What to Do Tonight: Meat Puppets
It’s not unusual that a reunion album is marketed as a return to the glory days. But in the case of the Meat Puppets’ recent Sewn Together, it’s high praise that also begs an important question: If you’re a grizzled cult band that’s slogged through a cartoonishly tumultuous 30-year career, what exactly qualifies as your…
What to Do Tonight: Medeski, Martin & Wood
More than a decade after their inception, the Brooklyn-born Medeski, Martin & Wood have achieved an unlikely status among music fans, earning both a devoted jam-band following and respect from the jazz community for their undeniable chops and musical creativity. On their recently released Radiolarians III (the final installment of a trilogy), MMW continue to…
What to Do Tonight: Cheap Girls
It may seem like the ’90s were a lousy decade for music — the airwaves were clogged with a mix of post-grunge brutishness, rap-metal ridiculousness and boy-band garishness — but let’s not forget the contributions made to power-pop during the era. Fuzzed-drenched slackers like the Lemonheads, Superdrag and Smoking Popes showed us that three chords…
What to Do Tonight: Tommy Castro/Coco Montoya
Tommy Castro and Coco Montoya have made their marks encasing their formidable blues chops in individual styles that embrace forms outside the traditional 12-bar. A frequent visitor to these parts, the San Jose-bred Castro coupled his early blues education with a study of the soulful regions charted by Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding.…
What to Do Tonight (And Tomorrow Night): Steely Dan
Fans of bent classic rock with a jazz twist should enjoy the still durable Steely Dan when the ’70s masters perform at E.J. Thomas Hall (198 Hill St., Akron, 330.972.7570, ticketmaster.com) at 7:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday. The first show will feature Aja, their 1977 hit album; the second includes The Royal Scam, 1976’s predecessor.…
What to Do Tonight: Boney James
Los Angeles-based saxophonist Boney James didn’t set out to help forge a new genre when he fused elements of R&B and hip-hop into jazz in the early ’90s. The urban jazz sound came naturally, he says: “I definitely feel that the style was there when I came along. People like Grover Washington, Jr. were doing…
What to Do Tonight: Fresh Air Tour
Brother Ali is sorta like a preacher. He laces his songs with uplifting messages, social commentary and tales of inner growth. And on his fourth album, Us, the 32-year-old Minneapolis MC totally embraces the role. “Street preacher is what a fan once called me,” he rhymes on the title track. “I been called worse and…
What to Do Tonight: Vader
It’s pointless to quibble over authenticity when you’re talking about a band that’s been through 18 members and includes only one original founder. But when it comes to old-school death-metal, the only things that really count are chops and execution. Vader are still slinging in the trenches on Necropolis, which proves that after eight solid…
11/18: Wicked at PlayhouseSquare
In The Wizard of Oz, good witch Glinda asks the crash-landed Dorothy, “Are you a good witch or a bad witch?” In Wicked, the musicalization of Gregory Maguire’s novel of the same name, things aren’t as simple. It tells the story of two college classmates born in Oz. Even though the green-skinned co-ed is smart,…
11/18: Meat Puppets at Grog Shop
It’s not unusual that a reunion album is marketed as a return to the glory days. But in the case of the Meat Puppets’ recent Sewn Together, it’s high praise that also begs an important question: If you’re a grizzled cult band that’s slogged through a cartoonishly tumultuous 30-year career, what exactly qualifies as your…
11/17: Medeski, Martin & Wood at Kent Stage
More than a decade after their inception, the Brooklyn-born Medeski, Martin & Wood have achieved an unlikely status among music fans, earning both a devoted jam-band following and respect from the jazz community for their undeniable chops and musical creativity. On their recently released Radiolarians III (the final installment of a trilogy), MMW continue to…
11/16: Cheap Girls at Now That’s Class
It may seem like the ’90s was a lousy decade for music — the airwaves were clogged with a mix of post-grunge brutishness, rap-metal ridiculousness and boy-band garishness — but let’s not forget the contributions made to power-pop during the era. Fuzzed-drenched slackers like the Lemonheads, Superdrag and Smoking Popes showed us that three chords…
11/16: Tommy Castro/Coco Montoya at Beachland
Tommy Castro and Coco Montoya have made their marks encasing their formidable blues chops in individual styles that embrace forms outside the traditional 12-bar. A frequent visitor to these parts, the San Jose-bred Castro coupled his early blues education with a study of the soulful regions charted by Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding.…
11/15: America Recycles Day
