Cover Story
These days, Danny Brown has a lot to be thankful for
Despite the overcast Michigan fall weather outside, within the walls of the Parade Company’s headquarters on Detroit’s east side, there is vibrant sunshine everywhere. A team of six work on a Woodward-bound float as Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child” blares from an old radio nearby, while a young lady tours a septet of elderly visitors around…
Detroit Street Filling Station vegan restaurant is changing its concept
When it opened in August, the Detroit Street Filling Station offered a rare finer dining experience for those seeking a vegan menu. But co-owners Phillis Engelbert and Joel Panazzo are announcing a change in concept. Effective Tuesday, the Filling Station will become a more casual version of itself, and will incorporate a social justice component…
Julia Child-inspired French bistro plans mid-January opening near Ann Arbor
When Americans think of French cooking, many have in mind a nearly monolithic cuisine that’s composed of rich cream-based dishes and crépes, but in reality there’s quite a bit of nuance in France’s regional plates. In the same way that you would seek out an authentic crawfish boil in New Orleans instead of New England,…
Doom-soul singer Cold Specks to light up Marble Bar
If you haven’t heard of Canadian doom-soul songstress Cold Specks, don’t fret. Ladan Hussein (aka Cold Specks) is still considerably new despite becoming a household name among lovers of celestial gloom. Since her Polaris Music Prize nomination in 2012 she’s been cranking out her hazy, slinky Massive Attack-esque tracks. Her latest release Fools Paradise dances…
Suzy Poling and friends get weird at MOCAD
A gaggle of some of the most avant-garde names in art are bringing their multimedia hypnotic realms to life for a special engagement. Los Angeles-based artist (and former Detroit resident) Suzy Poling is joined by Detroit artists Nicola Kuperus, Jimbo Easter, and Forest Juziuk to deliver an out-of-this-world exhibition that explores gender shapeshifting, bewilderment via…
Wizard of Oz takes over Fox Theatre
Click your heels and repeat after us: “There’s no place like the Fox. There’s no place like the Fox.” Maybe you’re introducing a new generation of dreamers to the colorful enchantment of L. Frank Baum’s acid-drenched world, or perhaps you’re taking a trip down your own yellow brick memory lane. Either way, The Wizard of…
Trump taps southeast Michigan auto dealer and big donor for ambassador post
President Donald Trump has nominated the owner of the Suburban Collection auto dealership group to a diplomatic post. David Fischer Sr. was tapped as ambassador to Morocco after donating $250,000 to Trump’s inauguration. In addition to giving Trump money, the White House says Fischer has served on the boards of “numerous academic, cultural, and social welfare…
Woodward Avenue street plaza to stay open despite traffic concerns
A controversial downtown Detroit pedestrian plaza that has shut down Woodward Avenue at Jefferson since June will remain in place despite concerns from drivers and business owners in the area. Detroit City Council on Tuesday voted to let the Spirit of Detroit Plaza, which was initially given the green light for a 90-day pilot program,…
Michigan Rep. John Conyers doubles down on sexual harassment denial, admits to settlement
After initially denying knowledge about sexual harassment allegations and a cover-up as detailed in a new BuzzFeed News bombshell report, Michigan Rep. John Conyers has issued a statement clarifying the matter — somewhat. In a statement issued by his office Tuesday afternoon, Conyers admitted to the settlement, but also doubled down on his denial. Of the initial flat-out denial,…
Activity heatmap shows where people exercise in Detroit
A company that bills itself as a social network for athletes has updated its global heatmap, or a visualization of the activities of its users. To make the map, Strava reports that it processed some 10 terabytes of raw data from its mobile app, encompassing 1 billion athletic activities, 17 billion miles, and more than 200,000…
Michigan State Police program to drug test drivers encounters blowback from lawyers
Police may be asking some drivers to have their saliva tested for drugs in a pilot program being rolled out in five Michigan counties, including Washtenaw. And the program has some attorneys hopping mad. The program was established into law by the state legislature last year, and a year-long test program of the new approach…
Detroit City Council approves $250M in taxpayer money for Dan Gilbert
Michigan’s richest resident will take home $250 million in state taxpayer funds to help finance four new developments in downtown Detroit. On Tuesday afternoon, the Detroit City Council approved the money for Bedrock, Dan Gilbert’s development company, over the objections of residents who questioned the need to provide a billionaire with taxpayer money. Gilbert’s net worth is…
Detroit City Clerk challenger Garlin Gilchrist seeks recount after narrow defeat
