Cover Story
We spent 12 hours riding the People Mover so you don’t have to
On Aug. 1, 1987, Virgil Knaf drove from the suburbs into Detroit to ride a monorail system that opened that day. Dubbed “the People Mover,” the maligned project was millions of dollars over budget, opened two years later than expected, and basically everyone hated it. Everyone, except Knaf. Breathlessly optimistic about the People Mover, Knaf…
The annual Detroit Christmas Tree Burn takes place next week
The holidays are officially over, which means we’re all nursing our hangovers, eyeing our new gym memberships with contempt (or is that hopeful promise?), and gearing up for the unofficial Detroit Fire Department fundraiser, the annual Christmas Tree Burn. Folks are already RSVPing in droves for the event, which takes place this year on Saturday,…
The Nutcracker gets some Motown soul for the third year in a row
Tchaikovsky’s seminal Christmas tale has been performed by troupes the world over, but none have infused it with such soul and Detroit flavor as the Motown Nutcracker. This version, which takes the stage at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Theatre in Dearborn, changes the story a little bit and instead of Clara, our main…
News Hits: Schuette OKs school taxes for new Red Wings arena
Last week was seen as a big deal for Detroit: For one thing, the city officially emerged from municipal bankruptcy, ending an 18-month bout of financial wrangling with itself. On the same day, the owners of Little Caesars, Mike and Marian Ilitch, announced they would construct a new eight-story headquarters for the pizza empire in…
News Hits: State bill to allow car titles to be used for loans dies
The News Hits crew was elated to find out a bill introduced in the Michigan Senate didn’t survive this year’s lame-duck session. The bill introduced by outgoing Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville (R-Monroe) would’ve allowed auto-title lenders to do business in Michigan under state law authorizing pawnbrokers to operate. As it was explained by Detroit…
A Walk on the Wild Side with Nolan Finley
Judging by a recent, 107-word editor’s note, the Detroit News’ Nolan Finley evidently has a hard time finding a downtown bar that stays open past midnight. We have some news for him.
Restoration Hardware to come to Detroit: Prepare for primo Dumpster Diving
According to a recent report from Crain’s, Restoration Hardware is opening an outlet store on Woodward in Downtown Detroit. Restoration Hardware’s retail store was once known throughout the low income communities of New York City as having exceptional Dumpster Diving. We’ve seen plenty of discarded RH picture frames and furniture rocked out across Manhattan and Brooklyn.…
A taste of Hamtramck hillbilly
Did you know that Hamtramck was home to a thriving rockabilly/ hillbilly scene in the 1950s and ’60s? I didn’t either, until recently. Then I landed here, and saw that this has already been covered in full by the Metro Times — it’s nice to know that really solid work has been done here for years, already.…
A large menorah will be lit in Campus Martius at 5 p.m.
[image-1]The fourth annual Menorah lighting in downtown Detroit will take place at 5 p.m. today at Campus Martius Park. Called “Menorah in the D,” the free event to kick off Hanukkah will feature a live band, free food, and booze, according to the event’s website. The lighting of the 26-foot-tall menorah is expected do…
Detroit’s road wings
A semi crashed into a freeway median this morning, sending boxes of frozen chicken wings scattered across the freeway.
One that got away
We finished our staff music Top Ten lists the other day, breaking them up into local and not-local lists. the local one in particular is a pretty great list, as you will soon see! But you always get hit by what you left off as soon as you finalize a thing like this. For me, it’s…
We’re looking for nice Jewish guys (and girls) to send to the MatzoBall
Let’s face it — mom would be really thrilled if you brought a nice Jewish guy home. Fortunately, there’s the MatzoBall — the nation’s first and largest Jewish singles event. Aimed at 21-49 year-old singles, the matchmaking event comes to Ferndale’s Twist Night Club on Dec. 24. and provides ample, ahem, networking and mingling opportunities. Even better,…
Main Art Theatre’s Midnight Madness will now run year-round
Royal Oak’s Main Art Theatre has been screening cult classics at 12 a.m. every Friday and Saturday nights as part of a summer-long series called Midnight Madness. Though summer has long since passed, the series has continued on and thanks to its extreme popularity, Landmark Theatres (the company that owns the Main Art) has decided…
On missing the marching bands
With so much to do this past weekend, we regret that we did not make it out to PJ’s Friday night for their “Spectacular Holiday Carnival” show, which celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Detroit Party Marching Band. Also appearing on the bill, which we missed, was the Lowdown Brass Band and the Gabriel Brass…
Have you seen these billboards in Dearborn?
