Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros Ticket Giveaway
You still have one day to enter our Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros ticket giveaway. What are you waiting for?
Out Today: LCD Soundsystem
LCD SoundsystemThis Is Happening(DFA) If getting through a entire LCD Soundsystem record never gave you trouble before, you’re not going to object now. This Is Happening typifies what people love about James Murphy — and what some hate — in even broader strokes, though they’re more like slabs by now. Use opener “Dance Yrself Clean”…
What to Do Tonight: Crash Test Dummies
“Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm, Blah Blah Blah Blah … ” Best known for their 1993 Top 5 hit “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm” (from the platinum-selling God Shuffled His Feet), Canada’s Crash Test Dummies have somehow persevered, despite being one-hit wonders. They’ve even seemingly embraced their status as a novelty act by writing songs for their…
Out Today: Band of Horses
Band of HorsesInfinite Arms(Brown/Fat Possum/Columbia) Last time around, Bed Bridwell was seeing ghosts. On Band of Horses’ third album, he’s back in the real world, kicking around in factories, kitchens, and boyhood homes. The people and places Bridwell visits on Infinite Arms represent a part of America that cuts closer to Band of Horses’ rootsier…
Out Today: The Black Keys
The Black KeysBrothers(Nonesuch) Singer-guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Pat Carney aren’t brothers, but they might as well be. The Akron duo has been together since their teens, and they work together like tuned-in siblings: The Black Keys finished their sixth album in a mere nine days at Muscle Shoals’ famous studio. A visceral rawness radiates…
What to Do Tonight: Butch Walker & the Black Widows
“Why is that pizza man still there?” Butch Walker’s latest album, I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart, starts with a bang. “Trash Day” (which is also the record’s first single) is a power-pop gem from a guy who’s been writing and producing chunky pop nuggets like this for 20 years. (He’s worked…
What to Do Tonight: Reverend Horton Heat
Daddy-O The blues may have had a baby called rock ’n’ roll, but there was a white-trash hepcat in the lineage called rockabilly. It was a rhythm-mad variant of country music sharing commonality with urban blues — namely booze, snazzy cars, and women with moral flexibility. Modern-day rockabilly was represented by the Cramps (gnarly) and…
What to Do Tonight: Pat Metheny
You know what would be really cool? If Pat Metheny played the guitar with his hair Guitarist Pat Metheny has been influencing generations of jazz fans and musicians for years. He’s at it again on Orchestrion, where he fuses old and modern technology to make his guitar sound like a piano, percussion, and various other…
What to Do Tonight: Horse the Band
Horse the Band with Larry the Tiger Horse the Band’s music sounds like a demented soundtrack to Castlevania. The California five-piece refers to its sound as “Nintendocore,” recreating those infamous 8-bit sounds of early video games into a bizarre version of metal music. Keyboardist Erik Engstrom even plays a Game Boy on last year’s Desperate…
What to Do Tonight: Marco Benevento Trio
Hope there’s room onstage for both Benevento and his ginormous hand A veteran of the N.Y.C. jazz/experimental scene, Marco Benevento falls somewhere between “nu jazz” and prog-rock. But label-dependent listeners should be warned: The man is very much a moving target. Even in a down economy, the Brooklyn-based keyboard wizard could likely make the rent…
What to Do Tonight: Todd Snider
“Duuude” Falling somewhere between country and rock, singer-songwriter Todd Snider is an Americana mix-breed. The Oregon native lives in Nashville (not the shiny Music Row section, but the scruffier East Nashville side) after stays in Atlanta, Memphis, Houston, and Austin (his wry, shaggy-dog story-songs retain a Texas-troubadour sound). Snider’s lived-in version of Robert Earl Keen’s…
What to Do Tonight: Murs
“What? What did you say? I can’t hear you” Most rappers don’t last long in the game. Los Angeles rhymer Murs has been making records for more than 15 years. From 1993 to 2007, he worked in the underground, carving a path in a genre oversaturated with mediocre MCs. Murs stood out thanks to his…
What to Do Tonight: Robin McKelle
Hopefully she’ll put on some clothes before tonight’s show. Don’t want a repeat of the Houston gig Jazz singer Robin McKelle is an unabashed throwback to the ’60s. Infused with R&B, her new album, Mess Around, is a bit of departure from her two previous releases, which were essentially straight-up jazz records. Sultry songs like…
What to Do Tonight: Plants and Animals
Plants and Animals and Some Guy With a Spear Plants and Animals played their first gig as a band after the trio graduated as electro-acoustic music majors from Montreal’s Concordia University. Warren Spicer, Matthew Woodley, and Nicolas Basque have been on a journey of musical evolution since their 2005 self-titled debut, which consisted entirely of…
Parma Latest City to Nix Fireworks Celebrations
Welcome to Parma’s Fourth of July Celebration. It’ll be $1.50 for that sparkler. Fourth of July 2010 in Cleveland might be a good night to look at the stars, what with all canceled fireworks celebrations across the region and all. Parma has followed Akron and other cities in canceling expensive, traditional displays of patriot power…
Today’s Police-on-Police Tasering Video Courtesy of Alliance, OH
Police in Alliance were chasing an alleged drunk driver recently. After finally getting the suspect pulled over and out of the car, one officer tased him, which was good. He also tased a fellow officer, which was bad.
