Suit Against American Apparel’s Chief Perv Goes to Trial
American Apparel CEO Dov Charney is accused of being a total skeez. If you’re cruising by the Cleveland Heights outpost of American Apparel (782 Coventry Road, 216-320-1761) today, don’t bother asking employees about the sexual harassment lawsuit that goes to court this week against their CEO, Dov Charney. Apparently their opinions on the issue could…
Hollywood celebs: Please don’t encourage Kucinich
Dear Sean: The people politely ask that you stop giving money to the guy who’s screwing us The Associated Press delivers troubling news today: Hollywood celebs are giving money to Dennis Kucinich. Bonnie Raitt, Hector Elizondo, Michael Douglas, and even, God help us, Sean Penn, have together thrown the West Side congressman more than $6,000.…
Got (genetically engineered) milk? The Beacon Journal believes you should
Sorry, cow, but we’re gonna need a drug test. On Saturday, The Akron Beacon Journal ran a story about how consumer demand for artificial hormone-free milk is changing the look of dairy departments. No longer will health conscious folks have to run to Whole Foods for the overpriced organic stuff. Within the next few weeks,…
The Notre Dame College predator pleads guilty
Carl Wolfe pleads guilty to being the creepiest guy at Notre Dame College In August, Carl Wolfe, a cocky former Notre Dame College basketball player accused of sexually assaulting at least six girls on the South Euclid college, left Judge Hollie Gallagher’s courtroom smiling. A jury cleared him of seven felony counts including, burglary, gross…
Amy Winehouse Caught Smoking Crack. What Took So Long?
So far, Amy Winehouse has our vote for Crack Head of the Year. The new year is already three weeks old, and Pete Doherty still hasn’t made headlines for shooting up, hurling tainted blood at photographers, or letting his cat take a toke of his crack pipe. Needless to say, this is no way to…
The Flying Fig for Free? On Tuesdays, the Answer Could Be Yes
Cleveland Independents wants you to eat at Karen Small’s Ohio City gem, Flying Fig. So they’re offering to pay you. Maybe in New York or Chicago, restaurants will rock tonight. But in Cleveland … on a Tuesday … in January … well, let’s just say that diners can use a little encouragement to head out…
Diversion of the Day: Clinton, Obama … Aw, Screw it. Crank Dat Slater!
C-Notes woke up feeling extra American this morning, after spending the evening watching dudes get flung from the top of the new American Gladiators pyramid, so we wanted to start your day with some footage from last night’s heated Clinton-Obama debate. But then we found out that the stock market had suffered a Spearsean melt-down,…
Brigade Tees on Sale for $30! (No, really, that’s a relative bargain.)
When Scene gave Clothing Brigade “Best $50 T-shirts” in the 2007 Best of Cleveland issue, the Warehouse District/Coventry hipster clothing boutique received it like a cake made from puggle crap. Turns out, they got other stuff too — t-shirts that cost slightly less than $50, jeans, shoes, jackets, all the usual suspects of clothing stores.…
This Just In: Cleveland Concert Annoucements
This week, 37 — 37?! — new concerts: They’re real, and they’re spectacular. Tickets for the individual concerts by Brooks & Dunn, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Brad Paisley, and Toby Keith aren’t available yet, but you can get tix for all six in one fell swoop; see the Country Megaticket listing. Two of the great…
For those about to rock… you best sell some tickets first
So last night the Nick Wolff Band was to play a going away show at Peabody’s in Cleveland for a friend of the band, promotor Bill Bailey. Nick (our singer) even went on 92.3’s local show a few days ago with Bill to promote this event. The title of the show was Bill Bailey’s going…
Won’t someone protect county defenders from the psychos?
For Cuyahoga County public defenders, the words “client” and “crazy” are often synonymous. That notion was reaffirmed recently when attorney George George — yes, that’s his real name, not an ‘80s rock band — was meeting with a mentally ill client accused of rape. The man began slicing his wrists with a jagged object. Unfortunately,…
Picks of the Week: Saltimbanco, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and the Guerilla Carnival Tour
Every week, 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. Tuesday: Montreal’s Cirque du Soleil parachutes into Cleveland State’s Wolstein Center (2000 Prospect Avenue; 216-241-5555) with Saltimbanco at…
Against Cleveland State, One Diebler Brother is Just Like the Other
During surging Cleveland State’s 69-63 thump-down of Valparaiso on Saturday, fans at the Wolstein Center, suddenly feeling cocky, let the smack-eth fly against Valpo guard Jake Diebler. The former Upper Sandusky high school star responded by clanking shot after shot, giving his Valpo teammates a night to forget. The Viking student section chanted “Diebler sucks”…
Rude Rules: Are polite diners ruining our restaurants?
