Burger Time
Not sure what we're going to call it this year (maybe the BRGR, maybe the NCDoubleMeat) but I'm ramping up for this year's March Madness Tournament of Champions, where we'll be biting into 64 of the Bay area's best burgers and pitting them head-to-head. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out last…
The Helio Sequence: reviewed
Keep Your Eyes Ahead THE HELIO SEQUENCE Sub Pop The Helio Sequence’s latest pairs clever, intimate lyrics with evocative sonics that complement rather than distract from Brandon Summers’ open, plaintive singing. The singer/songwriter/guitarist puts his vocals up front in the mix, artfully expressing heartsickness and other forms of disappointment over subtle drumming, ethereal synthesizers and…
Pink Floyd: The ultimate box set reviewed
When this bad boy landed on my desk I was downright giddy. A huge Floyd fan in my teens, I had put the band on the back burner for years. Then Roger Waters came to town and the concert blew me away, reigniting my Floyd enthusiasm. This box set has put me in a Pink…
FROM THE STREET… WITH ALFIE (Dunedin Brewery)
"I love shit-to-do papers," Kevin Thompson said Friday. "Creative Loafing tells me what to do and where to go, and I go." He wasn't the only one who had heeded the paper's advice. I couldn't move through Dunedin Brewery without blocking someone's view of The Sugar Oaks onstage or stumbling into a conversation. Bar-side, Travis…
In Defense Of Food
Appearing later this week in lieu of the weekly restaurant review: This space is usually devoted to appraising the kinds of food that we eat pretty much every day, served by people who devote their lives and livelihoods to its preparation. Rarely do I delve into the nitty-gritty of America’s relationship with food. It’s a…
FROM THE STREET… WITH ALFIE (Dunedin Brewery)
"I love shit-to-do papers," Kevin Thompson said Friday. "Creative Loafing tells me what to do and where to go, and I go." He wasn't the only one who had heeded the paper's advice. I couldn't move through Dunedin Brewery without blocking someone's view of The Sugar Oaks onstage or stumbling into a conversation. Bar-side, Travis…
Galactic grooves with guests in St. Pete
Galactic feat. Mr. Lif and Boots Riley (of The Coup) w/Grace Potter and the Nocturnals Sat., Jan. 12, Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg Photo of me and Boots Riley (left) by Phil Bardi. New Orleans funksters Galactic made the boldest move of their decade-plus career with From the Corner to the Block. The new disc spotlights…
A fan’s review of the Dresden Dolls show
Seated near me at The Dresden Dolls show Friday was "avid fan" fan Loryn Heffner, who helped identify a song title for me and then agreed to email me her take on the concert. That's Heffner (pictured left) with Dolls singer/pianist Amanda Palmer. By Loryn Heffner: Before the show, my friends and I were congregating…
Street Team Casting Call – February 19
Would you like to get paid to attend concerts, movie premieres, art openings or sporting events in your spare time? Do your friends come to you to find out what’s going on in your community? Are you a serious-minded person with a serious wild side? Do you enjoy meeting new people? Are you comfortable in…
Dresden Dolls delight at Tampa Theatre
CONCERT REVIEW Dresden Dolls Thurs., Jan. 10, Tampa Theatre, Tampa The Dresden Dolls made their Bay area debut last night before a packed Tampa Theatre, delivering a spectacle of classic cabaret and glam-rock that enthralled from start to finish. There truly weren’t any dull moments throughout the show — a feat rarely achieved by even…
Cleopatra’s Delight
The woman is instructed to stand above the male on some sort of elevated surface, such as a couch, bed, two chairs, Mini Cooper hood, etc. With her legs spread wide, she gradually lowers her torso, so that her “yoni†is within reach of the man, who is standing on the floor just below her.…
Dresden Doll Amanda Palmer responds to my story
Here's what Dresden Dolls singer/pianist Amanda Palmer wrote on her blog about my profile that ran as last week's Creative Loafing cover story. I did think she came off as a bit loopy in our interview and in a blog post she published Christmas Eve — but in a cute way. And I never wrote…
Galactic, Ronny Elliott, Chris Brown and bad NOLA boozing
In the new Creative Loafing: While I was in New Orleans on vacation last week Senior Editor Eric Snider interviewed one of the Big Easy's top drummers, Stanton Moore, for a feature on the percussionist's funk band Galactic. They play Jannus Landing Sat., Jan. 12. Chris Brown channels Jacko (in a good way). Performs Mon.,…
Eddie Vedder video for ‘Guaranteed’
Could it win the Pearl Jam frontman an Oscar?
