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| clevescene.com clevescene.ccom m | August 222 - 228, 8, 2018 18
| clevescene.com clev e essce c nee.ccom m | August Augu Au gust st 22 22 - 28, 28 2018 2018
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AUGUST 22-28, 2018 • VOL. 49 NO 8 OUR GIFT TO YOU GIRLS! Do you like Hair Bows, Head Bands or Hair Clips? Select One Hair Accessory With your next Basic or Design Haircut Check us out on Facebook for gift ideas!
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5
Ohio clamps down on distracted driving, plus all the hot Blockland conference news you can handle
Associate Publisher Angela Nagal
Editorial Music Editor Jeff Niesel Senior Writer Sam Allard Staff Writer BJ Colangelo Staff Writer Brett Zelman Web Editor Laura Morrison Dining Editor Douglas Trattner Stage Editor Christine Howey Visual Arts Writers Dott von Schneider Copy Editor Elaine Cicora Interns Rebecca Goldfarb, Sarah Parr
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CONTENTS Feature
9
The 2018 People Issue
Advertising Senior Multimedia Account Executive John Crobar, Shayne Rose Multimedia Account Executive Kiara Davis
Get Out!
Creative Services Production Manager Steve Miluch Staff Photographer Emanuel Wallace
All the best things to do in Cleveland this week
Business Sales Assistant/Receptionist Megan Stimac Controller Kristy Dotson
27
Circulation Circulation Director Don Kriss
Stage
Euclid Media Group Chief Executive OfďŹ cer Andrew Zelman Chief Operating OfďŹ cers Chris Keating, Michael Wagner VP Digital Services Stacy Volhein Digital Operations Coordinator Jaime Monzon
Down by Contact explores the mental and physical price of football
www.euclidmediagroup.com
Eat
National Advertising Voice Media Group 1-800-278-9866, vmgadvertising.com
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Bell & Flower disappoints, plus Polpetta announces opening date for Rocky River shop
Cleveland Scene 737 Bolivar Rd, #4100 Cleveland, OH 44115 www.clevescene.com Phone 216-241-7550 Retail & ClassiďŹ ed Fax 216-241-6275 Editoral Fax 216-802-7212 E-mail scene@clevescene.com
Music
Cleveland Scene Magazine is published every week by Euclid Media Group. VeriďŹ ed Audit Member Cleveland Distribution Scene is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader Copyright The entire contents of Cleveland Scene Magazine are copyright 2018 by Euclid Media Group. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Publisher does not assume any liability for unsolicited manuscripts, materials, or other content. Any submission must include a stamped, self-addressed envelope. All editorial, advertising, and business correspondence should be mailed to the address listed above. Subscriptions $150 (1 yr); $80 (6 mos.) Send name, address and zip code with check or money order to the address listed above with the title ‘Attn: Subscription Department’
39
Ten bands at InCuya you shouldn’t miss, a chat with the Mighty Mighty Bosstones’ Dicky Barrett, plus all the shows to see this week
Savage Love
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Pickles and surrogates
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| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
SCENE with you with the Issuu app! “Cleveland Scene Magazine� COVER PHOTO BY TIM HARRISON
Photo by Sam Allard
UPFRONT AFTER A SPEEDING DRIVER HIGH ON HEROIN KILLS WOMAN IN DOWNTOWN, SCOOTER SAFETY SOMEHOW BECAME THE STORY IN ONE OF THE MORE FLAGRANT misunderstandings of a news story in recent months, Cleveland.com and other local outlets have pounced upon a drug-induced driving fatality as an opportunity to explore the safety concerns of electric scooters. Late Saturday night, a 19-yearold driving a Chevy Cruze at more than double the posted speed limit (25 mph) and so heavily under the influence of heroin that he was reportedly passed out when police arrived, struck and killed a 21-yearold female on East Ninth Street downtown. The fact that the woman was riding an electric scooter should have been incidental. But it has become the central talking point in the tragedy’s aftermath. See how other cities have regulated the influx of electric scooters, Cleveland.com invited its online readers in one headline. “What are the dangers of electric scooters,” asked another. Its Tweet announcing live coverage of the incident — “on scene where woman riding electric scooter hit by car, killed in downtown Cleveland Saturday. Is use of scooters cause for concern?” — was rightfully greeted with consternation and open hostility. The scooters are hot news, and other outlets have likewise made the victim’s mode of transportation central to their coverage. In WCPN’s brief news account Monday morning, host Amy Eddings spent much of the story recapping the recent introduction of Bird scooters to Cleveland streets. In the final line, she noted that the driver of the vehicle (that is, the car) Saturday night was thought to be under the
influence of drugs or alcohol. Reporters have been careful to mention that the city of Cleveland isn’t even sure the scooter was a Bird. Despite the “scooter craze,” the model that the woman was riding was identified as an “Icon G” electric model and was rented from Ray’s Scooter and Bike Rental downtown, known for its Scoot-E bikes. Cleveland.com, which dutifully sought comment from the Californiabased Bird regardless, noted that “the woman killed Saturday is the first reported death on an electric kick scooter.” Reporters did not, evidently, seek comment from Chevrolet, Budweiser, MADD or even the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) about traffic fatalities involving drunk or high drivers. We know, on a related note, that distracted driving was responsible for 3,450 deaths nationwide in 2016, and caused more than 14,000 crashes in Ohio alone last year. Cleveland.com reporter Adam Ferrise posted a story Monday noting that the 19-year-old driver, Scott McHugh, had snorted heroin in a grocery store parking lot shortly before the crash. The victim’s mode of transit should have been immaterial. She was struck by an underage, intoxicated driver and ejected onto the pavement. She would have been subject to a similar fate if she’d been on a bicycle or roller blades. She was taken to MetroHealth and pronounced dead after 10 p.m. The county medical examiner later identified her as Jenasia Summers, of Cleveland. The 19-year-old McHugh was taken to county jail and booked
for aggravated vehicular homicide. One of the more annoying consequences of the crash — which is a tragedy in about 14 different ways — is that downtown councilman Kerry McCormack had just met with Bird and other city officials last week to negotiate a temporary agreement whereby the dockless electric scooters can stay. The city initially sent a letter suggesting that the scooters could not be placed on sidewalks without permits and would be impounded if not removed. Due to the irresponsible media coverage, which has implied that the scooter itself was responsible for Saturday’s crash, local officials and the public will now be overly concerned about the wrong issue. Imagine how tone-deaf and irresponsible Cleveland.com would rightfully seem if, in the wake of a violent sexual assault, it sent a reporter to the scene of the crime and asked, absent all other context, if short skirts were cause for concern. — Sam Allard
ODOT Says Distracted Driving Warning Signs Have Led to Significant Drop in Highway Crashes ODOT has implemented a series of signs — about 50 in total — along the high-accident portions of a 17mile stretch of I-76 and I-80 warning of the dangers of distracted driving. It was announced yesterday that since the implementation of the signs, State Highway Patrol Lts. Jerad Sutton and Antonio Matos claim total crashes in the safety corridor dropped 38 percent in the
second quarter, compared with the same time period from the previous year. Fatal and injury crashes are down 47 percent. In contrast, distracted driving violations are up 320 percent. Each sign across the stretch advertises the zero tolerance policy for distracted driving, and is being used to influence safety enforcement laws. Distracted motorists can receive anything from a warning to a ticket depending on the offense and whether it involved an accident. A new law that makes distracted driving — everything from talking on the phone to reading a book — a secondary offense in Ohio takes effect in late October and motorists could face fines up to $100 if stopped on a different violation. Distracted driving includes but is not limited to playing with smartphones or radios, focusing on eating, applying makeup, shaving or doing anything else that takes a driver’s eyes off the highway. In addition to the signs, the patrol has also been handing out pamphlets designed to educate people about the dangers of driving distracted. According to ODOT, the selection for these sections of I-76 and I-80 are influenced by its heavy traffic: Anywhere from 40,000 to 60,000 vehicles a day pass by, depending on the specific location. It’s also one of the state’s most traveled stretches for trucks, with about 30 percent of the traffic being tractor-trailers. Despite the area being a straight, flat stretch of road with no distractions, the area still experienced a high volume of accidents. There were 305 documented crashes in 2016, while | clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
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UPFRONT 255 occurred in 2017. This year, now that the signs have been implemented, there have been 123 crashes. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that distracted driving was responsible for 3,450 deaths nationwide in 2016, and in Ohio there were nearly 14,000 crashes involving distracted drivers,
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| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
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with 51 people being killed in 2017. The signs are changed every three months to ensure that regularly traveling drivers don’t tune out the message. The Distracted Driving Safety Corridor was designed to be mobile and will remain in Mahoning and Trumbull counties for two years as state authorities gather data to gauge its effectiveness. If it’s declared a success, then the signs and program will be moved to other high-volume accident areas throughout the state. — BJ Colangelo
Details for Cleveland Blockchain Conference Announced Cleveland’s inaugural Blockchain “Solutions” Conference, which is being hastily organized for the first week of December at the Huntington Convention Center, now has a roster of keynote speakers. In a press release last week, the Blockland team announced that the conference has also secured the financial backing of Cuyahoga County, which will provide the Convention Center at no cost (an inkind contribution of $95,000), and will donate $50,000 to pay for the registration and lodging of some attendees. The local tourism bureau, Destination Cleveland, will serve as the primary event manager. “The Cleveland 2016 Host Committee illustrated how successful a collaborative approach to community initiatives can be, and the Destination Cleveland team is honored to be an integral contributor to Blockland initiative and Solutions Conference,” said David Gilbert, Destination Cleveland’s boss, in the release. “Both the Blockland effort and the conference are unprecedented for Cleveland. There is risk associated with trying something different, but we will apply our expertise to making the event the best it can be and learn from the experience so that future endeavors can be even better.” The conference keynote speakers will include: • JERRY CUOMO, IBM fellow, vice president of IBM Blockchain Technologies. • JEREMY GUTSCHE, New York Times bestselling author. • JASON KELLEY, general manager of IBM Blockchain Solutions. • JOSEPH LUBIN, founder of Consensus Systems (ConsenSys) and co-founder of Ethereum. • WILL MCDONOUGH, founder and CEO of iCash.
• LARRY SANGER, co-founder of
Wikipedia. • ALEX TAPSCOTT, author, Blockchain Revolution and cofounder of Blockchain Research Institute. Bernie Moreno is the Blockland initiative’s driving force and public face. His blockchain company, Ownum, was also announced as an event sponsor. At a Greater Cleveland Partnership forum last week, Moreno and GCP’s Joe Roman discussed the initiative. Of particular note: When Moreno was asked what the biggest roadblock to implementing Blockchain would be, he said, “Naysayers, being honest. That’s the biggest impediment.â€? — Allard
Asher’s a good Samaritan who helped save three lives and wanted to raise awareness of the real life results of the opioid epidemic impacting our communities every day, as well as the dangers of leaving babies in hot cars. But the identities of the two adults were not concealed, and many experts say a viral picture, such as the one that’s been widely shared, attaches a permanent stigma that will follow them for the rest of their lives. There might be less of a chance for recovery and redemption for these two people, because they’ll forever be known as “those parents
who almost cooked their kid in a car after they overdosed.â€? Publicly shaming addicts does not help them get better. A similar incident occurred in 2016 when ofďŹ cials in East Liverpool, Ohio, shared photos of a man and woman slumped over in a car, suffering from an apparent overdose. The photos sparked a massive debate about public shaming. “A single picture does not tell the whole story of a person’s road to addiction,â€? John Fitzgerald, clinical director of CODA, Oregon’s oldest opioid addiction treatment program, said to CNN at the time. “When
we glance over images in a news feed and pass judgment without considering the context, we run the risk of becoming numb to the reality that addiction is a disease, not a choice.� Addiction experts claim these images perpetuate myths about addiction and further drive a wedge between people who understand addiction is a disease and people who believe this is an issue of morality or weakness of character. — Colangelo
scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene
Baby Rescued, But Viral Photos of Overdose Victims Aren’t Helpful Construction worker Eric Asher, 43, was driving through a parking lot in Canton earlier this month when he noticed a man and a woman passed out on the ground outside their vehicle. As he approached the scene, he noticed a baby sweating inside, fastened in a car seat as outside temperatures reached a sweltering 88 degrees. Luckily, the car was unlocked and Asher and his ďŹ ancee were able to easily rescue the child. Another bystander called 911 regarding the overdosed couple. Asher documented the incident and shared photos on social media of the overheated baby and the overdosed parents laying on the pavement. Asher has told multiple outlets that the baby’s mother later called him to thank him for saving the life of her child. She also conďŹ ded in Asher that she and the man with her were recovering addicts that had relapsed after being clean for two years. The baby is being looked after by a relative and court records show the parents have been charged with child endangerment and were released on $1,000 bonds. News of this hot-car rescue with direct ties to the opioid crisis have understandably made this a hot story for local and national news outlets. During an interview with Inside Edition, Asher said, “The only reason we posted that picture was to bring awareness. I have family and friends dying like everybody does daily over this epidemic. We just wanted people to be aware of what was going on in our community. We did not expect it to go viral.â€?
