LeBron muses on the league’s loudest trash talkers
The LeBron James press gaggle, which happens daily before games and after practices, has a tendency to be amazingly dull. Unlike the rest of the Cavaliers, who reporters can approach in the locker room and corner individually after practice, James does all of his talking at once each day, and for obvious reason: if he…
A Super Tuesday Quandary: Who would make the hottest president?
Hillary Clinton: 2 Paris Hiltons. It’s Super Tuesday, which means voters across the nation are faced with the predicament of choosing the lesser of multiple evils. At least if you care about issues. But if you’re voting based on the only thing that truly matters – hotness – you’ll find an impressive roster of, like,…
Mic Check: Liars at the Dionysus Discotheque on Wednesday
Liars keeps it simple — perhaps even honest? — tonight in Oberlin. Back in the day, indie-rockers Liars used to make really pretentious records with unwieldy titles, like They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top and They Were Wrong, So We Drowned. They were concept records, based on heady…
Cheap-ticket Tuesday at House of Blues Cleveland
Every Tuesday, House of Blues (308 Euclid Ave., 216-523-2583) has 2-for-1 tickets for select shows. Read on to find out what’s going cheap today until 10 p.m., and how to sign up for future Tuesday steals. — DX Ferris
For Dante in Valley View, a visit by a Clinton trumps all
Dante Boccuzzi can call Bill Clinton a customer. For months, Michelle Stein had been dying to check out Dante, an upscale restaurant in Valley View owned by former Nobu executive chef Dante Boccuzzi. She figured it would be an excellent place to celebrate her 26th birthday. (Read Scene’s review of Dante here). So in December,…
This Just In: Cleveland concert announcements
Hank Williams Jr., Lynyrd Skynyrd, and a whole lot of whiskey take the Wolstein stage in April. This week, it’s the Super Bowl of Concert announcements, featuring Tom Petty and 43 other new shows. Hank Williams Jr., with Lynryrd Skynyrd. A country throwdown with Gary Allan, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, LeAnn Rimes, and, um, Sammy…
Football season’s over. In Ohio, it’s (almost) time to fish
The North American angler once encompassed the entire 50 states. Every man and child was prepared to drop a line at any moment. Copies of Norman Fitzroy Maclean’s A River Runs Through It sat on every nightstand in America. It was a good time, a hearty time, a time when iPods were just another one…
In Orange Village, Mom’s Diner gets makeover
Stay tuned for big changes at Mom’s Diner (28149 Miles Rd., 440-248-6669), the tastefully retro eatery in Orange Village. First-time restaurateurs Harriet and Peter Kusner took over the space last September, and have been working their way up the learning curve ever since. Other than trimming back dinner hours, and adding the well-received Petey Boy…
It’s Tequila Tuesday at McCarthy’s!
Nearly all of Ron Clarkson’s buddies know where the CVS store clerk likes to start his “weekend.” After his Friday-to-Tuesday morning shift, the 38-year-old North Olmsted native bee lines for Tequila Tuesdays at McCarthy’s Ale House in Lakewood. “Some people are jealous that I can get myself smashed on a weeknight,” laughs Clarkson, who’s a…
Diversion of the Day: You can’t escape to Hawaii, but your abs can
As the February doldrums descend upon you, the thought of jetting off to Honolulu might seem mighty appealing. But good luck affording the ticket, unless you performed particularly well with your Super Bowl squares. You can, however, bring Hawaii to you, with the psuedo-erotic office furniture featured in the video above. If Ellen can survive…
NFL union chief Gene Upshaw cornered at Super Bowl
In January, Scene wrote about the abandonment of NFL players after retirement, many of whom are saddled with health problems, tiny pensions, and impossible disability standards (“Forgotten Forefathers,” January 16). The chief of the players’ union (the NFLPA), Gene Upshaw isn’t exactly the picture of concern or sympathy for these guys — he’s declared that…
You’re mean for writing mean stuff about William Preucil
I am very disappointed that you would write like this about someone that I look up to and mentor [“Sour Notes,” February 14, 2007]. If everyone would work on their own problems and stop throwing rocks at other people, our world would be a much better place!! I am a student at CIM and I…
Bill Mason’s plot to ruin the Metroparks
If Mason has his way, say goodbye to the Metroparks In case you missed it, the Plain Dealer’s Brent Larkin wrote a superb column in Sunday’s paper illuminating the twisted way in which judges are elected in Cuyahoga County. At issue is Municipal Judge Kathleen Keough’s candidacy for a seat on the county Probate Court.…
Ohio puts its wallet behind the biggest charlatan, Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney: Steadfastly committed to whatever you want him to be Speaking of bad news, The PD carried another illuminating story on Saturday. Reporter Sabrina Eaton followed the trail of campaign cash leaving Ohio for the various presidential campaigns. And given our history of electing charlatans, thieves, and discount bullshit artists – producing the worst…
Slideshow: Marilyn Manson at House of Blues
Marilyn Manson fans mug for the camera at Friday’s show at House of Blues Cleveland. If you believe our critic, Marilyn Manson’s most recent record, Eat Me, Drink Me, has pushed the shock rocker into full parody mode. But either way, he sold out the House of Blues on Friday, and drew a collection of…
What if the Jews rose to power and no one noticed?
