‘Drunk History’ Shares Cleveland Tales in This Week’s Episode
The Cleveland-centric episode of Drunk History will air tomorrow night at 10:30 p.m. on Comedy Central. Shaker Heights native David Wain reminded us — which then further reminded us that Wain once produced a documentary of sorts on the history of Shaker Heights. *** Originally published Jan. 12 Tonight at 9 p.m., the producers of Comedy…
Updated: AP Music Awards to Take Place at the Q in July
Updated: Headliners have just been announced for the Alternative Press Music Awards that take place in July at the Q. Weezer — whose 2014 album Everything Will Be Alright In the End is nominated for the Album of the Year” — will be the headliner. Panic! At The Disco, Taking Back Sunday, Motionless In White, All…
Heinen’s to Open in Downtown Cleveland’s Historic Rotunda Today
Update: It’s happening: Heinen’s is officially opening today in the historic Ameritrust building in downtown Cleveland. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is slated to kick off in just over an hour, and is expected to draw a crowd. Scene will be there too, so do check back later today for some photos of the event. Happy shopping,…
UPDATE: Former Brimfield Police Chief David Oliver Faces Sexual Harassment Suit After Retirement
You can read the text of the lawsuit brought against Chief David Oliver here (embedded below). The complaint was filed yesterday. Brimfield officer Crystal Casterline is suing Oliver for sexual harassment, a charge detailed over the course of a two-year period. Casterline cites repeated “unwanted physicaltouching of a sexual nature” amid a “hostile work environment that…
Watch Cardale Jones Highlights From High School
Well before Cardale Jones became a household name for leading the Buckeyes to a Big Ten championship over Wisconsin, a national semifinal win over Alabama, and a national championship over Oregon, the massive quarterback was throwing touchdowns for Cleveland’s Glenville High School. He could toss the hell out of a football back then, too. He…
Two Arts Openings This Week: ‘Pearls of Cleveland’ Honors Artist Moses Pearl, Sculpture Center Highlights New Exhibits
The Artists Archives of the Western Reserve and the Sculpture Center (1834 E. 123rd St.) host opening receptions for their first shows of 2015 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. this Thursday, Jan. 15. The Artists Archives of the Western Reserve presents Pearls of Cleveland, a memorial exhibition in honor of archived artist Moses Pearl. The…
12 Eerie Photos of the Randall Park Mall
Warrensville Heights’ Randall Park Mall is the latest northeast Ohio mall to meet the wrecking ball after years of lying dormant and shuttered in Cleveland’s southeast suburb. Just as demolition was beginning, four days after Christmas 2014, Cleveland photographer Johnny Joo took his camera to the site to capture the building’s final days. Here are…
Okin and Bostwick of Cork & Cleaver Buy Reddstone, Plan Second Eatery
It has always been a part of Brian Okin’s master plan to build off the success of Cork & Cleaver Social Kitchen, which he opened almost two years back in Broadview Heights. In preparation for that day he’s been busy assembling a core team of front and back-of-the-house talent that will oversee any future restaurants.…
It’s a Good Day to Be Born a Buckeye
Via WSYX ABC 6, a shot of a newborn Buckeye draped in a proclamation shared by even the most jaded Ohioan this morning. It remains to be seen whether Urban Meyer will be the godfather, but we’re sure the call has already been made.
