Orlando Fringe Review: Tap Me on the Shoulder
“So many raps I have written grew out of the soles of my feet,” says Erika Kate MacDonald at the start of her self-written solo show Tap Me on the Shoulder. And whether you are an old-school aficionado of Nas’ Illmatic (like her) or the complete opposite of a hip-hop expert (like me), you’ll swiftly…
Orlando Fringe Review: Papa Squat’s Store of Sorts
Papa Squat’s Store of Sorts at Orlando Fringe 2014 In Papa Squat’s Store of Sorts, singing storyteller Paul Stickland returns to Big Fib Trailer Park Cul de Sac — his white-trash Lake Wobegon that was the scene of last year’s Ain’t True and Uncle False — with another evening of strumming, soliloquizing, and slyly insightful silliness.…
Orlando Fringe Review: Glory Days
“In high school, everything is so goddamn easy,” bemoans Barrett, a frustrated 40-something who is missing his glory days of high school football and wondering whether he and his best friend David will soon be fired from their jobs at the local chemical plant. Throw in a couple of unstable marriages, a sexy ex-girlfriend, a…
Someone in the Villages is selling this vintage Disney trolley car
Last week, we told you about a retired Disney monorail car for sale on eBay for $189,000. If that was too rich for your blood, perhaps this vintage (circa 1970s) Disney trolley car is more your thing. According to the ad posted on Craigslist, this is a genuine Disney transport trolly that has been fully…
Orlando Fringe Review: The Aqua Saga
“It’s not easy being me,” sang Superman in the Five for Fighting song. Well, if it’s tough being the top superhero in the Justice League, imagine how the guy at the bottom feels. Aquaman is depressed. He’s been fired from his job by the Man of Steel, failed in his suicide attempt and flunked…
American Craft Beer Week in Orlando
Where can I get craft beer in Orlando? The Brewers Association has deemed May 12-18 American Craft Beer Week. In light of all the hubbub surrounding Senate Bill 1714 and its apparent death on the House floor, now seems like the best possible to time to celebrate the craft beer movement. Here’s where you can…
Burgers + bands = Burgatory Fest in St. Pete
[Editor’s note: I would be mildly upset to be recommending so many out of town shows this spring/summer, if they weren’t all so damn enticing. Let’s pull some of these big coastal shows in-state, please?] There’s a pretty rad event coming up next weekend curated by Michael J. Wolf of Florida band Wolf-Face and supported…
Thieves make off with over $1k in underwear from Ocala Hollister
Stock photo of dudes’ undies courtesy of Hollister. There was pandemonium at Ocala’s Paddock Mall last Thursday when two men escaped the shopping center’s Hollister location with 90 pairs of men’s underwear stuffed in a large plastic bag. The Hollister manager on duty followed the men to the parking lot where he observed the pair…
COUNCIL WATCH: Liveblogging your city government so that you can do better things
BECAUSE THIS IS NOW A THING, we’ll be liveblogging today’s city council meeting starting at around 2 p.m. We’ve been running our nose over the agenda and it seems like there are a lot of slightly contentious things happening. Your six-cent local gas tax is gonna be around for another 30 years, for one. Also,…
Neat! Concert tickets feature a pop-up band, shots from Orlando
Two very different upcoming shows (coincidentally at two of Orlando’s most offbeat music venues) are seeking to join the awesome commemorative concert tickets club (alongside John Vanderslice at the Acre and Sun Araw at Will’s Pub). Let’s start things off in 3-D – the Civic Minded 5 are bringing back mega-important free jazz saxophonist Peter…
YOUR DAILY WEEKLY READER: Sam I am, Rubio underwater and D-I-V-O-R-C-E is good sometimes
via AP SO, MIAMI DOLPHINS ARE BASICALLY ALWAYS JERKS? ANYWAY, HOORAY FOR MICHAEL SAM!: “The Miami Dolphins have fined and suspended safety Don Jones for tweeting “Omg” and “horrible” after ESPN cut to a live feed of Michael Sam learning that he had just become the first openly gay male athlete drafted to any of…
All of our Orlando Fringe Fest 2014 reviews in one place
