Huffington Post Reminds Everyone that Ohio Exists
To dispel Ohio’s apparently boring appearance, the Huffington Post released a list titled “24 Reasons You Should Stop Underestimating Ohio” earlier this month. Take that, all you other uncool states. A couple of questionable choices dot the list, like Lake Erie, because well, that’s kind of not just an Ohio thing. The Ohio River? Yes,…
Here’s an Update on the Plans for the New Downtown Hilton Hotel
ERIC SANDY/SCENE The Hilton will be an integral part of Convention Center goings-on. We’re entering “crunch time” in the Hilton hotel development schedule, according to Project Management Consultants lawyer Jeff Appelbaum, though presentations of final plans and costs to County Council and the public are still a month away. Construction continues unabated at the site…
Take a Taste of Corleone’s in Parma
Born in 1959, Pete Bosinger grew up on a West 25th Street that was much more rough around the edges than it is today. And like so many Clevelanders in the ’70s and ’80s, the trades were the obvious career choice. “I was working as a laborer, Local 860, jackhammering nine hours a day until…
CIFF Debut of The Sax Man is Completely Sold Out
The CIFF world debut of The Sax Man, a film about Cleveland street musician Maurice Reedus Jr., has completely sold. According to the CIFF site, there are no tickets left for any of the three screenings on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Folks who weren’t lucky enough to score a seat, will have to be sated…
Chef Scott Popovic Finds a New Home after Eight Years on the Road
Back in December we told you about Bacchanalia Gourmet Market (14717 Detroit Ave.), which will open in late spring or early summer in Lakewood. The project is being headed up by Manny Nieves, owner of Grady’s Fine Wines in Rocky River. Well, that operation just received some high-powered partnership. Joining Nieves as partner in the…
East Cleveland Public Library: The Region’s Best Theater
William Fambrough confronts the board, with police in tow, earlier this month. The East Cleveland Public Library’s Board of Trustees has become a literal laughing stock. By the end of Monday evening’s two-and-a-half-hour meeting, the library’s basement conference room had descended to bedlam. Trustees were shouting, thrusting manuals and rules of governance aloft with biblical…
Chef Sawyer Earns Final Spot in Beard Awards
This morning, the final nominations were announced for the 2014 James Beard Awards. In the category of Best Chef: Great Lakes, Jonathon Sawyer of The Greenhouse Tavern earned a final spot. He is the only Cleveland chef included on the list. Back in February, the James Beard Foundation announced its list of chef semifinalists, on…
Millions Flagged for Justice Center Repairs
FOURSQUARE A veritable buttload of work is slated for Cleveland’s Justice Center, which, according to some, is just an absolute wreck a scant 38 years into its existence. Cuyahoga County Council has already approved $7.4 million for ongoing repairs, though there’s more to come. Estimates have transcended the $400 million mark, which would be shared…
Rejuvenated singer-guitarist Gary Numan to play Beachland tomorrow night
Though not quite a household name, singer-guitarist Gary Numan has had an illustrious career that stretches back to the early ’70s. Numan, who plays the Beachland Ballroom tomorrow night, still remembers the first guitar he ever got and how that inspired him to play in several punk bands before forming the seminal punk/New Wave act…
Video: Amazing On-Court Video Projection Show From the Cavs
As part of the Zydrunas Ilgauskas number-retirement festivities, the Cavs brought in Quince Imaging to create a video-projection program on the Q’s court. How does such a psychedelic display like that come together? Via NBA.com: Using a combination of 3D mapping techniques and video content produced by the Cavs own QTV team and Think Media,…
KISS: The Top 13 albums of the Makeup Years
It’s not a huge secret that KISS, who will (finally) be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when the induction ceremony takes place next month, is a guilty pleasure of mine. Though not in the same tier as artists like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones or Bob Dylan, the group is definitely…
