Tonight @ B-side "Stunnaz Is A Must"

Tonight @ B-Side in Coventry they are having their stunnaz themed New Year's Eve party.


(mp3) Federation - I Wear My Stunna Glasses At Nite

Tonight : I Got Five On It, One Year Anniversary Party @ Touch

Post Christmas Blues

The weather here in North East Ohio was great post Christmas but going back to work today work was total dog sh*t. This clip from "The Way of The Gun" always cheers me up when I am down, this one is for you Andrew King..

Top Five Songs Of The Week (Christmas Eve Edition?)

I am not in the greatest of moods today for the following reasons, Kelly is down in sunny warm South Western Florida for the rest of the year, I had to work today from 8-2 and I have no time off till next year sans tomorrow, The Browns lost yesterday and might not make the playoffs anymore and The Cavs well were do you start with them, they are missing in action. However since it is nearly Christmas or already Christmas in other part of the world here is my gift to you some more random Christmas songs enjoy and of course Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Buon Natale, Nodlaig mhaith chugnat !

(mp3) The Kinks - Father Christmas

(mp3) The Flaming Lips - A Change At Christmas (Say It Ain't So)

(mp3) Neko Case - Christmas Card From A Hooker in Minneapolis (Tom Waits Cover)

(mp3) Frank Sinatra - I'll Be Home For Christmas ( I love this sh*t so much nobody does Christmas better than him except for maybe Nat King Cole)

(mp3) Los Aguadillanos - Si Me Dan Pastales (Por Mi Gente)

Films: Seen and Unseen

Bonus:

It would be a crime if we somehow failed to mention Julian Schnabel's latest film, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, which will debut in Cleveland on January 11th (yay!)

Also, be sure to check out [this NYTimes Article] which showed us just what an incredibly multi-faceted artist Julian Schnabel is (see some of his artwork here), giving us yet another reason to become *huge* advocates.

So, scratch the surface (while enticing those muted taste buds of yours) by viewing the stunning trailer below for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly:

Tonight: Red{an Orchestra} @ Tower City

Tonight @ 7pm Red{an Orchestra} will be performing for free @ Tower City. So head down to Tower City and check out their wonderful sounds as you watch the dancing fountains and finish up or finally start your Christmas shopping.

{mp3} Ramsey Lewis Trio - Christmas Blues

Shows already to look fwd to in 2008!

Here in the Cleveland+ region we usually go into a slight show lull throughout our frigid winter until the weather improves, that is why we are are already excited about shows just recently announced for early next year:

January 6th @ The Grog Shop: The 1900's (we are especially excited about this show!) are headlining with locals, Muttering Retreats and favorite Nicholas Megalis opening

January 25th @ The Beachland Ballroom: Band Of Horses are headlining with openers Cass McCombs and The Middle Class and recent addition to Band Of Horses, Tyler Ramsey

(mp3) Band of Horses - Ode to LRC

January 31st @ The Grog Shop: Ra Ra Riot are headlining with openers Virgins and locals, To Be A High Powered Executive

(mp3) Ra Ra Riot - Hounds Of Love (Kate Bush Cover)

March 24th @ The Grog Shop: Tilly & The Wall are headlining with locals, Capgun Cowboys and a band very close to our hearts opening, Bears

(mp3) Tilly & The Wall - Freest Man (CSS Remix) Soooo good!!!!!

(mp3) Bears - How To Live

March 27th @ The Grog Shop: Beach House are playing with openers, The Papercuts

(mp3) Beach House - Apple Orchard

(mp3) Papercuts - Dear Employee

April 3rd @ The Beachland Ballroom: Explosions In The Sky with opener Lichens (Robert Lowe from 90 Day Men)

(mp3) Explosions In The Sky - Your Hand In Mine

Note: This performance below, which we had the privilege of witnessing at Montreal's Osheaga Festival this past fall, left us wanting more*

TOP 5 Songs of The Week (This is what it looks like outside right now edition!)

Our apologies for not giving new songs this week, however we did not have the opportunity to listen to anything new throughout the past week. . .So, instead we are giving some love by posting some more of our Christmas faves. Enjoy!

