Update: Members of Cleveland’s All Saved Freak Band to Appear at Tonight’s Tribute to Glenn Schwartz
Update: Seven former members of the All Saved Freak Band gathered at Lava Room Recording in Beachwood this morning to film videos that will accompany the reissues due out later this year in honor of the now-defunct rock/folk/blues/psychedelic band’s 50th anniversary. While some of the musicians still live in Cleveland, others came in from Arizona,…
Poetry for People Who Hate Poetry, No. 6
This is the sixth in a monthly series by Dave Lucas, the Poet Laureate of the State of Ohio. You can read the September Installment, (No. 1), here; the October Installment, (No. 2), here; the November Installment (No. 3), here; the December installment (No. 4), here; and the January installment (No. 5), here. *** It’s…
Hot Chicken Takeover to Expand Brand from Columbus to Cleveland
Hot Chicken Takeover started out modestly five years ago as a weekend-only pop-up on the near-east side of Columbus. The purveyor of Nashville-style fried chicken consistently drew long lines and habitually sold out. As winter approached, the tasty startup sought out a more hospitable home and found it in the underutilized second floor space of…
6 Concerts to Catch in Cleveland This Weekend
FRIDAY, MARCH 1 Los Lobos/Colin Dussault & Jim Tigue With the mantle of Tex-Mex zydeco rock ‘n’ roll gracing their legacy, Los Lobos have been infusing the American scene with a south-of-the-border flair for more than four decades. They’ve dropped many albums, including 2015’s Gates of Gold, which keeps pace with David Hidalgo’s head-nodding, rhythmic…
Cleveland Heights Doesn’t Elect a Mayor. Many Residents Want to Change That.
Cleveland Heights is one of only two communities in Cuyahoga County — Bedford is the other — that doesn’t elect its mayor. Instead, voters elect seven at-large city council representatives who pick a mayor from among themselves. The mayor is currently Carol Rowe. Like her council colleagues, she serves part-time and isn’t vested with executive…
Cleveland’s Only KonMari Consultant is Sparking the Joy of Cleaning Up
Organizer Chris Beers, the only Cleveland-based consultant officially certified to tidy homes using Marie Kondo’s joyful cleaning method, was thrilled when Netflix released Tidying Up with Marie Kondo in January, freshly renewing interest in what’s called the KonMari method. To Beers, any cleaning process needs to be positive, like when Kondo asks clients on the show…
Teachers at Summit Academy Painesville Charter School Unionize
On Tuesday, February 26th, teachers, intervention specialists and instructional aides at Summit Academy Painesville filed a demand for union recognition with the school’s principal. The union will join the Parma teachers union as the second in the Summit Academy school system and the seventh unionized charter school in the Cleveland area. The bargaining unit at…
Wu-Tang Clan’s 25th Anniversary Tour Coming to the Agora in June
In the wake of the Sundance premiere of the upcoming Showtime documentary Wu-Tang: Clan of Mics & Men, the Wu-Tang Clan has announced additional European dates for the Gods of Rap Tour with Public Enemy and De La Soul as well as dates in North America, including a June 2 show at the Agora. Over…
Fox Sports Ohio Will Broadcast Columbus Crew Games
Columbus Crew SC matches are coming to Fox Sports Ohio/STO and the Fox Sports app, the regional network announced today. It’s a great move, not least because, besides its bread and butter of live Tribe, Cavs and Blue Jackets games, Fox Sports Ohio is a garbage station and an embarrassment that no one really talks…
A Note from a Cuyahoga County Jail Inmate on Mental Health and Redzoning
There were 69 suicide attempts by inmates in the Cuyahoga County jail in 2018, according to numbers released last week by the county. That’s a 64-percent increase from 2017, when there were 42 suicide attempts, which itself was a jump from 2016, when there were 23 attempts. Each case is unique, and as the county…
Former Starbucks CEO Howard ‘Be Nice to Billionaires’ Schultz to Speak at Cuyahoga County Public Library
The Cuyahoga County Public Library has announced that former Starbucks CEO and potential “moderate” presidential candidate Howard Schultz will speak Wednesday evening at the library’s Parma-Snow Branch. Schultz will discuss his new book, From the Ground Up: A Journey to Reimagine the Promise of America, to a sold-out crowd. There’s no use hyping the event if…
North Union Indoor Winter Farmers Market to Relocate to Market Hall at Van Aken District through March