County Exec Armond Budish Comes Out Swinging with Plan to Save East Cleveland Snowplow Deal
When East Cleveland’s borrowing plan to secure two snowplows fell through, newly minted Cuyahoga County Exec Armond Budish took up the call to get the inner-ring suburb’s deal back on track. In short: Huntington Bank stepped up as a lender and will front $256,390 for the purchase of two snowplows, and East Cleveland will repay the…
County Prosecutor Puts Up Dash Cam Money, City Hall Approves $100 Million Bond Issue
During a largely self-congratulatory City Club talk last Friday, County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty announced that he’d offered $500,000 to the Cleveland Division of Police in an effort to outfit every police cruiser with dash cams. That money, which McGinty said would cover half the cams’ total cost, would come from forfeitures to the prosecutor’s department.…
City Council Approves $10 Million for Pedestrian Bridge, Rounding Out $25-Million Bill
Last night, City Council fiiiiiinnally approved the Cleveland portion of the $25-million pedestrian bridge project financing package. County leaders had been expressing concern over the city’s $10 million chip-in back in November, but it looks like we’re all set on this RNC-tagged undertaking. Much like the Public Square redesign, the pedestrian bridge has long been…
12 Things to Do in Cleveland When You’re Bored and It’s Cold and Snowy
Sure, we get it. The easy thing to do around these parts when the sun sets before you leave work and a special Lake effect delivery is waiting for you before you get home is to hunker down. Why, after all, would you try braving the wind chill and overarching darkness when you could just…
Life Inside a nuCLEus Architectural Rendering
The snow is falling. I try to kid myself into believing something will be different when I wake up each morning – perhaps just a cold rain? – but the snow never stops. It’s been years since we last saw the sun. Before I return to the mines for the day, nuCLEus Bot 2021 has…
Stooges Brass Band Brings Celebratory Spirit to Music Box Supper Club
The Stooges Brass Band might operate in the shadow of other, more well-known New Orleans brass bands, but the group has created a significant legacy in its 18-year run. The band mixes hip-hop and New Orleans jazz into a style it calls “street music,” and it definitely lived up to that billing last night at…
Heights Arts Brightens Up Winter With a Light-Focused Exhibition
Jean Dubuffet once said, “Art should be born from the materials. Spirituality should borrow the language of the material. Each material has its own language and is a language.” We’ve been thinking about that quote a lot as we consider Light Show, a new exhibition at Heights Arts showcasing nine local artists working with materials,…
Significant Changes in Store for Larchmere’s Popular Jezebel’s Bayou
In 2012, the folks behind Angie’s Soul Café, Zanzibar Soul Fusion and Stonetown opened Jezebel’s Bayou (12718 Larchmere Blvd., 216-721-3877, jezebelsbayou.com) just off Shaker Square, bringing wonderfully prepared Cajun and Creole dishes like gumbo, jambalaya and etouffee to the street. That all will end the day after Valentine’s Day, when the restaurant will close for…
The Cavs Lose Yet Again, and Still No Sign of Charles Atlas
The Cavaliers are not tough guys. Jostled by some rude fracker, they turn the other cheek. Someone snakes their parking space, they think they’ll just look a little longer. Someone continually beats them for inside position and easy pick and roll baskets, there’s always tomorrow. Turn down for what? “Oh yes, sorry to bother you.”…
Golden State Warriors Disarm Cavs 112-93, Leave Them Looking to Free Love
Like a lonely lothario, the Cavaliers continue to have trouble finding the Love after the first spark’s over. In the fourth quarter, anyway, and that, as much as anything else, is what makes them perpetual losers. Or at least in six of the seven games since LeBron James went down, including last night’s 112-94 loss…
Video: New Footage Shows Police are Lying Yet Again in their Ever-Changing Tamir Rice Narrative
