Kabei has its local debut tonight at CMA
A period piece about life in Tokyo in the 1940s, Kebei: Our Motherhas its local premiere tonightat 7 at the Cleveland Museum of Art as part of the Museum’s “Friday Night First-Runs” series. It also screens at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 23. Here’s our review. Kabei: Our Mother (Japan, 2008) The idyllic life of a…
Reviews of the Cinematheque’s weekend films
The Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque is showing several great movies this weekend. Here are reviews of two of them. The Pleasure of Being Robbed (U.S., 2008) Twentysomething New Yorker Eleonore (cowriter Eleonore Hendricks) hopscotches around Manhattan stealing grapes, kittens, even a Volvo, seemingly for the sheer fun of getting away with it. Is she…
Adoration makes its local debut at the Cedar Lee
Adoration, the latest movie from veteran filmmaker Atom Egoyan, makes its local debut this weekend at the Cedar Lee Theatre. Here’s our review of the movie. Adoration A video-obsessed teen named Simon (Devon Bostick) gets carried away with a class assignment that requires him to imagine what his life would have been like if he…
Balling With LeBron
Forget for a moment all the joy, excitement, and delirious “Is this really happening!?!” swellings you would feel if you got to step on the court with LeBron james. Forget that you would immediately call all your friends afterwards and tell them what you just did. Forget that everything that ever happens in your life…
Tired of Woodstock Yet? The Rock Hall Isn’t
I know, I know — you’ve had it up to here with Woodstock retrospectives, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the muddiest rock festival ever. Well, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is just piling on. It’s already opened its special Woodstock exhibit, on view through November 29. Now it’s offering an entire…
Nate Jones Soft-Rocks the Beachland Tonight
Fans of ’70s singer-songwriters and soft-rockers like James Taylor, Jim Croce, Paul Simon, the Eagles and Crosby Stills and Nash might want to head over to the Beachland Tavern tonight to catch Nate Jones. The teenage performer, who is attending Tulane University in New Orleans, is celebrating a hometown CD-release party before leaving for school.…
eBay Item of the Day: Classic Browns Starter Jacket
I wrote about these old Starter jackets last week because No Mas has partnered with Dee & Ricky to repurpose a whole bunch of them into gym bags — a pretty freaking sweet purchase if you have $300 around. The Starter jackets themselves aren’t exceedingly rare, but it isn’t often you come across one in…
Tuesday Music News Roundup
Lady Gaga hides her nutsack in Israel. What? No “Revolution 9”? That dude in the Raconteurs who’s not Jack White releases an album. We knew that stripper-pole dance was a bad idea. The worst part of all this? Mom will probably sing the poor kid to sleep every night. At least you won’t have to…
Must Watch TV (Or DVR): Shaq Vs. Premiere Tonight
We’ve all read about Shaq’s new reality show. It starts with a competition against Big Ben tonight on ABC. The Big Witness has battled Albert Pujols in a home-run derby, paired up for sand volleyball against the gold-medal winning duo from the last Olympics, and will square off against Michael Phelps and more superstars for…
This Just In: Concert Announcements
CANCELED Aerosmith/ZZ Top: Thu., Sept. 10. Blossom Music Center. Darker My Love: Sat., Oct. 3. Grog Shop. THIS JUST INAcoustic Side of the Moon (acoustic Pink Floyd tribute featuring members of Wish You Were Here): Fri., Oct. 2. The Winchester. Added FX: Ballroom. Time and price TBA. VIp tix $50, includes early admission, Sat., Oct.…
Concert Review: Dale Watson at the Beachland, 8/17
August heat and humidity notwithstanding, Austin-based honky-tonk singer-guitarist Dale Watson was his dapper self last night as he played to a packed Beachland Tavern. His graying pompadour meticulously coiffed, Watson wore a black suit that looked like it would be suffocating on anyone else. But Watson, whose career began back in the late ’70s, is…
Concert Review: Jason Mraz at TWC Amphitheater, 8/17
Jason Mraz reminds me of Matthew McConaughey. He’s got a certain goofy, self-serious charm and laid-back manner that’s appealing without necessarily being intellectually engaging. After all, this is a fellow that rhymes “mystics” with “fish sticks” (“The Dynamo of Volition”) and showed up at Time Warner Cable Amphitheater in a feather-bedecked straw fedora and cargo…
Concert Review: Emery at Peabody’s, 8/17
The audience looked they were about to get root canals last night. The opening band didn’t help — mumbling, screaming and unsure. Fortunately, the next band, Kiros, brought both humor and musical prowess from Canada. The group’s high-energy rock ‘n’ roll moved through the crowd, creating the kind of enthusiasm befitting a place like Peabody’s.…
eBay Item of the Day: 1946 AAFC Browns Game Program
Usually the crap featured in this space is exactly that — crap. This, however, is gorgeous. 1946 game program from the September 29 contest between the Cleveland Browns and New York Yankees. Basically, damn righteous, especially since anything with old-school Brownie the Elf should be considered priceless art. Bidding starts at $12.99.
Monday Music News Roundup
Kiss follows in the Eagles footsteps by selling shitty album at Wal-Mart. Bob Dylan mistaken as crazy old homeless guy. Where do people get these zany ideas? Michael Jackson’s dad said the King of Pop will be buried on his birthday. He also said, “Get over here! Now! Before I beat you!” Radiohead won’t be…
Photo Show: Nickelback/Papa Roach/Hinder at Blossom
It was a real bro-down at Blossom Music Center on Friday. Good thing Johnny Angell was there with his camera to capture all that testosterone.
