Great Lakes Announces Christmas Ale Release Date
So pretty . . . just so damn pretty. Alright Clevelanders, clear your schedule. The day you’ve been waiting for has arrived. Great Lakes has announced the release date for Christmas Ale. And you’re welcome. We know it will now be impossible to get back to work for the rest of the day. You’re just…
Letters We’d Like to Get
Eternal graditude to The Onion for this. Some of you write us letters, and we appreciate you. But there are others who don’t who we’d like to hear from. For example… *** Dear Scene: I recently made a purchase of a local Cleveland product, and while I support the city, its institutions and organizations, it…
This Just In: JDevil plays Peabody’s on Dec. 22
JDevil, the DJ alter ego of Korn singer Jonathan Davis, was originally scheduled to open for Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie on their “Twins of Evil Tour.” But his publicist has issued a statement saying, “It is with unfortunate regret that JDevil (Jonathan Davis of KORN) will no longer be able to join Rob Zombie…
Weekly Beef: The Begathon
Here’s an idea for the leftover Mike McIntyre bobblehead dolls WCPN will have at the end of its begathon: Offer them as premiums in The Plain Dealer’s upcoming campaign to save the paper from being downsized to three days a week. It’s all hands on deck for the marketing campaign, which reportedly will be launched…
Power Rankings
A weekly roundup of the top newsmakers in town. 1. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony: The legendary Cleveland rap group reunites for a 20th anniversary show, putting on a 90-minute concert after five hours of opening acts that sometimes left the stage early or were booed. But no member of Bone was arrested, so two good things happened.…
The Quality of Cleveland Life Report
Your guide to living in fabulous Cleveland. United Auto Workers union reaches agreement with ALCOA to avoid a strike at the aluminum giant’s Cleveland plant. Management credits ALCOA popping up as a punch line on last week’s “30 Rock” for the surprisingly upbeat workforce. Cuyahoga Arts & Culture finalizes decisions on grant applicants from major…
Ohio Is Racist, Says Harvard Study
Now that we’re (finally) in the end stretch of the presidential election, all different species of barstool theories are getting tossed around about what could possible influence the outcome. How will Obama’s debate belly-flop nudge the numbers? Can Romney escape the empty chair stagecraft? Will Paul Ryan’s chiseled abs turn off overweight voters? Among the…
19 Action News Would Like to Remind You Some Halloween Costumes Can Be Too Sexy
Outrage. Controversy. A must-see for parents. Tonight at 11. Some Halloween costumes might not be appropriate for kids. They’re too skimpy and slutty and sexy and OMGGGGG. Yup, it’s that time of year. 19 Action News could have saved themselves some trouble and just rerun the clip they used two years ago. 19 Action News|Cleveland,…
Side Dish: Halloween for Grownups
Assuming you’ve outgrown the trick-or-treating stage, it’s not too early to start making Halloween plans. Chef-owner Ruth Levine of Bistro 185 is offering a tempting option in her October 31 Witch’s Brew Dinner. The adults-only celebration features a five-course menu that that starts with “Deep Down Underground” soup — celery root, potatoes, and parsnips with…
Concert Review: Neil Young and Crazy Horse at the Wolstein Center
Joe Kleon It was appropriate that the roadies who set up the stage last night for the Neil Young and Crazy Horse concert at the Wolstein Center wore white trench coats that made them look like lab technicians. After all, the guys were assisting in the experiment that is Neil Young and Crazy Horse, a…
This Just In: Muse coming to the Q and Sarah Brightman plays E.J. Thomas Hall
Just last week, Brit rockers Muse released a new studio album; their North American tour in support of the disc will start in January. They come to Quicken Loans on February 28. Dead Sara opens the show and tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday. Singer-songwriter Sarah Brightman comes to EJ Thomas Hall…
Ohio Roads Filled with Uninsured Drivers
If you’ve ever been in a car crash — from minor fender bump to big-time collision — you know once the sirens fade from the air and everyone is okay, the real headache is insurance: who’s got it, who doesn’t. According to a new shakedown of available car crash data, Ohioans are more likely be…
Video: The Ohio State Marching Band Honors Classic Video Games
Ohio State not only beat Nebraska Saturday night, but The Best Damn Band in the Land’s halftime performance honored classic video games. Neato. Best halftime show ever? Best halftime show ever.
