Cover Story
Michigan’s Jeff Gutt leads Stone Temple Pilots’ third act
Jeff Gutt has brushed shoulders with royalty, baptized his son in the River Jordan, and has, on more than one occasion, performed for millions of people on national television. And this was all well before he was tasked with filling a role within a hit-making musical institution that has largely been plagued with tragedy amid…
Calling all beef freaks: Detroit Burger Week is upon us
On the seventh day, god created burgers. But in 2018, Detroit’s top restaurateurs did one even better: They joined together for Detroit Burger Week, seven days of gourmet blend burgers and off-menu specialties to please your inner burger freak. From July 30 through Aug. 5, Detroit eateries of the likes of Brome, Rock City Eatery,…
Electronic music angel Laurel Halo will play a free show at El Club
Heaven must be missing an angel because Ann Arbor native and Berlin-based composer Laurel Halo released Raw Silk Uncut Wood earlier this month, and it just might be her most complex and cerebral achievement to date. Halo has cultivated her sound by mixing formal education, inspiration from Detroit dance parties, and international travel. A follow-up…
Detroit’s first vegan coney island, Chili Mustard Onions, opens next week
The long wait for Detroit’s first vegan coney island is just about over. Brush Park’s Chili Mustard Onions is hosting an invite-only soft opening this weekend before serving its plant-based coney dogs to the public on Wednesday. The small 30-seat shop at 3411 Brush St. offers meatless — and mostly organic — versions of many…
Mike Peters returns to lead Welsh rockers the Alarm at the Magic Bag
“For every day they’ll try and drag us down/ I cry with anger, I have done no crime,” sings Mike Peters on the Alarm’s 35-year-old chart-topper “68 Guns” — a battle cry track that feels pretty damn relevant today. Initially formed as punk outfit the Toilets, Peter’s quickly reworked the band’s sound, which landed gigs…
Michigan State Police are ramping up ‘Move Over’ enforcement
Michigan State Police want you to know that they’ve had enough of drivers not making room for emergency vehicles. This week, MSP will be cracking down on driver’s that don’t follow Michigan’s Move Over law, which states that motorists are responsible for making space for emergency vehicles. Police urge motorists to slow down and move…
‘American Pickers’ is coming to Michigan — do you have the right stuff?
This could be your chance for your 15 minutes of reality TV fame — or to clear out that garage. When it comes to antique collecting, there’s a fine line between, say, Hoarders and American Pickers. Do you own every single issue of Metro Times going back to 1980 — and have to burrow through them…
Legal expert thinks Kilpatrick’s odds for Trump pardon are low, but not impossible
Detroit’s infamous former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is back in the news, this time in search of a shortened prison sentence. And though it’s a long shot, at least one legal expert thinks Kilpatrick has a chance under President Donald Trump. Although the 48-year-old former Democratic mayor has filed a petition for commutation (in laymen’s terms,…
Let’s talk about sax, baby — Kamasi Washington heads to Chene Park Amphitheatre
Like a sonic condiment, the smooth and deliberate sound of the saxophone is often overlooked as a main course, at least outside of classical jazz. Artist and tenor sax player Kamasi Washington is here to change all of that. Though he has contributed to works by mainstream acts like Ryan Adams, Run the Jewels, Chaka…
Stroh’s is rolling out a new summer wheat beer
Stroh Brewing Company is rolling out a new summer brew, “Spirit Witbier,” that will be available through September. The wheat beer is brewed at Brew Detroit and contains 4.2 percent ABV. “The flavors of coriander, and the balanced addition of sweet and bitter orange peel make this pale, hazy wheat beer the perfect summer brew,”…
Doctors could be charged with a felony for assisting abortions in Michigan if Roe v. Wade is overturned
The announcement of President Donald Trump’s nomination of conservative judge Brett Kavanaugh’s to the Supreme Court has galvanized pro-life and pro-choice activists over one key issue: the potential overturning of Roe V. Wade, the 1973 landmark Supreme Court decision that gave women the constitutional right to end their pregnancies. In Michigan, the ramifications would be…
Ted Nugent endorses John James, calls him a ‘blood brother’
No amount of camouflage can disguise the infinite bullshit of “Motor City Madman” and raging right-wing lunatic Ted Nugent. Following in the footsteps of fellow outspoken hometown hypocrite Kid Rock and The Detroit News, Nugent publicly endorsed Republican Senate hopeful and “conservative warrior” John James during a performance at DTE Energy Music Theatre on Friday night. As…
Trump says ‘tariffs are the greatest,’ U.S. auto industry says ‘hell no’
President Donald Trump thinks tariffs are the greatest. In fact, he tweeted as much this morning. Tariffs are the greatest! Either a country which has treated the United States unfairly on Trade negotiates a fair deal, or it gets hit with Tariffs. It’s as simple as that – and everybody’s talking! Remember, we are the…
