Week 12: Final Friday and MOTR-mania

It was all happening in Over-the-Rhine this week and we tried to get into as much of it as possible.

On Wednesday night, cohort in crime Lauren and I went to MOTR to see Berlin-based Plattenbau. The band, based in an ex-Stasi headquarters and comprised of a Welshman, a Swede and an American, had played Austin's South-by-Southwest (SXSW) and were hitting a few venues before heading back to Germany. Luckily for us, MOTR was one of their stops.

MOTR at night

Cincinnati guitarist Zijnzijn Zijnzijn opened the show. He announced that he was only going to play two songs ... and he either played them both without a gap between, or he got bored and only played one. Either way, his 30-minute set of ambient tones was interesting - think Glenn Branca meets David Grubbs - but it got a bit much when he started crawling around the stage plucking the strings as a painter might touch up a canvas. Lauren took a short nap (about half an hour, if you must know) during his set.

Skeleton Hands

Next up was local coldwave duo Skeleton Hands. They brought their own entourage and packed the house with fans and it was easy to understand why when the began playing. Their sound was 80s goth in a Lowlife-era New Order sort of way, and their visuals were stunning, even if their rinky-dink backdrop was a white sheet pinned to MOTR's stage curtain. Keep these guys on your radar. They are going to go far.

Plattenbau!

Plattenbau took the stage around 12:30 a.m. to a diminished crowd, most of which had left after Skeleton Hands finished. They played a short, punchy set of dancy, screamy, snotty punk. Great show that really should have had a better turn out, but then a midweek, after midnight show isn't gonna get a lot of draw in this town. I filmed their last song, but being a technological luddite I'm not exactly sure how to post it, so you'll just have to seek out their stuff on Bandcamp or Spotify.

On Friday, Lauren and I headed back out into the wilds of OTR for Final Friday, when nearly all the art galleries in the city host new show openings and stay open late for art enthusiasts to gallery hop. We got a bit of a late start because we made the mistake of ordering food from Gomez Salsa and ended up waiting forever because OTR + Friday night = crazy busy.

Final Friday at Clay Street Press

We hit up the Tiger Lily Press exhibition at Clay Street Press to see Lauren's friend Nicci Mechler's printmaking work on display. Tiger Lily Press is a fine art printmaking studio in Price Hill. Nicci's work had lots of fans gushing and rushing to buy prints.

Printwork by Nicci Mechler

Afterward we motored on over to MOTR to catch Brooklyn outfits Lazyeyes and Beverly in concert. Both bands totally brought it. AMAZEBALLS. I had missed Beverly when they came through town last year (I was still recovering from my surgery and unable to rock out properly) so I was chuffed to bits to learn they were playing MOTR - and on a Friday night!

Beverly is Drew Citron (lead singer and lead guitar), Scott Rosenthal (bass) and Jamie Ingalls (drums). Citron's totally hot - even the awful mom jeans she was rocking didn't detract from her utter sexiness and superb voice. What a treat to see both bands up close and for free.

I love this city!

Lil cuties Lazyeyes

Oh, to be 25 years younger ... Lazyeyes

Beverly

Beverly 

Beverly

MOTR is open seven days a week. 
Always 21+, always FREE.

Final Friday happens the last Friday of each month throughout Cincinnati.
All gallery openings and shows are FREE and open to the public.

Week 11: Wonky Tonk at Arnold's Bar and Grill

This week for 52 Weeks of Fun and Free, we met up with our friend Gary at Arnold's Bar and Grill to catch Covington jangle-pop cowgirl band Wonky Tonk.

Wonky Tonk giving it plenty!

Arnold's is Cincinnati's oldest bar (150 years and counting) and is a really great place to see a show. The stage and seating is in the courtyard, technically outdoors but you'd never know because they have a retractable roof that lets in the moonlight in good weather and keeps the cold at bay during chilly times.

Wonky Tonk is brilliant. Their unique brand of alt-country blends Loretta Lynn and Emmylou with Uncle Tupelo and Neutral Milk Hotel. One half of the band is Jasmine, a lovely, bubbly and incredibly talented singer-songwriter with pipes to die for, and the other is a one-man band who plays lead guitar, sings and plays drums - all at the same time!

What-what?!
Yep!

Me and Jas - besties! (photobombed by the hubs in background, photo by Gary M)

Have a listen!

Arnold's Bar and Grill hosts free live music Tuesday-Saturday. 
Arnold's is located at 210 E. 8th St. Downtown.

Week 10: Back to the CAC

So this week we didn't do a NEW free event, we rehashed a visit to the Contemporary Arts Center because we had a friend visiting from England who wanted to see the Mapplethorpe exhibit and time was running out.

So we still did a free thing this week, but it wasn't new.

Still counts though, yes?

Week 9: Bockfest

Now in its 24th year, Cincinnati's Bockfest, celebrating the coming of spring, Over-the-Rhine's brewing heritage and bock beer, is the largest Bockfest in the United States. It is also one of the funnest and craziest. 

Hast Du Bock?

Nearly every bar in OTR has something special going on during Bockfest, from the annual kickoff parade to a bock bloody Mary bar to Bock Olympics to the crowning of the Sausage Queen. Throw in live music, a Bockfest 5K run, brewery tours, German food and more goat horns than you shake a cowbell at, and you've got the makings for a party. While food and drink will cost you, the actual events of Bockfest (except for the tours and 5K run) are all free!

Cincinnatians love their beer, it is true, and also love pretty much any chance to cut loose and get a little nutty. I'll just let the photos speak for themselves.

A goat head cruises up Main St.

Everybody was dancing in the street

Inside Bockfest Hall (aka Christian Moerlein Brewery)

Singing monks on Segways? Of course!

"Do I make you horny baby? Do I?"

Bockfest happens the first full weekend in March in Over-the-Rhine.