BARS AND CLUBS

T

ROCK CITY

he Rock and Roll Hall of Fame wasn’t established in Cleveland just because there was available real estate. From the Raspberries to Rocket From the Tombs to Nine Inch Nails to Bone Thugs-N-Harmony to Cobra Verde, the lakeside industrial town has provided a launching ground for all manner of visceral musical exploration. Forever fighting economic hardships and rampant cultural stereotyping, Cleveland is a city where the history runs deep and the fans hold steady to a serious belief in the sounds. As Ian Hunter famously intoned, Cleveland rocks.

Grog Shop
2785 EUCLID HEIGHTS BLVD., CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, 216-321-5588
Long an institution, this bar relocated in 2003 into spacious new digs, allowing
even more revelers to grab a drink and enjoy the club’s mostly-locals rotation
of indie, punk, emo, and hip-hop acts on the rise, as well as manic out-of-towners
like Turbonegro and the Brian Jonestown Massacre.

Beachland Ballroom

& Tavern

15711 WATERLOO RD., 216-383-1124

LOCAL HEROES

When Derek Hess started bands on his Exit Stencil label booking Monday night concerts (including the Dreadful Yawns, at the Euclid Tavern in ¹⁹⁹⁰, he This Moment in Black History, designed stunning posters (right) and his own group, Mystery of for heavy acts like Helmet, Tar, Two). Recently, he has organized and the Dazzling Killmen that a series of gallery events that were sometimes more interesting mix local and visiting bands with than the music. He film, art shows, and now exhibits original off-the-wall interactive drawings at shows around the world; illustrates album covers (Motion City Soundtrack, Unearth); and has his own clothing line, Strhess. ^{installations.} At its heart, Cleveland is a metal town, and lifelong record collector Charles Abou-Chebl’s store My Mind’s Eye represents the pinnacle of the genre’s possibilities. He’s almost always behind the counter to share his encyclopedic knowledge of local music history and the latest vinyl treasures.

Originally built as a dance hall catering
to the neighborhood’s Croatian
population, Beachland is a midsize
venue that books garage rock, punk,
blues, hip-hop, singer/songwriters,
and even the occasional traditional
polka show. If the band in the
ballroom doesn’t please you, fire up a
45 in the jukebox in the bar—it’s free.

Now That’s Class
11213 DETROIT AVE., 216-221-8576
The hardwood floors make Cleveland’s
best-kept-secret venue feel a bit like a
trip to a high school volleyball game,
but the parties are all business. There’s
a steady rotation of punk bands who
play for the kids who want to bang
around, and the DJ nights provide
an outlet for the beat-hungry crowd
that wants to shake to the latest
dance, rock, and funk.

Peabody’s

2083 E. 21ST ST., 216-776-9999

Your Cleveland-bred Mushroomhead
hoodie wouldn’t be out of place
at Peabody’s. With a focus on
multiband metal, thrash, and
punk bills, this is where your new
favorite Swedish death-metal
group is likely to turn up for an
ear-scorching good time.

Pat’s in the Flats
2233 W. THIRD ST., 216-621-8044
This workingman’s bar in the
city’s industrial Flats area serves
local laborers by day and turns into a
rock club on many weekend nights,
a tradition dating back to the ’80s.
It mixes local experimental punk
and noise bands with touring acts
such as the Mekons.

Unofficial Cleveland
poet laureate, comic
book writer, jazz critic,
and professional
misanthrope Harvey
Pekar, best known
for his award-winning
American Splendor
comic, no longer
works as a file clerk,
but he can still be
seen wandering around Cleveland
Heights or combing through
the stacks at Zubal Books, an
old Twinkie factory that now
houses one of the world’s largest
bookstores.

Ryan Weitzel releases some of the Cleveland underground’s finest

Cleveland is known
for its college radio,
staffed by a mix of students and
veterans. Cleveland State’s WCSB
(89.3), Case Western Reserve’s
WRUW (⁹¹.¹), Baldwin-Wallace’s
WBWC (88.3), and John Carroll’s
WJCU (⁸⁸.⁷) all augment indie rock
with specialty shows, focusing on
genres as diverse as alt country and
contemporary Armenian music.

^K HI^YN S^OO T^UW O^RRY

The now-shuttered
Euclid Tavern booked
blues in the ’70s and
’80s; in the ’90s,
it featured underground
rock while still inviting
bluesmen on weekends.
It was also used as
a location for the ¹⁹⁸⁷
Michael J. Fox/Joan
Jett (right) cult rock
drama Light of Day,
which featured a young
Trent Reznor as a
member of synth-pop
band the Problems.

CLOCK WISE FROM TOP: KEITH MARLOWE; EVERE TT COLLEC TION; DEREKHESS.COM

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