Cover Story
Lousiville arts in black and white: A look at racial divisions in the creative community
Why write an entire feature about artists of color working in the Louisville community? It’s a question that’s easy to answer, if you are ready to address hard truths. The first is that LEO, and many other media publications in Louisville, are still disproportionately filled with white writers — including me — many or most…
The Power of Passion
Major change does not happen organically. For there to be a significant shift in mentality and policy, specific individuals must fight against the current to make progress a reality. Brown-Forman, an internationally known Louisville-based company, has always been on the forefront of forward thinking; however, thanks to several passionate employees – four of whom Modern…
Wu-Tang Clan staples, abbreviated hits and the power of nostalgia: A review of Method Man and Redman at Diamond Pub
[photos by Nik Vechery] Did you know that longtime collaborators Method Man and Redman dropped a new album just two years ago? Turns out it doesn’t matter, as Redman succinctly put it that “Y’all want to hear that old shit” — an undeniable truth as there ever was — at Diamonds Pub on Friday night.…
The 6 best local songs from February
Soft Self Portraits – “Winter in Flight” Few bands in town lack an immediate contemporary, at least on a local level, but Soft Self Portraits certainly fit that criteria. The closest analog for comparison is early Grizzly Bear, a lo-fi and experimental take on folk and indie tropes that privileges atmosphere and texture as a…
Visually Speaking: This week’s art news and events (2/29)
[The above image is of Tibetan monks at the Carnegie Center in 2013.] Art news When the Speed Art Museum reopens, Sundays will have free admission thanks to the Brown-Forman Corp. (speedmuseum.org). 21c Museum Hotels will open its fifth property, located at 167 W. Main St. in downtown Lexington on Monday, February 29. It is…
LEO Podcast #23: Damaged Goods Improv
Damaged Goods Improv swung by to take over for this week’s episode.
An upcoming cowboy record and leaving the Carolina Chocolate Drops for a solo career: A Q&A with Dom Flemons
Dom Flemons made his name playing old-time folk music as both a solo artist and a co-founder of the popular, contemporary black string band, the Carolina Chocolate Drops. But lately he’s been thinking a lot about cowboys. A recent tune Flemons wrote concerns Bass Reeves, one of the first black Deputy U.S. Marshals west of…
The New Albany Production House’s final concert, featuring 1200, is on Saturday
The New Albany Production House (1736 E. Main St., New Albany) is having its farewell concert on Saturday, The Big Damn Jam Party, featuring 1200, Jet Black Orchid, DJ Brios and The Free Should Effect. “The show is to specifically celebrate everything that we have done in the past,” co-owner Cory Pollard says. “It’s going…
5 things to do in Louisville this weekend (2/26)
FRIDAY Method Man & Redman Diamond Pub (Highlands) $35-$125; 7 p.m., 18+ These two hip-hop legends (dare I say gods?) have been behind some of the greatest hip-hop tracks of the past two decades, not only as a duo but as solo artists and as original Wu-Tang Clan members (even RZA said Redman is an…
Listen: One song from every band playing GonzoFest 2016
by Scott Recker GonzoFest — the annual celebration of the life and work of Hunter S. Thompson — returns on Saturday, April 16, taking place again on Big Four Lawn of Waterfront Park. Guests will include Hunter’s son Juan and his grandson Will, as well as Debrorah Fuller and Joey Feldman. And, of course, there…
Atmosphere and medium: A conversation with Kaleidico about their new collection ‘Zoetic B-Sides’
There is a kind of malaise that informs the art that emerges from the suburbs, usually manifested by loud guitars and angst-ridden lyrics, thrown up against a crashing backbeat. Nestled in the heart of the South End, Kaleidico bucks that tradition, if only in terms of their volume and force of character, albeit still with…
b-sides: Voivod
Unlike many of their peers, Voivod is one of the only first-wave thrash bands who still releases fresh-sounding music. On Feb. 26, they will drop a new EP, “Post Society.” “It’s Voivod, but it’s new at the same time,” says guitarist Daniel Mongrain. “New colors. I feel it’s deep. Deep lyrics, deep music. But it…
University of Louisville Jazz Fest returns this weekend
The end of February always warms the hearts of Louisville-area jazz fans, because of the annual University of Louisville Jazz Fest. For decades, top artists including Dave Brubeck, Michael Brecker and others have performed. This year, Professor Jerry Tolson leads UofL’s Student Ensemble II on Thursday. Friday features baritone saxophonist Denis DiBlasio. On Saturday, drummer…
