At the tail end of August, the free Afro-Punk music festival was canceled due to Hurricane Irene’s untimely arrival in New York City. Luckily, no pending natural disasters derailed their highly successful and entertaining CMJ showcase. … read more
Detropia
Creating a documentary focused on a place, rather than a person or an event, is no easy task. Detropia could have easily been an incoherent mess of interviews with unemployed autoworkers and cutaways to the often-photographed crumbling buildings of inner city Detroit. Luckily, Ewing and Grady have created something that moves beyond the typical clichés of Detroit. … read more
CMJ Day Two: From Indie Pop to Hip Hop
Day two of CMJ started as mellow as possible. It was fitting for my hangover from the night before and the overcast rainy weather that had infiltrated the city. … read more
Napalm Flesh: Katatonia Interview
I nearly jumped on the ceiling when I heard that Sweden’s Katatonia were finally making their way to Salt Lake City—even though they’re supporting Opeth. Read on for my words with the founding guitarist of Katatonia, Mr. Blakkheim himself, exploring not only Katatonia, but also the work he’s put in with the likes of Bloodbath, Diabolical Masquerade and Bewitched. We also have exclusive reviews of new albums from Black Tusk, Mr. Death and Wizard. … read more
Marina Abramovic The Artist is Present
Following performance artist Marina Abramovic during her three-month 2010 MoMA exhibition, this beautifully executed documentary gives the audience an intimate look into the life of one of the most influential artists of the 20th Century. … read more
Excision
In his directorial debut, Richard Bates racks up multiple points for the fucked up in this twisted horror-story-meets-teen-comedy. AnnaLynne McCord steps out of her usual “vixen” roles to play Pauline—a greasy, acne-ridden teenager with bizarre sexual fantasies centered on performing surgery on strangers … read more
Tasty Craves and a Cool Buzz: Spedelli’s Restaurant
Spedelli’s is a must stop on the route home. Although some things haven’t changed from its predecessor, many things have, including the interior, which now sports the art of Dave Doman and Alex McAdoo. … read more
The Ambassador
Mads Brügger returns to the world of documentary filmmaking with another voyeuristic hidden camera journey that transports viewers into more undesirable territories. His latest secretive expedition covertly places audiences in the middle of the Central African Republic while Brügger poses as a foreign business diplomat attempting to set up a faux organization in order to leave with a briefcase full of diamonds.
Sub Pop/Hardly Art Showcase @ The Mercury Lounge 10.20
When I arrived at The Mercury Lounge at 7 p.m., I was greeted with the words “SOLD OUT.” I figured it meant that this showcase was probably going to be a killer one. I liked two of the seven bands on the bill, had been told that a third would be right up my alley, and figured that since the showcase was Sub Pop and Hardly Art branded, the bands that I was unfamiliar with would probably still be entertaining. … read more
The Words
“The Words” is a fascinating multi-layered drama that sets one story upon another upon another, forcing viewers to question their own morals and the amount of compassion we can share with those who have made terrible mistakes. … read more
CMJ: The Final Nights
The final nights of CMJ had a strange way of mashing into each other. It’s always easy to party until the sun comes up in NYC, but when you throw in a music festival that comes with occasional free drinks and bars that stay open until 4 a.m. it becomes exponentially easier. … read more
Filly Brown
An LA-bred Latina with some attitude and musical talent, “Mojo” Tonorio, aka Filly Brown (Gina Rodriguez), aspires to be a hip hop artist while dealing with various familial conflicts, including an imprisoned mother and a father struggling to keep his job. … read more
