They Came to Play has its local premiere at CMA
A documentary about an annual pian competition, They Came to Play makes its local premiere tonight at 7 at the Cleveland Museum of Art Lecture Hall. It screens again at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 28. Here is our review of the film. They Came to Play (U.S., 2008) The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition for…
Friday Ticket Giveaway: Time for Three
Time for Three, bench for one. We have five pairs of tickets to Time for Three’s concert at Oberlin College’s Finney Chapel on February 27. For a chance at winning a pair, send your name, address, phone number (please indicate if it’s a cell), age and e-mail address to freetickets@clevescene.com. Be sure to put “Time…
Paradise makes its local debut at CMA
An experimental film that was shot over a ten-year period, Paradise makes its local debut tonight at 7 at the Cleveland Museum of Art Lecture Hall. Director Michael Almereyda will be on hand to introduce the movie and take questions afterwards. Here’s our review of his film. Paradise (U.S., 2009) Because Michael Almereyda’s experimental film…
What to Do Tonight: Dawes
“Can we smoke any of this?” There’s no mistaking the influence in Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith’s voice: That’s the Band’s Richard Manuel aching through the 11 songs on the Los Angeles band’s debut album, North Hills. There are several other classic reference points here too; pick any other artist working within the folk/rock/country idiom during…
The Horse Boy has its local premiere at CMA
A documentary about a couple that takes its child to Mongolia as they serach for a cure for his autism, The Horse Boy has its local premiere tonight at 7 at the Cleveland Museum of Art Lecture Hall. It screens again at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21. Here’s our review of the film. The Horse…
What to Do Tonight: Eric Sardinas
Eric Sardinas is a guitarist of rare power and raw passion. The Fort Lauderdale native began playing at the age of six (he started out as a leftie but ultimately switched to a right-handed style). Very early in his guitar education, he found inspiration in Delta blues icons like Charlie Patton, Robert Johnson and Son…
What to Do Tonight: Daedelus
Daedelus is the perfect stage name for Alfred Darlington and his musical imagination. As an inventor of unusual electronic contraptions, his muse is similar to the original Daedalus, mythological Greek craftsman of human wings. “My aspiration is totally to be not unlike one of those gentleman inventors of old, but with music and not so…
Dawg Pound Mike Would Like to See You Partially Naked
Jesus. It’s not like it’s fun writing about Dawg Pound Mike more than once every couple of weeks, but this guy really makes it hard to ignore him. He’s launched a “Sexiest Browns Fans Contest” and wants you — yes, even you Mr. 250-pounder and you Mrs. 50-year-old — to send him pictures of yourself…
This Just In: Concert Announcements
Miranda Lambert: She’ll set your shit on fire This week, we have 50 news shows, including Ringo Starr, Miranda Lambert, the guy from the Strokes and Ralph’s World at the Grog — possibly the ultimate all-ages show. —D.X. Ferris 25 Ta Life Thu., May 13, 7 p.m., $10. Pirate’s Cove. Aevory/StateFair Wed., April 14, 830…
The Pope Digs the Floyd
Just add Pope So, do you think the Pope fires one up, cues up The Wizard of the Oz on the Blu-ray player and waits for “The Great Gig in the Sky”? The official Vatican newspaper, L’ Osservatore Romano, just published its Top 10 rock/pop albums of all time. Yes — apparently someone there isn’t…
Sports Science Breaks Down LeBron’s “With No Regard for Human Life” Dunk
If this gets pulled from YouTube, just search around for it. Follow me on Twitter: @vincethepolack.
