Scene december 27, 2017

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The Missing Stories of 2017, And Exposing the Patterns of What’s Missed

By Paul Rosenberg

“A Must See!”

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—Broadway World

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| clevescene.com | December 27, 2017 - January 2, 2018

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$%#%-"%2 *!.5!29 s 6/,5-% .O 26 Dedicated to Free Times founder Richard H. Siegel (1935-1993) and Scene founder Richard Kabat Group Publisher Chris Keating Publisher Andrew Zelman

CONTENTS Upfront

Associate Publisher Angela Nagal

Editorial Managing Editor Eric Sandy Music Editor Jeff Niesel Senior Writer Sam Allard Staff Writer Brett Zelman Web Editor Laura Morrison Dining Editor Douglas Trattner Stage Editor Christine Howey Visual Arts Writers Dott von Schneider Copy Editor Elaine Cicora Intern Lawrence Neil

Feature

Cloud Nothings will be at the Beachland Tavern on Sunday

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A close look at news stories that flew under the radar in America this year

Advertising Senior Multimedia Account Executive John Crobar, Shayne Rose Multimedia Account Executive Kiara Davis Events and Marketing Coordinator Maggie Lilac

'ET /UT

All the events you should check out this week

Creative Services Production Manager Steve Miluch Layout Editor/Graphic Designer Christine Hahn Staff Photographer Emanuel Wallace Business Sales Assistant/Receptionist Megan Stimac Controller Kristy Dotson

!RT

Circulation Circulation Director Don Kriss

The year that was and the year that will be in Cleveland visual art

Euclid Media Group Chief Executive Offi cer Andrew Zelman Chief Operating Offi cers Chris Keating, Michael Wagner VP Digital Services Stacy Volhein Digital Operations Coordinator Jaime Monzon

Stage

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Our year-end accounting of the best of the stage in Cleveland

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

Film

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Breaking news: Rich industrialist is asshole

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Chinese noodles, dumplings and more will keep you coming back to LJ Shanghai, the newest addition to Asiatown

Music

Quickies

| clevescene.com | December 27, 2017 - January 2, 2018

...The story continues at clevescene.com

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Up-and-coming funk outfit Pigeons Playing Ping Pong posts up for two nights in Cleveland

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A tragic crime unfolds in DetroitShoreway, the Ohio foster care system balloons, and more

Editor Vince Grzegorek

Printed By

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UPFRONT MOTHER CHARGED IN DEATH OF 5-YEAROLD SON, BODY UNCOVERED IN BACKYARD Photo by Sam Allard

THIS WEEK

IT’S YET TO BE SEEN IF CLEVELAND will eclipse 2016’s homicide total (136), the highest number in more than a decade, but as of Friday, Dec. 22, the city was still a few off the pace.

Nevertheless, last week included one of the more tragic homicides of the year. The body of a five-year-old boy was found buried in the back yard of a Detroit-Shoreway home.

The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner, on Friday idendtified the body as that of Jordan Rodriguez, a developmentally disabled child who was unable to speak. His mother, 34-year-old Larissa Rodriguez is now being held on $1 million bond and stands accused of his murder.

The boy’s remains were uncovered by local and federal authorities last Tuesday, after Rodriguez admitted to burying him in the yard and led investigators to the site. She was arrested Monday after a call to police from her boyfriend’s brother. (The boyfriend, Christopher Rodriguez, is serving a six-month sentence in Medina for failure to pay child support.)

When first confronted by police, Larissa Rodriguez said that her son had gone to Houston to visit his biological father and that the boy’s aunt had picked him up earlier this month.

Rodriguez is thought to have buried her son around Sept. 22. There were signs of bruises and multiple broken ribs.

The family was well-known to Cuyahoga County social workers.

Rodriguez had been cited 13 times and even had two of her nine children removed from her custody.

Cleveland.com reported last week that Rodriguez is currently pregnant with her 10th child. — Sam Allard

NEW MAPS SHOW DIRECT LINK BETWEEN WESTERN OHIO FARMS AND INCREASED ALGAE BLOOM THREATS IN LAKE ERIE As sprawling algae blooms turned the Maumee River green in downtown Toledo this fall, Lucas County Commissioners turned up the heat on the Ohio Department of Agriculture and the many western Ohio farmers that are contributing to the dramatic uptick in Lake Erie’s phosphorus levels.

“Don’t defend the status quo that is poisoning our lake,” Lucas County commissioner Pete Gerken said earlier this week, referencing newly published maps that link certain “lower Maumee” farmland areas to increased levels of phosphorus (fertilizer) pollution. Lucas County and the city of Toledo have

spent “hundreds of millions of dollars” to combat this hazardous runoff. This year’s algae bloom was the “third worst” on record; in 2014, the city of Toledo shut down its water supply for three days as the algae overtook its resources.

The state’s Department of Agriculture only has a voluntary policy on cutting back on fertilizer use, which tracks with the Department’s stance toward farmers’ environmental impact elsewhere. (Even when 66,701 “manure-based fish kills” were discovered in the Maumee River watershed in August, the Department of Agriculture sought no penalties against the farmers responsible for the manure discharges. The Department issued two warnings and blamed the manure-related fish deaths on “large

(THE UNEXPECTED UNWISE FELONIOUS OAF Cleveland Water Department VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE) employee charged for stealing a half-

CSU shields prospective president candidates from public by keeping records for Ron Berkman’s replacement with a private search firm. Leaked documents, however, reveal frontrunner by name of Ron B. Erkman.

ton of scrap metal from city facility.

Later admits to detectives that he’s been selling this stuff to the feds as “alien alloys” for years.

unexpected weather events.”)

Without firm state guidance, researchers said at the 2017 Ohio Grain Farmers Symposium this week, the impetus remains on individual farmers to stay on stop of soil erosion and phosphorus runoff. The new maps show precisely where the source of the problem is — and where to double down on the environmental work against the algae bloom threat.

—Eric Sandy

ABOUT ALL THOSE CITIZEN COMPLAINTS AGAINST POLICE… With a recent court filing, the city of Cleveland followed through on its word to deliver some sort of plan by mid-December — a plan to tackle its years-long backlog of citizen

LOOMIS LIVES MATTER Cleveland police union will head to arbitration with the city over new contract. Hangup so far appears to be request from outgoing prez Steve Loomis to play “Take a Knee… My Ass” every time he enters a room.

QUALITY OF LIFE Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. Let’s get this show on the road.

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complaints against the Division of Police.

The plan follows up on what Law Director Barbara Langhenry said in federal court last month: that the city just needs more time and more trained employees to tackle this problem, the problem being a backlog of nearly 400 open citizen complaints dating back to 2014 in some cases.

To address the backlog speciďŹ cally, the city will hire an outside company to come in and clean up. The hope is that the backlog will be cleared within the next year (or by March 2019).

The police department’s OfďŹ ce of Professional Standards, in turn, has increased its own staff. Those OPS staffers will address new citizen complaints in 2018 and beyond. Like Langhenry said last month, the OPS has six full-time investigators and six temporary investigators on staff.

Their workload is robust, to say the least.

The court ďŹ ling and the speciďŹ cs in the city’s plan are a ďŹ rst step toward achieving one of the main goals of the consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice. “I look to the city to take the lead in coming up with standards and resolution of this issue,â€? federal judge Solomon Oliver told city ofďŹ cials last month. “This has to be one of the highest priorities in the area of the consent decree. This is one that we cannot let fester.â€?

If the outside company isn’t getting the job done, the city will “revisit� its timeline and its plan.

Regularly scheduled status hearings with Oliver will no doubt ensure what he hopes will be an open and clearly communicated effort on this front. — Sandy

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Earlier this year, state attorney general Mike DeWine called for more Ohio families to step forward and join the foster care network. There was a growing need, according to his ofďŹ ce, shaped in large part by the sprawling and deadly opiate addiction crisis.

When we reached out to the ofďŹ ce, employees there conďŹ rmed that dozens of families had taken up the call. And while that’s still not nearly enough, any increase is a good thing: Now, more than 15,500 children are living in foster care. That’s a substantial increase from 12,600 or so in 2013. The trend shows no sign of slowing down, not unlike

the increasing death toll from opiate overdoses in the state.

Last year, 4,050 Ohioans fatally overdoses. The children left behind fall into the hands of grandparents -- often unsuspecting retirees who haven’t raised school-age children in decades -- and the state’s foster care system.

In December, the state attorney general’s ofďŹ ce selected eight counties to be recipients of a grant-funded pilot program that will boost foster family recruitment efforts; Cuyahoga County was among those selected.

The Waiting Child Fund will support a full-time staff member in those counties, connecting prospective families to the state’s bank of resources.

In Cuyahoga County, more than 2,000 children have entered the foster care system in a trend that tracks closely with our overdose crisis. — Sandy

DIGIT WIDGET 49,596 Ohio’s adult prison population as of last week. It’s the ďŹ rst time the number’s been under 50,000 in four years, but a far cry from 40 years ago when Ohio’s prison population was just 8,300.

3 MILLION Number of cards and packages funneled through the Cleveland USPS Processing and Distribution Center on its busiest day in the week before Christmas. On an average day that number is 600,000.

15,500 Number of Ohio Children now in foster care, up from 12,600 four years ago. The opioid crisis is overwhelming the system.

15,000 Meals that Tremont’s St. Augustine Church planned to serve on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to the city’s poor and homeless, continuing a 45-year tradition.

Your Favorite Scene Stories of 2017 We went to Mars by way of Brook Park; we caught up with, and unspooled the untold story of, the man behind a classic Cleveland anthem; we had a corndog and a long conversation with a very open and honest Jason Kipnis; we dug into the digital redlining of Cleveland’s poorest neighborhoods and the state laws and regulations that have allowed AT&T to exclude wide swaths of the city from improved internet services; we drank and talked our way through Cleveland’s ever-growing brewery scene and dissected what might separate the winners and losers in the crowded pack; we went birding(!) and wrote about what we can learn about climate change by paying attention to our feathered friends; and much, much more. 2017 was a helluva trip.

Of the many, many stories that come out of Scene’s small but gritty newsroom, the weekly longform feature holds a special place in our hearts. It is with those we spend the most time. It is through those that we navigate complex subjects and provide much-needed depth and context to the people and issues at the very core of what’s happening in Cleveland.

It turns out those stories resonate strongly with you as well.

In terms of engagement, time spent with the story, and reader response, it was our deeply reported features that drew most of your attention. With 173 different ways to waste time and get distracted at any given moment, that’s a reassuring fact. Our thanks go out to you.

As the media industry continues to, uh, struggle, especially on the local level across the country, and as alt-weeklies shrink or disappear completely, it’s heartening to know that there’s still an audience hungry for the brand of adversarial, investigative journalism and magazine-style writing in our pages, the kind tackling topics in ways no one else can, and, oftentimes, topics no one else would touch.

Here, then, are the Scene stories you loved most this year. Visit clevescene.com for every poetic word.

What You Need to Know About Ohio’s Medical Marijuana Law, In Effect For Seven Months and Changing Every Day Medical marijuana will be (should be) available by September 2018. We’ve taken a close look at the law along the way, and found more than a few questions.

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Excitement Over Clevelandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Brewery Explosion Has Given Way to Questions of a Brewery Bubble You hear it all the time, this talk of the many, many breweries in Cleveland. Is that a good thing? Or are we on the cusp of a bubble?

State Laws Allowed AT&T to Exclude Clevelandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Poorest Neighborhoods From High-Speed Internet Service When your state lawmakers took away utility regulations for Internet service providers, they welcomed in an era of monopolization. Poor residents are hurting even more now.

Al Fatz Done Came Down: The Untold Saga of a Cleveland Anthem From a makeshift recording studio in a closet to Rich Paul, Bill Cosby and LeBron, this one has it all.

A Highway Runs Through It The demolition of the FirstEnergy plant presents Cleveland a unique opportunity to return neglected Gordon Park to its glory days, but a few obstacles stand in the way.

East Cleveland Residents Have Complained About the Health Hazards of the Noble Road Dump For Years. Is Anyone Listening?

The Arco recycling facility has been the bane of Noble Road residents for

years. We went looking for answers to the neighborsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; questions.

Transit Police Say RTAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s UnofďŹ cial Fare-Enforcement Policies are Inequitable and Dangerous A deep dive through RTA policies and records reveals that not all riders are treated the same.

A Hit Goes Wrong in Rural Ohio, and a Murder Case Spirals Out of Control For 23 Years We investigate the case of Kevin Keith and the alternate suspect in a brutal triple homicide in 1994.

A Man Who Dresses in Medieval Garb and Walks Around Downtown is a Strange Ranger. But is He Dangerous?

Chainmail! Antifa! Facebook comment section ďŹ ghts! A lighthearted look at the serious world of local political activism in the post-Trump world.

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| clevescene.com | December 27, 2017 - January 2, 2018

The Missing Stories of 2017 — And Exposing the Patterns of What’s Missed

By Paul Rosenberg (Senior Editor, Random Lengths News)

IN AMERICA, WE COMMONLY think of press freedom and censorship in terms of the First Amendment, which focuses attention on the press itself and limits on the power of government to restrict it. But the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, drafted in the aftermath of World War II, presents a broader framework.

Article 19 reads: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

By highlighting the right to receive information and ideas, Article 19 makes it clear that press freedom is about everyone in society, not just the press, and that government censorship is only one potential way of thwarting that right. That’s the perspective that has informed Project Censored from the beginning, more

than 40 years ago.

Even though Project Censored’s annual list focuses on specific censored stories, the underlying issue has never been isolated examples. They serve to highlight how far short we fall from the fully-informed public that a healthy democracy requires — and that we all require in order to live healthy, safe, productive, satisfying lives. It’s the larger patterns of missing information, hidden problems and threats that should really concern us. Each Project Censored story provides some of that information, but the annual list helps shed light on these broader patterns of what’s missing, as well as on the specifics of the stories themselves.

During the 1972 election, Woodward and Bernstein were reporting on the earliest developments in the Watergate Scandal, but their work was largely isolated, despite running in the Washington Post. They were covering it as a developing criminal case;

it never crossed over into a political story until after the election. That’s a striking example of a missing pattern.

It helped contribute to the founding of Project Censored by Carl Jensen, who defined censorship as “the suppression of information, whether purposeful or not, by any method — including bias, omission, underreporting or self-censorship — that prevents the public from fully knowing what is happening in its society.”

