This Just In… Concert Announcements
This week, 33 new shows to keep you out late. (Unless you’re taking the kids to see the Sippy Cups, which starts at 4 p.m.) Robert Cray headlines Canton’s Blues Festival. Sheryl Crow has some fun at the Plain Dealer Pavilion. Dead Milkmen main man Joe Jack Talcum plays the Happy Dog, unplugged and solo.…
Reader Rep: Ted Diadiun weighs in on Queen of Steam
Dear friends, it is I, Ted Diadiun, your new reader representative. After being held in rapture by my thought-provoking insights on all matters journalism for The Plain Dealer, Scene management has asked me to do the same for its quaint little periodical. Normally, a major literary figure such as I, Ted Diadiun, would only deign…
Cavs’ Roll Makes it Hard for a Lady to Pee
The crowds that descended on downtown Saturday night to watch the Cavs victory were a rare treat for the Poorest City in America. Throngs decked in Lebron jerseys and “Rise up!” signs filled the streets and jockeyed for space on the grassy lawn near the Q, where oversized TV screens were set up to watch…
Money Where Your Mouth Is: Fascist Insect
In which the Scene Music Deparment lets a band speak for itself (because they’re busy dicking around on MySpace and claiming it’s research). Band: Fascist Insect Hometown: Cleveland Sounds like: “D.R.I. meets Buzzov*en at a screaming match!” Fun fact: “Are currently recording first full-length at Granite Angel Studios.” Playing: Sunday, June 10th at Now That’s…
A Wayward Adventure on a Gay Night of Partying
In the world of fund-raising, nothing gets gays and lesbians to empty their bank accounts faster than to loosen them up with beer, wine, and a five-hour joy ride on a souped-up former school bus. So it didn’t surprise anybody Friday night when nearly 30 people ponied up $50 apiece for “Retro Through the Metro”…
Mikey G’s Entertainment Picks of the Week
This week’s top arts and entertainment picks around town, from the guy who’s paid to pick them: Monday: The International Women’s Air & Space Museum’s Rock ’N Barrel Rolls: Women in Aerobatics takes a look at wing-walking, loop-the-looping ladies. The exhibit features photos, memorabilia, and documents that chart the evolution of skirt-wearing daredevils over the…
A Tribute to Slain Policeman Jason West
Yesterday, nearly 2,000 people showed up at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Avon to bury slain Cleveland Heights police officer Jason West. On May 25, the 31-year-old officer arrived to break up a fight on Altamont Road. As West stepped out of his vehicle, he was greeted by three bullets from…
Battle of the PD Columnists: Scruggs takes on Regina Brett
You may have noticed recently that Plain Dealer columnist Regina Brett has retired her campaign against drunk drivers in favor of another singular cause: the plight of Cleveland’s black population. But not everyone is comfortable that Brett, the Whitest White Lady Since Shelly Long®, is taking up the black cause. Word is Afi-Odelia Scruggs, a…
He Complained, and RTA Actually Listened
The last time we caught up with Chris Allen, he wasn’t too pleased with Cleveland’s public transportation system. On May 16, Allen, who was trying to head home from work, was forced to wait in the RTA terminal in Public Square for more than three hours. Transit workers told him he couldn’t take his bike…
Mrs. Kucinich: The one thing going for the Elf’s campaign
Say all you want about Dennis Kucinich’s shameless self-promotion, his futile White House ambitions, even his freaky little goblin ears. But at least he has one thing going for him this time around: His 29-year-old wife. Elizabeth wasn’t around in 2004, when her 60-year-old husband’s share of the primary vote was less than the margin…
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
For speaking with Scene about their son-in-law Larry Zaslov’s swindling ways [“Smooth Criminal,” May 30], Diane and Butch Legarth are now facing eviction. When the couple filed for bankruptcy a few years ago, Zaslov “graciously” offered to buy back his in-law’s house for them at a sheriff’s auction – using their money, of course. For…
A Reason to Watch the MTV Movie Awards
We usually stay far, far away from the MTV Movie Awards, which broadcasts live from L.A. at 8 p.m. on Sunday. Categories like Best Summer Movie You Haven’t Seen Yet (yeah, we can’t wait for the new Fantastic Four) are no more than free plugs for movies that don’t need them. And the nominees are…
The Taverne returns to Richfield
Looks like hungry Richfield workers won’t have to go much longer without a place to hang: The Taverne of Richfield (3960 Broadview Rd.) is set for a comeback, possibly as early as this summer. While details are still sketchy, property owner Chera Doty says extensive interior renovations to the circa-1880 building are already underway, including…
Life of O’Brien: Let’s Just Blow Up Iran and get it Done With
The deteriorating relationship between the United States and Iran may hold the highest stakes of any international crisis. As the country nears closer to going nuclear, the West must walk a tightrope between imposing meaningful sanctions — without further emboldening and expanding Iran’s hard-line Islamist movement. Now is surely not the time for any cowboy…
Cleveland Clinic Doctor takes Revenge on Nightline tonight
Dr. Steven Nissen is pissed. And the Cleveland Clinic’s chairman of cardiovascular medicine is ready to vent on Nightline tonight. It all started when Nissen released details of a study he coauthored on the diabetes drug Avandia. The drug helps improve blood sugar flow. It also, according to Nissen’s research, might jack up your chances…
All-You-Can Drink Beer Alert!