Detroit City Clerk candidate Garlin Gilchrist says he will seek a recount in the election he lost by about 1,500 votes. Gilchrist was beat out on Nov. 7 by incumbent Janice Winfrey, who is going on her fourth term. Winfrey received 50.5 percent of the vote to Gilchrist’s 49. Gilchrist says reports of problems with…
Dynamic rapper Yelawolf to play Fillmore
In 2005, Michael Atha was not yet known as rap star Yelawolf. In fact, he was being featured on a reality TV competition The Road to Stardom With Missy Elliott. Though he was eliminated, he hustled some mixtapes, and here we are. He’s got some Detroit ties, too: Both Eminem and Kid Rock have been…
Detroit radio station 106.7 changes its tune overnight
You may have noticed a difference while scanning the radio during your morning commute. 106.7 The Drive switched formats overnight. The “We Play Everything” station turned the dial around midnight on Nov. 21 and relaunched as ALT 106.7, re-labeling itself as “Detroit’s New Alternative.” To promote the sudden transition, Alt 106.7 is promising to play 10,000…
Michigan Rep. John Conyers’ alleged sexual harassment cover-up detailed in report
Michigan Rep. John Conyers has joined the growing list of powerful men accused of sexual harassment in recent weeks. According to documents obtained and verified by BuzzFeed News, Conyers — a Democrat and longest-serving member of the House of Representatives — used his office budget to settle a wrongful dismissal complaint in 2015. The complaint came…
Meet the Detroiter made infamous by an iconic anti-war poster
An event this weekend will mark 50 years since anti-war activists attempted an “exorcism” of the Pentagon, and will feature the man from Detroit who burned a draft card and became part of a historic piece of anti-war agitprop. It’s a long story, one that has been told better several times before. Bill Greenshields and…
Cabaret and cocktail spot Willis Show Bar to reopen in Cass Corridor
A revival of the long-shuttered Willis Show Bar is in the works in Cass Corridor. The project is a partnership between Detroit Optimist Society’s Dave Kwiatkowski (Sugar House, Wright & Co., Bad Luck Bar) and several Los Angeles-based bar and nightclub developers, the Freep reports. The 75-seat bar will focus on craft cocktails inspired by a…
Parks & Rec spearheads effort to feed Detroit’s homeless on Thanksgiving
For the second year in a row, Parks & Rec Executive Chef Allie Lyttle is heading a grassroots effort to feed Detroit’s many homeless residents. Related The effort is part of a nation-wide endeavor called Gobble Gobble Give. Last year, volunteers around the country fed 17,000 of the nation’s hungry and homeless. For the second year…
Google signs lease for Detroit office
Google has settled on a Detroit home – right in the shadow of the pizzarena. The company today signed a lease with Olympia Development for 30,000 square feet of space at 52 Henry St., where Google will move its more than 100 downtown Birmingham employees. Currently, those workers occupy just 17,000 square feet of space.…
Detroit’s Grande Ballroom could get new life — as a church
The future of legendary venue and rock ‘n’ roll palace, the Grande Ballroom, has teetered on unstable ground since its closing in 1972. For nearly 45 years the Grande, located at 8952 Grand River Ave., has remained synonymous with the sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll of 1960s Detroit. The venue hosted the likes of…
Plan to legalize recreational marijuana in Michigan clears key hurdle to ballot
Organizers behind an effort to legalize recreational marijuana in Michigan have submitted the petition signatures required to get the issue before voters in November of next year. The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol delivered 360,000 signatures to the state’s Board of Canvassers today, well over the required 252,523. The group says the signatures were…
Today’s ‘New York Times’ travel piece on Detroit gets it mostly right
The Gray Lady’s “Detroit learning curve” is still on the rise. Some MT readers may recall how The New York Times first discovered Slows Bar-B-Q in 2010, making the barbecue restaurant and bar the centerpiece of a visit to Detroit. In 2011, they came again, dropping in at a bunch of restaurants, including Slows. Then,…
Detroit-based perfume company Sfumato will open a flagship store in Midtown
Midtown’s retail scene is expecting yet another establishment to open, this one just in time for Black Friday. Sfumato, a Detroit-based perfume company, will open inside the mansion located at 3980 Second Ave. The store will share the building with Detroit Clothing Circle, which already occupies part of the former home. The 650-square-foot store will…
Downtown Detroit restaurant La Dulce will close permanently this weekend
La Dulce, a tapas-inspired restaurant located in downtown Detroit, will close for good at the end of the week, according to the Detroit Free Press. The daily reports that the eatery had a difficult time transitioning when it moved from its original digs in Royal Oak to a spot inside the Crowne Plaza hotel. Co-owner…
