If You Happen to Be in New York Thursday With An Extra $11,800
You too can enjoy the official opener at the new Yankee Stadium from behind the dugout, when the Indians take on the Bronx Bombers!!
New Free CKY
CKY has posted a new track, “Hellions on Parade,” here for free downloads. It requires the whole free-register rigamarole. If you think you love your favorite band, it’s nothing compared to how CKY fans feel about the group. We’re talking ICP-like devotion. Which, just to make clear, we’re not saying it’s a bad thing. The…
Classic-Rock Drummer Joe Vitale at Rock Hall Tonight
Classic rock veteran Joe Vitale will speak at the Rock Hall tonight, as part of the Songwriters to Soundmen Series, which is tremendous. The talk is a long-form interview conducted by vice president of education and public programs Lauren Onkey, followed by Q&A opportunities. Vitale, a Canton native and resident, played on all of Joe…
Insert Mandatory “Painting the Corners” Pun Here
Local artist Todd Volkmer painted this Cliff Lee piece live on Fox 8 Friday morning before the home opener. Check out his website for all of his work. I don’t see much in the way of sports among his items currently for sale, but everything that’s available looks magnificent (including the Bob Dylan piece).
Dave Matthews Gives Away a New Song
Wanna download the new Dave Matthews Band single? For free? Head on over to here and fill out the form with all the usual stuff: e-mail address, zip code, etc., and you’ll get a code to download the new song, “Funny the Way It Is.” It’s the first single off Big Whiskey & the GrooGrux…
Why Yes, LeBron Does Have Rick Astley on the iPod
The Cavs have been playing Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” near the end of blowout wins, and after the team’s dance escapades on the bench during the fourth quarter of the Celtics laugher, naturally, someone asked LeBron if he had Astley on the old iPod. The same iPod that has Barry Manilow of…
What to Wear for the LeBron MVP Campaign
From the brilliant and twisted minds over at Free Darko, this is the only tee to wear if you’re on the correct side of the 2009 MVP debate. Clearly, “Math bows to God.” Go buy it here. And if things line up as many expect, this could be the perfect shirt to wear a little…
Hubba, Hubba — The Best Looking Thing in a LeBron Jersey
The illustration above is from the immensely talented Rob Ullman, who’s been featured on Uni Watch many times for his illustrations, many of which feature scantily clad ladies wearing only jerseys or other assorted sports apparel. There’s a ton more in his collection, all of it incredibly beautiful. Check it out, buy his book, buy…
Sports Related Because Kevin Costner is Involved; Hilarity Also Almost Assuredly Present
This isn’t entirely or even remotely Cleveland sports related, but I watched Tin Cup a couple of days ago, and then our managing editor posted this little item on our music blog. Thought you would like to know Kevin Costner — yes, that Kevin Costner — is coming to House of Blues on May 13…
Seriously ESPN, Stop It
Come on already. I’m sure you run out of ideas sometimes, but do you really have to pull out the old Cleveland Sports Heartbreak card so often? And, honestly, if you’re going to run out Elway and Jordan and Mesa, why wouldn’t you make the list complete and add the Cleveland Fusion’s 2007 loss to…
Chimaira Bonus DVD Sample
Cleveland metal champions Chimaira have posted a clip of the bonus DVD from the upcoming Infection CD, which comes out next Tuesday. The DVD is included on one of the four super-ultra-deluxxxe-triple-bonus versions of the album. Director Todd Bell put together the video portion; his previous work includes the band’s The Dehumanizing Process and The…
Ever Wonder What It’s Like to Make 20,000 T-Shirts For a Cavs Playoff Game?
It’s become tradition now for fans to collect a free t-shirt at every home Cavs playoff game — well, at least for the first round. It’s usually gold or blue or red and provides the necessary and supposedly “(insert color)out effect.” They’re pretty fanatic about it down at the Q. If you’re one of the…
Your Field for the 2009 Senior PGA Championship at Canterbury
The Senior PGA Championship comes to Canterbury Golf Club in Beachwood May 19-25 this year. While it might not sound as enticing as following Tiger around Firestone, the field is littered with names you’re bound to know and love — like a bunch of cranky, limber grandfathers chilling with you for the weekend. Courtesy of…
MSB LIVE ALBUM, MINUS MS?
