9/21: Kings X at HOB
When Kings X roared into the public consciousness more than 20 years ago, they filled an unusual musical niche: a multiracial, spiritually based pop-metal power trio from Texas. Over the past two decades, the group has survived plenty of upheaval (record company changes, fighting the Christian-rock label, management drama) while generally maintaining their core sound:…
9/21: Juan Williams
The Town Hall of Cleveland lecture series opens its 79th season tonight with a heavy-hitter: NPR/Fox News host/news analyst and former Washington Post White House correspondent and commentator Juan Williams. His topic is “The View From Washington,” a wide-open launching pad from which he could speak about almost anything. Although it seems like the view…
9/22: The Dynamites Featuring Charles Walker
Nashville soul revivalists the Dynamites resurrect the Godfather’s funk with a sweaty live show that’ll grease the hips and motivate your ass. Like the Dap-Kings, the Dynamites back their own era-authentic singer — in this case, Charles Walker, who’s plied his craft for more than 40 years. Whatever wear there is on his treads is…
9/23: Bell X1 at HOB
Little surprise that Irish romantics Bell X1 are a hit with the Grey’s Anatomy crowd. The lovelorn lyrics and sweet tunes on their fourth album, Blue Lights on the Runway, suit Big TV Moments just as much as they’re capable of drifting into the background of almost any situation you put them in. The trio…
9/23: Caliban at Peabody’s
What sort of metalcore band takes its name from a Shakespeare character? And we’re not talking about one of the major players from your high-school lit class either. Being able to namedrop Caliban — a deformed monster of a man who lurks in the Bard’s lesser-known The Tempest — shows that this band has got…
9/23: CIM Orchestra
It’s not very often that you get to hear a harp concerto; there just aren’t that many of them out there. Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera’s Opus 25 takes his fascination with his country’s folk culture and transports it from guitar to harp. The piece is propelled by a dance rhythm, just as you’d expect from…
9/20: Cedar Valley Settlers Celebration
As long as you don’t really have to go back and live under those conditions, it can be fun to explore how 19th-century frontier folk lived. That’s what the Cedar Valley Settlers Celebration and Music Festival is all about. From 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. today, visitors to the Frostville Museum and Rocky River Nature Center at…
9/20: CIM Faculty Recital
Born in Switzerland, composer Ernest Bloch was 36 years old when he first came to the U.S. and 40 when he became the first music director of the Cleveland Institute of Music in 1920. During the five years he held the job, he wrote mostly piano and small ensemble music in the Romantic style, often…
9/20: Collinwood Unveiled
North Collinwood has quietly become one of Cleveland’s hippest neighborhoods. And so far, it’s about artists, musicians, small entrepreneurs, and affordable housing and storefront space — not big developers building snazzy “luxury” condos. So it’s appropriate that Arts Collinwood — the area’s nonprofit community arts center and gallery — is focusing its annual benefit, Collinwood…
9/20: Richard Lloyd at Wilbert’s
If talent recognizes genius, then even the best will go unappreciated by many. Guitarist Richard Lloyd knew Jimi Hendrix through his friend Velvert Turner, whom Hendrix was teaching guitar. That musical spark would propel Lloyd through a musical career that’s yielded the proto-punk band Television and five solo albums. His distinctive guitar style (sleek, sonorous…
9/21: Buckethead at the Beachland
Theater is all about drama, emotion and entertainment. While directors insist there are no small roles, the audience secretly longs for a mesmerizing, impassioned actor to steal the show. That’s where Buckethead (a.k.a. Brian Patrick Carroll) comes in. The guy may not be the most sympathetic protagonist — he sports a KFC bucket as a…
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a funny food film
Based on a 30-year-old children’s book about a town where food falls out of the sky, this zippy CGI adaptation beefs up the slight story by giving more time to bullied inventor Flick Lockwood (voiced by Saturday Night Live’s Bill Hader) and spunky, nerdy weathergirl Sam Sparks (The House Bunny’s Anna Faris). As cool as…
Harry Shearer discusses the new Unwigged and Unplugged DVD
Earlier this year, Spinal Tap’s three original members (Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer) appeared at the Ohio Theatre just to prove they’re still funny after all these years. Calling the show “Unwigged and Unplugged,” they revisited many of the best-known Spinal Tap tunes, including “Stonehenge,” “Bitch School” and “Hell Hole.” But the unplugged…
WHEN AOR RULED THE EARTH
With apologies for noticing late: The documentary Radio Daze: Cleveland’s FM Air Wars won a local Emmy in July. The Lower Great Lakes Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences gave the film, which aired on Western Reserve PBS (WNEO 45 Alliance/WEAO 49 Akron), the gold for Best Nostalgia Program. Stations from…
This Week’s Cover of Scene
Yeah, you’ve gotten a hefty dose of Derf the cartoonist today, but one more won’t hurt, especially since it’s not everyday that sports make the cover of this fine rag.
