Tuesdays at the Map Room, anything, and everyone, goes
It’s no secret that Tuesdays bite as a party night in downtown Cleveland. But at the down-home and nautically themed Map Room, an eclectic mix of Warehouse District urbanites mingles with off-duty strippers and even the panhandlers who occasionally stumble in from the streets just to warm their feet. And until someone clues you in,…
Kabul Beauty School author appears at Legacy Village tonight
Cleveland writer Kristin Ohlson The best-selling tale of a tequila-drinking, cigarette-smoking hairdresser who helped set up a beauty school in Afghanistan comes to Legacy Village tonight. Deborah Rodriguez, who wrote the memoir Kabul Beauty School with Cleveland writer Kristin Ohlson, will host a discussion and book signing at Joseph-Beth Booksellers. It promises to be an…
Mic Check: The New York Dolls at the Beachland Ballroom on Wednesday
When the New York Dolls got back together in 2006 after breaking up more than 30 years ago, it could’ve been a total disaster. But their reunion CD, One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This, plays like a grown-up version of the spitfire rock these architects of punk mastered back in the…
Cheap-Tickets Tuesday at House of Blues
Every Tuesday, House of Blues (308 Euclid Ave., 216-523-2583) has 2-for-1 tickets for select shows. Read on to find out what’s going cheap today until 10 p.m., including the Sick Puppies, purveyors of the above hug-fest. — DX Ferris
When Bill Clinton visits Cleveland, C-Notes has Bubba’s back
Hey Bubba: Looks like the old lady’s got you doing the famous shake-your-first-loosely-in-a-swing-state thing. Now, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourself. But Toledo, Canton, Steubenville, Marietta — these just aren’t locales built for a man that’s talked boobs over shark fin soup with Gorbachev and Mandela at Spielberg’s villa in St. Tropez. No wonder…
Pere Ubu guitarist Jim Jones dies
Pere Ubu guitarist Jim Jones died late Monday night. Details have not been released, but he’d been ill for years. Health problems lead him to leave the Cleveland post-punk band in 1996, and his condition had deteriorated, though friends say he’d looked good over the last year. “Jimmy was the one guy who always got…
Slideshow: Jason Isbell at the Beachland
Singer-songwriter Jason Isbell imported some southern love to the Beachland Ballroom last weekend. His former-fellow Truckers weren’t there, but Scene photog Walter Novak was there, powered by 14 Dortmunders and a lens the size of Hyundai. Check out the resulting photographs and other slideshows at clevescene.com/slideshow — Joe P. Tone
Money Where Your Mouth Is: Amy Steinberg
One-woman band-slash-funny-woman Amy Steinberg has a whole hatful of ha-ha for ya. Read on to get her take — sort of — on why you should spend the five bucks to check her out at the Winchester tomorrow. …
This Just In: Cleveland Concert Announcements
This week, 46 new shows vie for your attention before you’re distracted by the riveting NFL combine, including: Cobie Callat, the girl who sings that song about the Bubbly starting in her toes. Early dates for Alicia Keys (above) and the Cure – you heard ‘em hear first. Anne E. DeChant’s final show before leaving…
Strongsville Maha’s among victims of killer winter for restaurants
Strongsville residents are coming to grips with life without falafel, since last month’s shutdown of their local Maha’s Falafil outpost. According to owner Sam Zayed, the one-year-old satellite simply never attracted enough business to survive. Happily, Maha’s devotees can still get their fix at the original location, inside the West Side Market (1979 W. 25th…
Esquire rates Cleveland sandwiches totally delish
In the recent issue of Esquire, writers went “coast-to-coast” looking for the “finest meals on sliced bread.” Surprise, surprise, Cleveland made an impressive showing. Editors found the corned beef sandwich at Slyman’s Deli on St. Clair so beautiful they wanted to weep. They described meat as a “softball-sized lump of lean the color of a…
Reader: Why are police screwing suburbanites outside Metropolis and Shooters?
On weekends the Cleveland police have set up three to four police cars around the area of two clubs in the West Bank of the Flats, Metropolis and Shooters. The city also concurrently extended a one-way segment of Elm Street (intentionally poorly marked) and added new stop signs on the surrounding streets, essentially setting up…
Charlayne Hunter-Gault urges Clevelanders to rethink Africa
Charlayne Hunter-Gault Charlayne Hunter-Gault helped integrate the University of Georgia as a student in the 1960s, served as Harlem bureau chief for the New York Times during the Black Panther movement, and won awards for her coverage of South Africa on PBS. After 10 years in Johannesburg, reporting for CNN and NPR, she’s seen her…
Boston Herald: Browns chasing Patriots’ corner Asante Samuel
Phil Savage is courting Patriots’ corner Asante Samuel, according to the Boston Herald. While Cavs’ GM Danny Ferry keeps striking out in his bid to upgrade his roster – Mike Bibby and Jason Kidd, both reportedly coveted by the Cavs, are now both off the market — Clevelanders can take solace in the fact that…
Cleveland Concert Calendar for the Week of Monday, February 18
The week’s concerts begin with The Dreaming (see above) tonight at the Agora, and features stops by Wilco, Nicole Atkins, Ekoostik Hookah. Read on for the full schedule.
