‘Early Morning Rapist’ Trial Stalled for Months Now: UPDATE
Last fall, we reported the story of James Daniel III, dubbed the “Early Morning Rapist,” whose Sept. 2 attack and rape of a woman once again landed him firmly in the sight-lines of Lakewood and Cleveland law enforcement. He has been charged in connection with four robberies and two rapes on the city’s westside. Daniel’s…
Here’s the Downtown Dog Park, Slated to Open Oct. 13
Apologies for the overcast weather, and the Downtown Cleveland Alliance says there’s still a little left to do, but here’s what the downtown dog park looks like right now. Not bad at all, if you ask us. The park, nestled between the Cuyahoga River and the Setter’s Landing rapid stop, was paid for with $10,000…
Cleveland West Art League’s “Tall Walls” Returns This Friday
For the third consecutive year, the Cleveland West Art League (CWAL) is hosting Tall Walls, its annual unjuried, uncensored exhibition. Although the premise is the same, this year’s show is going to be a little different than previous years. Tall Walls started as a collaboration between CWAL and local artist and gallery owner, Loren Naji.…
It’s Official. Peet’s Is Giving Away Free Drip Coffee From 1-3 p.m. ALL OCTOBER LONG
Intrepid Scene owner and president Andrew Zelman was strolling through Tower City when he was told by an employee at Peet’s Coffee and Tea that all Ohio locations would be offering free drip coffee from 1-3 p.m. all October long. Excuse moi, we inquired? That sounded too good to be true, but we’ve checked with six…
The Cloud Nothings’ New Video is Tremendously Lo-FI
Directed by the touring guitarist from Toro y Moi and featuring found footage from a fabled video store in LA, the first video from the Cloud Nothings’ latest album is everything you might guess it would be. (Hat tip to Spin)
12 Terrifying Northeast Ohio Haunted Houses to Visit this Fall
Look at the changing leaves if you want, but this season is all about frights and chills. And Northeast Ohio lays claim to a veritable pumpkin patch of blood-curdling experiences. For decades, these haunted houses have won awards and left you with goose bumps for days.
Walk All Over Waterloo Celebrates the Neighborhood’s New Additions and Plenty of Art This Weekend
Back in 2007, Northeast Shores Development Corporation conducted a study to determine the best strategy for revitalizing Collinwood’s historic Waterloo Arts District. Seven years and roughly $5.5 million later, organizers at Northeast Shores recently announced October’s Walk All Over Waterloo as the anticipated date of completion of Project Light Switch – their collective initiative including…
Wilberforce University Appoints New (Apparently Polarizing) President
Wilberforce University, the oldest private historically black college in the country, has appointed its 20th president after a nationwide search. Dr. Algaenia Warren Freeman, a veteran HBCU administrator, will take the reins from interim president Wilma Mishoe just as soon as she wraps up some final business obligations. “Dr. Freeman’s experience in institutional advancement and…
Justice Dept. Funds 15 New Cleveland Police Officers, But Zack Reed Wants 200 More
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice bestowed $1,875,000 on Cleveland to fund the hiring of 15 new police officers. (No word yet on how many will be stationed in the Muni Lot to help hold your beer bong.) Just hours prior, City Councilman Zack Reed publicly called for 200 more officers to be hired…
“You Could Get In Trouble in a Bar in Youngstown If You Said Something Bad About Jim Traficant”
RIP, Jim Traficant, who passed away after sustaining injuries from a tractor accident last week. There’s plenty to say about ole Jimbo, of course. One of the things that could be said, “You could get in trouble in a bar in Youngstown if you said something bad about Jim Traficant,” was said by Youngstown native…
Pic of the Day: Sunrise in Silver Creek Metro Park
Courtesy of Mike Vielhaber, who has plenty more dynamite shots around town (sunrise, sunset and otherwise non-sun-related) right here.
