After 40 years, KISS Can Still Kick Out the Jams
Though we wouldn’t put anything past KISS singer-bassist Gene Simmons, a rock ’n’ roll marketing mastermind if there ever was one, we’re pretty sure the guys in KISS didn’t start using make-up because they figured it would effectively hide their ages some 40 years later. But that’s certainly a nice byproduct. Looking at the band…
Video: Marcia Fudge on the Colbert Report’s “Better Know a District”
The Colbert Report Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,The Colbert Report on Facebook,Video Archive Ladies and gents, the woman representing the Fightin’ 11th, part 2, complete with a fencing duel. The Colbert ReportGet More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,The Colbert Report on Facebook,Video Archive
Crop Rocks Out of Waterloo Bank Building, Mexican Concept Inks Deal
When Steve Schimoler formally opted out of his plans to open the flashy Crop Rocks in the former Key Bank Building (15619 Waterloo Rd.), it was a big blow to all the folks hard at work to make Waterloo and North Collinwood a destination neighborhood. Well, the building already has been spoken for. Eddie Galindo…
MetroHealth Announces Six Finalists Will Perform at Sept. 13 Music Festival
The MetroHealth Music Festival Committee has chosen six local musical acts as finalists in the first MetroHealth Music Festival songwriting contest. More than 30 community members entered a contest, writing and performing an original song about MetroHealth. The final six will perform at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 13 at the MetroHealth Music Festival for…
Greil Marcus Coming to Black Box Theatre for Book Reading
Only a rock critic with as much cred as Greil Marcus could pick 10 random songs, assign them great significance and publish a book about how they tell the story of rock’s history. That’s what he does in his new book The History of Rock ‘n’ Roll in Ten Songs, an analysis of 10 songs…
Cleveland Blues Society is Looking for a Few Good Bands
The Cleveland Blues Society is gearing up for its big event of the year — the group holds a local competition to see who will represent Cleveland at the Memphis Challenge that takes place down south in mid-October. The entry deadline is Sept. 12. According to the press release, the winner will receive “a ton…
“Emerald Necklace” Ice Cream Flavor Debuts Today
Summer may be drawing to a close — is that possible? — but Pierre’s Premium Ice Cream and the Cleveland Metroparks have nonetheless teamed up to release a new ice cream flavor which will help supplement a fund to maintain park trails. It’s basically mint chocolate chip (see image right), but with fudge swirls and…
‘All The Fucking Up Has Been Monopolized’: Deadspin Previews the Upcoming Browns Season
Click to visit Deadspin’s Browns preview Deadspin’s annual “Why Your Team Sucks” series is the only NFL preview you’ll really need to get ready for the season, and today it’s the Cleveland Browns under the microscope, so head on over and give it a read. Here are some highlights of the piece written by the…
Four Case Western Students Died in Willoughby Hills Plane Crash Last Night
Four Case Western Reserve University students died last night in a plane crash in Willoughby Hills, near the Cuyahoga County Airport. William Felten, 20, of Saginaw, Michigan, Lucas Marcelli, 20, of Massillon, Abraham Pishevar, 18, of Rockville, Maryland, and John Hill, 18, of St. Simons, Georgia, were trapped inside the aircraft (a 1999 Cessna Model…
Video: Queens of the Stone Age at the Euclid Tavern, Feb. 1999
With news today of the Happy Dog’s imminent opening in the old Euclid Tavern spot in University Circle on Sept. 15, we spent the morning, as one might, in the Euclid Tavern wormhole on YouTube, which is where we stumbled upon these two vintage vids of Queens of the Stone Age playing the venerable old…
Checking in on St. Ignatius and the First School Year with the New Drug Testing Policy
We reported earlier this year that a) St. Edward, St. Ignatius, and Gilmour Academy will begin drug-testing its students this school year and b) the president of the company selected to administer those tests, Psychemedics, is the brother of the president at St. Ed’s and an Ignatius grad himself. School started back up at St.…
A Sneak Peek at Happy Dog at Euclid Tavern, Set to Open Mid-September
In November of 2013, the owners of Happy Dog — Sean Kilbane, Eric Williams and Sean Watterson — announced that they would be opening an eastside version of their popular Detroit Shoreway bar and restaurant in a space that rivaled the original in terms of full-Cleveland charm: the Euclid Tavern. “What I love about the…
ICYMI: Ta-Nehisi Coates at the City Club
The Atlantic’s Ta-Nehisi Coates spoke at the City Club last week. If you missed his talk, you can watch it right here. The speech marked his first public appearance since the magazine published “The Case for Reparations,” his 15,000-word argument that structural inequality leveled against African Americans is an intentional pattern in this country’s history…
Joe Cimperman Tweets Architecture Love Note, Or Something
This has been another installment of Joe Cimperman on Twitter.