Auctioning off Cleveland’s best and hottest
Monster’s goalie Tyler Weiman: Under all that gear, he’s very hot Despite the cold and slushy weather, Silk Nightclub was packed last week for Cleveland Magazine’s annual crush party, where more than 25 single movers and shakers were auctioned off to raise money for Easter Seals. They were chosen by Cleveland magazine staff, who rated…
Mic Check: Nicole Atkins at the Beachland Tavern on Tuesday
Nicole Atkins plays the Beachland on Tuesday. Nicole Atkins plays lush dream-pop that cribs inspiration from at least three different decades. The most obvious influence is Roy Orbison, whose orchestral, operatic ballads in the early ’60s still rank among pop’s all-time greatest. But Atkins’ debut album, Neptune City, also contains elements of David Lynch’s soundtracks,…
Picks of the Week: A rock biz tell-all, sushi lessons, and more cheap beer!
Drink this tasty beverage for just one dollar at Club Argos on Tuesday. Every Monday, Scene calendar editor Cris Glaser provides a random but reliable sampling of things to do in the week ahead. For more options, log onto entertainment.clevescene.com. And check back Friday for C-Notes’ Picks of the Weekend. Monday: Shake hands with New…
Sean Penn cancels Kucinich fundraiser, appears at metal concert instead
Sean Penn and Dennis Kucinich showed up at a WJCU fund-raiser at the Beachland on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Bill Peters/WJCU). Actor Sean Penn bailed on Sunday’s fund-raising event for Congressman Dennis Kucinich at the I-X Center, citing a schedule conflict. But the actor didn’t totally leave his fellow anti-war activist in the lurch: Penn,…
Elements Bistro — a new, independent restaurant at CSU — opens
Part of the push to turn the CSU campus into a true community, Elements Bistro on Euclid (2300 Euclid Ave., 216-802-3131) debuted last week, on the ground floor of the new Parker Hannifin Administration Center. The 60-seat restaurant is open to the public for breakfast and lunch, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through…
New Study: Other cities way more miserable than Cleveland!
Though we Clevelanders like to brood about our lot – preferably over large piles of intoxicants – we are not the most miserable Americans. According to Forbes, that distinction belongs to Detroit, which can now be officially known as the Unhappiest City in the Land…
Cleveland schools finally get minority watchdog
Seven years ago, the Cleveland school board pledged to give minority-owned firms 20 percent of its construction work. It also decreed that 20 percent would go to city residents, and 5 percent to companies owned by women. But when it came to backing these pledges on the district’s $1.5 billion rebuilding project, the previous vows…
Charlayne Hunter-Gault to speak at Cleveland library
The Cleveland Public Library — one of the few well-functioning public entities left in town — hosts some stellar, but rarely publicized, speaker series for bookworms. In the past year, they’ve featured big-name authors such as Michael Chabon, Dave Eggers, and Sherman Alexie, all speaking for free in the library’s main downtown branch. For literary…
While Kelly Pavlik fights Jermaine Talyor in Vegas, we’ll be watching in the Ville
(Editor’s note: Pavlik/Taylor II gets under way at 9 p.m. Saturday night. You can see the bout on HBO pay-per-view for $49.95. If you’re cheap and would prefer to watch the fight a) for free and b) while getting alarmingly drunk, join C-Notes at Johnny Malloy’s, 15323 Pearl Road, 440-238-9555.) It’s Pavlik/Taylor fight week II…
Happy Birthday Wish Bone! Now which one are you?
