More Jobsite, Less Gorilla
Tampa's Jobsite Theater has just announced a new Monday night play-reading series that may lead to at least one mainstage production each year. According to Jobsite artistic director David Jenkins, ensemble member Lori Shannon expressed an interest in running such a series – and he handed her about 40 scripts that he'd received from all over…
Bob Dylan bootleg series remains essential
Editor's note: This review is by William McKeen, Professor and Chair, University of Florida Department of Journalism. He is also the author of Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay, Highway 61 and Bob Dylan: A Bio-Bibliography. McKeen discusses his latest book, Outlaw Journalism: The Life and Times of Hunter S. Thompson, in this CL…
TV on the Radio’s missive to society
TV on the Radio established itself as an art-rockin’, hip-hoppin’ heavyweight capable of rising above the status of mere buzz band with spectacular, well-produced first and second albums. Many other groups would be crushed by the burden of their own brilliance. But David Sitek, Tunde Adebimpe and their assemblage of talented cohorts rose to the…
Reel Projections — Tuesday, October 7
First things first: I can’t say that I was a big fan of Tron when it came out in 1982. But it holds a fond place in my heart for sheer nostalgia value, and over the years has become a cult classic (and one that I rather enjoy). So the recent news that Disney is…
Rays and Red Sox: It’s on!
I was a bit under the weather yesterday, so missed my Monday sports post. But a Tuesday segment gives me a chance to talk Rays. In case you just got back from hiking in the Andes, or live in North Tampa, the Tampa Bay Rays eliminated the Chicago White Sox last night by beating them…
Five Things to Do Today
1. For the latest installment of its Writers at the University Series, University of Tampa presents poet/Iraqi war veteran Brian Turner (pictured), who reads from his collection, Here, Bullet. 8 p.m., Scarfone/Hartley Gallery, free admission. 2. Beloved WMNF singer/songwriter/guitarist Jonathan Richman has been around for decades but remains a cult-status musician. He brings his show to…
The Short List — Tues., Oct. 7
If the recent tenor of the campaign continues, tonight's second presidential debate should be a contentious affair. We'll be live blogging it on The Political Whore. (If you tired to comment during the last live blog but were unable to, don't worry, we worked out the gremlins.) In the meantime, here's Obama's video linking McCain…
Bills 4-0?
Each Fall an army of eighteen-year-old "adults" floods USF, expecting to finally set foot in the long prophesized "real world." They soon discover that college, and the real world, are whatever these freshmen make of them. In constructing their identities, most are required to take a basic writing course. Creative Loafing has chosen four of…
No Depression relaunches as online only
For the past 13 years, No Depression magazine has been the leading authority on all things alt-country. Alas, four months ago, the publication closed its presses. Because, y'know, the economy is in the shitter and the masses apparently have a 200-word attention span these days (see new one-page-news-section of Tampa Tribune). On a positive note,…
The Cranky Copy Editor — October 6
What I’m pissed off about this morning today: That it’s Heart Attack Monday. Which means I feel like I’m having a nine-hour-long heart attack. And that I couldn't get this post up sooner. How the tables have turned: Remember a few years back when old-guard journalists dismissed bloggers as “guys in pajamas,” i.e., cranky assholes…
Freshman fifteen: fact or fiction?
