7/8: Kickoff of Rock Hall’s Summer Sessions
Once again, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum will present a summer series of outdoors shows on its entrance plaza on alternate Wednesday evenings. This season’s concerts, dubbed “Summer Sessions,” launch on July 8 with Philadelphia’s freewheeling, eclectic Man Man, known for their wild stage attire and wild assortment of instruments and…
Explicit Ills has its local premiere tonight at CMA
Executive produced by Jim Jarmusch, Explicit Ills weaves together several stories of people living in a poor Philadelphia neighborhood to show how grief brings them together. It 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. Explicit Ills (US,…
Sin Nombre shows at Cinematheque
Critically acclaimed when it was released earlier this year (and had a short run at the Cedar Lee), Cary Fukunaga’s immigrant tale Sin Nombre comes to the Cinematheque this week, screening at 5:30 tonight at 3:05 p.m. Sunday, July 5. Here’s our review of the film. Sin Nombre (Mexico/U.S., 2009) The debut feature of Cary…
7/2: The Cypress Grove at CIM
Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute has some explaining to do. There are some missing details — like Sarastro’s motivation for kidnapping Pamina, Tamino’s reason for traveling to the Kingdom of the Night and the origin of the magic flute itself. Composer and Cleveland Institute of Music grad Marshall Griffith’s one-act opera The Cypress Grove provides…
7/2: The City Is Our Playground/Sparx in the City
MorrisonDance has performed in atypical outdoor settings since its first production, Erie Sirens, featured dancers in the waves of Edgewater Park in 1998. But they started performing interactively in the city a little later. “It started spontaneously several years ago, when we were rehearsing outside,” says director Sarah Morrison. “When you’re outside, people see what…
7/3: Zappa Plays Zappa at HOB
Frank Zappa could have lived to be 150 and still not have realized all the music careening around in that genius brain of his. To lose him at 52, when he may have just begun to understand where his music was leading, was a profound tragedy. All we can do now is look back at…
7/2: Carnifex at Peabody’s
Macabre as it may be, we love violence. Throughout history, men have been entertained by the spilling of blood — from ancient Rome’s Coliseum to the torture-porn of modern horror films. On albums like 2007’s Dead in My Arms and 2008’s The Diseased and the Poisoned, San Diego death-metal band Carnifex tap into this continuum…
7/1: Swan Lake film screening at Cedar Lee
There was a time when snooty local dance audiences could credibly claim boredom with the classic story ballet Swan Lake, which found its way onto Cleveland Ballet’s schedule every three years. But nearly a decade after the company left town, there’s a legion of little girls who haven’t had a chance to see the ballet.…
Shaq + LeBron (With Chalk) Screenshot From NBA 2K10
2K Sports released the first screenshot from NBA 2K10, and it’s got Shaq, in all his new Cavs glory, in the foreground while LeBron does the ceremonial chalk toss in the background. (Hat tip to First Cuts)
Whiskey Daredevils Tour Diary: Day 9, Ravensburg, Germany
The Whiskey Daredevils just returned from a road trip in Europe. Frontman Greg Miller fills us in on what happened. I sit in the van seat, which has only one position, that being a military straight up back posture. Somehow I manage to drop blissfully into a deep slumber, maybe for the first time in…
Free tickets to American Psycho
Win an admit-two pass to the Cedar Lee’s Cult Series presentation of American Psycho starring Christian Bale and directed by Mary Harron (I Shot Andy Warhol). You can chose between two screenings, one at 9:30 p.m. and one at midnight on Saturday, July 4. Be one of the first people to stop by the Scene…
More Real Estate News (Because You Love It) — Shaq’s Miami Mansion Finally Sells
His plush pad on Star Island had been up for sale since 2005. A couple of weeks ago, he received just $16 million for the mansion (half the original asking price in 2005 of $32 million). I think he’s doing just fine these days and will be able to nab himself some nice digs when…
No, This Isn’t a Headline From The Onion
But it’s sarcastic and hilarious anyway. “Cavs Finally Make Championship-Calibur Move, Sign Paul Harris”
This Just In: Concert Announcements
Chiddy Bang: 9 p.m., free 21+/$5 18-20, Sun., Sept. 6. B-Side Liquor Lounge. The Clumsy Lovers: Tavern, Fri., Aug. 21, 7 p.m., $10. Beachland. Cracker: Ballroom, Fri., Aug. 28, 9 p.m., $20 ADV/$22 DOS. Beachland. Marshall Crenshaw: Tavern, Tue., Sept. 29, 8 p.m., $15 ADV/$17 DOS. Beachland. DEVOtional: Ballroom. Devo convention, with merch, entertainment, and…
A COUNTY OFFICIAL WITH FANS?
