In Pornocchio, Ryan Landry’s musical adaptation of Pinocchio, it’s not the little wooden boy’s nose that grows when he lies. Aside from that transgression, this adults-only laugh riot remains fairly true to its inspiration.

The Gold Dust Orphans always have irreverent, groan-inducing humor and gender-bending to spare in their theatrical arsenal. Toss in big musical numbers, sparkling (often skimpy) costumes, tap dancing and an ensemble so seemingly wholesome they’d rather play dead than bawdy and you’ve got quite a show.

Landry fully embraces a Broadway musical sensibility with a rousing opening number and subsequent parodies from blockbusters like Jesus Christ Superstar, Sweeney Todd and Chicago. Clad in attire ranging from “Italian chef” — red & white checks and big white hats — to nearly naked, six tremendously talented singer/dancers deliver sizzling performances with fantastic vocals and impeccable execution of Merry Death’s impressive choreography.

As the Blue Fairy, Olive Another dons a pretty white dress to prove yet again that nobody gives good booze-fueled, coke-snorting fairy like this Orphan mainstay. Her lounge singing debut, complete with a backup band, is among the show’s finer moments.

Liza Lott returns to her roots with a brash, surprisingly Bohemian-style performance as Mrs. Minnelli, the evil genius behind “Mrs. Minnelli’s Travelling Porno Show.” Brooks Braselman goes similarly over-the-top in a snippy, delightful turn as Jiminy Cricket.

Grace Carney strikes a fine balance with Pornocchio, maintaing an air of innocence even during the puppet’s sluttiest moments, while Joe Bissell trots out “Hedwig”-like chops as Limpwick.

In lesser hands, there might be some implicit discomfort in a tawdry send-up of the classic fairy tale. Fortunately, the Gold Dust Orphans make it feel like a slightly naughty, grown-up version of dressing up and putting on a show. It’s true, I cannot tell a lie.

The post Got wood? Gold Dust Orphans’ ‘Pornocchio’ is the classic fairy tale for adults appeared first on Metro.us.

MBTA Transit Police Officer Richard Donohue, who was severely injured during an April 19 shootout with the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, is recovering and “doing absolutely awesome,” according to his brother.

Ed Donohue, the officer’s younger brother and also a police officer, called in to 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher & Rich on Friday morning, saying “He’s doing absolutely awesome… He’s a huge fan of the (radio) show and when I played him the Paul Stanley bit yesterday, he was hurting from laughing so hard. You guys are definitely bringing some joy to his life right now as he sits and watches re-runs of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”

Ed said his brother is talking and mentally alert, but is suffering from short-term memory loss.

“He’s so happy to be awake, have family (by his side). He got to see the Watertown guys that were on scene and the EMTs; you can see a little tear come to his eyes when he gets to see those guys because they definitely saved his life Friday morning.”

Ed also asked people to donate blood, as transfusions saved his brother’s life.

Follow Morgan Rousseau on Twitter: @MetroMorgan
Follow Metro Boston on Twitter: @MetroBOS

The post Brother of injured MBTA Transit Officer: ‘He’s Doing Absolutely Awesome’ appeared first on Metro.us.

Thorgerson — known for designing classic album covers for Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Muse and countless others — is the subject of Bogowa’s documentary, “Taken by Storm: The Art of Storm Thorgerson and Hipgnosis,” screening Friday as part of the Boston Independent Film Festival. Bogowa had spent seven years working on the film and growing close with his subject, who initially seemed weary of a documentary.

“I guess he’d been approached two or three times by people claiming to want to do a film on him, but really wanting to get to Pink Floyd,” says Bogowa. “I told him I didn’t want to have any of the bands in the movie. I said, ‘My idea is to just do this portrait of you and about memory.”

Bogowa had been fascinated with Thorgerson since he was a record-buying teenager, but in that era, there wasn’t much information on Hipgnosis, the design team that Thorgerson ran.

“I always wondered who they were and back then,” he says of his time studying the covers while listening to the music within. “Since there wasn’t any internet or anything like that, you couldn’t really find out about them, and I don’t think there was much press on them in the States as a design company.”

Eventually the pair bonded, and Thorgerson gave Bogowa access to famous friends and clients like Peter Gabriel and Robert Plant, and access to his studio. “Taken by Storm” thrives off of the b-roll and alternate takes of the iconic images that Hipgnosis created.

“He was kind of a demanding character, but he and I somehow clicked, to the point where his studio assistants were like, ‘Wow, it seems like you’ve known each other your whole life,’” says Bogowa. “We became close pretty fast and then we built up this trust.”

Eventually the pair bonded: “We became close pretty fast and then we built up this trust.”

This trust led to Thorgerson giving Bogowa access to famous friends and clients like Peter Gabriel and Robert Plant, and access to his studio. “Taken by Storm” thrives off of the b-roll and alternate takes of the iconic larger-than-life images that Hipgnosis created.

With Thorgerson’s recent passing, one has to wonder if it is the final nail in the coffin for the music industry as one that sells tangible products. Bogowa says no. During his lifetime, Thorgerson did not seem to feel threatened by the way that album art shrank to smaller formats like the CD, and eventually the iPod screen. Right up until his end, he continued to build full-scale set pieces that any modern designer might just use Photoshop to create.

“He was always like, ‘well, I can’t control it, so I don’t really worry about it,’” laughs Bogowa. “And he was always of the mind that all of his designs, even when they’re vinyl were too big of ideas for even that.

“Taken by Storm” screens Friday at the Boston Independent Film Festival. For more info, visit www.iffboston.org. Before you go there though, here are a few other films we’re looking forward to at the BIFF.

‘The Act of Killing’
Hanging out with the surly, unrepentant men who helped kill half a million after a failed, mid-1960s coup in Indonesia, Joshua Oppenheimer’s unconventional documentary asks them to recreate their deeds in sometimes outlandish ways, as well as getting them comfortable enough to say some of the least humane sentences ever uttered on film. Going from nightmare to dark comedy and back again, it’s a testament to how when the baddies win, evil simply becomes the norm.

‘Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia’
Filmed shortly before his death last summer, this profile of Gore Vidal tries its best to bottle up a man difficult to pin down: a populist intellectual, rejected by academia and sometimes only tolerated by the mainstream. His clashes with William F. Buckley (“the Marie Antoinette of the right wing,” as per Gore) could get a documentary of their own, but the man’s wit and complexity, and sometime bitterness, shine through.

‘Prince Avalanche’
Returning to his indie roots after a stint making stoner comedies (“Pineapple Express,” “Your Highness”), David Gordon Green (“All the Real Girls”) still stays partly dude. Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch play lonely construction workers who bicker before bro’ing down. Both actors (Hirsch especially) do fine work, playing characters who envision themselves as something they’re not, someone more confident and in control.

The post Storm Thorgerson documentary puts viewers in a state of Hipgnosis appeared first on Metro.us.

There’s a lot more to summer camp than bunk beds and campfires. Mason Griffin, head of YMCA camps in New York, has the encouraging spirit and enthusiasm that seems to embody everything that camp represents. He answered some of the most common questions that parents have about summer camp.

