“CUT HER OFF. ONE MORE ZIMA, PUT IT ON MY TAB, AND THAT’S IT”
Comedian Chad Zumock deals with a heckler with one thing on her mind. Zumock appears — with Maria Borgia and Mike Farrell — at Reddstone’s Spring Into Comedy, Thursday, April 16, 9 p.m., $5.
Avant i-Releases New EP
Contemporary R&B crooner Avant is now five albums deep into the successful singing career he launched after his 1995 graduation from the Cleveland School of the Arts, following in the smooth, romantic footsteps of fellow Clevelander, the late Gerald Levert. Avant’s latest self-titled record, his first on Capitol, hit the streets in December and features…
Are Tired Legs to Blame for Mo’s Recent Streakiness?
John Krolik from Cavs The Blog mentioned about a month back that it looked like Mo and Delonte had tired legs. At the time, it seemed like Mo would alternate good games and bad. Of course, that wasn’t literally the case, but Mo did seem to have an off night one out of every three…
Best Beer Bottle Label Ever?
If this picture is too fuzzy to recognize that iconic image, I’m sorry. It’s Joe Charboneau. A friend of a friend got this Mad Brewer RBI IPA from the Brew Keeper — this extra special, perfect-looking beer that, according to their web site, was brewed and designed just for Joe himself. If this is completely…
Foots Walker says, “Good Morning, Cleveland”
First of all, you have to love a guy whose nickname is “Foots” when he plays basketball — his real name was Clarence. Two fun facts: The ten year NBA vet was the first Cav to record a triple double, and he was a member of the first Cavs squad to post a winning record.…
Free Crystal Method Tickets Up for Grabs!
Just a reminder that C-Notes’ very first giveaway is still underway. We’re giving away a pair of tickets to the Crystal Method’s show at House of Blues of May 11. All you have to do to score a pair of tickets to the show is leave a comment (no essays, please — a sentence or…
Pixilated Beatles Coming Soon
Hot on the heels of yesterday’s news about the Beatles’ entire catalogue being remastered, it was just announced that the Fab Four are also making their videogame debut. On September 9 (the same day the remastered CDs are coming out), EA will publish The Beatles: Rock Band for the Xbox 360, PlayStation3 and Wii. I…
“WE MOPPED BLOOD OFF THE BUMPER CARS …”
The following was sent in response to Scene’s review of Adventureland (“Superboring,” by Robert Ignizio). It was signed with a fake name, as is often the case when someone not only disagrees with a review but feels the need to skewer the critic personally. We usually don’t publish these, but this reader put so much…
Guy No. 21: Jamey Carroll (et al)
By Steve Buffum Actually, Carroll has a broken bone in his hand, so this is currently the ageless Tony Graffinino, who is ageless in the sense that he plays no better nor worse than he did when I thought he was going to be ANext Big Thing and was clearly not. It’s a bit of…
Regular Season Battles to Pay Attention To: Reyes’ Flat Brim vs. Carmona’s Underbrim
The Flat Brim: Reyes has a legacy in St. Louis, where the Cardinals are among the most flat-brimmed teams in the league. Supposedly, Reyes wore the flat brim because a curved one hit his glasses back in the day. Now, it’s a fashion statement, although there’s probably some practical application as well. Bonus: Better view…
NPR, Dan Malthroup, Bruce Weber and Mark Shapiro, a Baseball Edition of the Sound of Ideas
Dan Malthroup hosted a special baseball edition of the Sound of Ideas this morning on 90.3. His first guest was Bruce Weber, a New York Times scribe who wrote a wonderfully entertaining and insightful book, As They See ‘Em: A Fan’s Travels in the Land of Umpires, about the three years he spent training as…
Eminem’s New Video: Same Ol’, Same Ol’
Eminem – New Music – More Music Videos Straight off his appearance at the Rock Hall inductions on Saturday, Eminem has just released the first video from his new album, Relapse, which comes out May 15. After his somewhat eloquent and heartfelt tribute to Run-DMC Saturday night, it’s business as usual for Slim, who takes…
But Would Mr. Krabs Pay for That Booty?
