Kiddie-Porn Humor
“This generation is absolutely, [incredibly] boring,” says comedian Doug Stanhope, whose cross-country tour brings him to town tonight for his first-ever Cleveland appearance. “That’s my biggest bitch anymore — how dull and dumbed down, safe and sober, paranoid and insecure everything is. You don’t hear stories about rock-and-roll bands chucking TVs out of hotel windows…
Empty Promise
“So what the fuck is your definition of underground?/Depressing beats and bleak cats who love the sound?/Well I ain’t part of that, I’m tired of rapper’s garbage/I’m the part of the underground who only feels the raw shit. ” — Jakki da Mota Mouth, “FHH,” from RJD2’s Deadringer RJD2’s Deadringer threatened to change hip-hop. It…
Extra Blue Kind
Had to work 4-20? Visit Wilbert’s 4-21 to check out some Extra Blue Kind, a jammin’ rock band that’s more lively than O.A.R, louder than the Pixies, and catchy as your favorite perky early Cure songs — and not entirely dissimilar to all three. Riding a grassroots groundswell, the Indianapolis band goes soft-loud-soft-louder, with acoustic…
When Stars Don’t Align
Americano (MTI) Before he is due to take a high-powered corporate job, college graduate Chris (Joshua Jackson) heads off with two friends (Timm Sharp and Ruthanna Hopper) to Europe, where they end up in Pamplona for the running of the bulls. There, he encounters one of those saucy Latinas (Blade II’s Leonor Varela) who can…
Big Easy Grooves
Six months after Katrina leveled New Orleans, the Big Easy’s gay crowd still wanted to party with DJ Kimberly S. during Mardi Gras. “It was busier than I’d anticipated, and I felt like a positive presence there,” says Kimberly, who brings her optimistic aura to the turntables tonight at the Interbelt’s annual Heaven White party.…
No Quarter
Ed Hamell is the kind of guy who’s willing to get his hands dirty. Though short, bespectacled, and carrying an acoustic guitar, Hamell isn’t your typical overwrought singer-songwriter type. Hamell — or “Hamell on Trial,” as he self-mockingly bills himself — has a hard-boiled, straight-talking style cadged from the pages of Raymond Chandler by way…
Drive-By Truckers
Drive-By Truckers’ songwriting trio — Mike Cooley, Jason Isbell, and Patterson Hood — have already established themselves as one of the best rock acts of the past half-decade. Picking a favorite from their last three albums — 2001’s Southern Rock Opera, 2003’s Decoration Day, and 2004’s Dirty South — is a fool’s errand, yet A…
The week’s best releases from the pop-culture universe:
CD — Big Apple Rappin’: Two discs document hip-hop’s formation in N.Y.C. during the late ’70s and early ’80s. Most of the artists have been forgotten (only Spoonie Gee will elicit a nod of recognition), but the turntable scratching, microphone checking, and “yes, yes, y’all”s still resonate today. Without these records, there’d be no Kanye,…
Baa Baa Shop
You know spring is finally here when the sheep get their new ‘dos. Today is Sheep-Shearing Day at the zoo, and we couldn’t be more thrilled. In addition to all the wool-whacking (sheep produce about eight pounds of the stuff every year), experts will demonstrate the proper way to shear a sheep, just in case…
Where’s the Beef?
