Leisure

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

Leisure

Death in Wisconsin

The “folk opera” Wisconsin Death Trip, now playing at the Gonda Theater, is based on a book/art piece consisting of archival photographs from Wisconsin in 1890, framed by newspaper reports, asylum records and other “primary sources.” Apparently, 1890s Wisconsin was a terrible place to be, and people suffered a rash of suicides, murders, insanity and general mayhem. The play sort of frames this story with the perspective of a Reagan-era drifter, a possible heir to the misery of the American Midwest.

You now know as much about the plot of this show as I do, and I saw it. More about sustaining a tone than creating a story, the play doesn’t really “go” anywhere.

By January 31, 2008

Leisure

Bildungsroman in Iran

A film like Persepolis, which is set amidst extreme political turmoil, runs the risk of being identified as simply about conditions during the Iranian Revolution. While the spirited protagonist Marjane lives in a country that becomes increasingly veiled, repressive and dangerous, the film appeals to emotions more than politics, and tells an engaging story about a curious young girl who grows up on her own terms.

By January 31, 2008

Leisure

Grab your glasses: 3D U2

U2 3D, the first live-action film shot, produced and screened in 3D, is certainly a visual thrill. The hyper-realistic film manages to rival a live concert by U2, which is either a delight or drudgery, depending on your opinion of the material. The band is tight and certainly looks like one that has been touring aggressively since its inception in 1976, but watching Bono and for over an hour is difficult if you don’t buy into the band’s self-perpetuated “biggest band in the world” myth.

By January 31, 2008

Leisure

It’s alive! The yuppies … not so much

Pack the Dramamine, kids, because Cloverfield—the newest creation from Lost/Alias wunderkind J.J. Abrams—is a visceral thrill ride with a few new twists on the classic monster-destroys-New York trope.

By January 24, 2008

Leisure

Diary of a Bad Year: Not so bad for marginalia

Imagine reading an essay on political theory that has a note scrawled along the bottom of the page in the author’s handwriting. It describes a young woman he has just seen walk into a laundromat wearing a “tomato-red shift … startling in its brevity.” Notes continue on pages throughout the essay, bit-by-bit, developing into a suspenseful tale of the relationship between the writer and the woman, while interacting with the philosophical work with which it shares the page. This is the basic format of J.M. Coetzee’s inventive new novel, Diary of a Bad Year.

By January 24, 2008

Leisure

One too many dresses?

As you would expect from the writer of The Devil Wears Prada and the director of Step Up, 27 Dresses is a romantic comedy we’ve all seen before: within the first few minutes, you’ll recognize the formula and be able to predict most of the plot. The clichés are numerous—the unrequited love, the beautiful and bratty sister, the sharp-tongued best friend and the irksome acquaintance turned love interest. Original, this movie is not. But enjoyable? Surprisingly, yes.

By January 24, 2008

Leisure

The Mars Volta, The Bedlam in Goliath

The Mars Volta, led by former At the Drive-In members Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, have long been divisive in the critical world. Their spastic progressive rock has won them as many detractors as fans, and that’s not likely to change with their fourth album, The Bedlam in Goliath. Still, the album is an exciting development for the band’s sound, which is faster and more focused than on their previous albums.

By January 24, 2008

Leisure

He’s Not There

By the time you read this Heath Ledger will have been dead for at least about 48 hours. Yet his death and his life have already been discussed, examined and analyzed, the analysis analyzed, a thousand theories raised and discarded and made into cover stories.

By January 24, 2008

Leisure

Fast food that’s just plain un-American

In Georgetown, pricey bistros are a dime a dozen, but there are few opportunities for a college student looking for a quick bite that’s both economical and delicious. For the adventurous eater on a budget looking for something other than Chipotle and Five Guys, here are a few recommendations.

By January 17, 2008

Leisure

Sifting through the thrift in D.C.