How can parents choose the right camp for their children?
It’s important for parents to go to the camp and meet the camp director — they should meet the people that will be caring for their child. That’s a great way to make the decision as to whether or not the kid should go to sleep-away camp, actually. Many times, the child will have a reaction that they’re going to have fun and are ready to take the plunge with sleep-away camp after visiting.

What do children take away from camp?
One of the biggest things we do for kids is have them demonstrate that they can learn. They learn that they can develop archery skills, that they can make more baskets in basketball than when they first arrived, that they can climb up a really scary-looking tower and go through their fear. The child may not be doing well in school, but in camps they are taught that you can learn, you can do things that are hard for you.
There is very little bullying at a good camp, it’s a really corrective emotional experience.

How can parents decide whether sleep-away camp or day camp is the right option?
Often, the child knows what he or she is ready for, so listening to the child is a good idea. Often a precursor is that the child feels secure staying with friends. Does the child have experience sleeping away from home, away from mom and dad? If the child is not comfortable doing that, then they wouldn’t be comfortable at a sleep-away camp just yet.

The post Be a summer camp know it all appeared first on Metro.us.

Most people might know Michael Shannon best for his portrayal of former federal agent Nelson Van Alden on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. From here on out, however, we’re going to know him as “that guy who did that amazing dramatic reading of that crazy Delta Gamma sorority letter.” Because that’s what this Funny or Die video [NSFW, natch] is: amazing.

The emailed letter, which immediately went viral after being leaked to the internet last Thursday, reads as a searing satire of how approximately every person in the world who is not in a sorority imagines that sororities operate. Except it was real, ya’ll. And, in its own horrible, ‘example of all that is wrong with young girls today’-way, it was also sort of amazing.

Shannon’s reading, now similarly gone viral, got us thinking about other awesome dramatic readings the internet has birthed. Like this one of Gary Oldman reading from R. Kelly’s autobiography Soulacoaster.

And this one of David Sedaris reading from Fifty Shades of Grey.

Hey, and Gilbert Gottfried reading from Fifty Shades of Grey. (Warning: you can never unhear Gottfried saying the words  “stroking the front wall of my vagina.”)

What other awesome dramatic readings are out there floating around the world wide web? Post ‘em in the comments, we’d love to watch them.

The post This dramatic Michael Shannon reading of that crazy Delta Gamma sorority letter is amazing appeared first on Metro.us.

Larry Coen shines as The Pig.

‘M’ feels like a double dose of everything that’s great about a Ryan Landry production.

Landry, the creator and driving force behind local cult favorite theater company the Gold Dust Orphans, not only spoofs the 1930s film noir classic, but also uses it as a framework for a blisteringly funny lampooning of the theater world. A Nazi-like director, absentee playwright, outlandish actors, stage hands, ushers, and a rather unappealing critic all make quite a show out of a play about putting on a show.

And since this is Landry at his best, you can expect men in drag, puppets, sequins, feathers, larger-than-life props, brilliant double entendres and enough naughtiness to give Huntington Theatre Company subscribers plenty to talk about on the way home.

Only Landry could turn a story about a child killer into a crazy onstage romp at turns filled with laughter, moments of eery discomfort and even a bit of romance through a deftly wrought storyline and big, glittery song-and-dance numbers. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, something completely unexpected hits the stage.

Much of the fun in this production can be attributed to the earnestness of its ensemble. Larry Coen delivers one of his finest performances to date as The Pig (not to mention a couple of supporting roles). Laura Latrielle is equally impressive as Schlitz et. al. while David Drake is disturbingly funny as the aformentioned German director, Fritz.

Additionally, Ellen Adair perfectly captures the theatrical essence of The Woman and Karen MacDonald (as the title M) proves, once again, that she can do no wrong onstage.

David Remedios’ sound and music serve to enhance and bolster both the mystery and the silliness of the piece. Scott Martino’s costumes are flawless and Jon Savage’s set superb.

Director Caitlin Lowans nicely executes Landry’s offbeat vision. Kudos to the Huntington Theatre Company for bringing it all to life.

The post In Ryan Landry’s ‘M,’ even child murder is funny…sort of appeared first on Metro.us.

Tiger Woods again found himself at the center of controversy and a target of Twitter-verse on Saturday when he avoided disqualification from the Masters after taking an illegal drop in the second round.

While golf’s rules are clear that a disqualification was in order, Woods escaped with a two-shot penalty even after admitting in his post-round interview on Friday that he failed to drop his ball as close as possible to the original spot after it ended up in water at the par-five 15th.

Social media immediately exploded to life as golf fans, Woods’ fellow players and even the 14-times major champion himself contributed to the debate.

Anger was directed at both Woods and Masters officials for the ham-handed way in which they handled the entire episode, many upset at a perceived double standard with one set of rules for Woods and another set for everyone else.

The day before, China’s 14-year-old amateur Guan Tianlang was assessed a one-stroke penalty for slow play during the second round.

“The rules of golf are clear. Tiger took an incorrect drop so there’s only one outcome. Guan Tianlang will have to be disqualified,” chided BBC sports correspondent Andrew Cotter on Twitter.

Many urged Woods, who entered the year’s first major as the hot favorite to claim a fifth green jacket, to fall on his sword and disqualify himself from the tournament, adding some polish to a still badly tainted image.

But Woods seemed to defuse any such suggestion when he took to Twitter to give his own view of what had happened.

“I was unaware at that time I had violated any rules. I didn’t know I had taken an incorrect drop prior to signing my scorecard,” Woods tweeted.

“Subsequently, I met with the Masters committee Saturday morning and was advised they had reviewed the incident prior to the completion of my round.

“Their initial determination was that there was no violation, but they had additional concerns based on my post-round interview.

“After discussing the situation with them this morning, I was assessed a two-shot penalty. I understand and accept the penalty and respect the committee’s decision.”

WOODS’ AID

Fred Ridley, chairman of the Masters competition committee, also came to Woods’ aid on Twitter as he explained the reasoning behind the decision which allowed the world number one to remain in the tournament.

“The penalty of disqualification was waived by the committee under Rule 33 as the committee had previously reviewed the information and made its initial determination prior to the finish of the player’s round,” tweeted Ridley.

That explanation did little to calm the building storm on Twitter.

“This is a joke. In my opinion anyone else would have been DQ’d. When you sign for the wrong score that’s what’s supposed to happen,” said Irish golfer Shane Lowry.

Angela Stanford, one of the top players on the women’s LPGA Tour, added: “If I tell a rules official I wanted 2 more yards, I’m on my way to Dairy Queen for a blizzard.”

Woods ended play on Saturday at three-under but, after the two-stroke setback, will start the third round at one-under, five back of leader Jason Day of Australia.

As it became clear that Woods would continue his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 majors, the conversation veered towards the American’s eventual legacy which could be irrevocably tainted if he were to come back and win.

“Tiger is the judge and jury on this. He said he moved the ball back two yards to gain the right yardage,” Faldo, a six-time major winner, told Golf Channel.

“The rule clearly states he has to drop it as near as possible. Our rules are black and white: That is a breach of the rules. Simple as that.

“He has to sit down quietly and think about this – the mark this will leave on his career, his legacy.”

