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FALL ARTS
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Welcome to the 2010 edition of the Boston Phoenix’s Fall Preview, a combination of listings and critics’ picks for the best of arts and entertainment in the coming months. In preparing this guide, we’ve tried to bring you the most accurate information possible, but it’s always a good idea to give clubs, museums, galleries, and performance venues a call before stepping out. Also, check the weekly listings in the Phoenix Arts section or at thePhoenix.com to find out about those last-minute additions to movie screens, stages, and galleries in the Boston area.
4 FILM _BY PETER KEOUGH
Look for James Franco as Allen Ginsberg, Helen Mirren as a CIA assassin, Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko, and the invention of Facebook.
8 NATIONAL POP _BY DANIEL BROCKMAN
T.I., Kanye, the Orb, Nicki Minaj, Salem, Zola Jesus, Zach Hill, Kylesa, Warpaint, and Neil Young all bring out new sounds.
10 LOCAL POP _BY MICHAEL MAROTTA
Aloud, Coralcola, You Can Be a Wesley, Love in Stockholm, the Hush Now, Young Adults, and Viva Viva bring out their new CDs at local shows.
22 JAZZ _BY JON GARELICK
Esperanza Spalding, Chris Potter, Jim Hobbs, Steve Lantner, Francisco Mela, Mina Cho, Ran Blake, Aardvark, the Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra, and Berklee’s BeanTown Jazz Festival all keep your toes tapping.
24 CLASSICAL _BY LLOYD SCHWARTZ
James Levine’s Mahler and Wagner with the BSO, Benjamin Zander’s Ravel and Gershwin with the BPO, Russell Sherman’s Schumann, Boston Lyric Opera’s Tosca, and Opera Boston’s Fidelio are just a few highlights of a packed season.
28 THEATER _BY CAROLYN CLAY
ArtsEmerson hits the boards running, Rock of Ages rocks the ’80s, Tennessee Williams returns to Provincetown, and we get Henry IV, Parts 1 & 2 plus Nicholas Nickleby, Parts 1 & 2.
32 DANCE _BY DEBRA CASH
Boston Ballet’s La Bayadère, Doug Elkins and Friends’ Fraulein Maria, Basil Twist’s Petrushka, plus Rubberdance, Caitlin Corbett, Trajal Harrell, and Mark Morris promise anything but a conventional dance season.
36 ART _BY GREG COOK
William Kentridge, Triiibe, John Osorio-Buck, Frances Stark, Sheila Hicks, Mark Bradford, and the MFA’s opening of its new Art of the Americas Wing make for an exciting fall.
46 TELEVISION _BY RYAN STEWART
Yes, the chatter about TV’s new Golden Age is true. Boardwalk Empire, Running Wilde, The Walking Dead, and — yes, yes — Glee, all give us hope for another great season in front of the tube.
48 GAMES _BY MITCH KRPATA
Sony steps up with Playstation Move, Microsoft unleashes Kinect, plus the next chapters of Rock Band, Medal of Honor, Gran Turismo, and . . . Donkey Kong Country Returns.
50 BOOK EVENTS _BY EUGENIA WILLIAMSON
How can you complain about a season that includes new books and local readings by Oliver Sacks, Paul Auster, Dennis Lehane, Michael Cunningham, Salman Rushdie, and David and Amy Sedaris? COV E R I M AG E BY K B O N A M I
4 SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 | FALL ARTS PREVIEW | SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOSTON PHOENIX | THEPHOENIX.COM
E I V O M L A N O S A E S R E D R O S I D FILM
FEAR AND LOATHING ON THE FALL FILM TRAIL
_BY PETER KEOUG H
Y
Vacations end, the days shorten, the weather turns cold, the world darkens with intimations of decline and death — and yet people still love the fall. Cinephiles do, at any rate. The frivolous days of summer movies were fun, but it’s time to get serious. Not just because life in general is grim again, but because the Oscar deadline approaches, and the Academy doesn’t like comedies. Hence the release of Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter, David Fincher’s The Social Network, Danny Boyle’s 127 Days, and Edward Zwick’s Love and Other Drugs, among others. Then there’s that other big competition brewing — the mid-term elections on November 2. So of course Hollywood will be tapping into some of the national uncertainty, disappointment, and anger. Election Tuesday this year falls close to Halloween, another mass outpouring of fear, duplicity, and evil. That might account for the unusual number of horror, sci-fi, and otherwise terror-inducing movies — films like Buried, Let Me In, My Soul to Take, the remake of I Spit on Your Grave, Paranormal Activity 2, Saw VII 3D, Unstoppable . . . Who knows, maybe they’ll scare us so much, we won’t even notice that the Republicans have taken over the country again.
SEPTEMBER
The greatest horror in history was the Holocaust, and as Yael Hersonski’s A FILM UNFINISHED (September 24) reveals, the Nazis were the first to try to make a movie about it. That’s just one of many grotesque ironies Hersonski uncovers as he investigates the raw footage of a documentary film about the Warsaw Ghetto shot by the German occupiers for propaganda purposes. After such grave matters, the fluffy KINGS OF PASTRY (September 24) makes for a welcome contrast. This surprisingly exciting film from veteran documentarians D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus records the annual three-day competition to determine the best confectionary cook in France. Think of it as American Idol with toques and spatulas. It seems the French can make something sweet out of just about anything, even the bitterness of romantic turmoil. Consider Pascal Chaumeil’s HEARTBREAKER (September 24). It’s a
FOR OSCAR OR JUST FUN? Helen Mirren and John Malkovich are over-the-hill CIA assassins in Red. romantic comedy about an undercover team who specialize in breaking up relationships that parents don’t approve of. Then the chief lothario falls in love himself. See it now, before the likely Hollywood remake. The harried heroine in Andy Fickman’s YOU AGAIN (September 24) should probably call the team in Heartbreaker — she’s just found out that her brother plans to marry the girl who tormented her in high school. The multi-generational female cast includes Kristen Bell, Sigourney Weaver, and the immortal Betty White. The school in You Again couldn’t have been worse than the one in NEVER LET ME GO (September 24). Mark Romanek’s adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel about young love in a sinister boarding school in the dystopian future stars Andrew Garfield and three of Britain’s top actresses: Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan, and Charlotte Rampling. What’s with these creepy boarding schools? The one in LEGEND OF THE
GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA’HOOLE
(September 24) is strictly for the birds. Zack Snyder’s animated adaptation of
the first in Kathryn Lasky’s series of books is about a young barn owl who escapes from owlet indoctrination camp to seek out the raptor rescuers of the title. Who’s in it? Abbie Cornish, Hugo Weaving, and Helen Mirren give a hoot. Lets hope the owls do a better job than the crew in Snyder’s Watchmen. And where were these heroes when the economy tanked a couple of years back? Leave it to Oliver Stone to get to the bottom of it all in WALL STREET 2: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS (September 24). Even Michael Douglas’s Gordon Gekko, just sprung from the clink, can’t believe the damage his “greed is good” ethos has wrought. Shia LaBeouf, Carey Mulligan, and Charlie Sheen also star. Everything you didn’t understand in Michael Moore’s Capitalism, a Love Story will make even less sense here.
OCTOBER
It sounds like a perfect metaphor for the war now winding down: in Rodrigo Cortés’s BURIED (October 1), Iraqi insurgents kidnap a civilian contractor and bury
him alive. Future Green Lantern Ryan Reynolds stars, taking on a predicament that would test the mettle of a superhero — or Uma Thurman in Kill Bill Vol. 1. While Ryan Reynolds is thinking, “Let me out,” Kick-Ass’s Chloe Moretz and The Road’s Kodi Smit-McPhee are saying, LET ME IN (October 1). Matt Reeves of Cloverfield fame remakes Swedish director Tomas Alfredson’s acclaimed, coming-of-age 2008 vampire film, Let the Right One In. Could the popularity of vampires reflect the life-sucking nature of modern media? You might post that for discussion on your Facebook page — or wait for David Fincher’s THE SOCIAL NETWORK (October 1), a bio-pic based on Ben Mezrich’s book about the billionaires who developed that wildly popular Web site. The stars include your good friends Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, and Justin Timberlake. For a round-up of other current odd topics, check out Seth Gordon’s FREAKONOMICS (October 1). Based on the Stephen D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubne bestseller, it’s a compilation of reports from top documentarians: Alex Gibney on sumo wrestling, Morgan Spurlock on baby names, Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing on underachieving kids motivated by money, Eugene Jarecki on the drop in crime rates in the early ’90s. Continued on p 6
HOWL James Franco is Allen Ginsberg (!) in this dramatization about the poem’s creation and its aftermath.
6 SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 | FALL ARTS PREVIEW | SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOSTON PHOENIX | THEPHOENIX.COM
Continued from p 4 Chris D’Arienzo’s BARRY MUNDAY (October 1) sounds like an outtake from Freakonomics: a guy wakes up in a hospital and finds his testicles are missing. Mae Whitman and Patrick Wilson star. And Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman’s HOWL (October 1) sounds like Barry Munday’s first reaction. Instead it’s a dramatization of the iconic Allen Ginsberg poem, its composition, and the subsequent trial for obscenity; James Franco, Jon Hamm, and Mary Louise Parker star. If James Franco can play Allen Ginsberg, there’s no reason he can’t play a hunky prince in a fairy tale — especially when he’s teamed up again with Pineapple Express co-star Danny McBride and that film’s director, David Gordon Green, in YOUR HIGHNESS (October 1). This one’s a comedy fantasy in which two brothers vie to save a distressed damsel played by Zooey Deschanel. Hey, isn’t it time for another Woody Allen movie? How about YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER (October 1), a droll comedy about the intertwining fates of two married couples, their children, and various tall dark strangers, set in London. The usual stunning cast includes Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Gemma Jones, Josh Brolin, and Naomi Watts. Sam Taylor-Wood’s NOWHERE BOY (October 8) is another tale of intertwining fates set in Britain. Starring Aaron Johnson and Kristin Scott Thomas, it relates the schoolboy days of John Lennon as he bonds with his estranged mother and meets the mates who will make up his band. What the Beatles were to pop music, SECRETARIAT (October 8) was to horse racing. Randall Wallace’s bio-pic stars an Oscar-seeking Diane Lane as the plucky woman who guided the career of the thoroughbred Triple Crown winner of 1973. They say playing the stock market is like betting on horses with other people’s money, but if you’re still trying to figure out what a derivative is even after seeing Wall Street 2, INSIDE JOB (October 8), Charles Ferguson’s documentary about the economic meltdown, might shed some light. And if you’re wondering what you could do to get a CONVICTION (October 15) for some of those high-rollers who capitalized on all that misery, you could take inspiration from the heroine of Tony Goldwyn’s bio-pic. She’s a high-school dropout who studies for a law degree in order to overturn her brother’s unjust murder conviction. Hilary Swank plays the part, no doubt seeking Oscar number three. I don’t know whether Helen Mirren and Morgan Freeman are looking for more Oscars as over-the-hill CIA assassins in RED (October 15), but they’re clearly up for a good time as they star with John Malkovich and Bruce Willis in Robert Schwentke’s comedy/action spoof. More highbrow satire is on hand in Stephen Frears’s TAMARA DREWE (October 15), an adaptation of Posy Simmonds’s graphic-novel updating of Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Mad-
Will Morning Globe follow in the hallowed tradition of Network, Broadcast News, and Anchorman? Stars Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, and Diane Keaton hope for the best. Or perhaps the forces of history are simply UNSTOPPABLE (November 12), like the runaway train in Tony Scott’s thriller starring Denzel Washington, Rosario Dawson, and Chris Pine. But maybe the time has come for a hero, like the reliable boy wizard in
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1 (November 19). David
FRIEND ME? David Fincher brings Ben Mezrich’s book about Facebook to the screen with The Social Network. ding Crowd. And speaking of adapting classics: why did they wait so long to remake the notorious 1978 rape revenge slasher movie I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE (October 15)? Steven R. Monroe directs, and I bet his folks are proud of him. As we near the Day of the Dead, further grave matters are dealt with in Clint Eastwood’s HEREAFTER (October 22), in which three persons — a bluecollar American, a French journalist, and a London schoolboy — are touched by death in serendipitous ways. Matt Damon and Cecile De France star. Serendipity probably has little to do with the way death touches the victims in Kevin Greutert’s SAW VII 3D (October 22). Eschewing the new 3-D technology and probably most of the gore of Saw VII is PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 (October 22), Tod Williams’s follow-up to last year’s minimalist horror flick. More along the same lines and perhaps inspired by District 9, another one of last year’s low-budget genre sleepers, is Gareth Edwards’s MONSTERS (October 29). Here a journalist escorts a tourist to the US border across a Central American no man’s land infested by aliens — probably only to be picked up in an Arizona traffic stop. And rounding out this Halloween scarum harem is the ever reliable Wes Craven with MY SOUL TO TAKE (October 29), which tells the heartwarming tale of a serial killer who returns to his home town to kill everyone who shares his birthday. Meanwhile, some real trick-or-treating comes to the characters of THE COMPANY MEN (October 29), in which hotshot executives get laid off and trade in their white collars for blue in order to survive. ER’s John Wells shot this drama locally, with stars Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, and Tommy Lee Jones.
the ever resilient James Franco who’s been trapped under a boulder with few options for escape. Or maybe you can empathize with the guy in DUE DATE (November 5), Todd Phillips’s followup to The Hangover, in which a fatherto-be must hitch a ride, Planes, Trains & Automobiles–style, with an unsavory unemployed actor. Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis star. And maybe you’ll be asking why the heck they didn’t release FAIR GAME (November 5), Doug Liman’s drama about the Valerie Plame affair starring Naomi Watts and Sean Penn, a week earlier. To figure out what happened, however, you’d probably have to be MEGAMIND (November 5), the super-villain in Tom McGrath’s animated comedy fantasy featuring the voices of Brad Pitt, Will Ferrell, Jonah Hill, and Tina Fey. For starters, I’d blame the media, who are the butt of the joke in Roger Michell’s MORNING GLOBE (November 11), a comedy about a TV producer trying to resuscitate a moribund morning show.
Yates directs the penultimate episode in the saga, with Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, Ralph Fiennes, and Helena Bonham Carter. Or someone closer to home, like the faithful husband in Paul Haggis’s THE NEXT THREE DAYS (November 19), who doesn’t have the patience to get a law degree to clear his wrongly accused wife and decides to spring her from the joint the old-fashioned way. Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks, and Liam Neeson star. But you know, even if you succeed at something heroic like that, most likely a beam of light will descend from the sky sucking up everybody out of existence, the way it does in SKYLINE (November 19), an apocalyptic frightfest from Colin and Greg Strause. I suppose we can still take hope in uplifting stories from the past, such as Tom Hooper’s THE KING’S SPEECH (November 26), the true story of the speech therapist who corrected the future King George VI’s stammer. (Or was that My Fair Lady?) Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and the ubiquitous Helena Bonham Carter star. Or uplifting tales from the present, like Edward Zwick’s LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS (November 24), which, with Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, and Gabriel Macht, is about the guy who invented Viagra. But if you’re just in the mood to get away from it all — and it is Thanksgiving, for crying out loud — there’s nothing like a fairy tale. So take the family to see TANGLED (November 24), Nathan Greno’s animated version of Rapunzel, with the voices of Byron Howard and Mandy Moore. ^
NOVEMBER
So it’s been roughly 127 HOURS (November 5) since the mid-term elections, and chances are you’re feeling like the guy in Danny Boyle’s harrowing true-life story, a mountain climber played by
DID YOU SAY DERIVATIVE? Michael Douglas’s Gordon Gekko (here with Shia LaBeouf) returns in Oliver Stone’s Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps.
8 SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 | FALL ARTS PREVIEW | SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOSTON PHOENIX | THEPHOENIX.COM
P O P L A N O I NAT
E G A N E D THE GOL THE INDUSTRY IS DEAD, BUT THE MUSIC LIVES ON
_ BY DA N I E L B RO C K M A N
Y
Okay, so the album is dead, the music industry is dead, rock is dead, and the Library of Alexandria you have stored on your C drive has killed 150 years of recorded music culture. But wait: there are still pop stars on the radio, massive tours booked nationwide, and new albums flooding onto the shelves in record numbers. I guess for those in the biz, a downturn of a few percentage points is the Apocalypse. For those who love and pay attention to music, however, it’s a golden era, as the flow of new awesome acts piles up against established artists who need to keep it exciting now that they can’t just coast on the back catalogue. If this is the way the (music) world ends, it’s going to be not with a whimper but with a deluge. That applies especially to this fall’s offerings — our cup runneth over with sweet, sweet jams.
heartening to see a band make music that’s truly original while still kicking much ass. Savannah’s Kylesa have been through a lengthy apprenticeship, touring with titans like Mastodon and Converge. That resulted in the BlackFlag-meets-Black-Sabbath aggro-kick that was last year’s Static Tensions. They follow it quick-like with their new Spiral Shadow, which ups Tensions’ psych excursions and sheer ferocity. See them showcase the new material when they swing through the Middle East in Cambridge on October 23 with High on Fire and Torche.
WARPAINT | THE FOOL [ROUGH TRADE] | October 26 | Few 2009 records were as hypnotically spectral as Exquisite Corpse, an EP by LA quartet Warpaint. Tinkling guitar noodles and insistent rhythms rammed up against the ladies’ wall of harmonic vocal layers like a thousand blankets tossed into a thick forest at dusk. Their debut longplayer sees them burrowing further into sonic density — credit the rave sensibilities of mixer/legend Andrew Weatherall and the noise-rock pedigree of Liars/Karen O producer Tom Biller.
tember 28 | If 2008 was all about dubstep, and 2009 was all about chillwave, then 2010’s genre signifier that no one really understands is “witch house.” Two of the movement’s shining stars drop debut CDs on the same day. Salem sound like Mazzy Star on a ’Tussin bender, but with enough shining songcraft to puncture the foreboding synth clouds; the resulting album is the audio experience of the year, an epic to be experienced as a whole. By comparison, the oddly monikered oOoOO EP is bursting with joy, with tribal drums and clinking notes flitting around alluring female vocals on the lead single, “Hearts.”
T.I. | KING UNCAGED [GRAND HUSTLE/ATLANTIC] | September 28 | T.I. is not the only rapper recently out of jail putting out an album this fall (Gucci Mane’s aptly named The Appeal hits shelves the same day), but he is the most highprofile, especially given the doubleplatinum success of 2008’s Paper Trail. King Uncaged showcases, in song after song, his shy humility. Psych! It offers his most outlandish braggadocio, whether in the RedOne/Lady Gaga collaboration “Lick It” or the brash haterade of lead single “I’m Back.”
NEIL YOUNG | LE NOISE [REPRISE] | September 28 | Remember the Neil Young that was dead set against all things digital? That curmudgeon seems long gone — Neil Young 2.0 goes on Facebook to post deets on his new Daniel
REUTERS
SALEM | KING NIGHT [IAMSOUND] | oOoOO | oOoOO EP [TRI ANGLE] | Sep-
FIGHT THE POWER Kanye faces off against his old nemesis Taylor Swift with Dark Twisted Fantasy. Lanois–helmed solo platter, detailing the album’s accompanying iPhone app. Of course, the old Neil surfaces when he adds this: “Forgive my use of the word ‘album.’ I am old school.” Uh, no kidding, Neil. But old school or not, expect wounded melodies, prickly guitar, and the Lanois trademark atmospherics.
THE ORB featuring DAVID GILMOUR | METALLIC SPHERES [COLUMBIA] | October
cesses for Brit belters Bat for Lashes and Florence + the Machine. You can now add Nika Roza Danilova, a/k/a Zola Jesus, to the short list. Her excellent 2009 Stridulum EP, with its lead single, “Night,” conjured the dark majesty of classic Siouxsie, mixing that with Nika’s opera-trained weapon of a voice. This new EP promises to scale even greater heights.
4 | If you salivated at the thought of a reunion while watching Pink Floyd play Live 8 a few years ago, only to have that hope dashed time and time again, this pairing of Floyd ax man David Gilmour with Alex Paterson’s Orb is a dream come true. Comprising two album-sidelength tracks, Metallic Spheres finds the pair working with renowned producer and erstwhile Killing Joke bassist Youth. We gather its release will be celebrated in NYC and LA with special laser-show listening parties — which sounds like some kind of awesome hipster re-creation of Dazed and Confused.
ZACH HILL | FACE TAT [SARGENT HOUSE] | October 19 | Hella drummer
ZOLA JESUS | VALUSIA EP [SACRED BONES] | October 12 | It’s shaping up to
KYLESA | SPIRAL SHADOW [SEASON OF MIST] | October 26 | As modern metal
be a boom period for powerful female vocalists. Last year saw breakout suc-
increasingly becomes about re-enacting the tropes of mid-’80s thrash, it’s always
extraordinaire Zach Hill will probably get more attention for his third album-length collab with two-handtapping whiz Marnie Stern, whose homonymous disc drops a few weeks before this one on Kill Rock Stars. But the real gold is on this, his follow-up to 2008’s double CD Astrological Straits, wherein he and a cast of tens display what happens when you marry Lightning Bolt–level rock overload with glitchy electro-pop. The evidence is on preview single “Sacto Smile.”
NICKI MINAJ | PINK FRIDAY [YOUNG MONEY/CASH MONEY/UNIVERSAL MOTOWN] | November 23 | “Which bitch you know make a million off a mixtape?”, Minaj asked on her guest verse on Drake’s “Up All Night.” There are probably fewer proverbial bitches making a mill off a second or third, however — which is why it’s past high time for Minaj to release an actual album already! Pink Friday has already spawned a Top 20 hit with the Annie Lenox–sampling “Your Love,” a midtempo ballad that suggests the album won’t be composed entirely of the hyperactive schizo sex jams that made her mixtapes such hot items a few years ago.
KANYE WEST | DARK TWISTED FANTASY [ISLAND/DEF JAM] | November | We love Kanye because his every megalomaniacal claim gets proved true. The dude goes on Twitter and becomes the king of Twitter; then he considers himself the king of crashing awards shows, and everyone just steps aside and says, “This one’s all you.” If the first single, “Power,” is any indication, DTF will be sloppy bragging emo-hop writ large large LARGE — but will it be large enough to overshadow the new Taylor Swift long-player, which is due to drop around the same time? ^
10 SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 | FALL ARTS PREVIEW | SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOSTON PHOENIX | THEPHOENIX.COM
E N E C S G CHANGIN LOCAL POP
THE BEST OF THE SEASON’S LOCAL POP AND ROCK
_BY MICHA EL M A ROT TA
magnetic chambers of glossy indie pop to a free-falling trip down a shoegaze hole. And in a city traditionally mad for melodic, atmospheric indie rock, the Hush Now should soon scream loudly on both sides of the river. They celebrate the EP’s release at Mad Oak Studios, where it was mixed by Motherboar’s Benny Grotto. | Mad Oak Studios, 28 Rugg Road, Allston | Tickets TBA | 617.787.3218 or myspace. com/madoak
YOU CAN BE A WESLEY | October 7 | Allston’s whip-smart indie kids like to keep things loose and on the fly. So
Also coming this fall . . . MORE LOCAL RELEASES TO LOOK FORWARD TO
READY TO BREAK With Shiver Me Starships, the Hush Now should finally get some home-town love.
Y
Fall is always the best time of year in Boston. From the tree leaves to the reprieve from summer heat to the armies of new students, there’s a feeling of change in the crisp autumn air. And part of that change involves Boston’s ever-evolving sonic template. These eight new aural offerings from around the 617 should continue to reshape the city’s music pulse:
ALOUD | September 23 | Keeping with the times, Boston riff-raging quartet Aloud enlisted the help of Kickstarter to fund their third studio album, Exile. With the charitable help of 98 backers, Aloud ringleaders Jen de la Osa and Henry Beguiristain achieved their $5000 donation goal in early August, giving birth to Exile and providing us with the kind of sharp, literary-minded rock passion we’ve come to expect from scene veterans who have little time for trends. | Church, 69 Kilmarnock St, Boston | $10 | 617.236.7600 or churchofboston.com
CORALCOLA | September 28 | If Dom recolored Worcester in a glorious spectrum of bliss-pop hues, then Coralcola have set out to pixelate them in trippy, ambient electronic drones. The solo project from Wormtown’s Mikey Lee drops his followup to the Egggirl EP in cassette form off Moss Archive. Pure Doods is a 21-minute
haze of post-summer stoner techno, a marriage of Roland Juno 60 and multiFX pedal that builds on Lee’s penchant for unpredictable sonic space travel. It’s limited to 100 copies, so tune in before the fade. | Wonderbar, 186 Harvard Ave, Allston | $5 | 617.351.2665 or wonderbarboston.com
LOVE IN STOCKHOLM | October 1 | A few years ago, Love in Stockholm defended their home turf with a smoky, funkfusion groove beast titled “Allston.” Now the sextet continue to keep it real in Rock City by dropping their debut fulllength, A King’s Ransom, at Harpers Ferry. Recorded in part at Waltham’s Woolly Mammoth Sound, the fan-funded album takes on a stronger classic-rock feel, but the band’s continuing allegiance to their signature horn work proves they haven’t abandoned their funk-pop edge. | Harpers Ferry, 158 Brighton Ave, Allston | $10 | 617.254.9743 or harpersferryboston.com THE HUSH NOW | October 2 | When the Hush Now self-released their sophomore album, Constellations, earlier this year, more people seemed to notice it outside the I-495 belt (Chicago, San Francisco) than inside. New EP Shiver Me Starships — available as a free download after September 28 — should change all that. Few bands can so effortlessly bounce from the
As of press time, there were no shows scheduled to celebrate these three releases, but they’re worth your attention when they drop this fall.