Seriously: WTF? —Michael Gallucci
Our First Giveaway! Crystal Method Tickets
C-Notes not only wants to let you know about the hottest gigs around town, we wanna take you with us! Today, we welcome you to our very first giveaway. It’s all about the the Crystal Method’s show at House of Blues of May 11. The Las Vegas natives had a big part in shaping ’90s…
Cliff Lee and Why You Should Get Off the Ledge
That chart right there is from Cliff Lee’s second inning against the Texas Rangers yesterday — the frame in which Cliff Lee went kaplooey. It was an overall atrocious outing for the reigning AL Cy Young winner: 5.0 innings, 7 ER, blah blah blah; but the second inning was particularly bad. Now, everyone’s wondering, if…
FARE WARNING
Word of the day: derivation. It’s a technical term used by RTA officials to describe what the urban dictionary refers to as “gate jumping” — the practice of using the bus or train without paying to do so. RTA leaders started using off-duty cops to check for fare crooks when the Euclid Corridor project finished…
Things to Read That Might Not Suck: It Was Just One Game Edition
If you can see straight during your hangover, check this stuff out. — FanGraphs now has a live Twitter feed for every team. Two versions available: There are two types of feeds for each team. The full version, and the lite version. The full version is every single play and the lite version is end…
Yep, iTunes Raised Prices on Songs You Like
Remember when I told you iTunes was gonna raise the prices of some of its top-selling and most popular songs from 99 cents to $1.29? Well, it’s happened. Head over to iTunes, and you’ll see that songs like Black Eyed Peas’ “Boom Boom Pow” (currently nesting at No. 1), that Lady GagGa song about poking…
Walt Wesley says, “Good Morning, Cleveland”
Walt Wesley was the highest paid member of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1970, the team’s first year in the league. $42,000. Awesome hair. Also, a reminder of how just plain awful that squad was. A 15 PER is completely average every year in the NBA, and the 1970-1971 Cavs had only one player crack the…
Free Conor Oberst Doc on Tax Day
Bummed out about taxes that are due next week? Conor Oberst ain’t gonna pay your tab, but he is offering a free documentary on his website starting next Wednesday, April 15. The hour-long doc, One of My Kind, is a behind-the-scenes look at the Bright Eyes frontman’s past year and a half, when he traveled…
One-Hit Wonders: Akron Represents
The Rubber City produced about 3 percent of the 1980s’ one-hit wonder artists, according to VH1’s Top 100 One-Hit Wonders of the 80s countdown. No Cleveland artists made the cut — we guess Michael Stanley and Hatrix were recognized as having for more substantial bodies of work. Akron natives Buckner and Garcia crashed the countdown…
CLEANING UP THE JIGSAW MESS
Things are settling down in the Agora Theater and Ballroom end of the Jigsaw fiasco (“The Jig Is Up,” March 18). Agora owner Hank Loconti says Jigsaw owners Phil Lara and Terry Buckwalter are no longer involved with the operation of the legendary Agora. Buckwalter and Lara, technically, remain partners in a corporation the three…
Yeah Yeah Yeah!
It’s about time. Apple (the Beatles’ corporation, not the gazillion-dollar-making computer company) just announced that the Beatles’ entire catalogue will be remastered and released on September 9. This is great news for anyone who’s been listening to the same Rubber Soul, Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road discs since 1987, when they were first issued on…
This Just In: Concert Announcements
This week: 30 new concerts, two updates and no charge. Visit every Tuesday for new shows — from clubs to the Q. —D.X. Ferris SOLD OUTThe Tragically Hip: Sun., May 31, 7 p.m. House of Blues. CANCELEDHoneyhoney : Tue., April 14. Beachland. THIS JUST INAbigail Williams/Daath/Abysmal Dawn/SWWAATS: Wed., July 29, 7 p.m., $10 ADV/$12 DOS.…
DOES ANYBODY REALLY KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS?
Ronald Mallet, a physics prof from the University of Connecticut who has made it his life’s mission to travel through time to save his father, will present a free mind-blowing lecture at Kent State Tuesday night at 5 p.m. in the Kiva. I will also be hosting an after party for time travelers at my…
Worst-Named Band Ever Coming to Town
House of Blues just announced that Led Zeppelin 2 — The Live Experience will be playing on May 30. Seriously. That’s their name. They’re not ZOSO. Or Trampled Under Foot. Or even That Monolith Thingy From Presence. They’re called Led Zeppelin 2. Which may be the laziest and most uninspired band name since Creedence Clearwater…
What You Missed When You Were at the Rock Hall
While I was out covering the Rock Hall inductions the other night, Saturday Night Live aired another of Andy Samberg’s Lonely Island videos (you know, “Dick in a Box,” “Jizz in My Pants,” etc.). It’s called “Like a Boss,” and like its predecessors — especially the T-Pain-assisted “I’m on a Boat,” which it kinda sounds…
TWO THUMBS DOWN
Got to love it when Republicans try to figure out the internets. On some level, they understand that Obama’s use of social networking sites and blogs carried him into the White House. But they fail to understand it’s not the technology itself that wins elections, but how you use it. For an example of how…
It’s Opening Day, Go Watch Baseball
No more posts today, and probably not until late tomorrow morning when the hangover finally goes away. Go watch the Tribe.
Celebrating Opening Day with the Cleveland Memory Project
That there is Lou Boudreau and Bill Veeck in the parade through downtown Cleveland celebrating the 1948 world championship. It comes from the Cleveland Memory Project, a glorious repository of photos by the Cleveland Press that were donated to CSU. I dug through and found a lot of cool Tribe photos, which you can enjoy…
This Is the Last Metallica Post Until October — Promise!
I know, I know. We promised you an hour or so ago that we weren’t going to be posting any more Metallica-related blogs until October, when the band comes to Cleveland. But I finally got a chance to play Guitar Hero: Metallica yesterday, a week after its release (those Rock Hall inductions kept me crazy…
North Coast Men’s Chorus Salutes Broadway
The North Coast Men’s Chorus celebrated Broadway past and present in On With the Show!, the second show of its current season, taking place Saturday night and yesterday at Cleveland State’s Waetjen Auditorium. The 70-some-voice chorus opened with “Anything Can Happen,” from the stage version of Mary Poppins, an apt scene-setter for what followed. The…
Concert Review: Bad Veins and the Eulogies at the Beachland Tavern, 4/4
It’s not unusual for an opener to eclipse a headliner, but Saturday night at the Beachland Tavern, the Eulogies backed an interesting but weaker Bad Veins. Someone at their shared record label, Dangerbird, must not be paying attention. The Eulogies’ set list was 11 songs strong, including cuts from their first self-titled album to Here…
Paparazzi Invade Cleveland!
