Party Like It’s 1989 at Rocky River’s Linden Tavern. (That mean’s 99-cent beers).
There’s still time to score some real bargains at Rocky River’s Linden Tavern, where owners Herb, Kevin, and Julie Eglinski are celebrating this week’s 18th anniversary by rolling back prices on selected dishes to their 1989 prices. Among other bargains, that means $4.99 chicken paprikash and homemade meatloaf today; 15-cent wings on Wednesday, washed down…
Clean Up Your Own Yards: An Employee Defends Mittal Steel
I work at Mittal Steel. I have been there for 8 years and just recently went to the doctor for optical migranes, which are from stress, not from pollution. I have had tests done and there are no high levels of anything in my system accept the ability to keep my yard and house clean!…
Kevin O’Brien’s Wrong; Dick Cheney is a Wuss
I had to smile at Kevin O’Brien’s description of Vice President Dick Cheney as one who “doesn’t shrink from a fight,” given the fact that he secured five student deferments during the Vietnam War. Yep, that’s rock solid proof of his character, courage and integrity. Ditto for our brave, strong commander in chief, George W.…
The Illegal and Immoral Drama at White Hat Management
I have been waiting for someone to come forth and tell the truth about what goes on in the White Hat Management schools [“Education at its Worst,” August 29]. I was employed at Life Skills and can tell you about the illegal and immoral drama that plagues the schools and employees. It seems White Hat…
This Just In: Blind Melon, David Allan Coe, Tech N9ne, and other new concerts
Blind Melon plays the Grog Thursday, October 11. No, seriously. This week, 18 new shows, including a reconfigured Blind Melon, ‘80s hairband all-stars Shaw & Blades, and a triumphant New Year’s Eve show from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Big Leg Emma: Fri., Sept. 14, 8 p.m., $10 ADV/$12 DOS. The Kent Stage, Kent. Blind Melon: Thu.,…
Mikey G’s Picks: The Dodos, the Killers, and Joplin’s old t-shirt rock Cleveland
They’re still not soldiers, but the Killers do have soul, and they play the Wolstein Friday. This week’s top arts and entertainment picks around town, from the guy who’s paid to pick them: Tuesday: Tonight’s pairing of Jennifer Gentle and the Dodos at the Beachland brings together two bands that appear to have very little…
Reader: All the Censored News Unfit to Print
Important Cleveland news in the past several days that the Plain Dealer (as usual to serve the powerful wealthy) censored out. So please inform the public fast as you can of the following: CONVENTION CENTER. The August 31 Plain Dealer news story headlined “Medical Mart advisers named” states that The Greater Cleveland Partnership (a partnership…
Out of Office Reply: Happy Labor Day. Now go outside and play.
Kids: We’ll be gone until Tuesday, paying homage to birthing mothers, British political parties, or whatever the hell this holiday is about. We left grocery money on the counter and carefully measured all the liquor bottles. And don’t even think about trying to top them off with water. Daddy’s liver can tell the difference. Be…
Romance and the Browns-Steelers Rivalry
It’s sort of disgusting, really. Like those ESPN ads showing a Michigan and an Ohio State fan cuddling on the couch, it’s just plain unnatural. So when the Steelers open against the Browns on September 9, couples with rival allegiances should be prepared to brave the fight. Last year, Maria, a 26-year-old ex-pat from Pittsburgh,…
More Zany Capers from the East Cleveland PD
Last week East Cleveland cop Shawna Glaspy got five years’ probation – and we’re not making this up – for helping a man escape. When other officers arrived at HQ with a newly arrested man, Glaspy him as a family friend. She ran his background check with a false name, then snuck him the key…
Dildos, Dolly Parton, and a Decent Cause: Gay folks sure know how to party.
