Tom O’Hara out as Plain Dealer Managing Editor
Tom O’Hara, managing editor of The Plain Dealer, is departing the paper this Friday. In a memo released today, editor Susan Goldberg put a happy face on the news, playing it as a great loss, etc, etc., though the real story isn’t nearly that pretty. O’Hara was once the heir apparent to former editor Doug…
Take Plastic? Lawyer discovers calling, makes cornhole kit with beer compartments
Most men treat their cornhole kits like antique sports cars – we love to build and customize them ourselves, and it’d kill us to ever think about getting rid of them (hands off, wifey!). And some prissy store-bought kit? Fuhgeddaboutit! But this is exactly the mindset Randy Digges is betting against. He’s a patent attorney,…
Akron Mayor Plusquellic faces primary challenge
Just a quick little reminder to Akronites: Don’t forget to vote today. Sure, today’s election is little more than a local primary, promising a draw no larger than a Weathervane play. But if you’re a registered Democrat, today is your last chance to pick Akron’s future mayor — no small democratic duty. (Sorry Republicans, you’ll…
Mitt Romney and the Search for the Mormon Garden of Eden
There aren’t many Mormans here in Cleveland, which makes the presidential candidacy of Mitt Romney something akin to the way Southerners once viewed the White House ambitions of Catholic John Kennedy. What? Some guy from a cult wants to be president? But while we Catholics have always been a little weird — hey, maybe we…
Bums of the Round-Table: Homeless dudes match wits on East 9th Street
Say what you will about Cleveland, but we have some of the most entertaining bums around. Last Sunday, for instance, while dining at the Subway at East 9th Street and Superior Avenue, I was treated to a homeless adaptation of King Arthur. It began as what seemed like a peaceful disagreement between bums. One man…
Food and Wine does Cleveland up right. Also: Bourdain’s show was all in good fun
Local foodies who were less than impressed by what Tony Bourdain told the world about Cleveland during the No Reservations episode of August 28, might find that Food & Wine magazine’s recently posted “48 Hour Cleveland Cheat Sheet” has a somewhat sweeter taste. Based on a F&W rep’s brief June visit to our fair city,…
Matt Underwood Drops the Ball. Again.
During Saturday night’s Indians/Angels game, a foul ball made its way to the booth where Matt Underwood was calling the game for SportsTime Ohio. It apparently went right to the broadcaster; no cameras caught the action, which is unfortunate, because Underwood dropped the ball. I would have loved to have seen it – the perfect…
Four Penalty Surprise: Don’t worry, it’s all part of Romeo Crennel’s secret plan
“Um, yes, I’d like to book a tee time. How’s the Sunday after next look?” We have four fouls on the offense: illegal formation, offense, No. 56. That penalty is declined. Holding, No. 90, that penalty is declined. Holding, No. 35, that penalty will be enforced, 10 yards from the end of the kick. We…
This Just In: Bruce plays Cleveland, and 43 other concerts to make you shake it
“I am The Boss, dammit.” This week, 44 new shows. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band return. Coheed & Cambria and Clutch share a two-night double-shot of classic rock, 2007-style. Radio rockers Saliva and Puddle of Mudd split a bill. Most of Creed return as Alter Bridge. Train frontman Pat Monohan goes solo. Hip-hop…
Reader: The Ohio EPA is a Serial Killer
I just finished reading this article [“Badlands,” August 1]. I grew up in Painesville Township and remember the horrific smell when we would drive down Fairport Nursery Road. The mere fact we, once again, cannot count on a government agency to keep Americans safe is appalling. For the EPA to intentionally ignore hazardous chemicals dumped…
Ex-C-town radio star pens 9-11 tribute
Just in time for the sixth anniversary of 9-11, ex-Cleveland radio newscaster Carol Hoffman and her 28-year-old daughter, Carly, have teamed up to write, produce, and publish the anthem-like “Everyday Heroes.” But don’t label it “just a 9-11 song.” “It’s a patriotic song written out of gratitude,” says Hoffman, who graced the airwaves as “Tracy…
Mike G.’s Picks of the Week: Corn, country, and one damn-fine chorus
Country star Brad Paisley rocks House of Blues Friday. This week’s top arts and entertainment picks around town, from the guy who’s paid to pick them: Monday: Lake Metroparks Farmpark’s Corn Maze recently opened for the season. The three-acre behemoth — built entirely out of corn — takes you on a labyrinthine journey that leads…
Remember those Believe in Cleveland ads? Never Mind.