Some brand new billboards made their debut in the city of Dearborn today. The black, red, and white signs appear to be splashed with blood. They’re emblazoned with quotes from President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama calling for the end of female genital mutilation (FGM). “Female genital mutilation … needs to be eliminated”…
?uestlove calls new D’Angelo album the ‘Apocalypse Now’ of black music
Only one thing can bring us all together here, this Monday morning of Dec.15, 2014: A totally unexpected, 14 years in the making R&B masterpiece by the king of mystical/ political/ total sexytimes music, D’Angelo which was released in a surprise sneak attack move. The album’s release was just announced late last week, and then…
Lansing is cool with Satanic holiday display on Capitol lawn
The Satanic Temple is wishing Michigan a happy holiday season by erecting its own Satanic display on the Capitol grounds, according to a release. The Michigan State Capitol Commission granted approval for the display as a Nativity scene was under consideration at the location as well. The activist group “holds to a firm belief in…
Here’s what Michigan is the absolute worst at, according to Thrillist
It comes as no surprise, really, that the one thing Thrillist pegs Michigan for being the worst at is maintaining our roads. We’ve written before about Michigan roads funding going absolutely nowhere, and we may very well write about it again, as lawmakers continue to go round and round the table with discussions— nay, excuses— for…
Peet’s Coffee to close Michigan branches
Less than a year and a half after opening up retail stores throughout Michigan, Peet’s Coffee & Tea has announced it’s shuttering all in-state locations, as well as all outlets in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Today is the last day for business. “After nearly an 18-month assessment of our Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania markets, we are…
Bill Bonds, and what he meant
Detroit lost a living link to its unruly past with the death of TV anchorman Bill Bonds last week.
No one surprised that Rebel Kind’s release show was fun as hell
Donovan’s was packed like sardines Saturday night for the Ann Arbor-based trio Rebel Kind’s “Surprise Record Release Party.” I’m not sure what the surprise was. Helium balloons were awkwardly clumped up near the small spot on the floor where the band set-up place was (not a stage). The band themselves spun tracks by ESG and…
ICYMI: Read a high school student’s simple solution to Shinola’s branding problem
In case you missed it … sure, the Internet is lousy with plenty of thinkpieces about Shinola, the luxury watch and bicycle brand that opened in Detroit last year and is credited for such lofty claims like “bringing manufacturing back to Detroit.” But if you can be bothered to read one more, you should read the…
The price of an old Metro Times cover
is, apparently, $45, firm. We spotted this cover, from a “Best of” issue we put out on March 14, 2001, for sale at Eastern Market antiques, yours for only $45. Metro Times: Collector’s Item? The cheapest investment you’ll ever make?
Watch: Michigan police officers give out gifts instead of traffic tickets
This week, police officers in Lowell, MI (just outside of Grand Rapids) spread an extra dose of holiday cheer. Instead of giving out traffic tickets, they surprised folks with a bounty of holiday gifts. We won’t spoil any of the feel good moments— just watch ’em all below.
Detroit ranked safest city in the country (from natural disasters)
Sure, some folks say we ain’t the fairest of cities, and maybe we’ve won a Murder Cup or two, but when it comes to natural disasters, the Motor City is as safe and reliable as they come. At least according to the data geeks at HomeOwnersInsurance.com who listed Detroit as the best place to be…
Sneak peek at Hopcat’s VIP opening
We went to Hopcat’s opening last night. Here’s what we saw and drank.
