Alex Arshinkoff’s last abuse of power
Mr. Mean tries to charge arch enemy Kevin Coughlin with campaign violations Summit County Republican Chairman Alex Arshinkoff is trying to get in some final spite out during his last week on the Summit County Board of Elections. On February 20, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner refused to reappoint Arshinkoff to his seat on…
Rolling Stone goes inside the studio for The Black Keys’ new album
In the latest issue of Rolling Stone – it’s got Jack Johnson’s sandy mug on the cover – writer Peter Relic takes us inside the Painesville studios where Akron blues-rockers The Black Keys ground out their new record, Attack and Release, with producer Danger Mouse. The album, Relic reports, was born out of an idea…
Cleveland will be functioning today! Enjoy your visit!
In the City the Never Works, hosting a presidential debate can create some heartburn. Suddenly, City Hall needs to appear efficient at tasks that are usually set to rest on blocks on the front yard. For example, Andrea Taylor, a spokeswoman for Mayor Frank Jackson, was quoted in The Plain Dealer today promising to actually…
Kick-off nears for Obama-Clinton debate at Cleveland State
As Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton descend upon our snow-drenched city tonight, political analysts are pumping up the debate as the deciding moment for both campaigns. No, really. This is the real deciding moment. Not those other deciding moments. Those were just fake deciding moments. …
Tim Russert: Ohio guy seems to have turned into a Beltway candy-ass
Ritz staffers say Tim Russert has a bit of an uppity streak In this tight primary election, when everything’s scrutinized from Hilary’s haircuts to the size of Obama’s shoes, it should come as no surprise that a great deal of thought was put into where the Democratic candidates and their camps would be crashing for…
Akron’s Highland Square Theater hosts debate party tonight
Akronites without tickets for tonight’s Democratic presidential debate at Cleveland State need not worry about spending another lonely night with a pixilated Anderson Cooper. The historic Highland Square Theater will be hosting a debate watch party tonight for free! Sure, you won’t be sharing the same rarified air with Obama and Hillary, but is $2,000…
Cheap-tickets Tuesday at House of Blues
This Week’s Theme: Even Better Than the Real Thing: Every Tuesday, House of Blues (308 Euclid Ave., 216-523-2583) has 2-for-1 tickets for select shows. Read on for what’s going cheap Tuesday, February 26, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. — DX Ferris
Turns out there is a God — or at least some Oscar voters with taste
You’ll get your recommended daily allowance of nausea-inducing spin from tonight’s debate, so for something to settle your stomach, enjoy the best two moments from Sunday’s Oscars, which have both made their way to YouTube. First, amid three life-sucking songs from Enchanted, this gem, by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova and from their little movie…
This Just In: Concert Announcements
Lots of big acts this week – 52 new shows, in total – but you’re hard-pressed to find one cooler than Kimya Dawson, formerly half of Moldy Peaches, who wrote those cool songs from the Juno soundtrack. Other don’t-miss shows include grand-scale postpunk from My Chemical Romance, prog-metal from Dream Theater, the entire lineup for…
Cleveland State profs can watch the presidential debate live – with a $2,000 check
Two tickets and parking to see Barack Obama live: $5,000 In case you thought Cleveland State professors might be getting special treatment for tonight’s Obama-Clinton debate, fear not. Most will be stuck watching it on TV, just like all the other schleps not lucky enough to snag tickets. According to one source (who wanted to…
Cleveland’s Waterloo neighborhood: Now there’s a marketing slogan
Cleveland neighborhoods like to market their individuality. But it’s hard to come up with slogans that don’t sound like they were swiped from the back pages of Sunset. Detroit-Shoreway calls itself “Exciting. Urban. Historic.” Coventry boasts of “one-quarter mile of something for everyone…”
Victims of Carl Wolfe get their justice – sort of
A serial creep pleads guilty, but skates on jail time Last Friday, victims of Carl Wolfe finally received a semblance of justice. Sort of. Two years ago, Wolfe, then a freshman at Notre Dame College in South Euclid, was accused of sexually assaulting at least five female students on campus. One claimed that the basketball…
Peking Acrobats, LeBron James’ Mercedes top our Picks of the Week
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: Car dealers rev up more than 1,000 of the latest rides this week at the 81st annual…
Zydrunas Ilgauskas, the Human Tip Drill. Somewhere, the St. Lunatics are looking up the word ‘royalties’
