A Look Back at the Best Concerts of 2014
Despite all the bitching and moaning that goes on about big shows bypassing Cleveland, 2014 still had plenty to offer for music fans in Northeast Ohio. Yes, we would have liked to have seen that tour with Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden, and it would be great if U2 would one day decide to put…
2014 Year in Review (and Look Ahead): The Definitive Restaurant List
There is no arguing that this very moment in time is the most exciting and robust in the history of Cleveland dining. Almost daily, it seems, we’re sharing the news of yet another splashy restaurant opening or the inside scoop on some chef’s forthcoming plans to hang out his or her shingle. Don’t believe us?…
Ohio Transgender Teen Commits Suicide, Citing Bullying from Peers and Parents
Just a week after Scene profiled a brutal 2011 assault against two transgender women in Cleveland, 17-year-old Leelah Alcorn from Union Township committed suicide by jumping in front of a semitrailer on I-71. Leelah left a suicide note on her Tumblr page, citing years of bullying from her parents and classmates. She wrote: “There’s no…
Keep, Donate or Burn the Famed Browns QB Jersey?
“We hear you Browns Nation. You’re tired of this jersey,” say the folks at Brokaw Advertising on their Facebook page. “So are we. So, what should we do with it?” Brokaw has provided three potential options for the jersey which chronicles the unending string of Browns starting Quarterbacks (22 total since 1999, after Connor Shaw’s…
Cleveland Police Sued In Federal Court, Again, For Excessive Force, Racist Comments to Suspect
Patrick Carner was arrested by Cleveland police officers in Nov. 2012. Now, the officers, the department heads, and the city have been sued in federal court, accused of yet another Civil RIghts Act violation because of officer conduct during the arrest. The suit says that Carner was arrested on Nov. 29, 2012, and when he…
Scene Podcast: No Sleep in the CLE With Ramon Rivas, Justin Markert and Max Stern From Signals Midwest
On this week’s episode of No Sleep in the CLE, Chucklefck’s Ramon Rivas and Cellar Door’s Justin Markert talk to Max Stern, singer/guitarist from the band Signals Midwest. Max is a very busy guy: In 2014 alone, he clocked over 140 shows on three continents in 13 countries. They talk about influence, how Cleveland’s music…
Pic: Don’t Let the Zombies Out of Randall Park Mall
Via The Internet.
Ongoing Showdown at Parma City Schools May Reach Some Conclusions in January
Echoing the labor turmoil that rocked Strongsville City Schools two years ago, the Parma City Schools community is in the midst of its own multi-pronged showdown. The teachers and support staff unions have each been working without a contract for more than a year. As we wind down the holiday break, hope glimmers. At issue…
Port Authority Board Chairman Dies on Family Ski Trip in Wyoming
Marc Krantz, a managing partner at downtown law firm Kohrman Jackson & Krantz and the board chairman of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority, died this weekend on family ski trip in Jackson Hole, Wyo. He was 54. Krantz was active in the Jewish community and an influential force in bringing the Republican National Convention to…
Doesn’t “Appear To Have Much of an Understanding of What the Work Entails,” And Other Notes From Timothy Loehmann’s 2012 Psychological Evaluation for Independence Job
Little is known about Cleveland police officer Timothy Loehmann, the cop who shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice in early December at the Cudell Recreation Center on Cleveland’s near west side. What can be gleaned thus far comes from his father — who said in an interview with the Northeast Ohio Media Group that he…
World of Beer Closes its Lakewood Location
After almost two years in business, World of Beer in Lakewood has closed. The location is just one of a large chain of craft beer-driven taverns around the country. Nearby locations include Columbus and Ann Arbor. The taverns, which serve no food, boast selections of upwards of 500 bottles of beer and 50 ever-shifting taps.…
Claddagh Irish Pub to Close After 11 Years at Legacy Village
Just yesterday morning, management at Claddagh Irish Pub at Legacy Village in Lyndhurst informed its staff of 35 that the restaurant would be closing its doors on New Year’s Eve after 11 years in operation. It’s always a painful decision, says Director of Operations for Claddagh Justin O’Driscoll, but doubly so given the time of…
The Grocery, an Ohio City Green Grocer, Slated for Early January Opening
On Tuesday, January 6, Rachel Kingsbury will finally get to open the doors of The Grocery, a project that she’s been working on for the last year. “It’s sort of surreal right now,” she says during a rare break. The Grocery (3815 Lorain Ave., 216-543-6388, thegroceryohc.com) fills a long-dormant storefront on a portion of Lorain…