Photo of the Day: The Great Lakes from the International Space Station
Earlier this week, Commander Barry Wilmore of Expedition 42 took this stunning photo of the Great Lakes (well, most of them anyway) and the central United States from aboard the International Space Station. NASA Astronauts tweeted out the photo on Sunday. “Great lakes & central U.S.” #AstroButch pic.twitter.com/TvEdT6wTZW — NASA Astronauts (@NASA_Astronauts) December 8, 2014
Michigan bill that would ban community benefits is effectively dead — for now
A state bill that would ban municipalities in Michigan from requiring developers to provide community benefits for projects funded by public money wasn’t voted on this week — effectively killing it, for now. The bill, which has been widely considered as an effort to prevent Detroit City Council from passing an ordinance that would require developers…
Bygone burgers, bars, and more
The bad news: We lost Comet, Howell’s and our favorite Chinese joint. The good news: Jimmy from Howell’s is cooking again.
Money’s nothing and drugs are nice
Tonight at the small (and excellently small press-friendly) bookstore DittoDitto, Lisa Carver is appearing with three experimental musicians for a free, early evening event — starting at 7 p.m., the show also features Pearl Diver, Crode and Avri77avigne. Carver’s book Drugs Are Nice: A Post-Punk Memoir is required reading for subcultural studies in the US…
Detroit Film Critics Society offers up 2014 nominations
As the outgoing president of the Detroit Film Critics Society, I have been long proud of the fact that we tend to zig when other critic groups zag. Though we might not have had the chutzpah to hand out “Best” awards to actresses in little-known foreign films (as the L.A. Critics have done on occasion),…
ICYMI: World’s first semi-truck manufacturer, Fruehauf Trailer, was founded in Detroit 100 years ago
ICYMI, we have a gallery featuring 44 historical photos of Detroit’s Fruehauf Trailer Company–The first semi-truck manufacturer in the world. Fruehauf was founded right here in Detroit in 1914. To celebrate the company’s centennial year, they shared with us a special selection of historical photos. Even JFK was into them: You can learn more about…
Calling all Detroit health goths!
It’s hard to tell if the NYTimes’ style section is consciously trolling us with their bizarre and often a bit late to the game stories like yesterday’s missive on “health goth.” The Facebook community for health goth has over 18,000 members. But still, this can’t be a real thing, can it? Can it??! Wait, people…
Watch: Michigan rocket enthusiasts launch a porta potty into the sky
Kick off your weekend with a little potty humor, or rather this video of southwest Michigan rocket enthusiasts launching a porta potty into the sky. Folks from the Michiana Rocketry group, based in Three Oaks, MI, had been planning the project for about two years to increase awareness about rocketry as a hobby. Here’s the…
Video: Jimmy Fallon and the Ragtime Gals cover a Motown classic
If you missed last night’s episode of Fallon, fret not, the interwebs are teeming with highlights, like this rendition of Marvin Gaye’s ‘Sexual Healing,’ featuring Fallon, his cronies, and Steve Carell. Just watch: Also, here’s the original for comparison’s sake.
Galapagos: The inevitable angry hometown reaction begins
Fuck Galapagos? Yes, that’s what one blogger says. He has some good criticisms. But, really, it all comes down to one problem: So far, this is all about real estate, and not about art. As the players get to know each other, with a bit of tact and delicacy, they may find that they’re not…
‘FiveThirtyEight’ untangles Detroit’s IT mess
Following the news of the failed Detroit hacker ransom from earlier this year, MT’s investigative reporter Ryan Felton took a look at the city’s numerous tech vulnerabilities for analysis blog FiveThirtyEight on Tuesday. The piece, cheekily titled “Before Detroit Can Move On, It Needs To Upgrade From Windows XP,” outlines numerous problems the city government faces when it comes to…
HopCat Detroit opens on Saturday
A big grand opening is planned for Detroit’s HopCat location this Saturday, after a VIP reception Friday night. Doors to the new location will open at 11 a.m. on Dec. 13 and there will be a world recording-breaking 120-tap takeover thanks to Short’s Brewing Co. The first 200 people in line will get a card…
A Kind of Boring Story About Detroit’s First Techno 12″
My friend Jared visited last weekend, from my former hometown of Portland, OR. We spent all of Saturday hitting up record shops because how else are you going to spend a day in Detroit with a visiting club DJ? (That being Jared; Jared is a club DJ.) Detroit has amazing record stores, especially if one is looking for…
