A Vote for the Loco Leprechaun
I just read your review on the Loco Leprechaun [“Irish Risky,” January 31] and it is so dead on. The first time I went to check it out was the night of the Ohio State-Florida game. The place was packed to the bone. The guy working there was so nice to put out a folding…
Kent’s Lesson in Bar Math
One of the great pleasures of life — seen here — is not something Kent wants to mess with. Four cents for a beer? That’s the tax city leaders in Kent want to levy on each beer or cocktail served or sold in the city, an attempt to recoup the money police spend on patrolling…
Daniel Jopek Plays Police
William Isaac is not a lucky man. Five years ago he was acquitted on felony drug charges. The court agreed to expunge the records, but somehow bureaucratic ineptitude couldn’t keep them from popping up on background checks [“Broken Record,” January 7, 2004]. Then in 2005, he finished his shift driving an ice-cream truck just in…
This Just In… Concert Announcements
Norah Jones plays the State Theater May 9 Break out the vintage T-shirts: 52 new shows this week. Loud stuff from sludge pioneers Blue Cheer to the aggressively experimental Extreme Noise Terror. Red-hot emo pop from Fall Out Boy. Rachel Z gives pop and rock the jazz-piano treatment. Paradise City covers Guns ‘N Roses, with…
Feel Like a Natural Woman
Attention, ladies: If your inner Earth Mother has been itching to come out and frolic, Peninsula’s Blue Heron Bookstore and Crooked River Herb Farm Shop have partnered up to provide the perfect playground: a series of three Sunday-afternoon gabfests that will get you back to nature before you can say “methylchloroisothiazolinone.” Even the titles make…
They Should Drink a Glass of Oozing Filth
This [“Tomb With a View,” January 10] was by far an article better than any article that I have read in our pathetic Plain Dealer on anything of importance to the people of our community. I commend Mr. Klaus and Scene for having the balls and the guts to bring to the people the truth…
City View Story Horrified Me
Thank you for writing such an informative and horrifying story [“Tomb With a View,” January 10]. It is an incredibly well-written article. I can’t believe these atrocities haven’t been exposed sooner. It makes me sick for the residents who have already been affected with disease. We are very concerned for our family (we live less…
Patty O’Toole: Not Guilty
Last Thursday, Patty O’Toole, the former dean of students at Notre Dame College, sat in Judge Michael Donnelly’s court room, lackadaisically chatting with her sister about their father’s frozen water pipes and the color of her sister’s jeans. In a few hours, her fate would be decided on two charges that she failed to report…
Pete Kotz Sucks…
I found the recent article by Pete Kotz denigrating Congressman Dennis Kucinich [“$6 Million Chihuahua,” February 7] to be in poor taste. We exist in extremely perilous times and to defame someone who is serious about making positive changes in politics is a gross abuse of his position. Apparently Mr. Kotz has stock in Haliburton…
…And He’s a ‘Small-Time Asshole’
As if this country didn’t have enough problems with the major media, we now have to put up with small-time assholes like Pete Kotz. We are certainly getting the government and leadership we deserve when hacks like this can get print space [“$6 Million Chihuahua,” February 7]. Gregory Stricherz Minneapolis
Tired of Corruption & Palm Greasing
I was born and raised in Garfield Heights. My mother still lives on Hathaway Road in Valley View. I grew up next to the middle school. On a hot day the smell would be so horrible that you wanted to throw up. In the mid-’90s, we formed an environmental group in school and ventured down…
The Stench of Valley View
My husband just reminded me that there was filthy brown water in the ditch in front and back of our home on Fosdick Road from 1969 to 1973. He said he remembers The Plain Dealer carrier refusing to deliver to our home at that time because his car smelled so bad it smelled when he…
Natalie Maines Gets the Last Word
The Dixie Chicks load up on Grammies — and get the last laugh. At the risk of winding up on this police blotter, I’ll use last night’s Grammy Awards as an excuse to plug what I thought was one of last year’s best movies: Shut up and Sing. The documentary, which is available on DVD,…
Entertainment Picks of the Week
Jen Schefft This week’s top arts and entertainment picks around town, from the guy who’s paid to pick them: Monday: Jen Schefft is destined to be single for the rest of her life. She turned down two different guys during her Bachelor and Bachelorette stints, and has a new book — Better Single Than Sorry…
Sex, Animals & Food
