Things to do in Dayton | Restaurants, Theatre, Music and More
Griffin House is a Springfield native whose 2004 release, Lost and Found put him in the national spotlight when it was featured on CBS Sunday Morning. House is returning to the Miami Valley this weekend for a show at Canal Street Tavern on Saturday, June 25th. Tickets are $10 at the door, and the show starts around 9:30pm.
Here’s a video House’s 2007 Flying Upside Down album.
[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oG1IfQx9Oc’]
The best things in life come in martini glasses.
That is the valuable, out-of-the-classroom lesson I learned last Friday when my roommates who graduated this May came back in town for the University of Dayton’s annual Alumni Weekend to, in one of my friend’s words, “relive the glory days of one month ago.”
After bouncing around ideas on how to start our weekend off right, we quickly agreed upon catching some drinks and food at Bar Louie, 4492 Glengarry Dr., in the Greene Town Center. Much to my surprise, this “casually cool” bar and restaurant offers a “Happy Hour with Louie” from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. How have I missed this amazing offer for the past four years?!? Have I been living in a cave?! I couldn’t have been more disappointed in myself. The sweet happy hour deals include $3 drafts, $5 martinis, $4 glasses of wine and select half price appetizers.
I wanted to make sure I made up for tragically wasted years without this happy hour in my life, and studied the menu extensively before making a decision.
The first solid choice of my night was ordering the Pom Peche martini. The magical bartenders mix absolut apeach, pomegranate syrup, mango purée, orange juice and Sprite together to make this fabulously fresh drink. My martini, served with an orange slice on the side, was sweet, summery and sophisticated.
These drinks were hard to turn down, though, and will be on my list for my next happy hour adventure:
-Diva, made with SKYY Pineapple, PAMA Liqueur, pomegranate syrup, pineapple juice and pineapple;
-Effen Good (I want to order this just so I can say “Give me the Effen Good one.”), a mix of Effen Cucumber, mint, fresh lime juice, cucumber and agave nectar; and
-The Abbey, made with Hendrick’s, fresh grapefruit and lemon juices, pure cane syrup, grenadine, and lemon twist.
While enjoying my drink and feeling young and hip amongst young professionals sitting at nearby tables, appetizers were served. Three of my friends decided to try the bruschetta pomodoro, and were kind enough to share with me. Probably because I couldn’t stop staring — This was the most beautifully arranged hors d’oeuvre I have ever seen.
Served in a giant martini glass, the grilled country pieces of bread are topped with a generous amount of garlic, tomato, oil, basil and parmesan. I’ve studied abroad in Rome and enjoyed tons of delicious Italian plates, and Bar Louie’s bruschetta is still TOP of the line on my list.
My friends Kim and Anna shared their half-price bruschetta pomodoro appetizer with me. It was stunning, unique and tasty -- Everything I could ever ask for in an hors d'oeuvre.
This appetizer doesn’t survive on good looks alone, though. It has a unique taste and decent price (normally $6.99; $3.50 during happy hours) to back it up, and is by itself a perfectly satisfying meal.
Bar Louie’s daily hours are from 11 to 2 a.m. You’ll feel classy in this restaurant and bar, full of contemporary photography, mosaic tiling, modern lighting and several plasma TVs. The menu, offering appetizers, pastas and entrees, along with beers, cocktails, microbrews, and wines by the glass and bottle, is worth checking out.
If you are looking to wind down after a tough day at work, or just want to start your weekend with a drink and meal with some good friends, stop into Louie’s between 4 and 7 p.m. for three hours of pure happiness.
Congratulations to everyone who met a graduation goal this June! Whether it was high school or some level of college, hard work is always to be commended. What is your next move? Staying in Dayton Ohio, we hope. Buying a home? If so, you might 
want to take a look at the Grants for Grads program. If you have graduated within the past 18 months, there is a down payment assistance program called Grants for Grads and it’s being offered through the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, aka OHFA (pronounced Oh’-fuh). From the OHFA site:
Recent college graduates can now receive down payment and closing cost assistance and a favorable mortgage interest rate from an OHFA participating lender through the Grants for Grads Program. Eligible borrowers can use the grant to reduce the out-of-pocket expenses associated with buying a home.
If you are an income-eligible first-time homebuyer, graduated from an Ohio high school and have earned an associate, bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate or other postgraduate degree within the last 18 months, you can take advantage of the Grants for Grads Program.
* OHFA will issue a grant in an amount for 2.5% of your home’s purchase price.
* You can use the grant to pay for the down payment, closing costs, or other prepaid expenses incurred prior to closing. Keep in mind that while the grant will help cover some of your up-front costs, you may still be required to contribute some money as well.
* The grant will be issued as a second mortgage with a 0% interest rate with no payment due. The loan is forgivable after five years. However, if you move out of Ohio prior to the five-year mark, you are responsible for paying a portion of the grant back to OHFA as indicated (on their site).
Find out all the details about Grants for Grads, here.
What if you don’t qualify for Grants for Grads? There are several other programs 
through OHFA that are always worth looking into: First-time Home buyers, Target Areas, Ohio Heroes (for police, firefighters, teachers, healthcare workers, veterans).
Details are available on the OHFA site, or contact a participating lender. And best of luck to all 2011 graduates!
This communication is provided to you for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon by you. Teri Lussier and Exit Realty Central are not mortgage lenders and so you should contact your own mortgage lender directly to learn more about mortgage products and your eligibility for such products.
