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| clevescene.com | January 2 - 8, 2019
| clevescene.com c eves cl escene.com m | January Janu Ja nuar aryy 2 - 8, 2019 201 0199
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JEWELRY LOANS Why Sell Your Jewelry? You can keep it and make a fast cash loan!
Dedicated to Free Times founder Richard H. Siegel (1935-1993) and Scene founder Richard Kabat
CONTENTS
Group Publisher Chris Keating
Upfront
Publisher Andrew Zelman Associate Publisher Angela Nagal
Cleveland’s Premiere Jewelry Store Your local pawn broker offering a fast cash loan on your diamond and gold jewelry. Š i ŽCƒ…„Š~ ‚…w„ Š b…� \{{‰ Š b…� „Š{ˆ{‰Š ˆwŠ{‰
The Cash You Need in Times of Need ™ „‰ z{ KŠ~ iŠˆ{{Š wˆywz{‰ Â’ HGLCLHGCLHJJ ef[d cedCiWj Â’ e‹ˆ ^…‹ˆ‰ Wˆ{ GGwƒ C L†ƒ i{{ ‹‰ …„‚ „{ z{Â? ŠŠ‰€{Â?{‚ˆÂ?Dy…ƒ tradesy.com/closet/dewittsjewelry
Editor Vince Grzegorek
Woe is the Plain Dealer
Editorial Music Editor Jeff Niesel Senior Writer Sam Allard Staff Writer Brett Zelman Web Editor Laura Morrison Dining Editor Douglas Trattner Stage Editor Christine Howey Visual Arts Writer Dott von Schneider Copy Editor Elaine Cicora
Feature
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Our seventh annual Comics Issue
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All the best stuff to do in Cleveland this week
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After two decades, Scene’s theater critic says goodbye
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UPFRONT PLAIN DEALER BUSTS UNION, MOVES FORWARD WITH PLAN TO CUT 29 LOCAL JOURNALISM JOBS Photo from Scene archives
PLAIN DEALER EDITOR GEORGE Rodrigue announced last week that the paper will lay off nearly half of its unionized workforce in early 2019 as it transitions to a “centralized production hub.” The announcement came only days after the Plain Dealer News Guild, fighting for its survival, presented a counter proposal to the outsourcing plan that was hatched by Advance in October. Rodrigue sent a letter to local news editors and published it on Cleveland.com on Dec. 27, before employees themselves learned that their jobs would soon be gone. Rodrigue has characterized the decision as an effort to preserve quality local coverage while creating efficiencies. Most of the employees and local observers, however, recognize the decision as a continuation of Advance’s union-busting efforts, which began with the strategic schism of the print (union, Plain Dealer ) and digital (non-union, Cleveland.com) newsrooms. The PD’s union was the nation’s first news guild (Local 1) and at its height represented more than 700 reporters and editors in the region. The few who now remain labor under a contract that expires in February, at which point all signs point to its fi nal dismantling. The logistics of the move to a centralized production hub remain unclear, but the 29 editors and page designers who assemble the paper before it’s printed — selecting stories for the print edition, writing headlines, creating graphics — will ostensibly be “outsourced” to a hub which performs similar functions for a number of papers. Rodrigue said this centralization concept has been industry tested and proven to be effective, but local journalists have strenuously disputed the notion that an overburdened national staff, working from generic templates, can produce the same level of quality that local editors and designers can. They also question the meaning of “local editorial
6
What’s in a name? Ask the editors and designers about to be outsourced.
control,” which Rodrigue insisted the PD would retain. “Have fun with that local editorial control when you need to make a change and you have to run it past a different, short staffed company that is juggling 15 other papers,” former PD design editor Josh Crutchmer wrote on social media. Rodrigue said the paper solicited bids for work from “companies that specialize in centralized production services” but ultimately decided to contract with Advance Local (i.e., the company that owns Cleveland. com and Advance Publications, the Plain Dealer’s corporate parent). It is outsourcing jobs, in other words, to itself. Rodrigue’s letter said that
| clevescene.com | January 2 - 8, 2019
production staffers will be invited to apply for newly created jobs in Cleveland, editing local content. “The savings this system offers The Plain Dealer will come largely from sharing the cost of editing and designing pages of non-local news, which make up roughly half of our newspaper. In all other ways, The Plain Dealer will remain a local institution. Editorial decision making will remain the responsibility of The Plain Dealer’s editors. Local stories will be selected and copy-edited by veteran journalists based in Cleveland. “We make this decision with some sadness, but with the longterm preservation of The Plain Dealer at heart. This change offers savings where they are
least likely to harm the quality of our newspaper. It preserves local editing of local stories. It allows us to focus on the coverage that matters most to our community: indepth breaking news, investigative journalism, stories that explain issues and events, and coverage that helps people make the most of everything northeast Ohio has to offer. In a world of difficult choices and unavoidable change, this is the option that best serves our readers.” Via PD reporters, after their colleagues received word that their jobs would be lost, they sent messages to the bargaining team, thanking them for their efforts. They then returned to their work, designing and copy-editing the next day’s newspaper. — Sam Allard
Wanda Jones, Who Ran Against Judge Daniel Gaul, Appointed to County Bench When Judge Michael Donnelly vacates his seat on the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas in January to become an Ohio Supreme Court Justice, he will be replaced by Wanda C. Jones, Gov. John Kasich announced last week. Kasich said he would appoint the 46-year-old Republican lawyer for the remainder of Donnelly’s term, which means she’ll run for reelection in 2020. Jones ran against Judge Daniel Gaul in November and lost, despite an endorsement from the Plain Dealer editorial board and other local groups. Gaul’s racist language and unconstitutional sentencing tactics had been featured in the third season of the Serial podcast, and Jones presented herself as a more compassionate alternative. As a woman of color who worked for years to obtain her law degree, Jones said that she’d bring her life experiences, not just her courtroom experience, with her to the bench.
