What to Do Tonight: Raekwon
Raekwon’s 1995 album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx … is one of the best hip-hop records ever made. His group the Wu-Tang Clan made only one better CD, their debut, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). And while we’re usually against sequels, Only Built for Cuban Linx … Pt. II, which came out a couple months…
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 two of them. Fellini Satyricon (Italy/France, 1969) Pity the fools raised on Gladiator or 300 who go to Federico Fellini’s “free adaptation” of the ancient writings of Petroneus expecting something remotely similar, though there are bits…
Pics from Pick and Roll
Came across the Pick and Roll Tumblr page yesterday, which is basically a photoblog collection of dynamite NBA photos. You should really check it out for yourself, but I’ve copied some of the Cleveland-centric pics for this post, including this LeBron shot with Ronald McDonald. Three more after the jump.
Gogol Bordello Non-Stop has its local premiere tonight at CMA
A documentary about the gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello, Gogol Bordello: Non-Stop has its local premiere tonight at 7 at the Cleveland Museum of Art Lecture Hall. Here is our review of the movie. Gogol Bordello Non-Stop (U.S., 2008) Margarita Jimeno’s unfocused documentary about gypsy-punk band Gogol Bordello has one thing going for it: It…
eBay Item of the Day: Indians Beer Stein
Nothing bizarre here. For once I’m picking something that someone might actually want to buy. Cleveland Indians beer stein — $29.99 starting bid right now.
What to Do Tonight: Throwdown
When Throwdown launched a dozen years ago in California, they were the definition of straight-edge hardcore. Since that time, the original quintet has pared down to a quartet, lost almost as many members as Guns ’N Roses (there are no original guys in the band these days) and steered in a decidedly more metal direction.…
What to Do Tonight: Mark Stuart and the Bastard Sons
There are bastards and there are Bastards. It’s something that Mark Stuart knows all too well. For years, he led the Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash. They shortened their name recently, but the music isn’t that much different — it’s still hard country more rooted in a roadhouse than Music Row. Stuart sounds invigorated after…
12/5: Fuck Cancer/Taussig Center Benefit at Beachland
It’s the time of year when everyone’s holding a benefit, a fundraiser or a food collection. Can you stand one more? Three area bands join forces tonight for Cleveland’s Taussig Cancer Center. User Sets Mode+ features guitarist Derek Lashua and his singer/wife Mandy, who are best known around town for their old band Racemason. With…
12/5: Rockwell 9 at Bela Dubby
Most of the members of sketch-comedy ensemble Rockwell 9 are familiar to area comedy and improv fans from their work together, separately and with other troupes around town. The group — which includes Andy Craze, Tracy Cubbal, Kathie Dice, Marc Ehrenreich, Ron Fatica, Liz Huff, Andrew Jorgensen, Marjorie Preston and Matt Rosfelder — performs both…
12/5: Ohio City Singers at Around the Corner
Local singer-songwriter Chris Allen holds a house party around this time every year with his favorite musicians, who play and record original Christmas songs and favorite seasonal covers. Last year, he made the private party a public one, performing at clubs and even hosting a night of caroling to celebrate the release of Love and…
12/5: Cleveland Jazz Orchestra at Hanna Theatre
Audiences had a chance to meet Sean Jones during a mixer last week, but tonight he takes the stage in his first concert as director of the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra. The program — which showcases the skills that placed Jones in the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra’s principal trumpet chair — includes songs written for Jones,…
12/4: Wicked: Defying Gravity at State Theatre
With a little help from some friends, PlayhouseSquare has a posh deal for young professionals (that’s ages 21 to 35, if you’re keeping score) who check out the Broadway touring production of Wicked tonight. If the story of misunderstood witch Elphaba (who is smart and has great pipes and beautiful green skin) and what happened…
