7/29: Cursive at the Grog Shop
Years before lonely-heart emo kids began making bedroom confessions about their broken-down love lives, Tim Kasher was there. The Cursive frontman has been releasing records for a dozen years now, chronicling the up-and-down affairs of his heart. He’s expanded his stories and sonic palette over the years (2006’s Happy Hollow was seeped in conceptual narrative),…
7/29: Dave Matthews Band at Blossom
For a band that harnesses so much energy onstage, the Dave Matthews Band’s studio experience has been exceedingly bland and lifeless over the past decade. Albums like 2001’s Everyday and 2005’s Stand Up sound like a great jam band on the decline — directionless, passionless and losing the ability to perform as a unit without…
7/29: Abigail Williams at Peabody’s
For a newer band, Abigail Williams has certainly been through the wringer. Their 2006 EP Legend immediately raised cries of heresy from the music underground. The New York-based band (by way of Phoenix) not only plays European symphonic black-metal, it also has the nerve call it “melodic deathcore” or something similarly ridiculous. Moreover, they’ve already…
7/28: Scott H. Biram at the Grog Shop
Listen to Scott H. Biram’s albums, and it’s easy to imagine him busking on a street corner. His latest — the ragged but right Something’s Wrong/Lost Forever — sounds like it was recorded live on a tape deck in a back alley. But it’s the perfect way to capture Biram’s brand of gutbucket blues, backwoods…
7/28: Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby
He’s one of the avatars of the wackier side of ’70s punk-wave, and she’s the sweetly cynical creator of 1996’s Diary of a Mod Housewife. Together they make beautiful music in more ways than one. Like the eponymous album the pair released last year, this show should be a hit. Swinging with the psych-pub pop…
7/28: Yeah Yeah Yeahs at HOB
When it comes to pain-in-the-ass artsy NYC bands, they don’t come much more pain-in-the-ass artsier than Yeah Yeah Yeahs. And now that they’ve added squiggly synths and hipster remixers to their arsenal, they’re even more pain-in-the-ass artsy. Still, there are parts of their new album, It’s Blitz!, that slip comfortably into this new guise. “Zero”…
Burma VJ has its local premiere tonight at CMA
Cobble together from footage taken by an collective of underground video journalists, Burma VJ has its local premiere tonight at 7 at the Cleveland Museum of Art as part of the Museum’s “Friday Night First-Runs” series. Here’s our review. Burma VJ (Denmark, 2008) The amazing thing about Anders Østergaard’s film is the way it’s able…
7/26: The Chinese Stars at Now That’s Class
While many bands make noise more palatable by blending it with pop, the Chinese Stars use post-punk’s sensual swagger to get to a similar place. The Rhode Island quartet craft jagged, belching hooks that sound like robots locked in nasty verbal arguments, but they manage to do it with smooth, hip-shaking beats and bass lines…
7/26: Credo Chamber Music Festival
Teaching at some of the area’s best music schools — including Oberlin Conservatory, the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Encore School for Strings in Hudson — has convinced Credo Festival’s artistic director Peter Slowik that the region is a world-class destination for music students. This year, for the festival’s 10th anniversary, students ages 5…
7/26: The Octopus Project at the Grog Shop
Austin’s Octopus Project combine the astral guitar landscapes of bands like Spacemen 3 and the cosmic lounge-pop swoon of Stereolab with the electro-vibe of Four Tet. But the band exudes its own distinctive, fun identity through members’ subtle quirkiness and a bizarre cartoony-creature folk-art visual aesthetic. Although the four collaborating musicians are each proportionally brilliant,…
Reviews of the Cinematheque’s weekend films
The Cinematheque is showing several great films this weekend. Here are our capsule reviews. Il Divo (Italy/France, 2008) Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, Paolo Sorrentino’s flamboyantly stylized, robustly entertaining biography of controversial seven-time Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti isn’t always easy to follow (it helps if you have a…
7/25: Déjà Vu at Pop Shop
David Kay’s cut-vinyl renditions of pop-star portraits reveal traces of light and shadow from the original photos, so the viewer ends up thinking more about the pop icons than about the artist’s role in creating the pieces. Kay shows a collection of rockers through the ages — ranging from Keith Richards to David Bowie to…
7/25: Family Unity in the Park
