Murderer runs for office; Cleveland gets great PR!
This is a different John Boyd, but we’re running this picture because you just never see guys with cool beards like this anymore. There’s nothing like an old-fashioned murder conviction to win national press for Cleveland. As we told you last month, the race to fill an open City Council seat in Ward 6 is…
E-mailed from the deepest regions of hell: press release announcing Wal-Mart/Time Warner partnership
A Clear Channel spokesman laments not being included in the Most Evil Press Release Ever: “I thought we were boys.” Not sure how we got on this evil of a e-mailing list — we were positive nobody saw us drowning that hobo in Lake Erie — but we just received a press release that scalded…
This Just In: Concert announcements to melt your face
Tune in here every Tuesday for the largest list of newly announced Cleveland shows in the free world. This week, no fewer than 51 new shows, including Lyle Lovett and OAR. A full-on swing revival is in the works, apparently: Both Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (the band from Swingers) and the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies (that…
Sympathy for the smoker: They sacrifice so that you may prosper
Everyone knows that smoking makes you cooler. But few seem to acknowledge the sacrifice in being so cool. Smokers are the martyrs of our time. Like Joan of Arc and Sir Thomas Moore, the nicotine-addicted greatly sacrifice themselves for the public’s greater good. And we should humbly thank them. Not only have they forsaken spewing…
Get paid to sing like crap at Time Warp’s karaoke night
You have to admit that karaoke is so ’80s. Put a bunch of lyrics on a prompter, try to sing them on pitch, and act like you’re the rock star that you aren’t. But Time Warp owner Rob Rogers is tossing in an incentive to make his club’s karaoke sessions a little more palatable: Money.…
Mad about Stone Mad: Detroit-Shoreway pub makes a stylish stop
When it comes to food and drink, there are no secrets in the Cleve. That explains the well-heeled crowd of “early adapters” who were sucking up the elegant vibe – along with beer, wine, and expertly made cocktails – at Stone Mad on Saturday night. Pete Leneghan’s long-awaited pub, patio, dining room, and indoor bocce…
Mic Check: Oakley Hall at the Grog Shop on Tuesday
“Yee-haw!” Oakley Hall look like dirty hippies. But the Brooklyn-based sextet has more depth than that. On last year’s I’ll Follow You, they play a mix of rustic Americana and jam-band grooves. That’s not to say they don’t occasionally dip into peace-and-love rhetoric and stuff like that; it’s just that they’re tighter than most of…
More tickets for New Pornographers at the Beachland
The Beachland has released 60 more tickets for Tuesday night’s New Pornographers/Okkervil River, the last show of the tour. The concert has been sold out for weeks, but the band’s record label fan club let go of some reserved spots. Fans can call the club (216-383-1124) after 11 a.m. Tuesday, or visit the website or…
Last Night in Cleveland: Meat Beat Manifesto
Minutes before Meat Beat Manifesto took the stage of the Grog Shop last night, the crowd swelled. During opener Badawi’s opening set, most of the audience looked bored and anxious. Playing behind a screen, Badawi’s Raz Mesinai could barely be seen, as he performed a set of bassy dub and noise. He picked up some…
Stuff White People Like: The blog that helps you understand people from Shaker Heights
Remember, people: Never be caught blogging in public spaces without your trophy dog! Ever wondered why so many of your friends own piles of New Balance sneakers and brag about their love of Thai food and soccer? The mystery is explained at Stuff White People Like, the authoritative guide to the elusive yuppie sub-species known…
Money magazine rates Cleveland a top place to buy a home (really!)
For $6, you could own this Slavic Village crack house. Add 75 cents, and they’ll even throw in the girl! For reasons that defy explanation, Money magazine recently rated Cleveland as the nation’s 4th best city to buy a home right now. It’s rationale for our Top 10 pick: “Ground zero for foreclosures seems to…
Hunters, start your engines: Ohio’s bid to help disabled people shoot stuff
Disabled people will now have better access to shooting this guy The fight between man and deer has always been a little one-sided. Hooves and antlers, no matter how pointy, will never be a match for bows and rifles. But until last week, deer still had the relative advantage of being much faster than their…
Exporting the miracle of the Cleveland school system to Washington, D.C.