12/4: Peter Pan at Beck Center
John Paul Soto returns for his second year as the star of the Beck Center’s production of Peter Pan. Choreographer Martin Cespedes and about half of the original cast are back too. But even if the story and venue are the same, don’t expect the same old show. Artistic director Scott Spence directs this year,…
12/4: Molkie Cole at the Wincester
Back in the Mesozoic Era (or the 1970s, as it’s otherwise known), no local band had more sophisticated stage presence or diverse set lists than Molkie Cole. The prog-pop quintet covered the Eastern seaboard, the Midwest and the Southeast with a relentless and organized fury, eventually notching close to 1,000 shows and opening for Meat…
12/4: Justice Rocks! at the Beachland
Shares YP wants to connect young people with causes they can feel passionate about. Formed earlier this year, the group is an offshoot of Community Shares, which raises money for progressive social-justice causes. Combining entertaining, socializing and education, it hosts Justice Rocks! at the Beachland Tavern (15711 Waterloo Rd., 216.383.1124) tonight at 9. Early Girl,…
12/4: John Brown’s Body at the Beachland
This Boston band loads its latest album, Amplify, with songs that go beyond its reggae roots, borrowing from reggaeton, hip-hop and other genres without compromising its signature sound. They’ve been around for more than a decade but recently went through a considerable lineup change — bassist Scott Palmer died in 2006. At that time, the…
12/4: DJ Ill-Esha at Touch Supper Club
Vancouver’s DJ Ill-Esha has been singing and performing all her life, so when grunge exploded in the ’90s, it was only natural she wanted to be in a garage band. But she quickly discovered that the underground DJ scene was more receptive to her talents. “[I would] freestyle over my friends’ [DJ] sets,” she says.…
12/4: A Christmas Carol at Ohio Theatre
Gerald Freedman’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol celebrates its 21st anniversary this season with a cast of Great Lakes Theater Festival vets, including Aled Davies (playing Scrooge for the second year) and Dudley Swetland (who used to play Scrooge but takes a couple of smaller roles this year). There’s also Andrew May…
12/4: The Adventures of Fleische Michecha of Rumilshtenikisigov
Matt Greenfield continues to mine his personal stash of one-act plays with The Adventures of Fleische Michecha of Rumilshtenikisigov, part of the Oddy Fest series. It’s an immigration story, following the title character as he wanders around Europe during World War I and then lands in the U.S., just in time for the Roaring Twenties.…
12/3: Holly Golightly at the Beachland
This Holly Golightly is no Audrey Hepburn looking for breakfast at Tiffany’s with a Japanese Mickey Rooney at her side. This British singer-songwriter loves American roots music, and her sidekick is Texas expat multi-instrumentalist Lawyer Dave. Golightly broke into the music biz in the early ’90s as part of Thee Headcoatees, an all-female band created…
12/3: Cleveland Orchestra
Pianists Jonathan Biss and Richard Goode are touring the country this winter as a duo. Biss came to town last week and performed with the Cleveland Orchestra. This week it’s Goode’s turn. He and conductor Ivan Fischer collaborate on Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3, giving Cleveland a sample of their recently released CD Beethoven: The…
12/3: Star Wars: In Concert at the Q
Because I’m not 70 years old, I’m not big on classical music. But I’m such a Star Wars geek that I’ll sit through the violas, cellos and a bunch of other instruments that all look the same to me at Star Wars: In Concert, where the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra will perform John Williams’ familiar movie…
HOMES OF ROCK AND COUNTRY RACE TO CLOSE BAD DEALS