Cleveland’s east-side Mt. Pleasant neighborhood has had its share of unpleasant incidents in recent years (as has its councilman, Zack Reed). But each summer around this time, Reed and the Mt. Pleasant Community Zone hook up with the Excursions Concert Series to present Family Unity in the Park — reminding people that they can come…
7/25: Squirrel Nut Zippers at Cain Park
One-hit wonders always have interesting stories. When that one hit comes in the shape of a campy, overtly theatrical take on 1920s hot jazz and performed by a group named after a candy bar, it makes for an odd tale indeed. Squirrel Nut Zippers’ big moment came in 1996 with “Hell,” a raucous take on…
7/25: Walk + Roll
Walk + Roll — the street-closing events that allow revelers to enjoy the roads without being run down by cars — takes on a different vibe based on its location. Founder Lois Moss has lined up a pair of distinct events for this weekend. From 1-4 p.m. today, Walk + Roll Detroit-Shoreway shows off a…
7/25: Walk + Roll
Walk + Roll — the street-closing events that allow revelers to enjoy the roads without being run down by cars — takes on a different vibe based on its location. Founder Lois Moss has lined up a pair of distinct events for this weekend. From 1-4 p.m. today, Walk + Roll Detroit-Shoreway shows off a…
7/25: Cleveland Orchestra
Thirty-year-old Israeli pianist Inon Barnatan won an Avery Fischer career grant earlier this year, which — along with a string of debuts with prominent orchestras — gave his career a significant boost. He’s in the middle of a North American tour, playing more than just the Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert tunes that have won him…
7/25: Cycle Canalway
Improving on something as basic as a bike ride may seem implausible, but Ohio Canal Corridor continues working on that very project. Over the years, they’ve tirelessly and tenaciously toiled to bring the Towpath Trail to downtown Cleveland. Today they host a 23-mile ride that starts at Morgan’s Hollow (Canalway Center’s picnic area) with a…
Reviews of two new films opening at the Cedar Lee
Among the mainstream movies opening this weekend, there’s something for everyone, including horror (Orphan), romantic comedy (The Ugly Truth) and kids’ stuff (G-Force). Over at the Cedar Lee Theatre, however, two terrific movies open this weekend: the war drama The Hurt Locker and the Zooey Deschanel vehicle (500) Days of Summer. Our reviews follow. (500)…
Sun Sets on Community Newspapers
Sun Newspapers announced plans for a substantial “reorganization” in June. The chain claimed it would continue covering 72 Northeast Ohio communities but would do it by slashing its work force and products. The changes will eliminate around 100 jobs and 11 newspapers. The Sun papers plan to announce full details over the next two weeks.…
7/24: Big Love at Convergence-Continuum
Director Clyde Simon says Convergence-Continuum’s production of Big Love — Charles Mee’s adaptation of one of the western world’s oldest plays, Aeschylus’ The Danaids — is “very physical,” and “vaudevillian in a way.” Scenes are interspersed with songs, dance and video. After 50 brides in arranged marriages leave their grooms at the altar, the guys…
7/24: Flowers and Phrases at Local Girl Gallery
Betty Lou Curatolo’s extreme close-up photos of flowers straddle the line between sensual portraiture and abstraction. Her lilies have something in common with fireworks, their petals streaked with color that radiates from the center. For Flowers and Phrases, she teams up with her 17-year-old niece Barbie Curatolo, who paints childlike visual puns on phrases like…
7/24: Music Saves Anniversary
Kevin Neudecker and Melanie Hershberger opened the doors of their independent music store Music Saves (15801 Waterloo Rd., 216.481.1875) on July 17, 2004. Despite Northeast Ohio’s poor economy and seismic changes in how consumers access music, they’ve hung in and adapted, greatly expanding their selection of new vinyl as the format made a resurgence. (They…
7/24: The Veils at the Beachland Ballroom
Bands sometimes sound like products of their environments. London-based the Veils — a foursome whose members hail from New Zealand, Germany and England — make dramatic, strange rock songs that seem elusive and inviting at the same time. Their third album, Sun Gangs, came out in April and is an engaging and emotionally compelling listen.…
Mo Williams and Kevin Durant Commercial Shoot
If you’ve been following Mo Williams’ Twitter account (MoGotti2), or Kevin Durant’s (KevinDurant35), then you know the two were out shooting a Nike commercial in Vegas. Thanks to Durant’s account, we also have a few shots of the shoot, and apparently Mo’s got quite the hairdo going on.
