Drunk Man Professes Love to Urinal
According to NewsNet5, the gentleman in the video below was picked up by the coppers at The Tobacco Store Saturday late afternoon. He had been swearing, apparently drunk, and talking to inanimate objects like tobacco bags and vodka. According to police, it appeared the man was trying to have a conversation with a bottle of…
Reed Pleads Not Guilty to DUI Charges
Via the PD, Cleveland Councilman Zack Reed has pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol at municipal court this morning. The Ward 2 Councilman also intends to challenge the suspension of his license for refusing to submit to a Breathalyzer test when stopped by a police officer on Monday night. He wants…
County Sets Sights on Curbing Heroin-Related Deaths
CUYAHOGA COUNTY With heroin-related deaths rising steadily in Cuyahoga County and the rest of Ohio, a new initiative is now in place to raise awareness and promote treatment opportunities. County Exec Ed FitzGerald offers a far-ranging perspective on the matter: “The face of heroin use has changed dramatically: affecting all races, all socio-economic classes, both…
CSU’s Terrible Dorm Policies Rile Students
Euclid Commons, one of CSU’s three residence halls Via the PD, students at Cleveland State are in an uproar over increasingly draconian dorm policies effected this school year by college administrators as CSU transitions to a more residential campus. The changes were inspired by recommendations from American Campus Communities, a Texas company that claims to…
Cleveland Trounces Buffalo in Costner Film Sweepstakes
Thanks to a huge tax incentive for film production studios, Cleveland beat out Buffalo, New York, as the location of a new movie starring Kevin Costner as a fictitious NFL general manager. Director Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters, My Super Ex-Girlfriend) initially intended to shoot in Buffalo, but the Ohio tax break which stipulates that payments for…
Concert Review: End of America and Autumn Owls at 21 Lounge
End of America Stopped in at 21 Lounge yesterday on the way out of the Cavs game to see Autumn Owls, a terrific indie rock trio out of Ireland. The group is on a short U.S. tour that culminates with a show in Austin at the South by Southwest festival. Despite the fact that a…
Son Volt’s ‘Honky Tonk’: New Music Tuesday
Finally hitting what seems to be a pleasant stride after a rather tumultuous career, Jay Farrar and Son Volt released Honky Tonk today. It’s a gentle ride through much of what Farrar has tossed our way over the years – but it’s as enjoyable as ever. Opener “Hearts and Minds” demonstrates the laid-back flow that…
Councilman Zack Reed Racks Up Third DUI
Cleveland City Councilman and eminent “party boy” Zack Reed was arrested early this morning after running red lights and making “improper” turns downtown. Turns out the guy had had a few drinks. …Whoa! Who’da thunk? It’s not the first time he’s been tossed in the drunk tank. Reed garnered DUIs in 2005 and 2007, as…
Cavs Bobble Big Lead in Loss to Knicks
On the night of the Kyrie Irving bobblehead giveaway at the Q, the Cavaliers emerged on a wave of aggression and deadly accuracy, shooting lights out in the first half. But they squandered what was at one time a 22-point lead and lost to the New York Knicks 102-97. The Knicks’ star forward Carmelo Anthony…
Cedar Point Finishes Constructing New Roller Coaster ‘GateKeeper’
@cedarpoint Twitter account Construction work on Cedar Point’s new roller coaster, GateKeeper, is wrapping up. Via the amusement park’s media department: Riders will enjoy the sensation of flight as they climb the 170-foot lift hill along the beach, then charge toward the main gate at speeds up to 67 mph. Their seats will be suspended…
Very Big Things Brewing for Brew Kettle
“No, we are not selling out to Panini’s,” says Brew Kettle owner Chris McKim, in reference to rampant rumors. “We entered into a partnership with an investment group that will be helping me get the restaurant dialed in so that we can open up more locations.” McKim says that one shareholder of the investment group…
Ohio Lottery Co-Hosts Problem Gambling Awareness Event
Happy National Problem Gambling Awareness Week! Who brought the booze? The Ohio Lottery is teaming up with the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services to host a conference on problem gambling this week in Columbus beginning Wednesday. The AP points out that this event is coming “just days after the opening of the…
Concert Review: The SteelDrivers at the Beachland Ballroom
Last night, The SteelDrivers put a punctuation mark on the Beachland’s weekend-long 13th anniversary celebration. Clearly enthused to be in included in the festivities, the Nashville band was only a few songs into its nearly two-hour set when singer-guitarist Gary Nichols raised a toast to the club before he played “Cry No Mississippi,” a tune…
Ohio Rape Kit Contamination Weakly Attributed to Developmentally Disabled Employees
