Cover Story
Mayor Jerry Abramson
Mayor Jerry Abramson has an ambitious outlook for the future of Louisville. By 2015, Abramson — a self-proclaimed optimist — predicts construction will be under way on two new bridges spanning the Ohio River. By next year, he expects work to resume on the stalled Museum Plaza skyscraper, a project that’s been on hold…
Clatter And Jive
Reviewing EPs can be a tricky proposition — does one afford the same considerations of scope and gravity typically associated with a full-length? If you’re dealing with one of the format’s undisputed masterpieces (Signals, Calls and Marches, Chronic Town) you certainly do, and if Clatter & Jive doesn’t quite reach the heights of those landmarks,…
Theater: Activism on stage with ‘Saudi Arabia of Coal’
Though we have a new mountainous structure shoved against the Second Street Bridge, snowy peaks aren’t part of our skyline, and we’re not likely to run into any miners on the TARC bus. However, you’re likely to spot “Topless Mountains are Obscene” bumper stickers on cars throughout the city these days, and the group Kentuckians…
Industry Standard: Insider info for those who dine out
My dear, departed mom was a housewife in the ’60s and ’70s. In addition to being enamored of all sorts of convenience foods (such as skillet-dinner-in-a-box and instant mashed potatoes), she was a starry-eyed brand-name-foods aficionada. A devotee of Del Monte, a fan of Frito-Lay, she fed us what she thought was only the finest,…
Inbox — Feb. 3, 2010
Mind the Gap Ricky Jones has it exactly right in his Jan. 20 LEO Weekly column. The problem with Obama is that he hasn’t really done anything of substance since he started office despite his bold campaign for “change.” Worse is that many who voted for Obama still seem to support him regardless of this…
Tefillin the friendly skies
When a jet from LaGuardia bound for Louisville made an emergency landing in Philadelphia because a Jewish teenager was praying, New Yorkers wanted to know the answer to one question: There are Jews in Kentucky? Meanwhile, people in Louisville demanded an answer to a question of their own: You can fly nonstop to New York?…
Art: Say hello to the Kentucky School of Art
I have to admit this one almost slipped by me. The Kentucky School of Art, at 710 W. Main St., is the dream of Churchill Davenport. A feasibility study was launched in 2008 with the goal of finding out if Louisville could support an art school reminiscent of the now-defunct Louisville School of Art. I…
Screaming Secrets
Screaming Secrets finds Second Story Man flexing every muscle they have. “Clocks” is my favorite (next to the more personal but more powerful “Traffic Jams”), but that’s because of my hard-rock bias (and Carrie Neumayer’s bad-ass scream). When they want to get loud, you better believe they will, and when they want to fully develop…
B-Sides: Music & Other Ephemera
In September 1979, a singer named Steve Rigot, guitarist Alex Durig, Albert, Durig’s 15-year-old brother and bassist, and drummer Steven Jan Humphrey recorded six songs at Real to Reel Studios in Louisville. They released four — “Process of Elimination,” “The Defectors,” “They’re Guilty” and “Circumcision” — on their own label Tuesday Records. Mike Bucayu released…
Slow burn
Last October, Linda Brugh checked her mailbox and noticed she’d received a letter from her mortgage company. When she opened it, the contents came as something of a shock. “There was just this feeling of panic,” she says, recalling the moment she discovered her Fern Creek home — where she raised a family with her…
Art News
The Speed Art Museum’s (www.speedmuseum.org) “Brown-Forman Art After Dark: Fleur de Lis” is Friday, Feb. 5, from 7-11 p.m. Cost is $5 for members, $15 for non-members. St. Francis High School’s IMAGINE 2010 (www.stfrancishighschool.com) is an auction of original works by local, regional and national artists. All proceeds from the event support scholarships and financial…
Learning to Wait for the Dawn
Gabe Close sounds as if he’s been exorcising a lifetime of Southern rock and blues influences to make his debut, Learning to Wait for the Dawn. While more polished and pristine than I generally like my blues-rock, ultimately that’s nothing to slight him on. The songs are catchy, his voice solid, the arrangements tight. Not…
Of Pixar and politics
Rebecca Williams is a 25-year-old Gemini from Indian Hills who hates the No. 3 in succession. She occasionally travels, as she did to record her EP The Lion & The Unicorn at Lexington’s Shangri-La studios with producer/engineer Duane Lundy (Ben Sollee, Brigid Kaelin). She sometimes travels farther than that, having toured all over the States…
You And Me
