MLK Day Museum Madness!
A single mother of four daughters, LaShaunda Brigg can stretch a dollar like a rubber band. If the kids need shoes, the Cleveland fabric-store clerk scours the nearby Payless, looking for the best sale. To furnish her three-bedroom bungalow, she spends weekends checking out the used tables and chairs at thrift shops. And Brigg admits…
Blue-Collar Bard
The glut of reality television shows — and the American Idol and America’s Next Top Model phenomena in particular — reintroduced folks to the idea that regular people can do extraordinary things. Nevertheless, long before Access Hollywood started transforming ordinary stiffs into celebrities worthy of US Weekly cover stories, Ike Reilly quietly made the jump…
Rip Smops
Rip Smops’ Songs to Get Depressed About starts with a tune about chasing cows and ends with him writing off everything as “all fucked up, so fucking shitty, and getting worse.” On one hand, it’s easy to understand why you probably haven’t heard the moody troubadour before, no matter how long you’ve been around town.…
Capricorn Rising
FRI 1/14 Over the past 16 years, the Capricorn Party has clawed its way from dingy Columbus clubs to the forefront of Cleveland nightlife. “My birthday is January 14th,” explains party mastermind Packey Malley, reggae promoter and confectioner (he co-owns Malley’s Chocolates). “When I was going to college at Ohio State University, I found out…
No Grae Area
In an industry where every other MC seems to have a mile-long rap sheet — or is in the process of earning one — Jean Grae can’t help but laugh about her own bad rep. “I find it interesting what record companies will deem a ‘problem artist,'” says the New York City-based rhymer. “I guess…
Overnight Sensation
SUN 1/16 Aaron Tsur was frustrated that he couldn’t stuff a tent, sleeping bag, and dehydrated food into a backpack and camp overnight in Ohio. “There are campgrounds [around here], but we don’t call that backpacking,” he sniffs. So in 2003, he founded the Northeast Ohio Backpacking Club and watched 385 members join. Small groups…
Workin’-Class Crunk
LT’s cell phone still has a 216 area code, but the young hip-hop producer spends most of his time 1,500 miles away. He calls from Atlanta on a recent Monday morning, where it’s hotter by noon than Cleveland will be for another three months. It’s one of hip-hop’s seats of power, a land of jewel-encrusted…
Prickly Piece
FRI 1/14 Winter may be in full swing, but a hot, dry theatrical oasis will appear at the State Theatre on Friday, when Momix Dance Theater performs Opus Cactus, a collection of surreal vignettes in which dancers suggest the flora and fauna of the American Southwest. “It’s not necessarily an exact representation of nature,” explains…
Got Vodka?
After years as the infamously seedy In-Between, the Akron bar has reinvented itself as Vodka (812 West Market Street). The cozy club hopes to tap a clientele that reflects its neighbors, the punk-friendly Annabell’s, upscale gay bar Babylon, and the surrounding executives who live in the neighborhood’s big houses. “I think Highland Square has a…
It’s Raining Gay Anthems
1/14-1/15 Here’s director Michael Rogaliner’s tip on how to pack a room for Divas: Sing “It’s Raining Men.” “I don’t know what it is,” he says of the Weather Girls’ tune. Every Thursday through Saturday, Cabaret Rock’s five-woman cast performs two 50-minute dinner sets of songs, ranging from Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” to Grand Funk’s “Some…
Eddie Money
Like Bob Seger, only less rocklike, affable palooka Eddie Money struck gold with his airy rasp and exasperated everyman persona. In the ’80s, Money became the root of all sorts of evil, shocking fans with his booze binges, coke addiction, and lite-rock girl-group duets. At 55, this cop-dropout-turned-paradise-ticket-scalper is no longer, to quote one of…
About a Man
Paul Weitz, with brother Chris, co-wrote and co-directed 2002’s adaptation of Nick Hornby’s novel About a Boy, in which a cocky grown man (Hugh Grant) learned how to actually act like a grown man by observing a gawky young boy (Nicholas Hoult) who was nearly abandoned by his suicidal mother. About a Boy was one…
Willy Porter
Leo Kottke’s name gets mentioned far too often when something is being written about Willy Porter. While it certainly is a compliment for any acoustic guitarist to be compared to the nimble-fingered Kottke, it’s also safe to say that Porter has been influenced by nearly every great picker and that his playing is brilliant and…
Not Rockne
