Cover Story
Detroit’s new QLine debuts to much fanfare amid public transit woes
When considering the QLine, Detroit’s new $180 million streetcar that finally opened to the public last week after nearly a decade in development, compare the modest scope of the project to its larger-than-life rollout. It is the first streetcar to roll down Woodward Avenue in 61 years. It transports riders on a roughly 25-minute, 3.3-mile…
Bleed all over me: Chris Cresswell on this weekend’s Bled Fest in Howell, MI
This year’s much-anticipated BLED Fest is almost upon us. The all-ages, multi-genre, substance-free festival is largely a celebration of youthful punk/related musics. It goes down all day this Saturday, May 27, at the Hartland Performing Arts Center in Howell, MI. Metro Times spoke to veteran performer Chris Cresswell of the Flatliners in anticipation of their appearance at BLED. Metro Times: You…
Nonprofit works to keep thousands of Detroiters in their homes as tax foreclosure deadline looms
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to give further detail on the status of the ACLU case against Wayne County Treasurer Eric Sabree. A Detroit housing nonprofit has launched an ambitious effort to reach thousands of city residents at risk of losing their homes to tax foreclosure as a final payment deadline approaches. Homeowners…
Local company wants your input to create a Detroit-flavored ice cream, but time is running out
Hudsonville Ice Cream, based in Holland on the west side of the state, is working to create an ice cream flavor that will embody the spirit of Detroit. Instead of huddling around a conference table in a board room somewhere, they decided to come up with the flavor profile in a more unique manner. The…
As state fair redevelopment stalls, neighbors will gather to seek alternative vision
In 2013, MT news editor Curt Guyette wrote a series of stories covering the fate of the former site of the Michigan State Fair. After Gov. Jennifer Granholm canceled funding for the fair in 2009, the 157 acres of state-owned propertyhad sat in disuse, as the state was still on the hook for caring for…
A doc on the Melvins plays at Third Man on Wednesday, May 24
Wednesday, 5/24 The Colossus of Destiny: A Melvins Tale @ Third Man Records The legendary Melvins, who have been in the business of being awesome for over thirty years, are finally the subject of their own documentary. The Colossus of Destiny: A Melvins Tale is a compendium of testimonials from peers, producers, and the band…
Little Caesars Arena cost creeps toward billion dollar mark
The Michigan Strategic Fund has approved another round of taxpayer financing for the Little Caesars Arena that will bring the total cost of the project to about $863 million. A little more than $324 million of that will be public money. The change came after Detroit’s Downtown Development Authority asked for an amendment to its…
Trump’s 2018 budget wipes out funding for the Great Lakes
A longtime speculation has finally been confirmed about Trump’s budget plan for 2018: funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has been completely wiped out. The White House’s Office of Management and Budget released the proposed plans today and many people are not happy about the cuts, especially the ones to the Great Lakes that…
U.S. government sues Fiat Chrysler for violating Clean Air Act
It turns out that Fiat Chrysler is in some hot water with the Environmental Protection Agency and now the U.S. Department of Justice. Reports have come out indicating that a lawsuit has been filed against Fiat Chrysler alleging that some diesel pickup trucks and Jeep cheat on emission tests. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in…
Used shipping container debuts as Detroit maritime museum
Shipping containers are just about everywhere in Detroit. They are homes, restaurants, possibly Shakespearean theaters and now one is being used as a maritime museum on the Detroit Riverfront. In light of National Maritime Day, the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority debuted the shipping-container-turned-museum called the Portal View. The educational resource will be located at Bates…
There’s a contestant on The Bachelorette this season from Grosse Pointe Park
Well ladies, if this season’s bachelorette Rachel Lindsay doesn’t pick Alex Bordyukov at the end of the show, there will be a heartbroken and eligible bachelor making his way back to metro Detroit in need of a shoulder to cry on. Alex Bordyukov, from Grosse Pointe Park, is one of the many men competing for…
Olga’s Kitchen matriarch turns 91, franchise celebrates with snackers
