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UPFRONT
CUYAHOGA COUNTY COUNCIL GRILLS DOWNTOWN CLEVELAND INC. OVER RENEWAL OF SPECIAL IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT BUSINESS TAX
WHO IS ULTIMATELY responsible for keeping Downtown Cleveland clean and safe?
The city? Its business owners? The taxpayers across Cuyahoga County?
That argument was very much on display at Cuyahoga County Council on Tuesday afternoon, when six members of Council’s Economic Development & Planning Committee debated, for the third time this year, to what extent—if at all—they should help pay for downtown upkeep through the Downtown Cleveland Improvement District, a collection of dozens of businesses stretching from East 18th Street to the east bank of the Cuyahoga River.
As the district exists today, businesses pay an annual fee, based on their building size and value of their land. It all amounts to about a $5 million per year. That money is then used on a variety of things—keeping sidewalks clean, hiring safety patrol, buying holiday decorations.
Per state law, Downtown Cleveland, Inc., the nonprofit in charge of rallying property owners, has to get the thumbs up of at least 60 percent of all the businesses in the drawn district boundaries to continue the tax. Everyone except churches, state or federal buildings, or anything owned by the city or county.
That is of course if the city or coun-
ty says otherwise and joins the district to boost the numbers.
In January, Cleveland City Hall announced that their buildings would be a part of the improvement area for the first time since the district was created in 2006. That amounts to, officials reiterated on Tuesday, about 14 percent of district participation—and adding some $3.5 million to the pool over the next seven years.
Which is why it seemed County Council members appeared threatened, or at least pressured, when DCI once again asked for their okay to include them on the list. Even if those county buildings, including the one Council was currently debating from,
amounted to just three percent of the pool.
“Here we are carrying the water again,” District 5 Councilman Michael Gallagher said from his seat.
“I don’t mind doing it, because I feel sorry your guys are in a city that doesn’t give a damn about you,” Gallagher added. “But you’re going to use their votes to put you over 60 [percent]. And trying to shame us to give you three [percent] to put you over 60—to tax people that don’t want to be taxed, I guess.”
Gallagher was talking to Ed Eckart, DCI’s senior vice president of operations, who had shown up to Council in place of CEO Michael Deemer to
District 5 Councilman Michael Gallagher spearheaded Council’s criticism of DCI at Tuesday’s meeting.|
Photo by Mark Oprea
help convince Gallagher and crew to see the value in chipping into the improvement district.
Confusion was sowed instead.
While Eckart ensured Council that DCI would meet that 60 percent threshold without the county’s buy-in, Gallagher and others went on a fiery defensive, accusing DCI of a kind of bait-and-switch from what Deemer presented to Council back in February.
“The goal has always been to get to the 60 percent threshold to submit our petitions to the city, and that’s what we intend to do again,” Eckart told Council. “Frankly, if the county doesn’t [join], and we submit petitions, the property owners within the district will pay more money.”
“Okay, well, scare tactics aside,” Gallagher quipped, “the reality is, you got to get to 60. At one time in history, you got to 60.”
“We’ve always gotten to 60,” Eckart said.
“Well, why is it so hard now?” Gallagher said. “If you haven’t lost support, why do you need government to put you over?”
DCI declined to disclose to Scene exactly how many business signed on as of Tuesday. They have until the end of March to submit the final petition count.
But it’s safe to say that five years of pandemic-wrought comings and goings has thrown a wrench into what may have been a more self-reliant improvement district before 2020. (After all, this is the first time Cleveland and Cuyahoga have been approached by DCI.)
And a district of a different shape. In Council’s second meeting on the subject, on February 3, Deemer informed Council it would be signing on to a “reduced footprint.” A district that excludes, for the first time, the Columbus Road Peninsula (due to Metroparks’ recent land purchases), the area south of Erie Cemetery, and select buildings along the eastern and southern edge of Downtown, Deemer said.
A reduced span that made Deemer’s gentle ask last month seem much more dire.
“Specifically, we really believe that the future of Downtown Cleveland is not just a city issue,” he said. “Even not just a county issue. It’s a regional issue.”
But is it? was the essence of Gallagher’s response. If the county signs on, an extra $800,000 or so would flood into the pool used to keep Downtown maintained.
Money that would, Gallagher reminded Scene after Tuesday’s meeting, come from the pockets of county residents. Some that might not even step foot downtown.
“It’s not about the amount of the stipend,” he told Scene. “But we don’t want to force a group of people to pay into this without having a say.”
Council is planning to make their final vote on whether or not to join the improvement district on March 18. –
Mark Oprea
R&B Hall of Fame Eyeing Buckeye’s Moreland Theater in Cleveland for Permanent Home
James Brown, Michael Jackson and Ray Charles could be coming to Cleveland’s Buckeye neighborhood.
Well, at least in spirit.
After years of speculation and fundraising, the next phase of Buckeye’s long-vacant Moreland Theater could be the new home for the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, multiple sources reported.
In February, Axios Cleveland confirmed that R&B Hall of Fame founder LaMont Robinson was considering the Moreland for his museum’s permanent home.
For years, Robinson, a Warrensville Heights native, had been hunting for the right spot to park what’s been a traveling awards show since 2010, when the initiative was founded to memorialize innovators and stalwarts of the genre.
Robinson’s search for a brick and mortar seems to have lined up nicely with the city-led makeover of a block that’s been vacant for the better part of the past few decades. Earlier this year, City Council approved a $300,000 grant for Burten, Bell, Carr to use in the renovation of the landmark.
“This is long overdue,” Robinson told Axios. “If it wasn’t Rhythm & Blues, there wouldn’t be rock ’n’ roll and there wouldn’t be a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.”
Robinson declined to add further comment, but told Scene more information will be announced mid-April.
Just as it’s solidified its ties to rock music, Cleveland has its part in the evolution of R&B. Leo’s Casino was a staple for the likes of Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles. Boddie Recording Company helped cut records by the O’Jays and other Midwestern soul acts.
And the city helped raise luminaries like Bootsy Collins, Macy Gray and The Ohio Players—all Ohio natives that are also inductees in the R&B Hall of Fame.
A permanent home for the R&B Hall of Fame—a museum with clear national appeal—could also help lift Buckeye. Robinson predicts “250,000 to 500,000” tourists per year, his site reads, along with 100 jobs at the
result of the build.
“The goal is not to build a funeral parlor with lights,” the site’s Q&A reads, but to construct “a high-tech state-of-the-art, 50,000-square-feet, highly-interactive, virtual reality, 3D hologram experience center that will be the Disneyland of Music.”
Robinson has garnered roughly $2 million of artifacts, Axios reported, that could find their way into the Moreland Theater building one day. –
Mark Oprea
Trump Cuts Will Affect Tree Canopy Restoration Work in Cuyahoga County
A sweet kind of optimism carried Julie Gierke into growing the Heights Tree People nonprofit she joined in 2022.
The group, founded in 2019 by Cleveland Heights resident and green thumb Bill Hanavan, had flourished on a primarily volunteer effort, planting oaks or elms on tree lawns off Lee Road or assembling a mini forest near the Coventry PEACE Campus.
Roughly 1,400 trees had been rooted in about five years, all thanks to sympathetic donors and money from state forestry programs. (All green thumbs work gratis.)
Which is why Gierke, the director of the program, was anxious come February 18. President Trump had submitted an executive action ordering the defunding of any federal initiative backing anything at all related to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.
HTP was at risk. A little over $18,000 was alloted this year by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to help buy trees—some 100 per season—to go up in neighbors’ yards. Costing them nothing.
