Scene Jan 27, 2016 by Chava Communications

january 27 - february 2, 2016 • VOL. 46 Issue 30

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| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

JA N UA RY 27 - F EBRUA RY 2, 2016 • VOLU M E 46 N O 30 Dedicated to Free Times founder Richard H. Siegel (1935-1993) and Scene founder Richard Kabat Publisher Chris Keating

CONTENTS

Associate Publisher Desiree Bourgeois Editor Vince Grzegorek

Upfront

Editorial Managing Editor Eric Sandy Music Editor Jeff Niesel Staff Writer Sam Allard Writer-at-large Kyle Swenson Web Editor Bliss Davis Dining Editor Douglas Trattner Contributing Dining Editor Nikki Delamotte Stage Editor Christine Howey Visual Arts Editor Josh Usmani

Government incompetence revealed in Sebring water crisis, prosecutor’s race heats up, and more

Framed

Feature

Get Out!

Art

Stage

Film

Dining

Our favorite photos we’ve shared with you this week

Advertising Senior Multimedia Account Executive John Crobar, Shayne Rose Multimedia Account Executive Kiara Hunter-Davis, Joseph Williamson, Savannah Drdek Creative Services Production Manager Steve Miluch Layout Editor/Graphic Designer Christine Hahn Staff Photographer Emanuel Wallace

With tensions high, is Cleveland ready for what comes with the Republican National Convention?

Business Asst. To The Publisher Angela Lott Sales Assistant/Receptionist Megan Stimac Circulation Circulation Director Don Kriss Euclid Media Group Chief Executive Offi cer Andrew Zelman Chief Operating Offi cers Chris Keating, Michael Wagner Human Resources Director Lisa Beilstein Digital Operations Coordinator Jaime Monzon www.euclidmediagroup.com

Dozens of events spanning the next week in Cleveland

New MOCA exhibitions focus on moments when we ‘meet’ a work of art

National Advertising Voice Media Group 1-800-278-9866, voicemediagroup.com Cleveland Scene 737 Bolivar Rd, #4100 Cleveland, OH 44115 www.clevescene.com Phone 216-241-7550 Retail & Classifi ed Fax 216-241-6275 Editoral Fax 216-802-7212 E-mail scene@clevescene.com

The giggles come fast and furious, but the rest is a bit shallow in The Realistic Joneses

Cleveland Scene Magazine is published every week by Euclid Media Group. Verifi ed Audit Member Cleveland Distribution Scene is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader Copyright The entire contents of Cleveland Scene Magazine are copyright 2015 by Euclid Media Group. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Publisher does not assume any liability for unsolicited manuscripts, materials, or other content. Any submission must include a stamped, selfaddressed envelope. All editorial, advertising, and business correspondence should be mailed to the address listed above. Subscriptions $150 (1 yr); $ 80 (6 mos.) Send name, address and zip code with check or money order to the address listed above with the title ‘Attn: Subscription Department’

Mustang is the heartbreaking story of rural Turkish conservatism

How brunch became Cleveland’s favorite meal of the week, and more

Music

Thirty years on, indie rockers Yo La Tengo still ‘enjoy every moment’

Savage Love

34 ...The story continues at clevescene.com

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UPFRONT Sebring Water SyStem ProblemS identified aS early aS november

THIS WEEK

According to letters from the ohio environmental Protection agency, the Sebring, ohio, public water system’s lead problems — first publicly acknowledged on Jan. 21 — were identified as early as last november. (Sebring is a small village about 60 miles southeast of cleveland.) a nov. 23 letter from the ohio ePa expresses concerns over how Sebring water information was being filed with the state agency. reports show that lead levels higher than the regulatory threshold of 15 parts per billion had been found in multiple locations. Seven residential homes clocked lead levels of 21 parts per billion. the ohio ePa ordered the Sebring city government to begin posting “informational notices” about a noted increase in lead levels in the water by nov. 29, 2015. that did not happen. Public records reveal what appears to be an overly patient ePa allowing a lackadaisical village to sit on its hands for months at a time. (read the full letters at clevescene.com.) on monday, the state ordered the suspension of Sebring Water Superintendent Jim Bates amid a criminal investigation into claims that he may have falsified reports pertaining to lead levels in the water system. Locally, however, scrutiny is landing on the desk of city manager richard Giroux, who oversees the superintendent’s duties and who says he passed along “a routine memo” to Bates, insisting that he follow up. “i was under the assumption that he was following through on what he needed to do in order to make the ePa compliance,” Giroux said monday night. he went on to say that he didn’t know there was “an issue” until a teleconference on Jan. 21. it’s unclear what he meant by that. Giroux, pressed by an angry

“This city lacks communication.” — Aaron Teis audience in council chambers, said that he passed the information along to council members in “one of [his] weekly memos” sometime before Jan. 21. it’s similarly unclear when or if that happened. on tuesday morning, Scene requested copies of all memos sent from Giroux to council since nov. 1, 2015. indeed, Sebring residents, packed tightly into the municipal building monday night, confronted Giroux and other local representatives to try and discern the timeline of how this lead advisory came to be. in short, we’ve learned, the people who knew about the extreme lead levels waited for months before taking action. other officials were allegedly left in the dark, like the public. one councilman told the crowd monday night that he first saw the ePa records on monday after WkBn published them online. Parsing out a sense of accountability is at least one

We Like it that Way

Matthew Dellavedova’s PeruvianSumatran coffee blend hits shelves this week. Local bean pundits immediately pounce, calling the brew “dirty.” | clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

element of the ePa’s ongoing investigation into Bates’ work. as far as residents’ perception of city management goes, there remains much up for debate.’ “you ask if we drink the water,” mayor michael Pinkerton said, responding to a question from the crowd monday night. “i’m telling you, we drink the water.” he later exchanged words with a woman who said her 2-year-old child tested positive for the presence of lead in his blood. “Doesn’t mean it comes from the water, ma’am,” Giroux said. the audience groaned in unison. “he wasn’t eating paint, it had to come from the water,” the woman replied. as of press time, the school district remained closed, and bottled water was still being distributed in the city. the Sebring water system boasts some 8,100 mahoning county customers -- only a fraction of whom have confirmed

iceman cometh

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers still fighting to dump toxic sludge into Lake Erie. USACE spokesman Professor X said: “We feel we’re onto something, oh, rather psychic here.”

if you Beer it...

Cleveland Winter Beerfest draws thousands of craft beers fans to downtown convention center. County Exec Armond Budish, sensing golden opportunity: “Alright. We’ll just do this every weekend.”

lead in their water at home. it’s the fear, however, heightened by international news coverage of the water crisis in flint, mich., that is pushing the small village’s residents to demand answers -- and quickly. the path toward safe drinking water in Sebring is the first question. hot on its heels: Who could have prevented this? aaron teis, holding his 12-dayold daughter in his arms while speaking with WkBn on monday, squared the matter simply: “this city lacks communication.”

O’Malley vs. McGinty: the Race is On. former Parma Safety Director mike o’malley officially launched his campaign to unseat cuyahoga county Prosecutor timothy mcGinty last thursday night, casting himself as the underdog in a David-vs-Goliath battle. “it’s never an easy task to take on an incumbent county prosecutor,” o’malley told the crowd of gathered friends, family and political supporters at the downtown press conference. “especially this one... i made a very difficult decision to run for this position because i truly feel in my heart that it is needed.” o’malley said that ever since mcGinty took office in 2013, there’s been a steady, in fact “complete,” deterioration of public trust in the position. he pledged to restore that trust by prosecuting fairly and impartially, bringing his 30 years of experience to bear on a “ship that needs turned around now.” in particular, o’malley cited mcGinty’s handling of the tamir rice case — its duration, its assorted controversies, mcGinty’s “insane desire to selectively release information” during the grand jury proceedings — as grounds for loss of faith.

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UPFRONT O’Malley is a former Cleveland city councilman and assistant county prosecutor who served under County Prosecutor Bill Mason. He pitched himself as the anti-McGinty, a candidate who will “build bridges,” especially with members of the African-American community, who feel that the system is no longer working for them. But his policy initiatives, at least Thursday, were thin. He alluded to an upcoming press conference at which, he said, he’ll make a more specific announcement related to grand jury reform. But he said that in general terms, he’d bring the spirit of collaboration that he learned in city council to the office, especially as it pertained to reforms at the state level. He also said he wouldn’t object to a special prosecutor in police use of deadly force cases. He would not, however, disclose how exactly he would’ve handled

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Number of times Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty mentioned that the Tamir Rice grand jury didn’t vote on criminal charges prior to last week’s Scene report.

the Tamir Rice case differently. Clevelanddotcom’s Mark Naymik pressed him on whether or not officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback broke the law and O’Malley deflected. Naymik said he felt like O’Malley’s supporters ought to know, given that they’re supporting him precisely because of the Tamir Rice debacle. “[Some O’Malley supporters] are willing to hold their noses because they believe McGinty must go at all costs,” Naymik wrote, “even if it means backing a less than forthcoming or imperfect candidate.” Out on the campaign trail, O’Malley said, he is often asked about “politics in the office.” That’s presumably a reference to the heydey of Bill Mason. Mason’s assistants frequently held political positions. O’Malley said nosireebob — that wouldn’t be happening when he takes over. And on that score he’s following in McGinty’s footsteps. The first thing on the docket for him, he said, would be getting out to “every last corner of the county” to help residents understand the office and restore their faith in leadership. O’Malley was preceded in his remarks by an assembly line of suburban Mayors and local politicians lending their support. NAACP leaders were in attendance, as were Cleveland City Council President Kevin Kelley and Councilmen Kevin Conwell and Brian Kazy. Parma Heights Mayor Michael Byrne gave a short statement about O’Malley’s work ethic, reportedly gleaned from his father (though it’s fair to assume that his mother, who raised all 11 O’Malley children, was equally hard-working). Byrne concluded by saying he was proud to endorse Mike O’Malley for County recorder. A harmless faux-pas, surely; but it may have reminded some in attendance that that position was held by Mike O’Malley’s brother Pat, the disgraced county official who pleaded guilty to a felony obscenity charge and, while in office, had been associated with a number of shady dealings.

NEOMG TriEs NEw BraNd ON FOr sizE, will BEcOME “advaNcE OhiO” Executives at the “digital

| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

marketing and advertising company” formerly known as the Northeast Ohio Media Group announced Tuesday that they will henceforth be known as “Advance Ohio.” The name change, Advance Ohio President Tim Knight said, reflects the “growth” (sic) of the company, along with what he thinks ought to be its entrepreneurial spirit. “Advance Ohio really reflects what we know the company can be, which is a digitally focused media company that really serves all of Ohio,” Knight said. “It’s a terrific opportunity for us to think about telling advertisers more about what products and services we really have.” Will Advance Ohio, then, be covering news and sports in Dayton and Marietta and elsewhere? One doubts it, given that, at least according to Knight, “Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer will remain the same.” The only change beyond the name itself evident in the announcement seems to be a renewed commitment to sell ads (or “serve customers”) outside of the region. Knight said this would be possible by using digital data compiled from other Advance Local markets. But that’s a head scratcher, given that none of the other Advance Local sites are Ohio-based. Advance Ohio’s Marketing Director chimed in to say that one of the company’s chief “struggles” has been communicating what it is they actually do. (Amen!) But beyond “helping [advertisers] with their marketing strategies,” that question remained unanswered. Knight repeated that Advance Ohio is a digital company -digital! digital! -- and that, in order to succeed, it must assume the poses and attitudes of other successful digital companies. It must be “nimble,” for instance. It must also have cool, collaborative office space. It’s all so Orwellian and depressing, the way these executives talk. Knight champions the company’s growth, even though ever since his arrival in October he’s done little but lay people off, including two suburban reporters, (that we know about), as of last week. Knight arrived from the Chicago Sun-Times, where he was vilified for canning the entirety of the newspaper’s photography

department. He deployed a digital strategy (almost identical in rhetoric and vision to Advance Ohio) that was ridiculed and decried by local and national media analysts.

disMissal OF vErMiliON POlicE caPTaiN whO wOrE PrO-wEEd lEGalizaTiON PiN UPhEld Chalk this up to a crash-and-burn for free speech. Last November, a local police officer was spotted wearing a pro-Issue 3 button while in uniform. Mixing politics with policing may seem like a fair reason to raise concern — but remember Issue 3 was the blitz to legalize marijuana. What might otherwise have been a small-change incident blew up. The officer ended up losing his job, and his firing was upheld by a civil service commission this week. It all started last November when Captain Michael Reinheimer, the second highest guy in Vermilion’s police department, went to work as a police auctioneer with a “I Support Legalization 2016” badge pinned to his police jacket, right near his badge. By the next day, the department was fielding complaints about Reinheimer’s statement. The captain was put on administrative leave. “Capt. Reinheimer has made no bones about his personal opinions on legalization and on more than one occasion has publicly made them known,” Vermilion Chief Chris Hartung told the Chronicle-Telegram at the time. “But you cannot advocate for any political issue through your office. You can’t do that as a Civil Service employee.” For his own part, it seems Reinheimer didn’t leave much of a question about where his sympathies lay. In the days following the controversy, a comment popped up on a pro-legalization Facebook page, allegedly from the officer, which read in part: “I fully support the legalization of marijuana in Ohio. This button was given to me today before our Police Department’s auction. I proudly wore it on my uniform jacket for the whole auction to show my support.” In addition to the weed button, the city justified the firing by turning up incidents where the captain had failed to follow regulations for firearms training. (Check clevescene.com for updates.)

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FRAMED!

