UPDATE: Bruce Springsteen to Officially Release 1978 Agora Show
We like to feature vintage concert audio from Cleveland ’round these parts (see below). Bruce Springsteen is kind of a big hit around here. A few months back, we showcased this legendary show from the Agora, and now we have some fine news to share with you. Bruce will be releasing the 8/9/78 Agora show CDs…
Mojo Gurus’ Frontman Talks About His Cleveland Connection
It’s an understatement to say that Kevin Steele, who grew up in Cleveland before moving to Florida to form the glam rock outfits Roxx Gang and Mojo Gurus, had a tough time growing up. The guy’s father hired a hit man to take out his mother who then shot her while she slept, killing her…
Here’s Brian Hoyer Serving Lunch at Sokolowski’s in Full Uniform
From the venerable institution’s Facebook page. Also, ESPN the Mag was there too. (ESPN’s doing a full issue on Cleveland very soon, if you hadn’t heard.)
Starbucks Tests Beer-Flavored Latte in Select Ohio Locations
Coffee mogul Starbucks is testing out a new type of latte in some Ohio and Florida markets that supposedly tastes exactly like a Guinness. Though it doesn’t contain alcohol, the Dark Barrel Latte combines a chocolaty stout -flavored sauce, whipped cream, and a dark caramel drizzle to make a coffee beverage that apparently tastes like a…
Plan Ahead for Voix de Ville, One of Ingenuity’s Most Popular Events
As we count down the days until IngenuityFest (full preview out tomorrow in print and online), we can’t help but anticipate the weekend’s new and returning acts. IngenuityFest turns 10 this year, and they’ve brought in more acts and showcases than ever, some new, some returning. One of the most popular, as evidenced by last…
Ronald Berkman to Move Downtown, Will Become First CSU Prez Not to Live in Shaker Heights
Cleveland State University is placing President Ronald Berkman’s lavish Shaker Heights home on the market. Berkman (amidst divorce proceedings, originally reported by The Cauldron) would like to live downtown, he’s said, and the University would like to be rid of the annual lease and maintenance costs. So it’s a win for everybody. Karen…
Cleveland Bacon Food Truck Exits Food Network Race
Let There Be Bacon had a memorable ride on the Food Network’s Great Food Truck Race, following in the tire tracks of Chris Hodgson, who parlayed his stint on the show into a brick and mortar restaurant. If you weren’t following along this season, Let There Be Bacon bowed out on Sunday’s episode, with Jon…
Longtime Local Print Distributor Klein News Shuts Down Operations
This past Sunday marked the last day of operation for Klein News Distribution, the local company that had been printing and distributing national newspapers and periodicals since 1927. With the last thud of the Sunday New York Times hitting doorsteps across the region, the move marked another notch in the belt for the Plain Dealer…
Miami University President Supports Safety Campaign for Skunks
Last Friday when your bro Chadbro smashed that can of Nati Ice on his forehead, you likely had no idea the guy was taking a stand against safety hazards for skunks. HE WAS! And so is Miami University President David Hodge, less the Ice, who this week praised the PETA posters that are going up around…
Channel 5 Is All Over the Idle Speculation That Johnny Manziel Is Maybe Thinking About Possibly Buying a House in Brecksville
“Of course, we are still very much in the speculation stages of the process…” Dear lord, guys. Dear lord. (Update: Oh no. NEOMG has jumped on the bandwagon, citing NewsNet5’s quoting of anonymous Brecksville sources while asking a real estate agent what she thinks about something or other.)