Each Fall an army of eighteen-year-old "adults" floods USF,expectingto finally set foot in the long prophesized "real world." They soon discover that college, and the real world, are whatever these freshmen make of them. In constructing their identities, most are required to take a basic writing course. Creative Loafing has chosen four of those students…
Five Things to Do Today
1. Seattle experimental rock trio The Dead Science (pictured; photo by Anne Mathern) return to Tampa on the heels of their Sept. 2 Constellations Records release, Villainaire. The band's School of Villainy – The 'Villainaire' Prequel "mix tape" is available for free download on their website. Insect Joy and Hi-jack D.C. provide support sets for tonight's show.…
Charlie’s Wine Cellar Closing
Charlie's Wine Cellar, a seven-year-old wine and and nosh spot in SoHo, is closing its doors this weekend. In an email blast owner Glynn Giacone sited the demise of neighboring Whaley's Market as one of the factors. This Friday marks the last of their many weekly wine and beer tastings. You can help out Charlie's…
The Short List — Mon., Oct. 6
Today's video is from corbettreport.com via YouTube, and it explains in painful detail why the $700,000,000.00 bailout won't work. Plus: Why it's not even the most outrageous example of government waste and corruption available. Not even close. And so begins the really nasty campaigning by McCain/Palin. With one month to go before the biggest election…
Bruce Springsteen seeks Super Bowl roadies
Perhaps you've already heard that Bruce Springsteen will be performing during halftime at Super Bowl XLIII, y'know, the one taking place in Tampa on Feb. 1, 2009. Feel like being a roadie for the gig? From SuperBowlProductions.com: How about ON THE FIELD at Raymond James Stadium for the Super Bowl XLIII Pregame and Halftime shows??…
Week 5 NFL Picks
Yeah, we shit the bed this week and got the picks up a little bit late. Our laundry list of excuses: Snider's caught up in Rays fever while simultaneously battling the ravages of age through an exercise program ostensibly designed by the Ultimate Warrior; Sal's embroiled in a vicious smear campaign against a myriad of…
Small-market fan abuse alleged.
The Rays and the Bucs are both on at 4 p.m. Adult men all around the Bay area are scrambling to set up the little TV next to the big TV. Picture-in-picture just won't do. Then the decision: What game gets on the big TV. (For me, a no-brainer: Rays.) Think if we lived in…
Stream of Consciousness: Grey’s Anatomy Edition
Why is everyone on this show so damn beautiful? Would it kill Shonda Rhimes to hire an average-looking person for us not-so-beautiful, common folk? Perfect complexion gets old after a while, doesn’t it? Bring on the flaws! At least give us one person with acne and thinning hair. Let us know that we are not…
Counting Crows/Maroon 5 v. Against Me!/Ted Leo
I have a tough decision to make in the next few hours: Do I attend the Counting Crows/Maroon 5 show at Ford Amphitheatre or the Against Me!/Ted Leo (I interviewed Leo here) gig at Jannus Landing? Both shows take place this evening. I've seen all the bands play before except Maroon 5, my least fave…
The Cranky Copy Editor — October 3
What I'm pissed off about today: That it's a busy-ass Friday. And we're shorthanded. Again. Katy Perry. Her smirky, smug lyrics. The offensive self-commodification of her toy line. The knowing, ironic, hyper-girly facial expressions that say, despite being so damn beautiful, she's just one of the boys. While looking like a blow-up fuckdoll. The winking,…
Five Things to Do Today
1. Reggaeton singer/rapper Don Omar (a.k.a. "El Rey" a.k.a. "King of Kings") plays a show at Mahaffey Theater. Fri., Oct. 3, 8 p.m., $48-$98. 2. Film fests galore: CLIP 19, EuroCrime Invasion, and the Global Lens Mini-Fest. 3. Comedian/The Soup host Joel McHale does the stand-up thing at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Sat., Oct.…
New Guns N Roses song to appear on soundtrack
It's looking as if Chinese Democracy might, might, actually be relesed before the world ends. The bigger question: at this point, does anyone even care? From RollingStone.com: “If The World” — a version of which leaked earlier this year — will appear in the upcoming Leonardo DiCaprio/Russell Crowe movie Body of Lies, in theaters October…
Live Blogging the Veep Debates
I guess its up to me to get this started. Sarah. Joe. Let's get it on!
Ted Leo interview
Last week singer/songwriter/punk hero Ted Leo was chillin' at his place in Rhode Island when I gave him a buzz to discuss his new EP Rapid Response and current tour, which brings him to Jannus Landing Friday on a bill with Against Me! (which I interviewed here). "The song is generally just about the idea…
Reel Projections — October 2
First things first: Fanboys, prepare to salivate. Roughly 30 minutes of comic-book opus Watchmen was officially shown to the press in Hollywood, and according to at least one report, which I’ve linked to below, the film is destined to cure cancer, solve our economic crisis and ensure that McCain/Palin never get within a hockey mom's…
Live blogging from Fergs? Not as easy as it sounds
12:25: It was a good plan. Set up the laptop at Ferg's, do some blog updates, see if I could score a ticket. If not, keep live blogging from the bar with updates and comment. It was a bad plan. My computer was configured wrong, and I couldn't get a wireless signal. By the time…
Five Things to Do Today
1. Minneapolis underground hip-hop duo Atmosphere (pictured below) brings their "Paint the Nation" full-band tour to State Theatre in support of their April '08 LP, When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold. Opening sets are provided by Abstract Rude, Blueprint and DJ Rare Groove. 7 p.m., $21. 2. CLIP 19 (the 19th…
Crazy Cat Lady?