Remember the good old days, when The Plain Dealer helped launch the Believe in Cleveland ad campaign, which included Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove? Apparently, they were just kidding. Now that PD Publisher Terrance C.Z. Egger has joined the Clinic’s board of trustees, strange things have been happening on his newspaper’s editorial page. Take the…
One Brave Man and His Civil Rights Battle Against Circuit City
Twenty-six-year-old Pittsburgh resident Michael Righi fancies himself a freedom fighter. His blog details his struggles against over-zealous police and unconstitutional laws. “I’m not interested in living my life smoothly,” he writes. But on a recent visit to the Brooklyn Circuit City, Righi realized just how much Clevelanders don’t give a shit. On his way out,…
A Raging Debate over White Hat Charter Schools
Two weeks ago, Amy Rankin provided a first-person account of working for White Hat Management, Ohio’s largest charter school chain, which is quickly gaining a reputation for providing the most wretched education your tax dollars can provide [“Education at its Worst, August 29]. Since her story, parents, employees and teachers have been weighing in. Some…
Reader: The Lakewood Library Director is Power Hungry
I propose that you write a news story pointing out the undesirable conflict of interest of the director of the Lakewood Public Library doing a televised interview of each candidate for mayor of Lakewood, and also presiding over a debate of these three mayoral candidates. The director of the library is a public official who…
Official Ruling: Billy Morris no longer sucks. Kim Diamond, on the other hand …
The ruling on the field has been overturned. Billy Morris man no longer sucks. In a story in last week’s Scene, we told you about aspiring soul singer Ce-Cee, winner of the Cleveland Idol singing contest at the Hi-Fi Club in Lakewood, owned by former Warrant guitar player and Cleveland son Billy Morris. Ce-Cee was…
Steer Cleared for Departure: Meat-eaters outbid yuppies, plan to off Bentley
For those of you waiting with baited breath to find out what happened to Bentley the steer — the cow at the center of the Plain Dealer’s riveting five-part series — we have bad news. His spirit is now in cow heaven, roaming with the the other billion served. And his remains are destined for…
Report: “Brady Leads Browns Into Post-Pre Season”
Brady Quinn held out until the Browns agreed to let him put his shirt back on. Check out this week’s Onion for a glass-half-full look at the Browns’ season before Brady Quinn suffers an inevitable season-ending injury around week four, in a meaningless series during the closing minutes of an already-lost game. The satirical newspaper…
Que Bueno! Zocalo, a new Mexican joint on East 4th, is turning heads
As far back as December, reps from Trifecta Management — which also operates downtown’s Flannery’s Pub and Cowboy Food and Drink, in Bainbridge — have been pimping their “tequila delivery system,” scheduled to debut at their new Zócalo Mexican Grille & Tequileria when it opened on E. 4th St. this summer. Is it a tequila…
Show, Don’t Tell: How Larry Craig can convince the world he’s not gay
Larry Craig: one lawsuit from SuicideGirls.com away from getting his career back. Idaho Senator Larry Craig outed himself last weekend, and now his political career is over. He didn’t out himself as a homosexual – that disposition came to light when he got busted cruising for some manly love in a Minneapolis airport bathroom. No,…
The Lime Spider’s Last Call. Sort of.
As C-Notes told you last month, The Lime Spider will officially close this Saturday. Of course, the formidable Akron indie rock hot spot won’t be going out with out a bang. The line-up over the next three days is sure to please all musical palettes, beginning with the FREE Cash-a-thon tonight. Eleven different bands, including…
Cleveland Steelers Fans: Here’s where they’ll be. Feel free to harass them.
