UPFRONT
CLEVELAND SCHOOLS LEVY PASSES WITH STRONG SUPPORT
CLEVELANDERS DECIDED
Tuesday that the health of Cleveland schools was worth more tax dollars.
About 66 percent of Cleveland voters opted to pass Issue 49, a levy increase that will cost your average homeowner here roughly $193 a year to bolster the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.
In return, CMSD will have about $52 million raised annually, according to Issue 49’s ballot language — money that will be used for the system’s sports programs, college-prep initiatives, mental health coordinators, security guards and so on. CMSD will also have an added $250 million in bond money for the next four years.
Cleveland’s chose such a financial boost for CMSD because of sympathy for the district, Issue 49 campaigner and CMSD teacher Kurt Richards told Scene Wednesday morning.
“Look, there’s hope for the Cleveland schools,” Richards said. “I think they see the value in education. They’re seeing we’re making progress in Cleveland. And they want to continue that progress.”
That’s progress in the face of a staggering budget deficit.
As CMSD CEO Warren Morgan lamented in his State of the Schools speech in September, the Cleveland Schools system is in pretty bad financial shape.
It’s about out of its American Rescue Plan dollars. It’s facing a $110 million deficit in the next three years — that is, Morgan said, if CMSD can’t find an outside way to cover the gap.
Morgan framed a new levy as CMSD’s saving grace. A way to deter the plausible cut of 700 teacher and staff jobs that would go along, as Signal Cleveland reported, with the 12-percent slashing of central office positions earlier this year. It would be a tough blow for a district typically
rated lower compared with its suburban counterparts.
“We will not be able to provide the student experience our scholars deserve,” Morgan said during his speech. “And the cuts we will be forced to make would be drastic and unimaginable.”
“Not offering the basics — Algebra 1, a foreign language, the ability to learn an instrument or play a core sport,” he added, “we are robbing our children of the student experience they deserve.”
Although Morgan hasn’t yet released a detailed plan on how that added $52 million a year would be precisely budgeted, Richards has been promoting the tax increase as a winwin for Cleveland as a whole: more mental health coordinators, more security staff, more at-home football programs, more marching band involvement at each of CMSD’s two dozen high schools.
The success of CMSD’s Cleveland Plan, a decade-long strategy to raise test scores, is intertwined with the district’s ability to fund it, is the general sentiment behind the levy’s backers.
They say the 2016 levy that did the same. “Don’t you think there’s a correlation between finally having money in the last 12 years,” Richards said in October, “and the progress kids are making?”
Richards echoed the sentiment on Wednesday.
“We’re going to give kids a normal school schedule,” Richards said. “I mean, that’s pretty good right there.” — Mark Oprea
Cuyahoga County Passes Issue 55, the Cigarette Tax to Continue Funding the Arts
Residents on Tuesday passed Issue 55 by a wide margin, with about 72% supporting a tax hike on cigarettes and tobacco products to continue to fund the arts through Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.
The independent government entity will now receive more money from the revised tax — three-and-a-half cents more per smoke, up from its current tax rate of one-and-a-half cents — to turn over to artists and arts groups through grants. With smoking rates decreasing, annual funding had dipped from $20 million to $10 million over the past two decades.
Jill Paulsen, the executive director of the CAC, said that Tuesday’s win is proof that support of arts crosses party lines in Cuyahoga County.
“I think voters and residents have felt a difference of public funding be injected into this community,” she said. “We know 300 nonprofits are operating in every single zip code. And I think that really shined through.”
“I’m really jumping up and down right now,” said Jeremy Johnson, CEO of Assembly for the Arts, which
receives funding from the CAC, said Tuesday night. “Even just this past weekend, [we had] events that are free and open to the public. And if you look the details, you see, ‘Made possible by the voters of Cuyahoga County.’
“These are jobs. Kids being educated. Neighborhoods being invested in,” he added.
CAC has campaigned for the added revenue — which has been down 50 percent since the mid-aughts as smoking rates have decreased — with a similar energy as the Cleveland Schools campaigning to sell Issue 49. A new tobacco levy could, they said, add a whopping $160 million to the agency in the next decade.
Meaning arts programs backed by the CAC will be funded, Paulsen said, through 2035.
That’s money that could go to hundreds of Cleveland-area arts organizations that rely on grant dollars to run and grow, from dancers at the Cleveland Balle, to orchestras like Apollo’s Fir, to urban designers like LAND Studio or actors at Great Lakes Theater.
Issue 55’s tax adds onto the one voters approved in 2015, itself a hike from CAC’s first cigarette levy in 2006. Proponents of the measure say that it’s a win-win for both the city’s arts scene and its fight against tobacco usage; opponents see the tax as unnecessarily regressive and biased against the county’s poor.
But Organizations like the World
Photo by Mark Oprea
Health Organization say added tobacco taxes are a key way to lower deaths from lung and heart disease, which often stem from years of smoking. “Tobacco taxation is the single most effective measure for reducing tobacco consumption and its associated health burden worldwide,” its website reads.
“I think that’s part of the message, that’s not the only message,” Johnson said. “It’s not one versus the other; it’s a combination of factors.” — Mark Oprea
Lakewood Nears Final Approval for Development on Former Lakewood Hospital Site
The six-acre site formerly occupied by the Lakewood Hospital — known affectionately as “The Pit” to Lakewooders — is set to be developed with the help of tax-increment financing, to the chagrin of residents watching the project move along.
Last Tuesday evening, Lakewood City Council met with the Lakewood Board of Education to present the latest of Casto and Dimit Architects’ site plans promising to hold 298 housing units.
And to discuss whether or not that development, amid years of debate by residents, is worthy of tax increment financing to make it happen.
Dave Baas, Lakewood’s assistant director of planning, led the city’s ask. Baas sold the project as needed to fill the six acres, which represents the city’s most arduously reviewed pieces of development in recent history.
We’ve been through “at least nine or ten formal, public meetings, and a variety of other public meetings and open houses,” Baas said.
“And that’s just the final review of this,” he added. “It has been a long public process that this project’s been through. And we are in the eleventh hour to get to the final goal line.”
Long sold as a potential town square center for a city badly in need of one, the Lakewood Pit has struggled since its eponymous hospital vacated in 2016 (and was torn down in 2020), leaving a gaping hole in a Cleveland suburb used to dense housing development.
Which is what Casto and Dimit seem to have packaged for, come early next week, a final yea or nay vote by a Lakewood City Council eager to let construction crews get to work. Along with a tax abatement, Council could finally approve a four-building plan replete with a five-story apartment building, seven-suite townhouses, an attached parking garage, all pockmarked with shade trees, pet stations, twig benches and enough tables and chairs to constitute a suitable town square. (And matching lawn space.)
All plans that have scaled since they were re-proposed earlier this summer. There used to be plans for two buildings for townhomes, not one. And an anticipated grocery chain backed out earlier this year.
Residents, some of whom rallied around a semi-ironic “Lakewood Pit” Facebook group, have seemed to reach a kind of shoulder-shrug stance as the Pit nears extinction, with some feeling more ire when dollars and cents are considered, with tax perks for developers being kicked around.
It’s “gentrification at its finest,” one commented. “The city leads the charge.”
“We as Lakewood taxpayers just got ran over,” Brian Higgins wrote, referring to the October 29 joint meeting suggesting tax perks for Casto. “Nine years, and this is what Lakewood got — it’s sad.”
Jason Bilak, a 46-year-old resident on Belle two blocks south of the Pit and who manages the Facebook page, felt the same kind of cynicism. When interviewed Wednesday, Bilak immediately attached his reaction to the controversy behind the Pit’s former tenant.
