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*5,9 s 6/,5-% .O 01 Dedicated to Free Times founder Richard H. Siegel (1935-1993) and Scene founder Richard Kabat Group Publisher Chris Keating
CONTENTS
Publisher Andrew Zelman
Upfront
Associate Publisher Angela Lott Editor Vince Grzegorek Editorial Managing Editor Eric Sandy Music Editor Jeff Niesel Senior Writer Sam Allard Staff Writer Brett Zelman Writer-at-large Kyle Swenson Web Editor Laura Morrison Dining Editor Douglas Trattner Stage Editor Christine Howey Visual Arts Writers Josh Usmani, Dott von Schneider Copy Editor Elaine Cicora Interns Daniela Cacho, Julie Ciotola, Kirby Davis, Colton Faull, Adrian Leuthauser, Lawrence Neil Advertising Senior Multimedia Account Executive John Crobar, Shayne Rose Multimedia Account Executive Kiara Davis, Andrew Newsome
Feature
16
Mayor Frank Jackson’s ritzy fundraiser draws protests as campaign gets under way
All the best things to do this week in Cleveland
Business Sales Assistant/Receptionist Megan Stimac Controller Kristy Dotson
Art
Circulation Circulation Director Don Kriss Euclid Media Group Chief Executive Offi cer Andrew Zelman Chief Operating Offi cers Chris Keating, Michael Wagner Human Resources Director Lisa Beilstein Digital Operations Coordinator Jaime Monzon VP of Digital Services Stacy Volhein www.euclidmediagroup.com
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A trip to Tijuana and foreboding science fiction in Corrie Slawson’s exhibit at Shaheen Modern and Contemporary
Stage
27
The seeds of rage bloom with menace in An Impending Rupture of the Belly
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Film
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The Big Sick is a heartwarming love story
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Violent summer begins with shootout in Glenville, health care debate draws onward in Washington and Columbus
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UPFRONT SUMMER BEGINS WITH SHOOTOUT AT GLENVILLE FOOTBALL TEAM PRACTICE
THIS WEEK
IN EARLY JUNE, PLAIN DEALER reporter Rachel Dissell published an important story that touches the very nerve of what it’s like to live in one Cleveland, while at the same time another Cleveland debated just how quickly we ought to shuffle tax revenue from the city’s general fund into a sprawling sports arena renovation job. In Dissell’s story, there’s nothing glitzy on the horizon for Cleveland. Dissell’s headline — “Will it be a hot, dangerous summer? Some Cleveland teens worry, ‘There’s going to be a lot of killing’” — signaled the very real fears of a city grappling with rising homicide rates and ongoing gang warfare in many neighborhoods. “It’s going to be hectic this summer,” Dre, a 16-yearold sophomore, told Dissell. “There’s going to be a lot of killing.” There already has been. And, even short of the all-out specter of murder, shootings take on a clockwork rhythm as the summer settles in. Just hours before writing this, on the morning of June 29, we learned that a 24-year-old woman was shot on Holborn Avenue, in the East 120s. An 18-year-old man was shot on Grovewood Avenue, in North Collinwood. It’s one of the primary problems in Cleveland: Gunfire crackles like July Fourth fireworks, and children are raised to know its proximity. On June 21, a high school football team was practicing under the eye of coach Ted Ginn Sr. at Robert “Bump” Taylor Field in Glenville. The football field is one of five that the Cleveland Browns Foundation revamped with synthetic turf and a scoreboard last year. The point of the project was to give back to the city, to support the youth, to “unify local communities.” It was terribly on cue: The
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Photo by Emanuel Wallace
Coach Ted Ginn Sr. urges involvement in his neighborhood
solstice was slowly drifting into a bright, sunny evening. Summer had arrived, and with it came a barrage of bullets on Thornhill Drive, adjacent to the field. Alanda Sales-Clark was watching her son on the field. Her sister had joined her. When the explosive gunshots popped across the parking lot, they dropped to the ground. “Shots rang out. It was like the wild, wild West,” she recalls. “Anywhere between 10 and 15 rounds were let off. Shots fired and returned. It was like a scene out of a horror movie.” One of the guys involved in the shooting ran past Sales-Clark, tearing through the parking lot and fleeing into the neighborhood. The whole thing
happened in an instant. No one called 911. Sales-Clark’s son ran off the field, dashing into the car with his mother and aunt before zooming out of there. In the week that followed, he hasn’t been at practice. The team continued, but he’s not the only boy to have taken a moment to steer clear of the scene. Ginn’s leadership and reputation in the community are unparalleled, and now he once again finds himself in at the nexus of events shaping young men’s lives in Cleveland. With the Bump Taylor shootout as an unfortunate platform, he joins vocal leaders from around the city in calling for a new, more engaged environment as violence creeps steadily around every street
corner. Sales-Clark, who also works at Ginn Academy, is organizing a response before the fears described in Dissell’s early summer story are realized en masse. “It needs to end,” Sales-Clark says. “We want to shed light on what’s going on. I don’t want this to be ‘woe is me,’ you know, we rally and there’s nothing else to do.” She and many others in town are tired of the sights of balloons and teddy bears strapped to telephone poles on residential streets. No one was injured at the Bump Taylor Field shootout, but the precipice had drawn close. Part of the problem is that it’s often hard to know what to do between the vigils, in the spaces between the funerals.
FIZZY LIFTING DRINK
IR
HEDGING
Workers on strike at Akron Coca-Cola plant. Teamsters tell reporters that they’re demanding the company bring back Coca-Cola BlaK. “It was delicious,” rep says.
Browns ink new sponsorship deal with KeyBank. Beth Mooney expected to tear ACL any day now.
Dan Gilbert says he’d rather have celebrated a Tribe victory than a Cubs one after getting roped into Cubs’ White House celebration. “Not because of sports, of course, but because Chicago hasn’t given me any free taxpayer money yet.”
| clevescene.com | July 5 - 11, 2017
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On June 28, under another sunny Cleveland sky, a crowd gathered at Bump Taylor Field as the boys wrapped up their practice. The underlying message was a holistic one, pleading with men — young fathers, in particular, who have already passed through the dangers of adolescence amid omnipresent gun violence — to use their influence on the generation coming up now. The emphasis on active involvement paired naturally with Ginn’s football program. Keep kids busy and keep them around positive environments, because otherwise the “game” of guns threatens to pull them in. “This was the beginning of getting solutions and getting people actively involved in their community,” Sales-Clark says. Last Saturday, members of local organizations and gangs came together to talk about on-the-ground solutions. On one hand, the tone of the past week has been one of
DIGIT WIDGET 7 Number of firearms found by TSA at Hopkins checkpoints through June of this year.
$15 New minimum wage for city workers as of next spring, as outlined by new plan from Frank Jackson. The mayor previously opposed a measure that would make a $15 minimum wage citywide.
$5.3 Millions of dollars in state preservation tax credits awarded to the Bowery project in Akron, which would redevelop a full block with $38 million in additional investment.
25 Percent of Ohio children who have experienced domestic violence, according to a new study from Case Western Reserve University. 8
| clevescene.com | July 5 - 11, 2017
renewed commitment, but no one attending the meeting or last week’s rally at Bump Taylor Field was new to this discussion. The “hot, dangerous summer” has happened before. — Eric Sandy
STATE MEDICAID BATTLE PARALLELS ONGOING FIGHT IN WASHINGTON The whole country is watching the nuances of Washington pol negotiations ahead of a vote on the Better Care Reconciliation Act, otherwise known as the U.S. Senate’s version of the Obamacare repealand-replace bill. The bejowled Mitch McConnell is working feverishly to nail down a majority of his colleagues; failing thus far, he’s delayed the vote until after the July 4 recess. Part of why McConnell’s been backed into a corner on this one is the force of a small contingent of moderate Republicans, including our very own Sen. Rob Portman. Just yesterday, Portman said that he cannot support the bill as-is. He joins other Republicans in opposing this bill, mostly on the grounds that the law would phase out the Obama administration’s Medicaid expansion far too quickly. In Ohio, whose population has benefited greatly from the expansion (and whose governor champions the policy), that’s a political problem. More than 700,000 Ohioans have jumped on the Medicaid expansion since 2014. But state legislators, not known for tasteful decision-making over the years, are moving ahead with a Medicaid expansion freeze in their state budget. Jim Siegel at the Columbus Dispatch reports that this sets up a “showdown” with Gov. John Kasich at a most contentious time. The proposed freeze would begin in July 2018. Here’s the Dispatch: “Those covered by the Medicaid expansion as of that date would continue to be covered, but only if they don’t get better employment and drop off the Medicaid rolls, something that happens regularly. The catch is that those who leave Medicaid could not return later even if they lose their job, unless they are getting mentalhealth or drug treatment. “However, no one could be added to the Medicaid expansion group starting in July of next year even if they need medical help for mentalhealth problems or drug use.” The federal bill could cost some 1 million Ohioans access to health care coverage if it’s passed. This state budget provision would cost more
APPEALS COURT ALLOWS OHIO TO RESUME EXECUTIONS WITH CONTROVERSIAL THREE-DRUG PROTOCOL In an 8-6 vote, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit granted Ohio its right to execute prisoners with a controversial three-drug process that includes the sedative midazolam. The protocol was ruled unconstitutional in January. By all accounts, the execution of Ronald Phillips, a lead plaintiff in this case, may remain scheduled
for July 26. Three other inmates are also on the calendar for 2017. (Phillips is expected to try his hand with the U.S. Supreme Court.) Recall that a pivotal piece of background information in this circuitous court case is the dubious 2014 execution of Dennis McGuire. He gasped and snorted audibly and took more than 15 minutes to die once the drugs were injected, again placing scrutiny on how Ohio was carrying out its executions. State policy has been remarkably wishywashy on how it intends to carry out executions ever since. When Ohio announced last fall that it would return to its three-drug “cocktail,� as it’s so often described, observers were taken aback. “Having thus pursued a lengthy, multi-front campaign for compelled secrecy premised on their need to acquire pentobarbital and/or sodium thiopental, [state leaders] have now made clear that they didn’t mean anything they said,� Phillips’ attorney argued. He alleges that the known properties of midazolam and the state’s history are such that executions cannot be carried out in a constitutional manner. “There are no safeguards — training, IVs, etc. — that can cure this fundamental problem.�
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LAWSUIT FILED OVER INJURY AT WEST SIXTH STREET BAR On St. Patrick’s Day this year, a woman in a Warehouse District bar fell from a second-oor balcony and has since been unconscious in an assisted living facility in Parma. Last week, her parents, citing negligence and displeasure with how she was treated after the fall, ďŹ led a suit against the bar. Megan Keefe, 20, fell 15 feet, and her head collided with a granite countertop. The lawsuit says Spirits bar and its development group are to blame, as they allegedly knew the second oor railing was unsafe and didn’t repair it. Craig Bashein, an attorney for the family, also calls out the bar’s staff in the lawsuit, saying one member roughly carrying an injured Keefe outside “caused an aggravation and/or worsening of Megan’s already catastrophic fall-related injuries.â€? The suit says both George Nakhle, Spirits’ owner, and the Dalad Group and WD Downtown Ltd., who leased him the bar, were aware of the railing’s non-functionality; despite
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A jury trial was requested. The appeals court will not let it get that far. — Sandy
not being certiďŹ ed to let patrons on the second oor, they did so anyway. The Cleveland ďŹ re department had already cited the railing that caused Keefe’s fall on March 17, prior to the holiday. A GoFundMe page started by Keefe’s aunt states that the 20-yearold “suffered a traumatic brain injury and is currently in a coma and ďŹ ghting for her life.â€? So far, Keefe’s medical expenses have reached more than $1 million, and the lawsuit states that over the course of her life, that number could multiply by 10. Two weeks after that incident, Spirits was slapped with another safety-related lawsuit; a man named Cameron Corbett was struck by a fallen light ďŹ xture at the bar last summer, giving him a concussion. The bar has also been cited for an obstructed exit and an expired sprinkler system and ďŹ re extinguishers, plus for selling alcohol to people underage. It temporarily shut its doors following Keefe’s fall, but was permitted to reopen on April 7. — Kirby Davis
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than 500,000 Ohioans access to Medicaid coverage, as the Governor’s OfďŹ ce of Health Transformation points out. The state budget bill needs to be signed by Friday, and Kasich will almost surely use his line-item veto authority to scratch out the Medicaid expansion freeze. From his time in Columbus to his work on the campaign trail, the role of Medicaid in Ohio has been a touchstone of his government. It would take a three-ďŹ fths majority of the Statehouse to override a veto like that, teeing up a ďŹ ght for a razor-thin vote margin not unlike what we’re seeing in Washington right now. — Sandy
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NEWS
Photo by Sam Allard
From L-R: Robert Kilo, Jeff Johnson, Tony Madalone, Eric Brewer, Zack Reed, (standing) Brandon Chrostowski
A FIRST LOOK AT THE CANDIDATES Unexpected winners and losers in Cleveland mayoral forum By Sam Allard ON MONDAY, JUNE 26, THREE days before signatures had to be filed with the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, six mayoral challengers met at VFW Post 2850 in Cleveland’s Clark-Fulton neighborhood to introduce themselves to voters and to answer a thorny bouquet of their questions. (Frank Jackson and eight others ended up filing nominating petitions by the deadline. Three thousand valid signatures are required to make the ballot. The Board of Elections will work to certify the signatures in the coming weeks.) Mayor Frank Jackson declined an invitation by the Cuyahoga County Progressive Caucus and the Ward 14 Democratic Club, the event’s co-hosts. This was by no means unexpected, as the CCPC planned to protest outside the mayor’s Gates Mills fundraiser later that week (see page XX). But in his absence, the mayor was repeatedly skewered: by the hosts — “Anybody seen Frank?” — and by the challengers. While divergent in
their pet priorities, the candidates were unanimous in their frustration with the current leadership at City Hall, which they described as stale, complacent and out-of-touch. More than anything, the clearest and loudest message from the Monday forum was that Jackson had to go. Tony Madalone even gave him a new nickname: “Reaction Jackson,” to signify that Cleveland had become a reactionary city under his leadership, and that it ought to take proactive measures to solve the city’s problems. Cleveland city councilman Jeff Johnson, Edwins Leadership and Restaurant Institute founder Brandon Chrostowski, Fresh Brewed Tees founder Tony Madalone, Ohio City businessman and community relations consultant Robert Kilo and former East Cleveland mayor Eric Brewer were all in attendance. Councilman Zack Reed arrived about halfway through, having dashed from a public safety meeting on the southeast side. The two-hour forum suffered from
a few organizational issues, chiefly related to formatting. But it was, on the whole, the best presentation of the candidates yet. They are much easier to compare and contrast when they’re literally answering the same questions in sequence. For various reasons, some of the candidates fared better than others. The event was not framed as a “debate,” so there were no official winners or losers, but points were nevertheless scored and lost. Here’s how we’d rate the performances: WINNER: Jeff Johnson Johnson was by and large smooth and forceful in his delivery. His introduction outlined his qualifications and his experience. He stated that he wanted to “open the windows and doors” of City Hall, airing out the stale leadership, and point Cleveland in a new direction. He said he wanted to close the income inequality gap, break the cycle of violence, and — most importantly — redirect downtown development money back toward the
