Alyssa Catalano sat at the bar at Tequila Ranch a couple Thursdays ago and threw back a shot of Cabo Wabo Blanco tequila. Feeling no pain, she jumped off her stool, showed some cleavage, and mounted a mechanical bison to go Bra-less Bullriding. The woman who can stay on the 12-foot mechanical beast the longest wins $100. "I defy any other girl to get on that thing without falling off," says Catalano, a 22-year-old hospital clerk from Ohio City, who got thrown after 18 seconds.
While guys can join in during happy hours on Fridays, it's an exclusive for women on Thursday nights . . . if they can prove they're not wearing bras. For 30 seconds, the bull swings from side to side and bucks up and down as a DJ maneuvers two levers to control the speed and movement.
"It's a rowdy time in here," says Tommy Kneeland, the bar's general manager. "It's pretty sexy, I'll tell you that." Bullriding is from 9 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Thursday and 4 to 9 p.m. Friday at Tequila Ranch, 1229 West 6th Street. Admission is free; call 216-566-8226. -- Cris Glaser
The Streets Is Talking
Hip-Hop gets scholarly at symposium.
5/27-5/28
Tupac, Eminem, and 50 Cent will be academically dissected -- just as Shakespeare, Milton, and Joyce before them -- at "From the Streets to the Classrooms: The Impact of Hip-Hop Culture on Today's Youth," a two-day public conference. "We want to create understanding between generations," says Daniel Gray-Kontar, who organized the program based on a series of articles he wrote for Catalyst Cleveland, an urban-education magazine. "It's a celebration of culture." Among the topics to be discussed by writers, artists, and DJs are "A Look at Hip-Hop Lyrics and Their Impact on Youth Culture," "From Motown to Def Jam: Bridging the Generation Gap," and "Developing a Political Agenda for the Hip-Hop Generation." "Hip-hop is very diverse," says Gray-Kontar. "It's about more than just the music. It's a culture and a lifestyle." It happens from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Friday at Tri-C Metro Theatre (2900 Community College Avenue) and 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday at Cleveland State University's University Center (2121 Euclid Avenue). Admission is free. Call 216-623-6322 for more info. -- Michael Gallucci
You Got Served, Irish Style
Dancers and singers square off at Cleveland Feis.
SUN 5/29
The 48th annual Cleveland Feis happens on Sunday, and the competition of Irish dancing, singing, and instrumental solos is like a "track meet," says Teresa Reilly Kowalski, president of the Greater Cleveland Feis Society. The feis (Gaelic for "festival") includes slip-jig dance-offs to tin-whistle contests. "Cleveland's Irish are about as committed as any group could be to their culture, and this event holds as high a place in their esteem as St. Patrick's Day," says Kowalski. "Just without the beer." The feis starts at 7:45 a.m. at the Wolstein Center at Cleveland State University, 2000 Prospect Avenue. Tickets are $20. Call 216-241-2121 for more information. -- Cris Glaser
Tattoo Unit
MON 5/30
Every Monday at Voodoo Tattoo Night, guest bartender Travis -- the Tattooed Pimp -- pours drinks while dispensing raffle tickets for a chance to win free body art. And word is, Travis is covered in tattoos -- even, you know, his penis. "I don't know about that," says a patron named Rachel. "But I'd like to find out." Check out Travis' tats from 7 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. at McCarthy's Ale House, 1231 Main Street. Admission is free; call 216-344-9099. -- Cris Glaser