Cleveland Plays — the co-ed sports group that plays like kids and parties like the illegitimate child of Colin Farrell and Lenny Bruce – is teaming up with Ohio City’s Garage Bar (1859 W. 25th St) for a summer kick-off party Friday, June 1. The Garage’s sprawling patio will be open, as will its new…
Glenn Danzig: Underground auteur talks about photography, the future, and Cleveland’s Dead Boys
Glenn Danzig’s DNA is splattered all over the dark underworld of punk, hardcore, and heavy metal. And while his work may be footnotes to the musical mainstream, what footnotes they are. Danzig’s 1992 instrumental Black Aria album topped Billboard’s Classical charts, and last year’s sequel cracked the top ten, landing between Itzhak Perlman and Andrea…
The Quotable Chuck D, Part III
Chuck D visited the main branch of Akron’s public library Wednesday, May 23, as part of its excellent series of free lectures. The introduction described his hip-hop squad, Public Enemy, as “arguably the most important rap group in history.” At the turn of the millennium, Chuck retreated from the major-label record business. PE was once…
Money Where Your Mouth Is: Eternal Legacy
The Scene Music Department have been indefinitely suspended following an article that referred to Sublime-worshipping fraternity members as “happy-headed bro’s.” So instead of having a writer talk up Auburn Records’ new tech-metal phenom, the guys from Eternal Legacy will do it for themselves: Band: Eternal Legacy Hometown: Cleveland Sounds like: “Aggressive/melodic/epic heavy metal.” Fun fact:…
A Solon Cop gets Probabtion for Threatening to Kill his Kid, Girlfriend
The last time we caught up with Andrew Kolcinko, the Solon cop was facing 27 criminal charges after he threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend, Elizabeth Stevens, and their child [“Caught on Tape,” February 21]. Stevens gave Garfield Heights police over 15 hours of recorded phone conversations in which Kolcinko promised to shoot her and then…
This Festival Brought to you by Anthony Allega Cement?