Ultrasound Music Is Closing Its Doors
In a sad sign of the times, owner Gary Pflueger has announced the closing of his beloved independent music store Ultrasound Music. He’ll be closing the third week of March. Meanwhile, he’ll be selling off his stock at progressively lower prices, starting with 20 percent off this week. Pflueger cites the worsening economy, especially for…
Win free tickets to Big Trouble in Little China
Start the Chinese New Year off right! Big Trouble in Little China, John Carpenter’s cult classic starring Kurt Russel and Kim Catrell, shows at midnight on Saturday, Feb. 20 at the Capitol Theatre, as part of Cleveland Cinemas’ Late Shift series. To win a 4-pack of passes to the screening, send an email to freetickets@clevescene.com.…
Out Today: Seven Fields of Aphelion
The Seven Fields of AphelionPeriphery(Graveface) Periphery is an album that has as much music as imagery. The artist is the Seven Fields of Aphelion, her alias as a member of rural Pennsylvania electronic pioneers Black Moth Super Rainbow, so she’s already adept at making bizarrely listenable psychedelic pop music. But on her first solo album,…
Reviews of the Cinematheque’s weekend films
The Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque is showing several great movies this weekend. Here are reviews of just a few of them. The Man from London (France/Germany/Hungary, 2007) What might have been a conventional film noir is transformed into a typically gorgeous, wildly opaque objet d’art by Magyar auteur Béla Tarr (Satantango, Werckmeister Harmonies). Based…
Roll Out the Bagels and Pancakes
Brunch bunch Apparently, all Clevelanders need to fend off the winter chills is a little accordion music. Last month, the Beachland Ballroom turned its weekly Sunday brunch over to the polka crowd, and the event sold out. So they’re doing it again from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. on Sunday. Once again, the musical hosts will be…
Reggae Fest Splashes a Little Sun on Local Scene
It takes an Umojah Nation of seven to hold us back Area reggae fans have a chance to hear one of the area’s most experienced and beloved local artists in the genre, and also one of its newest sensations, at the winter Reggae SunSplash at Akron’s Tangiers at 8:30 p.m. on Friday. Veterans Carlos Jones…
Monday Ticket Giveaway: Cage the Elephant
Trunk sale We have a pair of tickets to Cage the Elephant’s concert at House of Blues on March 13. And they’re not just any tickets: They’re Scene Fantasy Seats, so you’ll be rolling with the big elephants. For a chance at winning them, send your name, phone number and e-mail address to freetickets@clevescene.com. Be…
A Q&A with Cabin Fever director Eli Roth
Eli Roth’s directorial debut, 2002’s Cabin Fever, has become a cult classic. While the movie is ostensibly your stereotypical a-group-of-kids-go-to-the-woods-and-a-bloodbath-ensues horror movie, it established Roth as an edgy director with a knack for clever dialogue. Though available on DVD, the movie hasn’t been released on Blu-ray until now. Featuring a new, director’s cut and additional…
The Secret of LeBron’s Greatness Landed in My Inbox
Ever wonder how LeBron got to be the gifted basketball god that he’s become? Practice? Hard work? Coaching? Nope. Presented below, without comment, is an email I received this week (Subject line: LeBron the “Christened One.”) that explains the true origins of LeBron’s talent. My name is Rolando Pharr. I’m a 49 yr. old Cleveland…
What to Do Tonight: Girlyman
When Arnold Schwarzenegger says “girly-man,” it’s an insult. But when three women and a guy based out of Atlanta say it, it’s folk-pop with glorious three-part harmonies. Indigo Girl Amy Ray re-released Girlyman’s DIY debut album, Remember Who I Am, on her Daemon label in 2004 after they had already sold 5,000 copies on their…
What to Do Tonight: John Pizzarelli
If the Great American Songbook depends on New Jersey singer, guitarist and radio host John Pizzarelli, it’s in good hands. After revisiting standards made famous by the likes of Nat “King” Cole and Frank Sinatra, and recording an entire album dedicated to the music of Richard Rodgers (2008’s With a Song in My Heart), Pizzarelli…
What to Do Tonight: Scary Kids Scaring Kids
Scary Kids Scaring Kids are a lot less scary than they want us to believe. Over the years, the Phoenix hardcore band has filtered its myriad influences until it arrived at a sound that finds a surprising amount of balance. While Scary Kids Scaring Kids certainly follow the harsher, more throat-shredding tributaries of the post-hardcore…
HEY ODOT, ‘BUILD A BRIDGE THAT CONNECTS US ALL’
It reminds us a little bit of some of the music that came out of Dennis Kucinich’s presidential campaign, but we’ve got to give Ari (the hippy rapper) Lesser props for working lines like “Those who don’t have a car still do pay public infrastructure taxes too…” into his rap about why ODOT ought to…
Ripper Watch