Rap beefs are never going to go away, especially after 50 Cent showed that a correctly managed and sensationalized insta-feud can push first-week sales into the stratosphere. It gets fans interested, grabs media attention, and adds to rap’s constantly fluctuating soap operas, which are interesting in a pro-wrestling kind of way. It has produced plenty…
Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs
It seems as if almost every rock performer eventually releases an album of covers or a tribute to an influential performer or genre. Such projects are often viewed as a sign that the well of inspiration’s running dry — but the bottom line is: Does the interpreter “personalize” the material, and are the versions any…
Mob Hit Misses
Marlon Brando sleeps with the fishes. But before the legendary actor died, he worked one last job. Curiously, it was for a videogame. In The Godfather: The Game, Brando attempts to relive his Oscar-winning role as Don Vito Corleone. From the raspy voice to the drooping jowls, it’s Vito, all right. Too bad it’s not…
Thorne in His Stride
New York City-based songwriter Richard Thorne figures most modern folksingers go through the same pattern of playing live and recording. The little money Thorne makes from his acoustic gigs goes toward funding his career. Whenever he can scrape together enough cash, he goes into the studio. “I’m always tweaking my songs,” he says. “I want…
Sound Advice
An East Sider until 1996, Frank Mauceri now lives in Chicago, but maintains local ties through Smog Veil Records. What led you to found Smog Veil? I was in the last year of law school at Cleveland Marshall and had no desire to work 50-plus hours. What better way to avoid the grind than to…
Tommy Keene
Since 1982, he’s been doing power-pop (the melancholy songcraft of the Byrds plus the crackling dynamism of the Who), garnering favorable reviews and a cult following, only to see ephemeral “talents” top the charts. While yesterday’s stars dissolve into VH1 Behind the Music episodes, Keene plugs away, pleasing pop-lovers everywhere. Crashing the Ether finds him…
Our top DVD picks for the week of April 18.
A Bigger Splash (First Run) Breakfast on Pluto (Sony) Cross of Iron (Henstooth) Event Horizon: Collector’s Edition (Paramount) Games of Love and Chance (New Yorker) Herbie Hancock: Possibilities (Magnolia) Hostel (Sony) I Am Trying to Break Your Heart (Plexifilm) Kickboxer: Five-Disc Collector’s Set (Lions Gate) The Killing Time (Anchor Bay) Klepto (Magnolia) The Last Drop…
Touch of Evil
After a quarter-century of movies about flesh-eating zombies and kids trapped in the woods, The Evil Dead still remains at the top of the genre. Tonight’s midnight screening of the blood-spattered 1981 classic, which launched the careers of Spider-Man auteur Sam Raimi and B-movie god Bruce Campbell, gives a little extra to fans. Ellen Sandweiss,…
Money Where Your Mouth Is
Band: 80HD (www.myspace.com/80hdmusic) Hometown: Cleveland Sounds like: “A ska/rock band hitting you in the face, then giving you an ice pack, and then hitting you in the face again.” Fun fact: “At our CD release, a fan brought a present for us — a bag of potatoes. (Our kids are sweet!)” Playing: Saturday, April 22,…
Theo and the Skyscrapers
Punk rock grrrl Theo (ex-Lunachicks) Kogan bounces back with a brand-new band and a sexy dance sound. Theo and the Skyscrapers, which includes ex-Toilet Boys co-conspirator Sean Pierce (guitar), Chris Kling (drums), and Dimitry Makhnovsky (bass), roll through 11 infectious mini-dance anthems on their independent debut. It’s spontaneous and snarky, with the flair of Blondie…
The $60 Million Pyramid
The first impression Joanne Schneider makes is that of a frazzled grandma. She dresses smartly, in an old-fashioned churchgoing way. But when she tries to speak, she bursts into tears — loud, hysterical sobbing. She is the portrait of a shattered woman. “I surrounded myself with what I thought were really great people,” she says,…
