Occupy Cleveland Goes Quiet After Permit Denial by City, Promises to Occupy Stuff in the Future
Recent events have left the local Occupy movement sporting a black eye, prompting rumors and mounting evidence that the Cleveland protest movement is dying a quiet death some eight months after its launch in conjunction with Occupy Wall Street. Earlier this month, the city pulled up stakes on the group’s Public Square tent, which had…
Rash of Arsons Hit Abandoned Properties in Youngstown
Cuyahoga County has earned praise for its systematic reclamation of derelict properties, which are often reused for urban green space or check-cashing stores. Our friends in Youngstown may have found an even more efficient means of clearing the dead weight. In an eight-day stretch last week, the city’s fire department was called to blazes at…
Barrio in Tremont Seeks to Avoid Inspection, But Why?
The controversial 806 Wine Bar on Literary Road in Tremont, which attracted a litany of complaints from neighbors for years, is now the Barrio, a Mexican restaurant owned by Joe Kahn, the former manager of Edison’s Pub just up the street. Though there’s no word of complaints over the house specialty — tacos — the…
The Quality of Cleveland Life Report
Your guide to living in fabulous Cleveland. Bar Wars?: Beginning May 21, the Abbey Road bridge will allow traffic from Tremont to Ohio City — but not the other way around. It’s either a hassle caused by Innerbelt Bridge construction or an ingenious plan by Sam McNulty to soak up the rest of Tremont’s bar…
Goodbye Cuyahoga County Corruption, It’s Been Fun, and We’re Going to Miss You
Goodnight, sweet princes. Man, today you feel that lump in your gut? We sure do. It’s like we’re at the end of something, unmarked on the calendar but palpable nonetheless. We’ve been trying to hunt down the feeling all day, and it took awhile for the realization to float to the surface. Nope, it’s got…
Local River Named One of the Most Endangered in USA
Baby, you are looking fine. A local waterway has ended up on the list of the country’s most endangered bodies of water, an ignominious blackeye that the granola establishment say is all thanks to Big Frack. The Grand River, which shimmies up from mid-Ohio before dropping into the lake at Fairport Harbor, was parked at…
What We Ate Last Night
Eye candy at Dinner in the Dark We were first-timers at last night’s Dinner in the Dark, the monthly six-course-plus feast put on in various venues by an ever-changing cadre of local chefs. Founded some 18 months ago by top toques Brian Okin (formerly of Verve and Fountain), Jeff Jarrett (Amp 150), and Ellis Cooley…
Pic of the Day: Jimmy Dimora Sideboob
The “evidence” released by the Feds this morning from the Jimmy Dimora trial was underwhelming at best, grotesque at worst. Hopefully there will be more, including the audio wiretaps where Jimmy shows the world what a misogynist asshole he really is. Anyway, only one of the photos shoved into the public sphere this morning sparked…
Law Blog Says Football Player Should Play Football, Not Go to Law School
The Browns signed Andrew Sweat, an undrafted rookie out of Ohio State. But then Sweat changed his mind and decided to pass on the pigskin thing and go to law school instead. What with all the concussions, brain injuries, and suicides relating to professional football players in the news, it seems Sweat would be applauded…
Video: The 3D Light Show That Opened the Casino
Perhaps the only noteworthy thing from last night’s casino opening: this 3D light show on the side of the building.
