Past Lives
Philadelphia’s Brothers Past plays jam-band music that bends the rules every once in a while. Its latest CD, This Feeling’s Called Goodbye, makes room for electronic beeps, pop hooks, and some rootsy twang amid the usual noodling. Plus, you can bust a genuine butt-shaking, body-breaking move to it. Fri., Nov. 17, 9 p.m.
Sound Advice
Chris Zitterbart, a partner at Peabody’s, books and promotes its events. How did you wind up in Cleveland? I attended Hiram College, where I did a weekly radio show and wrote concert reviews and band interviews. I grew to really like Cleveland, the people, and the music scene. So I stuck around and have been…
Josh Ritter
On “Girl in the War,” the magnificent opening number of his new album, Idaho singer-songwriter Jason Ritter immediately reveals his increased lyrical and musical self-confidence. The song succeeds on two levels, as a moving ode to a relationship and as a powerful antiwar hymn. It’s one of several tunes that project an intensity comparable to…
Our top DVD picks for the week of April 11.
Caved In: Prehistoric Terror (Lions Gate) The Dark (Sony) Death Cab for Cutie: Directions (Atlantic) Deep Blue (Miramax) Dora the Explorer: Dora’s First Trip (Paramount) 18 Fingers of Death (MCA) The Greatest Game Ever Played (Disney) Laugh or I’ll Shoot Collection: The Naked Gun, Airplane!, and Top Secret! (Paramount) The Merv Griffin Show: 40 of…
Live Onstage: You!
The Hi-Fi Club’s weekly Musician’s Jam Night has just the thing to help you conquer stage fright: one-buck drafts! Every Tuesday, budding guitarists, drummers, and keyboard players take the stage to jam with the World Record Players, the club’s host band, which features members of Everest, Sultans of Bing, and Anne E. DeChant’s group. And…
Pretty Picture
The Tennessee-based Jennifer Brantley Band makes its Ohio debut tonight, playing songs from its sophomore album, Picture This. Recorded over the past two years, the 10-song CD is stacked with alt-country twang, courtesy of journeymen guitarist Johnny Hiland and violinist Aubrey Haney. “Johnny is probably one of the best guitarists around now,” says Brantley. “He’s…
Money Where Your Mouth Is
Band: The Last Vegas (www.gethip.com; www.thelastvegas.com) Hometown: Chicago Sounds like: “Cheap Trick getting screwed in the ear by AC/DC.” Fun fact: “We like drinking a lot. The band’s combined weight is only 327 lbs.” Playing: Thursday, April 13, at the Jigsaw Saloon Why you should see them: “It will be louder, more exciting, and higher-quality…
The Cuts
For six years and three albums, this crew from Oakland, California has been crafting fine, keyboard-flecked pop-rock records. Theirs is the type of band that hovers in obscurity while frustrated fans of classic pop-rock — too lazy to do a little digging — bitch that “there aren’t any good classic pop-rock bands anymore.” The Cuts’…
November Reign
What can an earnest emo band do to differentiate itself from other groups that sob at the first sign of heartbreak? In the case of The Early November, it recorded a three-CD set, tentatively titled The Mother, the Mechanic, and the Path. “I don’t want to say what it’s about,” says drummer Jeff Kummer. “It…
Up Country
If you must categorize Lucero, go ahead and call it an alt-country band. But the Memphis quartet rocks and stomps harder than any of its twang-strumming peers. It has as much in common with the Replacements as it does Son Volt. Its first EP, 2000’s hard-to-find The Attic Tapes, was reissued this week with five…
Last Word
“Three bands make a nice bill.” — Randy B., State of Being “I would say seven. Three to open the main event and then three more. By being put in the middle, you are guaranteed to have a crowd there!” — Kellie B., Eastlake “Three or four. No more than four.” — Ray Terry, Kill…
Sara Tavares
Singer-guitarist Sara Tavares hails from the island nation of Cape Verde and resides in Portugal; her seductive, slyly sweet vocals cavort between Portuguese, English, and Verdean Crioulo. But don’t get the notion that Balancê is some facile “world-beat” crossover album. Stylistically, Tavares’ songs encompass Brazilian samba and bossa nova, the bubbling Afro-pop juju style of…
Dirty Dog
