The Ameritrust deal gets shakier by the day
When Jimmy Dimora’s at the negotiating table, it’s rarely good for your wallet The K&D Group’s offer to buy the old Ameritrust complex from the county is unraveling quickly. If you thought it unlikely that a private developer would pay $35 million for a set of long-vacant, asbestos-filled buildings — which happened to have sold…
Jonathan “The Impaler” Sharkey hits Cleveland. Tell your pot dealer to hide
If you’ve longed to wasted in Parma in the presence of a megalomaniac with presidential aspirations but are always busy when Kucinich is in town, tonight’s your lucky night. Jonathan “The Impaler” Sharkey, the devout “sanguinary vampyre” and bona fide strangie, performs his campaign songs at 7 tonight inside Hotties Bar at 7460 Ridge Road…
Will Radiohead play Cleveland?
Remember when we promised that Radiohead would be coming to Cleveland this summer? Well, the first leg of the band’s tour was just announced, and … Cleveland isn’t on the schedule. Hell. But don’t worry. A lot of cities aren’t included. In fact, if you don’t live in Florida, Georgia, Texas, or one of 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. Here’s what’s going cheap Tuesday, February 12, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m: Captain Fantastic (tribute billed as “The Magic of Elton John”), Thursday, February 14. $10 GA. English Beat, Sunday, February 24. $20 GA. KROCK of the ’90s: Featuring…
Tackleberry Justice: Cleveland Police want to upgrade weapons
The Cleveland police know one very important thing when battling criminals: It sucks to get out-gunned. Fighting an automatic rifle with a wimpy handgun is no fun. Sure there’s a challenge to it, but challenges are overrated, especially when it results in a bullet in your spleen or, worse, having to call those bastards from…
Hello, Cleveland: Cleveland Concerts for Tuesday, February 12
Flogging Molly/Rev Peyton’s Big Damn Band/Dusty Rhodes & the River Band: 7 p.m. House of Blues, 308 Euclid Ave., 216-523-2583. Flogging Molly plays a more trad take on the Dropkick Murphys’ brand of modern Celtic tunes – but they both fall under the banner of Guiness-Hangover Rock. Night one of a two-night stand. Watch the…
InfraGard: Help FBI, Feel Way Cool
The Progressive, a monthly mag that makes Howard Zinn’s diary look like an Enron power point presentation, is throwing a hissy fit this month over InfraGard, the Cleveland-based non profit that links businesses and private individuals with the FBI. The goal is for those private citizens, usually from the technology sector, to help fight terrorism,…
Chimaira guitarists get custom guitars
Check out this week’s Scene for a story about the new custom-model Chimaira guitars made by ESP, the guitar company whose other artists include Metallica, Bon Jovi, and Slayer. And for this online exclusive, Chimaira lead guitarist Rob Arnold told Scene more about the guitars, the band’s label situation, its next record, and his upcoming…
Times: Clinton bid hinges on Ohio
From the New York Times: Expect Hillary Clinton’s frosty mug to be making major googly eyes at you from your television in the coming weeks. Her camp says it’ll all come down to Ohio (and Texas), if Clinton hopes to stage a comeback against Barack Obama, who is at present beating the pants suit off…
Hey Garcia: Your Massillon Sex Story Sucked, Part 3!
Over the years, Scene has been accused of every terrible sin short of inventing the dress sock. We’ve ruined reputations and relationships, cost people their jobs, and—for those who have strayed too far into the back pages of our magazine—furthered the spread of genital warts. But last week, we broke new ground with our story…
Bricco makes its debut on Playhouse Square
Home to “phunky pizza and pasta,” Bricco (1438 Euclid Ave., 216-862-2889) is set to open on Playhouse Square on Monday, February 18. Akron restaurateur and wine guy David Glenny is the owner; veteran Cleveland GM David Kaminski (formerly of Delmonico’s, The Cabin Club, and Blue Point Grill) will oversee the front of the house; and…
This Just In: Cleveland Concert Announcements
Motion City Soundtrack plays the Amphitheater in May. Football season may be over, but concert season is just ramping up. Tune in every Tuesday for the newest concerts. This week, 33 new shows: The Honda Civic Tour, featuring Panic at the Disco, Motion City Soundtrack, and some other new-hair emo bands. Ireland’s Grada. Feist, the…
All the Cleveland State Vikings need is a little Iranian pick-me up …
Cleveland State Basketball: Thanks for finally coming through. After five losses in a row, all but crushing this city’s hope for a winner, you finally nabbed a win on Saturday, against Detroit Mercy, which is believed to be a team of retired auto workers. But please do not stop there. The city needs a winner.…
Obama’s speechwriter: Something to make the debate more interesting
According to leading scientists, he’s way hotter than Howard Wolfson You may have heard that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are scheduled to debate at Cleveland State in a couple weeks. This is exciting for a number of reasons. It puts Cleveland in the national spotlight, just before the Ohio primary, allowing us to influence…
A comeuppance for the superior dieter
Today marks a sad, sad day for smug lifetime dieters – at least the ones who smiled with a sense of superiority at their friends who dumped packets of real sugar into their cappuccinos. Today, these same people are sobbing into their zero-calorie coffees. Come to find out, sugar substitutes are actually more fattening than…
Free Music Monday: Mick Boogie and Terry Urban present B.o.B.