Look out! They’re lean! They’re mean! They’re matzah-ball soup-eating machines! According to the Cleveland Jewish News, the Semites are taking over Ohio government. From Lt. Governor Lee Fisher and Attorney General Marc Dann, to schools chief Susan Tave Zelman, the paper notes that Members of the Tribe are populating the higher reaches of state government…
Investing in Randy Newsom: Even Major League Baseball Thinks it’s Dumb
Randy Newsom, prospective pro-prospect prospector. Last week, I wrote about investing in Randy Newsom, a minor league baseball player in the Indians’ organization who wanted to sell shares of his future Major League earnings. I’d plunked $20 on Newsom’s future, an investment that did little to dissuade my girlfriend from believing that I’m a certified…
Mic Check: Richard Thompson at the Kent Stage on Monday
Richard Thompson brings 1000 years of music to Kent tonight. Richard Thompson is one of those music legends that rock critics drool over, record collectors spend tons of cash on, and hipster musicians cover. But most people have no clue who the guy is. Too bad, because in the four decades Thompson has been making…
C-Notes’ Picks of the Week
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: In one of the most bizarre exhibits ever on display at 1point618gallery, Cleveland artist Judith Brandon continues…
Nemo’s Grille Triggers Hunger One Email at a Time
When it comes to using the Internet, many local restaurateurs are Luddites, clueless about the power of online resources to draw attention to their ops. Many still struggle to even add menus to their Web sites, let alone highlight weekly specials or other news. But Bob Niemojewski is ahead of the computer-illiterate pack. The chef-owner…
Diversion of the Day: David Blaine Makes Your Case of the Mondays Effin’ Disappear
On this, the saddest Monday of the year — no football until August? Seriously? — only one thing can cheer you up: the hilariously magic street magic of Fake David Blaine. This is part three of the way smart parody of the magician’s street magic series. Check out parts one and two by clicking on…
Public Square: Readers defend Wine Bar Rocky River
When Scene food critic Elaine Cicora visited Wine Bar Rocky River, she wasn’t particularly impressed. The line that perhaps best sums up her review: “What comes out of [Jill] Vedaa’s kitchen tends to be remarkably dull.” But fans of the place have come to its defense, arguing on behalf of its general fabulocity. You can…
Swatting: A new low in phone terrorism
In last week’s cover story, Telephone Terrorist, Scene brought you the tale of a group of social recluses who decided it would be fun to pull pranks on SWAT teams across the country. The men, who met on a phone chat line service, took turns playing practical jokes on one another. The pranks escalated from…
Ohio’s strip joints lost their fight with downstate kooks, and now they’re broke
It appears the fight for nakedness can get very expensive Fighting the Forces of Kookiness is an expensive battle. And now that those forces have claimed victory, it appears the good guys – the ones who fought gallantly for your right to see naked ladies – really don’t feel like paying up. Our saga began…
Radio may be dying, but not in Akron
