Galactic Brings New Orleans Funk To Wintry Cleveland
ERIC SANDY/SCENE Singer Maggie Koerner joins Galactic for much of the night. ERIC SANDY/SCENE Guitarist Jeff Raines shreds. Little strips of confetti trickled out from the rafters prior to Galactic taking the stage, portending festive fun to come. Bringing the heat from New Orleans, Galactic tore up the stage at Beachland Ballroom last night with…
Winter’s Tale = Epic Fail
Winter’s Tale seems to be a typical romantic historical fiction time travel flick. Readers of Mark Helprin’s novel upon which this motion picture is based know that it’s much more than that. Not to be confused with Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, Akiva Goldsman’s directorial debut, which opens areawide on Friday, accentuates romantic narrative with a…
Remastered Smiths songs out today on iTunes
The Beatles grabbed most of the music-related headlines last week with the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Beatlemania. But this week also marks another significant anniversary. It was 30 years that Brit-pop icons the Smiths released their debut album. While the guys didn’t create the same kind of stir as the Beatles, they certainly…
Local actor kicks off campaign to fund new film
With any luck, actor Joe Gentile will begin filming Neon Dream here in town before the year is over. He just launched a Kickstarter campaign today. Gentile describes the movie, which he’ll direct and star in, as “a semi-autobiographical drama regarding my life growing up.” “It revolves around this kid named Kyle who’s your all-American…
Ricardo Sandoval Ends Partnership with Felice Urban Café
In the six years since Ricardo Sandoval teamed up with Margaret Mueller to open Felice Urban Café (12502 Larchmere Blvd., 216-791-0918), the restaurant slowly progressed from a quaint but sleepy bistro into one of the hidden gems of the Heights. Thanks to eclectic Spanish and Mediterranean food, the conversion of a detached garage into a…
Go Mediterranean: La Kabob Lebanese Grill
It’s said that a Mediterranean diet can keep the body healthy by staving off chronic disease, especially cardiovascular problems. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Mediterranean fare also happens to be delicious. The diet consists of an abundance of fruits and veggies, nourishing legumes and rich olive oil paired with moderate amounts of fresh cheese, yogurt,…
Unpaid Rumor Night Club Employees File Class-Action Lawsuit
In last week’s print edition, Scene printed a story about former employees at W. 6th’s Rumor Night Club who alleged that they hadn’t been paid wages and tips for months. After walking out in November, 2013, and repeatedly attempting to claim their earnings from Rumor’s four-man ownership team, they still have not been compensated. Yesterday,…
Local musician posts music video parodying Toronto mayor
Best known as the front man for local Americana act Texas Plant, Matthew Leeb apparently appreciates a wide variety of music. He sings and plays harmonica with Texas Plant but he also raps. Who knew? He’s just constructed a music video (to the beat of Jay Z’s “Tom Ford) that serves as a parody of…
Gawker Names Tremont Most Hip Neighborhood in Cleveland
via Gawker: What is your city’s Williamsburg? What’s its hippest—or formerly hippest—or sometimes just youngest—neighborhood, the one with the art galleries and the boutiques and the lines for brunch? (And what, for that matter, is its Bushwick, or “Next Williamsburg”?) If you don’t know off the top of your head, don’t worry. We do, thanks…
The Great Lakes Have a Microbead Problem
New York legislators are working toward enacting a ban on products containing “microbeads” – those little plastic balls that show up in, say, your favorite toothpaste. The rationale is that those microbeads end up in bodies of water like New York’s Lake Ontario or our very own Lake Erie. According to scientists cited by the…
Missing Ohio College Student Freezes to Death After Falling Asleep Outside
The body of a Denison University student who had gone missing over the weekend was recently discovered, school officials say. The student, 21-year old David Hallman III, froze to death after falling asleep outside. Hallman was last seen leaving a downtown Granville, OH restaurant early Saturday and was found later the same night outside of…