As always, many in the Twitter-verse were not taking the decision with the same gravity.

“85% of all golfers are taking illegal drops, hug for u tiger” tweeted former Major League Baseball home run king and self-confessed drug cheat Jose Canseco.

The post Tiger Woods back in another Twitter storm appeared first on Metro.us.

‘42’
Director: Brian Hegeland
Stars: Chadwick Boseman, Harrison Ford
Rating: PG-13
3 (out of 5) globes

It begins like a parody of an inspirational sports saga: after a cheesy montage catches viewers up with Jim Crow America, grizzled baseball GM Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford) peers up from his newspaper and growls that he’d like to bring the first African American to the Majors. Surely the real scene wasn’t this unimaginative, and from there, “42” — the first Jackie Robinson biopic since 1950’s “The Jackie Robinson Story,” which starred Robinson himself — can only go up. Eventually, it does.

The narrative predictably plows through Robinson’s (Chadwick Boseman) ascent from the Negro League to getting the Brooklyn Dodgers into the World Series (where they lost to the Yankees, which is probably why the film stops there). There is a constant stream of silly biopic scenes that turn reality into kitsch — Robinson even crosses home, in mega-slow-mo, to the strains of a “Thus Sprach Zarathustra” soundalike — plus a persistent syrupy score that infuses even the most perfunctory moments with Importance.

But it’s no “Remember the Titans.” This isn’t a mere comforting history lesson of racism overcome, its actions tucked snugly away in the past where they can’t hurt us. Although sometimes comically simplistic, other times it heads right into the thick of it. Boseman’s Robinson is more symbol than character — but then, Robinson, as seen here, was treated less like a human than someone designated to be the anger magnet for a country undergoing violent growing pains.

Robinson remains stoic against perpetual verbal (and sometimes physical) assaults; there are at least as many N-word-drops here as in “Django Unchained,” and is still only PG-13. It’s not because he wants to, but because he’s been tasked by history, or at least by Rickey. He has to suffer the invective of a redneck Phillies manager (Alan Tyduk), who later claims he’s only doing shtick. (He did the same to Hank Greenberg, after all.) Rickey claims such abuse is important on getting people on the side of the abused, thus tricking the populace into wanting progress.

It’s times like these “42” seems savvier than it tends to let on. A stiff production, it’s still enlivened, as it were, by the hilarious stiffness of Ford, who’s only now fully coming into the grouchiness that for the last two decades has often smacked of mere indifference. He soaks up his dialogue with a lower register that makes him sound like Sam Elliott, uttering old-timey patter like “Judas Priest!” and “What in Satan’s fire?” Chewing scenery while barely moving his jaw, he’s the film’s real MVP.

The post Film Review: ’42′ appeared first on Metro.us.

1. Miami Heat (60-16, previous No. 1) – LeBron James is back, but word is that Dwyane Wade (knee) could be out until the postseason. The Heat don’t need him now, obviously, but that’s certainly something to monitor.

2. Oklahoma City Thunder (56-21, previous No. 3) – The Thunder are just one game out of the top spot in the West, which would line them up with the Jazz in the opening round. Tuesday, in Utah, could be a preview of that one.

3. Memphis Grizzlies (52-25 previous No. 4) - Often times it’s the toughest team – not the better team – that advances in the postseason. The Griz have “grit and grind” on their side. Is that enough to carry them?

4. San Antonio Spurs (57-20, previous No. 5) – The Spurs’ last three losses are to the Thunder, Grizzlies, and Heat. That’s not a good way to prove you belong as the No. 1 seed. Health, as always, is the main concern.

5. Los Angeles Clippers (51-26, previous No. 6) – The good news: The Clippers are healthy and determined to leave the Lakers’ shadow. The bad news: More shots of the Kardashians (and Kanye!) sitting courtside.

6. New York Knicks (50-26, previous No. 9) - Twelve straight wins, including the latest over Oklahoma City on Sunday. Melo looks great. Maybe this team is “realer” than we gave them credit for … maybe.

7. Denver Nuggets (53-24, previous No. 2) – Danilo Gallinari blew out his ACL last week, which is an absolute shame. It’ll be tough for Denver to compete in the postseason without him. *sheds a few tears*

8. Indiana Pacers (48-29, previous No. 7) - The Pacers clinched their first Central Division crown in nine years on Sunday after the Bulls lost to the Pistons. This team has bigger goals than that, though.

9. Houston Rockets (43-34, previous No. 8) – If Denver remains the No. 3 seed, it’ll come down to Houston or Golden State as its first-round opponent. That’s a matchup both of those team want now with Gallinari out.

10. Brooklyn Nets (44-32, previous No. 10) - If Brooklyn is to play Chicago in the first round, The Prokhorov will make sure that Derrick Rose is nowhere to be found. But can he make the Heat disappear the next round?

11. Golden State Warriors (44-33, previous No. 11) - Warriors Head Coach Mark Jackson desperately wants his team to be tough and “old school.” We aren’t quite sure they’re either of those things, especially if they hope to make noise in May.

12. Chicago Bulls (42-34, previous No. 12) - Derrick Rose is still keeping the option of playing this season open. His return would help an offense ranked dead last in points per game (92.8). Dude, decide already.

13. Boston Celtics (40-37, previous No. 14) – The Celtics say they don’t care who they play in the first round. With Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce returning on Sunday, you have to take them for their word. Give them this – they are fighters.

14. Atlanta Hawks (42-36, previous No. 13) – Losers of three in a row, Atlanta isn’t doing much to instill confidence in anybody associated with the team. They’re going in the wrong direction, and will be put to rest by the Knicks or Pacers in the first round.

15. Los Angeles Lakers (40-37, previous No. 15) - The Lakers go into Tuesday a half-game behind the Jazz for the eighth seed. Utah has the Thunder. L.A. has the Hornets. This battle could go down to the final game.

16. Utah Jazz (41-37, previous No. 17) - You have to hand it to the Jazz. It appeared that the Lakers were going to take the eighth seed from under them, but they are 7-1 in their last eight games. Can they hold off L.A.?

17. Milwaukee Bucks (37-39, previous No. 16) – The only way Milwaukee will have a chance to beat the Heat is if Dwyane Wade really is injured. And LeBron James. And Chris Bosh. And … you get the idea.

18. Dallas Mavericks (38-39, previous No. 18) - Losses to the Lakers and Nuggets just about sealed the fate of the Mavs, who will most likely miss their first postseason this century.

19. Washington Wizards (29-48, previous) - The Wizards were bad – really bad – without John Wall. But since the star point guard’s return, they’ve gone 24-20, which is very respectable.

20. Philadelphia 76ers (31-45, previous 20) - Good news for Sixers fans: Andrew Bynum has been playing a ton of NBA 2K13 on XBOX in preparation for next season.

The post NBA Power Rankings: Gallinari injury sends Nuggets down the ranks appeared first on Metro.us.

Singers Miranda Lambert and Luke Bryan led the winners at the Academy of Country Music awards on Sunday, while leading nominees Taylor Swift and Hunter Hayes came away empty-handed in a night honoring top achievers in country music.

