Braylon Edwards: An expert on … media and blogs?
Browns receiver Braylon Edwards will participate in the Bob Costas “State of the Sports Media” roundtable tonight in New York. The HBO special (it first airs at 10 p.m. tonight) includes Costas, Will Leitch of Deadspin, Detroit Free-Press’ Mitch Albom, ESPN and Washington Posts’s Michael Wilbon, the Kansas City Star’s Jason Whitlock, and the Chicago…
In Lorain, La Sala brings hope to a dying bar scene
In recession-wracked Lorain, blue-collar saloons and upscale discos have come and gone on the main drag of Broadway Avenue. But there’s a new oasis near the corner of 9th Street that patrons say has a fighting chance to survive this flagging economy because of its target market: Lorain’s burgeoning Latino community. But you don’t have…
Dick Feagler: This Soulja Boy kid belongs in a work camp
Dick Feagler: This Soulja Boy kid belongs in a work camp Today’s topic: Dick disapproves of the hip-hop brouhaha involving the Cavs-Wizards series… I was at the coffee shop, and the guys all agree: this Soulja Boy character looks like a prime candidate for electric-shock therapy. …
Free Coldplay song ready for download — now with commentary!
An update on that new Coldplay song we told you about yesterday : yawn. –Michael Gallucci
Jimi Hendrix: Porn Star
Wanna see Jimi Hendrix’s schlong? Vivid Entertainment – home of such cinema classics as Secrets of Titty Fucking, Gang Bang Angels 4, and Poonies — has just released Jimi Hendrix The Sex Tape, a silent movie made about 40 years ago featuring the guitarist getting his freak on with a pair of ladies. Famous groupies…
Fleeing the Cleve … for Mongolia?
Blogger Todd Forsgren is a Bay Village native who, unlike C-Notes, doesn’t consider traveling east of Willoughby to be adventurous. So the 1999 St. Ignatius grad is spending the better part of the year in Mongolia. (That’s by Buffalo, right?) Forsgren is the recipient of a Fulbright grant in photography. He’s based in Ulaanbaatar, but…
This Just In: Black Crowes, Billy Bob Thornton announce Cleveland shows
This week, 41 new shows — so Superman that, Soulja Boy! Country king Tim McGraw returns for an outdoor show at Blossom. Billy Bob Thornton’s band is coming to the Beachland, and the Black Crowes mount a two-night stand at House of Blues. Read on for a full rundown, and visit every Tuesday for the…
Holy Love Shack! B-52s sell out Cleveland
Tuesday night’s B-52’s/Eagle Seagull show at House of Blues is sold out (although you might be able to snag some tix on craigslist or elsewhere.) If this makes you really sad, click the video above for “Love Shack,” the 1989 single that rejuvenated the career of the veteran band, which was founded way, way back…
Slide Show: Urge Overkill at the Beachland
<img alt=" “Help. Microphone’s stuck again.” Remember Urge Overkill? Come on, dig deep. They’re there somewhere between those Soul Asylum and Breeders songs you’ve buried. That’s right – they had a radio hit with “Sister Havana,” right when alt-rock was busting out in 1993. Their cover of Neil Diamond’s “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon”…
Kokomo Winery to host dinner at Boulevard Blue
Time was when winemaker’s dinners were a rare treat. Then distributors figured out what a great marketing tool they make. Now you can’t pop the cork on a bottle of Veuve Cliquot without hitting some visiting winemaker in the noggin. Not that we would ever suggest such a thing. For novice and connoisseur alike, the…
Baskin-Robbins, resigned to being bootleg alternative to Ben & Jerry’s, holds 31-cent Scoop Night
Baskin-Robbins was your grandfather’s ice cream shop back when he crapped his pants because he was too young, rather than too old, to know better. Kids would bike to the nearest scoop shop, Ted Williams baseball card stuck in their spokes, for one of B-R’s 31 taste-of-the-era flavors, like bubble gum, sasparilla, bark, and gin…
Does a Scene reporter have a hidden agenda in the Michael Kaminski case?
What to do with a man who robs a video store with a cologne bottle? I am very disappointed in a Denise Grollmus articles — here’s the first, here’s the second — pertaining to Michael Kaminski. She did not report as accurately as I would have imagined a “crime fighter” reporter to do. She appears…
The LeBron James Leave-o-Meter: Jay-Z raps for LeBron, basically sealing the King’s departure
MySpace Countdowns The Latest Sign of Impending Doom: Jay-Z is finally getting in on the whole LeBron v. DeShawn duel, which, it turns out, is good for LeBron but bad for your ears. You’ll recall, if you’re as bored as us, that after Wizards chucker DeShaun Stevenson called LeBron “overrated,” LeBron responded by comparing himself…
Taking yet another cue from Radiohead, Coldplay gives away free music
Gwyneth picked out that shirt. Like free music? Of course you do. That’s why you’ll want to head straight to Coldplay’s website tomorrow, starting at 7:15 a.m., to download the band’s new single, “Violet Hill.” It’s free! But only for a week. After that, you’ll have to steal it. –Michael Gallucci
Celebrate being cheap and fat! Tuesday is Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry’s!