Cleveland Chipotle Branches to Serve Great Lakes Brewing Company Beer
Lovers of Mexican food and local beer, rejoice, Cleveland’s 44 Chipotle branches will soon serve Dortmunder Gold, a Great Lakes Brewing Company product. Yesterday, the fast food mecca announced its intentions to take its local sourcing efforts one step further by stocking its fridges with one of Cleveland’s own craft brews. Chipotle already works networks…
Akron Man Bites Mailman
Kiefer Robert Kiefer was waiting for a check in the mail. It did not come. The day was Feb. 8. And when Robert Kiefer learned that, no, he would not be receiving his money, he got angry. First, Kiefer shot pepper spray in the eyes of his 56-year-old postal carrier. Then, he bit the carrier’s…
Hall & Oates to play 11th annual It’s Only Rock and Roll Spring Benefit
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum has just announced that the pop/soul duo Daryl Hall and John Oates — slated to be inducted into the Rock and Hall of Fame and Museum in April — will swing into town to play the 11th annual It’s Only Rock and Roll Spring Benefit on…
Chalk Up Another Farcical Quote From Our Mayor: Analysis
Mayor Frank Jackson – he of the goofy lapses in English – added another gem to his collection today. Thing is, though, his line about justice in the Division of Police may bear out more truth that his other dalliances with utter nonsense. He presided over a hastily arranged press conference this morning to announce…
North Ridgeville Schools Drop Out of the Twittersphere
Scraping by on little more than 60 followers, North Ridgeville Schools top brass figured their Twitter account just wasn’t worth the hassle anymore. The district killed its presence on the social network recently to almost zero fanfare. “Twitter just flopped for us,” schools spokeswoman Amy Rutledge tells the Chronicle-Telegram. “We were getting very minimal activity…
Porn Star Ava Devine On Cleveland Cavs: ‘If They Make The Playoffs, I will Bang Them All’ (probably nsfw)
Ava Devine, the star of Tittanic and Butt Plumbers, offered to have sex with the Cleveland Cavaliers if they make the playoffs Hey Kyrie, Luol, Dion, Tristan, Andy and the rest of the Cavs: we all know this has been a tough season, but if you all show some teamwork on the court, you could…
Rising Star Coffee Roasters to Open Little Italy Cafe
Kim Jenkins opened his ground-breaking Ohio City roastery and café Rising Star a little over a year and a half ago, and by all accounts he has energized the entire genre. His top-quality coffee is now sold in a number of fine restaurants around town, but the Hingetown hub is still the best place to…
Lake Erie is 95 Percent Frozen Over
95 percent of Lake Erie is frozen over. That’s the largest percentage since 1996 when the lake was completely frozen over. It’s also currently the largest percentage of any of the Great Lakes. via Weather.com When looking at individual lakes, just over 92 percent of Lake Superior, just under 88 percent of Lake Huron, almost…
24 Photos of Akron’s Abandoned Rolling Acres Mall
Akron’s Rolling Acres Mall is the latest Ohio mall to shut its doors after years of trying to stay afloat. Once home to over 140 retail stores, previously anchored by names such as May Company, Montgomery Ward, and Higbee’s (all which went through re-branding transitions), and, most recently, by Target, Sears, and JC Penny, the…
Roky Erickson and the Black Angels Delivered Heavy Psychedelic Rock at Beachland Concert
The Beachland Ballroom was packed wall-to-wall on last night for a sold out show that bridged together two generations of psychedelic music fans. The concert kicked off to an early start because Brooklyn’s Golden Animals were unable to attend. The age demographic was all mixed up — ranging from grey scraggly beards to teenagers in…
FedCup: Italy Dominates in First Day of Play, But Cleveland Still Raucous Crowd
Sam Allard / Scene Italy’s Karin Knapp, after her team’s second win. Italy struck first blood at the FedCup tennis tournament this afternoon with two decisive wins beneath the gilded mezzanines of Cleveland’s Public Auditorium downtown. In order to come away victorious, team USA will have to win all three matches tomorrow afternoon. The United…