Dimora Attorneys Fighting Against Release of Trial Exhibits, Evidence (Updated)
Update II: Set your alarm clocks, friends. 9:30 a.m. sharp tomorrow morning is when the Fed’s evidence against Dimora will be released, including the super-scandalous D-cup pictures from the trip to Las Vegas where Jimmy got a talkative hooker and complained about it. We’re seriously excited. *** Update: Some of the Fed’s evidence against Jimmy…
Rob Portman Defends Romney’s Record, Sort of
This smile requires more effort than the explanation Portman gave for Romney’s shady business history. Although he’s repeatedly batted away suggestions he wants to ride shotgun with Mitt Romney in the GOP try for the White House, Ohio’s Rob Portman seems to be already clocking time for the campaign. In an interview with Politico, the…
Homeless Golden Voice Guy Will Record Your Voicemail Message for $15
Ted Williams, the man with the golden ability to sell a load of bullshit, has a new autobiography out this week. As the Columbus Dispatch points out in its review, the tome conveniently omits the post-viral-video phase of Williams’ life, a span that was ripe with relapses and alcohol and lost jobs. Anyway, coinciding with…
Gilbert Says Phase Two of Casino Will Happen
Tonight, in a very important moment for the city of Cleveland as the downtown renaissance continues to remake and recharge the area, Mayer Hawthorne will play a musical concert at the House of Blues. And the Horseshoe casino will open. You might have heard. What most haven’t heard about is what was to be the…
Akron Grad Sets World Record for Fist-Pumping
James Peterson had a dream, and that dream was to fist-pump is way into the Guinness Book of World Records. So some life aspirations are more shallow than others, so what? The University of Akron grad and current unemployed electrician began his Jersey Shore marathon on Friday and continued into the wee hours of Saturday…
Afternoon Brew: Wet Bra Causes Fight, Sad News, Joe Haden Goes to Prom, and Rock Hall CEO Retires
Good afternoon, Cleveland. We’ve been busy getting stuff ready for our Summer Guide, which you’ll love, and a host of internety stories have gone by the wayside in the meantime. (Or, we’ve been studying the list for the Beer Fest at the IX Center all afternoon. Either way.) So here’s some stuff to read to…
Bust: A Review
Busted: Lauren Weedman knows the feeling all too well. In her solo show, playing a limited engagement this weekend at the Cleveland Play House’s New Ground Festival, that feeling reverberates throughout a hilarious and affecting 100 minutes. Weedman’s tale is set around two seemingly unrelated autobiographical stories: her work as a volunteer advocate in a…
IngenuityFest is Moving to the Lakefront
We love IngenuityFest, the annual celebration of art, music, and technology. And we loved it over at the Detroit-Superior bridge, which although not the ideal location, provided a rich landscape with the lower level of the structure, the Cuyahoga River laconically meandering below, and a nice view of downtown. Before that, the fest also squatted…
Horses Killed in Lorain County Barn Fire
Bad day for the horses in Henrietta, a rural dot out in Lorain County. According to the Morning Journal, a blaze burned down a barn the area where a number of horses were stored. Unfortunately, not all the animals escaped safely. The fire happened in the early hours Wednesday. Right now officials haven’t thrown a…
And Yet Another Mom Gets a DUI with Kids in the Car
If there’s one definite thing you can say about Northeast Ohio, it’s that moms here have a startling habit of landing DUIs with their kids riding shotgun. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you have come across many a member of this shamed subset of shitheal. And now, we’ve come together here today…
How Many People do RTA Cops Arrest?
You see those RTA cops around, on buses, around the transit stations. (Or maybe you don’t.) What do they do exactly, beside glare menacingly at you when you try to ride without any pants? They hunt down fare-ditchers and otherwise try to make sure everyone enjoys a safe ride. How often are they called into…
Pre-Prohibition Beer from Miller Coming to Cleveland, Here’s Where You Can Get It
MillerCoors stumbled on a brew recipe used before Prohibition, a minor score they say because lots of beer recipes from that era disappeared once booze was banned. “Many recipes were lost when Prohibition banned beer in 1919 and we’re thrilled to be able to bring beer drinkers a taste of the past,” brewmaster Manny Manuele…
OU President Addresses Palmer Fest, Seems Confused About What School He Runs
A charitable soul needs to put some real talk into Ohio University President Roderick McDavis’ ear. Last night, the campus bossman spoke at a public forum addressing the issues surrounding Palmer Fest, the annual Athens block party that collapsed this year under the weight of it’s own rowdy excess. Since reports detailing arson, small skirmishes…
Pic of the Day: Weird Sign at Tribe Game
Via @lindseybaseball and @darrenrovell, this indescribable sign at The Jake during the Tribe/White Sox series. The spelling of “Peersenskii” might be the most normal thing about it.
