Scene March 9, 2016

March 9 - 15, 2016 • Volume 45 Issue 36

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M A R C H 9 - 15, 2 016 • VO LU M E 4 6 N o 3 6

Publisher Chris Keating Associate Publisher Desiree Bourgeois

CONTENTS Upfront

Editor Vince Grzegorek

Patch reinvests in local news, mayor sets State of the City, and more

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

News

14

Feature

21

Get Out!

33

Art

38

Stage

39

Film

41

Dining

43

Music

51

The Cuyahoga Heights school board is haunted by dysfunction

Advertising Senior Multimedia Account Executive John Crobar, Shayne Rose Multimedia Account Executives Kiara Hunter-Davis, Joseph Williamson

Our guide to the highs and lows of St. Patrick’s Day in Cleveland

Creative Services Production Manager Steve Miluch Layout Editor/Graphic Designer Christine Hahn Staff Photographer Emanuel Wallace Business Asst. To The Publisher Angela Lott Sales Assistant/Receptionist Megan Stimac

Dozens of events spanning the next week in Cleveland

Circulation Circulation Director Don Kriss Euclid Media Group Chief Executive Officer Andrew Zelman Chief Operating Officers Chris Keating, Michael Wagner Human Resources Director Lisa Beilstein 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 & Classified Fax 216-241-6275 Editoral Fax 216-802-7212 E-mail scene@clevescene.com

Zygote Press celebrates 20 years with special event this week

A custody fight lights a fire in Luna Gale

Cleveland Scene Magazine is published every week by Euclid Media Group.

6

Embrace of the Serpent is languorous postcolonial saga

Verified 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 2016 by Euclid Media Group. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Publisher does not assume any liability for unsolicited manuscripts, materials, or other content. Any submission must include a stamped, selfaddressed envelope. All editorial, advertising, and business correspondence should be mailed to the address listed above.

Subscriptions $150 (1 yr); $ 80 (6 mos.) Send name, address and zip code with check or money order to the address listed above with the title ‘Attn: Subscription Department’

The path to perfect pizza at In Forno in Avon

Local indie rockers New Planet Trampoline re-record a long-lost album

Savage Love

Unpacking the rape fantasy Printed By

248-620-2990

56 ...The story continues at clevescene.com Take

68

SCENE with you with our iPad app!

“Cleveland Scene Magazine” COVER BY CHRISTINE HAHN

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Dedicated to Free Times founder Richard H. Siegel (1935-1993) and Scene founder Richard Kabat

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UPFRONT LAKEWOOD CITY COUNCIL PLACES REFERENDUM ON NOVEMBER BALLOT

THIS WEEK

IN A BIZARRE AND WHOLLY expected move, Lakewood City Council voted this week to place a referendum on the Lakewood Hospital closure on the November 2016 ballot — 11 months after the decision to close the hospital was unanimously approved.

There are two things happening here: 1. The “wind-down” and ultimate closure of the hospital’s operations will be fairly complete by then. 2. Law Director Kevin Butler has staked his position that the contract between the city, the Cleveland Clinic and the Lakewood Hospital Association is binding and that the “moving parts” of that contract are already “moving.”

Both of those points are true, but the voter referendum process -- supported by 2,868 certified signatures from Lakewood residents -- is “moving,” too.

With two trains -- the contract and the vote -- set to collide in the distant future, it’s unclear what will happen if the people side with the Save Lakewood Hospital campaign. (Last November, voters shot down Issue 64, a charter amendment that would have forced a referendum in the event of a council vote to shutter the hospital. A slim majority of 52 percent of voters came out against the measure.)

On Monday night, local attorney Gerald Phillips lit into council members, echoing many community members’ statements about the “malfeasance” surrounding the hospital deal -- including the “use of the Lakewood Hospital Foundation investments funds of $50 million to bootstrap the construction of the Cleveland Clinic wellness center of approximately $34 million dollars; in essence the Cleveland Clinic is using the Lakewood Hospital Foundation investment funds to finance their construction.”

The debate continues, somehow.

6

Photo by Eric Sandy

Chicagoland, will spearhead the local editorial operations.

“The one town-one editor model wasn’t sustainable for the company, but Patch could grow the local team in the future,” St. John told Crain’s. “The site will also draw support from the breaking news desk in New York and will likely make use of freelancers.

There aren’t current plans to add local salespeople.”

Sounds like a real “lean” and “high-metabolism” outfit, and one which gleefully touts its “startup” vibe to boot. In general, we’re delighted by more reporters covering Cleveland — this town needs them more desperately than ever — but our hearts go out to Teagno, who must now keep something like editorial tabs on points as diverse as North Canton, Mentor and Avon Lake.

Godspeed.

STATE OF THE CITY PSA

LOCAL NEWS COMPANY PATCH REINVESTS LIGHTLY IN OHIO Expect to get reacquainted with Patch.com’s brand of hyperlocal content. In an interview this week with Crain’s Cleveland Business, Patch editor-in-chief Warren St. John said

that the network of websites (formerly an AOL affiliate) has hired a reporter to cover its 19 Ohio sites.

Leeann Teagno, a Kent State alum and digital marketing type who has worked for a diverse roster of companies in Northeast Ohio and

Mayor Frank Jackson will give his 11th annual State of the City address Thursday at noon at the Cleveland Public Auditorium in an event co-sponsored by the City Club of Cleveland.

When Scene inquired whether Jackson would be giving a traditional address or delivering his remarks in the form of a Q&A, city spokesman Dan Williams advised that we’d have to show up to find out.

That’s par for the course. Last year, Scene and others raised their eyebrows when Jackson’s “address” turned out to be a conversation with KeyCorp President and CEO Beth Mooney. She wasn’t announced as Jackson’s interviewer until moments before they arrived on stage.

Jackson told members of the media last year that this year he might select a journalist to interview him or he might not. But our reservations about

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QUALITY OF LIFE

Plain Dealer gets passing mention in House of Cards Season 4.

Cleveland.com dispatches team of 18 to report on it.

Donald Trump lands in Cleveland for rally this Saturday. Suburban dads dusting off high school wrestling singlets in preparation for scuffles with reporters and “libtard” protesters.

Advance Ohio CEO Tim Knight appointed to Greater Cleveland Partnership board. GCP members “thrilled” about next month’s COSEsponsored Oreo taste test slideshow.

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the format itself – it robs the Mayor of his one chance to articulate his own agenda and priorities; it’s redundant, given the “traditional City Club Q&A” in which audience members ask questions – stand.

City Club CEO Dan Moulthrop said that in the organization’s effort to cultivate free speech, he invites all speakers and panelists “to work in the format that best helps them deliver their message and connect with the community.”

This is the second consecutive address at the Cleveland Public Auditorium, and though online registration is now closed, you are encouraged to make a last-ditch effort to attend by calling the City Club at (216) 621-0082.

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| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

This will be the week to watch Gov. John Kasich cement his second- or third-place status in the Republican primary field or fade back into Columbus. (We’ll miss the Michigan primary returns due to our print deadline, but that vote will surely set the course for Kasich’s next few days and weeks. Of all the Republican candidates, Kasich has spent the most time campaigning in Michigan.)

The goal for Kasich, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz ever since Super Tuesday has been to present themselves as the clear, favored alternate to frontrunner Donald Trump. Cruz’s numbers are coasting along quite nicely in the second-place slot, but Kasich’s plan for a few weeks now has been to snag a home-state win and leap past the Rubio-Cruz hurdle.

Meanwhile, Trump will bring his circus-style rally to the I-X Center this weekend, just days ahead of the vote. The Ohio primary will surely be a doozy.

CMA ANNOUNCES CLOSURE OF STUDIO PLAY AREA FOR CHILDREN; PARENTS NOT PLEASED Last week, the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) sparked quite a bit of outrage from concerned parents after announcing plans to temporarily close and remodel its Studio Play children’s area inside of Gallery One, the museum’s innovative gallery that combines art and technology. When the museum announced Studio Play 2.0 was being redesigned to engage all ages, parents raised numerous concerns in over 100 comments on the CMA’s Facebook post, the vast majority of which ranged from seriously concerned and disappointed to straight up angry.

Here’s one sample comment: “The Cleveland Museum of Art plans to close its only play space for children (Studio Play—filled with puzzles, tents, blocks, books, magnets, felt boards, puppets...) And replace it with media and technology for an older audience (which already exists and makes up the majority of Gallery One). There will be no space any longer for young children and families at the museum. Member families are extremely disappointed and upset. The Cleveland Museum of Art needs to have a space (free of technology, screens and media) for families and children—they need to be encouraging young families— the future of the museum— not discouraging them. The CMA promises that Studio Play 2.0 is more of an improvement than a complete overhaul.”

The museum has seen that stream of feedback and responded.

“Here at the Cleveland Museum of Art, we are committed to audiences of all ages, and remain deeply committed to children, families and to bringing them together to explore and discover art,” Caroline Guscott, director of communications explains. “The Studio Play section of the museum’s Gallery One is being renovated and will enhance the art experience for that important audience. The space will still be one for families to relax with books on comfortable furniture and will feature immersive familycentered activities and opportunities for parents to exercise creativity with young children. The new space builds on the same educational philosophy as Studio Play in an exciting and relevant way. It will allow visitors of all ages to closely examine art

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will continue to offer family programming, including Family Game Night, Second Sundays Family Days, Stroller Tours and Art Stories.

Every Thursday at 10:30 a.m., CMA’s Classroom B hosts Art Stories, a free story time for children, ages 2 to 5, and their grownups. (Commenters pointed out the Studio Play area was open during regular museum hours whereas Second Sundays are limited engagement.)

Replying to the outrage on social media, the CMA stated, “We see the renovation of Studio Play as an opportunity to make something good even better for all audiences, and we couldn’t be more excited about the reimagined space…The space will reopen to the public May 27 with dynamic new interactive games and activities for all ages that will preserve the best of what Studio Play had to offer and enhance it in a new, exciting and relevant way.

During this time, the rest of Gallery One remains open…We encourage you to visit CMA’s Facebook page and Twitter feed for regular updates on the new space and the exciting activities that you will be able to share with your children when it reopens in May. Thank you again for your feedback.”

The May 27 reopening will be in time for the museum’s Official Birthday Party on Tuesday, June 7 and Centennial Festival Weekend, Saturday, June 25, and Sunday, June 26. However, it should be noted now that Gallery One will close next year from January to March for a complete redesign. The 12,000 sq. ft. interactive exhibition space opened in early 2013 next to the 39,000 sq. ft. glass enclosed atrium – both part of the CMA’s approximately $330 million renovation and expansion.

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NEWS SEEKING SUNSHINE

Cuyahoga Heights school board still haunted by dysfunction and financial concerns

By Eric Sandy

14

that its only business was laundering Cuyahoga Heights school district money. $1.6 million.)

In all: “The District made 436 payments totaling $3,844,155 to seven companies related to Joseph Palazzo for which the District received no apparent goods or services,” according to a special audit conducted by the

wanted to return to coaching. (Rinella was finally approved in February, to thunderous rounds of applause.)

But the questions surrounding Thacker and Oden’s private email accounts and their frequent communications with the district’s attorney remain a confounding source of anger in the community. As the Rinella investigation toiled quietly onward, with no reports provided to the community, legal counsel was racking up thousands of dollars in wild goose chases.

The issue reached its boiling point when a single invoice for a month of legal communications ended up on the letterhead of two different law firms – with totally different presentations of information. Thacker and Oden – who sent emails to the treasurer insisting that that bill be paid -- have

Photo by Eric Sandy

EARLY IN THE FEB. 17 CUYAHOGA Heights school board meeting, district principals recognized the students of the month in a nice little ceremony.

One student shared with the audience a bit of advice. To paraphrase: “The longer you hide a mistake, the worse the consequences get. Tell the truth right away.” The prescience was stunning.

Something is rotten in the Cuyahoga Heights school district.

Helmed by the eminently joyless Dr. Holly Thacker, the school board acts like a narcissistic family arguing over Thanksgiving dinner. Still reeling from the district’s former technology director’s scheme to embezzle nearly $4 million from school coffers, the board has yet to reestablish any sense of trust with the community.

Thacker, a board president hellbent on micromanagement and the cartoonish use of her gavel during meetings, can’t seem to set the district’s governance on any meaningful course.

That former technology director, Joe Palazzo, played a multifaceted but simple game: He was granted mostly unrestricted access to capital funds, including, as a small example, a $100,000 open purchase order (later increased by nearly 100 percent), and he set to work altering invoices for a number of apparently tech-related purchases, like laptops for students.

Neither he nor the board sought competitive bids for most of these purchases, records show, and very little of what Palazzo “bought” ever ended up on school property.

Palazzo had worked out a routine where he would physically pick up the checks from the treasurer’s office and run them off to any number of shell companies that would later route the money right back to him and his brother, Dominick Palazzo, and others. There was no oversight. One current school employee characterized the treasurer’s office at that time as lax. (To illustrate the depth of this plan, the district issued 156 checks totaling $1,629,474 to a company called Laptops and More Inc. between 2007 and 2011. The company had been registered with the state by Dominick Palazzo. Bank records show

are mired in an ongoing scandal over district attorney’s fees and the use of their private email accounts for board business. It’s a scandal almost entirely of Thacker’s making. The rest of the board is playing catch-up with public records requests and trying to piece together what sort of legal work their taxpaying constituents are paying for.

Schuckert is vocal with her calls for open discussion of the situation.

With Gary Suchocki, the two form something of an alliance, much in the way that characters on MTV’s Real World would do early in the season. James Lawrence, the Anthony Kennedy of the board, remains quiet most of the time, but it’s his vote that tips the balance, 3-2, one way or the other.

What stands today is a scatterbrained board that serves more

The Cuyahoga Heights school board, led by Dr. Holly Thacker, is a mess.

state. “Additionally, a review of bank records disclosed 347 payments totaling $1,308,194 from four of these companies to Mr. Palazzo after District payments were received by the vendors.”

“It stuns the conscience,” State Auditor Dave Yost told the community in announcing his office’s findings in 2012.

But that was then. Palazzo is serving an 11-year federal prison sentence now. The problem, though, is that his brand of dubious recordkeeping remains part and parcel of the school board’s machinations.

Despite the audits and the years of public outcry, the board is haunted by dysfunction.

Last November, Lyndie Schuckert was elected to the Cuyahoga Heights school board. She brought with her a demand for transparency and open government – a natural foil to Thacker’s six-year reign.

Thacker and former board president Tim Oden form something of a power bloc on the board. It’s fascinating to watch them align during board discussions. Currently, though, they

| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

for entertainment purposes than school district governance. Board meetings are theater in Cuyahoga Heights, where angry taxpayers can’t help but laugh as Thacker humblebrags her way through explanations of Robert’s Rules of Order, gavel in hand.

“What are we hiding?” Lyndie Schuckert asked, sort of rhetorically but not really, at the Jan. 20 meeting.

Here’s what they’re hiding: Last year, the board – led by Thacker -- continually voted down assistant football coach Anthony Rinella’s supplemental contract. Thacker opened an investigation into Rinella’s background, racking up thousands of dollars in legal fees with very little in the way of results. To date, nothing has come back that would incriminate Rinella in any way, and he has no connection to the Palazzo scheme. It’s unclear to the community and to some board members why Thacker pursued this investigation in the first place.

This grandiose plot stoked the ire of residents, who began to fill out the seats at board meetings each month and rally around Rinella, who just

been repeatedly questioned about this documentation anomaly. They have never accounted for it.

But with board meetings that play out more like Barnum and Bailey theatrics than leadership “for the students,” Cuyahoga Heights is among the more curious sources of small-town politics in Northeast Ohio.

(Thacker is presently running for the Ohio Republican Party’s state central committee District 24.) There’s no sense of clarity as to how the rest of the year will pan out.

Based on previous meetings, Schuckert’s rallying cries for transparency won’t slow down. And the people’s support for her cause isn’t going anywhere.

“When you act as an entire board... you create an unhealthy environment,” she told Thacker at the Feb. 17 meeting. “I feel absolutely devastated by how bad things truly are.”

The next board meeting is March 16 at Cuyahoga Heights High School.

esandy@clevescene.com t@ericsandy

| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

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BASTARD BEARDED IRISHMEN

Original and ferocious blend of rock, punk, acoustic and traditional, as well as contemporary Celtic sounds

II a.m. at THE SPAZMATICS

Awesome 80s tunes that will make you want to break out your bangle bracelets and parachute pants!

