Cover Stories
Detroit Opening Day party guide
The big day is finally upon us. How will you celebrate? While open intoxication is still very much illegal in Detroit, many restaurants and watering holes will open their doors early for the onslaught of Tigers fans looking to pre-game, post-game, and play hard. Anchor Bar 450 W. Fort St., Detroit; 313-964-9127; facebook.com/AnchorBarDetroit Starting at…
Why baseball is the best sport ever and anything else you’ve been told are lies
Baseball is a leisurely sport to watch. Haters will argue that it’s boring, but well-versed fans understand that good things come to those who wait. On a hot summer day, watching baseball alone isn’t the activity; it’s the atmosphere of being at the ballpark, the welcome stretch during the seventh inning, and it’s the perfectly…
How the Tigers are crafting their future identity with heroes from the past
It’s no secret that the Tigers are in rebuilding mode, and there might not be many household names on the roster that casual fans will recognize. But the TV broadcast team has also been rebuilt, and it now features some familiar faces and fan favorites. After longtime announcers Mario Impemba and Rod Allen got into…
The inside story of the rise and fall of ‘April in the D,’ a Detroit sports staple
Jack Scott is the former on-air promotions producer at Fox Sports Detroit, which makes him uniquely qualified to recount the tale of “April in the D” — a marketing campaign started in 2008 to promote that magical time of year when the Tigers, Pistons, and Red Wings all play at the same time. What was…
Deeply personal record brings singer-songwriter Lady Lamb to Detroit’s Deluxx Fluxx
For her third record, Even in the Tremor, Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter, Lady Lamb traveled the world to add to her vast memory bank of youthful malaise and moments of listless adulthood, including all the times she felt out of place and being baptized by her parents in a kiddie pool. Even in the Tremor finds Lady…
Local picks: Bars of Gold, We Came as Romans, Audra Kubat, Stacey Pullen play metro Detroit this week
Each week, Metro Times rounds up must-see performances by metro Detroit’s own. Bars of Gold For Bars of Gold, the experimental Ferndale outfit, it’s all about James Brown. Well, sort of. When it comes to the band’s latest record, Shelters, which marks the sextet’s return to recording after a six-year hiatus, it’s mostly about a…
Red Bull Arts Detroit showcases bold works from latest cycle of resident artists
Since setting up shop and launching a residency program in Detroit, Red Bull Arts (formerly Red Bull House of Art) has given dozens of emerging and established artists of varying experience levels, mediums, and disciplines the platform to do what they do best — create. In addition the residency program, Red Bull Arts Detroit has…
Scream ‘Fuck the NRA’ with Atlanta punk babes the Coathangers at UFO Factory
Atlanta punk outfit the Coathangers have no interest in playing nice. And why should they? Their sixth studio record, The Devil You Know, finds the all-female garage band confronting the tough shit like the weight of gun violence and addiction all while maintaining its hallmark house-party anthem aesthetic. After taking a summer break, Julia Kugel-Montoya…
Cranbrook Academy of Arts graduates will display two-years worth of work at exhibition
Another year, another graduating class of abstract thinking, boundary-breaking artists entering the world via one of the most revered art academies in the country. The 2019 graduate degree exhibition featuring more than 70 graduates will show work spanning 10 of Cranbrook Academy of Arts’ departments, including 2D and 3D design, architecture, ceramics, fiber, metalsmithing, painting,…
‘Bigmouth’ sad boy Morrissey enlists Interpol for tour with stop in metro Detroit
Morrissey hates dance music, Robert Smith, Queen Elizabeth II, and meat — and he’s coming to metro Detroit! The former Smiths frontman, cantankerous vegan, and serial concert canceler hates a lot of things, but he’s putting his gripes aside as he gears up to release a sunshine-y covers record with a supporting amphitheater tour that, statistically speaking,…
Detroit Tigers, Alice Cooper, and aliens — Freep Film Festival returns for year six with more than 100 events
An elephant never forgets — and neither do we, especially when it comes to former Gov. Rick Snyder, who dissolved Michigan’s booming film incentive program in 2015. Despite his legislative meddling, Michigan continues to put a spotlight on independent film any chance that it gets (including the Ann Arbor Film Festival, which was recently named…
B-52s celebrate 40th anniversary with two Michigan stops
New wave faves B-52s turn 40 this year, and the band is celebrating with a North American trek that will bring them to metro Detroit and Grand Rapids in September. “Who knew that when we played our first house dance party in Athens, Georgia in 1976 that we would be still be rocking the house…
Farm-to-table, carry out restaurant Guerrilla Food is headed to Palmer Park