Pic of the Day: Ohio Democrats Go After Romney’s Michigan Fanhood
Via Buzzfeed, an ad Ohio Democrats ran in the OSU student newspaper. Yeah, that Romney guy likes That School Up North. Boooooo.
Side Dish: Still Cooking at the WSM Parade
Our leader, writer Marilou Susko Steady rain and dropping temperatures at noon weren’t enough to dampen spirits at Sunday’s West Side Market Parade…although they did manage to close down much of the street fair until later in the day, when the showers finally abated. In the spirit of gonzo journalism, we embedded ourselves deep into…
Rock Hall prepares to welcome nine millionth visitor
When the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum opens today at 10 a.m., it’ll be prepared to welcome its nine millionth visitor with a special prize package that includes a lifetime membership to the Rock Hall, a VIP tour of the Rock Hall’s vault where you can see some of the 25,000 artifacts…
Concert Review: Gamelan D’Drum at Severance Hall
The Indonesian sounds that flooded Severance Hall on Friday night started offstage, with the five members of the percussion group DʼDrum banging on ceng-cengs (hand cymbals), reyongs (pot gongs) and a doumbek (hand-held drum) as they struck up an exotic rhythm in the wings that built that built in volume and intensity as they marched…
Crazy Horse guitarist explains the deal with Neil Young
You never know what musical left turn Neil Young might take and earlier this year, the classic rocker got back together with Crazy Horse, the garage rock band with which he first started collaborating in 1969. First, the band released Americana, its first studio effort in almost a decade, and later this month, it’ll issue…
Concert Review: Taking Back Sunday at House of Blues
In the ten years since Taking Back Sunday put out their debut album Tell All Your Friends, you’d think fans would have forgotten how great it was. Clearly that wasn’t the case at last night’s sold out House of Blues show, the opening date on the TAYF10 Tour. Audience members were ready to sing along…
Side Dish: Like a Clambake, But Better
Bad for the lobster. Good for you. From fire stations to four-star restaurants, clambakes are ubiquitous this time of year. But for foodies seeking something more than the usual clams-corn-chicken lineup, Salmon Dave’s annual Maine Event — which turns the focus on fresh Maine lobster — always serves as a highly anticipated alternative. “This is…
Side Dish: A Savory Pop Up at On the Rise
Soup and sandwiches at On the Rise’s pop-up cafe If great bread is the key to a great sandwich — and it is — then it’s no surprise the new pop-up cafe at On the Rise bakery is serving some extremely savory treats. “Sandwiches are something I have always loved doing,” says chef Brian Evans,…
Man Accidentally Shoots Himself, Is a Man About It
We were all set to razz on this old man in the police blotters for accidentally shooting himself with a pistol while investigating what he thought was strange noise coming from his basement, but then… Well, just read on. Via Cleveland.com: BROOK PARK SELF-INFLICTED GUNSHOT, PAULDING BOULEVARD: An 82-year-old Brook Park man accidentally shot himself…
Mentor Guy Stiffs Computer Geeks for Tech Work, They Come Back With Bats
Not one of the offending techies, but you get the idea. You probably aren’t expecting a show of muscle from the guys you tap on the shoulder to fix your computer. The stat card of your average guy with tech know-how is such that a callow shitheal probably wouldn’t think twice about taking advantage of…
Concert Review and Slideshow: ZZ Top at Akron Civic Theatre
“Back in the Ak — it feels good,” said ZZ Top singer-guitarist Billy Gibbons at the start of last night’s sold-out show at the Akron Civic Theatre. “We’ve been coming around here for four decades — same three guys, same three chords.” Gibbons and bassist Dusty Hill even sported the same two beards, though they…
CD Review: The Vaccines
There’s nothing flashy about this British act that’s led by a guy who looks like he stepped out of a factory. The Smiths are the obvious point of reference here, and the band effectively evokes them throughout the 11 songs here. Producer Ethan Johns (Ryan Adams, Kings of Leon, Laura Marling) purposefully sought to make…
A New Beginning
Above the sounds and smells of Presti’s Bakery in Little Italy, artist Tara Seibel is making final preparations for the opening of her self-named gallery. The opening exhibit’s title, Back to the Earth, suggests the show’s content, which draws on the work of six artists to celebrate human encounters with nature. It can also be…
Soundcheck
Although they never achieved (or pursued, for that matter) commercial success, Lagwagon was a force to be reckoned with in the ’90s punk rock scene. The first band ever signed to Fat Mike’s Fat Wreck Chords label, Lagwagon has released seven studio albums and three EPs on the label over the course of 20 years.…