Michael Stanley Band alumnus and co-founder Jonah Koslen (pictured, in bandana) and friends have assembled a show called Stage Pass Now that’s an expanded, complete recreation of the MSB double-live album Stage Pass. They’re playing the two-hour show at the Winchester (12112 Madison Ave., Lakewood) Saturday, April 18 and the Tangier (532 W. Market St.,…
Concert Review: Chris Cornell at House of Blues, 4/13
Last night’s Chris Cornell concert at House of Blues wasn’t the terrible mish-mash of tunes I half-expected it to be. Given the new, ill-conceived hip-hop attitude he displays on his latest release, Scream, the former Soundgarden/Temple of the Dog/Audioslave frontman suggests he’s trying to leave his hard-rock past behind and discover his inner soul child,…
They’ll Be Back
Still no updates on that tentative HBO TV adaptation of Nine Inch Nails’ Year Zero album. But if you want to hear some NIN oozing over a gnarly post-apocalyptic landscape, check out the latest trailer for Terminator Salvation. It opens May 21 and will either rule or suck. Also, still no official word on the…
OFF THE AIR
WNCX listeners were surprised to find a new addition to the morning show lineup Monday, April 6: Cleveland comedian Jeff Blanchard was the show’s new co-host. His inaugural broadcast and its accompanying press release failed to mention that Blanchard had replaced Mike Olszewski, a 32-year broadcasting veteran with a textured old-school radio voice and a…
This Just In: Concert Announcements
This week, we have 40 new shows — from Aerosmith to ZZ TOP (at a single concert!). —D.X. Ferris SOLD OUT Jeff Beck/Davy Knowles (Back Door Slam): Wed., April 15, 7 p.m., $42.50-$89.50. House of Blues. We the Kings/Forever the Sickest Kids/the Cab/Never Shout Never/Hey Mercedes: Fri., April 24, 6 p.m., $17. House of Blues.…
Cali Miles Gets “Hot N Heavy”
Here’s Cali Miles’ new video, “Hot N Heavy,” which you can now enjoy in the pleasure of your own home. —Michael Gallucci
NO DEAL, SO PLAIN ARBITRATION?
The Plain Dealer’s editorial labor union, The Northeast Ohio Newspaper Guild Local 1, has filed three grievances against the paper. If a settlement is not reached this week, the matter could go to arbitration. “Our positions appear to be unresolvable,” says Newspaper Guild Executive Secretary Rollie Dreussi. In the first and biggest issue, the union…
Plays With Band
Kevin Costner — yes, that Kevin Costner — is coming to House of Blues on May 13 to perform Waterworld: The Rock Opera. Actually, I have no idea what kind of music his band, Modern West, plays. But in the grand tradition of other actors who play in rock bands — like Russell Crowe, Keanu…
The Indians are the Afro Ninja
At least according to ESPN the Mag’s blog, where they put together a list of every MLB team and paired it with a viral video that most closely matched the squad. Apparently, the Cleveland Indians are the Afro Ninja and this season will end with a disastrous face plant following a misguided backflip, after which…
LeBron’s Dope Jacket
If you saw pictures of LeBron down in Columbus watching his St. Vincent St. Mary brothers win the state title, you might have noticed his dope jacket. It’s got that old school Starter jacket feel to it, except it’d by Nike, and probably costs a lot more than you could imagine. Apparently, according to Dime,…
The Cavs Love the Rickroll
I haven’t made it down to the Q in awhile, so I was unaware that the Cavs have been playing Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” at the end of blowout wins. Really? “Never Gonna Give You Up” of course is the Rickroll video, so it’s kind of amusing, I suppose, if the Cavs…
There’s Now More Time to Not Win Crystal Method Tix
Remember that Crystal Method ticket giveaway we told you about last week? Well, due to overwhelming demand (um, we have only a few people leaving comments to win the tickets right now, but things seem to be picking up!), we’re extending the contest to April 28. So you now have till Tuesday, April 28, at…
Delonte West Hangs Out Where?