Plans to build a medical mart in Nashville are proceeding apace. The Tennessean reports: Nashville’s existing convention center could become a 15-story medical trade center buzzing with health-care innovations and brimming with visitors — and steering some business to a new convention hall. Dallas-based Market Center Management Co. plans to spend $250 million to redesign…
Stream Craig Wedren’s Unreleased Solo Album
Cleveland native and former Shudder to Think frontman Craig Wedren recorded a solo album called The Spanish Amnesian that was supposed to come out in 1995, following Shudder to Think’s Pony Express. It was never released. Wedren is now streaming the unreleased album on his website. Think of it as an early holiday gift from…
Ranking the Decades in Cleveland Sports History
Hypothetical: You’re allowed to watch one decade of Cleveland Sports and only one decade. Which do you choose? You’re in your sports viewing prime — whether that’s your 20’s with your friends, your 30’s or so when you might have a son or daughter to take to games, or in your retirement, when you’ve got…
C-Notes Giveaway: Madonna Lithograph
A couple of months ago, Madonna released Celebration, a terrific two-disc greatest-hits package that would make a great holiday gift for your loved ones. In celebration of Celebration (and also because it’s the holiday season, and we’re in a festive mood), we’re giving away 10 large limited-edition (and individually numbered) Madonna lithographs. They pretty much…
Tuesday Music News Roundup
As a teen, Adam Lambert was really fat, gay and annoying. Now he’s just kinda fat, gay and annoying. Chris Brown will tell 20/20 about the time he smacked up Rihanna. Michael Jackson’s This Is It leads January’s shitty-movie DVD releases. “I’m telling mom you’re starting a solo project without us!” Her guyliner-loving husband will…
SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS GETTING FOOD STAMPS
If a conservative is a liberal who’s been mugged, as the old saying goes, is a liberal a conservative who’s heard his kids’ stomachs rumble? Across the small towns and rolling farmland outside Cincinnati, old disdain for [food stamps] has collided with new needs. Warren County, the second-richest in Ohio, is so averse to government…
Amazon Has Free Music for Your Holiday Mix CD
We love making holiday mix CDs here at the Scene office. Every year, everyone tries to come up with the biggest, baddest mix ever. But after so many years of putting together these things, you start to run out of ideas. How many versions of “Winter Wonderland” does one really need? And, really, half-assed Christmas…
Swag Alert: “More Than a Game For Us Too” Tees
$30 from I Love the Hype and $23 from your purchase goes towards the LeBron 2010 billboard campaign.
This Just In: Concert Announcements
SOLD OUT:Thirty Seconds to Mars: Sat., Dec. 12. House of Blues. THIS JUST IN: Badfish (Sublime tribute)/Scotty Don’t: Tue., Feb. 23. 7 p.m., $15 ADV/four-pack general admission tickets $45 (LiveNation.com). House of Blues. Ball & Chain (Janis Joplin tribute): Fri., Feb. 19. 9 p.m., $10 ADV/four-pack general admission tickets $30 (LiveNation.com). House of Blues, Cambridge…
GM Son, Agent Father, a Fleeing Brooks Robinson
Indians.com writer Anthony Castrovince has a piece up about the relationship between Mark Shapiro and his super-agent father Ron. Nothing too groundbreaking here, but there is one tidbit I have to excerpt for you. Read on. Ron’s involvement with ballplayers happened merely as a byproduct of him being a Baltimore Orioles season-ticket holder in the…
Video: Cavs Pick Z in 1996 Draft
(Found via Cavalier Attitude) Decided to post this video for a few reasons. First, Z is the topic of conversation when it comes to the Cavs this week after Mike Brown gave the big guy a DNP-CD on a night when he invited family and friends to be in attendance for what would have been…
High School Rock Off Deadline Extended
All you procrastinating high-school bands and musicians who didn’t get your entry in for the 14th Annual High School Rock Off by today’s deadline are in luck: Promoter Live Nation understands how busy you are this time of year and has extended the deadline to December 8. Semi-finals take place January 8 and 9, 23…
When the Walls Come Tumblin’ Down
League Park in 1948. Thanks to the Cleveland Memory Project.
