Cedar Point Confirms New Coaster for 2016, the Valravn
Update: Looks like the leaked information on Cedar Point’s new roller coaster was spot on. The Sandusky amusement park confirmed the rumors this morning on Twitter with the following tweet: Uncaged in 2016, #Valravn will be the TALLEST, FASTEST & LONGEST dive coaster in the world! #CP2016 pic.twitter.com/PgJn49zNpH — Cedar Point (@cedarpoint) September 9, 2015…
Local Artist Matthew Gallagher to Debut 40 Pieces at Canopy Collective
In addition to his work in the Oberlin Connection show at Doubting Thomas in Tremont this Friday evening, Cleveland-based artist Matthew Gallagher will debut 40 new works on paper at Canopy Collective’s 1090 Club. The exhibition opens with a reception this Friday, Aug. 14 from 6 to 10 p.m. “Matthew Gallagher is a truly unique…
How To Throw A Foolproof Muni Lot Tailgate
I once saw a 6’-3”, 250-pound man five-star frog splash off of an RV and onto a table. The crowd cheered, I jeered and the table splintered. It was truly a sight to behold. Here’s the thing… I wasn’t at Monday Night Raw when I saw this, I was in our backyard. I was in…
Cleveland Radio Pioneer Wynn Rosenberg — “The Mud” — Has Died
Wynn Rosenberg, known around Northeast Ohio as “The Mud” or “John J. Mudcliffe,” passed away Saturday night in a hospital room in Scottsdale, Ariz. A Beachwood High School graduate of the class of ’72, “The Mud” started his career as the morning man at Cleveland’s M105 (WWWM-FM) in 1975. It was an Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) station that took…
Media Blitzkrieg: The GOP Debate and the Cleveland-Narrative Narrative
The streets of Cleveland were abuzz, Thursday evening, with the click and chatter of political operatives and national reporters. The first Republican National Debate was performed for a crowd of 5,000 at the Quicken Loans Arena, and hundreds flew to Northeast Ohio to see Trump and the gang live. “It really did feel like a…
Good to Go Café in the Fairmont Creamery is Good to Go
It took some time, but Good to Go Café has opened in the Fairmont Creamery building in Tremont (2306 W. 17th St., 216-523-4447). It joins chef-owner Anna Harouvis’ other Good to Go shop in the IMG Building downtown. Like the original, this one offers a mix of healthy foods for breakfast, lunch and snacktime. “Since…
Dinosaur Jr. Keeps Heavy 90s Alt-Rock Alive in Akron
After all these years, last night’s show at Musica in Akron was my first time catching Dinosaur Jr. First observation: Louder than hell. Guitarist J Mascis, a guy who really wrote the booking on drawling vocal melodies overlaid with thick layers of distortion, was in fine and extremely laid-back form throughout the show. Opening with…
Dual Trials to Tell Story of 2012 Police Shooting
Two trials — a civil case in federal court and a criminal case in Cuyahoga County — are about to begin, each one examining opposite perspectives on a 2012 police shooting in downtown Cleveland. Officer Roger Jones, a black five-year veteran of the Cleveland police force and off-duty at the time, shot 20-year-old Kenny Smith…
Google Reorganizes as ‘Alphabet;’ Unsuspecting Cleveland Man with Twitter Handle @alphabet Hammered with Attention
Clevelander Chris Andrikanich was preparing to go about a normal Monday at work at Gray & Company yesterday when suddenly his Twitter account @alphabet exploded with thousands of mentions: Google had dropped the news it was restructuring and launching a new company, Alphabet. “It’s crazy. It’s nerve-racking. It’s entirely unbelievable,” Andrikanich, who’s mouthful-of-a-name earned him the…
Sandusky-Oberlin Collaboration Opening at Tremont’s Doubting Thomas Gallery
Last year, the Sandusky Cultural Center presented Oberlin Connection, an effort by curator Charles Mayer to build a stronger relationship between art communities in Sandusky and Oberlin, by showcasing the creative energy of Oberlin’s diverse arts community in Sandusky. In an effort to build a stronger connection with Cleveland, the exhibition is traveling to Doubting…
End of an Era: Grovewood Tavern Closes its Doors After 16 Years
The term “hidden gem” gets tossed around so often these days that it is essentially meaningless. Rare is the restaurant that truly is both hidden and a gem. When it opened 16 years ago, the Grovewood Tavern was both of those things. Tucked deep in the residential neighborhood in Collinwood, the restaurant was exasperatingly difficult…
Schedule Announced for Les Paul — The Tour’s Cleveland Stop
Known as the “Father of the Solid Body Electric Guitar,” guitar hero Les Paul has influenced a number of great players, including Slash, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, Joan Jett and Jimi Hendrix. In honor of the 100th anniversary of his birth, the New Sound: Les Paul and the Electric Guitar,…
An Atlanta News Station Accidentally Recirculated a Story About Josh Gordon’s 2014 DUI
