Cover Story
Our Low Voter Turnout And How To Fix It
“All the blood is drained out of democracy — it dies — when only half the population votes.” —Hunter S. Thompson “Democracy is a fragile dream.” —State Rep. Jim Wayne, D-Louisville On primary election day, May 22, 2018, my partner Jane and I awoke at 4:30 a.m. and drove to St. Therese Catholic Church to…
A review of all seven Kentucky Proud specialty beers in Louisville
Kentucky Proud Products once again challenged Kentucky brewers to develop unique, locally-sourced beers. Previous challenges have included particular ingredients, but this year brewers across the state were free to pick any that are from Kentucky. The results are wide and varied, including funky lagers, apple sours, nut browns, tripels and beyond. Sixteen brewers competed statewide,…
10 under $5 — What To Do This Week In Louisville (11/05)
MONDAY – NOV. 5 Stronger Than Hate Jefferson Square Park Free | 6-8 p.m. Prepare for election day with a day-before rally in the name of justice, racial equity, religious freedom and inclusivity, featuring several big-name “supporters,” from pastors (Rev. Kevin Cosby of St. Stephen Church) to organizers (Raoul Cunningham of Louisville’s NAACP branch) and…
5 Things To Do This Weekend In Louisville (11/02)
SATURDAY — NOV. 3 Yew Dell Botanial Gardens: Free Admission Yew Dell Botanical Gardens 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturday, noon-4 p.m., Sunday They say: Do whatever you can to help. Yew Dell Botanical Gardens is responding in its own way. In the face of last week’s Kroger shooting here and other violence and turmoil around the…
10 concerts you shouldn’t miss in November
Bit Brigade Performs ‘The Legend Of Zelda’ Monday, Nov. 5 Zanzabar Bit Brigade performs a live soundtrack to a video game speed run, and this time they’ll be playing music from the original “Zelda”, while their resident gamer defeats Gannon and his army. The ‘Zelda’ franchise, known for having some of the most renowned music…
Bird’s ridership soars past LouVelo’s: 341 vs. 72
If it seems as if the streets of Louisville are overrun with Bird scooter riders, but not so much with LouVelo cyclers, that’s because they are. Bird is outflying LouVelo in ridership, according to city numbers. From Aug. 9 to Sept. 6, Bird users took around 341 rides per day on average — or 9,876…
Why you were an idiot for not voting: Don’t let it happen again
Did you vote in the 2016 general election? No? Hated Hillary Clinton as much as Donald Trump? Would have voted if Bernie was on the ballot? How’s that working for you now? Philip Kearney, an amateur cartographer from Austin, Texas, wondered what would have happened if all of the people who were eligible to vote…
Library changes and the homeless
On Nov. 1, the third floor of the Louisville Free Public Library’s main branch will close indefinitely to make way for renovations and changes to the first and second floors that will better mirror the suburban branches, according to LFPL’s outgoing director. “This is the flagship,” said Director Jim Blanton about the downtown Main Library.…
Thorns & Roses: The Worst, Best & Most Absurd (10/31)
Why you must vote | Thorn In a country awash in guns, a racist shoots and kills two African-American people he did not know. Another hater kills 11 people in a temple because he believes Jews control the world. Our historically racist, anti-Semitic culture, catalyzed by an overtly racist, anti-Semitic and thuggish president, has collided…
Metal Monday, an institution at Highlands Taproom
By 10 p.m., the metalheads began to arrive at Highlands Taproom. They were easily discerned, decked out, by and large, in black and indecipherable T-shirts of black metal bands — although the best shirt of the night goes to a long-haired gentleman wearing one that read “Satanic Feminist.” The large, diverse crowd was gathered at…
Ruston Kelly’s honest new record, ‘Dying Star’
Singer-songwriter Ruston Kelly’s new record, Dying Star, is a raw and honest look into addiction. Written after an overdose, as he was working toward sobriety, the record digs into his past, in an evocative and contemplative way. “It was completely therapeutic,” Kelly said. “It was necessary. I think artwork has always been synonymous with healing…
Record Review: Will Oldham — ‘Songs of Love and Horror’
On Songs of Love and Horror, Will Oldham revisits multiple decades of his own music, re-envisioning songs from his Palace and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy monikers, this time just with an acoustic guitar and his voice. The newfound, extra, dead space creates a powerful juxtaposition with his melancholy, haunted singing style, luring the listener to hang…
Record Review: Trouble on Two Feet — ‘The World’s Shittiest Demo’
There is something raw and unhinged about a demo recording in general, and Trouble on Two Feet capture lightning in a bottle with The World’s Shittiest Demo. There is a wild charm to the band, whether that’s in “Life of an Anarchist,” or their anti-Taco Bell screed, “Taco Hell,” that has a youthful energy to…
Record Review: Dave.Will.Chris — ‘Meloncauliflower’
Starting off with some phenomenal sub-bass and record crackles, Meloncauliflower begins its slow dive into depression and anxiety. There is a Shabazz Palaces quality to the delivery, in what seems to be an almost stream-of-consciousness style. True to the theme, the music has a sublime melancholy, matched by the earnest honesty of Dave., formerly known…
Record Review: Axel Roley — ‘1nceagain…’
There is an elegance to Axel Roley’s beats, which incorporate classic funk and R&B elements, synthesized through the lens of the golden age of hip-hop. Roley pays homage to greats like J Dilla and Madlib, playing with pitch and rhythm in a way that gives the melodies and beats a whole new life beyond the…
Sonic Breakdown: Stonecutters — ‘Carved In Time’
[LEO’s biweekly Sonic Breakdown column deconstructs a single song from a Louisville musician or band.] Metal isn’t often celebrated for its sensitivity or timeliness, but the Stonecutters see things a bit differently. In the aftermath of losing friends in the opioid epidemic and mass shootings, the band believes in the importance of “being vocal and…
Liminal Playhouse’s ‘The Effect’ makes you think about how you feel
On the surface, Lucy Prebble’s “The Effect” as performed by The Liminal Playhouse poses a question about the difference between love- and a drug-induced increase in dopamine. When two volunteers in a paid drug test start to develop feelings for each other, they’re tortured by the question of whether those feelings are “real,” and so…
Comedian Krish Mohan: ‘Let’s Try? some shit!’
