More trees, fewer health problems: Inside Green Heart Louisville’s five year study on air pollution control
If you live in Louisville long enough, one popular jab you might hear is that the air quality is poor. It has gotten better, actually, but it could improve. Green Heart Louisville, a five-year project through UofL, wants to be a part of the solution, planting about 8,000 trees in South Louisville neighborhoods and studying…
Photos from the Tewligans Reunion at Nirvana
On Saturday, the bar Nirvana went back to its roots and, for three hours, transformed into Tewligans, the iconic rock venue that was located in the space from 1981 to 1996. The Tewligans Reunion featured four local acts, each of which performed an individual style of punk rock — from acoustic stomping to straight-up no-frills rock ’n’…
10 Things To Do Under $5 This Week In Louisville (11/4)
MONDAY, Nov. 4 ‘13th’ Screening Ekstrom Library, UofL Free | 5:30-8 p.m. Ava Duvernay’s “13th” documentary, from 2016, links America’s history of racial inequality to the disproportionate number of African Americans in our prisons. Refreshments will be provided after this screening. Book Launch: ‘Better Lucky Than Good’ Kentucky Derby Museum Free | 6-8 p.m. Away…
10 Concerts You Shouldn’t Miss in November
Titus Andronicus Friday, Nov. 1 Zanzabar Titus Andronicus has focused their fury-riddled, classic rock-infused punk in many different ways over the years — sometimes it’s a carefully-constructed hardcore rock opera, and sometimes it has the magnetic chaos that is reminiscent of the sets from your local, underground indie venue. However they translate their sound, they…
5 Things To Do In Louisville This Weekend (11/1)
FRIDAY, Nov. 1 First Freaky Friday Akasha Brewing Co. No cover | 4-11 p.m. If you haven’t heard yet, Halloween is a week long this year. Akasha Brewing Co. is in the know, and it is hosting this costume party with free palm readings, live music, Hot Buns Food Truck and, as part of Louisville…
Six of our favorite local songs from October
Cat Casual and the Final Word — ‘Asphalt’ The newest from Cat Casual features singer/guitarist William Benton centered around a deadly bass and drum groove — one that gives the guitar and keys room to explore. And that’s what Benton and his Final Word do so well — mine each riff to the core, exposing…
Gov. Bevin Is Not A Good CEO For Kentucky Inc.
This is part of LEO’s expanded commentary before the Nov. 5 election. For more, click here. “Which one of us would you trust to run your business in your absence?” That is the question Gov. Matt Bevin posed during a debate with challenger Andy Beshear. After three years as governor, Bevin still doesn’t understand that…
National Politics Taint Local Races And Lay Waste To Societal Norms
This is part of LEO’s expanded commentary before the Nov. 5 election. For more, click here. In past election seasons, I have knocked on doors of little pink houses belonging to prospective voters in small Indiana towns. I have been told, even by reliable Democratic voters, that they were voting Republican in an upcoming primary…
The Curious Case of Daniel Cameron
This is part of LEO’s expanded commentary before the Nov. 5 election. For more, click here. Daniel Cameron, Kentucky’s Republican nominee for attorney general, is a curious fellow. To be sure, he is a rising star in the Republican Party. He is a favorite of right-wingers and he reaffirms his conservative bona fides at every…
Broken Public Trust Can Sway Elections
This is part of LEO’s expanded commentary before the Nov. 5 election. For more, click here. It long has been said that two institutions held the Commonwealth of Kentucky together — UK basketball and the Courier Journal. I have long believed that to be true, although, in the last few years, the bond has been…
and Don’t Let the Door Hit You on the Way Out!
