UPDATE: Beer-Based Donut Brewnuts Lands a Permanent Home
Two years ago Shelley Fasulko and John Pippin introduced Clevelanders to Brewnuts and the response has been nothing short of remarkable. How could it not have been? These are local beer-flavored donuts we’re talking about after all. “There was this perfect storm going on with the beer boom that was happening in Cleveland and all…
VICE Premieres Documentary on Imperial Avenue Murders
Six years have passed since the discovery of Anthony Sowell’s crimes led to aftershocks of pain and tragedy in Cleveland’s Mt. Pleasant neighborhood. VICE reporter Wilbert Cooper — a Strongsville native — returned to Cleveland to craft an hourlong documentary on the crimes and what has happened since. The film premiered today on VICE. Watch…
Cleveland’s Kilted Bros Keeps Northeast Ohio Looking Fine and Feeling Comfortable
The 5th Street Arcades is home to many unique shops, but Kilted Bros literally has people dropping their pants in excitement. Offering a variety of kilts, kilt accessories, and the motto “grab life by the balls,” head bros Jefferson Lipson and Nick Vannello have set up KiltedBros.com and a retail spot at the 5th Street…
A Look at the Week of Special Events Planned for Rock Hall’s Annual Music Masters Series
Now in its 20th year, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s annual Music Masters Series gives fans an incredibly in-depth look at a Rock Hall inductee. The week-long event doesn’t have a parallel — it includes a series of lectures, concerts and films, culminating in a gala concert on Nov. 7 at…
Scene’s Eastern Conference Preview (AKA: Here Come Your Cavs)
We’re bullish on the Cavaliers and not just because we live here. They return a team built around several superstars to which they added solid depth. Meanwhile the competition in the Eastern Conference has increased. But it’s mostly in the middle class. Any of 12 teams could reasonably make the playoffs and most could even…
‘Chicks With Balls’ Comes to Tri-C
Judy Takács’ ongoing series of oil paintings, Chicks with Balls, comes to Gallery East on Tri-C’s Eastern Campus this Thursday, Oct. 29. The series currently includes 39 life-size oil portraits depicting local women (many of whom are artists and/or arts professionals) topless, holding various round balls in front of their breasts. The work presents these…
Local Singer-Songwriter Ryan Humbert Announces Dates of Annual Holiday Concert
Now in its seventh year, the annual Ryan Humbert Holiday Extravaganza: Country Christmas has become a holiday tradition. The concert, set to take place on Dec. 20 and 21 at the Akron Civic Theatre will feature singer-songwriter Ryan Humbert and singer Emily Bates with a few of their closest musical friends. Locals Hillbilly IDOL will…
Brooklyn Law Director Busted on Drug Abuse Charges
Brooklyn Law Director Scott Claussen was among three men arrested last night amid an undercover narcotics investigation conducted by the Cleveland Police Department’s Narcotics Unit and the U.S. Postal Service, according to Fox 8. Claussen’s $20,000 bond was covered this morning. Notably, Claussen is also running for mayor in Brooklyn. Bryan Byrne, 40, the son…
NEOMG vs. Kevin Kelley: Combatants Trade Blows over CPP Allegations
On Wednesday afternoon, Cleveland City Council will convene for a special Public Utilities committee meeting to “get to the bottom of” all this Cleveland Public Power brouhaha you’ve been reading about. If you haven’t, here’s the abstract: Former CPP director Paul Bender, who now runs a “highly respected” consulting firm with expertise in utility billing…
Writer-Director Adriana Trigiani to Appear at Local Screening of her New Film ‘Big Stone Gap’
Described as “a heartwarming tale of family secrets and self-discovery in a small coal-mining town during the late 1970s,” writer and director Adriana Trigiani’s new film Big Stone Gap was shot entirely on location in the real Big Stone Gap located in the Appalachian Mountains. The cast features Ashley Judd, Patrick Wilson, Whoopi Goldberg, John…
A Barcelona Special and Four Other Classical Music Events to Check Out This Week
You’d normally have to travel to Barcelona to hear Cuarteto Casals, the string quartet named after the famous Catalan cellist Pablo Casals. This week, you’ll only need to make your way to Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights to catch this excellent ensemble on the Cleveland Chamber Music Society series. On Tuesday, October 27 at 7:30…
The Scene Podcast With Steph Trivison of These Knees
Steph Trivison from These Knees stopped by to talk with host Craig Lyndall about her band’s new EP The Night Fires as well as their CD release show on November 21st at the Grog Shop. We talked about the local music scene, how cool it is to play at the Grog Shop, trying to make…
Burntwood Tavern Plants Flag in Crocker Park
