01.01-01.08.20 Circle

01.01-01.08.20
Circle

Happy New Decade! As we step off into a new era, we feel a seismic shift, and some things never change.

This week we kick off David Bowie Month, with a survey of the artist’s life on Fri 1/3 at The Winchester, then his later years on Sun 1/5 at Brunch With Bowie at Jilly’s, then a big birthday bash at Brothers on Wed 1/8. Get the Bowie Bargain Badge and join us for the next two weeks all around the region.

The Womxn’s Moon Circle at Coven in Lakewood helps to effect positive energy and change. The Summit Metroparks snowshoe hike will burn calories and light up your endorphins. The toboggan chutes at Mill Stream Run have extended hours. Friendly and warm spots are hosting New Year’s Day recovery brunches. And bringing it all back is rock god Neil Zaza at Music Box, jazz trumpeter Tommy Lehman at Blu Jazz+, the Grog Shop’s free four-day fest of local music, and soul/blues guitarist Travis “Moonchild” Haddix and his alumni evening at Nighttown.

CoolCleveland tracks the most interesting events throughout the year with our weekly previews and then attends many events to create PHOTOSTREAMS. See our 2019 review to catch up on one-time events and new festivals that debuted this year, plus the return of annual events that helped define who were are and why we’re here. It all comes full circle. –Thomas Mulready

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All year long, CoolCleveland follows the most interesting events in town, sharing them with you in previews to tip you off ahead of time and in photostreams to show you what it was like. With the festival season launching in less than two months (!) with Kurentovanje and Brite Winter on Sat 2/22, we decided to pause and go through our photos to relive some favorite moments.

2019 saw special one-time events such as Riverfest celebrating the 50th anniversary of the last Cuyahoga River fire, the dedication of the Ethiopian Cultural Garden, the ribbon-cutting for the new LGBT Center, and a party marking the opening of Graffiti HeArt’s permanent space. It saw the debut of Rid-All Farm’s Fresh Fest and the BorderLight theater festival, which is now a biennial to return in 2021. A few events were lost, but most of the favorites were back, and everyone had a great time, as you’ll see in our photos.

The wait is over! This week we kick off David Bowie Month with an unprecedented series of events exploring the life and music of (arguably) the most important artist of the past 5 decades. Cleveland glam punk outfit Vanity Crash features Bowie classics and deep cuts alongside their own danceable originals.

Go all in with A Friday Night With(out) David Bowie and dig the back stories behind his entire life and music this Fri 1/3 at The Winchester Music Tavern in Lakewood. Then we move to Jilly’s Music Room in Akron on Sun 1/5 for Brunch With Bowie, diving deep on his later years. Then, on his birthday, Wed 1/8, be a part of the Big Bowie Birthday Bash at Brothers Lounge in Cleveland with a Ziggy Stardust theme.

It’s all part of David Bowie Month presenting seven shows in five venues from January 3-17. Catch all the shows with the Bowie Bargain Badge and treat yourself or a very good friend. BowieShows.com. [photo of Bowie in Cleveland 1990 by Anastasia Pantsios]

You never know what lurks behind all those Lakewood storefronts. In the case of the warmly welcoming witch shop Coven off Detroit Avenue in the city’s west end, that means candles, journals, books, crystals, tarot cards, herbal teas and more, things to enhance well-being and creative energy.

Farrah Matlock’s Womxn’s Moon Circle, which takes place at Coven, aims for the same impact. Happening at or near the full moon each month, it offers connection and support to those seeking deeper awareness of themselves and those around them. It’s a “walk of wisdom, a dance of discovery, a raising of positive energy.” The next one occurs on Wed 1/8.

Cleveland’s underground music scene in the 90s was exploding with talented bands and musicians, many of whom are still active in the scene today. It was also a great time for visual art with artists such as Derek Hess and Clay Parker woven into both scenes.

Another artist who was part of both was Stephen Kasner, whose dark, ominous art graced album covers by Cleveland bands Keelhaul and Integrity. He left for California in 2003, where he enjoyed a productive career before encountering health problems and dropping out. He returned to Cleveland and to his art and announced that return with a show at HEDGE Gallery in 2017. Sadly he passed away on Christmas Day.

Instrumental rock guitarist Neil Zaza has come a long way since putting out his first solo album in 1992. He’s travelled all around the world, to China and back home to Akron. This weekend he’ll perform his fleet-fingered melodic rock at the Music Box. Sat 1/4

* Jazz Trumpeter Tommy Lehman returns to his native Akron to record a live album at Blu Jazz +. Fri 1/3.
* The Grog Shop’s free four-day festival of local music is back. Thu 1/2-Sun 1/5.
* Soul/blues guitarist-vocalist Travis “Moonchild” Haddix has been playing for 60 years. So he’s expecting a lot of special gusts when he hosts an “alumni” evening at Nighttown. Fri 1/3.

Read more picks by Anastasia Pantsios here

For the new year, and the new decade, Melt is featuring lots of tasty goodness: General Tso’s Delicious Manchu Dynasty Melt, their incredible Potato Bacon Bomb, the famous Parmageddon (Vegan version now available), and their infamous Parmageddonator, plus the Maniacal Macaroni & Cheese, and the Beef Stroganoff. Wow! That’s a mouthful!

