The glass bottom boat of the cultural press
In the wilds of Washington, the beautiful Columbia Gorge serves as the backdrop to the 4-day music festival extravaganza known as Sasquatch Fest. Alexa Harris was there to experience great shows and interesting people, and sometimes braving the elements along the way.
Guitar-slinging, torch-singing sensation Anna Calvi has been lighting up the Western Hemisphere this year in support of a stunning debut album. Steve Stav was lucky enough to witness her act firsthand, and came to his senses long enough to file this report.
Before John Hughes and Molly Ringwald came along, “Pretty in Pink” was a song on a seminal post-punk album, Talk Talk Talk. The Psychedelic Furs are celebrating the disc’s 30th anniversary with a tour, and Steve Stav was there to soak up the nostalgia – and a few surprises.
Many have called them the first punk band. Others insist they were the first “grunge” act. Regardless of their place in rock’s family tree, The Sonics’ influence has reached as far as Nirvana and The White Stripes. Recently reunited after 40 years apart, New Year’s Eve found The Sonics playing a homecoming show. Steve Stav was there to capture all their furious glory.
One of the eighties’ biggest icons is back - Billy Idol is on tour, and Ink 19 was there to witness the U.S. leg’s first show. Steve Stav attempts to bridge his Idol-worshipping teenage years with the 21st century in his riff-by-riff review.
Rockabilly, blues, jazz - delightful Dublin diva Imelda May put everything but the kitchen sink on the Moore Theater’s stage. Seattle hepcat Steve Stav was there to admire it all.
In an era of $100 tickets for has-been arena shows, twenty bucks doesn’t buy much entertainment. Or does it? Steve Stav found that his thin wallet went a long way at Seattle’s Showbox, in a night capped by Glasgow sensation Camera Obscura.
A mind-boggler - not one, but two bands from Tacoma have been performing almost as long as rock ‘n’ roll has been on the radio. Is Pacific Northwest drinking water a fountain of youth? Steve Stav ponders such longevity in his review of the Fabulous Wailers and the Ventures.
Blinded by science, indeed. Out of the blue, synth-pop pioneer Thomas Dolby is back – and sounding as if he never left. The cell phone technology mogul has taken a break from his day job, dazzling his long-lost fans with a brief spring tour. Steve Stav braved everything but inclement weather in order to file his report on Dolby’s one-man show, which proved to be one of the most unusual concert experiences of his life.
The Sunset Tavern’s Anniversary Toga Party, featuring The Young Fresh Fellows, Huge Spacebird, and The Chris & Tad Show, at the Sunset Tavern in Seattle, WA on June 21, 2002. Event review by Steve Stav. Photos by Andrea Miller.
Paul Kelly at the Crocodile Café in Seattle, WA on March 20, 2002. Concert review by Steve Stav.
Concert addict Jeremy Glazier talked with A.J. Croce near the beginning of his year-long Croce Plays Croce tour about embracing his father’s music and his own while honoring both their familial bond and shared influences.
For Lily and Generoso, 2023 was a fantastic year at the cinema! They select and review their ten favorite films, six supplemental features, and one extraordinary repertory release seen at microcinemas, archives, and festivals.
The hidden gem of the French New Wave, Le Combat Dans L’île gets a lovely Blu-ray from Radiance Films.
This fall, Ani DiFranco brought new Righteous Babe labelmate Kristen Ford to Iowa City, where Jeremy Glazier enjoyed an incredible evening of artistry.
This week Christopher Long grabs a bag of bargain vinyl from a flea market in Mount Dora, Florida — including You’re Never Alone with a Schizophrenic, the classic 1979 LP from Ian Hunter.
Bob Pomeroy gets into four Radio Rarities from producer Zev Feldman for Record Store Day with great jazz recordings from Wes Montgomery, Les McCann, Cal Tjader, and Ahmad Jamal.
Bob Pomeroy digs into Un “Sung Stories” (1986, Liberation Hall), Blasters’ frontman Phil Alvin’s American Roots collaboration with Sun Ra and his Arkestra, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and New Orleans saxman Lee Allen.
Roi J. Tamkin reviews A Darker Shade of Noir, fifteen new stories from women writers completely familiar with the horrors of owning a body in a patriarchal society, edited by Joyce Carol Oates.
Mandatory: The Best of The Blasters (Liberation Hall). Review by Bob Pomeroy.
Feeling funky this week, Christopher Long gets his groove on while discovering a well-cared-for used vinyl copy of one of his all-time R&B faves: Ice Cream Castle, the classic 1984 LP from The Time, for just a couple of bucks.
During AFI Fest 2023, Lily and Generoso interviewed director Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir, whose impressive debut feature, City of Wind, carefully examines the juxtaposition between the identity of place and tradition against the powers of modernity in contemporary Mongolia.