Entertainment - Friday, December 12, 2008 9:33 - 0 Comments
Sex, Drugs, and Indecision in ‘Spain’
The subtitle of Spain calls the play “a f*cked-up comedy.” This label is not completely accurate. While the show is definitely a comedy, featuring copious copulation and minor substance usage, the play itself is not “f*cked-up.” In fact, it won the Outstanding New Play Award from NOW Magazine in Toronto. The Bridge Theatre Company’s current production, which runs through December 14, is seamlessly directed and solidly performed, such that the only f*cked-up thing about it is intentional: the characters are codependent to the point of inertia.
Eric (Todd d’Amour) is unemployed and struggling at the center of a strange, subtle love triangle. When his girlfriend Beth (Esther Barlow), an artist, returns from a six-month trip to Italy, Eric must distance himself from his friend Jared (played by the playwright, Michael Rubenfeld) in order to devote more time to his rocky relationship with Beth. Continue…
Entertainment - Monday, November 3, 2008 1:32 - 1 Comment
World/Inferno Friendship Society Head to Hell and Back on Halloween
When I signed on to follow the World/Inferno Friendship Society through the Halloween parade and into their annual Hallowmas concert, I had no idea of the fanaticism—bordering on mania—that I would encounter. No. Idea. The World/Inferno fans trump all.
About fifty devotees of all ages gathered in costume at the Webster Hall float, some arriving hours before the Halloween parade began. The day before, several hardcore supporters, led by the band’s web designer Brian Carter, had painted a giant banner, proudly displayed on the side of the float and proclaiming, “WORLD/INFERNO F.S. HALLOWMAS”.
As the band trickled in, rather than rush their idols, the Infernites continued to coolly chat amongst themselves. They shared covert swigs of rum. They smoked cigarettes. They seemed totally normal. I was naive.
Entertainment, Featured - Tuesday, October 28, 2008 0:22 - 0 Comments
Monotonix Tear Up NYC’s Blender Theatre
To say Monotonix are off the chain doesn’t even begin to do justice to the mayhem that their live shows inspire. Some new word or phrase needs to be invented to describe what happened at the Blender Theater on Saturday night. The Tel Aviv trio were accompanied by a throng of fans who had just attended the band’s earlier show in Williamsburg. The crowd tripled in size as Monotonix set up on the floor—not on the stage. Continue…
Entertainment - Monday, October 27, 2008 17:30 - 1 Comment
A Place To Bury Strangers Demolish Ears
A Place to Bury Strangers are aptly named. They inter listeners under a sonic shroud of strategically crafted feedback. Having seen the band open for Nine Inch Nails in Houston back in August, I arrived at the Bowery Ballroom armed with the most decibel-reducing earplugs sold at Walgreens. This purchase enabled me to actually hear the music, which sounds smartly executed when it’s not causing aural discomfort (hence my “pain-punk” classification of the band). Continue…
Entertainment - Thursday, October 9, 2008 2:45 - 1 Comment
Spinnerette Pop “Valium,” Still Freak Out
Do you know The Distillers? If not, you should.
Feminist alert: singer Brody Dalle is the deepest, throatiest, rawest gal in punk right now. She roared at the helm of The Distillers from 1998 to 2006. Since the L.A. band’s breakup, Dalle has joined an impressive lineup of musicians to form Spinnerette. Dalle and her Distiller bandmate Tony Bevilacqua team with Jack Irons (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam) and Alain Johannes (Queens of the Stone Age)—the resulting sound is a gnarlier Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Continue…
Entertainment, Hot Songs on Campus - Wednesday, October 1, 2008 14:45 - 0 Comments
Amanda Palmer Is A Gamer ["Guitar Hero"]
The first single from Amanda Palmer’s solo album Who Killed Amanda Palmer? jabs playfully at both the Guitar Hero video game phenomenon and human complacency in general. If the bouncy chorus gets stuck in your head, don’t blame us!
And now it’s trivia time. Continue…
Entertainment - Thursday, September 18, 2008 17:20 - 2 Comments
This Weekend’s Rock Shows and Sideshows
This weekend is the last chance this year to see the country’s only “ten-in-one” circus full of “freaks, wonders and human curiosities”, as described on the Coney Island website. Admission is a paltry $7.50 and features such performers as Insectavora, Donny Vomit, and Scott Baker the Twisted Shockmeister. What better way to bid the summer of 2008 goodbye than with a stroll through this collection of living oddities? It’s potentially thrilling… and definitely cheap! Continue…
Entertainment, Upcoming - Monday, September 15, 2008 0:10 - 1 Comment
Help Solve Amanda Palmer’s Murder
For a mere $10, decide for yourself Who Killed Amanda Palmer? at the New York screening premiere of six music videos directed by Michael Pope. The videos weave a mystery surrounding the fictional death of—you guessed it—Amanda Palmer, whose solo album of the same name also debuts on Tuesday. Continue…
Entertainment - Monday, September 8, 2008 11:23 - 1 Comment
Woman Says “Shave Me,” Calls It Art
On Sunday, August 31, performance artist Irina Danilova invited audience members to shave her head. Bald.
The Quadrennial Shaving Performance was hosted by The Tank, a non-profit organization that provides space to emerging artists of all disciplines, and occurred at the Manhattan Children’s Theatre. It was, however, not child’s play. Continue…
