EARTH DAY MY ASS
Jimi Izrael: LITTLE KNOWN FACT: When you live in the ‘hood, “environmentalism” means urinating outside. It’s not about seperating your plastics and paper or whatever. Often, it’s about figuring out how to “recycle” the copper plumbing from the abandominum across the street for some grocery money. Poor people live in the now. People like me.…
CALLIN’ IN SICK
“In Memoriam from the 2007 Adult Entertainment Awards,” by Chicago-based sketch comedy group Hey You Millionaires, appearing with Last Call Cleveland, Something Dada and others on April 24 at Powerhouse Pub.
How Does the Cavs’ “One Goal” Slogan Stack Up According to the “Experts”?
With the NBA playoffs underway, the Cavs have gone public with their slogan for the year, “One Goal™.” The laudable message of focus and unity beats last season’s “Rise Up.” To us, it sounded OK, but not great — is one goal really enough to take a team all the way? But what do we…
For the 18,574th Time, Cleveland Appears on a “Miserable Sports City” List
This time the list comes from Forbes and Cleveland comes in at the eighth spot, just ahead of Minneapolis-St. Paul and just behind Denver, who I suppose should have been behind Cleveland simply thanks to Elway. Look at it this way, if LeBron and company come through this year, we can look forward to many…
For Your Playoff Snacking Pleasure
Saw this on True Hoop this morning, and even though I didn’t know that you could get M&M’s emblazoned in your team’s colors, it makes perfect sense. You can basically get anything you want written on an M&M. Usually, this means your girlfriend’s name for Valentine’s Day or a baby’s name for a shower or…
JIGSAW DRAMA CONTINUES
The Agora-Jigsaw quagmire has a big new lawsuit, and the Black Keys still don’t have their money. In January, Akron’s Black Keys (pictured) sold out two shows at the Agora Theatre, moving a combined total of 3,800 tickets at $28.50 apiece. The band still hasn’t been paid. As of April, Terry Buckwalter, a partner in…
What I Listened to Last Night
(A regular feature where C-Notes editor Michael Gallucci reviews the new CDs he listened to the night before in one sentence.) Heaven & HellThe Devil You KnowDio-era Sabbath return, throwing up devil horns and singing about evil, black Bibles, rock ‘n’ roll angels and eating cannibals. ChairliftDoes You Inspire YouLast year’s indie hit gets a…
C.C. — Go to Hell
At this point, almost three full weeks into the season, you would think it’s a little late in the game to start hating C.C. Sabathia for signing with the Yankees. But it just struck me, during the Indians’ four-game series at the wind tunnel known as new Yankee Stadium, that as far as his professional…
Weezy Likes the Lakers Over the Cavs
Yeah, by now you know that Tracy No-Knees McGrady guarantees that the Lakers will beat the Cavs in the NBA Finals, but you don’t care, do you? No, you want to know what Lil Wayne thinks. Well, Weezy’s back blogging for ESPN this week and he likes LeBron over Kobe individually, but the Lakers over…
Weezy Likes the Lakers Over the Cavs
Yeah, by now you know that Tracy No-Knees McGrady guarantees that the Lakers will beat the Cavs in the NBA Finals, but you don’t care, do you. No, you want to know what Lil Wayne thinks. Well, Weezy’s back blogging for ESPN this week and he likes LeBron over Kobe individually, but the Lakers over…
Jackie: New Album Is Near, but Live Show Is Nearer
Cleveland rock diva Jackie plays Peabody’s on Saturday. After some preliminary work with Mushroomhead main man Skinny, Jackie and her band regrouped and recorded her new CD with Mike Brown (Gerald Levert, Trendy) at Lava Room Recording. The album, Almost Broken, is ready for final mixing and production. Her manager says it should be out…
THIS IS WHAT GRASSROOTS ACTIVISM LOOKS LIKE
Less than 48 hours after the “Tea Party” at Mall C on Wednesday afternoon — one of a series of such Fox News-promoted “display your resentment” type events around the country — about 800 people gathered at Forest Hills Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights to hear Senator Sherrod Brown and a host of spokespersons for…
What I Listened to Last Night
(A regular feature where C-Notes editor Michael Gallucci reviews the new CDs he listened to the night before in one sentence.) Depeche ModeSounds of the UniverseSounds like vintage Depeche Mode — cold, soulless and robotic — but without the hooks. Silversun PickupsSwoonThey still sounds like the Smashing Pumpkins, but this is way better than their…
This Just In: Concert Announcements
There’s a whopping 37 new shows this week, including Toby Keith, Marilyn Manson/Slayer and Incubus. But they’re all going to have to crank it up extra if they’re gonna out-loud Jucifer. —D.X. Ferris NEW VENUEDisturbed/Killswitch Engage/Lacuna Coil/Chimaira: Doors 2 p.m., music starts 2:30, with tattoo artists, booths, and more. Side stage: Spineshank, Bury Your Dead,…
Concert Review: Ray LaMontagne at the State Theatre, 4/17
What a treat Ray LaMontagne has become since I first saw him play the Beachland Ballroom four years ago. In 2005, we saw an extremely shy singer-songwriter with a mere 10 songs in his catalog. Since then, he’s penned more than 20 new tunes, thrown a few choice covers into the mix and expanded his…
LeBron James “More Than a Game” Trailer
The documentary on LeBron and his teammates growing up at St. Vincent St. Mary in Akron, which received rave reviews at the Toronto Independent Film Festival, will be released on October 2.