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THE BOYS FROM THE COUNTY HELL

Pogues tribute band playing Irish punk and rock tunes

i p.m. at The party you’ve been training for kicks off at 6 a.m.

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| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

Start your party at 8 a.m. with Kegs & Eggs

Doors open at 10:30 a.m. with specials and a live DJ

FEATURE THE ST. PAT’S SURVIVAL GUIDE

Tips and tricks of the trade for safely enjoying the festivities

By Scene Staff CLEVELANDERS REALLY, really dig St. Patrick’s Day. It’s right up there with the home opener in terms of crowds and metric tons of booze consumed during the daylight hours. Basically, we’re talking a whole season of Browns tailgates poured into one day. Every bar in every neighborhood will be a possible landing point at some point during the binge session, but downtown is the center of it all. There’s the parade, of course, which is the big draw. And regardless of whether you want to or not, you’re probably going to end up in the thick of things.

That’s just your green-bedazzled destiny. It will also be the future of thousands and thousands of others, which is great. The people-watching alone is worth the trip. There are some logistical hurdles to clear, though. How do you get there?

Where should you go? How do I get back home? Wait, it’s 3 p.m. and I’ve already drank more than I have since Thanksgiving; how do I stay awake and relatively coherent? Yes, we’ve been there too, and through years and trials and errors, we’ve come up with a pretty basic set of tips and tricks for best enjoying the pilgrimage. Let us help you, all for free (the advice, not the shots of Jameson; sorry).

Transportation: Don’t even think of driving downtown. It’s a bad idea for any number of reasons. Streets are shut down for the parade and the avenues that aren’t are packed with crowds that tipsily jaywalk more than Clevelanders already do on a daily basis, which is saying something. It’s dodge ’em out there.

Then there’s the parking, which is going to cost you a pretty penny if you can even find a suitable lot not already packed with cars of those poor souls who couldn’t get the day off and have to watch the festivities from the windows of their downtown office.

That goes for everyone, even if you’re not drinking. If you are, don’t be a dangerous asshole and put anyone’s life in danger.

Uber and Lyft will be the predictable winners of the BAC Olympics, but be prepared for surge

Take a break from the crowds: We don’t even need to roll through the usual suspects. It’s pretty easy to pinpoint where the crowds will gather — Flats East Bank, West Sixth, East Fourth, anywhere with a bathroom that’s close to the parade route — and the crowds are a key component in the experience. (Otherwise, you’d stay home.) But the crowds can get to be a bit much and every once in awhile you might need confirmation that you do in fact have personal space that need not be invaded by 37 of your closest, unshowered friends.

For sanity, for a brief respite, for a couple of minutes without fake Irish music assaulting your ears, find an off-the-beaten-path spot and enjoy it.

Try the second floor at Little Bar, or one of the five floors at Tomo, or the Huron Point Tavern, or Moriarty’s, or Becky’s. There’s plenty of cheer and whiskey to be found that doesn’t necessarily need to be served with chaos.

pricing and long waits and fuzzy phone calls from drivers telling you there’s a group of teens in leprechaun outfits blocking the road and can they maybe meet you clear on the other side of the block?

RTA is really the only way to go. Whether you’re schlepping in from the suburbs and utilizing the park-and-ride centers, ditching your car in Ohio City or Shaker and hightailing it in on the rapid, or figuring out for the first time which bus it is that comes down your street everyday and where do you transfer to get downtown, public transit is your friend. It’s affordable, it’s pretty damn reliable, and chances are the guy in the next seat is holding a flask that you might get a sip from.

Speaking of flasks …

Flasks are your friend: The lines be long, the tempers high, the music at full volume and the Bud Lights pricey. You’re going to fork over fistfuls of cash and maybe probably leave your credit card at the bar after forgetting to close it. That’s just how it goes. But temper the damage to your bank account by filling up a flask or that water bottle (which, admit it, you’ve never put water in) with your liquor of choice and enjoy stress-free swigs all day.

You’ll be thanking us when your friend disappears for 30 minutes to try and grab a brew or two and then drunkenly forgets to get you one anyway.

Eat early and eat often: There’s a reason kegs and eggs is so popular, and it’s not just because the boozing can start before sunrise. If you want to last all day — or, hell, last until dinner — you need a little something in your stomach. The crowds swell around the parade, and getting anything decent is going to involve paying too much and eating a sloppy sandwich off a paper plate while you stand against a wall. You’ll be in much better shape if you start the base early and strategically build it all day. That corned beef sandwich is pretty nifty at 3 p.m., but it’s even niftier at 10 a.m.

Try putting water in that water bottle: Or at least buy some water or grab a glass whenever there’s one for the taking. Maybe even pop a vitamin or two to start the day.

These are just basic rules of the road for marathon boozing. Ignore such warnings and you’re asking for a mid-day hangover, an early bedtime, and lots of FOMO when you do eventually wake up.

scene@clevescene.com t@cleveland_scene | clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

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Photo by Mara Robinson

FEATURE

SOUNDS OF THE SEASON

The Boys from County Hell doing their thing.

Your guide to live music on St. Patrick’s Day around Cleveland

By Jeff Niesel ST. PATRICK’S DAY UNOFFICIALLY launched last month when Boston’s Dropkick Murphys kicked off their 20th anniversary tour with two sold out shows at House of Blues. Since then, Galway’s We Banjo Three, a “Celtgrass” act famous for being the band chosen by the Culture Ireland’s Centenary Programme to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Uprising, rolled through town to play Music Box Supper Club in early March.

Fans who want to ease into the St. Paddy’s Day spirit will want to check out Dervish, an elegant traditional Irish folk group that plays on Friday, March 11, at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Gartner Auditorium. The Boys from the County Hell, Cleveland’s infamous Pogues tribute act, plays a warmup show that same day at the Music Box Supper Club.

On Sunday, March 13, Music Box Supper Club also hosts what it’s calling “a traditional St. Paddy’s Party” that’ll feature Irish food and beverage specials. Local Irish groups such as the Portersharks and the Roundabouts will perform at the family-friendly event, and the Lengeghan Academy Dancers will be on hand as well. The club hosts Ireland’s High Kings on March 16 as well.

On St. Patrick’s Day itself,

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expect most of the bars in town to feature music of some sort. For the past decade, House of Blues has put together a day full of music to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Acts on its 11th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Celebration will perform in both the Music Hall and the Cambridge Room, and admission is free. Boys from the County Hell start things off at 9 a.m. and will jam until noon.

Expect the Prodigals, as always, to deliver a rousing set when they perform at 3 p.m. in the Music Hall.

The Spazmatics, DJ Sparky B, Marys Lane and DJ Gene share the bill.

Because House of Blues doesn’t charge admission, the place will be packed.

Elsewhere on East Fourth Street, expect all the bars to be part of the holiday’s festivities. At the Corner Alley, Bastard Bearded Irishmen will play what they call “an original and ferocious blend of rock, punk, acoustic and traditional” at 11 a.m.; and at 4 p.m., the Spazmatics will take the stage to play ’80s tunes.

You could even follow the Boys from the County Hell as they make their way from House of Blues to various venues around town. It’s their busiest day of the year. After House of Blues, you can find them at Flannery’s from 1 to 7 p.m., and they’ll wrap things up at the Harp at 9 p.m. They’ll play there

| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

until closing.

Per usual, “long-time favorite” Donal O’Shaughnessy will perform at the Flat Iron, which opens at 7 a.m. and offers free shuttle rides to the parade.

Great Lakes Brewing Company will open at 10 a.m. on St. Patty’s Day for its 27th annual St. Patrick’s Day party.

Appropriately, Conway’s Irish Ale and Wolfhound Stout will be on tap, and the brewpub will offer a special menu of “classic Irish cuisine and modern bar eats.” A shuttle will provide complimentary rides to the downtown parade. The Cleveland Firefighters Memorial Pipes and Drums Band performs at 6 p.m.

In the Warehouse District, Liquid plans to open at 9 a.m. The club will roll out special food and drink menus, and will have DJs spinning all day and night long.

Kamm’s Corner in West Park regularly draws a giant post-parade crowd. West Park Station opens at 6 a.m. with “kegs & eggs” and boasts “entertainment all day,” including bagpipers and Irish step dancers from Burke School of Irish Dance.

Over in Lakewood, Tricky Dick & the Cover Ups will play at 7 p.m. at Around the Corner. Bagpipers will also make an appearance and a DJ will play Irish music. Around the corner from

Around the Corner, Vosh Lakewood will open its doors at 11 a.m. It boasts a full day of music, including Pompous Ass, Irish Cottage Boys and Harp City.

New Barleycorn is back at Nighttown this year for St. Patrick’s Day. They’ll play at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m.

Music Box Supper Club boasts two of the city’s best-known jam bands, JiMiller and Outlaw I & I, who’ll perform in the Concert Hall and Supper Club respectively on St. Paddy’s Day. The club promises it’ll have “Irish ale” on tap. Ten bucks gets you into both rooms.

Wilbert’s will be open for lunch on St. Patrick’s Day and will feature local swamp rockers Cats on Holiday, who’ll play a free all-ages show after the parade.

Not to be outdone, the westside punk rock club Now That’s Class offers specials for the post-parade crowd from 5 to 8 p.m. when it’ll feature $1 cans of beer and $1 off everything else. Then, at 10 p.m., it boasts a St. Pat’s Day Metal Debauchery show with the Dallas thrash metal band Steel Bearing Hand and the California thrash group Witchhaven.

jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel

FEATURE

FORGET THE BAGPIPES...

We Do St. Pat’s With A Twist...

DISCO!

BACKYARD PARTY If not downtown, then where?

By Scene Staff DOWNTOWN CLEVELAND GETS the press on St. Patrick’s Day, naturally, but if you’re looking for an alternative setting for your green-clad debauchery, there’s plenty going on in the city’s diverse neighborhoods. The routes in and out are easier (just stay close to home and don’t drive), and the crowds tend to be more aligned with that singular purpose: revelry, with a nightcap that remains within walking distance later.

(The downtown parade camp is a mangled mass of humanity: families, high schoolers, non-Irish hangers-on, the West Sixth crowd looking for a nightclub during the day, etc.)

So we’ve taken a look at some of the best places to spend this

most sudsy holiday in Cleveland.

Maybe you live in one of these neighborhoods, and there’s very little discussion to be had. Maybe you’re a suburbanite looking to spice up the day with something tonally different than years past.

Dig in. (And pass the corned beef, please.)

North Collinwood The shining star of Cleveland’s up-and-coming arts districts, North Collinwood suddenly has a ton of bars and restaurants going for it.

Take Packy Malley’s, for instance.

This place opened up last year in the former home of Waterloo Brew and the Slovenian Workmen’s Home.

Packy knows how to throw a party, and he’s been hosting Irish bands

OPEN AT 10 AM!

KEGS & EGGS • CORNED BEEF BEADS • GIVEAWAYS

| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

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FEATURE and festivities since opening.

Coast down the street a bit and land at the Millard Fillmore Presidential Library, one of our favorite new-ish bars here at Scene.

You’ll likely catch some live music in the corner, so get comfortable and make some new friends.

Ohio City Doesn’t matter what the cause de célèbre is, Ohio City is always bumpin’. The neighborhood is close enough to the downtown core that you’ll get a fair amount of postparade spillover, but the bulk of the revelers will be people like you who want to enjoy the finest corridor of craft brews in the state. If Irish luck holds sway and the weather is kind to us, we recommend the patios outside Nano Brew and Market Garden Brewery. Order a midday ale and enjoy the crowds.

Over in the Ohio City annex that some call Hingetown, you can spend the day at Jukebox. On top of the excellent musical offerings, this

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place is constantly surprising us with its eclectic food options. Stop in for a drink, a song, a meal and another drink.

Tremont Tremont might not be as wholly rooted in Irish culture as other areas of Cleveland, but the neighborhood sure knows how to have a good time. The Tremont Tap House should definitely be on your list, from which point you and your group can head down Starkweather toward the Lincoln Park Pub for billiards and whiskey. Perfect!

Old Brooklyn What can go wrong will go wrong, ol’ Murphy used to say. We like to amend that here at Scene, and say that what can get boozy will get boozy on St. Patrick’s Day. If you happen to be trucking around the outskirts of the city and you end up in Old Brooklyn, Murphy’s Law on Memphis Road is a welcome spot for your inebriated needs. The regular

| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

crowd runs the place like family, so mind your Ps and Qs. Detroit-Shoreway Ah, the always-expansive DetroitShoreway neighborhood. Anchored

by Gordon Square and bounded by points as far south as Clark Avenue, the neighborhood affords a wide swath of opportunities for your boozin’ needs. (Stick close to Gordon Square, though, of course, for fun times all around.) First, stroll north to Stone Mad, one of the great westside pubs. Hope for warm weather and, if you get your wish, enjoy one of Cleveland’s finest patios. (Stick around for some bocce in the back room, too.)

Then, you’ve got a choice: Eastward, closer to the city, where you can make a stop at The Harp?

Lovely music and choice beverage options abound. Or westward, where McNamara’s offers pleasurable refuge from the hordes? “Irish dive with killer patio” may as well be the tagline over there. Either way,

you’re in luck.

West Park This is the present-day Irish nexus of Cleveland. From the popular Kamm’s Corners to points east along Lorain Avenue, there are plenty of spots to pull on a Guinness for a while and let the day get all hazy.

The natural starting and ending point would be P.J. McIntyre’s, but, based on experience, this place is essentially Little Downtown on St. Patrick’s Day. Which can be fine if you’re looking for those long lines and angrily drunk crowds. Totally cool. But if you want to branch out a bit, walk across the street to Public House. On most nights, this place allows you to slip into the corner and trade tales with your comrades over whiskey. On St. Pat’s? Listen, all of West Park will be nutso, but this place will be worth your while. Order a Jameson, neat.

scene@clevescene.com t@cleveland_scene

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| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

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FEATURE GOOD EATS

Eating Irish in Cleveland the other 364 days of the year

By Nikki Delamotte ON ST. PATRICK’S DAY, EVERY eatery likes to put their own spin on Irish classics. Bypass that corned beef special. Instead, order up another whisky and a side of boxty and explore the cuisine that these Irish pubs and restaurants around town are serving up the other 364 days a year.

Shepherd’s pie “You’re not as likely to find highend Irish cooking,” says Brian Moss, executive chef at Stone Mad (1306 West 65th St., 216-281-6500) in Gordon Square. “As the chef, you have to take Irish techniques to the next level.”

Shepherd’s pie, once more commonly referred to as cottage pie, remains one of the dishes most associated with Irish history. Stone Mad’s take on the classic comfort food doesn’t stray far from the customary meat pies topped with mashed potatoes. Though many use a braising technique for lamb shoulder, Moss prefers roasting. The browned meat works well when it’s mixed with gravy. Ground lamb, potatoes and onions are added and mashed potatoes cover the top.

“This is the fancier end of peasant food,” Moss says. “It’s only a handful of ingredients, but it tastes way more complex. It’s about getting the best simple ingredients and using them wisely.”

Though some will say that shepherd’s pie is meant to be made with lamb, American versions today often use beef. West Park’s lively P.J. McIntyre’s (17119 Lorain Ave., 216941-9311, pjmcintyres.com) serves the traditional beef pie as well a homemade egg roll variety. Owner Patrick Campbell uses the recipe of his Dublin-native wife, which includes European Bisto Gravy mix, minced beef and carrots.

Another place to get your fix: Greenisland Irish Pub (25517 Eaton Way, Bay Village; 440-250-9086).

Soda bread This popular Irish specialty swaps in baking soda for yeast. The recipe for the raisin-filled bread found in the Harp’s (4408 Detroit Ave., 216-9390200, the-harp.com) baskets has been passed down through generations.

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“It’s made in-house every day,” says executive chef Joseph Nagy. “It’s sweet and light, like the traditional bread.”

Another place to get your fix: Casey’s Irish Imports (19626 Center Ridge Rd., Rocky River, 440-3338383, caseysirishimports.com).

Irish breakfast We’re not talking kegs and eggs.

The Irish breakfast is a proteinpacked meal that originated as a way to prepare for all-day farming. “They took it seriously as the best meal of the day,” says Jim Henderson, owner of Gaelic Imports (5633 Pearl Rd., Parma, 440-845-0100, gaelicimports. com).

The shop grinds its own Irishstyle sausage, or bangers, and blends it with cracker meal, water and authentic sausage. “It’s a very simplistic recipe,” says Henderson.