Punch Bowl Social draws large crowd on opening night
Along Broadway in downtown Detroit, the new Punch Bowl Social covers a serious amount of real estate. Really, it’s huge. That’s the first thing we noticed upon arriving early Wednesday evening for the opening of the new “gastro diner”. With 24,000 square feet spanning two floors in the Z Garage between Gratiot and East Grand…
Here’s an unlikely holiday soundtrack
From the late 1940s well into the ‘60s, if you visited midtown Manhattan, you might have caught a glimpse of a blind street performer dressed as a Viking. The medieval gentleman was selling pamphlets, making music right there, and reciting his strangely-rhymed poetry. This was Moondog; he stood there for years, on the corner. A…
Theme for A Lame Duck
Let us all blast “I Don’t Like the Man I Am” by thee Headcoats (first line: “I’m lying through my teeth”) in honor of this latest lame-duck session of the Michigan legislature. This session has many gifts! Chief among them is the concept that burning tires is a potential new “green” energy source, or the…
News Hits: Lansing continues to meddle in Detroit affairs with community benefits
(Update: Wed. Dec. 10, 3:10 p.m.): A state house panel passed the bill in a tight 8-7 vote, sending it along to the full House for consideration.) For any critic of the way Lansing has involved itself in Detroit’s decision-making process — think Belle Isle, imposition of an emergency manager, the level of state oversight…
News Hits: Municipalities bulk up with millitary gear
The law enforcement response to protests following the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., brought a heated topic into the national dialogue: the militarization of the police. Nationwide, viewers of the evening news were greeted with jaw-dropping images of a police force that more resembled an occupying army than a textbook law enforcement…
U2’s the Edge to download himself into Warren middle school
As if it wasn’t bad enough that this year U2 invaded everyone’s iPhones with their lackluster new album, we’ve received word that the Edge is downloading himself into a Warren middle school. Students of Warren’s Lincoln Middle School will receive “a special video message” from the U2 guitarist at a school assembly on Thursday, Dec. 11.…
Lansing to Young Professionals: Go Away
Lansing just can’t stop churning out decisions that young people correctly interpret as a proud and defiant middle finger aimed directly at the sort of young person that our leaders say we desperately need.
Chrysler high school auto design contest goes nationwide
Chrysler is asking high school car geeks grades 10 through 12 to peer into the future and design their idea for a 2025 Dodge vehicle in its third annual competition. This year, the company has opened the contest to all U.S. high school students —previously, it was open only to Michigan students, and before that…
Anonymous donor drops gold coin worth $1,200 in St. Clair Shores Salvation Army pot
‘Tis the season for giving, and one anonymous donor proved that in full– again. Salvation Army spokesperson Andrea Kenski told the AP that an unknown donor dropped a 1980 South African Kruggerand coin with an estimated worth of $1,200 into a kettle outside of a Kroger grocery store in St. Clair Shores. Apparently, this isn’t…
Carl Demeulenaere talks the ‘Circuitous Life of a Miniaturist’
Carl Demeulenaere isn’t trying to be cool. “The kind of work I do, being a miniaturist and doing technically skilled work and having a narrative attached to virtually everything I do — that doesn’t necessarily put me on the map right now,” he says. “I’m not the ‘golden child’ right now, or one of the…
P.T. Anderson’s stoner noir ‘Inherent Vice’ is a playful, tight tale of American decline
Inherent Vice / B There’s a moment in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice when two characters discuss whether a swastika is a wise choice for a head tattoo. Joaquin Phoenix’s Doc Sportello points out the obvious anti-Semitic issues. His foil counters that the swastika is actually Hindu, a sacred symbol of auspiciousness. That brief exchange…
Addison Eatery’s brilliant way of coping with M-1 Rail construction
The resurgence along Woodward Avenue, north of downtown, was, until recently, conspicuously lacking in one little area at the south end of the avenue. The former Zaccaro’s (and Ye Olde Butcher Shoppe) storefront still sits empty. The Fine Arts building hasn’t found a new use yet. But the Addison Building’s main-floor restaurant space has been…
Tim Burke confronts his inner demons with his found object art
On Sept. 18, artist Tim Burke suffered a fire at his studio — apparently part of the wave of arsons that swept through Detroit’s Heidelberg Street in the past year. Dubbed the Detroit Industrial Gallery, this is where Burke has worked for the past 14 years, and where he stores treasures accumulated from 25 years…