The woman behind Olga’s Kitchen, Olga Loizon, turns 91 today, and the franchise she created from the ground up is celebrating with Snackers, Snackers, and more Snackers. In addition to a cinnamon-sugar Snackers windfall for Olga’s customers, the Royal Oak location will also premier a special video for Olga and serve a cinnamon-sugar Snackers cake in…
Considering the coney dog on American Coney Island’s 100th anniversary
According to the historians at American Coney Island, we mark a hallowed occasion today: the arrival of that fabled confection in Detroit with the opening of American 100 years ago. In metro Detroit, few among us don’t know that timeless creation: a frankfurter in a natural casing ensconced in a fluffy steamed bun, topped with…
A Harry Potter-themed escape room is coming to Novi
We think that the folks at the Escape Room Novi may have found the secret recipe to total and utter fun — an escape room where you can live out your wildest Harry Potter fantasies. Let us give you a rundown on how these Escape Rooms work if you’re never done one before. It’s basically…
Jack White can add children’s author to his extensive resumé
Just when you think Jack White couldn’t possibly have anything else on his plate, we find out that he is adding children’s book author to his highly extensive list of credentials. That’s right folks. White has written his very own children’s book called We’re Going To Be Friends, based off the classic White Stripes song…
Bob Seger adds second date, at the Palace in September
“For the last time, Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band will return to the Palace of Auburn Hills” begins a press release we received this morning. That’s right — due to overwhelming demand, after quickly selling out his appearance at Pine Knob, Seger added a date at the Palace on Saturday, Sept. Sept. 23. Related…
Finally, a 2017 Kia Sportage review set in Hamtramck!
Typically, when we’ve been pitched the idea of buying a new car, it’s been in a television commercial showing the vehicle careening across a majestic landscape on a smooth ribbon of road, the only car for miles. With the advent of online reviews, however, cars can be presented to us in ways that are intensely…
Top Chef Rebecca LaMalfa takes over brunch at Mabel Gray; Katoi lands at MOCAD
Former Top Chef Rebecca LaMalfa will take over brunch duties at Mabel Gray on Sunday, June 4. LaMalfa is now a hot shot in Chicago where she previously worked as the executive sous chef at Trencerhmen before moving on to the chef de cuisine position at Virgin Hotels. Brunch is served from 10 a.m. until 2…
University of Michigan is the most beautiful college campus in all of Michigan
Well, according to Buzzfeed it is. The listical media titan published another list over the weekend of the most beautiful college campuses in each state. The crown jewel of Michigan’s universities, University of Michigan, got the ~prestigious~ title of Michigan’s most beautiful college campus. What’s strange is that Buzzfeed gives no evidence to why U-M is…
Ford reportedly to fire CEO Mark Fields amid race for driverless tech
Multiple outlets are reporting that Ford Motor Co.’s board of directors has decided to oust CEO Mark Fields. According to Forbes: The shakeup is a result of Executive Chairman Bill Ford and the rest of the board losing confidence in Fields’ leadership, according to people familiar with the board’s thinking. Fields replaced Alan Mulally in…
Remembering the writer Richard C. Walls
Detroit-based writer Richard C. Walls died in hospice care over the weekend. Walls was a longtime writer for Creem, and reviewed films as recently as 12 years ago for Metro Times. Onetime MT music editor Bill Holdship wrote these words of remembrance and gave us permission to share with our readers. We present it along…
Watch Wolf Eyes stun the crowd at Moogfest this past weekend
It’s amazing this band has been around as long as they have and still remain so vital. Cycling through a range of heady sounds which recall elements of the Doors, SWA, Suicide, the Liquid Sky soundtrack, your uncle’s Sun Ra tapes, the live clip of Throbbing Gristle doing “Discipline,” that dream from last week which…
Can’t-miss shows of the week: Moonwalks, at MOCAD tonight, and at Whateverfest tomorrow, Saturday, May 20
This weekend presents two chances to see Detroit’s Moonwalks. They’ve not played around much of late so you will want to try to do this because they are our favorite local dreampop band, combining as they do sugary-sweet melodies with an unexpectedly intense delivery. Their music doesn’t have you reaching in your phone to find…
Detroit Tigers announce new Miguel Cabrera candy