f
FREEZEPOP | In Boston, Freezepop were perfecting blip-obsessed synthpop at the turn of the millennium when everyone else was just getting into post-punk. Imaginary Friends (November 9) tackles honest electronic pop face forward, with a heavier use of analog synthesizers and outboard gear and one simple motto: more playing, less programming. YES GIANTESS | These Boston dance-pop royals lean toward classic house and IDM for their upcoming EP, which is set to drop on London/ NYC boutique label Black Math Music. It has the smooth track-totrack feel of a mixtape, the early working title is Westlake Prom, 1983, and we can expect a John Hughes– inspired video by Christmas. BAD RABBITS | After spending summer in a Los Angeles studio with new-jack-swing producer Teddy Riley, this still-unsigned powerpunk quintet keep fans fed with a new remix EP that should hit dance floors by Thanksgiving. The debut full-length drops in 2011. _MM
though we do know they’ll be releasing at least two new songs tonight, the jury’s still out on whether those will appear for public consumption on DIY vinyl or as part of a limited-edition screenprinted CD-R/zine/storybook combination platter. Either way, it’ll serve as a warm-up for a proper full-length over the winter — except that the band will have a new drummer and maybe a new name by then because, well, sensibilities change when you’re not 18-year-old stoners anymore. | Great Scott, 1222 Comm Ave, Allston | $7 | 617.566.9014 or greatscottboston.com
VIVA VIVA | October 7 | The legend of Viva Viva has grown exponentially on the shoulders of explosive live performances. So though the Cambridge rock-and-roll gang’s debut full-length has been floating around on Bandcamp the past few months, we can’t help being excited that actual hard copies of the album will be available at the Fort Point Recordings showcase. Our city’s answer to the Brian Jonestown Massacre, Viva Viva could be the finest rock band in any Boston zip code, and now the energy of their psychdrunk garage rock stage show gets carried over to the home CD collection. Viva la vida. | Middle East upstairs, 472 Mass Ave, Cambridge | $12 | 617.864.3278 or mideastclub.com
NEW COLLISIONS | October 9 | The Cambridge quintet stormed out of the gate last year with an ’80s-inspired synthed-pop EP, and after just a handful of local gigs, they packed up and hit the road with a bunch of new-wave legends. Now they’re back with The Optimist, a debut full-length curated by Sean Slade and Paul Kolderie at Camp Street studios. Representing a slightly mod-ernized musical sea change that’s more Cheap Trick than Blondie, they’re still on a head-on collision with the dance floor. | Great Scott, 1222 Comm Ave, Allston | $10 | 617.566.9014 or greatscottboston.com YOUNG ADULTS | November 6 | Fuck trends or college parties or dive bars — Allston will always be defined by its brash, loud, noisy punk bands. So now it’s Young Adults’ time to make a racket. The trio’s Black Hole 12-inch (limited to 500 copies on fledgling Czech Republic–based AMDISCS) is 11 blistering lo-fi garage punk jams all jacked up with the help of engineers Justin Pizzoferrato (Sonic Youth, the Hold Steady) and Dan Gonzalez at Brighton’s Esthudio home studio. Young Adults prove that Allston still has the fury that pushes our musical boundaries. | Great Scott, 1222 Comm Ave, Allston | $8 | 617.566.9014 or greatscottboston.com ^
2010–2011 SEASON OCTOBER 2 – MAY 7
JAMES LEVINE MUSIC DIRECTOR
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12 SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 | FALL ARTS PREVIEW | SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOSTON PHOENIX | THEPHOENIX.COM/FALL
E F I L T H G I N
LISTINGS
DOWNTOWN ALIBI 215 Charles St, Boston | 857.241.1144 | alibiboston.com | Nestled inside the trendy Liberty Hotel in Beacon Hill, Alibi occupies the space that once served as the Charles Street Jail’s drunk tank. Its walls are decorated with mugshots and the alibis of naughty celebs like Jim Morrison and Frank Sinatra, and many of the bar’s signature cocktails are crime-themed (try the Jailbait, a pomegranate mojito). Jeans are allowed, but hats are banned and bar patrons are urged to “look good.” | Open daily 5 pm-2 am BLACK ROSE 160 State St, Boston | 617.742.2286 | irishconnection.com | An Irish pub in the Faneuil HallQuincy Market area. Locals of all ages gather to listen to nightly live performances by Irish musicians. | Open Mon-Fri 11 am-2 am, Sat-Sun 9 am-2 am BOND 250 Franklin St, Boston | 617.956.8765 | bondboston.com | In the former Boston branch of the Federal Reserve Bank, Bond is more secured transactions and less 007. Throbbing dance electronica, a plasma TV tuned to sports, and a DJ spinning four nights each week. Small plates, fine wine, Latin-inspired entrees, and delicious desserts. | Open 11 am-10 pm; bar until 2 am BUSKER’S LOUNGE 67 Canal St, Boston | 857.350.3922 | buskerslounge.com | A lounge near the TD Banknorth Garden offering martinis and bistro-style food “for the sophisticated professional, sports fan, or casual visitor.” It’s attached to Grand Canal. Open daily for lunch and dinner, with DJs spinning nightly. | Open Mon-Wed 11:30 am-7 pm,Thurs-Sat 11:30 am-2 am CAPRICE LOUNGE 275 Tremont St, Boston | 617.292.0080 | underbaronline. com | Located in the heart of the Theater District, this venue houses a public lounge and VIP areas. The dark, luxurious decor gives Caprice a rich, seductive feel, but check listings for the Wang Theatre to avoid pre- and post-show crowds. Some club nights are guest-list only, so check the Web site and make reservations if necessary. | Open daily from 9 pm-2 am DISTRICT 180 Lincoln St, Boston | 781.338.9977 | districtboston.com | This exclusive Leather District lounge has edgy decor, gourmet food, fruity cocktails, and a strict dress code on some nights. Some club events are guest-list only, so check the Web site and make reservations if necessary. | Open Wed-Fri 5 pm-2 am, Sat 6 pm-2 am DRINK 348 Congress St, Boston | 617.695.1806 | drinkfortpoint.com | They say God is in the details... and if there is a cocktail god, John Gertsen is his son. The basil is grown behind the bar and ice comes chipped off blocks the size
of a Corvette engine (to minimize air bubbles). Obsession with minutiae makes Drink’s the best artisan cocktails in town. | Open daily 4 pm-1 am ESTATE 1 Boylston Pl, Boston | 617.351.7000 | theestateboston.com | The purveyors of posh behind this spot have been upping the Hub’s hotness factor by bringing in topdollar DJs, not to mention former models, reality stars, and celebs including the Pussycat Dolls. | Open Thurs-Sat 10 pm-2 am FELT 533 Washington St, Boston | 617.350.5555 | feltclubboston.com | Located in Boston’s Leather District, Felt is a combination restaurant, billiard lounge, and club. The nightclub is located on the fourth floor and features a marble bar and VIP stage. Table reservations and guest-list services are highly recommended. Live bands and DJs. | Open Tues-Sat 5 pm-2 am; kitchen closes at 10 pm GOOD LIFE 28 Kingston St, Boston | 617.451.2622 | goodlifebar.com | The Good Life has transformed from a Rat Pack-era throwback into a popular after-work spot and a hot place for club kids and hipsters to party late into the night.Three bars on two floors, with local artwork, live music, and local and national DJs. No cover. Casual dress. | Open Mon-Fri 11:30 am-2 am, Sat 11 am-2 am, Sun 11 am-10 pm GRAND CANAL 57 Canal St, Boston | 617.523.1112 | thegrandcanalboston. com | This Irish restaurant/pub harks back to the turn of the 18th century, when the 80-mile Irish waterway was established. With its high ceilings, it provides the elbow room that many Irish pubs lack. Live music Thurs-Sat around 10 pm; $5 cover. Kitchen is open from 3-10 pm; late-night kitchen open until midnight. | Daily 11:30 am-2 am GREEN DRAGON 11 Marshall St, Boston | 617.367.0055 | somerspubs.com | Claims to historical fame are served up next to cheap beer and ridiculous top-40 cover bands. Some have called the bar’s bluff. There was a Green Dragon Tavern established in 1654, where the rabble-rousers planned the Boston Tea Party and the Revolutionary War. John Hancock frequented that tavern. And that tavern was demolished in 1854. Whatever, it certainly feels old, and with 35 beers on tap, does it really matter who did what where to whom? There’s also a TV within eyeshot at all times. | Open daily 11 am-2 am GYPSY BAR 116 Boylston St, Boston | 617.437.0300 | gypsybarboston.com | Gypsy Bar features a delicate menu and an upscale dress code (no polos or hats, gentlemen). TVs are set to the Fashion Channel, setting the mood for bachelorette parties and girls’ nights out. On Wed nights, DJs spin international music. Come early on Thursdays for Steak Night ($4.99 steak frites 5 to 9 pm). Club nights Fri and Sat. | Open Wed 10 am-2 am, Thurs-Sat 5 pm-2 am
MEET THE MAYOR
F ANNA’S TAQUERIA (BROOKLINE)
D E R E K KOU YO U M J I A N
BOSTON
TOM O’KEEFE, A/K/A BOSTON TWEET GUY WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER FROM YOUR FIRST VISIT TO ANNA’S? I think the first time was ‘96. I have a well-documented addiction to Anna’s. YOU SEEM TO HAVE TAKEN UP MAKING LITTLE PEOPLE OUT OF YOUR BURRITOS AND TWEETING PICTURES OF THEM. Yeah. I kind of have a problem with playing with food. WOULD YOU CONSIDER NOT DOING THAT ANYMORE? Absolutely not. It’s another addiction. People have told me they’ve used them as their desktop wallpaper and printed them out, and their kids love ‘em. It’s actually not as easy as you think, because the eyes always fall off. You have to push them in and take a photo real quick. AS MAYOR OF ANNA’S, WHAT LAWS WOULD YOU ENACT IF YOU WENT MAD WITH POWER? No sitting down without a burrito. None of that crap. It fires me up when people hog all the tables when they don’t have food. My roommates and I came up with a list of rules, and that was definitely the top one. Moving multiple tables together is a little irritating, too. Anna’s Taqueria, 1412 Beacon St, Brookline | 617.739.7300 | www.annastaqueria.com _Barry Thompson HARD ROCK CAFÉ 22-24 Clinton St, Boston | 617.353.1400 | hardrock.com/boston | Customers can ogle pieces of authentic rock memorabilia, including Madonna’s bustier, Jim Morrison’s leather pants (or is it the other way around?), Phish’s vacuum, and numerous items from Boston’s beloved Aerosmith. Live performances may have a cover charge. | Open Sun-Thurs 11 am-midnight (kitchen closes at 11 pm), Fri-Sat 11 am-2am (no food after midnight) HARP 85 Causeway St, Boston | 617.742.1010 | harpboston.com | info@ harpboston.com | With two floors and three bars, this establishment is prepared for the pre- and post-TD Garden event crowd. Or if you didn’t make it to the game, there are plenty of TVs for catching Boston teams while you drink. Live entertainment Thurs through Sat featuring local bands and DJs. Cover charge varies. No hats, T-shirts,
or ripped clothing allowed. | MonSat 11 am-2 am, Sun noon-2 am HENNESSY’S 25 Union St, Boston | 617.742.2121 | somerspubs.com | Dark lighting and furniture enhance this pub’s cozy atmosphere, welcoming everyone from local politicians to tourists to Irish nannies and restaurant workers. Live music seven nights a week. Pay a small cover charge on the weekends for live Irish and Celtic music and a variety of rare Irish whiskeys, and expect a mellow crowd of twenty/thirtysomethings. Cheap beer promotions, and live band karaoke every Wed night. Casual dress. | Open daily 11 am-1:30 am
HONG KONG AT FANEUIL HALL
65 Chatham St, Boston | 617.227.2226 | hongkongboston.com | An unfortunate fire this past Christmas Eve caused the Hong Kong to close its doors. Fans were afraid it would never re-open. Happily, the popular
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Chinese joint is set to re-open for business by the end of September. When it does, customers can enjoy their signature scorpion bowl and get ready to sing their hearts out. Karaoke is big (as are their drinks). Happy Hour features teriyaki and drafts for a buck each. Neat casual dress is OK on the first floor; more stylish attire is required to get into the second-floor dance club. | Open Sun-Fri 4 pm-2 am, Sat 2 pm-2 am; dance club Thurs-Sat 9 pm-2 am HOWL AT THE MOON 184 High St, Boston | 617.292.4695 | howlatthemoon. com | The recent arrival of Howl at the Moon added a little something extra to nightlife in the Financial District: dueling pianos, which Bostonians have been without since the early-2009 demise of Jake Ivory’s. Be prepared to wait out front a bit before you can get in and hear the pianos duke it out. Those who don’t like lines can head downstairs (free of cover and wait) to the lounge. No pianos down there unfortunately, but they’ve got a low-lit ultra-lounge vibe going on. | Open Mon-Fri 4 pm-2 am, Sat 6 pm-2 am HURRICANE O’REILLY’S 150 Canal St, Boston | 617.722.0161 | irishconnection. com | Hurricane O’Reilly’s whips up Creole, Irish, and American cuisine in time for you to make your show at the TD Garden. Or, for those looking to relax, the back room offers a quiet fireplace with dim lighting. After dark, the pub shows another of its many faces by turning into a Mardi Gras-themed nightclub (appropriately located on Canal St, a la New Orleans), complete with disco lights and beaded necklaces. No sandals allowed. | Open Thurs-Fri 11 am-2 am, Sat 5 pm-2 am; kitchen closes at 9 pm JACQUE’S CABARET 79 Broadway, Boston | 617.426.8902 | jacquescabaret.com | Female impersonation entertainment thrives at this bar, where bachelorette parties are a favorite. Jacque’s Angels, Boyz Will Be Girlz, and other saucy shows held nightly. Cover $6 on Sun-Thurs, $10 Fri and Sat. Call to reserve a table. | Open Mon-Sat 11 am-Midnight, Sun Noon-Midnight JOSE MCINTYRE’S 160 Milk St, Boston | 617.451.9460 | irishconnection.com | Boston’s only Irish-Mexican bar. Want a shot of tequila in your Guinness? Located across from the Aquarium, this bar specializes in 60-oz margaritas and accomodates vegetarians. The second floor, equipped with TVs, pool tables, comfortable couches, and large rooms, is an oasis compared to the lively firstfloor dance party. Casual dress. | Daily 11:30 am-2 am KINSALE 2 Center Plaza, Boston | 617.742.5577 | classicirish.com | Located at Government Center, this sister venue of the Asgard in Cambridge offers that same Irish charm and gift of gab among its patrons. The interior, in fact, was designed and built in Ireland. Come on St. Patrick’s Day and you’ll see quite a party. The pub hosts trivia night every Wed at 6:30 pm, karaoke on
Thurs at 9 pm, and live bands on Tues, Fri, and Sat. | Open MonTues 11 am-12:30 am, Wed-Fri 11 am-2 am, Sat 10 am-2 am, Sun 10 am-12:30 am. LITTLEST BAR 102 Broad St, Boston | 617.542.8469 | After being forced from its original Province Street location by a luxury condominium development, the Littlest Bar has reopened in a new, convenient (and larger) location in the Financial District. | Open Mon-Sat 9:30 am-2 am, Sun 11 am-2 am LUCKY’S LOUNGE 355 Congress St, Boston | 617.357.5825 | luckyslounge.com | Self-proclaimed “den of cocktail cool,” this lounge offers brunch every Sun beginning at 10 am, with live music from 11 am to 2 pm. The hidden entrance and dim red lighting makes for a crowd of regulars, and period architecture inside will transport you back to the 1950s. Regular performances by blues bands, including the Justin Beech Band every other Fri at 9 pm. Sinatra Sunday Brunch begins at 10 am. No hats, sneakers, or athletic wear. | Open Mon-Fri 11 am-2 am, Sat 6 pm-2 am, Sun 10 am-2 am
MCFADDEN’S RESTAURANT & SALOON 148 State St, Boston |
617.227.5100 | mcfaddensboston.com | McFadden’s offers casual, IrishAmerican dining, TVs for watching the game with fellow sports fans, and two dance floors. Two DJs spin Thurs through Sat. Acoustic rock nights Mon and Wed. | Open Mon-Sat 11:30 am-2 am RED SKY 16 North St # 18, Boston | 617.742.3333 | redskyboston.com | This lounge attracts a slightly older crowd than the other Faneuil Hall nightlife spots, catering to the after-work crowd as well as the twentysomething singles scene. Apps half-price from 4 to 6 pm daily. On Tues, ladies get a complimentary three-course dinner with a $10 drink purchase, from 5 to 9 pm. Late-night menu served until 1 am. No cover. | Open daily 11:30 am-2 am REVOLUTION ROCK BAR 200 High St, Boston | 617.261.4200 | revolutionrockbar.com | Live music, entertainment, and dancing to music from alternative to classic and punk rock. Bar food and sandwiches on the menu. | Open Tues-Fri 4 pm-2 am, Sat 5 pm-2 am RISE 306 Stuart St, Boston | 617.423.7473 | riseclub.us | RISE uses eight words to describe their mission: originality, diversity, generosity, faith, compassion, love, respect, optimism. With theme nights including Earth, Orbit, and Storm, if this club doesn’t bring out the New Age hippie in you, nothing will. There’s no risk of hangover, since the club doesn’t serve alcohol. The only way to get into Rise, if you’re not a member, is to come as the guest of a member. Annual dues range from $50 to a whopping $750, depending on how many guests you want to bring each night (we suggest you make those
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14 SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 | FALL ARTS PREVIEW | SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOSTON PHOENIX | THEPHOENIX.COM/FALL
FALL CONCERTS DELTA SPIRIT | SEPTEMBER 24 AT THE LANSDOWNE PUB, BOSTON | LISTEN TO WFNX (101.7/92.1 FM) TO WIN KLAXONS | SEPTEMBER 24 AT THE PARADISE ROCK CLUB, BOSTON | $15 THE POSTELLES | SEPTEMBER 24 AT GREAT SCOTT, ALLSTON | $5 JAMES + ED HARCOURT | SEPTEMBER 25 AT THE PARADISE ROCK CLUB, BOSTON | SOLD OUT TEENAGE FANCLUB | SEPTEMBER 25 AT ROYALE, BOSTON | $25 MATES OF STATE | SEPTEMBER 26 AT THE PARADISE ROCK CLUB, BOSTON | $16.50 ROGUE WAVE | SEPTEMBER 27 AT ROYALE, BOSTON | $20 BEST COAST | SEPTEMBER 28 AT THE MIDDLE EAST, CAMBRIDGE | $12 LCD SOUNDSYSTEM | SEPTEMBER 28 AT THE ORPHEUM THEATRE, BOSTON | $33.50 FUTUREHEADS | SEPTEMBER 28 AT THE LANSDOWNE PUB, BOSTON | LISTEN TO WFNX (101.7/92.1 FM) TO WIN FOALS | SEPTEMBER 29 AT THE PARADISE ROCK CLUB, BOSTON | $15 TEMPER TRAP | SEPTEMBER 29 AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES, BOSTON | $20 A SILENT FILM | SEPTEMBER 29 AT THE LANSDOWNE PUB, BOSTON | LISTEN TO WFNX (101.7/92.1 FM) TO WIN SHEILA DIVINE | SEPTEMBER 30 AT THE LANSDOWNE PUB, BOSTON | LISTEN TO WFNX (101.7/92.1 FM) TO WIN SWANS | SEPTEMBER 30 AT THE MIDDLE EAST, CAMBRIDGE | $28 BUILT TO SPILL + PRETTY & NICE | SEPTEMBER 30 AND OCTOBER 1 AT THE PARADISE ROCK CLUB, BOSTON | $25 MENOMENA + SUCKERS | SEPTEMBER 30 AT ROYALE, BOSTON | $16 MACY GRAY | SEPTEMBER 30 AT THE WILBUR THEATRE, BOSTON | $72-$177
SPLASH ULTRA LOUNGE & BURGER BAR 150 Kneeland St, Boston
| 617.426.6397 | splash150kneeland.com | Vegas-inspired, water-themed venue that caters to the 25-plus crowd, so be warned that the burgers are less Friendly’s and more Kobe beef. Ladies Wednesdays with complimentary three-course dinner. Sun brunch 11 am-2 pm. | Open Wed-Sun 5 pm-2 am; roof deck open 3-11 pm TAP 19 Union St, Boston | 617.367.0833 | thetapbarboston.com | A quaint pub, with lively patrons, among the many Irish bar/grills in the Quincy Market area. High-def TVs are tuned to sports, with appetizers half-priced during Sox games. Live music most nights. | Open daily 11:30 am-2 am TIMES 112 Broad St, Boston | 617.357.8463 | Proudly advertised as “not your typical Irish Pub,” the Times has a knowledgeable staff that will eagerly recommend the right cocktail for you. Live music every Thurs, Fri, and Sat. All-Star Karaoke from 10 pm to 2 am on Thurs nights. Get there before 10 pm to avoid a cover charge. | Open 11:30 am-2 am 21ST AMENDMENT 150 Bowdoin St, Boston | 617.227.7100 | 21stboston.com | In a building originally designed in 1899 as a luxury hotel, the 21st Amendment has become Beacon Hill’s most popular neighborhood meeting spot. The tavern-like dining space is relatively small, but the food options are generous — and many cost less than $10. Trivia on Sun night. Get there early to se-
cure a table, as seating is limited. | Open daily 11:30 am-2 am VENU 100 Warrenton St, Boston | 617.338.8061 | venuboston.com | The dance floor throbs with colorful strobe lights and heavy beats as DJs spin hip-hop and techno. Four bars, tables, and couches all adhere to the Art Deco theme. Latin Club Wednesdays, Signature Fridays. Students gather to reap the benefits of the under-21 nights. No hats or athletic wear. | Open Tues, Fri, and Sat 10:30 pm-2 am, Wed 10 pm-2 am WEST END JOHNNIE’S 138 Portland St, Boston | 617.227.1588 | westendjohnnies.com | Securing its place in the recently revitalized West End, this restaurant (formerly Johnnie’s on the Side) boasts a good menu of hearty American comfort foods, as well as a fairly expansive drink menu. For many, Johnnie’s selling point is hands-down their “Reggae Brunch” on Sun. The downstairs lounge is ideal for hosting a lowkey party or event. | Open Wed-Sat 5 pm-1:30 am, Sun 11 am-4 pm WILBUR THEATRE 106 Boylston St, Boston | thewilburtheatre.com | The historic Wilbur Theatre, home to class acts from the Barrymores to the Cronyns (and more recently to Sir Peter Hall and Fiona Shaw), has been designated as a landmark playhouse. But it is currently in use as a concert hall and home to the Comedy Connection, attracting national headliners of both standup and indie rock. Among the big names on the schedule this fall are Louis C.K., Dave Attell, and Demetri Martin.
played by student performers and local bands on up through national groups. Ticket prices vary; purchase online at Ticketmaster or at the box office at Berklee Performance Center. | Shows run 8-11 pm CITY BAR 61 Exeter St, Boston | 617.933.4800 | citybarboston.com | City Bar makes an intimate setting out of a single-room lounge in the stylish Lenox Hotel. Equipped with an equally cozy menu of cognacs, single-malts, ports, and liqueurs, and a bar menu of small plates. Casual to dressy. | Open daily 4:30 pm-2 am CROSSROADS PUB 495 Beacon St, Boston | 617.262.7371 | crossroadspubboston. com | Crossroads has both downstairs and upstairs areas for eating and drinking. The large upstairs is complete with dartboards, two TVs, and a bar. Order a pitcher of beer on Wed between 9 and 11 pm and get free pizza. Beirut tournaments on Thurs. Sat is ‘80s video night. Local musicians perform regularly. | Open daily 11 am-2 am DELUX CAFÉ 100 Chandler St, Boston | 617.338.5258 | Delux Cafe attracts Elvis fans from all walks of life. Album covers on the walls, a year-round Christmas tree, and various other kitsch add to the atmosphere.
Cash only. Kitchen open until 11:30 pm. | Open Mon-Sat 5:30 pm-1 am DILLON’S 955 Boylston St, Boston | 617.421.1818 | irishconnection.com | Harking back to the 1920s, Dillon’s is awash with banana fans and bamboo woodwork, accented by swing music and a modern touch. Pricey bar menu keeps students at bay; 21-plus after 9 pm. Patio seating fills up fast on nice days, get there early. Casual to dressy. | Open daily 11 am-2 am FRANKLIN CAFÉ 278 Shawmut Ave, Boston | 617. 350.0010 | franklincafe.com | A hidden location, a modest sign, and a considerable reputation for simple dishes with a twist of brilliance — and it all works, nightly, for a variety of South Enders and knowing drive-ins. No desserts, which means there’s no reason to avoid the “side starch” dishes like garlic mashed potatoes. Full menu until 1:30 am every night. Casual to dressy. Other locations in South Boston (152 Dorchester Ave) and Cape Ann (118 Main St, Gloucester). | Open Mon-Sun 5 pm-1:45 am JJ FOLEY’S 117 East Berkeley St, Boston | 617.728.9101 | jjfoleyscafe.com | It’s a rare dive bar that features friendly faced barkeeps in starched shirts and black ties, but that’s the kind
MEET THE MAYOR F DEEP ELLUM
D E R E K KOU YO U M J I A N
Continued from p 12 guests pitch in a little should you pick the “fourth house” membership option). | Open Fri-Sun 1 am-6 am ROYALE 279 Tremont St, Boston | 617.338.7699 | royaleboston.com | Formerly the Roxy, Royale calls itself Boston’s “only true mega club.” To that ends, they strive to offer top40 and dance club nights aplenty to satisfy any taste. They’ve welcomed guest DJs from Steve Aoki to Jersey Shore’s Pauly D. Not your thing? Royale also hosts a number of alternative/indie rock shows at their venue. Check their calendar to see what’s coming up. Dress to impress, depending on the night. Cover varies. | Fri-Sat 10 pm-2 am RUMOR 100 Warrenton St, Boston | 617.422.0045 | rumorboston.com | The rumor is, house is back. Dance to it here on Evolution Tuesdays (or Thurs or Sun) with in-house DJ Hektic. Envy Fridays depart from the house theme for Top 40, mashups, and dance. Latin Club Wednesdays for the a little extra spice. Cover charge $25. Get on the house guest list at rumorboston. com. | Open Tues-Sat 10:30 pm-2 am, Sun 10 pm-2 am SANCTUARY 189 State St, Boston | 617.573.9333 | sanctuaryboston.com | info@ sanctuaryboston.com | Known for its homemade sangria and tapas bar, this trendy restaurant/lounge/bar adds a Latin touch to New Age American cuisine. The Sanctuary sits in the Financial District and attracts a twentysomething crowd. After-work ‘80s every Thurs night, DJ Thurs through Sat after nightfall. Bachelorette-party friendly. No sneakers, hats, torn jeans, work boots, or sleeveless shirts allowed. | Open Tues-Sat 4 pm-2 am SEVENS ALE HOUSE 77 Charles St, Boston | 617.523.9074 | A welcoming Beacon Hill dive bar with darts and a large selection of brews, including their own signature Sevens brew. | Open Mon-Sat 11:30 am-1 am, Sun Noon-1 am
BACK BAY/ SOUTH END BEEHIVE 541 Tremont St, Boston | 617.423.0069 | beehiveboston.com | There are so many reasons to love the Beehive, the neighborhood “cafe des artistes” located in the underbelly of the Boston Center for the Arts’ Cyclorama: its effortless cool, the talented performers it attracts, the literal “buzz” that surrounds it. But we’re perhaps most impressed with the talent on its bartending staff. Your alcohol is in good hands here. Jazz, cabaret, and burlesque acts perform most nights. Weekend jazz brunch 10:30 am to 3 pm. | Open daily 5 pm-2 am BOSTON EAGLE 520 Tremont St, Boston | Neighborhood leather-andLevi’s gay bar offers a pool table that attracts some of Boston’s best sharks. Free condoms and sassy bartending service keep you wanting more. No cover. | Open MonFri 3 pm-2 am, Sat 1 pm-2 am, Sun Noon-2 am BUKOWSKI’S TAVERN 50 Dalton St, Boston | 617.437.9999 | Named after the hard-drinking poet with a twingeof-misogyny, Charles Bukowski, this establishment has two locations, one in Back Bay and the other in Inman Square. Both boast a colorful menu (try the eight-ounce peanut-butter burger) and friendly service. Weekdays from noon to 8 pm, pay $1.69 for a plain burger or hot dog. The extensive beer list, dubbed “120 Bottles of Beer on the Wall,” requires a “Wheel of Indecision” for indecisive patrons. Cash bar only. | Mon-Sat 11 am-2 am, Sun Noon-2 am CAFÉ 939 939 Boylston St, Boston | 617.747.6038 | cafe939.com | Berklee’s state-of-the-art, all-ages, studentrun music venue and coffeehouse. Presents all genres of music,
FLETCHER, WFNX PERSONALITY DESCRIBE DEEP ELLUM. It’s a small, cool, local bar, and something like that’s becoming hard to find in Allston. They have a fantastic back deck that’s inspired a billion other bars in Allston to have a back deck, and a huge beer selection. If you’re a beer snob and a foodie, it’s, like, the greatest bar ever. WHAT’S THE BEST AND WORST THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED TO YOU THERE? Um, the best thing was probably a free plate of cheese fries, compliments of the manager. The worst thing was when they were closed this past Memorial Day. I had centered my entire day around hanging out on the back deck, and they were having a staff party, which made it even worse. It was packed, but even as the Mayor, I couldn’t get in, which I found quite insulting. WHAT’D YOU DO INSTEAD? I probably went to the Model, or back to my house. I live next door, so it’s an easy walk. Deep Ellum’s become my actual home. I just sleep at my apartment. AS MAYOR, IF YOU WENT MAD WITH POWER, WHAT KIND OF ABUSIVE LAWS WOULD YOU ENACT? We’d have to come up with some threat level of douchebaggery based on cargo pants and backwards BC Eagles caps and things like that, to decide who gets access to the bar. Deep Ellum, 477 Cambridge St, Allston | 617.787.2337 | www.deepellum-boston.com _Barry Thompson
of class that you’re in for at at this Irish-Boston institution. Opened in 1909 and run by its eponymous founder’s grandson and greatgrandson, J.J. Foley’s is the South End’s last authentic tavern. Locals desperate for beers, burgers, and exurbanite-free bonhomie are exceedingly grateful. Open for lunch and dinner, Sun brunch until 4 pm. There’s also a downtown location (21 Kingston St). | Open daily 10 am-2 am KINGS 50 Dalton St, Boston | 617.266.2695 | backbaykings.com | Located in the old Cheri Cinema (ask any old-old-timer), Kings has 16 lanes of deluxe 10-pin bowling, a large billiard lounge, and eightfoot LCD projection screens showing sports throughout. The DeVille Lounge serves classic American cuisine, while the bar offers an extensive cocktail menu. Bowling $5.50 before 6 pm, $6.50 after; bowling shoes $4. College night every Tues beginning at 8 pm. Casual dress, but check the code online before going. Open at 11 am on all Mon holidays. Full menu offered til 11 pm, late menu until 1:45 am. 21-plus after 6 pm. | Open Mon 5 pm-2 am, Tues-Sun 11:30 am-2 am LIR 903-905 Boylston St, Boston | 617.778.0089 | lironboylston.com | Formerly McCarthy’s, the location of this Irish pub gives it an upscale touch. Come in to watch one of the 21 TVs, perennially tuned to some game. British sports fans arrive as early as 8 am to watch the World Cup. Rugby fans will be happy that they air Six Nations Rugby. Casual during the week, dressy on weekends. No cover. | Open daily 11:30 am-1 am SAINT 90 Exeter St, Boston | 617.236.1134 | saintnitery.com | Saint offers its “mini-cuisine” concept in three distinct spaces: a lounge-dining room with a 30-foot communal table; a white-bubble-themed sofa room with a vodka infusion bar; and a crimson, 1940s-themed “Bordello” room. SIN Mondays cater to the service industry; Ultra Lounge Tuesday features house with DJs Stephen DeSousa and Shawn Ahern; Jazz Wednesday features the Brian Walkley Band; and when guest DJs aren’t in town, keep an eye peeled for Mashup Thursday, Heaven Friday, and Spin Saturday. You’ll need a Red Bull and vodka for the energy to make it until closing; Saint’s version is the Ketel of Bull ($12). | Open Sun-Mon and Thurs 10 pm-2 am, Fri-Sat 9 pm-2 am SONSIE 327 Newbury St, Boston | 617.351.2500 | sonsieboston.com | Yet another ultimate see-and-be-seen spot, Sonsie holds its head high as it looks out onto swanky-swanky Newbury Street. This restaurant is a prime hangout for the rich and famous, and for handsome folks who could pass for either. In the warm weather, it opens its wide row of French windows, creating an outdoor-bistro feel and allowing patrons a front seat for peoplewatching and exhaust-breathing. A hidden European lounge furnished with leather chairs and sofas provides a more private cocktail hour. Their downstairs Wine Room boasts over 200 wines, most of which you can try by the glass. | Open for lunch Mon-Fri 11:30 am2:30 pm; brunch Sat-Sun 11 am-3 pm; and dinner Sun-Tues 6-11 pm and Wed-Sat 6 pm-Midnight TC’S LOUNGE 1 Haviland St, Boston | 617.247.8109 | Walls chockablock with cheesy kitsch. Posters
