Appeals Court Rules Tamir Rice Grand Jury Transcripts Shouldn’t Be Released
The Ohio Eighth District Appeal Court ruled unanimously this week that the grand jury transcript from the Tamir Rice case should remain entirely sealed. The Cleveland NAACP had sought an unprecedented release of portions of the transcript. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Nancy R. McDonnell ruled last March it should remain secret and that releasing…
Where Are They Now: LeBron’s St. Vincent-St. Mary High School Teammates
Brandon Weems, a former teammate of LeBron James at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, was recently promoted to Director of Scouting for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was hired as a college scout for the Cavs in 2015 after coaching stints with the University of Kentucky, Drexel University and Oakland University in Detroit. The…
Still Touring in Support of Last Year’s ‘Tidal Wave,’ Taking Back Sunday to Return to House of Blues
For the past few years, many alternative rock tours have skipped Cleveland to hit Pittsburgh and Columbus instead. Not Taking Back Sunday. The band regularly comes to town at least once a year (or so it seems). So what keeps the guys coming back to our fine city? “We have good memories from Cleveland, and…
Ongoing Resistance to Wayne National Forest Fracking as September Land Auction Looms
Starting last December, the federal Bureau of Land Management began auctioning land rights within Wayne National Forest, in southeast Ohio. The catch? The bidders could only be oil and natural gas drillers — private companies that will use the forest for non-renewable energy production. It wasn’t a one-off thing. Auctions continued into 2017, with the next…
Local Rockers Jehova Waitresses to Play Reunion Show at Brothers Lounge
When it comes to long trips, Jehova Waitresses have been hung up in a heckuva lot of traffic on the musical turnpike to deliver Route 5, their first album in over two decades which is available now on CDBaby and all digital platforms. They will celebrate the release with a reunion show on Sunday at…
This Video Game Footage of Derrick Rose is the Cruelest Trick on the Cavs Yet
The debate about the impact of video games upon its players is legion and legendary, but the latest cruel trick from a pixelated platform could be convincing Cavs fans that Derrick Rose is the same player he was when he won an MVP nod in Chicago. In a video posted to YouTube (via Cleveland.com), user…
Blues Guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd Talks About His Love for Performing Live
While still a toddler, guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd had a formative experience that would inspire him to pursue the electric guitar. Now considered a blues phenom, Shepherd started simple. He initially learned to play on plastic acoustic guitars his grandmother used to buy with stamps. “I had several of those things, and I would wear…
Old Dominion’s Dive Bar Tour Coming to McCarthy’s Downtown
The country rock act Old Dominion has had massive hits with tracks such as “Break Up With Him,” “Snapback” and “Song For Another Time.” In advance of the release of the forthcoming new studio effort, Happy Endings, the band has been performing at small bars and clubs as part of what it calls the Bud Light Dive…
Frank Jackson Nabs Marcia Fudge Endorsement
U.S. Congresswoman Marcia Fudge announced her support for Frank Jackson Tuesday, as the incumbent Cleveland Mayor seeks an unprecedented fourth term in office. Fudge, who has represented Ohio’s 11th Congressional District since 2008, spoke before a group of supporters at Jackson’s campaign headquarters. “Mayor Jackson has worked tirelessly on Cleveland’s transformation, and the results can…
Kesha to Play Lakewood Civic Auditorium in October
Pop singer Kesha has just announced details for her first solo tour since 2013’s Warrior Tour. She will launch her Rainbow Tour, a six-week jaunt, on Sept. 26 in Birmingham. The tour will feature new songs from the forthcoming album, Rainbow, and Kesha will also play her previous “global hits.” She performs at Lakewood Civic…
Don’t Miss the Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom This Month
[image-1]The Cleveland Orchestra is home for the entire month of August this year, and a number of guest conductors and soloists will be featured at Blossom. On Saturday, Aug. 5 at 8 p.m., Tchaikovsky fans can enjoy a whole evening of that conflicted Russian composer’s heart-on-the-sleeve music. Robert Trevino conducts his Symphony No. 5, and…