Hometown hero Bizzy Bone, of The Bone Thugs n’ Harmony, plays Peabody’s (2083 E. 21st St., 216-776-9999) tonight. But it’s another Thug who’s having a special weekend. The Thugs are undoubtedly the most famous gospel/gangsta sing-song rap group to ever come out of Cleveland. But somehow, one mysterious member has managed to escape the white…
Downtown Clothing Brigade closes; Warehouse District resident pleads for something that sells Hungry Mans
If while visiting the Warehouse District this weekend, you notice any faux-hawked hipsters walking around with no shirts, a $50 dollar bill in their hand, and a confused look on their faces, don’t be alarmed: Clothing Brigade’s downtown branch has closed. …
Picks of the Week: Monster trucks, a luau, and cheap beer, and NASCAR
She’ll be at the Luau. Will you? Every Friday, Scene calendar editor Cris Glaser provides a random but reliable sampling of things to do this weekend. For more options, log onto entertainment.clevescene.com. And check back Monday for C-Notes’ Picks of the Week. Friday: Dozens of trucks tear up the makeshift dirt floor this weekend for…
Mic Check: The Bravery at the Agora on Saturday
The Bravery plays the Agora tonight. You really can’t blame the Bravery for getting a little bitchy when certain stories are shared. Like the one about them coming out around the same time as dozens of other new-wave revival bands. Or the one about them and the Killers having a whole lot in common. (To…
The Black Keys to play Scene SXSW party
After assurances that there would, indeed, be plenty of Pabst and chicken wings, Akron blues-rockers The Black Keys will headline a party thrown by Scene and its sister papers at March’s South by Southwest festival. The two-man team is hitting the road hard next month, escaping the friendly confines of the 330 to scare up…
Hello, Cleveland: Weekend Concert Calendar
Northeast Ohio concerts, February 15 through 17: Who: Chase Pagan/Jonathon Penn/David Montgomery: 8 p.m., $6, 21 and over/$8, under 21. Musica, 17-19 Maiden Lane, Akron, 330-374-1114. What: Spacey singer-songwriter stuff that’s perfectly suited to Akron’s cool little music-and-arts club. Click the video above to check it out, and read on for the rest of the…
Wine tasting at Tremont’s Lago
What better way to spend Leap Day – Friday, February 29 – than by celebrating Pinot Noir, the elegant grape at the heart of all great red Burgundies and a contributor to many fine Champagnes? And what better place to do it than at Lago (2221 Professor Ave.), the handsome Italian restaurant in Tremont, where…
Concert Announcement: NERD Tix on Sale Friday
This just announced: Wednesday, March 5, House of Blues welcomes NERD, the eclectic rock-rap-pop-soul group featuring the Neptunes (Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams), the producer team that’s crafted some of the beats for the biggest hits of the last few years, including Britney Spears’ “I’m A Slave 4 U,” Nelly’s “Hot in Herre,” and too…
Blender mag gives props to Beachland
Schlitz: Blender likes it. We like Blender. So we like Schlitz. But not as much as PBR. The latest issue of our favorite music magazine, Blender, gives props to our favorite music club, the Beachland. Specifically, it names the bar’s jukebox as Best Jukebox in its Best List 2008. The entry praises the “vintage 1966…
A Valentine’s Night Field Guide
A rundown of food and cocktail specials that can (hopefully) make your honey hot on this Valentine’s Day. Everything starts at 9 p.m. unless it says otherwise. — Cris Glaser Tommy Bahamas’ Rum Girls pass out the latest drink samples while ubiquitous cover band, Breakfast Club, jams at McCarthy’s in Lakewood. The club is also…
Scene is gay, says Marilyn Manson fan
You are the gayest people ever [“Mechanical Animal” January 30]! Marilyn Manson is way better than you. If anyone should shut there mouth it should be you! I love his music so kiss my goth A$$! Morgan Schuenaman See the slideshow from Manson’s Cleveland concert.
Reader: Matchbox Twenty is one of the biggest bands ever
More No. 1 hits than anyone else Interesting article [“The Mainstream Event,” February 6]. But just have to correct the inaccurate line about their hit single, “Unwell.” It just didn’t sound right to me since it was so huge on Hot AC for months and months. And the video won VH1’s best video of the…
Chelsea Clinton stumps for Mom at Cleveland State
The political child seems to have some game. Chelsea Clinton’s stump speech for her mom at Cleveland State this morning was not bad for a 27-year-old political child who spent most of her life shielded from the media. She’s outgrown the gawky, 12-year-old, braces-and-frizzy-hair persona most of us remember from when her dad got elected…
Ameritrust deal: Will your $15 million be safe?
Peter Lawson Jones describes the $15 million loan as “a minor inconvenience.” We mentioned Monday that the K&D Group, the Willoughby development company that offered to take the Ameritrust complex off the county’s hands for a cool $35 million, is now negotiating for a $15 million loan. According to Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones, K&D would…
Mic Check: Jason Isbell at the Beachland Friday
Jason Isbell drives solo at the Beachland on Friday, Februay 15. When Jason Isbell split from the Drive-By Truckers a year ago, bloggers were buzzing with rumors. Isbell had recently divorced Shonna Tucker, who plays bass in the Truckers. Did that have something to do with it? Isbell, who’s 29, was the baby of the…
Hello, Cleveland: Concert Calendar for Thursday, Feb. 14.