Video: Obnoxious, Ballsy Ravens Fan Taunts Browns Fans Inside Stadium
As rookie running back Lorenzo Taliaferro plunged his way into the end zone to put the Ravens ahead in the 3rd quarter of yesterday’s game in Cleveland, one Ravens fan took his trolling to a beyond ballsy level, filming the Browns crowd while screaming “YEAH, YEAH, YEAH” in their faces as he makes his way…
Tom’s Foolery Set to Debut Inaugural Batch of Ohio Straight Bourbon
On a brilliantly crisp and clear fall-like day, a clutch of volunteers is hard at work in a Geauga County barn literally filled to the rafters with wooden barrels full of booze. On this day, the team will drain just two of those barrels while working for hours on an assembly line comprised of stations…
moe. Crafts Intricate Groovefest at Kent Stage
The February show doesn’t seem too long ago, but thankfully moe. decided to trek back to Northeast Ohio for a Sunday night slot on their fall tour. The Buffalo-based jam band lit up the Kent Stage (a remarkably small place that I’d never been before) with a fine setlist and plenty of heavy, heavy jamming…
Review: “A Strange Holiday,” An Exhibition of Artwork Centered on Sam Sheppard
On July 30, 1954, the Cleveland Press ran the headline “WHY ISN’T SAM SHEPPARD IN JAIL?” For weeks, the paper had been urging police to pursue the physician in connection with the July 4 murder of Marilyn Reese Sheppard, his wife. Despite Sheppard’s claims of having grappled with a “bushy-haired man,” no other suspects had…
Daily Show Orchestrates Confrontation Between Washington Football Fans and Native Americans
In a pre-arranged D.C. hotel showdown, fans of the Washington football team were confronted by the Native American activist/sketch comedy group the 1491s for a segment on The Daily Show. The Washington Post describes the confrontation as “so intense that one fan left in tears.” “This goes way beyond mocking,” said a 56-year-old former teacher and…
MAP: The Most Famous Book Set in Ohio
This map from our pals over at Business Insider shows the most famous books set in each state. Ohio, apparently, is most known for the 1987 novel The Broom of the System by David Foster Wallace. Via BI: In Foster Wallace’s slightly altered view of Ohio in 1990, we follow our heroine, Lenore Stonecipher Beadsman,…
War on Drugs’ Big Sound Succeeds at House of Blues
The last time the War on Drugs ran through Cleveland they played the Grog Shop, which is a fine rock ‘n’ roll venue if there ever was one, but the thing about Adam Granduciel’s Philadelphia-bred band is that their sound is HUGE. Too huge, really, for the Grog. The House of Blues boasts a difficult…
Student at School System That Just Settled Racial Discrimination Lawsuit Posts Racist Messages About Girl At Center of Case
If there were any doubt (and there shouldn’t be to begin with) that 16-year-old Jayda Jackson — who was a student at Bellevue schools for three years before her and her family moved to attend Sandusky schools because of persistent racist and discriminatory treatment from her fellow students and school teachers at Bellevue — endured…
‘The Feces Incident’: Former Jesuit Retreat House Employee Alleges Retaliation After Reporting Cook’s Apparent Bad Hygiene That Sickened St. Ignatius Students
A former maintenance man at Parma’s Jesuit Retreat House Of Cleveland is suing his former employer and his bosses in federal court, alleging retaliation and labor violations for unpaid overtime hours. It all started, he and his lawyers say, in December 2012 when he noticed a “foul smell,” a cook leaving the bathroom that then…
Scene Sports Podcast: Weed, Pills, Muni Lot, Ravens and More
This week, host Craig Lyndall chats with me and Will Burge about a ton of sports. There’s the crackdown on the Muni Lot, which police sources tell Scene is coming from the Browns (a team source tells Will Burge the same), the longstanding traditions of said Muni Lot, the nearly annual brief outrage over the…
Muni Lot Open Container Crackdown Coming Directly from Browns, Police Source Says
A police source has informed Scene that the mysterious muni lot open container crackdown has come entirely at the behest of the Browns themselves. The Browns want people walking up to the stadium and partying there, the source says, though that’s clearly not what fans want. “There’s no way to enforce it,” says the cop. “What…
A Hotel On Every Empty Acre: Cleveland’s Hospitality Hunger Arrives on the Lakefront