“Everyone feels like the city’s getting shafted again, just like we did from the hospital,” Bilak said, referring to Lakewood Hospital’s decision to vacate.
But the apartments! The potential for a Christmas tree! For congregation!
“It’s just kind of a cookie-cutter thing that they’re just kind of assembling and putting together,” Bilak added. “I can’t see any real benefit for the city besides not having empty lot there. I mean, the whole purpose was [getting it] developed to generate tax revenue!”
Scene called Lakewood City Planning for comment but did not hear back Wednesday.
Lakewood City Council is set to review the plans in November, with, as Baas said Tuesday, a development agreement (along with a TIF) possibly arriving by the end of the year.
Which means, if everything goes as planned, Casto could have shovels in the ground in 2025.
An image that Bilak agrees isn’t that bad.
“Yeah, it’s better to have something than nothing,” he said. — Mark Oprea
Tri-Star Skate Park is Shutting Down
The start of Tri-Star’s building problems came soon after a snow storm.
It was January 23, and owners
Sam and Shelby Snellenberger arrived at their shop on Brookpark Road to pretty gnarly news: a blanket of snow on their rooftop had melted en masse, and water was now seeping through into the park inside.
Two videos Shelby posted showed the mess, with barrels, trash cans and mop buckets set up hopelessly to catch the water. “The winds blew off a portion of our rubber roof off,” she captioned one video. “So it is raining inside our park.” The damage was enough: Tri-Star would be “closed until further notice.”
Nine months later the Snellenbergers announced on Instagram that, despite a cautious reopening in April, Tri-Star Skateshop and Skate Park would be closing for good by the end of December.
A post on Instagram on October 17 clarified that the Cleveland skate staple, which had been bought by the Snellenbergers in 2019, would be ending its long run primarily because, they said, of what they feel are ongoing issues with its landlords. Despite lawyering up, despite calling on their insurance company, despite badgering the building’s manager, they say fixes aren’t being made.
“Nothing has worked,” Snellenberger wrote. “Our landlord is not fixing a roof. We have no air conditioning, and no heat. And water coming in continues to ruin what we already have fixed.”
Shelby reiterated the complaint in a follow-up call. “We waited, waited, waited,” Shelby told Scene. “Landlord’s not doing anything. Constantly telling us, you know, that they’re waiting on insurance: ‘We’re waiting on insurance. We’re waiting on insurance.’”
“Meanwhile, nobody’s even looking at the roof,” she added.
Begun by skateboard enthusiast Jim Sakaley out of his van in 2004, Tri-Star grew into a reliable fixture in the Northeast Ohio skate scene through the aughts and 2010s, alongside Chenga and the Cleveland’s Rivergate Park. It’s welcomed pro tours led by Jamie Thomas and Andy Roy. It’s annual hurrah, The Bash, a kind of skate camp for diehards, was a two-day party. It was the prime stop for Baker Skateboards’ world tour in 2016.
But despite Tri-Star being a nexus for vert skaters and half-pipe riders, its rooftop damage in January has led to a scuffle between business owner and property manager throughout the year, with both sides pinning the reason for closure on the other.
“It’s all fixed, [all] temporarily fixed,” Michael Tucci, a lawyer representing the owner of 5300 Brookpark Road, told Scene in a phone call Thursday.
“There are no holes in the roof,” he said. “There’s no water coming in. The HVAC [and] the electricity works. Everything that [they] need to run the business has been done.”
Tucci said that the rooftop leakage following the January storm was remedied “on our dime instantly,” and chalked up Snellenberger’s claim as “just hyperbole.” He suggested that the building was involved in an insurance settlement earlier in the year, which supposedly helped pay for the water damage.
When reached by phone, building owner Gary Lapin simply deferred to Tucci or the restraint of his lease agreement when asked if the building repairs had been met.
“I cannot confirm any such thing,” he told Scene. “And I cannot discuss the tenants without having any permission from those tenants to have those discussions.”
Regardless of the state of repairs, the Snellenbergers’ decision to close sent a ripple effect of worry and downheartedness throughout the region’s skate community. Shelby said the shop’s sales had dwindled since they reopened in April, which meant relying on a skatepark she said wasn’t up to par.
Some responded by offering donations. Others offered shop vacuums and tarpaulins.
“I mean, we have, you know, hundreds and hundreds of people that, you know, are stoked to still come in here,” Shelby said, and still “have a spot to go to.”
Despite moving to a farm in Columbia Station after selling the business five years ago, Sakaley said he’s been lamenting Tri-Star’s closure from afar since January.
Intending to create a kind of TriStar museum in a “hangar” on his property — which hosted pro skaters Tony Hawk and Chad Muska in 2022—Sakaley said he’s meaning to buy back the shop signs, its product counters and even some of the ramps.
The goal being: not allow another gap in Cleveland’s skate scene.
“It affects the culture. A lot of OG Tri-Star kids have been blowing up my phone: ‘Why’s it closing?’” he said. “It’s not just about buying a board — it’s all about bringing people together.”
Tucci seems to be in agreement, TriStar should live. As long as lease and insurance issues are all ironed out.
“We’re not angry at them. We’re not mad at them,” Tucci said. “You know, we want to make it work.” — Mark Oprea
CLEVELAND POLICE STOP AND SEARCH BLACK DRIVERS AT HIGHER RATES DESPITE DOJ OVERSIGHT
A review of 17,000 Cleveland police stops shows Black people are searched three times as often, yet White people have contraband at near equal rates
By Mark Puente, The Marshall Project and Sarah Buduson, News 5 Cleveland
CLEVELAND POLICE SEARCHED
Black people more than three times as often as White people during stops in 2023 — despite finding contraband at similar rates, a Marshall ProjectCleveland and WEWS News 5 analysis found.
The analysis examined the race of people stopped by Cleveland officers and was developed using data the city was required to provide under a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice in 2015, following years of excessive force complaints and paying millions of dollars in lawsuit settlements and judgments for police misconduct.
Using records of nearly 17,000 police encounters, the analysis shows officers often used low-level offenses like broken tail lights or tinted windows to search Black people, who were stopped overall at twice the rate of White people.
Black Clevelanders have had a simmering distrust of police that first emerged in the 1960s with the Hough Riots. The city has experienced several high-profile, fatal encounters involving White officers in the past decade, leading to the federal intervention and oversight.
More than a dozen Black people told The Marshall Project - Cleveland and WEWS News 5 that they believed police targeted them for minor violations to look for larger crimes.
“It has something to do with the color of our skin,” said Vanika Burks, who was stopped four times in 2023. “I can’t see it any other way. I should get treated just the way everybody else should.”
The consent decree created a blueprint for Cleveland police to repair community relationships and overhaul its use-of-force policies. It also required the police to record detailed information on every stop.
The news outlets analyzed nearly 17,000 encounters, defined by Cleveland Division of Police policy as any interaction between officers and
people stopped for traffic violations or suspected criminal activity.
Black people accounted for nearly 63% of the encounters and were searched at least three times more than White individuals. But when it came to finding illegal items during those searches, contraband was recovered 37% of the time from Black people versus 32% from White individuals.
Stops for low-level infractions have long been the common driver of police-citizen encounters. But stops for minor infractions across the country have led to numerous deadly encounters after escalating into violent and sometimes fatal struggles.
Pretextual stops, the practice of enforcing minor infractions with the intent to look for more serious offenses, have been criticized but have withstood constitutional challenges.
Civil rights advocates and legal scholars say the practice gives too much power to police, often leading to racial profiling while fomenting community distrust.
