Laugharoni
1/12-3/1 More than 40 comics take their turns splitting sides at the Funniest Person in Akron contest, a two-month competition starting Monday at Akron’s Spaghetti Warehouse. The creation of professional funnyman Bill Arrundale, the contest awards its top honors based on the hoots and hollers of the audience. “It’s a positive experience that gives you…
Slim Cessna’s Auto Club
Slim Cessna’s Auto Club’s twisted take on traditional country isn’t exactly what they mean when they say “psychobilly,” but it could be. It’s more like psycho-honky-tonk, and it makes onetime Alternative Tentacles labelmate Mojo Nixon seem awfully well adjusted by comparison. Yodeling gospel through gold teeth, Cessna leads a quintet of dizzying organ, weeping steel…
Just for Laughs
1/9-1/31 Patrick Sirl had an itch to perform in front of rapturous crowds, and he found kindred spirits at Second City’s Training Center. Together, they formed their own Off the Wall improvisational comedy troupe, and so far they’ve been a hit. “People get very involved,” Sirl says. “And they’re not shy. Not in Cleveland, anyway.”…
The Abolitionists vs. Racism: A Benefit for Dave Thomas
Prices aren’t the only thing that’s low at Wal-Mart. Some of the company’s own employees have been accused of racism, most notably in the case of David Thomas, a former worker at Wal-Mart’s Elyria store whose tale was chronicled in a Scene column last fall [Kotz, October 15, 2003]. According to Thomas, an African American…
Liberty for None
There are two options when discussing Chasing Liberty, in which pop-star-turned-actress Mandy Moore plays Anna Foster, a President’s daughter who wants some alone time, sans Secret Service, to go clubbing in Europe, hang with friends, and lose her 18-year-old virginity to a Brit in his 20s who resembles the offspring of Hugh Grant and Alan…
The Crystal Method
Big-beat boppers the Crystal Method are at their best when embellishing glowstick-worthy pieces with a swaggering mish-mash of styles. And the first two tracks on the duo’s third disc, Legion of Boom, follow this blueprint with inspired results: “Starting Over” mixes the hushed hymnal quality of Radiohead’s “Everything in Its Right Place” with jittery Underworld-style…
Lies My Father Told Me
For all its inspired side trips down Imagination Lane (let’s call it that, because the “memories” of protagonist Edward Bloom are too majestic to be trusted and too affecting to be discounted), Big Fish is ultimately about one thing: the relationship between a son about to become a father and a father about to become…
Elephant Man
As a onetime Bounty Killer protégé and Scare Dem Crew member from Kingston’s rough Seaview Gardens district, Elephant Man likes to bark gruff, radio-unfriendly lyrics over the ruggedest raga riddims available. When he calls himself a “bad man” every minute or so, it’s tempting to believe him. But as any witness to the Energy God’s…
Stupor Man
Clevelander Harvey Pekar, star of a long-running comic-book series that he writes and others illustrate, is reminded early in American Splendor that he’s no superhero. It’s Halloween, and the 11-year-old Harvey, played by a bent-over, sneering Daniel Tay, stands on a stoop, seeking treats from a woman who identifies a lineup of characters by their…
Various Artists
Jim Henson, Sesame Street’s visionary founder and lead puppeteer, was famous for never looking back. Bursting with creativity, Henson moved so swiftly from one project to the next that little attention was given to curating the countless music albums that sprang from his popular children’s TV show. Parents, toddlers, and pop-culture geeks alike will rejoice,…
Blind Frontier
Get off the elevator on the 11th floor of the Halle Building and the sign still reads “SupplierInsight” with a golden arrow pointing down the hall. But the doors are locked, and the nameplates have been removed. Next to a maintenance closet hangs a laminated map listing vast sections of the floor as “unoccupied.” “SupplierInsight?”…
Sweet & Sour
As most adults are aware, one of the more pleasant byways of sexual activity involves the incorporation of foodstuffs into the act of kissing, stroking, licking, and other boinking-related activities. While some may prefer a well-buttered ear of corn, others a deftly placed drizzle of melted Swiss chocolate, only the most desperate would choose to…
Doves
In 1995, a Manchester band called Sub Sub lost everything in a studio fire. The group had a club-friendly hit in “Ain’t No Love (Ain’t No Use)” and had teamed up with Tricky and New Order frontman Bernard Sumner to create the trippy tunes so popular on the Mancunian rave scene. But, never completely happy…
Broken Record
In February 2002, Cleveland cops stopped William Isaac for riding with his high beams on. But when they discovered a crack pipe, they impounded his dilapidated ’91 Seville and carted him off to jail. Isaac was charged with possession of drugs (from residue in the pipe) and criminal tools (the pipe itself). When he arrived…
Watching Paint Dry
Every local art rat has a Dexter Davis party story — but not one they’ll recount on the record. A regular at exhibit openings and anywhere else there’s free wine, Davis has long been the life of the party, known as much for his big hugs as his unpredictable rants. “One time, I heard this…
PlanetKillSwitch
After a year between releases, several gigs under its belt, and a minor name change, PlanetKillSwitch has crept back to the surface. Whereas the band’s last effort, Scum of the Planet, didn’t balance the industrial and metal realms as well as expected, You Don’t Matter flaunts a better sense of direction. This time around, the…
Hot Property
When the phone rings at 3 a.m., it probably means a house is on fire. But the man who dresses and dashes to his car isn’t a firefighter. He’s called a fire-chaser. The fire-chaser arrives to find the homeowner searching frantically for children or dashing inside to rescue photo albums and heirlooms. Amid this chaos,…
The Up Side