Lynea Lattanzio, a dynamic woman living on a farm four hours north of Los Angeles, brings new meaning to the phrase "animal lover." She owns Cat House on the Kings, a no-kill animal shelter with no cages and open space for the animals to roam free. Lattanzio currently feeds, houses and cares for more than 700 cats…
Coverage: Rays vs. White Sox – Game #1
Just got back. One out left. Flyball right center. Out. Rays have won their first post-season game ever. That's a quote from the play-by-play guy on TBS NIce. At about 2:15, I met Scottie outside of Savannah's, and we hustled over to the Trop and got there just before the first pitch. We decided to…
God Save The Cream: Legendary Sex Pistol Johnny Rotten Totally Sells Out
You know Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon/Johnny Rotten. He faded away for a couple of decades, gracefully heading into obscurity in the late eighties and nineties with fame intact. Then, a few years ago, he came back. Maybe he was bored. Maybe he was broke. In any case, for a while at least, it seemed…
The Short List — Thurs., Oct. 2
Let Homer Simpson's experience in the voting booth be a cautionary tale to us all. Are you registered to vote? If not, there are only 4 days left to get in the game. With the Veep debate looming, both parties fear what will fly out of their candidate's mouth. Obama TV now on the air.…
Farmer Mac Should Be In High Cotton, But It Ain’t
Freddie Mac may be on the skids, but Farmer Mac — a similar program set up by the Feds in 1989 to provide a secondary market for farm loans — should have been doing well, according to articles at Forbes and the WSJ. But it's not. Thanks to a big boom in grain prices over…
Katy Perry at 12 inches
She kissed a girl and witnessed her ditty about the same-sex smooch top the pop charts for nearly two months. Now Katy Perry is branching out into, um, toys. Dolls, to be specific. Well, it sure beats another entry in the Gene Simmons line. Did I ever mention I hate Kiss? I like Perry, though.…
New Bob Dylan collection streaming on NPR
Tell Tale Signs, the latest in the excellent Bob Dylan "bootleg series" introduced in 1991, is streaming for free at NPR. The collection is outtakes and live performances from the past two decades. The two-disc set kicks off with a slower, more emotive reading of "Mississippi" that was originally recorded for Time Out of Mind.…
Phish reunites. Phans breathe a sigh of relief.
After much speculation and a hailstorm of rumors that culimated in a messageboard frenzy last night, the confirmation came this morning at around 3 a.m.: After a more than four years apart, Phish is finally getting back together. The official email release: Phish will re-unite to play three shows at Hampton Coliseum, March 6-8, 2009, as announced…
Live blog for Rays game tomorrow
Tomorrow around 2, I'll be ensconced in a saloon with wi-fi, laptop at the ready for the Tampa Bay Rays opening playoff game against the Chicago White Sox at 2:30. I'll be doing a real-time blog, with inning-by-inning updates, observations and snarkisms when called for. Join me. CL's done political live blogs before, but this…
Sarah Palin’s Tales from the Crypt
Newsweek, Time, People, Us, Creative Loafing — Sarah Palin made the cover of them all. And now she's reached the pinnacle of media superstardom: the cover of Tales from the Crypt. Papercutz, publisher of the comic, is running the Palin illustration on half the covers of its current edition in tandem with a commentary on…