Patience
Patience is not a virtue that most sports fans possess in any measurable quantity, and this is infinitely and essentially true of Cleveland fans. Tribe makes a trade? Call up the prospects right now. The guy’s only in A-ball? Doesn’t matter — he should be starting. He pitched badly in his first outing? Trade was…
Tuesday Music News Roundup
Jessica Simpson says a coyote stole her dog. Then again, it could have just been a waiter clearing dishes. She’s not very smart, you know. Apparently crack ain’t quite as wack as previously reported. Trailer for new Michael Jackson movie features lotsa flashy lights, backstage scenes and a dancing skeleton. Is there anyone out there…
This Just In: Concert Announcements
This week’s big shows include Jay-Z, Rob Zombie and Hawthorne Heights. Canceled Black Tide/New Medicine: Wed., Oct. 7. Grog Shop. This Just InGary Allan/Jack Ingram/the Eli Young Band: Thu., Nov. 19, 7:30 p.m., $28.50-$38.50 (LiveNation.com). Akron Civic Theatre. Big Brother & the Holding Company: Thu., Oct. 22. Beachland. Big D & the Kids’ Table/Ill Scarlett:…
Derf Previews the Cleveland Browns Season
Alright, so below this post you have Derf’s reaction to week one of the 2009 Cleveland Browns campaign (he’ll be back each week with his reactions in beautiful cartoon form). But for Scene’s current issue, Derf took the time to put pen to paper for a larger series previewing the entire season — hint: It…
Week One Browns Reaction by Derf
Scene runs Derf’s “The City” cartoon in the paper each week. Every now and then Derf also draws a cover for us or works on some other special project. In a move that he’s sure to regret almost immediately, he’s agreed to do a cartoon for each week of the Browns’ season. Below is the…
eBay Item of the Day: Vintage Cavs Sweater
Want. Period. We’ve all seen the Browns version of this sweater style, donned by coaches and assistants during the 1980’s, but never have I seen a sweet cotton Cavaliers design. $9.99, new, with the tags.
Pre-Show Interview: Tobacco
With every new record, rural Pennsylvania electronic pioneers Black Moth Super Rainbow expand their cult popularity with ever stranger, slicker and more beautiful psychedelic pop music. BMSR’s front man goes by the name Tobacco, and when he’s not making awesomely odd music with his hipster-approved band, he’s working on solo projects and homemade recordings with…
LeBron on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart
As if LeBron didn’t have enough reason to go to New York already, now Jon Stewart is wooing him with gifts — a Shake Shack burger, a “I Love NY” coffee mug, and a T-Rex vertebrae. (They also talk about his book, but that part’s boring.) The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs…
OSU Gameday Signs
Yeah, OSU lost, but it’s still fun to check out the signs. (Busted Coverage)
Weekend Dispatch from Columbus: “Even if we won, there wouldn’t be any highlights”
“O – H —- shiiiiiiiiiiiit” The postmortem on the big USC game has been covered more eloquently elsewhere than I could ever muster here. Bottom line: This wasn’t a case of OSU’s athletes being greatly outmatched by USC’s athletes. This was a case of Jim Tressel doing what Jim Tressel does. I was in Columbus…
Black Flag’s Greg Ginn Does In-Store Tomorrow
Prior to his Tuesday night concert at the Beachland, Black Flag guitarist-songwriter and DIY pioneer Greg Ginn will make an in-store appearance 7 p.m. at Blue Arrow (1600 Waterloo Rd.), the righteous, vinyl-centric Collinwood record store that’s right by the Beachland. Local blogs Addicted To Vinyl and Broken Headphones are presenting the event. Here’s a…
Monday Music News Roundup
Kanye West goes from eccentric genius to major asshole in one night. (Seriously, don’t mess with Taylor.) People who died: Jim Carroll. At least one Jackson family member is making news for their music. Elton John can’t adopt baby because he’s too old. Also because everything he’s released the past two decades kinda sucks. —Michael…
Large and in Charge: Big Pun’s Legacy
South Bronx rapper Big Punisher was one of hip-hop’s biggest stars during his heyday in the mid-’90s. Now, on the 10th anniversary of his death, he’s getting a career-spanning reissue: Legacy is putting out a 21-song compilation that coincides with tomorrow’s release of the Big Pun: The Legacy DVD, a documentary about the Puerto Rican…
eBay Item of the Day: Ray Renfro Browns/Steelers Lamp
In 1959, the Browns and Steelers squared off on November 22 in one of the greatest games in the history of the rivalry. Ray Renfro, one of the most dominant Cleveland receivers of all time, hauled in 3 touchdowns with a total of 161 yards. Of course, the Browns lost 21-20 on a late TD…
In Their Defense, the Video Would be Better if Those Freshmen Weren’t Smoking Beneath Them
Monday Morning Multiple Choice Question of Inconsequential Value: Mary Kay Cabot and Tony Grossi’s post game video was filmed at… A) The stairway at a Red Roof Inn. B) Stairwell B at John Marshall, but only because there were kids making out and smoking in Stairwell A. C) (From the Cleveland.com commenting section, a bastion…
Cover Corner: Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Monday
Coming to Cleveland soon is Down, a metal supergroup that’s written some of this era’s great classic rock songs. (Check out Wednesday’s Scene to read more about that.) This past weekend in New York City, Down performed a faithful cover of Van Halen’s “Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love” that kicked total ass. Here’s quality video of…
Photo Show: Ra Ra Riot at the Grog Shop, 9/13
Mark A. Pirri saw Ra Ra Riot at the Grog Shop last night. He brought his camera.
