Reviews of the Cinematheque’s weekend films
The Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque is showing several great movies this weekend. Here are our reviews of just a few of them. Film Ist. a Girl & a Gun (Austria/Germany, 2009) Gustav Deutsch’s film starts with an old black-and-white image of a “girl and a gun” (a riff on the Jean-Luc Godard maxim about…
Tuesday Ticket Giveaway: The Roots
The Roots are playing PlayhouseSquare’s Allen Theatre on Saturday as part of the Tri-C JazzFest. We have a pair of tickets to the show. Want them? All you have to do is answer the following question: The Roots are the house band for what late-night talk show? Now, send your answer — along with your…
DENNIS KUCINICH IS COOLER THAN YOU
Wonkette catches Kucinich at Venice Beach: Look at this super-cool ruff rider, with the shades and popped collar. “I will steal your hottest ladies with my powers,” he is saying, maybe.
Meet Baby Dee
If you’re heading to Baby Dee’s show at the Beachland on Thursday, you may want to show up early for a meet-and-greet with the artist. The event is a fundraiser for the local LGBT foundation. It starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Beachland Tavern. Tickets are $25 and includes the concert. Clevelander Baby Dee will…
This Just In: Cleveland Concert Announcements
Roger Waters: Yet another brick in the wall SOLD OUT:Never Shout Never/Hey Monday/the Cab/Every Avenue/the Summer Set: The Alternative Press Tour, Sat., May 8, 5:30 p.m. House of Blues. NEW VENUE: Clipse/Ninjasonik/XV/Doxx/Blacease/Keyel: New venue. Tickets bought at House of Blues will be honored, Sun., April 25, 8 p.m., $20. Grog Shop. THIS JUST IN: Adrian…
NO COMPRENDO: LOCAL POLS COURT THE HISPANIC VOTE
Note to Northeast Ohio political candidates: Be careful with how you sell yourself to Hispanic voters. More than a dozen candidates for state and local offices made pitches to more than 300 people at the Hispanic Roundtable’s first ever candidate forum at La Sagrada Familia church in Cleveland last Wednesday. Considering the venue and audience,…
IMMORTALIZED
Karamu playwright in residence Michael Oatman got some ink in the New York Times last weekend (Sunday, April 11), as writer Erik Piepenburg featured Karamu’s production of his Eclipse: The War Between Pac and B.I.G. Piepenburg highlighted the degree to which writers have dramatized the life and death of the legendary rapper, keeping his memory…
Concert Review: Drive-By Truckers at Beachland Ballroom
Keep on truckin’ The Drive-By Truckers have been around for, oh, let’s just say awhile. You know at this point what you’re getting with their live show — at least with their catalog. On their current tour, which swung by the Beachland Ballroom last night, the Truckers are pushing their latest album, The Big To-Do,…
Monday Giveaway: Autographed Baby Dee Album
Cleveland singer Baby Dee has a pair of hometown shows this week. On Wednesday, she’ll play a 20-minute set at the Cleveland Museum of Art. On Thursday, there’s a show at the Beachland Ballroom. She also has a new album, A Book of Songs of Anne Marie, coming out on April 20. We have an…
Swag Alert: No Pressure, No Pressure At All
GV Art Work has rolled out their tee for the Cavs playoff run, and like last year, it bears the “On the Shoulders of the King” image on the back. The front? “The Wait of the City,” which just about sums it up. The biggest two month stretch of basketball on the shores of Lake…
A Q&A with Killing Kasztner director Gaylen Ross
Gaylen Ross’s documentary Killing Kasztner: The Jew Who Dealt with the Nazis examines the life of Rezso Kasztner, a Hungarian Jew who helped many Jews escape the concentration camps but was also accused of collaborating with the Nazis and withholding information about Auschwitz. Ross will be in town this weekend when the film opens at…
Brian Windhorst Comments on Frank Isola’s Story (Update)
The New York Daily News’ Frank Isola had an odd response to Brian Windhorst’s latest story about the rumors of LeBron’s stay-or-go decision in July. He decided it was time to go after Windhorst, who he claims, well… he claims lots of things, mostly all silly, and some of them involve the Sopranos, so you…
The Council of Chiefs
Through the last ten weeks or so, I’ve talked a lot about bands, process and, um, haters, but I’ve said very little about the organizers of the Cleveland Lottery League – “The Council of Chiefs” – except in passing where I’ve written about their bands (and, um, haters). So for the last post before The…
Dick Jacobs Wanted Tribe in AL East?