What to Do Tonight: Chuck Prophet
Chuck Prophet has always been so far ahead of sonic trends that he can barely see them in his rearview mirror. From the visionary country-rock architecture of Green on Red in the ’80s to his wide-ranging solo career, Prophet has been creatively restless, reinventing himself like a rootsy David Bowie and applying his own stamp…
eBay Item of the Day: Men’s Browns G-String
Because this item combines a wife or girlfriend’s two favorite things: G-strings on men and football. There’s also a Cavaliers option from PM Treasures, and before you ask, no, there is no Indians version, because obviously there would have been some good Grady Sizemore jokes in this space if there was. Buy it now for…
Recap of the Corner Alley’s Big Lebowski Party
The third annual The Big Lebowski bowling party returned to downtown’s Corner Alley last night and drew a good crowd of about 70 people. While anyone who wore a bathrobe in honor of the film’s protagonist, The Dude (Jeff Bridges), got a coupon for free popcorn at any Cleveland Cinemas theater, only a handful of…
DEMJANJUK TRIAL OPENS
The BBC reports on the trial of former Ohioan John Demjanjuk: Over 60 years after the end of World War II, this may be Germany’s last big war crimes trial. But the BBC’s Oana Lungescu in Munich says that, as the first to focus on a low-ranking foreigner rather than a senior Nazi commander, it…
Calling for All Turkey Bowl Stories…
This was the first year since I was 15 or so that I did not play in a Turkey Bowl. Sad, I know. Our regular game looks like it finally may have fizzled out completely after slowly fizzling for the last few years. Perhaps it was because fewer and fewer friends were returning to Cleveland…
Not a Bad Idea
From the Sports Guy’s latest mailbag column: Q: You know how when top recruits in basketball or football make their college decision, they often call a press conference and put the three hats of the schools that made the final three in front of them … then pick up the hat of the school of…
Money Where Your Mouth Is: Presque Vu
Who: Presque Vu Website: myspace.com/thepresquevu Hometown: ClevelandSounds Like: “It’s moody. It’s introspective. It sounds like what might happen if the Cure, the Postal Service and Atmosphere collaborated on a track.” Fun Fact: “If you buy our Capgras record, in addition to a bunch of sad love tunes, you’ll be treated to an accapella version of…
What to Do Tonight: Ensiferum
The best band on a tour that hits Peabody’s tonight probably won’t even perform. Hypocrisy, a long-running death-metal band led by legendary producer Peter Tägtgren, has been forced to sit idle because its frontman can’t enter the U.S., though his bandmates are already here. It’s a shame, because Hypocrisy’s catalog is solid, and touring guitarist…
eBay Item of the Day: Cleveland Browns Motorcycle Helmet
If you love your motorcycle and love the Browns then this is the eBay purchase for you. Of course, karma from this headgear will probably make you fall off your bike and injure yourself in some horrible way. Such is the lasting legacy of Kellen Winslow. One huge complaint is that whoever designed it got…
Video: The Complete History of the Cleveland Browns
Got a few hours to kill? Good, you’re not gonna be able to turn away from this stuff. The complete history of our Brownies in 20 parts, with the second part, which begins at the beginning, embedded below (part one is just an introduction). It really is a must-watch — from the early travel accommodations…
What to Do Tonight: Nitzer Ebb
Although the origins of industrial rock can and will continue to be argued ad nauseam, few avid listeners discount the impact of Nitzer Ebb. Often mistaken for Germans because of their name and the sound they make, the British duo helped design a sonic archetype within the genre based on relentless, rigid rhythms and venomous,…
What to Do Tonight: Melt-Banana
Is it a double entendre? A culinary disaster? Maybe it’s the nickname of a military weapon or STD? The only thing we know for sure is that Melt-Banana is a warning. The simple sugars of punk music become toxic, intoxicating vapors when free-based on a sheet-metal spoon. Singer Yasuko Onuki, the founder of the Tokyo…
What to Do Tonight: El Ten Eleven
El Ten Eleven take every overdone concept they represent —guitarist-drummer duos, instrumental dance music, effects-driven electronica, post-prog math-rock — and kick them in the ass. Guitarist Kristian Dunn plays a double neck guitar/bass, funneling his already otherworldly riffs through a bank of effects pedals to create an unnervingly complex and compelling wall of sound, while…
