Cover Story
Cryonics Institute freezes dead for ‘reanimation’
Inside the brick-fronted warehouse in Clinton Township, the body count has topped 100, not counting a small menagerie of pets — cats and dogs, mostly, and a few birds. Nestled inside Wal-Mart sleeping bags, the bodies stand upside-down within 10-foot-high tanks resembling immense white thermos bottles. “Technology for life” reads the logo emblazoned on their…
The Village Voice was obsessed with Gathering of the Juggalos this year
It seems like the folks over at the Village Voice have caught Juggalomania, posting no less than 15 unique articles, image galleries, and listicles during the 2014 Gathering of the Juggalos held in Thornville, Ohio during July 23-26. Of course, while we were compiling this list, MT’s Alysa Offman pointed out that perhaps it wasn’t the…
“Shitty Club” DJs Zak Frieling and Eric Allen share their favorite “post-punk, new wave, gothy, krautrock, etc.” tracks
Zak Frieling and Eric Allen used to play together in punk band Kommie Kilpatrick (full disclosure: Allen has contributed to Metro Times now-defunct sports column, also I drink with these guys all the time). Years later, “after a few too many times getting bummed out to the Blade 3 soundtrack at City Club” the “‘stupid name/OK idea'”…
Judge orders former AAA building near Statler Hotel to be demolished
A Wayne County Circuit Court judge today ordered the owner of the former AAA building at 139 Bagley Ave. to demolish it by the end of next week. In a 50-minute ruling from the bench this morning, Judge Robert Colombo said the 5,800-square-foot, five-story building located adjacent to the former Statler Hotel has deteriorated to…
Kid Rock on glass dildo: “I definitely don’t have it”
Kid Rock responded Monday on his website to the subpoena asking him to produce a glass dildo in the sexual harassment lawsuit between former Psychopathic Records employee Andrea Pellegrini and current Psychopathic Records employees, saying he has “no idea what [they’re] talking about” and he “definitely [doesn’t] have it.” He also says “I’ve never heard…
Belle Isle Aquarium hosts Weathervane Design Competition
Just last week we here at MT brought you a short history on Belle Isle Aquarium. It’ll turn 110 years old this year, which is a pretty big deal. When it was built, it was among the six largest aquariums in the country and before it was closed in 2005 it was the longest continuously…
Kings of Leon charmed our pants off at DTE
Earlier this year, I wasn’t too keen on covering the Kings of Leon show at The Palace, but I went anyways and ended up witnessing one of the best, most well-produced concerts of my life. It’s not like the show was anything over the top; there were no Miley Cyrus-esque flying hot dogs or dancing…
Ferndale DIY Street Fair Announces Return
Ferndale’s DIY Street Fair got it start in 2008 and since then locals have loved the indie festival that features local artists. music, and food. But this year, thanks to some annoyingly scheduled construction, the fair was cancelled. Yesterday, however, the folks behind the festival announced via Facebook that DIY Street Fair is once again…
Jerry Vile paintings “mysteriously” appear in New York Detroit-themed exhibits
Amid the relaunch of our new website, we forgot to mention that somebody apparently snuck two very tiny paintings by Detroit artist Jerry Vile into “Another Look at Detroit,” an exhibition currently being held simultaneously in two galleries in Chelsea, New York. The high-profile exhibit was curated by Todd Levin and features art from a diversity of…
Duggan, DWSD to release updated plan on water shutoffs Thursday; moratorium extended until Aug. 25
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced today the moratorium on the city’s residential water shutoffs would be extended until Aug. 25, while an updated plan is crafted and rolled out. Duggan’s team spent this last weekend working with Detroit Water & Sewerage Department officials to revamp how the city collects past-due water bills, the mayor’s office…
Film review: Boyhood
Boyhood | A "You are responsible for your own actions," declares a sign hanging inside the first grade class Mason Jr., the “boy” of the title, attends. Seems like a common sense warning, right? The kind of aphorism that tidily defines our role in society. Yet, by chronicling one boy’s life, from age 6 to 18,…
