Source: New Metro CEO John Brennan Backs Out of Position
Mere weeks after being announced as the new CEO of MetroHealth Hospital, John Brennan has backed out of the position, according to a source. The subject of a glowing editorial in the PD, Brennan was given the title on November 14. The hospital has had its share of problems and public missteps in recent years,…
A SWEET CHALLENGE
Calling all ice cream eaters: Sweet Moses Treats in the trendy neighborhood of Gordon Square has started the first ice cream challenge in Northeast Ohio. They have ceremoniously named it the Terminal Tower Sundae Challenge. I was lucky enough to be the first one to take on the challenge, while it was still in its…
Video: ‘Andy Varejao Was Fantastic. Everybody Else Sucked Tonight’ — Byron Scott
Byron Scott sums up the Cavs season so far, especially in the new Kyrie Irvingless era, in one sentence. (Via The Big Lead)
Pic of the Day: Naked Protesters in John Boehner’s Office (NSFW)
Naked folks showed up in John Boehner’s office today protesting against clothing and the GOP’s idea of cutting HIV/AIDS funding as the ever-dangerous fiscal cliff approaches. Looks like that fella on the right is dealing with a fiscal cliff of his own. “Boehner, Boehner, don’t be a dick. Budget cuts will make us sick,” was…
A NEIGHBOR PARTY TO BE PROUD OF
’Tis the season, which gave Alan Glazen an idea. Embracing the social and economic diversity of Ohio City, Glazen wanted to reach out to one of the largest residential bases in the neighborhood, the seniors at Riverview Towers. His first phone call was to Councilman Cimperman’s office. They loved the idea and with Glazen, they…
Concert Review: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis at House of Blues
Every generation seems to have a white rapper that it simply adores. It all arguably started with Vanilla Ice who then gave way to House of Pain and Eminem. Ben Haggerty (aka Macklemore) is the latest white guy to win over teens and twentysomethings. An excellent lyricist who has surrounded himself with a talented producer…
Concert Review: Lestat at Peabody’s
Lestat has everything a serious band needs: Real instruments; tight, well-rehearsed songs; and a frontman not afraid to take the spotlight. One of the most unique bands that has ever come out of Cleveland, Lestat has a sound like none other, forged on the unlikely streets of Parma in the late ’80s and tested in…
Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall
Louis Lortie Even the program book sounded a trifle apologetic for this past weekend’s program at Severance Hall, an unabashedly Romantic double bill of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Rachmaninoff’s familiar Symphony No. 2. “Both works have been belittled by some who want something more from music,” the notes read, justifying the choices by…
Scene Presents: Seven, a Party of Indulgence
This Saturday night, December 1, Scene is partnering with seven bars on West Sixth to celebrate the seven deadly sins. It’s a night of indulgence, which we figure you’re pretty good at anyway, but it doesn’t hurt to have a guide, like a party Sherpa. That’s why we’re here. No cover, kick-off at 8:00 p.m.,…
Concert Review: Rezillos at Beachland Ballroom
Despite a catalog full of smart punk/garage nuggets and a girl-group-meets-B-52’s vibe, Scottish O.G., new wavers the Rezillos never gained more than a cult following in America. That’s downright criminal: The band’s all-too-brief show last night at the Beachland Ballroom—the final show of its two-week North American tour and, vocalist Fay Fife noted, its first-ever…
Concert Review: Zeds Dead at House of Blues
Courtney Abbott The night before Thanksgiving is notorious for being a huge party night. Just about everyone has the day off the next day, so why not get wild the night before? Zeds Dead’s “Bassgiving” show at House of Blues that same night made for a perfect storm of college-aged people who were looking for…
Concert Review: Delta Spirit at House of Blues’ Cambridge Room
It’s a common technique that when participating in a race that requires a certain amount of physical strength and stamina, it’s best to save your strength for the final stretch. That seemed to be the approach that Brooklyn-via-San Diego rockers Delta Spirit took last night at House of Blues’ Cambridge Room. The 90-minute show started…
Happy Thanksgiving From Your Pals at Scene
It’s Thanksgiving, so you’re supposed to dance until dawn, or something like that. We’ll see you back here, all a little fatter, next week. Make it an autotune-worthy time until then.