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Photo by Tim Harrison
FEATURE
EDWINA POLK Supervisor of Sleep Technical Staff, Cleveland Clinic Sleep Disorders Center By Laura Morrison FOR 14 YEARS, EDWINA POLK has watched people sleep, or at least watched people’s brains while they sleep. “People always want to know, ‘Are you watching me all night?’” says Polk, a supervisor at the Cleveland Clinic Sleep Disorder Center. “But I have so much to do, I don’t have time to stare. I’m watching brain waves and working on charts. If I watched people sleep on a monitor all night, I would go to sleep too.” Standing in one of the center’s comfortable patient rooms on a floor of the Clinic’s InterContinental Suites Hotel, Polk is showing off the dozens of blue and red wires used to record people’s sleep patterns. She explains these wires
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are taped to a patient’s head, arms, and chest during a polysomnogram test, used to diagnose sleep apnea, a disorder that causes a person to stop breathing during sleep. Polk admits she never thought about the importance of sleep until her work became about sleep. “Everybody is different. I personally need seven hours; if I don’t get that I’m not refreshed. I’m tired and groggy and I can be moody,” she says with a laugh. “It’s important to get the right amount for yourself for cell regeneration. We even burn calories during sleep.” Two years after starting work as a sleep technician, Polk herself was diagnosed with sleep apnea. The irony isn’t lost on her.
| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
“I thought I was too young to get it,” the now 49-year-old says. “Prior to the diagnosis I was sleepy and working nights. I was in a fog. I would tell my sisters that I would do something, and they’d show up at my house and I wouldn’t remember saying anything about hanging out.” Polk, a native Clevelander, has worked a variety of shifts through her years at the center and since becoming a manager in January. This week, the mother of two grown children is starting a new middle shift, but could return to nights shortly. Anyone can have sleep apnea, Polk says, but there are some major risk factors, including excessive snoring, obesity, extreme tiredness,
high blood pressure and being over 50. Polk says she understands when people are reticent to use the CPAP machine mask every night at home to help their breathing, as she was too. “I have a lot of success when I share that I wear the mask as well,” she says. “That’s why we can relate, where a patient may not open up to a provider. I love to help people when you see they have really bad apnea. You see them flopping like a fish in the bed during the test and then, once they’re on the CPAP, they stay in one place. It’s exciting to get the feedback from the patients when they say to me, “Wow, I feel great.’”
lmorrison@clevescene.com t@lowesays
Photo by Tim Harrison
JEFF WEISENBERG Director of Screen Printing, Jakprints By BJ Colangelo WITH JUST SECONDS LEFT ON the clock, a group of people kept their eyes glued to a television screen awaiting the final outcome of Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals. When the final buzzer sounded, the entire city of Cleveland erupted with joy and poured into the streets for a long night of revelry and celebration. For the screen-printing team at Jakprints, Inc., it was going to be a long night as well, but a long night of work. For the past 18 years, Jeff Weisenberg has worked as a screenprinter and is now the director of screen printing and embroidery at the Cleveland-based company. Fortunately, his late-night printing days are mostly behind him, but whenever there’s a “hot market” time frame for printing — something like the Super Bowl or the NBA Finals —
Weisenberg joins the ranks for nonstop print production, with breaks and meals staggered between the entire department. “I’m a huge sports guy, so it’s difficult sometimes to be invested in a game knowing that I’m going to have to do twice the work if my team wins,” he says. Every day is a little bit different for the screen-printers, depending on the wants and needs of the customers, and each screen-printing project is treated with the utmost care and efficiency. Being in Cleveland, the environment for the screen-printers is always different, based just on the weather, alone. “Last week, the shop felt like it was 100 degrees,” he says, “but in February, it might feel like it’s 50 degrees. You deal with Cleveland in addition to your workload.” Not just screen-printing, the night
team is often pulling double-duty as delivery drivers. Fast turnaround jobs need to be personally delivered to FedEx or UPS locations. “I’ve tried to drive home after long nights of printing before and it feels like I’ve just drank 15 beers. It’s better to just stay,” he says. To his knowledge, the current record for longest shift ever worked is held by screen-printing job controller and Signals Midwest guitarist Jeff Russell, who logged in 36 hours. “It takes a special kind of person to work these shifts,” he says. “I have a family and a dog, so there have been times when my wife has had to take off work so I can fulfill a job.” Many of the late-night printers are single and have a more flexible schedule, and none of them would describe themselves as morning
people. Weisenberg worked in bars for 10 years before he started screen-printing full-time, so he finds he works better at these hours. Hot market print nights are controlled chaos, and not always predictable in their demands. “When you’re printing for the Super Bowl, it’s just one game. We know when we have to come in and that we’re going to be printing all night,” he says. In comparison, for something like the NBA Finals or the Stanley Cup which can last four to seven games, it is much more difficult to plan out when the mad dash for rush printing will begin. “We always know it’s coming,” Weisenberg says. “But we can’t be sure exactly when it’s going to hit.”
bcolangelo@clevescene.com t@bjcolangelo
| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
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Photo by Tim Harrison
FEATURE
KEV BOYCIK Manager, Cleveland Cinemas; host, Rocky Horror Picture Show screenings By Jeff Niesel HE WASN’T AT THE FIRST screening of Rocky Horror at the Cedar Lee — he was recovering from knee surgery at the time — but he was there for the second. And he became a regular after that. Now, 31 years later, Kev Boycik serves as the host for the screenings that take place at midnight on the first Saturday of every month. Right before a recent showing, Boycik, who, with his sideburns and thick-rimmed glasses looks like a young Elvis Costello, runs to the front of the theater, microphone in hand. When he gets there, he welcomes patrons and then brings all the “virgins” in the audience up to the front of the room for a friendly hazing.
12
“Give us your best fake orgaaaaaasm,” he intones as he hands the mic to each person. After their attempts, he playfully mocks their moans and groans and calls Opal, the theater’s veteran ticket taker, into the theater to help him judge the performances. Boycik then runs through the 10 “rules” that fans must obey to avoid “premature ejaculation” from the theater. Patrons traditionally throw rice and toast during the screening, but Boycik wants to make sure they don’t damage the screen. “You break it, you buy it,” he warns. And he encourages everyone to stay seated during the screening since a local cast that calls itself Simply His Servants will perform a live floor show and act out scenes
| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
from the flick. “Because it’s been at the Cedar Lee for so long, it’s become generational,” Boycik says when asked about the campy movie’s appeal. “I can’t tell you how many people come up to me and say, ‘This is my son,’ or they say, ‘This is my daughter.’ Two months ago, there was a group that included a grandmother and her son and his son. They had all grown up seeing Rocky Horror at the Cedar Lee.” A manager at Cleveland Cinemas, Boycik says attendance for the midnight showings continues to be strong and that audiences still actively participate, shouting out alternative lines of dialogue and song lyrics
throughout the screening. “For some people, it’s a rite of passage that they need to get out of their system,” he says. “Other people come to it and they never leave. Because of what the country is like right now, there are people who need a little bit of political incorrectness and a space to act like deviants and weirdos. Fortunately, The Rocky Horror Picture Show still works. It used to be just white college kids, but now we get white, black, straight, gay and trans people. It’s a great group of people that shows up. It’s like a social thing, and this place kind of turns into a nightclub.”
jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel
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IN THEATERS AUGUST 31 @SearchingMovie #SearchingMovie Searching.Movie.com | clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
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Photo by Tim Harrison
FEATURE
MALICIA MORRIGAN Dominatrix By BJ Colangelo MALICIA MORRIGAN’S 6-FOOT-2 frame (6-foot-9 in heels) drapes across a chaise longue, nestled between walls adorned with leather cuffs, whips, chains, ball gags, gimp masks and an assortment of prods. A St. Andrew’s Cross looms in the background. A human-sized dog cage sits in the corner. Her perfectly manicured toes peep out of her patent leather heels, and in the background a man is heard screaming in painful ecstasy. “Someone’s having a good time,” she says. For those with a more unique desire for thrilling adventure, the Red Door Dungeon is the oldest and largest professional in-person dominance dungeon in Cleveland. Malicia Morrigan works here as a giantess and domina. The Red Door Dungeon does not offer illegal services like sex solicitation, and Morrigan fulfills all of her work duties without ever removing a single article of clothing.
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There’s a stigma attached to sex work and those who patronize sex workers, but, “The main demographic are white-collar workers, usually between the ages of 35 and 55, although I’ve had clients in the age range of 29 through their late 70s,” she says. While Morrigan cannot disclose the identities or professions of her clients, studies on kink and BDSM (bondage, dominance, sadism and masochism) show that it is often men with high-pressure jobs or those working in high-power positions who find a cathartic release by experiencing femdom, or the act of being dominated by a woman. “They come here to let go and be free for a moment,” she says. Morrigan offers a variety of services, including the surprisingly common fetish of sissification (to feminize a man, most often by forcing him to wear women’s clothing, typically gaudy and
| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
overly feminine to enhance his humiliation), offering her size-12 feet for worshipping, bondage, power exchange, mental and physical torture and full body weight distribution. “I’ve been asked to wrestle clients before, wanting me to use entire body weight to trample or sit on them,” she says. Morrigan enjoys her work and is willing to provide whatever sexual liberation her clients desire, but notes even this job has its tedious aspects: “Everyone sees these fancy rope designs and harnesses on Instagram, but then I feel like I’m tying shoes for a half hour.” When Morrigan isn’t working at the Red Door Dungeon, she also performs one-on-one online humiliation and domination shows via Skype, through private scheduling. As a member of the alternative community her entire life, Morrigan found her friends and social circles supportive of her
decision to become a dominatrix. “Had I not grown up so alternative, I’m sure this decision could have been catastrophic,” she says. If you see her out and about around town, you might find her in something like a perfectly fitted corset and fishnet tights. It is clear that this isn’t just a hobby; it’s part of her identity. “There’s a misconception that the sex work I do is prostitution, and it’s not,” she says. “If anything, it’s a form of a therapy that happens to be sexual in nature. Being dominated is an immersive and vulnerable experience, and these clients are putting their physical and psychological safety in our hands. That’s not something we take lightly. It’s not easy work, because it’s incredibly cerebral. But I love my job. I love what I do. And I’m good at it.”