Yuppies call this “delicious irony”: Barbara Byrd Bennett is now training principals to – get this! — turn around failing schools. Cheer up, people of Cleveland. We now have irrefutable proof that America possesses a worse school system than ours. That’s the only way to explain how a rash of administrators from our fair district…
Anthony Morrison, star of Shear Genius, is coming to Mentor
Remember when Bravo was the uber-artsy channel that aired four-hour documentaries and reruns of Twin Peaks? Yeah, we don’t either, thanks to the channel’s barrage of hit reality shows, including Shear Genius, which is just like Top Chef and Project Runway, except it’s about hairstylists and the contestants are curiously less catty. Take the first…
Michael Symon to host Food Network’s ‘Dinner: Impossible’
Is anything impossible for an Iron Chef – especially when he’s our own Michael Symon? Tune into the Food Network this November to find out. That’s when Symon (Lola, Lolita) will debut as host for Dinner: Impossible, the network’s third most highly rated show, which will find him racing against the clock to create sumptuous…
Picks of the Week: No, really, you can come out of your cave now …
Miss Tess works the Beachland tonight. Every Monday, Scene calendar editor Cris Glaser provides a random but reliable sampling of things to do in the week ahead. For more options, log onto entertainment.clevescene.com. And check back Friday for C-Notes’ Picks of the Weekend. Monday: Boston songbird Miss Tess has opened for the likes of Lyle…
Slide Show: Anti-Flag at the Agora on April 20
“Keep moving. There’s nothing to see here.” Anti-Flag played the Agora last night. Scene photographer Walter Novak was there to take pictures of the Pittsburgh punks and get an earful of their tuneful politics. Check out Walter’s slide show. –Michael Gallucci
Tribe: Time to call up Ben Francisco, and other panicked rhetoric from a weary fan
Ben Francisco, come on down. You’re the next contestant on “Does Anyone Around Here Know How to Hit?” “Our best opportunity is to put other guys in the lineup at this point,” Toronto GM J.P. Riccardi told The Associated Press. “Obviously, reduced playing time is not something that he was interested in. In order to…
Mic Check: My Chemical Romance at the Agora on Tuesday
Saviors of the broken, beaten, and damned. We figure My Chemical Romance’s latest tour is sort of a fuel-up before they head to the studio later this summer to begin work on the follow-up to their massively successful The Black Parade. How exactly does one follow an ambitious concept record that combined themes of death,…
Last Night in Cleveland: Asia
“They can play the entire first album, and I’ll be happy,” said one fan filing into House of Blues Saturday night to catch a performance by the reunited original members of ’80s prog supergroup Asia. And with six of nine tunes from the band’s 1982 self-titled album played, he got a good bit of what…
Hello, Cleveland: This Week’s Concert Calendar
Feist – the girl who sang the “1 2 3 4” song from the iPod commercial – heads up this week’s 58 concerts. The Soulja Boy show is canceled, but other hot picks include Alicia Keys, Constantines, My Chemical Romance, and Cleveland’s own Mr. Gnome. Read on for a full, annotated rundown. – D.X. Ferris
On Earth Day, downtown’s Market Cafe features choices for a low-carbon diet
If all it took to reverse global warming were snagging a low-carbon lunch, we’d all be on that bandwagon. But even though the problem is way knottier, it’s good to know that downtown’s Market Café and Wine Bar (1801 E. 9th St., in the AmTrust Building; 216-394-0122) will be celebrating Earth Day tomorrow, April 22,…
This Just In: Pornos Play Cleveland Without Neko
Get a good look now. You won’t see her next week. This just in: Apparently, Neko Case won’t be joining the New Pornographers onstage next Tuesday. Turns out she fractured her ankle in Washington, D.C. and is bowing out of the rest of the tour. That leaves only Carl Newman to anchor the group, since…
The Tribe: Matt Underwood’s play-by-play … of Roberto Clemente’s grooming habits
If you watch Indians baseball on Sports Time Ohio, you know that Matt Underwood is the play-by-play announcer. You also know he kinda sucks. Case in point: Last night, in the 5th inning, Ryan Garkonoponopolous came to bat in a 3-0 game with one man on. He nailed a homer over the left-field fence. Problem…
This Just In: Natasha Bedingfield to play House of Blues
This just in: UK pop star Natasha Bedingfield will play House of Blues Monday, June 2. The show starts at 6 p.m., with openers the Veronicas and Cleveland’s own Kate Voegele. Tickets are $20, available now via hob.com, LiveNation.com, and Ticketmaster; call 216-241-5555. Bedingfield, a Grammy-nominated and platinum artist, is huge in Europe, and her…
C-Notes’ Picks: La Vie Boheme on Public Square
Barry Williams, a judge of talent. We didn’t believe it either! Every Friday, Scene calendar editor Cris Glaser provides a random but reliable sampling of things to do this weekend. For more options, log onto entertainment.clevescene.com. And check back Monday for C-Notes’ Picks of the Week. Friday: An apartment full of broke bohemians sets the…
Davenport closes; La Rock Comp release moved to Bela Dubby
Read this week’s Scene for a story about La Rock Records’ The Necker Cube 2 compilation, a new disc that combines local hip-hop, electronica, and rock talent with big names like nerdcore big dog MC Lars and Connecticut rapper Ceschi. Its CD release party takes place Saturday, but at a new location. …
Mic Check: The New Pornographers at the Beachland Ballroom on Tuesday
And these are only their guitar players. It’s gotta suck being a member of the New Pornographers and not named Dan Bejar, Neko Case, or Carl Newman. Sorta like being Ringo in the Beatles. With three strong singers and songwriters in the band, the other four members pretty much amount to mere sidemen …
E Street Band’s Danny Federici Remembered