Recently we noted that when the Cuyahoga County Board of Mental Health and the Board of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services of Cuyahoga County merge, they’ll be headed not by a medical professional but by a career bureaucrat, William Denihan. Well, let the record show that Mr. Denihan has fans. I appreciate the opportunity to…
Inside Bernie Kosar’s Florida Mansion — Now For Sale
Bernie Kosar is having some money issues. He’s declaring bankruptcy and that means he’s most likely going to have to sell a lot of stuff and downsize his lifestyle to pay off his creditors. In that vein, his monstrous mansion in Weston, Florida (which he hasn’t paid property taxes on in a couple of years)…
Concert Review: Yiddishe Cup
The bubbas were dancing in the aisles by the time Yiddishe Cup concluded its second set, headlining the 31st annual free Workman’s Circle Yiddish Concert at Cain Park’s Alma Amphitheater Sunday evening. Dedicating the old Jewish favorite “Bay Mir Bistu Sheyn” to Jack Saul, a stalwart of the concert’s organizing committee who died May 1,…
7/3 & 4: Mick Boogie and Terry Urban
Hip-hop aficionados Mick Boogie and Terry Urban welcomed rap icon MC Hammer to the Press Play Show, their weekly showcase on Eminem’s Shade45 Sirius/XM satellite radio station. Take a full listen here. The expatriate Cleveland DJs are returning home for the holiday weekend. Catch them Friday, July 3 at Ultra (1212 W. 6th St., 216.555.7716)…
MIck Boogie and Terry Urban return
Hip-hop aficionados Mick Boogie and Terry Urban welcomed rap icon MC Hammer to the Press Play Show, their weekly showcase on Eminem’s Shade45 Sirius/XM satellite radio station. Take a full listen here. The expatriate Cleveland DJs are returning home for the holiday weekend. Catch them Friday, July 3 at Ultra (1212 W. 6th St., 216.555.7716)…
Eastbound & Down DVD offers a belly full of laughs
Do you remember where you saw him first? Hot Rod? Pineapple Express? The Foot Fist Way? Look out Seth Rogen, in the past three years offbeat funnyman Danny McBride has risen from scene-stealing comedic second fiddle to pot-bellied leading man material. In Eastbound & Down, the HBO series of his own creating that arrives on…
Whiskey Daredevils Tour Diary — Day 8: Winterthur
The Whiskey Daredevils just returned from a road trip in Europe. Frontman Greg Miller fills us in on what happened. We wake up with plenty of time to kill before the short drive to Winterthur. We split up in the brilliant noon sunshine on the cobblestone streets of the old city. The town is even…
Loud and Bobnoxious Cult Movies: Requiem for a Vampire
French cult director Jean Rollin once again revisits his favorite subject, sexy vampires, in this 1971 film recently released on DVD by Redemption Video. As is the case with many of Rollin’s films, the protagonists are two innocent young girls who must confront all manner of horrors and erotic weirdness. The movie makes no logical…
CMA director Timothy Rub to resign
Just one week after the Cleveland Museum of Art celebrated the Solstice and the opening of its new Rafael Vinoly-designed East Wing, executive director Timothy Rub has announced his resignation. Rub, who took the job in January 2006, and agreed to a pay cut as the museum’s endowment was hit hard (as endowments have been…
CMA DIRECTOR RESIGNS
Just one week after the Cleveland Museum of Art celebrated the Solstice and the opening of its new Rafael Vinoly-designed East Wing, executive director Timothy Rub has announced his resignation. Rub, who took the job in January 2006, and agreed to a pay cut as the museum’s endowment was hit hard (as endowments have been…
Other Cavaliers to Have Worn No. 33
Devin Brown (’08); Derrick Chievous (’90, ’91); Luke Jackson (’05, ’06); Kannard Johnson (’88); Jumaine Jones (’02. ’03); Donny Marshal (’96, ’97); Ben McDonald (’86); Mike Sanders (’92; ’93); Paul Thompson (’84, ’85); Bob Wilkerson (’82, ’83); Bill Willoughby (’80). Just looking out for you, the consumer, should Shaq not pan out and you need…
Shaq Gear Hits Cavs’ Online Shop, and It’s Blah
While Shaq hasn’t decided on a nickname yet, he does have a uniform number — 33. Which means you can now pre-order your jerseys on cavs.com along with a couple of completely unspectacular t-shirts. For any Cavs employees reading: Come on, I know it’s early, but this is the best you’ve got so far? Clearly…
Concert Review: Def Leppard, Cheap Trick, Poison
Putting together a summer concert package can be tricky business, but the pairing of Cheap Trick with Poison and Def Leppard this summer was a match made in 80’s glam rock heaven. Although Def Leppard closed the show, this was definitely more of a co-headlining gig, as both Poison and Def Leppard had legions of…
I’m Not Going to Write About Michael Jackson
Starting at 5 p.m. yesterday, I won’t be in the office for 10 days. I’m not supposed to be working during this time, and someone else will be handling C-Notes during my absence. I left the office at 5 and headed to a screening of the movie Public Enemies (you can read the review in…
FRIDAY MONKEY BLOGGING: THE NEW PHONE BOOKS ARE HERE!