The Cranky Copy Editor
I can be snide, as my co-workers will most certainly attest. Not always. Maybe not even usually. I tend to pick my spots, releasing a smidgen of vinegar and spite to alleviate the stress of impatiently waiting on copy to edit (hence the job title) so I can push it through to my immediate supervisor…
Five Things to Do Today
1. This week's Free Film Wednesday selection is Money as Debt, an animated feature that explains the present-day debt money system. 8 p.m., Globe Coffee Lounge, St. Petersburg, free admission. 2. Santa Cruz, Calif., ska reggae purveyors The Expendables perform at Jannus Landing in St. Petersburg. OPM and Rebelution provide support. 7:30 p.m., $18. 3.…
The Short List — Wed., Oct. 1
The Katie Couric-Sarah Palin interview has proven to be the gift that keeps on giving. Here, Sarah discusses her reading habits. Republicans go nuts because Veep debate moderator Gwen Ifill has a book with "Obama" in the title coming out next year. Anyone want to bet Palin tries to cancel? You could say Bush's approval…
Blue Note label tells the story of modern jazz
Blue Note: A Story of Modern Jazz VARIOUS ARTISTS (EuroArts) First released on VHS in 1997, this well-crafted European production, which chronicles the history of the fabled Blue Note jazz label, makes its DVD debut. The hour-and-a-half documentary is a loving portrait of an artistic and business venture launched in 1939 by German Jewish refugees…
Clip, aka the Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Fest, offers straight-friendly movies
You can't tell a book by its cover, but you can judge a film fest by its opener. And in the case of the Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, now known as Clip, you can draw some conclusions from the closing-night selection as well. Ruby Blue kicks things off, a well-acted if occasionally…
Hat Trick Heroes celebrate Skipper’s, TrÈs Bien says goodbye at the State Theatre
Skipper's Smokehouse's 28th anniversary weekend celebration wrapped Sunday (Sept. 28) with rousing sets by some of Tampa Bay's top rock acts. Hat Trick Heroes' skilled-beyond-their-years teenage members closed the evening with a performance that offered a proverbial rattling of the venue's famed oaks. The power trio brought the audience to the lip of the stage…
rth Korea nuclear deal unraveling?Is the No
Just because John Bolton is crazy doesn't mean he's not correct sometimes. Bolton is a former Bush State Department diplomat best known for his broom-thick mustache, and, oddly enough, his apparent contempt for the very concept of foreign diplomacy. He hates the idea of international courts and once said "it wouldn't make a bit of…
Comedy: Joel McHale – Saturday, October 4
Actor/comedian/The Soup host Joel McHale is a thorn in the side of American entertainers with his hilariously biting commentary on the oddities and absurd happenings of the week in television and pop culture. McHale voices what the rest of us are thinking with charming disdain, and draws attention to those priceless moments of dumbed-down entertainment…
What are wine’s health benefits?
I remember when I learned that my favorite fake sugar, saccharin, rendered rats cancerous after they ate the equivalent of 20 percent of their weight per day for months. Twenty percent of my weight in anything would kill me, too, probably of boredom first, so I felt sorry for the caged creatures. These days, researchers…
When did drinking become a bad thing?