The sign on the wall said it all: “There’s a fine line between art and porn.” And that bit of Einsteinly wisdom has netted $14,000 for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trangender Community Center of Greater Cleveland from its annual Summer Party benefit last weekend. The $30-a-ticket blowout attracted 350 people, who bid on a…
The Old Real World Move, Eh?: Chefs blame Cleveland portrayal on editing
Michael Ruhlman, backtracking in black and white. Since the Travel Channel aired No Reservations: Cleveland on Monday, many locals have aired their discontent for the places that Anthony Bourdain did and didn’t visit. Even Scene’s own Jared Klaus had a few issues of his own, with which I’d have to concur. Skyline Chilli? WTF? However,…
Who Knew? Mayor Frank Jackson knows how to talk after all
He speaks! Mayor Frank Jackson has a habit of keeping a low public profile. So low, in fact, that if it weren’t for his appearance on the occasional Tri-C billboard, we might have assumed he had gone into hiding soon after the November 2005 election. Which is why this week was so surprising. First, the…
Portia Surreal, the Topless DJ, Has Left The Building
If you didn’t go see Portia Surreal — the world’s top-ranked erotica/fetish/cabaret/house DJ — at the Velvet Dog on Thursday night, here’s a taste of what you missed. Caution: This footage may contain boobies. Kicking yourself because you didn’t know about it? Scene readers knew she was coming. Pick up a new edition every Wednesday…
Security takes the “Whiskey” out of Whiskey Island, Wendy Park
The night couldn’t have been more perfect on Whiskey Island on Thursday. As the sun melted like a floweret of butter into the calm Erie waters, a rec volleyball team called the Flailing Sand Fleas were being beaten into submission by a far superior foe, a team called Ballz. Lying on the cool grass, watching…
Cleveland, the New Ibiza: Tiesto to spin Metropolis this month
Tiesto, one of the world’s best and most widely recognized trance DJs — a dude who regularly spins in Ibiza and other electronic dance music hotbeds — is heading to little old Cleveland. At the forefront of the EDM-DJs-as-superstars phenomenon, Tiesto’s career blew up in the late 90s. He then started performing solo sets that…
Tower City’s Pay-By-The-Pound, an innovator in fattening your ass up, dies
It’s official: Pay-by-the-Pound is leaving Cleveland. If you don’t spend your afternoons stoned, and you don’t have a truck-scale in your bathroom, you may know the wonder of Natural Buffet, in the food court at Tower City. For the overweight pot-head population, it was the equivalent of Mecca, only you don’t have to wear white…
A Vote Against Regionalism
If you think all the talk about regionalism is because it’s a good idea, you need to think about the appeal of “one size fits all” clothing. The fact is it can be worn by all, but fits no one. It appeals to politicians because they become less accountable and more distant from the concerns…
Hate Mail of the Week, With a Twist: A writer sounds off
Turns out it’s not just our readers who hate us. Our own writers hate us too. This week, our tastiest batch of hate mail comes from a freelance writer who apparently had a small problem with changes made to his article — about a Shogon Assassins show at In the Living Room Cafe next Wednesday…
As Browns prepare to cut, Jason Short is out with a concussion
A concussion will keep Jason Short out of tonight’s preseason finale. Browns special-teams freak Jason Short will sit out tonight’s preseason finale against the Bears, with what is an incredibly predictable injury for him: post concussion syndrome. Short’s not a household name among casual fans, but his injury is a total bummer for anyone who…
Dusty Jacket Book Reviews: Good Roots: Writers Reflect on Growing Up in Ohio
(Sporadic book reviews from a really slow reader and cable-TV junkie. The first in an occasional series, maybe.) Good Roots: Writers Reflect on Growing Up in Ohio, edited by Lisa Watts, published by Ohio University Press. From $12 and up online. This painfully nostalgic anthology is chock full of the biggest hitters from Ohio’s literary…
Dancevert ditches Cleveland, sends rad moves and beloved frontal shots to DC