“What good is experience if you’re not unbiased?â€? she said at a preelection judicial forum, responding to a question about her relative inexperience, compared to Gaul’s. Jones has practiced law for roughly seven years and is currently a partner at a private practice, Axner & Jones, in Solon. Her term will ofďŹ cially begin on Jan. 7. Gaul’s upcoming term, his ďŹ fth, will be his last due to age restrictions. — Allard
Steve Popovich Jr. Relaunches His Father’s Cleveland International Records Back in the 1970s when Cleveland became synonymous with rock ’n’ roll, the late Steve Popovich formed Cleveland International Records. The label had a huge hit right out of the gates with Meat Loaf’s 1977 album Bat Out of Hell and would go on to garner Grammy nods and other accolades. While Popovich still ran the label, it ďŹ led a lawsuit against Sony Music, which had produced copies of Bat Out of Hell without the Cleveland Internataional logo on them. Now that the suit has been settled, Popovich’s son, Steve Popovich Jr.,
has relaunched the label. “Cleveland International is a family business and has been around for 40-some years,â€? says Popovich Jr. in a recent phone interview from his Nashville home. “After my father’s passing [in 2011], I was ďŹ nally able to close down his estate. [The label] was something I knew I wanted to reactivate. My father was really proud of creating and establishing a label in Cleveland and calling it Cleveland International Records. It was a label for heartland America. Now that the estate settlement is over, I’m proud and anxious to relaunch the label and start moving forward.â€? Founded in 1976, the label hit hard times in the early 2000s. “When Napster came through, that really put a dent into the industry,â€? Popovich Jr. explains. “Dealing with the estate has been extremely grueling. I’ve been doing it for the past seven years. I’ve been through the ringer with that, but I’m pleased to say that chapter is over with. I can continue on and pick up the torch of my father’s legacy.â€? Currently, the label has some apparel for sale. It also announced that it’ll reissue the 1995 Cleveland Rocks compilation that features
tracks by Ronnie Spector, Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes, Euclid Beach Band and Ian Hunter. “We’ll be reissuing old albums and releasing albums from new bands too,â€? says Popovich Jr. “I think the Cleveland Rocks compilation is the perfect album to relaunch the label with. We’ll also be reissuing a lot of the back catalog from 1995 to 2002, including David Allan Coe and Roger Martin and a lot of the polka titles we owned. My father was proud of his heritage in polka music, and we want to keep that alive.â€? The label has 10 to 15 reissued titles slated for 2019, and none of those reissues have been available as digital downloads or through streaming services. You can ďŹ nd updates on the website, clevelandinternational.com. Popovich Jr. is also working on a documentary ďŹ lm about his father. “For my father, that logo was his calling card for life,â€? he says. “That’s what he wanted his kids and grandkids to remember, so it’s important to keep that aspect of the logo on the forefront of everything we do. There have been a couple of variations on it over the years, but we’re going to be using the original. It’s really iconic.â€? — Jeff Niesel
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UPFRONT High Hopes for National Park Maintenance Fund in Next Congress A bipartisan push in Congress to pay for a multi-billion-dollar maintenance backlog at national parks in Ohio and across America fell short this session, but backers are optimistic it will pass next year. Parks and national monuments need money to maintain buildings, trails and equipment that have fallen into disrepair. Backers of the measure say it had support in Congress, but ran out of time this session. Rebecca Knuffke, an officer with the Restore Our Parks campaign for the Pew Charitable Trusts, says the bill has a leg up in the next legislative session because of its bipartisan support. “The current legislation is supported by a third of the Senate and more than half of the House,” she points out. “And according to a recent poll by the Pew Charitable Trusts, more than 75 percent of Americans support the plan to help address the almost $12 billion backlog.” U.S. Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio is a co-sponsor of the Restore Our Parks Act. The bill would provide up $6.5 billion over a five-year period. The maintenance backlog in Ohio parks is estimated to be more than $100 million in needed repairs. A Pew Charitable Trusts analysis found if that backlog were fully funded, it could create or support nearly 1,000 jobs in the state. Knuffke says the bill would pay for repairs without using taxpayer dollars. “This bill takes revenues from onshore and offshore drilling,” she explains. “It would not take money from other important programs — in fact, the bill has language that would protect those already obligated funds, like the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the Historic Preservation Fund and the states’ percentages of those revenues.” The new Congress convenes on Jan. 3. — Eric Tegethoff, Ohio News Service
Very Important News: Tremont Cat Cafe to Open Jan. 2 For all you feline lovers out there, good news waits around the corner in 2019. AffoGATO Cat Cafe, Cleveland’s
first such establishment, will open its doors on Jan. 2, 2019, in the former Lilly Chocolates space in Tremont (761 Starkweather). What is a cat cafe? Here’s their mission in their own words: “We provide a safe home for adoptable cats. You can then pay a small cover charge to relax, work, and enjoy coffee and snacks with these friendly felines. We will partner with several local businesses and artists in order to host fun, unique events and produce food, drinks, and merchandise. “We’re more than a cafe. We strive to be the heart of our community by bringing together cats, people, and businesses for the benefit of all. As such, we also hope to expand to additional community services and outreach programs in the near future.” — Vince Grzegorek
DIGIT WIDGET 517 Number of Ohioans who died from accidental overdoses involving meth or other psychostimulants in 2017, up from only 9 such deaths in 2010.
35,326 Cleveland Clinic employees in Cuyahoga County. The Clinic is the county’s largest employer, with twice as many employees as the county’s second-largest, UH (17,711).
$61,023,102 Total 2017 compensation of W. Nicholas Houley, CEO of Cleveland-based TransDigm Group. Houley was the region’s most richly compensated CEO in 2017, with $51 million of his haul consisting of “perks.”
$8.55 State of Ohio’s new minimum wage in 2019, an inflation adjustment of 25 cents.
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GET OUT everything you should do this week Photo courtesy of the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque
WED
01/02
SPORTS
Cavaliers vs. Miami Heat After LeBron James left the Miami Heat to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Heat and Cavs developed a rivalry. But now that James has moved on to the Los Angeles Lakers, the rivalry’s intensity has waned. And given that with both the Heat and the Cavs have lost more games than they’ve won so far this year, this game lacks the significance of the ones in the past. The two teams face off at 7 at the Q. Check the Cavs’ site for ticket prices. (Jeff Niesel) 1 Center Court, 216-420-2000, theqarena.com. SPOKEN WORD
Keep Talking Keep Talking is an exciting storytellers program where locals can share their real-life experiences on a theme. The monthly series offers attendees the chance to grab a drink and a dog while listening to some of their Cleveland neighbors tell tall tales. Tonight’s show revolves around the theme, “Kids.” The hosts are Adam Richard and Zachariah Durr. The program starts at 8 p.m. sharp at the Happy Dog. Admission is $5. Want to be a storyteller at a future session? See details on the website. (Niesel) 5801 Detroit Ave., 216-651-9474, happydogcleveland.com. THEATER
Spamilton The more successful something is, the more likely it is that someone, somewhere, will want to take the piss out of it with a parody. That would explain Spamilton: An American Parody. Created and performed by a versatile cast of seven, it pokes fun at Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway hit about Alexander Hamilton. Catch it tonight at the Hanna Theatre, at 7:30. Performances continue through Jan. 6. Tickets start at $39. (Niesel) 2067 East 14th St., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
THU
01/03
COMEDY
John Caparulo Best known for his stints on E!’s
The Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque shows the Poverty Row film The Vampire Bat . See: Friday.
Chelsea Lately and as the host of CMT’s Mobile Home Disaster, comedian John Caparulo is a Kent State grad who regularly comes home and fits some shows into his schedule while he’s here. Caparulo, known as Cap, got his start on the Cleveland circuit in the late ’90s. He plays the role of the dumb hillbilly, but his narrative jokes are well thought-out and his comic timing is impeccable. In 2013, he issued Come Inside of Me, a collection of some of his best jokes, including his lengthy bit about the first time he went skydiving. Expect to hear some of that material tonight when he performs at 8 at Hilarities, where he has shows scheduled through Saturday. Tickets start at $25. (Niesel) 2035 East Fourth St., 216-241-7425, pickwickandfrolic.com. COMEDY
Cool TLC A veteran comic, local hero Cool TLC has worked the Cleveland scene for years now. During that time, he’s shared the stage with national acts such as Eddie Griffin, Bruce Bruce, Snoop Dogg and Patti LaBelle. The rowdy, fast-talking comedian regularly punctuates his
live show with singing and dancing. He performs tonight at 7:30 at the Improv. Tickets are $17. (Niesel) 1148 Main Ave., 216-696-IMPROV, clevelandimprov.com.