In the current edition’s introduction to the list of stories, Andy Lee Roth writes, “Finding common themes across news stories helps to contextualize each item as a part of the larger narratives shaping our times.” He goes on to cite several examples spanning the top 25 list: four stories on climate change, six involving racial inequalities, four on issues involving courts, three on health issues, “at least two stories” involving the Pentagon, three on government surveillance and two

involving documentary films produced by the Shell Oil Co. Roth goes on to say, “There are more connections to be identified. As we have noted in previous Censored volumes, the task of identifying common topical themes, within each year’s story list and across multiple years transforms the reader from a passive recipient of information into an active, engaged interpreter. We invite you to engage with this year’s story list in this way.”

It’s excellent advice. But to get things started on the more limited scope of the top 10 stories, three main themes clearly seem evident: first, threats to public health (1. Widespread Lead Contamination Threatens Children’s Health, and Could Triple Household Water Bills. 6. Antibiotic Resistant ‘Superbugs’ Threaten Health and Foundations of Modern Medicine. 8.

Maternal Mortality a Growing Threat in the U.S.); second, threats to democ-

| clevescene.com | December 27, 2017 - January 2, 2018

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FEATURE racy, both at home (4. Voter Suppression in the 2016 Presidential Election.

5. Big Data and Dark Money behind the 2016 Election. and .9 DNC Claims Right to Select Presidential Candidate) and abroad (10. 2016: A Record Year for Global Internet Shutdowns); and third, an out-of-control military (#2.

Over Six Trillion Dollars in Unaccountable Army Spending. 3. Pentagon Paid UK PR Firm for Fake Al-Qaeda Videos, and #7 The Toll of U.S. Navy Training on Wildlife in the North Pacific).

But don’t let this overview pattern blind you to other patterns you may see for yourself. Even individual stories often involve different overlapping patterns — environmental destruction and an out-of-control military in No. 7, for example, or public health and infrastructure concerns in No. 1. These patterns don’t just connect problems and issues, they connect people, communities and potential solutions as well. A shared understanding of the patterns that hold us down and divide us is the key to developing better patterns to live by together. With that thought in mind, here is Project Censored’s Top 10 List for 2016-17:

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| clevescene.com | December 27, 2017 - January 2, 2018

1. Widespread Lead Contamination Threatens Children’s Health and Could Triple Household Water Bills After President Barack Obama declared a federal emergency in Flint, Mich., based on lead contamination of the city’s water supply in January 2016, Reuters reporters M.B. Pell and Joshua Schneyer began an investigation of lead contamination nationwide with shocking results. In June 2016, they reported that although many states and Medicaid rules require blood lead tests for young children, millions of children were not being tested. In December 2016, they reported on the highly decentralized data they had been able to assemble from 21 states, showing that 2,606 census tracts and 278 zip codes across the United States had levels of lead poisoning more than double the rates found in Flint at the peak of its contamination crisis. Of those, 1,100 communities had lead contamination rates “at least four times higher” than Flint.

In Flint, 5 percent of the children screened high blood lead levels. Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 2.5 percent of all U.S. children younger than six — about 500,000 children — have elevated blood lead levels.

But Pell and Schneyer’s neighborhood focus allowed them to identify local hotspots “whose lead poisoning

problems may be obscured in broader surveys,” such as those focused on statewide or countywide rates. They found them in communities that “stretch from Warren, Pennsylvania ... where 36 percent of children tested had high lead levels, to ... Goat Island, Texas, where a quarter of tests showed poisoning.” What’s more, “In some pockets of Baltimore, Cleveland and Philadelphia, where lead poisoning has spanned generations, the rate of elevated tests over the last decade was 40 to 50 percent.”

In January 2017, Schneyer and Pell reported that, based on their previous investigation, “From California to Pennsylvania, local leaders, health officials and researchers are advancing measures to protect children from the toxic threat. They include more bloodlead screening, property inspections, hazard abatement and community outreach programs.”

But there’s a deeper infrastructure problem involved, as Farron Cousins reported for DeSmogBlog in January 2017. “Lead pipes are time bombs” and water contamination is to be expected, Cousins wrote. The U.S. relies on an estimated 1.2 million miles of lead pipes for municipal delivery of drinking water, and much of this aging infrastructure is reaching or has exceeded its lifespan.

In 2012 the American Water Works Association estimated that a complete overhaul of the nation’s aging water systems would require an investment of $1 trillion over the next 25 years, which could triple household water bills. As Cousins reported, a January 2017 Michigan State University study found that, “while water rates are currently unaffordable for an estimated 11.9 percent of households, the conservative estimates of rising rates used in this study highlight that this number could grow to 35.6 percent in the next five years.”

As Cousins concluded, “While the water contamination crisis will occasionally steal a headline or two, virtually no attention has been paid to the fact that we’re pricing a third of United States citizens out of the water market.”

2. Over Six Trillion Dollars in Unaccountable Army Spending In 1996, Congress passed legislation requiring all government agencies to undergo annual audits, but a July 2016 report by the Defense Department’s inspector general found that the Army alone has accumulated $6.5 trillion in expenditures that can’t be accounted for over the past two decades.

As Dave Lindorff reported for This Can’t Be Happening!, the DoD “has not been tracking or recording or auditing all of the taxpayer money allocated by

Congress â&#x20AC;&#x201D; what it was spent on, how well it was spent, or where the money actually ended up.â&#x20AC;? But the Army wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t alone. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Things arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t any better at the Navy, Air Force and Marines,â&#x20AC;? he added.

The report appeared at a time when, â&#x20AC;&#x153;politicians of both major political parties are demanding accountability for every penny spent on welfare....

Ditto for people receiving unemployment compensation,â&#x20AC;? Lindorff wrote.

Politicians have also engaged in pervasive efforts â&#x20AC;&#x153;to make teachers accountable for student â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;performance,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? he added. Yet, he observed, â&#x20AC;&#x153;the military doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to account for any of its trillions of dollars of spending ... even though Congress fully a generation ago passed a law requiring such accountability.â&#x20AC;?

In March 2017, after Trump proposed a $52 billion increase in military spending, Thomas Hedges reported for The Guardian that, â&#x20AC;&#x153;the Pentagon has exempted itself without consequence for 20 years now, telling the Government Accountability OfďŹ ce that collecting and organizing the required information for a full audit is too costly and time-consuming.â&#x20AC;?

The most recent DoD audit deadline was September 2017, yet neither the Pentagon, Congress, nor the media seem to have paid any attention.

3. Pentagon Paid PR Firm the United Kingdom for Fake Al-Qaeda Videos Concern over Russian involvement in promoting fake news during the 2016 election is a justiďŹ ed hot topic in the news. But what about our own involvement in similar operations? In October 2016, Crofton Black and Abigail Fielding-Smith reported for the Bureau of Investigative Journalism on one such very expensive â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and questionable â&#x20AC;&#x201D; operation. The Pentagon paid a British PR ďŹ rm, Bell Pottinger, more than $660 million to run a top-secret propaganda program in Iraq from at least 2006 to December 2011. The work consisted of three types of products: TV commercials portraying al-Qaeda in a negative light, news items intended to look like Arabic TV, and â&#x20AC;&#x201D; most disturbing â&#x20AC;&#x201D; fake al-Qaeda propaganda ďŹ lms.

A former Bell Pottinger video editor, Martin Wells, told the Bureau that he was given precise instructions for production of fake al-Qaeda ďŹ lms, and that the ďŹ rmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s output was approved by former General David Petraeus â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the commander of the coalition forces in Iraq â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and on occasion by the White House.

They reported that the United States used contractors because â&#x20AC;&#x153;the military didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the in-house expertise and was operating in a legal â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;grey area.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;?

The reporters â&#x20AC;&#x153;traced the ďŹ rmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Iraq work through U.S. army contracting censuses, federal procurement transaction records and reports by the Defense Departmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inspector general, as well as Bell Pottingerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s corporate ďŹ lings and specialist publications on military propaganda.â&#x20AC;? Black and FieldingSmith also interviewed former ofďŹ cials and contractors involved in information operations in Iraq.

Documents show that Bell Pottinger employed as many as three hundred British and Iraqi staff at one point; and its media operations in Iraq cost more than $100 million per year on average.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s remarkable that an operation on this scale has been totally ignored in midst of so much focus on â&#x20AC;&#x153;fake newsâ&#x20AC;? here in the United States.

4. Voter Suppression in the 2016 Presidential Election The 2016 election was the ďŹ rst election in 50 years without the full protection of the Voting Rights Act, ďŹ rst passed in 1965. In Shelby County v.

Holder (2013), a 5-4 conservative majority in the Supreme Court struck down a key provision requiring jurisdictions with a history of violations to â&#x20AC;&#x153;preclearâ&#x20AC;? changes. As a result, changes to voting laws in nine states and parts of six others with long histories of racial discrimination in voting were no

longer subject to federal government approval in advance.

Since Shelby, 14 states, including many southern states, implemented new voting restrictions, in many cases just in time for the election. These included restrictive voter-identiďŹ cation laws in Texas and North Carolina, English-only elections in many Florida counties, as well as last-minute changes of poll locations, and changes in Arizona voting laws that had previously been rejected by the Department of Justice before the Shelby decision.

Ari Berman, author of Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America, was foremost among a small number of non-mainstream journalists to cover the suppression efforts and their results. In May 2017, he reported on an analysis of the effects of voter suppression by Priorities USA, which showed that strict voter-ID laws in Wisconsin and other states resulted in a â&#x20AC;&#x153;signiďŹ cant reductionâ&#x20AC;? in voter turnout in 2016 with â&#x20AC;&#x153;a disproportionate impact on AfricanAmerican and Democratic-leaning voters.â&#x20AC;? Berman noted that turnout was reduced by 200,000 votes in Wisconsin, while Donald Trump won the state by just over 22,000 votes.

Nationwide, the study found that the change in voter turnout from 2012 to 2016 was signiďŹ cantly impacted

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13

FEATURE by new voter-ID laws. In counties that were more than 40 percent AfricanAmerican, turnout dropped 5 percent with new voter-ID laws, compared to 2.2 percent without. In counties that were less than 10 percent African-American, turnout decreased 0.7 percent with new voter-ID laws, compared to a 1.9 percent increase without. As Berman concluded, “This study provides more evidence for the claim that voter-ID laws are designed not to stop voter impersonation fraud, which is virtually nonexistent, but to make it harder for certain communities to vote.”

As Berman noted in an article published by Moyers & Co. in December 2016, the topic of “gutting” the Voting Rights Act did not arise once during the 26 presidential debates prior to the election, and “[c]able news devoted hours and hours to Trump’s absurd claim that the election was rigged against him while spending precious little time on the real threat that voters faced.”

5. Big Data and Dark Money behind the 2016 Election When Richard Nixon first ran for

Congress in 1946, he and his supporters used a wide range of dirty tricks aimed at smearing his opponent as pro-Communist, including a boiler-room operation generating phone calls to registered Democrats, which simply said, “This is a friend of yours, but I can’t tell you who I am.

Did you know that Jerry Voorhis is a Communist?” Then the caller would hang up.

In 2016, the same basic strategy was employed but with decades of refinement, technological advances, and massively more money behind it. A key player in this was right-

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wing computer scientist and hedgefund billionaire Robert Mercer, who contributed $13.5 million to Trump’s campaign and also funded Cambridge Analytica, a data analytics company that specializes in “election management strategies” and using “psychographic” microtargeting — based on thousands of pieces of data for some 220 million American voters — as Carole Cadwalladr reported for the Guardian in February 2017. After Trump’s victory, Cambridge Analytica’s CEO Alexander Nix said, “We are thrilled that our revolutionary approach to data-driven communica-

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tion has played such an integral part in President-elect Trump’s extraordinary win.”

Cambridge Analytica’s parent company, Strategic Communication Laboratories, was more old-school until recently in elections across Europe, Africa and the Caribbean.

In Trinidad, it paid for the painting of graffiti slogans purporting to be from grassroots youth. In Nigeria, it advised its client party to suppress the vote of their opposition “by organizing anti-poll rallies on the day of the election.”

But now they’re able to microtarget their deceptive, disruptive messaging. “Pretty much every message that Trump put out was data-driven” after they joined the campaign, Nix said in September 2016. On the day of the third presidential debate, Trump’s team “tested 175,000 different ad variations for his arguments” via Facebook.

This messaging had everything to do with how those targeted would respond, not with Trump’s or Mercer’s views. In a New Yorker profile, Jane Mayer noted that Mercer argued that the 1964 Civil Rights Act was a major mistake, a subject not remotely hinted at during the campaign.

“Suddenly, a random billionaire can change politics and public policy

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SCENE

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; to sweep everything else off the table â&#x20AC;&#x201D; even if they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t speak publicly, and even if thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s almost no public awareness of his or her views,â&#x20AC;? Trevor Potter, former chair of the Federal Election Commission, told Mayer.

With the real patterns of inďŹ&#x201A;uence, ideology, money, power and belief hidden from view, the very concept of democratic self-governance is now fundamentally at risk.

6. Antibiotic Resistant â&#x20AC;&#x153;Superbugsâ&#x20AC;? Threaten Health and Foundations of Modern Medicine The problem of antibiotics giving rise to more dangerous drug-resistant germs (â&#x20AC;&#x153;superbugsâ&#x20AC;?) has been present since the early days of penicillin, but has now reached a crisis, with companies creating dangerous superbugs when their factories leak industrial waste, as reported by Madlen Davies of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism in September 2016. Factories in China and India â&#x20AC;&#x201D; where the majority of worldwide antibiotics are manufactured â&#x20AC;&#x201D; have released â&#x20AC;&#x153;untreated waste ďŹ&#x201A;uidâ&#x20AC;? into local soils and waters, leading to increases in antimicrobial resistance that diminish the effectiveness of antibiotics and threaten the foundations of modern medicine. â&#x20AC;&#x153;After bacteria in the environment become resistant, they can exchange genetic material with other germs, spreading antibiotic resistance around the world, according to an assessment issued by the European Public Health Alliance, which served as the basis for Daviesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s news report,â&#x20AC;? Projected Censored explained. One strain of drugresistant bacterium that originated in India in 2014 has since spread to 70 other countries.