The Blossom Time Festival in Chagrin Falls last weekend was filled with all the comforting signs of summer: funnel cake, ferris wheel, greasy pizza, $2 bottled water. On Saturday night, despite the rain, hordes of teenyboppers swarmed through the mud, trying not to trip on electrical cords as they wandered from the dart booth to…
A Metallica and Megadeth Tribute Duel Thursday at Peabody’s
It’s better than the real thing: Once rivals, Metallica and Megadeth didn’t share a stage until both of them had seen better days. Tribute bands Alcoholica (Metallica) and Degameth (Megadeth) recreate the clash of the titans the way it should have been, presenting sets primarily comprising old-school classics. Featuring former members of MSOD and Mo…
The Quotable Chuck D, Part Two
Chuck D visited the main branch of Akron’s public library last week as part of its excellent series of free lectures. The introduction described his hip-hop squad, Public Enemy, as “arguably the most important rap group in history.” The frontman took the stage to the soulful chorus sample from PE’s “By the Time I Get…
A Confusing Case of the Same-Named Delis
Chaos may be the plat du jour come June, when long-time Cleveland chef Heather Campbell opens her Ohio City deli and catering ops, Dish Global Deli (1834 W. 25th St., in the former Opa space). The name is frightfully similar to the one already in use by long-time Cleveland chef Donna Chriszt, at her recently…
Anthony Hamilton
Things have never been easy for Anthony Hamilton, that platinum-selling neo-soul crooner. Bouncing from label to label, Hamilton reached 30 without any sign of real success. That was when the North Carolina native put together Southern Comfort, which was recorded between 2000 and ’02, but promptly shelved. Less assured than 2003’s Comin’ From Where I’m…
Student Bodies
Dating games have come a long way since the days when Chuck Woolery invited mullet-sporting contestants to bump uglies on Love Connection. In Japan, the “dating simulator” video game craze has raged stronger than a schoolboy’s hormones since the early ’90s. But here in America — where our gaming interests lean more toward Rambo than…
Valedictory Victory
As high schools prepare a fresh batch of grads for that unfortunate destiny known as Adult Life, Punch would like to salute one Chardon student with a promising future in insubordinate mirth. Earlier this month, parents of Chardon High seniors received what appeared to be a letter from Principal Doug DeLong. Naturally, “DeLong” warned of…
Big Blood
This duo from Portland, Maine, has dropped seven discs in the past 12 months! Apparently, the group’s muse snorts a ton of meth before commanding Colleen Kinsella and Caleb Mulkerin to explore everything from chamber popera to Asian folk music to cosmic Appalachia. Some of it, meanwhile, like “Shrining Light” — off disc no. 5…
Here are the week’s best releases from the pop-culture universe:
DVD — American Dad: Volume Two: The Family Guy creators’ other TV show about a frazzled father and his brood looks familiar: Talking-goldfish Klaus replaces talking-dog Brian, and smartass-alien Roger fills in for smartass-baby Stewie. But the jokes are more political here. The three-disc set includes 19 episodes about terrorists, anti-gun zealots, and Hollywood liberals.…
Caucasian Umbrage
Racial issues a black-and-white matter? I must take exception to Michelle Hamilton’s letter in the May 16 issue of Scene. She says: “As horrible as this country is to black people . . . ” In what country do black people have it better than in the United States? In what country do they have…
Bobby Valentino
Two years ago, Bobby Valentino’s debut climbed inside Billboard’s top five, but things change fast in today’s R&B. Eclipsed by newcomers like Ne-Yo and Chris Brown, Ludacris’ crooning protégé saw his sophomore set delayed amid leaked tracks and trial-balloon singles. Now that Special Occasion is here, however, it shows little falloff; it’s another decent collection…
Our top DVD picks for the week of May 29:
Above the Law (Genius) The Andy Griffith Show: Complete Series Collection (Paramount) Big Train: Seasons One and Two (BBC Warner) Biography: Legends of the Silver Screen (A&E) Circle of Iron: 2-Disc Special Edition (Blue Underground) The Closer: The Complete Second Season (Warner Bros.) Drive Thru (Lionsgate) The Foursome (Universal) Free Zone (New Yorker) F Troop:…
Fast Lane to Victory
The members of Cleveland’s Driver Side Impact had 20 minutes to play the performance of their life. Last fall, in a nearly empty practice space in Chicago, roughly 20 emo and punk fans gathered to watch a short set by the group. Most of the audience were wearing spiky belts and hoodies — with one…
Colin Blunstone
As frontman for the Zombies, Colin Blunstone’s breathy croon complemented the band’s gorgeously hook-heavy arrangements. Their final album, 1968’s Odessey and Oracle, produced the posthumous hit “Time of the Season” and serves as a touchstone of baroque/psych pop. Blunstone took a job selling insurance before the success of the aforementioned single drew him back to…
Cannes d’Awards
Cannes, France — The 60th Cannes Film Festival was a generous one — and so was its jury, bestowing the Palme d’Or on the least heralded, most critically acclaimed movie in an unusually strong competition, namely Romanian director Cristian Mungiu’s 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days. Mungiu’s skillfully directed, superbly acted account of two…
Industrial Folk