You’ll probably see these dudes at Harpo’s. The first seven rounds are on them. (Editor’s note: We are still unsure exactly how we accidentally hired a Steelers fan. Apparently our formidable background-check procedure — Uh, you’re not, like, weird or nothin’, are you? — failed us once again. We are working with HR to remedy…
Mikey’s Picks: Moms killing animals and animals killing it in Oberlin
Animal Collective gets weird in Oberlin, Sunday. This week’s top arts and entertainment picks around town, from the guy who’s paid to pick them: Friday: A couple years ago, the FBI declared animal-rights activists the no. 1 terrorist threat to the U.S. Oscar-winner Curt Johnson couldn’t quite figure out how a bunch of leafies leaped…
No Rush at All: Rush plays three-hour Cleveland show; Novak captures it all
Rush rocked a three-hour set at Blossom this week, and Scene photographer Walter Novak put down his beer long enough to bang out one of his best slideshows yet. Check it out here — Joe P. Tone
Mayor Frank Jackson speaks, proves why he should just shut up
He speaks! Again! If you saw the photo of the Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson in the Plain Dealer this week, you may have noticed something different about him. It appeared he was actually speaking (you know, like, moving his lips, putting vowels and syllables together to form these crazy things called words). In most cities,…
Gay Episcopal Church leader nominated for Bishop; old straight dudes fume
Trinity Cathedral Dean Tracy Lind has conservative Episcopalians sweating. Congress isn’t the only place where wars over gay rights are being waged. Heated arguments are also taking place in church ministries. Last year, the Episcopal Church passed a resolution encouraging ministries not to consecrate any openly gay bishops. Girl-on-girl action makes great porn, but it’s…
California Charter founder indicted; Ohio officials confused: What’s an indictment?
The indictment of a California charter-school mogul is just the inspiration Attorney General Marc Dann (above) needs. Some pansy West Coast prosecutors can’t be tougher than you, can they Mr. Rust Belt? Here in Ohio, David Brennan and his White Hat Management charter schools keep getting rich no matter how badly their students fail [“Education…
Dennis Kucinich Gets Some of His Own Medicine on Debate Hypocrisy
Congressman Dennis Kucinich has been throwing a hissy fit lately over a plot by the major Democratic candidates to exclude the lesser-knowns and vanity aspirants (that would be Denny) from debates. What Kucinich fans around the country (all four of them) don’t know is that the Creepy Elf routinely employs the same tactic back home.…
Don’t Equate White Hat with other Home Educators
Thank you for your expose on White Hat [“Education at its Worst,” August 29! I have followed them since their contract was approved. Reading your article this morning was like a breath of fresh air! I am a long time home education activist, and Mr. Brennan has pulled home education into circles we never wanted…
Chicago perfects Nuevo Latino cuisine; can Paladar, Cleveland keep up?
Last week’s trip to Chi-town was a chance to try out some trendy Nuevo Latino eats, first at Mark Mendez’s colorful Carnivale, perched above I-90 near the Loop, and then at De La Costa, celebrity chef Douglas Rodriguez’s newest spot, located just outside the Navy Pier. What helped get us excited about the chance to…
Band called Dirt makes special Browns song that’s really … loud?
Eleven years ago, Dave Burzanko founded Dirt with guitarist Jim Bryant and drummer Mark Patrick. Burzanko, a DJ and the band’s vocalist and leader, favors rap, hip-hop and techno. Bryant’s a metalhead, and Patrick’s skins are rooted in hard rock. Naturally, writing music is no easy chore for the band. But they do agree on…
Surging in Central, Indians primed to win the the whole f*$#ing thing
Once again proving that we’ve got more — and better looking! — imaginary sources than even the Great Roger Brown, C-Notes obtained the above video from last night’s pre-game activities in the visitor’s locker room at the Metrodome — a short speech that apparently inspired the Tribe to its 7-5, comeback win over the Twins,…
Cleveland Clinic may break up with Case, hook up with Columbia instead*
Toby Cosgrove believes in Cleveland. Unless, of course, he can score a better deal elsewhere. *UPDATED Apparently Toby Cosgrove and the Cleveland Clinic’s belief in Cleveland only goes so far. In this morning’s Plain Dealer, Regina McEnery reports that the Clinic is on the verge of ditching its affiliation with Case to instead hook-up with…
Mose Allison
Those British Invasion bands knew a good thing when they heard it. During the ’60s, any young Brit digging blues and jazz was on to Mose Allison, the American vocalist, pianist, and composer. Georgie Fame’s vocal on the hit “Yeh Yeh” was basically a knockoff of Allison’s cool, almost conversational style. On the flip side,…
Keeping Up With the Lolas
It’s a land of strip malls and mini-plazas out here, the retail marts strung along U.S. 20 like children’s plastic beads. The farther east we drive — through Mentor and into Painesville Township — the shinier the beads become, until we start to believe that they’re emerging from the once-wooded landscape just before we pass.…
Sirens’ Songs
Boston’s Receiving End of Sirens makes some glorious noise on its second CD, The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi. It’s an ambitious move for the emo band — which had a bit of a problem separating itself from the pack on 2005’s Between the Heart and the Synapse. This time, it latches onto a galaxy-shaking…
The Killers
They sold more than 5,000,000 copies of their bottom-shaking, new-wave-flavored debut, Hot Fuss. But the Killers clearly learned a thing or two in their Vegas stomping ground about playing the long odds, returning last October with a second effort, Sam’s Town, that surprisingly owes less to old Duran Duran than old Springsteen. And yet it…
Timekeepers
Few restaurants improve over the course of three decades. Most don’t last that long; when they do survive, they tend to become entrenched in a former era, never again to set foot in the present. So kudos to Gamekeeper’s Taverne (87 West Street, 440-247-7744), the Chagrin Falls stalwart that first introduced nascent foodies to ciabatta…
Zach Attack!