Giuseppe O’Connell is one interesting dude. The Honolulu native with perhaps Cleveland’s most multicultural name has called Ohio home for 17 years. In that time, he’s worked as a server and manager in some of the city’s top restaurants, and gathered up several books’ worth of pithy observations and advice in the process. Among the…
Michael Farley American Idol Blog Returns
Former Clevelander and current singer/media pimp Michael J. Farley watches American Idol so you don’t have to. Or, even if you do watch it, you can catch his ruthless commentary at PremiumHollywood.com, which has a wealth of other TV-based blogs, from the Wire to 24. “After you’ve admitted that you watch the show, bookmark my…
You guys ever heard of spell check?
A scene from Mentor, where the owner might wish to ask for a rebate from the sign company he hired.
Mic Check: Wyclef Jean at HOB Tuesday
Wyclef Jean, master collaborator, plays Cleveland’s House of Blues on Tuesday. Wyclef Jean started out as one-third of the Fugees. But after Lauryn Hill revealed herself to be batshit crazy, Wyclef started focusing on his stellar solo career, which he launched back in 1997 with The Carnival. Since then, he’s collaborated with just about everybody…
American Gladiator Siren Meets Fans in Cleveland Tonight
American Gladiator — and Clevelander! — Valerie “Siren” Waugaman will appear at Medina’s Buffalo Wild Wings (5050 Eastpointe Dr., at Routes 17 and I-71, 330-764-9464) tonight at 7:30. If you haven’t been tuning in, well, shame on you. But we’ll help you out: Siren is the new show’s new, brunette body builder — not to…
Free Music Monday: Mick Boogie, Benzi, and Fatman Scoop’s Pre-Fab Party mix
Motivation: More free music from Mick Boogie. Cleveland DJ Mick Boogie has teamed up with certified mixologist Benzi and URB magazine to present Motivation, a 48-track party mix of funkified reworkings of hits by Snoop, Young Joc, Twista, and Kanye West, in addition to staples from K7, Michael Jackson, and Suzanne Vega. Check out Boogie’s…
Homeless guys leave strip joint homeless
So you’re saying this lady poses a danger to homeless guys? About 60 homeless men have moved into the North Point Inn on Superior Avenue. The city’s new male-only shelter will serve as a transition house for guys who are on their way to working full-time. The renovated shelter will house two men per room,…
Ask Susan Goldberg: Are the changes at The Plain Dealer working?
It’s probably too early to tell if editor Susan Goldberg’s changes are working. For many readers, their daily newspaper is like that old buddy from high school: Year after year, he keeps showing up on your doorstep. And year after year, you keep letting him in. Unfortunately, he’s also like an old buddy that tends…
Diversion of the Day: LeBron James Crams on DJ
The Cavs are in Miami tonight, which means Damon Jones will be once again reminiscing about his days with the Heat, where he was a starter and had his best year ever, scoring 11.6 point per game and soaking up the South Beach glam. In honor of his return, today’s somethin’ to break the monotony…
Case Western prof attacks the hyping of Alzheimer’s
This month, a Case Western neurology professor quietly entered the war against the hand that long fed him: Big Pharma. In The Myth of Alzheimer’s: What You Aren’t Being Told About Today’s Most Dreaded Disease, Dr. Peter Whitehouse and his co-author, Daniel George, argue that the “illness” that struck Ronald Reagan and Sugar Ray Robinson…
Homeland Security thwarts Polensek’s plot for North Collinwood
Councilman Mike Polensek’s hoping Social Security can boost 185th Street The leases for Cleveland’s two Social Security Administration offices are set to expire. With clients constantly complaining about insufficient parking and inaccessibility at the Euclid and Lake Shore locations, administrators are hoping to consolidate their operations into one building. Enter energetic Councilman Mike Polensek and…
Readers Debate R.A. Vernon, the Word Church, and the Sanctity of a Kick-Ass B-day Party!