“The big thing you’re trying to do is have them taste the meat instead of the spices.”

It also comes with black and white pudding. Black pudding, or “blood pudding,” is made with beef blood (though many Irish use pork) and heavy on oatmeal, onion and spices with an emphasis on cloves.

They’re all mixed together, ground up and put into casings, then given a cold bath and chilled overnight.

White pudding uses water instead of blood. The breakfasts are served with rashers, or pork loin processed as bacon.

Stew Once cauldrons were introduced to Ireland, they became the primary cooking vessel. The result was dark, hearty meat and root vegetable stews.

Mullarkey’s Irish Pub (4110 Erie St., Willoughby, 440-946-7181, mullarkeys.com) uses a recipe passed down through five generations from the wife of owner John Bowers, Eileen McLarkey. It’s no surprise the bar, patterned after the warm, homey feel of rural Irish watering holes, adds some Guinness to the mix. They’ve received the Gold-certified status from the beer company. “It gives a richness to the flavor,” Bowers says.

The East Fourth Street staple Flannery’s Pub (323 Prospect Ave., 216-781-7782, flannerys.com) plans

| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

Shepherd’s Pie

to bake their stew into a beef and stout pie when they roll out their new menu this spring. The house-made crusts will be filled with parsnips and carrots and simmered in Guinness, which general manager Sean O’Donnell says tenderizes the meat.

“It’s a workingman’s farmer food,” he explains.

As part of the restaurant’s transition to keep in step with the farm-to-table blueprint of their neighbors, they’ll soon be introducing more Ohio meats and vegetables and scratch cooking. “We’re getting to the heart of East Fourth,” says O’Donnell.

Seafood In Cleveland, you can’t turn around during Lent without seeing a fish fry. But when it comes to Irish cuisine, seafood is a specialty all year. At Sully’s Irish Pub (117 West Liberty St., Medina, 330-7643333, sullysmedina.com), owner John Sullivan takes an annual two-week trip to Ireland to bring back the culture and get inspiration for the menu, says manager Allie Burmeister.

But a perennial favorite is the fried haddock coated in their housemade Guinness batter. “When people come to an Irish pub, they want the full experience,” says Burmeister.

“Fish and chips is one of those

popular dishes and here you can get it with a little spin.”

Of that touch of Guinness, she says, “We try to put as much beer in dishes as we can.” The salmon, for example, is glazed with Magners Irish Cider, apricot preserves and honey.

Bangers and mash Storied downtown Irish pub the Flat Iron Café (1114 Center St., 216-696-6968, flatironcafe.com) is home to plenty of the classics. Their bangers and mash are among the Irish favorites. They source the raw bangers from Gaelic Imports, where they’re made in house. Steamed to order and finished on the grill, the sausages are then served with mashed potatoes and their signature Guinness gravy. “I think when the Irish community comes in to the oldest Irish pub, this reminds them of home and how their grandparents may have made them,” says owner David Steele.

Another place to get your fix: Nighttown (12383 Cedar Rd., Cleveland Heights, 216-795-0550, nighttowncleveland.com).

scene@clevescene.com t@cleveland_scene

| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

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FEATURE ERIN GO BUY Celebrate

St. Patty’s Day at the

City’s Hottest Spot!

Live Band from 11am-2pm!

Great Lakes Whiskey Ramblers with Guinness Bill

Casey’s Irish Imports has been serving Northeast Ohio’s Irish American community for nearly three decades

By Sam Allard IF YOU GO TO WESTGATE Shopping Center looking for a Claddagh ring, chances are the jewelry vendors will shake their heads and point vaguely east.

“You want Casey’s,” they’ll say.

“About a mile down the road.”

Zero-point-seven, to be exact, on the left hand (north) side of Center Ridge, just before it deadends into Wooster. It’s Casey’s Irish Imports, Cleveland’s one-stop-shop for authentic Irish gifts and goods — including Claddagh rings “Everyone comes here for the Claddagh rings; that’s probably our biggest seller,” says Kathleen Casey Proctor. She and her sister Maureen Casey Brubaker own and run the

So when Vera Casey retired, she decided to open up an Irish imports store. The transition was natural, and the Rocky River location was just a short drive from her Lakewood beauty shop.

“She’d done her research,” Kathleen says. “At the time, it was in the center of about five Irish Catholic parishes. There was a real need for an Irish store.”

And who better than Tom and Vera to run it? They were married on St. Patrick’s Day, 1952, in London, where they’d traveled for work after the war. They first came to the United States in 1956 on the Queen Elizabeth and bounced back and forth between Ireland and the U.S. for many years,

store. “But we carry pretty much any Irish thing that you can think of to buy: traditional Irish sweaters; Waterford Irish Crystal; brides will even register with us; Irish dry and frozen foods; Irish tea, which is another huge seller for us; and of course, Irish candy.”

That’s all in addition to the domestically produced Irish-themed items that Americans love to buy around St. Patrick’s Day. “You don’t see people in Ireland getting those things,” Kathleen says, “but we carry the products that our customers want to buy. And we’re unique because we’ve got customers from multiple generations: greatgrandmothers, grandmothers, mothers, daughters.”

Kathleen and Maureen’s parents, Tom and Vera Casey, opened the store 28 years ago. Vera was a beautician by trade and, because she returned to Ireland so frequently, she would bring back items for her Irish customers.

“The girls at Casey’s House of Beauty spent more time selling Irish things than they did doing hair,” Kathleen says.

undecided about where they wanted to settle down.

Vera Casey is from the small village of Cong in County Mayo. It’s famous as the filming location of the 1956 film The Quiet Man, starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara.

“My mom knows all the extras,” Kathleen said. “My grandfather had a drink with John Wayne in the local pub.”

Tom and Vera’s kids actually lived in Ireland for a few years as well, but the Casey family moved to Cleveland for good in the 1970s.

These days, Kathleen describes the store as a true family affair. She and her sister own and run it day to day, but her brother built the website and handles the computers, Kathleen’s daughter and nieces work there, and they have family friends who help out when they need it.

Tom Casey passed away last year, but in 2012, when Tom and Vera celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary, Vera was named the Irish Mother of the Year and led the Cleveland St. Patrick’s Day Parade downtown with the Grand Marshal.

“That was the year it was 70

Special Guest Appearance by

Logan Wells

$5 Chilled Jamenson All Day!!

Corned Beef Sandwiches Will Be Available All Day!!

1276 W. 6th Street | Cleveland, Ohio 44113 | (216) 621-5000

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| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

29

FEATURE

St. pat’S day

We’ll be Shamrock’n!

OpEN @ 9 FOR LUNCH OUR FULL mENU pLUS:

• Irish Nachos • World Famous Irish Cajun Shepards pie • Corned Beef Sandwiches & dinners aFtER tHE paRadE CLE Irish Swamp pop

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degrees outside and there were half a million people downtown,” Kathleen says. “We all got sunburned, but it was a huge honor for our family.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the St.

Patrick’s Day season is the busiest time of the year for Casey’s Irish Imports, other than Christmas.

Kathleen and Maureen have extended the shop’s hours so that Cleveland’s Irish families can stock up on all

the items they may require for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

“But we’re closed on St. Patrick’s Day,” Kathleen makes very clear. “We always have been. We consider it a religious holiday.”

TWENTY-FIVE Ireland’s national card game

THE THIRD THURSDAY OF EVERY month, a small band of cutthroat Irish gamers gathers in the basement of P.J. McIntyre’s pub in Kamm’s Corners to play cards.

The game of choice? Twenty-five, the national card game of Ireland.

It’s got a few tricky rules, but it’s a blast once you get the hang of it and perfect for small groups. Take these rules to your St. Patrick’s Day gathering and try it on for size while sipping your sundown Guinness.

The Basics Twenty-five is played with a standard 52-card deck, usually by four to six players.

After anteing up one chip (or dollar), each player receives five cards in batches of three-two or fourone. The next card is turned face-up to establish the trump suit.

The normal ranking of cards from high to low is K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, A in red suits and K, Q, J, A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 in black suits (“high in red, low in black”).

In trump suits, the highest is always the five, followed by the jack, the ace of hearts (regardless of the

| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

nominal trump suit), the ace of the trump suit (if not hearts), and the remaining cards in their usual ranking order according to color.

Game Play The primary object of the game is to sweep the pool by winning at least three tricks, preferably all five.

Alternatively, it is to stop anyone else from doing so (“spoil five”), thereby increasing the size of the betting pool for the next deal. If written scores are kept, each trick counts five points, and the target is 25.

WRINKLE: Any player dealt the ace of trumps may, if desired, “rob the pack” before playing to the first trick by taking the face-up card and discarding an unwanted card facedown. If the face-up card is an ace, the dealer may rob the pack by exchanging it for any unwanted card from his hand.

The player at dealer’s left leads the first trick, and the winner of each

trick leads the next. To trump a lead the other players must follow suit if possible, unless the only one held is one of the top three trumps (five, jack, ace of hearts) and is higher than the one led. In this case that player may “renege” by discarding from another suit.

To a non-trump lead, the others may either follow suit or trump, as preferred, but may discard only if unable to follow suit.

The trick is taken by the highest card of the suit led or by the highest trump if any are played.

Whoever wins three or more tricks wins the pool and, for winning all five tricks, gains an extra chip (or dollar) from each opponent. If nobody wins three, the tricks are “spoiled,” and the pool is carried forward to the next deal, increased by one chip per player. The game ends when a player runs out of chips or reaches 25 points.

sallard@clevescene.com t@scenesallard

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Doors Open At 7:30am For Our Annual $5 All You Can Eat Breakfast Buffet.

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MIMOSA & BLOODY MARY SPECIALS

THIS WEEKS ENTERTAINMENT Friday, March 11:

Fish Fry | Amplitute Duo Saturday, March 12:

Kid’s St. Patrick’s Day 11-2pm 92.3 Tournament Watch Party 7-9pm Pants On Fire

® | clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

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!

Y DA

R U AT

S S I H T

Saturday, March 12 Downtown Willoughby, 7-Midnight

Tickets: $10 Guests receive a shot glass, koozie, Light apps at registration! Drink specials! www.shamrock.clevescene.com

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| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

everything you should do this week

GET OUT

Photo by Emanuel Wallace

WED

South Gallery. Meanwhile, the Media Room hosts Empty Gestures, innovative experiments in video and sound by Tri-C professor of art Blake Cook. Tonight’s opening reception is from 5 to 8. Come at 4 p.m. for a Gallery Talk with the artists and organizers. The exhibitions remain on view through Saturday, April 16. Admission is free. (Usmani) 1307 Euclid Ave., 216-687-2103, csuohio.edu/artgallery.

3/09

SPORTS

2016 MAC Tournament Many teams in college basketball’s biggest conferences will make it to the NCAA basketball tournament regardless of whether or not they win their conference tournament.

In the Mid-American 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 mid-sized 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.

SPOKEN WORD

Life, the Universe and Hot Dogs Tonight’s version of the Euclid Tavern’s regular lecture series, “Life, the Universe and Hot Dogs,” promises to be a good one. It features Claudia De Rham, an assistant professor in Case Western Reserve University’s Particle/ Astrophysics group. A cosmologist working on very early universe cosmology and dark energy theories, her research interests include cosmological perturbations, modified/massive gravity, and the SLED — otherwise known as supersymmetric large extra dimensions.

Pretty heavy stuff. Tonight, she’ll talk about modifications on theories of gravity. The event begins at 7, and admission is free. (Niesel) 11625 Euclid Ave., 216-231-5400, happydogcleveland.com.

COMEDY

Rob O’Reilly Local comedian Rob O’Reilly is an awkward nerd with bad vision. Because of this, sex is very weird for him, and he fears getting beat up after his shows.

This self-deprecating guy is a Cleveland native and — true to his pedigree — its his defeatistyet-tough attitude that makes him so funny. He takes the stage at Hilarities tonight at 8. Tickets

COMEDY

Scene’s third annual Vodka Vodka comes to Red Space. See: Saturday.

are $13 to $18. (Liz Trenholme) 2035 East Fourth St., 216-241-7425, pickwickandfrolic.com.

FILM

Orion: The Man Who Would be King The story of a masked musician who had many believing Elvis Presley may have faked his death, Orion: The Man Who Would Be King chronicles the crazy life of one Jimmy Ellis.

The documentary shows how the eccentric musician had many believing the King wasn’t really dead. It makes its Cleveland theatrical debut tonight at 7 at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Tickets are $9. (Niesel) 11150 East Blvd., 216-421-7350, clevelandart.org.

THUR 3/10 COMEDY

Pete Correale Comedian Peter Correale has a good marriage. This was recently proven by the fact that he and his wife put together a piece of Ikea furniture — and didn’t get divorced! In fact, he thinks this could be the next great reality show of our time: assembling Ikea furniture and letting the drama unfold. Other yuks involve parties without alcohol (he calls those “meetings”), drunken Irish mothers and his wife’s sighs. Tonight’s curtain at Hilarities is at 8; Correale has repeat performances scheduled through Sunday. Tickets range from $18 to 27. (Trenholme) 2035 East Fourth St.,

216-241-7425, pickwickandfrolic.com.

MUSIC

Maria João Pires in Recital Way back in 1970, Portuguese pianist Maria João Pires won the Beethoven Bicentennial Competition in Brussels. She’s been regarded as a Beethoven connoisseur ever since. Tonight, she makes a rare appearance in Cleveland for a recital in Reinberger Chamber Hall at Severance Hall in which she will perform Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 31, Opus 110 and Piano Sonata No. 32, Opus 111. With pianist Julien Brocal, she will begin the program with Ravel’s transcription of Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun for piano four hands. Brocal will also perform Ravel’s Sonatine and Miroirs. The concert starts at 7:30. A free preconcert talk with Pires and Brocal takes place from 6 to 6:30 p.m.

Tickets are $55 and $65. (Niesel) 11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com.

ART

New Exhibits at CSU Four new exhibitions open tonight at the Galleries at Cleveland State University. The North Gallery hosts The Ornamental Impulse: Form, Pattern and Color by New York based artist Liz Whitney Quisgard. Tightrope: Walk the Line is a wall installation in the Center Gallery by Cleveland Heights artist and musician Craig Matis. Ohio University prof Ron Kroutel offers Go Figure, an examination of the lone figure in the

Brad Williams At 4-foot-4, diminutive comic Brad Williams hasn’t let his size become an obstacle. He prefers to think of his height (or lack thereof) as a disability that’s become the basis for all his jokes. Carlos Mencia reportedly discovered him one night and made him his opening act.

Williams has also made countless appearances on shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live, Jackass and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. His high energy combined with his raw skits about relationships and sex translates well to the stage.

Williams performs tonight at 7:30 at the Improv Comedy Club. Tickets are $17. He’s there through Sunday. (Niesel) 1148 Main Ave., 216-696-IMPROV, clevelandimprov.com.

FRI

3/11

COMEDY

Sid Davis Chrome-domed comedian Sid Davis likes to joke that he now knows he’s old because he starts sentences with “I remember when ... .” His sets are full of references to pop culture icons of yesteryear: In one routine, he talks about admiring the way the Who’s Pete Townshend would smash his guitar; in another, he fondly recalls the days when everyone had a landline. The former airline worker performs tonight and tomorrow at 7:30 and 10 at the Hard Rock Rocksino’s Club Velvet. Tickets are $13 to $18. (Niesel) 10705 Northfield Rd., Northfield, 330-908-7793, hrrocksinonorthfieldpark.com.

MUSIC

Irish Icons, Dervish A traditional Irish group that dates back to the late 1980s, Der| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

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GET OUT vish has been called “an icon of Irish music.” The Sligo Borough Council’s Decision awarded the band the Freedom of the Borough of Sligo, putting them in the same company as the Irish poet William Butler Yeats. The group performs tonight at 7:30 at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Gartner Auditorium. Tickets are $53 to $69, or $48 to $62 for CMA members.

(Niesel) 11150 East Blvd., 216-421-7350, clevelandart.org.

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.

A sort of tragic Tony ’n’ Tina’s Wedding, the interactive and im-

Service and the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park, the Heritage Concert Series aims to celebrate the cultural legacy of the Cuyahoga Valley with a series of folk and roots rock concerts at the Happy Days Lodge. Tonight’s concert features the bluegrass

INDUCTION S I M U L C A S T

FILM

Fire and Ice: The Films of Rian Brown Associate professor of cinema studies and new media at Oberlin College, filmmaker Rian Brown will answer questions after tonight’s screening of short films she’s made over the past 17 years.

