Happy birthday, John Lee Hooker
Boom boom boom boom.
Yves Saint-Laurent doc screens in Midtown boutique this Friday
A new Midtown boutique called Détroit is the New Black is hosting a screening of the Yves Saint-Laurent doc L’amour Fou.
Meeting on proposed rezoning in Midtown Detroit will be held tomorrow
Yes, yes, Midtown Detroit has boomed in recent years, becoming the sort-of walkable urban downtown environment the city hasn’t seen in years. It’s one of the fastest growing — and, according to Midtown Detroit Inc. (MDI) president Sue Mosey, the second most diverse area — in Detroit. But the individuals behind MDI say new development…
Details emerge for Juan Atkins’ 35th anniversary tour and release
OK, posting a press release is lame! We did ask for more info, such as actual tour dates, but were not given any, yet. Juan Atkins announce 35th anniversary world tour 2015 marks 35 years of Juan Atkins pioneering the development of a whole new of style of music, which has evolved from abandoned warehouses…
Check out this new track from Jamaican Queens
Jamaican Queens release new track.
Sufjan Stevens to play hometown gig
Sufjan Stevens has announced a new album, Carrie & Lowell, which drops March 31, and he has a slew of tour dates to support it.
Tickets to Jesus + Mary Chain’s ‘Psychocandy’ Detroit show in May go on sale this week
Their second date in North America will be in Detroit, at St. Andrew’s Hall, on Sunday May 3. Tickets go on sale this week. The Jesus and Mary Chain will be touring to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their celebrated Psychocandy album. The sweet, harmony-heavy debut full-length by the Scottish duo of Jim and William…
Happy birthday to legendary Detroit-born R&B record guy Nat Tarnopol
He passed away in 1987, but legendary Detroit producer Nat Tarnopol would be 84 years-old if he were alive today. This guy had such a fascinating life and career it really should be made into a big, flashy Hollywood biopic. As a kid, he was obsessed with baseball and R&B music, but his parents wanted…
Snag a free burrito from a Detroit Chipotle
If you’re anything like this kid, you’re always on the lookout for free Chipotle and today the fast-casual Mexican grill is offering up a deal: Buy any item from the new Sofritas menu, then bring back your receipt between Jan. 27 and Feb. 28 and you’ll receive a free burrito, burrito bowl, salad, or order…
Wayne State is looking for Detroit revitalization fellows
Wayne State is looking for fellows for its Detroit Revitalization Fellow program.
Detroit offers discount to city employees and retirees on homes purchased through auctions
A plan announced today by Detroit officials would provide a 50 percent discount to city employees and retirees on homes purchased through a city auction program. The plan, put forth by Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and the Detroit Lank Bank Authority, was submitted to the Detroit City Council today for approval, city officials say. “Our…
Check out this 1970s rendering of a dual Detroit Lions and Tigers complex in Pontiac
While residents and businesses were leaving Detroit in droves during the 1960s, the Detroit Lions also made arrangements for a new home — in Pontiac. The team eventually settled on the now-a-complete-mess Pontiac Silverdome, but, at one point, there was talk of also moving the Tigers to the Oakland County seat. Seen above, an initial…
What to expect from a Brandon Jennings-less Pistons
The Achilles tendon injury that Brandon Jennings suffered in Saturday night’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks is not going to completely crumble the Pistons’ hopes of making the playoffs this season.
Caption this hilarious photo from TigerFest
This weekend, we sent a photographer to Comerica Park to check out TigerFest, and he emerged with this hilarious photo. What’s going on, little man? Why so wary, big bro? Naturally this photo begs for just the right caption and we’re asking you, dear readers, to toss your suggestions in the comment section below. Have…
In praise of fangirls and fanboys
Scrolling through the photos of singer Sam Smith’s recent show in Detroit, I came across the above image. It is amazing. First up, it’s a great painting. Sure, it looks as much like a young Stewart Lee as it does the Sam Smith fellow, but perhaps I say that because I myself am a fanboy…
Schuette continues to fail to come up with argument defending gay marriage ban in guest ‘Free Press’ column
The Detroit Free Press gave Michigan attorney general Bill Schuette a guest column on Saturday to defend his decision to uphold Michigan’s same-sex marriage ban, and as has been typical of the ongoing saga Schuette once again fails to come up with anything resembling a solid defense.
