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MARCH 7 – 13, 2018 • VOLUME 48 NO 36 Dedicated to Free Times founder Richard H. Siegel (1935-1993) and Scene founder Richard Kabat Group Publisher Chris Keating Publisher Andrew Zelman Associate Publisher Angela Nagal Editor Vince Grzegorek
CONTENTS Upfront
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Editorial Music Editor Jeff Niesel Senior Writer Sam Allard Staff Writer Brett Zelman Web Editor Laura Morrison Dining Editor Douglas Trattner Stage Editor Christine Howey Visual Arts Writers Dott von Schneider Copy Editor Elaine Cicora Interns Michael Wu, Matt Poshedley
Cleveland Muni Court failed to report those banned from buying ďŹ rearms to state database, plus Hayloft Bill O’Neill draws the Ohio Democratic Party’s ire
Advertising Senior Multimedia Account Executive John Crobar, Shayne Rose Multimedia Account Executive Kiara Davis Events and Marketing Coordinator Maggie Lilac
23 Cleveland restaurants at the top of their brunch game
Feature Get Out!
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All the best things to do in Cleveland this week
Creative Services Production Manager Steve Miluch Staff Photographer Emanuel Wallace Business Sales Assistant/Receptionist Megan Stimac Controller Kristy Dotson
Art
Circulation Circulation Director Don Kriss Euclid Media Group Chief Executive OfďŹ cer Andrew Zelman Chief Operating OfďŹ cers Chris Keating, Michael Wagner VP Digital Services Stacy Volhein Digital Operations Coordinator Jaime Monzon www.euclidmediagroup.com 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 & ClassiďŹ ed Fax 216-241-6275 Editoral Fax 216-802-7212 E-mail scene@clevescene.com Cleveland Scene Magazine is published every week by Euclid Media Group. VeriďŹ 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 2018 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, self-addressed 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’
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Even Snakes Shed Their Skin
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Examining personal transformation with Amanda Bahia at Negative Space Gallery
Stage
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The Effect at Dobama explores how chemicals control our feelings
Film
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Thoroughbreds is a sleek thriller with no heart
Eat
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Il Rione wants to reinvigorate the neighborhood;Porco expands its menu
Music
...The story continues at clevescene.com
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Arielle and Eric Johnson on the joys of touring together, the basement jam sessions that led to SOJA’s new album, plus all the shows to see this week
Savage Love Printed By
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Take
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Zaps
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UPFRONT GRAND JURY WON’T PURSUE RAPE CHARGES AGAINST MUNI COURT JUDGE DAYS BEFORE THE 2017 GENERAL election,reportsemergedofallegations that Michael Nelson, the former NAACP Cleveland chapter president and candidate for a judicial seat on the Cleveland Municipal Court, had raped a 46-year-old woman, a former romantic partner. Her police report chronicled a violent October assault. Despite the publication of the report, Nelson went on to win his race, unseating incumbent Michael Sliwinski. Sliwinski was adamant, in conversations with Scene, that neither he nor his team had unearthed the rape allegations, or pushed them to the media, as part of opposition research. Nelson began his term in January. Last week, it was reported that a Cuyahoga County grand jury declined to pursue charges against Nelson. It’s unclear when this “no-bill” was handed down, but the grand jury made its decision following an investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, who took over the case from the Cleveland Police Department in December. At that time, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office handed the case off to its counterpart in Summit County. According to a spokesperson in the Cuyahoga County office, a special prosecutor was appointed in Summit County, but the case was presented in Cuyahoga. Back in November, Nelson had called the rape accusations a “political hit.” The police reports, however, describe the assault in detail, though
key fragments were redacted. They also describe pressure to remain silent applied by Nelson himself, his wife, and members of his church. Know more? Get in touch: sallard@ clevescene.com. — Sam Allard
Violating State Law, Cleveland Muni Court Failed to Submit Names of People Prohibited From Buying Guns to Background Check Database An Ohio law requires that local courts submit a weekly list of the names of people who are legally prohibited from buying a gun. Included are those convicted of felonies and domestic violence, drug crimes and other violent crimes. That list, submitted to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations, is used by the FBI to run background checks. Naturally, there is no penalty for court systems that fail to do so, and an investigation by the Cincinnati Enquirer found that 90 Ohio courts over the past three years have failed to submit qualifying names to the database. Among them is East Cleveland. “A court official in East Cleveland said she was too busy to report people banned from owning a gun or even to allow the state to pick up the paperwork to enter names into the database manually,” the Enquirer reported. “It would take too much
time to go through the paperwork and her court does not have the money to make that many copies,” a March 2017 statement said. This isn’t a particularly new problem — a November 2015 report noted that in 2011, at least one-quarter of felony convictions were never reported to the state database — but it has lingered even after the Ohio Supreme Court and the BCI created an electronic system for local courts to use. Because we’re talking about bureaucracy and differing kinds and levels of IT systems employed by municipalities, there were naturally problems. The Enquirer reports that only 47 of the 350 Ohio court systems with access to the system had technology that allowed them to use it. Cleveland Municipal Court opted into the system, if you were curious. But it stopped using it, and reporting names, because its password expired, according to a November 2016 report reviewed by the paper. All this means that the database that’s supposed to stop a prohibited person from buying a firearm is incomplete. Oh, the database is also used for background checks at schools, for foster parents and by private employers. BCI does what it can but there’s no agency that has purview over the issue. So the best they can do is call court systems who fall months and even years behind in submitting names.
“Clerks are kind of their own entity,” BCI spokesman Dan Tierney told the Enquirer. — Vince Grzegorek
“Hayloft” Bill O’Neill Not a Viable Governor Candidate, Say Ohio Dems Former Ohio Supreme Court Justice and current Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Bill O’Neill, he of the marijuana legalization platform and the infamous “Hayloft” Facebook post, is not a viable candidate for governor, according to the Ohio Democratic Party (ODP). ODP chairman David Pepper read a memo last week prepared by a subcommittee that had been tasked with vetting all seven original Democratic candidates: Bill O’Neill, Richard Cordray, Dennis Kucinich, Joe Schiavoni, Connie Pillich, Betty Sutton, and Nan Whaley. (Pillich and Whaley have since pulled out of the race. Sutton is now Cordray’s running mate.) “With one exception,” the memo read, “all candidates satisfied the committee that there was not an issue or pattern of issues that risked the basic viability of their candidacy or of the Democratic ticket should they emerge as the Democratic nominee.” The memo cited O’Neill’s “pattern of financial and ethical challenges” and “highly inflammatory and insensitive remarks” on social media as items that would not only make him difficult to | clevescene.com | March 7 - 13, 2018
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elect, but would imperil down-ballot races as well. ODP communications director Kirstin Alvanitakis restated for Scene what the memo said in its opening paragraph: that the committee’s goal was not to “pass judgement on any individual candidate’s political views. That will be left to the voters to sort out.” But it wasn’t just one Facebook post, Alvanitakis stressed, referring to the much-publicized “Hayloft” post in which O’Neill claimed to have been intimate with 50 “very attractive” women, including a former secretary of Sen. Bob Taft, to whom he reportedly made “passionate love in the hayloft of her parents’ barn in Gallipolis.” Equally troubling was the pattern of financial and ethical challenges.
DIGIT WIDGET $34 MILLION Net worth of Jim Renacci, the 16th most wealthy member of Congress according to a Roll Call report. Sen. Rob Portman is the second most wealthy Ohio congressman, coming in at $8 million.
1939 Median year of construction of Cleveland housing units, the oldest of the eight largest cities in the state.
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| clevescene.com | March 7 - 13, 2018
“This pattern is a matter of public record,” Alvanitakis said. O’Neill said Pepper took a “cheap shot” by reading a memo with a “Confidential” watermark on it, but that he nevertheless remained bullish on his candidacy. Earlier in February, he announced that he would not be seeking or accepting the endorsement of the Ohio Democratic Party or any county Democratic party in the 2018 primary. And he reaffirmed that position for Scene when we asked about the memo. “I do not want, nor will I accept, the endorsement of the Ohio Democratic Party or any of its affiliates,” O’Neill wrote in an emailed statement. “I strongly encourage the Ohio Democratic Party to come out of their shell and endorse Richard Cordray, which is what they want to do. The last time they did that, in 2010, I won 87 out of 88 counties.” When asked if he was being facetious, he responded, “true quote.” “The Ohio Democratic party is doing a re-run of 2016 ... only this time I am Bernie,” O’Neill declared, referencing the presidential primary between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. “The last time I ran for office statewide was in 2012. I not only won the primary, but I went on to defeat an incumbent Republican while being outspent by $2 million. The last time the Ohio Democratic party cleared the way for Richard Cordray in a primary was in 2010 when he went into the election supported by the Ohio Democratic Party and the National Rifle Association. He was soundly beaten by Mike DeWine who I intend to beat in November.” Brent Larkin, the former PD editorial director, dealt O’Neill a blow in a column published yesterday about Dennis Kucinich. Larkin said that Kucinich’s strategy of making assault weapons central to his campaign was an “astute” political move. But O’Neill didn’t get a nod when Larkin discussed the competition. “The two other Democrats worthy of voter consideration,” wrote Larkin “are [Rich] Cordray and Youngstownarea state Sen. Joe Schiavoni.” All four of the Democratic candidates appeared at a forum held bytheServiceEmployeesInternational Union later in the week. The event was closed to the media, but Kucinich was pegged as the victor by SEIU members chatted with Scene after attending. Former Councilman Zack Reed, who attended the forum, gave the edge to Richard Cordray. Wednesday evening, a public debate between the four candidates will be held at Toledo’s Bowsher High School. — Allard
Photo courtesy Formulanone Flickr CC
The turnpike is now on the hook for $1 million.
Jury Awards Lorain Family $1 Million in Damages in Ohio Turnpike Eminent Domain Case When the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission eyed .338 acres of land owned by the Abrahams family in Amherst, an appraiser hired by the department valued the plot at $11,865. The Commission offered the family $13,400. After they declined, the Turnpike turned to the courts, suing for eminent domain. It sought the plot, part of 123 acres the family had purchased years back, to fill in an overpass and get rid of a bridge. The Turnpike won but the hard feelings were only beginning. The Abrahams received a check for just $11,865, the initial figure, which was not only less than the initial offer but magnitudes less than what they thought the land was worth: An appraiser they had hired valued the acreage and damages of the Turnpike’s land grab at more than $1 million. So, they sued. Last week, after three days of proceedings in Lorain County probate court, a jury sided with them, awarding the Abrahams $1,092,081. “Justice was served,” said Dennis O’Toole, the family’s attorney. “Both the United States and the Ohio constitutions require that just compensation be paid to landowners when an agency like the Turnpike Commission takes their land by eminent domain. Landowners in Lorain County and throughout Ohio don’t have to accept an unfairly low offer for their property. They have the right to fight taking it to court and let a jury decide what fair compensation for the property really is.” — Grzegorek
CMSD Update: What’s the Status Of Water Fountains With Elevated Lead Levels? After the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, Cleveland Metropolitan School District underwent voluntary testing of its more than 1,700 drinking water outlets. Nine percent of them were found to produce water with lead levels exceeding the EPA’s “action level” of 15 parts per billion.
This was in November 2016. At the time, the district promised to take “immediate steps” to remove or replace the 79 drinking fountains and 40 faucets with the elevated lead levels. “In addition to replacing or removing drinking-water outlets, the District will also remove or replace other fixtures like restroom faucets or outdoor spigots, where elevated levels of lead were found,” CMSD said in an operations report. Scene has been attempting to obtain a status update on those efforts. Shortly before our print deadline Monday, we received a statement from CMSD’s communications team, accounting for the 119 water outlets. “CMSD essentially finished testing and addressing the 119 drinkingwater sources by the end of last year, proactive measures taken after concerns about water quality surfaced in other cities,” a district spokesperson said. “Of the 119 sources, virtually all have been remediated, meaning the outlets were replaced, capped or, in a very few cases, a filter was installed. Exceptions include: 4 at East Professional Center, an administrative building where students do not attend classes. Those have been shut off. 3 at Iowa-Maple School. Those have been shut off and probably will be taken out of service. 1 at Wilbur Wright School. This one has been shut off and probably will be replaced. “In addition, a fountain at William Cullen Bryant School has been replaced but will not be activated until the water is tested. “It is important to note that the District was under no mandate to test and remediate water outlets but did so voluntarily as a precaution to ensure staff and students have access to safe drinking water. Officials in the city health and water departments praised the decision. The District had portable water coolers installed while work was in progress.” — Allard
scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene
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FEATURE WAKE US UP In a city that loves its food, nothing satisfies quite like brunch By Douglas Trattner Photo by Emanuel Wallace
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
You can never go wrong with chicken and waffles.
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.” 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 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.” Like a high-school mono epidemic, brunch is quickly spreading. Options now extend far afield from the tried-and-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 | March 7 - 13, 2018
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ANGELS OF THE MORNING These 23 spots not only major in brunch, but score an A+ for execution By Douglas Trattner IN A FEW SHORT YEARS, brunch has steadily progressed from the exception to the rule. What has long been sneered at by management as a culinary P.I.T.A. has blossomed into one of the most sought after and enjoyable meals of the week. These days, it seems, if the restaurant has a kitchen, it’s serving brunch. Given the embarrassment of riches when it comes to brunch, we thought it was time to survey the landscape and round up a few of our favorite places.