View Larger Map If you’re cheap and fat, Tuesday, April 29th is your Kwanzaa. That’s when Ben & Jerry’s, for reasons having to do with charity that we totally didn’t read, gives away free ice cream cones at participating (the cheapskates) locations nationwide. We’ve provided a map giving directions between the two local participating scoop…
Hello, Cleveland: This Week’s Concert Cheat Sheet
This week: 50-odd shows, including Cobie Caillat (the “Bubbly” singer) in Akron. If grandiose rock like TSO and Meatloaf is your thing, give Bowfire a chance. And Relive the ’90s with the Proclaimers in small-room show at House of Blues. Click the video for a taste, and read on for a full rundown of the…
Picks of the Week: Fresh food and cheap margaritas. Is this heaven?
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: Taste a sample of Europe as 25 prominent foodies plate up dishes with locally grown produce at…
Think restaurant prices are scary now? Just wait
Despite what you may think, there is an upside to our region’s lagging economy. Namely, having never climbed the pinnacles of affluence, the valley of recession looks an awful lot like home. Take the cost of restaurant dining. Even while entrées in New York and California have been soaring toward the stratosphere, local prices still…
Mic Check: The B-52’s at House of Blues on Tuesday
Ready to kiss your pineapple. The last time the B-52’s released a record, George Bush was president. The album was called Good Stuff. And they sang a song about a “Hot Pants Explosion.” That was 16 years ago. Their new CD, Funplex, has a song titled “Keep This Party Going.” And there’s still a Bush…
Money Where Your Mouth Is: Bex Marshall
C-Notes is still feeling the after-effects of celebrating the Cavs’ win yesterday. So rather than hype tonight’s Reverend Peyton/Bex Marshall/Jason Webley show at Wilbert’s, we’re just letting opener Bex Marshall talk it up. The buxom Brit guitarist is into bikes, blues, and black guitars. Read her take after the jump …
Parental Warning: Do not pass your Superman fetish onto your son
Karon Riley named his son Kal’El, which in Kryptonian means “Christ, couldn’t my dad just name me Bill?” Last week, we brought you the story of the New York Times’ worst name contest. It was a close competition, with entries ranging from “Ima Hogg” to “Chastity Beltz.” The winner – if you could call her…
Dolly the labrador and the case of the missing foot
It’s safe to say that Richard Williams has been suffering from bad luck lately. The 26-year old recently crashed his car into a guard rail, causing the vehicle to flip. EMS workers recovered most of his body, but they couldn’t find his foot. “We looked everywhere,” Bainbridge lieutenant Jon Bokovitz says. The next afternoon, resident…
While Cleveland waits, the Coast Guard Station crumbles
All this warmed-up weather has Clevelanders venturing out of their winter long hibernations. It’s not a pretty sight. No amount of insta-tan can hide skin so pale it makes Andy Rooney look like Celia Cruz. It also means we have to look, once again, at the U.S. Coast Guard Station on Whiskey Island. It’s a…
Judge not the Free Hugs Guy, who brings smiles to the face of Cleveland
Affection at a price you can afford. Anybody who’s spent time at a liberal-arts college knows the Free Hugs Guy. He’s the character who walks around offering hugs to all who pass – at least when he’s not pursuing his other interests, which include juggling, spelunking, and majoring in decorative beading. He’s almost as ubiquitous…
Akron Police investigate detective’s book about the Cynthia George case
Did Cynthia George conspire to kill her former lover? In 2001, Jeff Zack was at an Akron gas station filling up his car when a man on a motorcycle pulled up and shot him execution-style in broad daylight. The story behind Zack’s murder would soon unfold like a Dashiell Hammet novel, with Cynthia George playing…
Picks of the Weekend: 2,500 reasons for why God made leather
Remove the undershirt, the sleeves, the ass in the pants, the legs of the pants, and the less-than-giddy expression, and you get a sense of what CLAW is all about. 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.…
North Royalton smoking ban: A totally irrational plea from a pissed-off smoker
Meet the next Jennie Finch. Not pleased with the statewide smoking ban, the city of North Royalton, you might have heard, has decided to ban smoking on city-owned property, which includes public parks, parking lots, outdoor seating areas, and playing fields. Apparently the movement for such a ban gained momentum with a rash of smoking…
