Laila’s Birthday has its local premiere tonight at CMA
A film about a former judge who’s just trying to have a decent party for his daughter, Laila’s Birthdayhas 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. 30. Here’s our review. Laila’s Birthday (Palestine/Tunisia/Netherlands, 2008)…
Reviews of the Cinematheque’s weekend films
The Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque is showing several great movies this weekend. Here are our reviews. Duck Soup (US, 1933) The Marx Brothers’ comic masterwork wasn’t a success in its era. In fact, there was some doubt the team would do another movie after the film laid an egg at the box office (it…
Wednesday Coffee-Break Question
From time to time, we here at C-Notes like to hang out by the Mr. Coffee here at the office and talk about shit. Other times, we just like to throw things out there for you to ponder. Whose take on Bob Seger’s “Turn the Page” do you prefer? Metal kings Metallica or indie rapper…
Bob Dylan Meets Santa
Bob Dylan has a new holiday album coming out on October 13. It’s called Christmas in the Heart. It’s gonna be either one of the best Christmas albums ever or one of the worst. There’s no in-between. This will be Dylan’s 47th album and his first Christmas record (he was born Jewish but converted to…
This Is a Shakedown!: All About Free Music, Food and Beer
Local dance-rock band This Is a Shakedown!, who released their debut album Love Kills earlier this summer on Cleveland’s Reversed Image Unlimited label, are inviting all their fans (and would-be fans) to a free show/video shoot tonight. They’ll be playing at Ante Up Audio, the studio where they recorded the CD, which also boasts a…
The critically acclaimed Goodbye Solo arrives on DVD
Just out on DVD, Goodbye Solo, the new film from Ramin Bahrani (Man Push Cart, Chop Shop) opens with an awkward scene in which William (Red West), a surly white Southerner, tries to pay a Senegalese cabbie named Solo (Souleymane Sy Savane) an exorbitant fare in order to act as his driver and eventually drop…
Tuesday Music News Roundup
Britney’s circus hits the road again. And it’s still not as scary as a car full of clowns. Yet. Next on Jackson Family Murder Mysteries: Who Killed Janet’s Career? LeAnn Rimes doesn’t listen to shitty music; she just sings it. One of the Jonas Brothers wants to be president. And yes, in case you were…
Free Music Tuesday: La Coka Nostra
Rap supergroup La Coka Nostra has posted an mp3 of the track “Gun in Your Mouth” online here. The group claims it “leaked” the track, but if the album’s already out, and you own the tune, we’ll argue whether it’s a true leak. Aside from that, though, we’re not gonna fuck with it. It’s a…
Back to School Special
BACK TO SCHOOL SPECIALFahrenheit 451, re-born as a graphic novel.By Michael Gill Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451authorized graphic novel by Tim HamiltonFarrar, Straus, and Giraux, July, 2009$16.95 Fifty-six years after it was first published, high school kids are still reading Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, the novel named for the temperature at which paper spontaneously catches fire.…
Really, EW? This Is the Best (Worst) You Can Do?
Entertainment Weekly readers recently picked their favorite worst album covers of all time. They suck. But not in the way EW intended. We can think of tons of other album covers that blow more than these. In fact, we’re pretty sure C-Notes readers have a much stronger grasp on what makes a truly horrible CD…
Tuesday Ticket Giveaway: Daughtry in Toledo
We got a pair of tickets to Daughtry’s concert at the Lucas County Arena in Toledo on October 31. They’re not playing Cleveland, so this and Youngstown are your closest chances to see them. All you have to do is send your name, phone number and e-mail address to freetickets@clevescene.com. We’ll pick a random winner…
This Just In: Concert Announcements
This week, we have 36 shows. Kiss’ Alive 35 greatest-hits tour will feature old songs and new costumes. TSO, Daughtry and classic-rock heroes rock Youngstown. Bane brings it to Now That’s Class. Mushroomhead and ICP attack the Agora. And much, much more. Ataris/the Missing: Sat., Sept. 12, 6 p.m., $10. Rockstar Cleveland. The Australian Pink…
They’re Gonna Rock and Roll All Nite … on September 28
We’ve never really liked Kiss, but we grew up with tons of kids who adored them. So this news is for them: Kiss are celebrating their 35th anniversary with a Kiss Alive 35 tour that stops in Cleveland on September 28. They’ll play the Q. Kiss have a new album coming out. It’s called Sonic…
Alice in Waaaahhhhh!!!
