Cover Story
Pontiac’s Elektricity serves up lights, music, and magic
Towering over South Saginaw Street in downtown Pontiac is a brown brick building with original Moorish architecture but an art deco South Beach paint wash. The indication of the weekly raucous dance parties that take place inside is evident by the neon-lit facade and 4-foot-tall neon sign that reads “Elektricity.” Glowing bright, fluorescent blue on…
A mess in court could force 13 Detroit families from their homes
Last week, a number of Detroit residents entered a small office in Pontiac to protest what they say was an inappropriate sale listing of homes they occupy. The office on North Perry Street houses the day-to-day operations of Midas Development Corp., a Singapore-based real estate firm that’s buying and selling Detroit properties. There’s a simple…
Palace Entertainment announces $20 ticket blitz
Palace Sports and Entertainment has announced they will run a $20 ticket blitz from July 1 through July 6, offering discounted tickets for shows from now until September for concerts taking place at DTE Energy Music Theatre and Meadow Brook Music Festival. The $20 price also includes parking and fees. The blitz will begin tomorrow, July…
Graffiti vandals, be warned: Dan Gilbert is watching you
Motor City Muckraker called our attention to news that Quicken Loans owner Dan Gilbert circulated emails asking for his employees to help identify “three fancy ‘ladies'” who vandalized the alley of his building at 1001 Woodward last week. Gilbert (apparently very cognizant that a sizable portion of his workforce is made up of Detroit’s tech-savvy…
Volunteer dies at Electric Forest
According to Michigan State Police, a 20-year-old volunteer died Sunday night at 11:15 p.m. at Rothbury, MI’s annual electronic music festival, Electric Forest. Brian Brockette, who was a volunteer for an outside vendor, suffered a medical emergency and died, according to a report by the state police. An investigation is currently underway and officials are awaiting results…
In Detroit, restaurants aren’t open ’til they’re open
The buzz keeps building over a bunch of restaurants that are going to open in Detroit soon, and they’re already so fabled it’s hard to imagine how the brick-and-mortar institutions will live up to the hype once they open. The restaurants, located downtown (Cornerstone Barrel House, Guns + Butter, Wright & Co., the revamped Checker…
Madonna pledges support to three Detroit-based charities
After a recent visit to Detroit, pop superstar and Michigan-native Madonna has promised to help fund the Detroit Youth Boxing Gym, Detroit Achievement Academy, and The Empowerment Plan. “I was deeply inspired by the efforts of so many people who I met who have dedicated themselves to helping the kids and adults in Detroit elevate themselves…
Cadillac Square will host another World Cup Viewing Party
Bigger and better than the first time around, Campus Martius will host another World Cup viewing party inside Cadillac Square tomorrow, Tuesday, July 1 from 4 to 6 p.m. Round two of the public screening will feature more amenities, including an additional 18-foot by 10-foot LED screen. The screening is free and the general public is welcome…
CNN to Detroit: Hey, chill out
(Wikimedia Commons) CNN? Hi. First off, your list today of the 10 Most Stressed Out Cities in the nation was informative, albeit it said something odd about No. 2 Detroit: That we have a population of 1.8 million. We don’t. It’s actually nowhere close to that. You say the rankings were based off data on…
Aaliyah biopic on hold
A planned biopic for Lifetime Television about the late Detroit R&B singer Aaliyah has hit several production snags, Rolling Stone reports. The latest snag for the tentatively titled Aaliyah: Princess of R&B occurred when 17-year-old actress Zendaya Coleman dropped out of the project, announced Sunday via Lifetime’s Twitter. No reason was given, but the film…
Lt. baD’s The Crackdown
Patrolling a newer, spaced out, blown-up beat. There’s a line one crosses where retro or revivalism becomes more of an ardent reenactment – just as Detroit-based duo Lt. baD have wormed their way back 30 years to Bronx basketball courts blasting “Planet-Rock(ing)” jams for nimble breakdancers. Here’s a sample, “Electrobooty Freakland” …which, in aesthetic (shimmying…
Apparently, the best place to fight human trafficking is at the Library Board
of Grosse Pointe. The Free Press reports: The age-old debate over whether to limit sexually explicit expression took a new turn last week in Grosse Pointe Park when residents demanded that the Metro Times be banned in the city and in libraries serving the five Grosse Pointes. The residents’ concerns went beyond typical complaints about…
Is Metro Times so offensive it needs to be behind the counter?