Dancevert will be missed, and not just by 14-year-old boys. After 20 years in Cleveland, modern-dance group Dancevert is relocating to Washington, D.C. The troupe snagged eight Ohio Arts Council excellence awards for its choreography over the past couple decades. Co-directors Susana Weingarten and Tom Evert have performed shows at pretty much every venue in…
New Wave Revivalists Party Dream to Record LP, Release DVD
Gil Mantera’s Party Dream — the Younsgtown new-wave revivalists signed to Akron’s Audio Eagle records — will record a fourth CD in November, at New York City’s Broadway Sound. Shane X. Conry, whose credits include a hit dance remix of Madonna’s “Nothing Fails,” will produce. Conry also worked with band on the Dream’s 2006 Bloodsongs.…
Hide Your Celly: Schools CEO tells Today Show he’s banning cell phones
Cleveland Schools CEO Eugene Sanders showed up on NBC’s Today Show. The so-called czar of education was pontificating on the all-important topic of … cell phones. Apparently, he doesn’t like them. Cell phones, he said are not just used for phone calls anymore. They’re used for cheating. Students, he informed the astonished audience, use them…
City Buddha to close; good karma now 50 percent off
The bad news: After 10 years, City Buddha — the cavernous West 25th Street store that specializes in unique hippie-style trinkets, beaded jewelry, and hand-painted room decorations — will close at the end of September. The good news: Starting today, everything in the store is marked down 50%. The better news: City Buddha’s east side…
Save That Steer: Strongsville woman launches campaign to rescue Bentley
Never in our wildest dreams did we imagine that the Plain Dealer’s five-part series on a steer named Bentley could attract this much attention. After the first installment, which helpfully reminded us that Claudia Derov, the 15-year-old raising the steer for sale at the Great Geauga County Fair, “still likes hamburgers,” we figured there was…
Money Where Your Mouth Is: Rick Stone and Fistula
Scene’s music editors close their collective yaps and lets jazz guitarist Rick Stone explain why his smooth tunes are exactly what you need to make it over the hump this week. Band: Rick Stone Trio, featuring Dave Morgan (bass) and Ron Godale (drums) Website/Myspace: www.MySpace.com/rickstonemusic Hometown: “Raised in Parma, OH, but living in New York…
Get Your Ingmar On: Cinematheque celebrates “50 Years of Janus Films”
The Seventh Sealplays September 6 and 9. Next week, the Cleveland Cinematheque kicks off its two-month “50 Years of Janus Films” series, which pays tribute to the company that’s distributed some of the world’s best-ever foreign movies to the U.S. over the past five decades. The schedule (which includes more than a dozen black-and-white, subtitled…
Do You Tek-Know?
Paul Swetz is a consummate raconteur. In the dimness of Ohio City’s Touch Supper Club, he shifts smoothly from discussing techno-as-Zen to mock-praising big tobacco’s marketing tactics. “Get ’em while they’re young,” he says, between pulls of Belgian ale. “Get ’em while they’re young.” As the founder of Tek-Know? — a local cabal of producers,…
Ringworm
Ringworm frontman the Human Furnace refuses to publicly reveal the origins of his stage name, but here’s one possible explanation: In “The Ninth Circle,” you can actually hear phlegm boil in the back of his throat. Just two years after Justice Replaced by Revenge put Cleveland’s reigning hardcore kings back on the national map, The…
The Wheel Deal
On a scale of 1 to 10, STOMP organizer Larry Grewe gives today’s 63-mile bicycle trek a 7 for difficulty. That’s because the uphill climb out of Cuyahoga Valley National Park is a monster to conquer, he says. But it’s all downhill by the time bikers reach the halfway point in southeastern Summit County. “If…
Hall to Perish
After a two-year run, Parish Hall (6205 Detroit Avenue) will close October 1. The indie art space was programmed by Detroit Avenue Arts, a nonprofit organization that brought in bands and hosted assorted events. It also housed the Miller-Weitzel Gallery and the recording studio and offices of Exit Stencil, the local label whose roster includes…
Stocked Market Café
If there’s a better way to work up an appetite than strolling the aisles at Ohio City’s venerable West Side Market — pacing wide-eyed amid a dizzying array of produce, bakery, meats, and spices — we certainly haven’t found it. And judging from the crowd at the equally venerable West Side Market Café during a…
Show Tune Alert!
