Update: L.L. Bean Opens at Legacy Village Today
Update II: Locals seeking outdoor and sports wear, rejoice. Lakewood-based Geiger’s opened in downtown Cleveland yesterday, and today retail giant L.L. Bean swings open at Legacy Village. The new store is located near L.A. Fitness and Soma Intimates in a sprawling 16,000 square foot facility. While the Legacy Village location is the company’s first Ohio…
Updated: Local Band Seafair One of Four Bands Competing for a Slot at Bonnaroo
While the men’s college hoops teams for Duke, Wisconsin, Kentucky and Michigan State are all competing in the Final Four this weekend, local rockers Safair have also made it to the Final Four. They’re in the middle of a competition to play at this year’s annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. We blogged about the…
Van Halen to Play Blossom in August
Van Halen has announced tours in the past and then subsequently cancelled them (the guys reportedly don’t like each other too much), so there’s reason to be suspicious about the just-announced jaunt that kicks off with a special concert for Jimmy Kimmel Live on March 30. The band then begins a North American tour on July 5…
Western Reserve PBS and the Summit Teaming Up for Sessions Series
Beginning on April 3, Studio C Sessions, a new weekly TV program featuring exclusive live music performances, will begin airing on Western Reserve PBS (WNEO 45.1/WEAO 49.1). The program, which airs at 9 p.m. on Fridays, is a public broadcasting collaboration between Western Reserve PBS and the Summit (91.3 FM Akron/Canton and 90.7 FM Youngstown/Warren/Western…
Fourth Annual Summerland Tour Coming to Agora in July
Championed by Rolling Stone as one of the “10 Hottest Summer Package Tours,” the fourth annual Summerland Tour will feature Everclear, Toadies, Fuel and American Hi-Fi. Formed in 2012 by Everclear singer-guitarist Art Alexakis, Summerland Tour has featured notable nostalgic bands such as Soul Asylum, Eve 6, Space Hog, Gin Blossoms, Lit, Sugar Ray, Marcy…
Rock Hall’s Lauren Onkey to Speak at Kent State’s 45th Annual May 4 Commemoration
Lauren Onkey, Ph.D., vice president of education and public programs for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, is well-versed in the history of rock ’n’ roll as well as the blues and R&B. She’s a great speaker too. At 7 p.m. on March 30 at the Kent Student Center Kiva, she’ll host…
Here’s What You Should See at CIFF Today (Tues. 3/24)
1) Me mories on Stone (11:30 a.m., 97 minutes). Director: Shawkat Amin Korki This film within a film centers on a director and his passion project, depicting the Kuridsh genocide of the 1980s. It’s a “heartfelt and endearing” picture which demonstrates the cathartic, redemptive power of film, while also finding humor in the logistical and ethical…
Sports Illustrated Put the Indians on the Cover and We All Know How This Ends
Not that we believe in jinxes, but look what’s on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week. (Side-by-side via @BrendanPorath)
Now Open: Santorini Brings Greek-Themed Eats to Downtown
After months of construction, Santorini Greek Taverna opens today at 4 p.m. Owner Tommy Karakostas has been working since fall to convert the old BRGR 9 spot in the Warehouse District into a breezy Greek bistro. Karakostas also is the owner of the popular Lakewood eatery Greek Village Grille, as well as Greek Village outposts…
Cleveland Named Seventh Best Food City in America by Travel + Leisure
Travel + Leisure recently called on its readers to rank America’s best food cities, as well as each city’s most crave-worthy features, from street vendors and cafes, to gourmet markets and upscale eateries. Cleveland, it seems, impressed on both accounts, ranking seventh out of 20 cities. Here’s what T+L’s Katrina Brown Hunt had to say about…
Greenhouse Chef-Owner Jonathon Sawyer Named Finalist for James Beard Award
Jonathon Sawyer, chef-owner of Trentina, Greenhouse Tavern and Noodlecat, has advanced from semifinalist to finalist for the James Beard Foundation Awards for 2015. The announcement was made today at the James Beard House in New York City. Sawyer is the only local chef in the running. He will compete in the category of Best Chef:…
The Artists of the Screw Factory Host Their Spring Open Studio This Friday