Viva la Ecuador! Another strange twist in the saga of Myers University
Whoever inherits Myers will move into the school’s totally sweet digs on Euclid. Too bad they helped kill the school. The saga continues for Myers University. Just when we thought it was over, another chapter appears, magically, much like the potential buyer who remains nameless. But now, finally, we think the story of Cleveland’s oldest…
new york times: teens text 2 much, cant write 4 shiznit :) LOL
from the new york times: a new study shows that most young people use some email and text-message shorthand in schoolwork. survey prompts one expert to predict the eventual demise of capital letters. Nearly two-thirds of 700 students surveyed said their e-communication style sometimes bled into school assignments, according to the study by the Pew…
Krazy days coming to Cheddar’s Cafe
Look for Cheddar’s Café (5800 Detroit Ave., 216-631-7555) to morph into Krazy Mac’s at the end of April. This marks the restaurant’s third name change since owner Ron Heinbaugh took over in 2005. Just call it a concept-in-progress. …
Hello, Cleveland: This weekend’s concert calendar
A CD release party from Cleveland’s Mr. Gnome (click the video for a taste) is the weekend’s must-see local show. Read on for Ekoostik Hookah’s all-weekend jam session, the Mega 80s tribute to a the music of a decade of questionable hairstyles, and some top-shelf dance club action from Jon Swink. – D.X. Ferris
Mayor Frank Jackson boldly comes out against TV, being fat
Mayor declares that being fat sucks, so knock it off, would you? Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson isn’t the most hands-on politician. If you’ve got questions about dirty development deals, minority front companies, or why his brother has such a sweet job at the school district, you’re not likely to get a straight answer. But TV…
Money Where Your Mouth Is: Miss Firecracker
From time to time, C-Notes shuts its collective yap and lets an artist explain why you need to see her. This time: One-woman band Miss Firecracker. Band: Miss Firecracker One-Woman Band Web: MySpace.com/ MissFireCrackermusic Hometown: “Cleveland” Sounds like: “Minnie Pearl meets Mrs. Robinson after a few too many Vodka Gimlets.” For fans of: “Irreverant, bawdy…
The Cleveland Clinic goes Trotsky on its own wellness guru
At the Cleveland Clinic, even famous guys like Michael Roizen are forced to place business concerns ahead of health. The Cleveland Clinic has a well-earned reputation for refusing to speak to the unwashed masses it purportedly serves. Calling there is like drunk-dialing the Pentagon. Employees are trained never to speak to the media, and instead…
The Bar: God’s word come to the true temple of the people
Happy hour at the House of God. Reverend Chris Heckaman was having a problem. Church attendance was down. Seemed people would rather spend Sundays drinking and eating wings than going to services. So Heckaman, lead pastor at the Sidney First United Methodist Church outside Dayton, developed an alternative for spiritually inclined hammered guy: If people…
Porn for the Blind: Hot XXX action for the seeing impaired
The website offers poetry of the flesh in strict anatomical terms. Ever since former Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro cracked down on one of the few sources of entertainment for blind people two years ago, Northeast Ohio’s visually-impaired have suffered a sad lack of information. For 30 years, Akron’s Written Communications Radio Service read everything…
The Kickdrums: helping rappers threaten to kill each other one sweet-ass beat at a time
“I Need a Man” by Carlisha: Not sure if you’ve noticed, but we’re getting all multimedia over here at clevescene.com. This week’s cover story follows Cleveland production duo the Kickdrums as they try to break into the national hip-hop scene. Their music, by all accounts, is hot, and while we can write all day about…
Restaurant of the Weekend: La Tortilla Feliz
After more than a decade of catering to a small-but-loyal following of Central-American food fans, Tremont’s recently reopened La Tortilla Feliz is hoping to broaden its draw, with an updated menu, expanded bar scene, and a more energetic vibe. “We’re tweaking the food, and trying to make the space more trendy and contemporary, to fit…
The Masters of Metal Tour skips Cleveland. How do you feel about Pittsburgh?