Metro Times on FOX 2’s “Let It Rip” to discuss Grosse Pointe ban
Last night, Metro Times’ editor-in-chief Valerie Vande Panne was on FOX 2’s “Let It Rip” with Andrea Lavigne, the Grosse Pointe resident who is trying to get MT banned in her community. Lavigne opened by comparing MT’s ads to slavery: “I think that the ads in the back are sexist.; it’s not that they’re sex ads,…
Big Detroit punk reunion show Saturday
There’s a big ol’ reunion show taking place at PJ’s Lager House Saturday night, featuring some of the folks who helped make the punk and new wave scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s in Detroit what it was. For instance, Boston’s Fireking is a band founded by Anthony Kaczynski and Smitt E. Smitty,…
Jumpin Jumpin: Police, fire fighters, and EMS workers to be honored at Sky Zone
When we think of honoring the brave men and women who protect and serve the metro Detroit area, we think of trampolines. We think they should jump on trampolines. And by trampolines, we mean an all-walled trampoline field where they can land in a pit of 10,000 foam cubes. They have to blow off steam…
Metro Times is getting a new website today
#174457231 / gettyimages.com Your favorite local alternative weekly is getting a digital facelift at around 4 p.m. today, and we need your help. If you, dear reader, spot anything amiss or notice that any of our regular features are not working properly, do give us a shout in the comment section below or on social…
Detroit group Feral Ground is out to prove hip-hop is alive and well
By LeeAnn Brown Some people say that hip-hop is dead. Local ban Fderal Ground is proving that is not the case. The seven-member band, consisting of three lead vocalists, a DJ, bass, drums and guitar, plays what they call “living hip-hop.” Their music, peppered with multiple styles, covers all aspects of life from growing up…
Yale professor talks Plato, James Madison and Detroit’s emergency manager law
Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr (photo: MT file) Much has been made about Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr’s decision this week to transfer authority of the city’s water department to Mayor Mike Duggan. In what is the most interesting read on the situation, Jason Stanley, professor of philosophy at Yale, pens an analysis on Michigan’s novel…
Where to meet a baby dinosaur this week
Walking with Dinosaurs, a magnificent stage show that features life-sized animatronic creatures from the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods, will be in town next week. But to preview the show’s run at the Palace, a baby T-Rex will be making an appearance at four area malls to the delight and wonderment of shoppers. Baby T-Rex,…
Detroit website offers stats, updates on city operations
(City of Detroit) Interested in reading about what Detroit accomplishes on a week-to-week basis that’s produced by the city itself? Great. You can do that now, here, at the Detroit Dashboard. Every Thursday morning, the city will publish an update to the dashboard because Mayor Mike Duggan loves metrics, even if the data might be hard…
Long John Silver’s makes nod to Nancy Whiskey in YouTube commercial
We don’t know about you, but usually Nancy Whiskey and Long John Silver’s aren’t two concepts we’d place in the same sentence. However, the international fast food fish fry conglomerate made a nod to the Detroit dive in their latest YouTube commercial. LJS is offering free fish fries on Saturday, August 2, which is the…
Michigan’s women-only music fest still shuns trans women
We came across an interesting item this week: Apparently, a music festival with the name “Michfest” is quietly oriented as a “Women-Only Festival Exclusively for ‘Women Born Women.'” It seems a strange decision to us. If you wanted to have a women-only music festival, why not simply proclaim loud and clear that it is for all sorts…
Use this widget to find your polling place for Aug. 5 primary election
Reminder: the August 5 primary election is coming up. Where do you vote? What’s on the ballot? All these questions can be easily answered by simply typing the address you are registered to vote at into this handy widget created by Pew Charitable Trusts and Google: // vit.load({‘election_id’:’4034′, ‘suppress_voter_id_rules’: true}); // ]]> You can embed…
Thank you, Detroit
