Scene March 23, 2016

Drug courts redeďŹ ned how we approach the country’s opiate epidemic.

Besieged in Lorain County, one judge confronts the crisis head on.

By Eric Sandy

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- ! 2 # ( s 6 / , 5 - % . O 3 8 Dedicated to Free Times founder Richard H. Siegel (1935-1993) and Scene founder Richard Kabat Publisher Chris Keating Associate Publisher Desiree Bourgeois

CONTENTS 5PFRONT

Editor Vince Grzegorek

6

Joe Cimperman names successor, public debates RNC riot gear requests, and more

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

&RAMED

Our favorites photos from this past week

.EWS

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

Public Square builds instant capacity with Metroparks’ “loaned executive”

Creative Services Production Manager Steve Miluch Layout Editor/Graphic Designer Christine Hahn Staff Photographer Emanuel Wallace

&EATURE

In Lorain County, a new drug court joins the fight against the growing opiate epidemic

Business Asst. To The Publisher Angela Lott Sales Assistant/Receptionist Megan Stimac 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

'ET /UT

Dozens of events spanning the next week in Cleveland

www.euclidmediagroup.com

!RT

National Advertising Voice Media Group 1-800-278-9866, voicemediagroup.com

Local artists work to reroute Cleveland narrative ahead of RNC

Cleveland Scene 737 Bolivar Rd, #4100 Cleveland, OH 44115 www.clevescene.com Phone 216-241-7550 Retail & Classifi ed Fax 216-241-6275 Editoral Fax 216-802-7212 E-mail scene@clevescene.com

3TAGE

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

Verifi ed Audit Member Cleveland Distribution Scene is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader Copyright The entire contents of Cleveland Scene Magazine are copyright 2016 by Euclid Media Group. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Publisher does not assume any liability for unsolicited manuscripts, materials, or other content. Any submission must include a stamped, selfaddressed envelope. All editorial, advertising, and business correspondence should be mailed to the address listed above.

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

The gods are having a hissy fit, and mortals take it on the chin in Metamorphoses

&ILM

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Baseball documentary Fastball is must-see for sports fans

$INING

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El Torito dishes up Mexican with cheer

-USIC

...The story continues at clevescene.com Take

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Singer Eli “Paperboy” Reed returns to his roots on his forthcoming album

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5

UPFRONT

THIS WEEK

CLEVELAND CITY COUNCILMAN Joe Cimperman, who will soon vacate his council seat to take over the nonprofit Global Cleveland, has appointed 27-year-old Kerry McCormack to replace him.

McCormack, who currently works as Ohio City Inc.’s director of community affairs, is a Cleveland native who speaks Spanish fluently and who managed his father Tim McCormack’s campaign when he unsuccessfully ran for Cuyahoga County Executive in 2011. Tim McCormack is an appeals judge who served two terms as a Cuyahoga County Commissioner.

Cleveland City Council will vote on the appointment on April 4. And that vote, though not a guarantee, is essentially a formality. Cimperman told Scene by phone that only once in the history of city council has a nominee not been approved.

Benny Bonano nominated Jay Westbrook back in 1979, but Council President George Forbes had other ideas. Forbes muscled in his own replacement, but it backfired: Westbrook went on to win the seat later that year.

Per the City Charter, no special election is required to fill the seat because there are fewer than two years remaining in Cimperman’s term.

If approved, McCormack will serve through Dec. 31, 2017, and then run for re-election (if he so chooses).

OCI’s Executive Director Tom McNair called losing McCormack a “huge blow” to the organization.

McNair said that what made McCormack a great community organizer will also make him a great councilman: passion for the community, intelligence, and strong communication skills.

“Over the past three years, he has attended nearly 300 community meetings, all of which take place

6

Photo courtesy of Ohio City Inc.

OUTBOUND COUNCILMAN JOE CIMPERMAN APPOINTS KERRY MCCORMACK

Kerry McCormack

outside of normal work hours,” McNair wrote Scene in an email, responding to questions about McCormack’s qualifications. “He works tirelessly at this because he truly cares about making the neighborhood and the city a better place. He was born and raised in the City. It’s in his DNA.” Like Cimperman himself, McCormack hails from the east side.

He’s a Collinwood kid who attended VASJ high school (class of ‘06) and then went on to Miami University (‘10).

He was a field organizer for the Ohio Democratic Party before working on his dad’s campaign. He is currently a homeowner in Ohio City.

When asked about his appointment, McCormack told Scene that he really wouldn’t have much to say until April 4, but that he was “truly honored to be entrusted” with the stewardship of Ward 3, a ward which includes Ohio City, Tremont, The Flats, Downtown, and slivers of Clark-Fulton and Stockyards.

“Joe [Cimperman] has an incredible legacy and I’m excited to work to build off of it,” he wrote Scene in an email.

He was also quoted by Cleveland. com, in true Cimperman fashion, saying that he “get[s] tingles” when good things happen to Cleveland.

Cimperman said that what made McCormack stand out to him were both his thoughtfulness and compassion with residents and his energy (in part, a function of his youth). Cimperman reiterated that he was seeking a candidate with a “heart of service.” During the interview process, he had candidates respond to a day’s worth of emails so they could experience the tedious breadth of a councilperson’s responsibility.

“It’s not all ribbon cuttings at the Hilton,” Cimperman said. “The work of councilpeople is in inches and feet — address by address, storefront by storefront — and done thoughtfully every day, it’s work that can create change. Kerry gets that.”

Cimperman cited one recent example where McCormack helped a Puerto Rican family on the near west side through the permitting process of owning chickens. Due to language barriers, they didn’t realize they were legally allowed to have chickens, but not roosters.

“He was patient and compassionate and helped them understand the process,” Cimperman said, “and now he gets invited over for dominoes and rice.”

Though some might question McCormack’s youth — he’ll be the youngest member on city council by a substantial margin — Cimperman pointed out that he was slightly younger than McCormack is now when he first arrived on council and that, to a great degree, having time and energy is critical in one’s first couple of years on the job.

“Even though he’s young, he’s got maturity and experience in the community under his belt,” Cimperman said.

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Zack Reed proposes forcing Indians to take down banners outside Progressive Field unless they show proper permits.

Paul Dolan: “Can we sway the councilman with some ‘Infield District’ Happy Dog?”

City of Beachwood in hot water after redacting an inordinate number of items on Mayor Merle Gorden’s day planner.

Leaked docs tell Scene he was at Highland Heights Sky Zone Trampoline Park most afternoons.

| clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

DEBATE OVER RNC RIOT GEAR REQUEST CONTINUES The city of Cleveland is seeking an unprecedented amount of riot gear and personnel for July’s Republican National Convention, as emotional unrest and violence follow the party’s front runner across the U.S. Donald Trump, in fact, has called for “riots” in the event that he is not formally nominated during the convention.

This month, the city posted a request for bids on a spectrum of riot gear: 2,000 sets of riot-control suits and 26-inch batons, three miles of steel barriers, 25 sets of tactical armor, 300 patrol bicycles and 310 sets of bicycle riot control gear, among other equipment needs. (The police department does not currently have a bicycle unit, nor a training program for same.) The bid package dwarfs similar requests from cities that hosted national conventions in recent history.

Bids are due next week, with hearings and an eventual vote to follow. All equipment must be confirmed and purchased by June. The RNC will be held July July 18-21.

And while the security stockpile is part and parcel of modern political convention planning, the numbers at play in Cleveland are prompting scrutiny.

In 2012, for instance, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security supplied the city of Tampa with 147 sets of riot helmets, upper body and shoulder protectors, shin guards and tactical gloves. The Tampa Police Department purchased $1.9 million worth of equipment on top of that — a fraction of Cleveland’s $20 million estimates for equipment.

Also raising eyebrows across the United States is Cleveland’s poor timing. The police chief who oversaw the Democratic National Convention in

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In a 4-3 ruling Wednesday, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the state may try to execute Romell Broom for a second time.

In 2009, Broom became the ďŹ rst person in the country to survive the death penalty via lethal injection. At the time, his lawyer, Tim Sweeney, said that the state was unable to ďŹ nd a vein to plant intravenous shunts. OfďŹ cials stuck him with needles 18 times, with no success. “I tried to assist them by helping to tie my own arm,â€? Broom stated in an afďŹ davit days later.

Broom, a Cleveland man, was convicted of murdering a 14-year-old East Cleveland girl named Tryna Middleton in 1984.

Justice Judith Lanzinger wrote this week that the 2009 attempt wasn’t really a failed execution, because the lethal drugs hadn’t entered Broom’s system. From the majority opinion: “Because the attempt did not proceed to the point of injection of a lethal drug into the IV line, jeopardy never attached.� The court refused to hear Broom’s claim that a second attempt would constitute cruel and unusual punishment, a violation of constitutional rights.

Writing in dissent, here’s Justice Judith French: “The majority’s decision to deny Romell Broom an evidentiary hearing on his Eighth Amendment claim is wrong on the law, wrong

on the facts, and inconsistent in its reasoning. If the state cannot explain why the Broom execution went wrong, then the state cannot guarantee that the outcome will be different next time.�

Scene spoke with Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, in 2009, on the subject of Broom’s botched execution attempt and the state’s strict privacy protocol. He said: “With the fact that these mistakes happen, the explanation of ‘Trust me, we’re doing this right,’ loses credibility. There needs to be access, observation, to see what’s claimed is what really happens.�

RTA BUCKLES UP AS TRANSIT GROUP PROTESTS FARE HIKE, SERVICE CUTS Transit riders packed into the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s main ofďŹ ce building on W. 6th Street Monday afternoon to tell CEO Joe Calabrese in no uncertain terms that they oppose service cuts and fare hikes.

Both have been proposed to forestall (and hopefully counteract) a budget shortfall that will leave RTA with only $6 million in reserves at the end of 2016. Given that RTA spends about $750,000 per day on operations, $6 million equates to nine days of funding. (Having 30 days — or about $22.5 million — in reserve is considered sound policy.) As such, the agency’s beleaguered executives have no choice but to make “adjustments,� they say.

The Monday community meeting was the ďŹ rst in a fourteen-part series, to be staged at various transitaccessible points around the city from

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now until April 6. RTA leaders hope to gather intel about transit usage and rider preferences for the imminent realignment.

“No decisions have been made,” Calabrese said to the gathered crowd, a phrase he’s uttered before. But it’s not as if rate hikes and service cuts aren’t coming. Calabrese insisted that he and the participants in a pre-meeting rally, what he called a “media event,” were on the same team, and that everyone was working extremely hard to secure cost-effective transit in the face of limited resources. (The state of Ohio, in persona Kasich, having slashed transit funding so deeply you’d think we were under siege, was framed as the real and ultimate enemy.)

Still, the only thing that appears to be up for discussion is which routes will be axed and by how much fares will be raised.

“Option one” on a numbers-heavy PowerPoint presentation was the option that was initially floated: a $0.25-increase for one-way fares (up to $2.50 from $2.25), a $0.50-increase for all-day passes (up to $5.50 from $5) and a $10-increase for a monthly pass (up to $95 from $85). The laughable second option suggested raising the fares even more (up $0.50 per one-way ride). That second option was endorsed by only one public commenter, a Shaker Heights man who glumly suggested that if RTA leaders expected the state to start coughing up more than the feeble $0.63-per-capita that it provides now, “they’re probably smoking something.”

Still, the newly formed Clevelanders for Public Transit, who led the pre-meeting rally, are hopeful that they can partner with RTA to secure additional funding. In fact, the first of six demands that the group presented to Calabrese Monday was: “Do not raise fares.”

Additionally, they asked that if RTA is forced to reduce service, they do so in an equitable way, (cut the Waterfront Line instead of the Lakeview Terrace loop on the #81 route, for starters). The Public Transit group also asked that transfers, once again, be included in one-way fares, and that two RTA board members be appointed to use mass transit as their exclusive mode of transportation.

Joe Calabrese remained poised and calm throughout the proceedings, occasionally responding directly to questions or clarifying concerns mentioned in public comments. Two state reps — Stephanie Howse and

Janine Boyd — took turns at the microphone and urged residents to combat this issue with advocacy at the state level. Tony Brancatelli’s Executive Assistant, the 73-year-old Tony Zajac, read a letter from the Slavic Village councilman voicing his opposition to a proposed “adjustment” to the #2 route.

Among the more interesting questions posed by public commenters: 1) Shouldn’t the RTA be saving some money from cheap gasoline costs? 2) Have administrative cuts — salaries and so forth — been fully considered before the decision to raise fares was arrived at? 3) If downtown businesses subsidize the trolleys, couldn’t the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals or even local dialysis centers subsidize Paratransit routes? (One man at the rally said on the megaphone that for many of Cleveland’s low-income riders, a fare increase was tantamount to a pay cut.)

The list of upcoming public meetings can be found on RTA’s website.

scene@clevescene.com t @cleveland_scene

DIGIT WIDGET $11.3 BILLION Purchase price of Valspar Corp., a global paint company bought by Sherwin-Williams Co.

$566 MILLION Size of City of Cleveland’s budget, passed at Monday night’s Council meeting, $11 million of which will go toward the implementation of the Consent Decree.

10 Number of houses to be rehabbed by Habitat for Humanity in Cleveland’s Buckeye neighborhood. This is part of a citywide 100-house goal.

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11

FRAMED!

our best shots from last week Photos by Emanuel Wallace, Scott Sandberg*

To Hogsmeade! @ Nerdlesque at Beachland Ballroom

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“What’s the deal?” @ Accidental Comedy at The Nash

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Bustling East Fourth @ St. Patrick’s Day

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Billy Cox @ Experience Hendrix at Hard Rock Live*

With honor @ Experience Hendrix at Hard Rock Live*

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Never miss a beat!

See more pics @ clevescene.com Conway’s delivery @ St. Patrick’s Day

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| clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

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13

Photo courtesy of James Corner Field Operations

NEWS

The revamped Public Square picked up a big name recently.

ONWARD, UPWARD Public Square building instant capacity with Metroparks’ ‘loaned executive’

By Sam Allard CLEVELAND’S GROUP PLAN Commission (GPC) has announced the appointment of marketing executive Sanaa Julien as the CEO of Programming and Operations at Public Square.

Julien, the Chief Marketing Officer at the Cleveland Metroparks, will be on loan to the GPC for a one-year stint during which she’ll oversee the branding and events for the new $50 million flagship downtown space. Public Square is slated to officially open June 1.

In an interview with Scene, the GPC’s executive director, Jeremy Paris, said that the position will be a permanent one, but that Julien (a veteran marketer whom the Metroparks offered up in the spirit of collaboration) will bring “instant capacity” to a public space that needs to hit the ground running.

Julien will be tasked with building a small staff — a manager of programs and events, a manager of operations, a coordinator of digital marketing, possibly one other position — and will also tackle finding her permanent replacement. (Those positions, in another convolved partnership, will be employees of the Downtown Cleveland Alliance, but will be paid from the GPC’s funding bucket.)

Meantime, Julien will coordinate sponsorships — “a concert series brought to you by so-and-so,” Paris explained — and, in Julien’s own

14

words, “really define what [Public Square] looks like, what it feels like and what the community takes away from it when they visit.”

The Group Plan Commission will pay Julien’s $148K salary out of a $3.8-million reservoir they’ve managed to assemble for ongoing maintenance and operations costs.

Part of that money came from foundations that chipped in for construction and stipulated that portions of their donations be used for down-the-road upkeep. Paris said that they’re still trying to raise about $3 million more.

