Democracy deferred
For Michigan municipalities and school districts that have fallen under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager, the road back to full-fledged democracy can be a long one. Under the state’s emergency manager law, an EM’s term can come to an end after 18 months if a two-thirds majority of an elected local board votes…
Skrillex, Bianca del Rio, and more come to Detroit
Bangarang Skrillex pounded the walls of the Masonic Temple until the wee hours last Wednesday night, banging the bass through the theater out into the street. In the home of electronic music just after Movement, he didn’t disappoint. Aboard his mother ship for the almost two-hour set, he called on the packed house to rage…
Restaurant Review: The Zenith
The Zenith Inside the Fisher Building, 3011 W. Grand Blvd., Detroit 313-972-1135 thezenithatthefisher.com Handicap accessible Entrées: $8-$11; brunch $6-$11 Open 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Tuesday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday & Saturday (brunch menu 9 a.m.-3 p.m.). Note: Restaurant will have expanded hours upon receipt of its liquor license. Although the Zenith won’t…
The Satanic Temple, A Voice for Men stir controversy
Valerie Vande Panne’s Face Time interview with Doug Mesner of the Satanic Temple caused a stir on TST’s Facebook page. This is why problems with religious psychos exist … you guys are makin’ gay marriage something against “god” (whatever that is in their minds), not kosher, not good. More problems will occur for the LGBT…
CK Diggs
2010 Auburn Rd., Rochester Hills Open 11 a.m.-midnight Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Friday-Saturday Offering beer, food, and an authentic atmosphere free of hipsters, pretension, and disingenuous style, Rochester Hills’ CK Diggs is celebrating 16 years in business this weekend. A two-day party featuring a Michigan tap takeover will serve as apt festivities for the establishment’s…
Coming off the island
Detroit is a terribly blighted mess, and we now have documented proof. Just cleaning it up will cost about $2 billion. And that is wonderful news. Don’t worry — I haven’t become some sick hipster, salivating merrily while I ponder my next dip into ruin porn. This is good news precisely because we now know…
Three houses on Joseph Campau in need of T.L.C.
On Joseph Campau, between Superior and Alexandrine, there are three abandoned homes just waiting for new tenants. There’s another house that appears to be abandoned, but upon further inspection, the Abandoned Structure Squad found a note from the friendly owners in blue spray paint that read, “Taxes paid in full. No copper. Do not enter…
Why medical marijuana testing is big business in Michigan
The managers at Iron Laboratories LLC seemed a bit anxious when I visited their facility on Maple Road in Walled Lake. They’re wary of how they’re portrayed in the media. “We wouldn’t have done this one year ago,” says CEO Robert Teitel. “Now it’s time.” That wariness comes from the fact that their business is…
9 places to catch al fresco flicks
Summer’s here and after a record-breakingly cold winter, we Michiganders are desperate to spend some time enjoying the heat. While fireworks displays are generally relegated to the beginning of July and one can only handle so many carnival rides, movies seem to perfectly fit the bill for a relaxing night spent enjoying a well-derseved warm…
Olivia Millerschin’s got talent
As we enter the swanky Dino’s Lounge on Woodward in Ferndale and survey the intensely “nice” surroundings, singer-songwriter Olivia Millerschin sticks out like a strawberry in a bowl of vanilla ice cream. She sits alone at her table, sipping on a glass of ice water with a wedge of lemon, awaiting the tardy ass of…
Detroit Rep hosts world premiere of ‘Endangered Species’
If you haven’t been to the Detroit Repertory Theatre yet, now would be a good time. Located in a sleepy part of town by the Lodge and Davison freeways on the city’s west side, the Rep is one of those uniquely Detroit institutions, boasting a cozy environment with a great old-timey bar and a friendly…
Art shows at Cave, MOCAD, and more
CANVAS: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Recently awarded the Museum of New Art prize, Cranbrook graduates Chanel Von Habsburg-Lothringen and Kate LaPier are curating Galerie Camille for the space’s inaugural event. The two artists have selected six other recent Cranbrook graduates to fill the space for a one-month residency. Each Friday, a critic will conduct studio…
Amin Beydoun takes a different look at Detroit
The trend of Detroit photography to focus on decay is well-documented. If the fancy struck you, there’s no shortage of coffee table books and framed prints dedicated to the subject available with just the click of a mouse. Photographer Amin Beydoun admits he finds those photos beautiful in their own right, but set out to…
Road-funding vote stalled in Michigan Senate
“We need how much for roads?” Opposition from Democrats in the Michigan Senate and a state business group stalled a vote today on a proposal for increases to boost funding for road infrastructure. From The Detroit News: The plan, on the Senate’s agenda for a third straight session day, was held up amid pushback from Democrats and a…
