Rock Hall unveils plans for Rolling Stones exhibit
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum has announced that its next major exhibit, Rolling Stones: 50 Years of Satisfaction, will open on May 24. It takes the place of the Grateful Dead exhibit that’s currently on display, and it represents the Museum’s first exhibit devoted to the Stones, who are currently prepping…
Waiters and Walton — Yes, Walton — Crucial in Cavs Road Win
The Cavs bounced bravely into the United Center last night without the leadership of Kyrie Irving, preparing to face the music and slaughter which has become almost ritualized at the hands of the Bulls. Before last night, the Cavs had lost 11 consecutive contests to their division rivals. Kyrie was scratched with a sore/ hyperextended…
Going Whole Hog at The Black Pig
“Everyone enjoy that?” Black Pig Chef Michael Nowak emerges from the kitchen rosy-cheeked, his tweed hat slightly askew. He doesn’t have to ask: everyone in the packed dining room has unceremoniously hoovered the dish Chef Nowak coyly branded as “schnitzel” for the night’s tasting menu, the second plate in a 5-course snout-to-tail pork dinner. “That…
All Good Festival Announces Lineup
Ohio-based All Good Music Festival announced the 2013 lineup this afternoon. See the full list below. The festival will take place July 18-21 in Thornville, Ohio – east of Columbus. Early bird tickets are currently going for $179 for the weekend. Read Scene’s review of the 2012 All Good Festival. FurthurPretty LightsPrimusSTS9Grace Potter & The…
Concert Review: Bosnian Rainbows at the Grog Shop
There’s something admirable about a band that gives its all, even if it’s not playing to a full house. That was definitely the case last night at the Grog Shop when Bosnian Rainbows, a band featuring former Mars Volta/At the Drive-In guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, played to a sparse crowd of about 150 fans. While Rodriguez-Lopez…
Robert Randolph Presents ‘The Slide Brothers’: New Music Tuesday
Acrobatic slide guitar *master* Robert Randolph is well known for his exciting virtuosity. So it is with an eager ear that we tune in to his latest project: highlighting the awe-inspiring talents of fellow Sacred Steel gurus Calvin Cooke, Chuck Campbell, Darick Campbell and Aubrey Ghent. By even the most conservative estimates, these cats are…
This Morning in Craigslist Crime
The murder trial of portly former street minister Richard J. Beasley got underway yesterday in Summit County. Beasley, a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” — per the prosecution — is accused of luring men to a remote location in Southern Ohio with bogus farmhand work and then murdering them. Three men died and a fourth was…
Cleveland Officer Mourns Shooting, Finds Support at Local Strip Joint
Detective Christopher Ereg is a busy man. When he’s not in hot pursuit of ’79 Malibus firing phantom bullets, he’s in even hotter pursuit of a decent lap dance: Ereg was one of three off-duty officers at the downtown Crazy Horse early Friday morning when the strip club reported an altercation followed by gunfire. Whether…
This Week in Inflammatory Billboards
Image: Medina Gazette Brunswick’s Southwest Baptist Church recently commissioned a new billboard to broadcast this crucial message from God’s lips to I-71 commuters’ benighted, sodomic ears (slash eyes/butts): “Homosexuality is sin… but Christ can set you free.” The church attributes the sentiment to John 8:36, which has nothing to do with Christ liberating sinners from…
Scene seeks bands to play Battle for the Best event at the Avenue Tap House
Starting at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 15, Avenue Tap House will host a Battle for the Best! Scene Magazine is looking for the best local Musicians who want to be heard and recognized in our 2013 Best of Cleveland issue.While the Best of Cleveland issue does not hit the streets until April 11, this…
Father, Bird Shit, and Holy Ghost: Trolling for Jesus in Brooklyn
WEWS is dishing up a scatological gem this afternoon: Jim Lawry discovered a splat of bird droppings on the windshield of his car. Not one to just pass over such a treat, the Brooklyn resident leaned in for a closer look. The excrement revealed the image of Jesus Christ. Furthermore: In an email to NewsChannel5,…
Ain’t No Party Like A Sequestration Party?