Swift, 23, lost out on all five categories she was nominated in, including Female Vocalist of the Year and the fan-voted Entertainer of the Year, a surprise for the country music favorite who won the award for the last two years.

Newcomer Hayes, 21, who was nominated in six categories, also went home empty-handed.

The night’s top award Entertainer of the Year went to the show’s co-host Bryan, 36, a surprise to the charismatic host who said he had only just started headlining shows.

“What I always wanted to be is just a country singer who got to ride on a tour bus and perform every night. … This is the defining moment of my life, it means the world to me and I’ll never take it for granted,” Bryan said tearfully.

Lambert, 29, picked up four awards in three categories, including Female Vocalist of the Year, beating Swift, Carrie Underwood, Kacey Musgraves and Martina McBride.

Lambert also won Song of the Year for “Over You,” written with husband Blake Shelton, who was co-hosting the ceremony, and thanked her peers for recognizing her songwriting talents.

“As a songwriter, having your songs and your lyrics recognized by your peers is pretty much as good as it gets. … Thank you for accepting me as a songwriter and not just as a singer, that means the world to me,” Lambert said.

Shelton, who married Lambert in 2011, thanked his wife for making him a better songwriter.

“I used to think I was a decent songwriter until I started hanging out with her (Lambert) and she taught me so much,” Shelton said in his acceptance speech, pulling his wife in for a big hug.

Jason Aldean bested Bryan, Shelton and one of the night’s top nominees Eric Church for the Male Vocalist of the Year award, while Church picked up Album of the Year for his 2011 chart-topping record “Chief.”

LIVELY PERFORMANCES

The three-hour show televised on CBS featured performances from old and new names in country music including Church, Dierks Bentley, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Lambert, who performed “Mama’s Broken Heart.”

“The Voice” judge Shelton joined co-host Luke Bryan to kick off with a rendition on Shelton’s “Boys ‘Round Here,” on which they were also joined by Sheryl Crow.

Oklahoma native and former “American Idol” winner Carrie Underwood, who was nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year, performed her single “Two Black Cadillacs” while fellow “American Idol” winner Kelly Clarkson sang “Don’t Rush.”

Following ACM awards tradition of pairing veteran and new artists together, Tim McGraw and Keith Urban sang with Swift on “Highway Don’t Care,” while Brad Paisley and John Mayer teamed up to perform “Beat This Summer,” ending with a crowd-rousing guitar riff.

Hayes performed with Motown legend Stevie Wonder on Hayes’ new single “I Want Crazy” and Wonder’s song “Sir Duke.” Wonder closed out the show with his classic track “Signed. Sealed. Delivered.”

Singer Reba McEntire introduced a tribute to late television host and producer Dick Clark, with country music artists George Strait and Garth Brooks singing Brooks’ “The Dance” and Strait’s “Cowboy Rides Away.”

Newcomer duo Florida Georgia Line, formed by Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard, picked up the fan-voted award for New Artist of the Year and performed their hit single “Cruise” on the show.

Husband-wife duo Thompson Square won Vocal Duo of the Year, while Alabama group Little Big Town won Vocal Group of the Year.

The post Luke Bryan and Miranda Lambert lead country music awards appeared first on Metro.us.

I don’t normally think of Henrietta’s Table, the farm-to-table restaurant in the Charles Hotel, as a late night drinking option; it’s more of a brunch or warm weather patio destination, sort of the polar opposite of the dark Noir downstairs where I’d normally drink. But some renovations to the bar area – they removed the market up front and installed high top tables, which Metro featured in our Nosh column not too long ago – and a refocused spring cocktail menu have altered that outlook.

Most of the cocktails here still conjure warm-weather sipping. Like the kitchen, the recipes, from manager Liam Coughlin, lean on fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs. “We change our menu seasonally, using the freshest ingredients as possible,” he says. “We also like to showcase newer, interesting spirits.”

A lot of bars pay lip service to “local,” but the drinks menu here really means it, featuring everything from local meads like the Green River Ambrosia, from Greenfield, ice wines like the Apfel Eis from Still River Winery in Harvard, and West County Ciders from Colrain. Cocktails are made largely with local spirits like Vermont Gold, a vodka made from maple sap, and Flag Hill’s General John Stark, a vodka made from apples. Grand Ten Distillers in South Boston are featured in particular; their gin, cranberry liqueur, and angelica root liqueur show up in various places. The latter, Angelica, is a bright, botanical liqueur that adds an extra layer of flavor to the Raspberry Cider Cooler, also made with the local Bantam sparkling cider, and fresh raspberry puree.

“It’s nice and crisp, not over-sweet,” says Coughlin. “The combination of cider and Angelica root give it a tart flavor.”

The post Thursty: Henrietta’s Table is all about farm-to-glass appeared first on Metro.us.

Carey Mulligan stars as Daisy Buchanan and Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Jay Gatsby in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ drama “THE GREAT GATSBY,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

Today writer/producer/director Baz Luhrmann reminded anybody with internet connection of his unique skill at taking old texts and modernizing them in cinematic majesty. As a new trailer for “The Great Gatsby” hit YouTube, it revealed a colorful, lush and melodramatic universe not too far from the ones he showed us in “Romeo + Juliet” and “Moulin Rouge!” One interesting difference between the upcoming “Gatsby” production and Luhrmann’s earlier works is his collaborator Jay-Z, who supervised the elite soundtrack, the lineup of which was also revealed today.

In an attempt to update the sound of Fitzgerald’s story, Jay-Z and executive music consultant Jeymes Samuel (aka Bullitts) have assembled a cast of some of music’s biggest names in an attempt to create the modern day equivalent of the Jazz Age.

As director Baz Luhrman notes, “F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel is peppered with contemporary music references specific to the story’s setting of 1922. While we acknowledge, as Fitzgerald phrased it, ‘the Jazz Age,’ and this is the period represented on screen, we—our audience—are living in the ‘hip-hop age’ and want our viewers to feel the impact of modern-day music the way Fitzgerald did for the readers of his novel at the time of its publication.”

That being said, Jay-Z and company do not disappoint. Available on Interscope Records on May 4, the album includes a collaborations between Andre 3000 and Beyonce, Fergie and Q-Tip, as well as tracks by Jack White, will,i,am and Jay-Z, himself.

The full track listing is as follows:

1. 100$ Bill – JAY Z
2. Back To Black – Beyoncé x André 3000
3. Bang Bang – will.i.am
4. A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got) – Fergie + Q Tip + GoonRock
5. Young And Beautiful – Lana Del Rey
6. Love Is The Drug – Bryan Ferry with The Bryan Ferry Orchestra
7. Over The Love – Florence + The Machine
8. Where The Wind Blows – Coco O. of Quadron
9. Crazy in Love – Emeli Sandé and The Bryan Ferry Orchestra
10. Together – The xx
11. Hearts A Mess – Gotye
12. Love Is Blindness – Jack White
13. Into the Past – Nero
14. Kill and Run – Sia

The post Star-studded ‘Great Gatsby’ soundtrack details announced appeared first on Metro.us.