At a press event at Comerica Park this afternoon, the Detroit Tigers organization and baseball icon Miguel Cabrera announced the launch of a new candy called Bitbits produced by Cabrera-owned Miggy Foods. “This great project is the result of the hard work and dedication of many people. I am very excited for my family, business…
Live review: Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry at El Club Monday, May 15
When the Subatomic Sound System begins to thump out the room, a few songs later, a gurgly, almost cartoonish voice emanates from the speakers. It’s clear that the voice is live, but it’s coming from somewhere not on stage. It’s a recognizable voice, with a touch more age and rust on it. It’s Lee Scratch…
QLine extends free rides through June
QLine operator M-1 Rail announced today that Detroit’s new streetcar will continue giving free rides through the month of June, with fare going into effect starting July 1. What started as a launch weekend promotion was extended to another week, and now an additional six weeks. According to a statement from M-1 Rail, the promotion extension…
You can adopt a cat or dog at the Detroit zoo this weekend
As if being at the zoo and hanging out with the hippos and penguins wasn’t enough, if you go this Friday or Saturday you will also be hanging out with a ton of dog, cats, and rabbits that are waiting for there fur-ever home. The Meet Your Best Friend pet adoption event returns to the…
New poutinerie in the works for the Cass Corridor
We’re weeks away from the area’s first Smoke’s poutinerie opening in Ann Arbor, but a Detroit location could already be in the works. Crain’s first reported that a Smoke’s franchise is planned for the new “District Detroit” area around Little Cesar’s Arena. A franchisee tells Crain’s he is “in negotiations right now to be part…
In the last two weeks chunks of concrete have crashed through the windshields of three drivers on I-696
Three drivers have had pieces of concrete slam through their windshields on 1-696 in Warren during the past two weeks, according to WDIV. The latest victim is a 42-year-old woman who was hit in side of the head, forehead was sliced, and sunglasses were snapped when a 10-to-12-pound piece of concrete flew threw her window.…
Michigan’s 2017 infrastructure report card is in, and it isn’t good
We’re not huge fans of commemorative designations, as in the unusual, confusing, and, yes, bizarre earmarking of days, weeks, and months to issues, diseases, and hobbies. It does get silly when you consider the month of May is National Correct Posture Month and International Internal Audit Awareness Month! But sometimes they do give us occasion to consider…
Chris Cornell once said that St. Andrew’s Hall was his favorite club to play
The music world is still shocked by the death of Soundgarden and Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell. Reports came out Thursday afternoon that Cornell’s death was ruled a suicide after he was found Wednesday night at his hotel at the MGM Grande here in Detroit. Fans of Soundgarden and Cornell in the Motor City have taken…
Gather, Eastern Market’s new campfire concept, opens next week
The long awaited opening of Gather is upon us as the restaurant will start service next week in the Eastern Market. Partners Nate Vogeli, Lea Hunt and Kyle Hunt buck the small plates trend by trading in “large plates” that are prepared over open flame and intended to be shared with your dining partners at…
Michigan is one step closer to legalizing pot
Let the signature-collecting begin. The Michigan State Board of Canvassers has approved language of a marijuana legalization initiative that would go before voters in November of 2018. The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol (RMLA) now has 180 days to collect 252,523 valid signatures from people who’d like to see the proposal on the ballot. If…
Teenager killed in Times Square was from Michigan
The young woman who was killed when a car ran onto the sidewalk in Times Square on Thursday has been identified as Alyssa Elsman from Portage, Michigan. Elsman was only 18-years-old. The New York Post reports that Elsman was visiting New York City with her family when tragedy struck. Reports say she was standing on…
Burn a Confederate flag this Memorial Day at Detroit gallery
With residents in many cities across America demanding that statues and memorials of the Confederate flag be removed, it’s no surprise that a protest of the flag made it’s way to Detroit. The N’Namdi Gallery in Detroit is hosting the “Burn and Burial Funeral” on Memorial Day. Artist John C. Sims is working with locals…