We’ve been informed our publication will no longer be available in the vestibules of Grosse Pointe public libraries–they are moving them behind the counter, where citizens will be required to ask the Librarian for an issue.
Thoroughbred racing returns to Hazel Park tonight
HAZEL PARK, Mich. — Thoroughbred racing returns to Hazel Park Raceway tonight for the first time since 1984. The track, which opened at 10 Mile and Dequindre in 1949, has been used exclusively for harness racing for the last 30 years. But because of dwindling attendance and stiff competition from local casinos, the track is…
M-1 Rail construction begins July 28; portions of Woodward to close for 120 days
(courtesy of M-1 Rail) After numerous hiccups and recent news about possible funding concerns, M-1 Rail project organizers announced that construction of the 3.3-mile transit line along Woodward Avenue will begin July 28, with a full closure of Woodward Avenue between Adams Street and Campus Martius Park planned for about 120 days. In a statement…
I was molested at the Men’s Rights Conference [updated]
After weeks of hullabaloo, the controversial activist group A Voice for Men kicked off their first International Conference on Men’s Issues with what was to be an hour-long press conference in St. Clair Shores. The past few weeks have seen A Voice For Men announce Detroit as the host of their first International Conference on Men’s Issues, feminist protesters demand…
MT gets an extra dose of fuckery with Chad Nicefield of Wilson
I’ve spoken with Wilson’s Chad Nicefield quite a few times. The first time, a story that always brings me great joy to retell, he followed up with my boss after, alerting my superior that he was sure he had offended me as I’d abruptly ended our phone call after he’s brought up his boner. If…
Michigan officials discussed June groundbreaking date for new arena; tight-lipped about any new details
Not much is known about the new $450 million Detroit Red Wings arena near downtown, other than it will seat 18,000 fans and be situated in an area bounded by I-75, Cass, Woodward and Temple avenues. Nevertheless, state officials indicated they wanted shovels in the ground for the project earlier this month, Metro Times has learned, but that…
Who’s protecting Batman and Superman in Detroit?
We took a drive out to the set of the forthcoming Batman vs. Superman movie in Pontiac, and discovered that a local security guard by the name of Bill (no second name given) is doing a quite stellar job of protecting the Earth’s mightiest heroes. We’re not even being sarcastic. Bill stealthily descended on us…
2014 Kresge Artist Fellows announced
Kresge Arts in Detroit have announced the recipients of its 2014 Kresge Artist Fellowships. The fellows, working in dance and music as well as a new theater and film category, receive a prize of $25,000 each — to do whatever they want to realize their creative vision. The recipients are 17 artists and one collective, all working…
United Nations experts slam Detroit water service shutoffs as an affront to human rights
A coalition of activists protest outside of the Detroit Water & Sewerage Department’s office in downtown Detroit on Friday, June 6. (Ryan Felton/Metro Times) United Nations experts Wednesday slammed the city of Detroit’s plan to cut water service to thousands of customers behind on their bills. The response follows a report issued last week by a…
After closing yesterday, Mae’s Diner is open
Fans of Mae’s, the quirky diner where aebleskievers take the place of stodgy old flapjacks, have been fretting over the fate of the eatery. Mae’s was closed yesterday, and those in the know say the closing stemmed from a dispute between the owners, husband and wife team Sean and Jessica McCarthy. Mae’s Twitter feed seemed to confirm the trouble, attributing…
Heidelberg Project installs solar-powered security system
One of the Heidelberg Project’s recently destroyed installations. After a string of arsons starting late last year, the Heidelberg Project has installed a comprehensive solar-powered security system, a Heidelberg Project spokesperson announced. The plan includes a DVR mainframe with remote monitoring capability, more than 10 strategically placed cameras, and solar-panel-powered streetlights. The security was paid for, in…
A very brief chat with Babyface