If last week’s Animal Attractions fund-raiser at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo’s Rainforest didn’t get you in the mood for Valentine’s Day, there’s something wrong with you. At $40 a pop to benefit the Cleveland Zoological Society, a capacity 500 guests mingled among the potted palms and rushing waterfalls to learn about the birds and the…
Comedy Festival Preview Showcase
Joe Hannum The first-ever Cleveland Comedy Festival, a four-day yukfest showcasing “famously funny people from Cleveland, who’ll share the spotlight with aspiring locals and proven touring pros,” is coming to town in October. We can’t confirm yet if Cleveland-bred crack-ups Drew Carey or Martin Mull will headline the shows. But we can tell you that…
“Menacing Monkey” Lawyers
Scumbag lawyers of Cuyahoga County. Yes, I mean the Stafford Brothers [“Revenge of the Husband,” January 24]. Not only should they be disbarred, but they should be fined and prosecuted for damages to their clients and opponents. They don’t practice law; they practice in lying, cheating and bullying clients, judges and whomever else gets in…
Higher Expectations for Cleveland Kids
The new Cleveland Public Schools CEO announced the closing of schools due to the cold weather and the fact that “many CPS children do not have adequate coats.” I didn’t hear another other school official in any other locality blame inadequate clothing as a reason to close schools. Why was it necessary for him to…
Amber Blonski: Lightning Rod
My comments are in reaction to the letter submitted by Amber Blonski regarding the City View shopping plaza and the several cases of cancer that Jared’s article spoke of [“Tomb with a View,” January 10]. First of all, Amber, God does not get pissed at people. And He most certainly would not be pissed at…
Mikey G’s Top Weekend Picks
Everclear This weekend’s top arts and entertainment picks around town, from the guy who’s paid to pick them: Friday: Mardi Gras is still a couple of weeks away. But that doesn’t mean you have to wait till then to get hammered and swap peeks of your boobs for cheap plastic beads. You can do it…
More Glowing Praise…
Peter your the lowest piece of scum on the earth [“$6 Million Chihuahua,” February 7] The best thing about your writing is that it is so effective at proving to the reader that your the biggest jerk in the world. I also like how your attempt at humor is such a complete failure. Way to…
DJ Forrest Getemgump at the Lime Spider
After reading this week’s cover story on Mick Boogie — DJ to the Cavs and beat maker to the best — you may find yourself craving a night of topnotch turntablism. If you can’t afford the $4 million it takes to get to a Cavs’ homer to watch Mick spin, don’t fret. Tonight, The Lime…
Happy Hour’s Just Hours Away
Feel like it might be a good day for a shooting spree? Counting down the hours until you can loosen your tie, silently tell your boss to fuck off, and hit the bar? Then consult the above video, performed by the local smart-asses at Last Call Cleveland, and feel your cubicleitis melt away! (Use as…
Christine is too Mean
Christine Howey represents everything that is wrong with theater criticism today. In her review of Light in the Piazza, the latest example of her spiteful writing, you can almost see her brain working. Since an understudy was performing, Ms. Howey saw an easy mark: pick on the understudy with mean but pithy insults. Review done!…
Another Satisfied Kucinich Constituent
Lakewood resident: �??Denny! You�??re an idiot! You�??re a fool!�?? I’d like to thank you for your article in the latest edition of Scene about our dear old friend Denny [“$6 Million Chihuahua,” February 7]. I’m a resident of Lakewood, so obviously I’m saddled with the little twerp. I’m an independent, but every time he runs…
World’s Largest Buffet
You’ve seen Captain Hairdo on TV. But nobody busts it out like Amish ladies lighting up a 600-dish buffet. How much tabletop do you think it would take, to hold the world’s largest buffet? At least 500 feet, figures Holmes County Lodging Council rep, Evelyn Wooten. And that’s just one of the logistical challenges she…
Note to Amber Blonski
I am Jason Berger’s wife. Please forward this to Amber Blonski. She and I need to have a chat [Letters, February 7]. Amber: Before you decide to attack someone personally, you need to get your facts straight [“Tomb with a View,” January 10]. The leading cause of death is heart disease, then cancer. How do…
We’re Guessing He Doesn’t Like Slayer
We’re also guessing these Cleveland Slayer fans might disagree with Brian Anyone who thinks that Slayer is the best, or one of the best bands of all time, is a fucking idiot who doesn’t know what music is and doesn’t mind being counted with the lost [“Hesher Hall of Fame,” February 7]. Go F yourself…