Jonah Keri was on Mike and Mike the other morning talking about parity and competitive balance in baseball, specifically focusing on the Yankees and Red Sox compared to small market teams. The gist of his argument, and the topic of the sports talk for the week, was the amount of money the Yankees dump back…
Apparel of the Day
We have it on very good authority that this new “Forged in Ohio” T-Shirt is “easily the best Ohio rock ‘n’ roll shirt in years.” It is pretty damn cool. It’s by the Forged in Flame guys, who gave us the Phil Lara T-shirt last summer. —Michael Gallucci (follow me on Twitter @mgallucci)
Before Tomorrow makes its local premiere at CMA
A Native American movie about a grandmother who tries protect her grandson from the elements, Before Tomorrow makes its local premiere at 7 tonight at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Lecture Hall. It also shows at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, April 11. Here’s our review of the film. Before Tomorrow (Canada, 2008) The final chapter of…
A couple of real characters make Date Night worthwhile
Every so often, the elements combine to make a formulaic studio comedy really work. The likeable action-comedy Date Night, directed by Shawn Levy, has a lot of the right stuff: the ingenious pairing of Tina Fey and Steve Carell as a married couple from New Jersey; a fairly funny screenplay by Josh Klausner; and a…
4/21: Romeo & Julia Kören at CMA
Back in 1991, a group of singers hired to perform musical interludes during a Stockholm Royal Dramatic Theatre production of Romeo and Juliet stayed together after the show closed. Led by artistic director Benoit Mamlberg, and accompanied by lute and percussion, Romeo & Julia Kören play a range of styles — from Italian renaissance to…
4/21: The Madison Square Gardeners at Happy Dog
When Brooklyn-based singer and bassist Mark Stepro isn’t touring and recording with his band the Madison Square Gardeners, he’s taking road trips to Cleveland to jam with yuletide faves the Ohio City Singers. That might not make Stepro a jetsetter, but it does give him special affinity for Cleveland and, especially, for the Happy Dog…
4/21: Chili Cook-Off for Autism
This is the time of year when we’re being besieged by charities begging us to walk/run/bike/skate/turn cartwheels “for the cure.” The Autism Society of Greater Cleveland has a better idea that even the lazy can get behind: Eat chili to help provide support for families affected by autism. The Greater Cleveland Chili Cook-Off for Autism…
4/20: The Appleseed Cast at Grog Shop
Nearly 10 years ago, the Appleseed Cast released Low Level Owl 1 and Low Level Owl 2, two heady albums that relied on the kind of undulating melodies that post-rock bands Tortoise and Trans Am are known for. But unlike most records in the genre, Appleseed Cast’s albums aren’t instrumental, even though they include instrumental…
4/19-24: Author John Stark Bellamy
Writer John Stark Bellamy grew up in Cleveland in a newspaper family. So he’s been hearing local disaster stories since he was a kid. But Bellamy’s fascination with the subject began in earnest when he worked as a history specialist at the Cuyahoga County Public Library’s Fairview branch. “You have to be really committed to…
4/18: Nora McCarthy at Nighttown
The intrepid and experimental vocalist Nora McCarthy will make a rare hometown appearance tonight at 7 at Nighttown (12387 Cedar Rd., Cleveland Hts., 216.795.0550), performing material from her three independently released albums. A striking woman of unusually elastic voice, McCarthy infuses her music with poetry and theatricality that’s both stark and sensual. McCarthy left Cleveland…
4/18: EarthFest 2010 at the Zoo
When U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson announced the first Earth Day back in 1970, there were rumors that April 22 was chosen by the avid Wisconsin environmentalist as part of a commie plot, since that’s also Lenin’s birthday. Forty years later, despite continuing opposition from right-wingers who probably still believe it’s a red rather than green…
4/18: Blue October at House of Blues
Blue October’s Pick Up the Phone Tour — which is tied to a half-dozen suicide-prevention and help groups — was originally scheduled for last year, when the Houston alt-rockers released their fifth album, Approaching Normal. Ironically, frontman Justin Furstenfeld suffered a severe mental anxiety attack and the tour was scrapped. The singer, songwriter and guitarist…