Mix-master Mick Boogie. URB.com is exclusively hosting Hi! My Name is B.o.B., a download-able mixtape of past and present underground hits by up-and-coming ATL rapper B.o.B., as reworked by Mick Boogie and Terry Urban, Cleveland’s top two names in hip-hop mixology. B.o.B. is working on his debut album for Atlantic Records. As Boogie explains on…
Cleveland cellist rocks the Grammys (we think), and Herbie Hancock wins (we swear)
We really couldn’t pick out Unsparing Sea’s cellist, Clevelander Tara Hanish Klein, who helped out on the Foo Fighters’ Grammy performance of their monster radio hit “The Pretender” last night. Then again, there were about 76 string players onstage. Maybe you have sharper eyes than us. The strings start swelling around the four-minute mark in…
On Shaker Square, Fire Food and Drink to Host Indian Feast
When chef-restaurateur Doug Katz, of Fire Food & Drink (13220 Shaker Square) wanted to craft an authentic Indian feast, he needed only look to his friend and talented home cook Radhika Rajwade. Now, Rajwade has earned a major promotion – to the position of Fire’s guest chef, where she will preside over a $65, seven-course…
Picks of the Week: Ex-Browns tell all, cheap-ass beer, and much more
Mmmmmm. Beer. They have it at McCarthy’s. We swear. 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: While its neighborhood barmates dish up strip steaks…
Rejoice! Discount Botox Night is this Saturday!
On Saturday, February 16th, the Clear Choice Laser Center — the match-making masterminds behind Cleveland’s one and only “eye-gazing party” — is hosting yet another weird event. Women are invited to come, eat chocolate, and leave with newly frozen faces. Welcome to Botox night. Apparently injecting bacteria into your eyebrows is not just for 50-year-olds…
Matchmaker, matchmaker: Who says single Jews can’t find love?
When Robyn Posner saw this picture in Scene, her heart went pitter patter. Just over a year ago, we chronicled the travails of Cleveland’s Jewish dating scene . Many natives complained that since they had known all the eligible matches since kindergarten, striking up a spark over martinis at Bar Louie was a tough sell.…
Reader: Don’t judge Massillon by our morons
A letter in response to “Waiting for the Ax,” January 30: This article is complete sensationalism at its worst and does not reflect the opinions of all or even most of the residents of Massillon. I have children in the city school system who are or have been student athletes. Yes, Massillon is a football…
Love and the anti-social indie rocker
Indie-music fan Cami Thompson and her friends at the Collinwood record shop Music Saves have noticed a disturbing trend at Cleveland concerts: There’s plenty of people with skinny jeans and geeky glasses, but they’re not much for mingling. If you’re single, your chances of meeting a kindred spirit are slim. “Everybody’s so cute, but they…
Cleveland cellist Tara Hanish Klein to play Grammys with Foo Fighters
This blog is best read while listening to “Where Serpents Held Esteem,” by Cleveland’s Unsparing Sea: One of our favorite local bands, string-enhanced mood-rockers Unsparing Sea, will be without their cello player this weekend. Tara Hanish Klein has been in Los Angeles all week, prepping for her gig with the Foo Fighters at the Grammys…
Last Night in Cleveland: Matchbox Twenty
Although we did talk our photographer into showing up, we couldn’t coax any of our snobby-ass rock critics into covering last night’s Matchbox Twenty show at the Q. Michael Gallucci was afraid Paul Duccette was going to jump off stage and beat him with his guitar after his story in this week’s Scene. DX Ferris…
Slideshow: Matchbox 20 at the Q
Matchbox 20 and Alanis Morissette rocked Quicken Loans Arena last night, and Scene photog Walter Novak braved the sea of rockin’ moms to collect these shots of performers and fans alike. Missed the show? This is as close as you’ll get to the front row. — Joe P. Tone
For Derek Anderson, the future is bright. It’s just not brown and orange
After Derek Anderson expressed disappointment in the Browns’ initial contract offer, I’m betting a deal won’t be done anytime soon. Cleveland reportedly offered Anderson a three-year deal in the neighborhood of $15 to $20 million. Anderson is reportedly seeking a five- or six-year deal in the zip code of Tony Romo’s $67.5 million or Matt…
Feagler: Animal cruelty ain’t what it used to be
Today’s topic: Mets pitcher Pedro Martinez caught on film at a cockfight … I was at the coffee shop, and the guys all agree: These athletes today don’t know what real animal cruelty is. Why back in my day, Bob Feller used to bring cages of starved rats on road trips. If things got boring…
Money Where Your Mouth Is: Bloodwolf
The Scene Music Department hereby gives the floor to Bloodwolf, Cleveland’s gnarly hesher trio, who explain why they’re worth staying out late on a Sunday to see. …
Picks of the Weekend: Soul bowling, sweet chocolate, and smooth salsa