neighborhoods. Johnson never rambled and only grasped for the right words once or twice. He successfully presented himself as a capable politician who’d been fighting in the trenches of the legislative branch against a stubborn executive (which he has). When asked about the relationship between the police and the black community, Johnson said that under his leadership, both Michael McGrath and Martin Flask would be gone. He characterized the Q Deal as “yet another example” of the mayor and city council leadership (Kevin Kelley) advancing a flawed agenda of trickle-down economics. He seemed, more than anyone, like a man who knew where he stood. He didn’t waffle and didn’t retreat to buzzwords. Perhaps just as crucially, Johnson won on style points. He arrived a few minutes late, but managed to come off as a man in demand. He’d been on an important phone call in the parking lot. He was never disrespectful to the | clevescene.com | July 5 - 11, 2017
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| clevescene.com | July 5 - 11, 2017
NEWS other challengers, and unlike Chrostowski, Kilo and Reed, he answered questions from behind the table (which was frankly preferred). He also acknowledged his wife and stepdaughters who were in attendance, and he must know that they are a tremendous asset. Felicia Johnson was radiant and charming as always. She and her two daughters seem like wonderful people. In the mingling before the ofďŹ cial program, Robert Kilo introduced himself to Felicia, asking for her consideration. She admitted that she was Jeff Johnson’s wife, but didn’t embarrass Kilo for not knowing who she was. She wished him luck and took his literature — a real classy move. LOSER: Zack Reed Reed arrived late, but only missed three questions. His weakness was not that he didn’t get enough of an opportunity to make an impression; it was that he returned to his familiar talking points repeatedly. Reed has run perhaps the most successful early campaign. That’s largely because he has carved out a speciďŹ c message: “Nothing stops a bullet like a job.â€? He’s hammered that message home, and his messaging has been coherent and consistent. But leaning on that messaging in a wide-ranging Q&A format worked less well. Reed kept addressing questions of violence and employment, which are critical, but he came off as a one-trick pony. His most damaging moment came in a question about Tamir Rice. Reed is a die-hard fan of surveillance cameras, and in his advocacy for more police cameras, he said that “we still don’t know what happenedâ€? in the moments leading up to Tamir Rice’s death. He was suggesting that had a dash cam been in operation, Frank Garmback and Timothy Loehmann would’ve had even less of an excuse for their actions and wouldn’t have been able to escape conviction. The room read it differently. There were audible objections, but Reed doubled down. “We still don’t know,â€? he said. He elaborated on that idea, suggesting that increased training and technology on the police force would be important, but it seemed to leave a bad taste in many voters’ mouths. WINNER: Robert Kilo Robert Kilo, (KY-low), a godfearing conservative businessman,
had hands-down the evening’s most memorable, and worst, line. “I know that I will not be judged by the color of my skin,â€? the white man declaimed, “but by the content of my character.â€? The MLK Jr. quote was a mysterious one, especially in response to a question about relations between the police and the city’s black community, but it was in keeping with Kilo’s performance all night — aggressive, clipped, almost military in style. Here was a man with a son named Lincoln who loved the hell out of god and gave no shits that nobody had a clue who he was. His views were in opposition to most of the progressive attendees — Kilo is a Republican — but his tactic, when asked about controversial issues (the Q deal, the dirt bike track, $15 minimum wage) was to insist that these issues were for the voters to decide. He presented himself as a pure and inviolate steward, a vessel, 100-percent a servant of the people. And the shtick appeared to work. He mentioned God and the community’s blessings more times than I was able to tabulate, but that didn’t seem to bother the crowd. He came off as a candidate sufďŹ ciently outraged at the city’s bungling of the lead crisis, and made safety and education his central issues. The real reason Kilo was a winner? If nobody knew him before the forum got underway, they certainly know him now. And even if they don’t like him, they’ll probably remember the white guy who un-selfconsciously quoted Martin Luther King. LOSER: Tony Madalone Sweet Tony. The youngest candidate in attendance, Madalone wore his jeans cuffed and his shoes without socks. He was every bit the hip Ohio homecoming alum and T-shirt entrepreneur that he’s been desperate to tell voters he’s more than. And while his intentions were pure as ever — Madalone genuinely seems like a guy who wants to make changes at City Hall, to make government function more efďŹ ciently for everybody — his lack of experience ashed brightly when juxtaposed against the other challengers. Madalone is all heart, all good intentions. But he just can’t articulate, really, what he intends to do once he becomes mayor. He is in support of what would seem to be the right things — transparency, accountability, efďŹ ciency — but had
difficulty addressing questions in anything other than the abstract. He did say that Martin Flask should be sent packing (or at least asked why he hadn’t been) and said that the “lowest-hanging fruit” that a new mayor could tackle would be getting rid of inefficient department heads. He stressed how open he wanted his administration to be. In a weak moment, he dodged a question about the $15 minimum wage by suggesting improving adult literacy — a pet issue — would be even more valuable, because it would give residents access to even higher paying jobs. It wasn’t quite in Kilo’s “God and the American Dream” territory, but people tend to see right through that sort of answer. Functionally illiterate senior citizens aren’t, as a rule, angling for C-suites. They want a living wage. The forum was structured (poorly) so that the candidates answered in the same order every time, and Madalone was last. That meant that he was frequently referencing what other candidates had just mentioned, and added little of value himself. He often spoke in rhetorical questions — “Why couldn’t we use more technology?” Why wasn’t Flask let go?— and ultimately spoke less than everyone else, even Reed. He may have won over some Ward 14 voters who were justifiably seduced by a young, energetic, goodlooking and good-hearted guy with noble intentions. But he may have lost just as many who were, equally justifiably, fearful that despite this dude’s hustle and savvy, he just
might not have any idea how to run a major city. WINNER: Eric Brewer The brash former East Cleveland mayor was a surprise smash hit, playing the part of intellectual, historian and grumpy old coot all at once. While questions about the
place the signed documents in their personnel files. If they ran afoul of the memos, Brewer said, “I’d fire their ass.” Overall, Brewer countervailed against the lofty language of the other candidates by suggesting that the job was way more technical, way more practical, than was being described. He’d been a mayor, was his
The candidates were unanimous in their frustration with the current leadership at City Hall. legitimacy of Brewer’s candidacy remain, he appealed to voters in his startling (apparent) command of the City Charter and Ohio Revised Code and in his sometimes audacious suggestions. Brewer, it would seem, would prosecute everybody in city government for failing to adhere to this or that obscure ordinance. Applause! His slam-dunk moment came when he suggested that most city officials, and indeed, most police personnel, hadn’t even read the consent decree. (He also characterized city council as a band of lazy, money-grubbing Neanderthals.) He said that one “low-hanging fruit” that a new mayor could tackle would be to write memos to department heads and force those heads to read the memo aloud to their staffs. He said he’d make the department heads sign off that they’d read the memos and then
pitch, and he knew how to conduct himself in the mayor’s boring daily tasks. He said he could read, for example, a waste-collection bill. It sounds basic, but Brewer also knew how to answer questions. He incorporated his personal history deftly into otherwise complex policy matters. He may have run the risk of being overly technical, but it impressed quite a few folks, not the least of whom was Robert Kilo. “That’s the kind of guy I’d like to have in my administration,” Kilo said. LOSER: Brandon Chrostowski Chrostowski, who started strong, fell victim to the evening’s formatting. Like Madalone, who answered last, Chrostowksi found himself in the unenviable position of answering first every time. This meant, obviously, that he had less time to craft his responses. And he
suffered for it. Chrostowski handled this sportingly, to his credit, leaping up from his chair every time a new question was being read, and often playing off the audience. When unhappy rumblings coursed through the crowd as he was asked for his thoughts on the dirt-bike track, he gestured to the aggrieved attendees: “I think that’s your answer right there.” Chrostowski actually may have given the cleanest introduction. The remarks were prepared and they ended, prematurely, with an impromptu double high-five with an engaged first-row attendee who shouted that his time was up — a cute moment. But as the first man out of the gate during the Q&A, he too frequently resorted to hyperbole. The Q Deal was “the worst thing [he’d] ever seen in politics.” The dirt bike track was “the most ludicrous thing [he’d] ever seen.” The restaurant founder and CEO seems, like Madalone, to be very well-intentioned and to have quite a bit of emotion and energy behind his convictions. He’s even more willing than Madalone to call out the current administration for their misdeeds. But as a political figure, he doesn’t inspire a great deal of confidence. He seemed, time and again, like a nice guy who was was out of his depth. It begged the question, though: How would he have fared answering in the middle of the pack?
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BIG BUCKS AND BAD OPTICS The Frank Jackson “fat cat” fundraiser in Gates Mills By Sam Allard INSURANCE EXECUTIVE Umberto Fideli dabbed his sweating forehead under June’s evening sun in Gates Mills, the wooded watershed suburb on Cuyahoga County’s deep-eastern flank. The first of the evening’s 15 Mercedes-Benzes was being valeted up Village Trail, the hilly sidewalk-less street off Wilson Mills Road that terminates in a culde-sac where Fideli has built his big Italianate home on three adjacent lots. The blue-suited Fideli cast a side eye at the gathering protesters from the Cuyahoga County Progressive Caucus, who were being monitored by the soft-spoken police chief Gregg Minichello and a handful of Gates Mills’ finest, donned in bulletproof vests. A German Shepherd dog, an official K-9, was visible on Fideli’s
property. In a nearby driveway sat a vehicle from Tenable Protective Services, the preferred local security firm for private events. Members of the Cuyahoga County Progressive Caucus (CCPC), the local Bernie Sanders campaign group that has morphed and grown into a regional political activist network, flipped through the signs they’d prepared. They were calling this event “Frank’s Fat Cat Festival.” It had been somewhat hastily organized in the aftermath of a news item originally published by Cleveland.com’s Mark Naymik. Three area businessmen — Fideli himself and the black construction magnates Lonnie Coleman and Dominic Ozanne — had sent a letter to high-profile leaders in the business community inviting them
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FEATURE to attend the fundraiser and asking for their (financial) support of the incumbent Jackson, who is seeking an unprecedented fourth term. “[Jackson] has capably and fearlessly taken on many crises head on, providing the sure and steady leadership that has enabled our city to remain stable,” the letter read. “He continues to be the leader that Cleveland needs to maintain the positive momentum created by the public and private sectors working cooperatively.” The letter reminded potential attendees that — thanks to a change in legislation authored by Cleveland City Council last year — the maximum contribution is now $5,000 for an individual and $7,500 for a PAC. The symbolism of the event was too rich for opponents to pass up: Jackson’s primary vulnerability is the perception that he caters to “downtown interests” at the expense of Cleveland neighborhoods. One would expect that Jackson and his campaign would work assiduously to avoid playing into that narrative.
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| clevescene.com | July 5 - 11, 2017
And yet here he was scheduled to be, gladhanding with wealthy executives far away from the city. The Progressive Caucus teamed up with SEIU, the union that led the minimum wage battle in Cleveland and which has endorsed Jeff Johnson for mayor. They planned to carpool to Gates Mills and chant at the attendees as they arrived in their luxury vehicles.
(Approximate car count? Mercedes: 15; Audi: 6; Lexus: 5; BMW: 5; Ford: 4; Land Rover: 3; Toyota: 3; Acura: 2; Ferrari: 1; Maserati: 1; Infinity: 1; Tesla: 1; Chrysler: 1; Honda: 1; GMC: 1; Jeep: 1. There was also at least one Porsche, though this is not reflected in notes.) “I don’t mind you being rich,” read one sign. “I mind you buying
our government!” Randy Cunningham, a longtime Cleveland activist — in fact, local community organizing’s chronicler — had dubbed the event “Hunt Club Two” in a conversation at CCPC headquarters in Lakewood that afternoon. It was a reference to an action in 1982, when 600 local activists descended in buses upon the Chagrin Valley Hunt Club (also in Gates Mills) to confront Sohio president Alton Whitehouse. It was an action that so rattled Cleveland’s elites, Cunningham said, that it basically shattered community organizing for the next 30 years. “At a basic level, the action enraged the upper class of Cleveland beyond any other action the groups had taken,” Cunningham wrote in Chapter 8 of Democratizing Cleveland. “Mike O’Brien of [Near West Neighbors in Action] explained that the hit had violated a norm more profound than the Constitution. ‘You do not embarrass the rich among their rich peers.’” And yet that’s precisely what the protesters did Wednesday night. Umberto Fideli was agitated most of the evening. Though he twice offered pizza to the roughly 30 protesters in attendance, he seemed
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to view their presence as a kind of incursion, a flouting of dignity and decency. Several of the guests, as they exited their vehicles, looked with amusement or derision at the gathered crowd. Developer Andrew Brickman, who arrived in the evening’s only Maserati, engaged the protesters as he drove by: “I’m just working here,” he said, before flashing a mocking thumbs up. In coordination with Minichello and the Gates Mills police, the protesters were accorded a staging area on a lushly planted cul-de-sac across from the Fideli driveway. The SEIU leaders kept the chants going virtually without pause: “Hey hey, ho ho, Frank Jackson has got to go” and “This is what democracy looks like, that is what hypocrisy looks like; This is what democracy looks like, that is what plutocracy looks like.” Periodically, protesters would meow at passing cars, in keeping with the “Fat Cat” theme. The event was swift and modestly attended. Some guests came and went in less than an hour. (Despite Fideli’s famous hospitality, it was a Wednesday evening, and guests were there foremost to write checks. It was a fundraiser, after all). Some notable attendees: Bernie Kosar; Playhouse Square CEO Art Falco; SME Cleveland’s 2017 Business Executive of the Year, Fred DiSanto; former Northeast Ohio Media Group publisher, Andrea Hogben; developer Fred Geis; the luxury auto dealership kingpin Bernie Moreno; and Cleveland Clinic CEO, Toby Cosgrove. Moreno, for one, commented on the protest on Twitter Thursday morning, saying, “Somehow, it is okay to insult, stereotype, & shout
derogatory comments to people you don’t know, as long as it fits a narrative.” Mark Naymik responded, “Not okay — but reality of mayor’s race where managing perception is the issue.” Naymik is right. Perception is key — he even suggested on Twitter that Jackson’s supporters might have mailed in their checks to avoid the damaging publicity. Several of the chants — the meows, for instance, or the cries of “Let us in!” — emphasized the stark wealth gap between those attending the party and those protesting it, but the object of the demonstrators’ anger was overwhelmingly Jackson himself, not the hosts or the guests. Jackson arrived in the passenger seat of a Ford sedan. Unlike the rest of the vehicles, his turned off the traffic circle and under an archway onto Fideli’s driveway. He exited the vehicle at a safe distance. Protesters could barely make him out. Jackson officially submitted his signatures Wednesday. But he did not attend a mayoral forum earlier this week where other serious challengers introduced themselves and answered questions in Ward 14, a low-income westside ward with the city’s densest Latino concentration, and historically bad voter turnout. Two nights later, he appeared in Gates Mills, at this exclusive highdollar event attended by developers and lawyers and financial executives, folks for whom “sure and steady leadership” means leadership that honors and defers to corporate Cleveland’s power and influence.
