Cover Stories
Metro Times 2013 Gift Guide
As we enter what is generally known as the make-it or break-it time of the year for many retailers, we have scoured the Detroit area for the coolest gifts, the most interesting stores and the greatest stories behind each– all for your holiday pleasure. This year, consider buying local; it’s better for our environment and…
Michigan-made Scare Bears
Looking for something cute and cuddly for the sick and twisted? Look no further than Scare Bears, created by Livonia artist Jay Langley. Each bear is handmade and involves varying levels of gore — from almost comical zombies with bulging eyes to truly disgusting bears ripping off their own faces. Langley made his first Scare Bear…
Superieur Brand Vintage T-Shirts Recall Yesteryear
Can you imagine the surprise in our editorial office when we received a box of T-shirts that seemed to come straight out of the 1970s, emblazoned with names firmly lodged in the past, including … Pine Knob? The shirts, despite being brand-new, had a faded, vintage look to them that would cause any native Detroiter…
Detroit’s Peacock Room Goes Old-Fashioned
Rachel Lutz’s busy daily rounds bring her to the Peacock Room, her ladies’ shop in the Park Shelton in Detroit. A woman walks into the store beaming, and Lutz tells her she envies her smile. The interaction is so friendly you’d think they’re acquainted, but they’re not. The woman has just gotten off a jet…
Toast Makes Apparel That Is Fashionable and Warm
Vivian George is a singer-songwriter who splits her time between Canada and Detroit. She also works behind the scenes on TV and film sets and, more relevant to our 2013 Gift Guide, she has a company called Toast that specializes in making fashionable apparel that keeps the wearer toasty warm — perfect for those who…
Herbie Hancock: The Complete Collection
So it’s getting near showtime, and Herbie Hancock heads over to Miles Davis’ dressing room to pay his regards. This should be routine, right? They’re sharing the bill, and Herbie and Miles go way back. Herbie had spent five years at the piano in Miles’ band. Not just any band, mind you, but the great…
Gifts for the Film Lover
Guillermo del Toro Cabinet of Curiosities: My Notebooks, Collections and Other Obsessions By Guillermo del Toro, Marl Zicree, James Cameron (foreword), Tom Cruise (afterword) List price: $60 ($36; amazon.com) Want to earn major geek cred with the nerdiest member of your family? This is the must-get movie book of the season. For the uninitiated, Guillermo…
Detroit Cop Gets Crafty
Brian Russell is an unusual soul. As a member of the Detroit Police Department, the cop has found himself in more than a few drug raids. If that doesn’t prove his mettle, he was also a soldier in Operation Desert Storm during the early 1990s. The man has put his life on the line for…
Michigan Cottage Food Industry
Full disclosure: We’re really proud of Metro Times restaurant reviewer Noelle Lothamer. She was one of the first locals to leap upon the cottage food bandwagon, co-founding Beau Bien Fine Foods in 2010 with business partner Molly O’Meara. That also meant she was among the first to encounter the sales hurdles that small food producers…
Circus Freak Stomp Boxes
Leave it to a bunch of guitarists to glance down at their feet and think how boring the pedals they’re pushing are — and a dream is born. That need to create something visually enticing and sonically impressive has since blossomed into the company called Circus Freak Stomp Boxes. With four pedals available (at $179.95…
A Year In Detroit Books
As many longtime readers of Metro Times know, our annual Gift Guide issue is an occasion when we usually take stock of all the books we could find about Detroit over the course of the preceding year. It’s something I started doing about six years ago, when we noticed a definite uptick in the number…
Reviewing The Last Ten Seconds of Life’s Invivo[Exvivo]
Maybe it’s because the temperature is dropping like a rock, but there seems to be an abundance of great metal music released at present. People are pissed, and what better way to express that dissatisfaction that by grrooowwling a bunch of unintelligible lyrics while your buddies thrash away behind you? The guys in Pennsylvania four-piece…
City Slang: Black Jake and the Crane Wives at the Ark
Ypsilanti bluegrass punks Black Jake & the Carnies will perform on a bill with Grand Rapids band the Crane Wives at the Ark in Ann Arbor on Friday, Decembr 6. Black Jake says, “Ypsilanti-based outfit Black Jake & The Carnies and their Grand Rapids counterparts, The Crane Wives, together represent the best of Michigan’s modern…
Catch-All
1) Detroit goes ‘murder free’ for 36 hours. It’s sad that this is a news item… (Click on Detroit) 2) Our music choices can predict our personalities. Music helps us exercise. Here’s eight surprising ways music affects our brains. 3) “Whatever you call it, one thing is clear: the area of Detroit that runs along…
City Slang: Deadbeat Beat at the New Dodge
Thanksgiving Eve is an odd time of year in Michigan. With people returning home for the holidays from all corners of the country, it’s an opportunity to get out before Turkey Day and see a bunch of friends. Hence, an abundance of club nights and shows on a Wednesday evening in Metro Detroit. Family comes…
Dennis Ferrer at Grasshopper on Thanksgiving Eve