Jeffrey A. Fagan, a Columbia Law School professor, has studied
police reforms and consent decrees for decades. He reviewed the 2023 Cleveland police data at the request of The Marshall Project - Cleveland and WEWS News 5.
If officers are searching Black residents more often than White people and not finding a disproportionately greater level of contraband, “that suggests they’re exercising some kind of racial discrimination,” Fagan said.
“They’re using race as a pretext for making a stop,” he said. “The practice itself is leading to disparities which present constitutional problems.”
Mayor Justin M. Bibb said it’s too early to draw conclusions from the data until federal monitors offer their analysis.
“The men and women of our police department are working very hard to keep our streets safe and secure,” he said. “This data is the right first step to be transparent and honest as to where we are. We will confront these truths head-on as a city.”
Council members and the public want more traffic enforcement, he
said.
“The residents of Cleveland want a city and police department that will keep our streets safe and secure,” he said. “I don’t care what color you are … we are going to hold you accountable.”
Leigh Anderson, executive director of Cleveland’s Police Accountability Team, leads five employees tasked with measuring the consent decree’s progress and implementing the reforms.
The team is aware of the disparity in the data, but she said it is not evidence of racial discrimination. Updated policies and training now guide how officers conduct stops and searches, Anderson said. She stressed that officers have been trained to not violate any person’s constitutional rights.
The city never collected police encounter data until 2022, when it was required under the consent decree. The city will now use it as a baseline in future years, she said.
“There aren’t any sort of hard and fast rules for how the data should look when it comes to traffic stops
and investigatory stops,” Anderson said. “We are figuring out what the data means.”
The city plans to soon turn over its own 100-page analysis of all the encounters in 2022 to the Department of Justice and federal monitors. It will also publish the lengthy report for the public to review. The city will also ask outside experts to review the data for inconsistencies, she said.
“What we’re doing is making sure that bias-free policing is strong throughout” the city, she said.
In a federal court hearing on Sept. 24, consent decree monitors said assessments are underway to review how police handle crisis intervention, use-of-force and searches and seizures.
Those assessments, Anderson said, are crucial and will help determine whether police stops are biased or not.
Demographics, including population and race data, and the high volume of complaints in problem areas of the city, must be factored into any breakdown of the data, Anderson said. For example, Black people will likely be stopped more often in neighborhoods with higher numbers of Black residents, she said.
“It’s not the number of stops that’s happening, it’s not the number of arrests,” said Anderson, who has worked on consent decrees in Oakland, California, and Ferguson, Missouri. “Do these officers have biases towards residents?”
Consent decrees are the federal government’s most powerful tool to force cities with histories of abusive policing to change their ways. They’ve been used dozens of times across the country, with oversight often extending more than a decade. Cleveland came under federal oversight after it made national headlines when officers shot Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams 137 times during a car chase in 2012 and an officer shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice as he played with a toy gun outside a city rec center in 2014. Cleveland has since enacted
dozens of policy changes including use-of-force procedures, enhanced training, internal investigations and de-escalating situations involving mental health and substance abuse.
The federal oversight, including legal fees paid to monitors, has so far cost Cleveland over $60 million.
A recent semi-annual report from federal monitors says the city made numerous strides in recent months.
Andrew Gasiewski, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association, said officers are not searching or stopping people based on skin color. He said officers treat people with respect and are under heavy scrutiny with body-worn cameras.
“The men and women on the streets are doing their job,” said Gasiewski, who spent 16 years making thousands of stops as a motorcycle officer in the department’s Traffic Unit. “They’re taking the training and using it on the street. They’re not out there as this nasty myth to violate anyone’s rights.”
Wayne Drummond, the city’s director of public safety, said supervisor reviews of stop reports and random audits of body-worn cameras are safeguards to make sure that officers are operating within the law. The city has layers of oversight because of the consent decree, he said.
The number of encounters and the racial disparities in The Marshall Project - Cleveland and WEWS News 5 analysis did not alarm him, he said.
“Did the officer conduct those stops constitutionally?” he said. “Were they treating the citizens in those cars in a constitutional manner? That’s my main concern.”
As the national debate continues around these stops, the stop-andsearch statistics are often used to gauge the disparate racial impacts of policing in cities with histories of civil rights abuses by police.
More than a dozen drivers stopped and searched by Cleveland officers in 2023 told the news outlets they feared speaking publicly about the encounters. During multiple inter-
views with drivers who were stopped, themes emerged around tinted windows, fancy cars and police seemingly fishing for illegal contraband in vehicles.
Black drivers accounted for about 75% of the nearly 900 stops for tinted windows, the analysis showed.
Multiple women interviewed said they lower their tinted windows when they see a police car and constantly fear being pulled over.
Nursing student Asia Barton, 26, remembered the June 2023 day when police stopped her for speeding on St. Clair Avenue inside her 2015 Chevrolet Impala — with tinted windows.
Barton said she believes police target cars with tinted windows or fancy rims as a way to find drugs or guns. She has now changed her driving habits and lowers the windows to allow the officer to see she is a woman, believing her gender makes her less likely to be stopped.
In stops for tinted windows in 2023, police searched seven Black women. But they searched 137 Black men, finding marijuana or nothing else about two-thirds of the time.
“If they see that I’m a young Black woman in the car, they’re not going to bother me. That’s crazy,” Barton said. “If they see a Black male with the windows rolled down or rolled up, I feel like they’re still going to get behind them and pull them over. That’s just what I believe.”
Cornelius Love, a 65-year-old East Side retiree, recalled the day he bought a used Volvo convertible and headed down St. Clair Avenue to get an emissions test.
He said he doesn’t believe the Black police officer pulled him over because of his skin color.
But he thinks the stop had more to do with a pricey car in a highcrime area. The officer cited him for not having license plates, driving an unsafe vehicle and for not wearing a seatbelt, court records show.
“They’re looking at fishing for something to stop you,” Love said. “It’s all about money. Whether you’re right or wrong, you’re still going to pay. I’m basically targeted for being a hard-working person.”
Police stopped more than 1,400 people at least twice in 2023, including about 250 who were stopped three or more times, records show.
Burks, 35, who works as a certified nursing assistant, said three of her police encounters in 2023 involved an expired plate or speeding. The fourth stop, records show, was impeding an intersection — but Burks disputes that.
Burks said she gets “paranoid” when she sees a police car on the road.
“When I see one, it makes me stiffen up; I just got to watch it,” Burks said. “It’s hard for me to pay attention. I can’t even focus on the road because they’ve pulled me over so many times. I don’t even really like driving anymore.”
Mario Cage sees it differently. Officers stopped him four times in 2023. He said he doesn’t believe police targeted him for his skin color, tinted windows or fancy car.
“Anytime I got stopped, it was on me,” Cage said. “I have a heavy foot.”
San Francisco, Chicago and Memphis have worked to ban the low-level stops, according to news reports.
A new California law requires police to tell motorists why they are being stopped before asking any questions.
After the Los Angeles Times analyzed traffic stop data in 2019, the city’s police commission created a new policy requiring officers to record their reasoning on body cameras before making the low-level stops.
The number of pretextual stops dropped months later, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Fagan, the Columbia law school professor, said Cleveland leaders should take the news outlets’ data analysis seriously as they work to reform the department and end the federal oversight.
Fagan called the contraband hit rates — police searched Black people nearly four times more often than they found illegal items on them or in their vehicles — problematic, because police are disproportionately stopping black drivers and “exercising some form of racial discrimination” when trying to find illegal items.
“It’s a public safety problem and a disservice to both the White community and the Black community over stopping and burdening black drivers,” Fagan said.