A new buzz phrase in the sustainability movement is “zero waste.” What that means is recycle, recycle, recycle until ultimately nothing is cast aside and everything old finds a new use. It sounds pie-in-the-sky, but “green” lifestyle proponents are making giant strides toward such a sustainable world. The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (3900 Wildlife Way, 216.661.6500)…
11/14: Ethos Percussion Ensemble
The ancient and the modern come together in the Ethos Percussion Ensemble. On one hand, it’s the most primitive of musical groups: four guys beating on things with bare hands and sticks. On the other, it’s a perfect medium for minimalist composers like Philip Glass, John Cage and Steve Reich. Ethos has performed works by…
11/13: Boney James at Ohio Theatre
Los Angeles-based saxophonist Boney James didn’t set out to help forge a new genre when he fused elements of R&B and hip-hop into jazz in the early ’90s. The urban jazz sound came naturally, he says: “I definitely feel that the style was there when I came along. People like Grover Washington, Jr. were doing…
11/13: Fridge Door at Asterisk Gallery
In the past, Daiv Whaley has experimented with different kinds of photography, like cell-phone shots, as art. Tonight, he calls on local artists to use a scavenged refrigerator door as a canvas. Makes sense, since people typically use their fridges as family bulletin boards, walls of fame and art galleries. Dana DePew is gathering a…
11/13: Fresh Air Tour at Grog Shop
Brother Ali is sorta like a preacher. He laces his songs with uplifting messages, social commentary and tales of inner growth. And on his fourth album, Us, the 32-year-old Minneapolis MC totally embraces the role. “Street preacher is what a fan once called me,” he rhymes on the title track. “I been called worse and…
11/13: Face2Face Facebook Party at Anatomy
Since I’ve been on Facebook, I’ve been deluged with “friend” requests from people who know someone I know and from total strangers. While I personally prefer to have some kind of connection, however tenuous, to my Facebook friends, some people love to collect “friends.” Face2Face is a new social networking party designed to let you…
11/13-15: Fabulous Food Show at IX Center
Nothing like unleashing the Fabulous Food Show on us right before the holidays. Then again, what’s a few extra pounds gonna hurt with all the gorging we’re gonna be doing over the next six weeks? The fourth annual foodie blowout features more than 200 vendors dishing out everything from candy samples to cooking gear. Organizers…
11/12: Vader at Peabody’s
It’s pointless to quibble over authenticity when you’re talking about a band that’s been through 18 members and includes only one founder. But when it comes to old-school death-metal, the only things that really count are chops and execution. Vader are still slinging in the trenches on Necropolis, which proves that after eight solid albums,…
11/11-15: A Flock of Seagulls & more at CPT
After debuting last year at the bare-bones play-reading program Oddy Fest, Stuart Hoffman’s philosophical meta-play A Flock of Seagulls is now working its way up the theatrical food chain, having landed a spot in Cleveland Public Theatre’s Little Box series. In the piece, Jake and Barry learn that they’re characters trapped in a play and,…
11/12: Author Rusty McClure
Cincinnatus was an ancient Roman farmer who served on the Consul and eventually assumed dictatorial powers when it was the only way he could defeat rival tribes. But Cincinnatus sealed his place in history when, after becoming a military hero, he turned over control of his country to the senate and returned to his farm.…
11/11: Veterans for Peace
Veterans Day, founded in 1954 to commemorate the conclusion of World War I, is a time for not only remembering veterans but also pondering the human cost of war and the price fighting men and women have paid. For the third year, the Cleveland-area chapter of Veterans for Peace — a nonprofit group formed to…
Joplin guitarist Jorma Kaukonen at Rock Hall
The Rock Hall’s American Music Masters series: Kosmik Blues: The Life and Music of Janis Joplin, is in full swing. At 7 p.m. tomorrow night, the Rock Hall will welcome to its 4th-floor Foster Theater one of Joplin’s early music-making colleagues, Jorma Kaukonen. He’ll be speaking and playing music. Kaukonen is best known as the…
This Just In: Concert Announcements
NEW DATE Carlos Jones & the PLUS Band/Robin Stone: Sun., Dec. 20, 7:30 p.m., Annual Holiday Show, $10 ADV/four-pack of general admission tickets $30 (LiveNation.com). House of Blues. THIS JUST IN Anafair: Fri., Dec. 11, 7 p.m., $6. Peabody’s. Average White Band: Wed., Jan. 13. 7 p.m., $18 ADV/four-pack general admission tickets $54 (LiveNation.com). House…
Jim Brown Game-Used Syracuse Helmet With a Great Story
If you don’t make Uni Watch a regular stop every morning, you should for reasons like today’s post. A game-used Jim Brown helmet from his time at Syracuse is up for auction (current bid: $27,500) and the story of how it got there is quite fantastic.