Updates on Tim “Ripper” Owens, the always-working, blue-collar metal hero from the Rubber City: Owens plays yet another acoustic duo show tomorrow at Akron’s Tap House. US Metal guitarist Scott Jones will back him through a set of songs from his various bands and choice covers. Set starts 9:30 p.m., no cover charge, all ages.…
McLovin’ Catches a Ride to Dallas With LeBron
Because it’s Friday…
Adam Marsland Says “Hello Cleveland”
Photo by Adam’s drunk friend The album recorded in one marathon session in Northeast Ohio late last year by Los Angeles based singer-songwriter Adam Marsland and his band is now available. Titled Hello Cleveland, its 14 raw, immediate tunes were written in a few days preceding the band’s gig at the Barking Spider in early…
Carlos Jones Headlines Tonight’s Free Clinic Benefit
Carlos Jones: Just add P.L.U.S. Band for good time Before the health-care debate dominated every discussion, the Free Clinic was providing medical services for those without money to pay for them. Hatched 40 years ago in the “share the love” hippie days, it offered health care to the frequently nomadic young people who often turned…
Friday Ticket Giveaway: Daughtry
The toughest American Idol you’ll ever meet We have a pair of tickets to Daughty’s concert at the Wolstein Center on April 1. For a chance at winning a pair, send your name, phone number and e-mail address to freetickets@clevescene.com. Be sure to put “Daughtry Tickets” in the subject line. We’ll pick a random winner…
What to Do Tonight: Blowfly
Soul man Blowfly (born Clarence Reid) may be nearly deaf and almost decrepit, but don’t count him out yet. The guy’s career has undergone a resurgence over the past few years. Often credited with releasing the first rap record (1965’s “Rap Dirty”), Blowfly has also recorded x-rated covers like “Shittin’ on the Dock of the…
What to Do Tonight: Scott Lucas & the Married Men
With the somber ballad “Cut a Hole” — the first track on his solo debut, George Lassos the Moon — Scott Lucas, one half of alt-rock duo Local H, makes it clear he’s moved on from his band’s Nirvana influences. Effectively employing accordion, violin and piano, Lucas delivers one love song after another. He wrote…
What to Do Tonight: Fucked Up
Though their roots are undoubtedly in old-school hardcore (check out the new rocket-fueled, Black Flag-biting 25-track compilation Couple Tracks: Singles 20002-2009), Fucked Up can’t be so easily pigeonholed. The Toronto six-piece obliterates punk’s traditional boundaries with confrontational live shows that flirt with fascist imagery as a lark while dipping into more experimental musical directions. The…
What to Do Tonight: Commander Cody
When the Jeopardy answer is “The best boogie-woogie piano player this side of Jerry Lee Lewis, with a dirtier mind than Prince ever imagined,” the question has got to be, “Who is Commander Cody?” The Commander, born George Frayne, found his calling at the 88s early in life. In 1967, as a student at the…
The Lightning Thief is an uninspired introduction to a potential franchise
You’d think a best-selling book series about kids with mythical powers would at least try to divert attention from the inevitable Harry Potter comparisons for its initial turn on the big screen. But The Lightning Thief, the first film based on Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson & the Olympians books, is directed by Chris Columbus, the…
The Wolfman is all bark and no bite
A remake of a 1941 film, The Wolfman follows the broad outlines of the original. Lawrence Talbot (Benecio Del Toro) returns to his ancestral home upon learning that his brother has been killed. There, he reunites with his father (Anthony Hopkins) and promises his brother’s fiancée Gwen (Emily Blunt) that he will get to the…
LEFTIES RALLY BEHIND THE SAFEST GUY IN CONGRESS
The online progressive community loves Dennis Kucinich. Leftie blog Firedoglake just announced that Dennis Kucinich is the winner of their first FDL Fire Dog contest to identify a progressive leader in Congress. A week’s worth of voting produced over 110,00 votes; Kucinich snagged 24,967, easily beating second-place winner Alan Grayson of Florida (17,296) and New…
EYEBALL CHATTER
Scott Pickering radiates energy, and you can see that on the walls at Brandt Gallery, which are almost completely covered by paintings in a career retrospective show he’s calling “eyeball chatter.” Beginning with works he did when he was not yet a teenager (including a color-by number clown done at age 12, which already shows…
The Plain Dealer Has All the Cliff Lee Coverage You Could Want This Year
It’s almost time for pitchers and catchers to report, which means, hypothetically, it’s time to start getting excited about the Indians. I saw this Plain Dealer street box today, right in front of Slyman’s, and immediately got amped up for the Tribe.”Cliff Lee is a Rock for the Indians!” “All Star coverage all season long!”…
Must-Own Apparel of the Day
This is an awesome T-shirt. You can buy one here.