The racial imbalance tells more about the police department’s failure to regulate and monitor what officers do on the streets, Fagan said, adding that it alienates the Black community.
He said police brass should be asking officers a simple question:
“Why are you stopping so many people with such a low payoff? You’re wasting the public’s money, and you’re placing a burden on the people who are stopped.”
This article was published in partnership with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system, and News 5 Cleveland.
GET OUT Everything to do in Cleveland for the next two weeks
WED 11/06
The Cherry Orchard Case Western Reserve University’s MFA Acting Program takes on Anton Chekhov’s classic play about aristocrats who contemplate selling their precious estate. Tonight’s performance takes place at 7:30 at the Helen, where performances continue through Nov. 10.
1901 East 13th St., 216-356-6485, playhousesquare.org.
Into the Woods
With a score that features tunes such as “Into the Woods,” “Giants in the Sky” and “No One is Alone,” this Stephen Sondheim musical rolls into the Hanna Theatre for an extended run. Tonight’s performance begins at 7:30. Performance continue through Nov. 10.
2067 East 14th St., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
Some Like It Hot
This musical that’s set in Chicago during Prohibition follows two musicians who need to leave the Windy City after witnessing a mob hit. Tonight’s performance takes place at 7:30 at Connor Palace. Performances continue until Nov. 24.
1615 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
THU 11/07
La Cave: Steve Traina Book Discussion & Signing
Radio host and author Steve Traina will discuss his new book, La Cave: Cleveland’s Legendary Music Club and the ’60s Folk-to-Rock Revolution, and display some of the archival materials he recently donated to the Rock Hall. The program begins at 7 p.m. at the Rock Hall. Admission is $10 for the general public. 1100 Rock and Roll Blvd., 216-5158444, rockhall.com.
Urinetown
Cleveland State University takes on this musical that satirizes everything from the legal system to the privatization of natural resources. Tonight’s performance takes place at 7:30 at the Allen Theatre, where performances continue through Nov. 10. 1407 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
FRI 11/08
Cavaliers vs. Golden State Warriors
The Cavs come back home this weekend to play the former NBA champion Golden State Warriors tonight at 7:30 and the rebuilding Brooklyn Nets tomorrow night at 7:30 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. 1 Center Court, 216-420-2000, rocketmortgagefieldhouse.com.
Jeff Dunham Artificial Intelligence
Jeff Dunham will trot out alter egos such as Walter, who doubled as Wonald Grump and Ben Hiden during the last election, and other outlandish characters at this show that takes place at 7 p.m. at the State Theatre. 1519 Euclid Avenue, 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
SAT 11/09
Beethoven Piano Concerto Cycle Program 2 & 4
Pianist Igor Levit joins the Cleveland Orchestra for the second part of this Beethoven cycle. Tonight’s concert begins at 8 at Mandel Concert Hall.
11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com.
Charge vs. Indiana Mad Ants
Since the Charge’s new home at Public Auditorium isn’t ready yet, the G League basketball team will start the season at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. They take on the Indian Mad Ants at noon today and at 2 p.m. tomorrow.
1 Center Court, 216-420-2000, rocketmortgagefieldhouse.com.
John L. Ruffin Presents Living All Alone
This new musical tells the story of the life of singer Phyllis Hyman, who had a tumultuous life thanks to an addition to drugs and alcohol. Performances take place at 3 and 8 p.m. today at the State Theatre.
1519 Euclid Avenue, 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
Hélène Simoneau Danse
The French-Canadian choreographer brings her company to Cleveland with a program featuring three dance works that highlight the “creative movement and innovative partnering” for which she’s known. Tonight’s performance takes place at 7:30 at the Mimi Ohio Theatre.
1511 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
SUN 11/11
Just Nesh & T Murph
Part of the first season of Comedy Central’s Kevin Hart Presents: Hart of the City, comedian Taneshia “Just Nesh” Rice shares this bill with T Murph, an actor and comedian who stars in the Hulu series Woke. The show starts at 6:30 at the Funny Bone.
1148 Main Ave., 216-696-4677, cleveland.funnybone.com.
Marquee Productions Talent “Spooktacular” Showcase
Butch “Eddie Munster” Patrick hosts this talent show that serves as a benefit for the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. It takes place at 6 p.m. at Music Box Supper Club. 1148 Main Avenue, 216-242-1250, musicboxcle.com.
TUE 11/12
Dear Evan Hansen
A Beatles vs. Stones battle goes down at the Lorain Palace. See: Thursday, Nov. 14.|La Jolla Booking
musical Dear Evan Hansen centers on a high-schooler who wants to fit in at any cost and features a book by Tony Award-winner Steven Levenson. Performances take place at 7:30 tonight and tomorrow night at E.J. Thomas Hall in Akron. 198 Hill St., Akron, 330-972-7570, ejthomashall.com.
WED 11/13
Monsters vs. Toronto Marlies
The Monsters play a rare mid-week game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The puck drops at 7 p.m. 1 Center Court, 216-420-2000, rocketmortgagefieldhouse.com.
Rick Steves: Why We Travel
The popular guidebook author and public TV host comes to the State Theatre tonight at 7:30 to share his deep knowledge of traveling to foreign countries. 1519 Euclid Avenue, 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
THU 11/14
Beatles vs. Stones – A Musical Showdown
This show recreates a rivalry from the early days of the British Invasion and pits Rolling Stones tribute band Satisfaction – The International Rolling Stones Show against rival Abbey Road in an “all-out musical showdown for rock dominance.” The show that takes place tonight at 7:30 at the Lorain Palace is part of a 125-city tour of the U.S., Canada and Mexico. 617 Broadway Ave., Lorain, 440-2452323, lorainpalace.org.
Sebastian Maniscalco
The popular comedian brings his latest trek, dubbed the It Ain’t Right tour, to the Covelli Centre in Youngstown. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. 229 East Front St., Youngstown, 330746-5600, covellicentre.com.
FRI 11/15
Cavaliers vs. Chicago Bulls
The Cavs square up against the Chicago Bulls tonight at 7:30 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The Cavs will remain home to play the Charlotte Hornets at 6 p.m. on Sunday night. 1 Center Court, 216-420-2000, rocketmortgagefieldhouse.com.
Kevin Hart: Acting My Age
The diminutive comedian whose comedies have turned him into a big box office draw brings his standup show to the State Theatre. Performances take place at 8 tonight and tomorrow night.
1519 Euclid Avenue, 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
David Nihill: Shelf Help
Winner of the annual San Francisco Comedy Competition, comedian David Nihill brings his show about traveling and cultural observations to the Hanna Theatre. The event begins at 8 p.m. 2067 East 14th St., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
SAT
11/16
Killer Queen Revue: A Queen Burlesque Tribute
Cleveland Burlesque presents this Queen-themed burlesque show at 8:30 tonight at the Beachland Ballroom. 15711 Waterloo Rd., 216-383-1124, beachlandballroom.com.
Uncle Louie Variety Show, The Premier Old School Comedy Experience
Tonight at 8, comedians Lou Greco and Carlo Russo bring the latest version of their comedy show to the Hanna Theatre.
2067 East 14th St., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
SUN 11/17
Churchill
David Payne stars in this one-man show about the British leader who fought in the Boer War and then went on wage a virtual war with British politicians during his time as Prime Minister. Performances take place today at 2 and 6 p.m. at the Hanna Theatre. 2067 East 14th St., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
TUE 11/19
Charge vs. Windy City Bulls
Cleveland’s G League basketball team takes on the Windy City Bulls tonight at 7 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. 1 Center Court, 216-420-2000, rocketmortgagefieldhouse.com.