The title of Poona the Fuckdog and Other Plays for Children should tip off responsible parents that Convergence-Continuum’s latest production is, in fact, not for little ones. The play (opening tonight) bills itself as satirical social commentary, and its targets are vast: Everything from politics and religion to the media and capitalism. Kid lit also…
Life During Wartime
Early last year, John Vanderslice set out to make an album about Iraq. “But it became a little overwhelming,” laughs the singer-songwriter from San Francisco. So instead, he put together 14 songs about anti-government insurgents, frazzled veterans, and Western journalists hooking up with Middle Eastern prostitutes. Pixel Revolt turned out to be as much about…
Nine Mile Blues
Massillon’s Patrick Sweany has signed with Boston’s Nine Mile Records, making the Lime Spider’s resident bluesman the first non-New England act for the roots label as it pushes for a national presence. “Patrick seemed like a natural fit,” says Nine Mile President Rick Pierk, who met Sweany while touring with Los Diablos. “He’s clearly steeped…
The Patrick Sweany Band
The Patrick’s Sweany Band’s C’mon C’mere is the area’s hottest blues-rock platter of this young year and the fourth album from Massillon troubadour Patrick Sweany, a straight-A student of the roots and blues of John Fogerty, Hound Dog Taylor, and a host of others. With the Barflies’ Clint Alguire whomping a 28-inch bass drum and…
Batter Up!
Before ‘roided-up sluggers and crybaby millionaires ruined the game, baseball used to be fun. Fans can still catch some of that pure, unspoiled joy on display in minor-league ball — like at the Lake County Captains’ home opener against the Hagerstown Suns tonight. “The focus continues to be player development, but wins don’t hurt either,”…
Morbid Angel
Starting as a decidedly anti-Christian band, Tampa’s Morbid Angel quickly made a name for itself in music and the mainstream media during the early ’90s. Blessed Are the Sick defined the early years of Death Metal. Lyrics centered around a distaste for modern religion (“Ghouls who pray the death of God/Destroy Jehovah’s church/Vomit upon the…
Johnny La Rock and Mush Mouth
In typical rap fashion, Johnny La Rock and Mush Mouth use the title of their debut EP, Hip-Hop Needs Us, to make a lofty claim. It may be an overstatement, but hip-hop can certainly use more of their lighthearted, quirky approach. And their raps are considerably more down to earth — La Rock spits, “I…
Book Bag
Our summer reading stack will get much taller today after a visit to the Cleveland Public Library’s Spring Used Book Sale. The blowout actually started on Sunday, but today is when thrifty shoppers can pick up the real bargains: A bag of books goes for a mere $4! Thu., April 13, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Zero Boys
Coming from the less-than-fruitful musical outpost of Indianapolis, the Zero Boys had the double-time fervor of ’80s hardcore fully moshed in, but were closer in spirit and humor to the Stooges-inspired sounds of first-wave punk and new wave. They released a couple of singles and a great album, Vicious Circle, which has since earned them…
Invisible Ray
The Food Network’s Rachael Ray knows how to avoid being mobbed by fans when she films her shows: She doesn’t show up. That was her MO last week, when two production crews from her latest series, Tasty Travels, visited a dozen local venues, mostly without Ray. One of the show’s producers says that’s standard procedure…
Force of Nature
Sonny Emory says that he still keeps in touch with his former Earth, Wind & Fire bandmates — despite widespread rumors that he parted from them on bad terms in 1999, after 13 years as their drummer. “It was simply to pursue my own career,” he says. “I really wanted to get my own thing…
Eleventh Dream Day
Like New Zealand’s the Bats, which recently emerged from a lengthy hiatus with their best disc in well over a decade, Chicago’s superb Eleventh Dream Day has awakened from a nearly six-year slumber with one of its finest albums ever — the soon-to-be-released Zeroes and Ones. In the late ’80s, EDD’s disheveled Crazy-Horse-meets-Dream-Syndicate guitar bombs…
Prairie Perfume
At Austin’s Smokin’ Steakhouse in Twinsburg, the sassiest starter isn’t on the menu. It wafts through the air like smoke ’round a campfire: hazy and lazy, a sort of prairie perfume, whispering of trail dust, leather, and mesquite. Inhale those heady aromas as you John Wayne it through the doors, and your mouth begins to…