bcolangelo@clevescene.com t@bjcolangelo
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Photo by Tim Harrison
FEATURE
LINDA MERCADANTE Depot Manager, the Plain Dealer By Sam Allard WAKING UP IN THE DEAD OF winter is the hardest, says Linda Mercadante at 3:12 a.m., sitting in her office at the Plain Dealer distribution depot on Van Epps Road in Brooklyn Heights. “When it’s pitch-black and the wind is …” — she waves her hands and goes whoosh — “it’s so hard to get out of bed.” But she does. And she has for the past 22 years. She’s the woman who ensures that the local newspaper arrives on local porches before the crack of dawn each morning. In the wintertime, she leaves for work from her home in Euclid long before the snowplows are out. Sometimes, she says, she wishes there were brake lights to show her the way. She arrives around midnight each night, though the depot doesn’t officially open until 1 a.m. The morning newspaper arrives in trucks from the Tiedeman
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production facility, warm and bundled, at about 1:30, and Mercadante begins the daily management of her distributors — 108 union drivers and 18 part-timers — who deliver not only the PD, but the Sun News and the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times and USA Today to the thousands of subscribers in the region. “I’m the bad guy,” Mercadante jokes. “Nobody around here likes me.” But she says someone has to remind the distributors of the contracts they signed, has to reinforce their commitment to the readers who expect a newspaper when they wake up (and who are eager to call and complain if an edition is late or absent). “It really is all about the customer,” Mercadante says. “That’s the bottom line.” In her long career with the PD, much of the downsizing that she’s experienced has been shared
| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
by consumers. The reduction from seven to four home delivery days, for example, complicates Mercadante’s already complicated schedule — Mondays and Tuesdays are “skeleton days,” she says. But other shrinkages aren’t widely known. “When I started, there were 17 depots,” Mercadante says. “Now there are four.” Whether or not there will be further downsizing, she can only speculate. “I think there will always be the printed paper. Will there be home delivery? I don’t know.” Mercadante used to be a distributor herself — “distributor” being the new and gender-neutral term for “paperboy” — working a three-street route from 1987 to 1996 as she raised two young sons. She’d started on the path to becoming a dental hygienist, but working the route was a better fit with her
home life. When she started at the depot, she was one of the only women employed, and she remains one of only two women in the PD’s distribution leadership. These days, she says she cherishes the slivers of time she enjoys with her husband — Saturday afternoons are special — and the fact that her social life hasn’t been utterly destroyed. It’s always a challenge, though, because, “If you want to go out, you’re going to suffer the next day.” She says she generally sleeps from about 6 p.m to 11 p.m., with an occasional catnap in the late morning or early afternoon. “I’m eight years away from retirement and I still haven’t adjusted,” she says of her wee-hour life. “But the traffic? The traffic is awesome.”
sallard@clevescene.com t@scenesallard
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| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
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Photo by Tim Harrison
FEATURE
MAURICE SUMMONS Custodian, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport By Laura Morrison TWICE, IN THE BEGINNING, Maurice Summons left work, got into his beloved Chrysler 300 and fell asleep before the keys slid into the ignition. He’d wake up hours later having never moved from the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport employee parking lot. “I’m sure you’ve been tired before in your life,” the night-shift custodian says. “But not like this. It’s not anything you can control.” These bouts of extreme tiredness came when he added a second job as a third-shift custodian (9:30 p.m. to 6 a.m.) at the airport, while also keeping his twice weekly shoe shiner gig at the Cleveland Shines station on Concourse C during summer mornings. “I’m used to it now, but it took a
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lot of getting used to,” the 37-yearold says. “I started the night shift in 2013, and I didn’t get used to it until 2014. Going to sleep by 3 p.m., you have to get used to that too. Everybody, the kids are getting out of school, you have to find your own quiet to get to work by 9:30 p.m.” Our interview with Summons takes place in the middle of the day, a time he has selected, meaning he’s functioning (impressively well) on a couple hours of sleep. Walking through the less-than-busy airport baggage claim, Summons greets every employee who passes by before settling down in a conference room to chat. Summons, a transplant from the South Side of Chicago, says this is the best job he’s ever had. He
| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
says that at night, when his crew is stripping, washing and buffing floors, “People [departing their planes] will tell us ‘thank you.’” He finds as much satisfaction in keeping a clean home as he does a clean airport bathroom or polishing someone’s shoes (which he claims to be one of the best at). Summons says he probably has OCD. His DVD collection is always in order and no dish is left unwashed in the sink. But like any job, his gig has its concerns. A member of the Service Employee International Union Local 1, Summons worries about mandatory overtime and getting more workers hired for the night shift. Also, to schedule anything from family events to working
out vacation time with the HR department, he has to be clear about dates and times. “I’m always a day ahead,” he says. On his two days off a week, he makes time for his kids and seeing friends. Still, there’s something about the hours that he loves, like beating the traffic in the evening and the morning. And he enjoys going to the grocery store right after work when the only people in the place are senior citizens. “I like being the guy making money while everyone else is asleep,” Summons says. “Sometimes it feels like I have the whole city to myself.”
lmorrison@clevescene.com t@lowesays
Photo by Tim Harrison
KURT ZOSS Owner, Zoss the Swiss Baker By Sarah Parr WITH MORE THAN 22 YEARS OF night shift experience in his own bakery, Kurt Zoss, of Zoss the Swiss Baker in Cleveland Heights, has had a bit of time to figure out how to balance a family, a healthy lifestyle and a demanding business. The start time for Zoss’ quotidian night-owl stretch varies based on the volume of baked goods expected to leave the tiny workroom, but it’s always sometime between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. And while Zoss has help in the bakery during business hours, it’s a one-man show overnight. At the beginning of what usually ends up being a 12-hour day, Zoss mixes, shapes and bakes dough for
flakey pastries, hearty breads and tons of Bavarian pretzels. “The night shift is really special,” he says with a smile. “But you get used to it.” He’s had plenty of time to adjust, after all, since starting the business in 1996. “You have to be very strict on the sleep schedule,” Zoss says. “I figured out if I have to work at midnight, I should be in bed about 6 at night. So whatever time I start, I sleep six hours before.” If Zoss isn’t in the bakery, you can probably find him riding his bicycle or motorcycle. He also loves traveling whenever he gets the rare chance. But most times you’ll find him in his shop, the final
destination of a trip that began when he apprenticed in his home country of Switzerland at the age of 16. When Zoss moved to the States in the 1980s, he got a job at the highly respected La Brea Bakery in Los Angeles. After that, he moved to Cleveland Heights where his wife, Barbara, grew up. Fast forward a few years, and Zoss is no longer the only one in the bakery who grew up in the business. Barbara handles all the savory tarts that line the cases, and their sons, Roman and Ryan, started working in the shop as soon as they could, helping their dad make pretzels for local bars and breweries. In the summer months when his sons were
growing up and helping out at the farmer’s market stands, Zoss says “they learned that money doesn’t grow on trees.” His sons are now grown, and family time is not what it used to be back in the day, but the bonds and lessons built over bread will never be lost. And that past, present and future of his business continue to drive him every day. “You’re doing something that you can see,” Zoss says. “You get to hold it. It’s instant, more or less … I always like that aspect. And, you know, it makes people happy.”
scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene
| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
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Photo by Tim Harrison
FEATURE
MIKE VIELHABER Night Cameraman, WEWS Channel 5 By Sam Allard ON NOV. 29, 2012, NEWS cameraman Mike Vielhaber was sitting alongside police Sgt. Ali Pillow for a ride-along. WEWS Channel 5, where Vielhaber has worked for the past 13 years, had given him the green light to do a story about what was then a new law enforcement initiative: V-GRIP (Violence-Gun Reduction & Interdiction Program). He was collecting footage near East 140th and St. Clair when the infamous 22-minute chase that resulted in 137 shots and the deaths of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams began. “My V-GRIP story never aired,” Vielhaber tells Scene outside the Great Lakes Science Center on a recent night, though it’s superfluous to mention. “We had just taken some guns off a few kids at a gas station when we started hearing bits and pieces of the chase.” Vielhaber says he and Pillow had reached East 55th when the chase poured over the Innerbelt bridge. Pillow, mindful of his media guest, was stopping at every red light, but Vielhaber managed to get exclusive footage nonetheless. “I had video of the chase going
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down 90 and then down 72nd,” he says. “We followed all the way into East Cleveland. I wasn’t there for the shooting itself, but I walked up to the scene long before anyone else had gotten there. It was a lot of blank stares.” That night, Vielhaber says, was probably his craziest in the nine years he’s worked the overnight shift for Channel 5, a shift that began on Labor Day in 2009 and one that he’s occupied ever since. “We had a hole from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.,” he said. “And our news director wanted 24-hour coverage. I jumped at it.” Vielhaber had worked in both the Jackson, Tennessee, and Richmond, Virginia, TV markets after interning with Channel 5 when he graduated from the Ohio Broadcasting School. He says he’d done some overnight contract work in those markets and loved the solitary thrill of the chase. These days, he works from his SUV, which is stocked with camera gear and audio equipment, and lives at the mercy of the police scanners. He leaves his Wadsworth home at 10:30 p.m., and, until 7
| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
the next morning, he’s humping it from blazing fire to car crash to homicide, often arriving before the police to capture footage for the morning news broadcasts. “These Cleveland cops are so strapped — the Fourth, the Fifth [districts] — sometimes they just can’t spare a car. And yeah, it can be scary, but you learn how far you can go, and how to make your approaches,” he says. (Vielhaber recommends Netflix’s Shot in the Dark to get a sense of what he does; the 2014 Hollywood thriller Nightcrawler, not so much.) This summer, in contrast to recent years, has been fairly quiet. And while Vielhaber concedes that that’s fantastic for everybody else — “I don’t want bad shit to befall people” — it’s boring as hell for him. “We’ve had whole weeks where we’ve shot only a couple of things,” he says. “I don’t want to compare myself to a fireman, but it’s kind of like that. When the radio goes, I go.” (Some early mornings, if he’s not chasing anything, he’ll capture the skyline at dawn, images and video of which have earned him a devoted social media following.)
He says his sleep schedule hasn’t suffered too much working overnight — he’s pretty adaptable, he says, and gets his week off on the right foot with a long Sunday afternoon nap — and that working nights may prove to be an advantage now that he’s got two kids. (Taking them to after-school sporting events is no problem.) But Vielhaber says in a few years, when a wave of retirements is expected to hit Channel 5, he’ll think more seriously about shifting back to daytime. As we’re talking, a siren blares beside us and a police cruiser speeds by on the Shoreway. Vielhaber jets to the front seat of his vehicle to check his scanners. A minute or so later, he turns down the audio and says it’s not worth it. “That was a K-9 car,” he says. “It was probably just going to do a sniff at a traffic stop.” This isn’t big enough news to warrant a chase. Unless … Something occurs to him and he flashes a smile. “Hey,” he says, “maybe it’s a Browns player.”
sallard@clevescene.com t@scenesallard
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| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
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Photo by Tim Harrison
FEATURE
RICHARD WITKOWSKI Night Guard Supervisor, Cleveland Museum of Art By Jeff Niesel IT’S 8 A.M. ON A FRIDAY, AND IF we didn’t know any better, we’d think Richard Witkowski was just starting his shift. His blue sport coat looks like it’s just been pressed, and his tie is wrapped snugly around his neck. On his lapel, he has a pin featuring a picture of one of the spotted yellow pumpkins from the Yayoi Kusama exhibit. Witkowski, of course, has actually just finished work. From midnight to 8 a.m., he helps guard the millions of dollars of art owned by the Cleveland Museum of Art. So what happens on a typical night at the museum?
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“Being security, you have to be careful about what information we hand out,” he says. “My official description of what we do is that my team and I are responsible for monitoring and reporting on environmental and security systems of the building and its contents and our employees. We have our mechanical issues. It’s a 100-yearold building. As far as attempted break-ins, I can’t talk about that.” Witkowski started working at the museum two years ago as a guard and worked his way up the ladder. “Coffee is my new best friend,” he says with a laugh. “I never drank coffee before this. I’ve always worked second or third shift, so the
| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
schedule just agrees with me. A big part of it is keeping the same sleep schedule. I stay awake all night. I am just a night person.” When he’s not working at the museum, “I’m the creative type,” he says. “I do 3-D art and stuff you’d see in video games or Pixar movies. I design things on my tablet.” He says he appreciates the fact that he essentially gets a private showing of the museum’s art collection each night he goes to work. “I like having the place without any public,” he says. “It’s very intimate to walk through the building in that context. My friends and family like to joke that it’s like [the movie] Night at the Museum.
