Artsweek

New “Stepfather” Is No Replacement *

From the brilliant minds that brought us 2008's "brilliant" remake of "Prom Night" comes another 1980s horror-film retread that should have gone straight to DVD. Nelson McCormack's update of "The Step...
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“Citizen” Abides the Law of Action Entertainment

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...
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Ghostface Killah’s Spectre Haunts Velvet Jones

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...
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Thao Nguyen with the Get Down Stay Down at SOhO

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 thre...
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New Noise Festival’s Debut Is Promising

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

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 ...
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Will The Real John Leguizamo Please Stand Up?

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

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

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, "C...
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Shakira’s New Wolf Has Claws ****

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 exp...
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Latest LP Unworthy of Kings **

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 a...
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Legacy of Lincoln Lives on in Jones’ Latest Work

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 ...
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INTERVIEW: A Chat With Derren and Ana of DNA Imagery

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 ...
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“Om” Brings an Ancient Indian Tale to UCSB

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.
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Master of the Melancholy

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 a...
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