via Orlando Fringe Fest 2014 runs from May 14-27 with hundreds of shows from local, national and international acts. Over the two weeks of the festival, we’ll be checking out as many of them as humanly possible. Below, you can find links to all our reviews. We’ll be updating this list on the daily, so…
Orlando Fringe Review: Seasons The Musical
Seasons the Musical, which was co-written by Orlando Fringe alumna Katie Hammond and local musician Elaine Pechacek, has previously been performed in New York and England, but is only now receiving its Central Florida debut. Helen (Tiana Akers) is about to accept a medical school scholarship when she discovers she is pregnant, and is soon…
Orlando Fringe Review: HELIX
HELIX³ is an experiment in long-form improvisation from Winter Park-based troupe Spur of the Moment, in which three audience members' personal stories are spun into a single entwined narrative, with impressively entertaining results. At the preview performance I attended, the three leads were Travis Ray as “Pat,” a theatre patron in an argument with her…
Orlando Fringe Review: CockTales and Conversations
CockTales & Conversations at the Orlando Fringe In showbiz, they say, you gotta have a gimmick, and that goes double for the crowded field of improvisational comedies at this year’s Orlando Fringe. Inside Voices — comprised of Ginny Anthony, Lauren Morris and Camille Dixon — have a good one in their teasingly tantalizing title CockTales &…
Orlando Fringe Review: Home Free!
Home Free! by Lanford Wilson at Orlando Fringe Lawrence (Zachary Lane) is an emotionally unstable agoraphobia who spends his days locked in his apartment, building a model Ferris wheel and giving aggressive astronomy lectures to a classroom of imaginary pupils. He sends Joanna (Cameron Gagne) out into the city to scavenge pens and other supplies,…
UCF’s Blake Bortles and Storm Johnson go to Jacksonville
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhZOR1-PsVA With the 2014 NFL Draft coming to an end last night, there are two UCF players who will be looking to crack the opening day roster in 2014. Quarterback Blake Bortles and running back Storm Johnson will both be trying to make the same team, as they were selected in the 1st and 7th…
Orlando Fringe Review: CraigsLUST: A Sexploration
In my personal experience, Craigslist is a great place to sell an old sofa, an unreliable place to purchase an iPhone, and a terrifying place to look for a job. Craigslist is also a dangerous place to look for love, according to countless tabloid news reports. But in the mind of Ryan Price, creator of…
Orlando Fringe Review: Paranormal Stupidity
Brian Flaherty, writer and star of Paranormal Stupidity, describes his new play in its program as “a crude and mildly frightening comedy,” and for once there is 100% truth in advertising at the Fringe. There's little about this 50-minute show — from the characterizations and plotting, to the language and delivery of lines — that…
Edit the Star Wars prequels into one film? That’s a good trick
With all the hub-bub lately about Star Wars, you might want to revisit the films to jog your memory. But maybe you’re scared to revisit the prequel trilogy. Maybe the pod race wasn’t that cool, and maybe Yoda wasn’t that badass fighting Count Dooku. And you’d have to sit through that goddamn horrible, emotionless retreat…
Full Moon Saloon is re-imagined as new Orlando music venue Woodstock
Formerly a much-loved gay bar and concert venue, Full Moon Saloon (550 N. Orange Blossom Trail) has stood empty and sad-sagging since they closed their doors on June 30, 2007 (leaving many a local bear feeling homeless). Now, it seems a new pair of owners are planning to give the place a facelift to transform…
VOD review: Richard Ayoade’s “The Double”
???? (out of 5 stars) I have a suspicion that The Double, the second feature by The IT Crowd’s Richard Ayoade, will end up being one of the most sneaky films of the year, psychologically speaking. The film, which mixes everything from Dostoevsky and Kafka to Terry Gilliam’s Brazil, Hitchcock’s Rear Window and Billy Wilder’s The…
Satanist wants to open town council meeting with prayer honoring his “Dude in Charge”