History is rife with hardcore drinkers. Noah, Ben Franklin, Winston Churchill, Sam Houston, Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allan Poe, Dorothy Parker, Babe Ruth and Frank Sinatra are just a few of the luminaries who enjoyed a cocktail or five on a daily basis — and weren't afraid to admit their affection for libations. "I feel sorry…
Bruce Marsh and Dolores Coe exhibit at South Tampa’s Clayton Galleries
Bruce Marsh and Dolores Coe boast lengthy resumes and high name recognition as Bay area artists. (For more about their involvement in the Big Draw, see this week's arts feature.) Now an exhibit at Clayton Galleries in South Tampa gives visitors an opportunity to see recent paintings by both husband and wife. Of the two,…
Ted Leo responds to RNC raids with a Rapid Response EP
Singer/songwriter/punk hero Ted Leo seethed as he drove from Rhode Island to New York City on Sept. 1. National Public Radio was reporting police brutality in St. Paul, Minn. "Armed groups of police in the Twin Cities have raided more than half a dozen locations since Friday night in a series of 'preemptive raids' before…
Willie Nelson’s Stardust album gets 30th anniversary reissue
Stardust WILLIE NELSON [30th Anniversary Legacy Edition] (Sony) For those of us who never quite got Willie Nelson the country-music outlaw/baked hippie, there is Stardust, his absolutely exquisite rendering of material from the Great American Songbook. Delicate, simpatico production courtesy of Booker T. Jones thrusts Nelson's nasal croon way out front on tunes like "Blue…
Cheers and jeers for Creative Loafing’s Chapter 11
It is just another part of the vast right wing conspiracy seeking to censor freedom and stifle speach. Fox news, O'Reilly and Rush need to be shut down for good. —comment by Mott on TBO.com in response to "Creative Loafing Publisher Files for Chapter 11 in Tampa" Just another leftist rag going belly up. –—comment…
Art: Site Matters: Proposed Installations for the New TMA – Tuesday, October 7
Tampa Museum of Art opens the first exhibit of its 29th season, Site Matters: Proposed Installations for the New TMA. Five artists display sketches, drawings, three-dimensional models, and material samples that serve as proposals for site-specific sculptural installations reacting to the facility's design by San Francisco architect Stanley Saitowitz, or relating to the museum's art…
Film: CLIP 19 – Monday, October 6
The 19th installment of CLIP (Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival) continues tonight with four separate selections. Tampa Theatre screens Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon, a documentary about over-the-top porn star Jack Wrangler and his fame in both the gay and straight adult film industries (7 p.m.); and Saturn in Opposition, a drama by…
Rebekah Pulley to perfom Back to Boogaloo at Bradenton’s Ace’s Lounge
On her latest disc, Back to Boogaloo, recent CL Best of the Bay winner Rebekah Pulley and company step further away from the coffeehouse label and toward a newfound, soul-steeped Americana. Folk was never a four-letter word to the acoustic chanteuse, who could easily coast on her rich, effortless vocals and gorgeous melodies. But Boogaloo…
The deal with shelf-stable milk and the perils of ultra-high temperature pasteurization.
While dumping one of those tiny, individual serving tubs of half-and-half into my coffee the other day, a co-worker turned to me and said “what’s the deal with milk that doesn’t need to be refrigerated?” Good question. But first let’s delve into the psychological underpinnings that made him pinch his face and sneer at my…
Dance: Daniel Ulbricht & Friends – Sunday, October 5
Principal NYC Ballet dancer and St. Pete native Daniel Ulbricht brings six of his top-notch dancer friends to Mahaffey Theater for a performance that benefits St. Petersburg's Friends of Dance, his dance education and scholarship organization. The program includes an excerpt from George Balanchine's Who Cares? set to music by George Gershwin, Marius Pepita's Tchaikovsky-enhanced…
Hollis Gillespie makes out with George Clooney
Grant now believes his black ass has special powers, and I would never have believed him except for yesterday. But before I tell you what happened, and by the way I cannot wait to tell you what happened, I have to explain that Grant has been saying lately that things happen to him, special things,…
American Stage puts on Schennkan’s By the Waters of Babylon
Let's call it the "Conjunction of Opposites" type of play: Two people who couldn't seem more different are thrown together by fate or law or need or accident, and come, after some difficulties, to respect and love one another. These plays come in the form of Visiting Mr. Green, Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks,…
Where should I invest my money during the recession?
