Review

Concert Review: Better Than Ezra — Much Better Than Okay

April 26, 2014
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Better than Ezra may be more than a hardworking, nice-guy band permanently fated to be overshadowed by more significant artists.

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Book Review: “The Marrying of Chani Kaufman” — The World of the Ultra-Orthodox Jews, Treated With Verve and Empathy

April 25, 2014
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Beneath the humor and the warmth and the charm of this novel, author Eve Harris bears witness to an existence far more complex and troubled than Ultra-Orthodox Jews might like to admit.

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Concert Review: Tenor Nicholas Phan and Pianist Myra Huang — A Dream Team

April 22, 2014
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Tenor Nicholas Phan and pianist Myra Huang are a superb duo, and the pair’s recital was easily one of the highlights of this year’s concert season.

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Theater Review: “The Wholehearted” — Ringside at a Troubled Psyche

April 22, 2014
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What makes “The Wholehearted” compelling is how it examines the metaphor of fighting as both a pubic career and as an aspect of domestic violence.

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Concert Review: Boy George on Tour — A Weird Comeback Show

April 21, 2014
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If Boy George had carried on in this vein — working the best of the old in with the new, and keeping the soul roots upfront — the night would have been a surprise triumph.

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Jazz Review: Jimmy Giuffre — Through the Lens of Dave Douglas and Riverside

April 21, 2014
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In moments like these, the band Riverside captures the Jimmy Giuffre ideals of sonority and counterpoint — where even the drums act as another complementary linear voice.

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Film Review: John Hubley Centennial — America’s Indispensable Designer of Animated Films

April 20, 2014
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John Hubley was a dominant force in bringing animation out of the studio system and onto the drawing boards of individual artists . His life story is also an entryway into the social history and controversies of mid-20th century America.

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Movie Review: “The Galapagos Affair” — An Edenic Experiment Gone Wrong

April 18, 2014
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It would take a series of spoilers to explain who might have killed whom in “The Galapagos Affair.” See the movie and find out, and revel in the grim gallows humor.

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Poetry Review: “Book of Hours” — From Mourning to Celebration

April 18, 2014
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Kevin Young’s poetic line is generally on the concise side, generating a pithy, earthy, evocative quality that hovers somewhere between the haiku-like jazziness of Robert Creeley and the delta blues of Son House or Skip James.

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Classical Concert Review: Winsor Music Chamber Series at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

April 18, 2014
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Praise is due Peggy Pearson and Winsor Music for providing a forum for the talented young composer Lev Mamuya.

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