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Excerpt: Gymnast Rachel Haines details abuse at the hands of Larry Nassar in new book
The following is an abridged excerpt from Abused: Surviving Sexual Assault and a Toxic Gymnastics Culture, out April 12 on Rowman & Littlefield. Reader discretion is advised. My story contains vulnerable, personal, and explicit descriptions of my experiences as a gymnast. This includes multiple depictions of my interactions with U.S. gymnastics team doctor and convicted…
Chief Keef will fire up the Russell Industrial Center with Icewear Vezzo
A year after Chicago rapper Chief Keef announced on Twitter that he was planning on retiring, he released a 17-track mixtape followed by his third record, Dedication, which has been described as being a satisfying and balanced grab bag. In keeping with his unmatched hustle, which resulted in nine released projects just last year, 23-year-old Keef…
Neko Case to bring cyclonic song sorcery to Detroit’s Majestic Theatre
On the title track of her quietly anxious seventh solo record, Neko Case discredits God for all of his/her shortcomings and demands respect for the power and frailty of Mother Nature. “Nothing quite so poison as a promise,” she repeats, bitingly. Hell-On finds Case syncing up with producer Björn Yttling (of Peter, Bjorn, and John),…
Artist Thelonius Bone presents sobering ‘Alcoholics Anonymous’ at UFO Factory
As a bartender, you see a lot of people in various states of joy, despair, and disrepair. As an artist, you might see things a bit differently. “Alcoholics Anonymous” is a collection of impressionist-style portraits and illustrations by renowned Detroit artist Thelonius Bone, which captures the feeling of “wanting to be unknown and unseen.” The…
Local picks: Double Winter, DJ Holographic, Dead Again, and Poor Player
Each week, Metro Times rounds up must-see performances by metro Detroit’s own. Double Winter and Craig Brown (solo) Rhode Island stoner punks Gymshorts have enlisted support from a Metro Times band to watch and a Third Man Records cowboy for the band’s free pre-4/20 blacklight bash. Holly Johnson, Morgan McPeak, Augusta Morrison, and Vittorio Vettraino…
Huffle my puff — Shake That Azkaban is the Harry Potter burlesque of our dreams
Expecto patronum! Wingardium leviosa! Expelliarmus lumos! If these are your bedroom safewords, then you might already know that the wizarding world just got a heck of a lot steamier thanks to Shake That Azkaban a burlesque tribute to Harry Potter. For the event (that has, in the past, sold-out), all are invited to channel their…
Joker, smoker, and midnight toker Doug Benson will give you a contact buzz at Royal Oak Music Theatre
The verdict is in: comedian Doug Benson is high. Probably. Hell, he may even be as high as he was when he made the parody film Super High Me, during which he smoked weed for 30 days straight (in other words, an autobiographical documentary). This, of course, was in 2007, long before a handful of…
Director Boots Riley will host free screening of dark comedy ‘Sorry to Bother You’ at WSU
Nothing says “dystopia” quite like the American dream, which is the unlikely subject of the sharpest — and most underrated — dark comedy of 2018. Offering commentary on race, competition, injustice, profit, protest, and the shallow millennial job pool (thanks, baby boomers), Sorry to Bother You is the ambitious debut from rapper-turned-director Boots Riley. The…
Michigan AG reopens investigation of deadly police raid in Detroit
The Michigan Attorney General’s Office is investigating what prompted a federal agent to fatally shoot a 20-year-old Detroiter in April 2015. The decision came after one of the key witnesses, Detroit Police Officer Darrell Fitzgerald, changed his story while testifying in a civil wrongful death lawsuit in November. Terrance Kellom was shot and killed at…
The incomparable Grace Jones to make rare Detroit appearance
Before Lady Gaga took to the red carpet draped in raw meat, or Björk made waves for wearing a swan dress, and long before queen Beyoncé would unleash her visual masterpiece Lemonade, there was Studio 54 and the androgynous art-pop icon Grace Jones. The 70-year-old (that’s right, 7-0) Jamaican-American supermodel, actress, singer, and style legend will…
What we really, really want is to see the Spice Girls tribute at Magic Bag
Sorting out the girl-group drama of the Spice Girls is as messy as say, cleaning out your actual spice cabinet. When news of a possible Spice Girls reunion broke late last year, the spice world waited with bated breath for confirmation. Shortly after, it was revealed that Victoria Beckham, aka Posh Spice, would not be…
Rashida Tlaib and Abdul El-Sayed to discuss Green New Deal at free Detroit event
As people across the country step up to demand that our leaders confront the challenges of climate change, a nascent political movement has grown from the Green New Deal. To support its recent momentum, Sunrise Movement is touring eight cities across the U.S., including Detroit, to raise awareness and empower citizens to support sensible climate…
Magic Johnson’s firm moves forward with Detroit fairgrounds purchase
Magic Plus LLC’s purchase of roughly 16 acres of the former Michigan Fairgrounds has successfully closed, according to an announcement made on Monday by the Michigan Land Bank Fast Track Authority. The price for the land was around $472,000, and the firm has indicated intentions to create mixed-use development on Woodward. This purchase has been…
Michigan woman seeking man and girl in viral Notre Dame photo