Babyface (Kenneth Edmonds) is so softly spoken in conversation that the phone line actually struggles to pick up his voice. No word of a lie, the technology doesn’t yet exist that can capture a sentence spoken by Babyface and transmit it across the country. He’s performing with Toni Braxton at Chene Park this weekend. The…
Still Standing: MT profiles Palmer Park’s Log Cabin
Known as Detroit’s only remaining log cabin, the structure found in Palmer Park, while once a bustling summer home often visited by traveling politicians, friends, and family has fallen into some disrepair. Built in 1885 by Senator Thomas W. Palmer for his wife, Lizzie Merrill Palmer, the cabin was fashioned to appear rustic both inside…
DCFC to host World Cup viewing party in Cadillac Square
Detroit City Football Club, a local soccer organization, will host a World Cup viewing party in Cadillac Square tomorrow at 12 p.m. The screening will feature the match between the USA and Germany. This match will is also the last game of the group round for the United States Men’s National team. Held in the outdoor…
City Slang: Ted Nugent’s Kamp for Kids
It just needs one more “K,” doesn’t it? Remember that old Simpsons gag, where Bart goes to the “Krusty Komedy Klassic”? Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. Nugent started his Kamp in 1989 with the aim of getting “kids out of malls, off the streets, away from drugs and crime, into the woods and…
Record Review: Ed Sheeran — X
Ed Sheeran X Atlantic Records There aren’t too many musical styles that can elicit the feeling of being tortured, but Ed Sheeran’s X proved a downright painful experience. The homely ginger is known for his annoying-yet-ubiquitous hit “The A Team,” and if it were 100 years before we heard that song again, it would be…
Record Review: Lana Del Rey — Ultraviolence
Lana Del Rey Ultraviolence Interscope Lana Del Rey, aka Lizzie Grant, certainly isn’t the first artist to create a persona for herself. She might get the most shit for it, though. Part of the reason may be that her persona just isn’t that fascinating; a cartoon parody of a femme fatale. Maybe that’s the point:…
Record Review: The Green Seed — Drapetomania
The Green Seed Drapetomania Communicating Vessels The intro allows this hip-hop record from Alabama group the Green Seed to nestle in, to give the listener a false sense of security, and then “Jude Law” kicks in, with its jazz loops and witty lyrics. “I did not play Obi Wan,” they chant — a silly but…
Stream new releases from Echospace, Kenny Dixon Jr, and more
Echospace’s Echoes in Space set sounds exactly like you’d expect — deep, ambient, and moody, with dabs of trance and trip-hop. “Variant — Drifting Waves” is over 42 minutes long, and there are 130 tracks here, so this should keep you busy for a while, though never bored. Just sit back, close your eyes, and…
Meet guitarist and bassist Nadir
For the first time in a very long time, I’m in multiple bands, and I’m actually performing with five different groups at the moment. Besides my own funk band (billed as Nadir), which has been my main gig for the past decade or so, I’m the rhythm guitarist and musical director for rock phenomenon Steffanie…
Bee Organic Wax Candles
Bee Organic Wax Candles Wax On, Wax Off | beeorganic.net Soon to be available Whole Foods in Troy, this organic, all-natural line is made in Michigan by a local mom. Hoping to find a product to fight stretch marks while pregnant with her second child, Bee Organic founder Amanda Piszczek says nothing on the…
Glow Fish Studios offers quirky home goods
Glow Fish Studios | 2840 Biddle Ave., Wyandotte; 734-552-6323; glowfishstudios.com | Open 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday While the city of Wyandotte has seen many boutiques over the years, very few seem to have what it takes to stick around. Glow Fish Studios, a relatively new store on Biddle Avenue on the outskirts…
Danielle Abela beats the heat and looks fashionable
20-year-old Detroit native Danielle Abela knows how to beat the heat and still look fashionable. While she’s on the job at Pitaya in Royal Oak, her outfit looks work-appropriate, though cool in her navy-and-white-striped maxi skirt, which she bought at Pitaya. Pairing the skirt with a jean jacket and white tank-top from Forever 21, Abela…
PuppetART Theater’s season in full swing
Detroit PuppetART Theater offers an opportunity to escape the heat with a summer season well worth a look. The theater’s rich, multicultural productions are known for having an eye for detail that should offer plenty to appreciate for both kids and adults. The Crane Maiden, originally scheduled to round out June, gets an extended run…