Tegan and Sara played a satisfying show at the Masonic Auditorium
Last night at Masonic Auditorium in a concert that was originally scheduled for the end of 2013, Tegan and Sara effortlessly welcomed the crowd in as a part of its family. After 10 years in the industry, the pros were quite dynamic; each part of the concert could have stood on its own. The concert…
The Lego Movie is good fun
Don’t let the lame title fool you. The Lego Movie, which opens area-wide today, is good fun. While it certainly takes a minute to adjust to the primitive look of a movie whose set consists of the little plastic pieces, the movie’s script is so clever, that initial shock (even in 3-D, the movie looks…
Happy Dog Gordon Square to Reopen, Plans for the Euclid Tavern Location on Hold
Eric Williams, partner in Happy Dog, says that the bar will reopen this weekend after being shuttered for the past week in the wake of founder Sean Kilbane’s tragic death. The bar will open at 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and return to regular business hours and events this Monday. “Kilbane was the heart…
10 Cleveland Bars Where You Can Watch the 2014 Winter Olympics
It might be nice to watch the Winter Olympics at home, underneath a cozy beer blanket or two, but think of how much nicer it would be to watch the Games bar side with dozens of your fellow Clevelanders. Plenty of bars in and around Cleveland tune in during the fortnight-long Games, so why wait?…
FedCup: Draw Ceremony Picks and Pics
Madison Keys and Christina McHale will represent the U.S. FedCup team in the singles matches this weekend. They’ll square off against Italy’s Karin Knapp and Camila Giorgi. Alison Riske and the Gates Mills native Lauren Davis will play doubles on Sunday afternoon against Natassja Burnett and Alice Matteucci. In a draw ceremony at the Marriott…
FedCup: No Serena Williams, But This U.S. Team is a Treat
Sam Allard/ Scene The U.S. FedCup team with the children of the Inner City Tennis Clinic The U.S. Fed Cup is the female equivalent of the Davis Cup and has been dubbed, in promotional literature, “The World Cup of Tennis.” Matches this weekend at Cleveland’s Public Auditorium downtown will pit four of the brightest young…
Photo of the Day: Don’t You Dare Take this Ohio Man’s Parking Spot
One of our reddit friends 2rideascooter from down south (Dayton area), posted these two photos on the social sharing site yesterday after spending an hour and a half digging out his car and his girlfriend’s car before work. His photos earned him tons of virtual high fives from other redditers who have had problems with…
Rumor Rumor: Former Employees of the Cleveland Dance Club Say They Were Mistreated and Never Paid
Former employees at Rumor Night Club — the bumping, blue-lit dance joint on W. 6th — claim that the club’s owners neglected to compensate them for months of work and still refuse to do so. Employees walked out en masse in November, 2013, in protest. Despite repeated attempts to reclaim their wages and tips, they…
Local Teen Pop Star Alex Angelo Preps for National Tour
In the new music video for his catchy single “It’s Your Night,” singer Alex Angelo busts some serious dance moves. Sure, he throws his hands in the air like he just doesn’t care. But he also writhes and shuffles like a young Justin Timberlake. Since the music video came out last month, the song’s climbed…
10 Things Going on in Cleveland this Weekend (February 7 – 9)
It’s the last weekend before Valentine’s festivities creep up, so take advantage of Cleveland before ooey-gooey couples swarm the city. Weekend highlights include a two-day Beatles tribute festival, an illusionist show, and a manly Valentine’s Day shopping opportunity (only for the manliest of men). On top of that, catch some comedy, catch some music, catch…
J’adore Croissants: Cleveland’s Best
Croissants are deceptively delicious treats. They’re a tempting enough display, all golden brown and glistening, but it’s hard to compete with some of their more elaborate bakery counterparts. But as anybody who’s ever indulged in a really great croissant can attest, the French have every reason to adore them. That flaky crackle on the outside…
The Warehouse District is a Neighborhood Too!
