What to Do Tonight: Jack Johnson
Taking the nice-guy thing to new, and possibly annoying, levels. The ocean has been the setting for every record Jack Johnson has made. For the past ten years he’s been the bard of beachside pop — you can practically hear the sea splashing in the background as he plays his Jimmy Buffett-meets-James Taylor folk-rock. But…
A Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Playlist
“You bet we’ll be playing some new songs onstage” If you’ve ever been to a Tom Petty concert, you know that the parking lot is Party Central. Drinking there before the show is half the fun. You also know that leaving the lot after the concert is one of the most excruciating experiences known to…
Out Today: Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow100 Miles From Memphis(A&M) Each new triumph that Sheryl Crow has notched in her career has been slightly more unlikely than the last. And while none of her albums has scored as big as her 1993 debut, Tuesday Night Music Club, Crow has beefed up her résumé over the years: recording with artists as…
What to Do Tonight: Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band
“I used to be a Beatle” It’s probably about time we start to cherish Ringo. We took George Harrison for granted for years, and now that he’s gone, his absence digs deeper than John Lennon’s. Yeah, Ringo was just the drummer. But he was a Beatle. And even if his contributions to their timeless songbook…
What to Do Tonight: The Old 97’s
Who let the pretty boy in? Too Far to Care, the Old 97’s’ 1997 big-label debut, is one of alt-country’s hookiest and best albums — a perfect bookend to 2008’s Blame It on Gravity. The band is back on the road this summer playing songs from its 15-plus-year career. The Old 97’s have kept the…
An Interview With Iron Maiden’s Eddie
Watch out, Iron Maiden! Something’s about to get you! Iron Maiden’s music is loved by generations of headbangers. In 2010, don’t be surprised if you find yourself sitting between a 17-year-old kid and a 47-year-old vet at one of their shows. But if you ask fans how they first came to the band, chances are…
What to Do Tonight: Wolf Parade
“Dude, I think we’re lost” Are Wolf Parade a sum of their parts, or do their parts make them who they are? These Montreal indie rockers get as much attention for their side projects as they do for their fulltime band. Dan Boeckner, who writes half of Wolf Parade’s songs, plays guitar with his wife…
What to Do Tonight: Lady Gaga
Poke her face In less than two years, Lady Gaga has gone from gawky performance-art curio to scorching pop-music phenomenon. And she’s done it with an arsenal of singles that you probably haven’t gone a day without hearing for the past 18 months. “Just Dance.” “Poker Face.” “Bad Romance.” “Telephone.” Should I stop? Like Madonna…
What to Do Tonight: Real Estate
Surf’s up It’s probably just an unfortunate coincidence that New Jersey surf-poppers Real Estate released their self-titled debut album in the same month that Jersey Shore premiered on MTV last fall. Then again, a melodic, introspective work of art and a mind-numbing reality TV show, both from the Garden State, may not be as diametrically…
Illinois Governor Exiles Asian Carp to China
You’re sending me to China? No more makeout sessions for you! That pesky Asian carp has sure grabbed some serious attention after one of its brethren was found swimming close to Lake Michigan last month. Fearing that this jerk of a fish will indeed grow to 100 feet long and starve out all the other…
Northeast Ohio’s Top-Paid No. 2’s Are Hurting
Timoth Piskell — less of a millionaire than he was before. Poor guy. Crain’s Cleveland’s newest business-related ranking is a list of the region’s highest paid non-CEOs. The tough times are even hitting the heavy hitters. According to the list, 2009’s top two working-stiff execs are FirstEnergy Corp. Executive VP Gary Leidich, who pulled in…
Chip Tha Ripper, Kid Cudi to Celebrate Cleveland’s Birthday
Chip and Cudi team up to headline Cleveland’s birthday celebration Good afternoon Cleveland. It’s almost your birthday! For 214 years you have stood strong, but don’t worry, you don’t look a day over 172! To celebrate, Ohio Homecoming has gathered some of the best musical acts in the state and will be bringing them to…
