Cover Story
How kinky is Louisville? – To flesh out the city’s fetishes, LEO visited local sex shops
Valentine’s Day may be about chocolates, flowers and endless love, but it’s also (maybe even mostly) about sex. And while there is nothing wrong with vanilla sex (conventional sex approved by the church), Valentine’s Day is a time to explore, to be wild and discover your hidden kinks. So to help Louisville flesh out its…
Visually Speaking: This week’s art news and events (2/15)
[The above image of a Portland warehouse by Tom Fougerousse will be the new home for the MFA program at UofL.] Art news The University of Louisville is moving its Master of Fine Arts program to a renovated Portland warehouse space at 1606 Rowan St. It should be open for the spring 2017 semester. The…
LEO Podcast #21: Frazier History Museum
LEO’s contributing visual arts editor Jo Anne Triplett discusses the Frazier History Museum’s “Spirits of the Bluegrass: Prohibition and Kentucky” exhibition with chief curator Brigid Muldon.
5 things to do in Louisville this weekend (2/12)
FRIDAY Roast of Batman v. Superman The Bard’s Town $13-$15; 7:30 p.m. Since you’ve already seen Deadpool (which if you haven’t, seriously, go now!) and you’re still itching for another good old superhero romp, The Bard’s Town has you covered with a Roast of Batman v. Superman. It’s a Valentine’s weekend show about the simmering…
Welp!: 10 under 10
Welcome back to Welp!, food criticism gone gonzo, and for the first one of the year, it felt right to kick it off with a list because it sure would be nice if more people read this thing. You see, Facebook tells me you all love lists, and folks, you’re not even gonna believe #4!…
A conversation with singer and actress Kristin Chenoweth, who originated the role of Glinda in the Broadway smash Wicked
Kristin Chenoweth has made her mark in so many fields over the years that she can’t be pigeonholed as simply a singer, or actress or any other label. She has starred in television — The West Wing and Glee, for example — and originated the role of Glinda in the Broadway smash Wicked. She returns…
A Q&A with Sharon Scott, general manager of ARTxFM
It’s been almost five years in the making. ARTxFM (artxfm.com) will begin broadcasting on WXOX 97.1 FM this Sunday on Valentine’s Day. The launch party, at the ARTxFM studio (515 W. Breckinridge St.) starts at 2 p.m. with the launch at 3:33 p.m. and is open to the public. It can also be heard through…
Love and lust in Vunderland – Vixens aim Cupid’s arrow at a classic fantasy story
Nothing but smiles fill Art Sanctuary as the final rehearsal for “Va Va Vunderland” commences before opening night at Headliners in two day’s time. “Va Va Vunderland” is the title of this year’s Va Va Vixen’s annual Valentine’s show, which has become a beloved Louisville tradition over the years. And with tradition comes a great…
Meet MissHappyPink
Artists, being creatives, sometimes feel the need to change their names to better reflect who they are. MissHappyPink (misshappypink.com) — well, just saying, that name makes me smile. Her real name is Brittney McCormick, and her artwork is on our cover this week. LEO: I’ve got to ask. Where did the name MissHappyPink come from?…
Kitten- & Puppy-Grams from ?the Kentucky Humane Society
Just imagine it, your loved one is sitting at work, bored to within an inch of their life. And then an angel from the Kentucky Humane Society appears with a bouquet of flowers, chocolates, a handwritten card and the friggin’ cutest puppy or kitten you ever saw! Presuming your loved one doesn’t drop dead then…
A track-by-track breakdown by the musicians behind the Louisville is for Lovers ‘LIFE’ compilation
The Louisville is for Lovers ‘LIFE’ compilation was released on Friday, Feb. 5, and this Friday, Feb. 12, four of the bands on the project —The Gallery Singers, The Hot Wires, The Fervor and Cut Family Foundation — will celebrate by playing a show at Zanzabar. After releasing a Louisville is for Lovers compilation around…
Nick Dittmeier & the Sawdusters: Midwest Heart / Southern Blues
(self-released) An alt-country/rock hybrid in the vein of Hayes Carll or Sturgill Simpson’s first record, “Midwest Heart / Southern Blues” turns its focus to middle-of-country grit and struggle. The record’s at its best when it hits its darkest points — “Pills, Jesus and War” and “Stabbed to Death in Ohio,” songs about being intrinsically fucked…