Fest That No One Cared About Cancels
Another overly ambitious idea seems to have drowned in its own grandiosity. Since late 2008, an obscure promoter with no visible track record was ballyhooing the first North Coast Music Festival, which was to take place on Malls B &C August 7-9 with a roster of about 70 bands and singers, including about two dozen…
Colbie Caillat Hires Cheap SNL Cast Member for New Video
Fallin For You – Colbie Caillat Two years ago, Colbie Caillat began a yearlong assault on the charts with “Bubbly,” a song that was played on the radio so much, we were pretty much beaten into liking the song (sorta like what happens to Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange, only even more horrendous). Caillat…
Talking Kobe vs. LeBron at Playboy’s Celebrity Poker Tournament
Well, that’s not really news, but I’ll post it anyway, just so you can hear Hugh Hefner respond to a muffled question that he either doesn’t know who LeBron is or doesn’t know who LeBron plays for. I find that baffling. Lots of other “celebrities” weigh in on the topic, which was posed by JerseyChaser.com,…
eBay Item of the Day: Dajuan Wagner Figurine
Dajuan Wagner, long gone from the landscape of the NBA, can be remembered by you, obsessive Cavs fan, with this figurine. Last seen somewhere in Poland, Wagner might be known most for his 100-point game in high school, and not the fact that he bombed out of the NBA. Two days left in bidding, which…
Another Cleveland T-Shirt? OK
Homage Clothing, a fine Columbus based purveyor of apparel, has a couple of dynamite Cleveland designs to go along with the copious amounts of Ohio State gear it sells. Here’s a new(ish?) one, in Browns colors. Make sure you also check out the World B. Free “Prince of Midair” shirt and the “Bernie Kosar for…
Money Where Your Mouth Is: Tom Goss
Here’s the part where C-Notes’ music writers let an act speak for itself. ‘Cuz we were out late welcoming Shaq to town last night. Probably not the Shaq you’re thinking of, though. Artist: Tom Goss Website: tomgossmusic.com and myspace.com/tomgossmusic2 Hometown: Washington, DC Sounds Lke: “Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz” Fun Fact: “I’m an avid…
Jackson Browne, Ohio Republican Party Settle Lawsuit
Remember when the Ohio Republican Party used part of Jackson Browne’s “Running on Empty” last year when John McCain was running for president? Remember when Browne through a hissy about it? Well, we can all exhale: The matter’s been resolved. Browne filed a lawsuit last August after the Ohio Republican Party posted a pro-McCain video…
This Just In: Concert Announcements
This week, we have 19 new shows. Hot hip-hop from Cool Kids & Clipse. Hometown boy Nicholas Megalis returns as a hometown man, headlining House of Blues’ Cambridge Room. Teen country sensation Katie Armiger. A boatload of Tennessee cats. And Yo La frickin’ Tango. —D.X. Ferris The Cool Kids/Clipse: Wed., Aug. 26, 8:30 p.m., $21…
7/23: Cass McCombs at the Beachland
Singer-songwriter Cass McCombs converts musical peers and esoteric critics alike in a single listen. McCombs has seemingly stitched his sound together from the most potent bits of Nick Drake, Tom Waits, the Everly Brothers and T Bone Burnett, but then turns it all on its head by not sounding like any of them directly, making…
7/23: Sparx After-Work Block Party
You didn’t really want to get right home after work, did you? The dog can hold it, the cat will forgive you for the late dinner (maybe by Christmas). So grab your co-workers and head over to West 9th Street for the first Sparx Thursday Night Live After-Work Block Party, part of the seventh season…
7/23: Black Francis at the Grog Shop