The Rock Hall induction concert brought the stars to Cleveland, and celebrities and hangers-on from the A-list to F-list were all over the city last week. Senator George Voinovich, congressman Dennis Kucinich and original Rock Hall executive director Dennis Barrie were out rubbing elbows with rockers at a private Friday night party at Public Hall,…
Metalli-coda: The Great Metallica Debate Wrap-Up
On Saturday, heavy metal titans Metallica was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony ended with the band performing “Train Kept A Rollin’ “ — Cleveland’s unofficial classic-rock anthem — with members of Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, the Yardbirds and the Rolling Stones. Gentlemen, as if the quarter-million-plus crowds weren’t enough,…
Rock Hall Hangover: More From the Floor
Yes, the crowd on the floor for the Rock Hall inductions was a group of mostly white, mostly older folks who looked like they had money to burn. But that didn’t mean they were opposed to having some fun. And it didn’t mean the floor seats (which cost something like $1500 a pop) were only…
Gene Bearden says, “Good Morning, Cleveland”
Gene Bearden pitched the last 1.2 innings of game six of the 1948 World Series, which happened only days after he won game three by shutting out the Braves. He won his 20th game that year in a one-game playoff and was the last man on the mound for the Indians when they won their…
Rock Hall Inductions: A View From the Balcony
7:23 – I enter to find a concrete ramp leading to the balcony. If you’ve ever been to Wrigley or Fenway and endured the clusterfuck down the ramps to exit, imagine the same thing except reversed.7:35 – After not one, but two such ramps, you enter a lobby of some sort — ornate, but approximately…
Photo Show: Backstage at the Rock Hall Inductions
Last night’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions lasted almost as long as an Academy Award ceremony. Luckily, I had my camera backstage to keep me company. —Michael Gallucci Rosanne Cash Bobby Womack and Ron Wood
Live Bloggin’ the Rock Hall Inductions: There’s More!
Here’s who I see onstage for the all-star jam: DJ Fontana, Wanda Jackson, Bobby Womack, Jeff Beck, Ron Wood, Rosanne Cash, Spooner Oldham, Little Anthony & the Imperials. First up: “Jailhouse Rock.” Then everybody cleared off to make room for Metallica, Flea, Aerosmith’s Joe Perry, Jimmy Page, Beck (again), Wood (again) for “Train Kept A-Rollin’.”…
Live Bloggin’ the Rock Hall Inductions: Metallica
The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea inducted Metallica with a heartfelt tribute to late bassist Cliff Burton. “God bless Cliff Burton. He rules.” He also talked about their influence on his own thrash-punk past, about turning something miserable into something beautiful. He also made reference to throwing up devil horns. The band itself seemed incredibly…
Live Bloggin’ the Rock Hall Inductions: Backstage With Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page came backstage together and talked about their long working relationship. Beck thre a joke out about a rubber factory — a reference to Akron (Beck thought Goodyear was in Cleveland). Beck also mentioned he was happier about his solo induction (he’s also a member as the Yardbirds). He also talked…
Live Bloggin’ the Rock Hall Inductions: Jeff Beck
Jimmy Page replaced Jeff Beck in the Yardbirds, so it was appropriate that one guitar god inducted the other. But the highlight of the induction was an old video clip in which Beck (who looks an awful lot like Spinal Tap’s Nigel Tufnel) goes on and on about some guitar wankery stuff … which was…
Live Bloggin’ the Rock Hall Inductions: Backstage With Run-DMC
“We rhymed about sneakers. We rhymed about collard greens,” DMC told the press gathered backstage. They were speaking to the streets — that’s his point. “Plus, we were good,” he said. They talked about their “King of Rock” video and how they had to create a rock and roll hall of fame for it, because…
Live Bloggin’ the Rock Hall Inductions: Sidemen
Two of Bruce Springsteen’s sidemen — Max Weinberg and Garry Tallent — inducted two other sidemen: Bill Black and DJ Fontana, who played with Elvis Presley’s Sun sessions band. The third member of that group, Scotty Moore (who was inducted years ago), was at the ceremony — probably to give the Rock Hall hell later…
Live Bloggin’ the Rock Hall Inductions: Run-DMC
Run-DMC (who apparently don’t get along so well these days) were inducted by Eminem, dressed in an old-school hip-hop outfit (including leather jacket and fedora). He recalled how he first heard them when he was 11 and how their music changed his life. “Something beautiful, something unique,” he said. “Two turntables and a microphone.” The…
Live Bloggin’ the Rock Hall Inductions: Backstage With Bobby Womack
Womack told the backstage press that he tried hard not to break down onstage, since it was a “spiritual moment” for him. He even brought along his 90-year-old mother to the ceremony. Ron Wood called Womack his mentor and that they speak in guitars. Then he laughed that Ron Wood laugh and walked off, as…
Live Bloggin’ the Rock Hall Inductions: Bobby Womack
Cleveland’s own Bobby Womack finally got in tonight. And he was inducted by the Rolling Stones’ Ron Wood, whose band covered Womack’s “It’s All Over Now.” Womack himself gave a shout out to Sam Cooke (who’s wife Womack ended up with after Cooke died), his mom and his brothers, the Cleveland crew Womack got his…
Live Bloggin’ the Rock Hall Inductions: Backstage With Rosanne Cash
Rosanne Cash told backstage media about her new album, based on a list of country songs her dad, Johnny Cash, left her. Sounds interesting, especially since Cash has released tons of her own material over the past 15 years. She didn’t spend much time with the press and didn’t say much more about Jackson than…
Live Bloggin’ the Rock Hall Inductions: Wanda Jackson
Rosanne Cash is inducting rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson. The first “female rock star,” says Cash. Wanda herself gave a shout out to both Elvises (Presley and Costello), as well as Bruce Springsteen and his wife. I’m pretty sure she’s thanking everybody she knows. Including her fans. —Michael Gallucci
Live Bloggin’ the Rock Hall Inductions: Red Carpet
Sat outside the red carpet to watch the celebs pour into Public Hall for the Rock Hall Inductions. It was hard to see much of anything, as a canopy extended up to the sidewalk and the limos and shuttles pulled right up to the front of it. But that said, we did see Jimmy Page…
Live Bloggin’ the Rock Hall Inductions: Little Anthony’s Induction
Smokey Robinson just inducted Little Anthony & the Imperials. “We were on the road together as kids,” he said. “It’s a joy for me to be here, for what I consider to be a long-overdue event.” He also called them “the bomb.” Robinson mentioned all of the guys’ names during his induction, which is nice,…
Live Bloggin’ the Rock Hall Inductions: Showtime!