Barroco Grill Multiple locations, barrocoarepabar.com What began as a diminutive Latin-themed cafe dispensing crisp, corny arepas has developed into an ambitious, wide-ranging and spirited restaurant on both sides of town. Given the eatery’s propensity to broaden our culinary horizons, it’s no surprise that weekend brunches come with a side of discovery. On weekends here you’ll get to know — and love — cachapas, Venezuelan-style sweet corn pancakes stuffed with cheese, braised beef or bacon and eggs. The
brunch menu also offers build-yourown egg plates with Colombian sides like rice and beans, crunchy tostones, or soft, sweet plantains.
Brewnuts 6501 Detroit Ave., 216-600-9579, brewnutscleveland.com Brewnuts might not technically “serve brunch,” but they do sell donuts and coffee, which is about as close to the ideal breakfast as one can get. This Detroit Shoreway donut bar serves up delicious drip and espresso-based coffees from local legend Phoenix Coffee. You can also tuck into a hot cocoa or a soothing hot toddy to pair with your mocha-glazed fry cake, salted caramel donut with pecans, or rum-soaked pina colada confection. Ah, who are we kidding? Skip the java and knock back a few pints of a local IPA and call it a morning.
Cleveland Vegan 17112 Detroit Ave., Lakewood, 216-221-0201, clevelandvegan.com Vegans love brunch too, we assume. Good thing for them there’s Cleveland Vegan, a pioneer in the
meat-free dining scene. Saying “no” to bacon, sausage, ham, Scrapple … (sorry, we got carried away) has never been easier thanks to this Lakewood eatery, where guests enjoy a savory three-course breakfast for around $20. Start with a bagel and a schmear before moving on to avocado toast or cheesy mashed potato cakes. Cap it all off with housemade biscuits with pepper gravy or a creative shitake Benedict. To drink, there’s coffee, tea and fresh fruit smoothies.
Brim Kitchen + Brewery 3941 Erie St., Willoughby, 440-306-8183, brimbrewery.com Since opening its doors one year ago, Brim has really endeared itself to the local community, maturing into a popular stop on the eats and drinks landscape. On weekends, they open their arms wide to hungry folks in search of hearty breakfast and brunch fare with a well-crafted menu of updated classics. Dig into a stack of buttermilk pancakes topped with whipped butter, strawberries and maple syrup, or a plentiful plate of steak and eggs sided by roasted potatoes, guacamole and pico de gallo. There’s also a smoked brisket
Benedict, fried chicken and waffles, and a scrambled egg sandwich with Monterey Jack cheese and avocado. Tack on a side of cheddar and chive biscuits, home fries or Holiday Sausage, whatever the heck that is. To drink, there’s fresh-brewed beer, of course, but also watermelon mojitos, champagne Margaritas and trusty-old Bloody Marys.
Lucky’s Café 777 Starkweather Ave., 216-622-7773, luckyscafe.com Perennial Best of Cleveland “Best Brunch” winner, Lucky’s Cafe cleans up annually thanks in large part to chef Heather Haviland’s heavenly cheddar-scallion biscuits with scrambled eggs and sausage gravy, a category killer if ever there was one. Bleary-eyed diners also flock to this Tremont coffee house for honeycoated granola, gingerbread waffles topped with maple-roasted apples, breakfast burritos stuffed with scrambled eggs, and the ever-famous Shipwreck, a dizzying mish-mosh of eggs, hash browns, bacon and cheddar. Hit up Lucky’s during the week for the same great food; there’s no rule that says brunch can only happen on weekends.
Dante Next Door 2247 Professor Ave., 216-274-1201, danteboccuzzi.com Dante Next Door was pretty much designed from the wood floors up to be a brunch destination, an elegant foil to the dinner-only Dante, well, next door. Naturally, chef Boccuzzi nails both the covers and the originals, turning out stylish versions of lemon-ricotta pancakes, bananas Foster French toast, and cinnamon waffles with caramelized apples and bourbon syrup. Half the room, it appears, comes specifically for the crab cakes Benedict, which is exactly like it sounds only 100 times better. We’re suckers for the breakfast pizzas, baked like all the pies in a wood-fired oven. The Everything Bagel and Lox version is dotted with house-cured salmon, hard-boiled egg, capers, red onions, cream cheese and dill. Split an order of the ridiculous duck-fat potatoes and wash it all down with sparkling peach Bellinis.
Le Petit Triangle Cafe 1881 Fulton Rd., 216-281-1881, lepetittriangle.com This little French-inspired
spot is an Ohio City jewel, a hidden lair with a locals-only vibe that truly is “easy like Sunday morning.” Kickstart your day with a frothy cappuccino — or a glass of champagne — and peruse the European influenced menu. Crepes, like the ham and d’Affinois, are always a great idea, but so too are fluffy omelets, sunny quiches and tangy lemon curd French toast. If you’re feeling more “unch” than “br,” dig into a salad Nicoise with salmon, egg, potato and olives or the roast chicken sandwich, an airy croissant layered with meat, goat cheese and mango chutney.
Big Al’s Diner 12600 Larchmere Blvd., 216-791-8550 Big Al’s doesn’t do brunch. It does breakfast all day. No booze. No flowers. No frippery. But whatever you call it, the results are the same: heart-warming plates of diner-style fare that are guaranteed to set you right. Folks go gaga over the satellite dish-size pancakes but we can’t seem to pry ourselves away from the biscuits and gravy, a pair of multilayered dough cakes drowning in sausage-
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FEATURE studded gravy, gilded with a pair of over-easy eggs, and sided by a mountain of onion-laced hash browns. Our No. 2 is the corned beef hash, with sauteed potatoes and peppers also topped with a pair of huevos. A makeover has given this classic Larchmere spot a fresh new look.
West Side Market Cafe 1979 West 25th St., 216-579-6800, westsidemarketcafe.com Most folks breeze right by this cafe en route to the main event — shoppng at the West Side Market —but that’s foolish. For starters, there are Bloody Marys inside waiting for you. And second, the food is always reliable, consistent and affordable. One thin Lincoln nets a diner a square breakfast of two eggs any style, home fries and toast. For a couple bucks more a shopper can grab the eggs Benedict or huevos rancheros, a Latin stack of tortillas, refried beans, fried eggs, queso fresco
and ranchero sauce. If you’re in a hurry to head next door, order the fried egg sandwich to go, a soft roll stuffed with a fried egg, spicy bacon and cheese. The doors open bright and early for those in search of the worm.
Southern Cafe 11817 Detroit Ave., Lakewood, 216-801-4535, southerncafeohio.com Southern food lends itself beautifully to brunch, with the easygoing comfort foods melding seamlessly with the unhurried pace of the day. This soul food joint puts on no airs when it comes to treating its adoring customers, who come on weekends to enjoy home-style dishes like scratch-made drop biscuits smothered in sausage gravy, topped with two eggs and paired with Cajun potatoes. Buttermilk fried chicken is paired with red velvet waffles, Low Country grits and maple syrup. The Soulful breakfast is a buffet on a plate with crispy fried catfish, Texas toast, fried green tomatoes and creamy grits. Hit the ATM before you land because only green is gold here.
Beachland Ballroom and Tavern 15711 Waterloo Rd., 216-383-1124, beachlandballroom.com You know and love this eastside concert club for its unbridled devotion to hosting the world’s best musicians, but did you know that they also make a mean chilaquile? The come-as-you-are vibe and the live DJ combine to make this “rockin’ brunch” one of the illest, chillest in town. Start with a kicky chapula cocktail, a south-of-the-border eyeopener of tequila, orange juice and sour cherry, a fired-up coffee drink, or any one of six different takes on the Bloody Mary. Those chilaquiles consist of crunchy tortilla chips topped with chicken (or beans), over-easy eggs and queso fresco. A 180-degree departure from those are the potato latkes with lox and applesauce. People rightly adore the fried chicken and waffles, buttermilk biscuits and sausage gravy, and the sturdy corned beef hash and eggs.
Urban Farmer 777 St. Clair Ave., 216-771-7707, urbanfarmercleveland.com
They could just as easily call this place Urbane Farmer, a cosmopolitan setting inside the recently revamped Westin Downtown that happens to be a lovely place to spend a few hours on the weekend. Slightly high-end to be sure, this farm-to-table concept nails everything from pricey steak dinners to satisfying egg breakfasts — which is why the steak and eggs makes perfect sense. This version pairs farm-fresh eggs with grilled flat-iron steak, sausage gravy and breakfast potatoes for an over-thetop feast. The eggs Benedict features local heritage-breed ham, housebaked English muffins and (why doesn’t everybody do this?) swaps the hollandaise sauce for bearnaise.
Tommy’s 1824 Coventry Rd., Cleveland Hts., 216-321-7757, tommyscoventry.com Since 1972, hippies with the munchies have been beating feet to Tommy’s for wholesome fare that runs the gamut from Middle Eastern falafel to Middle American tuna salad. In the a.m. it’s all about the pancakes, waffles, French toast, omelets and “breakfast creations” that range from humdrum to downright wacky. The Crudley, por
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exemplo, consists of scrambled eggs, ham, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, green peppers and cheese, while the Elsie is a triple-decker sandwich saddled with two fried eggs, bacon, cheese, peanut butter (what?!) and mayo. Be sure to tack on an order of hash browns and an old-fashioned milkshake, the breakfast beverage of winners.
Luna Bakery & Cafe 2482 Fairmount Blvd., Cleveland Hts., 216-231-8585, lunabakerycafe.com How could you not just snuggle into a dish called Nest Egg? This loveable item features a sunny-sideup egg nestled into a double slice of semolina toast fused together with cheddar cheese and sided by pico de gallo. Also available at this elegant bakery/cafe are healthy starts like steel-cut oatmeal with honey and fresh fruit, homemade granola with berries and Greek yogurt, and avocado toast sprinkled with sea salt and pink peppercorns. More robust appetites likely will gravitate to the breakfast burrito rolled around scrambled eggs, cheddar, black beans and silky avocado cream or the always delightful Black Forest ham, egg and Swiss crepe. On your way out, pick up some French macarons, tarts, brownies and cupcakes to go.
Fire Food & Drink 3220 Shaker Square, 216-921-3473, firefoodanddrink.com You can’t mention brunch in this town without bringing up Fire, an ageless American bistro on Shaker Square. The stylish yet industrial dining room with views onto the square is a charming place to ease into the day, aided by warm service and pitch-perfect food. The sticky buns here are the bomb, appearing on almost every table. Chef Katz might have single-handedly launched the local shakshuka craze, with farmfresh eggs poached in a harissascented tomato sauce. Fire’s eggs Benny is textbook, its shrimp and grits a revelation, and don’t get us started on those weightless lemon souffle pancakes.
Astoria Cafe and Market 5417 Detroit Ave., 216-266-0834, astoriacafemarket.com Sunday brunch at Astoria is every bit as pleasant as lunch on Tuesday and dinner on Thursday. Given the cafe and marketplace’s Mediterranean bent, it’s no surprise
to see the menu populated with items like Tortilla Espanola, the frittata-like pie fortified with potato and onion. Here, it’s capped with a poached egg and hollandaise sauce because why not? I’ve been absolutely obsessed with the gyro omelet ever since typing those two words, and I’m pretty certain that the duck confit hash and eggs is in my immediate future. If you haven’t yet popped into this sunny spot, we recommend you remedy that forthwith.
Pier W 12700 Lake Ave., Lakewood, 216-228-2250, pierw.com If you don’t think of Pier W when you think of brunch, you’re doing it wrong. Despite being precariously perched on a precipice overlooking Lake Erie, this Lakewood landmark has survived for more than 50 years thanks to spotless seafood, professional service and those dramatic views. Sunday’s grand brunch buffet is old school meets new, with sparkling raw bar selections like shrimp and oysters joining poached Atlantic salmon and smoked salmon with all the accoutrements. A carving station turns out thin-sliced roast sirloin — with horseradish cream and au jus, of course — and staples like eggs Benedict, breakfast meats, and green and fresh-fruit salads are on hand and plentiful.
El Carnicero 16918 Detroit Ave., Lakewood, 216-226-3415, elcarnicerolakewood.com Desayuno, as they in Mexico, is the most important meal of the day. As one might expect, the folks at El C give brunch a Latin flair, which is the most delicious flair of all if you ask us. Taking its name from the cryptozoological wonder that is the “goat sucker,” the Chupacabra cocktail is a blood-red lid lifter made with bacon-infused vodka, spicy tomato juice and a rim dusting of chile-lime salt. You can’t go wrong with the huevos rancheros, but consider taking the blue corn breakfast enchiladas for a spin. Inside the blue corn tortillas is tender ancho chile-braised beef brisket, scrambled eggs, black beans and Chihuahua cheese. Savory, corny griddle cakes are paired with Mexican Coke-glazed bacon, while Las Gachas is a comforting porridge of cheesy grits topped with shredded mole-braised lamb and sunny-sideup eggs. Don’t forget the churros!
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Collision Bend Brewery 1250 Old River Rd., 216-273-7879, collisionbendbrewery.com Have brunch on the river courtesy of Collison Bend, the yearold brewery from Zack Bruell and company. In addition to the regular lengthy menu, diners have a choice of a half-dozen breakfast-themed items to enjoy alongside those watery views. Eggs in Purgatory — eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce — is showered with feta and accompanied by grilled flatbread for soaking up all that angry gravy. The tantalizing French Toast Bake consists of brioche layers intermingled with sweet cream cheese, berries, Nutella, egg custard and vanilla maple bourbon syrup. A knife-and-fork-style Breakfast Pizza is weighed down with house-cured bacon, caramelized onions, tomato, mozzarella, cheddar and a sunny egg. A list of boilermakers pairs house brews with compatible shots of booze.