“I said it must be ya money cause it aint yo face you a tip drill.” Over the past three weeks or so, Cavaliers color commentator Austin Carr seems be making a strong, perhaps concerted effort to bestow upon Zydrunas Ilgauskas a new nickname. The former Cavs legend seems enamored with Z’s ability to tip…
Mic Check: Angels & Airwaves at House of Blues on Tuesday
Back in the day, Tom DeLonge used to make videos with his dick hanging out, titled albums Enema of the State and Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, and wrote songs dedicated entirely blow jobs. That’s when he was a member of Blink-182. His new band, Angels & Airwaves, takes things a lot more seriously.…
Hello, Cleveland: This week’s concert calendar
Let’s start the week’s concert calendar with They Might Be Giants, who play thew Agora Ballroom Wednesday, February 27. Other hot shows include an emo-leaning rock bill headlined by Angels & Airwaves (which is sold out), accessible shred-metal from Darkest Hour, Cleveland’s own urban songstress Cheri Dennis, and Nazareth of “Love Hurts” renown. Read on…
Against the odds, Original Pancake House opens in Fairview Park
We got a kick out of last week’s “friends and family” event at the new Original Pancake House in Fairview Park (3000 Westgate, 440-333-5515). A sort of operational dry run for the airy, 130-seat eatery, the event gave franchisees Jane and Mike Frazin a chance to put both their staff and their equipment through its…
Terry Steele’s Luther Vandross tribute concert canceled
If you’d planned to celebrate Valentine’s Day late and take your sweetie to Terry Steele’s Here and Now: The Legacy of Luther Vandross concert scheduled for Thursday, February 28 at Playhouse Square’s Allen Theater, you’d better stop and buy some Bravo gift certificates on the way home, because the show’s been canceled. Contact the box…
Crime 360: A reality TV police show, Cleveland style
Since August, film crews from A&E have been following Cleveland police for a new police drama called Crime 360. “We take viewers inside an actual investigation,” explains spokeswoman Emily Spitale. “We go right in with the detectives as they go through the scenes of the crime.” Each week, the show premiers a different case. The…
Followers of the Maharishi are building a peace palace in Parma
Followers of this recently deceased hippie are building a peace palace in Parma. City officials hope that they’ll have really good weed. Two weeks ago, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the man who taught yoga to the Beatles and brought transcendental meditation to the masses, died at his home in the Netherlands. Before his death, the Maharishi…
Pay no attention to that rig at Golden Gate Plaza
In case you’re worried about that giant drill boring into the asphalt at Golden Gate Plaza in Mayfield Heights, rest assured: It’s supposed to be there. The owners of the mall, just like the well-heeled residents of Gates Mills before them, have discovered dollar signs beneath the smooth surface of their parking lot. They’re drilling…
An animal lover’s guide to the Kucinich-Cimperman race
If you’re having a tough time deciding between Joe Cimperman or Dennis Kucinich in the heated 10th District congressional race, Guy Templeton Black is here for you. “I asked each camp for a hundred yard signs,” he explained at a Democratic straw-poll meeting in Tremont, where he was campaigning for a spot on the board…
Cleveland army recruiters raise the stakes for enlisting
40 grand is a handsome incentive to get you to beautiful Iraq After decades of screwing veterans with elusive health care and benefits, it appears that the feds are finally trying to make up for their past sins. On February 4, the Army launched a pilot program in four cities, including Cleveland, allowing enlistees to…
A very strange moment with Jim Brown, Cleveland’s misunderstood sociopath
Jim Brown: He has one strange martyr complex Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown returned to his creaky soapbox recently, this time in an interview with ESPN.com for Black History Month. It’s an odd fit for Brown, who is definitely black, but whose sense of history – at least his own – has always…
Dick Feagler: Snow storms just aren’t what they used to be
Today’s topic: Snow… I was at the coffee shop, and the guys all agree: This snow outside is a goddamned imposter. Why, back in my day, snow was something you feared more than pinkos. It was the great white equalizer, the frozen monster of blue lips, the sacred chill-cotton of the sky. And it didn’t…
Derrick? Darrik? Derek? Anderson!
Browns QB Darrick Anderson. Or is it Derek? For all the talk recently about Pro Bowl quarterback Derek Anderson, you’d think he’s closer to being the best gas station attendant in all of Scappoose, Oregon, than an NFL-caliber starter. Cleveland fans — enamored by Brady Quinn’s quasi-mannish good looks and 16 snaps in a regular…
Cleveland Restaurant Week leads our Picks of the Weekend
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: If you’re kinda cheap and totally ADD, we’ve got a play for you: See 11 plays for the price…
Mic Check: Wilco at Lakewood Civic Auditorium on Friday.