There’s a montage of shit playing on a screen — Stevie Wonder, the Clash, Zep. It’s been going on way too long. This is how it starts. Little Anthony and the Imperials are onstage. Paul Shaffer’s bald head is there too. They’re singing “Tears on My Pillow” and “Hurts so Bad.” They’re just kinda standing…
Live Bloggin’ the Rock Hall Inductions: Here We Go!
Mayor Frank Jackson just told us that Cleveland will be hosting the event every three years from now on. Now some other dude is giving us a history of rock and roll and its local history. Yawn… Looks like Little Anthony will be the first inductee. Metallica, of course, will go last. —Michael Gallucci
Live Bloggin’ the Rock Hall Inductions: Backstage
This is what backstage at the Rock Hall induction ceremonies looks like. Hopefully that dude’s head won’t be in every single picture I take tonight. —Michael Gallucci
Live Bloggin’ the Rock Hall Inductions: Waiting …
Cleveland’s big night will be kicking off in a couple hours. The red carpert’s been laid out in front of Public Hall. The limos are dropping folks off. And I’m waiting backstage in the press room. Not much is happening here right now. Just a bunch of other media people setting up cameras and laptops.…
DMC Rocks the Hard Rock
Run-DMC won’t perform at tonight’s induction ceremonies, but the group’s Darryl “DMC” McDaniels appeared at the Hard Rock Café this morning to play a short, four-song set that included “It’s Tricky” and “Walk This Way.” The event was a benefit for the Felix Foundation, an organization McDaniels co-founded that’s designed to provided adopted children with…
The Scoop on Metallica’s Secret Friday Bash at HOB
“Why is everyone leaving me?” “Fleming, why are you doing this to me?” The short middle-aged guy is leaning up against the bar, joking with Fleming at the end of what might be just another night at House of Blues. Except that tonight, we’re talking about legendary Metallica producer Fleming Rasmussen, the current subject of…
Help a poor politician find new music!
Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin) is running for re-election next year, so he’s on the road even more than usual. He’s just sent out an SOS to his mailing list: He needs new music to listen to while he travels. So he’s launched what he’s calling ‘Fein’Tunes. “Listening to music is a big deal to me,”…
HE ALREADY HAS “ON THE ROAD AGAIN”
Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin) is running for re-election next year, so he’s on the road even more than usual. He’s just sent out an SOS to his mailing list: He needs new music to listen to while he travels. So he’s launched what he’s calling ‘Fein’Tunes. “Listening to music is a big deal to me,”…
THE O FILES: THE TRUTH IS RIGHT HERE
UFO FOR SALE: Greg Kirby of Middletown, Ohio, is trying to sell a piece of a UFO that he claims crashed into a parking lot in Blue Ball (seriously, that’s the name of the town) in 1979. Kirby was 21 years old and, as the legend goes, it was his father who watched the white-hot…
New band battle series off to strong start
With most so-called Battle of the Bands, you get a motley mix of talentless acts. More often than not, the entrees are pimple-faced kids who haven’t played a gig outside of their parents’ basement. That certainly wasn’t the case at Brothers Lounge Thursday night as three very sharp bands kicked off the event that will…
SENATOR GANLEY MAN?