Cleveland Clinic’s New Center for Men’s Health Will Link with LGBT Facility
The Cleveland Clinic is announcing a new Center for Men’s Health, which will focus on urologic conditions like pelvic pain, erectile dysfunction, and enlarged prostate. One of the center’s first priorities will be to send staff to the Clinic’s LGBT facility located in the Lakewood Family Health Center to provide specialized care for gay, bisexual,…
Coventry’s Whiskey Bar Expands, Taking Over Former Cafe Bon Appetite Space Upstairs
Husband-and-wife partners Jade and Jay Novak opened the health-focused Café Bon Appetit on Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights about two and a half years ago. Last summer, they complemented that daytime and early-evening business with the addition of the Whiskey Bar, a small, speakeasy-like cocktail lounge on the lower level. This intimate space features a…
Nine Days: The Deportation of Beatriz Casillas, from Painesville to Mexico, Follows a Routine Path for ICE Agents
The deportation process for Beatriz Morelos Casillas is expected be completed today, and her story follows a prescribed and routine path that federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement has pursued for more than a decade. Her story outlines how ICE does what it does. The 34-year-old mother of four was arrested by the Ohio State Highway…
Corpse Abuse Charges for Youngstown-Area Man Who Kept His Girlfriend’s Body in Freezer
Arturo Novoa, 31, was arrested last weekend after a bizarre crime unraveled into a Youngstown police case. He is suspected of storing the body of his missing girlfriend in a freezer. The woman’s cause of death has not yet been confirmed, nor has her identity. To further confound the matter: Katrina Layton, 34, was arrested…
An ’80s Throwback Theme Dominated the Tegan and Sara Concert at House of Blues
A great writing teacher once told me content that pushes against its form is the secret to great art—like a sad song that makes you want to get up and dance. He may have taken his cues from Tegan and Sara. The twin sisters from Calgary took the stage last night at a House of…
Indie Rockers Foxygen Take a Theatrical Approach for Beachland Concert
Touring in support of their fourth studio album, Hang, the L.A.-based pop/rock duo Foxygen continues to deliver something almost completely lost from American rock bands these days — a level a theatricality and spectacle that’s fully embraced in all of its ’60s and ’70s-influenced glory. Last night as the band appeared at a packed Beachland…
Local News Outlets Are Ganging Up on Kyrie Now
When LeBron left, the city erupted. Now, with Kyrie Irving apparently maybe sort of out the door, the city seems like it’s going down an even darker path: sour grape winners. In the days following the news that Irving wants to bail on Cleveland and move across this flat earth to greener pastures in San…
Guitar Hero Marty Friedman Brings his Wall of Sound Tour to the Grog Shop
On his forthcoming album, Wall Of Sound, guitar hero Marty Friedman explores a wide range of music, offering a bit of Latin rock on “Whiteworm” and switching between electric and acoustic harmonies in “Miracle.” A former member of the speed metal group Megadeth, Friedman, who starts a headlining tour in support of the album this week and…
The Total Solar Eclipse Will Pair Perfectly With These Spacey Classical Music Selections
After a century of waiting, the U.S. will be treated to the first total solar eclipse visible across the lower 48 on Aug. 21. As the date approaches, you may think you’re doomed to hearing “Rocket Man” on repeat during a road trip to one of numerous viewing sites. (The closest spot to Cleveland for…
Jeff Johnson at the Poles: Progressives Love Him, Others Want Him Out
Last week, the Cuyahoga County Progressive Caucus voted to endorse City Councilman Jeff Johnson in the Cleveland Mayoral race. The endorsement is Johnson’s second from a local progressive organization, his first being from the Service Employees International Union, and it has given Johnson additional ammo and cred as the “progressive” candidate in the race, one…
Cuyahoga County Fair on Track for Safe Opening in Wake of Ohio State Fair Accident
The Cuyahoga County Fair kicks off next week starting on Monday, Aug. 7, and running through Aug. 13. Everything is going according to plan in the wake of the unfortunate accident at the Ohio State Fair last week, which killed one person and left seven others injured. Regarding this year’s ride safety and inspections, Cuyahoga…