GOP’S TAKE ON CLIMATE CHANGE: CANCER AND COW FARTS
“The idea that carbon dioxide is a carcinogen that is harmful to our environment is almost comical. Every time we exhale, we exhale carbon dioxide. Every cow in the world, you know when they do what they do you’ve got more carbon dioxide.” That’s Congressman John Boehner of Ohio speaking on This Week. Is he…
Grown Men Don’t Bring Mitts to Games
What was lost in the whole “was it a homer or was it fan interference” debate following yesterday’s controversial Jorge Posada so-called dinger at the wind tunnel known as new Yankee Stadium was a discussion on the man on the right side of this picture. The facts: — He is a grown man. Probably in…
Fa, Fa, Fa, Fa, Fashion
If you’re walking through Tower City the next month and notice a small display of AC Milan soccer jerseys, don’t be alarmed. It’s just an exhibit by the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission in conjunction with Fashion Week Cleveland. From the press release: Fashion Week Cleveland is fast approaching and will powerfully highlight talented designers and…
Rare Baseball Films from HOF Come to the Art Museum
I was in Columbus recently and noticed the Wexner center was screening a series of rare baseball films from the Baseball Hall of Fame in a production curated by Dave Filipi. I was kind of pissed because it sounded interesting but not worth driving to Columbus for. Well, thankfully, the series is coming to the…
Not Grateful for the Dead
A little while ago I was on Amazon looking up a release date on a new CD. A big-ass banner at the top of the screen beckoned me: “Grateful Dead. Tour dates, live recordings, and more.” It linked to a full page of Dead-related crap: CDs, MP3s, tour dates, books, photos, trivia, videos, biography, what…
Yay! New Kelly Clarkson Video!
Kelly Clarkson – New Music – More Music Videos It’s no secret that I really like Kelly Clarkson. And apparently Kelly really likes bad boys. In her new video for “I Do Not Hook Up” (the second great single from her new All I Ever Wanted album), she’s all over a waiter and some guy…
Assorted Joe Posnanski Stuff
First, Poz relays a funny story about Albert Belle during his days in Baltimore. Belle was 4-4 with a walk and three dingers on July 25, 1999, and Belle was hit by a pitch in his sixth at-bat. Belle tried to stay at home and refuse the hit-by-pitch. Priceless quote: “I told the umpire I…
Show You Should See This Week
Neko Case at the Allen Theatre on Tuesday — Neko Case never seems to have as much fun on her own albums as she does on the ones she makes with the New Pornographers. On Middle Cyclone, she finally has some fun. She’s still moody, conjuring ghostly spirits and crafting torch-country and splintered pop tunes.…
Buy Larry Hughes’ House in Bratenahl, a Bargain at $2.1 Million
Larry Hughes arrived in Cleveland for the 2004-2005 season and made his exit on February 22, 2008 in a trade to the Bulls. He’s been gone for over a year, but apparently his house is still up for sale in Bratenahl for the price of $2.1 million, a bargain in this economic climate. Some highlights:…
The Larry Hughes Center For Commissioners Who Can’t Read Good And Wanna Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too
It’s no secret that politicians are horribly out of touch with real life — that is, after all, what happens when the person hired to rake your backyard pays themselves by picking up dollars from your money tree (scientific name: Contractoricus Briberus Plentifulius) before they get blown into your brand new in-ground swimming pool. This…
GREAT MOMENTS IN BAD SPORTS ANALOGIES
It’s no secret that politicians are horribly out of touch with real life — that is, after all, what happens when the person hired to rake your backyard pays themselves by picking up dollars from your money tree (scientific name: Contractoricus Briberus Plentifulius) before they get blown into your brand new in-ground swimming pool. This…
Money Where Your Mouth Is: Presque View
C-Notes proudly welcomes the return of Money Where Your Mouth Is, in which the music hacks shut their yap and let a band explain why you need to see them live this week. Johnny La Rock and Mush Mouth return to action Wednesday, April 22, at the Beachland Tavern (15711 Waterloo Rd.) — even though…
Photo Show: Fleetwood Mac at the Q, 4/17
Scene’s Aaron Mendelsohn reviewed Fleetwood Mac’s concert at the Q on Friday. He also brought his camera.