Breaking News: Case Western Among Least Fun Law Schools In Nation
Most fun you can have at Case law? Getting high and staring at that Frank Gehry monstrosity. In today’s installment of News That Will Shock You: Someone put together a list of the nation’s best party law schools and Case Western Reserve fell near the absolute bottom of the list. Shocker, I know. The second…
Reader: Kent State Article Misses the Point
Looking back at coverage from the 40th anniversary of the tragedy at Kent State… The article on the May 4 memorial at Kent State failed to fully inform the reader of the historical details of those events of 40 years ago [“The New Face of Tragedy,” April 28, 2010]. The article did not mention that…
Ohio Rocks, Ohio Rocks, Ohio Rocks
Ohio rocks… don’t be afraid to shout it out! Two years ago, Neala Schwartzberg had a reasonably good time visiting Cleveland and wrote favorably about the trip on her website, Offbeattravel.com, using the headline “Ohio Rocks.” Last month, she received a cease-and-desist order from a certain Jason White, owner of the website Ohiorocks.com, which consists…
NPR Streaming New Black Keys Album
Not really brothers NPR is streaming the Black Keys’ new album, Brothers. It comes out next Tuesday. It’s good. So go listen. Now. —Michael Gallucci (follow me on Twitter @mgallucci)
Reader: Rosenberg’s Criticism of Cleveland Orchestra Evidence of Him Doing His Job
Scene’s cover story last week about the fight between former PD orchestra critic Donald Rosenberg, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Plain Dealer has garnered plenty of opinion and response. Here’s one reader’s take: What makes Plain Dealer classical music critic Donald Rosenberg’s situation stand out is that his critiques of the Cleveland Orchestra were usually…
Got Hi-Fi Memories?
Billy Morris in a familiar position Wednesday will be the second Wednesday in years that Lakewood won’t host Heavy Metal Karaoke with the Billy Morris Band at the Hi-Fi, which closed last week. In cities like Chicago, people line up around the block for live-band karaoke jams. In Cleveland, not so much. Were you one…
Cleveland Man Learns Police Dog Bite Definitely Worse Than Its Bark
Don’t let the sunglasses fool you, police dogs are not cool. Cleveland Police may be facing unprecedented scrutiny these days, but their dogs still get a pass.A 50-year-old Cleveland man faces charges for assaulting a police dog after a bizarre episode in the city’s St. Clair-Superior neighborhood. Based on the accounts of defendant Sherman Sherrills…
This Just In: Cleveland Concert Announcements
Interpol: “Dapper, aren’t we?” American Idol Live: Scheduled to appear: Didi Benami, Crystal Bowersox, Lee DeWyze, Andrew Garcia, Casey James, Aaron Kelly, Michael Lynche, Siobhan Magnus, Katie Stevens, and Tim Urban, Sat., Sept. 11, 7:30 p.m., $40.50-$70.50 ADV/four-pack of general admission tickets $124 (LiveNation.com). Quicken Loans Arena. Backstreet Boys: Sat., June 19, 8 p.m., $35-$65…
Out Today: The National
The NationalHigh Violet(4AD) Just when you thought the National had peaked with 2007’s Boxer, a shadowy but obliquely intense record, the Cincinnati natives shatter all conventions on their fifth album. They strive to define a generation on High Violet, and in many cases, they succeed. The album rumbles from its own belly, with songs exploding…
What to Do Tonight: Local Natives
