Cover Story
How Paul Weertz helped stabilize the tiny Detroit neighborhood you almost never hear about
Take the Mount Elliott exit off I-94 and head southwest into the old Polish neighborhood and you will quickly find the scenery most often associated with Detroit’s disinvestment and decline. Fate has been unkind to old Poletown, and many of the old main thoroughfares have been so denuded of old houses they exist now as…
UPDATE: No charges in ICE agent shooting, Worthy says
Updated 11:25 a.m., Aug. 19, 2015: Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced Wednesday that no charges would be filed against Mitchell Quinn, WWJ reports. “I have concluded that the totality of the evidence supports Agent Quinn’s versions of the events and that Terrance Kellom’s fatal shooting was justified by the law of self-defense and the…
Record review: ‘Joy In My Soul’ by the Soul Stirrers
The best ten bucks I’ve spent on a new release in some time has to be the two disc set Joy In My Soul: The Complete SAR Recordings (Abkco). Produced by Teri Landi and with notes by Bill Dahl, it’s just remarkable music.
Still time to bid on what’s left of Northland Mall
This is the biggest, weirdest, wildest clearance auction ever.
Check out these photos of Shepard Fairey’s mural in progress
Check out these images of Shepard Fairey’s mural in progress.
Yemans Street back in business
One of the city’s coolest little pop-ups is popping up again.
Mackinac Policy Conference will host a pop-up market of Detroit businesses
Peacock Room, Rebel Nell, Cyberoptix, and Sweet Potato Sensations will be featured at the Mackinac Policy Conference.
We’re extra stoked about ‘Eden One: An Official Movement Afterparty’
Looking for experimental/ slightly left-of-center dance parties during Movement? Of course, there’s Squarepusher this Monday. But the single show I myself am the most super stoked for is this afterparty Saturday night at the Garden Theater in midtown. Vatican Shadow live!!! Yay. I’m a very busy person here, so I’m just going to take this press…
Here’s Michigan’s “most distinctive” cause of death, according to the Centers for Disease Control
In Michigan, the most distinctive cause of death for that period is “atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, so described.”
Concert review: The Rentals at the Loving Touch
WHO: The Rentals WHEN: May 18, 2015 WHERE: The Loving Touch, Ferndale The Rentals prove to have a few new tricks left in the bag In twenty years of going to shows in Detroit, I rarely see much enthusiasm for bands that ask for audience participation. Maybe it’s the types of shows I frequent, but…
Regional Transit Authority seeks public feedback in Wednesday open house meeting
The first meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20.
11 songs dedicated to the guy who did 153 on the freeway
Almost a dozen ditties to get your speedometer up this afternoon.
‘Hardcore Architecture’ art project highlights four MI punk bands
“Hardcore Architecture explores the relationship between the architecture of living spaces and the history of underground American hardcore bands in the 1980s. Band addresses are discovered using contact listings found in demo tape and record reviews published from 1982-89 in the fanzine MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL (MRR).”
Local latin-inspired cafe opens art show in honor of Frida Kahlo
Cafe Con Leche is opening an art show in honor of Frida Kahlo.
Loveland’s mapping technology keeps on surprising us
Property mapping system allows users to see who’s behind on taxes.
Musings from Motor City Comic Con: A recap
Impressions from Comic Con.
Mo Pop will have music, beer, and an adorable craft fair
Craft Bazaar added to Mo Pop’s lineup.
Porous Borders Festival scores a victory over boundaries
Art events don’t always reach these kind of border-busting highs, but it’s exciting when they do.
Frankenmuth Brewery’s Batch 69 just won big
Frankenmuth Brewery wins big at 2015 World Expo of Beer.
Reminder: Detroit Design Festival seeking applications
Each year, the fest highlights Detroit’s creative class with events, performances, showcases, and other happenings.
The guy who wrote ‘I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke’ jingle is from Detroit
Thanks to local DJ and music historian Adam Stanfel, we were alerted last night to the fact that the jingle in the much-discussed ‘Hilltop’ ad, the song “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke,” was written by Roquel “Billy” Davis (July 11, 1932 – September 2, 2004), who worked with Tamla, J-V-B, and Chess, among…
‘Knight Rider’ in Spanish? Meet ‘El Coche Fantástico’!
Knight Rider in Spanish is called El Coche Fantástico.
Concert review: Daniel Bachman, Ignatz house party
WHO: Daniel Bachman WHEN: Saturday, May 16, 2015 WHERE: House show in Eastern Market area, Detroit There’s nothing like getting a text from a visiting musician friend to tell you that they’re playing a house party that evening, and can they crash at your place. So you get your place ready, show up and of…
Concert review: Great Lake Swimmers at the Majestic
WHO: Great Lake Swimmers, Woven Tangles WHERE: Majestic Cafe, Ferndale WHEN: Friday, May 15, 2015 With enough energy to swim across the lakes their name references, Great Lake Swimmers blew the roof off of the Majestic Cafe last Friday night. Before Woven Tangles took the stage, the crowd anticipated a typical opener with eight songs…
Today is World Whiskey Day
It’s World Whiskey Day.
