Cover Story
What happened when the Big Three tried to tame Trump
On the afternoon of March 15, 2017, President Donald Trump made his first visit to Michigan since the campaign trail. Michigan, of course, ought to have a special place in Trump’s heart. As one of the three Rust Belt states making up the so-called “blue wall” that unexpectedly flipped red, Michigan helped Trump land his…
King of ‘Trap Queen’ Fetty Wap is headed to St. Andrew’s Hall
“We have rapper Fetty Wap to blame for the widespread overuse of the term “Trap Queen,” but we won’t hold it against him. Though he hasn’t released a proper follow-up since his 2015 debut album, when his smash hit “Trap Queen” dominated the charts, Fetty Wap is set to drop some fire in 2018. (He…
Indie actress turned songstress Eszter Balint comes to Friday Night Live at DIA
If you have a knack for independent cinema, then the film Stranger Than Paradise might mean something to you. The 1984 Jim Jarmusch minimalist classic stars Eszter Balint. Balint has since strayed from the spotlight (though she snagged a role on the FX series Louie in 2014), but in 2015 she released Airless Midnight —…
By 2025, your Big Mac will be served in paper made of recycled materials
Everyone’s favorite golden arched food chain is cooking up an order of green responsibility with their new environmental initiative. By 2025, all of McDonald’s packaging will be made from renewable, recycled or certified sources. That means all those yellow cheese burger wraps, Big Mac hamburger boxes, and the brown bags that carry them will have…
The f*cking Dan Band is f*cking coming to Detroit
Fun fact — Did you know that Bonnie Tyler’s 1983 classic was originally called “Total Fucking Eclipse of the Heart”? No? You didn’t know that? Good, because it’s a goddamn lie — thanks to comedian Dan Finnerty and his outrageously funny Dan Band, who craft new takes on classics that keep us guessing and laughing.…
Metro Times’ annual Vodka Vodka is coming and yes there’s going to be vodka
For its ninth year, Metro Times presents Vodka Vodka — a party so good we had to name it twice. This year, the vodka-tasting event moves to the Fillmore, but that’s not the only thing that has changed. Head to the new Tito’s Bloody Mary bar complete with Brewt’s and McClure mixes. To satisfy your…
Shut up and dance — Walk The Moon is rocketing to the Fillmore on Wednesday
For Cincinnati pop rockers Walk The Moon, it wasn’t a fast track to stardom. Formed in 2006, it was with the release of their third record, 2014’s Talking Is Hard, that they rocketed to the top of the charts. The infectiously bouncy pop hit “Shut Up + Dance” garnered a handful of American Music Award…
Blake’s Orchard and Cider Mill will now be open year round
Lovers of all things autumn are in for a treat. After 72 years in business, and for the first time ever, Blake’s Orchard and Cider Mill will now be open to the public. All. Year. Long. Owner, Paul Blake gives a nod to their loyal customers and supportive Armada community for helping making this happen.…
Astronomer says yes, that was probably a meteorite that lit up the Midwest sky
Yes, the loud boom heard and flash of light seen around southeast Michigan shortly after 8 p.m. were probably the result of a meteor. Mike Narlock, head of astronomy at Cranbrook Institute of Science, says it was likely a bolide, a special type of fireball that explodes with a bright terminal flash at its end, often…
Report: Some Dems aren’t stoked on Whitmer, including head of UAW
There are two big, defining political endorsements for Democrat gubernatorial candidates in the state of Michigan, political experts tell us. They are those of the United Auto Workers (duh) and the Michigan Education Association. Yesterday, Democrat candidate for governor Gretchen Whitmer, who’s long been viewed as the party “front runner,” scooped up support from the latter…
Chrissy Teigan vows to pay McKayla Maroney’s possible $100k fine for speaking out at Larry Nassar’s sentencing
Former Michigan State University sports physician Larry Nassar was in court today, facing sentencing for the criminal sexual conduct charges he pleaded guilty to in late 2017. Nassar was charged with a total of 10 counts of criminal sexual conduct in two Michigan counties. Today, he was in court to hear testimony from nearly 100…
Detroit City FC will open an indoor soccer field house this fall
Since getting its start in 2010, Detroit City FC has been an unlikely ambassador for soccer in the Motor City. But, despite challenges, the minor league soccer club has managed to amass a wealth of fans as well as international media attention. Related Last year, they moved to a permanent home inside Hamtramck’s Keyworth Stadium,…
Boogie Fever to reopen in Ferndale this weekend
Ferndale club Boogie Fever closed back in 2014 to make way for a bar and restaurant called Twisted Tavern, but locals never got over the loss of the longstanding dance hall. “After Boogie Fever closed its doors and we opened Twisted Tavern, people still talked about Boogie Fever,” owner Mark McConnell, said in a press…
