Cover Story
Louisvillian of the Year
Shawn Gardner was only 10 years old when his mother died from brain cancer. Given he had never even met his father, he spent the remainder of his youth bouncing from one housing project to the next, living with various relatives. In the wake of his mother’s death, Gardner moved in with an aunt at…
Inbox — Jan. 13, 2010
VA BS The list of local censored stories in last week’s LEO should have included the dishonorable/unpatriotic effort by politicians to have the new $700 million VA hospital built downtown. On June 25, 2009, I told Metro Council: “Almost all vets want it built at the current, easily accessible location. At least 70 percent of…
A gambling man
At the age of 14, Michael Jennings watched his cousin die from a shotgun blast to the chest. Nine days later, the teenager encountered the suspected triggerman, Toriano Oldham, along with a friend, Frederick Crook, both 20 years old. Words were exchanged, and witnesses later reported the pair taunted young Jennings about the death of…
Film: A journey on ‘The Road’ to gritty realism
The Road Directed by John Hillcoat. Starring Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall and Guy Pearce. Rated R; 1:59. LEO Report Card: B+ So, Jack Nicholson, forgetting about the Laker Girls for just a moment, puffs up his chest and bellows: “YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH.” Uh … wrong movie. But that oh-so-clichéd…
A dissertation on chili, and a fine new place to enjoy it
If you think wine-snob dogma like “never drink white wine with red meat” or “never drink white Zinfandel with any meat” or “never drink a wine with a rating under 90” is tough, you’ve obviously never set foot in a room filled with baying chili-heads. Tomatoes or no tomatoes? Beans or no beans? Chopped meat…
Deconstructing me
It was my Gerald Ford moment. I became president of the South Carolina High School Thespian Society because the president’s parents decided to move to Wyoming. Since then, I’ve taken on many challenges, but I never seriously considered running for political office. That is until November. I’m not in the habit of getting this personal…
Theater: ATL offers a stripped and chilling ‘Crime and Punishment’
Crime and Punishment An Actors Theatre of Louisville production. Directed by Sean Daniels. Continues through Jan. 31 in the Bingham Theatre, 316 W. Main St. For tickets or more information, call 584-1205 or visit www.actorstheatre.org. Russian literature, like its landscape, has always seemed stark and cold. Enter translators Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus, who…
Theater: ‘Oh My Godmother!’ puts twist on a classic fairytale
Oh My Godmother! Presented by Pandora Productions. Continues through Jan. 17 at the Henry Clay Building, 604 S. Third St. For tickets or more info, call 216-5502 or visit www.pandoraprods.com. Over the years, enough scholarly papers have been written on the subject of gender identity and same-sex relationships that a person could easily spend years…
Displayed in Reflections
Broadfield Marchers’ third album further refines the band’s ’60s pop-rock. Brothers Mark and Dustin Zdobylak execute airy harmonies on “The Revenge of Jimbo Bell” and “Rips Like Steel” that recall Buffalo Springfield and Moody Blues, while drummer Justin Carter holds down an unobtrusive, laid-back, Ringo-style rhythm. The overall mood of the album is consistent throughout,…
Seeds to be Planted, Trees to be Cut
This debut from Louisville’s The Parade Schedule (or more specifically, mastermind Matt Kinder) is a collection of hushed acoustic songs that, at their best, recall Ryan Adams’ dreamy Heartbreaker ballads. Like most albums of this type, Seeds is a little too consistent — there are no real standouts, and some songs seem to just drift…
B-Sides: Music & Other Ephemera
This week, we take a spin on our occasional Five Important Questions feature. Dave Desitin, former drummer of Mont de Sundua, has a mix to fit all situations, and we ask him to pick three to fit some stressful, and some less stressful, scenarios. A. Traffic at Mall St. Matthews During Christmas Mix: 1. “Warzone”…
Bar Belle: Secrets to The Back Door
Twenty-five years ago, my worldview consisted of a utopian society where Strawberry Shortcake and Darth Vader strolled, hand in hand, along the Candy Land path. The smell of Light Bright pegs burning on a lightbulb filled the crisp, winter air. And my Barbies, who had a penchant for humping in Castle Grayskull, were my BFFs.…
Jerry’s kids
With an already crowded Democratic primary field, Louisville businesswoman Shannon White’s entry into the mayoral race was unexpected, to say the least. The former president of the Young Professionals Association of Louisville says she was encouraged to run for months, and she admits it was a tough decision to make. Now she’ll have to make…
Saved in the lost and found
As I endeavored to do anything but write a column the other day, I was completely overcome by the need to hear a demo tape I recorded about eight years ago. Resistance is useless when I get into these moods, so I started dragging boxes out of the closet. What I got for my efforts…
Love is War EP
There’s something intangible and beautiful about the four songs that make up Love is War. The guitar work from Jeff Thomas is sharp — with a Southern rock slice that reminds me of Derek Trucks at his Allman Brothers’ finest. And Mathieu Blake’s vocals sound like the whiskey-fueled brawl that should’ve broken out between Jim…
Contra
However precious and popped-collar these New Yorkers appear, Vampire Weekend ultimately win out on top in the taste department. Rostam Batmanglij, Ezra Koenig, Chris Baio and Chris Tomson draw their inspirations from sources international: Bollywood, calypso, dub, reggaeton and third-wave ska coalesce into taut pop gems that bang and sway. They’re not the first to…
Video TapeWorm
THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKS: BIKINI FRANKENSTEIN $13.95, UR Only the incomparable Fred Olen Ray (“Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers”) could have dreamed up this wonderfully ass-inine skin flick/monster movie. Jayden Cole plays the titular (wink, wink) red-headed construct of a crazed scientist with no money to spend on clothes. Never ask this guy to “dig up a…
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. Jan. 13 BBC 4th…
‘Bright’ light
Greta Smith, ringleader of Egret, has bounced around from California to Austin to Phoenix to Louisville, a path she attributes to “Whims, in every instance. I think also I just didn’t want to live in Louisville, I really wasn’t happy when I was here. But I moved back here a year ago, and it’s been…