Detroit incinerator owner to hold community meeting May 21
The owner of Detroit’s municipal solid waste incinerator, the largest facility of its kind in the nation, has scheduled a community meeting for May 21. Detroit Renewable Power says the meeting will focus on improvements being made to the facility, which has been scrutinized for an overbearing odor problem. Last October, DRP signed to a consent…
A moving tribute to Comet Bar’s Dan Meder
We can’t hide it — we were unrepentant fans of Detroit’s Comet Bar. We were bummed to hear the cherished dive would be demolished to make way for “You-Paid-For-It Stadium,” and we even honored it with a “Best Bar to Mourn” Critics’ Pick in this year’s Best of Detroit awards. But all of that paled in comparison to the…
Watch: Detroit! Drones! Clichéd comparisons to Chernobyl!
People took drone footage of Detroit. Other people made Chernobyl comparisons.
Concert review: Interpol at the Fillmore
WHO: Interpol with special guest Algiers WHERE: The Fillmore Detroit WHEN: May 13, 2015 At Wednesday night’s Interpol show at the Fillmore, the opening act Algiers demonstrated an amazing variety of influence in their music: the rhythms of hip hop, vocals with strong gospel roots, electronic melodies straight out of new wave, and the occasional frenetic…
How not to do Flower Day at Eastern Market
Don’t be a shuffle-butt, a stroller-pusher, or an aisle-blocker. And have fun!
Cass Corridor artist Robert Sestok’s City Sculpture art park nears completion
While a firm public opening date hasn’t been announced yet, we’re told it should be soon.
The Pink Pump brand will return soon
The Pump returns
103 years ago, that asshole Ty Cobb attacked a fan
The man had lost most of both hands, and some in the crowd protested the beating. Undeterred, Cobb yelled, “I don’t care if he got no feet!”
George Miller successfully returns to the world of ‘Mad Max’
Mad Max Fury Road: A- It’s hard to overstate the influence George Miller’s Mad Max movies have had on popular culture. His vision of a spaghetti Western-style antihero roaming a blasted, post-apocalyptic wasteland where tribe-like factions battle it out for precious resources, most especially fuel, has become the template for countless films, novels, comic books,…
Attorney: Chinese architect seeking release from Michigan jail would face torture if deported
A Chinese architect who’s been held in a west Michigan jail for the last year should be released while she seeks asylum in the U.S., according to a federal lawsuit filed last month in Ann Arbor. But her request may be rendered moot before any decision is made. An attorney for the woman, Shixin Lu…
Scenes from Chartreuse’s soft opening
A sneak peek at Detroit’s newest restaurant.
‘Like a one person Calexico’: Ethan Daniel Davidson plays the UFO Sat., May 16
This Saturday, May 16, much of Detroit musical royalty will be clustered in one place: at Ethan Daniel Davidson’s show at UFO Factory. This special record release show is for Drawnigh, Ethan Daniel Davidson’s newest full-length which finds the otherworldly and well-traveled folk troubadour immersed in Detroit’s fertile music scene, with some of the best musicians in…
Detroit named one of the most youthful cities in North America
View image | gettyimages.com Detroit was named the 11th most youthful city in North America, and 25th overall according to a recent survey. The Toronto-based YouthfulCities surveyed thousands of young people on topics including culture, employment, and sports to attempt to quantify which cities are most attractive to young people between 15-29. Detroit performed well in a…
New bridge between US and Canada to be named after Gordie Howe
Multiple reports floating about say the $2.1 billion New International Trade Crossing between the U.S. and Canada will be named after Detroit Red Wings legend Gordie Howe, a popular guy here in the city and across the pond. Howe suffered a stroke last fall, countered in response by a controversial stem cell treatment. After he…
Michigan is pretty bike-friendly, according to this report
What do you think Michigan can do to be a more bike-friendly state?
Here are the completed Southwest Detroit murals
Southwest Detroit resident, photographer, and community leader Erik Howard sent us these photos of the completed murals.
Eastern Market is getting a new bicycle shop
Another bike shop is opening in Detroit
New pop-up pops inside 1515 Broadway
555 opens a pop-up inside 1515
Chef Kate Williams will depart from Republic Tavern
Republic’s general manager confirms that rising culinary star Kate Williams put in her two-week notice at 6 p.m. yesterday.
Wayne County extends deadline to pay property taxes to June 8
On the heels of a deadline for residents with past-due property tax bills to avoid foreclosure, more than a dozen groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan (ACLU), pressed for Wayne County to implement a moratorium on foreclosures. The county treasurer Tuesday opted instead to extend the deadline until June 8 for…
MDOT replacing I-75 bridge supports in Detroit; plan for a slower commute
The Michigan Department of Transportation on Thursday began replacing bridge supports for I-75 in Detroit under the eastbound I-94 ramp. MDOT says the bridge supports on both north and southbound of I-75 were needed “after routine bridge maintenance discovered deteriorated concrete on one of the supporting columns.” The project will bring a monthlong closure of…
Corktown Farmers Market to open, grand opening next week
Excitement is building among local business owners and slated vendors for the Corktown Farmers Market.