Havin’ a ball! L.A. quintet Local Natives are all about the spirit of collaboration. They share everything: a house, songwriting duties, and album design. They’ve been touring steadily and making a name for themselves ever since their 2009 South by Southwest gigs (they played nine shows). They’re big in Europe, where they’ve been compared to…
Beyonce Wears Necklace From Local Jewelry Maker
Beauty is pain, especially if you land the wrong way on this thing. We at Scene are all about what’s hot in fashion right now. Well, also whiskey. And tacos. But definitely fashion too. So we’d be remiss if we didn’t update you on the hot, hot necklace made by a local business that landed…
Cleveland School District and Teacher’s Union Still At Odds Over Layoff Plan
Eugene Sanders playing doctor. The district and the teacher’s unions are still in negotiations regarding how to handle the gargantuan deficit facing Cleveland schools in the upcoming year. Over 600 teachers are slotted to be laid off at the moment. As all hope for a resolution that doesn’t entail losing hundreds of teachers and increasing…
Woo-Hoo! What the Vagina Is Going On?
First, Betty White talked about her muffin on SNL. Now we have Christina Aguilera giving props to her, um, woo hoo in “Woo Hoo.” “You know you really wanna taste my woo hoo/You know you wanna put your lips where my hips are, kiss my woo hoo,”she sings. What’s with all the cooter talk lately?…
Judge Shirley Saffold Allegedly Left Racist Comments at AOL, Other Sites
Judge Saffold, probably saying something racist. The continuing saga of Judge Shirley Saffold, a.k.a. “lawmiss,” and the comments left by that account on Cleveland.com took another turn recently. After subpoenaing the judge’s computer, the Plain Dealer investigated other sites visited by Saffold and comments left under her alleged usernames on those sites. The results don’t…
New ODOT Tech Will Allow You To Be Pissed About Rush Hour Before Being In Rush Hour
Cleveland Indians traffic. Just joking. Everyone’s just going to Hot Sauce Williams. If you drive through towns like Chicago, ones with notoriously horrendous traffic, you’ll see LED billboards posted on bridges and interchanges that might tell you how long it might take you to get downtown, or to the lake, or to the corner where…
Tales of Regrettable Decisions: Daniel “Boobie” Gibson Tattoo Edition
(Via the always reliable Media Take Out.)
AOL Asks Joe The Plumber Important Questions
Choice of super powers: Flight, invisibility, or secret trucker hat lasers? Joe the Plumber is now an elected official in Lucas County and AOL got a chance to speak with him, though I imagine Joe will speak with anybody these days, so it’s not that big of a score. In Q&A format, AOL ran through…
ESPN the Mag Features Tribe Social Media Deck
Yep, that’s WFNY’s own Scott Sargent sitting there in the Jake’s version of mom’s basement.
About Those Ominous Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Billboards Around Town…
The face you want to see on your morning commute. If you commute over the Inner Belt bridge or down I-71, you’ve undoubtedly noticed the smiling visage of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad greeting your rush-hour travels on two billboards. Just the way to start your morning, right? The billboards feature the Iranian president with some lines about…
Danny Ainge Would Be Proud of This Boston Fan
Spotted during one of LeBron’s free throw attempts during game four between the Celtics and Cavs. Follow me on Twitter: @vincethepolack.
Photo Show: Pearl Jam at the Q
Aaron Mendelsohn checked out Pearl Jam’s concert Quicken Loans Arena last night. His camera was there too.