Giving up chocolate for Lent? You picked the wrong year. 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: Boogie down I-77 to Maple Heights tonight for Soul…
It’s all happening … online: Journey launches Second Life life
It took Journey more than a quarter-century to find its proper place in history. And it had nothing to do with crappy power ballads or cheesy videos. No, the revelation came last year, when The Sopranos tapped the band’s 1981 lighter-flickin’ anthem “Don’t Stop Believin’” for its mind-fucking final scene. Frankly, we can’t stand Journey,…
Lyndhurst’s Fantasy Candies offers lots to love
If chocolates are on your Valentine’s Day gift list, a stop at Lyndhurst’s Fantasy Candies Chocolate Factory (5456 Mayfield Rd., 440-461-4511) could be in order. Confectioner and confessed chocolate addict Joel Fink whips up some of the most indulgent sweets in town — chocolate drizzled popcorn, pretzels, and potato chips among them. But while you…
Before Exodus plays Cleveland, a Q&A with thrasher Gary Holt
Exodus plays with with Goatwhore, Warbringer, and Arsis. 7 p.m. Sun., February 10. $15 ADV/$18 DOS. Peabody’s, 2083 E. 21st St., 216-776-9999. Check out this week’s Scene for DX Ferris’ story about the band. In the mid-1980s, thrash metal was famously embodied by a group of bands collectively known as “The Big Four,” all of…
Hey Garcia: Your Massillon sex scandal story sucked!
Gus Garcia-Roberts’ article “Waiting for the Ax” is a joke! He paints a picture of Massillon that isn’t true … which is the case with most of the media when it comes to issues of this nature. I am not saying that Massillon does not have some of the problems that are discussed in this…
Former Director: Le Chaperone Rouge didn’t screw its workers
Sandy Thomas wasn’t too pleased by this week’s story “Minimum Rights,” about how the Ohio legislature used the minimum wage increase to actually decrease workers’ rights in the courtroom…
Why isn’t anyone questioning U of Akron trustee Jack Morrison?
I would like to express to you how well written the articles about Paul Monea have been [“Jailhouse Rock,” March 28, 2007, and “Pitchman,” December 4, 2002]. They have been pleasant to read as it is nice to see someone who finally has the gull to illustrate Paul for the kind of person he really…
Breaking news: Husband shoots teacher in front of 5th grade class
Breaking news from Portsmouth, Ohio: The Associated Press is reporting that “a teacher’s husband charged into her fifth-grade classroom Thursday morning, then stabbed and shot her as students watched.” Read the full story here.
Meet Dennis Kucinich, Super Delegate
He must have super powers if he nabbed such a babe for a wife, right? With Super Tuesday and Average Wednesday behind us, and Clinton and Obama still running close to even, pundits and policy wonks are looking to the fair state of Ohio as the next big battleground primary. The Buckeye State has 162…
Cleveland Peter, Paul and Mary concert canceled
The May 17 Peter, Paul and Mary concert, once already delayed, has been canceled. A spokesperson blamed Mary’s continuing health problems: “Mary Travers has undergone two back surgeries. While her doctors anticipate a full recovery, the healing process is taking longer than hoped. On her doctor’s advice, regrettably, the Trio will have to cancel their…
Downtown Girls Night at Mercury Lounge
Estrogen oozes out of the trendy Mercury Lounge tonight as a line of babes snakes into the club for its weekly Downtown Girls party. “Some girls want to go out but they might only do the first part of the night because they have to work the next day. Or they have something to do…
Diplo to funk up B-Side on Coventry tonight
Uber-producer Diplo will bring the baile funk to Coventry’s B-Side Liquor Lounge Thursday night, February 7. This a show worth calling off Friday for. The jet-setting producer has assembled remixes for Madonna, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Gwen Stefani. And he’s the cat who put MIA on the map, with the infamous Piracy Funds Terrorism…
You can see Sean Penn at the I-X Center. But you have to see Dennis Kucinich too
Bill O’Reilly be damned, it’s hard to hate Sean Penn. The chain-smoking Brando of our generation keeps an Ann Coulter voodoo doll, pulled Katrina victims from the waters with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, and does lunch with Hugo Chavez. But Shirley MacLaine be damned, it’s hard to love Dennis Kucinich. Yeah, he’s cute…
Free Music Thursday: Cleveland’s Christopher O’Riley
Cleveland’s Christopher O’Riley is a classically trained pianist who has a thing for rock. He’s recorded albums of ivory-tickling instrumental adaptations of songs by Radiohead and Elliot Smith. He’s also host of “From the Top,” an NPR/PBS educational show in which he demonstrates that classical music doesn’t have to be dull. Before shows, he warms…
Restaurant of the Weekend: Momocho
Beyond these hallowed walls lies lots of tequila. Even if it hadn’t snagged a well-deserved spot on the March Bon Appetit’s Hot 10 List, Ohio City’s mod-Mex Momocho (1835 Fulton Rd.) still would be a great bet for dodging the winter blues this weekend, with its dark, cozy vibe, and high-octane eats from chef-owner Eric…
