Shop Local: Beach Theatre
Behind its Art Deco façade, the of the credit for that has to go to Hollywood screenwriter and owner Michael France, (right), who stocks the movie house he’s owned since 2007 with a little something for everyone: first-run mainstream films (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button arrives Dec. 25), cult flicks (The Big Lebowski), indie…
How many emcees want to be emcees?
So you think you want to be a rapper, eh? It’s more hard work and hustle than Hennessy and hoes. Gone is the time where you create a little buzz and then sit back and wait for a label/lottery ticket to come and rescue you from your day job. In fact, these days you might…
Does My Band Need a .com Website?
Yes. Even though you can host your files on a free site like MySpace, I recommend you spend the $40 per year for a domain and hosting for your own dot com Website. Here's why: Do you remember a Website called MP3.com? Before MySpace and before Napster brought the industry to their knees, MP3.com was…
Imaginative show with of Montreal, Fiery Furnaces & Fire Zuave
An otherwise ordinary Monday evening was transformed into a fantastic inferno of colors, costumes and characters at The Ritz featuring Of Montreal, Fiery Furnaces, and Fire Zuave. It was impressive how many people were in attendance given the competition with the Bucs game and it being a Monday. Proof positive that the Tampa area has…
Joe Satriani claims Coldplay stole his tune: You decide
I'm always fascinated by music copyright infringement claims. One the one hand, there are only a finite number of musical notes that can be fit together in so many ways. On the other hand, it seems odd to me that two acts could write virtually the same melody independently of each other. The latest flap…
Food Tastes Better with Science
The most recent Government Accountability Office review (.pdf) notes that genetically engineered (aka GE, genetically modified or GM) food is getting into places where it doesn't belong. "Unauthorized releases of GE crops into food, animal feed, or the environment beyond farm fields have occurred, and it is likely that such incidents will occur again." So,…
Of Montreal covers Tom Petty!
Last night's Of Montreal show at the Ritz in Ybor was… Well, you really had to be there. If Leilani survived last night, I'm sure she'll give us the full run down. I last saw her with a group of people heading down 7th Ave after the show. Her husband, Phil, kept trying to get…
Langerado announces lineup
This just arrived in my inbox about two minutes ago. Rather than ramble on about how cool Langerado is (and it is by far the coolest fest in Florida), or analyze the roster (truth be told, I've barely looked at it), I'll simply pass on the info: 7TH ANNUAL LANGERADO MUSIC FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES INITIAL ARTIST…
Will I debut on CL Sessions or will CL Sessions debut on me?
My memory of the event is not very clear. I showed up at the CL office in Tampa, ate a slice of pizza, listened to some Muay Thai boxers beat the shit out of what Stephen Hammill, CL's online producer, assured me were anatomically correct mannequins and then it all goes blank. I think Joran Oppelt, CL's Marketing and Promotions Director, may have slipped a roofie…
The Knux: best new hip-hop act of 2008
Rock and rap had largely forged an unholy alliance thanks to such clown acts as Limp Bizkit. But that's changed (thanks God!) with forward-thinking young groups like Gym Class Heroes and the most brilliant new hip-hop act of 2008, The Knux. Comprised of brothers Krispy Kream and Rah Al Millio, the sibling duo was born…
Zoo Accreditation Group suspends Lowry Park Zoo and its CEO Lex Salisbury
It's been a bad week for Lex Salisbury.