Jurassic Lark
Phil Yeh’s cartoon prehistoric creatures, on view at the natural history museum’s Dinosaurs Across America, are unlike your typical dino. They travel by spaceship, they’re always in a good mood, and they probably wouldn’t eat you if they got hungry. Mondays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sundays, 12-5 p.m. Starts: April 21. Continues through Aug. 20
Last Word
“Probably the Sounds of the Underground.” — Stefan B., Wickliffe “The Lime Spider’s rooftop patio. Very cool, really nice atmosphere, great music, BBQ grill, more like a rooftop party than a bar. The perfect summer night spot.” — Patrick Sweany, Massillon “I’m partial to anything at Blossom. The shows are more open. Every show they…
The Rakes
These four blokes are self-aware in the way of nearly 40-year-old beer-bellied men dripping sweat onto their hard-hit skins and nimbly fingered frets — the kind of band with which blue-collar America could really connect. The Rakes’ cockney disco-beat post-punk certainly raises the irony bar. Alan Donohoe sings about pissing off, being pissed, getting piss-drunk,…
Congressman Candy-Ass
Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Poseur) loves TV cameras more than that gay guy on The Real World. So you’d think he’d jump at the chance to debate primary opponent Barbara Ferris at the prestigious City Club. But, alas, that would entail answering hard questions, like what he’s accomplished with the nearly $5 million in federal money…
Black Thought
Of the 10 works chosen as part of this year’s R. Joyce Whitley ArenaFest Festival of New Plays, it’s tonight’s pair that truly embodies the spirit of the annual two-week program. The festival began 14 years ago as a forum for new and established playwrights to consider the African American experience. Tonight’s bill includes All…
Project/Object
Frank Zappa once groused to an interviewer in the late ’70s about the attitude of his sidemen. Zappa not so subtly insinuated that the main reason players signed on with him was to juice their résumés with a stint in his demanding, highly disciplined outfit. Frank might have sold his boys short that day. The…
Asinine
Ska was supposed to be the next step in punk’s long evolutionary trudge. Then bands began channeling embarrassing diary entries into their songs. Amherst ska-punk act Asinine disregards the big pop-punk takeover; it would’ve fit perfectly on a late ’90s Warped Tour. For a basement recording, Asinine’s self-titled debut EP is extremely crisp. The group’s…
Smacking Church Lady
She wears the pastel pinks of Easter, the warmth and dignity of mother and grandmother, a comfort with where she’s been, a confidence with where she’s going. Her husband’s a Baptist minister; she’s the First Lady of the church. “The young women look up to her as a role model,” he says. No, the woman…
Up the River
Take a listen to Steve Madewell’s new CD, Rivers and Trails, and his day job as deputy director for the Lake Metroparks system comes through. The disc pays homage to the great outdoors, with songs like the fly-fishing ode “Spawn Till You Die” and “The Stillwater Rag,” which is about a river near Madewell’s boyhood…
Chris Brown
R&B has a new star, and he’s just a kid. Sure, his lyrics tell a different story — involving cars, money, and women — but Chris Brown is only 16 years old; not since the days of N*Sync have so many pre-pubescent girls had a reason to scream. His debut on Jive Records is built…
Home and Garden
This atmospheric recording represents the collected works of a Pere Ubu refugee band equally eager to experiment with art rock and to shed the constraints of Ubu-brand developer David Thomas. Its nucleus was guitarist-keyboardist Jim Jones, bassist-saxophonist Tony Maimone, and drummer R. Scott Krauss. The 18 tracks on this loving remastering of neglected EPs from…
Late Bloomer?