The Artists of the Screw Factory are hosting their Spring Open Studio this Friday, Mar. 27, from 6 to 10 p.m. The event features more than two dozen resident and visiting artists. Only three times a year do the Artists of the Screw Factory open their doors to the public, so if you miss this…
J.R. Smith Is Cooking With Gas
We all know by now how J.R. Smith’s arrival changed the team. If you have eyes, you’ve noticed those quick hands and a three-point stroke that heats up justlikethat. He wasn’t going to start but came in and put that idea to rest. Perhaps he knew a better defensive guy was right behind him and…
Here’s the Trailer for the Lifetime Original Movie About Michelle Knight
Earlier this month we told you about the upcoming release of the Lifetime Original Movie based on the true story of Cleveland kidnapping victim Michelle Knight. This week, Lifetime has released its first trailer for the flick, which is slated to premier on Lifetime at 8 p.m. on April 25. Watch below. (function(d, s, id)…
Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems: Kelley Secures Increased Funding for Roads, But Council Members Still Object
In what initially seemed like a non-controversial, even celebratory, caucus Monday afternoon, City Council President Kevin Kelley announced that the city would be increasing its financial commitment to road resurfacing. Kelley’s proposal comes only after negotiations with a frugal, reluctant Jackson administration. Jackson’s Chief of Staff, Ken Silliman, told council Monday that this increase hampers…
Five Classical Music Events to Catch This Week
NEOSonicFest with Cleveland Chamber Symphony and Contemporary Youth Orchestra: The fourth festival event on Tuesday, March 24 in Waetjen Auditorium at CSU has a lot on its agenda. It includes a tribute to CCS founder, the late Ed London (with a performance of Bernard Rands’ “London Serenade”). It honors five “young and emerging composers” with…
Two Charged In Scheme Involving Stolen Boner Pills
Two Northeast Ohio men are facing stiff consequences after they were charged in federal court for their involvement in stealing and selling prescription erectile dysfunction medications. Zacresha Jackson, a 39-year-old South Euclid resident, was a pharmacy technician at the Cleveland Clinic’s Taussig Cancer Center. He’s accused of stealing bottles of Viagra and Cialis from the…
Here’s an Animated Video of the Proposed $25 Million Pedestrian Bridge
An animated video dramatically showing the scope and contour of the proposed $25 million pedestrian bridge appeared on YouTube Monday morning. County officials told Steven Litt at the NEOMG that they couldn’t determine how the video appeared online, but had no problem with the publicity. (The YouTube user “Uridrach” just posts lots of videos of…
Short Film Shot Locally at Jack’s Deli to Screen at CIFF
Steven Hacker has been making films practically his whole life. While his passion for cinematography has taken many forms over the years, from television news to award-winning documentaries, he just finished his foray into long-form fictional drama. “On a Technicality” is a short film about five guys who make an outlandish bet that winds up…
John Fogerty’s 1969 Tour Coming to Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica
Former Credence Clearwater Revival singer John Fogerty has written some great music over the years. To celebrate his legacy, he’s embarking on a tour he’s dubbed 1969. It’s the year he wrote and recorded three albums with Credence Clearwater Revival. That was arguably the band’s peak; he would leave shortly afterward and the group was…
Loud in Cleveland with Morgan Mecaskey: Introducing a New Scene Partnership
This morning, we present the beginnings of a new partnership between Scene and Loud in Cleveland, an awesome music podcast hosted by Drew Maziasz and Michael Cornacchione. Each episode is a conversation with a local musical artist or band about life, their music, their relationships, and the scene. Their first 10 episodes covered Brite Winter, Ohio…
Fat Casual BBQ’s Hyde and Slagle to Take Over Food Ops at Sterle’s Beer Garden
The roomy outdoor bar and beer garden at Sterle’s feels like a separate entity from the operation inside. On warm summer days, it’s a magical little spot where family and friends gather for beer, grub and games. Since coming on board, new chef Jeff Jarrett was deliberating on how best to utilize the outdoor space.…
Earth, Wind & Fire to Play Hard Rock Live in May