Jack White’s Madison Square Garden gig to be livestreamed
If you missed Jack White’s recent tour for last year’s Lazaretto, you’re somewhat in luck: Pandora will livestream his sold out Jan. 30 gig at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Bjork releases ‘Vulnicura’ ahead of schedule
Bjork has officially released her new album, Vulnicura, two months ahead of schedule.
Hodor from ‘Game of Thrones’ is also a DJ — and he’s coming to Detroit
Prepare for Kristian Nairn aka HODOR’s upcoming Detroit DJ set.
Winter Blast adds 300-foot zip line to outdoor activities
A 300-foot zip line joins the list of outdoor activities at Meridian Winter Blast this year.
Treat Dreams partners with Chez Chloe to bring you lava cake and ice cream
Treat Dreams partners with Chez Chloe
Recalling the demise of the downtown Detroit Hudson’s building
This afternoon, the Detroit Free Press republished a 1982 story from its archives on the then-imminent closure of downtown’s J.L. Hudson’s building. It’s impossible to gloss over some of the eye-popping figures provided in the piece: Over 500,000 items were sold at any given moment across 25 floors and four basement levels; the size of…
Here’s the video for ‘Detroit Vs. Everybody’ by Eminem, et al.
Today, Eminem unveiled the video for “Detroit Vs. Everybody,” a six-minute track that’s stuffed with local talent.
People Mover to reopen today with free rides following Thursday night derailment
Rides on the Detroit People Mover will be free today, after one rear car derailed Thursday night, forcing the entire downtown loop to close pending an investigation. The system is expected to reopen in the next few hours, according to the city. Around 10:10 p.m., a component on the rear car of a People Mover…
Brew Detroit sets grand opening date
The official grand opening date for the long-awaited Brew Detroit has been set
The boy who cried ‘Doomsday’
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists changed their “Doomsday Clock” to three minutes to midnight on Thursday. Who cares?
Detroit cop under FBI investigation dies in apparent suicide in Sterling Heights
A Detroit cop was was being investigated by the FBI for narcotics corruption— died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Thursday morning.
Slate highlights Michigan native’s photo series on her hunting heritgage
Slate takes a look at a beautiful set of photos today from Michigan native Clare Benson. Her series called “The Shephard’s Daughter” is, as writer Jordan Teicher puts it, “her way of discovering a tradition that, in many ways, is her heritage, but, in other ways, still remains a mystery.” Teicher says Benson grew up in Drummond…
Corktown’s beloved Casey’s Pub returns with updates
After shuttering at the beginning of the year, Casey’s Pub returns with an updated menu.
Get your creative juices flowing at Arts and Scraps at Night tomorrow
BYO beer, snacks, and friends to Arts and Scraps at Night
Katoi food truck going un-mobile
Thai-inspired food truck Katoi is officially going brick and mortar.
Politico ranks Michigan the 34th strongest state in the union
In light of President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address this week, Politico magazine released its second annual rankings of all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. How much of a powerhouse is Michigan? According to Politico’s data crunching, the state nestled into the 34th slot. The online outlet’s inaugural list in 2014 drew…
Chris Christie will hire Kevyn Orr as a part-time consultant to assist an emergency manager in restructuring Atlantic City
Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey and guy who hates David Sirota’s good reporting, has decided to take a cue from his buddy, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, and appoint an emergency manager to oversee Atlantic City’s troubled finances, according to the Wall Street Journal. Kevyn Orr, the state-appointed emergency manager of Detroit who stepped down…
Father John Misty’s ‘I Love You, Honeybear’ a sappy hit
Father John Misty has just released the appropriately-titled I Love You, Honeybear, his second full-length release on Sub Pop.