Looks like you’re gonna have to read about Alice in Chain’s upcoming House of Blues concert somewhere else. Apparently, the band read something I wrote a couple weeks ago about Elton John playing on their new album and they’re not too happy about it. House of Blues is really good to us here at Scene.…
“It’s More Than a Game For Us Too” Tees Lead a One-Time Cavs Round-Up
— Glen Infante of LeBron 2010, Real Cavs Fans, and I Love the Hype — or, most notably, the Delonte West t-shirts — posted new tee pics to his Twitter account today. “It’s More Than a Game To Us Too” is the design, with mimicked film credits and debut date on the bottom. Don’t know…
eBay Item of the Day: NFL Corsets
Alright, so that picture is for the Steelers version and not the Browns, but in my defense, the eBay store doesn’t have the Browns version up. But you can get it, and that’s really the only important thing to know. For a bargain $29.99 you can get your girlfriend or wife settled into this classy…
The Barge, The Browns, and Missed Opportunities
For the uninitiated, the Browns vs. Lions preseason game is named the Great Lakes Classic. Not only does this meaningless game and make-believe rivalry have a name, it has a trophy. That thing you see to the right is the barge, and it goes to the winner. Now, you probably know that many college football…
Photo Show: Our Lady Peace at House of Blues
Our Lady Peace played a sold-out show at House of Blues last week. Johnny Angell and his camera got in.
In-Its-Entirety Tour Du Jour: The Cult, Love
For their 25th anniversary, the Cult will play their classic album Love in its entirety. The 1985 album was the last gasp of the Brit band’s goth-romantic roots before they morphed into a classic-rock squad with a rotating lineup. Love is the disc with college-rock classics like “She Sells Sanctuary,” “Rain,” “Nirvana” some other swell…
Medeski, Martin & Wood Coming to Kent
Like jazz? Like jam-band music? Like how both genres let the musicians onstage noodle away until their fingers get tired or audience members start nodding off? Then Medeski, Martin & Wood are for you. Combining jazz’s instrumental acumen with jam-band’s the-drugs-are-kicking-in pace, the group is one of the finest on the scene. Medeski, Martin &…
Bleed for Creed
If you’re willing to give up 45 minutes and some blood, Akron classic-rock station 97.5 WONE FM has free tickets for Wednesday’s Creed concert at Blossom. The American Red Cross will be at thestation’s HQ (Akron Radio Center: 1795 W. Market St.) tomorrow from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. While they last, everyone who donates gets a…
Gino-Palooza Coming to the Grog
Last month, local musician Gino Long, best known to Cleveland music fans as one of First Light’s three frontmen, woke up one morning and was having problems breathing. His wife took him to the hospital, where they found out he had an enlarged heart. They treated him and kept him overnight, and in the process,…
Devotional Returns Aug 29, With Special Devo Delectables
When the 9th Annual Devotional takes place at the Beachland Ballroom August 29, starting at noon and running well into the evening, it will feature a special treat for the Devo fans who come in from all over the country for the event. Not only will Bob Casale — the only key member of Devo…
MORE THAN A MOVIE
LeBron James’ Nike World Tour rolled into Akron last night, shutting down South Main Street for an exclusive showing of More Than a Game, a new documentary about the Cavaliers’ star forward’s rise to fame with Akron’s top-ranked St. Vincent-St. Mary High School basketball team. Jeff Niesel James attended the screening along with New Orleans’…
THAT DOGMA WON’T HUNT
Did you ever notice how quick conservatives are to abandon a deeply held principle when it clashes with another? The most common example is how maleable the committment to states’ rights becomes the moment a state might do something unacceptable, like allow same-sex marriages or let families make private decisions or choose the wrong presidential…
More Than a Game gets gala screening at Akron Civic
LeBron James’ Nike World Tour rolled into Akron last night, shutting down S. Main St. for an exclusive showing of More Than a Game, a new documentary about the Cavaliers’ star forward’s rise to fame with Akron’s top-ranked St. Vincent-St. Mary High School basketball team. James attended the screening along with New Orleans’ Hornets point…
More Than a Game LeBron World Tour in Akron Tomorrow (Friday, August 21)