Video: Here’s a LeBron Chalk Toss at an Akron Wedding
Yeah, Northeast Ohio is still kind of excited about this thing.
The Black Keys’ Pat Carney Wrote the Theme to Netflix’s ‘BoJack Horseman’ With His Uncle
Over the weekend, Netflix users likely saw a cartoon horse dressed hilariously like a man at the top of their screen. The video streaming website had debuted its latest original series, BoJack Horseman. And if users clicked through, they’d find the drum beats kicking around the show’s theme song eerily familiar. Was that Pat Carney?…
Richmond Heights Mayor Miesha Headen to Face Recall Election
A committee to recall Richmond Heights Mayor Miesha Headen gathered the requisite signatures and then some (1,000+) for a petition last week. The petition was promptly validated by the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, which meant that Headen had five days to resign or face a city recall vote. Headen refused to resign — no…
15 Photos that Will Get You Totally Stoked for the 2014 Cleveland National Air Show
After the 2013 Cleveland National Air Show was canceled due to sequestration, the annual Labor Day Event returns this year with a full three day lineup of events. Here’s a little preview to whet your appetite and gear you up for this year’s show.
Scene Podcast: Softball Journalism, Racial Dynamics in Southern Ohio, Saturday’s Downtown Sports Avalanche and More
In this week’s podcast, host Craig Lyndall talks with Sam Allard and Eric Sandy about the (possibly) biggest day in Cleveland sports history in terms of downtown attendance (literally millions of people downtown on Saturday, or so we’re told), the problem with news outlets’ insistence on softball journalism, racial dynamics at play in southern Ohio…
Porn Company Going After Illegal Downloaders in Northeast Ohio
Some BitTorrent users who downloaded x-art videos (logo above), are facing copyright lawsuits A California-based porn company knows the IP addresses the people illegally downloading its movies and it’s taking to federal court to get their names. Malibu Media, LLC — which operates the website x-art.com — has filed 25 copyright complaints in the past…
Minnesota and Cleveland Aquariums Trade Octopus Names
In what is probably the biggest news in the Midwest aquarium community in recent memory, SEA LIFE, the aquarium based at Minnesota’s Mall of America, traded its octopus’ name to the Greater Cleveland Aquarium. Indeed, with the official Kevin Love-Andrew Wiggins, et al. trade, SEA LIFE has sent the octopus moniker “K-Love” to Cleveland in…
The Kevin Love Banner Going Up in Downtown Cleveland Right Now
Via 92.3’s @DustinFox37, old school logo love for Love:
Unseen Amateur Footage of Browns’ 1964 Championship Game on View at Western Reserve Historical Society
As part of a new exhibition entitled 1964: When Browns Town was Title Town slated to debut Sept. 6, the Western Reserve Historical Society has gotten its hands on never before seen amateur footage shot from the stands during the 1964 championship game. There’s a cool backstory to the full 6:30 video, of which you…
Fox 8 Sends Angry Email After Communist Musician Criticizes Capitalism On-Air
There’s nothing quite like the sheer ecstasy of softball television news, and — boy, oh, boy — Cleveland has plenty of it. The latest bout of goofball arrogance cropped up Saturday morning. Fox 8 didn’t post this interview on their website, but it did show up on Youtube. Blessedly, Lakewood Citizen captured the link and…
The Polyphonic Spree Turns Supper Club into Dance Party
Fully acknowledging that many of the patrons that filled about three-fourths of Music Box Supper Club had just eaten a meal, the Polyphonic Spree frontman Tim DeLaughter made a point to emphasize that “this is a rock show” at the beginning of last night’s 90-minute concert. “We’re going to need you to stand,” the mop-topped…
Too Much Melodrama Sinks ‘If I Stay’
Based on Gayle Forman’s novel of the same name, If I Stay, a new drama starring Chloe Grace Moretz, makes the most of its unique structure but can’t overcome its weaknesses as a melodramatic love story. At the start of the film, which opens areawide today, Mia Hall (Moretz), a high school senior who’s anxiously…
The “Bernie Shuffle” 5K Trots Into Voinovich Park November 1st
Branded 5k runs are kind of a thing now and they’re awesome, and hot on the heels of races like the Ditka run in Chicago comes the Bernie Shuffle, an ode via pavement to No. 19 himself, “Bernie Bernie” Kosar, with the thick irony of 99% of runners being faster than the not-so-fleet-of-foot Miami product.…
Construction Crew Spotted at Franklin Castle
Franklin Castle, (aka The Tiedemann House) Cleveland’s most haunted house, is currently under construction. Crews have been sighted on multiple occasions over the past few weeks working on windows and the interior. When Scene popped by this morning, evidence of recent work was certainly visible on the grounds of the 19th Century Victorian mansion, located…
NAVY PRoject, a Vintage Unisex Pop-Up Shop, to Open in Gordon Square