Like arts organizations, urban clinics, or National Parks, the funds that would’ve gone to Gierke and her tree planters was effectively frozen.
“Without that funding it would be difficult to continue planting trees free of charge,” she told Scene, “which is the basis of our mission.”
“Trees should not be a partisan issue,” Gierke added.
What’s been framed by Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency as a high-octane effort to curtail excess spending of federal dollars has been seen by others, specifically those that work or live in the sectors rife with cuts, as unchecked overstepping.
And now it’s trees.
In a region that’s found it needs to plant tens of thousands of new trunks per year to fully restore its fledgling canopy, a stoppage of money trickling down from the state for saplings or
for keeping old trunks healthy doesn’t spell good news.
In that freezing of $5.5 million from ODNR’s annual Inflationa Reduction Act grants, roughly $1 million of it was directed to cities and nonprofits across Northeast Ohio—from Parma Heights and Fairview Park to Holden Forests & Gardens and the Western Reserve Land Conservancy.
With the future of that money up in the air, planters and foresters struggle to find staff or volunteers to mulch, to heal aging oaks, or to stick to any kind of rigorous planting schedule as in past years.
With Holden, there’s also the expected loss of jobs. Both its eight-member Tree Corps Crew, a planting team comprised of paid interns, and its seasonal contractors are fueled primarily by grant dollars. Those that buy trees for Old Brooklyn, for Slavic Village, to dot around buildings owned by the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority.
“So, if you think about it, by not investing in these communities, we’re setting them up for failure,” Amanda Wood, a forester at Holden, said. “Unfortunately, because it’s just expensive to maintain trees, let alone plant them.”
“If we take our eye off maintenance and health, those mature trees, then you’re losing canopy cover,” her colleague, David Burke, the VP of Science and Research, added. “You’re always behind the eight ball, in a way. You’re never quite catching up.”
Both Holden and Heights Tree People told Scene that they would, just like miffed arts nonprofits, be relying more on philanthropy and donors than on money that typically trickled down from Washington, D.C.
Spokespersons from Cleveland City Hall and from Cuyahoga County said that their respected tree-planting initiatives, the city’s Division of Forestry and Cuyahoga’s Health Urban Tree Canopy, were not immediately effected by the federal funding freeze.
“While there is still a state of uncertainty as this plays out in court, we remain optimistic that we will receive this funding,” a city spokesperson said.
Last year, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources helped plant 762,000 trees statewide with assistance from about $9 million set aside to keep Ohio’s tree canopy healthy.
In Cleveland, 1,225 new trees were rooted by the Cleveland Tree Coalition with $661,000 from grant funds—including from ODNR and the USDA. –Mark Oprea
THIS YEAR’S ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE COULD BE ONE OF THE LAST ONES DOWNTOWN
Or, at least one of the last ones on the current route
By Vince Grzegorek
AFTER YEARS OF PLANNING, fundraising, public forums and revisions, the long-awaited Superior Midway will break ground in the spring of 2026.
The $25-million project will narrow Superior to four lanes — one bus lane and one all-purpose lane running in each direction totaling 24 feet in width -- from Public Square to East 55th with a protected bike path running down the middle bordered by landscaping on each side.
Public reaction has been largely positive. Cleveland, after all, has been behind the curve in cyclist and pedestrian infrastructure, and Superior’s excessive width makes it a prime target for measures that will both increase safety and expand multi-modal corridors in a city lacking them. Concerns voiced so far have come from the usual suspects — businesses along the street and centered on questions about how long construction will take and how the project will affect parking.
But a surprise entrant into the nay category arrived this winter.
Organizers of the Cleveland St. Patrick’s Day parade say that the narrowed streets and surrounding landscaping will make it impossible to safely hold the annual tradition down its usual route. The parade could adapt to a road that’s 24-feet wide, they say, but the additional eight feet of landscaping bordering the bike path would make the parade unfeasible.
“We’ve been talking to the city since 2019 when we first learned about this,” Patrick Murphy, executive director emeritus of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee, told Scene. “We got no feedback for years, and then about a year and a half ago they agreed to sit down at the table with us. The changes that have been proposed don’t take into
Photo by Emanuel Wallace
consideration the most important part for us, which is a wide enough roadway for a safe parade.”
The city, throughout those talks, agreed to eliminate trees and bushes on the north lane along the parade route, but Murphy said the parade organizers want the landscaping areas reduced altogether from eight feet to five feet. The city, however, has stood pat, arguing 12-foot lanes are the safest option.
St. Clair has been proposed as an alternative route, but Murphy said it’s a poor one from their perspective -- it doesn’t connect to Public Square, it would take the parade away from bars and restaurants along the current route, and move the parade further away from public transit.
“The further you put us away from Public Square, the less people,” he said.
The 2026 parade won’t be affected by the groundbreaking schedule, but 2027’s location remains an open question, he said.
“There are a lot of suggestions being made. We have a couple of years,” he said, noting that leaving downtown is definitely an option.
As for whether the city should alter plans to accommodate a parade that happens once a year, Murphy said: “If we bring the amount of money and people every year that we do, why not?”
In response, in an op-ed published in Scene last month, outgoing City of Cleveland senior strategist for transit and mobility and soon-to-be Director of Cleveland’s City Planning Commission Calley Mersmann argued why there’s little room for debate. Her full piece is below:
“The St. Patrick’s Day parade has a long and storied history in Cleveland, tracing back to at least 1842. Over the last century and a half, parade organizers, participants, and routes have adapted to the social,
political, and religious dynamics of the time. Over the years, Cleveland’s Irish community has marched on almost every street in the downtown core, across the Cuyahoga River in each direction, and through the Flats, building a legacy of people and place that transcends any one parade and has become interwoven with the rich and diverse historical tapestry of Cleveland. The story of Irish Americans in Cleveland is one of resiliency, vibrancy, and a deep commitment to sustaining cultural ties, with the St. Patrick’s Day parade as a foundational cornerstone. The City of Cleveland itself has a long history as a steadfast partner in the parade production, providing more than $245,000 of in-kind security and event logistics support to the parade on an annual basis.
“However, the City is also responsible for making our streets as safe and welcoming as possible for day-in and day-out use. We receive more feedback from residents about road safety concerns and requests for traffic calming than almost any other topic. Data bear out these anecdotes — in 2024, over 300 people experienced life-changing injury or death as a result of traffic crashes within our city. The Superior Midway project — a $25 million capital investment along Superior Avenue from Public Square to E. 55th Street over a decade in the making – addresses the roadway dynamics that contribute to dangerous driving by resurfacing the street and adding a landscaped center median with a two-way bike path and enhanced midblock crosswalks. Engineering solutions like these have been proven to increase road safety for everyone — whether people are walking, riding bikes, or driving vehicles — by narrowing lanes, slowing speeds, and reducing
crash severity. These types of safety improvements are essential on streets like Superior, which experiences higher rates of fatal, serious injury, property damage, pedestrian, and bicycle crashes than similar streets statewide.
“The Cleveland St. Patrick’s Day parade has occurred on Superior Avenue for the better part of the past two decades. As part of a detailed community engagement process with businesses and stakeholders to inform the Superior Midway design, City staff met regularly—ten times, in total—with St. Patrick’s Day parade organizers to explore adjustments such as changes to landscaping, buffer treatments, and curb details that could better accommodate the event. Together, we resolved many aspects of parade staging, public safety access, and unit spacing, but the parade committee ultimately decided the roadway space remaining on Superior Avenue after the Midway project is completed will be too constrained for their needs.