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You nominated your favorite people and places, where to go for that perfect bowl of pho, the bartender who makes the perfect drink, your favorite sports player and much more. These were then narrowed down, voted upon and now we get to celebrate all of those named the Best Of Cleveland for 2017! Enjoy craft cocktails + music while meeting some of our Best Of winners for this year. Let's celebrate what makes Cleveland the place we call home.
Bud & Burgers is making its way to Cleveland for a four-day, burger- and beer-centric event hosted by SCENE Magazine. In this unique take on the pop-up diner will get to experience a full menu of one-of-a-kind burgers crafted by Zack Bruell, Mike Mariola, Eric Williams, Demetrios Atheneos, and Shawn Monday while sipping a smooth, crisp Budweiser. $4 ticket includes a gourmet burger, side, beer and charitable donation to Downtown Cleveland Alliance.
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The third annual Van Aken Beer Gardens returns this summer! This three part, FREE, outdoor event series celebrates summertime with music, food, beer, wine, craft cocktails, local retail vendors, and activities for all ages! The remaining celebrations will be Friday, July 21 & August 18 from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM outside in the west parking lot of Shaker Plaza at the corner of Farnsleigh Road & Van Aken Boulevard and inside the adjacent storefront next to The Pearl Asian Kitchen, 20060 Van Aken Boulevard.
The 9th Annual SCENE Magazine Ale Fest will feature over 100 beers from around the corner to around the globe. The celebration is packed with your favorite porters, stouts, pilasters,ales, wheats, Belgians, ciders, and lagers just to name a few. Ale Fest has live music, interactive games, food booths, local vendors and more.
Friday, July 21 • 6:00pm - 10:00pm Friday, August 18 • 6:00pm - 10:00pm
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GET OUT WED
everything you should do this week 07/05
BEER
Fat Tire Presents Tour de Fat An employee-owned brewery that’s also a Platinum-level Bicycle Friendly Business as designated by the League of American Bicyclists, New Belgium Brewing makes some damn good beers, including Fat Tire Belgian Style Ale, Citradelic Tangerine IPA, Citradelic Lime Ale and Voodoo Ranger IPA. And that’s not even mentioning the super-exclusive Lips of Faith beers. This summer the brewery’s Tour de Fat festival will hit 33 cities, including Cleveland. It comes to House of Blues tonight at 8. Indie rockers Rainbow Kitten Surprise will headline the event. A portion of the proceeds goes to charity; festival organizers hope to generate more than $600,000 in support of local causes. A touring ensemble of artists, cirque performers, and “general mayhemists” will appear alongside local buskers and street performers at each event. New Belgium Brewing will also host a battle of the bands in many cities prior to the event to give local bands the chance to participate. Tickets are $20. (Jeff Niesel) 308 Euclid Ave., 216-523-2583, houseofblues.com.
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scheduled through Saturday. Tickets start at $18. (Niesel) 2035 East Fourth St., 216-241-7425, pickwickandfrolic.com. MUSIC
I Love My ‘90s Trivia Contest Do you remember each Spice Girl? Do you recall how much a subscription cost for Teen People? Or who sings the Friends’ theme song? The ’90s are ripe with nostalgia, and Yuzu has the trivia questions to prove it. Tonight you can test your knowledge as Yuzu presents “I Love My ’90s” trivia contest from 9:30 to 11:30 p.m. The winning team will receive a $50 Yuzu gift card. Admission is free. (Daniela Cacho) 13603 Madison Ave., Lakewood, 440-799-8343, yuzulakewood.com.
Joan Soriano For the past couple of summers, the Cleveland Museum of Art has hosted Ohio City Stages, a weekly summer block party that takes place in front of the Transformer Station during the month of July. Steel string bachata icon Joan Soriano, a guy who plays a genre of Dominican music that draws upon influences from Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, kicks off the series tonight at 7:30 p.m., and admission is free. Vendors will be on hand to sell food and drink as well. In addition, Studio Go, the CMA’s mobile art studio, will offer handson art-making activities, pop-up drawing classes and other familyoriented art projects. (Niesel) 1460 West 29th St., 216-938-5429, transformerstation.org.
COMEDY
FAMILY FUN
Mark Normand Most of comedian Mark Normand’s material comes from observations of everyday life. A mild-mannered and soft-spoken guy who dresses like he’s in a Gap ad, Normand likes to make fun of himself and other people who are self-conscious about being nerdy and white. As a result, he regularly comments on racism and other -isms. Normand, who has appeared on Conan twice and made other appearances on a variety of programs, performs tonight at 8 at Hilarities, where he has shows
Wade Oval Wednesdays A summer tradition, Wade Oval Wednesday takes place every Wednesday from 6 to 9 p.m. at Wade Oval in University Circle. The weekly party provides the opportunity to catch a free concert — jazz, swing, world music and more. Between sets, check out the local food vendors, the beer and wine tent, the farmers market, and free kid activities — all laid out on the Wade Oval lawn, adjacent to Cleveland Botanical Garden, the Cleveland Art
TRIVIA
SPOKEN WORD
Museum, and the Cleveland Natural History Museum. Tonight, catch a performance from Danny Ray & the Boys. The series continues every Wednesday through August 30. Details are on the website. (Niesel) universitycircle.org.
Ekphrastacy: Artists Talk + Poets Respond The current group exhibition at Heights Arts, Encore, showcases the work of several local artists. In conjunction with the exhibition, Heights Arts hosts Ekphrastacy: Artists Talk + Poets Respond at 7 tonight. During the event, artists will discuss their work and local poets will read prose written in response to select works on view. Encore remains up through July 23. You can also check out Aimee Lee’s Hanbok’s Gifts, a series of new sculptural paper works created with hanji (Korean paper) in the Spotlight Gallery, just steps from the main gallery space. Lee’s work has been exhibited internationally and resides in numerous public and private collections, including the Cleveland Institute of Art’s Gund Library. Hanbok’s Gifts remains on view through Aug. 6. Admission is free. (Usmani) 2175 Lee Rd., Cleveland Heights, 216-371-3457, heightsarts.org. SHOPPING
WINE & YOGA
Wine and a Workout Wine and a Workout is a perfect name for an event that promises nothing but fun and physical activity. Tonight, CLE Urban Winery encourages you to stop by with your yoga mat and bodyweights, for a relaxing and rewarding evening. Best part? You’ll get a glass of wine afterward! Admission is $12 at the door. Yoga practice is from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. (Cacho) 2180B Lee Rd., Cleveland Heights, 216-417-8313, cleurbanwinery.com.
THU
07/06
Makers’ Market Series Looking for something truly unique and locally produced? Check out the Made in Collinwood Makers’ Market on select Thursdays this summer. Each Makers’ Market features a diverse collective of local makers and artisans from the greater Collinwood community. Tonight’s event runs from 5:30 to 8:30 at the East Shore Park Club, and is produced in conjunction with the East Shore Park Club Summer Concert Series. Cello Fury will perform at 7. Can’t make it tonight? Additional market dates include July 20 and August 3, 17 and 24. Admission is free. (Usmani) 17217 Dorchester Dr., 216-276-0097, facebook.com/madeincollinwood.
MUSIC
Edgewater Live Now in its fourth season, Edgewater Live features local acts along the shore each Thursday throughout the summer. The event also boasts food trucks and recreational activities. The weekly beach party commences today at 4:30 p.m. on the Centennial Plaza at the new Edgewater Beach House with a performance by the Frats. From 6 to 9 p.m., Carlos Jones will perform on the RTA Main Stage. (Niesel) 6500 Cleveland Memorial Shoreway NW, 216-635-3200, clevelandmetroparks.com.
COMEDY
Gary Owen Comedian Gary Owen has been entertaining audiences across America for more than a decade. He’s not limited to the stage either, as he’s had roles in the film Think Like A Man and in Tyler Perry’s show House of Payne. Owen says he was always the class clown growing up and it has followed him into his adult life. Ebony magazine proclaimed him to be “Black America’s Favorite White Comedian.” Owen’s set mainly focuses on his personal life and racial stereotypes. Catch his performance tonight at the | clevescene.com | July 5 - 11, 2017
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something to fill the void.” Miller’s exhibition remains on view through Aug. 13. Admission is free. (Usmani) waterlooarts.org.
Improv at 7:30. Tickets are $35 to $40, and performances continue through Sunday. (Martin Harp) 1148 Main Ave., 216-696-IMPROV, clevelandimprov.com.
FRI
07/07
MUSIC
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Front Porch Concert Series The Front Porch Concert series makes its return to the Lakewood Public Library tonight. Now in its seventh year, the concerts bring thousands of people to the library for performances that range from reggae to folk and rock ’n’ roll. Tonight at 7, local reggae singer Carlos Jones kicks off the series. Admission is free. (Adrian Leuthauser) 15425 Detroit Ave., Lakewood, 216- 226-8275, lakewoodpubliclibrary.org. FILM
Open Projector Night You’ve heard of open mic night, but how about Open Projector Night? MOCA Cleveland’s ongoing series encourages local filmmakers to bring their short films to the museum for an opportunity for experts and novices to review new shorts in an open mic-style. Films will be added to the night’s lineup on a first-come, first-served basis until the 60-minute limit is reached. Admission is “pay what you can,” with a $5 suggested donation. (Want to submit your short film? See the details on the website.) Screenings begin at 8 p.m. Uncensored and un-screened, viewer discretion is advised. (Usmani) 11400 Euclid Ave., 216-421-8671, mocacleveland.org. ART
July 8 216-241-6000 Group Sales 216-640-8600 playhousesquare.org
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| clevescene.com | July 5 - 11, 2017
Walk All Over Waterloo Historically, July’s Walk All Over Waterloo has the lowest attendance of the year. But that doesn’t mean there is nothing to do. Waterloo Arts Fest Annual Juried Exhibition remains on view at Waterloo Arts, Praxis Fiber Workshop and Brick Ceramic + Design Studio through July 21. If you haven’t seen it, you have one last chance to visit all three galleries today. Maria Neil Art Project presents photographs by Cleveland photographer Bryon Miller. Miller’s exhibition, entitled Name: Pending [Bryon Miller], collects photographs exploring the idea of losing oneself, which he describes as “eyes staring past the horizon, looking for
SAT
07/08
FILM
3-D Classic Film Series Way back in the 1950s, Hollywood studios started showing movies in widescreen formats and in 3-D to combat the growing popularity of television. Between 1952 and 1955, Hollywood studios produced 50 3-D films using a dual projection system that required audience members to wear polarized lenses. But because of issues keeping the images in sync, studios quickly lost interest. Now, digital technology has corrected the synchronization issue, and the classic 35-mm, 3-D films are available on new digital prints. To showcase the vintage films, the Cedar Lee Theatre will screen five “golden-era classics” as part of its 3-D Classic Film series. Kiss Me Kate, the 1952 musical-within-amusical of a play-within-a-play, screens at 11 a.m. today and at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Tickets are $7. (Niesel) 2163 Lee Rd., Cleveland Heights, 216-321-5411, clevelandcinemas.com. NIGHTLIFE
Caturday Night Fever: A Disco Party Calling all cat (and disco) lovers! ARTneo’s current exhibition, ARTmeow, presents more than 100 years of artwork depicting cats by artists in Northeast Ohio. ARTmeow includes works by both archived and contemporary artists, as well as an interactive, visitor-driven display showcasing an Instagram feed of images tagged #ARTmeow. In conjunction with the exhibition, ARTneo hosts Caturday Night Fever: A Disco Party from 7 to 11 tonight. The event includes a cat-themed silent auction, cash bar, light refreshments and music courtesy of DJ Jerry. The exhibition is free during regular gallery hours, but tickets to the Caturday Night Fever party are $25 for non-members or $15 for members. ARTmeow: The Cool Cats of Cleveland remains on view through Sept. 1. (Usmani) 1305 W. 80th St., Suite 016, 216-2279507, ARTneo.org/. FESTIVAL
Fourth Annual Lavender Festival and Art in the Garden Luvin Lavender Farms in Madison hosts its fourth annual Lavender Festival and Art in the Garden this weekend. Besides admiring the display gardens — complete with 3,500 plants
across 48 acres — you can look at alpacas, take an art class or enjoy a yoga session. Bring a blanket and a picnic, if you like. Entry fee is $5 per car, and all admission will be donated to the Lake County Humane Society. The fest takes place today from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A schedule of activities is on the website. (Cacho) 5861 Middle Ridge Rd., Madison, 440-497-7225, luvinlavender.com. FILM
Indoor Drive-In Movie Night At tonight’s special Indoor Drive-In movie event, Mahall’s will screen the 2001 comedy/romance, Wet Hot American Summer, a film directed by Clevelander David Wain. Starring pre-fame Bradley Cooper, Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler, the film has become a cult classic. Popcorn will be on the house and beer will be available for purchase. The fun starts at 9 p.m. and admission is free. (Cacho) 13200 Madison Ave., Lakewood, 216-521-3280, mahalls20lanes.com. FAMILY FUN
Lakewood Summer Meltdown Returning for the eighth year, Lakewood Summer Meltdown takes place today on Detroit Avenue between Marlowe and Elmwood. The street festival features all sorts of outdoor games and activities, including a 5-K race and a 1-Mile Kids Fun Race for the little ones. (You can register for the races on the website.) The local band Front Porch Lights will perform, food trucks will arrive, and (yes!) there is a beer garden. The fest takes place from 4 to 10 p.m. Admission is free. (Cacho) LakewoodSummerMeltdown.com. FESTIVAL
Lebanese Food & Music Festival The Northern Ohio Lebanese American Association’s annual Lebanese Food & Music Festival offers a unique cultural experience. The event aims to celebrate the Lebanese culture with authentic cuisine and live music. There will also be activities and games for children. It takes place today from noon to 10 p.m. and tomorrow from noon to 8 p.m. Admission is free. (Niesel) 2300 West Ridgewood Dr., Parma, facebook.com/LACS.NOLAA MUSIC
A Night at the Opera Tonight at 7 at Blossom, the Cleveland Orchestra plays several opera favorites, including works by Mozart, Strauss, Verdi and Puccini. Franz Welser-Möst conducts, and soprano Erin Wall handles the vocals. Tickets start at $24. (Niesel) 1145 West Steels Corners Rd.,
Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com. ART
Pixelism: The New Medium Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Michael Cartellone will be on hand from 1 to 4 p.m. today at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown for the opening of Pixelism: The New Medium, his first Cleveland exhibit. According the press release, the art “pays homage to the iconic people, places and things that are the history and the legacy of the city of Cleveland.” That includes the sign from Captain Frank’s Seafood House, the Little Tom soda pop bottle and Mr. Jingeling’s key. It’ll also feature the Cleveland-centric Drumming Buzzard. Admission is free. (Niesel) 100 Lakeside Ave. East, 973-564-9776, wentworthgallery.com/cartellone.