Concert Review: Flight of the Conchords at KSU’s MAC Center, 4/19
HBO’s hit comedy series Flight of the Conchords documents the trials and tribulations of a dry-witted New Zealand folk/pop/rock duo as it tries to make it big in New York City. The Flight of the Conchords (Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, playing themselves) perform songs on the show that fit the strange situations they find…
Concert Review — Fleetwood Mac at the Q, 4/17
Throughout Fleetwood Mac’s Friday-night greatest-hits concert, one thing kept running through my head: Is this what rock has come to? With no album to promote, Fleetwood Mac is on the road for the first time in five years, with everyone in tow from the classic lineup except Christine McVie, and charging close to $200 per…
EARTHY FLAVOR
Chefs are reaching out to the Obama administration, and not for a bailout. Chefs Collaborative, a non-profit advocating for sustainability policies, plans to send the president the following on Earth Day, April 22: Dear President and Mrs. Obama, We, the undersigned chefs and food professionals of Chefs Collaborative, thank you for beginning the critical work…
GRANDMA WAS RIGHT: IT’S SATAN’S MUSIC!
It turns out holding those Rock Hall inductions here a few weeks ago may not have been so good for the city after all, seeing as it played right into the clawed hands of the diabolically cloaked New World Order. Witness a new video documentary, The Sun at Midnight, by by Austin-based Texe Marrs. Mr.…
Jigsaw Drama Continues
The Agora-Jigsaw quagmire has a big new lawsuit, and the Black Keys still don’t have their money. In January, Akron’s Black Keys (pictured) sold out two shows at the Agora Theatre, moving a combined total of 3,800 tickets at $28.50 apiece. The band still hasn’t been paid. As of April, Terry Buckwalter, a partner in…
PIERCE SCOTT AND COATS HANG IT UP
Council President Martin Sweeney lost two of the most loyal members of his East-Side-heavy majority on Thursday when his majority leader, Glenville’s Sabra Pierce Scott, and South Collinwood’s Roosevelt Coats announced in tandem that the end of the month was their end of the line. According to a few Council members, Sweeney was taken completely…
Faith Hill, Elton John Songwriter Headlines Benefit
Saturday April 18, spiritual songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman headlines the ExtravaGathering. Held at Public Hall (500 Lakeside Ave.), the event is a benefit for The Gathering Place, a community that supports and educates cancer patients and their families and friends. Chapman’s songs include Martina McBride’s “Happy Girl, Faith Hill’s “The Kiss,”and Elton John’s “Sand and…
Interview: Cavs In-Game Host Nicole Cuglewski
Nicole Cuglewski, the Cavs’ in-game host, graciously spent some time chatting about her job, her other job, her other other job, polka, and more. Get to know the woman that keeps you entertained during Cavs games. Photo courtesy of the Cleveland Cavs. VG: How did you get the gig? Nicole: This is my fourth season…
Just Wait Until His Start on Sunday If You Think This is Bad
(H/T to Deadspin)
You Know, Tim, I Wouldn’t Bait Him Like That
The Med Mart deal is done now, but shortly before Cleveland’s honchos took the vote, Cavs owner Dan Gilbert voiced his displeasure with the deal, stating: “It would be irresponsible at this point, without further discussion, for them to approve this thing. This is about the redevelopment of this city, not just a site and…
Record Store Day Rundown
For the third year, independent record stores across the country are celebrating Record Store Day. On Saturday, more than 700 stores, including more than a dozen in Northeast Ohio, will offer piles of exclusive, limited-edition music and merchandise and in-store appaearances by musicians. Read on for a partial list for some of the one-time-only merch…
DREW CAREY? THAT DREW CAREY?