The Masters of Metal Tour — the most metal tour ever, assuming you’re a die-hard old-school guy — featuring Heaven and Hell (that’s the Dio-era lineup of Black Sabbath), Judas Priest, Motorhead, and Testament has announced tour dates. Cleveland’s not on the itinerary, but Pittsburgh is. Maybe it has something to do with gas prices.…
Not-so breaking news: Being gay in Ohio is not that cool
If you’re computer exploded rather than load the above image, you probably live in Ohio. This just in: Being queer in Ohio continues to be a less than fabulous existence. Equality.org produced a national ranking that judges the queer friendliness of each state. It scored the states on a 0-6 scale, with 0 indicating a…
Cavs Watch Party in Lakewood tonight
Lakewood’s Winking Lizard masquerades as a mini-Quicken Loans Arena tonight, when the Cavs take on the Washington Wizards in Game 3 of the NBA playoffs. As host of the post-season’s first official “Cavaliers Watch Party,” the bar will broadcast the game on its widescreen TVs while the Cavs Girls dance troupe and mascots Moondog and…
Carl Pope’s “The Mind of Cleveland”: It’s a strange place
Carl Pope travels inside the mind of Cleveland, and finds visions of Charles Nagy and lots of encased meats. For a video that was shown in New York’s Whitney in 2000, artist Carl Pope had his body branded, carved, and tattooed with a poem written by his sister. According to the New York Times—we’re going…
Last Night in Cleveland: Feist
The opulent setting of Playhouse Square’s Palace Theatre initially seemed like an odd choice to hold a concert by one of indie-pop’s most beloved artists. After all, the venerable hall usually stages performances by Broadway vets, big-time comedy shows, and Vegas-style spectacles. The sight of twenty- and thirtysomething hipsters with piercings and T-shirts mulling around…
This Just In: Alicia Keys Cancels Thursday’s Cleveland Show
Alicia Keys has canceled her concert for Thursday, April 23, at the Wolstein Center because of swollen vocal chords. Ticket holders can use their tickets at Saturday’s show at the Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus. That concert, as of now, is still happening. — Michael Gallucci
$13 at … Light Bistro in Ohio City
Among Light chef/co-owner Matt Mathlage’s most redeeming qualities is his obvious desire to get you drunk for cheap. In this weekly feature, C-Notes stretches your dollar at restaurants around the region, because you can only call half a box of Ritz and some Gatorade dinner so many times. This week … Light Bistro 2801 Bridge…
Michael Kaminski & the perks of being a dope addict
Michael Kaminski will avoid prison for his ill-fated robbery with a cologne bottle. In February, we reported that the former guitarist of Cop Shoot Cop, Michael Kaminski, had apparently traded in his axe for a gun-shaped cologne bottle, which he used to rob an Akron video store. The 41-year-old earned national headlines as well as…
Tribe: C.C. ceases suckitude, saving himself from untold swirlies at charity sleepover
“If those brats pull that hand-in-warm-water trick again, I swear to God …” Last night, C.C. Sabathia finally exorcised the beer leaguer from his Forrest Whitaker-like frame. He struck out 11 and gave up no runs in six innings, whittling his season ERA to a measly 10.12. It was good timing. On Saturday, Sabathia hosts…
Doug Benson, the sixth to last comic standing, plays Cleveland this weekend
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…
Mic Check: Feist at the Palace Theatre on Wednesday
Feist: Canadian. Feist is so Canadian . Everything about her – the quirky videos, the one-off collaborations, the chamber-pop-collective affiliation – says, “I’m from up north, eh?” …
Slide Show: The New Pornographers and Okkervil River at the Beachland on April 22
Carl Newman: not nearly as cute as Neko. Sure, we were a little disappointed that Neko Case couldn’t make it to the New Pornographers’ Beachland concert last night. But Scene photographer Walter Novak was there. And he got plenty of pretty pictures of the rest of the band as well as of openers Okkervil River.…
Cavs Lance Allred signs deal to write memoirs. Don’t expect many action scenes
“Hey, Wally, is there a plug for my laptop under your seat? I’ve got some writing to do.” In basketball, the term “victory cigar” often refers to a player whose very appearance on the court suggests that a win is eminent. During their 30-point annihilation of the Wizards in Game 2 on Tuesday, the Cavaliers…
Last Night in Cleveland: The New Pornographers
Canadian supergroup the New Pornographers rolled into town last night on the final stop of their current tour with Austin’s Okkervil River – a super-tour of sorts for indie-rock fans. Taking the Beachland Ballroom stage just after 8:30, Okkervil River’s shaggy frontman Will Sheff said, “Sorry we’re late. We just kinda thought if we never…
Tribe: With Jake Westbrook hurt, Ben Francisco finally gets to ditch Buffalo