Video: The Grateful Dead at Richfield Coliseum, September 8, 1990
Latter-day Dead is a hit-or-miss proposition. Despite fatigue in the 1990s, 1990 itself brings with it some of the band’s last peaks (though there’s plenty to enjoy in the ensuing years before Jerry’s death). The Cleveland shows are terrific, and night two is reproduced here with a nice dose of clarity and nostalgia. This show…
Video: RTA Bus Turns Left At Red Light, Drives On Wrong Side Of Road
The bus turns left at a red light, and drives on the wrong side of the road A recently uploaded Youtube video shows a Greater Cleveland RTA bus driver making a left turn at a red light and then driving on the wrong side of the road before blocking both of the right lanes while…
County Executive Candidates Will Debate at Noon Today
Armond Budish (D) and Jack Schron (R), the candidates for Cuyahoga County Executive, will debate each other at the Renaissance Ballroom today at noon. Admission costs $25 for City Club members and $25 for non-members. You can also tune in via WVIZ and WCPN. Budish, former Ohio House speaker, has long worn the mantle of…
Chvrches Emphasizes the EDM Side of Its Sound at Sold Out Show
“We played a DJ set last night so everything is working except for my brain,” said diminutive Chvrches singer Lauren Mayberry at the start of last night’s 65-minute show at House of Blues. Her apology wasn’t really necessary; the Scottish band sounded sharp as it emphasized the EDM side of its sound (not that it…
Cleveland’s Horseshoe Casino Takes Home Top Votes in Annual Casino Player Magazine Poll
Cleveland’s Horseshoe Casino was recently voted number one in a boatload of categories by readers of Casino Player Magazine, including Best Overall Gaming Resort. In the eyes of our readers, Ohio’s first casino is still the best. Horseshoe Cleveland topped the poll as Best Overall Gaming Resort and Best Casino. It’s in the historic Higbee’s…
National Press Descends for LeBron’s Media Day
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ media day Friday was what might be termed a success, for local and national media personalities, plus assorted hangers on, certainly obtained the requisite quotes to fill one or more stories per day for the duration of training camp. The regular season kicks off against the New York Knicks on October 30.…
Woollybear Festival Returns to Vermilion on Sunday
Dick Goddard’s 42nd annual Woollybear Festival sweeps through Vermilion on Sunday providing hundreds of thousands of locals with their yearly dose of woollybear fun. Essentially a Groundhog Day on steroids, Woollybear Fest is northeast Ohio’s annual opportunity to poke and prod a bunch of furry little caterpillars in hopes of predicting the severity of the forthcoming…
Scene Podcast: LeBron, Cavs Media Day, Loose Lips on Podcasts and More
This week, host Craig Lyndall chatted with myself and Fox Sports Ohio’s Zac Jackson about, what else, sports. Cavs media day is today, and with that the official launch to the Cavs’ season and LeBron’s return to Cleveland. We wondered whether it has really felt real yet, what with no basketball yet, and when it…
Scene Podcast: Two Girls With Glasses
Brandi McElhatten, who you might know from the Cleveland Bazaar, and Nikki Delamotte, who is Scene’s contributing dining editor, are Two Girls With Glasses…and so much more. They’ll get together pretty often to chat about the city, makers, businesses and more. Their chat here covers the ever growing craft DIY, indie pop-up-market scene in Cleveland…
Cuyahoga County Picks Up $650,000 Grant to Combat Domestic Violence
While domestic violence talk takes center stage amid NFL pre-game shows lately, the Cuyahoga County Witness and Victim Service Center brings the discussion a bit closer to home. That group just earned a $650,000 grant from the U.S Department of Justice, which will fund the new Domestic Violence High Risk Team in police districts 1 and…
8 Concerts to Catch This Weekend
Friday, Sept. 26 Badfish Nelson Ledges Quarry Park started the warm-weather season with two nights of Badfish and they’ll put the summer to bed with the very same this weekend. “Keep Sublime Alive,” the guys in Badfish are known to say. And they’ve been doing just that for years now, performing full sets of Sublime…
Video: The Daily Show Segment on Washington Football Fans
The Daily Show segment that pitted Washington football fans defending the team’s racist name against Native Americans who rightly claim that it’s, you know, racist, aired last night. There was a minor kerfuffle over the taping that you can catch up on here. Otherwise, the video is below. The Daily Show Get More: Daily Show…
Movie Trailer: Investigative Journalist Gary Webb From “Kill The Messenger” Was Plain Dealer Reporter
Gary Webb, the investigative journalist best known for his massive “Dark Alliance” series, which ran in three parts in the San Jose Mercury News in 1996, was a former statehouse correspondent for the Plain Dealer. Webb will be portrayed by Jeremy Renner in the Hollywood film “Kill the Messenger,” opening locally October 10. In 2004,…
Unique Releases Planned for Cassette Store Day