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16 SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 | FALL ARTS PREVIEW | SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOSTON PHOENIX | THEPHOENIX.COM/FALL
ROGER WATERS: THE WALL LIVE | SEPTEMBER 30 AND OCTOBER 1 AND 3 AT THE TD GARDEN, BOSTON | $55$250 [NIGHTS ONE AND TWO SOLD OUT]
MEET THE MAYOR F THE GLASS SLIPPER
RA RA RIOT | OCTOBER 1 AT ROYALE, BOSTON | $18 THE DEPRECIATION GUILD | OCTOBER 2 AT T.T. THE BEAR’S PLACE, CAMBRIDGE | $10 THE XX | OCTOBER 3 AT THE ORPHEUM THEATRE, BOSTON | $25 M.I.A. | OCTOBER 3-4 AT ROYALE, BOSTON | $35 RATATAT + DOM | OCTOBER 5 AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES, BOSTON | $25-$30 CHAPTERHOUSE | OCTOBER 5 AT THE MIDDLE EAST, CAMBRIDGE | $15 VASELINES | OCTOBER 5 AT THE PARADISE ROCK CLUB, BOSTON | $18 GORILLAZ | OCTOBER 6 AT AGGANIS ARENA, BOSTON | $47.50-$88 THE HOLD STEADY | OCTOBER 6 AT ROYALE, BOSTON | $22 AARON LEWIS | OCTOBER 7 AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES, BOSTON | $25-$49.50 THE WALKMEN + A.A. BONDY | OCTOBER 7 AT ROYALE, BOSTON | $23 BELL X1 | OCTOBER 8 AT THE BRATTLE THEATRE, CAMBRIDGE | $15 DEATH | OCTOBER 8 AT THE MIDDLE EAST, CAMBRIDGE | $15 DEERHOOF + XIU XIU | OCTOBER 10 AT THE PARAMOUNT THEATRE, BOSTON | $18 MIKE POSNER | OCTOBER 11 AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES, BOSTON | $25-$35 DEAD KENNEDYS | OCTOBER 13 AT THE PARADISE ROCK CLUB, BOSTON | $16.50 BELLE AND SEBASTIAN | OCTOBER 15 AT THE WANG THEATRE, BOSTON | $35$49.50 JIMMY EAT WORLD | OCTOBER 15 AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES, BOSTON | $30-$40 NICK LOWE AND HIS BAND + GRAHAM PARKER | OCTOBER 15 AT THE SOMERVILLE THEATRE, SOMERVILLE | $35 DEERHUNTER + REAL ESTATE | OCTOBER 16 AT ROYALE, BOSTON | $18
MARIE ALESSANDRO I LEARNED AT SUNDAY SCHOOL THAT STRIP CLUBS ARE IMMORAL. DID SUNDAY SCHOOL LIE? If you live in fear of the wrath of Sister Mary Ignatius, perhaps you should stay away. Or at least request the dancer Sin and do it up right. Or maybe Seraphim might be able to protect you from the Devil. I keep a ruler in my DJ booth for any devil-purging emergencies. DESCRIBE YOUR FIRST VISIT . . . Back in a galaxy long, long ago, my roommate at the time worked here and I had never been to a strip club. I like being around naked girls and rock music, so I found a way to do it regularly! YOU’RE A DJ AT THE SLIPPER. TOP FIVE BEST STRIPPING SONGS? Well, I’m kind of warped and I really like dancers who can handle something non-mainstream and different. This club has girls who fit the stripper stereotype, and a great many who do not. Songs I like to hear are “REV 22:20” by Puscifer, “Striptease” by Hawksley Workman, “Rebel Rebel” by David Bowie, “Want” by Recoil with Nicole Blackman, and “Tip the Dancer” by Panzer AG. The Glass Slipper, 22 Lagrange St, Boston | 617.338.2290 | www.glassslipperboston.com _Barry Thompson
Continued from p 14 stained yellow from cigarettes of ages past. Panties for sale behind the bar. A faux fireplace. Shots with names like “Oxycontin” and “Blackout.” Big Buck Hunter. Naked Photo Hunt: Pure Class. | Open Mon-Sat 9 am-2 am, Sun noon-2 am WALLY’S CAFÉ 427 Mass Ave, Boston | 617.424.1408 | wallyscafe.com | info@ wallyscafe.com | Wally’s Café was born of Joseph “Wally” Walcott’s brain in 1947 as a dark and smoky mecca for jazz purists and has since been a breeding ground for local talent and a mainstay for established musicians. While it’s no longer smoky (thanks a lot... Puritans), the drinks are still cheap and the music is stellar. No cover, but a one-drink minimum and strict 21-plus policy. La Femme female musician series every Wed from 7 to 9 pm. Cash only. All musical performances 9 pm to 2 am, unless otherwise noted. | Open Mon-Sat 11 -2 am, Sun Noon-2 am
KENMORE/FENWAY AN TUA NUA 835 Beacon St, Boston | 617.262.2121 | Contemporary Irish bar and restaurant by day with a nightclub feel by night. Expect a flood of BU students on Fri and Sat nights. A variety of themes include goth and trance nights. Dress code is casual, but no tank
tops for guys or hats/headwear. | Open Mon-Wed 5 pm-1 am, Thurs-Sat 5 pm-2 am, Sun Noon2 am AUDUBON CIRCLE 838 Beacon St, Boston | 617.421.1910 | auduboncircle.us | Audubon Circle draws a surprisingly fresh crowd of thirtysomethings with its stylish bar, excellent food, snazzy cocktails, and classy atmosphere. Brunch served Sun from 11 am to 3 pm. | Open Mon-Sat 11:30 am-1 am, Sun 11-1 am BLEACHER BAR 4 Yawkey Way, Fenway Park, Boston, Boston | 877.732.7699 | bleacherbarboston.com | It doesn’t get any more Boston sports than this: located inside Fenway Park, Bleacher looks out through the old garage door leading onto centerfield. Sure, you can enjoy the menu of deli sandwiches and ballpark fare, plenty of TV screens, and a bar that’s nearly as long as the joint itself, but it’s really the ground-level view that makes this a must-see for the Boston faithful. | Open Sun-Wed 11 am-1 am,ThursSat 11 am-2 am BOSTON BEER WORKS 61 Brookline Ave, Boston | 617.536.BEER | beerworks. net | This brewpub features up to 17 brews with intriguing seasonal blends such as Haymarket Heffeweizen and Pumpkin Head Ale, in addition to regular beers. Don’t try to order a Bud: they only serve their own product. The drink menu also offers fine wines and “malternatives.” Full lunch
and dinner menu features grilled meats, fish, and beer-basted burgers. Beers change weekly, call to see what’s on tap. | Open daily 11:30 am-1 am CASK’N FLAGON 62 Brookline Ave, Boston | 617.536.4840 | casknflagon.com | The Cask’s exterior awning is almost as emblematic of the Fenway as the Citgo sign. ESPN rated it the No. 2 baseball sports bar in 2007. If you can’t get your hands on tickets, you can watch the ballgame on one of their 12-foot HD TVs or six 48-inch plasma HDs. Caters primarily to a pre- and post-game crowd. Yankees fans, we suggest you drink elsewhere. | Open MonWed 11:30 am-1 am, Thurs-Fri 11:30 am-2 am, Sat 11 am-2 am, Sun 11 am-1 am CHURCH 69 Kilmarnock St, Boston | 617.236.7600 | churchofboston.com | Gothic artwork and design adorn the walls of this parochially themed venue, featuring such cocktails as “Greed,” “Vanity,” “Lust,” and . . . well, you get the point. Live music at 9 pm nightly. Kitchen closes at 10 pm. Last call 1:45 am. Cover $7 to $10 when a band is playing. Both the club and the restaurant open three hours prior to Red Sox home games. | Open daily 5 pm-2 am; restaurant open Mon-Fri 5 pm-midnight, Sat-Sun 11 ammidnight COPPERFIELD’S 98 Brookline Ave, Boston | 617.247.8605 | Its proximity to Fenway Park makes Copperfield’s a popular hangout for Red Sox fans. Each of the two rooms features a stage for live music and a bar with 30 drafts. Live performances from original, college, and cover bands, except during Red Sox games; jukebox available on Sox nights. During baseball season, hours conform to Sox schedule; call for more information. No food, cash only. | Mon-Fri noon-2am, Sat-Sun 8pm-2 am; extended hours on game days EASTERN STANDARD 528 Comm Ave, Boston | 617.532.9100 | easternstandardboston.com | A big room that gives a terrific and appetizing impression of the old-fashioned big restaurants. The bar serves up refined, well-mixed classics, egg-white drinks, and tiki bar favorites. Patio overlooks Kenmore Square. | Open Sun-Thurs 7 am-11 pm, Fri-Sat 7 am-midnight GAME ON! 82 Lansdowne St, Boston | 617.351.7001 | gameonboston.com | info@ gameon.com | Though Game On! is situated beneath the Green Monster at the corner of Lansdowne Street and Brookline Avenue, it doesn’t pay homage only to the Sox. This sports bar-meets-lounge has almost 100 televisions on which to catch every game, and the well-stocked bar mixes tasty cocktails alongside the obligatory draft beers you expect at a Beantown sports spot. | Opens daily at 11:30 am and closes at 1 am Sun-Wed, and 2 am Thurs-Sat HOUSE OF BLUES 36 Lansdowne St, Boston | 888.693.2583 | houseofblues.com | In 2009, 36 Lansdowne shed its Tyvek wrapper to reveal the new House of Blues, a cavernous space with an improved layout, crisper acoustics, and boosted bass (not to mention more easily accessed bars and a full menu of Southernesque grub). Since opening day, a nonstop barrage of top-notch talent and their correspondingly epic set pieces have graced the HoB’s Delta-mud-scrubbed stage — among them, Lady GaGa, the Dropkicks, and Katy Perry. And, in a nod to the late, lamented original House of Blues in Cambridge,
the new joint includes a restaurant with small-stage acts and a traditional gospel brunch on weekends. Tickets available via Ticketmaster or at the Orpheum Box Office at 1 Hamilton Place. JILLIAN’S 145 Ipswich St, Boston | 617.437.0300 | jilliansboston.com | This 70,000-square-foot entertainment megaplex offers three floors of entertainment (including the top floor, the 16-lane bowling alley Lucky Strike). There are 52 pool tables on the second floor, plus ping-pong, darts, foosball, and a full bar and HD “video wall” on each level. Mon through Thurs are 18-plus after 8 pm. Fri through Sun are 21-plus after 8 pm. Under 18 allowed in until 8 pm. | Open MonSat 11 am-2 am, Sun Noon-2 am LANSDOWNE 9 Lansdowne St, Boston | 617.266.1222 | lansdownepubboston.com | Nothing screams “home run” like putting up an Irish pub in the shadow of Fenway Park. Live music most nights. Irish breakfast available until 1 am. | Open MonThurs 4 pm-2 am, Fri 11 am-2 am, Sat-Sun 10:30 pm-2 am MACHINE 1256 Boylston St, Boston | 617.266.2986 | machineboston.com | Gay nightclub with an industrial vibe, downstairs from the Ramrod. Dirty Sexy Mondays feature such raunchy goodies as drag shows, amateur strip shows, and (occasionally) JELL-O wrestling. Dinner and light fare served from 4 pm on. | Open daily noon-2 am RAMROD 1254 Boylston St, Boston | 617.266.2986 | ramrodboston.com | Gay leather-and-Levi’s bar. Ramrod’s back room enforces a “no gear no beer” rule, where leather attire is required. Strict dress code applies on Fri and Sat: no cologne, sneakers, suits, open-toed shoes, or penny loafers allowed. | Open daily noon-2 am; pool room open at 7 pm nightly TEQUILA RAIN 3 Lansdowne St, Boston | 617.437.0300 | tequilarainboston. com | “Spring break 52 weeks a year:” The description says it all: wet-T-shirt contests, bull riding, and — oh yeah — don’t forget the Jose Cuervo. Taboo Lounge offers a large bar and couches for a comfortable time-out from the dance floor. No hats, athletic wear, work boots, cutoff T-shirts, or sneakers allowed after 8 pm; $5 cover. Call or visit the Web site to get on the guest list.
ALLSTON-BRIGHTON BIG CITY 138 Brighton St, Allston | 617.782.2020 | allstonsfinest.com | Located in what was once a bank building, this “outrageous” pizza kitchen (where pies are proudly cooked with gas and beer) has more than 80 beers on tap and 20 pool tables. Open for brunch on Sat and Sun beginning at 10 am. Sun through Tues, you will find the “3 P’s”: pool, pizza, and a pitcher for $19.99. | Open Mon-Fri 4 pm-1 am; Mon holidays open at noon COMMON GROUND 85 Harvard Ave, Allston | 617.783.2071 | commongroundbarandgrill.com | The folks at Common Ground aren’t joking when they say they don’t cater to tourists, even if they do have DirectTV. A wide variety of live music is on hand, and casual Allston atmosphere pervades. Live music every Fri and Sat, Mon is trivia night starting at 7:30 pm, and Thurs is Love Night, a night devoted exclusively to the 1980s (a decade that immediately brings amorousness to the heart and mind). Kitchen
open until 11 pm Thurs through Sat; outdoor seating available until 10 pm. | Open daily noon-2 am; kitchen open until 11 pm DEEP ELLUM 477 Cambridge St, Allston | 617.787.2337 | deepellum-boston. com | Deadly serious beer bar with top-notch shaker cocktails. Not a college joint, and not for entry-level drinking (the absinthe especially). The owners can and do hold forth on the historical precision of their favorite cocktails. “International comfort food” by chef Josh Velazquez. | Open daily 11:30 am-midnight DRAFT 34 Harvard Ave, Allston | 617.783.9400 | thedraftbarandgrille.com | The friendly staff and warm atmosphere make this bar worth hassling with the absolute dearth of available parking spaces nearby. Sundays feature a brunch with 10 flavors of 25-cent wings. Beer pong tournaments Tues nights; $50 cash prize. Kitchen open until midnight. | Open daily 11:30 am-2 am GREAT SCOTT 1222 Comm Ave, Allston | 617.566.9014 | greatscottboston. com | Great Scott has helped put the rock back into Allston Rock City. The venue on the collegecentered corner of Harvard and Comm Aves shed its frat boy label in 2004, soon becoming a hotbed for rising buzz bands, indie and electro dance parties and anything else worth blogging about. With live music nightly and the Pill dance party every Friday, Great Scott has become one of Boston’s most revered rock clubs, hosting national and international acts in an intimate setting before they graduate to larger venues. No food, cash only. Tickets at the bar or ticketweb.com. Weeknight shows are 18-plus and Friday/Saturday is 21-plus. Doors open at 9 pm. | Open daily noon-2 am HARPERS FERRY 158 Brighton Ave, Allston | 617.254.7380 | harpersferryboston. com | A popular student hangout, Harpers Ferry lives up to all the stereotypes of a typical dive bar: live music nearly every night, brick interior walls, barstools, dart boards, local characters, and pool tables. Cover varies. All shows are 21-plus, unless noted. No food, cash only. | Daily 1 pm2 am O’BRIEN’S 3 Harvard Ave, Allston | 617.782.6245 | obrienspubboston.com | With its no-nonsense attitude, this gritty little Allston treasure stands at the lonely end of Harvard Avenue. Booking live local bands most nights a week, the 70-person (at full capacity) bar is a remnant of the old Allston rock circuit. Cover varies, but it’s usually $5 to $10. All shows are 21plus, unless noted, and begin at 9 pm. | Open daily noon-1 am OUR HOUSE WEST 1277 Comm Ave, Allston | 617.782.3228 | ourhousewest. com | Our House’s motto is “Come down and relax.” Comfy couches and color TVs give this home-like bar a living-room atmosphere. In exchange for a valid ID (which you’ll need to get in), board games like checkers, Operation, and Scattergories are available. You can also play on the Our House Wii any day of the week. Outdoor patio is open through late Sept. On weekdays from 4 pm, there are two-for-one burgers and appetizers. Free breakfast at 10 am on Tuesdays, come in your PJs. | Open Mon-Fri 4 pm-2 am, Sat-Sun noon-2 am
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18 SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 | FALL ARTS PREVIEW | SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOSTON PHOENIX | THEPHOENIX.COM/FALL
THE POMEGRANITES | OCTOBER 18 AT GREAT SCOTT, ALLSTON | $9 BAD RELIGION | OCTOBER 18 AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES, BOSTON | $22.50-$32.50 PHOENIX | OCTOBER 18 AT AGGANIS ARENA, BOSTON | $25-$39.50 MASSIVE ATTACK + THIEVERY CORPORATION | OCTOBER 19 AT THE ORPHEUM THEATRE, BOSTON | $39-$50 HELMET | OCTOBER 20 AT THE MIDDLE EAST, CAMBRIDGE | $15 RUSKO |OCTOBER 21 AT ROYALE, BOSTON | $20 HIGH ON FIRE | OCTOBER 23 AT THE MIDDLE EAST, CAMBRIDGE | $18 INSANE CLOWN POSSE | OCTOBER 23 AT THE PALLADIUM, WORCESTER | $35; $30 ADVANCE LISSIE | OCTOBER 23 AT T.T. THE BEAR’S PLACE, CAMBRIDGE | $12 LOCAL NATIVES | OCTOBER 23 AT THE PARADISE ROCK CLUB, BOSTON | SOLD OUT PHISH | OCTOBER 23 AND 24 AT THE MULLINS CENTER, AMHERST | $25-$57 MONSTER JAM WITH DRAKE + B.O.B. + J. COLE + NEW BOYZ | OCTOBER 25 AT THE TD GARDEN, BOSTON | $22.50-$197.50 CORIN TUCKER BAND | OCTOBER 25 AT THE PARADISE ROCK CLUB, BOSTON | $15 A SUNNY DAY IN GLASGOW | OCTOBER 27 AT GREAT SCOTT, ALLSTON | $12 JACK BEATS | OCTOBER 28 AT THE MIDDLE EAST, CAMBRIDGE | $15 HALLELUJAH THE HILLS | OCTOBER 30 AT GREAT SCOTT, ALLSTON | $10 FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE | OCTOBER 31 AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES, BOSTON | $25-$35 SOCIAL DISTORTION + LUCERO | NOVEMBER 1 AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES, BOSTON | $30-$40 BLONDE REDHEAD | NOVEMBER 1 AT THE PARADISE ROCK CLUB, BOSTON | $22 BLACK MOUNTAIN + BLACK ANGELS | NOVEMBER 3 AT THE PARADISE ROCK CLUB, BOSTON | $16
Continued from p 16 PARADISE ROCK CLUB 967 Comm Ave, Boston | 617.562.8814 | thedise.com | The recently renovated Paradise Rock Club, long one of Boston’s premier live-music venues, features local and national acts in the back room. The attached Paradise Lounge is a laid-back bar and restaurant for pre- or postshow hanging out. All shows are 18-plus. Call or visit the Web site for ticket information and door times. | Open daily 6 pm-1 am PORTER BELLY’S PUB 338 Washington St, Brighton | 617.254.3300 | porterbellyspub.com | A cozy and friendly Irish pub with live music, darts, and sports on large plasma TVs. It draws a mostly local after-work crowd in the evening and can get crowded later at night as the students come out to play. There’s never a cover. | Open daily 11 am-1 am SCULLERS JAZZ CLUB 400 Soldiers Field Rd, Boston | 617.783.0090 | scullersjazz.com | Nestled inside the DoubleTree Guest Suites, the more than two-decades-old Scullers offers a magnificent view of Boston over the Charles River. Genres of live music range from Latin jazz to cabaret. Performers such as Harry Connick Jr. and Lou Rawls have graced the stage here. Dinner and show packages available. Call or visit the Web site for ticket information. | Varies, but shows are usually held Tues-Sat at 8 pm, and often again at 10 pm
SILHOUETTE COCKTAIL LOUNGE
200 Brighton Ave, Allston | 617.254.9306 | Known to locals as the “Sit and Sweat,” the Silhouette is a dive bar to end all dive bars. Locals come for the cheap pitchers, free popcorn, a plethora of dartboards in the back, a couple pool tables, and two TVs. Open until 1 am, though it will feel later once you leave. | Open daily 11:30 am-1 am SUNSET CANTINA 916 Comm Avenue, Boston | 917.731.8646 | allstonsfinest. com | The sister restaurant of the Sunset Grill & Tap, Sunset Cantina serves up an eclectic mix of southof-the-border favorites, Tex-Mex, and pub grub. The Cantina offers 38 beers on tap, 112 tequilas, and some damn good margaritas. Casual twentysomething crowd. Kitchen open until 1 am. | Open Mon-Fri 11:30-2 am, Sat 11:30 am-1 am, Sun 11 am-2 am SUNSET GRILL & TAP 130 Brighton Ave, Allston | 617.254.1331 | allstonsfinest.com | Both aesthetically and thematically a beer connoisseur’s Shangri-la, this restaurant and bar offers 380 microbrews and exotic imports, with 112 varieties on tap, and a simple motto: “Life’s too short to drink cheap beer.” The daunting 12-page beer menu features Belgian beers, organic beers, barley wines, even root beer — you name the style and it’s represented here. | Open Mon-Sat 11:30 am-1 am, Sun 11 am-1 am TAVERN IN THE SQUARE 161 Brighton Ave, Allston | 617.782.9082 | taverninthesquare.com | Formerly (and notoriously) the Kells, the venue was taken over by the Tavern in the Square, which also has locations in Salem and Porter and Central Squares. This latest venture is scheduled to open this fall. Check their Web site for updates. | Open daily 4 pm-2 am, Sat-Sun 11 am-2 am (subject to change) WONDER BAR 186 Harvard Ave, Allston | 617.351.2665 | wonderbarboston. com | This sleek bistro and bar is drenched in a sophisticated, candle-flickering ambiance
(when the bar isn’t too crowded). Elegant leather couches and elevated seating mitigates the college atmosphere. Downstairs you’ll find a second bar and some couch-and-coffee-table corners for lounging. Full kitchen until midnight. Dress code on Thurs, Fri, and Sat: no sneakers, workboots, shorts, hats, or athletic wear allowed. Cover is $5 on Tues, Fri, and nights with live music. Costs $8 at the door on Sat. | Open daily 5 pm-2 am
JAMAICA PLAIN ALCHEMIST LOUNGE 435 South Huntington Ave, Jamaica Plain | 617.477.5741 | The Alchemist Lounge is a loud, youthful bar by 9 pm, but sneak in earlier to the restaurant side for some fancy touches on bar snacks and serious entrées as well. Velvet decor and low lighting give this lounge a brandy-room feel. Fast service, great Guinness, and a separate menu for those with nut allergies. Kitchen open until midnight. | Open Mon-Fri 11:30 am-1 am, SatSun 11 am-1 am BRENDAN BEHAN PUB 378 Centre St, Jamaica Plain | 617.522.5386 | celticweb.com | Named after the famous Irish author and activist, this traditional (and authentic) Irish pub boasts lots of dark wood and beer. The absence of TVs and pinball machines fosters a conversational atmosphere. No cover, no credit cards, and no food. | Open MonSat noon-1 am, Sun 1 pm-1 am DOYLE’S CAFE 3484 Washington St, Jamaica Plain | 617.524.2345 | doylescafeboston.com | One of the few pubs in Boston to survive through Prohibition, Doyle’s Cafe is a neighborhood hangout hot spot for Boston political bigwigs and those trying to garner favor among the same. Make sure to check out the Kennedy paraphernalia. The late Senator Ted Kennedy dedicated the third room to his grandfather Honey Fitz when the joint was built. Menu includes traditional New England corned beef and cabbage, and all food is served until 11 pm. Pizza available from 9 am to midnight. | Open Mon-Sat 9 am-11 pm, Sun 9 am-4 pm MIDWAY CAFÉ 3496 Washington St, Jamaica Plain | 617.524.9038 | midwaycafe.com | A neighborhood pub by day and a music club by night. Cheap beer in a no-frills, art-student atmosphere with blues, R&B, and rock. Women’s dance nights on Wed (Queeraoke anyone?). Doors open at 9 pm unless otherwise noted. | Open daily until 2 am. MILKY WAY at The Brewery, Jamaica Plain | 617.524.3740 | milkywayjp.com | Located at the Brewery Complex, the Milky Way features live music and DJs seven nights a week in a space-age lounge setting. The restaurant is 21-plus after 9 pm. | Open Sun-Tues 5 -11:30 pm, Wed 5 pm-midnight, Thurs-Fri 5 pm-1 am, Sat 11 am-1 am
BROOKLINE AMERICAN CRAFT 1700 Beacon St, Brookline | 617.487.4290 | eatgoodfooddrinkbetterbeer.com | Regulars know that when it’s way too crowded at the ever-popular Publik House, you can usually score a seat at its just-as-good sister establishment American Craft. The selling point is an extensive beer menu, with
delicious (and many largely unheard of) brews on tap. They boast a similarly large spirits menu. All of their alcohol is strictly American-brewed... a nice touch for beer snobs looking to bone up on their domestic ales. Points for food and laid back atmosphere as well. | Open Mon-Thurs 5 pm2 am; Fri 4 pm-2 am; Sat-Sun noon-2 am MATT MURPHY’S 14 Harvard St, Brookline Village | 617.232.0188 | mattmurphyspub.com | Mashed potatoes and Irish soda bread make this one of the cozier nooks in Brookline Village. Live music begins at 10 pm every night. Sunday brunch served. Cash only. No cover. | Open daily from 11 am to 2 am. O’LEARY’S 1010 Beacon St, Brookline | 617.734.0049 | olearysbrookline.com | A no-fuss Irish pub that draws a fun local crowd and pours a mean Guinness. Don’t overlook the food. Go online to view the pub’s live-music schedule. | Open Mon-Sat 11 am-1 am, Sun noonmidnight
PUBLICK HOUSE BEER BAR AND KITCHEN 1648 Beacon St, Brookline | 617.277.2880 | thepublickhousebrookline. com | Unpretentious, loud, and stocked with beers containing up to 12 percent alcohol. More than 150 brews, including artisancrafted beers at the bar-within-abar known as Monk’s Cell. Some of the seats are wooden pews, so you can pray for a hangover-free morning. Slightly refined pub fare, trivia on Sun nights. | Open Mon-Fri 5 pm-2 am, Sat-Sun 4 pm-2 am; kitchen open until 11 pm daily
CAMBRIDGE ALL ASIA CAFÉ 334 Mass Ave, Cambridge | 617.497.1544 | allasiabar.com | Live music nightly. Every Wed from 6 to 9 pm is the Monkey Rock Writers’ Circle, followed by open mic. Sat from 6 pm until close, Indie Music Marathons, ages 19 and up admitted until 9:30 pm. Check Web site for full performance schedule. Cover charge is $5 to $8 on Sun, Mon, and Tues, $6 to $9 on Thurs, Fri, and Sat, and $5 to $8 on Sun; free on Wed. | Open MonFri 5:30 pm-1 am, Sat 1 pm-2 am, Sun 3 pm-1 am ASGARD 350 Mass Ave, Cambridge | 617.577.9100 | classicirish.com | Toast the Vikings at this spacious pub named after the historic Irish sailing vessel. Designed in Ireland to maximize authenticity, the decor emphasizes all the hipness of the Nordic adventurers, with elaborate model ships appearing to set sail from docks on the wall. Tues night is pub trivia, Wed is karaoke night. Live bands play every Sat beginning at 10 pm. | Open Mon-Wed 11 am-1 am, Thurs-Fri 11 am-2 am, Sat 10 am-2 am, Sun 10 am-1 am ATWOOD’S TAVERN 877 Cambridge St, Cambridge | 617.864.2792 | atwoodstavern.com | Live music at 10 pm most nights, accompanied by an extensive menu of finger food and more substantial meals. Tim Gearan and Friends play every Fri; on Sun, the North Shore Jazz Trio take the stage at 11:30 am for brunch, served from 11 am to 3 pm. Kichen open until midnight
MEET THE MAYOR
F HONG KONG (CAMBRIDGE)
D E R E K KOU YO U M J I A N
ROB ZOMBIE + ALICE COOPER | OCTOBER 16 AT THE DCU CENTER, WORCESTER | $47-$57
ASHISH DATTA SO YOU’RE MAYOR OF THE HONG KONG. HOW HONORED ARE YOU? The Hong Kong doesn’t actually give you anything for being the Mayor, but yeah, it’s kind of an honor. WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE THEM TO GIVE YOU? There are a couple of restaurants and local merchants that will give you stuff if you’re the Foursquare Mayor. I’d appreciate it if the Hong Kong gave me a free appetizer or a free drink for being the Mayor. That’d be awesome. HOW MANY SCORPION BOWLS CAN YOU DRINK? I think I got two down one time in a scorpion-bowl race. It probably wasn’t the smartest idea, but whatever. You probably shouldn’t gamble on who can drink the fastest, because going double or nothing becomes a much more painful proposition. Hong Kong, 1238 Mass Ave, Cambridge | 617.864.5311 | www.hongkongharvard.com _Barry Thompson
daily. | Open Mon-Wed 11:30 am-1 am, Thurs-Fri 11:30 am-2 am, Sat 11 am-2 am, Sun 11 am-1 am
CAMBRIDGE BREWING COMPANY 1 Kendall Sq (Bldg 100), Cam-
bridge | 617.494.1994 | cambrew.com | Cambridge Brewing Company, the oldest brew pub in the Greater Boston area, is a microbrew pub that features its own freshly brewed ales and full lunch and dinner menus. Seating available on the outdoor patio during nice weather, with a fiery furnace to warm the fingers as the chill sets in. Halloween is the Pumpkin Ale Festival. | Lunch served daily 11:30 am-5 pm; dinner Sun-Thurs 5-10 pm, Fri-Sat 5-11 pm; last call SunMon 11 pm, Tues-Thurs midnight, Fri-Sat 12:45 am CAMBRIDGE COMMON 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge | 617.547.1228 | cambridgecommonrestaurant.com | Never had beer punch? Huge pitchers of the amazing and hearty mixture can be found at Cambridge Common, a comfy, welcoming neighborhood restaurant with cheap food and 30 beers on tap (16 rotating). Large bar, inviting wooden booths, warm lighting, and nonsurly staff. The downstairs Lizard Lounge offers live music daily. Brunch served on Sat and Sun at 10:30 am. | Open Mon-Wed 11:30 am-1 am, Thurs-Fri 11:30 am-2 am; Sat 10:30 am-2 am, Sun 10:30 am-1 am CANTAB LOUNGE 738 Mass Ave, Cambridge | 617.354.2685 | cantab-lounge. com | Home to the Chicken Slacks, with their classic soul and funk on Thurs nights, and the Fatback Band on Fri and Sat, this Central Square saloon dishes up live music seven nights a week to an under40 crowd. Tues hosts an excellent bluegrass night. The Third Rail, downstairs from Cantab Lounge, hosts live entertainment nightly beginning at 8 or 9 pm. | Open Sun-Thurs 8 am-1 am, Fri-Sat 8 am-2 am, Sun noon-2 am CHARLIE’S KITCHEN 10 Eliot St, Cambridge | 617.492.9646 | charlieskitchen.com | Along with burgers and lobster rolls, this Cambridge institution of a bar serves up an atmosphere right out of the 1950s. Stay downstairs for the booths and lively waitstaff, or head upstairs for the punk-and-indie-stocked jukeboxes. Reservations available and recommended on nice weekend nights. Check out the beer garden next door and keep an eye out for all kinds of interesting characters. | Open daily at 11 am, until 1 am Mon-Wed and Sun, 2 am Thurs-Sat CLUB PASSIM 47 Palmer St, Cambridge | 617.492.7679 | clubpassim.com | This nonprofit folk club draws bigname and local folk bands, bluegrass musicians, and other singer/ songwriters. The atmosphere is eclectic and pleasant, with art on display. After years of being dry, it now offers beer and wine; and thanks to the Veggie Planet restaurant, there’s no shortage of imaginative drinks and food. Call or visit the Web site to purchase tickets. Members receive a $2 discount on live concerts. Live performances begin at 8 pm, unless otherwise noted. | Open daily 11 am-11 pm DRUID 1357 Cambridge St, Cambridge | 617.497.0965 | druidpub.com | With its original Celtic artwork, antique sewing-machine tables, and 14 draft beers, the Druid is yet another venue on the Irish-pub circuit, and it’s been crowded since the day it opened. Amazing what
Continued on p 20
PEM’s newest contemporary art initiative
Opens October 2, 2010 Internationally acclaimed artist Charles Sandison launches FreePort with an immersive video environment in historic East India Marine Hall, created from the handwritten words of 18th- and 19th-century sailors and sea captains.