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Good game @ Beer pong tourney at Liquid

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Never miss a beat! See more pics @ clevescene.com Order up! @ Cleveland Winter Beerfest

| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

Share your best shots with SCENE – just tag or mention us! ™ @ clevescene t @ cleveland_scene ` @ ClevelandScene • #clevescene

| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

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| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

FEATURE

THE MAIN STAGE

The GOP is coming to town in July. Experts say a significant number of protestors and demonstrators are too. With tensions high, is Cleveland ready for what comes with the Republican National Convention? By Daniel McGraw IN JANUARY OF 1968, EIGHT months before the Democrats were to meet in Chicago to formally nominate their candidate for president, there were no blatant signs that one of the worst civic unrest situations in U.S. history would be taking place in August. The Black Panthers were a little militant group that had not yet expanded out of Oakland, California. The Yippies, a confluence of anti-war groups, had just formally named themselves on New Year’s Eve of 1967 and wouldn’t announce their existence to the world until March. The Viet Cong Tet Offensive hadn’t started yet in the Vietnam War, a final nail in the coffin that helped convince the public that the war was becoming unwinnable. LBJ hadn’t announced he wasn’t running, and Alabama governor George Wallace hadn’t yet announced he was running as an Independent geared toward Southern whites opposed to black civil rights changes in the country. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were

still alive. And CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite hadn’t yet told the American people that “we are mired in a stalemate” in Vietnam. By August 26, 1968, when the Chicago convention began, MLK and RFK were dead, the Vietnam War was perceived as a lost cause, and Yippies and Black Panthers had thousands of followers camped out in Grant Park. The city of Chicago was more of a war zone than a host city for conventioneers. As Cleveland is now six months out from hosting the Republican National Convention in July, Northeast Ohio cheerleaders are still pushing their wishful narrative that this event will be a wonderful showcase for Cleveland to a worldwide audience. It will, hopefully, be a week when the national media and political leadership will bring the “Cleveland Comeback” story to the world. But what no one is talking about is the other part of the convention, the tens of thousands of protestors who might descend upon

the city and make their presence felt. In fact, the local media act as if none of those protesting folks will stop by. And the question that is unanswered, and will be until after the convention is done, is whether the world will remember Cleveland as the place with those cute restaurants on East Fourth Street and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Lake Erie, or as the city that was under siege by protestors telling the world about racial injustice and gun control and climate change and the defunding of Planned Parenthood. Some think it might be as disruptive as Chicago in 1968 during the Democratic National Convention, when the Chicago police had their own riot. Others think Cleveland will find a way to keep the protesters out of sight. But it is quite evident that the divisiveness in the country has a good chance of boiling over this summer in Cleveland. In January 1968, it was evident that there was rage and hate and

distain bubbling below the surface, much more than what was showing up in the news headlines. Campus protests over the war had started in the previous few years, and some of these students were burning their draft cards in public protest, but the big ones hadn’t happened yet. The civil rights movement had had some big victories under King: the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965. There were also very violent marches like Selma and other racial violence prior to 1968. But middle-class white America wasn’t real comfortable with these changes, and it all came to a head in many ways in Chicago. Chicago police cracked heads, because they were getting tired of being accused of being a problem. Politicians were divided on where the country was headed, and race was being interjected into the presidential campaign with Wallace running. The white middle-class majority felt left out as well, and were fine with the cops beating the shit out

| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

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of those who did not adhere to their version of American patriotism. But there are so many differences between 1968 Chicago and 2016 Cleveland, most notably the effect the assassinations of King and Kennedy had on the country, and how the Vietnam War opposition had unified black and white protest groups. So, on the one hand, don’t expect Cleveland police to be pulling out their billy clubs and pounding skulls. But there are some similarities too. Black Lives Matter folks see Cleveland as ground zero for excessive police force due to the Tamir Rice and Brelo cases, among others. There are also the issues of divisiveness in the Republican Party itself, where gun-toting and immigrant-hating Trump supporters will likely be out in full force. Add to that the millennials looking to make their mark on the era — with protests over climate change and environmental justice issues like the recent water crisis in Flint, Michigan, and the economic pressures they face with huge student loan debt and a poor employment economy. This isn’t to say patriot-types occupying federal lands in Oregon will be facing off against those who were burning buildings in Ferguson, Missouri. But the cultural divisiveness and rage from all sides that are clearly being seen in the presidential race are becoming more heightened, and the lines shooting off from displeasure and madness from the various divisions within the electorate are heading straight for Cleveland. “The Tamir Rice case will make Cleveland an epicenter and there will be very major protests there during the convention,” says Susan MacManus, a political science professor at the University of South Florida who taught at Cleveland State University in the mid-1980s. “It is obvious the way things are lining up that this might be the biggest number of protesters at a political convention in many years. “This isn’t going to be a few people blocking intersections, either,” she continues. “This will be outsiders coming to Cleveland with a purpose, because they always do in events like this. But it will be much bigger in Cleveland because of all the events of the past year or so. And Cleveland is also very ethnic and racially polarized, so how the city handles major racial protests will be something everyone will be watching. “The Republicans are worried when they talk about this privately,”

| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

1/4/2016 2:49:42 PM

MacManus says. “The Rice case and the Brelo verdict weren’t on the radar much when they picked Cleveland, and now protests over these police cases might dominate things that week.” Ronnie Dunn, a professor of urban studies at Cleveland State, and author of the 2011 book Racial Profiling: Causes and Consequences, agrees that the protests will be big — much bigger than the city had thought they’d be when wooing the Republicans for the convention. “They have been portraying these small protests over the Brelo and Rice cases as dry runs to prepare themselves for the convention, but they haven’t seen anything yet,” Dunn says. “I’m expecting tens of thousands of people to be coming to the city, and I don’t think the local African-American activists are going to stay home and do what their clergy and the black political leadership says they should do. “If the white suburban millennials join forces with the Black Lives Matter folks, as they have been doing with issues of urban environmental issues and economic disparity, this could be much bigger than we are thinking now,” Dunn says. “How well they are organized, and what happens on the college campuses this spring will be very telling and predictive.” Several attempts to reach Black Lives Matter leadership — both locally and nationally — for this story were unsuccessful. That dearth of information from some of these groups might make predicting the size of the protests difficult; many of the Black Lives Matter leadership distrust the mainstream media for being part of what they perceive as racial injustice. But previous comments by black leaders suggest that the RNC will be the target. After Cleveland police officer Michael Brelo was found not guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the killing of two unarmed AfricanAmericans, the Rev. Al Sharpton wrote in the Huffington Post that, “when [the Republicans] come to Cleveland to convene, they will be coming to a city and a state under high mobilization on this issue. I say to all GOP candidates that have largely remained quiet on this topic, as you begin primaries and head to Cleveland, remember the words of legendary boxer Joe Louis: ‘You can run, but you can’t hide.’” Last summer, Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors told MSNBC: “Trust and believe that any opportunity we have to shut down a Republican convention, we will.” After Cuyahoga County prosecutor Tim McGinty announced at the end

of December that the grand jury in the Tamir Rice case declined to indict Cleveland police officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback, a coalition of Cleveland civil rights groups (including the local NAACP chapter), held a press conference where local activist Basheer Jones said, “What you are about to see here in Cleveland, you have never seen before. At this moment, activists are coming from all across the country to march and walk with us. There will be civil disobedience.” One major question is how hard the Cleveland African-American leadership will work to keep the locals from joining up with “outside agitators.” They have used a group called the Peacemakers Alliance, a conglomeration of community leaders, clergy, and former gang members — funded with about $800,000 annually from the Cleveland Foundation — to keep the peace during times of protest. It is unclear whether the Peacemakers Alliance will be used in the same way during the convention. Dunn, the CSU professor, says, “Cleveland leadership has gotten a pass from the local African-American community on police issues, in part because of Carl and Lou Stokes, and the history of being a city that had African-American leaders early on. I’ve been critical of [Cleveland mayor] Frank Jackson and his administration in the police excessive force issues, but the clergy and political forces have kept people from blaming Jackson. “That’s why the protests here over the Rice and Brelo decisions haven’t been as big as place like Baltimore and Ferguson,” Dunn says. “So it will be interesting to see how these outside groups coming here are treated by the local community groups. If the local and national groups join up, it could escalate things up even further.” Robert Bullard, a 69-year-old urban studies professor at Texas Southern University who is called the “father of environmental justice,” thinks the protests in Cleveland will be “quite large, but not as violent as they were in Chicago. It was a different time, and the assassinations put everyone on edge,” he says. “But Cleveland will be a focus for a large number of millennials and civil rights activists who will be protesting the Republican Party’s message that we have to go back in time,” he continues. “Women and minorities and gays and other groups don’t want to go back in time. It wasn’t that great for many of us. So it would be surprising to me if these younger Americans don’t see Cleveland as a place to come this summer to make their voice heard, because the

Republican Party is who they want to hear their message. “I expect the protestors will be peaceful for the most part,” Bullard says. “But I also expect the streets of Cleveland to be very crowded during the convention as well.” And there is another factor of this likely future mess in Cleveland that could add fuel to the fire. Namely, what to do with the protestors once they get here? Since the World Trade Organization protests in Seattle in 1999, where more than 40,000 protestors of economic globalization gathered and chained themselves together to block intersections (with rocks and bottles and teargas filling the air), special events organizers have tried to put such agitators in “protest zones.” Freedom of speech advocates have fought such areas being designated as the only place to protest, but courts have ruled they are legal if they are within “sight and sound” of the event. What that means is that the event participants — in this case, the Republican National Convention delegates — must be able to see and hear the protestors when moving to and from Quicken Loans Arena. To put it another way, a protest zone at Edgewater Park would likely not withstand a court challenge, but a protest zone in the plaza between the Q and Progressive Field would. One other point: The protest zones are not required by the city, but are required if the city severely limits marching in the streets. At the 2012 RNC in Tampa, the city set up a half dozen protest zones in parks and in parking lots within a few blocks of Tampa Bay Times Forum. Because there were few buildings around that arena, the zones met the “sight and sound” criteria (most were unused because of the hurricane that tore through the west coast of Florida before the convention). The situation in Cleveland is vastly different. To the west of the Q is Ontario Street, and directly west of the street is the hillside of the Cuyahoga River Valley. To the south of the arena are the I-77, I-71, I-90 freeway combinations, and to the east and north are older buildings that abut sports facilities. The only large piece of land that might qualify under the “sight and sound” criteria is the Erie Street Cemetery, but it is doubtful the courts would uphold protestors being confined to protest from the graves of Meskwaki tribe chief, Joc-O-Sot (1810-1944), and Cleveland’s first white settler, Lorenzo Carter (1767–1814). The city has not indicated where the protest zones will be or if they will have them at all, and no timeline has

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FEATURE been discussed as to when those plans will be made public. “What is troubling right now is the slowness of the city to share its plans,” says Freda Levenson, legal director of the ACLU Ohio. “They have accepted $50 million from the federal government to be used for security, and they should have their plans in place. But the pattern in other cities has shown that some have not disclosed their plans until it is too late for challenges.” That happened in Boston for the 2004 Democratic National Convention, where the city set up a protest zone across from the Fleet Center that was under a bridge and surrounded by razor wire. The judge called the protest zone “an affront to free expression” and “like a concentration camp,” but still ruled the protest zone acceptable because there was no alternative so late in the process. The same judge did, however, rule that protestors could march on streets in front of the Fleet Center, which the city of Boston had previously denied. Adding to this tempest will be possible federal security rules set up by United States Department

of Homeland Security. Political conventions are now designated as “National Special Security Events,” where the feds (including the FBI and Secret Service) perform counter terrorism and counter intelligence planning. There has always been an attempt to keep balance between the right of free speech and security from terrorism at these events, but the recent terrorism acts in Paris and San Bernadino, California, may throw some of that attempt at balance out the window. Some say the logical solution is

| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

to shut down the entire downtown Cleveland area and let the protesters march where they want with permits under close police supervision that would protect the arena events. It would satisfy the First Amendment issues, and may be the only way to handle things if 50,000 protestors show up. “Law enforcement always portrays these people as bomb-throwing anarchists and violent groups that want to break every store window in the downtown area, but the police always over exaggerate the problems

they think they will bring,” says Kris Hermes, a free speech activist from the San Francisco Bay area, who works with the National Lawyers Guild on First Amendment issues and is author of 2015’s Crashing the Party: Legacies and Lesson of the RNC 2000. Hermes’ book is about the 2000 GOP convention in Philadelphia, where the local police used invasive surveillance and infiltration, and were later accused of repressive policing methods resulting in more than 400 arrests. “The police always need a boogieman to get the extra power they

desire at these events, and they always sell the locals it will be these evil outside agitators,” he says. “But most [of the protesters] just want to come and express their viewpoint — which is everyone’s right — and cities have found that being less antagonistic leads to fewer problems.” What road Cleveland takes is anyone’s guess. But officials may have tipped their hand in how they handled the recent Tamir Rice protests. This summer, Cleveland City Council passed new laws which redefined the city’s permitting requirements to limit protestors’ rights of free speech and assembly. Any group wanting to march in the street must get a permit four days in advance. “Impromptu demonstrations” require eight hours’ notice, and those would be on or in parks and plazas but not on closed streets. But the tricky part of the ordinance comes on how to deal with demonstrations on sidewalks. No permit is needed to demonstrate on sidewalks, providing the protests “do not impede pedestrian or vehicular traffic.” Whether the protests impede or not will be left to the judgment of the police chief. The problem with this ordinance, the ACLU has said, is that any sidewalk demonstration could be determined to impede pedestrian traffic. “We find the eight-hour rule puzzling for impromptu demonstrations,” the ACLU’s Levenson says. “Then there is the uncertainty on how the sidewalk demonstration criteria that people are being impeded by it will be applied.” How the Rice protests fall into this is that the city did not enforce any of the permit rules during the protests in recent weeks after the police officers involved in the shooting of the 12-year-old with a toy gun were not indicted. In effect, the city had just passed strict rules but said they did not apply. One of the reasons some think the city did not enforce the rules was they did not want a court challenge to these demonstrations ordinances prior to the convention. “Courts usually don’t rule on free speech ordinances until you can show an actual example of free speech being violated,” says an attorney who specializes in free speech issues but didn’t want his name used. “If the protestors had been denied marching in the streets on the day the [Rice case] was announced because they hadn’t given four-days’ notice, a court might strike down the ordinance. Or parts of it. “But if you only start enforcing the letter of the law when the convention starts, the courts aren’t going to

hear the complaints until after the convention is over and it doesn’t matter anymore,” the attorney says. “So you could deny permits for street marches based on security, and then say protests on the sidewalk are impeding pedestrians. Cleveland would worry about the consequences of that enforcement later.” City of Cleveland spokesman Daniel Ball said the supposition that the city did not enforce its new protest laws on marchers after no indictment in the Tamir Rice case to prevent court challenges to the ordinances prior to the RNC is “unfounded.” The city did not respond to requests as to where

Cleveland might put protests zones, or when those decisions might be made. Levenson doesn’t know if that’s what the city was thinking, and refused to speculate if they were. But she does say the city’s stalling on announcing their plans for security and free speech issues is bad policy for the entire city. “[The city of Cleveland has] to work with us on this, because the area we are talking about is very landlocked and geographically compact, and we need right now to anticipate problems and deal with them in advance,” Levenson says. “We should be worried about disruptions of the lives of

working people as they are passing through the street and on public transportation to get to work, and not just what the downtown business leaders and the Republican Party wants. “We know the number of protestors is going to be much higher than people had thought even six months ago,” Levenson continues. “And to pretend that this is going to just be a big TV commercial for Cleveland is being disingenuous to the people of this area.”

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GET OUT WED

everything you should do this week star status.” The set includes a 23-minute long rendition of “Supper’s Ready.” Based on a famous bootleg and super 8 film from the Montreal Cecum in April 1974, tonight’s performance is officially licensed by Peter Gabriel and Genesis. The concert begins at 8 at the State Theatre. Tickets are $10 to $39.75. (Niesel) 1519 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.