Concert Review: Pearl Jam at the Q
Eddie Vedder blue himself To witness Pearl Jam in concert is truly a testament to the band’s longevity. The last band standing from the ’90s alternative/grunge era that helped define a generation, Pearl Jam have never taken a break, broken up and gotten back together, or alienated their fans with bad business decisions. Instead, the…
What to Do Tonight: Leatherface
“Got a boat, mate?” It’s impossible to overlook the effect Hot Water Music have had on contemporary punk. From Gainesville to Green Bay, you can hear their influence in hoarse-voiced frontmen, detailed basslines, and thick, competing slabs of guitar. Yet, all these idiosyncrasies — the gruff vocals, intricate rhythms, and ability to mesh pop-punk with…
What to Do Tonight: Pearl Jam and Band of Horses
They’re still alive Without the plodding ruminations and self-serious space fillers that have weighed down Pearl Jam albums ever since they got all serious, last year’s Backspacer turned out to be their most vibrant set of songs since 1994’s Vitalogy. Producer Brendan O’Brien — who worked on four Pearl Jam albums during the decade they…
Were You There? Never Shout Never
Never Shout Never played House of Blues last night. Did you go? Tell us what you thought.
Happy Mother’s Day — A Video Collection
In honor of Mother’s Day on Sunday, here are some of our favorite mom songs. Some are tributes to dear ol’ mom. Some blame mom for a lifetime of problems. And some are about moms we’d like to have sex with. What’s on your mom mixtape?—Michael Gallucci (follow me on Twitter @mgallucci) Fountains of Wayne…
Ticket Giveaway: Creepshow at Capitol Theatre
Want to go see Creepshow at Cleveland Cinema’s Late Shift series and screens at midnight, Saturday, May 15 at the Capitol Theatre? Send an email to freetickets@clevescene.com, use the subject heading Creepshow and answer the following trivia question: “Who wrote the screenplay for Creepshow?” Winners will be announced on Thursday, May 13 and need to…
Ready for Another Hootenanny?
We hope someone at the hootenanny will look like this The organizers of the LaCave reunion concerts, taking place at Wilbert’s on June 25 and 26, will host their fifth and possibly final monthly fundraising hootenanny at the Unitarian Universalist Societyfrom 5-8 p.m. on Sunday. Local folksinger Gusti, an almost 50-year veteran of the area…
Ryan Humbert Plays Canton This Weekend
Strung out, but in a good way Akron-based singer-songwriter Ryan Humbert is reprising the big-band acoustic show he played in December at the Akron Civic Theatre. This time, the ten-piece ensemble will perform at the Canton Palace Theatre at 7:30 tomorrow night. The show is a benefit for Project Rebuild, which helps high-school dropouts ages…
Dreadful Yawns to Perform All of “Rest”
Cleveland’s Dreadful Yawns will perform their 2007 album, Rest, in its entirety on May 28 at the Beachland Tavern. The Yawns lineup that recorded the album — Ben Gmetro, Dave Molnar, Mike Allen, Charlie Drusedow and Elizabeth Kelly — will reunite for this show. Rest’s laidback twang should ease right in with the Tavern’s cozy…
Jimmy Dimora Goes Off on Henry Gomez From the Plain Dealer
County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora believes everyone is out to get him. After challenging federal authorities to charge him with something already if they have the evidence, Dimora cornered Plain Dealer reporter Henry Gomez and unleashed a rant that can only be described as Dimora-esque. Lies, lies I tell you. The Plain Dealer is out to…
Two More C-Listers Added to Rock Hall Benefit
We’re guessing if you don’t have tickets to the Rock Hall’s benefit concert already, Fefe Dobson’s appearance ain’t gonna make much difference Two more names were recently added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s 8th annual It’s Only Rock and Roll Spring Benefit on May 15: Richie Furay and Fefe Dobson.…
Epic Bruce Drennan Rant
It’s not every day that Bruce Drennan’s postgame show is noteworthy enough to make Deadspin, but that’s exactly what happened with this rant following the Tribe’s loss Wednesday afternoon. It’s worth every minute of your time. It even makes up for Bruce showing up to the 2008 home opener with a customized “Drennan” Tribe jersey.…
Hell Yes. Brownie the Elf Gets Added to Browns Helmet Visor Tabs
Look at the visor tabs. Look carefully. What’s that? Damn straight, that’s Brownie the Elf. On the spectrum of Ho-Hum to About the Coolest Thing to Happen in Awhile, the fact the Browns have added, at least for the moment, our good friend Brownie to the helmet visor tabs ranks as Absolutely the Coolest Thing…