Big News! Melt deliciousness is now delivered to you from all locations. Check the site for details. And while you’re there, check the new online beer list to see what’s on tap. Skip The Straw and have a Happy New Year from your friends at Melt!

WED 1/1
Join a Summit Metro Parks naturalist for a brisk start-the-year-off-right snowshoe hike, guaranteed to burn up the holiday calories. The hot chocolate in front of the fire afterwards will put them back on, though! No snow? Put on your sturdy shoes to go for a walk in the woods.

* Get yourself out of bed before, say, noon, and head to have brunch at one of several area clubs/bars offering a recovery day special.
* From today through Sat 1/4 the toboggan chutes at Mill Stream Run will be open extended hours until 10:30pm.
* If you mean to catch Quire Cleveland’s annual holiday concert Carols for Quire and didn’t make it, it will be re-broadcast this evening on WCLV 104.9FM/ideastream.

Click here for more events on Wed 1/1

THU 1/2
Want to try your hand at Improv? Tremont’s Visible Voice Books will start hosting the monthly Cleveland Improv Open Jam tonight. All ages can participate! Want to watch? You can grab a seat (and see beer, wine or coffee) and do that too.

* Lake Erie Ink offers Creative Play Days for bored kids on vacation, with art, writing and outdoor activities.

Click here for more events on Thu 1/2

FRI 1/3
The auspicious kickoff to three weeks of events during David Bowie Month, “A Friday Night With(out) David Bowie” premieres at The Winchester Music Tavern tonight, covering the artist’s entire life and musical output, followed by a concert with Cleveland’s own Vanity Crash featuring Bowie tunes and their own originals.

* Cleveland Museum of Art’s monthly MIX party will celebrate the Chinese New Year with “Fortune” as its theme. Enjoy Asian-themed drinks, a dragon dance, projected fireworks and CMA’s world-renown Asian art collection.
* Get out on the floor at the family-friendly Bainbridge swing dance.
* The Holiday Hangover at the House of Blues keeps the party going with live music, Santa and his elves and the Krampus.
* Come funk it up with college DJs at Jukebox’s all-vinyl First Friday Funk Social.
* Canadian poet reads work she created during a Cleveland residency at St. John’s in Ohio City.

Click here for more events on Fri 1/3

SAT 1/4
An array of natural wonders will unspool at the Wild & Scenic Film Festival at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History – some of which will spotlight efforts being made around the globe to preserve and protect our critical environmental infrastructure.

* Four garage/punk bands from Cleveland and Columbus rock the Beachland Tavern.

Click here for more events on Sat 1/4

SUN 1/5
You might guess from the photo that this month’s Noise Lunch at Now That’s Class, curated by experimental harpist Stephan Haluska, who also performs, isn’t going to be delicate angelic music. He and his fellow performers will dice & shred sounds and take you on a sonic adventure.

* Brunch With Bowie at Jilly’s in Akron uncovers the mysteries of David Bowie’s later years, his sonic experimentations, his marriage to Iman, and the two masterpieces he produced prior to his passing in 2016. This event includes brunch buffet in a room purpose built for this type of show.

Click here for more events on Sun 1/5

MON 1/6
A lot of people go back to work or school today after a long holiday break, and that’s no laughing matter. But it could be if they stop down at the Grog Shop for their long-running comedy showcase Make Em Laugh Mondays.

* A sleepy winter Monday is a great day to visit the otters and other critters at Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s Perkins Wildlife Center.

Click here for more events on Mon 1/6

TUE 1/7
Brews + Prose kicks off its 2020 series with a reading at Market Garden Brewery by poet Allison Pitinii Davis and short story writer Liz Breazeale.

Click here for more events on Tue 1/7

WED 1/8
If he were still alive the great David Bowie would have turned 73 today. Thomas Mulready and Vanity Crash are celebrating with a “Big Bowie Birthday Bash at Brothers” Lounge tonight, focused like a laser beam on his Ziggy Stardust era. [Photo of Bowie in Cleveland 1972 by Anastasia Pantsios]

* Four women perform Ozzy-era Black Sabbath at the Beachland as Black Sabbitch.

Click here for more events on Wed 1/8

Send your cool events to: Events@CoolCleveland.com

As we prepare for the new year I’m going to take it as an article of faith that the folks behind Cleveland Rising are preparing to gear up to fulfill the mission they took on a few months ago of making our city a more equitable and fair place to live, work and raise a family. Indeed, if our region’s population loss…

* What’s Wrong With Winning? Over the last decade, since Fannie Lewis’ dream, League Park, opened two blocks from our home, I’ve watched city officials drag their feet in terms of instituting programmatic changes that would allow the facility to blossom into the destination attraction…

Read other stories from Mansfield Frazier here

A look back at the last week
Submit your own review or commentary to Events@CoolCleveland.com

PHOTOSTREAM: Drag & Burlesque Community holds a benefit for local burlesque queen Bella Sin’s mother at the Beachland Ballroom by Anastasia Pantsios

Read and comment here: http://www.coolcleveland.com/blog

Going full circle,

–Thomas Mulready

Letters@CoolCleveland.com

 

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