And now for the next act in the Ohio Rape Kit Follies: the Ohio Department of Health has advised hospitals to discontinue use of sexual assault evidence kits produced by longtime suppliers Pickaway Diversified Industries after investigators at a state crime lab found evidence of DNA contamination from an employee involved in assembling the kits.…
Your Weekly Vikings Recap: Episode 1 — Rites of Passage
Vikings! Vikings! Vikings! Finally, someone’s come to his senses and made a show all about Vikings! Appropriately enough, it’s called “Vikings.” Let me say this at the outset: fans of Norse mythology may be distressed to learn that there are no outlandish helmets to speak of, at least not in the series premiere. This History…
Strongsville Teachers Strike Begins Today
[UPDATE, 12:01 p.m.] “We have always been willing to negotiate and to make concessions to reach the fair and equitable contract that our members deserve; however, the board has shown a callous disregard for its teachers, its students, and its community by refusing to negotiate any longer and attempting to impose a contract that will…
The Matlock Visitation: WKYC’s Weird Shuffle (Updated)
Update: WKYC president Brooke Spectorsky explained to The Hollywood Reporter just what prompted the Matlock decision: Matlock sympathy after being snubbed by some fancy folks in Hollywood. “The Academy did snub Andy Griffith,” says Spectorsky. “We thought it would be a nice tribute.” Griffith, who starred as a veteran criminal defense attorney on Matlock from…
Calvin & Hobbes Documentary Coming to Cleveland Film Festival
One of Northeast Ohio’s most famous and notoriously reclusive residents, Bill Watterson is revered endlessly and lovingly by fans for creating Calvin & Hobbes. As the CIFF begins to post selections and trailers for this year’s festival, “Dear Mr. Watterson” stood out immediately. Sure, he won’t sit down for an interview, but filmmakers did the…
Cleveland Clinic Reminds Us We Could All Be A Little Nicer
The video below was played for Cleveland Clinic staff the other day during Toby Cosgrove’s “State of the Clinic” speech. You could call it a bit heavy handed, but there’s a really simple message that shines through the at-times cloying cinematography: everyone’s dealing with something and we can all be a bit more cognizant of…
East Coast Custard, Now Open for the Season
Spring has arrived a whole lot earlier then even Punxsutawney Phil predicted. That’s because East Coast Custard has re-opened for the season. Today both the Fairview Park and the Parma Heights locations’ custard machines are in full swing. Opening March 1st is not just by happenstance. “March is chocolate month!”, exclaims owner Ivan Platt. In…
Flour Launches Sunday Brunch
Sunday morning just got a whole lot more appetizing for many east side suburbanites. Flour’s brunch has arrived. Launching this Sunday, veteran chef/owner Paul Minnillo and chef Matt Mytro are delivering a one-two punch of culinary innovation. “This is not your typical pancakes and eggs benedict brunch,” explains Minnillo. Of course, the standby brunch items…
Cleveland Contributes to the Downfall of Humanity: The Harlem Shake Chronicles
So everyone’s all abuzz about Lebron James and Co. working the Harlem Shake for audiences around the globe. And while it’s a great opportunity to let out a good yawn, it’s also worth letting out a hyperbolic “Whhaaatt?! Hhhuuuh?!” as the Plain Dealer’s cherished Starting Blocks blog offers its own superfluous take on the matter:…
Cleveland Clinic voice specialist to help judge Hard Rock battle of the bands
It’s always good to have a doctor on hand, even if it’s just for a battle of the bands competition. That’ll be the case tonight when The Hard Rock Café launches its annual Global Battle of the Bands Competition. The Hard Rock has enlisted Dr. Claudio Milstein, a voice specialist from the Cleveland Clinic’s Voice…
Bob Dylan to play E.J. Thomas Hall in April
Singer-songwriter Bob Dylan might be 71 years old (and he’ll turn 72 in May), but that hasn’t stopped him from keeping up a relentless touring schedule. The guy has just booked a date at E.J. Thomas Hall in Akron where he’ll perform with Dawes on Friday, April 19. He doesn’t have a new album out,…
Concert Review and Slideshow: Muse and Dead Sara at Quicken Loans Arena
Muse’s “Uprising,” the single from its 2009 album The Resistance, is one of rock’s greatest anthems, and the band delivered it with plenty of energy last night during a nearly two-hour show at Quicken Loans Arena. Singer-guitarist Matthew Bellamy emphatically thrust his fist into the air as the methodical, almost-tribal drumbeat commenced. “They will not…
Irish Maven in town to promote DVD release of Breaking Dawn Part 2
In advance of the DVD release of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, which arrives in stores on Saturday, three cast members from the film came to Cleveland today to talk to TV reporters and radio personalities and promote the release. They flew in from Los Angeles last night and leave for St. Louis…
School Rating System To Be Dumped