Tom Ganley, of Ganley Ford, just announced that he’s running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by George Voinovich. What’s next, Bob Serpentini as Common Pleas Judge? At least we know what we’re getting when we elect a used car salesman. Ganley managed to make the only commercial creepier than the Norton Furniture dude:…
Guy No. 22: Masahide Kobayashi
By Steve Buffum You may not need seven bullpen arms … no, wait, scratch that … you DON’T need seven bullpen arms, especially in April. Even in the AL where you don’t need arcane double-switches and such,you STILL don’t need seven bullpen arms. That’s just profligate. But you probably DO need SIX bullpen arms, unless…
Boo! Run-DMC Won’t Perform Tomorrow Night
So … it looks like Run-DMC won’t be performing at tomorrow night’s Rock Hall festivities after all, reports MTV News. DMC says he and Run don’t want to perform without Jam Master Jay, their DJ who was killed in 2002. “For me, I tell people, ‘Do you want to see me and Run running around…
Interview: Anthony Castrovince, Indians.com beat writer; Part 2: Actual Baseball
Nine questions, none extremely brilliant, that Anthony Castrovince agreed to answer. If you guessed one of them would center on the “Choose Your Own Adventure” series, you win a cookie. VG: We see the 0.00 ERA, we hear all the good things about his health, we read about his dominance in spring training, but coming…
Vintage Jazz Night at Nighttown
Cleveland jazz historian/clarinetist John Richmond is legendary for his devotion to vintage jazz. He once told me that, as far as he was concerned, no good jazz had been made after he had been born (that was sometime in the ’40s). When we were both writing about music for the Plain Dealer in the ’80s,…
NO COMMENT? WHY THE HELL NOT?
The Cleveland branch of the FBI has been handed a silver platter a couple times this week. First, Duane Pohlman over at Channel 5 offers them a megaphone to broadcast new information about the Amy Mihaljevic case — over two nights — but they choose to hide behind “Justice Department regulations.” And today, Nancy Grace,…
Another Metallica Post!
Had enough Metallica yet? WMMS is hoping not, since it’s launching “All Metallica, All Weekend” later tonight. For the next two days, Cleveland’s venerable rock radio station (located at 100.7 FM) is playing Metallica, and only Metallica. That means no Korn. No Hoobastank. No Nine Inch Nails. And no Seethershinedownthreedaysgrace. Only Metallica. We’re betting a…
Latin Music Camp Returns
When popular local band leader/pianist Roberto Ocasio of the Roberto Ocasio Latin Jazz Project died in an auto accident on a treacherous winter night in January 2004, the Cleveland music and Puerto Rican communities mourned the loss of a dedicated musician and music educator. But it wasn’t quite the end of the story. Spearheaded by…
LATIN MUSIC CAMP RETURNS
When popular local band leader/pianist Roberto Ocasio of the Roberto Ocasio Latin Jazz Project died in an auto accident on a treacherous winter night in January 2004, the Cleveland music and Puerto Rican communities mourned the loss of a dedicated musician and music educator. But it wasn’t quite the end of the story. Spearheaded by…
Bron and Ovi
Courtesy of the always brilliant DC Sports Bog, the best in the NBA meets the best in the NHL.
Things To Read That Might Not Suck: Rooting for J’Nathan Bullock Edition
Like a library card, but with more hyperlinks. — Cleveland State basketball standout J’Nathan Bullock is working out for a handful of NFL teams, hoping to catch on as a tight end. Here’s to hoping he lands somewhere. He’s a beast. (Pro Football Talk) — Sports Illustrated catches up with Cliff Lee for some random…
APRIL SHOWERS BRING … MURDER!
Every Saturday in April, the Cedar Lee will show a pairing of classic films by Alfred Hitchcock, beginning this Saturday with Torn Curtain and Rear Window. Upcoming films include Frenzy, Psycho, The Trouble With Harry, Vertigo (his masterpiece), Topaz and The Birds. Tix are cheap: $5 for one, $8 for a double creature feature. Take…
John Battle says, “Good Morning, Cleveland”
John Battle. One of the supporting cast of the last great Cavs team. Ten seasons in the league, with Atlanta and Cleveland, tallying 5,338 points. I’m pretty sure he lived down the street from me in Hinckley when I was growing up, and I’m pretty sure his wife gave out tremendous bags of candy at…
Photo Show: Andrew Bird at the Allen Theatre, 4/2
Scene’s Aaron Mendelsohn wrote about Andrew Bird’s concert at the Allen Theatre last night. He also brought his camera, whistling while he worked.
Concert Review: Andrew Bird at the Allen Theatre, 4/2
Among all the hoopla of this week’s Rock Hall inductions, it’s easy to forget that there’s other music and concerts going on around town. Everyone knows about Metallica and Run-DMC coming to town tomorrow, but for the 800 or so that turned up for Andrew Bird’s concert at the Allen Theatre last night, they were…
Tomorrow: Live Bloggin’ the Rock Hall Inductions
Just a reminder that we’ll be blogging the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony live tomorrow. At least three of us will be representing C-Notes: one guy on the main floor, one in the cheap seats and one in the media room. Coverage should start sometime before the actual event at 8 p.m.,…
THE ENEMY WITHIN
The United States was founded by violent revolutionaries, so there’s a certain karmic logic in its enduring attempted uprisings from time to time. That’s the (perhaps unintended) subtext of The Enemy Within: Terror in America 1776 to Today, a new exhibit at the Maltz Museum Of Jewish Heritage in Beachwood (on loan from the Spy…
Fast and Furious
This sequel to The Fast and the Furious starts out firing on all cylinders as Dom (Vin Diesel) and his gang, including girlfriend Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), pull off a daring fuel-truck heist. That’s followed by a foot chase in which FBI Agent Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) smashes through at least two windows and the roof…
Amacord (Italy, 1973)
At this point in his career, Federico Fellini could pretty much write his own ticket, and he did indeed, with a vivid immersion into fragmentary adolescent memories of a seaside Roman hometown (reminiscent of the filmmaker’s own Rimini) under Mussolini in the 1930s. The plot is basically a procession of affectionately outsized magical-realist vignettes, of…
Cruel Story of Youth (Japan, 1960)
Two rebellious teens engage in a series of sexual shenanigans in this Nagisa Oshima film. Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque. At 7 p.m. Sunday, April 5.
