The Age of Reinvention

Ditch the daily drudgery and catch Work Dance Company’s Mechanical Dancer at the Hult

The cast of Work Dance Company’s Mechanical Dancer: Reinv3ntion. Photo by Michael Brinkerhoff.

In the Information Age, it can be difficult to assess where routine ends and passion begins. The monotony of the daily grind can make you downright maniacal. Luckily, Work Dance Company director and choreographer Nate Boozer is here to give you a reboot.  Boozer and more than 100 dancers, that is. Work Dance Company’s presents Mechanical Dancer: REINV3NTION Feb. 21 at the Hult Center.  Continue reading 

Dancing in Memphis

The Tony-winning musical Memphis, coming to the Hult, tackles the Civil Rights era

Photo by Kirstine Christiansen

The musical Memphis follows stardust hopeful Felicia Farrell and disc jockey Huey Calhoun on their ascent from underground juke joints to rock ‘n’ roll fame.  A Broadway smash from 2009 to 2012, Memphis won Tony Awards in 2010 for Best Musical, Best Book (by Joe DiPietro) and Best Original Score (by David Bryan and DiPietro). Now on its second national tour with new direction and choreography by Amy McCleary, the 22-person touring version of Memphis performs at the Hult Center Feb. 23 and 24.   Continue reading 

Vamped Up

There are no other vampire stories like this. In a strange, dark town — one with few residents but with a bustling drug trade, with rich young women and clever street urchins — a young man named Arash (Arash Marandi) lives with his junkie father and a cat he picks up in the film’s opening scenes. Arash is done up to recall James Dean; he’s a classic, as is the beautiful car he drives.  Continue reading 

Whitewashed and Manhandled

Would you like to watch a movie about a woman? Or a movie not full of white faces? Maybe later. That’s the theme of this year’s Academy Awards Best Picture nominations, which are almost entirely about Great White Men doing Great White Men Things. Continue reading 

Take Down

A Eugene native and graduate of South Eugene High School, screenwriter E. Max Frye is nominated (along with co-writer Dan Futterman) for an Academy Award for his work on the Foxcatcher screenplay. Directed by Bennett Miller (Capote, Moneyball), Foxcatcher is based on the true story of John du Pont, an heir to the Du Pont family fortune who, in the 1980s, established Foxcatcher Farm, a wrestling facility on his estate where he worked with sibling gold-medalists Mark and Dave Shultz. Continue reading 

Tales of New York

Kevin Morby

Kevin Morby

Music has led Kevin Morby from Kansas City to New York and now Los Angeles: center, east and west. However, if Morby’s influenced by any one place over another, it’s New York — particularly the era when the Big Apple’s folk scene began to morph into early punk rock; the city of Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, Patti Smith and Television.  “It’s the most important time in music,” Morby tells EW, “but also just the coolest.” Morby says that the song “Miles, Miles, Miles” from his solo debut, Harlem River, captures the sound of his influences most clearly.  Continue reading 

Intellitronica

Giraffage

Giraffage

Giraffage, the moniker of beatmaker Charlie Yin, just wrapped up a tour with one of the most popular names in electronic music: Porter Robinson. On his current tour, however, he is the headliner. In a recent story on indie music blog Pigeons and Planes (run by Complex Magazine), Yin was named one of the “14 Rising Bay Area Artists You Should Know.”  Continue reading 

Indie-pop Groove

Gothic Tropic

At a glance Gothic Tropic may appear to be another chic Los Angeles retro-rock act, hiding behind delay pedals like dark sunglasses. Having just two brief EPs under their belt since their 2011 conception, the indie-poppers might have flown just below the radar of readers, which would have been a shame.  Continue reading