Cover Story
Summer Guide
Hallelujah, summer has arrived. The happiness index in Detroit this time of year, despite the city’s latest financial stressors, is palpable given how shitty Michigan winters can get. Everything just appears … a bit easier: The morning commute seems lighter; fruit tastes sweeter; the landscape is prettier; and even the MT writers become slightly less…
City Slang: Weekly music review roundup
Send CDs, vinyl, cassettes, demos and 8-tracks to Brett Callwood, Metro Times, 733 St. Antoine, Detroit, MI 46226. Email MP3s and streaming links to bcallwood@metrotimes.com. A new Mack Avenue Records album, the Christian McBride Trio’s Out Here, offers a deliciously decadent and refreshingly unusual take on jazz, McBride once again proving himself to be one…
City Slang: George Benson tribute to Nat King Cole
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra has announced plans for a tribute to Nat King Cole by guitarist George Benson. According to a statement, “Legendary jazz guitarist and R&B singer George Benson , accompanied by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO), has a jazzy evening in store with “Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole.” The performance, presented…
Monday Morning Fuel Report
It’s Monday morning, Detroit, and time for your weekly AAA fuel report. According to the AAA, gas prices are down by an average of 16 cents from last week around Metro Detroit, and the average is now $3.72 per gallon for a regular gallon unleaded gas. However, prices swing wildly depending on where you are driving. Sample…
Ryan Dillaha & the Miracle Men -6.28.13- The Magic Bag
Photo: MARC NADER Call it a modest miracle… Singer/songwriter Ryan Dillaha walked out of Backseat Productions and felt “one of those magical moments when you thing: this is the band!” Dillaha, an adept warbler of modern bluegrass, rock-rattled blues and folk-frayed Americana, had found his band, The Miracle Men (Tim Rios on drums, harmonica & backing vocals, Michael…
City Slang: Detroit School of Rock and Pop Jazz Experience
The Detroit School of Rock and Pop in Royal Oak has announced that it will be offering a Jazz Experience on Thursday evenings from 5-7. Head honcho Jason Gittinger says, “Utilizing our unique ability to provide meaningful mentorship and instruction combined with unparalleled real-world experiences, the program consists of weekly rehearsals, recording opportunities, concerts, events,…
City Slang: ICP gets theatrical
Psychopathic Records has announced the launch of Insane Clown Posse Theater. According to a statement, “Insane Clown Posse and Fuse will be bringing ICP’s brand of humor to television with “Insane Clown Posse Theater,” which will be premiering on the Fuse network [from] Wednesday, July 24.” Further, from Fuse, “Fuse, the national music television network…
What’s Wrong With This Picture?
Predictably, most of the area’s news media erupted with uncritical applause earlier this week when it was announced that Detroit’s Downtown Development Authority approved a memorandum of understanding with the Ilitch-owned Olympia development. As reported by John Gallagher of the Free Press, here are the basics of the deal that would bring Detroit a new…
Film Review: Fill the Void
Fill the Void | A- A mother and daughter tentatively peek around supermarket aisles of canned foods, inching ever closer for a better look at a young bachelor from a good family. Truthfully, there isn’t much to distinguish him from the other young Hasidic men pushing carts through this Tel Aviv grocery, but just the…
Film Review: World War Z
World War Z | C+ WELCOME TO THE AGE of the cinematic mash-up, in which a committee of screenwriters jam together elements of past movies into a Frankenstein-like digital effects-laden extravaganza. For Mark Forster’s middling zombie flick, see if you can name-check the influences. Right off the bat there’s a credit sequence that plays like a…
City Slang: DSO to celebrate Independence Day in style
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra will be hosting a very special 21st anniversary celebration of its family-friendly Independence Day concerts. They say, “Four nights of performances led by Maestro Leonard Slatkin will take place on the lawn at Dearborn’s historic Greenfield Village on July 3, 4, 5 and 6 with gates opening at 6 p.m. and…
Film Review: Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing | B IS IT AN ATTEMPT to drum some culture into the comic-con nerds? The Bard did, after all, invent the notion of meeting-cute. And who better to appreciate Beatrice and Benedick’s smart-alecky badinage than Joss Whedon? Shot over 12 days at his Santa Monica mansion, The Avengers director’s let’s-put-on-a-show Shakespearean…
Would You Buy a Pair of Poopy Diapers? If They’re From Kim and Kanye’s Baby, Detroit’s Les Gold Says He Might
Viewers of the made-in-Detroit hit truTV series Hardcore Pawn know that American Jewelry and Loan patriarch Les Gold has been known at times to buy a load of crap. But in a startling admission, Gold says he could be persuaded to purchase an actual load of feces – if it came encased in a celebrity…