Why must the Cleveland Division of Police, and its union, continue to fabricate information regarding their ghastly response to Tamir Rice? At this point, the only responsible approach from local media is to treat all official comments as either outright lies or minor manipulations. Lies like these should be considered unconscionable anyway, but the extent…
7 Concerts to Catch This Weekend
Friday, Jan. 9 That 1 Guy Early last year, That 1 Guy released Poseidon Deep Water Adventure Friends, an ocean-themed album that explores new territory for the versatile musician. It’s the first in a four-part cycle of albums that will cover the alchemical seasons (the rest including outer space, fire and Earth) and it’s a…
Noodlecat to Close West Side Market Stand; Ohio City Pasta to Reclaim Spot
Noodlecat at the West Side Market will close on Saturday, January 10. The carry-out only offshoot of the popular downtown restaurant (234 Euclid Ave., 216-589-0007, noodlecat.com) of the same name opened in spring of 2012, in a stall managed by Ohio City Pasta. That lease was not renewed, according to Ohio City Pasta’s Gary Thomas.…
ICYMI: Public Safety Fiscal Manager Resigns, Citing Lack of Leadership and Accountability
Last month, Cleveland Public Safety employee Shawn Gidley tendered his resignation in a letter made public this week — a letter in which he describes losing faith in the city and watching poor management follow in the wake of three high-profile scandals. The letter comes at a time when the Public Safety Department is facing calls…
Kent’s Jessica Lea Mayfield to Release Album with Seth Avett
Described in a press release as “an overall truth between two friends,” Seth Avett & Jessica Lea Mayfield Sing Elliott Smith, a new album that finds Kent’s Mayfield teamed up with the Avett Brothers’ Seth Avett, is due out March 17. Produced by Avett and recorded over the last three years at Echo Mountain Studios…
The New York Times Names Cleveland a Top Travel Destination for 2015– Along with Every Other Major Publication Out There
Cleveland has graced just. about. every. major publication’s list of top destinations to visit in 2015, and today, it seems, we’ve wiggled our way on one more. The New York Times released this morning its list of 52 Places to Go in 2015 and Cleveland rings in at number 21. Via the NYT: A comeback fueled…
Local Band Mo’ Mojo Selected as American Music Abroad Ambassadors
On Jan. 20, the Akron-based Zydeco band Mo’ Mojo will embark on its most extensive tour yet. The group will leave for a five-week tour of Belize, Panama, Barbados, Mexico, and Colombia as music ambassadors with American Music Abroad (AMA), a program of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs. The…
Selma Brings MLK to Life
It’s both a compliment and a bit of a knock to say that Selma, starring David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King Jr., (out Friday at theaters everywhere) feels extremely important. Through arresting oratory, striking visual sequences which depict the brutality of the Civil Rights Movement, and a powerful ensemble cast chock-full of sensitive, articulate activists, the…
10 Things Going on this Weekend in Cleveland (January 9 -11)
It’s really freaking cold outside Cleveland, but there are a boatload of events this weekend to warm you up. Peruse this list, and enjoy your time off.
Deagan’s to Bring on Talented New Executive Chef
Since it opened in 2010, Deagan’s Kitchen and Bar in Lakewood has always been a chef-driven restaurant. Opening chef Demetrios Atheneos got the gastropub off to a strong start during his two-year tenure before exiting to open his own place, the Oak Barrel in Valley View. Veteran chef Tim Bando brought decades of restaurant experience…
In Brief: Reviewing the Crowded Field of Ohio’s Marijuana Legalization Campaigns
Efforts to legalize marijuana in Ohio have never seen so much support — 87 percent of voters in favor of medical use and 51 percent in favor of legal recreational use, according to Quinnipiac University polling data — nor have there been so many avenues toward voter-sanctioned legalization. Although three’s a crowd, as they say.…
10 Cleveland Lunch Joints Where You Can Eat for Under $10
Nobody likes to shell it out at lunchtime, so that’s why we compiled this list of local joints where you can eat well for under $10. Enjoy.
