A comprehensive listing of Halloween events, happenings, and activities.
Bloodview Haunted House, 6477 Mill Rd., Broadview Heights, 440-526-9148, www.bloodview.com The Broadview Heights Lions Club and the Legion of Terror are celebrating the 25th anniversary of Bloodview Haunted House, which scares you for a good cause. Bloodview is open September 23-24, September 30-October 1, October 7-9, October 13-16, October 20-23, and October 26-31. Hours are…
Money Where Your Mouth Is
Band: Dave’s Planet (www.davesplanetlive.com) Hometown: Cleveland and Lake County Sounds Like: “Dave’s Planet draws it’s original musical flavors from 3 Doors Down and Pearl Jam, Green Day and Godsmack. It’s medium to heavy rock with hardcore melody.” Fun Fact: “One of the stuffed characters that hangs from the drum kit (Animal) actually went to Iraq…
Horrorpops
On their 2004 debut, Hell Yeah!, the Horrorpops weren’t exactly Fugazi. The album was like No Doubt’s early, embarrassing ska minstrel shows, only the ‘Pops promulgated a schmaltzy shockabilly act — complete with colored mohawks, skull tattoos, and leather pants, a pose that afflicts many Rancidites who still think such Hot Topic gear is “street…
Another Look at a Legend
Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection (Universal Studios) Alfred Hitchcock may be the best pop filmmaker in our history, and this gorgeous 14-film set is certainly worthy of the master. Licensing issues kept it from being as “definitive” as the box claims — missing, most notably, are Hitchcock’s classic Cary Grant collaborations To Catch a Thief,…
You Got Served
All the publicity for Waiting . . . has focused on the scene in which an annoying customer at the fictional chain restaurant ShenaniganZ sends her food back to the kitchen, where it meets with all sorts of nasty modifications, courtesy of some dandruff, pubic hair, and mucus. The teaser posters depicted similarly defaced meals,…
Paul’s Boutique
They’re here to see Paul Wall smile, to catch a glimpse of what $25,000 in dental jewels looks like. There’s close to 300 people lined up at a strip mall in Elyria — pregnant ladies, 10-year-olds, burly dudes in skullcaps — all waiting to meet the Houston rapper whose grin glimmers like a disco ball.…
Vanity Crash
Vanity Crash may be the most self-assured band in Cleveland. Of course, a healthy amount of confidence is required when smothering oneself in feather boas, fishnets, and form-fitting leopard-print tops. But Vanity Crash’s sound is just as cocksure as its haughty come-ons and Velvet Goldmine stage garb. Frontman Dan Folino sings in a commanding yet…
Roll Play
Last year’s Katamari Damacy was so quirky, it should have been subtitled “Marketed to Stoners.” Its star, a little green prince, was forced to roll a giant gravity ball to atone for the sins of his father, the King of the Cosmos, who had gotten drunk one day and knocked all the stars out of…
Goy Gevalt
Director Curtis Hanson, a journeyman only recently bestowed with the title of Great Director, has already made his horror movie (1973’s The Arousers), his kiddie action comedy (1980’s The Little Dragons), his teen sex romp (1983’s Losin’ It ), his handful of Hitchcock riffs (1987’s The Bedroom Window, 1990’s Bad Influence, and 1992’s The Hand…
The Hate Will Go On
In the wake of the biggest onstage meltdown in recent memory, Akron metal band Hatecore Inc. has vowed to carry on with singer James Begert. “That was a big break for us, at a big show,” says guitarist Kris Dann of the band’s recent opening slot for Anthrax at the Agora two Saturdays ago. “And…
Don Austin
With Les Theatres du Grand Guignol, hardcore phenom Don Austin reluctantly makes just a couple concessions to the digital age, making its non-vinyl debut by collecting its three seven-inch EPs onto one CD. “We believe in records, and that’s how we’d like to release our songs, but at a certain point, you want to get…
Our top DVD picks for the week of October 4.