WHAP!: Mardi Jo Link’s “Bootstrapper”
I hate beginning any column with a sound effect, but I’m afraid I must. Because, you see, “WHAP” is the sound of a newly released book going flying across the Metro Times editorial office into a wall. In this case, the offending tome is Mardi Jo Link’s Bootstrapper. How I Turned My Divorce and Relative…
For a Side Tonight: Apple Berry Bake
FINDING SIDE DISHES that are good, good for you and quick to make can be a tall order. Need something to go with nearly anything? Want to serve up a dish that will garner some recipe requests? Apple-Oatmeal-Berry Bake is so goodit could be an emergency dessert, should that fancy cake ever fail to rise.…
City Slang: New Black Dahlia Murder album lands at number 32 on Billboard charts
Everblack, the new album from local metal heads Black Dahlia Murder, released on Metal Blade Records, entered the Billboard top 200 at number 32. According to a statement, “The album also landed at #3 on the Billboard Current Hard Music Albums chart (behind Black Sabbath and Queens of the Stone Age). Additional chart debuts include…
Petcoke Update
It was good news, bad news sort of day on Tuesday for those concerned about the controversial piles of petroleum coke being stored at two locations alongside the Detroit River. The good news: An official with the Nicholson Terminal & Dock Co. told members of a Detroit City Council committee that the company had decided…
Urinal Cake Records – “UrineFested” 6/21-6/22
Profile: Urinal Cake Records (on Metro Times Music Blahg – “Urinal Cake Records’ First Year + New Gardens (Grows)”) “Urinefested” Local Label Showcase -2 day Fest in Detroit June 21-22nd at P.J.’s Lager House (1254 Michigan Ave), Friday: The Clone Defects, Terrible Twos, Moonhairy, Obnox, Ritual Howls, Mountains and Rainbows – – Saturday: Johnny Ill Band,…
City Slang: Battlecross post-Orion news
Following their triumphant appearance at OrionFest, local metal heads Battlecross has announced that drummer Kevin Talley (formerly of Six Feet Under, Chimaira and Dying Fetus) will be staying on with the band for its forthcoming tour. See Battlecross performing Slayer’s “War Ensemble” at OrionFest here. The new album, War of Will, will be released via…
Deemable Tech: iMessage Isn’t iWorking
Q: I thought that when iOS 6.0 came out iMessage was supposed to be synchronized between the iPad and the iPhone. I have an iPad and an iPhone, and my husband has an iPhone, but he has to send texts to either my iPad or iPhone. It doesn’t send his text messages to both. Did…
The Great Outdoors
$=$5-$10; $$=$10-$25; $$$=$25-$50; $$$$=$50+ Anita’s Kitchen 22651 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; 248-548-0680; anitaskitchenonline.com: Craving a taste of the Middle East? Anita’s Kitchen is the place for you! Everything tastes better outside, and Anita’s has a large covered patio. Plenty of beverage choices, including craft beer, await. Antonio’s in the Park 15117 Kercheval St., Grosse Pointe…
Film Review: The East
The East | C+ If intentions were all that mattered then this sophomore collaboration between indie actress Brit Marling and director Zal Batmanglij (their first was Sound Of My Voice) would be something to crow about. Pitting anti-corporate militants against corporate security forces, The East kicks off with a potent air of mystery and subversion,…
Film Review: At Any Price
At Any Price | C There is a difference between drama and dilemma. Unfortunately, director/co-writer Ramin Bahrani confuses the two. While his farmland melodrama is notably detailed in its depiction of rural life and, in many ways, skillfully directed, his screenplay — co-written with Hallie Elizabeth Newton — indulges in contrived father-son soap opera and…
Wild Horses
When Bill Haley and Jack Scott were rocking around the clock and burning bridges through the 1950s and ’60s, they couldn’t have imagined what is happening in today’s Detroit rock ’n’ roll scene. It’s likely genres like industrial rock, electro-pop and death metal would mean nothing to them — and garage rock would imply nothing…
Vampire Weekend
Now, this writer “hated” this band’s previous album; their third release seems to recover nicely, surmounting the “sophomore slump,” (as it’s known in the music world when breakout bands go bust on album No. 2.) Vampire Weekend flared with the white light of a buzz band comet with its 2008 debut: Decorous, dashing, somewhat droll…
Read All Over: Summer Reading Picks
The Plot Against America By Philip Roth; Houghton Mifflin Co., $26 (hardcover), 391 pp. PHILIP ROTH IS one of those iconic authors that readers know can be counted on to include similar elements across nearly every story in his catalogue: Locales are typically set in New Jersey; there’s a healthy dose of Jewish angst; and requisite pre-…
All in the Family
Q: I’m a straight guy in my early 30s with an amazing girlfriend of two years. A few months ago, I felt open enough to share my taboo fantasy: father-daughter incest. My GF, to my delight, not only understands the fantasy but enjoys participating in it! Quickly: I have zero interest in this kind of…
Food Stuff