A sampling of Detroit’s world-class street art
What came to be known as the Detroit Beautification Project was essentially thought up over lunch. Local art scenester Matt Eaton (Red Bull House of Art, Library Street Collective) was hanging out with noted street artist Revok (happily exiled to Detroit after the LAPD chased him out of his former home for his street art…
Owners: Antietam to Open in July
Construction geared up on the space at 1428 Gratiot Ave. sometime last summer, but opening the restaurant Antietam hasn’t been without issues. The space in question is one of two exceptionally beautiful storefronts on Gratiot, at the edge of Eastern Market. Because of the architectural details, renovations were slow and deliberate. Many lovely Art Deco…
RIP Charles Moore
Trumpeter Charles Moore a big player in the 1960s Detroit jazz scene, died on Friday, May 30 at his Los Angeles home of an apparent heart attack. He was 73. According to a report in Jazz Times, “His death was confirmed by a colleague, fellow musician Adam Rudolph.” The article goes on to say that,…
A guy shares a phone number with a sex worker
Q: I’ve got a question I doubt you’ve ever gotten before. It has a bit of everything: sex-work etiquette, long-distance phone interaction, and a het cis chick anxious not to lose her tolerance badge. Here it goes: A few months ago, I started getting hang-up calls from numbers I didn’t recognize in Boston. Then weird texts…
Lindsey Stirling
Lindsey Stirling is a musician who Riverdances to techno while playing the violin. She can often be seen dressed like a video game character or a fairy. We had to find out more about this classically trained imp. Metro Times: You have a very unique style. How did you come into your elvish, fairyland style? …
A look at some of Cinetopia Film Festival’s special guests
Joel Potrykus at the 2012 Belfort Entrevues Film Festival (Wikimedia Commons). The Cinetopia International Film Festival kicks off June 4, and more than 40 actors, directors, screenwriters and producers will be appearing at the fest. Last week, it was announced that acclaimed Knicks fan Spike Lee would be appearing at the screening of his film, Do…
Poutine and friendly border guards – a day out in Canada
It’s a strange thing – the fact that Canada is so close and yet, if you don’t have a passport or an enhanced driver’s license, so far away. I’ve been living in metro Detroit for over six years now but, before this past Saturday, I had never made the short trip over to our North…
Cranbrook to exhibit Andy Warhol record covers
You probably already know about the iconic Velvet Underground “banana” cover, but artist Andy Warhol actually designed sleeves for many other artists as well. This month, Cranbrook Art Museum will host Warhol On Vinyl: The Record Covers, 1949-1987+, which exhibits dozens of record sleeves designed by the artist. The collection, a recent gift to the museum, features five…
Lazy Daze Amber Lager
The first lager introduced into Rochester Mills’ portfolio of year-round beers, Lazy Daze is described as an easy drinking “gateway” into the brewery’s more flavorful craft-style brews. And while Lazy Daze debuted less than a year ago, Rochester Mills actually first brewed it by accident several years ago. That happened when several bags of caramel…
Woodhaven Bike Shop Hosts Ladies-Only Maintenance Clinic
#168831304 / gettyimages.com Ladies, we can do anything, right? We go to work, feed the kids, clean the house, and do our share of the heavy lifting. Yet, somehow getting a mere flat tire can put our bike out of commission for the rest of the summer. If you’re a lady who likes to do…
Pure Shea Aloe Lotion
People who care about their skin want it to look its best in the summer. And even though the market has a staggering amount of skincare products available, the hunt for the perfect balm keeps many fussy folks looking. Some options they might not have tried are at the Pure Shea Store in Eastern Market,…
CHART: Here’s how much money you need to earn to buy a home in Detroit
The cost of living in the U.S. varies substantially, with Clevelanders needing a base salary of only $29,788.67 annually to purchase a median-priced home, and San Franciscans needing almost five times that. But have you ever wondered how much you, dear Detroiter, need to make annually to buy your own place? Well, $32,250.30, apparently. That’s…
Salt & Cedar Letterpress
Salt & Cedar Letterpress | 2448 Riopelle Street, Detroit • 207-671-3462 • saltandcedar.com Tucked away on the edge of Riopelle in Detroit’s Eastern Market, the charming letterpress and bookshop Salt & Cedar is worth a visit, though it’s only open to the public on Fridays and Saturdays. Open since May 2012, the shop uses a…
Jay Leno
Known for his longtime stint as the host of The Tonight Show, Jay Leno is more than just a late-night talking head and stand-up comic. He’s also a car fanatic and an aficionado of Detroit. Though we planned to ask if we could take him on a tour of Henry Ford Museum, before we could…
Jacob Williams