“The City of Cleveland is at the table to work with parade organizers to determine a new Downtown Cleveland route for the parade beginning in 2027 using any of Downtown’s numerous other streets. (The parade will remain on its current Superior Avenue route in 2025 and 2026.) Like Cleveland itself, the St. Patrick’s Day parade has persisted over time by adapting and adjusting to meet the needs of the moment. We know it is possible to both have safer streets and continue the legacy of the Downtown Cleveland St. Patrick’s Day parade. We look forward to evolving forward together for the next chapter.”
ST. PATRICK´S DAY
SEEING GREEN
14 ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Cleveland
By Jeff Niesel
THU 03/13
Shindig
The Irish folk and ballad band gets the St. Patrick’s Day festivities started tonight and Saturday night at P.J. McIntyre’s Irish Pub. Then, Half Craic’d plays a “St. Practice” Day show on Sunday, and the bar and restaurant welcomes revelers at 7 a.m. on Monday. The first 100 people to show up on St. Patrick’s Day receive a free T-shirt. Local heroes Mary’s Lane play that day at 2 p.m. A Hair of the Dog Party takes place at 6 p.m. on Tuesday with veteran local singer-songwriter Mossy Moran. 17119 Lorain Ave., 216-941-9311, pjmcintyres.com.
FRI 03/14
Flanagan’s Wake
Flanagan’s Wake transports the audience to an Irish wake where villagers tell tales and sing songs for their dearly departed Flanagan. Finding the humor in life and death, the wake acts as a dark backdrop to an otherwise hilarious show in which alcohol fuels the humorous reminiscing. Sort of like a tragic Tony ‘n’ Tina’s Wedding, the interactive and improvised show engages the entire audience as the guests are treated as the friends and family of the deceased. Tonight’s show starts at 8, and it repeats tomorrow night at 8 at Kennedy’s Theatre. 1501 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
St. Patrick’s Day Weekend
Great Lakes Brewing Co. kicks off its weekend-long St. Patrick’s Day celebration with live music and food and drink specials. The downstairs bar will become a pop-up party pub. DJ Sayword spins today, DJ Red-I spins tomorrow, and Ever Green performs on Sunday. The Kilroys perform on Monday.
There will be live bagpipes, Irish dancers and traditional music along the route of this annual race that features either a 2- or 5-mile loop. Proceeds benefit St. Malachi Parish, and the event kicks off at 8 a.m. with a special Mass.
2459 Washington Ave., 216-8615343, runsignup.com/Cleveland/ StMalachiChurchRun.
The Boys from County Hell
When the Boys from the County Hell first got together in 2000 at the now-shuttered Euclid Tavern as a Pogues cover band, it was supposed to be just a one-night stand. But after selling out that first show, the band continued from there and remains a seasonal musical treat. The group performs tonight at 8 at Music Box Supper Club. Then, you can catch them again on St. Patrick’s Day when they play from 10 a.m. to noon at House of Blues, from 1 to 5:30 p.m. at Flannery’s Pub and from 7 p.m. until the wee hours at the Harp. 1148 Main Avenue, 216-242-1250, musicboxcle.com.
Irish Night: An Evening of Celtic Rock at BAYarts
Doors open at 6 p.m. for this event that ta kes place in BAYarts Sullivan Family Auditorium, There will be a cash bar and “Irish favorites” available for purchase from Grumpy’s Café, which will be on hand to serve up the grub. Tickets cost $20 in advance, $25 at the door. 28795 Lake Rd., Bay Village, 440871-6543, bayarts.net/events/maryslane/.
Lakewood St. Patrick’s Shamrock Bar Crawl
This bar crawl will put you in the right frame of mind for Monday’s parade and party. Dubbed the St. Patrick Shamrock Crawl, it takes place from noon to 9 p.m.; it begins at the Mercury in Lakewood. 18206 Detroit Ave, Lakewood, 6782438639, eventvesta.com/ events/95241/t/tickets.
The Official Lucky’s St Patrick’s Day Bar Crawl — Cleveland
Billed as “the ultimate St Paddy’s
Bar Crawl in Cleveland, this crawl kicks off at Corner Alley at 4 p.m. It’s slated to run until midnight, and tickets cost $10.
The popular Irish group that began its career as a pub band in Santa Monica, CA plays the Goodyear Theater in Akron. The group regularly plays 200 shows a year and tours the entire world. Just last year, it added acclaimed fiddler Natalya Kay. The concert begins at 7 p.m. 1201 East Market St., Akron, 330659-7118, goodyeartheater.com.
A Proper Pint
Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, the Chagrin Documentary Film Festival will screen this documentary about Irish pub life. The ticket includes a drink and a potato bar. It takes place at 5 p.m. at CDFF on the Triangle in Chagrin Falls.
3 N. Franklin St, Chagrin Falls, 440-247-1591, chagrinfilmfest.org.
MON 03/17
St. Paddy’s Day Party
House of Blues celebrates St. Patrick’s Day with this special party featuring performances by the Boys
from County Hell, Sparky B and Shawn Brewster. Doors open at 10 a.m.
308 Euclid Ave., 216-523-2583, houseofblues.com.
St. Patrick’s Day!
Located in the heart of the action that’ll take place today in downtown Cleveland, Hilarities hosts a St. Patrick’s Day celebration that features a performance by singer-songwriter Patrick Shepard, who performs from 2 to 5 p.m.
2035 East Fourth St., 216-241-7425, pickwickandfrolic.com.
St. Patrick’s Day at Our Haus Brian Panke Duo performs in the morning, and the Irish Troubadours play in the afternoon as Haufbauhaus celebrates St. Patrick’s Day. The Burke School of Irish Dance gives a performance at 2:30 p.m. Doors open at 8 a.m. 1550 Chester Avenue, 216-621-2337, hofbrauhauscleveland.com.
St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Today’s parade launches at 1:04 p.m. at the intersection of Superior Avenue and East 18th Street and will end at Rockwell Avenue and Ontario Street. Expect downtown bars and restaurants to be jammed after it’s over. The parade route and more are on the website.
stpatricksdaycleveland.com.
Downtown Cleveland hosts a St. Patrick’s Day parade. See: Monday, March 17.|Emanuel Wallace
GET OUT Everything to do in Cleveland for the next two weeks
WED 03/12
2025 MAC Tournament
Many teams in college basketball’s biggest conferences will make it to the NCAA basketball tournament whether or not they win their conference tournament. In the Mid-American Conference, teams must win the conference tournament to get selected to play at the Big Dance. At least that’s traditionally been the case. So expect the mid-sized schools from the region (Kent State, Ohio University, Akron University, etc.) who’ll duke it out at this year’s tournament to engage in some real winner-take-all battles. Today at 11 a.m., the games commence at Rocket Arena, leading up to the championship games on Saturday. One Center Court, 216-420-2000, rocketarena.com.
& Juliet
The writer from Schitt’s Creek penned this musical that imagines what might have happened if Romeo & Juliet had not ended in tragedy. Tonight’s performance takes place at 7:30 at Connor Palace, where performances continue through March 23. 1615 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
King James
Set in a bar in Cleveland Heights, this play chronicles basketball great LeBron James’s rookie season in Cleveland and the events that led to the team winning the 2016 NBA Championship. tonight’s performance takes place at 7:30 at the Outcalt Theatre, where performances continue through March 23.
Hosted by Lenora from the internet hit-series Midnight Rental, this movie night features what it deems to be the best in VHS horror, thriller and campy classics. The event begins tonight at 8 at the Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights, and the club will feature a special movie night menu for the event.