You’re up, Ben Francisco. The Indians placed Jake Westbrook on the 15-day DL yesterday with a left intercostal strain. This is what an intercostal muscle is, and although it is located precipitously close to the stomach area where Westbrook suffered an abdominal strain last year, the Indians promise the two are not related. Then again,…
It doesn’t sell Hungry Mans, but it will do: a Phoenix rises in Brigade’s footprint
In February, expensive hipster boutique Clothing Brigade closed downtown. While C-Notes has nothing against Brigade—we sometimes sculpt our own hair into a faux-hawk before timidly flattening it before leaving our apartment—we wrote that the closing represented a sliver of opportunity for the Warehouse District: a chance to put something practical in its place. As it…
A Highland Heights cop & the downside of yapping about a suicide attempt
It must be cool having a cop for a dad. You get to hear his war stories, bring his gun to show-and-tell, and be the first to hear incredibly dirty jokes. But the best part is that you get the inside scoop on all the dark, private lives of your neighbors – whose dad is…
Rock & Baseball: A new exhibit at the Rock Hall
Jacking the longball and singing about death. Though Coco Crisp might argue otherwise, we always believed that “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” was the only decent music to ever come from the game of baseball. We were wrong. For instance, former Tribe first baseman Ben Broussard released an album a few years ago, appropriately…
Ne-Yo’s penned some of R&B’s biggest hits. Now, he’s keeping some for himself
You don’t often find integrity in the music biz. Most artists and execs are ruthless, me-first assholes. So when R&B singer and songwriter Ne-Yo tells us it just wouldn’t be right to hold onto a song he’s promised to another artist, we’re surprised and just a little skeptical. “If everybody gets B-rated songs, and I…
Rise of Troy
If you only know prog-rockers the Fall of Troy from their appearance on Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, that’s just fine with them. When they play the Beachland Ballroom tonight, they won’t shy away from playing “F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X,” the two-year-old song featured on the video game. “When ‘F.C.P.’ comes, everyone just loses it,” says 22-year-old…
Love
Maybe Love didn’t score big bucks in the ’60s because its song titles were a little odd — “A House Is Not a Motel,” “Your Mind and We Belong Together,” etc. Perhaps Elektra, its original label, didn’t push the Los Angeles band because it was less together than the Doors, its more singles-oriented contemporary. Despite…
An Old Brooklyn code enforcer spoke out and lost her job. Did Councilman Kevin Kelley get her fired?
Through the window of her office, Deb Zeleny looked out at another colorless, windswept January morning. As she replayed the drama of the night before — a heated meeting about a troublesome bar in Old Brooklyn, where she worked for the local community-development group — she organized her notes on the subject. She had a…
The World’s Greatest Rock Band teams up with the planet’s best director for Shine a Light
One of the coolest things that can ever happen in a comic book is when two superheroes — like, say, Superman and the Flash, or Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk — join forces for a one-off adventure. If done right, it will be remembered by fanboys for years to come. The new concert documentary Shine…
Hey, McFly!
Actor, director, writer, and erstwhile musician Crispin Glover is one strange dude. He’s best known as George McFly from Back to the Future — and for an infamous 1987 David Letterman appearance (which you should promptly watch on YouTube) in which he almost karate-kicked Letterman in the face. Apparently still working, Glover stops by for…
Billy Bragg
No matter what he does, Billy Bragg will always be seen as an activist-musician — emphasis on the first half of that equation. This ignores the fact that the guy to whom he’s most often compared, Woody Guthrie, wrote plenty of songs — some of which Bragg brought to life with Wilco on a pair…
Wi-Fi in Cleveland was a great plan (if we could only exclude the money part)
In his 2007 State of the City address, Mayor Frank Jackson announced a plan to bring wireless internet access to “all 77 square miles of the city . . . and begin bridging the digital divide that has adversely affected low-income communities.” Hizzoner was effusive, declaring that “Cleveland will be recognized as a city of…
Schism sinks indie venue the Davenport
Parma Heights indie bar The Davenport closed abruptly last week, when its core employees resigned en masse, citing long-running conflicts with its owner. “It’s been a pretty bizarre week — or a pretty bizarre year and a half,” says former worker Todd Pincombe, who also sings for Insurrect. “Essentially, a couple of guys were fucked…
LGBT Literati
Three Ohio authors stop by Suspect Thoughts Books for “Queerland Rocks,” the “alternaqueer” bookstore’s monthly meet-and-greet with a cast of LGBT writers, actors, and performers. Gay Latino poet Rane Arroyo reads from Same-Sex Séances as well as his other award-winning collections, and is joined by Glenn Sheldon, a colleague at the University of Toledo and…