Last summer, Earth, Wind & Fire, the seventh top-selling American musical group of all time, was one of the few acts to sell out Cain Park in Cleveland Heights. Now, the classic soul/R&B band, a Rock Hall inductee that features founding members Philip Bailey, Verdine White and Ralph Johnson, is set to return to Northeast…
Semi-Truck Crash Closes Lanes on I-71 North Near Medina
Two lanes of traffic are closed on I-71 north in Medina County (as of 9 a.m.) after a semi-truck driver somehow lost control of his vehicle. The truck rolled onto another car. Little information has been publicly shared, and it’s unclear if any injuries were sustained by anyone involved. Stay tuned and follow @TotalTrafficCLE for…
Here’s What You Should See at CIFF Today (Mon. 3/23)
1) Traficant: The Congressman of Crimetown (11:55 a.m, 90 min.) Director: Eric Murphy Director Eric Murphy documents the trials and tribulations of the late Youngstown politico Jim Traficant, a former high school quarterback who entered the world of politics in the 1980s and was eventually expelled from the House of Representatives. He wound up in…
Delta Spirit Traverses America in ‘Into The Wide’ and on Current Tour
Their most beloved song, arguably, is called “California,” and Delta Spirit’s Cali roots do run deep. But the band has no hometown currently. Spread out in three cities across the U.S. now, the musicians are picking up broader and deeper geographic undertones and merging them in the songwriting process. Scene spoke with singer Matt Vasquez…
Here’s What You Should See at CIFF Today (Sat. 3/21)
1) Labyrinthus (9:20 a.m, 96 mins) Director: Douglas Boswell; Starring: Spencer Bogaert, Emma Verlinden. When a teenager stumbles upon a USB drive, he discovers a girl in distress. In order to have a chance at saving her, he needs to start playing a video game and not stop as he attempts to break the code…
Insurgent Continues to Channel Hunger Games, Matrix, Except Not the Good Stuff
Shailene Woodley stars alongside a rumpled handful of love interests from previous films in Insurgent, the second installment in the Divergent series, based on the YA novels by Veronica Roth. It opens at theaters everywhere Friday. Woodley plays Tris Prior. If you haven’t seen the first film, she’s a “divergent,” an anomaly in her society,…
7 Concerts to Catch This Weekend
FRIDAY, MARCH 20 Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes took a trip to the past on 2012’s Men Without Women: Live 7-2-11. Though it’s a live recording of a show he played just last year, the record features Southside and the Asbury Jukes performing songs from Little Steven’s 1982…
Urban Apple, a Flats-Based Craft Cidery, to Debut This Fall
Reed Jaskula has been brewing beer for years, but lately he’s been on a craft cider kick. A brewer at Ohio City-based Platform Beer since opening day, Jaskula will leave that outfit to launch Urban Apple, a Flats-based cidery and cider house that crafts and serves housemade apple-based brews. His partners in the venture include…
Rally Planned to Protest Shooting Death of Brandon Jones
Brandon Jones, 18, was shot by a Cleveland police officer early on Thursday morning after police responded to reports of a break-in at Parkwood Grocery on the city’s eastside. He later died at MetroHealth Medical Center. NEOMG’s Cory Shaffer has more: Police at first said the shooting happened about 15 minutes after officers entered the store,…
Third Fridays Get Bigger and Better Each Month — And This Weekend is No Exception
78th Street Studios includes more than 50 venues (artist studios, galleries, boutiques and more) spread out over 170,000 square feet on four floors, under one roof. It’s all free and open to the public from 5 to 9 p.m. on the Third Friday of every month. These open houses seem to keep getting bigger and…
Spice Acres Announces Lineup for 2015 Plated Landscape Dinners
It’s officially the first day of Spring, and while that means many things to many people, for the folks at Spice of Life, it’s the day they announce the lineup for their beloved Plated Landscape Dinners. Now in its eighth season, the farm-based feasts have become some of the most highly anticipated culinary events of…
Here’s What You Should See at CIFF Today (Fri. 3/20)