Pearl Jam Unveil Short Film About New CD
Pearl Jam – Backspacer Short Head on over to MySpace Music for a 10-minute documentary about the making of Pearl Jam’s new album, Backspacer, which comes out on September 20. Or you can just watch it above. Eddie and the less-smart ones talk a little about the new album, as shots of their studio space…
Concert Review: The Donnas at Peabody’s, 8/14
The Donnas blew through Cleveland Friday night on what seemed like a whim. Now on tour with Pat Benatar and Blondie, the Donnas made an unsupported pit-stop at Peabody’s. With a temporary replacement drummer and a new CD (Greatest Hits: Volume 16) to promote, the Donnas clearly came to rock. Their set started out with…
Grandma Loves Wahoo
The Plain Dealer’s running a new feature on tattoos and the Clevelanders that have them. Today, the focus is on Eileen Kiesel, an 83-year-old woman who just started getting tattoos last year. Her favorite: Chief Wahoo. Tat Chat
Free New Radiohead Song
Because Mondays suck. Because Radiohead rules. And because it’s free. Head on over to the band’s Dead Air Space site to download “These Are My Twisted Words.” —Michael Gallucci
LeBron To Guest Host WWE Monday Night Raw
Variety reports that LeBron James will follow Shaq and become a guest host for a future WWE Monday Night Raw event. Among the other celebrities booked for upcoming shows: Bob Barker, the Rev. Al Sharpton, “Access Hollywood” co-host Nancy O’Dell, boxer Floyd Mayweather and basketball player LeBron James. Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz, Ashlee Simpson,…
Loud and Bobnoxious Cult Movies: Laid to Rest
A young girl (Bobbie Sue Luther) awakens inside a coffin with no idea who she is or how she got there. She manages to free herself from the box, but her relief doesn’t last long. A knife-wielding nutjob (Nick Principe) wearing a chrome skull mask shows up, and the forgetful femme just barely manages to…
8/18: Thrash & Burn Tour at Peabody’s
This show features nine bands, presented by online musical equipment store Musician’s Friend. The rundown: Devildriver (former Coal Chamber frontman Dez Fafara’s ultra-heavy new thing; great live, OK on disc), Emmure (muscle-headed Connecticut hardcore with occasional dabs of crudely integrated melody), Despised Icon (technical deathcore from Canada, dissonant and noisy and rhythmically relentless), My Children…
8/18: Terence Blanchard at Nighttown
One of the key figures in the ’80s jazz resurgence that introduced the world to Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Donald Harrison and many others, New Orleans-born trumpeter Terence Blanchard fell in love with the instrument at an early age. He started his career as a sideman with Lionel Hampton and Art Blakley’s Messengers (replacing childhood…
8/18: Terence Blanchard at Nighttown
One of the key figures in the ’80s jazz resurgence that introduced the world to Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Donald Harrison and many others, New Orleans-born trumpeter Terence Blanchard fell in love with the instrument at an early age. He started his career as a sideman with Lionel Hampton and Art Blakley’s Messengers (replacing childhood…
A good soundtrack can’t save Bandslam
Will (Gaelan Connell) is the kind of music geek who writes daily letters about his life to David Bowie. He knows the complete Velvet Underground catalogue and has “Wichita Lineman” on his iPod. Ridiculed at school because his dad was a notorious drunk, he gets a second chance when his mom (Lisa Kudrow) decides to…
8/17: Closure in Moscow at Peabody’s
Packing five bands on one bill is sometimes too much to digest, especially when only two of the groups — Emery and Maylene & the Sons of Disaster — come even close to headliner status. But music fans who aren’t familiar with Australian fivesome Closure in Moscow should get to tonight’s show early to experience…
8/17: Jason Mraz at TWA
Tons of songs inspire YouTube cover versions. Everybody from Wayne Newton to Lil Wayne has impelled fans to plug in their USB mics, set up webcams and post videos of, say, their four-year-old nephew rapping “A Milli.” But Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours” is something different. The song — a ginormous hit in the U.S., Norway…
8/17: Dale Watson at the Beachland
If you’re looking to hear traditional country music — the type played in roadhouses and truck stops from Bakersfield to Birmingham — then there might be no better place to go these days than a Dale Watson show. For more than 25 years, the Alabama-bred, Texas-raised honky-tonker has followed in the footsteps of Hank, Merle…
8/17: Weiss Family at Musica
The show might be billed as the Weiss Family, but what you’re really getting is brothers Aaron and Mike Weiss of Philadelphia’s mewithoutYou. Unlike the spastic/joyful gigs they play with their fulltime group, Weiss Family shows feature stripped-down, mostly percussion-free interpretations of mewithoutYou’s catalog. You have to figure the quieter surroundings will probably engender even…
8/17: Adam Zucker and the Atypicals at Grog Shop
Singer-songwriter Adam Zucker’s music exists in that post-adolescent field of waning romanticism, where time bends down purple streets and characters fill late-hour bars, losing their youth and minds to the chemical indifference of adulthood. Soloists pour toward impossible couplings, partners stretch nostalgically away from each other. Song titles on last year’s The Western Glow alone…
BOEHNER WAS FOR “DEATH PANELS” BEFORE HE WAS AGAINST THEM
