Cover Story
The issue of the readers, by the readers, for the readers
It’s that time of year again — a time when we let you, the reader, determine the best our fair city has to offer, from all-you-can-eat deals and fine dining to church picnics and strip clubs. We welcome your votes, even when we seriously disagree, and we present the winners in these pages without…
Watching the detectives
When we were boys whose only jobs were falling off our dirt bikes and telepathically communicating with animals (I was the beastmaster in the crew, another kid had superhuman speed), my friends and I decided we needed a case. The Highlands Detective Agency was born, was short lived, and maintained an unshakable case clearance of…
Little Green Bud
As it stands, Chloe Charles’ breathy, jazzy vocals are smooth and sexy, but it also sounds as if there is a better voice inside of her. It’s a bit non-confrontational, a bit empty, and there’s not enough power or range to differentiate the high points from the lows. Is she happy? Sad? Angry? It’s hard…
Little Miracle
Cincinnati native Kim Taylor began 2009’s I Feel Like a Fading Light contemplative and a bit downtrodden, reaching a nadir of self-loathing on “People.” She rebounded with the silver lining of “You Can Rely On Me,” taking us through a level of sonic variety that’s welcome in today’s crowded singer-songwriter climate. Her mood swings are…
Jerry’s kids
Last week’s indictment of the city’s former housing director undoubtedly marks a low-point in Mayor Jerry Abramson’s second term. Following a scathing state audit and two-year police investigation, Kimberly Bunton was indicted on two felony charges of theft. If convicted, the 39-year-old attorney faces a maximum fine of up to $10,000, five years in prison…
Writers’ Choice 2010
Best Place to Take a Romantic Stroll: St. James Court The T-shirt slogan “Louisville is for Lovers” rings truest when you and the person you love take a stroll through Old Louisville’s St. James Court. For maximum romantic impact without spending any money whatsoever (aside from the GHB you scored from your friend’s friend), nothing…
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. Sept.…
Making headlines
What do an award-winning political humorist, a beef-tipped superstar beauty, and the University of Louisville all have in common this week? No, they aren’t all gay. But they are all speaking out about gay issues and taking some pretty interesting action to move gay rights forward. While the evening news is full of depressing stories…
Video TapeWorm
THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKS FROZEN 2010; $29.95-$34.95, R By now, everyone’s had a chance to check this out on the Internet — if not the theater — thanks to its viral ads. Kevin Zegers, Shawn Ashmore and Emma Bell try to cut corners at a ski resort and end up being trapped on a shut-down…
Place To Be
Hiromi Uehara has been playing piano every single day since she was 6 years old, but she still learns something new about the instrument when she touches the keys. “It’s too deep and too difficult to understand the instrument fully,” says Uehara, who performs Saturday, Sept. 25, at IU Southeast’s Ogle Center (4201 Grant Line…
Comedy: She is comic
To look at April Macie, you might think she fits in more in the pages of one of those magazines you’d find underneath a 16-year-old boy’s mattress than on stage at your favorite comedy club slinging “dick jokes” … but you’d be wrong. She was a finalist on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” and is featured…
Film: ‘I’m Still Here’ not real
I’m Still Here (Starring Joaquin Phoenix. Directed by Casey Affleck. Rated R; 1:48. LEO Report Card: B) Casey Affleck came clean on Friday. Affleck is the director of “I’m Still Here,” the “documentary” about Joaquin Phoenix’s embarrassing exit and self-imposed exile from Hollywood. On the day his film was to enter expanded release, the director…
The Grape Escape: Variety vs. varietal, Pedants vs. poseurs
Overheard in a wine bar: “This is a delicious varietal.” Aaarrrggghhh! Let’s take on another fancy wine word this week, following up on my recent dissertation about “oenophile,” the sniffy term we use for “wine connoisseur” when we need something snobbier than “geek.” “Varietal” is an old botanical word that has become trendy as a…
The Taste Bud: Try Chicken King … spork optional