Guerrilla Food, which is behind North Corktown’s Pink Flamingo pop-up, is expanding with a brick and mortar restaurant across Woodward Avenue from Palmer Park. Like Pink Flamingo, the menu at the new restaurant will focus on owner Meiko Krishok’s “food as medicine” philosophy. That means farm-to-table, seasonal cuisine made with nutrient dense whole foods grown…
How crews moved a 500-ton, 3,000-square-foot house at Wayne State University
The historic David Mackenzie House at Wayne State University has nearly completed its painstaking, block-long trek to a new destination. The weeklong journey began on April 1 to make way for the Hilberry Theatre’s $65 million expansion at Cass between Forest and Hancock. So how did crews relocate a 500-ton, 3,000-square-foot house that is 124…
Hey, you — Metro Times is seeking summer editorial interns
Looking for an opportunity to build your writing portfolio while getting college credit? Then look no further, because Metro Times is currently seeking summer editorial interns. As an editorial intern, you’ll have the opportunity to develop your writing skills while gaining newsroom experience. Do you want to pursue music journalism? Investigative reporting? Maybe you’re a…
The Raconteurs will kick off new tour in Detroit with first hometown show in more than a decade
On Saturday, the Raconteurs played its first show in eight years for Third Man Records’ 10 year anniversary in Nashville. Now, it’s hitting the road — fittingly with a first stop in Detroit, where the band formed in 2006. The band, co-fronted by Jack White and Brendan Benson, is set to perform on July 12 at…
Bernie Sanders is planning a Saturday rally in Warren
Here’s your first chance to “Feel the Bern” during the 2020 campaign season. Sen. Bernie Sanders is making his first stop in Michigan as part of his campaign for the 2020 Democratic nomination. He’s stopped in the state multiple times since the 2016 election cycle, most recently in October to campaign for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer,…
Michigan conservatives lose battle to erase history from school curriculum
A push by conservatives to remove climate change, Roe v. Wade, and gay rights from the social studies curriculum in Michigan schools has been rebuffed by a broad group of educators, students, parents, and retirees. The eight-member, Democrat-controlled State Board of Education is expected to begin reviewing the revised standards this week. The new proposal…
Detroit cop volunteered for breathalyzer training. Turns out he was drunk.
A Detroit police officer is the focus of an internal investigation after he allegedly showed up drunk to a Michigan State Police training class focused on the use of breathalyzers. The class took place on Thursday, according to WXYZ-TV, and the officer in question volunteered himself to take part in a breathalyzer demonstration. He proceeded…
In an effort to make our dreams come true, Hall & Oates performs in metro Detroit this summer
What has six number one singles, a 24/7 hotline that provides emergency services to those in need of a song-fix, and one — sometimes two — very powerful mustaches? If you answered the number-one best selling duo in music history, Hall & Oates, you would be correct and now you’re probably involuntarily compelled to hum “Rich…
Ackroyd’s Bakery in Redford rolls out the coney dog pasty
There aren’t many dishes that say “Michigan” more than the coney dog and the pasty, so it makes sense that someone has gone and combined the two. Ackroyd’s Scottish Bakery last week rolled out the coney dog pasty and will offer it throughout April to celebrate the return of the Tigers’ season. What exactly is…
Why there weren’t any hip-hop or metal acts celebrating the sweet leaf at this year’s Monroe Street Fair
Marijuana has long been celebrated in music, especially in genres like hip-hop and heavy metal. Neither genre, however, was represented at this year’s Monroe Street Fair on Saturday, the music festival that coincides with Ann Arbor’s long-standing annual pro-marijuana Hash Bash — and the first one held since Michigan voted to legalize marijuana in November.…
Detroit rock band Teener defies labels
Teener is having a conversation with you — that is, if you’re listening close enough. There’s a hellstorm’s amount of distortion, decimating drums, gnarly tones, and flamethrower vocals, but the intensity of the instrumentation is statement onto itself, along with the lyrics’ unapologetic provocations and paradigm-puncturing indictments of the patriarchy, or any other outdated puritanical…
Here’s audio of Warren Mayor Fouts allegedly saying he wants to have sex with an ‘abused woman’
Warren Mayor Jim Fouts is in the news again for allegedly saying some crazy shit in a recently leaked recording. The latest recording is reportedly from 2011, when Fouts was driving with a high-ranking government official to Turning Point, a nonprofit that provides a shelter and other services for domestic abuse victims and their children. “I want…
Planet Ant is hosting a ‘Drunk History’ inspired staging of Shakespeare’s ‘Antony and Cleopatra’
“Give me my robe, put on my crown; I have Immortal longings in me,” Cleopatra demands, before slamming a PBR and a shot of Fireball. Wait, what? First performed in 1607, William Shakespeare’s tragedy Antony and Cleopatra is finally getting Comedy Central’s Drunk History treatment, thanks to a shamelessly sloppy troupe of actors and Shakespeare in…