RIP Panera Tower City: Eulogy from a downtown professional woman
This week we received the heart-breaking news that the Panera in Tower City is no more. Its absence leaves a gaping hole in the overpriced tuna-on-white, slightly bruised apples, and soups-in-a-bread bowl market. Panera was an oasis in a desert of greasy food court options. Sure, maybe there was an occasional hair in the black…
O’Brien Factor: Kevin picks a fight with the ultimate foe, the Berkeley City Council
We read Kevin O’Brien so you don’t have to … Column: Berkeley should pay dearly for its insult to the Marine Corps February 6, 2008 Topic: The Berkeley, California City Council is against the war. But since it can’t legally kick a U.S. Marines recruiting office out of the city, it chose the next best…
A MySpace page devoted to the evils of Judge Linda Teodosio
Judge Linda Teodosio seems to preside over an unhappy workplace If you think MySpace is just a place for thirtysomethings to share naked pictures with teensomethings, think again. It turns out the site is also a major outlet for folks with serious beefs against their former employers. In September, a former staffer at the Summit…
A documentary on Donkey Kong and underdogs
Scene reporter Rebecca Meiser isn’t the first to be screwed in a rigged election. That’s pretty much the premise of the hilarious documentary The King of Kong: Fistful of Quarters, now available on DVD. In the film, Steve Weibe, an endearing underdog, decides to take on the 1982 Donkey Kong champion, Billy Mitchell, a full-time…
Cavs top Celts, and Z’s feet keep holding up. (Good idea: knock on wood)
Not shown here are Zydrunas’ new and improved feet, which we’re told he stole from a Hannah Montana back-up dancer. The Cavs beat the Celtics last night — for the second time this season. While my weird little colleague was sniffing around LeBron’s locker, I was at home, watching the game like an American. (That…
I concede, but I’m still hotter than Maureen Kyle
“There’s little doubt Becky Meiser is the hottest reporter in the city,” says Becky Meiser Last week, after succumbing to overwhelming groundswell among my supporters, I declared my candidacy for the Sexiest Reporter in Cleveland. It turns out that this was technically against the rules, which say you have to be “officially nominated.” But because…
On the next American Gladiators, things might get a little weird
She’s “bratty,” she’s a wreck, and she can tempt the opposite sex with the best of them. In other words, Lindsay Lohan is a shoe-in for the next Gladiator. If you’re dreaming of being on next season’s reincarnation of American Gladiators, you’re going to need more than spandex, steroids, and a healthy appetite for attention.…
This Just In: Feist to Play Cleveland’s Playhouse Square
Feist — the Grammy-nominated (and Canadian!) sophisticated-pop songstress who’s a sometimes member of Broken Social Scene, but more famously sings that “1-2-3-4” song with the elaborately choreographed video that made a splash in iPod commercials last fall — will play Playhouse Square’s Palace Theatre (1519 Euclid Ave.) Wednesday, April 23. The show kicks off at…
It’s Ladies’ Night, so feel all right
With nearly 2000 nightclub and concert events alone — not to mention other cool stuff to do all over the city — clevescene.com is the city’s biggest, baddest resource for you to figure out how to spend your after-work hours. For example: Ladies, want to drink cheap Wednesday night? Click here for a list of…
A Robert Lockwood Grammy party at Fat Fish Blue
Even in death, Robert Lockwood Junior still packs the room at Fat Fish Blue, just like he and his All-Stars did for several years on Wednesday nights before he died in late 2006. Tonight’s no different. To channel some winning energy for the venerable bluesman’s third Grammy Award nomination, Lockwood’s family is inviting friends and…
Mic Check: Matchbox Twenty at the Q on Thursday
Yes, lots of people over 40 who haven’t bought a CD since high school really like Matchbox Twenty. (In fact, three of the five CDs in such fans’ collection are Matchbox Twenty CDs. The other two are frontman Rob Thomas’ solo album and Santana’s Supernatural, which includes Thomas singing “Smooth.”) And sure, Thomas seems like…
Diversion of the Day: Bob Seger wonders how Cleveland is really doing
Bob Seger wants to know: How are you, Cleveland? The Onion has posted a funny letter “from” classic-rocker Bob Seger to our fine city. The “Old Time Rock and Roll” dude ruminates on such things as “the encroaching threat of capitalism on small privately owned businesses,” the mortgage crisis, and other things that might be…
One lucky fan to name Missy Elliot’s new album. Millions others to submit totally inappropriate suggestions
For her next album, Missy Elliot is expected to have listeners just write the damn songs. Thought Miss E . . . So Addictive and The Cookbook were lame-ass titles for Missy Elliott albums? (We sure did). Think you can do better? (Hell yeah!) Well, we’re all in luck. The R&B/hip-hop supastar is letting fans…