Wilco’s come a long way since their 1996 shit-kicking alt-country debut, A.M.. They don’t even sound like the same band anymore. Part of it has to do with frontman Jeff Tweedy’s constant personnel shuffling; part of it has to do with the fact that they’re just a lot better these days. Since 2002’s Yankee Hotel…
When Ben Wallace changes uniforms, a fan has a change of heart
It seems like just yesterday that I was sitting in Scorcher’s in West Akron, watching the 2006 NBA playoffs, when a bona fide cat-fight broke out between my friend and an unruly Detroit Pistons fan. It was Game 3, shortly after half time and shortly before my eighth Miller Lite, so the details are a…
When Vast plays the Agora, you can be there whether you’re there or not
If you’re desperate to see Vast’s Cleveland concert this weekend but too damn lazy to lift yourself from the couch,Internet broadcaster YeboTV will stream the show live from the Agora Saturday, February 23, at 8 p.m. Visit www.YeboTv.com for free registration. If you can manage to leave the house, the show’s worth checking out. Mixing…
Hello, Cleveland: Weekend Concert Calendar
The weekend’s concerts begin with Wilco (see above) tonight at the Agora, and include stops by Vast, Chris Allen & Don Dixon, and Toby Mac. Read on for the full schedule.
After Cavs pull off trade, the question of Danny Ferry’s “legacy”
(Related: Denise Grollmus on loving Ben Wallace for all the things she used to hate about him.) As we headed to bed last night, with visions of Basketball’s Baddest ‘Fro dancing in our plainly coifed heads, much of the reaction to the Cavaliers’ blockbuster trade centered around GM Danny Ferry, and his ability to “finally…
Phoenix Coffee asks: Do you “coffee cup”?
This Friday, Phoenix Coffee will hold a free “coffee cupping.” Sort of like the coffee version of wine tasting, coffee cuppings delve into the fine art of mocha appreciation, with experts leading the discussion and experience of different brews’ and beans’ acidity, “balance,” and “mouthfeel.” I know what you’re thinking—Why the hell are you telling…
Drinks to keep you warm on a cold winter’s day
As temperatures shrink down into the single digits, and our breath freezes the moment it leaves our mouths, the last thing anyone wants to do is leave their house. But who says Clevelanders have to be miserable, or sans fabulous drinks, while curled up in flannel pajamas? So we contacted a few local mixologists to…
Behold, the Chili Open — because heading south for winter is for guys named Chaz
Let those wealthy duffers with fat bank accounts and fatter stomachs sojourn to Arizona, North Carolina, or Florida for golf during the winter. Who needs them anyway? They’re the ones that make your 18-hole round take six hours and litter the greens with their stogie butts while they take 10 practice swings before finally taking…
Cleveland restaurants among list of 2008 Beard Award nominees
Dante Bocuzzi’s Dante is up for Best New Restaurant New York magazine has posted an online copy of the first-round ballot for the 2008 Beard Foundation Awards, and Cleveland has made an impressive showing. Checking in at 23 pages, the lengthy ballot of the nation’s top chefs and restaurants is only a preliminary document, from…
Will Cavs make trade before deadline? Chad Ford says no. The hopeless bastard …
With rumors swirling about the Cavs nearing a blockbuster trade — including one that has Shawn Marion heading north from his new spot in Miami — C-Notes went barreling into Chad Ford’s trade-deadline chat on ESPN.com, only to be doused with an ice-cold bucket of reality: Sean (Cleveland, OH): There are rumors that the Cavs…
Review: New York Dolls live at the Beachland
David Johansen, a geographical relief map with lips Those looking for the classic Bowery Street grime of the New York Dolls are in luck. There are at least a dozen official and bootleg live albums out there, including a “Live Box Set” immortalizing their raw, sloppy garage/glam/blues mash-up that – with iconic junkie/primitive six-string genius…
Killed by YouTube, StSanders videos live on
He might have a funny name, but Yngwie Malmsteen has no sense of humor. If you’re anything like us, you cursed the day YouTube pulled all of StSanders’ hilarious guitar parody videos. For the past year or so StSanders – actually a 32-year-old media artists from Finland named Santeri Ojala – has posted videos in…
Restaurant of the Weekend: Michaelangelo’s
Michaelangelo’s lamb chops, an electric blanket for your soul. It’s going to be another cold one this weekend, making it a great opportunity to snuggle up in one of Cleveland’s coziest, yet most sophisticated restaurants: Michaelangelo’s, 2198 Murray Hill Road, in Little Italy. For anyone who thinks Italian cuisine is all about spaghetti and meatballs,…
Frank Jackson endorses Joe Cimperman: Our first (and last) interview with the mayor!