Various local musicians: Louisville Is For ?Lovers ‘LIFE’
(Louisville is For Lovers) The 11th release of the Louisville is for Lovers Valentine’s Day compilation, and the first after a half-decade hiatus, “LIFE,” the 2016 installment is an ambitious and great documentation of 31 Louisville bands, 10 of which appear on the LP, while the rest are available for download. Originals, outtakes and old…
Curio Key Club: Curio Key Club
(auralgamiSOUNDS) There is a dearth of prog-infused funk in Louisville that the Curio Key Club is all too willing to fill. On their partially-instrumental debut, the band explores a style that ranges from the prog meanderings of The Mahavishnu Orchestra or Magma to later era-Herbie Hancock or Stevie Wonder, with a dash of Arcade Fire.…
Atomo: The Evaporated Life
(auralgamiSOUNDS) Imagine a future envisioned by the ’80s made tangible in the present, and you have a fair grasp on what Atomo is offering. This is proto-electronica, the kind of bleak, but imminently danceable landscape proposed by Herbie Hancock’s “Rockit” or Jan Hammer. You could easily picture this in a sci-fi movie of the time,…
CenterStage’s ‘Big Fish’ is a whopper!
It starts with a whopper, of course, the musical version of Daniel Wallace’s novel, “Big Fish.” And it’s a whopper that captures the essence of the story and its main characters. The scene is a riverbank in Alabama, where Edward Bloom, a teller of tall tales, is reminding his son, Will, of a whopper caught…
Photo exhibit debunks stereotypes, documents coal mining life
To some people today, coal is a four-letter word. But not in 1979 and not to former President Jimmy Carter. “Coal was seen as our national energy solution,” says photographer Ted Wathen. “The United States had a 300-year supply of coal. If properly developed this would be our answer to the OPEC oil embargo.” “Coal…
Garth Greenwell: A stellar homecoming
He came out very young, and soon felt he had to leave. But he’s coming home now with the triumph of a particularly well-regarded first novel. Garth Greenwell’s “What Belongs to You” could also be considered as a triptych of linked novellas — but Farrar, Straus and Giroux, along with the New York Times Book…
Video Tapeworm
THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKS BLACK MASS 2015; $14.99-22.99; R This dark real-life crime drama was nominated for all kinds of awards, most of them aimed at Johnny Depp for his frightening portrayal of Irish mobster James “Whitey” Bulger — we can’t imagine ever seeing him in another comic pirate caper. But the rest of the…
A Half Peach and a whole Slice
Some days I want to eat something healthy. Some days, not so much. That’s why I’m glad that there is room in the world for places like North End Slice, where the bill of fare is all pizza, all the time; and places like Half Peach Bakery & Cafe, where there is nary a speck…
Set sail on a frozen drink bar crawl
There are many things on this earth that are actually spectacular, but get an awful reputation. As a proud owner of two rescued pit bulls, I know my loving, silly dogs are feared by some, yet as I sit at my desk writing, they lay peacefully and angelically at my feet (farting up a storm,…
Monkey business
Happy Chinese New Year! In this, the year of the monkey, feng shui Master Chen Shuaifu predicted economic woes with businesses going bust globally, but a good year for love and babies. Apparently, too, monkey years aren’t good for dogs, who count Donald Trump among them (really!) so even if we’re broke and the right…
UofL is wrong
When the week started, I wasn’t going to write about the self-imposed punishment by the University of Louisville on its basketball program. There seemed to be too many other important events to focus on a game. Plus, what more could I add to the conversation? But since then, it has become personal. And whether it’s…
Your Voice
on “The teacher who was the lesson” This article makes me smile, and sigh. I was a member of [Steve Shaw’s] class that year, I believe, Todd Leatherman and I co-captained the kickball teams. I share many of your memories so vividly- the kite building, Anne Frank, Rifles for Waite ( how about King Tut’sTomb?).…