Concert Review: Ra Ra Riot @ Grog Shop, 9/13
The last time I saw Ra Ra Riot, they played Musica in Akron to a small but enthusiastic crowd. Since then, frontman Wes Miles teamed up with Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij (he plays everything from guitar to harpsichord) on the side project Discovery, whose self-titled album was a huge hit with indie rockers this summer.…
9/17: Rusko at B-Side
Not even 25, Rusko (born Christopher Mercer ) is already a dubstep icon. The genre itself isn’t all that old either: The movement grew out of the U.K.’s garage scene in the early part of the decade. If you don’t know the ins and outs of all the different electronic subgenres, dubstep is the one…
9/18: Finn in the Underworld at Liminis Theatre
Convergence-continuum artistic director Clyde Simon takes a turn onstage as a creepy neighbor in Jordan Harrison’s Finn in the Underworld, which tells the story of the 20-year-old title character, who returns to his childhood home with his mom and aunt after his dad dies. The ladies just want to pack up and get out, but…
9/18: Sondre Lerche at the Beachland
One minute Sondre Lerche is orchestrating brilliant songs that bubble with life; the next he’s writing simplified bullshit that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Jason Mraz album. Lucky for us, both ends of the spectrum exist on Lerche’s new CD, Heartbeat Radio. Over the course of 45 minutes, the 27-year-old Norwegian puts some…
9/19: Battle of the Bands at Wolstein Center
Maybe you think of high-school marching bands as a bunch of awkward teen geeks with braces and acne, playing tubas because they’re too skinny to play football. If you’ve ever seen East Cleveland’s Shaw High School Band at events like the St. Patrick’s Day Parade or the 11th District Community Caucus Labor Day Parade, they’ve…
9/19: Fiddler on the Roof at Beck Center
Because of the current economic climate, Beck Center for the Arts is keeping its Studio Theater dark for a season. It’s also booking more familiar titles on its main stage. Still, artistic director Scott Spence aims to keep things interesting. “Opening with Fiddler is a bit of an anomaly for us,” he admits. “The whole…
9/19: Joshua Radin at the Beachland
It isn’t every day that an indie artist like Joshua Radin eases his way onto the charts. But this Ohio-born singer-songwriter’s latest album, Simple Times, debuted in the Top 40, powered mostly by positive word of mouth, relentless touring and a little help from Patty Griffin, who sings on the record. Radin owes much of…
9/19: Tobacco at the Grog Shop
With every new record, rural Pennsylvania electronic pioneers Black Moth Super Rainbow grow their cult popularity with stranger, slicker and more beautiful psychedelic pop music. It all makes BMSR frontman Tobacco a little nostalgic for the band’s early days of homemade recordings, tape machines and creaking analog synthesizers. “The latest BMSR album [Eating Us] is…
9/16: CIM Faculty Recital
Mendelssohn’s two string quintets don’t quite bookend his career, since he wrote well-known works before and after them, including the popular oratorio Elijah. But they do fall near the beginning and end of his too-short repertoire. The first string quintet was written when the composer was just 17 years old and fuels the argument that…
9/16: Disney’s A Christmas Carol Train Tour
What would the holiday season be without a remake of Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol? In November, Disney will roll out a new animated version of the story in 3D and IMAX. Funnyman Jim Carrey provides the voice of Scrooge, and Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, The Polar Express) directs. To help promote…
9/17: Around the Corner 35th Anniversary
Lakewood watering hole Around the Corner (18616-20 Detroit Ave., 216.521.4413) has held down its spot where the road curves over the bridge into Rocky River for 35 years. So it’s celebrating with a long weekend of specials, starting tonight with food and drink bargains and music by DJ Gus (from 5-9 p.m.) and the modern…