Construction costs, at least, have been accounted for. After Mayor Jackson appealed to the state for dollars to put Public Square over the finish line, the state sort of heeded the call. In the capital budget bill passed in January, Ohio reallocated $3.5 million originally slated for the lakefront pedestrian bridge. That reallocation gave Public Square the last juice it needed; it’s also why the GCP prioritized an $8.5 million ask for the pedestrian bridge in the capital-projects wish list it submitted to the state last month.

As for Julien herself, Paris said he’s optimistic, due to her passion for Public Square and her leadership credentials.

“With essentially the light of the world right on Public Square for the RNC, we knew we had to get this right,” Paris said. “We’re going to be

| clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

fully activated after that, and we’re really excited about it.”

As noted above, Julien will now have a CEO title to her name — an on-paper promotion that struck Scene as odd, given the Collaborative’s already confusing organizational structure and the fact that Julien will report to Paris, the executive director of the Group Plan Commission.

“I actually think it makes a lot of sense,” Paris said. “Sanaa’s team won’t be autonomous, but our role is empowering them, making sure that they have the tools to really execute.

“The vision of this was always as a collaborative,” he went on. [The Group Plan Commission’s] role is to provide funding, oversight and make sure the vision is being met.

LAND Studio is a key part of this Collaborative, to ensure the design and construction is carried through, as well as the public art and cultural art component. Downtown Cleveland Alliance, aside from the employment structure, works with how this integrates into the downtown footprint, and collaborates on marketing and communications.

And then of course the Metroparks, in providing Sanaa, helps us get up and running.”

Julien’s “loaned executive” status leaves the Metroparks without a permanent Chief Marketing Officer on the eve of its Centennial.

Communications Director Rick

Haase said that the Metroparks’ Director of Marketing and Strategy, Kelly Manderfield, will become the “Interim Chief Marketing Officer” in Julien’s absence -- as such, she’s already received a substantial pay bump.

“In that role, Kelly is responsible for all day-to-day activities of the Cleveland Metroparks Marketing Department,” Haase wrote Scene in an email. That includes formulating the marketing plans for Centennial events.

Haase also said that Julien will remain officially in the employ of the Metroparks for her year on loan.

Though the Group Plan Commission will pay her salary, the Metroparks will continue to pay her benefits.

Metroparks’ CEO Brian Zimmerman also chimed in: “As we approach the Cleveland Metroparks’ 100th anniversary in July 2017, we’re proud to help reshape Public Square – and the City of Cleveland – for the next 100 years,” he said in a press release. “Sanaa Julien’s 30-plusyears of expertise in programming, marketing, corporate branding and identity, and project management... make her the perfect choice to spearhead the Public Square project.”

sallard@clevescene.com t@scenesallard

| clevescene.com m | March 23 - 29, 2016

15

FEATURE IN RECOVERY Drug courts redefined how we approach the country’s heroin epidemic.

Besieged in Lorain County, one judge confronts the crisis.

By Eric Sandy THE LORAIN COUNTY JUSTICE Center is not inviting in any sense of the word; but, for an hour each week, at least one corner of the place is a friendly sanctuary, a haven where the future is honored above the past.

In Room 702, Judge John Miraldi presides over Thursday morning status hearings that hold a certain reverence.

By 10 a.m., the hallway outside is abuzz with members of a new support system connecting over the past week’s tribulations and assuring one another that, yes, it will all be okay.

The congregation trickles into the courtroom without waver for another notch in their personal histories to be struck into the record.

This is the weekly courtroom gathering of the Lorain County Drug Court, though Miraldi doesn’t use that phrase. He says “recovery court.” With a gentle, fatherly voice, he’ll tell you that “recovery” is the very simple goal here.

A row of windows runs along the northern side of Room 702, which is unusual for a courtroom like this. It doesn’t seem to be sunny very often amid Lorain County’s late winter hustle, but when the sun shines, it is welcome.

“You look good,” Miraldi tells a young man from Elyria, the first participant to stand before the judge this morning and update the court on his progress. He’s one of 15 men and women currently participating in the 6-month-old program. “How was your week?”

It’s been a good week, he says.

This man has been sober for 58 days, and his treatment supervisor tells the judge that his coping skills have been improving. He’s becoming more “altruistic,” a probation case manager chimes in. He’s nearing the end of his stay at the Community Based Correctional Facility, and there’s a bit of anxiety over where he might go next. Home, or whatever home is receding in his life’s rearview, isn’t an option. Questions like that are where the drug court’s sense of responsibility for these men and women comes into play. In time, answers will reveal themselves.

The morning rolls on, not without

16

a few familial laughs, and Miraldi sees to it that those who’ve voluntarily entered this world remain on the right path. Sobriety — the reclamation of a life — is not an easy or simple task, and the judge knows this. Since opening the docket last fall, he’s given himself publicly to the rigorous study and accountability that come with tackling an opiate epidemic.

court, for example). The aim is to reroute criminal defendants rung up on felony charges — defendants who are suffering from addiction — onto a judicially supervised path toward sobriety and recovery. In doing so, the philosophy goes, defendants will “graduate” with a clean record and a clean body. They’ll return to society as functioning and contributing members

And yet: “To say it’s an epidemic is an understatement,” he tells Scene after the morning’s work is done.

of their community and workforce.

There are detractors, as with all arenas of criminal justice, but the success rate on face value is clear. (Nationwide, 75 percent of drug court graduates remain arrest-free at least two years after leaving the program, according to the National Association of Drug Court Professionals.)

It’s that national context and the glaring drug epidemic in Northeast Ohio that led Miraldi and a host of Lorain County officials last year to look into the process of opening a drug court for adults. For years now, best practices have been laid as groundwork for this alternative take on justice (like immediate sanctions for violations and rewards for healthy progress over time). The Ohio Supreme Court holds certification standards and the final stamp of approval, and Miraldi and his team spent time studying the methods that might put a dent in Lorain County’s booming

In 1989, a small group of legal professionals organized the first drug court in Miami-Dade County, Florida.

The development of a “problem-solving court” came amid the surge of crackcocaine use and the booming War on Drugs in that decade. (“It all seems like a million years ago, and it seems like yesterday, that we launched this crazy idea where we would treat individuals as individuals; we would not treat them as a class,” Justice Policy Institute director Tim Murray said on the 25th anniversary of the Miami-Dade drug court.) Currently, there are nearly 3,000 such drug courts operating in the U.S. A “drug court” is a specialty docket that exists within a broader county or municipal court (much like a veterans

| clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

opiate problem.

With Smart Ohio grant funds that flow through the Lorain County Adult Probation Department, the docket was born. Currently, the court is applying for a federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to expand its working budget.

By September 2015, the first participants were being screened.

Memorably, one of them, a man who has since been clean for more than 160 days as of press time, passed out during an orientation session before the judge. (“[The judge] will never forget him sitting there,” probation case manager Sarah Malik tells Scene, expounding on how impactful the experience has been.)

“Truthfully, we’re late to the game,” Miraldi says. There are 85 drug courts in Ohio alone, as of January 2016.

Cuyahoga County, since 2009, and Cleveland Municipal Court, since 1998, each maintain these specialty dockets, as well.

See, Miraldi didn’t start from scratch. He followed the rigorous set of evidence-based best practices, based on 20 years of data pertaining to behavioral modification, as prescribed by the National Association of Drug Court Professionals. He and his team traveled to Washington, D.C., last year for the NADCP’s annual conference.

More than 5,000 legal and medical professionals and former addicts congregated to celebrate the legacy of drug courts. Miraldi was sold.

“So, the word’s out: There’s a recovery court in Lorain County,” Miraldi says, thinking back to last fall. Often, the jail or another judge or a defense attorney — even a family member — refers someone to Miraldi’s courtroom. It didn’t take long for the voluntary participants to begin flooding his way.

Here’s how it works: An inmate suffering from drug addiction and tagged with at least one felony will come before Miraldi and plead guilty — with the caveat that successful completion of the recovery court program will wipe away that guilty plea and result in no conviction.

The Lorain County Justice Center houses Judge John Miraldi’s drug court.

Photo by Eric Sandy

That’s the obvious carrot. The deeper motivation is sobriety and a new life.

After the plea, the inmate will be brought back to Miraldi’s courtroom during the next status hearing for “orientation.” Here, the judge will sit with the inmate and his or her attorney, usually off to the side of the courtroom, after the hearing, and explain precisely what lies ahead.

There are three rules: 1. Show up.

2. Tell the truth. 3. Try. “It’s a second-chance court,” Miraldi tells a young woman clad in a green county jail jumpsuit. “We can’t help you with addiction if you don’t show up. As long as you’re still engaged, we can help you through that.”

This is, after all, a voluntary program. During February and March, when Scene was attending status hearings, Miraldi said the program was maintaining a participant count around 15, with 20 referrals still pending. Informally, there’s an anticipated ceiling of 50 or so. Miraldi tells the inmates that the court sees about a 50/50 track record of prospects who remain interested after hearing the orientation rundown.

Once they’re in, there are three phases. Phase I involves “intensely supervised” sobriety — most publicly, this amounts to weekly status hearings before the judge.

The centerpiece is the three random drug tests each week. Participants will be evaluated and directed either to outpatient treatment (like Lorain County Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services Inc.) or residential treatment

(like the Timothy House).

They meet in Miraldi’s courtroom every Thursday morning.

“The most important thing about recovery court is how it plays into behavioral modification,” Miraldi says. For instance, when a participant graduates from Phase I to Phase II, they’re given a certificate and a gas card. If they fail a drug test or break a rule at their residential treatment center, the punishment comes hard and fast. Jail time is possible.

“Sanctions or praise,” Miraldi says, employing the psychological terms at the bedrock of behavioral sciences.

Phase I demands 90 days of sobriety before the participant advances.

In Phase II, “we pull back a bit,” Miraldi says. Participants are in court every other week, and the burden of responsibility is shifted to their shoulders. Here, participants are engaging with GED classes, perhaps, or employment services. This phase demands an additional 120 days of sobriety on top of Phase I’s 90 days.

That’s seven months, more or less.

Phase III, which has yet to really begin, given the nascency of Lorain County’s program, involves participants “going out into the world and being productive again,” Miraldi says. In this phase, participants will cross the crucial nine-month threshold, a point where the physiological makeup of the brain begins to repair itself. (“Nine months sounds better than two years,” the woman says, referencing the potential

jail time if she doesn’t opt into drug court.) Courtroom appearances drop to once each month, and random testing continues.

“Heroin comes from other problems in life,” Miraldi says, getting to the root of the recovery court’s ethos now.

“If we get you sober and don’t treat that, you’re going to relapse.”

That’s why, when participants discuss their week with treatment officers or Miraldi himself, any potential red flag — a death in the family, an argument with a supervisor — is immediately dealt with.

“You need to decide if you care about yourself enough to come in,” Miraldi says.

“This was nice, really positive,” the jumpsuit-clad girl says before being whisked back to her cell. She’s been using for the past four years. The man next to her, also hearing out Miraldi’s orientation guidelines, had been using for nine years, but he’d cleaned up for most of the past 15 months. When his children were taken from him and his ex-wife recently, he relapsed out of sobriety. Then he landed back in court.

Later, Miraldi tells Scene: “Ultimately, it’s about getting them ready for life without us. And most importantly, if we treat this addiction correctly, they’re not back in the system.”

Heroin overdoses killed 10,574 Americans in 2014, while prescription painkiller abuse led to an additional 18,893 deaths the same year,

according to the National Center on Health Statistics. Ohio alone clocked 2,744 overdose deaths in Ohio, the fifth highest among U.S. states per capita and an 18.3 percent increase in overdose deaths from 2013 to 2014.

Outside of the rise of drug courts, there’s little evidence that the trend will slow down or reverse. That’s especially true in places like Lorain County where, for instance, Elyria police reported 14 drug overdoses between Feb. 19 and March 2, three of which were fatal. The new typical heroin user is white and living outside of a major city, where access to the heroin trade is easy and access to activities that improve quality of life is lower.

“Obviously, these drugs affect all walks of life, and right now, we see a lot of it hitting people in their late teens and early 20s,” Elyria Sgt. James Welsh said during a recent press conference, which followed the arrests of nine alleged “high-level” drug traffickers in Lorain and Elyria.

“It takes a toll on the families of the victims involved. Obviously, it’s one of the reasons that we put so much time, effort and resources into the drug problem because of how it affects society.”

Heroin deaths breach Cuyahoga County borders, as well. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner recently reported that heroin deaths in Cuyahoga County decreased by more than 7 percent since 2007, to 183 in 2015. The county’s fentanyl death total for 2015 “nearly tripled from 2014, | clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

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FEATURE with 89 ruled cases, with 41 of those cases containing both heroin and fentanyl.â&#x20AC;? From March 10 to March 14, Cuyahoga County reported 13 heroinor fentanyl-related overdose deaths.

At the time Miraldi was beginning to see potential participants last fall, Lorain County Drug Task Force commander Dennis Cavanaugh â&#x20AC;&#x201D; who is not involved in the drug court program â&#x20AC;&#x201D; told the ChronicleTelegram that drug crimes in the county comprise an estimated 85 to 90 percent of the cases his ofďŹ cers were investigating. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t look like itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s getting better anytime soon,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So many other crimes are driven by this,â&#x20AC;? Miraldi says. These arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t typically offenses of violence, though.

Crimes like forgery, theft, breaking and entering: These spike as heroin rings expand in a given area.

Because low-level charges carry with them low levels of supervision, opiate addicts rung up on small-time forgery bits are freer than the county would prefer to go score a ďŹ x and endanger themselves and others. It becomes cyclical. As Miraldi puts it, these defendants tend to be the â&#x20AC;&#x153;highest-needâ&#x20AC;? subjects of the criminal justice system. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m recognizing that these people are not criminals: They are by statute, but weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got to really ramp up the supervision,â&#x20AC;? Miraldi says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re on normal intervention, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to see your probation ofďŹ ce maybe once a month. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to be drug-tested maybe once a month. And then when you do test positive, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to be two to three months before youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in front of me on a probation violation hearing. Now? Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to be tested at least three times a week. If you test positive, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to see me next week. So they know: immediate consequences, immediate sanctions. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The people who are doing well are getting encouragement â&#x20AC;&#x201D; some of them for the ďŹ rst time in their life,â&#x20AC;?

Miraldi says, quickly deďŹ&#x201A;ecting credit to the treatment team and the roster of sponsors in Lorain County. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You see them well up.â&#x20AC;?

But itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a constant process, and one that truly never ends, as evidenced by the testimonials of former addicts at the annual NADCP meetings.

Miraldi says that the 90-day mark â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the conclusion of his courtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Phase I â&#x20AC;&#x201D; brings with it a â&#x20AC;&#x153;pink cloud,â&#x20AC;? a psychological term that indicates a sense of premature freedom from disease. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You think youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got it licked, and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re at your weakest,â&#x20AC;?

Miraldi says. About half of his courtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s participants have crossed the line to Phase II so far.

Before the advent of drug courts â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and outside their walls â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the reclamation of a former addictâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life has always been an all-hands-ondeck undertaking. Brenda Stewart, founder of the Addictâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Parents United, a statewide group that connects the parents of drug users, knows this well.

Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the parent of two children â&#x20AC;&#x153;with the disease of addiction,â&#x20AC;? she says. One is four years clean; another is in jail. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So many parents feel so alone, because of the stigma thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still attached to it,â&#x20AC;? Stewart says.