FRI
01/04
SPORTS
Cavaliers vs. Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz played so well in the playoffs last year that many experts expected them to be one of the best teams in the Western Conference this year. That hasn’t been the case. The Jazz have really struggled to get wins, though they did return to form against the Golden State Warriors, the defending NBA champs, in a game they played in mid-December. Tonight’s tipoff is at 7:30. Check the Cavs’ site for ticket prices. (Niesel) 1 Center Court, 216-420-2000, theqarena.com. FILM
Death in Venice During November and December of 2017, the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque presented digital restorations or 35-mm prints of five films by the late Italian filmmaker
Luchino Visconti. Since then, a complete Visconti retrospective, put together by Istituto Luce Cinecittà in Rome, has come to North America and is traveling to various museums and cinematheques, including the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque, where it lands this month. Tonight at 7, the Cinematheque will screen Visconti’s Death in Venice, a film about an aging composer who falls in love with a young boy. The movie screens again at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow. Tickets are $12, or $9 for Cinematheque members and students. (Niesel) 11610 Euclid Ave., 216-421-7450, cia.edu. THEATER
Flanagan’s Wake Now in its eighth year in Cleveland, Flanagan’s Wake transports the audience to an Irish wake where villagers tell tales and sing songs for their dearly departed Flanagan. Finding the humor in life and death, the wake acts as a dark backdrop to an otherwise hilarious show in which alcohol fuels the humorous reminiscing. Sort of like a tragic Tony ’n’ Tina’s Wedding, the interactive and improvised show engages the entire audience | clevescene.com | January 2 - 8, 2019
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GET OUT as the guests are treated as the friends and family of the deceased. Tonight’s show starts at 8 and repeats tomorrow night at 8 at Kennedy’s Theatre. Performances continue weekends through April 27. Tickets are $26. (Patrick Stoops) 1501 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
gives him an advantage over other comics. He performs tonight at 7:30 at the Improv, where performances continue through Sunday. Tickets are $25. (Niesel) 1148 Main Ave., 216-696-IMPROV, clevelandimprov.com. FILM
Troubling Love Derived from a novel by My Brilliant
flick). Tickets are $10, or $7 for CMA members. (Niesel) 11150 East Blvd., 216-421-7350, clevelandart.org. FILM
The Vampire Bat Back in the 1930s and ’40s, independent productions flourished on Hollywood’s “Poverty Row,” a strip of Gower Street between Sunset
NIGHTLIFE
Mix: Pop The first Friday of each month, the Cleveland Museum of Art hosts its popular Mix at CMA event. The museum stays open later than normal for the occasion, which features dance, drink and a theme-based program. Tonight’s event celebrates artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist and Claes Oldenburg for the way they “bridged the gap between fine art and pop culture.” There will be specialty cocktails, live music and free admission to the exhibitions. Tickets are $10 in advance, or $15 at the door. CMA members get in for free. The party runs from 6 to 10 p.m. (Niesel) 11150 East Blvd., 216-421-7350, clevelandart.org.
SAT Select Wednesdays
FEBRUARY 13 ROCK & ROLL VALENTINE
Groove to some classic slow jams, test your knowledge of rock’s most notorious couples and take on the Love Hurts Scavenger Hunt.
MARCH 6 ROCK OFF THE RACK Explore some of the coolest fashion pieces in our collection and see how our favorite artists have inspired looks through the decades. Rock star dress code optional!
Greg Morton Back in the early ’90s, comedian Greg Morton worked as an animator on M.C. Hammer’s Hammerman cartoon. While he continued to dabble in cartoons after that, he turned his attention to standup. He’s most famous for his two-minute Star Wars mashup, which he’s likely to perform tonight at 7 and 9:30 at the Hard Rock Rocksino Northfield Park’s Club Velvet. Tickets are $10 to $15. (Niesel) 10777 Northfield Rd., Northfield, 330-908-7793, hrrocksinonorthfieldpark.com.
SPORTS
Monsters vs. Utica Comets The Cleveland Monsters start the new year out with two games against the Utica Comets. Since it’s Family Day, the first 2,500 kids will receive a player’s trading card and a Castaway Bay day pass. You can also feed the family for $6 with one Sugardale hotdog, chips and a drink. Today’s game begins at 1 p.m. at the Q, where the two teams face off again tomorrow at 3 p.m. A post-game skate and an autograph session follows that game, and the “feed the family for $6” applies too. Tickets start at $10. (Niesel) 1 Center Court, 216-420-2000, theqarena.com. FILM
APRIL 3 PUT THE NEEDLE ON THE RECORD
MAY 1 WOODSTOCK
TICKETS $
20 event admission & drink combo ($34 value) In Advance at rockhall.com/nights
COMEDY
20
01/05
from 6 PM to 9 PM
Step inside the exhibits with the Rock Hall crew, grab a drink and bring out your musical fandom.
COMEDY
Aries Spears At the age of 14, comedian Aries Spears found his calling. It wasn’t long before Spears was a principal member of the hit sketch show MADTV — not only as a performer, but as a writer as well. He recorded his double-disc comedy album, I Ain’t Scared, at the famous Icehouse in Pasadena. He has performed on Def Comedy Jam on HBO and Showtime At the Apollo. In addition to his credits as a comedian, Spears has made appearances in several movies, including Home of Angels, Why Do Fools Fall in Love and Jerry Maguire. His sketch comedy and TV experience
restores these rare and endangered works, and this month, the Cleveland Cinematheque will present six of those films in a program dubbed Down & Dirty in Gower Gulch: Poverty Row Films Preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Tonight’s film, The Vampire Bat, centers on a deranged doctor who lives in a town overrun by bodies drained of their blood. It screens tonight at 9:30; it also screens at 5 p.m. tomorrow. Tickets are $11, or $8 for Cinematheque members and students. (Niesel) 11610 Euclid Ave., 216-421-7450, cia.edu.
General Admission Rates at Box Office
FREE admission for Members & CLE VIP (event admission only) presented by
Rocky Horror Picture Show It’s the first Saturday of the month again, so tonight the Cedar Lee Theatre hosts its usual midnight screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the 1975 cult classic that still draws an exuberant, costumed crowd that likes to throw rice and dry toast and sing along to the songs in the movie. In addition, locals act out a floor show that mimics the movie, turning the event into a veritable party. Tickets are $9.75. (Niesel) 2163 Lee Rd., Cleveland Heights, 440-528-0355, clevelandcinemas.com.
1100 Rock and Roll Blvd., Cleveland, OH 44114 • 216-781-ROCK • rockhall.com
SUN Friend author Elena Ferrante, Troubling Love centers on a artist who returns to her native Naples to investigate her mother’s death. The 1995 movie — in Italian, with subtitles — screens tonight at 7 at the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is Part 1 of a two-part Ferrante series (see Sunday for the second
| clevescene.com | January 2 - 8, 2019
Boulevard and the Paramount lot. The companies there produced low-budget genre films that often had “strange, illusive qualities” not found in major studio movies, and they tackled taboo subjects like venereal disease and “medical quackery.” The UCLA Film & Television Archive preserves and
01/06
FILM
Days of Abandonment Based on a novel by Elena Ferrante, Days of Abandonment centers on a wife who struggles to find herself after her husband leaves her for a younger woman. Part 2 of a Ferrante series (see Friday), the movie screens
at 1:30 p.m. today at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Tickets cost $10, or $7 for CMA members. (Niesel) 11150 East Blvd., 216-421-7350, clevelandart.org.