It’s not often that C-Notes, MTV reality programming, and good ole’ Jesus Christ are thrown into the same pot. But that’s what’s stirring in the comments section of Lisa Rab’s May blog entry, “A moment with the good Rev. R.A. Vernon,” about the pastor of a growing church in Warrensville. Read Lisa’s original story on…
Video of Joe Cimperman’s stunt at Kucinich’s office
As Joe Cimperman challenges Dennis Kucinich for his West Side congressional seat, the city councilman is quickly discovering that digging up dirt on Denny is as easy as finding Law & Order reruns on television. In the past two years, Kucinich has missed 130 days of work, and is rarely seen in Cleveland. So Cimperman…
Triozzi: Why Cleveland didn’t sue KeyBank and National City
Triozzi: Key and National City weren’t villainous enough to make Cleveland’s suit When Mayor Frank Jackson announced that the city was suing 21 banks for predatory lending, the move seemed to spawn more questions than answers. Readers naturally wondered why Cleveland’s National City and KeyBank were absent from the list of defendants? Until 2006, both…
Finger Eleven’s Way Free Concert: Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You
We have about as much use for Finger Eleven as we do for O’Doul’s. But people seem to like these brooding rockers (who, like the equally-appalling Nickelback, come from Canada). We can’t turn on the radio without hearing their hit single, “Paralyzer,” which we always mistake for Led Zeppelin’s “Trampled Under Foot” for about a…
Akron Farmers’ Market, Winter-Style, This Saturday
The strawberries are long gone, the tomatoes are but a sweet memory, and those beets you put out in November are starting to look a little scary. Yeah, it’s tough to be an Ohio “loca-vore” in winter, but here’s an idea for replenishing the pantry – or at least having a little fun. Check out…
Money Where Your Mouth Is: Bitchfits
Scene’s Music Department is so enamored with L.A.-based all-female Misfits tribute the Bitchfits that if we start talking about them, we’ll only look like giddy schoolboys. Instead, the band explains for itself why you should see them this weekend – you have two chances …
The NHL Goal of the Year, Cleveland Gladiator Cheerleaders, and Brian Windhorst: a Friday Sports Round-Up
Read on for cheerleading news and hockey’s goal of the year. It’s Friday. Almost time to get drunk and play ping pong. Meanwhile, to get you through your doldrums, a little Ohio sports roundup for your reading (and viewing and ogling) pleasure: 1. The Big Lead recently did a cool interview of Aktown’s own Brian…
Radiohead’s London Show Ready for Download. And Don’t Worry, They’re Coming to Cleveland
One of our all-time favorite bands, Radiohead, played a free show at a London record store Wednesday night. We presume you didn’t make it. But through the magic of the Internet, you can hear the concert from the comfort from your own home, or office, or wherever you listen to probably illegal but totally free…
Reader: Retired NFL Players Were Men. Today’s Guys, Not So Much
An old time Browns fan left a voicemail yesterday weighing in on this week’s feature story, “Forgotten Forefathers,” about ailing and broke retired NFL players. This guy could teach Dick Feagler a thing or two about how to properly remember the good old days: I would like to thank you so much for the excellent,…
O’Brien Factor: Jackson’s lawsuit against banks is a barker
We read Kevin O’Brien so you don’t have to … Column: Cleveland will have a hard time making its case against the big banks January 16, 2008 Topic: Mayor Frank Jackson’s suit against Wall Street banks for being the money behind predatory lending. Kevin’s Sanity Level Today: 97 percent What Your Head Would Feel Like…
C-Notes’ Picks of the Weekend: the Bitchfits, Hot Sauce Gravy, and Some Mega Mimosas
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 Mondays for C-Notes’ Picks of the Week. Friday: With bandmate names like Cherry Blow-Me and Goil Von Frankenhooker, L.A.’s all-girl Bitchfits dish out melodic hardcore in a…
Diversion of the Day: The Indiest Indie-Movie Song of All Time
Today’s pixilated excursion into crazy town is brought to you by the comedy Web site runawaybox.com and Cleveland weirdo Mike Polk, who skewers the strummy, sappy soundtrack of indie moviedom in this music parody. It seems somebody saw Juno recently. You’ll recognize Polk late in the video. He’s the one with the bandana on his…
Meat from cloned pigs, coming to a store near you
Soon, if the FDA has its way, you might not know whether the frozen pork chops you found in the meat section of Dave’s Supermarket came from Porky – or Porky’s genetically altered clone, Petunia. Multiple studies by the agency have shown that milk and meat from cloned livestock are no different in chemical make-up…
Concert Cheat Sheet: White Williams
Who: White Williams When: Friday, January 18 Where: The Grog Shop Why: Williams, who was born Joe Williams in Rocky River 24 years ago, has been embraced by indie-rock hispters for his electro-pop debut, Smoke – which cribs a little bit of glam from T. Rex, art-rock from Brian Eno, and new-wave shuffle from just…
Should the Browns change their uniforms?