Drug courts seem to at the very least bring the heroin epidemic more into the public and recovery-based realm.

The basis for public discourse is more readily available in communities with an active drug court. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Personally â&#x20AC;&#x201D; from my own experience â&#x20AC;&#x201D; my son was the project of a drug court here in Franklin County, and he graduated and his felony was dropped,â&#x20AC;? Stewart says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He actually has a life now. It gives them an opportunity that they would not have had going to prison.â&#x20AC;? (Most drug courts, including Lorain County and Cuyahoga County, drop felony charges upon completion of the drug court program.) â&#x20AC;&#x153;With the drug court, you actually have that accountability,â&#x20AC;? Stewart says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A lot of drug courts offer the Vivitrol shot or some other means â&#x20AC;&#x201D; if heroin is their drug of choice, and there are all sorts of drugs out there. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not just heroin. That seems to be the ďŹ&#x201A;avor of this year, but it changes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Most of the judges who are doing this truly do have that compassion and truly do want to see these kids make a difference. That is the key, in my opinion.â&#x20AC;?

A lot of it depends on your zip code and what court youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going into, Stewart says. Some jurisdictions are comfortable with this alternative path through the justice system â&#x20AC;&#x201D; like Miraldi and his team. Others arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t.

Scott VanDerKarr certainly is.

Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the former Franklin County judge who stepped down in January to pursue the creation of new drug courts around the state, and he was one of the ďŹ rst judges in Ohio to preside over this sort of specialty docket. He says itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the future of the justice system.

His drug court opened in 2009 with weekly hearings. By the time he stepped down, he was holding ďŹ ve hearings a week: one general drug court, and four opiate-

focused hearings. With a focus on accountability and medically assisted treatment, the success rate grew steadily year after year, from an average “graduation” rate of 30 percent to upwards of 70 percent, he says.

VanDerKarr now is working with a number of groups, including Stewart’s Addict’s Parents United, to travel around Ohio and open drug courts in county and municipal courthouses in need. Beyond that, he’s hoping to expand outside of the state.

His words echo Stewart’s sense of hope: “I said, ‘Look, I’m affecting about 200 kids at any one time. And I love the contact, just absolutely love the contact.’

“One story I’ll give you: On the last day I’m there, a lady walks up with a teddy bear. I’m sitting at my desk. Little teddy bear. She said, ‘My son wants me to give you his teddy bear.’ I said, ‘I can’t take your son’s teddy bear.’ She said, ‘No, my son says you gave him back his mother.

He wants you to have his teddy bear.’

You just want to break down in tears at that point. It really affects lives.”

There is, then, of course, the backlash to the very concept and

operation of drug courts nationwide.

No one that Scene spoke with expressed an outright opposition to drug court programs, but there’s a growing conversation over whether judges and treatment officials who aren’t licensed medical professionals should be dispensing health regimens.

Just this month, for instance, SAMHSA issued an updated advisory on the use of medicationassisted treatment (MAT) for what the group calls opioid use disorder.

In short, the administration loosened the reins a bit on whether best practices should involve medication, like Vivitrol shots.

“Neither medication-assisted treatment of opioid addiction nor the cessation of such treatment by itself constitutes recovery,” recovery experts A. Thomas McLellan and William White write, in an opinion cited by SAMHSA. “Recovery status instead hinges on broader achievements in health and social functioning — with or without medication support.”

SAMHSA’s statement adds: “Despite ... widespread endorsement, side-by-side with a clear interest in MAT by potential patients, SAMHSA emphasizes the significant gap between the need for and the

availability of this treatment.”

In Lorain County, Miraldi says that properly supervised medication has a place along the path to sobriety. He points to the aforementioned Vivitrol, a monthly shot that blocks certain opioid receptors in the brain and eliminates the pleasurable feelings associated with taking opioids. (In a December feature, New York magazine writer Genevieve Smith described the drug’s active ingredient, naltrexone, perfectly: “It fits the keyhole where heroin would bond to the brain’s receptors, but it won’t turn the knob.”) In the past few years, Vivitrol has caught on with gusto in drug courts and reentry programs across the country. In October 2015, the Obama administration kickstarted a new $133-million federal program to combat heroin use and, among other goals, widely improve access to treatment regimens like Vivitrol shots. (The drug costs $1,500 for a single dose, without insurance.)

Vivitrol presents an intriguing future, one in which the often painful trip into sobriety can be made much, much easier. Even in jail. But it’s not all gravy. First, an addict must rid his or her body of opiates, thereby entering withdrawal, which is a harrowing

prospect for anyone.

“They wish they were dying,” Malik says of the withdrawal symptoms. “In layman’s terms, let’s say you break your arm. You take a painkiller, and it numbs the pain, right? Basically it deadens your nerve endings. So when someone abuses heroin forever, their nerve endings in their whole body are deadened — for however long they were using. When they go into active withdrawal, every nerve ending in their body comes alive.”

That’s what makes the voluntary aspect of Miraldi’s drug court all the more admirable, really. These folks want to be here. Often, they’ve overdosed several times before landing on the matter of fact that they have to/want to get clean.

The new path forged by Miraldi’s courtroom is one they hadn’t had before.

“I can’t think of anything more important than the criminal defendant who’s at risk of dying from an addiction,” Miraldi says.

“Don’t they deserve the help, the best help that we can give them? We may be the last line.”

esandy@clevescene.com t@EricSandy

| clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

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| clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

everything you should do this week

GET OUT

Photo by Emanuel Wallace

WED

Finale: The Capture & Trial of Adolf Eichmann. The talk begins at 7 tonight at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage. General admission is $12, or $6 for Maltz members. (Niesel).

2929 Richmond Rd., Beachwood, 216-593-0575, maltzmuseum.org.

3/23

SPORTS

Cavaliers vs. Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks made the playoffs last year and gave the Chicago Bulls all sorts of trouble before losing a thrilling first-round series. This year, the Bucks have struggled to stay in the playoff race. Injuries have played a role. Earlier this season, guard O.J. Mayo fractured his right ankle, bringing his season to an early end. He joins Michael Carter-Williams and Steve Novak, who also suffered season-ending injuries. Still, coach Jason Kidd has managed to make the most of the depleted squad that faces the Cavs tonight at 7 at the Q. Tickets start at $18. (Niesel) 1 Center Ct., 216-420-2000, theqarena.com.

THEATER

Dyngus Day returns to Ohio City, Hingetown and Tremont. See: Monday.

SPOKEN WORD

Cleveland Stories Dinner Party The Music Box Supper Club launched the weekly Cleveland Stories Dinner Party earlier this year; the series pairs fine food with storytelling. The aim is to help raise awareness of the mission of the Western Reserve Historical Society’s new Cleveland History Center. The club’s owners consider the Cleveland History Center to be “one of the most interesting museums in Cleveland” and “an unknown gem that Clevelanders should know more about and support.” The goal of the series is to “bring to life some of the fun, interesting stories about Cleveland’s past — from sports, to rock ’n’ roll, to Millionaire’s Row,” as it’s put in a press release. Each week will feature a guest speaker and a custom prix fixe menu: a full three-course meal for only $20. (There’s no charge to attend just the talk.) Dinner will be served at 6 p.m., and the storytelling will start at 7:30. Veteran reporter Mike Olszewski will be tonight’s guest; he’ll talk about the influence of the late Ernie Anderson, also known as TV show host Ghoulardi. (Niesel) 1148 Main Ave., 216-242-1250, musicboxcle.com.

FILM

The Double Life of Veronique Before his death 20 years ago, Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski made some terrific movies. With the program Kieslowski in France, the Cleveland Museum of Art will show four of his flicks. The series starts tonight at 7 with a screening of The

Double Life of Veronique, his 1991 film about two identical women, one a singer and the other a music teacher.

Tickets are $9. (Niesel) 11150 East Blvd., 216-421-7350, clevelandart.org.

$10 at the door. The price of admission includes a mini-cocktail (or soft drink if you don’t fancy the hard stuff), appetizers and live music. Luxe will provide the appetizers. (Niesel) 1390 West 65th St., 216-651-7295, clevelandcinemas.com.

COMEDY

Chris Franjola Best known for his appearances on late night’s Chelsea Lately, where he’s known to take abuse from host Chelsea Handler, or in the scripted comedy series After Lately, comedian Chris Franjola also regularly works the standup circuit. “My material is basically anything I can’t say on TV,” he once said. Expect a raunchy show when he performs tonight at 8 at Hilarities, where he has shows scheduled through Saturday. Tickets are $20 to $28. (Niesel) 2035 East Fourth St., 216-241-7425, pickwickandfrolic.com.

FILM

Happy Hour Classic The locally owned and operated Capitol Theatre, in the Gordon Square Arts District, regularly presents special screenings of cult classics and oddball flicks that don’t receive wide distribution. Tonight at 6, the venue presents its Happy Hour Classic Film, a monthly screening of a classic film that includes a happy hour cocktail party in the lobby before the feature.

Tonight’s featured film, 1976’s Network, provides a satirical look at a TV news program with declining ratings. Admission is $8 in advance,

BEER

Hoppin’ Frog Hoppy Hour The Hoppin’ Frog Tasting Room in Akron is in a non-descript strip of storage facilities and warehouses.

But step inside and you’ll find a cozy tasting room where you can find a huge array of the brewery’s wonderful libations. The place features “hoppy hour” every weekday from 3 to 7 p.m.

Tonight, the brewers visit the tasting room from 5 to 7 p.m. While they don’t fill growlers, you can drink bottles on site or take ’em to go. The place also offers a Hoppin’ Frog Rare & Vintage list as well as a guest bottle list. And you can order from a limited food menu too. (Niesel).

1680-F Waterloo Rd., Akron, 234-525-3764, hoppinfrog.com/tasting-room.

SPOKEN WORD

The Impact of Eichmann on CatholicJewish Relations Richard Steigmann-Gall, author of The Holy Reich: Nazi Conceptions of Christianity, 1919-1945 and associate professor of history at Kent State University, will explore the impact of the trial of Nazi Adolf Eichmann on Catholic-Jewish relations in this talk that relates to the exhibit Operation

In the Mood A celebration of American 1940s popular music, In the Mood pays tribute to a bygone era. Featuring the In the Mood Singers & Dancers, and the fabulous String of Pearls Big Band Orchestra, the show delivers “timeless melodies and rhythms of the Big Band Era,” including “Tuxedo Junction,” “Sing, Sing, Sing,” “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and “In the Mood.”

The show culminates with a salute to veterans. Today’s performance is at 2 p.m. at the Ohio Theatre; performances continue through March 26. Tickets are $29.50 to $61.50. (Niesel) 1501 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.

THEATER

National Theatre Live: As You Like It For the first time in 30 years, the National Theatre presents Shakespeare’s comedy As You Like It. Actress Rosalie Craig portrays Rosalind, who journeys into the Forest of Arden after her father is banished. There, released, Rosalind experiences “the liberating rush of transformation” and disguises herself as a boy to embrace “a different way of living.” Things get tricky when she falls in love. Tonight at 7, the Cedar Lee screens the National Theatre production of the play. Tickets are $20.

(Niesel) 2163 Lee Rd., Cleveland Heights, 440-717-4696, clevelandcinemas.com.

COMEDY

Will Power If you’re skeptical about a comedy hypnotist show, Will Power will change your mind forever: Whether or not he does it with mind tricks is for you to decide. Rated somewhere between R and X, Power’s performance highlights the very real power of suggestion. And don’t think you can go to a hypnotist show and not participate: Power will undoubtedly find a way to rope you into the show.

His performance takes place tonight at 7:30 at the Improv. Tickets are $10.

(Martin Harp) 1148 Main Ave., 216-696-IMPROV, clevelandimprov.com. | clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

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GET OUT THUR 3/24 FILM

Autumn Sonata In her final theatrical film, Autumn Sonata, renowned actress Ingrid Bergman portrays a concert pianist who struggles to connect with her daughter (Liv Ullmann), whom she neglected on account of a dedication to mastering the piano. Ingmar Bergman directs. Tonight at 9:15 and tomorrow night at 7, the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque screens a 35-mm print of the movie. Tickets are $9.

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

much beyond being the home of Cheap Trick, the terrific power-pop act finally slated to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But Rockford is also home to the IceHogs, the minor league affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Lake Erie Monsters take them on tonight and tomorrow at 7 at the Q. Tickets start at $10, though college students with valid IDs can pick up tickets for $6 for tonight’s game.

Tomorrow night, deep discounts on

Schumann wrote his cello concerto.

At the time, his wife Clara, who was delighted with it, wrote, “The Romantic quality, the vivacity, the freshness and humor, also the highly interesting interweaving of cello and orchestra, are indeed wholly ravishing, and what euphony and deep feeling one finds in all the melodic passages.”

Tonight, Franz Welser-Möst performs the piece along with Bruckner’s Symphony No. 6 and Kurtag’s Petite

INDUCTION S I M U L C A S T

FILM

Batman v. Superman Screening The Greater Cleveland Film Commission’s newest fundraiser is tonight’s opening night screening of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

There’s a local connection: Cleveland’s Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created the character of Superman, played in the movie by actor Henry Cavill. In the film, he goes up against Batman (Ben Affleck) and long-time nemesis Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg). The film also features Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot).

The movie screens at 7:30 tonight at Atlas Cinemas’ Eastgate 10 in Mayfield Heights. Tickets are available on the website for a donation of $30. All attendees will receive an exclusive T-shirt designed for the event. (Niesel) 1345 SOM Center Rd., Mayfield Heights, 216-456-8117, clevelandfilm.com/about/events.

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

FILM

Mountains May Depart Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke (A Touch of Sin, Still Life) directs Mountains May Depart, a 2015 film about China’s shift from communism to capitalism. Divided into three parts, the film focuses on a young woman (Zhao Tao) who tries to manage rapid cultural changes during the years 1999, 2014 and 2025. The movie makes its Cleveland premiere tonight at 6:45 at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque where it screens again at 9:40 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets are $9.50. (Niesel) 11610 Euclid Ave., 216-421-7450, cia.edu.

COMEDY

Jay Phillips You may recognize foul-mouthed comic Jay Phillips from Baby Mama or Semi Pro. He has small roles in both films. Phillips, who’s often compared to Richard Pryor, likes to make fun of white people who try to act cool by wearing Obama T-shirts. He performs tonight at 7:30 at the Improv, where he has performances scheduled through Saturday. Tickets are $17. (Niesel) 1148 Main Ave., 216-696-IMPROV, clevelandimprov.com.

with special guests:

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

COMEDY

Krish Mohan Currently on the road with his hour-long standup show, An Indian Comedian: How Not To Fit In, comedian Krish Mohan, who calls himself a “hyphenated American,” regularly jokes about his ethnic background. He says he’s often asked about how he immigrated to the States and will respond with a convoluted story about landing on Ellis Island.

He’s performed at festivals like the Arch City Comedy Festival, Cleveland Comedy Festival and the IndyFringe Festival. He performs tonight at 8 at the Bop Stop. Tickets are $10. (Niesel) 2920 Detroit Ave., 216-771-6551, themusicsettlement.org.

concessions are available including $1 sodas, $2 hotdogs and $3 beers; the first 10,000 fans will receive a Monsters player bobblehead. (Niesel) 1 Center Ct., 216-420-2000, theqarena.com.

SPORTS

MUSIC

Monsters vs. Rockford Icehogs Rockford, Illinois, ain’t known for

Truls Mørk Plays Schumann During a particularly prolific period,

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takes place at 7 p.m. and the concert follows at 8. Tickets start at $49.