The Blossom Festival Orchestra caps its season this weekend with Rodgers & Hammerstein on Stage and Screen. George Daugherty conducts the world-premiere program, which includes classic songs from many of the songwriting duo’s musicals and films — including The King and I, South Pacific, and Oklahoma! “They’re some of the most iconic moments in movie…
Temar Underwood
With influences ranging from Otis Redding and Sam Cooke to U2 and Tina Turner, Temar Underwood wears the classics with all the conviction of a true believer. Underwood’s 2006 debut, Ad Lib to Fade, found the 26-year-old — born and raised in Northeast Ohio — roundly rejecting the digital conformity of mainstream R&B. Instead, it’s…
Neapolitan Complex
Cleveland celeb chef Michael Symon (Lola, Lolita) didn’t claw his way to the top by following the rules. But beginning this week, he’s agreed to abide by the law — the law of traditional Neapolitan pizza-making, that is. Turns out the folks in Naples take their thin-crusted pies pretty seriously, establishing strict guidelines for construction.…
Race Relations
Black stand-up comedian Don “D.C.” Curry notices a lot of white people in his audience. To understand them better, he says he often puts himself in their shoes. “I drive around town with one foot hanging out the window of the car,” he says. “Sometimes I go to the mailbox, get my bills, open them…
Rush
In the past decade, Rush has gone from playing its patent prog to a stripped-down hard rock with nary a synth. And even though the lyrics of maestro-drummer Neil Peart still veer into Dungeons & Dragons territory (see “Armor and Sword”), Canada’s most popular band seems more interested in simply jamming than trying to recapture…
Co_Conspirator
For most progressive metal bands that call themselves jazz metal, the “jazz” aspect is just a texture. Akron’s Co_Conspirator, however, goes way beyond throwing in the occasional clean jazz chord. It sounds more like a fusion band dabbling in tightly coiled, odd-metered metal. The contrast between rigid riffing and loose improv allows Co_Conspirator plenty of…
Taste Makers
Everyone eats at this weekend’s Taste of Cleveland — even Fluffy and Fido! The Purina Pro Plan Rally Across America Tour rolls into town as part of the annual food bash, and a cat named Max tries to claw his way over nine canine competitors for the top prize: $5,000 worth of pet chow. The…
Sunburned
In the last year, Sunburned Hand of the Man shortened its moniker to just Sunburned. As a result, the group’s name no longer sounds like a mystical brotherhood — but that’s fitting. Z, its latest release and debut for Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace imprint, sees the ensemble scrapping its ritualistic psych-rock for scalding noise action.…
Environmental Disaster
Leonardo DiCaprio wants you to know that we’re in serious trouble. No amount of artful chin stubble, it seems, will reverse the depletion of fossil fuels or help to slow population growth. Not even three Oscar nominations will save you — without an actual statuette, there’s nothing to wedge under the door when the coastal…
Crash Course
Stand-up comic Roz G was recently in a car accident. But unlike all the other people who were involved in the crash, Roz didn’t go to the hospital. “All they was thinking about was, ‘I’m gonna get me some money,’” she says. “If something was wrong with me, I’d go to the hospital. Ain’t nothing…
The Almost
Aaron Gillespie is a Hot Topic heartthrob, but he’s also a lot like Elvis and Jerry Lee: He’s a religious southern boy with gobs of talent. In Underoath, Gillespie stands out as the singing drummer. And on Southern Weather, his semi-solo debut under the Almost moniker, he plays like a star-in-the-making. Similar to the first…
After Sunrise
Julie Delpy’s zippy romantic comedy 2 Days in Paris is all entanglement — a sort of alternate universe to her previous cinematic rendezvous in France, in Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. Before Sunrise, released in 1995, gave flesh to a Yank’s fantasy of worldly European womanhood: Delpy’s Celine materialized on a passenger train…
Eternal Flames
Vicki Peterson, one of the Bangles’ singers and guitarists, identifies with fans who yelled “sellout” when the ’80s group hit the top of the charts with “Walk Like an Egyptian.” “I completely understand that mentality,” she says. “Now we suck — I get that. I was doing some questioning of my own at the time.”…
Cleveland Americana Festival
It’s places like Austin, Texas and the entire state of North Carolina that are renowned for producing modern roots music — not Cleveland. But maybe that should change. Local fellas like Clint Holley and his collective Hayshaker Jones have been preaching the alt-country gospel for over seven years. What’s more, Cleveland has its very own…
Celebrity Justice
Interview, Steve Buscemi’s second feature as both director and star, takes about 20 minutes to restrict the world to a single room, but once it arrives the action seems to be held there by the pull of a cold sun. Buscemi plays Pierre Peters, a shabby ex-war correspondent who’s being punished for some unnamed transgression…
Beer Here!