Malls R Us has its local premiere tonight at CMA
A documentary about shopping malls, Malls R Us screens tonight at 7 and at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1 at the Cleveland Museum of Art Lecture Hall. Here is our review of the movie. Malls R Us (France/Canada, 2009) This documentary commences with the premise that malls offer shopping “as a communal activity to fill…
What to Do Tonight (And Tomorrow): First Light
Back in the 1980s, First Light were one of the nation’s first renegade reggae hitmakers. The Cleveland ensemble fused funky island rhythms with more familiar genres like rock and jazz, and they toured North America extensively, spreading the gospel of reggae with big songs, bright torches and good vibes. It’s been 25 years since First…
What to Do Tonight: Ekoostic Hookah
It might seem odd that an Ohio-based jam band would repeatedly be invited to perform in reggae-obsessed Jamaica. But after hearing Ekoostic Hookah’s psychedelic improv music, you’ll immediately get it. After all, the sound they make is a perfect complement to the inexpensive ganja you might sample during a visit to the small Caribbean nation.…
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 few of them. Beeswax (U.S., 2009) Mumblecore auteur Andrew Bujalski continues his survey of the French New Wave he began with Funny Ha Ha and 2005’s superb Mutual Appreciation. In the writer/director/actor’s third feature, Eric…
Boondock Saints II joins the ranks of sequels that suck
Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, the ill-conceived sequel to the 1999 cult classic The Boondock Saints, might be one of the year’s worst movies. Poorly written and acted, the film commences in Ireland where we see the two MacManus brothers Connor (Sean Patrick Flanery) and Murphy (Norman Reedus) working on a farm. Bearded and…
Happy Thanksgiving, Folks
Nothing says Thanksgiving like John Madden and genetically-engineered, gigantic turkeys, so that’s the image that will take us into the holiday break. Eat, drink, be merry, don’t get hurt playing in your Turkey Bowl, and we’ll meet back here on Monday. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
Choo: Korean Documentary Star
Shin-Soo Choo is taking the world by storm. Okay, maybe just Cleveland and Korea. And, actually, maybe just Korea, since Clevelanders still don’t grasp how productive Choo was the last two years — .946 OPS in 2008 (albeit in 370 PA), and a .883 OPS in 2009 (137 OPS+, good for ninth best in the…
Talkin’ Turkey, Tunes and Liver-Damaging Shows
Thanksgiving weekend is when everyone comes home for the holidays — and after a day spent with the family, many of the homecomers want to go out, hang out with friends and see a band they used to go hear back in the day. That’s why so many local bands book special shows, including reunion…
Turns Out Aston Villa Fans Are Quite Similar to Browns Fans
Randy Lerner went from being a mainstay at Aston Villa games in the past to being absent from almost all of them this year as he focuses on the Cleveland Browns. For all the Browns fans that call into WKNR and bitch about his soccer ownership distracting him from work on his NFL franchise, turns…
Vote in Scene’s 2010 Music Awards
We ask you because we have to. Nevermind. Actually, we ask you because we want to know what you think. It’s time to cast your ballot for your favorite local musicians in Scene’s 2010 Music Awards. Guitarist, bassist, singer, group, drummer, DJ, metal, country, rock and much, much more — tell us who you love.…
Harris Poll Has Browns as America’s 22nd Most Popular Team
The Harris Poll conducted a survey of football fans (and, apparently, non-football fans) to find America’s most popular teams. Yes, you have to take this with a grain of salt, and yes, it’s just one amongst any number of polls, but it’s still interesting to see where the Browns fall in the rankings.Some intriguing things:…
Need Something to Do Tonight?
You know you’re gonna be going out tonight, hooking up with old friends, shooting the shit, probably drinking too much. Why not at least do some good with your partying? The Hard Rock Cafe is hosting The Night Before Thanksgiving Concert tonight, a benefit for the Cleveland Food Bank. Proceeds from the event will go…
12/5: Fuck Cancer benefit at the Beachland
Fuck Cancer, featuring User Sets Mode, Attack Cat and First in Space, benefits the Taussig Cancer Institute at the Cleveland ClinicInstitute at the Cleveland Clinic. Saturday, December 5 at Beachland Ballroom (15711 Waterloo Rd., 216-383-1124). Doors 8 p.m., show 8:30 p.m. $7.