Boy Climbs Tree, Can’t Get Down, Needs to be Rescued
Eastlake fire and police have probably had their fair share of calls over the years summoning their services to retrieve cats stuck in trees. This is probably the first time they were beckoned to rescue a boy stuck in a tree, though.The News Herald has the bizarre story that starts with an ambitious 14-year-old doing…
Ohioans Feeling Less Crappy About Their Lives
It’s been a tough four years for folks in Ohio. Jim Tressel went down, Casey Anthony may or may not have made the Buckeye state her home, jobs have been hard to come by, and Ohio is neck-and-neck with Florida in everyone’s favorite game, Ohio or Florida? For the first time since 2007, more than…
Sneak Peek at the New Horseshoe Casino
The 51 Bar where you will drink (left) and the slot machines where you will go broke (everywhere else). If you’ve been wondering what Cleveland’s new Horseshoe Casino looks like before dropping your next paycheck there, the verdict is in: It’s pretty damned sweet. The folks at Rock Gaming threw open the brass doors for…
CD Review: Sean Bones
(seanbones.com) When Sean Bones stepped into a solo career a couple of years ago, he did so tentatively, growing restless as his band, Sam Champion, slowly put together the pieces of its next album. Bones’ 2009 debut, Rings, was a sun-kissed, reggae-splashed rhythm party inspired as much by the English Beat as it was the…
Grannies & Trannies
At times, theater audiences are just like Pavlov’s dogs: They respond immediately and predictably to certain stimuli. Throw together a kick line, for instance, and the applause automatically follows — regardless of how well or poorly the kicks are actually executed. The same is true with performers in drag. Everyone knows drag is supposed to…
On Stage This Week
The Rap Guide to Evolution: A New Species of Theater WyBaba Brinkman sees the world through the lens of hip-hop. Maybe that’s just what happens when a guy with an advanced degree in Medieval and Renaissance Literature decides to become a rapper … and an actor … and a playwright too. In any case, Brinkman…
Culture Jamming
TOP PICK Commando: The Autobiography of Johnny Ramone (Abrams) The Ramones guitarist started writing this book before he passed away in 2004. At turns sad, funny, and defiant, Commando takes all of Ramone’s idiosyncrasies – he was a young troublemaker who grew up emulating his father, supported the Republican party, and shied away from risky…
CD Review: Ane Brun
Ane Brun has been a chart-topping star in her native Norway for nearly a decade, making her mark with a dramatic but understated approach that combines the tenderness of 1970s Laurel Canyon folk with a cinematic whoosh that’s part Tin Pan Alley, part ornate adult pop. On her latest stateside release, Brun’s voice fills tracks…
Welcome to Weirdville
As our hybridized winter-spring finally gives way to summer, you can expect to see tourists flocking to our shores soon. And who better to welcome them than the region’s most enthusiastic partisans among the creative ranks? Just in time to confuse visitors and natives alike, Spaces has transformed into the Cleveland Convention and Visitors’ Bureau.…
It Came From Cleveland!