Kevin Barker wants to be your friend. The Vetiver guitarist has crafted You & Me for you. You’re the “you” of You & Me. He’s upbeat, easygoing and wants to hang out. He’s even brought pleasant little numbers that are all of what you like about alternative country with none of the depressing mess that…
Video TapeWorm
THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKS: SERIOUS MOONLIGHT 2009; $20.95, R We’re not sure if this flick was ever released theatrically. We’re not sure if it’s even “good.” All we know is that it is one of the funniest — and occasionally ickiest — comedies we’ve ever seen. Meg Ryan is great as the stressed-out lawyer who…
Perfect pair: Hot Brown, meet pizza
If the Hot Brown is really Louisville’s most iconic local culinary tradition, we’re in trouble. It’s not what you’d call the most creative food invention that ever landed on a plate. Frankly, it’s a little embarrassing to try to list the dishes that made Louisville famous. Benedictine? Cream cheese and cucumber dip tinted with green…
Whigging out with Tim Deaux
The Whigs perform Feb. 5 at Zanzabar (2100 S. Preston St., 635-ZBAR) with Royal Bangs. Bassist Tim Deaux chats it up. LEO: Are you all out on the road already? Tim Deaux: Actually, I’m in my front yard. We’re home for a couple of days. We’re not really touring right now, just playing a few…
Mug Shots: Bear the better beer torch
How do you get to better beer? Education, education, education. Last weekend, the Mug Shot family watched Steven Soderbergh’s “Che,” the 2008 cinematic ode to Che Guevara, and while I know this will incite the usual round of anguished finger-pointing about my Communist leanings (how unspeakably droll, yet they persist), Cuba never was much of…
Transference
Indie-pop legends Spoon return with another set of tunes designed to make you dance … and think. Maybe not, but it’s always a good day when Spoon puts out a new album, and Transference is a healthy addition to the catalog. From the jittery “Who Makes Your Money?” to the low-key ballad “Goodnight Laura,” the…
The man comes around
I went to see “Avatar” just before Christmas, and I was impressed with the colorful 3-D effects. I was even impressed with the way James Cameron introduced Jungian principles of interconnectivity and spirituality into the melodrama. But I was disgusted by the lowbrow manipulation of the action. Even the most fully developed characters were barely…
Theater: It ain’t easy being Ella
Ella Presented by Actors Theatre of Louisville. Directed by Rob Ruggiero. Continues through Feb. 20 in the Pamela Brown Auditorium, 316 W. Main St. For more information, call 584-1205 or visit www.actorstheatre.org. The lights go down, the drumbeat starts and the show begins. And boy does it. Tina Fabrique mesmerizes the audience from beginning to…
Heligoland
As always with Massive Attack, dark beats and ominous vibes permeate Heligoland, and as with previous efforts, the disc is crammed full of guest singers and musicians, including Hope Sandoval, Elbow’s Guy Garvey and Blur/Gorillaz mainman Damon Albarn, who turns up on approximately one third of all records recorded by British artists these days. The…
Jerry’s kids
If the crowded mayoral race gets rough as observers predict, the brunt of the fighting will likely transpire between Metro Councilman Jim King and businessman Greg Fischer over their labor credentials. In the Democratic primary field, labor unions are considered pillars of the party, and those official seals of support are critical. Fischer leads with…
Culture: Lumberyard speaks to truckers, metal fans
When we think of poetry, we imagine lecture halls and podiums, bookish professors glancing up from mounds of verse into the silent attendance of an academic crowd. We certainly don’t think of diesel combustion, Flying Js and the crunch of power chords, but Jen Woods and those at Lumberyard magazine would love us to start.…
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. Feb. 3 BBC…
Building a broader palette
Deadringer, the 2002 debut from turntablist/producer RJD2 (aka Ramble John Krohn), won the Philly-via-Columbus, Ohio, transplant widespread acclaim. In a recent Columbus Alive recap of the decade’s best local albums, friend/rapper Blueprint said RJD2 summarized and furthered the city’s music by “using his knowledge of records and sampling to create something brand new.” The man…
Comedy: A tiny brunette with sass … and lots of laughs
Natasha Leggero has a face you might recognize but a name you probably don’t. She’s a regular contributor on “Chelsea Lately” and has been on shows like “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and “Reno 911.” She also appeared in the short film “Puzzled,” which premiered at Sundance Film Festival last year. The funny thing is,…