via Just days after the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision allowing “ceremonial prayer” in government meetings, Florida man, Chaz Stevens, requested that he be allowed to lead a prayer honoring his “Dude in Charge” before a session of either the Deerfield Beach town council or the Florida State Senate. The catch? Stevens’ “Dude in Charge” is Satan.…
Thank you, Internet: Bacon-wrapped onion rings and literal cheese cakes
You know the deal: it’s Friday and you’re itching to get out of the office. You’ve finished up all the work you need to get done before the end of the day and now you’re just waiting out the clock. Here are a few links that should get you through ’til it’s happy hour time:…
New Universal Orlando Blog to announce Gringotts details on May 13
Concept art of the Gringotts ride boarding area (courtesy Universal Orlando) The secrets inside Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter expansion are starting to slip out between the enchanted bricks at the entrance to Diagon Alley. Yesterday, we saw the first photos and videos of the animatronic goblins that will populate the queue line leading…
Hipsters are ruining our city with art: photos of Mills 50 before murals
This week, we wrote about the recent commotion over murals in Orlando. In some neighborhoods, like Mills 50, some people are complaining about murals being painted on walls of small businesses – particularly a new one that was painted by local artist Dolla Short on the wall at Will’s Pub. They say they find it…
UPDATE: Another filing in the Florida gay marriage case. This time trying to shut down Stemberger, et. al.
via zimbio Today, yet another filing from those in favor of gay marriage in Florida who have enacted the Ruvin case. It’s pretty lengthy but worth the read. Effectively what the attorneys involved are saying is that, like the Prop 8 supporters in California who lost last year in the Supreme Court, John Stemberger and…
Location Matters: Reign of the Orlando Superchildren (part 2 of 4)
Superboy (Gerard Christopher) rushes into action near one of Orlando’s famed hot dog carts. Location Matters is a series that reflects upon pieces of Orlando immortalized in popular film. Today, the second installment of a sub-series devoted to the 1980s Superboy program that was produced in our fair metropolis (view part one here). After the…
When dick meets doc: The Final Member at the Enzian
Infamous penis documentary returns to Enzian The Final Member (3 out of 5 stars) Thought you’d seen the final showing of The Final Member at this year’s Florida Film Festival? Well, it turns out you saw the next-to-final one, as the fascinatingly surreal documentary is back for a one-week engagement beginning tonight. Seems that even…
This Little Underground: Of Montreal & Boogarins @ The Social
This Little Underground is Orlando Weekly’s music column providing perspective, live reviews and news on the city’s music scene. Read the latest column here. (Boogarins at the Social / photo by James Dechert) Boogarins is one of those hot new acts who’ve been trying to catch up with their own momentum ever since they started.…
YOUR DAILY WEEKLY READER: Ryan’s hope, to the dogs, into the Gap
PAUL RYAN STILL HAS A FEVER THAT MAKES HIM SAY “BENGHAZI” A LOT: “Wow. Rep. Paul Ryan is still complaining about CNN’s Candy Crowley’s 2012 debate moderation. Specifically, about the fact that she corrected Mitt Romney for saying President Obama took 14 days to call the 9/11 attack on the Benghazi compound “an act of…
Bands to see at Tropical Heatwave
via It seems like Tampa’s getting all the good festivals lately, what with Gasparilla (March 8-9) and Big Guava (May 2-4) bringing acts like the Flaming Lips, Outkast, Vampire Weekend, Foster the People and Violent Femmes to the Hour-Away Bay. This weekend, venerable Tampa community radio station WMNF is throwing its annual Tropical Heatwave multi-venue…
Shows I Go To: Top 10 hats at Big Guava Music Festival 2014
[Editor’s note: Big Guava Music Festival was three packed days of music out in Florida’s extreme pre-summer weather, giving people more than one reason to hold onto their hats for the ride to Tampa. Our blogger Mitch Foster couldn’t help but notice some standouts among the capped music crusaders, and thus, Orlando Music News presents…
