Concert Review: Yellowcard at House of Blues
Yellowcard wasted no time jumping into its nearly two hour set last night at House of Blues, opening with “Awakening” and “Surface of the Sun,” the first two tracks off its newest album Southern Air. The energy continued from there with the crowd-pleasing “Way Away.” It wasn’t until after the fifth song, “Shrink the World,”…
“Van” Morrison – Master Mixologist
Master MixologistVanessa “Van” MorrisonWinks Bar and Grille This is the first of a new monthly series that will feature Northeast Ohio’s most popular and innovative bartenders. The term “Master Mixologist” is granted only to those individuals who excel at a handful of attributes. Not only should the bartender be technically proficient, but creative and personable.…
Video: RTA Driver Punches Female Passenger (Updated)
Update IV: Tired of this story yet? Well, it’s not going away. The uppercutee, Shidea Lane, appeared on Art McCoy’s WTAM show for the second time to talk about her side of the story. “I have been in relationships before where men just disrespect and dog and put their hands on me and for this…
Concert Review: Chris Knight at the Covelli Center
Even though country singer-guitarist Chris Young had a rough day yesterday, he didn’t let it affect his performance last night at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown. He said he received news earlier in the day that his good friend died, but he was still willing to party for “Sunday Funday.” He opened his concert with…
Video: Canton Police Officer Goes Crazy During Concealed Carry Arrest (Updated)
Update VI: Remember Daniel Harless, everyone’s favorite threat-shouting, banana’s-crazy, short-tempered Canton cop? The one who was caught on video not once, not twice, but at least three times threatening to shoot suspects? Well, he was fired back in January for his transgressions, but a mediator determined that he’s eligible to get his job back. As…
CIM at MOCA
Marimba player William DeLelles Context has a lot to do with how music sounds — not just in the acoustics of a particular space, but in terms of the energy and vibe a setting lends to the performance. In that respect, it’s hard to image a better match than modern music in the city’s newest…
WHAT A TRAGEDY
The past ten years have been tough for us Clevelanders. We watched as corporate raiders squandered our 401Ks, tanked our investment portfolios, destroyed our auto industry, and buried our housing market. Adding insult to complete misery, they have now taken our beloved Hostess. Honestly, we can buy another house, find another job, even rebuild our…
Concert Review and Slideshow: Chris Isaak at House of Blues
Add a few more hits to the mix and singer-guitarist Chris Isaak is ready for Vegas. He’s got the flashy attire (bright red Western suit that was exchanged at concert’s end for a metallic silver one), the band (a bunch of old guys who can play just about any classic early rock tune) and the…
Video: Browns Fan Dunks Head in a Bucket of Urine for $450 (Updated)
Update II: Phil Croucher was suspended for two days after the chief reviewed the incident. Turns out all his cop compatriots were the ones egging him on. The full report is hilarious in its detail, which you can read here, but this is a solid nugget: “[Ptl. Croucher] said he went back and forth in…
Letters We’d Like to Get
Dear Scene: I put an ad up on Craigslist, but maybe you can get the word out, too. I’m searching for a new housemate, since my pal is going on a semi-permanent vacation. Looking for someone who likes shopping and zebra-print shirts. Serious inquiries only. Thanks! Michael Calabrese Beachwood Mall
Concert Review: The Bottle Rockets at Mechanic Street House Concerts
Out on what they’re calling a “living room tour,” alt-country rockers the Bottle Rockets played a stripped down acoustic show last night in Ohio City at a private residence (the owners have dubbed the space Mechanic Street House Concerts) that showed just what a treasure the band really is. At the start of the 90-minute…
Group Dynamics
Even in its now-soggy state, New York promises the most competitive and stimulating environment for graduating art students — and unlivable rents. As a result, graduates of the Cleveland Institute of Art have migrated to Brooklyn over the past decade, seeking access to the art-world hub and more affordable living. The Cleveland diaspora has formed…
Culture Jamming
TOP PICK How to Destroy Angels An Omen EP (Columbia) Named after a Coil song from the ‘80s, this group that includes Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and his wife Mariqueen Maandig also features Atticus Ross (Reznor’s collaborator on all those soundtracks he’s been doing) and art director Rob Sheridan. It’s a good team that…
Candid Camera
The Found Footage Festival, a renowned traveling film festival that comes to the Beachland Ballroom at 8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18, had rather humble beginnings. Organizers Nick Prueher and Joe Pickett started collecting weird and wacky VHS tapes in 1991, when Prueher found a training video for McDonald’s managers at the McDonald’s where he worked.…
Opening: A Late Quartet