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo have found a new use for old phone books, hiding treats in them and giving them to the primates to forage through. The swamp monkeys (pictured below) speedily flip through the big books page by page, while the Hamadryas baboons (next page) take a slower, more cautious approach. Ultimately, both species ended…
DERF GETS TRASHED
News from longtime Scene contributor Derf: Welcome to TRASHED: THE WEBCOMIC, my first foray into a web-only feature. This is a tale of a shit job. Literally. I first detailed my experiences as a garbageman eight years ago in my second graphic novel, the Eisner-nominated TRASHED. But there were tales left to tell and I…
Bands wanted for Studio-A-Rama
WRUW 91.1 FM’s annual free outdoor Studio-A-Rama is one of the area’s longest running music events: Its upcoming edition, taking place in September, will be its 28th. The all-day concert takes place on the Case Western Reserve campus in the Mather Memorial Courtyard behind the station, which broadcasts the entire event live. It generally features…
Whiskey Daredevils Tour Diary — Day 7: Solothurn, Switzerland
The Whiskey Daredevils just returned from a road trip in Europe. Frontman Greg Miller fills us in on what happened. We wake up in our purely functional Etap hotel room. After last night’s stay, I now know what it would be like to live on a submarine with cable TV. I pull back the curtains…
HEALTHCARE REFORM? NOT IF INSURERS CAN HELP IT
Via Mother Jones: A former health insurance flak reveals the industry’s dirty secrets to Columbia Journalism Review: Trudy Lieberman: Why did you leave CIGNA? Wendell Potter: I didn’t want to be part of another health insurance industry effort to shape reform that would benefit the industry at the expense of the public. TL: Was there…
Loud and Bobnoxious Cult Movies: Wonder Woman
Comic book movies are all the rage these days, so you have to “wonder” why this iconic super-heroine hasn’t been given her own live action film yet. With the character’s blend of feminism, sexiness and ass kicking action, it seems like a no-brainer. In the meantime, though, we’ve got this animated version released on DVD…
DIMORA: YOU GOT NOTHIN’!
County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora went off on county Republican Party Chairman Rob Frost at the end of Thursday’s regular meeting. Dimora, who stepped aside as Dem party chairman on Tuesday in favor of behind-closed-doors-lever-pulling, said his attorney finally was cool with him going head-to-head in a public setting with Frost, as well as Parma Heights…
Indians in the Futures Game and a Programming Note
First, Nick Weglarz and Carlos Santana will be on the World roster for the 2009 Futures game. Weglarz has posted a .386/.483/.869 line in Akron while Carlos Santana has chipped in with a .401/.507/.908 clip for the Aeros. Second, this blog is off tomorrow, Friday. It will return to regularly scheduled, full strength on Monday.
The Office Star Makes a Hipster Mix
We pretty much love everybody on The Office (except John Krasinski — dude reminds us of a less-smarmy Jimmy Fallon, who we despise). But we love no one more than we love Mindy Kaling, who plays Kelly Kapoor on the show. Kaling, who’s also a writer and co-producer on the show, is one of the…
FAREWELL FARRAH, AND THANKS FOR THAT POSTER
Charlie’s Angel Farah Fawcett, 62, died today after a long battle with cancer. Four years ago, Scene writer Kevin Hoffman chronicled the twisting saga behind her iconic poster, a landmark of ’70s sexiness. Read the whole story here. — D.X. Ferris
LeBron Up For “Best Male Athlete” ESPY
Voting began and the only connection to Cleveland for any of the nominees is, obviously, LeBron’s chance at taking home the “Best Male Athlete” award. His competition: Kobe, Michael Phelps, and Jimmie Johnson.