Cheap Champagne Alternatives: Cava and Prosecco
With New Year's Eve approaching, and with the inflated Euro jacking the cost of French Champagne, 'tis time to look for more affordable options for your day-after-decadence hangover. Thankfully for the financially challenged, the Italians make Prosecco and the Spaniards craft cava. Cava, named after the caves in which this sparkling wine is stored, is…
Pep up your holidays with this Peppermint Bark recipe
While a LARGE amount of my money is funneled into Williams-Sonoma's glorious pockets, it will not be going to the purchase of their ridiculously expensive Peppermint Bark. Yes it is heavenly, but come on — us food savvy people can make our own for a fraction of the price. Sure, we won't be getting the…
Panthers run all over Bucs
Talk about getting exposed. This was worse than one of those dreams where you find yourself in public in your underwear. (What, you never had one of those dreams?) The Bucs must've spent a lot of time in the post-game locker room examining the cleat marks all over their bodies, courtesy of the Panthers rushing…
Reel Projections, Tuesday December 9
First things first: It's that time of year when movie critics issue their best-ofs, and here's three of them. Time magazine has published its Top 10 films of 2008, and it’s a New on DVD/Blu-ray today: Horton Hears a Who, Man on Wire, and the film we've all been waiting for: The Dark Knight, whose…
The Short List: Rev. Wright just won’t go away
The Rev. Wright ad that didn't run — until ABC News got hold of it: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK5ueV-dqsc&feature=bz302[/youtube] "You can call me Al": Prez-Elect Obama and Prez-That-Almost-Was Gore sit down for a chat today. Jay Leno is headed for prime time. Do we really want Bush choosing our "car czar"? If you were Madonna's interior designer, you'd…
Best songs of 2008 (for Beth)
It's that time of year again. Time for holiday hoopla. Time for yuletide cheer. Time for year-end best-of lists, especially if you're that endangered species known as a "working music critic." This occupation makes me nervous these days. But I love making lists. And mix CDs. Especially for my siblings. My younger sister Beth is…
Brilliant Brando Bio and a Thousand Nights at the Movies
There’s an old story about James Stewart, the late, great American actor. A fellow walked up to him once on a movie set and said, “You were in a picture once. You were in a room. You said a poem about fireflies.” The man paused. “That was good.” And that little incident gave Stewart the…
John Lennon, Oct. 9, 1940-Dec. 8, 1980
It was early Tuesday morning, December 9. I was 9 years old and living on 30th Terrace in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida. I must have been eating my breakfast and getting ready for school. My memory of this day has all the clarity of a dream, except for one element: I still can recall watching the…
Flaming Lips miss with ’Mars’
Wayne Coyne's film Christmas on Mars is an abysmal clunker, even by vanity-project standards. It's a mostly black-and-white, sci-fi, faux philosophical adventure strongly indebted to Stanley Kubrick's infinitely superior 2001:A Space Odyssey and David Lynch's pioneering, if equally obnoxious, Eraserhead. Whereas Flaming Lips live shows are charmingly weird and fun, the band's silver screen debut…
Three prominent Top 10 album surveys released.
The Loaf music staff, Snider and Tatangelo, will be issuing our Top 10 albums of the year later this month, but the ball is already rolling. Here are the year-end best-of lists from Time, New York and England's The Guardian. Click on the name of each mag and it'll take you directly to their survey.…
In Pictures: No Age and Les Savy Fav
On Saturday night at Czar, No Age (pictured left) and Les Savy Fav took the stage to help the Skatepark Of Tampa celebrate 16 years of ollies, kick flips, face plants and punk rock. The free PBR was flowing, the kids were ready to explode and the bands were melting faces. How could you not…
4 Reasons Your Songs Need Pre-Production
Recording can be very expensive for inexperienced musicians on tight budgets. Unless you have spent dozens of hours in a recording studio, it can be tough to envision how long things can take and how different recording to regular-old practicing in the garage. After spending 8-12 hours in a dimly-lit recording studio, you can easily…
Three prominent Top 10 album lists released
The Loaf music staff, Snider and Tatangelo, will be issuing our Top 10 albums of the year later this month, but the ball is already rolling. Here are the year-end best-of lists from Time, New York and England's The Guardian. Click on the name of each mag and it'll take you directly to their survey.…
Free Shit: Movies, calendars and other stocking stuffers
I usually try to avoid the random free shit available on the Internet — much of it is rife with registration forms and hidden fees — but I found a bunch of offers that require little effort from you. And they make good stocking stuffers: There's a plethora of free 2009 calendars online from a…
Lily Allen has ’The Fear’
I'm totally digging Lily Allen's brilliant, highly hypnotic new single "The Fear" (see clip below). It's a disco-beat dagger in the plastic heart of celebrity culture and the first single/video from her wonderfully titled new album It's Not Me, It's You, which drops Tuesday. Here's the skinny: It's Not Me, It's You is both a…
Les Savy Fav, No Age at Czar to celebrate 16 years of SPOT
I have always been a terrible skateboarder. Lord knows I've tried: the aesthetics of physical activity, reckless abandon and risk of personal injury appeal to me on an ideological level, but my lack of skill and commitment caused many bad and embarrassing falls. I even listen to semi obscure hardcore punk bands like Big Boys,…
Questionable parenting: Check this kid’s ID!