July 14, 2017
KENT, OH 9th annual
FREE LIVE BANDS AT 23 VENUES!
ART
Second Annual Inventory Swap Challenge Do you have extra art supplies or upcyclable materials collecting dust in your basement? Bring them to ArtHouse for the organization’s Second Annual Inventory Swap Challenge. from 1 to 4 p.m. today. During the event, artists will bring their own excess inventory to swap and use to create original works live on site. Inspired by the materials at hand, the artists must improvise to create their compositions. Completed artworks will be for sale at the end of the event. Admission is $5 at the door. (Usmani) 3119 Denison Ave., 216-398-8556, arthouseinc.org.
SCHEDULE 101 Bottles of Beer on The
Wall
Cody Martin (8 – 10PM)
SUN
07/09
– 9:30PM)
Last Exit Books
Acorn Alley Plaza
Guy Pernetti (6 – 9PM)
Belleria
Jon Mosey Trio (9 – Midnight)
Laziza
(5:30 – 8PM) Friel & The Brighterside Band
(8 – 10PM) BC Hudson & Daryl Rowland
s
Bent Tree Coffee Roaster Jon Finley (4 – 5PM) Brett Davis (5:30 – 6:30PM) Joey Beltram (7 – 8PM)
Brewhouse Pub
Gaetano Letizia and the ) Underworld Blues Band (8 – 11PM
Bricco
A Trip Up North: A Staged Reading of Brendan Whitt’s A Summer in Harlem Tonight at 8 at the Euclid Tavern, local author and filmmaker Brendan Whitt will produce a staged reading of his first novella A Summer in Harlem. A three-piece jazz ensemble led by saxophonist Brittany Atterberry will perform; readings will be by poet and local activist D.L. Ware, actor Khalim Hill, actress Dayshawnda Ash, and poet and journalist Timothy Cox. The show will end with a performance by Atterberry’s trio, followed by a jazz and blues inspired hip-hop set by DJ Nuera. Admission is free. (Niesel) 11625 Euclid Ave., 216-231-5400, happydogcleveland.com.
Hometown Bank Plaza
Clapton Tribute: Revolution (6:30
Dale Galgozy (8 – 10PM)
M) The Sausalito Blues Project (7-9P
SPOKEN WORD
(Schedule Subject to Change)
157 Lounge
Ray Flanagan (7:30 – 9:30PM)
Jake
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FOR THE LATEST UPDATE AND MORE INFO VISIT KENTBLUESFEST.COM
Buffalo Wild Wings Memphis Cradle (7 – 10PM)
k Dan Smith Community Par Hot Potatoes (7 – 9PM)
Dave’s Cosmic Subs Raw Sugar (5 – 7PM)
Dominick’s
The Loft Newdle Bar
Johnny G (8 - 10PM)
The Pub Jess Collins (9:30 – 10:30PM) Lazarus (10:30 - 11:30PM)
Ray’s Place
Blue Lunch (9:30PM – 12:30AM)
Tree City Coffee & Pastry
8:30PM)
Sharon T & Mary Rose (5:30 – Voices (9 – 11PM) John Patrick and the Outside
Venice Café
(7 – 10PM) 15-60-75 (The Numbers Band) Reserve (10:30PM – 1AM) Roger Hoover & The Western
Water Street Tavern
7:30PM) The Zydeco Kings Duo (5:30 – ) The Bluestones (7 – 10PM on patio ) Armstrong Bearcat Band (8 – 11PM
The Juke Hounds (8PM – Midnight)
Zephyr Pub
Franklin Hotel Bar
Ian Penter (6 - 8PM) Jarred Goldweber and the
Joe Leaman (6 – 9PM)
Park Brothers (8:30 – 11:30PM)
KENTBLUESFEST.COM
FOOD
Asian Grocery Store Tour and Tasting Today at Asia Town Center, Ice or Rice presents an Asian Grocery Tour | clevescene.com | July 5 - 11, 2017
23
AND
INVITE YOU TO ENTER TO WIN
FRIDAY, JULY 7
ELEMENT 8P-12A
SATURDAY, JULY 8
TED RISER
ROCK THE HOUSE
2-6P
By going to: http://tinyurl.com/F8CLE216 and entering your information! Winners will receive a Blu-ray Combo Pack. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. One entry per person. NO WALK-INS OR TELEPHONE CALLS ACCEPTED.
NOW AVAILABLE ON DIGITAL HD AND ON BLU-RAYâ„¢ & DVD JULY 11
8P- 12A
SUNDAY, JULY 9
ABBY NORMAL DJ LARRY 2-6P
8P-12A
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| clevescene.com | July 5 - 11, 2017
$
r SCENE10 fo
10.00HalOf FF the Marathon
GET OUT
SPOKEN WORD
and Tasting. The Ice or Rice folks will show you how to prepare Asian meals and talk about the history behind said meals. Plenty of spices and ingredients are used in these traditional dishes, so after attending this event you will officially know how to season your Asian dishes. The event takes place from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Asia Town Center. Cost is $25 and you can register on the website. (Cacho) 3820 Superior Ave. E., iceorice.com.
Science Cafe The second Monday of each month, Music Box Supper Club hosts Science Cafe, an informal lecture series that brings scientists from throughout the region to the club so they can talk about science topics. Tonight at 7, organizers mark the event’s 10th anniversary. Scott M. Williams, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at CWRU, talks about how some human populations have long coexisted with potential disease-causing microbes. Admission is free. (Niesel) 1148 Main Ave., 216-242-1250, musicboxcle.com.
TUE
07/11
FESTIVAL
Bud & Burgers CLE Anheuser-Busch and Cleveland Scene present the inaugural Bud & Burgers CLE pop-up diner, a national burgerand-beer-centric event. Cleveland chefs will create unique burger pairings to match the “smooth, crisp taste” of a Bud. There will be various burgers and french fries for attendees, and the organizers promise vegetarian options too. The fourday event, which commences today, there will be live DJs and games. Hours are 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today, on the East Bank
of the Flats by Aloft Hotel. Featured chefs include Mike Mariola (City Square Steakhouse and the Rail), Eric Williams (Momocho and El Carnicero), Demetrios Atheneos (the Oak Barrel, Bold Cleveland and Forage Public House) and Shawn Monday (Flip Side, One Red Door and 3 Palms Pizzeria). Tickets cost $4 in advance, plus a small processing fee. Proceeds will benefit Downtown Cleveland Alliance. A ticket provides attendees, who must be 21, a gourmet burger, a side and a beer. (Niesel) 1051 West 10th St., budandburgerscle.com.
Find more events @clevescene.com t@clevelandscene
MUSIC
Northeast Ohio Swap & Spin Social While sales of compact discs continue to decline, sales of vinyl, the format once considered obsolete, are on the rise. Today from 1 to 5 p.m. at Goldhorn Brewery, vinyl aficionados can potentially add to their collections as the Northeast Ohio Vinyl Club descends upon the place for a “social, swap, sell and spin.” A Dj will spin, and admission is free. (Niesel) 5801 Detroit Ave., 216-651-9474, happydogcleveland.com.
Powered by
APMAs Fan Day Sunday, July 16 • 1- 7 PM
DRINK
Sloppy Sundays in the Sun The bartenders at Now That’s Class will serve “the coolest and tastiest pitchers” of cocktails today from 3 to 7 p.m. at Sloppy Sundays in the Sun. Pitchers of specialty cocktails ($12) include Paul’s Puerto Rican Punch, Nascar Nectar and Stripple Nipple. The club will also set up a basketball hoop out back for patrons to show off their skills. Admission is free. (Niesel) 11213 Detroit Ave., 216-221-8576, nowthatsclass.net.
MON
07/10
SPOKEN WORD
Author Series with Harvey Kubernik An active music journalist, Harvey Kubernick has written about music for more than 40 years. He’s published 10 books about icons such as Neil Young and Leonard Cohen. At today’s author series at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Archives and Library, Kubernick will discuss his new book, 1967: A Complete Rock Music History of Summer Love. After the book discussion, the author will hold a Q&A. The event takes place from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Admission is free but you must RSVP through the Rock Hall website. (Cacho) 1100 Rock and Roll Blvd., 216-515-8444, rockhall.com.
FREE Concert w/ STATE CHAMPS Broadside • Islander Carousel Kings • Sleep On It Plus “LGBTQ in Music” Panel w/ Laura Jane Grace & Mina Caputo
Bringing Cleveland’s hottest acts to our outdoor plaza Wednesdays 6-9 pm • FREE gift w/online RSVP • Upgrade to “Fan” for just $20 to get the gift, the show, a tour of the Rock Hall AND $10 at the bar! (a $40 value!)
DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS
July 12 - Mourning (A) BLKSTAR: Jimmy’s Songs July 19 - Part Time Lover with MIST July 26 - Hamilton Handshake with Skulx Aug. 2 - Shooter Sharp & The Shootouts with Cody J. Martin Aug. 9 - Seeress with Axioma Aug. 16 - Hiram Maxim with Glass Traps Aug. 23 - Funkyardx with JPENNELOPE Aug. 30 – Jack Fords with The Commonwealth
with Seratones
JULY 22 - $23.50 Rock all day and into the night. This ticket gets you access to tour the Rock Hall and a full day of live music featuring: The Vindys • Falling Stars Seratones Drive-By Truckers Sponsored by Aramark and Repros Color.
RSVP, get tix and full schedule at:
ROCKHALL.COM/SUMMER | clevescene.com | July 5 - 11, 2017
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ART BORDERLAND CROSSINGS A trip to Tijuana and foreboding science fiction in Corrie Slawson’s exhibit at Shaheen Modern and Contemporary By Dott von Schneider “THE FIRST PIC WE TOOK WAS going down into the L.A. metro,” recounts Corrie Slawson during our recent visit at the Cleveland Institute of Art’s print shop. We are discussing her aptly titled solo exhibition, It’s hard to explain, but it happened slowly, the transition, currently on view at Shaheen Modern and Contemporary Art. “I work photographically. I try to record my movement through wherever places and spaces and then sort of create these composites and landscapes through that.” Slawson and writer Marc Lefkowitz had been invited by Zygote Press Creative Fusion artists Mely Barragan and Daniel Ruanova to complete a month-long family residency in Mexico, something that is extremely out of the ordinary for artists. So they brought their son with them and journeyed into Tijuana. The result was an ongoing, loose collaboration between the two. All the titles in the show are from Marc Lefkowitz’ upcoming book Borderlands, which drops at Shaheen on July 20. At that time, the couple will discuss the connections between the book and the exhibition. “It took a year to parse through with less of a journalistic narrative and to approach it with creative writing,” she says. “Then I started the sci-fi research at home, because pretty much it’s always a hospital or a parking garage here. It’s like, what is this dystopia, what is all of this? All of this is kind of like me running through and finally admitting this is a huge part of why I’m making the color separations I am, the way we associate these kind of images, and then I started to build the work. The development is evident through Instagram under #scifiresearchtrip.” The exhibition comprises nine horizontal mixed-media works that employ various materials and techniques drawn from printmaking and painting. “The gestalt of what I think sci-fi is is kind of what I was going for,” she says. “And I started making plates and started research and spent a long time with CMYK separations that didn’t make it into the show. The work at Shaheen is
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baroque in its over-the-top quality, with a hotter sci-fi palette going on. Looking at this fake world I’ve made, which is that it mustn’t be real, but it could be dangerous. This could be bad. It could be really seductive and beautiful, but it’s not safe. It’s not healthy. The sky is orange. You can’t breathe that.” Slawson, who received her BFA from the Parsons School of Design and went on to Kent State to earn her master’s degree, is a meticulously technical artist. Using an array of specific media, she controls the surface of her work, and the sense of foreboding is real. In the piece “Crossing the border, it has long been the most armored place on the continent,” we encounter a child quietly fishing while his environment implodes. This slight and powerful figure reminds me of Mayberry, U.S.A. We are observers and the observed surrounded by murky waters, acrid skies and dystopian architecture. We’re in a dream, a strange film which we haven’t figured out how to navigate. The orange sky that Slawson speaks of is here and we are face to face with it. A chandelier vignette hints at the colonialism that may have wreaked this havoc. “I was responding as quickly and sensitively as I could to a place that’s
not mine,” she explains. “The last time I did that was in Dresden, but that was different than in Tijuana because of the U.S. relationship. The way it felt to be passing through that space … I didn’t want to be a charlatan, I didn’t want to act like a hack, I didn’t want to feel like a colonialist. There were so many things wrapped up in how I wanted to approach that work.” As we move to the center of the gallery, we are drawn to the only unframed piece, one that is larger than the others and titled, “We moved suddenly to the ideological brink where we could no longer stand each other. We heaped a great inferno into the ocean where it boiled over to form this new world.” In the opposing upper corners there is a bright and warm bouquet of flowers facing its frigid metallic counterpart. The laser cut patterns along the bottom almost hint at gears or even Ferris wheels in a deranged amusement park. It is mechanical and psychedelic at once. The gold-leafed element could be a building or the sky holding back red danger; within three round panels a horse attempts escape. Arguably the most achieved piece in this muscular show is “I look up to where a tower has appeared on the cliffside. It is tall and ornately carved and near the top raining rays
of light down on the beach.” We are truly transported into another reality. Highlighter pinks, bronzes, oranges, and golds — we are in a secondary color world with no hope of escape. Despite the two-dimensional surfaces and disorienting fields, Slawson gives us a sense of grounding. The layers in these mixed-media works are literal in their relief cutouts and embossing, as well in plane and psychology. We are reading a story of a society deprived of reason and the oblong format enforces that feel. Lefkowitz’s titles introduce a unique dialogue with Slawson’s work that require more rumination than if the pieces would have just been labeled “Untitled.” I cannot emphasize enough that this show needs to be seen in person. When you leave, you may view things a bit differently going forward. It’s hard to explain, but it happened slowly, the transition is on view through July 28 at Shaheen Modern and Contemporary Art in downtown Cleveland. You can check out the development of the work on Instagram at #scifiresearchtrip. For more information and gallery hours, go to shaheengallery.com.
scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene
Photo by Brian Kenneth Armour
STAGE IN THE BELLY OF THE BEAST The seeds of rage bloom with menace in An Impending Rupture of the Belly By Christine Howey EVER HAD A NEIGHBOR YOU just couldn’t stand? Was his yard too messy, or too neat? Did he paint his house fluorescent yellow? Did his backyard garden encroach on your property line by a foot? Did you ultimately harbor thoughts of murder? Well, of course you did. We all have those thoughts flit through our heads, but we ignore them, unlike Clay, the lead character in An Impending Rupture of the Belly by Matt Pelfrey, now at None Too Fragile Theater. Clay and his wife Terri are expecting their first child, but terrors are roaming free in the world and Clay is feeling beset on all sides by potential and imagined disasters involving riots, people spraying Dodger Stadium with smallpox from a crop duster, bird flu, you name it. Trying to slow his roll, Terri suggests that Clay launch his campaign against looming worldwide holocausts by starting small: convincing their neighbor Doug to stop his dog from taking a daily dump on their lawn. Big mistake. As anyone who watches Fear Thy Neighbor on Investigation Discovery knows, the smallest crack in a relationship with a person living next to you can escalate into horrific violence. This idea has been explored in other plays and films, including Neighbors, the 1981 flick starring John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd, or the 2014 version with Seth Rogen and Zac Efron. In these works, a man decides his home is his castle and he fights to protect his family. So when Terri targets Doug, Clay’s paranoia is triggered and we can all sense what’s coming. Even
Andrew Narten and Kelly Strand
though the plot points are fairly predictable, playwright Pelfrey knows how to wind the tension tight, one small turn after another. He’s adept at crafting some out-there characters that amuse even as they terrify. And the NTF cast, under the direction of Sean Derry, ratchets up the ever-hastening doom. Andrew Narten is ideal as Clay, a man attempting to make a macho stand in all the wrong ways and quivering with repressed violence. He is goaded on by his co-worker Eugene (a hot-tempered Mark Rabant), a typical red-ass loudmouth, the “likes to fight” guy most of us have overheard in bars. Also, Clay is hounded by brother Ray, a burnout druggie who once fronted a band called Scrotus. With Ray and Eugene whispering
more disturbing incident involving swinging a golf club in a way not foreseen by Ping. Performed on a basically bare stage with minimal set pieces, the bulk of the 85-minute one-act relies on the cast to make the proceedings compelling. As Ray, Benjamin Gregorio is a coiled bit of nastiness, and he has some of the best lines. At one early point, Gregorio’s Ray laments his fate by noting “you follow your dreams and end up in downtown L.A. with no pants.” And sure enough, we first see him at a phone booth, with no pants. Brian Jackson is nicely threatening as a slightly fey Doug, who dismisses Clay’s threats at his own peril. Kelly Strand creates an interesting presence as Terri, almost the “voice of reason” but then again,
AN IMPENDING RUPTURE OF THE BELLY THROUGH JULY 8 AT NONE TOO FRAGILE THEATER, 1835 MERRIMAN RD., AKRON 330-962-5547, NONETOOFRAGILE.COM
sweet murmurings of impending apocalypse in his ear, Clay begins to turn his nightmare fears into action. It all begins with a six-pound bag of dog poop that he collects and intends to smear all over Doug’s pristine bentgrass. Eventually, that prank escalates into a much
not quite. And Rob Grant adds another layer of ominous threat as Doug’s imaginary brother. Clearly, Pelfrey has updated this 10-year-old script to include unmistakable references to the current political climate, as when Eugene urges Clay to retaliate
against Doug by imploring him to “Grab him by the pussy!” And, yes, the comparison is valid, since all countries on the planet are now “next-door neighbors,” thanks to the internet, cyber-hacking and intercontinental ballistic missiles. It is terrifying to think that two of those neighbors that have worldending weapons are currently headed by infantile leaders — the Don & Kim Show — who might be tempted to lash out at any time, with nukes instead of a 5-iron. As Clay mentions, a man’s home is like a country and it must be defended. But it’s easy for that simple idea to be distorted beyond all reason (ie., the idea, proposed in the play, for mail slots in the front door that double as gun slots). That is the metaphor that fuels this play, making it resonate with a particular chilling effectiveness. In one of his ramblings, Ray says he wants to “roam the concrete veldt like a true artistic predator.” Great words, but a scary thought when you know those predators are the same people who, with pants on or off, have their finger on the button.
scene@clevescene.com t@christinehowey | clevescene.com | July 5 - 11, 2017
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meats, small plates and sensational cocktails and an unlimited rodizio experience for $17.95 a person. Happy hour (4 to 6 p.m.) boasts a roster of $5 snacks such as roasted shishito peppers, futomaki rolls for slightly more, and budget-friendly beer, wine and cocktail offerings. In other words, there’s never a bad time to visit this shining gem located in the heart of the city.
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MOVIES GIRLFRIEND IN A COMA The Big Sick comes off as a heartwarming love story By Jeff Niesel WHILE TALKING ABOUT HIS ROLE in the movie The Big Sick on a recent TV talk show, actor Kumail Nanjiani joked that he didn’t have to prep for the part since he just portrayed himself. And while Nanjiani is funny and charming (and, as he’s proven with the hit HBO series Silicon Valley, a decent actor), he might be miscast in the movie. After all, the film, which is based upon how he and his real-life wife met, centers on him as a much younger and immature man. At 39, he might be a tad too old for the part. That criticism aside, the heartwarming film works simply because the source material (and the accompanying script) is so terrific. It opens areawide on Friday. A struggling standup comic, Kumail regularly performs at a small bar with a solid group of other comics. They have great rapport and regularly provide constructive criticism as they try to refine their acts. One night while performing, Kumail takes exception to a heckler
and confronts her after the show. Actually, his confrontation is more of a come-on and the two hook up for a one-night stand. As Kumail drives her home (Kumail conveniently works as an Uber driver), Emily (Zoe Kazan) lets Kumail know that she’s not ready for dating, and they shouldn’t see each other again. He takes it well, and the two part ways. It’s not long before they’re regularly hanging out with each other. Emily admits she didn’t anticipate the relationship, and she feels “overwhelmed,” in a good way. Kumail feels the same way about her.
But Kumail hasn’t yet broached the topic with his traditional parents, who insist he marry a Pakistani woman. In fact, whenever he visits his parents for dinner, a single Pakistani woman just happens to drop by. Kumail shows no interest in the woman, though he does keep a box full of their photos at his apartment. And he doesn’t explain the situation to Emily. When she discovers his little secret, she tells him he’s a liar, and the two break up. As fate would have it, she contracts a terrible infection and winds up the
hospital where doctors induce a coma. (“It’s a good coma,” jokes Kumail as he tries to cope with Emily’s illness. “It’s kind of like how some carbs are good carbs.”) Her parents (Ray Romano and Holly Hunter) arrive. Though they’ve heard about the breakup, they eventually befriend Kumail. Of course, the real question remains, what will Emily think when she wakes up? While Nanjiani isn’t convincing as Kumail, his co-star Kazan certainly is. She plays Emily as the sarcastic but sensitive type who knows just how to playfully push Kumail’s buttons. And Romano and Hunter turn in remarkable performances as well, as parents who share a deep love and concern for one another even if they haven’t sorted out their own differences after years of marriage. The film drags a bit in the middle, but the sharp writing and solid premise keep it afloat.
jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel
SPOTLIGHT: SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING MARVEL CRANKING OUT NEW Spider-Man franchises is, at this point, the equivalent of sitting down with a fresh notebook, resolving to start journaling, but continuously tearing out the first page, never quite pleased with how it turns out. At some point, you have to make satisfactory changes and settle or move on. You’d think, with Homecoming being the third SpiderMan reboot in 15 years, the studio could finally accomplish this. But it’s still struggling to find the right balance between superhero flick and high-school rom-com, and winds up excelling at neither. In this franchise’s world, superheroes and aliens are commonplace, and Peter Parker (Tom Holland) has been aware of his Spidey senses for some time. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) enlists his help for a quick mission, and while Peter believes he’s ready to join the Avengers full-time, Stark disagrees. Peter returns to high school and his role as,
essentially, Queens’ nerdiest and most helpful Boy Scout, while he waits for Stark to call him again. Peter soon finds himself on an ill-advised crusade to stop a winged villain (Michael Keaton) from selling alien technologyinfused weapons to criminals. For much of the film, all of this is more or less a backdrop to Peter’s most formidable adversary: high school. Prior to its release, Marvel openly admitted the late John Hughes had an influence on Homecoming, and promised a plot focused on how being a teenager sucks, regardless of whether or not you have supernatural powers. But this depiction of Peter’s humdrum high school life, while certainly a different vision than its predecessors, buckles under the weight of all its cliches. The school itself, an institution for teens excelling in science, is unusual. But there’s nothing new about Peter’s peers, who are standard Breakfast Club-style archetypes: the nerdy, Legoloving best friend (Jacob Batalon), the
popular and untouchably gorgeous crush (Laura Harrier), the Sylvia Plath T-shirt-wearing outcast (Zendaya). There’s also a good, old-fashioned bully thrown into the mix because, why not? Homecoming certainly feels more like a superhero flick than a high school one, but it wastes too much time establishing plot points for the latter that never really pay off. The film thrives, not when it’s recycling old Hannah Montana story arcs (i.e., Peter being pressured to invite his “friend” Spider-Man to his crush’s party), but when it’s exploring the web-slinger’s identity crisis. Holland, plucked from a pool of pretty indistinguishable, mostly white contenders like Ansel Elgort and Timothee Chalamet for the title role, was the right choice. The 21-year-old English actor makes an endearingly awkward Peter Parker, and he’s a bundle of restless, earnest energy that’s easy to root for. A new lead, cameos from other Avengers and an emphasized high
school setting aren’t the only changes this particular reboot has made. It’s somewhere between an origin and allout superhero story, a refreshing and rarely probed middle ground. (Also, Aunt May is hot now, and subject to creepy and ubiquitous objectification.) But this isn’t enough to justify a franchise re-launch just five years after the last one; its obligatory badguy storyline is flimsy and predictable, as are all the plot’s tangents besides Peter’s inner Save the World vs. Show Up For a Spanish Quiz turmoil. Homecoming is a decent lead-in to the next Avengers film, but it’s not as cheeky and original as it believes itself to be. For the most part, this is nothing we haven’t seen before in the previous attempts at a Spider-Man franchise, other superhero films, and a handful of Disney Channel Original Movies. — Kirby Davis
scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene
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EAT BEASTLY GOOD Small but dynamite rosters of beers and food will keep you coming back to Noble Beast By Douglas Trattner I HAVE A MISERABLE SENSE OF vision when it comes to remodeling and design. Show me a fixer-upper and I won’t be able to look past the pet-stained carpets, poop-brown paneling and rust-ringed tub. That’s precisely why I never pictured myself hanging out at Noble Beast Brewing. When owner Shaun Yasaki first showed me the property, it had all the charm of an auto mechanic’s garage that works only on Pintos, Chevettes and PT Cruisers. The 5,000-squarefoot shell was dark, dank and devoid of even the faintest hint of appeal. Worse, it sits on the edge of downtown in a locale few have reason to visit. It’s amazing what a little creativity — and likely heaps of cash — can do to a space. New glass-paneled garage doors were added to both the front and rear of the building, bringing in tons of daylight, as do a glassy new vestibule and refurbished skylight high above the brewery floor. On fine days the old brick warehouse feels more like an open-air beer hall than an auto shop, save for the vintage three-cylinder Kawasaki — aka the Widow Maker — suspended from the rafters above the bar. That biker theme extends to the bespoke beer deckels decorated with a hand-drawn image of a retro helmet and goggles. That attention to detail can be traced throughout the entire operation, a characteristic that likely surprises none who at all know Yasaki. From the hand-painted, goldleaf lettered signage on the entryway of the building to the humorous safety hazard signage affixed to the men’s room bathroom stall, there’s eye candy around every bend. Craft beer fans know Yasaki from his days manning the brewhouse at Platform Beer, where he helped develop that brewery’s flagship
Photo by Emanuel Wallace
brands. The name Noble Beast, as he explains it, is a reference to the style of beers he likes to brew. Noble, classic styles from Germany and Belgium are countered by more beastly modern American styles. He works from a 10-barrel Portland Kettle Works brewhouse positioned squarely in the middle of the space, and his technical prowess is on display in glasses of sparkling clean Kolsch ($5), Düsseldorf-style Altbier ($5), and wheaty Bavarin Hefeweizen ($5). Of the six house beers on tap, four were session-level in terms of alcohol, a welcome trend. Given the brewery’s off-the-beatenpath setting on Lakeside, just east of downtown, it is an island in terms of restaurants. That’s why it was a
a great mix of snack foods, salads and sandwiches, all of which rise above standard pub grub in terms of quality and execution. A large paper boat of popcorn ($4) is tossed with barbecue seasoning, garnished with bacon and drizzled with a bright, herby aioli. For the nachos ($6), a small sheet pan is layered with basic corn chips, pork carnitas, radish, fresh cilantro, cheese sauce and a citrusy lime crema. The kitchen does a tasty version of a large, soft Bavarian pretzel ($7) served warm with sides of cheese sauce and honey beer mustard. Our favorite items in the snack category, though, turned out to be a sensational kielbasa corndog ($7) on a stick, paired with kraut and honey
NOBLE BEAST 1470 LAKESIDE AVE E., 216-417-8588 NOBLEBEASTBEER.COM
very wise move to install a kitchen and turn out food good enough to prevent hungry guests from leaving. Chef James Redford, who spent the past four years working with Ben Bebenroth, has put together a solid little menu that goes well above the call of duty. The 15-item roster has
mustard, and the wings. A half-dozen wings ($8), available in flavors like classic Buffalo, miso-honey, and spicy sesame arbol, come with crunchy pickled celery and creamy celery seed mayo. In the light and seasonal department, the kitchen offers a
spring bean salad ($8) with white beans, asparagus and arugula tossed in a beer vinaigrette. The Three Little Pigs sandwich ($12) comprises good country ham, smoked ham and bacon stuffed between a sliced, grilled baguette with cheddar and punchy pickled beets. A messy, meaty meatball sub ($12) is loaded with cheese curds, marinara and summery basil puree. Do get the zesty fries when given the choice. The system for everything — water, beer, food, cleanup — is strictly self-serve. Guests walk up to the bar to place their orders, and names are announced over a loudspeaker when the food is ready for pickup at the open kitchen. Not only is Noble Beast a place, I soon discovered, that I enjoy spending time at, it appears that many others do as well. During a pair of recent mid-week visits there was a scramble for seats on the main floor, compelling guests to sit on the elevated section in the rear. That’s actually a great vantage point, it turns out, to enjoy the raw beauty of the entire space.
dtrattner@clevescene.com t@dougtrattner | clevescene.com | July 5 - 11, 2017
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EAT A SANDWICH ROMANCE 20 years of heaven between two slices of bread at Gourmand’s
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VISIT GOURMAND’S (5345 CANAL Rd., Valley View, 216-328-0942, gourmandsdeli.com) just about any time it’s open and you’ll find owners Greg and Andrea Thomson behind the counter. They’re one of those couples that tend to match: both favor the practical sandwich shop uniform of shorts and dark t-shirts. One or both of them will strike up conversation as you wait for your sandwich, which is always made to order. That friendly vibe has won them a lot of regulars and repeat customers over the course of 20-plus years. “It’s like a social event some days,” says Greg. “It’s like Cheers, but without the alcohol,” says Andrea. Since the couple met at Gourmand’s, Cheers is a pretty fitting analogy. Tucked away in Valley View, on an inconspicuous strip, Gourmand’s is a true hidden treasure when it comes to Cleveland-area sandwich shops. The place offers soups, sandwiches and coffee to a diverse crowd hailing from Garfield Heights, Independence, and other nearby suburbs. But back in the ’90s, when Greg left his job in healthcare to open a restaurant, he was looking in Lakewood and Cleveland Heights. “Every place I tried fell through or I couldn’t afford it,” he says. He’d pretty much given up when he saw an unusual ad in the Plain Dealer: “Wanted: deli/coffee shop in the Valley View area.” It turned out a Mini-Mart owner was looking to turn over his shop and he felt that the neighborhood could use a good sandwich shop. So, in 1996, Thomson paid the man $25,000 and opened up shop. Friends told him at the time, “This is a terrible location; you’ll never make it.” But make it he did, although it took a few months for customers to discover it. One of those customers was his future wife. Andrea worked in the area, and she would come into the shop for sandwiches and cigarettes (which are no longer on the menu). “You weren’t very approachable,” Greg teases her. “I’d just moved!” she retorts. A Chicago transplant, Andrea recently had completed grad school at Bowling Green. She moved to
Cleveland for a stint at Cleveland Institute of Art teaching sculpture and metal-working. After nine months as a customer, she and Greg started dating. Not long after, they moved in together and Andrea started working in the shop. “I changed mediums,” Andrea puts it. “I went from metal to soup. Surprisingly, there’s a lot of the same thing.” Greg and Andrea married in 2000 and now live in Bedford. Great lovers of food and dining out, they’re the kind of couple that “will drive out to Clyde, Ohio for a burger.” That passion shines through in the quality of Gourmand’s selections. “The food has to be real,” says Andrea. “We want to provide the best quality for what people can afford. We’ll pay and take a smaller profit margin for the best coffee, the best bread.” With excellent sandwiches priced below $10, Gourmand’s meets that goal while providing an assortment of 57 sandwiches. Those range from the staunchly traditional, like the Dagwood, to the playful, like the fruit-and-meat filled Hawaii Five-Oh. Options like sweet potato fries, Rising Star coffee, and local soda round out the menu for an excellent breakfast or lunch experience. Will we be seeing that Lakewood or Heights Gourmand’s anytime soon? Not likely, says Greg. “We don’t have the energy; we didn’t want the stress, the nerves. We wanted to spend time with our customers.” For that, we are very lucky indeed. Gourmand’s will be closed for vacation until July 10.
scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE CHICKEN, FISH,RIBS & OUR OWN 13 GOURMET SAUCES!