It’s that special time of the season when bumbling congressional idiots banter on about a) the debt ceiling, b) the fiscal cliff or, in this case, c) sequestsagaojopion. The Washington Post mercifully tried to make everything interesting and relevant by cooking up a neato graph that outlines how the sequester, set to take place Friday,…
Concert Review and Slideshow: Owl City at House of Blues
Mid-way through last night’s concert at House of Blues, Owl City front man Adam Young told the crowd that he felt like “an undeserving guy” because he initially never thought anyone would hear the songs that he wrote in his Owatonna, Minn. basement. “I can’t even process this,” he admitted to the audience. While that…
The Sewer District Would Like to Remind You to Not Use Your Phone While on the Toilet
Today in helpful public service announcements: Wait to tweet ’til you’re back in your seat. That’s the message from your friendly local Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District this week. Via Michael McIntyre’s Tipoff, other pleas from NEORSD aimed at keeping your cellie out of the pottie: “Don’t call from the stall.” “Don’t post from the…
Because You’re Surely Checking Scene for Oscar Coverage
To enhance your cubicle chatter, here’s a rundown of last night’s Oscar winners all in one place: Best Picture: ArgoBest Director: Ang Lee for Life of Pi Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis for LincolnBest Actress: Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings PlaybookBest Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz for Django UnchainedBest Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway for Les MisérablesAdapted Screenplay:…
Trent Reznor Will Revive Nine Inch Nails
One-time Clevelander Trent Reznor recently announced publicly that it’s time to reinvent Nine Inch Nails. Expect plenty of tour dates, he says, and more details going forward. Here’s his message: Nine Inch Nails are touring this year. I was working with Adrian Belew on some musical ideas, which led to some discussion on performing, which…
Here’s Cleveland’s Funniest Rabbi
The Maltz Museum recently hosted its second annual “Cleveland’s Funniest Rabbi” contest and the gentleman below — Dr. Kiva Shtull of Shir Shalom in Chagrin Falls or Groucho Marx, hard to tell — took home first place and the coveted Golden Chicken award. Some video of his performance below, courtesy of Patch, snippets of which…
Cleveland, As Seen From Space
Here’s a pic of Cleveland at night snapped by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield that he posted on his Twitter feed last night. If you see something cooler this weekend, you’re probably also an astronaut. Or you found Big Foot. One or the other.
Concert Review: Bobby Womack at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum
If 69-year-old soul singer Bobby Womack had merely shown up for last night’s concert at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and capably performed all his big hits — which he did — that would have merited high praise. But Womack, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s, went above and beyond the call…
RTA is Hot Spot for Phone Thieves
The RTA police have already made 24 arrests this year from 64 reported thefts of mobile devices on buses and trains. Most of the thieves have been teenagers who have targeted victims near exits. The successful arrests have come, in large part, thanks to mobile apps like Find my Phone which locate lost devices. A…
Symon at South Beach Wine & Food Fest Discusses Fame
Our hometown culinary hero Michael Symon is in South Beach for the annual SoBe Wine and Food Festival, where tonight he’ll go for an unprecedented four-peat at the Burger Bash. In fact, last year’s three-peat was already a first for the event. This morning, he and other “Iron Chefs” participated in a panel discussion at…
Keepin’ It Dangerous and Miserable
Image: Getty Hey everyone, hope you’re having a semi-miserable day! But maybe a shade less miserable than a couple days ago, because Forbes just promoted us: for this year’s installment of the business magazine’s annual round-up of places where icky poors live “America’s Most Miserable Cities,” Cleveland came in at number 17, an improvement from…