Sad news in my inbox this morning, as I read of the passing of Danny Federici, who was the keyboard player in Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band for 40 years. Federici took a leave of absence from the band in November to pursue treatment for the melanoma that he’d been battling for three years …
Last Night on Letterman: Black Keys Live
Akron’s Black Keys rocked the Letterman show last night, performing “I Got Mine” from the new Attack & Release LP, which was produced by Gnarls Barkley mastermind Danger Mouse. The best video we could get you isn’t super quality, but that makes it look even a little cooler. — D.X. Ferris
Tuscan Treats: The grapey goodness of Italy featured at Michaelangelo’s wine dinner
For those who love the sun-drenched wines of Tuscany – the Chiantis, Brunellos, and so-called Super Tuscans (a full-bodied blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese grapes) – an upcoming wine dinner at Little Italy’s Michaelangelo’s, set for 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 24, seems bound to be a treat. …
Wanted for murder: John Lennon if he was a pubescent lesbian ‘Guess Who?’ character
According to witness descriptions, a murder suspect looks exactly like Richard Gere if Richard Gere had stopped aging at 17, been a huge Monkeys fan, and invented the Incredible Floating Eyeglasses. Cleveland, be on the lookout: there’s a murderer on the loose. And he looks like Ellen DeGeneres if she was a pubescent male character…
Hello, Cleveland: The Weekend Concert Calendar
Canadian crooner Michael Buble brings his smooth sounds to the Wolstein Center this weekend, and the show is dangerously close to selling out. Tri-C JazzFest continues. If raucous blues are your thing, check out Reverend Raven. Asia’s original lineup returns. And the discovery of the weekend is Germany’s Tokio Hotel, Germany’s answer to Paramore. Click…
Get down with Moses: Famous guy raps in celebration of Passover
Passover, the week-long Jewish holiday that features copious amounts of wine, a ban on bread, and a litany of locust plagues, begins this Saturday night. Supposedly, this is a holiday about religious freedom, detailing the ancient Jews’ escape from Egyptian slavery. But for many, it’s mainly a chance to eat overcooked chicken and watch grandpa…
Onion-Span: Congress debates the mysterious origins of Pronk
Most sports nicknames have some semblance of reason. It’s pretty obvious why Alex Rodriguez is called A-Rod, why LeBron James is King James, why Daniel Gibson is called Boobie (ok, that not so obvious). But what kind of nickname is Pronk? We’ve heard the tale that Pronk is a combination of Hafner’s two previous nicknames:…
Prom on the Pitch: Women’s rugby in formal wear
As if watching women play rugby wasn’t already fun enough – who doesn’t love to see muddy girls tackle each other with competitive glee? – the Akron Women’s Rugby team is stepping it up a notch by hitting the pitch in prom dresses. That’s right – prom dresses. On April 26, the Akron team will…
David Giffels gets the celeb treatment in the New York Times
Back in January, C-Notes reported that longtime Akron Beacon Journal columnist David Giffels was gearing up for the release of his new book, All The Way Home: Building a Family In A Falling Down House. The personal memoir, coming out on HarperCollins, is an incredibly sad, funny, and truly poignant tale of how Giffels and…
Gnarls Barkley Gives Away Its New Album — Backward!
Wanna download Gnarls Barkley’s The Odd Couple for free? Legally? Here you go. It’s gonna give you one long MP3 with the album running in reverse (check out the website’s name). But it doesn’t matter how you listen; it’s still one of our favorite albums of the year . –Michael Gallucci
The Tribe: Victor’s imaginary baserunners, and other stuff giving us ulcers
(In a hushed, blood-curdling tone): “I see dead people.” Victor Martinez is the last person I would expect to make a mental mistake on the Indians, but with the rapidly spreading Beisbolsuckititus infection making the clubhouse a virtual hot zone of baseball ineptitude, I’m not surprised at what happened last night. During the fifth inning,…
CC Sabathia sucks, and we know why
“Damn that’s bright!” Went to the Tribe game last night, and I figured it all out. I know the secret. I know why C.C. is sucking worse than an Oreck with a hair ball. It’s the damn wandering concessionaires. They used to wear innocuous, cheerful shirts in primary yellow, which were sufficiently easy to spot…
Weezer Digs Pork and Beans
Heinz men. Weezer’s been teasing us all week with a 30-second snippet of their new single, “Pork and Beans.” The group has finally released the whole thing on its website. And yeah, it sounds pretty much like all the rest of their stuff (seriously: what do you expect from them at this point?), but it’s…
Tonight: Poker, blackjack in the Flats
The three-year-old Nautica Charity Poker Festival has returned to the Flats, and runs every Thursday through Sunday, when card sharks fill 24 tables to play either poker or blackjack. The rules are fairly clear-cut: You must be at least 21 years old; keep your cards above the table during the game; and don’t cuss out…
Cleveland Artists Celebrate New Live CD With Live Concert
Carlos Jones. Four local artists will celebrate the release of Live From Cleveland, the Crooked River Groove/WiFi Café Sampler, Volume One with a Words & Music concert at Tri-C’s Metro Campus Main Stage Theater on May 2. Don Dixon, Doug Gillard, Carlos Jones, and Tommy Wiggins will perform and talk about their songs …
Motley Crue to play Blossom; tickets on sale Saturday
Motley Crue’s Crue Fest tour hits Blossom Music Center Wednesday, August 20. Opening acts are Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Trapt, and Crue bassist Nikki Sixx’s Sixx: A.M. project. Yeah, we hear you — we’re bigger Crue fans than your average guy, but we thought their career was over, too. Then 2005’s arena tour was bigger than…
Jerry, Jerry, Jerry! Springer to speak at Case tonight