If a wayward trucker plowed through the intersection where country meets the blues, half of the underground — those goateed kids with their sticky fingers and Zep T-shirts — would be taken out in a split second. But you won’t find Tim Rutili within the wreckage, because he’s just way too adventurous for the middle…
Richard Thompson
Richard Thompson has described Sweet Warrior, his first electric axe-fueled album in four years, as a “war record.” With a litany of horrors and a touch of mordant humor, “Dad’s Gonna Kill Me” is indeed one of Thompson’s most overtly political statements to date — a pointed critique of the Iraq war, as seen through…
We Aren’t the World
Cannes, France — The Coen brothers’ pulpy, ultimately pretentious neo-western No Country for Old Men screened early in the Cannes Film Festival and, by the end, had maintained its standing as the most widely approved Yankee feature to bow here since Pulp Fiction (though it didn’t win any awards). Once again, the appeal of a…
A Pool of Elf’s Blood
Thirty years ago, Glenn Danzig was a tattooed Misfit from Jersey singing about “Astro Zombies.” Since then, the dude has not only splattered his DNA all over the dark underworld of punk, hardcore, goth, and heavy metal; he’s also left bloody fingerprints on rock’s broader culture. Black Aria, Danzig’s 1993 instrumental album, topped Billboard’s Classical…
Eternal Legacy
After spinning Eternal Legacy’s debut, The Coming of the Tempest, you’d probably guess they’re big fans of Yngwie Malmsteen. But in fact, none of them were born back in the glory days of hair spray and solos, so it’s just a coincidence that Shaun Vanek — rightly credited as “lead murder axe” — shreds like…
The Joy in the Bubble
Last weekend, as Jerry Bruckheimer’s pirates were once again storming the international box office, the Cannes Film Festival (May 16-27) bestowed its two top prizes on a gut-wrenching Romanian movie about backroom abortion and a plaintive Japanese drama about a sad old man who wants to dig his own grave. In addition, there were awards…
Punks or Posers?
Two reasons why the Vacancies are Cleveland’s most illustrious punk exports of the post-Y2K era: 1) The group’s about to drop Tantrum, its second disc for Joan Jett’s Blackheart Records. A former Runaway, the legendary Jett is the queen of punk — and the quintet has actually backed her. 2) The Vacancies are playing the…
The Singular
I Finally Know What’s Good for Me has its share of pleasantly coherent moments. The Singular doesn’t have a guitarist, so it relies heavily on singer-keyboardist James Pequignot’s synthesizer atmospherics. “Nobody” is a sublime slice of Fender Rhodes-driven pop-rock, showcasing Pequignot’s exceptional voice while demonstrating what acts like the Fray and Coldplay could do if…
Chill Factor
In British playwright Bryony Lavery’s hit play, Frozen, a child killer, the mother of one of his victims, and a researcher grapple with their emotionally troubled psyches. “They’re all trying to understand what happened,” says Sarah May, who directs the production, opening at the Beck Center tonight. “All three characters are psychologically locked. They try…
Anatomy Lesson
The club formerly known as Cloud Nine is now Anatomy Nightclub and Ultralounge (1299 West Ninth Street). The revamped Warehouse District dance spot is being managed by Tino Roncone, who promoted Sushi Rock and the Velvet Dog for five years — an exceptionally long run in the here-tonight, gone-tonight bar business. “I want to create…
Pasta Imperfect
Whether it’s snappy housemade pasta or falling-off-the-bone osso buco, dishes from the Italian cucina spell comfort for many Clevelanders, and we’re always on the lookout for sassy variations. Of course, there’s a flip side to this particular florin: With so many options to choose from, any place that doesn’t deliver service, style, and a certain…
Three Way
University Circle’s expanding art district can’t be sufficiently documented in just one exhibit. So the Museum of Contemporary Art unveils three new shows today which spotlight the region: OPEN: New Designs for Public Spaces, Expanding the Circle: MOCA and the New Uptown District, and The Uptown Launch Pad. “They really work as an ensemble, complementing…
Candye Kane
Candye Kane found herself in some trouble this spring. The bawdy blues singer recorded a version of “Female Trouble,” the title track from the 1974 John Waters film. This resulted in a permission squabble with Waters, the song’s co-writer, and the tune was eventually pulled from Kane’s new disc, Guitar’d and Feathered. It’s just another…
Bunches of Brunches
Time was, Clevelanders hankering for weekend brunch could either head to IHOP or pony up the big bucks for a fancy buffet. But laid-back noshing at a neighborhood café? That was rarer than Veuve Clicquot at a frat-boys’ BYOB bash. Apparently, times have changed — at least if the growing list of weekend brunch spots…
All That Worldly Jazz
Jazz percussionist Jamey Haddad takes listeners for a head-bobbing trip around the world at Nighttown tonight. His All-Star International Trio features Venezuelan pianist Leo Blanco and Bulgarian bassist Peter Slavov, who bring their musical heritage into the mix. Haddad himself lived in Brazil for a couple of years back in the ’80s. Tonight’s show pays…
Riders in the Sky
Way back when country and western were two separate genres, men in colorful shirts, kerchiefs, chaps, and big white hats would sing to their horses, their cattle, and to their saddle pals. The singing cowboys brought wholesome entertainment from an idealized 19th-century Wild West into the 20th century. They were free of ironic pose and…
It’s a . . . Hit!