East African restaurant Baobab Fare will host a pop up at The Oakland in Ferndale
The owners of the highly-anticipated Baobab Fare East African restaurant will host a pop up on July 29 at The Oakland in Ferndale. The buffet-style dinner will offer six options, including several vegan dishes and a goat recipe. That includes rice pilau (spice rice with veggies), kuku (chicken stew), mbuzi (goat fry), spinach with peanut,…
Jolly Pumpkin, Anita’s Kitchen, Chick-fil-A and more planned for Metro Airport
A long list of new restaurants is planned for Detroit Metro Airport’s North Terminal. The Wayne County Airport Authority announced on Monday plans for a $21 million project to build out the restaurants through spring 2020. Nine of the new eateries are part of a 10-year, $258 million contract that the authority inked with global concessionaire…
Detroit janitors promise strike if wages aren’t bumped to $15 an hour
Approximately 1,700 Detroit janitors, many of whom work in downtown skyscrapers, have threatened to strike if contract negotiations don’t produce a pathway for them to earn at least $15 an hour. The Local 1 branch of the SEIU announced Monday night that its membership voted overwhelmingly to authorize an industry-wide strike if that demand is…
You could catch a glimpse of the northern lights in Michigan tonight
Keep your eye on the night sky tonight, because you might catch a glimpse of the northern lights over Michigan. The Space Weather Prediction Center reports that there will be a G1 geomagnetic storm this evening which would allow for sightings of the polar lights. The best chance of viewing this spectacular solar phenomenon would…
Detroit once again ranks as the worst big city to live in. We’re calling bullshit
Another day, another headline where Detroit fails to measure up to national standards. Except for this time, we’re calling bullshit. A recent report by WalletHub puts Detroit dead last in a ranking of 61 major U.S. cities based on factors of livability. It’s important to note, however, that WalletHub, a financial wellness service that provides…
The Detroit Lions are very close to being the least valuable team in the NFL
The Detroit Lions can’t even be the best at being the worst. The team has placed 31st in a Forbes’ latest ranking of the most valuable NFL franchises, meaning it is the second-least valuable, eclipsed only by fellow friends-in-failure, the Buffalo Bills. Forbes reports the Lions are valued at $1.7 billion. Separately, the Lions, along with…
Bill Schuette is hiding from more than a half-dozen Detroit media outlets
The frontrunner in the Republican race for Michigan governor has declined roundtable-style interviews with a half-dozen southeast Michigan media outlets. Citing a scheduling conflict, Attorney General Bill Schuette reportedly declined a request for an hour-long interview with the Detroit Journalism Cooperative, whose members include Bridge Magazine, WDET, Michigan Radio, Detroit Public Television, and New Michigan…
Hotter Than July kicks off in Detroit on Tuesday
June is pride month. But in Detroit, July is considered black gay pride month, and for more than 20 years, Hotter Than July has celebrated Detroit’s black gay community. That’s a lot of history, and tradition abounds: As in past years, this year’s festivities include a candlelight vigil at the Blue Spruce Memorial Tree (from…
Hudsonville is celebrating Detroit’s birthday on Tuesday with free ice cream
Detroit is celebrating its big 3-1-7 on Tuesday, and one ice cream company is ready to pay homage in the form of free sweet treats. To commemorate the anniversary of the city’s founding in 1701, Michigan-based confectioner Hudsonville Ice Cream will be doling out free ice cream at Cadillac Square. The event will run from…
Detroit makes official move to host summer auto show in 2020
After 30 years of hosting the North American International Auto Show in the winter, the Detroit Auto Dealers Association has officially announced a change of dates. Slated for 2020, the auto show will be switching up seasons with its first-ever summer special. In addition to a change of date, the auto show will also be…
Detroit Mercantile owner charged with assault over spitting incident
The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office charged the owner of Detroit Mercantile with misdemeanor assault and battery for a July 17 incident in which he spit in a young black man’s face. A video that went viral shows Robert Stanzler spitting in in the face of Ibrahim Muhammad Faisal over a dispute over parking in Eastern…
Ms. Lauryn Hill gets the plug pulled at metro Detroit concert
On Friday night, Ms. Lauryn Hill graced Detroit — OK, technically Sterling Heights — with her presence, and she was shut down early. Yes, somebody turned the lights on right as the legendary hip-hop artist was gearing up to play one of her most beloved songs, “Doo Wop (That Thing),” while celebrating the 20th anniversary…
Four stupid ways people got arrested in metro Detroit this week
You know, it’s easy to get down about things these days. The environment’s fucked, our President is cozying up to the Russians, this accident-prone koala keeps getting its head stuck in a fence… it’s just bad news all around. But sometimes, for your own sanity, you’ve got to figure out a way to add a…
