Cover Story
Happy Birthday To You: The Black Roots of the Most Popular Song in the World
We present a trio of stories for Independence Day: below is Michael L. Jones’ piece on the black roots of “Happy Birthday to You,” in addition to Pam Platt’s reflection on why she chose to sit for the National Anthem and Ricky L. Jones’ birthday letter to America. Cave Hill Cemetery is where Louisville, Kentucky, buries…
10 under $5 – What To Do This Week In Louisville (7/9)
MONDAY GameKnights Kaiju Free | 7 p.m. Test your board-gaming skills (under the influence) at GameKnights. This weekly event, hosted by Nerd Louisville, provides a choice selection of board games for you and your friends to play, courtesy of Book and Music Exchange – Highlands. Come early to ensure a spot at the table, and…
Get Wet! LEO’s Guide to Swimming Holes for the Summer
There are few things better than swimming on a hot summer day. And for those of us who don’t have access to the iconic Lakeside Swim Club (damn you Lakeside Swim Club!) here is LEO’s Guide to local pools and swimming holes. Louisville American Turners-Louisville 3125 River Road Cost: Membership You may know the American…
5 Things To Do This Weekend In Louisville (7/6)
FRIDAY Poorcastle Festival 2018 (July 6–8) Apocalypse Brew Works $5 day, $10 weekend | 2 p.m. daily The annual “festival for the rest of us” once again brings three days of local music to the outdoor area of Apocalypse Brew Works, with 36 Louisville bands/solo musicians performing. Bendigo Fletcher, Joann + The Dakota, GRLwood, RMLLW2LLZ,…
10 concerts you shouldn’t miss in July
Louisville Waterfront Fourth Wednesday, July 4 Waterfront Park Before the fireworks, catch sets by the DJ collective Spinsters Union Of Louisville (5 p.m.), hip-hop artist RMLLW2LLZ (6:15 p.m.), jazz musician Carly Johnson (7:30 p.m.) and Pimps Of Joytime (9 p.m.). Poorcastle Friday, July 6-8 Apocalypse Brew Works The annual “festival for the rest of us”…
Why I Chose To Sit
We present a trio of stories for Independence Day: below is Pam Platt’s reflection on why she chose to sit for the National Anthem, in addition to Michael L. Jones’ piece on the black roots of “Happy Birthday to You” and Ricky L. Jones’ birthday letter to America. My own Independence Day came early this year. I…
Council easily passes budget, despite politics
Call it petty, or call it politics, but the Louisville Metro Council managed to easily pass a 2018-19 operating budget and capital budget, despite the objection of the mayor’s Republican opponent in November. The good news for all of us is that the budget calls for no new taxes or increase in taxes, and it…
‘Othello,’ KY Shakes’ most emotionally shattering
The finale of Kentucky Shakespeare’s “Othello” is the most emotionally shattering piece of theater the company has produced during Matt Wallace’s tenure as producing artistic director — or in the company’s history, in my judgment (and I’ve been attending since the days of C. Douglas Ramey). You can credit part of its power to stagecraft.…
Record Review: Peter Wesley — ‘Give Me The Ball ?& I’ll Do The Rest’
Peter Wesley continues to grow as an artist on Give Me The Ball & I’ll Do The Rest with carefully-curated beats — by the inimitable DJ Shaheed — and an ever-sharpening tongue. Wesley’s raps are multi-layered, operating on a series of levels, with the overall braggadocio part and parcel to the genre, but also with…
Record Review: Shedding — ‘Wave to the Wind’
Shedding has always been about existing in a constant state of evolution. The project has remained largely the solo domain of Connor Bell, who has used Shedding as a platform to explore his multifaceted interests, which have materialized in the past through singer-songwriter fare, an indie band and found sounds. Currently using modular synthesis as…
Comic Book Reviews: ‘Supergirl’ and ‘Amazing Spider-Man’
‘Supergirl: Being Super’ Writer Mariko Tamaki, artist Joëlle Jones Review by Meredith Harris, The Great Escape Louisville A 16-YEAR-OLD ALIEN who was adopted by farmers after crash landing in a pod and just wanted to have a normal high school experience sounds pretty much exactly like early seasons of “Smallville,” right? Well, we’re not that…
Record Review: W.D. Miller — ‘Burnt Bridges? & Broken Hearts’
