Show Review: Young the Giant at Safeway Open, 10/5/18

Young the Giant’s Sameer Gadhia

I started listening to Young the Giant (and bands like them) a few years ago when I bought a new car with satellite radio. This radically increased my exposure to all kinds of great bands. I quickly got hooked on Young the Giant songs like “My Body” and “Cough Syrup.” Later, “Something to Believe in” and “Silvertongue” continued to hold my interest. So when I found that they would be one of three concerts at this year’s Safeway Open in my own backyard (at Napa’s Silverado Resort), I made sure to clear my weekend to check them out live. Continue reading “Show Review: Young the Giant at Safeway Open, 10/5/18”

Theater Review: A.C.T. Presents Sweat – Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize Winning Drama about Working Class America

The cast of of Sweat, l. to r.: Jed Parsario, Adrian Roberts, Chiké Johnson, Tonye Patano, Lise Bruneau, Rod Gnapp, Sarah Nina Hayon, Kadeem Ali Harris, and David Darrow.

Simmering tensions underly a seemingly good time as friends gather at a bar in Reading, Pennsylvania. Set in the 2000s, scenes flash back and forth piecing together a riveting examination of corporate greed and its effects on working class America.

Sweat begins in an interrogation room ran by a very patient Evan (Adrian Roberts) as Jason (David Darrow) spews out anger and racial slurs. Chris (Kadeem Ali Harris) enters the scene and although the two men don’t remain in the same room, their bond is palpable. Something happened, and we aren’t quite sure what yet, as we flash back to three long time friends and steel factory workers, Tracey (Lise Bruneau), Cynthia (Tonye Patano), and Jessie (Sarah Nina Hayon). Continue reading “Theater Review: A.C.T. Presents Sweat — Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize Winning Drama about Working Class America”

Film Review: A Star is Born

Lady Gaga, not Cooper’s debut film, is the real Star here 

Mega star Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) and up-and-coming singer Ally (Lady Gaga) bond over songwriting.

What do the years 1937, 1954, and 1976 have in common with 2018? They, too, all had versions of the film A Star is Born playing in cinemas. Whether or not the movie-going public really needs a third remake of the 1937 original is up for debate (the ’54 and ’76 versions famously starred Judy Garland and Barbara Streisand, respectively), but actor Bradley Cooper apparently felt strongly that 2018 is the right moment for another try. He makes his writing and directing debut here, directing himself in a modern version of the classic story that, while showcasing the incredible talent of his co-star Lady Gaga, brings nothing fresh or extraordinary to the well-worn tale.

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Theater Review: Town of Danville Presents Charming Musical Comedy The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

From l. to r.: the contestants of Putnam’s annual spelling bee: Hayley Kennen (Barfee), Alex Borja (Leaf Coneybear), Zach Marshall (Chip), Kirsten Torkildson (Marcy Park), Micaela Gorman (Logainne), Emily Shea (Olive), and Shauna Shoptaw (Principal Rona Lisa Peretti)

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is exactly what it is, a Spelling Bee. And as it sounds, it’s a ridiculous evening full of quirky characters and hilarious musical numbers. We follow the journey of six young hopefuls as they navigate the pitfalls of puberty and the actualization of their expectations from the Bee. Continue reading “Theater Review: Town of Danville Presents Charming Musical Comedy The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee“

Show Review: Johnny Marr, the Belle Game at the Fillmore, 9/26/18

A night of nostalgia for all, Johnny Marr and the Belle Game gave a 4-apple performance at the Fillmore.

First up was the perfect support for Johnny Marr—and the perfect complement to my Parallels T-shirt—the Vancouver-based Belle Game, who have been synthing it up for nearly 10 years. And, they’ve never sounded better. Even their banter was on point, asking “How many people have already seen a show this week?” Many of us raised our hands, of course. Continue reading “Show Review: Johnny Marr, the Belle Game at the Fillmore, 9/26/18”

Show Review: Liz Phair, Speedy Ortiz at The Fillmore, 9/20/18

The year is 1995. I’m a 15 year-old that was just starting to figure out my musical tastes. I learned that MTV had a two hour-long program at midnight early Monday mornings, that aired “underground” music videos. (Underground is in quotes because, as a grown up, I’m aware that you couldn’t be that far underground to be shown on corporate television). Due to school getting in the way, I would set the VCR to record these videos to watch later. The music from these programs became the primary thing that encoded my tastes for the rest of my life. Two videos that I would rewind and re-watch incessantly, were Liz Phair’s “Never Said” and “Supernova.” 23 years later, I am finally fulfilling that dream of getting to experience this musician, who’s had such an intense effect on my development, perform a full-length concert. Continue reading “Show Review: Liz Phair, Speedy Ortiz at The Fillmore, 9/20/18”

Show Review: The National, Cat Power at The Greek Theater – UC Berkeley, 9/25/18

Photos by Jon BauerWords by Naomi Elvove

With two sets of talented brothers rocking the band, the soulful vocals of charismatic Matt Beninger, and a dynamic visual display, The National brought an evening of sensual delights to Berkeley’s Hearst Greek Theater last night. Continue reading “Show Review: The National, Cat Power at The Greek Theater — UC Berkeley, 9/25/18”

Film Review: Love, Gilda

A life, in comedic terms

In a mid ’70s comedy and TV landscape forever changed by Saturday Night Live, the Not Ready for Prime Time players seemed to effortlessly grow from goofy kids to global celebrities. The names read now like a Founding Fathers of Comedy: John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Jane Curtin. Lost in that heady group was Gilda Radner, who initially struggled to be one of the boys, then found her footing with a number of memorable recurring characters.

The new film Love, Gilda clumsily attempts to make a number of points about comedy, stardom, women in show business, and the corrosive effect of being compared to her castmates. It misses a chance to help us understand Radner not as a pioneer, but as a flawed woman who for some years found comfort in her comedic talents. Continue reading “Film Review: Love, Gilda“

Film Review: Life Itself

Your life itself deserves better than this trite, facile disaster

Abby (Olivia Wilde) and Will (Oscar Isaac) are so very much in love. Too bad they’re in a Dan Fogelman drama.

I’m trying to come up with one kind thing to say about Life Itself, the new movie from writer/director Dan Fogelman, creator of television’s weep-inducing phenom This is Us, and all I can come up with is, boy, Oscar Isaac sure is nice to look at. When one of the film’s characters proclaims outright, “This is some deep philosophical shit,” you know you’re in trouble. Fogelman commits the cardinal screenwriting sin of telling (and over and over and over, mind you) rather than showing, and the result is a cringe-inducing, treacly, overwrought mess of a picture that even This is Us fans will do well to avoid.

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