I’ve heard that joke over and over. It’s not like that. Nothing comes to life. There are a few ghost stories floating around here, but I haven’t seen anything that makes me nervous.” He says he particularly loves walking through the Yayoi Kusama exhibit. “It’s something I was looking forward to since I started working here,” he says. “I do consider it a privilege to be able to experience it at my own pace when most of the public has to go through on a scheduled pace. Our walk through is unrestrained.”
jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel
convergence-continuum presents:
THE CASUAL TREE WARD BY ROBERT HAWKES
WORLD PREMIERE OPENING FRI, AUG 24 Running Thu-Sat at 8 pm thru Sept 15
> RIDE > FOOD > MUSIC > BEER >
THIS CYCLE REPEATS ALL WEEKEND LONG
The goddess Freyja (or is she?) is tending Yggdrasil, the World Ash Tree (or is it?), to protect it from increasing drought. Should she continue to refuse the help of the feisty, amorous water bearer? Does the world really depend on this single tree, or is this a self-generating myth? Odin, the One-Eyed God (or is he?) shows up to resolve all questions and save us all. (But can he?)
The nation’s largest urban cycling festival Edgewater Park // Sept. 7-9
Liminis Theater
2438 Scranton Rd | Cleveland 44113 | in the historic Tremont neighborhood TICKETS: Fri & Sat: $20 general admission, $15 seniors (65+), $10 students. Thu: $15, $12, $8. Information and tickets at convergence-continuum.org
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IN THEATERS FRIDAY, AUGUST 31 www.KIN.movie @KINmovie #KINmovie
| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
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Photo by Tim Harrison
FEATURE
TONY HANF Production Supervisor, Playhouse Square By BJ Colangelo AS AUDIENCES FLOOD INTO THE streets of downtown hoping to catch a Hamilton actor outside the stage door, and the lights begin to dim inside the State Theatre, the work begins for a new batch of people. Production supervisor Tony Hanf has been part of the Playhouse Square family for 12 years, a decade of which he spent in the education department. Now he’s the man who organizes, arranges and helps bring to life the many productions that entertain the masses of Cleveland before a performer ever sets foot on the stage. Hanf is responsible for guiding each show from loading truck to stage. He helps determine what each production will require, what Playhouse Square already has on site that can be of assistance, and what needs to be obtained to make sure the show can be as successful as possible.
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“A few years back we were doing Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and suddenly everyone’s tickets had to be moved from the Palace Theatre to the State Theatre. The reason? Because the costumes couldn’t fit through the door in the Palace,” says Hanf. “It’s my job to make sure these iconic staples, like those costumes or like Pride Rock in The Lion King, can be successfully mounted at Playhouse Square.” With matinee performances and evening call times, sometimes the most opportune moments to begin putting these technical elements together are late at night and into the early morning. Hanf was fresh off of Jazz Fest when we spoke to him. “I didn’t see my girlfriend for four days,” he says. By now she’s used to his frequent late nights and unpredictable schedule. “I tried the internet dating thing for a while and people were always
| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
so excited when they heard what my job is, until they tried to schedule the date and realize I am never available when they are,” he says. For events like Jazz Fest that take up an entire weekend’s worth of productions, Hanf will sleep in his office when a late night and early call are back to back, and proudly boasts about surviving 16- or 18hour shifts. “Luckily for me, we have some of the best union workers in the country here at Playhouse Square,” he says. “Some of these guys have been working here longer than I’ve been alive, so I don’t have to stand over their shoulders and tell them how to do their jobs, otherwise I’d be here even later.” Fostering relationships is also an important part of the job and helps with the efficiency of loading in and out. “The Dancing with the Stars crew is really cool. It’s a different tour each year, but it’s the same
crew each time,” says Hanf. When audiences ooh and ahh over the massive spectacles on stage, Hanf just shrugs, “This is my job. This is what I do every day.” After so many years and so many late nights setting up productions, one would think that Hanf would be disillusioned by the magic of the theater. He admits that he doesn’t actually get to see many of the productions fully realized because, after working odd hours in the theater all day, staying even longer to watch the show can be overkill. “When you’re immersed in the behind-the-scenes world for so long, it can start to feel like just a job. But then something like Hamilton will come through, and it’ll reinvigorate me and remind me why I love what I do.”
bcolangelo@clevescene.com t@bjcolangelo
| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
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| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
GET OUT everything you should do this week Courtesy of the Derek Hess Gallery
WED
08/22
THEATER
Hamilton Since making its Broadway debut three years ago, Hamilton, the hiphop musical that tells the story of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, has been a smash hit. It traces the life story of Hamilton, referred to in the play as “a bastard, orphan, son of a whore,” as he joins the Revolutionary War and then plays a key role in writing The Federalist Papers and serving in President George Washington’s cabinet. There’s plenty of drama in Hamilton’s life, which ends in a duel, and the play exploits every bit of it with a superb soundtrack of catchy songs that tell his remarkable story. Tonight’s show takes place at 7:30 at the State Theatre, where performances run through Aug. 26. A few tickets still remain. (Jeff Niesel) 1519 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org. MUSIC
Summer in the City Tonight, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame hosts the last free concert in its Summer in the City series. The show, which begins at 7 p.m., features Sarah Shook and the Disarmers, a band inspired by artists such as the Sex Pistols, Elliott Smith and Hank Williams. Local rockers the Whiskey Hollow opens. Admission is free. (Niesel) 1100 Rock and Roll Blvd., 216-515-8444, rockhall.com. FAMILY FUN
Wade Oval Wednesdays A summer tradition draws to an end tonight at Wade Oval in University Circle. It’s 2018’s final Wade Oval Wednesday: From 6 to 9, there will be local food vendors, a beer and wine tent, a farmers market and free kids’ activities — all laid out on the Wade Oval lawn, adjacent to Cleveland Botanical Garden, the Cleveland Art Museum, and the Cleveland Natural History Museum. Some museums will stay open late too. The jazz/blues/ swing band Red Light Roxy performs tonight. Details are on the website. (Niesel) universitycircle.org. FOOD
Walnut Wednesday Walnut Wednesday is one of summer’s great traditions. Today it continues, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at
Sean Jason Kelly opens a new art exhibit about dogs. See: Sunday.
Perk Plaza at Chester Commons — at East 12th and Walnut streets — as food trucks gather to serve up lunch to area residents and employees. Check out the Downtown Cleveland Alliance website for weekly updates on vendors, entertainment offerings and more. The series continues through Sept. 26. Admission is free, but the food will cost you. (Niesel) downtowncleveland.com.
THU
08/23
SPORTS
Browns vs. Philadelphia Eagles The retooled Cleveland Browns started playing exhibition games earlier this month and looked like a new and improved team. Tonight at 8 at First Energy Stadium, they face the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles in a pre-season game. Former Bills’ quarterback Tyrod Taylor will start for the Browns and top draft pick Baker Mayfield should get some snaps too. As of press time, resale tickets were still available and going for as low
as $6. (Niesel) 100 Alfred Lerner Way, 440-891-5000, clevelandbrowns.com.
FRI
08/24
MUSIC COMEDY
Rod Paulette Ohio comedian Rod Paulette, who returns regularly to his home state to perform at the Improv, has a deep voice that seems to carry through the room as he makes fun of racial issues. Like actor/rapper/singer Donald Glover, Paulette plays off the stereotype of being a black man who acts white, and jokes about the struggles he’s subsequently encountered. In one bit, he talks about how West Coasters always assume he grew up on a farm because he’s from Ohio. “When’s the last time you saw a black man on a farm without a chain on his foot keeping his ass there?” he asks. “If you ever see a black man on a farm, sneak up on him, tap him on the shoulder and let him know he’s free.” Paulette performs tonight at 7:30 at the Improv. Tickets are $17. (Niesel) 1148 Main Ave., 216-696-IMPROV, clevelandimprov.com.
Legacy Live One of Northeast Ohio’s most popular free concert series, Legacy Live has become a tradition that families and couples look forward to each summer. The concerts, which take place on the Legacy Village lawn at 6:30 each Friday and Saturday night throughout the summer, feature local bands that play everything from blues to jazz and rock. Tonight’s entertainment comes from the rock band 45 RPM. Tomorrow, Backtraxx will play rock and soul. Admission is free, but your time is limited: The series wraps up on Aug. 31. (Niesel) 25333 Cedar Rd., Lyndhurst, 216-382-3871, legacy-village.com. MUSIC
Summers@Severance Jonathan Cohen conducts the Cleveland Orchestra tonight as it plays a program featuring the music of Handel, Haydn and | clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
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GET OUT Mozart at Severance Hall as part of Cleveland Orchestra’s Summers@ Severance program. Special happy hour pricing will be offered on liquid refreshments during the hour prior to the 7 p.m. concert. At 8:30, there will be an after-party on the Outdoor Terrace where DJ Brad Petty will spin soft house and electronica. Consult the orchestra’s website for ticket info. (Niesel) 11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com.
growing territory, so it makes perfect sense to honor the stinking rose with its very own festival. A fundraiser for the North Union Farmers’ Markets, the Cleveland Garlic Festival features music, wine and beer vendors, food competitions, top chef grill-offs, and countless vendors peddling garlic-scented foods. The festival also rounds up many of the region’s best garlic growers, making the fest
Stores celebrates its anniversary today with a special event in Public Square. The store’s owner will hold what she bills as the “world’s largest finger knitting party.” There will be refreshments, games, giveaways and music. Celebrity crafter Amber Kemp-Gerstel from the TV show Making It will be on hand as well. The party takes place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Public Square. One of
SUN
COMEDY
John Witherspoon If you’re going to see comedian John Witherspoon tonight at the Improv, where he performs at 7:30 and 10, you’d better dress up — because “you got to coordinate,” as he puts it. That catchphrase comes from one of the comedian’s signature routines. Witherspoon has worked alongside famous comedians such as Ice Cube, Adam Sandler, Eddie Murphy and Chris Tucker and starred as “Pops” on The Wayans Brothers. But he might be best known for voicing “Grandad” on the animated series The Boondocks. His standup routine is even similar to the Boondocks character he portrays; it features fast-paced jokes that keep coming at you. He has shows scheduled at the Improv through Sunday. Tickets are $22 to $25. (Niesel) 1148 Main Ave., 216-696-IMPROV, clevelandimprov.com.
SAT
08/26
ART
Dogs of Train Ave. A renowned visual and tattoo artist, Sean Jason Kelly stumbled upon a dead dog along Train Avenue a few years ago. After he discovered that first poor animal in a garbage bag, subsequent months and years turned up several more. Kelly began getting the animals cremated out of respect, and so they didn’t end up tossed in a landfill with trash. As the jars of ashes started to line up, he decided to incorporate them into his artwork, so he could tell their stories. Local filmmaker Jeff Theman ( Guilty Till Proven Innocent ) followed him around while he worked and has shot a documentary movie about Kelly’s artwork. The trailer for the resulting film, Train Ave., will premiere today when Kelly’s exhibit, Dogs of Train Ave., opens with a reception from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Derek Hess Gallery. (Niesel) 1300 West 78th St., 216-288-4868, derekhess.com.
08/25
MUSIC
Carmina Burana Based on 24 poems from the medieval tome Carmina Burana, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana is a scenic cantata that dates back to the 1930s. The work begins and ends with the well-known and slightly mystical “O Fortuna,” and is mostly based on the idea of the turning of the wheel of fortune. The Cleveland Orchestra, the Blossom Festival Chorus and Cleveland Orchestra Children’s Chorus all take part in the massive production, tonight at 8 at Blossom Music Center. Consult the orchestra’s website for information on ticket prices. (Niesel) 1145 West Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com.
the best place for wannabe garlic growers to purchase this year’s planting stock. The event takes place today from noon to 8 p.m. and tomorrow from noon to 6 p.m. at Shaker Square. Admission is $9. (Niesel) clevelandgarlicfestival.org.