Chip Tha Ripper, Kid Cudi to Celebrate Cleveland’s Birthday
Chip and Cudi team up to headline Cleveland’s birthday celebration Good afternoon Cleveland. It’s almost your birthday! For 214 years you have stood strong, but don’t worry, you don’t look a day over 172! To celebrate, Ohio Homecoming has gathered some of the best musical acts in the state and will be bringing them to…
Anthony Bourdain Remembers Harvey Pekar
Anthony Bourdain penned a very moving, eloquent and heartfelt remembrance of Harvey Pekar on his blog today. There will be many memories of Pekar written by many people, those who knew, loved, and lived with Cleveland’s common hero, but this one, on this sad day after, strikes just the right note. Make sure you read…
Morning Brew: Joe Jonas Will Guest Star on ‘Hot in Cleveland,’ Soap Box Derbies, Fake Pot, and CSI NY
Joe Jonas will appear i… can’t type anymore… too dreamy. Good morning, Cleveland. Here’s some stuff to read while you count down the days until Great Lakes releases some Christmas Ale in July. — Joe Jonas, whichever one of the Jonas brothers he is, will guest star on an episode of ‘Hot in Cleveland.’ No…
Good Advice: Don’t Swim at Edgewater Today, Too Much Sewage in Lake Erie
Beautiful when there’s no sewage, wouldn’t you say? Got the day off and want to head down to the shores to take a dip in the refreshing and clean waters of Lake Erie? I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Not unless you enjoy bacteria, sewage, and E. coli. The Plain Dealer explains: Authorities…
This Just In: Cleveland Concert Announcements
Look what Indiana Jones found: Nickelback! CANCELED:American Idol Live: Sat., Sept. 11. Quicken Loans Arena. NEW DATE:Pieta Brown: Sat., Oct. 23, 8 p.m. The Kent Stage. THIS JUST IN:The Audition: Tue., Aug. 24, 6 p.m., $10 ADV/$12 DOS. Peabody’s. Band of Horses: Mon., Oct. 4, 8 p.m., $25 ADV/$28 DOS (Ticketmaster). House of Blues. Bobaflex:…
Lee Fisher’s Lessons in How to Lose an Election
Step 1: Ignore the public. Step 2: Ignore the online public. Conventional wisdom says that a competitive primary race sharpens a candidate for the general election. Democratic Senate candidate Lee Fisher, who emerged victorious in a yearlong campaign against fellow Democrat Jennifer Brunner, seems intent on proving that wisdom wrong. Last week, the weekly political…
Man Blames DUI on LeBron’s Choice to Play for Miami Heat
Yeah, this drives us to drink too. LeBron’s decision to join the Miami Heat has Clevelanders, Cavs fans, and the NBA in an uproar. People burned jerseys, people made crass and hilarious t-shirts, people cried. Everyone deals with pain differently. One Michigan man dealt with his pain the old fashioned way: drinking. In fact, LeBron…
PETA Stops St. Francis of Assisi From Grievous Sin of Giving Away Bunnies
PETA does not recommend storing your bunnies in coffee mugs. Once you get past the pedophile sex and smug disregard for its flock, there’s plenty to love about the Catholic Church. Around here, that includes the many festivals that take place at parishes throughout the region, including St. Francis of Assisi in Gates Mills. As…
George Steinbrenner, Cleveland Native, Dies at 80
The Boss in his post-Cleveland years. George Steinbrenner died this morning after a massive heart attack. The longtime Yankees owner had been in declining health in recent years. Steinbrenner, of course, was a Cleveland native, having grown up in Bay Village and worked at Kinsman Marine Transit, a Cleveland shipping company owned by his family.…
Concert Review: Bon Jovi at Blossom Music Center
“Vroom! I’m an airplane!” Bon Jovi pulled a near-capacity crowd to Blossom Music Center last night on a perfect summer night. If the show had happened a week earlier, the collective crowd woulda melted into a puddle of overpriced beer. Three days later, and there wouldn’t have been a spot on the lawn, guaranteed. Opening…
Crash in Medina Leaves Pet Monkey On a Pole, Dead Animals in Street
Pet monkeys don’t like car crashes or being dressed up. If you happened to be driving through Medina this morning and saw animal carcasses strewn across the road, a pet monkey sitting on top of a utility pole, and a crashed truck, don’t worry, everyone is OK. Except maybe for you, the nightmares you’ll have…
Out Today: M.I.A.