1/27

COMEDY

John Evans Comedian John Evans began performing almost 20 years ago, initially as emcee at the Tulsa Comedy Club. Over the course of those years, he’s opened for George Carlin, Dave Chapelle, Mitch Hedberg and Lewis Black among others. During his routines, he likes to act as if he’s a dumb guy who shops at thrift stores and doesn’t understand a simple metaphor like “the blood of 40 million abortions has stained U.S. soil.” He performs tonight at 8 at Hilarities. Tickets are $13 to $18. (Jeff Niesel) 2035 East Fourth St., 216-241-7425, pickwickandfrolic.com. FILM

Fargo Locally owned and operated Capitol Theatre, in Gordon Square, regularly presents special screenings of cult classics and oddball flicks that don’t receive wide distribution. Now, the venue has just announced that it’ll present monthly screenings of classic films that will include a happy hour cocktail party in the lobby before the feature. Admission to the film includes a mini-cocktail (or soft drink if you don’t fancy the hard stuff), appetizers and live music. The series commences tonight at 7 with a screening of the Coen Brothers’ flick Fargo, a dark comedy about a car salesman who botches a fake kidnapping of his wife and suffers the consequences. The happy hour reception begins at 6 p.m. Cha Spirits and Pizza Kitchen will provide the food. Tickets to all films in the series are $8 in advance or $10 day of show. (Niesel) 1390 West 65th St., 216-651-7295, clevelandcinemas.com. ART

The Materials of Art Do you have questions about artists’ materials and their properties? Whether you’re wondering about archival materials, varnishing, acidity, paper or anything else, you’re in luck. The Artists Archives of the Western Reserve hosts a special presentation by two art conservators from ICA

COMEDY

The Genesis tribute act, the Musical Box, brings the Black Show to Cleveland for the first time. See: Thursday.

Art Conservation. Make It Last takes place today from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Jamye Jamison received an MLIS with a concentration in book and paper conservation from the University of Texas at Austin. Wendy Partridge earned a graduate degree in paintings conservation with an M.A. in art history from the Conservation Center, Institute of Fine Arts, NYU. Prior to joining ICA, she had internships and fellowships at the National Gallery in Washington, the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Jamison and Partridge will answer questions following their free presentation. (Josh Usmani) 1834 East 123rd St., 216-721-9020, artistsarchives.org. NIGHTLIFE

Wine & Design Tonight at 7 at Music Box Supper Club, a local artist guides you through creating your very own masterpiece during a two-hour session. The club assures us that no artistic ability is required and that you don’t need to bring any materials either. Tickets are $35. Advance purchase through the Music Box website is requested. All participants will receive a free set of champagne glasses. One lucky painter will win a Grey Goose gift basket. (Niesel) 1148 Main Ave., 216-242-1250, musicboxcle.com.

THUR 1/28 FILM

Bikes vs. Cars “Roads are built for cars, buses and trucks — not bikes,” says one

politician interviewed in Bikes vs. Cars, a new documentary about the hazards that cyclists face while trying to combat motorized vehicles. Global warming comes into the picture as well. In addition to including images of over-crowded freeways, the film includes shots of commuter cyclists trying to weave in and out of traffic. It screens tonight at 7 at the Capitol Theatre. Tickets are $10 and are only available at tugg.com/events/77039. (Niesel) 1390 West 65th St., 216-651-7295, clevelandcinemas.com. COMEDY

Dan Cummins In the past four years, comic Dan Cummins has been extremely busy. He’s released three albums, appeared on all the usual latenight talk shows and toured his ass off. Though his delivery is much more manic, the thirtysomething comic comes off a bit like Jerry Seinfeld as he jokes about the trials and tribulations of getting through everyday life. Cummins performs tonight at 8 at Hilarities and has shows scheduled through Saturday. Tickets start at $22. (Niesel) 2035 East Fourth St., 216-241-7425, pickwickandfrolic.com. MUSIC

The Musical Box For almost 20 years now, Montreal’s the Musical Box has recreated Genesis concerts from the early ’70s, paying attention to every last detail in the process. For the current tour, the band will play the Black Show, the “emblematic 1974 performance that made Genesis and Peter Gabriel attain rock

Aries Spears At the age of 14, comedian Aries Spears found his calling. It wasn’t long before Spears was a principal member of the hit sketch show MADTV — not only as a performer, but a writer as well. He recorded his two-disc comedy album, I Ain’t Scared, at the famous Icehouse in Pasadena. He has performed on Def Comedy Jam on HBO and Showtime At the Apollo. In addition to his credits as a comedian, Aries has made appearances in several movies. After being spotted in a comedy club, he was given a role in Home of Angels. From there he was in Why Do Fools Fall in Love and Jerry Maguire. Spears has also made appearances on talk shows such as Loveline, Vibe and Soul Train. He plays a good range of characters and does a variety of different voices, too. He performs tonight at 7:30 at the Improv; performances continue through Sunday. Tickets are $25. (Kali Fencl) 1148 Main Ave., 216-696-IMPROV, clevelandimprov.com. ART

TSTMRKT A comedic performance-art group that incorporates time coding, minimalism, absurd theater, film and audio collage, the Las Vegas-based TSTMRKT tries to subvert conventional theater with its live performances. The group, founded way back in 2001, performs at arts festivals, galleries, warehouses and theaters across the country. Its new piece, DVDA, delivers “a thrilling evening of avant garde performance that delivers catharsis and glee in equal measure.” The troupe comes to the Bop Stop tonight at 8. (Niesel) 2920 Detroit Ave., 216-771-6551, themusicsettlement.org.

| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

GET OUT FRI

1/29

INK

Cleveland Tattoo Arts Convention The Cleveland Convention Center hosts the inaugural Cleveland Tattoo Arts Convention this weekend. The convention includes artists, vendors, special events, programming, tattoo contests and entertainment. Special guests include James Vaughn (Season 1 finalist of Ink Master), Kyle Dunbar (Ink Master Seasons 3 and 4), Ali Baker (Best Ink), Aaron Is (Ink Master Season 5), Robbie Rippoll (Ink Master Season 5), Marshall Bennett, Takashi Matsuba (performing tebori, traditional Japanese hand poke tattooing) and Shanghai Kate. The event takes place from 2 p.m. to midnight today; 11 a.m. to midnight Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $20 per day or $40 for a threeday pass. Parking is available for $5 a day in the Hamilton Garage at East 12th Street and Hamilton Avenue. (Usmani) 300 Lakeside Ave., villainarts.com.

ing the humor in life and death, the wake acts as a dark backdrop to an otherwise hilarious show in which alcohol fuels the humorous reminiscing. A sort of tragic Tony ’n’ Tina’s Wedding, the interactive and improvised show engages the entire audience as guests are treated as friends and family of the deceased. The show starts at 8 tonight and

when performing. So a visit to a third-rate strip club, where he says even the strippers’ fingers had stretch marks, gives him a chance to really go nuts. During his routine, he claims even Ray Charles would have walked out of the place and he turns the microphone stand into a walking cane to show just how that might have appeared. Jones brings his

#SonicSesh

THEATER

Flanagan’s Wake No one knows grief and mourning like a Catholic, let alone an Irish Catholic. In its fifth year running in Cleveland, Flanagan’s Wake transports the audience to a wake in Ireland where villagers tell tales and sing songs for their dearly departed Flanagan. Find-

Opening Reception Tonight, Spaces celebrates the opening of its latest exhibitions with a free, public reception from 6 to 9 p.m. These exhibitions include I Am Goat Stains on the Door by Spaces’ artist in residence Theodoros Stamatogiannis (Athens, Greece), Underneath is Before by Geologic Cognition Society (Cleveland), and selections from the Vault, curated by Jessica Langley (Queens, NY). Spaces promises, “a large-scale floor sculpture, a replica salt mine and the dismantling of power structures.” The free exhibitions remain on view through March 25. (Usmani) 2220 Superior Viaduct, 216-621-2314, spacesgallery.org. MUSIC

Rat Pack Fridays Earlier this year, the Symposium launched a special event dubbed Rat Pack Fridays that serves as a tribute to the great American lounge and jazz singers of yesteryear. The dance club takes on a different decor for the event, placing table-clothed tables throughout the club. The music starts at 8 p.m. Drink specials include $2 16-oz. cans of beer and $3 well drinks. Expect to hear plenty of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin as a DJ spins old-school tunes. Admission is free. (Niesel) 11794 Detroit Ave., Lakewood, 216-521-9696.

FRIDAY, FEB. 19, 2016

7 PM Doors • 8 PM Show

ART

Fandom 216 Fandom216 is the first largescale, sports-themed art exhibition in Cleveland in recent memory. This monumental undertaking is being presented simultaneously in three venues throughout Cleveland: Collinwood’s Waterloo Arts, 78th Street Studios’ Hedge Gallery and Zygote Press. Tonight, Zygote Press will host a Fandom216 reception from 6 to 8. The programming culminates with a Super Bowl 50 Party and Chili Cook-off at Waterloo Arts from 2 to 4 p.m on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 7. All three shows close on Feb. 20. Admission is free. (Usmani) 1410 East 30th St., 216-621-2900, www.zygotepress.com.

ART

MUSIC

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Shaun Jones Wild-eyed comedian Shaun Jones likes to gesticulate madly

| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

animated act to Club Velvet at the Hard Rock Rocksino in Northfield, where he performs tonight at 7:30 and 10; you can catch him again tomorrow night at 7 and 9:30. Tickets are $13 to $18. (Niesel) 10705 Northfield Rd., Northfield, 330-908-7793, hrrocksinonorthfieldpark.com.

Rio Neon The Shaker Arts Council presents tonight’s special concert featuring Rio Neon. Part of the Aha! At Home with the Arts series, the performance will be held at Loganberry Books in Shaker Heights. The band plays a mix of folk, swing, jug band, gospel, and jazz. The concert begins at 7 p.m. and tickets are $30. The price of admission includes light refreshments and a wine reception. (Niesel) 13015 Larchmere Blvd., Shaker Hts., 216-795-9800, loganberrybooks.com.

SAT

1/30

FILM

13th Annual Standing Rock International Shorts Festival The 13th annual Standing Rock International Short Film Festival returns to the Kent Stage at 8

GET OUT tonight. Producer Jeff Ingram has put together a truly international program featuring films from places as distant as Istanbul, Czechoslovakia, and London and as close as Kent, Ohio. It will include animation, music videos, short comedy, experimental films, documentaries and more. The silent films will feature live music accompaniment. Tickets are $10. Find more info at standingrock. net. (Niesel) 175 East Main St., Kent, 330-677-5005, kentstage.org. MUSIC

Cleveland Jazz Orchestra: Curtain Up at the Cotton Club Tonight at 8 and tomorrow afternoon at 2 at the Hanna Theatre, Cleveland Jazz Orchestra and the Musical Theatre Project team up to present Curtain Up at the Cotton Club, a show that features music from the CJO’s Big Band along with film, voice and dance by TMTP. The pitch: “Travel back to the days of Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong

and more who dominated the Prohibition era speakeasy music scene.” The show features historical commentary, dance and music. Tickets are $25 to $50. (Niesel) 2067 East 14th St., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org. MUSIC

Cleveland Pops: The Genius of John Williams Over the past six decades, John Williams has composed the scores to movies such as Jaws, Star Wars, Superman, E.T. the ExtraTerrestrial and Jurassic Park. Tonight at 8 at Severance Hall, the Cleveland Pops Orchestra under the direction of Carl Topilow will play many of Williams’ most famous compositions. Tickets start at $29. (Niesel) 11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com. ART

Free the Ink Artist Talk Sarah McKenzie currently lives and works as a painter in Boulder, Colorado. However, she once served as an associate professor of painting at the Cleveland Institute of Art. She returns to Cleveland for a two-week residency at Zygote

Press, with support from a SorosColombel Edition Printmaking Award and a National Endowment for the Arts grant. Celebrate her homecoming by attending her special Free the Ink artist talk at Zygote Press today from 10 a.m. to noon. It’s free. (Usmani) 1410 East 30th St., 216-621-2900, zygotepress.com. MUSIC

I Got Five on It A wildly diverse crowd regularly shows up at Touch Supper Club for I Got Five on It, a monthly funky musical throwdown that features the best in ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s music, including everything from disco to rock to funk. Event founder DJ Terry Urban mans the wheels of steels on the club’s lower level. It all starts at 10 p.m., and the cover charge is $10. (Niesel) 2710 Lorain Ave., 216-631-5200, touchohiocity.com. ART

Interlocutors: A Live Video & Music Experience After Friday’s opening reception for its latest exhibitions, Spaces hosts Interlocutors: A Live Video

& Music Experience, featuring collaborative audio and video performances. The program begins at 8 p.m. with the Celluloid Liberation Orchestra performing a partly composed, partly improvised score to Georges Méliès’ 1904 French silent film The Impossible Voyage (Voyage à Travers l’Impossible), and to Germaine Dulac’s 1928 Surrealist silent film, The Seashell and the Clergyman (La Coquille et le Clergyman). Following a brief intermission, the program continues with Cleveland-based, internationally renowned filmmaker, visual artist, performer, musician, writer (and 2011 Guggenheim Fellow) Kasumi; joining her will be experimental musicians including the Silence Quartet, and Synth Cleveland vets Mike Crooker and Ron “Pyrosonic” Slabe. Creating an endless loop with infinite layers, the musicians will be reacting to Kasumi’s video projections, while Kasumi simultaneously reacts to the musicians’ sound, including feeding their audio into her live video feed for psychedelic layers of sights and sounds. Admission is $10, and proceeds go to the artists. A cash bar will serve

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1501 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44115 Presented by Ohio Falun Dafa Association | clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

LET YOUR IDEAS GROW

FEB. 5 - 14 I-X CENTER PRESENTED BY

GET OUT beer, pop and popcorn. (Usmani) 2220 Superior Viaduct, 216-621-2314, spacesgallery.org. DANCE

The Movement Project Tremont’s Pilgrim Congregational Church hosts a program by the Movement Project (TMP) at 7:30 tonight. The event features new work by intermedia performance artist Marcia Custer and TMP company member Irene Honora, as well as featured guest choreographer Emily Jean Jarosz from Kent State University with music composed by Tony Void and Alec Schumann. Tickets are $15 at the door. (Usmani) 2592 West 14th St., pilgrimlive.org. FILM

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River of Fundament Experimental filmmaker Martin Barney returns with River of Fundament, a five-hour opera that the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque plans to show in its entirety. Tonight at 6, the film screens with two 20-minute intermissions. Tomorrow at 1:30 p.m., it screens with one 20-minute intermission and an hour break for dinner. Inspired by Norman Mailer’s 1983 novel Ancient Evenings, the movie centers on the New York elite who mingle at Mailer’s wake in his Brooklyn brownstone. Tonight’s showing marks its Cleveland premiere. Tickets are $30. (Niesel) 11610 Euclid Ave., 216-421-7450, cia.edu.