Time’s Swampland blog finds yet another way to underscore the utter lunacy of the right-wing’s obsession with “death panels”: Remember the 2003 Medicare prescription drug bill, the one that passed with the votes of 204 GOP House members and 42 GOP Senators? Anyone want to guess what it provided funding for? Did you say counseling…
A Mini Link-Dump
The pizza rolls to the pizza. — Nick Cannon will be at LeBron’s Bike-a-Thon. Adjust your schedules accordingly. (PD) — I find myself religiously checking out Phillies blogs to see how they talk about Cliff. I feel like I’m Facebook-stalking an ex-girlfriend. (The Fightins) — Joe Posnanski has Travis Hafner and Kerry Wood among his…
The Most Polite Police/Fan-On-Field Confrontation Ever
Don’t know exactly which game this was from, but the video is great. The Indians and some other team are busy in a fracas by home plate. A guy decides that would be the most opportune time to jump on the field. He gets to center field, stands there with his shirt off, arms in…
James Laurinaitis is a Sucker for “In the Air Tonight” — Jenkins Digs Gospel and Guns
Columbus Magazine has a pretty extensive Q&A session with James Laurinaitis and Malcolm Jenkins. Lots of topics are covered. Most of them boring. That goes for the answers too — about 53% of the responses involve Jesus, the Bible, or Jesus and the Bible. Couple of decent ones though, including a question about pre-game songs,…
Nirvana’s Debut Gets Reissued
Sub Pop will reissue Nirvana’s debut album, Bleach, on November 3 with an entire disc of live material. The record marks its 20th anniversary this year, and even though it’s not nearly as good as 1991’s breakthrough Nevermind (or In Utero or MTV Unplugged in New York), it is a crucial document of one of…
eBay Item of the Day: Cleveland Spiders Pocket Knife
Because kids these days love two things. 1) The Cleveland Spiders. 2) Pocket knives. I’d like to imagine this is close enough to the version of a knife that Cy Young would have carried with him everywhere. Cutting up the baseball on the mound. Chopping down trees in two swift motions. Performing during the offseason…
Things To Read That Might Not Suck: Lazy Friday Edition
It’s Friday. It’s been a long week. Plenty of stuff fell through the cracks. Plenty of stuff to still tell you. — If you stole the tractor part of the tractor-trailer from NBC’s Sunday Night Football crew in Canton during the Hall of Fame game, you probably already know that Cris Collinsworth was not stored…
He Cares A Lot … About Tonight’s CD-Release Party
It took Chuck Mosley more than a decade to make his newly released album Will Rap Over Hard Rock for Food; his circuitous, obstacle-laden path was detailed in Jeff Niesel’s August 5 cover story. The Southern California-born and —raised singer — who fronted Faith No More on their first two albums (including the snide track…
Friday Music News Roundup
You can thank Woodstock for that smelly hippie who stood next to you at Bonnaroo. This is why old people should go on cruises and shit. Watch 20 people dance nothing at all like Michael Jackson. Artists who haven’t been in the news in years come out of the woodwork to talk about Les Paul.…
Press Release Claims People Care About Third Eye Blind
We’ve received three press releases in the past hour notifying us that Third Eye Blind’s new album accidentally leaked online. We’re dubious. It’s not that we don’t believe Ursa Major can be found online. We just don’t believe that anyone gives a fuck. Apparently, this “accidental” leak has prompted the band to officially release the…
Whiskey Daredevils Tour Diary
The Whiskey Daredevils just returned from a road trip in Europe. Frontman Greg Miller fills us in on what happened. Day 15: Bilbao, Spain It’s a short drive to Bilbao, about 45 minutes. We open for some big shit Basque band called Berri Txarrak. The hall is a 1200 seater and allegedly sold out, so…
Classic Rock Humor from the Onion
According to the Onion, a secret cult that includes classic-rock guitar gods Jimmy Page, Billy Gibbons and Brian May has plans to save music. Writes the satirical newspaper: “Calling it the planet’s last, best hope for saving rock music, the Guardians of the Protectorate of Rock announced Monday that they would take the extraordinary step…
Money Where Your Mouth Is: Hot Damn Mess
Here’s a modest proposal for your weekend entertainment plans, straight from the muscian’s mouth. Band: Hot Damn Mess Website/Myspace: myspace.com/thehotdamnmess Hometown: Cleveland Sounds Like: “The perfect background music for a great keg party” Fun Fact: “We actually play all the instruments that you hear — it’s kind of a novelty for a cover band these…
Delonte Gets Some Delonte Shirts
Glen Infante from LeBron 2010 and ILovetheHype.com was the creative genius behind both the Delonte/Donuts t-shirt and the Delonte/KFC design. Response was outrageous. Producers from Jim Rome were emailing asking where they could get some. Members of the Cavs organization were buying. Apparently members of Delonte’s crew got in touch to get some apparel as…
Pre-Show Concert Q&A: Emery
Emery frontman Devin Shelton has one of those southern accents that makes the ladies swoon. He’s a Christian who loves country music and his home state of South Carolina. But that’s where any similarities to Nashville stars stop. After graduating college in 2001, Shelton and his bandmates went to Seattle to pursue their music. Eight…
Injured Old Guys in Aerosmith Cancel Tour
This should come as no surprise: Aerosmith has canceled their summer tour. Let’s recap: Guitarist Joe Perry had a knee replaced last year. He’s been hobbling around with a cane. Guitarist Brad Whitford bumped his head on his Ferrari and had to miss some shows. Bassist Tom Hamilton dropped off the tour because of some…