How do bartenders make money? By selling drinks to thirsty people and hopefully receiving a generous percentage in return. To maximize this symbiotic relationship, a bar needs customers, product and access all in good measure. Now put yourself in the scene at a local watering hole on a recent Friday night. There are people everywhere,…
Desert Bus For Hope generates over $69k for charity in grueling boredom marathon
In 1995, Sega CD planned to release Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors, a video game featuring a slew of mini-games invovling P&T's distinctive brand of humor and magic. Sadly, the developer went under before release and the game never made it to market. Thankfully, the source code was released years later, allowing folks to…
Shop Local: Mojo Books & Music
This hip multi-media swap shop – the only one of its kind in Tampa – is nestled in one of the USF area’s abundant strip malls, its interior made cozy by the organized clutter of too much stuff crammed into a space not quite big enough to house it all. Though it only opened in…
Left Hand Rye Bock Lager brings the balance… and the rye
Left Hand Rye Bock Rye Doppelbock, 7.6% Left Hand Brewing, Colorado Left Hand beer rules. Seriously, everything that emerges from this Colorado brewery's vats is pure gold. One offering from Left Hand's seasonal Big Mo' Series is Rye Bock Lager. It's a doppelbock, which is a fancy word for a strong beer that uses bottom…
Reel Projections, Monday December 8
And the winners are: National Board of Review announced this year's best in film. Slumdog Millionaire — Best Pic, David Fincher — Best Director (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Clint Eastwood — Best Actor (Gran Torino), Anne Hathaway — Best Actress (Rachel Getting Married). Read the rest of the winners here. Frank Miller says…
The Short List: Andy Samberg’s got jizz in his pants
Andy Samberg has taken his SNL Digital Shorts shtick and made an album with his band The Lonely Island. Here's the premiere video, for a song called "Jizz in My Pants." Subtle. See more funny videos at Funny or Die Obama says the economy will get worse before it gets better. Thanks for the confidence…
Do It Today
Repo! The Genetic Opera is a new horror movie musical set in a near-future earth where an epidemic of organ failures brings big business to a biotech company that offers organ transplants for a price — those who miss their payments are earmarked for repossession and hunted by evil Repo Men. 7:30 p.m., Tampa Theatre,…
Roppongi’s Ace debut disc to drop in January
Ass-stomping local punk-blues power trio Roppongi's Ace have posted new tracks on their MySpace page. Here's what the band wrote in a recent blog post: Record in 1/09! Demos up now Hope y'all get a chance to listen to the new tracks. They're still in demo form and are a little rough around the edges—the…
Shop Local: Hula Hula
Stepping into Hula Hula is a bit like going back in time, albeit a hip, pleasingly kitschy time. The quaint shop owned by former Hawaii residents Stephen Ross and wife Annette Vedsegaard-Ross is packed with all manner of Floridiana and Hawaiian-themed pieces, from knick-knacks, linens and posters to retro pin-ups, signs, antiques and other assorted…
Matt Butcher CD release show
Friday night, Orlando's Matt Butcher debuted his new album, Me and My Friends, with a perfomance at Ybor's New World Brewery with support from Will Quinlin and the Diviners and North Carolina-based Bombadil. The diminutive troubadour Butcher (who sounds more like a young Neil Young with each listen) and crew of six knocked out some…
Listen to My Heart at TBPAC reviewed
I was resistant at first. “Listen to My Heart,” the musical revue based on the songs of David Friedman now at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, flirts dangerously with sugar shock, starting with the composer’s bio. Friedman, a Broadway and film conductor known for producing the CDs of the late, much-beloved cabaret singer Nancy Lamott,…
Phoebe Snow: A movingly candid interview
I’ve done hundreds and hundreds of interviews during my career in music journalism, and I can say without equivocation that my recent conversation with Phoebe Snow was about as intimate and confessional as I’ve ever experienced. Snow, a singer/songwriter whose first single, the transcendent ballad “Poetry Man” peaked at No. 5 in 1975, had a…
Reel Projections, Friday December 5
Every Friday, Reel Projections welcomes the Cranky Copy Editor to review one trailer from an upcoming film. Take it away, CCE … This week’s movie is Last Chance Harvey, starring Emma Thompson and, as best I can tell, k.d. lang. OK, it's really Dustin Hoffman, but looking rather taut at 71. Anyway, the only other…