Radiohead to play Tampa
From Billboard.com: There's no dates or venues yet, but Radiohead has confirmed the cities for its North American summer tour. The first leg will come prior to the band's summer European jaunt, which begins June 6 in Dublin, while the second leg will start after the European dates end July 8 in Berlin. Tampa is…
Why is the death of Benazir Bhutto so devastating to the United States?
Don’t Panic…your war questions answered
Theater: Making Wind
Wednesday, January 9
Comedy: Cho Wit
Friday, January 11
Music: Violin Virtuosity
Monday, January 14
Literature: Readings in Paradise
Monday, January 21
Film: La Scala on screen
Sunday, January 20
The Prospect Debuts
With its EP America
Dance: With cat-like tread…
Friday, January 18
Juno, Debaters, Chipmunks and more
CL reviews of recent releases
The Show Must Go On (Sorta)
"I'm doing what I did the day I started. I write jokes and I wake up my wife in the middle of the night and I go, 'Honey, is this funny?' So if this monologue doesn't work, it's my wife's fault." —Jay Leno, on the Jan. 2 episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,…
The Subdudes, Patty Larkin
Plus Ween and Van Halen
Film: A Rain of Songs
Sunday, January 13
Art/Theatre: Everybody says don’t
Thursday, January 17
Channeling Jacko
Chris Brown recalls the King of Pop
Theater: Is that a real Picasso?
Saturday, January 19
Wine List
Got an upcoming or ongoing wine event? Send information to: The Wine List, 810 N. Howard Ave., Tampa, FL 33606, fax 813-739-4801 or e-mail brian.ries@creativeloafing.com. BEST BET: CORDON D'OR-GOLD RIBBON INTERNATIONAL CULINARY ACADEMY AWARDS GALA Star studded? Sort of. The St. pete based organization will be handing out awards to chefs and food folk from…
The African Queen
Ethiopian cuisine is back in the Bay area, and that’s good.
.com-ments
On our redesigned website and ever-evolving blogs, a range of topics triggered responses from readers, some of whom weren't above slinging some mud. Alex Pickett's column (and blurbex.com post) about the rift in Bartlett Park led to back-and-forth accusations that seemed to mirror the community's mood. It wasn't mud so much as marinara that continued…
Take a Lesson
From this professor of the piano.
A Whopper of a Fight
Is anti-immigrant fervor hampering Florida tomato pickers in their battle for higher wages from the fast food giants?
Theater: Drowsing at the Wheel
Tuesday, January 15
Big Uneasy
Breaking down in New Orleans
A fascinating specimen
A felled warrior at the Battle of the Buffer.
Iowa, NH… and Florida
Local Democrats, like those in the nation’s first primary states, are fired up.
Spell It Out
The most interesting thing about Eleemosynary may be its title.
Funkin’ with the Formula
Galactic mixes things up with a dose of rap.
The Dark Romantics, Ruthie Foster
Plus Neil Sedaka and Bowfire
Beet Camp
The real way to get kids eating healthy.
Olive-Gate
Amidst an in-depth profile of Republican contender Mike Huckabee in The New York Times is a tiny tidbit that makes me question his presidential fitness. When offered a free meal by Times' reporter Zev Chafets, his first choices were TGI Friday's and the Olive Garden. Regardless of his politics, that poor decision-making has cost him…
Spirited Away
The Orphanage is a beautiful variation on the classic ghost story.
Stars & Bars
Updates, Part 2: Some UrbEx subjects went on to success — but a few ran into trouble with the law.
Home port
Robert Stackhouse is welcomed back to the Bay area.
Cirque Style
Florida Orchestra meets high-flying acrobatics á la Cirque du Soleil
Ronny Elliott’s triumphant new CD
Plus: Cyrus Chestnut plays Elvis
Special Event: Dog Show in the Park
Thursday, January 10
Lennon Lives
In this video compilation.
Art: Photo magic
Tuesday, January 22
Film/Fundraiser: Now’s your chance
Wednesday, January 23
Wine resolutions
Broaden your wine horizons
Art: The Insider
Saturday, January 12
Split-finger fastball
TomKat, Roger Clemens, Bucs
Clearwater says goodbye to ‘flashers’
Annual Wild Splash concert relocating from Clearwater to Tampa, reports TampaBay.com. Mayor of Scientology Town, U.S.A., apparently prefers freaks toting E-meters and the complete removal of downtown nightlife to "brief nudity." Although the concert drew big, exuberant crowds, some city officials were upset with the foul language they heard and the brief nudity they saw,…
