Cover Story
Funny business
Right here on the banks of the Ohio, nestled at the crossroads of the South and the Midwest, is a Mecca of stand-up comedy. That’s right — outside of New York, Los Angeles and maybe Boston, Louisville arguably has one of the most thriving stand-up scenes in America today, a transformation that’s been under way…
Are ya’ll sisters?
Unless you are Ellen Degeneres, Adam Lambert or RuPaul, coming out of the closet is not a one-time deal. It is less a singular act of declaring your sexual preference and more an ongoing discussion that can come up anywhere, anytime, and with anyone. Coming out is something you do once with yourself, while being…
Everyone Is A Ghost
If you passed a misspent youth staring wistfully into your bedroom mirror while playing an imaginary keyboard, this could well be the album to reignite your teen dreams and/or angst. Each track is good. So good I spent the first two listens trying to work out who they’d borrowed the tunes and tone from (eventually,…
The Good Old Fashioned Way
I can smell the moonshine coming off this collection. Country music scholar Charles K. Wolfe and filmmaker Sol Korine froze Hamper McBee’s unaccompanied balladry forever during a session in Monteagle, Tenn., in 1977. On this disc are many of the songs that appeared McBee’s 1978 LP Raw Mash, but this particular suite captures his vivid…
Bar Belle: World Cup runneth over
I’ll admit I’m a little late to the game with all this soccer hoopla. I realized this when I wandered into Big Blue Country — the new Kentucky Wildcats bar where the Brewery Thunderdome used to be — on Saturday. Grown men were wearing American flag capes and blowing an obnoxious horn that sounded like…
Film: Fart joke, bunion joke, breast milk joke, repeat
Grown Ups Starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, Rob Schneider and Salma Hayek. Directed by Dennis Dugan. Rated PG-13; 1:42. Leo Report Card: C- “Why are we doing this?” asks David Spade in the new summer comedy “Grown Ups.” The question could apply to several choices made by the filmmakers, and even…
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 the show happens. We do not accept listings via social networking sites. Wed. June…
Slow food
On an overcast, windswept Thursday morning, patrons stroll down the makeshift asphalt aisle of the Gray Street Farmers’ Market amid the towering structures of downtown Louisville’s medical district, inspecting farmers’ wares, chatting about recipes, and marveling at an array of organically grown produce. “Take a look at this sucker,” says vendor Ron Smith, holding (with…
EP
Chicago’s Mittens on Strings follow last year’s Let’s Go to Baba’s with a quirky self-produced fiver. Like Baba’s, their arrangements are intricate and textured without seeming complex. There’s an inherent fun to these five songs, and each one seems to breathe with the air of nostalgia. Sometimes that quality overtakes their originality, like the guys…
Freaks of the industry
Fireworks. Booze. Barbecue. Boring. At The Alley Theater this weekend, it’s all about hair hanging, belly dancing, lightbulb swallowing and scrap-metal compositions. Now in its third year, Freaks of July Dark Arts Festival is establishing itself as the place where vaudeville stretches to literal and figurative extremes. This year’s show features The Showdevils, a collaboration…
Book: Gettin’ rich off sh*t your dad says
Sh*t My Dad Says By Justin Halpern. It Books; 159 pgs., $15.99. Justin Halpern’s success story has to be one of the most improbable: a 28-year-old who, after his girlfriend dumps him, moves back in with his parents, notably his 73-year-old dad. That’s where the story launches. Sam Halpern, a crotchety and opinionated grouch who…
Inbox — June 30, 2010
What Happened In 1948? Recent letters have attacked Jonathan Meador because of his one-line defense of veteran reporter Helen Thomas’ comments about Israel (LEO Weekly, June 9). This drumbeat of manufactured outrage suggests some ardent supporters of Israel realize they are losing support in the U.S. and in Louisville, as evidenced by recent peace demonstrations…
Book: Facebook unplugged
Like it or not, Facebook is here to stay. In fact, an old high school crush is about to friend you as we speak. You’re going to receive 12 invites to events you’ll probably ignore. You’re going to read trivial updates from friends and colleagues — some will make you smile, others your blood boil.…
Staffpicks