MON
01/07
TRIVIA
Monday Night Trivia Do you have tons of obscure music knowledge? Are you a student of fast food menus and their nuanced histories? What say you about the geographic evolution of Scotch whisky? Tonight’s your chance to wow your friends, make yourself instantly more desirable to someone you’re newly dating, and hang with Cleveland’s headiest hipsters and hot dog lovers. It’s the Happy Dog Monday Night Trivia. Starting at 8 p.m., expect themed rounds and general knowledge questions that seem considerably trickier than some of the other live trivia locales in town. Obviously, have a hot dog and a craft brew while you’re at it. And arrive early: Seats fill up fast. (Sam Allard) 5801 Detroit Ave., 216-651-9474, happydogcleveland.com.
TUE
01/08
SPORTS
Cavaliers vs. Indiana Pacers Last month, the Cavs beat the Indiana Pacers, one of the Eastern Conference’s best teams, thanks to a last second tipin courtesy of forward Larry Nance Jr. The Pacers will probably have that tough loss in mind when they come to the Q tonight to take on the Cavs at 7:30 p.m. If the Cavs do manage to win, it won’t come easy. Check the Cavs’ website for ticket prices. (Niesel) 1 Center Court, 216-420-2000, theqarena.com. MUSIC
Open Turntable Tuesday Tonight from 6 to 9, the Winchester hosts its weekly Open Turntable Tuesday. DJ Kris Koch offers 20-minute slots to people who want to bring their own vinyl and spin their favorite songs or deep tracks. Turntables are provided; you can play three to five songs during your time slot; and a mic is available to talk about the selections. (Niesel) 12112 Madison Ave., Lakewood, 216-600-5338, facebook.com/ TheWinchesterMusicTavern. FILM
FILM
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 3-D movies. (Alaina Nutile) clevelandcinemas.com. NIGHTLIFE
Shit Show Karaoke Local rapper/promoter Dirty Jones and Scene’s own Manny Wallace host Shit Show Karaoke, a weekly event at the B-Side Liquor Lounge wherein patrons choose from “an unlimited selection of jams from hip-hop to hard rock,” and are encouraged to “be as bad as you want.” Fueled by drink and shot specials, it all goes down tonight at 10 p.m. (Niesel) 2785 Euclid Hts. Blvd., Cleveland Heights, 216-932-1966, bsideliquorlounge.com.
Tea with the Dames Dames Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright and Maggie Smith star in Tea with the Dames, a documentary movie which finds the veteran actresses discussing their careers and friendships. The movie also includes archival photographs and film clips. It screens at 1:45 p.m. at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Tickets cost $10, or $7 for CMA members. (Niesel) 11150 East Blvd., 216-421-7350, clevelandart.org. MUSIC
Vinyl Night Jukebox owner Alex Budin has described his music-focused bar in Hingetown as “a place where people can expect to hear and learn about music of multiple genres, all of which is concentrated in a constantly evolving jukebox.” The club hosts a vinyl night every Tuesday, partnering with Loop in Tremont, so patrons can hear a new album on vinyl. You can bring your own vinyl and spin it too. It all starts at 5 p.m. (Niesel) 1404 West 29th St., 216-206-7699, jukeboxcle.com. WJW.CLEVELAND
scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene
| clevescene.com | January 2 - 8, 2019
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STAGE MY FAREWELL COLUMN On leaving my post as theater critic, and my next adventure By Christine Howey DEAR READERS, I have happy and sad news. My two-decade tenure as a theater critic — for Scene and for my blog Rave and Pan — has come to an end. I have accepted the challenging and important position of executive director of Literary Cleveland. (More about that below.) I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the editor of Scene, Vince Grzegorek, my previous editors, and all the staff members for their unwavering support over the years. As I leave this particular stage of mine, I’d like to share some of my thoughts, both positive and negative, that have occurred to me over the years. It’s not easy to select, since I’ve written, on average, two or three full reviews every week for almost 20 years. That amounts to more than 100 reviews a year, for a career total exceeding 2,000. So, for handy reference, I have divided my parting musings into three categories: Pet Peeves, a Lethal Pan?, and Glorious Raves PET PEEVE ABOUT CRITICS The “Oh, Aren’t I Clever!” Critic I hate it when a critic tries to demonstrate how deft they are with wordplay, trying to show off their questionable writing ability. For instance, if a play involves a certain topic, a critic might be tempted to employ lots of puns about and references to that topic. I parodied this syndrome years ago in my review of the car-centric play Autobahn by Neil LaBute. “In Autobahn, playwrightdriver LaBute doesn’t buckle his seatbelt of authorial restraint inside this hard-to-control vehicle, so that after side-swiping logic and T-boning credibility, his theatrical hopes crash through the windshield of self-indulgence, leaving his outlaw reputation bleeding on the pavement of overly condensed inanity.” In short, don’t do that. Please. PET PEEVE ABOUT THEATERGOERS The Hard Candy Problem Once the play starts, don’t open that piece of hard candy! Ever! There are live actors on stage,
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performing for you. You’re not in a movie theater watching filmed actors with 20-foot-tall speakers booming ear-shattering sound effects. Respect the space you’re sharing with artists who are working their asses off to entertain you. My feelings on this topic are best expressed in a poem I wrote, titled “Crinkle.” Here is an excerpt: She unfolds a hard candy wrapper with the patience of a bomb demolition expert, exposing just the next small plastic fold, its tiny wrinkle-crinkle now mocking me and my impotence to stop it. And on it goes, crinkle after hellacious crinkle. I lean forward to make visual contact, to embarrass her. But she is absorbed in the play — oblivious! —her wrinkle-undoing crinkle fingers operating independently of her small, nut-sized brain. Each ensuing crinkle now erupts like a small glass explosion in my head, leaving shards that cut and bleed. So if you see me in a theater, and you have hard candy that has not been thoughtfully unwrapped and then re-wrapped beforehand in a cotton handkerchief, be advised. I know who you are, I am filled with dread intent, and I will take action. The crinkle …stops here! PET PEEVE ABOUT THEATERS If You Sell Snacks in Plastic Bags Empty the contents of the justpurchased snack bag or candy bar into a paper towel, gather the four corners of the towel, and hand that to the hungry patron. Sure, we’ll probably hear the dreaded Dorito crunch from a few seats away, but at least we will be spared the Crinkles from Hell. LETHAL PAN? No, I Didn’t Kill a Theater with My Review All critics find the need to write negative reviews. It comes with the territory. However, I didn’t intend to shut down a theater with a review. Really, I didn’t. It was purely coincidental that, after my review appeared a dozen years ago, a local theater company
| clevescene.com | January 2 - 8, 2019
Photo courtesy of the author
called Fourth Wall Productions not only cancelled the play in question, the theater itself went out of existence. That review included observations such as: “Billed as a satire, the script is sophomoric, pedantic, and numbingly repetitive. And those are its strong points … “If there’s a microbe of an idea in here, it is methodically flattened by the playwright’s inability to create a single believable scene … The director seems as much at sea as the playwright, allowing his actors to yammer with a complete absence of pace, as if this were their first off-book rehearsal … Sadly, the performers don’t do much to enliven this walking coma.” And I concluded with, “This errant effort makes one wish that the company’s name were literal — that there really were a fourth wall, preferably 3 feet thick and soundproof, separating the stage from the defenseless audience.” Hey, everybody’s got an opinion. And over the years a multitude of mine were …
GLORIOUS RAVES Of Plays that Were So Great, They Could Change Your Life So thank you! to Dobama, Cleveland Public Theatre, Cleveland Play House, Playhouse Square, None Too Fragile, Blank Canvas, Beck Center, Cesear’s Forum, Ensemble, Porthouse, Mercury, ConvergenceContinuum, CleveShakes, Cain Park, Great Lakes, Ohio Shakespeare Fest, Lakeland, Oberlin, Baldwin Wallace, New World Performance Lab, and others. We live in a rich and bounteous theater area, so go out and enjoy it all! I know I will. And by the way, I invite you to become a member, a donor, or a participant in the programs of Literary Cleveland. That’s where I will now be spending my days happily immersed in supporting, encouraging and motivating local writers and readers. For more information, visit litcleveland.org. See you there!