For more information visit pem.org
161 Essex St. | Salem, MA 01970 FreePort sketch (detail). Š Charles Sandison, 2010.
20 SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 | FALL ARTS PREVIEW | SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOSTON PHOENIX | THEPHOENIX.COM/FALL
LAND OF TALK | NOVEMBER 3 AT T.T. THE BEAR’S PLACE, CAMBRIDGE | $10 DANDY WARHOLS | NOVEMBER 3 AT ROYALE, BOSTON | $25 GUIDED BY VOICES | NOVEMBER 5 AT THE PARADISE ROCK CLUB, BOSTON | SOLD OUT PRETTY LIGHTS + CHIDDY BANG | NOVEMBER 5 AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES, BOSTON | $25-$35 DAWES | NOVEMBER 6 AT ROYALE, BOSTON | $15 LIGHTS | NOVEMBER 7 AT THE MIDDLE EAST, CAMBRIDGE | $12 DEER TICK | NOVEMBER 11 AT ROYALE, BOSTON | $15 MUMFORD & SONS | NOVEMBER 11 AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES, BOSTON | SOLD OUT SUFJAN STEVENS | NOVEMBER 11 AND 12 AT THE ORPHEUM THEATRE, BOSTON | $35 [FIRST NIGHT SOLD OUT] THE JOY FORMIDABLE | NOVEMBER 13 AT GREAT SCOTT, ALLSTON | $12 LA ROUX | NOVEMBER 15 AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES, BOSTON | $22 JUSTIN BIEBER | NOVEMBER 16 AT THE TD GARDEN, BOSTON | $37-$63.50 NO AGE | NOVEMBER 16 AT THE MIDDLE EAST, CAMBRIDGE | $15 NEVER SHOUT NEVER | NOVEMBER 17 AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES, BOSTON | $16.25-$26.25 CORNERSHOP | NOVEMBER 17 AT THE MIDDLE EAST, CAMBRIDGE | $20 ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND | NOVEMBER 18, 19, AND 20 AT THE ORPHEUM THEATRE, BOSTON | $66.50-$151.50 [NIGHTS TWO AND THREE SOLD OUT] BEAR IN HEAVEN | NOVEMBER 18 AT THE MIDDLE EAST, CAMBRIDGE | $12 KATE NASH | NOVEMBER 18 AT THE PARADISE ROCK CLUB, BOSTON | $20 BOYZ II MEN | NOVEMBER 19 AT SHOWCASE LIVE, FOXBOROUGH | $35 WIZ KHALIFA + BIG K.R.I.T. | NOVEMBER 21 AT THE PARADISE ROCK CLUB, BOSTON | $17.50 IDLEWILD | NOVEMBER 24 AT THE MIDDLE EAST, CAMBRIDGE | $15
Continued from p 18 a good pint of Guinness can do. Vegetarian breakfasts available. | Open Sun-Wed 11 am-1 am, ThursSat 11 am-2 am ENORMOUS ROOM 567 Mass Ave, Cambridge | 617.491.5599 | enormous.tv | Low-key lounge with rooms that are, in fact, not all that enormous. Lay back in the oversized armchairs and listen to hits from the early ‘90s while you sip luxuriously on your chocolate martini. The ERoom sports Middle Eastern décor with cutting-edge dance music in a lounge atmosphere. It’s become an oasis for blog-famous DJs with both regional (Certified Bananas, 7L) and international (Ghislain Porier, the Rub) reputations. You’ll find the likes of Flavorheard, Soul Clap, and Unlocked Groove spinning seven nights a week, dropping everything from dancehall and two-step to mashed-up rap and metal-filter techno. “Beat Research,” DJ Flack’s long-running experimental-party-music night, is in residency on Mon. | Open Sun-Wed 5:30 pm-1 am, Thurs-Sat 5:30 pm-2 am FLAT TOP JOHNNY’S 1 Kendall Square, Cambridge | 617.494.9565 | flattopjohnnys.com | Between the full bar, the seemingly endless row of pool tables, the frat-boy chatter, and the regular goth nights (yup — no “ya dude” sports attire allowed), Flat Top Johnny’s has the billiards thing covered. Even, apparently, for people who seem more likely to do eight balls than to sink them. For hardcore nine-ballers, there’s a tourney every Mon at 6 pm. For hardcore lady ballers, women play half-price on Tues. Pool is free after 11 pm on Wed, which gives you two hours of sinking your balls in as deep as you dare. | Open MonWed 4 pm-1am, Thurs-Fri noon-1 am, Sat-Sun 3 pm-1 am GREEN STREET GRILL 280 Green St, Cambridge | 617.876.1655 | greenstreetgrill. com | International bar with a wide variety of music and a restaurant that features an eclectic menu of hot-and-spicy Caribbean food. The dining room and bar are spare but comfortable, and most of the menu’s entrées are clustered around $20. Green Street boasts some of the best, most serious and service-oriented bartending on this side of the Charles. Kitchen closes at 10:30 pm, Sun through Wed, and at 11:30 pm, Thurs through Sat. | Open daily 5:30 pm-1 am. GRENDEL’S DEN 89 Winthrop St, Cambridge | 617.491.1050 | grendelsden. com | Far from any Anglo-Saxon monsters, the only thing lurking in this underground Harvard hangout is a fantastic happy hour: half-price food every night from 5 to 7:30 pm, and from 9 to 11:30 pm Sun through Thurs. And the expertly mixed, punchy cocktails on the cheap bring prowlers at night, especially Dark ‘n Stormys (rum and ginger beer). Lunch specials for $4.95 Mon through Fri until 3 pm. | Open daily 11:30 am-1 am
JOHN HARVARD’S BREW HOUSE
33 Dunster St, Cambridge | 617.868.3585 | johnharvards.com | John Harvard’s Brew House was built underground, it would seem, to more closely match its beer to the freshearth surroundings. Enjoy the eclectic menu and dim lighting as you enjoy a hearty Guinness among mahogany and brass. | Open Mon-Thurs 11:30 am-12:30 am, Fri-Sat 11:30 am-2 am, Sun 11:30 am-midnight
LILY PAD 1353 Cambridge St, Cambridge | 617.497.0823 | lily-pad.net | Plenty of offbeat classes and events here, from Odd Tuesday Milonga dances to open Vinyasa Yoga classes for $5 each Wed. Most music events are all ages and have a $10 cover. LIZARD LOUNGE 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge | 617.547.0759 | lizardloungeclub. com | Sultry red lights, low ceilings, and wooden church pews give this small, underground lounge one of the hippest ambiances in town. Local musicians and artists perform in an avant-garde amphitheater of scattered chairs, tables, and people. Pre-show patrons can grab dinner upstairs at the Cambridge Common. Doors open at 7:30 pm for live performances. LORD HOBO 92 Hampshire St, Cambridge | 617.250.8454 | lordhobo.com | The food at Lord Hobo is very good, but don’t go if you don’t love fresh, extreme draught beers, because the beer is the uniquely wonderful thing here. If you’re only there for the food, there are beer geeks who deserve your table. If you want to look like them, wear dark clothing. And don’t worry: the excellent servers are there to help newbies. | Open daily 5 pm-1 am MIDDLE EAST 472-480 Mass Ave, Cambridge | 617.864.3278 | mideastclub.com. | Despite stiff competition on both sides of the river, the MidEast is still the most consistent and vital live-music venue in the Hub, and a minor miracle for having survived dozens of indie-rock, hip-hop, and club-music trends. With the upstairs restaurant, the converted bowling alley downstairs, and the adjacent ZuZu, this venue offers a number of options for music and vegetarian-friendly Middle Eastern dining. Local and national acts play nightly, with multiple shows most nights. The Middle East is also known for its traditional belly dancing on Wed and Sun in the Corner restaurant area. | Open Mon-Wed and Sun 11 am-1 am, Thurs-Sat 11 am-2 am MIDDLESEX LOUNGE 315 Mass Ave, Cambridge | 617.868.MSEX | middlesexlounge.com. | This stylish, minimalist eatery near MIT is a classy lunch spot serving exotic sandwiches by day and attracting a hip crowd at night for tapas. The upholstered benches and tables are low and set on wheels so you can roll yourself around — space permitting, of course — to each night’s DJ. | Open Mon-Wed 11:30 am-1 am, Thurs-Fri 11:30 am-2 am, Sat 5 pm-2 am MIRACLE OF SCIENCE 321 Mass Ave, Cambridge | 617.868.2866 | miracleofscience.us | Situated on the fringe of the MIT campus, Miracle features unique decor that suits its location: slate tables and a picture of Albie Einstein on the wall. Visitors can kick back to hip-hop, house, and prog-rock. The menu of classic American food includes burgers (veggie and beef), some Tex-Mex fare, and breakfast. | Open MonFri 7 am-1 am, Sat 8 am-1 am, Sun 8 am-midnight PHOENIX LANDING 512 Mass Ave, Cambridge | 617.576.6260 | phoenixlandingbar.com | Central Square’s premiere soccer bar draws a crowd of international patrons and celebrates its 15th anniversary this fall. | Open Mon-Wed 11 am-1 am, Thurs-Sat 11 am-2 am, Sun 10 am-1 am PLOUGH & STARS 912 Mass Ave, Cambridge | 617.576.0032 | ploughandstars.com | A neighborhood pub with a long, narrow bar, a friendly atmosphere, and an extensive selection of beer, both
domestic and imported. The Plough is a quiet bistro by day, with menu items like gazpacho and blackened catfish, and a raucous concert venue by night. Live music from a variety of genres, including blues, folk, R&B, swing, jazz, country, bluegrass, Irish, and surf. The bar is also open for live televised soccer matches. All shows are 21-plus and admission ranges from free to $6. | Open Mon-Wed 11 am-1 am, Thurs-Sat 11 am-2 am, Sun 10 am-1 am REGATTABAR at the Charles Hotel, 1 Bennett St, Cambridge | 617.661.5000 | regattabarjazz.com | This warm, dark, and intimate jazz club for music lovers regularly books well-known national and local jazz and blues acts. Bar is open for ticketed events and offers a light food menu until the end of the show. Patrons receive a 10 percent discount at Henrietta’s Table before a show at the Regattabar. RIVER GODS 125 River St, Cambridge | 617.576.1881 | rivergodsonline.com | A small, very cool bar that serves a globetrotting menu at nice prices to a mix of locals and DJ-loving hipsters. Even if you’ve gotten over the novelty of Irish bars with good food, River Gods is a novelty in so many other directions, it could only happen in Cambridge. It’s motley, it’s hip, it’s crowded and comfortable and over-decorated, and the food veers toward Korean and Thai fusion. Nightly entertainment includes live bands and DJs. No cover. | Open Tues-Sat 3 pm–1 am, Sun 3 pm-11 pm, Mon 3 pm-midnight; kitchen open until 10 pm RYLES 212 Hampshire St, Cambridge | 617.876.9330 | rylesjazz.com | Inman Square jazz club with two floors. Bands play live jazz, blues, and world-beat music in a street-level room that has a bigger stage. Music and dancing almost every night of the week throughout the year, with jazz brunch on Sun from 10 am until 3 pm. Noche Latina Tuesdays offer dance lessons for all skill levels starting at 7 pm, followed by dancing from 9:30 pm to 1 am; $13, $11 with student ID. Hot Salsa Wednesdays have lessons at 8:30 pm and dancing from 9:45 pm until 1 am, $12 before 9:30, $10 after. Check online for more opportunities to hear great music or to dance the night away. | Music begins at 9 pm; other events vary SHAY’S 58 JFK St, Cambridge | 617.864.9161 | An array of off-thebeaten-path beers and affordable wines are served up with a smile at this comfortable, laid back watering hole, one of the locals’ secret favorites. | Open Mon-Sat 11 am-1 am, Sun noon-1 am TOAD 1920 Mass Ave, Cambridge | 617.497.4950 | toadcambridge.com | An intimate pub with live music every night. Mostly local groups, but the occasional national star drops in. A busy night means someone’s sharing a seat with the keyboard player. Music’s so loud you can’t hold a conversation, and even the bartenders wear earplugs. No cover. | Open Mon-Wed 5 pm-1 am, Thurs-Sat 5 pm-2 am, Sun 6 pm-1 am
TOMMY DOYLE’S AT HARVARD
96 Winthrop St, Cambridge | 617.864.1311 | tommydoyles.com | Your typical college dive bar with pool tables and Harvard students. Menu features dishes like shepherd’s pie and Irish stew. Live music almost every night. | Open Sun-Wed 11 am-1 am, Thurs-Sat 11 am-2 am
T.T. THE BEAR’S PLACE 10 Brookline St, Cambridge | 617.492.0082 | ttthebears.com | A legendary live-music venue and bar that hosts both local and national acts. Nightly live music begins at 9 pm. Call or visit the Web site for details. No food. WESTERN FRONT 343 Western Ave, Cambridge | 617.492.7772 | thewesternfrontclub.com | Touting itself as “Boston’s only true reggae club,” this club still has the look of the jazz-and-blues venue it was at its birth in 1968. The jazz department at the New England Conservatory sponsors Wed jazz performances. Doors open at 8 pm for 9 pm shows on Wed and Thurs. Shows begin at 10 pm on Fri and Sat; $5 on Wed and Thurs, $10 on Sat. | Wed-Sat 8 pm-2 am ZUZU 474 Mass Ave, Cambridge | 617.864.3278 | zuzubar.com | Part of Middle East in Central Square, Zuzu offers, you guessed it, Middle Eastern cuisine like nobody’s business. The nightclub also showcases cutting-edge local performers, local art, great food, and tasty drinks and hosts several queer dance nights. | Dinner 5:30-10 pm; music Sun-Wed at 10 pm, ThursSat 11 pm
SOMERVILLE BURREN 247 Elm St, Somerville | 617.776.6896 | burren.com | Ireland’s culture is as much about conversation as it is about drinking; as much about music as about Jameson, Guinness, and Harp. So for an Irish pub to qualify as “authentic” on this side of the pond, a conversationally conducive atmosphere and live music are as important as a properly pulled pint. The Burren excels at all three. On weekend nights, a cover charge often applies, so call ahead. | Lunch/dinner daily 11:30 am-9:45 pm; bar and backroom open until 1 am most nights; brunch Sat-Sun 10 am-3 pm
GARGOYLES ON THE SQUARE
219 Elm St, Somerville | 617.776.5300 | gargoylesrestaurant.com | Hell’s Kitchen runner-up Jason Santos is the kind of chef whose cooking makes us suspect he’d be a good drinking buddy: his food is inventive, playful, occasionally outrageous (think mad-food-scientist), not at all pretentious. It helps that his venue, in the heart of Davis Square, has an attractive but not stuffy bar and dining room staffed by expert mixologists and servers without a hint of self-seriousness. Great desserts, modest wines, and entrees under $25 make this a place to check out on weeknights, thereby ducking the weekend mob scene. | Open Tues-Thurs 5 pm-midnight, Fri-Sat 5 pm-1 am, Sun 10:30 ammidnight INDEPENDENT 75 Union Square, Somerville | 617.440.6022 | theindo.com | This stylish Irish pub and restaurant pulls a perfect pint and, with
f
Bands in Town: Scan code or visit http://bit.ly/BostonBands for full listings.
an eclectic menu of chic American dishes, offers a fair bit more than standard pub grub. Open windows allow a nice view of scenic Union Square. | Open Mon-Thurs 4:30 pm-1 am, Fri 4 pm-2 am, Sat 11 am2 am, Sun 11 am-1 am JOHNNY D’S 17 Holland St, Somerville | 617.776.2004 | johnnyds.com | Where else can you eat inventive, healthy food while sipping draft microbrews and listening to Luther “Guitar Jr.” Johnson? At this longrunning music club, bar, and restaurant, there’s plenty of table seating, a separate bar area, and a small dance floor. Also: generous servings of Cajun/zydeco, folk, funk, Latin, country, jazz, rock, and reggae, with live music seven nights a week. Located across the street from the Davis Square stop on the Red Line. Free wi-fi access and vegetarian menu options. | Open Mon 3 pm-1 am, Tues-Fri 11 am-1 am, Sat-Sun 8:30 am-1 am JOSHUA TREE 256 Elm St, Somerville | 617.623.9910 | joshuatreesomerville.com | This bar and grill boasts 26 beers on tap, four plasma TVs, and a big-screen projection for keeping up on the game, and large doors that are open to the street during nicer weather. Also has a location in Allston (1314 Comm Ave). | Open Mon-Thurs 11:30 am-1 am, Fri 11:30 am-2 am, Sat 10:30 am-2 am, Sun 10:30 am-1 am; brunch SatSun until 3 pm OLDE MAGOUN’S SALOON 518 Medford St, Somerville | 617.776.260 | magounssaloon.com | If you’re in the area and are looking for a decent beer selection, try the place with the winking name. | Open Mon-Thurs 11 am-1 am, Fri-Sat 11 am-2 am, Sun 10 am-1 am P.A.’S LOUNGE 345 Somerville Ave, Somerville | 617.776.1557 | paslounge.com | The P.A. stands for “Portuguese American.” Long frequented by men from Madeira and the Azores, it now plays host to hipsters seeking cheap booze and some of the best live music in town. SLIGO PUB 237 Elm St, Somerville | 617.623.9651 | An Irish railroad-style bar with a crowd that runs the gamut from young hipsters to older gentlemen. There’s been a pub standing at the spot where the Sligo is for more than 70 years. With God willing, the Sligo itself, and all the other blue-collar bastions like it across greater Boston, will still be standing 70 years from now. Cash only. | Open daily 11 am-1 am THIRSTY SCHOLAR PUB 70 Beacon St, Somerville | 617.497.2294 | thirstyscholarpub.com | This Irish pub with classic dark-wood interior is located close enough to a few famous universities (on the Cambridge/Somerville border) that it makes a good place to stop when the library leaves you parched. “Collegiate” soundtrack is heavy on Radiohead and Massive Attack, not that you could hear much over the din on a busy night. Menu available until closing. | Open daily 11 am-1 am
Saturday Nights
r e n r o C t o H e h T WITH D DJ CARNEY LANSFOR
o Cover!
0pm | N 21+ | Doors at 1
FRIDAY, SEPT 24 BACKSEAT LOVER
(THE PEARL JAM Tribute)
THE POOR HISTORIANS SATURDAY, SEPT 25 UFC 119 VIEWING PARTY FRIDAY, OCT 8 SAC THE BAND FORCE THE FALLEN(EP RELEASE) PROM NIGHT DUMPSTER BABY MY NEW DISASTER DIRTY SANCHEZ FRIDAY, OCT 15 OCEAN TRANSFER FRIDAY, OCT 22 ON THE DROP (CD RELEASE)
22 SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 | FALL ARTS PREVIEW | SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOSTON PHOENIX | THEPHOENIX.COM
T S E T D L BLINDFO JAZZ
TRYING NEW FLAVORS IN THE NEW SEASON
_ BY J O N G A R E L I C K
Y
A search for this fall’s must-see jazz revealed a lot of overlapping personnel — Jim Hobbs, Allan Chase, Joe Morris, Taylor Ho Bynum. Hey, you wanted to know what’s good, right? Just as good are the unique units of Esperanza Spalding, Chris Potter, and Francisco Mela, plus the BeanTown Jazz Fest and Ran Blake’s Claude Chabrol extravaganza. Enjoy.
unselfconscious hunger for a mix of forms and formats — pan-American rhythms, gospel fervor, free-form meditations. You’ll have to hustle across town after the Mela gig to catch the 2009 Berklee grad with saxophonist Andrew Halchak, guitarist Shu Odamura, bassist Sam J.C. Lee, and drummer Mario Rodriguez. | Ryles, 212 Hampshire St, Cambridge | 9 pm | $10 | 617.876.9330 or ryles.com
AARDVARK | September 19 + October
ESPERANZA SPALDING | October 2 | Now
20 | Boston’s venerable avant-garde big band, led by trumpeter/composer Mark Harvey, opens on September 19 in a collaboration with the great young cornettist Taylor Ho Bynum and a performance of his Choices, a concerto for trumpet and jazz orchestra featuring Harvey. On October 20, Harvey convenes the crew for “An Election Year Special,” with his own “Big Oil Tango,” “March of the Booboisie,” “Scamology,” and “the ever-popular ‘Flat-Earth Boogie.’ ” | MIT, Killian Hall, 160 Memorial Drive, Cambridge | September 19 @ 8 pm; October 20 @ 7:30 pm | $15 | 617.452.3205 or aardvark jazz.com
25, the former Berklee sensation has rated magazine features from Downbeat to the New Yorker. Her 2008 debut split the difference between pop and jazz; her new Chamber Music Society (Telarc), with its emphasis on strings, leans toward classical. Spalding is still singing in counterpoint to her own fluid, organic acoustic-bass lines.
Her Cambridge show will feature the new work. | Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy St, Cambridge | 8 pm | $22–$32 | 617.876.4275 or world-music.org
CHRIS POTTER QUARTET | October 6 | Many virtuoso saxophonists can get audiences nodding and grunting in assent — Chris Potter gets them screaming. It’s not his pyrotechnic chops alone that do the trick — as a writer and bandleader, he mixes form, funk, and freedom in a way that seems to tap into the motherlode of classic ’60s Miles and takes it to right now. | Regattabar, Charles Hotel, 1 Bennett St, Cambridge | 7:30 [$25] + 10 pm [$22] | 617.395.7757 or regattabarjazz.com
JAZZ COMPOSERS ALLIANCE ORCHESTRA | October 12 | The JCAO celebrates its 25th
STEVE LANTNER QUARTET | October 22 | Pianist Lantner is a linchpin in the local avant-garde, and here he’s gathered a supergroup of masters for whom spontaneous improv is most of all about listening: multi-reed man Allan Chase, drummer Luther Gray, and Boston avant-guitar hero Joe Morris playing his preferred instrument these days, acoustic bass. | Outpost 186, 186½ Hampshire St, Cambridge | 8 pm | $10 | zeitgeistoutpost.blogspot.com
JIM HOBBS | November 4 | Joe Morris (see above) once credited alto-saxophonist Jim Hobbs as being “as good as anyone who’s played that instrument.” In these parts, Hobbs is also known for leading his world–meets–Ornette Fully Celebrated trio and for spicing up any ensemble he’s a part of. Here, he gathers a hefty sympathetic cohort: reeds Jasper Hobbs, Jamil Moore, Timo Shanko, and Kurtis Rivers; trumpets Mark Sanchez and Forbes Graham; cornettist Taylor Ho Bynum (see above); trombones Richard Harper and Bill Lowe; Joe Morris, this time on guitar; bassist Jef Charland, and drummer Django Carranza. | Ryles, 212 Hampshire St, Cambridge | 8:30 pm | $8 | 617.876.9330 or ryles.com
BERKLEE BEANTOWN JAZZ FESTIVAL | September 25 | The capstone to the 10day Berklee-sponsored run of events is this 10th annual street festival in the South End. It’s free, and ridiculously packed with good stuff on three stages: Greg Osby with guest Mark Turner, genius composer/arranger Victor Mendoza with Mendoza Vibe, the Julian Lage Trio, Grace Kelly, Nona Hendryx (wha?!), the Boogaloo Swamis, up-andcoming piano star Jonathan Batiste, New Orleans’s Wild Magnolias Mardi Gras Indians, Al Kooper and the Funky Faculty, and more. | Columbus Ave between Mass Ave and Burke St | noon–7 pm | beantownjazz.org
RAN BLAKE’S “CHABROL NOIR” | No-
FRANCISCO MELA TRIO FEAT. VIJAY IYER | September 29 | Yes, you’ll find the occasional trad son montuno from this Cuban-born drummer-composerbandleader, but Mela is in the forefront of a progressive post-bop scene that includes collaborators like his sometime boss Joe Lovano, as well as Mark Turner, Jason Moran, et al. He fronts his trio with the much-celebrated pianist Vijay Iyer and bassist Peter Slavov. | Regattabar, Charles Hotel, 1 Bennett St, Cambridge | 7:30 pm | $22 | 617.395.7757 or regattabarjazz.com
MINA CHO | September 29 | One of the more intriguing debuts of the season is Mina Cho’s Originality (Blink Music), in which the young pianist shows an
anniversary with the release of A Wallflower in the Amazon (Accurate), which features the compositions of founding member Darrell Katz: free multi-horn conversations; a revamped “Hoochie Coochie Man” for veteran blues-and-rock singer/ keyboardist Mike Finnegan; tonguetwisting free verse set for JCOA singer Rebecca Shrimpton; a gorgeous arrangement of Ellington’s “I Like the Sunrise.” | Regattabar, Charles Hotel, 1 Bennett St, Cambridge | 7:30 pm | $14 | 617.395.7757 or regattabarjazz.com
PEDAL METTLE Cornettist and composer Taylor Ho Bynum is featured in two local concerts this fall.
vember 10 | Pianist, composer, and New England Conservatory jazz guru Blake is fêted in what should be a stellar 75th-birthday tribute at Jordan Hall on September 20, but to get the full Ran experience, you should check out this multimedia extravaganza. Last fall’s treatment of Sidney Lumet’s The Pawnbroker was a (sometimes overwhelming) highlight of the year. This time out, Blake provokes NEC faculty and students (including the Borromeo String Quartet and experimental pop group Cuddle Magic) in an audio-visual “response to the plots, moods, and music” of the films of Claude Chabrol. If we’re lucky, maybe even Ran will play. | Jordan Hall, 30 Gainsborough St, Boston | 8 pm | Free | necmusic.edu/concerts-events ^
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24 SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 | FALL ARTS PREVIEW | SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOSTON PHOENIX | THEPHOENIX.COM
L A C I S S A L C
R E W O P THE C I S U M F O
AND, WE HOPE, THE GOOD HEALTH OF JAMES LEVINE
_BY LLOYD SCHWA RTZ
Y
Here’s my Top 10 list, in chronological order, of some of the season’s most appealing and important classical music events: symphonies, chamber music, operas. It’s by no means exhaustive, and I encourage you to peruse the Phoenix’s weekly listings for the full array of what Boston’s stupendous musicians have to offer the classical-music lover — from novice to pro; from pricy (series subscriptions are often bigger bargains than individual tickets) to free.
EMMANUEL MUSIC | September 24 | Now in its 40th season, Emmanuel has acquired (after a two-year search) a new artistic director: Ryan Turner, who calls his debut season “Where Tradition Meets Innovation.” (Few groups have better earned this title.) Turner opens with a great and symbolic piece we don’t hear often enough: Alexander’s Feast, or The Power of Music, Handel’s oratorio in tribute to music itself, a magnificent setting of John Dryden’s poem celebrating St. Cecilia, the patron saint of music. | Emmanuel Church, 15 Newbury St, Boston | $10-$150 | 617.356.3356 or emmanuelmusic.org
BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA | October 2 | The question that’s uppermost in classical-music lovers’ minds is: will James Levine really be back to lead the Boston Symphony Orchestra? Out for much of last season and all summer with back problems, for which he’s undergone surgery, he’s scheduled to open the BSO season in a Wagner program with celebrated Welsh bassbaritone Bryn Terfel (October 2 @ 6 pm, $75$2500). The following Saturday, he’s listed as conductor for the Metropolitan Opera’s live HD telecast of the new production of Wagner’s Das Rheingold at 1 pm and then Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the BSO at Symphony Hall at 8 pm. Marathon man? If his plane is late, he’d have to be Superman. I’m also especially eager to hear his series of John Harbison symphonies, which begins the following week (October 14). | Symphony Hall, 301 Mass Ave, Boston | $29-$108 | 617.266.1200 or bso.org
HARVARD MUSIC DEPARTMENT’S POTPOURRI WITH VIOLIN | October 3 | Daniel Stepner, one of Boston’s most versatile violinists, kicks off a series of free concerts at Harvard with a compelling program that ranges from great Bach (the Chromatic Fantasy transcribed for violin) to great Ives (Sonata No. 2). He’ll be partnered by pianist Donald Berman, who’s no Ives slouch himself. | Paine Hall, Harvard University North Yard, Cambridge | free| 617.495.2791 or music.fas.harvard. edu/calendar
RUSSELL SHERMAN | October 5 | The New England Conservatory’s Distinguished Artist-in-Residence is a profound and profoundly original pianist, and he’s celebrating the 200th birthday of a profoundly original composer, Robert Schumann,
I’ll TAKE PARIS! Benjamin Zander leads the Boston Philharmonic in a program that crosses Tin Pan Alley and the Rue de la Paix.
by playing three of his major and most personal keyboard works: Arabesque, Kreisleriana, and the big C-major Fantasia. Even more “fantastic,” the concert is free. Jordan Hall, 30 Gainsborough St, Boston | Free | 617.585.1122 or necmusic.edu
CELEBRITY SERIES OF BOSTON: MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP | October 14-17 | The Celebrity Series runs quite the gamut this fall, from Liza Minnelli (November 7) to Murray Perahia (November 14) to the Parker String Quartet playing sublime Haydn (November 22). My top choice is Mark Morris Dance Group. In the course of the three premieres (one world, two Boston) it’s bringing, America’s premier modern-dance company will also give us one of the season’s most intriguing live chamber concerts: Ives’s kaleidoscopic Piano Trio, a Villa-Lobos string quartet, and Samuel Barber keyboard music. And how many chamber concerts are this eye-filling? | Cutler Majestic Theatre, 219 Tremont St, Boston | $57-$72 | 617.482.2595 or celebrityseries.org
BOSTON BAROQUE | October 15-16 | Haven’t had enough Beethoven lately? Martin Pearlman leads a Seventh Symphony on period instruments, and soprano Barbara Quintiliani lends her rich, full voice to Beethoven’s powerful concert aria “Ah! Perfido” and to no less powerful, if less familiar, arias from Cherubini’s Medée. | Jordan Hall, 30 Gainsborough St, Boston | $25–$73 | 617.484.9200 or bostonbaroque.org BOSTON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA| October 21, 23, 24 | Benjamin Zander begins a series in which the music, he says, creates an entire world. In his first program, that world is the intersection of Tin Pan Alley and the Rue de la Paix: George Gershwin’s An American in Paris, Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G (with the incisive Stephen Drury), Stravinsky’s Symphonies of Wind Instruments (his elegy for Debussy), and Debussy’s La mer. Come early and hear Zander expatiate on his choices.| Jordan Hall, 30 Gainsborough St, Boston [October 23] | Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy St, Cambridge [October 21 + 24] | $15-$85 | 617.236.0999 or bostonphil.org
OPERA BOSTON’S FIDELIO | October 22, 24, 26 | This gutsy company’s exciting season begins with a problematic masterpiece: Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio. Powerhouse soprano Christine Goerke stars as the intrepid Leonore, who disguises herself as a man in order to rescue her political-prisoner husband. Stage director Thaddeus Strassberger will probably have a harder time making this plausible than conductor Gil Rose will have making it sing. | Cutler Majestic Theatre, 219 Tremont St, Boston | $29-$171 | 617.451.3388 or operaboston.org CANTATA SINGERS | November 5-6 | When David Hoose and the Cantata Singers spend an entire season exploring a single composer (Weill, Britten, Schütz), they don’t just give us that composer — they place him in the context of those who’ve inspired or been inspired by him. This season, the composer is Ralph Vaughan Williams, and it’s hard to imagine his Oboe Concerto (with the inspiring Peggy Pearson) in more provocative company than Andrew Imbrie, Boston’s Yehudi Wyner (with a newly commissioned work), and Irving Fine’s delightful The Choral New Yorker. | Jordan Hall, 30 Gainsborough St, Boston | $17-$52 | 617.868.5885 or cantatasingers.org
BOSTON LYRIC OPERA’S TOSCA | November 5, 7, 10, 12, 14, 16 | The Lyric’s season opener is a familiar one, an adaption of the Scottish Opera’s production of Puccini’s tuneful melodrama. Jill Gardner, who’s sung Mimi in a Lyric La bohème, has the title role, with Bradley Garvin as Scarpia and Diego Torre as Cavaradossi; Andrew Bisantz, who conducted last season’s The Turn of the Screw, is in the pit.| Shubert Theatre, 265 Tremont St, Boston | $34-$195 | 617.542.4912 or blo.org ROCKPORT CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL | November 20 | The night before playing the same program at Sanders Theatre, the Boston Chamber Music Society will trek up to the elegant new all-season concert hall in Rockport to perform Brahms’s String Quintet No. 1, Chopin’s Cello Sonata, and Alfred Schnittke’s astonishing String Trio. Two great violists — BCMS director Marcus Thompson and Roger Tapping — will be playing together. | Shalin Liu Performance Center, Rockport | $25-$46 | 978.546.7391 or rockportmusic.org ^
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26 SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 | FALL ARTS PREVIEW | SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOSTON PHOENIX | THEPHOENIX.COM/FALL
L A C I S S A L C LISTINGS
BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
BLUE HERON RENAISSANCE CHOIR
Symphony Hall, 301 Mass Ave, Boston | 888.266.1200 | bso. org | Founded in 1881, the city’s premier classical ensemble presents more than 250 concerts a year under the leadership of music director James Levine. In typical Levine-era fashion, the 2010/2011 season includes timeless masterpieces by Mahler, Wagner, Brahms, and Prokofiev alongside works from notable living composers.