M.I.A.Maya(N.E.E.T./Interscope) Big beats, big personality, and big statements define M.I.A. She’s never been one for subtleties, an on her third album she’s brasher than ever. Sound effects are loaded on top of almost all of Maya’s 16 tracks — from electric screwdrivers and typing keyboard to crying babies and barking dogs. But at times, the…
Longtime Cleveland Volleyball Tournament Spikes Charity Ties After Complaints
Volleyball and alochol mix well. Volleyball and charity do not. Saturday marks the 25th annual Mud and Grass Volleyball and Dodgeball Tournament at the Cuyahoga County Airport. It’s a Cleveland rite of summer known for its alcohol-fueled fun and for the nasty hangover it’s left a few charitable organizations in recent years. After the 2007…
Bill Hemmer From Fox News is Just So Ohio-y
You can’t tell because he has a shirt on, but one of his nipples is scarlet, the other is grey. Forgive us for not knowing exactly who Bill Hemmer was before today, we don’t watch much Fox News after all. But various interweb sources say Hemmer is a co-host of “America’s Newsroom,” which sounds folksy…
Ohio Regional Sewer District Gets Tough on Poop
Until dogs can poop in toilets, you’re going to have to clean up after them. Looks like 2010 will be remembered around these parts as the Year of the Crap: First there was the debut of the zoo’s new animal-dung exhibit “The Scoop on Poop,” then LeBron unleashed a mighty dump on us last week.…
Cleveland.com Hits Record Traffic on LeBron’s Decision Day
Last Thursday, as the clock ticked down to the Most Important Decision Ever In the History of Mankind, there was obviously a bit of interest in this fella named LeBron James. Rumors, innuendo, actual news, a smidgen of real reporting — the public’s appetite of any snippet of information regarding the Traitor was insatiable. The…
Alleged scam artist arrested for child support
Scene readers may be familiar with Anthony Hodel, aka “Platinum Tony.” In 2005 we ran a cover story on Hodel, a fast-rising executive with a ballooning business, Platinum Warranty Corporation. The company supposedly sold car warranties, but in reality the products were bunk; Hodel was accused to scamming millions from clients before the company went…
Rick Manning and Matt Underwood 4th Worst Announcing Pair According to GQ
I think this rating from GQ — which ranked the five best and five worst broadcast announcing duos in the bigs — is a little unfair. Manning and Underwood are by no means good, but I doubt they’re in the bottom five. And the fact they’re this low is mainly the fault of Underwood, who…
Harvey Pekar Has Died
RIP, Harvey. Harvey Pekar, known for his American Splendor graphic novels that shone a spotlight on the mundane aspects of daily life, died this morning in his Cleveland Heights home. The curmudgeonly writer drew from his own life, living his entire life on the east side of Cuyahoga County and working as a file clerk…
Mentor One of America’s Top 100 Small Cities
Hopefully one day Mentor can put Cleveland on the map. As the greater Northeast Ohio region recovers from getting kicked in the collective nuts by LeBron James, it’s nice to hear good news about our towns and cities. Money just released its list of the top 100 small cities in America and Mentor came in…
Bon Jovi Probably Not Bringing A Game Tonight