Meet Meredith Miotke, the artist who created the cover illustration for this week’s MT
Check out this artist’s maps of Detroit.
Horoscopes (May 13 – 19)
ARIES (March 21-April 20): There is so much going on, let’s hope you are in the mood to deal with it. If you could see your life from a bird’s eye view, you would know that no matter how things look at the moment, everything is on the increase and waiting to pop. Nevertheless, the…
Sweet Lorraine’s plots Midtown location
What does it say about Michiganders’ food tastes? Sweet Lorraine’s is a venerable, much-loved brand, one of the first restaurants in the area to serve more adventurous food, way back in 1984. But right next door in the Ren Cen food court, Subway sports a lunchtime line of 20 or more, while at Sweet Lorraine’s…
Bevlove prepares her Americana III festival
Beverly Johnson shows up to Assemble Sound looking like a million bucks and carrying a chilled bottle of champagne. She’s already won me over with her powerful updated R&B music, but I guess she just wants to ensure our interview is a magical time. She is confident, but not cocky. When I tell her I…
The return of the Johnny Ill Band, who never really went away
After a bit of a hiatus, one of our finest local bands is back — the Johnny Ill Band, who’ve released records on both X! and Urinal Cake. As a recent transplant to the Detroit area, I first encountered Ill as a record store employee and DJ; I didn’t know how great his band was…
Exodos Rooftop welcomes summer with ‘Rooftop Saturdays’
Above Greektown’s Golden Fleece is a bar that’s a far cry from your traditional Greek restaurant. Though the same family that runs the eatery below owns the second-story bar, you won’t find any gyros or saganaki here. With exposed brick walls, sleek leather couches, and rooftop deck, Exodos is a prime place to party whether…
Joshua Abrams’ Natural Information Society plays Trinosophes on May 20
I got a press release the other week for a record called Magnetoception (Eremite), which read that “it sounds like no other music being made today,” and I’d normally not pay any attention to such a claim, because public relations people are paid to promote stuff, and usually they’re pimping things that sound like everything…
Ask a Juggalo: What do you think is weird?
Q: A lot of mainstream people think Juggalos are weird. What do you think is weird? A: I like that. At the end of the day, as Juggalos, we are very scrutinized, and we are very, very, very prejudged. We as Juggalos think it’s weird that you have to do your hair a certain way…
Detroit and Hamtramck’s Porous Borders Festival breaks through barriers
A parade, art installations, theatrical performances, sports, manicures, and an oil-change competition are some of things bound to make Hamtramck and Detroit’s upcoming Porous Borders Festival different than your typical art festival. Then again, the act of breaking through borders is one of the festival’s main motives. The two-day festival is the brainchild of the…
Retired DPS teacher Carole Watson wants to help you remember to shop at local black businesses
Carole Watson is spirited. She’ll tell you it doesn’t take a lot to make her happy. One thing that fills her with joy and laughter is seeing locally owned black businesses flourish. While Detroit is seeing a renaissance, not all shop owners are thriving. She started a local collective called Us Too Detroit that’s helping…
Lessenberry gets a lesson, a reader gets bent out of shape about Twisted Tavern, and more
Teach him a lesson In response to Jack Lessenberry’s recent Politics & Prejudices column, one passionate reader, “Mama Grizzly,” had this to say: Lessenberry writes, “As a young charter school teacher once asked me, ‘How do you teach a kid whose mother is a hooker, and he lives in the back seat of her car,…
Hello, Green Leaf Road?
It was a smart bit of positioning the MI Legalize team has been doing in relation to the whole Michigan roads and infrastructure funding argument. They were smarter than Gov. Rick Snyder and his Republican-controlled legislature were in parsing the mood of state voters on raising the sales tax by 1 percent — something Snyder…
Southwest Detroit’s Danto Furniture thrives after 75 years
It isn’t easy for a business to survive in Detroit. With a crop of new restaurants popping up in the city, many have wondered how long the economy will be able to support such expensive novelties as craft cocktail bars, fancy tasting rooms, and dainty shared-plates bistros. Other, older small businesses have somehow managed to…
Relentlessly positive humiliation
Believe it or not, there was a little bit of good news for Gov. Rick Snyder last week, the day the voters dealt him what appeared to be an utterly humiliating defeat on Proposal 1, the constitutional amendment to repair the roads. Snyder had campaigned hard for it, even though it wasn’t his first choice…
Fixated
Q: My wife is one of those women who need manual stimulation of her clit during sex to climax. Before meeting her, I had several long-term girlfriends, and not one needed to do this in order to climax. Before we got married, I explained that I wanted to explore and push the boundaries, and she…
Esto’s Garage is a pop-up where you order with your fingers
Esteban Castro, 35, runs one of the more interesting pop-ups in town. It’s called “Esto’s Garage,” and it starts up around 8 or 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday nights at Café D’Mongo’s Speakeasy. Castro is a self-taught chef, and the food is influenced by the food of his late mother, whose heritage he calls “part-Mexican,…