Pop-rocker Zach pays tribute to his father-turned-manager at today’s benefit concert in Akron. The 25-year-old local singer-songwriter dedicates the show to his dad, Chuck Friedhof, who died of pancreatic cancer last year. Expect to hear many songs from Zach’s latest CD, 1-19-2007 — the date that would have marked his pop’s 56th birthday. “He stepped…
Tesla
Classy isn’t the first word I’d use to describe prototypical hair-metal bands like Poison and Bon Jovi. But Tesla? That’s another story. More workingman’s rock than genuine hair-metal, Tesla recently returned with Real to Reel, an album of ’70s rock covers that solidifies my opinion that the California outfit is legit and worthy of shelf…
A Bond Experience
There have already been critical rumblings about the extreme violence in Shoot ‘Em Up, but it’s hard to get too worked up about a film whose very title announces its maker’s intent — and which opens by raking the New Line Cinema corporate logo with machine-gun fire (a gesture long overdue). Yes, the opening scene…
Wet and Wild
If you’re heading out to this weekend’s Big Valley Race mountain-bike trek, you may want to bring your rubbers. “It’s poured four out of the five years we’ve put on this event,” sighs organizer Kevin Daum. Still, adverse weather hasn’t stopped cyclists from descending on the Cuyahoga Valley National Park’s 600-acre Camp Manatoc for the…
Debbie Davies
Blues albums are tricky creatures to size up. All the right ingredients can be present: sterling guitar work, gutsy vocals, and classic tunes. Yet the overall result can still sound formulaic. Take Blues Blast, the latest from guitarist and singer Debbie Davies. Her vocals are engaging, kind of like Bonnie Raitt’s in the early ’70s.…
Still Waiting for That Train
Huffing and puffing to resuscitate a long-moribund genre, James Mangold manages to imbue a 50-year-old western with the semblance of life. Mangold’s remake of 3:10 to Yuma isn’t as startling a resurrection job as his Johnny Cash biopic, but it does send a saddlebag full of western tropes skittering into the 21st century. The original…
Community Service
The Lakewood Community Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary today. It’s come a long way, says chairwoman Marge Stopiak, who served potato pancakes and stuffed cabbage with a small group of church ladies at the very first outing. “We’re trying to hang on to the multicultural aspect of our community,” she says. “It’s really grown. Now…
Ingram Hill
After a brief but successful existence as an indie band, the Tennessee-based Ingram Hill signed with Disney’s Hollywood Records and dropped June’s Picture Show. The band has finally re-emerged with this year’s Cold in California, which shows where the act is now, after learning the ropes while gigging alongside the likes of Lisa Marie Presley…
349 Movies To Go
Ang Lee steams up Toronto with Lust, Caution. Sundance signals, for better or worse, the state of American independent filmmaking. Cannes keeps faith, for those who still believe, with the cinema d’auteur. And Toronto? The largest and most important film festival in North America seems to do nearly as many things as there are movies…
Dog Day Afternoon
Any dog can sit and roll over. But at today’s pet-friendly Furry Friends Festival, a three-year-old Shar-pei named Tawny will maneuver through tunnels, weave around poles, and basically run rings around all the other bitches. The moves are part of owner Christy Paxton’s “Tricktility” program, which combines agility and performance training. “I wanted Tawny to…
Heavy Trash
Regardless of where you plop Jon Spencer — Pussy Galore, the Blues Explosion, Boss Hog, or Heavy Trash, his current partnership with Matt Verta-Ray — there is always an inimitable swagger to the music. It’s a combination of reverence for rootsy antecedents and a willingness to wander off-road into knotty brambles. With Heavy Trash and…
Molière in Love
Like many geniuses of comedy, Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, France’s preeminent 17th-century playwright, always seemed like a trapped tragedian. But Molière, as Poquelin was better known, didn’t pursue that vanity. Lucky for us. Had he, the world would have been bereft of some of theater’s greatest pomposity-busting satire. Historians have never solved the mystery of Molière’s temporary…
Freedom Fighters