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

$23.50 at tickets.rockhall.com rockhall.com

| clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

musique solennelle: Homage to Pierre Boulez at 90. A pre-concert talk, “Revisions and Second Thoughts,” with Rose Breckenridge, administrator and lecturer at Cleveland Orchestra Music Study Groups, takes place at Reinberger Chamber Hall in Severance Hall at 6:30 p.m.; the concert follows at 7:30. The program repeats on Saturday when the pre-concert talk

FRI

3/25

FILM

Animation Show of Shows Now in its 17th year, the Animation Show of Shows features the best animated films from the world’s top film festivals. This year’s collection of films includes the Oscar-nominated World of Tomorrow in addition to 10 other animated flicks. John Lasseter, the principal creative advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering, has called the program, “the best place to see all the latest and greatest animated short films.” At 7 tonight and at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow, the films screen at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Tickets are $9. (Niesel).

11150 East Blvd., 216-421-7350, clevelandart.org.

DANCE

CSU Spring Dance Concert 2016 The CSU Dance Program returns with its annual Dance Concert, a popular event that features a collaboration between CSU Dance Company, faculty, staff, musicians and guest artists.

The repertory concert promises to

be an “eclectic evening of traditional contemporary choreography.”

Performances take place at 7:30 tonight and tomorrow night at the Allen Theatre. Tickets are $5. (Niesel) 1407 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.

FAMILY FUN

Eggsperiment!

Great Lakes Science Center will be closed on Easter Sunday, but the facility has plans to celebrate the holiday with Eggsperiment!, a family friendly event that takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and tomorrow.

Designed to celebrate the “amazing structure of the egg,” the event will let patrons see if it’s really possible to stand on a carton of eggs without cracking any; why eggs are, well, eggshaped; whether or not you can create a contraption that will safely deliver an egg from an 80-foot drop; and whether eggs can only balance upright during an equinox. Guests can also delve into the chemistry of candy, become structural engineers to build bridges for bunnies, and discover how force and angles all play a role in elastic energy. All activities are free with paid admission to Great Lakes Science Center. Plus, for the weekend, members will receive an extra 5 percent off purchases in the Science Store (for a 15-percent total discount). (Niesel) 601 Erieside Ave., 216-694-2000, greatscience.com.

FOOD

Fish Fry-Days Throughout the month of March, Prosperity Social Club has hosted Fish Fry-Days every Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Today marks your final chance to check it out. The special Lenten menu includes the Big Fish Fry, a seasonal staple that features a generous portion of haddock covered in a fluffy blanket of beer batter and complemented by homemade coleslaw, house tartar sauce and old-school-style mac and cheese. New this year: a panseared tilapia dressed in chimichurri sauce and served with sauteed spinach and coconut rice. As a bonus, Platform Brewing’s Palesner will be on tap.

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

the wake acts as a dark backdrop to an otherwise hilarious show in which alcohol fuels the humorous reminiscing. A sort of tragic Tony ’n’ Tina’s Wedding, the interactive and improvised show engages the entire audience as the guests are treated as the friends and family of the deceased.

The show starts at 8 tonight and plays again tomorrow night at 8 at Kennedy’s Theatre. Tickets are $26.

(Patrick Stoops) 1501 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.com.

FILM

Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words Swedish movie star Ingrid Bergman become a Hollywood star in the 1940s.

And like any good Hollywood star, she gave tabloid journalists plenty to write about when she abandoned her husband and child so she could live with director Roberto Rossellini.

Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words provides a look back at the star’s life through letters and diaries, rare home movies, and archival photos and film clips. It screens at 9 tonight and at 5 p.m. tomorrow at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque. Tickets are $9. (Niesel) 11610 Euclid Ave., 216-421-7450, cia.edu.

COMEDY

Valarie Storm Comedian Valarie Storm is your average middle-aged woman — except a hell of a lot funnier! She finds her yucks in tales about her divorce, past relationships, and the challenges of being a woman. She’s appeared at some of the best clubs in the country, and has performed at several comedy festivals. She started comedy at age 5.

Once, when asked if she liked going to school, she replied with a stern “Hell, no!” Her relatable show is sure to make anyone laugh, young or old, male or female. She performs at Club Velvet tonight and tomorrow night at 7:30 and 10. Ticket prices range from $13 to $18. (Hannah Wintucky) 10705 Northfield Rd., Northfield, 330-908-7793, hrrocksinonorthfieldpark.com.

SAT

AT SEVERANCE HALL

WITH

Supported with funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

3/26

THEATER

COMEDY

Flanagan’s Wake No one knows grief and mourning like a Catholic, let alone an Irish Catholic.

In its fifth year running in Cleveland, Flanagan’s Wake transports the audience to a wake in Ireland where villagers tell tales and sing songs for their dearly departed Flanagan.

Finding the humor in life and death,

Katt Williams At one point, critics said comic Katt Williams might just become the next Dave Chappelle. While that didn’t quite happen, Williams is still hugely popular. Known for his roles on MTV’s Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ’N Out and the feature film Friday After Next, Williams is famous for wearing flashy

216-231-1111 clevelandorchestra.com TICKETS |

| clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

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GET OUT

2016 Performing Arts Series

©

outfits that make him look like some kind of pimp. Dubbed the Conspiracy Theory Tour, his new tour features more of the hyper physical humor for which he’s known. And if recent shows are any indication, he does joke about the slew of arrests and lawsuits that have plagued him for the past few years. Wonder if the latest allegations that he tortured and imprisoned women in his bathroom will make it into the routine? He performs tonight at 7 at the Wolstein Center. Tickets start at $55. (Niesel) 2000 Prospect Ave., 216-687-9292, wolsteincenter.com.

Da le Do ng

pany’s eels Com O U R h W g in T c NCERT & The Dan GACY” CO E L G IN T “L AS

APR.10 @ 3:30 PM Performing Arts Center | Chagrin Falls

An inspiring tribute performance to the 35th anniversary of America’s first and foremost physically integrated dance company, and the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Tickets / Info:

SUN

ChagrinArts.org | 440-247-9700

3/27

NIGHTLIFE

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

Admission is free but you must be 21 or older. It all starts at 7 p.m. (Niesel) 2785 Euclid Hts. Blvd., Cleveland Heights, 216-932-1966, bsideliquorlounge.com.

COMEDY

TICKETS: $30 & $20

$40 ‘Ring Of Fire’ Tickets Include 2 Drink Tickets & Special Acoustic Set

By TOM EVANCHUCK from 5-6 pm

A GREAT EASTER BASKET SURPRISE!

Tickets available by phone at 440-245-2323 or via website at lorainpalace.org

Cleveland Improv Jam The Angry Ladies of Improv has hosted the Cleveland Improv Jam for four years now. A few years back, Scene described the show as “fierce, formidable and very funny.” The women have some serious experience too. Katie White-Sonby is an actress who’s performed at Clague Playhouse, Karamu and Kennedy’s Cabaret.

Marjorie Preston is an alumna of Something Dada and Rockwell 9 improvisational comedy troupes.

Dionne Atchison is a theater artist with Cleveland Public Theatre, and Brenna “MC” Connor is an actress and improviser. The event begins at 8 p.m. at South Euclid’s Coffee Phix Cafe with a short-form set of improv games, followed by a longform improv set. Arrive at 7:30 if you want to sign up and perform. Admission is free.

(Niesel) 4485 Mayfield Rd., South Euclid, 216-381-5706, coffeephixcafe.com.

MUSIC

Easter Sunday Bluegrass Brunch Clear Fork Bluegrass Quartet, an

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| clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

ensemble of regional instrumentalists, will be the house band for today’s special Easter Sunday Bluegrass Brunch that takes place at noon at Music Box Supper Club. Reservations are required for the a la carte dining event. Call the club if you’re interested in securing a spot. Tickets are $10.

(Niesel) 1148 Main Ave., 216-242-1250, musicboxcle.com.

MUSIC

Gospel Brunch The monthly Gospel Brunch has been a spiritual Sunday staple for years at the House of Blues. Curated by famed gospel singer Kirk Franklin, the recently reinvigorated show puts a bit more emphasis on the music.

This week, the local artist Lafayette Carthon and Faith performs. The all-you-can-eat musical extravaganza features Southern classics like chicken jambalaya, biscuits and gravy, and chicken and waffles. It takes place at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Tickets are $40.

(Niesel) 308 Euclid Ave., 216-523-2583, houseofblues.com.

MON

3/28

FAMILY FUN

Free Zoo Admission Day The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo offers free admission for all residents of Cuyahoga County and Hinckley Township on Mondays. You can explore the zoo’s massive collection, which includes more than 3,000 animals and 600 distinct species, including the largest primate collection in the country. Or check out the zoo’s impressive botanical garden, which has been praised for expertly illustrating the interdependent relationship between plants, animals and humans. Whatever you decide to explore, you’ll be able to get up close and personal with all your favorite exhibitions, since Mondays are usually one of the least crowded days of the week. Monday hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This free Monday promotion excludes access to the RainForest.

(Alaina Nutile) 3900 Wildlife Way, 216-661-6500, clemetzoo.com.

FESTIVAL

Dyngus Day Easter Monday in Cleveland is Dyngus Day, a Polish celebration also known as lany poniedziałek. The festivities begin today at 10 a.m. and continue until 2 a.m. in Ohio City, Hingetown and Tremont. At 4:30 p.m. at Kishka’s Beer Heaven Tent at West 58th Street and Detroit, a Miss Dyngus pageant will take place. An accordion

parade follows at 6 p.m. In Trement, Prosperity Social Club will offer up a special menu that includes cabbage rolls, ethnic platters and kielbaski corn dogs. Other Dyngus Day specials include sauteed pierogi from Sokolowski’s University Inn and bigos (a Polish hunter’s stew) at Tremont Tap House. The easy listening trio Malphonia and legendary accordionist Stan Mejac will perform at Prosperity; the five-piece polka ensemble Visinata and DJ Kishka will perform at South Side; and the Jimmy Daye 7 Ethnic Jazz Ensemble will perform at Sokolowski’s. Also this year, Tremont will offer a free neighborhood shuttle.

The Cleveland Brew Bus will run continuously between 1 and 8 p.m., stopping at Tremont Tap House, Prosperity Social Club, Roosevelt Veterans Post 58, the South Side and Sokolowski’s University Inn. (Niesel) clevelanddyngus.com.

FOOD

Vegan Mondays Head over to Townhall in Ohio City this evening from 5 to 10 p.m. for Vegan Night. Work your way through the delicious and healthy vegan menu, featuring hits like Veggie Vegan Flatbread (think fresh tomatoes, chiles, mushrooms and vegan cheese), Tofu Etouffee (blackened tofu, onions, tomatoes and brown rice) or many of the regular menu items made vegan. If you’re still feeling skeptical, know this: Monday night is also Craft Beer Night and all 36 crafts are only $3 from 6 p.m. to close. Cheers! (Nutile) 1909 West 25th St., 216-344-9400, townhallohiocity.com.

FOOD

Wing Ding Doodle Blues icon Howlin’ Wolf famously covered “Wang Dang Doodle,” the old blues tune penned by Willie Dixon.

Prosperity Social Club in Tremont has adopted that title, calling its wing night Wing Ding Doodle. The weekly event features specials on Buffalo wings and cold brews. Prosperity will not only serve up substantial, $1 whole wings, it’ll also offering meatless Monday “wing” baskets for vegans.

Discounted drafts and a playlist of vintage-electric blues and soulful R&B curated by local musician Clint Holley will be on tap as well. Hours are 6 p.m. to midnight. (Niesel).

1109 Starkweather Ave., 216-937-1938, prosperitysocialclub.com.

TUE

3/29

MUSIC

2Cellos Famous as the cellists who back

Rock Hall inductee Elton John, young cellists Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser achieved sensational success by “taking the cello to a new level and breaking the boundaries between different genres of music” with their group 2Cellos. Their new album, Celloverse, debuted at No. 1 on both the Billboard Classical and Classical Crossover charts as well in the Billboard Top 200; and their viral video for “Thunderstruck” has scored more than 33 million YouTube views.

They perform tonight at 8 at the State Theatre. Tickets start at $35. (Niesel) 1519 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.

SPORTS

Cavs vs. Houston Rockets Thanks to the play of high-scoring guard James Harden, the Houston Rockets have continued to hold onto a playoff spot. But the team hasn’t yet clinched a post-season berth and needs to really get some wins to stay in the race. Tonight’s game against the Cavs at the Q should be a heated battle. It begins at 8. Tickets start at $18. (Niesel) 1 Center Ct., 216-420-2000, theqarena.com.

MUSIC

Celtic Woman: The Destiny Tour For more than 10 years, Celtic Woman has been a global sensation. The press release for the show promises “this enchanting musical experience” will feature “a treasure chest of traditional Irish standards, classical favorites and contemporary pop songs.” The four female singers are well-versed in traditional Irish folk tunes. The Destiny Tour features an entirely new production with many songs from the forthcoming Destiny CD and DVD. Tonight’s performance is at 7 at Connor Palace. Tickets are $56.75 to $116.75. (Niesel) 1615 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.

FAMILY FUN

Mariokart Bloodfeud 3 At today’s Mario Kart Competition at the Beachland Tavern, you can compete with others on the Nintendo 64. There will be two projectors showing the games as the competitors go at it. The competition starts at 9 p.m. and you must register in advance in order to compete. Only 40 tickets available for registration. They cost $8.

(Niesel) 15711 Waterloo Rd., 216-383-1124, beachlandballroom.com.

Find more events @clevescene.com t@cleveland_scene

| clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

25

ART

IS BROKE, DO FIX IT

Image by Paul Sobota. Still frame from The Fixers trailer.

Local artists work to reroute Cleveland narrative ahead of RNC

By Josh Usmani THIS SUMMER FROM JULY 18 TO 21, the brightest spotlight in recent memory will shine on Cleveland and Northeast Ohio, as the Republican National Convention (RNC) comes to town. While we’re all excited for the nation and world to experience our city and re-evaluate the region, it’s important to paint an honest and true portrait of our hometown.

With agenda-filled, pro-Cleveland propaganda surfacing for months, local artists, filmmakers, community advocates and activists known collectively as the Fixers are working together to offer an alternative to the official, limited narrative. Quite simply, the Fixers is the most important art project in Cleveland this year, and perhaps, the most important ever.

Regarding the RNC, celebrated local writer, musician, artist, activist and founder of Guide to Kulchur RA Washington asks, “What narrative will be ours? What narrative will be this influx of activists and protestors?

What narrative will be driven by money? What narrative will be driven by the missing? What narrative will be driven by truth?”

Official projections for the RNC forecast a tremendous influx of visitors and income, including the use of 5,000 hotel rooms in Cleveland, 16,000 hotel rooms in Cuyahoga County, 50,000 visitors, 15,000 members of the media and an estimated 10 billion media hits, totaling $200 million in direct spending. And it will all be here and gone in less than one week.

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After decades of outside ridicule and jokes, it’s understandable to want to show Cleveland in a new light, but some locals fear that the media coverage will be focused on a very limited view of the city, ignoring the neighborhoods, people and issues that need the most attention. We should all be proud of how far this city has come in a few short years; but we’d be doing ourselves and our fellow residents a disservice by ignoring the “less desirable” parts of our region.

The Fixers ask, “What does the RNC mean for a greater Cleveland?”