4/17: Hal Walker at Kent Stage
Leading a dual life, local singer-songwriter Hal Walker teaches the importance of music to students during the day, then writes, records and performs as a folk bard at night. On first listen, his new album, Home in Ohio, smacks of cheesy local pride set to overly wholesome music, made for moms, kids and Columbus Day.…
4/17: Monotonix at Musica
It’s rare that a band will stand out at South by Southwest. Hundreds of artists compete for attention as jaded industry types weasel their way from one show to another. Israel’s sneering garage rockers Monotonix performed at the Austin music fest two years ago, and that paved the way for some major stateside buzz. “My…
4/17: Lair of the Minotaur at Peabody’s
Chicago-based thrashers Lair of the Minotaur have always pursued their own path. Choosing to emphasize raw power over technical precision, their albums are filled with the sound of picks on strings and guttural roars from guitarist and singer Steven Rathbone, bone-shattering drums from Chris Wozniak and down-tuned bass from Nate Olp. Every riff Lair of…
4/17: Dosh at the Beachland
Martin Dosh is a man on a mission. He interweaves acoustic instrumentation (violin, guitar, winds) with sounds generated or altered by electronic media. Instead of going deeper into sample-land on his latest album, Tommy ups the ante by including more drums (real ones!) and singing. (On the previous Dosh album, Wolves and Wishes, Bonnie “Prince”…
4/17: Collective Ink at Zygote Press & Wooltex Gallery
Maybe it’s because the machines are kinda rare and a little expensive, but old-school printmakers have a tendency to form co-ops. Somebody gets a press and some space, and soon there’s a group of working artists there. Ohio has a handful of places like this. At today’s Collective Ink gathering, Zygote Press plays host to…
4/17: The Church at the Winchester
Even though it doesn’t sound particularly conducive to recreating their sonically dense music, Aussie alt-rockers the Church have been performing acoustic on their past couple of U.S. tours. The format is partially a function of adapting to smaller venues and not having the budget to lug around a bunch of gear and guitar techs from…
4/17: CIA and AIDS Task Force’s ArtCares
Graffiti-inspired ’80s art star Keith Haring died of AIDS in 1990 at the age of 31. Multimedia sensation David Wojnarowicz died in 1992 at age 37. Erotic-art photographer Robert Mapplethorpe was 42 when he died in 1989. Wojnarowicz’s former partner, successful magazine portrait photographer Peter Hujar, lived into his early 50s before dying of AIDS…
4/16: Green Dream Eco-Friendly Showcase
Everybody’s thinking green these days, especially young people, who have the most to lose in the despoiling of the planet. The Green Dream Eco-Friendly Showcase, now in its third year, was created by Beachwood High School students as a marketing and Junior Achievement class project. Its mission is “to unite consumers and businesses in a…
4/16: A Day to Remember at House of Blues
From the start, a Day to Remember have blazed a sonic trail by combining metal and hardcore’s visceral shred with pop-punk’s melodic punch. The band formed seven years ago in Florida and immediately hit the road, establishing a reputation as relentless road dogs. Their first album, 2005’s And Their Name Was Treason, sold nearly 9,000…
4/15-17: John Witherspoon at the Improv
You probably know John Witherspoon’s face but not his name. He’s appeared in most of the Friday movies and was a regular on the Wayans brothers’ TV show. “I’ve had a lot of exposure in film and television, and a lot of fun,” he says. Like most stand-up comics, the 68-year-old Witherspoon began his career…
4/15: Things of the Dry Hours opens at CPT
Communism was just as attractive to black people as it was to white people during the Depression. Apparently, worrying about spies infiltrating the party was an equal-opportunity pastime. That’s the context for Naomi Wallace’s play Things of the Dry Hours, which tells the story of Tice, a black, out-of-work Sunday school teacher who’s also a…
4/15: Paul Muldoon at John Carroll