Saturday marks the second International Cassette Store Day and both Blue Arrow Records and Music Saves will participate by breaking out some pretty neat tapes. With the high cost of releasing an album on vinyl and the declining appeal of CDs, cassettes have risen in popularity throughout the DIY music scene. “Cassette Store Day started…
Visit a Cleveland Museum for Free this Saturday
Museum Day Live!, an annual event put on by the Smithsonian, is happening this Saturday and several Cleveland museums are participating. That means you’ll gain free access to tons of cool exhibits and programs that you otherwise might not see. From the looks of things, locals can score free admission to the Cleveland Museum of…
National Geographic: Holmes County One The Of Best Spots In The World To See Autumn Leaves
One of the best spots in the world for fall leaf appreciators is Holmes County, according to National Geographic. The mag placed the rural Ohio county — just more than an hour’s drive from Cleveland — above global tourist destinations like Bavaria, Germany, and Kyoto, Japan. Flickr creative commons user Stitchenal Fall in Holmes County…
Video: LeBron Talks About Return to Cleveland
CNN posted an excerpt from Rachel Nichols’ sit down with LeBron James that’ll air tomorrow night (Friday). It’s much of the same that’s out there already plus some other generic feel good stuff about Cleveland and/or LeBron’s diet, but we have a feeling you can’t get enough of this stuff.
2nd Annual Roots Conference at Culinary Vegetable Institute to Focus on Connections Through Food
For years, the Veggie U Food & Wine Celebration lured thousands of foodies out to the grounds of the Culinary Vegetable Institute in tiny Milan, Ohio, for the event of the summer. After a successful 10-year run, Veggie U and the Chef’s Garden made the decision to discontinue hosting the annual bash, instead opting to…
(UPDATE) Police Charge Cleveland Man in Missing Michaela Diemer Case After Discovering Woman’s Body Along Train Avenue
UPDATE: The woman’s body found along Train Avenue yesterday has been identified as Michaela Diemer. Police have arrested registered sex offender Ronald Hillman in connection with the homicide and charged him with aggravated murder. The Forestdale Avenue home searched by police yesterday was the scene of the crime. Hillman lived down the street. *** Originally published…
Fears Confections Gears Up For Grand Opening in New Lakewood Location
Loyal customers of Fear’s Confections might have noticed that the skull-and-whisks logo from its former Waterloo location finally has found a new home. That logo can now be found entwined with an illustration of an apron-donning pin-up girl emblazoned across a Lakewood storefront window (15208 Madison Ave., 216-481-0888). It aptly bears an uncanny resemblance to…
10 Things Going on this Weekend in Cleveland (September 26 – 28)
IngenuityFest is back for its 10th year this weekend, and promises to deliver three days of technology, science, art, music, and dance celebrations. (Seriously, go see for yourself.) In between hours at Ingenuity, head over to Edgewater Park for a friendly bike race or two, and round out your weekend with a clambake at the…
Lorde Concert at Jacobs Pavilion is a True Triumph
When 17-year-old singer Lorde performed at Lollapalooza over the summer, she wasn’t a headlining act and yet she still drew a huge crowd that numbered in the thousands. The set was one of the festival’s highlights; one thing that worked in the young New Zealand native’s favor was the fact that she performed in the…
Bill Livingston Calls Out Dan Gilbert For Sending Out Late Night Drunk Messages, Including the Infamous Letter
This really flew under the radar, but it merits a mention here. The PD’s Bill Livingston was on Tony Kornheiser’s radio show on ESPN 980 back on Sept. 11. In the course of a wide-ranging discussion on Cleveland sports, Kornheiser and Livingston begin talking about Dan Gilbert and the infamous letter. Livingston starts out hinting…
SPACES Gallery Announces Plans to Move to Ohio City Are Off (For Now)
Earlier this week, SPACES confirmed that they’ve cancelled plans to move into Michael Chesler’s 14,000-square-foot building on the corner of Detroit Avenue and W. 29th Street in Hingetown/Ohio City. Towards the beginning of the summer, SPACES announced their intentions to relocate from their current home on the Superior Viaduct with the launch of a $3…
Regional Blues Acts to Play Fundraising Gig
Regional blues acts Bongo Joe & Little Steve and the Whiskey Shambles won this year’s Northeast Ohio Blues Association’s Blues Challenge and will head to Memphis in January to represent Northeast Ohio at the International Blues Challenge (IBC). The two acts are rather different from each other. Bongo Joe & Little Steve are an Akron-based…
Journalist Who Covered the Beatles in 1964 to Speak at Tri-C’s Black Box Theatre
The Beatles Revisited The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Beatles concert that took place in Cleveland in 1964 with a special event featuring journalist and author Art Schreiber, who’ll lead a discussion about the British group at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 1, in the Black…