Jerry Springer, the most infamous Cincinnati mayor ever, will speak tonight at Case Western Reserve University. Don’t expect a drunken single mother of nine or her drunk, gay, vampire-fetish boyfriend with a KKK uncle to join him. Nope, this is the new Jerry Springer, the Jerry Springer who is trying to become the old Jerry…
Give a hoot! Don’t pollute! Unless, that is, you’re driving through East Cleveland and …
Back in the day, there was an all encompassing owl named Woodsy who interrupted Transformer cartoons to provide a serious message: “Give a hoot! Don’t pollute!” The short spots provided children with the important lesson that putting wrappers and soda cans in the trash bins were good for the world. And before it got too…
Free Music Thursday: Cheap Tragedies
Read this week’s Scene for a full story about the new deal between Mad at the World Records and Cleveland’s Cheap Tragedies. The NYC label picked up the rights to the first full-length debut by the surprisingly sophisticated old-time hardcore band. Frontman Tony Erba tells Scene the disc will have songs about “topics such as…
In Lakewood, it’s out with old Venezia, in with new cafe
If you need any proof that “quirky” doesn’t cut it in Cleveland, consider the imminent demise of Venezia, chef Moha Orchid’s delicious, but determinedly unconventional, little restaurant in Lakewood. The Moroccan-born, Parisian-trained Orchid made quite a splash in the Big Apple before deciding to move to Cleveland. Once here, he quickly developed a following at…
Restaurant of the Weekend: Touch Supper Club
The braised short ribs pair well with a good Lambic brew. We’re still moping about last Tuesday’s tax filings, and not yet in the mood to drop big bucks on a fancy meal. If you’re of the same mind, this weekend could be prime time to visit Touch Supper Club (2710 Lorain Ave.), Robert Ivanov’s…
Michael Kaminski, the Akron rocker-turned-cologne-bottle-stick-up man, gets blended by Blender
Blender Cartoon Goofs on Akron Rocker-Robber Michael Kaminski continues to make headlines — well, sidelines — for his slide into disrepute, from guitarist of onetime buzz band Cop Shoot Cop to inept stick-up man. The Akron guitarist’s attempt to rob a fellow Rubber City resident with a cologne bottle has been now dramatized by Blender…
‘Prairie Home Companion’ comes to Cleveland
NPR’s Prairie Home Companion will broadcast a live episode from the bucolic setting of Cuyahoga Falls’ Blossom Music Center 5:45 p.m. Saturday, June 21. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. this Saturday, at LiveNation.com and all Ticketmaster outlets. They’re $26 to$60 (children 12 and under free lawn admission with paid adult ticket). Presided over…
Cleveland’s Next Top Model: The Tyra Banks parody
America’s Next Top Model, the weekly WB competition that has models competing in weekly photo shoots for the chance to become America’s darling, is a fabulous example of the beauty of unintentional comedy. For one, it seems none of the winners have ever become… what’s the word? Oh, right. Successful. And two: It seems that…
The Greenhouse Tavern, Jonathan Sawyer’s certified green gastropub, to sprout on East Fourth this fall
After months of speculation, the details of chef Jonathan Sawyer’s long-awaited gastropub – the first in the region to be certified “green” by the Green Restaurant Association — are becoming clear. The Greenhouse Tavern should sprout sometime this fall at 2038 E. 4th St., in the Cort’s Building – putting it between Wonder Bar and…
When it comes to paddling students, Canton’s No. 1!
As we’ve reported before, the state of Ohio is taking its sweet time to remove a section of a law that allows our school districts to ass-paddle their students. Their torpor means that we’re still behind the Eastern Block countries of Croatia, Bulgaria, and Romania, who have all banned the corporal punishment. And it means…
Pajamagate: The really scary part is that these people run our government
“Your honor, if you refer to page 34 of our amicus brief, I believe we clearly demonstrate…” Now that text messages have been introduced as the smoking gun in Attorney General Marc Dann’s sexual harassment scandal, it’s forcing us to contemplate just how low – or high – we’ve sunk as a society. Thanks to…
Dream On
Jakob Ward enjoys a tall cool one. Akron’s DreamSTATE Records has been keeping its artists busy lately. Matthew Sturgeon, who used to play synths in the Akron electro-pop band 20goto10, is working on a solo album. His first record since the group broke up is due soon. Clevelander Vince Tyree is also working on a…
Go inside WMMS at Rock Hall tonight
Former WMMS program director John Gorman will discuss his book, The Buzzard: Inside the Glory Days of WMMS and Cleveland Rock Radio, at the Rock Hall (1100 Rock and Roll Boulevard) at 7 p.m. tonight. Click here to learn more about the book, which details the behind-the-scenes action between colorful characters from the days when…
Umm, guys, you’re supposed to punch the guys in the Red Sox jerseys
If, like everyone, you’ve grown murderously weary in recent years of the so-called “Red Sox Nation” – that growing allegiance of people who once stopped by the Fenway gift shop and now pass themselves off as Sox fans in stadiums across the country – then last night’s Indians-Sox game in Cleveland seemed like the place…
Walter Novak: Proving that Cleveland is weird one photo at a time
If you’ve ever been to a concert around these parts, chances are decent that Scene photographer Walter Novak has stuck his 97-inch Nikon lens somewhere in the vicinity of your face. You probably didn’t like it. But you’ll change your mind when you click into his new web site, home to some of the best…
Roast master Jeff Ross leads the week in Cleveland comedy
Unless you recognize a comedian’s name as That Girl From that Movie or the Dude from That One HBO Special, it can be hard to tell whether a stand-up is worth seeing. Lucky you: Scene did the legwork, and the skinny on this week’s big comedy shows, video included, is just a click away. Read…
The 4 “C”s of Market Economics: Chile, China, Copper and … Cleveland?