★★★★★ “Worth the stop & future excursions from the Near West Side in the future.I can’t ďŹ nd one thing wrong with V’s and the woman taking care of us was just the nicest and personable person ever. For all the food we ordered it was very reasonably priced and held up well on the ride home/ Stopping here in the near future is in order as it puts lousy KFC’s, Popeyes, etc to shame in terms of quality, price, and customer service.â€? - Jesco D. ★★★★★ “I went here after the good reviews and I was impressed. I had the regular/mild batter. The chicken was light, crispy and delicious. The rice and greens is ingenious! They have
a little kick to them but quite tasty. They were buttery and lightly sweet. I enjoyed my meal and will return in the future.â€? - Ladonna G. ★★★★★ “This is some Seriously delicious chicken. I have lived very close, and almost drive by there daily. Thought it was part of the convenient store, so I would not go there. After reading the reviews and being extremely hungry, I took the plunge, and I am more than glad I did. I will be coming here so much more.â€? - Stephanie L. ★★★★★ “It’s no joke, best fried chicken in Cleveland. They’ve got plenty of sides, but don’t kid yourself, it’s all about the chicken. While there’s a variety of avors the staff might not give you many clues past identifying the individual avors. Luckily there’s a brief explanation of them at the restaurant.â€? - Noah F.
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991 East 185th Street | 216.481.9635 | bistro185.com | clevescene.com | July 5 - 11, 2017
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SAUCY BREW WORKS DEBUTS IN HINGETOWN By Douglas Trattner a capacity of 10,000 to 15,000 barrels per year. A high-speed canning line already onsite can crank out 200 cans per minute, so it won’t be long before Anderson’s beer lands in a bar or on a store shelf near you. Saucy will be open 11 a.m. to midnight seven days a week.
SMOKIN’ THYME KITCHEN BRINGS AFFORDABLE BURGERS, SANDWICHES TO LAKEWOOD Saucy Brew Works
THERE’S NOT A TON LEFT FROM the old Steelman Building, a former machine shop at the corner of Detroit Avenue and West 29th, after partners Brent Zimmerman and Eric Anderson finished building out Saucy Brew Works, a 14,000-square-foot brewery in Ohio City’s Hingetown neighborhood. “The concrete floors, center posts and the cranes are original,” Anderson explains during a walk-through of the modern-industrial space, which opened to the public July 5. Last year, Anderson left his post as lead brewer for Tremont Tap House and Butcher and the Brewer to officially begin this journey, which already had been one year in the planning stages. The glass-wrapped two-story building features an airy main space with a bar, behind which sits the majestic German-built brewhouse. A mezzanine offers lounge and private seating with overhead views of the action. A 100-foot sidewalk patio soon will be finished with a railing and awning. All told, Saucy Brew Works can accommodate 175 guests. Anderson describes his new concept as “a self-serve brewery and pizza place.” There are no servers. Instead, guests go up to the bar (or food counter) to place their orders. When it’s ready for pickup, they’ll receive a text message. The concise menu is designed around New Haven-style pizza (or apizza), which starts with slowly fermented housemade doughs that are topped and dropped into a unique pizza oven that utilizes a baking stone conveyor system that cooks from above and below. In about three minutes you’ve got thin, crispy, chewy and
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slightly charred pies. Diners fill out a paper chit to select one of a dozen predesigned pies, or they can build their own from a list of sauces, cheeses, veggies and meats. Also on the menu are a few salads, burrata and bread, meatballs in sauce, and garlic bread. Anderson prefers to focus his attention on the brewery side of the equation, working from his hightech command center above the bar. Every aspect of production can be controlled from the touchscreen of his 20-hectolitre (approximately 17-barrel) BrauKon brewhouse. Once a beer style is programmed in, the computer controls everything from the malt transfer to hop addition and even cooling and aeration of the wort. In place of plastic or vinyl hoses, tubing and lines, every inch of the system relies on stainless piping. “The result is very consistent, very clean beer,” Anderson explains. Even the draft lines that run from the brite tanks to the tap handles are 100-percent stainless. “They’re easier to clean, but there’s also no flavor transfer from beer to beer this way,” he adds. “We put so much emphasis on the quality of the beer and then you shove it through these vinyl lines. I decided to do it right.” Anderson expects to have five or six beers on tap for opening day. They likely will include a hefeweizen, IPA, hoppy brown ale, white stout on nitro, and a Kölsch, which will be served in the tradition style of Cologne: a small tray containing multiple 7-ounce glasses. Saucy will also have a full bar and six draft wines. With room to expand in the current space, Saucy Brew Works can reach
It didn’t take long for a new operator to claim the vacant spot that was created when Joseph Zegarac shuttered his popular Chow Chow Kitchen in Lakewood to take his talents over to the Parkview. Within weeks, David Kaplan opened Smokin’ Thyme
with whatever a diner wants. There are eight sauces from which to choose. In the sides and snacks department are fun fried foods like beer-battered pickles, hush puppies and mac-andcheese balls (all $3 or $4). Smokin’ Thyme also whips up puffy batches of beignets ($5), here called French Quarter doughnuts, and they come sprinkled with powdered sugar or cinnamon. Unfortunately, the oil used in the deep fryer was well past its prime and its flavor and aroma negatively affected everything that came out of it during our visit (fries, hush puppies, mac balls, beignets). Orders placed over the phone are kindly received and timely prepared, so consider calling ahead.
Smokin’ Thyme Kitchen
Kitchen (4201 Madison Ave., 216-7124126, smokinthymekitchen.com). Like Chow Chow, the new eatery is largely carry-out given the modest size of the space. The entire menu can fit on a small chalkboard, unceremoniously propped up on a chair near the pickup window. Smokin’ Thyme Kitchen offers a few sandwiches and sides, all more than reasonably priced. For just $5, a diner can score a meaty burger and a large side of house-cut fries. If you don’t want fries, that burger is just $3.50. Toppings like cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato and onion are included at no additional cost. It’s a great value for a mighty tasty meal. There’s also a black bean burger and a pulled turkey sandwich ($6.50/$8.50 with fries) that is messy, plentiful and delicious. The meat is not necessarily smoky but it is tender and piled high in a soft bun and topped
INSOMNIA COOKIES BRINGS ITS LATE-NIGHT BAKERY CONCEPT TO LAKEWOOD For those already entranced with the crumbly goodness of Insomnia Cookies — which opened, to the delight of night owls, in the Warehouse District last year — the chain is now opening a second Cleveland-area location in Lakewood. Opening at 18508 Detroit Ave., the shop plans to serve and deliver the same popular cookie flavors like chocolate chunk and chocolate peanut butter cup, along with milk and ice cream (perfect to smother between two cookies). And yes, they’ll stay open until 3 a.m., a time naturally intended for cookie eating. Expect the bakery to start schlepping its goods sometime this summer.
dtrattner@clevescene.com t@dougtrattner
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| clevescene.com | July 5 - 11, 2017
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MUSIC A TOUCH OF GREY Blues/rock band JJ Grey & Mofro captures its live sound on its latest effort By Jeff Niesel FOR MORE THAN A DECADE, singer-guitarist John “JJ” Grey, the frontman of the rock/blues band JJ Grey & Mofro, worked at a lumber yard while he tried to get his band off the ground. As he explains, the lumber yard gig provided him with the cash, so he and his band could hit the road. “I worked in a lumber yard for 10 or 12 years until I got this going big enough that I couldn’t work there anymore,” Grey says in a recent interview from his Florida home. He performs at the Kent Stage on Thursday. “I wouldn’t be able to do what I do if it weren’t for them. My boss man allowed me to go on these sometimes two-month tours and then would allow me to come back and go straight back to work, so I could make money. Going on tour always put me in the hole. I would save money from the lumber yard and then pay them. The lumber yard let me do it.” Now, Grey devotes most of his time to touring and recording. His latest album, 2015’s Ol’ Glory, features more of the Southern-styled blues rock harmonies for which he’s known. A spirited horn section gives tunes such as “Everything Is a Song” and “Every Minute” a retro feel. Grey’s eclectic approach stems from his upbringing; he listened to all sorts of music while growing up. “There was a little juke behind my grandfather’s place that had cover bands playing stuff like the Isley Brothers and Stevie Wonder,” he explains. “One time they did a homemade rodeo down the road from our house, and they had a Southern rock band playing on the back of a trailer. I was exposed to stuff like that over the years. My sister had a good singles and 45 collection of stuff like [the soul/funk act] Main
Ingredient. She also had disco. My mom sang in a choir, and my brother sang in the choir. We had a little organ in the house that I didn’t know how to play much. I didn’t have a family that was doing music all the time, but I was around music in some way.” Initially, Grey and songwriting partner Daryl Hance, friends since high school, went to England because they had the chance to sign with a label with there. By the time they got there, the label was defunct. Grey managed to eke out a living overseas for about two years before he moved back to Jacksonville at the request of Fog City Records’ label owner, who offered him a contract. “Some of the guys that played with me in London came back with me,”
says Grey, who would start releasing albums in 2001. “I’ve probably had 50-odd people come through this outfit.” He says Mofro wasn’t really a band because he wrote all the songs. His grandmother was the one who inspired him to start putting his name on the marquee. “Before [2007’s] Country Ghetto came out, my grandmother asked me what the name meant and I said nothing,” he says. “She asked, ‘You sing about your family and call it Mofro? Are you ashamed of me? Everybody else puts their name on it when they paint a picture.’” At that point, he began calling the group JJ Grey & Mofro. While Grey says he records most of his albums live, he tried to enforce
that approach more strictly with Ol’ Glory. “I wanted to catch everything at once,” he says. “In the past, it wasn’t everything at once. The biggest reason it wasn’t done all at once was because I didn’t have my shit together. I didn’t have all the parts arranged. With this album, I had everything a lot more together finally. There were always a third of the songs that the band had played multiple times, at least at sound checks. Another third they may have played once or twice. Another third would be these ideas, and I have to flesh them out in the studio. That’s how everything went but the last one. The last one was two thirds that were down to a science and a third that the band had played a couple of times.” | clevescene.com | July 5 - 11, 2017
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He’s had horns on every album since Country Ghetto. But he often had to overdub the horns. He recorded Ol’ Glory with the horn players in the studio along his side. “A lot of [the overdubbing] has to do with the logistics,� he says. “We don’t need full separation, but if horn players are standing right beside the drummer, the horn mic will just pick up the drummer. We went for it and I’m happy with the way it turned out.� Album opener “Everything Is a Song,� a souful song that puts Grey’s sultry baritone vocals up front in the mix, starts things off with a bang. Grey says his daughter inspired the spirited song. “We had left Target or Home Depot and she just started singing and didn’t have words yet,� he says. “She didn’t know a lot of words yet. She
Black Keys-like swagger. Grey says he wrote the song about his former boss at the lumber yard. “My boss, man, oh, he’s not around anymore,â€? he says dryly. “He made a bad decision. He ain’t the ďŹ rst to do it. It has to do with prescription drugs. That was the main problem. It’s just one of those things. This song is about that. It just happened and I deciphered it later and realized it was about him. It’s like if I could write a letter to him.â€? Grey says despite the trials and tribulations he’s endured over the years, he never doubted his desire to play music or thought that he might not succeed. “That never factored into my thinking,â€? he says. “I had to do it whether I wanted to do it or not. People tell me they couldn’t have done
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started singing and had this look on her face like she was a soul singer. I saw her in the rearview mirror and started listening to her singing, and it pulled me into being right there. Normally, I am thinking about all the things I have to do and all the judge and jury stuff in your head. For 15 seconds, it stopped, and the trees got greener, and the sky got bluer. I realized she wasn’t singing to show off or to make money. She was singing just like a bird sings. That’s what it’s all about. All that other crap doesn’t mean nothing.� With its grunge-y guitar riff and hoarse vocals, “Brave Lil’ Fighter� stands out as one of the more intense songs on the album and features a
the sleeping on people’s oors and driving. It was never hard. It was fun. There was a stretch when I made it hard on myself because I pretended it was hard. I never thought about whether or not it was going to work.â€? He pauses and then uses a metaphor to explain his point. “I compare it to a salmon swimming upstream,â€? he says. “If someone could ask it questions about whether it’s hard or if it’s going to pan out, the salmon would say, ‘I don’t know the answers to any of that shit. I just know I have to swim that way.’ That’s how I feel about it.
jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel
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PHANTOGRAM In Association with The Grog Shop
J U LY 1 1 S O L D O U T
THE AQUABATS
J U LY 1 2
SEETHER
J U LY 1 4
w / R E G G I E & T H E F U L L E F F E C T, KEPI GHOULIE
w/ Letters From The Fire, Big Story
w/ Grunge DNA ‘Tribute to 90’s Rock’
J U LY 1 5
J U LY 1 5 S O L D O U T
J U LY 2 1 TONY HINCHCLIFFE (COMEDIAN)
w/ Invincible - Tribute to Pat Benatar JULY 22
w/ The Living End
COMING SOON
AUGUST 27
July 9 July 27 July 31 Aug. 1 Aug. 10 Aug. 15 Aug. 19 Aug. 20 Aug. 24 Sept. 1
AUGUST 11 ON SALE FRI. 10AM
ADAM ANT
SEPTEMBER 16
Chevelle w/ Black Map, RavenEye SOLD OUT All-American Rejects Tegan & Sara w/ Japanese Breakfast Social Distortion w/ Jade Jackson Durand Jones & the Indications Cambridge Room Taking Back Sunday w/ Every Time I Die, All Get Out ZOSO - Tribute to Led Zeppelin Atlas Genius Cambridge Room Anathema Cambridge Room George Clinton & Parliament/Funkadelic
BUY TICKETS AT
AUGUST 12
NOVEMBER 17
Sept. 2 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Sept. 19 Sept. 20 Sept. 21 Sept. 26 Oct. 4 Oct. 5 Oct. 6
Kyle w/ Bobby The Mavericks MUTEMATH Jake Miller w/ The Stolen Sylvan Esso w/ Helado Negro ZZ Ward Hanson SOLD OUT Against Me! w/ Bleached, The Dirty Nil Dark Star Orchestra (Tribute to Grateful Dead) Here Come The Mummies
Buy tickets at HOUSEOFBLUES.COM/CLEVELAND Order By Phone: 800.745.3000 • House of Blues Box Office
| clevescene.com | July 5 - 11, 2017
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MUSIC
SOCAL VIBES Skater/stoner band Slightly Stoopid headlines Nelson Ledges festival By Eric Sandy THERE’S SOME REAL COSMIC intrigue in Slightly Stoopid’s narrative arc — from San Diego skater/stoner punk band to San Diego skater/stoner punk band with songwriting chops. Of course, there’s more to the story than that, but a time traveler with a longboard would be hard-pressed to imagine Slightly Stoopid, ca. 1996, headlining a place like Nelson Ledges Quarry Park, which they’ll do during this weekend’s festival. Tropidelic kicks things off on night one, along with Jon Wayne and the Payne, Chase Makai and more. Campers get their Slightly Stoopid fix the next night, on top of a bill that includes Iration, J. Boog, the Movement and more. Scene caught up with co-frontman and -founder Kyle McDonald earlier this month, before the band played Charleston, South Carolina. Stoopid was in week three of a 12-week stretch of shows, throwing down a two-hour show that covers the old stuff and the new stuff. “We always get stoked to jam with the other bands,” McDonald says via phone. “Every band we go out with we kind of become a family.” And “family” is a good term to extrapolate here. With an impressive history that spans more than two decades and a lifetime of friendship, Slightly Stoopid and its fans are indeed family at this point. McDonald formed the band with his childhood bud Miles Doughty in the early 1990s, setting the stage at a particularly auspicious moment in SoCal history
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| clevescene.com | July 5 - 11, 2017
for something very special. At the time, the whole region was buzzing with the electric ascent of Sublime, a band that fit naturally with its time and its cultural surroundings. Long Beach was a haven, where heavier and gentler sounds merged to form a unique bond. “Miles and I, our first concert was Metallica and Motley Crue,” McDonald says. “When we saw that shit, it just really inspired us to play guitar and learn Metallica riffs. Heavy metal and shit: That’s what we were into when we were 10, 11, 12 and saw our first concerts. That’s what got us started.” From there, the band’s early stuff was born out of a shared interest in NOFX, Operation Ivy, Rancid: the albums that were threading southern California’s high-school punk scene in that era. But there was an omnipresent reggae influence in much of the live music in San Diego and elsewhere, as well.
feet wet,” McDonald says. “[Skunk producer] Miguel [Happoldt] told us some really good advice. He said, ‘No matter what you’re doing, when you start it’s going to take at least five years to get it to do anything. From there, you just keep touring and keep it on the road.’ We’ve been on the road for I don’t know how many years now — since we got out of high school. It’s kind of all we know, you know?” Both the band’s self-titled album and The Longest Barrel Ride came out in those halcyon days. Barrel Ride is where you start to see the band stretching its legs, opening the album with the two-four rhythms of “Castles of Sand.” McDonald would go on to craft memorable melodies in “Wiseman” and “Closer to the Sun,” and Doughty would do the same in tunes like “Collie Man.” There’s never been any real method to their songwriting, McDonald says. The band jams, and the good stuff
SLIGHTLY STOOPID WITH IRATION, J. BOOG, TROPIDELIC AND MORE FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, JULY 7-8, NELSON LEDGES QUARRY PARK, 12001 STATE RT. 282, GARRETTSVILLE, 440-548-2716. TICKETS: $110 WEEKEND PASS, $80 SATURDAY-SUNDAY PASS, TICKETQUARRY.COM
Early on, you see Stoopid tunes like “Smoke Rasta Dub” that foretell the genre-bending they would go on to pursue. It’s stuff like that — the early chemistry, the melding of local flavors — that got Sublime’s Bradley Nowell to take notice and sign them to Skunk Records. The Stoopid guys were still in high school, mind you. “That’s just kinda how we got our
just happens. “You can hear it in the music,” he says. “It’s like Bob said, ‘There ain’t no rules, there ain’t no vows. You can do it anyhow.’” Last fall, the band teamed up with skater Danny Way to release a full album of punk tunes, in tandem with Way’s new deck. The project benefited Grind For Life, which funds cancer treatment and medical travel for
children. “It was pretty cool, just to kind of take it back,” McDonald says. “Everything was retro; the skateboard was a retro shape, and the graphics on the bottom were all skulls. It was a throwback to our high school days.” The band has played the House of Blues and Jacob’s Pavilion in recent years (this writer recalls a few heavy shows at Peabody’s in the mid-2000s), but the Nelson gig will offer a sound setting for the band’s free-spirited blend of music. “We’re excited to go to the Ledges,” McDonald says. “I might have to come in a couple days early if Cheech and Chong are gonna be there. That’s some frickin’ good shit right there.” As things stand now, the band is eyeing a new album with various styles of music. After this lengthy tour, the guys will return home to spend time with their families. Later on this year, it’s back to the studio to wrap things for the next LP. They hope to do some more overseas touring by the time 2017 skips into 2018. They were in South and Central America earlier this year, and McDonald says it was a fantastic trip. “It’s a blessing to make music and to be able to go around and make people smile by playing music — and make ourselves smile. We don’t take it for granted. At the same time, we’ve been driving — starting in a Dodge Ram and making the rounds. We’re still mashing it.”
esandy@clevescene.com t@EricSandy
| clevescene.com m | July 5 - 11, 2017
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MUSIC ONE OF THE WONDERS Natalie Merchant brings her 3 Decades of Song tour to Playhouse Square By Jeff Niesel GIVEN THE DEGREE TO WHICH the music industry has changed, singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant knows just how remarkable it is that her record label would release a deluxe 10-CD box set that includes all eight of her solo studio albums from the past three decades. The other two discs feature four new songs and six reinterpreted selections from the catalog, all arranged for string quartet, and previously unreleased tracks recorded in the past 20 years, including collaborations with Billy Bragg, David Byrne, the Chieftains, Cowboy Junkies and Amy Helm. The package also includes a 100page lyric book and a pictorial history. “I just got my first copy in the mail about 20 minutes ago,” says Merchant via phone from her upstate New York home. She brings her 3 Decades of Song tour to Connor Palace on July 8. “It’s pretty thrilling. It’s heavy. It’s like a brick. It’s colorful. It’s like a gift-wrapped box. It’s a much different experience than just seeing the PDF. That’s the dilemma of our industry these days. What’s the difference between a PDF and a box set? I would say texture, mass, sense of accomplishment and awe. I wasn’t so in awe when I looked at the PDFs but when I hold the boxset and the book, it’s much better. Nonesuch told me it’s only the third time they’ve done this. I think they did one for Phillip Glass and Kronos Quartet, so I feel really lucky.” Merchant joined the band Still Life when she was only 17. After a couple of name changes, that group rechristened itself 10,000 Maniacs. Thanks to Merchant’s powerful voice and poetic lyrics, the group had a few commercial radio hits. Merchant would leave the band in 1993 and release her solo debut, Tigerlily, in 1995. Songs such as the simmering “Wonder,” which features a meaty guitar riff juxtaposed with Merchant’s plaintive vocals and a touch of piano, and the jazzy “Carnival” helped turn the album into a hit. “It was a natural transition to
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| clevescene.com | July 5 - 11, 2017
become a solo artist,” she says when asked about her departure from the group. “It was exhilarating and challenging to make all the decisions myself and stand by them. I funded that record myself. I didn’t want any interference from the record company. I sensed that they wanted to capitalize on the fact that I was a female singer. They wanted to put me through that sausage machine. That wasn’t what I wanted.” She hired Jon Landau as her
especially if they had seen the chaos reigning in the studio. It was just total chaos. I hired a guitar player who was only 22 years and had never been in the studio. She was erratic. She was a brilliant musician but showing up sometimes and not showing up other times. Out of it came something really special. It would have gone in a different direction if I had gone into the studio with a seasoned producer. It’s a very small record, but it’s honest and heartfelt. I learned a lot about
NATALIE MERCHANT: 3 DECADES OF SONG 7:30 P.M. SATURDAY, JULY 8, CONNOR PALACE, 1615 EUCLID AVE., 216-241-6000. TICKETS: $11-$66, PLAYHOUSESQUARE.ORG
manager. At the time, he had never worked with anyone but Bruce Springsteen. That helped keep the folks at her record label at bay. “I had this protection because people wouldn’t have questioned Jon Landau,” Merchant explains. “They would have definitely questioned me,
making records and that’s why I rerecorded the album. I wanted to serve the songs in a different way.” Those songs are just some of the tunes on The Natalie Merchant Collection, which Merchant says will arrive at “the right moment.” “It feels like the twilight for
physical product at this point,” she says. “If I waited any longer, there might be no market and no audience for something like this. I think there are still some sentimental people who remember what it was like to get the gatefold record of Carole King or the Stones or Genesis and worship at the altar of the turntable. For those of us who were introduced to the recorded music of ’60s and ’70s, there was this cult of vinyl, and that’s what it feels like to me when I hold this box set. Usually, the record company decides to put out your record after you’re dead and releases a pile of crap that no one wants. But this was hand-picked.” An activist who regularly plays benefit concerts and contributes to social causes, Merchant recently helped make the protest concert film Dear Governor Cuomo with New Yorkers Against Fracking, actors Mark Ruffalo and Melissa Leo, and filmmakers Jon Bowermaster and Alex Gibney, and she directed and produced Shelter: A Concert Film to Benefit Victims of Domestic Violence. Not surprisingly, she describes the current administration’s lack of concern for so many significant social issues as “toxic.” “The only way I can remain in any way engaged or optimistic is to be satisfied with small victories,” she says. “The Hudson Valley where I live is fast becoming this mecca for people who want to get their food locally, produce energy locally and be protective of critical resources. It’s people who want to be engaged and want to assist people. It’s a huge amount of land but a series of small towns with its own personalities. It’s almost like a confederation of really cool towns. Since the 1920s or even earlier, it’s attracted forwardthinking people. That gives me hope. We call it ‘the bubble.’ I’m sure every state in the union has its own bubble with progressive people, and that gives me hope.”
jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel
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THU 9/14 | cleves clevescene.com esscene.com m | July 5 - 111, 1, 2017 177
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| clevescene.com | July 5 - 11, 2017
“Coolest local live band venue I’ve seen in a long time” - Slash
SATURDAY, JULY 8
LIVEWIRE WED
07/05
Meek Mill/Yo Gotti: Tonight, the bombastic duo of Yo Gotti and Meek Mill bring their raw, rugged tales to the Jacobs Pavilion stage. With a Philly-to-Memphis connection proving strong, Meek’s gritty East Coast bars and Gotti’s gliding Southern braggadocio blend into a strong rap cocktail. Narrativeheavy Meek is touring to support Dreamchasers 4, the fourth in what has blossomed into one of hip-hop’s strongest mixtape series; this one is propelled by the towering, booming “Litty” with a blue chip verse and hook from Tory Lanez, and the smooth “Two Wrongs,” with Pusha T and newcomer Guordan Banks. Tennessee veteran Gotti found his simmering career vaulted into A-list territory with his ubiquitous 2015 Top 40 single, “Down in the DM,” and has been handing out hedonistic anthems since. “Castro” has been a recent standout, collecting rap’s Who’s Who — Kanye, Quavo, Big Sean, and 2 Chainz — onto a verseswapping, futuristic ode to all kinds of Cuban paraphernalia. (Lawrence Neil) 8 p.m., $29.50 $69.50. Jacobs Pavilion. 10 X 3 Singer Songwriter Showcase hosted by Brent Kirby: 8 p.m. Brothers Lounge. Bad Boys of Blues: 9 p.m., free. Happy Dog. Diana Chittester (in the Supper Club): 6 p.m., free. Music Box Supper Club. Five Alarm Funk/Dropsickle: 8:30 p.m., $8. Beachland Tavern. Great Grandpa Beebe/Time Cat/ Mister Moon/The Tenants: 8:30 p.m., $6. Grog Shop. Hot Club of Akron: 7 p.m., $12. Bop Stop. Palm/Palberta: 8 p.m., $10 ADV, $12 DOS. Mahall’s 20 Lanes. TALsounds, Matchess (in the Locker Room): 8 p.m., $6. Mahall’s 20 Lanes. The Whiffs/Street Gurgler/Cotton Ponys/Brain Wave: 9 p.m., $5. Now That’s Class.
THU
07/06
Rozwell Kid/Vundabar/Great Grandpa/Dark Spring: Rozwell Kid got its start in 2011 with the release of its first LP, The Rozwell
all the live music you should see this week Blues icon Eddy Clearwater comes to the Music Box. See: Friday.
Kid LP which featured 10 songs loaded with catchy, sing-along lyrics that carry the familiarity of early Weezer. Think “Buddy Holly,” except infused with more melodic rock and a pinch of punk. “UHF on DVD,” the first single off their new album, Precious Art, showcases Rozwell Kid’s growth as singerguitarist Jordan Hudkins sings simple and to-the-point lyrics that you can’t help but find yourself singing along to. “Wendy’s Trash Can” tells the gut-wrenching story of the endless loop of tour life in a comedic way. (Adrian Leuthauser) 7:30 p.m., $12 ADV, $14 DOS. Mahall’s 20 Lanes. Vicki Chew/Anita Keys & Friends: 8 p.m., $7 ADV, $10 DOS. Beachland Tavern. Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers/ Gabriel Kelley: 8 p.m., $20 ADV, $25 DOS. Music Box Supper Club. JJ Grey & Mofro: 8 p.m., $29. The Kent Stage. Hanging Hearts & $pellcheck Feat. Dosh And Sopko: 8 p.m., $12. Bop Stop. 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. Corky Laing’s Mountain/Granicus: 9 p.m., $15. Grog Shop. Las Piñas/The Dreemers/The Scuzzballs: 9 p.m., $5. The Euclid Tavern. Palehound/Faceless Dads/Half An Animal (in the Locker Room): 9 p.m., $10 ADV, $12 DOS. Mahall’s
20 Lanes. Maura Rogers & The Bellows (in the Supper Club): 8 p.m., $7. Music Box Supper Club. Venomous Maximus/Ancient VVisdom/We Live By Night: 9 p.m., $5. Now That’s Class. Winsor! A Cleveland Cabaret: 7 p.m., $25-$30. Nighttown.