I’m not going to lie to you – this isn’t easy. This week, the final City Slang local music column will be published in the Metro Times (on hardcore band Final Assault), and I have just submitted a cover feature on the women of Detroit hip-hop, to be published next week (8/6). This blog that…
Christmas in July, Jack White, and the Tigers
We here at MT will be delighted when Mr. Jack White throws out a pitch at Navin Field (at least, we hope he will), but until then, we’ll be happy with his pitch to Santa this evening at Comerica Park. Related Stories
Motor City Sixers by Hunt and Noyer
Kyle Huntoon has a story like many others. He got a degree in engineering and began his life in the corporate world, only to realize he’d rather spend his days making and crafting his own designs. With a friend he started designing in his spare time and when the right moment came, he quit his…
Nora brings sleek chic to the Cass Corridor
Nora 4240 Cass Ave., Detroit; 313-831-4845; noramodern.com Open: Sunday-Monday: 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesday-Friday: 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Saturday: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Cass Corridor might be one of our favorite places to pop in for some shopping in all of metro Detroit. The street is lined with storefronts like Thrift on the Avenue, Tulani Rose, Hugh, and…
Yonikka Tinsley’s ‘doll-meets-bohemian’ style
Yonikka K. Tinsley is a self-described “conscious entrepreneur.” She grew up on Detroit’s east side, and her many jobs include being an inspirational lifestyle blogger at WorldofYonni.Wordpress.com, an online boutique owner, an organic healing-energy jewelry designer at YKbeads.com, a small-business consultant, and a social media marketer. Her hobbies include travel, shopping, reading, meditation, yoga, cooking,…
Our top five underrated female R&B songs
We love the ladies of R&B, so we thought we’d round up our five favorite, yet totally underrated songs by female artists who sing the rhythm and blues. Listen to the playlist here: “When You Touch Me” — Brandy Norwood: This track helped Brandy’s third album reach No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart in…
Record review: Jenny Lewis — The Voyager
Jenny Lewis The Voyager Warner Bros. Jenny Lewis, former frontwoman of Rilo Kiley, Postal Service collaborator, and occasional Bright Eyes backup singer, has released her solo album with the help of Ryan Adams. At just 40 minutes, The Voyager blasts by, leaving us with a bit of whiplash, wondering where the hell the time went.…
Record review: Jessica Hernandez & the Deltas — Secret Evil
Jessica Hernandez & the Deltas Secret Evil Dead Owl/Instant When we spoke to Jessica Hernandez nearly two years ago for a Metro Times cover feature called “On the Verge,” she had just signed with Capitol Records jazz subsidiary Blue Note, and she was feeling pretty much on top of the world. “I was actually surprised…
Craig Fahle says goodbye to WDET
The Craig Fahle Show WDET 101.9 FM Every morning, The Craig Fahle show on WDET gives metro Detroiters the opportunity to listen to the people of the city. Whether they’re community leaders, concerned citizens, educators, or media folk like us — or much more — Fahle thoughtfully engages, questions, and gives us all the opportunity…
Reports from Twerk du Soleil, Cannabis Cup, Jimmy Buffett
Boonquisha v. Judge Ratchet Both Vonzell Solomon and her ratchet alter ego, Boonquisha Jenkins, made an appearance at Twerk Du Soleil, which stopped by Detroit’s Saint Andrews Hall last Wednesday. Boonquisha opened the show by facilitating a twerking competition among the audience. Next, Vonzell made a reappearance singing a fan favorite, Whitney Houston’s “I Have…
Porn and Chicken brings their dance party to Pontiac
Porn and Chicken: It’s a rather attention-grabbing moniker, wouldn’t you say? But what exactly is Porn and Chicken? They’re not truly a DJ group, but more like a traveling band of partying minstrels, hoping to extol the joys of raucous, licentious, immoral, and downright messy bangers on teens and twentysomethings the world over. They refer…
The best of Ann Arbor beer
“Ann Arbor has always been a beery town,” says David Bardallis, resident beer geek and author of Ann Arbor Beer: A Hoppy History of Tree Town Brewing. “Historically, the German roots played a large role in Ann Arbor becoming a beer-loving town. Everybody knows that where there are Germans, there is beer and breweries.” It…