Vu Commits Hara-Kiri
Elections board director Michael Vu, hired three years ago in hopes that an Asian with high SAT scores could save the agency from its own incompetence, resigned yesterday after failing the mission. Despite an impressive resume of karate-chopping, origame party tricks, and an unparalleled expertise in use of the TI-82 graphing calculator, Vu met his…
Cavs Coverage: Beacon kicking PD’s Ass
When it comes to Cavs coverage, the Beacon Journal is the place to go I realize the battle between our region’s Incredibly Shrinking Dailies — The Plain Dealer and Beacon-Journal — is becoming more and more like a celebrity death match between Nicole Richie and Calista Flockhart. But it’s worth noting (again) that Brian Windhorst,…
Inside the Election Board Convictions
On January 24, two Cuyahoga County Board of Elections employees were convicted of criminal charges for mishandling the 2004 presidential recount [“Guilt by Association,” January 31]. Jacquie Maiden and Kathy Dreamer now face possible prison sentences of as long as 18-months for simply obeying orders based on the board’s past practices and Assistant Prosecutor Reno…
More Elections Board Misadventures
Last month, the bosses at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections allowed three female employees to take the fall for the board’s decades of incompetence [“Guilt by Association,” January 31]. Ballots manager Kathy Dreamer, along with two other women, faced seven criminal charges, accused of rigging the 2004 presidential recount. It didn’t matter that they…
The Rise and Fall of the Summit Y
We see so many damn documentaries — about the plight of cocoa farmers in South America to teary Holocaust remembrances — that we just don’t get all that excited when we hear about another one coming out — unless it involves funny penguins or naked ladies. Still, we’re intrigued by The Rise and Fall of…
Ghetto Wisdom Photo Gallery
Lorain’s Ghetto Wisdom brought “truth, love, and knowledge” to the Beachland February 1. Rapper, singer, and poet E&J Ntoxicated delivered his socially conscious lyrics over hip-hop grooves made smooth with hearty doses of classic R&B and soul. And, by the way, that’s Mike Calhoun on guitar, the founding father of the Dazz Band, one of…
Happily Candid & Offensive
I have to admit over the past two years I have been a pretty avid reader of your stuff. I even agree with most of the extremely liberal pieces that you have printed. (I think it is partially due to the fact that I grew up in a very conservative suburb.) The basis of me…
Angela Hewitt
In the history of classical piano performance, only the unconventional Glenn Gould ever garnered such international acclaim that even gun-toting Americans know his name. But there’s another Canadian who tours internationally, specializing in rigorous Bach interpretations. And best of all, she’s not dead. So you can go see her for yourself and find out what…
Fat Chances
Round up the crawdads and polish the gumbo pans: Mardi Gras comes early this year. Here’s a peek at three spots to get your Cajun leading up to February 20: At downtown stalwart Fat Fish Blue (21 Prospect Avenue), it’ll be stilt walkers, fire dancers, jugglers, beads, and an all-you-can eat buffet, beginning at 11…
Born to Dance
In theater lingo, Chita Rivera is what’s known as a triple threat — one of those rare performers who can act, sing, and dance with equal skill. In Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life — Terrence McNally’s 2005 musical that celebrates Rivera’s long career — the spotlight shines brightest on one of those talents. “There aren’t…
Jamie Foxx
Jamie Foxx’s Unpredictable Tour is a celebration of Foxxness: First he does some stand-up, touching on Britney’s recent “cootenanny” moments, while also setting his hooks into Oprah, Michael Richards, and Prince. After that he does a set of romantic, sexed-up crooning for the ladies, culling material from the Grammy-nominated Unpredictable. He then gets behind the…
Bored on the Bayou
Owner, host, chef, server, bartender, busser, DJ, and resident philosopher: Like a one-man band at the town street fair, Junior Battiste really does do it all, operating his modest southern comfort stop, Battiste & Dupree Cajun Grill, on a wing, a prayer, and with the support of some really cool suspenders. That level of involvement…
Single White Female
On the third season of The Bachelor, Cleveland native Jen Schefft hooked up with Andrew Firestone and moved to San Francisco with him. A couple months later, she left alone. Then she returned to reality television as The Bachelorette, where she once again rejected a nationally approved mate. Still solo, Schefft recently wrote Better Single…
Rodney Atkins