5. (mp3) Fiona Apple - Frosty The Snowman (Cover)

4. (mp3) The Ravonettes - The Christmas Song (Cover)

3. (mp3) Soul Coughing - Suzy Snowflake

2. (mp3) Sufjan Stevens - Star of Wonder

1. (mp3) Smashing Pumpkins - Christmastime Dedicated to Sarah!

Tonight: Good Stuff!!

Check out what is going down in C-town this evening!


Burning River Roller Girls

These ladies are showing their softer side by hosting a benefit for the Greater Cleveland Foodbank*

Bier Markt Second Anniversary Party

The Bier Markt is celebrating its Two Year Anniversary TONIGHT!!!
$5 Gourmet Traditional Pizzas from 5-9pm

Derek Hess

Last Tremont Art Hop for the season!

We wouldn't be remiss without offering at least one song:

[Mp3] Low - Just Like Christmas

This is one of our favorite contemporary Christmas songs. . .and, low and behold --we heard it at j. crew earlier this week. Yeah, we know ;) so, before you go ahead and scoff at us, we make no bones about being indie yuppies*

Have a lovely evening!!

We wish were in Chicago tonight....

Since we are both serious advocates of the magazine VenusZine, we wanted to give others the heads up that this evening in Chi-town Venus is hosting their Winter Issue Release Party -- which is definitely where we would be if we lived in that lovely city. As we type out this post, Effen Vodka and Goose Island 312 Beer (both are sooo good, mmmm) are being served up to the guests -- and, as if that wasn't enough to make the party awesome, DJ-ing throughout the night are The 1900's (not to be confused with The 1990's!! And shouldn't be b/c they are *much* better ;)) who's album Cold & Kind is one of our favorites this year.

Listen for yourself and be sure to check out Venus at your favorite seller of periodicals*

(mp3) The 1900's - Cool & Kind

(mp3) The 1900's - When I Say Go

Top 5 Songs Of The Week (No Work Today Edition!)

This Saturday there are a lot of really great events/holiday sales of local merchants/artists going on. Here are just some of the ones that we'd like to bring to your attention.

In Collinwood:

Music Saves is having a great holiday sale today

and so is Shoparoni

And of course don't forget about the Rock N Roll Cool Yule Flea Market @ The Beachland. Be sure to hit up the wares of our boy Troy @ Codename7 who will be there

Just down the street is The Holiday Artist Sale for the Arts Collinwood Gallery


Meanwhile over Tremont....

Banyan Tree are having their annual Hot Toddy Party


Tonight Red {an orchestra} will be performing @ Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ


Also this evening Atmosphere Gallery is having their Annual Holiday Jewelry Shopping Extravaganza


While over in Lakewood, Bela Dubby is having their 3rd Annual Holiday Art Bazaar


Can't forget about Coventry where @ B-side Mick Boogie along with Terry Urban will spinning a tribute to famed hip hop producer J DILLA (R.I.P.)


And now for some music...

5. (mp3) Plants and Animals - Faerie Dance This Montreal band make beautiful breezy music complemented by steel guitars, hip hop beats and strings. You too shall have this chorus stuck in your head just like us

4. (mp3) Decomposure - Hour 1 is a project by 24 year old Canadian Caleb Mueller, he took 23 hour long cassettes that he used to record all of his activities throughout a day and then combined them into songs that are poppy/glitch filled

3. (mp3) UGK [ft. Outkast] International Players 'Anthem (Pink Skull Remix by Lumfire) Pimp C from UGK sadly just died R.I.P. Pink Skull is on the bill for the Peer Pressure party tonight in Williamsburg

2. (mp3) The Mary Onettes - Pleasure Songs This band is just an nice another great band on the awesome Swedish label Labrador Records home to many great bands ( Acid House Kings, Sambassadeur, Love Ninjas etc) This group make 80's sounding synth-driven pop in the vein of the cure

1. (mp3) Linus and Lucy - Vince Guaraldi we have been listening to the A Charlie Brown Christmas album a lot lately. how could you not, it just flat out owns!