8/16: The Beach Boys at Cain Park
Bitch all you want about the Beach Boys who have toured the nostalgia circuit for the past quarter-century not being worthy to hold Brian Wilson’s spittle cup. Truth is, the Beach Boys you see in concert have always been different than the Beach Boys you hear on record. Even during their peak years, when Wilson…
8/16: California ’66 at the Beachland
If the first great tremor of the rock revolution emanated from Memphis in the form of a truck driver named Elvis and the second as mop-topped legions from across the Atlantic, then the third major rumbling of rock surely began in the bowels of earthquake-friendly California. Freakish and frequently pharmacologically charged wild men from L.A.…
8/16: Cleveland Jazz Orchestra in Hudson
The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra is currently between directors, since its former leader, trumpeter Jack Schantz, stepped down. Incoming director Sean Jones — a trumpeter from Warren who teaches jazz at Pittsburgh’s Duquesne University when he’s not performing with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra — hasn’t taken over yet. So another trumpet player,…
8/16: Cleveland Jazz Orchestra in Hudson
The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra is currently between directors, since its former leader, trumpeter Jack Schantz, stepped down. Incoming director Sean Jones — a trumpeter from Warren who teaches jazz at Pittsburgh’s Duquesne University when he’s not performing with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra — hasn’t taken over yet. So another trumpet player,…
8/16: The Entrance Band at Peabody’s
“The power of three” was established long before those Charmed sirens cast their spells. From Elvis, Scotty and Bill to the Jimi Hendrix Experience to Dinosaur Jr., the concept of the rockin’ threesome has connotations of unfettered potency, passion and turning up to that mythical 11. While the guys in the Entrance Band look like…
8/16: Cleveland Orchestra’s Sci-Fi Spectacular
In the early ’90s, George Takei — Star Trek’s original Mr. Sulu — guest-starred on 3rd Rock from the Sun, playing himself at a sci-fi convention. But Takei has done more than just milk his most famous role. On I’m a Celebrity! Get Me Out of Here! last year, he lived in the Australian jungle…
8/16: Cleveland Orchestra’s Sci-Fi Spectacular
In the early ’90s, George Takei — Star Trek’s original Mr. Sulu — guest-starred on 3rd Rock from the Sun, playing himself at a sci-fi convention. But Takei has done more than just milk his most famous role. On I’m a Celebrity! Get Me Out of Here! last year, he lived in the Australian jungle…
FAIR WARNING: GANLEY PUSHING THE LATEST TAX “REFORM” SCAM
Among the precession of Republicans vying for Senator George Voinovich’s soon-to-be vacant seat is star car-dealer Tom Ganley. As chief of the largest automotive group in the Ohio (and perpetrator of wretch-inducing commercials), Ganley’s all about business, and what businessman-turned-politician’s campaign could get rolling without a promise to overhaul the nation’s tax system? Ganley supports…
Reviews of three new films opening at the Cedar Lee
Quentin Tarantino’s ballyhooed Inglourious Basterds arrives this weekend but if Nazi films aren’t really your thing, the Cedar Lee Theatre is opening three new films, including the hilarious send-up In the Loop. Here are our reviews. Dog Eat Dog This stylish, violent film by Colombian director Carlos Moreno has a stereotypical gangster plot. Crime boss…
Book You Should Buy: Atom Bomb Bikini by Robert Ullman
Rob Ullman has long been a favorite of mine. Ever since I stumbled onto his art through Uni Watch, I’ve checked his blog and occasionally, when he’s done a Cavs or Indians girl, posted here. His book his out: Atom Bomb Bikini; The Lurid Art of Rob Ullman. And if you like this style —…
Thursday Music News Roundup
The original guitar hero dies. Michael Jackson’s doctor probably shouldn’t book his 2011 vacation just yet. Surprise — old hippies are still hanging out at Woodstock.
CLEVELAND SIGNS AND MORE CLEVELAND SIGNS AND, WELL, MORE CLEVELAND SIGNS
We’re all for old signage, new signage, funky signage, and every signage in between. Old street corners that still have signs for long defunct business, old signs on the top of brick buildings throughout downtown. Love them all. So, imagine our happiness when we stumbled upon this flickr page from ClevelandSGS. That’s right. 2049 pictures…
Lenny Dykstra’s Plane Chilling at Hopkins
A couple of weeks ago my buddy Paul Lukas of Uni Watch and ESPN Page 2 fame was in town to cover the National Sports Collector Convention. (You can find my photo gallery of the event here and Paul’s roundup here.) After perusing through the hordes of collectibles at the IX Center, we adjourned to…
Want: Shelf Life Clothing’s “Caucasians” Hoodie
I can’t take credit for finding this gem. The proprietor behind Cleveland Frowns has been all over this design for a long time now. It’s his favorite t-shirt, and with good reason — it’s quite brilliant. Now, Shelf Life Clothing has come out with a hoodie of the same design, perfect for the cold nights…
eBay Item of the Day: Limited Edition Browns Belt Buckle
Only 10,000 of these little babies were made in 1987, and you can now have one for just $1.99 as the starting bid right now. For the transplanted-cowboy, Levi-wearin’, fashion-forward Browns fan in your life. And look!, it’s got the Terminal Tower on it. Authentic Cleveland to the gills, baby.