Stir It Up: Stopping the shooting
I was cruising slowly along Woodward near Orchestra Hall when I glanced to the side and saw a man walking with his arms spread to the side as though he were Jesus on the cross. A second look revealed that it was Mulenga Harengua. I turned on to the next side street and found a…
Raise the Bar: Centre Park is classy and comfortable
Nestled away from traffic near where Randolph Street meets Gratiot Avenue is Centre Park. By day, it’s a hip downtown bar and grill, with tables and chairs occupying the floor, and serves a mixture of Middle Eastern cuisine and classic American favorites, as well as pastas, salads, steak, and seafood. Once the sun goes down,…
All Dolled Up: This guy calls himself Captain Dickslap
This fashionable leather-wearing daddy longlegs was spotted working and having fun at the BANG! dance party (this iteration called “the 13th annual 13kt Gold Dance Party”) at Ann Arbor’s Blind Pig. Captain Dickslap is a DJ, an event planner, a bartender, a fermenter, and occasionally a private cook. He has been an active member of…
EMU’s regents stand by Snyder, EAA in 6-2 vote
When it came time for Eastern Michigan University’s Board of Regents to vote last Friday, there was much that didn’t much matter. The question before the regents was this: Should the university retain its affiliation with the Education Achievement Authority, the controversial experiment in public education created at the behest of Gov. Rick Snyder and…
Pink Lightning return with excellent sophomore album
Pink Lightning seems to be having a lot of fun. The Detroit band’s first album, released in 2012, was titled, Happy To Be Here, and if their latest album, Blue Skies, is any indication, they are still pretty happy to be recording and playing music. Blue Skies, which is slated for release Dec. 13, is…
Nolan the Ninja is Detroit’s newest mercenary of beats and rhymes
At Midtown’s Peoples record store, Nolan the Ninja is digging the crates, as usual. “I go digging at least once a week, maybe three times a week if I’m trying to find something for a particular project,” the emcee and beatmaker says while pulling out Mick Jagger’s She’s the Boss. “Mick was on some shit…
Borenstein’s Book and Music Store is your one-stop shop for Judaica
No Hanukkah would be complete without spinning dreidels, and Borenstein’s has you covered in that department. The store stocks a variety of the spinning tops, from simple wooden types (selling for 49 cents each) to colorful plastic ones ($1.49 each) that can be filled with chocolate coins. They even have dreidels that light up and…
Alberta Adams reigns supreme after 70 years in the music business
It’s 1944, and there’s a raucous crowd inside Club B&C, a hip joint in Paradise Valley, Detroit’s center of black entertainment. The liquor is flowing and smoke hangs in the air like a cloud both dirty and sweet. The sound of laughter is noticeable, but it doesn’t drown out the house band. Everybody looks immaculate…
Retail: Borenstein’s Book and Music Store has plenty of dreidels
Borenstein’s has deep roots in Detroit’s Jewish community. Store owner Abraham Borenstein started it back in 1946 on what was then 12th Street in Detroit (and is now Rosa Parks Boulevard), when he bought an existing Jewish bookstore. He moved his business to its present location, tucked away in a shopping plaza in Oak Park,…
‘Turkey George’ discusses his classic North End eatery
It’s one of those blink-and-you’ll-miss-it places along a heavily traveled stretch of Woodward Avenue, but in the 18 years it’s been open, Turkey Grill has developed a huge following. It’s tucked away in a 1927 building, right across Woodward from the Virginia Park Historic District, and since it opened in 1996, it has become a…
Five O’clock Somewhere: Budweiser eyes coveted hipster demographic
Over the last few decades, thanks to the loosening of brewing laws in America, we’ve seen a beer revolution. This country used to have just a few large brewers making beer that just about tasted the same. Now there are thousands of breweries, many of them small, and hundreds of them making their appeals to…
West Bloomfield’s Stage Deli mixes the classic delicatessen with fine dining
Despite its suburban West Bloomfield location, you almost get the sense that Stage Deli is a small-town corner deli, with the staff seemingly on a first-name basis with every guest. Owned and operated by the Goldberg family, Stage Deli is an institution, dating back to its first incarnation in 1962 in Oak Park. West Bloomfield’s…
Ask a Juggalo: Is discovering your inner Juggalo or Juggalette the equivalent of someone finding their inner peace?