Who: Kevin Mahogany, with the Joe Hunter Trio: 8 p.m., $20. Nighttown, 12387 Cedar Rd., Cleveland Hts., 216-795-0550, www.nighttowncleveland.com. What: Technically, it’s jazz – but he can sure get funky. Night one of a two-night stand. Click the video for a belt, and click ‘More’ to get the rest of the schedule.
Money Where Your Mouth Is: Blackwell
Four reasons to go see the Bizzy Bone show at Peabody’s Friday, February 15: 1) You never know what Bizzy’s gonna do. 2-3) Opening act Flames, which features Krayzie Bone and Lloyd. 4) Blackwell, who … well … we’ll let him tell you a little about himself, in this week’s Money Where Your Mouth Is:
Dear CC Sabathia: Please don’t be a greedy bastard
Dear CC: Please don’t sign with the Yankees, ’cause our parole officer says one more felony and we’re going away for a while. Love, Cleveland. Our Dearest Carsten Charles, We’ve been together for 12 years now, since you were too young to vote, and too skinny to be mistaken for Rueben Studdard. So we write…
Restaurant of the Weekend: Osteria Cedro Rustico at Whote Foods
My sweetheart and I will be dining at home this weekend, all the better to avoid the usual Valentine’s Day feeding frenzy in local restaurants. For those of you not so crazy about hanging ‘round the shanty, though, here’s an alternative: the cozy little Osteria Cedro Rustico, inside the Whole Foods Market in University Heights.…
O’Brien Factor: When you really think about it, democracy kinda sucks, doesn’t it?
We read Kevin O’Brien so you don’t have to … Column: It’s a war, with briefs and a gavel February 13, 2008 Topic: Six al-Qaeda members, alleged to have been involved in the 9/11 attacks, are about to go on trial in a military court. This, one might presume, is a good thing. But not…
Chelsea Clinton comes to Cleveland State; No whoring expected
Watch out, Lorain Avenue prostitutes: The nation’s most photographed call girl is coming to Cleveland State at 11 a.m. tomorrow to chat. We’re not talking about Heidi Fleiss. We’re talking about Chelsea Clinton. Over the weekend, David Shuster, a reporter for MSNBC, apparently grew tired with the whole race/woman/who will win the presidency thing, and…
Hello, Cleveland: Concerts for Wednesday, February 13
Who: Leslie & the Lys/Sammy Slims: 9 p.m., $8. Grog Shop, 2785 Euclid Hts. Blvd., 216-321-5588. What: Anti-diva spins a whole new take on nerd rap in tunes like “Midwest Diva.” Imagine your lonely aunt rapping. Click video above for taste, and read on for more shows …
Comedy Corner: Juston McKinney, Jason Russell, and Tammy Pescatelli play Cleveland this week
Tammy Pescatelli, of Last Comic Standing fame, plays the Improv this weekend. Unless you recognize a comedian’s name as That Girl From that Movie or the Dude from That One HBO Special, it can be hard to tell whether a stand-up is worth seeing. Lucky you: Scene did the legwork, and the skinny on this…
Dennis Kucinch, Joe Cimperman keep cool in Congressional debate
The battle for Dennis Kucinich’s Congressional seat is in its final stage. Sure, we haven’t even had the primary yet. But unless Republican candidate Jim Trakas can get his name legally changed to Shamus O’Trakas before March, confusing the entire West Side into voting GOP, whoever wins the Democratic nod should win it all. As…
Diversion of the Day: Casablanca, Bikini Bottom Edition
We’re not saying we watch Spongebob Squarepants, that we’ve had any more than a cursory awareness of the show since it entered airwaves nearly a decade ago. But if we did, we’d think this clip was hilarious. Voice actors from the show re-dub classic movie scenes, using the voices of Spongebob, Sandy Cheeks, Squidward, Patrick…
Peninsula’s Crooked River Herb Farm heads to that pretty town square in the sky
“Recreational shopping” – wherein we spend a Saturday afternoon aimlessly wandering small-town streets, checking out the shoppes and picking up doodads we never knew we needed until that very moment — just isn’t what it used to be. No time, no money, and – increasingly – no shoppes have pretty much wiped it off our…
Feagler: Vote Kucinich, unless you want to keep fighting guys in dresses
Today’s topic: Dick still endorses Kucinich for president… I was at the coffee shop, and the guys all agree: We’re still voting Kucinich for president. Why, back in my day, we had real presidential candidates like LBJ and Nixon, not like these broads and negroes they have today. If Hillary was running for president back…
Ohio tries to reduce smoking rates among queer teens
Try as they might, straight campaigns against smoking don’t seem to be working on gay teens. The Ohio Department of Health plans to spend up to $60,000 to help reduce smoking rates among gay and lesbian teens. It’s a small part of a $1.6 million federal grant it has to address chronic health issues in…
A Piece of Cleveland turns the city’s history into historic furniture