David Byrne’s ‘American Utopia’ tour is coming to Detroit
This must be the place — rather, the Fox Theatre will be the place on Aug. 10 because rock ‘n’ roll’s most beloved weirdo is hitting the open globe. David Byrne has announced an extensive 2018 world tour. Kicking off in New Jersey on March 3, the tour will venture to South America and Europe,…
George Clinton says he wants to work with Cardi B
Yesterday, Parliament-Funkadelic mastermind George Clinton did a Reddit Ask Me Anything, where the 76-year-old fielded questions about his musical catalog, his cameo in the 1994 stoner comedy PCU (“Everybody on the set was fucked up. Toronto had the best weed around. Fuck the beer.”), and also “Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadooloop.” When asked what music he is listening to right…
Jack White will play Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena in April
Back in 2001, Jack White mused, “Well, you’re in your little room and you’re working on something good/ But if it’s really good, you’re gonna need a bigger room” on White Blood Cells’ eerily prescient “Little Room.” It seems that now White needs a bigger room — a much bigger room, in fact. Today, White announced…
After 70 years in business, beloved Berkley toy shop will shutter
At ease, tin soldiers — it’s a somber day on the island of misfit toys. After 70 years of business (and over 250,000 doll repairs), The Doll Hospital & Toy Soldier Shop of Berkley announced via their Facebook page on Monday evening they plan to close their doors as they can no longer compete with online…
Get ready — Matt and Kim are headed to Royal Oak this spring
Everyone’s favorite nauseatingly adorable couple and caffeinated dance duo reemerged this week with new music, a new video, and a tour announcement. Matt and Kim debuted “Forever,” a single from their upcoming album (due out this spring), as well as a 33-date tour. The tour, which kicks off in Ithica, New York on March 7…
Huge new food co-op, ‘food commons’ are planned for Detroit’s North End
A 30,000-square-foot food commons that includes a co-op grocery store is in the works on the southeast corner of Euclid and Woodward in the North End. Model D reports that plans include a full-service, 10,500 square-foot grocery store called the Detroit People’s Food Co-op; a 50-seat café to be leased to an experienced restaurateur; a 6,000-square-foot community meeting…
New comedy-drama at the Detroit Repertory Theatre goes South for laughs
They say there are no second acts in American lives. That proposition gets tested by two very different kinds of characters undergoing mid-life crises in a new comedy-drama at the Detroit Repertory Theatre this winter. It’s called Dauphin Island, and it’s written by actor, award-winning playwright, and Inkster native Jeffry Chastang. The play was well-received…
On MLK Day, Ben Carson condemns Trump’s ‘inflammatory’ rhetoric
Following President Donald Trump’s now-infamous “shithole” comments, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson admitted to an audience gathered for Martin Luther King Jr. Day at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church that Trump’s rhetoric can be a bit too much, even for him. “I’m a member of this administration, and I don’t agree with the president about everything…
Made-from-scratch breakfast spot with a social mission planned for McNichols
A made-from-scratch breakfast spot called Simply Breakfast is in the works on McNichols Road near Livernois. The 100-seat, midscale restaurant will employ 50 people, 15 of whom will be formerly incarcerated residents, Crain’s reports. Work is already underway, and it could open as soon as May. The restaurant will take up 3,000 square feet of a 22,000-square-foot building at 7526…
Watch Dolores O’Riordan and the Cranberries shred Pine Knob in 1996
Dolores O’Riordan, lead singer of the Cranberries, died in London today at the age of 46. This news was confirmed by O’Riordan’s publicist but her cause of death is not yet known. The Cranberries were set to tour North America in the fall of 2017, including a stop at The Fillmore in Detroit, originally scheduled…
Bloomfield Hills woman accepts $500k ‘Shark Tank’ investment for pet speaker
On last night’s episode of ABC’s Shark Tank, a metro Detroit entrepreneur pitched her idea to a panel of rich investors and came away with almost half a million dollars. Michelle Winowich of Bloomfield Hills is the founder of G.O.A.T. Pet Products. She pitched her pet speaker to the shark panel and tech giant Robert Herjavec…
Seven fast facts about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I have a dream’ speech in Detroit
1.) On June 23, 1963, the “Walk to Freedom” took place in Detroit, in which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other dignitaries led 125,000 people down Woodward Avenue to a rally at Cobo Hall. 2.) One co-organizer, the Rev. Albert Cleage, was increasingly involved in black nationalism and originally wanted the march to be all-black.…
State Rep. asks Dearborn residents to rally against requests to increase air pollution