Skaters are built from the remnants of the Boston band Dead Trees. But there’s a bit of map-hopping to their story. After leaving Boston for Oregon and then to L.A., losing members along the way, singer Michael Cummings and drummer Noah Rubin finally settled in New York to regroup — sonically, mentally and literally.

Forming a new band with a sound to capture the excitement of their new surroundings, they acquired Josh Hubbard (ex-Paddingtons, Dirty Pretty Things) and Dan Burke (Viva Viva), and began making demos for a free EP that began a whirlwind of good fortune.

“When we got to New York all the stuff I was writing was a totally different style,” says Cummings. “We took that and formed Skaters around a few choice songs. This is the first band where I’ve gone into it knowing exactly what sound I wanted to get out of it. With the Dead Trees there was always a confusion because I liked some many styles of music. I wrote songs because of how I was feeling. There’s more of an identity to Skaters. I think that the name, the vibe, the time, the guys — it all kind of dictates what kind of music we’ll be playing.”

Over the years, Cummings’ songs have evolved from quiet ballads to high-energy, melodic punk, but the songs have never skimped on lyrical content. After listening to their EP and upcoming single, you get glimpses of The Clash’s “Sandinista!” mixed with the feeling you had when you first heard the Strokes’ debut. These are exciting, guitar-driven songs that make you move and make you think. Their bombastic energy segues into brief emotional comedowns before jacking the songs back into danceable, head-bobbing anthems.

“They’re all New York-based songs,” says Cummings. “There’s a vibe that we want to capture. We’re a guitar-based band, but there are definitely a lot of loops and beats and electronic elements to take it out of superfamiliar territory.”

From DIY to WB
Metro learned about Skaters when the band was just a DIY dream with a motivated vision and no expectations. Cummings was gracious enough to give us their first-ever interview after their intimate Boston debut in 2011, as well as allowing this writer into the crowded confines of Electric Lady Studio last month while they were recording.

In between the two interviews, a lot has changed. Their unsuspecting beginnings, satisfied with self-release or possible indie interest, led to a mystique that had major labels intrigued, with several offers on the table before the band signed to Warner Brothers. With nothing more than their free EP and fervor for their future, the band was soon selling out shows in the UK, being played on BBC, and in the studio recording their debut with John Hill at the controls.

While Hill has gained notoriety producing music for Rihanna, Santigold and MIA, Cummings says he was the perfect fit because “deep down he’s a rocker at heart.”

The record, slated for mid-summer, will be preceded by a campaign of 7”s, a promotional endeavor that Warner hasn’t attempted in some time. The first will be released on Tuesday.

The post Skaters: From the ashes of Dead Trees comes a sound that glides forward appeared first on Metro.us.

Hey, Philly and Boston, you can’t always get what you want, but you can see the Stones this summer.
Credit: Brian Rasic

When the Rolling Stones initially announced live dates last year and called the tour to celebrate their 50th anniversary “50 and Counting,” most people assumed that there would be more dates to follow the few fall offerings. But with a band that has been together for twice as long as most chart-toppers of today have been alive, playing it safe by not announcing all of the dates at once makes more sense than having to cancel a number of them, in the event of, say, a broken hip, or the guitarist falling out of a tree. But now the band are making good on the “and Counting” part.

• 
  View Slideshow

  PHOTOS: Rollings Stones keep on rolling

The band announced Wednesday that they will kick off their tour in Los Angeles at the Staples Center. (Date TBA pending NBA/NHL playoff schedules.) The tour debut will be followed by performances in Oakland, San Jose, Las Vegas, Anaheim, Toronto, Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia.

The Stones were recently crowned Best Live Band at the NME Awards in London and released a new greatest hits collection, “GRRR!,” a groundbreaking documentary film “Crossfire Hurricane” and a photographic book “Rolling Stones: 50.”

“’50 and Counting’ has been pretty amazing so far,” said singer Mick Jagger in a statement. “We did a few shows in London and New York last year … and had such a good time that we thought … let’s do some more. It’s a good show. Lots of the classic stuff everyone wants to hear … with a few little gems tucked in here and there. The stage is shaped like lips and goes off into the venue so I get to run around in the crowd. It’s great fun to be able to get that close to the audience.”

“From day one at rehearsals it sounded so fresh. You could tell that everybody was dying to get their teeth into it. It was like … open the gates … let us out!” said Keith Richards, the aforementioned guitarist who has been known to fall out of trees. “’Cause man, it is the life and blood of us to play in front of people.”

Mick Taylor, who was a member of the Rolling Stones from 1969-74, will be a special guest throughout the tour.

The band will treat their generations of fans to an evening of classic Stones hits like “Gimme Shelter,” “Paint It Black,” “Jumping Jack Flash,” “Tumbling Dice,” and “It’s Only Rock and Roll,” curated with lesser-known gems, and a cover or two.

’50 AND COUNTING’ TOUR DATES

TBA Los Angeles Staples Center

May 5 Oakland Oracle Arena
On sale April 8 @ 10AM PST

May 8 San Jose HP Pavilion
On sale April 8 @ 10AM PST

May 11 Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena TBA
May 15 Anaheim Honda Center TBA

May 25 Toronto Air Canada Centre
On sale April 8 @ 10AM EST

May 28 Chicago United Center
On sale April 8 @ 10AM CST

June 12 Boston TD Garden TBA
June 18 Philadelphia Wells Fargo Center TBA

The post Rolling Stones announce ’50 and Counting’ tour dates appeared first on Metro.us.

As Lady Gaga continues to recuperate from hip surgery, she is reportedly celebrating her 27th birthday today with a tea party of sorts. According to the Sun, she is hosting a “Mad Hatter Party,” because the star isn’t able to drink alcohol yet. She is still on painkillers though, which might explain the whole “Mad Hatter” thing. It would be so very Gaga if a caterpillar sitting on a giant mushroom administered her painkillers via hookah.

In honor of Gaga’s recuperation, we thought it would be fun to examine other musicians who have famously had to take a little time off.

Bob Dylan had a motorcycle accident in 1966. While he fixed up in West Saugerties, NY he explored a different side of his music and collaborated to great effect with The Band.  (PHOTO CREDIT: Douglas R. Gilbert/Redferns)

Weezer mastermind Rivers Cuomo was born with one of his legs almost two inches shorter than the other. After the success of his band’s debut in 1994, Cuomo underwent a procedure to correct the difference. While he recuperated he worked on the songs that would become what is arguably Weezer’s masterpiece, their second album, “Pinkerton.” (PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)

The post Lady Gaga celebrates her 27th birthday appeared first on Metro.us.

With the Celtics sporting, arguably, their weakest starting five since the 2006-07 season, Boston was somehow able to prevail over Cleveland, 93-92, Wednesday night at Quicken Loans Arena.

Jeff Green (21 points) proved to be the hero for the Green as his swooping, buzzer-beating layup gave the C’s the win and snapped a five-game losing streak.

Brandon Bass also came up huge for the C’s with 22 points. Paul Pierce added 19 and had 10 rebounds.

What they’ll be saying: The Celtics desperately needed a win and for the second time in a month, Green got the job done at the last second. Any win without Kevin Garnett is a good one right now for Boston, which is showing great fatigue late in the regular season. The C’s are now 37-34 on the year and are battling to improve their seeding in the lower tier of the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

The post Celtics with last second win over Cavs appeared first on Metro.us.