Comedian Krish Mohan’s motto is: “Let’s try some shit.” So, the native of India has been thinking about the current political state, such as how people need to be less scared of each other. “That seems simple, but it isn’t. That’s the stuff I’m delving into, which can be hard to make funny. It’s a…
Book Review: ‘Kentucky Haunts’
Kentucky Haunts by Daniel Meyer (Schiffer Publishing; 144 pages, $16.99) Guides to finding and exploring haunts don’t pop up every day. But it’s not as if we haven’t had one show up in… an eternity? Louisville native Daniel Meyer knows this, and citing his predecessors with detailed notes and indexes is one thing he does…
Order Like a Pro
I know… you’re wondering whether I’m getting ready to school you on how to order food at a restaurant. This is a task nearly everyone does dozens (if not hundreds) of times a year. There’s no one special trick that will vault you over other diners to an extra level of respect from a restaurant’s…
Plenty to do (and drink) during Louisville Beer Week
I’ve always said that every week is beer week in Louisville (or at least it should be), but this week Kentucky Beer Network has rallied local breweries to make it official. The Kentucky Beer Network is a one-man operation and the brainchild of local beer enthusiast David Satterly. He created the name and a Facebook…
Comic Book Reviews: ‘Isola Chapter One’ and ‘Cursed Comics Cavalcade #1’
‘Isola Chapter One’ Writer Brenden Fletcher | Artist Karl Kerschl Reviewed by Ashley Cornell, The Great Escape “Isola” sees Brenden Fletcher and Karl Kerschl come together to bring a childhood idea to fruition. Fletcher, author of “Batgirl of Burnside,” and Kerschl, artist of “Gotham Academy,” have been conceptualizing their story since elementary school. Colorist Michele…
Ask Minda Honey: Doing business with the enemy
In a relationship or life jam? Lemme unstuck your life — send your questions to: AskMindaHoney@leoweekly.com or reach out to me on Facebook.com/AskMindaHoney Minda, I found the sales rep of the company I work for does business with on Twitter, and his retweets included the president, antimedia bias and conservative tweets. While he may be…
Savage Love: Floored
Q: I’m a 40-year-old married straight woman. I gave birth to our first kid in 2015 and our second earlier this year. My perineum tore and was stitched both times. I have not been able to have sex with penetration since having our second child. My OB/GYN said I’m “a little tighter now” due to…
West of Ninth: People, in their own words…(10/31)
Oct. 16, 2018 Sky, from Russell “I’ve been here since 2006. The impact that The West End has had on my life has been bumpy. Sometimes, they’ll do good for the community. There’re also too many abandoned houses that they could do something with, and they’re always taking things away from us. They closed down…
When mental illness does not excuse racist crimes
Gregory Bush, the Kroger shooting suspect, is a white supremacist. His mental illness won’t excuse him or somehow make him exempt from being prosecuted as a racist murderer. I’m mentally ill. I’ve done things I’m embarrassed by. I’ve hurt people. I’ve said terrible things and caused trauma to those close to me, and to some…
As with food and politics, it turns out that we will eat? just about anything
As I prepare to vote, heavy on my mind is compromise and what we become as a result of it. I was a vegetarian for about 20 years, primarily for ethical reasons. When I stopped eating meat, it was not a common thing to do in the Midwest. People didn’t understand. But over the last…
Vote to kick them out
Vote. By voting in this election… and only by voting… can we begin to break the political fever that is sickening this country and provoking violence against blacks and Jews and attacks on politicians and our government. Politicians are simple. Like dogs, they understand rewards and punishments. This coming Tuesday, Nov. 6, the election is…