Photo credits:
Graduate: Andrew Mackenzie
Fire fighters: Brett Gustafson
Martini anyone?
It seems highly appropriate that National Martini Day also falls on Father’s Day; dads of the 50’s and 60’s (now granddads) enjoyed this cocktail in its prime. It was a manly drink, right up there with brandy and whiskey. It was not only the drink of entertainers and people who were hip, it was the drink of powerful and influential men as well. You could see many of the members of the Rat Pack (most notably Dean Martin) sipping on them as well as two of the heads of the Allied forces, FDR and Winston Churchill. Churchill was very particular about his martinis; it was chilled gin in a cocktail glass, while giving a nod to a bottle of vermouth in the corner of the room. The phrase “a three martini lunch” even comes from this era, when executives would go out and drink fairly heavily at lunch, then come back and do a solid(ish) afternoons work. Vodka helped with that particular lunch choice, since you could come back from it without smelling of juniper. It was when men were real men, women were real women, and cocktails were real cocktails. It wasn’t too long after this era that the cocktail went into semi-obscurity.
Interestingly enough, it was a group of four women that brought the martini craze back in full force, and started a debate among bar tenders and mixologists about what a martini is. The ladies in Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw especially, brought into the limelight a martini that was created in the 1970’s, the Cosmopolitan. It was the opposite of the “manly” drink of the 50’s; sweet, fruity, and pink. Instead of being consumed by the powerful and influential men of the day, it was being consumed by the women other women wanted to be like and could relate to. This brought out an entire group of cocktails chilled and served in the iconic cocktail glass (Therapy Café has a pretty impressive list of them), and a debate about what a martini actually is.
Are you a martini or not?
The debate rages on in various articles and conversations about what a martini actually is. Purists will say that a martini is a combination of two ounces of gin, a half ounce of dry vermouth, well chilled and served in a cocktail glass. They may also grudgingly admit to vodka being substituted for the gin. But, they will balk at even the inference that a Cosmopolitan or an Apple Martini are true martinis. They are cocktails served in a fancy glass. The other camp understands the flexibility (and occasional laziness) of the English language. Martini has come to represent a category of cocktails, served in a chilled cocktail glass, with typically a hefty amount of spirits and a scant amount of mixer. This definition allows for the wide variety of flavors and color we can currently find on cocktail menus across the Miami Valley. I was in the former camp, but have come around to the latter camp. A martini is a fixture of the bar scene, and has done the leg work to transcend the original definition of the drink.
The origins of the martini are shrouded in a little mystery. Some say it was created in Italy, some say it was created in New York. The most common details state that our tale begins back in the 1860’s, near the town of Martinez, on the outskirts of San Francisco. The drink was (possibly) made for the local miners (or someone traveling to the local mines) at the Occidental Hotel. It was composed of two ounces of sweet vermouth, one ounce of gin, a little maraschino juice, and a dash of bitters. This original recipe was made with Martini and Rossi vermouth, which may be where they pulled the eventual name from (it was originally requested as a Martinez). It may have also been created by the famous Jerry Thomas, who was the greatest bar tender of his day, and one of the reasons we have so many recipes from the era. By the beginning of the 20th century, it had simplified to equal parts gin and dry vermouth, with a little bit of orange bitters thrown in for good measure. We would now call that a wet martini. As the century progressed, and we decided alcohol was bad, the martini became drier and drier, eventually settling on a recipe of about a 5:1 ratio of gin to vermouth. Some people (like Churchill) have removed the vermouth entirely, choosing to just have a well chilled glass of gin in a fancy glass, also known as a dry martini. It wasn’t too long after World War Two that vodka hit the scene, and any cocktail that had gin in it quickly developed a vodka counterpart, including the martini.
Bond...James Bond
Before Carrie Bradshaw thrust the Cosmo into national prominence, James Bond was popularizing little known vodka based martinis. Ian Fleming created his own special martini in his first James Bond book (Casino Royale), called the Vesper. As we all know, the man likes his martinis “shaken, not stirred”. Why does it matter how the ingredients get mixed? It comes back to the fact that, at the heart of it, liquors are chemicals. And, what you are doing when you are shaking versus stirring is affecting the flavor of the drink through temperature and altering density. Shaking is a violent action, and it chills the liquors inside the tin at a much quicker rate. It also breaks up the vermouth a little more, helping it to blend better into the vodka or gin (like shaking dressing after it settled). It adds more oxygen and water to the drink, making the drink feel a little lighter as it goes over your tongue. If you want a colder, lighter drink, shake it. If you are looking for a drink where the flavor is richer, and there is much less dilution, then stirring is the way to go. You will also end up with less ice in the drink, as shaking will break off little shards of ice that the strainer will not catch. The ice and chilling is very important to the modern martini. It adds just enough water to take away some of the bite of the gin and the vermouth.
Of course, you discerning readers would like to know where in the Dayton area you can find a good one. Let’s start on Wednesday, where you can go to the aforementioned Therapy Café and enjoy their Martini Wednesday, where you can enjoy low cost martinis all night. You can then move to the Belmont area with Martini Thursdays at Tempest Lounge, where they will be offering more inexpensive martinis for you to test out. Of course, when you think martini, you think Germany. Boulevard Haus in the Oregon District also has a nice list of flavorful martinis. If you are looking for a classic martini, always get a good vodka (Buckeye is a good and local one), or a good gin (find Watershed Gin if you want to stay in Ohio, or my personal favorite, Hendricks), Chill it well, and sip slowly. And in the immortal words of James Thurber: “One martini is all right. Two are too many, and three are not enough.” Happy Father’s Day!