Outlab: Experiments in Improvised Music
Musicians are invited to bring instruments or any sound making device (drum kit and keyboard provided) that can be used to explore collective group improvisation. Please bring your own amps if needed. The monthly session begins at 8 tonight at the Bop Stop. Admission is free. 2920 Detroit Ave., 216-771-6551, themusicsettlement.org.
HOME COOKING
Cozumel brings a welcome dose of comfort and traditional Mexican to Cleveland Heights
By Douglas Trattner
WHEN
A
PROPERTY
AS prominent as the former Mojo/ Lopez spot in Cleveland Heights comes on the market, talk rapidly shifts to possibilities. In the days and weeks that followed the closure of that restaurant, the chatter in local coffee shops, bakeries and restaurants up and down Lee Road was dominated by the “wishing game.” Punters of all stripes tossed out best-case scenarios featuring big-name chefs, red-hot concepts and underrepresented cuisines. Ironically, few of the countless neighbors I spoke with in those days mentioned Mexican – and yet, when announced, the development seemed to have delighted the widest possible audience. And when the name Cozumel was revealed, the response was near-universal in joy – because when it comes to pleasure-dining, few restaurants manage to cultivate joy better than this home-grown brand.
While Northeast Ohio has no shortage of locally owned Mexican restaurants, Cozumel has risen to the top thanks a collection of well-run and well-placed locations that span the region. Partners Ramon Aguirre, Jaime Delapaz and Martin Soto opened their first store in Broadview Heights in 2001. They went on to open seven more locations, from Westlake to Brunswick. So when the opportunity to open a location on the east side of town arose, the owners pounced on it.
Since opening in September, Lee Road’s newcomer has been reliably busy, with diners filling the seats both inside the dining room and out on the unseasonably warm patio. The owners are a frequent sight at the restaurant, seeding the place with a culture of service, hospitality and comfort that diners have come to expect from the brand. While
each location has its own staff, charms and quirks, they all dish up the same roster of approachable, affordable and satisfying Mexican and Tex-Mex-style foods. With this location – and Parma before it – Cozumel has adopted a more contemporary if spare décor, leaving behind the dark woods, faux stone and kitschy trimmings.
Unlike most restaurant groups that reach this size, Cozumel has avoided the adoption of a commissary, those centralized kitchens that prepare foods in bulk for multiple locations. Instead, they prefer to fry the chips, blend the salsas, steam the tamales and roll the burritos onsite to ensure freshness.
We all know that the number one reason we head to the neighborhood taqueria is for the bottomless chips and salsa. At Cozumel, baskets of warm, thin, crisp and not-toosalty chips land on the table within moments. The house salsa is fresh and bright, but for a bigger kick diners can request versions made with habanero or chile de arbol.
To start, there’s queso fundido,
ceviche, taquitos and a unique “chunk” guacamole ($9.85) that features large pieces of avocado, onion, bell pepper and a choice of corn, mango or jalapeno. The Cozumel soup ($4.75) combines a flavorful broth with tender shredded chicken, pico de gallo and rice. It’s topped with tortilla chips. Poblanos are stuffed with cheese and served with ranchero sauce as an appetizer ($3.90) or transformed into an entrée ($17.95) with the addition of ground beef inside and rice and beans on the side.
There are few more expansive menus than this one, jammed with items like tacos, quesadillas, burritos, enchiladas, tostadas and chalupas that can be filled, mixed and matched in near-limitless ways. Fajita lovers have their pick of meat or seafood – or can opt for combos like beef and chicken ($21.55). The customary sizzling platter is loaded with meat and crisp-tender bell peppers, grilled onions and mushrooms. A shrimp and garlic dish ($23.95) is every bit as fresh, fragrant and appealing as those enjoyed in beach towns up and
down the Riviera Maya. Carnitasfilled enchiladas Aztecas ($15.75) are capped with housemade chorizo, tomatillo sauce and melted cheese. Cozumel quietly launched birria tacos last year as a “secret menu” item, but the favorable response promoted the dish to regular status. An order ($15) includes three soft corn-tortilla wrapped tacos filled with tender braised beef, diced onions and fresh cilantro. Dunking them into the accompanying consommé turns them into drippy flavor bombs.
It’s been said that we often don’t know what we want until it lands on our doorstep. For residents in the food-obsessed neighborhood of Cleveland Heights, that seems to be the case with Cozumel. Few cuisines manage to gratify such a diverse group of diners as does traditional Mexican. And given that Cozumel serves lunch and dinner seven days a week, the door is always open to fans young and old, seasoned and new.
Photo by Doug Trattner
COZUMEL MEXICAN RESTAURANT
CLEVELAND INDEPENDENTS
BITES
Urban Meyer’s Pint House coming to Gateway District
By Douglas Trattner
BACK IN APRIL, SAUCY BREW
Works purchased Urban Meyer’s Pint House and last week the local brewery announced plans to import the Columbus-based brand to downtown Cleveland.
Opened in 2019, and located in Bridge Park in Dublin, Urban Meyer’s Pint House has become a gameday destination for those in and around that northwest suburb. Saucy CEO Brent Zimmerman is confident that the Cleveland location will be just as popular.
“There are rabid Buckeye fans in Cleveland, Ohio, and surrounding areas,” he explains. “Saucy is packed every single Buckeyes game. And we’ll be the most elevated sports-watching experience that exists in Cleveland.”
Founded in 2017 in Ohio City, Saucy Brew Works has since expanded its footprint with taprooms and brewpubs in Columbus, Sandusky, Pinecrest and elsewhere. When the opportunity to add a new venture downtown arose, Zimmerman was more than eager. He and his team have just embarked on a project to turn the former Winking Lizard space in the Gateway District to the newest Urban Meyer’s Pint House. The space at 820 Prospect has been vacant since the Lizard closed in 2021.
“I look at a lot of things all the time and this opportunity is the most exciting in what’s out there right now,” he says. “This location is amazing. The foot traffic is eight times more than our Ohio City location. It’s a missing tooth that needs to be activated.”
Zimmerman says that the new Pint House will have the same spirit, tone and purpose as the original but added that the Columbus restaurant is seven years old and the layout of the Cleveland location will dictate the overall design. It’s a massive property with three floors that can be used for dining, private events and office space for Saucy Brew Works. Fully booked, the restaurant can entertain up to 500 people. Like the original, the restaurant will have a “7-0 Room,” honoring Meyer’s winning record over the team up north.
The goal is to open around summer of 2025.
Tom’s Watch Bar Coming to Downtown Cleveland
Last week, the K & D Group out of Willoughby announced that it has signed a lease with Tom’s Watch Bar, a nationally recognized leader in the sports-bar category. The bar will be claiming nearly 5,000 square feet of the Electric Building at 700 Prospect Ave.
K & D is undertaking a $40-million renovation project of the Electric Building, the main floor of which was home to the United Church of Christ. In fact, Tom’s Watch Bar will be located in the former chapel space.
Founded in 2014, Tom’s Watch Bar is billed as “the ultimate sports-watching entertainment experience.” They are known for airing everything from college football games to big prize fights and everything in between. Those games, events and championships are viewed on a massive oversized stadium screen alongside hundreds of other screens to create a 360-degree viewing experience.
Tom’s Watch Bar offers a large selection of domestic, imported and craft beers, all of which are available in a two-handed 40-ounce stein. The food menu offers traditional sports bar fare like wings, salads, burgers, tacos and chicken clubs.
No word on when the kickoff will be.