Food Thought The Summertime Anytime Cookbook by Dana Slatkin Clarkson Potter; $32.50, hardcover; 256 pp. Nestled along the Santa Monica coast, the venerable Shutters On The Beach is a well-known luxury seaside resort, serving up fresh and delicious food with style year-round. In The Summertime Anytime Cookbook, Dana Slatkin shares 130 irresistible recipes from her…
Orr Offers a Deal
Reading through the 128-page report Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr provided to creditors last week, we here at the Hits had a question others in the media didn’t seem to think was all that important to ask. (Not that we are wagging a scolding finger.) It’s entirely understandable that the city’s two dailies, would focus…
God: Midtown’s Newest Silent Partner
When I head back home from downtown, I sometimes eschew the freeways and cruise north along Woodward, or Second, or Hamilton avenues, eventually driving along Pontchartrain through Palmer Park. That way I get to see what’s happening on the street level of the city. Once you get out of Midtown, a few blocks north of…
Sun Spots
Dearborn Homecoming August 3-5 HOMECOMING IS A TIME where the streets of Dearborn are flooded with cars, yellow tape partitions off several areas of Ford Field and people from the many Downriver communities gather to celebrate the City of Dearborn. You will surely get sick while on some of the crazy rides, from light ones…
Town Mouse Portaging
The first summer after I got married, when relations with my brothers- and sisters-in-law were still coalescing, I was invited to join my wife’s older brother Mark and two of his buddies on their annual portaging pilgrimage up north. I thought it was a nice gesture and since Mark had recently moved from Detroit to…
Into the Past
Each May, my buddies and I head up North to “rough it.” In the past, we’d hit the Au Sable river for some scenic canoe camping, but this year we changed our plans: We aimed to go car camping at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula. We were especially fortunate to have a…
Surviving Summer in the City
For some of us, summer is our least favorite season; actually, we hate it. We hate the heat, the humidity so high it turns the air to soup. We hate all the people who come piling out of their houses to gather, drunkenly, at festivals, sporting events and outdoor concerts. They complain about how dirty…
Monk Beer Bar
Monk Beer Bar 419 S. Main St. Royal Oak 248-544-6250 monkbeerbar.com Handicap accessible Mussels, burgers & sandwiches: $9-$15 Appetizers & sides: $5-$13 Open 4-11 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, 4 p.m.-2 a.m. Thursday-Saturday, 4-10 p.m. Sunday. When one thinks of monks, simplicity or austerity are adjectives that might reasonably come to mind. Although Monk Beer Bar’s name…
Detroiter Hangs Loose
“It’s a rush,” says Brian LeFeve when asked about the appeal of kiteboarding. LeFeve discovered the sport back in the late 1990s, when the place he was working as a windsurfing instructor received some kiteboarding equipment to check out. With no one to learn from, LeFeve and his pals began teaching themselves. “It was brutal,”…
Short Hauls
SUMMER IN SANDUSKY Drive Time: 2.5 hours Close enough to make a day of it, but with plenty fun-filled possibilities to fill up a weekend or more, Sandusky, Ohio, offers an assortment of good, clean adventures for all ages. Sandusky is waterpark central, but two of our favorites for chlorinated fun are Great Wolf Lodge…
S is for Super
David S. Goyer, the writer of acclaimed films such as Batman Begins and The Dark Knight and this summer’s Man of Steel, is from Detroit. Well, Ann Arbor. And that’s close enough to Detroit in its status as a satellite city. It was the perfect place for the young writer to have his interest in…
Hold On to Your Pawn Tickets
There’s now little doubt that Detroit is headed for bankruptcy. Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr signaled as much last week when he announced the city was not going to make its debt service payments anymore and promptly defaulted on a $39.7 million payment due for debt service on money borrowed to fund pension obligations. Technically, the…
DIA ‘Courts’ New Diners
The remodeled Kresge Court makes its bid for the hip after-work crowd. Who says the Detroit Institute of Arts is only for art admirers? The addition of a Friday night music schedule has found some new converts. And now food lovers can rejoice as the museum unveils a new go-to place for visitors to eat,…
The 1943 Detroit Race Riot, 70 years later
Metro Times’ look back at the 1943 Detroit race riot 60 years after. Mention “Detroit” and “riot” to most metro Detroiters today, and most people will think of the year 1967. Some will call it a “riot” and some will call it a “rebellion,” but chances are that nobody will talk about Detroit’s forgotten riot,…
Oh Criminals, Where Art Thou?
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little disappointed with my Detroit experience so far. In the past 8 months, I have no gunshot wounds, stabbing scars, or even a stolen vehicle to show for it. I don’t even have a lower credit score! When I told everyone I was moving here, I…