Comedian Jen Kirkman to Perform at Hilarities in November
A smart, sarcastic comic best known for her appearances on Chelsea Lately, Jen Kirkman attributes much of her success to working on the late night TV show. She applied to work on the show back in 2008 when she wrote a couple of monologues and then got hired. “I was in Cleveland when I found out,”…
Primus to Play the Goodyear Theater in November
Two years ago, alternative rockers Primus brought set up shop at the Masonic Auditorium and delivered a set that alternated between old school tunes and material from their latest album, Primus and the Chocolate Factory with the Fungi Ensemble. In advance of the release of The Desaturating Seven, the band’s first studio album of original…
Big Attendance Drop, But Bigger Bounce Back, at Ohio State Fair After Dramatic Accident
Rides at the Ohio State Fair are operating at normal hours again, after an accident last week that killed one and injured seven others. The decision came yesterday morning from fair officials. All of the state fair’s rides were shut down following the accident, in which 18-year-old Tyler Jarrell was killed on the Fireball ride.…
People are Actually Burning Kyrie Irving’s Jersey
It looks like some Cavs fans with a flair for the dramatic have taken Cleveland.com’s recent video, “Top 5 places in Cleveland to eventually burn Kyrie Irving’s jersey,” to heart. Irving’s potential departure from the Cavs is muddled in hypotheticals and rampant conjecture, but video footage of him appearing to make fun of LeBron James…
Freshly Squeezed and Marilyn Death Fest Group Shows to Open for One Night Only
Organizing a one-night-only, pop-up exhibition is a complex art in itself, as any curator can attest. Artists will commit and then back out. Usually the venue is non-traditional and can fall through at any moment due to myriad circumstances — and God forbid there are no toilets. Fortunately, the organizers for Freshly Squeezed and Marilyn…
Country Singer Brantley Gilbert Cranks Up the Guitars on His Hard Rocking New Album
Several years ago as he attempted to launch a career as a country singer and songwriter, Brantley Gilbert tried moving to Nashville. He says he only lasted about a year. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the Music City. Rather, he felt he needed to stay connected to the people living in his Jefferson, Georgia…
Rousing Performance at the Agora Shows the Shins Haven’t Lost Their Spark
Last night, thirty and fortysomethings nostalgic for the Shins, one of the most prominent American alternative bands of the past few decades, packed the Agora to see the band perform locally for the first time in five years. As the crowd awaited the band’s arrival, a blue light cast on the band’s drum set with…
Earth, Wind & Fire and Chic Bring Positive Vibrations to the Q
Lesser bands would’ve seen a half-full arena and phoned in their performances. Not Earth, Wind & Fire and Chic. The veteran bands, both Rock Hall inductees, gave it their all last night at the Q. While fans didn’t fill the entire venue (the upper sections were completely curtained off and the lower bowl wasn’t packed),…
Rod Stewart Proves He’s Still the Consummate Showman
When Rod Stewart performed at the Q in 2012, he had loads of energy for someone who had just entered his late 60s. Remarkably, when Stewart performed at Blossom last night, he displayed just as much energy. And he’s now just entered his early 70s. A consummate showman, he regularly changed outfits and alternated between…
Pilobolus Dance Theater Performance Kicks Off Playhouse Square’s Summer Dance Festival
Known for presenting works that “challenge the notions of what modern dance can look like,” Pilobolus Dance Theater creates “awe-inducing shapes that push the imagination to the extreme.” Part of DANCECleveland’s American Dance Festival (ADF), tonight’s show at the State Theatre includes the fan favorite, “Shadowland.” If the dance company’s name rings a bell, perhaps it’s…
Car Plows into Elyria Hair Salon, Owner Continues Shampooing
Rossi’s Salon owner Barbie Rossi was working on a client’s hair when a car drove into the building yesterday. Undeterred, Rossi continued shampooing. The intrusive vehicle, a Buick Century, was driven by Irene Ziegman, 82. According to police, Ziegman mistakenly hit the gas instead of the brake, causing her to plow through the salon’s wall…
Anger and Confusion at City of Cleveland’s Communication About and Enforcement of Street Vendor Licenses