Last week, music writer Chris Parker mused on the changing landscape of local radio [“Radio Nowhere,” January 30]. “Many folks have about as much use for the radio these days as they do for old VHS tapes,” he wrote. Parker says that thanks to influx of new media, from satellite radio to podcasts, fewer folks…
You too can own a piece of Tribe minor leaguer Randy Newsom
When I was younger baseball fan, still young enough to bring a mitt to the ballpark without ridicule, I saved my allowance until I had $20 to buy a Sandy Alomar Jr. rookie card. I’m not sure it was ever worth $20. And it’d probably be worth almost nothing today, even if I didn’t stick…
The Investigator Hits Canton Police. But Nothing Compares to the Promo
Via clevelandsaplum.com: The above video is the promo WKYC aired this week for a story by The Investigator, Tom Meyer, who Scene investigated ourselves a couple years back. Meyer’s is a worthy story that raises questions about the behavior of some Canton police officers, who seem to have confused their holding cell for the champagne…
Polish Up That Flask: Hank Williams Jr.’s Cleveland-bound
To all my rowdy friends: Tickets go on sale tomorrow for Hank Williams Junior, who will hit Clevleand’s Wolstein Center on April 11th, to perform 70’s country-rock with his whiskey brethren, Lynyrd Skynyrd. The stop is part of the Rowdy Frynds Tour, a slog across America that brings with it decades of alcohol abuse, broken…
Diversion of the Day, Part 2: She’s F*$#ing Matt Damon!
Potty-mouthed and extra-cute comedian Sarah Silverman made this music video for her boyfriend Jimmy Kimmel, and it’s the funniest thing we’ve seen all year. We’re especially fond of the “Hollaback Girl”-like breakdown in the middle. Classic. — Michael Gallucci
Mic Check: Emery at the Agora on Friday
On the surface, Emery doesn’t sound all that different from any other screamo band. They croon, they shout, they play really loud guitars. They even write songs with ridiculously long titles, like “Return the Smile You Have Had From the Start,” “The Note From Which a Chord Is Built,” and “Story About a Man With…
Picks of the Week: Its the ladies’ weekend to watch sexy bull riders and think about redoing the bathroom
This dude broke a collar bone and a shoulder blade in ’06. And he’s back for more. Show him some love Saturday in Canton. Every Friday, Scene calendar editor Cris Glaser provides a random but reliable sampling of things to do this weekend. For more options, click here. And check back Monday for C-Notes’ Picks…
Happy Paczki Day! Eastern Euro’s fried cakes get the fat out of Lent
While the rest of Christiandom will celebrate Fat Tuesday next week, with jambalaya, po’ boys, and plastic beads, our Eastern European friends will be scarfing down paczki (pronounced poonch-key), tasty little fried cakes stuffed with rich, fruity fillings. According to tradition, paczki-making served as a way to use up fats and sweets before the onset…
Diversion of the Day: Superbowl Weekend Edition
To help pass the hours until Superbowl Weekend, enjoy these cool, refreshing offerings from the King of the Super Bowl Ads, Bud Light. The above was apparently banned. But you’ll probably remember this one, about the guy who hides beers throughout the office; this one, about the magic Bud Light fridge; and this one, about…
A reality show about writers? Trust us. It’s a bad idea.