CAN WE TAKE GOD OUT OF SEX ED, PLEASE?
The Nation reports that the discredited abstinence education movement that flourished under the Bush administration is trying to rebrand itself now that federal dollars (and attention) aren’t so easy to come by. Valerie Huber, who used to oversee Ohio’s programs, makes an appearance — she’s now executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association: At…
Stuff No One Cares About: Whitney Houston’s New CD Gets a Title
Call your mom! Whitney Houston’s new album finally has a title! The batshit-crazy R&B singer hasn’t released an album since 2002’s Just Whitney, which pretty much everyone forgot about the week after it was released. The new album, which comes out on September 1, is called I Look to You. It’s her sixth album and…
Anyone Got a Spare $275 Around and Feeling Generous?
Sweeeeeeet. From UNDFTD’s Louisville Vintage collection, this Champion Cavs warm-up, complete with bottoms. All for a very reasonable $275. Here’s the official description: Champion brand 2 piece warm up suit. Top features hidden button snap placket, die cut tackle twill logo applique, NBA logo embroidery, side seam pockets and lined with poly mesh. Pant features…
Take Your Shot at Butterbean Saturday Night at Tuslaw High School
Yes, that Butterbean. The 420-pound behemoth boxer/MMA fighter/punch line. If you have nothing else to do this Saturday evening (and I mean NOTHING else to do), don’t mind driving down to Tallmadge, and think you can slam Butterbean, have I got news for you. This Saturday, the man with the mighty punch will highlight a…
Larry Fitzgerald or Brady Quinn? EAS/Men’s Health Wants You to Vote
Actually, I’m not encouraging anyone to vote in this thing, but the video’s kind of funny. You’re being asked to pick whose workout is harder and which athlete you’d like Mens Health to feature in one of their issues this fall. Brady’s workout, as shown in the video, consists of throwing a ball at a…
Clev Songwriter Talks the Health Care Blues
Probably no issue is dominating public discussion now more than health care — well, other than South Carolina governor Mark Sanford’s wacky adventures. Ultimately, the health-care discussion will have a much greater impact on our lives. Cleveland-based folk singer Deborah Van Kleef, known for her ’60s-style topical songwriting, has weighed in with her song “Talking…
It Came From the ’80s: Final Stage Reunion
Final Stage will play a 20-year reunion show on Saturday at Maple Grove (14832 Pease Rd., Maple Heights). The cover crew’s lineup is Brian Exton (ex-Dia Pason) guitar, Wal Ozello (ex-Armada) on vocals, Freddie Glover on drums and fill-in bassist Greg Van Krol (ex-Victory Flag, Mutant Soldier). The guys were still in high school when…
Whiskey Daredevils Tour Diary — Day 6: Selestat, France
The Whiskey Daredevils just returned from a road trip in Europe. Frontman Greg Miller fills us in on what happened. I feel absolutely terrible after that German wine. I should have known better. Anything in a big giant bottle that was willingly served with a comp meal can’t be too good for you. I make…
THE DON LIVES
Big surprise: The Don of Rubber City is still in the big chair. Detractors can suck it, says Akron Mayor For Life Don Plusquellic of the latest attempt to depose him in a recall election on Tuesday. In 2007, the darling of the national mayoral set won his unprecedented sixth term. So it was no…
DEALS WITHIN DEALS, SCHEMES WITHIN SCAMS
Yes, this is how business is done around here, as county commissioner Tim Hagan was so fond of reminding everyone during the whole half-billion-dollar convention center give-away to his developer-friend Chris Kennedy. What he meant: behind closed doors. And so it goes with the Ameritrust building at Euclid and East Ninth. Commissioners bought the long-vacant…
The Who’s Loud-Ass Show Keeps Radio Guy Out of Vietnam
This week’s cover story, “The Other Damage Done,” describes some ways that musicians and fans have injured themselves via a life in and around music: chronic repetitive-stress damage, brain trauma and the all-too-common phenomenon of hearing loss. While surveying over 100 music pros for the story, we came across one storyof sudden trauma working out…
Dude Listens to Judas Priest CD Every Single Day for a Year