A few friends of mine who’ve adored Judd Apatow’s Knocked Up at early screenings have nonetheless voiced a similar complaint: There’s no way pin-up-pretty Katherine Heigl would end up with soaked-in-bongwater Seth Rogen, not even while drunk on a gallon of Everclear and stoned on a field of your finest homegrown. Which may be true;…
Art on the Move
The Cleveland Museum of Art would rather have its cherished works on view than let them collect dust during its renovation. That’s why 18 of the most esteemed pieces from its permanent collection are on display at the Maltz Museum’s Masterpieces of European Painting. The exhibit gathers creations from the early Renaissance to mid-19th-century Romanticism…
Singsing
A lawsuit just waiting to happen: Singsing is not, in fact, the British pop band featuring Lush’s Emma Anderson. The unfortunately named Chicago duo of John Wheatley and Becky Payne play woozy Americana that channels the old-timey twang of Appalachia and bluegrass’ insistent pulse. They harmonize over spare, loping arrangements that employ acoustic guitar, drums,…
Brooks Bothers
Mr. Brooks — in which Kevin Costner plays a respectable Seattle businessman who kills for thrills, thanks to the goading of an imaginary friend who looks a lot like William Hurt — is stunningly tepid, neither the clever metaphor for addiction it strives to be nor the darkly comic Harvey it could have been. Indeed,…
Shake It Up
More than 800 sets of salt-and-pepper shakers (that’s 1,600 items total!) are on display in the Massillon Museum’s Shake, Shake, Shake — a folksy exhibit that’s part Americana, part functional art, and part old-lady curio. The collection belonged to Doris Rohr, a local elementary-school cook who died a few years ago. The pieces — which…
If These Trees Could Talk
Akron’s If These Trees Could Talk eschews post-rock’s tendency toward roller-coaster dynamics — as well as the slide-rule intricacy of math rock’s post-punk wing — for the moody majesty of June of 44. (Kent’s Six Parts Seven also comes to mind.) While there are passages propelled by the frothy churn of loud/soft counterpoints — as…
King Me
Now and then a play comes our way that assembles such a dazzling collection of performances that the experience almost seems supernatural. For anyone who loves theater or who simply seeks an evening of entertainment and insight, these are moments to treasure. The pot of gold this time, now playing at Karamu, is August Wilson’s…
Look! Up in the Sky!
The International Women’s Air & Space Museum’s Rock ’N Barrel Rolls: Women in Aerobatics takes a look at wing-walking, loop-the-looping ladies. The exhibit features photos, memorabilia, and documents that chart the evolution of skirt-wearing daredevils over the past 100 years. The historical display includes info about sky-high pioneers like Ruth Law (who rolled her plane…
Awesome Color
This Michigan-to-Brooklyn trio seems more like a sound statement than an actual band. Picked up by Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace label, Awesome Color often sports vivid splashes of pink, yellow, and orange while spitting out recycled stoner/garage rock. But here’s the trouble: The band’s self-titled disc, released last year, sounds more like a well-written term…
Fugly
If you ask most people whether a guy’s physical ugliness could overwhelm his inner beauty, not to mention the love that his fiancée has for him, there would be one obvious question: Just how ugly is he? Because if he’s just kind of quirky looking and not, say, pus-oozing-alien ugly, it makes a big difference.…
Orient Express
The exotic locales of 19th-century Asia come to life in Adventures Along the Silk Road: A Taste of the Orient, now on view at the University of Akron’s Hower House. The exhibit features dozens of souvenirs collected by Akron’s Hower family during their frequent trips to the Far East over the past century. The keepsakes…
Resonance World Music Festival
World music can be a tough sell to the newbie. Lots of folks have an almost involuntary negative reaction to songs in languages they don’t understand. Also, the world music audience has an image of being white, middle-aged, and bobo (bourgeois/bohemian). But here’s the issue: Wouldn’t listening to music in unfamiliar languages only make you…
Capsule reviews of current area theater presentations.