Shop Local: Fourth Street Liquor Mart
This homey shop, which just celebrated its 20th anniversary, was founded by Polish immigrants Jan and Krystyna Milewski, who somehow manage to work hours on end under the same roof and then head home as husband and wife. That sense of family permeates the shop — the two hold court, joking and telling stories at…
Sweet Guilt
What do you do when you're a 13-year-old Italian kid while your grandfather is in the hospital? You find the cafeteria. Well, at least that's what my family did. Visiting hours fell right around supper time and we figured the easiest way to maximize our time with the patriarch of the family AND fill our bellies…
Do It This Weekend
For its 16th Anniversary Bash, Skatepark of Tampa welcomes the latest band from Brooklyn to generate a buzz, Les Savy Fav (pictured below); also on the bill are No Age and How Dare You. For more info, see Upcoming Concerts. Sat., Dec. 6, 9 p.m., Czar, Ybor City, $10. Another area institution, Jobsite Theater, also…
The Short List: Verizon fined by state for bad service
We end the week with the gift that keeps on giving: The George W. Bush victory tour. In this clip from a few days ago, Bush tries to get in line with some soldiers and gets awkwardly shut out. Have a good weekend, everyone. Now the car companies want $34 billion! Verizon's service is so…
A PantsLess Affair
“I need a huge favor tonight,” scrolled across my cracked cell phone screen. It wasn’t unusual for Joran, Creative Loafing Marketing Director, to ask for strange favors. Just last week he asked Emma if she would pose nearly nude at a wine tasting while a body artist painted grapes over her pasties. What worried me…
Scott H. Biram coming to St. Pete on Dec. 11
Editor's note: This just in from our man Autopsy IV via ninebullets.net. Sure, plenty of shows come to town and there are plenty of reasons to be excited about each and every one of them. But, unlike people, all shows are not created equal. Some, such as the Black Diamond Heavies show last month, are…
Billboard’s 50-year chart overview
Billboard magazine, long the music industry bible, celebrated the 50-year anniversary of its Hot 100 singles chart not too long ago, and issued a compilation of the top songs and artists of the last half-century. I'm not even that much of a chart hound and I got lost in the lists for quite awhile. Billboard's…
No Age gets a Grammy nomination?!
Out of morbid curiosity, I read through the list of this years Grammy nominations. I'll admit, they are a little more left of center than most years; but it's the effing Grammys. You might as well have just won your high school's "Battle Of The Bands" that is judged by the school's choir director and…
Should we legalize and tax marijuana?
(Photo Credit: jaypeg21 via flickr) With the federal budget deficit continuing to explode, and states like Florida and California facing unprecedented budget shortfalls, we continue to spend billions of dollars a year locking up our friends and relatives for enjoying something that is demonstrably less dangerous than alcohol or nicotine (or any number of drugs…
M.I.A. nominated for Record of The Year
I usually don't give a shit about the Grammys but must admit I was thrilled to find this email in my inbox this morning. I have been gushing about M.I.A. for some time and it seems mainstream audiences didn't get around to her killer, genre-hopping, world-flavored, lady gangsta single "Paper Planes," and the equally awesome…
Publix Greenwise Chaos, Week 4
Stopped by the beautiful new Publix Greenwise Market in SoHo for some lunch today. After reading Laura Reiley's cautious optimism about the massive selection of prepared foods, I thought it might be worth a try now that the market has almost a month under its belt to get the kinks worked out. If anything, it…
The Intelligence and repetition in music
Repetition pounds rhythms and patterns into the human brain while pulsating through the body. The rejection of complexity by bands like the Intelligence, which relies heavily on simple, grinding beats, guitars, keyboard, bass and exploding drums, represents a reaction against intricate learned music. Rather than meandering schlock, the Intelligence favor lean, angular songs straight to the point and…
Bar Tab: White Russians, wine and Wii
In my latest Bar Tab column I admit to being seduced by the mighty Wii for the first time. In fact, it was the first time I had played a video game since my crazy (lazy) college days. I enjoyed myself. I also enjoyed watching the Big Lebowski with my dad and brother Joel ……
Tastings: A Wine Experience closes in St. Petersburg
