Cover Story
Readers’ Choice 2014
The people have spoken and the results are in. It’s that time of year again when LEO Weekly readers determine what they think is the best Louisville Metro has to offer. Some of these Readers’ Choice categories are as hotly debated as the midterm November elections. But we live in a democracy after all, and…
Inbox – October 8, 2014
LEO Weekly welcomes letters that are brief (350 words or less preferred) and thoughtful. Ad hominem attacks will be ignored, and we need your name and a daytime phone number. Send snail mail to Inbox, 301 E. Main St., Suite 201, Louisville, Ky. 40202. Fax to 895-9779 or email to leo@leoweekly.com. We may edit for…
We enlist in the war for Coals. Pizza, that is.
There are just 28 days left before Election Day 2014 as you read this, and that means we must endure 672 more hours of television, radio, robo-call and Internet advertising time. In this market, a great deal of this mind-numbing noise will be devoted to Senator-since-forever Mitch McConnell and his feisty challenger, Alison Lundergan Grimes.…
Video Tapeworm
This Week’s Twin Peeks MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN 2014; $22.98; PG We went to see this at the theater, and walked out after 10 minutes. A lifeless, calculated, corporate, strictly-for-the-bucks CGI exploitation of the legendary 1959 “Rocky and Bullwinkle Show,” neither funny nor entertaining. For less money, ask for “The Complete Mr. Peabody & Sherman…
BOOK: WKU professor and author David Bell’s small-town blues
To say that author David Bell is a dedicated writer is an understatement. A professor at WKU, Bell has studied literature and composition since his early twenties, pursuing his muse at every turn, which ultimately led him to his dual career as both educator and author. His first novel, “Cemetery Girl,” found Bell exploring themes…
COMEDY: Cosby…enough said
“This person needs no introduction” has been said countless times and yet never before has that statement been truer than it is right here. The following is an interview with the Bill Cosby. He has a new special “Cosby 77” premiering on Netflix next month, and he will be performing this Sunday at the Louisville…
Plugged In (Oct. 8 – Oct. 14)
WED OCT 8TH Diamond Pub (St. Matthews): Short Bus; 10 p.m. Blu Italian Grille: Josh Glauber; 7 p.m., Free Bowman Field: Petar Mandic; 6 p.m. Headliners Music Hall: tUnE-yArDs, James Tillman; 9 p.m., $17 Hideaway Saloon: The Pranksters; 10 p.m., $3 Jerry Green & Friends: Freddie George, Jerry Green; 7 p.m., Free Stevie Ray’s Blues…
David Gray takes new creative direction with ‘Mutineers’
David Gray reached the heights of stardom with his 1998 album “White Ladder.” He knows he may never experience that level of success again. After all, the vast majority of artists never sell seven million copies of their entire catalog of albums – much less reach that worldwide sales total on a single album like…
RIP Motley Crue, the final tour makes a stop at Yum! Center
Tommy Lee might sound a bit morbid when he says he wants each show on the final tour with his band, Motley Crue, to be like a wake.It’s not as gloomy as it may sound – even though fans may be a little teary eyed in saying goodbye to Motley Crue after sharing in 30-plus…
Grrl power amplified: The Louisville Outskirts Festival
As I write this, my first daughter is soon to be born. Having been part of the music scene for years, whether as a musician myself or as an observer, I hope that my little girl has those same opportunities, that she feels empowered to become part of the often male-dominated music culture that taught…
Dude Incredible
I’ve had to retype my opener here a few times over in my excitement to explain just how hyped I am to have a new Shellac album in my hands, and a great one at that. In many ways, the last few albums have been released to diminishing returns, not that they were bad, but…
Brohemian Rap City
It’s hard to get a good handle on what Rabbit On Acid is all about. There is a jazz guitar element to the Louisville-based bands music, not unlike a lo-fi Nels Cline or what you’d imagine from a John McLaughlin basement jam session, without the rock pretense or virtuosic highs of either. This isn’t to…