FRI
07/07
Eddy Clearwater: Inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2016, Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater has a career that stretches back some 60 years. A proponent of Chicago blues, he also delivers soulful ballads and acoustic country blues. He and his backing band will often rip into mid-tempo jams that allow Clearwater, who frrequently performs in a Native American headdress, to deliver intricate solos and improvise. He’s a remarkable player and, judging by recent YouTube clips, hasn’t lost a step. (Jeff Niesel) 8 p.m., $15 ADV, $18 DOS. Music Box Supper Club. In Her Own Words/Story Untold/ Eternal Boy/Dead Fall/Up To Nothing/Goldleaf: With the poppunk scene being oversaturated with bands that seem like carbon copies, In Her Own Words does its best to set itself apart from acts like State Champs, Broadside and Neck Deep. The band brings its punk rock style to the forefront, plastering their songs with heavy but catchy riffs. Still on tour to promote last year’s Unfamiliar,
In Her Own Words headlines the second leg of the tour with support from the Canadian pop-punk act Story Untold. (Adrian Leuthauser) 7 p.m., $10 ADV, $12 DOS. Mahall’s 20 Lanes. Punchline/The Missing: After 20 years as a band, the punk rock band Punchline continues to evolve. Their first release, How to Get Kicked Out of the Mall, featured a punk style similar to Blink-182 and Green Day, but their latest effort, Thrilled, offers a more pop-based sound with quick sprints of punk riffs. Their latest single, “Darkest Days,” features Relient K singerguitarist Matt Thiessen. Equipped with an endless discography, Punchline won’t just play the new songs at tonight’s anniversary show. It’ll undoubtedly revisit its back catalog too. (Leuthauser) 7 p.m., $12 ADV, $15 DOS. Agora Ballroom. AJR/Samia: 7 p.m., $15. Grog Shop. Bumpin’ At The Dog with DJ Lawrence Daniel Caswell!: 9 p.m., free. Happy Dog. Cross Brothers/Christmas Pets/ Ma Halos: 9 p.m., $5. Now That’s Class. Dominick Farinacci & The Stokes Legacy Jazz Orchestra: 8:30 p.m., $15. Nighttown. FATS Trumpet Quartet: 8 p.m., $20. Bop Stop. Kidz Bop Kids: 7 p.m., $25-$45. Jacobs Pavilion. Jonny Lang: 8 p.m., $39-$49. The Kent Stage. Mo’ Mojo: 9:30 p.m., $5. Brothers Lounge. The Gretchen Pleuss Band (in the Wine Bar): 8 p.m. Brothers Lounge. Post Animal/Pack Wolf/Modernism: 8:30 p.m., $12. Beachland Tavern. The Prince Experience: 8:30 p.m., $22 ADV, $25 DOS. Music Box Supper Club. Schwartz Brothers/Blues Chronicles: 8:30 p.m., $7. Beachland Ballroom. Moss Stanley: 10:30 p.m., free. Nighttown. The Weeks/White Buffalo Woman: 8 p.m., $12. Musica. Wesley Who/FloorVVeed/Two Hands: 10 p.m., $8. Grog Shop.
SAT
07/08
The Flatliners/Pkew Pkew Pkew (Gunshots)/Garrett Dale/Heart & Lung: The thrashy ska punk band | clevescene.com | July 5 - 11, 2017
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LIVEWIRE the Flatliners have added a surfrock style to their sound, making their new record, Inviting Light, more mellow than before. The punk is certainly there, but the milder guitars are more prominent. Expect the band to emphasize its new sound for tonight’s show. (Leuthauser), 9 p.m., $13 ADV, $15 DOS. Grog Shop. All-In Country Band: 9:30 p.m., $5. Brothers Lounge. Drop to Zero/Amplexus: 9 p.m., $10. Musica. Tony Erba’s Birthday Bash Vol. 49 with Repos/Blood Pressure/ Pissing Match/Cold Sore/FYPM/ Basement Boys: 8 p.m., $10. Now That’s Class. FATS Trumpet Quartet: 8 p.m., $20. Bop Stop. Elton John Tribute by Madmen Across the Water (in the Supper Club): 8 p.m., $18 ADV, $20 DOS. Music Box Supper Club. Kid Tested (album release)/The Village Bicycle/Listen Little Man/ Alan Madej: 9 p.m., $5. Happy Dog. King’s X: 6:30 p.m., $20 ADV, $25 DOS. Agora Ballroom. Los Lonely Boys/Porter & Sayles: 8:30 p.m., $28 ADV, $30 DOS. Beachland Ballroom. Christine Marie (in the Wine Bar): 8 p.m. Brothers Lounge. Natalie Merchant: Summer Tour 2017, 3 Decades of Song: 7:30 p.m., $11-$66. Connor Palace. Pine/Nervous Laughter/The Safest Ledge/Walk Slow/Kevin has a drug problem: 7 p.m., $10. Mahall’s 20 Lanes. Third Eye Blind/Silversun Pickups: 7 p.m., $29.95-$95. Jacobs Pavilion. Russell Thompson & Free Agent: 8:30 p.m., $10. Nighttown. Tropical Cleveland: Noche en Blanco: 9:30 p.m., $10. Music Box Supper Club. Vesperteen/Spirit of the Bear/Attack Cat: 8 p.m., $12 ADV, $15 DOS. Beachland Tavern. Jackie Warren: 10:30 p.m., free. Nighttown.
SUN
07/09
Chevelle/Black Map/RavenEye: Longtime metal band Chevelle continues its five-month tour with support from Black Map and Raveneye. Still touring in support of last year’s The North Corridor, Chevelle brings its unique style to the stage. Three brothers — singerguitarist Pete Loeffler, drummer Sam Loeffler and bassist Joe
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| clevescene.com | July 5 - 11, 2017
Loeffler — started Chevelle back in 1995. Their second album, Wonder What’s Next, helped put the band on the map. “Send the Pain Below,” a The North Corridor highlight, features a buildup of chords until the riffs hit and the main chorus takes over. The North Corridor shows some real maturity as the band blends the nu-metal that helped it get its start with heavyhitting metal riffs from the bass and screamo vocals. (Leuthauser) 7:30 p.m., $32.50 ADV/$37.50 DOS. House of Blues. 2nd Sundays with The Missed: 4 p.m., free. Now That’s Class. MattyB/The Haschak Sisters: 7 p.m., $25. The Agora Theatre. Mike Petrone (in the Wine Bar): 5:30 p.m. Brothers Lounge. Dan Miraldi with Nathan Hedges & Joshua Jesty: Songwriters in the Round Acoustic: 7:30 p.m., $8. Beachland Tavern. Rajiv Satyal/Taylor Alexander: 7 p.m., $25 ADV, $30 DOS. Grog Shop. The Underland 3, Walking Bank Bone/Legionnaire/Dom tha Don: 9 p.m., $10. Grog Shop. Winsor! A Cleveland Cabaret: 7 p.m., $25-$30. Nighttown.
MON
07/10
Skatch Anderssen Orchestra: 8 p.m., $7. Brothers Lounge. Grassroots Bluegrass Jam!: 7:30 p.m., free. The Euclid Tavern. Oh Pep/The Movies: 8:30 p.m., $10. Beachland Tavern. Shit Show Karaoke: 10 p.m. B-Side Liquor Lounge & Arcade. Velvet Voyage (in the Wine Bar): 8 p.m. Brothers Lounge.
TUE
07/11
Behold the Brave/In the Whale: 8:30 p.m., $10. Beachland Tavern. Chicano Batman/Brainstory: 8:30 p.m., $15. Beachland Ballroom. Mitski/Julia Jacklin/Half Waif: 7:30 p.m., $15. Grog Shop. Mr. California Happy Hour with Oongow: 5 p.m., free. Now That’s Class. Josh Ritter/Brooke Annibale: 8 p.m., $38 ADV, $42 DOS. Music Box Supper Club. Two-Set Tuesday featuring Jerry Popiel (in the Wine Bar): 7 p.m. Brothers Lounge. Rob Zombie: 9 p.m., $65 ADV, $70 DOS. House of Blues.
scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene
| clevescene.com | July 5 - 11, 2017
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LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
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7/13 | 7PM CLEVELAND ART WEEK: WHEN ARTS SPEAK
$20
$12
$15
7/14 | 8PM NO MOSS
7/14 | 11PM MUAMIN COLLECTIVE AND PUREPLEX
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Bar sales directly support The Music Settlement and its many programs. Food provided by Cleveland Culinary Launch and Kitchen!
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| clevescene.com | July 5 - 11, 2017
By Jeff Niesel MEET THE BAND: Shawn Mishak (vocals, keyboards, guitar), Dominic Ricciardi (vocals, keyboards, bass), Jim Beil (drums) A TEST PROJECT: Kid Tested formed in 2001 and was intended to be a “test project.� Mishak says he never would have guessed that it would still be going in 2017. “I’ve tried to quit Kid Tested a few times, but I kept writing Kid Tested songs,� he says. “The current lineup and its continued support and passion for the material has made it possible for me to continue. The band has proved invaluable in keeping me going and producing songs in this vein.� A VARIETY OF INFLUENCES: Mishak says a variety of outside forces, ranging from “moving trucks� to “restless self-destruction� and playwright Tennessee Williams, contributed to the band’s new album, Full Moon Canoeing. “I always in jest describe our music as music to build tree forts to,� he says. “I say this because I feel in some of the brightest moments of the music, the songs offer a sense of triumph and exuberance that comes from a very primal and childish honesty that I feel is akin to the idea of ‘controlled abandon.’� WHY YOU SHOULD HEAR THEM: The band recorded songs such as “Drawing in the Sand,� “Waiting on the Moon� and “Kill Your Head� on quarter-inch reel with Paul
Maccarone at his now defunct Zombieproof studios in 2008, and then transferred them to digital and finished recording and mixing at Koss Music Center in Sheffield. The catchy tunes have that lo-fi feel and recall early Guided by Voices and Sebadoh. “Dominic did an amazing job with recording and mixing the album and worked tirelessly with older software to bring these tracks to life,� says Mishak. “Mark Klein of Noise Floor Studios mastered our first album and we were so pleased to be working with him again. He is a true visionary and we feel he really understands our artistic goals. I had so much fun with this album, allowing myself to be more open to other and more instrumentation as well as to other artists’ participation.� Locals Alan Madej and Sarah Nowicki sing backing vocals on some tracks and Cleveland “brass man� Jacob Wynne provided some horn. Mishak also says the band has 11 new songs “in the can,� so another studio album is forthcoming.
WHERE YOU CAN HEAR THEM: kidtestedbandcamp.com WHERE YOU CAN SEE THEM: Kid Tested performs with the Village Bicycle, Listen Little Man and Alan Madej at 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 8, at the Happy Dog.
jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel
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| clevescene.com | July 5 - 11, 2017
SAVAGE LOVE SACRIFICE by Dan Savage Dear Dan, I’m a 29-year-old straight woman facing a dilemma. I dated this guy about a year ago, and in many ways he was exactly the guy I was looking for. The main hitch was sexual. Our sex was good, but he had a fetish where he wanted me to sleep with other guys. Basically, he gets off on a girl being a “slut.” He was also into threesomes or swapping with another couple. I experimented with all of that for a few months, and in a way I had fun, but I finally realized that this lifestyle is not for me. I want a more traditional, monogamous relationship. I broke it off with him. We reconnected recently, and he wants to get back together, even if it means a more traditional sex life. I’m interested, but suspicious. If he decides to forego his fetish, can he ever feel truly fulfilled with our sex life? I don’t want to be with someone I can’t completely satisfy. I also worry that down the road he might change his mind and try to convince me to experiment with nonmonogamy again. I’m looking for someone to settle down with, and I’m scared to waste more time on this guy, even though in many ways he’s a great fit. Do you think it’s possible for us to be happy in a traditional arrangement when deep down he wants more? — Interested Despite Kink Every partnered person is with someone they “can’t completely satisfy.” No one person can be all things to another person — sexually or in any other way. So don’t waste too much time stressing out about that. That said, IDK, this guy gets off when girls — his girl in particular — are “sluts.” That doesn’t mean he can’t/won’t/ doesn’t get off when you’re not being slutty. (In this situation, “being slutty” refers to you sleeping with other people, which is only subjectively slutty.) He likes it when you’re a slut, but I bet he also likes it when you ___, ___, or ___. (I don’t know your sex life. Fill in the blanks.) Are you focusing too much on one of the things he’s into (you fucking other people) and not enough on all the other things he’s into (things like ___, ___, and ___)? If those other things are enough for him to have a great sex life with you without getting to enjoy this particular kink, you can make this work. In other words, IDK: If giving up his hotwife/cuckold fantasies is the price of admission he’s willing to pay to be with you, maybe you should let him pay that price. If being with someone
who fantasizes about sexual scenarios you would rather not participate in (and who may be fantasizing about them while you’re having sex) is the price of admission you’re willing to pay to be with him, maybe you should pay that price. Another maybe: Are there accommodations that would allow him to have his fetish/fantasies without having to stifle them and allow you to have your monogamous commitment? No fucking other guys, but sometimes sharing stories of past exploits? Or making up dirty stories you can share while you’re fucking? Kinky people sometimes place a few of their kinks on the shelf for years, decades, or all their lives because they love their partner, but their partner doesn’t love their proclivity for ball-busting/ piss-pigging/whatever-evering. And, yes, sometimes a person says they’re willing to let go of a kink and then changes their mind and starts pressuring their partner years or decades later — often when it’s much harder for the non-kinky partner to end things, i.e., after marrying, having kids, etc. Another thing that sometimes happens: People who never thought they’d be into X and married someone with the understanding that X was forever off the table suddenly find themselves curious about X and wanting to give X a try years or decades later. Who we are and what we want at 39 or 49 can look very different than who we were and what we wanted at 29.
Dear Dan, My partner has a hard time dealing with the fact that, before him, I had several casual flings and one-night stands. It has repeatedly caused issues with us. He is disturbed by the vastness of my past and concerned that I am sometimes impulsive. Because of these things, he often feels too scared to move forward in the relationship. In all other ways we have a supportive, fun-filled, and loving relationship — but I wonder if this issue is just too fundamental. I cannot change my past (and wouldn’t even if I could) and I am trying to be less impulsive, but I’m not sure he sees the changes I’m making. —Partner’s Angst Seriously Troubling With apologies to George Santayana: Bros who cannot shut up about your past are condemned to reside in it. DTMFA.
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