Irish poet Paul Muldoon is one of the few modern wordsmiths to dent pop culture without working in the slam genre. Last year he discussed his art on The Colbert Report, reading one of his poems line by line with the host. Muldoon — a Princeton professor and Pulitzer Prize winner who The Times Literary…
4/15: Ben Folds at House of Blues
You never know what to expect from piano maestro Ben Folds. After a sound-alike recently appeared on the website Chatroulette, making up songs about the people who showed up on the other end of the line, Folds paid tribute to the guy by staging his own rounds of Chatroulette in concert. It’s that strange spontaneity…
4/15-17: Bill Bellamy at Hilarities
Stand-up comic Bill Bellamy set his goals high when he was growing up in New Jersey during the ’70s. “I wanted to make it big,” he says. “I wanted to become a comedian. I wanted to act.” The former MTV VJ starred in the ’90s films How to Be a Player, Love Jones and Any…
4/14: CIM’s New Music Ensemble
The Cleveland Institute of Music’s New Music Ensemble returns to MOCA Cleveland tonight for its second Harmonic Hues series concert. This time, it’s adding a Western European musical sensibility to iona rozeal brown’s all falls down exhibit of paintings, which merges 17th-century Japanese Ukiyo-e influences to hip-hop style. Directed by Keith Fitch, the ensemble will…
All That Scratching’s Making Me Itch: Malcolm McLaren Dies
Malcolm McLaren, the mastermind behind the Sex Pistols, has died. The London native died this morning in New York at the age of 64. He had cancer. McLaren got in on the U.K. punk scene early, opening a clothing shop on King’s Road before managing the Sex Pistols. His innovative and infamous publicity stunts pretty…
Thursday Music News Roundup
Whitney Houston: Crack is wack, and pot is not, and coke is foke, and … Whitney Houston ain’t on drugs, says Whitney Houston. In other news, 2 + 2 = 7. OMG! Justin Bieber is on the cover of People! And he looks “crazy as heck”! Christ, isn’t the real Susan Boyle bad enough? M.I.A.…
Yay! Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker Releasing Solo Album
If you’re anything like us, you’re probably still a little sore that Sleater-Kinney broke up way before their time. One of the greatest bands of the late ’90s/early ’00s, the all-girl trio released one great album after another before going out in 2006. And they did it with a blast: Their last album, 2005’s The…
“IT MEANS WHAT?! OH MY GOD I AM SO SORRY!”
We don’t know hold old this is, but it’s priceless. I would have paid money to see Wayne Dawson’s face when someone explained the meaning of the phrase he’d just used on the air.
Spring 2010 Playlist
Now that spring is finally here, you can pack away the Snuggie till November. While you’re at it, you can toss out all those songs you’ve been listening to all winter (see you later, Lady Gaga! Bye-bye, Miley!). It’s a new season. And it’s a time for a new playlist. Below are a few of…
COURTS STILL OK WITH THOSE EVIL TRAFFIC CAMERAS
Responding to an Akron traffic case, the federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the constitutionality of traffic cameras — though a dissenting opinion suggested the City of Akron’s judicial process needs a tune-up. Akron attorney Warner Mendenhall initially filed an administrative appeal on behalf of his wife, who was cited for speeding in a…
WMMS DJ PULLS DOUBLE DUTY — IN ANOTHER MARKET
Next week, a new Cleveland DJ will become an FM export. Starting Monday April 12, WMMS afternoon drive time DJ Alan Cox will warm up for his shift by hosting the midday show on St. Louis’s 100.3 WSDD (“The Sound”). Weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Central Time), Cox will broadcast to St. Louis…
WMMS DJ Doing Double Duty
Busy guy Next week, a Cleveland DJ will become an FM export. Starting Monday, WMMS afternoon drive-time DJ Alan Cox will warm up for his shift by hosting the midday show on St. Louis’s 100.3 FM WSDD the Sound. Weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Central Time), Cox will broadcast to St. Louie live…
Charles Pinkney’s Grave at Lake View Cemetery Finally Gets a Headstone
Everyone knows the tale of Ray Chapman, the Cleveland shortstop who died after being beaned in the head in 1920, one of only two major leaguers to die from injuries suffered during a game. Chapman is buried at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, a legendary burial ground that serves as the final resting place for…
Slot Picker