This Saturday, March 2, marks a new beginning for North Union Farmers Market. For years, the year-round local foods provider has taken up residence in one space or another in or around Shaker Square. Starting this week, the Indoor Winter Farmers Market will take up residence in the Market Hall at Van Aken District (3441…
House of Blues Announces the Details for Its Annual St. Patrick’s Day Bash
Now in its 15th year, the St. Patrick’s Day party that takes place on St. Patrick’s Day at House of Blues promises to be another rousing good time. Earlier today, the club announced the details about the event. It kicks off at 9 a.m. with a Music Hall performance by the local Pogues tribute act…
Congress Poised to Break New Ground on Land Protections
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Congress is poised to pass landmark legislation that could ensure the future protection of some of Ohio’s most precious outdoor areas. From Cuyahoga Valley National Park and Wayne National Forest to city ballparks and playgrounds, hundreds of places in Ohio have been supported by the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The program…
Ohio’s Guardianship Laws Leave Seniors Vulnerable to Abuse
Ohio has struggled to care for vulnerable seniors, and it’s getting worse. The state’s probate courts are responsible for creating and monitoring guardianships of the frail elderly, balancing freedom and protection. They are already strained. And yet, between 2010 and 2030, the number of Ohioans over 65 is projected to rise by half, from 1.6…
Rambling House Celebrates St. Patrick’s Day Early and the Rest of the Classical Music to Catch This Week
You don’t often hear Baroque opera performed in authentic style by conservatory students, but this week the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Historical Performance program at Case are joining in four performances of a period production of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s hit opera from 1733, Hippolyte et Aricie. Case historical gurus Ellen Hargis and Julie Andrijeski…
Indians Home Opener Sells Out for 27th Season in a Row
For the 27th straight season in a row, the Indians Home Opener game is completely sold out, the team has announced. While it did take a little less than an hour for all of the single-game tickets to get swept up (in years past, these have gone in mere minutes), Progressive Field is still set…
Blues Traveler and moe. Bringing Their Summer Tour to Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica in July
Earlier today, the jam bands moe. and Blues Traveler announced they’ll hit the road together this summer on the All Roads Runaround Tour. The summer run will showcase one set from each band plus a collaborative set each night. Special guest G. Love will open the gigs. Moe. just wrapped up a short tour at…
Guitarist Nils Lofgren to Perform at the Kent Stage in May
Longtime E Street Band multi-instrumentalist Nils Lofgren first joined Neil Young’s band when he 18 years old and performed on the classic After the Gold Rush album. Lofgren then formed the rock band Grin in 1971 and released four critically lauded LPs with that group. He’s been a member of Springsteen’s E Street Band since…
The Summit’s Annual 330 Day Concert to Take Place on March 30
Some of the region’s best bands will perform at the Summit 90.7/91.3 FM’s fourth annual 330 Day Concert, set to take place at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 30, at Umstattd Hall in Canton. The free event will feature stripped-down, acoustic performances from Angie Haze, Brent Kirby, Broken Transmitter, the Brothers Dualist, Cody J. Martin,…
Chocolate Fest Cleveland Returns to Sweeten Up Your March
New Year’s resolutions and diets be damned, Chocolate Fest Cleveland is back for its second year come March 9, bringing candy lovers the sweetest, most chocolaty day of their dreams. The festival is basically a big excuse to indulge in all the velvety wonderfulness of the brown stuff and everything that pairs well with these…
Staged Reading Planned in Remembrance of the Cuyahoga River Catching on Fire 50 Years Ago
Fifty years ago, the Cuyahoga River caught fire not for the first time, shocking our nation into making radical environmental policy changes. In honor of the anniversary, Literary Cleveland is presenting “Words On Fire: A Remembrance of the Cuyahoga River Fire, 1969,” a staged reading of 20 plays, poems, short stories and essays from writers…
Beachland to Host Auditions for the New Dark Comedy ‘Burnt’
Written and directed by Brent Gorcie, the lead singer of the local rock band Dark Water Rebellion, the experimental TV series Burnt centers on a couple of hitman who travel from the UK to Cleveland on vacation. They wind up making a career change in the process. Gorcie is in the process of casting the…