There’s been a tavern in the vintage building on the corner of West 11th and Fairfield in Tremont for about as long as anyone can remember, from old-timey beer-and-a-bump joints all the way up to contemporary incarnations that increasingly reflect the ‘hood’s incipient hipsterization. Sure, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing: While the physical space…
Sue Jeffers
Sue Jeffers writes fiery leftist numbers with which anyone of progressive political feeling can agree. We know this, because the lyrics are printed on the inside of Welcome Home. Good thing they are, because Jeffers’s voice isn’t the easiest to follow. Enunciation isn’t one of her strong suits: She frequently tries to cram too many…
Stick to the Subject
Stick to the Subject Video games don’t kill people: JoLynn Mishne was a friend of mine, and it does nothing but sicken me to think that anyone could try to place the blame of her death anywhere except on the shoulders of this sociopath, Dustin Lynch [“Thrill Kill,” December 10]. In the year since her…
Wine Time
A reader writes, “I’m interested in learning more about wine and was wondering what resources are out there for furthering my education.” For both budding gourmets and full-blown epicures, one of the best bets is the Cleveland Wine School, which holds professional, classroom-style tastings and instruction at both the Hilton Cleveland South (6200 Quarry Lane,…
Pay the CEO Way
Clevelanders are well versed in the language of austerity. Be it “offshoring” or “reengineering,” it all translates to “Hope you bring a crossword puzzle to the soup line.” But it appears that some Cleveland companies need a refresher course. Among the 30 largest public companies ranked recently by Crain’s Cleveland Business, six experienced double-digit profit…
It’s What They Do
Don Austin is so old-school, it only releases EPs on 7-inch vinyl. “When I was growing up, that’s what it was,” says Larry Gargus, singer for the Akron hardcore quintet. “Everyone released 45s and traded tapes. That’s how people found out about bands. Even Metallica got known through tape-trading. That’s what hardcore was all about.”…
Sean on Sucking
When Sean Kelly reflects on the state of rock and roll, the Samples’ leader boils it down to this: It sucks. That’s why he and bandmate Tom Askin hooked up with Vertical Horizon drummer Ed Toth at a Connecticut college last year and recorded a live acoustic set of 17 of the Samples’ songs. Kelly…
Prime Time Player
David Sanborn has crossed over musical styles enough times to give psychic John Edward head spins. The alto saxophonist has performed as sideman to icons of jazz, pop, blues, and rock, and his own records have won Grammys in three different genres. Simply put, over the past 30-odd years, Sanborn has expanded the arena in…
This Week’s Day-By-Day Picks
Thursday, January 8 Hough Bakery. Higbee’s Frostees. Popcorn balls at Euclid Beach. We’re salivating all over our keyboard just thinking about them. Gail Ghetia Bellamy remembers ’em, too, and she pays tribute to these and other local delights in her mouthwatering new book, Cleveland Food Memories: A Nostalgic Look Back at the Food We Loved,…
A Tale of Two Beats
What does it say about the state of beat production that as the Top 40 grows weirder (Kelis’s “Milkshake,” anyone?), songs that used to pass for normal are the rage of the underground? You know it’s a topsy-turvy pop land we live in when the alternative wears the three-piece suit, while the mainstream sports the…
Fit for The King
There’s a very good reason why impersonators go for the aging, bloated Elvis rather than the young, svelte Elvis: He looks better onstage. “There’s no pizzazz to a guy up there, wearing a tweed jacket [from the ’50s],” says Shawn Klush, one of five King clones at The Elvis Birthday Tribute, happening Sunday at the…
Messing With Texas
“Our motto: Anything but Bush,” Lou Reed recently told Rolling Stone, voicing a refrain that’s becoming increasingly common among musicians. Not since the Reagan administration has a President catalyzed so much protest music: In the past year, Springsteen, Dave Matthews, Don Henley, Moby, Willie Nelson, and Tom Morello have all expressed their opinions of Dubya…
American Earle
SUN 1/11 Filmmaker Amos Poe got lucky when he made Just an American Boy, a big-screen look at hardcore troubadour Steve Earle. When the singer-songwriter released “John Walker’s Blues,” a sympathetic song about American Taliban John Walker Lindh, the shit hit the fan, and Poe was there with his camera. “That was definitely the impetus,”…
Broken Integrity
Integrity, the Cleveland band acclaimed for its pioneering blend of metal and hardcore, has broken up amid a flurry of fists and dissension among band members. The split ends a 15-year run that included eight albums made by a revolving-door lineup. The rift began at a December 18 show in Portland, Oregon, where a pack…
Goal-Shifting
SUN 1/11 The Force’s biggest challenge this year is keeping track of the players. Ten newcomers earned roster spots, including Adam Campellone, a 22-year-old who was a high school All-American when he played at Parma. He was still in diapers when teammate Hector Marinaro began his stint with the Force more than two decades ago.…
Eddie From Ohio
Labels mean nothing. Not only is drummer Eddie Hartness not from Ohio — neither are any of the other three members of Eddie From Ohio — but the “folk-rock” tag often given them is misleading as can be. Sure, they do a fine version of Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” on their…
Critter Theater
SAT 1/10 In the world of kiddie lit, even a confused chameleon knows it’s best to be himself. That’s one of the lessons shared in Very Eric Carle, a series of vignettes based on the author’s books for children. The show, part of the Children’s Theatre Series at Playhouse Square, takes place Saturday at the…
Mr. Downchild
While most ’50s parents frowned upon rock and roll, Steve Brazier’s folks collected it — and the blues as well. Small wonder, then, that once he discovered harmonica master Sonny Boy Williamson II, a teenaged Steve shifted interest from his established acting career and formed his first blues band. The London-born Brazier then took the…