Mayor Frank “Beardo” Jackson has refused to speak to Scene since he took office. Maybe it’s because we insist on trying to spread the nickname “Beardo.” Or maybe it’s because we’ve accused him of being as cagey as Dick Cheney, as crony-tastic as George Bush, and roughly as intelligent as Corky from Growing Pains. But…
Party to oust the gay godfather, Alex Arshinkoff
Have a beer and help oust the Master of Malevolence, Alex Arshinkoff Thanks to the battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, local Dems have their next two weeks so chocked full of rallies and speaking engagements that they actually appear to have happening social lives – if fish fries with politicos is your thing.…
This Just In: My Chemical Romance, Katt Williams to play Cleveland
You can add My Chemical Romance’s ongoing Black Parade and comedian Katt Williams’ “It’s Pimpin’, Pimpin'” tour to the list of acts to announce shows in Cleveland this week. Both shows go on sale Friday, February 22 at 10 a.m. Read on for show details. — DX Ferris
92.3 dumps Rovers Morning Glory
Rover has barked his last bark — at least on 92.3 K-Rock. His popular and controversial morning show, Rovers Morning Glory — featuring naked fat men prancing in the street, stomach-turning bets, death-defying dares, as well as heated debates between the shrilly clueless Duji and nasally arrogant Rover — is officially done. Tom Herschel, the…
Before Cavs trade for Mike Miller, they should get Lebron James more LeBron Jameses
In the Cavaliers’ depressingly ugly loss last night to the suddenly unbeatable Houston Rockets, LeBron James was an unreal passing machine. Of his 11 assists, several were no look wonders that went right past the heads of Rocket defenders and into the hands of waiting teammates for easy scores. Aside from the T-shirt cannon, The…
Tony Rizzo’s Air Rizzy shoe, the ugliest thing in the history of footwear, up for auction
Let’s say that you really want to step on Bill Martin’s face, maybe because he makes bags and bags of cash, or his perfectly coifed hair annoys you, or you’re just a big Ted Henry guy. Let’s additionally say that you are a huuuuuge fan of wooly bears. You love the little critters, and can…
Mic Check: Miranda Lambert at House of Blues on Thursday
Don’t cross Miranda Lambert when she plays the House of Blues Thursday. She’ll set you on fire. Country singer-songwriter Miranda Lambert scares us. The 24-year-old Texas cutie smiles as often as she scowls, but you don’t want to piss her off. Her breakthrough single, “Kerosene,” was about catching her boyfriend getting busy with some other…
Money Where Your Mouth Is: Miss Firecracker
Miss Firecracker plays the Beachland Friday. Today, she tells you why you need to spend some time with her One-Woman Band this weekend. Hint: It has something to do with Vodka Gimlets. And the kazoo. Read on to get the lowdown.– DX Ferris
Larry Hughes to perform totally “random act of kindness,” presuming the cameras get there on time
We at C-Notes love kindness. We really do. And random acts of kindness are even better — there’s nothing more heartfelt than a a unplanned impulse to do good. And we love Larry Hughes, too, in a “sure, why not?” kind of way, although sometimes we question his shot selection, and are pretty sure we’re…
Cleveland police sieze $1 million in pot, refuse to admit that our city’s full of stoners
So much for that afternoon blunt. Cleveland Police Narcotics Unit announced yesterday that they’ve seized nearly $1 million worth of prime bud, hasheesh, purple thunder, golden sticky, Ken Kesey pick-me-ups, weed, marijuana … The CPD teamed up with the DEA, East Cleveland, and Postal Inspectors to find the sweet, sweet cheeba. It signals a big…
Cleveland’s best sandwiches? Our critic weighs in
Consider the humble sandwich. A pinnacle of gustatory efficiency, the soaring stack-up of breads, meats, cheeses, and assorted condiments has long been the star of blue-collar lunch boxes. So as home to generations of working-class heroes, it’s no surprise that Cleveland claimed three spots on Esquire’s recent list of the country’s best sandwiches, as pointed…
Cedar Lee showing the short films up for an Oscar
For those who want to bone up on all the Oscar categories, the Cedar Lee is showing this week the five films nominated for best shorts. A quick scorecard: Tanghi Argentini is the story of a man in love with a woman he met online who loves to tango. The man tells her he loves…
British Sea Power
On their 2003 debut, The Decline of British Sea Power, these U.K. indie-rockers laid buzz-saw guitars on top of an expansive, psych-tinged background. Their 2005 follow-up, Open Season, sacrificed some of that steely bite for strings and swooning textures. Without jagged guitar slashes propelling them, the songs frequently sank beneath the weight of their chilly…
Blues Flash
Cleveland Blues Festival organizers learned at least one lesson at last year’s inaugural concert: Even Playhouse Square’s ginormous Palace Theatre isn’t big enough to hold all of Northeast Ohio’s blues fans. That’s why they’ve moved the four-hour jam of traditional and modern blues to Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center. “It’s kinda like the Grateful Dead…
Capsule reviews of current area theater presentations.