Spirit Airlines to Land at Cleveland Hopkins
Spirit Airlines, the “ultra low-cost carrier,” will soon land at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, offering service to Florida, Texas, and Nevada, among other destinations. The news comes less than a year after United Airlines pulled out of Cleveland, considerably slashing local flight traffic and hundreds of jobs. For frugal, no-frills travelers this might be a…
Skunk Beat: North Ridgeville Police Assist Trapped Animal
Big week for skunk news, everybody. BIG WEEK FOR SKUNK NEWS. The Chronicle-Telegram is reporting the story of a skunk that got its head stuck in a styrofoam cup this morning. The skunk was found wandering aimlessly around the North Ridgeville Middle School track, completely unable to comprehend what was happening. Two police officers eventually…
Scene Podcast: Two Guys Who Play With Fire for Art
In today’s episode, Scene’s creative director James Krouse, who you probably know from Ingenuity, sits down with Noah Rosenthal and Nathan Clark, two Northeast Ohio residents who play with fire for fun. That’s the simple explanation at least. The larger explanation: Whether at Ingenuity or at Burning Man, these two guys put on a show…
Richmond Heights Boots Mayor Miesha Headen in Recall Election
Welp. That’s that. After a turbulent 10 months in the Richmond Heights’ mayor’s chair, Mayor Miesha Headen has been booted out of office by residents in a 1,573 to 1,163 recall vote. Council President David Roche will assume Headen’s seat and has 45 days to appoint a new council member. The News-Herald’s Andrew Cass reported that…
Ohio Could Be Making $122,994,931 in Marijuana Tax, Study Says
Ohio could be making upwards of 120,000,000 in marijuana tax, according to a new study by Nerd Wallet. But currently, we’re, uh, not. The study puts potential national gains via state and local taxes at $3,098,866,907 per year, and notes that number is more than twice the entire budget of the Small Business Administration in 2013. …
The New Fat Head’s Brewery is about to Open … in Portland
Have you heard the weird news? North Olmsted’s colossal Fat Head’s Brewery —home to the Bumbleberry blueberry ale and Head Hunter IPA — is opening a West Coast location in Portland, Oregon. (We reported on the baffling announcement last year). The brewpub has been in the works for awhile, but it’s now planning an opening…
Eponymous for a Reason: St. Vincent’s New Self-Titled Album is Her Best Yet
Over the course of the past 10 years, singer-guitarist St. Vincent (Annie Clark) has built an impressive resume that includes stints with the Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens, both credible indie rock acts with cult followings. Additionally, she worked with ex-Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, collaborating with him on a terrific 2012 album. Her new…
Film Spotlight – This Filthy World: Filthier and Dirtier
When cult filmmaker John Waters first started performing in front of live audiences, he took a much different approach than he does with his current bit of performance art, a 75-minute monologue he dubs This Filthy World: Filthier and Dirtier. “I would come out dressed as a hippie pimp with shirts with tarantulas or shrunken…
Film Review of the Week: The Skeleton Twins
The Skeleton Twins stars Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig as estranged siblings who both attempt (or prepare to attempt) suicide on the same day and are thereby re-united to rekindle their relationship amid the mess their lives have become. It opens on Friday at the Cedar Lee Theatre, Cinemark Valley View and Regal Crocker Park…
Not Your Typical Conference: NorTech Looks to Make Connections and Innovate at the UnConference
NorTech, a Cleveland technology-based economic development organization, is hosting what it’s calling the 2014 Innovation UnConference this Wednesday, bringing in a few hundred participants for a conference with no boring speeches, no set agenda and no predetermined topics. It’s just a whole bunch of the area’s best business and entrepreneurial minds and people looking to…
Art Patronage: The Most Convincing of All Compliments
Somewhere in Sandusky sits what appears to be your typical, modest home. Walking or driving by, you wouldn’t suspect anything unusual about it. It blends into a row of similar homes on an average road in a residential part of an average town. However, this particular house is unlike any other house in Sandusky. In…
Go West, Young Man: Ohio City Mainstay Matt Stipe Sets Up Shop in Detroit Shoreway with Banter
Matt Stipe was the first person Sam McNulty hired when he was opening Bier Markt way back in 2005. Stipe stayed on for years, helping to open Bar Cento, Market Garden Brewery and Nano Brew along the way. He’s been in the “business” for half his life, boosting his spirits sophistication with stints in Chicago,…
‘Tis the Season: Fall is When the Art World Comes Alive. Here’s a Boatload of Shows You Should Check Out.