Neyer’s Selling Swindle, I’m Buying
When the season’s in the shitter and your team is so far removed from contention that it would take a set of Chris Bando goggles to even glimpse third place, you have to expand your interests if you want to stay semi-excited about your sad-sack losers. Sure, there’s prospects that you hope to see, emerging…
8/15: Denny Laine at the Wincester
The spotlight has glanced across Denny Laine’s career several times over the years. Even though he’s never been able to sustain that spotlight for very long, he remains an intriguing artist. As a 20-year-old in 1964, he co-founded the Moody Blues and gave them their first big hit with the R&B-flavored “Go Now.” Laine left…
8/15: Chickenfoot at the Rock Hall
Four big names in rock (Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony, Chad Smith) make up one of the biggest supergroups of the year. With the raw power of Montrose, the shredding chops of Van Halen and a hammered-anvil rhythm section that rivals Led Zeppelin, why did these guys name their unstoppable aggregation after the right…
8/15: Cleveland Orchestra with David Fray
Pianist David Fray interprets music note by note, a skill that’s netted comparisons to consummate recitalist Glenn Gould. The 28-year-old musician began playing piano when he was four, graduated from the Paris Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique with top honors and has been busy ever since recording and touring. Last year, the documentary Swing, Sing…
8/15: Cleveland Orchestra with David Fray
Pianist David Fray interprets music note by note, a skill that’s netted comparisons to consummate recitalist Glenn Gould. The 28-year-old musician began playing piano when he was four, graduated from the Paris Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique with top honors and has been busy ever since recording and touring. Last year, the documentary Swing, Sing…
8/15: Creature Comforts at the Zoo
Do you worry that zoo animals get bored without a jungle or a vast plain to roam? From 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m. today, the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (3900 Wildlife Way, 216.661.6500) will show you what they do to keep the animals engaged. Zookeepers will demonstrate and explain these “enrichment” techniques — puzzles, tools and games that…
8/15: Iris DeMent at the Beachland
Country music in the early ’90s was a domain filled with folks like Garth, Billy Ray and Wynonna. So when Iris DeMent released her 1992 debut, Infamous Angel, it was a refreshing breath of clean country air. Born in Arkansas and raised in a highly religious family, DeMent makes music that’s not bound by time…
Loud and Bobnoxious Cult Movies: Cthulhu
Russ (Jason Cottle) is a college professor who left his small town home in part because his family was unaccepting of his homosexuality. He hasn’t been back in years, but when his mother dies, he returns for the funeral. Russ’ father, Reverend Marsh (Dennis Kleinsmith), still holds out hope that his son will switch teams…
Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo is more than just a love story
Ponyo When it comes to anime, no one does it better than Japan’s Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle). Miyazaki’s latest, Ponyo, which opens areawide on Friday, is another exquisite film. The plot surrounds a young boy named Sosuke (Frankie Jonas) who discovers what he thinks is a talking goldfish. He brings it home…
8/14: Nickelback at Blossom
Remember the good ol’ days when nobody knew what the hell Chad Kroeger was singing about on “How You Remind Me”? There’s no such ambiguity on Dark Horse, Nickelback’s sixth album of high-octane rock ’n’ roll. When Kroeger tells a girl she’d “look so much cuter with something in [her] mouth,” there’s little doubt what…
8/14: Ralphie May at the Improv
Two years ago, comedian Ralphie May became a first-time father. He named his daughter April June May. Two months ago, he had a son and called him August May. “I think they’re great names,” says the proud pop. His wife obviously shares his sense of humor. “She’s all right with it — she’s married to…
8/14: Heart and Soul at Cain Park
Forty years ago, some of us were trekking the traffic-jammed roads to upstate New York for the privilege of sitting in the rain on a hillside for three days of “peace and music” — better known as Woodstock. Cleveland musician David Budin, who was living in New York then, had a ticket but never made…
8/14: GroundWorks Dance Theater at Lincoln Park
GroundWorks Dance Theater’s program at Tremont’s Lincoln Park this weekend samples a range of the company’s choreography. First up is artistic director David Shimotakahara’s “Boom Boom,” a tribute to American blues singers like John Lee Hooker. That’s followed by artistic associate director Amy Miller’s “Allow,” which includes original music by Oberlin-based composer Alex Christie. Finally,…
8/14: GroundWorks Dance Theater at Lincoln Park
GroundWorks Dance Theater’s program at Tremont’s Lincoln Park this weekend samples a range of the company’s choreography. First up is artistic director David Shimotakahara’s “Boom Boom,” a tribute to American blues singers like John Lee Hooker. That’s followed by artistic associate director Amy Miller’s “Allow,” which includes original music by Oberlin-based composer Alex Christie. Finally,…
8/14: The Good, the Bad and the Arty at the Tree House
An avid Tribe fan, singer-songwriter Chris Allen hasn’t been able to get to many ballgames this year. Instead, he’s directed his energy toward a music and fashion show to coincide with tonight’s Tremont Art Walk. Dubbed The Good, the Bad and the Arty, it features performances by Allen, Don Dixon and his wife Marti Jones,…
