And then there was one. That one!
What does fine dining have to do with politics? Consider this: The post-election map of the metro’s voting precincts painted a telling picture of Jefferson County demographics in stark red and blue, and we’re not talking Cardinals and Wildcats. Inside the Watterson, the city’s liberal enclaves and African-American neighborhoods were solid Obama blue. The suburbs,…
Space-age Sabbath; Satanic blues; Capitan
Wednesday, Nov. 12 Somewhere between the textured, ambient sounds of electronica and thunder is Grails, trading in noise, a Sabbath-like stomp and hidden beauty. Instrumental bands risk being written off as excuses for excess musicianship or boorish, drone-like excursions, but Grails captures listeners with its attention to detail and devotion to craftsmanship. No choruses, sure,…
Obamarama!
The vast ballroom inside the downtown Marriott was buzzing with chatter, clinking glasses and televisions blaring coverage of Election 2008. Boisterous Democrats were packed into the dimly lit room, anticipating an announcement they had waited months, years — and for some, an entire lifetime — to hear. Finally, just before 11 p.m., NBC News called…
Staffpicks
Through Nov. 25 ‘Cynthia Reynolds: small world’ Gallery NuLu is no more. It didn’t close; it just changed its name and moved down the street. The Green Building Gallery is presenting its inaugural show with works by Cynthia Reynolds. That’s fitting, as Reynolds was the first artist shown at Gallery NuLu when it opened. Reynolds examines the…
Inbox — Nov. 12, 2008
Churches Exempt As a loyal reader, I wanted to commend you on Phillip Bailey’s article “God-Mart” in the Oct. 29 LEO Weekly. Not mentioned in the article, however, was one of the most interesting aspects of the ability of churches to raise such a large amount of cash — all of this money is TAX…
The Teflon candidate
Just minutes after Democratic Senatorial candidate Bruce Lunsford conceded defeat last Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell entered the east ballroom of the Galt House in downtown Louisville, where the GOP faithful had gathered to celebrate. The roaring applause competed with the triumphant blaring of Brooks & Dunn’s hit song “Only in America,” which faded out…
A Bottle of Pills With A Bullet Chaser
Louisville, I was thinking the other day about how we used to be cool. We used to have all kinds of kick-ass shows. Crain, Shovel, Evergreen … man. Those were the times, huh? I guess, if you think about it, we kinda peaked somewhere around the mid-to-late ’90s. Now we’re just clacking away on our…
A legend’s notes still ring
It’s hard to hear viola or violin in Louisville without thinking of Virginia Schneider. Schneider was the principal violist in the Louisville Orchestra for 54 years, and is responsible for bringing the Suzuki method of teaching violin to the University of Louisville School of Music. She died last November at age 92. For Jack Griffin,…
Paper Airplane
It seems like an obvious statement at first, but music is all about precision. On Paper Airplane’s new EP, when the playing is precise, songs really soar (pun intended). When the members stumble, the music loses its cohesion and we’re grounded. Partially this is because of the intricate, difficult song structure. Paper Airplane’s sound is…
Hardball
For weeks, Metro Council Democrats had joined their Republican colleagues in voicing a chorus of concern about a proposed deal to shell out $12 million to buy three acres of downtown land, then lease the prime real estate to a developer for a buck a year. This trepidation on the part of the council —…
Courting change
When voters visited the polls in Kentucky on Election Day, they were faced with dozens of candidates running for offices from president to senator to councilman — and on down the line to a slew of judges. Chances are, you, the voter, had never even heard of some of these judicial candidates. Or perhaps you…
Belgians brew it better
During our September beercycling journey through Belgium and the Netherlands, we visited three dynamic family-owned breweries: Het Anker, Van Honsebrouck and Huyghe. In Mechelen, Het Anker brews the superb Gouden Carolus line of ales. Two hours away by train in West Flanders, the Van Honsebrouck family’s ancestral digs are a prominent part of its Kasteel…
Little Honey
A well-regarded, moody artist makes new music influenced by an unexpectedly exuberant new love relationship. Do we get sudden shifts toward rainbows and puppies? No, but the same pattern shows up with remarkable frequency. From Jackson Browne’s Hold Out to Ani DiFranco’s Dilate, these works often sound looser than the artist’s previous releases. And while…
Bar Band Americanus: The Best of Charlie Pickett
Nothing gives permission to just get drunk and reckless like a great bar-band. There’s something about the communion of roots, rock and a singer with a hillbilly’s fun-loving, straight-talking sensibility that leads to sweating, head-bobbing and consuming copious amounts of barley’d beverages, all in the name of having a good time. Florida’s Charlie Pickett, who,…
Don’t Believe
Listening to Cherryholmes’ third album, it becomes instantly apparent that the members of this familial outfit are top-shelf bluegrass musicians — the group’s instrumental interplay is often dazzling, and the performances are never less than tasteful and refined. Thus, it’s frustrating to hear the group expending so much energy on pedestrian material ill-suited to their…
Is Kentucky on the right side of hope?