According to our theory, this man is responsible for the Chilean copper shortage. Or is it that Chile is responsible for What Happens in Vegas? “The Butterfly Effect” is a highbrow term used in chaos theory that, over the years, with help from such luminaries as Ashton Kutcher, has made its way down to us…
Rites of Spring: Baricelli Inn, Melange roll out new menus
It’s spring, that time of year when chefs traditionally freshen up their pantries with peas, asparagus, strawberries, and early greens. Among the spots giving their menus a seasonal twist, count Paul Minnillo’s Baricelli Inn, Niki Gillota’s Gypsy Beans & Baking Co., and Melange, where chef Adam Schmith’s new menu debuted last week. …
Pajamagate: Suddenly, Marc Dann’s no longer down with that whole transparency thing
A prospective intern tries on the required office attire for Marc Dann’s attorney general’s office. For years, Marc Dann spent his time as a renegade state senator railing hard against his Republican nemeses for their aversion to transparency. When Taft refused to release personal e-mails, citing executive privilege, Dann fought him. When the state wouldn’t…
$13 at … Players on Madison
In this weekly feature, C-Notes stretches your dollar at restaurants around the region, because no matter who many times it happens, that damn tax bill always surprises us. This week … Players on Madison 14523 Madison Avenue, Lakewood, (216) 226-5200, www.playersonmadison.com For Scene’s full review, click here. What $13 got us: A glass of Cab…
La Rock compilation showcases local and national talent
The new Necker Cube 2 comp features top underground rappers alongside local artists, showcasing music that ranges from trip-hop to rock. It’s the second compilation from Cleveland indie label La Rock Inc., which is run by rapper-producers Johnny La Rock and Mush Mouth. “Johnny La Rock and Mush Mouth [are] nice guys, and I wanted…
The Raconteurs
The White Stripes’ color scheme is thematically crucial. Jack and Meg paint their albums in bloody red chunks of guitar and blindingly white splashes of cymbals. None of their records evokes any other color — even though last year’s Icky Thump flirted with green on the bagpipe cuts. Within the subtle, gritty shades of their…
Sobering Advice
Kenny Rogerson gives props to an endless stream of tequila for giving him the guts to break into stand-up comedy. Then again, he can’t remember most of his past between 1978 and 1995, when he got clean for good. “Things are kinda blurry to me. I would never want to go back to starting out…
The Epochs
It would be easy to simply tag this unsigned Brooklyn quartet as electropop and be done with it. But listen closely, and you’ll hear music that reaches far beyond that genre’s limits. The Epochs work with a bunch of different styles and influences, forming something completely original within the electronic realm — not an easy…
The Black Crowes
For the past several years, the Black Crowes have had more drama than The Hills. First, singer Chris Robinson did his part in the scruffy-rocker-marries-cute-young-actress sweepstakes. Then the band became a rotating cast of supporting musicians before finally breaking up at the start of the decade. Thankfully, none of the behind-the-scenes fuss surfaces on the…
Tess-timonials
Miss Tess scored a coup last summer, when she won an “open-mic shoot-out” in Georgia. As part of her first-prize package, the Boston-based singer-songwriter bagged a gig opening for headlining troubadours Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris, Shawn Colvin, and Patti Griffin on the Cayamo music cruise through Mexico, Jamaica, and the Cayman Islands. Tess is now…
Asia
The 40-Year-Old Virgin reintroduced Asia’s “Heat of the Moment” to the pop-culture continuum. Before that, the supergroup went down in history as the last great prog-rock band — even though it wasn’t that proggy. Asia formed in 1981, pooling the talents of guys who played in Yes, King Crimson, the Buggles, and Emerson Lake &…
The Breeders
After spending the past few years playing bass and pocketing cash with the reunited Pixies, you’d think some of those catchy Black Francis hooks would infect Breeders frontwoman Kim Deal. There are only a couple of songs hidden within the mess of barely formed ideas and art-punk wankery of Mountain Battles. Yet it isn’t the…
Diggin’ It
Compared to scientists who cure diseases, researchers who focus on the past can sometimes seem useless. But that doesn’t stop Darin Croft from digging in the dirt to prepare him for tonight’s lecture, Fossil Mammals From 14,000 Feet. “I think one of the reasons that people are interested in fossils is because it’s a little…
Anti-Flag
Pittsburgh punks Anti-Flag are proud of their sociopolitical accomplishments of the past few years. At the top of the list is their commitment to getting their young fans out to vote. In the past year alone, the band has signed up more than 10,000 people online and at its live shows. Not so surprisingly, Anti-Flag…
Ridiculous Al Pacino stars in ridiculous running-down-the-clock thriller 88 Minutes.