With the writers’ strike showing no signs of resolution, it seems just about any reality TV idea is being given the go-ahead. Coming in August, aspiring journalists will compete against one another for an editorial position at a New York magazine. The series is being billed as The Devil Wears Prada meets The Assistant. “It…
So the devil decides to sell this horse …
All Akron resident Kristen DeGroat wanted to do was sell her horse to another pet-lover. The pinto was old and DeGroat was poor, so last week she placed an ad in the classified section of the Saginaw News and The Bay City Times, looking for $200 or the best offer. Unfortunately, the ad ended up…
Now we know why K&D took Ameritrust off the county’s hands
The developers at K&D are well on their way to earning back the $35 mill they dropped on this asbestos-filled beauty. Earlier this month, when the K&D Group submitted the one and only bid to buy the county’s doomed Ameritrust complex, we knew there had to be a hidden motive. What developer in his right…
Scene’s D.X. Ferris authors book on Slayer
Scene Clubs Editor D.X. Ferris will be making his literary debut when his book Reign In Blood is released by Continumm books this April. The book carefully dissects Slayer’s seminal album Reign In Blood, considered by metal aficionados to be one of the best extreme metal album ever. Here’s a quote Ferris scooped up from…
Dear Students: Stop Punching Me Or I’ll Give You Extra Homework
Dear Class, Please listen up, because this one comes from the heart: I’m tired of your knuckles pummeling me into the hospital. This is not why I became a teacher. Seven years ago, I happily discarded plans to become an electrical engineer so I could read your argumentative essays on why the school’s dress-code sucks.…
Can you dig it? ‘The Warriors’ take over Cedar Lee on Saturday
Cedar Lee Theatre (2163 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights, 440.564.2030) is a gem of a movie theatre. They play quality movies (sorry Dennis Quaid), sell reasonably priced popcorn, and, most importantly, they serve beer. (As an aside, said beer is half-priced on Wednesday before 8, which means you can get a Heineken or Great Lakes for…
Mic Check: Marilyn Manson at House of Blues on Friday
Marilyn Manson, who plays HOB Friday, has a new album out. Here’s hoping he doesn’t play anything off of it. Remember when The Onion made fun of Marilyn Manson in 2001, implying that the once inventive shock-rocker was becoming a tired parody of himself? Well, it’s now true. Manson’s latest album, Eat Me, Drink Me,…
For Valentine’s Day, Beware the AOL CityGuide
With two weeks to go until Valentine’s Day, AOL CityGuide recently issued annual its list of recommended spots for Cleveland singles and couples looking to spend February 14 out of the house. It’s a really useful guide – if you want to spend a romantic evening frolicking among the always gentlemanly crowd on West Sixth,…
Indie Rockers Rejoice: The Matinee Cleveland to Open Doors Soon
Ever since Speak In Tongues closed its doors in 2002, Cleveland’s west side has suffered a major drought of quality indie-rock clubs. For nearly eight years, the Ohio City haunt was one of the most important underground venues in the nation, with bands from Modest Mouse to the Brian Jonestown Massacre gracing its stage long…
Money Where Your Mouth Is: Red Wanting Blue
C-Notes’ music junkies are presently camped out at McCarthy’s Ale House in the Flats, poised to get good seats at the bar for Sunday’s Super Bowl party. Instead of writing up Columbus’ earthy alt-rock cult heroes Red Wanting Blue, we’re just passing the virtual mic to frontman Scott Terry to explain why they’re worth your…
Euclid Tavern Serves Again
A new incarnation of Cleveland’s legendary Euclid Tavern (11629 Euclid Tavern, University Circle, 216-231-7066) opened last weekend. The first week was a low-profile one, climaxing with a Friday night set by the expert Grateful Dead emulators of the JiMiller Band, a mainstay at the bar from 1981 until ’87, when Joan Jett and Michael J.…
Restaurant of the Weekend: A Winking Lizard Near You
The majority of Americans who watch the Super Bowl this Sunday will do so in their family rooms, while noshing on store-bought pizza and wings. According to industry sources, in fact, February 3 will be the biggest day of the year for pizza chains. Domino’s estimates it will deliver more than 1.2 million pies that…
Schedule Set for High School Rock Off Finals
The Twelfth Annual Tri-C High School Rock Off comes to an end Saturday, February 2 at House of Blues (308 Euclid Ave., 215-523-2583). Drawn from all over Northeast Ohio, 19 bands will perform 15-minute sets, competing for cash, instruments, and other prizes and opportunities. If you want to see your boss’s kid’s band, but you…
A fresh idea for bringing local produce to Cleveland restaurants
Last August, five future entrepreneurs from Case Western were tossing around ideas on how to become rich. One happened to strike up a conversation with the owner of Crop Bistro, a restaurant on on West 6th. They got to talking about how hard it is for Cleveland eateries to buy local produce. Freshforkmarket.com was born.…
Emery
Emery’s big move turned out to be a major downer. Formed in South Carolina at the top of the decade, the screamo group packed its bags for Seattle, with images of superstardom dancing in its collective head. En route, on September 11, 2001, band members heard about the terrorist attacks. It wasn’t a very cheery…
Waiting for the Ax
The investigation kicked off, say the rumors, when a 14-year-old girl was found passed out on the speckled linoleum of a Washington High School hallway. She was rushed to Affinity Medical Center in Massillon. And that’s where the story splinters into dozens of different versions. Doctors discovered she was pregnant, claims a dapper young man…
ZoSo, the Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience
You can bet that when the tribute band ZoSo — which bills itself as the Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience — formed in Los Angeles back in 1995, it never expected to one day compete with the actual Led Zeppelin for your concert dollars. The legendary British band’s much-hyped reunion concert in November is most likely…
So Jesus Walked Into a Bar . . .