Superbugs have already killed an estimated 25,000 people across Europe â&#x20AC;&#x201D; thus globally posing â&#x20AC;&#x153;as big a threat as terrorism,â&#x20AC;? according to a UK National Health Service Chief Medical OfďŹ cer Dame Sally Davies. â&#x20AC;&#x153;At the heart of the issue is how to motivate pharmaceutical companies to improve their production practices.

With strong demand for antibiotics, the companies continue to proďŹ t despite the negative consequences of their actions,â&#x20AC;?

Project Censored noted. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The EPHA assessment recommended ďŹ ve responses that major purchasers of medicines could implement to help stop antibiotic pollution. Among these recommendations are blacklisting pharmaceutical companies that contribute to the spread of superbugs through irresponsible practices, and promoting legislation to incorporate environmental criteria into the industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s good manufacturing practices.â&#x20AC;?

Superbugs are especially threatening modern medicine, in which a wide range of sophisticated practices â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

organ transplants, joint replacements, cancer chemotherapy and care of pre-term infants â&#x20AC;&#x201D; â&#x20AC;&#x153;will become more difďŹ cult or even too dangerous to undertake,â&#x20AC;? according to Margaret Chan, head of the World Health Organization. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Although the threat of antibioticresistant microbes is well documented in scientiďŹ c publications, there is little to no coverage on superbugs in the corporate press,â&#x20AC;? Project Censored noted. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What corporate news coverage there is tends to exaggerate the risks and consequences of natural outbreaks â&#x20AC;&#x201D; as seen during the Ebola scare in the U.S. in 2014 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; rather than reporting on the preventable spread of superbugs by irresponsible pharmaceutical companies.â&#x20AC;?

Once again, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not just a problem of suppressing a single story, but two overlapping patterns â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the biological problem of superbugs and political economy problem of the corporate practices that produce them so wantonly.

7. The Toll of U.S. Navy Training on Wildlife in the North PaciďŹ c The U.S. Navy has killed, injured or harassed marine mammals in the North PaciďŹ c almost twelve million times over a ďŹ ve-year period, according to research conducted by The West Coast Action Alliance and reported

by Dahr Jamail for Truthout. This includes whales, dolphins, porpoises, sea lions, and other marine wildlife such as endangered species like humpback whales, blue whales, gray whales, sperm whales, Steller sea lions and sea otters. The number was tabulated from the Navyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Northwest Training and Testing environmental impact statement and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Letter of Authorization for the number of â&#x20AC;&#x153;takesâ&#x20AC;? of marine mammals caused by Navy exercises. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;takeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is a form of harm to an animal that ranges from harassment, to injury, and sometimes to death,â&#x20AC;?

Jamail wrote. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Many wildlife conservationists see even â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;takesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; that only cause behavior changes as injurious, because chronic harassment of animals that are feeding or breeding can end up harming, or even contributing to their deaths if they are driven out of habitats critical to their survival.â&#x20AC;?

As the Alliance noted, this does not include impacts on â&#x20AC;&#x153;endangered and threatened seabirds, ďŹ sh, sea turtles or terrestrial speciesâ&#x20AC;? due to Navy activities, which have expanded dramatically, according to the Navyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s October 2015 environmental impact statement, including: A 778 percent increase in number of torpedoes A 400 percent increase in air-to-surface missile exercises (including Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary)

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FEATURE A 1,150 percent increase in drone aircraft An increase from none to 284 sonar testing events in inland waters “It is, and has been for quite some time now, well known in the scientific community that the Navy’s use of sonar can damage and kill marine life,” Jamail reported.

“With little oversight on Navy training activities, the public is left in the dark regarding their environmental impacts, including especially how Navy operations impact fish in the North Pacific and marine life at the bottom of the food chain,” Project Censored noted.

“There has been almost no coverage of these impacts in the corporate press.”

8. Maternal Mortality a Growing Threat in the U.S. The U.S. maternal mortality rate is rising, while it’s falling elsewhere across the developed world. Serious injuries and complications are needlessly even more widespread with shockingly little attention being paid.

“Each year over 600 women in the U.S. die from pregnancy-related causes and over 65,000 experience life-threatening complications or severe maternal

16

morbidity,” Elizabeth Dawes Gay reported, covering an April 2016 congressional briefing organized by Women’s Policy Inc. “The average national rate of maternal mortality has increased from 12 per 100,000 live births in 1998 to 15.9 in 2012, after peaking at 17.8 in 2011.”

“The U.S. is the only nation in the developed world with a rising maternal mortality rate,” Rep. Lois Capps stated at the meeting.

“Inadequate health care in rural areas and racial disparities are drivers of this maternal health crisis,” Project Censored summarized. “Nationally, African American women are three to four times more likely than white women to die from pregnancy-related causes, with rates even higher in parts of the U.S. that Gay characterized as ‘pockets of neglect,’ such as Georgia, where the 2011 maternal mortality rate of 28.7 per 100,000 live births was nearly double the national average.”

The Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health, has developed safety bundles of ‘best practices, guidelines and protocols to improve maternal health care quality and safety,’” Gay wrote. “These ‘bundles’ include equipping hospital labor units with a fully stocked cart for immediate hemorrhage treatment, establishing a hospital-level emergency management protocol,

| clevescene.com | December 27, 2017 - January 2, 2018

conducting regular staff drills and reviewing all cases to learn from past mistakes, among other things.”

More broadly, Kiera Butler reported for Mother Jones that doctors rarely warn patients of the potential for serious injuries and complications that can occur following birth.

“Women have a right to make informed decisions about their bodies and serious medical situations; however, when it comes to birth and its aftereffects, Butler found that doctors simply are not providing vital information,” Project Censored summarized. Many state laws require doctors to inform women of the potential complications and dangers associated with delivery, but none require them to discuss potential long-term problems, including the fact that some complications are more prevalent in women who give birth vaginally, rather than by C-section.

“All told, according to a 2008 study by researchers at the California HMO Kaiser Permanente, about one in three women suffer from a pelvic floor disorder (a category that includes urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, and prolapse), and roughly 80 percent of those women are mothers,” Butler reported. “Women who deliver vaginally are twice as likely to experience these injuries as women who have a cesarean or who have not given birth. For one

in 10 women, the problem is severe enough to warrant surgery.”

“The corporate news media have paid limited attention to maternal mortality and morbidity in the U.S.,” Project Censored notes. There have been scattered stories, but nothing remotely close to the sort of sustained coverage that is warranted.

9. DNC Claims Right to Select Presidential Candidate A key story about 2016 election has mostly been ignored by the media — a class-action lawsuit alleging that the Democratic National Committee broke legally-binding neutrality agreements in the Democratic primaries by strategizing to make Hillary Clinton the nominee before a single vote was cast.

The lawsuit was filed against the DNC and its former chair, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, in June 2016 by Beck & Lee, a Miami law firm, on behalf of supporters of Bernie Sanders. A hearing was held on suit in April 2017, in which DNC lawyers argued that neutrality was not actually required and that the court had no jurisdiction to assess neutral treatment.

As Michael Sainato reported for the Observer, DNC attorneys claimed that Article V, Section 4 of the DNC Charter — which instructs the DNC chair and staff to ensure neutrality in the

Democratic presidential primaries — is actually “a discretionary rule” that the DNC “didn’t need to adopt to begin with.” In addition, DNC attorney Bruce Spiva later said it was within the DNC’s rights to “go into back rooms like they used to and smoke cigars and pick the candidate that way.” Sainato also reported that DNC attorneys argued that specific terms used in the DNC charter — including “impartial” and “evenhanded” — couldn’t be interpreted in a court of law, because it would “drag the Court ... into a political question and a question of how the party runs its own affairs.”

Jared Beck, representing the Sanders’s supporters, responded, “Your Honor, I’m shocked to hear that we can’t define what it means to be evenhanded and impartial. If that were the case, we couldn’t have courts. I mean, that’s what courts do every day, is decide disputes in an evenhanded and impartial manner.” Not only was running elections in a fair and impartial manner a “bedrock assumption” of democracy, Beck argued earlier, it was also a binding commitment for the DNC: “That’s what the Democratic National Committee’s own charter says,” he said. “It says it in black and white.”

Much of the reporting and commentary on the broader subject of the DNC’s collusion with the Clinton campaign has been speculative and misdirected, focused on questions about voter fraud and countered by claims of indulging in “conspiracy theory.” But this trial focuses on documentary evidence and questions of law — all publicly visible yet still treated as suspect, when not simply ignored out of hand.

As Project Censored notes, “[E]ven Michael Sainato’s reporting — which has consistently used official documents, including the leaked DNC emails and courtroom transcripts, as primary sources — has been repeatedly labeled “opinion” — rather than straight news reporting — by his publisher, the Observer.”

10. 2016: A Record Year for Global Internet Shutdowns In 2016, governments around the world shut down internet access more than 50 times, according to the digital rights organization Access Now, “suppressing elections, slowing economies and limiting free speech,” as Lyndal Rowlands reported for the Inter Press Service.

“In the worst cases internet shutdowns have been associated with human rights violations,” Rowlands was told by Deji Olukotun, of Access Now. “What we have found is that Internet shutdowns go hand in hand with atrocities.” Olukotun said.

Kevin Collier also covered the report for Vocativ, noting that Access Now uses a “conservative metric,” counting “repeated, similar outages” — like those which occurred during Gabon’s widely criticized Internet “curfew” — as a single instance. The Vocativ report included a dynamic map chart, designed by Kaitlyn Kelly, that vividly depicts Internet shutdowns around the world, month by month for all of 2016, as documented by Access Now. “Many countries intentionally blacked out Internet access during elections and to quell protest. Not only do these shutdowns restrict freedom of speech, they also hurt economies around the world,” Project Censored notes. “TechCrunch, IPS, and other independent news organizations reported that a Brookings Institution study found that Internet shutdowns cost countries $2.4 billion between July 2015 and June 2016” — a conservative estimate according to the study’s author, Darrell West.

As Olukotun told IPS, one way to stop government shutdowns is for Internet providers to resist government demands. “Telecommunications companies can push back on government orders, or at least document them to show what’s been happening, to at least have a paper trail,” Olukotun observed.

In a resolution passed in July 2016, the U.N. Human Rights Council described the Internet as having “great potential to accelerate human progress.” It also condemned “measures to intentionally prevent or disrupt access to or dissemination of information online.”

On July 1, 2016, the U.N. Human Rights Council passed a nonbinding resolution signed by more than 70 countries lauding the Internet’s “great potential to accelerate human progress,” and condemning “measures to intentionally prevent or disrupt access to or dissemination of information online.” It noted that, “the exercise of human rights, in particular the right to freedom of expression, on the Internet is an issue of increasing interest and importance.”

Yet, “understanding what this means for Internet users can be difficult,” Azad Essa reported for Al Jazeera in May 2017. Advocates of online rights “need to be constantly pushing for laws that protect this space and demand that governments meet their obligations in digital spaces just as in non-digital spaces,” he was told by the U.N.’s special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye.

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GET OUT

everything you should do this week Photo courtesy of Icon Entertainment Group, Inc.

WED

12/27

Comedian Gabriel Iglesias comes to Playhouse Square. See: Saturday.

COMEDY

Mike Bonner Call the sitter. Comic Mike Bonner takes the stage at the Improv tonight for a parent-friendly routine. Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s kidfriendly. Bonner has made a name for himself as a relatable, down-toearth comedian who understands the everyday struggles of being a father. From dirty diapers to his daughter’s first boyfriend, the BET comedian explores the small joys and annoyances of parenthood through a sardonic lens. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Improv, where he has shows scheduled through Saturday.

Tickets are $17 to $20. (Jeff Niesel) 1148 Main Ave., 216-696-IMPROV, clevelandimprov.com.

FAMILY FUN

Champions of Magic A UK sensation, Champions of Magic have played sold-out shows in London’s West End for years now.

The ensemble of magicians perform a range of tricks, including mind reading and “traditional magic in a modern style.” The event promises to provide family friendly entertainment.

Tonight’s show takes place at 7:30 at Connor Palace. Tickets start at $19.99, and performances continue at Connor Palace through Sunday. (Niesel) 1615 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.

basketball-entertainment bonanza is fun for the whole family. Tickets start at $20.50. The guys play at both 1 and 6 p.m. (Niesel) 1 Center Court, 216-420-2000, theqarena.com.

FILM

COMEDY

Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time Doctor Who comes face to face with the Doctor in this special screening of the Doctor Who finale, Twice Upon a Time. The episode features the return of Pearl Mackie and special guests Mark Gatiss (Sherlock) and David Bradley (Filch in the Harry Potter movies). The event will also feature two special bonus clips that take you behind the scenes during the filming the episode. It screens at area theaters at 7 p.m. Admission is $15. (Niesel) fathomevents.com.

Home for the Holidays Cleveland’s comedy scene just keeps getting better. New comics keep cropping up, and the veteran comics on the scene continue to hone their skills. Because some of the best comics will be in town for the holidays, Hilarities has booked them for one special night. Dubbed Home for the Holidays, tonight’s concert features some of Cleveland’ finest comedians.

The jokes start flowing at 8 p.m., and tickets are $10 to $15. (Niesel) 2035 East Fourth St., 216-241-7425, pickwickandfrolic.com.

FAMILY FUN

Harlem Globetrotters Some might say that if you’ve seen the Harlem Globetrotters once, you’ve seen them a hundred times, but the spectacular Globetrotters bring their unrivaled ball-handling wizardry, high-flying dunks and gut-busting comedy to the Quicken Loans Arena this afternoon and this evening. This

BEER

Hoppin’ Frog Hoppy Hour Much like the Fat Head’s tasting room in Middleburg Heights, the Hoppin’ Frog tasting room in Akron is in a non-descript strip of storage facilities and warehouses. But step inside and you’ll find a cozy space with a huge array of the brewery’s wonderful

libations. The place features “hoppy hour” every weekday from 3 to 7 p.m.

Tonight, the brewers visit the tasting room from 5 to 7 p.m. While they don’t fill growlers, you can drink bottles on site or take ‘em to go. You can order from a limited food menu too. (Niesel) 1680-F Waterloo Rd., Akron, 234-5253764, hoppinfrog.com/tasting-room.