Flour 34205 Chagrin Blvd., Moreland Hills, 216-464-3700, flourrestaurant.com
Flour’s star of the Sunday brunch — the eggs Benedict — nearly ruins diners for all other versions. Maybe it’s the crisp-edged English muffin, or the thick but supple slice of mortadella; not to be overlooked are the perfectly poached eggs and the creamy, decadent hollandaise. This attractive suburban bistro always manages to fluff our sails, even after a long, rough night. Diners can go simple with a fluffy veggie frittata or whole hog with a sausage pizza. We prefer the breakfast pie, thin, crisp and dotted with spinach, feta, sunny-side-up eggs and sweet and sour peperonata.
airy brioche bun. Before you leave, grab some housemade granola for later in the week.
Blue Door Cafe and Bakery
Lemon Falls 95 North Main St., Chagrin Falls, 440-247-8000, lemonfalls.com Cute as a button — and not much larger, to be honest — Lemon Falls is a cheery ray of sunshine in the heart of the Village. From quick-serve pastries like muffins, scones and Russian tea biscuits to full breakfasts, this New England-style gourmet market is as convenient as it is on trend. Pop in on a Saturday morning and enjoy a mug of cappuccino or chai latte
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and a plate of poached eggs with prosciutto and Parmesan. A fried egg sandwich consists of two eggs, bacon, tomato and gruyere on an
1970 State Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 330-926-9774, bluedoorcafebakery. com Given that bread and breakfast are closely intertwined, it’s always wise to brunch at a bakery. And when that bakery is the Blue Door Cafe, all the better. Whenever we have plans that take us south of the turnpike, we begin our travels early enough to stop here for an exceptional meal. Decanters of French-press coffee give way to summery mimosas. Any item that includes house-made English muffins or fresh-baked croissants is a win, as is the Croque Madame, a sandwich-like meal with rosemaryscented ham, gruyere and eggs dripping with lush bechamel. Chicken and waffles gets an upgrade thanks to pepper-brined fried chicken, jalapeno-and-cheddar waffles, bourbon butter and housemade hot sauce.
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GET OUT everything you should do this week Photo courtesy of Playhouse Square
WED
03/07
SPORTS
2018 MAC Tournament Many teams in college basketball’s biggest conferences will make it to the NCAA basketball tournament whether or not they win their conference tournament. In the MidAmerican Conference, teams must win the conference tournament to get selected to play at the Big Dance. At least that’s traditionally been the case. So expect the midsized schools from the region (Kent State, Ohio University, Akron University, etc.) who’ll duke it out at this year’s tournament to engage in some real winner-take-all battles. Starting today at noon, both men’s and women’s teams will play at the Q, leading up to the championship games on Saturday. Ticket packages start at $10. Check the Q’s website for more info. (Jeff Niesel) 1 Center Ct., 216-420-2000, theqarena.com.
at 5 p.m., dinner is served at 6, and the storytelling starts at 7. Tonight, local author, professor and historian John Grabowski talks about Cleveland’s ties to WWI. (Niesel) 1148 Main Ave., 216-242-1250, musicboxcle.com.
Chamber Music in the Galleries This monthly concert series at the Cleveland Museum of Art places young musicians from the Cleveland Institute of Music and Case Western Reserve University in the CMA galleries. Now in its sixth season, the series features “mixed programs of chamber music” for “a unique and intimate experience.” Tonight’s performers are the CWRU Baroque Chamber Esembles, with guest harpist Maria Cleary. The concert begins at 6 and lasts for about an hour. Admission is free. (Niesel) 11150 East Blvd., 216-421-7350, clevelandart.org.
The Invisible Hand Tonight at 7:30 at the Outcalt Theatre, the Cleveland Play House presents The Invisible Hand, a play about an American investment banker who’s held hostage in Pakistan by Islamic revolutionaries. The play’s author, Pulitzer Prize winner Ayad Akhtar, exposes the “treacherous intersection of terrorism and capitalism, where greed and deceit prevail and no one escapes without blood on their hands.” Performances continue through March 11, and tickets prices run $25 to $105. (Niesel) 1407 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
Keep Talking Keep Talking is an exciting storytellers program where locals can share their real-life experiences on a theme. The monthly series offers attendees the chance to grab a drink and a dog while listening to some of their Cleveland neighbors tell tall tales. The theme for tonight’s storytelling is “Service Industry,” and the hosts are Adam Richard and Zachariah Durr. The program starts at 7:30 p.m. sharp at the Happy Dog. Admission is $5. Want to be a storyteller at a future session? See details on the website. (Niesel) 5801 Detroit Ave., 216-6519474, happydogcleveland.com.
SPOKEN WORD
Cleveland Stories Dinner Parties Cleveland Stories Dinner Party is a weekly series that pairs fine food with storytelling. Through it, the folks at Music Box Supper Club hope to raise awareness of the mission of the Western Reserve Historical Society’s new Cleveland History Center. The goal of the Cleveland Stories Dinner Party is to “bring to life some of the fun, interesting stories about Cleveland’s past — from sports, to rock ’n’ roll, to Millionaires’ Row,” as it’s put in a press release. Admission is free, with no cover charge, although a prix fi xe dinner, designed to complement the night’s theme, is $20. Doors open
THU
THEATER
SPOKEN WORD MUSIC
touring production, for a three-week run at Connor Palace. Tonight’s performance takes place at 7:30. Tickets start at $29. (Niesel) 1615 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
FILM
Lady Gaga: Five Foot Two The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame regularly shows music-related movies in its Foster Theatre. Earlier this year, it kicked off its 2018 Film Series with a screening of the hip-hop documentary Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap. Tonight at 7, the series continues with a screening of Lady Gaga: Five Foot Two, a documentary about the pop singer/diva. Admission is free for Rock Hall members, $5.50 for non-members and free with paid museum admission (if space permits). Advance tickets can be
03/08
COMEDY
Author Neil Gaiman comes to the State Theatre. See: Friday.
purchased at the Rock Hall box office or on the website. (Niesel) 1100 Rock and Roll Blvd., 216-515-8444, rockhall.com. THEATER
Misery Based on a Stephen King novel about a woman who rescues a famous novelist from a car crash and then proceeds to persecute him when she finds out that he killed off one of her favorite characters, Misery continues its run at the Hanna Theatre tonight. Great Lakes Theater puts on this production of William Goldman’s adaptation of the novel. Today’s performance takes place at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 to $80. (Niesel) 2067 East 14th St., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org. COMEDY
Mike Paramore Local comedian Mike Paramore has said that his material has always been based on life observations. He released a comedy album last year and likes to have a go at patrons when he can, but he keeps his jokes light-hearted when they are aimed at audience members. He performs tonight at 8 at Hilarities, where he also performs at 7 on Sunday night. Tickets are $18. (Niesel) 2035 East Fourth St., 216-241-7425, pickwickandfrolic.com. THEATER
Rent Some 20 years ago, Rent, an original rock musical by a little-known composer, opened on Broadway and became a smash hit. Now, Jonathan Larson’s musical returns to the stage, in a 20th anniversary
Chris D’Elia Chris D’Elia has become one of the best comedians in the business because he’s extremely quick and witty; he feels very comfortable on stage and can easily relate to an audience. He jokes about his start as a standup comedian, when he would perform in rundown bars and laundromats. Whether he is joking about the pros and cons of living in the San Fernando Valley outside of Los Angeles, or talking about his experiences with bumping into ex girlfriends, D’Elia, who recently launched a podcast, has terrific comedic timing. He performs tonight at 8 at Hilarities where he has shows scheduled through Saturday. Tickets are $60. (Hannah Borison) 2035 East Fourth St., 216-241-7425, pickwickandfrolic.com. MUSIC
Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique Tchaikovsky declared he had put his “whole soul” into Symphony No. 6 (“Pathétique”), and tonight at 7:30 at Severance Hall, pianist Daniil Trifonov will perform the piece, part of a program of Russian masteripeces featuring guest conductor Michael Tilson Thomas. Performances also take place at 8 p.m. tomorrow and 8 p.m. on Saturday. Consult the website for ticket prices. (Niesel) 11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com. SPORTS
Towpath Tappening Canalway Partners hosts today’s special Towpath Tappening at Forest City Brewery. Billed as “a chance to recognize all of those who have supported our projects through the years,” the evening will feature raffles, appetizers, drink tickets for purchase, and “exciting announcements.” Organizers also will recognize people who have contributed to their projects over the years. If you’re thinking about running in the Towpath Trilogy, you’ll be eligible to sign up at a 10 | clevescene.com | March 7 - 13, 2018
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FOOD
GET OUT percent discount. The Tappening takes place from 4 to 8 p.m. Singer-songwriter Ray Flanagan will perform; admission is free with a reservation through the website. (Niesel) 2135 Columbus Rd., 216-228-9116, canalwaypartners.com.
FRI
Lenten Fish Fry From now until the end of March, Prosperity Social Club hosts its Lenten Fish Fry every Friday from 11 a.m. to midnight. The special Lenten menu includes the Big Fish Fry, a seasonal staple that features a generous portion of haddock in a fluffy beer batter blanket, complemented by homemade
style pils that should pair well with the fish. (Niesel) 1109 Starkweather Ave., 216-937-1938, prosperitysocialclub.com. FILM
Lover for a Day Esther Garrel, the actress who played Marzia in Call Me By Your Name, stars in Lover for a Day, her father Philippe Garrel’s fi lm about
03/09
THEATER
Flanagan’s Wake No one knows grief and mourning like a Catholic, let alone an Irish Catholic. Now in its eighth year in Cleveland, Flanagan’s Wake transports the audience to an Irish wake where villagers tell tales and sing songs for their dearly departed Flanagan. Finding 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. Sort of like a tragic Tony ’n’ Tina’s Wedding, the interactive and improvised show engages the entire audience as the guests are treated as the friends and family of the deceased. Tonight’s show starts at 8 and repeats tomorrow night at 8 at Kennedy’s Theatre. Performances continue weekends through April 28. Tickets are $26. (Patrick Stoops) 1501 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
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A St. Pat’s Celebration with John Whelan, Low Lily & Katie McNally All-Ireland accordion champion John Whelan teams up with American roots band Low Lily and Scottishstyle fiddler Katie McNally for tonight’s special St. Pat’s Celebration that takes place at 8 at the G.A.R. Hall in Peninsula. The concert will feature traditional and original music from Ireland, Scotland and the States. The artists will perform separately and together. Expect to hear an assortment of jigs and reels. Tickets are $25 advance, or $30 at the door. (Niesel) 1785 Main St., Peninsula, 330-657-2528, peninsulahistory.org. FILM
SCHEDULE
ALL FILMS START AT 7 PM | ROCK HALL’S FOSTER THEATER
3/7 3/21 5/2 5/16 5/30 6/6
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LITERATURE
Neil Gaiman Creater of more than 20 books, English author Neil Gaiman has had a remarkable career. His bestselling contemporary fantasy novels such as Coraline and American Gods have won countless awards. His children’s novel, The Graveyard Book , is the only work to win both the Newbery and Carnegie medals. Gaiman’s Sandman comics, which Stephen King has said “turned graphic novels into art,” earned a number of accolades, including nine Eisner Awards. Gaiman will make his first-ever appearance at 8 tonight at the State Theatre. For the event, dubbed An Evening with Neil Gaiman , the author will tell and read stories, answer questions, and “amaze, befuddle and generally delight,” as he puts it. Tickets start at $25. (Niesel) 1519 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
MUSIC
WED.
Lady Gaga: Five Foot Two 2017 • 1 hour, 40 minutes • TV-MA
What Happened, Miss Simone? 2015 • 1 hour, 41 minutes • Not Rated, Courtesy of Eagle Rock Entertainment
Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World 2017 • 1 hour, 43 minutes • Not Rated Who the F**k is That Guy? The Fabulous Journey of Michael Alago 2017 • 1 hr, 25 minutes • TV-MA
Head 1968 • 1 hour, 26 minutes • G
Purple Rain 1984 • 1 hour, 51 minutes • R
Members FREE w/RSVP • Non-Members $5.50 1100 Rock and Roll Boulevard, Cleveland, OH 44114 | rockhall.com | 216.781.ROCK
coleslaw, house tartar sauce and old-school-style mac and cheese. Prosperity received national attention when the home-cooked Big Fish Fry was featured on TV chef Andrew Zimmern’s Delicious Destinations. To drink, this year’s featured beer will be POC, now brewed by Double Wing Brewing Company which recently resurrected the storied brand and recreated a version of its clean, crisp European-
| clevescene.com | March 7 - 13, 2018
a 23-year-old woman who become devastated when she finds out her dad is dating a woman her age. The movie makes its local debut tonight at 8:30 at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque, where it shows again at 9:50 tomorrow night. Tickets are $10, or $7 for Cinematheque members and students. (Niesel) 11610 Euclid Ave., 216-421-7450, cia.edu.
Trouble No More Trouble No More, a new concert film that came out last year, focuses on two shows that Bob Dylan played after declaring he’d become “born again” in 1979. The movie captures performances in Buffalo and Toronto, two dates on the 79show Gospel Tour that took place between 1979 and 1980. The movie makes its local premiere tonight at 7 at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque. Tickets are $10, or $7 for Cinematheque members and students. (Niesel) 11610 Euclid Ave., 216-421-7450, cia.edu. ART
Walkabout Tremont During this month’s Walkabout Tremont, you can stop by any of the Tremont art galleries to see their current and/or new exhibits. Of course, there are plenty of bars, restaurants and specialty shops in the neighborhood that participate in Walkabout Tremont too. The stroll takes place from 6 to 9 tonight. Check out the website for a schedule, maps and food and drink specials. (Niesel) walkabouttremont.com.
