City Hall 2.0: Abramson pulled the arena deal out of the fire, but it wasn’t politics as usual
It was a scene most unusual.There was the mayor, coiffed and polished as usual, on his knees tussling with an exposed wire that was shorting out the microphone he was using to bring to order an 11 a.m. press conference in the stately Mayors’ Gallery downtown. Standing over him was downtown arena taskmaster Jim Host,…
City Strobe: Cleaning up the dirty, dirty air, Part I
At least the sirens sounded this time. A spill just after 11 p.m. Monday night at Rubbertown’s Carbide Industries produced a cloud of toxic vapor over Bells Lane, the breadth of which an official with the company was unsure of Tuesday morning. Frank Sizemore, manager of engineering for the company — which has been at…
Rumor & Innuendo
The Brohm factor. Yet another source advised this week that there is more concern in the locker room about the sturdiness of the Cardinal QB’s knee than is being admitted publicly. Read your mail. Congrats to those new members of the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame and the U of L Athletic Hall of Fame.…
Guest Commentary: Military might cannot win a war of ideas
by LINDA GEORGE AND CATHERINE MCGEENEY linda george and catherine mcgeeney Almost five years ago, the whole world stood with the United States in mourning over the deep losses we suffered at the hands of terrorists. We declared the Global War on Terror and vowed to banish this threat from our shores. How have we…
The Flipped Lid: Outside, looking inward
A week and a half ago around 9:30 p.m., when the air felt like breath — except it didn’t move — I sat on my front porch drinking a bottle of Honey Brown Ale, listening to crickets and the train along Ninth Street Parkway. Despite the fact that summer nights feel senseless and beautiful, and…
Bluegrass Politics: Let the dance begin
Kentucky’s political mating season begins in earnest this weekend with the annual political gathering known as Fancy Farm, which signals the unofficial start of the 2007 governor’s race. And while top acts like Gov. Ernie Fletcher and Sen. Mitch McConnell won’t appear, numerous gubernatorial hopefuls will be on location, working the crowd amid the picnic’s…
Your Weekly Reeder: Red-plate days are here again
Martha McMahon believes in celebrating life’s victories, even the small ones, and that’s how she came up with the idea of the red plate. Whenever something good happened to her husband or her son, she would let them eat off the red plate. Her feeling was, there’s so much heartache in the world that the…
New wave, old hand: Could maestro Mester’s return signal a renaissance for the Louisville Orchestra?
Jorge Mester in 1973, left, If there is one Louisville organization way overdue for a run of good luck, it’s the Louisville Orchestra. Beaten up and bogged down by financial woes and dwindling attendance — and virtually leaderless for the past two seasons — the orchestra has to be first in line to finally find…
Erosia
LEO welcomes letters that are brief (250 words max) and thoughtful. Ad hominem attacks will be ignored, and we need your name and a daytime phone number. Send snail mail to EROSIA, 640 S. Fourth St., Louisville, Ky. 40202. Fax to 895-9779 or e-mail to leo@leoweekly.com. We may edit for length, grammar and clarity. A…
Five Important Questions with Your Black Star
your black star I heard this album — Sound From the Ground — a while ago, many months ago in fact, when I did a piece on Your Black Star that managed to upset a surprising amount of people in New Zealand (quickly: the band members had a poor tour experience that I cited,…
Back in Blue: Yesterday’s Louisville bluegrass festival becomes today’s
J.D. Crowe People talk a lot about Kentucky’s music, the immutable and mighty bluegrass, something that gives us a notable place in the history of world culture. Here in Louisville, we’ve done a decent job reflecting that in recent years, mostly in the form of various festivals such as the International Bluegrass Music Association’s annual…
Great country-rock storytelling, straight outta Chris Knight’s truck