Mug Shots and Millionaires — An Exhibition at the William Rupnik Gallery
John Ryan’s brightly colored criticisms of pop culture have taken on consumerism, the adulation of sports heroes and the commodification of everything from sex to gasoline. He’s painted on windowpanes, cabinet doors and even some conventional surfaces. In his new show, Mug Shots and Millionaires, Ryan takes a more technically ambitious and controlled approach, shifting…
Photo Show: Hatebreed, Unearth and Cannibal Corpse
Johnny Angell had his ass rattled Friday night, when he saw Hatebreed, Unearth and Cannibal Corpse at House of Blues. His camera survived the assault.
Hill Country Revue Playing Stage Door Concert
Hill Country Revue, a side project for the North Mississippi Allstars’ Cody Dickinson, are playing one of those intimate Stage Door concerts at EJ Thomas Hall on November 20. Here’s the deal: The usually spacious EJ Thomas Hall is transformed into a cozy little club-like stage for the night. The audience gathers round the band…
Monday Ticket Giveaway: LMFAO
We got four Scene Fantasy Seats tickets to LMFAO’s concert at House of Blues on November 28. Want ’em? All you have to do is text LMFAO to 96034 to sign up for HOB mobile alerts and enter to win four tickets. We’ll pick a random winner at noon on November 25.
What to Do Tonight: The Cult
Ian Astbury is back where he belongs. After an ill-advised move to the Doors, in which the British singer channeled Jim Morrison, the goth-rock hero is back fronting the Cult — one of the more powerful and dramatic bands of the ’80s, delivering anthemic songs like “She Sells Sanctuary” and “Fire Woman.” Astbury has said…
What to Do Tonight: Wayne Hancock
In 1995, an overwhelming majority of Nashville was working toward turning every male country artist into a cowboy-hat-wearing mannequin with an electric guitar slung low on his mechanically swiveling hip. As country morphed into arena rock with a pedal steel for effect, Wayne “The Train” Hancock released his debut album, Thunderstorms and Neon Signs, and…
What to Do Tonight: Scott Morgan and the Irrationals
When blue-eyed soul singer Scott Morgan and his band the Rationals emerged from the Ann Arbor scene in the late ’60s, their manager, Jeep Holland, was determined to get them on the radio, even though Detroit stations ignored his requests. Holland decided to make them a regional success instead. As a result, the band visited…
What to Do Tonight: Freedy Johnson
Freedy Johnston has had a stellar roots-pop sensibility as a musician and a Dust Bowl writer’s eye for detail from the very start. When he had to sell some of his family’s Kansas property to continue his musical dream in the early ’90s, he wrote a song about it and made it the very first…
Kozmic Blues: The Life and Music of Janis Joplin
We’ll have full coverage of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s 14th annual American Music Master series, Kozmic Blues: The Life and Music of Janis Joplin, in next Wednesday’s edition. It culminates at 8 p.m. Saturday, November 14, with the gala tribute concert at PlayhouseSquare’s State Theatre, with Ray Benson, Guy Clark,…
IT’S DEPT. OF TRANSPORTATION, NOT DEPT. OF CARS
City cyclists feel they’re getting the metaphorical middle-finger when it comes to asking for fair, safe access to Cleveland roads. That sentiment surfaced Friday at Cleveland City Hall, where about a dozen cycling advocates expressed disappointment with the Ohio Department of Transportation’s plan to nix a bicycle/pedestrian lane for the upcoming Inner Belt project. ODOT…
‘WHERE IS FRANK JACKSON?”