Win tickets to see Creepshow at the Capitol Theatre
Creepshow is the featured film of Cleveland Cinema’s Late Shift series and screens at midnight, Saturday, May 15 at the Capitol Theatre. Directed by George Romero, the film is a cult classic. For your chance to win afour-pack of tickets, send an email to freetickets@clevescene.com, use the subject heading Creepshow and answer the following trivia…
Illinois On Front Line of Great Lakes Carp Invasion Defense
Asian carp: Good for hugging, bad for Lake Erie. The headline from the Chicago Tribune today reads: “Second chemical attack on Asian carp planned.” They make it sound like Illinois is laying down some agent orange whoopass on the carp, carpet bombing the living daylights out of the hordes of miscreants who, should they reach…
New York Times Covers Cleveland’s Charter Schools
As tensions mount over the prospect of hundreds of layoffs in the Cleveland school district, more coverage of Cleveland’s small contingent of charter schools, and contention over Eugene Sanders’ plan for the redevelopment of education in the city, there’s limitless debate on the direction of schools in Northeast Ohio and the nation.The New York Times…
Long Road at Nighttown Tonight
Long Road’s David Budin, resting by a fence If all the talk of the bygone era of freaks and hippies that accompanied the 40th anniversary of the Kent State shootings this past week has you longing for that period’s idealism and whiff of potential change, you might enjoy local folk ensemble Long Road, who’ll perform…
Red Sox: Victor Martinez Is A Bad Catcher Because of the Indians
Victor Martinez was never that great of a defensive catcher, but he had some serviceable years mixed in with those where he failed to throw out just about any base stealers. His percentage of runners caught stealing was 32% in 2007, 37% in 2008 before dropping off to 14% in 2009. After the recent debacle…
Detroit Free Press Catches Up With Rocky Colavito
It’s been 50 years since the ill-fated, ill-advised, all-around-stupid trade of Rocky Colavito to the Detroit Tigers by Frank “Trader” Lane. The Free Press spoke with Colavito on a wide range of topics, many of them Tribe-related. What was your reaction to the trade for Harvey Kuenn? “It was at our last exhibition game, which…
Parma Fretting About Junk Collectors (Insert Joke About Parma and Junk Here)
Hey, look! A perfectly good half-carton of milk! It appears the citizens and leaders of Parma are worried about dumpster divers. Councilman Brian Day brought up the issue at a recent meeting. Apparently there have been multiple complains by residents about those pesky people who rummage through trash on front lawns. Forgive us, for a…
Cavs Give Front Row Tickets to Ray Towler, Man Who Was Released After 29 Years in Prison For Rape He Didn’t Commit
Ray Towler was released this week after spending 29 years in prison for a rape he didn’t commit. DNA testing proved Towler’s innocence. In addition to approximately $1.4 million he’s expected to get from the state, plus lost wages, for the wrongful imprisonment and butchered trial, Towler is raking in some deserved swag. He got…
Ray Towler, Freed By DNA Evidence After 29 Years in Prison, Gets LeBron Jersey, Pizza, Cavs Tickets Upon Release
Enjoy him for the next two months, Ray. Ray Towler was released from prison this week after serving 30 years for a rape he didn’t commit. DNA evidence showed that Towler was innocent. By all accounts, Towler has remained surprisingly upbeat about his situation. No bottled-up resentment for having a sizable portion of his life…
Swag Alert: Stadium Mustard & Jobu Tees
CLE Clothing Co., the purveyor behind those “I (basketball) Cleveland” shirts that you’ve probably seen around, is back with a fresh spring drop with plenty of sports goodness. Make sure you browse through their entire collection, but two favorites are featured here. One: The Stadium Mustard tee. No better visual or tasty representation of sports…
Mick Taylor Concert Canceled
“It’s only —cough, cough— rock ‘n’ roll …” Saturday’s Mick Taylor concert at the Kent Stage has been canceled. According to the venue, “After Sunday’s concert outside of Boston, Taylor was hospitalized with a respiratory aliment. We are working on a potential make-up date in mid-August. Tickets will be honored on that date or refunds…
Should You See Roger Waters’ “The Wall” Tour?