2785 Euclid Heights Blvd., Cleveland Heights, 216-321-5588, grogshop.gs.
THU 03/13
Haydn & Strauss
Lithuanian singer Asmik Grigorian joins the Cleveland Orchestra for this concert featuring selections from Haydn. Strauss, Janacek and Puccini. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. at Mandel Concert Hall, where performances continue through Saturday. 11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com.
Becky Robinson
The comedian, writer, actor and voiceover star brings her live show that’ll feature characters such as “the Entitled Housewife,” a visor-wearing golfer with attitude, to the Agora. Concerts take place at 7 tonight and tomorrow night.
than 220 Naruto episodes, synchronized to a live orchestra performing Toshio Masuda’s original score. It all begins at 8 p.m. at the State Theatre. 1519 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
SAT 03/15
2025 Maple Sugar Festival & Pancake Breakfast
From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today and tomorrow, Hale Farm & Village hosts live demonstrations of tree tapping and sap boiling in the wood-fired syrup evaporator at C.O. Hale’s 1910 Sugar House. The event aims to show what life was like on farms in the Cuyahoga Valley during the 1800s. It repeats again on March 22 and 23. 2686 Oak Hill Rd., Newton Falls, 330666-3711, halefarm.org.
Orchestra Noir
This musical group brings its Y2K Meeting ‘90s tour to the Agora. Expect to hear orchestra versions of R&B and hip-hop hits from the ‘90s. 5000 Euclid Ave., 216-881-2221, agoracleveland.com.
SUN 03/16
Beethoven’s Glorious Ninth
of Art, the Cleveland Ballet presents this special performance that coincides with the museum’s Picasso and Paper exhibit. In this program, Cleveland Ballet presents two ballets inspired by Picasso’s Guernica and Harlequin works. Both ballets “embody the spirits of their original paintings and reflect their angles, colors, and passions through every movement.” 11150 East Blvd., 216-421-7350, clevelandart.org.
The Envelope Please
The Cleveland Pops Orchestra plays selections from Rocky, E.T., James Bond, Barbie, Titanic, Lord of the Rings and The Godfather. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. at Mandel Concert Hall. 11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com.
NARUTO: The Symphonic Experience
This two-hour event features a film montage of iconic scenes from more
The Suburban Symphony Orchestra plays Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony today at 2 p.m. at Mandel Concert Hall. The concert also celebrates the orchestra’s 70th anniversary. 11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com.
TUE 03/18
Outlab: Experiments in Improvised Music
Musicians are invited to bring instruments or any sound making device (drum kit and keyboard provided) that can be used to explore collective group improvisation. Please bring your own amps if needed. The monthly session begins at 8 tonight at the Bop Stop. Admission is free. 2920 Detroit Ave., 216-771-6551, themusicsettlement.org.
WED 03/19
The 10 X 3 Songwriter Band Showcase Hosted by
The concept of 10x3 is a pre-arranged line up with 10 songwriters/bands
Brent Kirby
Aziz Ansari brings his latest tour to the State Theatre. See: Friday, March 21.| Ruvan Wijesooriya
performing three songs each. Two of the them required to be original, and the third can be the artist’s choice.
Local singer-songwriter Brent Kirby hosts the event, which runs from 7 to 9 tonight at the Bop Stop. Admission is free.
2920 Detroit Ave., 216-771-6551, themusicsettlement.org.
Arts Alive: A Space Odyssey
This interdisciplinary performance presented by the Cleveland School of the Arts, Piano Cleveland and the Cleveland Museum of Art features music, dance, visual art and literary arts. The performance begins at 7 p.m. at the Cleveland Museum of Art. 11150 East Blvd., 216-421-7350, clevelandart.org.
THU 03/20
Joan Jett: Bad Reputation
Punk rocker Joan Jett is the subject of this documentary film that traces her career from the Runaways to her time with the Blackhearts. It screens at 7 p.m. at the Rock Hall. 1100 Rock and Roll Blvd., 216-515-8444, rockhall.com.
The Simon & Garfunkel Story
A tribute to the folk-rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, this touring theater show comes to the State Theatre tonight. The immersive concert-style performance chronicles the duo’s rise, culminating with their famous Concert in Central Park reunion in 1981. Using state-of-the-art video projection, photos and original film footage, the show features a full live band performing hits such as “Mrs. Robinson,” “Cecilia,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and “Homeward Bound.” Tonight’s performance takes place at 7:30. 1519 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
FRI 03/21
Aziz Ansari
A standup comic who had a breakout role in the sit-com Parks and Recreation, Aziz Ansari has also received wide acclaim for his Netflix program, Master of None, which debuted several years ago. Note that he has a strict policy against taking pictures or recording the event. The concert begins at 7 tonight at the State Theatre. 1519 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
Cleveland Home + Remodeling Expo
More than 300 exhibitors, including Brian and Mika Kleinschmidt of HGTV’s 100 Day Dream Home and Virginia Chamlee, artist, writer and best-selling author of the book Big
Thrift Energy, will be on hand for this event that takes place today through Sunday at the I-X Center. One I-X Center Drive, 216-676-6000, ixcenter.com.
Third Friday
From 5 to 9 p.m., many of the 78th Street Studios resident artist studios and galleries will be open as part of this monthly event. There will be live music, and Local West, a Gordon Square sandwich shop, will serve food. BARneo will have a selection of adult beverages as well. Admission is free. 1300 West 78th St., 78thstreetstudios. com.
SAT 03/22
Yuja Wang Plays Tchaikovsky
Celebrated pianist Yuja Wang plays two pieces by Tchaikovsky as Franz Welser-Möst directs the Cleveland Orchestra at Mandel Concert Hall. Performances take place at 8 tonight and at 3 p.m. on Sunday. 11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com.
SUN 03/23
Beachland Flea
In honor of its 25th anniversary, the Beachland Ballroom and Tavern will host a special spring flea. Doors open at 10 a.m., and it’s free to shop. 15711 Waterloo Rd., 216-383-1124, beachlandballroom.com.
The Shamrock Tenors
The popular vocal group arrives from Belfast and London’s West End to deliver five-party harmonies in songs such as “Whiskey in the Jar” and “Danny Boy.” The concert begins at 7 p.m. at the State Theatre. 1519 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
TUE 03/25
Come from Away
This musical centers on the aftermath of 9/11 when air flights descended en masse in Gander, Newfoundland, stranding an international array of travelers in this tiny Canadian town. Written by Tony nominees Irene Sankoff and David Hein and helmed by Tony-winning Christopher Ashley, the play comes to EJ Thomas Hall in Akron. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. 198 Hill St., Akron, 330-9727570, ejthomashall.com.
ON THE RISE
Charter House Grille delivers familiar comforts as East 185th continues its resurgence
By Douglas Trattner
WHEN THE HOST GREETED
us at the door of Charter House Grille, she informed the group that she was also working this evening as the bartender, manager and lone server. Taking note of the busy dining room, we assumed the worst as we were ushered to our seats. But our fears went unrealized as the dogged staffer breezed from station to station without a hitch.
This past summer I visited Charter House prior to opening while writing my usual “first look” piece for this magazine, so I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. But the menu that awaited us during a recent visit had almost nothing in common with the one I wrote about all those months ago. Back then, the plan was to dish up the type of playful American gastropub fare one might expect to see on East 4th Street – things like duck-fat fries with béarnaise, double smash burgers, chicken-rillette nuggets and a shrimp Po’ Boy starring head-on prawns.
After parting ways with the opening chef, owner Chris King – an entrepreneur with a deep familiarity of the neighborhood – revisited his original plans for the restaurant.
“I said, let’s go back to the drawing board and do what my first mind was,” King says.