This weekend’s Labor Day Oktoberfest in Berea is about more than just sitting around and drinking lots of German beer. It’s also about eating traditional food and dancing to ethnic tunes . . . while drinking lots of German beer. “I want this to be a multicultural event to reflect the diversity of Cleveland,” says…
Devon Allman’s Honeytribe
Devon Allman is the son of Greg Allman, and he leads a bluesy rock band called Honeytribe. Just the tags “Allman” and “bluesy” are enough for many — and rightly so. Devon is more of a traditionalist than Derek Trucks, guitarist and nephew of Butch Trucks, drummer for the Allman Brothers Band. He gears his…
Capsule reviews of current area theater presentations.
The Lion King — From the opening animal gathering in “The Circle of Life” to its reprise at the final curtain, this is a show that leaves patrons slack-jawed in amazement. A simplistic yarn about a lion cub suffering the death of his father, it offers few surprises. But The Lion King is more about…
Give Peace a Chance
Cleveland Peace Show organizer Tim Smith says he’s used to people calling him a dirty hippie. The annual fest, which has taken place on Labor Day for six years now, wouldn’t be complete without a few drivers telling the peaceniks what they think of their party in the park. “They honk and shout, ‘Hippies go…
Repeat Offender
Sonja Butcher demanded answers. As her boyfriend sat behind the wheel, driving the pair toward her home in Norton, Butcher asked why his divorce was taking so long. They’d been together for a year and a half, she griped, and he still hadn’t pitched in for a single bill. She was sick of playing second…
Macy Gray/The Brand New Heavies
Grammy winner Macy Gray emerged from the late ’90s with one of the most expressive and instantly memorable voices in modern soul. But these achievements have been overshadowed by a public persona that we’ll politely call eccentric (or, as some say, intoxicated). While not a runaway hit, Gray’s most recent album, Big, produced by Black…
Capsule reviews of current area art exhibitions.
New Post Card Diaries: The Visual Art of Mark Mothersbaugh — Most artists are forever engaged in the ancient tug-of-war between style and substance. Not Mark Mothersbaugh. In his visual art, the Akron-born Devo singer lets style win every time. Only rarely in this traveling show of prints — which incorporate elements from the postcards…
Freak out
Tonight’s pairing of Jennifer Gentle and the Dodos at the Beachland brings together two bands that appear to have very little in common. But dig deep, and astute listeners will uncover many similarities. Jennifer Gentle is an Italian experimental noise band whose members dig Krautrock, name-check Federico Fellini, and make music that sounds exactly like…
Education at Its Worst
It’s 8 a.m., and the scent of caffeine is sharp in the air. The office is stirring unusually today. Suddenly, six groomed businessmen, cologned with importance, stroll in behind an absolute giant of a man, clad today in grandpa sweater and signature 10-gallon white cowboy hat. The giant approaches tiny me. I already know who…
Charlotte Sometimes
Charlotte Sometimes actually copped her named from a British kids’ book about time travel, not the Cure song. But the Cure is a telling reference. The N.Y.C. songwriter and her band have a vintage pre-alternative sensibility, but with a thoroughly contemporary indie vibe. Charlotte sings in a breathy warble, with a perky delivery that offsets…
They Killed the Dog
Year of the Dog (Paramount Vantage) It’s just about the First Commandment of Hollywood: Don’t kill the dog. So it’s a testament to the clout of writer-director Mike White (School of Rock) that killing off the dog is the first of many rules broken in this weird-ass movie. Folks fooled by the pack-of-lies trailer into…
Tape Heads
Louisville’s VHS or Beta began as a noise-rock band. Then they discovered what they could do with a vocoder. On their 2002 debut EP, Le Funk, they made new-millennium dance music that owed as much to the past as to the future. On their just-released new album, Bring on the Comets, the quartet sprinkles the…
The PD’s Racist?