Good Pizza to Open on East 4th Street
For the past year or so, Charlie Anderson has been hosting pizza pop-ups under the name Good Pizza at places like Bookhouse Brewing, Tapster and Edda Coffee. Come January, he will begin operating under the same name but in a brick-andmortar shop of his own.
Today, Anderson gets the keys to the former Citizen Pie Roman Café storefront on E. 4th St., which closed this past summer after four years.
“I’m excited about it,” Anderson says. “It was really just a matter
of finding the right space and this opportunity came up.”
To many home cooks, the name Charlie Anderson invites high praise. His YouTube channel has amassed 170,000 subscribers since its launch in 2019, where it is a well-regarded source of how-to content for people who want to make New York-style pizza at home.
Anderson describes his pizza as an “artisan take on the classic New York pizza,” mentioning buzzworthy places like Scarr’s, L’industrie and Mama’s TOO! as paragons of the category.
“Our goal is to bring extremely high-quality pizza by the slice to downtown,” he explains. “I want to change the way people think about pizza. A lot of people think it’s greasy, heavy junk food. Our pizza is a lot different from that. We approach it from a different perspective, using the highest quality ingredients, made with a lot of care and you don’t feel bad after eating it.”
When he opens this winter, Anderson will offer 18-inch pies by the slice and whole. He will launch with a concise menu of five standard flavors: Margherita, pepperoni, spicy vodka, marinara and white. He will also offer one seasonal pie, such as fig and bacon, peaches and cream, corn and more.
There will be a couple house-made desserts and possibly salads if the demand is there, he adds.
The space is essentially turnkey, but Anderson says that he plans to make some small aesthetic tweaks to give the space the feel of a modern New York slice shop.
If you want to sample Anderson’s pizza, he will be hosting one more pop-up on November 8 at Bookhouse Brewing. The event runs 5-9 p.m. or until sold out.
Coppia Moving to New Location to Expand Fine-Dining Offerings
Over the past three years, Chefs
Photo
Hedy and Talia Trovato have built Coppia, their fine-dining restaurant in Chesterland, into an east-side favorite and destination for diners coming from all across Northeast Ohio.
Come early next year, it will have a new home as they finish construction that they say will allow them to more effectively deliver on their mission.
While the owners are electing to keep some details quiet for now –including the precise location – they have shared that the newly built restaurant will have a 50-seat dining room with “modern-organic design.”
“Coppia is, and always was, so much more than a passion project for us,” Hedy Trovato told Scene. “This restaurant makes up a vast part of our lives and is a self-expression of us as chefs.”
“From the very beginning we imagined a fine dining experience where the food, service and atmosphere were completely harmonious,” she added. “During our time in Chesterland, we did start to noticeably outgrow our kitchen and dining room space. So we wanted to design an area that could allow our concept to keep growing and moving forward.”
The room will also boast an 8-seat chef’s table. Like the original, the fine-dining eatery will feature seasonally changing a la carte and tasting menus paired with signature cocktails and sommelier selected wines.
We’ll keep you updated as the chefs offer updates and more information on the location and expected opening date.
As for now, the restaurant in Chesterland continues to hum along as always.
Courtesy
MUSIC
FASTER AND HARDER
Local post hardcore group celebrates release of second album with Grog Shop show
By Jeff Niesel
MUD WHALE SINGER-GUITARIST
Michael Morris says he didn’t plan on starting a band after moving to Cleveland from Cincinnati a few years ago. But he started playing with coworkers in 2019, and that group blossomed in Mud Whale, a terrific local post hardcore band that will celebrate the release of its second album, Humans Pretending to Be Humans, with a show on Saturday, Nov. 16, at the Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights. Locals Sonder Bombs and I Hate It Too open.
“I missed [playing music], and I found those guys on [the debut album, 2021’s Everything in Moderation] on Craigslist,” says Morris via phone. He cites Circa Survive, Coheed and Cambria, and My Chemical Romance as some of his favorite bands. “One of the guys stayed. [Bassist] Joe [Hanson] has been on both albums now. It took me a couple of years to get going, but once
I found the right people, it’s been smooth sailing.”
For Humans, the band sought to push musical boundaries a little further.
“I wanted the songs to be a little heavier and a little faster and a little harder,” says Morris. “I wanted them to be quicker and catchier.”
Like Everything in Moderation, Humans features unique album art from Cleveland-born artist Kit Mizeres. For Humans, she drew a fox with its tongue out.
“Basically, when we were writing the first album, I found this artist on Instagram,” says Morris when asked about Mizeres. “She backpacks around Europe and Russia. I hit her up and did not think she would work with us. We were a nobody band. She was game for it and an absolute joy to work with. I brought her back for the second album. I let her do whatever she wants to do. I just gave her the songs and lyrics. It’s a direct translation of what she heard and read. I thought it was really cool.”
Guitarist Justin Cheuvront engineered the whole album; the band recorded and produced the album itself.
“We had some friends come in for extra vocals,” says Morris. “We had a friend do a string quartet on one of the songs. We sent it off to be mixed by Mark Michalik, who’s worked with the bands Into It. Over It. and Their/ They’re/There. Those guys are pretty integral parts of the emo scene, so it was a dream come true having someone work on our album that brought some of our favorite music to life.”
The album’s first single “Checking In” it starts and stops with a dynamic interplay of guitars, bass and drums.
“The song is about being there for your friends and giving them an ear when they need to vent,” says Morris. “It’s about loving them unconditionally. I feel like I was listening to a lot of [the emo band] Modern Baseball, and I liked their energy. I don’t know if the song really sounds a lot like them. I wanted to capture that angsty energy with a positive spin in the lyrics.”
The Nirvana-like Smoke Signals represents an emotional flip side to “Checking In.”
“That song is a reflection on being there for someone over and over again, but they never show up for you when you need them,” says Morris. “It’s about a lopsided relationship. It’s been getting
a lot of comparisons to Nirvana, which looking back was probably a subconscious inspiration. I wanted a little bit of a Turnstile vibe, so I guess it’s a mesh of Nirvana and Turnstile.”
“Sacrifice” takes a Sonic Youth-like approach with its wall of noisy guitars.
“That one is about being in this purgatory and being chased by these monsters. Even if you get out, you wake back up, and you’re still there,” says Morris. “It’s this endless cycle. It was inspired by this video game Dead by Daylight. That’s the loose premise of the video game. I wanted to capture that sense of danger and fear. That connects well with the noisy, sporadic, chaotic guitar.”
Given the momentum that the group has picked up with this new album, it makes sense that the band will play the album in its entirety at the release show.
“We are super excited and we’re so excited to have music with [guitarist] Justin [Cheuvront] and [drummer] Avery [Sylvaine] on it,” says Morris. “They took our sound and bumped it up to the next level on top of everything else we were doing to change things around. We’re very stoked on it.” jniesel@clevescene.com
Mud Whale.|Murphy Gerrasch (Instagram: @bardicroots)
LIVEWIRE Real music in the real world
THU 11/07
Jimmy Webb
Famous for having written tunes such as “Up, Up and Away” and “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” in the ‘60s, singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb comes to the Kent Stage tonight at 6:30. Expect to hear the stories behind the songs as well; Webb has even written a memoir about his lengthy career. 175 E. Main St., Kent, 330-677-5005, kentstage.org.
FRI 11/08
Cursive
Shortly after forming nearly 30 years ago, Cursive started blending
musical styles such as posthardcore and indie rock on albums such as 2000’s Domestica and 2003’s The Ugly Organ. For its latest effort, Devourer, the band initially wrote nearly 70 songs before editing things to a more manageable 13 gemre-defying tunes that appear on the album. The indie rock act performs tonight at 8:30 at the Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights. Gladie opens. 2785 Euclid Heights Blvd., Cleveland Heights, 216-321-5588, grogshop.gs.
