Tyler Allen: The full interview
Louisville businessman Tyler Allen — co-founder of the grassroots 8664 group and a wild card mayoral candidate — recently sat down with LEO to talk about mayoral power, the upcoming primary battle and the big idea behind his campaign. A portion of that conversation ran in this week’s “Jerry’s kids;” here’s the full interview: LEO:…
Night After Night
On their second effort, we start to see these guys (and gal) hone their abilities. There is no shortage of creative instrumentation here, and when they put their backs into it, as on the energetic, playful “Fiddle Tune” and “Happy Song,” they flourish. Lovers keep walking to and from one another on “First Step” and…
Readers’ Choice ’09
Welcome to another Readers’ Choice issue. It’s good to see you here again. In the following pages you’ll find the customary list of winners of a variety of categories, as chosen by you. Congratulations to the prize-holders. We have the best readers in the universe, and they chose you, so consider yourself The Chosen. As…
One year later
Wednesday, Sept. 30, will mark one year since Louisville changed forever. Jen Futrell, one of our most charismatic and devoted citizens — she was also known as Calico Future — was hit from behind while biking home from work. Jen had friends far and wide, and those of us who were able to rushed in…
Club List
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 Backstage Café? 109 N. Mulberry St. Elizabethtown?(270) 234-1686 Bearno’s by the Bridge ?131…
Theater: ATL keeps a Halloween tradition with Dracula
(Actors Theatre presents “Dracula.” Directed by William McNulty. Continues through Oct. 31 in the Bingham Theatre. For tickets and more information, visit www.actorstheatre.org.) So many books, films and television shows about vampires have permeated our culture these past few years that it’s difficult to remember they were at one time terrifying and not representative…
A life and death decision
Two days after Christmas in 2003, Shawn Windsor killed his estranged wife and the couple’s young son inside his downtown Louisville apartment. Still covered in blood, Windsor fled in his wife’s maroon Chevy Corsica, heading south on Interstate 65. The following day, relatives became worried when the mother and son failed to return home from…
Film: ‘Jennifer’s Body’ captures guts and glory of teen angst
(Starring Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Adam Brody, Johnny Simmons and Amy Sedaris. Directed by Karyn Kusama. Rated R; 1:42. LEO Report Card: B+) Hell is a teenage girl. So go the first five words of the film, setting the tone of “Jennifer’s Body” as part adolescent slasher flick, part satire of said adolescent…
Jerry’s kids
If there’s a wild card candidate in the mayoral race, political activist Tyler Allen must be it. While his opponents can say they have deeper pockets, more government experience and CEO status, none can say he’s dipped into Louisville’s untapped people power quite like Allen. The co-founder of the controversial grassroots 8664 campaign brings an…
Video TapeWorm
THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKS: MONSTERS VS. ALIENS 2009; $29.95-$34.95, PG A fun family flick of ginormous proportions. The voices of Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Seth Rogen, etc., are perfect, but it’s the slapstick camaraderie of the “monster”-misfits, called into service to defeat a giant alien armored walking-thing, that makes it work. And, unlike…
Revenge candy
If asked to draw up a dossier of America’s current psychic, mental and emotional well being based on random artifacts pulled from Ye Olde Pop Culture Grab Bag, my diagnosis would read: Patient suffers from delusional schizophrenia stemming from repeated, acute exposure to environmental/media traumas. Continued forced and self-inflicted exposure to these traumas will result…
We’ve been Buzzed
The Melvins open for Down at 8 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 28, at Expo Five Dome (2900 Seventh St. Road, 636-3532, www.expofive.com). Show costs $23 (adv.) $25 (door). The Melvins’ leader King Buzz Osborne speaketh, and we listen. LEO: So the recession’s probably over. How will you celebrate? King Buzzo: I’m gonna go on a…
Monsters of Folk
So, are they like the Traveling Wilburys, throwing together funny pastiches? Not quite. But Jim James, M. Ward, Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis have avoided the unfortunate mediocrity of ’90s supergroup Little Village, who politely deferred to each other and compromised individual strengths. Nobody really expected an egoless set from any band featuring Oberst, and…
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 Sept 23 Buster’s: The…
B-Sides: Music & Other Ephemera
Harvey Jones, 26, guitarist for Santiago, Chile, dance rock act Picnic Kibun, responds to our third degree. His father is originally from Kentucky, and Jones has been a frequent visitor here. Kibun just completed their latest album, and Jones’s solo project, Tatsu, has a record in production. LEO: Have you ever lived in Louisville? HJ:…
Manners
Passion Pit’s Manners, the sophisticated follow-up to their 2008 EP, Chunk of Change, is a sonic party from the first note. Lead man Michael Angelakos’s mad-scientist talents have been likened to Brian Wilson, and I once read he aspired to be Randy Newman. This diversity is evident from the New York City PS22 children’s chorus…
Book of Leaves
Just as Book of Leaves, the new solo piano album from Rachel’s pianist Rachel Grimes, contains no lyrics, it would seem fitting to review the album without words; perhaps replacing language with a textured abstract painting or the smell of brisk autumn air would be appropriate. Such are the synesthetic pleasures elicited by Book of…
Book: Profile of Kiki Petrosino
To give LEO readers an idea of the quality talent Sarabande puts out, I decided to profile the work of an up-and-coming poet named Kiki Petrosino. Her debut book of poems, “Fort Red Border,” was released in August. Sarah Gorham — who often returns to her alma mater to field new talent — picked up…
Kitsch as cats can
Get your swizzle sticks and dancing shoes out: Saturday night, Bistro 301, the cozy, eclectic East Market restaurant, will take on the passion and dazzle of a U.S.O. show. In efforts to continue to raise funds and awareness for Alleycat Advocates, cat- and music-loving entrepreneurs Matt and Molly Mershon are opening their doors to a…
Art: The snapshot: trivial or revered?