ERIC SANDY / SCENE In Warehouse District news, the community group “My Neighborhood” held a forum to discuss resident issues last week at which an articulate contingent voiced their opposition to the “night club” culture on W. 6th. Surprise surprise. Councilman Joe Cimperman’s opinion, i.e., that there are already enough liquor licenses in the Warehouse…
Cleveland’s WRHS Has First Edition of “Twelve Years a Slave”
By now, most of you have seen (or certainly should have seen) the Oscar-nominated film 12 Years a Slave. It was one of Scene’s top picks of 2013, and is a serious front runner in the best picture and best director races (among others). The film was based on a book by the same name…
Video: Mid-Winter Paragliding in Cleveland
Anybody in the West Side or Lakewood see a couple crazy people flying through the sky recently? A guy named Jon Kelley just uploaded this GoPro video of his view paragliding along the Lake Erie coast off of Edgewater Park, and it just looks terrifyingly cold and windy. I hope the guy was wearing a…
Popular Mason’s Creamery Inks Deal for Ohio City Retail/Production Space
It’s been a mere nine months since Jesse Mason and Helen Qin officially sold the very first scoop of Mason’s Creamery ice cream. But by early spring, the endearing couple will open their own production and retail space, in the former home of Ohio City Ice Cream and, before that, Dari Delite (4401 Bridge Ave.).…
RANKED: Cleveland Named One of the Best U.S. Cities for Singles
Valentine’s Day, the equal parts loved and hated “Hallmark Holiday,” is quickly approaching, but Clevelanders still looking for Feb. 14 date may be in luck. The folks over at Nerd Wallet, a consumer advocacy site, recently conducted a study and found that Cleveland is one of the best cities in the U.S. for singles. Nerd Wallet looked…
Rapper Kid Cudi to Play Wolstein Center in March
At 2 p.m. today, Prime Social Group, a concert promoter based in Columbus, will announce that they’ve booked rapper Kid Cudi to perform at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 25 at the Wolstein Center. A Clevelander who moved to Brooklyn several years ago to launch a successful career, Cudi continually references his love for Cleveland…
Punk band Screaming Females played a ferocious show last night at the Grog Shop
Matt Hughes Screaming Females don’t need to light their drum set on fire to prove they’re punk. Despite inclement weather, the band drew a sizable crowd last night at the Grog Shop with Chomp and two members of Wooly Bullies (subbing for Cheap Clone) opening. They performed a high energy set without stage gimmicks or…
Rapper Chief Keef Is Being Sued for Screwing Over a Cleveland Charity
Back in June, Rapper Chief Keef screwed over a bunch of Cleveland breast cancer patients by flaking out on a charity concert just hours before he was slated to perform. Now the concert organizer, Kim Productions, is suing the rapper. via TMZ: In court docs, Kim Productions claims it paid Keef a $15K deposit ……
Blossom adds two new shows to its schedule
OneRepublic This morning, Live Nation announced that the pop act OneRepublic will bring its Native Summer Tour to Blossom on Aug. 6. The group’s tour kicks off on May 28 at Red Rocks in Denver and then hits the West Coast before swinging through the Midwest. Fans can visit the group’s website for early access…
Beaumont Girl Expelled for Selling Adderall to Classmates
Via the NEOMG, a 16-year-old girl from Beaumont has been expelled for selling Adderall to classmates. The drug, commonly prescribed for ADHD, is often used by high school and college students as a “study aid” or to, you know, play video games for long stretches. Police were called to Beaumont — the all-girls’ Catholic high…
Now Hear This: A Round-Up of the Week’s New Releases
According to a recent petition “We the people of the United States feel that we are being wrongly represented in the world of pop culture.” Indeed. With nearly 236,000 signatures, the declaration of proud nationalism goes on to state, “We would like to see the dangerous, reckless, destructive and drug-abusing Justin Bieber deported and have…
Downtown Farming: Portland’s Beloved Urban Farmer Will Open a Cleveland Spot, and For That We Are Salivating
Last year, Travel & Leisure magazine named Portland’s Urban Farmer restaurant one of the “Best Steakhouses in the U.S.” Not long before that, The Guardian included the restaurant in its listing of “Top 10 Places to Eat in Portland.” Why should we care? Because in a few months, Urban Farmer will open a second location,…
Your Complete Guide to Cleveland Concerts (February 6-12)
THURSDAY FEB 6 Bad Boys Jam: 9 p.m. Brothers Lounge. Alex Bevan/Rachel Brown & the Beatnik Playboys: 7 p.m., $10. Nighttown. Eclipse Movement: 8 p.m., $10. Musica. Chris Hatton (in the Wine Bar): 8 p.m. Brothers Lounge. Imfromcleveland.com & Dirty Jones present The Shake Up with Nuke Franklin / Brian Baker/Common Ave/Archie Green: 9 p.m.,…
Positively Dave: Would a Gilbert by Any Other Name Care As Much about Cleveland?