Success has been a long time coming for fresh-faced Rodney Atkins, the Nashville singer who appeared from under the brim of a worn-in baseball cap with two #1’s last year: “If You’re Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)” and “Watching You.” More than anything else he has released over his decade-long career, those…
Message Bored
What could be scarier than yet another PG-13 creepfest serving up pasty, staggering ghouls with stringy hair? Why, the same PG-13 creepfest set against the high-tension backdrop of . . . sunflower farming! Sorry, fear fans, if you were expecting a Ferry-Morse catalog of floral fright from The Messengers, the latest Hollywood derivative of the…
Birds of a Feather
John James Audubon: American Artist and Naturalist features more than 60 hand-colored engravings by the popular outdoors artist. The traveling exhibit — now on view at the natural history museum — features works from Audubon’s The Birds of America, a 19th-century groundbreaking book series that documents more than 1,000 types of birds. Intricately painted portraits…
Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen
After years of emo, yer feeling positive about this recent foray into classic country-rock. Sporting a pair of sparkling western ranch boots and a crisp Wrangler button-up — and of course gagging on a little Jack — you thumb through some jams, looking to party hard tonight . . . in your house, by yourself.…
Fat Chance
Two Nutty Professor movies and Eddie Murphy still hasn’t gotten the split-personality shtick out of his system. Original nut Jerry Lewis would say that comedy is at least half rage, and Norbit, wherein Murphy plays a psychotic, gargantuan wife and the meek, battered husband of the title, is one mean movie. (Murphy’s third role is…
Pocket Rocket
You may know stand-up comedian Jim Gaffigan from his popular Hot Pockets bit, one of YouTube’s greatest hits. He’ll perform it at his two shows in Lakewood today. But like a great jazz song, the joke keeps evolving and expanding. The folks who manufacture the stuffed sandwiches make it easy, says Gaffigan. “They introduce a…
Unleashed
On the epic “This Is Our World Now,” singer and bassist Johnny Hedland lets us know “The age of the warrior has come.” And his razor-blade snarl gives us no reason to doubt him on this or any other song from Unleashed’s new disc, Midvinterblot. This isn’t safe music. Proudly hailing from Sweden, Unleashed jams…
Mane Attraction
It has been said that one of the best ways to judge the quality of a novel is by the number of times you’re compelled to look up from the page. A facile page-turner may keep you riveted to the words from start to finish. But when a story touches a number of intellectually stimulating…
Paws and Effect
Partygoers learn how zoo residents make the beast with two hairy backs at tonight’s Animal Attractions bash at the zoo. The Cleveland Zoological Society’s fourth-annual Valentine’s Day party features food from eight area restaurants (including Fat Fish Blue, Blue Canyon, and Sans Souci) and three open bars stocked with Stoli vodka, Jacob’s Creek wines, and…
High Tech Soul
Detroit techno artists — and the decrepit city from which they sprang — have been mythologized by journalists and clubbers for years. But much of their futuristic yet soulful dance music remains unheard and hard to find, which is why the prospect of viewing Gary Bredow’s High Tech Soul: The Creation of Techno Music is…
Jacques Itch
It would be sheer madness to anoint one lyric as the best first line of a song ever written, given the billions of tunes floating around out there. But it’s hard to beat “My death waits like an old roué/So confident I’ll go his way.” Those words from “My Death,” penned by poet, songwriter, and…
Playing It Safe
When the Artemis Quartet performs in Shaker Heights tonight, it’s not just giving listeners an earful of solid classical music. It’s also making the world a bit safer. “You wouldn’t do this if there wasn’t this reward,” says cellist Eckart Runge. “To touch people, to communicate, to reach people — so they won’t go out…
The Commissioner
LeBron James knows what he needs to beat the Orlando Magic — and right now, only one person can help him find that extra edge: Mick Boogie, official DJ to the Cavaliers. It’s minutes before tipoff. James warms up at the Q, sinking jumpshots from the three-point line. In the crowd, his manager passes a…
David Bazan
There’s a line square in the middle of “Cold Beer and Cigarettes,” the best song of David Bazan’s premiere solo EP, where he promises, “I’ll get to where I’m going . . . pretty soon.” It’s good news from Bazan; after a couple years of sitting in with half-baked Seattle indies, recording limp synthpop, and…
Capsule reviews of current area theater presentations.