Jacob Williams, or “Jake,” as he likes to be called, is a formally trained chef as well as a certified executive chef. Primarily, he works as the Cooking Matters coordinator for Gleaners Community Food Bank, where he teaches low-income residents from all over the state how to use scarce resources effectively to maintain a nutritionally…
ACCESS hosting job fair Wednesday featuring over 40 employers
Dearborn-based ACCESS, an Arab-American human services nonprofit, will sponsor a job fair in Detroit Wednesday. ACCESS says more than 40 employers will be featured from a vast array of fields, including education, banking, human services and more — “with several hundred positions to fill.” Representatives from AAA, Meijer, Quicken Loans, the Detroit Police Department, the Navy,…
Band of Skulls’ Emma Richardson
Southampton-based British hard rock group Band of Skulls has been gradually creeping out of obscurity since 2004, eventually putting out the Baby Darling Doll Face Honey debut album in ’09. That was the breakthrough, and it led to tracks appearing on the Guitar Hero game and the Twilight TV show. The third album, Himalayan, dropped…
Horoscopes (June 4 — 10)
ARIES (March 21-April 20): You could never be defined as “vulnerable,” but this is one of those times when the meaning of that word isn’t lost on you. Outer forces and inner pressure have you re-thinking more than one thing. The need to be 100 percent clear about your motives, and 100 percent willing to…
Task force releases map of Detroit’s blight
The Detroit Blight Removal Task Force, an effort between the Obama Administration and the city of Detroit, released a 331-page report detailing the extent of Detroit’s blight last week. The full report recommends the demolition of 40,000 properties within the next five years — an effort the report estimates would cost at least $850 million. The report…
Galarraga, four years on …
Here’s a bit of talk for the water cooler today: Lest we forget, it was four years ago at Comerica Park that Armando Galarraga pitched what should have gone down in history as a perfect game. Unfortunately, a flubbed call by umpire Jim Joyce robbed Galarraga of the honor. In baseball, as we all know,…
Hey Hey, The Monkees live in Detroit
Much has been written about the Monkees over the years, but much of it has been ill-informed and based on rumor rather than fact. The biggest slight that has been repeatedly thrown at the band is that it isn’t really a band at all, just a group of actors plopped together for a TV show.…
Detroit Grand Prix
The last day of the Detroit Grand Prix is today! Professional race car driver Ryan Briscoe was kind enough to give media folk like me a cruise around the track. HOLY FAST TRACK! Who needs beer when you have speed? I think I’m hooked. You can check out the Grand Prix today on Belle Isle.
Tonight at 5e Gallery!
Tonight we celebrate the 5th anniversary of the 5e Gallery, celebrating Women in Hip Hop! Goin down all day and into the morning. Check it out!
Slow Roll: Homecoming Edition to Take Place June 2
Break out the old prom dress, girls. Dust off that powder blue suit, boys. The weekly Monday night bike ride through the city is getting fancy. It’s Slow Roll Homecoming. While your typical high school homecoming would take place in the fall, with prom falling during the spring months, we’re not going to argue about semantics.…
Discovering the Secret World of Detroit techno
By Ashley Zlatopolsky If I had a nickel for every time I heard, “Wow, I never knew Detroit was this much fun!” I’d probably have enough money to cover my bar tab for at least three nights. Which is a lot, considering a night out in Detroit can start anywhere around 10 p.m. and go…
Eastern Market launches new Sunday tradition this weekend
Known for its bustling Saturdays, Eastern Market will expand to include a Sunday tradition as well this weekend. Starting Sunday, June 1, the weekly event will run every Sunday through September 28, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. While the market focuses on food and produce on Saturdays, Sundays will be dedicated to non-food items.…
The Michigan Glass Project brings “functional glass art” to Belle Isle
The Michigan Glass Project kicks off at Belle Isle on June 5 with a cocktail party at the aquarium followed by three days of music, food, and “functional glass art” blowing and vendors. Funds go toward supporting the Belle Isle Aquarium (and a local food bank to be announced). The event has managed to raise $24,000 each year…
Happy birthday, Larry D. Alexander
Born on this day 61 years ago in Dermott, Ark., Larry Dell Alexander is a self-taught artist who has more than a passing connection with Detroit. Alexander moved up to Detroit in the 1970s, wound up working at a Chrysler plant, and became a certified mechanic for almost two decades. He met his wife, Patricia,…
Electric Forest: Sold Out
Organizers of Rothbury’s annual electronic music event, Electric Forest, announced today that tickets for the weekend event that takes place from June 26 to June 29 are no longer available after the announced of the final round of performing artists. This year’s roster includes a DJ set by Moby as well as live performances by…
Tonight: Poetic Voices of the Muslim World