Monday, June 16, was just a normal day for most of us. For local metalhead Jim Bartek, it was an important anniversary: It marked a year since he first started listening every single day to Judas Priest’s nearly two-hour conceptual opus Nostradamus — centering on the 16th-century prophet whose writings have been fodder for conspiracy…
Getting Back to the Garden
The original Woodstock Music and Art Fair: An Aquarian Exposition — more familiarly known as just “Woodstock” — has become such a cultural touchstone that people who weren’t even alive in 1969 feel like they were there. The “3 Days of Peace & Music,” as it was billed, spawned a classic movie, several albums and…
If You Could Ask Maria Sharapova One Question…
What would it be? Daniel Gibson got the chance when Sharapova was the guest editor of this month’s ESPN the Mag, and his one question wasn’t that impressive. Little flirtation. No pleas for her to come to Cleveland and check out his game. No ‘boobie’ puns. Sharapova also solicited letters and played advice columnist for…
Sam Mendes discusses filming his first romantic comedy
Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Jarhead, Road to Perdition) has described his new film Away We Go as a companion piece of sorts to his last film, Revolutionary Road. That might be a bit of a stretch since Revolutionary Road was a high-powered drama, and Away We Go is a light-hearted romantic comedy. Regardless, Away We…
Chippewa Lake Park documentary is now online
While it’s not yet available on DVD, Elyria-based independent filmmaker Chad Dennis’ documentary about the old Chippewa Lake amusement park is now online. Dennis got the idea for making the 10-minute movie when he saw the park would be bulldozed to make room for a hotel, culinary center and spa. “I saw an ad in…
Kelly Pavlik to sign copies of new biography
Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik will appear at the Fairlawn Borders (3737 W. Market St., 330.666.7568) at 2 p.m. on Saturday, signing copies of the new book Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik: The Pride of Youngstown. Its authors are Beacon Journal writer David Lee Morgan Jr. and Greg Gulas. Boxing historian Bert Sugar contributed the foreword. —…
6/27: Kelly Pavlik appearance
Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik will appear at the Fairlawn Borders (3737 W. Market St., 330.666.7568) at 2 p.m. on Saturday, signing copies of the new book Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik: The Pride of Youngstown. Its authors are Beacon Journal writer David Lee Morgan Jr. and Greg Gulas. Boxing historian Bert Sugar contributed the foreword. —…
CUTTING BREAD WITH A SAW: THE SAD, STRANGE LIFE OF BERNIE KOSAR
Dan LeBatard has a great feature on Bernie Kosar for the Miami Herald. While locally, all we got recently in terms of media coverage of Bernie’s imminent bankruptcy filings were the financial details, LeBatard sits down with Bernie in Florida and recaps just how completely screwed up Kosar’s life is these days — personally, socially,…
Whiskey Daredevils Tour Diary — Day 5: Darmstadt, Germany
The Whiskey Daredevils just returned from a road trip in Europe. Frontman Greg Miller fills us in on what happened. The hotel is one of those hotels you would picture Robert Redford’s character in “The Sting” staying in. The double Ken and I share has a sink with a lonely little towel hanging off a…
ROCK ’N’ ROLL SAVED HIS LIFE
This week’s cover story, “The Other Damage Done,” describes some ways that musicians and fans have injured themselves via a life in and around music: chronic repetitive-stress damage, brain trauma, and the all-too-common phenomenon of hearing loss. While surveying over 100 music pros for the story, we came across one story of sudden trauma working…
Heavy Metal
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Nobody went to the first Transformers for Shia LaBeouf. Nobody went for Megan Fox either (well, maybe some of us did). Everybody who saw that summer blockbuster two years ago went for the robots — the shape-shifting, ass-kicking, totally awesome robots. In this overblown sequel, director Michael Bay wisely keeps…
Local Disc Reviews
DoHM (self-released) myspace.com/dohmsound The Lakewood beast called DoHM has been hard at work sharpening its metal claws. Since 2007’s Watch the Rivers Run Red, a post-grunge experiment with inconsistent results, the five-piece has retrofitted its nü-metal sound with gnarly new talons. Its latest venture features songs such as “Time to Walk the Line” and “Rags…
CD Review: Dinosaur Jr.
