Leisure

Reviews and think pieces on music, movies, art, and theater.



Leisure

On Homesick, Angelica Cox yearns for simpler days

Amid this season suspended between endings and beginnings, Angelica Cox is feeling, understandably, Homesick (2024). 

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Odie Leigh brings a little pop-punk to your sad girl autumn in D.C.

Electrifying energy was brewing for Odie Leigh—and when the Louisiana native took the stage, she doubled it.

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A Drag Queen Christmas: Your next holiday season tradition

As far as holiday traditions go, A Drag Queen Christmas certainly made its case for me to add it to my list of seasonal shows to attend.

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Gladiator II is an archetypal sequel

Gladiator II is a respectable film, worth the movie ticket but perhaps not a rewatch.

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Wicked: Magic from stage to screen

Wicked had big shoes to fill, but I dare say that they sized up.

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DCAF: Georgetown’s a cappella hits all the right notes

From Car Barn to Southwest Quad, DC A Cappella Fest is an opportunity to feature the best of a cappella in the District—at least west of Wisconsin Ave.  

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In liminal space, mxmtoon attempts to explore the unknown, but doesn’t venture quite deep enough

mxmtoon seems to have traded her ukulele for a banjo—with limited success.

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The “Holy Trinity” walked so Kylie Minogue could fall behind

Kylie Minogue’s new album, Tension II (2024), feels more repetitive and recursive than ever.

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Alice Phoebe Lou stuns in magical opening performance

Alice Phoebe Lou not only sounded like one, but throughout her set, the singer performed like a fairy as well: magical in all aspects of the word. 

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Songs Of a Lost World channels the gloomily sublime in a perfect gothic rock revival

Songs Of a Lost World is a pinnacle in modern music, soaring above uninspired radio hits.

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Event Preview: A Drag Queen Christmas, Nov. 17, Warner Theatre

A Drag Queen Christmas combines the magic and whimsy of the holidays with the flair and artistry that drag offers.

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The ‘90s are calling, and Katie Gavin’s What A Relief answered

What A Relief is more than an album—it’s a diary entry, penned over seven years with honesty and vulnerability.

Halftime Leisure

Blue Lock Season 2: Transformation of the sports anime genre or a downturn from its legacy?

If you’re looking for a refreshing, antiheroic sports anime that will overturn your perception of soccer and teamwork, Blue Lock is guaranteed to have you “locked-in.”

Leisure

Folger Theatre’s contemporary reimagining of “Romeo and Juliet” is quintessentially D.C.

Folger Theatre has breathed new life into Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.”

Halftime Leisure

The highs and lows of group Halloween costumes 2024

’Tis the season to get spooky (and creative!) with your costumes, and what better way to do that than with a group of your closest friends (or bitterest rivals?). 

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Sun Room brings Californian melodies to D.C.

Although their following might be relatively small, Sun Room’s rise to stardom feels imminent.

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Charli xcx switches it up on the remix

The world has been blessed with Charli’s new testament—brat and it’s completely different but also still brat (2024). 

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The French Cassettes have it all but are still missing an arcade

After 18 years of working together, The French Cassettes are masters of having fun up on stage.

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Smile 2 ups the stakes and the scares

Smile 2 is certainly not winning any awards any time soon, but it does stand out as a thrilling entry in the slog of horror flicks.

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Poignant and authentic, A24’s We Live in Time is a fleeting tale of devotion and grief

To race against time is to lose, and Almut hates losing.