“I usually dream that my arms aren’t long enough to reach the guitar, or I’m wearing no underpants in the supermarket, or I’ve got an exam today and I can’t seem to find my way back to the school, stuff like that,” Jon Langford laughs over the phone from Chicago, where the affable 48-year-old Welsh…
Animal House
Broadway legend Tommy Tune has won nine Tony Awards over the past 30 years. These days, he’s playing the titular role in the national touring production of Dr. Dolittle (now at Playhouse Square). It’s actually an ideal role for the dancer, choreographer, and musical director, who uses his imposing six-foot-six frame to keep all those…
Beaten Awake
The motley bandits of Kent’s Beaten Awake use the best bits of their previous music groups to build a super-strain of heady folk-rock harmonies. “You can hear little bits of Party of Helicopters, Harriet the Spy, and the band Jon [Finley] and I were in for a while, The Man I Fell in Love With.…
Stout & Kraut
It’s a Thursday night at Ohio City’s Old Angle Tavern, and the joint is jammed. A knot of Celtic musicians saws away on fiddles near the front door, though the notes scarcely penetrate the smoke and noise. Visible in the happily inattentive audience are characters like the wiry little guy with curly red hair and…
Cheesy Truth
The one with the nastiest rats wins: Clevelanders need to realize that if Cleveland wants to compete in the 21st century, it will need more powerful representation in Washington. We need to start producing nastier rats to get more federal spending here. Deals like the purchase of the I-X Center [“The Sweetest Deal,” April 5]…
Enter the Dragon
Long before Cirque du Soleil made its mark around the world, the Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats were climbing poles, juggling ladders, and creating human pyramids onstage in their homeland. Nearly three decades later, the 21-member troupe is booked through the middle of next year, with a stop in Canton tonight. “It’s incredible what they do,”…
Fest Fix-Up
The annual Cleveland Music Festival returns for a fifth time Thursday, May 11, through Saturday, May 13, boasting an improved format and featuring sets by 200 local bands at 10 Cleveland venues. Organizer Dan Cull says that this year’s edition — which will reappear next year as the American Music Festival — will be a…
Cambodian Buzz
Can an elegant Belgian brewski find happiness with a fiery Cambodian crêpe? “You’d be surprised,” laughs Mike Foran, manager at Ohio City’s McNulty’s Bier Markt (1948 West 25th Street). Foran promises that the nontraditional pairing can bring fulfillment to both patrons of the Belgian beer bar and diners at Phnom Penh (1929 West 25th Street),…
Home Plate
Giada De Laurentiis is quickly becoming the Food Network’s biggest spatula-wielding celeb. She’s even closing in on Rachael Ray, thanks to a pair of shows — Everyday Italian and Behind the Bash — which air up to four times a day. But unlike Ray, who has something like 2,000 cookbooks in stores, De Laurentiis just…
Against Me!
When Sire Records signed the Gainesville, Florida quartet Against Me! in December, fans began taking sides, many choosing to lambaste the band as sellouts. Others stood by the band, calling the traitors “elitists.” Some of us were reminded of Joe Strummer’s admonition about fucking nuns, while others suggested that signing with Sire — the label…
Misery Train
At the opening of Lonesome Jim, a terrific new film directed by Steve Buscemi, a country song plays behind scenes of small-town desolation. “Good times’re comin’,” it promises, in the movie’s first joke. Nothing about these initial scenes — not the stark midwestern landscape, not the sole figure running with luggage, and not the vacant…
Somebody Knew the Tribe Was Gonna Suck
Pam Lauter has forecast the future for hundreds of clients at her weekly Psychic Readings. But the one she remembers the most vividly was former Indians owner Dick Jacobs, 10 years ago, persistently asking about his team. “I told him, It’s gonna be a hit-and-run, honey. You’re gonna be in and out of this in…
The Fatals
The seaside town of Perpignan, France, with its warm Mediterranean breezes and narrow roads lined with cafés, is far removed from big-city temptations. In other words, snoozeville, daddy-o. The one good record store in town closed, but a few brave souls have tried to put on cool shows for what is the most frenzied crowd…
Tube Boobs
Wanna knock the prez? Let’s make a show . . . preferably on television. Paul Weitz’s new satire American Dreamz imagines the Bush regime as an episode in the history of American entertainment and American Idol as the quintessence of U.S. democracy. So what else is new? The vision of America as a vast, ratings-driven…
Come Together
Whether you’re an aspiring knob twiddler or just curious about the studio engineer behind some of the Beatles’ best albums, you shouldn’t miss Geoff Emerick, who’s at the Rock Hall tonight. His studio savvy elevated Revolver, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and the White Album. As a producer, Emerick applied a lush orchestral sheen…
R. Kelly
The latest tidbit to emerge from R. Kelly’s thickening legal portfolio might be the most unsavory yet: According to an interview Kelly’s brother Carey gave MTV last month, the R&B superstar offered to pay Carey $50,000 to admit that it was he — not R. — who committed sexual indiscretions with an underage girl on…
Lovely, Not Amazing
In Nicole Holofcener’s first feature, 1996’s Walking and Talking, the writer-director warmly portrayed an adult female friendship, nudging at emotional issues without resorting to shtick or melodrama. Five years later, Holofcener’s Lovely and Amazing attempted to do the same for a family of women, but with wildly different results: Virtually every character was superficial, narcissistic,…
World Party
At today’s EarthFest celebration at the zoo, participants can go home with a souvenir: a pail of poop! Buckets of zoo-animal-generated fertilizer will be available for purchase. But there’s a purpose to all this crap. It’s part of Earth Day 2006’s plan to save the planet. And make no mistake — the display-packed event has…
They Throw Like Girls. Is That a Problem?