This, alas, was my last Lottery League 2010 band visit. The Big Show is just too damn close now, and I need to spend my time on my own League band, which by the way will totally fucking knock your genitals up into your chest cavity. (No it won’t, that’s preposterous.) I honestly wish I…
FAST? WE’LL WILL SHOW YOU FAST
Case Western Reserve University is providing University Circle’s Hessler Road and Hessler Court a better Internet connection than money can buy — for free. The research program Case Connection Zone is wiring homes with fiber-optic cables that deliver a one-gigabyte-per-second connection for downloading and uploading. In layman’s terms, that’s light years beyond what is generally…
Midwest Hardcore: The Books
Hardcore lifers take note: Two upcoming books will take a look at the old-school hardcore scene, as filtered through Midwestern eyes. Bazillion Points, the publishing house run by metal guru Ian Christe, is close to releasing Touch & Go: The Complete Hardcore Punk Zine 1979-1983. The magazine was born in Michigan and later moved to…
But What Does Scully Think?
Bill Simmons had David Duchovny as his guest on his most recent podcast, and in between talking about why old women like Californication and X-Files stuff, they got on the topic of LeBron going to New York. (Memo to anyone who hasn’t been asked their opinion about LeBron’s free agency by an ESPN staffer or…
WHEN LIBERALS ARE KILLING PEOPLE, THEN WE CAN TALK
Tom G. of South Russell takes issue with my most recent tirade against Senator Voinovich: Concerning “Voinovich Feigns Shock at Extremism”, I found an interesting article on line. I think the true extremists are decidedly from the left spectrum of political persuasion. Now you know. The “interesting article” references incidents in which conservatives were the…
Kid Cudi on HBO Recap
Kid Cudi. On a park bench. In America Season one of HBO’s mostly-drama How to Make It in America finished Sunday. Cleveland’s Scott “Kid” Mescudi — also known as rapper Kid Cudi — had a small role as Domingo Brown, a guy with a hot girlfriend. Over the previous seven episodes, he clocked about three…
Concert Review: Japandroids/Avi Buffalo at Grog Shop
Japandroids, setting shit on fire Avi Buffalo were on the Grog Shop stage before Japandroids last night, looking young and meek at first. The members of the four-piece Long Beach group are barely out of high school. Yet as soon as their fingers touched their instruments, age was just a number. The structures of Buffalo’s…
CD Review: Matt Pond PA
Deep within the lush, swirling pop mastery of The Dark Leaves, there must be some profound meaning. Yet Matt Pond — who named the band after himself and the state in which he formed the group — hides it with pretentious lyrics like “I can’t remember which movie taught me purpose/ I can’t remember which…
Reel Cleveland: Banff Mountain Film Festival
A showcase for short documentaries about outdoor-sports thrill seekers, the annual Banff Mountain Film Festival returns to the Allen Theatre (1407 Euclid Ave., 216.241.6000, playhousesquare.com) at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 9, and Saturday, April 10. Friday’s highlights include Azazel, a film about four friends who try to conquer Pakistan’s Trango Pulpit Tower; Take a Seat,…
CD Review: John Butler Trio
Two years ago, Australian guitar hero John Butler made some changes in his life after a grueling world tour supporting Grand National. Butler cut his hair, dissolved his trio and settled back to relax and write songs for his next album, taking time to appear on the Australian celebrity genealogy TV show, Who Do You…
PHILADELPHIA STORY
Don Argott’s terrific documentary Art of the Steal starts with the announcement that the art collection the late Albert Barnes began amassing in 1922 will move from Lower Merion into downtown Philadelphia five miles away, something that was decidedly against Barnes’ wishes. The film’s narrative works its way backward through the foundation’s tumultuous history and…
CD Review: High Places
High Places are a duo. This is good to know because Robert Barber and Mary Pearson layer sounds in a deceptive manner. There could be 10 people on this ambitious album, their second full-length. The stated concept is “the complex, gigantic subject of being human and what it’s like to interact with other human beings.”…
a League of Their Own