However, these issues extend far beyond just Northeast Ohio to include issues of gentrification, predatory mortgages, redlining, access to healthy food and quality education, public transportation, police and gang violence, etc. Many of these same issues are shared by countless communities throughout the United States. In this way, Cleveland could be considered a microcosm for the country at large.

The project’s organizers are a group of artists and filmmakers working with longtime (often lifelong) members of the community to shift, expand and deepen the dialogue during the RNC by asking locals what tour of the city they would take RNC delegates on if they had the chance. For several months, these loveable renegades have been recording conversations with local cultural leaders about the most overlooked areas and issues in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio

| clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

that they feel should be explored by visitors during the convention. A full list of participants, or Fixers, will be released later this year, but organizers are still in the process of conducting interviews.

The Fixers are led by local artist and author Kate Sopko, who encourages public dialogue through social experiments and projects that border between public art and social transformation. Sopko is joined by a team of filmmakers, including the production team of Angela Beallor and Elizabeth Press, both of whom live in Troy, New York. Beallor is a native of Cleveland, and her work explores history, memory and politics through photo and video. Additionally, local filmmakers and photographers Robert Banks, Chelsie Corso, Tom Laffay and Paul Sobota are helping to bring the project to life.

“In journalism, a fixer is someone who a foreign correspondent will hire going into another country,” Kate Sopko explains. “They give quick access to a story. This project is asking people who culturally operate as fixers in Cleveland what tour of the city they would give delegates if given the chance. Under the marked media gaze we expect that week, this project aims to bring local voices to the fore to narrate a deeper story of how political decision-making impacts the lives of Clevelanders, for better or for worse.”

If you’d like to support this powerful and important project, organizers currently have a Hatchfund

crowdfunding campaign online (hatchfund.org/project/the_fixers).

The Fixers need to reach their goal of $5,500 by midnight on Monday, March 28, but donations made early on Friday, March 25, will help them receive additional support from Hatchfund’s Match Fund.

“The money we are raising through Hatchfund will allow us to shoot and edit the final three films in the series,” Sopko elaborates. “Every donation to this campaign really does impact if we will be able to complete this project or not. If we reach the maximum goal, money will be used toward hosting a series of public screenings and dialogues around these films throughout Cleveland this summer.

Quite literally, every donation counts toward the success of this project!”

Before the RNC, the project will debut at Spaces (2220 Superior Viaduct) in Cleveland and Smack Mellon in Brooklyn, New York (92 Plymouth St.). Spaces will host an opening reception on Friday, May 20, from 6 to 9 p.m., and the exhibition will remain on view through July 29. The exhibition at Smack Mellon will be on view from June 18 through July 31. The Fixers are also currently organizing events during the RNC. The Fixers trailer can be viewed on their Hatchfund page or on Vimeo at vimeo.com/156270302.

jusmani@clevescene.com t@cleveland_scene

Photo by Roger Mastroianni

STAGE

Ensemble members Mariah Burks, left, and Paige Yepko

THE GODS ARE HAVING A HISSY FIT And mortals are taking it on the chin in Metamorphoses

By Christine Howey WHEN MOST OF US FIRST encountered ancient Greek myths, somewhere in our middle school years, we were bowled over by the graphic stories of love and loss, of vengeful gods and their mortal playthings. We mused: What a cool way to exist if you were a god, and what an awful way to live if you were a human. The key to all that joy and tragedy was transformation: people being turned into all kinds of animals, insects and shrubbery.

Some of that magic is summoned in Metamorphoses, the myths of the Roman poet Ovid as adapted and originally directed by Mary Zimmerman. In this production by the Case Western Reserve University/ Cleveland Play House Master of Fine Arts Acting Program — which hereafter will be referred to as the MFA Acting Program — one is reminded of the universality of myths and their power to enchant.

But before we get to the play itself, let’s pause a moment and pay tribute to the MFA Acting Program. For the handful of young mortals who are accepted, it must seem like a boon from Zeus himself. They are accepted for three years of conservatory training and an apprenticeship with the Cleveland Play House. If you think they’ll be in debt for years paying that off, you’d be dead wrong.

In fact, the MFA Acting Program

participants enjoy a full tuition waiver along with a $13,500-peryear stipend, resulting in a debt-free educational experience. By Jove, that’s amazing!

This production introduces the program’s class of 2018, and they do a creditable job under the direction of Ron Wilson, who is also director of the program itself. Leaping from one unconnected story to another, as does the original source material, the play mixes antique phrasing and contemporary colloquialisms to make the yarns easily accessible.

It helpfully starts with the story of King Midas, the one we’re all familiar with, so we get our feet planted firmly in the magical world of myths.

Lavour Addison is amusing as the

Medley returns later as the creepy embodiment of Hunger, a condition that is imposed on another hapless human by a pissy god. Indeed, it seems as if the all-powerful deities continually have their immortal knickers in a twist about something or other.

In one episode, young and impulsive Phaeton (Kyle Cherry) is floating on an air mattress and whining to his therapist about his old man Apollo (Peter Hargrave). In another, King Ceyx (Randy Dierkes) goes sailing off to Delphi, not aware that the gods have declared that he and his adoring wife Alcyone (Sarah Cuneo) will never meet again on Earth. So when he’s drowned in a nicely choreographed shipwreck

METAMORPHOSES THROUGH MARCH 26, PRODUCED BY THE CWRU/CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE MFA ACTING PROGRAM AT THE HELEN ROSENFELD LEWIS BIALOSKY LAB THEATRE, 216-241-6000, PLAYHOUSESQUARE.ORG

lucky royal who is given one wish by the god Bacchus (Paul Bugallo), and asks that everything he touches turn to gold. This Trump-like dream scenario has a tragic downside that becomes readily apparent when Midas’s daughter (Megan Medley) leaps joyfully into his arms.

All the players are cast in multiple roles, giving each the chance to show off their acting chops. For instance,

dance, and Alcyone throws herself into the sea in grief, the gods get all embarrassed and turn the doomed couple into birds, sailing over the sea together for eternity.

Up for some kinky sex? How about Myrrha (Paige Yepko), daughter of the king of Cyprus, a girl with some serious daddy issues. She tricks Pop into sleeping with her, he is enraged, and the gods rescue her by turning

her into the eponymous myrrh tree.

Gives you a whole new take on that last gift to baby Jesus from the three wise men, doesn’t it?

But the nicest transformation of all is in the coda, when humble Philemon and his wife Baucis (Mariah Burks) invite a disguised Jupiter into their home for food and shelter. The big man is so impressed that he turns their hovel into a McMansion and grants their fondest wish that they will eventually die together. So after a long life, Jupiter turns them into twin oaks, standing next to each other for centuries to come.

It’s a handsome production on scenic designer Laura Carlson Tarantowski’s set, complete with fan-blown fabric simulating various bodies of water. However, it’s unfortunate that a real pool of water couldn’t be managed, as was the case in the production in New York City back in 2001. Real water transforms all of us. But more than that, water is the perfect metaphor for metamorphosis: it renders us joyously weightless when we dive into it, yet it can kill us in a matter of seconds if we’re not paying attention. Still, even in its dry version, Metamorphoses is an engrossing piece of theater.

scene@clevescene.com t@christinehowey | clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

27

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www.alextheatercleveland.com 28

| clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

MOVIES THE FAST AND THE CURIOUS Baseball documentary Fastball is a must-see for sports fans

By Sam Allard JUST IN TIME FOR MLB’S opening-day festivities (April 4 for the Tribe), a documentary about baseball’s most mythologized pitch — Fastball — opens on Friday for a limited engagement at the Cedar Lee. It’s a movie which celebrates

physiology nerds alike.

The film is foremost a history, a catalog of baseball’s most dominant starters and relievers: the stories of their scoutings, the particulars of their mechanics and personas on the mound, the garish agglomerations of records. With

some of the sport’s biggest arms — Walter Johnson, Bob Feller, Nolan Ryan, Goose Gossage, Bob Gibson, Aroldis Chapman, Craig Kimbrel — all while trying to answer the question: Who threw the fastest pitch ever? Fastball is a mustsee for baseball lovers and sports

narration from Kevin Costner and interviews with current and former MLB greats (George Brett, Derek Jeter and Justin Verlander, to name a few), the film summarizes and adds to the legend of the fastball.

A magnificent and rarified legend indeed: Unlike in track,

we’re told, where high schoolers now routinely eclipse record speeds set by Jesse Owens and sprinters from bygone eras, in baseball the speed of the fastball has remained roughly constant from generation to generation. The human body has not yet disclosed a superior method for hurling a baseball at a point 60 feet and 6 inches away.

For some, it’s been a tough pitch to master. Perhaps the fi lm’s most interesting character is Steve Dalkowski, considered by many to be the hardest throwing pitcher who ever lived. On- and off-field control problems and a devastating injury meant Dalkowski never got a chance to make it to the Big Show, but his potential was extraordinary. He is interviewed in Fastball as an older man, and he’s a tragic figure — ravaged by both alcohol and crushed dreams.

More than anything, the movie builds excitement about baseball, increasingly the forgotten runt in the litter of America’s major bigmoney sports. Fastball is not unlike a well-executed ESPN 30 for 30 doc in that way, crisply made and (sure to be) emotionally received. It’s got ample slo-mo, bounteous clips from historic pitching outings, including newly remastered footage from Sandy Koufax’s perfect game in 1965, and constant references to the transcendent, almost primal, nature of the sport.

“It’s a man with a stick versus a man with a rock,” Costner intones early on. The content of the interviews themselves and the skillful editing builds incredible drama around the pitcher/batter relationship.

Scientists have their say too.

Both physicists and neurologists from Carnegie-Mellon offer their two-cents about the limits of physical and neurological performance, vis-a-vis the at-bat.

The average synaptic connection takes two milliseconds, for instance, so the extra 396 milliseconds that a batter has to react to a 92-mph fastball (vs. a 100-mph fastball) is crucial.

Another recurring talking head helpfully compares the various methods that have been used to measure pitch speed through the years.

It is, finally, a small-scale, laserfocused piece of sports cinema.

And it will no doubt appeal to a small-scale, laser-focused audience segment (baseball fans or children of baseball fans) that ought to be interested in the movie on the eve of another MLB season in an era of spectacular pitching. Indians’ ace Corey Kluber, sadly, makes no appearance.

sallard@clevescene.com t@SceneSallard

SPOTLIGHT: GET A JOB “LOOK OUT WORLD, HERE WE COME,” says Will (Miles Teller) at the beginning of Get a Job, the new comedy that opens Friday at Atlas Cinemas Diamond Center 16 and becomes available on Video on Demand that same day. A noble attempt to capture the zeitgeist, it ultimately fails to hit the mark as a piece of social satire.

You certainly won’t confuse director Dylan Kidd’s (Roger Dodger) movie with The Big Short, the Oscar-nominated movie about the economic collapse of the 2000s.

In the movie’s opening scene, Will receives a fat check from his father (Bryan Cranston) to carry him over until he gets his first paycheck from the LA Weekly, a job he considers a “springboard.”

Will immediately squanders the dough on a 70-

inch TV and then shows up the first day of work only to find out that the paper’s staff has been downsized and he no longer has a gig. “I spent two summers interning here for free!” he yells in a moment of outrage. Of course, his editor doesn’t care and tells him to get lost.

Will eventually finds a job working as a night clerk at a motel frequented by hookers and old people. The gig doesn’t last long and he has to go back to daddy for money. Unfortunately, daddy just lost his job too, so Will gets desperate and takes a job as a videographer for an employment agency. Problem is, he has to pass a drug test.

Since he’s a major pothead, he has to figure out a way to fake it. He succeeds and manages to get the job, but his ball-busting boss (Marcia Gay-

Harden) really dislikes his casual style and makes him wear a tie and conform to her stylebook.

Meanwhile, his friends Luke (Brandon T. Jackson) and Charlie (Nicholas Braun) have found lame jobs as well while Ethan (Christopher MintzPlasse) builds an app that enables users to stalk people. And his girlfriend (Anna Kendrick), who’s carrying $90,000 in student loan debt, loses her job and has to move in with Will.

While the movie provides an accurate account of what it’s like to be a college grad trying to find a job in today’s marketplace, it comes up short on laughs. Even the A-list cast in the movie, which was filmed way back in 2012 and then shelved, can’t redeem the subpar material.

— Jeff Niesel | clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

29

30

| clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

EAT

ALL IN THE FAMILY El Torito dishes up Mexican with cheer

By Douglas Trattner Photo by Emanuel Wallace

OVER THE COURSE OF TWO VISITS to El Torito Taqueria, we got to know more than a few of the staff members, some even on a first-name basis. From server to bartender to owner, the folks who work at this new Mexican restaurant seem to go out of their way to make sure guests are happy and well cared for. That kind of attitude can go a long way toward turning an average meal into a pleasant night out.

When we attempted to order a margarita with special instructions, our server fetched the bartender, who listened, asked questions, and returned moments later bearing the perfect cocktail. When we asked our server about an unfamiliar ingredient on the menu, she fetched one of the owners, who described it in unambiguous detail. When we finished our meal and requested the check, management sent over a round of tequila shots on the house. That’s just how things roll at El Torito.

Mexican restaurants in our neck of the woods tend to fall into one of two camps: the old-school Tex-Mex joints peddling cheese-smothered enchiladas, rice and beans and the Mod-Mex contingent with its fresh spins on regional Mexican cuisine. El Torito, which opened a few months back in Lakewood, attempts to split the difference, and does so with varying degrees of success.

El Torito starts off with a bang,

delivering a basket of warm, thin, salty tortilla chips alongside a bowl of bright and fresh salsa. It’s of the smooth, pureed variety, not the lumpy, bumpy, chunky stuff. You’ll want to kick it up with some of the tabletop bottled habanero sauce; or better yet, ask for the smoky, crazyhot stuff from the kitchen. Keep the fun going by ordering the chicharron appetizer ($6.99), the perfect pairing of crispy, fresh-from-the-fryer pork rinds with tart salsa verde and creamy guacamole. The appetizer menu also veers off into non-traditional territory with items like breaded and fried chorizo balls, hamburger sliders, and habanero chicken wings, if you’re into those sorts of things.

Though they’re listed on the appetizer menu, the arepitas ($9.99) would make a filling and delicious

That dish illustrates the cultural ambitions of the restaurant, which travel from the streets of Mexico to the cafes of Valencia. El Torito offers respectable traditional-style tacos, using doubled-up soft corn tortillas.

You can get barbacoa, chorizo, al pastor and even lengua, also known as braised beef tongue ($3.50). They are garnished simply and appropriately with chopped white onion, cilantro and fresh lime. Spain is represented by way of the paella ($15.99), but you wouldn’t know it by looking at it or, for that matter, tasting it. Sure, there are mussels, scallops, shrimp and heaps of chorizo, but there is zero rice, at least not in the dish. The seafood-heavy stew comes with the same Mexican or cilantro-lime rice that accompanies every other dish on the menu. And the sauce — a salty, garlicky, tequila-

EL TORITO TAQUERIA 1572 WEST 117TH ST., LAKEWOOD, 216-712-6735 ELTORITOBAR.COM

meal. Fragrant grilled arepas, those thick, Colombian-style corn tortillas, serve as the base for a variety of toppings that include shredded pork carnitas, shredded chicken and spicy chorizo sausage. Sprinkled on top is shredded cheese and (a bit too much) Sriracha mayo and/or cilantro lime mayo sauces. The dense but thin arepas can be picked up and eaten like a piece of meaty bruschetta.

spiked concoction — lacks the signature addition of saffron.