Czech Dream (Czech Republic, 2004)
This wry documentary feature is intro’d and staged by a pair of Czech film students that sounds like something out of Terry Southern’s The Magic Christian. Without telling why (but promising we’ll find out, which proves accurate), they pay off big Prague ad agencies to help them prank the consumer public, with a local ad…
Mabou Mines Dollhouse (France, 2007)
This video rendering of Mabou Mines’ radical re-imagining of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen’s 1879 proto-feminist masterpiece A Doll’s House faithfully replicates the uniqueness of director Lee Breuer’s vision — the actresses are almost six feet while the male roles are played by little people — but is primarily of interest to Ibsen scholars and fans…
Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence (Britain/Japan, 1983)
A fanatical camp commander (Ryuichi Sakamoto) becomes infatuated with one of his prisoners (David Bowie) in this Nagisa Oshima film. Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque. At 6:45 p.m. Thursday, April 2, and 9:20 p.m. Friday, April 3.
The Sun’s Burial (Japan, 1960)
This garishly colored Nagisa Oshima drama of the damned souls wallowing in Japan’s lower depths is closer in tone to the nihilism of the cult-horror satire Street Trash than the superficially similar but more humanistic Akira Kurosawa homeless saga Dodes’kaden, of exactly ten years later. The sweltering setting is a slum-shantytown outside over-industrialized Osaka. A…
Rolling Stone Is Giving Away Tickets to the Rock Hall Ceremony
If you didn’t score tickets to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s big bash at Public Hall on Saturday, Rolling Stone is giving some away. Of course, it’s one of those contests where you have like a one in zillion chance of winning. It’s also one of those things where you give them your…
Guy No. 23: David Dellucci/Trevor Crowe
By Steve Buffum You might argue for Masahide Kobayashi in this slot, but I think you HAVE to have at least 6 guys in the bullpen. With this current roster, you don’t HAVE to have a backup left fielder. Think about it: Mark DeRosa can play left. Ryan Garko can play left in a pinch.…
CALLING ALL GEEKS! AND LOVERS OF HOT AUSSIE MUTANTS! YOUR CITY NEEDS YOU!
Mayor Jackson should have a signal atop City Hall for just such emergencies:
The Best of the Rock Hall Inductees — Class of ’09
All set for the Rock Hall inductions on Saturday? Got your Master of Puppets T-shirt, Adidas and “I Love Doo Wop” buttons ready? You might want to prepare, like we are, by spending all day tomorrow listening to CDs by the five main inductees and the four other artists going into the hall. What’s that?…
Interview: Anthony Castrovince, Indians.com beat writer; Part I: The Excrutiating Minutia
Indians.com beat writer Anthony Castrovince was kind enough to have a very long conversation with me about a whole bunch of different topics. Here’s the first half of the interview, where we talk about Bruce Springsteen, Seinfeld, the media, blogging, music, and massage chairs. Either tomorrow or Monday you’ll get the part of our conversation…
Indians to Honor Herb Score with Uniform Patch
The Tribe will honor the legendary Herb Score with a sleeve patch this season, which you can see to the right. Tough to quibble with the design. Like the mic, but I do think they could have done more to pay homage to his time spent on the mound as well as in the broadcast…
Amazon Goes Indie
Did you know that Amazon recently posted its “100 Greatest Indie Rock Albums of All Time”? Did you know that Guided by Voices’ excellent Bee Thousand is No. 1? And that somehow Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti made the list? We love these sorta things around here. It makes the day go much faster when we’re…
Things To Read That Might Not Suck: Opening Day is Almost Here Edition
What you’re not reading when you’re not reading this. — Jay from Let’s Go Tribe has put up part two of his outtakes interview with Tribe Assistant GM Chris Antonetti. The topic: All about Travis Hafner, his monstrous contract, and just what the Indians knew when they signed him. (Let’s Go Tribe) — The Cubs…
BEST. COM-SYMP. EVER.