Hazel Park Raceway closed its doors for the last time one year ago today
It was one year ago today, on the eve of its 2018 thoroughbred racing meet, that Hazel Park Raceway suddenly announced it was going out of business. “After nearly 70 years, Hazel Park Raceway is closing effective April 5, 2018,” read the sign on the clubhouse door. “We want to express our heartfelt appreciation to…
Livernois Avenue is about to get a white linen American restaurant
Detroit’s “Avenue of Fashion” will get a new white linen, fine-dining restaurant when Table No. 2 opens on Easter Sunday. Executive chef and owner Omar Mitchell tells Metro Times that he also believes Table No. 2 will be Michigan’s only black-owned fine-dining restaurant. It’ll serve “American” cuisine with a focus on steaks and seafood and…
Nepalese dumpling shop Momo Cha is coming to the Detroit Shipping Co. food hall
A new Nepalese dumpling shop specializing in momos — dumplings filled with meat or veggies that are common in the Indian subcontinent — will be the next to join the Detroit Shipping Co. food hall’s line up. Chef Lama grew up in Nepal, and the new restaurant is he and co-owner Louisa Ainsworth’s first concept.…
Updated Anchor Bar re-opens in downtown Detroit
An updated Anchor Bar re-opened this week in downtown Detroit, but its status as a dive bar is now in question. The Free Press reports that some of the elements that made it the Anchor since it opened in 1959 remain — tater tots are on the menu, and the wall space is covered in…
Warren company creates illegal dump in Detroit’s North End neighborhood
The dump at Oakland Avenue and Lynn Street in Detroit’s North End neighborhood stretches for at least 250 feet along a busy residential road. It’s roughly 50 feet wide, and is filled with a solid pile of debris that’s as much as eight-feet high at some points. The pile is made of shingles, roofing materials,…
Detroit artists can have their work featured on a billboard this summer
Attention Detroit artists: Here’s a chance to have your work seen by thousands. Playground Detroit is partnering with SaveArtSpace to put the work of Detroit-area artists on six billboards around the Motor City this summer. The campaign will be curated by Detroit-based artist Ellen Rutt. Artists are invited to submit up to 10 images before…
Measles continues to spread through metro Detroit causing worst outbreak in 28 years
The number of measles cases continues to climb in metro Detroit as 12 new cases have been confirmed in the last week. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services states that four new cases were confirmed Tuesday, bringing the total to 34 individuals infected by the virus in Michigan this year. It is the…
Russian artist makes ‘Spirit of Detroit’ sculpture out of pasta
Russian artist Serghei Pakhomoff takes creating arts and crafts to another level. Though he resides in Russia, for a month he was given the opportunity to participate in an international artist residency at Hamtramck Disneyland. This is Pakhomoff’s fourth time in the United States, but his first time in Michigan. Pakhomoff says he worked at a local…
This is not a drill: Celine Dion will make first Detroit appearance in 11 years
Near, far, wherever you are, a Celine Dion ballad is probably playing because she’s an unsinkable French-Canadian hit-making powerhouse whose heart and incredible show-womanship will go on and on. The incomparable 51-year-old diva is closing the book on a massive eight-year residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, an endeavor that was arranged…
Supreme Court to consider GOP lame duck cuts to minimum wage, paid sick time laws
The Michigan Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the constitutionality of two of the GOP-controlled Legislature’s more controversial lame duck moves — gutting citizen-initiated minimum wage and paid sick leave laws. However, the court has only asked interested parties to file legal briefings ahead of oral arguments scheduled for July 17, and it still…
Detroit could lose Red Bull Radio amid Red Bull Music Academy shutdown
Red Bull announced on Wednesday that it would be phasing out operations for Red Bull Music Academy and Red Bull Radio. The decision comes after the corporate energy drink decided to part ways with Yadastar, the consulting company that oversees operations for both Red Bull Radio and RBMA, Resident Advisor reports. In a statement to…
Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre announces summer concert season
For its inaugural season as The Aretha Franklin Amphitheater, the outdoor venue formerly known as Chene Park, has announced a diverse summer concert lineup as well as the return of its weekly Jazzy Nights series. The weekend season, which kicks off on June 1 with a performance by KEM presented by soon-to-be-retired radio host Tom Joyner,…
Police issue warning of local goose attacking Eastern Michigan students