Materials from buildings like Adelstein’s Pharmacy are being turned into classic furniture As the housing development chairman for the St. Clair Superior Development Corporation and all around lover of history, Chris Kious was sickened to see Cleveland’s old buildings demolished, their remnants sent to landfills. So Kious, along with childhood friend Ezra Taxel, decided to…
Radio Activists
Thrash-metalheads Ringworm and Cellbound headline tonight’s WJCU 2008 Radiothon Concert to keep John Carroll University’s campus radio station on the air for another year. Fellow rockers Soulless and Ground Zero follow up with a fund-raiser next week that also features opening acts Embalmer, MSOD, Lotus Pedal, and the Suede Brothers. The station hopes to drum…
Heat Wave
Interpol: The N.Y.C. quartet’s debut, Turn On the Bright Lights, was released in August 2002. Sounds like: Joy Division and Echo & the Bunnymen. Franz Ferdinand: The Scottish quartet’s self-titled debut was released in March 2004. Sounds like: Wire and Gang of Four. The Killers: The Las Vegas quartet’s debut, Hot Fuss, was released in…
Kev Blaze
R&B singer Kev Blaze’s major-label debut is in limbo right now. It was all set to come out . . . then EMI began internal restructuring and shelved the album. We’re hoping Smoke ‘N Blaze won’t end up on that long list of unreleased records, because it’s a showcase for a talented singer and songwriter…
African Queen
Groundbreaking journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault imparts pearls of wisdom during today’s Writers and Readers Series at Cleveland Public Library’s main branch. Following her 1992 memoir, In My Place, the 65-year-old wordsmith collected enough hardware to warrant her own trophy room. The autobiography documented the tough times before Hunter-Gault became the first black student to graduate from…
The Bravery’s New World
Back in 2003, the new-wave revival was a mere glimmer in the mascara-lined eyes of a select few artists. Bands like Franz Ferdinand, Interpol, and the Killers were combining New Order’s synth riffs with Duran Duran’s wardrobe — and a whole new sort of nostalgia was born. It was around this time that The Bravery…
The Dead Enders
If the Barbusters — the fictitious Cleveland band fronted by Joan Jett and Michael J. Fox in the locally filmed Light of Day — had been a real group, they would have sounded like the Dead Enders. The new Cleveland garage-punk group is basically the Subtones with guitarist Holly Berry on vocals and more emphasis…
Debbie Does Dreams
Debbie Alferio believes in more than power naps. The Elyria-born storyteller first met the main character of her 2007 romance novel, A Forever Kind of Love, after drifting off into a deep sleep. “I was having a conversation with a man I didn’t know. For some reason, I addressed him as Mitch, even though I…
Death Becomes Them
Chuck Cleaver and Lisa Walker’s back-and-forth bantering sounds a lot like the music they make in their band, Wussy. In conversation and in song, Walker’s earthy alto meshes seamlessly with Cleaver’s lonesome tenor twang. But it’s not at all like the full-throated country rawk Cleaver played with Ass Ponys, the Cincinnati group he led for…
Picking on the Little Guy
Click here to let Derf fill you in on who’s out to get Our Hero.
Polar Energy
As participants wait to take the plunge at today’s Portage Lakes Polar Bear Jump, many of them keep telling themselves that they’re not crazy. That bit of self-assurance may even soften the jolt when they land in the freezing water. “Once you get in, you get that oh-shit! factor. And you immediately think you have…
Keep on Truckin’
When the Drive-By Truckers announced last year that they were losing one-third of their three-pronged attack team of singing, songwriting, and guitar-playing frontmen, fans of the left-leaning, deep-thinking, and hard-drinking alt-country band were understandably surprised and dismayed. Jason Isbell, the youngest of the triumvirate and the latest to join the band, was regarded as a…
Secret Valentines Notes from C-Town Celebs
Wilma Smith offers her deepest gratitude to her plastic surgeon. Drew Carey’s groveling plea to Hollywood execs: Please don’t make me give away refrigerators anymore! Dennis Kucinich quivers before his one true love, Dennis Kucinich. Kellen Winslow Jr. pens a love letter to himself. The object of Mike Trivisonno’s desire: Donuts. Jimmy Dimora shows affection…
Absolutely, Positively
Definitely, Maybe is a surprisingly rewarding romantic comedy — one worth the effort, because some effort has actually been put into it. Imagine an old-school Woody Allen flick starring Ryan Reynolds, that shit-eating smirker from Van Wilder. This isn’t exactly Annie Hall, but the mere fact that it aspires to those heights is worth celebration.…
Rubber (City) Band Man
Music and emotion tend to work well together. Akron singer-songwriter Nathan Hedges should know, since he crafted his ballad, “Rain,” during a tough time in his life. “I had no direction, and I didn’t really know what I was going to do,” he says. “I ended up writing that song. Then it turned into this…
Kevin Mahogany with the Joe Hunter Trio.