Nobody messes with Samuel L. Jackson — at least, not at the movies. He’s Shaft reinvented, the coolest cop on the street. He’s Mace Windu, the only swashbuckler in the Star Wars galaxy who gets to swing a purple light-saber. Best of all, he’s Jules Winnfield, the ultra-hip hit man who spouts instructive Bible verses…
George Clinton & Parliament/Funkadelic
Before George Clinton became known as “Dr. Funkenstein,” he sang in a New Jersey doo-wop group. Years later, he took over the seminal late ’60s funk-rock band Funkadelic. By the early ’70s, that troupe had morphed into Parliament — until it all became an indistinguishable entity simply known as “P-Funk,” with Clinton the undisputed ringmaster.…
Cuts Like a Knife
The story is simple enough: Sometime during the dying days of the Tang Dynasty in China, though it could really be anytime and any place, two cops named Leo (Andy Lau) and Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro) sit in a station house drinking tea. They decide that one of them will go undercover in a whorehouse to…
Marz
Marketing was always a problem for Bobby “Marz” Zlatko, one of the more promising artists not to emerge from the rap-rock boom. His solo debut, 2000’s Lung Fu Mo She, sounded like hip-hop made with four guitars and a sledgehammer. Alternative Press called it a cross between Tupac and Ministry — which made perfect sense,…
Horse Senseless
An underappreciated art, vocal performance can make or break an animated film, as can live-action movies that “star” talking animals. It’s Eddie Murphy’s exuberant line readings — not what he says, but how he says it — that confer personality upon the garrulous Donkey in Shrek. And the sheep-herding Babe would be just another pig…
Searson
Like a folk-Celtic Ramones, the players of Searson use the same last name and could pass for siblings, but they’re really just bandmates. The Ontario-based kindred spirits exude an infectious energy, putting on a dervish of a show. Singer-guitarist (and aspiring bagpiper) Mike backs the four comely sisters Searson, all rather competent step dancers who,…
Booze Clues
Restaurant Associates had a problem. The company, which runs upscale bars on the rarefied club level of Browns Stadium, suspected its servers were sneaking swigs of top-shelf liquor. Catching them would take the work of intrepid investigators willing to watch football, drink beer, and bitch about Gerard Warren’s frequent trips to the concession stand. This…
Death Warmed Over
Life is so complicated, most of us would love to have a sagacious guide who could tell us what it’s all about, where we should concentrate our efforts, and how to live better. Unfortunately, most of the people with that range of wisdom are usually boxed and planted, which puts a crimp in the communication…
High-Stakes Karaoke
It seems that every bar has karaoke night, but if you know where to go, a spirited rendition of favorites by Whitney Houston, the Eagles, or Josh Groban can send you home with more than just some fond memories. The ongoing competition at the Calla Club will culminate in a chance to win a new…
Medicated to Death
Somewhere between the living room and the garage, Tom Sauer decided to kill himself. After spending part of that day in August 2004 filling out job applications, Tom and longtime friend Jim Walsh returned to the Hudson home that 23-year-old Tom shared with his mother and sister. They were watching a movie in the living…
Outside the Box
One of the most exciting theatrical venues in town, Cleveland Public Theatre is once again presenting its Big [Box] series — an eclectic selection of works as unpredictable as the artists who conceive them. Essentially, CPT simply hands over its performing space to actors, composers, and others, who stage their own works by themselves without…
The Fiery Furnaces
On one level, it’s kind of absurd that the Fiery Furnaces, a brother-and-sister duo with only two albums to their name, are already releasing a collection of singles, B-sides, and other assorted ephemera. But in the warped world of this pair, where eight-minute songs pile as many disparate styles together as the clothing section of…
Dago Red, White, and Blue
The giant mushroom clouds billowing over Harding Park were the first sign that something was wrong. Hubbard citizens who’d been coming to the fireworks show at the Founder’s Day Fair for years had never seen anything like this. One man recognized the powerful explosions. “I’ve read about them,” says Chris Fox, who served in the…
On Stage
Michael Stanley Superstar: The Unauthorized Biography of the Cuyahoga Messiah — When Satan himself presents the opportunity to be world-renowned, fledgling rocker Michael Stanley avers that he’d be satisfied with just being famous in Ohio — more specifically Northeast Ohio, the area from Brunswick to Willoughby to Sheffield Lake. That’s one of the many comedic…