This evening, the Detroit Public Library, hosts Syrian-American spoken word artist Omar Offendum. From the Lit in the Mitt website: Omar Offendum brings a contemporary poetic voice to the Muslim world and beyond. Omar was born in Saudi Arabia, raised in Washington, DC and now lives in Los Angeles. He has toured the world to promote his…
About those empty Royal Oak storefronts
Royal Oak Mayor Jim Ellison posted a Facebook status update on May 21, admonishing residents to stop fearmongering by predicting the “death” of downtown Royal Oak. Ellison was referring to several empty storefronts along Main Street, vacant after several independent, well-loved businesses closed their doors. The city lost longtime retail favorites Incognito and Footprints, the…
A review of ‘I Am Curious Yellow’
On a recent episode of Mad Men, set in 1969, Jon Hamm’s jaundiced and perpetually cool ad exec Don Draper mentioned seeing a movie called I Am Curious Yellow, and he cheekily claimed to have been “scandalized” by the ”dirty movie.” Even for a series stuffed to the brim with period detail, this mention probably…
Berkley Spy Shop man does his job very well
The mission, as we chose to accept it, seemed very simple: go to the Spy Shop in Berkley and grab an interview with the owner-manager. That has to be fun, right? It’s a spy shop. Our heads were full of images of James Bond, glamor, intrigue Yeah, it wasn’t like that at all. Although, the…
Into the Eye: An interview with Aaron Beam of Red Fang
Musicians in hard rock and heavy metal bands typically have the added burden of imposing a certain image or mood on people. This can be detrimental to bands because the resulting image is often a caricature of what society deems dangerous or brooding. In turn, audiences have trouble taking the music seriously, let alone the…
Spike Lee to watch his own movie at Cinetopia
If you’re unfamiliar with the Cinetopia International Film Festival, it brings the best films from other festivals, like Cannes, Tribeca, Sundance, Berlin and SXSW to Ann Arbor. Running from June 4 through 8, the fest will feature 50 films, with over 100 screenings in ten different venues. Cinetopia also offers fun and educational programs in addition to the…
Undateable not unwatchable
The first two episodes of the Detroit-based sit-com Undateable, created by Detroit native Adam Sztykiel, aired on Thursday night on NBC. We’d love to know what you thought. Early impressions are that this is a fairly standard mainstream buddy sit-com, with tons of canned laughter and a few good gags. It might take a while…
Historic Day: Congress votes to support Medical Marijuana states, including Michigan
This morning cheers went up across the nation, as Congress, for the first time ever, voted to cease funding the Department of Justice efforts to shut down medical marijuana dispensaries, caretakers, providers, and growers functioning legally under state law. The Department of Justice encompasses the DEA (the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal agency typically tasked…
RoboCop Day to Honor Detroit Cops
There’s a new holiday in Detroit. And it’s called RoboCop Day. With the Imagination Station, the Detroit Police Department, and 20th Century Fox, a celebration will commence at noon on June 3 with a dedication of the statue that honors the hero made famous by the major motion picture. While it is unclear if the statue’s…
Film Review: Maleficent
Maleficent | C+ It’s hard to decide whether to praise Maleficent for having some subversive and daring feminist thoughts in its tragically Disney-addled brain, or ridicule it for cravenly choosing commercial over artistic instincts at nearly every turn. You get the feeling that somewhere along the line, Linda Woolverton’s script may have had real revisionist…
Majority of young Michigan voters say Legalize It!
According to a recent Detroit News/WDIV-TV poll, 59.8% of Michigan voters age 18-29 favor legalizing marijuana for recreational use. The poll, conducted by marketing research company Glengariff Group Inc., also shows that of the 600 likely Michigan voters polled, overall 52.1% were opposed to the idea. Nationwide, the numbers are different. Gallup reported last fall that…
Enjoy an Unforgettable Evening with Michael Bolton
It has come to our attention that Music Hall – Center for the Performing Arts in Detroit will be hosting An Unforgettable Evening with Michael Bolton on Friday June 14. Your bank account certainly won’t forget it – Supporter Patron tickets cost $150, while VIP Gala Patron tickets will set you back a hefty $600.…
‘First World Problems’ in Detroit
A piece on CNN Money a few days ago told the story of former and aspiring downtown Detroit residents, among them Andrew Kopietz, who lived in Lafayette Park for five years. Kopietz moved out of his rental when his landlords raised his rent from $840 a month to $1,100 a month. Kopietz sounds like a…
Filipino Cuisine to Debut at Pop-Up
Though activity seemed to drop off a bit over the winter, pop-ups seem to be taking off again, with plenty of new entries testing out their dining concepts. Among them is Sarap, which means “delicious” in Tagalog, the official language of the Philippines. Co-founded by Dorothy Hernandez, a native of Chicago who moved to Detroit…
Dan Gilbert calls for auto-themed Detroit tourist destination … like AutoWorld?