A few years ago, Ed Sotelo, bassist with local glam rockers Cobra Verde and the far rootsier Jack Fords, posted what he thought was an innocent update on his Facebook page. He suggested every band in Cleveland should trade away all their original members and draft a new set of prospects, kind of like what…
Bites: Cafe at Arts Collinwood
“We’ve kind of become the gateway, visitors’ bureau and café for the whole Waterloo Arts District,” says Susan Walters about the new Cafe at Arts Collinwood (15601 Waterloo Rd., 216.692.9500, artscollinwood.org/cafe). Adjacent to Arts Collinwood, the corner storefront was most recently home to the short-lived Waterloo Café. Before that, it was the slightly longer-lived Café…
Less is More
“Sparklers,” Rocky Votolato’s best new song, is surprisingly simple. Its one-word title and sparse arrangement (only acoustic guitar accompanies his gentle voice) hint at the minimalism of his recently released sixth album, True Devotion. But it would be a mistake to categorize the beauty here as “plain.” His fingertips swim over the strings, etching a…
Out of Reach
Carmen Gray is a married mother of four and a self-employed contractor who works mostly short-term jobs. In recent years, she’s had private insurance, Medicaid, no insurance and then Medicaid again. As a result, in 2008, she received widely varying levels of care at three different Northeast Ohio facilities for problems related to vertigo. She…
Loud and Proud
When Drive-By Truckers hit the studio last year, the Alabama-via-Athens, Georgia sextet was fresh from experiences that would profoundly effect its next album. The Truckers had been on a long road trip supporting 2008’s stripped-back and country-flavored Brighter Than Creation’s Dark, which had been largely written on the band’s acoustic Dirt Underneath Tour. They had…
BIG HANDS, BIG ART
Given the recent spate of athlete-created “art” in the news, I was relieved it was Shaquille O’Neal and not Greg Oden or Grady Sizemore who was asked to curate an exhibition for the Flag Art Foundation in New York, especially one called “Size DOES Matter.” Thankfully, Shaq’s venture into the world of contemporary art does…
STRESS TESTS
The prevailing spirit in Cuyahoga County — distrust in public leadership — fans controversy in the sleepiest communities. Witness Fairview Park, where the struggle to keep tax dollars in the west-side suburb has sparked tension between City Hall, self-styled watchdogs and one of Greater Cleveland’s largest educational nonprofits, Positive Education Program (PEP). Fairview Park, a…
Film Capsules
Opening Before Tomorrow (Canada, 2008) The final chapter of a trilogy that includes The Fast Runner and The Journals of Knud Rasmussen, co-directors Marie-Hélène Cousineau and Madeline Ivalu’s film takes place in a remote arctic village in 1840. Ninioq (Ivalu), an Inuit fisherwoman, and Maniq (Paul-Dylan Ivalu), her 10-year-old grandchild, are on an island drying…
Local CD Reviews
Brent Kirby Last Song on the Soundtrack (self-released) myspace.com/brentkirby It’s easy to take Brent Kirby for granted. The guy has a natural, understated attitude and blends in with the Jack Fords and the Ohio City Singers when he’s not doing the solo thing. And yet, he’s one of Cleveland’s finest singer-songwriters. This, his second album,…
GROWTH ORIENTED
Growth is the theme explored by both companies performing in this week’s Cleveland Public Theatre’s DanceWorks program. Inlet Dance Theatre’s mission is equal parts performing and outreach/education, while Verb Ballet’s Fresh Inventions gives local choreographers and composers the opportunity to set work on a professional dance company. Inlet’s artistic director Bill Wade brings his brand…
Around Hear: Jared Koston Benefits
Venomin James drummer Jared Koston has been diagnosed with two cancerous brain tumors. A statement from the band says he has started radiation therapy. Jared and his wife Michele have four children, and the family has no insurance. The situation has left both Kostons unemployed. Koston’s wife has organized two spaghetti-dinner fundraisers. The first is…
INFUSION OF TALENT
Cleveland Play House associate artistic director Seth Gordon downplays how busy he has been this year, especially during the annual FusionFest, taking place April 14-25. He’s directing two of the festival’s major productions back to back, but he’s done that before: Earlier this season, he directed Inherit the Wind, immediately followed by A Christmas Story.…