1) Slow West (3:00 p.m, 84 mins) Director: John Maclean; Starring: Michael Fassbender, Kodi Smit-McPhee We’ll drop almost anything to watch academy-award nominee Michael Fassbender onscreen, but especially when he’s playing a “brutish loner” named Silas Selleck in the 19th Century American frontier. In this slow Western drama (filmed in New Zealand), Selleck guides a…
Groundworks Dance Theater Presents the Premeire of House of Sparrows with the Aeolus Quartet at the Breen
By Mike Telin On Friday, March 20 and Saturday, March 21at 7:30 pm, GroundWorks DanceTheater will bring its Spring concert series to the Breen Center for the Performing Arts at St. Ignatius High School. The performances will include the world-premiere of The Rub, choreographed by artist-in-residence Robert Moses, and the reprise of Current Frame, choreographed…
Cleveland Lands a Spot on New Monopoly Board
Board game giant Hasbro announced this week the lineup of cities to appear on the new “Monopoly Here and Now” U.S. Edition game board that will be released this fall. Cleveland has secured a spot on that list. The Forest City is one of 20 U.S. cities that was voted in by monopoly enthusiasts from…
Review: Cleveland Orchestra’s Fridays @ 7 (March 13)
By Jane Berkner If the goal of the Cleveland Orchestra’s Fridays @ 7 series is to create more diversity in their audiences, the concert in Severance Hall on Friday, March 13 can be considered a fantastic success. Curated by Jamey Haddad, the pre- and post concerts that sandwich the orchestra’s performance included music from singer,…
Ohio State Had a Horrendous Technical Foul
Five minutes into its opening game of the NCAA tournament, Ohio State was issued a technical foul. No, not because a Buckeye player tossed the ball 20 rows deep. No, nobody punched a VCU player. No, Thad Matta didn’t storm onto the court to berate a referee. Ohio State got a technical foul because somebody…
Checking In on the Cavs’ Roll
Nets? You mean, Next! The Brooklyn Nets went after their championship with the guile and foresight of drunk freshmen at Spring Break in Daytona. Is it any wonder they woke up half-naked, missing their wallet and with a tattoo of beloved Saturday morning cartoon characters performing unmentionable acts illegal in several states? Injuries sapped the…
Bayside Anniversary Tour Supports Expanded Version of Its Latest Album
Bayside singer Anthony Raneri was on Warped Tour when he got the idea for “Dancing Like an Idiot,” one of the new songs featured on the expanded edition of the band’s reissue of 2014’s Cult. “We’ve been outspoken about anything we think is bullshit, especially bands and trends,” he says in a recent phone interview.…
Director Brett Haley Reflects on CIFF Opening Night Experience
When director Bretty Haley took his new film, I’ll See You in My Dreams, which screened last night at the opening gala for the Cleveland International Film Festival, to Sundance earlier this year, it was a much different experience. “I had no expectations at Sundance,” he said earlier this afternoon from the Ritz Carlton lobby…
Brit Rockers Alt-J Developed Their Singular Sound in Stages
When we reached alt-J keyboardist Gus Unger-Hamilton by phone earlier this month, he was walking around his “little area of London.” In two days time, he would jet off to South America to play Lollapalooza Argentina and Lollapalooza Brazil. After that, it’s on to the States for a tour that starts on March 30 at…
Scene is Sponsoring a Really Cool Documentary at Film Fest This Weekend
Your friends at Scene — hello! — are sponsoring the film 1971 at the Cleveland International Film Festival this weekend. The film, a documentary about a group of citizen activists who broke into an FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania, in the early days of government surveillance, will screen Thursday at 5:10 and Friday at 12:20 p.m.…
Cleveland Police Seeking Fake-Bearded Westside Thief
Earlier this month, man wearing a notably fake beard robbed two stores on Cleveland’s westside. At 9 a.m. on March 7, the man seen at right entered “Tremont Convenience Food mart with a gun and attempted to rob the store. The victims however ran to the back of the store and the suspect left,” according…
The Second Annual Cleveland Animals Bar Crawl Kicks Off Next Month
We’re always game for a good bar crawl, especially when our drinks benefit a good cause, and even more so when that good cause involves puppies. That’s why you’ll certainly find us at the second annual Cleveland Animals Bar Crawl, which takes place next month across five different animal-named bars in Cleveland. The Cleveland Animal…