Kellen Winslow wants a more fashionable Browns uniform. What do you think? In a recent Penthouse interview, Browns tight end Kellen Winslow said the team was on the verge of changing their classic uniforms. “We’re in the process of changing all that,” he told the nudie mag. “Next year, you’re gonna see some new uniforms…
Money’s getting tight at The Plain Dealer
Bad news at The PD. An anonymous reporter sent us this memo from editor Susan Goldberg, discussing ways to cut down the paper’s cell phone bill. When you’re examining something as small as cell phones at a business of this size, it’s an indication that money’s getting very tight at Cleveland’s largest news gathering operation.…
Public Square: A word from a pissed-off smoker
I’ve been a smoker for 12 years and with the birth of my son last week I’ve decided I need to quit. I discovered in the hospital that the nicotine patch really helped with my cravings and that if I used that to quit I would most likely be successful. My insurance does not cover…
Oprah’s fitness guru comes to Brunswick
Bob Greene, best known as “the guy who helped Oprah Winfrey lose all that weight.” At 11 this morning, a huge green tour bus stocked heavily with fruit, water, Slim Fast bars, and nuts pulled up in front of the Giant Eagle in Brunswick. Out stepped Bob Greene, the exuberant exercise physiologist known to millions…
LeBron’s New Shoe Tips Hat to Yankees. But So What?
Remember all the flak LeBron took for wearing a Yankees hat at Jacobs Field? Hordes of pundits, columnists, and fans gave themselves aneurysms over the sartorial slight, calling James a traitor and worrying that his choice of headwear meant he would flee to New York as soon as his contract allowed it. Well prepare yourself…
Decibel Magazine Spotlights Akron’s Shifty Records
This month’s issue of heavy metal journal Decibel gives big ups to Akron’s Shifty Records, home to hellions from all over the world, including USA’s Noosebomb and the U.K.’s Raw Radar War. Writer Scott Seward reviews eight of the underground label’s releases. Cleveland’s Midnight gets high marks for their “Complete and Total Fucking Midnight” long-playing…
Money Where Your Mouth Is: Masters of Luxury
Masters of Luxury are so grimy and nasty, the Scene Music Department didn’t want to be seen in public with them; instead, they’re letting a guy from the band explain why you need to them this weekend. …
Diversion of the Day: Opening Day With the 1963 Browns
Today’s break from the trials and tribulations of being you comes courtesy of a YouTube user named Old17Productions, who’s cataloged an impressive library of old Browns footage. This video highlights Opening Day 1963, when 57,000 fans showed up to see Jim Brown run over some Redskins. He may be a wife-beater and totally unimaginative entrepreneur,…
Closed After Shooting, Spy Bar Fights For Its Liquor License
Martin Elson testified that Spy Bar was a nuisance. But the bar’s owners say Elson’s the nuisance getting a close up of the above booty. As the Plain Dealer reported yesterday, the final hearing for beleaguered hip-hop club Spy Bar’s liquor license was held Tuesday morning. The club already closed due to controversy surrounding a…
New York Times Descends on Ohio, Discovers Job Loss and Poverty
It’s always fun when national media outlets descend on Ohio and wring their hands over things that have been a normal part of our daily lives for years. In November, it was cnnmoney.com, aghast at Cleveland’s foreclosure crisis. And yesterday, it was the New York Times, chiming in about manufacturing losses and the general sucking…
Dead Boys DVD, Halloween ’86: A Sneak Preview
A new (old) show from Cleveland punk-rockers Dead Boys is coming to DVD soon. It won’t be officially released until March 18, but Scene asked the distributor to put a little taste online and, holy hell, they listened. The clip’s above. The show’s from Halloween 1986, so be prepared: Frontman Stiv Bators is gussied up…
Kiss Fan Expo Hits Cleveland
According to Kiss’s official website, Cleveland will host the 2008 Kiss fan expo on Saturday, February 23, at the Holiday Inn Hotel Cleveland Airport (4181 West 150th Street, 216-252-7700). Special guests will include Kiss tribute band Mr. Speed and Bob Kulick, the noted metal producer, Kiss collaborator, and brother of former Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick.…
Dennis Kucinich: He’s a pesky little varmint, isn’t he?