The Confessions of Punch and Judy — Based on the characters from the puppet show, Cleveland Public Theatre’s exploration of volatile love relationships first graced its stage in 2005. Now it’s back with the original cast. Ker Wells and Tannis Kowalchuk, as Punch and Judy, have refined their tough-love ballet into an amazingly pure distillation…
Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend has been buzzing the blogosphere for almost a year now. Some overzealous hipsters even named the Brooklyn band’s self-titled debut “Best Album of 2007” . . . even though it wasn’t released in 2007. Fresh out of Columbia University, these four smarty-pants sing about French designer Louis Vuitton, Cape Cod, and the correct…
Drive-Through Theater
On the average, each of the 11 scripts in Hot From the Oven: À la Carte runs no longer than 10 minutes. And that’s just what director Ann Hedger wanted as she pared down a field of more than 200 entries to choose shows to debut in the 12th annual one-act festival. Writers from as…
Capsule reviews of current area art exhibitions.
NEW Student Independent Exhibition 62 — The Cleveland Institute of Art’s annual student-run show, which started when Truman was in the White House, features a contrast of traditional and new-media work from a range of different academic programs — from age-old majors like drawing to such up-to-the-minute offerings as T.I.M.E. (Technology and Integrated Media Environment).…
Del The Funky Homosapien
It’s been eight years since Del’s last album, but the Oakland MC has been busy, thanks to a high-profile gig with Gorillaz. It’s fitting that he makes his return on hipster rap label Definitive Jux, since he’s always been one of hip-hop’s most unconventional voices. Eleventh Hour sounds like prime Del: “Foot Down” trips back…
Dubya Pleasure
Although he’s wasting his time, comic Greg Fitzsimmons is campaigning for George W. Bush’s third presidential term, since the Iraq war is like the first time he had sex. “I was doing it to impress my friends. I had no clear exit strategy, and I found out later that my father had already been there,”…
Captive-ating
Although hostage-taking in the Middle East has been less of a front-page story in recent months and years, the tensions such kidnappings evoke are never far below the surface. And in Lee Blessing’s Two Rooms, now being produced by Cleveland Public Theatre and the Charenton Theater Company, these issues are made starkly palpable. It’s a…
Laughing Pains
Margot at the Wedding (Paramount) Margot (Nicole Kidman, or someone who looks just like her) is a fiction writer whose tales are based, uncomfortably and unkindly, on the real-life family for whom she seems to care very little. Hence sister Pauline’s (Jennifer Jason Leigh) late discovery that Margot’s a “monster” — late to her, not…
The Raveonettes
Despite several albums of steady creative progression, the Raveonettes never stray far from their original distortion-soaked, two-chord mission. Even 2005’s relatively expansive Pretty in Black found the band hanging out in the same general neighborhood — somewhere between 1950s film noir and an early-’60s surf flick, and right next door to their ’80s heroes, the…
In the Hood
At tonight’s Writer’s Showcase, three local authors may sound like real-estate agents, as they give pointers on penning a good book. From Mary Grimm’s experience writing about Cleveland, it’s all about location, location, location. “I don’t just like the pretty parts; I love the industrial Flats,” says Grimm, whose debut novel, Left to Themselves, exposes…
Beat Down
Marion-Sterling school, a two-story brick structure on East 30th near Carnegie, sits among a jumbled mass of housing projects. Rusted fences surround its parking lot like a moat. Inside, the floors are concrete, the halls cluttered with dusty boxes of textbooks and poster board. It’s amid this mess that Daniel Lewis teaches. He’s a small…
Hell Yes
Let’s just get it out right now: “Devil May Cry” is a weak-ass name for a wicked action game. But what’s in a name? In three previous outings, the brutal, hella-challenging series has consistently delivered some of the greatest hack-and-slash thrills in the genre. Sure, the setup’s as old as sin: Our hero, Dante, is…
Simple Plan
When did emo guys become such wusses? Oh, right. They’ve always been like that. But when did their hooky laments turn into gooey power ballads coated in strings and up-with-us platitudes? On its third album — self-titled, so you know these Canadians are serious about their new grown-up sound — Simple Plan plays down the…
Pouring Twenties
Party-planner Dame Harris rounds up fellow spitboxers for hip-hop showdowns at his weekly Make It Rain Fridays party. The contest pits freestyle rappers at least 16 years old against each other, with as much as $300 going to the first-place winner. “We’re giving out money — we’re making it rain,” says Harris. For those who…
Dino-Mite!