It’s no secret that Boston and Cambridge are home to some of the world’s most elite colleges and universities, an attribute that attracts thousands of students each year.

Sounds great, but there’s a downside – half of them earn their degree, then exit to the left.

That’s why a coalition of city and educational leaders will hold a Mass Talent Retention public hearing Thursday on how to convince local talent to stay put after graduation.

“We want to make sure that we keep the young, vibrant talent here,” said Boston City Councillor Tito Jackson, who is spearheading the push. “The paradox of being a hub is that it is something that everyone goes to, but also something that everyone leaves.”

More than 50 percent of college graduates leave Boston each year, although roughly 90 percent of graduates who originate from the area stay, according to Jackson.

There are roughly 160,000 college students in Boston and Cambridge, and about 6.5 percent of Boston’s workforce are employed at colleges and universities throughout the cities.

Some of the issues that drive Boston students out of town relate to employment, transportation, housing and lifestyle, according to Michael Lake, executive director of World Class Cities Partnership.

“Historically it’s been about cost of living issues,” said Lake. “But we’re losing talent to cities that are far more expensive than Boston. So the question then becomes, what is the reason?”

The public hearing will run from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Cahners Theater in the Museum of Science.

Follow Morgan Rousseau on Twitter: @MetroMorgan
Follow Metro Boston on Twitter: @MetroBOS

The post Leaders in Boston and Cambridge want to keep talent from leaving the cities appeared first on Metro.us.

Where last year’s Big Apple Circus was all about saying goodbye to the rabble-rousing, iconic Grandma the Clown, this year’s production cleans the slate by bringing audiences back to circus of yesteryear.

“Legendarium,” the 35th anniversary production of the Big Apple Circus, returns audiences to a time when traveling circuses were a part of village life. Or so it will feel when the storied company continues its annual Boston residency in the modernist setting of Boston’s City Hall Plaza through the middle of May.

Argentina-born contortionist Elayne Kramer hopes that first-time audiences will have the same experience that she did upon seeing the Big Apple Circus for the first time as a child. The sixth generation circus performer remembers being completely transfixed by the closeness she felt, both literally and figuratively, to the performers in the big top.

“I fell in love with it,” says the 21-year-old. “That sense of connection with the audience is so important.”

She’s just given an eye-popping outdoor performance at Faneuil Hall, where she charmed a frigid, but willing crowd with skills such as balancing on her hands and casually bending her legs over her head like a scorpion’s tail. Kramer’s remarkable act incorporates the ancient trick of firing a bow and arrow with her feet.

According to Kramer, her signature trick goes back to the year 61A.D. and was discovered by her father in Samoa.

“My father walked into a pub and found a picture of an Indian woman holding a bow and arrow with her feet. He kept that picture for many years and when I was six years old he showed me and said ‘would you like to try this?’”

Little Elayne said yes. But don’t be worried about the arrow going into the seats. Remember, she has been practicing since the age of six and first executed the trick at the age of seven.

“If you’re nine years old, you’re already too old to learn contortionism!”

Other performers in the Big Apple group offer modern spins on time-tested circus staples like clowning, animal training, tumbling, juggling, trapeze, wire, aerial skills and more—all skills within Kramer’s own amazing DNA.

“My father did everything. Teeter board, flying trapeze, tightrope, slack-wire, hand balancing and tumbling with his brothers. My mother was an aerialist, did hair-hanging—an art that people don’t know much about anymore—and was a rope dancer.”

Kramer herself was in the fold from birth.

“It’s easier to get into the circus than to leave it!”

Big Apple Circus
Legendarium
Through May 12
City Hall Plaza, Boston, MA
$20-$100, show times vary
(888) 541-3750
www.bigapplecircus.org

The post Big Apple Circus contortionist hits the mark appeared first on Metro.us.

There’s no get-rich-quick scheme when it comes to blogging. Creating a website, building an audience and eventually garnering revenue is an exhausting process — which is why most successful blogs are labors of love. A good blog stems from an unwavering desire to do the thing you most enjoy and share it with the world.

Lauren Lilling had a degree in finance, but Wall Street just wasn’t cutting it for her. A year after starting her blog, Keep It Sweet Desserts, Lilling left the world of finance and devoted her time to a new business: a blog and “e-bakery” where users can order treats like her seasonally appropriate “Matzo-crack” salted chocolate matzo.

Like any savvy business owner, Lilling drew on what she knew. “As someone who worked in finance prior to starting a business, I was able to use skills from my previous career, leverage the social media buildup I had from blogging and build on the relationships in both places,” she says.

Babette Pepaj runs TECHmunch, a conference for food bloggers to help them do  what Lilling has done. Pepaj travels around the U.S. to help food bloggers make their work more financially rewarding, she says.

“The unsuccessful bloggers I’ve seen are the ones who are short-term planners,” says Pepaj. Most important, she says, is keeping the blog active to attract interest from advertisers: “You can’t expect a brand to look at your blog that hasn’t been updated in four weeks and think your community is engaged,” she says.

Tips for making a blog into a career:

•    Have a clear focus. In this case, casting a wider net will not necessarily get you a wider audience.
•    Be patient, but be persistent. The money isn’t going to come rolling in, but regular posting and diligence will certainly help.
•    Use social media. Utilize different platforms in order to promote your brand and drive traffic to your site.

The post Make money by blogging all the way to the bank appeared first on Metro.us.

Lily Tomlin plays Tina Fey’s feminist mom in “Admission”
Credit: Getty Images

“Admission” is a romantic comedy, not an action movie, so it comes as something of a surprise that one of its stars wanted to advertise their physique with a scene in which they chop wood bare-chested in the forest. Even more surprising? That star was comedy legend Lily Tomlin. “I wanted to be in the woods chopping wood with my shirt off,” Tomlin reveals about her character, a septuagenarian feminist whose adult life has been devoted to activism. “The character has a double mastectomy, and I think, I’ll get a breastplate made like I’ve had a double mastectomy and I’ll tattoo it to show another expression of her empowerment and how she’s completely at ease with herself and accepts her female body.”

Unfortunately, the actress landed the role too late to be able to follow through on her plan. But even without the requisite hardware, she wanted to bare her body onscreen. She reached into her own experiences in order to bare her character’s soul. “I am a feminist, and I lived in those days of the movement,” Tomlin explains. “And I know what it is as a human [to believe] in a certain philosophy or some doctrine — and you do not want to betray it.”

As Susannah, Tomlin plays the mother of Tina Fey’s Princeton admissions officer, Portia, who’s fumbling her way through a romance with an alternative high school principal (Paul Rudd) while simultaneously dealing with the revelation that an applicant just might be her long-lost son. The 73-year-old actress says that she loved the parallels she saw between mother and daughter, particularly since like her daughter’s long-concealed pregnancy, Susannah had Portia under dubious circumstances that she has since reimagined as an emblem of her feminist values.