A street vendor getting cited by city inspectors for selling goods without a permit doesn’t sound very newsworthy. But there’s been a noteworthy outcry from countless individuals, small business owners and organizers of virtually every market and festival in Cleveland who have said in recent days that they had no knowledge of needing such permits from…
Pet Boa Constrictor Nearly Strangles Its Ohio Owner, Firefighters Cut Off Snake’s Head
A Sheffield Lake woman got herself into quite a pickle yesterday, when her recently rescued pet boa constrictor wrapped itself around her body and began to bite her face. Firefighters, who found the woman embroiled with the snake in her front driveway, sliced the reptile’s head off with a pocket knife to stop the attack.…
Freshly Squeezed and Marilyn Death Fest Group Pop-Up Shows to Open One Night Only Next Saturday
Organizing a one-night-only, pop-up exhibition is a complex art in itself, as any curator can attest. Artists will commit and then back out. Usually the venue is non-traditional and can fall through at any moment due to a myriad of circumstances, and God forbid there are no toilets. Fortunately, the organizers for Freshly Squeezed and…
Four People Attack Transgender Clevelander, Post Incident to Snapchat
A transgender individual was assaulted by a group of people outside an apartment in the Brooklyn Centre neighborhood Monday. The 20-year-old — who does not “identify as a man or woman, but only as transgender,” a family member told Cleveland.com — was beat with a brick, wooden plank, and a helmet by the group, which included two…
The All-American Rejects Stick to the Hits for House of Blues Concert
It’s been about five years since the All-American Rejects have released a new album, but as of just a few weeks ago, they’d release their fifth in the fall. In preparation of the release, TAAR took some time to tour. After a long set change in the wake of an opening set by the Whiskey…
Weekend Parking in the Flats East Bank, Warehouse District Just Became More Challenging
The case for biking, Ubering or taking public transportation down to the Flats East Bank and Warehouse District areas for a weekend night of debauchery has never been so strong, as the City of Cleveland has opted to ban much of the available street parking on Friday and Saturdays. The city officially announced the restrictions…
Indie Rockers the Drums Exorcise Some Serious Demons on Their New Album
On the surface, things were going well for the New York-based guitar pop band, the Drums. They were selling loads of albums and touring the world, and frontman Jonny Pierce had become an idol for all the misfit kids who listened to bands like the Smiths or Joy Division. However, during the height of the…
Local Guitar Teacher Nurtures Untapped Talent at Monthly Cleveland Acoustic Jam
“Ask anyone under 40 what a ‘meet-up’ is, and they won’t know what you’re talking about,” says local guitar teacher Eric Hankinson one afternoon over coffee at Loop in Tremont. Hankinson hosts a monthly “meet up” for musicians at Lava Lounge. Dubbed the Cleveland Acoustic Jam Group, the gathering provides players of all different levels…
National Sports Collectors Convention Returns to Cleveland in 2018
The National Sports Collectors Convention starts up this weekend in Chicago, but next year, the roving national event comes back to Cleveland. Held Aug. 1-5 in the International Exposition Center, this is the seventh time Cleveland has hosted the sports memorabilia event, which celebrates collectors of things like athletic trading cards, autographs and bobble heads.…
Several Clevelanders Make Cameos in Sweet Apple’s New Music Video
The new music video for the Sweet Apple tune “World I’m Gonna Leave You” features vocals by Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age) and Robert Pollard (Guided by Voices). The first of four music videos for the band’s new album, Sing theNight in Sorrow, the video focuses on a man who suffers…
48 Cats Removed From Animal Hoarder’s Home in Wooster
A Wooster woman was discovered with fifty animals in her recently condemned home, Authorities reported, finding 48 cats and two turtles. While the alleged hoarder seemed comfortable in her home, occupying the space for the past 20 years, the animals were not so lucky. The Wooster law director reported that the ammonia levels inside the…
Ohio State Fair Reopens Today, After a Ride Malfunction Killed One and Injured Seven
The Ohio State Fair is open again today, following a tragic incident last night that left one dead and seven more injured. Currently, all fair rides are shut down for re-inspected and safety tests. But other parts of the fairgrounds are open to the public, and scheduled activities will continue as planned. A Fire Ball…