So many factors here: Sealy vs. Serta? Pillow-top vs. extra-firm? And what Sleep Number should you set on your Select Comfort ™ bed if you have, say, $10,000 in small bills tucked underneath it? Would your Sleep Number go up or down if you have more money than that to hide? But why use a…
The Global Lens Mini-Fest screens foreign films at Studio@620
Not to be outdone by this weekend's EuroCrime Film Fest or CLIP 19 (the 19th annual Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival), the Global Lens Film Series throws a fest of its own. The Global Lens Mini-Fest kicks off on Friday evening with an "Argentine Double Header." The first selection is The Custodian, director…
Lowry Park CEO and Safari Wild: The rumors come true
It all started with 15 Patas monkeys. On a warm Saturday in April, the African primates made a dash for freedom from a large property outside of Lakeland, swimming through a moat and jumping a fence into the wilds of Polk County. The story might have garnered only a few lines in the local newspaper…
Friend and lover: open relationships
Answer is right before his eyes
Tampa Bay Rays, Paul Newman and the presidential debate
Rays win division; Bucs beat Packers Nothing takes the sting out of an economic meltdown like the soothing salve of professional sports. The first debate Thoughtful, full of substance and boring as watching paint dry. 33 pastors defy IRS ban on politicking in church Spent Sunday in the pulpit reading from Malachi 4:2: "For the…
Creative Loafing files for Chapter 11
When your boss calls an unexpected Monday meeting, it's not usually a good sign. Especially when the meeting involves the word "bankruptcy." But believe it or not, the news that came out of that meeting — the announcement that Creative Loafing, Inc. had filed that morning for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection — wasn't bad. In…
Reviews from CLIP’s first week of films
EDGE OF HEAVEN (Thurs. Oct. 9, 9:15 p.m.) Winner of the best screenplay award (for writer-director Fatih Akin) at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, Edge of Heaven is one Clip selection that every Bay area film lover should see. Turkish-born pensioner Ali and his son, Nejat, a literature professor in Hamburg, could hardly have less…
Avery’s The Maharaja Imperial India Pale Ale is almost too much beer for the likes of you
The Maharaja is one of the most dynamic and delicious ales on earth, but I hesitated to tell you about it. This brew is a seasonal offering and if you people run out and buy all this year's stock, I will be forced into a beer sadness rampage. But I must preach the word, so…
Who is behind commissioner Brian Blair’s campaign billboards?
The billboard on Ehrlich Road in north Tampa touting the re-election of Hillsborough County Commissioner Brian Blair reads, in fine print at the bottom, "Political advertisement paid for and approved by Brian Blair, Republican for Hillsborough County Commission, District 6." It appears, however, that his campaign did not pay for the billboard advertisement. Blair's campaign…
Partners Sports Café and Wings Gone Wild: sports bars to cheer for
Some sports bars are monstrous temples to the television, customers' eyes flickering from one flat-screen to the other in a media orgy broken only by glances at platters of fried foods. Others are homey spots more akin to your neighbor's bonus room — just a couple of TVs broadcasting the game and some cold draft…
Special Events: Emmanuel Jal – Friday, October 3
Sudanese hip-hop star Emmanuel Jal has been through much in his relatively short life. Drafted by the Sudan People's Liberation Army at age 7, Jal spent the next five years fighting in the country's bloody civil war until he and hundreds of other miserable child soldiers collectively deserted the rebel line. He was living in…
Film: Eurocrime Invasion Tampa 2008 — Friday, October 3
The latest film genre to receive the revival treatment is EuroCrime. Most famously drawn upon by filmmaker Quentin Tarantino in Grindhouse, Kill Bill and Jackie Brown, the ultra-low-budget, brutally violent Italian cop and gangster films ran rampant in Italy in the 1970's to compensate for the country's lack of commercial television and to entertain audiences…
Death Magnetic is vintage Metallica; Randy Newman hears Harps and Angels
Death Magnetic METALLICA (Warner Bros.) People who suffer from acute anxiety are often stalked in dreamland by a faceless marauder. Victims awaken breathing hard, clutching sheets wet with their own cold perspiration. Metallica vividly relates these perils in "All Nightmare Long," the eight-minute linchpin of the metal gods' spectacular comeback album, Death Magentic. It's similar…
Theater: Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical – Thursday, October 2
A play that continues to resonate and is especially relevant in today's uncertain times, Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical addresses issues of race, sexual freedom, environmental destruction, religion, and war amidst the cultural turmoil of the late 1960s. An all-student cast supported by a 13-piece onstage rock ensemble performs in USF School of Theatre…
Building the State perfoms at Ybor’s New World Brewery
Gainesville's Building the State crafts detailed, mostly organic post-rock that's math-y yet highly melodic — and entrancing. The quartet's soothing washes build slowly into rising waves that dissipate prior to crashing. Vocals are used sparingly and effectively. At its core, Building the State's music is about emotion, not mere technique and execution. The quartet's gig…
Art: Frank Strunk III – Tuesday, October 7
Industrial artist Frank Strunk III is best known by CL readers as the two-time "Best Wearable Art" award winner. His memorable creations pretty much put Dunedin Fine Art Center's annual Wearable Art Show on the map and made it a must-do annual art event. But Strunk's creativity stretches well beyond industrialized couture — he uses…
Reviews of Appaloosa, Blindness, Religulous, Flash of Genius and more movies
OPENING THIS WEEK APPALOOSA (R) Ed Harris's performance as Jackson Pollock was probably the best thing about his directorial debut, Pollock (2000), and it's largely the performances that linger in his second feature, a solidly constructed traditional western that he and Robert Knott adapted from a Robert Parker novella. Harris and Viggo Mortensen star as…
Ruskin hosts the Big Draw, a month-long series of drawing classes.