Cheap Eats
Meatloaf Dinner at Babushka’s Kitchen Comfort food gets a bad rap: As code for any sort of flavorless glop you can throw together on a plate, the term does a disservice to carefully prepared home cooking. Take the lineup at Babushka’s Kitchen, Dave and Nancy Abramowski’s labor of love. Now with three locations — the original in…
CD Review: Cher Lloyd
Not to be confused with that other Cher, Cher Lloyd is most famous as a contestant on the British version of The X-Factor. In fact, X-Factor creator Simon Cowell even signed her to his Syco Music Label, which released this, the singer’s debut, in the UK last year. That version has been slightly tweaked for…
Saucers Full
Greetings, earthlings. We are breaking our longstanding silence and utilizing this unorthodox means of communication to acknowledge a special event: The 60th anniversary of the Cleveland Ufology Project, a group devoted to solving the mysteries of flying saucers. Nonbelievers may find this unremarkable. But CUP is now the oldest organization of its kind in the…
Culinary Calendar
Wednesday October 10 Food Fight in Tremont Ever wish you could be a judge on Iron Chef? Fat chance of that. However, Tremont West Development Corporation is serving up the next best thing: a chance to judge food from four of the neighborhood’s top toques in tonight’s Steelyard Chef competition. “We wanted to put together…
Black and Right
Even in the midst of abundance, sometimes it’s the simple things that move us most. A sunrise in the desert. A sip of pure spring water. A piece of toast at the new Black Pig. Yes, I am raving about toast. But not just any ordinary slice of partially cremated white bread. Rather, the current…
A Date With Destiny
Based on a Jason Micallef script that created a stir in the film industry when it started circulating four years ago, Butter, which opens Friday, has the kind of subtle humor that’s likely to connect with the same audience that gravitated toward indie hits such as Little Miss Sunshine and Juno. The rather flimsy plot…
Rock ‘n’ Roll High School
Charlie (Logan Lerman) is your stereotypical nerd. He likes to read classic literary novels and doesn’t care much for sports. As he begins freshman year of high school, he’s worried the other kids won’t take kindly to his predilections. Turns out, he was right. Charlie comes off as such an introvert that no one even…
CD Review: Muse
Until the release of 2009’s Resistance, the English rock act Muse was much more popular in the UK than in the States. But Resistance delivered two commercial rock radio hits, and everything changed. Given that the stakes are now much higher, give these guys credit for not catering to the masses with the album, the…
Everything Zen
Singer-songwriter Stuart Davis is a modern-day Renaissance man. The guy does a bit of everything. An avowed Buddhist, he sings and plays guitar. He also paints. And he hosts Sex, God, and Rock ‘n’ Roll, a comedy show that airs on HDNet. It’s all the culmination of a career that has certainly been on one…
Bone Thugs Forever
Though the group has encountered a number of bumps along the way, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony has outlasted many of its hip-hop peers. In the course of a 20-year career, the group has won Grammys and countless other music awards, selling millions of albums. To mark its 20th anniversary, all five original members (Lazyie Bone, Krazyie Bone,…
Culture Jamming
TOP PICK Ultraísta Ultraísta (Temporary Residence) This supergroup of sorts features Nigel Godrich, the guy who’s produced the last few Radiohead albums, and Joey Warnoker, the drummer who’s worked with Beck and R.E.M. But the band really belongs to a newcomer Laura Bettinson, a former student at Goldsmiths College in London. The singer effectively channels…
Beautiful Noise
Anyone who still thinks of Stewart Copeland as the drummer for the Police has a lot of catching up to do. The last time Copeland was in Cleveland, in October 1989, he was premiering his opera Holy Blood and Crescent Moon, commissioned by David Bamberger and performed by the Cleveland Opera. Copeland is returning this…
Savage Love
Last week, I appeared at a “Savage Love Live” event at Radford University in Radford, Virginia. Questions are submitted on index cards at SLL events, which allows questioners to remain anonymous and forces them to be succinct. The crowd at Radford was large and inquisitive. The students submitted more questions than I could possibly hope…
Look Back in Anger
“What are you angry about?” This is a question that Larry Kramer, original AIDS activist and playwright, often asks — even now, in his 77th year. And if you’re not angry about AIDS, maybe you will be after you see Kramer’s The Normal Heart at Ensemble Theatre. In many ways, this is an awkward play.…