Bazillionaire Dan Gilbert called for an automotive-centric tourist destination in Detroit Wednesday, saying he considered tapping an executive from Universal Studios or Disney to formulate a proposal, the Free Press reports. Our immediate response was … you mean, like, AutoWorld? Built in 1984, the $80-million theme park was predicted to reign in “the rebirth of the great…
Duggan touts improvements to Detroit bus system
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan delivers a press conference on the porch of the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island during the annual Mackinac Policy Conference. (Ryan Felton/Metro Times) Detroit’s bus system is showing signs of improvement, Mayor Mike Duggan said Wednesday on Mackinac Island. Speaking at the 34th annual Mackinac Policy Conference, Duggan told business leaders…
‘Canvas Detroit’ book signing at Re:View Contemporary Gallery
This Saturday, May 31, Re:View Contemporary Gallery will host a book signing party for Canvas Detroit, a book that chronicles the Motor City’s street art scene. Co-authors Julie Pincus and Nichole Christian will be present to sign books and speak, and artists Graem Whyte and Greg Fadell, who are featured in the book, will be present…
Kerrang! Awards – the filth, the vomit, and the ass-grabs
In 1999, my career kicked off when I started writing for Kerrang! Magazine in England. I had been reading the heavy metal Bible since the early ’90s, and I was ecstatic when then-Deputy Editor Paul Rees liked a live review of the Toilet Boys that I had submitted. My first paid assignment was a live…
Selocial: New App Debuts in Detroit
#selocialselfie A couple weeks ago a native Detroiter and 15 year music industry vetertan David Baird called us up at the office, offering to let us preview a new app he, Joe Vaillancourt, Brenden Tuck, and Mark Kopulos had just created. Selocial, he described to us, is like Instagram meets Spotify and it’s the wave…
Detroit “Men’s Rights” conference, protests planned in wake of Santa Barbara
Men’s rights group A Voice for Men has chosen Detroit for their first international conference, to be held at The DoubleTree Hotel on 525 W. Lafayette Blvd. June 26 to 28. Declaring the city an “iconic testament for masculinity” on their website, the group believes that most of the nation is turning a blind eye to Detroit, just like what…
Hoedown countdown – The Band Perry vs. Big & Rich
The Downtown Hoedown kicks off on Friday, and we spoke to local girl Mandi Layne for this week’s issue to get a flavor of the thing. There are, however, a lot of well-respected, or at least much-loved, national bands on the bill. The Band Perry and Big &Rich are two of the main attractions so,…
Snyder: “Premature” to consider debates with Schauer
(source: Wikimedia Commons) After delivering remarks during the opening address of the Mackinac Policy Conference today, Governor Rick Snyder called the proposal for four televised debates with his opponent “premature.” Democractic gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer called for a series of debates with the incumbent governor, as well as one between the candidates for lieutenant governor, earlier in the day. “I think…
An unconventional sangria
In Michigan, after a long winter, nothing could be lovelier than a beautiful, warm spring day. But one thing that could make it the teeniest bit more beautiful would be that summery punch concoction known as sangria. The topic arose during a recent visit with Claudia Tyagi, one of Michigan’s three master sommeliers. Tyagi offered this playful “everything but the…
Esquire Magazine names Detroit “Bar City of the Year”
Esquire Magazine has named Detroit the “Bar City of the Year” in its June/July issue, on newsstands now. (Heck, we could have told you that.) The three-page article — part of a larger “Best Bars in America” feature in the issue — has author David Wondrich traveling on both sides of Eight Mile, exploring bars both…
Greening of Detroit to Host Aquaponics Workshop
Tomorrow night, Thursday, May 29, the Greening of Detroit will host a free backyard aquaponics workshop. Aquaponics is a food production method that encourages the growth and nurturing of both plants and aquatic animals like snails, crayfish, and prawns in the same system, recirculating nutrients in a symbiotic environment which benefits both the plants and animals.…
The Hills
When we pull up to the Hills Bar & Grille in Rochester Hills it’s a sunny, albeit humid, afternoon, and their patio is sprinkled with people lunching and chatting at black iron tables shaded by tan umbrellas, sipping wine and beer. Nestled in the city’s quaint and adorable downtown, the Hills fits in perfectly with…
Chateau Grand Traverse 2012 Dry Riesling
Ladies who lunch gave Rieslings a bad reputation through the years, thanks to a proliferation of overly sweet wines hitting the market in the late ’80s. Consequently, many people avoid Rieslings, believing them to be “cheap,” unsophisticated or sickly sweet. However, Riesling is revered in the wine world, and counting it out completely means missing…
Suburban oil drilling in Rochester Hills
For years, the oil and gas business in Michigan has been contained to the northern portions of the state. But in recent years, exploration companies have expanded their footprint, drilling in new territory — in particular, southeast Michigan. Nowhere has the industry gained more traction across the region than in Oakland County, where a number…
Detroit City Football Club Men’s City
Map Tee — $20 All Detroit City Football Club apparel and gear available at detcityfcstore.com The Detroit City Football Club only began their 2014 season on 5/7, but support for our team, “Le Rouge” is already bigger than ever. Those who’ve been to the games report an overwhelmingly loyal fan following. Unlike concerts, where wearing…
Architectural Salvage Warehouse of Detroit
4885 15th St., Detroit | 313-896-8333 | aswdetroit.org | Open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday The good people at the nonprofit Architectural Salvage Warehouse of Detroit do more than save great architectural details in buildings they painstakingly deconstruct, though they’re well-known for that. According to Chris Rutherford, executive director of ASW, explains that the group’s…
Kevin Boss dresses to impress
Kevin Boss, a Quicken Loans employee, stands out among the afternoon Campus Martius crowd in his cheery suit set. Boss originally bought the tan Express suit for his buddy’s wedding in March, but it doubles perfectly for the office. With the pop of his bright blue, checkered Bonobos button-down, Kevin’s outfit is a nice match…
Death metal rooster
Sometimes, a video is so awesomely funny, it needs no introduction. Meet Death Metal Rooster. Enjoy!