So now, rather than attempting to shoehorn a concept into a space, King says that he tailored the food and beverage to better suit the clientele.
“With our menu we scaled back a few things and we added some things that I think lend ourselves to be more of a restaurant that fits the neighborhood,” he explains.
In place of whimsy, cleverness and conceit are dishes that convey familiarity, comfort and broad appeal. Charter House might not be a destination restaurant for foodies
eager to sample the latest trends, but it does feel rooted in and aligned with the community outside its door.
We made quick work of the cheesesteak rolls ($14), two crispy eggrolls cut on the bias to reveal tender chunks of beef, shallots and peppers in a white cheddar sauce. No need to chart new culinary ground when there are crispy fried chicken sliders ($14) around. Three to an order, the sliders are a textural delight thanks to crunchy elements like slaw, sliced pickles and fried shallots sandwiched between fluffy Hawaiian bread. The lightly breaded whitemeat chicken is liberally sauced with a zesty chipotle mayo. Other appetizer options include a grilled shrimp cocktail, fried lobster ravioli and wings in various flavors. There is still a smash burger on the menu, but it’s joined by a salmon burger ($18) that is a cut above the rest. The typically humdrum patty gets a flavor and texture boost, with the crisp-edged, citrus-spiked cake capped with a flavorful Creole-style remoulade. Order the Caesar ($14)
and you’ll get a straightforward toss of unblemished romaine, chunky croutons and shingles of good parmesan – with creamy dressing on the side.
Diners in search of creamy comfort can tuck into the penne Alfredo ($20), which manages to stop shy of excess thanks to a mild cheese blend and keen seasoning. Diners can boost the plate with the addition of chicken, steak, salmon or shrimp. If you’re going to drop $42 on lamb chops, pray that they land on the table like the ones served here. Two four-bone mini-racks – arranged like interlocking hands – arrive charred on the outside, medium-rare within. They come with a heaping side of buttery lemon-caper-Dijon sauce, which gilds both the lamb and the accompanying mashed redskin potatoes.
King spent loads of time and money converting the former Bistro 185 from a woodsy neighborhood tavern into a posh but welcoming lounge. Velvet-wrapped booths and banquettes, colorful artwork and a spacious 14-seat quartz bar
now await guests. That bar can be improved with a broader selection of beer and wine, tweaks that might join other planned upgrades like a new patio, lunch service and weekend brunch.
“We’re constantly tweaking things because we want to be perfect,” adds King. “You can’t be, but we’re trending in the right direction.”
After years of roadwork and other infrastructure improvement projects that have slowed progress up and down East 185th Street, King is optimistic that now is the time for the neighborhood. Two Friends Brewing brings craft beer to the street, joining enduring anchors like Scotti’s, Irie Jamaican and the Standard.
“With the addition of more businesses and more restaurants, it only creates more synergy, which brings more people to 185th,” says King.
Photo by Doug Trattner CHARTER HOUSE GRILLE
BITES
Little Cloud Sandwiches to open in Ohio City in March
By Douglas Trattner
OHIO CITY’S SANDWICH GAME is about to get a new player. Later this month, Little Cloud Sandwiches (1512 W. 25th St.) will open in the Hingetown neighborhood.
“We’re sandwiched – pardon the pun – between Bookhouse Brewing and KeyBank,” says co-owner Laura Ashton.
Ashton, who along with husband Matt owns Lekko Coffee, is partners in the venture with Rachael Champion, who along with husband Jared owns Iggy’s Bar in Lakewood.
“This is an idea that has been percolating for a couple of years,” says Ashton. “The four of us have always wanted to open a sandwich shop and we saw an opportunity to open next door to Bookhouse.”
Little Cloud will offer fresh-made salads, sandwiches, fries and sauces, including breakfast sandwiches all day. On offer will be salads such as a chopped, Caesar and the “big wedge.” Diners can add proteins such as chicken, bacon, steak and/ or crispy chickpeas.
Breakfast sandwiches feature egg and cheese, skirt steak and egg, and a vegan egg patty topped with hash browns and greens. Again, diners can “plus it up” by adding various veggies, greens and proteins. In the lunch and dinner sammie category are creations like turkey and brie, Italian, cheesesteak, griddled pork roll with cheddar, and chickpea patty. Chef David “Skippy” Rutherford will also offer a handful of seasonal sandwiches and kid-friendly options.
Little Cloud will offer a special “girl dinner” that combines salad, fries, sauces and a dessert.
“Most sandwich shops are fairly masculine but Little Cloud will be more on the feminine side,” notes Ashton. “We’re going to have great food that’s familiar and comforting but doesn’t weigh you down.”
The main differentiator between Little Cloud and its colleagues, says Ashton, will be the days and hours of service.
“There are a ton of great sandwiches in the neighborhood, but a lot of places aren’t open every day and they’re not open all day,” she says.
To start, Little Cloud will be open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. but the plan is to run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day of the week.
The shop will be mostly carry-out, but there will be a few window seats inside and some sidewalk seating.
Smokehouse 91, a Fast-Casual BBQ Joint, Now Open in Mayfield
Smokehouse 91 (822 SOM Ctr. Rd.), the new barbecue place from Carl Quagliata and Zach Ladner, opened in Mayfield this past Tuesday. Located next door to The Village Butcher (818 SOM Ctr. Rd., 440-565-7330), which is also owned by the chefs, the fast-casual eatery is a natural extension of the high-quality butcher shop.
Ladner describes the restaurant as a “stripped down, bare bones, traditional Texas barbecue.” Unlike at Smokin’ Q’s, the barbecue restaurant that Ladner and Quagliata replaced with Cuoco Bello, Smokehouse 91 will be primarily carryout. The meats, cooked for hours in an offset smoker, will be sold mainly by the pound (1/2-pound minimum). Guests can expect a roster that includes brisket, pulled pork, ribs, turkey, sausage and chicken.
The meats will be carved to order and served with sliced white bread, pickles and onions. The sides and sauces will be classic but tweaked.
“We wanted to do this very old-school — the traditional Texas way,” says Ladner.
Dan Deagan to Open an Arcade Bar at Former Deagan’s Kitchen Spot in Lakewood
After closing Deagan’s Kitchen in 2023, Dan Deagan sold the business to a group of partners, who opened Solstice later that year. That business closed a year later and Deagan, at the time, was too busy to focus much attention on the space.
“At the time the building became available, I had just opened Wine Dive, was opening Wolf & Co. and I didn’t have time to do anything else,” Deagan says. “But now that those places are up and running, I can concentrate on this.”
“This” is a new business that Deagan and partner Andrea Tsiros are opening in the former Deagan’s space (14810 Detroit Ave.) in Lakewood. The as-yet-unnamed venture will be a lively bar filled with classic and modern arcade games, pinball machines, Skee-Ball, billiards and tabletop games like air hockey and foosball. Expect leagues to form around various games.
Deagan says that based on the success of his former neighbor 16Bit, he thinks the concept is a slam dunk.
“16-Bit was a block away and they were busy all the time,” he says. “My entire staff would go there after work. The only reason they closed the Lakewood location was because they were opening Pins Mechanical in Ohio City and they wanted everything under one roof.”
Changes to the property largely will be aimed at creating space. All the booths and most of the tables throughout are being removed. The 36-seat bar stays and will be joined by some high-top tables.
The food will be of the sort that can be enjoyed standing up, with items like wings and pizza topping the list. Deagan will be reviving the “happy bowls” that he used to serve from the bar at Have a Nice Day Café in the Flats. Those fishbowl-size cocktails will be joined by craft beer, cocktails, mocktails and CBD drinks.
