Side Dish
Native drums are reporting that northern Summit County will soon be a stop along the Amazon Trail. Operating partners Seth Task and Rick Agnew, formerly of the Outback Steakhouse chain, and Paul Levine, formerly of Sammy’s, hope to open their second rain-forest-themed steak and seafood restaurant in Twinsburg in April. Plans call for a 230-seat,…
Story Tellers
Around this time of year, I like to take a while to assess the annual output of rock and roll reading, acknowledging the good, the bad, and the stuff that just leaves you wondering, “Who the fuck thought it was a good idea to publish this?” Here, then, are the results of last year’s reading…
A Shining Band
You could forgive guitarist Jason Gnewikow if he sounds a bit nervous, because the Promise Ring is more often referred to, for better or worse, by another three-word phrase: Next Big Thing. You couldn’t blame him if he were steeling himself for the oncoming onslaught of media hype and tripe. But, no, that’s not what…
Metallica, Kid Rock, Sevendust
Metallica with Kid Rock and Sevendust Gund Arena January 1 If the first day of the new century was any indication of things to come, we’re in for quite a ride from Metallica. Despite the fact that the band has sold out (that’s old news, anyway), the hard-rocking giant lived up to expectations, as its…
Wilson Pickett
Wilson Pickett with Felix Cavaliere’s Rascals Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum December 31 Hearing oldies act Felix Cavaliere’s Rascals play a medley including Hendrix riffs was a little bizarre, but then, so was watching upper-crust partygoers in evening gowns and tuxedos strolling through a hip-hop exhibit. But that’s the paradox that is…
Severance Payoff
One evening in 1983, the Boston Symphony Orchestra was performing on the intimate stage of Severance Hall. At intermission, John Mack, the Cleveland Orchestra’s principal oboe player, walked onstage to greet the visiting musicians. “One of them turned to me and said, “How do you guys play in this place?'” recalls Mack, explaining that the…
Various Artists
Various Artists Any Given Sunday (Atlantic) It’s not so much that the soundtrack to Oliver Stone’s gridiron drama Any Given Sunday lacks focus; it’s more a case of a modern soundtrack trying to be all things to all people. Which is a bit uncharacteristic, since Stone enlisted Trent Reznor to orchestrate a hellish suite for…
Poetic Injustice
Three women showed up at the Cheryl Townsend Poetry Reading and Open Mic dressed like young Republicans on their way to a book-burning. Wearing ankle-length flowered dresses with huge bows in their hair, the three sat huddled together, looking like a flowery loveseat. The evening began when one of the furniture-women took the stage and…
Goldie
Goldie Incredible Sound of Drum ‘n’ Bass (Ovum/Ruffhouse/Columbia) Given the pretentious nature of his last release, 1998’s Saturnz Return, the idea of another double album from Goldie (Clifford Price), one of Britain’s most recognized DJs, isn’t even enticing on the surface. Incredible Sound of Drum ‘n’ Bass, an album that came out last year in…
Book Smarts
Of the readers who bought four million copies, in no fewer than 30 languages, of David Guterson’s 1995 bestseller Snow Falling on Cedars, many have likely been looking forward to the movie version. Others have probably been dreading it. For better or worse, this multifarious story about nativist bigotry, forbidden love, sons measuring up to…
Sugar Spun
Sugar Spun Hollywood and Vine (Orange Peal) While anyone can write a pop song (see Hanson), few can create a well-crafted, well-loved ditty that isn’t repulsive upon first listen. Unfortunately, Los Angeles’s Sugar Spun hasn’t figured that out, as its debut is a cliché-filled exercise in simplicity. It’s quite fitting that Sugar Spun named its…
The Not-So-Magnificent Anderson
When Paul Thomas Anderson’s second feature, Boogie Nights, was released in 1997, critics and film industry types fell over themselves to designate Anderson the next big thing, an auteur in the footsteps of Scorsese and Coppola. His film turned Mark Wahlberg from a has-been underwear model and rapper into a leading man, Heather Graham into…
Gimme a Sarong Any Day
You hope for Dorothy Lamour, reclining against a palm tree in her sarong, when you hear the title The Hurricane. Instead, you get well over two hours of Denzel Washington huddled in a cell. In the poster art, Washington glowers out, one bandaged fist cocked for a right to our jaw. He may play a…
Ballot Busters
Andrew Putz can be reached at aputz@clevescene.com.
Street Fighting Men
Jacqueline Marino can be reached at jmarino@clevescene.com.
The Edge
Cop chop! Cleveland Police Chief Martin Flask is once again rumored to be facing the mayoral ax, this time to be replaced by Deputy Chief Mary Bounds. As a black woman, Bounds could help dispel the lingering taint of alleged police racism while consolidating Mayor Mike White’s flagging support in the black community. Flask, who…
Horse Sense
Laura Putre can be reached at lputre@clevescene.com.
Shades of Darkness
Raphael Gleitsmann was asked during a 1982 interview why he had stopped painting at 44. Gleitsmann’s response was both wistful and hard-boiled: “It’s something like having a belief — believing that what you’re doing is of importance. When you lose the belief, it seems there’s no return. Mostly, I just found I really had nothing…
Yearning Japanese
Elaine T. Cicora can be reached at ecicora@clevescene.com.