Mackinac Policy Conference’s man of billboards
Bill Wild If you’ve recently driven along Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit you’ve probably noticed Bill Wild’s name. It’s plastered across an entire storefront on the west side of the corridor near Campus Martius. Wild, the current mayor of Westland, is running for Wayne County Executive — and the advertising blitz in support of his candidacy…
A lane of their own
The battle they fought didn’t play out on the gridiron of the football field or the diamond of the baseball park. It may seem odd today, but it was a struggle starring African-American fans of the game of ten-pin, and it played out on the wooden lanes of America’s bowling centers. And it turned a…
Real food trucks of Detroit
As with fashion, food follows trends. There are groundbreaking chefs who change the game worldwide, and then there are imitators who attempt to emulate their genius. Dishes of the moment roar to life only to be passed over a few years later. In this way, the dining public can be fickle indeed. For instance, around…
Lucien Greaves of the Satanic Temple
Doug Mesner was born and raised in Detroit. Today, he is known as Lucien Greaves, spokesperson for The Satanic Temple, the group known for converting the ancestors of Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps to homosexuality in the afterlife, and for working to build a child-friendly monument to Satan on the State House lawn of…
Sam Friedman abstract paintings, ‘Rhinoceros’ comes to Detroit
CANVAS: IMPERFECT PAIRS Popps Packing in Hamtramck asked 50 artists to construct half of a sculpture based off a provided template, then matched the pieces together to create 25 new sculptures in a new context. The show serves as a fundraiser for the nearby Popps Emporium, a house with an attached storefront located across the…
Regeania Coleman, Jungle Juice Bar
“You should not have to be wealthy to eat healthy,” says Regeania Coleman, owner of Jungle Juice Bar in Grosse Pointe Park. JJB is a green beacon on a street shared with Ye Olde Tap Room and Albatross Embroidery. It’s an area where the transition between Grosse Pointe and Detroit is a stark walk across…
Mandi Layne & the Lost Highway head to Downtown Hoedown
Some of the biggest names in contemporary country are playing the Downtown Hoedown this year, including the likes of the Band Perry, Dierks Bentley, and Big & Rich. Scan the lineup, though, and there’s a lot of awesome local talent too. Birch Run band Mandi Layne & the Lost Highway has been making some waves…
Vampire Weekend
When we saw Vampire Weekend at the Fillmore last year, the place was packed. Their latest album, Modern Vampires of the City, had just dropped, and you couldn’t get near the front of the main floor. People were ass-to-elbow, soaking up the bouncy, East Coast, Afro-infused vibe, and we had to smash ourselves up against…
Clean, sober & absurd
You probably know Steve Glover as Steve-O from Jackass. But although Glover admittedly remains an “attention whore,” those days seem eons ago. He’s come a long way since the show’s immediate and staggering success in the early 2000s. But really, at that point he’d already come a long way. “I grew up in five different…
Sawchuk
The guitar starts slowly, a mass of fuzz and feedback droning relentlessly. The tension is almost tangible, before the drums thud down like a hammer on a carnival strength test. A note is held for a second or two, and then the vocals kick in — throaty, aggravated noises from the mouth of a man…
Meet Claudia Tyagi, master sommelier
Claudia Tyagi is the antithesis of everything you might expect of a high-level wine executive: She’s warm, self-effacing, and funny. Completely self-taught (and Detroit-born and -bred), Tyagi came of age in the world of wine at a time when there weren’t any women wine professionals. In fact, very few women were working in fine dining…
Hear new tracks by Twoven, Porsha Love
Twoven’s “Obsessed” is some typically funky deep and tech house that starts with a snarky vocal sample and a soft loop, before kicking in with a hard dub beat. Perfect for club floors, the song takes a break, sitting back, before re-launching with a vengeance. You can practically smell the sweat-drenched clubbers as they start…
Shower endower
Q: I’m a 25-year-old straight guy. Last month, I was in the locker room at my gym. It was 4 a.m., and I was the only one around. I was getting ready to leave when I noticed someone exiting the showers. He kinda caught me looking (he was very well-endowed), and I quickly turned my head,…
Kyle Mikolajczyk of HazardHead, Black Feather, and more
“I’m the guitarist and songwriter for HazardHead (Detroit’s Undisputed Sleaziest Band), and I play bass for Black Feather (three-piece rock-soul-blues), Breezeway (two-piece acoustic cover band), Vibes (three-piece punk-rock ’n’ roll-experimental), and in a currently unnamed band with Detroit legend Charlie Block of Mariner. I used to play bass in Kro-Magnon (meal band), and Twiggy &…
Record Review: Chromeo — White Women
Chromeo White Women Big Beat Longing for the days of fly girls, Prince, and Zack Morris? No worries, friends. Just head out and pick up a copy of Chromeo’s White Women. The fourth album from the Canadian electrofunk duo is quite possibly their best amalgamation, with instantly likable tracks like “Jealous (I Ain’t With It)”…
Record Review: Hercules & Love Affair