It seems that people who take themselves too seriously — the kind who buy nicer cameras than they really need and post close-ups of roses and “textures” on their Flickr pages — are unsatisfied with the ranking of snapshots within the American artistic canon. Why? As Michael Winters explores in a new exhibit at The…
Book: Sarabande turns 15
It has been 15 years since Sarah Gorham and her husband, Jeffrey Skinner, started Sarabande Books, and it is amazing to think that most people in Louisville still haven’t heard of their esteemed publishing house. Among writers, it is a nationally renowned staple that receives nearly 4,000 book-length submissions every year from both aspiring and…
It’s only black and white
I can’t pinpoint exactly when it happened. All I know is that it used to be a whole lot easier to tell right from wrong. Today, with increasing frequency, we tend to employ situational ethics. We say the end justifies the means. We excuse bad behavior if it happened for what we deem is the…
Inbox — Sept. 23, 2009
Shepparding Out Appreciation to reporter Phillip M. Bailey for writing about the planned razing of Louisville’s Sheppard Square public housing complex (LEO Weekly, Sept. 16). In more so-called “progress” authored by city leaders who unfailingly put the interests of big business first, the plan will displace thousands of residents, most of whom will have no…
Opera: A soprano’s dream
Singing the role of Violetta in the Verdi opera “La Traviata” is the stuff sopranos’ dreams are made of. It’s a role to which nearly all aspire, by which many are judged — and very few make their own. “It’s one of the best ones,” says Elizabeth Futral, the dazzling soprano starlet who sings her…
Bar Belle: That’s what he said
As far as I can tell, the sixth annual Gettin’ Drunky in Kentucky pub-crawl, held Sept. 12, was a success. Did I spend a shitload of money? Yep. Did I feel like crap for two days after? You betcha. Do I even remember what happened at the last few bars? Hell no. But I have…
Drunk and hungry in the Highlands
A special kind of hunger descends when one has spent an evening quaffing pints with friends. This craving is sui generis, and it can actually be a lovely thing. The problem is it often prompts us to do silly things like scarfing four White Castles and a stack of onion rings at 2 a.m. That’s…
Readers’ Choice ’09: The Winners
•Arts & Entertainment Best Annual Festival 1. Kentucky Derby Festival 2. St. James Art Festival 3. World Festival Best Charitable Event 1. Crusade for Children 2. St. Joseph Picnic 3. Light the Night Walk Best Film Festival 1. Last Call Film Fest 2. 48 Hour Film Fest 3. Fright Night Film Fest …
Highway to Hassake: Folk and Pop Sounds of Syria Dabke 2020
Despite its status as a junior member of George W. Bush’s “Axis of Evil,” Syria has long been a junction between East and West. It was on the road to Damascus, after all, that Paul famously converted to Christianity. But in recent times, both the repressive al-Assad regimes and America’s suspiciousness have prevented Syrian culture…
Republicans, you lie!
This one is for the few people out there who still, inexplicably, proudly call yourselves Republicans. If you say you stand on anything of substance at this point, you lie! I think and debate for a living. Over the years, I have grown to appreciate intelligent people who disagree with me. So to my detractors:…
Daddy dearest
Katie King ran a well-financed campaign for district judge that covered every corner of the city last fall. Despite being a relatively unknown 28-year-old assistant county attorney, the daughter of current mayoral candidate and Metro Councilman Jim King, D-10, buried her opponent under an avalanche of campaign literature, endorsements and a series of well-produced television…
Family
Family is a mess in every sense of the term — sometimes endearing, often directionless, the band’s reach almost always exceeds their grasp. With their chanted vocals, cavernous reverb and eclectic instrumentation, Le Loup clearly aspire to Arcade Fire-style grandeur, but their songs lack the anthemic sweep needed to fit their outsized production. These weaknesses…