Kevin Mahogany mastered the clarinet and saxophone when most kids his age were trying to beat Donkey Kong. Since then, the Kansas City native has played with some of the genre’s giants as well as fronted his own ensembles. Mahogany’s latest CD and tour pay tribute to the late torch singer Johnny Hartman. Mahogany’s strong…
And the Winners Are
Northeast Ohio received 14 nominations at the 50th Grammy Awards, while two artists won posthumous gold at the ceremony held in Los Angeles on Sunday. Gerald Levert won Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for “In My Songs,” the title track of his last album, which was released last February, following his November 2006 death. Robert…
Tangled Web
Freudians should be cheered to learn that ol’ Sigmund prospers at the multiplex, at least in child-friendly cinema. The Spiderwick Chronicles, an extravagantly oedipal fantasy flick based on the popular children’s novels, comes stuffed with dads ripe for slaying, a freshly single mom (Mary-Louise Parker), and one majorly split personality in the form of her…
All Strings Attached
German puppeteer Matthias Kuchta isn’t the sort of children’s-theater performer you’d find in a box, with his hand inside a talking sock. Instead, he maneuvers life-size likenesses of the heroine and her seven dwarves in today’s two performances of the Brothers Grimm classic Snow White. “The young Snow White is confronted by the stepmother, who…
A Place to Bury Strangers
Like My Bloody Valentine and the Jesus & Mary Chain before it, Brooklyn’s a Place to Bury Strangers revels in noise. And feedback. And ear-piercing squalls that sound like they’re tearing up the amps from the inside out. For years, the group’s rep rested on “Loudest Band in New York” laurels. But with the release…
Party on a Plate
With apologies to rockin’ restaurateur Josh Kabat, we’ll admit we were a tad worried when Reddstone popped up on our schedule. After all, when the former Peabody’s Concert Club owner launched his modest Detroit-Shoreway watering hole in October, he told us he was mostly “just looking for a place to party.” Sure, he balanced the…
Survivor: Jim Crow Island
“Uncivil Right,” Letters, February 6 For blacks in the good old days, reality bit: I’ve seen the writings of Mr. Gross, and he never seems to miss the chance to say something ass-backwards. Liberals, elites, Black Panther thugs . . . oh my! First and most important, Mr. Gross: What came first, the chicken or…
Swingers’ Clubs
For amateurs itching to get on the links, the I-X Center’s Greater Cleveland Golf Show is a beacon of green fairways in the gray of winter. Instead of dreaming about melting snow and the start of the golf season, duffers can scan the hundreds of booths that’ll show off the latest in clubs, accessories, and…
Corey Smith
Corey Smith is a 29-year-old singer-songwriter from Georgia who holds the distinction of being one of MySpace’s most popular unsigned artists. He sold 500,000 songs online, even though most of them could be downloaded for free. Needless to say, he has a lot of “friends.” Smith writes about things like church, home, college football, and…
Down to Eat
Q: What does it take to get suburbanites to dine downtown? A: Bargains at some of the city’s best restaurants. Must be why Cleveland Restaurant Week — February 24 through March 1 — is shaping up to be such a smash. More than a week before kickoff, Josh Taylor, spokesman for Downtown Cleveland Alliance, says…
Smoke ‘Em if You Got ‘Em
Here in Ohio, laws have always been optional. Whether it’s Supreme Court justices deciding cases based on who gives them the most money, or the legislature blowing off repeated rulings that our school funding system is unconstitutional, the law tends to be more nuisance than ironclad way of life. So it goes at neighborhood taverns…
Rohm’s on Fire
Before Jackson Rohm graduated from Miami University in 1993, he seriously mulled over becoming an attorney. But after a brief stint at the University of Buffalo’s law school, the Lakewood-based guitarist scrapped the thought of working out of a briefcase, and instead slung his axe over his shoulder and played clubs near campus. “The venues…
The Toasters
“Don’t Let the Bastards Grind You Down,” the Toasters’ most popular song, is a sax-fueled ode to the working class. It’s also the centerpiece of the Manhattan-based ska band’s live sets. The Toasters recently celebrated their 25th anniversary. Robert “Bucket” Hingley — a British expat — is the group’s only original member, but that hasn’t…
Dropped Stitch
When you think about quilters, as Cleveland Play House’s Gee’s Bend invites you to do, you ponder the mystery of how colorful quilts can be stitched together from simple, often worthless scraps of material. Then, if you’re feeling particularly thoughtful, you might muse on how quilts can resemble life itself — with individuals sewing meaningful…
Harry Spins LPs
The House of Swing isn’t the biggest club in Cleveland, and it doesn’t have the most booming sound system, but from the vibe to the tunes, it doesn’t get any warmer than the legendary blues-jazz club. Deceased founder Lou Kallie still lives on through his record collection, which son Harry is now spinning every Wednesday…
This Party’s the Pits.
