Cover Stories
Blowout profile: After the Tide
Hard rockers After the Tide plays music that they describe as positive, energetic, Detroit rock ’n’ roll, and they’re putting out a three-track EP in July. Composed of Angela Arce, Sean Soroka, Joe Kaschynyc, Steve Lupinski, and Jose Martinez, the band is going to be performing at Blowout for the first time this week. They’re…
Blowout profile: Death
t’s been five years since Death, the first black punk band, reformed and played a highly anticipated show at the Magic Stick. Back in the early ’70s, the band had formed as an R&B trio but switched to raw rock ’n’ roll after seeing the Who. They recorded a bunch of demos, which lay dormant…
Blowout profile: The Detroit Cobras
Mary Ramirez of the Detroit Cobras has a bee in her bonnet. “How come we don’t have more bands that sound like the MC5,” she says. “What happened to hit and quit? I mean, fuck, even the Motown guys hit and quit. Seriously, I wish a lot more Detroit bands would outright rock. Also, get…
Blowout profile: The Hentchmen
In many ways, John Szymanski and his Hentchmen have come full circle. The band played its first proper show at Paycheck’s Lounge more than two decades ago (Feb. 20, 1993, to be precise), and now the Hentchmen are returning to that very stage for Blowout. In the 20 years since, Szymanski has become the landlord…
Blowout profile: Barbeque
Justin Lee Smith believes there’s a special liberating comfort in “weirding” out at a show. His goal, as Barbeque, is to create a fresh and enlivening sensory experience for his audience, where the beats are often danceable and there may be dazzling projections splashed over his tall, lanky frame. The musical elements (percussion, synth, samples…
Blowout profile: Insite the Riot
Since the early days of Blowout, there have been hip-hop acts on the bill. Over the last couple of years though, rap has become an integral part of the festival — a breath of fresh air — thanks in part to groups like Passalacqua, Cold Men Young and Clear Soul Forces. And the music is…
Blowout profile: Local H
While Blowout is primarily a local music festival, we’re not averse to putting a couple of national bands in front of our crowd if we feel it’s a good fit. Chicago’s Local H certainly ticks all the right boxes — an alternative rock duo that formed in 1990 and signed to Island Records in ’94.…
Blowout profile: Motion City Soundtrack
Minneapolis alt-pop-punk band Motion City Soundtrack is a welcome out-of-town guest at Blowout this year, a wildly popular synth-friendly, emo-ish band with big tunes that will sit comfortably alongside many of our hometown acts. We grabbed singer and guitarist Justin Pierre for a quick chat … MT: When was the last time you were in…
2014 Metro Times Blowout schedule
After months of buildup and a certain amount of hoo-hah, Blowout 17 is finally here. The format is different — this year the festivities will be spread over three cities inside of one long weekend. We’ve incorporated the city of Detroit into the main portion of the festival while remaining firmly in Hamtramck and Ferndale.…
Detroit Metro Times Announces Merger With Real Detroit Weekly
The Detroit Metro Times, Detroit’s award-winning alternative weekly media company, is pleased to announce a new venture. Real Detroit Weekly, a Detroit-based alternative weekly paper since 1999, is merging with Detroit Metro Times today, making it the largest alternative newsweekly in Michigan. The new company will maintain the Metro Times name. Owner and publisher of…
Tips for the lazy gardener
I used to garden as if I had something to prove, as if my garden was a measure my worth. I had clear production goals, and took it as my duty to put food not only on the table, but in the freezer for a winter. Those days are over. Now my garden is like…
Schuette, Orr obstruct scrutiny of PA 436
So many people came to view oral arguments in a federal case challenging the constitutionality of Michigan’s emergency manager law last week that the presiding judge George Caram Steeh decided to move to a larger courtroom. As a reporter for The Detroit News observed, the hearing at the U.S. District Court in Detroit “drew a…