The internet was ablaze Monday as news broke that a catastrophic fire had consumed the historic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. The flames, which took firefighters nearly 12-hours to extinguish, ravaged the structure’s roof and iconic towering spire where the fire is believed to have originated, leaving the 12th-century church exposed to the elements. Residents…
Yet another Eastern Market business closes after wealthy developer buys building
Add Mootown Ice Cream and Dessert Shoppe to the ever-growing list of businesses that have closed in recent months in Eastern Market buildings owned by wealthy developer Sanford Nelson. The shop’s last day was March 29, Crain’s reports. Owner Megan Lewis says the decision was a personal one and had nothing to do with Sanford…
Mystery solved: How measles came to Oakland County and infected 39 people
The man who brought measles to Michigan has been identified. Michigan’s Patient Zero traveled from Brooklyn, New York, to Oakland County in early March to raise money for charity in the Orthodox Jewish community, Oakland County health officials told The Washington Post. So far, 39 people have been infected with the highly contagious respiratory virus.…
Mary J. Blige and Nas are co-headlining DTE Energy Music Theatre this summer
Mary J. Blige and Nas are joining forces for their first-ever joint tour this summer. The hip-hop and R&B heavyweights will co-headline a 22-city tour, which includes a stop at DTE Energy Music Theatre on Sunday, July 28. Tickets go on sale Friday, April 19 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased at 313Presents.com, LiveNation.com, and Ticketmaster.com,…
George Clinton will bring a final round of funk to metro Detroit for farewell tour
The last time Metro Times checked in with the “Prime Minister of Funk” George Clinton, it was in 2016 and, at the time, he was awaiting the arrival of aliens. “I’m positive — they’re gonna show up, or we’re going to show up to them,” the honorary Detroiter said of our extraterrestrial neighbors. “I think…
Our Queen, Aretha Franklin, just won a Pulitzer
Detroit’s queen has been posthumously recognized for her greatness. Aretha Franklin, our city’s shining star that continues to twinkle after her death, was awarded a special Pulitzer on Monday “for her indelible contribution to American music and culture for more than five decades,” according to the Pulitzer website. Franklin joins musicians Bob Dylan, John Coltrane,…
Modern Mexican restaurant and cocktail specialists Peso Bar opens next week
Southwest Detroit’s Peso Bar will finally open its doors next week. The concept is a partnership between the Fist Of Curry/Green Dot team and the owners behind the soon-to-open Toma Detroit. They’re hosting a soft opening later this week, and the restaurant opens to the public on April 22. Peso’s 25 item-menu will center around…
Detroit native Lizzo basically won Coachella despite technical issues, summoned Aretha
Lizzo cannot be stopped. Not even when her debut set at this weekend’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was riddled with technical difficulties. For the uninitiated, Lizzo — a Detroit native, powerhouse vocalist, flutist, and body-positivity advocate — is having a big moment. Leading up to the release of her major label debut, ‘Cuz…
ACLU lawsuit: Detroit’s cash bail system ‘morphed into mass incarceration of the poor’
Thousands of Detroiters spend months behind bars every year simply because they cannot afford to pay bond. Now the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is seeking to end what it calls an “unconstitutional” practice that disproportionately affects lower-income people who are presumed innocent. The ACLU’s Detroit and national chapters filed a federal class-action lawsuit against…
Tlaib hits top Dems over silence on Trump’s Islamophobic Ilhan Omar attack
Rashida Tlaib over the weekend slammed top Democrats for failing to defend Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar from Islamophobic attacks by Donald Trump and other Republicans. Omar and Tlaib are the nation’s first Muslim Congresswomen, and Omar is facing criticism for comments regarding 9-11 that Trump and other Republicans have taken out of context. “They put…
You can hear a Detroit band in a new Kurt Russell-starring movie this weekend
Metro Detroit-based Americana duo the Burros have landed placement in a new Kurt Russell-starring movie released this week. The band’s track “Across the Great Divide” is featured in Crypto, which is released Friday in select theaters and on-demand. According to a release from the band, the film “deals with fraud and corruption in New York,…
Officials say not to worry about all those dead fish in the Rouge River
People are freaking out about thousands of dead fish floating down the Rouge River in recent months, but officials say there is no cause for concern. An anonymous tipster shared photos of countless dead fish, which indeed looks alarming, if not apocalyptic. On Thursday, WJBK Fox 2 ran a story, “Residents concerned over surge of…
Afro-Caribbean restaurant Yum Village to start dinner service in New Center
Chef Godwin Ihentuge’s Afro-Caribbean restaurant Yum Village has been open for lunch in New Center for several months, but he says it’s just about time for him to expand to include dinner hours. The menu is full of Caribbean and West African dishes like jerk chicken, maafe, jollof rice, suya fried chicken, smoked pepper fries,…
Feds: Ban on female genital mutilation case in Michigan is too weak to enforce
