international community and platform where music has an outlet and an opportunity to grow over the long term, in a way that sincerely connects with community and culture.”

This is totally true so take the time to get out and support three of Cincinnati’s contributions to this community. And here, we’ll leave you with a cut from Talib Kweli’s new album.

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Arts & Entertainment News

Clifton Heights Music Festival returns this weekend

Local music fans will get the chance to see over 80 performances this weekend as the Clifton Heights Music Festival makes its return. For the fourth installment, this Friday and Saturday (April 1-2), the CHMF will feature a variety of MCs, comics, and street performances in addition to more live bands and artists, and has grown to include seven venues: Rohs Street Cafe, Baba Budan’s Coffeehouse and Bar, Uncle Woody’s Pub, Mac’s Pizza Pub, Christy’s Biergarten, Murphy’s Pub and The Mad Frog.

Some of the artists include You, You’re Awesome, Josiah Wolf (of Why?) and Liz Hodson, Walk the Moon, No No Knots and The Harlequins. The festival also includes some regional artists such as Candidate from Lexington, KY and The Ridges from Athens, OH.

The Clifton Heights Music Festival started in October 2009 with just 35 bands. Over 7,500 people have attended the first three festivals, and the CHMF continues to grow.

“Our attendance…is a testament to our belief that neighbors coming out to support what their neighbors create has much worth, and can bring a community together in a positive way,” says founder and director, Rome Ntukogu.

Tickets are just $5 for one day or $10 for the full two-day festival when purchased in advance. Tickets will also be available at each of the venues for $6/$12. You can view the full schedule of all performances and a map of the venues at the CHMF website.