One of indie-rock’s most prolific frontmen, Black Francis hasn’t slowed down much in the past 20 years. As the pioneer behind the Pixies, he helped write five classic albums. Under the pseudonym Frank Black (and sometimes with his backing band the Catholics), he’s released 13 albums. Now he’s back to using his Pixies’ moniker Black…
A Few Thoughts on Eric Wedge — Your Fifth Longest Tenured MLB Manager
Did you know only four current managers have been the manager of their respective teams longer than Eric Wedge has been managing the Indians? Four. Can you guess? Eric Wedge is nowhere near these guys’ levels. Four guys longer active tenure with their current team than Wedgie. Bobby Cox. Mike Scioscia. Ron Gardenhire. Tony LaRussa.…
Quite Possibly the Worst Browns Video of All Time, But Still Hilarious (Unintentionally)
The sad thing is, this was “professionally” done. The acting his horrendous, the writing is awful, the production is embarrassing. It’s called “Revenge of the Dogs” and despite all the bad things I just said about it, I do implore you to watch it for all the unintentional comedy. It does involve a scene where…
Eventually, There’ll Be an ESPN Cleveland
ESPN rolled out ESPNChicago last year, a site dedicated solely to all things Windy City sports related. It seemed pretty obvious from the start that along with stockpiling city/team/dvision-specific bloggers, ESPN was going to go after the local sports markets around America. Chicago was an obvious test case: Lots of teams, lots of fans, etc.…
eBay Item of the Day: Bernie Kosar Mask
What? You think it would be easier to make this yourself than buy it? Probably. But then you wouldn’t get the satisfaction of paying $0.99 for this gem. I think the description from the seller is better than anything I could ever dream of putting together, so, in their own words: CLEVELAND BROWNS FANS #…
Shaq Gets His Own Reality Show
Shaq — basketball player, rapper, actor, law enforcement fanatic, tweeter. Now, reality TV star. The show, which will premiere August 18 on ABC and will air on Tuesdays at 9, is called Shaq Vs. The premise: Shaq challenges athletes in their respective sports. Unfortunately, as much as we would all like to see Shaq attempt…
Veggie U Bash Stuffs Local Foodies
About an hour west of Cleveland, in the shadow of Ohio’s vacationland in Huron, is the Chef’s Garden and Culinary Vegetable Institute, a family owned farm and training facility devoted to producing top quality vegetables for use in restaurants. Not only is the Garden dedicated to using sustainable agricultural farming, the Institute has developed Veggie…
New Swag for Our Sucky Tribe
From the good folks over at Waiting For Next Year, the “Regressive Field” shirt, complete with the sign directing the talent back down to Columbus on the back. Stop by their swag shop to pick it up.
Browns Play Coming to Cleveland Public Theatre?
A little tidbit from our Arts Editor, who wrote a piece for the paper last week teasing some of Cleveland Public Theatre’s offerings for next season… Cleveland Public Theatre is leaking a few hints about what’s on the company’s 2009-2010 schedule in advance of its announcement party Saturday (see “Get Out” this week), but no…
Concert Review: Handsome Furs at Grog, 7/17
It took a couple hours for the Grog Shop to wake up on Friday night. Lakewood’s Saint Ohio opened the show with a brutally dull set, where the overzealous drummer tried to make up for the rest of the band’s mediocrity by dancing around the stage with a tambourine and fastening his glasses to his…
WORLD’S LONELIEST BROWNS FAN VISITS
Like many Browns’ fans, Gordon Sparks is excited about the upcoming season. He even thinks new coach Eric Mangini will get the team into the playoffs. He’s surprisingly excited for a guy who lives in Plymouth, England. A BBC radio personality, he flew into town this week and will spend two weeks here working on…
PROGRESS? IN CONGRESS?
