Cover Story
How one man’s fight for his Detroit neighborhood went viral
It’s late afternoon on a chilly November night and Jonathan Pommerville is prowling the streets of Brightmoor as a one-man neighborhood patrol, something he’s spent about 100 hours doing over the last year. He’s lived in Brightmoor most of his life, and seems every bit the freewheeling working-class guy, down to his neck tattoos, his…
Just announced: Movement festival 2016’s lineup ‘phase one’ — headlined by Kraftwerk!
Now you know why you want to attend — and there are actually payment plans for a ticket to the festival!
Strong Detroit presence slated for Durham, NC’s Moogfest, May 19-22
The festival itself looks fabulous, with appearances scheduled by Detroiters ADULT., Kyle Hall, and Onyx Ashanti, plus Silver Apples, a tribute to Arthur Russell, GZA, Gary Numan, Julianna Barwick, the Arkestra, M. Geddes Gendras, Jaron Lanier, and more.
Great timing: Today is Gov. Snyder’s chief of staff’s last day
Talk about great timing: Snyder’s chief of staff announced his retirement before the Flint story even broke.
Just announced: Sting and Peter Gabriel play the Palace June 30
Tickets go on sale Feb. 1 at 10 a.m. for Sting and Peter Gabriel at the Palace of Auburn Hills on June 30. Their show here is part of a 19 city tour called ‘Rock Paper Scissors.’ You can buy tickets over at livenation.com as soon as they are available. Having first toured together in the eighties…
What’s for Lunch: Arthur Avenue to launch lunch service next month
Attention Birmingham diners: Warm up to comforting Italian cuisine for lunch starting February.
Kyle Hall’s excellent triple LP ‘From Joy’ gets a rave from Pitchfork
Detroit’s dance music wunderkind Kyle Hall’s new triple LP release From Joy got a terrific review from the tastemakers at Pitchfork the other day. And an 8.2, which is super high by their rating standards. Lots of people only check out the ratings on their reviews, rather than actually reading them. And ask any record…
Max & Erma’s abruptly shutters most Michigan locations, lets go of employees without notice
Imagine walking into work on a Monday only to find that your job was canned.
Rest in peace, Glenn Frey
According to TMZ, the Detroit-born singer/songwriter/guitarist took ill a few months ago with intestinal issues, and today the Eagles co-founder died.
ICYMI: Curt Guyette on ‘Let It Rip’
Former MT news editor talks lead levels and Flint on ‘Let It Rip Weekend.’
50 Cent to appear at Vodka Vodka this weekend
Get rich or die trying.
Help chase doom and gloom away with a Marche du Nain Rouge fundraiser
Detroit’s most beloved new tradition, the Marche du Nain Rouge, has a Fat Tuesday fundraiser you’ll want to join as well.
Debating Bernie Sanders in Huntington Woods
Local activists say Bernie isn’t far enough left on foreign policy and war.
Cinetopia Film Festival launches ‘Detroit Voices’ film competition
Want your short film to screen at Cinetopia?
Listen: Robert Starks and the Geniuses’ ‘Space Traveling’ is cosmic, funky Detroit blues
The lyrics are shouted, the playing is messy, the guitar solo crazed and repetitive — which means that to a lot of modern and more refined ears, this thing is darn near perfect.
Let’s be honest, Detroit’s M-1 Rail is shaping up to be a streetcar that leaves much to be desired
Who is the M-1 Rail for?
Read the full statement from Clarence Reid aka Blowfly’s manager on the singer’s death
We reached out to Tom Bowker, the South Floridian who’s been Blowfly’s manager, ally, record label dude and drummer for 12 years. Bowker sent along the following statement which has only been printed partially elsewhere thus far. The soul singer, song composer and filthy-minded entertainer Clarence Reid was born in Vienna, Georgia on February 14, 1939,…
About those conflicting Detroit News headlines
After getting over the initial whiplash, we realize the News is being consistent in its support for emergency management.
Detroit Pistons’ mashup features Obama rapping Eminem lyrics
Who the heck is in charge of creating content for the Detroit Pistons?
Berserkerfest III, March 3-5 at the Masonic with Voivoid, Antiseen, and more: Special edition passes almost gone
Berserkerfest is a three day punk and metal fest which keeps getting better. It’ll be held this year for the first time at the Masonic Temple. If you like your music as loud as a jet engine, your faces pierced, your jean jackets emblazoned with the most illegible of all possible band logos, then you’ve…
Meet pastor Bobby Jackson, Flint’s ‘water guy’
Belt Magazine interviewed the pastor at his Mission of Hope shelter, where cases of bottled water crowded out the pews in the small sanctuary.
Detroit News: ‘I don’t know who made the chili’
The headline they went with? “Man bites, stabs another over stirring of chili.” Not bad! But they had in their hands the makings of a classic NY Post style hedder.
New York Times editorial board: Flint crisis ‘a catastrophe caused by failures at every level’
The editorial board places the onus squarely on Snyder to solve the problem — by any means necessary.
Just announced: Weezer and Panic at the Disco at DTE on July 8
Get your emo on at the former Pine Knob!
Detroit’s Autorama unveils new details
Azn and Farmtruck from Discovery TV’s Street Outlaws will perform a demo at this year’s Autorama.