Shows I Go To: Big Guava Music Festival review
On day one of Tampa’s inaugural Big Guava Music Festival I ate a “special” brownie and don’t remember anything. Nothing. No Outkast. Nothing. It sucks and I’m sorry. On day two, I arrived just before 2 pm and immediately went to the amphitheatre box office to get a wristband for pit access during Vampire Weekend. Apparently…
This Little Underground: Psych Night 2 @ Will’s Pub & Uncle Lou’s
This Little Underground is Orlando Weekly’s music column providing perspective, live reviews and news on the city’s music scene. Read the latest column here. (Froth at Will’s Pub / photo by Christopher Garcia) Taking over the two most musically active blocks on the Mills Avenue strip, Psych Night 2 (May 7, Will’s Pub & Uncle…
8 non-traditional things to do for Mother’s Day
via If you haven’t made your brunch reservations for Mother’s Day, it’s probably too late now. Don’t get all panicky and head for the nearest Walgreens to buy a generic card and a cheap fabric flower, though. As long as your mom’s not expecting a fancy Benedict-and-mimosa brunch, we’ve got some ideas that could fit…
Orlando Phil takes you to 1920s Paris with a new La Traviata
If you’ve ever longed for the Paris of the 1920s – that seemingly bygone era that still resonates with some of us for its glamour, refined taste and multicultural arts – take a trip there this weekend with the Orlando Phil’s new production of Verdi’s classic La Traviata. The opera, a feast for the eyes…
Video: First Look at Universal’s Animatronic Gringotts Goblins
An animatronic Gringotts goblin from Universal Orlando’s upcoming Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Diagon Alley (image courtesy Universal) We are now likely only weeks away from the first guests getting a “soft opening” preview of Diagon Alley and Universal Orlando’s newly expanded Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which means that details from inside the attractions…
Stunt hard in these new Mickey Mouse shoes from Vans
Your move, Donald Duck. Image via Opening Ceremony. One of Orlando’s most animated residents has leant his likeness to a new sneaker that will let all the haters know you are down with that classic rodent lifestyle. Vans has produced three styles of canvas-based kicks featuring Mickey Mouse, part of an entire collection from Opening…
YOUR DAILY WEEKLY READER: Miami is sinking, poors aren’t peeing, trains are crashing, bread is whitening
AND YOU THOUGHT IT WAS JUST YOUR HOUSE THAT WAS UNDERWATER: “The sunny-day flooding was happening again. During high tide one recent afternoon, Eliseo Toussaint looked out the window of his Alton Road laundromat and watched bottle-green saltwater seep from the gutters, fill the street and block the entrance to his front door.…
Love bugs: How to deal
via The love bugs have arrived. Orlando’s smack in the middle of the first of two love bug seasons that it will experience this year. We can’t stand the things and their love for fresh paint, mating in our faces and dying all over our cars. We bet you hate them sexin’ everywhere just as…
‘Shaq-Fu’ is coming back for Round 2
via After a successful 60-day Indiegogo campaign, a sequel to the legendary — er, legendarily bad — video game Shaq-Fu will be coming soon to a gaming console near you. Big Deez Productions, who started the Indiegogo campaign, set a financing goal of $450,000, which was exceeded by $23,884. Over 1,300 people took advantage of the perks offered…
Essential songs for your SunRail ride
14 high speed shots of SunRail’s grand opening SunRail has arrived, and the implications of it are still temporarily unknown. For now, joy riders and sensationalists crowd the station platforms. Trains are running behind schedule, and most are still trying to piece together how this whole system even operates. We do know that it sure…
Police Beat: Orlando garbage trucks involved in two fatalities since last week
In a stroke of morbid coincidence, two dump trucks for the City of Orlando were involved in traffic fatalities over the last week. Yesterday morning, 59-year-old Lawson Mehaney slowed his waste management truck down and flipped the blinker before making a right turn from South Conway Road onto Hargill Drive. At the same time, according…