David Gilbert is not the only D. Gilbert who works as an executive in the field of Cleveland sports. Dan Gilbert, the Quicken/Horseshoe/Cavaliers magnate, is perhaps the region’s most recognizable. But Dave, as president and CEO of both the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and the tourism agency Positively Cleveland, toils daily to attract major events…
Elementary: Crop Bistro and Bar Has Everything You Drink Down to a Science, Even the Water
Several times a night, bartenders at Crop Bistro spray water from a Lombardi Trophy-shaped bottle onto any number of surfaces, including but not limited to their hands, citrus for the night’s service, and the bar top itself. The water from the Franke EcO3Spray Sanitizing Spray Bottle is disinfecting everything it touches thanks to boron-encrusted crystals…
Why Cleveland Radio Sucks, the True Story Behind 87.7 Cleveland Sound, and the Future of Radio Innovation
There was a time when Cleveland radio was the soundtrack to people’s lives and, for a subset of music fans, the soundtrack of rock across the country. Anyone over 30 remembers a time when some song, and some DJ in an actual room spinning it, rocked your world by introducing you to new bands, new…
Know Your Farmer: Brunty Farms
Though the Bruntys have been working their family farm since 2008, Jeff has been farming chickens and eggs since he was just a boy. He learned from his grandfather how to process chickens for meat and even assisted in the major renovation of a family barn. Today, Jeff and Melanie focus on pastured meats and…
Film Review of the Week: The Past (Le Passé)
It’s hard enough to write well in your native language (“All you do,” wrote Red Smith, “is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein”), but one of the wonders of modern literature is how Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, fluent in his native Polish as well as French, became Joseph Conrad, a virtuoso of…
Film Spotlight: A Fantastic Fear of Everything
Set in England “once upon a time not so long ago,” A Fantastic Fear of Everything begins as if it were an Edgar Allen Poe short story. Much like Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart, A Fantastic Fear of Everything, which opens on Friday at the Cedar Lee Theatre, centers on an unreliable narrator who may or…
Look to the Sky: Toeing the Line Between Studio and Stage with Greensky Bluegrass
With the disco ball spinning refractions from above, the bluegrass band onstage sounded like an alien mothership landing in the middle of the Beachland Ballroom. Back in November, the last time the guys from Greensky Bluegrass came to Cleveland, whole galaxies shifted. The band was wrapping up the first set of the night, and this…
Dark Matter: The Black Angels Had a Clear Perception of Their Psychedelic Sound from Day One
This year marks a decade since psychedelic rockers the Black Angels first formed. But like many an indie rock band, taking stock of the past isn’t a priority for these Austin-based road warriors. “Wow. I can’t believe it’s been 10 years,” says singer/multi-instrumentalist Alex Maas. “We should do something, huh? We don’t have anything planned…
Band of the Week: Alex Bevan
Meet the Band: Alex Bevan (vocals, guitar) Not Just a Novelty Act: A self-described “skinny little boy from Cleveland, Ohio,” singer-songwriter Alex Bevan released his first record way back in 1971. “I knocked around the folk circuit and became an opener for people like the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Earl Scruggs, Billy Joel, the Doobie…
Dynamic Duo: Singer-Songwriter Carrie Rodriguez Teams Up With Luke Jacobs for Small Club Tour
Last year, the city of Austin, Texas declared Jan. 17 to be “Carrie Rodriguez Day.” A few of the singer-songwriter’s friends showed up for the festivities. Since she was on the road this year on what would have been Carrie Rodriguez Day, she didn’t mark the occasion in any special way. That’s not to say…
Also on Stage: Air Waves (Part 3 of the Elements Cycle)
There was once a time when the art of theater was as simple as sitting around a fire and listening to a story. And stories, however fictional they may be, are often the true histories of mankind. They resonate with human yearning, and therefore ring truer than most facts. With Air Waves, Cleveland Public Theatre’s…
Savage Love: Dildonics
Dear Dan, What is the best way to sanitize a latex dildo? At least I think it’s a latex dildo. I actually don’t know. I had a yeast infection a few months ago, and before I knew what was up, I used my toy. Now I’m afraid to touch it until I know it won’t…
The Light in the Piazza
Musical theater is surprisingly unforgiving. Audiences are far more likely to recognize a squeaking sour note than they are the barking clamor of a bad actor in Shakespeare. So it is to this cast’s credit that under the excellent musical direction of Jordan Cooper and the sensitive and intelligent leadership of Martin Friedman, the notes…
Regional Beat: Youth Forgotten
Ghost of a Fallen Empire (self-released) facebook.com/youthforgotten You could call Youth Forgotten a super group. The lineup consists of singer J.C. Koszewski (Dead Even), lead guitarist Matt Brewer (ex-Integrity), drummer Rob Walters (Salt The Wound), guitarist Aaron Salo (Above This Fire) and bassist Jim LaMarca (Chimaira), all of whom represent some of the finest musicians…