Dinosaur Jr. isn’t throwing any curveballs this late in the game. So you pretty much know what to expect on its second album since 2005’s comeback and the fifth by the original trio of guitarist J. Mascis, bassist Lou Barlow and drummer Murph: hooky songs that split the difference between indie and classic rock, the…
Roots Maneuver
Somewhere on the border of Cleveland and Lakewood, between a car wash and a gay bar on West 117 Street, the four members of Coffinberry are making lush, lo-fi records. Drummer and singer Tony Cross gives a tour of the house they share, retreating to the basement studios where he navigates amps, guitars and drums…
Pilgrims of Pop
Wandering rock ‘n’ roll’s backroads for decades, the four members of the Church have been quietly exploring the outer reaches of progressive pop music over 30 plus records. Known to ’80s music nerds as the ethereal Australian rock band that spun the beautifully nebulous “Under the Milky Way,” the Church have never stopped making increasingly…
CD Review: The Mars Volta
It was pretty easy to find fault with the first four Mars Volta albums. All of them were basically the same dense slab of sonic masturbation — equal parts aural bliss and epic clusterfuck. And yet, the El Paso-based progressive rock band continued to sell more records and play to ever larger crowds, while defying…
Soundcheck: Phil Collen
DEF LEPPARD are one of only five artists to sell 10 million copies of two albums. Pyromania, the British band’s 1983 album, crossed over to the pop charts, delivering radio hits like “Photograph” and “Rock of Ages.” Sure, their concessions to the mainstream were blatant, but when they draw from influences like T. Rex and…
CD Review: Stuart Murdoch
You would think a full-time gig like Belle & Sebastian — with its hefty touring regiment and consistent recording sessions — would be enough work for singer-songwriter Stuart Murdoch. Yet, for the past five years, Murdoch has been working on a soundtrack for a nonexistent film God Help the Girl. The culmination of those efforts…
POWER COUPLE
If you’re one of those who think there’s too much sex and violence on TV — and wish there were more of that stuff onstage — then rustle up a lawn chair and start the car. The Cleveland Shakespeare Festival’s production of old Will’s Antony and Cleopatra, soon to play a free-of-charge open-air venue near…
CD Review: Tortoise
Even though Tortoise has been active in the past few years — collaborating with Bonnie “Prince” Billy on a covers album and releasing a rarities collection — Beacons of Ancestorship is their first new batch of original tunes since 2004’s It’s All Around You. Though the band seem to pride themselves on pushing the envelope,…
Forget the Pedestals
More than almost any other visual-arts venue in Cleveland, the Sculpture Center consistently dares viewers to stretch their notion of what an art object might be. This is especially true of the annual exhibit of smaller works, which, under director Ann Albano, has evolved rapidly from a conservative regional sampling called On a Pedestal into…
CD Review: The Phenomenal Handclap Band
This artsy NYC collective juggles genres almost as skillfully as it juggles members. Spearheaded by a pair of former club DJs, the Phenomenal Handclap Band run through a dizzying array of sounds on their debut album. Opener “Journey to Serra da Estrela” starts as a lazy-day psych trip before zooming off into a space-age-synth and…
On the Road Again
Talk about icebreakers. In the opening scene of Away We Go, Sam Mendes’ (American Beauty, Revolutionary Road) new film, Burt (John Krasinski) and Verona (Maya Rudolph) are in bed going at it. Burt has his head under the covers and is clearly, um, pleasuring Maya, while he tries to keep up a conversation at the…
MOON OVER CLEVELAND
The following are excerpts from Moon Handbooks’ new Cleveland guide, written by Northeast Ohio native and Scene (and former Free Times) food writer Douglas Trattner. The book details restaurants and much more throughout Northeast Ohio. Trattner will speak and sign copies at Joseph Beth Booksellers (Legacy Village, 24519 Cedar Rd., Lyndhurst, 216.691.7000, josephbeth.com) at 7…
SPUDDY!