Rock Hall to Host a Week of Events Leading Up To YESTIVAL Concert
After years of being snubbed, prog rockers YES were finally inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year. Earlier this year, the group announced a tour to celebrate their induction. Dubbed YESTIVAL, it includes an Aug. 20 stop at Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica. The concert will also feature special guest Todd Rundgren…
You Can Soon Tour the Veteran’s Memorial Bridge and Subway
The Cuyahoga County’s Public Works Department department once again hosts a public tour of the Veteran’s Memorial Bridge and Subway station. Saturday, Aug. 19, tour participants get to venture underneath the 3112-foot bridge to one of Cleveland’s creepiest spots, something you can only do once a summer. The tour begins on Superior Viaduct, the bridge’s official entrance.…
New Donut Venture Coming from Former BonBon Café Owner Courtney Bonning
We don’t know where, and we don’t know when (other than “late summer”), but we do know what. Donuts. Courtney Bonning, chef-owner of the former BonBon Cafe in Ohio City, is teaming up with Kelly Brewer, formerly with the Cleveland Visitors Bureau and Ritz-Carlton to open the Bigmouth Donut Company. Together they will launch, “a truly…
7 Concerts to Catch This Weekend in Cleveland
FRIDAY, JULY 28 Melvins/Spotlights/Blind Spring Grunge icons who formed in the 1980s, the Melvins continue to bring doom metal energy to the stage. After three decades, the band continues to release music regularly and tour relentlessly. For its new album, A Walk With Love & Death, the band wrote songs about both “life” and “death”…
Cleveland Rapper Case Bargè to Premiere New Music Video at the Winchester
Local rapper Case Bargè has overcome many obstacles during his career to become one of the city’s top talents. Last year, Scene writer Emanuel Wallace wrote, “His music is conscious, passionate and determined and has drawn comparisons to contemporaries such as Andre 3000, Childish Gambino and Kendrick Lamar, among a few others.” Barge has just…
Podcast: Doug Trattner On Openings, Seafood, Donuts, Noodles and More
WFNY’s Craig Lyndall chatted with Scene dining editor Doug Trattner this week about a slew of stuff — openings, trends, seafood in a bag, donuts, noodles, games and more. Listen up.
In Advance of Their Hard Rock Live Concert, Katrina Leskanich and Paul Young Discuss the Retro Futura Tour
Hearing Katrina Leskanich, of Katrina and the Waves fame describe it, the current Retro Futura tour — a nostalgic trip back to the new wave and pop hits that dominated the radio in the ‘80s — sounds like a grueling trek that will keep all involved moving at a steady pace. But as she adds,…
Topps (MLB’s Official Card Manufacturer) Will No Longer Print Chief Wahoo
Topps, the official baseball card manufacturer for the MLB, has stopped printing Chief Wahoo on all baseball cards (both new and throwback) for the first time in 2017. A post on the SABR Baseball Cards Committee blog broke the story. “That Topps has also been making that change on its old designs which used to…
Incubus Takes a Workmanlike Approach to Performance at Blossom
Often unfairly lumped together with nu-metal acts such as Limp Bizkit and Deftones, Incubus regularly strived to deliver something a bit more esoteric than its mid-’90s hard rock contemporaries. Sure, singer Brandon Boyd raps on occasion, and the band makes use of turntables and samples like its nu-metal peers, but Incubus always sought to do…
Ohio Resumes State Executions Without ‘Complications’
The state of Ohio executed convicted murderer Ronald Phillips this morning, ending a three-year hiatus on the death penalty. According to media witnesses, there were no complications (like the sputtering and gasping that has accompanied other recent executions). The execution took place at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville. Phillips was pronounced dead at…
Here’s What You Missed at Last Night’s Packed Forum on Shaker Square’s Future
Tuesday night, community members crammed into an upstairs room at the Shaker Heights Library to attend a forum on the future of Shaker Square. The event was organized by the library and the League of Women Voters of Greater Cleveland, and was narrated by jaunty folk music that filtered in through the window. The street festival…
Wordplay and Whistling Distinguish Andrew Bird’s Performance at Cain Park