Disney’s Christmas Carol train rolls into town
In November, Disney will roll out a new animated version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in 3D and IMAX. Funnyman Jim Carrey provides the voice of Scrooge, and Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, The Polar Express) directs. To help promote the flick, Disney is bringing an “interactive train” to town. On board, you’ll…
Tyler Perry’s new film is bad all by itself
Like so many of his movies, Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself, starts with a scene featuring Madea (Perry) and her ornery old sidekick Joe (Perry). The two wake up one night to find a group of three kids have broken into their house to steal Joe’s old VCR. Furious, they sit…
Sorority Row is surprisingly sterile
With Sorority Row, Hollywood proves once again there’s no trend it won’t run completely into the ground. Having already remade the best known entries in the late ’80s/early ’70s slasher movie cycle, it’s now come down to this: Sorority Row, a more succinctly titled do-over of 1983’s largely forgotten The House on Sorority Row. The…
Touch Throws a Party for Itself
Ohio City’s Touch Supper (and dance) Club celebrates the fourth anniversary of its re-opening tomorrow. The party will go all day and all night. The bash kicks off at noon, with a pig roast outside. Later, Rafeeq will host an outdoor performance by Muamim Collective. Free appetizers will be served. Inside at night, DJ Jugoe…
Flat Can Co Release New Album, Play Free Show Tonight
They just sent out the e-mail this morning, and it sounds a trifle informal, as things tend to be with the experimental band. Flat Can Co, who call themselves “primitive technology specialists,” will be playing at 10 tonight at their frequent stomping ground, Pat’s in the Flats, to celebrate the release of their new album,…
Friday Music News Roundup
Courtney Love has a perfectly good reason why she doesn’t remember giving Guitar Hero the OK to use Kurt Cobain’s likeness: She was high. Or crazy. Or Both. Drew Barrymore plans to ruin a whole bunch of songs you like in her directorial debut. The Beatles: Still making more money than you ever will. Mary…
Weekend Show Preview: Digital Leather
Vintage synthesizer manipulator and noisemaker Digital Leather (a.k.a. Shawn Foree) hasn’t left his Omaha home for a fall tour yet, but he’s already made the citizens of Lafayette, Indiana, nervous. “We’re already getting all this shit from the promoter there,” he says. “The last time we played there, we did some shit onstage that frightened…
Pixelated Cobain Battle Heats Up
You’ve probably heard that Kurt Cobain can be unlocked in the new Guitar Hero game, which allows players to make him do horrible, horrible things. You may also have heard that Courtney Love — Cobain’s widow and the person responsible for signing away his likeness — is claiming she had no idea that the late…
YOUR VERY OWN CHEF
Steve Schimoler of Crop Bistro As honorary chair of last year’s FLAVORS of Northeast Ohio, the American Liver Foundation’s annual fundraiser, I had the opportunity to work closely with both the participating chefs and the generous attendees. By the end of what by all accounts was a rousing success, we had commitments from nearly all…
9/21: FLAVORS of Northeast Ohio
Steve Schimoler of Crop Bistro As honorary chair of last year’s FLAVORS of Northeast Ohio, the American Liver Foundation’s annual fundraiser, I had the opportunity to work closely with both the participating chefs and the generous attendees. By the end of what by all accounts was a rousing success, we had commitments from nearly all…
Local filmmaker makes Hollywood Horror Top 10 list
“The Nightmare,” a short film directed by Aurora’s Jeff M. Breyer, has been announced as a top 10 finalist in the Chiller Channel-Universal Studios Hollywood Studios Hollywood Halloween Horror Nights Scary Good Short Film Contest. A panel of four judges, including Saw director and editor Kevin Greutert, picked the 10 finalists, and the general public…
I CAN HAS SPEEDRECORD?