Hercules & Love Affair The Feast of the Broken Heart Moshi Moshi With his project Hercules & Love Affair, mastermind Andy Butler gleefully mines the sounds of the gay club scene with an academic reverence. But where Hercules’ 2008 debut nailed a classic disco approach and the sophomore record followed disco as it mutated into…
Mark Oliver Everett and the Eels
We really didn’t know what to expect, but it turns out Eels lead singer Mark Oliver Everett, aka E, is a cool guy to talk to. Based on his lyrics from the group’s 11th studio album, The Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett, we thought maybe he’d be a grim downer, bemoaning unfairness and injustice…
Record Review: Swans — To Be Kind
Swans To Be Kind Young God The third studio album from Michael Gira’s Swans since he reanimated the project in 2012 after a 14-year hiatus, To Be Kind is a two-hour double CD that simply never lets up. Perhaps this iteration of Swans isn’t the grinding, super-dark noise band that emerged from New York’s not-inconsiderable…
Eddie Izzard
Eddie Izzard is so publicly open and honest that it’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that we know him without ever meeting him. He’s openly a transvestite and openly passionate about politics, but did you know that he ran 43 marathons in 51 days in 2009? Or that he wanted to be…
Bianca Del Rio
Two days before we called up Bianca Del Rio, it was announced that she’d won RuPaul’s Drag Race. The sassy drag queen, born Roy Haylock, has enjoyed success as an actor, comedian, and Broadway costume designer, but a stint on Drag Race leaves her poised to catapult to greater fame. Known for her cut-to-the-chase personality…
5 questions with the Monkees’ Micky Dolenz
It’s been two years since Monkees man Davy Jones died following a heart attack and, for many people, that was it for the band. However, Mike Nesmith returned to the fold and now, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork, and Nesmith are taking the old band out on the road again. It’ll be different, but different isn’t…
Detroit-Windsor bridge debate still rages
Eight years ago in Metro Times: How’s this for familiar territory: MT reports that Delray residents are hopeful that Canadian and U.S. officials will OK a span, much like Matty Moroun’s Ambassador Bridge, connecting Windsor and Detroit via an anchorage in Delray. But Moroun was looking to build a second bridge of his own with…
11774 Engleside up for auction
11774 Engleside St., Detroit On May 31, Building Detroit will continue its online auctions of abandoned and foreclosed homes, dropping the gavel on this charming colonial in the Osborn neighborhood. The auction of this house begins at 9 a.m. with a starting price of $1,000. The house, built in 1939, has three bedrooms, one-and-a-half bathrooms, and…
Monica Molinaro’s paintings are a lesson in minimalism
“This is Jerry,” artist Monica Molinaro says as she shows us her paintings, delivered with the warmth usually reserved for introducing a close friend that we have to wonder if Molinaro means that it’s a painting of Jerry or if the painting itself is named Jerry. “It’s my friend Jerry Vile. See those shifty eyes?”…
Restaurant Review: Jamaican Paradise
Jamaican Paradise 13500 W. Nine Mile Rd., Oak Park 248-629-7889 Handicap accessible Entrées: $10-$15 Open 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Thursday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday, 7 p.m.-midnight Saturday. Jamaican Paradise — isn’t that a redundancy? Especially after our hard winter, I welcome any experience that can transport me to…
Horoscopes (May 28 — June 3)
ARIES (March 21-April 20): The energy level and the overall vibe feel good enough to make you want to keep this up. Part of you is amazed, and the other part of you is saying it’s safe to surrender to the thought that you did the right thing. Getting used to a whole new way…
Hide and Seek
Hide and Seek Ram Releasing; 107 minutes. For a few years now, the best horror movies have been coming out of Asia, particularly Japan and Korea. American remakes of movies like The Ring and The Grudge have increased interest in what the Asians have to offer, but they also serve to highlight just how differently…
Suburban oil boom
For years, the oil and gas business in Michigan has been contained to the northern portions of the state. But in recent years, exploration companies have expanded their footprint, drilling in new territory — in particular, southeast Michigan. Nowhere has the industry gained more traction across the region than in Oakland County, where a number…
Parking wars
The slackers at News Hits typically save our pocket change for a rainy day. But knowing our track record with parking meter violations downtown, we’ll soon be shelling out extra quarters to settle our debt with the city. That’s because Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr’s office will soon enact higher fees for every parking violation…
JP from the HP
John Panich thought he was dead. The local rapper-producer suffered post-traumatic stress after a car accident a few years ago, and it sent him into a disquieting confusion, as though he were in a sort of purgatory. This period inspired the bluntly morbid song “John Panich Is Dead,” which would eventually turn into an impressive…
800beloved premiere “Tidal” video
It’s been four years since Milford-based shoegazin’ goths 800beloved released their last record, Everything Purple, but that didn’t stop frontman Sean Lynch and his gang from braving the Great Polar Vortex of 2014 for the opportunity to shoot a video for the album’s “Tidal.” In the video, released today, 800beloved muse Santa Anna (that’s her in the…
Between the D and D.C.
