ALBUM REVIEW Stars paint memories in shades of longing
If anyone asked me what band I could listen to without ever getting sick of them, I’d have to say hands down, it is Stars. Stars, a Canadian indie pop band, is closely related to the band Broken Social Scene (actually, all of the members of Stars are members of BSS). The band is known for setting poetry to music; it is difficult to describe their musical style without using the words beautiful or ethereal. Their characteristic electronic sound is interwoven with string instrumentation, narrative lyrics, and soothing, caressing vocals. Their songs range from whispered words to upbeat numbers. I can’t help but gush about the vocals. Quite a few of their songs feature duet vocals with Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan, whose voices create a harmony that cannot be duplicated easily.
Busboys and Poets
I’m struggling to put my finger on Busboys and Poets: part restaurant, part bookstore, part slam poetry venue, and all-around hipster. Their website describes their location as a “gathering place where people can discuss issues of social justice and peace [in] an environment where shared conversations over food and drink allow the progressive, artistic and literary communities to dialogue, educate and interact.” Sounds like something the Bohemians would say in the Moulin Rouge.
Urbana Restaurant & Wine Bar
DC in the summer is a town full of ambitious and caffeinated interns who, after 5 p.m., slide out of their awkward, ill-fitting new suits to hit up the various happy hours around town. I admit it’s been fun, but one night, I was looking for a change: I was willing to spend more than $1 per drink or appetizer in exchange for good food in even better company.
Lifestyle, Yes. Life and Style, No.
Today, Grace Kelly may just be the song title of a mildly annoying, sugar-coated pop song by Mika, but thirty years ago, Grace Kelly was one of the most photographed women of the twentieth century. An Academy Award-winning American actress, she became a film star just as suddenly as she married a real prince, became Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, and then tragically died in a car accident.
‘Black & White’ fades into grey
Jiri Kylian’s Black and White closed for Boston Ballet’s 2009-2010 season. It was a familiar return from its initial premiere with the Boston Ballet in 2005. With the exception of its performances in Boston, the pieces have only been performed in the Netherlands. Although back by popular demand, considering its contemporary avant-garde style, Black and White is still a unique addition in comparison to the other more classical pieces of the Boston Ballet season.
RESTAURANT REVIEW Fresh French feasts right in our backyard
I finally understand how Craigie On Main has appeared on the “Best of Boston” list year after year. After just my first visit, it easily moved to the top of my list, too. Off Main Street in Central Square, Craigie is anything but casual, perfectly pairing complex French cuisine with the simple taste of local New England. Classic 1920s prints decorate one wall, while another is adorned with myriad cooking pots and books. The rustic French design is complimented by a spacious open kitchen where diners can watch Chef Tony Maws busy at his art. The menu fluctuates with the seasons, and it’s compiled only with the freshest and often organic, but always local meats, fish, and vegetables. If you’re craving passionfruit out of season, you won’t find it on this menu. But if you want the richest, tangiest rhubarb flavor during the spring, the “Market Fruits Crisp” paired with canela ice cream is definitely for you.
RESTAURANT REVIEW Jazz it up with some EVOO
Though I don’t normally think of Kendall Square as the happenin’ place in town (most of the Cambridge nightlife and restaurants are clustered in Central Square), EVOO has spiced up the scene and brought the crowds to an area previously devoid of palatable pizazz. EVOO (which stands for “extra virgin olive oil”), though new to the Kendall Square area behind the Mariott hotel, is no newbie to the culinary world. The restaurant moved from Somerville just over a month ago.
BALLET REVIEW Balanchine presented via a trio sampler
The<i> Ultimate Balanchine</i> is not a ballet centralized around a single storyline. It instead focuses on the famous choreographer George Balanchine (1904-1983), known both for his mastery of traditional ballet technique and for his revolutionary style that founded modern ballet. The <i>Ultimate Balanchine</i> is a compilation of three of Balanchine’s ballets: <i>The Four Temperaments</i>, <i>Apollo,</i> composed by Igor Stravinsky, and <i>Theme and Variations,</i> composed by Tchaikovsky. The very distinct styles piece together form a program that displays the extensive range of Balanchine’s career.
MOVIE REVIEW Iron Man II is a tofu salad after prime steak
When I first heard of <i>Iron Man 2</i>, I felt my expectations torn between two conflicting masters. On the one hand, the film is a sequel to <i>Iron Man </i>and contains everything that I love in a movie: robots, explosions, and a protagonist who isn’t Shia LaBoeuf. On the other hand, the movie is a sequel, period. Nothing is better the second time around; from KISS reunion tours to warfare in Iraq, sequels are always a mistake. So not surprisingly, the film fails to live up to its predecessor. If watching <i>Iron Man</i> was like the first prime steak you ever had, then watching Iron Man 2 is like following it up with a veggie burger and a tofu salad.