River Bistro cuts weekday service, head chef leaves Public House and Imperial
Just eight months after Metro Times dined at the much anticipated River Bistro, which opened last August, chef and owner Maxcel Hardy announced Tuesday that the restaurant will no longer be open during the week. According to The Detroit News, River Bistro will now only be open Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5…
Report: Feeling a rent pinch, some Detroit businesses leave for the suburbs
Bolstered by the arrival of Dan Gilbert’s Quicken Loans headquarters, Detroit’s revitalized downtown has received plenty of media attention in recent years. But a new Free Press report takes a look at how suburban office building managers are battling to attract younger tenants, attempting to infuse their properties with “that cool factor”: multi-million dollar-renovations that include adding…
Pardon our French, but fuck Snyder’s call for civility
In recent weeks, there have been calls for more civility in public discourse — particularly from those on the right — after officials from President Donald Trump’s administration have been publicly shamed or shunned. All of this is, of course, deeply misguided — Trump is obviously a racist and misogynist buffoon with absolutely no filter. This…
Carhartt cuts ties with Detroit Mercantile over spitting incident
Dearborn-based Carhartt has cut ties with Robert Stanzler’s Detroit Mercantile following a Tuesday morning incident in which Stanzler spit in a young black man’s face. The workwear company confirmed on Friday morning in a statement to Metro Times that its products will no longer be sold at Detroit Mercantile. “We expect our retailers to conduct…
Never-before-seen photos show KISS visiting Cadillac in October 1975
The story may sound familiar to many young readers: A band that wears face paint and is an underground success that’s bubbling over in our state arrives in Michigan for a gig where they’ll play music with scandalous lyrics. Mobs of young people, an army of fans, paint their faces and come out to support…
Ne-Yo on fatherhood and the power of music
Ne-Yo isn’t getting much sleep these days. It might have something to do with the fact that the 35-year-old R&B multi-platinum selling artist and his wife welcomed their second child into the world last month just days after the release of his seventh studio record Good Man. And somehow, he still finds time to serve…
Democratic gov candidates trade barbs over health care, campaign finance in Detroit debate
Questions over health care, campaign finance, and political compromise highlighted sharp contrasts between two Democratic candidates for Michigan governor in a Thursday night debate in Detroit. The Democratic primary debate at WDIV was dominated by former Senate Majority Leader Gretchen Whitmer, a centrist who touts her ability to reach across the political aisle to get…
Watch these Michigan voters talk themselves in circles to defend Trump
Many Americans are in an uproar following Donald Trump’s Monday summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland. The conference took place at a time when western Russophobia approaches Cold War-era levels, and between economic sanctions on Crimea, Russia’s backing of the Assad regime in Syria, and allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S.…
Filmmaker Michael Moore makes endorsement in Michigan governor’s race
Flint native and documentarian Michael Moore has endorsed Democrat candidate Abdul El-Sayed for Michigan governor, calling him “the true progressive voice in the race.” “He supports single-payer Medicare for All,” Moore says in a statement. “The other candidate is supported by business interests. Abdul takes no PAC money. After what Flint has been through, he…
Midwest brewery faces backlash for ‘Black Beers Matter’
An Indiana brewery is putting the toxic in intoxication after publicly announcing a slew of offensive beer names that were set to include “Black Beer Matters,” “White Guilt,” “Mass Graves,” and “Flint Michigan Tap Water.” Less than a week later, though, the owners of the up-and-coming Lakeville Brew Crew have backpedaled on their tone deafness…
Cantina Diablos calls it quits, following other Royal Oak closures
Despite being located at a corner in the center of one of metro Detroit’s most bustling downtowns — or perhaps because of it — Royal Oak’s Cantina Diablos and Red Fox English Pub are set to close. The building’s previous tenant, Memphis Smoke, closed in 2010 after 16 years in business. Eater first reported of…
Detroit Mercantile owner issues apology over spitting incident
The owner of Detroit Mercantile — who is also one of the people behind the Made In Detroit brand — issued an apology late Wednesday evening for spitting on a young black man on Tuesday in Eastern Market. The incident occurred during a parking dispute, and a video of the white owner, Robert Stanzler, spitting…
Detroit’s Count Mack raps, draws, cuts, and films in new video for his track ‘G-String’
