Artsweek

October 22, 2009

“Citizen” Abides the Law of Action Entertainment

By Lance Kosher

Earlier this summer, Gerald Butler demonstrated how he does in fact has some range as an actor by playing a crudely endearing nice guy/asshole that pursues the chick from "Knocked Up" (I know her name, but I choose not t...

October 22, 2009

Ghostface Killah’s Spectre Haunts Velvet Jones

By Artsweek Editor

Fresh off an appearance at VH1's Hip Hop Honors, founding Wu-Tang Clansman Ghostface Killah made a shambolic appearance at Velvet Jones last Saturday night. Apparently battling some sort of flu, Ghost basically turned hi...

October 22, 2009

Thao Nguyen with the Get Down Stay Down at SOhO

By Alexandra Llerena Reporter

Last Thursday, SOhO was graced with the presence of Kill Rock Stars artist Thao Nguyen and her backing back, the Get Down Stay Down. Though the Virginia-based band's only been around for the past three years, it has gath...

October 15, 2009

New Noise Festival’s Debut Is Promising

By Se Young Kang

The organizers of New Noise Santa Barbara, a three-day "music and digital media conference" that invaded downtown State Street this past weekend, sell the event as a hip and timely educational event for those plugged in ...

October 15, 2009

Local Act, The Sunshine Brothers, Brings Reggae Rock to the Sandbar

By Jeanette Barnard

The Sunshine Brothers brought the motion of the ocean to Sandbar last Saturday night with its island-loving tunes as part of the first annual New Noise Santa Barbara music festival. Sunshine Brothers kicked off the last ...

October 15, 2009

Will The Real John Leguizamo Please Stand Up?

By Hunter M. Daniels

John Leguizamo is a complicated man, a man full of contradictions and seemingly mutually exclusive ideas. He has turned this premise into a long career as a character actor and performance artist.

October 15, 2009

Lovely, Flawed “Education” Shows a Young Life at a Crossroad ***

By Lance Kosher

"An Education" puts forth the thesis that there are two roads to be traveled for a young girl on the cusp of womanhood: One involves pedophilia, con-artistry and glamour; the other, academia and a lifetime of loneliness.

October 15, 2009

Paradise, Lost: Artsweek Urges Audiences to Quickly “Retreat” *

By Emelie Battaglia

What do you get when you bring together a huge cast, an overly invested writing team and an inexperienced director? A failed comedy. Were it not for the non-stop hilarity roll that is Vince Vaughn, "Couples Retreat" woul...

October 15, 2009

Shakira’s New Wolf Has Claws ****

By Lucas Villa

After dominating the airwaves worldwide with her 2006 hit, "Hips Don't Lie," Colombian superstar Shakira is now looking to translate that success to dance floors with She Wolf. The new 12-track LP explores new territory ...

October 15, 2009

Latest LP Unworthy of Kings **

By Aaron Murphy

You can say many things about the music performed by Kings of Convenience, but nobody would accuse the songs of not being pretty. Here, the duo rarely utilizes more than an acoustic guitar, a violin and their own vocal c...

October 15, 2009

Legacy of Lincoln Lives on in Jones’ Latest Work

By Karen Urrutia

Last Tuesday night's performance of "Fondly Do We Hope...Fervently Do We Pray," presented by the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, marked Arts & Lectures' first presentation at the Granada this season and served as...

October 15, 2009

INTERVIEW: A Chat With Derren and Ana of DNA Imagery

By Rene Caballero

If you've been downtown or attended one of the ridiculously sick parties in I.V. where there are photographers snapping pics of all the drunkards, you have more than likely run into Derren and Ana of DNA Imagery. Their p...

October 8, 2009

“Om” Brings an Ancient Indian Tale to UCSB

By Nico Kiefer

The Boxtales Theatre Company, in association with Theater UCSB, opened its original show, "Om," to a full house at the Lobero Theatre last Thursday evening.

October 8, 2009

Master of the Melancholy

By Virginia Yapp

In the hands of a lesser, more ordinary artist, a set of mostly soft, piano-driven songs played in front of a completely unadorned stage would probably come across as tasking and fairly lifeless for any onlookers. But in...

October 8, 2009

Schwartz Conjures Up “Séance,” Opera Style

By Karen Urrutia

Opera, musical and theater fans, rejoice! Stephen and Scott Schwartz have together constructed a marvelous production which combines the most essential and beautiful elements of all three mediums to tell the tragic story...

October 8, 2009

“Zombieland” Brings Vibrancy to the Undead ***

By Hunter M. Daniels

"Zombieland" features decapitations, mutilations, lacerations, disembowelments, exploding heads, dead children and about 400 on-screen deaths. It is also laugh-out-loud funny.