NehruvianDoom
MF Doom has an impressive resume that includes some of the most incredible collaborations in hip-hop, continued here with newcomer Bishop Nehru. Despite his incredibly young age (he’s 18), Nehru is an incredibly gifted emcee, showing a talent rivaling peers like Odd Future, all while avoiding their visceral pomp. Doom, as always, provides rapping over…
Charlie Haden – Jim Hall
Bassist Charlie Haden and guitarist Jim Hall’s 1990 Montreal International Jazz Festival concert has just come out on the revived impulse! label. They had distinguished histories as both sidemen and leaders; these experiences lead to preternatural musical communion throughout. The opening notes of Monk’s “Bemsha Swing” capture Haden’s resonant tone, soon joined by Hall’s deft…
b-sides: Om
How a band can be both brutally heavy and blissfully peaceful seems like an impossible balance, but one more than adequately met by psychedelic indie rock champions Om. Comprised of original member Al Cisneros, and newcomers Emil Amos and Robert Lowe on drums and guitar/synthesizer/percussion respectively, Om is an economy of language. The band’s evolution…
Rahim AlHaj at Clifton Center
The Clifton Center is hosting a Festival of Iraqi Culture, culminating in a concert by oud master Rahim AlHaj. Born in Iraq, AlHaj now lives in Albuquerque, N.M., and became a U.S. citizen in 2008. In fact, under the regime of Saddam Hussein, he was twice imprisoned for his musical and political activism. AlHaj has…
Staffpicks
1. Wednesday, Oct. 8 Tune-Yards/James Tillman Headliners Music Hall 1386 Lexington Rd, 584-8088 headlinerslouisville.com $20; 9 p.m. I’ll be damned if Tune-Yards aren’t one of the most invigoratingly refreshing bands I’ve been exposed to in a while. Comparable to mid-80’s Paul Simon, replete with plenty of heavy, almost tribal drumming, and a sensibility for world…
Writer’s Choice 2014
Best Place to Buy an Embroidered Poodle or a Weird Album Astroblack Records/Fat Rabbit —1000 E. Oak St. For those days when you feel like you need both the new Shellac record, PS1 games and an embroidered portrait of a poodle, Astroblack Records/Fat Rabbit is your one- stop shopping. Like a Walmart for mutants and…
Cards midseason ?Still hope for offense while defense still nasty
A pass sails downfield to a seemingly wide open receiver. But from out of – well, from out of somewhere — Louisville safety Gerod Holliman flies in and skies high to pick off the pass. Whoops! There goes another one. Holliman, who likes to “jump the route,” looking for such opportunities, has chalked up seven…
The first rule: WRITE
Above my desk, there is a picture of Neil Gaiman, a printout with his rules for writing, and a mask of Mitch McConnell with crossed eyes added. While I write, these two older white fellows help guide my work — part inspiration and part fright. I’m sure that it is a problem psychologically, but I’ve…
Pyramid discovery reveals ancient man’s struggle with insomnia
A robot examining a narrow chamber has found 4500-year-old graffiti written on a wall of the Great Pyramid at Giza. The text describes the oldest known case of insomnia, according to translators working on the project. The writing appears to be the diary of an Egyptian man named Amun who was working on the construction…
A public defender’s response to ‘Deadbeat’ TV and ‘public shaming’
It takes a very special type of bully to be proud of publicly shaming our poorest neighbors. About a month ago, a man named Tom Fawbush took to the air to defend one of his employees. Fawbush is the general manager of WBNA, a local television network that airs the child-support court reality show “Deadbeat.”…
Mitch McConnell comes out of the Obamacare closet
Dave Berry couldn’t make this up (“this actually happened”). Senator Mitch McConnell on Obamacare: “Let me tell you what we should have done. I know you don’t get a mulligan probably, in this business, but if we had a do-over what we should have done—instead of passing a 2,700-page monstrosity, with all the medicare reimbursement…