Ann Arbor to Detroit rail could happen in 2-3 years
Last week, one could almost hear a collective sigh across metro Detroit when reports surfaced that a long-planned Woodward Avenue streetcar faced a $12 million funding shortfall. But amid all the hullabaloo about the fate of that project and failed legislation to boost road funding, a gleam of transit-centric light shined through: Earlier this month,…
This sticky, sugary pastry isn’t just for Ramadan
The burgeoning Bangladeshi Muslim population in Hamtramck has altered the face of Conant Street, breathing new life into this former Polish-American stronghold, with hundreds of Bangladeshi households centered on this main drag. A decade ago, this strip had been fading fast; now grocers, sari shops, and eateries line the street, where you’re just as likely…
‘American Idol’ star Josh Gracin opens up
It wasn’t meant to be this way. When we got the idea of talking to metro Detroit native and country darling Josh Gracin to celebrate his headline appearance at this weekend’s Stars and Stripes Festival, we were anticipating a pleasant chat about his appearances on American Idol, his relocation to Nashville, his family, and his…
Local Beer Barrel Bourbon
You might have noticed that many Michigan breweries seem to be hopping aboard the distilling train lately. But New Holland Brewing started their distilling practices almost a decade ago. Based in (you guessed it) New Holland, the brewery makes high-gravity beers like Dragon’s Milk, along with such seasonals as Ichabod Pumpkin Ale, and year-round favorite…
The many transformations of LaShaun Phoenix Kotaran
LaShaun Phoenix Kotaran has strutted into Starbucks bouncing to music no one else can hear. It’s like she’s found the hidden melody wedged between the smoothie machine, scooting chairs, and the cash register. She exchanges a smile and a five spot with the cashier for a Hibiscus tea that matches her dress. This is the…
Film Review: Obvious Child
Obvious Child | B It’s hard to decide whether to criticize Obvious Child for its banal sitcom shortcomings or praise it for its understated (or, in terms of the press, overstated) gutsiness. On the one hand, writer-director Gillian Robespierre’s reworked 2009 short film (now padded to be her debut feature) is clumsily scripted, sloppily directed,…
Restaurant Review: Antojitos El Catracho
Antojitos El Catracho 7340 McGraw St., Detroit 313-399-3135 Handicap accessible Dinners: $6-$12.49 Antojitos: $2-$5.49 Breakfast: $7-$8 Open 10 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday Why choose a Central American restaurant over a Mexican one? (Assuming, in both cases, that you’re going for the real thing rather than an Americanized version. Actually, I haven’t yet met an Americanized Central…
An interview with Neon Trees’ Tyler Glenn
When preparing to interview Neon Trees lead singer Tyler Glenn, we were expecting a loud, garish conversation. The “Everybody Talks” singer’s style can best be described as “fluorescent” and the vocals and lyrics he contributes to the band are boisterous and commanding, giving their moniker much credence. But when he dials us up last Friday…
The Summer Pledge call it a day
This week, it’s your last chance to come and hang out with the Summer Pledge. Whether on tour or just jamming in their Woodbridge attic, the group has always been focused around “the hang-out thing.” So says Summer Pledge guitarist and co-founder Jeremy Damaske, whose group is rounded out by guitarist-singer Dustin McLaughlin, drummer Rob…
Jockey Mike Holmes ushers in a new era at Hazel Park
The last time Hazel Park hosted a thoroughbred race, Coleman Young was in the Manoogian, Ronald Reagan was in the oval office, and the Detroit Tigers were the champions of baseball. The track, which opened in 1949 on the site of an old garbage dump, has been used exclusively for harness racing since 1985. With…
Tyree Guyton has coined a new word: Heidelbergology
Everything changes. Nothing stays the same and, to a large extent, how well you do in life is an outgrowth of how you manage change. Certainly big changes are afoot in Detroit with the city’s bankruptcy — not all change is good, but it must be managed. Detroit was once agricultural before it became a…
Bruce Weber turns his camera on Detroit in DIA exhibition