Jon Avnet’s cheesy new thriller, 88 Minutes, is 105 minutes long, and going in, I feared that 100 of them would be eaten up by Al Pacino chewing the furniture. Alas, it’s worse than that. Pacino plays a Seattle forensic psychiatrist in symbiotic thrall to the serial killer he helped put away nine years ago,…
Viva la Lindy!
When some of your best friends are Dancing With the Stars pros Louis van Amstel and Karina Smirnoff, you think you’d have the 411 on the latest trends that are sweeping America’s dance halls. Meet Rebecca Sweet, whose Viva Dance! Studio is the backdrop for this weekend’s series of lessons with Frankie Manning. The 94-year-old…
Boulder
Boulder’s latest reunion gig sounds like a big deal. So we hunted down some expert testimony about the local metal legend’s significance from a guy who knows his shit. “They were the biggest band to ever come out of Cleveland,” says Bill Peters, longtime host of WJCU’s Metal on Metal. “Blossom and the Q must…
Jackson Browne
Recorded live across the globe, this sequel to 2005’s hits-leaning Vol. 1 emphasizes Browne’s recent and more obscure material. He accompanies himself on acoustic guitar and piano, putting the focus on lyrics and his still-warm voice. But besides the briskly executed “Redneck Friend,” this is pretty stark stuff. It says something about the timelessness of…
Bohemians’ Rhapsody
Nineteenth-century Paris comes to life on Playhouse Square tonight, when Opera Cleveland stages Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème at the State. And if you haven’t fallen in love or broken up with someone in a while, let the games begin. “I think it’s something that each one of us has experienced in some way,” says Tomer…
Beer Here!
“Re-making the Band,” March 26 Trouble’s a-brewin’ over Pabst reference: This letter is in regard to the Lottery League article. Just wanted to say that there has never been a can of Pabst at any of my band’s practices. We are called “Valley of Life,” and we like good beer. Also, we are complex individuals,…
Meat Beat Manifesto
While most of the late-’80s industrial scene focused on the genre’s mechanical, dehumanizing qualities, Meat Beat Manifesto took a more adventurous and personal approach to the music. Starting with 1989’s Storm the Studio, frontman Jack Dangers turned industrial’s playbook inside out, fusing dub, hip-hop, and jazz with the rigid, robotic beats of Kraftwerk and Cabaret…
Les Amazones De Guinée
This veteran African group (they’ve been around since the early ’60s) features a rotating roster of 15 women, who play drums, guitars, saxophones, and other instruments, which completely surround the bouncy, buoyant Wamato. This is girl power with a vengeance. The Guinea-based collective includes genuine warriors — women who sport khaki combat fatigues when they’re…
Lucky Break-a-Leg
Last month, New York-born playwright Carly Mensch made waves in theatrical circles after her comedy, All Hail Hurricane Gordo, was staged at the annual Humana Festival of New American Plays at the Actors Theatre of Louisville. At 24, the Dartmouth grad became the youngest-ever writer to have a play handpicked for the prestigious showcase. “At…
Wal-Mart’s first victim is the Dollar Spot in Ohio City
There’s something unprecedented going on at the Dollar Spot in Ohio City. You see, the West 25th Street store is having a sale. All items normally priced at $1 now cost 88 cents. But here’s the rub: If there’s a gold standard for dollar stores, it’s this: Stuff costs a dollar. You might charge more…
My Chemical Romance
It’s been a year and a half since My Chemical Romance released The Black Parade, the ambitious concept album stuffed with gloomy marches, oversize Queen riffs, and many songs about death. The guys have been on the road for more than a year, playing for all the broken, beaten, and damned fans they’ve picked up…
Colin Meloy
The Decemberists’ frontman has always claimed that his band’s overstuffed folk-prog anthems started life as stripped-down acoustic numbers. Colin Meloy Sings Live! — which is filled with stripped-down acoustic Decemberists songs — confirms this. Oddly, Meloy’s whiny voice seems a lot less grating when accompanied by an acoustic guitar. Slower songs like “Devil’s Elbow” drag…
Rave Re-view
Jennifer Omaitz can trace her inspiration to paint to the ’90s, when she was in high school and worked rave parties as a laser-light operator. For tonight’s opening reception of her exhibit, Noise, she’ll explain how the strobe lights spiked her adrenaline level and their images managed to creep onto the canvas. “Even though the…
How do you pass No Child Left Behind . . . when you don’t speak English?