Excited for Bon Jovi’s concert at Blossom tonight? Here’s some news that may get you a little less excited: Singer Jon Bon Jovi busted his leg onstage in New Jersey Friday night. The band was rockin’ out to “Livin’ on a Prayer” near the end of their set at New Meadowlands Stadium when Bon Jovi…
Maureen Dowd brings the hurt on LeBron
Going into battle with the King Locals have to be getting a little tired of all the attention post-LeBroncalypse Cleveland is getting from the national media. After the 24-hour news flow jammed James’ departure down our throats, the city’s personal pain is now turning into fodder for the punditocracy. One high profile example from the…
Huggy’s in Vermillion Has a Message for Gloria James
Via Sports By Brooks. Follow me on Twitter: @vincethepolack
Concert Review: Cheap Trick and Squeeze at House of Blues
Cheap Trick’s Robin Zander still has cool pants Cheap Trick and Squeeze could have played it safe last night, sticking with their hits or pulling from their most recent albums. Instead, both bands selected songs for their sets at House of Blues that smartly spanned their careers and rewarded longtime fans. Cheap Trick started the…
Morning Brew: Art Modell, Cleveland Teachers, Mysterious Creatures, and Anti-LBJ Merch
Hey Art, you can take that trophy and… Good morning, Cleveland. Here’s some stuff to read while you clean up the ashes from your LeBron jersey. — Now that LeBron James has bolted to Miami he’s become Public Enemy No. 1 around Northeast Ohio. The only other person that could compare is Art Modell, who…
What to Do Tonight: James McMurtry
His voice is as gruff as he is Singer-songwriter James McMurtry lives in Austin, and his characters project a dusty, windblown working-class presence consistent with Texas. But his music trends toward folksy, heartland rock informed by Bob Dylan and John Mellencamp. McMurtry was fresh from a win at the Kerrville New Folk Festival songwriting competition…
Thomas Edison Trounces Jesse Owens in Race to Become a Washington Statue
Yes, I’m looking at you, Jesse Owens. There was good news last week for the folks at the Thomas Edison birthplace in Milan, Ohio, run by Robert Wheeler, who’s also the synth/theremin player for Cleveland bands Pere Ubu and Home and Garden. After a lengthy public voting period, Edison was chosen over nine other candidates…
See Phil Keaggy This Weekend
Strummin’ Fans of great guitar playing have two opportunities this weekend to hear one of the acknowledged masters of the instrument and possibly the most talented player Northeast Ohio has ever produced. Phil Keaggy left the Youngstown-based trio Glass Harp in 1972 after releasing three much-admired albums on Decca and launched a solo career in…
Plain Dealer Lauded For LeBron Front Page Design
The front page of today’s Plain Dealer is garnering near-universal praise across the journalism world, Cleveland, Twitter, and possibly all the way out on Pluto— not sure about that last one, we’ll check in with Dennis Kucinich and see what he’s hearing. From the nice little dig at LeBron (Seven years, no rings — nice)…
Music Giveaway: Standing Ovation Soundatrack
We’ve got a stack of soundtrack CDs for the upcoming Standing Ovation. Want one? All you have to do is send your name and e-mail address to freetickets@clevescene.com with the subject “Standing Ovation.” We’ll pick a winner at noon on July 14.