You might have missed this. In his April 2 Cavaliers Insider column, Windhorst touches briefly on Delonte West’s hair. which is great in its own right, but not the important thing here. Here’s the important thing: “No matter where I go around Cleveland, someone has something to say about the hair,” West said. “They say…
Joe Posnanski Might Win Something for Cleveland
So, it’s nothing big or real, but the fantastic Joe Posnanski is on the verge of winning the Seamheads Historical Baseball World Series. He’s currently whooping Bill James’ historical Boston Red Sox team. Do you care? Probably not. I bring it up though because Pos is a Cleveland boy and no one — not even…
Ray Fosse says, “Good Morning, Cleveland”
Was reading an excellent essay, which I’ll get to later, and blowing through random songs on my iTunes playlist when one of those serendipitous moments occurred and I was thinking about Ray Fosse just as the Baseball Project’s song “Past Time” was playing. The line — which is just part of the beautiful and haunting…
Shows You Should See This Week
Chris Cornell at House of Blues on Monday — Is Chris Cornell’s new album, the Timbaland-produced Scream, as bad as everyone and Trent Reznor says? No. Is it a pretty bizarre move for Soundgarden’s former rock-god/frontman? For sure. Then again, it’s a pretty ballsy genre jump. After more than two decades of keeping cock-rock alive,…
BECK IN BLACK? NOT QUITE
The $100,000 worth of news Beck Center for the Arts got from the City of Lakewood Thursday will help the organization’s long-term prospects, but does little to alleviate the Beck’s short-term cash flow problem. This prompted CEO Cindy Einhouse to announce, on March 31, that the center needed to raise $150,000 or face the possibility…
DON’T HATE US BECAUSE THEY’RE BEAUTIFUL
Do those smiles look fake? Do they mask seething geography- and sports-based hatred about to boil over? At a recent event at Buca di Beppo Italian restaurant in Vegas, Miss Ohio and Miss Michigan were seated next to each other. Organizers either were oblivious to the famous Rust Belt rivalry, or (more likely, we think)…
PEARLS OF WISDOM BEFORE SWINE
If you’ve ever read an article at Cleveland.com, then journeyed farther south to the comments section, you know that it’s a reason-free zone. Most discussions (heh) are dominated by the unspeakably angry disenchanted who seem to be killing time before Rush Limbaugh comes back on the air, to whom all news is evidence of corruption,…
NO, BISHOP, IT’S NOT TOO LATE
Seven Hills Mayor David Bentkowski speaks up on the Cleveland Diocese’s church closings: If every Catholic gave $100, it would raise $75 million dollars. Many would give more when faced with the prospect of honoring God and his house during this time of need. It’s vague, but it’s more than the Diocese has offered. Read…
SUFFER THE LITTLE CHILDREN
When 17-year-old James Rubin was shot in the forehead on March 17 and landed hard on Hough’s rough-and-tumble Bayliss Avenue, it wasn’t the first time a black child was killed by another in Cleveland. Read the papers and witness firsthand why gunfire is officially the greatest danger to black teens, in their very own neighborhoods.…
This Blog Breaks For Opening Day
No posts Friday because I’ll be at the game. Things will go back to normal on Monday. Happy Easter. Happy baseball.