Dearborn Industrial Generation (DIG) is requesting permits from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to increase the amount of toxic pollutants it pumps into the air. The two permits being requested would increase pollutants into the air by over 900 tons of carbon monoxide and over 40 tons of sulfur dioxide, and some local…
Invoking MLK, Romney blasts Trump over ‘shithole’ comment
Because we live in The Twilight Zone now, the media cycle today — which, of course, is Martin Luther King Jr. Day — is currently being dominated by President Donald Trump having allegedly asked why our country allows people from “shithole” countries to come here. The comments have launched a debate as to whether the President of…
Over 100 bands included in Hamtramck Music Fest 2018 lineup announcement
Now in its fifth year, Hamtramck Music Fest returns in 2018 to fill Hamtramck with four nights of local music starting Thursday, March 1. For one weekend bands from all over Michigan will take over the town and perform in Hamtramck’s dive bars, music venues, and PLAV halls. Related The 2018 artist lineup was announced…
Judge drops major charge against two metro Detroit doctors accused of female genital mutilation
In a court order filed on Sunday, Jan. 14, Judge Bernard A. Friedman dropped a major charge in the case against two metro Detroit doctors accused of performing female genital mutilation on at least four minors as young as 7 years old. Dr. Jumana Nagarwala and Dr. Fakhruddin Attar were arrested in April after an…
Windsor’s Motor Burger, Bread Meats Bread join Detroit Shipping Co. food hall
Gourmet burger purveyor Motor Burger and sandwich shop Bread Meats Bread will round out the restaurant lineup at the highly anticipated Detroit Shipping Company shipping container development. The entertainment venue, food hall, and beer garden is taking shape on Peterboro Street in Cass Corridor, and is expected to open sometime this spring. When it’s completed, 21…
A couple got hitched on the QLine this weekend and it was actually really cute
Not everyone can see the poetry in a newly constructed public transportation—but for one couple, it was Detroit’s own QLine that ushered in their happy ending. The couple, Dawn and Troy, married on Saturday, Jan. 13 and thanks to a Facebook Live stream, their unique ceremony was shared with thousands. “To celebrate the old that…
Detroit firefighters prepare for ‘long haul’ at site of quarter-acre blaze
Detroit firefighters are expecting to battle a massive scrap yard fire near Mt. Elliot and I-94 well into the night Friday. The fire at Strong Steel started early in the afternoon and showed no signs of letting up by rush hour, as it sent thick black smoke billowing high into the sky. Commuters driving home…
CDC declares romaine lettuce E. Coli outbreak is (probably) over
The Center for Community Disease Control and Prevention issued a statement on Wednesday declaring that an outbreak of E. Coli linked to romaine lettuce appears to be over. Romaine lettuce tainted with E. Coli is believed to have sickened 66 people in North America, including Michigan. It also killed one person in the U.S. and one in Canada. The…
Fiat-Chrysler throws Trump a bone
This week’s Metro Times cover story looks at the symbiotic relationship between President Donald Trump and the Big Three automakers. On numerous occasions over the past year, Trump has taken credit for news in the auto industry — some of which occurred before he even took office. But the Big Three has appeared to be…
A broomball league is coming to The Rink at Campus Martius
Move over ice hockey, there’s a new game in town: broomball. OK, broomball is actually old, like over 100 years old. And while it is similar to hockey in that it is played on an ice rink, it employs brooms rather than sticks, and a grapefruit-sized ball instead of a puck. Rather than cumbersome ice…
Detroit ranked the best city in U.S. to celebrate MLK Day
For the second consecutive year, Detroit was ranked by Treetopia as the number one city in America to celebrate and remember civil rights pioneer Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Playing host to a 50-year-old annual Peace Walk and the largest African American museum in the world are just two of the reasons the Motor City…
Jack White’s ‘bizarre’ new album ‘Boarding House Reach’ gets March release date
He’s baaaaaaaack. As Metro Times reported, White dropped his latest single yesterday, “Connected By Love” from his upcoming record Boarding House Reach — and now it has a release date. Previously described as “bizarre” by White himself, Boarding House Reach will literally reach the masses Friday, March 23 via Third Man Records and Columbia. The…
Apartment buildings near Little Caesars Arena one step closer to protection
Historic preservationists are one step closer to sparing from demolition some of the last buildings still standing in Detroit’s lower Cass Corridor, near the Little Caesars Arena. The Detroit Historic District Advisory Board last night voted to move forward with a plan to designate a block at Cass Avenue and Henry Street as historic —…