You hate everything in your closet, that duct tape won’t hold your favorite pair of pants together any longer or you need a new set of dishes. Whatever the reason, you need to shop. There is a healthy alternative to the extravagant prices and looming sales floor assistants behind those gleaming storefront windows on M street. If you are a fan of recycling and a good bargain, then “thrifting” may be your calling.

By January 17, 2008

Leisure

Critical Voices: Dengue Fever

L.A.-based sextet Dengue Fever has the kind of back-story that’ll crinkle more than a few cynical noses: five white dudes from the United States travelled to Cambodia, fell in love with that country’s ‘60s psych-rock output, enlisted Cambodian pop singer Ch’hom Nimol and released a self-titled album comprised almost entirely of Cambodian pop-rock covers. Luckily, over the course of seven years the band has melded its diverse influences into a strikingly distinct Cambodian-pop-meets-Ethiopian-jazz aesthetic that in no way hints at the white-boy cultural misappropriation its back-story suggests.

By January 17, 2008

Leisure

Critical Voices: Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend began their career like most college bands: toiling away in the relative obscurity of bars around campus. Eventually, though, the indie press noticed their clever mixture of well-crafted melodic pop, African rhythms and New York rock sensibilities, prompting XL Recordings to sign them and put out their very good eponymous first album. Its youthful energy, more than its oft-touted world influence, makes it a compelling and involving listen.

By January 17, 2008

Leisure

She’s all that… jazz

Crandall hopes to introduce new music to her peers. “The two artists I admire most are Ellen Fitzgerald and Sara Vaughan,” she said. “Too often, I hear that jazz is for old people. I want to enlarge that age range. There are so many styles and ways you can approach [jazz] that I hope [people our age] will open up to it.”

By January 17, 2008

Leisure

2007’s best?

For me, the best album of 2007 was Animal Collective’s Strawberry Jam. Despite the critical gravitation toward frontrunners such as Radiohead’s In Rainbows and LCD Soundsystem’s Sound of Silver, Jam provided the most exciting batch of songs last year, effortlessly progressive in execution and more cohesive than the band’s earlier releases. I read the year-end, “best-of” lists like anyone else and compared my thoughts to other critics, but I’m a big boy—I can make my own opinions.

By January 17, 2008

Leisure

Patrician food at plebeian prices

If you find yourself forgetting how to use utensils because your diet consists entirely of finger-food favorites like bagels and pizza, you’re in luck. There are only three days left of D.C.’s Restaurant Week (extended at some places like Farrah Olivia), when the best restaurants in the city offer top-quality cuisine for a fixed price of $20.08 for lunch and $30.08 for dinner in honor of the new year.

By January 17, 2008

Leisure

Leave the “House,” ASAP

“House of Blue Leaves” wants to say something, and touches on a lot of grand themes—fame and media in society, the individual in our saturated world, the tension between dreams and reality. Unfortunately, it just ends up a mess, so nothing much comes through. One leaves feeling battered, rather than contemplative.

By January 17, 2008

Leisure

Not cool

It’s January. In January, wearing a sundress when the thermometer hits sixty degrees is the fashion equivalent of wetting your pants with excitement: overzealous, and (eventually) uncomfortably cold.

By January 17, 2008

Leisure

Decaying Photos

Christopher Myers’ “Standing on Two Eyes” is a refreshing departure from the modern-day overkill of digital photography, confronting the unrest of urban gentrification with a collection of hauntingly beautiful and nostalgic black and white giclee (a type of fine-art ink-jet) prints.

By December 6, 2007

Leisure

El Pollo Rico: a taste of Peru

Some restaurants do everything decently, others do a few things well and a small number do one thing spectacularly. Just as Ben’s Chili Bowl is all about the chili, El Pollo Rico earns its customers by serving delicious chicken.

By December 6, 2007

Leisure

Performing LGBTQ Awareness

In the wake of the two hate crimes against LGBTQ students that occurred at Georgetown earlier this year, Nomadic Theater’s Square Pegs Productions will present a staged reading of Moises Kaufman’s The Laramie Project tonight.

By December 6, 2007