While 16-Bit set most games to “free play,” Deagan’s games will be under the management of a third-party company. That decision will translate to cheaper drinks, says Deagan, along with more frequent turnover of games.
Look for the new entertainment destination to open in early April.
The Last Page Restaurant Adds Sushi Bar to Offerings
After a well-received pop-up hosted by Chef Kwan from Issho Ni in Willoughby, The Last Page restaurant (100 Park Ave., 216) 4651008) at Pinecrest has decided to extend the engagement.
“We wanted to activate the front bar at The Last Page in a new and different way,” says owner Todd Leebow. “We then made the decision to convert it to a full-time nigiri bar.”
The front bar in the “green room” has been converted to a dedicated sushi bar, where chefs Kwan and Davis Lee will prepare and serve traditional Japanese-style nigiri sushi. That sushi can be enjoyed in the lounge-like setting of the front bar and in the main dining room.
“The Nigiri Bar” offerings will “resemble the simplicity of what you would find on a busy street corner in Tokyo, with the highest quality of fish being sourced.” The sushi chefs will utilize traditional Japanese techniques gleaned from prior experiences in Los Angeles.
Guests will have a choice between three different sushi “experiences.” The Nigiri Experience ($48) includes bluefin tuna, Shinshu salmon and hamachi; the Dry Aged Bluefin Experience ($88) offers bluefin tuna, chutoro and otoro; and an Omakase Experience ($72) features an ever-changing selection of three fish. Each selection will include six pieces of fish and is intended to be shared as a first course. A la carte sushi will also be available with the purchase of an experience.
The sushi service kicks off on Wednesday, March 12th and will be available during dinner Wednesdays through Sundays.
Photo by Rachel Champion
MUSIC
THE SOUND OF THE REVOLUTION
Tunisian-born EMEL makes her local debut at Cleveland Museum of Art
By Jeff Niesel
TUNISIAN–BORN SINGERsongwriter EMEL cities her father’s vinyl collection as an early inspiration. That’s where she discovered ’60s activist and singer Joan Baez, a key influence on her music.
“I think I started singing when I was 8 years old,” she says in a Zoom call from her New York home. She makes her Cleveland debut when she performs at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 21, at Cleveland Museum of Art. “I developed a passion for really singing and being a singer when I was 15. Joan Baez made me conscious about the power of having a voice that goes beyond singing and involves using your voice to move people and change.”
EMEL’s debut album came out in 2012; given her eclectic approach, it wasn’t easy finding a producer willing to take on someone who draws from world music, trip-hop (she cites Massive Attack as an influence) and folk.
“I recorded a bunch of things leading to that first album. It was hard to find the right structure because of the unusual mix of what I was doing,” she says. “It was political and also interesting production and an eclectic mix of different influences. People always had a different idea of what I should be doing with my voice and my song. I was never exactly where I was expected to be.”
She was as surprised as anyone when her protest song “Kelmti Horra” (“My Word is Free”) became an anthem for the Tunisian revolution and the Arab Spring in 2012.
“It’s not a song to sing along to,” she says. “It’s not molded as a pop song; it’s a very heartfelt song.
In my ears, it always sounded like something to bring the crowds together even before I sang it to anyone. I always heard it with a big choir and orchestra. It had an uplifting side to it. I felt really proud because we don’t have a tradition in the Arab region where songs accompany social change. To me, it gives me hope that when we do something with a lot of heart and depth, it always translates and touches anybody.”
For 2019’s Everywhere We Looked Was Burning, her first English language album, she drew inspiration from American poets like T.S. Eliot and John Ashbury.
“I’ve always been very moved by poetry,” she says. “The only thing that gives meaning to anything we’re doing is poetry in words or thoughts or rhythms. I really felt drawn to John Ashbury. I was also reading Rilke at the same time. I
found the books in a house I was renting in upstate New York. I loved the imagery. The poetry that I really like has many strong images and references to nature and emotions. I feel like it’s so powerful when someone’s poetry leads your imagination. My vocabulary was so enriched.”
With her new album, MRA, EMEL set out to “challenge” her record label, as she puts it. She hired a female producer and female musicians to back her up.
“Being a revolutionary and rebel, I have been putting albums out for ten years,” she says. “I was working 99 percent of the time with guys. I thought I cannot be a feminist and not do something concrete action for other females. In the music industry, the statistics speak to themselves. We are underrepresented. I thought the problem is that we women do not make other women participate. Men hire men, and women hire men.
There is always this cycle. To break the cycle, I thought I had to share my platform with other women. I wanted to explore what a sorority means.”
She also amplifies everything on the LP. The percussion is heavier and her vocals more impactful. A live version of “Massive Will” recorded at Le Centquatre in Paris bristles with cooing backing vocals, snappy percussion and Bjork-like vocals. It represents the visceral nature of her live show.
“The live show is very dynamic,” she says. “It’s very tribal. We have a lot of percussion going on. It’s very rhythm-oriented. We have video installations for each song. We’re trying to depict something really artsy and abstract but also convey the different messages of the song to all the different communities that are underrepresented in society.”
“Lose My Mind,” an album highlight, seamlessly incorporates hiphop and features rapid-fire vocals from Arabic rapper Nayomi.
“She’s fantastic,” EMEL says of Nayomi. “I always loved hip-hop but never experimented with it. It’s so close to people in general and to me. I wanted to experiment with rappers who rap in Arabic and Persian. It was so interesting to explore different rap languages. Female rappers are underrepresented. I need to have a rapper rapping in Arabic. I was singing in English. People expect me to sing in Arabic, but I wanted to mix it up and sing in English and have her sing in Arabic to surprise people.”
Many of EMEL’s songs are directed at the Arab world. So how does her music speak to the repression happening both there and here in the U.S.?
“I like experimenting with rhythms and music and production, but the core is that it’s very revolutionary,” she says. The beats are revolutionary. We are in a protest somehow. The way I see people react at the shows and their reactions and testimonies make me satisfied. I’m not mainstream or rich, but it’s important what I’m doing. We need to create that collective awareness and collective power to push back and push for all the rights we should have.”
EMEL makes her Cleveland debut at Cleveland Museum of Art.|Courtesy of Cleveland Museum of Art
LIVEWIRE Real music in the real world
FRI 03/14
The Altons
The Altons, who just released Heartache in Room 14, a duet album inspired by the Motown and Stax eras through the cultural lens of a group born and raised in Los Angeles, bring their Club Heartache Tour to Mahall’s 20 Lanes in Lakewood.
13200 Madison Ave., Lakewood, 216-5213280, mahalls20lanes.com.
Marshall Crenshaw
The veteran singer-songwriter returns to the Beachland Ballroom with a backing band that features bassist Derrick Anderson, drummer Mark Ortmann and singer-guitarist Fernando Perdomo. Crenshaw, who released his first album back in 1982, had hits in the 1980s with tunes such as “Someday, Someway” and “Whenever You’re on My Mind.” He’s also written hit songs for Kirsty MacColl and Gin Blossoms. The show begins at 8 p.m. 15711 Waterloo Rd., 216-383-1124, beachlandballroom.com.
Experience Hendrix
The touring tribute to the late Jimi Hendrix comes to MGM Northfield Park. A rotating group of guitarists perform at the shows, and tonight’s concert will feature Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Eric Johnson, Devon Allman and Dweezil Zappa. And many more artists will join the festivities. The concert begins at 8 p.m.