19 questions with an Orlando resident: Ryan Murphy
Welcome to 19 Questions, a feature where we ask longtime Orlando residents 19 questions that are mostly related to living in the City Beautiful. Hailing from Volusia County’s most sprawling wonder Deltona, Ryan Murphy has lived in Orlando for the past eight years. She currently works as an assistant manager at Alchemy Hair Salon. 1.…
Bite30: a citywide celebration of culinary delights every day in June
If you’ve looked at the 2014 edition of our dining guide, BITE magazine (and I’m sure you have), you already know that Orlando is experiencing a restaurant renaissance. Chefs all over town are combining our amazing local products with innovative technique to create more delicious dishes every day. The only problem for diners (and talk…
YOUR DAILY WEEKLY READER: ‘inartfully’ gay, Charlie’s cigar trip, REGINA!
KIND OF THINKING THE USE OF THE TERM “INARTFULLY” IS HILARIOUS HERE. IS IT JUST ME? GAY MARRIAGE AHOY! “Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Sarah Zabel said Tuesday she would decide “in the next week or so” whether to suspend a local gay-marriage lawsuit until after some similar federal case is decided in the future. In January,…
Bananas Modern American Diner to close
via This morning, Orlando food blogger TastyChomps reported that Bananas Modern American Diner would close after four years of serving Orlando comfort food with a bit of ‘tude. That means no more chicken and waffles. No more garbage plate. No more Sunday gospel brunch (well, sort of; see below). No more milkshakes. No more meal-ending cotton candy.…
Orlando’s Mojave Wilde exhibits sophisticated sweetness on debut EP
Album review: Mojave Wilde’s self-titled EP
Fear of Men create an alluring dream world on ‘Loom’
Album review: Fear of Men’s ‘Loom’
Just a ‘Faded Gigolo’
John Turturro stars in this scatterbrained flick about a florist turned gigolo
‘Dinosaur Jr.’
Limited edition photo book places J Mascis’ tightly run ship in a bottle for fans to examine at leisure
‘The Devil’s Knot’: Memphis Three, take five
Latest movie about the trial of three teens accused of a triple murder is pointless and disappointing
Drinking, Nightlife and Parties
Where to drink and party in Orlando this week
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Falcon’s Fury, Orlando Ballet & Orlando Soup
Live Active Cultures: A pre-Fringe Fest roundup of entertainment news
Savage Love
I’m a 26-year-old lesbian 18 months out of an eight-year relationship. She was my first girlfriend. I do not want to be in another monogamous relationship. I want to have a couple of sex buddies or, preferably, a couple of friends with benefits. In the last 18 months, I have had three FWB “arrangements” with…
This Little Underground: Orlando Music News covers live music
Chuck Ragan & the Camaraderie, Jonny Two Bags, Bartender Brian proposes, Spies on Bikes, Giraffage, Marble, Kattya Graham, Leo Aether
‘Mad World: An Oral History of New Wave Artists and Songs’
Gossipy tome brings out the best and worst secrets of a colorful decade
Readers on Teresa Jacobs’ re-election bid, Florida’s Medicaid gap
Letters to the editor
EMA throws the doors wide open on sophomore solo LP
Album review: EMA’s ‘The Future’s Void’
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19) Fireworks displays excite the eyes and lift the spirit. But the smoke and dust they produce can harm the lungs with residues of heavy metals. The toxic chemicals they release may pollute streams and lakes and even groundwater. So is there any alternative? Not yet. No one has come up with…
Of Montreal frontman Kevin Barnes embraces weirdness
Barnes discusses his constant creative challenge to channel Of Montreal’s future masterpiece
The legend of Root Boy Slim
The crazy life and untimely death of a larger-than-life blues enigma
‘Fictitious Dishes’
Dinah Fried’s photographs embody the connection between books and food
Orlando reconsiders its love for murals
Know It All
Hummus Happy Hour May 15, Virgin Olive closes, more Border Grill
Tip Jar: local food news
Dan Webster’s early retirement?