We tended to have much better luck playing it safe, sticking to those trusty Tex-Mex staples like enchiladas, burritos and, yes, chimichangas. They all benefit from a lighter touch when it comes to toppings like cheeses, sauces and sour cream compared to the typical fajita factory. We had no problem polishing off a pair of sensibly

sized seafood chimichangas ($13.99).

The “seafood” is a mix of garlicky sauteed shrimp and lumps of faux crab, and the twin pipes are gilded with chile con queso and ranchero sauce. Enchiladas verde ($11.99) nets a trio of chicken enchiladas topped with salsa verde and a dollop of crema fresca. Order the Burro El Toro ($13.99) and prepare to be blown away by its size. Stay away from the bland chicken — maybe opting for carnitas instead — and behold 12 inches of meat, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, sour cream and refried beans.

In addition to a choice of cilantro speckled white rice or copper-colored Mexican rice, dishes all come with either firm and smoky charro beans or refried beans.

Once you get past the drab exterior and pothole-filled parking lot, El Torito isn’t that bad to look at. The freshly remodeled interior, formerly Bottoms Up, features a twolevel layout with a bar and dining room down and an elevated dining section off to the side. There are worse ways to spend an afternoon than grabbing a seat at the bar, ordering a fishbowl-size margarita ($8.99) and settling in for some Cactus League baseball with a basket of warm chips and salsa.

dtrattner@clevescene.com t @dougtrattner

| clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

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| clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

ON THE ROAD Wok n Roll and Night Market take AsiaTown Food Tour to the streets

By Nikki Delamotte WHEN TRICIA MCCUNE AND Matt Bolam were planning to start their own business, they were torn between the concept of a food truck and a food tour. Ultimately, they chose the former, hitting the streets with Wok n Roll, but their desire to spread a deeper knowledge of cuisine and culture never faded.

One of their original goals was to introduce more people to the ďŹ&#x201A;avors found in AsiaTown. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We wanted people to eat our bibimbap, then go to Korea House and try theirs,â&#x20AC;? says McCune.

The couple ďŹ nally will get to scratch the food tour itch when they launch the AsiaTown Food Tour, a monthly event in partnership with Night Market Cleveland, the recurring street food extravaganza that attracted thousands to the neighborhood last year.

On the third Wednesday of each month, tourists will climb aboard the West Side ShufďŹ&#x201A;e bus and visit four restaurants while enjoying three signature cocktails along the way. At the end of the evening, attendees go home with a keepsake cookbook. A test run takes place on March 23 and the ofďŹ cial launch is April 20. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We wanted to demystify going to AsiaTown,â&#x20AC;? says McCune. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I know itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s daunting for people to walk into a place, have no idea what anything on the menu is and just pick an order.

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re working with the restaurants to make things approachable for everybody.â&#x20AC;?

At each stop, travelers will be served family-style meals at restaurants like Li Wah, Korea House, and Siam Cafe, as well as Park to Shop grocery. Downtownâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Phuel Cafe also has signed on. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The whole point is to connect people from across the city back to AsiaTown, but also to let them know how other places are celebrating Asian

culture through their food,â&#x20AC;? says Night Market co-founder Brendan Trewella.

At each restaurant, an owner, chef or tour guide will offer up tableside history on both the food and neighborhood. That means your Peking duck at Siam Cafe might come with a lesson on the Chinatown gang wars of

the 1930s. At Korea House, you might learn that the budae jigae is called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Army Base Stewâ&#x20AC;? because it was once made from surplus American food (think Spam and hot dogs) following the Korean War. Randy Hom, operator of Li Wah, says heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seen an uptick in trafďŹ c since Night Market visitors gobbled up their vegetarian ginger-scallion noodles and slow-braised pork belly buns. Known for its dim sum, the restaurant will be serving tour guests pork and shrimp-ďŹ lled sui mei dumplings. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Educating people about what the different foods are without them being intimidated is important,â&#x20AC;? says Hom. Check out Asiatown Food Tour Series on Facebook for more information and to purchase tickets.

scene@clevescene.com t @cleveland_scene

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33

Photo by Douglas Trattner

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34

| clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

WHETHER OR NOT YOU’RE familiar with the name Tony Fortner, you very likely know of his work. As executive chef of many of Cleveland’s most popular Southern restaurants, Fortner developed the dishes that have become soul food staples around town. Formerly with the Angie’s Soul Republic restaurant group, Fortner helped open Zanzibar Soul Fusion at Shaker Square, Jezebel’s Bayou on Larchmere, and Stonetown downtown, among others.

Last week, he opened his own shop, Southern Cafe (11817 Detroit Ave., 216801-4535), a casual 35-seat restaurant in Lakewood that most recently was home to Almellass Cafe, a Saudi Arabian restaurant.

“This is my twist on all of the restaurants that I wrote the meus for as executive chef: Zanzibar, Stonetown, Chester’s,” says Fortner. “I took all the best items off those menus and combined them all into one menu that is a Southern concept that is the best in the city.”

Westside diners will be introduced to delicious starters like shrimp and grits, fried green tomatoes and the ever-popular “soul rolls” — crispy egg rolls filled with chicken, cheese and chopped collard greens. Sandwiches like fried perch and catfish Po’ Boys join soul satisfying entrees like buttermilk fried chicken with Red Velvet waffles and pork chops smothered in gravy and onions. All

your favorite sides are here, including baked mac and cheese, candied yams, collard greens and fried okra. For dessert, there’s peach cobbler and bread pudding drizzled with bourbon sauce.

Fortner’s culinary resume stretches all the way back to 1979, when he helped open the vegetarian restaurant Earth by April in Cleveland Heights.

Since then he’s helmed the stoves at Canterbury Golf Club, Johnny’s Downtown and Chester’s on Noble.

But at none of those places did he experience the level of excitement that he has witnessed over the last week, he reports.

“We only opened up last week but the buzz about it has been crazy,” he says. “The beautiful thing about this location is that none of the sit-down Southern soul-food concepts are on the westside; everything is concentrated on the eastside. We’re bringing the flavor that we developed and perfected on the eastside to the westside.”

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| clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

bites

competition going down at EDWINS restaurant on April 11. The culinary fracas pits eastside chefs against westside chefs in a feisty, lively atmosphere that is taking its cues from a boxing match.

“We just wanted to have some fun, kick back and enjoy great food and wine,” says Chrostowski. “To keep up the spirit of a boxing match, we’re going to have an announcer announce each course as if it were a round, ring people walking around with large signs, and a bell that rings before each course.”

The event announcement is modeled after a boxing match flyer and live music will keep the mood celebratory.

The evening starts with a pair of hors d’oeuvres from two chefs. After that, each of six chefs will offer up a course, for a total of six courses (each paired with wine). Each course will be scored both by guests and celebrity judges, this writer included, using a boxing-style score card. To the victor goes the honors and, quite possibly, a belt or trophy that gets passed back and forth following future battles.

In this corner, representing the eastside, are Douglas Katz of Fire Food and Drink, Jonathan Bennett of Moxie, Chris Hodgson of Hodge’s and Paul Minnillo and Matthew Mytro of Flour. In this corner, representing the westside, are Dante Boccuzzi of Dante, Steve Schimoler of Crop Bistro, Mike Nowak of the Black Pig and Ben Bebenroth of Spice Kitchen.

EDWINS is giving each chef $1,000 per course for product, which is not only rare for events like these, but it also all but guarantees some pretty spectacular dishes.

“Chefs in this town are hit up so many times over, they shouldn’t have to donate everything every time,” Chrostowski says.

Tickets ($135 + tax) are going fast. Call the restaurant at 216-9213333 to reserve your seat.

“It’s a spirited event involving Cleveland that tries to facilitate great chefs, letting them cook and letting the guests enjoy the rewards of that energy and experience,” says Chrostowski, adding, “There will be drinking involved too.”

In the spirit of friendly competition, Chrostowski might be fanning the flames of some East vs.

West rabble-rousing.

“I encourage trash talk, and I hope the chefs get into it on social media.”

PARKER’S DOWNTOWN TAPS ANDREW GORSKI AS EXECUTIVE CHEF Parker’s Downtown, slated to open this spring in the Kimpton Schofield Hotel (2000 East Ninth St.), has tapped local chef Andrew Gorski as its executive chef. Gorski most recently worked at Butcher and the Brewer and Tremont Tap House.

“I’m thrilled to join James and Victoria Mowbray at their new restaurant,” Gorski said. “Their vision for Parker’s matches my food philosophy. This is a great opportunity and one that will pull from all my experiences.”

The restaurant, an offshoot of Parker’s Grille & Tavern in Avon Lake, will be a 4,700-square-foot, two-level, 120-seat restaurant that will also provide food service to the complex’s 122 hotel rooms and 52 luxury apartments upstairs.

Since graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in 2007, Gorski has worked in the kitchens at David Burke at the Venetian, Thomas Keller’s Bouchon, and MIX Alan Ducasse in Las Vegas. In 2011 he returned to town, accepting a position as executive chef at Tremont Tap House. Last year he helped oversee both Butcher & Brewer and the Tremont Tap House.

“We knew he was the perfect match the first time we talked with him,” explains Victoria Mowbray, co-proprietor of Parker’s. “He’s got a lot of work ahead of him helping us craft the menus that reflect our joint food philosophy, and we can’t wait to share that with diners and hotel guests.”

Gorski describes the food at Parker’s Downtown as, “using local ingredients that help us distinguish and celebrate our city’s food heritage.

We will pride ourselves in working closely with local suppliers to ensure that only the freshest, ethically sourced, seasonal foods make it into our kitchen. Our culinary team at Parker’s Downtown is passionate about the field-to-plate philosophy.

This understanding not only creates a variety of flavors, textures and definition in every dish, but also means our menus are regularly changing to offer new dishes to enjoy. Our classic American menu will highlight great food and techniques.”

In the works since 2009, the Kimpton Schofield Hotel opened earlier this month.

dtrattner@clevescene.com t@dougtrattner

| clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

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| clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

Photo by Stephen Bivens

MUSIC

HE’S A SOUL MAN Singer Eli “Paperboy” Reed returns to his roots on his forthcoming album

By Jeff Niesel

Singer Eli “Paperboy” Reed, who just signed to Yep Roc Records, says he feels like he has “a new lease on life.”

AFTER HE GRADUATED FROM high school in Massachusetts, Eli “Paperboy” Reed wasn’t sure he wanted to go to college. So he took a job at a radio station in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and headed south.

“I didn’t have any other options,” says the soul singer, via phone from his Brooklyn home. He performs at the Grog Shop on March 27 in support of his forthcoming album, My Way Home. “That was my way out. I ended up moving to Clarksdale because I had this opportunity to work for this radio station, WROX, that turned out to be nothing by the time I got there.

It ended up being a total loss, but I stayed. I didn’t know there was a music scene when I moved there. I found all these incredible musicians and this great thriving juke joint scene and all these people who were down there because of the music.

The cost of living was cheap too, so it wasn’t too hard for me to make ends meet when I was there, so that was good.”

He eventually did decide to go

to college and moved to Chicago to study sociology at the University of Chicago. While there, he got a terrific education. But he didn’t attain that education by going to class. Rather, he befriended soul/ gospel singer Mitty Collier, who taught him a thing or two about music.

“I had been collecting records and a friend of mine, who was a record collector, told me that Mitty was working in Chicago, where I was moving to go to school. I just looked up her number in the alumni directory. I had just started doing this radio show and wanted her to come on my show. She had just started this new church. She didn’t want to talk about secular music, but I told her I was a musician. We got together. She came to my dorm and we sat and played some songs and listened to some music and I got the job. After that, I was the minister of music for her church on the South Side of Chicago for the whole year I was there.”

Reed says the woman really took

him under her wing and taught him how to properly sing in the church.

“I loved gospel records but didn’t know what playing behind the preacher was all about,” he says. “I had to learn fast. She gave me some instruction about singing and just life lessons. I didn’t spend a lot of time going to class. That’s for sure.”

That first year of college, he began recording his first album, Sings Walkin’ & Talkin’ & Other Smash Hits! while on winter break in 2004. When he moved back home for the summer, he finished recording it and released it.

“I felt like if I hadn’t tried to do it then, I couldn’t have lived with myself,” he says. “I did it and we put this record out and I started playing around Boston to see if I could make a go of it.”

As his popularity boomed, he subsequently signed to Capitol in 2009.

“On the strength of my first album, I got signed to Capitol,” he explains. “Those were the heady post-Amy Winehouse days and

major labels were interested in soul music. Initially, they did a good job; but as is wont to happen at major labels these days, in the middle of my album cycle, there was massive regime change. EMI was bought by Universal. Even though we had a top 5 single in the U.K. with ‘Come and Get It,’ I didn’t get a second single. They didn’t drop me. It’s like they just forgot me and didn’t pick up my contract.”

Producer Mike Elizondo, who had worked on that record, had gone to Warner Bros. and told Reed he should go there. Reed took his advice.

“I thought it was a second chance,” he says. “I wanted to make a record that I thought could be a breakout record. They gave me the leeway to make that happen, but the same thing happened and there was regime change multiple times at Warner Bros. At labels, if the person who initially signs you is gone, the new people don’t feel ownership of the project and aren’t interested and it fell by the wayside. It upsets me to | clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

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| clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

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| clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

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MUSIC this day the way it all went down. It took me a long time to not be angry and jaded.”

For My Way Home, he inked a deal with the indie imprint Yep Roc. Since Reed has such a strong international following, it was key to find a label that had international distribution. Yep Roc fit the bill.

“I’m happier now than I have been on a label in years,” he says. “I feel like I have a new lease on life.”

Reed wrote the majority of the songs on My Way Home while volunteering with the Mama Foundation’s Gospel for Teens program in Harlem, where he worked (and continues to work) as an instructor. The album comes off as advertised: “raw, rockin’ and righteous.”

“They do a gospel program for teens,” he says of the Mama Foundation’s Gospel for Teens program. “I got involved with them because I asked if they had done a class that was specific for quartet music, which is my first love when it comes to gospel music. They were interested in having me lead the class and I’ve been doing it off and on for three years. When I was working with the kids there, it hammered home how much I love that music and how universal I felt like the messages were even though it’s gospel music. It’s an incredibly rewarding experience. It definitely influenced the making of this album.”

The experience even filtered into the songwriting process.

“After I parted ways with Warner Bros., I took six months off from touring,” Reed says. “I had written a couple of things that I demoed

“I meet him and things clicked,” says Reed. “He plays drums in indie bands and is an established musician. He understood what we were going for. He isn’t your average engineer and wasn’t concerned with doing things properly. It was just whatever sounded good. If you wanted to put two mics on the drums and blow the drums out and do it the way we felt comfortable with, that was fine. It was a comfortable experience. It was a good thing, for sure.”

Reed really stretches his vocals and sounds something like James Brown on the scrappy single “Hold Out,” a song that features a nasty mid-song guitar solo and a beefy organ riff. The song has such a brittle quality to it, it even sounds like it was recorded during a different era.

“I wanted to make a record that sounds like the kind of thing I would want to listen to,” says Reed.

“It was a bit of a backlash against what had happened to me when I was at Warner Bros. I wasn’t sure when I was writing the songs that it would be an album of material.

It just ended up that way. My first focus was to write and record music that I liked and make it sound the way I wanted it to sound.

Able to cross racial boundaries both in his music and his personal life, Reed says keeping an open mind is key when engaging in cross-cultural fertilization.