SMART: Millage necessary for continued operation
Local transit advocates know there’s a lot riding on the success of the Southeast Michigan Regional Transit Authority. Established in 2013, the agency has been widely viewed as the key to constructing an efficient regional public transportation system across metro Detroit. Unfortunately, the RTA has experienced a number of hiccups since its inception, something this…
Letters on Schauer, gentrification, Joumana Kayrouz, and more
SUPPORT FOR SCHAUER We received a number of responses to Jack Lessenberry’s April 30 column on Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer. Reader “Patti” posted: Snyder lied and pretended to be a moderate and since has governed as a tea-bag Republican bowing down to DeVos, Koch, and the Mackinac Center loons every time they demand it.…
Film Review: Finding Vivian Maier
Finding Vivian Maier | B- While there is little doubt that the mysterious Vivian Maier was a remarkable photographer, Chicago historian John Maloof’s intriguing if perfunctory documentary crosses into murky ethical terrain when it presents her life and work. In fact, there is an unintentionally reflexive aspect to the levels of self-serving ambition on display…
Long-serving John Conyers should gracefully retire
We might not know for days — and this could be headed for the courts — but it looks increasingly likely that John Conyers, first elected to Congress a half-century ago, might be kicked off the Democratic primary ballot this year. Seems that some of those his office paid to gather the necessary signatures weren’t…
Medical marijuana use at center of custody battle
Bree Green, the baby who was taken from her parents last year, has been home since last fall when she was returned to her parents, Steve and Maria Green, after six weeks. But the child custody nightmare that led to young Bree being taken from their home is still alive. It’s an ugly custody battle…
FWBs, husbands who watch trans porn, and more
Q: I’m a 26-year-old lesbian 18 months out of an eight-year relationship. She was my first girlfriend. I do not want to be in another monogamous relationship. I want to have a couple of sex buddies or, preferably, a couple of friends with benefits. In the last 18 months, I have had three FWB “arrangements” with…
Appellate court remands challenge to EM health care cuts
Keeping track of the legal challenges to Michigan’s novel emergency manager law can cause a headache. When the lawsuits become exceptionally difficult to follow, it can cause a migraine. So, if you may, please put on your thinking cap for this one. The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals today ordered a lower court to conduct further proceedings…
Amit Deshpande brings Bollywood to Detroit
Many people have many different ideas about what is meant by the term “the Detroit music scene.” To some, it’s the alt-pop and rock that you can hear at venues like the Lager House and the New Dodge every week. To others, it’s the hardcore punk and metal bands that have stuck around for more…
A brief chat with Larry Tamblyn of the Standells
The Standells, the L.A. band best known for the Boston anthem “Dirty Water,” is coming to the Magic Bag this Sunday. We grabbed singer Larry Tamblyn and shot the shit for a minute You’re known for “Dirty Water” how did a band from L.A. come to write about Boston? First of all, we didn’t write…
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo at these metro Detroit restaurants
Wish you had an excuse to play hooky and day drink? Thanks to Cinco de Mayo you do. Based on our Best of Detroit survey results, we’ve rounded up some of the best places to celebrate Cinco in metro Detroit. Bottoms up! Xochimilco – Voted Best Mexican Cuisine in Wayne County (3409 Bagley St.; 313-843-0179)…
Blowout weekend recap