The latest Bush to run for president will speak in Detroit next month
Fantastic news for every metro Detroit resident who loves a family dynasty: Fresh off eight long years of George W. Bush, his little bro Jeb apparently wants to take a crack at the White House, saying recently he’s formed a “leadership political action committee” for a 2016 presidential bid. In layman’s terms, that mean’s he’s 99.99%…
Check out this furniture from local designer and maker Dave Hudson
Yes, these days it seems like everyone and their brother is making something out of reclaimed wood. We would probably need all our fingers and toes to count how many of these trendy companies have popped up in the last few years. But that really doesn’t stop us from appreciating some amazing craftsmanship when we…
Detroit public transit advocates to discuss the State of the Region’s Transit on Thursday
Following on the tail-end of a back-to-back offering of State of the State and State of the Union speeches this week, the Detroit-based nonprofit Transportation Riders United (TRU) will hold an event of its own this week. On Thursday, TRU will host an event inside Wayne State University’s Law School Auditorium that focuses on where…
Kuzzo’s Chicken & Waffles to open next week in Detroit
Everyone loves chicken and waffles, and next week we’ll have a new local place to get our fix. Kuzzo’s Chicken & Waffles announced this week on Instagram that the Livernois Ave. location will officially open on Tuesday, Jan. 27. The restaurant is launching temporary hours which are Tuesday – Sunday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.…
Hot Shotz: Go Comedy bartender pours us a Detroit Blossom
Traci Jo Rizzo has been at Go Comedy for four years now, the longest of any of their front of house staff. Her experience shows, as well as her love for her job. “This is the best job I’ve ever had,” she gushes. “I’m constantly surrounded by people who are trying to make me laugh…
Savage Love: The Hunger
Q: I’m a straight 18-year-old girl in my first sexual relationship. Things are a little awkward, and I could chalk it up to inexperience, but here’s what I feel conflicted about: I have a vore fetish. It was a fascination for me as a young child and became a sexual thing around the time I…
Globetrotting computer action flick ‘Blackhat’ is just a bid for overseas profits
Blackhat | C- As imagined by first-time screenwriter Morgan Davis Foehl, Nicholas Hathaway, the hero of the hackneyed hacker thriller Blackhat, is the apotheosis of gamer wish fulfillment: a genius computer coder who graduated from M.I.T., is equally lethal with a pistol or a fist, can navigate radioactive hot zones, improvise weapons from everyday household…
All Dolled Up: Style cues from Sadie Q
Chances are you’ve spotted this blonde beauty cavorting around town. In fact, we seem to bump into her at about every show we see at the Loving Touch. And Sadie doesn’t just hit the town because she’s looking to be Detroit’s next celebutante — she’s not. Instead, she’s probably putting on that show you spotted…
Crooner Trey Simon is on the verge
It’s less than 60 minutes before show time at Jazz Café at Music Hall in Detroit and Trey Simon is all grins and laughs. He’s the night’s lone balladeer from a collection of poets, emcees, and instrumentalists booked to perform. “I strive for the three S’s: soft, smooth, and soulful,” Simon says, detailing his musical…
Game Lounge is Southwest Detroit’s nerd paradise
On a recent drive through Southwest Detroit, the colorful, Kobie Solomon-designed mural wrapping this building with our favorite video game characters called out to the inner geek in us, drawing us in like a tractor beam. Inside, we found a quirky little nerd’s paradise featuring both old and new consoles. Game Lounge has quite a…
Raise the Bar: The Pour House comes to Madison Heights
A relative newcomer to the corner of 12 Mile and Campbell roads in Madison Heights, the Pour House has a lot of potential. The first thing you’ll notice walking in is the bar. It’s the focal point of the place, its centerpiece. Wooden shelves reach all the way to the ceiling, showcasing an assortment of…
Horoscopes (Jan. 21-27)
ARIES (March 21-April 20): It’s hard to say what’s going on. The surface of your life is too chaotic to know for sure how it’ll look at the end of the day. As everything circles around you, it’s all about you. The need to be 100 percent clear as to who’s running the show is…
Playlist: The worst Stooges covers, ever
How is it that I’ve been music editor here for a handful of weeks and I’ve yet to talk at length about the Stooges or the MC5, if not any of the 4,000 groups who sound just like them? All right, let’s get it out of the way then, with a look at the worst…
Feedback: GED comments, shots at Bill Schuette, and more
WTF, GED? We got a few thoughtful responses to last week’s cover story about the challenges facing those taking the new GED. Tim Brennan wrote: In the article, it’s stated “the test measures knowledge of … Jefferson’s analysis of a West Virginia court case …” I would hope not. Jefferson died in 1826. West Virginia…
40 reasons to rejoice you’re in Michigan for the winter