FOOD
FAMILY FUN
Cleveland Garlic Festival Northeast Ohio is prime garlic-
A Family Fun Day Founded in Cleveland in 1943, Joann
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Grab your friends and head down to Playhouse Square this evening to dance about in silence while wearing wireless headphones. You can choose from three different channels that will be playing music from the ’70s, ’80s or ’90s. Because it’s a “silent” disco, you can turn up the volume as high as you want! Admission is free, but you’ll need to have an ID to receive a pair of headphones. The disco takes place from 9 to midnight on U.S. Bank Plaza. (Niesel) East 14th St. and Euclid Ave., 216-771-4444, playhousesquare.org.
FAMILY FUN
| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
the nation’s leading fabric and craft retailers, the franchise has grown to include more than 865 stores across 49 states. (Niesel) joann.com. DANCE
Silent Disco Dance Party Attending a silent disco should be on everyone’s summer bucket list, and today — National Dance Day — is your chance to check it off.
Music Settlement Open House Today from 1 to 4 p.m., the Music Settlement invites the general public to see its new Ohio City campus at West 25th Street and Detroit Avenue. Fun, interactive activities are planned throughout the day. Adults and children alike will have the opportunity to play a variety of instruments and participate in drum circles. Studio Go, Cleveland Museum of Art’s mobile art studio, will be on hand, and patrons can also contribute to a public art project that will become a permanent installation in the building. Fahrenheit’s food truck will also be on site throughout the afternoon. Admission is free. (Niesel) 2610 Detroit Ave., 216- 421-5806, musicsettlement.org.
ALTITUDE ATTITUDE WITH
FRIDAY, AUGUST 24 8P-12A
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www.facebook.com/whiskeyislandstillandeatery www.whiskeyislandstillandeatery.net | clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
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CLE New Wave Connection s 02%3%.43 s
The Flashback
80’s New Wa ve Dance Party With
DJ’s Diamond Dave and Guy Wires Depeche Mode vs. New Order vs. Gary Newman
8.25.18 10 PM - 2:30 AM
The Chamber
11814 Detroit Ave. Lakewood OH
GET OUT BOOKS
Sunday Beat As part of a Sunday Beat promotion at Visible Voice Books, if you purchase a New York Times at the store, you’ll receive a free cup of coffee or tea and a Jim Alesci’s Place pastry. An added bonus: A jazz, Americana, samba or bossa nova band will perform from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Anyone who shows a Sunday receipt from Music Box, Prosperity Social Club or any of the Tremont restaurants that offer brunch can enter a same-day drawing for a $30 Visible Voice gift certificate and a $25 Visible Voice Loyalty Card. They’ll also receive 10 percent off any Visible Voice book purchase. The bookstore is open today from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Niesel) 2258 Professor Ave., 216-961-0084, visiblevoicebooks.com.
MON 08/27 TRIVIA
Lunch Hour Live Trivia Yes, summer continues to wind down, making this the final week to take part in Last Call Trivia, a live hosted trivia game during which teams compete for prizes by answering oddball questions. Held on U.S. Bank Plaza on Playhouse Square, the game is designed to be “a spirited competition.” The contest starts at 12:30 and lasts an hour. Admission is free. (Niesel) East 14th St. and Euclid Ave., 216-771-4444, playhousesquare.org. MUSIC
Shit Show Karaoke Local rapper/promoter Dirty Jones and Scene’s own Manny Wallace host Shit Show Karaoke, a weekly event at the B-Side Liquor Lounge wherein patrons choose from “an unlimited selection of jams from hip-hop to hard rock,” and are encouraged to “be as bad as you want.” Fueled by drink and shot specials, it all goes down tonight at 10 p.m. (Niesel) 2785 Euclid Hts. Blvd., Cleveland Heights, 216-932-1966, bsideliquorlounge.com. FOOD
Wing Dang 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,
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| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
calling its wing night Wing Dang Doodle. The weekly event features specials on Buffalo wings and cold brews. Prosperity will not only serve up substantial, $1 whole wings, but it’ll also offer meatless Monday “wing” baskets for vegans. Discounted drafts and a playlist of vintage-electric blues and soulful R&B curated by local musician Clint Holley will be on tap as well. Wing Dang Doodle takes place every Monday from 6 p.m. to midnight. (Niesel) 1109 Starkweather Ave., 216-937-1938, prosperitysocialclub.com.
TUE
08/28
DANCE
Dancing Under the Stars Tonight’s the final summer edition of Dancing Under the Stars at U.S. Bank Plaza. Beginning at 6, teachers from Viva Dance Studio will teach the salsa; Sammy De Leon Su Orquesta provides the music. The dancing begins at 6:30 and continues until 9 p.m. Admission is free. (Niesel) East 14th St. and Euclid Ave., 216-771-4444, playhousesquare.org. SPORTS
Indians vs. Minnesota Twins When the Minnesota Twins came to town last month, they took two of three games from the Tribe and had no trouble hitting Indians’ pitchers. Since that time, many of the Twins’ players have been traded, and the team is a shadow of its former self. Expect the Indians to have their way with what’s essentially a AAA team tonight at Progressive Field. Part of a threegame series, play begins at 7:10 p.m. Tickets start at $15. (Niesel) 2401 Ontario St., 216-420-4487, clevelandindians.com. FOOD
Truck Stop Tuesday As if to provide a westside counterpart to Walnut Wednesdays, Crocker Park in Westlake has launched Truck Stop Tuesday, a weekly food truck gathering that takes place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Truck Stop Tuesday continues through Sept. 25. You can check out this week’s featured food trucks on the website. Needless to say, admission is free, but the food will cost you. (Niesel) 189 Crocker Park Blvd., Westlake, crockerpark.com.
scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene
A RTS i n A UGUST freeartsprogrammingin Tremont’sLincolnPark
3UHVHQWHG LQ 3DUWQHUVKLS cleveland COUNCIL MEMBER
Kerry McCormack WARD 3
PUBLIC
theatre
Arts in August is a special time of year in Tremont. The community gathers in Lincoln Park for artistic performances using professional lighting and sound to bring magic to Tremont. All Arts in August events are FREE and are held in Tremont’s Lincoln Park. Please visit tremontwest.org for up to date information, rain locations/dates and program details, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @artsinaugust Bring a picnic, order take-out from one of our Tuesdays in Tremont participants listed below. You definitely want to bring a chair or a blanket to sit and remember you are in a park at dusk, so you might want to bring bug spray too!
THIS WEEKEND
tremontwest.org
FREE IN TREMONT’S LINCOLN PARK
Saturday, August 24th
ContempOpera 7pm Saturday, August 25th
Papo Ruiz Y La Dulzura de la Salsa 7pm Last Performance: Friday, August 31st | INDY The Village Bicycle
Music | 7pm
By Light We Loom
The Ohio Weather Band
Carolyn Bentley (216) 470-1502
7XHVGD\V LQ 7UHPRQW SDUWLFLSDQWV %HYLDPR 'DQWH )DW &DWV )O\LQJ 0RQNH\ 3XE *UXPS\· V &DIH &UXVW /DYD /RXQJH 3URVSHULW\ 6RFLDO &OXE 7UHPRQW 7DS +RXVH 7KH 6RXWK 6LGH /XFN\·V &DIH 7KH 5RZOH\ ,QQ &LYLOL]DWLRQ 1RFH *RXUPHW 3L]]D 3DUDOOD[ /D %RGHJD 7KH &ODUN %DU %RXUERQ 6WUHHW %DUUHO 5RRP 7KH 7UHHKRXVH DQG 7\ )XQ 7KDL %LVWUR
| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
31
STAGE CAUTION: BRAINS AT RISK The potential mental damage done to football players is explored in Down by Contact By Christine Howey SINCE WE ARE ON THE CUSP OF a new football season, from pee-wee to pro, it is inevitable that the issue of the sport’s violence and resulting medical traumas will be addressed. And well it should be, since football is, for better or worse, close to the throbbing heart of American culture. So the fact that Playwrights Local and Dobama Theatre are presenting the world premiere of Down by Contact, written by local playwright Les Hunter, couldn’t be timed more deftly. This is a story of Carson Kaides, a long-retired quarterback with a Super Bowl ring and a growing sense that all those tackles and blows to the head have altered his mental state. This is, of course, a damned serious issue, and not just because pro football players have succumbed to the disastrous effects of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. Even high-school ballers have died from brain injuries sustained by way of the repetitive cranial jarring that occurs in practice and during games. Those are the “slobberknockers” that have been cheered by fans and sports journalists down through the years. However, if you’re going to do a play about this subject, the trick in 2018 is to bring a new perspective to a subject that has been dealt with in movies (“Concussion”) and in multiple TV documentaries and news reports. This is where Hunter’s well-intentioned script struggles a bit. Right from the beginning, we see that Carson isn’t quite right, prowling around his home office, shuffling papers and glancing nervously out the window. Soon he is visited by a pal of his from the past, his favorite receiver in college named Trypp (a charming Corin B. Self), who joshes easily with Carson as they reminisce about the past. But soon, even that interlude takes on a dark cast. And when we meet Carson’s wife Kelsey, the strains really begin to show. By this time, we’ve noticed the tremor in Carson’s hands and the way he repeats himself while also getting confused about small details, losing his way in casual conversation.
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Photo by Dale Heinen
Playwright Hunter manages these revelations with admirable subtlety, not beating us over the head with Carson’s symptoms. And there are interesting stretches of dialogue when the characters he has drawn come into genuine focus. This is particularly true when, later in the 90-minute production, Carson and Kelsey’s son Tommy appears in only his briefs and work shoes after a long night with his rock band. As portrayed with specific energy and purpose by Liam Stilson, Tommy is an engaging young dude who is clearly working out a lot of daddy issues. But this is about the time when the play loses its game plan. Instead of diving more deeply into the deteriorating relationship between Carson and his family, the story arc
visit, which by that time we know is only occurring in Carson’s battered mind, it’s not at all clear what these mental hallucinations are achieving dramatically. This situation isn’t helped when the attitudes of Kelsey and Tommy begin to waver as they are both attracted and repelled by Carson. Sure, their feelings toward Carson are complex, but that doesn’t mean their motives and emotions have to be obscured from the audience. As Kelsey, Marji Zitelli has a natural feel for the relationship early on. But later, when she begins transposing words in her speeches (i.e., when she’s talking about their precarious financial situation, she says, “We can’t the house save”), we have to wonder: Are these syntactical malaprops intentional,
DOWN BY CONTACT THROUGH SEPT. 2. PRODUCED BY PLAYWRIGHTS LOCAL AND DOBAMA THEATRE AT GILMOUR ACADEMY, 34001 CEDAR RD., GATES MILLS. PLAYWRIGHTSLOCAL.ORG
begins to circle around itself and gets tangled up in the process. Director Dale Heinen does what she can to sort out the players and make them all function as a unit, but ultimately the script defeats its own noble purpose by becoming unnecessarily fragmented. When Trypp returns for another
| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
and if so, what do they mean? John Busser works mightily to make Carson an empathetic figure, and mostly succeeds. Trouble is, there’s nowhere to go with his character in the last half of the play. Even when his symptoms become more serious, when he burns his hand fooling around
with a firecracker, the mental trials Carson is undergoing never rise to a level that justifies the play’s tragic conclusion. Down by Contact is staged in a room in a glorious Tudor mansion on the grounds of Gilmour Academy. This is justified by one line in the play referring to Kelsey wanting to live somewhere “classy.” But the set, designed by Walter Boswell, seems to suffer from this environment. Carson is a man who should be surrounded by walls full of photos and memorabilia. But the walls here are virtually bare, save for a couple Post-it Notes. No doubt, the school didn’t want framed photos nailed to their expensive mahogany walls. This play actually mirrors in some ways the life of Dave Duerson, a 50-year-old Super Bowl champ with the Chicago Bears who committed suicide by shooting himself in the heart. He did so, as he explained in his suicide note, so that the league could study his brain and find out what went wrong. But because the play never delves deeply enough into Carson’s terror of his mind leaving him, and due to a garbled concluding eulogy by Tommy and Kelsey, the end result is not an emotional touchdown. It’s more of a three-and-out.