Rock the Rainbow Tonight at 7 at the Music Box Supper Club, Rainbow Babies & Children’s Foundation Associate Board hosts a night of dueling pianos that features an open bar, hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction/ raffle prizes and live music. All proceeds will benefit Rockin’ Rainbow, a mobile recording studio for patients utilizing music therapy as part of their treatment at Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital. Dressy casual attire is required. Tickets are $75. (Niesel) 1148 Main Ave., 216-242-1250, musicboxcle.com.

Shen Yun The visually dazzling Shen Yun is a truly unique performance troupe that brings to life 5,000 years of Chinese civilization through classical Chinese, folk and story-based dance. Shen Yun was founded in 2006 to revive ancient Chinese culture, which had been nearly destroyed by the Chinese communist government. Now with four companies, Shen Yun has given more than 400 performances in over 100 cities around the world. (Ironically, the dance troupe has yet to perform in China or Hong Kong.) Expect beautiful, vibrant costumes and exotic music you won’t hear anywhere else. Performances take place at 2 and 7 p.m. today and at 2 p.m. tomorrow at the State Theatre. Tickets are $60 to $150. (Kaitlin Siegel) 1519 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.

SUN

1/31

7th Day Sweat The “seventh day” tends to be a day of rest for many folks. But not for the party hearty people who run B-Side Liquor Lounge, the popular dance club below the Grog Shop. Dubbed 7th Day Sweat, their weekly Sunday night soiree features DJ White Rims spinning “today’s hottest dance hits,” so you can “sweat it out” every Sunday. Admission is free but you must be 21 or older. It all starts at 7 p.m. (Niesel) 2785 Euclid Hts. Blvd., Cleveland Heights, 216-932-1966, bsideliquorlounge.com. COMEDY

Believe It or Not Science Oftentimes, science can explain some of the world’s strangest phenomena. That’s the premise | clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

DANCE

NIGHTLIFE MUSIC

FAMILY FUN

behind The Science of Ripley’s Believe It or Not, a new exhibit that opens today at the Great Lakes Science Center. Artifacts slated to be on display include a life-sized replica of the largest snake that ever lived and a replica of a cooling suit that scientists used to study underground cave crystals. The exhibit will be on display through April 24. Regular admission rates apply. (Niesel) 601 Erieside Ave., 216-694-2000, greatscience.com.

Vince Morris Comedian Vince Morris has a demeanor that seems tame and gentle, but his quips leave you still laughing later as you realize

GET OUT

Appearing at Playhouse Square

their deeper meanings. This guy talks about all sorts of things including Southern living, funny dialects and the way people relate to each other through language. Lots of this stuff isn’t your typical comedy, but the guy is downright funny. He appears at Hilarities at 8 tonight, and tickets range from $13 to $18. (Liz Trenholme) 2035 East Fourth St., 216-241-7425, pickwickandfrolic.com.

THE BLACK SHOW featuring the music of

“Selling England By The Pound”

Vocalosity

The aca-perfect concert experience! February 6

January 28

MON 2/01 Trivia Pursuits Do you have tons of obscure music knowledge? Are you a student of fast food menus and their nuanced histories? What say you about the geographic evolution of Scotch whisky? Tonight’s your chance to wow your friends. It’s the Happy Dog Monday Night Trivia, starting at 8 p.m. Admission is free; the beer and dogs are on you. (Sam Allard) 5801 Detroit Ave., 216-651-9474, happydogcleveland.com.

TUE

NIGHTLIFE

Tommy Emmanuel February 13

February 5-7

2/02 Ron White

SPOKEN WORD

Find more events @clevescene.com t@cleveland_scene

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March 8-13

LIVE IN CONCERT 50 YEARS OF AWARD-WINNING MUSIC, BLOCKBUSTER MOVIES AND GROUNDBREAKING TV.

Happy Dog Takes on the World The European Union emerged after World War II to foster economic cooperation. Today the union faces a number of challenges, including Russia’s resurgence, the sovereign debt crisis and a refugee crisis. Tonight at 7:30 at the Happy Dog, the City Club of Cleveland, the Cleveland Council on World Affairs, International Partners in Mission and the Northeast Ohio Consortium for Middle Eastern Studies host Happy Dog Takes on the World, the club’s monthly lecture program. The discussion will center on how the EU can face its 21st century challenges. Panelists include Elliot Posner and Gillian Weiss of Case Western Reserve University; WCPN’s Tony Ganzer moderates. Admission is free. (Niesel) 5801 Detroit Ave., 216-651-9474, happydogcleveland.com.

February 20

A Night with Janis Joplin March 2

StarTrekUltimateVoyage.com

March 11

The Peking Acrobats 216-241-6000

Group Sales 216-640-8600

playhousesquare.org

April 2

| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

ART PROJECT YOURSELF

New MOCA exhibitions focus on moments when we ‘meet’ a work of art By Josh Usmani MOCA CLEVELAND BEGINS ITS 2016 programming this Friday with an opening reception for its Winter/ Spring 2016 Exhibitions: Xavier Cha’s abduct; Stranger, an international group exhibition exploring the imagined figure; Oliver Laric’s Untitled animated installation; and Teenage Lontano, an immersive sound installation by Marina Rosenfeld. Opening night begins at 7 p.m. with associate curator Rose Bouthillier hosting an artist talk with Xavier Cha, followed by an Open Art Studio inspired by MOCA Cleveland’s current exhibitions, as well as music and mingling from 8 to 10 p.m. “Once again, we are bringing to Cleveland work by artists from around the globe who push at the boundaries of creative expression,” MOCA Cleveland executive director

Jill Snyder says. “This season includes artists from Canada, Denmark, France, Georgia, Pakistan, United Kingdom and the United States, all of whom are making significant contributions to how we understand ourselves in the contemporary world.” Stranger is organized by MOCA Cleveland’s associate curator Rose Bouthillier. The exhibition collects a diverse roster of established artists from around the world. While their materials and processes may vary greatly, these artists each explore the use of the figure as a vessel for one’s own consciousness — our thoughts, hopes, fears and desires. “Stranger brings together some of the most exciting international artists working today,” says Bouthillier. “Their practices are very diverse in

terms of media and approach, but they share an interest in the body and how it is imagined. The works were chosen based on the intense feeling that emerges when you ‘meet’ an artwork. Do you sense it looking back at you? Does it have human qualities? These other bodies are vessels for us to project our memories, dreams and narratives, but they also push back, asserting their own sense of self.” Artists participating in Stranger include: Huma Bhabha (1962, Karachi, Pakistan), lives and works in Poughkeepsie, New York; Valérie Blass (1967, Montreal, Canada), lives and works in Montreal; Sascha Braunig (1983, Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, Canada), lives and works in Portland, Maine; Antoine Catala (1975, Toulouse, France), lives and works in New York; Ian Cheng (1984, Los Angeles), lives and works in New York; Simon Dybbroe Møller (1976, Aarhus, Denmark), lives and works in Berlin; Cécile B. Evans (1983, Cleveland, Ohio), lives and works in London and Berlin; Andro Wekua (1977, Sukhumi, Georgia), lives and works in Zurich and Berlin; Lynette Yiadom-Boakye (1977, London), lives and works in London; Xavier Cha was born in Los Angeles, but now lives and works in New York. She received her MFA from the University of California Los Angeles in 2004 and her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2002. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout the U.S., as well as in France and Germany.

and the ways in which technology shifts how we understand ourselves” says Bouthillier. “There is a constant negotiating of online presence, digital personas, and the physical bodies we deal with every day. abduct is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, as the actors seem to be confused and overtaken by these different expressions. It has an arresting effect, because there is no clear, genuine feeling that can be easily identified.” The film’s actors convey conflicting emotions, as if multiple personalities were battling for control of their host. Without any dialogue, these actors rapidly shift through extreme emotions. The camera focuses on the actors’ faces, but does occasionally drift down their bodies. Rather than focusing on a particular emotion, the focal point becomes the transition between emotions. Sometimes it appears as if the actor becomes a different person altogether. The museum is also producing Cha’s first catalog with texts by Bouthillier, associate curator of Frieze Projects Lauren Wetmore, and curator and associate director of technology initiatives at the New Museum Lauren Cornell. MOCA Cleveland’s Winter/Spring 2016 exhibitions remain on view through May 8. General admission is $9.50; $6 for seniors 65 and older, and $5 for students with valid ID. Admission for MOCA Cleveland members, and children under 6, is free. MOCA Cleveland is free to the public on the first Saturday of each month; MOCA Free First Saturdays are made possible by the generous support of PNC. MOCA Cleveland is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m.

WINTER/SPRING 2016 EXHIBITIONS MOCA CLEVELAND, 11400 EUCLID AVE., 216-421-8671, MOCACLEVELAND.ORG

Huma Bhabha, Untitled, 2015; ink, patel, acrylic paint, and collage on paper. Courtesy of the artist and Salon 94, New York.

| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

Cha’s new short film, abduct, is a startling exploration of the body, human emotions and the viewer’s own subjectivity. The 12-minute film was commissioned by MOCA Cleveland, and produced in collaboration with Frieze Films, a series of new films commissioned from established and emerging artists premiering each year as part of Frieze London’s nonprofit curated program, Frieze Projects. A four-minute version of the film debuted at the Frieze London art fair this past October. Frieze Film is supported by Channel 4’s Random Acts, which will broadcast the commissioned films across the U.K. “Xavier Cha’s work powerfully speaks to the contemporary moment,

to 6 p.m. (9 p.m. on Thursdays), Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closed Mondays. The fun continues this weekend as MOCA Cleveland and Cleveland Institute of Art’s Cinematheque collaborate to bring Matthew Barney’s new, five-hour masterpiece to Cleveland. All three acts of Barney’s River of Fundament will be shown at the Cinematheque on both Saturday, Jan. 30 and Sunday, Jan. 31. Act 1 begins at 6 p.m. on Saturday and 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $10 per act or $30 for each day.

jusmani@clevescene.com t@cleveland_scene

STAGE JONESING FOR LAUGHS

The giggles come fast and furious, but the rest is a bit shallow, in The Realistic Joneses at Dobama Theatre By Christine Howey Given all the direct statements of intent in Eno’s work, there is also some misdirection. When Pony says they moved to the town because of the good schools, Jennifer asks if they have kids. “No,” Pony answers, “it’s just, John hates stupid children.” John then explains that he was under a lot of pressure when he said that. But the reason for their move forges a bond between the two families that influences their actions. Some of those actions include Jennifer becoming rather attracted to the bizarre locutions and oddly

offbeat comedy but doesn’t allow the actors to engage with each other as fully as they might. John (Chris Richards) is almost constantly staring off into the middle distance, and Pony (Rachel Zake) never shakes a rather depressive vibe that pulls her down. Bob (Joel Hammer) and Jennifer (Tracee Patterson) have wider emotional bandwidths, but it is still hard for them to extricate themselves from the mordant chuckle-factory where Sindelar has placed them. By not encouraging more tonal variety from Richards and Zake,

THE REALISTIC JONESES

THROUGH FEB. 14 AT DOBAMA THEATRE, 2340 LEE RD., CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, 216-932-3396, DOBAMA.ORG

calming presence of John, whom she often finds staring at nothing much, at home and around the neighborhood. Meanwhile, Bob is drawn to Pony and her peculiar persona. But these aren’t just the typical suburban hook-ups driven by lust; there are deeper, soulful feelings at work. Unfortunately, director Shannon Sindelar maintains a consistently distant vibe that works well for the

Sindelar shortchanges the larger issues of mortality and psychic struggles that this play deals with in the shadows of its crackling, vibrant wit. And that’s unfortunate, since these players are more than capable of exploring a galaxy of nuances. If the direction doesn’t try hard enough, the scenic design by the talented Laura Carlson Tarantowski tries too hard. A simple sliding door unit serves as the portal for both

Jones’ houses. But it is placed on a green artificial grass carpet that literally has a painted, forked river cut through it. Then the river travels upstage to a backdrop of painted mountains with a gash in the middle. The rather obscure symbolism here is working way too hard. Plus, by establishing seating areas at the far corners of Dobama’s enormous stage, conversations between and among the characters are sometimes conducted over yards of empty space. If that is also a symbol of some sort, it is one that puts the actors in a weird position and gives a pain to the headswiveling audience in the center section. Want to be dazzled by some wonderful, richly amusing wordplay? Will Eno is your man and The Realistic Joneses is a treasure trove. But if you fancy characters with a few more complex levels than what’s seen on the surface, this production may strike you as less than a sum of its laughs.

scene@clevescene.com t@christinehowey

Photo by Steve Wagner

FIRST OF ALL, LET’S MAKE ONE thing perfectly clear: The Realistic Joneses by Will Eno, now at Dobama Theatre, is a damn funny play. Indeed, I can’t remember when I’ve laughed out loud more often ... well, since the last time I saw a Will Eno play: Middletown, at Dobama, in 2012. The laughs come fast and furious as Eno’s masterful way with quirky takes continually surprises. But from the scenic design to the direction, this play both tries too hard and then not hard enough — never penetrating below the surface and delivering on the deeper meaning that pulses just below all the glinting words. It all begins in the backyard of Bob and Jennifer Jones, a middle-aged couple shooting the breeze in that familiar way long-time couples have. Their suburban reverie is interrupted by the appearance of their new young neighbors, John Jones and his imaginatively named wife, Pony. Immediately, Eno’s dialogue carousel starts, spinning normal small talk into weirdly hilarious new forms. When Jennifer compliments Pony on her unusual name, she responds that her dad thought it up. Then Bob drily observes, “Well, it was already a word.” From then on, you know that no conversational banality is safe from being turned into a punch line. It’s like a gag-fest version of Tourette’s Syndrome. And that makes for some dandy rejoinders and head-snapping transitions. When John and Pony relate an amusing anecdote, John suddenly says to Bob and Jennifer, “That’s it, that’s the end of the story. Now you say something.” In this way, playwright Eno strips the meat off normal conversation, leaving only the bare skeleton — and the rattling of those bones is often a hoot. It turns out, however, that all is not sweetness and light in this little street tucked at the foot of a mountain range. Bob is suffering from a degenerative nerve disease which has the conflicting symptoms of being sluggish and seething. There’s only one doc specializing in this disease, and this is the town where he practices.