36 hours in Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor is a college town, which means that summer is a wonderful time to visit. Thanks to the mass exodus of tens of thousands of University of Michigan students, the leafy, liberal town reverts back to a more peaceful version of itself. Throughout the lazy days of summer, the pace slows down, parking spots…
Stephen Magsig puts Detroit’s changing cityscapes down on canvas
Back in the ’80s, artist Stephen Magsig had a studio across the hall from rock poster artist Mark Arminski, and the two would go on photo expeditions around town. “You could do much more than you can now, what with homeland security and stuff like that,” he says of the time before urban exploring was…
Restaurant review: Royal Eagle
18745 Old Homestead Ave., Harper Woods, (313) 521-1894, theroyaleagle.org. Handicap accessible Lunch: $20 prix fixe; dinner: appetizers, soups & salads $5-$12; entrées $17-$30; desserts: $9. Open: Tuesdays 11 a.m.-2 p.m.; Thursdays 11 a.m.-2 p.m., 5 p.m.-10 p.m. It’s in our job description as restaurant reviewers to check out all the brand-spanking-new, social-media-hyped restaurants Detroit has to…
Belle Isle Aquarium has been standing for 110 years
Belle Isle, the crown jewel of Detroit, has been the subject of plenty of personal and public opinion lately. It came under state stewardship in February, and controversy has flanked the island ever since. Still, Belle Isle remains a trove of historic landmarks. Statues line the thoroughfares and green signs mark noteworthy buildings that hold…
Faygo debuts new Cotton Candy flavor
Faygo’s new Cotton Candy flavor, rolled out earlier this summer, isn’t some pretentious handcrafted-in-Detroit hipster “soda” — this is pop. Anyone familiar with the Detroit-based regional favorite (and unofficial soft drink of the Insane Clown Posse) knows more or less what to expect: sticky, sweet, and cheap. According to the company, cotton candy has been…
A tour of Riverview’s Baffo bakery
[Update: A previous version of this story misstated the number of years Baffo Enterprises has been in business and its hours of operation. We regret the error.] Baffo Enterprises 18556 Fort St., Riverview 734-281-6753; baffos.net Open Monday through Thursday, from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Michael Rastelli recalls the time his family decided to close…
Film review: Afternoon Delight
Starz On-Demand; 95 minutes The “grass is always greener” theme is not one that is new to movie-makers, and neither is the subject of bored housewives, yet director Jill Soloway manages to breathe new and intriguing life into them both, thanks to a great script and a solid cast. The magnificent Kathryn Hahn (you may…
Film review: A Most Wanted Man
A Most Wanted Man | B Over the course of his career, author John le Carré endeavored to simultaneously redefine and subvert the spy thriller, removing the tidy, romantic, pulse-pounding plots of pulp novels and replacing them with world-weary, ambiguously motivated, and ethically murky storylines that reflected the corrupt nature of real-world politics, corporatism, and…
MT readers weigh in on Vassar protests, beer, and more
VASSAR PROTESTS We received a number of strident responses to Jack Lessenberry’s July 23 column on protests in the small town of Vassar, Mich., against a proposed local human services facility for refugees. User “david asher” posted: Watching my quiet, tolerant, multi-ethnic hometown be invaded by gun brandishing racists is the hardest thing I have…
Mindo makes delicious chocolate
Mindo Chocolate Makers Dexter, Michigan 48130 (734)-660-5636 info@mindochocolate.com Visitors by appointment only Nestled high in a “cloud forest” in the Andes of Ecuador, organic heirloom Arriba Nacional cocoa beans are being grown for Dexter-based chocolate company Mindo. Owned by Jose Meza and Barbara Wilson, (previously known for a reputable auto repair shop in Ann Arbor),…
Zumiez skateboarding championships come to Detroit
[Update Aug. 4, 2014: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Detroit currently has no skate parks, ignoring the likes of Ride It sculpture park. We regret the oversight.] Last year, a group of extreme-sports enthusiasts put together a bid for Detroit to host ESPN’s X Games, releasing a video showing dudes and…
Temple Bar — the new watering hole for hockey fans?