scene@clevescene.com t@christinehowey
| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
33
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| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
EAT BEEN THERE, DONE THAT Bell & Flower isn’t much of an upgrade over the tired restaurant it replaced By Douglas Trattner BELL & FLOWER IS WHAT YOU end up with when operators get their hands on a prime piece of real estate but have run out of good ideas for a restaurant concept. Those owners are Shawn Monday and Michael Schwartz, the team behind the fine dining bistro One Red Door, gourmet burger bar Flip Side, and Neapolitan-style pizza parlor 3 Palms. All told, their holdings span 10 locations spread across the region and beyond. That real estate is the iconic Rick’s Cafe building in the heart of Chagrin Falls, a coveted spot dripping with fond memories and nostalgia. All that ended last summer, when the business was sold after 40 years, shuttered and retooled. Few would disagree that Rick’s Cafe had run its course, going the way of other august but unfashionable dinosaurs like Gamekeeper’s and Raintree in the very same neighborhood. But just as many people likely would agree that there was no pressing need to replace it. After stripping down the walls, opening up the façade and fumigating the kitchen, the owners unveiled a freshened up dining room that looks and feels like a genuine upgrade. On warm evenings, the glassy front opens up to the storybook village, and the charming alley patio quickly fills with couples, families and groups all trying to wring the last good bits out of summer. Bell & Flower is not the kind of restaurant that a chef would be particularly proud of, if he or she was being perfectly honest. And it’s not the type of place that diners will be overly enthusiastic about returning to. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a decent meal here. I was never blown away by any particular dish, but I was usually satisfied with its preparation and quality. Like any unfocused, shotgun-style menu, this one has its floaters and sinkers. How could it not, when it careens from French onion soup to tacos to lasagna to lobster rolls? Who can argue with the appeal of warm biscuits served with fluffy butter and silky jam? If those sound
Photo by Emanuel Wallace
delicious (and they are), consider ordering them as an appetizer rather than a side because they are priced at $4 rather than $5 for the same portion. They always say that eating shishito peppers ($7) is akin to hotpepper Russian roulette because one in 10 is spicy. Said differently, that equates to 90-percent boring. Two other starters get good marks for flavor and execution if not originality and panache. In the ahi tuna lettuce wraps ($14), chunks of raw fish are marinated
They are crunchy and plush in all the right places, and we could have burned through a gallon of the creamy buttermilk ranch dipping sauce if given a bucket and two straws. It’s rare for the grits to outshine the shrimp, but that’s definitely the case here, where decadent white grits form a satiny base for large overcooked shrimp ($18). The seafood is joined by savory chunks of ground sausage and a sweet, thin barbecue glaze.
BELL & FLOWER 86 MAIN ST., CHAGRIN FALLS 440-600-7755 BELLANDFLOWER.COM
in citrusy ponzu and presented in clean (mostly unblemished) lettuce leaves with guacamole, radish batons and sesame seeds. Dipped in a gingery sauce, the wraps exhibit an appealing contrast of tastes and textures. You can’t get more unimaginative than fried chicken tenders ($9), but at least the ones served here approach perfection.
If the goal was to recreate the famous ribs that were an indispensable menu item at Rick’s Cafe, I’d say the kitchen succeeded. If the goal is to make real barbecue, the opposite is true. These ribs ($14/ half) are “fall-off-the-bone tender” in the way that slow-baked ribs often are, and they have zero smoke flavor. Too little time on the grill left the
exterior pale and featureless. “This is the opposite of a dive bar — and not in a good way,” says a friend who I was meeting for dinner one night. Apparently, he had been ignored for 10 minutes at the bar while waiting for my arrival. It was an omen of things to come. The bartender was kind enough to offer a sample taste of a draft beer, but he never bothered to remove the empty glass. Appetizers were served with no accompanying side plates. And when a fly landed five inches away from our food, the bartender turned it to goo with his palm before returning to the task of polishing glassware. When our entrees had not arrived after 30 minutes, we queried the very same bartender, whose face went slack with the realization that he never put in the order. You never really did go to Rick’s for the food or service; you went for the atmosphere and camaraderie. Perhaps the same will be true of Bell & Flower.
dtrattner@clevescene.com t@dougtrattner | clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
35
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| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
EAT
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POLPETTA ‘BALLS AND COCKTAILS’ TO OPEN SEPT. 5 IN ROCKY RIVER By Douglas Trattner IT’S THE HOME STRETCH FOR the guys behind Polpetta, the chefdriven meatball concept that was launched within the walls of Porco Lounge. The restaurant is set to open in Rocky River (19900 Detroit Rd.) on Wednesday, Sept. 5. After a one-year “proof of concept” period at the Ohio City tiki bar, the owners decided it was time to move up, out and into a proper setting. That setting is a casual 100-seat restaurant and bar in the space most recently home to River Dog Cafe. The concept was inspired by a trip to New York City, says owner Brian Okin, where he and some colleagues visited the Meatball Shop on the Lower East Side. “I was blown away by how obvious and simple and great the concept was and the fact that there was nothing even remotely like this in Cleveland,” he explains. Diners will encounter a menu that offers a build-your-own meal system, where they select a meatball type, sauce and side, alongside a list of “Our Go-Tos,” suggested compositions designed by the chef. On offer will be a roster of 10 or so meatballs and approximately 20 sauces and 20 sides. Three of the balls will be vegetarian and/or vegan and most are gluten-free as oats are used as the binding ingredient. Combos will range from traditional beef meatballs with pomodoro sauce on a nest of spaghetti to lamb gyro balls topped with tzatziki sauce and paired with pita panzanella salad. The Chicken and Waffles marries chicken meatballs with maple hot sauce and herbed waffles, while the Bleu Balls showers beef meatballs with blue cheese cream sauce. Sides like gnocchi, polenta, mashed potatoes, fried rice, and mac and cheese can be ordered on the side or “under my balls.” In addition to the standard entree, meatballs can be ordered as sliders, in large hoagie buns, or family-style with a dozen balls (three types) and
multiple sauces presented on a large platter. Because the Porco Lounge team is involved, guests can also expect “world-class cocktails,” Okin adds. While it won’t be “Porco 2.0,” you might encounter a tiki drink or two at some point. There will also be beer and wine. The restaurant will be open for dinner only Monday through Saturday nights, with food service until midnight during the week and 1 a.m. on weekends.
Sesame and Soy Asian Takeout to Open in Tremont As bored pre-med students at Case, Paul Yu and John Tran opened Turbo Four Cafe, which was likely Cleveland’s first source for Taiwanese bubble tea when it opened in 2000. Since then, the friends have been partners in a number of business ventures, including the popular Tremont salon Beauty Room on Starkweather. Next up for the serial entrepreneurs is Sesame and Soy (2173 Professor Ave.), an Asian take-out and delivery concept. The restaurant is currently taking shape within the walls of the original Cookie and a Cupcake space in Tremont. If all goes as hoped, the business could be up and running by early September. Yu says he “loves simple concepts,” and that’s the plan for Sesame and Soy. The roster of familiar Chinese foods will likely land in the 10- to 12-item range, with a few appetizers like egg rolls, crab Rangoon and dumplings. Taiwanese specials like beef noodle soup, popcorn chicken and fried pork chops might make appearances. The goal is to offer a meal of two entrees and an appetizer for around $25.
dtrattner@clevescene.com t@dougtrattner
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| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
Photo by Nick Wilson
MUSIC FESTIVAL FAVORITES Ten bands to see at the InCuya Music Festival EARLIER THIS YEAR, CONCERT promoter AEG Presents (the company that’s been booking shows at the Agora and the company that produces about 30 festivals around the country) held a press conference at the Rock Hall to announce the lineup for InCuya, a summer music festival that takes place on Saturday and Sunday at the downtown malls. The festival represents a partnership of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the City of Cleveland, Destination Cleveland and the newly formed Cleveland Concert Company. Festival organizers also have partnered with the Platform Beer Co., which will create the InCuya Tourbus Pilsner for the event. The official beer of the inaugural festival will also be available for a limited time at the Platform taprooms in Cleveland and Columbus. Naturally, it’ll be served on site at the festival. Dubbed InCuya FoodLand, the festival’s food experience will feature grub from Adam Lambert and Trevor Clatterback of Ohio City Provisions, Mike Nowak of Poca and the Black Pig, Brett Sawyer of the Plum and Sean Watterson of Happy Dog. Happy Camper will also provide specialty beverages. Locally renowned food trucks such as Pasta Tivo, Betty’s Bomb Ass Burgers, Wholly Frijoles, Sauced Wood Fired Pizza, Smokin’ Rock and Roll and Wild Spork will be on hand as well. Here’s a guide to some of the bands worth catching.
The Modern Electric 1:35 p.m. Saturday, Lake Stage “Just like in the movies,” they say, and they’re spot-on. The Modern Electric has consistently kept crowds in Cleveland (and elsewhere) dazzled with their brand of “cinematic pop.” It’s all of a piece with these guys, and one often feels like a wonder-struck Ed Norton in a long-forgotten Wes Anderson
The British band New Order will play Cleveland for the first time in years.
flick when listening to their stuff. We check in with the band every now and then, and they lately released their album, Original Motion Picture Soundtrack , as a set of instrumental tunes. It’s an even more honed sense of cinematic enjoyment from one of Cleveland’s best indie bands. (Eric Sandy)
J. Roddy Walston & the Business 3:20 p.m. Saturday, City Stage In the tradition of guys like Jerry Lee Lewis and Fats Domino,
Kitten 5:25 p.m. Saturday, Lake Stage Kitten’s 2018 EP Pink Champagne hits you hard from the start with a ferocious scream from frontwoman Chloe Chaidez; it then never lets you go. Chaidez’s vocals walk a fine line between pop diva belting and punk rock queen growls, and through every captivating song you’ll want to know what she’ll throw at you next. That the band is from L.A. but now lives in Brooklyn comes across in its bright-with-an-edge party tunes. Rest assured that Chaidez and her
INCUYA MUSIC FESTIVAL SATURDAY, AUG. 25 AND SUNDAY, AUG. 26 MALLS B AND C, INCUYA.COM
J. Roddy Walston doesn’t just play the piano. He bangs away on the keys like a man possessed. His raw garage-rock tunes have the same kind of swagger you hear in tunes by Kings of Leon and the Black Keys. So how the hell did Walston learn to play the piano? His grandmother was a gospel/honky tonk country piano player who taught him the tricks of the trade. Walston, who insists he’ll never play keyboards, tours with a piano and puts on a helluva show. He’s spent the first part of this year touring in support of last year’s Destroyers of the Soft Life, an album of urgent indie rock tunes that veers from Nirvana-like punk (“You Know Me Better”) to fervent drinking ballads (“Blade of Truth”). Expect to hear songs from it at today’s performance. (Jeff Niesel)
group will be just as mesmerizing and ready to party on stage. The band will be back in Cleveland following this performance, hitting the Agora on Nov. 5. (Laura Morrison)
Awolnation 7:25 p.m. Saturday, City Stage Singer Aaron Bruno put together AWOLNATION back in 2009 after his various other bands had broken up. He’s said that his previous bands were “more traditional” when it came to writing songs and that he had to take charge of the song writing himself. Turned out to be the right decision. Though it didn’t become a success overnight, the debut album delivered a hit single with “Sail,” a tune that found its
way into TV shows, commercials and films. With its pulsating synthesizers and raspy vocals, the song sounds like a heavier track from alt-rockers Imagine Dragons. The band will likely play it along with songs from its recent album, Here Come the Runts, which came out earlier this year. (Niesel)
New Order 9:15 p.m. Saturday, City Stage When Joy Division singer Ian Curtis killed himself in 1980, it ended a terrific run by one of post-punk’s greatest bands. The remaining members from that band would soldier on as New Order, a group with a slightly more accessible sound than the oftenabrasive, proto-industrial rock of Joy Division. New Order enjoyed great commercial success during the 1980s when tracks such as “Blue Monday” and “Bizarre Love Triangle” received radio airplay. The band hasn’t played Cleveland in years, making this performance arguably the most anticipated of the entire festival. (Niesel)
The Jack Fords 2:45 p.m. Sunday, Lake Stage Singer-guitarists Brent Kirby and Bobby Latina have played together since 2005, when they would jam at the now-defunct Town Fryer. The Jack Fords formed at about that time too, and the local roots-rock act has become one of the city’s best bar bands. With its snarling vocals and restrained guitar riff, the title track to its 2015 album, There It Is, sounds like | clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
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MUSIC UPCOMING ENTERTAINMENT!