Twitter was in an uproar today over what appeared to be yet another DUI from Browns WR Josh Gordon. What actually happened was @11AliveNews, a social media outlet for WXIA in Atlanta of all places, retweeted a 2014 story about Gordon’s DUI in Raleigh, N.C Despite the infinitesimal odds of Gordon picking up a second DUI…
Singer-Guitarist Dan Miraldi to Play CD Release Show at Mahall’s
Singer-guitarist Dan Miraldi has a wide range of musical interests that range from Paul McCartney and the White Stripes to Fall Out Boy and Bob Dylan. He started out listening to Elvis Presley and the Beatles, but eventually gravitated toward modern rock when he was in high school. He began playing pop-punk with Exit Suburbia,…
Aerosmith Delivers High-Energy Set at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton
The Pro Football Hall of Fame held its first “Concert For Legends” on Friday evening at the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton. And when you’re talking about legends, it’s hard to think of a better choice than fellow Hall of Famers — 2001 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, that is…
Phish Brings Old-School Heat to Blossom Amid Era-Defining Summer Tour
Delivering another gem in a tour not at all short on such things, Phish dropped a titanic show in Cuyahoga Falls last night. And with only two songs in the setlist that were debuted post-1998 (see below), the show was a wild trip deep into some of Phish’s more classic compositions and jam vehicles. The…
‘The Gift’ Struggles to Overcome Its Faulty Premise
A psychological thriller like The Gift, the new film from actor-turned-writer-director Joel Edgerton, has to have a solid premise to succeed. It doesn’t matter how solid the acting might be, if the story isn’t believable, it just isn’t going to work. And that’s the case here. The story centers on a seemingly random encounter that…
Classic Rocker Michael Stanley to Discuss New Album at Rock Hall
There was a time when local rocker Michael Stanley recorded for a major label and toured the country. Those days are over; today, Stanley functions more like an independent artist. And yet, he’s as prolific as ever, issuing albums on this own label. At 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 19, in the Rock and Roll…
6 Concerts to Catch This Weekend
FRIDAY, AUG. 7 Phish Summer tour is off to a great start, with the band tearing up venues out west and down south. From the “Blaze On” > “Twist” > “Light” segment out in California to the incredibly tight and exploratory Dallas show, Phish is yet again hitting a thrilling stride. Tonight’s gonna be a…
Punk Icons Social Distortion Bring Anniversary Tour to Town
The more things change, the more Social Distortion stays the same. At least that’s the impression the band left in 2012 at House of Blues for the first of two sold out shows. While singer-guitarist Mike Ness might have exchanged his wifebeater for a baggy suit and fedora that made him look like some kind…
The Missing’s Chris Stevens Embraces Sobriety to Reunite Band and Re-launch Record Label
Five hundred sixteen days. That’s the number of days that Chris Stevens (formerly Christopher Marinin, the lead singer in the local rock band the Missing, has been sober. He knows the number. Ask him tomorrow, and he’ll tell you it’s 517 days. He doesn’t have to run the numbers in his head. Stevens, who works…
Trey and Page from Phish Reunited with their Hot Dog Yesterday
Trey Anastasio and Page McConnell took a trip up to the Rock Hall yesterday and checked in on their famous flying hot dog — beloved for its New Year’s Eve appearances in 1994, 1999 and 2010. Watch video below of Phish’s midnight-to-sunrise set at 12/31/99’s Big Cypress festival. The hot dog segment begins at the…
Rick Santorum, Steelers Fan, Dissed the Browns after Happy Hour Debate
Two-thirds of the way through a 15-minute speech at the American Conservaitve Union Debate Watch Party Thursday evening, Rick Santorum stumbled upon some divisive territory. “I know we’re here in Cleveland,” the happy-hour debate participant and former Pennsylvania Senator told the crowd of diehard conservatives at the House of Blues. “And as a Steeler fan…
Spend the Night in an Amusement Park with Cedar Point’s Coaster Campout
By day, amusement park goers catch thrills, stuff our faces with fried foods, and empty our pockets hoping, nay praying, that this is the year we’ll walk away with a giant stuffed animal prize from that absurdly tricky carnival game. But what happens after the guests go home and the park shutters for the night?…
Backstage Pass: An Interview with the Swedish Boy Band the Fooo Conspiracy
The Swedish boy band the Fooo Conspiracy rolled through town last night on the Pop Nation tour. We caught up with the acrobatic guys — they regularly do backflips on stage —backstage last night at House of Blues before the gig to talk about the tour and their debut, last year’s Off the Grid. And…