Gordon Square will soon add another clothing boutique to its repertoire, thanks to NAVY PRoject, a vintage unisex pop-up shop that is slated to open in early September. The brainchild of Cleveland native Mary Peffer, NAVY PRoject aims to bring a collection of affordable, ready-to-wear products to northeast Ohio shoppers, such as denims, leatherware, letterman jackets, and…
Country Singer Luke Bryan Revels in Party Atmosphere at Blossom
While Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw have basically owned the party hearty country crowd for the past few years, a younger group of guys (and notice we did say guys — the country scene is pretty much a man’s world these days) is coming up on the circuit, threatening to outdo its predecessors. Witness 38-year-old…
Rubblebucket’s New Tunes Shine Onstage at the Grog Shop
Never miss a Rubblebucket show. That was the lesson first ingrained when the Brooklyn band decimated the Beachland Ballroom in 2011, and that was the lesson Cleveland was gleefully reminded of when the band tripped out the Grog Shop on the opening night of its new tour on Thursday. With a new album hitting streets…
9 Ways to Pamper Yourself Pink in Cleveland
Grab your gals, grab your guys and re-charge at these delightful, modern-day health and beauty parlors, located in and around Cleveland. Or, round up your spa essentials, crack open that bottle of bubbly you’ve been saving, and treat yourself to a much needed staycation.
Railroad Fans Will Like This Short Documentary on Cleveland’s Railway Preservation Society
“From Under the Rust” is the title of this short documentary on Charlie Sedgley and the Midwest Railway Preservation Society, which Scene previously covered in a tidy feature story back in 2012. From Under The Rust from Julien Lasseur on Vimeo.
ALS Association’s Northern Ohio Chapter Sees Tremendous Response from Ice Bucket Challenge
Seems like you can’t fire up Facebook anymore without seeing either your goofball friends or some local newsperson dumping a big ol’ bucket of ice water on their heads. The Ice Bucket Challenge has become in short order the most visible phenomenon of 2014. But rather than an empty gesture, this thing is generating millions…
This Redditor Would Like to Find and Thank a Lakewood Good Samaritan
The headline basically gets you all the intro you need for this. Northeast Ohio is full of good people. Via Reddit: About 10 days ago I was visiting a friend in Lakewood and while my car was parked on lake avenue a drunk driver hit my car. No major damage but it would have been…
10 Things Going on in Cleveland this Weekend (August 22 – 24)
Big Cleveland sports weekend ahead of us, folks, what with the Indians playing through Sunday, plus the preseason matchup between the Cleveland Browns and the St. Louis Rams, and the Cleveland Gladiators ArenaBowl championships. Plenty more to do, too, if you’re not the sports fan type. Peruse this list for your weekend lineup.
In Advance of Saturday’s LKWD Music Fest, A Look Back at GZA’s ‘Liquid Swords’
“The shogun sent his ninja spies to our house… They were supposed to kill my father, but they didn’t… That was the night everything changed.” GZA’s 1995 masterpiece, Liquid Swords is considered by many to rank among the greatest hip-hop albums of all time. To put it simply, there’s something beautiful and jangly and strange about…
Bed Tax Talk: Considering How Taxpayers Got Stuck Funding Our City’s ‘Brand’
Positively Cleveland, the private nonprofit apparently responsible for everything good in your lives (“You’re Welcome,” as the tagline goes), oversaw a tidy tourism spike from 15.6 million visitors in 2012 to 16.2 million visitors in 2013. Earlier this summer, Cuyahoga County Council approved a 40-year extension on a 1.5 percent tax on hotel stays —…
Healthy Food Guidelines Eliminate Legendary “Pink Cookie” from Elyria Cafeterias
The Chronicle-Telegram wrote the obituary this morning: Elyria’s legendary pink cookies, cookies that were dubbed the best cafeteria cookies in the region by Cleveland Magazine in 2009, are no more. Government regulations that require more fruits and vegetables (and less sugar and fat) in school lunches haven’t given cafeteria folks much wiggle room. “The guidelines…
8 Concerts to Catch This Weekend
Fri., Aug. 22 Luke Bryan/Lee Brice/Cole Swindell Country singer Luke Bryan got a big break in 2012 when Jason Aldean took him around the country as his opening act. Last year, he launched his first headlining tour and sold out Blossom. Not bad. This year, he’s upped the ante and has booked two shows at…
Cleveland’s West Side Market Cafe Named Among Best Breakfast Spots in the Nation
The folks at Thrillist recently compiled their list of the 21 Best Breakfast Spots in America and Cleveland’s West Side Market Cafe was recognized for its creamed corn beef. Here’s what Thrillist has to say about the joint: Tacked onto the side of Cleveland’s massive West Side Market — a monolithic marketplace full of farm…
Here’s the Trailer for That Katie Holmes Movie That Filmed in Cleveland Last Year
Ladies and gents, Miss Meadows.