Q: I’ve been down with the clown and freak shows and the Psychopathic since ’03. Back in the day, I used to rep it all in terms of T-shirts, face paint, and blasting it through the radio. I stopped listening to them for a few years because I wanted to hear new music. About one…
Drink Up
Cabresto Tequila: Tequila must be made in a certain area of Mexico to be called tequila. More specifically, in the Tequilera region of Los Altos de Jalisco. There, the sun, earth, and tequila-making knowledge produce the world’s best “pinas.” In these fields, Cabresto workers handpick the finest, 100 percent blue agave. And from those plants,…
DDays: News from the D Show, Detroit Drunken Historical Society, Good-tyme Writers Buffet
Last week, DDays checked out the Adcraft Club’s eighth annual D Show at the Masonic Temple, the award ceremony honoring Detroit’s top admen and adwomen, a night for creative directors, art directors, copywriters, video editors, and the rest to take a break from their busy schedules to praise themselves for their hard work. Attendees were…
Hot Shotz: Rock City Eatery’s Ricky Ruggero teaches us how to make a cucumber margarita
Raised in Clinton Township, 27-year-old Ricky Ruggero now lives in Hamtramck, down the street from Rock City Eatery, where he works as bartender. The hip eating and drinking establishment has become known for its funky, relaxed interior, its mismatched chairs, its upscale dishes, and its affordable, creative cocktails. Ruggero has worked in restaurants since he…
Higher Ground: Drug testing welfare recipients makes less sense than it seems
Legislators sometimes make fun of a law by calling it “a solution in search of a problem.” More often than not, these are proposals fueled by ideological bias rather than the facts, such as the “voter ID” bills intended to battle “voter fraud” — an almost nonexistent problem. (But if it should happen to stop…
Politics and Prejudices: The only hope for Michigan’s LGBT community lies with the U.S. Supreme Court
Poor Michelle Fox-Phillips. She sent me a Facebook message a few days ago that indicated when it comes to politics, she is in la-la land. I’ve never met Phillips, the co-founder of Transgender Detroit, but she seems to be a decent, caring person devoted to the welfare of her community. “As you might know, the…
Horoscopes (December 10 – 16)
ARIES (March 21-April 20): Get ready for everything to turn a corner. God knows how this will work out from person to person, but you’ve got some heavy hitters shaking up your reality structure. Whatever it looks like today, could change on a dime. Between what it’s taken to get here, and the issues that…
Six things going on in Detroit dining this week
Special Thai-in — Detroit’s newest food truck, Katoi, which operates out of the building next to Corktown’s Two James Distillery and specializes in Thai food, is the project of Courtney Smith and Brad Greenhill. They’ve also started a series of chef’s table dinners at Two James — private, five-course dining with cocktail pairings. There’s one…
Feedback: Reader responses for proposed later last call, we get schooled in Detroit teaching certification
Wrong on TFA Certification I read with interest Curt Guyette’s recent article on the Education Achievement Authority (“EMU considers ending its association with the EAA”) and wanted to correct the record regarding Teach For America and our teachers’ work throughout Detroit. The article incorrectly mentions that our teachers lack certification. In fact, Michigan law requires…
Playlist: Five tracks from former Funk Night DJ Brad Hales
This week’s playlist comes to us from Brad Hales, head vinylista at Peoples Records in Detroit and a DJ at Funk Night for a decade. Last week, he was visited by Scott Craig, with whom he started Funk Night in 1999 at a scrappy little gallery called detroitcontemporary. The visit stirred memories of the sort…
Savage Love: Pronoun preferences
SAVAGE LOVE Dan Savage: Q: You may not be the right person to answer this, but your commenters might be able to help. I love and support my friends who are transgender, but I don’t understand all the 18- to 21-year-olds among my friends who are declaring themselves “gender-neutral.” I am a bit older and…