First Congregational Church, 11 Garden St, Cambridge | 617.960.7956 | blueheronchoir. org | Blue Heron is a vocal ensemble primarily interested in 15th-century English and Franco-Flemish polyphony, from Dunstable and Dufay to Ockeghem and Josquin; Spanish music between 1500 and 1575; and rarely performed 16th-century English works. The choir is directed by Scott Metcalfe.
FDON’T MISS IN A RARE US PERFORMANCE AND HIS FIRST WITH THE BSO SINCE 1997, BASS BARITONE BRYN TERFEL JOINS LEVINE FOR AN ALL-WAGNER PROGRAM ON OPENING NIGHT, OCT 2.
FDON’T MISS THE LATEST INSTALLMENT IN BLUE HERON’S PETERHOUSE PARTBOOKS SERIES ON OCT 16, WITH A PRECONCERT TALK BY HARVARD PROFESSOR JAMES SIMPSON.
Scan code or visit http://bit.ly/BSO2010 for full fall schedule
EMMANUEL MUSIC Emmanuel Church, 15 Newbury St, Boston | 617.536.3356 | emmanuelmusic.org | Craig Smith founded Emmanuel Music in 1970 to perform J.S. Bach’s 200-plus sacred cantatas in the liturgical setting for which they were intended. They’ve since completed the cycle twice and presented large-scale and operatic works by Bach, Handel, and Mozart, as well as chamber music by Schumann, Debussy, Brahms, and Schubert. Acting artistic director John Harbison continues the tradition today.
FDON’T MISS CHAMBER-SERIES CONCERTS ARE HELD SELECT SUN AT 4 PM. THE BACH CANTATA SERIES RUNS FROM SEPT 26 THROUGH MAY 1 EVERY SUN AT 10 AM.
John Harbison
Scan code or visit http://bit.ly/Bachtastic for full fall schedule
BOSTON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA 295 Huntington Ave, Ste 210, Boston | 617.236.0999 | bostonphil.org | In 1979, 96 enthusiastic players, amateurs, students, and professionals joined a dynamic young conductor named Benjamin Zander to found the Boston Philharmonic. This season, Zander has created four programs, the first of which uses music by Debussy, Gershwin, Stravinsky, and Ravel to try to capture the spirit of early-20th-century Paris.
Scan code or visit http://bit.ly/ BlueHeron2010 for full fall schedule
HANDEL AND HAYDN SOCIETY Horticultural Hall, 300 Mass Ave, Boston | 617.266.3605 | handelandhaydn.org | Founded as a choral society in 1815, Handel and Haydn performs Baroque and classical music for chorus and period-instrument orchestra. The group gave the American premiere of Handel’s Messiah in 1818 and has performed it annually since 1854.
FDON’T MISS
OPERA BOSTON Cutler Majestic Theatre, Emerson College, 219 Tremont St, Boston | 617.451.9944 | operaboston.org | The city’s most exciting opera company specializes in innovative, important, but rarely performed works. Founded in 1980, Opera Boston has presented more than 70 operas, including 34 regional and two world premieres. This season, it presents three productions under general director Carole Charnow and music director Gil Rose.
FDON’T MISS
BEETHOVEN’S FIDELIO, SUNG IN GERMAN WITH ENGLISH TITLES, IN LATE OCT.
Scan code or visit http://bit.ly/ OperaBoston for full fall schedule
FDON’T MISS THE THURSDAY-NIGHT DISCOVERY SERIES AT SANDERS THEATRE INTEGRATES LECTURE WITH PERFORMANCE FOR NOVICE CONCERTGOERS.
Scan code or visit http://bit.ly/BostonPhil for full fall schedule
UNDER ARTISTIC DIRECTOR HARRY CHRISTOPHERS, THE SOCIETY HAS LINED UP A SEASON THAT INCLUDES MOZART, BEETHOVEN, AND BACH PROGRAMS AND — OF COURSE — HANDEL’S MESSIAH.
Scan code or visit http://bit.ly/HandH2010 for full fall schedule
For 200+ classical music concerts Scan the code or visit http://bit.ly/ BostonClassy
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28 SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 | FALL ARTS PREVIEW | SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOSTON PHOENIX | THEPHOENIX.COM
THEATER
S ’ T N E V E THE G N I H T E TH FALL ON BOSTON BOARDS
_BY C AROLY N CL AY
Y
Artistic directors have suddenly morphed into event planners. Both the American Repertory Theater’s Diane Paulus and the Huntington Theatre Company’s Peter DuBois speak of programming not plays but “events.” One such project — erstwhile Dresden Doll Amanda Palmer’s star turn as the androgynous MC of the ART’s Cabaret (at Oberon through October 29) — is already upon us. And it’s clear that it’ll be hard to promenade on the local Rialto this fall without bumping into one or another multi-faceted, multi-headed, or festival-style event.
FIFTH ANNUAL PROVINCETOWN TENNESSEE WILLIAMS THEATER FESTIVAL September 23-26 | “Under the Influence” is this year’s theme, but it’s not what you think. There are plays making reference to Williams inspirations Eugene O’Neill and Hart Crane and the world premiere (by Beau Jest Moving Theatre) of Williams’s never-produced American Gothic, a riff on Grant Wood’s iconic painting of fun farmers. | Provincetown, various venues | $15– $47.50; $125–$500 festival pass | 866.789. TENN or twptown.org
THE LARAMIE RESIDENCY | September 24-October 2 | The birth of ArtsEmerson is an event in itself, and this residency by Tectonic Theater Project is among its first offerings. Moisés Kaufman’s troupe brings to town both The Laramie Project, which was culled from interviews conducted in the wake of the brutal 1998 murder of gay man Matthew Shepard near the Wyoming city of the title, and the world premiere of The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, which was born of a return visit to learn how the hate crime had impacted the community in the long term. | Cutler Majestic Theatre, 219 Tremont St, Boston | $15–$79 | 617.824.8000 or artsemerson.org
giant — with music. | Boston Center for the Arts Plaza Theatre, 539 Tremont St, Boston | $30; $20 seniors, students, previews| 617.933.8600 or bostontheatrescene.com
THE COVETED CROWN: HENRY IV, PARTS 1 & 2 | September 29–November 21 | Bardcentric Actors’ Shakespeare Project presents, in rep, Prince Hal’s epic journey from risky business to breaking Falstaff’s sodden heart. | Midway Studios, 15 Channel Center St, South Boston | $25-$48; $15 student rush | 866.811.4111 or actorsshakespeareproject.org
ROCK OF AGES | October 6-17 | The jukebox is tuned to 1987 in this 2009 Tony-nominated musical set on the Sunset Strip and channeling big hair and heavy metal. Promised are mini-flashlights for the audience, an “arena-rock love story” complete with deafening sound, and a score culled from the hits of Journey, Styx, and Twisted Sister, among others. | Colonial Theatre, 106 Boylston St, Boston | $33–$92 | 800.982.2787 or broadwayacrossamerica.com SHIRLEY, VERMONT PLAYS | October 15–November 20 | The Huntington Theatre Company, SpeakEasy Stage Company, and Company One collude to turn Tremont
Street, between Berkeley and Clarendon, into the fictional town of Shirley, Vermont, geographical center of the elliptical œuvre of multiple-Obie-winning, 29-yearold dramatist Annie Baker, whose Circle Mirror Transformations, Body Awareness, and The Aliens will be produced by HTC, SESC, and CO respectively. The plays, which flit from a creative drama class to “Body Awareness Week” to the dumpster behind a coffee shop, debuted Off Broadway between 2008 and 2010, prompting the New York Times to dub Baker “a young playwright with a probing, understated voice.” On five “marathon” days, it will be possible to experience Shirley all at once. | Boston Center for the Arts Calderwood Pavilion, 527 Tremont St, and Plaza Theatre, 539 Tremont St, Boston | $25-$65; $15 student rush Circle Mirror Transformations | $30-$55; $25 under 25; $14 student rush Body Awareness | $18-$38; $15 students The Aliens | $120 three-play marathon | 617.933.8600 or shirleyvtplays.com or bostontheatrescene.com
ONE SMALL STEP | October 20-24 | ArtsEmerson presents the US premiere of this Oxford Playhouse theater piece celebrating the 40th anniversary of the moon landing and taking its title from the lips of astronaut Neil Armstrong. Two actors, armed
NICHOLAS NICKLEBY, PARTS 1 & 2 | October 21–December 19 | The Lyric Stage Company takes on the largest project in its 37-year history: David Edgar’s recently whittled-down version of his Tony- and Olivier-winning two-part adaptation of Charles Dickens’s third novel, an epic compendium of Victorian cruelty over which the title hero triumphs. Spiro Veloudos directs a who’s who of local luminaries that includes Elliot Norton Award winners Leigh Barrett, Larry Coen, Nigel Gore, and Will Lyman. On five occasions, the two parts can be taken in on a single day. | 140 Clarendon St, Boston | $25-$56 | 617.585.5678 or lyricstage.com AFTERMATH | October 27-31 | Jessica Blank and Eric Jensen, authors of The Exonerated, traveled to Jordan in 2008 to interview Iraqi refugees, who talked about fleeing chaos and lives interrupted. This New York Theater Workshop performance, in its Boston premiere courtesy of ArtsEmerson, is the result. | Paramount Theatre, 560 Washington St, Boston | $25-$79 | 800.824.8000 or artsemerson.org
VENGEANCE IS THE LORD’S | November 12–December 12 | The last time Huntington Theatre Company honcho Peter DuBois directed the world premiere of a Bob Glaudini play, it starred Philip Seymour Hoffman. There’s no word yet on who’s in this “darkly comic domestic drama” revolving around a Sopranos-like New England family. But DuBois is at the helm of the latest from the author of Jack Goes Boating. | Boston University Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave, Boston | $25-$89; $15 student rush | 617.266.0800 or huntingtontheatre.org
THE SHIPMENT | September 24-26 | Auda-
THE FEVER CHART: THREE VISIONS OF THE MIDDLE EAST | November 18–December
cious young Korean-American playwright/ director Young Jean Lee addresses “Black identity politics” in an irreverent amalgam that draws on minstrelsy and Richard Pryor to twist cultural images, says the New York Times, “like silly putty.”| Institute of Contemporary Art, 100 Northern Ave, Boston | $25; $22 members, students | 617.478.3138 or icaboston.org
ENRON | September 24–October 16 | Zeitgeist Stage Company takes on Brit writer Lucy Prebble’s “financial vaudeville” chronicling the crash of the energy
with minimal props and playing 41 parts, reconstruct the space race. | Paramount Center Black Box, 560 Washington St, Boston | $39 | 617.824.8000 or artsemerson.org
THE LARAMIE PROJECT ArtsEmerson brings Moisés Kaufman’s Tectonic Theater Project to the Cutler Majestic.
19 | Playwright Naomi Wallace “seems to believe the world can change,” opines Tony Kushner, adding, “She certainly writes as if she intends to set it on fire.” In this triptych tinged with magic realism and humor, to be presented by Underground Railway Theater, the world to which Wallace applies her match comprises Israel, Palestine, and Iraq. | Central Square Theater, 450 Mass Ave, Cambridge | $40; $30 seniors; $25 students | 866.811.4111 or centralsquaretheater.org ^
Live Piano Entertainment! SEPT 16, 23, 30 OCT 7: 6pm-10pm
henry parts 1 & 2
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30 SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 | FALL ARTS PREVIEW | SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOSTON PHOENIX | THEPHOENIX.COM/FALL
LISTINGS
R E T A E H T
ACTORS’ SHAKESPEARE PROJECT Midway Studios, 15 Channel Center St, Boston | 617.776.2200 | Tickets are $25 to $48. Visit thephoenix.com for showtimes. SEPT 29 THROUGH NOV 21 The Coveted Crown: Henry IV, Parts 1 & 2
APOLLINAIRE THEATRE COMPANY Chelsea Theatre Works, 189
Winnisimmet St, Chelsea | 617.887.2336 | apollinairetheatrecompany.com | Founded as TheatreZone in 1995, Apollinaire Theatre Company performs in the renovated, historic Chelsea Theatre Works space. NOV 5 THROUGH DEC 5 U.S. Drag ArtsEmerson | Paramount Center, 559 Washington St, Boston | 617.824.8000 | artsemerson.org | Based in the Theatre District, ArtsEmerson runs performances at the newly opened Paramount Center and the restored Cutler Majestic Theatre, providing new opportunities for the Boston community to experience theatre, film, and music. It has two programming streams: legends (established, respected institutions and artists) and pioneers (innovative, up-andcoming performers). SEPT 24 THROUGH OCT 2 The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later OCT 13 THROUGH 17 The Method Gun OCT 27 THROUGH 31 Aftermath BOSTON CONSERVATORY Boston Conservatory Theater, 31 Hemenway St, Boston | 617.912.9101 | bostonconservatory.edu | The Boston Conservatory presents music, dance, and theater, with several free studio recitals by students. Call for additional information. OCT 28 THROUGH 31 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
BOSTON PLAYWRIGHTS’ THEATRE 949 Comm Ave, Boston |
617.353.5443 | bu.edu/bpt | Founded in 1981 by Nobel Literature Laureate Derek Walcott, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre is an awardwinning small professional theater dedicated to the production of new plays (with occasional favorites thrown in). Shows are Thurs at 7:30 pm, Fri and Sat at 8 pm, and Sun at 2 pm. Tickets $30, $15 for students. SEPT 30 THROUGH OCT 24 Five Down One Across OCT 28 THROUGH NOV 21 Two Wives in India
BOSTON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS 855 Comm Ave, Boston | 617.933.8600 | bu.edu/cfa | A prestigious training spot for actors, stage managers, and other theater professionals, the BU College of Fine Arts produces plays on its Mainstage, Lane-Comley Studio 210, and CFA Theatre Lab, as well as the Calderwood Pavilion at Boston Center for the Arts. OCT 7 THROUGH 23 Fringe Festival: In the Summer House, at Lane Comley Studio 210 OCT 21 THROUGH 24 Fallujah, at Boston University Theatre OCT 27 THROUGH 31 Time Remembered, at Theatrelab at 855 NOV 6 THROUGH 21 Good, at Lane Comley Studio 210
AMERICAN REPERTORY THEATER Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle St, Cambridge | 617.547.8300 | amrep.org
F
The ART is one of the country’s most celebrated resident theaters and the winner of numerous awards, including the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize. The box office is open Tues through Sun from noon to 5 pm, or until a half-hour before evening performances. THROUGH OCT 29 Cabaret, at Oberon THROUGH NOV 27 The Donkey Show, at Oberon SEPT 18 THROUGH OCT 9 Alice vs. Wonderland
BRANDEIS THEATER COMPANY Spingold Theater Center, 415 South St, Waltham | 781.736.3400 | brandeis.edu/ theater | A production and performing ensemble comprised of the students, guest artists, faculty, and staff of the theater arts department at Brandeis University. Tickets $18-$20. SEPT 30 THROUGH OCT 10 Three Sisters NOV 18 THROUGH 21 Sunday In the Park with George
CENTRAL SQUARE THEATER
450 Mass Ave, Cambridge | 866.811.4111 | The Central Square Theater hosts two companies in residence: the Nora Theatre Company and the Underground Railway Theater. Shows are Wed and Thurs at 7:30 pm, Fri and Sat at 8 pm, and Sun at 2 pm, with occasional extra performances. Tickets $40, $25 students, $30 seniors. THROUGH SEPT 26 Truth Values: One Woman’s Romp Through MIT’s Male Math Maze OCT 7 THROUGH NOV 7 A Moon for the Misbegotten NOV 18 THROUGH DEC 19 The Fever Chart: Three Visions of the Middle East CHARLES PLAYHOUSE 74 Warrenton St, Boston | 617.426.6912 | The Charles Playhouse is the home of the long-running Shear Madness and Blue Man Group productions. For schedules, visit thephoenix.com.
CHARLESTOWN WORKING THEATER 442 Bunker Hill
St, Charlestown | 617.242.3285 | charlestownworkingtheater.org | The Charlestown Working Theater develops original performances, producing the work of theater artists and companies with a strong emphasis on developing
new works. Every Wed, the theater holds Irish dancing classes hosted by the Woods School. Call or check Web site for updated fall events calendar. THROUGH SEPT 19 Restraints + Passages COLONIAL THEATRE 106 Boylston St, Boston | 617.426.9366 | bostonscolonialtheatre.com | The theater is booked by Broadway Across America. Subscriptions available. Tickets available through Ticketmaster at 800.745.3000, and at the Colonial Theatre box office. OCT 6 THROUGH 17 Rock of Ages COMPANY ONE Boston Center for the Arts Plaza Theatre, 539 Tremont St, Boston | 617.307.4475 | bcaonline.org | Celebrating its 11th season, Company One is committed to diversifying the typical theatre-going audience by focusing on radical work that appeals to a younger, ethnically diverse community. OCT 22 THROUGH NOV 20 The Aliens
HUNTINGTON THEATRE COMPANY Boston University Theatre, 264
Huntington Ave, Boston | 617.266.0800 | bostontheatrescene.com | While maintaining its home base at the 890-seat Boston University Theatre, the Huntington has expanded its operations to include the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, housing the 370-seat Virginia Wimberly Theatre and the 200-seat Nancy and Edward Roberts Studio Theatre. Ticket prices vary, but are generally $25 to $70. SEPT 17 THROUGH OCT 17 Bus Stop, at Boston University Theatre OCT 15 THROUGH NOV 14 Circle Mirror Transformation, at the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts
LEVENTHAL-SIDMAN JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER 333 Nahanton St, Newton Centre, Boston | 617.965.5226 | lsjcc.org | Performances sponsored by the Jewish Theatre of New England. OCT 16 AND 17 The Timekeepers NOV 20 You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up... a love story LYRIC STAGE COMPANY 140 Clarendon St, Boston | 617.437.7172 | lyricstage. com | Founded in 1974 by Polly Hogan and Ron Ritchell, the Lyric Stage Company has won dozens of awards for its contemporary theatre productions. OCT 21 THROUGH DEC 18 The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Parts I & II in Rotating Repertory
MERRIMACK REPERTORY THEATRE 50 East Merrimack St, Lowell |
978.454.3926 | merrimackrep.org | Since it was founded in 1979, the Merrimack Repertory Theatre has served over one million theatergoers. It’s annual attendance is over 40,000. THROUGH OCT 3 The Complete World of Sports (Abridged) OCT 14 THROUGH NOV 7 Four Places NOV 26 THROUGH DEC 19 Beasley’s Christmas Party
NEW REPERTORY THEATRE
Charles Mosesian Theater, Arsenal Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal St, Watertown, Boston | 617.923.8487 | newrep.org | New Rep specializes in bringing thought-provoking works and premieres to stage. Since 1984, New Rep has produced 63 East Coast, New England, Boston, or World Premieres, including works by Thomas Gibbons, Athol Fugard, Suzan-Lori Parks, Michael Weller, Dael Orlandersmith, J.T. Rogers, Joyce Van Dyke, and Doug Wright. THROUGH OCT 3 Boston Marriage OCT 17 THROUGH NOV 7 Cherry Docs NOV 28 THROUGH DEC 19 Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, at the Black Box Theatre at Boston Center for the Arts PUBLICK THEATRE 398 Columbus Ave, Boston | 617.454.1444 | publicktheatre. org | The Publick Theatre produces intelligent, articulate theater and is the resident company at the Boston Center of the Arts. THROUGH SEPT 25 The Real Inspector Hound, at Boston Center for the Arts Plaza Theatre
REVELS REPERTORY COMPANY
St. John’s Methodist Church, 80 Mount Auburn St, Watertown | 617.926.2931 | Revels’ touring ensemble, Revels Rep, brings Revels programs to public venues and schools throughout southern New England. Based on historic, seasonal and cultural themes, the ensemble’s original programs include traditional music, drama, dance, storytelling and audience participation. OCT 30 There’s a Meeting Here Tonight!, at Aidekman Arts Center, Tufts University
SHAKESPEARE AND COMPANY
70 Kemble St, Lenox | 413.637.3353 | shakespeare.org | Performances take place in the Founders’ Theatre or Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre. Box office open daily from 10 am to 3 pm.
Subscriptions available. Tickets are discounted greatly for previews. SEPT 18 THROUGH NOV 7 The Real Inspector Hound, at Shakespeare & Company
SPEAKEASY STAGE COMPANY
Boston Center for the Arts Plaza Theatre, 539 Tremont St, Boston | 617.482.3279 | bcaonline.org | Now in its 19th season, Speakeasy is the Pavilion Resident Theater for the South End’s Boston Center for the Arts. SEPT 17 THROUGH OCT 16 In the Next Room or, The Vibrator Play OCT 22 THROUGH NOV 20 Body Awareness
STONEHAM THEATRE 2010/2011 SEASON 395 Main St, Stoneham |
781.279.2200 | stonehamtheatre.org | Box office open Tues-Sat, 1 to 6 pm. Premium seats (the best view) are $48, $42 for seniors. Standard seating is $44, $40 for seniors. Student seats in all sections are $20. THROUGH OCT 3 Perfect Harmony, at Stoneham Theatre OCT 21 THROUGH NOV 6 Turn of the Screw, at Stoneham Theatre NOV 26 THROUGH DEC 23 The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, at Stoneham Theatre
TRINITY REPERTORY COMPANY 201 Washington St, Providence, RI
| 401.351.4242 | trinityrep.com | Tonywinning regional gem Trinity Rep claims to be the largest arts organization in Rhode Island and has produced 57 world premieres since 1963. Its conservatory acting program operates through partnerships with Rhode Island College and Brown University. THROUGH OCT 10 Lerner and Loewe’s Camelot OCT 15 THROUGH NOV 21 Absurd Person Singular
TURTLE LANE PLAYHOUSE
283 Melrose St, Auburndale | 617.244.0169 | turtle-lane.com | According to its own lore, Turtle Lane began as an offshoot of the Vokes Theatre in the late 1970s. It now designs all costumes and sets in-house and uses a live orchestra. Dressing rooms currently located in what used to be an old bowling alley. THROUGH SEPT 25 Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story NOV 26 THROUGH DEC 12 Godspell VOKES THEATRE 97 Boston Post Rd [Rte 20], Wayland | 508.358.4034 | vokesplayers.org | Perhaps the only theater listed here that has an official “Theatre Cat.” You can find pictures of Beatrice, along with directions and subscription information, on the Vokes Players’ Web site. OCT 28 THROUGH NOV 13 Hamlet
f
PLAY BY PLAY: Get our complete weekly listings, from A.R.T. to Zeiterion: Scan the code or visit for full schedule can code or visit http://bit.ly/PlayByPlay for full theater listings.
WANG THEATRE 270 Tremont St, Boston | 617.482.9393 | citicenter.org | Opened in 1925 as one of the five largest stages in the country, the Wang Theatre now hosts national performers and theatrical productions. OCT 31 Je’Caryous Johnson’s Cheaper to Keep Her
WELLESLEY SUMMER THEATRE
Alumnae Hall - Ruth Nagel Jones Theatre, 106 Central St, Wellesley College, Wellesley | 781.283.2000 | wellesleysummertheatre. com | Despite its name, this company now produces theater through the end of Sept. Its final show of the season is free. SEPT 23 THROUGH 25 A Midsummer Night’s Dream
WELLFLEET HARBOR ACTORS THEATER 1 Kendrick Ave, Wellfleet |
508.349.6835 | what.org | A sassy theater on the Cape that prides itself in surprising visiting urbanites with its daring work, the WHAT holds performances on its Harbor Stage and Julie Harris Stage (yes the Julie Harris, Tony winner and Oscar nom, who lives nearby and serves as the theater’s honorary board chair). THROUGH SEPT 18 Dead Ringer THROUGH OCT 17 Danny Casolaro Died For You OCT 29 THROUGH NOV 21 Promise
WHEELOCK FAMILY THEATRE
200 the Riverway, Boston | 617.879.2147 | wheelock.edu | Group rates available. Box office open Mon through Fri, noon to 5:30 pm. Call for information on American Sign Language interpretation and Audio Description performances. Braille programs available upon request and infrared assisted-listening devices are available on any seat. OCT 22 THROUGH NOV 21 Annie
YALE REPERTORY THEATRE
1120 Chapel St, New Haven, CT | 203.432.1234 | yale.edu/yalerep | Performances at either the University Theater on York Street or the Yale Rep Theater on Chapel Street. Call for ticket information. Subscriptions available. SEPT 17 THROUGH OCT 9 We Have Always Lived in the Castle OCT 22 THROUGH NOV 13 A Delicate Balance NOV 26 THROUGH DEC 18 Bossa Nova
ZEITGEIST STAGE COMPANY
Boston Center for the Arts Plaza Theatre, 539 Tremont St, Boston | 617.307.4475 | zeitgeiststage.com | Staying true to their name, Zeitgeist Stage Company performs a mix of contemporary plays and rediscovered historic works in pursuit of the comedy and drama inherent in contemporary life. SEPT 24 THROUGH OCT 16 Enron
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32 SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 | FALL ARTS PREVIEW | SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOSTON PHOENIX | THEPHOENIX.COM
DANCE
KICK UP LS! E E H R U YO DANCE AROUND TOWN
_BY DEBR A C ASH
Y
Fall dance starts at the very beginning, which is a very good place to start, with Doug Elkins and Friends’ hilarious send-up of The Sound of Music, and continues straight through to the brink of the holiday season with an authentic Gypsy “Ole!” from a pair of flamenco cousins.
evening “Loan Sharking.” | Institute of Contemporary Art, 100 Northern Ave, Boston | $40 | 617.876.4275 or worldmusic.org
BOSTON BALLET in LA BAYADÈRE | November 4-14 | The “Kingdom of the Shades” scene in La Bayadère, where dancers float across the stage in ghostly, duplicating single file, is one of the great scenes in all of classical dance. It returns in former Paris Opera Ballet star Florence Clerc’s staging of Marius Petipa’s 1877 Orientalist fantasy about the love life of an Indian temple dancer. | Opera House, 539 Washington St, Boston | $25-$132 | 617.695.6955 or bostonballet.org
DOUG ELKINS AND FRIENDS in FRÄULEIN MARIA | September 23-30 | Julie Andrews never could have anticipated this hilarious cross-dressed and cheerfully deconstructed version of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music, which first made its appearance at Joe’s Pub in New York and became a word-of-mouth sensation. Doug Elkins’s downtown dance “friends” include familiar faces — the Bang Group’s Jeff Kazin as Captain von Trapp, and David Parker, who alternates with Johnny Sorensen-Jolink as Liesl. The dance-world in-jokes are divinely apt, but this family-friendly show will keep even dance “novices” in stitches. | Paramount Theatre, 559 Washington St, Boston | $25-$69 | 617.824.8000 or artsemerson.org
CAITLIN CORBETT DANCE COMPANY, DANIEL McCUSKER DANCE PROJECTS, AND KELLEY DONOVAN & DANCERS | October 1-2 | An inspired sampler brings together three of the Boston area’s most distinctive dancemakers in repertory and brand-new works that range from the simple to the sinewy. Expect carefully crafted abstract dances that aren’t afraid to display the human heart beating underneath. They may also give you a new appreciation of the artists working in our midst. | Insti-
PREMIERES Mark Morris Dance Group does Ives, Barber, and a tribute to the Celebrity Series’s Marty Jones. tute of Contemporary Art, 100 Northern Ave, Boston | $30 | 617.876.4275 or worldmusic.org
TWIST & SHOUT — AN EVENING OF MUSIC, DANCE & SPOKEN WORD | October 2 | OrigiNation Cultural Center — the Roxbury institution that brings the arts to young people ages 5-18 as a way of building self-esteem, discipline, and civic engagement — hosts its annual hip-hop-flavored benefit. This year’s featured acts are the NIA Dance Troupe, Girlz of IMANI, IMANI, Jr., Aleye Boyz Troupe, and spokenword artist (and OrigiNation faculty member) Omekongo. | Media Arts Center @ Roxbury Community College, 1234 Columbus Ave, Roxbury | $15-$35 | 617.541.1875 or originationinc.org
DANCE IN THE FELLS |
FRÄULEIN MARIA This hilarious deconstruction of The Sound of Music finally comes to Boston.