Chargrilled, gourmet hot dog purveyor Doggy Style opens soon in Waterford
When you think of hot dogs in Michigan, the first thing that pops to mind is the coney. But in many cases, those aren’t dogs made with high-quality ingredients, and a hot dog in metro Detroit prepared as they are in New York or Chicago is a rare find. Al Winkler — of the Bread…
Third Man Records teams up with Beats by Dre for Black Friday
Talk about the best of both worlds. Better yet, listen. Apple revealed the release of a limited edition collaboration on Thursday, Nov. 16 between Beats by Dr. Dre headphones and indie label Detroit/Nashville-based Third Man Records exclusively available for Black Friday, Nov. 24 The campaign features singer-songwriter and Third Man’s own Margo Price, whose album…
Suburban man arrested for treating Detroit like a trash heap
If you’ve ever been beyond Detroit’s greater downtown, you’re probably familiar with the loose boats and tire piles that dot the city’s landscape. You may ask yourself, who the hell would put this crap here? Illegal dumping is littering at its most brazen. Thanks to the handiwork of Detroit police, however, today we have a window…
Review: Kamasi Washington uplifted hearts and minds at the Magic Stick
Kamasi Washington implored the audience at the Magic Stick Wednesday night: “Diversity is not something that should be tolerated, it is something that should be celebrated.” Donning a magnificent robe covered in cosmic circles easily perceived as celestial bodies and his signature smile, Washington’s presence alone was enough to make one feel welcomed and warm. That…
Abdul El-Sayed offers up the most comprehensive water plan of the gubernatorial race
The jury’s still out on whether or not Abdul El-Sayed, gubernatorial hopeful and former executive director of the Detroit Health Department, will sink or swim in the partisan primary on Aug. 7. But the candidate has recently released a water policy plan that is the most comprehensive call for change released on either side of the aisle to date. In…
Here’s one way to inspire the men in your life to give a damn
Last month, actress Alyssa Milano asked her followers to use the #MeToo hashtag to confront and denounce misogynistic behavior. Since then, social media have been flooded with stories of sexual assault and empathetic responses. By this point, a month later, we can safely say that millions of people, mostly women, have come forward as victims of misogynistic…
Eminem celebrates ‘8 Mile’ anniversary with Carhartt collaboration
As temperatures begin to plummet, two local all-stars are bringing the heat with the ultimate collaboration. Eminem teamed up with workwear titan Carhartt to present E13; a custom limited run series celebrating the 15th anniversary of Eminem’s theatrical biopic, 8 Mile. First Look: #8Mile Anniversary Collab w/ @carhartt for the #MarshallMathersFoundation's Verses Project literacy partnership. Extremely…
Update: Downtown Detroit’s Park Bar to close at the end of the year
Downtown Detroit’s Park Bar is closing at the end of December after 11 years in business. Cliff Bell’s co-owner Paul Howard confirmed to Eater that he and his business partner Scott Lowell (who also co-owns the Traffic Jam) have purchased The Park Bar building. They take over on Jan. 1 and will close for roughly two weeks…
Update: Here’s where you can sign petitions to end gerrymandering in Michigan (Nov. 17-22)
The group Voters Not Politicians is still working to gather the 400,000 signatures needed to get a proposal on the November 2018 ballot to end gerrymandering of electoral districts. The non-partisan, nonprofit group is proposing amending Michigan’s state constitution to establish a 13-member citizens’ commission made up of five independent voters, plus four each from the two major parties.…
Bobcat Bonnie’s will reopen in Wyandotte this December
After a three month absence from downtown Wyandotte, Bobcat Bonnie’s will reopen inside its original space during the first week of December, owner Matthew Buskard tells Metro Times. The restaurant shuttered abruptly in early September after a dispute with a business partner who held the lease for the building, Buskard says. After several attempts Buskard…
After auto insurance reform failure, Detroit Mayor Duggan seeks solutions, but also revenge
When Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan was out making a final push for votes ahead of his ultimate re-election last week, he briefly diverged from talking points of streetlights and street sweeping, apparently, in the name of revenge. Days earlier, an auto insurance reform bill he had hoped to count among his greatest achievements as mayor…
Detroit Sip coffee shop launches this Saturday on McNichols in Detroit
McNichols Avenue will get a jolt of caffeine on Saturday when Detroit Sip opens near Livernois Avenue. Owner Jevona Watson says that she first wants to provide a coffee shop that will cater to students and others on a strip now short on good java, but she also wants the 62-seat shop to lift up…
A Discogs user created the ultimate history of early Detroit electronic music