Friday was “Detroit Day” for my Blowout. I started out at the Old Miami, hoping to catch Aztek the Barfly, but the whole showcase over there was running at least an hour behind so instead I walked to Traffic Jam & Snug to see Michelle Held, a wonderfully talented singer-songwriter with a very distinctive voice.…
Eyewear could change how you see Detroit blight
There is no easy answer to the question regarding what should be done with Detroit’s abandoned homes. However, an Eastern Market company has a solution that could reflect Detroit’s possibly bright future. Homes Eyewear has set out to make the city a little more stylish, and do their part in cleaning it up by repurposing select woods from neglected homes for sunglasses. All…
Blowout In The Library (Part 2)
The Library survived last night – some beer spillage here and a bit of wall rattling amplifications from Mod Orange – but nonetheless, we’re back for another night of live music. More folksy, tonight…comparatively speaking. Jessica Wildman is a solo singer/songwriter with just a delicately fuzzed acoustic guitar, varying between a jaunty percolation and more spacious,…
Blowout Day 3 – Whiskey and rock
Whiskey in the Jar is perfect in the sense that you feel like you’re in a basement somewhere. The cracked tiles and wood paneled walls make you feel right at home and the bar stocked with beautifully glistening bottles of hooch beg you to have a good time. First up was Desolation Angels. The quartet…
Blowout in the Library
Greetings Blowouters… I’m writing to you from inside the Ferndale Public Library where your humble blogger works for his proverbial day-job. This is the Library’s second consecutive year participating as a host venue for the Metro Times Blowout. It seems like a novelty, I’m sure…but really, in a town like Ferndale, given its active population of…
Film Review: The Amazing Spider-Man 2
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 | B- Your friendly neighborhood wall crawler faces a new and truly daunting threat: the battle for relevance. It’s hard to remember these days, but for over three decades fans could only dream of seeing their arachnid idol swing across the silver screen, with the venerable Spidey’s movie career plagued by endlessly…
Blowout Day 2 – Hamtramck rocks
So here’’s how I’m going to do this thing – a different city, every night. Thursday was Hamtramck night, Friday is Detroit and Saturday is Ferndale. I chose fairly randomly, but I absolutely wanted to check out Nice Hooves on Thursday so Hamtown got my school-night slot. Somehow, I’d managed to not see Warhorses before…
Can the Detroit Wienerssance Center save Detroit?
Earlier this week we took a look at how Packard Detroit’s artisanal handcrafted Coney Dogs are literally the only hope for Detroit’s long-promised rise from the ashes. However, further research reveals that Packard is not the first time Detroit’s renaissance has been proposed via hot dogs. Enter the Detroit Wienerssance Center, an ambitious plan to encase the Reinaissance Center…
SMART millage to appear on the ballot in August
(source: Wikimedia Commons) The Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation, better known as SMART, shared some good news yesterday. The Oakland County Board of Commissioners approved placing the SMART millage question before voters on the August 5, 2014 primary election. Oakland’s county commission board was the last of the tri-county region needed to approve the ballot…
Camilo José Vergara on Detroit
What sets photographer Camilo Vergara apart from the legions of journos and ruin pornistas who’ve paratrooped into Detroit over the last several years? For one, he has been visiting Detroit since the 1980s, way before it was cool to market images of just how jacked Detroit is. (So long, in fact, that he’s sometimes called “The man…
Detroit City FC USA Open Cup game coming up
Soccer team Detroit City FC will play in the first round of the US Open Cup at 7 p.m. on Wednesday , May 7. The opposition will be RWB Adria from Chicago, and the game will take place at Stevenson High School in Livonia. Admission is $10. The Open Cup games are not included as…
Happy May Day, Detroit!