We discussed the city’s budding “lakefront development” plan a few months back when City Council approved a piecemeal approach to following through on oft-ballyhooed promises. Steven Litt, seemingly carrying the Plain Dealer mantle solely on his back these days, appropriately revives that convo today, explaining that plans to erect a potentially six- to eight-floor hotel on…
Ohio Supreme Court Approves Strip-Mining State Park Land
The talk of the town when alarming court decisions come down turns inevitably toward precedent, and this one should be tripping emergency sensors the state over. This week, the Ohio Supreme Court approved via a 6-1 vote strip-mining practices in a 651-acre section of the Brush Creek Wildlife Area, which is owned by the Ohio…
8 Concerts to Catch This Weekend
Friday, Sept. 19 Iris Dement Before issuing Sing the Delta in 2012, singer-songwriter Iris Dement, one of alt-country’s best songwriters, must have been suffering from a serious case of writer’s block. Delta was her first album of original tunes in 16 years; her last studio effort, 2004’s Lifeline, was a collection of traditional gospel tunes.…
Ohio GOP Takes to BuzzFeed to Attack FitzGerald
The Ohio GOP utilized BuzzFeed’s community post function to listicle-ize the 20 reasons Ed FitzGerald, noted fan of swipe card data, hasn’t released his job plan. Things get all sorts of gif-y and goofy, but it certainly is a new kind of attack ad. Hat tip to Henry Gomez at NEOMG.
Light at End of the Tunnel for Tremont’s Bourbon Street Barrel Room
While a good number of Clevelanders are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Bourbon Street Barrel Room (2393 Professor Ave.), nobody is more tickled by its imminent opening than chef-owner Johnny Schulze. The protracted process has been more than two years in the making, with construction stretching a solid 12 months. “I’m so excited,” Schulze says…
Cedar Point’s Latest Cryptic Video Announces New Coaster Named ‘Rougarou’
Lots of online commenters seemed weirdly let down when Cedar Point announced a new partnership with the LeBron James Family Foundation (yeah, I know, they said they were going to …). So this afternoon, the amusement park released some enticing news that coaster fanatics can really glom on to: a new coaster built on the…
Video: The Ballad of Brian Hoyer
A Cleveland Browns fan has written a ballad of (and in many ways for) starting quarterback and hometown hero Brian Hoyer. The ballad is a parody of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” itself made famous by Jeff Buckley and covered by many an aspirant axe-man at open mics nationwide. This version is perhaps most notable for its…
(Updated) Suspect Arrested in Early Morning Westside Rape
Update: That didn’t take long. NewsNet5 is reporting police arrested him at a home on W. 87th St. *** Cleveland police released the identity of a suspect in the westside rape and attack around W. 104th on Sept 2.
Weak-Chinned, Horribly Tattooed Man Escapes From NW Ohio Jail
Bowling Green police Jhon Rosado, 24. An inmate at the Northwest Community Correction Center in Bowling Green escaped last night and is still on the run, authorities say. Jhon Rosado, 24, apparently scaled a fence at 8:14 last night and it wasn’t until two hours later that prison officials notified police of his disappearance, Toledo…
NPR Talks With Young Adults About How Young Adults Are Moving Back to Cleveland
It’s not an uncommon story at this point — in fact, you may be living this tale right now — but, whether observed at face value or forced through some media narrative, there’s something a bit exciting about it. Young people are moving back to Cleveland! Or maybe they never even left! Here & Now’s…
Opportunity Corridor Recognized as a National Model… For Highway Boondoggles
A new report issued today by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (US PRIG) includes Cleveland’s own Opportunity Corridor as one of the most questionable road projects in the nation. Some of these projects are worse than Opportunity Corridor, like a $2.7 billion expansion of a highway though Detroit, a double-decker highway expansion in Milwaukee,…
10 Things Going on this Weekend in Cleveland (September 19 – 21)
Summer officially winds down this weekend, but that’s not stopping the city from hosting a slew of hot events, including the Tremont Arts and Cultural Festival, SPARX City Hop, and more. Enjoy yourselves out there, folks.
