Archive: 2016

The more things change the more they stay the same, especially in Stars Hollow.

In the end, its charms overcome its problems, but only just.

Less a movie than a marketing experience, ‘Good Fortune’ offers nothing good and little fortune for its audience.

With Halloween less than a week away and the long weekend of parties starting in days, most of us are probably still scrambling for the answer to that seasonal question – “what are you going to wear?”  In the spirit of Desert Trip (“Oldchella”) that took place a couple weekends ago and our 2013 list […]

Who would’ve guessed that members of Austin’s Latin funk projects Brownout and Grupo Fantasma would be responsible for one of most solid tributes to heavy metal legends Black Sabbath that has ever been made? After a handful of acclaimed Sabbath-centric live performances, this gaggle of musicians decided to immortalize their take on the band’s music […]

[rating=6.00] Todd Snider’s never been the easiest artist to understand. Part insurgent, often askew, he’s always been unpredictable even when he’s supposedly on track. Lately though, he appears to have derailed entirely, resurfacing in the form of an alter ego named Elmo Buzz, a wannabe musician who singled out Snider as his object of scorn. […]

What was most shocking about last night’s season seven premiere was how not shocking it was.

[rating=7.00] There’s something I found very strongly off-putting in the opening moments of The Tiger Hunter, a film by writer/director Lena Khan. Told through flashback, and narrated by the character of Sami (Danny Pudi, in a very distracting Indian accent), he tells of his father, a great warrior, and titular tiger hunter. He saved a […]

Plus, Jack Reacher loses out to Medea and news from Jessica Jones.

What happens when some of the finest purveyors of soul music in the modern era team up for an album? The Olympians, that’s what. With the venerable Daptone Records behind it, this all-star cast of musicians features members of  Charles Bradley, The Dap-Kings, Menahan Street Band, Budos Band, Tonight Show Band, Lee Fields, El Michels Affair, The Arcs, Sugarman 3, […]

Let’s get this out of the way first – Timothy B. Schmit doesn’t know what the future holds for the Eagles following the passing of founding member Glenn Frey in January. Now we can move on to other things, like Schmit’s new solo album, Leap Of Faith, released last month. A labor of love for […]

Phish concluded the second of two shows at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park in Alpharetta, GA with warm threads (red hoodie for Trey, “Big Coat” for Mike) and an epic “Simple” and an always welcomed “No Quarter.” Photos by Ian Rawn.  

On a beautiful balmy evening in Santa Barbara, Ian Andersen brought his new multimedia musical project to the elegant Arlington Theatre. Not to be confused with the hard rock band formed in 1968, one of the first to combine jazz, blues and classical music, this presentation featured Andersen’s latest touring band playing a performance piece […]

I wonder if anyone ever told Keith Urban that he is considered a country artist? Because the show he put on for the sold out crowd in New Orleans was definitely more rock than country & western. Curious as to how the other side of the music world spends a concert night, I slid into […]

It seemed an odd booking choice when it was announced that Alejandro Escovedo would play the tiny White Eagle in Portland. After all, he could have easily played a larger venue. But the living room-like feel of the room made it clear that the renowned musician was aiming for a different sort of vibe this […]

[rating=7.00] When most people think of Russia, rock music is not something that comes to mind. For many, the amount of Russian bands they know could be counted on less than one hand, and for most on less than one finger. However, the five-piece band Motorama from Rostov-on-Don, Russia has been recording post-punk and, more […]

Desierto is a beautiful looking film whose narrative never quite reaches the same level of quality.