Keith Woolner Chatted at Baseball Prospectus
Keith Woolner, inventor of VORP and the Indians own Bill James, chatted on Baseball Prospectus about a bunch of things. Well worth the full read even though he can’t get into anything too specific about his work with the Tribe and proprietary information on stats or projects. Two of the more entertaining Q & A’s:…
Wednesdays with WFNY: The 1991-1992 Cavs vs. the 2008-2009 Cavs
Yes, this is Thursday. Leave me alone. I was busy. Once again,. I’m joined by Scott and Rick from Waiting For Next Year for a little discussion. This week’s topic: 1991-92 Cavs vs. this year’s squad. Mainly not about the actual basketball. More about time traveling and home court advantage and cows. Read on. Vince:…
Cali Miles Premieres New Spank-Worthy Video on Saturday
Our favorite local half-dressed Snowbunni, Cali Miles, will premiere her new “Hot n Heavy” video at View Nightclub (618 Prospect Ave.) on Saturday. Doors open at 10 p.m. Miles and Lady Phab host, Jon Doe & Thaiger provide the jams and among the special guests are So Fly Models. You can check out a making-of…
Carl Pavano: 1/130 closer to an extra $100,000
Carl Pavano vs. the Texas Rangers today. 1 inning pitched. 9 ER. 6 hits. According to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, Pavano gets an extra $100,000 for reaching 130 innings pitched, among many other qualifiers in his incentive-laden contract. Congrats to Carl for getting his 2009 started. Only 129 more innings to go buddy. Just kidding. He’s…
Q&A: Day 26
The R&B group Day 26 started under rather inorganic circumstances. Hip-hop impresario P. Diddy put the group together at the end of Making the Band 4, the MTV reality show about musicians trying to get into what’s left of the music business. Released last year, the group’s self-titled debut yielded the single “Got Me Going”…
Rock Hall Inductions — Now for Your Streaming Pleasure
Didja miss last weekend’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions? Fuse TV just posted a ton of clips, including Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page’s performance, as well as Metallica’s showstopper. It certainly beats seeing the show live, since most of us couldn’t afford the front-seat view Fuse’s cameras offer. And it’s also better than…
Travis Hafner Swings the Other Way
From Steve Buffum’s “B-List” from Opening Day: 4) Before you object I’m not saying that Hafner hitting the ball the other way is a bad thing: in fact, it can be a very GOOD thing, especially if it is the kind of driven ball that keeps all three outfielders from standing in right field in…
Concert Review: Dinosaur Jr at Musica, 4/8
Last night, the Rubber City was treated to three 100-watt amplified stacks of pure sonic gold courtesy of a reunited Dinosaur Jr. A couple years ago, the original trio coat-checked their sensitivity (bassist Lou Barlow) and skate films (guitarist Jay Mascis) and got back together after a nearly two-decade split. Road-testing new material from their…
What’s That Buzz?
Mosquito-B’s Dan Louis says his record label offered to fly him from his Quebec City home to Nashville for a one-off gig he’s playing there this weekend. But he told the label he’d rather drive. “A road trip is always more fun,” agreed our waitress yesterday when she heard Louis’ story as we sat and…
Anne E. DeChant Comes Home This Weekend
Cleveland lost one of its most popular and ubiquitous performers when Anne E. DeChant decided to move to Nashville last spring to develop her songwriting career, after nearly two decades working locally — first with popular folk-rockers Odd Girl Out in the ’90s and later as a solo artist. However, she’s been making periodic visits…
GO WITH THE FLO
Cleveland rapper Flo White has reinvented himself as a political singer-songwriter with “Stimulus, the Debtors Lament.” The melodic rant says something about Obama turning America into a socialist democracy controlled by pedophiles and the Illuminati (who are, of course, assuming you’ve done your reading, actually remnants of a master race of humanoid reptiles, or something…
It’s Showtime!