INNOCENCE REDISCOVERED
August Arthur Bondy used to be known as Scott, back when he was fronting Alabama rockers Verbena. But like almost everything else, he’s left that behind. Before Drive-by Truckers even cut their first album, Verbena fired the first shot of the whiskey-soaked Southern country-rock revolution, only to lose their way. A cocky young kid in…
Scene’s 2009-2010 Winter Guide
It’s cold, it’s snowy, and the urge to hibernate is natural and overwhelming. Doesn’t mean you can’t fight it though. Here’s our guide to help you stay active (well, sort of, in some cases) and entertained through the next six months. That’s how long winter lasts, right? BOOKS — Because you don’t read anything during…
Fox on the Run
Many talking-animal movies aim for adult audiences on their way to entertaining little ones. Everything from the Shrek series to Pixar’s classics have been loaded with plenty of pop-culture jokes to keep grown-ups smiling (or groaning, depending on how you feel about it). But Fantastic Mr. Fox is the first mainstream talking-animal movie made with…
SECRET JAMES BOND KINDA STUFF
Carlos Crespo opens a display case in the office/showroom of his Rose Guardian store on the 11th floor of Cleveland’s City Club Building. The ring he carefully removes from what appears to be a velvet pouch is similar in appearance to the slightly ornate wedding bands sold by the jewelers and diamond merchants on the…
Around Hear: New Numbers Band
After 39 years, 15 60 75 (a.k.a. the Numbers Band) are releasing their new CD, Inward City, on Friday, November 27, at the Kent Stage (175 E. Main Street, Kent). All the songs are in the band’s current set — from the 1980 nugget “Nobody’s John” to the charging “Battery B,” written by multi-position player…
Casualties of War
In the HBO series Six Feet Under, Ben Foster played a bisexual who was clearly confused about his sexuality and battled a number of inner demons. It was an intense role that set the stage for a series of intense roles for the 29-year-old actor. He then played a crystal meth addict in Alpha Dog,…
Film Capsules
Opening Beeswax (U.S., 2009) Mumblecore auteur Andrew Bujalski continues his survey of the French New Wave he began with Funny Ha Ha and 2005’s superb Mutual Appreciation. In the writer/director/actor’s third feature, Eric Rohmer serves as Bujalski’s guiding muse. Two sisters, responsible Jeannie (Tilly Hatcher) and free spirit Lauren (Maggie Hatcher), clash over the running…
DIFFERENT DRUMS
Karamu artistic director Terrence Spivey is feeling a special kind of pressure these days. “I was going into the store two days ago,” he recalls. “The lady cashier said, ‘Mr. Spivey, I can’t wait to see the masterpiece. If anyone is going to replace a Karamu treasure, it’s got to be another masterpiece.'” The treasure…
Horny Granny
It’s not even five minutes into the infidelity drama Cloud 9 when two senior citizens get naked and go at it. Get used to it: There are plenty of senior moments here, with old people fornicating, performing oral sex, masturbating and doing things you usually don’t see Grandma and Grandpa doing on camera. Make no…
OZ DUST
Wicked, the wonderful progeny of Oz, now in its third lucrative run at PlayhouseSquare, has something in common with the man-eating plant in another musical, The Little Shop of Horrors. And it’s not just the color green. Wicked achieved its gigantic bulk first by consuming the MGM film The Wizard of Oz. While spitting out…
BOOKING AGENT
Books can get you through the winter like nothing else. They can take you places. They can show you things. They can meet your gift-giving needs. These days, when computers and cost-cutting have newspapers running with smaller staffs, it’s difficult to imagine an era in which a reporter could pick up a phone, dial the…
Arts District: Ingenuity is Moving
One of the things James Levin said he hoped Ingenuity would do when he launched the festival in 2005 was to show Cleveland its forgotten spaces, to reveal the city anew. Talking about the festival’s use of vacant buildings in the East 4th Street neighborhood when the festival was there three years ago, his former…
BOXED IN