In the arts community, the fall is considered the beginning of the new exhibition season. During the summer months, galleries become hot (especially when packed with warm bodies and humid air) and many arts patrons take vacations. There are still plenty of events and exhibitions — especially outdoor events and benefits — but fall is…
Having Fun is a Major Motivation for Glasgow’s Chvrches
When the members of the Scottish group Chvrches first started recording together, they didn’t have any great ambitions for the band. “I’m not sure we had any real idea it would go as far as it has right from the beginning,” says keyboardist Martin Doherty. “Creatively, it felt stronger than anything else that I worked…
Chuckling All the Way Home: Accidental Comedy Fest Takes Over Cleveland — One Laugh at a Time
The locavore mentality is certainly at play here in Cleveland, where micro-industries are driving the city’s comeback tale. That bit about the laughing, though, has been taking place just under the radar for years. With the Accidental Comedy Fest about to launch its third year this weekend, comedian and Chucklefck curator Ramon Rivas plans to…
Dance and Brass: Autumnal Offerings from the Region’s Many Dance Companies and the Renowned Cleveland Orchestra
This past summer, Verb Ballets performed a series of duets in Tremont’s Lincoln Park, filled with intricate choreography that likely enchanted even those with nary a recognized interest in the art. That’s a noted trend among organizations highlighted here: bringing what might be perceived as niche artistic interests into the Northeast Ohio entertainment mainstream. The…
Alt-j Delivers a Strong Sophomore Effort with ‘This Is All Yours’
Alt-J This is All Yours (Canvasback/Infectious Music) altjband.com This British band made an auspicious debut with 2012’s Mercury Prize-winning An Awesome Wave, an album that rightly drew comparisons to Coldplay and Radiohead while simultaneously announcing the band’s distinct approach. Singer Joe Newman possesses a soft voice that effectively establishes the band’s singular sound. He hiccups…
Looking Back and Looking Good: Ensemble Theatre Casts its Eyes Back to Former Eras for its Upcoming Fall Line-Up
There are a few theaters in Cleveland that have built their brand around presenting new, cutting-edge plays. And thank goodness for that. Companies such as convergence-continuum, Cleveland Public Theatre, Dobama Theatre, None Too Fragile Theater, and a couple others are doing an admirable job filling the need for new plays. Ensemble Theatre takes a slightly…
Erasure Shows Off Songwriting Skills on ‘The Violet Flame’
Erasure The Violet Flame (Mute) erasureinfo.com Electro pioneers Erasure probably aren’t hip enough to appeal to the EDM kids, many of whom weren’t even born when the band started recording nearly 30 years ago. But the duo — Andy Bell and Vince Clarke — still sounds sharp. Their solid songwriting skills distinguish their 16th studio…
Ingenuity Fest Turns 10: Ingenuity’s Celebration of Art (And a Whole Lot More) is Bigger and Better than Ever
A decade ago, James Levin and Thomas Mulready had a dream for a regional festival simultaneously celebrating the creativity of Northeast Ohio while using under-utilized venues throughout Cleveland. Levin and Mulready had previously worked together to create the Cleveland Performance Art Festival (CPAF). For more than a decade (1988 to 1999 and 2003), the CPAF…
The Good Outweighs the Bad on Tweedy’s ‘Sukierae’
Tweedy Sukierae (dBpm Records) wilcoworld.netTalk about prolific. Somehow, Sukierae, a collaboration between Wilco singer Jeff Tweedy and his 18-year-old son Spencer, started out as 90 songs. Tweedy and son then whittled down the tunes to a more manageable number that could fit on two discs. Still, the 20 songs here might be overload — some…