TOP PICK — Turok (Touchstone) This zippy video game (for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) follows a Native American commando who takes on a bunch of super-soldiers on a faraway planet . . . which also happens to be home to some very hungry dinosaurs. The first-person shooter is loaded with an arsenal of…
Our top DVD picks scheduled for release this week:
Black Water (Sony) Catacombs (Lionsgate) Chaos (Lionsgate) Cops: 20th Anniversary Edition (Fox) The Death of Adolf Hitler (Koch Vision) The Easter Bunny Is Comin’ to Town (1977) (Warner Bros.) The Final Inquiry (Fox) Gangsters: The Ultimate Film Collection (Universal) German Expressionism Collection (Kino) In the Valley of Elah (Warner Bros.) It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie…
It’s Greek to Her
After decades of writing about women’s behavior, social psychologist Carol Gilligan borrows pages from the classic Greek love story of Dido and Aeneas in Virgil’s Aeneid for her debut novel, Kyra. The storyline, she says, examines how smart people can do stupid things when they’re in love. “My husband calls it a love story for…
A Reel Steal
BYOB rules tonight as Visible Voice Books’ film projector lights up for the store’s weekly Double Features night. It’s probably a huge reason why people won’t want to go home after screenings of Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring and Wes Craven’s Last House on the Left. “Once people get there, they want to watch another…
The Truth Hurts
Remember the 1985 movie version of the whodunit board game Clue, with its pre-DVD-era gimmick of multiple endings? Well, Vantage Point is like that, only instead of multiple endings, it gives us multiple beginnings. Oh, and Vantage Point, to the best of my knowledge, isn’t supposed to be funny. Set in Salamanca, Spain, during an…
Gene Loves Jezebel Featuring Jay Aston
When you go to a Gene Loves Jezebel concert, you should first know which Gene Loves Jezebel you’ll be seeing. On the West Coast, it’s a darker band led by Michael Aston, one of the twins who founded the Welsh group in 1980. Michael gave GLJ its goth undertones and now lives in Los Angeles.…
Car-Studded Event
From minivans to muscle cars, more than 1,000 of the wickedest sets of wheels take the spotlight this year for the 81st annual Cleveland Auto Show at the I-X Center. With record-high gas prices hitting Northeast Ohio drivers in the nozzle, the fest also makes room for hybrid and eco-friendly rides, like the new natural-gas-fueled…
Raw Spiel
Naomi Ducharme gives props to her Japanese-born mother before she teaches her Sushi Rollin’ workshop tonight in Akron. And to hear Ducharme tell it, you’ll think you’re in Mom’s Tokyo kitchen before you know it. “It’s actually very simple to make. The difficult part is making the presentation look nice,” says the 24-year-old Ducharme, a…
Straight to Video
Be Kind Rewind is a muddle — not amiably ambling, not affably shaggy, just a mess of a film that looks improvised by amateurs more concerned with being clever than affectionate. For the first time in Michel Gondry’s scattershot career as a director — which includes a heartbreaking, mind-bending masterpiece (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless…
Bedouin Soundclash
Over the past decade or so, bands have looked to other bands for inspiration. Not in the usual we-play-the-same-music-as-you way; more like we-grabbed-our-name-from-one-of-your-songs. Radiohead’s moniker comes from an old Talking Heads tune, Boys Don’t Cry lifted its name from the Cure, and the Smiths sang that Pretty Girls Make Graves long before the same-name band…
Night Howls
Natural street noises mingle with the sounds of a Stylophone synthesizer and string ensembles on John Ralston’s latest album, Sorry Vampire. Maybe that’s why he lured at least 18 guest artists into a Chicago studio to help him craft multilayered harmonies on dozens of tracks for each of the disc’s 12 songs. Then for the…
Hello, Finland!
