Great Lakes Brewing Among Top 50 Breweries in US
The Brewers Association just released its annual listing of the top 50 craft and overall brewing companies in the U.S. based on 2012 beer sales volume. Cleveland’s Great Lakes Brewing Co. landed on both lists. In the category of Top 50 U.S. Craft Brewing Companies, Great Lakes Brewing came in at #19. In the Top…
Cleveland Indians Promotions Part 2: The Bobble Back Story
After the Kyrie Irving bobblehead craze that swept the Q this Cavs’ season — the limited edition Uncle Drew doll has been fetching upwards of $500 on eBay — the Indians are following up with an impressive roster. This year, it’s Albert Belle and Omar Vizquel. Jason Kidik, the Indians manager of promotions says that…
Cleveland Indians Promotions Part 1: GIVEAWAYS
Now that we’ve suffered through opening day, it seemed prudent to mention that there are still reasons to head down to the ballpark this year. If Ubaldo Jimenez isn’t enough to get you there, maybe these promotions are: SUGARDALE DOLLAR DOGS!This year, with few exceptions, the dollar dog nights are on every Friday home game.…
Flats to Bring Back Dueling Piano Bar?
Developers are still working to finalize financing on Phase 2 of the Flats East Bank development project, but this morning seven new food and entertainment tenants were revealed in addition to those previously announced. For fans of fine food, the pickings are slim to say the least. Indeed, it feels a little like the Flats…
Cleveland City Council Passes Renewable Energy Ordinance
Solar and wind companies alone have created over 8,000 Ohio jobs Via EcoWatch, Cleveland City Council last night unanimously approved an emergency ordinance aimed to support renewable energy resources in the area and to encourage Governor Kasich and the Ohio General Assembly to uphold 2008’s clean energy portfolio and energy efficiency standards, now under legislative…
Denis Leary Joins ‘Draft Day’ Cast as Browns Coach
In what’s shaping up to be a majestic, cinematic moment for Cleveland’s football community, Denis Leary (the antithesis of majesty, but…) has signed on with the Draft Day cast. He’ll portray fictional Cleveland Browns coach Vince Penn. The movie will pit Leary’s character against the team’s general manager, played by Kevin Costner. Per IMDb, “The…
5 Reasons Why Mark Reynolds is Cooler Than Chuck Norris and the Dos Equis Guy Combined
Mark Reynolds, ladies and germs! Mark “Don’t Call Me Thor Cuz I Don’t Look That Much Like Him” Reynolds! Mr. Mark Reynolds: Philanthropist, Musician, Medical Doctor, Astronaut, and Texas Instruments Visionary. Cleveland Indian Mark Reynolds, folks. Put your hands together for Mark Reynolds. Despite assertions to the contrary, specifically numero cinco, Mark Reynolds has emerged…
Good Eats: Maple Bacon Donut @ Jack Frost
It’s pretty clear that bacon has become an honorary food of Cleveland. So it was only a matter of time until that tasty foodstuff found its way into the rotation at Jack Frost Donut Shop. Introducing the maple bacon donut. Made from scratch daily by the award-winning donut shop, the addictive creation begins with yeast-raised…
The Knife’s ‘Shaking the Habitual’: New Music Tuesday
Perennially bizarre Swedish electronic duo The Knife returns this year with an absolutely vast album that is, at various times, both thrillingly fresh and business-as-usual for the group. The Knife carved out a reputation as viciously anti-corporate artists, who, in the end, take that connotation further than any words like “band” or “musicians” would get…
Upscale Bistro Ready for Premiere in PlayhouseSquare
While some operators are eager to talk up their next project months before completion, Seth Bromberg prefers to keep a low profile and get stuff done. That’s why we are just now learning about his new PlayhouseSquare restaurant, District (1350 Euclid Ave., 216-858-1000, districtcleveland.com), despite the fact that it’s just two weeks shy of opening.…
Kathy Griffin tailored last night’s set at the State for Cleveland
After a brief video montage that concluded with a message from her mother, comedian Kathy Griffin started last night’s set at the State Theatre with a series of jokes about Cleveland as she promised “everyone is going down tonight.” “Cleveland, how the fuck are you,” she said as she rattled off a series of obscenities.…