Anyone with even a passing interest in Detroit dance and electronic music should drop what they’re doing and head to the discography database Discogs.com. A user has created a chronological history of Detroit dance music records from the decade of 1981-1991, which includes 263 records, including seminal and rare cuts by Sharevari, Sound Of Mind, Jeff Mills, and…
You can now rep your city by wearing these Detroit-themed leggings
While some parties may disagree on whether or not leggings count as pants, there is no question the stretchy bottoms are continuing to rise in popularity. In fact, according to a report by Business Insider published last year, leggings are unequivocally dominating the market among upper-income teens. Detroit recently got its first Lululemon store this fall,…
Anna Burch is “Asking 4 a Friend” on new single
It was just last month that we had the pleasure of announcing that songstress and Detroit transplant, Anna Burch, was scooped up by indie label Polyvinyl Records. Burch, who was one of Metro Times “Bands to Watch” in January of 2017, dropped her quiet, yet searing new single “Asking 4 a Friend” Wednesday night. Burch, in…
Bread Basket Deli readies to open its East Jefferson location in Detroit
A new Bread Basket Deli is expected to open within the next several weeks on East Jefferson Avenue in the East Riverfront neighborhood. It’s the eleventh store in owner Al Winkler’s Detroit-area corned beef empire – which he started in 1967 – and will operate as a franchise run by Eizen Shania and Brandon Nofar,…
How Moroun family money nearly cost a city council member her seat
As last week’s municipal election disappears in the rear-view mirror, it’s worth noting just how hard-fought City Councilmember Raquel Castañeda-Lopez’s re-election campaign was. The challenger was backed by big money that helped turn the campaign into one of the most expensive and nastiest this past election cycle. And right at the heart of it was…
Calling trash-burning an impediment to recycling, Detroit environmentalists urge shutdown of incinerator
As residents of Detroit’s 48211 zip code, Melissa Sargent, her husband, and their five kids live in the line of a special kind of fire — one that ignites trash and spews sometimes hazardous pollutants into the air surrounding their home. “[We] smell the piled up garbage as we work in our garden, as our…
Vans Warped Tour hangs up Chuck Taylors, announces final run
Punk isn’t dead. But music’s beloved “Punk Rock Summer Camp,” the Vans Warped Tour is admittedly on life-support. Founder and producer Kevin Lyman announced Wednesday afternoon that after 23 years the tour will make its final full run next summer. FOREVER WARPED :: 2018 will be the final, full cross-country run of the Vans Warped…
Noted awful human Ted Nugent endorses Bill Schuette
In what should be a surprise to no one, noted rocker Ted Nugent has officially endorsed attorney general Bill Schuette’s campaign for governor. “I’d like to see Michigan elect Attorney General Bill Schuette as our next Governor,” the Nuge said, according to a statement from Schuette’s camp. “We’ve got people in this state that are pure,…
Metro Detroit movie theater will screen remastered version of ‘Titanic’ this December
I made my mother take me to see Titanic in the movie theater at least three times and every time she covered my eyes during Jack and Rose’s dewy love scene. I was in sixth grade and the year was 1997 — yes, a whopping two decades ago. Now, in honor of the film’s 20th anniversary,…
Wayne County Commissioner fears hazardous waste dumping in Romulus could cause environmental disaster
A pair of hazardous waste deep injection wells will be the subject of an upcoming U.S. Environmental Protection Agency public meeting and hearing in the city of Romulus. Environmental Geo-Technologies, LLC owns the wells located at 28470 Citrin Dr. in Romulus, and the company wants to increase the pressure at which they’re currently injecting treated waste…
Flint fallout has cost taxpayers more than $15 million in legal bills
A hefty legal bill has been added to the already hefty price tag of the Flint water crisis. According to Freedom of Information Act documents obtained by MLive and The Flint Journal, Washington, D.C.-based law firm Reed Smith has billed the city more than $361,000 for its services in advising former emergency manager Darnell Earley. Reed Smith was one of three…
Review: St. Vincent’s Detroit stop was gloriously weird
What do you do when the world is ending? You get your ass to a St. Vincent concert and watch it freaking burn. It should come as no surprise that the artist born Annie Clark found ways to turn a traditional concert into a vanguard, sensory experience that bordered on high art. Clad in a…
A new Plum Market store and café is planned for New Center
Michigan-based high end grocer Plum Market is launching a new 5,000-square-foot café and retail store inside the Detroit Piston’s practice center that’s under construction in Detroit’s New Center neighborhood. The “quick service food and beverage concept” – as the company billed it in a press release – will feature a coffee shop, grab-and-go marketplace, and…