When the Boys from the County Hell first got together in 2000 at the nowshuttered Euclid Tavern as a Pogues cover band, it was supposed to be just a one-night stand. But after selling out that first show, the band continued from there and remains a seasonal musical treat. The group performs tonight at 8 at Music Box Supper Club. 1148 Main Ave., 216-242-1250, musicboxcle.com/.
SUN 03/16
Discover Weekly Cleveland
This free series at the B-Side will feature a different line-up of emerging artists
and area nonprofits to promote their message to the community through song. The event takes place from 5 to 8 p.m. It continues on Sundays through April 28. 2785 Euclid Heights Blvd, Cleveland Heights, bsideliquorlounge.com.
Gaelic Storm
The popular Irish group that began its career as a pub band in Santa Monica, CA plays the Goodyear Theater in Akron. The group regularly plays 200 shows a year and tours the entire world. Just last year, it added acclaimed fiddler Natalya Kay. The concert begins at 7 p.m. 1201 East Market St., Akron, 330-6597118, goodyeartheater.com.
WED 03/19
Church of Cash Led
by singer Jay Ernest, this Johnny Cash tribute act aims to “bring the iconic Man in Black to life,” as it’s put in a press release. The Minneapolis-based
Neal Francis brings his smooth grooves to the Beachland. See: Thursday, March 20.|Jack Karnatz
group performs tonight at 7:30 at Music Box Supper Club. 1148 Main Ave., 216-242-1250, musicboxcle.com/.
THU 03/20
Neal Francis
The singer-songwriter brings his tour in support of his third studio album, Return to Zero, to the Beachland Ballroom. Return to Zero tunes such as “Need You Again” and “Back It Up” feature smooth funk grooves reminiscent of the 1970s. The show begins at 8 p.m. 15711 Waterloo Rd., 216-383-1124, beachlandballroom.com.
FRI 03/21
JoJo
This singer-songwriter’s memoir is a New York Times bestseller. It chronicles how she was raised by parents who were both battling addiction and depression. Her new dance-pop EP, NGL, seamlessly blends R&B and pop, and the songs address many of the issues she addresses in her book. She brings her Too Much to Say tour to the Agora. Doors open at 7 p.m. 5000 Euclid Ave., 216-881-2221, agoracleveland.com.
Slum Village
The ‘90s hip-hop act performs at the Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights. Vice Souletric, Will Cherry, Eman Jones, MyNameIsBrave and DJ Walk share the bill. The music begins at 8:30 p.m. 2785 Euclid Heights Blvd., Cleveland Heights, 216-321-5588, grogshop.gs.
Livingston Taylor & the Chagrin Falls Orchestra
Back in 2017, singer-songwriter Livingston Taylor reached a significant milestone; his musical career reached the 50-year mark. As a result, the mayor of Boston and governor of Massachusetts declared a Livingston Taylor Day to mark the occasion. He hit the road to celebrate the remarkable feat and hasn’t looked back. The veteran singer-songwriter returns to the Kent Stage with the Chagrin Falls Orchestra backing him up. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. 175 E. Main St., Kent, 330-677-5005, kentstage.org.
Welshly Arms
With three Top 10 radio hits in Germany and a platinum single in Germany and Switzerland, the local blues rock act Welshly Arms has built a dedicated fan base the world. They’ve supported largescale national tours with 30 Seconds to Mars and Walk the Moon. The group performs at 8 p.m. at the Beachland
Ballroom. DaLand Brass Band and RADDERALL open the show. 15711 Waterloo Rd., 216-383-1124, beachlandballroom.com.
SAT 03/22
Jeffrey Lewis & the Voltage
Since releasing his debut album, The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane, in 2001, indie singer-songwriter
Jeffrey Lewis has regularly toured and recorded. He plays the Happy Dog tonight in support of his new album, The EVEN MORE Freewheelin’ Jeffrey Lewis. The show begins at 8 p.m. 5801 Detroit Ave., 216-651-9474, happydogcleveland.com.
ZZ Ward — The Dirty Sun Tour
In a world where artists often produce a new album every two years or so to remain relevant, blues singer-songwriter
ZZ Ward waited five years to release her sophomore album, The Storm. She comes to the Kent Stage tonight as part of a tour in support of her latest effort, Liberation. The show begins at 6:30. 175 E. Main St., Kent, 330-677-5005, kentstage.org.
SUN 03/23
Altan
Way back in 1981, Belfast born flute player Frankie Kennedy met fiddler and singer Mairead Ní Mhaonaigh, and the duo formed the folk-rock act Altan. The group has steadily recorded and toured ever since. It performs tonight at 6:30 at the Kent Stage.
175 E. Main St., Kent, 330-677-5005, kentstage.org.
Joe Pug
There’s plenty to admire about this singer/songwriter who draws inspiration from authors such as Walt Whitman and Raymond Carver. After breaking out in 2008 with his debut, Nation of Heat, Pug has steadily toured and recorded. He performs tonight at 7 at Music Box Supper Club. 1148 Main Avenue, 216-242-1250, musicboxcle.com/.
MON 03/24
An Evening with Yo La Tengo
Since forming way back in 1984, indie rockers Yo La Tengo have cultivated a small but loyal fanbase. The revered indie rock act performs tonight at 7:30 at the Beachland Ballroom. 15711 Waterloo Rd., 216-383-1124, beachlandballroom.com.
scene@clevescene.com
t@clevelandscene
SAVAGE LOVE
RUNAWAY, BRIDE!
By Dan Savage
I’m a 28-year-old woman married to my husband, a 29-year-old man, for almost two years, and we still haven’t had sex. We met through mutual friends, dated for less than a year, and we knew pretty quickly that we wanted to get married. Things between us felt right. We genuinely liked each other, and everything felt pretty great. On our wedding night, we decided to leave the hotel early to spend time with family since many had traveled far for the wedding. After the wedding, life got hectic. Before we realized it, months had passed. I initiated intimacy a few times, but we never followed through. I’ve brought it up multiple times, and he always says he feels self-conscious about his body but promises to try harder. We even scheduled times for intimacy, but when the time came, he was either too busy or he would ask if we could try tomorrow instead. I’ve given him oral sex and a hand-job but other than that nothing. Yes, we were both virgins on our wedding night, and I guess we still are.
Every time we have a heart-to-heart, he promises to do better but nothing changes. I’ve stopped bringing it up because I feel like I’m nagging, but it’s breaking me inside. We’ve talked about wanting children and when we should start trying, but it feels so painful to have those conversations when we haven’t even had sex yet. I feel heartbroken watching our friends start families while we’re stuck in this place. I don’t know if therapy would help, or if I should involve his parents, or if I need to worry about something/someone else or if I should accept that this might never change. I feel lost. Has anyone else been through something like this? What would you do?
Married In Name Only
I would leave.
Zooming out for a second: Anyone out there who wants to be sexually active in the context of a sexually exclusive relationship needs to establish sexual compatibility before the wedding. If a good sex life isn’t important to you — if you don’t just wannabe married for the companionship and/or the tax break — don’t wait until after the wedding to see if the sex works. Fuck first — before you get married, before you get engaged, before you go steady.
Alright, MINO, there’s clearly something your husband isn’t telling you — something you had a right to know before you married him — but you need to ask yourself how much more time you’re willing to waste before you find out what that thing is.
Best-case scenario: Your husband agrees to therapy, MINO, and you somehow manage to find the perfect therapist right away, i.e. the kind of therapist with the power to heal their clients in one or two visits. And then at your second appointment with this miracle-working therapist,
MINO, your husband tells you that thing you had a right to know before you married him and it turns out to be something silly and trivial and your husband is in such a hurry to fuck you now after that silly and trivial thing is out in the open that you wind up having PIV sex for the first time in the parking garage of your therapist’s office building.