The Unexpected Man — The finest conversations we will ever experience will always be the ones that happen between our ears. Interior speeches — perfectly shaped and brilliantly cadenced — are so pristine, it’s easy to see why a writer would be drawn to them. And in The Unexpected Man, playwright Yasmina Reza devotes almost…
Make ‘Em Laugh
Onstage, Bobby Collins comes off more like a storyteller than a stand-up comic. He’s popular with college kids, older fans, and satellite-radio listeners, who’ve made his three CDs best-sellers. His style recalls an earlier era, when performers took the time to get to know their crowd. “My wife says my best stuff is when I…
Smooth Criminal
No one should ever know the things Anchel and Chaya Lebovits knew. How friends can betray one another to protect themselves. How human beings can be rounded up like cattle, stuck on trains, and sent to their deaths. How flesh smells both sweet and sickly when it burns. But they also understood how faith is…
Eliot Lipp
“I was surrounded by people making music,” Eliot Lipp says of growing up in Tacoma, Washington. In fact, watching his brother’s garage bands is what got Lipp hooked on music. Then, at age 11, he discovered hip-hop — an obsession that started with an admiration for rapper and producer DJ Quik. “I’ve always been impressed…
Capsule reviews of current area art exhibitions.
ONGOING Tell Me Something I Don’t Know — Anthropomorphism, the practice of ascribing human traits to inanimate objects, is the name of the game in this quirky but profoundly astute series of photos by Chicago-based conceptual artist Joel Ross. The objects in this case are bland cookie-cutter homes in a suburb of St. Louis. Ross…
Soldier Girls
Like many buddy pics, Close to Home begins with the two central characters despising each other. But in this case, the would-be pals are 18-year-old women working for the Israeli army. Their job is to patrol Jerusalem’s streets, checking the IDs of Arabs. One’s a homebound toady who snitches on her fellow soldiers; the other…
Queen of Steam
Tina Engler couldn’t get off, but her libido wasn’t to blame. It was the paperback in her hands — the hundredth or so Harlequin novel to leave her sprawled on the couch, feeling unsatisfied. Engler was an avid romance fan; she dedicated many a night to barrel-chested cowboys unbuttoning calico dresses and horny knights caressing…
Rockabilly Riot
Every Saturday from now until Labor Day weekend, the Garage Bar will host a Rockabilly Riot. The hepcats of Madision Crawl — Cleveland’s finest eight-piece barrel-house boogie rock band — will kick off the series of live shows, but most of the other bands will be out-of-state groups, from Detroit’s Twistin’ Tarantulas to Florida’s Marauders.…
Cannibal Corpse
Hannibal Rising (Weinstein) Pointless beyond belief, Hannibal Rising serves more as a cautionary tale than horror story. Made for $50 mil, the movie pocketed half that during its U.S. run and likely wound up in the red — an appropriate adios for a franchise starring a peripheral character better served by shadows than spotlight. For…
Even Wilder Tha Van
When comedian Bert Kreischer was in college a decade ago, Rolling Stone named him the No.1 party animal in the country. The Tampa native was attending Florida State when the magazine hailed the school’s students as the nation’s top revelers. The article focused on one kid. “I thought it was a joke,” says Kreischer. @cal…
Ohio’s Taliban Strikes Back
Click here to read about the Ohio Taliban’s latest moral victory.
Alchoholica and Degameth
It’s better than the real thing: Once rivals, Metallica and Megadeth didn’t share a stage until both of them had seen better days. Tribute bands Alchoholica (Metallica) and Degameth (Megadeth) recreate the clash of the titans the way it should have been, presenting sets primarily comprising old-school classics. Featuring former members of MSOD and Mo…