2/19: The Great White Hope opens at Karamu
A century ago, a fight promoter talked undefeated white heavyweight champ Jim Jeffries out of retirement to fight Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight title winner. Karamu revives Howard Sackler’s The Great White Hope — the 1967 play about the hope and fear that surrounded the bout — with Anthony E. Nickerson-El as Johnson (renamed…
Thursday Music News Roundup
As not seen on my TV American Idol hasn’t been this gay since Adam Lambert was booted off. Michael Jackson’s doctor gets back to work … pumping tons of drugs into spoiled clients who don’t look human anymore. Douchebag John Mayer apologizes for being a douchebag. But he’s still a douchebag. No disrespect, but Steve…
Video Vault: Bingo Smith in 1978 H.O.R.S.E Contest
As we head into the NBA All Star weekend and the sorta new, sorta retro H.O.R.S.E. competition, let’s look back to when Cavalier Bingo Smith competed in the contest back in the day. (Hat tip to Cavs History) Follow me on Twitter: @vincethepolack.
LANCI CRITICAL OF TRANSITION PROCESS
County executive candidates spoke out this week about the secrecy of the Cuyahoga County transition process, but candidate Ken Lanci has taken his criticism a step further. Lanci has questioned the transition team’s aim to find ways of cutting county spending by 15 percent and transferring those projected savings – $50 million – for “economic…
Thursday Ticket Giveaway: Snoop Dogg
Appearing at House of Bluesnizzle We have a pair of tickets to Snoop Dogg’s concert at House of Blues on February 18. And they’re not just any tickets: They’re Scene Fantasy Seats, so you’ll be rolling with the big doggs. For a chance at winning them, send your name, phone number and e-mail address to…
From the Extensive and Glorious Back Catalog of Delonte West…
Valentine’s Day is coming up this weekend, and if you don’t know what you should do for your wife/girlfriend/significant other/escort, may I suggest taking a look at this absolutely legendary Page 2 piece wherein Delonte West talks about how he would roll on Valentine’s Day with his sweetie. A few highlights (though you should read…
Whiskey Daredevils Throw a CD-Release Party
Daredevil Greg Miller contemplates the headline. Onstage, the Whiskey Daredevils are musical stuntmen with plenty of tales to tell. For seven years these Cleveland thrill-seekers have been touring the countryside, entertaining crowds with explosive rural rock performances, somersaulting rockabilly, punk, surf, cattle westerns, country and good old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll. The stories of the band’s…
ZANOTTI: WE’RE ALL ON A NEED-TO-KNOW BASIS
The public has discovered the first bump in the so-called “road to reform,” and open government advocates are not pleased. The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio has asked Cuyahoga County transition leaders to open up transition committee meetings to the public and media. “Transparency is absolutely essential to build public trust and ensure that…
2/17: Daedelus at the Grog Shop
Daedelus is the perfect stage name for Alfred Darlington and his musical imagination. As an inventor of unusual electronic contraptions, his muse is similar to the original Daedalus, mythological Greek craftsman of human wings. “My aspiration is totally to be not unlike one of those gentleman inventors of old, but with music and not so…
2/17: Eric Sardinas at the Wincester
Eric Sardinas is a guitarist of rare power and raw passion. The Fort Lauderdale native began playing at the age of six (he started out as a leftie but ultimately switched to a right-handed style). Very early in his guitar education, he found inspiration in Delta blues icons like Charlie Patton, Robert Johnson and Son…
2/15: Fairytales & Frogs at the Zoo
Learning about old presidents is probably the last thing a kid wants to do on a day off from school — even if that day is Presidents Day. On the other hand, your little girl probably gets excited about dressing up as a princess, even if — given Hillary Clinton’s competitive race for the presidency…
2/14: John Pizzarelli at Nighttown
If the Great American Songbook depends on New Jersey singer, guitarist and radio host John Pizzarelli, it’s in good hands. After revisiting standards made famous by the likes of Nat “King” Cole and Frank Sinatra, and recording an entire album dedicated to the music of Richard Rodgers (2008’s With a Song in My Heart), Pizzarelli…
2/14: Girlyman at the Beachland