Eternal Legacy Debut Video
The guy with the cymbal needs a haircut Cleveland metal band Eternal Legacy has just debuted its first-ever video for the song ‘The Dead Matter,” from its 2009 sophomore album, Lifeless Alive, which was released on Clevland-based Auburn Records. The video can be seen at wacken.com, the video site of Germany’s Wacken Open Air Festival,…
Lingerie Store Looks to Get Naughty in Columbus
Watch out Columbus. It’s coming Ambiance, the Cleveland-based company that sells naughty things, is looking to expand its business into the Columbus area, reports the Columbus Dispatch. Hoping to open three stores there in the next year and a half, the “lingerie and adult novelties” store wants to make sure it is open for business…
Your Required LeBron Reading of the Day
If you read anything about LeBron today, read these two pieces. However, if you wish to avoid all LeBron news today and read about pecan pie or heirloom tomatoes, we totally understand. From Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo!: This was the train rolling down the tracks from miles and miles away, and James never saw it…
Ohio’s New License Plate Comes In Second…out of Eight Submissions
Should that plane be in use? It looks pretty old The Ohio License Bureau is head over heels for its second place victory in the recent “Best New License Plate” competition put on by the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association. Ohio’s “Beautiful Ohio” plate became the state’s standard plate on June 7 after debuting in…
A Surreal Night in Downtown Cleveland With Tom Green as LeBron Departs
If there’s one thing that perfectly encapsulated the surreal atmosphere in downtown Cleveland the night that LeBron left the Cavs, it was Tom Green. About 200 fans gathered around a projection screen to watch James’ lubeless and unrestrained reaming of Cleveland Thursday evening in front of the Harry Buffalo one block from Quicken Loans Arena.…
LeBron: A Musical Perspective
As Cleveland is chokes on angry bile from last night’s LeDecision, one song comes to mind to dramatize the city’s reaction to its ceremonious dumping by Akron hoops hero LeBron James. The tune is the Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me?” And the answer is no. As applied to the situation, Cleveland is the guy…
Concert Review: Warped Tour
An All-American Reject The slogan on the official T-shirt for this year’s Warped Tour read: “It can’t be stopped.” That much was certainly true. With a less-than-stellar lineup that inexplicably included party-til-you-puke rocker Andrew W.K. as a headliner, the 2010 summer tour was certainly lacking star power. Not that it stopped the masses from descending…
So, That Happened
There will be pictures and words, if you haven’t had enough already, about last night. Until then, find a spot on your lawn, empty your closet, and strike a match. (Image via reader Erik Yuengling.
Morning Brew: Oldest Postal Worker Dies, Kentucky and Ohio Fight Over a Rock, Ohio Lottery Hits Record Sales, and Ohio’s Tallest Bridge Going Down
Good morning, Cleveland. Here’s some stuff to read while you write down in your diary what a big day July 8, 2010 was — the day the Browns signed Bobby Engram. — Ohio was home to the oldest postal worker in the country… until she died the other day. She was 94-years-old and was operating…
Welcome Apama, The Next Cleveland-Born Superhero
On his way to Miami to beat down LeBron James… As if Cleveland didn’t have enough villains, it’s probably gaining one more tonight in LeBron James. The Chosen One will probably form a dynamic trio with Jimmy Dimora and Art Modell. Who is left to fight for all that’s good and honorable in the city?…
Afternoon Brew: Toilets of the Future, Corruption Is Expensive, Dangerous Railroad Crossings, and a Thomas Edison Statue
We take this back immediately if LeBron stays with the Cavs. But for now… Good afternoon, Cleveland. Here’s some stuff to read as you eagerly anticipate your nervous breakdown tonight. — Thomas Edison is the winner of the popular vote in Ohio and will be the subject of the next state statue to be sent…
Bath Township Ups Security in Anticipation of ‘The Decision’
You gotta wait like everyone else When O.J. Simpson and the infamous car chase ended at his L.A.-area home, police had a tough time keeping the crowd under control. And that was the LAPD. And the television ratings were threw the roof. Hell, you couldn’t even watch the NBA Finals in peace. Well the LeBron…
31-Year-Old Woman Poses as 14-Year-Old Boy To Get Teenage Girl
Is that Harry Potter? A Warren County woman got creative and creepy in her quest to secure the love and affection of a teenage girl. Possessing boyish good looks (seriously, she looks like a boy), Patricia Dye did everything she could to emphasize her androgynous looks. She succeeded. Looking like a cross between Emma Watson…
Destini Bronaugh recharged for police scuffle
Yesterday, The Plain Dealer ran an update on the Bronaugh sisters, the 19- and 17-year-old Cleveland girls who tangled with police at a protest in May. Following the incident, accusations emerged of police brutality while the sisters road out an ongoing wave of legal uncertainty. Initially, County Prosecutor Bill Mason’s office brought felony charges against…
Should You Buy the New Mastodon EP?