Cavs Add Last Piece, Timofey Mozgov from Nuggets; We Pick Him Apart
The Cavaliers’ long pursuit of a big man has come to fruition. The trade for Russian-born Denver Nuggets center Timofey Mozgov is something the Cavs have been pursuing since the summer, GM David Griffin confirmed last night. They got him for two first round draft picks, a very high ransom indeed in a market where…
Four Cleveland Rec Centers to Stay Open All Day Amid Freezing Cold Temperatures
Temperatures around Northeast Ohio are hovering around the 0-degree mark, and that ridiculous wind chill is turning most outdoor excursions into instant headaches. It’s co-oh-old out there, and far too many people are left with few options when it comes to warming up. The city will keep Glenville, Zelma-George, Michael Zone, and Fairfax recreation centers open…
City Releases Extended Tamir Rice Video, Shows Officers’ Treatment of Sister, Loehmann in Distress
Thursday morning, the City of Cleveland released extended footage from the Cudell Recreation Center which shows the aftermath of the Tamir Rice shooting. The video corroborates earlier statements by Samaria Rice and local witnesses who said that police handcuffed Tamir’s sister and did not immediately administer first aid to the wounded Tamir. Tamir’s sister emerges…
New Soft Shoe to Play Anniversary Show at Happy Dog at the Euclid Tavern
The New Soft Shoe, a local band that plays the music of the late, great singer-songwriter Gram Parsons, has carved out its own distinct niche since it began performing five years ago. At 8 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 8, it plays a special five-year anniversary show at the Happy Dog at the Euclid Tavern. The…
Space: Rock to Host Show by Local Rock Photographer Walter Novak
The work of local photographer Walter Novak, who was Scene’s staff photographer in the late ’90s and through the early 2000s, provides further evidence that Cleveland does indeed rock. Novak, who has won numerous awards for his photos, shot countless concerts during his time at the paper. Some of the best of those photos will…
Lorain Man Heads Back to Prison After Facebook Post
Ryan Fye, convicted for his role in a fatal car crash and sentenced to six months in prison, returned him last month and posted a firm message on his Facebook page: “Prison didn’t break me. It made me.” The post was accompanied by what a judge is calling an “obscene gesture,” though screenshots of the post…
U.S. Steel ‘Idles’ Lorain Plant, Announces More Than 600 Local Layoffs
U.S. Steel announced this week that it will “idle” its steel-making plant in Lorain and, in the process, lay off more than 600 Northeast Ohio workers. The notably temporary layoffs will kick in around early March, several months in to what spokeswoman Sarah Cassella deems “softening market conditions, primarily related to the energy market.” The Lorain…
19 Vintage Photos of Cleveland’s Little Italy
Cleveland’s Little Italy has a rich history that extends far beyond the Corbo’s cannoli or Guarino’s clam sauce. Browse through these vintage pics we scooped up from the Cleveland Memory Project of Little Italy’s historic events and locations.
Up-and-coming Metal Band Night Demon to Make Cleveland Debut at Maple Grove
WJCU “Metal On Metal” host and Auburn Records owner Bill Peters recently met the guys in the up-and-coming metal band Night Demon at Ripper’s Rock House in Akron as they were driving across the country to a gig in Albany. “They stopped in Akron to visit friends and take a traveling break for the holiday,”…
Cuyahoga County Takes Over Tamir Rice Investigation This Week
Per the request of Mayor Frank Jackson, the investigation into the shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice has been handed over to the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office. The decision comes as public outcry reaches fever pitch and demands for an outside agency to step in become too clear for the mayor’s administration. Of course, he’s…
Film Review of the Week: Inherent Vice
Inherent Vice, Paul Thomas Anderson’s psychedelic noir film, expands from limited national release to theaters areawide on Friday. Anderson is known for his big, long ensemble pieces (Magnolia, Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood, to name a few) and here, in the first-ever adaptation of reclusive postmodernist novelist Thomas Pynchon, be advised that his learning…
Film Spotlight: White Bird in a Blizzard
Another vaguely noir-ish film set in California hits the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque this weekend, and this one’s as much a celebration of the late ’80s as Inherent Vice is of the early ’70s. White Bird in a Blizzard, starring Shailene Woodley and directed by Gregg Araki (the guy who humanized a horrific act…
Street Beats: The Stooges Brass Band Adroitly Mixes Hip-Hop and Jazz
When Walter Ramsey was only a child, he saw the Rebirth Brass Band, a terrific New Orleans group that’s practically a Big Easy institution, perform at his middle school. Right then and there, Ramsey, who plays trombone, knew what he wanted to do with his life. “I was blown away and said, ‘I want to…
Ghost in the Machine: Jukebox the Ghost Hones their Poppy Chops on Latest Album
The album starts out with gentle synth droning over a snapping snare beat and singer Ben Thornewill crooning a reflective verse. Then the guitars, the keys, the bass drum, everything kicks into a higher, poppier gear — the band’s joyous default setting, as it were. Hook-laden and catchier than hell, the leadoff track on Jukebox…
Abracadabra: That 1 Guy Combines Music and Magic, which are Really One and the Same
Las Vegas was the only place to go. Years ago, Mike Silverman — aka That 1 Guy — moved to the Sin City to study under one of the world’s greatest magicians. His circuitous path had cast him toward arts both dark and sunny, and the lure of sleight-of-hand metaphor pulled him deeper into the…
Will Going to the Theater Keep You Warm the Next Few Months? Let’s Hope.