Fire Power: Best restaurants for mid-winter warm-ups
Braised meats, hot chocolate, and crackling fires: Even in February, winter doesn’t totally suck. We can’t guarantee the presence of pot roast and cocoa at the following locations, but here are a few spots to try when you crave the warmth of an open fire. …
Derek Anderson Pro Bowl-bound. But in Cleveland, that might not be enough
The Moose from Scappoose is Pro Bowl bound. Tom Brady had a rough weekend. His high ankle sprain, combined with a perfection-plundering upset by the Giants, is forcing him to skip the Pro Bowl. So instead of smearing sunscreen on Giselle’s shoulders on the beaches of Honolulu, he’ll be holed up somewhere in New York…
Petal Pushers
To hear the flower folk at the Cleveland Botanical Garden tell it, when it comes to buying your boo a Valentine’s Day flower, the red rose is so 2007. Instead, they suggest a “seductive” spray of orchids as the bouquet of choice. If you have no clue what that means, check out the garden’s annual…
Progressive Daters’ Fourth Annual Valentine’s Week Speed Dating
One hundred forty-three reasons why — assuming you’re single — you should cram for Valentine’s Day by checking out Progressive Daters’ Fourth Annual Valentine’s Week Speed Dating: The romance agency reports its clients have produced 83 marriages, 53 engagements, and 8 babies in its four-year history. We don’t have the exact odds, but that sounds…
How the West Was Wasted
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Warner Bros.) Beautifully shot, masterfully acted, and 19 hours too long, Assassination is an uneven mix of the artful and the arty that never had a shot at bringing in the audience that Brad Pitt’s chiseled melon should’ve delivered. Pitt is great, playing fellow Missourian…
Wordaholic
You wake up, go to work, come home, and crash for the night. The next day, you do it all over again. But let’s say you’re playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, whose mission between 2002 and 2003 was to write one script a day for an entire year, all while keeping up a grueling schedule of lectures…
Dirty Rags to Filthy Riches
If the owner of Chicago’s old Red Carpet Car Wash hadn’t given Lil’ Ed Williams some time off from work, Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials wouldn’t be making “contagious wildness” in blues clubs throughout the U.S. and Europe. At least that’s how Williams, the quartet’s founder, feels about his 1986 half-year sabbatical from buffing…
Sara Gazarek
Sara Gazarek is the It Girl of the jazz world right now because her music’s easy on the ears plus she’s easy on the eyes. But more about the music: The vocalist made her debut with Yours, which contained many Great American Songbook standards, from “You Are My Sunshine” to “Cheek to Cheek.” And in…
Capsule reviews of current area art exhibitions..
NEW Phenomena(l) — You might expect screens aglow with computer-based artwork in a science-themed show. But thankfully, this exhibition avoids that pitfall. Instead, it features work by 13 national artists in a variety of media — both low- and high-tech — that explores the overlapping territories of art and science. References to biology and genealogy…
The Wright Stuff
Ex-Browns standout Felix Wright still bleeds memories of orange-and-brown. Listen to the color commentary tonight, when he hooks up with former players Frank Minnifield, Hanford Dixon, and Al Gross for the Original Dawgs of the Cleveland Browns. For a couple of hours, the quartet will reminisce about the old times. “Nowadays, you know everything that…
Hot Chip
Hot Chip’s funky new-wave electro-pop can be super-snooty and way self-conscious. But face it — it’s nearly impossible to play this sort of smirking dance pop without at least a hint of irony. Loaded with skittering beats, Made in the Dark’s eclectic palette outstrips those of most electronic acts, alternating snappy and sleepy arrangements —…
Custom Chimaira
Guitar company ESP has created two signature-series guitars for Chimaira’s Rob Arnold and Matt DeVries. The company has a roster of 20 other custom-designed axes, including ones for Slayer’s Jeff Hanneman, Bon Jovi’s Richie Sambora, and the Rolling Stones’ Ron Wood. “Chimaira rocks,” says Allen Steelgrave, ESP’s director of marketing and artist relations. “The amount…
Shakespeare in Harlem
At first, superimposing one character upon another seems an unnecessary stunt to bring to the stage, gimmicky in a Freaky Friday sort of way. But when you combine Julius Caesar and Malcolm X, as Karamu does in its production of Julius X, you come away marveling at how the two fit together like a beautifully…
Devil’s Advocates
Black metal rattles the rafters at Peabody’s tonight, when headliner Rotting Christ takes the stage after opening acts Immolation, Belphegor, Averse Sefira, and Sathanas, all on their 26-day Lucifer Over America tour. The show also helps the Texas-based Averse Sefira peddle its latest CD, Advent Parallax, with such devil-worship ditties as “Descension,” “Detonation,” “Condemned to…