East Fourth Street is made for mischief, one of downtown’s brightest bursts of life. It’s lined with haute eateries, anchored by a rock club and bowling alley, and fueled by oversize margaritas and frothy pints of Guinness. Six nights a week, Hilarities, the basement comedy club, serves as the strip’s hub for righteous raunch. The…
Solvent
Much of the current electro-pop scene thrives on throwaway novelty numbers. Toronto’s Solvent (actually one-man band Jason Amm) is an exception. Favoring the warm sounds of ’80s-style analog synths, Solvent is more than just a bedroom producer with good presets; he’s got a true flair for developing memorable melodies. The just-released Demonstration Tape (1997-2007) compiles…
No Longer Odd
Why is it that one old play becomes a classic, while another just gets moldy? Case in point: The Odd Couple by Neil Simon, which is now experiencing its trillionth or so production, this one at the Carousel Dinner Theatre in Akron. Since it exploded on Broadway 43 years ago, Simon’s jokefest has been performed…
Michael Holland
During the fuzzy ’90s heyday of indie rock, Michael Holland fronted Jennyanykind, a semipopular Chapel Hill band he founded with his twin brother. They had a major-label record deal and a catalog of songs that zigzagged between psychedelic freak-outs and rootsy twang. After calling it quits in 2003, Holland dug deeper into Americana, playing country…
More Bars in More Places
Get ready to dive into two of Cleveland’s most eagerly awaited watering holes: Stone Mad (1306 West 65th Street), a paean to painstaking craftsmanship in the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood, and Brothers Lounge (11609 Detroit Avenue, 216-470-1681), the no-expense-spared tavern and music hall near Detroit and West 117th. With extensive renovations happening on both vintage properties, the…
Drive-By Truckers
Fresh off a gig as soul-siren Bettye LaVette’s backing band last year, kick-ass southern rockers the Drive-By Truckers went into the studio with veteran keyboardist Spooner Oldham. The result is one of their best albums, Brighter Than Creation’s Dark, which gains a degree of gravitas from Oldham’s subtle but enormous presence. He adds texture and…
May the Farce Be With You
TOP PICK — Family Guy: Blue Harvest (Fox) Blue Harvest was the top-secret code name used by George Lucas and crew while they were making Return of the Jedi. It’s also the title of Family Guy’s sixth-season opener, in which the animated series’ characters star as Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, et al. in one of…
Ringo Starr
There’s something both perverse and oddly endearing about Liverpool 8, Ringo Starr’s first album since 1974’s Goodnight Vienna to be on Capitol, which released all the Beatles’ records. The sun-soaked peace-and-love ditties are so cheerfully innocent, you’d swear Starr was caught in a cosmic time warp. He sings lines like “Smile a little more, as…
Liars, Liars
For more than five years, Liars made art-damaged noise records that required listeners’ full attention. Filled with knotty, sprawling songs and graced with titles like They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top and They Were Wrong, So We Drowned, the albums could be needlessly difficult. But last year, the…
Sworn Enemy
Going metal used to be bad news for punk bands. Crossover quintet Sworn Enemy came out of New York’s hardcore scene about 10 years ago, but its early material was, at best, a pale shadow of Agnostic Front’s worst. With nothing to lose, the band switched from NYHC to thrash on 2006’s The Beginning of…
Mechanical Animal
When Marilyn Manson announced retirement plans back in 2005, it sounded like a smart move. Here was a cultural icon who had incited conservative ire and peddled subversive — if stridently adolescent — rebellion with a cerebral edge for more than a decade. It’s an ambitious level of achievement for someone working inside the goth-metal…
