ALBUM REVIEW Arresting, thoughtful, accessible
I am sitting on an American Airlines flight when they have just served the same vile plastic egg-y mess they have always dished up for so-called breakfast. Untouchable — I simply fail to understand why they persist in throwing such muck at their passengers. The 777 is surprisingly noisy, at least where I am sitting. But I have a pair of noise-canceling headphones, and I have The Great Deep — a new album from Duo LiveOak — within reach.
CONCERT REVIEW Mellow, folksy, hypnotic
The Low Anthem. Iron and Wine. This was quite the contrast to the other concerts I attended over this long weekend. Think Random Hall versus Baker — that’s how radically different Iron and Wine is from both the metal/hardcore festival I attended on Saturday and the electro-reggae Major Lazer concert I attended on Sunday at Wellesley. Tuesday night was a prelude to getting focused again, musically pre-gaming for the days ahead, prepping for the return from the four-day weekend. The concert whispered to me, telling me that this was the final moment of relaxation before I had to head back to the slave camp that had already consumed some of my friends for the whole long weekend.
THEATER REVIEW A-M-A-Z-I-N-G
The MIT Musical Theater Guild is performing The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee as their spring show, and this production is nothing short of phenomenal. Wisecracks about the unwieldy name aside, the Guild has put their best foot forward with Spelling Bee, and the result is a must-see.
CONCERT REVIEW West Campus goes hardcore
New England Metal and Hardcore Festival: A three-day event designed for only the most HxC (“hardcore”) individuals. The NEMHF has occurred annually in Worcester, Mass., at the Palladium ever since the festival’s inception in 1999.
CONCERT REVIEW Fresh sound, stale performance
This is TV on the Radio, one of a kind: wind chimes attached to the guitar. Whistling and clapping. And a rotating siren light.
ARTS ON CAMPUS Not your typical East Asian festival
Last Saturday, the MIT Asian Dance Team (ADT) hosted Inspirasian, the inaugural Boston Asian Performing Arts Festival. The festival, held at Kresge Auditorium, featured performing groups from throughout the Greater Boston Area and included performances that represented both East and South Asia.
THEATER REVIEW Dramashop gets it on
During the past two weeks, MIT Theater Arts and Dramashop presented La Ronde (Let’s Get it On), an adaptation of the original play by Austrian author and dramatist Arthur Schnitzler. It was translated and directed for the MIT community by Anna C. Kohler, MIT Senior Lecturer in Theater Arts.
The man behind the lens
This is a story of a man and his city. The man — legendary fashion photographer Bill Cunningham — has faithfully documented street style for The New York Times for decades. The city, as seen through his lens, hosts a menagerie of creative getups ranging from the elegantly subtle to the outrageously flashy. Cunningham’s extensive portfolio serves as a comprehensive anthology of the last half-century of New York fashion. Even now, still energetic at age 80, he bikes through the heart of New York City every day, chronicling noteworthy outfits with his analog film camera.
MOVIE REVIEW The man who lived for clothes
The fashion world has seen its fair share of strong personalities and peculiar characters. Ruthlessly honest and demanding Vogue editors, diva supermodels, and celebrity-obsessed designers seem to run rampant. The documentary on Bill Cunningham is not really about a renowned fashion photographer, but rather an artist and visual historian who happens to love his subjects very, very much.
MOVIE REVIEW LIMITLESS? NOT REALLY.
Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) is a loser whose life is falling apart. He is failing in his job as a writer, and his girlfriend (Abbie Cornish) dumped him. Soon after, Eddie accidentally meets his ex-wife’s brother, Vernon Gant (Johnny Whitworth), a drug dealer who sees directly through Eddie’s miserable existence. Vernon offers Eddie a new drug, promising that it will change his life for better by temporarily increasing his intelligence. Vernon claims that humans only use 20 percent of their brain and that the drug, called NZT, would enable Eddie to reach his full potential. Eddie hesitates, but due to his desperate situation, he eventually tries NZT and is surprised to find that it, indeed, focuses his attention and increases his intelligence. He immediately cleans up his messy apartment, writes a first draft of his book, and delivers the draft to his editor, who is stunned by the work. But soon, the effect of NZT drops, and Eddie senses a return to his lowlier existence.
THEATER REVIEW Sharp acting, humor cuts to the point
Next House presented its annual Next Act during CPW last weekend. This year’s production was The Scarlet Pimpernel, a musical based on the early 20th-century play and novel of the same name by Baroness Emmuska Orczy. The musical adaptation ran on Broadway from 1997 to 2000 and has since been performed in numerous venues across the country.