Pistons head coach calls protesting athletes ‘brave’ and ‘patriotic’
The head coach of the Detroit Pistons has endorsed the political statements of protest appearing in professional sports, and argues that we all should too. In an opinion piece published in Time magazine, Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy wrote, “In a time where bigotry seems on the rise and commitment to racial equality on…
Flowers Of Vietnam plans a New Year’s Eve relaunch
Flowers of Vietnam will relaunch with a ticketed dinner party at El Club on New Year’s Eve. That’ll be followed by a Jan. 3 grand opening in the restaurant’s newly renovated Southwest Detroit space, Eater reports. Founder George Azar started the business as a weekend-only pop up in January 2016 inside Vernor Coney Island, but temporarily…
Stone Temple Pilots introduce metro Detroit native as new frontman
Just shy of the second anniversary of iconic frontman Scott Weiland’s death, Stone Temple Pilots are ushering in a new era with — believe it or not — a metro-Detroit native. Jeff Gutt, local celebrity and finalist on the talent-based reality show The X Factor, auditioned last year to fill the vacancy left by the late Chester…
Horoscopes (Nov. 15-21)
ARIES (March 21- April 20): Playing both ends to the middle will give you a chance to bide your time and see if you’re really up for this. It’s been somewhat complicated trying to figure out how to make things work and be able to live out your dream at the same time. From what…
Savage Love: Orpheum Theater
I was honored to appear with Esther Perel at the Orpheum Theater in Vancouver, BC, a few weeks ago to discuss her new book, The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity. Questions were submitted on cards before the show — some for me, some for Esther, some for both of us — and we got to…
Cranbrook exhibitions explore the ‘intersection of art and street culture’
Four seemingly different solo exhibitions are set to open on Friday at Cranbrook Art Museum. But a closer look finds a common thread that runs through all of them. Laura Mott, curator of contemporary art and design at the museum, says that the artists are united in that they are “all linked by the intersection…
Cheerfully destroying the Great Lakes
Here’s a name you probably never heard of, but ought to remember: Dan Lauwers, who is one of many not very remarkable or interesting Michigan Republican legislators. That is, except for one thing: He is perfectly willing to endanger, if not destroy the ecology of the Great Lakes so that rich people can save a…
20 ways to spend the biggest bar night of the year
B. Nektar Taproom Turn up with B. Nektar Taproom’s Drinksgiving, with live jazz-fusion from Malik Alston and multi-genre jam band Gus Greenleaf. Meanwhile, Brian Lukacs and Bee Hill will be spinning the good stuff. Food provided by Crispy Roll. (And take advantage of their exclusive bottle-vault clear-out deals.) Event starts at 5 p.m; 1511 Jarvis…
Detroiters vote for status quo, except on pot
It looks like Detroiters (or at least the 100,600 voters who bothered to show up at the polls) are satisfied with the status quo, having pretty much re-elected their mayor, city council members, and city clerk to office — with one exception. That exception was George Cushingberry, who was unseated during the primary, so this…
Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut ‘Lady Bird’ is the coming-of-age story we needed
Herewith the single authentic movie about being a teenage girl that our male-dominated entertainment sphere has begun to begrudgingly allow us annually. Last year’s was The Edge of Seventeen; 2015’s was The Diary of a Teenage Girl. Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird is like those films, in that it is an emotional feast about the audacity…
Jakko Jakszyk of King Crimson talks legacy, fandom, and Fripp
As part of arguably the longest audition in rock ‘n’ roll history, Jakko Jakszyk has been not-so-secretly vying for a spot in King Crimson, the definitive pioneers of progressive rock, for most of his life. A prepubescent Jakszyk, now 59 years old, found himself so completely disarmed by his introduction to Crimson’s intricate instrumentation and…
Review: Chef Maxcell Hardy’s River Bistro satisfies
One of the first things that comes up when you ask about River Bistro, open since Aug. 13, is how nice the chef-owner is. One Rosedale Park neighbor wrote me about “the chef’s high caliber and genuine commitment to community. He’s an admirable human being — and a terrific chef.” She went on to rave…
Girls Rock Detroit hosts Mixtape Mixer, brings together badass lineup of female acts
On Nov. 18, Hamtramck Korner Bar will host Mixtape Mixer, an event put on by Girls Rock Detroit, an organization that holds annual camps where girls learn to play instruments, write music, and form bands in an effort to promote positive self-esteem and collaboration. Mixtape Mixer celebrates the female, trans, and gender non-conforming musicians that…