Elle King: Baby Daddy’s Weekend Tour Singer-songwriter Elle King’s debut album, Love Stuff, featured her breakthrough single “Ex’s & Oh’s,” which earned two Grammy nominations and became a huge hit. Co-written with friend Pillbox Patti,
“Baby Daddy’s Weekend,” King’s latest single emphasizes the country side of her sound and finds King rapping and singing her way through the twangy party tune. She performs tonight at 8 at TempleLive at the Cleveland Masonic.
3615 Euclid Ave., 216-881-6350, masoniccleveland.com.
Jessie Murph
After playing a handful of major festivals over the summer, including Governor’s Ball, Boston Calling and BottleRock, this Alabama native is back on the road for a fall tour. Her soulful single “Wild Ones” with Jelly Roll has become a big hit thanks to its thumping bass and Murph’s drawling vocals. The singer-songwriter performs tonight at 7 at the Agora. 5000
Euclid Ave., 216-881-2221, agoracleveland.com.
SAT 11/09
Brian Henke’s Woodchopper’s Ball
The 23rd annual Woodchopper’s Ball benefit for the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless takes place tonight at 6 at the Kent Stage. The event features award-winning acoustic guitarists such as host Brian Henke. 175 E. Main St., Kent, 330-677-5005, kentstage.org.
Chayla Hope & CYO’s Lo-Fi Mix Tape
The local singer-songwriter with a powerful, soul-filled voice performs tonight at 6:30 at the Agora with the Contemporary Youth Orchestra back-
Cursive comes to the Grog Shop. See: Friday, Nov. 8|Bill Sitzmann
ing her up. We can’t imagine a better pairing since Hope’s voice already packs a punch.
5000 Euclid Ave., 216-881-2221, agoracleveland.com.
Michigander
Michigander, the name under which singer-songwriter Jason Smith tours and records, spent the year touring with acts such as Crowded House, Band of Horses, and the Head and the Heart. A full-length debut will arrive in early 2025, so you can expect to hear songs from it when the group performs tonight at 8 at the Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights.
2785 Euclid Heights Blvd., Cleveland Heights, 216-321-5588, grogshop.gs.
SUN 11/10
Patty Griffin/Hayes Carll/Lori McKenna
These three talented singersongwriters have teamed up for a tour that finds them sharing the stage and playing each other’s songs. The show begins tonight at 6:30 at the Kent Stage. 175 E. Main St., Kent, 330-6775005, kentstage.org.
TUE 11/12
Pop Evil and Bad Wolves
Produced by Wage War’s Cody Quistad, “What Remains,” the latest tune from the rock act Pop Evil comes off like a poppier Nine Inch Nails as the group dabbles in industrial rock for the tune, which sounds ready made for a Fast and Furious soundtrack. Pop Evil and the hard rock act Bad Wolves, which just teamed up with Daughtry for the power ballad “Hungry for Life,” bring their coheadlining tour to TempleLive at the Cleveland Masonic. Sierra Pilot and Onji open. 3615 Euclid Ave., 216-8816350, masoniccleveland.com.
THU 11/14
Shemekia Copeland
Blame It on Eve, the latest offering from this singer-songwriter, features 10 new originals, plus covers of tunes by Stevie Wonder and Copeland’s father, Johnny Copeland. Will Kimbrough (who produced her three previous albums) helmed the sessions, and the guests include guitar hotshots Luther Dickinson and Charlie Hunter, Americana superstar Alejandro Escovedo, lap steel legend Jerry Douglas and sacred steel up-andcomer DaShawn Hickman. Copeland performs tonight at 7:30 at Music Box Supper Club.
1148 Main Ave., 216-242-1250,
Kenny G
The smooth jazz man brings his Miracles Holiday and Hits tour to MGM Northfield Park — Center Stage tonight at 7:30. The guy’s professional career began respectfully with Barry White back in the ‘70s. Since becoming a solo artist in the early ‘80s, Kenny G has become a superstar, and his first holiday album, 1994’s Miracles: The Holiday Album, was a monster hit.
10705 Northfield Rd., Northfield, 330-908-7793, mgmnorthfieldpark. mgmresorts.com/en.html.
FRI 11/15
Mary Bridget Davies Live in Concert: Janis to Alanis
Promoting her new compilation album, Don’t Compromise Yourself, singer-songwriter Mary Bridget Davies comes to the Beck Center tonight at 8 for a special concert. The show repeats tomorrow at the same time.
17801 Detroit Ave., Lakewood, 216-5212540, beckcenter.org.
Warrant with Lita Ford and Nelson Hair metal holdovers Warrant headline this show that also features guitar hero Lita Forld and Nelson. The show begins at 8 p.m. at MGM Northfield Park — Center Stage.
10705 Northfield Rd., Northfield, 330-908-7793, mgmnorthfieldpark. mgmresorts.com/en.html.
SAT 11/16
John Beasley’s MONK’estra
Grammy winning pianist John Beasley pays tribute to jazz great Thelonious Monk with a show dubbed MONK’estra. In addition to jazz, Beasley plays Afro-Cuban music and hip-hop. The concert begins tonight at 7:30 at Tri-C’s Metro Campus Auditorium. 2900 Community College Ave., 216-987-6000, tri-c.edu.
Disfunktional Third Birthday with Marshall Jefferson
Marshall Jefferson, a producer and DJ who’s widely regarded as the godfather of house music, headlines this special event marking the “birthday” of the local dance party dubbed Disfunktional. Andre Leone, Le Mew, MIKEONE, Red Tailed Hawk Luna, and the event begins at 9 p.m. at Crobar.
3244 St. Clair, 216-771-4727, crobar1921. com.
scene@clevescene.com
t@clevelandscene
SAVAGE LOVE
QUICKIES
By Dan Savage
1. This debate is raging again, Dan, and we need you to issue a ruling: Do straight women belong in gay bars?
Some (straight women, gay bars), not all (straight women, gay bars).
2. Why do men keep ghosting me after sex? I’m a 25-year-old woman.
No clue. You could’ve had a string of bad luck — and fucked half a dozen (or more) shitty guys in a row — or it could be something you’re doing wrong. Even if you don’t think you’re doing anything wrong, once you’ve noticed a pattern of behavior and/or results that makes you unhappy, it’s a good idea to make some changes. Make an effort to meet different kinds of guys in different kinds of way, slow your roll/slow your hole, and be take some time along the way to engage in constructive introspection and make further changes/course corrections, as needed.
3. How do I stop people from falling in love with me when they meet me?
Put that MAGA hat on.
4. Do all straight men secretly want something up the ass?
Considering that not all gay men want something up the ass — not tongues, not dicks, not toys — I feel pretty confident saying not all straight men want something up the ass. What’s different now is that straight men who do want something up their asses are less likely to feel shame and more likely to ask people — randos, FWBs, sex workers, romantic partners, spouses, etc. — to put something up their asses.
5. How do you stop wanting what you can’t have?
By focusing on something you can actually get — or someone you can actually get — and then willing yourself to believe you wanted this other something/someone as much or more than you wanted the something/someone you couldn’t have.
6. How do I stay GGG even though I hate getting any kind of hair — including mine — in my mouth? The longer the hair, the worse it feels!
Three options come to mind: seek out sex partners with alopecia; keep a hair clipper in on bathroom sink and tell new sex partners a quick trim gets them oral; or make a kinky virtue of irrational hangup and actively pursue perverts who get off on being ordered to keep their bodies hairless.
