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The second half of February offers warm-ups for Mardi Gras, an evening of musical tributes by the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra, and more guitarists than you can shake a pick at.
Read MoreBoomers: part 1 By Harvey Blume. ** He lay there watching names scroll by in his head. Credits on screen, white on black background. Last Waltz Boomers Class Reunion Names. He thinks of names of dogs he had known, also cats, goats, ex-lovers. Most things ex by now, most everything ex. Ex-bladder control. Ex-cardiac tissue.…
Read MoreIn 2002, Iron & Wine debuted with The Creek Drank the Cradle, a brilliant Simon & Garfunkel-meets-Bob Dylan synthesis that caused many to proclaim a folk revival. Since this success, however, I&W’s singer-songwriter Samuel Beam has steadily drifted from his organic folk roots. Kiss Each Other Clean by Iron & Wine. Warner Brothers. By Michela…
Read MoreAlthough its interior says 21st century, the Shalin Liu Performance Center has a homespun, American 19th-century facade that made me think of Mark Twain and the provincial opera houses of the California Gold Rush. Care was taken to reference the original Haskins Building that once housed a clothing store called Madras and the local yacht…
Read MoreAs long as the wizardly spell of dramatist Mark O’Rowe’s creative versification stays strong, Terminus holds you firmly in its slip-slimy grip. The nimble verse is rappy and snappy, a sort of slangy, obscene, sing-song rhyme (with some breath-taking vocal syncopation) that accentuates rather than undercuts the dark doings of the play, at least for…
Read MoreWith Returnal, Daniel Lopatin proves that noise can be beautiful and original. The album is a piece of (Neo?) New Age psychedelia, taking cues from the electronic experiments of the Berlin School. Returnal by Oneohtrix Point Never. Editions Mego By David Cooper In Returnal, Oneohtrix Point Never (OPN), aka Daniel Lopatin, advances the stagnant noise…
Read MoreUPDATE: Either/Orchestra’s 25th anniversary concert comes to New York—an unforgettable confluence of talent revisiting more than two decades of memorable compositions and arrangements.
Read MoreThese novels by the young, Indian writers Natacha Appanah, who identifies herself as French-Mauritian, and Rana Dasgupta take the form of memoirs of old men who look back on their lives, searching for the truth and the peace that comes with an understanding of the past. The Last Brother by Natacha Appanah. Translated from the…
Read MoreThe recipient of countless honors and awards, the perennially popular Joshua Bell, now 43, can still pass for a 20-something. He’s still slender with the same trademark head of straight, light brown, swinging hair (think Ringo in a shampoo commercial) that he’s always had. Joshua Bell, violin and Sam Haywood, piano. Presented by the Celebrity…
Read MoreThere’s something special going on among the four musicians in BANN that is very promising—something that makes me want to see the band live. I hope one of our local bookers picks up on them soon, so I don’t have to go to New York City to do so. As You Like by BANN [Seamus…
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Arts Feature: Best Movies (With Some Disappointments) of 2025