Democrat Shayan Modarres makes a play for Webster’s congressional seat
Relax, it’s only feces
Police Beat
Mango-chili mimosa, your new brunch tipple
Remix: a fresh take on a classic cocktail
Legislative session ends with a whimper
Election year posturing yields expected results, including no Medicaid expansion
Wine lovers and pizza lovers unite at Winter Park’s Wine Barn
Slake and bake at quaint wine shop with wood-burning pizza oven
There’s a retired Disney monorail car for sale on eBay
via Got a spare $189,000 rattling around your piggy bank? Have I got a deal for you! Over on Theme Park Connection’s eBay page, there’s a Mark IV Red Monorail for sale. We know, we know, it’s more of a Shelbyville idea, but just imagine what you could do with your own genuine, bona-fide monorail.…
The curse of desirability: A sonata for tiny violin
I didn’t get married until I was in my 40s. I had plenty of reasons, and one of the biggest was that I’m just painfully shy. For most of my life, the simple idea of asking somebody out on a first date was enough to make me curl up in an inert ball. Why would…
Universal to raise starting pay to $9 a hour
Universal Orlando unveils new Hogwarts Express information Universal announced today that it will be raising its starting pay to $9 an hour, up from the previous rate of $8 an hour. While the increase isn’t as large the increase Disney announced earlier this year, it will be happening a lot sooner. Disney’s new minimum wage…
Man wants to marry his laptop. Florida says no
via So, you have a porn addiction. How do you deal with that? Get some therapy? Block the porn from your computer? Well, if you’re Mark “Chris” Sevier, you sue the maker of your laptop. Last year, he sued Apple because they manufacture a device that has the ability to display porn. Seriously. Sevier’s complaint went…
New breed of ninjas seen wearing hats during lightning quick Windermere strike
“They were quite threatening,” Bill Kitchen said of his shinobi looters. Photo via Facebook/News13. As you can see in this still from Bill Kitchen’s home surveillance system, at least one of the ninjas who invaded his residence April 30 put style ahead of function with a jaunty little white fedora. Kitchen and his partner arrived…
LIVEBLOGGING THE SHOWDOWN AT THE ORANGE COUNTY CORRAL: The piecemeal edition
HEY! It’s almost lunchtime, which means that the public comment segment of today’s Orange County Board of County Commissioners meeting – specifically the part that involves the crazytown charter amendments from Commissioner Fred Brummer – is coming right after you digest your sandwiches. Just to get you up to date, this morning’s conversation has involved…
Iconic ‘Game of Thrones’ throne coming to Orlando
via Even though you don’t live in one of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, sitting on the iconic Iron Throne is a bucket list item for any die-hard Game of Thrones fan. The Iron Throne is coming to Orlando next Friday as part of Brighthouse Networks’ Home Security and Control event. While you won’t exactly get the chance…
YOUR DAILY WEEKLY READER: Medicaid madness, Weatherford with you, DCF’s decline
STOP ME IF YOU THINK THAT YOU’VE HEARD THIS ONE BEFORE. JUST A REMINDER: PEOPLE ARE DYING QUICKLY: “After a year and a half of sickness, Mark Heath found his entire life confined to a few boxes stacked in a spare room of a house he didn’t even own. He picked up a Merchant Marines…
Opening in Orlando: ‘Legends of Oz,’ ‘Neighbors,’ ‘Moms’ Night Out’
Movies opening in Orlando theaters this week