It may be Friday but at least a couple of Ohio’s elected officials aren’t starting the weekend early. This morning, Dennis Kucinich introduced an amendment to the health-care bill to the House Committee on Education and Labor that would allow individual states to institute single-payer programs if they chose to. And for those who try…
WHY GOLDMAN SACHS IS LAUGHING AT ALL OF US
Baffled by all this talk about Goldman Sachs and TARP and TALF and such? Matt Taibbi breaks it down: Ask yourself this question: has borrowing money gotten any cheaper for you this year? Did someone from the government walk up to you after you foreclosed on your house or missed payments on your charge card…
NOT THAT KEVIN KELLEY
Cleveland’s Ward 16 Councilman Kevin Kelley is one of the few members who’s running unopposed this year. If he were he’d be spending a lot of money on billboards and flyers proclaiming, “I’m not that Kevin Kelley!” “Thank God,” he says. Doesn’t Kelley — Council’s majority whip — mean “Thank Council President Marty Sweeney?” He…
Unwashed Hippies Soak in Waterfest
Calling all hippies! Cleveland’s Waterband recently unveiled details on Waterfest 2009, their annual music fest/campout/fundraiser. The fest will take place on August 21 and 22 at regional hippie haven Nelson Ledges Quarry Park in Garrettsville. There’s camping there, so you can stay for every last noodling guitar solo. There’s tons of music over the two…
Show Goes on at Phantasy This Weekend
After this week’s fire on Lakewood’s 11000 block, manager Michele De Frasia says some of the Phantasy/Symposium/Chamber nightclub events will take place this weekend. Some are canceled. Some are moved. Read on for details. The Chamber goth-dance club is in the worst shape but is still standing. It is closed until further notice, but some…
Hardcore Sandwich
Above This Fire’s LT Magnotto wrote to let us know that the band’s favorite greasy spoon, George’s Kitchen (13101 Triskett Rd., 216.671.0430), has named a sandwich after the local hardcore band. Apparently, the restaurant’s owner saw a press photo of the group that was taken in front of his diner and was so thrilled that…
BROKE-ASS RTA WEIGHS ITS (BAD) OPTIONS
The RTA board is fairly divided, it seems, between those with their eyes on the money and those with their eyes on the mission. Board GM Joe Calabrese called a special meeting on Thursday to discuss which of the possible money-saving tactics, enacted last year at budget time, that they would now have to employ…
CLE MUSIC MAG CRASHES BILLBOARD CHARTS
Alternative Press has long since established itself as the Rolling Stone of the Warped Tour generation. Now the music industry’s epicenter is moving closer to it, as the Cleveland-based magazine experiences unprecedented success in new areas — with the help of some unlikely bedfellows. AP’s one-off summer special Summer of Rock is the first magazine…
Blog Is Gonna Be a Little Slow Til monday
There’s some goings on here that have prevented me from blogging as much as I would like to. Yesterday, it was an excursion to Melt because a Food Network show was filming there and I wanted to write about it for the paper. Today, it was an array of meetings. Tomorrow, it’s a trip that…
AP Crashes Billboard Chart, Announces Fall Tour
Alternative Press has long since established itself as the Rolling Stone of the Warped Tour generation. Now the music industry’s epicenter is moving closer to it, as the Cleveland-based magazine experiences unprecedented success in new areas — with the help of some unlikely bedfellows. AP’s one-off summer special Summer of Rock is the first magazine…
Two Clevelanders Join Diddy’s New Reality Show
When Diddy’s new reality show, Making His Band, debuts in a couple weeks, look for a pair of Clevelanders busting heads with the D-man Sean Combs (who invented the remix, you know) has a new album coming out soon. He’s then going to go on the road promoting it. He’ll need a band to do…
Todd Tix Still Available
Northeast Ohioans sure love them some Todd! Todd Rundgren is playing his 1973 album A Wizard, A True Star in its entirety for the first time in Akron on September 6. That show immediately sold out. A second show was added for the following night, Monday, September 7. But those tickets are going fast. You…
One-Day Prize Giveaway: Crüe Fest
We have a Crüe Fest prize pack up for grabs. It consists of two lawn tickets to next Tuesday’s concert at Blossom Music Center and a copy of Motley Crüe’s Dr. Feelgood 20th Anniversary Expanded Deluxe Edition CD. We have two prize packs to give away. You have 24 hours to send your name, phone…
