Leisure

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

Leisure

Milton Avery’s Evolution

A table with a fruit bowl defying gravity conjures Cezanne, an arbitrarily colored room with a foreshortened table and window suggests Matisse, and a Cubist figure shouts Picasso, but upon closer look, they all are Milton Avery. The exhibit “Discovering Milton Avery: Two Devoted Collectors, Louis Kaufman and Duncan Phillips” at the Phillips Collection chronicles Avery’s works and presents his evolution with the times.

By the March 4, 2004

Leisure

Gotta appreciate–slow lori and hippopotami

Few members of the animal kingdom are nobler than the hippopotamus, that valiant champion of great African rivers. This oft-misunderstood creature is possibly the most powerful and ferocious species to be found in the bestiary of the great savannas, more dangerous than any croc or glorified housecat.

By the March 4, 2004

Leisure

Road Trip

I was in Charleston, W. Va., a few weeks ago, and despite my friend’s propensity to inflect his voice with the mannerisms of a southern belle when driving anywhere vaguely away from the mid-Atlantic seaboard, there hadn’t yet been anything particularly regional or interesting about the trip.

By the March 4, 2004

Leisure

Faring the ‘Weather Underground’

LEISURE BY CHRIS NORTON Seen in film today, Mark Rudd seems just like every other flower child gone to seed you ever might have met. The same is true of Bill Ayers and Bernadette Dohrn, still wearing their denim jackets and paisley sundresses, respectively. The names don’t ring a bell, but in these aged activists’ demeanor you can recognize the same resignation that marks their generation’s reflection on the past.

By March 4, 2004

Leisure

Meet Michael Franti & Spearhead

“I just want to take this time to announce that during the show, the use of cameras, videotapes, audiotapes, and other types of recording devices,” announces Michael Franti, in his two hour opening set for Ziggy Marley, as several people quickly hide their digitals in their pockets, “are all fine with me!” he shouts.

By the March 4, 2004

Leisure

Cabaret out to prove student talent

LEISURE BY NEAL COLL Looking for a good excuse to blow off studying for that Econ midterm Thursday night? Giving up hard drinking for Lent? Tired of not rocking out? A solution is at hand, and it goes by the name of Cabaret. This year’s Cabaret promises to be an excellent show; make sure to catch it this Thursday and Saturday nights.

By the February 26, 2004

Leisure

‘Mars2K4′: astronomy nerds’ heaven?

Mars2K4, the new Mars exhibit at The National Geographic Museum’s Explorers Hall is your best chance of getting up close and personal with the infamous red planet. Loosely divided into three sections, the exhibit begins with a look at the place of Mars in classical astronomy.

By the February 26, 2004

Leisure

The Walkmen on the record

It seemed a couple of years back that a great number of fashionably dressed young New Yorkers had suddenly rediscovered the ‘70s. The Strokes with their trust funds and upscale girlfriends made sounding bored the new cool, while Interpol ogled bands like Television and Joy Division.

By the February 26, 2004

Leisure

He’s got the beat

James brown is a machine alright-a beating machine, that is. Recently, he was arrested for throwing his defenseless fourth wife on the ground and holding an iron chair over her head. This is no shock however, as it is his third domestic violence offense (which means one poor woman got out scot-free), not to mention his many drug abuse charges, one of which earned him two and a half years in prison.

By the February 26, 2004

Leisure

‘Dreamers’ bares souls, genitals

LEISURE BY MARY KATHERINE STUMP You expect sex and controversy from a movie by Bernardo Bertolucci, a man who once referred to Hollywood as “the big nipple” in an Oscar acceptance speech. Indeed, the majority of his latest film, The Dreamers, rated NC-17, is a tit bit nipply. French actors Luis Garrel and Eva Green and American Michael Pitt bare all in a tale of sexual seclusion and revolutionary ideals amidst the Parisian riots of 1968.

By the February 19, 2004

Leisure

Napoleonic lesson for ‘Triplets’

Tired of bloated, mediocre blockbusters? Maybe you would prefer to see a surreal cartoon for adults that veers between the pleasantly bizarre and the utterly nightmarish. Maybe you don’t think dialogue is necessary in a movie, or perhaps you prefer that your films be melancholy, animated and French.

By the February 19, 2004

Leisure

‘Douglas Gordon’ exhibit explores identity

A walk through Scottish artist Douglas Gordon’s exhibit at the Hirshhorn is an exploration of the complexities of the human psyche. Using photography, text, mirrors and video installations, Gordon invites you to be a voyeur of his intimate self-exploration and to examine the contradictions, double meanings and intricacies of all human experience.

By the February 19, 2004

Leisure

‘Boy in da Corner,’ Dizzee Rascal, Matador

Born Dylan Mills, Dizzee Rascal is a brilliant 19-year-old MC whose debut Boy In da Corner is an aurally harsh documentary of urban Brit life. Dizzee’s cockney raps are the center of attention, there are no rhythms to grab on to, and the rough-around-the-edges production only adds to the discomfort.

By the February 19, 2004

Leisure

‘Waves,’ Ride, The First Time

Besides the Beatles, Ride was the band that Oasis always wishes they could have been. Ride was the most dynamic live act of musicians characterized by their tendency to perform with their backs to the audience and staring down at their feet while playing effects-laden electric guitars and dreamy, psychedelic melodies.

By the February 19, 2004

Leisure

Mo’Rocca

Most of us subsist on snacking at Vittles, giving in to Leo’s and calling Domino’s. Without extra time or money, food is just a matter of convenience, not entertainment. With great ambiance, seven courses and a belly dancer, Marrakesh, the District’s premiere Moroccan restaurant, has been proving for decades that the key to great eating is making a meal an event.

By the February 19, 2004

Leisure

The Intricacies of Scarf-Tying

Ready to help dress up a basic shirt, accessorize for an evening out, or stay warm in winter with an array of scarves and versatile tying methods, fit for him and her?

1. The Pull-Through

This basic scarf tying method flatters a variety of scarves and necks, and is easy to master.

By the February 12, 2004

Leisure

Monsoon, Preston School of Industry, Matador

Since the release of the masterpiece Slanted and Enchanted in 1992, Pavement has been the indie rock standard for comparison. The five records the band released represented, in many cases, the best the genre had to offer. When Pavement split in 1999, second songwriter/rhythm guitarist Scott “Spiral Stairs” Kannberg formed Preston School of Industry.

By the February 12, 2004

Leisure

Everyone Deserves Music, Spearhead, BMG

Although Michael Franti and his band Spearhead have played with U2, Dave Matthews, Trey Anastasio and Ani di Franco, not many people outside of Northern Calif. even know their name. With their latest album, Everyone Deserves Music, and an international tour with Ziggy Marley, this may all change.

By the February 12, 2004

Leisure

Kitsch

If, like me, you find it increasingly difficult to enjoy a movie for anything other than its kitsch value, you appreciate the need for a movie that straddles the fine line between unbearable pacing and refreshing unevenness. Fortunately, Video Americain, located in Takoma Park, Md.

By the February 12, 2004

Leisure

‘Crimson Gold’ delivers

LEISURE BY PHIL MARCELLO There is controversy surrounding “Crimson Gold,” and that, more than anything, has generated critical acclaim and curiosity. Based on a true story, it was banned in Iran for its criticism of Iranian society. This criticism is not the focus of the film, nor is the crime that occurs.

By the February 12, 2004