A couple years ago, the FBI declared animal-rights activists the no. 1 terrorist threat to the U.S. Oscar-winner Curt Johnson couldn’t quite figure out how a bunch of leafies leaped over al-Qaeda to claim the top spot. So he picked up his camera and made Your Mommy Kills Animals, a documentary that looks at the…
Serial Creep
If being a serial creep was a felony, 21-year-old Carl Wolfe would have been sentenced to life. In August of 2005, Wolfe, a small-town boy from southern Ohio, arrived on the campus of tiny Notre Dame College in South Euclid. He had been recruited to play basketball, and seemed to think that small detail alone…
Play Havoc
The last time Play Havoc played Cleveland, we told you it would be the local hip-hop show of the year. We hereby retract that statement. This will be the show of the year, for real, guaranteed. Because this time, Play Havoc — the positive-powered hip-hop group whose All Things Due might have been Northeast Ohio’s…
Capsule reviews of current area theater presentations.
The Lion King — From the opening animal gathering in “The Circle of Life” to its reprise at the final curtain, this is a show that leaves patrons slack-jawed in amazement. A simplistic yarn about a lion cub suffering the death of his father, it offers few surprises. But The Lion King is more about…
Split Decision
Back in the day, Dano Sullivan was best known as “the bitter-divorce comic.” “I married a nice lady,” he says. “But as it turns out, she was only posing as a nice lady. She was really an undercover whore operative. She didn’t sleep with other guys because she wanted to. She slept with them to…
The Dwindling Tribe of Dance
It’s Saturday night. DJ Filipo, a native Sicilian, is responsible for setting the mood for horny twentysomethings, but the first floor of Traffic is barren, save for a couple sitting against the wall. In New York, their seats would require the purchase of a $300 bottle of Stoli. In Cleveland, they’re free. Emanating from the…
The Birthday Massacre
The Birthday Massacre’s new “Falling Down” could have been written in 1985 — but 1985 couldn’t have handled it. The keyboard-heavy coed band rocks harder than ever on the new Walking With Strangers LP, an electro-storm of grinding guitars, explosive synths, and whirling pop melodies. And if you prefer your dance music with bigger beats,…
Capsule reviews of current area art exhibitions.
Post Card Diaries: The Visual Art of Mark Mothersbaugh — Most artists are forever engaged in the ancient tug-of-war between style and substance. Not Mark Mothersbaugh. In his visual art, the Akron-born Devo singer lets style win every time. Only rarely in this traveling show of prints — which incorporate elements from the postcards Mothersbaugh…
All Aboard!
The five vinos on tap at tonight’s Wines From Italy train-ride tasting represent some of the country’s boldest offerings. And they can be a little intimidating, says Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad spokeswoman Nichole Difiore. “You only have to sip a little sip,” she laughs. The wines (including a Chianti, pinot grigio, and Sangiovese) are paired…
Love Court
Hanging thongs from your lover’s desk. Flashing each other from across the room. Escaping for quickies in the janitor’s closet. ‘Tis the sweet dance of office romance. Unfortunately, not everyone appreciates it. That would include employees of the Barberton Clerk of Courts office. Last month, Deputy Clerk Konnie Beck and her supervisor, Martin Hyatt, fell…
Jenn Wertz
Jenn Wertz was a disproportionately large part of Rusted Root’s tribal soul, contributing vocals, harmonica, and percussion. Now a solo singer-songwriter, she plays unplugged sets with a little less groove and a little more her. But she still jams — all those years in Root, she had an inner Allman Brothers fan waiting to get…
Seasons in the Sun
The Office: Season Three (Universal) After a shaky first season and a better-with-every-episode second, The Office proved itself one of the most consistent comedies in the history of the medium. The show has long since escaped the shadow of its BBC forebear and boasts an ensemble from which you could pick a dozen leads. This…
Across the Lines
Don’t let the title of the Public Squares’ latest comedy show, Tailgaters (Heart) to Read, fool you. It’s not just for football fans. “It’s a little political, a little edgy, and very fast-paced,” says director Brett Tryda. “Our goal is to make fun of everything and everyone.” The performance opens with a set of improv…
Bums of Steel