“I love to sing and I love to make music,” he says. “I happen to believe that the juke joints and the black churches I played in are some of the most open and welcoming places that I’ve ever been to in my life. I

ELI PAPERBOY REED, JEREMY AND THE HARLEQUINS, SECRET SOUL CLUB 8:30 P.M., SUNDAY, MARCH 27, GROG SHOP, 2785 EUCLID HEIGHTS BLVD., CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, 216-321-5588. TICKETS: $13 ADV, $15 DOS, GROGSHOP.GS

myself and played for the guys in my band, and they were excited about how they were sounding and that gave me a kick in the ass to write more like that. Over about three or four weeks last spring, I wrote the bulk of the songs on this record. We recorded all of them in four days last May. It was a pretty quick process.”

Reed recorded with producer Loren Humphrey who has an analog studio set up in his apartment in Brooklyn.

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| clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

love to go to those places. If you’re cool and just there to let your hair down and have a good time, then they’re down. It doesn’t matter what you look like. If you’re there to and praise the lord or however you get down, they’re okay with that. You can’t walk into any places with any preconceptions. You just have to walk into those places and be open.”

jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel

MUSIC POSITIVE VIBRATIONS Indie rockers Mutemath return with their first studio release in four years

By Jeff Niesel THE INDIE ROCK BAND MUTEMATH doesn’t fit the textbook definition of a Christian rock group. The songs don’t make vague references to a higher power and our need to live according to a moral code. And each song isn’t an over-the-top anthem that just oozes with righteousness.

But the church did play a significant role in the band’s formation.

“I met [singer-keyboardist] Paul [Meany] in April of 1997 at this church that was my whole life,” says drummer Darren King during a recent phone conversation from his Nashville home.

He brings the band, which has just released its first studio effort in four years, to House of Blues on March 29.

“It was the most important place in the world to me. He was passing through.

He was interning with his band. It was an eccentric, unique group. They played for 10 weeks at eight church services a week. For 10 weeks of my life, I saw Paul every single day.”

King says he and his mother would drive 30 miles to go to the church where Meany and Co. were stationed.

“And then he was gone,” says King.

“He was my hero. I emulated him and we kept in touch. I wanted to do what they did. I joined their band and then their band broke up.”

In the wake of that band’s dissolution, King lived with Meany and his wife and their three dogs while holding down a day job at Macaroni Grill as a waiter.

“We made tracks for other people,” he says. “We had a lot of fun just starting out with no pressure.”

The two would eventually form the artsy indie rock group Mutemath in 2002. In 2006, Warner Bros. would rerelease their self-titled debut and then issue their next two albums, helping the band develop its small but rabid fanbase. But the group left Warner Bros. four years ago. After taking a short break, the band started writing songs for what would become last year’s Vitals, its first studio effort in four years. With its vintage guitars, Rhodes keyboards, synthesizers and other electronic instruments and soulful vocals, the songs on the album have a retro feel to them.

“We never stopped writing songs,” says King. “It’s like the hair growing out of your head. You create for the

fun of it. When Paul and I first started writing, I was in Nashville and he was in New Orleans. I would send him CDs in the mail. Now it’s easy to share files and create works in different cities.

You can experiment. That was the one thing about this fourth record; it was like a reset button. As sad as it was to part ways with Warner Bros., because there were lots of people there who we liked and had a meaningful relationship with, it was a good thing that happened. It’s for the best.”

couple of songs, King says the band has “never done a record with as little outside input as this one.”

“That requires a certain level of confidence and trust in each other,” he says. “Someone has to be the bearer of bad news when things don’t go well.

Someone has to be the objective person and someone has to be the inspirational person. You have to have thick skin.

You have to trust each other. We’re old enough that we were able to do that.

I understand why most bands hire a

MUTEMATH, PAPER ROUTE 7 P.M., TUESDAY, MARCH 29, HOUSE OF BLUES, 308 EUCLID AVE., 216-523-2583. TICKETS: $22, HOUSEOFBLUES.COM

When they started writing the songs for Vitals, King was living in the basement of a print shop. He and Meany would meet there, close the metal vault door and “lose all track of time” as they worked on writing and recording.

“There was one time when the door closed and I couldn’t get it open,” King says with a laugh. “We were in there for a little bit. We should have stayed in there until we had a record. We need those parameters because we would go on forever without having someone telling us to stop.”

While “outside people” mixed a

producer, mostly to act as a scapegoat, to give an objective viewpoint or to break the tie when two people feel one way and two feel the opposite.”

The jittery, synth-heavy opening song “Joy Rides” has a great energy to it and sounds like something the Pet Shop Boys might have recorded during their prime.

“That one started with Paul,” says King when asked about the song.

“He got together with a buddy of his and they made a beat. I think he was intentionally trying to not to be a bummer. He wanted to write positive music. Anytime we would bring a song

with good vibes to the table, it was what everyone liked. It wasn’t a lack of trying to come up with songs that had a lot of testosterone or were tough. For whatever reason, those ideas weren’t something we were as excited about.

The optimistic songs were the ones we went with for the record.”

The somber, Coldplay-like “All I See” features a terrific vocal performance that finds Meany adopting a soulful falsetto.

“That’s just Paul crushing it,” says King. “We wanted to focus less on the drums showing off and we didn’t want to get overindulgent in the studio. We wanted it to be about the vocals and we wanted it to be a great vocal record. It’s crazy to be in the same room with him.

It’s really special to hear people who can sing that way. I was 14 the first time I met Paul and I said, ‘You have a really nice voice.’ My voice cracked as I said that. We always laugh at that. He’s great but he’s hard on himself. He’ll do take after take. If you leave him alone, he’ll do three days of takes. To me, it all sounds the same: It sounds like him singing awesome.”

“Bulletproof” has ricocheting synths and emphasizes texture over melody. It seems like the type of song that would translate particularly well live, as its echoing percussion packs a real punch.

“We intentionally saved that one for this tour,” says King. “[Bassist] Roy [Mitchell-Cárdenas] started with that.

He had the idea of it and it’s one of the more aggressive ones on the record. It’s so fun to play. It’s so good.”

King says the band has always enjoyed its visits to Cleveland, and he adds that he’s determined to finally visit the Rock Hall this time around.

“One time instead of going to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, I went to the [Great Lakes] Science Center instead, just to see what it was like. They had an exhibit called Boogers, Burps and Farts. I don’t know why I thought that would be cool. It was just for children. I should have gone to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. This time I’m going to go.”

jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel | clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

43

LIVEWIRE

all the live music you should see this week Photo courtesy of Eugene Chadbourne

WED

3/23

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

The Ford Theatre Reunion/Something Involving a Monkey: 8:30 p.m., $10.

Beachland Tavern.

Dale Galgozy/Jim Kozel: 8 p.m.

Barking Spider Tavern.

Magma/Helen Money: 8:30 p.m.

Beachland Ballroom.

Rock Wehrmann: 7 p.m., free. BLU Jazz+.

THU

3/24

The Art of the Fugue: 8 p.m.

Nighttown.

Vicki Chew/Rebekah Jean/Jordan McLaughlin: 6 p.m. Barking Spider Tavern.

Johnny Clegg Band/Jesse Clegg: 8 p.m., $25-$50. Beachland Ballroom.

Driftwood/Crooked: 8:30 p.m., $10 ADV, $12 DOS. Beachland Tavern.

Kirk Franklin: 6:30 p.m., $29.50-$75.

Masonic Auditorium.

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

Have Mercy/A Will Away/Bare Walls/ Home for Fall: 8 p.m., $13 ADV, $15 DOS. Now That’s Class.

Coleman Hell/Ria Mae: 6 p.m. House of Blues Cambridge Room.

Ron Holloway Band: 8 p.m., $10. The Kent Stage.

Indigo Girls/Lucy Wainwright Roche: 8 p.m., $65-$75. Music Box Supper Club.

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

Monster Energy Outbreak Tour Presents Fetty Wap — Welcome to the Zoo: 7 p.m. House of Blues.

Murdered Man/Cruelster/Wetbrain/ FYPM: 9 p.m., $5. Happy Dog. The Music of Woody Shaw: Glenn Holmes Quartet Featuring Mike Wade: 8 p.m., $12. BLU Jazz+.

OWEL/Slow to Speak/Trouper/Portage (in the Locker Room): 7 p.m., $10 ADV, $12 DOS. Mahall’s 20 Lanes.

Randy & Mr. Lahey: 7 p.m., $20-$35.

Mahall’s 20 Lanes.

Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen (in the Supper Club): 8 p.m., $10 ADV, $12 DOS. Music Box Supper Club.

FRI

3/25

Eugene Chadbourne: Free jazz/ folk singer-guitarist Eugene Chadbourne, who performs at 9 p.m. on Friday at Mahall’s as part

44

Banjo man Eugene Chadbourne comes to Mahall’s.

See: Friday.

of a short Midwestern tour, grew up in Boulder where his mother, a refugee from Nazi Germany, and his father, a French literature professor, encouraged his musical ambitions.

He got a guitar after seeing the Beatles on TV. “[I got a guitar] not because I liked [the Beatles], but because girls seemed to, and prior to that the only way to get girls to like you was being good at sports or beating up other kids, neither of which I excelled at,” says Chadbourne in an email interview. He had a brief “raga banjo” thing in Boulder High School because a music store went under and he got the instrument for “almost nothing.” He continues to play the banjo and plays a mix of jazz, folk and country. (Niesel) 9 p.m., $8 ADV, $10 DOS. Mahall’s 20 Lanes.

Benefit for Robert Turman with Baat/ Daniel Dtielvson/Arc/Blackfire/ Moltar: 9 p.m., $8. Now That’s Class.

Bottom Line: 9 p.m., $5. Vosh Club.

Decades Collide: ’80s vs. ’90s Featuring Biz Markie: 7 p.m. House of Blues.

Aretha Franklin Birthday Bash with Thornetta Davis (in the Supper Club): 8 p.m., $15. Music Box Supper Club.

Hey Monea!/Joe Hertler & the Rainbow Seekers: 9 p.m., $10.

Musica.

Jane Lee Hooker/Saul Glennon: 9 p.m., $5. The Euclid Tavern.

The Killer Flamingos: 9:30 p.m., $10.

Brothers Lounge.

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

Nighttown.

Lucius/Pure Bathing Culture: 8:30 p.m., $22 ADV, $25 DOS. Beachland Ballroom.

Thor Platter (in the Wine Bar): 8 p.m.

Brothers Lounge.

Red Light Roxy: 8 p.m., $12. BLU Jazz+.

| clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

Sammy Slims/Part Time Lovers/ Lifetime Achievement Award: 9 p.m., $5. Happy Dog. Sonic Sessions: roeVy/Slave/Sean 2:16/Blackbird: 7 p.m., $5.50. Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

SounDoctrine: 8:30 p.m., $15.

Nighttown.

Sykosis/Malice 213/Mettal Maffia/ Hatecore Inc/The Party: 6 p.m., free.

Agora Ballroom.

Tribute to Eric Clapton by Slowhand: 8 p.m., $12. Music Box Supper Club.

Tribute to Woody Shaw featuring Glenn Holmes Quartet and Mike Wade: 8 p.m., $12. Bop Stop.

Jim Volk/The Mick Rogers Band/ George Foley & Friends: 5:30 p.m.

Barking Spider Tavern.

DJ Paul Weaver: 6 p.m., free. Happy Dog.

SAT

3/26

Buffalo Killers: When you first look at Buffalo Killers, don’t think Duck Dynasty. After all, ZZ Top owned the long curly beard gimmick before the Duck Dynasty guys did. Buffalo Killers offers up slow burning roots rock kindled by Creedence Clearwater Revival-esque blues crooning, coupled with the searing guitar of Ted Nugent. The Gabbard brothers and friends are Cincinnati natives who have earned the respect of BOMP! Records.

Their sixth full-length album, recorded at Howler Hills Farm in Middletown, is due for release on Alive Naturalsound this year.

(Bethany Kaufman) 9 p.m., $10.

Musica.

Hopsin: If ever there was a hip hop equivalent of the straightedge type of personality you might find pissed off at a metal show, it would

be Hopsin. The 30-year-old rapper has been in the game since his album dropped in 2009, but it was a year later, when he began the “Ill Mind of Hopsin” series of diss tracks and personal musings, that people began to take him seriously as a unique voice in rap that wasn’t content with obeying the genre’s status quo. In the latest addition to his “Ill” saga, “Ill Mind of Hopsin 8,” the rapper sets his sights on a former business partner, tearing into the man and their now-defunct record label with great lyrical flow and technical finesse. Although the conscious nature of Hopsin’s messages can make the man come off as a little too high and mighty to some, there’s no doubt he can command a microphone like the best of them when he’s fired up.

(Jacob DeSmit) 7 p.m., $25 ADV, $30 DOS. Odeon.

The Powerful Pills — A Tribute to Phish: Spawned from a mutual love of one of the Great American Rock Bands, The Powerful Pills have become a magnet for fans of exploratory improvisation and high weirdness. They’re a Phish tribute, and they’re fulfilling their mission with aplomb and skill — and to a quickly growing audience, no less. The band formed about a year ago, with guys from Dead Ahead Ohio and the weekly jam night at Iggy’s coming together over a shared interest in Phish.

“The improv element of it was the stipulation on the band: We wanted to do a Phish tribute where we play the songs, but we jam,” Donovan says. “That’s always been the key to the band. Every time we play a song, it’s different. Once we get out of the structure of the song, it then becomes Bill, Steve, Joe and Jason improvising on what we have going — in the style of Phish.” (Eric Sandy) 7 p.m., $10. House of Blues.

Anne E. DeChant (in the Supper Club): 8 p.m., $15. Music Box Supper Club.

JD Allen Trio: 8 p.m., $20. BLU Jazz+.

DTC Organ Trio featuring Dan Wilson: 8 p.m., $12. Bop Stop.

Fresh Out of the Can Local Show Featuring Ennui: 7 p.m., $8 ADV, $10 DOS. Mahall’s 20 Lanes.

Sam Hooper Group: 9 p.m., $5. The Euclid Tavern.

In Training: March Procession with DJ Marc Church/Traag/Silkman b2b Unikove: 9 p.m., $5. Now That’s Class.

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| clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

45

LIVEWIRE

4630 Ridge Road Brooklyn, Ohio 44144

216-749-5509

Learn More At www.agostinos.events

Don’t Miss The Final Fry Of The Season!

3/25 CHARDON POLKA BAND EASTER BUFFET....

Bring your Loved Ones to Celebrate Easter with us and the Easter Bunny!

Sunday, March 27th from 12noon to 5pm. Adults $26.95; Children(under 12yrs.) $12.95 | RESERVE EARLY!

Intervals/Plini/Angel Vivaldi/Save Us from the Archon: 6 p.m., $15 ADV, $18 DOS. Agora Ballroom.

Late Night Karaoke (in the Supper Club): 10:30 p.m., free. Music Box Supper Club.

Tim Moon CD Release/Essential Groove: 8 p.m., $10 ADV, $12 DOS. Beachland Ballroom.

The Multiple Cat/Voxcaster: 9 p.m., $5. Happy Dog. The NuBlu Band Featuring Carlise Guy: 9:30 p.m. Brothers Lounge.

Schwartz Brothers: 8:30 p.m., $6.

Beachland Tavern.

Shockwave Motown: 9 p.m., $5. Vosh Club.

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

Bill Toms Band/The Jerry Allen Band: 8 p.m. Barking Spider Tavern.

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

Nighttown.