It’s Motown’s birthday, here are some songs you should be listening to
Today is a day steeped in musical significance. On Jan. 12, 1959, Motown was born. On that auspicious day 59 years ago, songwriter Berry Gordy took an $800 loan from his family’s savings and added it to some modest royalties he had earned from writing for Jackie Wilson and decided to start a record company.…
Video: Michigan has its own shithole problem
Awww shit! That’s what the Michigan infrastructure campaign Fix MI State is saying in their newest video: The Journey of Number Two. The two-and-half minute animation follows the journey of everybody’s favorite smiling poop emoji as it travels from toilet to treatment facility. Except the emoji isn’t smiling, and the treatment facility is not always…
Jolly Pumpkin beer named in the top 25 of 2017
Draft magazine recognized Dexter-based Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales for brewing one of the top 25 beers of 2017. The company produced the tart Saison Gigantic Phucket: It’s not that far from Laos in collaboration with Portland’s Gigantic Brewing Co., MLive reports. On its website, Jolly Pumpkin notes that the beer spends eight months in oak barrels…
Julie on Jeopardy! confused Jack White with Eminem
Detroit was represented on last night’s Jeopardy! Under the category of “Vinyl Resting Place” for $1,200, host Alex Trebek offered the following clue: “A recent vinyl resurgence has been aided by this musician, who built a pressing plant in his Detroit hometown.” He also showed a photo of Get Behind Me Satan-era Jack White. The…
Ridiculous and unnerving public corruption scandal gets the LeDuff treatment
Details of the public corruption probe into a big trash guy, a big towing guy, and a gang of public officials the big men appear to have used as pawns to help grow their respective empires have been hard to swallow. It’s embarrassing when a deputy Detroit police chief tasked with enforcing laws pleads guilty…
Homeland Security warns Detroiters to look for signs of human trafficking during auto show
Human sex trafficking is an issue that continues to surface in Detroit media over and over and over again. And while the issue is omnipresent in the area, January is a month of particular importance. Why? The North American International Auto Show. Due to an influx of visitors, the NAIAS also brings a spike in…
Pete Hoekstra’s first day as U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands was a total shitshow
Like a lot of right-wing nut jobs, Michigan politician Pete Hoekstra has a strange relationship with the truth. A less tactful publication might even accuse Hoekstra of “making shit up” — but let’s just say the Michigan GOP politician hasn’t been demanding when it comes to requiring proof to support some of the tall tales…
Science says it was unusually cold in Michigan the past two weeks
Just when we started thinking that maybe these Michigan winters were starting to finally get to us and maybe we should figure out ways we could retire to Florida, science has proven that the problem isn’t us. This winter really has been particularly brutal. It turns out that awful deep freeze that hit Michigan the last…
Grand Rapids named best place to die in the country
A few years ago the Michigan city of Grand Rapids was awarded the title of Beer City, USA — a momentous honor that celebrates the city’s bevy of craft breweries and a gentry that love drinking them. Now, the city is being recognized for something a little less … lively. In a data analysis of…
Detroit band Moonwalks will play Outer Limits Lounge before embarking on European tour
Few bands are as aptly named as psychedelic ’60s deep space rockers Moonwalks, who are, arguably, the best-dressed band in Detroit. Jake Dean (guitar/vocals), Kate Gutwald (bass), and Kerrigan Pearce (drums) have dubbed their upcoming release In Light (The Scales In The Frame) their “lost” album. Due out on Jan. 26 on Stolen Body Records, In…
Long Hairz Collective puts the ‘fun’ in a fundraiser for Puerto Rico
Detroit-area Puerto Ricans will join forces tonight with the Long Hairz Collective for “Detroit-Puerto Rico Solidaridad” — an evening of “cultural celebration, artistic expression, and resistance building and fundraising” to support a drive for water filtration for the people of Puerto Rico still suffering from Hurricane Maria. The island’s lack of power, water, food, and medical attention…
Dearborn’s Brome burger restaurant is opening a downtown Detroit location
Brome Modern Eatery will start flipping halal burgers in downtown Detroit in February. Eater reports that the restaurant used to be known as Brome Burgers & Shakes until it changed its name last year to reflect that it now offers a bar with fresh smoothies, juices, and other alcoholic drinks. (Could this be a trend…
Metro Times’ Vodka Vodka is moving to the Fillmore Detroit this year