When Arnold Schwarzenegger says “girly-man,” it’s an insult. But when three women and a guy based out of Atlanta say it, it’s folk-pop with glorious three-part harmonies. Indigo Girl Amy Ray re-released Girlyman’s DIY debut album, Remember Who I Am, on her Daemon label in 2004 after they had already sold 5,000 copies on their…
2/13: Upstage Artisan Alley Craft Show
The nonprofit UpStage Players draw children from all over the eastern sector of Northeast Ohio, offering them a chance to build skills and confidence while learning the sort of teamwork that theater provides. Their spring production, Aladdin Jr., takes place in late March at the Slovenian Workman’s Home (15335 Waterloo Rd.) in North Collinwood. To…
2/13: Scary Kids Scaring Kids at Peabody’s
Scary Kids Scaring Kids are a lot less scary than they want us to believe. Over the years, the Phoenix hardcore band filtered their myriad influences until they arrived at a sound that finds a surprising amount of balance. While they certainly follow the harsher, more throat-shredding tributaries of the post-hardcore flood, they do so…
2/13-14: Monster Jam at The Q
Extreme vehicle fans, find your earplugs! The monster trucks will be vrooooming back into Quicken Loans Arena (One Center Ct.) this weekend. With trucks sporting names like “Maximum Destruction,” “Shock Therapy” and “Brutus,” you know these guys mean business. The 12-foot-by-12-foot, five-ton vehicles and their five-and-a-half-foot tires will fly across the arena floor — and…
2/13: NCMC’s Mardi Gras Celebration
You really can’t have a bad time when the North Coast Men’s Chorus is in the room. The word “dull” just isn’t in these guys’ vocabulary. So you’re looking at one heck of a party when the chorus hosts its Mardi Gras Celebration to benefit the chorus, Bellefaire JCB, and the Gay Lesbian and Straight…
2/13: Evening in the Enchanted Cathedral
Near West Theatre’s productions are all about participation, especially when it comes to neighborhood kids. They’re bringing the same concept downtown for tonight’s Evening in the Enchanted Cathedral. Spokesperson Sara Radak says the benefit party will take advantage of Trinity Cathedral’s ambiance to create a live-in fantasy. Guests can mingle with characters like the Hunchback…
2/13: Norman Connors at Nighttown
Like contemporaries George Benson and Patrice Rushen, drummer Norman Connors began his music career in jazz but transitioned into melodious R&B. Connors played on free-jazz watersheds by Archie Shepp and Pharoah Sanders (Magic of Ju-Ju and Black Unity, respectively) then led his own groups, infusing unconstrained improvisation with funk. By 1975, he’d embraced R&B completely,…
2/13: Asia Plaza Chinese New Year Celebration
Look for Chinese New Year celebrations all over town during the next couple of weeks. One of the best places to celebrate the Year of the Tiger is at Asia Plaza (2999 Payne Ave.) in the heart of Cleveland’s rapidly growing AsiaTown. From 11 a.m.-7 p.m. today, it’ll host exhibit booths, food and performances —…
2/12: Scott Lucas & the Married Men at Grog Shop
With the somber ballad “Cut a Hole” — the first track on his solo debut, George Lassos the Moon — Scott Lucas, one half of alt-rock duo Local H, makes it clear he’s moved on from his band’s Nirvana influences. Effectively employing accordion, violin and piano, Lucas delivers one love song after another. He wrote…
2/12: Fucked Up at Dionysus Club
Though their roots are undoubtedly in old-school hardcore (check out the new rocket-fueled, Black Flag-biting 25-track compilation Couple Tracks: Singles 2002-2009), Fucked Up can’t be so easily pigeonholed. The Toronto six-piece obliterates punk’s traditional boundaries with confrontational live shows that flirt with fascist imagery as a lark while dipping into more experimental musical directions. The…
Wednesday Music News Roundup
North American Douchebag. Does John Mayer really need to give us more reasons to hate him? Celine Dion is returning to Vegas. If it keeps her away from the rest of the country, we’re all for it. After reading details of the autopsy report, are they even sure it was Michael Jackson who died? Lady…
2/12-14: Extra, Extra at CPT
Composers in the information age have used all kinds of tech gadgets — from cell phones to laptops — to make music. This weekend, composer Michael Bratt and his collaborators in the FiveOne new-music ensemble join forces with dancers and choreographers Carly Dorman and Sara Lawrence-Sucato for something a little more old-school. Their show Extra,…
2/12: Commander Cody at The Wincester