Kucinich’s new motto: “Fighting for You By Running Around American Suing Everybody.” The message couldn’t be any clearer: Cleveland is the only place in America, unfortunately, that wants anything to do with Dennis Kucinich. First he receives exactly 0 percent of the vote in the Iowa caucuses. Three days later, he sues the Texas Democratic…
In Race to Top Kucinich, Jason Werner Shoots Off Mouth, Hits Foot
In the Cuyahoga County GOP’s long-shot hopes to topple Dennis Kucinich for the 10th Congressional District seat, a guy named Jason Werner is hoping desperately to be the long shot. So in order to fit into the county’s political establishment, he’s been acting like a real ass. The party is expected to endorse former state…
This Just In: Cleveland Concerts, Served Fresh Weekly
This week, 37 new shows for the beginning of busy season. Gnarly doom metal from Candlemass. Gene Loves Jezebel returns to the Beachland, with as close to the original lineup as we’re likely to ever get. Total shredfest at Dave Mustaine’s Gigantour, featuring Megadeth, In Flames, High on Fire, and other. Le Tigre side project…
Money Where Your Mouth Is: Pussyfoot Girls’ Jump In the Sac Party
In case you need a little arm twisting to go see some scantily clad girls shake it between sets by twangy rockabilly bands. Band: The monthly Jump in the Sac party, featuring Uncle Scratch’s Gospel Revival,the Orang Ruffians, and Haywire Deluxe, hosted by the Pussyfoot Girls.” Web: MySpace.com/jumpinthesac Hometown: Cleveland Sounds like: “A night of…
The Cloverfield Monster: We’ve Got a Picture
An artist’s rendering of the Cloverfield monster. The artist thought the movie blew. Then again, he’s 10. If you spend much of your working day looking at cool things online, you’ve undoubtedly come across the viral marketing campaign for Cloverfield, which opens Friday. The movie has been buzzed about since last summer, when a kick-ass…
Home Is Where the Art Is
Liz DeBellis pays her respects to the working American woman at today’s 6 p.m. reception of her new exhibit, Domesticity as I See It, now on display in Massillon. The collection of ceramics, oil paintings, collages, and prints of subjects like coffee cups and birthday cakes symbolizes a woman’s balancing act to keep home, family,…
Below Jupiter
Below Jupiter’s “Political Robots” is so pogo-ready, it’ll knock your fillings loose. The Cleveland duo’s full-length debut unloads with three minutes of punky, bouncy, unplugged pop that sounds like the Violent Femmes, but with more keyboard and less bass. Then “When the Sun Begins to Rise” slows things down before the band slips into Beatlesque…
Milling Near Masterful
Like a tiny slice of Connecticut on the banks of the Chagrin River, the sleepy burg of Gates Mills exudes historic charm, rife with white clapboard, red brick, and modest New England architecture. Fast food and chain stores have yet to rear their heads here. And you’re more likely to spot mastodons grazing on the…
Wookiee Mistake
Family Guy Presents: Blue Harvest (Fox) As someone with no use for Seth MacFarlane’s potty-mouthed Simpsons rip, I’ll admit to choking out a few giggles during his Star Wars send-up — though, truth be told, it’s slightly less daring than Spaceballs and, sure, Porn Wars. Stunningly faithful to the 30-year-old franchise, MacFarlane’s homage gets in…
Spell Check
Matt Dawson’s audience goes on a “vacation for the mind” tonight, when the Louisiana-born comedian-turned-hypnotist puts them under his spell during his second annual comedy show in Amherst. His shtick is simple: He makes volunteers chill with the soothing sound of his voice. “I teach them how to relax and achieve this focused level of…
The Bitchfits
The Misfits might have the best body of work of any rock band, ever. No, we’re not saying that “Die Die My Darling” is in any way comparable to “Stairway to Heaven” — thank the dark lords for that. Rather: Assuming you can handle melodic hardcore songs about zombies, skulls, werewolves, and astro zombies, the…
Farther East
Pacific East, the popular Cleveland Heights restaurant and sushi bar, has launched its second location, at Woodmere’s Eton-Chagrin shopping center (28601 Chagrin Boulevard, 216-765-1305). It features tempura, teriyaki, noodle dishes, and a tempting assortment of artfully prepared sushi. We dropped by soon after the restaurant opened and left with some new joneses of our own.…
Lukewarm Gun
Unreal Tournament III is ideal for overcaffeinated teenage boys with PlayStation 3s, broadband internet connections, extensive online friend lists, hours and hours of time to blow, and — just for good measure — a deep appreciation of the steroid-addled dystopian sci-fi aesthetic. You know, the one where men are 450 pounds of muscle and wear…
Chicken Wit
Tacoma-born comedian Jo Koy hates it when people question his Asian heritage. Then again, (if he weren’t Asian?) he wouldn’t be able to play off his trademark “I love orange chicken” catchphrase. “They say, ‘Hey, dude, do you eat rice? Hey, are you a bad driver? I’ll bet you’re good at math,'” groans Koy, who…
Amplexus
Amplexus’ blast of larynx-shredding screamo isn’t very original, but it’s often nearly as good as any of the bands it borrows from. The Kent sextet separates from the pack with a double dose of talent and consistent professionalism — there’s not a sloppy moment on Machina. With schizophrenic switches from melodic singing to cookie-monster growling,…
Chick Flick, Two Ways
If Diane Keaton were a comer in 2007, she’d probably be stuck in romantic comedies cooked up in movie-studio test kitchens. No Godfather for her. No Annie Hall, no Shoot the Moon, no Reds. Filmmakers who now use Katherine Heigl as their go-to girl would be flummoxed by the willowy radiance that Keaton still so…
Remember the Sun?