Kent State Football Player Dies Unexpectedly
Kent State University officials confirmed that student and football player Jason Bitsko, 21, died unexpectedly this morning. From the university: Bitsko was found unresponsive in the bedroom of his off-campus apartment shortly before 9 a.m. Police believe he passed away from an undetermined medical issue. Bitsko, 21, was set to begin his fourth year on…
Why I Drove 600 Miles to Ferguson to Help Get Protestors Out of Jail
I got in my car in Ohio City Friday and drove almost 600 miles from Cleveland to Ferguson, Missouri. I’m not a protest tourist; I’m not a member of any organization. I’m not even really employed at the moment. I’m just an outraged guy with a law license and a ton of experience handling discrimination…
Shabu-Shabu Eatery to Open in Tremont Before End of the Year
When Dante Boccuzzi opened Ginko three years ago, he introduced Tremont diners to the joys of shabu-shabu. The Japanese-style fondue — also called hot pot — is a fun, interactive dining experience around which entire restaurants are built. That’s the plan down the street at Ushabu (2173 Professor Ave.), which is slated to open late…
Gleeson Gleams in Calvary
Calvary was the biblical site, outside Jerusalem, where Christ was crucified. The story goes that two thieves were crucified beside him, and that one’s repentance and faith (and the other’s lack thereof) at the moment of death determined their salvation. We are reminded, in the opening moments of Calvary, a heavy-duty film starring Brendan Gleeson…
Boston Receives Warm Welcome at Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica
If you’re a Boston fan, you know that band leader Tom Scholz doesn’t get out much, something that the veteran guitarist/producer himself acknowledged during a recent interview. As a result, when Scholz takes Boston out on the road, he really puts a lot of effort into making sure that the band delivers a memorable show. They…
Buckcherry Gets Gimmicky on ‘F#ck”
Buckcherry F#ck (F-Bomb Records) buckcherry.com Buckcherry is the band that just won’t die. Initially, the hard rock group dissolved in 2002, but after that short hiatus, band founders Josh Todd and Keith Nelson reformed the group in 2005 and got a good second wind when the song “Crazy Bitch” went viral thanks to a racy…
Gaslight Anthem’s ‘Get Hurt’ is a Letdown
Gaslight Anthem Get Hurt (Island) thegaslightanthem.com Get Hurt is the sound of Gaslight Anthem running out of ideas. The band’s had a good run and became critics’ darlings as it delivered albums such as 2008’s The ’59 Sound and 2010’s American Slang. This outing, which is produced by Brit Mike Crossey (Foals, Arctic Monkeys, Jake…
Meridian’s ‘The Cathedral’ is a Full-sounding Album
Meridian The Cathedral (Youth Conspiracy Records) meridianohio.bandcamp.com A side project for Max Stern, frontman of Cleveland punk band Signals Midwest, as well as his younger brother Jake, Meridian ditches the punk rock for a folk-y sound, something they explored on their 2012 debut Aging Truths, an album that Stern refers to as a “bedroom project.” With…
Facing the Music: KISS Singer-guitarist Paul Stanley Reflects on the Band’s 40-year Run
One thing that becomes perfectly clear early in our conversation with Paul Stanley of KISS is that he doesn’t give a damn what the critics think. Instead, it’s the fans that have followed KISS since day one of their 40-year history as a group that really matter to the longtime singer and guitarist. During a…
Back to the Future: The Retro Futura tour revisits ‘80s synth-pop with acts like Tom Bailey and Howard Jones
A heavy dose of ’80s pop awaits music fans attending the Retro Futura tour, which stops in Cleveland this week for a show at the Masonic Auditorium. Topping the bill are Howard Jones and former Thompson Twins vocalist Tom Bailey, a couple of guys that cranked out a hefty number of hit singles that scaled…
After DeLaughter: Polyphonic Spree Frontman Talks About the Band’s Humble Beginnings as an ‘Experiment’