He doesn’t need no thought control Golden-age Pink Floyd mastermind-singer-bassist Roger Waters is coming to the Q on September 28. He’ll be leading a band through Floyd’s The Wall album in its entirety, to celebrate its 30th birthday. The concept album is arguably the zenith of the rock record as a narrative art form. And…
Concert Review: Frightened Rabbit at the Grog Shop
Anyone know what year it is? Scotland’s Frightened Rabbit missed Coachella a couple weeks ago because of the Icelandic volcano, but thankfully nothing prevented them from returning stateside to resume their tour, which played the Grog Shop last night. Recently expanded to a five-piece, the band’s brand of folk-rock picked up the tab from the…
Reviews of the Cinematheque’s weekend films
The Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque is showing several great movies this weekend. Here are our reviews of just a couple of them. Red Riding 1974 (Britain, 2009) Based on a series of British crime novels by David Peace, Red Riding’s ambitious triptych is remarkably consistent in overall quality. Stylistically, however, the films are all…
Metal Madness
The first Iron Man, from 2008, was the first big superhero movie powered entirely on pure, stupid joy. Unlike the same summer’s The Dark Knight – sinister, twisted, brilliant, and the best comic-book movie ever made – or Fantastic Four (just plain stupid), Iron Man slapped a bam!-pow! aesthetic on top of a dumb-ass story…
Guy Who Named Cavs Finally Gets His Prize 40 Years Later
By now you probably know that Jerry Tomko, father of Brett Tomko, named the Cavaliers. The team had held a contest for a name and Tomko submitted “Cavaliers” with an essay and that was the winner in a vote of newspaper readers. He was supposed to get a signed basketball but never did. One finally…
Gypsy Satellites Land This Weekend
We couldn’t find a picture of Kristine Jares of Cats on Holiday. So enjoy this pic of a holiday cat Followers of Cleveland’s ’90s folk-rock/indie-rock scenes, as well as the more recent roots-rock scene, will want to check out a new band called the Gypsy Satellites. It’s fronted by singer/violinist Kristine Jares, most recently of…
Willie Nelson Akron Show Postponed
Probably high The Willie Nelson concert scheduled for May 11 at Akron’s Civic Theatre has been postponed to Sunday, July 18. Willie tore his rotator cuff. We’re guessing self-medicating didn’t work. Tickets for the original show will be honored. Refunds are available at the point of purchase. —D.X. Ferris
Memorial Bridge Statues Get Cavs Headbands
Well, holy crap. I never would have noticed this. Via Scott at WFNY, turns out those mammoth statues on the Memorial Bridge, the same ones featured in the intro to Major League, were decorated with headbands by the Cavs as part of their “All Together” playoff campaign. Scott also tackles the patch job Nike did…
A Young Mike Golic in a Camel Joe T-Shirt? Sure, Why Not.
I’m not entirely sure why this picture tickles my fancy so much, but it does. Via the Plain Dealer’s recent article on Northeast Ohio-native and current ESPNer Mike Golic comes this wonderful picture of Golic with his two brothers, Bob (who, of course, went on to play for the Browns) on the left and Greg…
Lee Fisher Wins Primary, Republicans Immediately Whip Out Shirtless Fisher Footage Again
Well, that was fast and not the least bit unexpected. Lee Fisher took home victory in yesterday’s Democratic primary and the Republicans immediately put together a campaign ad against Fisher which prominently features stills from the infamous shirtless Lieutenant Governor footage from Swing State. Naturally, Republicans have paired the bare-chested Fisher with soft-core Cinemax porn…