SAT ARTS
03/10
& CRAFTS
2018 Chagrin Falls Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show Artists from across the Midwest will be on hand for this weekend’s AvantGarde Art & Craft Show. All items in the show are handcrafted, and the full-service concession stand will feature a vegan-friendly menu. The event takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow at the Federated Church Family Life Center. A portion of the proceeds go to the local non-profit,
Cleveland Museum of Art Cleveland Museum of Art Performing Arts Series Performing Arts Series Experience the finest in performing arts.
Third Coast Percussion: Paddle to the Sea The group presents a new score for the film based on the classic children’s book, including works by Philip Glass and Jacob Druckman. Sunday, February 11, 2:00 p.m.
Special family & kids pricing
Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble Premiering chamber works by Henrik Hellstenius, Xue Ju, and Kaija Saariaho, featuring special guest Norwegian violinist Peter Herresthal.
Wu Man with Huayin Shadow Puppet Band Pipa virtuoso Wu Man joins the brilliant Huayin Shadow Puppet Band for an evening of Chinese old-tune traditional music with shadow puppetry.
Sunday, March 4, 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday, March 21, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets and more info at ClevelandArt.org/performingarts. ClevelandArt.org
#CMAperformingarts
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CMA
ARTLENS app
| clevescene.com | March 7 - 13, 2018
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the Cleveland Animal Protective League. Admission is $3, and children under 12 are free. (Niesel) 16349 Chillicothe Rd., Chagrin Falls, avantgardeshows.com.
screening, Edwards will sign and sell copies of his book. Admission is $11, or $8 for Cinematheque members and students. (Niesel) 11610 Euclid Ave., 216-421-7450, cia.edu.
COMEDY
Rob Allen Veteran comedian Rob Allen launched his career some 30 years ago. The raunchy comic who likes to open his set by greeting his fans with a “What’s up, fuckers?” has appeared on BET’s ComicView several times and has won a Redd Foxx Cutting Edge Award. He performs tonight at 7 at the Improv Comedy Club and Restaurant. Tickets are $15. (Niesel) 1148 Main Ave., 216-696-IMPROV, clevelandimprov.com.
MUSIC
CIM Organ Studio Recital Today at the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Cleveland Institute of Music will present an organ studio recital with conservatory musicans who work with acclaimed organist Todd Wilson. From 2 to 3 p.m., they’ll present an afternoon recital of works for solo organ on the museum’s McMyler Memorial Organ. Admission is free; no tickets are required. (Niesel) 11150 East Blvd., 216-421-7350, clevelandart.org.
ART
Human: An Immersive Arts Experience There will be body painting, dance, a tattoo pop-up shop, an immersive photo gallery, art installations, a hair/make up pop-up boutique, glow in the dark exhibits, sound and music installations, henna, massage and tarot readings at today’s Human: An Immersive Arts Experience at Lab Studios by GLO. It happens from 6 to 10 p.m. Admission is $10 in advance, $15 at the door. (Niesel) 2460 Lakeside Ave., glointhecity.com/ events.
Stocker Arts Center An Intimate Evening with Royal Wood & Diana Chittester in Concert Friday & Saturday, March 9 & 10 at 8 p.m. Cirigliano Studio Theatre
Anne E. DeChant Trio in Concert
03/11
FILM
Cirigliano Studio Theatre
For tickets call (440) 366-4040 or visit stockerartscenter.com The Box Office is located in the lobby of the Stocker Arts Center. Open from 12-6 p.m., M-F, and 90 minutes before ticketed events. 1005 N. Abbe Rd., Elyria, OH 44035 FREE PARKING
| clevescene.com | March 7 - 13, 2018
RAIN: A Tribute to the Beatles A popular Beatles tribute act, RAIN will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearth Club Band tonight at 8 at the State Theatre, where it’ll perform the album in its entirety. The press release for the concert promises it’ll be “mind-blowing” and describes the show as a “psychedelic multi-media spectacular.” Tickets start at $29. (Niesel) 1519 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
SUN
Friday & Saturday, March 16 & 17 at 8 p.m.
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MUSIC
The Border Author Scott Edwards recently chronicled the career of actor Jack Nicholson in his book Quintessential Jack: The Art of Jack Nicholson on Screen. Today at 3:15 p.m. at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque, he’ll introduce the 1982 film The Border which stars Nicholson as a Texas immigration officer who tries to help an immigrant mother. Ry Cooder composed the film’s score. After the
CATEGORY
Scheherazade Part of the Cleveland Orchestra Family Concert Series, Scheherazade pairs the orchestra with the Enchantment Theatre Company to present the tale of storyteller Scheherazade and her cast of characters who sail on Sinbad’s ship to exotic lands. The performance takes place at 3 p.m. at Severance Hall. Consult the website for ticket prices. (Niesel) 11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com.
MON
03/12
NIGHTLIFE
Monday Night Trivia 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, make yourself instantly more desirable to someone you’re newly dating, and hang with Cleveland’s headiest hipsters and hot dog lovers. It’s the Happy Dog Monday Night Trivia. Starting at 8 p.m., expect themed rounds and general knowledge questions that seem considerably trickier than some of the other live trivia locales in town. Obviously, have a hot dog and a craft brew while you’re at it. And arrive early: Tables fill up fast. (Sam Allard) 5801 Detroit Ave., 216-651-9474, happydogcleveland.com. FILM
Movie Mondays Every Monday, Cleveland Cinemas hosts $5 Movie Mondays, where film fans can catch up on the latest
GET OUT Hollywood flicks for significantly reduced prices. Bring your friends and family and make Movie Mondays a weekly tradition — many theaters even offer discounted concession stand items. Participating theaters include Apollo Theatre, Capitol Theatre, Cedar Lee Theatre, Chagrin Cinemas, Shaker Square Cinemas and Tower City Cinemas. Unfortunately, additional charges apply for 3-D movies. (Alaina Nutile) clevelandcinemas.com. SPOKEN WORD
Science Cafe Tonight, and the second Monday of every month, Music Box Supper Club hosts Science Cafe, an informal lecture series that brings scientists from throughout the region to the club to talk about science topics. Tonight at 7, Anirban Sen Gupta, an associator professor of biomedical engineering at the Case School of Engineering, will speak about using artificial platelet technology to better regulate blood clotting. Admission to the talk is free, but bring some money for the bar and the restaurant. (Niesel) 1148 Main Ave., 216-242-1250, musicboxcle.com. NIGHTLIFE
Shit Show Karaoke Local rapper/promoter Dirty Jones and Scene’s own Manny Wallace host Shit Show Karaoke, a weekly event at the B Side Liquor Lounge that allows patrons to choose from “an unlimited selection of jams from hip-hop to hard rock.” Participants are encouraged to “be as bad as you want.” Fueled by drink and shot specials, it all goes down tonight at 9 p.m. (Niesel) 2785 Euclid Hts. Blvd., Cleveland Heights, 216-932-1966, bsideliquorlounge.com. FOOD
Wing Ding Doodle Blues icon Howlin’ Wolf famously covered “Wang Dang Doodle,” the old blues tune penned by Willie Dixon. Prosperity Social Club in Tremont has adopted that slogan, calling its wing night Wing Ding Doodle. The weekly event features specials on Buffalo wings and cold brews. Prosperity will not only serve up substantial, $1 whole wings, but it’ll also offer meatless Monday “wing” baskets for vegans. Discounted drafts and a playlist of vintage-electric blues and soulful R&B curated by local musician
Clint Holley will be on tap as well. Wing Ding Doodle takes place every Monday from 6 p.m. to midnight. (Niesel) 1109 Starkweather Ave., 216-937-1938, prosperitysocialclub.com.
TUE
03/13
MUSIC
Open Turntable Tuesday Tonight from 6 to 9, the Winchester hosts its weekly Open Turntable Tuesday. DJ Kris Koch offers 20-minute slots to people who want to bring their own vinyl and spin their favorite songs or deep tracks. Turntables are provided; you can play three to five songs during your time slot; and a mic is available to talk about the selections. (Niesel) 12112 Madison Ave., Lakewood, 216-600-5338, facebook.com/ thewinchestermusictavern. FILM
The Rape of Recy Taylor Recy Taylor, a woman who, as Oprah Winfrey put it in her Golden Globes speech, was “abducted by six armed white men, raped, and left blindfolded by the side of the road coming home from church,” is the subject of the documentary film The Rape of Recy Taylor. The movie has shown at film festivals and will screen again tonight at 6:30 as part of the Capitol Theatre’s Racial Equity and Inclusion film series. Admission is a $5 donation. (Niesel) 1390 West 65th St., 216-651-7295, clevelandcinemas.com. NIGHTLIFE
Vinyl Night Jukebox owner Alex Budin has described his 1,350-square-foot music-focused bar in the Hingetown ’hood as “a place where people can expect to hear and learn about music of multiple genres, all of which is concentrated in a constantly evolving jukebox.” The club hosts a vinyl night every Tuesday that serves as a listening party for new releases, partnering with Loop in Tremont, so patrons can hear a new album on vinyl. You can bring your own vinyl and spin it too. Tonight’s event pays tribute to the Miles Davis album Bitches Brew. Dogfish Head will be hand to serve up special concoctions, including Wood Aged Bitches Brew Stout, Romantic Chemistry IPA and Lupa Luau Toasted Coconut IPA. It all starts at 7 p.m. (Niesel) 1404 West 29th St., 216-206-7699, jukeboxcle.com.
scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene | clevescene.com | March 7 - 13, 2018
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ART EVEN SNAKES SHED THEIR SKIN AMANDA BAHIA AT NEGATIVE SPACE GALLERY ANNEX By Dott von Schneider EVEN KIDS KNOW THAT snakes shed their skin. This process not only facilitates snakes’ growth and development, it also removes parasites and other funk that may have attached to the old skin. As humans, the psychic shedding of one’s “skin” can come about through provocations of many forms including, but not limited to, neardeath experiences, aging, relocation, change, divorce, PTSD or sexual assault. Amanda Bahia is a 2017 BFA graduate in illustration from the Cleveland Institute of Art. Her solo exhibition, Even Snakes Shed Their Skin, at Negative Space Gallery’s Annex, came about through a conversation with her good friend, Amelia Zamir. “We were having a conversation a couple of months ago,” Bahia says. “I was going through a period in my life and we were discussing how I haven’t changed and how I may never change. I was in sort of that mind space, and Amelia expressed, ‘Oh, that’s ridiculous, even snakes shed
Photo courtesy of Amanda Bahia
marbles the paper herself using a Japanese water coloring technique called Suminagashi, translated as “floating ink,” a process she learned while interning at the Morgan Conservatory. As we move inward, the story line continues in “Old Dreams 1.” The golden cracked egg is now contemplating the next stage of its transformation. A cloud encases the beginning of the age-old statement, “When I Grow Up …,” above what appears to be a Victorian cameo. We see that in “Old Dreams 2” the cameo has broken through the cloud and now wears a crown, the same phrase underneath, lifting the imagery up and out of confinement. The next two prints, “Snakes in the Sky 1 & 2,” bear striking symbolism whether or not the artist is aware of it. These two pieces are probably the most profound and thoughtprovoking personal images in the exhibition. The color scheme strongly resembles the left and right ventricles of the heart. In
EVEN SNAKES SHED THEIR SKIN THROUGH MARCH 31 AT NEGATIVE SPACE GALLERY’S ANNEX 3820 SUPERIOR AVE., 2ND FLOOR THURSDAY TO SATURDAY 11 A.M. TO 10 P.M., SUNDAY NOON TO 6 P.M. NEGATIVESPACECLEVELAND.COM
their skin.’ And that hit me as so profound and true. Even I could shed some layers if I was so inclined.” The artist has chosen not to expound upon her own transformation, but to let the art open a dialogue with the viewer. In this very symmetrical presentation of her work, Bahia develops egg imagery that she was working on over the summer, which coincided with the theme of transformation at this juncture in her life. “The Egg Cracked 1 & 2” are parenthetical beginnings both literally and figuratively in this work. The unmistakable line of cracked ova in black and gold with “Don’t Forget” are screen printed on water-marbled paper posited as Yin and Yang not only on the pieces themselves, but in how Bahia has purposefully displayed the two prints. The artist
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both prints, we see a female form shedding or being birthed from the trio of snake-like entities, confronting an all-seeing eye. The image floats clear against a splattered chaotic background. Finally we get to the heart of the matter with “Snakes in the Sky (Doppelganger).” In this last piece, the gold and black cracked eggs have gone through their metamorphosis and Yin and Yang meet again. The print is pure line with no color. Bahia also delivers an installation titled “Pretty/ Dirty (Cycle).” Layers of fragile, handmade paper are strung up inside an airy iron gazebo. Each page has two to three images of corporeal cavities. “This one is a little more political, I feel,” the artist confesses. “I was making books
| clevescene.com | March 7 - 13, 2018
“Snakes in the Sky 2,” by Amanda Bahia
with this same imagery that I was selling at [small press and underground comic convention] Genghis Con. It was basically these little books with images of orifices. There’s a mouth, a vagina, an anus. These depictions are supposed to be related to political conversations of sexual assault (invasion of the body) and the phrase, ‘These aren’t yours,’ came up a lot.” This quiet artwork speaks poignantly of the many layers of assault. The gazebo, which was in situ, is a perfect choice for the installation. The gazebo itself resembles the skeletal framework
of the Capitol building’s dome, which may or may not expand the current political discussion on what belongs to whom. Although we were saddened to learn that half of the exhibition had been damaged by a water leak, Even Snakes Shed Their Skin is hardly lopsided. Bahia hopes to have the work restored and reinstalled before the show ends and we look forward to revisiting this discussion.
scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene
STAGE ARE THOSE NEUROCHEMICALS IN YOUR POCKET, OR ARE YOU JUST GLAD TO SEE ME? The Effect at Dobama Theatre explores how chemicals control our feelings By Christine Howey Photo by Steven Wagner Photography
EVER WONDER HOW YOUR LIFE is influenced, sometimes secondto-second, by the neurochemicals that flow through your brain? Most of these are naturally occurring molecules that excite or inhibit us, allowing us to think, move, screw and pretty much behave like human beings. In other words, we are all little bundles of neurochemicals wandering around and bouncing into each other. Golly, Mr. Wizard, what does all this have to do with theater? Well, Bobby, I’m glad you asked! In her play The Effect, now at Dobama Theatre, Lucy Prebble has written a fiendishly clever fourperson exploration into how people encounter the world and interact with each other, due to their everchanging neurochemical makeup. If summing up how people feel and fall in love seems like a daunting task to cover in two-and-ahalf hours, you’d be right. While the seams of this story are sometimes stretched to the breaking point, as the playwright maneuvers her characters into positions where Big Issues can be addressed, the crisp staging and fine performances eventually carry the day and bathe the audience in brain-pleasing endorphins. We meet thirty-somethings Connie and Tristan as they are being questioned by a doctor in a medical setting. Turns out they have been selected, and will be paid, to participate in a four-week trial for a new antidepressant drug. They will be dosed on a daily basis while they remain sequestered on site, with all their bodily functions closely monitored and documented on computer screens. Physical interaction between the two subjects is strictly forbidden. But being humans whose chemicals are being plucked by the drugs they are ingesting, things don’t go exactly according to plan. In fact, on one day early in their stay the two guinea pigs find themselves attracted to each other and sneak out to an abandoned mental hospital nearby, where they start to
Is it love, lust or antidepressants? The Effect wants to know.
do their own research. Meanwhile, back in the physician’s lounge, Dr. Lorna and Dr. Toby are discussing their conflicting views of neurochemicals and their effects. Toby is all about the drugs, and he glories in the miracles that these new
With all that on the table, the playwright dives in to examine how Connie and Tristan get together — is their attraction “genuine” or is it the result of the drugs kicking their dopamine levels to new heights? And then we learn that one of the test subjects may be on placebos,
THE EFFECT THROUGH MARCH 25 AT DOBAMA THEATRE, 2340 LEE RD., CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, 216-932-3396. DOBAMA.ORG.
pharmaceuticals can achieve, rescuing psychiatry from being the “Cinderella of medicine.” Lorna begs to differ, positing that depressed people actually may have a clearer view of the real world. Their discussion is clouded by the fact that Lorna has a personal history of depression (“I feel I’m dead, but my body hasn’t caught up”) and their own intimate relationship in the past.
and that even Dr. Lorna herself may be under scrutiny for “practitioner bias.” It’s all a fascinating plunge into very heady material, and it could fall apart without the finely modulated performances under the tight direction of Laley Lippard. As the outgoing and slightly goofy Tristan, Ananias J. Dixon infuses the stage with an almost manic energy that plays well off of
Olivia Scicolone’s more measured Connie. The arc of their budding relationship feels right, culminating in the Act 1 closing scene where the couple throws all restraint, and clothing, to the winds. That extended sexual tryst is sweaty, passionate, playful and profound — setting the stage for the plot twists that occur after intermission. The two doctors don’t come off quite as fully, since they are burdened with carrying a lot of the playwright’s thematic baggage. But Joel Hammer as Toby conveys a solid mien of confidence with just the right touch of arrogance. And his “brain-in-a-bucket” speech to his colleagues is a gem. As the more conflicted Dr. Lorna, Derdriu Ring captures a delicate mix of the personal and the professional. She can rattle off a wry and knowing line (“The history of medicine is the history of the placebo”) with white-coated assurance while simultaneously quivering with vulnerability in the face of her own demons. The performers are given a splendid playground, with scenic designer Cameron Michalak’s spare, sterile multi-purpose set, surrounded by audience seating, and T. Paul Lowry’s projection designs. Those projections dance accompaniment not only on screens set in four corners of the theater space but also on the floor, illuminating a border of white squares that serve as the visual ropes for this DNA-soaked boxing ring. Sure, playwright Lippard tries to force a bit too much scientific theory and soulful speculation into the mouths of her characters. And the deus ex machina ending is a bit too tidy. But the risks that are taken here are often surprising, and the immersive intellectual challenges continually tweak and tantalize. The result is a theatrical experience that is far from a placebo.
scene@clevescene.com t@christinehowey | clevescene.com | March 7 - 13, 2018
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YOU AND A GUEST ARE INVITED TO A SPECIAL SCREENING
INVITE YOU AND A GUEST TO A SPECIAL SCREENING OF
TUESDAY, MARCH 13 7:00 P.M. PLEASE VISIT WBTICKETS.COM AND ENTER THE CODE TRVVSM31 TO DOWNLOAD YOUR COMPLIMENTARY PASSES!
Thursday, March 8, 2018 at 7:00 P.M. Cedar Lee Theater
RATED PG-13 FOR SEQUENCES OF VIOLENCE AND ACTION, AND FOR SOME LANGUAGE.
Visit www.focusfeaturesscreenings.com and enter the code ThoroB59274 for your chance to download passes for two. www.thoroughbredsmovie.com |
@thoroughbreds #thoroughbreds
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. WHILE SUPPLIES LAST. RATED R FOR SEQUENCES OF STRONG VIOLENCE AND LANGUAGE THROUGHOUT. Limit one (1) admit two pass per person. Must be 17 years or older to receive passes. SEATING IS LIMITED SO ARRIVE EARLY. PASS DOES NOT GUARANTEE A SEAT AT THE SCREENING.
IN THEATERS MARCH 9, 2018
INVITE YOU TO WITNESS A BATTLE OF TOWERING PROPORTIONS
TUESDAY, MARCH 20 7:00PM CINEMARK VALLEY VIEW
For your chance to win an admit-two pass to the advance screening, visit tinyurl.com/ PRUCLE NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. While supplies last. One entry per person. Duplicate entries will be deleted. Seating DW WKH VFUHHQLQJ LV ÀUVW FRPH ÀUVW VHUYHG DQG LV QRW JXDUDQWHHG 3OHDVH DUULYH HDUO\ :LQQHUV ZLOO EH FKRVHQ DW UDQGRP :LQQHUV within the past 30 days are ineligible.
IN THEATERS MARCH 23 28
Please note: Passes are limited and will be distributed on a ďŹ rst come, ďŹ rst served basis while supplies last. No phone calls, please. Limit one pass per person. Each pass admits two. Seating is not guaranteed. Arrive early. Theater is not responsible for overbooking. This screening will be monitored for unauthorized recording. By attending, you agree not to bring any audio or video recording device into the theater (audio recording devices for credentialed press excepted) and consent to a physical search of your belongings and person. Any attempted use of recording devices will result in immediate removal from the theater, forfeiture, and may subject you to criminal and civil liability. Please allow additional time for heightened security. You can assist us by leaving all nonessential bags at home or in your vehicle.
| clevescene.com | March 7 - 13, 2018
IN THEATERS MARCH 16 TombRaiderMovie.com @TombRaiderMovie #TombRaider
Courtesy of Focus Feature
MOVIES HORSEPLAY Thoroughbreds is sleek thriller with no heart By Sam Allard DEBUT DIRECTOR CORY FINLEY has garnered effusive praise for his sleek new thriller Thoroughbreds, a runaway favorite at last year’s Sundance Film Festival. Starring Olivia Cooke ( Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) and Anya Taylor-Joy ( The Witch), with Paul Sparks ( House of Cards) and the late Anton Yelchin in supporting roles, the film charts the criminal plotting of two upper-class teenage girls in Connecticut. It opens Friday at select local theaters. First off, it’s splendid to look at. Finley has a marvelous command of cinema’s technical elements, and though I initially rolled my eyes at comparisons to Hitchcock, they’re not without merit. The thrills of the story are enhanced, a la Hitchcock, by precise and dramatic camera angles, lighting and — most especially — sound. The musical accompaniment throughout the film is not conventionally orchestral. There are tribal drums, sharply plucked strings, vocal percussion and other oddball sound effects that create symphonies of off-kilter tracks that are almost always surprising and impactful. The script, too, on a lineby-line level, is a terrific success. The dialogue is brisk and smart in scenes that pulse with tension and a dark, sometimes perverse, sense of humor. But the story itself left me cold as a flash-frozen McDonald’s hamburger.
In fact, the film has been difficult for me to reckon with critically because I found it so accomplished from a technical perspective, but so distressing from a narrative one. There was little, if anything, redemptive in the film’s two leads. Lily and Amanda are former gradeschool friends. They are super rich, occupying a social stratum that seems increasingly remote and indefensible these days. They live in manicured suburban Connecticut, presumably children of the depraved tickertape goblin-bros we saw in Wolf of Wall Street. When Amanda (Cooke) arrives at Lily’s mansion in an opening scene, she explores the interior rooms with what looks like the snide judgment of someone from the other side of the tracks. But it turns out she’s from the same neighborhood, the same school district. And so the “problems” they hope to solve by killing Lily’s stepdad, Mark (Paul Sparks), never satisfyingly materialize. Lily has been expelled for plagiarism from Andover, the famed boarding school, and she’s distraught that Mark intends to send her to another one, a school for girls with behavior problems. And while this guy is clearly a rich scumbag, he never appears abusive or even all that stern. What he is, to Lily, is kind of annoying. He is offscreen for his gravest offense,
when Lily’s mother explains away a lengthy stint in a tanning bed by admitting that Mark prefers her “with a little color.” Aloof big-shot butthead, sure. But honestly not measurably worse than Lily herself, who charged Amanda’s mother $200 an hour to tutor her former best friend in SAT prep. Amanda’s situation is tougher to parse. She is mentally ill — possibly schizophrenic and periodically medicated — but the script presents her as a deadpan bad-ass who, because she can’t “feel anything,” couldn’t care less about anyone else’s emotions. Cooke fully inhabits this character and delivers the script’s most biting lines: “My mom can’t pick me up. She’s busy,” Amanda tells Mark one night. “With what?” he asks. “Chemotherapy,” she lies, dead serious. What to make, though, of these heroines and their foolhardy plan? What is at stake for them? Is this a quest by Amanda to push the limits of her experience in order to feel? That seems unlikely, given that she opened the film by attempting to
euthanize a beloved horse, but ended up committing an act of savagery that, if filmed, would’ve been right at home in Cannibal Holocaust. Mercifully, we aren’t witnesses to the brutality, though Amanda later describes it in detail. What about Lily? Does she want Mark dead because he’s the one person who recognizes how selfish she is? Who can say? Far and away the most sympathetic character is Tim (Yelchin) a small-time drug dealer with big dreams, who’s roped into the murder plot against his will. His ambitions are mocked by Amanda. She tells him his life is not worth living because he works at a nursing home and lives with his dad. My problem with Thoroughbreds is I was never sure whose side it was on. Who was being critiqued? Who was being satirized? According to Thoroughbreds, whose lives were worth living? I worried that the answer was no one’s.
sallard@clevescene.com t@scenesallard
SPOTLIGHT: PIANO MAN PICTURES ROADSHOW PIANO MAN PICTURES, A collective of Memphis-based filmmakers, writers and artists that writer-director Shelby Baldock cofounded with writer-director Chad Allen Barton in 2010, aims to “bring meaningful stories to life, no matter the medium.” Baldock, who holds an MFA degree from Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, has worked for the Grammys and toured with the North Mississippi All-Stars. Barton has written, produced and directed several short films. The two come to town on Friday with their own films, and films by fellow writer-directors Rachel M. Taylor and Stephen Teague, as the Piano Man Pictures Roadshow. The
screening will be held at Forest City Brewery as part of the brewery’s monthly Emerge Microcinema event. Baldock says the concept for the traveling program began when he started to add up the money he was spending on submitting his movies to film festivals. “When you start spending money on film festival fees, you realize your batting average isn’t that great,” he says. “You pour all this work into these things and you want something to come from it … . We started thinking that once we had enough projects through Piano Man, we could bypass the festival rejections. We want to turn [showing the films] into something more vibrant and lively.” He describes his short
film, Faceless, But Remembered, as a “nice way in” to the festival. “It’s both a drama and a genre bending personal movie about my feelings of life after a kidney transplant, but tossed into thriller territory with some science fiction and horror,” he explains. The program’s second film, Barton’s HID, centers on a woman who seeks out a drug dealer to get the medication she needs. “[Barton] really drifts off into David Lynch territory with his film.” Baldock describes Taylor’s Avarice as “high concept fantasy with no dialogue,” and posits that Teague’s The Price of Air is “a weird surreal conspiracy theory comedy.”