October 9 [rain date October 16] | The wooded landscape of the Middlesex Fells — the preserve running through Medford, Winchester, and Stoneham — will be animated by the collective efforts of five local choreographers
and artists celebrating the natural world, each committed to exploring and revealing new aspects of a distinct geography. Produced by Kyna Hamill and Wanda Strukus, this five-hour-long festival will offer John Kramer at the Sheepfold, EgoArt/Nicole Pierce at the South Reservoir, Sara Smith at Panther’s Cave, Joan Green at Molly’s Spring, and Monkeyhouse at Wright’s Tower — their vision to be fulfilled by “32 intrepid dancers and 10 exceptionally good dogs.” Bring sunblock, comfortable shoes, and, if you want, a folding chair. | Free | 617.383.4831 or tworoads.org for further information and directions
MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP | October 1417 | As Marty Jones prepares to step down from the leadership of the Celebrity Series, Mark Morris whips up a new dance in her honor — and you can see that world premiere besides the Boston debuts of Morris’s boisterous Empire Garden (to Charles Ives) and Excursions (to Samuel Barber). | Cutler Majestic Theatre, 219 Tremont St, Boston | $53-$80 | 617.482.6661 or celebrityseries.org RUBBERBANDANCE GROUP | October 22-24 | Rubberbandance arrives from Montreal to mash up Stravinsky’s Firebird with glossy capoeira moves and take hip-hop over the line to cohabit with Vivaldi. Rubberdance choreographer (and former Twyla Tharp dancer) Victor Quijada calls his repertory
TRAJAL HARRELL | November 5-6 | Trajal Harrell finds inspiration in runway voguing and gender impersonation — and in Twenty Looks or Paris Is Burning at the Judson Church, with visuals by Franklin Evans, he juxtaposes a bouquet of stereotyped personas with contrarian 1960s attitudes toward the nature of public performance. The post-show talks between Harrell and artist Sarah Sze will offer an advance peek at their 2011 collaboration. | Institute of Contemporary Art, 100 Northern Ave, Boston | $18-$20 | 617.478.3103 or icaboston.org BASIL TWIST’S PETRUSHKA | November 1121 | In one of the greatest works of puppetry I’ve ever seen, third-generation puppet master Basil Twist goes “meta” by reworking the Ballets Russes fable of a love triangle among three puppets with brilliantly designed marionettes, flying folkloric ornaments, and Stravinsky’s score played in a two-piano reduction by identical Russian twins. Indelible and a must-see. | Paramount Theatre, 559 Washington St, Boston | $25-$79 | 617.824.8000 or artsemerson. org and 617.482.6661 or celebrityseries.org ANGELITA VARGAS & JAIRO BARRULL AND PEPE TORRES: GITANO ROOTS OF FLAMENCO | November 19-21 | Flamenco dips deep into the font of Gypsy rhythms in Gitanerías when earthy dancer Angelita Vargas and emerging soloist Jairo Barrull open this World Music mini-festival on Friday evening. Not straying far from the clan, Barrull’s cousin Pepe Torres (both are descendants of flamenco-guitar legend Diego del Gastor) remembers his own grandfather, flamenco singer Joselero de Morón, with a danced Homenaje (“Tribute”) on Sunday afternoon. | Berklee Performance Center, 136 Mass Ave, Boston | $30-$50 | 617.876.4275 or worldmusic.org ^
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GROUP & SCHOOL TOURS A visit to The Mary Baker Eddy Library provides opportunities for museum-based exploration of such subjects as history, geography, philosophy, journalism, and women’s studies. Delve into the world of one of New England’s most innovative thinkers –Mary Baker Eddy–and learn about the journey of this influential author, teacher, and publisher of the 19th century.
On-Site Festival Camping (space is limited)
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Use our Group Visit Request Form online, call 617-450-7330, or send an e-mail to groupvisits@ mbelibrary.org.
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www.portersquarebooks.com 617-491-2220
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CONCERT TICKETS MOVIE TICKETS DVDS / EVENTS BOOKS thephoenix.com/contests
THEPHOENIX.COM/FALL | SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOSTON PHOENIX | FALL ARTS PREVIEW | SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 35
LISTINGS
Scan code or visit http://bit.ly/ BostonDance for more fall dance
DANCE
ARTS EMERSON Paramount Center, 559 Washington St, Boston | 617.824.8000 | artsemerson.org | Based in the Theatre District, Arts Emerson runs performances at the newly opened Paramount Center and the restored Cutler Majestic Theatre, providing new opportunities for the Boston community to experience theatre, film, and music. It has two programming streams: legends (established, respected institutions and artists) and pioneers (innovative, up-and-coming performers).
FDON’T MISS
Scan code or visit http://bit.ly/ ArtsEmerson for full fall schedule
DOUG ELKINS’S FRAULEIN MARIA, A TWIST ON RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN’S THE SOUND OF MUSIC THAT RUNS THROUGH EARLY OCT.
WORLD MUSIC/ CRASH ARTS
BOSTON BALLET Boston Opera House, 539 Washington St, Boston | 617.695.6950 | bostonballet.org | Founded by E. Virginia Williams in 1963, Boston Ballet was New England’s first professional repertory ballet company. Artistic director Mikko Nissinen joined the company in September 2001 and has produced a well-received repertoire of classical, neo-classical, and contemporary works during his tenure. Last fall, Boston Ballet made the Opera House its sole performance venue.
720 Mass Ave, Cambridge | 617.876.4275 | worldmusic.org | World Music has brought live music and dance performances from around the globe to Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville venues since 1990. Its fall dance lineup includes hip-hop, classical modern, and several Spanish flamenco performances. Tickets are available online, by phone, by mail, or in-person at the venue’s box office.
FDON’T MISS
FDON’T MISS
THEIR FLORENCE CLERC STAGING OF MARIUS PETIPA’S LA BAYADÈRE IN NOVEMBER, FEATURING THE CLASSIC KINGDOM OF THE SHADES SCENE.
THREE OF BOSTON’S TOP DANCE COMPANIES — CAITLIN CORBETT, DANIEL MCCUSKER, AND KELLEY DONOVAN & DANCERS — COME TOGETHER ON OCT 1 AND 2 AT THE INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART.
Scan code or visit http://bit.ly/ BostonBallet for full fall schedule
Scan code or visit http://bit.ly/CrashArts for full fall schedule
CELEBRITY SERIES OF BOSTON Boston | 617.482.2595 or 617.482.6661 | celebrityseries.org | The Celebrity Series of Boston is an independent, nonprofit performing-arts presenter. The annual series includes an average of 40 to 50 performances, showcasing dance, classical, and jazz. This season features an exceptional variety, from pianist Murray Perahia to Liza Minnelli and Basil Twist’s puppet ballet Petrushka.
Scan code or visit http://bit.ly/ CelebSeries for full fall schedule
Liza Minnelli
FDON’T MISS
A WORLD-PREMIERE COMMISSION PERFORMED BY MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP OCT 14-17.
DANCE COMPLEX
GREEN STREET STUDIOS
536 Mass Ave, Cambridge | 617.547.9363 | dancecomplex. org | The artist-run Dance Complex offers classes and workshops each week for all ages and skill levels. Classes range from classical ballet to African and Middle Eastern dance. It also hosts a number of shows by local and visiting choreographers and dancers.
185 Green St, Cambridge | 617.864.3191 | greenstreetstudios.org | This community center for movement and dance supports the performing, rehearsing, and teaching needs of established and emerging professionals. Its programming explores the expressive potential of the human body.
FDON’T MISS THE SHARED CHOREOGRAPHERS’ CONCERT SERIES, SHOWCASING NEW WORKS MENTORED BY AREA DANCERS. THE NEXT SHOW RUNS OCT 15 AND 16.
Scan code or visit http:// bit.ly/DanceComplex for full fall schedule
FDON’T MISS ITS COMMUNITY CONCERT AND FUNDRAISER ON OCT 30, WITH DANCES BY MARCUS SCHULKIND, NICOLE PIERCE, AND AUDRA CARABETTA.
Scan code or visit http://bit.ly/ GreenStreetDance for full fall schedule
36 SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 | FALL ARTS PREVIEW | SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOSTON PHOENIX | THEPHOENIX.COM
ART
HEAVY N O I T C U R CONST BOSTON MUSEUMS TAKE OFF THEIR HARD HATS
_BY GREG COOK
Y
Over the past decade, museum building has boomed across the region. The expanded Peabody Essex Museum in Salem and the new Institute of Contemporary Art were among the first projects completed. Harvard and the Isabella Gardner Museum have construction under way. And this fall, the Museum of Fine Arts and the Addison Gallery in Andover debut new expansions and renovations. Looking ahead to Boston’s autumn exhibitions, we see that these projects are not only transforming the art scene’s gallery capacity but also its ambitions.
survey of its collection, which rivals those at Harvard and Brandeis as the best round-up of 20th-century American art in the region. In November, the Addison presents the first museum retrospective of Paris fiber artist Sheila Hicks. Her vividly colored, braided, bound, and woven sculptures call out to be touched. | 180 Main Street, Andover | Free | 978.749.4015 or addisongallery.org
“THEN/NOW: RECENT WORK BY PRC FOUNDERS CARL CHIARENZA AND CHRIS ENOS” | Photographic Resource Center |
ART OF THE AMERICAS WING | Museum of Fine Arts | Opens November 20 | The new Norman Foster–designed, fourstory Art of the Americas Wing increases the MFA’s square footage by 28 percent to show off a collection ranging from an ancient Olmec mask to Paul Revere silver to a masterpiece 1890s quilt by former slave Harriet Powers to a Jackson Pollock drip painting. As if that weren’t enough, this fall the MFA’s sprawling old wings feature the custom couture of mid-20th-century designer Arnold Scaasi (September 25–June 19) and JeanFrançois Millet’s 19th-century paintings of rural France (September 4–May 30). | 465 Huntington Ave, Boston | $20 | 617.267.9300 or mfa.org
“RIGHT THING THE WRONG WAY: THE STORY OF HIGHWATER BOOKS” | Fourth Wall Project | October 1-24 | Highwater Books — which publisher Tom Devlin founded in Somerville in 1997, and which went bust in 2004 — brought a newly arty sense of design to comics, transforming the look of funny books across North America. The Highwater gang reunite here for a retrospective survey to include Brian Ralph from Providence’s legendary Fort Thunder collective, Ron Rege (later drummer for the band Lavender Diamond), Megan Kelso, Jef Czekaj, Jordan Crane, Kurt Wolfgang, Marc Bell, and — full disclosure — me. | 132 Brookline Ave, Boston | Free | 617.421.1550 or fourthwallproject. com
“WILLIAM KENTRIDGE: AMBIVALENT AFFINITIES & PROJECTS” | Massachusetts College of Art and Design | October 4–December 11 | Animator William Ken-
FELIX South African artist William Kentridge gets his first Boston solo show at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. tridge might be called the artist laureate of post-apartheid South Africa. His first solo show in Boston surveys drawings, prints, sculpture, and his signature grimy, dreamlike, allegorical animations from 1989 to the present. Representative is Kentridge’s 1993 film Felix in Exile, made just before South Africa’s first democratic elections, in which Nelson Mandela was elected president: a naked middle-aged white man pores over drawings in a lonely gray room as the changing landscape swallows bleeding black corpses. | 621 Huntington Ave, Boston | Free | 617.879.7333 or massart.edu/galleries.html
“JOHN OSORIO-BUCK: THE WEST IS NOW CLOSED” | Montserrat College of Art 301 Gallery | October 4-29 | John OsorioBuck of Cambridge constructs curious outposts that seem like contemporary survivalist versions of Thoreau’s Walden shack. Here he assembles a cord of firewood, chain-link fencing, instant noodles, and a porta-potty. With these raw materials, he ponders living on the edge — as well as the end-of-the-19th-century idea that Americans had pushed so far into the West that the frontier — that defining element of our national psyche — was extinct. | 301 Cabot Street, Beverly | Free | 978.921.4242 x 3 or montserrat.edu/ galleries
“TRIIIBE: THE GARDEN OF EDEN, TAKE 2” | Boston University’s 808 Gallery | October 19–December 19 | Identical triplets Alicia, Kelly, and Sara Casilio plus photographer Cary Wolinsky make up the Boston collective Triiibe. In performances and staged photographs, they tease the line between Photoshop illusions and their triplet reality. Their new site-specific, multi-media installation, BU says, will evoke “a present-day version of the Garden of Eden.” | 808 Comm Ave, Boston | Free | 617.358.0922 or bu.edu/cfa/visual-arts/galleries
“FRANCES STARK: THIS COULD BECOME A GIMICK [SIC] OR AN HONEST ARTICULATION OF THE WORKINGS OF THE MIND” | MIT’s List Visual Arts Center | October 22–January 2 | The first US museum survey of the LA artist features dreamy and seemingly diaristic drawings, sculptures, and collages, often inspired by writing — her own, as well as the words of Emily Dickinson, John Keats, and Henry Miller. There’s also videos of her cats. | 20 Ames Street, Cambridge | Free | 617.253.4680 or listart.mit.edu
“SHEILA HICKS: 50 YEARS” | Addison Gallery of American Art | November 5–February 11 | After a two-year renovation and expansion, the Addison Gallery reopened September 7 with a major
November 12–January 9 | The PRC marks the 35th anniversary of its founding and the 25th anniversary of its gallery by exhibiting two of its founders. Chiarenza presents symbolic collages and abstract photos inspired by the Iraq war. Enos’s recent work includes shots of landscapes and native ruins of the Southwest that she reinvents by painting atop the prints. | 832 Comm Ave, Boston | $4 | 617.975.0606 or bu.edu/prc
“PLATFORM 5: BARTOW + METZGAR” | DeCordova Sculpture Park + Museum | November 16–spring 2011 | Duo Paul Bartow and Richard Metzgar have spent months digging holes, boring into boulders, and collecting data about the landscape of the DeCordova that they’ve stored in a witchy house nestled in the property’s woods dubbed Morphology Field Station for Sensing Place. Their exhibit brings it all inside the museum for an “examination of the complex relationship between land, time, and culture inherent in an art museum and park.” | 51 Sandy Pond Rd, Lincoln | $12 | 781.259.8355 or decordova.org
“MARK BRADFORD” | Institute of Contemporary Art | November 19–March 13 | Bradford’s giant, map-like collage works were already among the best painting being done in the country. Then in 2008, he made two works that channeled the anxieties of the post-Katrina, late-Bushadministration years. The first was “Help Us” scrawled in giant letters atop an LA gallery. Next, he built a 64-footlong arc from recycled construction-site barricades for a biennial in New Orleans. No wonder the LA artist, whose first survey now arrives at the ICA, won a MacArthur “genius” grant last year. | 100 Northern Ave, Boston | $15 | 617.478.3100 or icaboston.org ^
AQUILA T H E AT R E
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
Thursday, October 28, 8 PM
KRONOS QUARTET: Music Without Borders Friday, November 5, 8 PM Nor t h e a s t e r n U n iv e r s it y • 3 60 Hunti ng to n Av e, Bo sto n C h a r g e b y p h on e : 6 1 7- 3 73 - 4 700 • w w w.center fo r thear ts.neu.edu
171 Harvard Street Brookline, MA 02446
Fine Art Deco
Fine Art Deco
38 SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 | FALL ARTS PREVIEW | SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOSTON PHOENIX | THEPHOENIX.COM/FALL
LISTINGS
ART
ARDEN GALLERY | 617.247.0610 | 129 Newbury St, Boston | ardengallery.com | Mon-Sat 11 am-5:30 pm | First Friday artist receptions run 5-7 pm | Through Sept 28: Kim Bernard: “Spirendulum” | Oct 530: Kris Lewis: “New Portraits” | Nov 2-29: Joanne Mattera | Lynda Lowe
ARLINGTON CENTER FOR THE ARTS | 781.648.6220 | 41 Foster
St, Arlington | acarts.org | Mon-Fri 9 am–5 pm | Established in 1988, the Arlington Center for the Arts was created by local artists as a way to share art with the community. Visit Web site for details about fall classes and studio rental. | Sept 17-Nov 11: Arlington Open Studios Group Show | Nov 29-Jan 15: “Taking Off” Juried Student Exhibition ATLANTIC WORKS GALLERY | 617.566.0603 | 80 Border St, East Boston | atlanticworks.org | Fri-Sat 2-6 pm and by appointment | The Atlantic Works Gallery, composed of 29 members of the East Boston Artist Group (EBAG), is a collaborative space located on the edge of Boston Harbor. | Through Sept 30: Richard Dorff: “Contain/ Confine” AXIOM GALLERY | 617.676.5904 | 141 Green St, Jamaica Plain | axiomart.org | Hours vary; call ahead | AXIOM was founded six years ago as a collective and is located on the ground-floor level of the Green Street T station on the Orange Line, outbound to Forest Hills. It showcases emerging and established artists working in new media and is run almost entirely on a volunteer basis, so donations are appreciated. Hours vary depending on the exhibitions; fall schedule to come.
BARBARA KRAKOW GALLERY
| 617.262.4490 | 10 Newbury St, Boston | barbarakrakowgallery.com | Tues-Sat 10 am-5:30 pm | A contemporary art gallery featuring painting, sculpture, drawings, and original prints from the 1960s to the present. | Through Oct 16: Kay Rosen: “Black and White and Read All Over” | Oct 23-Dec 7: Julian Opie BOSTON ATHENÆUM | 617.227.0270 | 10 1/2 Beacon St., Boston | bostonathenaeum.org | Mon 9 am-8 pm, Tues-Fri 9 am5 pm, Sat 9 am-4 pm | Boston Athenæum’s Norma Jean Calderwood Gallery features three exhibitions per year. Admission is free. | Oct 12-Jan 8: “Five By Five: Paintings From the Collection”
BOSTON CENTER FOR THE ARTS | 617.933.8600 | 539 Tremont
St, Boston | bcaonline.org | Wed + Sun noon–5 pm; Thurs-Sat noon–9 pm | A hub of artistic activity in Boston, the BCA offers exhibitions, performances, concerts, and poetry readings. Subsidized work spaces are also available in the form of studios, rehearsal space, and theaters.
FORT POINT ARTS COMMUNITY GALLERY
S COTT M. L AC E Y
GALLERIES
617.423.4299 | 300 Summer St, Boston | fortpointarts.org
F
Mon-Wed 9 am-3 pm, Thurs-Fri 9 am-9 pm | Fort Point includes a public gallery as well as 33 floors of artist residences. Along with regular exhibitions, the gallery also hosts an annual Open Studios, held in the artist residences. | Oct 1-29: Open Studios Group Show
The Cyclorama, built in 1884 (to display a wrap-around mural of the Battle of Gettysburg), is used for exhibitions, performances, and community events. It also houses the Music Center of Boston and the Art Connection. The Tremont Estates Building houses artists’ studios and the Mills Gallery. See weekly Phoenix listings for schedule updates. | Sept 17-Oct 24: “Intempérie / To the Elements!”
BOSTON SCULPTORS GALLERY
| 617.482.7781 | 486 Harrison Ave, Boston | bostonsculptors.com | Wed-Sun noon–6 pm | Media-acclaimed gallery for solo sculpture exhibitions. First Friday receptions. | Through Oct 3: Charles Jones and Marilu Swett | Oct 6Nov 7: Julia Shepley and Caroline Bagenal | Nov 10-Dec 12: Rosalyn Driscoll and Sally Fine
BOSTON UNIVERSITY ART GALLERY | 617.353.4672 | 855 Comm
Ave, Boston | bu.edu/art | Tues-Fri 10 am-5 pm, Sat-Sun 1-5 pm | The Art Gallery at Boston University, a former Cadillac-Olds dealership, showcases work of national and international artists, as well as student works. Regular panel discussions and gallery lectures. Free admission. | Through Oct 31: “American Letterpress: Art of the Hatch Show Print” | Nov 18-Jan 16: Harold Reddicliffe: “Paintings From Three Decades”
BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY’S WSRC | | 515 South St, Waltham
| brandeis.edu/centers/wsrc | Mon-Fri 9 am-5 pm, and by appointment | The arts program at the Brandeis Women’s Studies Research Center houses the Kniznick Gallery, the only gallery in New England devoted exclusively to the display of genderrelated artwork done by women. Free. | Sept 20-Dec 16: Dana Romanoff: “No Man’s Land: The Women of Mexico” BRICKBOTTOM GALLERY | 617.776.3410 | 1 Fitchburg St, Somerville | brickbottomartists. com | Thurs-Sat noon–5 pm |
Brickbottom was named after an area of Somerville rich in clay deposits used for making bricks, and it is one of the only nonprofit art galleries in the area. The building includes 150 condominiums for artists to live and work in, along with a free-of-cost gallery. Its open studios event, held the weekend before Thanksgiving, is one of the oldest in Boston, with more than 100 artists inviting the public to see how and where they work. | Through Oct 23: “Looking Together: A Crit Group Celebrates 12 Years of Observation” | Nov 4-21: Open Studios Directory Exhibition BROMFIELD GALLERY | 617.451.3605 | 450 Harrison Ave, Boston | bromfieldgallery.com | Wed-Sat noon-5 pm | Located in the center of South End’s creative haven, this is Boston’s oldest artist-run cooperative gallery. Free admission. | Through Sept 25: Jill Weber: “Structural Improvisations” | “Under Cover” | Sept 29-Oct 30: Elizabeth Strasser: “Enchantment” | Emily Corbató: “Under Construction: The Stata Center, MIT” | Odile Dix: “quality of life report” BROOKLINE ARTS CENTER | 617.566.5615 | 86 Monmouth St, Brookline | brooklineartscenter. com | Mon-Fri 9 am–4:30 pm | The Brookline Arts Center is a non-degree school for the visual arts that is open to all who want to take part. Check online for fall class schedule. | Through Oct 1: “Jewels” | Through Nov 5: Sean Molloy | Oct 8-Nov 12: Luca Ricco: “Light in Color” BRUSH ART GALLERY | 978.459.7819 | 256 Market St, Lowell | thebrush.org | Tues-Sat 11 am-4 pm, Sun noon-4 pm | The Brush is currently the professional home to many local artists, whose studios are open to the public. The front gallery (a restored mill) holds ongoing exhibits throughout the year. Free admission, group tours available. | Sept 19-Oct 24: Children’s Book
Illustrators Exhibition | Oct 31Dec 5: “Romancing the Stones: Artwork of Three Generations of Women” CAC GALLERY | 617.349.4380 | 344 Broadway, Cambridge | cambridgema.gov/cac | Mon + Wed 8:30 am-8 pm, Tues + Thurs 8:30 am-5 pm, Fri 8:30 am-noon | Municipal exhibition space located on the second floor of Cambridge’s City Hall annex. Also offers gallery talks, seminars, performances, and educational presentations. | Through Nov 19: Daniel Peltz and Paul Notzold: “Of, By, and For” CAMBRIDGE ART ASSOCIATION | 617.876.0246 | Kathryn Schultz Gal-
lery at 25 Lowell St and University Place Gallery at 124 Mt. Auburn St, Cambridge | cambridgeart.org | Lowell St: Tues-Sat 11 am-5 pm; Mt. Auburn St: Mon-Fri 9 am-6 pm, Sat 9 am-1 pm | Exhibits are shown in both galleries. Lectures in the CAA’s monthly speaker series are presented on the third Thursday of the month at 7 pm and are free and open to the public. On the second Saturday of the month at 10 am, the Art Focus Group meets for coffee and a free art discussion with CAA artists about a variety of films, books, and essays. | Through Sept 30: Fall Salon (Kathryn Schultz Gallery) | Oct 9-Nov 9: 66th Members’ Prize show (Kathryn Schultz Gallery) | Nov 18-Jan 12: “Blue: it’s more than a color, metaphor, feeling, idea, or hue” (both galleries)
CAMBRIDGE MULTICULTURAL ARTS CENTER | 617.577.1400 | 41
Second St, Cambridge | cmacusa. org | Mon-Fri 10:30 am-6 pm | The Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center provides a facility for artists and guests who may not otherwise have access to “a professionally equipped facility or the cultural mainstream.” | Through Nov 24: Hiroko Okahashi (Lower Gallery) | Through Nov 29: Chun Arthur Wang (Upper Gallery)
CARPENTER CENTER FOR THE VISUAL ARTS | 617.495.3251 | 24
Quincy St, Cambridge | ves.fas.harvard.edu | Mon-Sat 9 am-11 pm, Sun noon-11 pm | Located on the campus of Harvard University, the Carpenter Center for Visual Arts is the only building in the US designed by the architect known as Le Corbusier. Along with art exhibition, the building houses the Department of Visual and Environmental Studies and the Harvard Film Archive. Free | Oct 21-Dec 23: “The Image In Question: War - Media - Art” CARROLL AND SONS | 617.482.2477 | 450 Harrison Ave, Boston | carrollandsons.net | TuesSat 10 am-6 pm | Carroll and Sons supports contemporary artists who work in painting, photography, sculpture, video and works on paper. The gallery focuses on building the careers of lesserknown artists and promoting ones who are under recognized. | Through Oct 16: Brett Angell:
“Portable Mermaids” | Through Oct 23: Nicholas Kahn and Richard Selesnick: “Mars: Adrift on the Hourglass Sea” CHASE YOUNG GALLERY | 617.859.7222 | 450 Harrison Ave #57, Boston | chaseyounggallery. com | Tues-Sat 11 am-6 pm, Sun 11 am-4 pm | Jane Young opened this SoWa gallery in August of this year following the closure of Chase Gallery. She continues the aesthetic and tradition of her gallery’s predecessor with a focus on contemporary painting, sculpture, and photography | Through Sept 26: Treacy Ziegler | Sept 29Oct 31: Katina Huston | Nov 3-28: Peter Hoffer CHILDS GALLERY | 617.266.1108 | 169 Newbury St., Boston | childsgallery.com | Tues-Fri 9 am-6 pm, Mon + Sat 9 am-5 pm | Operating since 1937, Childs has one of the largest inventories of oil paintings, drawings, watercolors, prints, and sculpture in the US. Take the Green Line to Copley Square. | Through Oct 30: “American Scenes- American Lithographs” | Betty Herbert: “America’s Wars” | James Egleson: “Into a Dark Country” CONCORD ART ASSOCIATION | 978.369.2578 | 37 Lexington Road, Concord | concordart.org | Tues-Sat 10 am-4:30 pm, Sun noon-4 pm | Permanent collection includes paintings, drawings, sculpture, and objects collected by the American Impressionist painted Elizabeth Wentworth Roberts, the gallery’s founder, in the early years of the Concord Art Association. Special exhibits, classes and kids’ workshops also offered. Free. | Sept 18-Oct 17: Frances N. Roddy Open Competition | Oct 21-Nov 28: “Bon Appétit: A Visual Treat” COPLEY SOCIETY OF ART | 617.536.5049 | 158 Newbury St, Boston | copleysociety.org | TuesSat 11 am-6 pm, Sun noon-5 pm | The Copley Society of Art, founded in 1879, is the oldest non-profit art association in America and represents more than 700 artists nationwide. Bilevel galleries allow for multiple exhibitions, workshops, and events. | Through Nov 5: “Co|So Artist Members: A to Z” | Oct 14-Nov 12: Sean Farrell: “The Influence of Italy” | Tom Grady: “Domestic Bliss” FINE ARTS WORK CENTER | 508.487.9960 | 24 Pearl St, Provincetown | fawc.org | Mon-Fri 9 am-5 pm, Sat-Sun 11 am-3 pm | Founded in 1968, this gallery was built to support local artists and houses the work of 500 artists from the US and beyond. Along with exhibits at the Hudson D. Walker Gallery, the FAWC offers workshops and lectures. Free. | Through Oct 14: “MFAWC Faculty + Artists September Residency” | Sept 17-Nov 30: “Mass Art MFA Thesis Exhibitions” | Oct 8-12: Thesis Exhibition: Visual Arts Committee | Oct 15-26: 2010-2011
Visual Arts Fellows Group Show | Oct 29-Nov 9: Outer Caper Artists Residency Consortium | Nov 1230: All-Town Invitational GALATEA FINE ART | 617.542.1500 | 460B Harrison Ave, Boston | galateaart.org | Wed-Fri noon-6 pm, Sat-Sun noon-5 pm | A cooperative contemporary art gallery located in SoWa with two shows each month. | Through Sept 30: Claudine Bing | Chris O’Brien | Oct 1-31: Joan Mullen | Shelah Horovitz GALERIE D’ORSAY | 617.266.8001 | 33 Newbury St, Boston | galeriedorsay.com | Mon-Sat 10 am-6 pm, Sun noon-6 pm | A gallery dedicated to its patrons, featuring work from such renowned artists as Renoir, Matisse, and Miro. | Sept 18-Oct 16: “The Man Behind the Masters: Ambroise Vollard” | Nov 2-30: Samir Sammoun GALLERY NAGA | 617.267.9060 | 67 Newbury St, Boston | gallerynaga. com | Tues-Sat 10 am-5 pm | The gallery’s primary focus is exhibiting work of New England artists, but Naga also works in conjunction with Clark Gallery to represent unique and limited-edition furniture from artists across the nation. Take the Green Line to Arlington or Copley Square. | Through Oct 2: Mary Kocol: “Twilight Garden” | Terry Rose: “Inquire Within” | Oct 8-Nov 6: Peter Brooke: “In Media Res” GATEWAY GALLERY | 617.734.1577 | 62 Harvard St (2nd floor), Brookline | gatewayarts.org | Mon-Fri 9 am-4:30 pm, Sat noon-5 pm | Established in 1995, Gateway is the first gallery in the Boston area to exclusively exhibit the work of artists with disabilities. | Through Nov 14: “Large Works/ Small Works”
HOWARD YEZERSKI GALLERY
| 617.262.0550 | 460 Harrison Ave, Boston | howardyezerskigallery.com | Tues-Sat 10 am-5:30 pm | Mr. Yezerski runs this gallery, one of Boston’s many artistic treasure troves, now at its new location in the South End. | Through Oct 12: Yana Payusova HURST GALLERY | 617.491.8888 | 53 Mt. Auburn St, Cambridge | hurstgallery.com | Tues-Sat noon-6 pm; Thurs noon-7 pm, and by appointment | Smack in the middle of that academic thrill-ride called Harvard, the Hurst Gallery sells antiquities, Asian, African, Oceanic, Pre-Columbian, and American Indian art and artifacts. Norman Hurst himself conducts appraisals and consultations. The gallery also features a collection of rare and out-of-print reference books on ethnographic art. | Sept 17-Nov 27: “Gods, Festivals and Kings Art of the Yoruba Peoples” LACOSTE GALLERY | 978.369.0278 | 25 Main St, Concord | lacostegallery.com | Tues-Sat 10 am-6 pm, Thurs 10 am-7 pm, Sun-Mon 1- 5pm | Exhibits of handmade American crafts, especially ceramics, glass, wood,
Continued on p 40
The New Art Center
ART CLASSES
for Adults, Teens & Children Fall, Winter & Spring Classes Summer & Vacation Art Programs Events & Evening Lectures Art Exhibitions in Our Two Galleries
NewArtCenter.org 61 Washington Park, Newtonville 617-964-3424 Register Now for Fall Art Classes!