Recipes for you to try at home:
The Martinez (The Original)
2 oz. Sweet Vermouth
1 oz. Plymouth Gin (any fine gin will do)
1 dash of Agnostura Bitters
2 dashes Maraschino
Combine all of the ingredients into a tall mixing glass. Stir for thirty seconds to properly chill, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
The Martini (Modern Version)
The traditional cocktail glass
1.5 oz. Gin (or Vodka, your choice)
.5 oz Dry Vermouth (Noilly Pratt and Martini and Rossi are both good brands)
Combine all of the ingredients into a tall mixing glass. Stir for thirty seconds to properly chill, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Typical garnishes include Spanish olives, cocktail onions (a Gibson), or a twist of lemon. Adding and ounce of olive juice (or olive juice to taste) will make it dirty.
The Cosmopolitan (Modern Classic)
1.25 oz. Vodka (Buckeye is good, Absolut Citron will enhance the citrus flavor)
.5 oz. Rose’s Lime Juice
.5 oz. Orange Liqueur
1 oz. Cranberry juice
1 Wedge of lemon (garnish)
Combine all of the ingredients into a tall mixing glass. Stir for thirty seconds to properly chill, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Run the wedge of lemon around the rim of the glass, and then cut the meat of the lemon out of the center. Twist over the cocktail so it looks like a pig’s tail, drop it in.
Let’s Hear It for the ‘Boyz’By Russell Florence, Jr.
Encore Theater Company supplies a thoroughly enjoyable production of Kevin Del Aguila, Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker’s critically acclaimed, long-running 2005 off-Broadway musical “Altar Boyz,” a breezy, funny, high spirited and occasionally touching pop parody conceived by Marc Kessler and Ken Davenport.
Staged at Sinclair Community College’s Blair Hall Theatre, “Altar Boyz” is presented as a final concert engagement for a contemporary Christian quintet (four Catholics, one Jewish) committed to “praising the Lord with funk and rhyme” while delivering their “Raise the Praise Tour” across the country. In the hands of a less sensitive creative team, this good-natured, witty tale might have uncomfortably resorted to the relentless backhanded spoofing associated with “The Book of Mormon,” but the material doesn’t offend. In fact, it deliciously satirizes religion and the boy band concept with equal punch. Some of the best jokes actually derive from the stereotypical nature of the band members, who are sharply written and easily relatable in their varying circumstances.
Drew Bowen, a standout Roger in Encore’s production of “Rent” last season, is incredibly credibly charming as lead singer Matthew, specifically wooing the ladies with the lovely ballad “Something About You.” As the fiery Juan, Zack Steele offers impressive diction and a confident aura of brooding machismo. Zach King effectively portrays Abraham with understated humor. Andrew J. Koslow, a Muse Machine alumnus returning home to offer one of his best performances, is simply excellent as the effeminate Mark, who pines for Matthew and was once confronted by “Episcopalian thugs.” As the rather dense Luke, Korey Harlow doesn’t possess a vocal range on par with his fellow actors, but his terrific dancing and bad boy persona are great assets.
Director-choreographer Lauren Morgan’s contributions are energetic and fluid, particularly her staging of “Rhythm in Me” and “The Miracle Song.” Music director Mark Barnhill leads a balanced on-stage band. Assistant director-choreographer Rodney Veal offers spooky, surreal projection design.
If you’re in the mood for lighthearted fun, “Altar Boyz” fits the bill.
Altar Boyz, which opened Thursday, June 16, concludes tonight at 8 p.m. in Blair Hall Theatre, Building 2, at Sinclair Community College, 444 W. Third St. The musical, featuring Encore co-founder/artistic director David Brush as the voice of God, is presented in 70 minutes without intermission. Tickets are $15. For tickets or more information, call (937) 512-2808, visit www.encoretheatercompany.com or e-mail [email protected]
The cast of The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Beavercreek Community Theatre delivers a zestful, warmly interactive and impressively sung production of Rupert Holmes’ tuneful, rarely staged 1986 Tony Award-winning musical “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” an audience-friendly show within a show circa 1892 adapted from the unfinished novel of the same name by Charles Dickens.
Crisply directed in a witty tongue in cheek manner by Chris Harmon, also responsible for an attractive set complete with footlights and theater box, this breezy, well cast “Drood” engages from the start as a throng of Victorian performers from The Music Hall Royale casually connects with the audience before launching into the titular tale as an assortment of colorful characters. The love triangle-driven plot centers on crazed choirmaster John Jasper (Jonathan Berry) who, in Phantom-esque fashion, pines for his self-effacing student Rosa Bud (Bethany Locklear), a beautifully demure soul engaged to his carefree nephew Edwin Drood (Amy Leigh). When Edwin inexplicably disappears on Christmas Day, it’s anyone guess as to what happened. Since Dickens was unable to provide closure, the enjoyment of determining the mystery is left entirely in the hands of the audience, a conceptual hallmark ensuring appealing unpredictability.