Money Where Your Mouth Is: Frank Ian
Here’s where singer-songwriter Frank Ian toots his own horn. Band: Frank Ian (with bass player Bruce Locke) Website: myspace.com/frankian Hometown: Cleveland Sounds Like: “Like a whistle blast from a train roaring past” Fun Fact: “We’re both look much taller on stage and are more sober than we appear.” Playing: Prosperity Social Club (1109 Starkweather Ave.)…
Daughter of Singer-Songwriters Turns Out to Be a Singer-Songwriter
If there’s such a thing as a songwriting gene, no one has a better chance of possessing it than Hazel Rigby. The daughter of singer-songwriter Amy Rigby and drummer Will Rigby (of the dB’s and Steve Earle & the Dukes), Rigby plays in Chicago band Big Knife. Decidedly more punk rock than either of her…
Money Where Your Mouth Is: 2 Men and a Campfire
This is the part of C-Notes where we let those who make the music do the talkin’. Band: 2 Men and a Campfire Website: myspace.com/2menandacampfire Hometown: Cleveland Sounds Like: “A mixture of Martin Rosewood and Gibson Maple strumming some bronze steel strings over a hickory campfire, throw in a hillbilly version of Tom Petty playing…
Whiskey Daredevils Tour Diary
The Whiskey Daredevils just returned from a road trip in Europe. Frontman Greg Miller fills us in on what happened. Day 12: Barcelona, Spain We have clearly overstayed our welcome. Brigitte and Pitch speak in the kitchen in quick bursts of harsh tones. Christoph has hit some sort of wall, and is the last one…
Crazy Priest Fan Update
Well, dreams came true Tuesday for Jim Bartek, the Cleveland Judas Priest fan we wrote about a few weeks ago who had recently completed a year of listening to the latest Priest album Nostradamus every single day — despite its nearly two-hour length, despite the naysayers who thought it was pretentious and weak, despite a…
Reviews of two new films opening at the Cedar Lee
The latest Harry Potter film is the sole major studio release to open this week. But over at the Cedar Lee Theatre, two new films open tomorrow. Here are our reviews. The Girl from Monaco When an attorney named Bertrand (Fabrice Luchini) goes to Monaco to defend a woman accused of murder, he ends up…
Reviews of the Cinematheque’s weekend films
The Cinematheque is showing several great movies this weekend. Here are capsule reviews of just a few of them. Big Man Japan (Japan, 2007) A bit of a slacker who lives in a small, messy apartment with a stray cat he doesn’t call his own, Daisato (director Hitoshi Matsumoto) carries an umbrella with him, even…
Ocasio Camp Now in Session
The fifth annual Roberto Ocasio Latin Jazz Music Camp, honoring the popular area musician and music educator who died in an auto accident in January 2004, is currently in session at Baldwin-Wallace College. Students from grade 8-12 of all levels of musical ability and training are spending a week on campus immersed in the technique…
Photo Show: Judas Priest at TW Amphitheater
Scene’s Johnny Angell went to see Judas Priest at the Time Warner Cable Amphitheater last night. He took some pictures. Here they are.
Fire destroys Lakewood’s Attic, spares clubs
Early Tuesday evening, the Attic thrift shop on Lakewood’s 11000 block caught fire. The store’s contents were incinerated, but the neighboring night clubs were not destroyed (contrary to previous reports from the Plain Dealer). “Phantasy’s fine,” says Michele De Frasia, who manages of block’s three clubs. “[Phantasy] Theater is fine. Symposium is fine. Chamber has…
FIRE DESTROYS LAKEWOOD’S ATTIC, SPARES PHANTASY
Early Tuesday evening, the Attic thrift shop on Lakewood’s 11000 block caught fire. The store’s contents were incinerated, but the neighboring night clubs were not destroyed (contrary to previous reports from the Plain Dealer). “Phantasy’s fine,” says Michele De Frasia, who manages of block’s three clubs. “[Phantasy] Theater is fine. Symposium is fine. Chamber has…
Phantasy Clubs Still Standing
Tuesday night, a storefront in the Lakewood complex containing the Phantasy, Symposium and Chamber caught fire. The nightclubs were not destroyed. One business owner who rents a storefront on the block told Scene the clubs have smoke damage but no significant physical damage. Stay tuned for details. —D.X. Ferris
Music Saves Celebrates 5 Years