The Heavy
There must be something in England’s water that rots its citizens’ teeth and turns its young artists into exemplary soul singers. Amy Winehouse is the most celebrated of the latter group, but recent upstarts like Duffy and the Heavy also spin classic R&B grooves with modern twists. But unlike their contemporaries, the four guys and…
The Kickdrums may be hip-hop’s next big beatmakers. And they work out of a closet in Avon
“When Death Becomes You” by M.O.P. ft. 50 Cent (Produced by the Kickdrums): In 2004, 50 Cent was sitting in a trailer in Toronto, waiting for filming to resume on his biopic, Get Rich or Die Tryin’. It was the height of 50’s popularity: Not only was he starring in the movie; he also was…
Clouds Forming Crowns
Tim and Todd Tobias have been working the local music scene for a quarter-century. Their many projects — including 4 Coyotes, Prisonshake, and GEM — span the spectrum from pop to hard rock. Their latest, Clouds Forming Crowns, even gets a little psychedelic, as the name suggests. Todd now limits his involvement to producing and…
The Pug Life
Pug Social’s second annual Puggy Prom, “Puggin’ on the Ritz,” puts the popular googly-eyed pups and their doting owners on the same dance floor at the MetroBark on Payne Avenue tonight. “Where else in Cleveland can you go out and dance, with over 80 dogs running around in little tuxes and ridiculous dresses?” asks Pug…
E&J
E&J’s real name is Edwin Jackson, middle name Moses. And he makes good by his namesake: Jackson’s more of a spoken-word poet than an actual rapper. “Infrared Eyes” plays like an episode of The Wire, documenting a nation’s rejection of an obsolete working class — which leaves an entire demographic with no economic options beyond…
Soilent Green
Louisiana’s Soilent Green has been one of the best things about the wild world of modern extreme metal over the past decade. The band has also remained one of the genre’s better-kept secrets. While that’s partly due to its dense, nonlinear songwriting — which can take some getting used to — it has just as…
A Clinic on Revenge
Adrienne Zurub hasn’t been boo-hooing in the unemployment line since she got canned from the Cleveland Clinic in January; she’s simply pimping her scathing, tell-all memoir about her 26-year nursing stint, Notes From the Mothership: The Naked Invisibles. The autobio describes a hospital environment filled with potty-mouthed staff and ruled by several doctors, including one…
Winslow
This Kent-Cleveland sextet’s record label stands for “Feel the funk.” No surprise. The band used to be called 1959, but 1979 is more like it, since its music is a throwback to the days when you could really get down. The group’s full-length debut is loaded with real-deal soul-funk-rock. Winslow’s jams are so smooth, it…
Newton Faulkner
British singer-songwriter Newton Faulkner sports huge-ass white-guy dreads and one of those beards that comes without a mustache. In other words, he looks like someone you’d hate just on principle. But his debut album, Hand Built by Robots (which comes out next week), is a quite likable slab of acoustic-based alt-rock. It was a huge…
In the Jungle
Expect a boisterous cheering section for Jesse Carrion, the Elyria-born actor playing the title role in Nick Jr.’s Go Diego, Go LIVE! The Great Jaguar Rescue! interactive adventure at the Palace Theatre this weekend. “I have a huge family — my father is one of 14 children — and everyone is very expressive!” says Carrion,…
Lolita’s weekly pig roast touts the power of pork
Crisp, crackling, and sizzling hot, my soon-to-be-dinner stares up at me from its final resting place on Lolita’s stainless-steel counter. It’s a thought-provoking moment, actually. On one hand, this beautifully roasted critter, fresh from a field in Wayne County, could be the very Poster Pig for the “farm-to-table” movement. On the other hand, with those…
Mr. Gnome
Drawing on a visceral mix of contrasting textures — light/dark, soft/loud — this local duo recasts the epic menace of bands like Isis and Pelican. Nicole Barille’s ethereal voice adds a softer female element missing from the aforementioned combos, heightening contrasts. At times, Mr. Gnome’s languid drift veers into sad-core territory — then Sam Meister…
Slipper Rock
Break out your hoodie and slippers for singer-songwriter Marcus Dirk’s performance at the Case Western Reserve hang the Barking Spider tonight. “I want the audience to feel at home, like I’m playing in your living room by the fire,” says Dirk, who also performs with the local jam band Cayuga. “I try to interact with…
Two guys get creepy in The Bang and the Clatter’s unsettling This Is How It Goes
Considering the perilous financial state of some local theaters, it is surprising when a new theater opens up. Happily, The Bang and the Clatter Theatre Company, which has been producing a string of thoroughly involving productions in Akron for the past couple of years, has now launched a companion theater in downtown Cleveland. The first…
