Artsweek

Within the Fray ***

February 26, 2009 by

It's hard to believe that it has already been four years since the debut album of the Fray. The titular track for that album, "How To Save a Life," became a huge television-fueled phenomenon of a sing...
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Legends Perform Ginsberg Tribute

February 19, 2009 by

Most college students might assume that "hipster" is a recently coined term, but the late poet Allen Ginsberg wrote about "angelheaded hipsters" in "Howl," his famous 1955 poem that celebrates the reb...
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A Haunting Presence

February 19, 2009 by

Friday, Feb. 13, at downtown Santa Barbara's Lobero Theatre was a fittingly haunting night, thanks to the entrancing power and surrealist beauty of Chan Marshall's truly unique voice. The mystique an...
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Student-Starring

February 19, 2009 by

Performing Chekhov is notoriously difficult. The theatrical premiere of "The Seagull" in 1896 was a famous disaster, and Chekhov reportedly hated the first production of "The Cherry Orchard" in 1904....
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Actually Lily, It IS You ***

February 19, 2009 by

When Lily Allen burst onto the scene in 2006 with her iconic, ska-fueled hit, "Smile," she became the first person to transcend Internet stardom and become an honest-to-god pop idol. Her debut record,...
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Case of the Missing Keys ***

February 19, 2009 by

The Black Keys will always suffer from comparisons to the White Stripes. Like the band's Midwestern garage-rock duo counterparts also named after a color and a noun, the Black Keys has spent its time ...
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Cleese Cheered at Campbell Hall

February 12, 2009 by

John Cleese, living comedic legend of "Monty Python" fame - who also happens to be a Santa Barbara resident - graced the stage at Campbell Hall Monday night for his annual film screening and Q&A. The ...
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CD: International Dischord **

February 12, 2009 by

Based on his undeniable talent and innovation as a producer for acts like Spank Rock and M.I.A., Diplo probably deserves to have his work released as part of a compilation.
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FILM: A Stop-Motion Scarytale *****

February 12, 2009 by

As a child, everything is magical. The wind can whisper messages. There is no question but that you are special and magical, and very likely, a lost prince or princess from some far-off land. And that...
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FILM: A Killer of a Thriller ****

February 12, 2009 by

January is typically the month when studios release their leftovers, the films that are not deemed worthy of the main film seasons (summer and winter).
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SBIFF ’09: Festival Honors Five Virtuosic Actors

February 12, 2009 by

Last Wednesday evening, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival honored five actors for being standout performers in 2008. The award was created last year to "recognize a select group of actors ...
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SBIFF ’09: “Ink” Is Stained With Promise **

February 12, 2009 by

"Ink" is a frustrating movie. It is generally idiotic but has brief moments of genius, totally half-baked but kind of fascinating, a cheap knockoff of other films but also surprisingly filled with ing...
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SBIFF ’09: Twisted Pleasure *

February 12, 2009 by

As a rule of thumb, anyone who claims to do something in order to "protect the children" is more than likely ethically bankrupt and morally repugnant. I really should have known better than to go see ...
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The Curious Case of David Fincher

February 5, 2009 by

"You kind of wonder if I should [have] been in therapy more regularly," director David Fincher cracked to an appreciative audience Friday night at the Arlington Theatre after seeing a couple clips fro...
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Clint Eastwood Has Still Got It, Baby

February 5, 2009 by

You almost begin to feel like cattle as a journalist covering red carpet events at Santa Barbara International Film Festival. You're sent through the chute with your fellow journalists and paparazzi a...
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