Last week saw the release of a controversial new EP from Mastodon, the mathematically inclined metal/prog phenomenon that might the be most important rock band on the planet. Creatively titled Jonah Hex (Music From The Motion Picture), it’s instrumental music from a comic-book western movie that got terrible reviews, despite the presence of Transformers fox…
Did You Know There’s an Accordion Museum in Cleveland?
And it’s right in our backyard. Or, er, in a neighbor’s basement. Really. Cleveland already lays claim to polka king Frankie Yankovic and the Cleveland Style Polka Hall of Fame, so it’s only appropriate that there’s an accordion museum here as well. It’s just a little more DIY than you would expect. Cleveland Magazine has…
Clear Your Calendar: Nickelback Is Coming to the Q
Nickelback, Three Days Grace, and Buckcherry will play the Quicken Loans Arena on October 2. Tix go on sale Saturday, July 17, and cost $49.50, $69.50, and $79.50; general admission floor tix are $79.50. Get ‘em at LiveNation.com and old-school Ticketmaster outlets. —D.X. Ferris
Watch a Shirtless Guy With a Nike Tattoo Tell You In Sign Language That LeBron’s Going to Miami
There’s really nothing left to say, Cleveland. Apparently it’s Miami. Or maybe it’s not. We’ll all find out together tonight. In the meantime, here’s the strangest LeBron-related vid I could find on YouTube this morning. It’s better than watching ESPN or reading Twitter at this point, trust me.
What to Do Tonight: Lynyrd Skynyrd and Bret Michaels
Lynyrd Skynyrd: Now performing in vacant houses This is one of rock ’n’ roll’s bigger swindles. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s frontman, Ronnie Van Zant, died in a 1977 plane crash. After a ten-year hiatus, a group of guys remotely connected to the original group (guitarist Gary Rossington is the only founding member still in the band) reunited…
Meet the Band: Call Me Constant
They wished for a rockin’ good time The four well-mannered friends in Call Me Constant still have a bad habit of pounding out razor-sharp rock hooks. Ten years ago, the Cleveland quartet considered themselves punk revivalists (even though they’d met in church), ripping out power chords and reverb with their first band, Non-Toxic. Today, the…
The Soundtrack of Your Life, At Least for the Summer
No sign of Uncle Phil, sadly. Cleveland’s favorite mixmaster Mick Boogie has paired up with DJ Jazzy Jeff for the “Summertime” mixtape. The Roots, Biggie, Ice Cube, De La Soul and others round out the tape you should be blasting as you ride around in this sweltering heat. A little Fresh Prince always help. Don’t…
Man Tries to Steal Copper From Dead Father’s Air Conditioner
To my oldest son, I leave you my copper-filled air conditioner Some things are just too ridiculous to make up. This story is one of them. A woman living in Clayton, a suburb of Dayton, called the police after she got wind that her boyfriend had broken into his dead father’s house, which was currently…
Local writer scores a win for diversity
Over on CoolCleveland, local writer Mansfield B. Frazier’s work is always a good read. He typically uses his column inches to toss a spotlight on blindspots in local race relations, and this week Frazier celebrates a minor victory in the long slog toward justice for all. Back in spring, gardening fan Frazier sat down with…
Teen Throws Rock/Milkshake Combo at Passing Car
Now with a new ingredient…rocks! Sometimes when all you want to do is take a quiet night drive through Akron, you get just the opposite. Like this fellow, who while driving along Massillon Road late Tuesday night, passed Robert Pearson. Pearson, like any cool teenager out there, decided he wasn’t going to let anyone drive…
Social Distortion, Train Tix on Sale Friday
Social Distortion, Lucero, and Frank Turner will play House of Blues on October 24. Tickets are $30 at livenation.com or at the House of Blues box office. Also on sale Friday are ticket for Train, who are playing the Taste of Cleveland food-and-music fest on September 5 at Time Warner Cable Amphitheater at Tower City.…
New Cleveland Pitch to LeBron: We Have Better Polka
According to this fan, polka is the biggest thing in the tri-state area. Who knew? I know the National Cleveland Style Polka Hall of Fame calls Cleveland home, as well as one helluva accordion museum, but biggest thing in three states? Also, love the guy behind him with the sign: “Above average poetry scene.” Follow…
Art Gallery Listings
19 INVITATIONAL One month after neighborhood artist Jeff Chiplis was shot during the June festivities, Tremont’s monthly Art Walk returns with a vengeance — and 19 artists showing work at Asterisk Gallery’s annual celebration of the number once worn by Bernie Kosar. As usual, Asterisk owner Dana Depew has gathered a crew about as diverse…
Local CD Reviews
