Cover Story
Journey to the Motherland
It was a little joke among my son and his friends. They called him “The Asian,” even though you could hardly tell it by looking at him or even knowing him. He’s mediocre at math, on the tall side and rarely speaks Chinese in America outside of our Highlands home. He prefers the sweat, speed…
Enemy Mine
On paper, Swan Lake — the Canadian indie super-group featuring Destroyer (née Daniel Bejar), Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown) and Carey Mercer (Frog Eyes) — seems like a no-brainer. Krug often accompanied Mercer’s Frog Eyes before the rise of Wolf Parade, and Bejar tapped Frog Eyes for a Destroyer record not too long ago.…
A Brand You Can Trust
House of Pain is back! Before you turn up your noses, kiddos, take the history lesson. HoP’s first album was a near-classic, not just the hit-turned-cliché “Jump Around.” After three albums, leader Everlast went solo to great acclaim (a spin on the “old punk goes folk” pattern, he went from rap to a kind of…
Or Granfaloon
Karass’ sprawling debut is an exercise in frank, point-counterpoint philosophy. Shades of post-punk progressivism, free jazz, barely there oohs and aahs, moody transitions, weepy string textures and interstellar electronics make for a mix of the organic and the synthetic. No words are present — the instruments do all the talking. Parts of “I’m BJ, I…
The Classic Prestige Sessions 1951-1956
The Concord label has performed a public service for jazz lovers by compiling this budget-priced two-CD set of the 25 songs recorded together by iconic trumpeter Miles Davis and saxophonist Sonny Rollins for the indie jazz label Prestige in the 1950s. Previously scattered over several records, these songs belong together. Ten-inch, long-playing vinyl records were…
Plugged In
Readers are strongly encouraged to call ahead to verify these listings. To get your club, comedian, musical act or karaoke listed, please send e-mail to mherron@leoweekly.com with PLUGGED IN in the subject line. The deadline is NOON THURSDAY the week before publication. We do not accept listings via social networking sites. Wed. Aug. 26 Clifton’s Pizza:…
Inbox — Aug. 26, 2009
LEO culpa Last week’s cover story “The Kids on the Bus” named The Courier-Journal as winner of a Pulitzer Prize for photos associated with busing. The Louisville Times won as well. Also in that story, Gina Gatti’s ex-husband was identified as Tim Vice; his name is Steve. LEO regrets the errors. What Was Not Said…
A river ran through it
Wading through knee-deep water in The Louisville Cardinal’s flooded newsroom on Aug. 4, Michael Kennedy looked more like a character out of “The Abyss” than the publication’s incoming editor-in-chief. After learning the deluge had left much of the University of Louisville campus under water, Kennedy rushed to the office, located in the basement of the…
Video TapeWorm
THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKS: TCM GREATEST CLASSIC FILMS: HORROR FILMS 2008; $27.95, UR Wow! Turner Classic really knows how to package great old horror classics! This two-disc set contains Vincent Price’s career-making stunner, “House of Wax” (1953, 2-D version), along with arguably the greatest literary haunted-houser ever, Robert Wise’s “The Haunting” starring Julie Harris. Then,…
At The Moment Of Our Most Needing
Rock Plaza Central will come up in your iTunes under the category of folk, the new kind that’s become more prominent the past few years. Equal parts post-rock and Appalachian ballad, it seems that three chords and the truth has turned into sprawling, layered, orchestral compositions, with a bit less truth. It’s a good direction…
Film: Tyson’s redemption song
(Starring Mike Tyson. Directed by James Toback. Rated R; 1:30. Opens Friday at Village 8 Theatres. LEO Report Card: A-) Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery / None but ourselves can free our minds. —Bob Marley, “Redemption Song” Redemption is perhaps the most enduring narrative of the great American drama. A culture that places…
David Tandy: The full interview
During a recent sit-down inside LEO Weekly’s offices, Council President David Tandy discussed an array of topics, including Barack Obama, The Cordish Cos., housing and the upcoming mayoral campaign. A portion of that conversation ran in this week’s edition of “Jerry’s kids;” here’s the rest of that interview: LEO: Why are you running for mayor?…
Kicking against the pricks* … again
The low-rent, runt-of-the-litter media watchdog you thought you’d seen the last of has returned unbidden with the mange, a creepy eye and an irreversible hard on. I tried everything I could to insulate myself from the cultural fallout that’s flying through the airwaves and bashing up the zeitgeist like so much informational shrapnel. My aspiration…