In the post-holidays, pre-spring stretch of the year, it’s easy to fall into a winter routine — shoveling the snow off your driveway, scraping the ice off your car, and counting the days until that beautiful first day of spring. The good news is the days are slowly but surely getting longer. But while you…
DDays: Nolan Finley mingles, Motor City Blog turns 10, and more
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes The Detroit Artists Market hosted the opening of the Andrew Thompson-curated show It’s Like Toys in Here. We saw participating artists Mary Fortuna and Andy Malone, fellow artists Andy Krieger and Gretchen Kramp, and a few haunting pieces by the late Matthew Blake. Maybe it was the way the show cast a wide net,…
Winter Virgin: How I ended my 35-year summer vacation
I moved to the area less than four months ago, just in time for my first Midwestern winter in 35 years. I spent the last 16 years in the Pacific Northwest. The winters there aren’t too cold, but they are dark and gloomy and almost-literally pissy for seven full months, these constant drizzles of stupid…
Terry Lee Dill looks back at 30 years of large-scale minimalism
Terry Lee Dill’s sculptures are a duality. They at once employ a raw, gritty, utilitarian construction as well as a zen-like minimalism, juxtaposing spindly I-beams with massive spheres. And Dill is a duality too. As he guides us through a retrospective of 30 years of his work, he exhibits both braggadocio and modesty. “There’s two…
Democracy once again deferred in the curious case of the Detroit Public Schools emergency manager
When Gov. Rick Snyder took a seat at the Burton International Academy in Detroit last week, a sense of déjà vu hung heavy in the air. With emergency manager Jack Martin’s 18-month term about to expire in two days, the stage was set, at least theoretically, for the elected school board to regain some measure…
Bummers in full bloom: Ann Arbor’s Failed Flowers
You’d not be faulted for calling Ann Arbor’s Failed Flowers a local supergroup, seeing as Fred Thomas, Miles Haney, Autumn Welti, and Erin Davis have been in such truly essential area bands as Saturday Looks Good To Me, Rebel Kind, Swimsuit, Endless, City Center, and Bad Indians. One of the band’s singer-guitarists, the enigmatic Fred…
Ask a Juggalo: What do “nugget” and “nugbone” mean?
Q: What do “nugget” and a “nugbone” mean? A: You’re definitely talking about somebody’s head. That’s the beauty of ICP. They’re talking about your head or your skull by using the words “nugget” and “nugbone” — and usually talking about chopping it off or pounding the damn thing in. That’s where they’re coming from. And…
Lifelong ski nut Kyle Griffin of Nicholas Ski and Snowboard gives us the skinny on winter sports
Kyle Griffin, 22, is a White Lake resident who works at Nichols Ski and Snowboard in Waterford. He started skiing at 18 months old. (He jokes, “Can you tell that my parents came from the ski industry?”) We asked him to help us understand how the craze to hit the powder thrills people in one…
Drink Up
Badass Beer | 4.2% ABV A traditional American beer that is light on the palette, crisp and supremely easy to drink, Badass Beer is a good pale lager. Slight citrus notes don’t overwhelm, and there isn’t one bit of aftertaste. And if you know anything about Michigan’s favorite son and Badass Beer founder – Kid…
Chestnut growers are finding a niche in Michigan
Ask Roger Blackwell about chestnuts — and then stand back. Blackwell, president of Chestnut Growers Inc., a consortium of 32 Michigan chestnut growers, has a lifetime of experience with them. We put in a call right after Christmas, which we correctly guessed was his busy season, to see how Michigan’s chestnut orchards are doing. As…
Detroit’s Antietam is a victory at last
Walk in to Antietam, feel the warmth. Mid-January: a curtain around the entryway billows to announce new guests, but the cold air is muffled by the heavy velvet. A room replete with wood paneling, a wall of overpopulated coat hooks, and straight ahead, something out of a 19th century jewelry shop — a large glass…
Politics and Prejudices: Here comes trouble
Gov. Rick Snyder did the right thing last week: He vetoed an absolutely horrible bill that would have prevented the Department of Natural Resources from taking steps to protect biodiversity in managing our lands. The author of this bill was an amazing oaf from Escanaba, state Sen. Tom Casperson, who apparently never saw a tree…
4 cocktails that will keep you warm this winter
We’ve got at least another two and a half months before we see any significant or long-lasting break in the weather. So, what’s the best way to get yourself through the gray garbage that is a Michigan winter? Booze, obviously. We hit up Mike Pierce from the Emory and Woodward Avenue Brewers for some suggestions…
Stir It Up: Double standards abound in how cops treat blacks and whites
A couple of years ago, I spoke with my nephew about, for lack of a better term, the state of black life. My nephew was getting all militant and said that racism is as bad now as it was 60 or more years ago. I pulled out a line I’d recently picked up from the…