Beehive — It’s the mission of Larry Gallagher’s musical revue to relive the musical changes of the ’60s by revisiting the female singers and girl groups that were prominent in those comatose-turned-tumultuous years. Featuring a cast of six energetic young women, the production is endearingly hardworking but quite uneven, right down to a highly questionable…
Trade Center
At Around the Corner’s monthly Clothing Swap, you can trade in all of your useless old stuff for somebody else’s useless old stuff. But it’s not just sweaters, skirts, and blouses that switch hands here. “All the unwanted crap you got for Christmas, bring it in,” says Pattie Oakar, who runs the event. “It’s open…
Merry Christmas
Steve Shriver was fixing the ironing board when the pain came. It was a Sunday in the warm center of July, and he was making his way through the wife’s chore list. Having spent his life surrounded by sweat and dirt, aching ligaments and rough calluses, a little soreness was nothing unusual. He’d poured concrete…
Saucy Saturdays.
If you don’t know Fresh from WENZ-FM 107.9, soon enough you’ll know him as the latest addition to Cleveland’s world-famous League DJ crew. He’s also the new host of Saucy Saturdays, where you can hear him do his thing live, spinning blazin’ hip-hop and R&B for one of the city’s signature high-energy dance nights. Join…
Capsule reviews of current area art exhibitions.
NEW Visions of a City With Soul — Eighty years of life in Cleveland come alive in this ample survey of four photographers: Arthur Gray, William Barnhill, Jasper Wood, and Andrew Borowiec. What’s striking is how different these artists are. Beyond using black-and-white film, they have almost nothing in common. Gray, in the 1920s, fondly…
Driving Miss Drunk
Apex Night Club helps crack down on drunk driving with its Free Limo Rides every Tuesday and Thursday. Manager Johnny Cartwright even jumps behind the wheel of the eight-seat Lincoln Continental for the task. Since the service started last month, a steady stream of customers has taken him up on lifts to and from the…
Jimmy’s Machine
In last week’s cover story on Commissioner Jimmy Dimora (“King Cuyahoga,” January 31), Scene chronicled the rampant patronage in county government, where workers have long been used as free campaign labor for the Democratic Party. But according to one former intern, our thesis was wrong. The labor isn’t free. You pay for it. “I got…
Monster Mash
Worlds — and songs — collide when Mushroomhead frontman Jeffrey Nothing (right) and Sasha go head-to-head with DJ sets. The two vets will play everything from Lil Jon to Frank Sinatra, with a steady stream of mash-ups all night long. Expect to hear collisions like Dem Franchize Boyz vs. Korn, Young Joc vs. Mushroomhead, and…
Hand It to Him
The Science of Sleep (Warner Bros.) Feature films are to video directors what sitcoms are to stand-up comedians, and for every David Fincher and Seinfeld, there are dozens of artists who should have stayed in the field they know best. Michel Gondry, who made his name directing fantastic videos for the White Stripes, Foo Fighters,…
It’s Greek to Us
The Great Lakes Brewing Company goes Greek with tonight’s Brewmaster’s Dinner. The menu includes calamari spring rolls, mint-pistachio pesto lamb, and tomato, cucumber, and feta salad. They’re paired with such homemade brews as Holy Moses White Ale, Burning River Pale Ale, and Blackout Stout. Each course includes a beer that complements the dish. “The whole…
$6 Million Chihuahua
Having solved all the problems of the nation’s poorest city, Dennis Kucinich announced that he’s again running for president, promising to bring to America the bounty he’s brought to Cleveland. The congressman was apparently spurred by his strong showing in 2004, when he won support from the bassist for Jefferson Starship and a senile woman…
Saliva
Saliva’s rote fusion of rap-metal, grunge, and alt-rock should’ve died before the turn of the century, but it never has. Amazingly enough, the more generic and obsolete the Memphis band sounds, the more records it sells: “Ladies and Gentleman,” the first single off Blood Stained Love Story, recently hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Mainstream…
Mustache Ride
Explaining the appeal of the WarioWare series is like trying to describe a fever dream: It doesn’t make sense unless experienced. Nevertheless, here goes: Mario’s bizarro-universe twin, the greedy Wario, has invented over 200 absurd micro-games in a scheme to get rich and corner the videogame market. Quantity is job 1 for Wario. Lasting all…