Lucinda Williams/Buick 6: 8 p.m., $42.50-$60. The Kent Stage.

Wish You Were Here: 9 p.m., $32. The Tangier.

Wolff & Clark Expedition: 8:30 p.m., $25. Nighttown.

SUN

BOP STOP

3/27

BoomBox: 8:30 p.m., $17 ADV, $20 DOS. Beachland Ballroom.

DJ Hama Presents: Easter Sunday Resurrection of the Funk: 9 p.m., free. Now That’s Class.

Shy Glizzy: 8 p.m., $35. Agora Ballroom.

Winner Of

2015 Scene Magazine Best Jazz Club & 2014 Fox 8 Best Nightspot 3/24

3/26

KRISH MOHAN COMEDY

TRIBUTE TO WOODY SHAW

DTC ORGAN TRIO WITH DAN WILSON

8PM | $10

8PM | $12

8PM | $12

3/30

3/31

4/1

CHRIS PITSIOKOS QUARTET

FRED HERSCH TRIO

GET HAPPY! JUDY GARLAND

8PM | $10

7PM & 9:30PM | $20

8PM | $10

4/2

ORGAN-ISM 8PM | $15

4/6 NEXT LEVEL COMEDY SHOWCASE: CHAD ZUMOCK 8PM | $5

46

MON

3/25

4/3

4/4

ROB CLEARFIELD TRIO

JOSHUA SMITH TRIO

8PM } $10

8PM | $10

4/7

4/8 RUSS NOLAN AND THERON BROWN TRIO

AYREHEART 8PM | $15

8PM | $15

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

Food provided by Cleveland Culinary Launch and Kitchen! | clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

3/28

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

Baldwin Wallace Musical Theater Program: 7 p.m., $10. Nighttown.

Velvet Voyage (in the Wine Bar): 8 p.m. Brothers Lounge.

Skinny Lister/Beans on Toast/Will Varley: 8:30 p.m., $12. Grog Shop.

TUE

3/29

Chon/Polyphia/Strawberry Girls: If you crave the complex melodies and tight instrumentation of metal music, but dread the guttural screaming of the bands’ front men, Chon might be for you. On its first full-length album, 2015’s Grow, the band mixes delicately intertwining guitar melodies and complicated drumming patterns to keep their

singer-less songs interesting. After opening for similar acts such as Animals and Leaders and Circa Survive, Chon is now a headliner and will lead a night full of progressive-metal goodness when it takes the stage with Polyphia and Strawberry Girls. (DeSmit) 7 p.m., $12 ADV, $14 DOS. Grog Shop.

The Cult: Hidden City, the band’s 10th studio album, and the first in almost four years, completes a trilogy of work that began in 2007 with the release of Born Into This. “The idea of the trilogy really kind of came toward the end of the album,” singer Ian Astbury says. “I’m not sure who was the one who kind of made an observation that we’ve had certain periods throughout seasons of the Cult — obviously there’s Love, Electric and Sonic Temple — that fit together a certain narrative. In some ways, these three records — Born Into This, Choice of Weapon and Hidden City — also form a certain narrative. I think in this instance it’s to do with post 9/11, post decline of the music industry, 21st century, the rise of digital, the rise of environmental disasters, global conflict and economic uncertainties, etc.” Legendary producer Bob Rock, a longtime associate who produced the band’s landmark Sonic Temple release in 1989, returned in the closing moments of the recording sessions of Choice of Weapon, and he was back behind the boards to shepherd the band through the process of making the new album, marking the fifth time that he’s worked with the group. (Matt Wardlaw) 7 p.m., $32.50-$50. Hard Rock Rocksino.

Brit Floyd: 7:30 p.m., $34.50-$54.50.

House of Blues.

Good Personalities: 10 p.m., free.

Now That’s Class.

Judah & the Lion/The Saint Johns/ Tom Evanchuck: 8 p.m., $13 ADV, $15 DOS. Beachland Ballroom.

Mutemath/Paper Route: 7 p.m., $22.

House of Blues.

Primetime Big Band: 7:30 p.m., $10.

Vosh Club.

Jered Robert/Sara Elizabeth Schall: 8 p.m. Barking Spider Tavern.

Sonata Arctica/Delain: 7 p.m., $19.50 ADV, $23 DOS. Agora Ballroom.

Two-Set Tuesday Featuring Harry Bacharach (in the Wine Bar): 7 p.m. Brothers Lounge.

jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel

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| clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

47

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440-234-1002

Live Music All Summer Long!

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48

COMING SOON: CATERING ROOMS & THE LARGEST PATIO IN STRONGSVILLE | clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

| clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

49

HAVE A PICNIC, RELAX & ENJOY

LIVE MUSIC

NO COVER

HAPPY HOUR

- & s 0- !,, $!9 35. /&& !,, $2).+3

Photo courtesy of Chris Hatton

BAND OF THE WEEK

b a r k i n g s p i d e r t a ve r n . c o m

Thursday March 24

$%42/)4 !6% #,%6%,!.$ \ brotherslounge.com

Jordan McLaughlin 6:00 (singer/ songwriter) Rebekah Jean 8:00 (singer/ songwriter) Vicki Chew 10:00 (folk, rock)

,)+% 53

#(%#+ /54 /52 -%.5 @"%34 /& 4(% 7%34 7)..%2 '3* t

Friday March 25 George Foley & Friends 5:30 (jazz) The Mick Rogers Band 8:00 (blues, rock, roots) Jim Volk 10:00 (rock)

Saturday March 26 The Jerry Allen Band 8:00 (folk, rock) Bill Toms Band 10:00 rhythm and blues, rock)

Sunday March 27 HAPPY EASTER!!

Closed GGIGF `kd_f[h hZDB Yb[l[bWdZ Š 216.421.2863

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A SPECIAL SHOW!

THE NUBLU BAND

CHRIS HATTON

FEATURING

CARLISLE GUY

By Jeff Niesel MEET THE BAND: Chris Hatton (vocals, guitars)

THURS., MARCH 24

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THURS., MARCH 31

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food menu available

&7&3: 8&%/&4%": t 10 X 3 SINGER-SONGWRITER SHOWCASE W/BRENT KIRBY

2247 Professor AVe. tremont

contact: harvesttownmusic@gmail.com

THURSDAY 3/24

CHRIS HATTONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S MUSICAL CIRCUS CD RELEASE PARTY!

50

216.274.1200

www.coda.danteboccuzzi.com

| clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

A DIY GUY: Singer-guitarist Chris Hatton has been making records since he was 19 or 20. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I do everything myself, all the recording and playing,â&#x20AC;? says Hatton, who grew up in GarďŹ eld Heights and Brecksville. Hatton, who also teaches at School of Rock, has held down a Thursday night gig at Brothers Lounge for the past four years. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I feel like Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve cut my teeth a lot,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;[The Brothers Lounge show] is a way different gig than playing with an original band once a month or every other month. You have to keep it fresh. I practice constantly to put together new stuff each week.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a different discipline.â&#x20AC;?

HAZY DAYS: Hatton has two kids now and recorded his new album, Into the Universe, in snippets between gigging and teaching at the School of Rock and coming home to the kids. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get those big chunks of time,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;On previous albums, I recorded as quickly as possible. On Into the Universe, I became a bit obsessive.

Night after night, I recorded countless takes until I was able to get the exact vibe I was searching for. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not a note on this CD that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not behind 100 percent, and that feels nice.â&#x20AC;?

WHY YOU SHOULD HEAR HIM: Recorded and mixed at sessions that took place in the past two years, all the tracks were laid down at the ďŹ ctional Analog Beard Shoe Storage and Recording Facility in Seven Hills. Hatton plays

most of the instruments on the album himself but recruited Joe Barone to play keyboards and Tommy Rich to play drums. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s good at playing slow deep big fat drums,â&#x20AC;? Hatton says of Rich. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t play the song slow enough for the life of me.â&#x20AC;? The songs have deep funk grooves but also delve into spacey Pink Floyd territory at times. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a little bit of heaviness in there,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I call it Yardman Music.â&#x20AC;? And the lyrics are pretty out there too. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Some of the poignant subjects that I tackle on this new album include ďŹ ghting with your chick, lawnmowers, praying mantises and various other insects, extraterrestrial recording techniques, bartenders, and Cosmic Wave Transcendence,â&#x20AC;? says Hatton. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I used to write about breakups but Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m 35 years old now, so who cares?

I just write about what I know. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Neighborhood Manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is about living in Seven Hills and mowing the lawn.â&#x20AC;?

For the CD release show at Brothers Lounge, Hatton will play for an hour and then bring his backing band, Italian Sound Machine, out for another hour-long set.

WHERE YOU CAN HEAR HIM: chrishattonmusic.com.

WHERE YOU CAN SEE HIM: Chris Hatton performs at 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 24, at Brothers Lounge.

jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel

MARCH 30

APRIL 1

APRIL 8

APRIL 10

APRIL 15

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This Florida girl got her first laugh on stage at 5 years old in the Little Miss Fort Myers Beauty Pageant, after an interviewer ask if she liked going to school she answered “Hell no, I’d rather stay home and watch cartoons.”

Scotty has been winning crowds internationally for over a decade with his high energy and animated performances. With improv, characterizations and music, his content is smart, creative and fun for all audiences—even your momma!

TICKETS AVAILABLE ON TICKETMASTER.COM AND AT THE ROCKSINO BOX OFFICE, OPEN DAILY FROM 1PM - 9PM. 10777 NORTHFIELD ROAD | NORTHFIELD, OHIO 44067 | HRRNP.COM | 330.908.7625 ALL SHOWS 21 & OVER

SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. FOR FREE, CONFIDENTIAL HELP 24/7, CALL THE OHIO PROBLEM GAMBLING HELPLINE AT 1.800.598.9966 | clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

51

THIS SAT. MARCH 26

FRI. APRIL 1

Wish You Were Here

The Sound & Vision Of David Bowie

Diamond Dogs The Sights & Sounds of Pink Floyd

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

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★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

FRI. APRIL 8

SAT. APRIL 9

Smooth Jazz Legends

Blue Oyster Cult

Pieces Of A Dream

American Hard Rock Icons

TWOWS SHO

SAT. APRIL 16

Love Affair 40 Year Reunion All Original Members 1980’s hit “Mama Sez”

APR. 22 & 23, 29 & 30

Michael Stanley and the Resonators

SAT. MAY 7

FRI. MAY 13

Smooth Jazz R&B Singer

Average White Band

Bobby Caldwell “What You Wouldn’t Do For Love”

Classic Soul and Funk

MAY 20-21-22

SAT. OCTOBER 1

The Return Of

Jazz Sax Legend

Mint Condition

David Sanborn

The Last Great R&B Group

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★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★ 52 | clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

C-NOTES New Music Venue to Open in Akron

By Jeff Niesel THE CLEVELAND-BASED ELEVATION Group has teamed up with East End Promotions, an entertainment subsidiary of partners Industrial Realty Group (IRG) and Industrial Commercial Properties (ICP), in the development of the Goodyear Theater and Hall, two new Northeastern Ohio concert and event venues. Part of a mixed-use development that includes the East End Residence Loft Apartments and the new Hilton Garden Inn Hotel, the complex encompasses the historic Goodyear headquarters at 1201 East Market St. in Akron. Goodyear Theater will seat 1,458; Goodyear Hall will have a 3,500 capacity.

“We could not be more excited for what’s in store at the East End,” says IRG president Stu Lichter in a press release. “We are going to be very active in Northeastern Ohio, with a plan to stage 150-plus nights of entertainment per year in the Goodyear Theater and Hall once we are firmly established. ... The positive economic impact possibilities are enormous.”

“The 150 shows will not happen overnight,” adds Elevation Group managing partner Steve Lindecke.

“But we have already booked some significant acts with more to come.

It is our sole intention to make the Goodyear Theater and Hall the two best venues to experience live music and entertainment in the Cleveland/ Akron/Canton area.”

The first shows at the Goodyear Theater include Kidz Bop (April 27); Grammy Award-winning Smashing Pumpkins with singer-songwriter Liz Phair (April 29); Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw (April 30); and altcountry hero Jason Isbell (June 4).

Tickets for Smashing Pumpkins, Gavin DeGraw and Jason Isbell are currently on sale. Details related to a “free” Kidz Bop show will be announced shortly. Tickets for all shows at both the Goodyear Theater and Hall can be purchased at Ticketfly.com or at the temporary box office at 23400 Mercantile Rd., Suite #10, in Beachwood. Fans can also purchase tickets by phone at 877435-9849.

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| clevescene.com | March 23 - 29, 2016

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Dear Dan, I’m a 24-year-old male, married three years, monogamous. My wife and I are religious and were both virgins when we got married.

I’m sexually frustrated with two things. (1) How can I get her to give me oral sex? (She has never given and I have never received oral sex.

I regularly give her oral sex.) She is afraid to try it, saying she’s not ready yet. About every six months, I bring it up and it leads to a fight.

She is a germophobe, but I think she believes fellatio is done only in porn. (I used to look at porn, which nearly ended our then-dating relationship.) (2) I feel like I’m always giving and never receiving any type of affection: massages, kisses, caresses, you name it. It’s like having sex with a sex doll — no reciprocation. How do I broaden our sex life without making her feel like we’re in a porno?

Sexually Frustrated If you don’t already have children — you don’t mention kids — please don’t have any, SF, at least not with your first wife.

You’re a religious person, SF, a lifestyle choice I don’t fully understand. But you’re also a sexual person, and that I do understand. And if you want a lifelong, sexually exclusive, and sexually fulfilling relationship, then you must prioritize sexual compatibility during your search for the second Mrs. SF. Because your next marriage is likelier to survive for the long haul if you’re partnered with someone who is attracted to you physically and is aroused — roughly speaking — by the same sex acts, positions, and fantasies you are.

In other words: Don’t marry someone and hope she likes sucking your dick. You tried that, and it didn’t work. Find someone who likes sucking your dick and marry her.

Dear Dan, I’m a straight woman in my early 30s, and I just don’t like receiving oral sex. I love giving blowjobs and

can orgasm from PIV sex, but I seem to be one of the few women who don’t enjoy guys going down on me. I’m not uncomfortable with it, but it doesn’t get me off. I also get wet easily, so it’s not like I need it as foreplay. As I’ve gotten older, and the guys I sleep with have gotten older, it seems like most want to spend a great deal of time down there. I’ve tried being up front about not liking it in general, but guys either get offended or double down and do it more because they assume I’ve never been with a guy who “could do it right.” Any ideas on how to handle this?

Needs Oral Preference Explainer The observation you make regarding older straight guys — older straight guys are more enthusiastic about going down on women — is something I’ve heard from other female friends. They couldn’t get guys to go down on them in their 20s, and they can’t get guys in their 30s and 40s to stop going down on them. (SF, above, is clearly an outlier.) The obvious solution to your dilemma, NOPE: Only fuck guys in their 20s.

Dear Dan, Fan from Sweden here! Question: My fetish has no name. It is a “worshipping” fetish, for want of a better term, where I am the one being worshipped. Not by one man, but all men of the earth. The worshipping itself, while sexual, is not bound to my body parts. It would be great to have this named.

Lack Of Vocabulary Enervates My Experiences A year ago, I would’ve diagnosed you with “caligulaphilia,” LOVEME, after the Roman emperor Caligula, who considered himself a living god, and -philia, the go-to suffix meaning “abnormal appetite or liking for.” But these days, I’d say you were suffering from a bad case of “trumpophilia.”

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