Attention nerds: The Lakeland Community College Comics Symposium is this Saturday. Tix are $12 at the door. Lectures start at 9 a.m., and the first 100 people will receive free copies of the The Funny Times. Renowned illustrator C.F. Payne (who drew the Time cover illustration to the right) will speak at 3 p.m. about…
Drew Carey says, “Good Morning, Cleveland”
So, Drew Carey really has nothing to do with sports, but he is a Clevelander. I found this video he made for ESPN yesterday. He rambles about getting on the Price is Right, how to root for losing teams (asshole said if you don’t feel like rooting for your local sucky team, go ahead and…
AKRON HAS A FILM FEST TOO
The A-K-Rowdy Fest — as indy as Cleveland’s is pretentious (kidding! love ya, mean it!) — kicks off at the Akron Art Museum tonight at 7 P.M. with a screening of Sita Sings the Blues, a somewhat-animated Indian epic. The fest continues into the weekend with standout documentaries like Audience of One, about a church…
The Rock Hall Wants You to Share Your Groupie Memories
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum has set up a web page, Rock Immortal, where folks can submit stories, pictures and videos commemorating Saturday night’s big event. They’re looking for stories, pictures and videos about the 2009 inductees, so if you ever serviced a roadie to get backstage at a Metallica show…
The Year’s Best Albums … So Far
Every year around this time, I roll out the first of three Quarterly Buzz Reports, in which I look at that the best albums of the past three months. The first of 2009 was published yesterday in the latest issue of Scene. It’s also available here. The list includes a little bit of everything: hipster-approved…
HARTMANN GRANTED A STAY
A week before his scheduled execution, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has granted a stay of execution for Brett Hartmann. From the opinion which was released Monday: “We find a brief stay of Hartmann’s execution is appropriate to permit a determination regarding whether further evidentiary development will support his claim of actual innocence.” Specifically,…
Cellis Memorial Update
Here’s some updated information for area reggae music fans and supporters who knew Satta’s Ed “Cellis” Skinner, who died last week. As previously mentioned, his memorial service is at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church (1349 W. 78th St.) at 1 p.m. tomorrow, Thursday, April 2. After that, from 4-6 p.m. the family will receive visitors at…
COUNCIL STILL EASILY DISTRACTED BY SHINY OBJECTS
Cleveland Council is back snug in their chairs at City Hall after a trip to Chicago on Tuesday to witness the prowess of Merchandise Mart Properties Inc. and maybe decide to hand over the Mall B and C property to the county for a pack of smokes and some moist towelettes. The company’s boxy, 26-floor…
Guy No. 24: Josh Barfield
By Steve Buffum How far has former uber-prospect Andy Marte fallen? He was out of options this year, causing much teeth-gnashing and a run on hair shirts at the Indians Yoot Factory, but after being designated for assignment, no one picked him up on waivers, and he accepted his assignment to Columbus, where he will…
Quarterly Buzz Report
It’s never too early to start making Top 10 lists. That’s what being a music critic is all about. So as we say goodbye to the first quarter of 2009, we look back on five albums that rocked our January, February and March. ANIMAL COLLECTIVE Merriweather Post Pavilion WHAT’S THE BUZZ? The members have names…
Dining Bites: The Revival of the Big Egg
There were more diners at The Big Egg (5107 Detroit Ave., 216.281.1600) on a recent Saturday morning than I had ever seen at Saigon 88, Pho Que Huong or Long Phung, the restaurants that both preceded and superseded it. In fact, there were more diners at this version of the Big Egg than even the…
SUMMER TURNS ME UPSIDE DOWN
Summers are easily categorized as generically good or bad. When you’re, say, eight or nine, the three holy months of freedom might be measured by whether you convinced Susie from around the block to be your girlfriend. Or maybe by whether your Little League team made the playoffs. If Susie kissed you, it was a…
Undead Ringers
TOP PICK Resident Evil 5 (Capcom) The best zombie-blasting videogame series ever returns — now in HD for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. So the undead look even more lifelike when you blow off their heads. This time, the action takes place in Africa. There are also cool multiplayer and co-op modes, so you…
Rain Man
Scott Walker doesn’t make conventional music. During the recording of his latest album, 2006’s The Drift, he asked his co-producer to include a braying donkey on a song. With his deep, operatic baritone and bizarre song structures, Walker has always been a challenging listen. He hasn’t played in front of a live audience for more…
CD Review: Peter Bjorn and John
Two years ago, Peter Bjorn and John replaced Andrew Bird as hipsters’ favorite whistlers when “Young Folks” puckered up and blew its way onto an AT&T commercial, into movie trailers and all over iTunes. The fifth album by the Swedish trio doesn’t include any whistling, but it’s stuffed with the sort of breezy indie-pop that…
Class of 2009
Who better to acknowledge the Rock Hall’s current class of inductees than a group of musicians? This year, Jeff Beck will be inducted by Jimmy Page (the Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin)l Little Anthony & the Imperials will be inducted by Smokey Robinson; Metallica will be inducted by Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers); Run-D.M.C. will be inducted…
CD Review: Mirah
Even as far back as 2000’s You Think It’s Like This But It’s Really Like This, singer-songwriter Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn seemed wise and poised beyond her years, a cool-customer eternal roaming among us mortals in the form of a very young, very particular woman. Five years have passed since C’mon, Miracle; during that in-the-wilderness…
Straight Outta Rwanda
Shortly after he got married, U.S.-born director Lee Isaac Chung went to Rwanda with his new wife. She regularly volunteered there and he went along, taking a job as a teacher. A filmmaker and photographer, Chung was so inspired by the students in his class that he decided to make a movie about what life…
CD Review: Condo Fucks