Do Mittal and others hitch a free ride from the EPA? Regarding Jared Klaus’ great story on Mittal Steel [“Battling the Steel Baron,” August 22]: I too have experienced the Environmental Protection Agency’s selective enforcement of their own laws, so it’s no surprise to me that they’re incapable of doing anything about Mittal Steel. I…
Liars
In the material accompanying Liars, guitarist and lead vocalist Angus Andrew says, “If you told me last year Liars would release a record like this, I would have laughed.” What he means is: Coming off the heels of 2006’s critically acclaimed and haunting Drum’s Not Dead, never would the three-piece imagine they’d make something so…
Getting Medieval
Funny how gaming’s most epic genre — the role-playing game — often feels the most limited in scope. After all, how many times can we traverse a medieval land, defeat the orcs, rescue the girl, save the world, and level up along the way? Never enough times would be the answer supplied by the latest…
Double Your Pleasure
The Cleveland Institute of Art’s 125th-anniversary exhibit is so massive, it takes two venues to showcase it. From Here to Infinity & the Big Bang, which opens today, is on view at both CIA’s Reinberger Galleries and Spaces. More than 50 alum contribute pieces to the show, which is divided between the two galleries –…
At Home Abroad
It seems like everywhere in America except Miami, New York, San Francisco, Detroit, Chicago, and Los Angeles is flyover country for big European DJs. Compared to the tens of thousands they draw elsewhere, Cleveland must look like Dubuque, Iowa, does to the Rolling Stones. But not for Dutch DJ Tiësto (born Tijs Verwest). He’s been…
Ali & Gipp
An August release for Ali & Gipp’s Kinfolk is perfect. The single “Go Head” is tearing up strip clubs fresh on the heels of the pair’s smash hit “Grillz,” which also features artist-of-the-moment Paul Wall and Nelly (Ali’s St. Lunatics compadre). The record also builds on the buzz generated from Cee-Lo’s crazy new act Gnarls…
Here are the week’s best releases from the pop-culture universe:
BOOK — Panic Attack! Art in the Punk Years: This striking volume (featuring 160 photos and illustrations) isn’t really about the Sex Pistols and their peers. Posters from early punk gigs and shots of bands like Television onstage bring the noise, but it’s more a document of the subculture’s graphic-arts scene. Violent cartoons, barren wastelands,…
Out of Africa
An anonymous local art collector’s souvenirs from trips to Egypt and Kenya dominate A Sense of Place From Africa to Beyond: A Traveler’s Guide to Family, Order, God, and Country, which opens today at Lake Erie College’s B.K. Smith Gallery. The 45-piece exhibit includes masks, figurines, and toys — all compiled from 30 years of…
Grow Up, You Freak!
Nobody likes to grow up — especially kids in bratty little indie-rock bands. But you can’t drink piss-water beer and hang screaming from your college buddy’s basement heating pipes forever. Numbers knows this all too well. The San Francisco trio began seven years ago with a who-cares trashy approach to amphetamine synthesizer punk — total…
Shellac
On Shellac’s latest release, Excellent Italian Greyhound, the band derides everything from our nation’s current political situation (“Elephant”) to the very nature of preparedness (“Be Prepared”). In typical Shellac form, however, it’s never clear whether Greyhound has a message or the album is just one elaborate joke. Not much has changed with the trio’s intense…
Our top DVD picks scheduled for release this week:
The Black Donnellys: The Complete Series (Universal) Chill Out Scooby-Doo! (Warner Bros.) City of Violence (Weinstein) Delta Farce (Lionsgate) Desperate Housewives: The Complete Third Season (Buena Vista) Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams (Disney) Georgia Rule (Universal) Gumby Essentials (Classic Media) It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Seasons 1 & 2 (Fox) Mr. Magoo’s Christmas…
Evil Woman
In Mary Monroe’s latest novel, Deliver Me From Evil, reformed bad girl Christine Thurman is up to her old tricks. Although she’s crawled out of the gutter and married a successful businessman, she begins an affair with a shifty old acquaintance. It’s a risky and potentially deadly venture. “I like to write about things that…
Hope Springs Eternal
Betrayal of self and others, homelessness, regret, and existential dread were once subjects not associated with Mark Olson. But the founder of the Jayhawks and longtime partner of Victoria Williams began to know them intimately after his marriage to Williams dissolved two years ago. Olson’s new album, The Salvation Blues, is both his first truly…