The Lake Erie Monster could be the best thing to happen to Cleveland comic books since Harvey Pekar or Howard the Duck, depending on your particular tastes. The first issue of the quarterly comic, freshly released in stores, combines the influential style of popular horror comics from the ’50s with local history and playful nods…
On View This Week
Akron Art Museum: Stranger in Paradise. The late Rev. Howard Finster is one of America’s most recognizable outsider artists, even creating album covers for R.E.M. and Talking Heads. Like a William Blake of the pop-art era, his oeuvre juxtaposes religiously laden illustrations arising from his vivid visionary experiences with more worldly subjects. Through June 3…
Home Movies
The Vow (Sony) This super-soggy romance bears all the hallmarks of a shitty Nicholas Sparks story: Paige (a bored and confused Rachel McAdams) ends up in a coma after a car accident. When she wakes, she can’t remember a thing about her life, including her doe-eyed and devoted husband Leo (Channing Tatum, dialing down his…
At the Arthouse
Crazy Horse Eighty-two-year-old filmmaker Frederick Wiseman has made documentaries about ballet and theater troupes. His latest takes a look at a Paris club that aficionados claim contains the hottest and classiest naked ladies on the planet. After two hours and 14 minutes, you might just agree with them. But this is no ordinary strip club.…
Toast of the Town
Duck breast, soft-shelled crabs, and a magnificent roasted pork loin-and-belly dish will meet their match in wines from a venerable Tuscan estate during an upcoming dinner at Flour in Moreland Hills. Featuring fine wines and estate-grown olive oil from Italy’s Villa Calcinaia, the five-course dinner is the third in a series of semi-monthly wine dinners…
Here Piggy
In addition to her work at Washington Place Bistro, executive sous chef Melissa Khoury is skilled in the delicious art of charcuterie. Her products are enjoyed by diners not only at Washington Place, but also at area restaurants including Hodge’s. So, for her first Emerging Chefs dinner, Khoury naturally gravitated to pork. Set for 6…
Fangs for the Memories
“Tim Burton hasn’t had much luck with remakes and other yellowed source material. His candy-colored and kaleidoscopic takes on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland were visual delights, but they were also boring and forgettable. Mars Attacks! — based on a popular trading-card series from the ’60s — was a mess. And…
Concert Calendar
Kittie When Kittie emerged from Ontario in the late ’90s, all-girl metal bands were virtually nonexistent. The quartet’s 1999 debut, Spit, went gold and earned the group an Ozzfest invitation as well as an opening slot on a Slipknot tour. Those experiences inspired Kittie to travel down a more darkly dense death-metal path, with downtuned…
Film Capsules
Damsels in DistressFourteen years after The Last Days of Disco, writer-director Whit Stillman doesn’t miss a beat, filling his long-awaited new movie with self-indulgent, rapid-fire dialogue and pseudo-intellectual mental masturbation. Damsels in Distress’ characters are as fake as the fictitious school they attend. The boys are either pretentious assholes or stupid; the girls are as…
The Little Engine That Might
By the end of 2010, things weren’t looking so good for Steve Korpos. In just over a year’s time, he’d gotten divorced, then retired, and his out-of-state children weren’t bringing the grandkids around often enough. But that’s not what really stung. “My ex was supposed to give me my trains back, and she never did.”…
CD Review: Keane
After being branded junior Coldplays for their 2004 debut, Keane have done their best to distance themselves from such comparisons. First they added some Radiohead-style weirdness, then they reached into a 1980s new-wave grab bag, and on the 2010 EP Night Train they collaborated with Canadian-by-way-of-Somalia rapper K’naan. On its fourth album, the British quartet…
Local Band in Focus
Meet the Artist: These Knees is actually singer, guitarist, bassist, pianist, and percussion player Stephanie Trivison. Stumbling Into a Solo Project: After Trivison penned a quirky pop song that didn’t fit the sound of Randomstereo, the band she was playing in, she formed These Knees. She immediately wrote and recorded five songs in her bedroom…
CD Review: Davey Porter and the Young Republicans
(reverbnation.com/daveyporter andtheyoungrepublicans) Music often comes with political undertones, but rare is the band that takes such a blatant comedic approach as Davey Porter and the Young Republicans do. They do it well, and they do it with a transparent disregard for anyone’s feelings on songs like “Napalm Sticks to Kids,” “Who Would Jesus Bomb,” and “Get…
Best of the Horrible
For noise aficionados, Horriblefest is more than just an underground music festival — it’s almost a way of life. The four-day celebration returns to Now That’s Class this week for its seventh outing. And it’s not just Cleveland fans of punk, garage, and assorted other clatter that come to have their senses assaulted by more…
Savage Love
Dear Dan: I am a 26-year-old straight guy. My straightness and guyness are recent revelations, and it feels amazing to be able to confidently state this. Here is my trouble: I’ve had gender issues for the past five years. My now ex-girlfriend of three years said she couldn’t be with me anymore. Our breakup was…