Alison Garrigan and Dan Folino are notorious as two of Cleveland’s most gifted and adventurous actors — performers who will try anything onstage, whether it’s Folino baring all in Beck Center’s production of Equus or Garrigan tackling gender-bending roles like Dr. Frank-N-Furter in Cleveland Public Theatre’s version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Early this…
Regular Season Battle to Pay Attention To: Hafner’s Right Arm vs. Pavano’s Right Arm
I don’t want this to happen. I really don’t. But it’s bound to. Sometime during this year Travis Hafner’s right arm is going to fall off. The same goes for Carl Pavano. I wish and hope that I am wrong. The match-up today: Whose arm flies farther. Consider location, first of all. Travis Hafner will…
Things to Read That Might Not Suck: Chosen Edition
You are chosen to receive the following information that I chose to feature. — If you haven’t already seen the pics floating around these here interwebs, Anderson Varejao had “Chosen2” playfully marked on his back, which apparently was quite hilarious to his teammates, and judging by the pics, should be equally hilarious to fans. (Shaver…
Jim Bibby says, “Good Morning, Cleveland”
Carl Pavano is the Indians’ third man in the rotation. He was born in 1976. The third man in the rotation for the Tribe that year was Jim Bibby. In his first start that year, Bibby went 3.2 innings and gave up 4 runs. He ended the year 13-7 with a 108 ERA+ and a…
Britney Spears Doesn’t Like the Sticky-Icky
The formerly batshit crazy Britney Spears stopped her concert in Vancouver last night for more than a half-hour after she smelled marijuana in the audience. Spears and her dancers left the stage after about halfway through their set. And they stayed away for 30-plus minutes, with no explanation. Finally, someone blurted over the loudspeaker that…
HANG UP AND DRIVE
Somebody’s got your back, Zack. Not at City Hall. But somewhere. State Rep. Eugene Miller (pictured), a Democrat from Cleveland, just proposed in Columbus something similar to what politically embattled Mt. Pleasant Councilman Zack Reed has been trying to do in Cleveland: read all those crazy text-messaging drivers the riot act. Actually, Reed wants to…
The Worst Decision in the World
By Steve Buffum It’s not Cleveland per se, but it is a Division rival: by now, you’ve no doubt seen that ex-Tribesman Jim Thome beat the Royals with a 3-run clout off ersatz setup man Kyle Farnsworth, which is Britishfor “Jose Mesa.” Farnsworth throws Really Hard ™, augmented by nary an iota of movement, and…
Flo White Figured It All Out
Cleveland rapper Flo White has reinvented himself as a political singer-songwriter with “Stimulus, the Debtors Lament.” The melodic rant says something about Obama turning America into a socialist democracy controlled by pedophiles and the Illuminati (who are, of course, assuming you’ve done your reading, actually remnants of a master race of humanoid reptiles, or something…
Big Trouble in Little China
TOP PICK Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (Rockstar) The Grand Theft Auto franchise comes to the Nintendo DS in all of its head-blasting, bitch-slapping glory. The game play is basically the same (you tussle with cops, you steal cars, you put caps in the asses of anyone who gets in your way), only it’s set…
CD: Review Stinking Lizaveta
In a musical landscape where labels like Neurot and Hydra Head seem to sign one instrumental metal act a month, only to watch them quickly fizzle out, it says something that a band like Stinking Lizaveta has been part of the game since 1994. Even a cursory listen to the trio will indicate how their…
Get Ready to Rumba
A semi-opaque tone poem mainly for the world-beat crowd, the documentary On the Rumba River is a concert-cum-elegy for the Congolese musician Wendo Kolosoy, who died last year and was considered at the forefront, if not the inventor, of African rumba. More liner notes would definitely have helped, since the austere narrative introduces newcomers cold…
CD Review: Gomez
Eleven years ago, Gomez unexpectedly took home Britain’s Mercury Prize for their brilliant ’70s psych-blues-rock-meets-indie-pop debut, Bring It On, an honor that could have overshadowed everything the band subsequently attempted. Rather than succumbing to intimidation or its own perceived reputation, Gomez chose to evolve with each successive release, reinventing their psych-blues recipe with experimental flourishes…
Reel Cleveland: Hi-Def Hitchcock