The Ohio school rating system will immediately dispense with its wordy rubric — “Academic Emergency,” “Continuous Improvement,” “Excellent with Distinction,” etc. — and move toward a standard scorecard, one that features grades. The PD reports that by 2015, districts and schools will be graded from A to F — “just like their students” — and…
What’s Fresh At: Cleveland Pickle
There is no arguing that the regular lineup of sammies at Cleveland Pickle (http://www.clevelandpickle.com/our-menu/) has been successful, but that doesn’t mean chef-owner Josh Kabat and partner Kiaran Daley can’t find seasonal inspiration. When Old Man Winter comes a knockin’, the pickle pair turn to Thai basil. Not only does it provide a much-needed flavor boost…
Aqueous at Beachland Tavern: Concert Review
ERIC SANDY/SCENE Aqueous at Beachland Tavern Buffalo-based, groovy-as-all-hell jam band Aqueous showed up at Beachland Tavern last night to play to small but dedicated crowd. The band is currently on a thorough tour of the region, reaching east toward New York City and back west to the likes of the Beachland and Grog Shop. They…
Mom Duct Tapes Son’s Face, Charged by Police
Shit seems funny when you’re a cool mom, right? Hey, I’ll just run this roll of duct tape (hopefully Duck Brand, pride of Avon, OH) around my son’s face, text that picture over to his dad, and he will just laugh and laugh and laugh. Take Tiffany Ennis’s word for it, via a police report,…
The Blunt Truth: This Week In Pot Busts and Drug Czars
Image: Columbus Dispatch Last night police officers in Alliance busted “the largest indoor marijuana growing operation in Alliance Police Department history,” which isn’t exactly saying a lot, since their last big bust was some 20-year-old college student with a couple of scales in his dorm room (the student’s trafficking count was escalated to a felony…
Adventures in Argyle
There are a lot of great ways for Clevelanders to spend a Sunday. Some go to church, some work around the house, some grocery shop—but for me, I’ll go see Midget Wrestling any Sunday it’s offered. (Once might be enough. Read on.) The Midget Wrestling I speak of is actually called “The Micro Wrestling Federation,”…
We Get Mail
On: “High-Profile Chef Divulges Plans for Waterloo Restaurant” Why the negativity? Get a life! I for one am thrilled to see Collinwood booming. I have been driving up to the Beachland since 2001 and love seeing this area grow. Thanks to forward thinking people for making Cleveland and the Collinwood area my favorite place to…
Fine Follicles
When a house made of human hair begins to run down, how do you touch it up? The same way you would with living tresses: with hairspray, sparingly applied. These are the sorts of questions artist Gráinne Bird confronts working on her project at 78th Street Studios, “Shelter,” a toolshed-sized wooden house wrapped in over…
Screens
Hooray for Cleveland. Last year, Forbes magazine listed our fine city, the greatest location in the nation, number 12 on “America’s Most Miserable Cities” list. This year, we’re number 17, baby! Let’s celebrate with a look back at Cleveland’s cinematic history, which is getting better every year. Up Tight!(1968, Netflix Streaming, Amazon Prime VOD) Director…
Pop Culture PIcks for the Week
Atoms for Peace AMOK (XL Recordings) With the falsetto vocals and subtle electronica touches, this side project from Radiohead’s Thom Yorke sounds like a Radiohead album. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, is it? The Master (Weinstein Company) Loosely based on the creation of Scientology, Paul Thomas Anderson’s film ultimately lacks a purpose but…
Ready for a Reckoning
In the mid-’90s, fiddle player Tammy Rogers and guitarist/mandolin player Mike Henderson played around Nashville with the Dead Reckoners, a ragtag group of country session players. On 1997’s A Night of Reckoning, the band plays a little bit of everything, delivering both country ballads and twangy rockers. The group didn’t really set the town on…
Fault on All Fronts
If you don’t happen to find yourself in a crazed, steroidal, high-speed police chase, you can always access Heritage Middle School via public transit. Both the Health Line bus and the Red Line rapid terminate at the Louis Stokes station in East Cleveland. And from there, Heritage is a pleasant ten-minute walk. The middle school…
Opening: 21 & Over
A half-assed attempt to mimic The Hangover, 21 & Over is a mess of a movie that’s just not very funny. While The Hangover was set in Vegas, 21 and Over takes place on a college campus where Jeff Change (Justin Chon) is busy prepping for an early morning interview that will determine whether or…
On View This Week
Beachwood Community Center Hungarian Rhapsody. This celebration of Hungarian-American culture features work by six local contemporary artists, including Dave Szekeres, Judy Takács and Kristina Walter. An opening reception, featuring a performance by REGöS dance troupe, will be held Sunday March 3 from 2 to 5 p.m. Through March 24 at 25255 Fairmount Blvd. For more…
Muse Mates