SPOKEN WORD

Kitchen: A Quarterly Panel Discussion and Poetry Open Mic Twelve Literary Arts presents a new “Kitchen” series at the Euclid Tvern. The first quarterly installment of the lecture program features a panel discussion on art making and activism for Womyn of Color in Cleveland. The panel features moderator Eris Eady and panelists Kisha Nicole Foster, Michelle R. Smith, Siaara Freeman and Eva Barrett. At 8 p.m., the local hip-hop duo FreshProduce hosts a poetry open mic. FreshProduce will also perform a 20-minute set with the backing musical quartet Moshuro. DJ Candi Fresca will man the wheels of steel. It all starts at 7 p.m. (Niesel) 11625 Euclid Ave., 216-231-5400, happydogcleveland.com.

THU

12/28

AUTHOR

Joe Baur Author Appearance Travel writer, author, filmmaker, photographer and podcaster Joe Baur lived in Costa Rica for several months, an experience he documents in his book, Talking Tico. Tonight at 7 at Visible Voice Books, Bauer, whose work has been featured in a variety of international publications including BBC Travel, Viator, AFAR Magazine, Yahoo! Travel and National Geographic, will speak about his experiences. Admission is free. (Niesel) 2258 Professor Ave., 216-961-0084, visiblevoicebooks.com.

SPORTS

Canton Charge vs. Windy City Bulls The Canton Charge, the Cavaliers’ G League affiliate, certainly don’t receive as much attention as the LeBron James-led Cavaliers. But plenty of former college standouts make up the team. They’ll play a rare game at the Q today as they take on the Windy City Bulls at 8 tonight. Tickets are $12. (Niesel) 1 Center Court, 216-420-2000, theqarena.com.

| clevescene.com | December 27, 2017 - January 2, 2018

19

GET OUT

Mania World Tour to the State Theatre tonight at 8. Tickets are $35 to $75.

(Kaitlin Siegel) 1519 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.

at Club Velvet at the Hard Rock Rocksino at Northfield Park. Tickets are $25 to $35. (Hannah Borison) 10705 Northfield Road, Northfield, 330908-7771, hrrocksinonorthfieldpark.com.

MUSIC

Matt Johnson’s Dueling Piano Fiasco!

Judging from the YouTube videos of pianist Matt Johnson’s dueling piano concerts, it’s safe to say the guy caters to bachelor and bachelorette parties.

He can easily break into Journey’s “”Don’t Stop Believing’” and then segue into Billy Joel’s “The Piano Man,” which he tends to alter with a few of his own ribald lyrics. Expect rowdy sing-a-longs and a boisterous performance. Matt Johnson’s Dueling Piano Fiasco! Concerts takes place tonight and tomorrow night at 8 at the Hard Rock Rocksino Northfield Park’s Club Velvet. Tickets are $10. (Niesel) 10705 Northfield Road, Northfield, 330-908-7771, hrrocksinonorthfieldpark.com.

FRI

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12/29

FILM

The Night of the Hunter Charles Laughton directs The Night of the Hunter, a 1955 film Depressionera flick about a psychopath who impersonates a country preacher.

The film shows at 7 tonight and at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday at the Cleveland Museum of Art in conjunction with the museum’s The Jazz Age exhibit.

Tickets are $10, $7 for CMA members.

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

SAT

Check out exciting new additions to our Beatles' collection!

12/30

COMEDY

Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias FluffyMania Animated and gregarious comedian Gabriel Iglesias has made quite a name for himself since breaking into the standup scene in 1997. Known for coining the phrase, “I’m not fat, I’m fluffy,” the famous comic loves to poke fun at his weight. His standup is a mixture of personal stories and experiences that he brings to life through parodies and impressions.

Iglesias has said that he doesn’t get controversial or political because he prefers telling stories that people can relate to. In addition to standup, Iglesias has lent his voice to several animated features and shows including The Book of Life, Planes, The Nut Job and Family Guy. He can also be seen in Magic Mike and Magic Mike XXL. Iglesias brings his Fluffy

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Box Office Only. One voucher per item donated. One voucher per person per day. Valid only for adult or senior general admissions. Not valid for special events. Not valid with any other discount or promotional offer. Not valid towards the purchase of a two-day pass. Offer valid December 18th - December 31st, 2017.

1100 Rock and Roll Boulevard | rockhall.com/givelove

COMEDY

SPORTS

The Rich Guzzi Comic Hypnosis Experience Comedian Rich Guzzi sets himself apart by bringing up 15 audience members during his show and hypnotizing them before asking them to do hilarious and insane things. During the performance, Guzzi reveals his entire process of hypnosis, yet it still seems unreal because he does it so well. He can even convince patrons that they are celebrities like Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and Madonna. He performs 7:30 and 9 tonight and at 8 and 10 tomorrow night

Monsters vs.

Grand Rapids Griffins Just about every Monsters’ home game features some kind of special promotion. Tonight, it’s Marvel Super Hero Night. There will be a special Marvel super hero jersey auction and Marvel super hero character appearances. The puck drops at 7 p.m., and tickets start at $10. (Niesel) 1 Center Court, 216-420-2000, theqarena.com.

| clevescene.com | December 27, 2017 - January 2, 2018

SUN

12/31

FAMILY FUN

Countdown to Noon New Year’s Eve Brunch Moss Stanley and Nitebridge will perform today at 11:45 a.m. at the Music Box Supper Club as the club hosts a Countdown to Noon New Year’s Eve Brunch. Tickets to see the band cost $12, and the brunch will set you back an extra $18. The brunch includes items such as eggs Benedict, smoked bacon and sausage, breakfast potatoes, seasonal salad and breakfast burritos. (Niesel) 1148 Main Ave., 216-242-1250, musicboxcle.com.

NIGHTLIFE

Customer Appreciation Night Located in the historic Cedar-Lee neighborhood of Cleveland Heights, Cle Urban Winery is an industrial-chic winery and relative newcomer to the neighborhood. It’s already a bustling favorite, and New Year’s Eve will be no exception. Tonight’s customer appreciation party will feature local singer-songwriter Diana Chittester performing from 7 to 10 p.m. and a DJ who’ll continue the good grooves the rest of the night. Complimentary wine will be handed out at midnight, and appetizers will be passed around throughout the evening. (Brett Zelman) 2180B Lee Road, Heights, 2164178313, www.cleurbanwinery.com.

NEW YEAR’S EVE

En Tee See’s Grit & Glamour New Year’s Eve For tonight’s special New Year’s Eve party, Now That’s Class (AKA En Tee See) will be transformed into “a dreamscape of opulence, decadence and rock ’n’ roll.” Local bands will perform in the bar area and resident DJs will spin the main room. Ma Halos, The Sight, Brainwashed California, Roobydocks and Cotton Ponys will perform. Admission includes open bar (beer and liquor) and specialty shots. Tickets are $25 advance, $30 at the door. It all starts at 10 p.m. (Niesel) 11213 Detroit Ave., 216-221-8576, nowthatsclass.net.

NEW YEAR’S EVE

For Those About To Rock 2018 New Year’s Eve Celebration The Hard Rock Rocksino Northfield Park celebrates New Year’s Eve with a special concert dubbed For Those About To Rock. Party with DJ Denicio and tribute acts Panama and Dirty Deeds. There will be a champagne toast as the crowd counts down to the

New Year. VIP tickets include access to the VIP Lounge with a private cash bar, unlimited appetizer buffet and party favors. The event begins at 9 p.m. at Hard Rock Live, the casino’s concert hall. Tickets are $35 to $65.

(Niesel) 10705 Northfield Road, Northfield, 330-908-7771, hrrocksinonorthfieldpark.com.

COMEDY

++

John Henton Actor, writer, producer and comedian John Henton will stop in Cleveland for three days to show off his honest and gritty sense of humor. A must-see comic, he shares his opinions without hesitation and uses comedy to lighten these heavy topics. He jokes about his interesting experiences while on tour, such as having a terrible seat on a night flight and enduring many bad hotel room experiences. He covers topics like race, politics and even the struggles of disciplining your own children. The comedian began his career right here in Cleveland and has made his way to the big leagues by snatching main roles in the sitcoms Living Single and The Hughleys. The Cleveland native performs tonight at 7:30 and 10 at the Improv, where he has shows scheduled through Sunday.

Tickets are $30 to $45. (Borison) 1148 Main Ave., 216-696-IMPROV, clevelandimprov.com.

A N D N N UAL O C ES

++

2018

FAMILY FUN

NEW YEAR’S EVE

Legends of Rock-and-Roll New Year’s Eve Celebration For two decades now, the Cleveland Pops Orchestra with Carl Topilow has thrown a New Year’s Eve party in Cleveland. Once again under the direct of Carl Topilow, the orchestra will throw another NYE bash. A party with dancing will follow the two-hour concert as two live bands will perform in the Grand Foyer and the Smith Lobby. The event takes place at 9 p.m. at Severance Hall. Tickets start at $50.

(Niesel) 11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com.

SUNDAY 12/31 7PM BILL NYE INSPIRED COCKTAILS NO COVER / THE SCIENCE GUY SHOW MARATHON

BILL”NYE”2018 HYPER COLOR TEES

PLUS

Holiday Brunch Prosperity Social Club will offer a special holiday brunch today and tomorrow from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. “Decadent” specials on the menu include bread pudding french toast, three piggie cassoulet, pork schnitzel and “hoppin john soup.” Reservations are recommended. The pub, which has a wood-burning stove, has been decorated with kitsch-y décor too.

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

ONE WILL BE GIVEN AWAY EVERY MINUTE FROM 11PM-MIDNIGHT!

16-BIT BAR+ARCADE 15012 DETROIT AVE + 16-BITBAR.COM | clevescene.com | December 27, 2017 - January 2, 2018

21

GET OUT

MON

01/01

FILM NEW YEAR’S EVE

Neon New Year’s Eve Tonight’s Neon New Year’s Eve party at Punch Bowl Social Club will have a 1980s theme. Proper attire is requested, so we recommend donning your best Marty McFly or Cyndi Lauper get-up. There will be snacks, a live DJ and a midnight champagne toast. It all begins at 9 p.m. There is a $10 cover. (Niesel) 1086 W 11th St, (216) 239-1508.

NEW YEAR’S EVE

New Year’s Eve Party Package Want to post up downtown, but no one in your group can really agree on what to do? Head to the East Fourth Street comedy club Pickwick and Frolic. There’s a dinner buffet with salmon, rosemary and garlic pork and herb-roasted chicken.

Meanwhile, Chicago-based comedian Pat McGann will perform stand-up, and local musicians Tony Quarles and the Discovery Band will rock the house with live tunes all night. Viva Las Vegas will also put on a cabaret show, and a champagne toast awaits at midnight, along with party favors and a balloon drop that will give this eclectic night the perfect New Year’s Eve touch. Packages are available for all the different acts. Consult the website for times and prices. (Brett Zelman) 2035 East Fourth St., 216-241-7425, pickwickandfrolic.com.

NEW YEAR’S EVE

Soirée: 007 For the fifth year in a row, Lago will host an extravagant New Year’s Eve party. There will be dining, dancing and entertainment at the black tie optional event. DJ Flaco Flash will be on hand, and the party will feature a “surprise” entertainer. There will also be a special countdown to midnight and confetti drop as 2017 becomes 2018. Full admission tickets include a decadent buffet dinner from 7 to 10 p.m. in the Riviera Ballroom. All-inclusive tickets are $200 per person or $350 per couple.

For those who just want to partake in the late-night festivities, there’s a $150 single ticket option that allows entry at 10 p.m. Tickets are available on Eventbrite or by calling the Lago Custom Events office at 216-6641135. All VIP package inquiries must contact Lago Custom Events.

(Niesel) 1091 West 10th St., 216-862-8065, lagoeastbank.com.

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| clevescene.com | December 27, 2017 - January 2, 2018

Movie Mondays Every Monday, Cleveland Cinemas hosts $5 Movie Mondays, where film fans can catch up on the latest Hollywood flicks for significantly reduced prices. Bring your friends and family and make Movie Mondays a weekly tradition — many theaters even offer discounted concession stand items. Participating theaters include Apollo Theatre, Capitol Theatre, Cedar Lee Theatre, Chagrin Cinemas, Shaker Square Cinemas and Tower City Cinemas. Unfortunately, additional charges apply for 3D movies. (Alaina Nutile) clevelandcinemas.com.

TUE

01/02

SPORTS

Cavaliers vs. Portland Trailblazers Behind the steady play of AllStar Damian Lillard, the Portland Trailblazers appear to be headed to the post season once again as it’s playing .500 ball in the tough Western Conference. While the team hasn’t fully lived up to expectations this year, it’s still a formidable opponent for the Cavs, who play the team tonight at 7 at the Q. Tickets start at $16. (Niesel) 1 Center Court, 216-420-2000, theqarena.com.

MUSIC

Classical Revolution Cleveland The first Tuesday of every month, Classical Revolution Cleveland brings chamber music to the Euclid Tavern. Performers like the Trepanning Trio, Anime Duo, students of Cleveland Institute of Music and even Cleveland Orchestra members grace the stage in these exciting concerts. Tonight’s free, all-ages performance starts at 8.

(Patrick Stoops)\ 11625 Euclid Ave., 216-231-5400, happydogcleveland.com.

NIGHT LIFE

Drunken Spelling Bee You might scoff at the kids in the national spelling bee on ESPN every year, but can you do better?

Tonight at 9 at the Grog Shop, you’ll get your shot as the club hosts a Drunken Spelling Bee. Sam Handwich (John K) 2785 Euclid Hts. Blvd., 216-321-5588, grogshop.gs.

Find more events @clevescene.com t@clevelandscene

WE WENT OUT WHEN YOU COULDN’T. EVENT SLIDESHOWS. ONLY AT CLEVESCENE.COM 5,000 Years of Civilization Reborn Wednesday Darts and $1 Sliders

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| clevescene.com | December 27, 2017 - January 2, 2018

23

ART EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING IT, WHY NOT ME? The year that was and the year that will be in Cleveland visual art

By Dott von Schneider IT HAS BEEN A HECK OF A YEAR for visual artists here in Cleveland.

We have seen the voice of the individual artist rise, the planning of a triennial along with a dismissal involving sexual misconduct, as well as the passing of two beloved artists. We bore witness to fantastic exhibitions, interesting work and artists making things happen within and beyond the community.

I’ve revisited some of the artists we highlighted, some of my favorite exhibitions, and what I’m looking forward to in 2018.

Many of the artists we had spotlighted are working on upcoming exhibitions or have made significant career moves.