The Cave Singers
The Seattle-based Cave Singers’ kitschy urban-woods-in-bloom sound fuses a folk landscape with punk edge, incorporating a variety of acoustic, electric, and down-home Appalachian instruments. Appropriately named singer Pete Quirk tops it all off with some eerie vocals. Borderline phenomenal and pleasantly hypnotic, these beardos give you the same feeling as a springtime storm, where rainwater…
Booze and Czechs
You don’t need a Ph.D. in European History to enjoy The Firemen’s Ball, Milos Forman’s hilarious 1967 political satire targeted at incompetent Czech leadership. Ostensibly about a group of bumbling volunteer firemen in a small town, it was the last film the legendary director ever made in his native Czechoslovakia, and it was “banned for…
Harold and Kumar, stoned and searching (again) in Escape From Guantanamo Bay
Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg wrote Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle with the novel idea: What if you made a John Hughes movie, but instead of writing garishly caricatured bit players with names like Long Duk Dong, you cast an Asian actor as the smart, handsome, upwardly mobile leading man? Ultimately, the writers’…
The B-52’s
Funplex, the B-52’s’ first album in 16 years, pumps up the volume, cranks the guitars, and rocks harder than anything the veteran group has done since its 1979 debut. There’s nothing here as sweet or as catchy as “Roam” or “Love Shack,” both of which made these unlikely new-wave rejects global stars at the end…
Leather and . . . Leather
If you’re a leather-fetish novice, here’s a whispered tip for the seventh annual Cleveland Leather Awareness Weekend from the festival’s Greg Erickson. “There’s a CLAW by day and a CLAW by night,” he says. “During the daytime, it’s very vanilla, with vendors, silent auctions, and field trips. But CLAW by night is the dark side…
Neither Tina Fey nor Amy Poehler seems invested in Baby Mama
Could have sworn I’ve seen this episode of Baby Mama before, when it aired on Tina Fey’s prime-time gig, 30 Rock. It was funny the first time around, when Fey, as late-night-TV exec Liz Lemon, found herself drawn to the sound of cooing and the scent of baby powder. After a poorly placed phone call…
Mindless Self Indulgence
It takes words like “calamity” and “catastrophe” to get to the heart of Mindless Self Indulgence. The New York band’s blend of punk aggression and synthesizer abuse netted it prime spots in plenty of video games, a slot on the Projekt Revolution tour, and praise from peers like Korn. Mix in the group’s smartass ‘tude…
Sixth to Last Comic Standing
Comedian Doug Benson was headlining clubs long before Last Comic Standing. But the show did help raise his profile even further. “I finished in sixth place,” he notes dryly. “Which means I’m the sixth-funniest person in the world. They did an international search this year.” It also gave him some new material. But mostly, his…
Capsule reviews of current area theater presentations
All’s Well That Ends Well — One of Shakespeare’s less-produced romantic comedies features two rather unappealing people as the major “love” interest. Helena, a ward of the Countess of Rossillion, spent her early life chilling with the royal family, as her dad was the court physician, and developed a monster crush on the Countess’ son…
Classical Sass
The world’s oldest women’s orchestra is celebrating its 73rd year with sassy renditions of Schubert, Liszt, and Beethoven at Severance Hall this afternoon. Formed in 1935, the Cleveland Women’s Orchestra offered a rare opportunity for female musicians, and continues to flourish long after similar groups disbanded during World War II. “We’re one of Cleveland’s best-kept…
Theater for Yuppies
Before the curtain rises on tonight’s performance of All Hail Hurricane Gordo, young theater buffs can scarf down munchies and throw back cocktails at the Cleveland Play House’s Theatre Rocks blowout. The year-old program for 25- to 40-year-olds is designed to attract young blood to the theater. “My radar’s out so we don’t compete with…
Capsule reviews of current area art exhibitions
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 “The…
Go (Home) DJs
Rock stars are a lot of things — models, prima donnas, drug-users, sellouts, sex gods, has-beens, and golf-club pitchmen. But, contends the B-Side Liquor Lounge, “DJ” should not be counted among their many titles. And every Wednesday at Rock Stars Are Not DJs, a different Cleveland-based band commands the bar’s DJ booth and attempts to…
CELL-O
Bowfire cellist Wendy Solomon may not look sexy with her bulky instrument propped between her thighs. But the Toronto native claims she feels like a big-band tease as she accompanies the 15-piece ensemble on a 23-city U.S. tour that stops at Playhouse Square tonight. “The classical program hasn’t compromised my musical integrity,” says Solomon, whose…
Racial stereotypes are roasted in Karamu’s The Blacks: A Clown Show