Mentor Students: Please Chill Out With The Threats Of Violence
It’s been kind of a bad week for Mentor Public Schools. A keen reddit user pointed out that there have been three threats of violence since Feb. 14. And Mentor Patch reports a fourth threat cropped up on social media. Police are patrolling Shore Middle School today. Superintendent Matthew Miller addressed the concerns in a…
Akron Tattoo Shop Fixes ‘World’s Worst Tattoo’ for Man
You’ve seen this picture before. It’s the world’s worst tattoo. The short back story: A blushing young bride tragically dies in a fire just a month after the wedding. Her widowed husband decides to pay permanent tribute to his love on his corporal canvas. The resulting ink, however, is butchered, mangled and eventually becomes an…
Plane Skids Off Runway At Cleveland Hopkins; No Injuries Reported
GARY GARNET Gary Garnet of the National Weather Service tweeted a photo of a plane that skidded off the runway at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport this morning. United Airlines Flight 1639, a Boeing 737, was taxiing into the airport after touching down in Cleveland. “While turning on to the taxiway, the aircraft slid into the…
Self-Proclaimed Sex Addict Attempts Sex Addiction Legal Defense
This morning, under “Slimy Executives Giving Bizarre Legal Defenses the ol’ College Try”: Former MetroHealth VP and self-proclaimed sex addict John Carroll — no relation — is serving nine years at a maximum security prison for accepting nearly $700,000 in bribes to steer construction projects. The PD and others reported this morning that he will…
Pre-Announcing The Record Store Day 2013 Releases
Wax Poetic, a blog about vinyl records and such, has gathered a list of some of the pre-announced Record Store Day releases. Here are some highlights so far: – Mumford & Sons – Live at Bull Moose (CD and 10″)- David Bowie – The Stars Are Out Tonight b/w Where Are We Now? (7″)- Willie…
Greenhouse Tavern Uncorks Green Wine on Tap
The James Beard-nominated chef Jonathon Sawyer continues to push the envelope at his flagship restaurant The Greenhouse Tavern. His latest gambit: a wine-on-draft system. Filled through the Gotham Project, the draft wine system is just one more way the Greenhouse is staying “green.” “A restaurant is a living, breathing thing,” says Sawyer. “And owning a…
Sipping Tea In The British Dawg Pound
DAVID RAPPOCCIO BuzzFeed picked up graphic designer David Rappoccio’s interesting Brit-themed take on all 32 NFL team logos. Brownie the Elf got a bit of a monocle-emblazoned makeover – complete with mustache! The renowned Cleveland icon now looks slightly less intimidating than ever. And do give the rest of the NFL a once-over. Would The…
Class Action Lawsuit Takes Aim At Ed FitzGerald
On behalf of all classified civil service employees of Cuyahoga County, Warren Dolezal, Jack Gallagher and Jeffrey Dobransky filed a class action lawsuit against County Executive Ed FitzGerald this month. The three men allege that, since Jan. 1, 2010, they’ve seen compensation reduced either without cause or based on age or political inclinations. Via the…
The Cleveland Infants And Other Outmoded Baseball Team Names
Following up on the National Museum of the American Indians’ recent “Racist Stereotypes and Cultural Appropriation in American Sports” symposium, SB Nation writer Rob Neyer offers a tour of Cleveland’s less controversial baseball team names from the past. While the symposium focused mainly on the Washington Redskins and that team’s ain’t-gonna-budge billionaire owners, Neyer points…
Here’s an Akron Snow Plow Driver Plowing Absolutely Nothing for Some Reason
This video from a concerned and eagle-eyed Akron resident captures a snow plow driver who, according to the resident interviewed by the ABJ and mustache aficionado Bob Dyer, is on his fourth trip down the street. The problem? There’s no snow. The blade is instead blissfully and noisily scraping along on the cement. The hell?…
Ed FitzGerald is Cuyahoga County’s Harvey Dent
On the heels of President Obama’s cajoling State of the Union address, Ed FitzGerald laid out plans for Cuyahoga County and catalogued his political triumphs in his third annual State of the County speech at the Renaissance Hotel on Tuesday. FitzGerald characterized his address as a “report card” and certainly wasn’t shy about giving himself…