If you’re a student, off tomorrow, unemployed, or you can play hooky without anyone important noticing, perhaps you’d be interested in heading down to Akron for the latest stop of the LeBron James World Tour. Head over to the Summit Lake Community Center (380 West Crosier Street, Akron) between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. for…
Remembering MLB’s “Turn Ahead the Clock” Promotion
It was ten years ago that 22 teams took part in a bizarre, forward-thinking (literally) promotion by donning “Turn Ahead the Clock Uniforms” for 14 different games combined. The Indians — thankfully for those of us that still like to talk and read about the Tribe this season — were one of those teams, so…
A Q and A with Post Grad star Jane Lynch
Born on the South Side of Chicago, actress Jane Lynch is yet another product of the Windy City’s Second City comedy group. Lynch, who continues to get mad amounts of work even though she’s now in her late forties, recently sat down for this one-on-one interview in Los Angeles to discuss her role in the…
Abram Elam: From Scene’s Archives
This story was originally published in Scene on 4/7/2004. Abram Elam is now the safety for the Browns. Back then, he was struggling to make a claim to meaningful playing time at Kent State after departing from South Bend for various reasons. From the shooting deaths of his siblings to his struggles on the field,…
Thursday Music News Roundup
Thanks to Disney, Yellow Submarine will mind-fuck a whole new generation. Michael Jackson’s doc declares his innocence on YouTube. So it must be true. Vienna will host another Michael Jackson tribute. At this rate, we should expect Amish country to give props to the King of Pop sometime in October. Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye prepare…
Josh Rzepka Plays Nighttown Tonight
After finishing his undergraduate degree at Oberlin and starting to build a reputation as a player in Cleveland’s jazz circles, trumpeter Josh Rzepka, an Akron native, took off for Boston University last fall to work on his master’s degree. (He also co-produced and played on singer-pianist Harry Bacharach’s Live at the Velvet Tango Room release…
Studio-A-Rama Lineup
WRUW 91.1 FM has announced the lineup of local and regional bands who will join headliners Mission of Burma for the 28th annual Studio-A-Rama, taking place Saturday, September 5, in the Mather Courtyard at Ford and Bellflower on the Case Western Reserve Campus. The free show kicks off at 2 p.m. with the noisy, meandering…
Time-Waster of the Day: Ohio Is a Piano
Ohio Is a Piano totally rocks. We’ve been getting all Elton John on this thing, moving from Minerva to Millersburg to Zanesville. Of course, Cleveland has the sweetest note. —Michael Gallucci
Calling All Local Blues Bands
For 25 years, the Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge, held in Memphis each winter, has provided an opportunity for accomplished regional artists to compete for a national platform and move their careers ahead a few steps. The competing artists are chosen in various ways by affiliated local blues societies like the Cleveland Blues Society, which…
Shaq Vs. Partly Behind Nash/Shaq Fallout
Todd Gallagher, the guy who wrote the Andy Roddick Beat Me With a Frying Pan; Taking the Field with Pro Athletes and Olympic Legends to Answer Sports Fans’ Burning Questions contends that Shaq’s new reality show is a rip-off, well, basically, stolen from him. He’s not the only one apparently. Former Suns teammate Steve Nash…
Bon Jovi’s New Single Is a Big Lie
Did you hear Bon Jovi’s new single? It’s called “We Weren’t Born to Follow,” and it was released to radio yesterday. We find this beyond hilarious, because Bon Jovi has pretty much made a career following music templates laid down by other, better artists (starting with Bruce Springsteen and ending with whatever country-pop guy they…
Concert Review: Terrence Blanchard at Nighttown, 8/19
Having just released his first album in five years, trumpeter Terrence Blanchard was rightfully proud of the results he recorded in his native New Orleans. He prominently featured music from Choices during his two-night stint at Nighttown, unleashing four extended performances during the second set last night. Surrounded by a foursome of talented young musicians,…
Snippet of Shaq vs. De La Hoya
From an upcoming episode of Shaq Vs., here’s the Big Witness squaring off against Oscar De La Hoya in the ring. Looks like the big man can hold his own, though it does help when you’re approximately 18 feet taller than your opponent.