Taste in Strongsville Grows From Home-Spun Affair to Blockbuster Food Fundraiser
When George Schindler first got involved with the Rotary Club of Strongsville’s annual Savor the Flavor fundraiser (now called A Taste in Strongsville), it was a sparsely attended affair at the local Holiday Inn. Last year’s event, on the other hand, was held in the all-glass greenhouse at Petitti Garden Center where it was attended…
12 Photos of the Old Cleveland Aquarium, Then and Now
Before settling in to its current home on Sycamore St., the Cleveland Aquarium resided in Gordon Park from 1954 until 1986 (the building later became the home of the Cleveland Police Department’s K-9 Unit). With the help of local photographer Rob Vaughn and the Cleveland Memory Project, take a peek inside the aquarium’s old residence,…
Working the Sarchione Beat: Josh Gordon Discusses Life as a Car Salesman
While niche circles in Cleveland debate the Browns’ momentum heading into Week Three (AHOYER!), the more enticing excitement over noted car salesman Josh Gordon’s first sale has us all wondering: How Does He Do It? Gordon, whose side gig on the Browns’ roster has garnered idle chit-chat in offices around the region WHEN HE’S NOT CLOSING…
Video: Warren Zevon at the Odeon in 2000
A true American madman, genius, icon — all of it true in most circles — Warren Zevon stoked a nationwide artistic consciousness with vivid imagery, humor and scathing scrutiny. Here, during a 2000 show at the late Odeon Concert Club, Zevon is in his element. The setlist strolls through Zevon’s iconic compositions, as well as…
Oscar Villarreal, Young Mexican Swindler, Indicted on 19 Counts of Fraud and Money Laundering
Oscar Villarreal, the young Mexican businessman seen as a rising star in the Northeast Ohio business community, has been indicted by a grand jury on 19 counts of fraud and money laundering. Villarreal, now 29, swindled millions of dollars from 51 of Cleveland’s most prominent figures on the business-civic-leader matrix, promising massive returns on investment…
36 Hours in Pittsburgh: Stay in High Spirits
Pittsburgh might be known for its beer, but it also garners accolades for its growing number of small-batch distilleries. The Strip District should be the first destination for any distillery connoisseur. In the spirit of Pennsylvania’s long-steeped whiskey-making tradition, take a tour of Wigle Whiskey (2401 Smallman St., 412-224-2827, wiglewhiskey.com), the first post-Prohibition whiskey distillery…
Seeing Purple: Because He Has to Have it Fresh, Adam Bostwick Plans his Menus from Seed
For a chef concerned with keeping his menu hyper local, there’s almost nothing better than a kitchen garden. Adam Bostwick — who, along with Brian Okin, is chef and co-owner of Cork & Cleaver Social Kitchen in Broadview Heights (8130 Broadview Rd., 440-627-6449, ccsocialkitchen.com) — understands that well. So what’s better than a kitchen garden?…
Everywhere You Turn: The Next 7 Days Are Filled With More Art Than You Can Handle. Try Anyway.