True story: One gloomy winter day, I decided to watch the first season of The Sopranos in one sitting. I blazed through all 13 episodes, getting up only to hit the bathroom and to put a new disc in the DVD player. The experience was rewarding. That first season is truly remarkable, and to see…
BROWN OUT
Stunned disbelief. That was my reaction, with thousands of other Clevelanders’, after Brian Sipe threw “Red Right 88,” the interception that lost the 1981 playoff game in the final minute. Stunned disbelief is also my reaction to Browns Rules, the limp comedic-musical-sketch pastiche by Eric Schmiedl that is now losing yardage at Cleveland Public Theatre.…
COLD ENCOUNTERS
Before Thanksgiving, a bicyclist can still pretend it’s fall. Even after that final October weekend when you set the clocks back and start riding home from work in the dark, you can tell yourself that cycling in Cleveland is a three-season activity, and that third season still has a few days left in it. Maybe…
Closing Time
Lately, there’s been a lot of art about the foreclosure crisis. It isn’t hard to tap into the drama of disaster and broad social change. To some degree, most of us have felt the impact of the worst economic breakdown since 1929 — even if it’s just abandoned properties making for an (even more) depressing…
SNOW EXCUSE
Winter’s here. Nobody’s going to blame you if you feel like crawling into a cave for the next three to six months. But you can emerge from the cave slimmer and fitter if you bring the right food and keep busy while you’re in there. Read on for one of our favorite easy workouts, a…
Bites: Cleveland Independent Coupon Deck
Cleveland Independents, the organization for locally owned restaurants, has the perfect gift for the foodie on your list. The Deck is a collection of $10 gift certificates for 52 different Northeast Ohio restaurants, each the size and shape of a playing card. Participants include Bistro 185, fire food & drink, Luxe Kitchen, One Walnut, Tremont…
LEGENDS OF THE FALL
My elementary-school newspaper always listed the career ambitions of the graduating eighth-grade class in its spring edition. In the typically dreamy manner of 13-year-olds, many of my classmates listed their goals as “model,” “baseball player,” “actress” and “astronaut.” Mine was “figure skater.” But I had Olympic aspirations of the most casual kind. One or two…
A BREW CHRISTMAS
Yuletide joys come no tastier than Great Lakes Brewing Co.’s Christmas Ale. It’s the alcoholic sweater for the winter, zymurgy’s fireplace, a Cleveland cultural phenomenon with few equals or competitors, a rite of passage, a regret and quite possibly the only beer angels would drink if angels drank beer. A little much? Nah. They don’t…
HANG ON, SLOPEY
My girlfriend says she can’t take another winter of watching me sit around on Saturdays munching on Cheetos and watching nonstop M*A*S*H reruns. It’s time to get active, she says — we’re going skiing. Skiing? I always thought the sport was just an excuse for rich people to hang out in fake resort cities and…
Ka-Ching! Sounds of the Season
TOP PICK U2: The Unforgettable Fire (25th Anniversary Edition) (Mercury) U2’s atmospheric 1984 album celebrates its silver anniversary with a three-disc set that adds a CD of leftovers and a DVD filled with videos and live footage. It’s aged well. Once seen as a moody and pretentious misstep, Fire — which includes “Pride (In the…
DON’T JUST DO SOMETHING, SIT THERE
You could spend the next few long, cold winter months taking advantage of the mountains of snow that dump on Cleveland this time of year. You could spend thousands of dollars on skis, skates, passes and hospital bills. Or you could just stay in, buy some Cheetos and beer (or maybe something less legal —…
CD Review: Them Crooked Vultures
The problem with most recent supergroups is that they’ve neglected to factor in significant amounts of super. Jack White is a major presence in the Raconteurs and Dead Weather, to be sure, but he is supported by hugely talented yet comparatively obscure bandmates. And while Monsters of Folk offer a certain amount of commercial firepower…
LEAVE THE KIDS AT HOME
I spent the weekend in Ann Arbor for the Ohio State vs. Michigan game. There’s no overarching narrative, so instead of a “real story,” my thoughts are presented below in numbered/list form — sorta like Terry Pluto’s columns these days, but with more sex toys. 1. If you don’t want beer thrown at your car…