You wouldn’t hesitate to eat with your fingers in front of your grandma, would you? Well, would you? Much like at grandma’s house, table manners can be left at the door when visiting the quick-serve spot called Chicken King at the corner of East Broadway and Clay Street downtown. Nobody in the room cares how…
Boomin’ Cuban comes to New Albany
A few weeks ago, reporting from El Rumbon, the Cuban street-food trailer near Oxmoor, I uttered this simple forecast: “Cuban food is starting to look like the next big thing on the Louisville culinary scene.” It wasn’t hard to see this coming. This week, we’re going Cuban again at Habana Blues, a stylish new spot…
Film: Strike two
Tenth Inning (By Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. Two-part, four-hour KET series.) As one of the talking heads in the original Ken Burns “Baseball” series points out, much of the sport’s appeal is its constant presence from April to November. It’s like a best friend that’s always free. Plans fall through? Fight with your girlfriend? Got…
Book: Blame meat for heat
Diet for a Hot Planet: The Climate Crisis at the End of Your Fork and What You Can Do About It (By Anna Lappé. Bloomsbury USA; 313 pgs., $24.) I’m still learning how to eat. Now, if you’ve seen me, you know I’m not wasting away. I’ve managed to figure out how to bend my elbow with…
Inbox — Sept. 22, 2010
Corrections A review in last week’s LEO should have listed Veneer as Jose Gonzalez’s platinum-selling album. Also, the story “Left in the dark” should have indicated the Kentucky Public Service Commission has at this point only held a hearing regarding the sale of LG&E; a decision will be made by the end of the month.…
Hello All Stations
Benton, Ky., troupe Terrapin Pond is the newest signing to Garden Gate Records, the label run by the Apples in Stereo’s Robert Schneider, his wife and brother-in-law, but it’s there that any hyper-speed pop allegories end. This is a roots affair, adding to the deep tradition of bands inspired by Music from Big Pink and…
Staffpicks
Wednesday, Sept. 22 Laura Veirs Zanzabar 2100 S. Preston St. • 635-ZBAR www.lauraveirs.com $10 (adv.) /$12 (door); 8 p.m. New trend: Bring your parents on tour — that’s what Laura Veirs did. At least there’s a (slight) chance they’ll pick up a bar tab. For the Colorado Springs, Colo., native’s new album, July Flame, Veirs’…
Opera: Tears of a clown
The story structure of the opera “I Pagliacci” is a play within a play, so the plot is a bit tricky. But there’s nothing complicated about the subject: A man feels his life crumbling as he discovers his wife has taken a lover. “It’s an extremely powerful emotion, because betrayal is something we all fear,”…
My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to The Sky
To quote Michael Gira, “Swans are majestic, beautiful looking creatures. With really ugly temperaments.” After listening to My Father … from the reactivated onetime No Wavers, we can conclude the following: no shit. Withstanding the nine-minute, anti-song horror show, “No Words/No Thoughts” deserves an award, and that’s fitting here at Michael Gira’s reunion-that-is-not-a-reunion. The producer…
Tea with Ms. Mussolini
The overhead lights in the hanger-sized conference hall suddenly were switched off, replaced in an instant by strategically aimed, colored concert gels that bathed the stage and its inhabitants — a gospel quartet dressed in “Dynasty”-era fashion — in a phosphorescent glow. Among the quartet was a blonde woman wearing a faux-gold, flame-retardant jacket, clutching…
Bloodbuzz Ohio
Touring on the strength of their newest and most optimistic record, High Violet, The National arrives at the Brown Theatre on Monday, with Owen Pallett opening. Drummer Bryan Devendorf goes under the knife. LEO: Live, how faithful are you to what’s on the record? Do you stick to it or abandon the arrangements? Bryan Devendorf:…
Tempest
Beauty can derive from limits. There is such a thing as too many options, too many directions to explore, too many choices to clutter the brain. Working within a set of rules focuses and sharpens the creative mind, leaving little room for the distractions that invariably come with unlimited freedom. Featuring members of Rachel’s, Sandpaper…
Simulacrenfield
The mutating instrumental ensemble led by guitarist Tim Furnish hasn’t released a new studio album since 2002. The current lineup finds him enlisting Cerebellum cohorts Breck Pipes and Jon Cook on guitars and drums, respectively. Add to the mix Sapat’s Steve Good on bass clarinet, tenor sax player Craig McClurkin, Mac Finley on synth and…