Burntwood Tavern will soon grace the Crocker Park Shopping Center with its newest location. The November 2 grand opening will mark the seventh Burntwood Tavern in Northeast Ohio and the ninth restaurant overall for the company, Chef Art Pour Restaurant Group, which also owns M Italian in Chagrin Falls and Pacos Tacos/Tequila in Solon. Burntwood Tavern is…
Dysfunction, Secrets and Desperation Inside the Walls in Berea — The A to Z Podcast With Andre Knott and Zac Jackson
Andre Knott and Zac Jackson cover a lot more ground than just the Browns’ latest lost at the hands of the St. Louis Rams. They talk about general organizational dysfunction from firing people who can tell your secrets in the middle of the season to general managers and coaches trying to save their jobs. Andre…
Miami Nights to Bring the ‘Sizzle of South Beach’ to Westlake
Dr. Joseph Girgis, a medical doctor, aims to bring a taste of Miami Beach – bottle service and VIP area and all – to Westlake when he opens Miami Nights Grill, Bar & Lounge on Friday, November 6. Described as a hybrid restaurant and nightclub, Miami Nights will transition from a steak-heavy contemporary American eatery…
“Tearing Down the City to Save It?” Authors Respond
As authors of the academic journal article recently covered by Sam Allard in Scene Magazine, we first want to thank Mr. Allard and the many others who have contacted us who are interested in our research on Cleveland’s demolitions of vacant, foreclosed homes. Academic work does not always get this kind of exposure and we…
Cleveland Browns Fans Put Up Quarterback Graveyard on Front Lawn for Halloween
We’ve seen our fair share of scary Halloween decorations this fall, but none perhaps as scary as this graveyard of Cleveland Browns quarterbacks. A North Ridgeville couple put up the display earlier this season depicting every Cleveland QB since 1999, WOIO reports. “My wife proposes the idea: what about a quarterback graveyard?” homeowner Tony Timoteo told WOIO.…
The Fully Expected Yet Oddly Reassuring Return of Tanner Fischbach
“I think the voters of Cuyahoga County are ready,” Tanner Fischbach tells me over lunch at the Corner Alley on East Fourth. “I think I might be the light at the end of the tunnel.” The last time Fischbach and I spoke, his campaign for Cuyahoga County Executive had come to an abrupt halt. His…
BeMyDD to Offer Free Rides to Drunk Clevelanders Next Month
Be My Designated Driver, a national company that promises to get drunk customers and their cars home safely, will offer Clevelanders the chance to try out their services next month — for free. As part of a 24-city, 12-month tour, BeMyDD will swoop into town on Wednesday, Nov. 21 to give locals, as well as…
Check Out the ‘Brownscast’ Interview with Jim Brown
If you’re not listening to the Browns’ new podcast — the Brownscast — then you’re missing out. By a long shot, it’s more enlightening than even watching the Browns on Sundays. Max Linsky, of longform.org renown, has interviewed Joe Thomas, Andrew Hawkins and equipment manager Brad Melland thus far. This week, he adds Jim Brown to…
No, Donald Trump Didn’t Convince Ford to Move Production from Mexico to Ohio
View image | gettyimages.com Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump is claiming credit for a decision by Ford Motors to move a plant in Mexico to the U.S. On Sunday, he issued a tweet saying as much: Word is that Ford Motor, because of my constant badgering at packed events, is going to cancel their deal to…
Scene’s NBA Western Conference Preview
For all the talk about the strength of the Western Conference, there’s been remarkably little change the last few years. We’ll take a look at how it stacks up, and return tomorrow with the Eastern Conference. When you break it down, we’ve been talking about the same six teams the last four years: San Antonio,…
The Devil Wears Prada Delivers Flawless Performance at the Agora
Last night, the Devil Wears Prada, playing as part of a multi-band bill at the Agora, stole the night in the technical and sound category while co-headliners Motionless In White took home the crown for most interesting performance. You can see a slideshow of photos from the concert here. Motionless In White, the band to…
Singer-Songwriter Colin Hay Takes a DIY Approach on His Latest Album
A garrulous guy who retains a Scottish accent though he’s lived in Los Angeles for the past 25 years, singer-songwriter Colin Hay clams up a bit when we start to prod him about Men at Work, the Australian pop group that became a global sensation (and introduced the world to the Aussie delicacy known as…
Columbus Bridge Covered in Thousands of Spiders
In today’s news that arachnophobe’s don’t want to read, our capital’s Main Street bridge is infested with creepy crawly spiders. An Ohio State University professor and insect connoisseur estimates there are between 5,000 to 10,000 spiders calling the bridge’s hand and guardrails home, via The Columbus Dispatch. What kind of spiders, you ask? It’s reported that…