“My character got pregnant from having sex with a guy she’s attracted to on the train, but she doesn’t want to admit that she was so attracted to this guy that she was vulnerable to him,” Tomlin observes. “So she creates that mythology that she chose him and she was empowered enough to decide when she was going to have a child and who she was going to have it with. And then that mythology isolates her from her daughter most of all.”

Tomlin especially liked that the film possessed so many layers while still managing to deliver on a visceral level. “Aside from the feminist aspect, it’s just a human story about people not being their authentic selves,” she says. “Every one of us was living some kind of inauthenticity.”

“The metaphor of admission, in the course of the movie we all have an admission,” she says, punctuating the film’s title. “I love the slug line: ‘Let someone in.’”

The post Lily Tomlin discusses playing Tina Fey’s mom in ‘Admission’ appeared first on Metro.us.

Another MBTA fare increase is starting to appear inevitable.

While admitting none of the options are ideal, MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott says she favors raising fares in order to help bridge a $117 million shortfall, rather than significant reductions in bus service.

“If we’re talking one-time bridge, I will tell you in terms of final recommendation, there’s going to be more leaning toward fare because of exactly that set of tensions that we have going on,” Scott said.

Any fare hikes could be rolled back if the agency receives additional funding from the state.

Gov. Deval Patrick’s proposed a transportation plan would add $166 million to the MBTA’s operating budget for the 2014 fiscal year. However, the legislature needs to approve it — and that’s not guaranteed.

One partial solution would be for the MBTA to use $45 million in federal funds earmarked for maintenance on operating expenses, and delay the repairs for a year.

“The cost is not doing all the states of good repair projects that benefit our customers, benefit the system and improve reliability,” MBTA Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Davis said Tuesday.

Scott told the Boston Globe that she hopes drastic measures won’t be needed.

“I’m praying it’s a timing and figuring-it-out issue,” Scott said.

MBTA fares went up an average of 23 percent last year. Analysts say an even larger increase might be needed.

A final fiscal 2014 budget plan will be submitted to the MassDOT board next week and must be approved by April 10.

Follow Metro Boston on Twitter: @MetroBos

The post MBTA chief favors fare hikes over service cuts appeared first on Metro.us.

It was Day Three at SXSW, and everything on my itinerary was louder, harder and heavier than the days before. For anyone seeking solace in cerebral modern day psychedelia, this was surely the place to be.

Posting up at the Thrasher/Converse Party at the Scoot Inn early in the day, I was happy to find I was one of the only members of the press at the party. Yes, the show was somewhat of a secret, but with such an eclectic mix of some of the festival’s most sought after acts, I figured word would have gotten out.

With skateboarders grinding on a half-pipe next to a relatively small open-air venue, this daytime party provided some of the best acts under the hot Austin sun. Bleached took the stage around 2pm and rocked the crowd with a hard and tough bubblegum take on pop-punk girl group music.

King Tuff followed an hour later, and with a full band in tow, he superceded the sensitive sounds of his recent record with a more aggressive, more intense and heavier psychedelic set that put his recent release in a new perspective.

Chelsea Light Moving was up next. The new band fronted by Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth with Sunburned Hand of the Man’s John Maloney on drums, their recent debut album came out last week on Matador and is most reminiscent of Moore’s 1995 record, Psychic Hearts. Thurston arrived fashionably early in a laidback style, entering the venue on a bicycle and riding it through the audience just before taking the stage for soundcheck. Combining his alternate tunings and surrounded by Marshall stacks, Moore and company combined Sonic Youth’s pastoral and intricate riffs with heavy drowned out pedal stomps and intensive guitar solos. Proving he’s one of the greatest guitarists of all-time, Moore’s combination of sensitivity juxtaposed with harsh, high-decibel 6-string serenades provided the perfect dynamic to coincide with his poetic meanderings.

After giving into the elements, I returned back to town around 9pm. Snoop Dogg (aka Snoop Lion), Stevie Nicks and Dave Grohl were all scheduled to perform tonight—not together of course. With the long lines and my general lack of interest, I skipped the “hot ticket” shows and headed to East Austin for some psychedelia. Once considered the wrong side of the tracks and a home to artists looking for cheap studios, I was surprised to find East Austin as a hotbed of cool. It’s a tale as old as time, but I never expected it could happen so quickly in Austin.

Just a few blocks beyond this newfound center for up-and-coming greatness and unfortunate gentrification, I found my way to Hotel Vegas. With a retro neon sign lighting the landscape, I headed inside to catch some of music’s greatest and heaviest sonic surprises. With two stages, I bounced back and forth catching a sampling of sounds. The Go, a longtime Detroit-based garage band, has only gotten better and heavier since former and future famous member Jack White left the band.  MMOSS, a New Hampshire bred/Boston-based band combined acoustic guitars and ethereal drones, often summon the sounds of early Floyd on record. But more notably their live show has brought the flute back to the forefront of the rock n roll frontier.

Though I had just missed Philadelphia’s Bleeding Rainbow, I was able to catch them a few hours later at their second showcase of the night. Combining an awesome name with spaced out male and female vocals against a bed of deep driving guitars, and chugging rhythms, they evoked a speedier and grittier My Bloody Valentine.

Seeing just how many shows I could catch within the hour, I continued on to Maggie Mae’s where the Seattle band Kinski was still spacing out. I’ve been bearing witness to Kinski’s heavy and heady rumblings for almost a decade now, and they always deliver. Combining searing and soaring guitars with spacey solos, the band played songs from their recent release on Kill Rock Stars and brought a slight darkness to the overlit and well-stocked cocktail venue.

Austin Psych Fest comes to town in April and with some of these bands returning to play it, it should be epic.

The post Psychedelic Thursday: SXSW worth its weight in heavy metal appeared first on Metro.us.

Whether planned, secret or last minute, there are hundreds of daytime shows that go on throughout the week at SXSW providing you with a chance to catch those acts that you might otherwise miss — not to mention that these gigs were often accompanied by free food and drink.

Waking early, I headed straight to Club de Ville, one of my favorite old haunts from SXSWs of years past, as the Austin band Feathers took stage. A five-piece comprised of four women and a male drummer manning an electronic drum kit, Feathers wore tall heels, looked like the Runaways years later and sounded like a gothic Pat Benatar.

Each day, the Convention Center hosts panel discussions as part of SXSW. I ducked into an program intriguingly titled “Drunk Comedy at SXSW.” The internet sensation known as Drunk History that became popular on Funny or Die, is coming to Comedy Central and Kyle Kinane and Derek Waters were there to discuss their plans. Playing the part with tallboys in cozies, they talked about the concept, confessing that it was only sup-posed to be one video short until Jack Black asked if he could be Ben Franklin. The rest is history … drunk history.

From there it was up a few floors to see Devendra Banhart. Pretty and polished he sat and played a handful of songs with his signature falsetto warble and intriguingly absurd banter like wishing everyone a Happy Halloween.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds were slated to perform at Stubbs Amphitheater on Wednesday night while the sun was still up in the Austin, Texas, sky — a strange and rare choice for his dark tunes. Cave, as I expected, stalled until the darkness fell, and with the smell of barbecue in the air, opened with a few tracks from his latest album, “Push the Sky Away.” Almost possessed, he brought life to the quiet songs and followed them up by an epic run through some of his best work. “From Her to Eternity” was followed by “Red Right Hand,” “Jack the Ripper and “Deanna.” While much of the band is new, the Bad Seeds complemented Cave’s commanding stage presence with tense reserve, all except violinist Warren Ellis, who has in time become Cave’s maniacal right-hand man.