An appeal to a local boy made good, and no, it’s not a joke:
IT’S NOT EASY BEING SLEAZE
When you’re a convicted sex offender, it’s gotta be hard enough to come and go from your home without the snide comments and outright taunts. But for Tim Russo, who torched his own budding blogger cred a few years back by soliciting a 13-year-old boy for sex (“Unforgiven,” Free Times, May 2008), it must have…
“WE’RE REALLY MAD ABOUT … STUFF!”
Drifting through Mall C on Wednesday was an odd experience. Never before had I seen so many Republicans in one place in Cleveland. I wondered how many of these people came from Indiana. A few thousand had for the Cleveland installment of the nationwide Tax Day Tea Party, and more than a few were sufficiently…
Eric Carmen Goes All the Way … To Jail!
Eric Carmen, the awesome-haired former Raspberries frontman, pleaded no contest yesterday to drunken driving and failing to control his car. He’s been sentenced to a month in jail. Carmen, who lives in upscale Gates Mills, plowed his car into a fire hydrant last September. His blood-alcohol limit was nearly three times the legal limit. “Make…
On Cheating and Hot Dogs
A little public service announcement. If you want to buy a “Ketchup Cheats” t-shirt, please buy it from the lovely people who run KetchupCheats.com. What?, you say. Isn’t that the only place that one can buy such apparel? No, it is not. The Indians are now selling “Ketchup Cheats” t-shirts in their team shop. I…
Travis Hafner Has Successfully Completed the Rare Reverse Jim Thome
Travis Hafner’s off-season weight loss was a popular gossip topic. Rumors of a skeleton Pronk abounded for awhile, but have mostly faded away not that Pronk seems to be acting like Pronk. If his weight loss enabled him to tinker with and speed up his swing, it’s all for the best. It certainly doesn’t seem…
NBA Players and Old Women Have More in Common Than You Think
My grandmother wore a girdle. She did so to keep her waist and belly looking svelte. NBA players wear girdles too, though I think they’re significantly less concerned about the aesthetics of their waist in their uniform than they are about their health. If you haven’t noticed, and, my god, if you haven’t noticed you…
Kate Voegele Stars in New Video With Some Guy
Our favorite local pop-minded singer-songwriter, Kate Voegele, is shooting a new video with some guy from Dancing With the Stars I never heard of. Then again, I don’t watch the show, so there’s no way I’d know the guy. Maybe you’ve heard of him. His name is Derek Hough and he’s currently paired with titty-flasher…
Kid Cudi Goes Major
Cleveland rapper Kid Cudi is finally getting a break. After years of trying to get people to listen to his music, he just inked a deal with Universal Motown Records, which will release his debut album, The Man on the Moon With the Guardians, sometime later this summer. Cudi is currently laying down tracks with…
Breeders Still Sucking on New EP
Rock ’n’ roll reunions aren’t necessarily a bad thing. The Stooges (RIP Ron Asheton) got back together for a good run a couple of years back and the New York Dolls are still going strong after reconvening recently. But what these bands do onstage and what they do in the studio are often two different…
Road Trip!