Vandaveer: The Wild Mercury
(Ramshackler) When bands attempt to move their sound forward, often times small, graceful changes are more effective than seismic, high-risk-high-reward shifts. On “The Wild Mercury,” Vandaveer digs deeper into the pop landscape with one foot still firmly planted in the melancholy singer-songwriter world that they’ve spent five records in, sliding in a slightly new direction…
Teal Grapefruit: Heart Of Being
(self-released) The noise that Teal Grapefruit makes is delightfully unpleasant, as showcased throughout their new four-song EP “Heart Of Being.” The first two tracks maintain a brooding slow-build that centers around one particular riff from start to finish. Throughout the second song — the title track — there’s a menacing distorted bass line that serves…
Sea Hero: Graustauk
(self-released) After an almost four year gap, Sea Hero returns with “Graustauk,” their follow-up to their debut release “Grave Talk.” Where their earlier material traded on lightly-plucked melodies and atmospheric guitar work, their newest — and ostensibly final — release is a rife with tension. This isn’t to say that any of the constituent elements…
Goldtone: Transmission
(self-released) Given the dearth of imminently danceable music, the sort that makes you want to get out of your seat and move beyond a casual nod, Goldtone is a breath of fresh air. An instrumental affair, there is more than a little Michael Jackson or Prince in their DNA, albeit structured in a way that…
From the art to the business of theater: ?A conversation with Bunbury Theatre’s Juergen K. Tossmann
When Juergen K. Tossmann says he can’t believe that he’s been at the helm of Louisville’s Bunbury Theatre for 25 years, he means it. In 1991, when he took over as the company’s producing artistic director, Bunbury (founded in 1985) was mired in debt, needed to find a new performance space and was uncertain about…
‘Hot Flash Fan’ and ‘International Honor Quilt’ on display
Feminists of all ilk are familiar with Judy Chicago’s trail-blazing art. Since the 1970s, Chicago has been an internationally known feminist icon, most famous for “The Dinner Party.” The triangle-shaped table (fashioned after “an early symbol of the female,” she explains) features 1,038 names of women who have contributed to the history of the arts,…
Video Tapeworm
THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKS THE BOLD ONES: THE NEW DOCTORS 1969; $49.98; UR This early cutting-edge TV series gave Steven Bochco the street-cred he needed to create “NYPD Blue”, “Hill Street Blues”, and “L.A. Law.” David Hartman, E.G. Marshall, and John “Enter The Dragon” Saxon represent the best and brightest in modern medicine, each week…
10 under $10
I recently posed the question of the best meal under $10 to social media, and I found that the majority of responses gravitated toward categorically non-Western fare from authentic, hyper-local joints dotting the South End. Friend and former LEO Weekly contributor Kirsten Schofield beautifully described the Third Street corridor in the Iroquois neighborhood as “six…
On a wait
Tickets are spilling out of the printer faster than anyone could read them aloud. Cooks are busy filling orders for the previous 20 tickets, and not just a list of items, but a list of modifications including burger temps, steak temps, and at brunch, egg styles: sunny-side, scrambled with or without cheese, hard-fried, poached, hard-poached…
Moral majority
“Women are capable of making moral decisions,” so said Mary Lou Marzian, Kentucky House of Representatives member and author of a bill that garnered international attention based on its requirement for men to obtain consent from their wives prior to gaining access to erectile dysfunction drugs. Reminiscent of the pivotal scene from “Broadcast News,” and…
Inexcusable comparison of Planned Parenthood to Nazis
On the cover of yesterday’s Courier-Journal, I saw a headline tantamount to promoting fascist propaganda. It read: “Planned Parenthood being accused of ‘black genocide.’” This headline looks like a sign you would see at a Trump or Cruz rally, not the cover of Louisville’s daily newspaper. I take no joy in featuring the bad work…
Your Voice
#TakeAStandLou @leoweekly @yarmuth @RepJohnYarmuth Like father like son, right? Thanks for participating in #TakeAStandLou! —Coalition for the Homeless, @louhomeless On “Tailspin Ale Fest with LEO Weekly” One of the most genius things ever. @TailspinAleFest @leoweekly #pretzelnecklace —Dan @tannydanner86 On “In search of Louisville’s homeless” Thanks so much to Kevin Gibson for this thoughtful and thorough…