The Plain Dealer is under fire from black journalists after adding another white guy to its roster of sports columnists, a team that now has the diversity and sex appeal of a Golden Girls shower scene. In a letter last week, Roxanne Jones, an ESPN V.P. and member of the National Association of Black Journalists,…
Rilo Kiley
On their own, Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis and Blake Sennett lack a little something. Lewis could have used the guitarist’s melodic smarts on last year’s solo album, Rabbit Fur Coat. Meanwhile, Sennett’s other band, the Elected, really needs a singer. But together, they’ll try anything once, making some of the new millennium’s stickiest music –…
Persona Grata
The next-gen consoles are sexy as hell, but it’s not all bad being the reigning “last-gen” champ either. With more than 100 million PlayStation 2 consoles sold, software companies can afford to be a little adventurous — after all, even if their game appeals to only 1 percent of that audience, it’s destined to be…
Look! Up in the Sky!
History will be made at this weekend’s Cleveland National Air Show at Burke Lakefront Airport. For the first time ever, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will include two female pilots as part of its six-member formation flying team. Now in its 43rd year, the summertime fave mixes history with state-of-the-art technology. More than 50 old-school…
Bathing in Corruption
Who wants to drown in a flood of graft? “Why Are We Still Paying Him?” [August 15] is a great piece of investigative reporting by Lisa Rab. So many opinion leaders are touting Cleveland’s water system as a wedge to open up surrounding towns to the idea of regionalism with the city. What a joke.…
Popa Chubby
Crank a Popa Chubby disc, and it won’t take long to detect the big bluesman’s thing for Hendrix. Sure, the usual icons can be heard in the New Yorker’s fretwork, including B.B. and Freddie King. But it’s Jimi who exerts the greatest influence. Inspired by a pair of tribute festivals he recently played, Chubby’s double-volume…
Our top DVD picks scheduled for release this week:
Bob Saget: That Ain’t Right (HBO) The Boris Karloff Collection (St. Clair) Broken English (Magnolia) Carlito’s Way: Crime Saga Collection (Universal) Dark Shadows: The Beginning (MPI) The Essential Ozzie & Harriet Collection (Mill Creek) Friday Night Lights: The First Season (Universal) Gideon’s Trumpet (Acorn) Heaven & Hell: Live From Radio City Music Hall (Rhino) Heroes:…
Still Sick
This weekend’s Ghoulardifest may give Cleveland’s most beloved TV host top billing, but it’s the Big Chuck & Lil’ John Show reunion that’s hogging all the attention. The local weekly program — which originated with Ghoulardi’s Shock Theater in the mid-’60s — went off the air in June. Stars Chuck Schodowski, John Rinaldi, Art Lofredo,…
Who Killed Cleveland?
Mark Seifert warned of the impending mortgage crisis eight years ago. It’s just that everyone thought he was crazy. The year was 1999, when Seifert’s guerrilla nonprofit, the East Side Organizing Project, was helping parents battle the bungling monster known as the Cleveland school district. That’s when ESOP members began to suddenly disappear. Their phones…
Norman Howard & Joe Phillips
Burn Baby Burn is a lost treasure of Cleveland avant-garde jazz. Trumpeter Norman Howard was a contemporary of saxophonist Albert Ayler; the two worked together on one of Ayler’s earliest discs, Witches & Devils. The title track, one of the sax legend’s signature pieces, was actually composed by Howard. For some reason, these 1968 recordings…
On a Roll
A ginormous old-school tank greets visitors at Wings + Wheels: Crawford Memories in Motion, which opens today at the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum. The World War II “half-track” tank is one of several items making its debut at the exhibit. “It had machine guns on it at one time,” says Angie Cochenour, the museum’s marketing director.…
Hello, Dolly!
