Leisure

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

Leisure

Chinese Elvis meets dominatrix mom

Martha, Josie, and the Chinese Elvis is a great production, not just because of its endearing portrayal of people with problems but because Woolly Mammoth Theatre has made this play into something respectful on many levels.

By November 16, 2006

Leisure

LEDs, toys as art

What happens when you put 19 grandmas and a great-grandma in one room? An industrial-sized tea and scones party?

By November 16, 2006

Leisure

Jay-Z, Kingdom Come

Jay-Z’s coming-out-of-retirement album Kingdom Come features an older, wiser rapping from the secure throne of a music icon. On this album, he has nothing left to prove. He has transcended the shuck and jive of mainstream hip-hop to create an album showcasing more depth and maturity than many typical Jiggaman tracks.

By November 16, 2006

Leisure

Eurydice gets wet

When you walk into the Devine Theater in the Davis Performing Arts Center this week, the first thing you notice is the river in front of the stage. From the 12-foot scaffolding to the huge blue sheets that provide the backdrop, it is clear that this is a major production.

By November 9, 2006

Leisure

GU alum writes, speaks

Author of the novel, “Last of the Red Hot Poppas”, Berry will be on campus Thursday to talk about the current situation in New Orleans after Katrina and reminisce about its past through his new book.

By November 9, 2006

Leisure

Silver reflections of a District long past

Volkmar Wentzel’s camera captures stunning images of Washington: street lights glisten through the fog of late-night D.C. and reflect off the rain-slicked streets, giving familiar sights a mysterious quality.

By November 9, 2006

Leisure

Joanna Newsom: Ys

It is difficult to write a review, in the conventional sense of the word, of Joanna Newsom’s sophomore release, Ys, because it’s unlike any other record you’ll hear this year, this decade, or perhaps even your life. At least until Ms. Newsom releases her third album, that is.

By November 9, 2006

Leisure

Trail of Dead: So Divided

The Austin-based band brought post-punk to new musical and conceptual depths with their thought-provoking musical and lyrical mosaic Source Tags & Codes. But So Divided suggests that the band’s struggle to find new meaning in these depths has proved futile. The entire journey has left the group unsure of whether to continue searching or resign and conform to everything it used to love to hate.

By November 9, 2006

Leisure

Isis: _In the Absence of Truth_

Ever since heavy metal’s inception at the hands of four young men from Birmingham, that is to say Black Sabbath, the visionaries have pushed the genre’s boundaries. Isis have cemented their place among such visionary artists with the release of their latest album, In the Absence of Truth.

By November 9, 2006

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Chinese triathlon: three dishes, three restaurants, one winner

Branching out can be a tricky step when it comes to trying new delivery places. When it’s Chinese, perhaps the wiliest beast on the fast food delivery circuit, there’s reason to be suspect.

By November 9, 2006

Leisure

Sugartown: not as sweet as it sounds

The book’s theme is epitomized in the poem, whose namesake is the collection’s title—“Sugartown”: “and it’s nice, what it’s doing/what it’s done too/to that popsicle stick/it’s licking./But what it said earlier,/it hurt,/I can’t remember the words/exactly/but they hurt.”

By November 9, 2006

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Ordering your ‘06 picks

When the gentle rustling of autumn leaves begins to sound like the white noise of radio static, it can only mean one thing—it’s time to start compiling your Best Of 2006 album lists.

By November 2, 2006

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Ivri Lider: Israeli hero

“I’m what you call a pop star in Israel, and I’m gay and I’m out, so that by definition makes me an activist.”

By November 2, 2006

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Chatting with Blake Sennett of The Elected

Blake Sennett was basking under the sunny blue skies near Lake Arrowhead, CA, when The Voice caught up with him earlier this month to talk about music, DVDs and cuisine.

By November 2, 2006

Leisure

Borat urges you to touch his “khram”

There are very few movies I would unreservedly recommend before seeing them. Even fewer are so well publicized and eagerly anticipated that they aren’t in need of such recommendations. Borat accomplishes the impressive feat of fitting into both of those categories.

By November 2, 2006

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Running with Scissors trips up

With sex, drugs, smutty language and a slew of one-liners, Augusten Burroughs’ memoir Running With Scissors has all the ingredients of a great blockbuster. However, films rarely live up to their literary counterparts, and Nip/Tuck director Ryan Murphy has clearly made some nips and tucks that have left the story dull.

By November 2, 2006

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Lez’hur Ledger: Snoop Dogg’s grizzeat American novizzle

Awww, shizzle. Snoop Dogg wrote a novel. He’s ready to make an entrance on the literary scene, so back on up.

By November 2, 2006

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Mask and Bauble give it an Earnest try

Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is a play that consistently resists any attempt to add seriousness or gravity to the production. Mask and Bauble’s lively and entertaining production, running through Sunday, falters when it tries to imbue this terminally frivolous play with pathos and drama.

By November 2, 2006

Leisure

Death Cab: a band with serious Plans

“An album is only a snapshot of where a band is at a particular moment,” Nick Harmer, bassist for Death Cab for Cutie, said in anticipation of the band’s show at DAR Constitution Hall on Monday, Nov. 6. “The next time we make a record, we’ll be in completely different spaces.”

By November 2, 2006

Leisure

Tapes ‘n Tapes Interview

It’s hard to take Tapes ‘n Tapes seriously. They may seem like the latest ‘bloggers’-choice,’ over-hyped band of the moment, but where’s the drama, the attitude, the extraneous noise pollution? It doesn’t make sense—can this really be an indie band?

By October 26, 2006