Lakewood Observer Catches Ed FitzGerald in Fender Bender
Things just wouldn’t feel right if we didn’t close out 2014 with one last callback to County Exec Ed FitzGerald’s silly driver’s license travails. Blessedly, the fine folks at the Lakewood Observer aren’t letting that happen. The paper’s owner and publisher, Jim O’Bryan, happened to catch FitzGerald caught up in a fender bender last week. You…
Cavs Bow Down Before Lowly Pistons, Continue Backslide Into Bad Habits
Change is hard and that’s why so few people do it. That’s a cautionary opening to soften the blow for anyone that doesn’t know the Cavs got served like shrimp fried rice by the lowly Detroit Pistons last night 103-80. For anyone who’s been following the season, it might’ve seemed a re-run. The more talented…
Local Tribute Act Wish You Were Here to Play ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ in Its Entirety
For a decade now, Wish You Were Here, the locally based Pink Floyd tribute act that started way the hell back in 1995, has put on a special holiday show at House of Blues. Usually, the guys adopt some kind of theme for the gig, and this year is no different. The band plays the…
Supreme Court Will Consider Whether to Take Up Same-Sex Marriage Case in Ohio Next Month
The Supreme Court will begin 2015 with the four same-sex marriage cases punted out of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this year. It was that lower court that voted to uphold Ohio’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, thus pretty much drawing out the inevitable reversal process and kicking legal matters up to the…
Video: A Fight in Beachwood Mall the Day After Christmas
The holidays are stressful. Malls are stressful. Combine the two and you have a percolating mixture that pushes humans to act in ways they normally wouldn’t and shouldn’t. Which brings us to the Dec. 26 video of a fight at Beachwood Mall. It’s pretty self-explanatory stuff — social media seems to claim the fight started…
Video: A Spotted Owl Cocktail in Reverse
Courtesy of Glass Backwards, which is stocked full of cocktail vids, recipes and more from around the country that you could spend all morning devouring, here’s Will Hollingsworth building a Spotted Owl cocktail in reverse. The Quick Fix No. 2 from Jugoe / GlassBackwards on Vimeo.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra Electrifies Quicken Loans Arena
Since their first shows in 1999, Trans-Siberian Orchestra has become a holiday behemoth. TSO have played more than 1,600 shows and sold more than ten million records. Donating one dollar from every ticket sold to local charities, they have given more than 11 million dollars to charities across the country. Before the start of the…
Photo: Zeppe’s Toy Drive for the Kids of Rainbow Babies and Children’s
Here’s a cup of Christmas cheer for ya: Zeppe’s Tavern & Pizzeria organized a toy drive for the children of Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital this year. (Pretty impressive results, as you can see above). On Christmas Eve, they filled two vans, and WNCX’s Bill Louis and members of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra were on…
10 Things to Do This Weekend in Cleveland
For better or worse, Christmas proper is over and now the family and friends are around and looking at you with hopeful looks in their eyes that you know something fun to do. Well, we’re here to help.
9 Concerts to Catch This Weekend
FRIDAY, DEC. 26 Death of Samantha The post-punk group Death of Samantha disbanded in 1990 but decided to revisit its old songs and re-record them live in the studio before a 2011 reunion show. The resulting album, If Memory Serves Us Well, came out earlier this year to much fanfare. The guys are currently working…
Cavs Lose LeBron’s Miami Homecoming, Feel the Heat Without Injured Varejao
The first game of the post-Anderson Varejao season didn’t go very well, with the Cavs losing to the Heat 101-91 in a game Miami led most of the way. The Cavaliers played their now typical uninspired first half defense, then tried to turn it on that last quarter and a half, only to find their…
‘Actress’ Star Brandy Burre to Appear at the Nightlight and the Cedar Lee
Sandusky-born Brandy Burre is the subject of Actress, a new documentary about her life. She studied acting at Ohio University and after graduating picked up a good gig as Therese D’Agostino on HBO’s The Wire. As Scene’s Sam Allard has written, “This film explores her life, and how, after giving up acting to start a…
Some Kid Spent Christmas Like ‘Flick’ From ‘A Christmas Story’
One last Christmas-y post before we move on. Pic via Reddit.