The Amityville Horror: Special Edition (Columbia/Tristar) Beyond the Gates of Splendor (Fox) The Black Keys Live (Fat Possum) Christmas With SCTV (Sony Music) Count Duckula: The Complete First Season (Koch Vision) Cream: Royal Albert Hall (Warner Strategic Marketing) Drawn Together Uncensored: Season One (Paramount) The Fly and The Fly II: Collector’s Edition (Fox) The Fog:…
Say Cheese
Ah, Wallace and Gromit. Who doesn’t get a little lift at the sound of those names? Who doesn’t feel the edges of her mouth begin to tickle toward a smile, her heart grow warmer with images of the love between a (plasticine) man and his (plasticine) dog? Perhaps you’re not among the considerable fan base…
Nashville Pussy
Your biggest concern after listening to Nashville Pussy’s latest, Get Some, is whether your shower afterward ought to be hot or cold. Kicking up a miasma of filthy noise and musky lust, Nashville Pussy’s fourth disc veers precisely zero degrees from its headlong rush into the depths of Dixie-fried porn punk. Still, the disc packs…
Need Tickets?
Finally. Some action. For the past hour, the scalpers have watched Tribe fans powerwalk past them down Ontario Street. All they want is a quick gander at their goods — I’ve got a great pair! What do ya need? — but no one’s interested. Not tonight. Now, suddenly, the pack is slowing down. They must…
Something Missing
In 2001, Jonathan Safran Foer made an astounding literary debut. “A Very Rigid Search,” published by The New Yorker, was his hilarious, heartbreaking account of an attempt by a young American man (named, cheekily, Jonathan Safran Foer) to find a Ukrainian woman who had saved his grandfather from the Nazis. Soon after, Foer published his…
Busta Rhymes
This might be the longest Busta Rhymes has stayed quiet since he took his raga-inspired rasp solo almost a decade ago. His dreadlocks and manic rhymes have made him hip-hop’s second-most-recognizable icon; only Snoop is more readily identified. Yet since departing J Records unhappily after 2002’s It Ain’t Safe No More and signing with Dr.…
Blocker’s Gambit
The large man in the blue Hawaiian shirt scowls over the few stranded pieces that remain on the chessboard in front of him. He wants desperately to beat the pro, but he’s not faring well. Neither are the dozens of other patzers seated with him, up and down the rows of card tables under a…
The Opposite of Suck
About once a year — twice, if we’re lucky — a first-time director shows up with something original, electrifying, and humane, a film that shows us a new way to see, that presents complex and memorable people in whom we recognize ourselves. Last year, it was Joshua Marston and Maria Full of Grace. This year,…
KMFDM
There’s something to be said for a band that outlasts cyclical trends and even the label it helped put on the map. Take KMFDM, one of the mainstays of the legendary industrial-rock WaxTrax! Records. The label has disintegrated, but like a well-kept automobile, Sascha Konietzko and company have kept on trucking, with the help of…
Penne For Your Thoughts
Penne for Your ThoughtsFumes in the kitchen: In regard to “Roma on the Cheap” [September 21], I have never heard of referring to someone in writing as a “plump, maternal” woman. How insulting, not to mention very unprofessional. I ate there four of the past seven days, and everyone mentioned how hurtful that description was…
Brain Drain
There’s an Italian liqueur called grappa, a clear, brandy-like drink so powerful that, when you get the real homemade stuff, it almost seems to vaporize on your tongue. This is not an aperitif for those who lap up Baileys and cream. The plays by Wallace Shawn are the theatrical equivalent of grappa, with scripts that…
Shemekia Copeland
Shemekia Copeland is a woman on the verge of becoming the Next Big Thing. Not yet out of her twenties, she’s just turned out a landmark piece of work, the recently released The Soul Truth. On her fourth try, this daughter of the late Texas blues icon Johnny Clyde Copeland adds to an already highly…
School Daze
It doesn’t take a scholar to understand that the International Preparatory School is utterly failing its students. Cleveland’s largest charter school owns a striking history of neglecting kids while simultaneously torching millions in tax dollars [“Dream Killer,” July 27]. But TIPS has found a staunch defender in Jamie Callender — the former Republican state rep…
Like‘s Such a Strong Word
In the grand scheme of things, how important is the heartfelt attachment of one person to another? Well, as Shakespeare once wrote, “Love, life’s sweetest reward/Let it flow, it floats back to you.” No, on second thought, maybe that was from the Love Boat theme song. But no matter. There’s little doubt that love makes…
Cat Power
Cat Power’s Chan Marshall is an infamously fickle performer. Hiding in plain sight onstage, her long, dark hair hanging over her face, she often seems to be attempting to disappear a bit more with every note she sings. The instinct is understandable, even if it does frequently make the experience of watching Marshall perform infuriating:…
An Apple a Day
CD — Extraordinary Machine: Fiona Apple’s way-overdue third album finally sees the light of day. And while we prefer the busier bootleg version that’s been floating around all summer, this is still quite — yes — extraordinary. Moody girls, unite; your queen has returned. CD — Goo — Deluxe Edition: The two-disc version of Sonic…
Capsule reviews of current area theater presentations.