Joe the Plumber Elected to Office in Lucas County
Yes, they really voted for me. Why are you laughing? Yeah, go ahead and read that headline one more time. Samuel Wurzelbacher, a.k.a. Joe the Plumber, everyone’s favorite punchline or hero from a few years back, has won elected office in Ohio. Before you all line up to hop a boat to Canada, rest easy,…
Is LeBron’s Elbow Like Tiger’s Knee? Report Claims Elbow Much Worse Than Anyone Knows
LeBron’s elbow. Back during game one against Boston, I posited a theory to the people I was watching the game with: What if LeBron’s elbow is like Tiger’s knee? Remember when Woods was “milking” his knee injury, using his club as a cane, struggling around the U.S. Open and everyone killed him, I mean absolutely…
Kevin Smith’s Podcast From Peabody’s
Last week, director-screenwriter-actor-comic-book-author Kevin Smith recorded his weekly podcast live at Peabody’s, as the second stop on a national tour. Smith and producer/co-host Scott Mosier performed two sets at the Cleveland rock club Tuesday, April 27. This week’s Smodcast, titled “Live Nude Cleveland,” presents the early set, in which the hosts receive a quick Cleveland…
The New Home of Vintage Classic Rock
Wanna hear some Kansas or Boston? The guy in the middle can hook you up Patrick Dillon took home a few thousand pieces of Cleveland rock and roll history last Friday. The Parma resident won the moldy vinyl archives of WMMS, the classic local radio station that helped define FM radio in the 1970s and…
Citizen Architect: Samuel Mockbee and the Spirit of the Rural Radio makes its local debut at CMA
Citizen Architect: Samuel Mockbee and the Spirit of the Rural Radio is a terrific documentary about a socially conscientious architect who founded Auburn University’s Rural Studio. It makes its Cleveland debut tonight at 7 at the Cleveland Museum of Art Lecture Hall. Here’s our review of the film. Citizen Architect: Samuel Mockbee and the Spirit…
The Warrior Mentality
Local rappers Dex the Passion and Nyland have embarked on a regional road trip dubbed the Weekend Warrior Tour that stops at Peabody’s (2045 E. 21st St., 216.776.9999, peabodys.com) at 6 p.m. Friday, May 7. The two are virtual opposites. Dex is a devout Christian, and his new album, In God We Trust, makes that…
The Naked Truth
Deer Tick’s John McCauley gets into trouble when he drinks. That means he gets into trouble a lot. “The other day when we played in Iowa, we were playing so hard and so fast for so long,” recalls the Rhode Island native. “I felt like taking my clothes off, so I just played naked toward…
PAPER AND FIRE
On April 8, Plain Dealer Editor Susan Goldberg called the paper’s non-union employees to a conference in “The Fishbowl,” a sleek glass conference room on the first floor. It’s where private meetings are public displays, and where rumors leak at a pace slightly slower than the speed of sound. For years, rumors had swirled that…
Avarice Unleashed
Now that Hoarders is A hit TV show, we can marvel every week at people who refuse to release their death grip on possessions, no matter how banal or useless. But three and a half centuries ago, a playwright forever nailed that basic instinct in The Miser, now playing at the Clague Playhouse in Westlake. Although the…
LETTERS
REMEMBERING TO NOT FORGET On May 4, 1970, four college students in Kent were killed by National Guardsmen during an anti-war demonstration. Our complicated memories and lack of memory of these events underscore the reality that many kinds of violence permeate our culture, including the physical violence of shooting people and the historical violence of…
STAY IN!