For people who don't view themselves as artistically inclined, it can be particularly intimidating to draw objects from the real world. That's why artist Ariel Baron-Robbins, as she stands amid a class of beginning sketchers, assures her students that no matter what successes they may have experienced in life, it's perfectly normal to be paralyzed…
Counting Crows and Maroon 5 at Ford Amphitheatre
While Counting Crows and Maroon 5 are similar bands from a general genre standpoint, expect more contrasts than similarities from this dual-bill show. Unlike Maroon 5, the Crows haven't scored a hit single in many a year, but they're a more seasoned concert outfit. Frontman Adam Duritz and company take a lot of liberties, sometimes…
Comedy: Lewis Black – Friday, October 3
The past several years have provided finger-pointing comedian Lewis Black with an excess of material to rant about. In his latest HBO special, Red, White and Screwed, Black waxes on topics ranging from Bush's inability to wear the right expression with whatever news he's delivering, to Dick Cheney's baffling quail-hunting incident. No telling how Palin's…
This week’s wine and food events
October 2-October 6
Museum of Fine Arts exhibits When Gold Blossoms and screens “Bollywood Nights”
Museum of Fine Arts' latest traveling exhibition is When Gold Blossoms: Indian Jewelry from the Susan L. Beningson Collection, which spotlights more than 150 rings, anklets, earrings, hair pendants, jeweled crowns and other priceless jeweled objects dating from the 17th through 19th centuries. The featured pieces demonstrate Southern India's preference for gold, as well as…
Seffner’s acoustic bluesman Ed Wright releases Just Right
Just Right ED WRIGHT (eddiewright.net) Seffner-based acoustic bluesman Ed Wright is known around Tampa Bay for regular solo gigs at restaurants and bars, plus collaborations with his buddy Damon Fowler. On Just Right, Wright displays his versatility as a singer, guitarist and harmonica player. He executes melodic fingerpicking, sympathetic harp blowing and a sensitive vocal…
The Sauce Boss, Against Me!, Jonathan Richman
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2 ATMOSPHERE w/ABSTRACT RUDE/BLUEPRINT/DJ RARE GROOVE Centered around rapper Slug (Sean Daley), Atmosphere is a Minneapolis hip-hop outfit that tours with a DJ, backup vocalist, keyboardist and guitarist. Slug's mellifluous flow and candid rhymes about getting dumped or being hungover have helped the group earn the tag "emo rap." But the lyrics aren't…
Palin asks: Are you experienced?
Sarah Palin drops another hint at her awesome fitness for the presidency, once McCain's glands get the best of him about six months from now: "He's got experience based on many, many years in the Senate and voters are going to have a choice about what they want for the next four years." Oh, wait…
Springsteen honors bandmate with soulful performance
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Tue., April 22, St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa Springsteen, Danny Federici, and Roy Bittan, Nov. 18, 2007, Boston. Photo by A.M. Saddler/Backstreets. A preacher of hope and compassion, Bruce Springsteen lifts peoples’ spirits more effectively than any other rocker. Featuring anthemic songs largely focused on redemption, his live…
Ronny Elliott applauded in No Depression
Since launching his solo career (with backing by The Nationals) a decade ago, Tampa's Ronny Elliott has garnered glowing reviews from across the globe in publications like Billboard and Rolling Stone Germany. His 2005 release Valentine Roadkill landed in venerable British music mag Mojo's Top 10 Americana albums of the year. The publication also profiled…