Merry Christmas, Cleveland
Traditions ’round these parts state that we leave a copy of “Fairytale of New York” for you to enjoy on this day. (Do read the backstory to the classic for the full effect.) If you haven’t taken a spin through this week’s issue yet and there’s a break between Christmas presents and piles of ham,…
Reviews of Five Big Films Debuting This Christmas Week
Even without a wide release of The Interview, the outlandish comedy about the assassination of North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, the Christmas movie schedule is still a cluster as studios try to deliver something for everyone. You can pick and choose between a big-budget musical (Into the Woods), a heady period piece (The Imitation Game), a…
The Most and Least Likely Cavs Trade Scenarios With Anderson Varejao Down for the Year
In typical Cavaliers fashion, the team waited until the final 15 minutes to step up and play some defense last night, finally blowing out the Wolves 125-104. They outscored Minnesota 16-1 over the last 3:10, an extraordinary offensive outburst fueled by defense – including four Wolves turnovers, half by old friend Anthony Bennett, who added…
Anderson Varejao Out for Season with Torn Achilles
After landing awkwardly in the third quarter of Tuesday night’s defeat of the Timberwolves, the Cavs’ Anderson Varejao has a torn achilles tendon and should miss the remainder of the season. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reports that Tristan Thompson will likely take over the starting role, and that the Cavs will now double down on their…
Local Filmmakers Launch Kickstarter Campaign for Documentary About Swingos Celebrity Inn
Located in downtown Cleveland from 1967 to 1984, Swingos Celebrity Inn had a reputation as the place where rock bands went to party. In saying that the place should receive the award for “the Hotel that Had Been Privy to the Most Debauchery,” The Guardian has this to say about the hotel: “Swingos’ notorious reputation…
Meet Meg Wilson, Creator of BUNtitled, An Online Comic With a Hefty Following
Cleveland has a rich legacy of comics and cartooning, having seeded Jerry Siegel and Joel Schuster’s Superman, Harvey Pekar’s American Splendor, Zap Comics’ legendary R. Crumb, Bill Watterson’s classic Calvin and Hobbes, Marvel Comics’ five-time Eisner Award-winning writer Brian Michael Bendis, John G. and Jake Kelly’s Lake Erie Monster, Derf (whose The City appeared in…
Trans-Siberian Orchestra Caps a Stellar Year With Another Extravagant Tour
Each winter, Trans-Siberian Orchestra traipses across the country, filling arenas with its big-budget, over-the-top Christmas concerts that revolve around a the magic of Christmas. But to hear Paul O’Neill, the creator, lyricist, and composer behind the project, tell it, TSO is a year-round endeavor. “I never could have imagined it would’ve gone on and gotten…
Lita Ford Dishes on the Runaways Legacy, Her New Live Album and Her Ugly Divorce
Singer-guitarist Lita Ford joined the Runaways when she was just 16. Now, at age 56, Ford is still going strong and rocking hard. Two years ago, she released Living Like a Runaway, an album of highly personal songs about her bitter divorce. She embarked on a summer arena tour with Def Leppard and Poison. And…
For Songwriter Jim Brickman, Christmas is a Blank Slate
When pianist and songwriter Jim Brickman first met country singer Kenny Rogers, he quickly discovered that the legendary “Gambler” definitely knows when to hold ’em. The Hard Rock Rocksino provided the setting for a meeting between the Cleveland-based pianist and Rogers. The pair had never met and Brickman was keen to have the country vocalist…
Talespinner Children’s Theatre is Showing How Little Audiences Can Lead to Big Achievements
“After every show, the first character the kids always want to meet, face to face, is the villain.” So says Alison Garrigan, founder and artistic director of Talespinner Children’s Theatre. Yes, it seems all of us, even pre-schoolers, are intrigued by the dark side in some way. For instance, how many of us were repelled…
Savage Love
Dear Dan, I’m a short guy and I need advice. I don’t want a small paragraph’s worth of advice, like you gave “Below Their League” a few years ago. I need advice beyond “Women like men taller than them, get over it!” I get it. I’m short (5 feet 2 inches), and most women are…
Song of the Week
With its references to the California coastline, this sound doesn’t seem like the kind of tune you’d expect to hear from a Cleveland-based singer-songwriter. It’s got a great reggae beat and seamlessly mixes blues guitar into the mix too. Moorhead even drops a few rhymes mid-song as he sings about San Francisco Bay and San…
Band of the Week: honeyhoney
Meet the Band: Benjamin Jaffe (guitar, vocals), Suzanne Santo (vocals, banjo, violin) Nashville Nights: Since forming in 2006, this duo has released two albums, the second of which established the group as a major act in the Americana/alt-country scene. Now, the group is in Nashville in the midst of recording its new album. “We do…
Vegans and Vegetarians (and Indian Food Fans in General) Should Rejoice at the Arrival of Namaste in Lakewood
One can only assume how miffed Ramesh Sharma must have been when Namaste, a new Indian restaurant, opened up just blocks down the road from India Garden, his own popular Indian restaurant, which has been a Lakewood staple for nearly 10 years. The only problem with that assumption is that it was Sharma himself who…
Callaloo Rising in Waterloo
Every Sunday night, the beat of steel drums can be heard along the shoreline of Tobago, the Caribbean island just northeast of Trinidad. It’s “Sunday School” at Kelvin Cadiz’ restaurant, Captain’s Sandbar, and the festivities go well into daybreak. “It sounds like church,” says Cadiz, flashing a sly grin. “It is not church.” Cadiz is…
Staying Afloat: The Free Clinic Looks to Adjust to New Economic Realities
The Cleveland Free Clinic has been providing primary health care to Cleveland’s most needy for nearly a half century, as well as initiating a host of other programs, including the syringe exchange, that can be found nowhere else in the city. With the arrival of the Affordable Care Act, the Free Clinic’s business changed. This…
Forgotten Assault
Immediately after the violence, they walked. The attack itself was hell, of course, but now the walk was somehow worse. One gripped a stick, the other a pipe. Bleeding and battered, they found a train station and rode east to the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center in the early hours of a September morning…