Mad Hatters
If you want to snag top prize at the Best Easter Bonnet and Fedora contest at today’s Easter Parade, organizer Pat Mazzarino recommends that you wear your most “lavish, outrageous” holiday hat. The winners will score a weekend-for-two getaway at the Alcazar, a former hotel that’s been turned into a ritzy bed-and-breakfast. Those who come…
The Wrong Crowd
Ryan Brookman had just returned home from his morning classes at the University of Akron when his cell phone rang. “Hey, I’m on your porch,” said the caller. “It’s cold. Let me in.” It wasn’t unusual for Steven Spade to drop by Brookman’s unannounced. Since Spade had moved out of his parents’ house, he’d leaned…
The Draft
Sure it took a while, but Hot Water Music made Gainesville, Florida; if not for the flourishing punk and hardcore scene, it’s just a beer-bonging college town with the state’s largest medieval fair. In its roaring anthems and endless parade of basement shows, HWM proved that there was life after Fugazi. While HWM singer-guitarist Chuck…
Easy Out
Believe it or not, The Benchwarmers is so lame that it can’t even lay claim to being the best Adam Sandler-produced movie not screened for critics in 2006; that dubious honor would go to Grandma’s Boy, which was by no means good, but at least featured a kung-fu chimp and naked breasts. Maybe you were…
American Badass
Kid Rock is a whore for the spotlight. He admits as much. But sometimes it shines on him when he’s not even looking for it. A 1999 videotape — in which Rock and Creed’s Scott Stapp receive backstage blowjobs — was leaked online recently. “Is anybody surprised that’s going on at Kid Rock shows?” he…
The Alchemist
The delivery man walked cautiously to the drop point. This wasn’t a good area to be alone, especially with what he was carrying. Suddenly a muscular figure came barreling toward him. Was it the buyer? The man drew a blade and swung. Blood splattered everywhere. The bag of gold fell to the ground. He grabbed…
Owen
Owen isn’t a person, and it’s not really a band. It’s simply the musical alias for Mike Kinsella. If Kinsella’s name sounds familiar, then you’re probably a fan of artful, post-rock emo bands like Cap’n Jazz, Joan of Arc, and American Football. His solo output, however, is more delicate. Musically, the Chicago-based performer creates a…
Jingle Hell
It can’t be easy making films about war. It’s so inherently dramatic that, as a setting for art, it’s overdetermined; it drips with meaning even before the first scenes are set. And so much has been said already: War is hell. War is noble. War is surreal. War is absurd, a necessary evil, an inevitable…
Emotional Rescue
Over the phone, comedian Emo Philips sounds pretty much as he does onstage. He sighs, his voice takes on a singsongy lilt, and he delivers words in a deadpan manner that suggests both bewilderment and frustration. And he always seems to be heading toward a joke. Even a recent vacation works itself into a punch…
Just Folks
Every family has its ups and downs: If all families treated each other the way the Assad family does, our country would be a much better place to live [“House of Sand and Fog,” March 15]. This is a good family. Its members work hard to provide for their children. They support one another in…
Enon
Indie-pop junkies need their medicine. They crave that radio-friendly euphoria caused by quick hits of Belle & Sebastian and the Dandy Warhols. Without proper treatment, their chronic dependence on rock’s sugar hooks can lead to severe cases of CD-buyer’s remorse. Luckily, this cruel disease has a cure — a not-so-secret blend of Asian new-wave pop…
Diary of a Fat Black Woman
There’s a certain exuberance, a “You go, girl!” spirit of defiance and self-reliance to the new Mo’Nique vehicle, Phat Girlz, that’s undeniably appealing — and likely to be especially so for its target audience of overweight women. (That is, assuming they see it, which the box-office numbers so far seem to indicate has not been…
Seeing Is Believing
Armed with a catalog of 16,000 hip-hop and Top 40 videos that he plays on two wide-screen TVs, VJ Impulse has kept Scoundrels regular Beth Stockard dancing since he was hired six months ago. “From the older crowd toward the end of happy hour to the younger crowd that comes in later, he blends it…
The Reason Pilla Left?