scene@clevescene.com t@christinehowey
MOVIES ON LOAN FROM ROME The Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque hosts a series featuring Luchino Visconti’s films By Jeff Niesel DURING NOVEMBER and December of 2017, the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque presented digital restorations or 35-mm prints of five films by the late Italian filmmaker Luchino Visconti. Since then, a complete Visconti retrospective, put together by Istituto Luce Cinecittà in Rome, has come to North America and is traveling to various museums and cinematheques, including the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque, where it’ll land this week. “I always wanted to show his films, but I realized that a lot of them are exceedingly long and that it’d be tough to cram them into a twomonth calendar and still show other things too,” explains Cinematheque director John Ewing. “After we showed those films last year, I got the Harvard Film Archives schedule and saw this series that this outfit from Rome, a quasigovernment agency, was bringing back to the U.S. The Harvard Film Archives were doing the whole thing. I looked at the schedule and saw an opportunity for us to get in and sent an email to Rome. We’re showing two of his best films, The Leopard and Death in Venice, which we did not show in the previous series. It came together nicely, and the timing was right.” The Cinematheque will also
Photo courtesy of the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque
A scene from Luchino Visconti’s Death in Venice.
screen The Stranger, Visconti’s film based upon the famous Albert Camus book. It took an extra bit of effort to get that movie onto the schedule. “The Stranger isn’t supposed to be one of his best films, but it’s been on my bucket list,” says Ewing. “It’s been nearly impossible to get. We had to get permission from the Camus estate. I thought that would be a sticking point, but lo and behold, we got it. The Film Archives at Berkeley had a sold-out screening of the movie, and they’re thinking of
bringing it back. I don’t know how many places are showing it. To me, that was one of the ones that I was proudest to get.” The retrospective includes important Visconti rarities that aren’t distributed in the U.S. as well as some of his most famous works. The eight films included in the series, dubbed Encore! The Operatic Films of Luchino Visconti, span the neo-realist era, which Visconti helped to launch, and include the “overstuffed, all-star, international
co-productions” that flourished in Italy after WWII. The series kicks off on Friday with a screening of 1971’s Death in Venice and concludes on Feb. 23 with a screening of The Innocent, which is currently unavailable in the States. Consult the Cinematheque website, cia.edu/cinematheque, for a full schedule.
jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel
SPOTLIGHT: IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK WRITER-DIRECTOR BARRY Jenkins virtually came out of nowhere to win an Oscar for 2016’s Moonlight, a beautiful coming-of-age and coming-out film about a young black man raised by a crack addict mother. With his new film, If Beale Street Could Talk, an equally evocative movie based on a James Baldwin novel, Jenkins proves his Oscar win was no fluke. The film opens on Friday at the Cedar Lee Theatre. Set in 1970s Harlem, the movie centers on Tish (KiKi Layne), a young black woman who tries to prove that her incarcerated husband Fonny (Stephan James), a talented
sculptor and woodworker, is innocent. A racist cop (Ed Skrein) has put Fonny in prison for the rape of a Puerto Rican woman, but the evidence suggests the cop has framed Fonny for the crime. Pregnant, Tish hires a lawyer to try to get Fonny exonerated. Her mother Sharon (Regina King), her father Joseph (Colman Domingo) and her particularly assertive sister Ernestine (Teyonah Parris) all support her. The film proceeds at a slow pace, but when moments of high drama do take place, they really resonate. In one particularly heated exchange, Tish’s parents get in the face of Fonny’s mother (Aunjanue Ellis) when
she tries to blame Tish for Fonny’s troubles. Fonny’s sisters (Ebony Obsidian and Dominique Thorne) enter the fray as well. However, they prove no match for Ernestine, who verbally beats them into submission. And in another scene, Tish’s mother confronts the Puerto Rican woman who has accused Fonny of rape and begs her to drop the case. A commentary on racism in America, the film never becomes didactic or preachy because it centers on the personal, more than the political, side of the problem. The movie features terrific performances by its entire cast, and cinematographer James Laxton, who explicitly references New
York street photographers from the era, makes the movie shine. The first English-language feature adaptation of Baldwin’s novel, this film suggests just how timeless the themes found in the novel truly are. Chosen by both the National Board of Review and American Film Institute as one of the Top 10 films of the year, the film has rightly received several Golden Globe nominations and stands to be in the running for an Oscar too. — Jeff Niesel
jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel
| clevescene.com | January 2 - 8, 2019
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| clevescene.com | January 2 - 8, 2019
13603 Madison Ave. Lakewood, Ohio. 440.799.8343
EAT DRAWING OUT THE REGULARS Recently opened Distill Table is already bustling in Lakewood, but it could improve on menu and ingredient choices By Douglas Trattner Photo by Emanuel Wallace
BY THE TIME OF OUR SECOND visit to Distill Table, we were wise enough to make reservations. If we learned anything from our first encounter with this 4-month-old Lakewood restaurant, it is that spare seats at prime time can be harder to come by than local produce at the West Side Market. The space feels more compressed than the billed 75 seats, which has the effect of intensifying the energy in the way that pressure can transform matter into gemstones. Given that a majority of the seats are divvied up between the lengthy bar, a chef’s counter and communal high-tops, the restaurant functions more like a spirited gastropub than a dressed-down bistro. Also, it means that only those fortunate few diners seated at the banquette will be truly comfortable; the rest of us are compelled to make do with unforgiving backless wooden stools. If it feels as though Distill materialized out of thin air, that’s because essentially it did. The building it resides in did not exist two years ago; it’s a new appendage to the 100-year-old Fridrich building that now houses Western Reserve Distillers. When owners Kevin and Ann Thomas went looking for an operator who shared their farm-to-table — or in their case, grain-to-glass — sensibilities to run the adjoining restaurant, they landed on chef Eddie Tancredi. The homegrown Tancredi got off to an early start and has yet to slow down. His work at Adega at The 9 demonstrated a knack for technique, honed from years of working in top-notch kitchens around the globe, including the Michelin-starred Fat Duck in London. But fear not, Distill has no ambitions of becoming a temple of gastronomy. “When I was younger, I wanted to be a Michelin-starred chef, but now I want nothing to do with that,” says the 36-year-old chef. “I want regulars who come in two times a week. You can still have good food without being fine-dining.” Distill operates off an all-day menu that is slightly inscrutable in design. Various categories of foodstuffs are sprinkled across the plank-mounted broadsheet. In this corner are the
antipasti, over here are Neapolitanstyle pizzas, and down there are the “Crispy Cravings.” Items like these and the cheese, meat and smoked fish boards are built for sharing. We did just that with tin cups filled with shatter-crisp, spice-dusted pork rinds ($7), honey-drizzled Brussels sprouts ($9) atop ricotta-slicked toasts, and large orbs of fried mozzarella ($9) that wept melted cheese into cream-kissed tomato sauce when sliced.