The Realistic Joneses

| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

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| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

CLEVELAND SCENE WED, 01/27/16 BLACK&WHITE 4.55” x 5.9” RM

MOVIES

in theaters

MUSTANG: A POWERFUL OSCAR CONTENDER Heartbreaking story of sisterhood in rural Turkey By Sam Allard THOUGH THE ACADEMY OF Motion Picture Arts and Sciences appears to be addressing its diversity problem — a press release last week promised to double the organization’s membership of women and people of color by 2020 — this year’s crop of nominees in the major categories is an embarrassment (and an enormous PR gaffe) for the Oscars. That said, one thing the Academy does right every year is introduce American viewers to a handful of movies produced around the world in the Best Foreign Picture category. Mustang, by Turkish writerdirector Deniz Gamze Erguven, which opens Friday exclusively at the Cedar Lee, is one such film. Mustang tells the story of five sisters: Sonay, Selma, Ece, Nur and Lale. They are teenagers, mostly. On the last day of school in their northern Turkish town, they walk home and are spotted playing in the waters of the Black Sea. Their innocent chicken fighting on the shoulders of male classmates is interpreted by horrified onlookers as explicitly sexual: “rubbing their privates on boys’ necks!” One immediately fears, rather like in Jaws, that these happy youngsters splashing in their school uniforms are somehow doomed. And they are. Perhaps unsurprisingly, rural

Mustang

Turkey (1,000 kilometers from Istanbul) retains an almost medieval understanding of gender roles and moral expectations. The sisters, after the Black Sea episode, are literally imprisoned in the home of their uncle — their parents died when they were young. Bars are welded to the windows. The girls are forced to certify their chastity in humiliating “virginity tests” at the doctor’s office. “If there was any doubt,” says their grandma, when Selma asks why no one believed them when they said they were virgins, “you’d never be married.” The home, indeed, is transformed into “wife school,” where

they are taught to cook and clean and host guests. Their “provocative” clothes are locked in a cupboard, and the sisters must only appear in shapeless “shit-colored” dresses. Such repression tends to wear on teenage girls, and the sisters, especially as their grandma and uncle begin to wed them off, respond in increasingly hostile, desperate ways, much to the confusion and contempt of their elders. Mustang is not, however, merely an examination of arranged-marriage customs. (Though it is painful to watch clueless fathers and uncles and grandmas proclaim, “They

SPOTLIGHT: THE FINEST HOURS BASED ON THE TRUE STORY THAT’S GENERALLY considered one of the greatest Coast Guard rescues of all time, The Finest Hours, which opens Friday areawide, relies on some first-rate source material. Though clearly Disney-fied to the point that there’s no profanity and very little in the way of violence, the film does a credible job of bringing the naturally suspenseful story to life. At the film’s start, we meet Ray Sybert (Casey Affleck), a surly anti-social engineer who works in the belly of the Pendleton, a gigantic oil tanker. A nor’easter off the coast of Massachusetts wreaks havoc on the boat, making Ray wonder if the thing will stay together as the waves rock it to and fro. He tries to warn the ship’s captain to curb his speed, but the guy won’t listen. Eventually, the boat splits in half, but by manufacturing a makeshift rudder, Ray and the crew keep the boat afloat. And yet, the behemoth continues to sink, and they hope to survive by perching it on a reef. If they can get it onto a reef, they will then wait to see if a rescue team comes to get them. As Ray and the crew scramble to stay alive,

boatswains mate first class Bernard Webber (Chris Pine), a clean cut by-the-book guy if there ever were one, and Seaman Richard Livesey (Ben Foster), his steady, fearless sidekick, take a small ship out to sea to attempt to rescue the Pendleton crew. They face incredible odds and just getting past the breakwater proves to be extremely difficult; they even lose their compass in the process, making it seem as if they’ll never find the damaged boat. Directed by Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl, Million Dollar Arm), who works from a screenplay written by Scott Silver, Eric Johnson and Paul Tamasy that’s based on the 2009 book by Casey Sherman and Michael J. Tougias, the film benefits from having an authenticity to it. The 3-D special effects certainly add to the drama as the relentless rain and snow seem even more pervasive than they would in 2-D. And even if the love story — Bernie has just proposed to Miriam (Holly Grainger) prior to heading out to sea — seems tacked on, the film doesn’t suffer from its feel-good, strictly PG approach. — Jeff Niesel

seem to like each other fine!” of their children, moments after they’ve met, and moments before “agreeing to” a match.) Much more, the movie echoes the small-town themes of American cinema — Footloose, anyone? — where moral repression is the norm. But this is no Footloose. Mustang dramatizes the damaging ways in which young women are stripped not only of their girlhood, but of their personhood, as others conspire to manage their lives for them. All five young performers are exceptional — instantly sisters — as they share covert intel about their private sexual discoveries, steal each other’s clothes, and commiserate by any means available (laughter, tears, truancy) during their predicament and its assorted consequences. The youngest, Lale (Gunes Sensoy) is the true mustang of the bunch. Too young to be married, she witnesses the emotional wreckage of her older sisters and, refusing to be tamed, takes steps to ensure that she won’t suffer the same fate. A simple, emotive score by Warren Ellis is a rich complement to the various unfolding dramas. Though Son of Saul, Hungary’s must-see entry in the foreign picture category about a Holocaust extermination camp (directed by Lazslo Nemes), likely has the momentum and freight to take home the Oscar in the foreign picture category, Mustang is a powerful, troubling film as well.

scene@clevescene.com t@cleveland_scene | clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

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| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

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EAT EASY LIKE SUNDAY MORNING How brunch became Cleveland’s favorite meal of the week By Douglas Trattner IF YOU HAVEN’T NOTICED, brunch in Cleveland is having a moment. What used to be the slowest service of the week — if a restaurant even bothered to unlock its doors, that is — has become the busiest meal in the rotation. Long reserved for the stuffy, spend-y hotel crowd, weekend brunch is damn near essential eating at restaurants these days. “We started doing it because we thought there was a void in the market for Sunday brunch,” says Jason Workman, owner of Tremont Taphouse, which is home to one of the most popular brunches in town. “In some ways, Cleveland is always catching up to other cities.” It might seem like a loathsome chore for a restaurant crew to rise early and prep for Sunday brunch, especially after kicking out its last customers only hours earlier. But many operators surprisingly love the gig because everything from the mood to the food is easy like Sunday morning. “It’s relaxed, it’s fun, and people let their hair down,” Workman reports. “Customers come in unshowered and unkempt just looking for a Bloody Mary and some food to get the day going. We have regulars who dub it Sunday Funday; the same people come every single Sunday and hang out for three or four hours.” Popular with the service industry crowd, many of whom were on the other end of the stick the night before and don’t have to work the following day, Tremont Taphouse has been on the Best Brunch list going on eight years. Critics often denigrate brunch because it is assumed that it’s a task reserved for greenhorns. “Brunch is for the B-team,” the old saying goes, the price one pays for inexperience. Not so, says Tim Bando, an

experienced chef if ever there was one. Since launching brunch at his Chagrin Falls spot Grove Hill, the business has been on an upward trajectory. He credits that to putting in the time and effort to get it right. “Brunch is just as much work as dinner,” he says. “It’s breakfast that costs more than going to the traditional diner. The appeal is that the quality of food is better, the service is better, the atmosphere is more upscale, and most of those places don’t serve liquor, so you can’t order a mimosa, Bloody Mary or a beer.”

“I give a lot of credit to the guys who cook at the diner, cooking over-easy eggs all day.” — Tim Bando It’s not as easy as it looks either, adds Bando. The saying, “anybody can cook an egg” might be one of the biggest exaggerations ever uttered in a dining room. When you think about it, brunch is a one-off, a menu wholly separate and distinct from the other menus that is used for just four hours a week. “Chefs hate cooking eggs!” Bando moans. “I give a lot of credit to the guys who cook at the diner, cooking over-easy eggs all day. You’re stepping out of what you do on a regular basis to do something you don’t do a lot. And if someone is coming in and paying $12 for an egg dish they can get around the corner for $8 or $9, it better be good.”

The goods from Jack Flaps, one of the many places benefitting from Cleveland’s brunch obsession.

Like a high-school mono epidemic, brunch is quickly spreading. Options now extend far afield from the triedand-true eggs Benedict at the corner bistro, with versions built around live gospel music, moveable brewery tours, floating river cruises, even Monday brunches geared to service industry pros. And, yes, there’s even a Mexican restaurant brunch, with tacos stuffed with steak and eggs instead of carnitas. For proof of just how far brunch has come in Cleveland, just peek into Fire Food and Drink on a Sunday. Chef and owner Doug Katz says that if he got 80 people in on a Sunday 10 years ago, that was considered a success. “Now we do 250 people every Sunday,” he reports, adding that the service requires five cooks on the line to keep pace. What’s more, Katz adds, after years of trying — and failing — Saturday brunch finally is taking off. The notoriously challenging weekend service, if attempted at all, has always been a tough sell for over-scheduled diners. But even that is changing as more and more people are discovering the appeal of laidback mid-morning meals.

If you do manage to secure a reservation for the always-busy Sunday brunch at Fire, you likely will witness a crowd that’s very different from the ones seated during the week. That is one of the unintended benefits of doing brunch in the first place, says Katz. “A lot of times people won’t come in for dinner because of the cost,” he says. “Brunch gives people a great opportunity to go to restaurants they may not go to on weeknights. I think that’s why it has become so popular.” Sure, the margins are slim and the check averages are lower than during dinner service, but that’s a price many chefs are willing to pay in return for nontangible gains like staff happiness, diner satisfaction and expanding the customer pool. “We definitely put more into it than we get out of it, but we love brunch so much,” says Katz, whose genuine glee can be observed as he works the Sunday crowd. “It’s one of those services you can’t quantify how much great marketing and PR you get from it, like a different clientele who might never join you during dinner.”

dtrattner@clevescene.com t @dougtrattner

| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

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| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

THE WEEKEND HAS ARRIVED AND YOU’RE IN NEED OF SUSTENANCE. And some booze. Definitely some food though. And stat. Maybe the evening wore on, the bars closed and everyone agreed the party needed to keep going. Maybe the hangover you woke up with is in need of a soothing elixir. Maybe your head’s as a clear as the bright blue sky but, hell, if you’re going to tackle the errands or face down Monday morning, you’re going to need a belly full of bliss to do so. Whatever the motivation, Cleveland’s bar stools and tables are filled on Sunday (and, increasingly, Saturday) mornings and early afternoons. In a city that loves its food, it’s quickly becoming the favorite meal. But where to go? The options are endless, but the destination depends on the motivation. Here are a few suggestions to make the decision easier.

For the Fashion-Challenged

The “Morning After” Date

If the thought of picking out an actual outfit physically hurts your brain, the Beachland Ballroom (15711 Waterloo Rd., 216-383-1124, beachlandballroom. com) is for you. Along with chunky sweaters and flannel shirts, the most fashion-forward article of clothing one’s likely to spot here is a Members Only jacket, circa 1983. The expansive brunch menu might be the most indulgent around, offering to make almost any dish vegan, vegetarian or gluten-free. To make the smoky biscuits and gravy vegetarian, for example, simply swap the sausage gravy for one made with mushrooms. A panko crust on the fried chicken manages to lighten up chicken and waffles.

You didn’t wake up alone, that much is clear. But who? A quick turn of the neck reveals — thank god! — the cute friend of a friend you had your eye on all night. Fan the flames of desire by taking him or her to Le Petit Triangle Café (1881 Fulton Rd., 216-281-1881, lepetittrianglecafe. com), a deal-closingly adorable French bistro in Ohio City. Toast the budding relationship over bubbly mimosas while you steal glances at the tantalizing menu. Oh-sosweet crepes like the aptly named Chocolate Lovers (dark chocolate, whipped cream and strawberry preserves) join savory fold-overs filled with smoked salmon, Boursin and fresh dill. If things are really going well, you can always grab a

•

All dAY

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Sunday Brunch Refined house made Bloody Marys with craft garnishes.

Hours: 10A - 6P 3 8 2 5 7 G l e n n Av e . W i l lo u G h b y , o h 4 4 0 9 4 | w w w. l o c a l S o l . u s | 4 4 0 . 9 1 8 . 1 5 9 6 | clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

EAT couple slices of the quiche du jour and head back to your place.

With the ‘Rents Dedicated solely to the service of lunch and brunch, Dante Next Door (2247 Professor Ave., 216-2741201, nextdoor.danteboccuzzi.com) has a Tremont setting that couldn’t be more urbane. Plus, where else can you surprise the folks with a breakfast pizza? The Everything Bagel is what happens when a Jew and an Italian have one too many drinks. Topped with house-cured lox, hard-boiled eggs, capers, onions, cream cheese and fresh dill, this pie is practically kosher. Start with tasteful and gentle-handed peach Bellinis, and order the pork sausage patties for the table — unless you keep kosher.

Pre-Browns Brunch One thousand steps — give or take a few — separate Urban Farmer (777 St. Clair Ave., 216-7717707, urbanfarmercleveland.com) from Browns Stadium, making this high-end eatery a wise choice for pre-game brunching. Located

in the swanky Westin Downtown, this farm-to-table concept nails everything from steak dinners to eggy breakfasts. So why not get both? The steak and eggs pairs farm-fresh eggs with grilled flatiron steak, sausage gravy and breakfast potatoes. Eggs Bennies get a boost from shaved local ham and house-baked muffins. The craft beer here is likely cheaper than at the game, so load up.

For the Clinically Hung-Over The biscuits and sausage gravy at Big Al’s Diner (12600 Larchmere Blvd., 216-791-8550) have been known to salvage entire days. Those magical muffins topped with pork-studded gravy, two over-easy eggs and onion-laced hash browns can undo a day-ruining hangover simply by being eaten. Also proven to lessen the severity and effects of the tippler’s flu is the corned beef hash, sauteed with potatoes and green peppers and topped with a pair of sunny-side up hen fruit. There’s no booze here so you won’t even be tempted.

Gang Is Back Together So everybody managed to roll out of bed and now you’ve got a crowd

on your hands. Sure, you could go to the diner and wait until dinner for brunch, but why not go somewhere built for crowds? Emperor’s Palace (2136 Rockwell Ave., 216861-9998, emperorspalacecleveland. com) feeds hundreds of folks for dim sum each Sunday, and the selection and quality rank up there with the best. Commandeer a 10-top and feast on shumai, BBQ pork buns, turnip cakes, chicken feet, ribs in black bean sauce, and pots of calming tea. The food is so exciting you’ll forget all about that blinding pain in your noggin.

Gang Is Still Together Wait, that clock can’t be right. You mean to tell me that we’ve been rolling clear through til sunrise? Birds don’t lie, bro. Birds don’t lie. If you can somehow manage to make it to 10:30 a.m., you’re golden, because that’s when the South Side (2207 West 11th St., 216-937-2288, southsidecleveland.com) in Tremont starts pouring its legendary Bloody Marys and dishing out its heavenly chicken and waffles. Of course, when it comes to mopping up last night’s mess, nothing does the job better than fresh-baked buttermilk biscuits buried beneath creamy

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| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

sausage gravy. Also on tap: crab cake Benedict, chicken enchiladas topped with sunny-side up eggs, and a breakfast pizza.