OPERA REVIEW The dawn of the future dramatic art
Ever felt that going to the opera is old-fashioned? Fear not. With his latest dramatic work Death and the Powers: The Robots’ Opera, MIT composer Tod Machover attempts to bring the operatic art solidly into the 21st century and a little beyond. Machovers’ opera is the most recent and most compelling display of technology-enabled art and technology as an art form. The show, which had its American premiere on March 18 in Boston’s Cutler Majestic Theatre, is a remarkable artistic achievement, enabled by cutting-edge MIT Media Lab technology that permeates all aspects of the production. The audience is exposed not only to stunning visuals and lighting effects, but also to innovative soundscapes generated by a mix of traditional instruments and electronic hyperinstruments — one of Machover’s pioneering inventions. The opera features human singers and, as the title suggests, robots (which are indeed real, sophisticated robotic machines, not just stand-in props). All performers, human and machine, interact seamlessly and compellingly. However, Death and the Powers also remains true to the operatic tradition and features a challenging, thought-provoking story, which persists in our minds long after the music has stopped and the technological flash has faded away. The opera was enthusiastically received at the sold-out premiere, with the audience engaged in a frantic, standing ovation at the end.
ALBUM REVIEW The Strokes slip back out of whack
For those of you who are hosed with psets, are busy promenading awesome prefrosh around, or have particularly short attention spans, I can summarize the long-awaited Strokes album Angles with a quick Facebook-centric anecdote, generated in the weeks leading to the album’s official release this past March:
BALLET REVIEW Dances with words
As I sat nervously in my seat in the enchanting Boston Opera House, many thoughts about Elo Experience raced through my mind. Would I be able to comprehend his work with my limited knowledge of ballet? Would I know what he is trying to say? But Elo’s words dissipated my concern: “I hope the audiences come with no expectations. I want them to arrive at the theatre with open hearts and open minds.” So I sat up straight, put on my glasses, and immersed myself in the magic of movements that were about to happen on stage.
MOVIE REVIEW Bieber movie features 3-D hair, flat story
It’s easy to make fun of Justin Bieber, but his commercial value is undeniable. His name and likeness is attached to everything from clothing to trading cards to nail polish. Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, the latest product from the Justin Bieber propaganda machine, is merely another way to suck money from his fans. It’s thinly disguised as an inspiring 3-D documentary about the 17-year-old’s journey from boy next door to international YouTube sensation to pop-idol-slash-force-of-nature. The film is structured around a countdown to his concert last August in the iconic Madison Square Garden, which sold out in 22 minutes. Strained vocal cords and a cold threaten his ability to perform at his biggest concert to date. Can the normal boy still fulfill his role as a superhuman pop star and make his fans happy?
THE STERNEWIRTH PRIVILEGE Wheat Wine Ale Wins
This week, we’re tasting Smuttynose Wheat Wine Ale. This beer is part of Smuttynose’s Big Beer Series, an ambitious set of brews that have more body and a higher alcohol content than their “core” offerings. In short, these beers are the pride and joy of Smuttynose and are meant to be treated specially. This is the first beer I’ve tried of the series, which earned very good recommendations from my friends.
THEATER REVIEW Romeo and Juliet takes new shape in old Verona
The MIT Shakespeare Ensemble performed Romeo and Juliet — at least, an interpretation of it — a few weeks ago, and for those who missed out, it only seems fair to share all that was unconventional about the production. To be perfectly blunt, this is not your high school’s time-updated, boyfriend-and-girlfriend-in-the-lead-roles, by-the-book production. Not even close.
MOVIE REVIEW ‘For those who fight for it, life has a flavor the sheltered will never know.’
After two years of production, Zack Snyder returns with his fifth big movie, Sucker Punch, which many fans have been eagerly awaiting. The film has all the characteristics that Snyder’s previous projects have been well known for, but it is partially overloaded with action sequences that do not essentially contribute to the storyline.
INTERVIEW American culture and six-headed babies
Last Tuesday, I had the chance to sit at a round table interview with Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, the comedy duo starring in and directing the upcoming alien comedy film Paul. The duo is perhaps best known for their two previous works, Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead, part of their Blood and Ice Cream trilogy. We spoke to Nick and Simon about a range of topics, from what it was like to work with the actors in Paul, to American culture, to 6 headed babies.
INTERVIEW A matchstick chat with Travie McCoy
Travie McCoy is perhaps best known for being the frontman of the alternative hip hop band Gym Class Heroes. More recently he’s recognized for the song “Billionaire” with Bruno Mars, and his debut solo album Lazarus. I spoke to Travie McCoy about Lazarus, and unfortunately, what I was hoping to be long, romantic fireside chat was cut to 15 minutes by his mean ol’ publicist — I could only squeeze in a matchstick worth of conversation.