Catching her breath after a preseason practice, Cleveland Fusion’s Peru Barber picks at the cast around her right wrist and fingers. “I break fingers every year,” shrugs the strong safety, counting off her busted digits. “As long as the big bones stay healthy.” That’s the kind of commitment you’ll find on the Fusion. It’s an…
Boysetsfire
Newark’s Boysetsfire delivers a passionate disposition on its fourth album, The Misery Index: Notes From the Plague Years. The post-hardcore quintet has endured shifty label relationships while crafting an honest punk-inspired sound over the past 12 years. The group’s not totally emo or entirely indie rock, but fans of the Holy Fire, Hot Water Music,…
Grimm Reaper
The power of fairy tales — happy, Grimm, or otherwise — never seems to leave us, no matter how old and jaded we become. As children, we found in those enduring stories our first inkling of how to deal with authority, mysterious and unspeakable evil, and the opposite sex. (Not to mention dwarves, talking animals,…
Twist and Shout
Kids have all the fun. The new Healthier Ever After exhibit at the Children’s Museum offers little ones the chance to get in shape at exercise stations with names like Move & Groove Meadow, Crocodile Crossing, and Goodness Grove. Basically, it encourages kids to do what they’d be doing anyway: running, jumping around, and making…
Breathing Room
To hear singer-songwriters Brent Hopper and Brittany Reilly tell it, a day without music is like a day without oxygen. “It’s our lives and spirit,” says Hopper. “Every breath is music — from the rhythm of our walk to the harmony we try to live in and share.” The duo calls its mix of country,…
PAIK
You can hear it coming like a wall of sound. Booming thunder, roaring waves, and a hurricane of noise rain down around your ears. It’s called “Ghost Ship” — an eight-minute epic of sound and vision written by PAIK, the Detroit trio of guitarist Rob Smith, bassist Ali Clegg, and drummer Ryan Pritts. The tune…
Capsule reviews of current area theater presentations.
The Dark Lady of the Sonnets — It’s exhilarating to find a short show that’s entirely diverting and worthwhile — not to mention free. The title of this George Bernard Shaw piece refers to the 24 sonnets by William Shakespeare purportedly addressed to a “dark lady,” who served as the bard’s muse for a spell.…
The Horror! The Horror!
Jake Kelly and Jeremy Von Cobb sat through countless movie marathons at home before they decided to share their love of slashers and monsters at Jake and Jeremy’s Evening of Horror. Every week, Kelly and Von Cobb unspool a six-to-eight-hour fest of terror and exploitation films. They even supply free pizza and beer! Since they…
Aeon Flux: State of the Art
The swanky new View just upped its cool quotient by adding a series of cutting-edge electronic-dance-music nights. And if you think a little techno goes a long way, keep reading — you’re not alone. At Aeon Flux: State of the Art, some of the area’s hottest (and least pretentious) dance DJs will rifle through one…
Capsule reviews of current area art exhibitions.
NEW Electric Lemonade — Nothing passes for dull at this tart, refreshing show of contemporary local art: Works goofy, garish, and gruesome clamor for attention, while more serious pieces transcend the clatter. Amber McElreath’s paintings on large wooden boards fuse influences of stained glass and Cubism, fragmenting figural portraits into tiny shards of pastel greens,…