Truck Driver Who Careened Into I-90 Bridge Pleads Not Guilty
Remember when that truck, like, slammed into a bridge overpass on I-90 and essentially shut down traffic on the east side of town for days? Of course you do; it was insane. Well, the truck driver who just kinda forgot to lower his trailer that day pleaded not guilty to charges of failure to control,…
Okin’s Cork & Cleaver to Open This Week
Chef-partners Brian Okin and Adam Bostwick will open Cork & Cleaver (8130 Broadview Rd., 440-627-6449), a Modern American restaurant in Broadview Heights, this Wednesday, April 10. We first reported on the venture in early March. “It’s been pretty stressful, but I’m excited,” Okin reports. The menu features about 20 items, including some classic Okin and…
New BBQ Resto Opens for Tribe Fans
Just hours shy of Opening Day at The Jake (we know…), a new restaurant has opened up literally across the street. Housed in the former home of GoodFellers Restaurant and Bar, Brick Stone (2297 E. 9th St., 216-861-8000, brickstonecleveland.com) is operated by industry veterans Rick Serio (Serio’s on the Square in Twinsburg) and Phil Switz…
The Winchester Canceled This Comedian Because He Made Fun of Jesus Once
So, yeah, a few people have made fun of Jesus before and Christianity in general in the history of comedy. Fair game. It’s just not often that a venue declines to bring back a popular comedian because he once made fun of the Son of God on a late-night TV show. Steve Hofstetter explains on…
Caribou Out, Peet’s In?
According to staffers at area stores, all 32 Caribou Coffee locations throughout the state are slated to close. The rumors have been swirling around for the past couple days, but employees learned via a conference call on April 5 that all the Ohio stores will close. Caribou has locations in Tower City, Avon, Lakewood, Westlake,…
Concert Review: Andrew McMahon at Grog Shop
Pianist/vocalist Andrew McMahon has spent the last 15 years in the spotlight with his beloved bands Something Corporate and Jack’s Mannequin, but recently decided to start recording under his own name. Still, the veteran performer knows exactly how to balance all facets of his musical life: The 30-year-old’s first-ever solo show in Cleveland last night…
Canton Church Faces Charges for Accidentally Setting Jesus On Fire
Image: Sharon Witts Canton’s First Church of the Nazarene is currently being investigated by the Canton Fire Department for pyro stunts that got out of control at an Easter pageant last Sunday, nearly burning the Son of God (well, the actor playing him) and actually burning the son of the congregation’s pastor and another audience…
Taiwan Freakin’ Loves Manny Ramirez
Deadspin gladly opened the window to the Chinese Professional Baseball League in time to catch former Tribe titan Manny Ramirez’s first home run for the EDA Rhinos. While the HR itself is fine – and Ramirez’s swing stirs memories of his years in Cleveland – the true magic of this video comes by way of…
Red Lantern Reborn, and Two Bucks Expands Brand
Don’t extinguish the Red Lantern restaurant just yet. The recently closed West Park neighborhood staple for over 27 years will soon be brought back to life. Cory Rowland and Eric and Sean Nugent, current owners of the popular Two Bucks group, have purchased the location (17439 Lorain Ave.). But don’t plan on another Two Bucks…
Justin Masterson Leaves a Message for the Toronto Blue Jays
VIA @BERGMANCOMEDY Masterson is well on his way to writing the next great American novel. Leaving Canada with a tidy 2-1 record to open the season, the Tribe is looking PRETTY. GODDAMN. GOOD. these days. The first series against Toronto this week featured three really terrific games, and the Indians showed few signs of weakness…
Concert Review and Slideshow: Fleetwood Mac at Nationwide Arena in Columbus
There was something old-fashioned about the way Fleetwood Mac casually arrived on stage last night at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, the site of the first date of the band’s 50-date reunion tour. Playing together for the first time in 3 years, band members strolled onto the stage without any major hoopla (though drummer Mick Fleetwood…
Expecting Rain Releases New Music Video