Sure, spring feels a long way off. Especially since we’ve had only one big snow so far and we know we’re due for at least nine or 10 more. To take your mind off the icy fate that awaits us, here’s a look at upcoming shows, from now until April 1, that may serve to…
The 3rd Annual Cleveland Comics Issue
The first week of January around these parts means it’s time for Scene’s annual comics issue, which is one of our favorite annual traditions. The genesis of the idea came three years ago. Cleveland is the birthplace of Superman, after all, which is just the first and most recognizable entry into the city’s role in…
Rapper Wale Hopes his ‘Album About Nothing’ Will Be Something Big
Rapper Wale says he was actually “star struck” when he first met comedian Jerry Seinfeld. That feeling has passed, however, and now Wale and the comedian are good friends. Check out the videos they’ve made on YouTube as they exchange jokes — they’re hilarious and show just how quickly Wale can think on his feet.…
Guided by Garmon: Two Photographers Bring Twin Peaks Love to Celebrate the Cleveland Print Room’s Second Anniversary
The opening reception for the first exhibition of 2015 at the Cleveland Print Room is set for Friday, Jan. 9. Running from 5 to 9 p.m., the festivities will double as a celebration of CPR’s second anniversary as an exhibition space, education center, community darkroom and studio workspace. Local photographers Diana Hlywiak and Steve Syd…
Band of the Week: Vigatron TripleNine
Meet the Band: Vigatron TripleNine (vocals, production) A Warrior with Wings: In 1999, when he was still calling himself Divine Intervention, David “Vigatron” Norris released his first album. “I have been seriously going at it since 2002,” he says. Describing himself as “De La Soul meets N.W.A. meets Richard Pryor,” Vigatron is a singular entity…
Second La Bodega Opens in Midtown
Staff members at Tremont’s La Bodega are known to shout orders across the counter when they spot repeat customers walking in the door. They might recognize a regular in for their customary #45, a Cajun turkey sandwich that is the menu’s most popular item. Or it could be Susan, a customer who ordered the special…
Partial Credit: Grind Burger Proves Good Food, Which It Has In Spades, Is Only Half of What Makes a Good Restaurant
There certainly is no shortage of hamburger joints, from neighborhood one-offs and small but growing regional ventures to large national chains. To stand out in such a crowded market, a new operator is wise to adopt a trademark feature. That can include secret menus, grass-fed beef, mini-sliders, oddball toppings, and everybody’s favorite: the celebrity chef.…
Here’s to the Bad Old Days: Phil Brett is Chronicling Tragic Cleveland Sports News for Every Day of the Calendar Year
With another patently weird, bleak and postseason-less Browns season receding in the rearview mirror (and, oh, you know, the Cavs averaging like 30 percent FGs with LeBron nursing a sore knee), we’re left to agonize over more of the same: tough luck in the Cleveland sports world. Doesn’t help that we just hit the 50-year…
Song of the Week
Gypsy folk singer Johnny Habu takes a page out of Gogol Bordello’s musical playbook with this manic song that starts with some simply acoustic guitar and steadily picks up temp. “I’m really good at petting cats/I can make them purr so fast,” Habu sings in a distinctly raspy voice before going into details about his…