The Write Stuff
Connie Briscoe signs Can’t Get Enough, her fifth novel, during her Cleveland Public Library appearance today. But she says she’ll spend just as much time advising budding writers how to get published. “I understand that burning desire to write,” she says. But there’s no “magic formula,” says the Maryland author. “There are few rules when…
Help Wanted: Lion Tamer
Waging war with the Staffords: My daughter is in a contested divorce with her husband, who has hired the Staffords to wage a very, very dirty war against my daughter, me, and my 70-year-old wife [“Revenge of the Husband,” January 24]. My daughter left her husband and took her son to live at our house…
Deerhoof
Much like the Flaming Lips, Deerhoof has grown from chaotic experimentalism to being a noisy pop band — a move that doesn’t imply sellout so much as the culmination of 10 years spent honing their chops. Compared to the expansive Runners Four disc, from 2005, Friend Opportunity sees Deerhoof consolidating its gains, producing a tighter…
Our top DVD picks for the week of February 6:
Alfred Hitchcock: The Early Years of the Master of Suspense (Lions Gate) All Quiet on the Western Front (Universal) Anything but Love: Volume One (Fox) Arabian Nights (Universal) Best Picture: Academy Award Winners Collection (Paramount) Boynton Beach Club (Sony) Charmed: The Complete Seventh Season (Paramount) Cinderella III: A Twist in Time (Disney) Coastlines (IFC) Def…
Attack of the Irritating Weeds!
At tonight’s Alien Invasion Underway program, Rick Gardner talks about backyard weeds like they’re multiplying monsters from a sci-fi flick. During his Geauga Park District presentation, Gardner reveals Ohio’s 10 most annoying plants, including the bush honeysuckle, Japanese knotweed, and the potentially flammable reed grass — a common nuisance around these parts. “If you’re driving…
Popped Out
It takes time to craft the quintessential pop record. Spend over a year in the studio, record in five different cities, use everything from mandolins to Mellotrons, and then mix songs employing 96 separate tracks. It sounds like something straight out of the Brian Wilson chronicles, but it’s actually the tale behind New Magnetic Wonder,…
Lily Allen
Lily Allen is the latest MySpace pop princess from the U.K., and she’s got a mouth on her. In fact, Allen is like that voice in your head always coming up with those witty one-liners just moments after the argument with your boyfriend has ended — comebacks you only dream of uttering at the right…
Here are the week’s best releases from the pop-culture universe:
BOOK — Song: The World’s Best Songwriters on Creating Music That Moves Us: This incisive read features more than 100 interviews compiled by American Songwriter magazine. Folks like Johnny Cash, Sheryl Crow, and Brian Wilson share their work processes, opening up about inspiration, writer’s block, and — in the case of the Flaming Lips’ Wayne…
A Foot Soldier’s Story
Cleveland Contemporary Dance Theater’s Daughter of a Buffalo Soldier pays tribute to Karamu House’s former dance troupe, the Karamu Dancers. The production originated a few years ago, when CCDT artistic director Michael Medcalf contemplated restaging one of the group’s old shows. Instead, he commissioned choreographer Dianne McIntyre to create a completely new multimedia dance piece…
Hesher Hall of Fame
Headbangers will argue all day whether Slayer is the all-time greatest heavy metal band. And now, a quarter-century into the band’s career, a smaller number of music fans — not all of them metalheads — are claiming that the kings of thrash are one of the best rock bands ever, period. All that’s debatable, but…
Busdriver
Remember when Slug and his indie-rap vehicle Atmosphere signed to Epitaph a few years ago, and everyone was like “What are you doing on a punk label?” Since then, Epitaph and its imprint Anti- have built an impressive stable of left-of-center hip-hop artists. Busdriver, the Los Angeles MC with perhaps the most tongue-tripping flow in…
Move This
This weekend’s Big [Box] offering at Cleveland Public Theatre, Fault Lines, centers on the theme of natural movement. It’s fitting, since the show was conceived and is performed by Double-Edge Dance. “We mostly deal with geological aspects,” says choreographer and dancer Kora Radella. “The imagery is fairly clear within the piece.” That’s because the local…
Boys in the Attic
