The week ahead, 5/31-6/6

This week has been a great one, folks, and next week should be pretty good, too. I spent the first couple days quietly catching up on sleep and work, both of which I'd fallen behind on thanks to my DC sojourn. By Wednesday, things got a bit more lively, with a solid I Was A King performance at the Beachland and then on Thursday with a highly productive day of work (can't ever underestimate the restorative power of that) and a fun night on Coventry first at the Grog to see Crocodiles and then at the Winking Lizard to watch the Cavs snatch one back from the Magic. Yesterday was a quintessentially wonderful Cleveland spring/summer day, and today promises to be the same, with volunteer action on Waterloo in the early afternoon, a film at the CIA Cinematheque, and then catching the Cavs game with friends in Tremont.
If you didn't have a very exciting week and are hoping to improve things next week (or, better yet, if you did have a good week and are greedy enough to hope for another one), I am here, once again, to let you know about the stuff that popped up on my radar.

Sunday, 5/31 - Go see the Friedlander exhibit at the CMA. Trust me, this is the last day you can do so and you will regret it if you don't. Be the sophisticated toast of your friends as opposed to the rube that didn't see it. And if your friends don't really care about going to see solid modern art, get new friends.

Monday, June 1 - I don't know what you'll be doing today, but I'll be going to the dentist (boo) and then driving to Illinois to rescue Smelly Ellie, my wonderful, beautiful dogder, from the clutches of my parents, who've been caring for her lately as work has taken me all over the country. Because of this, I haven't spent much time paying attention to goings on in town on Monday or Tuesday. Sorry.

Oh wait, I do have something. After tonight's win (fingers crossed), the Cavs will be battling the Magic in a crazy Game 7 fight. Tip off should be around 8:30, as usual. If you can't score tix to the game, get together at a local watering hole and cheer on the wine and gold.

Tuesday, June 2 - See above.

Wednesday, June 3 - Big day if you live on or are unafraid to travel to the east side. At 6:30, local writer-hero Michael Ruhlman is hosting a screening of the apparently riveting new documentary, Food Fight, at the CMA. I've met Ruhlman a couple of times and he's a dryly hilarious dude and, better yet, a top-notch wordsmith.



Afterward, there are a pair of interesting-sounding shows at the Beachland, with Chicago indie-supergroup (of sorts) Disappears in the Tavern (featuring members of The Ponys and 90 Day Men) in the Tavern and a promising line-up in the Ballroom with local-guy head-liner Craig Ramsey being opened for by acts including Cleveland's own Uno Lady and a pair of Miami, FL acts, Van*Gloria and Bridget & Luke.

Thursday, June 4 - For you lazy west-siders, here's a bone for you: Check out the screening of Gus van Zant's Paranoid Park at bela dubby on Madison in Lakewood, where you can also get nice beers, good coffee, and if memory serves an incredibly decadent slice of chocolate cake.



For those of you only on the west-side for a visit, you might want to take this opportunity to get yourself a sandwich at Melt while you are at it. Or, better yet, if you dress nice and promise not to act a fool, stop in for a Rangpur Gimlet at Velvet Tango Room.

Friday, June 5 - Friday, oh god, where do I begin? Well, you have your pick of gallery openings, including really good ones at Asterisk and William Rupnik, and the one at MOCA looks to be somewhat more ambitious than usual.



Of course, be sure to hit Waterloo Road for this month's iteration of Music Saves Alley Cat Friday. And if your politics are right and your wallet isn't super tight, check out the 30 Something Celebration for a trio of laudable women's non-profits (Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, Hard-Hatted Women, and Preterm) at the College Club (be sure to wear 70s attire if fitting in is your bag). Call 216-619-6194 or 216-472-3221 for more information on the event, to get tickets, or figure out exactly where in the hell the College Club is. Somewhere on Overlook Road, I believe.

Saturday, June 6 - Again, lots to choose from tonight. The Meat Puppets are coming to the Grog Shop, with equally interesting openers Mystery of Two and Retribution Gospel Choir (a side-project of one of the dudes from Low). The Cedar-Lee cult film series will be screening the infamous Plan 9 from Outer Space at 9:30 and midnight, too. And, if you end up choosing the Rupnik opening over the Asterisk event, fear not, because Dana Depew has an even more awesome event on top for Saturday night: the Drawn & Quartered Draw-Off. As Dana notes, an event like this has never been tried but at 7pm on Saturday, June 6, 2009 at the Asterisk Gallery in Tremont, four established figure and drawing groups will meet up and draw against time and each other for the amusement of an engaged audience. Trying to capture the “magic of an honest drawing,” costumed models and dancers will be drawn live by competitive artists vying for praise and prizes. The disciplines will range from quick gestures to a 90-minute portrait (run concurrently.)

I'm sure there are many more meritoriously awesome events going on that I forgot (especially on Tuesday!), so as usual, feel free to leave your suggestions as a comment or shoot me an email at clevelandbachelor@gmail.com and I'll do my best to put something up.