Fatal Femmes
The following is a list of women who have been raped, mutilated, tortured, enslaved, crippled or murdered — and often, all of the above. In some cases these women have also suffered miscarriages, been rendered infertile, contracted horrific diseases and gone insane. Some of them have even been killed twice, perhaps because theirs was not…
A Take on the Lake
How well do you know Lake Erie? Curator William Busta and the 16 artists represented in a new show at Spaces, called Great Lake Erie: Imagining an Inland Sea, are suggesting that we may need a refresher course. This insightful exhibit isn’t saying that Clevelanders need to be reminded of the lake’s physical location. We…
Get Outta Town
The East African nation of Ethiopia is home to unique and exotic cuisine, with foods and culinary traditions dating back more than a thousand years. And although recent decades of civil war and drought have burdened the country with a desperately poor economy, its history and culture, with Indian, Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Semitic influences,…
Gay Dinning Options Bottom Out
Hungry gay restaurantgoers suffered a loss when activist Buck Harris’s vivacious restaurant and bar, Lake Effect (4204 Detroit Avenue), closed earlier this month. Harris had intended the spot to be “a safe and comfortable environment for gay men and lesbians and their friends.” But a major falling out with his business partners, Anne Bloomberg and…
Glorious Cheese
It’s not the least bit surprising that Tommy Womack wrote one of the greatest books on the giddy highs and desultory lows of being in a midlevel rock and roll band in the ’80s. Anyone who was ever witness to the sheer rock madness of Government Cheese could tell you that there could be no…
Tour de Farce
Just a stone’s throw from Dave’s Supermarket, on Bridge Avenue in Ohio City, lies the birthplace of John Heisman, the football legend for whom the college trophy is named. The unassuming stucco structure, one of the seven homes featured on the Ohio City Home Tour, even flaunts a marker that states Heisman was “born here…
Jailhouse Jazz
Drugs and jail time have intersected in unfortunate ways for more than a few jazz musicians. Charlie Parker’s highly publicized habits punctuated his short life. Billie Holiday’s drug troubles followed her to her deathbed. Drug-related lockups also robbed Dexter Gordon and Hampton Hawes of what would have been their most productive years. Stories like these…
Reunited and It Feels So Good
When people say they can talk to ghosts, it’s pretty easy to pass them off as insane or some kind of freak under the delusions of new-age propaganda. Reverend Jenni Brangle, a Spiritualist minister, medium, and healer who is hosting the Full Moon Metaphysical Expo in Chesterland on Thursday, knows this only too well. “When…
Testament to Wills
It seemed so natural. A no-brainer. A slam dunk. When Bob Wills, the late, great pioneer of western swing music, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year as an early influence, Asleep at the Wheel should’ve been an obvious choice to be included in the festivities. “I got this call…
Disney Does Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs used to be cool. In 1969, if you had asked me what was the best movie ever made, the answer would likely have been The Valley of Gwangi, in which a group of cowboys in the Mexican desert find a gully full of leftover dinosaurs, animated by Ray Harryhausen, and lasso a Tyrannosaurus rex…
XTC
They Might Be Giants once wrote a song titled “XTC vs. Adam Ant,” a geek rock battle royale pitting the literate, fractured pop of the former against the gaudy, disposable new wave of the latter. The song awarded Ant a cautious victory, mostly on the merits of his brief ’90s comeback hit, “Wonderful.” After a…
Crooked Smiles
Woody Allen is back onscreen in Small Time Crooks, a bittersweet comedy that, in many ways, could have been lifted straight from the ’30s. For the most part, it’s Woody Allen Lite, which is not at all a bad thing. While one doesn’t want to penalize Allen for his serious ambitions, he often does his…
Looper
Better known as the bassist for Scottish folk pop sensations Belle & Sebastian, Stuart David, like any good band member, is only partially content with his contributions to his primary group. With more songs and ideas than there was room in B&S, David, his wife Karn, and his brother Ronnie Black banded together to create…
Sonic Youth
The musical discord that feeds and essentially is Sonic Youth has been both a blessing and a curse to the veteran noisemakers. With 1988’s Daydream Nation, it constructed one of the greatest records of artpop disharmony in the history of rock and roll, then managed to snag a major label record deal to explore more…
Kevin’s Kahuna
When stars get popular enough, they begin to get to call their own shots: Thus we have The Big Kahuna, the debut release of Kevin Spacey’s production company. Kahuna also marks the film debut of stage director John Swanbeck and screenwriter Roger Rueff. And, boy, can you tell. This is a modest little stage play,…
Soundbites
Hyped as “the party of the year in Cleveland,” the kickoff for the Rock Style exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum on May 12 couldn’t live up to its billing, despite appearances by fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger and his entourage (brother Andy and supermodel Maggie Rizer). Patrons were greeted by…
As the World Burns
The high falutin soap operas in W. Somerset Maugham’s fiction earned him a huge reading public in his day and made him a favorite of movie producers on both sides of the Atlantic. Maugham’s stories and novels — every one stuffed full of romance, deceit, and tragedy — have inspired nearly 50 motion pictures. Decades…
They Call Them The Seekers
By 10:55 a.m., pretty much everyone’s here: 40 or 50 people altogether young, expectant, and freshly scrubbed. They chat quietly and recline on overstuffed couches in the long, wood-paneled room. A few stragglers linger in the back parlor, picking over pastries and coffee. But when the band starts up, everyone finds a seat. It’s time…
Painful Surgery
In 1973, Jane Loisdaughter lost her way to a rape hotline training session and found her calling. Loisdaughter, then only 17, was directed to a training for Free Clinic hotline volunteers instead. Too shy to leave once she realized she was in the wrong room, she became hooked on the idea of volunteering at the…
Kung Fu Filming
Laura Putre can be reached at laura.putr e@clevescene.com.
Edge
Switcheroo! City Hall has changed defense counsel in the URS countersuit, moving the case from Kaufman & Cumberland to Squire Sanders & Dempsey heavy and mayoral pal Fred Nance. “There’s no issue with counsel,” says administration flack Brian Rothenberg, noting that the change gives K&C more time to concentrate on the legal battle over the…