We aren’t alone in arguing that Mayor Jackson’s self-imposed low profile is quickly passing from quirky to intolerable. Today Roldo lets him have it over the serial killer story: As if the Cleveland police don’t have enough on their hands. Now they have another missing person: Mayor Frank Jackson. Where is Frank Jackson? I’ve covered…
AMERICA’S FINEST NEWS SOURCE ON ISSUE 3
At Cleveland Scene, we’re too serious to make wiseass remarks about voters approving an amendment to the Ohio constitution that will allow casinos is Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo. But The Onion isn’t. — D.X. Ferris
The Box is destined to be a cult hit
In The Box, a married couple (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden) are given a box with a large red button by a mysterious disfigured man (Frank Langella). Langella tells the couple that if they press the button, they will be given a million dollars. At the same time, someone “they don’t know” will die as…
LA Times Bitch Slaps Rock Hall
Noted rock writer Ann Powers, currently the main pop-music critic for The Los Angeles Times, wrote in that paper some of her thoughts about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and its recent 25th-anniversary concerts in New York (of course!). Naturally, she engages in the popular sport of complaining about who was onstage and…
What to Do Tonight: Skeletonwitch
Athens, Ohio-based Skeletonwitch is one of America’s best up-and-coming metal bands. They mix thrash-, death- and black-metal into an unholy swirling dust-storm of savage riffs, relentless drumming and vocals, which shift back and forth between guttural death rumbles and higher-pitched shrieks/growls. Those vocals are actually the group’s weak point on record. Their new album, Breathing…
What to Do Tonight: Mosquito-B
Mosquito-B frontman Dan Louis stopped in town earlier this year on a way to a show in Nashville to drum up some interest in his band. The Quebec City native didn’t play here, but he loved Cleveland so much, he vowed to come back with his band for a gig. They just released Raid, a…
More Support for the Protest of the Protest
Yesterday we directed you to RealFansDontMissKickoff.com, a protest to the protest of sorts that encourages fans — “real fans” — to be in their seats for the kickoff of the Monday nighter against the Ravens. Well, today Cleveland Frowns piped in with his support. There’s two or three main parts to the post. 1. His…
BOEHNER’S “PLAN”: SPEND MORE, DO LESS
Some days you almost have to feel sorry for Republicans. Almost. For most of the year Republicans have been content to attack Democrats’ healthcare reform proposals while offering little to nothing in the way of alternatives. Apparently it was really bugging House Minority Leader John Boehner that people kept, you know, noticing that. So last…
If You Watch One Browns Fan Video On YouTube in Your Life, Make it This One
Cardboard background? Check. Approximately 275 uses of the word “fuck”? Check. Unbridled anger and screaming? Check. Browns fan sitting in a recliner wearing a Patriots hat? Check. Possible spit cup? Check. Use of the number “4” as a letter on a sign, as in “Trey 4 Li4e”? Check. Bragging about high school football conquests? Check.…
Thursday Ticket Giveaway: Shwayze
We got a pair of tickets to Shwayze’s concert at House of Blues on November 28. Want ’em? All you have to do is send your name, phone number and e-mail address to freetickets@clevescene.com. We’ll pick a random winner at noon on November 25.
Mama Mia, free tickets!
As far as I can tell, these are the top ten reasons to go see the jukebox musical Mama Mia, by ABBA co-founders Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, next week at Playhouse Square: 10. The song, “Mama Mia.”9. “Knowing Me, Knowing You”8. You’ve got someone you want to Take a Chance with, and that person…
Cleveland Public Theatre Launches Browns Play
Oh dear lord. I don’t know what to make of this. Um, just read the summary from CPT below. A cabaret-style world-premiere by nationally recognized local playwright Eric Schmiedl, Browns Rules is both a send-up and a love-letter to The Cleveland Browns. Three performer musicians and the audience are on a mission – successfully name…
OSU Room
Via Hot Clicks, this amazing OSU-themed room.