With the sort of throwback honky-tonk that recalls classic giants, W.D. Miller mixes twangy guitars, a smokey baritone and a heavy-handed rhythm section on Burnt Bridges & Broken Hearts. Half empty bottles, old flames, lost time and shaky decisions circle around the record. “Rot Gut Lies” is a clever story song about how the narrator…
Record Review: Jaye Jayle — ‘No Trail? and Other Unholy Paths’
With No Trail and Other Unholy Paths, Jaye Jayle has fully realized the apocalyptic George Miller-esque vision that they started carving out in their early material. Imagine that Steve Reich and Ennio Morricone crossed paths, blending their respective minimalist inclinations into a neo-Western pastiche — part electronic, part organic. Singer guitarist Evan Patterson’s voice sounds…
Prolific indie band Guided By Voices helps celebrate 20 years of Headliners
Guided By Voices return to Louisville on July 6 as part of Headliners Music Hall’s 20th anniversary. They’ll be playing their entire new LP, Space Gun, which is the 25th under the GBV name. Bassist Mark Shue gave us a shout to talk about what it’s like being in one of the most productive bands…
Keyboardist Brian Healey to perform final show with The Pass
Since 2009, The Pass has made some of the most compelling and danceable indie music in the city, but this Friday at Zanzabar marks the final show for keyboardist Brian Healey, a member almost from the beginning. He is moving back to his home state of Maine to resume his academic career. “It was one…
Savage Love: It Got Better
Q: In a recent column, you said you never hear from married couples whose sex life got better and more frequent over the years. Well, now you have. My wife and I were married 24 years ago, and we are currently having more sex and better sex than we did in the first years of…
Thorns & Roses: The Worst, Best & Most Absurd (7/3)
Gov. Selfie is projecting | Absurd Gov. Matt “Elected on the Bell Curve” Bevin says cell phones are to blame for outbreaks of gun violence at schools. “This is a very, very, very dangerous tool in the hands of young people, and I don’t say that lightly or flippantly,” Bevin said, holding a phone in…
Happy Birthday, America!
We present a trio of stories for Independence Day: below is Ricky L. Jones’ birthday letter to America, in addition to Pam Platt’s reflection on why she chose to sit for the National Anthem and Michael L. Jones’ piece on the black roots of “Happy Birthday to You.” Happy birthday, America! What is it, 242 years for you?…
We’d cross the road? and more to dine at Ward 426
Why did the diner cross the road? To get to Ward 426, of course! Actually, we’d gladly take a quick detour around the block, park down the street and then cross the road to dine at this fine Baxter Avenue eatery. The issue of minor traffic and pedestrian gyrations on Baxter Avenue is what I’m…
Traveling? Eat local.
It was Father’s Day weekend and my dad, my friend Butch and I took a short field trip to hit some flea markets and maybe grab some lunch. We went north to Scottsburg, Indiana, and then west to a small town called Salem (not that Salem… no witches here), where we roamed around Huckster’s Hall,…
Bits and Bobs: Self-Care, Supporting our Community Barkeep Style(?)
I have to admit, although I’m commonly a purveyor of all things fun and boozy, this week it’s been hard to muster the whimsical joy that comes from writing about imbibing. From the horrific details of the atrocities occurring with families searching for a better life at our country’s border, to Justice Anthony Kennedy announcing…
People, in their own words… (7/3)
June 5, 2018 Tony, owner of Irma Dee’s in Parkland “I got shot in the mouth when I was 22 and it didn’t slow me down. When I was 25, I went to the penitentiary. I sat down there for 5 1/2 years. It was a mental battle, in itself, to correct what I was…
They put children in cages, but we mustn’t be impolite…
I bet you’ve been asked it, too. Perhaps the silliest question of all. Asked what? If we can put LEO readers out of their misery by ending this biweekly ‘matey banter’ shite? That’s not a silly question. Nobody asks me that. I hear this column is quite popular. Among feeble-minded Highlands hipsters who think that…
‘… that they might be ?better citizens’
Every week at LEO, we start off with a plan for the next issue. Some stories have been in the works for weeks, even months. For me, it’s usually by Wednesday or Thursday when I’ve got an idea of what I’m going to write about in this space. All of that can change in an…