In The Price, two long-estranged brothers reunite to rummage through their family’s old belongings. Ensemble Theatre’s production of Arthur Miller’s drama (which opens tonight) stars veteran actor Reuben Silver; his frequent acting partner and wife, Dorothy, directs. The play is set in the attic of a building that’s being prepped for demolition. As the brothers…
A Divine Gift
“I hope you weren’t jacking off to it,” says director John Waters, after I divulge how I came to watch his 1974 classic Female Trouble. A high school friend and I — both of us straight and horny, and digging through his brother’s stash of video tapes — thought for sure it was going to…
Danny Cohen
Danny Cohen spent decades as a cult favorite, releasing only privately circulated tapes. But the singer-songwriter has been making up for lost time. Shades is his third Anti- release since 2004, picking up where 2005’s We’re All Gunna Die left off — with an emphasis on despondent ballads and doom-and-gloom dirges. The average tempo here…
Highway to Hell
Oberlin College sets the stage tonight for the American premiere of Olga Neuwirth’s adaptation of Lost Highway. The Austrian composer’s musical is a straight retelling of David Lynch’s 1997 mindfuck about a jazz musician who suspects his wife is cheating on him. After she’s killed, he transforms into a young mechanic and begins a new…
Slam Dunk
Local artist Jim Morana jokingly refers to himself as “the real King James.” It’s a nickname he’s used for more than 15 years — long before LeBron notched his first triple-double. Taking playful swipes at the Cavs’ star with paintings and short stories, the Pop Shop unveils Morana’s first comprehensive exhibit, King James, tonight. Most…
Punks on Acid
“There’s a guy downtown near Euclid and East 22nd that I buy Polish Boys from sometimes,” says Steve Peffer, supplying the how and why behind starting up the Homostupids. “I like that guy, and I was thinking of him when we were writing our first song at our first practice. So I guess you can…
Nick Riff
Just like an acid flashback, psychedelic rocker Nick Riff drops in unexpectedly for a while and then disappears. Riff’s sporadic output includes two albums, a few seven-inches, and appearances on numerous compilations. But Cleveland hasn’t heard from him since 2002. Magick Museum collects out-of-print tunes and heralds the arrival of a new album later this…
Down on the Farm
Lake Metroparks Farmpark’s Discovery Days teaches kids what it’s like to be a farmer. They’ll learn how to milk a cow, make cheese, and feed more than 50 different kinds of animals. It’s also good incentive for them to stay in school. Tuesdays-Sundays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Starts: Feb. 8. Continues through Feb. 19
It’s Carnival Time!
Art House gears up for boob-bearing debauchery with tonight’s Mardi Gras Tune-Up at the Lava Lounge. The third-annual bash features food, drinks, and plenty of spicy New Orleans-style music. Revelers are encouraged to come dressed in party attire — like masks, feathers, and beads — and put on their dancing shoes. Mardi Gras takes place…
Final Fry Days
After two years of deep-fried fun, the aptly named Town Fryer (3859 Superior Avenue) will close on Wednesday, February 21, following a Fat Tuesday party. Specializing in roots music and comfort food, the cozy watering hole was a unique island of southern hospitality on the edge of downtown Cleveland. “It’s bittersweet,” says owner Susie Porter…
A Ballad Alchemy
A Ballad Alchemy does everything it can to lay down lush, mellow alt-rock; add a piano to “Leaves of Three,” and it’d be a shoo-in for the next Grey’s Anatomy soundtrack. But it never quite works. In its most tepid moments of unplugged easy-listening soul-searching, the Akron quartet is never more than five minutes away…
God Complex
Aguirre, the Wrath of God is one of the best movies ever made about obsession. Director Werner Herzog, who helmed the 1972 classic, knows the topic well. Not only is the German filmmaker a notorious control freak, most of his movies deal with the subject. Aguirre tells the story of a 16th-century warrior who futilely…
Class Action
Cleveland State University shows off its collegiate colors at today’s Fusion program for black and Latino high school students. The purpose is to introduce juniors and graduating seniors to CSU’s campus life before they pony up tuition for the fall semester. “This can seal or break the deal,” says Tanese Horton, the university’s admissions coordinator.…