10 Concerts to Catch This Weekend
FRIDAY, OCT. 23 Alejandro Escovedo and the Sensitive Boys Veteran Austin-based singer-guitarist Alejandro Escovedo has persevered through three decades of rough-and-tumble rock ‘n’ roll and lived to make an album about it. He’s seen his ballyhooed punk/garage bands the Nuns, Rank and File, and the True Believers come and go. He’s also eluded death after…
Browns + Cavs = This Uni
Bleacher Report took NBA unis and put them on NFL unis. Neat-o indeed. Be sure to browse through the whole batch of cities all mashed up — Green Bay’s is great, as is Oakland. The Cavs version? Meh. But maybe that’s just our reaction every time we see Johnny. (Artwork by Brian Konnick and Ishaan…
Pittsburgh Beats Cleveland at Biking as Well as Football
The city of Pittsburgh has about 70 miles of bike lanes. Right now, two of these miles are protected lanes where bikes are separated from traffic with a barrier like a concrete curb, but that’s likely to grow. “The mayor (Bill Peduto) has said he wants to have 5 miles of protected bike lanes,” says…
First Malt House Comes to Cleveland
It’s no secret that in recent years northeast Ohio has become a destination for imbibers with new breweries, wineries, meaderies, and even a few cider houses cropping up each month, many of which tout their products as “Cleveland made.” But since Prohibition, the Forest City hasn’t offered local beverage producers a single malt house from which…
Local Black Women’s PAC Has Changed its Mind on “Redneck Mom” Julie Love
Wednesday, the Cleveland Heights-based Black Women’s Political Action Committee sent an email to anti-Sharia Law city council candidate Julie Love, she of the blog “Redneck Mom in the Hood.” The PAC said that, despite previously endorsing her candidacy, they’d read some of Love’s blog posts and had decided to withdraw. “Please refrain from using this…
CDC Team to Visit Ohio to Study Fentanyl-Related Deaths
The opiate hellstorm that’s rained down on Ohio has only gotten worse, not better, in recent years. Overdose deaths continue to spike, morbid records continue to be set, and new wrinkles and complexities are constantly being added to an already complex mix. Which is why a six-person CDC team will arrive in Ohio Monday and…
The Wonder Years and Motion City Soundtrack Double Bill Doesn’t Disappoint
Last night, the Wonder Years, Motion City Soundtrack, State Champs and You Blew It! played to an absolutely packed house at the Agora. Headliners the Wonder Years came out to an absolutely electric crowd. The band kicked off the show with “Brothers &” and “Cardinals,” the first and second tracks off No Closer to Heaven,…
A Conversation With Composer Merima Ključo on ‘The Sarajevo Haggadah’
by Mike Telin The Cleveland Museum of Art’s Performing Arts Series continues on Wednesday, October 28 at 7:30 with Merima Ključo’s “The Sarajevo Haggadah: Music of the Book,” a multimedia work for accordion, piano and video tracing the story of a precious Jewish prayer book’s journey from medieval Spain to 20th-century Bosnia — where it…
Rapper Big K.R.I.T. Takes the Road Less Traveled To Find Success
The past year has been one of tremendous artistic growth for Meridian, Miss. rapper Big K.R.I.T. (an acronym that stands for King Remembered In Time). The theatrical trailer for the hit movie Sicario featured one of his songs and the rapper embarked on an Australian tour. After years of being in complete control of his…
Cinematheque to Pay Tribute to French Cult Director Jean Rollin
Prior to his death in 2010, French director Jean Rollin churned out more than 50 movies during the course of a six-decade career. A couple of years ago, Kino Lorber reissued several of his best-known movies to much fanfare. On Oct. 29 and 30, the Cleveland Institute of Cinematheque will screen four of them as…
Ohio Senate Votes to Defund Planned Parenthood, Bill’s Sponsor Says It’s “Not About Women’s Healthcare”
After voting on a bill that would directly affect women’s health care in the state of Ohio, Ohio Senate president and the bill’s sponsor Keith Faber said, “This bill is not about women’s health care.” What he meant to say was: “My reason for bringing this bill to a vote is not about women’s health care.”…
Prime Gateway Spot Claimed by BW3
One of the most conspicuous – and conspicuously vacant – spots on Prospect Avenue has just been spoken for. The rambling 25,000-square-foot space at 724 Prospect Avenue, which has housed everything from Diamondback Brewery and Phil the Fire to R.J. Boland’s, where every booth had its very own television, will become a Buffalo Wild Wings.…
Project Runway Junior to Feature Cleveland Native in Series Premiere
So, teenagers have officially broken into the reality-TV-show market. Let’s be optimistic and say it’s a sign that we’re treating teens more like adults, giving them agency and responsibility rather than corrupting them with petty drama at the youngest age possible. The latest teen-competition series (think MasterChef Junior) will feature budding fashionistas, and yes, Tim…