Korn and Alice in Chains to Bring Their Co-Headlining Tour to Blossom in August
Two veteran hard rock acts, Korn and Alice in Chains have just announced the dates of a summer co-headlining tour. Underoath will join as a special guest on all dates, and the tour lands at Blossom on Aug. 16. Citi is the official presale credit card for the tour, and Citi cardmembers will have access…
This Weekend’s Short. Sweet. Film Fest to Screen 118 Films
[image-1] Last year, Michael Suglio received 445 submissions for his annual Short. Sweet. Film Fest. He didn’t think it’d be a possible to top that number, but this year, he received 448. “I thought there was no way we’d be 445,” he says one recent afternoon over lunch at the downtown Heinen’s. The festival that…
In Advance of This Week’s Hard Rock Live Concert, Amy Grant Reflects on Her Career’s Highlights
A “fantastic getaway.” That’s how Amy Grant describes the circumstances that bring her back to the Cleveland area for her latest performance, this time at the Hard Rock Rocksino at 8 p.m. on Friday. And with good reason — 2019 is a year filled with a lot of transition, as she tells us during a…
Tony Bennett to Perform at Packard Music Hall in May
At the age of 92, crooner Tony Bennett somehow hasn’t lost a step. His latest album, Love Is Here to Stay, topped the charts upon its release, and Bennett recently published his sixth book, Tony Bennett: On Stage and in the Studio. Earlier today, Bennett announced the dates of his I Left My Heart tour.…
Plain Dealer News Guild Contract Extended, But ‘No-Layoff’ Clause Expires This Week
As the Plain Dealer News Guild decides how to most effectively pursue a grievance on behalf of 24 copy editors, page designers and illustrators whose jobs may be outsourced, the union contract itself has been extended by one year. Because the PD failed to properly and timely notify the union of its intent to bargain,…
After a Five-Year Run, NEOCycle Says Farewell
For the past five years, NEOCycle has been a staple cycling event that has taken place in the fall at Edgewater Park. The event featured demonstrations and races along with a music festival. Earlier today, organizers at the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission announced they’re pulling the plug on the event. “We’re excited to have been…
Mushroom Rally USA to Bring Super Mario Kart Go Kart Racing to Life in Cleveland
Super Mario Kart is coming to Cleveland in real life. Mushroom Rally USA has announced plans to bring everyone’s favorite childhood video game in costumed-go-kart-race-form to three Ohio cities this year. Originally only scheduled for Columbus and Cincinnati (among other cities nationwide), fan feedback brought the addition of a Cleveland stop. Due to huge demand…
Peter Frampton’s Farewell Tour Coming to Blossom in August
Singer-guitarist Peter Frampton will “come alive” one last time. Earlier today, he announced the dates of Peter Frampton Finale — The Farewell Tour. The tour will feature special guest Jason Bonham, and additional surprise guests will appear on select dates. The tour comes to Blossom on Aug. 8. Frampton, who started his career at age 16,…
Ex-Navy Seal Chris Heben Among American Veterans Arrested and Released by Haiti; Group Won’t Face Domestic Charges
Update: The Miami Herald reported last night that Heben and the other four Americans who were arrested earlier this week in Haiti with a cache of weapons and cloudy explanations for being there were released by Haitian authorities to American law enforcement, who escorted the group back to American soil on an American Airlines flight…
Crocker Park’s Annual Food Truck Round Up to Take Place on April 27
The fine folks at Crocker Park have just announced that their annual Food Truck Round Up will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 27, Crocker Park’s Main Street. Food trucks scheduled to be on hand include Wild Spork, Hatfield’s, Manna Truck, Southern Thangs Grub Truck, Barrio, Cameo Pizza, Cleveland Cookie…
Huge Saucy Brew Works Bar Now Open at the Q
Saucy Brew Works opened Thursday night at the Quicken Loans Arena, with a 1,500 square-foot beverage-only concession area in what the Q is calling the main concourse’s “South Neighborhood.” It’s the first new “fan-gathering” concession area in the renovated Q’s new neighborhood concept. (Increasing areas where fans could gather was one of the goals of…
Comedian and Actor Ken Jeong to Perform at Hard Rock Live in September
Actor, producer and writer Ken Jeong got his big break after he was cast in the hit comedy film The Hangover. He’s gotten great roles ever since. The lead in the ABC sitcom Dr. Ken, he currently appears as a panelist on The Masked Singer, a wacky show that features celebrities performing in disguise. He…