Aside from jumping his Grave Digger truck off dirt mounds and grinding it into the ground, Monster Jam driver Chad Tingler looks forward to the pit parties after the show. And Cleveland fans will get their chance to meet him and dozens of other competitors when the traveling monster-truck rally parks its track at the…
Kevin Devine
Kevin Devine hates it when people call him a singer-songwriter. Yet he names guys like Bob Dylan, Elliott Smith, and Neil Young — you know, singer-songwriters — as influences. His angsty, political lyrics are sung in an earnestly aching voice — just like the one favored by singer-songwriters for decades. But Devine is so personable,…
Roundhouse Punch
We all know couples who love each other as passionately as they disagree. If you’ve ever wanted to see a dissection of such a volatile relationship from a surreal perspective, you’ll love The Confessions of Punch and Judy at Cleveland Public Theatre. Based on the characters from the popular puppet show, this 75-minute exploration of…
Punk Rock Prom
The good folks at the Davenport are calling it a Punk Rock Prom, but this Valentine’s Day dance is actually quite a ritzy affair. For $50, a couple gets a fully catered dinner (vegan options are available), dessert, a fully stocked open bar, party favors, pictures, and free entries to a tattoo giveaway by Addicted…
Joker’s Wild
After 22 years of stand-up comedy, Louis C.K. admits that with all his onstage cussing, his mouth could stand a bar of soap. Then the money talks. “Economically speaking, cursing is worth millions of dollars,” says C.K., who’s at Playhouse Square tonight. “But there are people that will come see clean comics that won’t come…
Nicole Atkins
Between mega-produced pop tunes that follow a Top 40 template and songs that practically show off their software-generated beats, there’s hardly any mystery in music anymore. Nicole Atkins is filled with mystery. Her voice is so rich and syrupy, it could coat all the pancakes in the world. More important, Atkins’ music sounds little like…
Way Out Western
TOP PICK — The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Warner) Brad Pitt stars as the legendary outlaw in this meditative movie (now out on DVD), which posits that the bank robber was actually one of America’s first victims of celebrity culture. Casey Affleck (Ben’s brother) plays the stalker. It’s a fascinating…
The Wall of Greed
Late into the night, in an office crammed with leather-bound phone books and stacks of yellowed microfilm, Ray Whitaker works. He’s a professional genealogist, so work means combing forgotten files and police records, searching for people both dead and alive. It’s not glamorous; his office is tucked in a dusty VFW building in Euclid. But…
Lil’ Orphan Fanny
In Kalliope Stage’s production of Ed Dixon’s Fanny Hill tonight, a parentless 15-year-old girl moves to London to live with a friend in a whorehouse. While the storyline rates at least a PG-13, it’s mild compared to readers’ uproar over the 1741 John Cleland novel of the same name. “Homosexuality is discussed, and the main…
The New York Dolls
The New York Dolls’ 2006 reunion album, One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This, was neither a stellar comeback nor a total embarrassment. It was pretty much what you’d expect from a bunch of aging punks who hadn’t played together in more than 30 years. The fact that three-fifths of the original…
Capsule reviews of current area art exhibitions.
NEW Black and Blue — Judith Brandon’s work is about control — and about losing it. It’s hard to tell whether the dribbles and streaks of inky color that make up her atmospheric landscapes are serendipitous or the marks of an exceptionally skilled hand. In “Hurricane,” she applies horizontal bands of deep indigo that bleed…
Stax Nostalgic
Today’s music bites. So says former Stax Records owner Al Bell, who’ll tell you today at the Rock Hall’s Black History Month lecture series why he thinks the recording business needs a massive overhaul. “Right now, the industry is taking a cookie-cutter approach. Everything sounds alike,” says Bell. “I understand that it’s all about mass…
Hearts Full of Blues
To outsiders, Roomful of Blues looks like it has reason to celebrate as it sets out on tour to pimp its 14th CD, Raisin’ a Ruckus. But the New England-based octet is still mourning last month’s death of its 60-year-old trumpeter, Bob Enos, from a heart attack. “We still set up his stand and mic…
Sheryl Crow
Nobody would blame Sheryl Crow if she decided to turn pensive on Detours, her first album since breaking up with Lance Armstrong and beating breast cancer a couple of years ago. But her last CD, 2005’s Wildflower, was pretty much that record — an introspective and melancholy “personal” album, which sank with little notice. Rather…
Capsule reviews of current area theater presentations.