Updated: Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell commits suicide in Detroit
Updated 2:18 p.m.: The Associated Press reports a medical examiner has determined Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell committed suicide in Detroit by hanging. Related Originally posted 7:10 a.m.: Chris Cornell, lead singer of Seattle grunge band Soundgarden, died in Detroit after playing a show at the Fox Theatre on Wednesday night. He was 52. A representative for…
El Club expansion exceeds fundraising goal
Though some folks were upset when the owner of El Club last month turned to crowdfunding to help pay for a planned expansion of the Southwest Detroit music venue, it wasn’t enough to stop the 25-year-old from exceeding his goal to raise $50,000 to help turn the building next door into a cafe and community…
Trailer for doc on Stooges/MC5-loving 1970s Aussie act Radio Birdman is here
Thanks to Tim Perlich, today we learned that the documentary film on Australia’s cult act Radio Birdman (1974-78), Descent into the Maelstrom: The Radio Birdman Story, is nearing completion. It has its own trailer and everything. Though they formed in Sydney, Australia in 1974, the group’s leader, US-born guitarist/main songwriter Deniz Tek, is from Ann Arbor.…
City of Detroit coordinating massive effort to wrangle tax evaders who live in the city, use suburban address
Detroit residents who use a suburban address to avoid paying income tax and high insurance costs are under fire, according to a Detroit Free Press article that ran this morning. The city of Detroit is targeting 33 properties where people live and/or work in an aggressive effort to collect millions of dollars in unpaid income…
Live review: Soundgarden’s final show at the Fox on Wednesday, May 17
It comes with great shock to say that Chris Cornell, one of the greatest vocalists ever in alternative music, has passed away in Detroit at the age of 52. I must admit that it’s tough to write a show review in light of these tragic circumstances. Of course, Cornell’s final show should be detailed. And…
HopCat to celebrate its Royal Oak grand opening with free Crack Fries
Hopcat’s new downtown Royal Oak location in the former Woody’s launches this weekend. A rep for the gastropub tells MT the doors swing open at 11 a.m. on Saturday, but, as with all Michigan HopCat openings, you can bet the queue will be long as people clamor for the free Crack Fries. The first 200…
PotterCon takes over the Masonic Temple this Sunday
Readers lost their minds a few months ago when we revealed to them that a Harry Potter-themed convention was coming to Detroit. And now the day of PotterCon is almost upon us. What started as a way for a group of Hogwarts-loving grown folks to dust off their Harry Potter memorabilia and discuss microscopic plot…
Atwater’s Rivertown rooftop biergarten opens today
Nothing says summer in Michigan quite like sipping an ice cold brew on a shady patio. Now, Atwater beer lovers will be able to do just that on the brewery’s brand new rooftop patio found atop their Rivertown location. The patio will open this evening with a special VIP hour from 5 to 6 p.m.…
Anthony Bourdain to produce Detroit TV documentary
Anthony Bourdain is returning to Detroit. According to Variety, the TV personality is producing a four-part film with the working title Detroit 1963: Once in a Great City. It is slated for release in 2018 on CNN. Bourdain confirmed the project in an emailed statement to Eater, saying the film “is based on David Maraniss’ tremendous book…
Public input sought as state eyes plan to upgrade I-375
The Michigan Department of Transportation is offering Detroit residents the rare opportunity to have their say on a project that would require public money and considerably change the face of downtown. MDOT will hold its first public information meeting on possible changes coming for I-375 tonight. The meeting comes after a study determined something must…
Flint council urged to impose moratorium that would keep residents in homes
We discussed it earlier this month: Some 8,000 Flint households will face tax foreclosure for not paying water bills — even though the water was deemed unsafe for drinking. This happened to the good people of Flint through no fault of their own. The state GOP rammed through an emergency manager law that the people…
TNT to air Michael Moore non-fiction TV series this fall
Some credit is really due to President Trump for this one. The yellow-haired commander-in-chief has created an environment so politically toxic that Head Liberal and documentarian Michael Moore is returning to cable television after a 17 year hiatus. According to a story on indiewire.com, cable network TNT has ordered episodes for the non-fiction TV show,…