Lit Picks: Three Local Books to Pick Up and Read by the Fire
HORRORSTÖR | Horrorstör is, in the words of its author Grady Hendrix, “the only book about haunted Scandinavian furniture stores you’ll ever need.” Indeed, if you’re in the mood for a spooky autumnal read, and enjoy social satire couched in inventive book packaging, Horrorstör (240 pgs., Quirk Books) is the tome for you. Set in…
A Family of Predators: Teeth are Bared in the Delightfully Vicious The Little Foxes at Cleveland Play House
Some say that to be a successful CEO in a modern corporation, it helps enormously to be a sociopath. Once you are free of the moral strictures that impede others — such as caring for the environment or worrying about worker rights and safety — then you’re free to compete at the, um, highest level. Well,…
Playhouse Square Is Lit Up This Fall: The Chandelier, the Shows, the Crowds — Playhouse Square Has It All This Season
Okay, so the idea of hanging a huge chandelier outside at Playhouse Square seems weird, right? Then again, they all laughed when Monsieur Eiffel erected his tower in Paris, one critic decrying it as “a half-built factory pipe, a funnel-shaped grill, a hole-riddled suppository.” Ouch. Rectal comparisons aside, the GE Chandelier has received its…
Band of the Week: Distant Signals
Meet the Band: Matt DeSantis (bass), Mike Moscato (lead guitar), Dave Normile (percussion), Dave Smith (lead vocals, guitar) and Don Tomlinson (keyboards, pedals, guitar) In the Beginning: This year marks the Pittsburgh-based group’s fifth anniversary. When keyboardist Don Tomlinson started the group, he set out to pay tribute to one of his favorite bands, Canadian…
Exploring the Universe of the Stage: Cleveland Public Theatre Presents a Trio of New and Innovative Pieces — In Addition to their Regular Play Schedule
Theatrical Excitement can come in many forms, and some of them are quite short-lived. Like mayflies, these performances appear for a day or two and then vanish, so you have to be alert and ready to view them. This fall, Cleveland Public Theatre has a trio of such shows. One is a devised play created…
Blonde Ambition: EMA’s Erika M. Anderson Experiments with Electronics on The Future’s Void
Indie singer-songwriter EMA (aka Erika M. Anderson) grew up in South Dakota but has moved around the country a bit since then. So when she recently found herself back in Madison, Wis. for a gig with indie rockers Spoon, she was taken aback by the way it felt so different from her Portland, Ore. home.…
2014 Cleveland Fall Arts Guide
‘Tis the Season: Fall is When the Art World Comes Alive. Here’s a Boatload of Shows You Should Check Out. Chuckling All the Way Home: Accidental Comedy Fest Takes Over Cleveland — One Laugh at a Time Dance and Brass: Autumnal Offerings from the Region’s Many Dance Companies and the Renowned Cleveland Orchestra Looking Back…
The Activist’s Cookbook: Rise Against Mixes the Political and the Personal on The Black Market
When Rise Against drummer Brandon Barnes started going to punk rock shows in the ’80s, the vibe was much different than it is today. Bands such as Bad Religion and Minor Threat sang about political issues. Organizations such as PETA and Amnesty International often set up booths to hand out flyers about a variety of…
A Cold Canadian Winter Produced the Warm Songs on the Bros. Landreth’s Debut
The Bros. Landreth, a Canadian roots rock group that features siblings Joey and David Landreth, holed up in a straw bail house last year in the dead of winter to record their new album Let It Lie. Somehow they overcame the elements to deliver an album that’s drawn comparisons to the Eagles, the Allman Brothers…