American Heroes and Zeroes at Sundance ’08
Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden’s Sugar, which premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival (and was inexplicably shut out at the closing-night awards ceremony), gets as much right about baseball as any movie I’ve ever seen. It gets the hum of the electric lights in the ozone-heavy summer air and…
Vitium
Even if mild-mannered rap rock makes you want to punch yourself in the balls, you gotta admit: Michael Siefert’s mix on Vitium’s self-titled EP is crisp. The CD is a natural fit for 311 fans, who are growing older and feel like gettin’ mellow from time to time. Vitium plays unplugged during the verses, but…
Drifting Through the Days
Richard Thompson is far too amiable to play the role of the unsung hero. But if a myth was ever ascribed to him, it might tell of a man who — when offered the choice of life as either a brilliant singer-songwriter or a guitar god — sacrificed stardom to become both. Of course, in…
Donkey Punch
The King of Kong (New Line) Seth Gordon’s best-of-2007 documentary about the battle for Donkey Kong supremacy remains a work-in-progress: Billy Mitchell, the longtime titleholder dethroned by Steve Wiebe over the course of this hysterical, thrilling, and occasionally sad little film, recently reclaimed the throne — and Wiebe has vowed to come after him again.…
Wasteful Consumption Patterns
Wasteful Consumption Patterns is a vehicle for DJ Korpserape, an Akron native who supposedly finished recording Solider in 2000, right before he checked into an insane asylum. You might think the story is just a ploy to create some buzz, but after listening to the CD, you’ll begin to believe the dude spent some time…
Radio Nowhere
Many folks have about as much use for the radio these days as they do for old VHS tapes. There’s competition from all sides of the digital spectrum — from podcasts to net radio. Compared to its online and digital brethren, traditional radio is slow, stodgy, and hopelessly outdated. But more than 230 million people…
Point and Chop
The very first time I saw the Wii’s motion-sensitive “Wiimote,” a single thought bounced in my head like a toddler on corn syrup: Finally we’re gonna get an f-ing brilliant lightsaber game. It was inevitable, a perfect match for the technology. Never again would I be caught doing the Star Wars geek’s dance of shame…
Webb Wilder and the Beatnecks
Beneath a broad-brimmed hat and a pair of nerdy-looking specs stands one of the toughest roots rockers of any era. On this scorching live CD — originally part of a DVD set — Wilder loads up on fan favorites like “Human Cannonball,” “One Taste of the Bait,” and “Poolside.” Born to Be Wilder also serves…
Bob Marley Birthday Celebration
On February 6, Cleveland’s finest reggae DJs will celebrate Bob Marley’s birthday. You may recognize DJs Richloee, Black Scorpio, and Fire Youth from 91.1-FM WRUW, which also occasionally opens its airwaves to DJ Ray, a New Yorker whose family hails from Jamaica. Ray says, in a deep accent, they’ll be spinning Marley favorites, deep cuts,…
Our top DVD picks scheduled for release this week:
Aqua Teen Hunger Force: 5 (Warner Bros.) Barn of the Naked Dead (Legend House) Bordertown (THINKFilm) Canvas (Universal) Chancer: Series 2 (Acorn Media) The Comebacks (Fox) Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Sixth Season (HBO) Daddy Day Camp (Sony) Damages: The Complete First Season (Sony) Drumline: Special Edition (Fox) El Cid: Two-Disc Deluxe Edition (Miriam Collection)…
Rotten Deal
Cleveland’s Salt the Wound will release its debut album, Carnal Repercussions, on Rotten Records. The long-running Los Angeles label’s roster includes underground legends like Acid Bath (which featured Deadboy & the Elephantmen frontman Dax Riggs) and D.R.I., in addition to heshers Goatwhore and the genre-defying Polkadot Cadaver (formerly Dog Fashion Disco). Rotten discovered the band…
Mardi Gras Party.