New Real People
When rock fans start ranting about Michigan rock, they’re always talking up the Motor City. But since the mid-’80s, Southwest Michigan has maintained a cultish, insular indie scene that has spawned five midwest legends: the Sinatras, the Sleestacks, Twister, Goldstar, and Fortune & Maltese & Phabulous Pallbearers. New Real People — singer-keyboardist Karl Knack, singer-guitarist…
Lyrical Assassins
The local hip-hop and poetry collective Shogun Assassins makes its debut at the In the Living Room Café tonight. “We’re a group expressing outlooks from multiracial, cultural, and class variations of modern society,” says founder Malikee Ikiru. They’ll perform tracks from their CD, Warrior’s Blood, which comes out later this month. It’s a politically and…
Seal of Approval
Tonight’s screening of The Seventh Seal marks two occasions. It pays tribute to the great Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, who passed away in July. Seal, made in 1957, is his best work — an existential masterpiece about a wayward knight, the grim reaper, and the world’s most famous chess match. The movie also kicks off…
Face Jammers
Strawberry jam rarely invokes the phrase totally fucking gross. But take a gander at the photo above. That’s Animal Collective mixing facial hair and jelly. Amazingly enough, that pic is tame compared to the cover art for the group’s new disc, titled (ahem) Strawberry Jam. Cranking the yak-factor to 11, it’s a hyper-detailed close-up of…
Eddie Levert Sr. and Gerald Levert
After last year’s tragic death of his son Gerald, Eddie Levert Sr. must have found assembling this disc more than painful. But the second and presumably final collaboration between the O’Jays’ singer and his rightful heir reflects little of that anguish. Instead, it’s the album fans of both men would have wanted, filled with low-key,…
Different Strokes
Dale Galgozy & Elliott Ingersoll admit that they’re musical opposites. Galgozy leans toward Woody Guthrie-style folk music; Ingersoll favors British rock and pop. So they compromise by messing around with tempos and arrangements of familiar songs — like the Beatles’ “Magical Mystery Tour” and “Dear Prudence” — and stripping them to their barest essentials. “Not…
Dead Spider
Akron’s Lime Spider (207 South Main Street) will host its final show Saturday, September 8, leaving lower Northeast Ohio without a dedicated music bar. “I opened it because the music scene was lacking,” says owner Danny Basone, who’s also the Difficult’s drummer and former soundman. “It’s a nice gathering place for a less pretentious crowd…
Cheap Tragedies
Cle-punk veteran Tony Erba has a hard-earned rep for manic performances inspired by pro wrestling and golden-age hardcore. With 9 Shocks Terror, the Gordon Solie Motherfuckers, and Amps II Eleven, he’s ended many a set looking like he’s emerged victorious from a cage match. But wipe off the blood, and he has a nostalgic streak.…
A-Maze-Ing!
We really hate this time of year. Thankfully, Lake Metroparks Farmpark’s Corn Maze recently opened for the season. It’s one of the few rays of light to brighten up the increasingly shorter days. The three-acre behemoth — built entirely out of corn — takes you on a labyrinthine journey that leads to one dead end…
The Woggles
For 20 years the Woggles have been one of the Southeast’s grittiest garage-rock outfits. Singer Professor Mighty Manfred’s rabid yelp spits whiskey on three-minute Nuggets, transforming the band’s vintage soul into a steamy sauna of slashing licks and rhythmic shimmy. The Atlanta quintet knows all the moves and has even invented a couple, earning a…
Westside Steve Simmons
Westside Steve Simmons made his name as frontman of the Easy Street Band in the ’70s and ’80s. The group played Midwest party rock in the long shadow of Michael Stanley, but made it as far as Philadelphia International Records. Nowadays Simmons plays acoustic sets at Put-In-Bay taverns, and Windward Crossing plays like an elegant…
Bug Life
It’s the spiny legs and spiky antennas that give Bug Day treats their extra crunch, says Kathy Terrell, park educator at Penitentiary Glen Reservation. “We always talk about how animals love to eat bugs, so why not have a taste too?” she laughs. The 19th-annual outing pays tribute to all sorts of insects — many…