a cross between vintage Tom Petty and AC/DC, and “Getting Back” comes off as a rowdy garage-rock tune with a good, greasy guitar riff. The album shows off the band’s ability to veer from country-ish ballads to hard rocking anthems, making these guys a great fit for InCuya. (Niesel)
Dreamers TOTO AUG 25
RODNEY CARRINGTON SEPT 7
EDDIE MONEY SEPT 29
JEFF FOXWORTHY OCT 6
9/9 FELIX CAVALIERE & GENE CORNISH’S RASCALS 9/12 MICHAEL MCDONALD 9/15 GORDON LIGHTFOOT
10/11 SIMPLE MINDS 10/17 SAMMY HAGAR AND THE CIRCLE 10/12 THE DOOBIE BORTHERS 11/24 MAXWELL
4:50 p.m. Sunday, Lake Stage Singer-guitarist Nick Wold and singer-bassist Marc Nelson started this alt-rock band in Brooklyn where they’ve lived for 10 years. Wold had been in another band that broke up and teamed up with Nelson to release the single “Wolves (You Got Me),” which got some airplay on satellite radio. The two relocated to Los Angeles and added drummer Jacob Wick to the lineup. Wold actually wrote much of 2016’s This Album Does Not Exist , in Brooklyn before moving to L.A. where it tracked the songs at Fairfax Recordings (formerly Sound City Studios). The album features a mix of rock and pop that the band dubs “cosmic rock.” The careening “Never Too Late to Dance” recalls the Killers in their prime and loud-to-quiet dynamics of “Sweet Disaster” compare favorably to Weezer. (Niesel)
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| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
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6 p.m. Sunday, City Stage Cake singer John McCrea has said he used to “really, really hate” festivals because they symbolized “bombast and excess.” He’s apparently gotten over that hatred because the band is one of today’s main acts. When McCrea, who formed Cake way back in 1991, talks about his band’s “sonic DNA,” he has explained that the band was conceived as “a hostile reactionary gesture against the music of the early and mid-’90s, which for us was just big dumb white-guy rock.” Regardless of how out of sync the band’s rinky dink music sounded at the time, the group quickly found a following and was signed to Capricorn Records following the release of its debut album, Motorcade of Generosity. It’s steadily recorded and toured ever since, and the sardonic McCrea brings a ton of personality to the stage. (Niesel)
SZA 7:25 p.m. Sunday, City Stage SZA (pronounced Sih-zuh, for the record) makes music that feels unpretentiously real and that she really, honestly likes. This is not a given, and it made her performance last year at House of Blues endearing and deeply relatable. SZA loses herself dancing to her music like we do, alone in our bedroom mirrors. She fans out to the Travis Scott verse on “Love Galore” like we do, and raps with a mischievous grin along to Kendrick’s tonguein-cheek bars on “Doves in the Wind” like we did. She sheepishly tucks a blunt behind her ear like we might, and riffs over her refrains like we try to but mostly wish we could. There was something electrifying and important about hearing a diverse, primarily female audience yell Princess’ verse when the opening DJ spun “Knuck If You Buck” or collectively bellow, “I’ve paid enough of petty dues/I’ve heard enough of shitty news.” Expect a similarly enthusiastic response when she performs at InCuya. (Lawrence Neil)
The Avett Brothers 9:15 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 26 The Avett Brothers’ music can sometimes get written off as simplistic or sappy. But every song written by North Carolina siblings Seth and Scott Avett comes from a place of authenticity. They spin tales of hardship and working to be better men, fathers and lovers through multitudes of imperfections. That their most well-known song is called “I and Love and You” just shows they’re willing to wear their hearts on their sleeves. Today, they’re still playing that same rip-roarin’ and timeless brand of bluegrass/ country they arrived with in the early 2000s. And as seen in the recent documentary, May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers, directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio, that music is poised to keep them working for decades to come. Armed with a set sure to get people movin’ as well as to feel things deeply, the Avett Brothers are a perfect choice to close out Cleveland’s first ever InCuya Music Festival. (Morrison)
scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene
| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
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| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
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| clevescene.com clevesceene.com m | August Au 22 - 28, 2018
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Photo by Jason Hale
MUSIC WORKING CLASS ANTHEMS The Mighty Mighty Bosstones complete a trilogy they started nearly a decade ago By Jeff Niesel THE MIGHTY MIGHTY Bosstones singer Dicky Barrett says there’s a reason why so many American bands gravitated to ska music. “Whatever was going on in Kingston, Jamaica, in the 1960s has a similarity with what was going on in major cities like Boston,” he says in a recent phone interview. The band performs with Mustard Plug and Buster Shuffle at 7 p.m. on Thursday at House of Blues. “I fell in love with it when I heard the English bands like the Specials, Madness and Bad Manners. I also liked the English Beat when they started making ska records in the late ’70s. It had the message of punk rock but was sophisticated and was more musical than punk rock, which I loved just as much.” At the time, he was only 17. Tracking down records back in those pre-internet days wasn’t easy. But he managed to find albums by Jamaican acts like Desmond Dekker and the Skatalites. He also got a gig working for Taang!, a Boston-based punk rock label run by friend Curtis Casella. “[Casella] asked me what [bands to sign],” says Barrett. I told him to put out records by bands like Gang Green and Stranglehold and those early Boston bands. I drew the album cover for Brotherhood, an album by the [hardcore band] DYS. I did artwork and backing vocals and things like that.” Barrett also had his own band. He put the Mighty Mighty Bosstones together in 1983, but the group had yet to put out an album. “I also told Curtis [Casella] that he should put out the Bosstones,” says Barrett. “He refused for the longest period of time. I grabbed him by his throat and said, ‘What are you talking about? We’re friends.’”
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The Bosstones made their debut in 1989 with Devil’s Night Out. It quickly established the group as significant players in the ska revival that was happening at the time. Through constant touring, the band caught the attention of a major record label which gave its 1997 album Let’s Face Ita significant push. The album’s catchy single, “The Impression that I Get,” became a massive hit. “It was double-edged, really,” says Barrett when asked about the success. “It was great, but at the time, I didn’t properly enjoy it the way I should have. I thought the sky was falling in, and it was the end. I thought, ‘Oh my god, everyone knows who we are.’ We were rude boys from Boston, and we weren’t supposed to be popular. All of a sudden, we were. I didn’t want us to be known as sell outs. We did the same thing we had always been doing. It was just that people gave a shit all of a sudden. Then, I realized it wasn’t so bad. I learned that the people that supported us before
splintered in 2003. “At some point, we were doing over 300 shows a year,” says Barrett. “We thought it was a good time to exhale and take another breath and look around and discover ourselves and who we are and what we are outside of this bubble we’ve been in for close to 20 years. That’s what we did. It was scary and unfamiliar, and I thought, ‘What will I do without my best friends?’ For five or six years, we didn’t do any shows or write any music. I worked as an announcer on Jimmy Kimmel Live and had a radio show and realized I wanted to be with my best friends. High school didn’t have to end for us.” The band reformed in 2010 and then began work on a new studio effort. Slowly but surely, it assembled the songs for While We’re at It, an album that completes a trilogy that began with 2009’s Pin Points and Gin Joints. “At the beginning of working on Pin Points and Gin Joints, I felt that to say everything we wanted
THE MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES, MUSTARD PLUG, BUSTER SHUFFLE 7 P.M. THURSDAY, AUG. 23, HOUSE OF BLUES, 308 EUCLID AVE., 216-523-2583. TICKETS: $25-$35, HOUSEOFBLUES.COM
were proud of us and thought we deserved it. Pop music joined us on our terms; we didn’t join pop music on its terms.” But after steadily touring and recording into the early 2000s, the band was ready for a break and
| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
to say, it would take more than one album,” says Barrett. “I said it was Part 1, which confused everyone, but I knew we would make three records with [producer] Ted [Hutt]. There was a bunch of different things I wanted. I wanted common
themes and elements shared by all three of the records, and I wanted everything we did best but to not change things we’ve done before. I wanted it to be a jab and jab and knockout blow.” The band channels Rancid on the lurching “Green Bay, Wisconsin” and the horns really go nuts on the rollicking “Closer to Nowhere.” In “The Constant,” the band tells the classic American working-class story of what it calls the “underappreciated laborer” who’s been chewed up, passed over, mistreated, ignored and finally spit out by a callous corporation. It serves as a terrific working-class anthem. “This is the exclamation point at the end of the sentence,” Barrett says of the album. “It’s very thorough and complete on its own but also part of the trilogy. In my point of view, rock at its best has two main qualities: It sounds good, and it has something to say. In a way, I do think that what the Clash were to London and what the Skatalites were to Jamaica, we are to Boston.” The timing for the album is right too. Bands such as the Interrupters have brought ska back into the limelight and introduced the music to a new audience. Not that its popularity matters to Barrett. “People tell me that ska is popular again now, but if there’s a resurgence right now, that doesn’t matter to me. “I am always listening to it and loving it around the clock, 365 days a year.”
jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel
| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
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LIVEWIRE
all the live music you should see this week Photo by Joe Kleon
Country star Jason Aldean returns to Blossom. See Thursday.
WED
08/22
Bad Boys of Blues Jam: 9 p.m., free. Smedley’s. Dark Thoughts/The Missed: 9 p.m., $7. Now That’s Class. DK The Drummer & Sucre / Aku Aku feat. members of The Commonwealth: 8:30 p.m., $12. Grog Shop. Flying Buffaloes/Ross Livermore/ AJ and the Woods: 8:30 p.m., $8 ADV, $10 DOS. Beachland Tavern. Period Bombs/Mr. California: 6 p.m., free. Now That’s Class. Prologix Percussion Presents: Drummers In Session 2018 Performances and Discussion with Prologix artists Rich Redmond, Emmanuelle Caplette, Scott Pel: 6 p.m., $10 ADV, $12 DOS. The Kent Stage. Maura Rogers & The Bellows (in the Supper Club): 6 p.m., free. Music Box Supper Club.
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Cole Swindell: Country newcomer Cole Swindell has put out five singles in the past year. “Break Up in the End,” is the most emotional of them. Even though he did not write it, Swindell’s vocals deliver the perfect edge to the tear jerker. “You Should Be Here,” the title track from Swindell’s 2016 full-length paints a detailed picture of the wonderful scene turned melancholy because his late father is missing out on it. The amount of genuine emotion that Swindell pours into lyrics like this, combined with his natural insight, is what makes him a standout act. Swindell can also write great upbeat dance songs, however, as he proved with “Let Me See Ya Girl.” Every ticket purchased online includes your choice of a physical or digital copy of Swindell’s new album, All Of It. (Halle Weber) 8 p.m., $35 ADV, $40 DOS. House of Blues.
| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
Joanne Shaw Taylor/JD Simo: 8 p.m., $20 ADV, $25 DOS. Music Box Supper Club.