When the Jeopardy answer is “The best boogie-woogie piano player this side of Jerry Lee Lewis, with a dirtier mind than Prince ever imagined,” the question has got to be, “Who is Commander Cody?” The Commander, born George Frayne, found his calling at the 88s early in life. In 1967, as a student at the…
2/12: Blowfly at Now That’s Class
Soul man Blowfly (born Clarence Reid) may be nearly deaf and almost decrepit, but don’t count him out yet. The guy’s career has undergone a resurgence over the past few years. Often credited with releasing the first rap record (1965’s “Rap Dirty”), Blowfly has also recorded X-rated covers like “Shittin’ on the Dock of the…
2/11: Debra Reble at Joseph Beth
Cleveland Heights psychologist Debra Reble deals with couples a lot. “Most of the questions I get are about, how do I sustain happy, healthy relationships?” she says. Here’s a clue: Before you can have that with someone else, you have to have it with yourself. Reble calls it a “soul-hearted relationship.” She wanted to share…
2/11: Last Train to Nibroc opens at Actor’s Summit
Two great American authors, Nathanael West and F. Scott Fitzgerald, died in December 1940. In Last Train to Nibroc, playwright Arlene Hutton puts a wannabe missionary named May and a rejected soldier (and wannabe writer) named Raleigh on the train that carried the novelists’ bodies from the West Coast. As they ride, Raleigh and May…
2/11: Jim Jeffries at Hilarities
“I have a proper fear of bananas,” says Australian comic Jim Jeffries. “I can smell one from 20 meters. They make my stomach turn. The last time I touched one, I was about five. I’m the bad boy of comedy, but I’m scared of fruit.” Still, Jeffries says he’s not as mean-spirited as his raunchy…
Hold Onto Your Wallets, Chema’s Back
The mismanagement and controversy of the Gateway project might be rearing its ugly head again as Thomas Chema, former head of Cleveland’s Gateway Economic Development Corp., is considering a run for Cuyahoga County executive. Staff writer Damian Guevara wrote about it for Scene’s news blog. By Damian Guevara Over the weekend, The Plain Dealer published…
Pretty & Nice Play Free In-Store Show Before Other Free Show
Pretty & NIce … and just a little bit creepy. Boston indie-rockers Pretty & Nice will be playing a show at Case Western Reserve University’s Spot next Wedesday, February 17. It’s a free show, so you should go. If you can’t make it — or just want to get a double dose of gratis Pretty…
Five Things Lil Wayne Can Do During His Reprieve
Wayne with the thing he’ll miss most. Looks like Lil Wayne won’t be heading to prison this week, after all. The mega-prolific rapper was supposed to begin a yearlong stint at Rikers for weapon possession, but he got a last-minute reprieve yesterday to undergo dental surgery. (We’re not exactly sure what’s going on either. Doesn’t…
All-star cast can’t save Valentine’s Day
Never has the importance of opening weekend been more obvious than with the release of this one-day holiday movie, whose success hinges on the idea that women will drag their romance-challenged menfolk to a V-Day comedy. The movie, directed by 75-year-old Garry Marshall (Happy Days, Pretty Woman), is a labored, wheezing affair, with an all-star…
Yes Concert Postponed
Yes: Back in the day, waiting for rainbow unicorns. Due to the hellacious winter weather sweeping the Midwest, Yes is pushing back some concert dates. Next week’s House of Blues show, scheduled for February 18, has been moved to Sunday, February 21. Talk about a long-distance runaround. The show, by the way, is titled An…
The Heat is On
Considering that the Massachusetts metalcore kings have been around for a decade, it may seem bizarre, or even impossible, that Killswitch Engage is now on their first ever headlining tour. They preferred being the perennial support act on tours like Ozzfest and the Mayhem Festival, to going out on their own. “It’s kind of a…
Family Feud
The spirit of the great Yasujiro Ozu (Tokyo Story, Late Autumn) lives in Still Walking, an exquisite new Japanese domestic drama by Hirokazu Kore-eda (Nobody Knows, After Life). As much a tribute to Ozu as Hsiao-hsien Hou’s 2003 masterpiece Café Lumiere, Kore-eda’s movie pivots on a bittersweet family reunion commemorating the death of the eldest…
FOSTERING LOVE
Legendary saxophonist and bandleader Frank Foster doesn’t remember exactly when he met trumpeter and Cleveland Jazz Orchestra artistic director Sean Jones. “I must have been somewhere in Middle West,” says the octogenarian, who is best known for his work with the Count Basie Big Band, which he joined in 1953 and led from 1986 to…
Reel Cleveland: Food Inc.