She works within many genres — experimental, autobiography, documentary, video installation — while exploring themes of motherhood, identity and landscape.

She even shot one film when she was eight months pregnant. The screening takes place tonight at 7 at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque. Tickets are $9.

(Niesel) 11610 Euclid Ave., 216-421-7450, cia.edu.

APRIL 8 • @ ROCK HALL • 7 PM (doors 6:30)

THEATER

Flanagan’s Wake Now in its fifth year in Cleveland, Flanagan’s Wake transports the audience to a wake in Ireland where villagers tell tales and sing

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ART

In Search of Red and Other Stories The Cleveland Print Room hosts an opening reception and gallery talk tonight for its latest exhibition, Peter J. Cohen’s In Search of Red and Other Stories. The exhibition is composed of vernacular color photography from Cohen’s personal collection, with an emphasis on the color red and handtinted photos. Photographs from this collection have been exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art. Most recently, his collection was featured in Unfinished Stories at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Tonight’s reception takes place from 5 to 9, and Cohen will speak at 6:30. It’s free. (Usmani) 2550 Superior Ave., 216-401-5981, clevelandprintroom.com.

COMEDY

with special guests:

The Black Keys Rob Thomas Lars Ulrich of Metallica Kendrick Lamar Kid Rock

FOOD & DRINK

Fish Fry-Days Through March 25, Prosperity Social Club hosts Fish Fry-Days every Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.

The special Lenten menu includes the Big Fish Fry, a seasonal staple that features a generous portion of haddock covered in a fluffy blanket of beer batter and complemented by homemade coleslaw, house tartar sauce and old-schoolstyle mac and cheese. New this year: a pan-seared tilapia dressed in chimichurri sauce and served with sauteed spinach and coconut rice. As a bonus, Platform Brewing’s Palesner will be on tap to complement the special menu.

(Niesel) 1109 Starkweather Ave., 216-937-1938, prosperitysocialclub.com.

sula, 330-657-2909, ConservancyforCVNP.org.

The ONLY place to watch the 2016 Induction Ceremony live from NY Plus: tour the Rock Hall, featuring the new 2016 Inductee exhibit

$23.50 at tickets.rockhall.com rockhall.com

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provised show engages the entire audience as the guests are treated as the friends and family of the deceased. The show starts at 8 tonight and plays again tomorrow night at 8 at Kennedy’s Theatre.

Tickets are $26. (Patrick Stoops) 1501 Euclid Ave, 216-771-4444, playhousesquare.org.

MUSIC

Heritage Concert Series Presented by the National Park

| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

D duo Billy Strings and Don Julin.

Attendees can purchase soups, snacks and sweets prepared by Conservancy Canteen. In addition to food, the venue offers local, alcoholic and non-alcoholic handcrafted beverages. Single concert admission is $17 for adults, $12 for conservancy members and $5 for children ages 3 to 12. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the concert begins at 8 p.m. (Niesel) 500 West Streetsboro Rd., Penin-

Jim Norton On a tour appropriately dubbed “Mouthful of Shame,” politically incorrect comedian Jim Norton comes to the Hard Rock Rocksino at Northfield Park’s Hard Rock Live tonight at 8. Over the past decade or so, Norton has built quite a resume. He’s had acting gigs (Lucky Louie, SpiderMan), written a best-selling book (Happy Endings: The Tales of a Meaty-Breasted Zilch) and become a radio personality (Opie and Anthony’s XM satellite show). And he continues to work the standup circuit. His jokes tend to center on topics of a sexual nature and include countless references to the male anatomy. Tickets are $35.

(Niesel) 10705 Northfield Rd., Northfield, 330-908-7793, hrrocksinonorthfieldpark.com.

MUSIC

Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage 50th Anniversary Concert The Star Trek franchise is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a concert tour, and Cleveland is one of its stops. “Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage” concert includes music from the original series, feature movies, Next Generation, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine — all performed by a live symphony orchestra with international soloists, while iconic footage is beamed in high-definition onto a 40-foot-wide screen. The concert will be performed tonight at the State Theatre at 8. The Cleveland

SAT

3/12

Festival

Big Love A self-described “civically engaging arts festival that uses arts and culture to involve its participants in broader community building initiatives,” Big Love, Akron’s annual winter community festival, offers a little of everything, including art installations, vendor tables, community-building workshops and cooking demos. The event, which takes place today from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at the Summit Artspace building, will also feature music and theatrical performances along with activities for the whole family. More than 30 visual artists will display pieces created to “foster city-wide collaboration and inspire in individuals a sense of empowerment in building their community together.”

One installation space will represent the north, south, east, and west sides of Akron, with each quadrant depicted through the interpretation of two artists from different ethnic backgrounds, while Akron-area organizations guide hands-on activities. Local acts such as Zach and the Bright Lights, Shivering Timbers, Acid Cats, the Help and the Hands, the Angie Haze Project, Light of the Loon, Gretchen Pleuss Band, DJ Roger Riddle, Acoustic Umojah Nation, Chris Hatton, Moustache Yourself, Brent Kirby, Rhodes Street Rude Boys and A-Minus are slated to play. Ace Epps and the Wandering Aesthetics will emcee the performances for the day.

(Niesel) 140 East Market St., Akron, 330-376-8480, summitartspace.org. art

A Portrait Painting Workshop Cleveland native Paul Beel returns home this weekend, with a special portrait-painting workshop at BayArts, in Bay Village. In the early ’90s, Beel travelled to Italy on a full scholarship to the Studio Art Centers International in Florence. After earning his MFA from Bowling Green State University, he returned to Florence to paint and teach. Since then, he

has become a dual citizen of both the U.S. and Italy. Beel’s portraits have won numerous awards. He will share his expertise with the community during this two-day workshop, held today and tomorrow at BayArts. The cost is $200.

For more information and to sign up, visit the website. (Usmani) 28795 Lake Rd., Bay Village, 440-871-6543, bayarts.net.

THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC!

Music

The Piano Guys Four dads straight outta Utah, the Piano Guys have become an Internet sensation as their self-produced music videos have snagged some 500 million views. For their cover of “Let It Go,” the hit tune from the Disney flick Frozen, they sit at their player pianos and perform atop giant glaciers. They’ve made 40 videos since early 2011, blending classical music with pop.

At tonight’s show, you can expect to hear songs from their latest album, Wonders. The concert begins at 8 p.m. at the State Theatre.

Tickets start at $10. For $155, you can meet and greet the guys at the concert. (Niesel) 1519 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org. theater

PostSecret: The Show Billed as “a visual, auditory and emotional journey through the beauty and complication of our deepest fears, ambitions and confessions,” PostSecret: The Show makes use of projected images and videos as three actors guide the audience through a story that artist Frank Warren assembled from more than a million anonymous “secrets” he received on postcards. Tonight’s performance takes place at 7:30 at the Ohio Theatre. Tickets are $10 to $40.

(Niesel) 1501 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.

FilM

The Quiet Man A retired American boxer returns to the Irish village of his birth in The Quiet Man, a 1952 film from director John Ford that stars John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Mildred Natwick, Ward Bond and Barry Fitzgerald. The movie screens at 10 a.m. today at the Capitol Theatre as part of the Cleveland Cinemas Sunday Classic brunch series. Tickets are $6.

(Niesel) 1390 West 65th St., 216-651-7295, clevelandcinemas.com.

TM

MammaMiaOnTour.com

© LITTLESTAR

performance is part of the production’s 100-city-plus North American tour. Ticket prices range from $10 to $65. (Bliss Davis) 1519 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.

FAREWELL TOUR THIS WEEK ONLY! Call 216-241-6000 Group Sales 216-640-8600 playhousesquare.org | clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

35

GET OUT FILM

Short Film Master Class The Sundance Institute presents a free master class today at noon at the Akron Art Museum. The workshop, which teaches aspiring filmmakers how to make short films, is aimed at both experienced and inexperienced directors. Organizers promise the half-day session will “entertain and educate.” Though the workshop is free, attendees must register in advance on the museum website. (Niesel) 1 South High St., Akron, 330-376-9185, akronartmuseum.org.

NIGHTLIFE

Vodka Vodka Scene Magazine’s Vodka Vodka event returns for its third year as Cleveland’s premier vodka tasting party, this time with an all-out ’80s spin. Celebrate the “Age of Excess” with local cuisine, inventive cocktails and dance your ass off to solid ’80s gold. Vodka Vodka takes place tonight from 8 to 11 at downtown Cleveland’s Red Space. Vodka enthusiasts can enjoy an assortment of their favorite spirits, plus food inspired by vodka and great entertainment by DJ Flaco Flash. Brand ambassadors from Skyy Vodka, Stoli, Three Olives, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Deep Eddy, Effen Vodka and more will be on hand to offer their unique descriptions and perspectives. Advance tickets are $35 for general admission and $50 for VIPs, which includes entry at 7 p.m. Day-of general admission, if available, is $45. This is a 21-and-over event. For more information and to buy tickets, go to the website. (Niesel) 2400 Superior Ave., facebook.com/Hotcards.

FASHION

Welcome to the Disco Tre Sorelle Boutique, the highend fashion destination in Little Italy, unveils its Spring 2016 Collection at “Welcome to the Disco,” a dress-to-impress event designed to take you back to the ’70s and Studio 54, the trendy New York City nightclub that became the epicenter for the disco movement.

Glitz, glamor and fancy cocktails are the order of the evening. Local DJ Ryan Gilkerson hosts the festivities and DJ Corey Grand

36

| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

provides the tunes. It all starts at 7:30 p.m. at Liquid. Tickets are $25 at the door; 21 and over, please. (Niesel) 1212 West Sixth St., 216-479-7717, liquidcleveland.com.

SUN

3/13

NIGHTLIFE

7th Day Sweat The “seventh day” tends to be a day of rest for many folks. But not for the party hearty people who run B-Side Liquor Lounge, the popular dance club below the Grog Shop. Dubbed 7th Day Sweat, their weekly Sunday night soiree features DJ White Rims spinning “today’s hottest dance hits,” so you can “sweat it out” every Sunday. Admission is free but you must be 21 or older.

It all starts at 7 p.m. (Niesel) 2785 Euclid Hts. Blvd., Cleveland Heights, 216-932-1966, bsideliquorlounge.com.

ART

Pharaoh: King of Ancient Egypt As part of their ongoing, yearlong centennial celebration, the Cleveland Museum of Art presents Pharaoh: King of Ancient Egypt. The special exhibition opens today and remains on view through June 12 in the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Hall. The exhibition comes to Cleveland in collaboration with the British Museum and includes artwork and objects from jewelry to monumental sculpture from the British Museum, as well as masterworks from CMA’s permanent collection. Tickets are $17 for adults, $9 for children ages 6 and up, $15 for seniors and students (with ID) and free for children under 6. (Usmani) 11150 East Blvd., 216-421-7350, clevelandart.org.

MON

3/14

SPOKEN WORD

Talk Science, Drink Beer On the second Monday of each month, Music Box Supper Club hosts “Talk Science, Drink Beer,” an informal lecture series that brings scientists from throughout the region to the club so they can talk about science topics. Tonight at 7, Dr. Andrea Bertozzi discusses “the mathematics of crime.” Admission is free, although the full menu and bar are hard to re-

sist. Doors open at 5:30. (Niesel) 1148 Main Ave., 216-242-1250, musicboxcle.com. nightlife

Trivia Pursuits Do you have tons of obscure music knowledge? Are you a student of fast food menus and their nuanced histories? What say you about the geographic evolution of Scotch whisky? Tonight’s your chance to wow your friends, 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 — it’s a crapshoot — 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. The tables fill up quickly. (Sam Allard) 5801 Detroit Ave., 216-651-9474, happydogcleveland.com. food & drink

Vegan Mondays If you’re vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, or just plain interested in trying something new, head over to Townhall in Ohio City this evening from 5 to 10 p.m. for Vegan Night. Work your way through the delicious and healthy vegan menu, featuring hits like Veggie Vegan Flatbread (think fresh tomatoes, chiles, mushrooms and vegan cheese), Tofu Etouffee (blackened tofu, onions, tomatoes and brown rice) or many of the regular menu items made vegan. If you’re still feeling skeptical, know this: Monday night is also Craft Beer Night and all 36 crafts are only $3 from 6 p.m. to close. Cheers!

(Alaina Nutile) 1909 West 25th St., 216-344-9400, townhallohiocity.com. food & drink

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 offering meatless Monday ‘wing’ baskets for

vegans. Discounted drafts and a specially curated playlist of vintage-electric blues and soulful R&B curated by local musician Clint Holley will be on tap as well. Wing Ding Doodle will take place every Monday from 6 p.m. to midnight. (Niesel) 109 Starkweather Ave., 216-937-1938, prosperitysocialclub.com. art

Womyn Space In celebration of Women’s History Month, Spaces presents a special, off-site, encore screening of Womyn Space by local artists Amber Anderson, Elena Harvey and Corrie Slawson. This event takes place today from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Heights LibrariesNoble Branch. Following the film will be a presentation on women in the workforce using Martha Louise Rayne’s book, What Can a Woman Do?, as a starting point for the discussion. Womyn Space premiered as part of the People’s Museum of Revisionist Itstory at Spaces. It’s free. (Usmani) 2800 Noble Rd., 216-291-5665, heightslibrary.org.

TUE

MARCH 18–20 FIRSTMERIT CONVENTION CENTER OF CLEVELAND

3/15

music

Classical Revolution Cleveland For many years, classical music wasn’t intended for the masses.

Seemingly reserved for quasiexclusive concert halls, classical music hid from the outside world.

Classical Revolution Cleveland helps tear down that wall and once again bring great chamber music to the people. Showcasing a variety of performers in bars, cafes and the like, it’s actually not that different from how people used to listen to chamber music. The third Tuesday of every month, CRC brings its wide array of chamber music to Happy Dog. Performers like the Trepanning Trio, Anime Duo, students of Cleveland Institute of Music and even Cleveland Orchestra members grace the stage in these exciting concerts. Full of immensely talented performers, CRC re-instills the relevancy of this vibrant art form. Tonight’s free, all-ages performance starts at 8. (Stoops) 5801 Detroit Ave., 216-651-9474, happydogcleveland.com.

Find more events @clevescene.com t@cleveland_scene

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2/19/16 9:31 AM

ART

The Zygote family gathers.

DINNER AND A SHOW

Zygote Press celebrates 20 years with special event this week

By Josh Usmani TWENTY YEARS, AN ESTIMATED 300 exhibitions, 86 artist residencies, 80 festivals and public events and more than 1,000 tours for more than 15,000 students. We could go on, but the numbers speak for themselves.

Zygote Press has blazed a trail for nonprofit arts organizations everywhere. This week, they celebrate their 20th anniversary with their “Lovin’ Spoonful 20th Anniversary Dinner” and a special preview of ReUnite: 20 Years in Print, an exhibition created at Zygote Press by local artists.

The dinner begins at 6 p.m. on Thursday, at Tastebuds, and is hosted by honorable “Big Spoon” emcee Joe Cimperman. The event also includes a raffle for prints by artists including Christi Birchfield, the Rev. Albert Wagner, Laurence Channing and Audra Skoudas; raffle tickets are $20 each. Noted local ceramicist Kristen Cliffel has created limited edition Lovin’ Spoonful pasta bowls, which come with a pound of squid ink pasta from Ohio City Pasta for $50. Live music will be performed by Richard Szekelyi and Amanda Walsh. Tickets are $75 and include dinner and two drink tickets. Seating is limited and tickets must be purchased in advance.

Can’t make dinner? For a suggested $20 donation at the door, you can enjoy a dessert preview of ReUnite: 20 Years of Print back at Zygote Press at 8 p.m. The exhibit features prints by more than two dozen of the region’s most

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accomplished artists. As organizers explain, “Some, such as Gloria Plevin, Margaret Yuko Kimura and Michael Loderstedt, have returned to the Press throughout their careers; others, including Michaelangelo Lovelace, Amy Casey and countless other national and internationally known resident artists, are more recent additions to the roster. All share an enthusiasm for expanding their artistic practice by making prints.”