What’s the fastest creature on land? Anyone who knows their big cats knows that it’s that handsome spotted streaker known as the cheetah (no relation to the infinitely slower Dead Boys guitarist Cheetah Chrome), which has been known to reach speeds up to 70 mph. Now the Cincinnati Zoo, which is world-renowned for its big-cat…
My One and Only opens at Shaker Cinemas
My One and Only, a period piece based on the childhood of actor George Hamilton, opens exclusively this weekend at Shaker Cinemas. Here is our review of the film. My One and Only George Deveraux (Logan Lerman) is a 15-year-old who shows up at a car dealership one day with enough cash to buy a…
Herb & Dorothy shows tonight and Sunday at CMA
A documentary about two art collectors who happened to be in the right place at the right time, Herb & Dorothy shows tonight at 7 at the Cleveland Museum of Art. In case you miss it, it shows again at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 13. Here’s our review of the film. Herb & Dorothy…
Flame and Citron opens at Cedar Lee this weekend
This weekend, the Cedar Lee Theatre exclusively opens the Danish Nazi film Flame & Citron. Here’s our review of the movie. Flame & Citron Based on a true story, this is a companion piece of sorts to Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds. No, Danish Nazi hunters Flame (Thure Lindhardt) and Citron (Mads Mikkelsen) don’t skin their…
THEY SAY YOU BETTER LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF REASON
Cleveland media analyst John Gorman’s Gorman Media Blog is one of the top-rated radio-oriented blogs in the county. Last week, the blog was declared the top-rated radio site in Google page ranks by Blogrank, a web-traffic monitoring service run by e-commerce consultants Invesp.com. Google ranks the Gorman blog above popular sites like the Infinite Dial…
9/18: Seth Walker at the Winchester
When you think of Texas blues-rockers, colorful names like Stevie Ray, T-Bone and Delbert come to mind. “Seth Walker” sounds way out of place in that company. But in recent years Walker has proven that he deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as those icons. Delbert McClinton is probably the firmest link, since…
LAST CALL FOR LIFE-CHANGING CLEVELAND STORIES
Poster by Derf Life can change in a heartbeat. One minute you’re crossing Euclid texting your BFF about hooking up for drinks, the next you’re in an ambulance being driven from the scene where you were run down by an RTA driver on her cell phone. One minute you’re sitting alone in the bleachers watching…
LAST CALL FOR LIFE-CHANGING CLEVELAND STORIES
Poster by Derf Life can change in a heartbeat. One minute you’re crossing Euclid texting your BFF about hooking up for drinks, the next you’re in an ambulance being driven from the scene where you were run down by an RTA driver on her cell phone. One minute you’re sitting alone in the bleachers watching…
MYSPACE THINKS OF THE CHILDREN
The poster for Thursday’s Doro concert at Peabody’s was too hot for MySpace. On its MySpace page, local opening band Destructor posted a flyer that featured artwork from the German headliner’s new album, Fear No Evil. In the picture, a cartoon version of the blonde, leather-clad singer stands in flames, holding a pack of demons…
Super Duper Link Dump Thing
It’s like writing, but not really. — Jay-Z was on Letterman’s late-night show and talked about his new record, which you might have heard a thing or two about already, the Nets, the Cavs, LeBron, and Shaq. Video above, if that wasn’t obvious. — Staying on the LeBron rumors and innuendo front, the New York…
Michael Stanley and Alex Bevan Headline Fundraiser
Roots of American Music, the 10-year-old local nonprofit group that enlists area musicians to go into schools and use traditional musical forms to teach kids about American history and culture, is hosting its annual benefit and its biggest fundraiser of the year at 7 p.m. on October 10 at the Beachland Ballroom. ROAM has snagged…
Blink-182 Get New Openers
I still haven’t made up my mind if this is good news or bad news. Fall Out Boy and All American Rejects are replacing Weezer, Taking Back Sunday and Chester French at Blink-182’s rescheduled Blossom Music Center concert on September 30. On one hand, I’m happy I won’t have to sit through the blah Taking…
Thursday Music News Roundup
Ellen DeGeneres joins American Idol. Because it isn’t gay enough already. Some band called the Beatles had a pretty good day yesterday. Chris Brown drops out of Michael Jackson because he’s gonna be too busy slapping around some bitches . Instead of writing shitty music, Good Charlotte frontman tweets about his kid. We all win.…
BOEHNER MORE DESPICABLE BY THE DAY
Maybe the modern Republican party is just a massive performance-art experiment. That’s as good an explanation as any for why House Minority Leader John Boehner would say with a straight face: “It’s really time to just stop, hit the reset button, and sit down in a bi-partisan way to make out health care system better,”…
Concert Review: Black Hollies at Beachland Tavern, 9/9
The Black Hollies’ Nick Ferrante conquered on his drummer’s throne at the Beachland Tavern last night. The band’s entire set transitioned from one bluesy Brit-pop tune to the next without words and fueled by drum solos. (Surprisingly, Ferrante isn’t even the band’s original drummer; he’s filling a void left by Scott Thomas Bolasci.) With bad-ass…
Reviews of the Cinematheque’s weekend films
The Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque is showing several great movies this weekend. Here are our reviews of three of them. Know Your Mushrooms (Canada, 2008) Part Discovery Channel-style nature doc, part totally awesome mind-fuck, Know Your Mushrooms digs up the historical and social impact of shrooms through the ages. Using Telluride, Colorado’s annual four-day…
Photo Show: Black Hollies at Beachland Tavern, 9/9
Scene’s Carissa Bowlin checked out the Black Hollies at the Beachland Tavern last night. Here’s what she saw.