When Richard Lennon was named the new bishop of Cleveland’s Catholic Diocese last week, a Plain Dealer headline noted that “Lennon has always said yes when asked to do tough jobs.” His new job may be his toughest yet. Though Lennon, a Boston auxiliary bishop, was in the midst of that diocese’s massive pedophile scandal,…
Morningwood
The name says it all. This band is a lot about sex, a little about humor, and it rocks hard. With guitar licks befitting hair bands and a commanding frontwoman, Morningwood sounds a bit like the Runaways would have, if Lita Ford had claimed her metal goddess title sooner and sexpot Cherie Curie had remained…
Papa Don’t Preach
Comedian Mort Sahl used to tell a story about a new book that had just hit the shelves. Its cover depicted a swarthy Prussian soldier, riding a wild-eyed stallion and bending down to sweep a nubile princess off her feet. The title of the book, in glossy red letters, was Passion of the Flesh, and…
Some Pig
Mark Alan Gordon, director of Charlotte’s Web, which opens at the Cleveland Play House today, wants kids to use their imaginations. He doesn’t want them to simply enjoy the production being staged by Case Western Reserve University grad students; he wants them to be inspired by it. “I want to expose kids to the magic,”…
Rape Chic
As the webpage slowly loads, its crimson headline reads: “Ronnie Shelton Ohio Rape Photos.” A series of collages emerge, showing men having their way with women who flinch in agony. Some are pinned down by their arms. Others are gagged and choked, their hair pulled. One woman is covered in blood and semen. None of…
Afroman
Having split a spliff with the irreverent Joseph Foreman, aka Afroman, we can attest to his wit and wisdom. More class cutup than comic buffoon, his note-perfect take on stoner indolence, “Because I Got High,” was an obvious and admitted bit of autobiography. In fact, the song’s success produced a world-class case of pot-induced paranoia…
Capsule reviews of current area theater presentations.
Blackbird — Nothing can be more tedious than enduring a play about drug-addicted down-and-outers who apply whatever energy they have to the process of ruminating about their seedy existence. On the surface, that’s what awaits in this two-person show. It’s stuffed with the expected detritus of miserable lives, including a Desert Storm vet who bathes…
Sweet and Sour
Plug into the Pop Shop’s The Electric Lemonade Show, which opens tonight, and be prepared for a tangy sample of Cleveland’s creative juices. The exhibit’s title is meant to intrigue, says owner Rich Cihlar. “It’s just the kind of show name that makes people scratch their heads,” he says. “You’re going to go in and…
Stepping It Up
Signing with a major label is a lot like playing the lottery. While some people win, most lose, as the MO of the major music labels is generally to sling a bucket of crap against the wall and sees what sticks. Even talented acts can get lost in the shit. Late last year, emo powerhouse…
Arts Industry Networking Night
Blissfully mixing business with pleasure, Hamilton’s weekly Arts Industry Networking Night is a night of kibitzing like no other. Veterans and up-and-comers from Cleveland theater, modeling, photography, and retail gather, swap cards, and flash Blackberries against a backdrop of events and activities ranging from runway fashion shows to meet-and-greets with visiting visual artists. “I see…
Capsule reviews of current area art exhibitions.