Yet another documentary about our screwed-up food-production system, Food Inc., takes a look at McDonald’s immense impact on how food is produced and distributed. Back in the ’50s, McDonald’s adopted a factory mentality to food production, and distributors followed suit. Because the chain needed big suppliers who could keep up with demand, the little guy…
Near-Death Experience
Is He Dead? Through Feb. 28 Beck Center for the Arts 17801 Detroit Ave., Lakewood, 216.521.2540 Tickets: $10-$28 beckcenter.org Artists’ works are often worth more after they die than when they are alive. This explains the comment often heard after after Elvis Presley’s demise: “Good career move.” In that spirit, the post mortem valuation of…
Local CD Reviews
DADDY’S GONNA KILL RALPHIE Panic (Joko) myspace.com/daddysgonnakillralphie Don’t dismiss this Northeast Ohio-based band just because of its insipid moniker (a reference to the 1983 film A Christmas Story). Its new album, Panic, is accomplished folk-based indie-rock, inspired by cult faves like Elliott Smith and the Weakerthans. The opening tune, “The Documentarian,” is a barroom ballad…
Arts District: Eyeball Chatter
This Friday’s Tremont Art Walk is your last chance to see an ambitious event, as Brandt Gallery hosts a closing reception for Eyeball Chatter, Scott Pickering’s 40-year retrospective of prodigious output. “He does a lot of collage,” says gallerist Jean Brandt. “And that’s how he hung this show. I gave him the key to the…
Lust: The Reader Survey
Wow. Just … wow. When we launched the Lust Survey, we had no idea how it might go over. Would readers be able to perform under the pressure of being watched? Well, you not only performed, you put on a hell of a show. The responses came so fast and so hard that we could…
Bites: Bac Asian American Bistro Opening
The last time we checked in with Bac Nguyen was late July. He was shooting for an October opening of Bac Asian American Bistro (2661 W. 14th St., 216.938.8960, bactremont.com). Well, we know how restaurant build-outs go. “I came into this process knowing that it would be an incredible amount of work,” says Nguyen. “I…
OPPORTUNITY OR OPPORTUNISM?
Opportunity fled Emma Barnes’ Kinsman neighborhood decades ago, along with the white people who flew to the suburbs and the industry that closed up shop (but conveniently forgot to take its toxic waste). Kinsman earned the bleak tag of “Forgotten Triangle.” Barnes, 79, has lived among the neglect all her life, but local government and…
CD Review: Sade
You can’t rush Sade. In the 25 years since her debut, she’s released only six albums. Her latest, Soldier of Love, comes a full 10 years after her last one, 2000’s Lovers Rock. But it’s always worth the wait. Here, the warm, simmering R&B of her 1984 debut, Diamond Life, receives a few nips and…
CD Review: Massive Attack
Massive Attack’s fifth album, Heligoland, comes seven years after the release of 100th Window. And it’s been almost a dozen years since Mezzanine, a defining album of the U.K. trip-hop scene they helped spearhead. Grant Marshall and Robert Del Naja and their ubiquitous cast of guest vocalists are in fine form here. TV on the…
CD Review: Hot Chip
If listening to Nickelback is like dating the captain of the football team, listening to Hot Chip is like getting with the president of the marching band. Both can provide a thrill, but the sweet, geeky Hot Chip are gonna treat you better in the long run. On their fourth album, they bring that long-term…
CD Review: Priestess
Subtlety is a term not often applied to heavy music, but it is central to Montreal’s Priestess. While Prior to the Fire has plenty of power and aggression, they are always applied with a deft touch, used more as layers and shading than as whitewash. “Ladykiller” launches the album with an assault of drums and…
CD Review: The Album Leaf
Over four full-length releases and a handful of EPs, the Album Leaf have solely been the work of multi-instrumentalist producer Jimmy LaValle. His songs touch on delicate acoustics and waves of found sound, resulting in gorgeous mood-shapers constructed for close listening. That’s why A Chorus of Storytellers is such a turning point. It marks the…
LOGO: NO GO
Most Browns fans are aware that our team’s famously blank helmets once bore a logo. Or almost did. Or something. In 1965, the story goes, the Browns were set to wear a logo on their domes for the first time. At Art Modell’s request, the stylized “CB” emblem was designed by David Boss, a photographer…