Kingdom of Sorrow
Hardcore and classic rock used to be musical opposites. But it turns out that they can harmoniously co-exist in the same song. You can credit the unifying power of the almighty riff, which Kingdom of Sorrow — featuring Jamey Jasta, frontman for metalcore standard-bearer Hatebreed, and Kirk Windstein, guitarist for stoner-rawk all-stars Down — dutifully…
Unfortunate Son
Lavender tie, pin-striped suit, freshly manicured hair — Councilman Zack Reed arrives for lunch at Ocean Wave on Kinsman Road with every detail in place. This is Sober Zack Reed, the immaculate politician who sips water with lime and speaks passionately about fixing his broken city. As he launches into his favorite topic — turning…
Shore Leave
After 10 years of helping “steer the big ship” that is Carrie Cerino’s Ristorante (8922 Ridge Road, 440-237-3434), partner Dominic Cerino is shipping out. With his retirement, brother and co-owner Carmen Cerino assumes full control. “Frankly, I’m just tired,” says the 51-year-old chef, part of the third generation to run the family-owned landmark in North…
Spiked Punch
Since the 1600s, Punch and Judy have been beating the bejesus out of each other during lovers’ spats on British stages. In tonight’s performance of The Confessions of Punch and Judy at the Cleveland Public Theatre, the couple have at it again during an all-night quarrel. “Oftentimes, the climactic scene is when Punch is sent…
Nada Surf
Nada Surf can attribute its dozen-year career to its knack for making some of the whiniest indie-pop music on the planet. There’s something comforting about frontman Matthew Caws’ safe and familiar sounds. He’s sorta like that cool older brother, who plays in a band that’s kinda popular with the kids and writes songs about his…
The Idiot Campaign
The Ohio Board of Elections will spend $240,000 to help Cuyahoga County fill in bubbles. Its goal is to gently ease voters away from touch-screen ballots — which we spent a lot of money on, but unfortunately don’t work — and back to those little cards that you used for tests in high school. The…
Pull This Bus Over
Even at 100 minutes, Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show, a documentary about Vaughn and pals’ 2005 bus tour from L.A. to Chicago, plays a little long. That’s due mostly to the “comedy show” part, which is filled with such antiquated bits as “Starbucks customers order the damnedest things,” “Dudes who show off their iPods…
Hudson On ice
There’s no better time to celebrate winter than when you can see its end on the horizon. So it’s only fitting for downtown Hudson’s arts-and-shopping district to welcome revelers to today’s First and Main Winterfest for some icy outdoor fun and a warm respite from the cold. Among the downtown businesses, Vue Restaurant & Lounge…
Maceo Parker
James Brown’s favorite saxophone spark plug reanimates a batch of Ray Charles chestnuts on the first disc of this two-CD live set before devolving with a somewhat less successful clutch of originals on the second. Parker is an engaging, gravelly singer, who turns appropriately sentimental on “Them That’s Got” and unexpectedly creative and sprawling on…
Minimum Rights
Every morning, Constance Denson would arrive an hour before her shift at Great Lakes Cheese, carefully suit up for another day at the cold plant, then punch the clock and jump on the line. By all appearances, she seemed an unusually dedicated worker. But she was simply compensating for the terror of being fired. “Everyone…
The Power of Love
If you doubt the ability of great service to smooth over rough edges and generate goodwill, step into Il Bacio, Antonino Calandra’s one-year-old ristorante in Little Italy. The space — once occupied by Salvatore’s and, more recently, Tutto Giorno — is small, snug, and humble. The street corner on which it sits is hardly trendy.…
Sugar Shack
Take a deep breath, chocoholics: The Great Lakes Science Center is satisfying Northeast Ohio’s glucose levels with its new traveling display, Chocolate: The Exhibit, which opens today and runs through the beginning of May. “The idea that chocolate was used by the ancient Aztecs and Mayans, and its accident with milk and sugar have made…
Lee “Scratch” Perry
Lee “Scratch” Perry is both a legendary and notorious figure in Jamaican music. A ska trailblazer in the ’60s who became one of the world’s most inventive dub producers a decade later, Perry is best known for working with the original Wailers lineup and yielding some of the earliest versions of Bob Marley’s classics. He…
No Slam Dunk
Something strange happened during a recent Cleveland State basketball game: People cheered. Kids thrust green balloon swords into the air. Grown men, proudly donning Vikings helmets, flung their arms around wildly. And the pep band played what sounded a lot like a fight song — a blast of horns that for once didn’t ricochet hollowly…
Pregnant Pause