CD Review: Extra Medium Pony
extramediumpony.com Extra Medium Pony’s full-length debut sounds like it might have been recorded in the ’90s. Songs such as “You and Me” and “Ewe” are ramshackle ballads that adopt the lo-fi approach that acts like Sebadoh and Pavement heartily embraced. And a song like “Junk Yard” looks back even further to bands like The Pixies.…
Electric Company
Because he shares a middle name with Thomas Alva Edison, electronic music producer and DJ extraordinaire Daedelus (Alfred Darlington) initially thought he’d become an inventor. “I think the youthful question of what do you want to be when you grow up resonated in my head,” says Daedelus, a smart, cutting-edge electronic musician who is championing…
Fresh Light
As a child, Adrienne French’s parents joked about her “eagle eyes” that lead her to continual fascination with the visual quirks of everyday objects, like the wood grain of pencils. Now, with Chronos Chrysalis, an exhibition of her photographs at Kenneth Paul Lesko Gallery, she invites viewers to try to see the overlooked things of…
Opening: Koch
Neil Barsky’s documentary about former New York City major Ed Koch commences in 1977 as the city is on the verge of bankruptcy. Abe Beame was mayor and Koch was running against him as an underdog among seven different candidates. By 1981, New York is booming and Koch is reelected by a landslide, landing on…
On View This Week
Forum Artspace Face Off. This deconstruction of the genre of portraiture pushes beyond the representation of the face as an expression of individual personality and uses the broader body, images of intimate spaces, and clippings from person documents like diaries to try to express the inexpressible psyche. Through March 15 at 1300 West 78th St.…
Omar and the Howlers
Last summer, former At the Drive In/The Mars Volta guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez put together Bosnian Rainbows, a new band featuring Le Butcherettes singer Teri Gender Bender, bassist Nicci Kasper and drummer Deantoni Parks. In order to build chemistry, he had everyone spend six weeks living in Hamburg, Germany at a friend’s place that he describes…
Adventures in Argyle
Vince Grzegorek the editor said I can write whatever the hell I want, so all you keyboard warriors that feel a need to comment because you don’t like it: piss off! This is Cleveland through my eyes and the places I want to go and the things I experience I want to highlight in my…
Opening: Dark Skies
Even the worst X-Files episode had more going for it than this dismal film that stars Lacy (Keri Russell) and Daniel (Josh Hamilton) are a wife and husband trying to deal with some strange activity affecting their two children, Jesse (Dakota Goyo) and Sam (Kadan Rockett). As the film begins, the couple discovers that something…
Top Pop Culture Picks for the Week
TOP PICK Argo (Warner Home Video) Director Ben Affleck might have taken some liberties with the true story at the heart of this thriller about a group of Americans who pretend to be Canadian filmmakers in order to escape Iran during the hostage crisis. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds Push the Sky Away (New…
Off the Charts
The best-selling pop duo of all time, Hall and Oates have recorded and performed together for over 40 years now. Both Daryl Hall and John Oates have various side projects—starting in March, Oates plans to release a new solo song every month —but the two guys that grew up listening to lots of Philly soul…
Culinary Calendar
On February 22, the sixth annual Downtown Restaurant Week goes live, with more than 40 downtown restaurants getting in on the prix fixe fun. The event runs through March 3, giving diners two weekends to enjoy the great deals. ”Restaurant Week gives residents and visitors alike a chance to re-experience well-known favorites and try restaurants…
Beyond Repair
Debbie Piunno can’t stop crying. She can’t eat or sleep. Her hair is falling out in clumps in her hands. And her formerly quaint Euclid backyard resembles the gutted tableaux of some war-ravaged city. All she wanted was a dining nook. Debbie and her husband saved up for 15 years for an addition with a…