“You won’t come in here and see movies that are stepping stones,” he says. “We want to entertain, and we have our own individual voices. It’s not just a bunch of films touching on topics because we think that’s what people want. I think people might be surprised because it’s not following any kind of trend. It’s not catering to anything else. We’re just trying to do what we love, and we think people will have a good time watching them.” Tickets to the program are $8 in advance, $10 at the door. The screening begins at 7:30 p.m. — Jeff Niesel
jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel | clevescene.com | March 7 - 13, 2018
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EAT
A BEAUTIFUL PIE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD Detroit-Shoreway pizza joint Il Rione wants to revive Cleveland’s Littler Italy By Douglas Trattner OUT OF THE CORNER OF MY EYE I spied one of the city’s top chefs walk into the restaurant and grab a seat at the bar. She was joined by a former restaurant-industry magazine editor. Across the dining room, in a dimly lit corner, a Cleveland city council member was enjoying a quiet meal with a friend. All around the room, in fact, small clutches of people were engrossed in conversation, laughter and intimacy in the easygoing sort of way that comes only from being at peace with one’s surroundings. It’s one thing to say that you intend to build a neighborhood restaurant, but ultimately that decision really isn’t up to the owner, is it? It’s the neighbors themselves who decide which places will earn their business, their loyalty, their cash. And since opening its doors in December, Il Rione has been on the receiving end of all of the above and more. Owners Brian Moss and Brian Holleran felt so strongly about the concept of civic kinship that they named the restaurant around it. In Italian, “rione” roughly translates to neighborhood in the same way that “barrio” does in Spanish, a connotation that extends well past impersonal geographical borders. It was Holleran and Moss who explained to me that this unique patch of Cleveland — north of Detroit between West 65th and 69th streets — had once been a thriving westside version of Little Italy, and they
intended to do everything they could to revive that spirit. “By attempting to preserve the old building and keeping it as original as possible, we want to help turn this neighborhood back to what it was 75 years ago, when you had all these old retail spaces,” Moss says. “People are building places like Crocker Park to emulate neighborhoods like this.” It’s safe to say that there are no other pizza joints in town quite like Il Rione. The warm lighting, stylishly weathered interior and upbeat soundtrack spinning out tracks from Velvet Underground, Wu-Tang Clan and James Brown combine to create more of a pizza lounge than pizza shop. It’s precisely
lip — is pale to tan, but crisp, fluffy and tasty enough to eat on its own. The undercarriage is thin but rigid enough to support the toppings when folded or not. Il Rhione’s clam pie ($18/14-inch, $23/18-inch) is a thing of briny beauty. It’s a white pizza (no red sauce) dotted with sweet chopped clams, salty pecorino cheese, heaps of garlic and more than enough parsley to plug the gaps between one’s teeth. The Margherita ($13, $17) is as satisfying as it is straightforward: a great crust slicked with bright tomato sauce, puddles of melted fresh mozzarella, and a smattering of basil leaves. Diners can select from a halfdozen predesigned pies like that
IL RIONE PIZZERIA 1303 WEST 65TH ST. 216-282-1451 ILRIONEPIZZERIA.COM
the sort of restaurant that you would enjoy visiting regardless of the food, those Yogi Berra-like places that nobody goes to anymore because they’re too crowded. But here’s the kicker: The pizza is phenomenal. For the sake of brevity we’ll call it New York/New Jersey style: a wide pie with a thin, foldable crust. While that crust lacks the photogenic qualities of a wood-fired Neapolitan pizza, what with all those singed carbuncles and canyons, it is no less delicious. The cornicione — or
clam, or a savory anchovy pizza with cheese, fried capers, olives and the aforementioned swimmers. Diners can also build their own from the crust up, first choosing between red with cheese, white with cheese, or red no cheese and then selecting from a succinct list of a dozen toppers. Il Rione’s menu is uncomplicated, with very few moving parts. The aim is to perfect the pies and service before adding on items such as pastas. But given the size of the
kitchen, there’s not much room for menu expansion. There is exactly one appetizer, a meat and cheese plate ($14) populated with sliced Italian meats like prosciutto, salami and bresaola, and cheeses such as milky primo sale, creamy fontal and lush gorgonzola dolce. Three salads are on offer, each worth ordering. We loved the corny polenta croutons in the arugula ($9), a toss of crisp chopped romaine, arugula and cheese shavings in a honey-kissed vinaigrette. Firm, sweet chunks of roasted winter squash and crunchy pistachios livened up the radicchio ($9), as did piquant nubs of gorgonzola. As with the food menu, the beverage menu is short but more than serviceable, with just enough good-quality whites, reds, roses and bubbles — both glass and bottle — to see you through the meal. Same goes for beer and cocktails. Il Rione does not take reservations and it gets busy most nights, especially Thursday through Saturday, when it’s not uncommon to experience waits — or worse, a kitchen that has run out of dough. In the case of the former, grab a seat (or stand) at the bar or walk across the street to Stone Mad for a round or two until that precious text comes through. This place is worth the wait.
dtrattner@clevescene.com t@dougtrattner | clevescene.com | March 7 - 13, 2018
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Photo courtesy Google Maps
EAT
bites
YOURS TRULY CHAGRIN FALLS TO BEGIN AMBITIOUS EXPANSION AND RENOVATION PROJECT By Douglas Trattner FOR THE TYPICALLY SLOWmoving Chagrin Falls dining scene, it’s shaping up to be one heck of a year. Already we’ve reported on news that Gamekeeper’s Taverne will become a new Hyde Park Restaurant Group concept, that Rick’s Cafe will reopen as Bell & Flower, and that the recently shuttered North Main Diner will adopt a new identity as Aurelia, an American-style bistro. Not to be left out of the fun, Yours Truly (30 North Main St., 440-2473232) is gearing up for a pretty significant transformation as well. The restaurant, founded in 1982 — just one year after the original in Beachwood — is set to begin work on an ambitious expansion and renovation project that will touch both the interior and exterior of the space. “We’re doing some exterior demolition of some architectural components, expanding the main floor, adding a second level, doing a significant expansion of the kitchen, and adding full bar service on both levels,” explains founder Larry Shibley. Demolition work has begun on an adjacent space, the former Lyndall Hughes Co. real estate firm. When the dust settles, the main dining area will grow from approximately 1,800 square feet to 2,500. Much of that space will be gobbled up by the greatly expanded and updated
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kitchen, says Shibley. Overall capacity will climb from 70 to 100, with the bulk of additional seats coming on board thanks to a new 1,000-square-foot second-level space that will be used for private events and overflow dining. When completed, the restaurant will look and feel completely different, promises Shibley. “The architectural theme of the Playhouse Square and Beachwood restaurants is ‘diner industrial look’ and we’re going to continue that in Chagrin Falls and move away from the more Victorian influenced style,” he says. To that end, the natural wood, crown molding and wainscoting all will be purged to make way for the sleeker new design. That formula also will extend to the facade, including the installation of ultraclear glass windows that will slide away on pleasant days. “We’re taking a building that was built in the late-’20s era that had a simple architectural design that fit the period but in the ’50s was converted to a colonial storefront with siding,” Shibley explains. “We’re getting rid of all that — to a lot of people’s dismay — but in the end I think it works and it needs to be updated.” The goal, he adds, is to keep the restaurant operating during much of the construction process.
| clevescene.com | March 7 - 13, 2018
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Photo courtesy Porco
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“We’ll keep it open as long as possible until we get to the point when we can’t do any more and then we’ll close and hopefully be down for 60 days,� he says.
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When it comes to crafting a menu to match the vibe and setting of a bar, Porco presents one of the more unique opportunities and challenges. The tiki bar is situated in a nondescript building on West 25th but transports visitors to another world inside. A laid-back Polynesian interior, affable service from Hawaiian-shirted staffers and the colorful, potent cocktails have created one of the most fun destinations in town. What sort of grub best complements the cocktails and setting? Owner Stefan Was bypassed the easy, predictable route of cheap Americanized Chinese food one might ďŹ nd at other tiki bars when he opened four years ago, opting instead for tacos and nachos dished up from what could charitably be called Porcoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kitchen â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a 10-by-10 corner of the building. In 2016, Was announced a partnership with Brian Okin and Adam Bostwick to launch Polpetta at Porco, a meatball-themed concept that forced Was to build an actual kitchen. And while the Polpetta concept has been a success, and as they actively seek a permanent location for it, Was and Bostwick agreed it was time to expand Porcoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s menu. The food, of course, had to complement what Porco was already doing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have so much fun and the food, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the same with the cocktails,â&#x20AC;? says Was. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We take the pretension out of craft cocktails. Just because weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re doing everything correctly with fresh juices and housemade ingredients and quality spirits doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean we canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have fun with it.â&#x20AC;? The timing was also right for Bostwick, who signed on full-time after the closure of GrafďŹ ti in Battery Park. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Having him here gave us time to put an interesting spin on the menu,â&#x20AC;? says Was. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We just started talking and we wanted to still serve the customers and keep the ďŹ&#x201A;ow of what makes this place fun. He gets how nerdy and dorky we are and heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s up
The Big Poppa at Porco
for trying interesting things.â&#x20AC;? For now, that means a gloriously eclectic set of theme nights across the week. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all about communal, shareable stuff thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fun,â&#x20AC;? Bostwick says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;With Porco, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unique, you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know if people will be at a table for 30 minutes or four hours, and on the weekends itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s packed. So we talked about how do we make Monday through Thursday different and make sure it ďŹ ts what Porcoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all about.â&#x20AC;? On Mondays itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Porco throwback night, with tacos and Mexican. Tuesday brings Havana Night, with items such as housemade Cubans, egg and potato frittatas, the Porco Picadillo (spicy pork hash, olives, tomato and tortilla), and yellowtail mofongo (pan-fried yellowtail over smashed plantains with a seafood broth.) Wednesdays are Yacht Rock nights, and the natural pairing, of course, is a raw bar in the middle of the restaurant with fresh-shucked oysters, tuna tartare and the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Big Boy,â&#x20AC;? an all-beef bologna steak, fried egg, house cheese whiz and pickle sauce on a bun. A lot of places do vegan nights, and Bostwick says they considered it for Thursdays. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But then, we thought, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s do the exact opposite. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s do a carnivore appreciation night, basically.â&#x20AC;? That now includes the Big Poppa, a 28-ounce beast of a porterhouse served with soft scrambled eggs, as well as killer meat boards, hillybilly style, that offer bologna pate, Ohio City Provision hot dog pigs in a blanket, smokies, jerkies and more. Oh, and if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re worried about meatballs, they arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t going anywhere. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There will always be a meatball of some sort,â&#x20AC;? says Bostwick.
dtrattner@clevescene.com t@dougtrattner
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Photos by Max Crace
MUSIC
MELODY MAKERS Arielle and Eric Johnson talk about why they enjoy touring together so much By Jeff Niesel FOR YEARS, SINGER-GUITARIST Eric Johnson has received requests from fans who wanted to hear him play his 1990 album Ah Via Musicom in its entirety. As a result, the bluesman recruited drummer Tommy Taylor and bassist Kyle Brock, both of whom play on the album, and he booked a tour that will feature a set devoted to the album. Johnson will also play material from his extensive catalog, including last year’s Collage. The tour, which also features jazz/rock/ pop singer Arielle as the opening act (the two also collaborate during the concert), comes to House of Blues at 8 p.m. on Tuesday. In separate interviews, Johnson and Arielle talk about their friendship. How do you and Arielle know each other? Johnson: I met Arielle in Nashville, and then I started listening to some of her songs online. I was impressed with her songs and singing. We wrote some songs together and then did some tours together. She recorded a few songs on my new record, and we work together really well. Arielle: It was one of those
meant-to-be things. I was living in Nashville at the time. My roommate had the same booking agent as [Johnson]. He had tickets to the Hendrix Experience tour. I didn’t know anything about it. I just showed up with my roommate. Eric was there along with other people I had worked with in the past. I was making my rounds and saying
What was it that first inspired you to become a musician? Johnson: I always heard music while growing up. My dad was playing music from when I was really small. I remember seeing Elvis Presley on TV. Later, it was the Beatles and Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds. I took piano lessons when I was young and went to see
ERIC JOHNSON, ARIELLE 8 P.M. TUESDAY, MARCH 13, HOUSE OF BLUES, 308 EUCLID AVE., 216-523-2583. TICKETS: $26-$35, HOUSEOFBLUES.COM
hi to everyone. I saw Eric, and we started talking about modern-day music, and I told him to check out my music. He called me the next day and said he liked my music. I think my favorite thing about Eric’s music is his note choices. I love how both on guitar and vocally he is constantly surprising me and his audience with melodies that you would never expect and different combinations of notes that I’ve never heard. He does that over and over again. I like the clean sound he gets in his harmonics. He uses elements in his songs that make him unique and special.
classical concerts too. Arielle: I saw a video of Queen when I was 6. Everyone paid attention to [singer] Freddie Mercury, who was amazing. I saw [guitarist] Brian May, and I thought, “Who is that guy with the Afro and that awesome looking guitar?” I thought that was the coolest thing in the world and what I wanted to do. I’m now good friends with Brian May. It’s another one of those meant-to-be things. He’s amazing. What was it like to grow up where you did and how did that influence your music?