GOP Seeking Support in Cleveland. Nina Turner’s Countermeasure: “Find that Heart-Soul Connection” with Voters
Ohio State Senator Nina Turner took her turn at the lectern Thursday afternoon during a Democratic National Committee press conference at the downtown Cleveland Radisson Hotel. The presser was designed, it seemed pretty clear, to bash the GOP candidates participating in Thursday night’s debate and to distinguish the official Democratic platform from the Republicans’. “I…
Long in the Works, Roxu Asian Fusion Finally Set to Open in Lakewood
If it seems like we’ve been hearing about the soon-to-open Roxu Asian Fusion for the past few years, that’s because we have been. The restaurant, located by Barrio in the Uptown district of Lakewood, has been “coming soon” for two years. But the finish line is fast approaching, says management, with a scheduled opening just two or three weeks…
Fantastic Four Fails Fantastically
Welp. It’s here. The Fantastic Four reboot starring young guns Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara and Jamie Bell hits the megaplexes this weekend, and there’s nothing 20th Century Fox executives can do about it now. You can expect to leave the theater in a state of bafflement, if not of outright betrayal. It will…
Canadian EDM Duo DVBBS to Help Christen New Club FWD
Back in April, Scene dining editor Douglas Trattner reported on the opening of FWD Dayclub + Nightclub Cleveland, a new seasonal, open-air nightclub in the Flats East Bank. The club, which features a 4,000-square-foot pool and deck area with a full bar, elevated decking and custom day beds, is now open. It’s situated right on…
German Rockers Tokio Hotel Embrace Electronic Dance Music on New Album
The German rock group Tokio Hotel — twin brothers Bill (lead singer) and Tom Kaulitz (guitar, backing vocals), Georg Listing (bass) and Gustav Schafer (drums) — has such a rabid following in its native country, where it’s one of the biggest rock bands of all time, that it had to get out of town. So a few years back, members…
Creedence Clearwater Revisited’s Doug Clifford Reflects on Band’s Career (and Has a Thing or Two to Say About Former Singer John Fogerty)
Boyhood friends, Creedence Clearwater Revival bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug “Cosmo” Clifford started Creedence Clearwater Revisited back in 1995 when a friend wanted to promote a few concerts. They didn’t realize at the time that they’d end up playing close to 100 shows a year in the United States, Canada and abroad. The group plays at…
What Life Would Be Like Under President Donald Trump
Twitter is about to be a lot of fun today, what with the circus gathering steam in and around Quicken Loans Arena. Here, Photoshop wunderkind and cute-dog-photo guru @darth shows us what life might be like in the near future, were certain events to fall into place. Enjoy the nightmares.
Here’s a List of the Republican Debate Watch Parties Happening Tonight
Tickets for the Big Show at the Q tonight went fast, but there are plenty of spots around town to gather and watch the festivities. We can only hope that most of these come with some sort of official in-house drinking game rules. Did we miss a party listing? Drop a comment below and let…
WCPO: Naked Chagrin Falls Man Causes Multi-Car Crash on I-71
UPDATE: 9 cars involved in I-71 crash; viewer caught another angle of naked man running away. http://t.co/EeBFKZuNw2 pic.twitter.com/QMp5yu8RwE — WCPO (@WCPO) August 6, 2015 In case you missed it, a naked Chagrin Falls man was the cause of a multi-car accident on I-71 last night that left several commuters injured and hundreds more completely bewildered…
Late-Summer Algae Bloom Threat Stirring Concern Along Lake Erie
It’s that time of year when those of us along the north shore begin eyeing the lake with concern and reading through the incessant drone of “algae bloom” headlines — like this one you just clicked. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted that this year’s algae growth in Lake Erie could rival 2011’s record-setting…
Local Metal Act Mushroomhead Defends Use of Confederate Flag as Rebellious Act
In the wake of the tragic shooting of nine blacks by a white gunman in a Charleston, South Carolina, church in June, the folks in South Carolina have removed the Confederate flag from Statehouse grounds. The guys in the local metal act Mushroomed apparently don’t think the flag is offensive. The website Blabbermouth reports that…
In Cleveland for the RNC Debate? Here’s Where You Should Eat (And Drink)
Visitors, journalists, and a whole bunch of GOPers are already descending upon Cleveland in anticipation of the first national debate slated to take place live tomorrow evening from 9 – 11 p.m. at Quicken Loans Arena. Between the policy balking and insult hurling that’s likely to ring out both within the Q and on city…