The downtown St. Petersburg location of the Tastings franchised wine bar chain closed this past weekend after long problems maintaining its franchise agreement with corporate HQ. According to Tastings — which is based in the Bay area — co-owner and corporate director Mike Newfield, "we pulled the franchise last week and they decided against going…
Do It Today
National speaker Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally. 7:30 p.m., Barnes and Noble-Carrollwood, free. Athens, Ga. foursome Perpetual Groove brings their heavy, electronica-infused jams and saturated light show to State Theatre. 8 p.m., St. Petersburg, $20. Gavin Hawk performs John Walch's one-man play, Circumference of a Squirrel, about a young man with…
Reel Projections, Thursday December 4
Two guys with mutton chops in a staring contest (and other pics) from Steven Soderbergh + Catherine Zeta Jones + Guided by Voices = a Cleopatra musical. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button's Director: Is David Fincher an asshole? Paramount apparently thinks so. Over at Slashfilm, Peter Sciretta lists the movies he's looking forward to…
Shop Local: Bali Bay Trading Company
Specializing in teak furniture, women’s accessories and a whole lotta funky art, Bali Bay Trading Company brings a taste of Asia to the Bay Area. Founded 10 years ago by a husband and wife team, Bali Bay imports rare and one-of-a-kind items exclusively from Indonesia. (“There’s absolutely nothing made in China in the store,” says…
Shop Local: Urban Body
It’s not always easy to find cutting-edge men’s fashion in the Tampa Bay area. One of your best bets is Urban Body, tucked conveniently behind the Starbucks in South Tampa. The airy shop stocks a variety of hip brands — Ben Sherman, 1921 Denim, 4 You, Z Brand, 191 Unlimited — most of which can’t…
CineBistro Coming to Tampa’s Hyde Park
The Trib's Tampa Bay Online is reporting the construction of a CineBistro theater in Hyde Park Village. "Cobb Theatres plans to begin construction in January of a CineBistro theater that will have six screens, reserved seating and dining tables. Cocktails and appetizers will be available in the lobby bar. Patrons will be able to order…
The Short List: Prop 8 — The Musical
It was only a matter of time before major stars joined forces to produce Prop 8 — The Musical. Blame for the Mumbai terror attacks creeps closer to Pakistan. Speaking of Mumbai terrorists: Them boys was on some drugs! And now the new Secretary of Commerce. Will voters ever like Bush again? Obama breaks a…
Fast Food Autopsy: McDonald’s McRib
In 1981, McDonald's unveiled the McRib sandwich to a lukewarm response. For shame, America! I'm sure McDonald's futurist food scientists never could have conceived that the hungry masses would reject a boneless pork patty machine-formed to resemble an actual rack of ribs, coated in savory barbecue sauce and topped by pickles and raw onions. It…
Why Impact Florida will demonstrate outside of Governor Crist’s wedding and feel perfectly alright about it
In case you haven't heard (and I don't know how you would not have: the story has been everywhere from the Tampa Tribune to MSNBC to the Huffington Post), Impact Florida, an organization committed to attaining marriage equality for all Floridians, is planning a demonstration outside of Governor Charlie Crist's wedding and reception on Friday,…
Did Office Depot overcharge Hillsborough County?
It's enough that Office Depot never has any good coupons and crappy customer service. Now, county officials say, they might be overcharging us taxpayers. This week, Hillsborough County auditors began an investigation into Office Depot's contracts with various county departments amid reports from other counties that the office supply giant may be overcharging for its…
Immokalee workers win again; Subway squeezes out a penny more for tomatoes
Yesterday, the Coalition of Immokalee workers convinced fast-food sandwhich maker Subway to pay (at least) an extra penny per pound of Florida tomatoes they pick. Subway is the world's third largest fast food corporation and the No. 1 buyer of Florida tomatoes. The migrant worker rights group was about to embark on a 10-day tour…
No culture icons
Rock and roll has been looking for a savior for some time. Fads, new waves and trends have been coming and going for years. Sure, a lot of good (even great) music has been put out, but it's been countered by bastardizations of the form. Has rock and roll ever had a savior? Is it…
Reel Projections, Wednesday December 3
No time to bask in the afterglow of my film feature on Watchmen artist Dave Gibbons or the inaugural Reel Projections podcast. But before we get back down to business, let me give a hearty "Hello, how are you?" to all the fine people at the Regions bank on West Kennedy. No less than three…
Is ’Guitar Hero’ next?