Guests will have an exclusive opportunity to purchase prints from Zygote Press’ fundraising archive; sales proceeds will benefit both the artists and the organization.

to move to a new, ground-floor space on 30th Street in the Midtown neighborhood,” says Bellamy Printz, co-founder and president of Zygote Press’ board of directors. “The current space allowed Zygote to experience a rebirth of sorts — more audience members than ever, more artists working in the shop at all times, and a dedicated space for screenprinting and letterpress that is well organized and very popular. We have always had resident artists who rent studios and lockers, giving them 24-hour access, but now with the addition of ZPASS (our residency apartment upstairs), artists from all

ZYGOTE PRESS 20TH ANNIVERSARY DINNER 6 TO 9 P.M., THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 1400 EAST 30TH ST. TICKETS: $75, ZYGOTEPRESS.COM

And attendees also will have an opportunity to print their own works of art, with commemorative wooden spoons on handmade paper from the Morgan Conservatory, using linoleum blocks carved by Zygote artists.

Liz Maugans, Kelly Novak, Bellamy Printz and Joe Sroka founded Zygote Press in 1996 in the Buckeye Carbon Ribbon factory on 72nd Street and St. Clair Avenue. Zygote began with about 3,000 square feet, but eventually expanded to over 7,000 square feet, including a large gallery and reception area. Zygote moved to its current location on East 30th Street in 2006.

“Due to many factors, we decided

| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

over the country and the world embed themselves in our already active and creative environment.”

In 2010, Zygote founded the Collective Arts Network (CAN) that produces the quarterly CAN Journal, featuring regional arts news and events. In 2012, Zygote Press won a highly coveted Cleveland Arts Prize.

Last year, Zygote opened Ink House, a satellite location just off of Waterloo Road in Collinwood.

“With so much going on in the workshop itself, we needed a ‘clean space’ to support the contract printing that we do to earn income, and so Ink House was born last year in the Waterloo neighborhood,” Printz

explains. “Christi Birchfield is the manager of Ink House, and since opening in fall of 2015, she has produced several editions for local and national artists, and will soon be working with our newest Creative Fusion artist (through the Cleveland Foundation’s program) from Albania, Anila Rubiku, on some projects.“ Zygote stayed ahead of the curve last year when it began a major initiative to transition to a more “green” studio.

“Our newest initiative is being spearheaded by Rebekah Wilhelm, our workshop manager, and that is the ‘greening’ of the shop,” Printz says. “Printmaking is, both historically and by its very nature, a potentially toxic practice. Acids, solvents, inks: All have the potential to damage the printer’s health and affect the workshop environment.

Zygote’s mission can include the word ‘healthier’ as we have introduced new methods to make prints that are not only non-toxic, but allow for even more technical breadth in the creating of intaglio and lithographic prints.

We see this as a way to further attract artists to our workshop, and to help minimize the significant impact that many art materials can have on our health and environment. Between Ink House and the greening of the shop, we start our 20th year with great anticipation.”

jusmani@clevescene.com t@cleveland_scene

STAGE BATTLING OVER BABY

A custody fight lights a fire in Luna Gale at the Cleveland Play House

By Christine Howey Not so fast. As the short scenes in this two-hour, one-act show progress, Caroline observes that Karlie and Peter are not actually the wasteoids she initially thought they were. The young parents are trying to pull their shit together, but they keep running into roadblocks since the drug rehab facilities have long waiting lists. Meanwhile, Caroline learns that Cindy is a fervent evangelical Christian and wants to obtain permanent custody of Luna Gale, against her daughter’s wishes.

This is all played out on designer Michael Schweikardt’s cluttered set.

It’s cluttered because the elements of six separate locations are pushed together across the proscenium, with the supporting braces for the flats

Pendleton has his characters, especially Caroline, glance at the other sets and the people in them during dialogue sequences, and that can be distracting.

Overall, this staging emphasizes how all the characters are in the same boat, and that boat is sinking.

In the second hour, the situation gets even more desperate when, during a meeting at her office, Caroline appears to be coerced to pray with Cindy’s pastor Jay and Cliff (turns out, Cliff is a bornagain buddy of the pastor). And to top it off, Caroline learns bad news regarding a former client, Lourdes, who recently aged out of the foster care system.

Indeed, there are many facets

LUNA GALE

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visible and with no clear delineations between one set and another. It’s an intellectually interesting, if less than visually pleasing, scenic concept for the play. It works nicely when the actors borrow bits and pieces of one set while playing in another. However, director

in Luna Gale, and they aren’t all addressed with equal success. But the cast, for the most part, is up to the challenge. Megan King is a jittery bundle of torched nerves as Karlie, and Jeremiah Clapp gives Peter a game attitude once he fully awakens from his meth

coma. As Cindy, Angela Pierce is a true believer of the first order, and Kenneth Lee’s Cliff is exactly as frustrating as you’d expect him to be. As pastor Jay, Donald Carrier wisely doesn’t default to a Biblethumper stereotype, giving his character more dimensions.

In the central role of Caroline, Lee Roy Rogers has the perfect flatline affect of a person beat down by bureaucracy. And she often triggers some mordant chuckles with her downbeat asides. But in addition to some line troubles, Rogers seems not entirely engaged in the pivotal scene where she is prayed over

by Cliff and the pastor, blurring her motives in that moment. In the small role of Lourdes, Athena Colon’s bubbly approach needs a bit more nuance, given what’s to come.

The best part of Luna Gale is that it’s actually about something important: It’s not just another play with comically dysfunctional people working on conflicts with no consequences. The stakes in this play are high and the characters, for the most part, feel real and significant.

scene@clevescene.com t@christinehowey

Photo by Roger Mastroianni

MANY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN shocked in recent months to learn that serious drug addiction has become prevalent, and even virulent, in Ohio’s middle-class suburban and rural communities, as well as many other locations far from big urban centers. This is what happens when funds for social agencies, such as child welfare and drug programs, are slashed in a misguided attempt to balance state budgets on the backs of the “little people.”

Well, there are some little people confronting big problems in Luna Gale, now at the Cleveland Play House. This intriguing and complex play by Rebecca Gilman takes a very personal look at drug addiction and foster care, how critical decisions are made, and how lives on all sides of the issue can be shattered.

Even though the performances are not uniformly excellent, under the direction of Austin Pendleton, the intelligence and credibility of Gilman’s script shines forth.

It all starts with two meth-heads, Karlie and Peter, who are busy coming down from their highs in an emergency room waiting area.

They’ve brought in their baby with a gastrointestinal problem. But they soon have bigger troubles once the social worker on duty, Caroline, sees Peter passed out and Karlie vibrating at 10,000 rpm. Caroline informs the beginning meth addicts (they haven’t lost their teeth yet) that they will have to prove their ability to care for the child before they get baby Luna Gale back.

This sets the stage for a cascading series of complications as an exhausted, overworked and cynical Caroline tries to wend her way through possible solutions. At first, she thinks she has a ready-made answer when she visits Karlie’s estranged mother Cindy and learns that Cindy is more than willing to serve as a “kinship” caregiver for the child. Caroline thinks that, once she gets her passive-aggressive supervisor Cliff to agree, it will be easy sailing.

From left to right: Jeremiah Clapp (Peter), Angela Pierce (Cindy), and Megan King (Karlie).

| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

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| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

MOVIES A GREENER INFERNO, IN BLACK AND WHITE Embrace of the Serpent is languorous post-colonial saga

By Sam Allard THANKS TO ELI ROTH’S VILE The Green Inferno, that culturally repugnant cannibal-porn romp released in September, we may comfortably dub Ciro Guerra’s Embrace of the Serpent the best movie about the South American indigenous experience in 2015. Serpent, which was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, opens at the Cedar Lee Friday for a limited engagement.

It’s a gorgeous film, for starters.

Filmed in vivid black and white on the remotest banks of the Colombian Amazon, Serpent follows two expeditions downriver: one in 1909, the other some years later. Both hinge on the acquisition of the native yakruna, a plant with mystical healing powers. In the first, a malaria-stricken explorer, Theo (Jean Bijvoet), enlists the native Karamakate to lead him to the plant, lest he die.

In the second, an older Karamakate guides an American botanist, Evan (played by Brionne Davis, a Ralph Fiennes-Bradley Cooper hybrid), for purposes that the American won’t fully reveal until late in the film.

Throughout both journeys, the soundtrack of the natural world — chirping birds, roaring rapids, droning insects — immerse the viewer totally in the experience of the river and the jungle. It’s like watching found footage from a mid-century ethnographic documentary (and about as fun too).

The cinematic effect, both

visual and emotional, is essayistic, designed to remind us forcefully of colonialism’s destructive powers. Even the jungle itself bears wounds from colonial incursions; everywhere, trees are lined with what look like musical staves, primed for producing a sap used to make rubber. The “rubber barons” are the unseen occupying force. In one horrific scene, Theo’s original guide, the acculturated Manduca, who was bought by Theo from a rubber plantation, sees a copse of trees, all dripping sap into buckets.

He kicks the buckets over in rage, howling heavenward at the rubber

barons. A grotesquely mutilated man emerges from the jungle, trying with his one arm to salvage the rubber that has been kicked from the buckets and then begging the travelers to have mercy and kill him.

Though at times overly languorous (it’s over two hours long), Serpent is structured around vignettes like the above that feel freighted with the same literary significance as the encounters in Apocalypse Now, and doubly so here, as they are often repeated in the second journey. In the movie’s most bizarre encounter, the 1909 outfit stops at a mission run by

a truculent priest with the hopes of restocking their supplies. The priest is the lone guardian of a native brood, orphans of tribes decimated by the rubber barons. The mission is deep in the jungle and the priest is clearly losing his mind, even as he loses his grip on the acolytes out of whom he nightly tries to beat the “savagery.”

In the later river journey, Karamakate and Evan are imprisoned at the same mission. Now it is home to a crazed and self-flagellant cult.

They wear sackcloth masks and sport unutterable hairdos. It’s as if the Kurtz-worshippers in Apocalypse Now were rendered through the psychedelic mind of Alejandro Jodorowsky. “They are now the worst of both worlds,” Karamakate says.

Based on the diaries of scientists Theodor Koch-Grunberg and Richard Evans Schultes, Embrace of the Serpent has the feel of a film destined for the Criterion Collection.

It’s a weird and sumptuous travelogue, curious more than it is enjoyable, but an indispensable corrective to certain heroic colonial narratives. This one has at its center the solemn shaman Karamakate, “the last of his tribe,” forced to bear witness as even the most wellintentioned whites can do little but rape and sully his home — the horror, the horror.

sallard@clevescene.com t@SceneSallard

SPOTLIGHT: ONLY YESTERDAY Oscar-nominated director Isao Takahata (The Tale of the Princess Kaguya) and general producer Hayao Miyazaki worked together on 1991’s Only Yesterday, an animated film about 27-year-old Taeko, a woman who’s spent her whole life in Tokyo. Taeko, however, has always had a real nostalgia for the countryside, and for her “vacation” she heads to the countryside to work on a farm and pick flowers. It provides a nice change of pace from her desk job.

The coming-of-age film, which opens on Friday at the Cedar Lee Theatre, has only now received a North American theatrical release with this new, Studio Ghibli-produced, English-

language version in celebration of its 25th anniversary. Beautifully drawn, the movie presents a strong (if heavy-handed) message about using nature as a way to explore the self.

Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens’) is the voice of Taeko in this new version.

When Taeko arrives at the train station, she gets a ride to the farm from a bumbling young farmer Toshio (Slumdog Millionaire’s Dev Patel), and the two become friends. Being in the countryside triggers something in Taeko, and she regularly has flashbacks to her childhood, recalling everything from the nasty cafeteria food she used to have to eat at school

to the struggles she had with fractions. She also remembers the time when her stern father refused to let her act in the school play.

The trip to the countryside ultimately proves rather cathartic, and Toshio helps facilitate Taeko’s reawakening. He talks about farming with the passion of a philosopher, making Taeko realize that she loves the countryside so much because she has always felt connected to nature, even though she didn’t grow up in a rural environment. He takes her to remote mountaintops and teaches her how to milk a cow. It all comes off as an advertisement for the advantages of living the simple life. — Jeff Niesel | clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

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EAT ALCHEMY HOURS The path to perfect pizza at In Forno in Avon

By Douglas Trattner IT ALL LOOKS SO DAMN EASY. You flour and stretch some dough.

(It doesn’t even have to be perfectly round!) You spoon on a little tomato sauce. (It’s literally just crushed canned tomatoes!) You top the pies with whatever looks good. (My young nephews and nieces can do this!) You pop it in the oven for less than two minutes. (It doesn’t even matter if the crust burns a little!) And, in return, people pay you $15 for a pizza half the size and thickness of a “regular” pizza.

Of course, if it was so easy to master the Neapolitan pie game, we’d have more than a handful of local craftsman playing it. What we don’t see — and, given the open setup of most of these places, we see damn near all — is the time and effort that goes into the dough. And with this pizza, the crust is everything.

It’s a bit of alchemy to transform just four modest components (flour, water, salt, yeast) into such a crispy, chewy and flavorful base, one that takes time, patience and more than a little trial and error to master, according to George Goodman, who recently opened In Forno Pizza in Avon. While he’s pretty much an open book when it comes to his pizzamaking process, even he has his limits.

“I’m not going to tell you exactly how I make the dough,” he says. “It took me so long to perfect it. I mean, it’s still not perfect. But I’m working on it every day.”

If you want some pro tips on how to successfully enter the challenging restaurant world, take a look at Goodman’s recent history.

For the past five years he has been endeavoring to make splendid pizza using a makeshift wood-fired oven mounted on the back of a truck, often in imperfect weather for hundreds of tipsy, hangry people.

In October, he and his wife Elizabeth invested pretty much everything they had on a small, simple restaurant that focuses mainly on one thing: pizza. What began

IN FORNO PIZZA 35840 CHESTER RD., AVON 216-394-9784 WWW.INFORNOPIZZA.COM

Ramp pesto, mushroom, onion and buffalo mozzarella pizza, front; margherita pizza with buffalo mozzarella, rear.

as a pie-in-the-sky dream for this Romanian immigrant culminated in In Forno, a pie-on-the-plate reality years in the making. Goodman must be overjoyed.

“It’s much more work and way more hours than before — and no freedom whatsoever,” he says.

Still, if you’re going to be chained to your desk, that desk might as well be the Maserati of wood-fired pizza ovens. Crafted in Naples by a 100-yearold company, the gleaming white-tiled Stefano Ferrara oven looks like an igloo for a family of tiny Eskimos.

Diners who sit at the pizza counter not only get an up-close and unobstructed view of the process, but they get to bend the ear of Goodman, who happens to be a great listener.

“It’s almost like — what do you call those booths in a Catholic church, where they come in and tell you all their problems? I’m so close to people, they tell me everything, from small things to big things — lots of personal things. It’s really a gift, one of the best things I didn’t expect.”

We had the pleasure of sitting at that marble counter as Goodman whipped up pie after beautiful pie. After ordering the antipasto plate ($13), I watched Goodman make what looked like a small white pizza. It turned out to be the warm and fragrant garlic bread that accompanied the thin-sliced prosciutto, zesty salumi, wedge of manchego, meaty green olives and cherry tomato salad.

Apart from that platter, and a couple of straightforward salads like the arugula ($7), topped with tomatoes, heaps of fresh-grated parmesan and lemony vinaigrette, the menu is dedicated exclusively to pizza. There are a dozen models, split between bianca (sauceless) and rossa.

There’s the classic Margherita ($12), a sacred amalgamation of tomato, mozzarella and basil, and there’s the Di Parma ($16), which gilds the lily with garlic, arugula and, after the pizza exits the 900-degree oven, shaved prosciutto.

Goodman shows off a box of

pristine oyster mushrooms, so of course we try the Vegetarian pizza ($14), a textbook crust pocked with charred bits and chewy bits topped with sliced ’shrooms, wilted spinach, two kinds of cheese and red onion.

Next time, we’ll bring along a bottle of wine or a few beers to enjoy with our pizza since In Forno doesn’t have a liquor license.

Not everybody is comfortably seated aboard the Neapolitan Pizza Express, an ostensibly expensive, scrawny and undersized relative to our gut-busting American styles. But they’re slowly coming around, says Goodman.

“Almost daily we have new people who don’t really know about this kind of pizza,” he says. “We try to educate them and explain, try to inform as much as possible. But as soon as they try it, they get it and love it. Well, most of them. Some people are never going to change.”

dtrattner@clevescene.com t @dougtrattner | clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

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| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

Origin turns all-natural Piccadilly Creamery base into line of A2 milks

By Nikki Delamotte ADRIAN BOTA HAD HIS FINGER on the pulse of the organic frozen treats wave when he launched Piccadilly Artisan Yogurt in 2013 and followed it the next year with Piccadilly Artisan Creamery. Since the shops’ inception, Bota has been looking for a way to bottle the all-natural Guernsey cows’ milk he uses. Now, with interest peaking in Guernsey milk, Bota once again finds himself ahead of the curve.