Local Union Leaders Pledge to Back News Guild, May Boycott Plain Dealer, Cleveland.com to Support Journalism Jobs
Local union delegates to the AFL-CIO signed a letter delivered to the owners and editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer this week, signaling that they and their members, (as many as 100,000 workers in more than 146 affiliated unions in Northeast Ohio), would stand behind the Plain Dealer News Guild in its efforts to keep…
Don’t Miss These Bands at Brite Winter 10
This year, Brite Winter music festival turns 10, bringing about 40 bands to five indoor and outdoor stages. Taking place Saturday from 3 p.m. to midnight on the West Bank of the Flats, the event also includes food vendors, warming tents, ice carving presentations and even fire dancers. The annual winter music and arts festival…
Cleveland’s Long-Awaited Eastside Market Now Open in Glenville
After years of planning and fundraising, the Eastside Market officially opened Wednesday morning at E. 105th Street and St. Clair. The multi-million restoration of the facility that served Glenville from 1988-2007 will once again provide fresh food and wellness services on Cleveland’s east side. The 14,000 square foot facility, owned in part by Northeast Ohio…
DeWine Proposes Big Boost on Gas Tax to Fund Highway and Bridge Maintenance
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has proposed an 18-cent boost to the state’s gas tax to fund maintenance of Ohio’s crumbling roads, bridges and highways — a big jump from the state’s current 28-cent-per-gallon tax. If the Ohio General Assembly approves the boost, it would be the first increase in the gas tax in 14 years.…
8 Concerts to Catch in Cleveland This Weekend
FRIDAY, FEB. 22 Cherry Glazerr/Palehound With song titles like “Juicy Socks” and “Wasted Nun” and an album called Apocalipstick to boot, L.A.-based Cherry Glazerr certainly knows how to make a statement with words. But it’s the band’s instrumentation, which fluctuates between grunge rock and laidback lo-fi, that really sticks with you. This is frontwoman Clementine…
Hate Groups on the Rise in Ohio, According to Southern Poverty Law Center
The number of hate groups in many parts of the region is rising, according to a prominent civil rights organization. The Southern Poverty Law Center this week released its annual “Year in Hate” report, which details the hate groups it tracked in 2018. That report shows a spike in the number of groups in Ohio…
CIFF43 Announces Its Opening and Closing Night Films
Produced by Academy Award-winner Arthur Cohn and co-directed by Mihal Brezis and Oded Binnun, The Etruscan Smile, a film about a Scottish man who travels from his home on Hebridean Island to seek medical treatment in San Francisco, will open the 43rd annual Cleveland international Film Festival. Based on the Jose Louis Sampedro book La Sunrise Etrusca, the…
Poetry for People Who Hate Poetry, No. 5
This is the fifth in a monthly series by Dave Lucas, the Poet Laureate of the State of Ohio. You can read the September Installment, (No. 1), here; the October Installment, (No. 2), here; the November Installment (No. 3), here; and the December installment (No. 4), here. *** “Education is not the filling of a…
Medical Marijuana Expo Rolls Into Akron This March
In celebration of medical marijuana officially, at long last, opening for business on Jan. 16 in the Buckeye State, Ohio Marijuana Card is hosting an educational expo in Akron on March 23. After the success of the group’s first expo, which took place in Cleveland in late January, Ohio Marijuana Card is making the Akron…
![With a New Album Coming Out Next Month, Mourning [A] BLKstar Releases a New Music Video](https://i0.wp.com/www.clevescene.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/unnamed-1.webp.webp?resize=800%2C600&quality=80&ssl=1)
With a New Album Coming Out Next Month, Mourning [A] BLKstar Releases a New Music Video
About three years, local poet and activist R.A. Washington brought together the hip-hop/funk/indie rock act Mourning [A] BLKstar. The band put out BLK Musak on Blue Moon Records in 2016 and then followed it up with 2017’s The Possible. Last year, the prolific band returned with The Garner Poems, a batch of songs from a…
Another Snow Day, Another Cleveland Snow Penis
Those lucky enough to work near, or visit, the Cleveland Mall lawn yesterday were in for a special treat, with a hard-to-miss fresh penis expertly drawn into the snow. Seen clearly from above in nearby office windows and hotel rooms, one such person shared their view with us (see above on the right side of…
New Attempt to Legalize Hemp in Ohio