In my latest Bar Tab column I admit to being seduced by the mighty Wii for the first time. In fact, it was the first time I had played a video game since my crazy (lazy) college days. I enjoyed myself. But I still think the idea of wasting time on manipulating a fake, plastic…
St. Pete Times Food Section Roundup
This week, the Times staff compiled a list of 26 holiday cookie recipes, including one that sounds so sweet and gooey, my teeth hurt: Crunchy Fudge Bars. In keeping with the cookie theme, these lucky bastards also taste tested ready made, refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough. Then Janet Keeler served up some really useful cookie…
Bob Hunter’s retirement is a sad day for smart growth
I was very sad to read that Bob Hunter, the executive director for the Planning Commission, is retiring. In the short time that I have been paying attention, I have seen him stay strong in the face of constant verbal attacks and abuse ( usually from Commissioner Jim Norman), and I have seen back-door attempts…
The Short List: Ryan Clark decks Wes Welker
I don't normally post sports clips, but for this one I'll make an exception. From the Pittsburgh-New England game from last weekend, here is Steelers safety Ryan Clark absolutely demolishing Patties wide receiver Wes Welker. (Expect a fine to be handed down by the NFL any second now.) Give Wes some props; he managed to…
Do It for the Holidays
At a total loss for ideas on what to do, where to shop, and which local charities to donate your hard earned dollars to this holiday season? Check out my rather lengthy Holiday To Do list. Spend for charity. Want to enjoy a delicious homemade pie but don’t have the patience (or know-how) to bake…
Art/Shopping: Tour de Clay of Tampa Bay
When I got married, a family friend from California who is also a rather talented potter sent us a tagine – a two-piece traditional Moroccan cooking dish with a circular base and a large cone-shaped cover. It arrived broken. The heavy, solid gray casserole dish he sent to replace it was a bit more practical…
Flaming Lips: Christmas on Mars
DVD/CDWayne Coyne's film Christmas on Mars is an abysmal clunker, even by vanity project standards. It’s a mostly black-and-white, sci-fi, faux philosophical adventure strongly indebted to Stanley Kubrick's infinitely superior 2001:A Space Odyssey and David Lynch’s superior, if equally obnoxious, Eraserhead. Whereas Flaming Lips live shows are charmingly weird and fun, the band's silver screen…
Holiday: Victorian Christmas Stroll
Henry B. Plant Museum has made its annual transformation into the Tampa Bay Hotel circa 1891 for the 27th annual Victorian Christmas Stroll. The halls and rooms are decked out in period holiday adornments – glittering 19th-century themed Christmas trees in each room, scattered gifts, antique toys and dolls, and a three-story Victorian dollhouse. Free…
Art: Dobre Den
Locally-based Czech-born artist Ales “BASK” Hostomsky produces gritty, mixed-media pop culture pieces that question society’s obsessions and contradictions via propaganda-style messages and anti-iconic characters and themes. His new show at Pale Horse Gallery, Dobre Den (which means “good day” in Czech), includes paintings and prints created over the past year as well as installations he…
Theater/Dance: Goin’ Nuts, Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker and The Royal Nutcracker
A Nutcracker production can be found in virtually every corner of the greater Tampa Bay area during the Yuletide season and this weekend is no exception. For those interesting in a break from tradition, the nonprofit Bay Area Dance (BAD) Company stages Goin’ Nuts, a humorous, satirical update of the Nutcracker that's set against the…
Fundraiser/Food: Uhuru Pies
Want a delicious homemade pie but don’t have the patience (or know-how) to bake it yourself? Uhuru Foods offers apple crumb, pumpkin, sweet potato, and blackberry pies made fresh by professional and volunteer staff. Proceeds support Uhuru Movement programs, like the African People's Education and Defense Fund and its youth basketball program, community gym and…
Seal: Soul
Contemporary pop singers have been bitten by the retro-soul bug of late. Blame Amy Winehouse if you like. The latest entry is Seal, whose "Soul" album dusts off a dozen R&B standards from the '60s and '70s. Produced lavishly by David Foster, "Soul" is too mannered; it comes up short on crucial ingredient: soul. Nearly…
Wine, women and Nintendo Wii for Thanksgiving
The long Thanksgiving weekend started like Thanksgiving weekends usually do, with a tremendously wild Wednesday night that left me hurting and hung over when it came time for the big gobbler feast. Oh well. It was worth it. Usually is. The celebrating (i.e. drinking) started just before 5 p.m. Wednesday with a Jameson and soda…