THU
08/23
Jason Aldean/Lauren Alaina/Luke Combs/Dee Jay Silver: Not as good looking as Luke Bryan or as physically fit as Tim McGraw, country singer-guitarist Jason Aldean nevertheless remains one of the genre’s biggest stars. That much was certainly apparent last year at Blossom where fans packed the place for his concert. The bill also features Lauren Alaina, Luke Combs and Dee Jay Silver, who will man the turntables between sets. On tour in support of his new album, Rearview Town, Aldean returns to the venue with some new tunes that are designed to be crowd favorites. Tunes such as the
guitar-driven, “Dirt to Dust” and the shimmering, mid-temp “Set It Off” will undoubtedly go over well tonight. (Jeff Niesel) 7:30 p.m., $64.50-$108.75. Blossom. Emby Alexander/Witch Church/ Stephan Haluska: 8 p.m., $5. CODA. Selwyn Birchwood/Kristine Jackson: 8 p.m., $16 ADV, $18 DOS. Beachland Tavern. FreeByrds Musician’s Night: 10 p.m., free. Smedley’s. Chris Hatton’s Musical Circus (in the Wine Bar): 8 p.m., free. Brothers Lounge. Jam Night with the Bad Boys of Blues: 9 p.m., free. Brothers Lounge. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones/ Mustard Plug/Buster Shuffle: 7 p.m., $25 ADV, $30 DOS. House of Blues. Mt. Joy/Oliver Hazard/Kallan: Following tonight’s Beachland show, indie rockers Mt. Joy will
LIVEWIRE continue on to play big festivals such as Austin City Limits, Life Is Beautiful, Bumbershoot and Voodoo. The band’s new self-titled album opens with the brittle folk tune “I’m Your Wreck” and doesn’t let up, delivering the kind of undulating rootsy tunes that would make bands like the Decemberists jealous. The hiccuping vocals in “Sheep,” a political tune about police brutality, helps show off the band’s soulful side. (Niesel) 8:30 p.m., $15 ADV, $18 DOS. Beachland Ballroom. O.A.R./Matt Nathanson/The New Respects: 7 p.m. Jacobs Pavilion.
FRI
08/24
Cholly/Latin City Soul Band/Kim Kennedy: 9 p.m., $10 ADV, $12 DOS. Beachland Ballroom. Commander Cody (in the Supper Club): 8 p.m., $22 ADV, $25 DOS. Music Box Supper Club. Sammy DeLeon Latin Jazz Sextet: 8:30 p.m., $15. Nighttown. Depeche Mode Tribute by Music For The Masses: 8:30 p.m., $15$20. Music Box Supper Club. Efram Manuel Menuck/Altimetry/ Sky Chasm/Royal Beasts: 8 p.m., $12 ADV, $15 DOS. Now That’s Class. Justin Hayward/Mike Dawes: 8 p.m., $55-$75. The Kent Stage. Kota the Friend/Channele Kazadi/ Feed the People/ZELL / DJ Cooley High: 6:30 p.m., $15-$35. Grog Shop. Alan Madej/Lowly, The Tree Ghost/SexyPigDivas: 8 p.m., $7. CODA. Freddie McGregor & Chino McGregor/True To My Roots/ J.R. Blessington/STR8 FIYAH: 10:30 p.m., $20 ADV, $25 DOS. Grog Shop. Collin Miller & the Brother Nature/The Katy/Psychic Leader: 9 p.m., $8 ADV, $10 DOS. Beachland Tavern.
SAT
08/25
Richie Cole & Alto Madness, Pittsburgh Edition: 8:30 p.m., $25. Nighttown. DJ Lag/DJ Hama/ADAB/Shirtless: 9 p.m., $10 ADV, $12 DOS. Now That’s Class. The Flats/Whale Bones/Los Ohos/ Sway Cherry Sway/Tunnel
Songs (in the Locker Room): 7 p.m., $10. Mahall’s 20 Lanes. The Four Horsemen/Meccadeth/ Maiden Voyage: 8 p.m., $13 ADV, $15 DOS. House of Blues. Great Lake Swimmers/Native Harrow: 8:30 p.m., $15 ADV, $18 DOS. Beachland Tavern. Morgan Mecaskey/Lee Harrill/ Park Brothers: 8 p.m., $7. CODA. Pressapalooza with Mo’ Mojo/Blue Lunch/Cats On Holiday with special guest Carlos Jones: 8:30 p.m., $10 ADV, $15 DOS. Grog Shop. The Schwartz Brothers: 8:30 p.m., $10. Beachland Ballroom. Toto: 8 p.m., $47.50-$57.50. Hard Rock Rocksino Northfield Park. The Waves/Bonnie Clydeman/ Vinyl Wings: 7 p.m., $10. Mahall’s 20 Lanes.
SUN
08/26
AJ & the Woods: 8:30 p.m., $8 ADV, $12 DOS. Grog Shop. Counting Crows/LIVE: 6:30 p.m., $29.50-$119.50. Blossom. Red Francis: 8 p.m., $5. Now That’s Class. Reggae Sundays: Carlos Jones & P.L.U.S.: 4 p.m., free. Music Box Supper Club. Resonated Oggee Wawa: 8:30 p.m., $8 ADV, $10 DOS. Beachland Tavern. Annie Sellick & Pat Bergeson: 7 p.m., $15. Nighttown.
MON
THE
SERVING
BRUNCH
FAVORITES SAT: 10AM – 3PM SUN: 10AM – 4PM
08/27
Skatch Anderssen Orchestra: 8 p.m., $7. Brothers Lounge. Tombs/Barishi: 8 p.m., $8 ADV, $10 DOS. Now That’s Class. Velvet Voyage (in the Wine Bar): 8 p.m. Brothers Lounge.
TUE
08/28
Ace Hood: 8 p.m., $25 ADV, $30 DOS. House of Blues Cambridge Room. Monolord/Pillars/Frayle: 8:30 p.m., $12 ADV, $14 DOS. Grog Shop. Mr. California Happy Hour with Snakes: 5 p.m., free. Now That’s Class. Prime Prines/The Cory Grinder Band: 8 p.m., $5. Beachland Ballroom. Sacramence/Child of Night/ Silence Embrace/Textbeak/ The Tweakbaby: 8 p.m., $9. Now That’s Class.
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| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
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| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
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By Dan Savage I’m in a pickle. All I want is to experience touch, intimacy, and sexual pleasure — but without freaking out. I grew up with a lot of negative messages from men due to developing early, as well as having some other physical/sexual trauma (no rape or abuse), but the combination has me seriously fucked up. Whenever I get close to physical intimacy with someone, I run away. I’m not a virgin — but in those instances, I’ve been really drunk (and experienced no emotional/physical pleasure). This is not what I want for my life. I want a relationship and love, and to be open and comfortable with someone expressing their care for me in a physical way without panicked thoughts flooding my brain. I’ve done lots of therapy, which has helped, but not enough. I recently heard of something called a sexual surrogate, somebody who is trained to therapeutically provide physical touch and intimacy in a controlled and safe environment. Are they legit? — She Can’t Adequately Release Extreme Dread Sexual surrogates are legit, SCARED, but please don’t call them sexual surrogates. “We’d like to see the language shift back to ‘surrogate partner,’ which was the original term,” said Vena Blanchard, president of the International Professional Surrogates Association (IPSA). “Masters and Johnson originated the concept, based on the theory that many people had problems that required the help of a cooperative partner, and some people didn’t have partners. So they trained people to work as ‘partner surrogates.’ The media took the term and changed it to ‘sexual surrogate’ because it sounded sexier. But ‘sexual surrogate’ implies that the work is all about sex.” So if surrogate partner therapy is not about sex — or not all about sex — then what is it primarily about? “Surrogate partner therapy is a therapeutic treatment that combines psychotherapy with experiential learning,” said Blanchard. “It’s designed for people like SCARED, who struggle with anxiety, panic, and past trauma — things that can distort a person’s experience in the moment.”
Surrogate partner therapy happens in stages, with each progressive stage representing another “teeny, tiny baby step,” as Blanchard put it. Sex can and does sometimes occur in the later stages of surrogate partner therapy, SCARED, but it doesn’t always and it’s not the goal — healing is. “By having these repeated safe experiences, in a context where there’s no pressure, and consent is emphasized, and the patient is in control,” said Blanchard, “someone liked SCARED can learn to manage her anxiety, and her prior negative experiences are replaced with positive new experiences.” While I had her on the phone, I asked Blanchard the first question many people have about surrogate partners: Are surrogate partners sex workers? “A sex worker offers a sexual experience — that is the primary intention of what is a business transaction,” said Blanchard. “What a surrogate partner offers are healing and education. A patient working with a surrogate partner is there to heal old injuries or break out of bad patterns so they can have a relationship in the future. People go to sex workers for an immediate experience — the agenda is sexual and about right now, not therapeutic and about the future.” Then I asked Blanchard the second question many people have: Is it legal? “There’s no place that it’s illegal,” said Blanchard. “There’s never been a court case challenging it. In California, where surrogate partner therapy is most common, no one has ever in 50 years challenged it.” If you’re interested in working with a surrogate partner, you can contact the referrals coordinator at IPSA’s website: surrogatetherapy.org. Finally, SCARED, the number of trained and qualified surrogate partners is relatively small — IPSA has just 70 members—so you might need to go where most of those trained and qualified surrogate partners are in order to work with one. (The part of California that isn’t on fire is lovely this time of year.)
mail@savagelove.net t@fakedansavage
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| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
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Days & Evenings, weekends. Warm candlelight atmosphere. Lakewood/West Suburbs Linda 216-221-5935
MASSAGE FOR COUPLES & SINGLES By married couple. No draping required. 330-741-0001. No texts.
Massage - Licensced Relaxation Limited
LAKEWOOD CLIFFS APARTMENTS
18900 Detroit Extension Newly Renovated 1-2 Bedroom Apts Heat & Water Included Updated Laundry on Site Off Street Parking Air Conditioning Secure Entry Lake and Park Views Call for our Specials 216-392-5384 *****some restrictions apply*****
3834 west 140 st Cleveland Ohio 44111 The Relaxation In Town Walk Ins Welcome 216-671-3813 Relaxationlimited.com 12pm -9 pm Mon -Sat
WATERBURY
Large, remodeled 1br and 2 BR suites. Heat included. Off-street parking available. 216-392-5384.
WINDSOR
1 BR suites. Backs up to Cleveland Metroparks. Heat Included. Secured Entry. Off-Street Parking Available. 216-392-5384
ELBUR
Located on a private tree lined street, 1BR and 2BR suites available. Off-street parking available. Heat included. 216-392-5384.
Rentals: West/Suburbs
METRO LOFTS APARTMENT Located at 3307 Scranton Rd., in Cleveland. 216-351-6936. 21 Loft Style Apartments Secured Entry Off-Street Parking Available Pets welcome w/ fee Central A/C
PARK PLACE
Spacious 1BR and 2BR suites available. Steps from Edgewater Park. Heat included. Off-street parking available. 216-392-5384
Real Estate: West/Suburbs BROOKSIDE OVAL APARTMENT Located on Park Fulton Oval near the Cleveland Metroparks! 216-351-6936 Choose from any of our newly remodeled 1 & 2 bdrm apartments, all w/ modern kitchens & bathrooms. All feature air-conditioning & Garage parking also available. 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.
Hedgewood Manor Spacious updated 1 bedroom and 2 bedroom suite, Secured entry, laundry on site. Air conditioning. 440-829-8444.
Real Estate Services
PARKSIDE
Spacious 1BR and 2BR suites available. Steps from Lakewood Park. Heat included. 216-392-5384
EDGECLIFF
Large, upgraded suites. Heat included. Overlooking the metro parks. Free off-street parking available. 216-392-5384
HOME BUYERS!!!
FREE MONEY!!! DOWN PAYMENT PROGRAM*
BUY YOUR DREAM HOME!!! Plus Get Up To $100k + More*
Who are you after dark? FREE TRIAL
(for new kitchen, new roof, new carpet, appliances, paint, basement waterproofing, windows, heating & cooling)*
NEVER EVER EVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO BUY A HOME!!! Great Low Fixed Interest Rates* When YOUR dreams come true... OUR dreams come true!!!
440.342.7355 (SELL) 1-216-377-6290 More Numbers: 1-800-700-6666 Redhotdateline.com 18+
FREE TRIAL
Discreet Chat Guy to Guy
216.626.0320
To Buy...or Sell
Call Grizzell *Some restrictions will apply *for those who qualify... we consider... Se Habla Espanol
'//$ #2%$)4 s "!$ #2%$)4 s "!.+2504#9 | clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
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| clevescene.com | August 22 - 28, 2018
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