Andrew Bird plays violin like Chuck Berry played guitar and he whistles like Botticelli painted. Since his mid-90s beginnings with the Squirrel Nut Zippers, Bird has carved out an unparalleled territory for himself in the indie music world. His songs combine whip-smart wordplay, pizzicato plucking and whistling that’s damn near otherworldly for a sound that…
WWE Star AJ Styles to Sign Autographs at Kamm’s Corners Store
Since making his WWE debut in the 2016 Royal Rumble Match, burly AJ Styles has been unstoppable. He’s battled the likes of Chris Jericho, the Miz, Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens, Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler. He’s even notched victories over big-time guys like John Cena and Shane McMahon. Styles will greet fans, take pictures and…
Al Fatz Done Came Down
A shivering line snakes out of Moda on a frigid December night in 2005. The controversial Ohio City club — an infamous nexus of dancing and drugs, nuisance and nightlife — would close the next year, its owner indicted on drug and money laundering charges. But in the winter of 2005 it was still a…
Violence Coming to a Park Near You — ‘Macbeth’ by the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival
Let’s face it, the whole dust-up in the “Scottish Play” could have been avoided if the main characters had simply considered the witches and their cryptic forecasts a barely tolerable skit by a troupe of street performers. Then they could have flipped them a haypenny and gone back to their business. But then, we wouldn’t…
Hits and Misses at Quick-Serve Mofongo Latin Grill
The fast-casual craze has co-opted nearly every other cuisine, so it might as well have claimed Puerto Rican food too. That’s the scene over at the new Cleveland Mofongo Latin Grill, which opened in May on the Cleveland/Lakewood border. An old Pizza Pan shop was reworked to accommodate a large open kitchen fronted by a…
A Forgettable Indian Adventure In Chesterland
The thought of traveling to Chesterland to eat Indian food has never occurred to me, but had it, I would have disabused myself of that folly forthwith. It was only on the heels of numerous positive reviews of Pari Indian Cuisine that I finally relented and traveled deep into the American hinterland for South Asian…
Bill Fogarty Brings Plant-Based Options to Rocky River Brewing Company’s Menu
Rocky River Brewing Company has all you’d expect from a suburban brewery: a rotating selection of house-brewed beers (the Hopgoblin IPA is a perennial favorite), an enormous patio and a menu offering tacos, burgers and wings. But look closer and that bar menu reveals some surprises: namely, a high proportion of plant-based dishes. Diners have…
Savage Love: Creepers
Dear Dan, I’m a reader in Kansas with two teenage daughters, 16 and 18. My girls recently met a boy where they work and both took an interest in him. The 18-year-old was devastated that he was more interested in her younger sister. I spoke to the 16-year-old about it, which is when I found…
Photographer Steve Mastroianni on Why He Really Loves Shooting Weddings
“This is the new deal here,” says photographer Steve Mastroianni as I walk up to his new space, Silver Scuro Studio & Gallery, in Slavic Village. Mastroianni had been a mainstay in Tremont for over two decades,hosting a plethora of shows at his own studio/gallery, and serving a six-year stint as co-director for Tremont Art…
Band of The Week: The Dream Masons
Meet the Band: Eric Hellinger (guitar), Annastacia (vocals), Austin Harpel (drummer), Phillip Martin (bass) A RANDOM MEETING: The Dream Masons began a couple of years ago as Hello Violet, a band that came together around singer Annastacia. She says she “knew of” guitarist Eric Hellinger from other musicians, then heard him play at Mohawk Studios…
‘A Ghost Story’ is A24’s Latest Mindbender
It’s nearly impossible to talk about any film distributed by A24 without talking about the company itself. A24 means something today for movies, Slate wrote in a profile piece on the young film company, in the same way that “a 4AD record meant something in 1988.” A24 has been steadily and consistently releasing top quality films…
Get Out: Everything You Should Do This Week in Cleveland (July 26 – Aug. 1)
WED 07/26 Balance & Brews If you’re looking for a way to unwind in the middle of the week, we suggest a stop this evening at Market Garden Brewery for its Balance & Brews event in the new production tasting room. After a yoga workout, the brewery will treat you to beers at its brewpub.…