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The same lawmaker behind the push to legalize medical marijuana in Ohio is now turning his attention to industrial hemp. State Senator Stephen Huffman, a Republican from Tipp City, is co-sponsoring legislation to establish guidelines for hemp cultivation under the Ohio Department of Agriculture. While hemp is a relative of the marijuana…
Teachers at Parma’s Summit Academy Charter School Went on Strike Yesterday
“Get up, get down- Parma is a union town!” Less than half a mile from Summit Academy Community School, the site of the fourth charter school teacher strike in American history, is a building with the words “UAW Local 1005” on the side. The sign outside of the Chevrolet Boulevard building reminds passersby of the…
Cinematheque to Screen ‘Wings of Desire’ as a Tribute to the Late Bruno Ganz
Last week, Swiss actor Bruno Ganz, who stars in Wings of Desire, Wim Wenders’ beautiful 1987 film about an angel who wants to become human, died in Switzerland at age 78. To pay tribute to the man, the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque will host a special screening of Wings of Desire at 7 p.m. on…
Savage Love: Consider the (Extra) Lobster
Two weeks ago, a longtime reader challenged me to create a new sexual neologism. (Quickly for the pedants: You’re right! It is redundant to describe a neologism as “new,” since neologisms are by definition new: “ne·ol·o·gism noun a newly coined word or expression.” You got me!) “Neo-Neologisms, Please!” was too polite to point it out, but my two…
Three Wrongfully Convicted Men, 40 Years, and a City That Still Refuses to be Honest With Itself
Clevelanders today get a bad rap. We’re proud but touchy — easy to injury. We’ll be the first to dive head first into everything that’s wrong with our town, but the argumentative dukes go up when an outsider launches a similar critique. I know — my argumentative dukes and blood pressure shoot up as fast…
Get Out: Everything You Should Be Doing in Cleveland This Week (Feb. 20-26)
WED 02/20 spoken word Cleveland Stories Dinner Parties Cleveland Stories Dinner Party is a weekly series that pairs fine food with storytelling. The goal is to “bring to life some of the fun, interesting stories about Cleveland’s past — from sports, to rock ‘n’ roll, to Millionaires’ Row,” as it’s put in a press release.…
Misogyny is Alive and Well in ‘Two by Tennessee’ at Karamu
“No means no,” said no Tennessee Williams character, ever. Rather, the female personas drawn by the 20th century’s leading playwright were almost perpetually victimized — if not by the men in their lives, then certainly by the decadent Southern patriarchy that Williams traced so vividly. That Williams could render these women — girls, in many…
Artist Gina Desantis on Ceramics, Self-Editing, and the Drive to Never Stop Learning from Each Other
“You learn to get over your shit really quickly,” says ceramicist Gina DeSantis. “You learn when to walk away, you learn to say when.” We are meeting over margaritas and discussing the learning process, being an educator and creating specific artworks for clients. Editing is a key component in DeSantis’ work and teaching ethos. “There…
‘Arctic’ is a Grim Survivalist Epic
The Danish leading man Mads Mikkelson is everywhere these days. Not only did the bleeding-eye villain from Casino Royale play a supporting role in 2018’s At Eternity’s Gate, in which Willem Dafoe, as Vincent Van Gogh, nabbed a coveted Best Actor nod; he also headlines the current Netflix excrement Polar, directed by Jonas Akerlund. In…
Festival Fave ‘To Dust’ Isn’t Powerful Enough to Merit an Oscar Nod, But Still Has Fine Performances
Shawn Snyder, who co-wrote the script for his new film To Dust with Jason Begue, took inspiration from his experiences as a Reform Jew who studied religion at Harvard as an undergraduate. The film also cleverly makes use of the mythic stories found in Jewish folklore as it explores issues of life and death in…
The Food Outshines the Setting at the New Ohio City Galley
In just one year, Galley Group co-founders Tyler Benson and Benjamin Mantica transformed the former Massimo Da Milano Italian restaurant into the Ohio City Galley, a food hall/restaurant accelerator that sticks to the same playbook as similar Galley ventures in Pittsburgh, Detroit and soon Chicago. For a turn-of-the-century building on the National Register of Historic…
Band of the Week: Iron Bison
MEET THE BAND: Paco Manzuk (drums), Josh Richey (guitar, vocals) IT ALL STARTED WITH A STICKER: Manzuk and Richey used to be roommates and always joked about forming a band. “We said we wanted to form a fake band called Iron Bison and we printed stickers before we even started jamming together.” Richey cites old school Every…