Open Range Torch Songs Vol. II (self-released) myspace.com/openrangetorchsongs Listen to Open Range Torch Songs’ Vol. II, and you’ll feel like you’re taking a trip around the world. The Cleveland band’s ability to seamlessly float from one genre to another makes it sound way worldly. Jennifer O’Neal’s sharp violin echoes through the opening song, the Latin-flavored…
MINDLESS LAUGHS
If you’re looking for a comedy that doesn’t require you to fire up a single synapse, The Foreigner — now playing at Porthouse Theatre — is right up your lazy-brained alley. Filled with broad characters and unrealistic situations, Larry Shue’s concoction is a freeform farce waiting for actors to activate the laugh machine. And the…
Alien Nation
With a new Predator movie — this one simply called Predators — opening Friday, we figured it would be useful to recount the menacing creature’s history, which dates back to the days when Reagan was secretly sending troops to fight meaningless battles in Latin American jungles. A sequel to the first two Predator films, this…
Wisdom From the Masters
>If it’s true that you’ve got to be a little nuts to get into the restaurant business, then the following list surely represents the craziest crew Cleveland has to offer. In their decades of service, these restaurateurs have succeeded in an industry that rewards hard work, unwavering passion, and resilience in the face of great…
Mama’s Boy
The premise is pure post-Apatow: Depressed divorced guy meets hot single mom at a party. They hit it off. She introduces him to her grown, dumpy son, who still lives with her. The son doesn’t like the guy — or any guy, for that matter — getting too close to his mother. “Seriously,” he tells…
What’s on stage this week?
The Foreigner — See review. The Merry Wives of Windsor — Shakespeare’s story about a fat knight who, in a dire financial situation, decides to woo two wealthy married women. When they figure out his plan and determine that an overweight knight isn’t the best candidate for an affair, they use the situation for their…
Film Capsules
Predators — Featured in this issue. The A-Team — Like the ’80s TV series it’s based on, The A-Team is incredibly simple-minded. The saving grace of both show and movie is the four likable main characters — Hannibal Smith (Liam Neeson), B.A. Baracus (Quinton “Rampage” Jackson), “Face” (Bradley Cooper), and Mad Dog Murdock (Sharlto Copley).…
CD Review: 3OH!3
There must be something about the air in Colorado that makes so many of its bands such insufferable goofballs. Flobots, OneRepublic, String Cheese Incident — their names say it all. But none of these groups is as awful as 3OH!3, the electro-pop duo that scored a hit last year with the grating “Don’t Trust Me.”…
To the Core
Since the mid-’80s, John Petkovic has played in local bands like Death of Samantha and Cobra Verde. He’s also a longtime entertainment writer for The Plain Dealer. But the skinny, curly-topped leader of Sweet Apple needs no introduction. Mainly because there’s no time for one. His gruff, nicotine-stained voice races forward breathlessly, like a chase…
CD Review: The Roots
How I Got Over is the Roots’ healthiest album in years, funded not just monetarily but mentally by a steady day job as Jimmy Fallon’s late-night TV band. Still, angst and intensity do wonders in hip-hop, so it’s no surprise that the Roots made some of their best albums under tough conditions. The noisy synths…
Wings of Change
You’ve probably never heard of Will Kimbrough. But the musicians you have heard of probably know him. Kimbrough has played guitar for Rodney Crowell, co-written several songs with Jimmy Buffett, recorded with Mark Knopfler, produced Adrienne Young’s Grammy-nominated Plow to the End of the Row, and was named the Americana Music Association’s Instrumentalist of the…
CD Review: Scissor Sisters
For their third album, Scissor Sisters work with an outside party for the first time. And it does them a world of good. The group apparently trashed an earlier version of Night Work and even considered calling it quits before bringing in producer Stuart Price, who helps drag Scissor Sisters out of the ’70s and…
The Concerts You Should See This Week
Eyedea and Abilities The Twin Cities may seem like an unlikely hot spot for underground hip-hop, but for the past decade, the indie rap scene has been largely dominated by Minneapolis-St. Paul rappers on the Rhymesayers label. Eyedea and Abilities, a Minnesota-based MC-and-DJ pair, have been at the forefront of the movement, advancing their skills…
CD Review: The-Dream
For most R&B singers, a line like “Let’s make out on the phone first” would be hyperbolic overkill. But most R&B singers aren’t The-Dream. Fans of the Atlanta-based singer, songwriter, and producer — who doesn’t deny the debts he owes to Prince and R. Kelly — have come to expect this sort of ludicrously provocative…
Feeling Lucky, Punk?