Amadeus — If your mortal enemy were in the same profession as you, chances are you’d wish him every failure possible, so that you could wallow in all the attendant misery. But Amadeus author Peter Shaffer might advise that you be careful what you wish for. Indeed, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a giant thorn in…
God Forbid
Fans often tout God Forbid as a leading new-generation American metal band, one of the few young domestic outfits that can go shred-to-shred with overseas acts like its current tourmate, Meshuggah. But the New Jersey group’s lyrics make it an unlikely catalyst for patriotic rallies. God Forbid has delivered lacerating critiques of the government’s negligent…
Fight Club
Renard Safo thinks of himself as a big brother to the amateur boxers he’s trained over the last 16 years. Monday though Friday each week, he makes sure they lift weights, load up on carbs, and focus on their after-school sparring matches. “They’re good listeners, they believe in me, and they train hard,” says Safo,…
Capsule reviews of current area art exhibitions.
Beautiful Dreamer — Romanticism is alive and well in the contemporary art featured in this huge exhibition. Filled with the sensual, mysterious, and playful — along with plenty of artsy mumbo-jumbo — Beautiful Dreamer demonstrates that intellectual trends haven’t quashed imagination and emotion. Jonathan Feldschuh may be the biggest daydreamer of the bunch. His immense…
Blackest of the Black Tour
Glenn Danzig intended 2004 to be a celebration of his nearly 30 years of dark art. Then the punk icon’s plans (and Circle of Snakes album) crashed and burned, and the burly frontman put the smack down, firing his handlers and management, replacing them with a team that could get his touted farewell tour off…
This Week’s Day-By-Day Picks
Thursday, October 6 We’re pretty sure that no other film released lately takes as sharp a turn as Tropical Malady does at its midway point. The Thai production starts out as a love story about a soldier and a country boy. Halfway through, it turns into a meditative jungle fable, in which the soldier faces…
Simple Life
No matter how high we tilt our noses in public, you can bet that every foodie keeps at least a few plebeian proclivities stashed away in the pantry. Maybe it’s the Frosted Flakes eaten over the sink by moonlight; maybe it’s the Kraft Mac & Cheese hidden behind the tubs of organic quinoa. Or maybe…
Sage Francis
Shows like this don’t happen every week. Sage Francis reunites with the equally sage Sole, his former labelmate at indie-rap citadel Anticon. The two giants are at the top of the alt-hip-hop game. It’s like having Interpol and the Bravery on the same bill. Like Slayer and Ride the Lightning-era Metallica. Like Tori Amos and…
Funny Money
Vince Vaughn has had an excellent year. His last two movies — Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Wedding Crashers — grossed $185 million and $205 million, respectively, and rank among the few rays of light to shine on Hollywood this dark summer. So what’s he going to do now? “I’m taking four comics on the…
Network Feed
Defeat wasn’t such a bitter pill to swallow for Michael Symon, chef-owner of Lolita and Lola, thanks to the support of nearly 100 rabid fans who gathered at the Southside in Tremont to watch Symon’s Sunday debut on the Food Network’s Iron Chef America. Team Symon fell to Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, with a final…
Franz Ferdinand
The headline on the Franz Ferdinand feature in the July 30 NME reads: “Our New Album? It’s Like Nothing You’ve Ever Heard!” Well, no. In truth, Better sounds like plenty you’ve heard, either during the early ’80s or in the year-plus since Franz’s debut hit these shores. Strangely, though, familiarity only occasionally breeds contempt. Franz’s…
Service With a Smile