May Day is the International Workers’ Day, a celebration of the working class. It started officially in 1891 after five years of build up that included protests, riots, and hangings, rooted in Chicago’s Haymarket Square. Today, May Day is celebrated around the world—here in the USA, it’s been relegated to “Labor Day” in September. However,…
Blowout Night 1: Seeing the Scene (Whatever You’d “Heard”)
“Oh, I haven’t gotten a chance to see them, yet… Great…” This is Blowout. There’s a lot of bands around here, man. We only have so many hours in the day to scour the various bandcamp sites and take in every new song from every new project that props…
Blowout has lift-off
The format of Blowout might have changed over the past couple of years but the launch party has remained pretty much the same – three stages at the Majestic complex, and a shit-ton of great bands spread across them. Unlike the rest of the festival, it means that you can see every single band performing,…
Silverdome items to be auctioned off
The Pontiac Silverdome hasn’t been used for much since the Lions moved downtown, except for a few soccer games and boxing matches. It seems like the parking lot saw more action with the drive-in and hosting the Vans Warped Tour for a few summers. Since the dome was deflated in January of 2013, the once…
MISSING: Jimmy Howard’s Head
Photo courtesy of My Fox Detroit Have you seen Jimmy Howard’s head? If you haven’t yet heard, someone beheaded the life size bobblehead statue, located in Campus Martius, earlier this morning. Police are reviewing surveillance footage from the area, and reports by WJBK suggest that five males who posed for a photo with Howard may…
The Big Makeover Plan: Cass-Davenport Historical District revamped
The $17 million renovation of the Cass-Davenport Historical District (which honors the architectural and social significance of four buildings: The Davenport Apartments, Chesterfield Apartments, Aderna Court Apartments, and Naomi Apartments) began this past Thursday with a groundbreaking ceremony attended by Mayor Mike Duggan. The project, estimated to finish May 1,2015, will begin with the interior…
Last minute Blowout updates
There are a couple of last minute updates to the Blowout schedule to tell you about. At 9 p.m. on Thursday at the Whiskey in the Jar in Hamtramck, listed as “To Be Determined” in the newspaper, The Bronze Way will perform.</p). The Westland band says, “My dream of performing all around the world could…
City Slang: Merry Blowout, everyone
Hang up your decorations and leave out some milk and cookies. Blowout is here again, and for lovers of Detroit music it might as well be Christmas. The format has changed but the principle is still the same – shit-hot local music, and lots of it. Anything could happen over the next four days. Three…
Studio Visit: Mark Dancey
Mark Dancey is showing us around his Mexicantown home, hunting down copies of Motorbooty, the irreverent humor magazine he edited in the ’90s. “I’ve had them in the attic and the squirrels would take them — this place used to be infested with squirrels,” he says. “They’d raid them and make a nest. I’ve got…
The Bird & the Bread
The Bird & the Bread 210 S. Old Woodward Ave., Birmingham 248-203-6600 thebirdandthebread.com Handicap accessible Entrées: $16-$32 Open 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday, 5-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 5 p.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 5 p.m.-9 p.m. Sunday “Munch, slurp, crunch and chow.” It’s perhaps not the most urbane way to present your victuals, these categories on Kristin Jonna’s new menu,…
How Goldfinch American capitalizes on Detroit poverty
It’s Monday evening at a Detroit pop-up called Goldfinch American, and 16 people, mostly professionals and business owners from the city and suburbs, sit in folding chairs in an apartment near Clark Park eating an 11-course meal that costs, at minimum, $121. If diners want drinks, they can order a pairing costing another $50. Median…
Neighborhood Advisory Committee assembled
We were unable to attend election night, but the final members of the Neighborhood Advisory Committee, a panel seated to offer input on the construction of a new Detroit Red Wings arena near downtown, were selected last week. About three-dozen residents and property owners cast ballots by the 8 p.m. deadline on Wednesday, April 23,…
Panel convenes to talk Detroit gentrification
When is a good time to talk about gentrification in Detroit? That was the question a group of local stakeholders mulled over during a panel discussion held Saturday inside the Jam Handy on East Grand Boulevard. The consensus, overwhelmingly, was now. Gentrification is a topic that, especially in the case of Detroit, has prompted heated…
Schauer may give Snyder a run for his money