Watch this Sweet Time-Lapse Video of the Goodyear Blimp Construction, Get Drunk, Name Blimp
“Your Name Here” Some of you may have seen that Goodyear unveiled a sleek new state-of-the-art blimp in Akron on Friday. The airship, built by a team of U.S. and German engineers, is bigger, faster and more maneuverable than its predecessors and will officially go into service this summer. The best part is, we get…
Arcade Fire’s powerful songs fuel energetic performance at Quicken Loans Arena
Ten years after Arcade Fire put out their first album, Funeral, the Montreal-based band is touring arenas, shooting millions of pieces of confetti into crowds of riotous fans and commanding the stage like the biggest rock stars of our generation. Bruno Mars may be performing in the Super Bowl halftime show, and Beyonce may command…
CSU Film Students Sell Their Movie to Revolutionary Distributor
On the Moonshine Kingdom set. Milton Horowitz, 32, a recent alum of the CSU film program, and Ryan Forte, 21, a current senior, boarded an airplane to L.A. a few hours after they’d finished the final edits on their movie Moonshine Kingdom. They’d made some DVD screeners and intended to pitch their low-budget action flick…
Video: A Tribute to Brandon Weeden
Brandon Weeden is no longer a member of the Cleveland Browns and upon that joyous bit of news, one enterprising Browns fan took it upon him/herself to put together the Brandon Weeden tribute video, set to Sarah McLachlan’s “I Will Remember You,” so we can now and forever remember every beautiful, fluttering, sputtering moment of…
Mayor Gary Norton Delivers East Cleveland’s Dubious State of the City
Despite ongoing questions about the future of East Cleveland — Is the fiscal emergency as calamitous as state auditor Dave Yost has claimed? Is a merger with the city of Cleveland on the horizon, or even on the table? — mayor Gary Norton’s annual state of the city address Saturday afternoon received almost zero media…
Cleveland International Film Fest to Offer Discount Tickets
Hey there movie lovers and dear Scene readers, the folks at CIFF are offering you- yes you!- discount tickets to the 38th annual film fest. Just use the promo code SCENE when purchasing tickets online, on the phone, or in person and, bada bing bada boom, you automatically save $2. Yep. $2. That a couple…
Outrageous Browns Typos (Vol. 3,220,304,995)
Deadspin already did the thing where they put a whole bunch of typos in a post talking about a particularly egregious typo. So we’ll just let this poster, for the new Kevin Costner Browns’ flick Draft Day, speak for itself.
10 Things Going on in Cleveland this Weekend (March 14 – 16)
Lots to do over the next few days. On tap we have concerts galore: The Boys from County Hell, Cleveland Pops Orchestra, and the Benny Golson Quartet are just three of the many talented acts slated to take local stages this weekend. Also worth checking out is the Auto Rama car show at the IX…
North Royalton High School Teacher to Begin Competing on Jeopardy! Tonight
JEOPARDY PRODUCTIONS INC. Arthur Chu, legend, leaves behind massive shoes for future competitors to fill. The third-winningest Jeopardy! competitor bowed out last night, opening up the field for similarly eager masters of trivia. At the risk of turning our illustrious website into some sort of odd Jeopardy! blog, we’re happy to announce another Northeast Ohio…
15 Photos of Abandoned Geauga Lake Amusement Park
Back in the day, Geauga Lake Amusment Park was bustling and busy, and home of many a fond memory for northeast Ohio natives. But since the park (which switched to the name Six Flags in 2000) closed some seven years ago, it’s become a mere shadow of its former self and, today, the old park…
Market Garden Brewery Orders Brewhouse Equipment for ‘Palace of Fermentation’
“I’m not going to lie, it’s slightly nerve-racking,” admits Market Garden Brewery’s Sam McNulty. “We’re going to have to sell all this beer.” McNulty is referring to the roughly 60,000 barrels per year that his new 35-barrel brewhouse will crank out from the “Palace of Fermentation,” the 43,000-square-foot facility he’s renovating just north of the…
Developers Selected for Lakefront Project