Last summer, the Los Angeles-based hard-rock outfit Dead Sara got a big break: the band landed a slot on the Warped Tour. The tour was going well; Dead Sara singer Emily Armstrong had even struck up a friendship with the guys in The Offspring and would regularly join the band to sing the power ballad…
The Road to Resilience
Formed in Dallas in 1996, Drowning Pool scored big right out of the gate when “Bodies” became a big hit in 2001. But the band was sent reeling when singer Dave Williams was found dead in 2002 shortly after the release of their 2001 debut Sinner. Since that time, Drowning Pool has gone through numerous…
Culinary Calendar
On February 28, Fire’s Doug Katz will showcase the wines of Piedmont in a five-course meal that serves as nod to his 2006 trip to Turin for Slow Food International’s Terra Madre conference. From artisanal cheeses to grains, dairy to produce, as well as some of the best rice and polenta dishes around the globe,…
The Hail Mary
For some strange reason, when it comes to Bloody Marys, everybody is an expert. “Everybody likes to argue about who makes the best Bloody Mary, so I decided to throw it back at the customer and let them do their own thing,” explains Parnell Egan, owner of the West End Tavern. Not only did Egan birth…
The Cleveland Craft Beer Report
Welcome to the first installment of Scene’s new Cleveland Craft Beer Report. This recurring feature will provide news as it relates to Cleveland and Northeast Ohio breweries, including new beer releases. As always, this news is best read with a cold craft beer in hand. Portside Distillery can now claim the title of “Cleveland’s Newest Brewery”…
Veni, Vidi, Venison
Who in their right mind would pay $35 to watch somebody carve up a dead animal? Apparently, more people than will comfortably fit inside Bar Cento. That’s where Fresh Fork Market, a local foods provider, held its first Butcher Series event — a sell-out affair that had folks scrambling for the best vantage point. Their target? A…
The Mayor’s Patrol
It is a wintry Sunday evening and thousands of Cleveland families are turning inward and nodding off toward a week of work. A local police officer, meanwhile, is pulling onto a side street just outside Cuyahoga Community College’s Metro campus and beginning his shift. The gig is an eight-hour stint posted up outside Mayor Frank…
Sunshine and Wain
David Wain is one funny guy. Busy as all hell and supremely funny. Taking time out of his rigorous schedule of breaking out into song and dance, donning fake mustaches with his buds in Stella and seeking romance across New York City in his web series, the director of the oft-heralded Wet Hot American Summer…
Also On Stage This Week
Cleveland Public Theatre This assemblage of short pieces, conceived and directed by nine people and then further developed by nineteen cast members, addresses different aspects of our clusterfucked environment. This is part two of CPT’s Elements Cycle, which began last month with the stunning Water Ways and will continue in the future. While not as…
Opening: Jack the Giant Slayer
Jack the Giant Slayer, director Bryan Singer’s (X-Men) film that’s based on the popular children’s fairytale, functions remarkably well as a children’s movie. Warm Bodies’ Nicholas Hoult stars as the title character whose life is forever changed after obtains a sash of magic beans and meets a beautiful princess (Eleanor Tomlinson). At the film’s start,…
Savage Love
Dear Dan — I am writing about a friend. By all appearances, he is straight. However, on more than one occasion, he has gotten drunk and tried to hook up with a transvestite or a person who could have been one. In one instance, he went to a club and was approached by a really…
Band of the Week
Meet the Band: Shanna Delaney (vocals, tambourine); Eric Ling (rhythm guitar); Justin Rife (drums); Dan Corby (bass); Jesse Scaggs (lead guitar); Christopher Black (violin/viola, keys) The New Line-up: Delaney and Ling met a few years ago while they were students at Kent State and subsequently formed the band about four years ago. But in the…
BLACK AND BLUES
It seems that the Cleveland Play House is becoming the go-to theater for memorable one-person musical performances. Last year, their stage was lit afire by the presence of Mary Bridget Davies as Janis Joplin. And this year, the mic has been passed to Miche Braden, who pulls out all the stops as soulful blues singer…
CD Review: Winslow
Five years ago, this local soul/rock outfit had created a fair amount of buzz throughout the region. Then, the band started shifting line-ups and it’s taken five long years for it to follow-up its last release with the ambitious Left of the Right Direction, which does much to bring attention back to the band. The…
Film Capsules
Opening Lawrence of Arabia There’s something humongous and unabashedly grand about David Lean’s 1962 epic Lawrence of Arabia. And it starts at the top: There’s an overture—before the credits, before a single image appears on the screen—so alive with jangling percussion and bazaar-infused discord that you may forget you’re at the cinema. Which may be…