CD Review: Allison Moorer
Allison Moorer has never stood still long enough to be readily typed. With each album, she has pushed in a new direction, ferrying a deep, strong alto capable of pulling off just about whatever she attempts. So after the Neil Young-ish folk-rock of 2004’s Duel and the catchy classic rock/pop of 2006’s Getting Somewhere (produced…
Hip-Hop Heaven
The impact of iona rozeal brown’s startling mixed-media paintings is partly a matter of color and movement. The internationally exhibited Maryland artist’s complex images break past the eye, jumping like “wild-style” graffiti. But whatever their merits as visual art, those lush, interlocking rhythms are just the packaging for works dense with allusion, as brown weaves…
Visions of Grandeur
If you can find a record store these days, history is sure to surface. The reissue Bocky and the Visions: 1959-1969, which I came across about a month ago at Mentor’s Record Den, was a welcome surprise. It compiles 33 tunes that Cleveland singer Robert J. “Bocky” DiPasquale and the Visions recorded in the decade…
MAGNIFICENT MISBEHAVIOR
To define the joyful transcendence of Thomas Wright Waller, affectionately known as Fats, we call on the infinite poetic wisdom of Tennessee Williams. At the end of his play Camino Real, Williams’ Don Quixote triumphantly announces, “The violets in the mountains have broken the rocks.” As the puckish court jester of the Harlem Renaissance proclaiming…
Mississippi Man
Drummer/singer/songwriter Cedric Burnside, grandson of the departed Mississippi blues artist and latter-day indie-blues hero R.L. Burnside, came up in a scene and situation more commonplace in his granddad’s generation. That scene has hard-wired itself into Cedric Burnside’s own music and will soon leave him the last truly down-home bluesman standing. Drummer for the senior Burnside…
Bring Home the Bacon
TOP PICK Mystic River (Warner) Clint Eastwood directed some of his greatest films in the ’00s — Million Dollar Baby, Letters From Iwo Jima, Gran Torino. This is one of his all-time best. Making its Blu-ray debut, the 2003 movie — about three childhood friends and a murder that pulls them apart — boasts Oscar-winning…
… And Justice for None
The tempest at the center of Storm has nothing to do with a thunder- and lightning-packed downpour. It’s a political thriller about a Dutch attorney who stumbles on a new batch of war crimes while building evidence against a Serbian army general who may be responsible for ethnic cleansing in Sarajevo. At the center of…
BIG FLAVORS IN LITTLE CHINA RESTAURANT
Umami Asian Kitchen offers a perfect example of why it isn’t always wise to storm the gates of a new restaurant. There are few joints that get it right from the jump, despite every intention to do just that. Opened in January 2009, it has taken Umami the better part of a year to really…
Film Capsules
Opening Automorphosis (U.S., 2008) An art-car documentary that Harrod Blank made in college spawned this film, a fascinating look at the people behind the cars. We meet Uri “Spoon Man” Geller, who has covered his car with utensils, and a German guy who drives around in a hamburger-shaped three-wheeler. “It’s difficult to go against the…
Around Hear: Bye Bye Town Fryer
The Town Fryer is closing for the third – and probably last — time. Since 2004, the restaurant specialized in roots music and Southern comfort food. Proprietor Susie Porter moved to Cleveland from North Carolina and opened the club at East 38th Street and Superior Ave. She closed it in early 2007, reopened briefly the…
Short Takes: Pet Peeves
Mine *** A documentary about what happened to all the pets left behind in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Mine offers a sobering look at the attempts to rescue pets and the custody battles that ensued when they ended up with foster families and their original owners tried to get them back. Because neither hotels…
The Hunt for the Great Orange, Brown, and White Whale: Unraveling the Mystery of the 1965 “CB” Cleveland Browns Helmet Logo
Most Browns fans are aware that while our favorite team doesn’t have a logo on its helmets, it once almost did. Or actually did. Or something. In 1965 the Browns were, supposedly, set to wear a logo on their domes for the first time (though they had previously worn numbers on their helmets). It was…