John Legend
John Legend’s Get Lifted is a breath of fresh air in the sea of monotony that is R&B. With his Stevie-Wonder-meets-Jay-Z sound, Legend distinguishes himself with writing that vividly captures the nuances of love, commitment, and struggle. On the unapologetic cheating song “She Don’t Have to Know,” for example, he sings, “Go to D.C. and…
Oooops, Wrong Again
Unable to go more than a week without embarrassing themselves, those cute little guys at Channel 19 blew another story last week. When the station got wind of a major shakeup at The Plain Dealer, a Channel 19 camera crew hustled over to PD headquarters. The big scoop: Columnists Connie Schultz, Tom Feran, and Bill…
On View
George C. Rousch II: Contemporary Abstracts — Akron-based painter George C. Rousch II plays the part of the wandering loner in this show of recent work. On a sign at the door, he confesses that “mental driftwood” inspires his blurry abstracts. If that’s true, the driftwood comes from a modern-art history course, because the majority…
The Game
Like other acts in the Aftermath stable, the Game has the backing and blessing of Dr. Dre. But it means more to this newcomer from Compton, whose debut takes great pains to invoke the names and “Fuck y’all” spirit of Dre’s legendary posse, NWA. It’s a smart move on one level; the vintage, so-old-it’s-fresh-again Roland…
True Blue
True Blue Our union, right or wrong: So, Cleveland Police union boss Bob Beck can only see the color blue — that is, he takes the side of the cops no matter what [“Beck’s Last Stand,” January 5]. In this regard, toughie Beck reminds me somewhat of the late Albert Shanker, former president of the…
Southern Comfort Food
Like Skittles, comfort food comes in a rainbow of flavors. So it is, then, that after a problem-packed day, a downhearted Yankee may pine for baked beans with brown bread, while a troubled Midwesterner may crave tuna-noodle casserole and a jolly Jell-O salad instead. If you grew up in Philly, maybe cheese steak is gustatory…
The Go! Team
The Brighton, U.K. band the Go! Team offers 11 deep, custom-carved grooves of retrofitted breakbeat soul and new millennial mash-up on Thunder, Lightning, Strike. Like the Avalanches, this band knows how to layer samples into a pumpin’ pastiche while pairing them with scratchy live funk. The resulting wide-screen palette of rhythms ranges from harmonica wailing,…
Ice Fishing
As Dory in Disney on Ice’s production of Disney/Pixar’s Finding Nemo, Rebecca Hovda has mighty big fins to fill. Anyone who saw 2003’s hit movie will tell you that Dory, voiced by a plucky Ellen DeGeneres, stole every scene she was in. “I watched Ellen’s [TV talk show] to study the different sides of her…
Multiply and Survive
Chef Michael Longo has become the area’s latest independent restaurateur to diversify his holdings. The owner of Firefly and the newly opened Cowboy Food & Drink in Bainbridge will be heading up a third restaurant in Mentor this spring and has tentative plans for a fourth spot to follow, in Macedonia. Like fellow restaurateurs Brad…
Buzzcocks
If it’s true that Green Day was the Buzzcocks’ revenge on a public indifferent to melodious punk the first time around, the originators have yet to recoup anything but moral satisfaction. Maybe the cruelest chapter in their ongoing career took place in 1993. As the Berkeley trio was finishing Dookie, which became the biggest thing…
This Week’s Day-By-Day Picks
Thursday, January 13 Thirty-four years ago, when he was singing about the black private dick who’s a sex machine to all the chicks, we never would’ve pegged Isaac Hayes as a pots-and-pans kinda guy. But ever since South Park, where his booming bass voice lends the character of Jerome “Chef” McElroy the authoritative gravitas it…
Naturally Neko
In Yo La Tengo’s 1999 “Sugarcube” video, Ira Kaplan and his flanks are forced by their record label to attend Rock School, where they learn to “Remember the Foghat rule: Your fourth album must be double live.” By now, VH1’s recent obsession with ephemera has taken the charm out of self-reflexive pop poop, but Yo…
The Driven High
Driven High singer-guitarist Michelle possesses a voice so disaffected, you can practically hear her eyes roll as she sings of booze, battered hearts, and breaking out in hives. Her unflappability largely defines The Driven High, a tough, cocksure disc that is likely to go down as one of 2005’s best debuts. With Michelle swapping lines…