First Offense Play 10th Birthday Show
First Offense will play a 10th birthday show on Saturday at Annabell’s (784 W. Market St., Akron). The set will feature old favorites and appearances by friends like Rachel Logic of Dropgun, who will also play the show. Doors open at 9 p.m. Scene talked to frontman Dan Doverspike, who’s the last remaining original member.…
Audiblethread Finally Release Debut Album
Local quintet Audiblethread have been kicking around since the early 2000s, making music that’s heavily influenced by the heavy post-grunge of the ’90s, bridging the gap between grunge and nü metal and referencing artists like Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots and Staind. They’ve opened for bands like Drowning Pool, Queensryche and Taproot. And they’ve…
After Reaching the Getaway Car, He Pounded Himself on the Head
If I told you that a bank robber was wearing a Cavaliers jersey during the heist, there’s really only one jersey and one player that would be most appropriate, right? No, not Ricky Davis, although you’re close. The man in the picture robbed a bank in Raleigh, North Carolina, while wearing — yes, you know…
Whiteout is a crappy would-be thriller
A formulaic story directed and acted with bland competence, Whiteout is yet another would-be thriller that fails to raise the pulse. Carrie (Kate Beckinsale) is a U.S. Marshall haunted by a “Tragic Event From the Past.” Her way of coping is to take a posting at an Antarctic science station where it’s too damn cold…
HEALTHCARE REFORM DOESN’T HAVE TO BE SCARY
Robert Reich cites Cleveland in this straightforward explanation of the public option portion of healthcare reform.
Album Review — Jay-Z: The Blueprint 3
Jay-ZThe Blueprint 3(Roc Nation/Atlantic) Invulnerability is the pot of gold at the end of hip-hop’s proverbial rainbow, the brass ring every rising MC aspires to seize. Jay-Z’s had it for the better part of the decade: consistent album sales, unimpeachable crossover appeal, a decent-if-unspectacular run as president of Def Jam, marriage to modern R&B’s flyest…
Music Saves: $9.99 New Music for 9/9/09
In honor of 9/09/09, today and today only, Music Saves — Collinwood’s awesome and righteous indie music store— is selling all new stuff that’s normally $13.99 and less for just $9.99. “CDs, LPs, DVDs, tees, record bowls, record bags, etc.,” promises the shop’s bulletin. And in this case, “new stuff” means “stuff that’s not used.”…
This Just In: Concert Announcements
NEW DATES: Blink 182/Weezer: Rescheduled date, tickets for previous date will be honored, Wed., Sept. 30, 6:30 p.m., $26-69 (LiveNation.com or Ticketmaster). Blossom Music Center. Pitbull/David Rush: Mon., Oct. 19, 8 p.m., $22 ADV/four-pack general admission tickets $66 (LiveNation.com). House of Blues. THIS JUST IN: Affiance/No Braggin Rights/Destruction of a Rose: Wed., Oct. 7, 6:30…
New Music Added in Scene’s Local Jukebox
TUT, This is Antarctica, and Vigatron are all local acts that are covered one way or another in the newest issue of Scene, so we thought it prudent to bang on their doors until they handed over some mp3’s. They acquiesced and those songs have been added to our local jukebox. Go check it out.…
Vote in Scene’s Best of Cleveland Survey
It’s that time of year again — when we separate the Nuevo Acapulcos from the Taco Bells, the Nicholas Megalises from the crappy cover band playing Bon Jovi songs on a Friday night. Yep, it’s Best Of time! And we want to hear what you have to say about Cleveland’s best neighborhood, best local blog…
Documentary about Iran screens at Oberlin College
Oberlin alumna Norma Percy returns to her alma mater this week to screen Iran and the West, the acclaimed three-hour made-for-TV documentary film she’s made with the British production company Brook Lapping, an organization the Wall Street Journal has called “the Rolls Royce of documentary-makers.” Part One, dubbed “The Man Who Changed the World (1978-81)”…
Vote in Scene’s Best of Cleveland Poll
It’s that time of year again — when we separate the Nuevo Acapulcos from the Taco Bells, the Nicholas Megalises from the crappy cover band playing Bon Jovi songs on a Friday night. Yep, it’s Best Of time! And we want to hear what you have to say about Cleveland’s best neighborhood, best local blog…
Revolution 9-9-9
Have you made up your mind about the new Beatles remasters that come out today? The Beatles’ 14-album catalog (which now includes the two-disc Past Masters singles compilation) are available as a hefty box — which lists for $260 — or you can buy the albums individually (most list for $19, but you can find…
Ice People has its local premiere tonight at CMA
