Cover Story
A history of violence
It was still dark when Amanda Ross walked out the front door of her downtown Lexington townhouse on the morning of Sept. 11, 2009, embarking on her regular weekday commute to the state Capitol. Two days earlier, Ross left work at 1 p.m. following a terrifying encounter with ex-fiancé Steve Nunn. The pair’s volatile relationship…
This Is It: A round of applause for the King of Pop
(Documentary directed by Kenny Ortega. Starring Michael Jackson. Rated PG; 1:51. LEO Report Card: B+) It’s a rare, beautiful thing to see someone doing what they were so obviously born to do. Not only does it inspire others to keep searching for their own passion, it presents an easy, far-from-arrogant confidence that makes onlookers…
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. Oct 28 Chick Inn:…
Dirty Sheets
Dirty Sheets marks the eighth installment of Gear Fab Records’ Louisville Music Series. The band features members of The Oxfords and legendary Blues Project drummer Ron Blumenfeld. Recorded in 1970 in Louisville and produced by the Oxfords’ lead guitarist Jay Petach, the heavy influence of the Allman Brothers is apparent, although at no point does the…
The XX
The XX are England’s latest indie-rock export, and they arrive with an impressive debut in tow. The dichotomy between male vocalist Oliver Sim and female vocalist Romy Madley Croft hints at an underlying eroticism that carries throughout the entire album, sometimes making their intimate interplay uncomfortable to listen to. The drums jump with classic 1950s…
Gone to the dogs
Last Wednesday, during what should have been a routine Government Accountability and Oversight Committee hearing at City Hall, the latest chapter in the convoluted saga(s) emanating from Louisville Metro Animal Services unfolded in such spectacular fashion that the sound of collective eyebrow-raising could be heard from blocks away. When it was over, television crews were…
Opera: Of composers and novelists
Because the John Steinbeck novel “Of Mice and Men” has been required reading for nearly every American high school student for the past 60 years, and armies of academics have pored over every piece of the piece looking for grand truths, there is no shortage of micro-analysis of the story of George and Lennie —…
Us
Much is written about this Minnesotan albino Muslim rapper being, well, a Minnesotan albino Muslim rapper, but not much at all about what he’s about. Us continues his run with Atmosphere producer Ant providing the sonics. While I’ve never been a huge Atmosphere fan, Ant’s talent is undeniable. Each track has a bounce and soulful…
Keep an Eye on the Sky
Big Star’s career never hit any of the standard narrative points — they went from guileless, fresh-faced power-poppers to loose-limbed, self-aware smart-asses after just one album, dissolving and reforming without co-founder Chris Bell in the process. This box ably conveys the band’s messy arc over the course of their three albums, plus extras including a…
Inbox — Oct. 28, 2009
He Said, She Said To my Inbox detractors: Sarah Lunnie wrote that feminism is “a belief in the right to self-sovereignty of all persons, irrespective of gender” and my inference that it was “man-bashing” was “suggestive of cloaked misogyny” (LEO Weekly, Oct. 14). However, what Lunnie describes is not feminism; it’s humanism. And whatever warm-fuzzy…
Jerry’s kids
It was skyrocketing rent that eventually pushed Keishanna Hughes to move into the Sheppard Square public housing complex with her four children. “I was paying like $900 a month with rent and utilities combined,” she says. “Now I’m putting out only like $160. It was ridiculous. You couldn’t make ends meet.” An increasing number of…
Trans fat farm
When it comes to local health initiatives, city lawmakers tend to outlaw certain behaviors altogether. After the city’s controversial smoking ordinance was enacted, Metro Councilman Dan Johnson, D-21, began studying the affects of cooking food in trans fat vegetable oil. As a result, the south Louisville Democrat has repeatedly tried to eradicate the sale of…
Double Booked