The Quality of Cleveland Life Report
Your guide to living in fabulous Cleveland. The Cleveland chapter of the Ohio State Alumni Association hosts a ten-year reunion of the 2002 championship team, including Maurice Clarrett and Jim Tressel. Anyone with a secondary NCAA eligibility violation gets in free. Cleveland can’t seem to figure out the source of water that frequently floods Scranton…
Power Rankings
A weekly roundup of the top newsmakers around town. 1. Joy Roller: Named the new President of Global Cleveland after leading the transformation of the Gordon Square Arts District. Hopes to help immigrants open all kinds of hipster businesses all over the city. 2. Mentor Patrolman Phil Croucher: The Mentor cop captured on video dunking…
Good Vibrations
Between them, reggae acts I-Tal and First Light have decades of musical experience. Even as reggae’s popularity has ebbed in other parts of the nation, the local groups have kept those fires burning in Northeast Ohio. But despite the fact that each band’s musical lineage goes back at least 30 years, the two acts have…
The Heist is Right
The hip-hop community is renowned for espousing homophobia. Eminem has used the word “fag” in his lyrics, and 50 Cent has said in interviews that he’s not “comfortable” around gays. So it’s refreshing to hear a hip-hop group like Seattle-based Macklemore and Lewis, who take on the issue of homophobia in “Same Love,” a song…
Warped Minds
One of the highlights (and bigger draws) on this past summer’s Warped Tour, Dance Gavin Dance plays a bit of everything. The band’s music has alternately been described as post-hardcore, experimental rock, progressive rock, psychedelic, and jazz fusion. And when they hit the main stage at Blossom over the summer, their unbridled energy really went…
Lump of Coal
There’s always a need for a good new holiday play, since everyone’s seen the neurotic, Billie Holiday-singing elf named Crumpet a jillion times, and Scrooge & company even more than that. So Ensemble Theatre is to be credited with trotting out a new entry in the genre, Miracle & Wonder, a play developed through their…
Savage Love
Dear Dan: I’m a 28-year-old guy who was broken up with via text by a girl I had been dating for two months. She is dealing with the loss of a family member and some other personal issues, and she sent me this message while out of state for a week or so. Two months…
Lost Visions
On Nov. 4, the Cleveland art world lost a warm, talented and thoughtful man. Earlier this year, Randall Tiedman had been hospitalized on short notice for a heart operation. Still, his death at age 63 was unexpected. At gallery openings, it could be hard to associate the soft-voiced, good-humored Tiedman with the paintings that bear…
Opening: The Rise of the Guardians
Ostensibly a Christmas movie, Rise of the Guardians, an animated flick based on the William Joyce book series, has a pretty good twist. While it includes both Santa and Jack Frost, it throws the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and even the Sandman into the mix. The story centers on Jack Frost (Chris Pine), a…
Bites
Bruno’s Ristorante Even though we have some of the best Italian restaurants in Northeast Ohio in our own Little Italy, let’s set the record straight: The fact is that there are many great Italian spots sprinkled like Parmesan cheese throughout the region. And one of them is a classic vintage eatery. Bruno’s Ristorante, located on…
Opening: Red Dawn
In this remake of the 1984 Cold War drama, the enemy is no longer Russian. Rather, North Koreans have invaded the States, and in the film’s opening scene we see their tanks rolling through the streets of Spokane. Jed (Chris Hemsworth) and his younger brother Matt (Josh Peck) organize a group of teens and move…
Top Pop Culture Picks for the Week
TOP PICK Various Artists Songs of Anarchy: Vol. 2 (Columbia) In the biker drama Sons of Anarchy, a poignant song will often play during a particularly dramatic scene (usually involving a death or betrayal). The music adds another dimension to the show and this collection of some covers (including tracks like Jane’s Addiction’s cover of…
Opening: A Royal Affair
When Caroline (Alicia Vikander) is sent to marry Christian (Mikkel Boe Folsgaard), the heir to the Danish throne, she gets more than bargained for. Turns out the guy is mentally insane (and abusive), so Caroline bears him a few kids and then starts to live her life separately from his. Things become complicated, however, when…
Quirkier Cleveland
Why is it that promoters of our fair burgh always make it out to be such a charming, whimsical place? The Free Stamp! The Polka Hall of Fame! The Christmas Story house, museum, lamp, snowsuit, BB gun and tongue-sucking flagpole! Not that we mind these silly sidelights. After all, Positively Cleveland has to have something…
Culinary Calendar
Thursday, November 22 Hard Rock Cafe “Imagine” Hunger Event In his iconic song “Imagine,” John Lennon asked listeners to picture a world free from hunger — a message that lives on today through the global Imagine There’s No Hunger campaign. While The Hard Rock Cafe Cleveland will be closed for normal business on Thanksgiving, it…
Asleep at the Wheel
Ohio City — West 25th St. in particular — holds a special place in the hearts of Clevelanders who have a passion for dining. While numerous entrepreneurs have helped make this neighborhood successful, only a select few were there at its inception. One of them was Sam McNulty who, with his partnership group, recognized the…
The Missionary
It’s the holiday season, which means most of us will be thinking for the first time all year about donating our time and energies to the less fortunate. City Mission CEO Richard Trickel does that all year long. An experienced Bible teacher with extensive ministry experience in both foreign and domestic missions, Trickel has been…
Crazy Love
Silver Linings Playbook, the new film from director David O. Russell (Flirting with Disaster, Three Kings, The Fighter) is the kind of flick critics dig. The cast — Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert DeNiro, Jacki Weaver — is certainly solid. And the film has plenty going for it. It’s a smart, often funny flick about…
Floating Tiger, Hidden Meaning
The path of Life of Pi from bestselling fantasy-adventure novel to 3D movie was nearly as tumultuous as the 227-day journey of the Indian boy Pi in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. Numerous directors were engaged to adapt Yann Martel’s Booker Prize-winning 2001 book, including M. Night Shyamalan and Alfonso Cuarón, as well as…
Artist of the Week
Meet the Artist: Singer-guitarist Diana Chittester moved to Cleveland five years ago from Pittsburgh and started playing open mic nights at places like the Winchester. “Pittsburgh was a much harder city to get started in,” she says. “There are opportunities once you hit a certain level, but Cleveland is good for breaking into the working…
CD Review: Various Artists
Local singer-songwriter Rob Duskey considered signing a record deal earlier this year after he put out a self-released album with his backing band the Rounders. Instead, he’s decided to form his own label, Sweet Truth Records. His first release on the newly formed label is a compilation featuring 10 of the city’s best singer-songwriters. While…