Wednesday, June 30 Sonos Harbor Lawn at Waterfront Park www.wfpk.org Free; 6 p.m. Sonos, a six-person a cappella group out of L.A., will open up WFPK’s Waterfront Wednesday with an infectious brand of a cappella panache. Using beat boxing and avoiding the ubiquitous “dow” sound other groups use to imitate musical instruments, Sonos also…
Jerry’s kids
The first general election debate for mayor of Louisville may have been mostly a bore, but a stirring story behind the scenes was that event organizers barred independent candidate Jackie Green from the discussion and had Metro Police stop him from entering the building. Last week, the Commercial Council of the Home Builders Association of…
The path in the grass
James Malou has a quick smile that could put anyone at ease. Though in his early 30s, there’s something young and jubilant in his expressions, as if nothing has been lost from this so-called “Lost Boy of Sudan.” Indeed, what a comfort it must be for the uprooted and persecuted to encounter his grin after…
The Royal We
Alo and the Narcissist’s debut The Royal We is a less-than-regal effort, yet it experiments enough to win over a few fans of glam house. The flamboyant-for-the-sake-of-flamboyance attitude Alo Moniz spills into the music but gets washed out by an artist lost in a glitzy world. Citing Bowie, Bjork and Depeche Mode as influences, the…
I live here
Don’t be alarmed, but you are very likely misremembering some things. A recent study on human cognition concluded that the number of times an event is recalled by the brain affects the accuracy of that memory. The more times we call up a memory in our mind, it seems, the less accurate our recollection becomes.…
Evie Ladin
Old-time harmonies take center stage next week when Evie Ladin drops in. The San Francisco singer is a member of The Stairwell Sisters, who have performed at Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music, Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion,” and New York’s Lincoln Center, among others. Ladin’s set will mix originals and traditional songs,…
Confidence
From his Northampton, Mass., outpost, José Ayerve, singer, guitarist and ringleader of Spouse, is building a house, and the mortar is durable pop. Confidence finds Ayerve backed by an arsenal of friends and frequent collaborators (New Radiant Storm King drummer J.J. O’Connell among them) and picking up where Relocation Tactics left off. Ayerve’s scratchy vocals…
The Grape Escape: Why blush? You look good in pink
In one of the many ways in which the world of wine lovers is divided into two parts, we have those who love to sip pink wine, especially in the summertime, versus those who consider rosé a weak substitute for red and an odd replacement for white. I used to be firmly in the “No…
Video TapeWorm
THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKS SHINE ON, HARVEST MOON 1939; $7.95, UR This little Roy Rogers/Dale Evans outing is just one of about 110 such singing oaters — and we recommend them all — but for today, it serves as a good excuse to tell you about their Louisville connection. Dale was born Frances Octavia Smith…
Painted Hills
On their eponymous debut, Painted Hills revive the once-common but increasingly rare concept of rock band as singer/songwriter vehicle, as ex-Beachwood Sparks guitarist Josh Schwarz crafts effortlessly melodic, immensely likable pop gems throughout. Press surrounding the band (not to mention song titles like “Kaleidoscope Eyes” and “Stella’s Raga”) tends to oversell the band’s psychedelic leanings…
Locavore Lore: Fresh, local and close
There is a farmers market in your neighborhood. There also is a farmers market today. You should find one — it could change your relationship with the food you eat. Most people do not make the connection between what they eat and agriculture. They know the food they eat is grown on a farm —…
Paul’s Tomb: A Triumph
In the latest installment to Frog Eyes’ saga, the band wraps itself in a messy coat of noise and distortion, sometimes shaped and sometimes as unruly as a bear backed into a corner. Anyone who swooned over the huge and perfectly trashy guitar tone thrown in the occasional song by Neutral Milk Hotel or The…
Art: Remains of the day
Among the specks of leaf and dirt on the worn carpet, in the refrigerator left full, behind the curtains ripped off the window now lying on the living room floor, foreclosed homes hold within their walls the story of the people who once dwelled. It’s clear how much some have lost when you look at…