If you can suffer his apparent penchant for mixed metaphors, New York Times foreign affairs columnist Thomas Friedman has an intriguing idea about how to rebuild America in the smoldering post-Neocon glow, thusly simplified: Cleaning up the environment will require dramatic shifts in energy policy, which will lead to new jobs and a thriving “green”…
B-Sides
Radar loveAustin’s Future Clouds & Radar, the project fronted by former Cotton Mather player Robert Harrison, return to Louisville with a new record, Peoria, mixed and produced in part by Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips). They play Gerstle’s (3801 Frankfort Ave., 742-8616) Friday.The title came about while the band was on tour, filming in the…
MSD spent nearly $400K on case, more to come
The Metropolitan Sewer District has spent nearly $400,000 on attorneys’ fees in a whistleblower case it lost. And if the plaintiffs are awarded what they expect, the total cost of the case for the quasi-public agency will exceed half a million dollars. Last month, the 6thU.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a jury’s finding that…
Industry Standard: Insider info for those who dine out
Do you get miffed when another table seems to be getting all your server’s attention? You stare hungrily at your empty table. They’ve already got their appetizer … and they were seated five minutes after you! Up comes their second round of cocktails! Guess what: They’re probably regulars. Many diners believe an enduring myth that…
Shirt off your back
Two of the loveliest things about sentient beings such as we are our complications and contradictions (single-cell organisms are just so predictable). Of course, complexity brings with it massive baggage (and annoying relatives). Case in point: A little over a week ago, I saw a person — who I know is a lesbian — wearing…
REVIEW: ‘Rachel’ is smart, if a little precious
(Starring Anne Hathaway, Debra Winger, Bill Irwin, Tunde Adebimpe and Anna Deavere Smith. Directed by Jonathan Demme. Rated R; 1:51. LEO Report Card: B+) Director Jonathan Demme may never top 1991’s “Silence of the Lambs,” that rare serial killer film with flair, fear and real psychological depth. The rest of his career has been spotty,…
A long time coming
In the weeks and days leading up to the election, predictions of record voter turnout dominated the headlines. Driven in large part by reports of record voter registration efforts, Democrats in particular began predicting a groundswell of election participation to rival (if not shatter) previous records. Some claimed turnout would exceed 75 percent, a record…
Get to know your developer
Hey Louisville, do you know your downtown developer, the Cordish Cos. of Baltimore, Md.? Here’s some background. The Metro Council just dropped $12 million to secure the most prime downtown real estate there is so it may lease the plot — the old Water Company block — to the developer for $1 a year for…
Video TapeWorm
GONZO: THE LIFE AND WORK OF DR. HUNTER S. THOMPSON 2007; $26.95, R Oscar winner Alex Gibney brings us this biographical treatise on Louisville’s most infamous native son, narrated by Johnny Depp. What always attracted us to Thompson was his amazing luck. A brilliantly lazy layabout with antisocial tendencies bordering on psychotic, he was nonetheless…
White Van Music
Perhaps it’s because this album has such a stellar lineup that I’m so disappointed. There’s no way all these guys could have brought their best for one album. The last time hip-hop saw such an effort was Pete Rock’s Soul Survivor in 1998. This album has attempted to mimic that classic, but sadly achieves an…
What a Week
+4 Holding out hope that Louisville might eventually embrace public transit, two local nonprofits carted elected officials to Elizabethtown and back via train Saturday afternoon. The Coalition for the Advancement of Regional Transportation and Kentucky-Indiana Rail Advocates hosted the field trip to spark enthusiasm for building a commuter line along existing tracks between Louisville and…
The PIRCS of parenthood
I’m following my 4-year-old daughter on a nature trail at the park when a woman pushes past me, stepping on my toe. “Ouch!” I yelp, stumbling. “Hey, that’s a great song!” she shouts, not even noticing me. “Sing it again!” She’s gazing rapturously at the naturalist ahead, who’s teaching my daughter and eight other preschoolers…
Beyond race
A long, long time ago, in the midst of the Democratic primaries, a photo appeared on that most venerable of “conservative news” websites, The Drudge Report, which depicted then-Sen. Barack Hussein Obama wearing traditional Somali nomad garb while vacationing in Kenya, the birthplace of his father. For the ethnically challenged, the photo served as an…
Naming the puppy
In these times of political change, economic upheaval and the disturbing re-appearance of AC/DC, it’s impossible to sidestep the burning question that’s on every American’s mind: What will Malia and Sasha name the puppy? Being the first Muslim children to occupy the White House, the Obama girls might go with a traditional Islamic name like…
Aftertastes
Mojito Tapas Restaurant, 2231 Holiday Manor Ctr., 425-0949, www.mojitorestaurant.com. This established East End restaurant features small-plate Spanish tapas with a Cuban vibe. Chef-owner Fernando Martinez recently traveled to Europe and brought much of what he learned back home to kick Mojito’s menu up a notch. (Reviewed 9/17/08; Rating: 93) Dakshin Indian Restaurant, Eastland Shopping Center,…
Community Listings
LEO Weekly is happy to list events of community interest, but if you’re trying to sneak an ad in here, forget it. Items are published on a space-available basis. The deadline is WEDNESDAY at 4 p.m. Mail to 640 S. Fourth St., Louisville, Ky. 40202, fax to 895-9779 or send e-mail to listings@leoweekly.com. No listings…