It’s a busy week for Cleveland’s arts community. Let’s get straight to the rundown of the roughly dozen events taking place throughout the region over the next week. No matter your interest or experience, there’s something for you. Thursday might as well be an “Art Walk,” what with opening receptions for the latest exhibitions at…
Glory Days: Long Beloved for Improvisatory Feats, moe.’s Never Sounded Better than Right Now
Rob Derhak’s laughing. He’s heard this one before. “I think we’ve gotta do an acoustic album,” the moe. bassist and singer says over the phone. The thing is — and this is what we’re talking about, what every music writer has apparently brought up in the past six months — a full-on rootsy acoustic album…
Future Rock: Downtown Festival Makes its Cleveland Debut with an Eclectic Line-Up
Downtown Festival started as a small, New York-based festival, but it has grown steadily over the years and has now expanded to other cities, including Cleveland, Minneapolis, Los Angeles and Houston. The fest kicks off here on Friday with the indie rock bands War on Drugs and Califone, who play at House of Blues. That…
Sweet Salvation: On His New Album, Wakey! Wakey!’s Michael Grubbs Taps into His Gospel Roots
Michael Grubbs, front man of the indie rock band Wakey! Wakey!, started playing the piano when he was only 5 years old. Little did he realize that he’d wind up as a musician. “Music was literally a language in my household,” he says. “People have a playroom in their house for the kids. We had…
Up, Up and Away: Lessons on Education from Comic Books, and Getting Them into Classrooms
Ashley Harrington teaches high-school students in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. With a bit of time throughout the week to teach specialized classes, Harrington has brought her love of comic books into the classroom. They’ve been a hit. Students are reading them as fast as she can distribute them, which is why she’s trying to…
150 Years of History, Gone in 10 Hours: The Day Garrettsville Went Up in Flames
The gray-haired barber had just clipped, snipped and buzzed his way through another typical Saturday-morning rush of regulars in his one-man barbershop in the small town of Garrettsville. Jim Reppy had chatted with customers about the Browns and Buckeyes and the Tribe with the same second-nature dexterity with which he delivered their 12-buck haircuts —…
P. Stoops Digs Deep for ‘Object Permanence’
p. stoops object permanence (self-released) pstoops.bandcamp.com A Cleveland-based turntablist who, according to his bio on his Facebook page, “thrives in obscure oddities,” p. stoops, a contributing writer to Scene, digs deep into his vinyl collection for this EP. The disc starts off with “Wish We Were There,” a tune that features samples of Hawaiian slide…
Whiskey Daredevils Get Loud on ‘The Genny Session’
The Whiskey Daredevils The Genny Session (self-released) thewhiskeydaredevils.com After downing a 30-pack of Genesee last year while hanging out at a Detroit studio, the Whiskey Daredevils knocked out these songs with minimal overdubs and second takes. Given the fact that Genesee is swill of epic proportions, we didn’t have high expectations for the resulting album…
Turtles Singles Get the Vinyl Treatment
The Turtles 45 RPM Singles Collection (FloEdCo/Manifesto Records) theturtles.com There’s not much reason to get excited about yet another Turtles reissue, but this collection is of note because it arrives on vinyl. The box includes eight 7-inch vinyl 45s that feature the band’s biggest hits. An L.A. group with a British sound, the Turtles were…
Band of the Week: The MuckleBuck
MEET THE BAND: Don Gordon (guitar, vocals), Jim Fultz (drums), Chris Moss (guitar, vocals), Anton Quintas (bass), Paul Silvidi (keys, vocals), Jeff Modzelewski (percussion) GENESIS: Based mostly in Parma, the MuckleBuck has been around for a few years now, springing either from some band members’ shared history in the Groove Prophets or common interests in…
36 Hours in Pittsburgh: A Guide to Visiting Our Neighbors to the East
Cleveland has always enjoyed a healthy rivalry with its Rust Belt sister Pittsburgh. But when it comes to that city’s blossoming culinary scene, one can’t help but draw a comparison to our own hometown. Inspired by a thriving, off-the-beaten-path cultural vibe, the Steel City has spent the past years reinventing the old pierogi, cabbage and…
Film Review of the Week: Tusk
Featuring what is indisputably one of the year’s most original premises and disputably some of the year’s most nauseating make-up effects, Kevin Smith’s Tusk opens this Friday for an exclusive engagement at the Cedar Lee. Though the film is eventually irredeemable, for a while it’s merely disgusting. And it even begins with a compelling horror…
Film Spotlight: Brush with Danger
Actress, producer and director Livi Zheng initially didn’t set out to direct Brush with Danger, her new film about a brother and sister who illegally immigrate to Seattle and then find themselves in a bit of trouble after they trust the wrong people. The film opens on Friday at Tower City Cinemas. “When I came…
Train to Desperation: The Emotionless Journey of Cormac McCarthy’s The Sunset Limited at None Too Fragile Theater
If you’ve ever been bothered by all the weepy emotion that goes on in most plays as cerebral issues about religion and death are batted about, then we have the play for you. Indeed, The Sunset Limited at None Too Fragile Theater is so drained of emotional involvement, it feels like a treatise. Or maybe…