Trentina Lands on Bon Appetit Magazine’s Top 50 New Restaurants of 2015
Chef Jonathon Sawyer’s rustic Italian fine dining experience, Trentina, was named one of the best new restaurants in the nation by the culinary experts at Bon Appetit magazine. The annual list includes 50 nominees from all over the country, representing a wide range of specialties, styles and prices. Trentina features Northern Italian-inspired dishes made with…
Woody Allen Tries Once Again to Normalize Old Guy-Young Girl Relations in Irrational Man
Woody Allen’s Irrational Man opens Friday at the Cedar Lee and the Capitol, and you’re of course more than welcome to go see it. Joaquin Phoenix is Allen’s stand-in. He’s Abe Lucas, a miserable philosophy professor who seeks a cure for his existential malaise. He finds a cure not in single malt Scotch, but in…
101 Years Ago Today, the First Electric Traffic Light Was Installed in Cleveland
On this day — Aug. 5 — in 1914, the world’s first electric traffic light was installed on the corner of Euclid Avenue and East 105th Street in Cleveland, Google reminded us today. The brainchild of local inventor Garrett Morgan, who, interestingly enough also invented hair straightening products and a breathing device that served as a predecessor to the…
University of Akron Press Chopped from School’s Budget
Among the sweeping financial cuts the University of Akron announced last week were all three full-time positions at the University of Akron Press, a small regional imprint primarily known for its poetry series and books on local culture and history. In the wake of its closure, its director has decried the move. National organizations…
Everything Changed for Ohio State’s Cardale Jones in a Year. Does He Have to Change Too?
Cardale Jones took off on another Twitter spree two weeks ago. He does that. But this time, the guy once best known for famously tweeting that he didn’t come to Ohio State to “play school” was taking on social issues and incisively beating back condescending replies. This particular late July day’s thoughts started with Jones sharing…
The Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque Receives a Major Upgrade
It’s somehow appropriate that when we meet up with Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque director John Ewing as he’s walking to the Cinematheque’s new high-tech home, he’s carrying a couple of 16-mm projectors. As much as Ewing is pleased to be moving to a “handsome” high-tech facility that features a 4 K projector, 7.1 Surround…
Film Spotlight: Cartel Land
For his new documentary Cartel Land, a film about vigilante movements against the Mexican drug cartels, director Matthew Heineman knew he didn’t want to make a “policy film.” So he put himself into the middle of the action to make the compelling feature. It opens on Friday at the Cedar Lee Theatre. “I was fascinated…
Band of the Week: Hop Along
Meet the band: Frances Quinlan (vocals, guitar), Mark Quinlan (drums), Tyler Long (bass), Joe Reinhart (guitar) In the Beginning: In 2004, Frances Quinlan started performing as Hop Along, Queen Ansleis, a solo effort that showcased her highly personal songs. “It was just me because when I was in high school, I used to perform with…
A Personal Reaction to ‘American Idiot’ at Beck Center
I had a strong reaction when I first saw Green Day’s American Idiot at the Beck Center for the Arts. I was irritated, then angry, then actually furious. I was not pissed off because of the punk rock music, but because of the behavior of the characters. Actually, it didn’t take me long to get…
Weapons of Mass Creation Highlights Creative Class in Cleveland
Now in its sixth year, Weapons of Mass Creation Fest has become the region’s premier design industry-centered professional conference. Throughout the weekend, Playhouse Square’s Allen Theatre will host 14 speakers, three panels, eight workshops, 30-plus vendor tables, live artwork, interactive demonstrations, portfolio reviews and much more. WMC Fest 6 is hosted by Aaron Sechrist of…
M Italian Mails in Standard Italian-American Fare in Chagrin Falls
I’m a bit of a car guy, so I was thrilled to watch — and listen — as some of the sweetest rides known to man thrummed on by. There was a cherry-red Ferrari F430 Spyder convertible, steel-blue Porsche 911 Carrera, and coal-black Maserati Quattropporte. You might assume that I was at some swanky motoring…
Suzy Pacifico, Server at Guarino’s for Half of Its 100 Years
Once a Prohibition-era speakeasy, the humble storefront of Guarino’s (12309 Mayfield Rd., 216-231-3100, guarinoscleveland.com) in Little Italy opens to a lush interior, its Victorian decor a reminder that you’ve arrived at one of Cleveland’s oldest dining institutions. Inside, next to the grand piano in the front window, Suzy Pacifico sits on a velvety loveseat positioned…