The latest news on the Straight from City Hall blog is that Mayor Jackson’s Lakefront Advisory Committee has selected developers to pursue a mixed-use development project behind FirstEnergy Stadium, the Great Lakes Science Center and the Rock Hall. Trammell Crow Company (a real estate group based in Dallas) and Cumberland Development LLC (a local real…
Cleveland Named One of the Snowiest Cities in America
With only seven days remaining until it’s *officially* spring, Scene is here to inform you that Cleveland was recently ranked one of the snowiest cities in America by the folks at Golden Snow Globe. Arctic temperatures and snowfall accumulation totals reaching nearly 20 inches greater than our winter average, helped Cleveland to earn the title…
One Year Since Aliza Sherman’s Murder; Still No Answers
It’s been nearly a year now since Cleveland Clinic nurse and mother of four Aliza Sherman was brutally murdered outside the Galleria downtown. The high-profile crime netted headlines across the city for weeks. But as we approach the anniversary, the city and Sherman’s family, of course, is no closer to justice than they were last…
Good-Bye, Arthur Chu
JEOPARDY PRODUCTIONS INC. In case you missed the home-page article on Cleveland.com that ran prior to tonight’s Jeopardy! episode, here’s the result (the episode is now over, by the way): Arthur Chu OUT. We profiled the trivia buff immediately after his third win. He went on to notch 11 big ones, becoming the third-winningest player…
Marshmallows Subbed for Prescription Pills in Preschool Career Lesson
Here’s an odd lesson for preschool students: Teach them how to fill prescription pills bottles by using mini-marshmallows. Such was the case during some sort of recent Career Day lesson in Massillon. Questions: Why even begin to explain “careers” to preschoolers? Why zoom in so narrowly to one particular job duty of pharmacists? Why take…
Ohio “Werewolf Enthusiast” Indicted on Charges of Sexual Misconduct
Mark Edwards, in full regalia, with a raw rabbit’s leg in his mouth. An Ohio man has been indicted by a grand jury in Clark County, near Dayton, for luring a 14-year-old girl into a bizarre, cultish role-playing ‘covenant’ that led to unlawful sexual conduct and then running away with her. Mark Edwards, 44, is…
Downtown-Based Tea Lab to Open Second Location in Lakewood
It’s been only six months since Bob Holcepl opened his sleek Tea Lab shop (530 Euclid Ave., 216-650-7017) in the 5th Street Arcades, but he’s already got number two in the on-deck circle. In early April, Holcepl will open a Tea Lab in Lakewood (14534 Detroit Rd.), next door to Aladdin’s. “Why am I opening…
[VIDEO] Cleveland is Happy
The weather in Cleveland sucks today, but that’s no excuse not to be happy. Take it from these Clevelanders who were caught gettin’ groovy by Brunswick High School student Jesse Marianut. )
All Irish, All Day: The Songs of the Season Ring Out East to West Across Cleveland
There are plenty of great Irish acts to catch while you’re getting sloppy drunk on green beer and shots of Jameson. Here’s a rundown of some of the highlights. When it comes to St. Patty’s Day, the local Pogues cover band Boys From the County Hell are the hardest working band in town. They play…
Shakespeare’s Blood Fest Titus is Set to Music at Cleveland Public Theatre
Consider the following events: A man is de-limbed. A woman is raped and then has her tongue cut out and her hands chopped off. A man kills his son and later whacks off his own hand. Multiple fresh corpses are thrown into a pit. There are a couple beheadings. And then, to wrap it all…
The Tasty Taproom Wave: We Clevelanders Couldn’t Ask for More, Save an Early Spring
“Beer is always freshest at the source,” says Fat Head’s brewer Matt Cole. That seems like the most obvious testimonial in the world, but until recently, it wasn’t all that easy to accomplish. Before 2012, it was all but impossible for a small brewery to open up its doors to thirsty fans. But thanks to…
Also on Stage: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat If you love “American Idol” and bare male chests, then this current packaging of the reliable theatrical warhorse Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will no doubt amaze and delight you. After all, it stars two Idol alums, the newlywed couple Diana DeGarmo and Ace Young, the latter of…
Making Bars Better: A Brief List of Drinking Trends We Want More (or Less) of this Year