It’s coming on five years now for our friends over at independent music store Music Saves in the Waterloo district — and there’s always reason to celebrate when a small, locally owned business thrives. Opening their doors on July 17, 2004, owners Kevin and Melanie (and store cat Vinyl) offer a hangout and headquarters for…
Phantasy Catches Fire
The Phantasy Concert Club caught on fire last night, spreading through the venerable Lakewood club, which has hosted everyone from the Jesus and Mary Chain to Soundgarden over the years. The fire started in a nearby thrift shop around 7:30 p.m. No one’s really sure how much damage was done to the building, but it…
Nursery University makes its local premiere tonight at CMA
The Manhattan pre-school scene is so cutthroat, parents will do just about anything to get their kids into the best schools. That’s the subject of the documentary Nursery University, which makes its local premiere tonight at 5:15 and 7:15 at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Recital Hall. Here’s our review of the film. Nursery University…
Local Disc Reviews
Impact; Woven (self-released) Though Impact; Woven is a relatively new band, the guys have already developed an accessible sound on The Meaningless Truth. The album opens with “Hors d’oeuvre,” a jammy, rollicking song featuring some stellar guitar playing. Too bad the song’s lyrics about having faith in what’s real are so abstract. The band finds…
Living Room Legends
When Akron/Family first came through town a few years ago with former Swan Michael Gira’s Angels of Light, they played an opening set and then joined Gira onstage as his backing band. It was a formative experience for the Brooklyn-based group that considers collaboration a key part of their concerts. “It was our very first…
Reel Cleveland: Shorts
Having spent the past five years working for SLAMjamz, Chuck D.’s record label/production company, Youngstown-born filmmaker David C. Snyder has made plenty of short films and music videos. Now the Pittsburgh-based director has made his first feature-length film. He wrote a screenplay that, much like Fargo, involved a kidnapping and ransom, but he gave it…
The Kid’s Alright
It’s been MONTHS since rapper Kid Cudi’s breakout single “Day ‘N’ Night” earned him a standing ovation from fans across the world. Thanks to the Internet buzz following his 2008 mixtape A Kid Called Cudi, and an endorsement from Kanye West, Cudi has quickly become the most popular kid in hip-hop’s new school of MCs.…
A Passion Ploy
BEFORE NEDA, the young woman who died before the world’s eyes during post-election protests in Iran, there was Soraya, a 35-year-old mother who was stoned to death on trumped-up adultery charges in Ayatollah Khomeini’s 1986 Iran. Soraya’s supposedly true story was told in French-Iranian journalist Freidoune Sahebjam’s novel The Stoning of Soraya M. The book…
Black Magic Band
The vibe that audiences get from listening to Austin-based Grupo Fantasma is quite different from what you expect from a Latin dance band. To begin with, Grupo Fantasma incorporate strong funk and rock influences in ways that recall the original early-’70s Santana. In addition to percussion and trumpets, they include full drum sets, electric guitars…
Capsule Reviews
Opening Big Man Japan (Japan, 2007) A bit of a slacker who lives in a small, messy apartment with a stray cat he doesn’t call his own, Daisato (director Hitoshi Matsumoto) carries an umbrella with him, even if it’s not threatening to rain. He rides around town on a small, beaten-up motorcycle. Yet Daisato is…
FORGED IN LIES
The Jigsaw Saloon saga will soon be a song. It’s already a T-shirt. Cleveland metal band Forged in Flame has printed shirts with Jigsaw CEO Phil Lara’s face on the front, locked in a crosshairs. “We figured this is a way to make back some of the money [Lara] never came through with,” says Forged…
CD Review: Daughtry
When he was on American Idol, Chris Daughtry made it clear that, unlike the rest of the pansies who compete, he was gonna rock out. He kept at it, even with that persnickety judge Simon Cowell telling him he didn’t have the charisma to make it. While Daughtry didn’t advance to the final round, his…
CD Review: The Dead Weather
The first thing you should know about this collaboration between the White Stripes’ Jack White, the Kills’ Alison Mosshart, the Raconteurs’ Jack Lawrence and Queens of the Stone Age’s Dean Fertita is that White plays drums. The second thing you should know is that the drums are louder than anything else on the album. It’s…
CD Review: Constants