The title of Romanian director Cristian Mungiu’s 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, also known as the acclaimed drama that didn’t get nominated for this year’s foreign-language Oscar, refers to the length of the pregnancy that a college student named Gabita (Laura Vasiliu) seeks to terminate in a midsize Romanian town circa 1987, when…
Dips & Salsa
In Cleveland’s Hispanic circles, the salsa has been the sleeper among Latin-dance steps for years. But thanks to the two-year-old Baila Duro social club, the lively cousin of the mambo, cha-cha, and paso doble is re-emerging as a fave among Northeast Ohio Latinos. “A lot of what we do is about the history that we…
Stacey Earle & Mark Stuart
Stacey Earle and Mark Stuart met through Stacey’s brother, alt-country icon Steve Earle, whom guitarist Stuart played with in the ’90s. While her older sibling was busy hogging tons of press with his political candor, Stacey and Stuart quietly released several albums together over the past decade. Steve may be the bad boy of the…
Uncivil Right
“No Snitchin’,” January 23 Black outrage: All elite, all liberal, all white, all the time? I believe this story reveals the real legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King and the civil-rights movement — violence and hostility. In the early ’60s, when the movement ascended to national prominence, I was living in the 131st and Miles…
Pity the Fool
When a friend recently told me that she’d been confused by the poster for the Matthew McConaughey-Kate Hudson fortune-hunting romp Fool’s Gold adorning her local multiplex — that she’d thought for sure this movie had already come and gone — I understood her bewilderment. Even as a pro film critic, I myself was stymied upon…
Tween the Beats
Naomi Hattaway didn’t have to give much of a sales pitch to throw this afternoon’s Rock-n-Tot in one of downtown Cleveland’s venerable nightspots. The odd idea of tween and toddling revelers taking over the club every second Saturday was enough to book the space. “The Velvet Dog was crazy excited about it,” says Hattaway, a…
Bloodwolf
Bloodwolf’s visceral second EP sounds sorta like Germanic metal — except that modern Germany has strict laws that prevent this level of hatred and bared-molar aggression. In Cleveland, however, such outbursts are not only welcome; they’re encouraged. Hailing from our city’s darker corners, the trio stains the semi-Teutonic steel with blotches of hardcore — which…
Knees Deep
Like that unruly kid in the back of the class who just can’t contain himself, there’s an unbridled sense of purpose about the Very Knees. The local indie-rock group’s noisy clamor resonates in a shambling wobble of unwavering pluck and natural charm. You can hear it when frontman David Petrovich sings, “I have drugs at…
You’ve Got Male
Michael Van Osch doesn’t mind doing all the grunt work in Defending the Caveman when he stars in the one-man comedy for three performances at Playhouse Square this weekend. “Being alone in a performance is really not a problem, when you love the limelight,” says Van Osch, who plays a Fred Flintstone-like couch potato and…
Waterband
After a five-year break, the original members of Cleveland’s Waterband are making music again. It’s been a turbulent decade for the group. Drummer Dave Keen died of a heart attack at the age of 30 in 2001, and frontman David McDougald (better known to fans as Dreadlock Dave) led a different version of the jam…
Holding Out for a Hero
In high school, I quit guitar lessons after just six months. I have really tiny hands and got frustrated making chords. Besides, my teenage self thought it’d be more fun to date an axe master than to be one. Later, I decided that writing about rock bands was a lot more satisfying than pining for…
Wonder-Bred
In her mother’s dance studio 12 years ago, Sarah Savelli became entranced with the messages of peace and love in Stevie Wonder’s music and lyrics. So when Playhouse Square’s arts-education department gave the 30-year-old dancer the chance to create tonight’s production of Wonderland: A Tap Tribute to Stevie Wonder, she set out to fashion a…
Humphry Clinker
Only 175 copies of this indie-rock band’s new EP were pressed, and distribution is limited to the merch table at live shows. And like last year’s debut album, What’s the Story With the Knife?, it’s a raw and edgy listen — thanks to Guided by Voices’ Todd Tobias, who engineered. Singer Becky Goede’s throaty delivery…
Exhibit: Thrash
Exodus made one of the best metal albums of 1985, Bonded by Blood. Twenty-two years later, the Bay Area thrash legends released one of the best metal albums of 2007, The Atrocity Exhibition: Exhibit A. The feat is more impressive when you consider the band’s endless turnover between the two records — a period in…
Classing Up Duke
Grammy-nominated Turtle Island Quartet pays homage to Duke Ellington tonight in The Divine Duke at Tri-C’s Metro campus, where the foursome shares the stage with vibraphonist virtuoso Stefon Harris. The string ensemble is no stranger to tributes: Last year, it released its latest CD, A Love Supreme: The Legacy of John Coltrane, in honor of…