Fat Tuesday is your last chance to go all-out before giving up a bunch of fun stuff for Lent, and there’s not a better place to celebrate it than Fat Fish Blue. This year, the big Fish’s downtown location turns 10, and the party will be an all-day parade of stilt walkers, fire dancers, and…
Unsportsmanlike Conduct
“Forgotten Forefathers,” January 16 NFL’s discarded heroes deserve far better: I thoroughly enjoyed your article. Your story is very indicative of what health care is like in general: costing more and more money, with benefits going to fewer and fewer of those who need it. I remember reading a story about Johnny Unitas in Sports…
Picture Perfect
Persepolis is a small landmark in feature animation. Not because of technical innovation — although its drawings do have a handcrafted charm forgotten in the era of the CGI-‘toon juggernauts — but because it translates a sensitive, introspective, true-to-life “adult” comic story into moving pictures. We first meet little Marjane (voiced by Gabrielle Lopes) in…
Capsule reviews of current area theater presentations.
George Gershwin Alone — While there are some rough spots in this production, overall it does a masterful job of capturing the ego-driven artist in full flower. Unfortunately, this show doesn’t bring us much closer to understanding the man behind those sheets of majestic music. Playwright (and star) Hershey Felder reduces Gershwin’s Russian Jewish immigrant…
DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist
DJ Shadow fans who were disappointed by last year’s The Outsider take note: Shadow & Cut Chemist’s “The Hard Sell” tour is entirely Outsider-free. But it’s also Endtroducing-free. The show employs eight turntables, two guitar-loop pedals, and four hands, as the duo spins like it’s 1983. Shadow and Chem play freewheeling DJs as they line…
Universal Soldier
A fourth Rambo? The question isn’t “Why?”; it’s “What took so long?” Was America’s avenging angel of meat just planning to sit out all the crap the world’s stepped in since we last saw him 20 years ago in Rambo III, when he was fighting Charlie Wilson’s war in sunny Afghanistan? At first, that seems…
Capsule reviews of current area art exhibitions..
NEW Curious Terrain — Landscape is as much about creating a mood as setting a scene, as demonstrated by three Ohio artists in this exhibition. JenMarie’s dark washes of muted color cover gloomy, atmospheric canvases with barely discernible horizon lines or minuscule patches of rocky grass. It’s landscape as a metaphor for hopelessness and loss,…
Ra Ra Riot
Six songs are hardly enough to get a grasp on a group. But that’s all the Syracuse-based Ra Ra Riot has released so far. The six-piece indie-pop band formed in 2006, but a lot has happened since then. It released a self-titled EP, toured with Tokyo Police Club, and blew away festivalgoers at both South…
Under Cooked
As any chef will tell you, a great dining experience is almost always built from great ingredients. Maybe that’s what puzzles us about Wine Bar Rocky River, a popular West Side hangout that opened last September and boasts a lengthy wine list, tempting menu, and kitchen hours that stretch from lunch to late night, daily.…
The Silent Years
When the results of Spin magazine’s 12-month-long, bracket-style Artist of the Year tournament were revealed last year, many music fans were shocked: Spin is still around?! Some were also mildly surprised to find that the mag’s readership had voted the oh-so-emo group Boys Like Girls to a semifinal victory over one of Detroit’s more genuinely…
Telephone Terrorist
Midnight, June 12, 2006. A 911 dispatcher in northern Texas receives an urgent call. A man calling himself James Proulx says he just killed his family. He has more hostages and is carrying a loaded AK-47. If police don’t want anyone else to die, they need to hand over $50,000 and arrange transportation across the…
Birthday Suits
Birthday Suits is sorta like a Minneapolis version of the Black Keys. Except the two guys who play the guitar and drums are Japanese. And they’re way artier. But the lo-fi stomp of their noise-squawk boasts a similar primitivism, never quite settling into one specific genre. Their songs usually start with twisty, bluesy riffs before…
Please Feed the Strippers
As strip-club owners see it, they’re in the business of freedom. And they don’t like it when people like Phil Burress, the porn addict turned Jesus freak who heads Cincinnati’s Citizens for Community Values, keeps convincing legislators to interfere with their commerce. Especially when that interference is fraught with misconceptions. Take the 6-foot and midnight…