Tonight: José González

Who: José González with openers Cass McCombs and Brian Straw

What: Indie singer/songwriters with soul

Where: The Grog Shop!

When: This evening at 9pm ($18/ticket)

Why: Check out this interesting interview with José González conducted by our local NPR Station (WCPN) recorded just yesterday afternoon

[Mp3] José González - How Low Off his latest release, In Our Nature

[Mp3] Cass McCombs - That's That An instantly catchy song from his junior effort, Dropping the Writ

Brian Straw - Stream some songs on his MySpace

Big News!!!

Today we found out that SONIC: America's Drive In is finally coming to North East Ohio. This is a pretty big deal to us because we currently do not have a Sonic within a 90 mile radius and we are always taunted by their commercials -- not only are they quirky and clever but the food just looks so damn good. We have even toyed with the idea of driving to the closest Sonic, but we were patiently waiting and hoping that one day their fine establishment would grace us with a location nearby. . .

We are happy to announce that this day will arrive next summer when a Sonic opens in Streetsboro (which is kind of funny because we *never* thought we would ever be excited about anything that is located in that particular city).

Upon learning that Sonic was coming to our neck of the woods, of course we felt the need to blog about it. And, thus wanting to include the Sonic commercial where they make fun of bloggers -- however, we were unable to locate it on you tube. What we did discover was there is an entire sub-culture of people creating their own parodies of Sonic commercials where even the two main "Sonic guys" acknowledge this and encourage it. As far as the specific commercial we wanted to post, actually did find the transcript of it here.

The below Sonic commercial is our second favorite :)

Saturday Sights

Yesterday we braved the cold to go downtown and attend the 2007 Cleveland Bazaar Bizarre down on Prospect in the up and coming East 4th neighborhood.

Here are some pictures we took:

Top 5 Songs of The Week (Hello December?)

So December is upon us here again. On this particular Saturday even though it is cold and suppose to snow today there is plenty to see and do like Bazaar Bizaare, Murray Hill Art Walk, CIA Faculty Exhbition. Once you are down braving the cold might we suggest you crack open a bottle of wine or beer and listen to our a selections for this week,

5. (mp3) Chromatics - I'm On Fire (Bruce Spingsteen Cover) This Portland trio make this song their own but at the same time keep it very close to the original albeit with female vocals.

4. (mp3) Say Hi - Shakes Her Shoulders This is the new effort from Eric Elbogen he used to go by the name of Say Hi To Your Mom (which we always felt was a pretty entertaining name). His new album The Wishes and The Glitch comes out in Feb. We really like the warm vocals, hand claps and the way the energy builds in the chorus.

3. (mp3) Underwater Tea Party - The Untold Story of Mary & Nick This 5 piece band hail from Madrid, Spain. They make music that you can either end or begin your day with because their sound is comforting yet whimsical and @ the same time gently energizing.

2. (mp3) Joy Zipper - Wave of Mutilation (Pixies Cover) this track is off of the complation Dig For Fire yet tribute to The Pixies but this one has much better bands than you've heard cover The Pixies before which includes: The Rosebuds, British Sea Power and Mogwai to name a few.

1. (mp3) Jose Gonzalez - Down The Line (Live on KEXP) We are both super excited for his show this coming Tuesday @ The Grog with Cass McCombs and local favorite Brian Straw. This song comes from his new album "In Our Nature"out now.

Mark Your Calendars : Bazaar Bizarre Cleveland 2007

For those of you who love arts and crafts/DIY creations and want to support local artists go HERE for more info!

(mp3) Frente! - Bizarre Love Triangle (New Order Cover)

Our power has gone out 10 times since we got home from work....