This is part of LEO’s expanded commentary before the Nov. 5 election. For more, click here. I’m sure that Guy Fawkes would get a kick out of Election Day and his holiday falling on the same day this year with the bedbug of a Kentucky governor up for reelection. Bolshevik Bevin was a Koch d’état,…
Smart Punters’ Money’s On Bevin To Win
And now, the end is near. And so, the final curtain. For Bevin? It’s appropriate that among the most prestigious company LEO can muster, you open this column with predictable banality and drivel. And it was banal drivel when Sinatra sang it too. But no matter what happens next week, I very much doubt if…
Thorns & Roses: The Worst, Best and Most Absurd
Thorn: Nonstop Flightiness News about Gov. Matt Bevin’s use of a state plane for political and state business is interesting and worth reporting but not outrageous given that past governors did the same, and it is… legal. Why isn’t the Democratic Party focusing instead on his bizarre behavior, arrogance, perfidiousness and robotic lack of empathy?…
Beasts, Blood and Bones: 8 Haunted Local Songs
The skeleton of any great horror film includes jump scares, chase scenes and blood splatters, however, the backbone of the story lies in the strength of its fear-inducing soundtrack. Here’s a scary list of songs from local musicians. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Bryce Dessner, Eighth Blackbird — ‘Underneath the Floorboards’ This is the perfect mood music…
Nashville songwriter Kendell Marvel steps into the spotlight
Kendell Marvel’s songs, as interpreted and sang by others, have long been beloved in country music circles, but the strength of his latest album, Solid Gold Sounds, suggests that his days of merely working behind the scenes in Nashville are numbered. We recently caught up with this Music City maverick for a quick conversation about…
Record Review: Droneroom — ‘I’ll Make It Up To You, I Swear’
Predicated on stacked riffs, the music of Droneroom is dominated by the ability to create a mood. I’ll Make It Up To You, I Swear is an instrumental album, primarily featuring guitar. Despite the use of looping and some cursory effects, the majority of the compositions are bare and Ennio Morricone-esque works that privilege a…
Record Review: The Hell You Say — ‘A Lifetime Chasing Ghosts’
On A Lifetime Chasing Ghosts, tracks such as “Cut in Half” and “Einhorn” underscore how adept the hardcore band is at balancing melody with intensity, never sacrificing one for the other. Where the drums are precise and often monolithic, the bass and guitar work is foreboding and growling, with guttural riffs that are unrelenting in…
Record Review: Work Shirt — ‘Demonstrations’
Demonstrations is riff-heavy instrumental indie, hewn from the grimiest grunge. This is Mudhoney as filtered through ‘90s indie dynamics, the guitar and bass thick and visceral, the drums punchy. While this is a rough demo, it’s exactly the ideal introduction to the project, which is all about eschewing pretense for a workman-like commitment. “Track 3”…
Record Review: Molly O’Malley — ‘There’s Always More Show’
This four-song EP attempts to directly work through the sort of feelings we all usually fumble with and hide. It’s about vulnerability, predominantly deciding whether to allow yourself to get close to someone after being burned in the past. O’Malley’s other project is the dark, but dancy, CHVRCHES-esque electro-pop duo Æves, but her solo material…
Audience Gasped At Creepy ‘Haunting Julia’
In a season of spooky plays, The Liminal Playhouse offers up “Haunting Julia,” a play by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn about the people left behind 12 years after the death of a young musical composer, set in her old student-residence-turned museum. It’s a ghost story to be certain, but true to The Liminal Playhouse’s form,…
The magnetic simplicity of Ron Swanson: A Q&A with Nick Offerman
Nick Offerman has transcended the role of actor and comedian to become an icon in modern pop culture. Yet, even Offerman is unsure why he is so popular: “I can only imagine it must be my cheekbones or my incredibly symmetric bone structure.” See for yourself when he brings his All Rise Tour to The…
‘Breakbeat’ Poetry!
“Can I Kick It” by Idris Goodwin (Haymarket Books; 100 pages.) Earlier this month, Idris Goodwin’s “Can I Kick It?” was published as a part of Haymarket Books’ “breakbeat poets” series. “Breakbeat poet” is a term Goodwin coined, a bridge between the written form of poetry and the oral tradition of hip-hop. In fact, many…
What Chefs Really Do
The scenario: An alarm goes off in a dark bedroom. A lamp switches on. A man arises, dons a starched, white chef jacket, places a coffee pod briefly in a shiny, complicated-looking appliance and enjoys the beverage that emerges. Before leaving home, he grabs a handmade shopping basket he picked up on his last trip…
Graeter’s Pumpkin Ice Cream And Rivulet Liqueur… An Ohio Valley Pairing
Fall has finally arrived, and that means so has Pumpkin Everything. A couple of weeks ago the need for a new watch battery forced me to venture to the Mall St. Matthews where I spent the time while waiting for the repair browsing in the Williams-Sonoma next to his shop. The whole store seemed to…
Who Won The Louisville Cocktail Competition?
The Louisville Cocktail Competition has been a staple in the beverage community since RYE’s former beverage director, Doug Petry, created it eight years ago. Every October, spirits nerds and thirsty locals alike gather in NuLu for a who’s who of Louisville talent and delectable creations featuring a bourbon brand and some particular parameters. This year…
Savage Love: Quickies
Q: My little dick has always held me back. I didn’t date in high school because I couldn’t stand the thought of girls discussing my tiny manhood. That said, I’ve adapted fairly well and become skilled with my tongue and hands. The biggest problem is that my dick is just small enough that the head…