Julius X — Superimposing one character upon another seems an unnecessary stunt, but when you combine Julius Caesar and Malcolm X, you come away marveling at how the two men — whose lust for power led to their assassinations — fit together. Following Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar storyline, Playwright Al Letson situates the characters in racially…
Rich Man, Pour Man
Sure, 12 years have passed since Chuck Hazlett of Rocky River struck it rich with a $4 million payout from Ohio’s Super Lotto drawing. But the 55-year-old retired postal carrier can’t pass up a good buy, especially for a mug of beer. Today, Hazlett and his fellow barflies are each shelling out a George Washington…
CrAzY in Love
Suspect Thoughts Books morphs into Heartbreak Hotel for today’s My CrAzY Valentine, where spurned gays, lesbians, and bisexuals swap stories about love affairs gone sour. To play along, talk about a bad first date, a partner from hell, or a scary one-night stand. In return, the shop’s co-owners, Greg Wharton and Ian Philips, will pamper…
The Mars Volta
The Mars Volta switches gears on its fourth album, giving beat-propelled dance pop a spin. We kid! The Bedlam in Goliath is stuffed with nine-minute alt-prog epics — the type the band has refined to blood-drawing sharpness over the past seven years. We’re not quite sure what singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala is going on about in…
Joystick Junkies
Guitar Hero rockers and Pac-Man purists alike can get their trigger-happy fingers on the latest games and gadgets this weekend in Strongsville at the first-ever Northeast Ohio Video Gaming Convention & Sale. “It’s not just a giant geekfest and definitely not a hyped sales gimmick with nothing else inside,” says Dave Duffner, the convention’s organizer.…
In Record Time
Learn a lesson from Dan Kennedy, if you ever get canned by the middle-aged grandson of a gazillionaire, who thinks he can set the music industry on fire: Write a tell-all book about it. In Rock On: An Office Power Ballad, the thirtysomething New York humorist dishes the dirt on his 2004 firing as a…
Chafing Dishes
No Reservations (Warner Bros.) From its cheap, mid-’90s-looking package to its woefully scant extras (one pre-chewed Food Network behind-the-scenes, blech) to its wide-screen/full-screen option, this feels like something dropped right into the discount bins; it probably debuts at half off this week. And this soufflé of a romantic comedy deserves better: Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron…
Free Form Funky Freqs
There was a time when you’d say “power trio,” and every rock fan knew what you were talking about: bands like Cream and ZZ Top, which used the basic setup of guitar, bass, and drums, added a splash of blues, and then let it all rip with tons of guitar solos. Punk practically put an…
Vinyl Exam
Don’t get Derek Carney started on how he takes care of his LPs and 45s when he’s not spinning alt-rock mixes as DJ Dwreck at the weekly =qualize. While he “loves the crackle and pop” of vintage-’80s records, he treats each album and single with TLC. And he rails against two unnamed Cleveland jocks, who…
Our top DVD picks scheduled for release this week:
The Amateurs (First Look) The Beatrix Potter Collection (BBC Warner) Becoming Jane (Miramax) Blade: The Series — The Complete Series (New Line) Blue State (MGM) Charlie Chan: Volume 4 (Fox) Dallas: The Complete Eighth Season (Warner Bros.) Dedication (Weinstein) The Equalizer: Season One (Universal) Family Ties: The Third Season (Paramount) General Hospital: Night Shift —…
The Mountain Goats
Two years ago, indie-rockers the Mountain Goats released the somber Get Lonely, which most fans dismissed as — to put it mildly — “difficult.” Heretic Pride falls back on a happier sound. Frontman John Darnielle’s voice is once again an exuberant bleat, after barely rising above a wounded, wobbling falsetto on Get Lonely. He’s never…
Couch Potato
The road to his third and latest solo album has brought Brian Vander Ark closer than ever to his fans. That’s because he performed in their homes to pay for his self-titled release. “I raised the money by getting them to book me in their backyards and living rooms,” says the 43-year-old Vander Ark, who’ll…
Geek Chic
When it comes to giving a game a vibe, “awesome” is an easy mark to hit. Explosions, hot chicks, macho one-liners, and salivating mutants are all awesome. And it’s just about impossible to overdo the awesome: More explosions, more hot chicks, more machismo, and more mutants are only more awesome. “Cool,” on the other hand,…
Willie Nelson
What does it say about today’s music climate, when the only way a legend like Willie Nelson can nab some airplay is by teaming with a younger, more commercially viable artist? “Beer for My Horses,” an insipid hit duet with Toby Keith a few years back, set a troubling precedent. Co-produced by Kenny Chesney, Moment…