Artist Arabella Proffer has just published the second volume of her work based on basics titled GURLS 2, a treat for all who love snark. She has an exhibition at the Gathering Place titled Forma and Flora, as well as We’re Still Here at Boxheart in Pittsburgh. Nikki Woods, whose juicy show at HEDGE titled Regrets Only was one of my top ten experiences of 2017, has earned the title of gallery director at the Cleveland Institute of Art’s Reinberger Gallery.

Among my favorite exhibitions this past year was the politically driven Dissent! at the Shaker Community Gallery showcasing artists Laura and Gary Dumm, Michelangelo Lovelace and Liz Maugans. Its dialogue on the 2016 election, the environment and struggles within the urban landscape has lingered long after it closed.

Constant as the Sun was a great experience and a bonding moment for so many artists. The third in the series put on by MOCA Cleveland, this show brought several groups together to speak on social issues throughout the galleries. Among those was Maugans, who invited local artists to submit their portraits, and boy did the community respond like gangbusters. The ongoing benefits are many, including Artist Trust gatherings that give the public an opportunity to meet and network with artists throughout our region.

Derek Hess, Marty Geramita and Angie Hetrick brought us face to face with addiction and mental illness in

24

Courtesy of Rachel Yurkovich

ACTING OUT!, a necessary look into these diseases through the eyes of artists who are intimately familiar with them. The stories exorcised by the artists were among the most moving of the past year.

A show I had not reviewed but did attend, The Space Between at Cleveland West Art League (CWAL), a two-person exhibition featuring Isin Sezer and Miriam Ancis, really knocked my socks off. It was the one show for which I quite loudly remarked, “OH!,” as I walked through the gallery entrance. Turkish-born artist Isin Sezer’s stellar paintings of our micro universe are inspired by science and biology and Miriam Ancis’ steel sculptures are so light and airy one might mistake them for paper.

Dana Oldfather’s show Candyland was an absolute delight to cover. I loved the sumptuous color and the dreamy quotidian throughout her work. Also showing at the Cleveland State University galleries was Mark Keffer’s Dark Pronoun, an exhibition I hope you had on your radar.

Keffer’s stunningly huge, humanoid acrylic paintings on panel were a sight to behold. What I found most

| clevescene.com | December 27, 2017 - January 2, 2018

interesting was his adroit use of blood. That is correct: I said blood. As Keffer states, “As we navigate a world of turmoil, I feel it is important to look inward to recalibrate our understanding of our better selves.”

Judith Brandon’s Resonant Drawings and Darius Steward’s Baggage Claim were an absolute pleasure to absorb.

To write that I’m looking forward to checking out the work from one of the most important and influential artists of our time, Yoko Ono, is a great understatement. Imagine Peace is on view now until Jan. 31 at the Emily Davis Gallery in the University of Akron Myers School of Art. Ono, from Fluxus to her collaborative work with her late husband, John Lennon, has been a powerhouse for peace and these artworks reflect her 50 years of promoting the same. You’d do well to make the trip down I-77 to check it out as well.

Rachel Yurkovich, who traveled to Chernobyl, will have her examinations on view under the title Black Grass at the Sculpture Center.

The trailer for part of the exhibition, which you can check out at the

Sculpture Center’s website, looks immensely promising. Yurkovich is an artist to watch. Black Grass runs from Jan. 19 through Feb. 23.

Deb Pinter’s Natural Order and Chaos at BAYarts from Jan. 12 through Feb. 4 in the Sullivan Family Gallery will bring new insight on materials and real, natural elements in a discussion on the volatile and paradoxical aspects of nature. I was a big fan of Pinter’s work at the Maria Neil Project and look forward to these mono prints and whatever else she’s bringing to the table, because it sounds delicious.

Finally, I anticipate some interesting artwork to come out of not only the official FRONT Triennial, but also the rogue exhibitions that will be popping up all over the city and the region. Whether the general public actually gives a flying frog about an art triennial or not, it is undoubtedly a great thing to happen to our city. It will bring out some of the best, and the worst, art we will have seen in a long time. I can’t wait.

scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene

STAGE THE BEST OF THEATER IN 2017 Our year-end accounting of the best of the stage in Cleveland

By Christine Howey

BEST MUSICAL WITH THE WORST BOOK

SO, WE’VE PUT ONE MORE YEAR of local theater in the can. Who knew we’d still be alive to write this list, let alone read it? No nuclear war yet. But, you know, I’m typing as fast as I can just in case.

Here are some notable winners from 2017 in categories that are random, entirely subjective, and occasionally irrelevant. Enjoy!

BEST ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE OF CHARACTERS YOU REALLY DON’T CARE ABOUT Waiting for Godot, Beck Center This was the finest ensemble acting performance of the year, featuring Michael Mauldin, William Hoffman, Allan Byrne, Brian Pedaci and Jake Spencer as the people lost in Samuel Beckett’s void. It was so good, it beat most other shows in which something actually did happen.

(Close second: A Skull in Connemara directed by Sean Derry at None Too Fragile Theater.)

BEST HUMAN BEINGS OF THE MALE GENDER ACTING THEIR SOCKS OFF AT A SINGLE LOCATION: DOBAMA THEATRE David Peacock, The Night Alive Christopher M. Bohan, The Flick and How to Be a Respectable Junkie Luke Wehner, Hand to God Jabri Little, brownsville song (b-side for tray) Ray Caspio, Sherlock Holmes: The Baker Street Irregulars What the hell got into the water at Dobama? Whatever the cause, these performances by assorted males of the species were terrific.

BEST HUMAN BEINGS OF ANY GENDER ACTING THEIR SOCKS OFF AT DIFFERENT LOCATIONS Laura Welsh Berg, as Hamlet in Hamlet, Great Lakes Theater Ashley Aquilla and Sally Groth, as the Maries in Barbecue, Cleveland Public Theatre Kelly Elliot, as Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, Cleveland Shakespeare Festival Laura Starnik and Lara Mielcarek as mother and daughter in Well, Ensemble Theatre

Rock of Ages, Cain Park The story was dull and predictable, and those were its strong points. But director Joanna May Hunkins, lead actor Douglas F. Bailey II and the entire ensemble made it all work… splendidly.

BEST MUSICAL WITH THE BEST BOOK (AND MUSIC) Waiting for Godot, courtesy of Beck Center

DeDe Klein, Salvage, None Too Fragile Theater Anjanette Hall, A Doll’s House, Mamai Theatre Robert Branch and Paul Floriano, Last of the Boys, None Too Fragile Theater Joe Milan, The Hairy Ape, Ensemble Theatre Lisa Louise Langford, brownsville song (b-side for tray), Dobama Theatre

BEST PORTRAYAL OF TWO REAL-LIFE GENIUSES Robert Hawkes, who played both poet Wallace Stevens (Things As They Are produced by Playwrights Local) and electrical inventor Nikola Tesla (The Chaste Genius and His DeathRay Gun at Convergence-Continuum Theatre).

BEST SHOW PERFORMED ON THE SAME TIRED SET THEY’VE BEEN USING FOR YEARS As You Like It, Ohio Shakespeare Festival Okay, so OSF’S outdoor set at Stan Hywet Hall is always the same.

(Allwaaayys…) But thanks to the energetic and involved performances by a talented cast under the propulsive direction of Terry Burgler, this show fairly leapt into the audience’s laps.

BEST BOLD DIRECTION OF A SHOCKING PIECE Terrence Spivey, Neighbors, Convergence-Continuum Theater Spivey made all the right moves in bringing this outrageous, racially provocative script by Branden

Jacobs-Jenkins to life, right down to a character named Sambo and his prodigious penis.

BEST WITTY DIRECTION OF PLAYS THAT WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN NEARLY AS GOOD WITHOUT THAT DIRECTION Laura Kepley, Shakespeare in Love, Cleveland Play House Joseph Hanreddy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Great Lakes Theater

BEST PRODUCTIONS OF OLD, LITTLE-SEEN WORKS Rhinoceros, ConvergenceContinuum Theater The Hairy Ape, Ensemble Theatre Caucasian Chalk Circle, Shahrazad Theatre Company Thank God some theaters are reaching back for these gems, then turning them into engrossing theatrical experiences.

BEST STAGE DANCING, INDOORS OR OUT Newsies, Porthouse Theatre Under the roof of this outdoor stage, energetic and disciplined young performers turned choreographer MaryAnn Black’s steps into gold in this rousing production.

BEST STAGE LOVEBIRDS Pierre-Jacques Brault and Brian Marshall were the feisty but loving couple in the warm and vivacious La Cage Aux Folles at Mercury Theatre Company.

Carousel, Mercury Theater Company Due to the wonderfully modulated direction by Pierre-Jacques Brault plus a strong and committed cast, this Rodgers & Hammerstein classic glowed.

BEST TOURING SHOW THAT WAS AS GOOD AS SEX Something Rotten!, Playhouse Square A great premise (it’s about the guys who supposedly invented the Broadway musical, in the 17th century), performed with all the zazz and flash that a touring Broadway show can provide.

Plus, it was hilarious!

BEST VISUAL MAGIC The amazing projection effects conjured by T. Paul Lowry on stages all over town.

BEST RISKS: BECAUSE IT’S VITAL FOR RISKS TO BE TAKEN IN THEATER (WHETHER THEY ACTUALLY SUCCEED OR NOT) Massacre (Sing to Your Children) Convergence-Continuum Theater Things As They Are*, This is NOT About My Dead Dog*, Playwrights Local Don’t Wander Off*, Who We Used to Be*, Theater Ninjas Red Ash Mosaic* and The Art of Longing*, Cleveland Public Theatre (* World premiere, locally-written) We’ll do this again in December of 2018, assuming the creeks don’t rise.

scene@clevescene.com t@christinehowey

| clevescene.com | December 27, 2017 - January 2, 2018

25

INVITE YOU TO THE MOST TERRIFYING FILM OF THE NEW YEAR

INVITE YOU AND A GUEST TO SEE

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3 7:00PM ATLAS EASTGATE

FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN AN ADMIT-TWO PASS TO THE ADVANCE SCREENING, VISIT

IN THEATRES For your chance to win passes for two visit:

tinyurl.com/ ATMITWCLE No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited or restricted by law. Limit one pass per person. Each pass admits two. Passes are limited and will be distributed on a first come, first serve basis, while supplies last.

TINYURL.COM/ Y7MNASSH

This film has been rated R for LANGUAGE, SOME VIOLENCE, DISTURBING IMAGES AND BRIEF DRUG CONTENT

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. While supplies last. One entry per person. Duplicate entries will be deleted. Seating at the screening is firstcome, first-served and is not guaranteed. Please arrive early. Winners will be chosen at random.

Winners within the past 30 days are ineligible.

IN THEATERS JANUARY 5

26

| clevescene.com | December 27, 2017 - January 2, 2018

IN THEATERS EVERYWHERE AllTheMoney-Movie.com |

@AllTheMoneyMovie

MOVIES ALL THE PLUMMERS IN THE WORLD Breaking news: Rich industrialist is asshole

By Sam Allard THE FIRST THING MOST PEOPLE will mention about Ridley Scott’s new drama, All the Money in the World, is how Christopher Plummer replaced Kevin Spacey after a storm of sexual assault allegations earlier this year. The film was fully edited and ready to go when Scott booted Spacey from the picture, cast Plummer, and re-shot a substantial number of scenes in 10 whirlwind days. Plummer and Scott may be rewarded for their efforts with Academy Award nominations -they both already nabbed Golden Globe nods -- but the fi lm suffers greatly for the decision.

All the Money recounts the abduction of and ransom negotiations for J. Paul Getty III (hereafter “Paul”), grandson of American Industrialist J. Paul Getty (Plummer). And beyond the bumpy first half hour, within which the transnational family narrative is most confusing and Plummer’s late insertion is most glaring, the key hang-up I had with the film was the character of Getty himself.

He is a monstrous figure, an oil tycoon so idolatrous of wealth, so fiendishly and cruelly committed to his own power, that he barely registers as human. Everything

about him is disgusting; nevertheless his ruthless devotion to money, to “being rich,” is of a sort that is often valorized in American culture. And this made his kernels of business wisdom and the film’s occasional efforts to soften him tough to stomach.

(Some might chuckle at his quip about how doing one’s own laundry is tax deductible. I sneered.)

For the most part, to be fair, Getty’s personal priorities are exposed as morally bankrupt.

His money, and how he spends it, are the sources of the film’s central friction. As it turns out, the material with young Paul (Charlie Plummer, no relation), in the hands

of Italian organized criminals, doesn’t make for riveting viewing, beyond a brutal scene in which an ear is removed. The real drama and tension stems from Getty’s refusal to pay the ransom – he claims that doing so will jeopardize his other grandchildren. Paul’s Mother Gail Harris (Michelle Williams) and former CIA operative Fletcher Chase (Mark Wahlburg) are forced to negotiate terms with the kidnappers in the face of Getty’s intransigence.

The film’s ultimate question is why: Why won’t the richest man in the world pay his grandson’s ransom? And the answer, beyond the boardroom dissembling, is

obvious: Getty is just a rich asshole.

His late fi nancial capitulations come with strings attached, and in the final analysis he is beyond redemption. Even when Wahlburg’s Fletcher Chase, at last, gets to speak to Getty the way the audience would like to, the scene is a letdown, rushed and lacking in emotional power. One suspects it was re-shot.

Ridley Scott, though, like Steven Spielberg, is a filmmaker in the late stages of a long and illustrious career. At this point, he’s not breaking new ground. Maybe this was just a news story he’d long been fascinated by or curious about back in the 70s. Who knows. It’s certainly not inherently cinematic.

But Scott is a wizard at creating memorable and effective color palettes for his movies – think of the greens and blacks of Alien, the bronze and sandstone of Gladiator, the reds of The Martian. Here, Getty’s England estate is rainy and dark and full of shadowy tile. It is the perfect lair for this ugly man, a visual landscape as cold and hard as cash.

sallard@clevescene.com t@scenesallard

SPOTLIGHT: MOLLY’S GAME WRITER-DIRECTOR AARON Sorkin (The Social Network, The West Wing) benefits from some stellar source material for Molly’s Game, his directorial debut which opens wide on Christmas day.

Based upon Molly Bloom’s memoir Molly’s Game: From Hollywood’s Elite to Wall Street’s Billionaire Boys Club, My High-Stakes Adventure in the World of Underground Poker, the movie features a naturally compelling story about Molly (Jessica Chastain), a former Olympic-caliber skier who rather innocently becomes the linchpin for a high stakes poker game that attracts celebrities, businessmen and members of the Russian mob.