A documentary about four geologists who work in the Antarctic, Ice People has its local premiere tonight at 7 at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Here’s our review of the film. Ice People (France/U.S., 2008) While beautifully filmed, this documentary about four geologists looking for fossils in Antarctica doesn’t have any real drama. Sure, the…
Deal Breaker
For a guy who’s just been dropped by his label, Cryptopsy drummer Flo Mounier is surprisingly cheerful. “We’ve been meaning to finish our contract with Century Media, because it was really not advantageous to us at all,” says Mounier. “It was something we signed when we were kids, not realizing we’d be so exploited. As…
CD Review: Os Mutantes
Axl Rose, stand down. A new benchmark for gaps between albums has just been set by a true legend. Haih or Amortecedor is the first album of new material by iconic Brazilian collective Os Mutantes in three-and-a half decades. How important is this band? They were ’60s contemporaries of Gilberto Gil, who welcomed them into…
Around Hear: “Reunion” Is the Word of the Month
Amps II Eleven will play a reunion show on Saturday, September 12, at Now That’s Class (11213 Detroit Ave.). Unlike last year’s relapse, this gig suggests a limited future for the defunct band, which Scene readers voted Best Rock Band of 2005, shortly before they split. Guitarist Aaron Dowell, who now plays with the Nick…
CD Review: Wild Beasts
Wild Beasts’ 2008 debut, Limbo, Panto, sits deservingly in the canon of eccentric English musical melodramas — somewhere between Genesis, Queen and Mika. This quartet has a flair for carnivalesque chamber pop, highlighted by Hayden Thorpe’s falsetto vocals. The band’s music is a pastiche of bombastic genres — operatic rock, pastoral prog and glam-pop just…
Arts District: RTA and Art
The rare combination of concert-level piano ability and acting skills honed on the Canadian Yiddish theater circuit opened the door to Hershey Felder’s trilogy “The Composer Sonata.” After his first two installments — Gershwin Alone and Monsieur Chopin — did well here in 2007-2008, Felder comes back to the Cleveland Play House this week to…
CD Review: The Clean
There’s no denying the influence that New Zealand art-punk trio the Clean have had on indie rockers since their formation in the late ’70s: Bands like Yo La Tengo and Pavement have named them as an inspiration. Their spotty output has been anthologized three times, an unusual honor for a band slightly less famous than…
CLASS IN SESSION
Ten days before opening night, SPACES’ walls are bare and the galleries empty, except for a couple of folding tables and a few stalagmite sculptures by the Israeli artist Efrat Klipshtien, left over from the gallery’s last show. The gallery is preparing for director Christopher Lynn’s first foray into programming here. He’s been at the…
Mystery and Manners
Art is always a kind of crime scene. Images are stolen, lies are told. Only rarely are people murdered, at least in the art itself, but by leaving a trace of lives beyond our own, artwork remembers the passion that fills human space. Mallorie Freeman’s oil paintings and mixed-media works on paper are a romantic…
Working-Class Zeroes
Mike Judge isn’t a great director. His previous films, Office Space and Idiocracy, have a pedestrian, amateurish quality that makes them look like high-school projects. But he does have a great ear for dialogue, something that was apparent even in the boneheaded Beavis and Butt Head ‘toon he scripted for MTV. His latest film Extract…
Wings of Desire
Since 1999, F. David Norris, a.k.a. Vigatron, has been shattering boundaries in the world of underground hip-hop. You might question the quality of his music, but you can’t accuse this journeyman rhyme-slinger of being ordinary. A Vigatron show is not your run-of-the mill experience. “They love it when I wear the wings,” says Norris with…
Working-Class Zeroes
Mike Judge isn’t a great director. His previous films, Office Space and Idiocracy, have a pedestrian, amateurish quality that makes them look like high-school projects. But he does have a great ear for dialogue, something that was apparent even in the boneheaded Beavis and Butt Head ‘toon he scripted for MTV. His latest film Extract…
FIlm Caps
Opening Flame & Citron Based on a true story, this is a companion piece of sorts to Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds. No, Danish Nazi hunters Flame (Thure Lindhardt) and Citron (Mads Mikkelsen) don’t skin their victims, but they do relentlessly go after anyone and everyone who has ever pledged allegiance to Das Fuhrer. They start…