We like drinking, and we like going out to drink. Which isn’t to say it’s always ideal. Even our most favorite bars boast some tiny quirks or customs that we could do without. Likewise, even the worst bars — the places your friends drag you to that leave you sighing and eyeing the exit door…
Fire in the Bag: The Cleveland Firefighters Memorial Pipes and Drums
On St. Patrick’s day, the Cleveland Firefighters Memorial Pipes and Drums, a bagpipe band, will arrive at St. Patrick’s Church on Bridge Ave. to kick off the busiest day of their year. The 35 pipers and drummers, outfitted in traditional kilts, will play the 9:30 a.m. mass, then scoot via chartered bus to the Cleveland…
Bringing Your Own Bevies to your Favorite Little Restaurant? That’s Against the Law
What’s better than those four little letters: BYOB? Rather than forking over $7 a pop for a beer, savvy diners who choose the right joints can spend that much on an entire six-pack. Checking out a cute little Italian bistro that doesn’t have a liquor license? Bring along a great bottle of red wine that…
Hot Dogs and Hamburgers: Two New(ish) Joints are Slinging the American Staples
StrEat Burger Bistro Izzy Schachner is one of the only local food truck operators to successfully open a brick-and-mortar restaurant that duplicates the excitement and energy of a mobile food concept. Opened last August in Lakewood, StrEat Burger Bistro comes as close to a food truck with four walls as one can possibly get –…
The Man Who Would be Mayor: Pink Martini’s Thomas Lauderdale Talks About how his ‘Little Orchestra’ Became an International Sensation
Pink Martini bandleader Thomas Lauderdale originally thought he’d enter politics and run for mayor of his hometown, Portland, Oregon. But as he started going to fundraisers, he realized that the music most politicians played at their events was crap. He figured he could come up with something better, and he put together a self-described “little…
Your Complete Guide to Cleveland Concerts (March 13 – 19)
THURS 03/13 Bad Boys Jam: 9 p.m. Brothers Lounge. Margaret Brouwer’s Blue Streak Ensemble: The oldest roller coaster at Cedar Point inspired the name of the contemporary classical group Blue Streak Ensemble. Founded by composer Margaret Brouwer to perform along the Lake Erie coast, this group of Cleveland Institute of Music alumni brings an exciting…
Dream Weaver: Corey Grand Delves Deep into the Subconscious for his Latest EP
In a dreaming state, the human brain emits slow delta brain waves, breathing becomes shallow and the heart rate speeds up. At this point, the strange illusions and scenarios that take place during our sleep occur. Here lies the muse for artists like Corey Grand, whose recent release, Cold Wax EP, drew inspiration from a…
Regional Beat: Various Artists
Stress Relief (self-released) colindussault.com When local harp player Mr. Stress suffered a minor stroke at the end of last year, local bluesman Colin Dussault rallied some of the best players on the Cleveland scene to contribute to a benefit project. Dussault received such overwhelming response, he had to put the tunes on four discs. The…
All the Bars
#CLEBAREXP stands for The Cleveland Bar Experiment, not experience. But it is an experience. It is multiple experiences. These experiences are many and mostly liquid. The experimenting started in May last year. It was just one Thursday night for a few pals in Ohio City. And then it became a second Thursday night. Instead of…
Now Hear This: 311 Returns to Form
From the early days of rocking Grassroots on the elementary school bus to traveling across the country for a five-hour extravaganza concert, I’ve been through the joyous ringer with 311. They’ve been an awe-inspiring band for more than 20 years, transcending the “rap-rock” genre they were shoehorned into so many albums ago. Recent outings, however,…
The Good, the Bad, and the Passed Out: Two Bartenders Spill on What it’s Like to Work Behind the Bar on St. Patrick’s Day
If you’re the type who sets an iPhone alert for St. Patrick’s Day, or boasts a beer gut deserving of its own Jenny Craig account, there’s a chance you might actually go the full 18 to 20 hours of drinking that many associate with March 17. But could you last that amount of time behind…
Band of the Week: The Fab Four – The Ultimate Tribute