Next up was the Love Inks, an Austin band whose single, “Blackeye” has been in constant rotation in my headphones for the past year. A modern day girl-group with fuzzy reverb, the band backed up the sound on their record with remarkable poise.

For the remainder of the night I decided to set up camp at one venue, rather than wait in any more lines. I then headed to Hype Hotel for what should have been an excellent lineup, but ended up serving as a stark contrast to the veteran Cave’s class and showmanship. The Orwells kicked things off and after noticing the X’s on their hands I learned that they are teenagers. They don’t look it, and they don’t sound like it. Sure, the lead singer has a bit of Jim Morrison snotty angst, but the band played well … until they were told it was their last song. Thinking their set was being cut short, the guitarist told the sound guy that he had been lied to, provoking the lead singer to swing his microphone around and smash it into the cymbals before sending it into the crowd. After a physical altercation with the soundman, they left the stage for good. It was a rock ‘n’ roll moment that you don’t see very often anymore … for better or worse.

Whether or not it was the Orwells’ fault, the sound only went southward: Cords were busted and sets were delayed. The anticipated Phosphorescent shone despite the ordeal. Seven members deep and with two keyboardists, their sound was fleshed out roots rock with an expressive backwoods voice. Making it through most of the set without complaints, they also threw their mic after their last song. Are rockers now borrowing from rappers?

Things would only get worse as Foxygen, who sound sexy and polished on record and have a big buzz from many major press outlets, ended up sounding like an out of tune and out of work showtune band.

The sound and showmanship only returned as Jim James closed out the night with a short set.

But maybe there’s hope for these young bands. Once upon a time there was young punk named Nick Cave who might have behaved the same way.

The post SXSW Night Two: Class vs. crass in Austin, Texas appeared first on Metro.us.

With titles like “The 40 Year Old Virgin” and “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” under his belt, Steve Carell certainly knows his way around a joke. We wanted to get the star of “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” to suggest the best comedies of all time and ask him what makes them great. We plopped Time Out London’s list of the 100 Best Comedy Movies in front of him. Incidentally, just two of Carell’s films made the list — “Anchorman” and “Little Miss Sunshine” — but he let it slide.

OK, here’s the list.
No. 1, “This is Spinal Tap.” Well, that’s obviously a classic. It broke the mold, and it has been copied so often. Like any great movie or book or play, there’s one of these, and you can’t replicate it. And it holds up, too. “Some Like it Hot”? Yeah, these are all great. “Groundhog Day”? Man, that’s one of my favorite holiday movies. Wow, “Anchorman” is No. 6! Nice. Monty Python — any Monty Python is great. “Annie Hall,” “Life of Brian,” “Airplane!” I think “Anchorman” in a lot of ways is like “Airplane!” in that it’s just unrelenting silliness.

Is there one on the list that sticks out for you?
“Dr. Strangelove.” No. 14? I’d put that on top of my list. I think that movie is terrifying and funny in equal parts, and I think that is special. That’s an almost impossible feat to accomplish, to create something that elicits such completely diverse responses. And I love Peter Sellers’ performances in that movie.

Do you remember when you first saw it?
I think I saw it in a film class in college. I didn’t really know much about it, but it was a movie that changed my perception of comedy in a lot of ways. And [the Peter Sellers movie] “Being There,” as well. I don’t know where “Being There” is on this list.

I don’t think it’s on the list.
It’s not? [He flips through.] And on the other side, getting away from somebody like [Stanley] Kubrick, you have Mel Brooks, with “Blazing Saddles” or “Young Frankenstein.” “Young Frankenstein” is one of my all-time favorite movies as well. And again, just unrelenting silliness and commitment. I don’t know. It’s hard to deconstruct it because you don’t necessarily know why something makes you laugh, it just does. I think the more you deconstruct why it makes you laugh, the less funny it is. For me, I just love letting stuff wash over me and don’t analyze it too much.

There’s also the repeat viewing factor, films you can watch again and again. For instance, “Galaxy Quest” is on here.
“Galaxy Quest”! I love that movie, too. I just got to work with Sam Rockwell, and the first thing I said to him was, “I loved you in ‘Galaxy Quest.’” He’s a great actor, he’s done all sorts of fantastic work, but his character in “Galaxy Quest” … He gets dematerialized and then rematerialized, and he’s so freaked out he just stands there screaming?

I’m always surprised more people don’t love that movie.
These are all great — and in different ways, you know? “Planes, Trains & Automobiles” — really wonderful performances and connection between John Candy and Steve Martin. … There’s sort of a magic to when it works, and I think for some reason a movie like “Anchorman” worked on that level. I don’t think we knew it at the time. We knew it was funny. I mean, it was funny to us doing it. And I think when it opened nine years ago or something, people liked it, but over time I think people have liked it more and more.

More from Carell

On Burt Wonderstone vs. Ron Burgundy

Toward the beginning of “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone,” when successful Las Vegas magician Wonderstone (Steve Carell) is at the height of his fame and power, viewers might get some glimpses of Ron Burgundy, Will Ferrell’s blowhard lead from “Anchorman.” Carell acknowledges some similarities, but he insists it wasn’t intentional. “I think of them as Casanovas — there definitely is a parallel there. But I think that’s where the similarities stop,” he says. “Ron isn’t mean to people. He’s not a bad person, and at the point where we find the adult Burt Wonderstone, he’s a pretty bad guy. He’s a jerk, he’s an egomaniac who really doesn’t care anymore and is completely burned out with his life and himself.”

On getting the right tone for ‘Wonderstone’

In “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone,” a lot of the gags and jokes stray into pretty macabre territory, like when Jim Carrey’s shock-illusionist character Steve Gray uses a power drill for a very dangerous “trick.” Was there a darker version of this movie that the filmmakers had to work hard not to not make? “In one of the scripted versions, it was not a drill bit but a gun, and I asked for that to be changed,” says Carell, who also produced the film. “I thought that would be tempting fate, frankly. I thought if someone even as a joke did something with a gun and hurt themselves or someone else, I wouldn’t want to have that on the movie as something thatinspired it. So we changed it into something that is much sillier, frankly.”

The trick, Carell says, was to rely on reactions from test audiences to find the right balance of tone — though those crowds didn’t get the final say by any means. “A lot of the stuff with Steve Gray is pretty raw, and there were even more rawversions of it, but you test it and you see how far you can go with people,” he says. “And when you start losing people because it is too far, that’s when you have to make that judgment call. It’s like tonally where do you want to fall? And you know, I don’t go all by audience testing. Sometimes you leave it in just because you think it’s funny anyway and that the majority of people are going to be able to digest it, but sometimes you have to listen and be responsible about it.”

The post Steve Carell talks ‘The Incredible Burt Wonderstone’ and his favorite comedies appeared first on Metro.us.