Expecting Rain – “Fuck the World” Expecting Rain released a new music video today for the song “DMT” off the band’s November 2012 album Fuck the World. The entire album can be streamed online. “DMT” as a song is laid-back and rather sublime. And as a video backdrop, the unexpected foil of NWA wrestling works…
Rick Steves Enjoys Cleveland’s Impressive Skyline and Plunging Necklines
Steves with WVIZ’s Kent Geist Jesus, do you guys need a babysitter? First we’re all over the Atlantic for our gross algae blooms, now we’re baring our titties to esteemed travel writers. Via Freshwater Cleveland, Rick Steves’ latest entry for his HuffPo travel series “Road Trip USA” touted some of Cleveland’s, er, charms: namely, our…
Free Indians Shuttle May Become Reality for Tremont
The successful free shuttle program that currently transports Indians fans between Ohio City and Progressive Field will now be tested in the Tremont neighborhood. “If we have a strong participation for the Indians free shuttle on opening day, this will turn into an expanded game program. If not, it’s a one-time deal,” says Justin Clemens,…
Concert Review: Wavves at Grog Shop
Courtney Abbott A Wednesday night doesn’t have a big expectation to live up to; it’s just another bland workday before the freedom of the weekend bestows itself upon everyone. However, last night’s sold-out Wavves show at the Grog Shop was a surprising experience of a night for everyone. Though Coventry has tried its best to…
Plain Dealer Announces Home Delivery Cuts, New ‘Media Group’
[UPDATE, 5:14 p.m.] Robert Smith penned a news article about the PD transformation, including a takeaway from the staff meeting in the newsroom today. He touches on much of the same information from the release this morning, save for the input from top brass. To wit, here’s Editor Debra Adams Simmons’ less-than-enthusiastic quote: “I think…
Experts Say Asian Carp Have Infiltrated Great Lakes
A new scientific report released yesterday from a team of marine biologists in Canada suggests that Asian carp have probably found their way to the Great Lakes. There have been DNA samples recovered throughout the region — including several in Lake Erie in 2011 — but government officials have long maintained that the DNA arrived…
Tom’s Foolery Applejack a Medalist
Tom’s Foolery Applejack was recently awarded a silver medal at the American Distilling Institute 7th Annual Judging of Artisan American Spirits. There was no gold medal awarded in their category. Over the course of the competition, judges evaluated 317 artisan American spirits: 127 whiskies, 66 gins, 36 moonshines, 47 rums and 41 fruit spirits were…
Turkuaz and Aqueous at Beachland Tavern: Concert Review
ERIC SANDY/SCENE Turkuaz at Beachland Tavern Last night’s show at Beachland Tavern, attended by a dedicated crowd of Cleveland’s jam scene loyalists, brought together the best strands of funky improv, sky-high rock ‘n’ roll and jazzy, ambient interludes. Bedecked in full-body painter coveralls, the 10 members of Turkuaz transformed the tiny tavern into a massive…
New Design Center Makes Cold Weather Cool
Image: Chris Zimmer On the whole, Clevelanders get all Brothers of the Night’s Watch in winter, enduring inclement conditions with a stony, martyr-like resolve (and lots of booze and layers). But guess what? WINTER DOESN’T HAVE TO SUCK. It can be full of community-oriented merrymaking, like putting snow in other people’s underwear and pelting children…
Rock Hall announces new exhibit devoted to 2013 inductees
The Rock Hall today announced it will open a new exhibit featuring items from the 2013 class of inductees. The exhibit, which is slated to open on April 16 in the Museum’s Hall of Fame Wing, will include items such as the Dean Baby Z Custom guitar that Heart’s Nancy Wilson played on Heart’s Bad…
Also On View
ARTS COLLINWOOD Das Wird Sich Alles Finden. Everything will turn out alright with this exhibition of 16 artists from Germany, France, the U.K., and America. The traveling exhibit began after the curators for a scheduled Berlin show absconded after having taken artists’ fees. The creatives organized their own show, and reframed their work under considerations…
CD Review: Eternal Legacy
legacymetal.com Though not quite as heavy, this local metal band hearkens back to the early days of iconic metal acts like Metallica and Slayer. Recorded in Avon at the band’s own Mercinary Studios, the album kicks off with an arty intro before the thrashing begins. “Cauterize” sounds a bit like Judas Priest and the guitar…