8/14: The Diary of Black Men at Allen Theatre
Playwright Thomas Meloncon’s The Diary of Black Men premiered off Broadway in 1982 and has been touring ever since. Meloncon’s morality play takes on the issue of race, with character types replacing actual characters. There’s Slick Cool Dude, Blue-Collar Working-Class Man, Militant, Middle-Class Urban Professional, Black Muslim and Player. The play uses stereotyped characters to…
8/14: The Diary of Black Men at Allen Theatre
Playwright Thomas Meloncon’s The Diary of Black Men premiered off Broadway in 1982 and has been touring ever since. Meloncon’s morality play takes on the issue of race, with character types replacing actual characters. There’s Slick Cool Dude, Blue-Collar Working-Class Man, Militant, Middle-Class Urban Professional, Black Muslim and Player. The play uses stereotyped characters to…
8/13: Halflings at the Grog Shop
The latest release from N.Y.C. power electro-duo Halflings is, perhaps tellingly, titled Self Esteem. Certainly, Jeremy Nissan and Ryan Woodhall are no strangers to noisy spells. As Halflings (and with Frank Ludovico as Yellow Tears), they’ve been at this for the better part of a decade. But Self Esteem is the first Halflings album that…
8/13: Feast of the Assumption
Does it sound like a lot of fun to eat a plateful of cavatelli while sitting on a street curb as hordes of people step over you? To the thousands of Clevelanders who flock to Little Italy every year for the Feast of the Assumption — popularly known as just “the Feast” — it sure…
8/14: Old School/Unpopular Art at Doubting Thomas Gallery
The term “post-racial America” is a little too optimistic to apply to Julius Lyles’ and Ronald Clayton’s exhibit Old School/Unpopular Art. “It deals with a combination of old myths about black folks, as well as cultural differences and racial tensions that still go on in multicultural society,” says Lyles. The exhibit includes a collection of…
8/14: Old School/Unpopular Art at Doubting Thomas Gallery
The term “post-racial America” is a little too optimistic to apply to Julius Lyles’ and Ronald Clayton’s exhibit Old School/Unpopular Art. “It deals with a combination of old myths about black folks, as well as cultural differences and racial tensions that still go on in multicultural society,” says Lyles. The exhibit includes a collection of…
Woody Wants Wally Wildly, Wowsers
I don’t want to be too hard on Woody Paige for pining for Wally World in a column today. Now’s the time of the NBA offseason where teams stock up on complimentary pieces, and for someone, Wally would serve just that function. To what degree or success would have to be seen. Cavs fans saw…
“THIS IS WHAT THE BEAR LOOKED LIKE, ONLY REAL”
A popular YouTube video has placed Cleveland back in the Internet spotlight — leaving us free again to be united in shame. Armed with a cardboard cutout of a black bear, Fox 8 News in the Morning reporter Todd Meany turns a Woodmere backyard bear sighting into a report that quickly becomes too intense for…
An excellent supporting cast redeems The Goods
In The Goods, which opens areawide on Friday, Jeremy Piven is Don Ready, leader of a team of hard partying mercenary salesmen (Ving Rhames, David Koechner and Kathryn Hahn) hired to keep a used car dealership from going into bankruptcy. While working his sales magic, Don becomes attracted to a woman(Jordana Spiro) already engaged to…
This Week in Cleveland Band Reunions: East Wind
Yet another old Cleveland band has been heard from. East Wind, a popular bar band who played regularly at clubs like Maple Heights’ Longhorn back in the ’70s, have joined the parade of long-defunct area groups doing reunion shows. It’s at the Beachland Ballroom on September 26. Wild Horses — the band East Wind drummer…
eBay Item of the Day: Bernie Kosar Poster
Yesterday I talked about some of the old Costacos Brothers posters. Specifically, the Bernie Kosar “Air Raid” poster with Bernie in full flight gear standing on the landing deck in front of planes. Today, it’s another Bernie poster. “No Brain, No Gain,” which I’m assuming is the motto Bernie brought to his money management and…
Nooooooooooo! Mahoning Valley Scrappers Traficant Promotion in Jeopardy
It was back in 2002 that the Mahoning Valley Scrappers hosted one of the most inspired minor league promotion in the history of the game. Jim Traficant, who was heading to federal prison on an array of charges, was the inspiration for, naturally, Jim Traficant Night. It was in August and just after Traficant entered…
Wednesday Music News Roundup
Penis flasher tells vagina-exposing ladies how he rolls. Fans of super-high and crazy ladies who had a few hits in the early ’90s can exhale: Paula Abdul will be back. Teen Choice Award for Future Skank of America: Miley Cyrus! Apparently, that whole what-happens-in-Vegas thing doesn’t apply to the drugs you take there. —Michael Gallucci
Dusk Plays Cain Amphitheater at Dusk on Saturday
Isn’t “Matt Dusk” just the perfect name for a crooner of romantic standards? Apparently, it’s the real name of jazz singer Matthew-Aaron Dusk, a young performer following in the footsteps of singers like Harry Connick Jr., Michael Feinstein and fellow Canadian Michael Bublé as an interpreter of mid-20th-century pop standards for a mainstream crowd. The…
Anvil: Still Rockin’