POOR PEOPLES’ MARCH RETURNS
Politicians and candidates love to carry on about the “middle class,” but few speak much about poor people. In fact, they’ve been much demonized by the right wing, causing officeholders across the ideological spectrum to ignore poverty as much as they can. It takes events like the fifth annual Poor Peoples’ March — taking place…
eBay Item of the Day: 1940-1941 Massilon Tigers Football Uni
That is one freaking gorgeous uniform. They just don’t make ’em like that anymore. Not sure what I would do with it, other than look at it every once in awhile, but this will surely make someone’s collection just that much more special. Let’s check the current bidding, shall we. And yes, the bidding stands…
Willoughby Hosts Reggae Blowout This Weekend
Looking for someplace to go this weekend where the vibes are mellow and friendly and the music has a body-moving groove? Cleveland’s most prominent reggae group Carlos Jones and the PLUS Band has hooked up with Washington, D.C.-area pop-reggae septet Jah Works to present the Reggae Blowout at the Players Club at Lost Nation Sports…
Gil Mantera, This Is a Shakedown Play Free Rock Hall Show Tonight
With fall on the horizon, the Rock Hall’s Summer Sessions concert series comes to a close tonight with a pair of local bands who are starting to get recognition beyond Northeast Ohio. Youngstown-based Gil Mantera’s Party Dream began a decade ago as a sort of joke band, but have since diversified into a “real” band,…
DUES AND DON’TS
Cleveland has an interesting union history. Long before Bill Presser helped wrest control of the Teamsters Union from the Irish, he was involved with the glass workers union, helping maintain the members’ employment by heaving bricks through the windows of area retailers. Labor issues can be almost as wacky today. One of the more unusual…
REACHING BACK AND FORWARD
Looking at old concert programs is like rummaging through the attic. If you look at Blossom Music Center programs from, say 1979, you’ll find a lot of acts besides the Cleveland Orchestra that have weathered the years well — from Pete Seeger to Joni Mitchell to the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. You’ll find others, like…
School’s Out
Ryden Malby (Alexis Bledel) is that girl you hated in college. An attractive straight-A student who participated in all the right extracurricular activities, she’s the one who seems destined for success and is set on working at the city’s biggest and best publishing house. But in Post Grad, a funny thing happens on the way…
BLUEPRINTS FOR A MYTHOS
Matt Dibble’s recent large oil-on-canvas paintings in Equipping the Shop for Action at Asterisk Gallery seem almost to flicker, like a cartoon flipbook caught between pages. This is odd because in most respects, they’re as plain as paintings can be — line drawings in paint and charcoal firmly marked on brusque surfaces. Dibble’s muted, all-over…
Bites: Hmmm — Bakery
Nothing lifts a neighborhood like a great bakery. Thanks to Tom and Adria Clark, residents living near the Lakewood-Rocky River border have a wonderful source for European-style artisan breads. Opening in early July, Blackbird Baking Company (1391 Sloane Ave., 216.712.6599, blackbirdbaking.com) is quickly developing a loyal following. Originally from Lakewood, Tom spent a decade working…
Back to the Garden
TOP PICK Woodstock – 40 Years On: Back to Yasgur’s Farm (Rhino) This exhaustive CD set — six discs, 77 songs — replicates the whole dirty-happy experience better than anything else out there (along with the new Woodstock DVD). More than three dozen cuts have never been released, including songs by the Grateful Dead, Jefferson…
Soundcheck: Jessica Hopper
Tour manager, band publicist, DJ, touring bassist and fanzine publisher, Jessica Hopper is a modern-day rock ‘n’ roll renaissance woman. She’s just published The Girls’ Guide to Rocking, a how-to book about playing music that’s aimed at young girls but has found an audience with people of all ages and genders. She’s coming to town…