Swag Alert: Austin Carr Drinking Game Tees
Glen Infante (he of the Delonte West t-shirts, I Love the Hype, LeBron 2010, and Real Cavs Fans) keeps rolling along with the nifty t-shirts designs. This time an homage to Austin Carr, his favorite phrases, and the AC Drinking Game that everyone knows about by now. Not on sale yet, but stay tuned to…
House of Blues Gives Music Fans a Gift on Its Birthday
House of Blues is celebrating its fifth anniversary today by selling a bunch of concert tickets for only $5. Of course, you could argue that House of Blues should pay you $5 to see Ace Frehley or Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, but who are we to look a gift horse in the mouth? So, you…
Global Lens Film Series kicks off tonight in Akron
Now in its sixth season, the Global Lens Film Series is a touring showcase for movies from developing countries. Daniel F. Boomhower, head of Kent State’s Performing Arts Library, brought the series to Northeast Ohio last month when its ten movies screened at Kent State University. This month, it comes to the Akron Art Museum…
I CAPULETI E I MONTECCHI
When Vincenzo Bellini told the story of Romeo and Juliette, his libretto by Felice Romani was based not directly on Shakespeare’s version of events, but that of an earlier Italian librettist, Luigi Scevola. That led to few differences between their version and the more familiar one by Shakespeare. No balcony scene, for example. As Bellini…
The Cello Electric
Electric cellist Helen Money — real name Alison Chesley — plays the Front Room Gallery tonight. Money plugs her big string instrument into a guitar amp, cranks up the effects and rocks it out. Classical and traditional, it ain’t. But she’s cultivating a following among the instru-metal crowd, sharing fans of bands like Pelican, Neurosis,…
What to Do Tonight: Guster
It’s been 18 years since the three guys who formed Guster met during their freshman orientation at Tufts University. From their indie beginnings as a two-acoustic-guitar-and-bongos folk-pop outfit to their major-label signing to the addition of multi-instrumentalist Joe Pisapia as a permanent member in 2003, Guster have cultivated an almost personal relationship with their fan…
eBay Item of the Day: Vintage Cavs Sweater Scarf
As you stroll around town during this fine Cavs season and head to a couple of games at the Q, why not look good? You’re bundling up anyway, so bundle up in style with this vintage Cavs sweater. $4.99 right now.
WHERE MY ’WINGAZ AT?
Some rightie (c)rap from “Hi Caliber,” a.k.a. Tawkin Pointz.
CONTINUED ON PAGE — PSYCH!
Due to a production error, the article “Guarded,” about coverage of the Cavs’ troubled soul Delonte West, got truncated in print. We regret the error. The responsible parties will be dealt with.
Winter Haven Nets Tremendous Sum ($5500) From Indians Lawsuit
After the Indians decided they would leave Winter Haven for the greener (sandier? desertier?) pastures of Arizona, the city of Winter Haven took the club to court. Winter Haven sued the Indians on Dec. 31, 2008, claiming the former spring training tenant owed $107,454 in parking, concession, ticket and advertising revenue. The city also sought…
Bob Feller Turns 91, Buys Tractor, Tells Stories That Make You Wish He Was Your Grandfather
If you look at and listen to Bob Feller and don’t immediately feel like you could spend an entire day listening to him tell stories, you’re off your rocker. A buddy of mine that used to work for Scene sat in the pressbox for an Indians game a couple of years ago and found himself,…
My Dharma will go to the land of red-faced peoples
Psychotherapist Joseph Sestito, of Northfield, might be on to something with his new book, Write for Your Lives (Watkins Publishing, 2009, 172pp., paperback, $19.95). In it he applies principles of Buddhist though and cognitive behavioral therapy to one of humanity’s most primal urges—to write a book. “I’m a psychotherapist, treating people who were depressed,” Sestito…
Guarded: How the Media Struggles to Cover Delonte West
There are no best practices or guides for dealing with an athlete with a diagnosed mental illness. The Cavaliers have been patient with Delonte West. Every decision regarding their talented but troubled guard is made with caution because, although they dealt with West last year, the situation is an unfinished puzzle of doctors, coaches, front-office…
HEADBANGERS DELIGHT
Cleveland-based Auburn Records, which drove the city’s ’80s metal scene, is unleashing a new generation of bands that reveres that classic ’80s power-metal style. Leading the parade are Lick the Blade, a dynamic quintet whose debut album Graveyard of Empires comes out this week. Their album pays homage to their major influences — Iron Maiden…