TOP PICK The Sticky & Sweet Tour (Warner Bros.) This DVD/CD combo compiles four shows from Madonna’s globe-spanning 2008-09 tour. Filmed in Buenos Aires — where there are more gay men per capita than anywhere else, or so it seems by the hyperventilating fans in the audience — the DVD reworks several classics (“Vogue,” “Into…
FILM CAPSULES
OPENING Citizen Architect: Samuel Mockbee and the Spirit of the Rural Studio (U.S., 2010) This documentary examines the life of architect Samuel Mockbee and his low-budget Rural Studio at Auburn University. Cleveland Museum of Art Lecture Hall. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 5. Delta (Hungary/Germany, 2008) A young man meets a sister he didn’t know…
Bent Into Shape
“I don’t think I’ve ever been here during the daytime,” says Jack Fords singer Brent Kirby as he walks into Smedley’s with bandmate Bobby Latina for an early-evening cocktail. The group regularly plays the club, and while it might seem odd that an Americana act inspired by alt-country pioneers like Gram Parsons and the Band…
Natal Attraction
“A soiled baby, with a neglected nose, cannot be conscientiously regarded as a thing of beauty,” Mark Twain once said. Cherished as they are, babies are not always lovable or even interesting — they are notoriously poor conversationalists, they don’t smoke, and they seldom give useful stock tips. Nonetheless, French producer Alain Chabat thought it…
Something to Shout About
Christofer Drew, the 19-year-old emo-pop phenom also known as Never Shout Never, is looking at a full calendar. Touring behind his major-label debut, the eight-song Beach Boys sugar-pop of What Is Love?, Drew plans to record his first full-length album this spring, is slated to play the entire run of this summer’s Warped Tour, and…
The Sick Sense
Writer-director Tom Six used to joke with his friends that as punishment, child molesters should have their mouths surgically attached to the “ass of a very fat truck driver.” When they would express disgust, Six started to think his perverse comment could become the start of a particularly sick and twisted horror movie. “Everyone said…
LIVEWIRE
The Most Serene Republic THU, 5/6 Canadian indie-rockers The Most Serene Republic have never been conventional. Their first two records of sprawling, progressive indie-pop were solid but forgettable. Last year’s … And the Ever Expanding Universe is a bit better, but not much. On the album’s first four tracks, the band repeats past sonic highlights.…
Playback Cleveland
Strange Agent Caste Away (self-released) Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Evan Scharfeld at Habitat Studios in Lakewood, this album of underground hip-hop tunes recalls the best acts from the Def Jux roster of the early 2000s (think Aesop Rock and El-P). Led by rappers Huck Tooey! and Newt Salamander, Strange Agent crafts some tight beats.…
THE ORCHESTRA PIT
The cold fluorescent light shining down on Franz Welser-Möst stands in stark contrast to the exalted glow in which Clevelanders usually see him: leading the Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall in the great symphonies that define European musical history. But in a deposition from July 2009, the conductor looks straight ahead, his face expressionless as…
GET OUT!
They’re Still Alive Pearl Jam and Band of Horses at the Q on Sunday Without the plodding ruminations and self-serious space fillers that have weighed down Pearl Jam albums ever since they got all serious, last year’s Backspacer turned out to be their most vibrant set of songs since 1994’s Vitalogy. Producer Brendan O’Brien — who…
Pressure Cookers
When he was a judge in New York City for an American Idol-themed cooking competition, Melting Pot owner Seth Bromberg witnessed some pretty unfortunate events. “The risotto was scorched and overcooked,” he recalls vividly. “The chicken was severely undercooked, and the meringue was completely burnt. It was hilarious!” Truth is, everybody loves a good train…
CD review: The Hold Steady
You’ll probably recognize some of the characters on the Hold Steady’s fifth album. But there are a few new faces walking around too. The guy who connects with a girl over Hüsker Dü in “We Can Get Together” is an old friend. So is the shifty dude who tells Jesse “I’ll never ask you to…
CD review: Bone Thugs N Harmony
Notable because it marks Flesh-N-Bone’s return following a decade-long stint in jail, Uni5: The World’s Enemy comes on the heels of 2007’s Strength & Loyalty, which was a legitimate comeback for the group, founded in Cleveland almost 20 years ago. While Strength was propelled by the ballad “I Tried,” Uni5 doesn’t have that going for…
CD review: Avi Buffalo
Avi Buffalo’s debut is a love affair with sunny ’60s pop. Eighteen-year-old frontman Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg draws inspiration from the same well as the Shins. Guitars jangle, vocals are molasses-thick, and the mood is pure beach party. “Truth Sets In” bounces along on soft acoustics, handclaps, and harmonized hooks sharp enough to pierce the ear of…
CD review: The New Pornographers
Themes of togetherness and love — both familial and romantic — turn up all over the New Pornographers’ fifth album. Usually, the love that inspires them is the kind that falls apart. A.C. Newman wrote most of the songs here, and Neko Case is as much of a force on the mic as ever. Okkervil…
CD review: Broken Social Scene
Forgiveness Rock Record is Broken Social Scene’s fourth album, and it isn’t as lengthy as their 2005 self-titled release. But it’s still marked by frequent sonic detours. Opener “World Sick” comes off like a less caffeinated Vampire Weekend. In almost seven minutes, it goes from low-key tribal drumming to wistfully cascading guitar and then to…