Kathy Francescani sits inside a library storage closet at Joseph Gallagher School on West 65th. It’s a small, rectangular space with glass walls and the feel of a bunker. Stacks of textbooks reach from floor to ceiling, bindings bright in blues, yellows, and reds, making the place feel like a fortified rainbow. This is her…
Oakley Hall
Oakley Hall’s six members come from all over the country. One’s from Maryland, another hails from Florida, and one calls Mississippi home. No wonder they threw together various pieces of America on last year’s I’ll Follow You, a mash-up of styles and influences. It’s also fitting that the band’s music doesn’t stick to a single…
Infinit
Cleveland’s Infinit has a serious drive for making music. He not only spits rhymes and produces his own beats; he also releases the records himself on his own label. Off the Hook’s first cut, “Running Over Them Losers,” pairs a new-school synth-heavy beat with a gravelly flow that recalls David Banner. In “That’s Right,” Drastic…
Spell-Caster
Minneapolis-bred Ellis is about as unpretentious as she can be. But the attention over her sixth CD, Break the Spell, has left the 31-year-old modern-folk guitarist positively giddy. Critics have described the 11-track disc with every upbeat adjective in the dictionary, from “transcendent” to “very, very real.” Ellis is on a tour stop in Cleveland…
In Cleveland Public Theatre’s In the Continuum, AIDS is equally ravaging for women in Africa and L.A.
Having any serious disease is a terrifying and isolating experience. But when the factors of race, gender, and class are mixed in, as they are in the Cleveland Public Theatre production of In the Continuum, the chances for personal devastation are raised even higher. The sickness in question is HIV/AIDS, the still-prevalent disease that, in…
Constantines
Like a white-hot white-noise machine, Canada’s Constantines play dense indie-rock with three extra layers of noise. The quintet doesn’t sound like Sonic Youth, but if you like Sonic Youth, you’ll like them. Another obscure Sonic Youth connection: They’re big Neil Young fans and sometimes reconvene as Horsey Craze, playing Young covers. The band’s deep lyrics…
The Againsters
Older guys have much to be pissed about. And the Againsters march into their forties fighting. They’re angry at corporations grinding the middle class into fodder and stuff like that. The Akron-based punks have done time in the Nimrods, C.D. Truth, and the Zen-Luv Assassins. Here, they play — as eloquently stated in “ADD Boy”…
Gutter Ball
Like most improv comedy troupes, Columbus’ Full Frontal Nudity takes a chance when it invites audience members into the act. Its free showcase tonight in the Flats won’t be any different. To drum up ideas for off-the-cuff sketches, the cast will ask the crowd for one-word suggestions to riff on. “If they stop for dinner…
A creep and an obsessive get romantic — sort of — in All’s Well That Ends Well at Great Lakes Theater Festival
“What the hell does she see in him?” If you’ve ever uttered those words about a friend — someone weirdly interested in a person who possesses less-than-obvious character strengths — you’re sure to be partial to All’s Well That Ends Well. One of Shakespeare’s less-produced romantic comedies, now at the Great Lakes Theater Festival, it…
Rock Band
Guitar Hero? You still play Guitar Hero? That’s so ’07. Now you can rock L.A., New York, and Rome without ever leaving the Rubber City. Every Sunday night, Thursday’s Lounge rolls out its 90″ projection screen, concert-worthy sound sytem, and xBox 360 for Rock Band marathons. Sure, you can rip “Detroit Rock City,” “Sabotage,” and…
Metromania!
Downtown Cleveland is often compared to a ghost town after business hours. But at today’s I Love Downtown celebration, the focus is on the 10,000 people who live downtown in high-rises and next to upscale restaurants and trendy nightclubs. “It’s a chance to showcase everything that’s been going on in the city for the past…
Absurdistan
Earnest, sad, and righteous, they are not. More inspired by M*A*S*H or Dr. Strangelove than The Deer Hunter or Coming Home, a new pack of political films that defy the clichés of the post-9/11 Iraq War cinema has arrived. Notwithstanding a few holdovers of moral outrage (Kimberly Peirce’s Stop-Loss, Nick Broomfield’s upcoming Battle for Haditha),…
Capsule reviews of current area theater presentations.
The Crucible — An allegory for the post-World War II “Red Scare,” this play had a very personal genesis. Playwright Arthur Miller had been subjected to grilling by the vile House Un-American Activities Committee and cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to name fellow writers who had attended a communist meeting years before. The…
Undead on Arrival
If you don’t remember a game called The Typing of the Dead, you’re not alone. Released on the failed Sega Dreamcast system, this gory, hilariously titled arcade-style shooter was in many ways exactly like its popular counterpart, The House of the Dead. But instead of aiming a gun at the screen, players fired by typing…
High on the Hogs
At 9:30 this morning, Rally for the Troops organizers expect at least 5,000 bikers to shove off en masse from Harley-Davidson shops in Cleveland, Avon, Mentor, Medina, and Bedford Heights to meet on Public Square for the sixth annual tribute to the military. But you don’t have to own a chopper to join in. “This…
The Cleveland Game, where the last guy to go broke wins!
Introducing the fabulous new board game from the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party! Simply roll the dice, and the last person to go broke wins! Click here to get started.