Despite the fact that a few punch lines in the libretto fall flat or feel forced, Holmes nonetheless interweaves the world of the Music Hall Royale and Dickensian London with great skill, guided with crowd-pleasing vitality by Dean Swann as Chairman William Cartwright/Mayor Thomas Sapsea. Swann, a memorable Dr. Scott in BCT’s “The Rocky Horror Show” who possesses a knack for improvisation, winningly accents his slightly kooky, deceptively calculated portrayal with a jolly Zach Galifianakis sensibility. The equally excellent Berry, effortlessly brooding and primarily known for plays, supplies his most vocally arresting musical theater performance to date. Near the outset, he absolutely solidifies his strikingly unhinged embodiment of Jasper with an intense yet humorous rendition of “A Man Could Go Quite Mad.” Locklear, an outstanding soprano who commands the stage with graceful gentility, is a true find. Her plaintive interpretation of the gorgeous “Moonfall” is absolutely stunning. At the same rate, “The Name of Love,” her duet with Berry aided by John Falkenbach’s fiery red lighting design, pulsates with an alluring seductiveness recalling “The Point of No Return” from “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Dangerous Game” from “Jekyll & Hyde.” Leigh, who doubles as Dick Datchery, particularly fills her titular portrayal with charm, but I wish the excitable sparks prevalent within her stirring rendition of “The Writing on the Wall,” which concludes the show, were consistent in her work throughout.
Additionally, as the seedy Princess Puffer, Pam McGinnis is a reliably earthy joy delivering “The Wages of Sin” and “The Garden Path to Hell.” Charles Larkowski (Rev. Mr. Crisparkle), Shawn Hooks (Neville Landless), Jim Lockwood (Durdles), Bryan Wilcox (Deputy) and Thomas Cole Schreier (Bazzard) are apt comedians. Lindsay Sherman (Helena Landless), Jenna Owens (Wendy) and Tara Nicole Murphy (Beatrice) join Locklear for the lovely “Moonfall Quartet.” Megan Vander Kolk, Michael J. Stockstill, Matt Owens, Nicole Dine, Jennifer Wilson and Jeremy D. King complete the very compatible cast, who are nicely costumed in Victorian garb by Josh Hollister and energetically executes Annette Looper’s commendable choreography.
The Mystery of Edwin Drood, which opened Friday, June 10, will continue through Sunday, June 19 at the Lofino Center, 3868 Dayton-Xenia Rd., Beavercreek. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Act One: 79 minutes; Act Two: 55 minutes. Tickets are $13 for adults and $11 for students, seniors and BCT members. For tickets or more information, call (937) 429-4737 or visit www.bctheatre.org
Downtown’s Summer Music Series kicks off with the 29th annual Michelob Women in Jazz Festival on June 26. The event will feature eight hours of soulful music, including performances by Teresa Hunt, Beverly Jackson with Audrey Whitaker, Elizabeth Hayes, April Aloisio, Patricia Berg, Sandra Rutledge, Linda Dachtyl and Brenda Flowers.
The festival, held at Dave Hall Plaza on Fourth St. between Jefferson and Main Streets is free. Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets and relax on the greenspace while they listen to the best female artists in the region. Food and merchandise vendors will also be present.
“We want crowds,” says headlining act Teresa Hunt from Atlanta. “Set up tents and bring your kids to hear both contemporary and traditional jazz all day.”
Hunt, a Dayton native, will be performing at the festival for the first time in five or six years. There’s one thing she’s most looking forward to about being in her hometown again.
“I’m excited to see my grandson, David,” she says. “He’s three and I’m hoping to have him front and center.”
The Michelob Women in Jazz Festival will be held from 1-9 p.m. No alcoholic beverages may be brought in (though beer will be sold at the festival), and no glass containers or pets are allowed.
The festival is presented by the City of Dayton Department of Recreation and Youth Services. The series is sponsored by Heidelberg Distributing Co., the Downtown Dayton Partnership, WROU, Martin Romie Talent, and the Crowne Plaza Dayton Hotel. For more information, call 333-8400.
The Great White Rattletrap
The aptly named Rattletrap has sat idle on McPherson Street for two weeks now as part of my car-less adventure as I hoofed it around downtown ― and I have to admit my life has been pretty much unchanged. Well, except for the fact that the act of walking has been a serious struggle.
See, I took a tumble ― ka-chump! ― square on my left knee at the time when I perhaps needed that knee the most. Banged it up to the point where I really should have gone (on foot, of course) to the hospital for stitches. (My doctor later confirmed this to be true.)
What I actually did, however, was declare, as blood dripped down my calf and puddled in my shoe, that it simply was a scrape a little peroxide and a Band-Aid could cure. Shortly thereafter, I rode my bike three miles in sizzling heat, squated into a kayak and paddled across Eastwood Lake, and then biked the three miles home, my ad hoc gauze-and-medical tape bandage loosened in the fresh water and flapping in the wind as if I was an unraveling mummy. I was too excited about being back on my bike, which I had barely ridden since my now 19-year-old son was small enough to be in a seat on the back, feeling the wind brush my cheeks, delirious in the bluster of speeding by graduation cookouts and the Mad River.
Of course, this happened on Day Four. So I haven’t really walked many places. More like gimped, lumbering about town. Very. Slowly. Barely able to bend my left knee.
And that, my friends, is what caused me to cheat.