A male goose attacked an Eastern Michigan University student on the north end of campus on Tuesday. Security footage from the university shows a man walking on the sidewalk near a campus parking lot when a goose flew towards the man and attacked him with its beak. After the man ran away, the goose pursued…
Man shot twice in middle of Woodward Avenue in Midtown
A 30-year-old man was shot in the face and back in the middle of Woodward Avenue in Midtown on Wednesday afternoon. Police said two men were arguing on Woodward near Selden Street shortly before 12:45 p.m. when one of them pulled out a gun and began firing. Medics rushed the victim to the hospital, where…
Royal Oak’s Bean & Leaf Cafe abruptly closed, the latest to do so in a changing city
There’s been a lot of hand-wringing about changes in Ferndale lately, which has even inspired a guerrilla art campaign: “Don’t Royal Oak my Ferndale.” But it seems Royal Oak isn’t done Royal Oak-ing itself. The Bean & Leaf Cafe (106 S. Main St., Royal Oak) is the latest downtown business to shutter amid the city’s changing…
Late-night TV horror host Ron ‘The Ghoul’ Sweed dead at age 70
Detroit late-night TV cult icon Ron “The Ghoul” Sweed died on Monday at age 70. The horror host on The Ghoul Show was known for his eccentric appearance and adolescent humor, often dubbing B-rated horror films with his own jokes or commentary. The show, which was actually hosted on Cleveland’s WKBF-TV, gained an audience in the…
Kelly Stafford, wife of Detroit Lions QB, to undergo surgery to remove brain tumor
The wife of Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford took to Instagram Wednesday morning with an emotional post to announce her plans to undergo surgery to remove a recently diagnosed brain tumor. Kelly Stafford posted a photo of her with her husband on the day she received the diagnosis along with a photo of the X-ray…
Actor Ben Stiller will moderate Bill and Hillary Clinton event at the Fox Theatre because why not?
No, this isn’t a setup for the latest installment in the Meet the Parents franchise (although, Meet The Clintons could be a real hoot). Actor, philanthropist, and troubled Tenenbaum Ben Stiller will be the moderator for an upcoming conversation with President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. The event, which is…
Detroit candlelight vigil honoring fallen rapper Nipsey Hussle planned for Campus Martius
The music world is reeling from the murder of beloved rapper and community activist Nipsey Hussle, who died in Los Angeles after he was shot in the head and torso on Sunday afternoon. A candlelight vigil has been planned in Detroit to honor the 33-year-old Grammy-nominated artist and father. Campus Martius will host the vigil…
Trump, Brexit, and the dumbing down of democracy
At a campaign rally last week in Grand Rapids, the president of the United States and keeper of the world’s largest nuclear arsenal — after asserting that he’s smarter than all the elites and lying that the Mueller probe had been a “total exoneration, complete vindication” — told a sea of white people that, had…
Stylish Blue LLama Jazz Club is now open in Ann Arbor
In March, Ann Arborites were treated to a show by Norwegian jazz act Mathias Eick and his quintet during the soft opening for the new Blue LLama Jazz Club. While the quintet’s soaring sets at times called to mind experimental rock bands like Sigur Rós or Explosions in the Sky, in many ways the new…
Finally, we can talk about what the future of pot in Michigan looks like
There’s a lot of talk about marijuana going on these days, and in some key areas the pro-cannabis crowd is getting heard loud and clear. For instance, the state Impaired Driving Safety Commission — appointed by former Gov. Rick Snyder — recently recommended that lawmakers should not set a limit to how much THC drivers…
Horoscopes (April 3-9)
ARIES: March 21 – April 20 When you decided to drop all the BS, what made you think there wouldn’t be an earthquake or two? In the process of reinventing yourself you’ve found out that upheaval goes with the territory. Don’t get freaked out over things that have come about as a natural response to…
Review: Fort Street Galley’s Isla is a winner
It’s a food hall, it’s an incubator, it’s a food court, it’s an accelerator. Fort Street Galley, open since December, is a pretty cool way for chefs to start a new place and for ADD-infected diners to try out a bunch of new spots at once. The Galley is an upscale food court in the…
New doc makes the case that ‘Creem’ magazine could only ever rise in Detroit
For J.J. Kramer, the chance to produce a documentary about Creem — the made-in-Detroit publication founded in 1969 that cheekily billed itself as “America’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll Magazine” — wasn’t just a way to learn more about something that came long before his time. It was also personal. His father, Barry, the magazine’s founder…
Jazz duo Balance brings poignant short stories to life at public library
A beautiful piece of jazz is similar to perfectly constructed prose in that it carries the audience on a crest of emotion, at once making us feel in our hearts and see in our minds the truths that the music or words wish to convey. It is in the spirit of this similarity that jazz…