Soundcheck: Ogre
Few bands have earned such a reputation for creating uncompromising, confrontational music and videos as Vancouver’s Skinny Puppy did in the industrial-rock scene of the mid-’80s through the mid-’90s. The path has not been without turmoil; internal tensions led to the band’s dissolution in 1995, followed by the death of keyboardist Dwayne R. Goettel. They…
Reel Cleveland: A.P.E. at Cedar Lee
Cleveland Cinemas marketing director Dave Huffman is particularly excited about A.P.E., this week’s Cult Film Series feature at the Cedar Lee Theatre (2163 Lee Rd., 216.321.5411, clevelandcinemas.com), which will screen in old-fashioned 3D at 9:30 p.m. and midnight Saturday, November 7. Tickets are $6. “I can’t find a record of anyone playing the film in…
A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES
On the basis of his rambunctious, side-splittingly funny comic performance in The Men Who Stare at Goats, George Clooney could become Hollywood’s most indispensable and in-demand character actor. That is, if he wasn’t already Tinseltown’s premier leading man. As Lyn Cassady, a possibly insane, self-proclaimed Jedi Warrior in the U.S. military’s stealth “remote-viewing” program, Clooney…
Lessons Learned
So many questions come up in An Education: Is the thirtysomething guy dating the 16-year-old girl a pervert? Does it really matter that he’s Jewish? How valuable is a classroom when it comes to life lessons? This coming-of-age tale — based on a memoir by Lynn Barber and adapted for the screen by Nick Hornby…
Waiting For Jackson 2.0
When Andrew Watterson’s job, sustainability director for the City of Cleveland, was elevated to a cabinet-level post in September, I e-mailed Mayor Frank Jackson’s press office to arrange an interview with Watterson. Lots of people in Northeast Ohio care about sustainability issues, and lots of people, for better or worse, do not read the PD…
CD Review: Sean Lennon
Between the Twilight series, The Vampire’s Assistant, The Vampire Diaries and True Blood, immortal bloodsuckers are hotter than hell’s hinges right now. And the first rule in making a hot thing into a hotter thing is to cross-pollinate it with something that matches or exceeds the original thing’s already blistering heat potential. So naturally, writer/director…
Hail to the Thieves
TOP PICK Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment America) One of the year’s best videogames is also one of the PlayStation 3’s all-time greatest. Like Lara Croft with testicles, hero Nathan Drake is a treasure hunter who can’t stay away from trouble. Good thing he’s armed with a quick wit and lots of weapons.…
CD Review: Slayer
Now 28 years strong, Slayer haven’t sounded this good for more than a decade — since 1998’s underrated Diabolus in Musica. And if you’re among the considerable constituency that doesn’t dig Diabolus, you’ll likely find World Painted Blood their strongest set since 1990’s Seasons in the Abyss. The thrash gods’ 10th album is pure Slayer,…
SWEET!
If Cleveland truly is one of the fattest cities in the nation, who can blame us? At every turn, it seems, another specialty bakeshop bursts onto the scene, tempting even the most determined of do-gooders with gooey chocolate and sweet, sweet butter cream. Cupcakes, cookies, pies and cakes — pick your poison, and there is…
CD Review: Weezer
Weezer’s first two albums were startlingly consistent and craft-obsessed pop records that made the most of grunge’s loud/soft mixing skills and found a niche for themselves in a mostly humorless alternative-rock boom with pop-art videos and a reverence for songwriting. In short, they were Marshall Crenshaw with a sex addiction. But they’ve equalled those heights…
Bites: Bon Bon Baking
The newest player in the bakery boom is Courtney Bonning, who is in the process of opening Bonbon Bake Shop (6421 Detroit Ave., 216.375.8437, thebonbonbakeshop.com). Located behind Gypsy Beans, in the buzz-y Gordon Square Arts District, the small retail bakery will service both walk-in customers and special-order clients. Bonning attended the prestigious Culinary Institute of…
CD Review: Michael Jackson
There are just as many ways to exploit the dead as there are to honor them. This 12-song collection of Michael Jackson’s Motown-era hits remixed by mostly B-list producers falls somewhere in between. Some songs (like “I Wanna Be Where You Are,” reworked by Dallas Austin as a glowing ray of pop sunshine) thrive within…
WHERE’D YOU HEAR THAT?