It's been a few days. . .Since we last talked, we went to The Browns game on Sunday (with an amazing view, as seen in our picture taken above), witnessing a great game as they went on to beat Houston 27-17, making our record 7-4 for this season. Neither of us can believe the Browns are doing this well, it is awesome that they stopped sucking -- and it was about time too!! While on the subject of Cleveland sports, we've been watching The Cavs game this evening and are hoping they can do what the Indians could not do and actually BEAT BOSTON! **Update we beat the Celtics 109-104 in overtime!***

While enjoying this intense Cavs-Celtics battle, we have been calming our nerves to the sounds of our itunes set to shuffle and these are some of the great songs we have heard in no particular order:

(mp3) My Latest Novel - Boredom Killed Another

(mp3) Zookeeper - I Live In The Mess You Are

(mp3) Pilate - In Your Hideout

(mp3) Old Canes - Taxi In Vermont

(mp3) High Drivers - How Long

(mp3) Persephone Bee's - City Of Love

Tonight: Go To Sunset Lounge for 1/2 off Sushi

Top 5 Songs Of The Week (Is it really almost December? Edition)

This past weekend we didn't have the opportunity to post our Weekly Top 5 Songs because we simply did not have the time. Last Saturday we went to check out Artscape 2007 @ MOCA and we went to The Cedar Lee to see Control. While we were at Artscape 2007 we both were reminded of a similiar event we went to last winter @ the 1300 gallery (RIP) called Bazaar Bizarre. We had been wondering whether they were going to have that event again this year and thanks to a woman @ Feisty, who happened to be selling her merch at Artscape 2007, who told us that Bazaar Bizarre will be happening this year on December 1st in downtown C-town on the corner of East 4th and Prospect right by The Corner Alley and Lola (for more information see their site).

For now, we hope you enjoy these Top Five Songs of the week and have a wonderful day:

5. (mp3) Wakey! Wakey! - Say It Ain't So (Weezer Cover) Throughout the last couple of weeks we have been enjoying weekly covers sent to us by Wakey! Wakey! This New York based artist plays and sings the piano much like Ben Folds putting his own stamp on this song.

4. (mp3) Sondre Lerche - Dead Passengers This song is from the album Faces Down, sharing the same name as Sondre's backing band who were not present when we saw him on Wednesday. Sondre was solo that night and didn't miss a beat. The only downside of the evening was the fans from Pittsburgh felt the need to say "Go Steelers" and "Browns Suck"... that was not cool.

3. (mp3) The Killers - Shadowplay Another excellent song off Control's soundtrack that we can't seem to shake.

2. (mp3) Neko Case - If You Knew The other evening we were loving being able pick and chose a variety of NPR's interviews and live concert series to listen to while cooking (ie - Thurston Moore, Kevin Drew, and Neko Case)

1. (mp3) Pipettes - Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me One of the catchiest songs off their lovely album, We Are The Pipettes.

Bonus: Check out our fairly decent pictures from The Pipette's show in Cleveland this past Tuesday at The Beachland Tavern :)

Tonight: Sondre Lerche

Who: Sondre Lerche performing solo and being opened for by Dan Wilson

What: Theatrical Swede (oops!) Norwegian who tells charming stories in between lovely little ballads

When: Tonight at 9pm

Where: Cleveland's House of Blues

Why: Because it is the day before Thanksgiving you need to go out!

(mp3) Sondre Lerche - Happy Birthday Girl (from the new album Phantom Punch)

(mp3) Dan Wilson - Baby Doll (this guy is the lead singer of Semisonic)

Tonight @ The Beachland : The Pipettes!

Who: The Pipettes are playing with Monster Bobby and locals The Afternoon Naps

When: Tonight @ 9pm

Where: @ The Beachland Ballroom in The Tavern because Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings are holding it down in the main room tonight

Why: Because last month they had to cancel their date in C-town and you should come out tonight and see these cute British chicks in their polka dots in person.

(mp3) The Pipettes - We Are The Pipettes

(mp3) Monster Bobby - The Closest Experience To That Of Being With You Is The Experience Of Taking Drugs

Louis Latour Wine Tasting and Pairing*

Last Tuesday, we had the pleasure of attending a Louis Latour Wine Dinner at The Union Club. Below you can view all five courses of carefully prepared French-inspired food perfectly paired with a selection of spectacular Louis Latour wines.