Tucked along a vacated stretch of the Cass Corridor, Temple Bar has for years maintained a presence in a section of town where not much else is happening. The dimly lit watering hole provides affordable drinks, friendly service, and a quiet atmosphere to, say, shoot some pool or stew on the day’s events. Though the…
‘Oohrah!’ takes a look at life after Iraq
Playwright Bekah Brunstetter’s Oohrah! first premiered off-Broadway in 2009, but it could conceivably take place at any point during the past 11 years as the U.S.-Iraq military involvement marches on. Everyone at some point has known someone who was serving overseas — especially the middle class, where a military stint was not just about protecting…
Meet Joseph Krause of Backseat Detroit Tours
In recent years, Detroit has come under the proverbial magnifying glass, being inspected and observed. While the city’s hardships have been well-documented (being the largest city to file for bankruptcy and the recent controversial water shut-offs), the rest of the country seems to be sitting back and waiting to see whether Detroit will re-emerge as…
Final Assault creates pure and direct hardcore music
When talking about Detroit, the city has a proven and impressive track record for producing awesome, angry-as-fuck hardcore punk bands. Since the 1980s, bands like Negative Approach and the Meatmen have done a fantastic job of perfectly encapsulating the feelings of frustration, desperation, and nihilism that threaten to take over the local youth when, let’s…
Watch footage of the Gathering of the Juggalos dubbed with Morgan Freeman narration (NSFW)
Footage from the Gathering of the Juggalos set to clips of Morgan Freeman’s narration from March of the Penguins? Kind of forced, but also kind of beautiful. As the AV Club reports: The oft-sought voiceover champion lends a touch of gravitas to the festival proceedings. Unfortunate scenes of barely clad people having various liquids…
Turn to Crime debut chilly video for “Can’t Love”
Photo by Alejandra Joffroy It seems like the polar vortex will never end: the weather phenomenon that brought us the most brutal winter on record this winter is to blame for this summer’s chillier-than usual temperatures as well. A couple of bands, though, made lemonade out of lemons (or snow cones out of snow?) by using the…
Vietnam vets struggle to build Detroit memorial
Years ago, a bunch of local Vietnam-era veterans decided that, from then on, they didn’t want anyone who served in our armed forces to suffer what they’d gone through. Namely, being reviled or forgotten when they got home. They founded a group that became nationally famous in their circles: Vietnam Veterans of America, Detroit Chapter…
Detroit residents sue incinerator owner over ‘noxious’ odors
A class-action lawsuit was filed against the owner of Detroit’s municipal solid waste incinerator Monday, accusing the company of nuisance and gross negligence violations. The suit follows a Metro Times cover story earlier this month on the growing number of odor complaints from nearby residents since Detroit Renewable Power LLC (DRP) took control of the…
DWSD to host Detroit water fair August 2
In light of worldwide attention on its efforts to cut water service for thousands of Detroit residents, the Detroit Water & Sewerage Department announced it would host a Water Affordability Fair on Aug. 2 to explain options available to those facing financial hardship. About time. The move follows a call for action from the bankruptcy…
Duggan takes control of Detroit water department; says changes to approach on ‘delinquent payment issues’ needed
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan (Source: Wikimedia Commons) Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr transferred oversight of the the city’s water department Tuesday to Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan in an order intended to refocus “efforts to help DWSD customers get and remain current on their water bills,” Orr’s office said today. “This order provides additional clarity to the powers already…
David Bandlow debuts new (old) work
The Heidelberg Project has been, since Day One, about repurposing objects, ever since artist Tyree Guyton and his grandfather started transforming abandoned houses in their neighborhood into giant outdoor works of art by attaching found objects onto them. The space continues to evolve. The Project’s Number House — one of the few structures still standing after…
Orr seeks proposals to privatize Detroit parking system
[Update, Thursday, July 32, 2014, 10:20 a.m.: Detroit’s city council turned down Orr’s resolution to issue a request for proposals, according to The Detroit News. Orr’s spokesperson told the newspaper that the issue could come back to the council for a vote, but Orr was reviewing the action “and no final decision has been made.”…
Meet the women of Michigan brewing
Is Michigan’s craft beer industry a boys club? It’s a question we posed to six women who work in the field. They all answered yes. They all also told us of the industry’s inclusive nature, that they’ve always just been one of the guys, and that the landscape of the craft beer world is changing.…
The Metro Times Beer Issue
The landscape of Michigan’s craft beer industry has changed dramatically in the last two decades. Back in the ’90s laws were loosened, allowing locals to open breweries and brewpubs, creating a vast and varied collection of locally made beer. Over the years, Michigan’s reputation for crafting great beer has grown, and these days you could…