Internet broadcaster YeboTV is filming two benefit concerts for John Carroll University Radio Station 88.7-FM WJCU and will later stream them free online. Soulless, Suede Brothers, Embalmer, and others will play the Jigsaw Saloon and Stage (5324 State Road, Parma) on Friday, February 22. YeboTV also taped a Beachland show February 16 that featured Ringworm,…
$100 Bounty on That Kid
Suburban schools have long had problems protecting their porous borders. Parents in Cleveland and Akron, hoping to escape the violence and weirdness of their own districts, have a tendency to spirit their kids across borders in hopes of providing them with better, safer educations. And who can blame them? But since suburban taxpayers have to…
Wilco
Wilco made the leap from alt-country traditionalists to Best Band in America about six years ago, right around the time Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was released. That CD — slated to come out in 2001, but famously rejected by a shortsighted record-company exec — perfectly captured the country’s post-9/11 anxiety and paranoia. The album was recorded…
Arms Race
Time-travel to medieval Central Europe for the Cleveland Museum of Art’s newest weapons exhibit, Arms and Armor From Imperial Austria, which is on display through the beginning of June. The collection dates from between 1500 and 1650, and comes from the Austrian state of Styria, which Ottoman Turks tried to conquer back in the day.…
Darkest Hour
The hardcore veterans of Darkest Hour play metal that’s popular with people who generally don’t like metal. Songs like “A Paradox With Flies” balance out death-metal growls with sweeping emo melodies. And make no bones about it: They shred, Swede-metal style, with harmonies that ring for hours. Their new album, Deliver Us, was produced by…
Everybody Hates Mike
On a snow-blown day in February, the night before the All-Star break, the Cavaliers face a final task before they scatter toward sunshine: the San Antonio Spurs. It’s an easy night for the mic-wielding herd that covers the Cavs, because they feed on manufactured storylines, especially the three R’s of sports journalism: Rematches, Reunions, and…
English Beat
The English Beat formed during England’s ska revival of the late ’70s. It featured two charismatic singers — blue-eyed soul man Dave Wakeling and toaster Ranking Roger — that separated the Beat from most of the other bands it was usually lumped in with. By the time it released its final album in 1982, the…
Jitterbug
Since 1990, Joshua Smith has focused on proving himself as the Cleveland Orchestra’s principal flutist. After all, he was only 20 years old when maestro Christoph von Dohnányi plucked him right out of Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music to lead the flute section. “I found myself surrounded by musicians of such a high caliber that…
Indie Rock Singles Night
If life were like a movie, every Saturday afternoon at the record store would be like that scene in High Fidelity where John Cusack plays the Beta Band EP, and everyone starts grooving, and eyes meet, and bonds immediately form. But it seldom goes down like that — which is why the good folks at…
Say Hi
Right around the time Eric Elbogen relocated his indie-pop band from New York to Seattle, he apparently realized that the group had a pretty stupid name. So Say Hi to Your Mom became simply Say Hi. The geographical switch and moniker-trimming might suggest a clean slate for Elbogen, who’s been Say Hi’s only constant member…
Slice & Spice
If you mix a bowl of chili with a round of golf, the spring thaw can’t be too far away. But for today’s 17th annual Chili Open, hope for at least a thin blanket of snow on the ground. Here’s how it works: About 1,000 duffers chase neon-colored golf balls on three 9-hole courses of…
No Wit’s End
It’s been more than 20 years since They Might Be Giants first started making infectious, idiosyncratic pop music, fueled by equal doses of wit and melody. Thanks to singer and guitarist John Flansburgh’s video know-how, it scored an MTV hit and a college-radio fave with “Don’t Let’s Start” back in 1986. In 1990, the band…
Angels & Airwaves
Back when Tom DeLonge was parading naked through the streets with his Blink-182 bandmates, thoughtfully stargazing like a displaced prog-rocker was probably the last thing on his mind. But here he is with his new band, Angels & Airwaves, doing just that. DeLonge’s head is indeed in the stars for most of the group’s second…
The Bucks Stomp Here
Oklahoma wrangler Bobby Griswold sits on top of both a bucking bronco and the leaderboard as the World’s Toughest Bulls and Broncs tour rolls into Cleveland tonight. Even at 40, he has no intention of coiling up his lasso anytime soon, considering he pocketed $105,000 in winnings last year. “They say you’re only as old…