Pay to Stay
Four major companies in the Dayton area announced layoffs in the first half of 2012 Collectively, Eastman Kodak, Appleton Paper, Computer Sciences Corporation and Supevalu Inc. sent 637 Ohioans to the unemployment line. All four also share the distinction of receiving money from Ohio through the years via the Job Creation Tax Credit (JCTC), an…
Savage Love
Dear Dan — I’m a 31-year-old genderqueer in Brooklyn with a large family on Long Island. My only sister got engaged 48 hours ago, and she’s moving fast on planning the wedding. I have two questions. Number one question: I texted my sister the only date I wasn’t available in the next two years, which…
Exotic Getaway
“Hello! You look so pretty tonight!” the bartender says as two ladies ease onto their stools at the bar. “Mai Tais?” The question practically is a rhetorical one as Mai Tais are the sole purpose behind the gals’ visit. Hardly a week goes by without friends Kathleen Mayer and Kimberly Toth meeting up for festive…
Screens
The Cleveland Auto Show is in full swing, and what better way to celebrate all things vehicular than to pay respect to some of the best (and worst) that cinema has to offer in the way of motor-driven mayhem. And, more specifically, the machines that rise up and try to destroy their masters. Duel(1971, Netflix…
The Institution
Earning the title “destination restaurant” is both a blessing and a curse. In the plus column, it means that you’ve developed a product special enough to attract diners from outside the neighborhood. In the minus column, it means that you very likely need to pull diners from outside the neighborhood—especially when the neighborhood around you…
Bloody Good
The irony of Bloodview Haunted House is that it’s way scarier in the off-season. This sick altar to terror is muddily encamped somewhere along the outer arteries of Broadview Heights’ business parkways. David “House” Greathouse pulls up in a pickup with his eminently dread-locked girlfriend Becky in tow. They’re monster makers, these two—makeup artists in…
MISERY AND HUMOR AIM TO JOIN FORCES IN SONS OF THE PROPHET, OPENING AT DOBAMA THEATRE
“It’s like King Lear if it were written by a person who has watched a lot of Family Guy episodes on TV.” That is how director Scott Miller summarizes Sons of the Prophet by Stephen Karam, opening this weekend at Dobama Theatre. According to Miller, it’s a play that deals with serious pain and suffering,…
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
Every life has turning points, and for many of us one of the biggies is when we leave home for college. That wrenching decision to leave the comforts of home for a new, unknown world is hard for everyone, but it’s particularly wrenching for a poor African-American farm girl in Alabama in 1969. This is…
Brews and Views
A couple of years ago, Michael Suglio and Alex Pavloff were watching a few bands play at Now That’s Class when they realized that hosting a film festival in an informal, club-like atmosphere was a good idea. “We were thinking about that element of bands playing to other bands and thought there was no niche…
We Get Mail
On: “Chad Zumock’s Adventures in Argyle” Trying for DUI number 3? Boring article you failed comic. Alan Cox On: “New Indian Trevor Bauer Releases Diss Track About Former Teammate” Wow. This is beyond awful. Hopefully his pitching is better than his rhymes. Jim Kamlowsky Starting to understand why Arizona decided he was available. Michael Stewart…
Opening: Snitch
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is miscast as John Matthews, a truck-driving father who tries to get his son out of prison by becoming an undercover informant. Johnson is a hulk of a man who looks like he could tear the head off just about anyone. John, on the other hand, doesn’t know a thing about…
Band of the Week
Meet the Band: Kevon Smith (rapper) A Hip-hop Prodigy: An older cousin started writing verses for 11-year-old K-Von. “Back then, I was into Jay-Z and anything that my cousin listened to,” says K-Von, who grew up in Euclid. “I really liked Lil Wayne, too.” His first CD came out when he was a freshman in…