What keeps many listeners from enjoying instrumental rock music is obvious: There are no vocals. It’s not often that a rock record is hindered by including vocals. But that’s the case with The Foundation, the Machine, the Ascension. From the sci-fi epic opening of “Genetics Like Chess Pieces” to the Muse-inspired interlude of “Those Who…
CD Review: Son Volt
Jay Farrar has been doing the same thing for close to 15 years now, but there’s not much room for error. What is the risk of the alt-country singer — prettiness forever? When you sing like Farrar, whose voice one detractor memorably likened to an “electric can opener on low-battery,” is there even that? So,…
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Think of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros as the U.S. version of the Arcade Fire. Or the unwashed-hippie version of the Arcade Fire. The comparisons are inevitable, since the 10-member, L.A.-based crew load the intricately arranged songs on their debut album with accordions, trumpets and tons of percussion. The opening “40 Day Dream” even…
The Discipline of Steel
Like deer at a pool, Cleveland’s bicycle messengers gather at the end of the day at the Blind Pig. They sit at the bar, their exotic rides locked to fences and trees outside. Misty Golinar, a tall girl with brown hair to her shoulders, is one of the longest-tenured riders in town, having lasted five…
Wiz Kid
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is where the mega-popular series about the boy wizard gets dark. Not that it was all Quidditch and giggles before J.K. Rowling published her sixth Potter book in 2005, but this is where things start to boil over and someone very close to Harry and his pals, gulp, dies.…
Fight the Power!
TOP PICK Do the Right Thing — 20th Anniversary Edition (Universal) Spike Lee’s best, and still incendiary, movie celebrates its 20th anniversary with a two-DVD set and a Blu-ray debut. Four hours of bonus material include deleted scenes, commentary by Lee and a documentary featuring film stars Danny Aiello, John Turturro and Samuel L. Jackson.…
YOU ARE HERE
I have a weakness for maps. Road maps, weather maps, even Google maps — I love them all. Maps not only point the way to the destination, they can provide a pleasurable distraction during an otherwise tedious journey. What else is there to do between turns behind the wheel other than comb the atlas for…
Around Hear: New Business in Second Half
Chicago-based Smog Veil Records, owned by former Clevelander Frank Mauceri, has a slew of Cleveland-related releases scheduled for the second half of 2009. Three releases are slated for November 17. The delayed Face Value CD-DVD Rode Hard, Put Away Wet covers the hardcore band’s career from 1989 to ’93. The Tin Huey retrospective, The Bushflow…
Bites: Crop Parties
“If there’s one thing we chefs know how to do, it’s throw a party,” says Steve Schimoler, chef-owner of Crop Bistro. As the official bandleader for Cleveland Food Rocks, a nonprofit that seeks to promote the city through its food and music, Schimoler is gearing up for a mouth-watering new food bash. The inaugural Rock…
My Fair Chekhov
When a theater critic encounters unexpected radiance on stage — as in CSU Summer Stage’s production of Chekhov in Yalta — he has to struggle to prevent himself from becoming a cliché-spouting sycophant. But I can’t stop myself from proclaiming the John Driver and Jeffrey Haddow fantasia on the final days of Anton Chekhov as a…
POPPINS FRESH
Ashley Brown faced a challenge when she created the title role of Mary Poppins for its U.S. premiere on Broadway in 2006. She’d seen the classic 1964 Disney movie version “about a million times” as a little girl, fixing the image of Julie Andrews’ take on the beloved nanny in her head. “I definitely work…
Arts News: Brownies Hitting the Stage?
Cleveland Public Theatre is leaking a few hints about what’s on the company’s 2009-2010 schedule in advance of its announcement party Saturday (see “Get Out” this week), but no specific titles. A little bird told us, for example, that the football season will bring the world premiere of a cabaret-style performance “about a beloved Cleveland…
HOMESTYLE TINKERIN’
Ingenuity organizer James Levin predicted that Ian Charnas’ production Boltz — a campy mix of musical theater, dance and electrical tinkering presented by Case Western Reserve University — would be the iconic event that people remembered from Ingenuity 2009. Hopefully that’s not true. The production’s music and dance weren’t badly realized, and the sustainability message…