For anyone either amused or disgusted by the widespread negative response to Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s sermons, there’s a play you must see: Jean Genet’s The Blacks: A Clown Show, now at Karamu, is an aggressive and brutally confrontational tone poem dealing with racial issues — one that will leave an imprint on your mind. Genet…
Imitation Fx
Strangely enough, the inspiration for punk-rock vets MxPx’s “Karaoke Nights” tour came from Finland, not Japan. When the trio stops by Cleveland tonight, a lucky fan selected through a MySpace competition will grab the mic to lend vocals to his/her favorite MxPx tune, all thanks to a couple of kids who jumped onstage in Helsinki…
Northern State
Maybe, maybe, maybe there’s a small chance you haven’t heard of Northern State, the N.Y.C. white girls who are, bar none, the indie world’s top all-female rap crew — if only by default. Sure, their early stuff was a little creaky. But their mic skills and hooky beats are rockin’ it with the big boys…
Baroquen Spirit
First of all: God bless Atlus. As a publisher devoted to bringing obscure Japanese gaming gems to the West — basically, the much-needed heir apparent of Working Designs — Atlus is the only hope for gamers who crave oddball, strange, or downright niche titles from the Land of the Rising Sun. It’s the closest thing…
African Antivirus
In the Continuum uses dark humor to tackle the realities of the AIDS epidemic among African and African American women. The play follows the lives of two separate women — a mother in Zimbabwe and a 19-year-old in Los Angeles, both diagnosed with HIV. Written by Danai Gurira, a native of Zimbabwe, and Nikkole Salter,…
Pittsburgh vs. Cleveland: The CosmoSonics vs. the Streetdevils
Here’s a little Cleveland-Pittsburgh rivalry to keep you sated throughout football season. And probably until the season after, too — you gotta get your licks in while you can, you know? It’s a garage-rock street brawl: Cleveland’s Streetdevils vs. the Iron City’s CosmoSonics, self-described as “early Cheap Trick meets Buckcherry, recommend for fans of: New…
A souped-up Bonnie and Clyde tops this week’s pop-culture picks
TOP PICK — Bonnie and Clyde: Ultimate Collector’s Edition (Warner) This landmark 1967 movie reimagined a pair of 1930s-era gangsters as counterculture folk heroes for a bunch of pot-smoking hippies. The new two-DVD set (also available in a less-pricey Special Edition that omits the Collector’s Edition memorabilia) confirms its reputation. Cool extras include deleted scenes,…
Get Fresh
Folks at Monday’s Let’s Get Fresh Food and Wine Event, to benefit the North Union Farmers’ Market, will get a taste of some locally grown delicacies prepared by area chefs — and a taste for the European food economy. European towns tend to rely on more locally grown food than we do, according to the…
Tapes ‘n Tapes
Here’s something you don’t see every day: Band makes album, blogosphere embraces band, band makes a second record that’s just as good as its first. Despite its bigger budget this time around, Tapes ‘n Tapes infuses Walk It Off with the same bargain-basement sounds that made 2005’s The Loon a hipster hit. But Walk It…
Snakes in the Desert
“No Oasis,” April 9 Abusers slither everywhere in Iraq: I thoroughly enjoyed Lisa Rab’s story on KBR’s treatment or mistreatment of its female employees in Iraq. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I was never prouder than the day I watched my daughter graduate from Air Force boot camp. I even harbored visions…
Dead Meadow makes an L.A. record the classic rock way
Tree-related metaphors in music usually crumble like a pile of dead lumber — “roots rock,” “branching out,” The Joshua Tree. But for the psychedelic rock trio Dead Meadow, a walk in the woods wound up providing the perfect analogy for its latest album, Old Growth. “We were in the Redwoods [National Park],” recalls drummer Stephen…
Chicks Who Stick
Proving you don’t need a jockstrap to be a jock, Cleveland’s pro women’s football team, the Fusion, opens its eighth season tonight, after ending the 2007 campaign at 8-3. “At first people can be real skeptical,” says Nakeesha Wilson, a 37-year-old offensive guard/tackle and insurance agent. “But people always tell me they forget they’re watching…
Clinic
Clinic builds on the grimy garage drone of 2006’s Visitations with an album that minimizes the British quartet’s dark, eerie crawls and emphasizes shamanistic, ’60s-style psych-rock. The band remains deliciously unhinged on Do It! — only it’s more woozy shuffle than serpentine rumble this time around. Sturdy rockers — like the gritty rave-ups “Shopping Bag”…
The Menge brothers are married to bowling. They should’ve gotten a pre-nup
Even for Cleveland, where abandonment is the norm, 30th and Chester is eerily quiet. Old factories and warehouses not worth knocking down guard the empty street, where a Wendy’s cup skips along in its best imitation of a tumbleweed. Around here, foot traffic is a myth. The only evidence of man sans car is the…