Beefy and delicious Ohio burgers ($12), made from steer that snacked on spent grain from the adjacent distillery, are a literal taste of what’s to come from West Salem’s Twin Parks Farms. Down the road, that local farm will be supplying pork raised on those same distillation byproducts, which will trickle down to the in-house charcuterie program. Distill’s “Neapolitan-style” pizzas are better than many of the versions
DISTILL TABLE 14221 MADISON AVE., LAKEWOOD 216-505-5188 DISTILLTABLE.COM
It’s commendable that the kitchen goes all-in on local when it comes to the build-your-own cheese boards, but surly there are more exciting Ohio selections than Miceli’s ricotta and mozzarella, which gobble up two out of five spots. We adore Yellow House products, but the manchego ($8) on our plate was hard, dry and unyielding, likely due to improper storage. We also can’t get behind the house-smoked shrimp ($8), three limp eels with the texture of raw shrimp and a harsh smoke flavor.
served at non-traditional pizza shops, with pleasantly thin crusts that are light on complex flavors and heavy on the cheese. One night we enjoyed the aptly named Plain Jane ($14), on another, the fungi ($15), a tasty pie shellacked with cheese, dotted with roasted shrooms, and sprinkled with fresh parsley. “There’s a lot of repetition here,” noted a companion. Indeed, the table was nearly buried by spice-dusted curly fries, which served as a base for egg-topped poutine ($11), a plate-
partner to grilled, sliced sirloin ($23), and sides to two separate sandwiches. Two of the five entrees are nearly identical pasta dishes comprised of fat tubes of al dente noodles covered in sauce, gilded with shavings of Parmesan, and paired with pale, thin slices of bread that were not toasted, let alone grilled as advertised (the bread on the cheese board was equally wan). Meat-lovers should go with the Sunday Sauce ($20), a zesty braise of beef, sausage and pork shoulder. The Bolognese ($19) is still meaty, but it’s lightened up with a splash of cream to a blushy hue. In putting together its all-Ohio wine list, Distill overlooks many quality producers by hitching its wagon to just two local wineries, one of which imports its fruit. The beer program does a much better job showcasing multiple breweries from across the region. Better still is the cocktail program, which is fueled by the booze produced next door. Gin fizz fans will adore the Dead Man’s Curve ($12), a festive, frothy and fruity punch that will keep you coming back for more.
dtrattner@clevescene.com t@dougtrattner
| clevescene.com | January 2 - 8, 2019
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| clevescene.com | January 2 - 8, 2019
Photo courtesy of Yase Smallens, Annie Fidoten and Ulloa Photo & Video Center
N PREHYSTERIA, THE FORTHCOMING followup to its debut album, Jurassic Punk, the New York-based indie rock act T-Rextasy lets its freak flag fly. The band — singer Lyris Faron, bassist Annie Fidoten, drummer Ebun Nazon-Power and guitarist Vera Kahn — writes about serious topics such as anxiety and peer pressure but in a jubilant manner. The catchy, lo-fi album opener “Zit Song” features caterwauling vocals and a spirited brass section. With its primitive horns, snarling vocals and blasts of white noise, “Coffee” sounds like a unhinged mashup of Cake and X-Ray Spex. During a recent conference call, Faron, Fidoten and Nazon-Power spoke about the album and how the band’s live show has evolved. The band performs with Marcia Custer and Heavenly Creatures at 8 p.m. on Friday at the Beachland Tavern. Where did you grow up and what kind of music did you listen to when you were growing up? Faron: I’m from New York City. I listened to the Ramones and the Kinks and the Velvet
Underground, Blondie, Talking Heads, Dusty Springfield. Those are my bands as a kid. I’ve listened to lots more music since then, but those left a deep impression on me. I also really like the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs. I don’t know if I always wanted to sing, but I was always interested in songwriting and performing. Nazon-Power: I grew up in New York City too. I feel like growing up as a kid, I didn’t really listen to a lot of bands. I wasn’t always exposed to rock ’n’ roll or punk rock. The music my parents listened to was the music I listened to — Lauryn Hill, Mos Def, Fela Kuti, Biggie and old-school hip-hop and rap and R&B and opera and Caribbean music. I didn’t always intend to play the drums. I went to a camp in New York for girls. I had never played drums before, but I learned how to play there. How did the band first come together? Faron: We were all in high school in New York and there was a great music scene there, and a lot of kids were in bands. But there weren’t that many women in these bands. I decided to recruit the coolest girls I knew. We joined forces during
our senior year of high school. It’s funny because there was this teen scene. Kids played at places that weren’t really venues. We played at a place that was actually a preschool. They would have shows and hand out candy and water bottles instead of selling beer. People had shows at their high schools. I saw Ebun and our original guitarist because I saw them play at their high school. I thought they were so cool. What was it like to make Jurassic Punk? Faron: I realized recently, thinking about this new album, that our first album just fell into our laps. It all happened in like five minutes. The recording process happened in three days and came naturally. It all just happened so fast, a little too fast I think. What was it like to cut this album? Faron: This album was like pulling teeth. We all live in different places. With the first album, we’d have practice every Friday and recount the tales of high school. Now, we’re scattered across the states. It was really hard. There were so many obstacles that I |can’t even begin to recount. That’s | clevescene.com
January 2 - 8, 2019
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okay. Sometimes art is difficult, and you learn. The tapes came in the mail two days ago, and I held them in my hands and started weeping. I thought, “This feels so much more rewarding than the other album.” I don’t know that I ever felt that moment holding those tapes from the first album.
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Graham Nash
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Hard Day’s Night
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Sat. Feb 23
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Stephen Bishop & Robbie Dupree
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Sat Mar 2
Tue. Mar 5
Lonesome Traveler w/Peter Yarrow
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Fri Mar. 22
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Did something specific inspire the album’s theme? Nazon-Power: I feel like I wasn’t thinking about that when I was making the album. It’s more after the fact. For me, I connect with that concept for the album because we are crazy and hysterical and that’s super awesome. To get anything done in this world, you have to be crazy. Oftentimes, women and people on the margins are deemed hysterical. That’s my idea about the word “prehysteria.” Fidoten: I agree. It took the entire fight out of us to make this record. We realized we weren’t these teenagers any more who got scooped up and thrown into the world of music. Suddenly, we’re these women and we’re becoming adults. We’re learning so much more about who we are, and the more seriously we started taking ourselves, people who championed us unconditionally have thrown
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| clevescene.com | January 2 - 8, 2019
I like the use of horns on the song. What inspired that decision? Faron: It was Vera’s idea. She wrote the parts and conducted our horn players. It was a big challenge for her. I didn’t hear about this until later, but she called Annie [Fidoten] on the phone one night and was crying. She thought she couldn’t do it, but she totally could do it and did do it, and she did a great job.
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things at us that we take ourselves too seriously. This album is about nostalgia and isolation and growing up and identities. It’s also about coming together and throwing out this “fuck you” to anybody who has any opinion about how we conduct ourselves. Enough of that. On with the madness. Faron: This had never occurred to me before but I had heard before that the way we naturally make music and shriek is grating and irritating. It’s us shrieking in these high-pitched voices and taking up a lot of sonic space. I think it’s part of the “prehysteria.” You can hear the ideas in the music. Fidoten: We have this song where we self-mythologize and self-reference ourselves. Faron: I guess I’m realizing that this record is pretty meta. We had to be territorial to create it and we had to stick by our ideas.
