[contextly_auto_sidebar] HERE is a piece I had not even heard of: "Lagrime di San Pietro," a chorale work by the ambiguously Italian composer Orlando di Lasso (who is usually described as Flemish). The Los Angeles Master Chorale put on this Renaissance work, directed by classical wildman Peter Sellars, about a week ago at Disney Hall. Despite my lack of knowledge of most chorale music, I took … [Read more...]
Otis Redding at the Whisky — Revisited
[contextly_auto_sidebar] YOU can never really have too much Otis Redding. The great R&B singer and songwriter died in a plane crash in 1967, at just 26 years old, and just about everything he recorded (included his radio spot for "Stay in School") is worth hearing. So it's good news that a legendary set of concerts -- his April 1966 shows at the Whisky a Go Go, which have been available in … [Read more...]
Lit Crawl L.A./ North Hollywood
[contextly_auto_sidebar] THE other night I ventured out to Los Angeles's North Hollywood neighborhood for the latest installment of Lit Crawl L.A. This annual night out has been going since 2013, but for various reasons I've missed it every time, even though NoHo is one of my favorite L.A. 'hoods. The idea of Lit Crawl is to arrange readings, conversations, rants, and various kinds of … [Read more...]
Billy Bragg and Joe Henry Ride the Rails
[contextly_auto_sidebar] WHAT happens when you take two of the best exemplars of stage patter in modern music, set them up in historic halls with old acoustic guitars, and let them unleash a set built on classic American train songs? An oddly satisfying, even at times thrilling, grownup show that made the railroad tradition seem like a central part of the American journey. Bragg is, of … [Read more...]
The bizarre wonder of The Iceland Concert
[contextly_auto_sidebar] About a week ago I went to see a cryptically named sort-of opera called "The Iceland Concert" at the John Anson Ford Amphitheater. I went mostly because of a vague interest in Scandinavian culture, because I was curious about the renovation of one of my favorite LA theaters, and because I trust the taste of the publicist. It didn't hurt that the success of groups like … [Read more...]
August Wilson’s “Ma Rainey” at the Taper
[contextly_auto_sidebar] LAST night I caught "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" -- one of the historically earliest of August Wilson's cycle of plays about black life in the 20th century -- at the Mark Taper Forum. This production, directed by Phylicia Rashad (best known for her role on "The Cosby Show"), has been justly celebrated already, so I will just introduce it and add a few details. Despite … [Read more...]
Guillermo Del Toro at LACMA
[contextly_auto_sidebar] I MUST admit to being the kind of museum-goer instinctively suspicious of exhibits about popular culture. I say this as someone who loves pop culture and spends most of his life there. But these exhibits can be ways of pandering in an attempt to draw new audiences. I'm all in favor of the new audiences, but turned off by the pandering. But I had high hopes for the … [Read more...]
Anne Lamott on Forgiveness
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="k5HVmkoS99tcx2yoOLVKnammF7vwZIsw"] THE essayist, Christian, feminist and political progressive is the latest subject of the Trust Me On This series I'm handling for Salon. The Bay-Area-based Lamott, perhaps best known for the book Bird by Bird, spoke to me about a subject central to her new collection, Small Victories -- forgiveness. Here is the story. Turns out … [Read more...]
Rock Bands and the Road
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="UGGL08WFaVocMMEMVIGcVFFUfCALT1t1"] IF you've followed the debate about the post-label, post-album music world, you've heard the cries of the optimists: Just get in the tourbus! Even digital utopians will concede that revenues from recordings are way down, but they assure us that bands can make up the different by playing shows. It is part of a larger neoliberal … [Read more...]
More Death Among the Alternative Press
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="RwTNk9ycXONYXBOQztWFt8xWs1Cktyce"] AT a certain point, we won't even notice it anymore when a publication we've loved and learned to rely on fades to black. For a little while longer, though, we'll still register it. That's one of the reasons I'm grimly happy to have had the chance to weigh in on the loss of two more alternative weeklies -- the Providence Phoenix on … [Read more...]