Fungus Among Us
Part Discovery Channel-style nature doc, part totally awesome mind-fuck, Know Your Mushrooms digs up the historical and social impact of shrooms through the ages. Using Telluride, Colorado’s annual four-day Mushroom Festival as its springboard, the film chronicles pretty much every facet of mushroom culture (yes, there is one). A bunch of shroom experts, amateur hunters…
Vital Organs
Search YouTube for Barbara Dennerlein and you're sure to be dazzled by the footage of her footwork, not to mention her hands. She's not an athlete, but a startlingly original musician with a mission: to bring the organ into the 21st century. To that end, Dennerlein performs on both the jazzy Hammond B-3, and its…
Reel Cleveland: Coal Country Premiere
The Ohio premiere of Coal Country, a documentary about mountain-top-removal coal mining and the damage it causes to the environment, takes place at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, at the Akron Civic Theatre (182 S. Main St., 330.957.6167, akroncivic.com). For country/folk singer Kathy Mattea, the movie coincided with work she did with Al Gore to…
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah
The Beatles’ catalog was first released on CD in 1987, when most folks were beginning to replace their record collections with the tiny silver discs. The sound was remarkable … for 1987. But 22 years of technological evolution made those albums sound, well, like they were released in 1987. Apple/EMI just remastered and reissued the…
Soundcheck: JOHN MICHAEL MONTGOMERY
Just a good ol’ boy from Danville, Kentucky, singer John Michael Montgomery started playing country music with his parents’ honky-tonk band. He kept at it, first in a band with his brother Eddie (who would go on to fame with the duo Montgomery Gentry) and then as a solo artist, releasing his chart-topping debut, Life’s…
Streams Come True
IT’S DIFFICULT TO THINK OF A BETTER FILM released in the past year than Hunger. The directorial debut of video artist Steve McQueen, it traces the events of the 1981 Provisional Irish Republican Army hunger strike in Northern Ireland’s Maze Prison in which Bobby Sands (played by Michael Fassbender) starved himself to death, along with…
CD Review: Yo La Tengo
When a band like Yo La Tengo names an album Popular Songs, you can bet it’s meant to be tongue-in-cheek — especially when it leads off with a nearly six-minute psychedelic number like “Here to Fall.” The New Jersey trio’s 12th studio release — which comes hot on the heels of their Fuckbook cover collection…
CELEBRITY ROAST
When it comes to discerning coffee quality, most drinkers think like Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart in the landmark 1964 obscenity case Jacobellis v. Ohio: They cannot define it, but they know it when they taste it. For those of us who have had the pleasure of tasting the caffeinated creations at Erie Island Coffee…
CD Review: The Used
These Utah post-hardcore rockers have put their bruised-and-scarred image to good use over the past seven years. The opening song on their fourth album is called “Blood on My Hands,” and throughout Artwork frontman Bert McCracken leads the Used through a bunch of songs about drugs, death and misery. They know the subject well: McCracken’s…
Bites: R.J. Boland’s Opening
It’s been over three years since a business operated at 728 Prospect. The address most recently was home to the Waterhouse, but before that, it housed Phil the Fire and Diamondback Brewery. If all goes as planned, the new tenant will be up and running by late October. Described by its owner as a high-energy…
CD Review: David Bazan
The lyrics on David Bazan’s first album under his own name read like a personal guide to his conflicts with Christianity. The album opens with “Hard to Be,” which doubts the validity of Adam and Eve’s story and seems to reach to the heavens for answers with graceful piano and swelling synthesizer, as Bazan questions…
September Boys
TOP PICK Big Star: Keep an Eye on the Sky (Rhino) These power-pop legends released only two albums during their lifetime (a long-lost third record and a reunion album came out later). Yet this massive box manages to fill four CDs with plenty of previously unreleased tunes. Most of them are demos and alternate takes,…
CD Review: Taken by Trees
Making world music is no easy task. Incorporating elements of various musical traditions — some esoteric, some immediately recognizable — into a single, striking work of art is like building a car out of parts from numerous models. If the thing runs, it’s a miracle. On East of Eden, Taken by Trees’ sophomore album, songwriter…