Chris Knight Chris Knight’s coming by Uncle Pleasant’s Friday, just after the release of Enough Rope, his fourth album. This collection of 12 tunes is a remarkable step forward for the Slaughters (in Webster County) native who’s already distinguished himself with many memorable story-songs and ballads. The typical subject of a Knight ballad might be…
Truth and consequences: ANNE SHELBY THINKS DIFFERENTLY THAN MOST OF CLAY COUNTY. IT HASN’T KILLED HER  YET
photo courtesy of Anne Shelby: Writer Anne Shelby lives in Clay County, where, as a hardcore lefty, she’s a fish out of water. Still, she hasn’t given up on getting into Heaven. Below is the pre-Civil War home that’s been in her family since it was built. She lives there with her husba Anne Shelby…
LEO’s Eat ’n’ Blog with Louisville HotBytes: Cynical critic checks out chain burgers
illustration by Gina Moeller OK, let’s get this clear up front: I’m suspicious of corporate restaurant chains, and I don’t have high expectations for much of anything in the suburbs. So why did I rush out in such a big hurry to check out Red Robin Gourmet Burgers & Spirits in Brownsboro Crossing, an East…
Staff Picks
Aug. 2-5Phoenix Hill Tavern turns 30 We won’t belabor the phreaking point, except to say it is unusual for a nightclub to live for 30 years with the same name, under the same (local) ownership. But Phoenix Hill Tavern has done it, and this week the place that started out so humbly in 1976 has…
Theater Review – The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged)
From left to right: is Thomas Schulz, Jeremy White and Jeremy Sapp in The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged). There’s a lot to be said for “getting it while it’s hot.” That’s when the product is at its freshest, its most desirable. Factor in exclusivity, originality and hype, and damn near everybody wants to…
Aftertastes
Quality of Meal: 3 = Good; 4 = Very good; 5 = Extraordinary. Price Range: $ = $10 or less; $$ = $20 or less; $$$ = $30 or less; $$$$ = more than $30. (Per person for a meal without tip or tax.) HA = Wheelchair accessible. Descriptions are summaries of previously published dining…
Club Directory
19th Green 1740 Williamsburg Dr. Jeffersonville (812) 284-9088 19th Hole Pub 5603 Greenwood Rd. 933-4858 717 Studios 717 Market St. 609-9317 1135 S. 7th St. 1135 S. 7th St. 589-4978 A Little Peace Café 1860 Mellwood Ave. 895-3650 Air Devil’s Inn 2802 Taylorsville Rd. 454-4443 Akiko’s 1123 Bardstown Rd. 459-8020 The Alternative 1032 Story Ave.…
Karaoke Korral
WED AUG 2 Akiko’sBoozseller LoungeBrewskees Creeker’s Bar & GrillGaslite Tavern Good Times Pub Jim Porter’sJoker’sJT’s Variety Club Monon Station New ViewPhoenix HillR Place Pub Ro-Joe’s Karaoke BarSeidenfaden Cafe Shooters SkivviesSmyrna Inn Spectators Bar & GrillSt. Andrew’s PubSteinert’s T.K.’s Pub Union Station ZaZoo’s THU AUG 3 19th Hole Pub Akiko’s Boozseller LoungeBrewskees Corner TavernCreeker’s Bar &…
Community Listings
Special Events Art for the Animals Auction — raise money to better the lives of animals, cash awards, Aug. 3, free, by Shamrock, Mellwood Arts and Entertainment Center, 1860 Mellwood Ave., 895-3650.Street Rod Nationals — 37th annual NSRA Nationals, largest street rod event, live music, car exhibits, demonstrations, arts and crafts and more, Aug. 3-6,…
Arts & Entertainment Listings
Special Events Artist Enrichment Workshop — presented by KY Foundation for Women, free, open to artists/members of organizations who express a commitment to women’s lives, Aug. 3, 6-8:30pm, Louisville Free Public Library, 301 York St., 574-1611.••Bardstown Bound — evening of sidewalk shopping with fashion shows, sales and music, Aug. 4, 5pm-?, free, Highlands area.Decades Of…
Video TapeWorm: Releases through Aug. 8
THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKSBRICK2004; DVD $29.95, RA truly daring and original idea: a classic gangster film noir set in a modern SoCal high school. Seeing kids do Bogie and Bacall in sunlight under a maple tree is somehow very unsettling. Maybe you realize — as you’ve always suspected — that all those years of TV…