by Chris Macom Dennis Ferrer blessed the dance floor at Grasshopper Underground this Thanksgiving Eve, and it was a sweaty good time. His mix of tech house with a pinch of soul had the crowd moving into the holiday with positive vibes and delicious ear candy. Grasshopper’s resident duo, Golf Clap, started the evening off…
RIP Bootsey X
We’re sad to report that Bootsey X, real name Robert Mulrooney, has passed away after a long struggle with brain cancer. Details have yet to be confirmed, but it appears that Bootsey passed on the evening of Thursday, November 28, Thanksgiving. Bootsey X was a true rock star, the Pusherman of Love and a Genius…
Throwback Thursday: Metro Times Gift Guide of 1986
This week’s edition comes from Volume 7, Number 7 for the week of November 26 through December 2, 1986. Declared to be the “big thing people are going to want” is the Apple 2GS (GS standing for Graphics and Sound!), which can be all yours for $1,000 to $2,000. VCRs with wireless remotes have also…
10 things to do in Detroit this weekend
1) A Day In Paradeland The crew over at the Parade Company have been in a frenzy creating the floats, costumes, and props for the annual parade. After you watch the parade on Thursday, you can go to the Parade Company to see the floats up close and personal. If you have little dudes, bring…
City Slang: More Thanksgiving musings from musos
In the pages of the Metro Times this week, we featured a bunch of local musicians waxing lyrical about what they are thankful for this year. Sadly, we only had room for so many, and some replies came in a little late. Fortunately, this here internet thingy allows us to pile on all manner of…
City Slang: Pedal building for gear-heads at the Detroit School of Rock and Pop
Following the story about Circus Freak Stomp Boxes in this week’s Gift Guide, the Detroit School of Rock and Pop has announced that master of sonic sound Bruce Egnater will be hosting a “Pedal Building Class.” The class takes place on Saturday, December 7, and costs $260. Egnater says, “”Have you ever thought about how…
Scare Bears: The perfect gift for the truly macabre.
Looking for something cute and cuddly for the sick and twisted? Look no further than Scare Bears, created by Livonia artist Jay Langley. Each bear is handmade and range in varying levels of gore- from almost comical zombies with bulging eyes to the truly disgusting bears ripping off their own faces. Langley made his first Scare Bear for his child, who wanted a bear with silly eyes.…
Task Force taking stock of abandoned structures
Last September, Detroit’s emergency manager heralded the announcement that a combination of public and private funding totaling $300 million would be made available to combat the pervasive blight problem overwhelming Detroit. Back then, U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan acknowledged the monumental task facing Detroit civic leaders in combating the estimated 78,000…
Social Security Does Not Increase The Deficit
The American people love Social Security — and with good reason. It protects seniors and the disabled from poverty, and it is the most important life and disability safeguard available to the nation’s 75 million children. The program is a bargain: Its administrative costs are lower than privately managed retirement plans. Social Security returns in…
A brief chat with Dave Mustaine of Megadeth
Alongside Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax, Megadeth is one of the “Big Four” of thrash metal. Front man Dave Mustaine has had his much-publicized ups and downs, and he’s had more than his share of detractors over the years. We found him to be charming, honest, witty and eloquent in conversation, willing to share some fun…
America and Guns
“The good people in this world are very far from being satisfied with each other and my arms are the best peacemaker.” —Samuel Colt, 1852 I have a gun. It’s a .32 caliber pistol that sits in a box in a closet. I got it when my father died. He had three guns and that…
Michigan should be Thankful for George W. Bush
Well, it’s Thanksgiving weekend, and all across America, those who can afford it are getting ready to overeat. And this year, regardless of whether you’re eating turkey, Tofurkey, Turducken, ham, kale — or volunteer at a mission — there is something to celebrate: Genuinely good economic news. Not enough of it, to be sure. Though…
Feedback
Dear Editor: re: “Stamping Out Your Right to Know”; [Politics and Prejudices, Nov. 20-26, 2013] In my opinion, you offer views and facts on topics that are rarely exposed in the mainstream media these days.However, I was off put by your recent exacerbation about gun ownership. We all know the positions, pro and con, on…
Detroit Vegan Soul
Detroit Vegan Soul 8029 Agnes St., Detroit 313-649-2759 detroitvegansoul.com Handicapped accessible Open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday-Tuesday. Appetizers: $3-$8; Entrées: $9-$14 Soul food and vegan fare are two things that seem like they would be on opposite ends of the food spectrum. One cuisine is famed for pork and…
Detroit Musicians Tell Us What They’re Thankful For
This week we celebrate Thanksgiving … so let’s proceed to gorge ourselves with food as a display of gratitude to, you know, the Pilgrims. In a non-consumption-oriented display of thanks, we asked several local songsmiths what each is grateful for, how they’ll be celebrating Turkey Day, and how they’d handicap the big game between the…
Missy Suicide