Johnson: I grew up in Texas and loved country music, old school country music. I like George Jones and Hank Williams. There was that, but there was also a rock scene there too. I got to hear a lot of bands like that. I think there’s a lot of blues influence there in Texas in its own right. It’s like Kansas City or St. Louis or Chicago. It’s just in the blood. Arielle: I grew up in Northern California. Both the ’60s- and ’70s-style singer-songwriters and jam bands had an influence. Heavy metal came out of there. I was surrounded by those influences. I was off doing my own thing, but the whole thrash movement came out of there. There was a lot of power metal going on that added a harder edge to rock music, which is where I kind of began. How difficult was it to make your first album? Johnson: It was a little bit of a challenge. I didn’t have an idea of what I wanted to do. I was kind of a novice at recording the studio. Arielle: I did an instrumental weird thing fi rst, but California was my fi rst major release. I had a record label and they spent a lot of money and promoted it. It | clevescene.com | March 7 - 13, 2018
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Photos by Max Crace
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represented where I was in my life. I was with a record label that didn’t understand me. In the songs, I speak about how my goals were changing me. It was a bittersweet moment. I had a song on the radio, but I felt very trapped in my life. It was easy to make. I thankfully don’t have issues with doing stuff. I write so often. I work hard, but if things don’t come out naturally, I stop and then start again when they do. Records have never been challenging to make. Did you try to do something different with your latest release? Johnson: The only thing different with [ Collage ] was to try to cut it live as much as possible. That was really my goal. I just grabbed whatever music was available at the time to try to rehearse that and get better at spontaneous recording in the studio. I just used my own studio in Austin. I had my gear there and guitars, so I could just use whatever I felt was working. It’s like being in your own living room. I just ended up recording some tunes from other people that I always enjoyed. I tried to rearrange them and put my own signature on them. Arielle: Well, as an independent artist now, EPs tend to be the most affordable. They keep the fan base happy. I don’t have to wait. The whole idea is to take the music and name it and summarize the theme when I was writing it. My Gypsy Heart, which came out last year, was about not feeling like I belong anywhere and having a strong desire to travel and explore. My newest one, Mind Lion, is about overcoming the ferociousness and untamed nature of the mind and how it can do damage if it’s not utilized properly. They all have
themes. I constantly change things around. The music is pretty broad. There’s a commonality which is the heart of what I’m saying. I stay the same even if I play jazz one second and rock the other. Talk about what the live show will be like. Johnson: Arielle opens and then we segue into me playing tunes off different records. We take a break and then we play the whole Ah Via Musicom record live from start to fi nish. It’s been cool to revisit it. I’ve done one song here and there, but not the whole record. It’s kind of fun. There’s a lot of room for improvisations. It’s been great. I get to play with [drummer] Tommy Taylor and [bassist] Kyle Brock from the record, so that’s nice. Arielle: I get a 25-minute set. I have everything from singer-style jazz to instrumentals. I start off with “Summertime.” I have some bluesy stuff. I switch guitars a bunch and I have pedals I use. I build some tracks on those for a song or two. I have a piano song that I play and at the end, I rock out with an instrumental guitar track with a guitar I built. It’s a wide range of music in a short amount of time. I play a few songs with Eric during his set too. We have a lot of things in common. Musically, we approach music from the same place even if it doesn’t sound the same. We’re both vegetarians. That makes life really easy. He’s pretty straightedge, and I am too, and that helps too. The dynamic of being on the bus makes life easy. We have similar demeanors. We’re quiet and not demanding and don’t have a lot of ego. It’s an easy dynamic.
jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel
308 EUCLID AVE. CLEVELAND, OH 44114 216.523.BLUE Complete listing at houseofblues.com/cleveland
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| clevescene.com | March 7 - 13, 2018
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MUSIC POSITIVE VIBRATIONS A basement jam session led to the songs on SOJA’s latest album By Jeff Niesel ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, SEEMS like an unlikely place for a reggae band to prosper. And yet, that’s where SOJA formed some 20 years. The band would emerge to become one of the most popular U.S.-based reggae acts. “There is a reggae scene there,” says guitarist Trevor Young, who spoke in a recent phone interview from his Baton Rouge home where he was “kicking it” prior to the launch of a tour that brings the band to House of Blues, where it performs with New Kingston, at 8 p.m. on Sunday. “[The other members] grew up in the area and would go to D.C. on their mopeds to drum-circle reggae events. There’s diehard reggae fans and shows going on locally in the area all the time. There’s always touring groups coming through D.C., and all the hardcore reggae fans are at every single show. It was news to me too when I moved there.” Shortly after Young joined the band, the band inked a deal with ATO Records, a label that Dave Matthews founded. The band’s popularity quickly went up a notch as a result. “I think it was a great move because I think it started to fill in the gaps,” Young says of signing with ATO Records. “Anyone that tours the U.S. knows that there are little cities you go to between the big cities. Those can be hard draws. When you get major label help, it helps to fill in those gaps. You start to see newer faces at the shows.” And yet as much as the group’s profile has risen with each album and tour, the band sought to return to its roots for its latest effort, last year’s Poetry in Motion. “We wanted to go back to the vibe we had when SOJA started,” Young says when asked about the band’s approach to the initial songwriting sessions. “Back then, we never booked rehearsal time or writing in the studio. We just went to the basement and worked on some songs and rocked out and wrote them together. We brought that mentality back into the recording process. For the first session, we did it in [singer] Jake [Hemphill’s] garage. It’s our way of trying to recapture that original
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Photo courtesy of the Syndicate
basement vibe. The idea was to do it all together and not just send ideas via email. We wanted to do it as a band would while starting out.” When it finally came time to record the album, the band holed up at Haunted Hollow, a studio in the Charlottesville countryside. “It was one of the best experiences ever,” Young says when asked about working at the facility. “It’s in the mountains. It’s very secluded. You can walk outside in the middle of the night and scream and no one will hear you. It let us focus on working on the record. We never had to
movement launched. “It also goes into equality in certain ways and is about women’s rights and rights in general. I think #MeToo is something people wanted to say for a while and women have been afraid to say it. Now they’re empowering each other and it’s awesome and needed to happen.” On “Fire in the Sky,” another album highlight, Hemphill practically raps his way through the song as he delivers the album’s most spirited vocal performance. “It’s unique because it’s not super reggae,” says Young. “Our saxophone player ended up with this interesting
SOJA, NEW KINGSTON 8 P.M. SUNDAY, MARCH 11, HOUSE OF BLUES, 308 EUCLID AVE., 216-523-2583. TICKETS: $25-$35, HOUSEOFBLUES.COM
leave. We could stay there for long periods of time. I stayed there for a month straight. It was an incredible experience at a very beautiful studio with some great gear.” On the song “More,” the band addresses the issue of women’s rights and advocates “treating our daughters like our sons.” “The title is about excess and whether you need more and more,” says Young, adding that the band wrote the song before the #MeToo
| clevescene.com | March 7 - 13, 2018
new instrument. At the same time, we were all binge watching Stranger Things, and Hellman [Escorcia] had this digital sax. We found a synth sound that sounded like the Stranger Things theme. The song has this galactic message. It seems spacey and otherworldly. The guitar came up toward the end of it after I came up with a cool riff. It’s a weird song but is a standout because it is different.” The band was in France when Hemphill wrote “Sing to Me,” a song
that comes off as a lullaby. “I think Jake was writing the song about me and my love for my guitar,” says Young. “We called it ‘The Guitar Song’ for a really long time. It was a song about my love for my guitar that Jake wrote about me. It turned out really unique. It almost has a country vibe. We did some voice memos in France and used old dobro and slide guitar on it. It came out different. It’s not the usual setup for drums either.” For the live show, the band tries to bring some positivity to the room. With their spirited horn arrangements and uptempo melodies, Poetry in Motion tunes such as “Moving Stones,” “I Can’t Stop Dreaming” and “Tried My Best” should help the band achieve that goal. “People come out to a reggae show, and they want to leave smiling,” Young says. “We want them to leave happy. We don’t want to promote any negativity. If a fight breaks out, we’re the kind of band that stops the show. It goes with this brand of music. Most reggae bands would feel the same way. It’s not a heavy metal show though we have aspects of that at times. And people just really need a break from all the bad news.”
jniesel@clevescene.com scene@clevescene.com @clevelandscene t@jniesel
| clevescene.com | March 7 - 13, 2018
41
MUSIC REBEL MUSIC Indie rockers Hot Snakes return with their first studio release in more than a decade By Jeff Niesel Photo courtesy of Hot Snakes
WHEN ROCKET FROM THE Crypt singer-guitarist John Reis and Delta 72 drummer Jason Kourkounis started the indie rock act Hot Snakes in 1999, Reis thought he’d be the singer. But when he and Kourkounis started working on demos, he realized his voice wasn’t suited to the gritty garage-punk music the duo played. “I wasn’t digging the way my voice meshed with the songs,” says Reis in a recent phone interview. Hot Snakes performs with Duchess Says and Meat Wave at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday at the Grog Shop. “It wasn’t the sound in my head. Since I was already singing with Rocket From the Crypt, I wanted this to be an extension of my ability to express myself as a guitar player.” Reis had played with singerguitarist Rick Froberg (the two were in influential underground rock bands Pitchfork and Drive Like Jehu), who lived in New York, so Reis thought he’d make the perfect frontman even if that meant band members would be spread throughout the country. (Reis lives in San Diego and Kourkounis lives in Philadephia.) “[Froberg] was the first person I thought of,” he explains. “We were friends, and we had the same ideas about music and were attracted to the same sounds. I had never put a band together backwards before, where we had a record and then put a band around it. It was a long-distance band, and that’s how it got pieced together.” The band self-released its debut album, 2000’s Automatic Midnight, and Reis quickly realized that what worked in the studio wouldn’t work on the stage. “The first record doesn’t have any bass on it,” he explains. “There’s lots of organs and keyboards doing what the bass would be doing. I thought that would be boring live, especially since we wanted to do something manic with velocity and rhythm. Having a bass seemed to be something that would translate live.” As a result, Reis recruited Gar Wood, a San Diego musician he’d known for years, and the band began to play live as a four-piece. It would record two more albums before disbanding in 2005.
42
“I was going to have a kid,” says Reis when asked why the group broke up. “I spent the ’90s and early 2000s touring the world constantly. I knew I didn’t want to do that anymore. I wanted to be a dad. I didn’t want to do Rocket either. We stopped that in the same year.” Then, in 2010, the band reunited
like the music aged well. It still felt relevant. It felt like something natural, and I didn’t have to channel a Hot Snakes record.” Reis says the band let the songs on the forthcoming Jericho Sirens, “marinate” before recording them in the studio. The album’s single, the hard-driving “Six Wave Hold-
HOT SNAKES, DUCHESS SAYS, MEAT WAVE 8:30 P.M. SUNDAY, MARCH 11, GROG SHOP, 2785 EUCLID HEIGHTS BLVD., CLEVELAND HEIGHTS. TICKETS: $23 ADV, $27 DOS, GROGSHOP.GS
to play a show at the Casbah, the San Diego club at the epicenter of the city’s indie rock scene. “It was great,” says Reis. “When the band first started, there was immediately interest because of the bands we were in previously. We put out three records and that seemed to run its course in terms of the people who were excited about us. We saw it decline. When we came back, it was nice to be met with people who were interested and excited. It seemed
| clevescene.com | March 7 - 13, 2018
Down” suggests the band hasn’t lost a step. A certain tension inflects both Froberg’s constipated vocals and the dynamic guitar interplay. Elsewhere, Froberg’s sneering vocals effectively turn “Death Camp Fantasy” into an ominous dirge. “We didn’t ponder every movement, but we recorded in sessions,” says Reis. “We would record two to three to four songs in a session and just work on those. I liked doing that. It wasn’t the most cost-effective way to
do it, but it was the funnest way to do it.” Back in the ’90s, the fertile San Diego scene produced a good number of bands that went on to national (and even international) attention. In fact, Hot Snakes was one of the last bands to play a “Peel Session” with influential British DJ John Peel, who died in 2004. Looking back on it, does Reis have some understanding of how and why San Diego became such a musical hotbed? “San Diego was just the right place at the right time,” he says. “A lot of us had rejected what was happening with the violence of punk rock music. We decided to make our own thing. We thought we were mavericks, and that there was a disconnect between our rock ’n’ roll and the rock ’n’ roll that was on the radio. But it was a great time. We were all friends and supportive of each other. It was g reat to see everyone get the attention.”
jniesel@clevescene.com scene@clevescene.com @clevelandscene t@jniesel
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| cleves clevescene.com sce cene.com m | March 7 - 13, 20 2018 018
433
LIVEWIRE
all the live music you should see this week Photo courtesy of Glass Onion PR
WED
10 X 3 Singer Songwriter Showcase hosted by Brent Kirby: 8 p.m. Brothers Lounge. Paul Booth Quartet: 7 p.m., $20. Nighttown. The Cordial Sins/NIGHTS/Meg & The Magnetosphere: 8:30 p.m., $8 ADV, $10 DOS. Beachland Tavern. Fresh Camp Hip Hop Fundraiser: 6:30 p.m. Bop Stop. Howard Jones/Rachael Sage: 7:30 p.m., $35 ADV, $40 DOS. Music Box Supper Club. Skinny Lister/Will Varley/The Outside Voices: With 2014’s Down on Deptford Broadway, the British folk punk group Skinny Lister really honed its songwriting skills. Album opener “Raise a Wreck” features fervent call-and-response vocals, and the tender “Bonny Away” allows Lorna Thomas to show off her supple voice. “Trouble on Oxford Street,” a song about a real brawl that involved member Dan Heptinstall and a gang of punks, sounds like vintage Clash. Not just another pub rock band, the group takes another step toward transcending the genre with its latest release, 2016’s The Devil, the Heart and the Fight. The current tour comes in the wake of the release of an extended version of the album that includes bonus cuts and alternate tracks. (Jeff Niesel) 7:30 p.m., $15. Grog Shop.
