Popular Music

Theater Review: Sophie Tucker, Lukewarm Mama

July 1, 2010
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Sophie Tucker: The Last of the Red Hot Mamas, By Richard Hopkins, Jack Fournier, and Kathy Halenda. Directed by Kate Warner. Musical Direction by Todd C. Gordon. Staged by New Repertory Theatre at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in the Charles Mosesian Theater, Watertown, MA, through July 11. Reviewed by Alyssa Machado Vaudeville star…

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Popular Music Review: The New Pornographers Celebrate ‘Together’

June 17, 2010
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Joining snow blowers, the goaltending mask, peanut butter, and Pamela Anderson on the list of indispensable life-saving things from Canada, the New Pornographers have solidified their position on the charts with the release of their latest album. As far as Indie-pop goes, you won’t find another band associated with the label “Supergroup” as often as…

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Popular Music Review: Light and Darkness in The National

June 8, 2010
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Perhaps independent music’s biggest “it” band right now, The National have recently released their fifth album, and appear on the brink of crossing the threshold from well-kept secret to mainstream sensation, if their recent back-to-back sold out shows at Boston’s House of Blues are any indication. By Justin Marble In college, I took a comparative…

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Coming Attractions: Popular Music in June 2010

June 4, 2010
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By Thomas Samph This month’s music selection is all about trying something new. One of my selected artists recorded her entire album in a church. One guy kissed another guy on stage at an awards show that was on live TV. And another group brings together nine solo acts under one dirty name that has…

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Music Review: Boston Pops Salutes Our Heroes

May 20, 2010
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Reviewed By Caldwell Titcomb The Boston Pops, celebrating its 125th anniversary, is devoting its third week of programs (May 18-22) to “American Heroes”—both living and dead. The most newsworthy feature is a new cantata entitled “The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers.” Pops conductor Keith Lockhart addressed brief remarks to the audience…

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Musical Theater: Brian Stokes Mitchell

May 10, 2010
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One admires not just the quality of Brian Stokes Mitchell’s voice, but his artistry in getting to the emotional heart of whatever he is singing. He has long been a national treasure. Reviewed By Caldwell Titcomb The Celebrity Series concluded its 2009-10 season with one of its finest offerings: a solo concert by Brian Stokes…

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Coming Attractions: Popular Music in May 2010

May 3, 2010
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By Thomas Samph This month’s music is all about catchy, sing-along, pop music. There are girl groups, guy groups, throwbacks, and teenage YouTube celebrities coming to Boston in May. With summer right around the corner and the heat returning to Boston, these shows will help to celebrate the changing seasons. May 3, Gold Motel at…

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Coming Attractions: Popular Music in April 2010

March 30, 2010
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By Thomas Samph Vampire movies, dirty whigs, Wilco beer, peace bombs, Russian retrograde, tappin’ khakis, and sweaty Soviet soirees are just a few reasons why April is a great month for music listeners in Boston. The month starts off with a performance by the illegitimate love child of two musical genres, heavy metal and opera…

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Music Commentary: Talent Beyond Time — Music Veterans Quietly Have a Landmark Year

January 29, 2007
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Of course this Social Security Six is a fluke, not a trend. And at first, the albums seem to have nothing in common beyond persistence and determination by the leaders. And not even that.

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