It was my honest intention to take the bus to get groceries for a dinnertime game of Mah Jongg I was hosting. I figured my first bus adventure might as well be XTREME: A trip to the grocery store. But on Sunday morning when a friend asked if I wanted to run errands, including a stop at Trader Joe’s, and offered to drive, I simply replied, my voice taut with pain, “Yes.”
And so it was: convenience trumped principle. Justification? It wasn’t my car. I wasn’t driving. I admit that wasn’t the only day friends picked up my gimpy self and gave me a ride. I never asked to be carted hither and yon, but it happened.
I also haven’t stepped foot in a bus. After reading Megan Cooper’s awesome series of articles chronicling her adventures riding the bus, it’s clear I need to be able to bring my bike along. (I mean, why not learn from someone else’s mishaps?) And this knee ain’t biking nowhere for a minute.
So my adventure will have to be continued at another time. Not to say I didn’t encounter some interesting things limping around the past couple of weeks: A drag queen on roller blades. Some dude rockin’ out with an ’80s-style boom box on his shoulder. Another dude riding a bicycle with a seat that appeared made from the seat of a rocking chair.
Walking forces you to be patient, slow your mind. Notice things. It leads to unexpected adventures.
At least I discovered a free boot camp at RiverScape I plan to attend -- once I'm able to walk.
For example, one evening (pre-fall), as I’m walking home from Drake’s Downtown Gym and jabbering on the phone with my BFF, I realize I’m walking right by her condo building.
“Girl, are you home?” I ask. “Scoot downstairs and join me for a soft-serve cone at RiverScape.” She does. We hang, chitter-chatter and get covered in melting ice cream. While there, we notice a big group of people doing jumping jacks under the pavilion. Come to discover it’s a free boot camp. (Mondays and Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 9:30 a.m.)
I wanted to live the month of June as if I have no car ― which, considering the condition of The Rattletrap, could very well become the case. But in these two weeks it really hit me that if, like so many people, I did not own a car, the freedom of mobility to which I’ve become so accustomed would cease to exist.
Which brings me to this: In a country ― a society, a culture ― sprung from the idea that to be fully human is to be free, does that freedom include the ability to move about from place to place as and when one desires? Because if that’s part of the USA freedom equation, one thing now is clear to me: freedom of mobility = owning a car.
Or does it? Readers, share your thoughts while I sign off to bandage my knee …
Free pizza is served to the crowd in the square.
Now that the rain has finally stopped, Courthouse Square is the place to be weekdays at noontime.
Starting June 21 and lasting through Sept. 15, The Square is Where … will feature a variety of performers. Entertainment booked to date includes belly dancers, jugglers and a saxophonist. The festivities will occur around noon on most Tuesdays through Fridays.
Spectators can enjoy the show while grabbing lunch served by food vendors. Additionally, the YMCA will be hosting practice yoga and Zumba classes, perfect for those looking to recharge during their lunch breaks.
The Square is Where … is inspired by Affair on the Square, an event that took place more than a decade ago.
Now the Downtown Dayton Partnership and Montgomery Country are presenting The Square is Where … is a part of the Greater Downtown Dayton Plan to encourage growth and development in the city center.
“We’re trying to show there is a thriving, vibrant downtown during the work day,” says Krystal Luketic, special event coordinator for the Downtown Dayton Partnership.
As details become available, a complete schedule will be posted on www.DowntownDayton.org and www.mcohio.org. Any local performers interesting in entertaining on the square should contact Ashleigh Nunamaker at 937-224-1518, ext. 235 or [email protected].
The Fair Shakes
Saturday night South Park Tavern will be rocking with two great local bands, each with a stellar lineup. The Fair Shakes are fronted by Nick Kizirnis and features John Dubuc, Deni Wilson and Jim Macpherson. Their sound channels the fun, classic garage rock sounds of bands like The Replacements and the Ramones. Get a taste of what you’ll see on Saturday night from the band’s YouTube offerings.
If the Fair Shakes don’t get you on your feet, C. Wright’s Parlour Tricks will. The band features Marc Betts, Brian Hoeflich, Tim Flanagan, and occasionally Josh Gonazalez, Steve ‘Henhouse’ Hensley, Joe Prescott. Their guitar-driven instrumentals combine good old fashioned rock and roll with a bit of boogie and lots of showmanship that will make you want to move.
[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlFOEUla25c’]
Saturday’s show begins around 9pm and costs $5. Like most every show at South Park Tavern, it’s all ages.
(from Garry Harrington – promoter for Bicycle Dreams)
Bicycle Dreams, the award-winning feature-length documentary about the Race Across America (RAAM), will premiere at several cities along the route of the epic 3,000-mile bicycle race that will be held for the 30th year in 2011. This year’s race begins on June 14 in Oceanside, California, and will end 10 days later in Annapolis, Maryland.
To commemorate the 30th edition of what is considered by many the most challenging sporting event in the world, Bicycle Dreams will follow alongside the racers by showing the film in 10 cities along the route, including Dayton. The film will be shown at The Neon at 130 E. 5th St. at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 22.
The film, which has won numerous awards at film festivals all over the world, “is an up-close look at what RAAM riders go through,” says Stephen Auerbach, the director and producer of Bicycle Dreams. “They deal with searing desert heat, agonizing mountain climbs, and endless stretches of open road. And they do it all while battling extreme exhaustion and sleep deprivation. It’s a great subject for a film.”