As Holden Arboretum’s waterfalls cascade near the orchids, begonias, and African violets in its visitors’ center, some patrons are shaking the blues, helped by a panel of lights in the new exhibit A Holden Winter: An Uncommon Cure for the Cold, which is on display through the middle of next month.Without the intense fluorescence of…
Our top DVD picks scheduled for release this week:
Alex Haley’s Queen (Warner Bros.) Amazing Planet Earth (Questar) The Attic (Allumination) Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown (Warner Bros.) Breaker Morant (Image) Extras: The Complete Series (HBO) Dora the Explorer: Undercover Dora (Paramount) DragonLance: Dragons of the Autumn Twilight (Paramount) Good Luck Chuck (Lionsgate) In the Heat of the Night: 40th Anniversary Collector’s Edition (United…
Capsule reviews of current area theater presentations.
Bourbon at the Border — Set in 1990s Detroit, this ambitious play by Pearl Cleage explores the toll that 1964’s Freedom Summer in Mississippi took on its participants. During the almost 90 minutes before intermission, the playwright slowly introduces us to quiet, sixtysomething May and her apartment-house pal Rosa, a snappy, slightly younger soul sister…
Down Town
“I do think the writing is pessimistic — all that stuff about life being a tragic experience,” says Angela Stark (Hayley Atwell) early in Woody Allen’s Cassandra’s Dream. An actress talking about a play she’s in, Stark might as well be describing Allen’s film, his 38th as writer-director and arguably the bleakest morality play in…
Don’t Just Stand There . . .
Idea Center’s glass-enclosed studio takes on a Warehouse District vibe for tonight’s start of the eight-week Hip-Hop for Adults dance classes. The lessons will give rug-cutters some edgier moves than the standard fare of ballet and ballroom dancing. “The classes include people in their late teens all the way through their late 50s,” says Linda…
Welcome to the Jungle
TOP PICK — George of the Jungle (Cartoon Network) Back in the ’60s, Rocky & Bullwinkle mastermind Jay Ward introduced audiences to George, a counterculture take on Tarzan. This new-millennium update (which premieres at 7:30 p.m. on Friday) retains some of that subversive appeal. It also adds a ton of gross-out jokes. Still, it’s zesty…
Sonic Temple
This week’s theme: Tribute bands performing criminally underrated classic rock and roll. For this show, Cleveland Cult tribute Sonic Temple will perform 1986’s Electric in its entirety. That’s the album with “Love Removal Machine” on it, which was produced by Rick Rubin, back when the Grammy-winning producer was best known for his work with the…
Forgotten Forefathers
In 1966, 24-year-old Leroy Kelly reported to Browns training camp saddled with one of the more daunting tasks in sports history: replacing Jim Brown. That off-season, the legendary running back announced unexpectedly that he was retiring at age 30. Kelly was now charged with making fans forget that, come fall, the greatest Brown ever would…
Herstory
As soon as she recited Sojourner Truth’s famed “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech at her church several years ago, Barbara Eady was hooked on storytelling. Today, the founder of the Cleveland Association of Black Storytellers makes the rounds at libraries, schools, and social groups to read her cache of African American folklore. Eady stops in…
Nathaniel Mayer
Nathaniel Mayer hails from Detroit, the city that turned white kids on to black music. The soul shouter recently crawled out from a pile of dusty, scratched-up 45s that bear the labels of record companies that are long forgotten by everyone but the most dedicated collectors. On his latest album, Why Don’t You Give It…
Capsule reviews of current area art exhibitions.
NEW Travel Photography — Clevelander Jeneen Hobby isn’t breaking any artistic boundaries with these recent photographs, but it’s clear she explored new territory, as in Southeast Asia, northern Europe, and the Middle East. What’s more, the images are sincere, the unaltered evidence of real experiences. Generally speaking, Hobby’s work here is that of a skilled…
Doctor’s Orders
You might know your body, but Cleveland Clinic anesthesiologist Michael Roizen claims he knows it better. Find out how tonight, when he signs copies of his new book, You: Staying Young — The Owner’s Manual for Extending Your Warranty, in Solon. As a frequent contributor on Oprah, Good Morning America, and Today, Roizen advises that…
Viva the Vidalia!