The Lunch Room’s owners are planning a third vegan restaurant
A new vegan restaurant that will be a third concept for The Lunch Room will open in the space occupied by the recently-shuttered Argiero’s. Lunch Room co-owner Phillis Engelbert tells MT that the expansion also means changes for the menu and concept at the current Kerrytown location. At the new restaurant and bar – called…
The QLine got the ‘Pure Michigan’ commercial spoof and it’s hilarious
There’s nothing funnier than a good old Pure Michigan spoof (some of our favorites include the Downriver and Jobbie Nooner “commericals”), and the brains behind the clips, John Kerfoot, is back at it with another parody that takes on the newly opened (and highly discussed) QLine. The fake commercial plays with all of the criticism…
Women-owned businesses come together at North End Collective
Iconic fashion designer Coco Chanel once said, “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take at least one thing off.” Deidra Hogue respectfully disagrees with that rule. The Traveling Pants Company owner stacks her wrists with colorful bracelets, piles on bold necklaces, and sports dangly earrings and cat-eye sunglasses you’ll swoon over.…
Your olive oil is likely fake — but these Michigan stores can help
Until recently, an olive oil’s label and the bottles’ position on a grocery store’s shelf guided my purchase. Those boasting “first cold press,” “extra virgin,” “Italian,” or similar alleged indicators of quality from the top shelf were what I grabbed and happily used. So I was skeptical when I read that my $25 bottle of…
Horoscopes (May 17-23)
ARIES (March 21- April 20): There is a smoke and mirrors dynamic that could be confusing the Hell out of you. Not one to be anything but direct, you are oblivious when it comes to other people’s cloak and dagger B.S. You seem to be caught in a web that is too good to be…
Five ways to fix Michigan
For many years, I’ve been writing about what’s wrong with our fair state, once one of the nation’s richest and best. Michigan still is one of the most diversely beautiful places in the country, with unmatched scenery, a highly skilled industrial workforce, and some superb community colleges and universities, despite our politicians’ best efforts to…
How I learned to stop worrying and love Detroit’s buses
The buses of Detroit may have a bad reputation for not running well, but in my recent experience, they arrived on time and dropped me off on schedule. My biggest barrier to entry was figuring out the various options and how to pay for them. For many that have no other options for transportation, they…
Review: Avalon Café + Bakery takes the upper crust
Downtown workers are thrilled, judging by the crush at lunchtime, that the Avalon Bakery empire has expanded to a spot just north of Campus Martius. Twenty years after opening a pioneering organic bakery in the Cass Corridor, co-founder Jackie Victor now oversees two full-service restaurants with liquor licenses — one here, one in Ann Arbor.…
Savage Love: Anti-climax
Q: I’m a happily married straight man. My wife, who is 33 years old, cannot orgasm through intercourse since we had our last child. Her explanation is that she has this constant sensation to pee. Now we find other means to please her through toys, oral, etc. Are there exercises or other means to get…
The Murder City Devils finally return to Detroit
In the mid-1990s, as alternative rock’s death was loudly proclaimed via grunge-lite acts such as Bush, STP, and Creed blaring through Clear Channel affiliates across the land, a subsidiary of grunge patriarchs Sub Pop called Die Young Stay Pretty signed the Murder City Devils — a Seattle garage band filled to the brim with genuine…
Can a mixed-income housing ordinance really help solve Detroit’s affordability problem?
It seems like almost every week now, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is helping announce or break ground on a large new residential development in one posh pocket of the city or another. Late last month, he stood at a podium in a school near the Lodge and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to announce the…
Seeking sonic refuge with saxophonist Marcus Elliot
Jazz need not intimidate, and the emotive music of Marcus Elliot makes for one fine introduction to its healing, transformative powers. The 27-year-old saxophonist, composer, and educator has been honing his skills since the tender age of 14 — when he began giving private saxophone lessons! In the decade-plus since, Elliot has already accomplished so…