THE BAR YOU’VE DREAMED ABOUT
To find the Michael Symon restaurant with the liveliest atmosphere, diners need to sidestep downtown and Tremont and head west to Avon Lake. Vastly different from Lola and Lolita in spirit, mood and food, Bar Symon is a gleefully informal tavern with sparkle to spare. And thanks to the man behind the moniker, guests can…
Capsule Film Reviews
Opening Adam In the opening scenes of writer-director Max Mayer’s drama about a man with Asperger’s syndrome, Adam (Hugh Dancy) is at his father’s funeral. While we never see his dad, we get the sense that Adam’s going to be lost without him. After all, this is a guy who eats the same thing every…
Sincerely
John Hughes was the unofficial voice of Generation X: He captured how it felt to grow up in the 1980s. The director-writer-producer is best known for teen comedies like 1984’s Sixteen Candles, 1985’s The Breakfast Club and 1986’s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off — a hot streak endlessly hailed as his “Holy Trinity” since his death…
Local Music Reviews
A Few Askew (self-released) myspace.com/afewaskew A Few Askew forged their full-length debut, Off the Beaten Path, with an arsenal of styles — death-grind, hip-hop, jazz-fusion, neo-prog and some brass knuckles. It blasts out of the chamber with “Bullet,” bringing you in close with Latin-tinged guitar before pistol-whipping your ears with its cold and steely thrash…
Devil’s Music
Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice, who collectively recorded Black Sabbath’s Mob Rules and Dehumanizer albums (Appice didn’t play on Heaven and Hell; he joined for the 1980 tour), didn’t reform as Heaven and Hell because they were afraid of pissing off Sharon Osbourne. Iommi owns the Black Sabbath name, after…
Reel Cleveland: Comic Book Doc
About 10 years ago, Wayne Alan Harold, a locally based director and comic-book fan who made short films for MTV, approached Kent-based writer/illustrator P. Craig Russell about making a documentary on his career as a comic-book artist. Russell gave him the green light, and Harold began filming. But every couple of years, Harold would upgrade…
From NPR to R.E.M.
It takes a classically trained musician — one with his own shows on PBS and NPR, no less — to translate a rock band’s nuanced rumble into a solo piano performance. Christopher O’Riley has been tweaking his technique over the course of four rock-tribute albums. And the Northeast Ohio-based pianist nails his approach on the…
Bites: Hmmm. Bakery
Nothing lifts a neighborhood like a great bakery. Thanks to Tom and Adria Clark, residents living near the Lakewood-Rocky River border have a wonderful source for European-style artisan breads. Opening in early July, Blackbird Baking Company (1391 Sloane Ave., 216.712.6599, blackbirdbaking.com) is quickly developing a loyal following. Originally from Lakewood, Tom spent a decade working…
War and Pieces
Leave it to Quentin Tarantino to rewrite World War II as a 1970s drive-in movie starring Brad Pitt and almost as much blood as Saving Private Ryan. The still-thrilling director — whose last feature was 2004’s Kill Bill: Vol. 2, though he did contribute the “Death Proof” half to 2007’s Grindhouse — borrows a title…
CD Review: Otep
Otep — the band led by Otep Shamaya — is one of the most influential and respected female-fronted metal bands. The Los Angeles group, which has had rotating members since its formation in 2000, has released three previous albums highlighting Shamaya’s searing voice as she veers from moaning whispers to guttural screams. She equals any…
THE SPECIALIST
William Denihan, head of Cuyahoga County’s Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board (ADAMHS), had two requests for this interview. One, that his director of external affairs, Scott Osiecki, sit in. Two, that Scene not call him a “bureaucrat.” “It’s kind of weird, kind of quirky, I guess,” he admits when we meet. “One…