Last fall, Bota debuted Origin (originmilk.com), a line of milk sourced exclusively from Guernsey cows. The company’s whole milk, 2-percent, chocolate milk and heavy cream hit the shelves of local grocery stores this January and soon will be sold at Whole Foods and Giant Eagle’s Market District. Later this year, Origin will add butter, half and half, goats’ milk and goats’ cheese.

Sourced exclusively from Guernsey herds in Holmes County, Origin contains purely A2 beta casein protein, a protein that was once present in all cows’ milk before genetic mutations and breeding practices pushed it out. A2 milk is characterized by its rich golden hue and increased health benefits.

“We can make people healthier by giving them less processed, real, downto-earth products,” insists Bota.

The exact health benefits are debated, which required Bota to push hard to create a regulatory pathway to sell his products. But A2 milk has been shown to have a higher vitamin content and more Omega-3, in part due to grass grazing. Low-heat pasteurization and higher percentage of milk fat add to the benefits.

“Consumer education is probably the number one thing we have to do,” says Bota. “Between the background on the milk and its genetics, there’s a science to it.”

While many breeds have at least some traces of A2, the Guernsey factor makes all the difference, he explains. It can be appreciated in the golden color and rich flavor, often compared to goats’ milk. The lack of homogenization allows a layer of cream to float to the top while providing a thicker consistency.

Since Guernseys are relatively light producers, farmers hoping to harvest

as much milk as possible historically have turned their backs on the breed.

“That’s great for us,” says Bota, because the cows remain largely unmodified.

“When we started caring more about the quantity of milk and not the quality of milk, we moved away from this, cheapened this,” he says. “We’re bringing back something that we once did really well.”

Even the name “Origin” speaks to modern awareness about where our food comes from and how it’s made.

But it also looks to the past, when A2 milk was the status quo.

“Younger generations hear the story of A2 Guernsey milk and theoretically it sounds good, but they don’t have a point of reference,” Bota says. “But when we demo it in stores, people of a certain age say, ‘It takes me back. It reminds me of how milk used to be when we had it delivered to our home.’”

Bota hopes to expand the Guernsey A2 milk market to other states.

“I don’t want this to be an Ohio milk sent to other places; that undoes the Origin ethos,” he says. “I’d like to partner up with local farmers under the Origin label, since demand and marketing is already there. That way the milk sourced is always local.”

A recipe book might also be down the line.

“I think that anything we can do to go back in time and do things the way we used to will benefit the cows, the farmers, the environment and then us,” Bota says.

scene@clevescene.com t @cleveland_scene

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OPENING SOON Vita Urbana in Battery Park’s Shoreway Building

By Douglas Trattner VITA URBANA, INSIDE THE freshly minted Shoreway Building (1200 West 76th St.) in Battery Park, is on track to open its doors within the month, says owner Mike Graley. The all-day gourmet market and cafe is designed with the immediate community’s needs in mind.

“It’s kind of a new concept, but it’s beginning to catch on,” says Graley. “It’s a breakfast, lunch and dinner restaurant with retail, all in one and designated for the community. I’ve spent a lot of time in Italy, and there they have a lot of places that are very similar to this, where you can go in the morning for a cup of coffee and pastry, and then at night for an Irish coffee with a baguette or something.”

The long, slender space is divided into two main areas, with a 50-seat bistro up front and the marketplace in the rear. In the morning a barista will prepare coffee drinks from behind the bar, while graband-go items like fresh fruit cups, granola, quiche and frittatas are available for those on the run. At night, chef-partner Scott Popovic will prepare small plates like meat and cheese boards, sliders topped with fried mortadella, risotto croquettes with tomato fondue, and beer-braised short ribs with mascarpone polenta.

Those dishes can be paired

with a local craft beer, glass of wine, craft cocktail or a bottle of wine plucked from the large retail section in the back. Also back there will be many of the products featured on the menu, so if you really liked a particular cheese or salumi at dinner, you can grab some to take home on the way out.

The shelves will be stocked with beer, wine, gourmet cheeses, charcuterie, pasta, olive oil, condiments and a few basic necessities for the neighborhood like paper goods. One section will be dedicated to “first to market” products originating in the Cleveland Culinary Launch and Kitchen. The shop’s product line will adjust according to the wants and needs of the community, says Graley.

“We’ll let the customers dictate what they want, and whatever they want we’ll cater to,” he says.

Graley, who opened Battery Park Wine Bar back in 2010, later selling that nearby spot to Susan Walters for CHA Spirits & Pizza Kitchen, says he is thrilled to be back in his old neighborhood. He’s banking on continued growth in the neighborhood, fueled in no small part by an additional phase of residential development.

Graley says that he already has plans to open additional Vita Urbana locations in, naturally, other urban Cleveland neighborhoods.

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| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

EAT

bites

PURE & SUPREME CUISINE CLOSES, SAUSAGE-THEMED PICNIC TO OPEN The last day for Pure & Supreme Cuisine, a popular lunch spot for vegan and vegetarian diners — and anybody else looking for fresh, wholesome cuisine — came last week.

The fast-casual shop, located in the 5th Street Arcades (530 Euclid Ave.) for the past four years, dished up things like hummus plates, falafel salads, okra and cauliflower stew, African peanut stew, vegan gyros, tofu sandwiches, veggie juices and fruit smoothies.

Owner Amira was not altogether pleased to be shown the door, but admits that she lacked a lease and was behind on her payments.

“I had a huge investment here, so I didn’t want to give up my spot,” she says. “I’m well-established here. I’ll be searching for a new location that’s just right.”

Dick Pace, president of Cumberland Development and leaseholder of 5th Street Arcades, says that he worked out payment plans with Amira a number of times but she was simply no longer able to meet her financial obligations.

“We’re sad to see her leave,” Pace says. “She had a great business with a very good following and we wish her the best.”

Already the spot has been spoken for, Pace adds. Come spring, the space will be home to a new food concept from Bob Holcepl, who also operates Tea Lab in the arcade.

“I always said that if any of these spaces became available, I wanted it,” says Holcepl.

When it opens in the coming months, PicNic will be a sausagecentric lunch concept that features locally made, chef-driven sausages, hand-cut fries, and creative toppings and sides.

“Think more Hot Doug’s than Happy Dog,” Holcepl says, referring to the uber-popular Chicago-based hot dog and sausage concept that featured unusual meats and gourmet toppings.

The weekday lunch-only concept will feature a few staples like hot dogs, bratwurst and Polish Boys made with Slovenian kielbasa. Regular toppings like coleslaw, sauerkraut and horseradish will be joined by more creative toppings like peanut butter and others. Seasonal salads will join fresh-cut fries in the sides department.

While hopefully delicious, PicNic isn’t meant to be fancy,

Holcepl stresses.

“I’m taking a low-brow food product and making it middle-brow,” he says.

“At the end of the day, it’s still just a sausage.”

Holcepl says that his goal is to have PicNic open by the Indians’ home opener.

“My ideal opening day would be Opening Day,” he says.

SYMON AND FLAY TEAM UP TO HOST AUTISM SPEAKS CHEFS GALA Since taking over hosting duties of Cleveland’s top two culinary fundraisers, Michael Symon has managed to progressively up the stock of each one. Those two events — Autism Speaks Chefs Gala and the Five Star Sensation — occur every other year, with just one of them taking place each summer.

This year the spotlight again falls on Autism Speaks, a mega-fundraiser for autism research. The last installment, held in the atrium of the Cleveland Museum of Art in August of 2014, was attended by 700 guests and raised more than $250,000. This year, the party moves to a new location, the Grand Ballroom of the Cleveland Convention Center. The date: Saturday, August 6.

Once again, Symon is enlisting the help of a high-powered friend.

Celebrity chef and special guest Bobby Flay will join Symon on stage for a live and interactive dinner preparation.

High bidders will have the chance to join the chefs on stage for a special dinner. Other silent auction prizes also will be available for purchase.

The rest of us will have to make do with food prepared by some of Cleveland’s top culinary talent. More than 20 chefs representing more than 40 restaurants will be offering specially prepared dishes for party goers. That long list of talent includes Tim Bando (Grove Hill), Jonathan Bennett (Moxie, Red), Dante Boccuzzi (Dante, DBA, Ginko, Dante Next Door), Derek Clayton (Michael Symon Restaurants), Douglas Katz (Fire Food and Drink, Provenance), Matt Mytro and Paul Minnillo (Flour), Jonathon Sawyer (Greenhouse Tavern, Noodlecat, Trentina), Steve Schmoler (Crop Bistro), Karen Small (Flying Fig), Rocco Whalen (Fahrenheit) and Eric Williams (Momocho, El Carnicero), among many others.

Tickets start at $250 per person and include 2 drink tickets, complimentary valet parking, and tastings from the Cleveland chefs.

dtrattner@clevescene.com t@dougtrattner

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| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

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MUSIC

Darkness appeals to the guys in New Planet Trampoline.

BOUNCING BACK

Local indie rockers New Planet Trampoline re-record a long-lost album

By Jeff Niesel DARK RIDES AND GRIM VISIONS, the latest long player from the local psychedelic rock band New Planet Trampoline, has a particularly long and convoluted history. The group actually started working on the album, a terrific 13-song collection of trippy songs inspired by the lysergic late ’60s, eight years ago. Six Parts Seven’s Tim Gerak initially helmed the project.

“Tim did his due diligence,” says NPT singer-guitarist Matt Cassidy one afternoon over coffee at the Phoenix coffeehouse on Coventry in Cleveland Heights. “It wasn’t his fault at all the recordings were lost. We had finished all the basic tracks. He held onto the recordings. The band had just gotten back together. We were two-thirds done with that record and wanted to finish it. Tim had moved to Colorado.

He just unpacked and the hard drives were destroyed. At that point, we just realized we needed to start over.”

The soft-spoken Cassidy’s been a fixture on the local scene ever since he started up a number of indie rock acts while he was in college at Kent State in the ’90s. After he moved to

Cleveland in 1998, he launched a “fourtrack project” called Planetarium.

Eventually, that band would morph into New Planet Trampoline after he started playing with members of the like-minded psychedelic rock act Volta Sound.

“We were just goofing around,” says Cassidy of the initial NPT sessions. “We went through different lineups and eventually I recorded the first album half by myself and half with the help of other folks, including [drummer] Charlie [Druesdow] and [bassist] Dave [Molnar] who were in Dreadful Yawns at the time. They just joined New Planet Trampoline. That’s the live setup that came together at that point.”

Part of Lakewood’s loosely organized Davenport Collective, the band quickly released two fantastic records, 2004’s The Curse of the New Planet Trampoline and 2005’s Blimps & Aeroplanes EP. All appeared to be going well.

But Cassidy wasn’t feeling it.

“We ran out of money and the touring was tough. I booked our

tours, and it got grueling,” he says. “I hit a wall. After we did one big tour, I couldn’t imagine putting another ounce of energy into it. I was just burned out. I told them we were done and I wanted to get the recording done and play one or two more shows.”

Cassidy then devoted his time to his noise project, 9-Volt Haunted House.

But after participating in 2013’s Lottery League and seeing its participants rally around the death of Lottery Leaguer Ted Flynn and the It Men’s Ken Janssen’s diagnosis with Lou Gehrig’s disease, Cassidy realized he wanted to bring NPT back into the scene.

“It was a bunch of things,” he says when asked about what inspired him to return to NPT. “Ken [Janssen] talked me into doing an Oasis cover thing. We did that, and I hadn’t talked to him in a year or two. He was on crutches, and they were just looking into his illness. Then, we found out about his ALS. We knew how that was going to end. We did a great big final It Men thing. It was at the same time that Ted Flynn passed

away. He was very eclectic and had a Captain Beefheart-like vibe. He was an impressive guy.”

For its comeback show, the band reconvened to play a faithful rendition of Pink Floyd’s The Piper at the Gates of Dawn at a Halloween show at Pat’s in the Flats. That concert marked the band’s first show in nearly eight years.

And Cassidy managed to find the duck call and every other bell, whistle and garbage can you hear on the original album, so he could duplicate it as precisely as possible.

“We thought we’d do that, and it would be it,” he says of the Pat’s concert. “It was a couple of months of prep work. Charlie had mentioned it would be funny if we did a reunion show and did a cover show. We learned Piper real quick for that Halloween show. It was a lot of fun.”

The group also performed the Floyd album in its entirety at a bar that was unofficially participating in the annual Austin Psych Fest as well.

In 2014, the band returned with The Wisconsin Witch House EP, an album that puts the emphasis on | clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

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53

MUSIC intricate prog-rock jams.

“We had an idea back then that we would put out a short EP before our next album,” he says when asked about The Wisconsin Witch House EP. “We wanted to do a new EP really quick. One song is from a compilation that barely saw the light of day. One song is one that got lost when the hard drive got smashed.

We had mostly recorded and we finished that based on a backup copy I found. With the big long song at the end, I thought it was going to be a four-minute song and we just added more and more into it and let it go. It was an EP but is like an hour long.”

Cassidy admits that when he started writing the songs for Dark Rides and Grim Visions, he was in a different frame of mind.

“I think when I wrote most of the words, I was feeling very paranoid,” he says. “You can look at the lyrics and say, ‘This guy is going to break this band up.’

It’s all grim and haunted. At the time, I was fascinated with ghosts and stuff like that and the idea that, when people say their house is haunted or something like that, it’s a manifestation of fears they have. Kind of like, ‘It’s not me. It’s the ghost.’ That’s where most of the lyrics come from.”

The band recorded in an

has harmony vocals, old school synthesizers and jangly guitars that are layered on top of one another.

Cassidy says it took some tweaking to get it right.

“At first, I thought if any song would be left off, it would be that one,” he says. “I felt like the words were arrogant. I ended up keeping the lyrics. Originally, it sounded like ‘Tomorrow Never Knows.’ We had to retool the bass and drum part and put a keyboard part on it. Dave [Molnar] did a lot to help arrange the vocal harmonies. I came up with a new guitar solo. It ended up becoming almost everyone’s favorite song on the album. We used a farfisa and Hammond B-4.”

With its ricocheting guitar riff, bellowing vocals and funky bass riff, “Confidence Man” sounds a little punkier and comes off more like the Stranglers than the Stones.

“I was really feeling the Back from the Grave compilations and [Jimi Hendrix’s] ‘Manic Depression,’” says Cassidy. “I think Dave wrote half the words and I wrote half the words. We included our big prog rock guitar solos and keyboard solos. We had to have a place for those.”

Cassidy says he’s currently recording a “secret project” that he says will be “very funny,” and he imagines another New Planet Trampoline album will come together in the future now that the band has successfully started

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apartment; Cassidy said band members enjoyed the challenge of trying to improve upon the album’s original incarnation.

“Re-recording it was really fun,” he says. “The vast majority we had played live. We had a frame of reference for what they were. We had a root idea that I had to flesh out and decide what weird effects and turns to put on those. Everyone collaborated on that. For a long time, we just had a rough track on a CDR.” A song like “Ex-President”

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| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

touring and recording again.

“Everyone is committed to it because it’s fun,” he says. “I’m trying to stay away from the thing where I’m pushing it all the time. Everyone is involved in other projects too, but I’ve come up with a bunch of ideas for stuff and I think the other guys have been working on ideas for songs too. I imagine we’ll record something new in a year or so.”

jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel

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| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

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HARD AND HEAVY

Local underground rock act Craw to reunite in wake of new reissues

By Evan Harms WHILE THE LOCAL HARD ROCK act Craw never rose above cult status, it did have a strong local following and regularly played at the old Euclid Tavern, a stronghold for the heavy bands on Touch N Go, the influential Chicago label. The group draws from underground metal and hardcore contemporaries of the late ’80s and ’90s, and the music features cutting guitar tones, concussive drumming and atonal lyrics. Taking inspiration from jazz, classical and modern music, while maintaining the sonic lineage of punk, metal, classic prog rock and ’70s riff rock, the band held a unique position on the local scene.

“We fit into the Cleveland scene pretty well,” says bassist Zak Dieringer. “The rest of the world didn’t mesh with us. We weren’t aiming the music at the right audience. Younger, hardcore kids were into it, but we were aiming it at the Touch N Go Chicago scene. Cleveland has got weirder taste than most other places. It wasn’t out of place for us to play with Neurosis and then play with the Jesus Lizard.”