7. Are friends of exes or exes of friends always off limits?
No and no — and since anyone who believes they can declare exes or friends off limits needs to learn that they don’t actually have the power to do that, you’re doing people like that a favor when you fuck their friends and exes.
8. Is it okay to set up an online dating profile just to see what’s out there?
It is — but going places and doing things, e.g., joining and volunteering and partying, re-
mains the single best way to see what’s out there.
9. My wife lost all interest in sex ten years ago but insists I remain monogamous. Arguments often end with her angrily saying, “No one owes you sex.” What can I say in response to that?
“No one owes you celibacy.”
10. How do you discreetly sniff an uncut cock? Dick cheese is awful.
When someone says, “I wanna inhale your cock,” it’s typically not meant literally. (No one wants to aspirate a dick.) Another expression that usually isn’t meant literally: “Passing the smell test.” But if you’re gonna be face down in someone’s crotch, you’re gonna inhale at some point... so, why not inhale right away? And if someone fails that smell test, tell them to go jump in the shower — unless you consider showing up with a dirty dick in the first place to be disqualifying, in which case you can and should tell them to take their dirty dick elsewhere.
11. Just went exclusive with a new partner last night and this morning an old sexy fling hit me up. For fuck’s sake! What do I do?
If a single text message from a long-ago fling was all it took to make you regret going exclusive with your new partner last night… it was quite obviously a mistake to go exclusive with your new partner at all.
12. What websites should I use to post my foot photos to make $$$?
“I’ve done it — I’ve sold some foot pics — and there can be some money in it,” said Tyler Tanner, who has been creating, sharing, and monetizing his adult content online for three years. “The best places to post foot photos would be OnlyFans and maybe Feetfinder. But whether you make money or not really depends on how good you are at marketing, just like any other product!”
Tyler Tanner is on Instagram and YouTube @TylerTannerX.
13. How admirable is it to work as a fetish porn star in 2024?
A fetish porn star — or a humble porn content creator — is more admirable than a rightwing standup comic.
14. How to keep the sex life alive on the long, hard road to conceiving with infertility issues?
If you’ve been trying to conceive the old-fashioned way for a while, vaginal intercourse may feel like a chore. If you’ve moved on to fertility treatments like IUI or IVF, vaginal intercourse at least for the moment — may symbolize of your failure to conceive without assistance. My advice: take PIV off the menu and enjoy other kinds of sex that symbolize (and provide) pure pleasure, i.e., oral sex, mutual masturbation, frottage, anal play (if you’re into that), etc.
15. I’ve always wanted a straight man to use me as the faggot I’m meant to be used as. I wanna beg him to stop and for him to just get rougher the more I beg. I’m done when he says I’m done.
Thanks for sharing — and since very few actual straight men would ever wanna use you the way you describe wanting to be used, you can jack off all you want about this CNC scene, secure in the knowledge that it’s never gonna happen. 16. A friend drunkenly confessed having feelings for me. This person happens to be a close childhood friend’s ex-partner. We actually met me through my childhood friend. Part of me
feels giddy about this confession (I like this person!), but I would never want to hurt or betray my childhood friend. Should I tell my childhood friend what happened and seek their blessing? Or should I distance myself from the friend that confessed feelings?
If you wanna date this person, you should date this person. You should give your close childhood friend a heads up — as a courtesy — but your childhood friend doesn’t have a veto and, if they’re a good friend, they won’t want a veto.
17. What’s the best way to find a loaf of gay bread and make a fuck sandwich? Gay guy here who wants to be the meat in one.
My single gay friends are constantly complaining to me — of all people — that they never meet single-and-available guys online or out in the bars. All they’re meeting are partnered guys in open relationships and/or couples seeking thirds for an evening, a weekend, or a lifetime. So, finding that loaf of gay bread — finding a gay couple seeking meat — shouldn’t be that hard. Get on the apps, go the bars.
18. His libido is much lower than mine. Could this work over the long term? I feel rejected.
If what you were feeling was deprived, opening the relationship up could resolve those feelings, since being with your partner wouldn’t mean being deprived of sex, allowing the relationship — barring other issues —to work over the long term. But if what you’re feeling is rejected, opening things up is unlikely to make you feel better in the short or long term, since your primary partner wouldn’t be any more interested in fucking you than they already are.
19. I’m a 35-year-old married transgender man. I started my transition when I was in my 20s. My wife is 100% straight. I’ve recently started being open about being queer and being attracted to men. As I get older, I keep finding myself longing to fuck a cis man. At times it’s the only thought that gets me turned on. I’ve been married for ten years. My wife is pretty uptight. Open relationships and ENM is NOT an option. What do I do? Suck it up?
You have exactly three options: honor the monogamous commitment you made (and suck it the fuck up), dishonor the monogamous commitment you made (and risk getting caught), or issue an ultimatum and demand some degree of openness (and risk getting divorced). I wish there were another option — people write every day hoping that I’ll find a magical fourth option that doesn’t involve going without, becoming a cheating piece of shit, or issuing painful ultimatums that could blow up their marriages — but there are only these three options.
20. I’m a mid-thirties gay male. I recently finally came to terms with my sexuality. I was previously married to a woman for ten years and we were monogamous the whole time and had a pretty normal sex life. But as soon as I had gay sex, it felt natural to me. My biggest concern is that I get so in my head when I have sex with men, especially when it comes to topping. This often results in me losing my erection. I’ve tried Viagra and Cialis, and they’ve helped but there have been times that I take the meds and even then, I’ll lose the erection. How do I enjoy the moment if I’m constantly worried I’ll lose my erection? By telling yourself you can enjoy the moment
and enjoy the man — even if you don’t have an erection.
21. Is it okay to use the same sex toys you’ve used with your ex when you’re with a new person?
Yes.
22. I started dating a guy seven months ago and three months in we were arguing constantly. Every time something went wrong, he would say he was done with me, and I would block him. Then he would text me from a different number, claim he didn’t mean it, and tell me he loved me. What should I do?
Stop falling for it/him.
23. On the homepage of pornhub.com the word “step” (as in stepmom, stepbrother, stepsister) appears 12 times. Is fauxcest really what everybody wants? When did this happen, and why?
Someone — I think it was a Savage Love reader — observed that stepparent and stepsibling scenarios brought a veneer of transgression and eroticized power imbalances to what would otherwise be regarded as straightforward vanilla sex.
24. What is the best way to celebrate getting divorced from a narcissistic MAGA man? I’m considering inviting men over to jack it in every room of the house. Works for me.
25. Husband is flirty with a trans male friend. Do I let him have a free pass? We’re not open currently.
You could offer your husband a free pass but don’t be surprised if he declines to use it. Sometimes people in closed relationships flirt not because they wish they could, but because they know they can’t.
26. What’s the best way to respond — or the best thing to say to — a hosting dogdad hookup whose dog is “friendly,” aka bad behaved, no manners, jumping all over you?
If the sex was good: “My place next time, ‘kay?” If the sex was bad: “Nice to meet you, bye.”
27. Is it rude to ask to borrow a hookup’s douche if you’re out of town and not prepared? Perhaps — but since shitting on someone’s dick would be far ruder, you should err on the side of asking to use their douche.
28. Any tips for mind-blowing blowjobs? I’ve never shared “mind-blowing tips” because, when it comes to sex, one person’s mind-blowing sex move is another person’s worst sexual experience of all time. Mind-blowing sex only happens when two (or more) people with basic levels of sexual competence communicate with each other (or the group) about what they wanna do or have done to them and what they’re willing to try.
P.S. The best blowjob is 25-50% handjob. 29. Can I eat ass and pussy in the same session?
You can but you shouldn’t.
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