Meet the band: Ron McNeil (vocals), Ardy Sarraf (vocals, bass), Gavin Pring (vocals, guitar), Erik Fidel (drums). In the Beginning: Pring, who now lives in North Ridgeville, auditioned for a role with the Beatles tribute group some 10 years ago when it was based in Las Vegas. Since that time, the band has expanded into…
A Guide to Beers and Glassware: Why Drinking Beer from a Coffee Mug is Just Wrong
Fancy beer glasses aren’t just for fun; the proper vessel enhances the beer drinking experience both by directing the beverage to the proper part of the tongue for maximum flavor and by allowing for aromatic expression and head retention. Navigating through the sea of different glass styles isn’t as difficult as one might imagine. Selecting…
A Rendezvous for Me and You: Cellar Door Cleveland Hosts its Second Annual Music Festival this Weekend
Around dawn on March 9 last year, a truck and its raised trailer smashed into a pedestrian bridge overpass on I-90 just outside Cleveland’s Collinwood neighborhood. The freeway was shut down for days. Much of the area lost power as a result of the destruction. Justin and Allie Markert, waking up at their AsiaTown loft…
All Aboard: Catch the Bus to the Breweries
Last May, Bob and Shelle Campbell launched the Cleveland Brew Bus, a brewery tour company. Call to make a reservation for an upcoming outing and you’ll likely discover that every seat is booked for weeks. Bob attributes his company’s good fortunes to a combination of factors that include great timing, good relationships and an education-based…
Climbing Up the Walls: A Rock-Climbing Couple from Tremont Wants to Bring Vertical Fun to an Ancient Church
Niki Zmij and Chick Holtkamp climb on things — rocks, mountains, buildings, really anywhere they can find a foothold. You may have seen them scaling the walls of their Tremont residence. They now have plans to set up a rock climbing facility in the long-vacant Fifth Church of Christ Scientist on West 117th Street and…
More On Tap: Think Cleveland Has a Lot of Breweries? Just Wait, More Will be Opening their Doors this Year
If it seems like a new craft brewery is opening its doors every other week, you’re not that far off the mark. Currently, Cleveland boasts a dozen breweries that include BottleHouse, Brew Kettle, Buckeye Brewing, Great Lakes, Fat Head’s, Indigo Imp, Market Garden, Nano Brew, Portside Brewery, Rocky River Brewing and Willoughby Brewing. If we…
Film Review of the Week: Tim’s Vermeer
Like painter Salvador Dalí, Tim Jen-ison spent more than five years obsessively poring over details, focusing on minutiae, teaching himself the necessary skills to bring his vision to life. But, unlike Dalí, Jenison’s passion waås not an original artwork. In fact, some people may think what Jenison did is rather the anti-art. Jenison, highly successful…
forty.one’s Hunter Harlor: A non-vegan vegan foodie
There’s no question that Cleveland’s food community is a robust one. Everywhere you look, there’s a strong presence of passionate and enthusiastic folks making their mark on our culinary landscape. That’s precisely the reason Hunter Harlor, founder of forty.one in Ohio City, started making and selling his vegan milks and foodstuffs. A former general manager…
Film Spotlight: Elaine Stritch – Shoot Me
One day, director Chiemi Karasawa was getting a haircut when she saw someone walk by who looked like Broadway star Elaine Stritch. Turned out, it was Stritch. The two met and became friends and Karasawa, intrigued by the fact that Stritch was still performing in her eighties, followed the actress for a year and a…
Savage Love: A Terminally Ill Guy Loves his Cheating Wife
Dear Dan, I have a slowly terminal disease and don’t have more than five or six years left. I haven’t told my wife, which brings me to my problem. We had lived together for seven years when she cheated on me the first time. We worked things out, we got back together, but we continued…
Reunited local hardcore band In Cold Blood to play Now That’s Class
When the System Overload-era lineup of Integrity headlined a capacity crowd at the A389 X Anniversary Bash in Baltimore, in January, it was the first time that version of the legendary metallic hardcore band played together in almost 20 years and the first time that founding member Aaron Melnick, along with his brother Lenny, played…
