That rarest of Opening Nights: a program that was mostly fun and entertaining, but also substantive and artistically satisfying.
Music
Rock Concert Review: ZZ Top/Cheap Trick — Simplicity, and Volume, Rules
Apart from predilections turned into marketing hooks, both ZZ Top and Cheap Trick know how to rock as a base instinct – and that also hasn’t changed since they first burst to fame in the ’70s.
Music Interview: Mike Adams At His Honest Weight — Curb Your Skepticism
“Honest weight” has more to with like karats of gold, maybe. The “weight” being the value of something. It kind of alludes to that a little bit.
Music Preview: Guitarist Jimmy Herring — Seeking the Simple Root
Veteran guitarist Jimmy Herring and the 5 of 7 play groove-heavy tunes that barrel into unexpected and interesting places.
Music Commentary: Modern Marketing and The Hella Mega Tour
If the music industry put as much effort into being fair to their customers as they put into taking their money, everyone could participate in the rocking world.
Arts Remembrance: Emily Remler — The Short Life and Sad Death of a Jazz Guitarist
Emily Remler took a particularly clear-eyed view of her work. She didn’t want to be judged by a lesser standard because she was a woman in the overwhelmingly male world of jazz.
Opera Album Review: A Renaissance-Toned Opera by Saint-Saëns, Finally (and Finely) Recorded
One of Saint-Saëns’s most important operas, Proserpine, has recently been given its world-premiere recording, and the result is a revelation.
Rock Concert Review: Billy Joel — A Seamless Show
Billy Joel remains in fine voice and his versatile bandmates provided his songs with grace and fire power that fleshed out his casual but punchy onstage prowess.
Rock Concert Review: The Who — Recounting Their Amazing Journey
The Who – arguably the third cog in British rock royalty behind the Beatles and the Rolling Stones – delivered more than a nostalgic run through the hits at Fenway Park on Friday.
Music Feature: Funny Tales and Flying Fingers — Keyboard Whiz Rick Wakeman Steps Out
Prog legend Rick Wakeman is grumpy — becoming a septuagenarian means he can no longer party like it’s 1969.