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40 SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 | FALL ARTS PREVIEW | SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOSTON PHOENIX | THEPHOENIX.COM/FALL
Continued from p 38 and jewelry. | Through Sept 20: Barbara Aberg | Sept 25-Oct 17: Jeff Shapiro: “Evolution of Form and Design” | Nov 5-7: Sofa Chicago 2010 LAMONTAGNE GALLERY | 617.464.4640 | 555 East Second St, South Boston | lamontagnegallery.com | Wed-Sat noon-6 pm | Founded in 2007, LaMontagne Gallery is a 2,300-square-foot exhibition space located in South Boston. The gallery features contemporary visual, sound, and performance artists based in Boston and beyond. | Through Oct 9: Brendan O’Connell
MARTIN LAWRENCE GALLERIES | 617.423.4113 | 77 Newbury St, Boston | martinlawrence.com |
Mon-Thurs 10 am-6 pm, Fri-Sat 10 am-8 pm, Sun 11 am-7 pm | Specializing in the exhibition of original artwork, sculpture, and limited-edition graphics. The Galleries house fine art by the likes of Picasso and Andy Warhol. | Oct 22: Philippe Bertho MERCURY GALLERY | 617.859.0054 | 8 Newbury St., Boston | mercurygallery.com | Fri-Sun 10 am-5 pm, and by appointment | Founded in 1994 by Amnon Goldman, Mercury Gallery began with a focus on the artwork of the exclusive New York expressionist group known as The Ten. Today, the gallery accommodates the sculpture, ceramics, and paintings of expressionist contemporaries and predecessors. | Through Sept 30: “September Show”
MIT LIST VISUAL ARTS CENTER
| 617.253.4860 | 20 Ames St, Cambridge | web.mit.edu/lvac | Daily noon-6 pm | Located on the first floor of the Wiesner Building at MIT, the LVAC has an obvious focus on science and technology. Permanent collection includes more than 1200 sculptures, paintings, photographs, and prints. | Through Sept 19: “Kabul, Jenin, Tehran” | Oct 22-Jan 2: Emily Wardill: “Gamekeepers Without Game” | Frances Stark | Melvin Moti: “The Prisoner’s Cinema”
MOBIUS | 617.542.7416 | 725 Harrison Ave, Boston | mobius.org | Call ahead for hours | This self-proclaimed “home for experimental work in all media” is celebrating 30 years in Boston. | Sept 18-25: “The Prostitution of Art and Signs of Our Times” NEW ART CENTER | 617.964.3424 | 61 Washington Park, Newtonville | newartcenter.org | Mon-Fri 9 am-5 pm, Sun 1-5 pm | The New Art Center in Newton houses both the Main Gallery and the Holzwasser Gallery. Holzwasser Gallery features a permanent collection of paintings by Sydell Alta Masterman called “Moments.” The Main Gallery is wheelchair accessible. All exhibitions are free. | Sept 20-Oct 22: “Beyond Purview” | Guillermo Velasco
PANOPTICON GALLERY OF PHOTOGRAPHY | 781.647.0100 |
502c Comm Ave, Boston | panopt. com | Tues-Sat 10 am–5:30 pm, and by appointment | Located inside the Hotel Commonwealth, this gallery also houses a blackand-white photo lab and digital imaging center. An extension of Panopticon’s main gallery at 435 Moody St, in Waltham. | Through Nov 8: “Heights of Observation: The Photographs of Vittorio Sella”
PHOTOGRAPHIC RESOURCE CENTER AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY | 617.975.0600 | 832 Comm
Ave, Boston | bu.edu/prc | Tues-Fri 10 am-5 pm, Sat-Sun noon-5 pm | The Photographic Resource Center at Boston University is an independent non-profit organization committed to the representation and appreciation of local photography. The gallery hosts six to eight major exhibits per year, and also displays the work of BU faculty and students. The PRC operates two exhibit locations, one at 832 Comm Ave (the PRC Gallery), the other at 808 Comm Ave (the 808 Gallery). Online exhibits include work from Amy Thompson and Sonia Targontsidis. Admission is $4, $2 students and seniors. | Through Oct 31: “Michal Chelbin:
Strangely Familiar” | Nov 10-Jan 9: “Then/Now: Photographs by Carl Chiarenza and Chris Enos” PUCKER GALLERY | 617.267.6473 | 171 Newbury St., Boston | puckergallery.com | Mon-Sat 10 am–5:30 pm, Sun 10:30 am-5 pm | An extensive collection of eclectic international contemporary art. | Through Oct 11: “Open Entries: New Collages by Judith S. King” | “Revealing Friends: New Photographs by Tony King” | Oct 16-Nov 29: “Form and Gesture: New Ceramics by Sung Jae Choi” | “Near and Far: New Paintings by Jeffrey Hessing”
SOCIETY OF ARTS AND CRAFTS
| 617.266.1810 | 175 Newbury St, Boston | societyofcrafts.org | TuesSat 10 am-6 pm | Founded 1897, the Society of Arts and Crafts is the oldest non-profit craft organization in the US. The Retail Gallery is on the first floor; the Exhibition Gallery is on the second, hosting four exhibits per year. | Through Oct 31: 2010 SAC Artist Awards Exhibition
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AT AMHERST |
413.545.3490 | Fine Arts Center, Amherst | umass.edu/fac/universitygallery | Tues-Fri 11 am-4:30 pm, Sat-Sun 2-5 pm | Located in the Fine Arts Center off Mass Ave, the University Gallery opened to the public in 1975 and continues to represent contemporary art in all media. The permanent collection includes 2600 drawings, prints, and photographs from the late 20th century. The Gallery also offers lectures, film series, symposia, and group tours. | Through Nov 14: Anna Schuleit: “Just a Rumor”
KINGSTON GALLERY 617.423.4113 | 450 Harrison Ave, Boston | kingstongallery.com
F
Wed-Sun noon-5 pm | Located in the SoWa district of Boston’s South End, the Kingston Gallery is a home for alternative artwork of emerging artists. Each month, the Main Gallery presents a solo exhibition of a member’s artwork. | Sept 29-Oct 31: Christopher Taylor: “Because We Battle” | Elif Soyer: “Octobird/Mixed Media” | Janet Kawada: “A Conversation”
MUSEUMS ART COMPLEX MUSEUM | 781.934.6634 | 189 Alden St, Duxbury | artcomplex.org | Wed-Sun 1-4 pm | The permanent collection includes more than 8000 works and specializes in pieces by contemporary New England artists, Shaker furniture, prints, American paintings, and Asian art. Free | Through Nov 7: Abner Harris, Andrew Mowbray, and Ned Vena: “Home Grown” | Sept 19-Jan 16: Ando Hiroshige: “Rotations” | “Simply Shaker” | Nov 21Feb 13: “Darkness Darkness”
BOWDOIN COLLEGE MUSEUM OF ART | 207.725.3275 | 9400
WALKER-CUNNINGHAM FINE ART | | 162 Newbury St, Boston |
College Station, Brunswick, ME | bowdoin.edu/art-museum | Tues-
walkercunningham.com | Tues-Sat
Sat 10 am-5 pm, Thurs 10am-8:30 pm, and Sun 1 pm-5 pm | The Bowdoin College Museum of Art’s collections extend from the ancient world to the 21st century. Admission is free, although donations are welcome. | Through Oct 3: “American and European Paintings and Sculpture” | Henry Moore: “The Drawings: Works on Paper from the Henry Moore Family Collection” | “Maine as Muse” | Oct 21-Jan 16: “Sit Down! Chairs from Six Centuries”
by appointment only | WalkerCunningham Fine Art has specialized for the last 30 years in works by American artists, mostly of the late 19th and early 20th centuries but with a few contemporary painters as well. Paintings can be viewed ahead of time online. | Through Oct 16: Dora Atwater Millikin
CAHOON MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART | 508.428.7581 | 4676
Falmouth Road , Cotuit | cahoonmuseum.org | Tues-Sat 10 am-4
Trojan Pig at the Decordova Museum sculpture park
Janet Kawada
pm and Sun 1-4 pm | Portraits, still lifes, American marine paintings, and landscapes displayed in the restored 18thcentury home of the late Ralph and Martha Cahoon. Admission $4 for adults and children over 12. | Through Sept 19: Ralph Cahoon: “Chasing the Mermaids” | Sept 21-Nov 7: “Moonstruck: A National Juried Exhibition” | Nov 9-Dec 31: Reginald Fairfax Bolles: “Cotuit’s Own” | Nov 16-Dec 31: “America the Beautiful” CAPE ANN MUSEUM | 978.283.0455 | 27 Pleasant St, Gloucester | capeannmuseum.org | Tues-Sat 10 am-5 pm; Sun 1-4 pm | Permanent collection includes American decorative arts and furnishings, a period house built in 1804, and the nation’s largest collection of paintings and drawings by Fitz Henry Lane. Admission $8, $6 seniors, students, and Cape Ann residents. | Through Sept 26: “Summer Outward Bound: The Robert L. and Elizabeth French Collection” CAPE COD MUSEUM OF ART | 508.385.4477 | Route 6A, Dennis
art, with an emphasis on New England artists. The dog-friendly sculpture park, encompassing 35 acres and 75 pieces of sculpture, is the largest in New England. Admission $12, $8 seniors, students, and youth six through 18. Free to Lincoln residents and children under five. Sculpture park is open during daylight hours and free to the public. | Through Nov 14: Halsey Burgund: “Scapes” | Sept 18-Jan 9: Leonardo Drew: “Existed” | Martha Friedman: “Rubbers” | Type A: “Barrier” | Oct 24-Oct 28: “Out of the Box: Photography Portfolios from the Permanent Collection” | Nov 15-April 23: Paul Bartow and Richard Metzgar
FARNSWORTH ART MUSEUM
Sandy Pond Rd, Lincoln | decordova. org | Tues-Sun 10 am-5 pm | Fea-
| 207.596.6457 | 16 Museum St, Rockland, ME | farnsworthmuseum. org | Through Nov 1, open daily 10 am-5 pm, and until 8 pm on Wed. After Nov 1, Wed-Sun 10 am-5 pm | The most comprehensive collection of American art related to Maine. Admission $12; $10 seniors, students. Free for children 16 and under. Free parking, handicap accessible. | Through Sept 26: N.C. Wyeth: “Poems of American Patriotism” | Through Oct 31: Alex Katz | Through Dec 31: “Four in Maine: Site Specific” | Louise Nevelson | “Rug Hooking in Maine and Beyond” | “The Wyeths’ Wyeths” | Through Jan 16: Arnold Newman | Emily Schiffer: “Cheyenne River” FITCHBURG ART MUSEUM | 978.345.4207 | 185 Elm St, Fitchburg | fitchburgartmuseum.org | Wed-Fri noon-4 pm, Sat-Sun 11 am-5 pm | Fourteen galleries house a diverse collection of American and European paintings, prints, drawings, ceramics, and decorative arts as well as Greek, Roman, Asian, and pre-Columbian antiquities. Admission $7, $5 for students and seniors, free for children under 12. | Sept 26-Jan 2: Second National Juried Monotype and Monoprint Exhibition FULLER CRAFT MUSEUM | 508.588.6000 | 455 Oak St, Brockton | fullermuseum.org | Tues-Sun 10 am-5 pm, Wed 10 am-9 pm | The museum is devoted primarily to 19th- and 20th-century American art, with collections of contemporary crafts, historical paintings and objects, and sculpture. Admission $8, $5 seniors and students. Free for children under 12, and for all from 5 to 9 pm on Wed. | Through Sept 25: Furniture from the Permanent Collection | Through Oct 31: “Boxes and Their Makers” | Through Jan 2: Josh Simpson: “A Visionary Journey in Glass” | Through Feb 6: “The New Materiality: Digital Dialogues at the Boundaries of Contemporary Craft” | Through Feb 27: “Different Lines” | Through March 27: John Garrett: “Caravan” | Oct 9-Jan 23: “Photo Clay: In the Picture with Warren Mather” HOOD MUSEUM OF ART | 603.646.2808 | Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH | hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu | Tues-Sat 10 am-5 pm, Wed 10 am-9 pm, Sun noon-5 pm | Permanent collection includes modern American art, paintings by José Clemente Orozco, and artifacts from Oceanic cultures. Free. | Through Sept 19: “Follow the Money: Andy Warhol’s American Dream” | Through Dec 19: “Contemporary Native American Ledger Art: Drawing on Tradition”
tures contemporary American
Continued on p 42
| cmfa.org | Thurs 10 am-8 pm, Fri-Sat 10 am-5 pm, Sun noon-5 pm. Through Columbus Day, also open Mon 10 am-5 pm | Permanent collection features works by Ross Moffett, Arthur Diehl, William Paxton, Arnold Geissbuhler, Oliver Newberry Chaffee, and Sig Purwin. Although the Cape Cod Museum of Art keeps a heavy focus on works by Cape Cod artists, it also offers classes, workshops, and lectures. Admission $8, free for members and children under 18. Admission by donation on Thurs. | Through Sept 18: Barbara Cohen: “Moving On” | Through Oct 10: Celia Pearson: “Glass Transformed” | Through Nov 7: “The Subject is Light: The Henry and Sharon Martin Collection of Contemporary Realist Paintings” | Through Nov 14: “Unseen Gifts” | Through Jan 2: “The Art of Cape Cod - 200 Years” | Oct 9-Dec 12: Kathryn Smith: “Contemporary White-Line Prints” | Oct 16-Dec 12: Curator’s Choice: Portraits from the Collection CONCORD MUSEUM | 978.369.9763 | 200 Lexington Rd, Concord | concordmuseum.org | Mon-Sat 9 am-5 pm, Sun noon5 pm | The museum houses an extensive collection of Thoreau artifacts, plus Ralph Waldo Emerson’s study, arranged as it was at the time of the philosopher’s death. Four chambers compose the “Period Rooms,” which provide a glimpse of the lifestyles of early Concord. Admission $10, $8 seniors and students $5 children. Special exhibitions may carry an additional charge. | Through Sept 19: “into your hands...”
DANFORTH MUSEUM OF ART
| 508.620.0050 | 123 Union Ave, Framingham | danforthmuseum. org | Wed-Thurs + Sun noon-5 pm, Fri-Sat 10 am-5 pm | Permanent collection includes American art from the 19th and 20th centuries, paintings by American and European artists, and 19thcentury European prints. Admission $11, $9 seniors, $8 students. Free for youth under 17. | Through Nov 7: Barbara Grad: “Video Villa” | Cynthia Maurice: “Fresh Cut” | Jules Aarons: “Into the Streets: Photographs from the West End” | “Other Voices” | Robert Knight: “Sleepless” | Susan L. Roth: “Nothing But Miracles” | Susan Scott
DECORDOVA SCULPTURE PARK AND MUSEUM | 781.259.8355 | 51
42 SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 | FALL ARTS PREVIEW | SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOSTON PHOENIX | THEPHOENIX.COM/FALL
Northern Ave, Boston | icaboston. org | Tues-Wed + Sat-Sun 10 am–5 pm; Thurs-Fri 10 am–9 pm | The ICA strives to be at the forefront of contemporary art by identifying and supporting the most important artists of the times and bringing them to public attention. Now on Boston’s waterfront, the visionary building alone is worth the trip. Admission $15, $10 for students and seniors, free for members and youth 17 and under. Free for all on Thurs from 5 to 9 pm. | Through Oct 17: Charles Ledray: “workworkworkworkwork” | Through Aug 14: Francesca DiMattio: “Banquet” | Sept 22Jan 17: 2010 James and Audrey Foster Prize | Nov 19-March 13: Mark Bradford
MASSACHUSETTS MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART |
413.664.4481 | 87 Marshall St, North Adams | massmoca.org | Wed-Mon 11 am–5 pm | MASS MoCA, among the largest centers for contemporary art in the US, is a 13-acre museum housed in a converted 19th-century factory. Its enormous and unobstructed indoor spaces, irregular courtyards, elevated walkways, and industrial buildings are ideal for displaying pieces that are seldom exhibited because of their size. Kidspace offers programs, education, and performing arts to elementary-school students. Ongoing exhibits include work by Don Gummer, Natalie Jeremijenko, Christina Kubisch, Sol LeWitt, and Bruce Odland and Sam Auinger. Admission $15, $10 for students, $5 for youth ages six to 16. Free to children under five. | Through Oct 30: “Gravity is a Force to be Reckoned With” | Through Dec 31: “Disfarmer Photos” | Through Jan 2: Leonard Nimoy: “Secret Selves” | Through Feb 28: “Material World: Sculpture to Environment” | Petah Coyne: “Everything That Rises Must Converge” | Through May 1: Jörg Immendorff: “Student of Beuys” | Oct 2-Feb 27: “Color Forms I” | Oct 23-Dec 15: Federico Diaz: “Frequence/Data Sculpture/2010”
MEMORIAL HALL MUSEUM AND INDIAN HOUSE MEMORIAL | 413.774.3768 | 8 Memorial St, Deerfield | deerfield-ma.org
| Tues-Sun 11:30 am-4:30 pm, through Nov 1 | Opened in 1880, the museum is one of New England’s oldest and features furnishings, paintings, textiles, and Indian artifacts. Admission is $6, $3 for youth under 21. | Through Oct 31: “Covered Bridges” | “Poetry to the Earth” MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS | 617.267.6008 | 465 Huntington Ave, Boston | mfa.org | Mon-Tues + Sat-Sun 10 am-4:45 pm, WedFri 10 am-9:45 pm | Boston’s grand dame of the visual arts, with an expansive permanent collection of American and European painting, photographs, musical instruments, mummies, and period furniture. Admission $20, $18 seniors and students 18 and older, $7.50 youth ages seven through 17 weekdays before 3 pm. Free for children under seven. General admission includes a free guided tour, free gallery talk, and one free repeat visit to
the MFA’s collection within 10 days. Additional charge for exhibitions in Gund Gallery. The museum also hosts the “Evenings with Creative Minds” celebrity lecture series. | Through Dec 31: “Preserving History, Making History: The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston” | Through Jan 2: “Under the Skin: Tattoos in Japanese Prints” | Through Jan 16: “Romantic Interludes: Women in Firdawsi’s Shahnama” | Through Jan 17: “Avedon Fashion 1944–2000” | Through Feb 27: “Chinese Master Paintings from the Collection” | Through May 1: “Heaven and Hell in Japanese Art” | “New Works: Prints, Drawings, Collages” | “Nicholas Nixon: Family Album” | Through May 30: “Millet and Rural France” | Sept 25-June 19: “Scaasi: American Couturier” | Sept 30-Jan 17: “Luxuries from Japan: Cultural Exchange in the 17th and 18th Centuries” | Oct 2-March 27: “Kristin Baker: New Paintings” | Nov 11-June 25: “Artists Abroad: London, Paris, Venice, and Rome 1825-1925” | Nov 20Feb 13: “Fresh Ink: Ten Takes on Chinese Tradition” | Nov 20-March 6: “Mirror of Holland: Drawings from the Maida and George Abrams Collection” | Nov 20-March 13: “Embroideries of Colonial Boston: Samplers” | Nov 20-July 2: “Modernist Photography 1910–1950”
NEW BRITAIN MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART | 860.229.0257
| 56 Lexington St, New Britain, CT | nbmaa.org | Tues, Wed, and Fri 11 am-5 pm, Thurs 11 am-8 pm, Sat 10 am-5 pm, Sun noon5 pm | Permanent collection features more than 5000 pieces of American art. Admission $9, $8 seniors, $7 students, free for children under 12. Free to the public every Sat from 10 amnoon. | Through Oct 24: “American Reflections: The Collection of Dr. Timothy McLaughlin” | Jon Rappleye: “After Eden” | Through Nov 14: M.C. Escher: “Impossible Reality” | Through Nov 30: “Hudson River Paintings from the Metropolitan Museum of Art”
Garden on the Quadrangle Green. The Connecticut Valley Historical Museum is temporarily closed for reinstallation. General admission for all four museums is $10, $7 seniors and college students, $5 youth three to 17. Free to children two and under. Seymour Planetarium shows are $3, $2 youth; special exhibit fees may apply. | Through Jan 2: “State Street Corridor Project: Road to Renewal” (Springfield History)
RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN MUSEUM | 401.454.6500
S COT T M . L AC E Y
Continued from p 40 INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART | 617.478.3100 | 100
Institute of Contemporary Art NEWPORT ART MUSEUM & ART ASSOCIATION |
NORMAN ROCKWELL MUSEUM | 413.298.4100 | 9 Glendale Rd
401.848.8205 | 76 Bellevue Ave, Newport, RI | newportartmuseum. org | Through Oct 31, open Tues-
(Rte 183), Stockbridge | nrm.org |
PORTLAND MUSEUM OF ART
Daily 10 am–5 pm through Oct. Beginning in Nov, open weekdays 10 am-4 pm, and weekends 10 am-5 pm | Founded in 1969 with the help of Norman and Molly Rockwell, the museum is dedicated to the enjoyment and study of Rockwell’s work and his contributions to society, popular culture, and social commentary. The museum houses the world’s largest and most significant collection of Rockwell’s archives, including 100,000 letters, photographs, and notebooks. Admission $15, $10 students. Free for youth 18 and under. No video, photography, bags, or large packages allowed. | Through Oct 31: “Rockwell and the Movies” | “William Steig: Love and Laughter” | Through Nov 27: “Norman Rockwell and the Boy Scouts of America” | Nov 13-May 30: “Witness: The Art of Jerry Pinkney”
| 207.775.6148 | 7 Congress Sq, Portland, ME | portlandmuseum. org | Tues-Thurs + Sat-Sun 10 am-5 pm, Fri 10 am-9 pm | The Portland Museum of Art is the largest art museum in the state of Maine. Permanent collection includes three centuries of American, European, and decorative art. Admission $10, $8 seniors and students, $4 for children six through 17, free for children under six. Free to the public on Fri from 5-9 pm. | Sept 18-Dec 12: John Haberle: “American Master of Illusion” | Sept 30-Dec 5: “Debating Modern Photography: The Triumph of Group f/64” | Oct 30-Jan 2: “False Documents and Other Illusions”
Sat 10 am-5 pm, Sun noon-5 pm. Museum closes one hour earlier on all days starting Nov 1 | The museum’s permanent collection includes works by 19th-century and contemporary artists such as Dale Chihuly, Fairfield Porter, and Sigmund Albeles. Admission $10, $8 seniors, and $6 students and military personnel with ID. No charge for children five and under. | Through Oct 17: “The Japan Craze: Art and Craft in Rhode Island After 1854” | Through Oct 31: “From the Japanese: Contemporary Selections” | Through Nov 8: “Lee Segal: New Ceramics” | Through Jan 2: “The Abstract of Realism: GaucherThomas, Riley, Simpson” | Nov 13-Jan 9: “Photographers’ Guild Members’ Exhibition”
PEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM
HARVARD ART MUSEUMS 617.495.9400 | 485 Broadway, Cambridge | harvardartmuseums.org
F
Fogg Art Museum
Tues-Sat 10 am-5 pm | The three Harvard art museums — the Fogg Art Museum, the Busch-Reisinger Museum, and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum — are now considered one museum under a simplified name. The collections have been integrated as well, including ceramics and paintings from 18th-century Europe, modern art, ancient Greek and Roman portraiture, and Germanic art. The Fogg Museum and the Busch-Reisinger Museum began a five-year renovation in June 2008, and the Sackler will host selected works while 32 Quincy St remains closed. The museum is open. Admission is $9, $7 for seniors, and $6 for students. | Through Jan 15: “Teaching Galleries”
| 978.744.3390 | 137 Essex St, Salem | pem.org | Tues-Sun, and Mon holidays, 10 am-5 pm | Founded in 1799, only 16 years after the establishment of the nation, the Peabody Essex Museum is a museum of art and history that focuses on Asia and Oceania, American decorative art and architecture, Korean art, contemporary art, Indian art, African art, Chinese export art, Native American art, and maritime art and history. There are 2.4 million pieces on display in more than 30 galleries. Admission $15, $13 seniors, $11 students. Free to Salem residents and youth under 17. | Through Dec 31: “Fish, Silk, Tea, Bamboo: Cultivating an Image of China” | Through Jan 2: Mark Ruwedel: “Imprints” | Through May 1: “Eye Spy, Playing With Perception” | Through Jan 1, 2012: “Painting the Modern in India” | Through Jan 16, 2012: “Faces of Devotion, Indian Sculpture from the Figiel Collection” | Through March 1, 2012: “Auspicious Wishes and Natural Beauty in Korean Art” | “Of Gods
and Mortals, Traditional Art from India”
PROVINCETOWN ART ASSOCIATION AND MUSEUM |
508.487.1750 | 460 Commercial St, Provincetown | paam.org | MonThurs 11 am-8 pm, Fri 11 am-10 pm, and Sat-Sun from 11 am-5 pm through Sept. Beginning in Oct, the museum is open ThursSun noon-5 pm and by appointment | Admission $5, free for children under 13 and for all on Fri evenings. | Through Oct 10: Larry R. Collins: “Finding Light” | Through Oct 17: “A Tribute to the Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum at PAAM” | Through Oct 24: Mischa Richter: “Saudade” QUADRANGLE | 413.263.6800 | 220 State St, Springfield | springfieldmuseums.org | The Springfield Science Museum is open Tues-Sun 10 am-5 pm. The Museum of Fine Arts George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum and the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum are open Tues-Sun 11 am-4 pm. Dr. Seuss Memorial Garden open daily 9-5 pm | A cluster of museums including the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, the Springfield Science Museum, the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum, the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Springfield History, and the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture
| 224 Benefit St, Providence, RI | risdmuseum.org | Tues-Sun 10 am-5 pm, and the third Thurs of the month until 9 pm | The RISD Museum features an impressive collection of more than 80,000 pieces of artwork in a variety of media, with a focus on fine and decorative art. Ongoing exhibits include a look at Ancient Roman sculpture and architecture. The Pendleton House, newly refurbished, is an appendage of the main museum, featuring the museum’s collection of American painting and sculpture, English ceramics, Chinese porcelain, and French wallpaper. Admission $10, $7 seniors, $3 college students and youth ages five through 18. Free every Sun from 10 am to 1 pm, from 5 to 9 pm on the third Thurs of each month, and on the last Sat of the month. You follow? | Through Oct 24: Tristin Lowe: “Under the Influence” | Through Oct 31: Linda Connor: “Odyssey” | Through Nov 14: “Designing Traditions Biennial: Student Explorations in the Asian Textile Collection” | Through Dec 12: “Of Clover and Chrysanthemum: Autumn Themes in Japanese Woodblock Prints” | Through Feb 28: “The Figure: Contemporary Works from the Collection” | Oct 1-Jan 9: Lynda Benglis | Oct 22-Feb 28: Brian Knep: “Exempla” | Nov 12-March 10: “Collision” | Nov 12-June 4: “Changing Poses: The Artist’s Model”
SMITH COLLEGE MUSEUM OF ART | 413.585.2760 | East Elm
St at Bedford Terr, Northampton | smith.edu/artmuseum | TuesSat 10 am-4 pm, Sun noon-4 pm, every second Fri of the month 10 am-8 pm (4-8 pm free admission) | Permanent collection consists of works dating from 2500 BC to the present, with emphasis on 19th- and early-20th-century American art. Admission $5, $4 seniors, $3 students over 13, $2 children ages six through 12. Free for children under six. | Through Oct 24: “Luscious: Paintings by Emily Eveleth” | Through Nov 28: “Framework VI: Restoring the Boundaries” | Sept 24-Jan 2: “Sugar: Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons”
STERLING AND FRANCINE CLARK ART INSTITUTE |
413.458.2303 | 225 South St, Williamstown | clarkart.edu | TuesSun 10 am-5 pm | Permanent collection includes art from the Renaissance to the 19th century, with particular emphasis on French Impressionism. The institute is true to its founders, Sterling and Francine Clark, with work that reflects the Clarks’ artistic interests. The growing collection of photography as well as indoor jazz performances adds a contem-
Continued on p 44
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Continued from p 42 porary touch to the otherwise antique museum. Through Oct 31, admission $15, free to youth 18 and under. Beginning Nov 1, the institute is open free to the public. | Through Oct 17: Juan Muñoz | Through Nov 30: “Constable and After: Sir Edwin Manton and the British Landscape” | Nov 14-March 13: “The Strange World of Albrecht Dürer”
WADSWORTH ATHENEUM MUSEUM OF ART | 860.278.2670 | 600 Main St, Hartford, CT | wadsworthatheneum.org | Wed-Fri 11 am-5 pm; Sat-Sun 10 am-5 pm; first Thurs of the month 11 am-8 pm | Among the pieces in the permanent collection are Renaissance and Baroque masterpieces, European paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries, American decorative art (featuring the Wallace Nutting collection of 17th- and 18th-century furniture), and the Amistad Foundation’s collection of more than 7000 items documenting African-American history and culture. Admission $5 for all through Oct 1; check the Web for updated prices thereafter. | Through Sept 19: “High Water Marks: Art and Renewal After Katrina” | Oct 2-Jan 17: “American Moderns on Paper: Masterworks from the Wadsworth” | Nov 10-March 19: “The Upholstered Woman: Women’s Fashions of the 1870s and 1880s”
WHISTLER HOUSE MUSEUM OF ART | 978.452.7641 | 243
Worthen St, Lowell | whistlerhouse.org | Wed-Sat 11 am-4 pm | The Whistler House Museum of Art, birthplace of 19th-century American artist James McNeill Whistler, houses the Lowell Art Association’s Permanent Collection of 19th- and early-20thcentury New England artists, including a collection of Whistler etchings. Admission $5, $4 students, seniors. | Through Oct 30: Meredith Fife Day: “35 Years: A Beginning”
WILLIAMS COLLEGE MUSEUM OF ART | 413.597.2429 | 15 Law-
rence Hall Dr, Williamstown | wcma.org | Open Tues-Sat 10 am5 pm, Sun 1-5 pm | The Williams College Museum of Art houses 12,000 works that span the history of art. The collection emphasizes modern and contemporary art, American art from the late 18th century to the present, and the art of world cultures. In addition to displaying works from the permanent collection, the museum organizes loan exhibitions of outstanding works from other collections. Ongoing exhibits include “Specimens of a Higher Art: Ancient Art from the Collection,” a demonstration of the integration of ancient art into the curriculum of Williams College. Beginning Oct 23, the ongoing “Art Re: Art”
f
exhibit will feature 30 works from the museum’s collection which take art as their subject. Free. | Through Oct 31: “Works as Progress/Works in Progress: Drawing in 18th- and 19thCentury France” | Through Nov 21: “Posing Beauty in African American Culture” | Through Nov 28: Charles Prendergast: “In Search of ‘Innocence’ ” | “Manifestos: American Dreams and Their Founding Documents” | Through Dec 12: “Photography at the Frontier of Physics and Art” | “This Girl Bends: Art and Feminism Since 1960” | Nov 20-May 14: “Who Can Dance? Performing Gender in African Masquerades” WORCESTER ART MUSEUM | 508.799.4406 | 55 Salisbury St, Worcester, Boston | worcesterart.org | Permanent collection includes paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, photography, prints, and drawings, dating from antiquity to the present, with special emphasis on earlyAmerican painting. Works by John Singleton Copley, James Peale, Robert Fulton, and Edward Savage are on view in the Marianne E. Gibson Gallery. Plus, the WAM has the largest display of Roman mosaics (from Antioch) in America, an extensive collection of Asian art in Chinese, Japanese, Indian, and Islamic galleries, and Korean ceramics from the fifth and sixth centuries | Through Sept 30: David John Attyah and S.A. Bachman: “Wall at WAM: ‘Actions Speak,’ THINK AGAIN” | Through Nov 28: “Portrait Photographs” | Sept 25-March 31: Édouard Manet’s “The Dead Toreador”
YALE CENTER FOR BRITISH ART | 203.432.2800 | 1080 Chapel St, New Haven, CT | ycba.yale. edu | Tues-Sat 10 am-5 pm, Sun
noon-5 pm | The Yale Center hosts the largest and most comprehensive collection of British art outside the UK, including paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings, rare books and manuscripts, and photos. Free. | Through Sept 19: “Seeing Double: Portraits, Copies, and Exhibitions in 1820s London” | Through Sept 19: “Structured Elegance: Bookbindings and Jewelry by Romilly Saumarez Smith” | Through Jan 2: “The Independent Eye: Contemporary British Art from the Collection of Samuel and Gabrielle Lurie” | Oct 14-Jan 2: “Notes from the Archive: James Frazer Stirling, Architect and Teacher”
YALE UNIVERSITY ART GALLERY | 203.432.0600 | 1111 Chapel
St, New Haven, CT | artgallery.yale. edu | Tues-Sat 10 am-5 pm, Thurs 10am-8 pm, Sun 1-6 pm | This four-floor gallery’s permanent collection contains artwork from ancient Africa, Asia, and early Europe. | Oct 19-Jan 2: John La Farge: “Second Paradise: Voyages in the South Seas, 1890–1891”
ART’S NOT DEAD: Boston’s most complete guide to what’s new at museums, galleries, and beyond scan code or visit http://bit. ly/ArtsNotDead for full museum and gallery listings.