The first of two new films this season about classical music, Yaron Zilberman’s A Late Quartet focuses on the internecine struggles of The Fugue Quartet, a fictional Manhattan-based string quartet whose members show the strain of playing together for decades as they prepare to perform Beethoven’s massive 14th string quartet, Op. 131. The eldest member,…
Bites
It’s the next logical step in the ever-growing roster of microbeweries in Northeast Ohio: Brew your own at home. That became a lot easier this week with the opening of The Cleveland Brew Shop in Tremont. “I like the idea of being part of Cleveland, and being in the Cleveland beer scene,” says owner Paul…
Opening: The Flat
When Israeli documentary filmmaker Arnon Goldfinger’s 98-year-old grandmother Gerda died, his family was left to sort through the Tel Aviv flat she lived in for 70 years. Filled with European collectibles and German-language books, the apartment reflected his grandparents’ lifelong attachment to their native Germany. Goldfinger is shocked to discover photographs, letters and other evidence…
The Real Deal
Around Cleveland City Hall, the salt really hit the wound when the price started circulating. Somewhere around a billion dollars: That was reportedly the figure when the Cleveland Browns franchise passed from the standoffish Randy Lerner to Tennessee businessman Jimmy Haslam. A billion. The figure wasn’t much of a surprise to anyone who pays attention…
A Bite to Match Its Bark
Before joining the legions in the Dawg Pound for a recent Browns game, we went in search of a new brunch spot and landed at the Black Dog Kitchen and Bar. Tucked away near the corner of E. Ninth and Euclid, this dog was in for a challenge. Traditionally, brunch offered near the stadium on…
The Illustrated Man
Dino Tovanche owes his tattooing career to peer pressure. Growing up on the east side, he was friends with brothers Jimmy and Jonny Hayden from the neighborhood. When the two opened up their first Focused Tattoo location 14 years ago, they bugged their old friend to take a crack at the art form. Tovanche eventually…
The God of Abraham
In a letter to the New York Review of Books defending against criticism of his historical novel Lincoln, Gore Vidal described the challenge of historical narrative. “All we have is a mass of more or less agreed-upon facts about the illustrious dead, and each generation tends to rearrange those facts according to what the times…
Five Under $10
Kamm’s Corners is the centerpiece of Cleveland’s West Park neighborhood. Long a vibrant residential community, it has also developed into one of the best entertainment districts in Northeast Ohio. With that distinction comes not just great drink, but also tasty cuisine. Herewith, five Kamm’s Corners establishments dishing out fantastic foods for $10 or less. The…
Artist of the Week
Meet the Artist: Polina Kourakina (vocals, guitar) normally plays solo in small clubs and is backed by a bassist, violinist and drummer in bigger venues. From Russia with Love: Kourakina moved from her Russian homeland to Virginia in 1998. That was followed by stops in San Diego and Dallas. A “tough breakup” and a desire…
CD Review: Science
In the track “Matter of Rhyme,” Science (Douglas Houston) refers to his lyrics as “top shelf.” With lines like that, you might dismiss the guy as another local rapper who thinks too highly of his skills, but he’s extremely articulate and steers clear of all the usual profane clichés. He’s got good taste in beats,…
Roy to the World
In 2006, when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum paid tribute to Roy Orbison as part of its American Music Masters Series, event organizer Warren Zanes invited Canton-based singer-songwriter Ryan Humbert to play a few Orbison songs as part of the festivities. “It was terrifying,” recalls Humbert via phone as he drives…
Steady as She Goes
Like the tides, ska music has had multiple rises and falls throughout its history. During the high tides, bands would sprout up in hopes of riding the waves of popularity, but as the tides receded, many of those bands would be left beached and forgotten. Mustard Plug, however, knew how to persevere the ups and…
Ryan’s Hope
After releasing their major label debut Ocean Avenue, in 2003, Yellowcard quickly became a major player in the pop-punk scene. A nostalgic tune about staying up all night and falling in love, the album’s title track became a hit on commercial radio and introduced the band’s distinctive sound, which was characterized by the unconventional use…
Savage Love
Dear Dan: Reading you over the years has absolutely changed my mind on gay marriage. I wanted to let you know that. I also live in Maryland, and, as you know, we voted last week to allow same-sex couples to legally marry. I was excited that I got to vote for marriage equality in my…
A Play That Cuts and Bleeds
It is customary to wish a performer well by uttering the old theater saying, “Break a leg!” But that may not be the best good luck charm for actor Shawn Fagan, whose character Caleb’s shattered leg is amputated onstage in the first few minutes of The Whipping Man, now at the Cleveland Play House. Set…
Opening: Smashed
A hit at his year’s Sundance Festival, this indie drama centers on the trials and tribulations of Kate Hannah (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), an alcoholic who begins to realize she has a problem when she lies and tells her elementary school students that she’s pregnant after she throws up during class one day. When a fellow…