Cork and Olive Retail Chain Changes Ownership
Two years ago, right after Cork & Olive set up shop in Tampa, I went to check out the place. My reaction was a combination of admiration and nausea: great service (they'll open anything in the store for you to taste!) but the wines – mostly unknown private labels from other countries – sucked. (Read…
Boyfriend’s rape fantasy goes too far
Savage Love Trigger Warning: The following content is potentially disturbing for rape survivors. I am a 28-year-old woman who has been with my boyfriend for two years. I would call it a stable, fulfilling and kinky relationship. I consider myself GGG, and every time my boyfriend has brought up a kink or variation, I've been…
Charity: Donate for the Holidays
Giving to organizations that offer goods and services to the area’s poor and homeless is vitally important, especially during a holiday season when the population of unemployed Floridians exceeds the national average. Several local nonprofits are in desperate need of aid. Metropolitan Ministries – which feeds 100-150 families per day through the year – seeks…
Plaxico Burress, Charlie Crist, Wal-Mart, Sarah Palin
Plaxico Burress shoots himself in the thighMirroring how Bucs' opponents continue to shoot themselves in the foot. Gay-rights activists to picket Crist weddingSo much irony that we don't even know where to begin. Black Friday, Cyber MondayOur seasonal fave, though, is Drunken Office Party Thursday. Worker killed in Wal-Mart stampedeMaybe the mainstream media can back…
Theater: Proof/This/Steel/Lion
American Stage Youth Ensemble takes on some pretty heavy playwriting with a limited run of Proof/This/Steel/Lion. The advanced teen theatre students – participants of American Stage’s fall semester theater program – perform scenes from contemporary award-winning dramas Proof, Burn This, Steel Magnolias and The Lion in Winter, showing off newly-developed acting chops and demonstrating what…
Presidential pardon season
With the Bush administration drawing to a close, it is presidential pardon season. Presidents have become increasingly shameless about issuing pardons to insulate political cronies from prosecution, even to protect themselves. We hope President Bush will not abuse the pardon power by putting his appointees, political supporters or friends above the law. … The Constitution…
What are the goals of War on Terror™?
This whole War On Terror™ thing is way old. When it started, there were no iPods, Enron was one of the most widely admired companies in the world and the word Bluetooth sounded to most people like a dental affliction. This war has gone on for so long, in fact, that our war aims are…
Fundraiser: WMNF Annual Holiday Bazaar
An annual flea market-style fundraiser, WMNF’s 11th annual Holiday Bazaar draws Bay area bargain hunters from far and wide, most of them frittering away the day in an intent, tireless search through boxes upon boxes of used books, records, CDs, and audio and visual equipment. Local artists sell one-of-a-kind handmade gifts, a '60’s themed room…
From AVA to Vintage: How to read wine labels
Holiday parties present a plethora of "impress people" possibilities. Wine knowledge delivered with confidence can bring out your "inner coolness," as well as shut down that verbose braggadocio trying to abscond with your date. Armed with a wine label, take over the scene with these urbane tidbits, both useful and trivial. VintageMost wines carry a…
James McMurtry brings Just Us Kids album to Skipper’s Smokehouse
James McMurtry might not be a name on par with, say, fellow Texans Lyle Lovett or Steve Earle, but the singer/songwriter and bad-ass guitarist is still a revered act in the Americana world. McMurtry's latest album, the outstandingly incendiary, darkly humorous, wonderfully emotive and rustically rocking Just Us Kids, has garnered glowing write-ups in glossies…
Music: Scott H. Biram
The self-proclaimed Dirty Old One Man Band, Scott H. Biram, wraps the blues in a rowdy, punk-fueled frenzy. He kind of reminds me of George Thorogood — if Thorogood didn’t have a band, or good equipment, and had never seen the inside of a limo. Click here to read what occasional CL contributor Autopys IV…
The Tampa Am ramps up 99 Bottles of Beer exhibit at Skatepark of Tampa
Unless you're an avid skateboarder, names like Jimbo Phillips and Don Pendleton might not mean much to you. But if ollies and heelflips are your bag, chances are you recognize the names of those two widely acclaimed skateboard graphics artists. (Jimbo Phillips is not to be confused with his dad, Jim Phillips, an artist of…