Sorkin tells Molly’s story through a series of flashbacks. At the film’s start, the FBI arrests her on a number of

charges relating to illegal gambling and money laundering, seizing millions of dollars from her bank account and forcing her to scramble to find a lawyer in time for her arraignment.

Flashback to Molly’s childhood, and we learn that her father worked as her ski instructor and taught her so well that she could have probably won an Olympic medal if it weren’t for a nasty spill that dashed those hopes and dreams. She might not have made it to the Olympics, but Molly remains on the fast track for a successful career.

An academic overachiever, she plans to go to college but takes a year off to enjoy the childhood she never had.

She crashes at a friend’s place in L.A. and gets a secretarial job for verbally abusive real estate agent Dean Keith

(Jeremy Strong).

As Dean’s assistant, she organizes a big-money poker game once a week.

After she begins raking in the big tips the players toss her way at the night’s end, she decides to cut Dean out of the equation and successfully begins putting the games together herself. She doesn’t gamble, and she doesn’t sleep with any of the players (though most of them make it clear they’d like to get in her pants). But she does develop a drug habit that hampers her ability to make good decisions, so when Douglas Downey (Chris O’Dowd), a regular, suggests she let a few Russian mobsters sit at her poker table, she agrees, even though it’s against her better judgement.

Things go south quickly, and

it’s not long before the FBI catches up with her, and she’s looking at criminal charges.

Molly lawyers up, recruiting Charlie Jaffey (Idris Elba) to defend her in court. The scenes with Chastain and Elba are electric as the two seasoned actors bring Sorkin’s wordy, overly articulate script to life and overcome some rather pedestrian directing. Chastain and Elba overshadow actors such as Michael Cera, who seems miscast as a celebrity poker player, and Kevin Costner, who tries too hard as Molly’s stern father. — Jeff Niesel

jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel

| clevescene.com | December 27, 2017 - January 2, 2018

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28

| clevescene.com | December 27, 2017 - January 2, 2018

New Year’s Day

Noon-7pm Serving Our Regular Menu & the Traditional Roast Pork & Sauerkraut Dinner (Now taking reservations)

EAT SOUP’S ON Chinese noodles, dumplings and more will keep you coming back to LJ Shanghai, the newest addition to Asiatown Photos by Emanuel Wallace

By Douglas Trattner

EATING FOOD IN A RESTAURANT rarely is a dangerous endeavor.

Outside the odd places that prepare fugu – aka puffer fish – or serve imprudently foraged wild mushrooms, most dining experiences are generally harmless.

That’s not the case when it comes to Chinese soup dumplings, innocuous looking things that can melt the skin right off your chin when not consumed correctly. Filled with ground meat and molten-hot soup, these juicy little care packages definitely require some finesse. But eaten correctly, they quickly become habit forming.

Soup dumplings, or xiao long bao, have popped up around town during the occasional dim sum feast, but no place has mastered and marketed these delicacies as well as LJ Shanghai, a newcomer in Cleveland’s Asiatown neighborhood. Open for just two months, this Chinese noodle house has been absolutely besieged by savvy diners who recognize quality xiao long bao when they see and taste them. LJ’s are brilliant: tucked inside the delicate housemade wrapper is a dollop of meat swimming in intensely flavored broth. A half dozen ($5) arrive in a small bamboo steamer basket. The trick is to carefully move a dumpling from basket to spoon without tearing the fragile shell and losing all the

soup. Once safely on the spoon, the dumpling can be nibbled or poked to release the soup so that it can be slurped. Ginger-infused black vinegar is on hand to cut the richness of the filling.

Those superior dumplings are joined by equally satisfying noodle dishes and a handful of recently added meat dishes. It was here that I discovered the wonton soup ($8) of my dreams, nearly a dozen plump shrimp and pork (or pork and veggie, $6) dumplings bobbing in a large bowl of clear, rich broth. Unlike the ungainly wontons that fortify most bowls around town, these elegant little clouds are light as air and an absolute pleasure to eat. The soup gets a briny boost from tiny dried shrimp and is garnished with scallions and seaweed.

“Electric” is the only way I can

style spicy beef noodle soup ($10), a dish perfectly suited to Cleveland’s long, frigid winters. This seemingly bottomless bowl is loaded with thick, chewy noodles, tender braised beef and steamed baby bok choy, but it’s the lip-tingling spicy-savory broth that really warms the cockles. On the opposite end of the spectrum are the Shanghai-style scallion noodles ($5), a dish that is positively austere in its presentation. A simple dressing of soy and roasted scallion oil is all that stands between you and the perfectly cooked noodles. This dish is so humble, in fact, that our server felt the need to warn us about it when placing the order. No warning needed.

At prices in the $5 to $8 range, it’s worthwhile to sample some of the more adventurous dishes on the full-color pictorial menu, even if

LJ SHANGHAI 3142 SUPERIOR AVE., CLEVELAND 216-400-6936

describe a bowl of pork and salted vegetable noodle soup ($8). Thin, bouncy noodles in chicken broth are capped with chopped pickled greens studded with hot peppers that really light up this dish. A small amount of shredded pork bolsters the bowl.

But the granddaddy of all soups at LJ Shanghai is the Szechuan-

they don’t all turn out the way you might expect. We took a flyer on the spicy duck neck ($5) and while we probably won’t order them again, we did enjoy nibbling the small amount of spicy meat off the bony neck segments. Aggressively spiced beef tripe and tendon ($8), on the other hand, is a wild ride of flavors and

textures, with tender tripe, chewy tendon, crunchy peanuts and nutty sesame seeds all vying for attention.

Tart, crisp and garlicky cucumbers ($5) act as a nice compliment to heavy, intensely flavored soups.

Expect a delicious plate of messy finger food when you order the sweet and sour pork ribs ($10). The small bone-in pieces are coated in a gelatinous, well-balanced sauce with sugar and vinegar that is nothing like the bright orange goo that glazes Americanized sweet and sour Chinese dishes. Underneath is tender, succulent braised pork. You won’t find crispy skin on the braised duck ($10), but you will find lush dark meat served with a sweet soy glaze.

LJ Shanghai took over the spot on Superior that was briefly occupied

by Saigon Grille, which closed a few years back. The owner, whose initials are LJ, is always onsite, eager to explain the various dishes, and quick to compliment one’s chopstick skills. The service is swift, the portions robust, the prices modest and the surroundings modern and comfortable. But it’s the food – oh, those wicked little soup dumplings – that will keep us coming back on a regular basis.

dtrattner@clevescene.com t@dougtrattner

| clevescene.com | December 27, 2017 - January 2, 2018

29

EAT bites Felice Urban Cafe has new owners, but stays in the family

By Douglas Trattner

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| clevescene.com | December 27, 2017 - January 2, 2018

IN 2008, MARGARET MUELLER opened her first restaurant, Felice Urban Café (12502 Larchmere Blvd., 216-791-0918) on Larchmere Blvd., just around the corner from Shaker Square. The fact that she did so at the tender age of 79 surprised nobody who knew her well. Over the long course of her remarkable life, Mueller has been a wife and mother, earned two Master’s Degrees, enjoyed a career as a county probation officer, and ran for Congress – four separate times.

Set in a charming turn-of-thecentury Craftsman-style home, the unique and eclectic eatery has grown to become one the most beloved spots in the neighborhood.

During summer, diners flood the expansive patio and fill up the attractive carriage house, which was transformed into a farmhousechic bar. Come the colder months, the house swells like a wintertime beehive, with activity on the main floor with four-season patio, in the second-floor barroom, and in the chill attic lounge. While there, guests enjoy wonderful cocktails and a menu filled with small plates and entrees with a decidedly Mediterranean bent.

But even Mueller couldn’t keep it going at that pace. Approaching 90, the time had come for her to sell the business. Mueller’s children, who had been involved over the years in some capacity, had no interest. All signs began to point to a scenario that would have resulted in a new name, concept and staff, a true loss to the community that has grown to love and support the unique eatery.

At the eleventh hour, Jack Mueller, Margaret’s grandson, and his husband Paul Neundorfer stepped in to save the day and restaurant. Like the original owner, the new ones do not come from a restaurant background.

Neundorfer owns a landscape architecture firm and is co-founder of the non-profit Refugee Response.

Mueller is a real estate developer.

But it’s not like they are going it alone, they say.

“We’re still learning a lot but

we’re excited,” Mueller says. “We wouldn’t have done it if we didn’t already have a really good team in place. We have a really good manager, a really good chef and a great staff. It was such a great opportunity we felt like we had to do it.”

The transition officially took place in early November. Margaret, of course, is elated with the recent course of events.

“I am thrilled that the restaurant will stay in the family,” she says. “When I started this journey 10 years ago, I could never have imagined all that Felice would become. It has become a neighborhood anchor, beloved by so many, and none more than me.

I am delighted that with Jack and Paul’s commitment, Felice will have the opportunity to continue to grow and thrive.”

Plans call for updating the menu under the direction of longtime chef Jose Coronado. Classics like the grilled sardines, sautéed octopus, house burger and St. Louis ribs are going nowhere, but they will be joined by more vegetarian and vegan options.

Weekend brunch will begin to make an appearance. A draft beer system might finally flow to the second floor bar and dining room. The décor throughout will be updated and come spring, Neundorfer will turn his professional talents loose on the patio and gardens.

Meanwhile, Margaret will keep a watchful eye over all of it from her apartment balcony, which is directly across the street.

“She told me, ‘I want to sit here on my porch and watch all the people at the restaurant,’” Jack Mueller says. “I’ve always been so proud of my grandmother for starting this place. She started it when she was 80 years old. We all kind of thought she was a little crazy, but it really took off and it’s become a great neighborhood place.”

dtrattner@clevescene.com t@dougtrattner

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MUSIC CLEVELAND REMAINS A PIVOTAL touring stop for many bands working the East Coast and Great Lakes routes. It is city assembled by the bricks of music and art, poetry and experimentation. For a young band from, say, Baltimore, Cleveland may as well be a home away from home.

We’re talking about Pigeons Playing Ping Pong here, one of the more inventively named funk bands in a genre not exactly short on inventive names. They number four, and they hail from our bluecollar cousin on the Chesapeake Bay: Baltimore. They are here to rock your souls.

The band has taken advantage earnestly and meaningfully of the jam band scene at Beachland’s two hallowed rooms. In recent years, they’ve stopped by pretty regularly — opening for other bands on the jam circuit and holding down a headlining slot here and there. On Friday and Saturday, they’ll bring a two-night run to our little north shore town.

“We love Cleveland,” guitarist Greg Ormont says while driving through Baltimore on his way to band practice. “They’ve been really good to us. The fans are really fun, and they’re very supportive.”

Fans near and far are vital players in the early successes of any band. In the jam scene, this is even more true. Broadened horizons come not from licensing deals or YouTube collaborations, but from word-of-mouth and web forums, from working tirelessly at the bottom of festival bills for a few years before your band’s name inches up to the slightly larger print on those fliers.

Broadened horizons come from the road and, often enough, from places like Cleveland.

Pigeons released their latest album, Pizazz, just this past fall.

They did so with the Kickstarterfunneled help of their fans. (Surely some of you readers in Cleveland chipped in.)

“Pizazz is a snapshot of a few different eras in the band’s development,” Ormont says. “Even though we used the same studio for Pizazz and the album prior, Pleasure, I think Pizazz just sounds great. It has awesome sound quality, and I’m really proud of the result.”

BOB LIKE A PIGEON, OUTTA CONTROL Up-and-coming funk outfit Pigeons Playing Ping Pong posts up for two nights in Cleveland

By Eric Sandy The album veers from amped-up funk and soul to groovier, almost lounge-rock melodies.

“We’re very open to trying out new genres, and more so just listening to a ton of music and letting those influences seep in,” Ormont says. “Now that we’re in Spotify’s world, all of us are discovering all sorts of great new music, and I think that’s really pushing our boundaries when we go back to our instruments and start writing again.”

The lessons learned are clear throughout Pizazz and beyond. Take, for instance, a new song that the band is road-testing now, “Dawn a New Day.” It’s a Motownish number that blasts into some very cool improv.

They’ve got a bit more room to breathe, now that they’re making a

(Ormont joins Jeremy Schon on guitar, Ben Carrey on bass and Alex Petropulos on drums.) And it’s still fun, of course, Ormont is quick to say.

“Once we graduated, some of us got jobs — as many people do when they graduate college — and basically we just started booking too much,” Ormont says. “It used to be very difficult to get a gig. Once we started gaining some actual fans and it became easier to fill our weekends, it became harder to work jobs. We stretched that normal life versus band life as long as we could, just for financial reasons. But we were really starting to burn the candle at both ends.”

One of the goals then and now has always been to keep each night different. Fans tend to travel with the band, whether they’re doing

PIGEONS PLAYING PING PONG WITH JONES FOR REVIVAL (FRIDAY) AND EARPHORIK (SATURDAY) 8:30 P.M., FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, DEC. 29 AND 30, BEACHLAND BALLROOM, 15711 WATERLOO RD., 216-383-1124. TICKETS: $18-20, BEACHLANDBALLROOM.COM

name for themselves. “Dawn a New Day” recently did get the YouTube collabo treatment, sort of: Paste magazine brought Pigeons in for a live set. “Dawn” got a great reaction.

But it’s been trial and error, step by step for Pigeons. The band formed as a bit of college fun, playing parties and jamming endlessly.

quick New England weekend runs or hopping on the freeway for a full tour. Whereas the costs associated with ’a’ Phish tour or, say, Dead & Co., are at least kind of too prohibitively high to rekindle the glory days of “tour,” more regional bands like Pigeons have been able to foster that audience-interaction

nucleotide of jam band DNA. The impetus, then, is on Ormont and the band to keep things fresh — with new albums and new twists.

“One of the ways you can continue to broaden your horizons is just learning other people’s music and seeing the tendencies of songwriting before you and incorporating that into your style,” he says. “We like to find opportunities to put ourselves through school, even if it is selfinflicted.”

As a cherry on top of the Cleveland run, Pigeons will be hosting a New Year’s Eve show in Covington, Ky., where they’ll perform a Disney-themed show. “We’re currently digging into the incredible catalog that is Walt Disney,” Ormont says. “They write such good songs and such incredible lyrics, and it’s been a crash course in songwriting just learning these tunes.”