Adventures in Argyle
Contrary to popular belief, I am not a douchebag. I do, however, possess douche-like attributes that often get me mistaken for one. A sweater vest, a very punchable face, and a name like “Chad” will make you first option in a type-casted role in a movie called, “Douchebag: The Movie.” The reason why I feel…
Not Just a Pretty Girl
Northern San Diego is a beautiful beachside community bereft of the kind of dive bars and dingy concert clubs that breed good rock ‘n’ roll. So when singer-songwriter Tristan Prettyman, who was born in raised in what the locals call North County, was trying to get gigs in her hometown, she had to look to…
The Futures Market
Though the phrase “winning the off-season doesn’t win playoff games” has become ubiquitous and trite, there is little question that the Cleveland Indians “won” the off-season through a series of moves that shocked and likely pleased even their most jaded of fans. Whether “winning the off-season” will mean that the Tribe will win – or…
The Ragan Years
Raspy-voiced singer-guitarist Chuck Ragan is best known as the front man of Hot Water Music, the punk outfit he started some 19 years ago. But while that trio plays a style of music that caters to fans of old school punk rock like Bad Religion, Ragan’s musical influences actually stretch back further into the past.…
The Saga of League Park
East 66th Street is a jagged little thing. Reaching northward from Chester Avenue, the roadway is mountainous and untame. There are a lot of plastic bottles dancing along the sidewalk today, but not too many baseballs. Not too many well worn gloves dangling off front porch steps, either. The street leads toward a grassy lot.…
A Man of Constant Sorrow
Singer-songwriter David Mayfield began his career by playing with his parents in One Way Rider, a local group that played folk and bluegrass at county fairs and festivals. Mayfield eventually branched out on his own and began writing his own songs; he moved from Kent to Nashville in 2006 (and just recently moved to back…
More Than Cracker Jack
New life is breathing through the Indians’ organization these days. Terry Francona has been installed as the new manager, the Dolans opened up the checkbook to land some free agents, and Chris Perez seems vaguely happy. That new life extends beyond the field, however, to the full fan experience at The Jake. Because what’s a…
Flying High
A couple weeks ago, The Cleveland National Air Show announced its cancellation this year due to the impact of those sequestration budget cuts everyone pretends to vaguely understand. Since 1964, the Air Show has been a family tradition and a thunderous marketing tool for the industries of patriotism on Labor Day weekend, as well as a…
Timelessly Old Timey
Take me out to the ballgame, take me…back to 1860? Not many customs from the 1860s merit revival. We’ll do without unsanitized bonesaw amputations. Ditto slavery. 1860s-style baseball, on the other hand, is a different ballgame entirely, one that Cleveland-area vintage ball fans have embraced with hearty period-appropriate “Huzzahs!” and mangled fingers. Playing barehanded is…
Savage Love
Dear Dan — I am trying to understand some sexual fantasies I have. They involve having sex with a woman who has a penis. Sometimes I fantasize that my wife grew a penis. The fantasies started when we first tried pegging a few years ago. We recently had our first child and can no longer…
Good Spirits
“I think you’ve got something really special here,” says Edwin Vargas, who is holding a small cordial glass filled with a straw-colored liquid. One minute prior, that liquid was deep inside a wooden barrel, where it has been sitting quietly for the past 12 months. It will be a full year or more until that…
LIES, DAMN LIES, AND SHAKESPEARE
Life is full of contradictions. Teachers tell their students not to lie, then, at some point, they hand them Shakespeare’s plays, which are so filled with lies and counterfeits of various sorts that the mind boggles. So it is with the beloved comedy Much Ado About Nothing, now at the Great Lakes Theater. You’d be…
Getting There