For the Non-Meat Eaters Bacon, bacon, bacon. Judging by everybody’s Instagram feed, you’d think that brunch could not exist without bacon. Hell, the delicious meat candy even finds its way into our Bloody Marys. While that doesn’t pose a problem to most brunchers, it’s kryptonite to vegans and vegetarians, who, contrary to popular opinion, have a right to enjoy brunch too. That’s why TownHall (1909 West 25th St., 216-344-9400, townhallohiocity.com) has become the meeting place of choice for meataverse diners. On the V-friendly bill of fare are fresh juices, vegan buildyour-own crepes filled with non-GMO fruit, vegan buttermilk biscuits with fresh Ohio preserves and honey butter, plus a host of healthy bowls filled with granola and yogurt, greens and grains, and a grilled cheese and soup combo that comes with (or without) bacon.

dtrattner@clevescene.com t@dougtrattner

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| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

FOR SOME STRANGE REASON, when it comes to Bloody Marys, everybody is an expert. “Everybody likes to argue about who makes the best Bloody Mary, so I decided to throw it back at the customer and let them do their own thing,” explains Parnell Egan, owner of the West End Tavern. Not only did Egan birth the do-it-yourself Bloody Mary bar in Cleveland, he very well might have pioneered the entire concept. While working for the Victoria Station restaurant chain way back in the ’70s, Egan decided to turn the salad bar into a Bloody Mary bar during weekend brunch, thus making morning drinking acceptable. “They say you eat with your eyes. Well, you drink with your eyes, too,” he says. “And the Bloody Mary bar gave customers something to talk about at the table — and it started to bring them in.” When it comes to the beloved Sunday ritual of the Bloody Mary bar, people are so set in their ways that Francesca Harris had to steer devotees to something new the only way she knew how: by telling little white lies. As beverage manager of Flat’sbased craft rum bar Portside Distillery, Harris jokes that more often than not she was greeted with, “Rum? In my Bloody Mary?” “I started just asking them the infused flavor they wanted and wouldn’t bother telling them it’s rum until after they tasted it,” she laughs. Bloody bars like Portside’s have been spreading across the city, and behind each one is somebody like

Harris or Egan who is eager and willing to hand over the reins to do-ityourselfers. Here’s a rundown of wellstocked options for day drinkers. PORTSIDE DISTILLERY 983 Front Ave., 216-586-6633, portsidedistillery.com When available: Browns home games 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Price and Pour: $8 for 2 ounces in a 14-ounce glass Garnishes: Celery, pickles, lemon, lime, sport peppers Liquors: Rum infused with cucumber, olive, jalapeno and even hops. Quote: “You look at Bloody Marias, they have tequila. Blood & Sand is made with Scotch,” says Harris. “Rum is becoming a nice little trend.” STERLE’S COUNTRY HOUSE 1401 East 55th St., 216-8814181, sterlescountryhouse.com When available: Sundays 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Price and Pour: $7.50 for 2 ounces Mixers: Local Pope’s Bloody Mary mix Garnishes: Downtown-based Randy’s Pickles, pickled red onions, banana peppers, mustard seeds Hot sauces: Pope’s line plus sauces picked up at neighboring AsiaTown markets Vodkas: Absolut Peppar for a little kick, Tito’s, Grey Goose, Stoli and Belvedere Quote: “People just love Bloody Marys,” says executive chef and GM Jeff Jarrett. “It has such a following and it’s almost like a

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| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

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| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

THE RED LANTERN 17446 Lorain Ave., 216-3311458, redlantern.us When available: Saturdays 10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Price and Pour: $6 for 1.5 ounces in a Mason jar Mixers: Housemade original and herb. Seasonally, tomatillos and cucumbers become a “green” variety. Garnishes: Smoked jerky from Fligner’s Market in Lorain, thickcut bacon, pepperoncini, banana peppers Vodkas: In-house infusions of Tito’s Vodka such as habanero-bacon, dill, lemon-garlic Quote: “We moved into the Kamm’s Corners area, which has a lot of history and nostalgia,” says owner Cory Rowland. “We wanted to do something that no one else was doing at the time.” TOUCH SUPPER CLUB 2710 Lorain Ave., 216-631-5200, touchohiocity.com When available: Saturday and Sunday brunch, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Price and Pour: $4 to $8 (depending on call) for 1.5 ounces served in your own shaker. “We let you be your own bartender.” History: Touch has offered its Bloody bar since 2005. After a one-year hiatus due to remodeling, they’ve expanded the bar to both upper and lower levels due to popular demand. Garnishes: Pickled egg, charcuterie stems, kimchi Hot Sauces: More than 100, including bacon, habanero and Dave’s Original Insanity Sauce Vodkas: House infusions of tomatobasil, potato-bacon, wasabi, mango, horseradish, jalapenos Quote: “We’re going to start right where we left off with the Bloody Mary bar,” says owner Robert Ivanov. “But this time around, we’ve really upped our game.” A BAR AND KITCHEN 850 Euclid Ave., Ste. 110., 216-6448954, abarcle.com When available: Sundays 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Price and Pour: $10 to $12 for 1.5 ounces in a pint glass

Mixers: Housemade concoction Garnishes: Corned beef, eggs, Slim Jims, salami, bologna, pepper jack cheese Hot sauces: House-blended mix with Frank’s and habanero Vodkas: Paramount, Tito’s, Absolut, in-house pepper-infused Quote: “It’s Sunday morning, people have gone out the night before,” says owner Clarence Wilson, who’s seen a recent uptick in the morning-after elixir. “Sometimes there’s nothing better than a nice Bloody Mary to bring you back to a normal state.” WEST END TAVERN 18514 Detroit Ave., 216-521-7684, westendtav.com When available: Saturdays 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Price: $5 Pour: 1.25 ounces in a 15-ounce goblet Mixers: Red Eye, Tabasco, Sacramento, V-8, Clamato, and a housemade variety Garnishes: Celery, carrots, cucumber, green onion, lemons, limes, celery salt, garlic powder You have what? Skewers with olives, peppers, cherry tomato and summer sausage Quote: “Bloody Marys are perfect for Saturday morning,” Egan says. “Tomato juice goes down easy and the drink takes the edge off.” MARKET ROCKY RIVER 1137 Linda St., 440-799-4292, marketbeer.com When available: Sundays 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Price: $7 regular, $8.50 for Hail Mary Pour: 2 ounces in pint glass, 3 ounces in 23-ounce glass (Hail Mary) The set up: An old lumber cart retrofitted with 36 cold stations for garnishes Mixers: Jimmy Luv Garnishes: 16 types of olives, five types of Smokies, three types of bacon, three kinds of horseradish, cheese and fruit Hot sauces: 24 ranging from avocado and mango to Pain 100% You have what? Pepperoncini stuffed with cream cheese, bacon and chives Quote: “I saw a place in Chicago doing something similar, but it was a poor attempt,” says owner John Owen. “So I went to the West Side Market and made deals with five different vendors.”

scene@clevescene.com t @cleveland_scene

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Vegan, Vegetarian & Dinner Menu Coming Soon | clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

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NOT THE SAME OLD, SAME OLD Six out-of-the-ordinary brunches in Cleveland you shouldn’t miss By Nikki Delamotte IF YOU WAKE UP CRAVING A not-so-basic-brunch experience, you’re in luck, as this city has plenty of oddball options that throw a curveball into your usual routine. Thinking bacon and eggs on a boat, in a casino or on a bus? We’ve got you covered with this guide to unique destinations around town. Mahall’s Industry Brunch When: Mondays, noon – 4 p.m. Where: 13200 Madison Ave., 216-521-3280, mahalls20lanes.com

facebook.com/kayemapparel @kayemapparel

| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

For the servers, chefs and bartenders at your favorite restaurant, brunch is a day of hustle. So come Monday it’s their turn to unwind, and many choose

Mahall’s. “It’s a brunch for all the people who can’t attend brunch on the weekends,” says co-owner Kelly Flamos. “And for all the people who need more brunch, we keep the weekend going.” Various local DJs spin each week while the bar keeps $5 Bloody Marys and $6 grapefruit and orange mimosas flowing. The kitchen changes up the specials regularly, but keeps the classic fried chicken, doughnuts and breakfast sandwiches. Vegans rejoice: Options for you include avocado toast, pancakes and soft pretzels. Brunch on the Nautica Queen When: Sundays, 1 – 3:30 p.m. Where: 1153 Main Ave., 216-696-8888, nauticaqueen.com

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| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

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EAT “We’re the only Cleveland brunch that takes place on the water, cruising along the shoreline,” says Nautica Queen operations manager Colleen Gray. For more than 20 years, this floating buffet has been serving up views as delicious as the veal chops. These two-and-a-halfhour cruises are armed with an unlimited buffet stocked with fruit blintzes, French toast and waffles, pasta, and meat carving stations. After fueling up, hit the dance floor, where local DJs spin tunes that provide a soundtrack for those killer views.

Brews and Brunch Tour on the Brew Bus When: Sundays Where: Various locations, 216-7732567, clevelandbrewbus.com Hop on the Brew Bus and spend your Sunday learning (and tasting) the history of Cleveland beer. Riders will visit a rotating roster of breweries like Market Garden Brewery, Fat Heads Tap House and the Brew Kettle, with one of them offering a behind-the-scenes tour. Each stop offers four guided tastings from knowledgeable guides

Leslie Basalla-McCafferty and Brian McCafferty. Tours kick off at noon and wrap up by 5 p.m. “We figured that everyone loves brunch, and that, by starting it early, we could convince people — even those who have to work early on Mondays — to come on an outing with us,” says Basalla. Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues When: One Sunday per month Where: 308 Euclid Ave., 216-5232583, houseofblues.com/cleveland Curated by gospel legend Kirk

Franklin, this soulful pairing brings together live local performers and Southern-style cooking. Musicians Lafayette Cathon and Faith’s traditional and contemporary gospel fills the room while an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet and carving stations serve up the down-home classics. For a little kick, build your own Bloody Mary at the bar. But we recommend you try the crown jewel, their signature dish and Southern staple, chicken and waffles.

scene@clevescene.com t @cleveland_scene

Horseshoe Casino’s The Spread Brunch Buffet When: Sundays, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. Where: 100 Public Sq., 216-297-4833, caesars.com/horseshoe-cleveland/ You don’t have to hit the tables and slots to enjoy this bottomless brunch, though it doesn’t hurt to have an option if you’ve been placing bets since Saturday night into the early morning and need to refuel. Prime rib specials are the star of the show here. Seven stations of breakfast fare fill this 12,000-square-foot buffet on the lower level of the Higbee Building. Bottomless Beverages at the Metropolitan’s Adega at the 9 When: Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Where: 2017 East Ninth St., 216-3316289, metropolitancleveland.com Adega’s executive chef Eddie Tancredi says he was inspired by our overwhelming love of day drinking to add bottomless drinks to his restaurant’s brunch repertoire. “Our Bottomless Brunch provides the winter alternative to summer’s Sunday Fundays,” he says. At the glitzy downtown development’s restaurant, diners get the option of one brunch entree and unlimited mimosas, Bloody Marys and Miller Lites. Fizzy mimosas are served classically with orange juice, but you can swap in grapefruit, pineapple or cranberry. Bloody Marys come traditional, but you’re welcome to request an extra bit of spiciness. Entree choices include woodsy foraged-mushroom flatbreads, decadent S’mores waffles and customizable savory and sweet crepes. | clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

EAT listings

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TOO MUCH BRUNCH? NEVER. That’s evident by the thousands of you that bought tickets to the now sold-out United We Brunch event taking place this coming Saturday. For those of you joining us, here are the restaurants that you can look forward to seeing. For anyone who missed the boat, this is also a handy guideline to where you should be eating and drinking this, or any other, weekend. Thanks to them, and our sponsors -- Tito’s, Korbel, Hillcrest Foodservice and Pope’s Catering.

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| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

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scene@clevescene.com t @cleveland_scene

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| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

Photo courtesy of Matador Records

MUSIC

Yo La Tengo, still loving every minute of it.

WHO NEEDS HITS?

Thirty years on, indie rockers Yo La Tengo still ‘enjoy every moment’ By Jeff Niesel FOR MANY BANDS, THE KEY to longevity rests upon a certain number of variables remaining in place. Perhaps that means selling a certain number of albums or filling specifically sized venues. Since forming way back in 1984, indie rockers Yo La Tengo haven’t let variables determine whether or not they continue to tour and record. “We continue to enjoy it,” says singer-guitarist Ira Kaplan in a recent phone interview when asked about what’s kept the band intact for more than 30 years. “That’s a big part of it. In a certain sense, not examining and not asking those questions is part of it. If I told you something more concrete — saying that as long as A, B and C were in place, we’d keep going — and then those things stopped being in place, you’d stop being a band. Maybe focusing on A, B, C would make sense,

but then perhaps you wouldn’t see D, E and F come along the way. We’ve just found things to enjoy at every moment.” Not many of the band’s contemporaries have remained active as the music industry has gone through drastic changes over the past three decades. In fact, you’d be hardpressed to find any mainstream rock or pop acts who’ve survived without significant line-up changes. “Flaming Lips might predate us,” says Kaplan. “They’re much more popular than we are. We have a lot of friends in bands who were not necessarily that well known. Our friends Antietam, who we cover on [the new album] Stuff Like That There, our first show was with them. I think it was their third show. They’ve never stopped playing either. They just keep doing it. The Clean predate us.