Last week, the Cedar Lee Theatre (2163 Lee Rd., 216.321.5411) started its month-long “Hi-Def Hitch” series, during which it’s showing eight classics by Alfred Hitchcock in digitally remastered High Definition. It’s already screened Rear Window; Torn Curtain has one more screening at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 8. The series continues this week with screenings of…
CD Review: The Veils
Sometimes you can just tell when musicians have done their homework. You know they’ve flipped through crates of dusty vinyl for hidden gems, scoured pawn shops for battered treasures and pored over records with the obsessiveness of music snobs they hope to call fans. Veils frontman and songwriter Finn Andrews is one of those musicians,…
Fast and Furious
Is Made in U.S.A. Jean-Luc Godard’s riposte toBonnie and Clyde? Reportedly, Godard briefly flirted with the idea of directing the epochal Arthur Penn masterpiece in the mid-1960 s after Francoi Truffaut passed on it. (One of the reasons producer-star Warren Beatty opted not to pursue Godard’s vision was because the Breathless auteur wanted to shoot…
Kill the Messenger’s Bills
Council President Martin Sweeney’s loyal majority doesn’t always make life easy for those on the outside looking in. Mt. Pleasant Councilman Zack Reed provides the best example. Reed is watching two ordinances he sponsored — one banning text-messaging while driving in Cleveland and the other urging legislators to pass a statewide prohibition — drip through…
Heavy as a Chevy
All sorts of companies are getting into the sponsorship game these days. From the Scion Rock Fest (a car company-funded free concert in Atlanta featuring Mastodon, Converge, Neurosis and other ultra-hip heavy acts) to Rockstar Energy Drinks’ support of the 2008 and 2009 Mayhem tours, everybody wants to sell stuff to metalheads. Now Atticus Clothing,…
CD Review: Keri Hilson
This 26-year-old Atlantan got her start strutting in Usher’s “Love in This Club” video and singing “The Way I Are,” the only good song on Timbaland’s last solo album. Hilson gets a superstar boost from Tim (and Lil Wayne, Keyshia Cole, Kanye, Ne-Yo and Akon) on her long-delayed debut. Yet she comes off fiercely independent…
Dinner Party
In its unassuming way, JJ Magazine makes some of the most sparkling and engaging pop music in Cleveland. Not surprisingly, the band’s genesis was equally unassuming. The quintet — drummer Glen McNell, guitarists Paul Sydorenko and Zach Starnik, bassist Mike Ocampo and vocalist Roxanne Starnik — fell together naturally about five years ago. No one…
CD Review: The Thermals
They may have started on a whim, but the Thermals are serious business these days. Hutch Harris’ songs moved from the lightweight 2003 lo-fi debut More Parts Per Million to the 2006 anti-religion screed The Body, the Blood, the Machine. The Oregon supergroup of sorts has moved from side project to primary outlet, and finally…
A HARD CELL
In the house I grew up in, the phone in my dad’s basement office was an ancient Western Electric 302 rotary desktop model. It was a leftover from the good ol’ days when Ma Bell owned all the phones, and you paid a monthly rental fee to use them. I’m not sure what the Western…
Capsule Reviews of Current Releases
Opening Dragonball: Evolution Despite its flashy special effects and kung fu fight scenes, this adaptation of the popular Japanese comic book and cartoon is almost wholly devoid of excitement. The plot is standard issue stuff as an unlikely hero (Justin Chatwin) with a destiny bands together with a quirky supporting cast to save the earth…
Kill the Messenger’s Bills
Council President Martin Sweeney’s loyal majority doesn’t always make life easy for those on the outside looking in. Mt. Pleasant Councilman Zack Reed provides the best example. Reed is watching two ordinances he sponsored — one banning text-messaging while driving in Cleveland and the other urging legislators to pass a statewide prohibition — drip through…
Local Dirt from the Paris of the Rust Belt
TRAFFIC CAMS FOR ME, NO DASH CAMS FOR THEE? So if dash cams have been installed in cop cruisers in almost every municipality in the state, then why not in Cleveland? Councilman Zack Reed and now Councilman Kevin Conwell (former and current public safety committee chairmen, respectively) have failed for the last six years to…
Sacrificial Lambs
THE DEMOLITION OF ST. ANDREW doesn’t have any special place on the Catholic Church calendar, but in Cleveland, the fall of that building should serve as a warning. A week before Ash Wednesday, a steam shovel tore into the nave of the building that had stood at East 51st and Superior since 1900. (The brick-and-stone…
Local Reviews