“Bicycle Dreams is a spectacular and heartfelt film that offers a riveting portrait of extreme courage in the face of inhuman obstacles,” writes TheLoveOfMovies.com. “It is an artistic triumph that renewed my belief in the power of desire and the strength of the human will.”
The upcoming tour of the film is scheduled to coincide with the 2011 Race Across America, which begins on June 14 when riders leave from Oceanside, California. Bicycle Dreams will be shown in Flagstaff, Arizona; Durango, Colorado; Wichita, Kansas; Columbia, Missouri; St. Louis, Missouri; Indianapolis, Indiana; Dayton, Ohio; and Cincinnati, Ohio, during the RAAM’s run across the United States. The race is expected to end on or about June 24.
“We are very excited to be able to bring Bicycle Dreams to so many locations along the route that have never had access to the film before,” says Auerbach. “Viewers will be overwhelmed by the amount of pain and suffering these riders go through, and they will be able to see it all first-hand in the days following the film when the 2011 racers come through their towns.”
To capture the mammoth scope of the race, Auerbach worked around the clock with a complement of 18 cameras. Embedded camera operators traveled inside the racers’ support crew vehicles, gaining unprecedented access to the cyclists and their teams. Their footage captured emotional and physical breakdowns, late-night strategy sessions, and great moments of personal triumph, all in intimate detail. Auerbach then took on the enormous task of editing hundreds of hours of material and forming it into a powerful and inspiring look inside the most difficult race on the planet.
Bicycle Dreams has won major awards at the Fallbrook and Breckenridge film festivals, as well as the Yosemite, Grand Rapids, Red Rock and All Sports LA film festivals, among many others.
Most recently the film added the Best Foreign Film trophy from the Krasnogorski International Festival of Sports Films in Moscow and was also invited to be included in the 2011 World Cinema Showcase in New Zealand as well as the Mountain Film Festival in Istanbul, Turkey. And before that it made its Australian debut at the Big Pond Film Festival in Adelaide.
Critical acclaim for the film continues to pour in from all sources.
“This film isn’t for those who want to shy away from the tragic side of the human experience, unwilling to risk the cracking of their shell of denial, not willing to risk their coping mechanism,” writes Cycling-Review.com. “Bicycle Dreams captures the human condition like few other films. Bicycle Dreams moves us to break through the barrier of the fear of death. I have seldom found a film that captures this ‘life drama’ as powerfully as does Bicycle Dreams.”
Adds Podium Café, “Bicycle Dreams is the ultimate inner journey. If you thought the life of a cyclist was an internal struggle, wait until you see what Auerbach unearths in this film. Bicycle Dreams is an unprecedented exploration of the subject of the suffering on the bike.”
About.com writes, “As we fall deeper and deeper into Bicycle Dreams, what we witness grows more terrifying, yet more compelling. Auerbach’s masterful direction exposes the raw lessons that drive people to push beyond the limits of human endurance. Revealing what lies at the heart of every impossible human endeavor is what Bicycle Dreams is all about.”
And finally, Bicycle Touring Pro comments, “If you’ve ever dreamed of challenging yourself to a place far beyond what you previously thought was possible, Bicycle Dreams is a film you must see. It’s beautiful, thought provoking, exciting, emotional and scary. The experience of watching this film will leave you with a new perspective on life that will remain with you for a very long time to come.”
Bicycle Dreams also has been named one of the top 10 adventure films of all time by both The Matador Network and Playground Magazine.
The upcoming nationwide tour to be held in conjunction with the 2011 Race Across America will include a screening at the Neon in Dayton at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 22.
Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. To purchase advance tickets go to www.imathlete.com/events/bicycledreams. For more information on the film, go to www.bicycledreamsmovie.com or find us on Facebook.
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Dayton has a lot of “best bets” to offer, and this time, I have an “ace” of an opportunity! If you’re looking for a great summer event that caters to adults but is also kid-friendly, look no further than Hops Over the Moon at the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, which benefits the museum’s summer programs!
Although the main event will take place on Saturday, June 25th from 7-11PM, this year, they will also be offering an adult only preview party (21+ only please) on Friday, June 24th from 5:30-10PM. If you enjoy the taste of beer, you definitely will not want to miss this event, which will feature nearly three dozen micro and craft beers from fifteen breweries in the museum setting. Even if you’re not a beer aficionado, there will be other great beverages for you to try! “Not only are we planning for great entertainment, food and beer, but participants can learn something about the science behind brewing at the same time,” says Elise Weltge, Co-chair of the event and the Museum’s Volunteer Associate Board. So you can drink AND say that you were learning at the same time? That’s what I’m talking about!
Both days will feature different venues, each with its own menu, entertainment, and informal presentations. Highlights of the Friday preview party include dancing to the amazing Velvet Crush, a deluxe slider bar, numerous beer samples, home brewing demonstrations, night sky viewing (Saturn will be visible!), fire pits, and s’mores…all within a majestic museum setting!
Saturday will involve a variety of child-friendly activities in each of the different venues, such as jugglers and a balloon artist. If you’re a runner, participate in their annual 5k race. And if not, I’m sure walking is okay too! There will also be a “fun run” for children (I guess they lied to me about running being fun for adults). The Rubbles will be there (sorry, not the Betty and Barney type) to entertain you with some great bam bam music. In addition, you’ll be able to wander the nature trails, taste-test a variety of foods from cheeses to smoked meats to sushi, learn about a variety of animals, and cool off with “water bombs.”