Music: Of Montreal
The indie pop spawn of Athens, Ga.’s renowned Elephant 6 Collective, Of Montreal has garnered quite the rep much to the credit of lead singer, visionary and frontman Kevin Barnes, who writes the music solo before bringing it to the band. His lyrics are funny, evocative and intellectual, and are set against colorful synth-pop with…
Celebrate an old-fashioned Christmas
Want to celebrate the season with a 19th century-style experience? Several Bay area institutions host happenings that take locals back to a simpler era, before commercialism reigned and Santa Claus was Chief Christmas. Henry B. Plant Museum has made its annual transformation into the Tampa Bay Hotel circa 1891 for the 27th annual Victorian Christmas…
Theater: A Christmas Carol
Two community theaters do the Dickens thing in honor of the holiday season, one following time-honored tradition, the other straying into comedic territory. St. Petersburg Little Theatre’s A Christmas Carol features more than 40 performers and all the usual characters – miserable miser Ebenezer Scrooge, his ever-suffering assistant Bob Cratchit, the apparitions who show him…
Why it’s good business to shop at Tampa Bay’s independent stores
In the late '70s, before Total Wine and ABC Liquors moved in, Michael Roberts set up a wine shop, Vintage Wine Cellars, on Henderson Road in South Tampa. "We were one of the first wine retailers in this part of Florida," he says. Now, 30 years later, Roberts' share of the wine market has diminished…
Second Annual Artist Invasion comes to St. Petersburg
On Friday, the second annual Artist Invasion, a multidisciplinary art-music-fashion event, takes over Williams Park. The evening kicks off at 7 p.m. with the Jim Morey Band, followed by a performance by Revolution Dance Company, a collective of dancers with physical disabilities, who will be introduced by Miss Wheelchair Florida 2008, Tampa's own Shari Deanna…
Art: New Editions
In printmaking, it often takes two to tango: the artist, whose singular vision inspires the project, and the printer, whose ability to bridge aesthetics and technology enables its realization. Tampa’s own fine art print atelier, Bleu Acier, presents New Editions, an exhibition devoted to recent collaborations between master printmaker Erika Greenberg-Schneider and a wide-ranging group…
Film: A Christmas Story
For the next installment of its Scene on the Screen film series, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center screens the 1983 cult-classic-turned-holiday-favorite, A Christmas Story. The narrative is presented from the perspective of Ralphie, a precocious 9-year-old who’s dealing with the daily anxieties of adolescence: overbearing peers ("In our world, you were either a bully, a…
Watchmen artist Dave Gibbons discusses a film whose time has come
The voice over the trans-Atlantic connection is describing the London sky to me just after 4 p.m. "There's all kinds of orange and pink and purple and everything," he says. I've been on the phone with acclaimed artist Dave Gibbons for less than a minute, and he's already talking about colors. If I'd had my…
Holiday guests: Where to wine and dine them
Navigating the holidays is difficult. Add in the need to entertain visiting family and friends and your stress level is likely to have you stuffing more bourbon than eggnog into your hand-painted Saint Nicholas tumbler. How do you pick a place to eat that will satisfy all the disparate pill-popping aunts, surly cousins and gin-swilling…
Reel Projections Podcast: Episode 1
Download. Today marks the inaugural episode of the Reel Projections podcast, hosted by yours truly and fellow movie lover/CL Associate Editor Joe Bardi. Featured is the first part of my recent interview with comic-book artist Dave Gibbons, who talks about his new book, Watching the Watchmen, as well as the upcoming film based on his…
Reel Projections, Tuesday, December 2
First things first: Today marks the inaugural episode of the Reel Projections podcast, hosted by yours truly and fellow movie lover/CL Associate Editor Joe Bardi. Featured is the first part of my recent interview with comic-book artist Dave Gibbons, who talks about his new book, Watching the Watchmen, as well as the upcoming film based…
Auditorium Says Goodnight and Farewell
This past Saturday night, I played my last show (for hopefully a very long time) to a handful of family and friends at the State Theatre in St. Petersburg. I've been in bands for well over ten years now – The Gita (1998 – 2003), Auditorium (2003 – 2008) – plying heartfelt acoustic ballads and experimental noise…