The Kickdrums (self-released) myspace.com/thekickdrums The Kickdrums’ EP Just a Game arrives hot on the heels of their rock debut, Detached. Alex “Fitty” Fitts is the duo’s utility infielder, playing and singing most of the disc, and he’s made huge progress as a singer and songwriter. On “Personal Calamity,” he’s a self-conscious songsmith: “Pardon me, but…
HUBRIS INDUSTRIES
At some point, maybe this year, a grand jury may hand down indictments in what will come to be know as “The People vs. Jimmy Dimora and Frank Russo, et al.” More than likely deals will be struck. But who knows — maybe we’ll be forced to endure the spectacle of public officials standing trial.…
Dining Bites: Rock, Roll, Food
Music fans had their Rock Hall inductions; food fans got their first taste of the Greenhouse Tavern (2038 E. 4th St., 216.393.4302, thegreenhousetavern.com). The restaurant, which officially opens April 13, will be Ohio’s first to be LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). By going local with everything from food purveyors to bar-top fabricators, the…
DRESS AND IMPRESS
At one time, people actually dressed up to go out to eat on Coventry Road. These days, it’s all flip-flops and sports jerseys. With Bodega, Said Ouaddaadaa hoped to reverse the trend, to create a place where a guy in a tie wouldn’t look like a dork. He transformed a lower-level space, formerly an art…
Letters to the Editor
WE DEMAND RESPECT An open letter to Chris Kennedy: Your recent remarks directed toward Cleveland leadership found in the March 29, 2009, edition of The Plain Dealer are offensive and crude at best. I have been a loyal advocate of the Kennedy family since the campaign and subsequent election of John F. Kennedy as President of the United…
THE BOYS FROM IPANEMA
At the sunset of their illustrious careers, the Lunts, one of the theater’s fabled acting couples, attested to The Taming of the Shrew as their most treacherous endeavor. “There’s very little there, and you have to work so hard to keep it going.” However, next to The Comedy of Errors, an earlier Bardian frolic, that…
Around Hear: If This PS Console Could Talk
If This PS Console Could Talk: If These Trees Could Talk’s “Malabar Front” is featured in Sony’s online campaign for the upcoming PlayStation game inFamous. Over a two-minute trailer, the Akron instrumental band’s music surges from indie-shoegaze to crashing metal in a perfect cinematic match for the futuristic action game. The clip is at Sony’s…
Woman of Letters
When you write a play about a real person, chances are you don’t want the audience to leave the theater thinking, “Hmm, I bet she was a lot more interesting than that.” This is unfortunately the smaller-than-life treatment given to Eppie Friedman Lederer, who wrote a famed advice column as Ann Landers, in the Cleveland…
Get Out: Tales of Terror
The United States was founded by violent revolutionaries, so there’s a certain karmic logic in its enduring attempted uprisings from time to time. That’s the (perhaps unintended) subtext of The Enemy Within: Terror in America 1776 to Today, a new exhibit at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage (on loan from the International Spy Museum…
View Finders
Not everything in the Cleveland Artists Foundation show Painting the Town: Artists in Cleveland in the Late 20th Century is painted or shot from a roof or upper-story window, though aerial views are common here. Some are just the opposite, like the textural studies of architectural detail in Hugh Kepets’ intaglio prints. But it’s striking…
CD Review: Bob Mould
Bob Mould celebrates a number of anniversaries this year. It’s been 30 years since the live debut of Hüsker Dü, the ferociously melodic punk trio that introduced his formidable talents to the world, and 20 years since his landmark solo debut Workbook. In the interim, Mould has kicked the pop/punk model in the ass with…
Arts News: Dance, Baby!
It was inevitable that, in the cultural shadow of Dancing With the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance, dance companies would pair their artists with local celebrities and pillars of the community. GroundWorks Dancetheater has announced its celebrity-with-dancer pairings for Decadedance, a celebration of its 10th anniversary. The couples are: Cynthia Dunn, president and…
CD Review: Lady Sovereign
“Let’s Be Mates,” the opening song on Lady Sovereign’s second album, goes like this: “I’m weird/And you’re weird/Let’s be mates.” It’s not lyrically innovative or particularly compelling, but it’s fitting that the British rapper recognizes that she’s unconventional, and her fans probably are too if they’re listening to her. The rest of Jigsaw follows 2006’s…