Mayfield Heights Woman Fights to Keep Her Piggy Pets
Whether it’s a cat or a 75-pound micro pig, we all love our pets like children. And for one Mayfield Heights woman, loving does not mean letting go. According to Fox 8, Crystal Rosa has owned micro pigs, also know as “teacup” pigs, for over five years, walking them on leashes in public and watching…
Review: Apollo’s Fire, Splendor of Venice
by Daniel Hathaway Venice, always on the verge of sinking into the Adriatic, rose well above sea level on Friday evening at Fairmount Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights as Apollo’s Fire began its 24th season with “Splendor of Venice: An Orchestral Extravaganza.” Following a parade by the musicians up the center aisle heralded by natural…
Arts Renaissance Tremont Preview: A Conversation With Composer David Conte
by Mike Telin On Sunday, October 25 at 3:00 pm, Arts Renaissance Tremont will continue its 25th anniversary season at Pilgrim Congregational Church in Tremont. The concert will feature clarinetist Franklin Cohen, violist Kirsten Docter, cellist Bronwyn Banerdt, and pianists Sergei Babayan and Rafael Skorka, in performances of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Trio in B-flat, Op.…
‘Let’s Do a Thing’ Series Features Experiment Performance and Video-Based Art at Canopy Collective This Saturday
Let’s Do a Thing is a quarterly, curated series designed as a platform to showcase new and in-progress work by local and regional artists specializing in experimental performance and video-based art. This Saturday, Oct. 24, Canopy Collective hosts the second installment of this themed series. “I am excited that the last event was very successful…
POLL: Which Cavs Uniform (Including Three New Ones) Do You Like Best?
Now that Tristan Thompson’s contract is squared away (5 years, $82 million) and the preseason has wrapped up without major incident, Cavs fans can focus on the important issues. You know, things like uniforms. Dan Gilbert and co. unveiled three new alternate looks last night at the Wine & Gold United Meeting. They’re pictured above:…
Restaurant Recruits Helps Area Hospitality Workers Move from Good Jobs to Great Jobs
Bridgette Trock was miserable at her restaurant job working as a bar manager for a local chain of bar and grills, where as an hourly employee she busted her hump for tips. When she wasn’t working hard, she was working even harder to find a new career path. “It was exhausting,” she says. “I had…
Pumpkin Carving Competition Set for Saturday at ABC the Tavern Uptown
In celebration of Halloween, the Cleveland chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) hosts GUTS, a family-friendly pumpkin carving competition to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. GUTS takes place at ABC the Tavern Uptown (next to MOCA Cleveland) from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 24. GUTS was created by CRAFTED, a marketing…
Cleveland Kindness Crusade Continues (With a Little Something Extra)
Earlier this month we wrote about Clevelander Karen Mehollin who helped restore our faith in humanity with the simple gesture of returning a lost debit card to its rightful owner after she found it on the ground at a music festival in Austin, Texas. This week, we learned the kindness crusade continues when a misplaced wallet…
Case Western Reserve to Award Honorary Degree to Singer-Songwriter Smokey Robinson
Case Western Reserve University has just announced it will award an honorary degree to singer-songwriter William “Smokey” Robinson, the subject of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 20th Annual Music Masters Series. The school will present the award to Robinson at the tribute concert that takes place at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7,…
Ohio Statehouse Goes to Mat for Wright Brothers’ Legacy
Statehouse leaders in Ohio — the birthplace of aviation, according to our license plates — are mounting a defense against Connecticut lawmakers who insist that it was one of their own who took the historical “first flight.” It’s the latest hook in a fight that’s been going on for decades. A 2013 Connecticut law —…
Plain Dealer Scaling Back Books Coverage, Local Freelancers Mourn
On Tuesday, one longtime contributor to the Plain Dealer’s books section published a post on his personal blog lamenting the fact that — according to him — the local paper would no longer be paying freelance contributors. “Instead,” Daniel Dyer wrote, “to save a little money, they were going to publish reviews taken from their wire…
Singer-songwriter Kinky Friedman Takes Contemporary Culture to Task on his New Album
Veteran singer-songwriter Kinky Friedman has done it all. Over the course of a career that stretches back to the ’60s when he played with the surf spoof act King Arthur & the Charlottes — a group known for its one and only single, “Schwinn 24/Beach Party Boo Boo”) — Friedman has toured with Dylan’s Rolling…
Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio and Anthony Lima of 92.3 the Fan – The A to Z Podcast With Andre Knott and Zac Jackson
Andre Knott and Zac Jackson have two guests for today’s episode. Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio is an attorney-turned-sports media member. He discusses his history and the sports media landscape in general. Anthony Lima joins the show as well to discuss the Cleveland sports media market. Topic rundown below. Subscribe to the A to…
Detroit-Based Watchmaker Shinola Plants Retail Flag in Cleveland
The Detroit-based purveyor Shinola has inked a deal to bring its luxury goods to Cleveland as part of the Van Aken District development project in Shaker Heights. Cleveland.com reports the accessory retailer will anchor a 20,000-square-foot food hall that will house approximately 15 pop-up vendors. “The food hall will function as the social centerpiece of a…
Cleveland Arts Prize Benefit Slated for Oct. 22
The Cleveland Arts Prize is the oldest award of its kind in the United States. For more than 45 years, the organization has recognized local individual artists and arts advocates with special awards. Currently the Cleveland Arts Prize awards $10,000 to two emerging artists, two mid-career artists and one lifetime achievement award (as well as…
Traditional and Contemporary Artistic Worlds Collide in New CSU Exhibitions
Opening this week, the two latest exhibitions at the Galleries at Cleveland State University bridge East and West — and traditional and contemporary — through thoughtful, in-depth explorations of Chinese and Asian art. A Tradition Re-Interpreted: New Work by Chinese Artists and A Spirit Resonates: Chinese Art from the Degenfelder Collection open with a public…
A Decade Ago, Bubble Tea Was a Rarity Around Cleveland. That’s Hardly the Case Now
Fifteen years ago, I stumbled into an odd little shop called Turbo Four that purported to sell performance car parts to young Asian students looking to soup up their Subarus. In truth, the shop was merely a front for the owners’ sideline gig: making and selling bubble tea. To this day, I can still recall…
Bill Murray’s Zany Rock the Kasbah Lacks Humor, Heart
I invited a friend to the press screening of Rock the Kasbah, the new Bill Murray agent-in-a-strange-land comedy directed by Barry Levinson, opening Friday at theaters everywhere. And after it had finished, he advised me (my friend did) that instead of writing a traditional review, I ought to type the word “poop” over and over…
Band of the Week: Patrick Sweany
Meet the Band: Patrick Sweany (guitar, vocals) Hometown Hero: Sweany grew up in Massillon. His dad was a finger-style guitar player, and he got into the music through his record collection. “I was really, really into country blues and traditional blues stuff,” he says. Sweany got to know the late, great Robert Lockwood Jr., a…
Arthur Miller’s Classic Comes to Life in This Magnificent Cleveland Play House Production
It’s often easy for us, living in the second decade of the 21st century, to look back on the Salem witch trials with benign condescension. How ignorant and gullible those people were back then. I mean … witches?! But before we sprain our rotator cuff patting ourselves on the back, we should recognize that even…
Spotlight: Labyrinth of Lies
Recovering from trauma takes time. Still in a state of denial, the Germany of the 1950s was a troubled place as members of a generation not yet born during the Holocaust began to take those responsible for it to task. First-time director Giulio Ricciarelli captures that tension in his period piece Labyrinth of Lies. The…
A Better Biking Future … Tomorrow
Casandra Vasu says that she’s been spit on, called a bitch and the c-word, and nearly flattened by cars. She’s had plastic bottles and water thrown in her face. All for simply daring to ride her bike in the street. Vasu, who commutes by bicycle from her home in Detroit Shoreway to her job at…
Trans-siberian Orchestra to Bring Rock Opera ‘The Ghosts of Christmas Eve’ Presented by Hallmark Channel Live Across North America in 2015
QUICKEN LOANS ARENA-DECEMBER 30- 3:30pm & 8:00pm Cleveland, OH – October 28, 2015 – Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) has announced the dates of its 2015 Winter Tour, once again featuring one of the group’s beloved stories performed in its own renowned audio visual manner. This year’s enchanted Yuletide tale is “The Ghosts of Christmas Eve,” which…
The Road to The Rock Hall Begins With the Rock Off
Live Nation is proud to announce the 20th Annual Tri-C® High School Rock Off presented by WJW FOX 8, Scene Magazine and 96.5 KISS FM returns to the Legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame + Museum. Participating sponsors include, School of Rock, Jim Stewart Recording, 99X, Cleveland Pickle and Guitar Center. 2016 Info Press…