Every year since 1976, Project Censored has spotlighted the 25 most significant news stories that were largely ignored or misrepresented by the mainstream press. The term “censored” doesn’t mean some government agent stood over newsrooms with a rubber stamp and forbid the publication of the news, or even that the information was completely out of…
Around Hear: Just Jetsam, Not Flotsam
Mike Hudson, who fronted Cleveland ’70s punk pioneers the Pagans, collects 32 years of fact and fiction in Jetsam, a new anthology of short stories, investigative journalism and liner notes. Hudson, a career journalist and editor of The Niagara Falls Reporter, says the pieces are about “punk rock, domestic life, rural buccolia, bear hunting, literature,…
THIS ONE GOES PAST 11
There’s a depth of sound that’s hard to put your finger on in Garth Knox’ 2008 recording D’Amore. It’s not about the number of players: He’s got just one collaborator, cellist Agnes Vesterman, and it’s pretty easy to sort out their parts. It’s more about resonance. He’s not playing with amplification or reverb, and it’s…
Enhanced Interrogation: TOM SHUTT
Tom Shutt is the Agnar Pytte Chair of Physics at Case Western Reserve University, and the principal investigator on a new, National Science Foundation-funded project to search for dark matter. We’ll let him explain. — Frank Lewis What is dark matter? There are two parts to the dark matter story. The first is why we…
Dappled Things
Some artists — maybe all of them — revisit the history of painting like composer/musicians improvising original works based on familiar themes. For seven decades, Cleveland’s Joseph O’Sickey has played the French modernist scale of colors and values — ranging from Bonnard’s fleshy subtleties to the inventions of Matisse — with incomparable aplomb. Though long…
Guarded
There are no best practices or guides for dealing with an athlete with a diagnosed mental illness. The Cavaliers have been patient with Delonte West. Every decision regarding their talented but troubled guard is made with caution because, although they dealt with West last year, the situation is an unfinished puzzle of doctors, coaches, front-office…
MONKEY BUSINESS
Jerome Lawrence (nee Schwartz) of Cleveland and Robert Edwin Lee of Elyria honed their considerable cut-and-paste playwriting skills working for Armed Forces Radio, grinding out World War II propaganda. Later, as they drifted into the theater, their works took on the aura of Norman Rockwell tableaux. Like the Saturday Evening Post master, who created apple-pie…
Arts District: A Look at the Economic Forecast for the Arts
Most of us read about the effects of the financial storm on the arts in gloomy headlines. Last Friday at the Beck Center, Tom Schorgl, president and CEO of the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture (CPAC), gave a more scientific look at how arts administrators think things are going. The information — compiled in…
Blues Explosion
When Jon Spencer and Matt Verta-Ray began writing their third Heavy Trash album, Midnight Soul Serenade, they had no intention of detailing the tragedies and triumphs of love. In fact, their intentions were quite different. “We were slowly writing and threw around some ideas,” says singer-guitarist Spencer. “After the second album, Going Way Out, we…
Diversity Index
This year’s 43rd annual Kent State Folk Festival takes on an international flavor during its opening night. It kicks off on Thursday, November 5, with a concert by Puerto Rican jibaro musician Edward Colón Zayas. The cuatro master, recent winner of a National Heritage Fellowship, will head up a trio of musicians at the Kent…
Local CD Reviews
Of Swine and Swill (Live Bait Recording Foundation) muderousvision.com Alternately noisy and melodic, Of Swine and Swill at times sounds like the soundtrack to an underground horror movie. With its odd chants and gurgling vocals, opener “Heaven and Earth Versus Time” sets the tone for a bizarre musical ride. Though “Blurred Mosaic” ventures into new-age…