CONCERT REVIEW Feathered headdresses, hypnotizing songs
After much anticipation, Jónsi finally decided to take a breather from Sigur Rós and go solo. Upon walking on stage, he looks shy and unassuming. With his feathered headdress and raggedy clothes, I imagined him and his band as nomads who go from place to place to tell a powerful story about the journey to freedom. As soon as he parted his lips to sing, the crowd quieted down to listen.
INTERVIEW Learning to enunciate
Cymbals Eat Guitars first entered my consciousness as the most indie named band of 2009. But then the buzz started filtering in. “Have you heard that band that channels Pavement from Staten Island?” And, “oh I love Cymbals Eat Guitars, they’re that band from Staten Island that sounds like Modest Mouse.”
CONCERT REVIEW Beware the orchestra nerd
They’re clearly the most fun to make fun of in middle school and high school. Among a sea of athletes and garage bands, the pianists, percussionists, the trumpeteers, the clarinetists, and even violinists are social outcasts in the grand scheme of ridiculous adolescent social circles. But in the musical hierarchy, they’re somehow top dog. They’re cool; they sit at the back of the bus during band tours. Somehow they exude confidence, knowing they command the respect of the small circle of art aficionados, of the small enclave adults and peers that cultivate this sort of erudition.
DOUBLE SOY LATTE, PLEASE! You say good pie, I say hello Petsi Pies serves up classic American baked goods in a funky-fresh atmosphere
Businesses that alliterate their names make me nervous. As in, “Lovely Loyal Landscapers,” “Cool Carpet Cleaners,” or perhaps worst of all, “Julie’s Jubilant Jewelry Shop”. That last one conjures up images of a fourteen year-old girl with braces and pigtails making lanyards in her room, selling them from her front porch, getting the change wrong and definitely not filing her taxes. But thanks to the recent announcement by the mighty mindful MWRA to boil Boston’s broken pipe water, I found myself café-hopping on the safe side of the river and quite spontaneously stumbled into Petsi Pie. With a name like that, located in a neighborhood full of quaint front porches near Harvard Square, I couldn’t help but be highly skeptical.
INTERVIEW On pop, technology, and the 90s
<i>Cobra Starship, the dance/synth/pop group will be coming to Boston on May 9 at the House of Blues. I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to speak with the articulate and thoughtful Ryland Blackinton, the guitarist, about the band, Boston, and music. Thanks to Kelly McWilliam from Atlantic Records for making it happen.</i>
CONCERT REVIEW A misty-eyed ‘Sing Delivery’ wraps up the year The heartfelt performances at the Chorallaries spring concert got even the audience teary
Last Friday, April 30th, the Chorallaries of MIT sang in their annual spring concert, aptly titled “Sing Delivery” by virtue of the fact that the sophomores’ Ring Delivery fell on the same night. The Chorallaries are MIT’s oldest coed a cappella group, known for their ambitious arrangements and solid vocals. This last concert served as an enthusiastic showcase of both their never-before-heard singles and classics from years before.
INTERVIEW No such thing as too much rhythm
<i>The White Rabbits put on a show last Saturday night I can only describe as a whirlwind of rhythm someone lobbed a grenade into. Their songs are constructed from the shambles and wreckage. A descending piano line here, a trebled vibrato of guitars, and the strain of vocals, all scattered and re-assembled in the deafening echo chamber of that neverending percussion.</i>
CONCERT REVIEW Los Campesinos!, take two.
I miss Aleks Campesinos. The waifish redhead keyboardist seemed even smaller in person when I saw Los Campesinos! last year. Dwarfed by the keyboard, she looked straight out of a college band recital. Same went for the rest of the band. Average height, average looks. I don’t know what parts indie rockers are supposed to play, but none of the members of Los Campesinos! were cast to fit the bill.
MOVIE REVIEW Contradictions, deceit, and dirty politics
“Cartel,” <i>noun</i>, is just another word for a trust, a coalition and in some ways, a monopoly. A cartel is also what former Bloomberg Television reporter Bob Bowdon labels the American education system. Given the United States’ persistent anti-trust efforts, shouldn’t they have already scrutinized and addressed this increasingly out-of-control industry? Perhaps the problem is that few actually know about all the messy politics entangled with our schools. In Bowdon’s 90-minute rapid-fire documentary, he makes sure that his audience understands that in addition to health care and the economy, there is another crisis in this country.
SPECIAL FEATURE Rock star of the classical world visits MIT
Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel visited MIT during Patriot’s Day weekend to receive this year’s $75,000 Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts, conducting the MIT Symphony Orchestra in an open rehearsal and taking part in a panel discussion on music education.