Keep an open ear: The band will play a few of those tunes at the Cleveland shows.

“Maybe some of the songs we learn we won’t end up playing,” Ormont says, “But we end up taking a lot of lessons from it — different songwriting tips and tendencies that have clearly stood the test of time.

Some of these songs are so classic and well written. Their compositions are why they’re so digestible and appreciated.”

The ethos from which the Disney show draws is relatable throughout Pigeons’ history. They’ve played a number of monthly residencies at The 8x10 in Baltimore (one show each week for a month). During those events, the guys have applied thematic constructs to their weekly appearances. For example, they’ve played “decades” shows that have them doing ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s tunes each week, respectively — “just to encourage people to come ou and see the same band four times in one month,” Ormont says. “It’s a lot to ask of your fans, and of people who don’t know you.”

And that’s part of the adventure: Pigeons Playing Ping Pong adds to the story each night. And those who are there to hear it will add their own verses.

esandy@clevescene.com t@EricSandy

| clevescene.com | December 27, 2017 - January 2, 2018

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| clevescene.com | December 27, 2017 - January 2, 2018

35

Photo by Jason Mc Eachern

MUSIC

KEEPING A TRADITION ALIVE Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s musical director talks about this year’s updated show

By Jeff Niesel EARLIER THIS YEAR, THE PROG rock act Trans-Siberian Orchestra suffered a major loss when charismatic founder Paul O’Neill died. But in the wake of that tragedy, the group has returned to the road for its Winter Tour 2017.

The tour will present “a completely updated presentation” of the DVD The Ghosts of Christmas Eve. It comes to Quicken Loans Arena on Friday for shows that take place at 3 and 8 p.m.

0’Neill may no longer be physically present, but his original vision continues to guide the group.

“He just wanted to make great records,” says the tour’s musical director Al Pitrelli. “He didn’t care how much the records cost to make, and when it came time to touring he wanted to put on the biggest rock ’n’ roll show ever. All of us grew up in New York City going to see bands at Madison Square Garden.

When a band would come through the Garden, not only would they do their normal show, but they’d always bring extra production because they wanted to show off in front of the record companies, the radio stations, whatever it was. Paul, Paul’s family, everybody in the band always kept that paramount. We think, ‘Let’s put on the biggest show we possibly can and then we’ll figure it all out later on.’ I mean, we’ve been doing this for 22, I guess almost 23 years now. The plan seems to have worked.”

Originally, the prog band Savatage recorded “Christmas Eve

36

Sarajevo 12/24” in 1995. The song would reappear on TSO’s debut, 1996’s Christmas Eve and Other Stories, and launch the band into the behemoth that it is today.

The first-ever TSO show took place in 1996 at a New York hospital.

New York DJ Scott Shannon invited the band to play Blythedale Children’s Hospital just north of New York City. O’Neill initially didn’t want to play the show, but once he visited the hospital, a place that helps critically hurt children, he couldn’t resist. Then, in 1998, the band recorded a TV show before it had ever toured. Filmed in an old Jersey City theater, the show features Ossie Davis, Jewel and Michael Crawford, and at the urging of Cleveland disc jockey Bill Louis, the group took its 1996 Christmas rock opera Christmas Eve and Other

show exceeded expectations. TSO would subsequently hit the road each November, and the tours became bigger and bigger.

“In ’99, we had performed Christmas Eve and Other Stories in its entirety and we kind of surrounded it with a few songs in the front as an introduction, some different things in the second half of the show from different records we had done,” says Pitrelli. “But we’ve been pretty much every year staying true to that formula where if the show is very well received and the folks are enjoying it, we’re hearing great feedback then we’ll do the same rock opera again the following year which is a familiarity that they’ve grown accustomed to. Again, it’s always been a matter of keeping [fans] on the edge of their seats.”

That said, this year’s show will

TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA 3 AND 8 P.M. FRIDAY, DEC. 29, QUICKEN LOANS ARENA, ONE CENTER COURT TICKETS: $36-$76, THEQARENA.COM.

Stories, the first part of a trilogy of prog rock-influenced Christmas albums, on the road in 1999.

Louis had been playing the album’s single, “Christmas Eve Sarajevo 12/24,” on WNCX and had gotten great feedback from fans.

Cleveland-based Belkin Productions also booked gigs in Detroit, New York, Philadelphia and Chicago.

With the exception of Chicago, each

| clevescene.com | December 27, 2017 - January 2, 2018

feature some significant changes.

“The look of the stage will be different, the lighting, the pyro, the lasers, the moving trusses, the video content,” says Pitrelli. “We’ll always try to upgrade that from year to year because we never really want to repeat ourselves. But we do want to have the familiarity of the rock opera that the people have really fallen in love with. Now the front of the show

being the front of the show, we want to introduce people to maybe some material that maybe we haven’t done in a few years and, of course, the back of the show, we have about 45 minutes to an hour to explore some of our catalog. There’s always a song that we’ll try to change up at least.”

Pitrelli says he’s cognizant of the way that show has become something like a long-running Broadway musical, albeit with a Christmas theme to it. Fans keep returning even though the story remains essentially the same.

“We’ve become such a tradition,” says Pitrelli. “We’ve become to people what It’s a Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street was to me when I was kid. This is something that people who have latched onto and made part of their holidays. Their families enjoy it, and there are multiple generations of families just coming out and watching it. It’s a lot of fun.

Most of the folks in the audience have the entire catalog. We always keep that in mind. What’s their favorite songs? What are the songs that people always requesting? When you’re doing The Ghost of Christmas Eve like we are again this year, it’s almost the greatest hits collection anywhere, so everybody will hear their favorites.”

scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene

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MUSIC A BIG YEAR Cloud Nothings’ frontman reflects on the indie rock band’s busy 2017

By Laura Morrison DYLAN BALDI NEEDED A BREAK. So last week, following a wondrous European tour, the Cloud Nothings frontman and his girlfriend headed to Mexico City, where he’s happy to report that he’s eaten as many street tacos as possible.

“I just ate an al pastor taco for breakfast because I could,” Baldi confirms over the phone, still in Mexico.

And at 26, the singer-songwriter is beginning to enjoy the little things in life a bit more — the rhythm of being on the road and getting lost in the improvisational bits of a new record’s songs while performing on stage.

He says he’s into candles and crystals right now. They bring a sense of calm. Because in many ways, 2017 was the biggest year for the Cleveland indie rock band (see sidebar). After 200-plus shows featuring some of their largest crowds to date, Baldi reflects on the year behind him.

“For the band, it’s been good. For the world at large, it’s been a pretty bad year,” Baldi says. “Whenever we put

something [January’s Life Without Sound] out, then we tour nonstop, and that was the case this time.”

Cloud Nothings, which started as a solo project in Baldi’s parents’ Westlake basement, is one of the hometown bands that continues to bring national attention to the local music scene. Three of the four of the guys even live in a house together in the Old Brooklyn area. So rather than end their year with a concert elsewhere, the four-piece will headline Beachland Ballroom’s New Year’s Eve show.

“That will be a perk. It’s nice to play in Cleveland,” Baldi says. “There are people we don’t always see who will be there.”

Some portion of the crowd will include the original fans who’ve been showing up to support the band since 2009. And then, there are Baldi’s parents. They have yet to miss a Cleveland gig. Cloud Nothings will play the raucous songs they’ve

THE BIGGEST YEAR JANUARY: The band finally releases its fifth studio album Life Without Sound, which is produced by John Goodmanson (Deathcab for Cutie, Sleater-Kinney), and embarks on its first tour in two years.

MARCH: The band plays to some of its largest crowds yet in the United Kingdom.

APRIL: They head to China and Singapore to play their first headlining gigs ever in Asia.

JULY: The group plays a polarizing cover of Coldplay’s “Clocks” for AV Club. The song is so heavily distorted that hardly anyone recognizes the original track. Animal noises are involved. That month, they also play the Panorama Music Festival in New York. They also open for the New Pornographers.

AUGUST: A robot-centric music video for “Up to the Surface” is released.

They also play Lollapalooza.

SEPTEMBER: The crew closed out the Grog Shop’s 25th Anniversary concert series.

OCTOBER: The band heads out on a fall tour with Japandroids.

DECEMBER: Cloud Nothings finish up its 2017 tour in Europe (after opening for Dinosaur Jr.), splitting off to various parts of the world to relax. They then ready to play Beachland Ballroom for their culminating Cleveland show.

38

| clevescene.com | December 27, 2017 - January 2, 2018

crunched through hundreds of times and most of the more introspective new ones too.

Mid-set, Baldi says, the countdown to the New Year will begin. Then, they’ll continue playing their expansive and layered tunes into the early hours. It’ll be a fresh start for all.

Baldi admits being on stage isn’t always the easiest time for him (which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone taking a deep dive into his angst-filled lyrics).

“I don’t like looking at people when we play,” Baldi says. “If I look at the audience too long, I see the one guy who’s having a bad time. I find if I close my eyes, I can pretend it’s the best show ever.”

Next year brings more musicmaking for the band. It’ll hit up Australia in February, and Baldi says the group plans to write and record another album. Life Without Sound took nearly a year of meticulous writing, and the band then spent

machine. It doesn’t even feel like work.

And it’s interesting to watch other bands start and stop around us and to see who’s still around and still trying to make music.

And we’re still here.”

Through all of the accomplishments, Baldi’s not convinced 2017 was the most defining for his crew. Over the summer, there was a lot more free time. Baldi would ride his bike around town, play music on his own or hang out in Philly with his girlfriend. The band played multiple festivals, including Chicago’s Lollapalooza. That show was fun, Baldi says, but far more memorable was having to break into the band’s Airbnb later that night after failing to make the key code work.

“It’s hard to say,” he says when asked about the year›s biggest highlight. “We played shows that were the biggest we’ve played. But it didn’t feel that way. We had a giant show in March in London, it was a huge, sold-out show. But it felt like a show,

CLOUD NOTHINGS NYE SHOW WITH HALF AN ANIMAL, CHRISTMAS PETS, THE VILLAGE BICYCLE, FORAGER 8:30 P.M. SUNDAY, DEC. 31. BEACHLAND BALLROOM, 15711 WATERLOO RD., 216-383-1124.

TICKETS: $20 ADV, $25 DOS, BEACHLANDBALLROOM.COM.

another year of waiting for its release.

Baldi says never again. This time will be like previous records, a more whambam approach.

Now, after eight years together, Baldi says that playing music full-time has gotten somewhat more routine — in a positive way.

“It’s nice. It’s easier. Touring used to feel like I didn›t know what’s going to happen,” Baldi says. “Now, it’s a

it didn’t feel like a milestone. It was weird. I feel like at this point it almost is … we’re gonna keep doing it until we have to stop, until nobody comes to see the show anymore. Right now it’s like, ‘Okay, we did this year, we survived this. Let’s do it again.’”

scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene

| clevescene.com m | December 27, 2017 - January 2, 2018

399

LIVEWIRE

all the live music you should see this week Photo courtesy of Right Angle PR

WED

12/27

10 X 3 Singer Songwriter Showcase hosted by Brent Kirby: 8 p.m. Brothers Lounge.

Bald Benevolence presents Home for the Holidays (in the Supper Club): 7:30 p.m., $15 ADV, $17 DOS. Music Box Supper Club.

Rachel Brown & the Beatnik Playboys: 7 p.m., $10. Nighttown.

Bruce in the U.S.A.: 8 p.m., $20 ADV, $25 DOS. House of Blues.

Into the Blue: Grateful Dead Revival: 9 p.m., $12. Beachland Ballroom.

Kaji/Shortly/Nic Adkins/Willow Hawks/Mary Kekic: 7 p.m., $10.

Mahall’s 20 Lanes.

Joshua Smith Trio: 8 p.m., $12. Bop Stop.

Dan Miraldi & the Albino Winos/ Good Morning Valentine/Uptight Sugar/Mike Uva: “The Sweet Sound of Protest,” the rousing opening number on Love Under Fire, the latest effort from former Clevelander Dan Miraldi, features distorted guitars and parched vocals as Miraldi beckons, “Give it to me now.” He wrote the song just after the election; he was on tour with the local rock band Welshly Arms at the time. He recorded the track locally at Welshly Arms’ studio in Avon Lake, and they back him on the song. Other highlights include the EP’s title track, which has a Beatles feel to it, and the Stones-y “Name of Love.” Expect to hear these tunes and more at tonight’s show that reunites Miraldi with his old backing band.

(Jeff Niesel), 8 p.m., $8 ADV, $10 DOS. Beachland Tavern.

THU

12/28

Smoke Screen/Red Rose Panic/ Sankuro/Feed the People: 9 p.m., $8 ADV, $10 DOS. Grog Shop.

Joe Lovano And Friends: A Cleveland native, sax man Joe Lovano attended Berklee College of Music was back in 1971, would move to New York shortly afterward. There, he became a member of Woody Herman’s band.

By the ’90s, Lovano developed a good working relationship with the folks at Blue Note Record and regularly released new albums and even worked as his own producer.

He doesn’t play gigs in town often, so take advantage of this rare

40

Earphorik: 8:30 p.m., $18 ADV, $20 DOS. Beachland Ballroom.

The Reese Daily Band: 9:30 p.m., $8.

Brothers Lounge.

Rosello and Friends with C-Tuck/ Real Gates/Teka/Nick Samps/Blac Bravo/6ix23am/Crazy8theGreat/ Rosello Stone: 9 p.m., $10. Now That’s Class.

Sounds of Jazz featuring: Nancy Redd (in the Wine Bar): 8 p.m.

Brothers Lounge.

Verve Daddy: 8 p.m., $5. Musica.

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

Nighttown.

Dan Wilson Group: The Music Of Stevie Wonder: 8 p.m., $20. Bop Stop.

Red Wanting Blue plays on New Year’s Eve at the Goodyear Theatre in Akron. See: Sunday.

SUN opportunity to see him. (Niesel), 8 p.m., $20. Bop Stop.

Delay’s 20th Anniversary/The Sidekicks, Annabel, Signals Midwest/Two Hand Fools: 7 p.m., $10. Mahall’s 20 Lanes.

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

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

Neighborhood Night Holiday Party with Moko Bovo/Maura Rogers & the Bellows/The Covemen: 8 p.m., $8 ADV, $10 DOS. Beachland Ballroom.

Old No. 55 (in the Supper Club): 7:30 p.m., $5. Music Box Supper Club.