CD Review: Kris Allen
Remember Kris Allen? He’s the guy who won American Idol this year. No, not Adam Lambert. Allen’s the one who sounds like he listens to the Fray and Matchbox Twenty for fun. And on his self-titled debut, he stays within his comfort zone, delivering 13 soft-rocking songs that offer platitudes like “Live Like We’re Dying.”…
Reel Cleveland: Akron Film Contest
Last week, the Akron Film Festival launched a contest called “The New History of Akron.” The concept is for local filmmakers to make a mockumentary about Akron that explores an “alternate history” of the city. “I want filmmakers to explore Akron and shoot in Akron, plus take a look at the city’s history,” says organizer…
CD Review: BlakRoc
Let’s be honest: When the Black Keys echo through a big set of speakers, hip-hop is the furthest thing from your mind. Their soulful rock helped define modern blues. The Keys’ Patrick Carney and Dan Auerbach capitalize on the framework of rock ‘n’ roll. Their fierce rhythms and rip-roaring guitars are timeless. That’s because the…
Local CD Reviews
Terminal Lovers (Public Guilt) terminallovers.com As Eyes Burn Clean, the second proper release by area artist/musician Dave Cintron’s Terminal Lovers, signals its intentions immediately with “Press the Bank,” a clattering space-rock drone that almost coalesces into a pop song when the vocal melody enters. With the help of local luminaries like Keelhaul guitarist Chris Smith…
CD Review: Shakira
Shakira makes pop music the way the Coen brothers make movies. There’s some-thing just a little bit off about it. The fundamentals and foundation are there, but beyond that, the playing field is wide open. On her third English album (and first in four years), Shakira frontloads with eight songs in English before wrapping up…
Renewable Energy
It would be easier to fault Eternal Legacy’s devotion to old-school heavy metal if they didn’t sound like they were having so much fun. As they romp and rampage through the 11 tracks on their new album, Lifeless Alive, they sound like they’re having the time of their life. Six of the high-energy tunes hurl…
CD Review: Rihanna
Rihanna’s albums tell a surprising story: beautiful girl leaves Barbados for the big city and discovers her inner goth. Between her 2005 debut and this fourth album, the Jay-Z protégé and R&B star has gotten pierced and tattooed, and gone from pastel bikinis to fetishy black leather, from a disarming smile to a glare worthy…
Light of Day
There are several ways to interpret the title of Matisyahu’s third studio album, Light. On its cover, the 30-year-old singer is nearly obscured by the rays of the sun. That’s the literal way to look at it. You can also take it as a spiritual symbol of Matisyahu’s strict Hasidic Jewish beliefs — where “light”…
Soundcheck: Jonny 5
Earlier this year, Denver’s hip-hop/frat-rock group Flobots rolled into town on the coattails of the popular single “Handlebars,” a catchy hip-hop number that carried a message of self-empowerment and activism. They’ve just finished the follow-up to 2007’s Fight With Tools and are now playing several songs from it. MC Jonny 5 recently talked about the…
CD Review: Bon Jovi
Do people still drive around in Camaros blasting Bon Jovi? In Bon Jovi’s perfect world they do, and their 11th album is made for these people. Opener “We Weren’t Born to Follow” even runs down a list of folks “this one goes out to” (sadly, “mullet-wearing thirtysomethings who haven’t updated their record collections since 1988″…
Comedian Artie Lange discusses his new CD/DVD
Best known for providing wise-ass remarks on The Howard Stern Show, Artie Lange, a former longeshoreman from New Jersey, has been a working comic since landing a role on MADtv in the earlier 1990s. He joined The Howard Stern Show in 2001, filling the position left vacant after Jackie Martling left the show. Often ridiculed…
CONNIE SCHULTZ PLAYS RACE CARD OVER SERIAL KILLER COVERAGE
Did you know that Plain Dealer columnist Connie Schultz can read minds? It’s true. She’s good too — doesn’t even have to know you. She can report on your deepest fears and secret prejudices after just talking to someone who talked to you on the phone. From her November 18 column: About two weeks into…