At their most melodic, the members of Dolly Varden sound like the prickly ’70s power-poppers of Big Star. When they turn down the volume and get twangy, they’re kinda like fellow Chicagoans Wilco. The rootsy quintet is led by Steve Dawson and Diane Christiansen, who are married. Appropriately, their fifth album, The Panic Bell, is…
Serial Thriller
Rob Zombie, former White Zombie frontman and multi-platinum solo rocker, transformed himself into a big-screen director with 2003’s House of 1,000 Corpses. In 2005, he followed up his surreal debut with the sequel The Devil’s Rejects, which doubled the creep factor. This week Zombie’s lifelong passion for horror films culminates with the release of Halloween,…
Pink Reason
Kevin DeBroux’s music revives the reverb-soaked gloom of Joy Division, Section 25, and any other industrial-goth outfit that recorded for Factory Records in the early ’80s. But unlike Interpol, the Wisconsin-born DeBroux (aka Pink Reason) is no retro slave. He’s far more audacious in terms of composition and production. On Cleaning the Mirror, his six-song…
Here are the week’s best releases from the pop-culture universe:
CD — Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-1970: This four-disc box celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Summer of Love with more than 75 relics by bong-toking hippies. A few songs (like Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” and the Youngbloods’ “Get Together”) dented the Top 40. But the best cuts — Count…
Casualties of Love
The French film Flanders has nothing to do with Homer Simpson’s ’stache-sporting, Bible-quoting neighbor. Rather, it’s an often horrific tale about a farm boy who goes off to fight an unnamed war in the Middle East. Serene scenes set in lush farmlands — where simpleminded Demester plows fields, feeds animals, and hits the hay with…
Euro-Sex
Françoise Cactus is as exotic as caviar to a Midwest cracker like me. During a recent interview, the French musician, who’s one-half of the electro-pop duo Stereo Total, immediately plays into my American stereotypes: She starts talking sex. “In the U.S. you are more prudish, but here it is in the publicity, the television, everywhere,…
Portia Surreal
Don’t go see DJ Portia Surreal because she spins topless. Or because fetish magazine Marquis declared her the World’s Top Erotic DJ. Or because of the provocative video projections that complete the mood she sets with an aural rubdown of progressive-, tribal-, and electrotech-house. Go for the music, man.
Party People in the Park
Cleveland rappers Tut and Adrenaline Rush headline today’s Bisbee Connection Cookout. But don’t expect to hear songs about gangbanging, hos, and bling. “These are artists that rap about positive things,” says organizer Joseph Moore. “They ain’t trying to teach anybody how to shake their booty.” The sixth-annual picnic targets inner-city families, but everyone is invited.…
Crue Cuts
The Garage Bar cranks up Whitesnake and Cinderella tunes at tonight’s Big Hair Unleashed outing. The weekly tribute to ’80s metal even includes popular beer-bong races all night long. “We really roll it back,” says DJ Maria, a WMMS-FM 100.7 jock who hosts the bar’s two-hour blast from the past. “The music brings back a…
Ebony and Imus
“There’s a white brother named Paul Woodruff singing — he sounds better than Robin Thicke!” says Cornel West. The Princeton University professor is referring to “Still Here,” a single on his new spoken-word CD, Never Forget: A Journey of Revelations. West, the public intellectual and widely cited authority on American race relations, now famous for…
Vertonen/Demons
Wolf Eyes has more side projects than my ass has pimples. So forgive me: When first I saw this split LP, I thought, “Oh great, Nate Young on a record with just some dudes.” But “just some dudes” they ain’t. Demons consists of Young and Steve Kenney, an old friend who served time in the…
Row Your Boat
Hundreds of rowers paddle their way to the Flats for this weekend’s Cleveland Dragon Boat Festival. And teamwork is crucial, says organizer Michael Ciccarello. “[You’ve got] 20 people paddling together on a 44-foot canoe — with one person at the bow with a drum, providing the tempo,” he says. “It’s really important you’re all in…
Work in Progress
Being around art all day was bound to rub off. At The Cleveland Museum of Art Staff Invitational Art Show, a dozen employees exhibit prints, photography, and sculptures they made after hours. More than 30 works are on display at the Cuyahoga County Library’s Beachwood branch. Look for everything from functional jewelry to abstract paintings…