First Course:
Roasted Oysters
(butter braised leeks, tomato concasse, liquor foam)
Simonnet-Febvre -- 2005 "Vaillons"
Premier Cru, Chablis

Second Course:
Pan Roasted Rabbit
(mustard spaetzel, rabbit reduction, braised greens)
Louis Latour -- 2005 Chassagne Montrachet

Third Course:
Seared Foie Gras
(apple-lavender salad, caramel nut sauce)
Louis Latour -- 2002 "Vignes Franches", Beaune

Fourth Course:
Roasted Colorado Lamb Loin
(barley risotto, harvest squash medley, red wine lamb reduction)
Louis Latour -- 2002 "Lavaunt Saint-Jacques", Gevrey-Chambertin

Fifth Course:
Petit Suisse Duo
(honey infused petit suisse, petit suisse brulee, quince chutney)
Simonnet-Febvre -- Cremant de Bourgogne

Feeling beyond content after an exceptional dinner

Congratulations, Michael Symon!

After spending yesterday afternoon perusing The Fabulous Food Show, where we had the privilege of watching Giada De Laurentiis (live and in person!) cook delectable italian food, we came home and watched the season finale of The Next Iron Chef. We had a particular interest in watching the outcome of this competition because Cleveland's own, Michael Symon, was one of the two finalists. Both being *huge* advocates of his restaurants, Lola and Lolita, we were glued to the tv while we watched and waited. . .


Needless to say, we were absolutely ecstatic when Alton Brown (who we also happened to see cook yesterday) announced that, "The Next Iron Chef Is: Michael Symon!"

We are so happy that Michael Symon is getting the national recognition he deserves yet are definitely preparing ourselves for booking reservations to his restaurants weeks in advance ;)

Bonus: Check out Michael Symon's Blog and this Cleveland Plain Dealer article

Tonight @ The Grog : Immaculate Machine

Who: Sea Wolf (unfortunately, they cancelled due to being stuck in Canada -- we just checked The Grog Shop's website explaining that an accident occurred with something "involving beer and hockey sticks"). However, the show will still be a good one with Immaculate Machine as well as locals Tightrope Kaleidoscope and JJ Magazine opening.

When: Tonight @ 9pm

Where: The Grog Shop!

Why: It is only $7 to see some of the best new indie rock out there. The only excuse for missing this show is if you are going to The Beachland to see A Place To Bury Strangers, otherwise you don't!

Check out the quirky and fun video for Immaculate Machine's song, Broken Ship:



(mp3) Immaculate Machine - Jarhand

(mp3) A Place To Bury Strangers - To Fix A Gash in Your Head

Mahna Mahna

Beaver.com is not a real website, *however* BeaverS.com is. . .

We came to this profound conclusion just now -- yeah, it's weird, we know. . .

This is what happens when it gets dark early, which causes you to be somewhat mopey and bored, which in turn causes you to start looking for domain names that don't exist. Guess you could say that it's a downward spiral of sorts.

So, today was dark and rainy here in c-town. . .The Browns had an amazing victory but somehow that didn't make us as happy as we would have hoped. We know that we should definitely get over this (and get used to it) but with winter weather and the Indians hangover still affecting us, we feel rather flat :(

However, this Muppets clip starring Mahna Mahna has seemed to lift our spirits for the moment :)

Movie of the Moment = Wristcutters: A Love Story

This evening we are laying low. Early in the day, we both had to work and then run some errands. So by the time mid-afternoon rolled around, we decided to reward ourselves for being productive by hitting up the Cedar Lee and seeing Wrist Cutters: A Love Story. It was an extremely enjoyable dark comedy about the place where lost souls go when you commit suicide. The characters form of punishment for killing themselves is to exist in an afterlife where everything is bleak and everyone is miserable. It had a great cast with Patrick Fugit, Shannyn Sassamon, Tom Waits and John Hawkes (the guy from me and you and everyone we know). The movie also featured several songs by Gogol Bordello and one of the characters in the movie who's name was Eugene was partly based on the lead singer of Gogol Bordello, Eugue Hutz, who is a friend of the director, Goran Dukic. Neither of us had ever been fans of Gogol Bordello but thanks to this movie that has changed.

Here is a sampling of the film's music:

[Mp3] Gogol Bordello - Through The Roof 'n' Underground

[Mp3] Tom Waits - Flower's Grave

Bar Cento Is Good!!