About a decade ago, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s then-education director Bob Santelli organized a series of trips that were more than mere tourism, delving into the music-related culture of such regions as the Mississippi Delta, Louisiana and San Francisco. Anyone who was on those trips will tell you what fun…
Rock Hall Recap: Classic-Rock Drummer Joe Vitale
Canton-based classic rock drummer Joe Vitale did a two-hour sit-down interview/Q&A session at the Rock Hall last night, plugging his new rock memoir, Joe Vitale: Backstage Pass. He reminisced about a career that started with his dad’s polka band, took a brief detour into the Barnum & Bailey circus, but ultimately took him to the…
Free New Moby
The first song from from the new Moby album, Wait For Me (due June 30), is now available free at Moby.com. No registration required. Just click here for the somber, beat-driven “Shot in the Head,” which sounds like a tape-loop theme from an outer-space western. Definitely more rockin’ than his last techno album, whatever it…
Chimaira In Stores Tuesday, On Your Computer Now
Chimaira’s fifth full album, The Infection, hits stores next Tuesday. But you can listen to it right frickin’ now: The album is streaming at the band’s MySpace page. If their previous record, Resurrection, rocked your world, then you’ll like the new one. It’s heavier than your mom in cement shoes. The record itself is available…
ACTIVIST FINALLY GETS HIS ‘WAY’
Ed Hauser needed no introduction in Cleveland’s government circles. The tireless kayaker-activist, who died unexpectedly of a heart attack last November at 47, fought for decades against anything that smacked of establishment collusion — especially if it had anything to do with the riverfront, particularly Whiskey Island. City and county leaders were leery of his…
“COME SEE BOTH OF OUR BUILDINGS”
A hastily made Cleveland tourism video, from Mike Polk:
We Were the Champions of the World, It Says So Right There
That is my favorite uniform in the history of uniforms. In 1921, the Cleveland Indians wore “Worlds Champion” across their chests because they could — they won the World Series in 1920. Forget for a moment that the wording was tragically grammatically incorrect (should have been “World’s Champions,” with the apostrophe) and focus on the…
Opening Day for the Columbus Clippers Merits a Parade… No, Really, There’s a Parade
Home openers are festive affairs. It’s nice to take the day off, watch baseball and drink beer in the middle of the day, and celebrate the start of a brand new season. Lots of fanfare usually accompanies such events, but Columbus is taking it a step further for the Clippers’ home opener on the 18th.…
NBA Award Voters Getting More Swag Then Oscar Presenters
It’s award season in the NBA, and like in Hollywood, that means marketing and lobbying and free stuff. In support of LeBron’s campaign for MVP, the Cavs created the LeBron is Really, Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Good website; the Nets, in support of Brook Lopez For Rookie of the Year, created t-shirts in comic…
Hessler Street Fair Brings the Noise
Forty years after it made its first appearance, the Hessler Street Fair returns from 11 a.m.-dusk on Saturday, May 16, and Sunday, May 17th. The free event, held on a one-block-long street in University Circle off Ford (just North of Euclid), has something of a time-capsule vibe, as barefoot women in long peasant skirts and…
ACTIVIST FINALLY GETS HIS ‘WAY’
Ed Hauser needed no introduction in Cleveland’s government circles. The tireless kayaker-activist, who died unexpectedly of a heart attack last November at 47, fought for decades against anything that smacked of establishment collusion — especially if it had anything to do with the riverfront, particularly Whiskey Island. City and county leaders were leery of his…
THAT GLORIOUS RUSSIAN BIRD
It was especially gratifying for those of us who seek holiness in live theater to encounter the Great Lakes Theater Festival production of Chekhov’s The Seagull on Good Friday, for it stands for far more than a fine realization of a treasured standard. In the spirit of the holy season, it symbolizes a major rebirth…
Bites: Below the Bier Market
Ever since Sam McNulty opened the Bier Markt (1948 W. 25th St., 216.274.1010, bier-markt.com), he’s been tinkering in the basement. No, he isn’t restoring a big-block Chevy or building the ultimate “man cave.” He’s been fabricating another bar. In less than a month, all that work will pay off when he unveils Speakeasy, a lower-level…
CD Review: It Hugs Back
It Hugs Back comes off as a couple of whisper-voiced boys who’ve listened to their fair share of Belle and Sebastian and found some pals who can bust out a peppy mix of jangle-pop and folk-rock. They make songs that are strangely hushed despite their propulsive nature. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin rose to…
Big Little Books
What is a book exactly? It enjoys its own mixed status among man-made things as both a matter-of-fact object and a portable altar for the manifestation of mind. The deceptively slight treasures called artists’ books embody this contradiction, bundling the limitless range of words with the talisman-like fascination for finely wrought, hand-held things. At least…
CD Review: Richard Swift