I encourage you to join me in attending this wonderful event to support a great cause! Friday night tickets are $50 in advance ($55 day of) and Saturday’s tickets are $40 in advance ($45 day of). Children’s tickets for Saturday are only $7 (ages 3-14), so be sure to bring the whole family! For more information or to purchase tickets, call 937-275-7431 ext. 144, or order online at http://www.boonshoftmuseum.org/. You can also find additional information on their facebook page (facebook.com/hopsoverthemoon).
Food…. Dayton Food.
Who better to tackle this topic ?
Welcome to FOOD ADVENTURES! The place for Dayton Foodies.
After generating some Facebook buzz, we were approached by Daytonmostmetro.com to join them with a featured food blog. We are very excited over the new partnership, and promise to deliver our take on places to eat in the Dayton area. Our goal is an informative, entertaining blog, with a sense of humor. Whether casual food, formal dining, street food, or festivals, we will leave no plate unturned.
Look for a new blog post every week on Dayton Most Metro!
Together, your humble Food Adventurers will seek out locally owned restaurants, unique places off the beaten path, and even give our slant on some familiar favorites. Whenever we visit a place, we call it a “Food Adventure.” You can expect pictures of each Food Adventure we embark on. You can expect us hugging waiters, posting nostalgic blogs, and emotionally eating our way through life. We are not food critics, we are just two guys that love to eat!
So get ready Daytonmostmetro.com fans, you are about to go on an adventure…..
The Big Ragu destroying a footlong hot dog
Steve “The Big Ragu” Milano:
A lifelong Dayton resident, his early food influence was started by mom and grandparents’ Italian and German/Scottish cooking. Ragu’s love of food is only matched by his love of sports, travel, karaoke and just needing to be held. An attention seeking missile, Ragu’s favorite foods include Seafood, Italian Food, and Chinese/Japanese cuisine. Other hobbies include overeating occasionally and a slight attraction to deep fried menu items.
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For years Dayton has been known as a town with an abundance of wine tastings each week and now with the rise in popularity of craft beers, those of us who really enjoy our ales and lagers are starting to have lots of choices, too! Rumbleseat Wine just sent us an email telling us they’l be hosting a weekly beer tasting on Wednesday nights from 6-8pm. According to their newsletter, the event will give you a chance to learn more about beer and pairing it with food. The sessions will be lead by someone they are calling Beer Guru Charles. Now I don’t know who this Charles is and I’m not sure what the training is to become a guru, but I look forward to sharing a brew with him and finding out!
Tonight’s beers include: Goose Islands Sofie– a Belgian Style farmhouse ale, Goose Island’s Pere Jacques– a fruity malty ale, and two beers from the Intercourse Brewing Company, which was named after the rural Pennsylvania Amish community of Intercourse, ironically a dry town. Go ahead giggle here, you know you want to. You can taste Blue Ball Porter – a smokey porter with a hint of blueberry and Bareville Pilsner– an American style pilsner. You can try all four for just $6, and you’ll be able to purchase those you like to take home.
The tastings start tonight, and I’ve got a previous engagement, so will some of my beer buddies check it out and report back to us all in the comments below, if you go! You’ll find Rumbleseat at 5853 Far Hills Avenue, about a block north of Dorothy Lane Market in Kettering.
In the last couple of weeks a few seemingly unrelated yet similar incidents occurred. We’ll start with this. “Just because he’s into all of the same nerdy shit as you doesn’t mean he’s your soul mate.” Powerful little tidbit muttered by a close friend this week who also pattern dates might I mention. I admit, I have a tendency to pattern date and be very selective. I have an ideal mental image of the person I’d like to see myself with and so when that surfaces I tend to over think everything and find myself pining over inevitably what turns out to be a lost a cause, still a learning experience none the less. I am not sure if any other women or men do this, but I tend to typecast who I date and if you don’t fit that mold you haven’t a chance in hell. Am I sabotaging potential relationships by this picky behavior, probably so but like everything else in my life the details matter. For me anyway.
Opposites Attract? Shit.
Earlier this week it was pointed out to me that the phrase “Opposites Attract” has real meaning to it. My question is what exactly is that meaning because I’ve not come across a shirt and tie that I could see myself with; this would be exact opposite of me a bro, a jock, a yuppy or whatever, you know the type. Is it the past that has scorned me (dated a few) or do I really just prefer the t-shirt and jeans type of guy? I prefer the t-shirt and jeans type of guy. A common thing I always hear among my circle of gal pals (blind leading the blind by the way) is that I need a man who knows what he wants and apparently they only come in shirt and tie fashion. This can’t be true? The evidence to prove otherwise may be lacking and that is the problem. I don’t think I’ve ever once been attracted to an opposite, whatever an opposite is. So these guys on dating sites that have screen names which reflect their favorite sport teams, wearing it as some badge of honor, are not my guy. Yet the search results lead them to me. How unfortunate. I’m pretty forthright with what I want and who I am and I’m continuously attracting not anything remotely close to what I’d envision myself with. Opposites are attracted to me and I not them. This presents a dilemma, one I am realizing has become more of an annoyance than anything else and certainly not flattering. As a professional who’s pretty successful does this put me in some category where shirt and tie is my only option? There’s a whole other fun side of me that certainly hopes not. I’m at a roadblock and thinking that perhaps I need to try on something new, perhaps an investment banker or doctor and see where that goes but really I think it would awkward and forced. The rich, the doting, I find it dull and not my thing. I don’t want the male version of me but do opposites really have to attract?