“Conceptually, we just wanted to make [our music] as hard and heavy as possible,” adds guitarist David McClelland. “Which sometimes meant making it as light and quiet as possible.”

In the wake of the recent reissue of the band’s first three albums, the group will play a reunion show at the Grog Shop. All members from all eras of the band will be participating. It will be the first Craw show with singer Joe McTighe since 2002, and the first time

56

some of the guys have been onstage together since 1994.

The original members first met in the late 1980s when Case Western Reserve University students McClelland, Chris Apanius and Rockie Brockaway began jamming, eventually adding classmate Joe Tighe on vocals. Their first drummer, Laurie Davis, recorded some demo material with the band while she was studying at the Cleveland Institute of Art. After she left, she was replaced

by Cleveland Institute of Music student Neil Chastain. Following the recording of Craw’s eponymous first album and the subsequent touring, Apanius and Chastain left the band and were replaced by bassist Zak Dieringer and drummer Will Scharf (of Keelhaul fame).

This lineup would be the backbone of the next two albums, Lost Nation Road and Map, Monitor, Surge. Those first three albums — all recorded with legendary engineer Steve Albini

first three records. Northern Spy, a Brooklyn record label, agreed to pick up the project and helped develop a six-LP box set that includes Craw’s first three records on vinyl and an “exhaustive” 200-page book detailing the Craw story, complete with a timeline, lyrics, discography, bibliography and many photos.

The Grog Shop concert will present music from all four of Craw’s studio albums featuring former members Chris Apanius and Neil Chastain.

McClelland also hints at a number of “surprises” throughout the evening.

In its earliest days, Craw was more a CWRU band than a Cleveland band, regularly playing Cleveland Institute of Art parties, house shows near University Circle, and the Euclid Tavern. McClelland says the band didn’t take inspiration from the city’s decay.

“Our ‘scene’ was really the amazing hybrid of math and science nerds, artists and musicians that was at

CRAW, MURDEREDMAN, THE GREAT IRON SNAKE 8 P.M., FRI., MARCH 11, THE GROG SHOP, 2785 EUCLID HTS. BLVD., CLEVELAND HTS., 216-321-5588.

TICKETS: $12 ADV, $15 DOS, GROGSHOP.GS

— have been out of print on CD “for about 8 million years,” according to drummer Will Scharf. They were never released on vinyl.

Two years ago, Hank Shteamer, a musician and writer out of Kansas City, organized a Kickstarter campaign to bring back Craw’s

| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

University Circle at that moment in time. I’ve made this comparison before, but the University Circle area at the time was just one of those right time, right place moments that had a real Godel, Escher, Bach vibe to it,” says Brockway, referencing the 1979 book

by Douglas Hofstadter that’s about the

Photo by Anastasia Pantsios

MUSIC

nature of cognition. “There was an initial outlet in the Euclid Tavern that just all lent itself to the enhancement of the Cleveland underground and indie movements.”

McClelland feels the same way.

“The Cinematheque at CIA was a huge influence — maybe not specifically musical, but we all saw lots of great films that we might otherwise have missed. And of course we were right next to CIA, and the Cleveland Museum [of Art], and the symphony — so the things we did for recreation (besides skateboarding) were usually centered around the arts.”

Which raises the question: did Craw fit in with the Cleveland hardcore scene of the ’80s and ’90s?

The answer is a convoluted no.

Musically, Craw was dissimilar to many of the local heavyweights of that era, including Integrity, Ringworm, and 9 Shocks Terror.

While maintaining a level of heaviness, Craw basked in its own unique sound and musical attitude.

“We didn’t set out to be more or less weird than anyone; all that ‘weirdness’ comes naturally from writing music that’s both challenging and exciting for us specifically,” McClelland says.

“If weirder means more confusing, and more alienating, then by all means, we were playing weirder shit,” says Scharf. “We were the square peg.”

scene@clevescene.com t@cleveland_scene

| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

57

Photo courtesy of YepRoc

MUSIC

ADOPTING AN ATTITUDE

Indie rockers Dressy Bessy break a dry spell with Kingsized

By Bethany Kaufman WHAT WITH THE PERSISTENT need to get something out of your system, being an artist can be like enduring a constant state of nausea.

When the body will decide it’s time to get creative is anyone’s guess.

The Denver-based indie rock band Dressy Bessy has been coiled up in a stomach cramp for nearly a decade over their new album.

“It’s just burning in my freakin’ gut,” says singer-guitarist Tammy Ealom via phone from a Washington D.C. tour stop. “And sometimes it’s a curse too because sometimes it takes eight years to get it out. And I’m not going to put out a bunch of crap because I want to stay popular. I just want to be pertinent, which means making good albums, so that’s what we’re doing.”

Luckily for the band (and for fans), relief has come with Kingsized, the band’s sixth full-length album and first since 2008.

The perfect mix of Dressy Bessy traditionalism and successful experimentation, Kingsized comes across as an excellent representation of the band. Although often branded as twee or bubblegum pop on account of an early association with the Kindercore record label, Dressy Bessy has matured to embrace a rock ’n’ roll attitude. Not infrequently, Ealom evokes the vocal gruffness of the Deal sisters or Kim Shattuck of the Muffs as she sings over fuzzed-out guitars.

New tracks like “Pop Phenom,” “Kingsized” and “Make Mine Violet” will invite fans new and old to revisit the band’s discography, while “These Modern Guns” marks the band’s first adventure into hard rock riffage and

58

“Cup o’ Bang Bang” has it trying on post punk for size.

Ealom got her start in music by grazing the vast library of her military-man-turned-record-collector dad. Her family spent time living on bases in Germany and Hawaii before her dad’s retirement, at which time he settled in Denver and opened a record store. These early musical ruminations were a bit of an acquired taste for Ealom.

“Yeah, [my dad] would always be bringing records home and shipping them,” she says. “Stuff like the Beatles, like ’60s rock ’n’ roll and stuff like that. That was his stuff. And as a kid I was like, ‘Oh gosh,’ you know. I would bring my friends over, and he’d be like, ‘Hey girls, come in here, look what I got.’ And at 15, you know, we were like, ‘Oh god, dad, stop!’ Of course, later, I’m like, ‘Um, can I get those records from you?’ So yeah. I give him credit for that.”

album, Hooray for Tuesday, before scoping out musicians for an act of her own. She met original drummer Darren Albert through her job as a fashion photographer. He and guitarist-turned-bassist Rob Greene were migrating from New York to California when they got stuck in Denver, and Albert came to Ealom for a headshot session as he looked for work. Upon learning that they were both musicians, the two decided to meet up, and Greene joined them.

At the time, Ealom’s boyfriend (now husband) John Hill was often away on tour with his band, the Apples in Stereo. He played an advisory role to the group at first but was quickly sucked into playing guitar.

“I think he wanted to keep an eye on me too and not have some other guy ... ,” laughs Ealom.

After releasing its first single, “Ultra Vivid Color,” on self-made label Little Dipper Records!, the band

DRESSY BESSY, CHEAP CLONE, HEAVENLY CREATURES 8:30 P.M., WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, GROG SHOP, 2785 EUCLID HEIGHTS BLVD., CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, 216-321-5588. TICKETS: $8 ADV, $10 DOS, GROGSHOP.GS

The story of Dressy Bessy begins in the 1990s with a vocal audition that landed Ealom a spot in the latestage version of the dark, brooding alternative band 40th Day. Discovering she had a knack for writing melodies, Ealom quickly learned guitar and assumed a backup role in Sissy Fuzz (exactly as it sounds: lo-fi music for your local Double Dutch league).

She also collaborated with friend Martyn Leaper on the Minders’ first

| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

caught the attention of indie labels worldwide. Kindercore nabbed their first three full-lengths: 1999’s Pink Hearts Yellow Moons; 2002’s Sound Go Round; and 2003’s Dressy Bessy.

After Kindercore went under, the band moved to Transdreamer Records for 2005’s Electrified and 2008’s Holler and Stomp. Albert and Greene left the band at points along the way and were replaced by Craig Gilbert on drums and Jeff Fuller on bass. Fuller joined

the band after much of Kingsized was recorded, and the album features a plethora of guest bassists including Eric Allen of the Apples in Stereo and Andy Shernoff of the Dictators.

Ealom used to theorize that the band’s cutesy name might drive away potential listeners by making them think that the music is all pop and no rock.

“We also get a lot of, ‘Oh, I’ve heard of your band, but I’ve never heard your music,’” she says. “We attribute it to, and this may be true or not, but we think maybe our aesthetic as far as our name, Dressy Bessy, may turn people off initially, some people. And they may not realize, ‘Holy crap, this is frickin’ rockin’ music.’ We’re not little kids who don’t know how to play our instruments; we actually know what we’re doing. But nowadays with Burger Records [home to acts such as Lust-Cats of the Gutters, Diarrhea Planet and Cleaners from Venus], there’s so many crazy band names, I don’t think the name has anything to do with it. I don’t think it could hinder us at all at this point.”

The band has been pleased to find that fans haven’t forgotten it, even though its presence in recent years was limited to a handful of digital singles.

“We’re just excited,” says Ealom.

“We always have been, but now it’s like, ‘Here we go.’ There wasn’t a fear of the unknown, but there was this sort of like, ‘Okay, we’ll see, people have moved on maybe.’ But it’s looking good.”

scene@clevescene.com t@cleveland_scene

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59

LIVEWIRE

all the live music you should see this week Photo courtesy of Big Hassle

WED

3/9

10 X 3 Hosted by Brent Kirby (in the Wine Bar): 8 p.m. Brothers Lounge.

Adult Books: 9:30 p.m., $8. Mahall’s 20 Lanes.

Blu Jazz + Student All-Stars Concert Series Presents: Tri- C Jazz Workshop Alumni Ensemble: 8 p.m., $10. BLU Jazz+.

Dead Stars/Stems: 9 p.m., $5. Now That’s Class.

Dressy Bessy: 8:30 p.m., $8 ADV, $10 DOS. Grog Shop.

Radney Foster/Ryan Humbert: 7:30 p.m., $18 ADV, $20 DOS. Music Box Supper Club.

Jody Getz & Friends/A Tribute to Jim Snively: 8 p.m. Barking Spider Tavern.

The Infamous Stringdusters Featuring Nicki Bluhm/Lindsay Lou and the Flatbellys: 8 p.m., $20.

Beachland Ballroom.

THU

3/10

Blood Pressure/Decapitators/ Lacerate/Prison Moan: 9 p.m., $5.

Now That’s Class.

Citizen/Turnover/Sorority Noise/Milk Teeth: 7 p.m., $15 ADV, $17 DOS. Beachland Ballroom.

DJ Jason Tarulli: 8 p.m., Free. The Euclid Tavern.

Chris Hatton’s Musical Circus (in the Wine Bar): 8 p.m. Brothers Lounge.

Hope Country/Ray Flanagan & the Authorities/Bro Dylan: 8 p.m., $8.

Beachland Tavern.

Jam Night with the Bad Boys of Blues: 9 p.m., Free. Brothers Lounge.

Keystone Lab (in the Supper Club): 7:30 p.m., $5 ADV, $8 DOS. Music Box Supper Club.

Moustache Yourself: 7:30 p.m., $10.

Bop Stop.

New Soft Shoe: 8 p.m., Free. Happy Dog. Michael Rotman & Friends/the Heights Guitar Ensemble/Chelsea Berry: 6 p.m. Barking Spider Tavern.

Geoff Tate’s Operation: Mindcrime: 7 p.m., $25-$35. House of Blues.

Y&T: 6 p.m., $17 ADV, $20 DOS. Agora Ballroom.

FRI

3/11

The Dirty Nil/Greys/Bullfighter/ Passengers/Punch Drunk

60

The retro-leaning Lake Street Dive comes to House of Blues. See: Monday.

Tagalongs (in the Locker Room): On Higher Power, the 2016 release from the Dirty Nil, things get heavy very fast. Right out of the gate, the band blazes punk chord structures across a borderline sludge metal landscape. It’s an effective strategy, one that touches on a number of much-beloved modern music traditions. With tunes like “Zombie Eyed,” the Dirty Nil taps into something youthful, aggressive and fun. And that’s the whole ethos of the band, it seems. (Eric Sandy), 7 p.m., $8 ADV, $10 DOS. Mahall’s 20 Lanes.

John 5 & the Creatures/Olathia: If John 5’s persona wasn’t quirky enough, his blisteringly-speedy hard rock music is just as full of surprising twists, in the form of flamenco flourishes and rockabilly breakdowns. Throughout 2016, John 5 plans to release one song, with music video, per month, which will eventually comprise his next, fittingly-named album, “Guitars, Tits, and Monsters.” He’s likely to shred his way through some of those new songs, including the latest single, “Making Monsters,” at tonight’s show. (Jacob DeSmit), 8:30 p.m., $16 ADV, $18 DOS. Beachland Ballroom.

Affiance/Fallen Captive/Ira Hill/ Motives/Seek Shelter/A Sense of Purpose: 6 p.m., $6. Agora Ballroom.

Bloodiest/Electric Hawk/Sweet Cobra: 8 p.m., $8. Now That’s Class.

The Boys from the County Hell: 8 p.m., $15. Music Box Supper Club.

California Guitar Trio: 8:30 p.m., $25.

Nighttown.

Paul Christiansen (in the Wine Bar):

| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

8 p.m. Brothers Lounge.

Wallace Coleman Blues Band/The RoundTooits Band/George Foley & Friends: 5:30 p.m. Barking Spider Tavern.

Craw/MURDEREDMAN: 9 p.m., $12.

Grog Shop.

Dangermuffin/Lunar Circus: 8:30 p.m., $10 ADV, $12 DOS. Beachland Tavern.

Davina and the Vagabonds (in the Supper Club): 8 p.m., $15 ADV, $18 DOS. Music Box Supper Club.

Delta Rae/Liz Longley: 8 p.m., $18$22. The Kent Stage.

DJ Joe Yachanan: 6 p.m., Free. Happy Dog. Fifty Amp Fuse: 9 p.m., $15. Vosh Club.

Forgotten Souls of Antiquity/Bill Fox/M. Ross Perkins: 9 p.m., $5.

Happy Dog. Frontier Folk Nebraska: 9 p.m., $5.

The Euclid Tavern.

High Class Criminals/Theta Waves/ The Foolish Souls/Trusting Obscurity: 7 p.m., $8 ADV, $10 DOS. Mahall’s 20 Lanes.

Hingetown Hoedown Kickoff Concert.: 7 p.m., $20. Bop Stop.

Dennis Lewin: 10:30 p.m., free.

Nighttown.

The Mega ‘80s: 8 p.m. House of Blues.

Guy Mintus Trio: 8 p.m., $12. BLU Jazz+.

Roxxymoron/F5: 9 p.m. Musica.

SAT

3/12

The Hesitations/Travis Haddix Blues Band/Rare Juelle/The Relatively Jammin’ Blues Band: Back in 2006, then-Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum CEO Terry Stewart

asked the Hesitations, a terrific old Cleveland soul group, to reunite for a gig at the museum. The band’s been playing steadily ever since and sounds as sharp as ever. The Hesitations’ roots go back to the mid-’60s, when they recorded R&B hits like “Soul Superman,” “Born Free,” and “Climb Every Mountain.”

In their heyday, they mixed up R&B, gospel and soul and they still take that approach. Band leader George Hendricks recently suffered a stroke, and this show serves a benefit concert to help raise money to offset his medical expenses.

(Niesel), 8 p.m., $20 ADV, $22 DOS. Music Box Supper Club.

MC Chris/Nathan Anderson: Audiences might recognize Chris Ward’s distinctive, pipsqueak rapping style right away, especially if they’re familiar with some of the late night cartoons that aired on Adult Swim during the early 2000s. Ward, whose stage name is MC Chris, worked behind the scenes of a few Williams Street Studios shows, such as Sealab 2021 and The Brak Show. But he is probably most recognized for his voice acting on Aqua Teen Hunger Force as MC Pee Pants, a deranged spider whose song “I Want Candy” infatuates the show’s impressionable meatball protagonist. If that plot sounds weird enough for you, the man’s music, which is described as nerdcore hip hop, will be right up your alley. Although the last entry to his 10-album discography came in 2014, his latest song, an ode to Star Wars called “The Fan Awakens,” dropped last December. (Jacob DeSmit), 8 p.m., $13 ADV, $15 DOS. Grog Shop.