At this point, Yo La Tengo are an indie-rock institution. The trio’s combination of sunny pop and screechy guitar-rock has made the group a staple on the indie scene since the ’80s. The New Jersey band’s latest is covers album released under the name Condo Fucks. The difference between this and the full-time gig? Think…
AND OPERA BEGAT HIP-HOPERA
When Adrian Dunn says he started his company “to show the world that opera could be commercial again by emphasizing socially relevant messages,” he doesn’t mean simply re-casting the hits of the genre. It’s old hat to emphasize the race relations in Verdi’s Othello, the gender roles in Carmen or the poverty in La Bohème…
CD Review: Dan Deacon
With 2007’s Spiderman of the Rings, Baltimore oddball Dan Deacon went from underground noise nerd to Pitchfork darling. Two years later, he returns with Bromst, an album that’ll likely earn him just as much attention. It’s hard to grasp why Deacon’s music is so appealing. It’s noisy and chaotic, and sometimes teeters into annoying. Still,…
REEL CLEVELAND
Director Lee Breuer and actress Maude Mitchell will attend the U.S. premiere of Mabou Mines DollHouse, the film adaptation of their adventurous staging of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, April 5, at the Cleveland Museum of Art (11150 East Blvd., 216.421.7340). They will answer questions after the screening. Breuer shot the…
CD Review: Indigo Girls
Poseidon and the Bitter Bug is the Indigo Girls’ 11th studio album. Eleventh! And that’s not counting compilations, live albums and Amy Ray’s four solo records. The Georgia duo has been not only prolific, but also profoundly influential since its 1987 debut. Poseidon, a two-disc effort, offers the Girls’ usual relationship-based lyricism and dulcet acoustic…
Super Boring
It’s the summer of 1987 and recent college graduate James (Jesse Eisenberg) finds his plans for a European vacation put on hold when his father gets demoted at work. Worse yet, it looks like James’ parents won’t have enough money to send him to the grad school of his choice. There’s only one hope: Get…
CD Review: Röyksopp
1/2 Röyksopp’s third album begins with a giggle, which is a fitting intro for a band whose mission statement this time around is “to share our music and shed some light in an otherwise bleak reality.” All it takes are the opening chords of the ebullient single “Happy Up Here” to accomplish that goal. The…
CD Review: Thunderheist
You’d never guess Thunderheist are from Canada. For one thing, there are only two of them — at least a dozen members short of Broken Social Scene’s and Arcade Fire’s numbers. Plus, they make Detroit-style techno for dance floors, not clever indie-pop for nodding hipsters. But that doesn’t mean the songs on their self-titled debut…
ONGOING
12 Rounds — At their best, Hollywood action movies can be exciting thrill rides that make audiences cheer; at their worst, they’re pointless exercises in property destruction. 12 Rounds falls somewhere between those extremes. The premise is a blend of Die Hard and Speed, with a police detective (John Cena) trying to save his girlfriend…
CD Review: Peter Doherty
Pete Doherty has been reduced to tabloid fodder over the past few years, as the former Libertines and Babyshambles frontman’s exploits have overshadowed his musical talent. But Doherty has always been a skilled musician with something say, even if he was occasionally too doped up to say it. The last Babyshambles album, 2007’s Shotter’s Nation,…
OPENING
Amacord (Italy, 1973) — At this point in his career, Federico Fellini could pretty much write his own ticket, and he did indeed, with a vivid immersion into fragmentary adolescent memories of a seaside Roman hometown (reminiscent of the filmmaker’s own Rimini) under Mussolini in the 1930s. The plot is basically a procession of affectionately…
The Right Stuff
There’s a social dimension to the art of painting. Paintings talk with each other in their own way and mix and mash into each other — as do the painters who make them. Mostly it’s right-brain speech, interspersed with the primal force of gesture. Fresher and more unsettling than words, a good painting can be…
GLENVILLE REDUX
Angela’s Family Restaurant at East 71st and St. Clair clanks with the sound of the breakfast crowd as Jeff Johnson steps through the door, squeezes his trim mustache and scans the room with an apprehensive grin. The 50-year-old seems to know half the Glenville regulars in here. When he sits, they stop at his table…
Around Hear: Sofa King Killers and the Rock Hall week ahead
Kent’s Sofa King Killer celebrate their ninth anniversary with a CD-release party marking the reissue of most of their catalogue, including two out-of-print releases. The sludge-metal veterans have unearthed leftover copies of 2004’s full-length debut, Midnight Magic, which was released on London’s Retribute, an Ohio-friendly label that issued albums by Apartment 213 and Accept Death.…
Kick It Up
The Vanyo Fight Team is hosting free Muay Thai kickboxing fights the first Friday of every month at 7 p.m. at J.K. Kang’s Tae Kwon Do (13311 Pearl Rd., Strongsville, 440.238.9842, kicktkd.com). Led by veteran instructor Mark Vanyo, students like Mark Ondich and Cory Berry square off for three two-minute rounds — which doesn’t sound…
SUBTLE IS NOT ON THE MENU
If we have learned anything from dining at a Gregg Korney restaurant, it is that there is no such thing as “simple.” For proof that chef Korney is up to his old tricks, consider a simple bowl of soup as it is presented at Quince. In a lovely earthenware crock is the main event, thick…
DIN OF LEARNING
Ric Wilberg has a little bit of camp director and a little bit of grandfather in him, as he gives a tour of the classes in progress at his neighborhood music school Joyful Noise. That din of learning is reflected in the name of his school is all around him. For five years, Joyful Noise…
LAST MAG STANDING?
Blender magazine folded last week, placing Cleveland-based Alternative Press indisputably in the top three glossy monthly music mags. The independently owned AP consistently ranks second in bookstore sales, behind Rolling Stone, above Paste and far beyond Spin. It doesn’t have the size or cachet of Rolling Stone or Spin, but it has the best track…
Arts News: Richard Chamberlain
Richard Chamberlain’s career has run the gamut — from hit Broadway revivals like My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music to roles on The Drew Carey Show and even Nip/Tuck. He even had a brief career as a pop singer in the ’60s when his role as the title character in the TV series…