There Will Be Blood tops this week’s pop-culture picks
TOP PICK — There Will Be Blood: 2-Disc Collector’s Edition (Paramount) Paul Thomas Anderson’s sprawling epic about a turn-of-the-century tycoon — played by a tightly wound Daniel Day-Lewis — who likes oil, booze, and milkshakes was one of last year’s best movies. This two-DVD set piles on the extras (leftovers, behind-the-scenes features, and a silent…
Bravo, Barry!
Ex-Brady Bunch brat Barry Williams is acutely aware of the “dream the big dream” mantra that tonight’s contestants will repeatedly chant before they walk out onstage for tonight’s Rising Star Vocal Competition Finals in Canton. After all, how many ’70s TV actors ever had the privilege of getting scripts where they’re cast as a rock-star…
Capsule reviews of current area art exhibitions.
NEW Blakxtraploitationism — Billed by curator Julius Lyles as “a visual, social, political, racial interpretation art exhibit,” Blakxtraploitationism presents work by artists who refuse to shy away from loaded content. And, with more than 50 objects by 11 artists, the group exhibition smartly contrasts artworks relaying up-front, blatant messages with more nuanced pieces. Richard Karberg’s…
Hudson’s Restaurant on the Green’s a cozy, small-town pleaser
High-end, mid-tier, or greasy spoon, every restaurant has its headaches. Still, running a mid-priced neighborhood eatery in the heart of a small town comes with its own peculiar challenges — particularly if you’re a young, ambitious, classically trained chef, strapped down to a menu of burgers, spaghetti, and canned corned-beef hash. In a nutshell, the…
Party for the Planet
EarthFest 2008 is the Earth Day Coalition’s not-too-subtle annual message that you can be an environmentally conscious Earthling, if you really want to be.The daylong fest spotlights dozens of Earth-friendly exhibits on alternative-fuel sources, public transit, and organic gardening. A “green-home improvement area” features the latest in recycling tips, residential-heating and -cooling devices, and brochures…
The New Pornographers try to keep a loaded roster on the same page
For a man who supposedly hates hearing his band referred to as a “supergroup,” Carl Newman certainly has a super-caliber flair for the dramatic. Last fall, the New Pornographers’ frontman made an aesthetic decision worthy of Audioslave, equipping the backdrop of his band’s live sets with a giant, flashing sign bearing the group’s not-so-PC moniker.…
Luxe Kitchen offers food for thought
Like lacy café curtains, more than 130 food- and drink-related quotes flutter across the windows of Marlin Kaplan’s soon-to-open Luxe Kitchen and Lounge (6605 Detroit Avenue, luxecleveland.blogspot.com) — wisdom drawn from pundits ranging from James Beard to Miss Piggy. If that’s not enough to lead diners to the burgeoning Gordon Square arts district, Kaplan’s rustic-yet-contemporary…
Whatta Drag
Meocah Diamond comes out of drag-queen retirement tonight as she and her co-workers from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Community Center of Greater Cleveland hit the stage for the second annual Queer Variety Show. And give her a round of applause: It wasn’t easy to cajole some of the staff members into performing for…
Feist has sung with a lot of Canadians. Unfortunately, she missed out on these classics.
You really can’t blame Feist for grabbing the solo reins and steering her career into ubiquity last year. After all, if you were a member of the 20-members-and-counting Broken Social Scene — one of Canada’s many indie-rock groups, which seem to employ 89 percent of the country’s young people — you’d look for ways to…
Jason Segel is still lovable — and still losing — in Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Jason Segel is responsible for two of the most cringe-inducing moments in recent TV history, both from NBC’s Freaks and Geeks. On the episode “I’m With the Band,” Segel’s bright-eyed burnout, Nick, imagined himself an arena-sized drummer behind his basement-bound 29-piece kit, where he’d jam along to Rush’s “The Spirit of Radio” cranked through NASA-sized…
Raiders of the Lost Generation
To close its second season, the Theater Ninjas drama ensemble is targeting a twentysomething audience with its original comedy, Peripheral Visions. Troupe founders Jeremy Paul and Faye Hargate theorize that Cleveland’s theatrical offerings have rarely appealed to “the lost generation” of 25- to 30-year-olds. “We’ve worked in theater all over Cleveland, and this is our…
While Trent Reznor broods, Saul Williams celebrates a musical experiment
A few months after the November digital-only release of Saul Williams’ latest album, The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!, Trent Reznor became disheartened. The Nine Inch Nails mastermind, who produced the record, thought he had hatched a genius Radiohead-esque plan for getting Williams’ music to listeners: They could download the record for free, or…
Leaving no gimmick unturned, Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden? goes searching for Public Enemy No. 1
Morgan Spurlock, the daredevil who lived on Big Macs for a month for the 2004 hit Super Size Me, returns — this time expanding his horizons rather than his girth. A paraphrase of the title of a venerable computer game, Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden? presents Spurlock’s fact-finding tour of the Middle…
Something Smells Fishy
Little anglers may not wrangle enough catches for a fish fry, but they can expect to reel in a few big ones at today’s Trout Derby in Akron. For the event — open to kids up to 15 years old — the Ohio Division of Wildlife is going to stock Little Turtle Pond with 1,200…