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Fidoten: When I wrote the lyrics to that song, I had the idea and then thought about it for six months. Lyris [Faron] has this problem but her skin looks glowing right now. I went to college and thought I would be so hot and lose my zits. I associated one with the other and was going through this hard time of coming into myself and learning who I was. I thought, “Dammit. If only there was some world where I couldn’t think of beauty as opposition and just accept the acne.” I sound like a high-schooler on the song. That’s the space from which that song came out. Faron: I don’t have that much to add except that the idea that once you get older, you stop having acne is libel. It’s a fabrication. That’s why I have to say. Nazon-Power: I have nothing to say about it because I have great skin.
What made you want to write a song about zits?
Talk about what the live show will be like? Fidoten: We have a whole new repertoire. We’ve turned sound into porn in the words of Lyris [Faron]. Faron: Yes, I would say that. Fidoten: We’ve always put on a really great live show. We love to dance and put on a show. Lyris is a wonderful frontwoman. Ebun [Nazon-Power] has the most electric energy. The songs feel more new and relevant to us and they’ve inspired us to put together a live show that has bits and dances. It’s really exciting because we get to bring something special. We started taking bows at the end because it does feel like we’re putting on a play. There’s a theatricality to it. It’s one of the things that makes me happiest to do in all the world.
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| clevescene.com m | January J nuary 2 - 8, Ja 8 2019 201 0199
LIVEWIRE
all the live music you should see this week Photo courtesy of ShockInk
WED
01/02
10x3 Singer/Songwriter Showcase hosted by Brent Kirby (in the Wine Bar): 8 p.m. Brothers Lounge. Crime of Passing/Two Hand Fools/ N6664: 9 p.m., $5. Now That’s Class. Distracted/Mood Bored/Rule of Young/Soundproof: 8 p.m., $6. Grog Shop. Remember Sports/Trace Mountains/ Sedna’s Not Alone: 8 p.m., $10 ADV, $12 DOS. Beachland Tavern.
THU
01/03
Cholly/Coup de Grace/C-Level/ Balanced Breakfast: 8:30 p.m., free. Grog Shop. Fat Night/Wesley Bright and the Honeytones: A shared love of funk and soul music led the members of Fat Night to start jamming together in a backyard shed. That led to the release of the band’s 2013 debut single, “Things You Do,” a tender R&B number with cooing vocals and a trippy guitar riff. The band moved to Chicago in late 2016 and released its newest single, “Honest Man,” in early 2017. A new full-length album is in the works. Be sure to arrive early to see opener Wesley Bright and his dynamic backing band, the Honeytones. (Jeff Niesel) 8 p.m., $10 ADV, $12 DOS. Mahall’s 20 Lanes. The Fred Eaglesmith Show Featuring Tif Ginn: Often compared to the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Steve Earle and Bob Dylan, veteran singer-songwriter Fred Eaglesmith started writing songs and playing guitar when he was a teenager. At the time he recorded his 1980 debut album, he worked as a high-pressure washer. He’d work all day and then record his album at night. Daniel Lanois, an up-and-coming studio engineer who’d go on to work with U2, tracked the disc. Eaglesmith has been at it ever since, and his latest album, 2017’s Standard, emphasizes his storytelling skills. He shares the stage tonight with Tif Ginn, his talented singer-songwriter wife. (Niesel) 8 p.m., $20 ADV, $22 DOS. Beachland Tavern. Chris Hatton’s Musical Circus (in the Wine Bar): 8 p.m., free. Brothers Lounge. Jam Night with the Bad Boys of Blues: 9 p.m., free. Brothers Lounge. Amy Miller: 8 p.m., $5-$10. The Winchester.
Fred Eaglesmith and his wife Tif Ginn will perform at the Beachland. See: Thursday.
Nomad/Malik X/RomanGov/Ben P: 8 p.m., $7. CODA.
FRI
01/04
DJ LDC’s Soul Music & Other Music for the Soul: 6 p.m., free. Happy Dog. Travis “Moonchild” Haddix: A staple in the Cleveland blues scene — and in the American music circuit writ large — Travis “Moonchild” Haddix has always brought the heat to the stage. He also surrounds himself with great musicians — like a tight, tight brass section. He excels at offering a steady merger of classic blues structures with smooth R&Bstyle singing. He makes the blues accessible to anyone willing to listen and, inevitably, dance. And what with playing guitar since he was 7, the dude can tear it up. He once told a music writer, “I am the best that I can be, and since no one else can be me, there’s none better.” Right on. (Eric Sandy) 8:30 p.m., $15. Nighttown. Holiday Hangover with Tricky Dick & the Cover-Ups/Old Skool/Pop Fiction/Sparky B: 8 p.m., $13 ADV, $15 DOS. House of Blues. Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials (in the Supper Club): Lil’ Ed Williams might play the blues, but he steers clear of cliches about being broke and desperate. Rather, the guy revels in letting the good times roll. For the bulk of his career, which started in 1986 with his debut Roughhousin’, Williams has embraced blues’ rowdy, roadhouse side. A 2012 effort, Jump Start
kicks off with “If You Were Mine,” a high-octane number for which Williams cranks up his guitar; and he indulges in a little Stevie Ray Vaughan-like blues on “Kick Me to the Curb.” (Niesel) 8 p.m., $12 ADV, $15 DOS. Music Box Supper Club. Moonbeau/Summer School/Jaite (in the Locker Room): 8:30 p.m., $6 ADV, $8 DOS. Mahall’s 20 Lanes. Nah Nah/Open Spaces/Alyssa Boyd Trio/The Robin Blake Sound Experiment: 8 p.m., $5-$10. The Winchester. Noon/The Bush Administration/Meg and the Magnetosphere/Micah Foster: 9 p.m., $5. Happy Dog. Obnox/Smoke Noises/Peachcurls/ Red Rose Panic, Meow-Xacakt: 9 p.m., free. Grog Shop. RailShakers: 9:30 p.m., $5. Brothers Lounge. The Rosies/Roid Rage: 8 p.m., $5. CODA. T-Rextasy/Marcia Custer/Heavenly Creatures: 8:30 p.m., $12. Beachland Tavern. Uptight Sugar/Vinyl Wings/The Ballroom Charades/Mood Bored: 8 p.m., $10. Mahall’s 20 Lanes. Jackie Warren: 10:30 p.m., free. Nighttown.
SAT
01/05
Blossom Reynolds/Mike Renegade/ Grain/Tuxent/Buck Russell/ Sostealth (in the Locker Room): 8 p.m., $8. Mahall’s 20 Lanes. Moises Borges & Friends: 8:30 p.m., $15. Nighttown. The Clayton Brothers: 8 p.m., $5. CODA.
Cleveland Rocks: Past, Present, Future Benefit & Post Holiday Party with Cats On Holiday: 8 p.m., $20-$25. Beachland Ballroom. LO-Pan/Rebreather/We Live By Night/Goosed: 9 p.m., free. Grog Shop. Moody Blues Tribute by Time Traveller: 7:30 p.m., $15 ADV, $20 DOS. Music Box Supper Club. Rebeat Presents Tommy: 9:30 p.m., $5. Brothers Lounge. Maura Rogers & the Bellows (in the Supper Club): 8 p.m., $8. Music Box Supper Club. The Tufted Puffins’ Tuft Daddy’s Decrepi-Palooza! with MethMatics/ Rainy Day Saints Featuring Dave Atkins: 9 p.m., $8. Beachland Tavern. Under the Bridge: 8 p.m., $5-$8. The Winchester. Jackie Warren: 10:30 p.m., free. Nighttown. Wish You Were Here: 9 p.m., $18.50 ADV, $21 DOS. House of Blues. Steven Wright/Listen Little Man/ Toby: 9 p.m., $5. Happy Dog.