When Tim DeLaughter originally put together the choral rock group the Polyphonic Spree in Dallas in 2000, he wasn’t sure it would last. After all, the group featured a choir, flute, trumpet, French horn, trombone, violin and viola in addition to guitars, bass and drums. And DeLaughter had no intentions of playing classical music concert…
Are We There Yet? The Ride at None Too Fragile Theater Has a Few Too Many Script Bumps to Make It a Smooth Trip
How did young people come of age before the car (or bus) was invented? You’d think from all the works of art that feature those vehicles as the central transporting device — from Jack Kerouac’s On the Road to Thelma and Louise — that wheels of some sort are mandatory equipment for emotionally transitioning into…
Prepared to Wager: Ohio’s Most Competitive U.S. Congressional Race is the One to Watch this Fall
Local attorney Michael Wager (WAY-gur) is challenging Republican U.S. Rep. David Joyce’s incumbency in the 14th District of Ohio (that’d be the far east of Cuyahoga County, among more northeastern locales). Despite some forecasters giving Joyce a “likely” upper hand, the race remains among the most competitive nationally as we head toward November. This week,…
Film Review of the Week: Land Ho!
Land Ho!, a gently bobbing film about two ex-brothers-in-law on a trip to Iceland, should be perfect fare for the Cedar Lee: modest in scope, slow in pace, noble in aspiration, and blue-haired through and through. It opens there on Friday. Indeed, Mitch (Earl Lynn Nelson) and Colin (Paul Eenhorn) are both deep into their…
Film Spotlight: When the Game Stands Tall
Sports movies have the luxury of a built-in climax. The plot usually centers on a big game against a formidable opponent. Against all odds, the heroes manage to pull off the win, discovering something deep and meaningful about themselves in the process. Credit director Thomas Carter with trying to do something different with When the…
Band of the Week: Scarlet and the Harlots
Meet the Band: Scarlet (vocals), Trevor (guitar, vocals), Ryan (guitar), Toussaint (bass, vocals), Chris (trombone, vocals), Tim (saxophone), Dylan (drums) Straight Outta Kent: The band formed three years ago when group members met at Kent State University. Scarlet admits the concept came to them when they were sitting at a chain restaurant discussing future collaborations.…
Also on Stage
If there is one filmmaker whom many cineastes love, and also love to hate, it’s probably Leni Riefenstahl. Her movie glorifying Hitler’s Third Reich, Triumph of the Will, stands to this day as a monumental achievement in cinematography and a craven tribute to a certifiable monster. So how does one sort out the art from…
Old Reliable: It Has a New Owner and Some Good Bar Food, But the Rowley Inn Will Remain the Rowley Inn You Know and Love
Though the Rowley Inn technically resides in Tremont, folks who come here have and always will call this area “the South Side.” The bar sits just a mile south of Lincoln Park, but it might as well be clear across town. For at least 60 years, the Rowley has been buried deep in a working-class…
Dallas in Cleveland: Luxe’s Newest Helmsman Trades Ego for Efficiency
“I’m a little bit of a different chef — for instance, I don’t require anybody here to call me Chef,” says Dallas Martinez, the chef at Luxe Kitchen and Lounge in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood. It’s his way of explaining that he does things a little differently from his toque-topped colleagues, in the same way…
America’s Oldest Historically Black Private College Is On the Verge of Losing Its Accreditation. Can It Be Saved?
There’s a rumor in the dorms that Meat wants to challenge Jarred to a freestyle battle. Meat thinks he’s got chops too, here in the school year’s early going, and in truth he’s shown promise. But Jarred Hill, a fifth year senior, former class president and member of the Royal Court, enjoys something like Floyd Mayweather…
Singer-songwriter Paul Thorn Takes a Break from Autobiography for his New Album
As the story goes, singer-songwriter Paul Thorn had his first brush with fame when he sang the Lionel Ritchie tune “Three Times a Lady” at a talent show when he was in grade school. He suddenly went from being a social outcast to the most popular kid on the playground. “Back then, you weren’t cool…