Dirty Starts Go Nowhere.
What did you say? I find myself thinking this all the damn time lately. Creepy and lame pickup lines have now been replaced with digital dirtiness, fabulous. Mobile devices apparently have given guys a right of passage to unsolicited and random premature dirty talk. I’m well aware that I have a great rack thank you for noticing please don’t comment further when I’ve never even met you, thanks. I guess I’m just not that starved for attention that I find this behavior flattering. This is why I tend to go with the shy guy because either they have great manners or they’re just too scared to say such things. I’m glad that some men have enough confidence to say whatever their big head or little head triggers them saying so but trust me when I tell you that unless you’re some heart throb it’s just gross and unnecessary. I attract a lot of this. Again with the opposites. Shit. Between Facebook pokes, Skype requests, unsolicited sexts and random inappropriate wall posts I find myself feeling like I’m surrounded by a pack of horny wolves who’ve forgotten the art of conversation. Is this really dating in 2011? What happened to slow paced getting to know you kind of stuff? The city is in heat and it needs to cool down a bit. Am I the only person out there who doesn’t budge for boob compliments? Those who do this are opposite of me and my character. Opposites don’t attract.
A Stunner in Heels.
And Chanel might I add. As I re-enter the world of being a skinny bitch, I find myself more confident. With that comes new digs and lip gloss called Sugar Shag. I have to admit there isn’t a doubt in my mind that confidence attracts but again, what exactly? I wonder sometimes if the things said to me while I am out or the way in which I’m approached actually works on other women. My friends tell me I have a tendency to be wound up to tight and blow too many people off. Perhaps I do, but again that mental image of what I want has only surfaced twice in the last 2 years and while neither worked out I’m still thinking my guy will fit that image, personality and gentleman like persona. It’s all pretty confusing. I admit that this weekend I got all dolled up (first time in a while) and it was really just for one person. To him, however I was invisible but to several others that was not the case. Bummed about that I was pissy all night and I don’t really recall how many exactly I gave the cold shoulder to afterwards but there were a few. Which brings me back to the theme in this stream of consciousness, is that mental image of perfection for me hindering me from meeting someone well, different? Is Mr. Right really Mr. Opposite? Why is different so uncomfortable for me? I’ve thought about this for a few days and the only real thing I can determine is that different sometimes tries to change you. I don’t want to be changed. I like being simple, having fun, enjoying time with friends and not feeling pressured to be something I am not..something more like my opposite. Gentleman wanted.
Curveball.
No one around me is really breaking the pattern yet they’re advising me to think outside of the beard box for a little while and get a taste of the opposite life. I’m not entirely sure that I am ready to give it a go but it’s certainly something I am analyzing, obviously. Last night I ran into a reader and invited him to sit and chat with my friends. He said he’d rather read about my dating debacles in my column. We were only discussing what I was going to write about this week for a short while but his statement got me thinking. All of this being single and dating talk really doesn’t do anything to help myself or my friends. I’d bet money that most guys I meet also fear they’d become a topic for my column. If you’re a douche your behavior may be mentioned but no names are ever dropped. If you’re that worried about it I’d suggest rethinking that behavior and lessoning the level of column worthy content then before asking me out. So, back to the curveball. I guess I really have no objection to trying something different or changing my approach because obviously my mental perfect image has yet to surface and pine out. The funny thing, some of the greatest guys I know who are my good friends are exact opposite of me and we get along great. So perhaps, there is something to it. I plan on doing some investigative research and will probably have a future column on this supposed “Opposites Attract” theory.
The juxtaposition of this column is at best a way for me to sort out my own chaos but as always I hope it triggers some provoking thoughts for my readers. If you exhibit pattern dating behavior, I’d love to hear from you and if you’ve stopped the cycle.
Tripple Croxx Entertainment, OFP Productions and the Human Race Theatre Company, present The Signature’s “Poetic Soul Fusion” show June 17.
The night, hosted by national slam poet Will Evans, will include appearances by HBO Def poet Sunni Patterson, acoustic soul singer Ken J. Martin and internationally renowned violinist Shaw Pong Liu. The performances will also recognize Black Music Month, Juneteenth and the accomplishments of the late Gil Scott-Heron.
Sierra Leone, producer of The Signature, says the show synthesizes performance and visual arts and will have something for everyone.
“It’s a cultural experience,” she says. “But we want to pay homage to other things taking place as well.”
Patterson, the featured artist, brings her New Orleans heritage into her music by adding some soulful flavor. She is known for both her visionary styling and her powerful delivery. With a resume that includes appearing on BET’s “Lyric Café,” and HBO’s “Def Poetry,” Patterson promises to bring a show-stopping performance.
Leone says through The Signature, artists like Patterson and can reach people.
“We believe creative art is the tangible element that connects us to our humanity,” says Lee Croxx, CEO of Tripple Croxx Entertainment.
The show will be held at The Loft Theatre, 126 N. Main St. Doors open at 8:30 p.m., and cocktails will be available before the show. Tickets for The Signature cost $15 in advance and $20 at the door. They are available at www.ticketcenterstage.com. 937-228-3630.