CD Review: Jay Reatard
Jay Reatard has been making a garage-inspired racket for almost a dozen years in a variety of guises — the last four as a solo artist. His musicianship has sharpened, and his second solo album delivers more of the fuzz, revealing even greater pop grandeur. He’s always demonstrated a preference for short, high-energy blasts that…
CD Review: Cobra Starship
When they formed back in 2006 as a one-off group to record a song for the Snakes on a Plane soundtrack, Cobra Starship’s aspirations were slight. Former Midtown singer Gabe Saporta gathered some of his old emo pals for a lark. Now, after three albums, Cobra Starship are a full-time band, and their squiggly synth-pop…
CD Review: Nathaniel Mayer
In the early days of this century, a generation of Motor City punks connected the generational dots between their swagger and that of this late, gravel-throated godfather, aiding in his brief reappearance on the scene. Why Won’t You Let Me Be Black? is culled from the same sessions that spawned 2007’s Why Don’t You Give…
CD Review: The Cave Singers
When the Cave Singers released their debut in 2007, it raised some eyebrows. Not because the record was unconventional or outside the realm of the indie-rock spectrum, but because the band included Derek Fudesco, bassist of poppy, post-hardcore act Pretty Girls Make Graves, and it played folk music. Welcome Joy picks up where Invitation Songs…
CD Review: Choir of Young Believers
Choir of Young Believers aren’t a throng of Christian rock prodigies looking for a way to speak to the heavens. They’re an orchestral pop group centered on Denmark’s Jannis Noya Makrigiannis, the brains behind this collective of musician friends. Makrigiannis’ crystal-clear voice echoes throughout the album, paired with cello, horns, bells, guitar and piano. Everything…
Around Hear: Jeezy Stops by Lava Room
Audio/Visual/Baptism 7 will showcase an earful of power-noise, shining a spotlight on Cleveland’s Fellacoustic Records at 7 p.m. Sunday at Now That’s Class (11213 Detroit Ave.). The show will feature 11 grinding acts, including power-electronics cult figures Quell, noise terrorists Fellahean and the fire-spewing slMakita, a solo project by Steve Makita, the underground-experimental veteran whose…
Arts District: Leadership at CMA
Newly appointed interim director of the Cleveland Museum of Art Deborah Gribbon resigned in 2004 from her most recent post as director of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles over “disagreements” with former Getty Trust president Barry Munitz. Noted art blogger Tyler Green wrote that on her last day — though they were…
HELP SHOULDN’T HURT
Last month I was approached by a beggar, and pointed him in the direction of one of our city’s homeless shelters. “Aww hell no!” he candidly replied. “They’ll tear you up in there, those places are more dangerous than the streets!” Shelters serve no purpose if homeless people are afraid to enter them. Recently, with…
Foxx and Downey terrific in The Soloist, just out on DVD
Just out on DVD, The Soloist is the story of how Nathaniel Anthony Ayers (Jamie Foxx), a Julliard-trained musician from Cleveland, Ohio, ended up living on the L.A. streets. The film opens with a scene in which L.A. Times reporter Steve Lopez (Robert Downey) crashes his bicycle while riding down a hill. It’s not clear…
RIGHTWINGNUTS CAN’T DERAIL LOCAL TOWNHALL (UPDATED)
The wildly misinformed, angry-about-they’re-not-sure-what bullies who have been trying to shout down democracy at congressional health-care town hall meetings all across the country met their match Wednesday evening on the corner of Euclid and Adelbert on the Case Western Reserve campus. Eleventh District Congresswoman Marcia Fudge was holding what she billed as her First Annual…