No matter how many projects you attempt, you are an oaf compared to pianist Robert Glasper and drummer Chris “Daddy” Dave. Starting the year with Maxwell’s band, gigging both their trio and the RCDC Experiment, backing Mos Def, sessions for a dozen others … I’m tired just typing it. Double Booked shows the many sides of…
Circles Around Me
As newgrass (an arguably Louisvillian invention) turns 40, Sam Bush, the genre’s chief architect, continues to construct superb sounds from his adopted Nashville. Besides the genre’s deep connection here, locals will notice a more personal connection upon opening this package. It seems Bush’s latest release is dedicated to the memory of his friend and ours,…
Mug Shots: Reacquaint yourself with a pint of porter
I’ve always been a reluctant capitalist, cognizant of the imperative to turn a profit but unwilling to stoop to cookie-cutter methods to achieve it. My default frame of mind is artisanal, personal and sustainable at micro-scale. My approach simply isn’t mass-anything — never has been and likely never will be. Elsewhere, especially as calibrated to…
Video TapeWorm
THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKS: IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE 1946; $29.95, UR Now available in a two-disc collector’s set (with a Christmas ornament!) and in Blu-Ray for a great price: The perennial Christmas chestnut from Frank Capra, starring Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore. Nothing more needs said. WHITE CHRISTMAS 1954; $24.95, UR The 55th…
So real
I have coined a word. I am hoping to have it appear in Webster’s Dictionary someday. It is “facebo.” It rhymes with “placebo.” Thus, it is pronounced, “fuh-SEE-bo.“ It is a noun referring to friends on social-networking websites like Facebook. I discovered it one day when I logged onto Facebook, to “check my status,” as…
Locavore Lore: Ohio River water isn’t hard to swallow
Two things we know: Change is constant, and we create the world in which we live. Why not combine the two and use our powerful energy as creators to transform the very substance that epitomizes change and provides the foundation of our human experience? Hint: It’s all around you, and you’ve actually got about 10…
Anti-death penalty activists journey to Louisville
When an Indiana judge sentenced 16-year-old Paula Cooper to die in the electric chair for murdering an elderly woman, the victim’s grandson initially believed the punishment was deserved. After all, Cooper led the way as a group of teenage girls knocked on 78-year-old Ruth Pelke’s front door under the pretense that they were interested in…
B-Sides: Music & Other Ephemera
Kirk Kiefer of Yardsale enters the sanctum and finds … softball questions. LEO: Name of the album. Kirk Kiefer: Knock Alley West. LEO: Who did you all record with? KK: We recorded at Downtown Studios with Billy Bartley engineering, with some additional overdubs engineered by Jordan Forst. LEO: How has the band evolved? KK: Yardsale’s…
Off the chain
Like every Metro Police officer does at the end of her training, Lisa Nagle had to come up with a project that would teach her commanding officers something new. It was September 2008, and dogs had been the controversy du jour in Louisville for something like two years. Pit bulls attacked and killed a baby…
Fearsome Foursome
Four years ago, a man by the name of Ivor Chodkowski transformed an 8-acre farm between Oxmoor and I-64 into a curriculum. Field Day Farm had been a source for fresh organic produce for local markets, but Chodkowski had a bigger plan: to teach kids about where food comes from, what the word “organic” means…
Club Directory
19th Green ?1740 Williamsburg Drive Jeffersonville (812) 284-9088 60 West? 3939 Shelbyville Road?719-9717 930 Listening Room 930 Mary St., 635-2554 Air Devil’s Inn? 2802 Taylorsville Road?454-4092 Al’s Bar? 601 N. Limestone St. (859) 309-2901 Angel’s Rock Bar ?4328 S. Fourth St. 540-1461 Babolooz ?7302 Grade Lane 361-3301 Backstage Café? 109 N. Mulberry St. Elizabethtown?(270) 234-1686…
Dog days
The emergence of the so-called dangerous dog ordinance as a marquee issue in Louisville has created a royal pissing match between groups entrenched on either side of the issue. Metro Animal Services director Dr. Gilles Meloche was hired by Metro government last year with marching orders to change the culture at the animal shelter.…