I have to confess that until now, I never really thought Mark Schauer, the Democrats’ designated candidate, stood much chance of being elected governor in November. True, Rick Snyder has betrayed the hopes of lots of people who thought he would be reasonably moderate. He has instead pandered to the far right more often than…
Of urban chickens, black Republicans, and opportunism
Mulenga Harangua sat on his front porch with a gigantic white cowboy hat perched on his wide, round head. A bunch of chickens wandered around on the porch and the front yard, pecking at the feed he had spread around and clucking their pleasure. “Who let the chickens out?” I asked as a hen wandered…
MT readers sound off on Joumana Kayrouz and worried suburban moms
Joumana bet? As a Lebanese-Christian from Windsor currently in law school I want to sincerely thank you for the article. I don’t think you understand what it means to us. —Jonathan James Nehmetallah, M.A., Windsor, Ontario Sprawltitlement checked I really enjoyed Michael Jackman’s article, “Why Worried Suburban Moms Hate Detroit.” It’s about time that…
DJ Pierre
Chicago DJ and electronic music pioneer Nathaniel Pierre Jones, better known as DJ Pierre, helped develop the sub genre of music known as acid house while a member of the group Phuture. Their ’87 EP Acid Tracks is generally considered the first acid house recording. He’s going to be in Ferndale this weekend, and it’s…
Hiss Tracts: Shortwave Nights
Hiss Tracts Shortwave Nights CST Hiss Tracts is a collaboration between David Bryant of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Kevin Doria of Growing, and it’s extremely fucking weird. It would sound like a movie score, but it’s impossible to imagine a film twisted and freaky enough for this to fit. No, this shit is meant…
Harvey Mason: Chameleon
Harvey Mason Chameleon Concord Multi-Grammy-nominated jazz-funk man Harvey Mason, a member of celebrated (and cheekily named) band Fourplay, is one of the most in-demand session drummers, producers and composers on the scene. Based on Chameleon, that’s no surprise. The man can play, and he’s capable of assembling and guiding a killer band through a set…
Black Sabbath: The Complete Albums 1970-1978
Black Sabbath The Complete Albums 1970-1978 Warner Music The great triumvirate of first-wave British heavy metal bands has left a complicated legacy. Deep Purple would change and get faster and harder. Led Zeppelin would become synonymous with overblown classic rock. But it was Black Sabbath that left such a sweaty skid mark on rock history…
A brief chat with Joey Southside of The Banner
Since forming in 2003, The Banner has been one of the most ferocious and genre-defying hardcore (or metal-core or horror-core – see what we mean?) bands on the national punk scene, bursting out of Jersey in a blur of hyper-fast riffs and super-pissed vocals. There’s a strong Gothic tint to the vampire and werewolf themes,…
Rachel May
"I recently reformed the Difficulties. The guitar player and I have a good rapport. We write really well together and communicate well together. We always had a vision for the band that it never became. We don’t have a name yet, so we’re still toying around with all that. I’m still playing with Maxine Petrucci.…
Film review: ‘Only Lovers Left Alive’
Only Lovers Left Alive | B+ To burn out or fade away? That is the question that vexes Adam (Tom Hiddleston), a centuries-old vampire who has become jaded with the modern world and has decided to live in obscurity in a crumbling Victorian house amid the ruins of Detroit. He’s a brooding, post-punk goth who…
Film Review: The Railway Man
The Railway Man | B Draped in layers of mousy browns and hidden under a bristly mustache and eyeglasses the size of a cartoon inspector’s magnifying glass, Colin Firth stars as Eric Lomax, a lonely, middle-aged English railway enthusiast who whiles away the hours going to rare book auctions and studying train schedules. On one…
Film Review: Walking With the Enemy
Walking With the Enemy | C- The heroic efforts of Pinchas Rosenbaum and the Hungarian Jews who rebelled against the Nazis during World War II deserves far better than Walking With the Enemy. First-time director Mark Schmidt and his nine screenwriters offer only a clumsy, overwrought melodrama. Walking With the Enemy is one of those…
Op-Ed: Move over, Shinola — Packard Detroit’s artisanal handcrafted Coney Dogs are literally Detroit’s only hope
Detroit may be fucking broke — but it has a golden, shiny beacon of hope in Packard Detroit. While auto manufacturing left the city long ago, Packard Detroit is proving that Detroiters can still make nice things with their artisanal handcrafted expensive Coney Dogs. But Packard Detroit is more than just a hot dog company. It’s…
City Slang: Music review roundup
Send CDs, vinyl, cassettes, demos and 8-tracks to Brett Callwood, Metro Times, 1200 Woodward Heights, Ferndale MI 48220. Email MP3s and streaming links to bcallwood@metrotimes.com. Sïck’s Born Wild is a welcome breath of fresh air in Detroit right now. The band, which we interviewed in February, told us that, ““We’re just a rock ’n’ roll…