Cedar Creek Grille just feels solid – like one of those timeless New York institutions where one can walk in for brunch, lunch or dinner and get just about anything they want in terms food, service and setting. Seven months of down-to-the-studs renovation has transformed the former Melange space at La Place into an upmarket…
Also On Stage This Week
Struck Cleveland Public Theatre “It’s a rare and wonderful opportunity to find out what is true.” That line is spoken to describe a stroke suffered by Tannis Kowalchuk, who is one of the two performers on stage, along with Brett Keyser. Struck explores this “cerebrovascular accident” from the inside out, utilizing captivating and often startling…
Call Me Old Fashioned
Fed up with “work disguised as a wedding,” Don Draper approaches the bar at a country club in search of a proper Old Fashioned. It’s the third episode of the third season of AMC’s Mad Men and there’s nary a bartender to be found. He takes matters into his own hands. Two rocks glasses, two…
Rising Star Chef
Creativity is something you’re either born with or not; you don’t pick the skill up in a textbook. And for chefs, that innate creativity expresses itself on the page – the menu to be exact. But creativity must be reigned in so that imagination doesn’t override practicality and good taste. That capacity comes only from…
Batter’s Eye
Batter’s Eye You can’t walk around The Jake (no, we don’t use that other name around here) without seeing something that Nick Pietravoia has done. You don’t know his name, but if you glance around the ballpark, his hand is everywhere. From the art inside the concourse to the game programs, from the beaming faces…
Opening: NO
Gael Garcia Bernal stars as a skateboarding Chilean ad executive in ‘NO,’ a grainy portrait of the political advertising efforts surrounding the 1989 referendum of Chile’s military dictator Augusto Pinochet. Bernal’s character Rene revolutionizes the ‘NO’ campaign by using upbeat tropes from commercial ads in the 15 minutes his team is allotted each night to…
Screens
Baseball season is under way and the Tribe’s home opener is right around the corner. Before you drain your checking account for a Bud Light and a coupla hot dogs at the stadium, get yourself prepped by streaming some of the best baseball movies of all time. (And, oh yeah: 42, the new Jackie Robinson…
Top Pop Culture Picks for the Week
TOP PICK Cold War Kids Dear Miss Lonelyhearts (Downtown Records) ”Miracle Mile,” the jitter opening track on the latest album from SoCal indie rockers Cold War Kids, is the best song on this disc. And yet, the anthemic “Lost That Easy” and the atmospheric “Fear & Trembling” suggest there’s more than just one good single…
Home Movies
The 37th Cleveland International Film Festival, which runs April 3 – 14 at Tower City Cinemas, will showcase 180 feature films and 164 shorts. Films from all across the globe will grace the screens, including a handful of flicks with local ties. Here are five you should pencil into your schedule. Dear Mr. Watterson: Bill…
Change Up
“That night I went home, I didn’t think about it. Every time you give an interview, just like now, it’s up to the interviewer to paint the picture and atmosphere and mood. And sometimes you can take two or three words from a five-minute interview and make a headline out of it.” It was odd…
We Get Mail
On: “By His Hands,” a profile of Bishop Lennon It has come to pass that Scene carried a cover story running a few pages, and very little of length or substance beyond that. The story was on Richard Lennon, Roman rite Bishop of Cleveland. Richard Lennon rarely grants interviews. It is a wonder why this…
Old World Charm
It’s an art world truism that the rise of photo-graphy “freed” painters from the task of mere mimicry on canvas and allowed them to devote themselves to explorations of pure forms, colors and concepts. However, as pictures became cleaner and sharper, photographers also wearied of trueness-to-life and drew on painterly experiments to make their own…
Band of the Week
Meet the Band: Thor Platter (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Chris Hanna (keyboards), Billy Crompton (bass), Matthew Knott (drums) Looking for Sunshine: After honing his chops in Buffalo and widening the scope of his vision in Cleveland for a few years, Thor Platter is now able to highlight his personal style. His new solo effort, Looking for…