NEW Cleveland Comic Book Artists Original Art Show — This show provides a thorough, eye-opening snapshot of Cleveland’s rich pool of comic artists. Among them, John Backderf (aka “Derf”) is the most widely published of the bunch. Brutally sarcastic, Derf’s nervous-handed weekly strip The City (which appears in this rag as well as many others)…
Folk Off
It’s tempting to think of Isn’t This a Time! as a real-life A Mighty Wind. Both movies are about aging folkies reuniting for a tribute concert. Both feature music that would sound comfy around a bonfire. And both contain a mix of pathos and humor. But unlike Christopher Guest’s mockumentary, Time! gets downright feisty. Despite…
Spank It Real Good
“I had a shot last night in Baltimore called ‘the Bird’ that was dedicated to the Oriole, and I think it’s the best comparison to the Spank Rock collaboration,” says MC Naeem Juwan Hanks (aka Cool Disco Spank Rock, aka Spankro) by phone from Philadelphia. “It’s a combination of things — orange on the bottom…
The Tossers
As a rising Irish trad-rock band on Chicago’s South Side, the Tossers landed an opening slot for Shane MacGowan, the infamous once-and-again frontman for the Pogues. The septet soon discovered that the rabid audience for such a Celtic-rock icon is usually six sheets to the wind, with little patience for anything but the headliner. But…
Naomi Then and Now
Ellie Parker (Strand) This extremely raw portrait of an actress trying — and failing — to make it in Hollywood showcases Naomi Watts in a wrenching and sympathetic performance. Writer-director Scott Coffey shot the movie over nearly six years, beginning in 1999, before Watts was a household name. Though they filmed only between other projects,…
Hair We Go Again
On a relatively balmy February night, Randy Passalacqua delivered his best rendition of Quiet Riot’s “Cum on Feel the Noize.” Too bad his upper register couldn’t deal with the high notes. “The melody killed my throat, man,” he groaned with a rasp afterward. “Maybe I’m better off doing Twisted Sister.” At Heavy Metal Karaoke, singers…
Toots on a Roll
The career of Frederick “Toots” Hibbert predates reggae — in fact, he’s the guy most often credited with naming the genre. But the music’s reigning patriarch isn’t a museum piece just yet. Last year’s True Love — an album that found the 60-year-old Hibbert and an all-star cast of supporters tackling his classics — won…
Tom Verlaine
With fellow Television guitarist Richard Lloyd, Tom Verlaine virtually invented the texture-over-technique guitar style, making it okay for punk kids to play something besides bar chords. Verlaine’s solo work has been spotty, but these two simultaneous releases highlight the best of his post-Television career. Songs & Other Things is 12 cuts of mostly trio work,…
Cowboy Up
With scrappy warblers like Kellie Pickler and Bucky Covington trying to out-twang each other on American Idol, country music is hotter than a corn dog at a county fair. One reason is that almost anybody can sing it. Even mopes who argue that NASCAR isn’t a real sport have been known to fall back on…
Magic Number
If you can count up to 30, you’ll probably have no problem shedding the pounds at 1-2-3 Fit. The new workout center offers “30-30 circuit” training, in which a club member exercises on 30 different machines — from stationary bikes to treadmills — for 30 seconds each, before repeating the process with a 30-minute program.…
Sudden Passing
Death can bring artists the validation that eluded them during their lifetime. If there’s a silver lining to Nikki Sudden’s recent death, that’s it. The British singer-guitarist died March 26, after a show in New York. He was 49. Born Nicholas Godfrey, Sudden formed the Swell Maps with his younger brother, Epic Soundtracks (aka Paul…
I Love You but I’ve Chosen Darkness
Since the 2003 release of its self-titled EP, this quintet from Austin, Texas has searched for much richer, darker soundscapes. Unlike tinny Interpol offerings, this dozen-song set reveals seductive passion. Bloc Party might have sounded this good, if it had added a bit of polish to its dehydrated dance-punk sound. Fear Is on Our Side…
The week’s best releases from the pop-culture universe:
BOOK — Rip It Up and Start Again: The year’s best book about music, subtitled “Postpunk 1978-1984,” looks at those crucial years between the Clash and the Replacements. Veteran rock critic Simon Reynolds focuses his narrative on such bands as the Talking Heads, Gang of Four, and Joy Division, but the real rush comes from…