Eight artists and art-production companies team together for today’s opening reception for Onion Skins. For starters, there’s Sandusky Bay Poster Works founder Sean Carroll, who also started the annual Flatstock Print Show 12 years ago at the SXSW Music Fest in Texas. He’s joined by painter and sculptor Paul Sydorenko, who’s known for the whimsical…
G. Love & Special Sauce
G. Love’s voice rides a roller coaster of melodies — up, down, and around hairpin turns, with a crafty grace that owes as much to old-school hip-hop as it does to classic R&B. While Love (born Garrett Dutton) gets top billing, his music’s most distinctive element is his backing band’s shuffling, skittering rhythm: a joyous,…
Genocide of One
It’s been said that every problem or challenge is an opportunity in disguise. Of course, that’s usually said by someone who is rarely challenged and faces few problems. But sometimes, an old cliché rings true. Consider, for instance, the difficulties a playwright and theater company face when trying to deal with the 1994 genocide in…
MLK Shake
Typically serene Severance Hall becomes a raucous gospel revival house for tonight’s 28th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Concert. During the musical tribute, James Rose, a mentor for the Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra, will talk about his work with the national Sphinx Competition to track down talented minority musicians. This year’s winner, 21-year-old Elena…
Camp Lo
N.Y.C. duo Camp Lo headlines this week’s Stand Up, Be Counted hip-hop concert, which doubles as a voter-registration drive. The show also commemorates Martin Luther King Day. No surprise, since Camp Lo has always ranked among hip-hop’s most socially aware groups. Back in the day, the guys palled around with members of pioneering backpack rappers…
Their Cheatin’ Hurts
Although the dynamics of adultery are well known to everyone, it’s certainly possible for a writer to shed new light or share new perspectives on the issue. But in Orange Flower Water, now at the Bang and the Clatter Theatre in Akron, playwright Craig Wright expresses the nuts and bolts of marital confrontation better than…
Labor of Love
As artist Christa Donner puts it, “Art illuminates science, and science informs art” in tonight’s opening of Phenomena(l) at Spaces Gallery. And she’s chosen a theme of female fertility for her contribution to the 13-artist display. “Fertility is a huge, hot topic right now,” says Donner. “All the celebrity magazines are interested in the pregnancies…
Vertigo USA
If you gotta see a tribute band, it might as well be one that brings stadium-size rockers to a more intimate setting. Vertigo USA ain’t U2. But it looks, sounds, and puts on a big-ass rock show like U2. And like those Beatles cover bands that recreate specific eras onstage, Vertigo USA takes audiences on…
Horse Opera
“Animal Abuse, Inc.,” January 9 Does the SPCA shed a tear for these creatures? This article did not have the facts in order. Our rescue, Another Chance Equine Rescue, was contacted by Carol Smith about Patty Brooks two months after she had given the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) a statement…
Lyle by Jury
Sean Patrick McGraw still can’t get over the attention he attracted in season two of the reality-TV show Nashville Star. After the native New Yorker outsang 1,200 other country crooners at the 2004 auditions, he made it to the semifinals, with judges summing up his sound as “something like Lyle Lovett singing Springsteen songs while…
Mahjongg
We really don’t like referring to Mahjongg as an “art-punk” band — seeing that the categorization is becoming vaguer by the minute — but that’s exactly how these Missouri-bred rockers roll. At least musically. They’re sorta like hippies otherwise: They prefer to be called a collective and say things like “The body of human knowledge…
White Heat
Growing up in Cleveland, Joe Williams had the usual complaints about the city’s music scene: There’s no place for electro-pop fans to hear ass-shaking tunes and no place for electro-pop nerds to play their ass-shaking tunes. Clevelanders like meat-and-potatoes rock and roll, dammit, and you’re outta luck if you don’t. “It was much easier for…
I Shy
Since her first concert on Thanksgiving, Christa Ebert has made tongues wag over her unusually styled a cappella music and her onstage moniker, UnoLady. That’s because the 2000 Columbia High School grad gives props to her Logic Pro 7 laptop-computer program for helping her record layers of background vocal tracks to which she sings during…
Mundell Lowe
Eighty-five-year-old Mundell Lowe is one of the world’s most underrated jazz guitarists. The Mississippi native spent a sizable chunk of his career writing and performing film and TV scores, and gigging as a sideman with such luminaries as Billie Holiday, Peggy Lee, and Charlie Parker. He’s performed as part of The Today Show band, worked…
‘Clef Hangers
He’s world music’s most pop-minded supporter, yet there’s no corner of the globe where Wyclef Jean can run to avoid The Question. As long as he remains in the public eye — and as long as his old group, the Fugees, remains out of it — inquiring minds want to know: Will there be a…