The Suicide Girls have to be careful. The group has been around for so long now that they’re very nearly as much a part of mainstream culture as regular strippers. Then where will we be? (We’re kidding, kinda.) The girls bring their Blackheart Burlesque show to Detroit on Dec. 1, and to celebrate, we…
Reviews of Jack White Tribute, Terrible Twos, Kreator
Various Artists Rockin’ Legends Pay Tribute to Jack White Cleopatra The thing about covers is that, much like movie remakes, unless you’re bringing something new to the table — and preferably re-imagining the song completely — there’s little point going there to begin with. Faithful covers are one of music’s more redundant exercises. The original…
Film Review: Frozen
Frozen | B The House of Mouse has many rooms, and many gift shops, and many shopping mall boutiques; each boutique has many shelves that are in constant in need of filling. Frozen is fresh meat for the Disney Princess Factory, a rapacious industrial beast that churns out endless wishes and fairy tale homilies and…
Film Review: Nebraska
Nebraska | A Time makes fools of us all, some bigger than others. When we first see Woody Grant (Bruce Dern), a Korean War vet and disheveled old drunk, he’s wandering alone along a Montana highway, growing a little smaller against the mountains as he edges toward the horizon. Woody is a vanishing figure in…
Film Review: Philomena
Philomena | B+ You can almost hear the pitch: He’s an arrogant, upper-class journalist who’s suspicious of religion and a master of snarky disdain. She’s a simple old woman, devoutly Catholic and enamored with airport romance novels. Put them on a joint mission to find her long-lost son and watch the comedic sparks fly! The…
Film Review: Delivery Man
Delivery Man | C Vince Vaughn is pretty much a no-frills movie star, with a kind of lumpy, dough-rolled ordinariness that makes him the ideal foil for multiplex mediocrity. He hasn’t taken a real risk on screen in well over a decade, and his early promise and flashes of sex and danger have been replaced…
Rethink the Halftime Show
I’m like most of you. I’ve run through my dream job interview in my head more than a few times. It’d go a little something like this: “Hi. Hello. My name is Eric Allen and I’m here to apply for the job of booking the halftime act for the Lions-Packers game. Yeah, the one here…
Detroit Sports Fans Have Much To Be Thankful For
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, there are a lot of things to be thankful for. Whether it’s your family, your job, your health, maybe even your pet dog, we Detroiters have a lot at our disposal. So, in honor of the storied Thanksgiving tradition of saying what you’re thankful for, I’m going to give…
She’s a Downer
Q: I recently ended a relationship that lasted a year and five months. While I loved this woman, for much of the relationship she was, to varying degrees, depressed. I tried to be as helpful and patient as possible with the hope and expectation that she would get better. We went to couples counseling together.…
The Last Show: “I Need Different…”
Before, Kyle didn’t care much if you missed one of his shows After 15 years of band-life, scribbling songs and screaming his head off on stage, he long ago realized that there’s always another show and there’s likely always another band. “ But this time there’s no other show.” Tinder Tiger Carjack. Troy Gregory with…
Chuck E. Cheese’s fall from grace
There comes a time in the careers of all great artists when they have to look at themselves in the mirror and admit that they just can’t produce the goods the way that they used to. Dave Lee Roth doesn’t like the fact that he can’t do the splits-jump like he did in the ’80s,…
Donald Kilpatrick: The Hive
There may be talk about selling off some of the Detroit Institute of Arts’ collection, but in the meantime, at least, Midtown has a new art gallery. Recently transplanted from Ferndale, the Butcher’s Daughter Gallery is one of a few tenants to move into the new Auburn Building on Cass and Canfield. After delays caused…
Legislature Set to Require Abortion Rider Policy
Vocal Minority Organizes Ballot Initiative … IN THE WORLD of politics, the male-dominated realm of imposing values on women’s reproductive choices has again come into full relief, this time in the form of a controversial initiative that would require women to buy an additional rider on their health insurance if they wanted abortion coverage. The deadline…
City Slang: Weekly 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. 6 and the 7’s’ Not What Ships Are For (HiRosRise Music) has seen it’s sound, not so much evolve, but certainly progress since the previous Songs About Girls album. The…
Dead Letter Office Showcase -11.30.13
Local music label Dead Letter Office was meant to be a house for the underdogs, the overlooked, the musical mail that was never delivered… Instead of returning these songs to their senders, Brandon Frye and Kyle McBee built a label to be somewhat of a lost and found for local songwriter’s experimental, more intimate, or heavily…
12th Man Report: UM basketball…
More questions than answers The University of Michigan men’s basketball team had the second-most successful season of any team in the nation a year ago — they made it all the way to the championship game, just coming up short against Louisville. After Trey Burke’s departure, there was going to be an obvious gaping hole…