Video: Timofey Mozgov Accidentally Answered Allie Clifton’s Question in Russian Last Night
Allie Clifton grabbed Cavs center Timofey Mozgov last night to chat before tipoff against the Brooklyn Nets. Her first question: Doesn’t it feel nice to finally be back home after so many games on the road? His answer: Who knows, because he answered in Russian. (He realized his mistake after answering Clifton’s second question in…
A Conversation With Brad Wells, Founder of Roomful of Teeth, Coming to the Cleveland Museum of Art Tomorrow
By Mike Telin When Brad Wells founded the innovative vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth in 2009, he wanted to explore all the possibilities of the human voice. “Before I studied classical technique, my experience with the voice was initially pop, rock, jazz, and then classical,” Wells said during a recent telephone conversation. “When I got…
Cleveland Classical Guitar Society Presents the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet on March 21
By Mike Telin Launched more than thirty years ago, the Grammy Award-winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (LAGQ) plays everything from Bach to Bluegrass. But for their visit to the International Series of the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society, John Darman, Matthew Greif, William Kanengiser and Scott Tennant will concentrate on early Spanish music before moving on…
Review: Cameron Carpenter Introduces the International Touring Organ in Akron
By Timothy Robson The brilliant and iconoclastic organist Cameron Carpenter performed at E.J. Thomas Hall in Akron on Friday evening. It was his first local concert using his self-designed digital instrument known as the International Touring Organ, built by Marshall and Ogletree of Needham, Massachusetts. The builders digitally sampled and stored sounds from a variety…
Birth Certificates Will Be Made Available to 400,000 Adult Adoptees in Ohio
Tomorrow, more than 400,000 adult adoptees will have the chance to examine — or at least request — their own birth certificates as a 32-year-old law slips off the books. The new access point will cover birth certificates from Jan. 1, 1964, to Sept. 18, 1996. “This is a major win,” said Betsie Norris, executive director of…
Irish-American Comedy by Local Writer/Director to Open at Capitol This Weekend
Written and directed by local accountant/comedian Sean Lackey, The Yank, a romantic comedy about a clueless Irishman returning to Ireland for a friend’s wedding, opens Friday at the Capitol Theatre. Lackey, who also plays the film’s main character, Tom Murphy, just opened an Irish pub in Valley City. He says he’s thrilled for another theatrical run, especially…
Phish to Play Blossom in August
Phish’s 2015 summer tour is set to start on the West Coast in July and include a return to Watkins Glen International in New York where the band will stage Magnaball, its 10th festival. For the fifth straight year, Phish will conclude the summer with a trio of Labor Day weekend shows at Dick’s Sporting…
Reminder: Traffic Is Gonna Suck Later Today In and Around Downtown
President Obama will be speaking this afternoon at the Global Center for Health Innovation, and the Cavs will host the Nets of Brooklyn at the Q tonight. In short, traffic gonna be cray as your workday comes to a close. The police department has already served a warning to evening travelers. No doubt that the congestion…
15-Year-Old Boy Killed in Eastside Drive-By Shooting Yesterday
L’Shawn Brooks, a 15-year-old Cleveland resident, was shot and killed yesterday near Lee and Harvard, according to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office. He was taken to MetroHealth with a gunshot wound in his torso. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. Police are investigating the incident, which is believed to have been a drive-by shooting,…
Rock Hall Announces Presenters for Induction Ceremony
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum has announced presenters for the Induction ceremony that takes place on April 18 at Public Hall. Paul McCartney will induct fellow Beatle Ringo Starr, Stevie Wonder will induct Bill Withers, Patti Smith will induct the late Lou Reed, Peter Wolf will induct the Paul Butterfield Blues…