Culture: (Un)dead zone
After learning of the close proximity of their birthdays a few years back, Louisville friends Mike Welch, Lyndi Curtis and John King had a brain blast: a big joint celebration for all three of them. Somehow zombies got involved after that. The big joint celebration idea morphed into the Attack, where masses of would-be cannibals,…
Art in crisis
Everyone needs a little help sometimes. Now it is art’s turn. We are in a recession that may or may not be turning around. Many art groups can’t wait any longer. So it was a happy day when the Obama administration provided $50 million in funding to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) as…
Bar Belle: Steve Perry makes my clothes fall off
I love me some buffet action. Although the best ones, hands down, are in Vegas, I’m not too elitist to stop by the Golden Corral to get my grub on. Where else can you fill your plate with mashed potatoes, nachos, orange Jell-O and sunflower seeds? So in the spirit of buffet dining, I’m going…
Jerry’s kids
During the course of a recent interview at LEO Weekly, Metro Council President David Tandy, D-4, took a call from his wife, Carolyn, which lasted a few minutes. This detail might seem insignificant, but it sheds light on an issue Tandy seriously considered before announcing his mayoral candidacy — the challenge of balancing family and…
Locavore Lore: Cornucopia of curative cucumbers
It’s time to revel in the essence of this sultry season: abundance. Yes, it’s humid here in the Ohio Valley during August, and yes, it’s also hot, but that’s summer, right? And along with a greater appreciation for ice cubes and attic fans, we also get to savor this steamy time of the year with…
Classical Music: Joshua Bell on fame and Fanfara
When Joshua Bell steps onto the Whitney Hall stage Sept. 5 to headline the Louisville Orchestra’s season-opening “Fanfara,” pretty much everyone in the house will recognize him as one of the most exciting violinists in the world, and classical music’s No. 1 box office recording star. But away from the concert hall stage, Bell…
Behind the learning curve
Karen Hampton sits behind a cramped desk cluttered with three-ring binders, manila folders and textbooks. The 46-year-old mother of two peers through a pair of tortoise-shell glasses as she methodically scans the text of a three-inch thick literature book, pausing occasionally to type a few lines on the keyboard in front of her. Fluorescent lights…
Rowan, Rice make a likely pair
When Peter Rowan left Bill Monroe’s band to start a bluegrass group of his own, he wrote letters to a bunch of Nashville labels. The responses all ended the same way: “Dear Mr. Rowan, We are not looking for bluegrass at this time.” “They never said they didn’t like it, they never said they didn’t…
Am I Invisible
“Qualis artifex pereo” (what an artist dies with me) were supposedly the Roman emperor Nero’s last words. Local experimental rockers Artifex Pereo’s Am I Invisible may not exactly be about the death of the artist, but lyrically it seems like it’s about the struggles they must endure. Unfortunately for the listener, they make it feel…
(Town)hallmarks of dissention
Ever watched a movie so bad you wished you had those two wasted hours back? I’m hoping that’s not my regret next week after I moderate Rep. John Yarmuth’s in-person town hall meeting at Central High School (Wednesday, Sept. 2, 6:30 p.m.). When it appeared that the congressman only intended to have three tele-town halls,…
B-Sides: Music & Other Ephemera
No one wins when a rock club closes. It takes years to get over the absence. Although it had fallen off the radar as club du jour for independent rock shows, let’s not forget altogether The Pour Haus. For a good long while, it was the place to go if you wanted to see your…
White Lies For Dark Times
If Ben Harper’s back-up band, Relentless 7, sound unfamiliar, then you’re on the same page with me. On White Lies for Dark Times, Harper’s ninth studio album, he abandons The Innocent Criminals to test the water with new friends. Blurring musical lines between funk, soul, rock, gospel and folk has always been Harper’s forte (note:…
Overloaded Ark
Dimension, depth and mood are pervasive on Overloaded Ark, another magical, mystical vessel piloted by Helena Espvall and Masaki Batoh. Those who caught them at Terrastock are fully aware of the duo’s capabilities at overlaying ancient styles with contemporary mentality, and there’s no deviating from the program here. The title track builds itself first atop…