Richard Swift is one of California’s many rag-and-bone rockers. His obsession with creating complex, lo-fi, four-track orchestrations is reminiscent of the old junkyard-rock experiments of Stephen Malkmus, Money Mark and Beck. Swift has dabbled in this bargain approach to rich and messy music over eight full-length albums and nine EPs and singles, constantly changing genres…
Sea of Gold
It’s become tradition for fans to collect a free T-shirt at every home Cavs playoff game — at least for the first round. It’s usually gold or blue or red and provides the necessary and supposedly “(insert color)out effect.” They’re pretty fanatical about it down at the Q. If you’re one of the few and…
Bigger Dream
Gil Mantera’s Party Dream have refined and reinvented themselves. But don’t worry; the guys are still in touch with their inner assholes — literally and figuratively. As a duo, the Youngstown brothers were once best known for analog nü-wave, an obnoxious shtick of Andrew “Dice” Clay impressions and — when shows needed an extra push…
Arts News
Ralph Lukich, property manager at the former Lake Erie Screw Building (13000 Athens Ave., Lakewood), says he’s been renting studio space to artists as fast as he can build it. The building’s roster of artists has been growing steadily for a few years, and as a result, open-studio events there have become more frequent. On…
CD Review: Telepathe
The debut album by these two N.Y.C. girls sounds a lot like TV on the Radio. That’s not much of a surprise, seeing that TVOTR’s Dave Sitek produced it. There’s plenty of electronic buzzing and whirring going on in the background of these nine songs, always distracting from the action happening up front. Good thing,…
LOCAL DISCOURSE
Ohio Sky Apophis (self-released) myspace.com/theohiosky Named for a doomsday comet, Ohio Sky’s Apophis is a little EP with big songs. Indie-rockers, metalheads and emo types alike will feel the impact of this 10-inch vinyl release. Paul Hamann (James Gang, Suede Brothers) recorded the seven-minute instrumental title track, which fades in like a psychedelic sunrise. Frontman…
CD Review: Ida Maria
Ida Maria is 24-year-old Norwegian Ida Maria Børli Sivertsen, and she really likes to drink. Like, a lot. On her terrific debut, Fortress Round My Heart, Ida Maria falls down, gets up and falls back down again. More often than not, the cycle has something to do with the fact that she hits the bottle…
HUNKERED DOWN AT THE BAR
Tremont Actors’ Summit April 16-May 3 86 Owen Brown St., Hudson 330.342.0800. actorssummit.org Journalists in Cleveland — and probably all the Rust Belt cities — have been telling statistical stories of people, jobs and money leaving town for years. It’s easy to get lost in the steady deluge of numbers as they become a blur…
Fiddle About
The latest program by Apollo’s Fire is all about weather. David Greenberg — who plays Cape Breton fiddle music as well as baroque violin — says composers like Vivaldi, Rebel and Rameau weren’t the first to evoke storms, oceans, volcanoes and earthquakes in their music, but they were among the first to have success with…
Super Super Freak
TOP PICK I’m Rick James: The Definitive DVD (Hip-O/Motown/UMe) The super freak himself stars in more than 25 videos and TV appearances dating back to 1978. Best are pre-MTV appearances on late-night programs like Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert and Dinah Shore’s daytime chat show. The old-school music videos — for “Give It to Me Baby,”…
THE MYTH OF MARILYN
Marilyn Monroe was the great American myth. She told the press that part of her childhood was spent in the Los Angeles Orphans Home, neglecting to mention that she was in the equivalent of its daycare boarding program. Stories of childhood molestation and other horrors were true, but they hadn’t happened to her; they formed…
Local Dirt: Thumbs Only Edition
ALL THUMBS Mt. Pleasant councilman Zack Reed finally got his citywide texting-while-driving ban passed Monday night by a 19-2 vote, after more than three months of maneuvering through a morass of eye-rolling from his colleagues. Last week, at council’s public safety committee meeting, several members went after Reed for every hole in his argument, despite…
AN IMPISH QUALITY
Technology has taken the guesswork out of commercial brewing. Computer-controlled kettles employ sensors to maintain accurate boils. Glycol-jacketed fermentation tanks keep the beer cool regardless of ambient temps. Recipe software calculates ingredient lists down to the last ounce. The result is remarkably consistent beer, batch after batch after batch. That’s not exactly the scenario at…
CD Review: Brutal Truth
Grindcore tends to be as musically minimalist — faster! faster! — as it is politically black and white. But within the genre’s narrow confines, Brutal Truth has always been a band of weirdos and innovators, importing instruments (from saxophone to didgeridoo) and offering near-ambient interludes between blast-beat-driven explosions. On this album, the instrumental “Semi-Automatic Carnation”…
LIKE FLOWERS BLOOMing
At a time when most local dance companies depend on festivals as a performance outlet, Cleveland Public Theatre’s DanceWorks series has become a reliable bright spot, re-appearing every spring in the same place, like daffodils. This year, six companies use the series to show off new works. The series reveals something else too: a substantial…
RIGHT RAGE!