For its ninth year, Metro Times presents Vodka Vodka — a party so good we had to name it twice. This year, the tasting event moves to the Fillmore, but that’s not the only thing that has changed. If you think spice is nice, head to the new Tito’s Bloody Mary bar complete with Brewt’s…
Downtown Detroit is getting a new gym you’ll probably never go to
One of the country’s largest gym chains could soon open in downtown Detroit, according to a report by Crain’s. While Detroit is already home to two Planet Fitness locations, this would be the first to open in the city’s rapidly redeveloping downtown area. The space will be operated by a company called PF Michigan Group LLC,…
Axle Brewing’s ‘Very Stable Genius’ beer inspired by Trump twitterstorm
Every creator has his or her own muse. For Ferndale’s Axle Brewing Company, that muse is the one and only President Donald J. Trump, our “very stable genius” president. The brewery’s president says Trump’s bizarre weekend Twitter rant has inspired its latest limited edition beer, named “Very Stable Genius,” due next month. “Sometimes a great…
Detroit man wins best beard honor in national competition
The jury is still out on whether or not female body hair is acceptable, but there is no questioning the meteoric rise in popularity that men’s facial hair has experienced in recent years. In Detroit, we actually have an annual Circus of Whiskers where men (and women) compete to have their beards and mustaches honored…
Jack White goes electronic on new single
Jack White has officially released a new single from his upcoming third solo album, Boarding House Reach. Previously, White described the record as “a bizarre one” and teased a psychedelic video collage. It turns out White’s assessment of his own work is indeed correct: these new tracks are objectively pretty strange, even by White’s own eclectic…
You can buy Diana Ross’ childhood home
If you have “Endless Love” for Motown, a 2,100 square foot slice of Detroit music history can be yours — for a paltry $130,000. The charming childhood home of Motown legend Diana Ross hit the market on Monday. Located on the 600 block of Belmont in Detroit’s North End (just three miles from the legendary Motown…
Greet Death revises the ’90s with ear-bleeding pop
There are some great grunge-era guitar influences on Greet Death’s debut album, Dixieland, some stoner metal tendencies, and enough shoegaze warble to please any pedalboard geek. But the thing that sticks in your head for days and days are the melodies. “We all listen to Drake and Taylor Swift as much as Hum and Cloakroom,…
How Tennis’ Alaina Moore navigates marriage, music, and womanhood
The origin of indie glam duo Tennis is not your typical tale of boy meets girl. Long before they were husband and wife, and well before they were a band, Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley knew that the rules did not apply to them or rather, they had a strong and mutual disinterest in playing…
U-M prof’s The Dawn of Detroit offers a fresh perspective on the city’s history
It’s the dawning of a New Year, and in many ways a new era. In 2018 we’ll see state elections and a new gubernatorial regime. We’ll possibly vote to legalize recreational marijuana. Canada is scheduled to legalize nationwide this year. Nationally there will be a grinding battle for control of Congress. In Detroit we’ll start…
Savage Love: Worms turn
I’m a 67-year-old gay man. After a breakup 15 years ago, I believed the possibility of emotional and sexual intimacy with a partner was over for me. Then a couple of months ago, my desire for sexual contact increased dramatically. For the first time, I began using apps, and I felt like the proverbial kid…
Review: Prince’s Lebanese bakery makes some of metro Detroit’s best pizzas and pies
(See more photos of Prince’s pizzas and pies here) Is there a better, more lively food neighborhood in metro Detroit than that along Warren Avenue in Dearborn? Arguably, no. The proof is in the James Beard award-winning Al Ameer; the flavors of Aleppo, Syria at Al Chabab; the kebabs at the Dearborn Meat Market and…
Horoscopes (Jan. 10-16)
ARIES: March 21 – April 20 If you’ve done your homework, what’s going on right now reflects your ability to stay in touch with the heart and soul of your experience. In that case, everything that you’ve been dreaming about has come true, or is on the verge of manifesting. Stay tuned to your instincts,…
The Post proves the power of the press
Steven Spielberg has made movies about dinosaurs and sharks and aliens and adventurin’ archeologists and war horses and crime-predicting psychics and big friendly giants. It’s probably not difficult to make such things exciting. But this? The Post is a movie in which people sit around arguing about freedom of the press and journalistic ethics and…
The health care crisis you don’t know about
Ruth Spalding loves her job — not that it isn’t stressful. She is a social worker and therapist who sees poor people with a whole lot of problems. “I treat a lot of depression and anxiety, PTSD,” she says. “I have folks on my caseload with severe and persistent mental illness, folks who experience paranoid…