Moss Stanley & Nitebridge Vocal Revue: 8 p.m., $15. Nighttown.

The Vital Organs/Auttie/Bonnie Clydeman: 8 p.m., $5. Beachland Tavern.

FRI

12/29

Dave Banks Big Band: 8 p.m., $20.

Bop Stop.

Cats on Holiday: 9 p.m., $5. Brothers Lounge.

Andre Cavor & the Cavor Project: 8:30 p.m., $10. Nighttown.

Chip Tha Ripper: 6 p.m., $17 ADV, $22 DOS. Agora Ballroom.

Covariance/forage & wander/An American Astronaut/Fawx/When/ Where/Campfire: 7 p.m., $10.

Mahall’s 20 Lanes.

The Crazy Train – A Night of Ozzy Osbourne & Black Sabbath: 8 p.m., $10 ADV, $12 DOS. Music Box Supper Club.

Fits of Hail/Golden Streets of

| clevescene.com | December 27, 2017 - January 2, 2018

Paradise/Restless Habs: 9 p.m., $5.

Happy Dog. Bret Michaels: 8 p.m. Hard Rock Rocksino Northfield Park.

Pigeons Playing Ping Pong/Jones for Revival: 8:30 p.m., $18 ADV, $20 DOS. Beachland Ballroom.

Pleasure Leftists: 8 p.m. Now That’s Class.

Jerry Popiel (in the Wine Bar): 8 p.m.

Brothers Lounge.

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – A 50th Anniversary Celebration Presented by Brother Joscephus & The Love Revolution (in the Supper Club): 8 p.m., $15 ADV, $18 DOS. Music Box Supper Club.

Moss Stanley: 10:30 p.m., free.

Nighttown.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra - The Ghosts of Christmas Eve: 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Quicken Loans Arena.

SAT

12/30

Toronzo Cannon (in the Supper Club): 8 p.m., $15 ADV, $18 DOS. Music Box Supper Club.

Bijou the Dog/Kalaika: 9 p.m., $5.

Happy Dog. Moises Borges: 8:30 p.m., $15.

Nighttown.

Chimaira Christmas 15 with Impending Lies/Solipsist/Nine Shrines/Brothers At Arms: 6 p.m., $29.50 ADV, $30 DOS. The Agora Theatre.

Coventry Rat Reunion Party with the New Roddicks/Xela’s Opus/ Charlie Mosbrook: 9 p.m., $7 ADV, $10 DOS. Grog Shop.

Mannheim Steamroller Christmas: 7:30 p.m. E.J. Thomas Hall.

Pigeons Playing Ping Pong/

12/31

From Venus to the Valley NYE Party: A new dress, bottles of champagne, festive decorations — New Year’s Eve can add up pretty quickly. Thankfully, attending shows like the From Venus to the Valley NYE Party at Mahall’s isn’t too terrible on your wallet. Purchase your tickets early, and for just $13 you can be a part of the cosmic alien/1980s-themed event. Expect DJs Himiko Gogo and Lectric BB to play dance-worthy tunes inspired from the likes of Earth Girls are Easy and the B-52’s. Local MC Taysu Nag will also be on hand to bring the space party to life. Naturally, intergalactic costumes are highly encouraged for the evening. (Laura Morrison), 9 p.m., $13 ADV, $15 DOS. Mahall’s 20 Lanes.

Red Wanting/Blue Carbon Leaf/ Shivering Timbers: True Ohio boys, through and through, Red Wanting Blue has left its footprints all over the likes of Athens, Cleveland and Columbus.

Tonight, to ring in 2018, they hit the Goodyear in Akron. They’re still riding high on the momentum of their 20th anniversary, celebrated last year, and they’ve still got a keen eye on new music. The band has been teasing a new album for about a year now, and they seem thrilled. “We all said that we didn’t want to record any songs on this record unless it was 100-percent unanimous -- unless everybody loved the songs,” frontman Scott Terry told us this time last year. “It’s the greatest collective effort we have ever made.” Maybe we’ll get some new tunage tonight? (Eric Sandy), 9 p.m. Goodyear Theater.

LIVEWIRE Twiztid’s New Year’s Evil 10 with G-Mo SKee/Boondox/Lex the Hex Master/The R.O.C./ Insane E/Alla Xul Elu/Redd/ Beezy/Likewize/Toy Box/Down 2 Grind/The Grimey Ones: The rap-rock duo that features Jamie Spaniolo and Paul Methric, who perform under the respective personas of Jamie Madrox and Monoxide Child, regularly celebrates New Year’s Eve in Cleveland. Former members of the group House of Krazees, which disbanded in 1997, Spaniolo and Methric have the same rapbid fanbase as former labelmates Insane Clown Posse, so you can expect the Jugaloos to be on hand for tonight’s festivities. (Niesel), 6 p.m., $26 ADV, $31.20 DOS. The Agora Theatre.

Cloud Nothings/Half Animal/ Christmas Pets: 8:30 p.m., $20 ADV, $25 DOS. Beachland Ballroom.

Dirty Deeds AC/DC Tribute, Panama - Van Halen Tribute: 9 p.m. Hard Rock Rocksino Northfield Park.

Led Zeppelin 2: 10 p.m., $20 ADV, $25 DOS. House of Blues.

Al Mazur (in the Wine Bar): 9 p.m.

Brothers Lounge.

New Year’s Eve Celebration featuring: Cheers Cleveland: 9:30 p.m., $20. Brothers Lounge.

New Year’s Eve Party – All That Glitters with the Sunrise Jones (in the Supper Club): 9 p.m.

Music Box Supper Club.

New Year’s Eve Spectacular - Janis Siegel: 8 p.m., $50.

Nighttown.

New Year’s Eve Spectacular with Dominick Farinacci: 7:30 p.m., $40. Nighttown.

Tropidelic/Vibe & Direct/Bumpin’ Uglies/Dutty: 9:30 p.m., $40 ADV, $45 DOS. Grog Shop.

MON

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scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene

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| clevescene.com | December 27, 2017 - January 2, 2018

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42

MEET THE BAND: Matthew Roads (vocals), James Begin (trombone/vox), Bobby Chronic (guitar), Darrick Willis (drums), Pags (bass), Derek McBryde (trumpet)

| clevescene.com | December 27, 2017 - January 2, 2018

IT CAME FROM KENT: This local jam band formed in 2008 in Kent and famously built a following after self-distributing over 10,000 free copies of its selfproduced first EP, Rebirth of the Dope.

After releasing its second EP, Tree City Exodus, and relocating to Cleveland, the group opened for acts like Slightly Stoopid, Pepper, the Dirty Heads, Sublime with Rome, Soja, the Wailers and Flobots. In 2011, the group issued its third album, Erie Vibes & Irie Tides; All Heads Unite followed in 2012. After signing to the label run by the jam band Pepper, the group released Heavy is the Head earlier this year and played a few Midwestern dates with the like-minded 311.

WHY YOU SHOULD HEAR THEM: Heavy is the Head’s first single, “Hey Now,” a jazzy/hip-hop-inflected call-to-arms, includes inspired lyrics about how the “rich are getting richer and the poor are getting killed.” “That song is about the frustration and anger that stemmed out of the 2016 election,” says Roads. “People have different ideas about what they want out of life now. I was fiercely anti-Trump.”

“Leviathan” features gospel-like vocals and rattling percussion. “Leviathan

is an internal struggle hymn,” says Roads. “I wrote that song about the time that I started to get sober. A lot of it has to do with that and how I was going through a rough patch. I was also driving our school bus to a show on the East Coast, and it’s about how the Chesapeake Bay Bridge comes out of the water like a leviathan.” “Dollar Saved,” a song with a fierce hip-hop segment courtesy of the band’s other singer, James Begin, takes a jab at the establishment, something Roads says the band enjoys doing. After playing in Erie last year on New Year’s Eve, Roads says the band is happy to return to the Grog Shop for NYE. “We’re really excited about the show at the Grog,” he says adding that the band is already working on its next album and will spend a few weeks in early 2018 out on tour with the Flobots and another few weeks with Bad Fish. “Things are really picking up,” says Roads.

WHERE YOU CAN HEAR THEM: tropidelic.com.

WHERE YOU CAN SEE THEM: Tropidelic performs with Vibe & Direct, Bumpin’ Uglies and Dutty at 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 31, at the Grog Shop..

jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel

C-NOTES

Photo courtesy of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

ALL IT NEEDED WAS LOVE The Rock Hall refreshes its Beatles exhibit

By Jeff Niesel THE ROCK HALL HAS ALWAYS had a Beatles exhibit, but the new exhibit unveiled last week improves upon the previous incarnation.

Notably, the new exhibit features a few key additions.

One item, an Archibald Ramsden upright piano, is the piano that was in the basement where Paul McCartney lived in the ’60s with his girlfriend Jane Asher in central London. Lennon and McCartney composed some of their most iconic songs on the piano, such as “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “And I Love Her,” “We Can Work It Out,” “Got to Get You Into My Life” and “Eleanor Rigby.”

The exhibit also now includes the Hofner Senator electric guitar purchased by John Lennon during the Beatles’ time in Germany that was used as a practice, studio and composition instrument.

Both the piano and the guitar are on loan from a California collector.

Neither item has even been exhibited before.

Other new artifacts include drumsticks used by Ringo Starr during the Beatles concert at Cleveland’s Public Auditorium on September 15, 1964 (he handed them to two fans he met backstage after the show), a suit worn by George Harrison during the Beatles’ 1966 tour and Paul McCartney’s musical score/notes for “Birthday” that he wrote in blue ink on the back of a recording track sheet.

The exhibit features a new design too and now includes a backdrop featuring vintage photos of the band members.

“We’ve always had a big Beatles presence to show what that band means,” says Todd Mesek, the Rock Hall’s vice president of marketing and communications. “There’s an innumerable number of artists who say

they picked up a guitar and started writing songs because of the Beatles, so it’s important we acknowledge their influence. We want to do more storytelling with the exhibit and make it part of the Rock Hall experience.”

In keeping with the holiday spirit, now through Dec. 31, if you drop off dry goods, winter accessories, household items or any other new item from the Rock Hall’s wish list at the Rock Hall welcome desk, you’ll receive a voucher redeemable for a discounted $16 general admission ticket.

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JESSICA LEA MAYFIELD RELEASES NEW MUSIC VIDEO To celebrate the holiday season, Amazon Music has released an Indie for the Holidays playlist.

Last week, Jessica Lea Mayfield issued an Amazon Original video for her version of Loretta Lynn’s “To Heck With Ole Santa Claus” that appears on the playlist.

Christopher Good, a guy who recently directed videos for Kevin Morby, Grizzly Bear, Jay Som and Margaret Glassy, directed the video.

“I love Christmas so much and was super excited to get to record a song for Indie For The Holidays,” explains Mayfield in a press release about the video. “I’ve been hearing my mom sing this song my whole life — the original version is a lot more upbeat. I felt Christopher Good’s video treatment for this version was perfect.”

The playlist also includes songs by acts such as DJ Camilo Lara’s Mexican Institute of Sound, Best Coast, Eisley, Albert Hammond Jr. and Dean & Britta.

jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel

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| clevescene.com | December 27, 2017 - January 2, 2018

SAVAGE LOVE QUICKIES

By Dan Savage Dear Dan, I have been with my unicorn boyfriend for four months. The sexual chemistry between us is out of this world! I’m a woman who’s very open-minded when it comes to trying new things: I’ve had threesomes and foursomes, tried every toy on the market, done anal sex, BDSM, and many other things.

He is sexually experienced, but he’s not open-minded. One thing he won’t do is kiss me after I’ve swallowed his load. We’ve been together only four months, so maybe I just need to wait and hope that he’ll come around. Or is there something I can do to get him to try it?

—Can’t Unicorn Man Up? If that’s the only thing he won’t do—if every toy on the market is on the table, along with threesomes, foursomes, BDSM, etc.—then he’s pretty adventurous. But if kissing after you’ve swallowed is the only mildly kinky thing you’ve attempted with him and it was a no, he may not be adventurous enough to deserve unicorn status. But I will say this in his defense…

Kissing someone who has just swallowed your load (or snowballing with someone who wants you to swallow your own load) presents a challenge for many men. Some silly straight men worry that tasting their own come will turn them gay or make them look gay—I’ve gotten letters from girlfriends who thought their boyfriends were gay because they were too willing to kiss them after a blowjob. But there are gay men out there who don’t want to deep-kiss the guy who just blew them—and they’re obviously not worried about turning gay (already are) or seeming gay (ditto). So what gives? Blame what’s known as the “refractory period,” CUMU. Immediately after a man ejaculates, his dick starts to go soft and he loses all interest in sex— hormones have been released into his bloodstream that short-circuit sexual arousal. Bodily fluids and orifices a man was happily lapping up or at a minute ago are suddenly repulsive, not because the dude is necessarily inhibited or insecure, CUMU, but because he’s having his period—his refractory period.

Dear Dan, I’ve been seeing this guy who keeps making D/s-ish jokes and moves—he smacks my butt a lot, for example.

When I let him know I like it, he’s suddenly not into it. He says it’s “disturbing” that I like what he’s been doing. Two questions: (1) Smacking my butt is okay so long as I don’t want it? (2) Enjoying what he’s doing makes me a freak?

—Joking About Consensual Kinks Two options: (1) He goes in for domineering head games and “playful” violence because he’s abusive and controlling. (2) He’s got kinks, but he hasn’t managed to incorporate his kinks into his sex life in a healthy, consensual manner—and now that he knows you enjoy the same things he does (but you’re healthier about them than he is), he’s projecting his selfloathing onto you. Either way, JACK, you’re going to need to DTMFA.

Dear Dan, You recently said it’s okay to fantasize about other people so long as we keep it to ourselves.

Social media and dating apps have given us access to tons of spank material, from that new crush on OkCupid to the (monogamously) married neighbor you always wanted to bang. In this era, we can see actual pictures of the people we’re fantasizing about more often than not. Facebook stalking for spank bank purposes is fine—we all do it—but does it cross a line to actually download the pictures for later? I feel like it’s at least a little creepy to be taking screenshots of people’s photos. But as long as you’re the only one using your phone, what’s the practical difference between looking at Facebook and looking at saved screenshots?

—Screenshot Porn As New Kontent Keep whatever you want on your phone, SPANK, so long as you keep it to yourself and your phone is password protected.

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