President Obama Will Announce New Manufacturing Competition During City Club Speech
During his afternoon City Club speech, President Barack Obama will announce a new $150-million competition meant to spur manufacturing innovation, a la “America Makes,” the 3-D printing-focused institute in Youngstown. The public-private partnership ($75 million from the Department of Defense with a private match), will focus on textile manufacturing and will be the administration’s ninth…
Here’s Another Cleveland Video to Rally Around
Since the news of LeBron’s return dropped last year and we entered the running for — and later secured — the 2016 Republican National Convention bid, Cleveland has been at the forefront of many a local and national media campaign. And that’s certainly not a bad thing since, indeed, there are many more eyes on our fair…
Dana Depew and Matthew Dibble Pair Up to Look at the Past
If you’re making the monthly foray over to Third Fridays at 78th Street Studios, be sure to wander over to Bruno Casiano in Gordon Square as well. From 6 to 10 p.m., the gallery will be hosting a reception for new work from four local artists: Dana Depew and Matthew Dibble, as well as Dean…
A Pair of Latin-Themed Eateries Pop Up in the Unlikeliest of Places
Sports bars usually play it safe when it comes to the food. Patrons are there for the view and brew, after all. The grub? Just pop it in a deep-fryer, pile it into a wax paper-lined basket, and price it to move. Apparently, the proprietors at Moncho’s Bar and Grill didn’t get the memo. This…
Grilled Cheese Cookbook Author Shane Kearns Hopes to Open Local Cheese Shop
Shane Kearns cradles a chunk of Spanish blue cheese that he’s picked up from an extensive, almost intimidating spread of cheeses at Heinen’s. He sizes up a nearby block from Orwell, Ohio, cheesemakers Mayfield Road Creamery, musing aloud, “Pepper havarti. It has a nice little bite to it. But my go-to cheese is sharp cheddar.…
Into the Wonderful World of Cinema
The Cleveland International Film Festival is upon us. It’s that annual celebration of all things cinematic — Indies! Shorts! Somber foreign-language documentaries! Quirky local mockumentaries! — and Bill Guentzler is the unflagging artistic director who’s been with CIFF for 17 years. He’s the guy who coordinates the scouting and acquisition of the films, creating the…
Film Review of the Week: It Follows
The antecedent to which the ”it” refers in the new horror film It Follows is never quite explained. All we know, as a captive, knee-clutching audience, is that teens are being horrifically mauled by people only they can see, by a thing, a shape-shifting juggernaut force which treads slowly in human form in their direction until…
Film Spotlight: The Wrecking Crew
Two decades in the making, The Wrecking Crew, a documentary about the group of musicians who played on records by the likes of Nancy Sinatra, Bobby Vee, The Partridge Family, The Mamas & the Papas, The Carpenters, The 5th Dimension, John Denver, The Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, The Grass Roots and Nat King Cole, showed at…
No One is Safe as the Barbs Fly in Becky Shaw at Dobama Theatre
The often unspoken truth about human relationships is that they are essentially selfish arrangements. All people consciously or unconsciously maneuver other people so that they get their back scratched — financially, emotionally, physically, you name it. And as the Seinfeld show once observed in another context, there’s nothing wrong with that. Let’s face it: If…
Band of the Week: Tropidelic
Meet the Band: Matthew Roads (vox), James Begin (trombone/vox), Bobby Chronic (guitar), Darrick Willis (drums), Casey Williams (percussion), Todd Marshall (bass), Tim Younessi (sax), Derek McBryde (trumpet) Background: Tropidelic started out in Kent around 2008. Various lineup changes hit the band as they relocated to Cleveland in 2011. Influence-wise, founder and singer Matthew Roads has…
Inside the Investigation that Brought Down a West Sixth Street Cocaine Dealer
If you’ve hung out on West Sixth Street in recent years, you might have bumped into Gilbert Mendez, the energetic, sociable, suit-wearing, fancy car-driving 37-year-old former owner of the now defunct Club Sin nightclub. Club Sin fit in with the rest of the entertainment district in some ways and stood out in others. It was…