Kelly Richey
Cincinnati-based guitarist Kelly Richey hears a lot of comparisons to Stevie Ray Vaughan. Even though she’s a woman. And he’s dead. Most of these assessments are based on Richey’s fiery live performances and her equally scorching playing style, which features a very percussive right hand — just like the one the late Texan bluesman used…
The Mainstream Event
Matchbox Twenty guitarist Paul Doucette admits there are times when even he can’t stand his own gazillion-platinum-selling band. Like everybody else on the planet at one time or another, Doucette once despised everything the Mom rockers stood for. “We used to walk with our heads hung low,” he says. “People would ask us, ‘Hey, what…
Wicked smart
Canton native Lee Wilkof stars as the man behind the curtain in tonight’s production of the Wizard of Oz knockoff Wicked at Playhouse Square. Along with Wilkof, a Law & Order and Curb Your Enthusiasm alum, the cast of the Tony Award-winning musical includes acting-vet Carmen Cusack as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West,…
Tommy Womack
Back in 2002, Nashville singer-songwriter Tommy Womack wrote an eight-minute song called “The Replacements” about everybody’s favorite Minneapolis fuckups. He also penned “Whatever Happened to Cheetah Chrome?” — about the former guitarist for Cleveland’s Dead Boys — for his 1998 debut, Positively Na Na. The guy knows his punk history. And his songs — while…
Our top DVD picks scheduled for release this week:
Across the Universe (Sony) The Apartment: Collector’s Edition (MGM) The Aristocats: Special Edition (Disney) Blonde and Blonder (First Look) Boy Meets Girl (Unearthed) Drive-In Cult Classics: 8 Movie Collection (Navarre) Feast of Love (MGM) Fierce People (Lionsgate) The Jane Austen Book Club (Sony) Midnight Express 30th Anniversary Edition (Sony) Psychotronica: Volumes 1, 2 & 3…
Beauties & Beasts
Singles prowl the jungle for exotic encounters at tonight’s Animal Attractions. The fifth annual benefit for the Cleveland Zoological Society merges two missions: To marvel at the critters in the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo’s RainForest and to size up the crowd for a Valentine’s Day date. “We want to encourage people to mingle and get to…
PacTour
Pacific Sunwear, which sells surfing and skateboarding garb, is sponsoring this monthlong road trip featuring a handful of newish bands. Ironically, none of the groups strikes us as the surfing or skateboarding type. Maybe that’s because they come from Long Island, Seattle, and, in the case of headliners the Audition, Chicago. These cold and wet…
Puppet Masters
TOP PICK — Thunderbirds 40th Anniversary DVD Megaset (A&E) The endearingly chintzy Thunderbirds TV show from the 1960s centered on a hella-rich astronaut and his five sons, as they hopped around the galaxy with a bunch of futuristic gizmos. The best part? They were puppets. This 12-DVD box includes all 32 episodes of the British…
Joshing With Tosh
Daniel Tosh is the first to admit that his stand-up comedy routines contain not a grain of truth. His daily mantra: If you want to get ahead in life, start lying. “There’s no reason to ever tell the truth,” says Tosh, who’s in town for a six-show stretch through Sunday. “I don’t give a shit.…
Dollar Store
Three-quarters of Chicago’s Dollar Store also play in the Waco Brothers, the alt-country side project founded by the Mekons’ Jon Langford. This side project is a more rocking outfit than either of those other bands. Where the Wacos dive into Hank Williams’ old songbook for twangy inspiration and the Mekons are essentially artsy punks with…
Auto Erotica
Long have we waited to be taken down to the Paradise City, where the girls are green and the grass is pretty, or whatever. Now, thanks to Burnout Paradise, we know what all the fuss is about. Burnout, the crash-happy racing series from EA, puts the pedal down once again — this time boldly veering…
The Iceman Signeth
Chuck Liddell’s trainer didn’t take long to come up with a nickname for the Ultimate Fighting Championship vet. After watching the grappler in scores of kickboxing, martial-arts, and UFC bouts, it became apparent that Liddell was nothing less than a 6-foot-2, 205-pound “iceman,” never rattled in the ring. “I think I got hurt more in…
Flogging Molly
On their 2004 album, Within a Mile of Home, Los Angeles-based Irish punks Flogging Molly grew up a bit, paring down the rage and amping the introspection. Their fourth studio album, Float (which comes out next month), splits the difference between their past and future. Mixing traditional, rollicking Irish tunes and contemporary, unrestrained punk, Float…
Capsule reviews of current area theater presentations.
The Odd Couple — This production of Neil Simon’s jokefest, under the able direction of Michael Brindisi, feels mired in quicksand, despite the surefire punch lines. Ken Forman is quite good as Oscar, adopting the loosey-goosey gait of Walter Matthau’s film portrayal and growling his lines with gruff good humor. As Felix, Todd Faulkner downplays…