Worst-case scenario: Your husband agrees to therapy, MINO, but years go by before your husband finally levels with you about that thing you had a right to know before you married him and it’s not something silly or trivial and saying it out loud doesn’t make it go away and you have to live with the realization that you didn’t just waste years of your life on a man who couldn’t love you the way you deserved to be loved, but you wasted them on a man who could see that sexual rejection was breaking you and he didn’t love you enough to let you go.
P.S. Don’t involve his parents.
What do you recommend doing if you have a good friend who is dizzyingly hot, totally off limits, and has been flirting with you for two years?
I am conflicted because I find it pretty fun, but I periodically feel guilty because he is in a monogamous relationship and has a new baby. On the other hand, it’s limited to him making sorta mild flirtatious comments and sending occasional (fully clothed!) selfies. I don’t think I’m misreading the situation here, as I’ve spoken at length with friends and my partner, all of whom all joke about his glances and body language around me. I have pretty good self-control, and I don’t want to be party to him blowing up his life because he is my friend, first and foremost, and I don’t think he wants to blow up his life, seeing as flirting hasn’t escalated over time. And despite the chemistry that’s obvious to the people around us, I don’t get any sense that it pisses off his partner when the three of us hang out.
However, I’m writing to you for a gut check. The photos feel like a little step over the line, and I redirect the conversation when he sends them and don’t send any photos in return, but I’ve never shut him down explicitly. Should I? I’m trying to be a good, if horny, friend, but I worry that I’m enjoying this hot, funny, tattooed guy’s ridiculous teasing too much. What are the ethics here, Dan? Do I need to shut this down entirely or lay down clear boundaries?
Friendly Lad Is Really Tempting
For all you know, FLIRT, Mrs. Hot Tattoos puts on a brave face when her husband flirts with you in front of a room full of people — she clocks how he looks at you, she clocks how you look at him — and then cries herself to sleep at night from the humiliation of it all. Or Mrs. Hot Tattoos is a cuckquean and, although their marriage is monogamous, she encourages her husband to flirt with other women in front of other people and comes extra hard from the humiliation of it all. Or Mr. and Mrs. Hot Tattoos are monogamish; for some couples “being monogamish” means there’s some allowance for outside sexual contract, FLIRT, for others it means they don’t have to hide evidence they’re attracted to someone else. So long as crushes remain crushes — so long as flirtations don’t become action plans
— they’re allowed.
Basically, FLIRT, other people’s marriages are a mystery. In normal circumstances, these mysteries are none of our business — but seeing as your sustained flirtation with Mr. Hot Tattoos has created an ethical dilemma for you, FLIRT, their mystery is now your business. Because if what you’re doing is hurting this other woman — if this is causing her pain — you don’t (or shouldn’t) want any part of it. So, I recommend putting the dread direct question (DDQ) to this Mr. Hot Tattoos: “Does it bother your wife when we flirt? I know it can’t go any further than flirting — because your marriage is monogamous and I respect that — but if what we are doing is hurting your wife’s feelings, we should stop. So, does this bother her?”
If Mr. Hot Tattoos says it’s killing his wife — if he admits she’s crying herself to sleep at night from the humiliation of it all — then you can bet he’s telling the truth. On the other hand, FLIRT, if he tells you his wife is fine with it… or that she likes it… there’s a somewhat decent chance he’s telling the truth… given as his wife seems unbothered by it… but “she’s fine with it” is exactly the sort of lie a married man might tell when asked whether his behavior is hurting his wife. So, if you get the first response —it’s killing his wife — stop flirting with him. If he tells you his wife is fine with it, FLIRT, and you want to make sure he’s not lying to you, then you’ll need to ask him the OFQ (obvious followup question): “Can I check with Mrs. Hot Tattoos about that?”
My husband and I have been together for a long time and we are still massively in love with each other! A few years ago, we dipped our toes into “The Lifestyle.” It was a great experience! We felt like teenagers again, inside and outside of the bedroom. The experience brought us closer, our communication became stronger, and the experience encouraged a deeper, more honest form of conversation. Then COVID happened, and we closed things back up. Recently, we’ve begun discussing signing up on a few swinging apps and getting back into this. But I hesitate due to the political climate. I cannot fathom giving a piece of myself to a Trump supporter. It literally gives me an all-body ick to think about it. My husband feels the same way. Even though we still feel somewhat new to the lifestyle, we understand the difference between a sexy conversation and a non-sexy conversation, and we don’t think politics makes for a sexy conversation. Is it appropriate to share on our profiles that we are not interested in meeting anyone who is any way MAGA? We don’t feel a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is a strong enough stance to take, what with everything being taken from so many during this reign of terror.
Must Avoid Grinding Against Trump Supporters
Even if you put , “NO TRUMP VOTERS, NO MAGA IDIOTS,” in all caps on your ads, MAGATS, you’re still gonna have to do your screw diligence before meeting up with other couples. Research into online dating/hookups has shown that many people don’t read the text of a personal ad — people send messages to people whose photos they like — which means we can’t assume the person we’re talking to is aware of our interests,
limits, boundaries, etc., just because we listed them in the text of our personal ad. Additionally, there’s nothing MAGA motherfuckers enjoy more than inflicting themselves on people who want nothing to do with them — bone the libs to own the libs — which means you’ll have to ask one or two pointed/trick questions at some point between exchanging messages and swapping partners even if it seems like they read your ad.
Every year I make pin-on buttons for Pride and give them away leading up to and throughout the month of June. It’s a small contribution; I enjoy making them and seeing them pinned to people around town throughout the year. I like to stick to a theme. Last year I still had hope for the US and tried to appeal to people’s humanity: “Hello, Neighbor” “It’s OK to love people” and “It’s just ME.” This year I’m struggling for ideas; and as I cast about for inspiration, I keep getting bogged down in the moment. This big, ugly, scary moment. Even the ideas I come up with (“Gay and Armed”) have a desperate and defensive tone that I’d like to avoid while we celebrate. Or, maybe I should embrace the tone. Maybe it’s less celebratory this year than protest-y. Some of my first pins included “The first pride was a RIOT!” Maybe “The next pride will be a RIOT!” would fit the bill. I am hoping (in one hand, doodling in the other) you and your readers might have ideas for themes or slogans that fit the mood of this year’s Pride. Thank you for everything you do. It makes a difference. Pride Is Now Needed Every Day
While many other demographic groups moved toward Trump in 2024 — while Harris still won majorities of urban voters, Black and Latino voters, and younger voters, Trump gained significant ground with all of these groups (WTF Gen Z?) — LGBT voters decisively rejected Trump and Trumpism: 88% of LGBT voters rejected Trump in 2024 compared to just 73% in 2020. (If straight people voted like LGBT voters do, there wouldn’t be a single Republican in Washington) So, when I read your letter, PINNED, my first thought was, “You know what would be cool? Buttons with ‘88’ on them! It would make a statement about how unified we are as a community against Trump and anyone who didn’t know what it meant would have to ask and that could start some great conversations and inspire solidarity!”
Aaaaaaaaaand… then I remembered that “88” is code for “Heil Hitler” (“H” being the eighth letter of the alphabet), and neo-Nazis are already out there wearing “88” buttons and sporting “88” tattoos. So, please don’t make “88” buttons, PINNED, as they’re not going to start any conversations worth having. Some other suggestions off the top of my head: “WE’RE STILL HERE,” “TRANS PEOPLE EXIST,” “DO NOT COMPLY,” and “FUCK THIS SHIT.”
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