Crazy Talk
Miranda Lambert doesn’t really look like a psychopath. The Texas country singer sports long, blond hair, an aw-shucks smile, and girl-next-door good looks. But “Kerosene,” her breakthrough single from three years ago, was all about catching her cheating boyfriend in the act . . . and then setting him and his gal pal on fire.…
Steve Poltz
Steve Poltz struck gold about a decade ago, when he penned “You Were Meant for Me” with fellow San Diego folkie Jewel. But don’t pigeonhole him as one of those sensitive, acoustic-guitar-strumming singer-songwriter types. Poltz once fronted a folk-punk band called the Rugburns, and his own solo material strikes a pleasing balance of introverted and…
Gospel Truth
New York’s Harlem Gospel Choir shares its collection of blues, jazz, and gospel spirituals tonight in Cleveland, in a hand-clapping, foot-stomping tribute to black history. The chorus’ Playhouse Square concert is one of the last Midwest stops before the 21-year-old ensemble goes on a musical junket next week to Ontario and Canada’s maritime provinces. By…
Dawson’s Peak
Kimya Dawson looks legitimately terrified. “I’m totally weirded out,” she says to a sold-out crowd at a New York City club. “It’s great that you’re all here, but treat me normal,” she announces to the audience, which is largely underage and entirely flush with adoration. “We’re all friends here.” Yes, Dawson suddenly has a lot…
Lines Across Lines
You won’t find Lines Across Lines’ debut EP on the shelves of your local record store. In fact, you won’t find CD or vinyl copies of it anywhere. The group is releasing Octopussy digitally, with an iPod-release gig to kick things off. It’s a terrific concept: Fans bring their MP3 players to the show and…
CSI: Elmo
In Elmo Makes Music, the cuddly Muppet and his streetmates gaze through their magnifying glasses to track down a cache of musical equipment. But along the way, they find that clarinets, coronets, and oboes aren’t the only instruments that make music. Elmo and company discover that they can make melodies with rubber duckies, trash-can lids,…
Happy Campers
Can a big-city chef find happiness in a secluded cabin? Can sedate suburbanites learn to love a little “mojo” with their meals? So far, it looks like the answers are yes — if that chef is veteran Michael Herschman and that hideaway is his casually upscale restaurant in Aurora, The Cabin. It helps, too, if…
Chris Allen
Singer-songwriter Allen sounds fine when he’s down and out. When he gets to feeling good, it’s downright contagious. Things Unbroken — the second solo record by the former frontman for Cleveland’s alt-country darlings Rosavelt — is a more optimistic outing than 2006’s Goodbye Girl and the Big Apple Circus. Producer Don Dixon — who’s polished…
Multitask Master
Folk-popster Shawn Fogel zeroed in on an unlikely inspiration as he recorded his latest EP, One Day in the Desert. But if he hadn’t read that Stevie Wonder lays down his albums’ tracks by playing all the instruments himself, Fogel probably would have released his disc earlier than its October 31 debut. “I wasn’t going…
Food Fight!
Cleveland may soon be ground zero in a food fight with national implications. The potential prize: a profitable distribution system linking local farmers and producers to area chefs and diners. On one side, find Fresh Fork Market (www.freshforkmarket.com), launched by five CWRU students. On the other, find Local Crop, food-service pro Steve Schimoler’s (Crop Bistro)…
American Music Club
When Mark Eitzel re-formed American Music Club a few years ago, it sounded pretty much like the same San Francisco group that pioneered sadcore back in the early ’90s. Since then, Eitzel restructured the band, moved to L.A., and mixed up the music a bit. But The Golden Age still sounds awfully familiar. Eitzel’s wispy…
Bastard son
David Ullman sums up tonight’s show in Akron as a melodramatic “whisper to a roar.” And the 28-year-old guitarist will debut his brother Brian’s Sad Bastards backup band for the show, at which Ullman will peddle his new disc, Dog Days. “I start real quiet and build to a passionate vocal,” says Ullman, who likens…
Football Frenzied
“Waiting for the Ax,” January 30 Gridiron delirium makes residents lose senses: Sadly, most of what this article says is true. Although some Massillon residents want to claim it’s inflammatory and tabloid-like, as a former resident I can attest to it all. The city and school district’s motto should be “Football Above All.” Most residents…