Emily Wells: She splashes chamber pop with samples, producing trip-hop in the vein of Portishead on tracks like “Mama’s Gonna Give You Love” and “Passenger.”

This year’s release, Promise is a haunting album that occasionally defaults to a beautiful cacophony of electronica and drum machine beats.

(Kaufman), 8:30 p.m., $10 ADV, $12 DOS. Mahall’s 20 Lanes.

All Nighters/DJ Ky/DJ Lamar/DJ Shocky/DJ And1: 9 p.m., $20. Agora Ballroom.

Dave Alvin and Phil Alvin with the Guilty Ones/Sarah Borges: 8:30 p.m., $25. Beachland Ballroom.

Another Mother’s Milk/Radio Shaq/ Fascinating/Big Huge: 9 p.m., $5.

The Euclid Tavern.

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WED 3/16 • 7:00

BLUEWATER KINGS

FRI 3/18 • 7:30

9:00pm

THE PINK FLOYD CONCERT EXPERIENCE

Thurs. March 17

JiM staMper’s FaMous

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st. patrick’s Day party • Doors Open At 11AM •

(Big Band Jazz) 8:00

TUE • SUSHI NIGHT 5:00-10:00 WED • $5 BURGER NIGHT 5:00-10:00 THURS • TACOS 5:00-10:00

LADIES NIGHT

POMPOUS ASS 12PM

IRISH COTTAGE BOYS 3PM

7:00PM-2:30AM $4 WINE • MARTINIS • CHAMPAGNE

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6:30PM

JAMESON & GREEN BEER CORNED BEEF SPECIALS

WINE BAR FRI 3/11 • 8:00

Fri. March 18

st. patrick’s Day

PAUL CHRISTENSEN

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SAT 3/12 • 8:00

TRAVELIN JOHNSONS

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62

| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

1414 RiveRside dRive Lakewood 216-767-5202 • Voshclub.com

MON

Armstrong Bearcat: 9:30 p.m., $5.

Brothers Lounge.

Kofi Baker’s Cream Experience (in the Supper Club): 8 p.m., $20 ADV, $22 DOS. Music Box Supper Club.

Rachel Brown & the Beatnik Playboys/Gringo Stu: 8 p.m.

Barking Spider Tavern.

David Cook/Tony Lucca: 8 p.m., $20$75. The Kent Stage.

Crywolf/Maderra: 9 p.m., $12 ADV, $15 DOS. Beachland Tavern.

Daily Double with Pat Dailey/The Reese Daily Band/Ben Dover & the Screamers: 1:30 p.m., $35. The Tangier.

Diego Figueiredo: 8:30 p.m., $20.

Nighttown.

Heaven is In You with Corey Grand/ Bobby Junior/Guapperia b2b Tron/ Adab b2b Kiernan Laveaux: 9 p.m., $5. Now That’s Class.

Chris Knight/American Aquarium: 9 p.m., $20. Musica.

Tommy Lehman: 8 p.m., $12. BLU Jazz+.

Gaetano Letizia: 8 p.m., $10. Bop Stop.

New Planet Trampoline/Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor/HiramMaxim: 9 p.m., $5. Happy Dog. Songwriters in the Round: 4 p.m.

Barking Spider Tavern.

Spazmatics: 9 p.m., $5. Vosh Club.

Travelin’ Johnsons: 8 p.m. Brothers Lounge.

The Trippin’ Billies: Dave Matthews Tribute Band: 8 p.m. House of Blues.

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

Nighttown.

Neil Zaza: 7 p.m., $25. Akron Civic Theatre.

SUN

3/13

Abjects/Pig Flayer/Wesley Who/Glass Traps: 9 p.m., $5. Now That’s Class.

Ballinloch: 6 p.m. Barking Spider Tavern.

Benefit Concert for Vernon Jones: 5 p.m., $10. Beachland Ballroom.

Eileen Ivers: 7:30 p.m., $25-$35. The Kent Stage.

Nightowls: 3 p.m. Barking Spider Tavern.

Ken Peplowski & Diego Figueiredo: 7 p.m., $25. Nighttown.

Mike Petrone (in the Wine Bar): 5:30 p.m. Brothers Lounge.

Scarface/FDA Music/OG Grip: 9 p.m., $20 ADV, $25 DOS. Grog Shop.

A Traditional St. Paddy’s Party (in the Supper Club): 4 p.m., $10.

Music Box Supper Club.

3/14

Lake Street Dive/The Suffers: We were really excited about Lake Street Dive’s ascent following 2014’s Bad Self Portraits, and it seems the band has capitalized on that arc with their latest release -- February’s Side Pony. With their deepest foray into 70s soul yet, Lake Street Dive has emerged with a fascinating lens into both the past and the present state of rock ‘n’ roll. Songs like “Mistakes” and “I Don’t Care About You” massage that retro gleam with heart and spirit, even if the whole thing comes off a bit overly manufactured in the end. This album is still a good notch in the belt of Lake Street Dive, and we’re psyched to see where they go with future releases. (Sandy), 8 p.m., $25-$35. House of Blues.

Skatch Anderssen Orchestra: 8 p.m., $10. Brothers Lounge.

Grassroots Bluegrass Jam: 7:30 p.m., Free. The Euclid Tavern.

Long Live the Goat/Blackwater/ Erienauts: 9 p.m., Free. Now That’s Class.

Oneida/Lives of the Saints: 8:30 p.m., $12. Beachland Tavern.

Ken Peplowski & Joe Hunter Trio: 7 p.m., $25. Nighttown.

Scarface/FDA Music/OG Grip: 9 p.m., $20 ADV, $25 DOS. Grog Shop.

Sink Tapes/Bummed Out: 10 p.m., Free. Happy Dog. Velvet Voyage (in the Wine Bar): 8 p.m. Brothers Lounge.

TUE

3/15

Experience Hendrix: 7:30 p.m. Hard Rock Rocksino.

Excision: 8 p.m., $25. House of Blues.

Janiva Magness & Band/Blue Lunch: 8 p.m., $18 ADV, $20 DOS. Beachland Ballroom.

No Strangers Here/Marcus Whiteamire: 8 p.m. Barking Spider Tavern.

Outlab: Experiments in Improvised Music: 9 p.m., Free. Bop Stop.

Subterranean Cabaret II with Transgender/VHS/Lo Llorona/ Sarah Snider/Ghost Noises/DJ Kiernan La Veaux: 9 p.m., $7. Now That’s Class.

Swing City Big Band: 7:30 p.m., $10.

Vosh Club.

Three Headed MonsTOUR with Hawthorne Heights/The Ataris/ Mest/Handguns/London Falling: 6 p.m., $20. House of Blues.

Two-Set Tuesday Featuring Jim Keserich (in the Wine Bar): 7 p.m.

Brothers Lounge.

jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel

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Chelsea Berry 6:00 (singer/ songwriter) The Heights Guitar Ensemble 8:00 (guitarist) Michael Rotman & Friends 10:00

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Friday March 11

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George Foley & Friends 5:30 (jazz) The RoundTooits Band 8:00 (rock) Wallace Coleman Blues Band 10:00 (blues)

Saturday March 12 Songwriters In the Round 4:00 (singer/ songwriter) Gringo Stu 8:00 (Americana) Rachel Brown & the Beatnik Playboys 10:00 (blues, country)

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heavYweights brass band $12

3/22 | 8pm

spirit of the groove $20

3/25 | 8pm

glenn holmes Quartet and miKe wade $12

Bar sales directly support The Music Settlement and its many programs.

Food provided by Cleveland Culinary Launch and Kitchen!

WED, NARCH 9 BravoArtist Presents

Max Stern & Elliott Blair 7PM THURS, MARCH 10

Austin Walkin’ Cane

Musica: Intimate performance space, touring artists & local songwriters.

MAR 9

BRENT KIRBY’S 10 X 3

SONGWRITER/BAND SHOWCASE

MAR 11

ROXXYMORON MAR 1

CHRIS KNIGHT / AMERICAN AQUARIUM

8PM FRI, MARCH 11

ProgNation 10 PM SAT, MARCH 12

Liverpool Lads 10 PM SUN, MARCH 13

Farmsworth & Time Cat 9 PM

food menu available 2247 Professor AVe. tremont

216.274.1200 www.coda.danteboccuzzi.com

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Blu: National touring artists, fine food & spirits, intimate sophistication with stateof-the-art sound & lighting

MARCH 9

TRI-C JAZZ WORKSHOP ALUMNI ENSEBLE MAR 11

GUY MINTUS TRIO MARCH 12

TOMMY LEHMAN Musica: 51 E Market St Akron, OH 44308 | liveatmusica.com

Blu Jazz: 47 E Market St Akron, OH 44308 | blujazzakron.com

BAND OF THE WEEK

Photo by Ray Rael Yau

The Old Angle Saint Patrick’s Day

- Open at 9am Irish Breakfast Buffet: 9am - 11am “The Whiskey Island Rambler’s” “After The Parade” Bagpiprers Throughout The Day! Full Irish Menu: 11am - 10pm

SCARFACE

By Emanuel Wallace MEET THE BAND: Scarface (vocals) GETO MENTALITY: Rapper Scarface (née Brad Jordan and fka DJ Akshen) cut his teeth as a member of the seminal rap group, Geto Boys, back in 1989 on their album Grip It! On That Other Level. He quickly became the breakout star of the group and released his first solo album, Mr. Scarface is Back in 1991. As a member of the Geto Boys, Scarface played an integral role in hit songs such as “The World is a Ghetto,” “Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta” and perhaps the group’s most popular song, “Mind Playing Tricks On Me.” As a solo artist, Scarface has released 12 albums and collaborated with the likes of Ice Cube, Devin the Dude, Jay Z, Beanie Sigel, Nas, Master P and 2Pac among a plethora of others.

To date, he has three RIAA certified platinum albums, along with three certified gold LPs. DEAR DIARY: “I’m just a real musician,” Scarface says via phone during a busy day in New York as he refers to his ability to remain relevant for so long. “I don’t do anything else. I’m authentic.

People see that and people respect that about me.” Scarface may be a real musician, but he’s certainly not solely a musician. His time in the industry has seen him move to being an executive with Def Jam South and also an author, as he collaborated with Benjamin Meadows-ingram to write his memoir, Diary of a Madman in 2015.

“There were some other people they were thinking about bringing in,” Scarface says about his time as President of Def Jam South. “For me to land an artist of Ludacris’ caliber was quite the accomplishment.” The

process of writing the memoir was tougher than Scarface anticipated, but he looks back on it fondly now.

“It was like pulling teeth,” he says.

“He forced me to dig up some deep shit, but you don’t want to leave anything out because someone will come and say ‘wait a minute, I was there and here’s what really happened.’”

1848 West 25th Street West 25th & Bridge Ave Ohio City - Market District Cleveland 216-861-5643 Find us on

@Old Angle

@oldangle

A FACEMOB MENTALITY: Scarface’s latest release, Deeply Rooted, is one of his most personal works to date. It’s also his first release in seven years. “I was apprehensive about doing it at first,” he says.

These days, he’s doing it all through his own imprint, Facemob Music — without a major backing him.

The bulk of his career was spent with Rap-A-Lot Records before releasing The Fix with Def Jam South. “After I started letting people hear it and they liked what they were hearing, I felt better about it.”

Never one to hold their tongue on social and political happenings, he has some choice thoughts about Donald Trump and his run for the Republican nomination. “You already know what that is,” he says. “Anyone that has a prejudice towards something, hate towards someone or a fear, that’s an ideal candidate to vote for. He ain’t goin’ no-goddamn-where. You see the hate, you see the prejudice and you see the fear.”

WHERE YOU CAN SEE HIM: Scarface performs with FDA Music and OG Grip at 9 p.m. on Sunday, March 13 and Monday, March 14, at the Grog Shop.

jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel | clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

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CELEBRATE

ST. PAT’S DAY AT SECRETS

THURSDAY 3/17

STOP IN FOR A COLD BEER & CORNED BEEF ON OUR NEW PATIO !

GET YOUR IRISH ON WITH ONE OF OUR LOVELY ENTERTAINERS!

12820 brookpark rd. @ w. 130th • 216-458-1131

open 2:00pM-2:30aM Mon-sat • sUndaY 7:00pM - 2:30aM

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SAVAGE LOVE DOUBTS

By Dan Savage

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Dear Dan, I’m your average straight 42-yearold white guy. Married for a little less than a year (second marriage for both). We have an active sex life and are both GGG. My wife wants to be forcibly fucked — held down and raped.

Normally I’d be all over this because I do love me some rough sex. My issue: She told me she was traumatically raped by a man she was dating prior to me. All I know is that it involved a hotel room and him not stopping when she said “no.” So for now, I play along, but I know I’m not taking things as far as she’d like. I’m over here wondering if her previous trauma was a result of her encouraging forceful sex and regretting it later, and I worry the same thing could happen to me. Or is she trying to relive the experience? Should I fear her motivation and the potential consequences? Am I overthinking things?

— Tremulous Husband Is Needing Knowledge When it comes to rough sex — particularly when it involves role-playing forced-sex scenarios — overthinking is preferable to underthinking. But before we think through your specific issues, THINK, a few points of clarification.

A woman who’s into rough sex, even forced-sex/rape-role-play scenarios, can still have been raped by a partner — and a rape can occur during what was supposed to be a consensual forcedsex/rape-role-play scene. If your wife withdrew her consent and her former partner continued, it was rape.

Also, THINK, lots of women fantasize about “rape,” which I’m putting in quotes here because these fantasies typically involve a woman being “taken” by someone she’s attracted to, and lots and lots and lots of women are victims of rape.

Obviously there’s going to be overlap between these two groups. Your wife’s forced-sex fantasies could have nothing to do with her rape — it could be a coincidence — or your wife may be one of those people (not all of them women) who have eroticized a past sexual trauma (not always rape), and playing with a partner she trusts provides her with feelings of control and catharsis, empowerment and pleasure.

But what about you, THINK? You worry “the same thing could happen to me.” By that you don’t mean,

“I could be raped!” You mean, “I could be falsely accused of rape.” That’s a pretty big and disrespectful leap.

What you’re saying is, “I think my wife is lying when she says this other man raped her — and I don’t want her to do the same to me.” I’m not sure what to do with that. I mean, I don’t think your wife is lying, THINK, and I don’t know or love your wife.

You presumably know and love your wife, and yet you’re worried she may be setting you up for a false rape accusation. That’s some dark shit — that’s some Gone Girl shit, that’s the plot of some horrible Kathleen Turner/ Michael Douglas shit movie from the 1980s.

If you’re really concerned about protecting your own butt, THINK, then have a nice long conversation with your wife about her fantasies over email. I’ve given that advice to people negotiating edgy and/or forced-sex scenes with strangers or near-strangers. It feels odd to give that advice to someone negotiating a fantasy role-play scenario with his spouse. But here we are.

Don’t tell your wife you wanna chat over email because you’re worried about needing an alibi. I would suggest that you believe your wife, first off, and that you have this conversation over email — two anonymous accounts created just for this purpose — because it will allow you both to be more thoughtful and less inhibited (sometimes these things are hard to discuss face to face). Tell her you don’t want to accidentally traumatize or trigger her, first and foremost, but you also don’t want to wind up traumatizing yourself. You would feel like a monster if you hurt her while attempting to fulfill her fantasies.

Finally, THINK, this isn’t something your wife will wanna do just once. So take baby steps: Increase the intensity gradually, from scene to scene, check in afterward, google “sexual aftercare” and read the piece on Curve that pops up (it’s a lesbian website, but the lessons/advice/insight are generally applicable), and keep having long conversations — via email or face to face — about what’s working for her and what isn’t.

Good luck.

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| clevescene.com | March 9 - 15, 2016

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Brookside is located close to I-480, I-71, and I-90, just minutes from downtown Cleveland. Come home to the beautiful park-like setting of Brookside Apartments! You’ll be happy to call Brookside home.

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Career Opportunity!! Window Nation Now hiring Outside Appointment Setters for our Cleveland and Twinsburg, Ohio locations. This is a Full Time 40 hours per week position, must be able to work weekends early shift. Base salary plus bi-weekly bonuses usually average 600$ to 900$ per week.

Full Benefits (401K,medical, paid vacation and holidays)

Call Bill at 216-903-1744 for immediate interview or email resume to Careers@windownation.com

McKenzie Apartments 1310 W. 116th Street

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