Republicans all over the country find themselves backed into an ideological and political corner: Their dogma has brought the country, and their party, to ruin. The candidate they called an evil, terrorist-loving, foreign-born socialist is in office and widely popular, while they and their beliefs are reduced to irrelevant minority status. If you thought they…
The Sound of Silence
Nobody says much in Carlos Reygadas’ Silent Light. But it’s the silences that say so much in this long but involving film about a married farmer who’s carrying on an affair with a neighbor. The movie opens serenely on a family at the breakfast table, before mom Esther leaves with the six kids. Dad Johan…
CD Review: MIMS
“Now there’s a whole museum of Hov MCers/Everybody’s dupin’ the flow,” Jay-Z bragged on “The Bounce,” a cut from 2002’s The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse. Little did he know the museum wouldn’t be shutting down anytime soon. A few years later, rapper/producer Shawn “MIMS” Mims would make the scene with “This Is…
Around Hear: Like a Record
For the third year, independent record stores across the country are celebrating Record Store Day (recordstoreday.com). On Saturday, April 18, more than 700 stores, including more than a dozen in Northeast Ohio, will offer piles of exclusive, limited-edition music and merchandise and in-store appaearances by musicians. Square Records (824 W. Market St., Highland Square, Akron,…
CD Review: Bill Callahan
It’s fair to wonder why Bill Callahan bothered to switch up monikers after nearly two decades in the biz. After all, he’d been cultivating his cult under the appropriately hazy Smog moniker from his initial self-released cassettes in the late ’80s all the way though 2005’s A River Ain’t Too Much to Love. It wasn’t…
PORTUGUESE BLUES
Fado is the distinctly Portuguese musical tradition of balladeering: often (but not always) melancholy tunes about unrequited love, loss, unrequited-love-lost and Lisbon, trilled against a gently weeping guitar and mandolin backup. A good analogy for the prominence, cultural distinction and versatility of fado music would be the blues. In Fados, eminent Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura…
Album Oriented
Chad Gilbert is dying. OK, not really, but he certainly sounds like it when we catch New Found Glory’s guitarist in Oregon, where his band is in the middle of a headlining tour supporting its latest album, Not Without A Fight. “I did a song with Shai Hulud [New Found Glory’s current tourmates and Gilbert’s…
Capsules
Opening Bigger than Life (US, 1956) A new print of Nicholas Ray’s movie about a family man who becomes a monster after he develops an addiction to cortisone. Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque. At 9:40 p.m. Saturday, April 18, and 7 p.m. Sunday, April 19. Boy (Japan, 1969) In this Nagisa Oshima film, the parents…
CD Review: Metric
On their first album in four years, these Canadian indie-poppers roll out hooks bigger than a hockey rink, which automatically makes them Canada’s most tuneful band. Emily Haines (who’s also a member of the Broken Social Scene collective, but who isn’t?) loads up on the sweet and sour, delivering songs like “Help I’m Alive” and…
REEL CLEVELAND
Ron and Betty Manolio started decorating their lawn with eggshells back in 1957. Now it’s become a tradition the people of Lyndhurst look forward to every year. Originally, the Manolios just put the hand-painted eggs on small wooden stakes in the shape of a cross. Over time, the display has evolved into something far more…
’BAG ’EM HIGH
Confused about the intent and purpose of the Tea(/Pity) Parties that wild-eyed righties are throwing all over, including in Cleveland on April 15? So are we. But it’s fun to deconstruct their end-times rhetoric and tangle them up in their own contradictions and ignorance. — Frank Lewis