Kevin Lyman, the master-mind behind the Warped Tour, has complained about slow ticket sales for this year’s outing, but part of the problem has more to do with the lineup than the slumping concert industry. This year’s tour features plenty of the usual suspects (Alkaline Trio, Bouncing Souls, Riverboat Gamblers), but there’s no hot band…
At the Arthouse
COCO CHANEL & IGOR STRAVINSKY The audience practically rioted during the first performance of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring in a Parisian opera house in 1913. The Russian composer knew he was taking a chance with the modern orchestration, foreign rhythms, and odd beats — not to mention the tribal dancers in Russian peasant…
We Get Letters
ACT LIKE YOU’VE BEEN THERE BEFORE I can’t tell you how happy I am to finally see a Cleveland sportswriter who gets it [“Let Him Go,” by Vince Grzegorek, June 2, 2010]. At what point do LeBron’s city, team owner, fellow teammates, and fans stop owing him? And when does he become a man and…
Stay In: U2 Leads This Week’s Picks
TOP PICK U2360° at the Rose Bowl (Interscope) U2’s 2009 Rose Bowl concert — the one that was beamed out live on YouTube and attracted something like seven zillion viewers — comes to DVD with a panoramic view of the on-stage action. The band tears through several No Line on the Horizon songs, but there’s…
Welcome to the Jungle
Predators Screenwriter Robert Rodriguez conceived Predators as a sequel to the first two Predator movies. So it’s more about man vs. Predator than Predator vs. Alien this time around. The plot centers on a group of soldiers trapped in a foreign jungle where the sun never sets. At first they fight among themselves, but they…
The Good, the Bad, and the Cuddly
Despicable Me The villains at the center of this amiable CGI movie are straight out of the James Bond playbook. After rival bad guy Vector begins to steal some of the planet’s most notable landmarks, the borderline incompetent Gru hatches a plan to shrink the moon (it’s basically a one-upmanship contest between these guys). He…
Get Out! The Tall Ships Are Coming
WEDNESDAY, JULY 7 Tall Ships What exactly is a “tall ship?” Yeah, it’s a ship that’s really tall. But it’s more than that. The term encompasses a variety of large sailing vessels, with two or more masts, that are historical reproductions of ships from the 19th century. And about a dozen of them are arriving…
Scene Turns 40: The 40 Most Memorable Concerts of the Last 40 Years
When Alan Freed hosted the Moondog Coronation Ball — arguably the first rock concert — at the Cleveland Arena back in 1952, he probably had no idea he had spawned a musical form that would change the world. Thanks to Freed, Cleveland will always be known as a rock and roll city. And for the…
Another Moment of Truth
In the ’90s, local hardcore heroes the Spudmonsters built a strong following that started in the Midwest and spread through Europe. Then the whole thing went to hell. “We had just gotten off a European headlining tour, and promoters overseas were stealing money from us when we were finally making some money,” says singer Don…