THU
03/08
Braxton Taylor/Sean Breeden/ Matt Miller,: 8 p.m., free. CODA. Camila Meza “Traces” Quartet: 8 p.m., $15. Nighttown. Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers/ The Black Moods: 7:30 p.m., $20 ADV, $25 DOS. Music Box Supper Club. Conan/The Ditch & The Delta/ Weed Demon/Black Spirit Crown: 9 p.m., $12 ADV, $14 DOS. Grog Shop. Guys With Guitars: 8 p.m., $10. Bop Stop. Chris Hatton’s Musical Circus (in the Wine Bar): 8 p.m. Brothers Lounge. Jam Night with the Bad Boys of Blues: 9 p.m., free. Brothers Lounge. Northeast Ohio Drum & Music Jam: 9 p.m., free. Beachland
44
Wes Coolbaugh & Joey Amato (in the Wine Bar): 9 p.m. Brothers Lounge.
03/07
SAT
Bluesman Popa Chubby comes to the Music Box Supper Club. See: Thursday.
Ballroom. Popa Chubby (in the Supper Club): On his latest effort, last year’s Two Dogs, blues singer-guitarist Popa Chubby (Ted Horowitz) writes about how the nation has become divided in the wake of the last presidential election. On the evocative title track, he practically raps over a funky guitar riff and rattling percussion. The song comes off as a strong statement. With some swinging horns behind it, “Preexisting Conditions” adopts a soulful vibe as Horowitz sings, “I’m gonna die from preexisting conditions.” All the songs don’t necessarily address our “turbulent times.” The swaggering roadhouse rocker “Rescue Me” serves as a celebration of romantic love. Despite the album’s serious tone, expect tonight’s show to be a freewheeling good time. (Niesel) 7:30 p.m., $15 ADV, $18 DOS. Music Box Supper Club. Psychotic Reaction/Limp Wizurdz: 9 p.m., free. Now That’s Class. The Yawpers/Sump Pump Sluts/ Dirty Mirrors: 8:30 p.m., $10 ADV, $12 DOS. Beachland Tavern.
FRI
03/09
Armstrong Bearcat: 9:30 p.m., $5. Brothers Lounge. The Boys From the County Hell: 8 p.m., $15. Music Box Supper Club.
| clevescene.com | March 7 - 13, 2018
Camila Meza: Traces Live: 8 p.m., $15. Bop Stop. Aaron Carter/Amy Guess: 9 p.m., $20-$70. Musica. Celebrating the Music of Judy Garland (in the Supper Club): 8 p.m., $22 ADV, $28 DOS. Music Box Supper Club. Diamond Dogs: 8 p.m., $12 ADV, $15 DOS. House of Blues. Forecast: 8 p.m., $15. Nighttown. Hello Bandit/Goldleaf/The Skies Above Us: 9 p.m., free. The Euclid Tavern. Tamir Hendelman Trio: 8:30 p.m., $20. Nighttown. Kevin McCarthy (in the Wine Bar): 6 p.m. Brothers Lounge. Nick Moss/The Alan Greene Band: 8 p.m., $15. Beachland Tavern. Raidate 2018 with LOUDPVCK/ Kill Paris/BOTNEK/ill.Gates/ DAH/DICEY/Goofyfm/Konium/ MyTh and Company/SLAVE/ SpaceWhale/Spirit of the Bear/ The Cat’s Meow: 9 p.m., $20. The Agora Theatre. Rumpke Mountain Boys/Kitchen Dwellers: 9 p.m., $12 ADV, $15 DOS. Beachland Ballroom. Sorority Noise/Remo Drive/Foxx Bodies: 8 p.m., $16 ADV, $18 DOS. Grog Shop. Moss Stanley: 10:30 p.m., free. Nighttown. Stormy Monday: 8 p.m., free. CODA. Toward Space/Johnny in the Grave/Heavenly Creatures/King Buu: 9 p.m., $5. Now That’s Class.
03/10
Eddie Baccus Sr. Quartet: 8 p.m., $15. Bop Stop. Greg Bandy/Tomas Janzon International Quartet: 8:30 p.m., $20. Nighttown. The Element: 9:30 p.m., $5. Brothers Lounge. Ezre with Allan Licht (in the Wine Bar): 9 p.m. Brothers Lounge. Fiddlin’ Cricket (in the Wine Bar): 6 p.m. Brothers Lounge. Into the Blue: Grateful Dead Revival: 9 p.m., $10. Beachland Ballroom. Les Delices Family Concert: 3 p.m., free. Bop Stop. Miguel/Inglewood SiR/Nonchalant Savant: 7 p.m., $37.50 ADV, $40 DOS. The Agora Theatre. Collin Miller & The Brother Nature/The Katy/Uptown Buddah: 8 p.m., $8 ADV, $10 DOS. Grog Shop. Nothing.Nowhere/Shinigami/Lil Lotus/Jay Vee: 8 p.m., $13 ADV, $15 DOS. Mahall’s 20 Lanes. NTC 11th Anniversary with Hep Z/ Street Gurgler/Lacerate/Double Doubtfire: 9 p.m., free. Now That’s Class. Soundevr Collective/G.A.S.: 9 p.m., $5. The Euclid Tavern. The Steel Wheels/High Moon Hermits: 9 p.m., $15. Musica. Stimpy’s Revenge/Honky Tonk Angels/Richie Tharpe: 8:30 p.m., $10 ADV, $12 DOS. Beachland Tavern. Tender Mercy/Stephan Haluska/ Derek DePrator: 9 p.m., $4 ADV, $7 DOS. CODA. Jackie Warren: 10:30 p.m., free. Nighttown.
SUN
03/11
Good Old War/Justin Nozuka/River Matthews: Touring in support of Part Of You, the second of a three EP series that began with last year’s Part Of Me, the indie rock act Good Old War recently reunited with longtime singer-drummer Tim Arnold. The album’s mid-tempo single, “That Feeling,” features cooing vocals courtesy of guest vocalist Anthony Green. Given the twangy nature of these tunes, expect them to become fervent sing-
LIVEWIRE TUESDAY, MARCH 13 7:30PM
DAN ZOLA ORCHESTRA
ST. PATRICK’S DAY WEEKEND! FRIDAY, MARCH 16
THE FLANAGAN REILY BAND 7-11PM
Joined By...
THE BURKE IRISH
DANCE ACADEMY 8:15PM
IRISH DJ SHAMUS 11:15PM
SATURDAY, MARCH 17
ST. PATRICK’S DAY! DOORS OPEN AT 10:00AM Performances By...
POMPOUS ASS 10:30AM IRISH COTTAGE BOYS 4:00PM HARP CITY 7:30PM BAGPIPERS!! JAMESON, GREEN BEER & CORNED BEEF SPECIALS
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alongs when the band performs them live. (Niesel) 6:30 p.m., $20 ADV, $23 DOS. House of Blues Cambridge Room. Hot Snakes/Duchess Says/Meat Wave: Singer-guitarist John Reis and singer-guitarist Rick Froberg, who played together in the San Diego-based post-hardcore band Pitchfork, started the garage punk act Hot Snakes in 1999 with drummer Jason Kourkounis. The band issued three studio albums before calling it a day. But the group reunited about seven years ago and will release Jericho Sirens, its first studio effort in more than 10 years, later this month. With its parched vocals and gritty guitar riffs, the album’s single, the hard-driving “Six Wave Hold-Down,” suggests the band hasn’t lost a step. (Niesel) 9 p.m., $23 ADV, $27 DOS. Grog Shop. The New World Quartet: 7 p.m., $15. Bop Stop. Mike Petrone: 5:30 p.m. Brothers Lounge. Michelle Romary CD Release (in the Supper Club): 7 p.m., $12 ADV, $15 DOS. Music Box Supper Club. SOJA/New Kingston: 8 p.m., $25$35. House of Blues.
MON
03/12
Skatch Anderssen Orchestra: 8 p.m., $7. Brothers Lounge. Grassroots Bluegrass Jam: 7 p.m., free. The Euclid Tavern. Velvet Voyage (in the Wine Bar): 8 p.m. Brothers Lounge.
TUE
03/13
Desertion Trio: 8 p.m., $15. Bop Stop. The Drexels/Black Static Eye/ Grievance Committee: 8:30 p.m., $5. Beachland Tavern. Earthless/Kikagako Moyo/ JJUUJJUU: 8:30 p.m., $18 ADV, $20 DOS. Grog Shop. Eric Johnson/Arielle: 8 p.m., $26. House of Blues. Shane Smith & The Saints/ Flatland Cavalry/Juliana Tabor: 8 p.m., $12 ADV, $15 DOS. The Winchester.
scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene | clevescene.com | March 7 - 13, 2018
45
BAND OF THE WEEK Photo by by Meg Quisenberry.
KentStage The
=HGÍM FBLL MA>L> @K>:M LAHPL MB<D>ML HG L:E> GHP
MICHELLE ROMARY MEET THE BAND : Michelle Romary (vocals, melodica, tambourine)
No Sleep Podcast Sat., Mar. 10
The Zombies Sat., Mar. 24
Karla Bonoff
Fri., Apr. 6
An Evening with
Dixie Dregs
John Moreland & James McMurtry Thu., Mar. 22
Dawn of the Dregs Tour
Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
The English Beat & The TwistOffs
Fri., Mar. 23
Sun., Mar. 25
Sun., Apr. 1
Thompson Square
Asleep at the Wheel
Sat., Apr. 7
Sun., Apr. 15
Western Reserve Folk Arts Association Presents
Rodriguez March 16, 2018
at the Akron Civic Theatre www.akroncivic.com
ALL SHOWS AT THE KENT STAGE UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED Tickets available at www.kentstage.org or 877-987-6487 GMK [w cw i {{ © a{ B e~ JJHJF
46
| clevescene.com | March 7 - 13, 2018
A MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST: A local singer-songwriter, Romary grew up in Dayton and attended Ohio University. She moved to Northeast Ohio in 1998 and took private lessons from a Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music professor. As a Catholic cantor and soloist, she regularly sings at wedding ceremonies and funeral/memorial masses, singing both traditional and contemporary pieces. “I have been doing this for as long as I can remember,” she says. “My dad was a songwriter. There was a baby grand and organ and guitars around the house. I played multiple instruments pretty early.” She formed a rock/pop band in 2010, and while the group started as a cover band, it eventually began writing original music and put out two releases during a four-year run. After releasing an album of faith-based songs in 2014, she issued the EP Floating Shift. She followed it up with a series of EPs. She wrote the songs on the releases, and local producer Michael Seifert arranged, recorded, mixed, produced and mastered them. WHY YOU SHOULD HEAR HER: Guitarist Brent Hamker arranged the songs on Romary’s forthcoming album, Grounded, which was again engineered by Seifert. Album
opener, “Home,” began as a poem and then became a children’s song before Romary tweaked it into the mid-tempo guitar-driven rock tune that’s on Grounded. “It wasn’t intentional,” she says of the song’s evolution. “I just wanted to show off my different influences. ‘With Me’ has a reggae vibe and ‘My Light’ has a spaghetti-Western vibe. I thought that was so cool when I fi rst heard the arrangement. [Hamker] really understands what I’m trying to do.” “One Last Drink” begins with soulful vocals before wailing guitars kick in. “I think people will love or hate it,” she says when asked about the song. “I got out of a guitar lesson with [local guitarist Michael] Bay and played it for him. I asked, ‘Does it make sense?’ He thought it translated nicely, so I thought that was great. When I do random things like that, people try to talk me out of them and I used to let them. Now, I just do whatever the hell I want.” WHERE YOU CAN HEAR HER:
michelleromary.com. WHERE YOU CAN SEE HER: Michelle
Romary performs at 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 11, at the Music Box Supper Club. — Jeff Niesel
jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel
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SATURDAY, MARCH 17 .............................BREAKFAST CLUB FRIDAY, APRIL 13 ....... ABBY NORMAL & THE DETROIT LEAN FRIDAY, MARCH 23 ........... TRICKY DICK & THE COVER-UPS
SATURDAY, APRIL 14 ................................BREAKFAST CLUB
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FRIDAY, MARCH 30 .....................................DISCO INFERNO
SATURDAY, APRIL 21 ...................................... GRUNGE DNA
SATURDAY, MARCH 31 .....................................SPAZMATICS
FRIDAY, APRIL 27 .............. TRICKY DICK & THE COVER-UPS
FRIDAY, APRIL 6 ............................ THUNDER GUN EXPRESS
SATURDAY, APRIL 28 ........................................ .ACE MOLAR
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lesbian-porn-enhanced orgasms in retrospect. The solution? Seek out lesbian porn featuring actual lesbians — authentic lesbian porn is out there. 3. Sometimes we overcome the negative messaging our culture sends us about our identities or bodies only after our erotic imaginations have seized on the fears or self-loathing induced by those messages and turned them into kinks. Take small-penis humiliation (SPH). Before a guy can ask a partner to indulge him in SPH, CAPP, he has to accept (and kind of dig) his small cock. So the acceptance is there, but the kink — a turn-on rooted in a resolved conflict — remains. It can be freeing to regard a kink like SPH or your thing for tit slapping as a reward —as the only good thing to come out of the shitty zap the culture put on the head of a guy with a small cock or, in your case, a young woman with large breasts. So long as we seek out other consenting adults who respect us and our bodies, we can have our kinks — even those that took root in the manure of negative cultural messaging — and our selfacceptance and self-esteem, too.
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mail@savagelove.net t@fakedansavage | clevescene.com | March 7 - 13, 2018
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