10/7-10/30 Cleveland Play House’s artistic director Michael Bloom thinks it’s appropriate that the theater will launch its 90th season this weekend with the 70-year-old backstage farce Room Service. “It’s a celebration of the theater, but it’s also about surviving in the theater, which is what we’re doing,” he laughs. John Murray and Allen Boretz’s classic…
Getting Physical
The last time Nine Inch Nails played Cleveland, in the spring of 2000, the show was a combination of nature films and nihilism. Backed by three brightly colored screens depicting roiling seas and angry skies, NIN knifed into their repertoire, exposing all the blood and guts buried beneath the studio sheen. From the opening strains…
Nitty Gritty
Touch Supper Club has returned, and Nitty Gritty is back as well, bringing one of the city’s more popular and long-running parties back to to its original home. This month, Fort Knox Five and friends will spin downtempo, drum & bass, underground hip-hop, West London broken beats, future jazz, old-school funk, and international music that…
Are You Experienced?
10/7-10/9 Rob and Kelly Aneshansel will live up to their reputations as self-described “outdoors junkies” when they work the crowd this weekend at the Fox Creek Outdoor Experience. For three years, the Aneshansels have staged the sportsfest, where enthusiasts can try out more than 50 activities — from canoeing and kayaking to archery and motorcycle…
Rivers Runs Deep
Sure, we could follow the lead of nearly every story ever written about Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo and spout off about what a weird guy he is. Let’s just say that Cuomo has practiced so much self-imposed isolationism (including a well-publicized, two-year diet of celibacy) that you could name a desert island after him. Witness…
Lil’ Kim
The most compelling question about Lil’ Kim’s fourth album is how many “black Martha Stewart” comparisons it will spawn. That’s a shame, since the Queen Bee — now serving a year for perjury and conspiracy — actually offers some of her finest performances on The Naked Truth. Following the disappointing Notorious K.I.M. and the thuggishly…
Hebrew History
10/6-10/12 Carole Zawatsky takes a couple moments to come up with the precise adjective to describe the new Maltz Museum of Jewish History, which opens Thursday. “I want it to be evocative,” says Zawatsky, the executive director. “It has a sense of wow and wonder at a story reflected and told truthfully.” The museum houses…
Critical Fatwa
Certainly, you would think that with two child molestation charges (and the horrible Invisible), the King of Pop would have already earned our scorn. But we respect our critical boundaries and have waited patiently for Jackson to come back to our musical domain. And now that the rubber-faced bugger has announced a benefit song for…
Liz Phair
On her fifth try, Liz Phair has finally made a confessional pop-rock album in the mold of the Lilith Fair folkettes she’s always towered above. If her claim that it’s inspired by Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life is true, then Phair is stooping to conquer, attempting to show the world that her…
Long Live the Queen
THU 10/6 When Queen frontman Freddie Mercury died of AIDS in 1991, it seemed like the end of one of rock’s most theatrical ensembles. But the band’s record company has released 3,786 compilations since then. The surviving members just put out a CD with Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers. And a tribute show, Queen –…
Sound Advice
Uncle Scratch’s Gospel Revival is a righteous rockabilly duo out to save your soul. Here’s some albums that singer-guitarist Brother Ant and drummer Brother Ed recommend. Brother Ed: You want some Sound Advice? Kick the devil when he’s down! Now, as far as what we’ve been listening to lately, we would have to say, first…
Dungen
Everyone goes through a phase where they wish they’d lived in the ’60s. You know, the world roils outside, but in the bedroom, the record player is turned up to the latest thing — musical bliss. Well, guess what? We’ve got soldiers slogging through a dead-end war, and now we’ve got Dungen, a bunch of…