The story of Anvil is apparently going to have a happy ending. The film Anvil! The Story of Anvil, released earlier this year, re-introduced old fans to this obscure Canadian metal band and made them many new ones. The documentary, directed by former Anvil roadie-turned-scriptwriter Sacha Gervasi, relates the band’s 30-year history — including its…
C-Murder Convicted of — Wait for It — Murder
This really couldn’t have ended any other way, could it? I mean, his name is C-Murder, not C-Find-a-Cure-for-Cancer or C-Straighten-Out-This-Damn-Economy. It’s C-Murder. —Michael Gallucci
Flight of Conchords Season Two still funny the second time around
Bret and Jemaine, two members of a transplanted New Zealand folk rock duo trying to make their way in New York City, return in season two of the HBO series Flight of the Conchords, just out on DVD. In the ten-episode sophomore season of this comedy, the naïve Kiwi musicians form a gang to protect…
Around Hear: Cryptkicker Reunion
Cryptkicker have reformed and will play their first reunion show on Saturday at the Agora (5000 Euclid Ave.). Doors open at 8 p.m.; tickets are $12. Scalera, Product of Chaos and Backward Seven open. The band, whose bio describes them as “Cleveland’s bastard sons of hate.” They formed in 1995, mixing nü-metal theatrics and modern-metal…
OF SUPERHUMAN BONDAGE
Even if there’s never another a Superman movie, the story of the Clevelanders who created Krypton’s famous son has more than enough material for another flick. Production company the Gotham Group has optioned the screen rights to Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman’s Co-Creator Joe Shuster, a new book by former Akronite Craig Yoe.…
Living for the City
Based in communities ranging from Beijing to Berlin, the 11 artists invited by MOCA associate curator Megan Lykins Reich to take part in the show There Goes the Neighborhood deal in one way or another with the transformations and transitions of living space in the contemporary world. Often deriving his tentative scenes from collages of…
Film Capsules
Opening Bandslam Reviewed at clevescene.com. Empty Nest(Argentina/Spain/France/Italy, 2008) Argentine writer-director Daniel Burman (Lost Embrace) has said his film Empty Nest is about “accepting one’s own decline.” That statement alone should clue you in to the fact that this is heady stuff. Character-driven and philosophical to a fault, Burman’s film is, as its title implies, about…
Arts District: Nakedness
NAKED. There: We said it. Inspired perhaps by the obsessions of 13-year-old boys, the Cleveland Museum of Art — with the nonprofit young professionals group Cleveland Bridge Builders and guest artist Dr. Theresa Boyd, owner of Tremont’s Doubting Thomas Gallery — will lead “The Bare Essentials,” an Art on Tap tour focusing on the naked…
Mercury Rising
It is charmingly appropriate that Mercury Summer Stock is situated in a cozy time capsule, the 1950ish auditorium of Parma High School. The accumulated effect of this resourceful company is akin to a youthful restorative at the malt shop. Every summer, this troop offers a refreshing dip into two brands of camp: the high-fructose giddiness…
Living for the City
Based in communities ranging from Beijing to Berlin, the 11 artists invited by MOCA associate curator Megan Lykins Reich to take part in the show There Goes the Neighborhood deal in one way or another with the transformations and transitions of living space in the contemporary world. Often deriving his tentative scenes from collages of…
Hello, Cleveland!
TOP PICK This Is Spinal Tap (MGM) The greatest mockumentary ever made finally comes to Blu-ray in a stellar package that includes most of the old DVD’s extras (like deleted scenes, commentary and music videos). There’s also some new stuff, including a live version of “Stonehenge” from last year and an interview with Nigel from…
Soundcheck: Vamsi Tadepalli
As you can imagine, a Michael Jackson cover band is in high demand these days. But don’t dismiss the guys in Who’s Bad, the Michael Jackson tribute act playing House of Blues this week, as opportunists. The North Carolina group has been doing Michael Jackson tunes (its current repertoire includes about 30 of his hits)…
CRANES ON THE BRAIN
Many restaurants have patios. Few have fantastical secret gardens. It wasn’t until my third visit to Flying Cranes, a smallish storefront café on Larchmere Boulevard, that I discovered this hush-hush hideaway concealed behind the building. After taking our dinner order, the staffer asked if we planned on dining inside or out. We followed his gaze…
Summer Reading Excerpt Part I
Writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster created Superman, the first costumed superhero, as Cleveland teenagers. Years later, in 1938, they sold most of the rights to the character to DC Comics for a mere $130. DC continued employing the two to script and draw Superman, and they made good money — but the publisher…
Bites: Verve on the Verge
If all goes as planned, the old Juniper Grille will reopen as Verve (1332 Carnegie Ave.) in about two weeks, says chef and new owner Brian Okin. For the past three and a half years, Okin ran Benvenuti Ristorante in Broadview Hts. He sold that business to focus on his new venture. His chef résumé…
Summer Reading Excerpt Part II
INTRODUCTION BY ERIN O’BRIEN: Years ago, I was going about some mindless household chore while my 3-year-old daughter watched The Rugrats. But when Tommy and Angelica started prattling on about about a cache of fascinating toys, it got my attention and familiarity rang. I sat down next to Jessie and blinked at the screen. The…
Phone Home