Dear D.C., if you’re going to love me you need to know that … being scared is only temporary, like the rain. Dear Detroit, if you’re going to love me … I want to be able to trust you. There’s physical space and there’s social space. The 524 miles between Detroit and Washington, D.C., is…
Bagger Dave’s opens first Downriver location
The Bagger Dave’s empire continues to expand. The local mini-chain opens its newest location this week in Woodhaven, marking the first Bagger Dave’s that has appeared Downriver. The 4,755-square-foot tavern will sport full-table service, a front patio, and a bar serving beer and wine. It opens to the public at 11 a.m. on Sunday, June…
Big Rock Chophouse names Matthew A. Fitchett executive chef
Congratulations to chef Matthew A. Fitchett, the new executive chef at Birmingham’s Big Rock Chophouse. Fitchett has worked all over the world, and in such hallowed restaurants as Five Lakes Grill and the Golden Mushroom. Big Rock Chophouse is at 245 S. Eton Rd., Birmingham; 248-647-7774; bigrockchophouse.com.
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. The problem with Boondox and, in fairness, all of the other groups and artists on the Psychopathic label, is that they will always be seen as ICP baby brother bands.…
Lesson plan
There are few things as valuable on as many levels as education. For one thing, it’s fun just to learn new stuff. Most people with active minds know all sorts of things that aren’t necessarily related to making a living. But these days, having some form of higher education is more essential than ever. News…
Moo Cluck Moo rolls out free “tapas” menu
June promises all sorts of unusual surprises at Moo Cluck Moo. Starting June 4, every Wednesday the restaurant will offer free tapas from 6 to 8 p.m. The “tapas” will be Moo Cluck Moo’s “Craveables” menu served as bite-sized goodies — on the house. Diners can also expect a surprise from executive chef Jimmy Schmidt…
Sarap pop-up puts modern spins on Filipino cuisine
OK, this is a few weeks off, but given the way these fledgling food concepts can fill up fast, it’s probably best to mention it early. Co-founder Dorothy Hernandez says it’s called Sarap, and it’s focused on Filipino food. Rather than serve that cuisine’s classics, Sarap (Tagalog for “delicious”) “aims to put inspired, modern spins…
WSU student balances school, independent catering company
Hours of preparation and cooking by night, delivering by day, and classes at Wayne State University in between — that’s what 21-year-old Dwayne Daniels is about when it comes to keeping his life, schooling, and independent catering and delivery company afloat. Daniels, a WSU senior, says the business is just one of his many pursuits.…
Tequila Mundo proves there’s more to tequila than shots
Tequila is a distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant, and the only true tequilas are made in the area surrounding the Mexican city with which the drink shares its name. America’s first indigenous distilled spirit, tequila was first made by conquistadors who ran out of brandy and used the Aztec people’s agave to…
A libertarian’s view on the minimum wage, love for WDET
WAGE DEBATE We had a number of responses to Jack Lessenberry’s column last week on the debate to raise Michigan’s minimum wage. Reader “313libertarian” posted: The entire debate regarding the minimum wage begs the question of why either the federal or state governments are legislating what should be a matter of negotiation between an employer…
Foundation of 5e Gallery 5th Anniversary Showcase
May 31st at the 5e Gallery 12pm-2am. 5eGallery @ The Cass Corridor Commons 4605 Cass Avenue Detroit, Michigan 48201 Weekly open mic events hosted at the 5e Gallery have sustained the build up of a movement to recognize the vital role of Women In Hip Hop. For five years, a community collective called The Foundation…
Tequila Mundo cocktail preview
Agave Assault Winning Drink: Mike St. Louis of Firebird Tavern, Detroit The winner of our Agave Assault competition at Rojo Mexican Bistro in Birmingham used Maestro Dobel Tequila. Maestro Dobel is a high-end offering, made from a blend of Reposado, Anejo and Extra Anejo tequilas, which are filtered to give this spirit perfect clarity and…
Eastern Market bustles on Flower Day, Detroit hosts Boiler Room party
Alice in Chains in Battle Creek On Tuesday D DAYS road-tripped over to Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek to see legendary grunge rockers Alice in Chains. The band is touring in support of its fifth studio album, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here. The sold-out crowd was there early for openers Monster Truck, who hail from…
God loves Movement
With the Ren Cen looming like a big Detroit parent and the bluest of blue water gently moving within view (but not audibly due to the music), with the sun beating down mercilessly, this weekend’s Movement Festival, the daytime portion anyway, provided this music journo with the ideal opportunity to sit back, check out some…
Meet Anison Roberts, aka The Impaler
Vampire Weekend is on the cover of this week’s issue, but it occurs to us that the band really has nothing to do with the creatures of the night after which they’re named. Detroit’s the Impaler, meanwhile, has been wearing a cape for decades. The man is in two bands, hardcore group Dangerous Pleasure, and…