Space Embrace
Science geeks get their moonwalk on as the region’s leading space-exploration experts talk about the solar system during Inner Space. The program starts with an update on the planets Mercury and Venus, as NASA prepares for its upcoming Messenger spacecraft trip to the universe’s innermost planets. At 11 a.m., planetary-geodynamics professor Steven Hauck of Case…
Barton Carroll
There’s a good reason the Coen brothers’ No Country for Old Men has no musical score: The silence that infuses the alternating scenes of violence and regret wholly amplifies the mysterious motivations of the film’s many characters. But if the Coens wanted a soundtrack, Seattle-based singer-songwriter Barton Carroll’s darkly beautiful The Lost One would be…
Reunited, and It Pays So Good
Hell froze over again last year. Countless bands that called it quits 15, 20, and 25 years ago got back together for lucrative albums and tours. Fans can thank a decade of steadily shrinking CD sales for all these reunions — dwindling royalty checks mean fewer household items (like bathtubs, refrigerators, and stripper poles) plated…
Critter Bugs
Back for an encore, the Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia sets up shop in Cleveland today for three kid-friendly performances of The Very Hungry Caterpillar & Other Eric Carle Favorites. Each hourlong show features a larger-than-life caterpillar puppet munching his way through a garden of food before he turns into a butterfly. A friendly cloud…
The Magnetic Fields
Like UFO-worshiping prog-rockers from the ’70s, Stephin Merritt loves concept albums. From 1999’s 69 Love Songs (a sprawling three-disc set that chronicled romantic tunes throughout the 20th century) to 2004’s I (every song began with the letter “I”), the Magnetic Fields frontman is at his most focused when he’s tying things together thematically. Merritt says…
Boxing Match
As two different Radiohead releases last month prove, box sets still confuse the hell out of fans. The “discbox” version of the band’s new album, In Rainbows, comes stuffed with extras — which range from useful (music) to aimless (booklets and artwork) to mystifyingly redundant (CD, 12-inch vinyl, and MP3 versions!). Meanwhile, Radiohead’s old label,…
Toddlin’ Trannies
The doomed offspring of pop-wreck Britney Spears might have it tough. But at least the Disastrous Diva© doesn’t make her boys wear dresses and corsets like young lads in the Western Reserve Historical Society’s costume exhibit, Short and Sweet: Two Centuries of American Childhood. The collection — on display through the end of November 2008…
Rufus Wainwright
In 2006, gay singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright recreated gay icon Judy Garland’s 1961 smash album, Judy at Carnegie Hall, note for note in concert at the venerable New York City venue. Well, almost note for note. Wainwright couldn’t quite match Garland’s zingy swing. But he was so determined to get it right, he chatted up the…
Mr. Big
Mr. Gnome spent 2007 touring out west, where the sexy riff machine recorded its full-length debut with some A-list names and at some top-notch facilities. Set for late-spring release, Deliver the Creature was made with engineer Kendra Lynn at Portland, Oregon’s Jackpot! Studios, which has hosted sessions by Elliott Smith and the Shins. The co-ed…
Rocky Mountain Why?
The 14 teen actors in the Beck Center’s youth-theater program get a taste of grown-up horror as they portray more than 70 roles in tonight’s opening of The Laramie Project. While the Moisés Kaufman play underscores crimes against gays, it also makes the cast of kids dissect the 1998 murder of gay University of Wyoming…
Amy Winehouse
Last year was a hectic one for Winehouse: Back to Black made her a pop star across the planet, she consumed tons of booze and drugs with her douche-bag husband, and several rehab stints didn’t pan out (no, no, no). Back in 2003, long before she became a tabloid regular, Winehouse released Frank in her…
Please, Not Mark Dottore!
Cuyahoga County Judge Daniel Gaul deserves a congratulatory man-hug. When Myers University President Richard Scaldini decided to inexplicably plunge the business school into bankruptcy in December — even though he had a buyer at the door — Gaul stepped in. It was a rare moment of activism from the county bench, where the main priorities…
Medicine Ball
Onlookers will feel like lab rats in a maze at today’s opening of Lauren Kalman’s A Pretty Little Trick. As they weave through the bizarre multimedia installation, they’ll see artfully arranged medical equipment, toppled vials of medicine, and a flick of a chick stripping down to practically nothing to expose an imperfect body. At the…
Various Artists
Every year, the German label Kompakt gathers a bunch of minimal techno tunes and lush, textural tracks for its terrific Pop Ambient compilations. It all makes for good chill-out music. In fact, this year’s set is so delicate, accessible, and emotionally stirring, it could persuade even an ADD-addled kid to slip into a long, soothing…
A Report From the Front Lines
Do the inner-ring suburbs give you reason to shiver? Derf says click here to find out where the real monsters live.