In a striking blow to women’s rights, federal prosecutors are abandoning criminal cases involving female genital mutilation, saying the federal ban on the cruel procedure is too weak. The Justice Department’s decision comes nearly five months after U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman dismissed charges against two metro Detroit doctors for carrying out the procedure on…
Detroit’s only Moroccan restaurant just opened on the east side
A new Moroccan restaurant is now open on Detroit’s east side. Saffron De Twah started carry out and delivery service in a space at 7636 Gratiot Ave. between Mt. Elliot and Van Dyke, and will soon offer dine in service, Eater reports. Its menu looks awesome with dishes like Morocco-style hot chicken (coriander buttermilk fried…
The Root chef Nick Rodgers takes over Otus Supply’s kitchen
Nick Rodgers, a former chef at The Root Restaurant & Bar in White Lake, is taking over the kitchen in Ferndale’s Otus Supply. Rodgers served as sous chef at The Root under James Rigato until Rigato departed to open Mabel Gray in 2015, then took over as executive chef. Though there won’t be any change…
Shield’s opens Midtown’s first Detroit-style pizzeria
Shield’s Pizza is now making Detroit-style pies in Midtown’s Maccabees Building. The restaurant opened on April 8 in the former Maccabees Traders space on Woodward Avenue, across from the Detroit Institute of the Arts. Oddly enough, the new Shield’s location is one of the very few pizzerias in Detroit currently serving Detroit-style pizza — all…
Smear campaign against Mayor Duggan continues with more airplane banners
The five-month smear campaign against Mayor Mike Duggan continued Thursday morning with two airplanes towing anti-Duggan banners over downtown Detroit. One of them read, “Duggan spent $1.5 million of city tax $$ on his mistress 4 sex?!” Another referenced former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s 28-year prison sentence and suggested, “Put Duggan 4 the same.” The man…
‘Gardening while black’ lawsuit defendant hires white supremacist attorney
A white Detroit woman who is being sued by a black man for fabricating charges against him in calls to the Detroit Police Department has hired a white nationalist attorney who previously represented white supremacist leaders. Court records show the woman, Deborah Nash, is represented by Clarkston-based attorney Kyle Bristow, who, among others, represented white…
Sister Pie plans expansion with new cafe and grocery store in Detroit
Detroit’s Sister Pie is planning a new location that includes a grocery store, cafe, and space for two cooking classrooms. Crain’s reports that the cafe in the 8,000-square-foot space at 8110 Mack Ave. in the Islandview/Villages area will likely seat 35 and serve sandwiches, soup, salads, quiche, and other egg-centric breakfast dishes. A small grocery…
Groups protest anti-sanctuary city bills in Michigan legislature
People fanned out across the state Capitol on Tuesday to protest two bills that would prevent Michigan cities and counties from passing ordinances that limit cooperation with federal immigration agents. House Bills 4083 and 4090 would ban so-called “sanctuary city” policies that instruct police agencies or jails not to detain people solely for being undocumented,…
‘White Boy Rick’ denied early prison release in Florida
Richard Wershe Jr. — better known as “White Boy Rick,” immortalized by the 2018 Hollywood biopic starring Matthew McConaughey — will spend more time sitting behind bars. The longest-serving juvenile drug offender in Michigan history and once the FBI’s youngest informant, Wershe has been denied early release from prison in Florida. Now 49, Wershe was…
Lawsuit: Sterling Heights cop unlawfully arrests man for calling officer a ‘fucking asshole’
Police take an oath to protect the rights of citizens. But time and time again, cops deny the basic, fundamental rights of free speech when they don’t like being the target of profane language. In April 2016, a Sterling Heights officer arrested 26-year-old Awni Safadi for calling the cop a “fucking asshole” after a traffic…
Mayor Duggan’s administration dodges charges in federal demolition probe
Mayor Mike Duggan’s administration dodged charges stemming from a three-year federal investigation into Detroit’s demolition program. On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice issued an unusual statement that indicated no public officials are expected to be charged in the wide-ranging investigation. “The government, as of today’s date, does not anticipate charging any additional public officials,”…
Detroit’s ‘Illuminated Mural’ under repair after construction damage
Following a legal battle to preserve Detroit’s “Illuminated Mural,” the polarizing work of art has been damaged during construction work — but a project spokesman says the crew is working with the artist to repair it. Dan Austin of PR firm Van Dyke Horn says parts of the mural — a 125-foot splotch of rainbow…
Premiere: Detroit’s Matthew Milia celebrates nostalgia and growing pains in ‘Congratulations Honey’
Detroit-based singer-songwriter Matthew Milia captures the essence of suburban mundanity and nostalgic glory in his music video for “Congratulations Honey,” a single off his upcoming record, Alone at St. Hugo. The video is kind-of happy-but-veiled with an emptiness that could fill an abandoned shopping mall — something that Milia is likely familiar with, having grown…
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Metro Detroit’s Record Store Day 2019 is upon us — here’s what you need to know
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