Updated: President Obama declares Flint a federal emergency
A man made disaster if we’ve ever seen one.
Help Hamtramck’s museum with a night of pub trivia
Just a little reminder that this week features a fund-raising pub trivia night about Hamtramck bars.
(Late) concert review: Detroit Symphony Orchestra on New Year’s Eve! Plus why you should support them and stuff
The community-supported DSO takes the stage for a number of performances throughout the year. This weekend, for instance, brings Mozart’s “Prague Symphony,” a three-day show, with Saturday’s performance available via a live webcast on dso.org/live.
All hail the return of Ty Farris, with his intense new track “N.W.C.R.”
You’ll have to click through to find out what “N.W.C.R.” stands for. The song is great; have a listen.
Behold, Third Man Records’ limited edition Hateful Eight soundtrack box set
The box set will be available at Third Man Records Cass Corridor on Jan. 25.
Detroit teachers are using Twitter to document poor school conditions
The photos show crumbling walls and floors, mold, leaking ceilings, and other horrors.
Is metro Detroit ready for a sushi burrito? Yuzu Sushi Co. to launch concept in Royal Oak
Sushi in burrito-form. Makes sense.
History repeats itself in Midtown vs. Cass Corridor debate
What’s in a name?
Locals pay tribute to David Bowie through billboards
Have you seen any Bowie billboards?
Help the researcher who helped expose Flint’s lead levels
Now Marc Edwards can use some help.
UPDATE: Hamtramck public schools lockdown lifted
Lockdowns are becoming more common, and there’s no reason to fret yet.
Just announced: Widespread Panic play Fillmore Detroit on May 3
Tickets go on sale Friday, February 26 at 10 a.m. Pricing information is not yet available, but that should be enough time to start saving your couch pennies up for a seat at this riveting show.
Detroit News editorial board writes idiotic column about Detroit Public Schools sick outs
The Detroit News Editorial Board is totally missing the point on the teacher-led sick outs.
Weekly reader responses
Galapagos a gogo In a Jan. 7 blog post on the Metro Times website, we wrote about how Galapagos Art Space was selling one of the buildings it purchased since fleeing Brooklyn, New York, two years ago. The building’s asking price is $6.25 million — 12 times the price it was bought for. Galapagos Art…
Horoscopes (Jan. 13-19)
ARIES (March 21 – April 20): As the next round of experience sharpens your sense of how to handle this, it becomes important to remain vigilant. The fact that you can focus better than anyone in the zodiac is working in your favor. Nothing is 100 percent certain. If anything’s hanging you up, it’s an…
Politics and Prejudices: Primary sources
“There is something profoundly wrong when the top one-tenth of 1 percent owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent.” — U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders Remarkably, Donald Trump agrees with Bernie on this one, as do most of the other Republican presidential pretenders. Except they think it is wrong because the one-tenth of…
Midtown boutique celebrates Detroit’s history of smart design
When Liz Boone and Team Detroit adman Toby Barlow co-founded the design boutique Nora three years ago, there wasn’t a whole lot happening on the block in terms of retail shopping. City Bird had established itself as a destination for smart, unique gifts, and Hugh had just received a Hatch grant to bring bachelor-pad themed…
Ice sculptors bring their own auto show into Campus Martius Park
Each January, the latest cars roll through Detroit’s Cobo Center as part of the North American International Auto Show. But new this year, some of that energy will be brought outside into the winter festivities at Campus Martius Park. Master ice sculptor Chad Hartson of Toledo, Ohio-based Ice Creations and his team have re-created seven…
Frank Black India Pale Ale | Axle Brewing Co.
6.2% ABV Axle is a Royal Oak-based brewery with a simple profile of brews that includes an IPA, Red, Wit, and Porter. To say they’ve made these beers self-explanatory and user-friendly is an understatement. They’re also peddling two limited release beers that should be sampled soon. They won’t be around for long. Ruby is a…
The 10 worst metal albums of 2015
We regret to inform you that the regularly scheduled “the 10 best metal albums of the year” will be replaced with a special presentation for 2015: the 10 worst metal albums of the year.” Besides solid releases from Faith No More, High on Fire, and a few others, this has been a mediocre year for…
Sheefy McFly readies his first vinyl release, and the next ‘Air Up There’ showcase, and some other stuff
It might not be an exaggeration to say that 26-year-old Detroit native Sheefy McFly is rewriting the rules on what it means to not only be a rapper, but what it means to be an artist and musician in the city. You probably don’t adopt the incredible name “Sheefy McFly” without having an equally incredible…
Fish and chips joint Huron Room is Southwest’s nautical wonderland
View 27 photos of Huron Room here We tend to think of the area west of Michigan Central Station as Mexicantown or Southwest Detroit, where one can procure a beefy cheesy burrito, Latino-centric groceries, and freshly baked pan dulce at the many long-established restaurants, markets, and bakeries. With the addition of Huron Room at Bagley…
Stir It Up: Our lowest selves
It’s always easy to think bad or stupid things about other people. While that is not illegal or uncommon, it can lead to bad behavior and tragic consequences. So it is not surprising that Donald Trump is leading in polls of Republican presidential hopefuls by stoking the furnace of hatred. He came out of the…