LISTINGS
ATTRACTIONS BENNINGTON MUSEUM | 802.447.1571
| 75 Main St, Bennington, VT | benningtonmuseum.com | Daily 10 am-5 pm; starting Nov, closed Wed | Home to the largest public collection of paintings by Grandma Moses, plus the Grandma Moses Schoolhouse. Also featuring a large collection of Americana, including military items, 19th-century American glass, early Vermont furniture, and the only car ever manufactured in Vermont (the 1925 Wasp). Admission $10, $9 seniors and students, free for youth under 18. | Through Oct 31: “State of Craft” BERKSHIRE MUSEUM | 413.443.7171 | 39 South St. (Route 7), Pittsfield | berkshiremusem.org | Mon-Sat 10 am-5 pm, Sun noon-5 pm | The Berkshire Museum offers a blend of exhibitions from fine arts and sculpture to an aquarium and ancient artifacts. Admission $11, $6 youth three through 18. Additional fees may be applicable during special events. | Through Oct 31: “Wrapped! The Search for the Essential Mummy” | Through Jan 2: “Woodland Style” | Nov 13-Jan 2: 26th Annual Festival of Trees: Storybook Forest BOSTON CHILDREN’S MUSEUM | 617.426.8855 | 300 Congress St, Boston | bostonkids.org | Daily 10 am-5 pm, Fri until 9 pm | Permanent and temporary educational displays, hands-on projects and demonstrations, and lots of opportunity to play. Parents often enjoy the museum as much as the kids do. Admission only $1 on Fri from 5-9 pm. Admission $12. Babies one and under admitted free. | Through Nov 10: “Heavy Metal: Reclaimed and Recycled Artwork” | Through Jan 2: “Balancing Act” | Sept 18-Jan 16: “Five Friends From Japan” BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY | 617.536.5400 | 700 Boylston St, Boston | bpl.org | MonThurs 9 am-9 pm, Fri-Sat 9 am-5 pm; Oct-May open Sun 1-5 pm | The BPL was founded in 1848 and in 1895 settled into its Charles Follen McKim-designed digs here in Copley Square. Still one of Boston’s great architectural and design treasures, the Library hosts exhibitions from its own collections and co-sponsors shows with many nonprofit cultural, educational, and civic organizations. Among the treasures here are first-edition Shakespeare folios, the library of John Adams, and, of course, the third-floor murals by John Singer Sargent. Also: free Wi-Fi and a charming courtyard cafe. | Through Oct 17: “Away We Go! Vintage Travel Posters” | Through March 31: “Greetings From Boston: Vintage Postcards”
HARVARD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY | 617.495.3045 | 26 Oxford St, Cambridge | hmnh.harvard.edu | Daily 9 am-5
pm | The public museum offers exhibition galleries that draw from the collections of Harvard’s Botanical Museum, Mineralogical Museum, and Museum of Comparative Zoology. Exhibition highlights include the Glass Flowers collection (don’t lean on the cases!), the historic Hall of Mammals, and comprehensive displays of minerals, rocks, ores, and meteorites. Plus room upon room of dusty stuffed animals from around the world. Admission $9, $7 seniors and non-Harvard students with ID, and $6 youth three to 18. Free to Massachusetts residents on Wed from 3 to 5 pm and Sun 9 am to noon. | Through Jan 2: “Headgear: The Natural History of Horns and Antlers”
Harvard Museum of Natural History HOUGHTON LIBRARY | 617.495.2509 | Harvard Yard near Mass Ave + Quincy St , Cambridge | hcl.harvard.edu/houghton | FriSat + Mon 9 am-5 pm; Tues-Thurs 9 am-7 pm | The Houghton Library is the principal rare-book and manuscript library of the Harvard College Library. The collection also includes graphic arts and theater materials relating to American, continental European, and English history. Exhibitions are held in the Edison and Newman Room and usually feature sketches and books from noteworthy authors such as Lewis Carroll and Emily Dickinson. | Through Nov 24: “Between Manuscripts and Printing: Illustrated Lithographs of Firdawsi’s Shahnama” | Through Dec 23: “‘Life is in the transitions’: William James 1842-1910” | Through Jan 5: “Rev. Badger’s Misfits: Deviations and Diversions” MIT MUSEUM | 617.253.4444 | 265 Mass Ave, Cambridge | web.mit.edu/museum | Tues-Fri 10 am-5 pm, Sat-Sun noon to 5 pm | The Main Gallery and the Hart Nautical Gallery of the MIT Museum house all the ongoing exhibits. The Compton Gallery is also under the management of the MIT Museum. Ongoing exhibitions include “Robots and Beyond: Exploring Artificial Intelligence at MIT,” “Holography: The Light Fantastic,” “Gestural Engineering: The Sculpture of Arthur Ganson,” and more. Admission $7.50, $3 seniors, students, and youth under 18. Free to MIT ID holders, teachers, and children under 5. Every Sun from 10 am-noon the MIT Museum is free to the public. | Through Oct 7: “Types We Can Make: A Selection of Contemporary Swiss Type Design”
MUSEUM OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY | 617.725.0022 | 46 Joy St, Boston |
afroammuseum.org | Mon-Sat 10 am-4 pm | Located on Beacon Hill, the Museum of Afro-American history is accessible by almost any MBTA subway line. The museum is dedicated to preserving, conserving, and accurately interpreting the contributions of African-Americans during the Colonial period in New England. Through educational workshops, youth camps, special events, and unique partnerships with professional organizations and educational institutions, the museum places the African-American experience in an accurate social, cultural, and historical perspective. Free with a suggested donation of $5. | Through Sept 20: “The Life and Times of Congressman Robert Smalls” MUSEUM OF SCIENCE | 617.723.2500 | Science Park, Boston | mos.org | Sat-Thurs 9 am-5 pm, Fri 9 am-9 pm | Boston’s
Museum of Science includes a Butterfly Garden, a planetarium, and an Omni Theatre. The Butterfly Garden features free-flying butterflies for an admission fee of $1-$4. The planetarium features specials about the moon, stars, and constellations for admission fee of $7-$9. Permanent exhibits include “Bradford Washburn: The Man Behind the Lens,” “To the Moon,” and “Nanotechnology.” Admission $21, $19 seniors, $18 children ages three through 11. Prices for other events may vary. No student discount. | Through Oct 6: “Australia: Land Beyond Time” | Through Oct 24: “George Carver” | Through Jan 2: “Inside the Mind of M.C. Escher” | Nov 3-Dec 1: “Laserlab” NATIONAL HERITAGE MUSEUM | 781.861.6559 | 33 Marrett Rd, Lexington | monh.org | Tues-Sat 10 am-4:30 pm, Sun noon-4:30 pm | Ongoing exhibits include “To Build and Sustain: Freemasons in American Community,” which looks to broaden public awareness of the principles of Freemasonry and its history (the Masons own and fund this exceptional Americana museum); “The Enchanted Clocks of George McFadden,” featuring various cuckoo clocks; and “Made in Massachusetts,” featuring antique board games from Milton Bradley, kitchen tools, china, silver, and more. Free, donations suggested. | Through Oct 16: “Treasured Lands: The 58 U.S. National Parks in Focus” | Through Oct 31: “The Art of the Movie Theater”
PEABODY MUSEUM OF ARCHAEOLOGY AND ETHNOLOGY | 617.496.1027 | 11 Divin-
ity Ave, Cambridge | peabody.harvard.edu | Daily 9 am-5 pm | Established in 1866, the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology is one of the oldest of its kind in the western hemisphere. The museum works in conjunction with Harvard’s Museum of Natural History to exhibit Native American and Mesoamerican artifacts. Admission $9, $7 for seniors and students. Free to Harvard students and children under three. Also free to all Massachusetts residents Wed 3-5 pm and Sun 9 am-noon. | Through Jan 30: “Spying on the Past: Declassified Satellite Images and Archaeology” | Through March 31: “Masked Festivals of Canton Bo, Southwest Ivory Coast” | Through June 30: “Translating Encounters: Travel and Transformation in the Early Seventeenth Century” | Through July 31: “Digging Veritas: The Archaeology and History of the Indian College and Student Life at Colonial Harvard” | “Storied Walls: Murals of the Americas” | Through Dec 31, 2011: “Wiyohpiyata: Lakota Images of the Contested West” WENHAM MUSEUM | 978.468.2377 | 132 Main St, Wenham | wenhammuseum.org | Tues-Sun 10 am-4 pm | A museum of social history featuring an eclectic assortment of historic American artifacts, a worldrenowned collection of more than 5000 dolls, a photography gallery, a library, an exhibit of 19th- and 20th-century toys, and a costume and textile collection. Lowerlevel Train Room exhibits blueprints and pictures of local railways, and model trains. Admission $7, $5 youth 16 and under. | Through Oct 24: “Gilded Age Glamour: A Visit to the Dressmaker” | Through Nov 28: “Transportation Station: Cars and Trucks and Things That Go” | Through Jan 9: “Adventures Among the Thimble People” | Nov 11-Feb 20: “Train Time 16”
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46 SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 | FALL ARTS PREVIEW | SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOSTON PHOENIX | THEPHOENIX.COM
N O I S I V E L E T
S E I G O L O NO AP TOO MUCH GOOD TV
_BY RYAN STEWA RT (September 20), which looks like some sort of unholy offspring of Lost and 24, combining the latter’s hypersuspenseful feel with the former’s layered mysteries, all of it leading to some kind of massive government conspiracy surrounding the title, uh, event. Unfortunately, the last few network shows that tried a mythology-heavy storytelling style — Flashforward, V, even Heroes — didn’t fare so well. | Verdict: Wait for the DVD Over on Fox, there’s LONE STAR (also September 20), in which a con man (played by James Wolk) tries to take over an oil company from his father-in-law while maintaining a secret life on the other side of Texas. The show’s creator, Kyle Killen, has ambition: he compared Lone Star to Mad Men and Breaking Bad during the Television Critics Association press tour. Early reviews have been good, but Fox’s record with artistic boldness is sketchy. | Verdict: Watch it while it lasts
TUESDAY
NO NEED TO USE YOUR DVR SPACE You’ll want to watch HBO’s Boardwalk Empire in real time.
Y
Even the most curmudgeonly out there have to admit that television is on a roll. Departed favorites like The Wire, The Sopranos, and Deadwood showed us what can be accomplished in the medium; current shows like Mad Men and Breaking Bad push the boundaries even farther. Now, when people note that they don’t own a TV, they’re not bragging — they’re apologizing. Below, I help you plan your week in front of the glowbox by looking at intriguing new shows and noteworthy returning sophomores — what you should plan to watch without fail, what you should record and save for whenever, and what you should wait to check out on Netflix. I’m assuming you’ve already formed your opinion on stalwarts like House and The Office.
SUNDAY
Given its network (HBO), setting (Prohibition-era Atlantic City), pedigree (it was created by ex-Sopranos writer Terence Winter, and the first episode is directed by Martin Scorsese, who is also the series’s producer), and cast (Steve Buscemi, Gretchen Mol, Michael Pitt, and Michael “Omar Little”
Williams), BOARDWALK EMPIRE (September 19 @ 9 pm) is about as close to a sure thing as you can get these days. (See “Back Talk,” in our Arts & Entertainment section, for my interview with Williams.) | Verdict: Watch it HBO also has an oddball comedy bloc that pairs the manic intensity of Danny McBride as former relief pitcher Kenny Powers in EASTBOUND & DOWN (September 26 @ 10:30 pm) with the deadpan Jason Schwartzman as a novelist moonlighting as a private detective in BORED TO DEATH (September 26 @ 10 pm). Both shows cater to a well-defined niche, and both do their respective “thing” well enough to warrant at least a look. | Verdict: DVR them Even though AMC’s THE WALKING DEAD won’t premiere until Halloween (10 pm), I’m ridiculously excited about Frank Darabont’s adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s graphic novel about a group of survivors trying to hang together after the zombie apocalypse. | Verdict: Watch it
MONDAY
The 9 pm hour features some new contenders. First is THE EVENT on NBC
If confronted, I will deny it, but I actually kind of enjoyed the first season of Fox’s GLEE (September 21 @ 8 pm). Which is why I’m concerned about the second season — now that it’s an out-ofleft-field cultural phenomenon, Glee has to contend with hype and expectations. Disaster potential is high. | Verdict: Watch it, but be prepared to jump ship at the first sign of fallout Also on Fox, and also arriving with high expectations, is RUNNING WILDE (September 21 @ 9:30 pm), a new show that’s an unofficial Arrested Development reunion of sorts. Like AD, it’s created by Mitchell Hurwitz, and it once again features Will Arnett as a self-absorbed, puerile, clueless rich guy (not to be confused with GOB, the self-absorbed, puerile, clueless rich guy he played on Arrested Development). Keri Russell plays his childhood sweetheart; David Cross is her boyfriend. Sounds good, no? Then why did the pilot need to be reworked after an underwhelming response from critics? (You can read my interview with Arnett in our Arts & Entertainment section.) | Verdict: Watch it, but be patient There’s more new stuff on Tuesdays: ABC’s NO ORDINARY FAMILY (September 28 @ 8 pm) is a show about normal people who discover they have superpowers after their plane crashes; difficulty adjusting to said powers must surely ensue. ABC’s DETROIT 1-87 (September 21 @ 10 pm) was conceived as a mockumentary police procedural,
but that angle has been dropped. Both shows may be worth a look on the strength of their leads: No Ordinary Family has Michael Chiklis (The Shield); Detroit 1-8-7 stars Michael Imperioli (Christopher on The Sopranos). | Verdict: DVR them
WEDNESDAY
In NBC’s UNDERCOVERS (September 22 @ 8 pm), from JJ Abrams, two goodlooking spies go on adventures together. But with Chuck and Covert Affairs — two other shows about good-looking spies and their adventures — already out there, are we reaching espionage overload? If you’re a fan of the genre and/or Abrams, you’re probably already excited, but for the rest of us, it’s wait and see. | Verdict: DVR it What I said about Glee goes, like, quadruple for ABC’s MODERN FAMILY (September 22 @ 8:30 pm). The first season was fun, but not as great as the world thought it was. Still better than most. | Verdict: Watch it for the first couple of weeks, at least FX’s TERRIERS (September 8 @ 10 pm) is the latest vehicle for Donal Logue, who plays an ex-cop turned unorthodox private eye. It’s created by Shawn Ryan, the man responsible for FX classic The Shield. The first episode suggested this will be an ambitious show with the right mix of intensity and light humor. | Verdict: Watch it
THURSDAY
I cannot in good conscience recommend either of the new comedies — NBC’s Outsourced and CBS’s $#@! My Dad Says — on Thursday nights. (Come back, Parks & Recreation!) But you should be watching NBC’s COMMUNITY (September 23 @ 8 pm), which is funnier than its new, more popular competition, CBS’s Big Bang Theory (which is moving from Monday). It’s irreverent and inventive, and it uses its postmodern cultural references in a way that goes beyond reaching for a self-congratulatory “Hey, I recognize that!” from its audience. Plus, Betty White will guest-star in the season premiere. | Verdict: Watch it
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY
None of the new or returning shows on these nights seems worth fussing over. Instead, I recommend spending time with the spring shows you missed the first time around. The most recent seasons of Treme, Breaking Bad, Friday Night Lights, and Party Down will all be coming to DVD in the not-so-distant future — if they’re not already on Hulu or On Demand. Get watching. ^
48 SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 | FALL ARTS PREVIEW | SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOSTON PHOENIX | THEPHOENIX.COM
N O I T O M N I S D L R O W GAMES
FALL VIDEO GAMES BUST A MOVE
_BY MITCH KRPAT A
GOING PRO Rock Band 3 adds a keyboard and a new one-to-one mode.
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This November marks the fifth anniversary of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console, and four years since the launch of Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii. Yet there’s no Xbox 720, PlayStation 4, or Super Wii anywhere in sight. Instead of new systems, Microsoft and Sony are both releasing ambitious peripherals, which take a page from Nintendo’s playbook to provide players with moreintuitive motion-controlled input. First out of the gate is Sony’s PLAYSTATION MOVE (September 19) . Like the now familiar Nintendo Wii controls, the Move consists of three components: a navigational controller, a motion controller, and a sensor (in this case, a camera called the PlayStation Eye). All three devices can be purchased separately: the motion controller for about $50, the navigational controller for about $30, and the Eye for about $40. Because Sony has been keen to play down comparisons between Move and the Wii, it’s made the brave decision to package Move with, uh, a collection of sportsthemed mini-games. Like Wii Sports, Sony’s SPORTS CHAMPIONS is intended to showcase the versatility of the hardware rather than provide a deep gameplay experience. Retailers will offer a bundle with all three Move components, plus Sports Champions, for $99. For more-compelling original Move software, you’ll have to wait a month. TIME CRISIS: RAZING STORM, a frenetic arcade shooter, arrives on October 19. THE FIGHT: LIGHTS OUT, a boxing game, is due October 26, along with LITTLEBIGPLANET 2, which provides even more options for user-created content than its predecessor did.
Some existing PlayStation 3 games can be updated to include Move support thanks to a downloadable patch. Among them is HEAVY RAIN, so far the best game of 2010; its simple control inputs are likely to be enhanced by motion control. Capcom’s RESIDENT EVIL 5 should also see improvement, much as Resident Evil 4 benefitted from the switch from the Nintendo GameCube to the Wii. Microsoft is countering with KINECT, a device that senses not a remote but the player’s entire body. Boasting the ability to track as many as six players at once, Kinect is the more intriguing of these new technologies, though its utility is still unclear. Like Move, Kinect will launch with mini-game collections intended to show off the range of its capabilities and including — yes — KINECT SPORTS and KINECT ADVENTURES. The Kinect launches on November 4 for $150, with Kinect Adventures included. The most tantalizing Kinect title is DANCE CENTRAL, a dancing simulator from Harmonix that also arrives on November 4. Harmonix’s musical pedigree is well established (it created the first two Guitar Hero games and the Rock Band series), but the Cambridge-based studio also has experience with motion control. Its AntiGrav was a fun, hands-free racing game for the PlayStation 2, years before motion control became standard. But Harmonix hasn’t forgotten about its bread and butter. Coming on October 26 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii, ROCK BAND 3 adds a keyboard part — a welcome addition, if not a surprising one. The real shake-up is the new Pro mode, which will see a one-toone correspondence between the notes on
screen and the player’s input. This means accurate cymbal strikes for the drum kit, and a new six-string-guitar peripheral. And the progenitor of the motioncontrol craze? Nintendo isn’t releasing any new hardware this fall, unless a surprise launch of the new 3DS is in the offing. Instead, it’s sticking with triedand-true properties. KIRBY’S EPIC YARN (October 17 for the Wii) is an action-adventure game starring everybody’s favorite shapeshifting puffball. Also due for the Wii is the comeback of a classic franchise, DONKEY KONG COUNTRY RETURNS, on November 21. Like its 16-bit predecessors, DKCR is a traditional platformer with mine-cart levels, exploding barrels, and tons of hidden areas to discover. Speaking of traditions: of course there’s CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS (November 9; PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows, Wii), the bi-annual effort from Treyarch studios, whose previous series entry was 2008’s World at War. Black Ops is set during the Vietnam War, and it looks identical to every other Call of Duty game ever made. That’s not entirely a bad thing, especially for Activision, which stands to make another billion trillion dollars this time out. But there’s a new challenger in the war-games arena. A reboot of MEDAL OF HONOR (October 12; PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows), set in current-day Afghanistan, casts players as Delta Force operatives taking the fight to the Taliban. With EA’s DICE studio at the helm of the multi-player modes, the game’s pedigree is beyond reproach. Its taste, however, may be questionable: online play allows players to take control of members of the Taliban.
Another beloved franchise is resurrected when CASTLEVANIA: LORDS OF SHADOW comes out for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on October 5. The latest attempt at a 3-D Castlevania that doesn’t suck, this game could break the curse thanks to the involvement of the driving creative force behind the Metal Gear Solid series, Hideo Kojima — unless Kojima’s primary contribution is to have Gabriel Belmont deliver long, meandering monologues every five minutes. It wouldn’t be fall without sequels. FALLOUT: NEW VEGAS (October 19; PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows) takes openworld role playing from the wastelands of Washington, DC, to — you guessed it — post-apocalyptic Las Vegas. And in STAR WARS: THE FORCE UNLEASHED II (October 26; PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows, Wii), a reborn Starkiller uses an array of Force powers both new and old as he seeks revenge against the Empire. Fans of racing games will be able to choose from opposite ends of the driving spectrum. Sony’s oft-delayed GRAN TURISMO 5 should finally see the light of day on November 2, exclusively for the PlayStation 3. GT5 includes more than a thousand real-life vehicles, all painstakingly detailed to provide the most realistic racing experience yet. Real-life supercars also appear in NEED FOR SPEED: HOT PURSUIT (November 16; Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows, Wii), but in more of an arcade style. Hot Pursuit is a game of cinematic car chases, in which players can be either the cops or the criminals. All release dates are subject to change; check your local retailer for updates. ^
BODY TALK Kinect, the more intriguing of this fall’s new motion-control technologies, launches November 4 with two mini-game collections.
School House ( on the ) Ro cks New teachers. New subjects. Clean, fresh notebooks. Whether you’re still in school, or the classroom is but a fond
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Cafeteria ushers in the ‘new year’ with a brand memory, Fall will forever hold a special anticipation. + new A drink menu. Meet “The Principal” pear cognac cocktail or get on the good side of “The Professor” with Benedictine & Ginger Beer. Bring friends and dive into “Spring Break” with Patron® tequila and “Recess” a peanut butter cocktail with a kick. Whether you major in sweet, tart or spicy, you’ll want to study up on our new drink menu.
Yes, there will be a test! 279a Newbury Street Boston, MA
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50 SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 | FALL ARTS PREVIEW | SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOSTON PHOENIX | THEPHOENIX.COM
D E K O O B GETTING BOOKS
READINGS, FESTIVALS, AND OTHER SEASONAL LITERARY EVENTS
_BY EUGEN IA WILLIA MSON
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Two Sedarises, two New Yorker favorites, and a famous neurologist are among the highlights of this fall’s book events.
“SO YOU WANT TO BE A WRITER” | September 28 | At long last, an author event where questions about process won’t send eyes rolling. Grub Street presents a roundtable discussion for aspiring writers whose participants include three novelists (Michelle Hoover, Jill McDonough, Chris Castellani) and a journalist who wrote a book about LARPing (Ethan Gilsdorf). | Porter Square Books, Porter Square Shopping Center, Cambridge | 7 pm | Free | 617.491.2220 or portersquarebooks.com
SMALL PRESS SATURDAY | October 2 | Five authors published by four local and national small presses will show major publishers exactly what they’re missing. Adam Golaski (Rose Metal Press), Joseph McElroy (Small Anchor Press), Sumanth Prabhaker (Madras Press), and William Walsh and Myfanwy Collins (Dzanc), plus others, will read their work. | Newtonville Books, 296 Walnut St, Newtonville | 2 pm | Free | 617.244.6619 or newtonvillebooks.com MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM | October 6 | Five years have passed since Michael Cunningham’s previous novel, 12 since he published his Pulitzer-winning blockbuster, The Hours. Now he turns an eye to a cadre of soigné New York artistes in the throes of middle age. Will By Nightfall (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) occasion Nicole Kidman to wear a prosthetic nose? One can always hope. | Boston Public Library Abbey Room, Copley Square, Boston | 6 pm | Free | 617.536.5400 or bpl.org
CHARLES OLSON CENTENNIAL | October 9 | Poets Michael Rumaker and Diane DiPrima (poet laureate of San Francisco) were great pals of Charles Olson — Rumaker even wrote a book about his days as Olson’s student at Black Mountain College. Their reading is part of Gloucester’s week-long celebration honoring the 100th birthday of its most renowned poet. | Unitarian UniversalWORLDS OF EXILE ist Church, Ethiopian-American novelist Dinaw 10 Church St, Mengestu expands Gloucester | his scope with How 7 pm | Free | To Read the Air 978.283.4582 or Olson100. blogspot.com
BOSTON BOOK FESTIVAL | October 16 | This free, day-long extravaganza brings dozens of writers
together for readings, signings, and panels. Everyone from Ashbrook, Tom to Zheng, Da will make an appearance. Celebrity book-jacket designer Chip Kidd and the astonishingly prolific Joyce Carol Oates are among the more recognizable of the participants. | Copley Square, Boston | 617.252.3240 or bostonbookfest.org
DINAW MENGESTU | October 25 | Dinaw Mengestu represents 1/20th of those the New Yorker has anointed the best fiction writers under 40, and for good reason — his debut, The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears, offered an exquisitely heartbreaking take on the struggles of Ethiopian immigrants. How To Read the Air (Riverhead) expands his scope across generations and continents. | Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard St, Brookline | 7 pm | Free | 617.566.6660 or brooklinebooksmith.com
OLIVER SACKS | October 28 | Popular science’s favorite face-blind neurologist amazed countless readers with stories of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and the vagaries of Musicophilia. In his latest collection of case studies, The Mind’s Eye (Knopf), Sacks discusses how those who have lost their senses live in the world. | First Unitarian Church, 3 Church St, Cambridge | 7 pm | $5 | 617.661.1515 or harvard.com
DENNIS LEHANE | November 5 | With Moonlight Mile (William Morrow), Boston literature’s reigning champ offers the sequel to Gone, Baby, Gone. Years ago, hard-nosed PIs Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro returned baby Amanda McCready to her loutish mother. Alas, Amanda is gone once more — at 16, she has vanished into the gritty streets for a second time, and the detectives must find her — again. | Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard St, Brookline | 6 pm | $5 | 617.566.6660 or brooklinebooksmith.com PAUL AUSTER | November 9 | Critics called Paul Auster’s previous novel, Invisible, a career-defining masterstroke. Word on the street is that Sunset Park (Henry Holt) — set in a phantasmagoric Brooklyn among starving artists — is even better. Whatever, the novel’s relative merits cannot detract from Auster’s status among high-concept fiction’s most handsome practitioners. | Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St, Cambridge | 6 pm | $5 | 617.661.1515 or harvard.com
DAVID SEDARIS | November 11 | Sedaris’s Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary (Little, Brown) is a collection of animal fables illustrated by Ian Falconer of Olivia fame, with whom Sedaris collaborated on the staging of The Santaland Diaries. Those who’ve tired of Sedaris’s endless autobiography will love him anew for his bitter fables, especially the one about the cat in AA. This offering marks his first return to fiction since his 1992 debut, Barrel Fever. | Harvard Book Store, 1256 Mass Ave, Cambridge | 7 pm | Book purchase required | 617.661.1515 or harvard.com
MATT TAIBBI | November 16 | While keeping track of the criminal exploits of our nation’s athletes for his latelamented “Sports Blotter” column in the Phoenix and reporting for Rolling Stone, Matt Taibbi has managed to write an indictment of the financial sector. Taking off from his celebrated RS rant, Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America (Spiegel & Grau) traces America’s current financial woes to Ayn Rand and compares Goldman Sachs to a vampire squid. Like The Great Derangement before it, Griftopia is witty as well as chilling. | Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard St, Brookline | 7pm | Free | 617.566.6660 or brooklinebooksmith. com
AMY SEDARIS | November 30 | Seashell toilet-seat covers and crab-claw roach clips are likely to populate many a stocking this Christmas if Amy Sedaris has anything to say about it. Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People (Grand Central) makes a magnificent companion to Sedaris’s hostess procedural, I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence. | Coolidge Corner Theatre | 290 Harvard Street, Brookline | 6 pm | $5 | 617.566.6660 or brooklinebooksmith.com SALMAN RUSHDIE | November 29 | Salman Rushdie readings have lacked a certain gravitas since the fatwa was lifted, but nothing accords literature a sense of urgency quite like conspicuously armed bodyguards. Rushdie, by all accounts still heartbroken over the loss of one of the great beauties of our time, has with Luka and the Fire of Life (Random House) retreated into a novel of video-game logic and magic carpets. | First Unitarian Church, 3 Church St, Cambridge | 617.661.1515 or harvard.com ^
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