CD Review: Dr. Dog
Standing on top of the clouds, looking down on the land below in contemplative peace, would be the proper way to listen to “Unbearable Why,” one of the best songs on Dr. Dog’s sixth album. Though frontman Scott McMicken’s falsetto warns that the eye of the storm approaches, swirling double harmonies and minimalist four-chord piano…
Arts District: Busy Bee Gordon
Cleveland Play House associate artistic director Seth Gordon’s busy season will also be his last here. Gordon is moving on to another job with the same title at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. He started at the Play House in 2001, and during his time here, he helped launch FusionFest. His last official day…
HD Hobbits
TOP PICK The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy (Warner) The greatest movie trilogy of all time (sorry, Star Wars fans) finally comes to Blu-ray. The nine-disc box includes theatrical cuts of all three films (boo!), more than seven hours of bonus material (yay!) and digital copies so you can watch them whenever…
Rebranded
The process of rebranding is familiar in the advertising world, with Philip Morris trying to shake its connection to cancer sticks by calling itself Altria. Who can get mad at something called Altria? But you don’t often see plays being rebranded like Eclipse: The War Between PAC and B.I.G., now at Karamu. A year…
CD Review: Black Francis
If you’re holding out hope that the Pixies will release another album between reunion gigs, it appears that ship has sailed. And every time they get ready to tour — they have a slate of summer gigs scheduled — Frank Black comes out with a solo record. This time, he’s using his Pixies nom de…
Noble Gas
In the wake of its economic and political plagues, Youngstown continues to enjoy a degree of cultural health. The Butler Institute of American Art, founded in 1919, has actually prospered under the visionary leadership of executive director Louis Zona during the past three decades, renovating older galleries and, in 2000, opening the new, ultra-modern Beecher…
CD Review: David Byrne & Fatboy Slim
David Byrne and Fatboy Slim have long and illustrious histories as sonic experimentalists and collaborators. So it makes sense they would eventually join forces. Here Lies Love is a concept album — a weird tale of Imelda Marcos, wife of ousted Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos and the butt of many shoe jokes. Byrne and Slim…
DANTE UPS THE ANTE
If it’s true that the best chefs are those who move around early in their careers, then Dante Boccuzzi has a lock on the Golden Toque Award. The Parma native’s résumé is so padded with prominent posts that one might presume him guilty of embellishment. Of particular note are star-studded stints in London, Milan, Hong…
CD Review: Solomon Burke
With the passing of producer Willie Mitchell, this meeting of titans became an even more momentous affair. The Memphis studio maven behind the standout sound of ’70s superstar Al Green couldn’t have paired with a more ideal artist for the closing of his book. Burke, the true godfather of soul, takes to Mitchell’s production like…
Neon Angels
The best thing about The Runaways is that it gives the ’70s all-girl hard-rock band the same sort of conventional music-biopic grandeur bestowed upon Ray Charles and Johnny Cash. The problem with The Runaways is that the band isn’t conventional. Guitarist Joan Jett and drummer Sandy West were 17 and 16 when they started the…
4/9: Bill W. and Dr. Bob opens at Cleveland Play House
Stephen Bergman and Janet Surrey’s play about Alcoholics Anonymous’ founders is staged as an A.A. meeting. It begins with a man introducing himself: “My name is Bill W., and I’m an alcoholic.” Another guy responds, “Dr. Bob, alcoholic. Good to be here sober.” It’s a long road from the play’s beginnings to its 2007 Off-Broadway…
After throwing the punch that killed Matt Hockey, Derrick Dykas is indicted
Derrick Dykas’ one punch ended Matt Hockey’s life — and could end his own for up to five years. Derrick Dykas, the 24-year-old poster boy for why bar fights can be a bad idea, was indicted on this week in Cuyahoga County Court, on one count of involuntary manslaughter. Last month, Dykas punched Lakewood resident…