They’re more up and down and stop and go, and they don’t live on the same continent. They do things and don’t do things. Eleventh Dream Day started at about the same time. They continue to make records and put one out last year.” It’s suggestive that Kaplan can cite an array of bands that can claim a legacy similar to Yo La Tengo’s. A former rock writer, Kaplan (and the band’s other members, singerdrummer Georgia Hubley and singerbassist James McNew) considers himself a huge fan of music. “I think [writing about music] provided me with a self-consciousness for things like this and interpreting things that are said about us,” he says. “My approach to writing didn’t have a lot of analysis to it anyway. I was much more of a fan. That’s part of my background that the band shares. We’re all fans of music. There are bands that you don’t feel like they have to love music. I don’t think being a voracious listener is an essential characteristic of playing music. There are some who are and some who aren’t. I don’t think one is right or wrong. Our

band reflects the fact that we are.” The fan mentality certainly comes across on the band’s latest album, Stuff Like That There. Like 1990’s Fakebook, the album includes a collection of covers and originals. The band recorded the album in the wake of its 30th anniversary and as a way to mark the 25th anniversary of Fakebook. “Having gotten our feet wet [with the 30th anniversary], we thought we would take advantage of the 25th anniversary of Fakebook and make a record with [guitarist] Dave [Schramm] again,” Kaplan explains. “We’ve stayed in touch and love playing with him. We’ve played with him from time to time over the years. It’s always great. We wanted to do something that would last more than one night at Maxwell’s and wanted to do a record and do a little touring. We knew it was something we would enjoy doing. I think it goes back to the idea that we were following the template of Fakebook and that’s what we did on that record.” Kaplan says the reinterpretations of the band’s own songs isn’t such a novelty because the group always

| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

MUSIC tries to make its songs unique when it plays them live. “Reinterpreting our songs is something we always do,” he says. “Sometimes in subtle ways by making them longer. When we make a record and then play those songs live, we’ve already changed them from the record. Like a lot of groups, we record with lots of overdubs and things you can’t do live. We don’t care that we can’t do them live. We don’t have laptops and backing tracks so we can make the live show sound just like the record. We’re always interested in taking a song and treating it as something that’s flexible and malleable. The versions on Stuff Like That There are more extremely interpreted. That happens constantly when we play. It was fun to take [the original tune] ‘Deeper into Movies’ and take out the distortion and focus on the singing and think about what that would do to the song.” One standout, a cover of the Hank Williams’ tune “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” shows off Hubley’s supple voice. Her hushed vocals make it sound as if the Velvet Underground with Nico were covering the tune. “Of the songs on the record, it’s the one we’ve been doing the longest,

away. That was definitely one of them. We found ourselves a few years later on the radio in London. It was this context where people were making requests. I don’t think this person knew we had done it before but we were able to cobble it back together. I’m sure Georgia didn’t know all the words. The first one was more of a rock version. This time, we were playing quietly at a radio station and it brought out a beautiful quality in Georgia’s singing. When we were considering what songs to do for this record, that made the list.” While the album sounds like it might be a random collection of tunes, it works well as a whole and suggests that Yo La Tengo remains committed to the longplayer at a time when bands have focused more on singles and EPs. “It’s the way we approach making music,” he says. “When we make records, we think of the tracks tying together as a whole and getting richer as a whole by talking to each other and the context they’re in. It might not last longer if people aren’t interested. Last night, we were watching an episode of Aziz Ansari’s Master of None show and he’s talking about his grandmother reminiscing about her youth in which there were horse-drawn carriages. Things change pretty radically in a period of time. We’re so focused on today.

YO LA TENGO 8:30 P.M., THURSDAY, JAN. 28, BEACHLAND BALLROOM, 15711 WATERLOO RD. 216-383-1124. TICKETS: $20 ADV, $23 DOS, BEACHLANDBALLROOM.COM

though we don’t do it very often,” says Kaplan. “It might even predate James [McNew] being in the group, which is pretty amazing since he’s been playing in the group for 25 years. We all love the way Georgia sings it. Her performance is special. To be honest, it’s appealing to do something brazen like take this song that you think everything that can ever be said about this song has been said about it and think we have one more angle on it.” The band’s stripped-down rendition of the Cure’s “Friday I’m in Love” also makes the most of Hubley’s soft voice as she turns the song into something more somber and reflective than the original Cure tune. “There again, we’ve done that one,” says Kaplan. “We had done it two times before. We did a show quite a few years ago. We played a party that was half party and half public show for The Onion. For whatever reason, it occurred to us to learn that song. There are lots of covers that we’ll play once or twice and then they go

| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

We just try to cope with the changes around us whether we like them or not.” One benefit of being a band that never had that one huge hit (something that can’t be said for other indie rock acts such as the Flaming Lips or Dinosaur Jr.) is that the band has the liberty to play what it likes for the live shows. “This is going to sound slightly ridiculous, but it is one of the advantages of not having hits,” says Kaplan. “We have songs that are more popular than others. It’s not like the people who come to a show will only know one song. That hasn’t happened, for better and worse. Most people who will be there will know more than two of our songs. As long as we touch a couple of bases, which we’re perfectly happy to do, then not everyone goes home upset. Only a few.”

jniesel@clevescene.com t @jniesel

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| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

MUSIC

YOU CAN TAKE THE GIRL out of Ohio, but you can’t take Ohio out of the girl. The small southernOhio town of Wellston figures prominently in gutsy growler Elle King’s story, even next to her starstudded upbringing and the time she brandished a banjo on an RCA executive’s couch. But after years of searching for her own sound, King found herself back in the backcountry with last year’s blues rock and bluegrass-infused debut album, Love Stuff. The daughter of Saturday Night Live alum Rob Schneider and model London King, King spent her early years in Los Angeles before her parents’ divorce sent her and her mother to southern Ohio. Although her famous father scored King a screen role at age 10 (she shadowed Schneider in 1999’s Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo), he had almost no bearing on her musical journey. Rather, King’s stepfather, Justin Tesa, was the one who introduced her to rock ’n’ roll and started a fire within her. King picked up guitar in imitation of Tesa, and the two continue to share mixtapes of new music on a monthly basis. At age 18, King added banjo to her repertoire, years before artists like Mumford & Sons revived the traditional instrument in pop music. Around the same time, King emancipated herself from possible accusations of celebrity entitlement by eschewing the Schneider name in favor of her mother’s maiden name. King honed her craft for seven years before finding herself in that RCA executive’s office. At age 15, under the guise of a fake ID, she started making her way onto bar stages to showcase original tunes. It wasn’t long before her parents caught on, however, and started sending her photo around to local establishments, revealing that she was underage. As a college student in Philadelphia, King filtered through local bands and cut class to perform on the street.

Singer-songwriter Elle King has a huge hit with her debut album, Love Stuff.

BACK IN THE BACKCOUNTRY

Singer-songwriter Elle King returns to her southern-Ohio roots for her debut album By Bethany Kaufman Things looked up when former American Idol judge Randy Jackson picked King for a girl group he was assembling in L.A.,

preliminary EP the year after. It would be another three years of performing (this time in support of acts ranging from Of Monsters

ELLE KING 8:30 P.M., FRIDAY, JAN. 29, MASONIC AUDITORIUM, 3615 EUCLID AVE. TICKETS: $25, GROGSHOP.GS

but the group’s foundation never solidified. In 2011, she secured the support of RCA (with the help of her banjo) and released a

| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

and Men to Ed Sheeran) before she would make her formal debut with Love Stuff. While on the road, King made pit stops with a number of

producers, each of whom worked with her to shape years of life and musical experience into an artistic identity. The very characteristics that make Elle a compelling musician, like her weathered wail and badgirl attitude, also make her stick out, and being different isn’t always easy. Growing up, she felt like the oddball. She says she felt “chubby and goofy-looking and the class clown” next to her “really beautiful and wonderful and charming” parents, as she told the Wall Street Journal. As she matured, King felt torn between two important influences in her life: her straightlaced grandparents and her openminded mother. Love Stuff ’s opening track, “Where the Devil Don’t Go,” perfectly captures the selfdeprecation she still struggles with. As for pinpointing her image as an artist, King credits producer Dave Bassett for helping her sculpt what was already inside of her. King and Bassett co-wrote the album’s lead single, “Ex’s & Oh’s,” which comes off like Lou Bega’s “Mambo No. 5” with a femme fatale in the driver’s seat. Other album highlights include a pair of seethers: “Jackson” and “Last Damn Night,” the latter of which drew from the assistance of the Black Keys’ Patrick Carney, another blues rock hotshot that once called Ohio home. Even while traversing the country working with some of the business’s best, King couldn’t help but come back to her rural roots on Love Stuff. Her banjo plucking is a natural asset, and bluegrass ballads coexist harmoniously with rip-roaring guitar tracks. It’s the marriage of her early musical influences: the AC/DC her stepfather introduced her to coupled with the Hank Williams and Johnny Cash her grandparents played for her.

scene@clevescene.com t @cleveland_scene

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SAT 4/16 | clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

MUSIC A STEADY EVOLUTION

Hitting the 18-year mark, Umphrey’s McGee are the masters of their domain By Eric Sandy NEW YEAR’S EVE SHOWS ARE special events for most bands — even more so for those that sling totally different setlists each night and cut their songwriting with extended live improvisation. The New Year’s Day show, meanwhile, tends to be a mellower affair. Everyone’s bleary-eyed and worn out, but, somehow — always — coming back for more. But how should a band navigate that tone? In place of a typical Jan. 1 show this year, Chicago-based prog-jam juggernauts Umphrey’s McGee decided to roll out a new documentary culled from 18 years of video footage. Fans were treated to a special evening of nostalgia amid never-before-seen perspectives on life with the band. Later that night, the band played a set of original music curated by the fans themselves and shared the stories behind those songs. The “Reel to Real” event was a fresh, unique event for a band that revels in that kind of stuff. For the fans and the band members alike, it was a celebration, a rare opportunity to glance backward at a rich history of music. “I had probably seen about eight minutes of it, of the 65 minutes total,” singer-guitarist Brendan Bayliss says about the run-up to the event. “I like to think of myself as forward thinking. We used to listen to every show when we were in a van, you know, six hours every day between shows. But the older I’ve gotten and the more we do, I’m less worried about what we’ve done and I’m more worried about what we have to do.” Indeed. What they’ve done speaks for itself. The band formed in late 1997 at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, and began gigging around the area in the early part of 1998. Right off the bat, via albums like Greatest Hits Vol. III and the live recording Songs For Older Women, the guys demonstrated a penchant for extremely tight, rapid-fire song construction. (We hit the archive to dig up some old ’98 bootlegs, which feature some absolute gems.)

To say their rise within the regional and national jam band touring circuit was mind-blowing would be an understatement. There’s always talk of “the passing of the torch” in the jam scene — i.e. from Phish, particularly after Coventry, to the next in line — and, even as a young band, Umphrey’s landed on that shortlist with alacrity. But talk like that has always been a bit unfair. Listen, Umphrey’s McGee is a Great American Rock Band in that they’ve created a world unto themselves. As Bayliss puts it, hey, they’re just regular dudes from the Midwest, making music and trying to take each new experience further than the last. About a year ago, the band went really far out there and traveled to London, where they cut a new album in one day at the famed Abbey Road Studios. It was a certain highlight of the year for Bayliss. “We basically went to church,” he says. “I grew up on the Beatles.” The resulting album — The London Session — culled together older tunes that had never been given the studio treatment and others that called for an update. Why not? Organically, Umphrey’s has been evolving steadily over the past 18 years. Band members bring in new equipment, adding sounds to their arsenal, and in-the-moment jams (“Jimmy Stewarts”) often lead to future songs and new approaches to the very craft of writing. The band,

Umphrey’s McGee returns to House of Blues this week.

path ahead. “The best moments that we have are the surprise moments where we didn’t talk about [what happened onstage] and something fantastic happened,” he says. Chemistry with the audience plays a role, too. The band has always held onto that fact. “We’ve always been about fan interaction, because we quickly realized in the beginning that we were playing for the same 20 people every night,” Bayliss says. “So it’s okay, if we want to keep these same 20 people and grow, we have to get some honest feedback from them.” He cites the Stew Art series shows, the UMBowl events, and the recent Reel to Real fan-voted setlist as examples of that sort of feedback. “There’s a delicate balance,” he continues. “I feel some bands don’t pay enough attention, and you’ve got to remember that these are the people who are feeding your children. You want to cater to them. At the same

UMPHREY’S MCGEE WITH SPECIAL GUEST JOSHUA REDMAN 8 P.M., WEDNESDAY, JAN. 27, HOUSE OF BLUES, 308 EUCLID AVE., 216-523-2583. TICKETS: $30, HOUSEOFBLUES.COM

Bayliss says, is always writing. Their songwriting style has remained rooted in progressive rock, even as their lyrical output has shifted from the fast-paced and goofy (“Got Your Milk [Right Here]”) to the airy and more serious (“Final Word”). As long as they keep their eyes and ears open, Bayliss says that their improvisatory chemistry lights the

| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

time, if you do too much of that, then you’re not listening to yourself. At the end of the day, the fans aren’t there to listen to themselves.” Of course. The fans — you — are there to listen to whatever the band is laying down. The turnout for the New Year’s Eve run and the Reel to Real event surely showed the band how much their fans appreciate their

growth these past 18 years. “It was a reminder of how far we’ve come and what we’ve been through,” Bayliss says. “And I think the biggest thing I took from watching the Reel to Real was how much we’ve grown and how bad we used to look. Like, I can’t believe I used to dress the way I used to dress 18 years ago. I thought that my hair was okay, and I went out in public and went onstage looking like that. We’ve grown in so many different ways.” The band returns to Cleveland Jan. 27 to put another notch in a storied line-up of terrific House of Blues shows over the years here. And the year ahead in general looks sweet for Umphrey’s. Bayliss says they’re kicking around plans for a “new studio project” this year, but not much more can be said right now. “It’s gonna be different,” he adds. The band debuted three new songs during the New Year’s run, and at least one more since this interview. He says there are still five or six waiting in the offing. “For me — and for us — it’s about not resting on our laurels and just trying to write the best songs we’ve ever written,” Bayliss says. “I honestly feel like we haven’t done it yet. We’re trying to find new covers and new originals to get into the set, because that’s gonna be our lifeblood.”

esandy@clevescene.com t@EricSandy

| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

LIVEWIRE

all the live music you should see this week Photo by Meredith Truax

WED

1/27

10 X 3 Hosted by Brent Kirby (in the Wine Bar): 8 p.m. Brothers Lounge. Austin “Walkin’” Cane and Bob Frank: 7 p.m., $10. Nighttown. Graveyard/Spiders: 8:30 p.m., $15 ADV, $18 DOS. Grog Shop. Hoseff/John McGrail: 8 p.m. Barking Spider Tavern. Istvan Medgyesi/Noon/Laced with Arsenic: 8 p.m., $5. Beachland Tavern. Secret Space/The Flats/Failed Astronauts/Maluck/The Traveler (in the Locker Room): 7 p.m., $10. Mahall’s 20 Lanes. Martin Sexton/Dan Hubbard: 7:30 p.m., $25 ADV, $28 DOS. Music Box Supper Club. Umphrey’s McGee/Joshua Redman: 9 p.m., $30 ADV, $35 DOS. House of Blues. Rock Wehrmann: 7 p.m., Free. BLU Jazz+.