SUN
01/06
The Bralettes/Acid Carousel: 9 p.m., $5. Now That’s Class. Brent Kirby/Braxton Taylor/Alyssa Boyd/Michelle Gaw: 8:30 p.m., free. Grog Shop. The Lustre Kings/David Loy & the Ramrods: 7 p.m., $10 ADV, $12 DOS. Beachland Tavern. No Thank You/Curtail/Uncle Buck/ Drag Daze (in the Locker Room): 7 p.m., $8. Mahall’s 20 Lanes. Mike Petrone (Piano Sing-Along): 5:30 p.m., free. Brothers Lounge. Martin Sexton/Chris Trapper: 7 p.m., $30 ADV, $35 DOS. Music Box Supper Club.
MON
01/07
Bleeders: 9 p.m., $5. Now That’s Class. Skatch Anderssen Orchestra: 8 p.m., $7. Brothers Lounge. Velvet Voyage (in the Wine Bar): 8 p.m. Brothers Lounge.
TUE
01/08
William Fitzsimmons/Jim and Sam: 8 p.m., $20-$30. The Winchester.
scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene
| clevescene.com | January 2 - 8, 2019
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| clevescene.com | January 2 - 8, 2019
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| clevescene.com m | January 2 - 8, 2019
35
BAND OF THE WEEK LUX TERMINUS By Jeff Niesel
NO COVER
NEW!
JANUARY 4, 5, 11, 17, 24 & 31
MEET THE BAND: Vikram Shankar (piano, keyboards and orchestrations), Matthew Kerschner (drums and percussion), Brian Craft (bass) A CULMINATION OF INFLUENCES: Kerschner,
Hosted by
HAPPY HOUR 5-7PM
MICHELLE GAW
THURSDAY, JANUARY 10TH Doors @ 5PM | OPEN MIC Performers @ 8PM Keep an eye out for more Open Mic Nights happening on Thursdays by visiting our website & social media www.stellasmusic.com | @stellasmusic
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Shankar and Craft have played in local bands for the past decade, and the three played together in the local band Gravity from 2006 to 2014. “We took a break in 2014, so people could do other projects,” says Kerschner. “I went to law school, and another member went to grad school.” The three stayed in touch and then formed Lux Terminus two years ago. “Our initial plan was to be more of a jazz cocktail trio and play some gigs in restaurants,” says Kerschner. “We started working on original music together, and it turned into the same instrumental vibe that Gravity had.” A CONCEPTUAL ALBUM: The band’s bio
explains the album’s central theme. It’s about two lovers, driven apart by forces beyond their control. “Vikram [Shankar] is the primary songwriter in the band,” says Kerschner. “He was in a long-distance relationship with his girlfriend. They’re no longer in a long-distance relationship, but through the instrumental music, he was trying to convey the emotions of that whole experience.”
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36
| clevescene.com | January 2 - 8, 2019
Songs such as the careening “Electrocommunion” combine prog rock with jazz, and “The Journey (III)” features a gentle piano melody like something from a suspense film soundtrack. The band tracked drums with Jim Stewart, but because Vikram has his own studio, he recorded his keyboards and the bass there. WHERE YOU CAN HEAR THEM: facebook.
com/luxterminus WHERE YOU CAN SEE THEM: Lux Terminus performs with Imminent Sonic Destruction, Lower 13 and EGO at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 4, at the Foundry in Lakewood.
jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel
ADVERTISE WITH SCENE. Call 216-241-7550 for more information.
SAVAGE LOVE LOST KINKSTER By Dan Savage I’m a 19-year-old bisexual woman really into orgasm denial and edging. With the recent Tumblr ban on all NSFW content, I have no idea where to indulge my kinks and find my community. I’ve never needed to go anywhere else to find porn, explore my sexuality, and be surrounded by supportive people — and now I’m at a loss. Clearly I’ve been spoiled by all the easily found porn made by women, for women on Tumblr. Hell, I’m used to it being made by bisexuals, for bisexuals. I feel like I’m 15 again, desperately scouring the internet for anything that applies to me. Please tell me where I can find my porn! — Missing My Porn Community P.S. You wrote about how this ban harms sex workers, Dan, but please write about how it harms queer and kinky people, too! “Many people are scrambling to relocate their fetish communities in the wake of Tumblr’s ban on ‘adult content,’” said Alexander Cheves, a queer writer who lives in New York City. “Porn is more than hot videos — porn creates communities. I wouldn’t know half the gross stuff I’m into if it weren’t for Tumblr!” Luckily, MMPC, the men and women who created and/or curated the content that spoke to you and affirmed your identity didn’t evaporate on Dec. 17, the day Tumblr’s porn ban went into effect. Many have taken their clips, captions, GIFs, and erotic imaginations to other platforms and some are creating new platforms. “MMPC should devote some time to scouring Twitter for bisexual women into orgasm denial and edging, some of whom may be uploading their original content to platforms like Just For Fans,” said Cheves. “The creators of JFF are right now working on a more Tumblr-like socialmedia extension to their site. Other startups like Slixa or ShareSomeCome and social platforms like Switter have emerged in the wake of this crackdown. These are corners of the internet where MMPC can find her porn.” Cheves wrote a terrific piece for Out that connects the dots between Tumblr’s ban on porn and the antisex, anti-porn, anti-sex-work, and anti-queer crackdown that was already under way on other platforms
(“The Dangerous Trend of LGBTQ Censorship on the Internet,” Dec. 6, 2018). While there’s still tons of porn on the internet, the crackdown on explicit content on social-media platforms is fucking over vulnerable queers. As Eric Leue, executive director of the Free Speech Coalition, told Cheves: “For those in queer, or niche, or fetish communities, Tumblr was one of the few accessible spaces to build communities and share content.” And as long as sex-education programs don’t cover queer sex or kinky sex — and there’s no sign of improvement in either area — LGBTQ youth and young people with kinks will continue to get their sexual education on the internet. And the harder it is to access explicit content, the harder it’s going to be for young queers to find the education they need to protect themselves. “More youth will get hurt and more will get HIV thanks to Tumblr’s content ban,” said Cheves. “That’s not scaremongering — that will happen. Case in point: I grew up in a fiercely religious home in the middle of Georgia with dial-up and a pretty intense parental blocker. I couldn’t access porn — I couldn’t even access articles with sexual illustrations, including sexual health illustrations. When I went to college in 2010, I knew absolutely nothing about HIV and nothing about my community. It’s no wonder that I tested positive at 21.” While Cheves writes professionally today — you can find his advice column in the Advocate and his byline in other publications — he still updates and posts new content to thebeastlyexboyfriend.com, his original queer sex blog. “Sites like my blog are needed now more than ever,” said Cheves. “If MMPC wants to help her community survive, she may no longer have the option of being a passive consumer — she might have to start a website or blog, wave a digital flag, and find others. The internet is so massive that censorship will never be able to keep people with niche fetishes from congregating, digitally or otherwise. It’s just going to be a little harder to find each other.”
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