Detroit visual artist and rapper Vaughn Taormina, AKA Count Mack, is out with a new video for his latest track and it’s a twofer. For “G-String,” Taormina not only rapped and co-produced, he cut out his hand-drawn illustrations and photographed them in stop-motion to give the video a flip-book feel. “Should probably not do that…
White Detroit Mercantile owner under fire for spitting on young black man over parking dispute
Related The white owner of The Detroit Mercantile Co. is under fire for appearing to spit on a young black man who was coordinating parking for an event at the Eastern venue in the Eastern Market. Video of the incident involving Detroit Mercantile owner Robert Stanzler went viral after it was posted Tuesday on social…
Minus the Bear announce breakup and tour, including one last show in Detroit
Breaking up is hard to do — but Minus the Bear is softening the blow for fans with a farewell tour before going their separate ways. After nearly 20 years, the Seattle indie foursome called it quits last night by releasing a statement on their website. The news of the amicable departure includes details of what…
Detroit Institute of Bagels gets a nod as one of the nation’s best bagel shops
For bagel lovers everywhere, it can be tricky to find a bakery that can rival the tried-and-true recipe and reputation of New York-style bagels. Although many shops try (and fail) to replicate the original, there are a few bakeries across the nation that are blazing their own bagel-filled trail. And one of those is our…
A musing on late capitalism, brought to you by suburban Detroit auto dealerships
“Late capitalism” is a phrase that, in its current usage, has become embraced in recent years as “a catchall … for the indignities and absurdities of our contemporary economy, with its yawning inequality and super-powered corporations and shrinking middle class.” Apropos of this, here’s a new video series called Suburban Drives Michigan, a 10-episode web…
Lonely Parade on growing up in ‘The Pits’
Canadian rock band Lonely Parade’s forthcoming record, The Pits, is a quintessential coming-of-age album. The three singles preceding the album’s release map out the peaks and valleys of young adulthood, landmarked by the fast food chains and parking lots of Peterborough, Ontario, the hometown where the band’s members grew up. The band — Charlotte Dempsey…
Kindred Music & Culture Festival to touch down in Roosevelt Park
Related Over the past decade, destination festival culture has exploded, with acts from all across the board and people from all over the world gathering in one place to party up with peers who have the same tastes. Now, Brooklyn, New York’s best kept Black secret, Afropunk, has a ticket price and international offshoots. Chicago…
Mulenga and the banjo
I came home and heard what sounded like banjo picking coming from my backyard. So I walked up the driveway and there was Mulenga Harangua, standing in the garden and plucking away at the instrument. “Hey Mulenga, I’m going to call the police and report a black man playing the banjo in my yard,” I…
Review: Explore the deep cuts at Culantro, Michigan’s only Peruvian restaurant
It’s a crime how underrepresented South American cuisine is in metro Detroit. An entire continent of fascinating flavors: from lively, piquant chimichurris; the world’s best beef from cows raised near the Argentinian Andes; the incredible arepas and stewed meats in the continent’s north — we only get a taste of it at a small number…
How Detroit rapper P8tience fought through poverty to make a career out of music
A chilly Michigan night surrounds the combustible energy inside of Mix Factory One Studios, where artists, managers, and producers are all in different pockets of the two-floor complex talking music and business. In the era of home-based studios, Mix One is still thriving due to high grade equipment and professional business practices, and it’s here…
Why slow and steady could win Gretchen Whitmer the race for governor
Ahead of Michigan’s 2018 gubernatorial election, the Metro Times editorial staff has interviewed the race’s top contenders. Gretchen Whitmer entered Michigan’s gubernatorial race as the Democratic party establishment favorite, having served 14 years in the state legislature as well as a stint as interim Ingham County prosecutor — more political experience than her Democratic rivals…
Horoscopes (July 18-24)
ARIES: March 21 — April 20 All around you, there are clear signs that what you have been aiming for is about to come into being. If that’s hard to fathom, prior to any rebirth a lot of things start falling away. And what seems more apparent than any glimmer of hope that you are…
Inaugural Detroit Art Week takes form
Shortly after arts writer and publicist Amani Olu arrived to metro Detroit by way of New York in 2016, he began working on the campaign of Afrofuturist and art scene fixture Ingrid LaFleur’s ultimately unsuccessful bid for mayor. It was then that he says he began to get introduced to various local galleries and art…
Savage Love: Connections
I’m a 20-year-old submissive woman. I’m currently in a confusing affair with a 50-year-old dominant married man. He lives in Europe and has two kids close to my age. We met online when I was 17 and starting to explore my BDSM desires — out of the reach of my overbearing, sex-shaming, disastrously religious parents…