To me — a mottled mutt of German, Irish and Hungarian — the potato isn’t just a tuber, it’s a life continuum. Mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, skillet potatoes, au gratin potatoes: Have potato, will eat. But there is one potato permutation that stands alone. It is usually delivered unto me on days dreary and weary…
Reel Cleveland: Selling Dead Matter
Two months ago, Ed Douglas, the mastermind behind local goth/industrial heroes Midnight Syndicate, finished post-production work on The Dead Matter, a horror movie he directed. Shot in Northeast Ohio, the film is about a woman who tries to connect with her dead brother but inadvertantly enters a supernatural world. Douglas sent the movie to potential…
Temple of Boom
TOP PICK Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings (LucasArts) We’ve dreamed of being Indiana Jones (and Luke Skywalker and Superman and about a dozen other heroes) for years. Now our dreams sorta come true in this videogame for the Wii that puts you in Indy’s shoes. Wield your Wii Remote like a whip, thrust…
CD Review: The Jonas Brothers
On last year’s A Little Bit Longer, the Jonas Brothers sang about crushes, falling in love and other things teens typically fret over. On the follow-up, Lines, Vines and Trying Times, they’re all grown up, bitching about broken hearts and how miserable girls make them. Welcome to the real world, fellas. The album starts with…
Around Hear: 15 60 75 Soon?
Mr. Gnome have completed tracking their second album. The band recorded the bulk of it at L.A.’s Pink Duck studio with producer Justin Smith (QOTSA, Arctic Monkeys), who has (humorously, we think) dubbed singer Nicole Barille “the Enya of metal” and drummer Sam Meister “the Yanni of drums.” The band added final touches at Cleveland’s…
CD Review: Sunset Rubdown
Sunset Rubdown’s batshit crazy music boggles the mind and confuses the soul. Your blabbermouthed uncle who sits in his rocking chair telling made-up war stories might listen to it. So might that hipster down the street with a closetful of American Apparel tees and a pair of headphones bigger than your dog. This isn’t music…
TYSON’S TALE
Tyson Douglas Rand has done just about every job the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival offers. Since joining the itinerant summer company — which produces free Shakespeare in parks and other venues around town — in 2005, he’s served as props master, designer, director, production manager and managing director, all of which prepared him for his latest…
Serengeti and Polyphonic
Chicago’s Serengeti & Polyphonic proved they work better together on their 2007 debut, Don’t Give Up. Both were making waves as solo artists before the collaboration. Serengeti’s genre-hopping rhymes on Gasoline Rainbows had garnered buzz, while Polyphonic’s spacey Abstract Data Ark helped him land production work. Eventually, Don’t Give Up caught the ear of Anticon’s…
Evil Dead Just Won’t Die
Even happier news for theaters than the words “sold out” are the words “held over.” They imply that not only is a show doing well but box-office joy will continue. It’s difficult to extend a run because it requires that the entire cast, crew and orchestra have no other commitments immediately after the original run.…
Capsule Reviews of Current Releases
Opening Arizona Dream (US/France, 1993) Johnny Depp stars in this film about a group of vagabonds who live outside of Tucson. Cleveland Museum of Art Lecture Hall. At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 24. The Dead (Britain/Ireland/US, 1987) Angelica Huston and Donal McCann star as an Irish married couple with problems in John Huston’s last movie.…
The Other Damage Done
Guitarist Robert Kidney has been the leader of 15-60-75 (a.k.a. the Numbers Band) for nearly four decades. He hasn’t had a second of silence in more than 25 years. By the early 1980s, 15 years of exposure to amplified sound had left him with a condition called tinnitus, a form of hearing damage that causes…
The Blues and Beyond
You wouldn’t think a band that plays klemzer music — a traditional Jewish music based in Eastern European folk — would provide fertile ground for innovation. But with a resurgence of popularity among younger players in the past couple of decades, it has done just that. And Cleveland’s Yiddishe Cup, formed in 1988 by clarinetist/sax…
My Sister’s Keeper’s emancipation proclamation falls flat
After six feature films in 13 years, it’s safe to assume writer-director Nick Cassavetes will never be confused with his late father, indie pioneer/auteur John Cassavetes. If Cassavetes Senior’s films were (deliberately) rough around the edges and seemingly improvised (even when they weren’t), Cassavetes Junior occasionally errs on the side of slickness. Exxon Valdez oil…
ELSEWHERE IN BUYAHOGA COUNTY …
When county Democrats chose Bedford city manager and ex-police chief Robert Reid to be the county’s new sheriff last month, they were clearly going with the shaker and not the mover. They passed over the candidate who so many on both sides of the vote believed was the more obvious candidate for a county with…
Shakespeare Fest reimagines Antony and Cleopatra
Alison Garrigan puts her stamp on Shakespeare, laying a 21st-century concept on Antony and Cleopatra that should resonate on several levels. The original play centers on the relationship between Roman Marc Antony and Egyptian Cleopatra, which is complicated by Rome’s internal political tensions as well as a battle between the two nations. Garrigan turns the…