Back in 2006, Detroiters spotted a wholly unexpected sight around the city: supermodel Kate Moss. She was in town with fashion photographer Bruce Weber, posing for a 54-page spread for W magazine called “Welcome to the Motor City.” The photo story featured Moss shot in various locations — from the Heidelberg Project to the Detroit…
Pasquale’s serves up Detroit’s best Ameri-Italian
31555 Woodward Ave., Royal Oak; 248-549-4002; pasqualesrestaurant.com Open 4 p.m.-11 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 4 p.m.-midnight Friday-Saturday, noon-10 p.m. Sunday Situated on Woodward, far removed from the city’s bro-ridden downtown, Pasquale’s has been quietly serving up some of the best Ameri-Italian cuisine anywhere around town for the last 50 years. Complete with pizza, pasta, pescatarian dishes, Neapolitan fare,…
Detroit City Council signs off on operating and construction agreements for Woodward streetcar
Rendering of M-1 Rail streetcar project (Wikimedia Commons) Organizers behind a 3.3-mile streetcar line along Woodward Avenue said today that groundbreaking and construction details of the transit project “will be announced in the coming weeks” — with an indication work should begin next month. The news follows Detroit City Council’s unanimous approval of the M-1 Rail project’s operating…
A look inside Detroit’s Anchor Bar
450 W. Fort St., Detroit; 313-964-9127; anchorbardetroit.com Open 7 a.m.- 2:30 a.m. Monday- Saturday, noon-2:30 p.m. Sunday Known as a hangout for local journalists, the Anchor Bar is something of a legend around Detroit. Rows and rows of framed photographs hang above the nearly black wood bar, reminding patrons what the 50-year-old-plus bar stands for. You…
‘MT’ interviewed the first openly gay congressman
A look back at what was happening this week in Metro Times … 29 years ago in Metro Times: MT interviews the first openly gay congressman and later LGBT rights activist Gerry Studds after he spoke during Gay Pride Week in Detroit. The interviewer, Rosanna Less, asked Studds to discuss when he was censured by the House…
East side tudor boasts post-apocalyptic decor
Nestled just off I-94 on Detroit’s east side, this condemned house simply refuses to crumble, despite being abandoned and ravaged by fire. The structure at 5930 Nottingham sits swaddled in knee-high grass and overgrown trees, though, aside from one other abandoned house, the block is quaint, with well-maintained homes. It seems the area is prone…
City Slang: ACLU provides update following day in court
On Monday, June 23, the ACLU and ICP’s case against the FBI regarding the designation of Juggalos as a criminal gang was presented to a federal judge. Today, Michael Steinberg, the ACLU of Michigan legal director, provided an update via Youtube. See it here: Follow @City_Slang
Watch the new video for Tunde Olaniran’s “Critical”
Flint’s Tunde Olaniran has a new video out for “Critical” from his Yung Archetype EP released earlier this year. Check out those beats. Check out that big production. Check out that coif. Watch the video below:
A list of locally-sourced Detroit restaurants
Reward our local heroes — Keep Growing Detroit, the urban agriculture organization behind the Garden Resource Program and Grown in Detroit, provides a list of restaurants that procure their fresh ingredients from the city’s small growers. Generally, it’s a good thing when an eatery is just as serious about the way its food tastes as…
Detroit’s Checkers has new owners
Buzz has been building about Checkers Bar & Grill, a downtown hamburger joint on Cadillac Square that has seen better days. For years, it was an increasingly tired little bar and grill that attracted a tiny lunch crowd, despite its prime location. The good news is that the same owners who reinvigorated Foran’s Grand Trunk…
Futuristic restaurant Aqua opens in Plymouth
Last week, Plymouth saw the opening of Aqua, which is described in such unusual terms that it’s hard to get a handle on just what it is. It’s a “world fusion, modern fine dining establishment … offering a unique dining experience highlighted by a diverse menu of ‘edible and drinkable art.’” OK, so we weren’t…
Leah Waldo mixes ceramics and glass to create her own style
Leah Waldo had just completed a degree in culinary arts and hotel and restaurant management. The only problem was that she didn’t want to be in hotel and restaurant management anymore. “I wasn’t super set out to be in the kitchen,” she says. “I wanted to make art that is more lasting. I know everything…
Film review: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?
With Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?, director Arvin Chen has asked some very difficult questions, real thought-provokers, but has also managed to retain an air of whimsy. It’s quite an achievement — he’s able to make us laugh out loud and feel good, while the movie basically follows a couple of doomed relationships. Optometrist…
How Detroit’s Capers Steakhouse found its niche
It’s a weekday afternoon at Capers Steakhouse on Detroit’s east side. Janina Jacobs, co-owner of the restaurant with her husband, Gary, is testing cheese sauces for the restaurant’s massive baked potatoes. Evidently, the sauce was drawing customer complaints. Nibbling on a spoonful of the sauce, she wrinkles her nose and says, “Oh, I don’t like…
Detroit Education Achievement Authority veers out of control
It’s an experience many of us have had: We’re driving in winter and hit an icy patch of road. As that stomach-dropping feeling of sliding out of control hits, time, for an instant, lapses into slow motion, and the whole scene turns slightly surreal. Something akin to that occurred during last week’s meeting of the…
MT readers sound off on ’43 race riot, Flint, Detroit Public Schools
THE PAST IS STILL THE PRESENT In response to Michael Jackman’s blog post on the 71st anniversary of Detroit’s 1943 race riot, reader “Michael Horka” posted on Facebook: I always tell myself not to read the comments. Listen, dearest white people, who seem to know oh-so much about Detroit history and racism: You obviously don’t.…
Lessenberry: Detroit’s EAA ‘fatally flawed’
John Covington, the imperial head of Detroit’s fatally flawed Education Achievement Authority, got fired last week. They’re all denying that, of course. The cover story is that suddenly, at the start of the week, he “resigned to care for his ailing mother,” which is touching, presuming he has one. And, oh, yeah, he plans to…
Detroit rapper Nique Love Rhodes
Nique Love Rhodes is a Detroit power woman with a driving rhythm. The 26 year old has rhymes and vocabulary that inspire. You might’ve heard her song “Rise Up” on the NFL channel during this year’s draft. We first heard her at Blowout a few weeks back, and we were blown away. Metro Times: How…
Horoscopes (June 25 — July 1)
ARIES (March 21-April 20): You can’t afford to be too cautious about anything right now. It sounds strange, I know, but this whole situation calls for bold measures and enough balls to take chances that no one but you can take. I can’t say for sure how long it will be before you have any…
High art in Highland Park, Atwater opens brewery, more
High art in Highland Park Move over, Midtown, and get out of the way, Eastern Market — Highland Park is the new hot art community of the D. Recent New Zealand transplant Robert Onnes and Detroiter Bob Sestok have teamed up to transform 333 Midland from an abandoned factory into what could be the biggest…
Detroit Derby Girls to play free outdoor bout at Eastern Market
The Detroit Derby Girls offer an opportunity to catch one of their bouts for free and check out Eastern Market’s new Sunday Street Market. The Girls will play a rare outdoor bout on June 29, 2014 at 2 p.m. behind Shed 3 at 2934 Russell Street, Detroit. (You might want to bring your own folding chairs, as…
City Slang: Music review roundup
Send CDs, vinyl, cassettes, demos and 8-tracks to Brett Callwood, Metro Times, 1200 Woodward Heights, Ferndale MI 48220. Email MP3s and streaming links to bcallwood@metrotimes.com. My Brightest Diamond’s None More Than You EP (Asthmatic Kitty), out in July, precedes her full length This is My Hand album which comes out in September. So it’s kind…