On the surface, District 9 is about aliens. But its subtext is pretty clear to anyone familiar with segregation. District 9 is about oppression. And standing up for rights. And wanting to go home. It’s a rebel movie, but the rebels are aliens who have been crammed into a South African slum for more than…
Summer Reading Excerpt Part III
“South Bay Bessie” is the most “official” of various terms referring to what is perhaps the most famous of Great Lakes monsters — of which many have been reported over the decades. Cryptozoologists have remarked on a “monster belt” or “monster latitudes,” corresponding to roughly between 45 degrees and 60 degrees north latitude, where such…
The Postman Rings Again
It’s apparent from the opening scene that there aren’t too many nice people in the German noir Jerichow. Thomas (Benno Fürmann) is pulled away from his mother’s funeral by a small-time gangster looking for money he’s owed. After the guy finds some stashed in Thomas’ childhood treehouse (funds that Thomas was saving to renovate his…
Summer Reading Excerpt Part IV
King of the Holly Hop is the 14th book in the Milan Jacovich (pronounced MY-lan YOCK-ovich) mystery series by Cleveland writer Les Roberts. Recently published in a new paperback edition, the book centers around the 40th reunion of Milan’s St. Clair High School graduating class where he gets a rude surprise: One of his classmates,…
Reel Cleveland: Small Town Ohio
A couple of years ago, brothers Bill and Turner Ross quit their Hollywood jobs and returned to Sidney, Ohio to make a documentary about what life in small-town America is like. The resulting film, 45365, doesn’t have one clear narrative (or a voiceover, for that matter.) Instead, the filmmakers follow several subjects, including a man…
CD Review: Patrick Wofl
The Bachelor is a barely-there concept album about love, doubt and all those other traumatic things that pop up when the two are combined. It was originally supposed to be a double album, but British multi-instrumentalist Wolf trimmed the content, retaining songs that have titles like “Kriegspiel” and “Theseus.” (He’s planning a sequel consisting of…
Past Tense
Shortly after the release of The Time Traveler’s Wife — Audrey Niffenegger’s 2003 best-selling sci-fi novel about a woman who falls in love with a man from the future — Oscar-winning screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin (Ghost, Jacob’s Ladder) started adapting it for the big screen. But when the studio decided to hire another writer to…
CD Review: Robert Pollard
Elephant Jokes is one of six albums that Dayton native Robert Pollard has in the pipeline this year. It promises “inspired spontaneity,” and with 22 cuts whizzing by in 46 minutes, it certainly delivers. Pretty much everything here is a two-minute chunk of Pollard’s typical work. “Things Have Changed (Down in Mexico City)” is kind…
Tropic Thunder
Having an original sound in rock isn’t necessarily achieved by doing something trailblazingly different. Sometimes it’s as simple as taking familiar ideas and combining them in unexpected ways. Take Poison the Well. Nearly a dozen years ago, the guys roared out of South Florida with their debut album, Distance Only Makes the Heart Grow Fonder,…
CD Review: Mike Stern
From the dawn of his prolific career, guitarist Mike Stern has been content to be the small name on the marquee and the big presence in the guitar slot — from his first gig in the mid-’70s with Blood Sweat & Tears to high-profile stints with Billy Cobham, Miles Davis, Jaco Pastorius and the Brecker…
Another View
It took Northeast Ohio jazz drummer N. Glenn Davis more than 30 years to release his first record as a bandleader. It took him only two years to follow it up. When A Different View came out in 2007, it greased the wheels of his creativity and resulted in Come Right In, which he’ll formally…
CD Review: Amanda Blank
Philadelphia rapper Amanda Mallory picked a fitting moniker. On her debut album, Amanda Blank glides through chilly beats and a detached demeanor as empty as her soulless vocals. It’s hipster hip-hop with raunchy rhymes about fucking designed to shock, awe and wink at its equally hip audience. But Blank is way too self-conscious to pull…
Local Releases
Jae B (self-released) myspace.com/jaeb Cleveland rapper Jae B, a.k.a. Booker T. Franklin III, has a smooth flow that matches many mainstream rappers. A former member of local rap group the Faculty, Jae B has since sharpened his lyrical skills, though his references to money and women that come with success and fame are a bit…
CD Review: Dead Swans
Like much of the Bridge Nine roster, Dead Swans temper traditional hardcore with contemporary influences and a personal voice. While their first two releases sometimes veered into bro-core territory — using metallic double-bass patterns and mile-thick guitar crunch to little avail — these U.K. boys play to their strengths on Sleepwalkers. Nick Worthington’s emotive throat-shredding…
High Times
Following a path blazed over four decades, Nebula melt the pedal to the metal retracing blues-rock’s journey from the garage into the wildest expanses of inner space. Somewhere between garage-psych foundation-shaking rumble, unkempt panoramic acid-rock vistas and the benumbed throb of stoner-rock, the Los Angeles trio channel the galactic roar of bands like Blue Cheer,…
8/15: Burning River Fest (Win tickets from Scene)
The annual Burning River Fest has been scaled back this year, with plans to return bigger and better next year, say organizers. The annual environmental-awareness event has later hours and less for kids to do, but little ones are welcome. Still, it’s got a full lineup of music from 4-11 p.m. including sorta-national bands Blessid…