THU

1/28

City and Colour/Greyhounds: Formerly of the post-punk band Alexisonfire, singer-songwriter Dallas Green adopts a more nuanced approach with City and Colour, a sideproject that has now become a day job. Green wrote the songs on the band’s most recent album, If I Should Go Before You, in the latter half of 2014 after returning from two years of touring. Recorded at Blackbird Studios near Nashville, the songs suggest the degree to which Green has evolved as a singer and songwriter. On songs such as “Woman,” a tune that begins with a crisp, shimmering electric guitar chord, and the Black Keys-like “Wasted Love,” his vocals sound particularly soulful. Though many of the songs have a downtempo feel to them, the spirited “Mizzy C” makes fun of his tendency to be an introvert as Green sings that his disposition has “run its course.” Green and band have really jelled. Expect the live show to reflect that. (Niesel), 8 p.m., $32.50 ADV, $35 DOS. House of Blues. Sonic Sessions: Alessia Cara/Kevin Garrett & Craig Stickland: When 19-year-old singer-songwriter Alessia Cara began posting videos on YouTube a few years ago, she had no idea they’d lead to near-

FRI

Singer-songwriter Alessia Cara plays a sold out show at the Rock Hall. See: Thursday.

instant success and fame. Only 13 years old, she posted videos just for fun. But record labels came calling and last year, Cara issued her debut single, “Here,” a song about feeling like a social outcast at a party. It became a massive hit, propelling her full-length debut, Know-It-All, to the top of the charts. Artists such as Lorde, Drake, Alicia Keys, and Taylor Swift have praised Cara’s talent, and her soulful vocals have drawn comparisons to Norah Jones. Swift even added Cara’s “I’m Yours” to her playlist of New Songs That Will Make Your Life More Awesome. (Niesel), 8 p.m., Sold Out. Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Dwight Yoakam/Logan Brill: One of the granddaddy outlaws of honky tonk, Dwight Yoakam has built a formidable songwriting career. He’s won several Grammys and Americana Music Awards (along with plenty of nominations), and he’s notched a number of television and film roles. Last year, he dropped Second Hand Heart, his 14th studio album. This is vintage Yoakam here, the sort of anti-establishment songwriting drenched in whiskey and pockmarked with bruises. (Eric Sandy), 7:30 p.m. Hard Rock Rocksino.

| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

Axon-Neuron: 8 p.m., $15. Akron Civic Theatre. Vicki Chew/Rob Bliss: 8 p.m. Barking Spider Tavern. Eagles Tribute by Hotel California: 8 p.m., $22 ADV, $25 DOS. Music Box Supper Club. An Evening with Yo La Tengo: 8:30 p.m., $20 ADV, $23 DOS. Beachland Ballroom. Chris Hatton’s Musical Circus (in the Wine Bar): 8 p.m. Brothers Lounge. Roger Hoover: 9 p.m., Free. Happy Dog. Jam Night with the Bad Boys of Blues: 9 p.m., Free. Brothers Lounge. Elle King/Horse Thief: 8:30 p.m., $16. Masonic Auditorium. Kiss Me Deadly/Way of Life/Black Spirit Crown: 9 p.m., $6. Grog Shop. Roland Paolucci Quartet: 8 p.m., $12. BLU Jazz+. Thor Platter Band (in the Supper Club): 7:30 p.m., $8. Music Box Supper Club. Phil Vassar/Theresa Rose/Hailey Whitters: 7:30 p.m., $27.50 ADV, $35 DOS. The Kent Stage. Chris Young with Cassadee Pope: 7:30 p.m., $37.50-$57.50. The Connor Palace.

1/29

All Locals Show and Benefit for SK8 Ramp with Rubber Mate/Grin and Bear It/Dipshit/Piglitz: 9 p.m., $5. Now That’s Class. Cats on Holiday: 9:30 p.m., $5. Brothers Lounge. Paul Christiansen (in the Wine Bar): 8 p.m. Brothers Lounge. Richie Cole Alto Madness Quartet: 8:30 p.m., $15. Nighttown. Elm St. Blues Band/Loretta Lausin Quartet/George Foley & Friends: 5:30 p.m. Barking Spider Tavern. Saul Glennon/Tom Adams & the Last Resort: 9 p.m., $5. Happy Dog. Travis Haddix Blues Band (in the Supper Club): 8 p.m., $7. Music Box Supper Club. Honey/Wesley Who/Prune Slayers: 9 p.m., $5. Grog Shop. Brent Kirby & His Luck: 8 p.m., $8. Musica. Dennis Lewin: 10:30 p.m., free. Nighttown. Michelle Malone/Diana Chittester: 8 p.m., $20. E.J. Thomas Hall. Mossom/Dead East Garden/DePrator/ Kearns: 8:30 p.m., $8. Beachland Tavern. Royalties/Passengers/Goodnight Tonight/Cascades/Test Tube Twins: 7 p.m., $8 ADV, $10 DOS. Mahall’s 20 Lanes. Shawn Perry and the Hazard County Rebellion/One Days Notice/Turbo Lovers/Darling Waste/Samsara/ Sound People: 6 p.m., $6. Agora Ballroom. Shockwave: 9 p.m., $5. Vosh Club. Toneshift: 9 p.m., $5. The Euclid Tavern. Wanted: A Tribute to Bon Jovi: 6:30 p.m. House of Blues. DJ Paul Weaver: 6 p.m., Free. Happy Dog.

SAT

1/30

2016 Tri-C High School Rock Off: As a way of nurturing and supporting the talent native to Northeast Ohio, the folks at the concert promotions behemoth Live Nation devote what is traditionally a slow time of the year for concerts to this annual event, a battle of the bands that pits high-school bands against one another in a competition to crown one final winner the best high-school band in the land. This year, the event will also take place at the Rock Hall. Every Saturday

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| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

LIVEWIRE in January, regional bands will compete before a panel of judges for the right to move on to the “Final Exam,” which takes place on Feb. 13 at the Rock Hall. (Niesel), 6 p.m. Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Red Sun Rising/Jeff Klemm & the Letters/Devilstrip: For its latest album, this Akron-based act worked with producer Bob Marlette. The band counts Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Tool as influences. The album strikes a balance between hard rock and metal with a subtle nod to classic rock too. In “Blister,” the soaring vocals recall those great Scorpions power ballads from the ‘80s. (Niesel), 9 p.m., $12 ADV, $14 DOS. Grog Shop. Battle of the Bands: 6 p.m., $10. Agora Ballroom. Bleep Bloop/SLAVE/Thunder St. Clair/Shaggs/Jae Andres: 9:30 p.m., $12 ADV, $15 DOS. Beachland Tavern. Blue Lunch/Take This Hammer: 8 p.m. Barking Spider Tavern. Buck Naked: 8:30 p.m., $10. Tangier Cabaret. Chromosome Damage/Meanderthal: 9 p.m., Free. Now That’s Class. Paul Fayrewether: 8 p.m., $12 ADV, $15 DOS. House of Blues. Bobby Floyd Trio: 8:30 p.m., $20. Nighttown. Sam Hooper Group: 9 p.m., $5. The Euclid Tavern. Indigenous (in the Supper Club): 8 p.m., $18 ADV, $20 DOS. Music Box Supper Club. Carlos Jones & the P.L.U.S. Band/Big Ship: 9 p.m., $10 ADV, $12 DOS. Beachland Ballroom. Alan Madej/Ceiling Star/Mike Uva: 9 p.m., $5. Happy Dog. Angela Perley & the Howlin’ Moons CD Release Show/White Buffalo Woman: 9 p.m., $10. Musica. Radioactive: 9 p.m., $5. Vosh Club. Justo Saborit & Latin Soul: 8 p.m., $12. BLU Jazz+. Samfox/Trios/John’s Little Sister: 9 p.m., $8. Mahall’s 20 Lanes. School of Rock Strongsville Presents: Grad School Show (in the Supper Club): 4 p.m., Free. Music Box Supper Club. School of Rock with the Music of Pink Floyd/Rock 101/AC/DC “If You Want Blood”/The Monarchy Show: 1 p.m., Free. Beachland Ballroom. Sounds of Jazz Featuring Nancy Redd (in the Wine Bar): 8 p.m. Brothers Lounge. That ‘80s Band: 10 p.m., $5. Brothers Lounge.

Jackie Warren: 10:30 p.m., free. Nighttown.

SUN

1/31

The Oh Hellos/Liza Anne: On first blush, it’s hard not to roll your eyes at the idea of an album “inspired in part by C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters and Patrick Rothfuss’ The Name of the Wind, mythology and folklore, and apocalyptic literature.” “In part.” But, hey, The Oh Hellos, a sibling duo based out of a house in southern Texas, assembled a pretty goddam touching work of art in Dear Wormwood, their second album. This is delicate folk songwriting, anchored wonderfully by Maggie and Tyler Heath’s emotional vocal work. (Sandy), 8 p.m., $15 ADV, $17 DOS. Beachland Ballroom. Ballinloch (in the Supper Club): 4 p.m., Free. Music Box Supper Club. Bullfighter/Slug Fest/Gypsy Wolf: 9 p.m., $5. Happy Dog. Pete Cavano: 6 p.m. Barking Spider Tavern. Decapitated/Black Breath/Theories/ Demons Within: 6 p.m., $15 ADV, $18 DOS. Agora Ballroom. Lenny Gray: 3 p.m. Barking Spider Tavern. The Oh Hellos Pre-Party with Bad Bad Hats: 6 p.m., Free. Beachland Tavern. Mike Petrone (in the Wine Bar): 5:30 p.m. Brothers Lounge. Jake Shimabukuro: 7 p.m., $45 ADV, $50 DOS. Music Box Supper Club. Stalley/Vice Souletric/G Huff with DJ Nuera/R The Czar: 9 p.m., $12 ADV, $15 DOS. Grog Shop.

MON

2/1

Skatch Anderssen Orchestra: 8 p.m., $10. Brothers Lounge. Velvet Voyage (in the Wine Bar): 8 p.m. Brothers Lounge.

TUE

2/2

Band Practice Open Mic Night: 9 p.m., Free. Grog Shop. Ernie Krivda and the Fat Tuesday Big Band: 7:30 p.m., $10. Vosh Club. Mr. California’s Killed by Wetbrain Happy Hour: 5 p.m., Free. Now That’s Class.

scene@clevescene.com t@cleveland_scene

| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

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| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

MOSSOM By Jeff Niesel MEET THE BAND David Allen Moss (vocals, bass), Russ Herbert (drums) RURAL ROOTS Moss grew up in Amish country in Geauga County. He went to Rochester to go to trade school but then moved back to Northeast Ohio in 1999 and played in the New Lamonts, a jazzfunk band. “It taught me a lot about improv,” he says. “I even learned to do improv vocals. I think a lot of musicians are afraid of that.” After working at Beachwood Studios for six years and jamming with the musicians who would hang out there, Moss put Mossom together in Chardon, where he was born. At the time, the band included a guitarist and Herbert, who had been drumming in a local ska party band Pirates of the Burning River. In 2015, the two started writing together and set up shop in Herbert’s A-Bear Studio. Most of their early catalog of songs were written mere minutes away from the area where the Moss family settled in the early 1700s. A former minor league pitcher, Herbert plays with “an undeniable athleticism” and counts the Police’s Stewart Copeland and Dave Matthews Band’s Carter Beaufort as inspirations. “I’ve been in power trios and you hear that juxtaposition of the guitar and bass,” Moss says, “but I bring both to the band. It’s licks and riffs.” THE WORLD’S SMALLEST MARCHING BAND Moss has referred to the group as “The World’s Smallest Marching

Band.” “I was in college and high school marching band. When I realized that some of our tracks have this march to them, it made it kind of funny. I can’t help myself. We thought it would be great to put a little horn section together.”

WHY YOU SHOULD HEAR THEM Produced and mastered by locally based multi-platinum veteran, Michael Seifert, the band’s debut EP delivers what Moss describes as “an authentic, broad-shouldered blend of indie-meets-progressive rock.” The EP commences with the menacing “No Fomo,” a song that features some Neil Peart-like drum fills and sputtering vocals. The Rush-like “Levels” offers a warning about the consequences of global warning as Moss sings in a near falsetto over a snappy bass riff. “I’m not afraid of prog-rock,” says Moss. “I think it rides that line. It’s a little more tangible, and it’s just rock really. I feel like it fits in with rock bands like the Dead Weather.” WHERE YOU CAN HEAR THEM mossom.band WHERE YOU CAN SEE THEM Mossom performs with Dead East Garden and DePrator/Kearns at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 29, at the Beachland Tavern.

jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel

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| clevescene.com | January 27 - February 2, 2016

SAVAGE LOVE SOUND MIND AND BODY By Dan Savage Dear Dan, Down to business: Christmas came and went, and every present I bought for my extraordinary husband could be opened in front of our children. He deserves better, and I have a particular gift in mind for Valentine’s Day. My husband has expressed an interest in sounding, something we’ve attempted only with my little finger. He seemed to enjoy it! But the last thing I want to do is damage his big beautiful dick. So is sounding a fun thing? Is sounding a safe thing? Recommendations for a beginner’s sounding kit? Or should I scrap the idea and just get him another butt plug? —Safety Of Sounding P.S. Here is a picture of the big beautiful dick I don’t want to damage. Sounding, for those of you who didn’t go to the same Sunday school I did, involves the insertion of smooth metal or plastic rods into the urethra. Sounding is sometimes done for legitimate medical purposes (to open up a constricted urethra, to locate a blockage), and it’s sometimes done for legitimate erotic purposes (some find the sensation pleasurable, and others are turned on by the transgression, particularly when a man is being sounded, i.e., the penetrator’s penetrator penetrated). So, yeah, some people definitely think sounding is a fun thing, SOS. “But whether or not something is a safe thing depends on knowledge of the risks/pitfalls and an observance of proper technique,” said Dr. Keith D. Newman, a urologist and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. “The urethral lining has the consistency of wet paper towels and can be damaged easily, producing scarring. And the male urethra takes a bend just before the prostate. Negotiating that bend takes talent, and that’s where most sounding injuries occur.” Recreational cock sounders— particularly newbies—shouldn’t attempt to push past that bend. But how do you know when you’ve arrived at that bend? “SOS’s partner should do the inserting initially,” said Dr. Newman, “as the bend in the urethra is easily recognized by the soundee. Once he is clear on his cues—once

he understands the sensations, what works, and when the danger areas are reached—SOS can participate safely with insertion.” And cleanliness matters, SOS, whether you’re sounding the husband or serving burritos to the public. “Infection is always an issue,” said Dr. Newman. “Clean is good, but the closer to sterile the better. And be careful about fingers. They can be more dangerous than sounds because of the nails and difficulty in sterilizing.” So for the record, SOS: Your previous attempts at sounding— those times you jammed your little finger into your husband’s piss slit—were more dangerous than the sounding you’ll be doing with the lovely set of stainless-steel sounding rods you’ll be giving your hubby on Valentine’s Day. Now let’s go shopping! “Choosing the best ‘starter kit’ is not hard: Pratt Dilators are not hard to find online, they’re not that expensive, and they will last a lifetime,” said Dr. Newman. (I found a set of Pratt Dilators on Amazon for less than $30.) And when your set arrives, SOS, don’t make the common mistake of starting with the smallest/skinniest sound in the pack. “Inserting something too small allows wiggle room on the way in and for a potential to stab the urethral wall,” said Dr. Newman. Your husband’s butt should be plug-free during your sounding sessions, SOS, as a plug could compress a section his urethra. If you’re skilled enough to work around the bend—or if you’re foolish enough to push past it—the sound could puncture his compressed urethra. And a punctured urethra is every bit as unpleasant as it sounds. (Sorry.) Finally, SOS, what about coming? Will your husband’s balls explode if he blows a load while a metal rod is stuffed in his urethra? “Coming with the sound in place is a matter of personal preference,” said Dr. Newman. “There is no particular danger involved.” P.S. Thank you for the picture.

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