Posts

Theater Review: “The Garbologists” — What a Fine Mess We Are In

July 15, 2025
Posted in , ,

It is entertaining, but Lindsay Joelle’s script supplies only a tiny, sometimes contrived glimpse at a profession that deserves to be treated with more nuance and understanding.

Television Review: “Back to the Frontier” — Living La Vida Antiqua

July 14, 2025
Posted in , ,

Watching a historic reality show now takes on a different meaning than it did 20 years ago. Today, our reliance on technology borders on nightmare Ray Bradbury territory, so modern-day folks trying to survive on the frontier looks like an impossibility.

Book Review: “The Hard Work of Hope: A Memoir” — A Guide to Blue Collar Community Organizing

July 14, 2025
Posted in , ,

On the hard wooden benches of a jail in Lowell, dialoguing with his street-fighting antagonists, we sense the emergence of organizer Michael Ansara’s strategy for working-class political action.

Dance Commentary: The Phoenix Rises — A Reimagined Doris Duke Theatre at Jacob’s Pillow

July 13, 2025
Posted in , ,

Jacob’s Pillow’s new Doris Duke Theatre is a complete triumph. It is, in artistic director Pamela Tatge’s words, “nothing like we had in mind but exactly what we thought.”

Classical Album Review: The Korngold Symphony — The Great American Symphony?

July 12, 2025
Posted in , , ,

Could it be that Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Symphony in F-sharp is the big kahuna of our symphonic music?

Doc Talk: MAGA Mirrored in “Apocalypse in the Tropics”

July 11, 2025
Posted in , ,

In her new documentary about the crises in Brazilian democracy, Petra Costa examines a factor involved in the election of Jair Bolsonaro that was largely overlooked in the first film — the toxic power of the evangelical movement.

The Annual Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll — Sharing What We Know at Mid-Year

July 11, 2025
Posted in , , ,

We are all part of a community with a deep commitment to this extraordinary but way-too-often unappreciated musical art, and the late critic Francis Davis believed we should work together and share what we know. His poll was one important way to do just that

The Annual Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll at Mid-Year — Listomania! Confessions of a Bad Voter

July 11, 2025
Posted in , ,

So what am I saying? That the system is imperfect, corrupted by bad voters like me (there must be a few others who didn’t listen to even close to everything on this list — show of hands?)

Film Review: “Eddington” — Grifter Nation

July 11, 2025
Posted in , ,

The story’s surprising degree of feeling for Joaquin Phoenix ‘s Joe saves “Eddington” from simply serving as fodder for overheated social media discourse and crusading op-eds.

Concert Review: Point01 Percent — Something Was Going On. But What?

July 11, 2025
Posted in , , ,

A particular guttural sequence of phrases from accordionist Ted Reichman suggested a musical cadence, and I felt myself respond with the jazz fan’s involuntary noise of appreciation: “Unh!”

Recent Posts

Popular Posts

Categories

Archives